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We have some healers here already, obviously, but everyone heals differently so there can never be enough of them around. For example, my healing has to be prepared in advance because I do it through potions. I give them to as many people as I can, but there is only a finite number of them going into any battle. I'm probably most valuable using my court power to help boost a healer's skills.
[He pauses a moment, then, curiosity getting the best of him.]
How does your healing work? I wonder if its something I could boost.
[Because how better to keep her safe than to be near her? And he is certain she would probably like the chance to keep an eye on him herself.
Now how can he keep Cale nearby? That's the real question.]
[He pauses a moment, then, curiosity getting the best of him.]
How does your healing work? I wonder if its something I could boost.
[Because how better to keep her safe than to be near her? And he is certain she would probably like the chance to keep an eye on him herself.
Now how can he keep Cale nearby? That's the real question.]
[Sophia blinks at the question. Boost…?]
They are healing skills. I call on my Pithos and cast them. That's all. [Makes perfect sense, right??]There are ways of making other skills more powerful, I have seen it… so it may work on mine as well.
They are healing skills. I call on my Pithos and cast them. That's all. [Makes perfect sense, right??]There are ways of making other skills more powerful, I have seen it… so it may work on mine as well.
Your Pithos?
[Regis looks toward Cale a moment wondering if his friend has head the word before and then turns back to Sophia hoping she doesn't mind explaining farther.]
I'm afraid I don't know what that is. Is it an item or part of your programing?
[Regis looks toward Cale a moment wondering if his friend has head the word before and then turns back to Sophia hoping she doesn't mind explaining farther.]
I'm afraid I don't know what that is. Is it an item or part of your programing?
[She's never mentioned the name before, though she has alluded to it once-]
It is neither. Pithos is a weapon.
It is neither. Pithos is a weapon.
Oh!
[Regis doesn't know why he didn't think of that before. After all, he can channel his own magic through his weapons. Just not any of his healing skills.]
What kind of weapon is it? I'm partial to swords, but I've been trained on many others.
[Regis doesn't know why he didn't think of that before. After all, he can channel his own magic through his weapons. Just not any of his healing skills.]
What kind of weapon is it? I'm partial to swords, but I've been trained on many others.
Pithos is Pithos. It's hard to describe. [She pauses, peering up towards Cale.] I've been instructed to use it only when necessary.
[ Cale blinks, slow and sleepy, but his eyes are focused. Just because he could nap doesn't mean he isn't listening closely. ]
You can summon it now to show us what kind of weapon it is. There's no need to actually use it in order to show us, right?
You can summon it now to show us what kind of weapon it is. There's no need to actually use it in order to show us, right?
[She tilts her head at him - processing the adjusted permissions, though admittedly they weren't strict rules but a self-imposed limit - and nods. She frees one arm from their couch cuddle and holds it out.]
Pithos.
[It's a simple call, but at once two things happen: first, her outfit re-manifests in its hooded form, second, with a heavy THUD, four engraved boxes drop into the room seemingly out of nowhere with a brief flair of blue flame, landing in a square in the middle of the room. They sit immobile, awaiting instruction.]
Pithos.
[It's a simple call, but at once two things happen: first, her outfit re-manifests in its hooded form, second, with a heavy THUD, four engraved boxes drop into the room seemingly out of nowhere with a brief flair of blue flame, landing in a square in the middle of the room. They sit immobile, awaiting instruction.]
[Regis can't quite hold back the jump that comes when the boxes suddenly drop into the middle of the floor. He recovers quickly, though, and finds himself leaning forward to inspect the boxes a little more closely. There is a temptation to touch one, but he resists that. It's a personal weapon, and he has no idea how it will react to someone else touching it.]
I can certainly see why you have such a hard time describing it.
[He turns from the boxes and looks at the new outfit she's suddenly wearing.]
Is that some kind of uniform?
I can certainly see why you have such a hard time describing it.
[He turns from the boxes and looks at the new outfit she's suddenly wearing.]
Is that some kind of uniform?
[ Somehow Cale manages to keep a stoic expression and not recoil in fear at the sudden summoning of boxes (...huh. would you call it 'delivery' instead of 'summon'?) and Sophia's change of outfit.
He does, however, go stiff from surprise. ]
He does, however, go stiff from surprise. ]
It is 'Thief attire'. It's what happened to everyone else in Jails, so I copied them. I did the same thing to get Pithos.
[The boxes don't give off any sort of dangerous energy, so Regis can examine them as he pleases, though probably not touching them directly is a wise idea. Someone so well versed in both god-given (AKA holy) and soul magic might find the energy it does give off kind of familiar. It has an unnatural - or artificial - quality to it, but even so.]
[The boxes don't give off any sort of dangerous energy, so Regis can examine them as he pleases, though probably not touching them directly is a wise idea. Someone so well versed in both god-given (AKA holy) and soul magic might find the energy it does give off kind of familiar. It has an unnatural - or artificial - quality to it, but even so.]
[Regis can feel the energy coming off the boxes and it's one of the reasons he decided against touching them. He's not well enough attuned to the kind of energy from her world to pick up on the artificial nature of it, though.]
"Jail?" Would that be your word for a dungeon? A place where you would fight monsters and the like?
"Jail?" Would that be your word for a dungeon? A place where you would fight monsters and the like?
[ Cale isn't able to sense things like divine energy or mana very well, but he's never needed to — not with his ancient powers around to sense things for him.
There's something weird about Pithos though. It's enough to make him frown, curious, and get up from the couch to investigate. While Cale gets closer, even reaching his hand out to hover near Pithos, it's obvious he has no desire to actually touch it.
Keen eyes might notice how the closer he gets the tenser his shoulder seem to become.
It feels weird.
Cale feels unsettled, but not scared. ]
...I think it was a virtual location? [ He takes a step back and turns to Sophia. ] Was it similar to a 'jail' GMs send cheating players to in online games?
There's something weird about Pithos though. It's enough to make him frown, curious, and get up from the couch to investigate. While Cale gets closer, even reaching his hand out to hover near Pithos, it's obvious he has no desire to actually touch it.
Keen eyes might notice how the closer he gets the tenser his shoulder seem to become.
It feels weird.
Cale feels unsettled, but not scared. ]
...I think it was a virtual location? [ He takes a step back and turns to Sophia. ] Was it similar to a 'jail' GMs send cheating players to in online games?
No, it isn't virtual. It is the "cognitive world". A world created by the collective thoughts of humans. It's called the Metaverse.
[She glances at Regis.]
Your description is comparable. Jails are full of Shadows, monsters that we have to fight.
[She glances at Regis.]
Your description is comparable. Jails are full of Shadows, monsters that we have to fight.
[Regis nods as he listens thinking of how many theorists from his world would love to hear her words right now. It's quite amazing.]
The monsters I'm talking about we call daemons. The strongest of them were sealed away in what we call dungeons, but they are honestly much more than that because if they weren't the daemons would find a way to free themselves. They are a mix of real world, magic, lost technology, and who knows what else. Legends say some of them exist more outside of our reality than inside of it.
Still with all of that, the seals on those dungeons are starting to give way. I made a promise that I would go deal with the beasts when the war is finally done. I just hope I am not too late. It's good that if you have such dangers on your world as well, you and your fellows are there to fight them.
The monsters I'm talking about we call daemons. The strongest of them were sealed away in what we call dungeons, but they are honestly much more than that because if they weren't the daemons would find a way to free themselves. They are a mix of real world, magic, lost technology, and who knows what else. Legends say some of them exist more outside of our reality than inside of it.
Still with all of that, the seals on those dungeons are starting to give way. I made a promise that I would go deal with the beasts when the war is finally done. I just hope I am not too late. It's good that if you have such dangers on your world as well, you and your fellows are there to fight them.
[She looks thoughtful throughout the description, filing all that info away. Daemons, sealed in dungeons. So Regis has a mission like that... it's too bad she has no way of helping him with it. Normally she would offer.]
I'm sorry that there are monsters in your world. I hope you're not too late, either. Shadows only appear in the Metaverse, where I am from. Though there are monsters in the real world as well.
[So to speak... or at least, so she's been told by her fellow teen entourage.]
I'm sorry that there are monsters in your world. I hope you're not too late, either. Shadows only appear in the Metaverse, where I am from. Though there are monsters in the real world as well.
[So to speak... or at least, so she's been told by her fellow teen entourage.]
Thank you. Do you know what the sources of these monsters are?
[Regis at least knows the scourge is responsible for Eos' problems. Get rid of that and the daemons go with it. It's why their duty and destiny are so important. He can't help but wonder if her world's problems can be solved so "easily."]
[Regis at least knows the scourge is responsible for Eos' problems. Get rid of that and the daemons go with it. It's why their duty and destiny are so important. He can't help but wonder if her world's problems can be solved so "easily."]
[ Cale prefers not to think about monsters. He's had more than enough experience with them to last multiple more lifetimes. ]
If it's a world created by the collective thoughts of humans, wouldn't the Shadows come from the same source?
If it's a world created by the collective thoughts of humans, wouldn't the Shadows come from the same source?
[She nods.]
Shadows are echoes of the real world, versions of real people. Some are just distortions of desires- feelings and thoughts made manifest, and those can be killed. They always come back. The Shadows that are real people can be defeated, but if they are killed, the person dies.
Shadows are echoes of the real world, versions of real people. Some are just distortions of desires- feelings and thoughts made manifest, and those can be killed. They always come back. The Shadows that are real people can be defeated, but if they are killed, the person dies.
[Ah, there's the complication. The Shadows that are real people.]
It sounds as if they can be saved if just defeated. Am I right in that assumption?
[If their thoughts and emotions were that far out of control, though, even if they are saved, Regis bets there is a long road to recovery ahead of them.]
Can they fall to Shadow again after being saved?
It sounds as if they can be saved if just defeated. Am I right in that assumption?
[If their thoughts and emotions were that far out of control, though, even if they are saved, Regis bets there is a long road to recovery ahead of them.]
Can they fall to Shadow again after being saved?
I've never seen it happen, but theoretically, it is possible. What has happened so far is that after their Desires were stolen in the Metaverse, a change of heart occurred. They confessed their wrongdoings and vowed to change their behaviour. The risk of doing it again is there, since the Jail and the EMMA app haven't vanished.
[She hesitates briefly, then admits,]
Eliminating them would be more efficient. But the Phantom Thieves don't kill. And saving all the victims, even the Monarch Shadow, makes everyone... happier.
[She hesitates briefly, then admits,]
Eliminating them would be more efficient. But the Phantom Thieves don't kill. And saving all the victims, even the Monarch Shadow, makes everyone... happier.
...Mm. It's better not to kill if you don't have to.
[ He picks up a different blanket while he's still up, draping it over his shoulders as he settles back into his spot on the sofa. ]
It sounds like psychologists and therapists would be useful in that Metaverse.
[ He picks up a different blanket while he's still up, draping it over his shoulders as he settles back into his spot on the sofa. ]
It sounds like psychologists and therapists would be useful in that Metaverse.
Humans like to believe that everyone can be saved, even if they have done a great deal of wrong in the past. I suspect your friends all believe that to some degree which is why they are against killing anyone even if they may deserve it.
[Regis then turns in Cale's direction, amused the redhead feels the need to state something so obvious.]
Psychologists and therapists are useful everywhere. It's just harder for some people than others to admit they need the help. I suppose those are the ones who end up Shadows.
[Regis then turns in Cale's direction, amused the redhead feels the need to state something so obvious.]
Psychologists and therapists are useful everywhere. It's just harder for some people than others to admit they need the help. I suppose those are the ones who end up Shadows.
[Sophia can't help thinking of what she'd heard about the counsellor who had essentially ruined the hard work of the Phantom Thieves and put them through even more anguish after they thought they'd finally won. Hmm.]
Maybe they could do good, but they could create great harm, also. Those who understand the human mind can manipulate it more effectively. The Metaverse was taken over by such a man, and he changed the world into a fake fantasy supposedly without suffering. He too was forced to right his wrongs.
Maybe they could do good, but they could create great harm, also. Those who understand the human mind can manipulate it more effectively. The Metaverse was taken over by such a man, and he changed the world into a fake fantasy supposedly without suffering. He too was forced to right his wrongs.
[ Cale can't say he's surprised to hear that. ]
There will always be a percentage of people like that in professions involving vulnerable people. Fortunately there is always a higher percentage of people who want to help.
[ Cale, Rok Soo, can't remember what happened in reality when he was seventeen, but knows that a Hunter became his guidance counselor at the orphanage and earned his trust for half a year before trying to kill him.
Park So Jin had been a good actor. Even during the god's illusion test Cale couldn't tell that her warm smiles and concerned words were all fake. It was an incredible contrast to the crazed, devil-like look on her face and venom in her voice as she actively tried to slaughter him. ]
It's good that he had to take accountability for his shitty actions. I probably would have just had him killed eventually.
[ He'd let his family psychologically torture the bastard as much as they wanted first. ]
There will always be a percentage of people like that in professions involving vulnerable people. Fortunately there is always a higher percentage of people who want to help.
[ Cale, Rok Soo, can't remember what happened in reality when he was seventeen, but knows that a Hunter became his guidance counselor at the orphanage and earned his trust for half a year before trying to kill him.
Park So Jin had been a good actor. Even during the god's illusion test Cale couldn't tell that her warm smiles and concerned words were all fake. It was an incredible contrast to the crazed, devil-like look on her face and venom in her voice as she actively tried to slaughter him. ]
It's good that he had to take accountability for his shitty actions. I probably would have just had him killed eventually.
[ He'd let his family psychologically torture the bastard as much as they wanted first. ]
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