VIVIAN V. V.

The
N.O.V.A
Trials

How many wonders

really exist in this
world?
 Episode 1: NOVA

Two Years ago Lumi Lanyue entered the miHoYo VTuber Program Tryouts. Little did
she know, she would soon become the star of District NOVA. It happened seemingly in
the blink of an eye. One minute she was an ordinary girl and the next minute she was an
idol.
Lumi was sitting in her 4th period English class staring blankly toward the
holoscreen. Her mind was deep in her thoughts. She thought of what it would be like
spending her days like Kizuna AI. In her head she was up on a virtual stage performing
for a live audience.
For a moment she didn’t notice the news announcement that flared up on the screen.
For a moment she had thought she had slipped into a daydream. Lumi looked around to
ensure she was indeed awake and before she could realize it, she had become the newest
miHoYo sensation. She quickly gained popularity especially in District NOVA where she
lived. Upon completing high school she was scheduled to join miHoYo’s Exclusive NOVA
University.
 Auvujh 1, 3022

Daybreak came with the sound of an alarm. Lumi rolled around in her bed
before falling off landing on the floor with a thud. Turning off the alarm she
got up and started getting ready for her first day. Lumi lived on the 9th floor
penthouse of miHoYo’s private Vtuber Towers which was located in the
center of the District and had a spectacular view of the Western Sector.
With a toothbrush in her mouth she quickly got dressed. Lumi took a
minute before deciding on wearing her red and pink dress with a blue tie and
belt. Taking the toothbrush out of her mouth before rinsing, she grabbed her
bows and tied them onto the left side of her head. With that she grabbed her
bag and headed out into the elevator.
The elevator itself could have easily been mistaken for a small penthouse
suite. It was an outdoor elevator that lined the eastern walls of the Tower.
There were several pieces of furniture all in an elegant purple Victorian style.
The elevator itself was easily larger than average master bedrooms. Lumi
liked to sit on the chairs toward the windows so she could watch the colors of
the District as the scenery flew around.
The District was large, but not as large as some of the more famous
Districts. The NOVA District was divided into various Sectors; each one
colorful in its own unique way. Lumi lived in the Central Sector which was
known for its involvement as miHoYo’s Vtuber center. Lumi didn’t mind the
occasional fan that came around asking for an autograph.
The elevator soon reached the ground floor and as usual a line of fans
awaited outside the tower. Lumi took out a handful of premade signatures
from her purse and started throwing them into the crowd. As usual, the crowd
let her pass and she went on her way. Lumi walked along the paved sidewalk.
Her eyes followed the road until they wandered around taking in deep
breaths filled with scenery. To her left, the Western Sector was a menagerie of
lights and colors. It was a world filled with the future; a place with technology
unlike anything imaginable.
 Looking back at the road, Lumi stopped abruptly, almost bumping into a
girl, and she struggled to keep herself from falling over. The girl in front of her
turned around quickly and helped Lumi straighten herself up. Smiling, the
girl straightened her large round glasses, her bright yellow eyes reflecting
across the lenses.
“Oh my," she said. “I hope I didn’t surprise you too much.” The girl
beckoned to Lumi with her hand. “My name is Sumi. It's short for Sunny
Milkia. I’m on my way to the NOVA University. Care to join me?”
Lumi stood there for a second before snapping back into reality. “Sure!”
Lumi exclaimed while smiling. “My name is-”
“Oh don’t be silly,” Sumi interrupted. “I know who you are.” Sumi turned
around and started walking toward the NOVA University. “Come, don’t be late
now.”
Lumi was fascinated by the unique appearance of the girl. She was
roughly the same height as Lumi and they had roughly the same body shape.
Sumi’s hair was bright pink lined with yellow highlights along the tips of her
hair. Sumi wore a large pearl-white puffy bomber jacket that hanged loosely
on her shoulders. Under the jacket, Sumi wore a black turtleneck sweater that
matched her black yoga pants.
Following the side of Sumi, Lumi wondered about the university.
Questions raced around in her mind. How big was the campus? How are all
the teachers? Do they have seals there? Lumi looked around her purse and
pulled out the map of the university. Sumi slowed down and looked over her
shoulder before checking on Lumi. “What are you looking at?” Sumi inquired.
“It’s just a map of the university campus,” Lumi said. “Of course, it won’t
really help us find our way there but, it wouldn’t be an issue to know the
layout ahead of time.”
“How quaint. Well, I guess if it makes you happy,” Sumi yawned while
continuing down the path.  “Come on, we don't want to be late now.”
They walked along the path for about five minutes. The ornate walkway
was made of what looked to be pure petricite which was engraved with silver
lining to form beautiful designs along the trail. Lumi’s favorite was one of an
angel, the pattern’s near human yet heavenly appearance mesmerized her.
She skipped along some of the darker tiles, playing an imaginary game in her
head as she followed Sumi. Soon she slowed down as the walkway dissolved
into a darker carbonaro slate road. This indicated a potential for vehicles to
pass around.
 “Isn’t there supposed to be a bridge?” Lumi asked. “I thought there were
plans to make like a sky road for people over the car path.”
“Yes, there was a plan” Sumi claimed as she headed down the road with
Lumi following behind. “There was an outbreak of a virus of some sort,
construction was stalled. The road is also in its healing state, the cracks and
potholes are slowly closing up. Don’t stray too far off. ”
The road had become less interesting and there were no longer fancy
ornate designs on the ground. They soon wandered away from the edge of the
road where all the twisted yet elegant spline trees laid. They were one of the 5
remaining tree species in the NOVA District. They had dark black bark that
was almost metallic in appearance. The trees didn't have leaves but instead
ethereal blue orbs and crystals that emitted a haunting light. Their branches
appeared unnatural as if reality intended for them to grow into malformed
beings.
Lumi watched as the trees vanished into the distance. Their eerie glow
faded into the background as if they were lighting up foggy skies. Not seeing
where she was going, Lumi tripped and barely caught herself. She tried to get
up but struggled as her foot was stuck in a fissure in the middle of the street.
Bending down she grabbed her left foot with both her arms and tried to pull
herself free.
“What’s taking you so long?” Sumi complained. “I don’t want to be late,
my beloved is attending the academy.” She knelt down and took a look at the
healing fissure. She looked around and promptly started trying to pull Lumi’s
foot out.
“Ow ow!” Lumi whined. “What’s the rush? Is this boy so important that
you have to tear off my-” Lumi heard the cry of an engine, soon followed by
the sound of a horn. She turned her head to see a large semi-truck heading her
way. Lumi began to vigorously shake her foot in an attempt to free herself.
The truck roared down the road. The driver, upon noticing that Lumi was
stuck, attempted to hit the brakes. The truck was traveling too fast for the
vehicle to stop in time. Lumi and Sumi began to panic as neither could get
Lumi’s foot unstuck. The rush of adrenaline and fear overwhelmed Lumi and
she felt time slowed down. Lumi’s blue eyes widened as she took deep yet
staggered breaths. Sumi looked up as Lumi stopped struggling.
 “What are you doing?”
“Leave me.”

“We can get you free. We just need time”

“Just go. Leave me.”

“We should keep trying.” 

“There’s no more time.” 

“We will have enough time.”

“No, just go, go to your loved one.’

Sumi stopped for a second. Frustration was on her face yet tears were in
her eyes. She very slowly walked backwards away from Lumi. “I’m sorry,”
Sumi said, her voice cracking as she turned away. She frantically scurried
away as Lumi watched.
Lumi sat down. Her arms were wrapped around both her legs. Her head
was down and her mind was lost in fear, lost in her sorrow. Lumi thought
about those who supported her. She apologized to her parents and her
relatives for they were always by her side, encouraging her to keep pushing
forward. And as the final tears fell from her eyes, they accepted death.

The final sound of the truck's horn.

The screech of the brakes and tires.

The bloodcurdling wail that rippled through the streets.

The sound of the crash as the truck flipped on its side. 

The tumbling of metal and the cracking of the slate road.

The roaring of the flames.

The smoke obscured the carnage.

 Sumi staggered as she tried to get off the road. She caught her foot in a
crack and fell, catching herself with her arms. She was bitter and sad. She did
not want to leave Lumi behind. She wanted to be the heroine that saved
someone. She wanted to be the heroine that her beloved would never want to
leave.
She remembered where she was and moved away from the crack in the
road. She was afraid about the slate healing itself onto her. Sumi began to get
up but then a blood curdling scream broke out into the distance. The fear and
shock from the scream vibrated down Sumi’s body, locking her in place. This
scream wasn’t from Lumi.
Sumi fought the terror and looked back toward Lumi but was blinded by a
flash of fire. A dark haze from the explosion began to surface from the
wreckage. Her ears rang and her vision blurred as she made her way back to
the site. Pushing away debris and fanning away the smoke, Sumi treaded
around in hope Lumi was still alive.
After what seemed like hours of treading through what felt like a
battlefield, Sumi finally came upon Lumi. She was lying unconscious on top of
a bent sheet of metal, presumably from the truck itself. Lumi’s arms were
tightly wrapped around her bag. Both seemed to be miraculously undamaged,
Sumi couldn’t see a scratch let alone a speck of dust on Lumi. Wiping her face,
Sumi picked up Lumi and got ready to head out toward the university when
in the corner of her eye she caught sight of something. She turned around to
see a faint silhouette of what looked to be a girl hiding among the spline trees.
The faint ethereal glow from the plants reflected around the silhouette. Sumi
suspected the person may have had something to do with Lumi’s miraculous
survival.
Sumi blinked and the figure disappeared, as if it were never there. Sumi
wondered how Lumi managed to get free of the slate’s grip, let alone find
herself on top of a panel from the truck’s cargo hold.
Sumi weaved her way around the carnage, avoiding all the debris and
cracks in the road before collapsing on the ground wheezing. The smoke and
haze made her attempt to move Lumi hard. Her vision began to blur as her
glasses fogged up with soot.
 She managed to stagger her way off the road with Lumi before laying on
the ground exhausted. She heard footsteps coming from the direction of the
university but was too tired to look.
“I am here from the University,” said a voice from behind. Sumi pulled
herself up, coughing up blood in the process. She looked at what she assumed
to be her rescuer. The man was suited in an orange and white suit which Sumi
thought was some sort of firefighter armor. His hair was short and brown and
he wore a French beret.
“We had reports that there was an incident along the Umbral Road. It
seems that you and that girl seem to have been in an accident,” the man notes
while surveying the area. “My name is Cody by the way. I am one of the
teachers at the University.” He kneels down to take a look at Lumi.
“She is not injured,” Sumi claimed while trying to stand back up. “She was
caught in a fissure that began healing. A truck came by and burst into pieces
before it would hit her.”
Cody looked at the wreckage, noting the fumes and debris all over the
area. “You pulled her out?”
“Yes, I did.” Sumi said, entering a coughing fit.
 Lumi awoke with a gasp. She looked around and noticed she was in a
room unfamiliar to her. She sat up on the medical bed where she turned to see
her bag laying on the desk to her left. The room was large; curtains divided up
the medical bays into miniature rooms.
Reaching to grab her bag, she suddenly reeled back as she saw a blob roll
out from behind her possession. Looking closely she saw it was an adorable
grey seal and picked it up.
“Oh aren’t you the cutest thing I’ve seen since I’ve woken up in a hospital
bed,” Lumi said cheerfully. She squished the seal and shook it up and down.
The seal pointed at it’s name tag which hanged down from its red collar.
“Remi? That’s a lovely name.”
“Why, thank you,” the seal said. Lumi screamed, and accidentally
dropped the seal. Remi bounced off the ground and ended up back on the
table.  “Rude, haven’t you seen a talking seal before?”
Lumi quickly snatched her bag wrapping it in her arms. She looked at
Remi with a pout before relaxing. She grabbed Remi and unzipped her bag,
and put him inside. Her pink and gold school bag wrapped around Remi
tightly.  She then sat on the medical bed swinging her legs back and forth
while humming a tune in her head. Remi fell asleep in the school bag without
any attempt or effort to struggle.
Lumi reached in the front pouch of her bag and picked out her phone. The
phone was the size and shape of an id card. Its slim frame was made of a
special pandemonium crystals that were infused with special technology that
gave it the functionality of a prehistoric smartphone while giving it the ability
to perform tasks that never could have been comprehended by the old
generations.
She dropped the phone by accident and carelessly watched it fall to the
ground. She knew very well that even a sniper could shoot it and it wouldn’t
even have a slight scratch on it; not like a sniper would ever shoot her phone.
She retrieved the phone then searched around her contacts and dialed her
agent.
 “Hello, Lumi,” the agent said. “Did you make it to the university alright?”
“For the most part, I’d say so,” Lumi replied. “Can I ask for an addition to
my penthouse?” Lumi took a quick glance at her oriental bag. She unzipped it
slightly to give Remi a small breathing hole. He was already quietly sound
asleep.
“Yes of course. What is it that you need?”
“Can I get a small room added? An aquatic room of some sort,” Lumi
asked. “Not a pool but like an aquarium pond.” Her agent stayed quiet for a
minute before answering.
“Why do you need a large indoor aquarium?” the agent inquired. He was
used to Lumi asking for random and excessive things; he always tried to talk
her out of getting things that are trending on Insta-ham. He found the social
media platform a waste of time and was able to get Lumi to stop using it, at
least for 99% of the time.
“Well, I got a pet seal,” Lumi claimed in a cheery tone. “His name is Remi
and he can talk.” Lumi took a picture of Remi and sent it to her agent.
“Where did you get a seal?” the agent asked. “Actually, you could use a
pet to keep you busy in the penthouse. I’ll arrange for your Valhir Core to be
rendered with a new home for your pet seal.” The agent paused for a minute
to recalibrate the penthouse’s settings and quickly designed a miniature
enclosure for Remi to live in.
“Yes, now what are your plans on how you would be getting home this
afternoon?”
Lumi fell quiet for a few minutes. She remembered the pain, the struggle
she felt. She remembered the fear and sorrow that ate her very being. Her
negative emotions swarmed around her in a potent aura, as if her feelings
came to life as a vicious demon. The memories of her earlier near-death
experience floated around her mind in a chaotic fury. Lumi sat there blankly
staring.
 “Lumi… Lumi are you there?” her agent called out. “Lumi, it's ok. Calm
down. Breathe.”
In a moment Lumi snapped back into reality with a large gasp. Tears
began to flow down her eyes but Lumi was no longer sad, she was no longer in
pain.
“Did you see them? Did you watch them? Mercedes? Did you feel?” Lumi
cried out softly. Her agent, Mercedes, was assigned to Lumi on the account
that he had magic that let him peer into the strong emotions of people and
help aid them. Lumi was always optimistic and caring but some days she just
needed someone to be there to give her relief. From what she knew, Mercedes
had been with her since the day she was born.
“It’s ok. I saw them. You’ve experienced a lot today,” Mercedes stated. “I
promise you that I’ll arrange a few adjustments to make sure you don’t have
to relive that again.”
Lumi wiped away her tears.
“You're crying again.”
“Only crystal tears,” Lumi claimed. She began to wipe the sparkling drops
away, but was told by her agent to stop.
“Listen to me Lumi,” Mercedes said gently. “Breathe. Breathe. Feel the
tears, feel them running down your face. Feel the air around your body
spiraling, comforting winds holding you together. And the aura, Lumi, feel the
aura. Feel its power, its magic pouring through your veins. Flowing through
you, travelling to every cell in your body like a gale. You're no longer in pain
now. You're full of so much more. You're full of so much love and hope. It's
yours. Never forget who you are.”
Lumi smiled, her heart was warm and she felt comforted. She felt her
tears melt away and saw as their sparkling reflections dissolved into a pure
yet faint glow of warm light. “Thank you,” she said.
“They were your father’s words. When you were 3 years old, those were
his last words to you before he left to fight in Runia,” Mercedes stated. “I’ll
come pick you up later today, just message me when you're ready to go
home.”
 “Gotcha!” Lumi said cheerfully, before slowing down into a more relieved
tone. “Thank you Merci.” Mercedes reassured Lumi one final time before
signing off from the call. Soon afterwards a man entered the room holding a
few items. He had short brown hair as well as a brown beard and moustache.
He wore a red civil war uniform adorned with gold treads and several medals.
“Hello. My name is Kenobi,” the man said. “I am the Chief of Executives
here at NOVA University. I didn’t want to intrude on your call.” He put the
possessions he held in his hand onto the table. There was a tablet, a token, and
a card. “These are all items that are important to a class of yours, you will get
more in the next few days. If you have a high tech device you may be able to
merge them. If you want I can do it quickly for you right now.”
Lumi nodded and gave him her phone. The phone scanned the items and
as if it were an act of magic, they digitized into holograms and were absorbed
into the phone.
“You were supposed to be at a presentation earlier but due to events that
occurred, we decided it was best if one of the staff manually came and
presented here,” Kenobi claimed. “You are in the Ark Guild. Your phone will
have a schedule already laid out with directions to your classes. That should
be everything “
“Thank you,” Lumi said. She checked the time. Five fifty-three in the
afternoon. “It is getting late, I should start waiting outside for my ride home.”
“Your welcome, I think you’ll fit in here really well,” Kenobi claimed. He
left the medical bay while waving goodbye.
Lumi texted Mercedes to come pick her up. It would be five minutes until
he would get there in his X-52 Cloud sports car. She grabbed her school bag
and put her phone away in the front pouch. Kenobi peeked his head through
the large mahogany doorway.
“Hey. Did you happen to see a small grey seal by any chance?”

-End EP 1-
 Episode 2: LACE
Auvujh 2, 3022

Lumi woke up five minutes before her alarm was scheduled to ring. She
laid in bed surrounded by all her warm pink sheets and began to doze off
when her alarm rang and startled Lumi. Caught inside a tangle of sheets she
flailed around before falling onto the floor. Unexpectedly, Lumi didn’t land
with a thud. Lumi laid there for a minute trying to remember what strange
dream she had last night but was unable.
She turned off the alarm and reached for the note that sat on her bedside
nightstand. The handwriting was Mercedes’ and the note written on a fine
digital setfrea material. Lumi looked over the note.
“I checked the Valhir Logs and you seem to be falling off your bed 30% of
the time. I added a cushion on the floor next to your bed. Also don’t forget to
feed the seal.”
Lumi unraveled the mess of sheets she was in before throwing them into
the laundry station. She poked at the velvet cushion with her foot and
deemed it worthy enough to stop her falls. Remi waddled in through the
aquarium door and yawned. He looked around slightly confused but shrugged
it off and hopped onto the leftmost chair at the dinner table.
“Hey girl, what’s for breakfast,” he asked in a tired manner. Remi seemed
to get fatter as he slouched into a big ball of seal.
Lumi looked at him and went to the refrigerator. “Well, my name is Lumi.
And since you're living with me now, you might as well learn to be a cute and
polite little seal.” She combed around the shelves and saw a can with a note
and it. The can was a bit weighty and had a weird non-metallic feel. Lumi took
the note from Mercedes off the can and read it to herself.
“These are fish-cans. And yes before you call me and say wouldn’t it be a
fish-in-a-can, the can is literally a fish. If you put it on a cutting board or
frying pan or something like that it will turn into a fish. You can also just have
the seal touch the can and it turns into a fish. The type of fish should be
labeled on the bottom but it's a fun surprise to guess which fish it will
become.”
 Lumi rolled her eyes and threw the can over her shoulder. It hit Remi on
the head and bounced onto the table. After a second the can warped into a
large salmon. Remi poked the fish suspiciously and smelled it before fitting
the whole thing into his mouth. He then rolled off the chair and pulled himself
back into the aquarium.
Lumi took out a bowl of ramen out from the refrigerator. Just with one
touch on the side of the bowl, the noodles warmed up instantly to the perfect
eating temperature. She ate her meal quickly and then began to get ready for
school.
She went into her 3-story closet and began looking around the rows of
clothing for something spectacular. Something cute? Something perky? How
about something elegant? She looked around shifting her fingers through the
hanged clothing until she landed upon a cute silk dress. It was a soft pink and
it had laced frills. There were also special laced ribbons that came set with the
outfit. Lumi changed out of her night clothes quickly and put on the new
outfit.
Lumi began to leave the closet. She slipped backwards on her night shirt
and fell backwards. As she fell she felt a weird sensation as she seemingly
phased through the floor and flipped back onto her feet. “What the actual f-”
Lumi’s words were cut short as a setfrea letter came out of nowhere hitting
her in the face. Startled, Lumi fell back again and phased through the floor
and phased back into a standing position.
“Language! Also, I made a few changes to the Valhir Core. If someone were
to fall in your penthouse now, the core would rotate them 270 degrees back
into a standing position. It will take a while to get used to, as you are
practically phasing through solid matter. Just hope the power doesn’t go out
while you're in the floor. Just kidding on that one, the power never goes out.”
Lumi made a pout expression with her face before throwing the letter on
the ground. She turned to one of the various selves and pulled out a hair clip
from a small drawer. Putting the hair clip in her bangs, she closed the
container and turned to leave the closest, before slipping on the letter.
 After she was finished “unfalling” she headed to the living room to grab
her school bag. She went into the aquarium to grab Remi. The aquarium
consisted of 2 large pools surrounded by artificial rocks, slides and bridges.
There was an assortment of plants both in and outside the water. Remi laid on
top of the waterfall cliff. Lumi went to pick up Remi and was surprised to see
that despite the fact that Remi was in the water stream on the cliff, he was not
a single bit wet.
“Hey girl,” Remi said. “Where are we going?”
“My name is Lumi.”

“Ok Yumi,” Remi said confidently.

“No, I’m not a Yumi. I’m a Lumi, with an L!”

“Yumi with an L,” Remi said with a smug expression.

“Luh, Luh, Luh, Lumi”

“Yuh, Yuh, Yuh, Yumi,” Remi said before Lumi threw him off the cliff.
Lumi watched as Remi bounced around the entire room as if he was the ball in
a pinball machine. He bounced around and ricocheted off the walls and rocks.
He hit the main pool’s platform, struck the ceiling, bounced into the side pool
bridge, reflected off the north rock, hit the short pillar and then bopped the
east wall before landing into Lumi’s school bag sound asleep.
Lumi then set out to the University, this time she would travel along the
new tunnels that Mercedes had built. They ran underground like subway
tracks but instead of containing a railway it contained spots for open street
vendors and other attractions. In maybe 4 days would they become a popular
attraction akin to Specter Street.
Lumi grabbed a stack of signatures and headed into the elevator. Looking
outside the elevator window she could see the new tunnel entrances standing
outside the miHoYo tower.
 The elevator was its normal shade of purple with a few new red accents in
order to celebrate the opening of miHoYo’s new exclusive Genshin District.
Lumi looked around and saw a girl waiting on one of the chairs. Lumi
recognized the girl and began to wave her hands.
“Hey! Xiangling! Is that you? I haven’t seen you in a long time,” Lumi
shouted excitedly. “How have you been doing lately? How was the Impact
Program? Are you moving into the tower? Is your favorite color still purple?”
Xiangling patted the chair next to her. Lumi came over and took a seat
and rested her school bag on her own lap. “Lumi, what happened to you?”
Xiangling chuckled. “You would never bother to ask questions in high school.”
Xiangling looked over her shoulder before continuing. “I’ve been doing well
lately. I passed on the top of the class in the Impact Program. I’m not able to
move into this tower since I am the public face of the Genshin District now.
And my favorite color never was purple. I never told you mine.”
While Xiangling was talking Remi unzipped the school bag from the inside
and peeked his head out. Xiangling noticed and finished before shifting her
complete attention to Remi. “You sure have changed haven’t you,” Xiangling
claimed while booping Remi’s snout. “You used to be so scared of animals.”
“I’ve grown up,” Lumi said blushing. “I've changed because of the NOVA
Program. I have a feeling about a strange dream I had last night but I can’t
remember it no matter how hard I try.” The elevator reached the 3rd floor and
came to a stop. Xiangling gathered her belongings and stood up. She began to
leave before turning around and heading back to Lumi. Xiangling pulled out
her phone and synced it to Lumi’s device.
“Keep in touch with me, got it Luna?” Xiangling said in a gentle voice.
Before Lumi could reply Xiangling put a finger on Lumi’s lips. “I’ll talk to you
later. Have a wonderful time at school today. Try to remember your dream for
me!” Xiangling walked out the elevator with her gear in hand. Before the
doors closed she looked back at Lumi and winked, blowing her a kiss.
Remi turned around in Lumi’s school bag in order to face Lumi. “Well,
your friend is cute,” Remi said. “If I was a human I wouldn’t mind taking her
out on a date.” Lumi took Remi out the school bag and held him out the
elevator window. He squirmed around before being put back into the school
bag.
 Lumi got out of the elevator and as usual threw her signature sheets into
the crowds. Lumi couldn’t help but notice a shady man from the corner of her
eye. Lumi ignored it for the most part and headed off toward the new tunnels.
The walls were lined with a nice peril and gold tiling. Lumi noticed that a few
rooms were being set up to accommodate shops that were soon to be
operating.
As Lumi went down the tunnel, she began to see less shops being set up.
Eventually it came to be only empty spaces illuminated by the Litwick
Lanterns. Eventually Lumi noticed a figure following behind her. Lumi
recognized the figure from earlier and began to pick up her pace.
The person began to speed up as well causing Lumi to break into a sprint.
She began calling out for help while running out toward the exit. The fading in
and out of darkness made it hard for Lumi to identify how far away she was
from the threat.
Lumi heard a magical gunshot whistle past her. She tripped and rolled
around the ground. Picking herself up she saw a man about the same age as
her standing above her assailant. The man wore silver armor on a red coat. His
hair was a grey silver color.
The police arrived quickly and congratulated the man on his takedown.
Lumi sat against a wall under a lantern and waited patiently. The man walked
up and put out his hand. Lumi grabbed it and he pulled her up.
“Hello, my name is Alex Falkor. You are Lumi Yanyue correct?” he said. “I
was investigating the target. He has been harassing members of miHoYo’s
Programs. Thanks to you, we were able to catch him.”
“I was just on my way to the University,” Lumi claimed. “I noticed the guy
outside the Idol Tower.” Lumi straightened her backpack and patted the dust
off her dress.
“Actually, I also attend the University,” Alex stated. “Let’s get going. I can
walk you over. What class set are you in? I’m in the Ark set.”
“I haven’t actually checked yet,” Lumi said quietly. She pulled out her
phone and pulled up her ID card. She showed Alex the symbol on her ID card.
Alex took a brief look at it and claimed that they had the same class schedules.
Lumi saw slight excitement in Alex’s tone and face. He tried to keep a cool and
professional composure.
 Alex took Lumi to a different exit of the tunnel. The University had its
own entrance and exit to the tunnels reserved for students and staff. Lumi
tried to explain that her private agent designed all the tunnels for her as a
means of safe traveling.
Upon exiting, a man on a nearby bench waved his hand toward Alex. Alex
looked over and signaled back. “Here Lumi. Let me introduce you to a friend
of mine,” Alex said guiding Lumi over to the bench. “This is Bjorn. He is an old
friend of mine from high school. He shares our classes so I thought I would
introduce you.”
Bjorn shook Lumi’s hand. “How are you doing? If you want, you can call
me Born to make it easier to pronounce. I have seen some of your MeTube
videos. You have a Ytineje accent correct?”
Lumi nodded. “It is nice to meet you. I am looking forward to studying
with you in the future.” Lumi looked around and saw Sumi heading toward
the group. Lumi waved while Born rolled his eyes. Alex turned around and his
face changed quickly to a surprised expression.
“Beloved,” Sumi said with her arms out ready to hug Alex. “You didn’t
invite me to the party? You should have known better.” Sumi threw herself at
Alex trying to wrap her arms around him. Alex quickly turned out of the way
and Sumi rolled forward and shifted into a standing position.
“Sumi adjusted her glasses before looking at Lumi and Born. “I see you
made it.” Sumi gently went through Lumi’s hair and readjusted her lace
ribbons. “Cute outfit. I would love to exchange our designers’ numbers.”
“What class set are you in my beloved? I’m in Blitx Set,” Sumi claimed
while taking a step toward Alex.
“Sorry to disappoint you but I am in the Ark Set,” Alex stated.
Sumi frowned and began to walk to class. “I see. Anyway it is about time I
get going to class. Have fun with your party.”
“What was that all about?” Lumi asked. She recognized Sumi but was still
uneasy in her presence. Alex put a comforting hand onto Lumi’s shoulder.
“Sunny is a girl I have known since kindergarten,” Alex claimed. “She has
grown quite fond of me however I do not share that same affection toward
her.”
 “It's honestly the funniest thing to watch,” Born said. “Junior year, Sumi
tried to break into Alex’s room during the Spirit Festival. She also tried to slip
love blossoms into his drink but got it into…” Born stopped abruptly.
“Are you alright?” Lumi asked with a soothing tone.
“Yea…” Born ran his fingers through his red and green hair. “That year
was... impactful. Anyway, let’s start heading to the university.”
The university was large. From what Lumi could tell, it might be as
spacious as the Idol Tower. The building style was modern and looked like it
was made with primogem tiles mixed with spline wood. The light blue and
silver grey building stood out next to the Emiya forest. The eerie purple wood
and black speckled gold leaves contrasted greatly with the university.
Cody stood at the gate. He stood tall with a baguette in hand. Upon seeing
the group, he called for them to get their IDs out. Cody took the baguette and
waved it over their identification cards. When nothing happened he let them
enter.
“Was he just holding a-” Born said before being interrupted.
“Just put the IDs away and forget you saw anything,” Alex said. “Just
forget Born. Just forget about the baguette.”
Lumi wondered about the university. She saw the large buildings and the
large courtyard. She noticed how much of the campus had a balcony overhang
that allowed for travel between the building’s different floors. The bright
modern yet almost Victorian style of the architecture was unlike anything
Lumi had seen before.
Lumi wondered what Cody was doing with the bread. She wondered what
would have happened if something were to happen. Maybe Cody would bonk
them with the bread. Maybe the bread was a ruse to intimidate fake students.
No, that couldn’t be it. Bread isn’t that scary. Is it? Lumi didn’t like bread. The
only time Lumi liked bread was when she had that paimon sandwich.
Lumi saw the bustling of students round the campus as they raced to their
class. Born gave Lumi an end of his forest green scarf so she wouldn't get lost.
Lumi wondered how they knew the campus grounds fairly well already. She
assumed that the opening day might have let the students check the classes
ahead of time.
 Lumi walked blindly in her thoughts while following Born and Alex.
Suddenly she snapped back into reality as a student with yellow curly hair
bumped into Lumi causing her to trip. The student muttered to himself before
heading off to the Blitx Building. Lumi was soon lost in the sea of students.
Lumi looked around frantically as the hoard of undergraduates rampaged
around her. Lumi heard the call of an instrument before a beam of magic
bounced around the crowd freezing everyone into a rigid dance. Lumi turned
to the source of the sound and saw Born heading toward her, a french horn in
his hand.
Born tied the scarf around Lumi’s waist. “Come, we don't want to get
stuck in traffic again. You have about 20 seconds before everyone starts
moving again.“
Lumi was dragged along by Born. His scarf is sure long, she thought.
Feeling it, she noticed how it wasn’t like cotton or silk but more of a soft yet
scaly texture. The fibers created intriguing patterns that were stretchable.
Born wore a coat that had a zipper instead of buttons. He also wore black
jeans. Born’s hair was flat with red spikes on the sides of his head. Born’s face
was nonchalant yet almost emotionless and his eyes were blank as if he hid a
sad, mysterious past.
Lumi wondered what secrets the guy hid. Maybe something happened
during the Spirit Festival. She thought that Born and Alex would be great
friends during the school year. Day 1 and it seemed like she wouldn’t be as
much of a lonely quiet girl like during her high school years.

Social Studies was taught by Kenobi. He went about the overview of

topics that this year’s classes would hold. Some interesting events to Lumi
were the Spirit War, the Bringer War, and the Forgotten. She already had
memories as a child regarding the Bringer War. She remembered the day a
bannerman brought home the Medal of Remembrance.
Lumi was interested to see how Kenobi would teach the war. Based on his
red and gold coat, he was a veteran from the event. The 7 medals that adorned
the left side of his coat reflected upon Kenobi’s influence during the war.
Lumi recognized a Medal of Remembrance between the 4th and 6th medals.
He too had lost someone during the war.
 Cody taught math class. Born seemed to enjoy the logical formulas of
math. Alex and Lumi hated the immediate pull into lesson one. Lumi expected
to have a free day while Alex found math the most difficult topic.
Out of boredom, Alex tried to pass a note to Born. Cody swiftly shot the
note into dust with his laser gun without turning away from the holoscreen.
Lumi kept her laugher hidden as she watched Alex look around confused. She
couldn’t contain herself and ended up falling out of her seat. The whole class
in response began to join her laughter as they saw Alex who was still in a
mental state of mass confusion. Born on the other hand, rolled his eyes and
continued to write down the critical formulas that the others were ignoring.
Lunch period was a lot longer than Lumi anticipated. The group had two
whole hours to eat, play, or study. The “cafeteria” was about the size of a
mini-mall. There were 2 stories of restaurants that the students could access
at anytime. Out of excitement, Lumi began to run off by herself when Born’s
scarf wrapped around her waist and reeled her in.
Alex laughed as the group began to more calmly explore the gallery. Alex
opted to eat at the NOVA Cafe and headed off to get food. The group agreed to
meet at the Ark Dining Hall in 6 minutes. Born followed Lumi around.
“You can go and get your own food,” Lumi said, making a pouty face. “It’s
not like I’ll get lost… again.”
Born shrugged. “I’m not too particularly interested in any of the options. I
thought I might as well follow you around. Maybe you’ll find a nice
restaurant. And maybe you’ll get lost again.” He combed his hair and adjusted
his scarf before continuing with Lumi.
Lumi stumbled upon a restaurant with a familiar feel to it. She smiled as
she pointed to the sign. “Born look! You see the Panda on the restaurant
sign?”
Born gazed up. “Guoba the Panda. This is Wanmin Restaurant.” Lumi
stared at Born. “How do you know Wanmin Restaurant?” she asked.
“I’m a big fan of Xiangling,” Born claimed. “I like to cook quite a bit and
Xiangling’s unique style is a great inspiration.”
“Why thank you!” Xiangling exclaimed, as she popped up from behind the
counter. “Surprise! I thought I heard your voice Lumi.” Lumi was startled for
a second but smiled at the surprise.
 “What are you doing here Xiangling?” Lumi asked. She reached over the
counter and gave her friend a hug. “I thought you were setting things up at
Genshin District.”
“Well you know me,” Xiangling claimed. “If I’m opening up a restaurant,
I’ll always be there on the first day to show off my cooking. Now, what can I
get you and your friend?”
Alex waited patiently at the table poking at his food. He looked around
and was surprised to see Born come back holding 2 large plates of boar meat
seasoned with spices and adorned with many toppings.
Lumi peeked from behind Born. “What did you get Alex?”
Alex laughed and pointed toward his dish. “A large bowl of authentic
Samaneje Ramen.”
Lumi took her plate from Born and offered to give some to Alex. She
claimed the size of the dish was way too much for her. Alex accepted the offer
and ate the boar with his ramen. Born strategically tore down the boar meat
as he ate. Lumi assumed he was analyzing Xiangling’s cooking so he could
become a better chef.
Lumi loved Xiangling’s cooking. The meal reminded her of high school.
She and Xiangling would love to spend their afternoons cooking together.
The group finished their meals and headed toward the Ark Campus.
Looking back at the dining area, Lumi could make out Sumi looking at them
from the Blitx Dining area. She was too far away for Lumi to make out her
facial expression.

Language class was taught by Bear. Lumi found the teacher’s name funny.
If anything Bear was not a suitable name for the teacher. Bear was slender and
rather friendly looking. He wore a red coat similar to Kenobi’s. Unlike
Kenobi’s however, the golden buttons and accents were black with a light
underlayer of golden thread.
Bear wore his coat unbuttoned with a white collared shirt underneath.
His hair was a light ginger brown color. It covered his left eye and had a bit of
a silky appearance. Bear showed his fluency in several languages which
surprised everyone.
 Language class was not a writing grammar class like everyone assumed it
was. In this class people would learn languages such as Spirit, Ytineje, and
Envlijt. Lumi was already very fluent in Ytineje and knew a bit of Envlijt but
was not good at it.
The group had fourth period with Bear again. This time they had magic
class. In this period they would learn how to master their magic powers as
well as learn different fey enchantment and alchemy.
For the first “assignment,” Bear allowed the students to take whatever
ingredients that they wanted and allowed them to be mixed into the alchemy
labs. Alex’s mixture caused a blue portal to appear on the table in which Sumi
fell out of.
“Eh? Where am I?” Sumi rubbed her eyes and readjusted her glasses before
looking down. “Awww. Did my beloved summon me? How cute.”
“Well, while you’re here,” Alex stated. “Would you like to get off my face?”
Sumi stood up and pulled Alex back onto his feet before hugging him. She
suddenly let go and fell onto the floor.
Lumi looked at Born with a shocked expression. Born shrugged and
dropped the now broken beaker onto the floor.
Bear shouted across the alchemy lab. “HEY! Hide the body.”
Lumi returned to her mixture while Born and Alex tried to make a portal
to send Sumi to the medical bay. Lumi added nightshade flowers and
primogem shards to the vial. She then went into the storage room to get
supplies.
Alex and Born opened up a red portal. Alex stuck his head through while
Born grabbed the unconscious Sumi. As Born turned toward the portal. Alex
took his head out and shut the portal immediately.
“Wrong portal?” Born asked.
“Wrong portal.” Alex claimed while putting out the flames on his head.
They opened up a third portal; this time the color was pink. Upon
confirming that it was the medical bay, Born dropped Sumi onto a medical
bed and rang the notice bell. A smol girl with white hair came quickly only to
see Born vanish through the portal. She saw Sumi lying unconscious and
began to heal her patient.
Unlike last time however, the nurse noticed that Sumi did not arrive with
her glasses on.
 Lumi came out of the storage room with a handful of ingredients. “Hey
Alex. Your hair is on fire.” Alex began to aggressively put out the flames.
“Dammit Born, I thought you said I put it all out,” Alex growled.
“I did,” Born retorted. “Not my fault it lit back on fire."

Fifth period was a class that the students were allowed to choose for
themselves. Today the students did not have the club since they had to enroll
for the club. Born opted to take music and headed to the band room to check
out the other members. Meanwhile, Alex and Lumi stayed behind and looked
through the catalog.
“Hey Alex! What club are you choosing?” Lumi asked cheerfully. She liked
the idea of school clubs. She thought of them as a way to meet new people
with the same talents and similar passions.
Alex looked at the club list and pointed at Bear’s Propulsion Club. “This
one sounds unique. I wonder what we do here.” He read the footnote and
laughed for a minute before Lumi pushed him aside so she could see.
"Here at the Propulsion Club, we mix magic and technology together in
order to create poorly designed inventions. You ever wanted to fly a guillotine
powered by electro-magic while sitting on the blade? You're an interesting
fellow but that’s the stuff we do here."
Lumi laughed loudly and accidentally tripped. Alex reached out and
caught her. “Well, you sure are a clumsy one aren’t you,” he claimed. “First
you fell out of your chair during Cody’s class and now you almost laughed
yourself to the ground.”
Lumi rolled her eyes. “Well I guess we can try the propulsion club since
Born is off doing Band. Bear is a pretty fun teacher so maybe his club will be a
nice place to hang out.”
Born came back sooner than expected and checked on the pair. “You guys
pick a club yet?”
“Looks like we are going with the Propulsion Club,” Alex stated. “Anyway I
signed with Lumi. Class is dismissed early today. Let's head home.”

The group of three took the tunnels back to the center of the district.
Born headed off toward the west sector after a while. Alex eventually waved
goodbye at the exit of the central sector as he headed toward the north gate.
Lumi walked the rest of the way to the Idol tower and sat in the elevator.
 She took Remi out and watched him stretch before they walked into
Lumi’s penthouse. Lumi told Remi about her day at school. He was
particularly proud of the alchemic spirit blossom that she made. Remi put it
into a glass vase on the dinner table. Lumi warmed up some popcorn and set
aside a few cans of fish before the two watched a few movies before falling
asleep.
Mercedes came in to check on the Valhir core. He saw Lumi asleep and
turned off the holoscreen. He carried Lumi and put her in bed before entering
the Valhir Core room and began to update a few settings. Eventually he
finished and set out to his penthouse in the tower. “Night Lumi. Sweet
dreams,” he whispered.
In the shadows, the light emitted near the spline trees outside of the Idol
Tower began to flicker. A faint aura formed around an area as the trees’ light
was drained. The resulting warp of light revealed a female figure in the
darkness. She held a dagger in her hands and laughed as she soon warped
back into invisibility.
-End EP 2-
 EP 3: Nobody
Auvujh 13, 3022

Lumi woke up with a sudden jolt. She looked over to her nightstand and
saw an old fashioned alarm clock resting there. It was cracked, broken, and
unusable. The shattered glass and the dented frame was a husk of what the
mechanism used to be. Lumi didn’t know where it came from, and frankly,
Lumi didn’t mind that it came out of nowhere.
Trying to keep The Cracked Clock as intact she possibly could, she moved
it over to a shelf in the living room. After changing, Lumi went into the
kitchen to find Remi already in the fridge. The seal pulled out 3 cans of fish
and hopped onto the dinner table. As Remi began to eat, Lumi went over to
the fridge before picking up a box sealed with a red and gold ribbon. Setting
the box down onto the dinner table, Lumi picked up the setfrea letter from
the countertop and began reading.

“Good morning child. I was out running errands when I found out that
Xiangling was opening a breakfast restaurant in Mondstadt. I personally went
over and got you an order of food made by Xiangling. She claimed that there
was a surprise inside. As long as it's not the Purple salad you guys made 2
years ago, go ahead and eat up.”

Lumi threw the letter away and opened the container. The inner contents
contained 3 smaller decorated boxes each sealed with a different colored
ribbon. Lumi took the one with the blue ribbon. Upon seeing what was inside,
she began eating the lovely noodle dish inside. It was a fried egg noodle
“salad” with eggs and minced spinach.
The container with the green ribbon contained a Paimon breakfast rice
dish. After eating her second plate of food, she took the third container. Lumi
inspected the purple ribbon and carefully opened it before Xiangling called.
“Morning sleepy, have you eaten yet?” Xiangling asked.
 “I finished the first 2 dishes just now,” Lumi claimed. “The ones with the
blue and green ribbons that bounded the containers.” Lumi looked at the
seemingly suspicious sushi rolls that laid on the final chilled platter.
“Oh you haven’t tried the surprise yet,” Xiangling laughed gently. “Well I
made your favorite sushi rolls. Go ahead and try them.”
Lumi carefully picked up a roll and force fed Remi. Remi chewed for a
moment before swallowing. “Tastes good,” he said while shrugging. Xiangling
edged Lumi to try the dish.
Lumi put one in her mouth and felt the soft and slick texture before
swallowing. “It’s so good. What type of fish did you use?”
“Slime condensate,” Xiangling stated. “The secret ingredient is slime
condensate.” Lumi abruptly threw her phone across the room and screamed
in a grossed out manner. Remi shoved another sushi roll in her mouth in
which she tried to remove. The phone seemingly came out of nowhere and hit
Lumi’s back causing her to swallow. Lumi didn’t like slimes. She hated the
ickiness of the creatures which always creeped her out.
Lumi could hear Xiangling’s laughter through the phone. “Don’t worry,”
Xiangling chuckled. “Mercedes threw up when he found out earlier at the
restaurant. Anyway have a nice day at school today.” Xiangling laughed for a
moment more before hanging up.

During history, Kenobi started the first of many lectures about the Spirit
War. Lumi was eager to find out if the Spirit War had anything to do with the
Spirit Festival. Born on the other hand, looked more annoyed than usual
during the lecture. Like Lumi, Alex was pretty focused on today’s lesson.
History seemed to be the only subject in which Alex was serious with.
“The Spirit War took place about 500 years ago,” started Kenobi. “The
Spirit Wars are a collection of major wars that take place every 500 years on
varying scales. The premise of the spirit wars usually contain 9 individuals
with sacred magic losing control and causing havoc on the world. That last
Spirit War was known as the War of Love as it was believed that the Goddess
of Love’s representative started the war.“
 “The war before that was called the War of Odium, for the same reason. In
history, we refer to the most recent Spirit War as ‘The Spirit War’ while we
refer to the others by which representative started the war. The Spirit War is
believed to have started with the death of a girl. Her name is unknown as of
right now. Historians believe the girl’s name was hidden from the public
throughout the girl’s entire life. She was murdered by the representative of
Love. Following that, the other representatives began to retaliate against all of
humanity.”
“You will need to learn the impact of each of the 9 during The Spirit War.
We will begin first with Love. Any questions?” Kenobi asked before looking
around. Seeing that there were none, he continued.
“Love was known to murder the daughter of a rich nobleman. In the
ensuing conflict that followed, the girl’s father rallied the citizens of a nearby
village and fought in the war. There was a boy who had fallen in love with the
girl. He was responsible for killing five of the nine representatives however he
never was able to exact revenge as Love disappeared shortly after the Battle
of Snow. Legend says that she was seen only once again, standing over the
boy’s body after Sloth drove a magical dagger into the boy’s chest. Both Sloth
and Love disappeared that day and after the remaining 2 were killed, the war
ended.”
“Sloth was known for his magic. He stayed positioned defenselessly in
open areas or sometimes in the buildings of residential areas. When soldiers
would approach him, he would wait patiently for them to enter a death zone
and in an instant, they would all fall victim to an array of lethal traps. No one
was known to have survived his arsenal.”
“During the Battle of Amber, the Town of Sol decided to use sunfire
arrows in hopes of defeating Sloth from a distance. They had hoped to burn
him alive or at the very least suffocate him. After nine whole minutes of volley
after volley, every archer was simultaneously cut into pieces by a hidden wire.
A trap that Sloth carefully weaved around during the conflict. Thankfully, for
some reason he disappeared with Love 4 years after the conflict started.
Everyone believed that if Sloth never disappeared, then the world would have
lost.”
 Kenobi stopped as a small white haired girl in a nurse outfit came through
the door. She wore her hair in a long braid. From her head protruded 2 fox
ears and a large fluffy fox tail from behind her. Kenobi put his hand on her
head and breathed as force magic built up around him and released into the
classroom.
The fox girl slowly moved down the rows of desks. Everyone stared at the
adorable girl as she roamed the room. Some tried to touch her tail or ears but
found their hands burned by some invisible barrier. Magically, their hands
quickly healed and the pain went away. She moved around until she reached
Lumi. The fox girl’s red eyes glowed while her expression was emotionless yet
almost sad.
Lumi tried to say hello but her words were cut short as the fox girl
grabbed Lumi’s hand and put it on top of her head. A majority of the class
watched in jealousy as Lumi was granted the supreme status that allowed her
to give the tiny nurse a head pat. And to everyone’s surprise, the fox’s giant
fluffy tail unfurled into nine large ones.
“Sister,” the fox whispered in a blank tone. “Come after school and find
me.” Lumi looked around. It seemed no one else could hear the fox’s words.
Lumi also noticed that the words seemed to come from the fox however she
never opened her mouth.
When the girl left, Kenobi dismissed the class. Many of the students
rushed out in an attempt to grab another glimpse of the girl but to their
dismay, she was nowhere to be found. The group travelled over to Cody’s
class. They were scheduled to have a “party” because they had an acceptable
class average on the math test. To everyone’s surprise, Alex did surprisingly
well on that one.

“Hey Born. You seemed agitated during history today,” Lumi stated.
“Anything wrong?”

Born sighed. “The Spirit War topic just reminds me of something that’s all.”

“Your sister,” Alex pointed out.

“She should be alive right now!” Born snapped.

Alex shook his head and stood up. “I’ll get us a round of drinks.” He then
headed off.

“What happened to your sister?” Lumi asked. “Did something happen during
the Spirit Festival?”

Born combed his fingers through his hair. “During high school, on the
year I was supposed to graduate, my sister entered as a freshman. Around the
time of the Spirit Festival, which was a few days after me and Alex graduated,
she fell ill. We couldn't find a cure for her sickness. It turns out one of our
ancestors from 500 years ago was one of the nine. He was the Representative
of Sadism. I joined an expedition to the First Lands. It was three years ago. We
found the tomb that sealed the Goddess of Sadism’s shrine. Along the rune’s
walls were symbols of the spirit language. Cou fill juwwek wok all eheknihc.”
“What does it mean?'' Lumi asked. She recognized “cou” which meant
“you.” Lumi was not the best student when it came to the Spirit Language
taught in Bear’s class.
“You will suffer for all eternity,” Born stated. “I believe Bear was on that
expedition… Or at least someone that looked like him was. We were unsure
what the words meant but after analyzing it along with other phrases that
were discovered, we found out that the Representatives of Sadism have a
curse on them that affects their bloodline if they were to fail. From what we
knew, we assumed that each member of the family would lose what they
cherished the most. And since my sister meant everything to me, she got
erased.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” Lumi said emphatically. “I lost my father during
the Bringer War. I know the pain you feel.”

“You know,” Born said calmly. “You kind of remind me of her.”

“Who? Your sister?” Lumi asked.

“Yea, you’re just like her,” Born said.

 Alex slammed a giant cask of beer on the table. Lumi and Born looked at
Alex with confused faces as Alex proceeded to pour a few cups for them. Cody
looked over his shoulder before turning back to his game of baguettes. After
winning, he grabbed a cup of beer from Alex and went back to join the next
round.
“Can’t you believe Kenobi sells beer in bulk,” Alex said. “Only ten dollars
per cask. And it’s not that bad. Anyway I ran into Sumi , dear god I could not
get her off me. Almost as if the Goddess of Lust blessed her. Anyway, she
didn’t have her glasses on for some reason. For a second I thought there was
another girl who was fawning over me”
Lumi was unsure if she had ever drank alcohol before. She took a cup and
drank a bit. Disregarding the bitter taste, she finished the rest before heading
over to join Cody.
“A game of baguettes usually lasts ten minutes. The goal is to throw the
baguette at the board. If the baguette lands into one of the slots in the board,
you are awarded 5 points,” Cody said. “If the baguette fails to land in a slot,
you have to eat half of the baguette and continue until you get it into a slot.”
“What happens if you eat the whole baguette?” Lumi asked. She held the
long piece of bread in her hands and looked it over.
“Every time you eat half the baguette, you will lose a point,” Cody
claimed. “Odds are you will score at least by the time the baguette is one-
sixteenth its original size. When you miss using the one-sixteenth sized bread,
you finish the rest of it, and grab a new piece. Then it becomes the opponent’s
turn. Each player plays with three baguettes and the game goes until someone
eats all three of them.”
Lumi took her baguette and walked up to the shooting zone. As she began
aiming her vision began to shake and blur. Lumi stubbled before latching onto
the nearest table. She grabbed a hold of the tabletop and tried to straighten
herself before collapsing on the floor.
 Lumi woke up to a familiar scene. She was back in the med bay however
unlike last time, to her left was a small girl with white hair. The fox girl was
dressed in a traditional white nurse outfit. She wore a white shirt with a small
white skirt. Both articles of clothing had purple highlights as well as a few
highlighted medical symbols. The fox’s adorable nurse hat covered her left
ear.

“What happened?” Lumi asked as she reached out to touch the fox’s tail.

“You passed out during Cody’s party,” the fox said as she moved her tails
away from Lumi. “I healed you and checked your records and charts. You’re
unable to process alcohol, a trait you got from your mother. In other words,
you can not drink alcohol.”
Lumi checked the time on her phone. It was twenty minutes after school.
“I guess I don’t have to come find you then,” Lumi stated. “Why did you want
me to come find you away?”
“Come play with me,” the fox said in a soft emotionless tone. Papers
around the room began to rise off the countertops and started glowing an
eerie purple. “Come play with me and I’ll write a story.”

The lights suddenly went off. And then soon after, the lightbulbs began to
burst one by one.

“Are you doing that?” Lumi asked, her voice quivering.

“That wasn’t me,” the fox said.

Lumi and the fox headed towards the doorway. Peeking their heads out,
they saw the lights flicker on and off. Sparks flew from the shattered bulbs
and the shadows in the hall began to dance around. Lumi thought that the
hallway looked like an “in real life” representation of her favorite map from
the game “Maimed by Midnight.”
 At the end of the hall, Lumi noticed that the light began to warp at certain
points. Upon squinting, Lumi could make out the outline of a person from the
distortions. Suddenly the distortions began to intensify before completely
disappearing with a flash of energy. A second distortion quickly opened up
behind Lumi.
Before she could react, a portal was opened and Lumi was shot into it by
the fox. Lumi fell on the floor in what looked like the hallway however it was
unlike what she had seen a few seconds ago. The lights were replaced with
lanterns of a spirit festival design; even the patterns on the walls and the
border structures were reminiscent of a spirit festival design. The support
pillars that held up the walls and the ceiling were carved out of spline wood
and engraved with wispy and petal patterns. The purple and blue colors with
the matte tannish brown wood gave a feeling of comfort.
Lumi reentered the medical bay to see that all the medical beds were
replaced with a hardwood table covered in purple cloth. Upon further
inspection, she saw that the cloth was made cleverly with silver strands
secretly woven into the threads.

The sound of fire rushed through the room.

Lumi looked around. She couldn’t see the flames. But she could hear them.
She couldn’t taste the smoke. But she knew there was a fire. She looked into
the hallway. There was nothing but the eerily lit lanterns. But even the
lanterns made no sound.
“What happened?” Lumi asked as she reached out to touch the fox’s tail.
Lumi wandered back into the medical room. She followed the sounds. She
heard the flames, and then a crash and then laughter. But it wasn’t the fox’s
laughter. Lumi quickly traced the sound to a curtain hanging on the wall.
Pulling back the curtain, she expected to see the flames outside the window.

But there was no window. Only a mirror.

 Lumi saw a reflection of the room. But the mirror didn’t show her a
reflection of the room she was in. She saw the original medical bay, and she
saw the flames that engulfed it. Lumi hoped the fox was ok. To her horror, she
saw the fox appear with her back toward the mirror. The fox’s clothes were
torn, and her hair was stained with blood.

A woman’s voice echoed through the mirror. “Where did you hide that
nobody?”

The bone-chilling laughter rang out once more as a dagger was thrown at
the fox. Lumi jumped back as the dagger missed its intended target and
struck the mirror. Though cracked, the mirror still showed Lumi what was
happening on the other side.
Lumi watched as a female figure began to emerge from the shadows. The
woman’s hair was white with purple highlights and was pinned into a small
bun. The woman’s pale pink eyes glowed in a chaotic way. Lumi gasped as the
woman disappeared within the blink of an eye before appearing in front of the
mirror, pulling her dagger loose. The fox turned and with a magic seal in her
hand, thrusted her arm toward the invader.
In response, the woman grabbed the fox’s hand and spun her around,
slamming her into the mirror. The mirror’s projection cut instantly as Lumi
heard a loud crash in the hallway. She raced out and saw the fox in a pillar,
which had cracked from the force. The fox’s wounds began to dissolve in a
purple glow as wisps of magic burned them away. The fox’s clothes also began
to burn away into a spirit festival dress.
Lumi came to help as the fox tried to stand up. The fox collapsed onto the
ground after taking a few steps. Lumi reached her hand out and offered to pull
up the fox. The fox declined and told Lumi to go home.
 Lumi made her way home as she admired this alternate reality. The colors
and the architecture looked so unique to Lumi. She could never imagine the
beauty of the world in a different lens. She almost walked past the Idol Tower.
Lumi laid down on the alternate form of her bed and fell asleep in the silk
embroidered sheets. In her sleep the world around her slowly warped back
into her home reality. The walls went from traditional elegant to modernly
sleek.
Remi sat on the bed as Lumi suddenly reappeared. After rubbing his eyes,
he rolled into his room and fell asleep. I probably ate too much for dinner he
thought.

-End Ep 3-
 EP α: Snow
Oyhozek 25, 3022

Lumi sat on the floor. She was currently at Cody’s home as she was invited
over for Christmas. Cody sat on the chair next to the fireplace as they waited
for Vivian to come back. Kenobi had suggested that Lumi spend the Christmas
holiday with Cody and Vivian as Mercedes was going to be out of town on a
business trip.

Cody spun a baguette around as they waited for Vivian to come back with a
tray of cookies. As he set the piece of bread aside, the fox came in with a tray
in her hands. Lumi took the tray and set it on the table before allowing the fox
to lay on her lap.

“Hey Cody.”

“What’s up Lumi?” he asked.

“What’s the story about Christmas?” Lumi asked.

“Why is it no longer in Xeyepzek?”

“Well,” Cody started. “That is a story that is better told by Kenobi.”

“But Kenobi isn’t here,” Lumi whined.

“Alright,” Cody sighed. “I’ll try to tell the story as best as I can.”

“Once upon a time, there was a prince. And that prince loved everyone. He
loved the people who were in the castle and he loved the people who were in
the city he ruled. Every Xeyepzek, when his birthday occurred, he would ride
around the city and give gifts to the people. This started the tradition of
Christmas in the City of Kornth.”
“Was the city big?” Lumi asked. “The city was small. It could barely be called a
city, but it was rich enough to be as prevalent as modern day Genshin District.
But anyway, back to the story. One day, the Kingdom of Amber decided to
invade the City of Kornth. And as the invaders made their way into the city,
they eventually came and overwhelmed the prince’s defenses.”

“What happened to the prince?” Lumi questioned. “I hope he made it out

unharmed.”

“He did not. The invaders captured the prince and set his execution to be on
Oyhozek 25. For his dying wish, he asked for all his wealth to be divided
among the members of his city. The general of the Amber Legion agreed, for
he believed that a ruler who cared for the being of his nation over the sake of
his own personal goals deserved justice in his final moments.”

“If the general thought the prince was such a great person why didn’t he spare
his life?” Lumi wondered.

“Because in the Kingdom of Amber, the emperor believed that the weak had
no place upon the mortal plain. The general could not spare his life unless he
were to take the prince’s place in the execution. On the day of the execution,
the prince was allowed to go from home to home in his great city and give
each person a final gift. And when he was finally executed, a girl from the
crowd, no bigger than Vivian, went and gave the prince a gift. A gift to thank
him for everything he had done for his people. And with that, every other
citizen one-by-one went and gave him one last present. And with the final
present, from a mysterious woman, the prince woke up from death.”

“What happened?” Lumi said with a surprised expression on her face.

“Well it turns out that the woman was the Goddess of Wastefulness,” Cody
started as Vivian began to fluff her tails.
“The Goddess believed that it was a waste to get rid of a life that was so
beloved by hundreds of people. She gave the prince a second chance at life in
order to spread joy to more people. With his new powers he turns toward the
executors, the invaders of his homeland. And without hesitation, he gave each
soldier the same gifts he gave to his city. He became the first Favonius of this
world.”

“Favonius?” Lumi echoed.

“A Favonius is someone who accepts a goddess’s power and is able to control

it and use it for good. The Favonius represents the opposite of what the
goddess is. They are tasked with completing missions on earth in order to
help the world become more perfect. The prince then decided to travel world
wide and deliver gifts to each person all during that night. Regardless if they
were good or bad, the prince believed his gift would be enough to restore the
goddess’s faith in humanity. And every year, on the day of his execution, he
runs around the world and gives every single person a gift.”

“When do we get our gifts?” Lumi pouted.

And with a sudden gust of wind, Lumi watched as a blur of light trailed across
the room as 3 presents were deposited on the table. Lumi took the present
which had her name on it and opened it.

“Thank you,” she said as she watched the blur leave the house.
 VIVIAN V. V.

The
Nine Flowers

If you wanted one wish

to come true, what
would it be?
 Flower One: Alyssum
Wezruary 11, 2522

I woke up early in the morning. The sun still had not risen from past the
horizon. I rubbed my eyes and turned to my nightstand. I picked up my Pear
OPhone 9 and began to break into a fit of coughs as I tried to open up the
Harmony messaging app. My maid came in promptly and checked my
temperature with a thermometer.
The fever I had gotten yesterday had not subsided. My father called for a
doctor so my maid left in order to travel to the city to bring the doctor here.
My mother died of a mysterious sickness 3 years after my birth and my father
tried his hardest to ensure I would never fall ill. He looked tired and unwell.
He was worried for my health and prayed to the apostles for good fortune.
I was to remain strictly in bed until I got well. My father forbade me to go
outside. Since birth, my lungs and throat were never the best. I am unable to
speak. I am unable to sing. And I am unable to show my feelings through the
words that I hear every day.
Around daybreak, the doctor showed up. He was a man that was cloaked
in a jedi styled outfit. I had never seen a jedi before. I thought they died off
years ago. He inspected me all over. From what I could tell he used a form of
magic to check my spirit as well.

There was no cure.

There was no fix for my ailment. The jedi could not tell what was wrong.
He knew not what was afflicting me. But when he saw my spirit, he saw the
monster hiding in my soul. He saw a curse that aimed to slowly dissolve my
being. He didn’t know how long I had left. He didn’t know any mage strong
enough to dispel my hex.
My father broke. He locked himself in his room. There would be no resolve
to my problem. There would be no peace for me. In desperation my father
eventually took to his own matters and travelled out to the city in hopes of
finding his own solution for my condition. He didn’t come back in time.
 My father gave orders to my maid. I was to never be allowed outside the
house. After a few hours I grew gravely depressed and longed to be able to see
the outside world that I never was truly able to experience in my life. My maid
saw into my eyes and felt the agony’s embrace.
Against my father’s wishes, she let me wander into the village. She gave
me a rune. At eight during the night, the rune would warp me back home. I
ran around the village. There were so many sights and so many treats to see.
The crops and animals were beautiful compared to their digital counterparts.
Even the forest and buildings were truly a gift to view.
I lost track of time. The sun began to set and eventually I stumbled upon a
boy. He was the son of the village’s major. We played together running around
the streams and the woods. Neither of us spoke that day. Upon finding out he
had a Harmony account, I gave him my ID before I was unwillingly warped
back home.
I waited anxiously for him to friend me. I held tightly in my hands a flower
he gave me. And when he did, he opened up the conversation.

“My name is Arobin. I had a great day today. How about we meet up again
tomorrow? What’s your name?”

I responded as quickly as I could possibly type.

“My name is Vixen.”

 VIVIAN V. V.

Demona's
Shell
 Demona’s Shell: Tome I
Year 1543

The war looks to be ending soon. The eastern nations have defeated 4 of The
apostles. The messenger brought record of their sins: Melancholy,
Determination, Vainglory, and Sloth.

We have news from the north that the Apostles of Hate and Obsession have
fallen. With our forces in the west on the brink of winning against the Apostle
of Love and with the apostle of Odium already slain, we are guaranteed to win
this war.

As soon as the last Apostle reveals themselves, humanity will be rid of their
plague once more.
Signed, Captain Inavari

Demona laughed as she finished the public notice. She didn’t believe in the
war. At least, she felt that it was unnecessary. A game of witch hunting.
Humanity, so scared of magic that they could not comprehend.

Demona was an average sized figure who was dressed in all black. Flower lace
designs decorated her clothing. Her dress was lengthened to cover her knees
while she wore cuffs around her arms and ankles.

Demona’s black short hair faded into golden highlights towards the ends. She
had very small horns on her head that were almost perfectly hidden under her
hair. She was half demon. Her mother of a demonic descent while her father
was a catan human.

The humans became hunting demons and half-born. They were scared of the
potential threat of an attack by the demons. Demona was just human enough
to not be harmed. She lived without fear most of her life.
At least until the war started. Demona was the age of 21, she was the mother
of a girl who was 4 years old. The father of their daughter was killed toward
the beginning of the war. Their daughter was three fourths demon. However
she appeared to show no signs of demonic physical traits.

Demona was on her way home. She had gone out to obtain rations for this
week. When she pulled up to the road she began to run as she saw the gate
open and the door ajar.

Seekers. They were tasked with finding demons or apostles. Demona feared
for her child’s life. She entered her home to see her daughter playing with a
doll while 3 seekers sat at the table. The leader of the group beckoned for
Demona to join them.

“Why are you in my home?” Demona asked bitterly.

“Routine inspection,” the leader claimed. “You daughter is around 4 years of

age correct? She is too young to be an apostle and she has no horns.”

Demona flicked out a knife in a blink of an eye and leveled the blade an inch
from the man’s neck. “If you did anything to my daughter, you will never be
able to have one of your own,” she said quickly in a very aggressive manner.

The leader signaled with his hands as his companions stood up. “I ensure you
no physical contact occurred and no harm or threat of harm came to. Now
since you have the fairest of white skin, you look like you are of catan
descent.”

“Correct.”

“And you have not any horns, so you must be clean,” the man stated. “Well in
that case. Sorry for the intrusion, we will be on our way.”
Demona led her guests out the door and began to close it before a blade
caught the door open. The leader pushed the door open and took a step back
inside.

“I just remembered,” he said. “When you held that knife to my neck, I saw a
glimpse of a mark from under your cuff.”

“It’s a scar from a childhood accident,” Demona claimed.

“I see. In that case you wouldn’t mind showing me?” the man inquired.

“I would rather not,” Demona stated. “It is a hideous scar.”

The leader lashed out at Demona. “We know that the deceased father of your
daughter was a demon. Unless you want us to take your daughter away you
will comply.”

Demona took her left cuff off and revealed a scar. The man signaled for
Demona to remove the other in which she hesitated before revealing a mark
on her wrist. The man signaled to his companions. One began to leave as the
other entered and approached her daughter.

“The Apostle of Fear,” he said. “You will be slain and I, Ravioli will be famous.”

Demona suddenly disappeared in the blink of an eye. Ravioli looked over to

his companion as he fell to the ground, a dagger pierced through the back of
his head. Demona picked up her daughter and warped away. Ravioli went
outside to find the other seeker dead on the road.

Turning back around, Ravioli went to search the house for clues. He never
made it back inside.
 VIVIAN V. V.

437/9 Days
437/9 Days is brought to you by Vivian, Infinity, Diamond
and Daisy. Below, is a list of stories written in collaboration
with these wonderful co-authors.

Daisy
437/9 Day -78: Winter
437/9 Day -75: Horizon

Infinity
437/9 Day -87: Jump
437/9 Day -61: Event

Diamond
437/9 Day -65: Prism
 WARNING
437/9 Days is a story containing characters that are fictional.
Some of these characters are a fictional representation of
members of the N0va Desktop Discord Server.

Even more, this story contains violence, gore, death, and

potential psychological horror. Reader discretion is advised.

If human dismemberment and other forms of trauma and

horror is uncomfortable then this series should be avoided.
Such trauma includes but is not limited to:
Limbs being torn off
Moving Corpses
Detailed description of damaged bodies
Mention of blood and organs
Psycological trauma and abuse of characters
etc.

Viewer Discretion is advised for this series is not for an

audience of ages 12 and under and still may not be
appropriate for an audience of ages 13-18.

Continue at your own risk.

 437/9 Day -100: Beginning
The girl woke up in a strange room. The architecture was unlike anything she
had seen before. The room had a cold aura. A blue and purple glow shined and
highlighted the details carved along the wooden walls. The flower and cloud
designs were etched along the entirety of the room. The entrance to the room
was held together by a gate arch.

The girl exited the room, her clothes were fancy, a set of traditional spirit
festival clothing. She didn’t remember putting the clothes on. She didn’t
remember if she actually owned a set of clothes like the one she currently
wore. Then again, she couldn’t remember how she got in that room or who
she was.

Her memory was blank. She couldn’t remember her own name. After what
seemed like an endless amount of time, the girl found a mirror hanging on the
wall. And for the first time since her new existence, she saw herself.

The girl had snow-white hair. There were purple strands in her hair that gave
it a speckled appearance. Under her right eye was a mark. A symbol that was
black with a white under glow. It looked as if it was floating above her cheek.
The symbol.

IX

The girl didn’t know what it meant. She didn’t know how she got the mark or
if she always had it. And even then she didn’t know if she was able to find her
memories. That is, if she ever had some.
 437/9 Day -93: Book of Memories
She wandered along the endless corridors. The architecture fluctuated
between traditional spirit festivals to a white modern and sleek blossom
design. She would count the number rooms between each swap and noticed
how every 283 rooms, there would always be a room that looked out of place.
Those rooms had doors that were locked. The keyholes were ever so strange.

The last room like this, had a keyhole in the shape of a snowflake. When the
girl tried to look through, a bitter cold wind shot out and nearly burned her
face. She didn’t know how much time had passed. She didn’t know that the
concept of time existed. She was a being of curiosity and unknowing.

After 29,261,026 rooms she finally came upon a door. The door was purple and
black. The markings created an elegant flower design unlike anything she has
seen before. The keyhole was unique, the shape was of 2 slots. Both were in
the shape of fangs. The fangs hovered over a flower.

Upon reaching toward the keyholes, the flower began to glow. First a vivid
purple but that quickly faded into a crimson red. As if the door came to life,
the flowers began to materialize and fell to the floor, but they weren’t real.

The metallic hum of the crimson black flowers rang through the endless halls
as they floated toward the ground. The girl reached out to touch one but
reeled back as the razor thin edge ripped through her fingers.

And then the blood began to pour. From the crevices in the design of the door
seeped blood. And the blood flowed like a tsunami. The waves of blood pushed
the flowers along, and the petals tore through the girl.

As the torrent ended, the girl stood there with blood running down her face.
Her wounds shed no blood however her tears leaked the crimson liquid.
The girl’s body was torn. A blade had sliced open the left side of her neck.
Another petal had taken out a large portion of her side, exposing her organs
and bones. Her left arm was missing everything below the elbow.

But the girl felt nothing.

There was no pain. There was no sadness. There was no feeling of hurt or
terror. It was almost as if she didn’t realize she was broken.

She watched with the one good eye she had left as the door finally unfolded
and the entrance was revealed. There was a trickle of joy among her bloodied
tears. But even then her nearly severed legs make it hard for her to enter.

When she finally made it inside, she was struck with a major headache. As her
heartbeat and breathing began to spike, she started having glimpses of
memories. She didn’t know if they were her memories.

First flicker, and she saw 5 children.

Second flicker, they were all girls.
Third flicker, she was with them.
Forth flicker, the children were gone.
Fifth flicker, she was in tears.

The girl gasped as she was brought back into reality. She covered her eyes as
she cried and reared back to see all her injuries were gone. However at the
same time, she saw in the mirror that was on the nearby nightstand.

The girl was no longer a girl. The 5 memories came back to her over and over
again. And each time the girl who she was in her memories warped into the
woman that she saw in the mirror.

The woman’s hair reached down to her waist. The color was snow-white and
lined with purple strands that created a speckled pattern. She looked like she
was about 25 years of age.
 She opened the drawer and found a book. It was laced with a metallic petal
design that resembled the door of her room. She opened it and saw photos
inside the sleeves of the book. Photos that were taken of her memories.

And then she got hit again. A flashback of one of the children giving her the
photo album. Her memory, so vivid yet foggy. The open country meadow in
the glimpse breathed it’s warm autumn breeze. But then she was sent back
into cold reality. And an image of the memory began to form in one of the
blacked out photos.

She would remember. Eventually.

 437/9 Day -89: Jeweled Crown
A girl woke up in a castle. The rooms were elegant and made of white stone
that had a smooth pearl like texture. She stretched and got up from the throne
that she awoke on. She didn’t remember this place. She didn't understand
why she was here. But she didn’t mind it.

She thought she was someone important. Someone of royalty. Someone fit to
rule. This girl knew that she had power. But she didn’t know what power she
had. She was afraid this was a dream. But she was sure it wasn’t a dream.

The girl wandered down the halls. She wondered what treasures of hers laid in
the castle. She wondered where the subject and servants were. She wondered
why her maids were not here to bow down and assist their queen. She
strutted down the ivory halls until she noticed a sudden shift in the
architectural design.

The hall suddenly warped from elegant, white and Victorian into a blue,
ornate and spirit style of architecture. The girl didn't take too much liking of
this. She wondered what idiot messed up her perfect palace. She went down
the off-colored hallway and readied her mind to shoot down what fool stood
in her way.

The walls became more and more aligned with the eerie designs that the girl
hated. The rage fueled inside her as she couldn’t find a single person. The girl’s
pure black hair began to mix with red and purple streaks. After an endless
amount of time she came upon a room with a jeweled door. The girl knew
there was treasure behind the door. And she wanted it, and she wanted more.
The keyhole was in the shape of a star. The girl knew it represented an
empress gem. And she wanted what was behind the door even more. As she
approached the door, she saw in the reflection of the metal, a girl with white
and purple hair standing there with a book in her arms.
The black haired girl turned aggressively toward the white hair girl. Her black
hair began to glow and change into a mix of red and purple. She headed
toward the white haired girl ready to strike. She wanted her reward and
would let no one get in her way. The white hair girl pointed to the symbol that
was under her eye and in a second, she was gone.

IX: My name is Genevieve. My number is 9. I am like you. Lost and broken. But
you’re not alone. I am here.

Genevieve pointed to the symbol that was found on the black haired girl’s
neck.

IX: You number is 5. The symbol is on your neck. That means, that door is
yours. Anything inside is meant for you.

The black haired girl began to subside. She looked at Genevieve. She struggled
for a moment as she tried to speak for the first time.

V: How… How.. do I know... you aren’t trying to trick me?

Genevieve shook her head. She dropped her book to the ground, it
dematerialized before hitting the cold floor. A mark on the floor appeared
under her as she ran at the door. In almost an instant, Genevieve was impaled
by a gem knight sculpture that lined the door. As her body began to dissolve
into a pool of blood, the crimson liquid rushed back onto the mark as she
reformed.

IX: My sigil is the Vampire. I can only interact with items of the same sigil.
Anything else will attempt to kill me. You are V. Your sigil is the Empress. Go
and get your sacred treasure.
The black haired girl smiled. Her treasure. She liked those words. She walked
toward the door. The gem knights began to move. They readied their
weapons. The large diamond soldiers raised their swords and posed to strike.

V: Stand down. Your Empress stands before you.

The soldiers began to attack as the girl approached. Annoyed, her hair flared
into its red and purple color as she raised her hand. The soldiers struck her
body. One sword tore off her arm. Another, tore through her body and cut her
entire being in half. The final blade struck her head and removed the left
portion above her symbol.

Genevieve watched as the girl was impaled violently but then she saw time
reverse. As if the soldiers went back in time, they began to return to their
rested positions in reverse order of their actions. The wounds on the girl
began to heal as she pulled her dismembered body toward the gate. The seal
of diamonds dissolved into a carbon and then reformed after the girl entered
the room.

Genevieve waited an endless amount of time waiting for the girl to emerge
from her room. Eventually she got tired of waiting and left. She hoped one day
she would see V again, regardless of the form she would find that girl in.

It took an endless amount of time, but eventually they came across each
other. Genevieve no longer saw a little girl with black hair. She saw a woman
about 21 years of age. The woman’s hair was black with a single red strand.
Genevieve saw the symbol that was highlighted on the woman’s neck.

V: It has been a long time hasn’t it Gene?

IX: Time is irrelevant here. You should know that.

V: Lighten up.

IX: Did you find your treasure? What about your name?
V: My name… My name is Avenir. And as for my treasure.

Avenir pointed to her head as a jeweled crown materialized on top of her

head. The silver crown was lined with fancy shards of diamonds. The leaf and
flower designs rippled around the circumference.

Genevieve opened her book and looked at the photos. The child with black
hair began to fade away and was soon replaced with Avenir. Only 4 more to
go, Genevieve thought.
 437/9 Day -87: Jump
The war had lasted longer than expected. 13 years longer then expected. The
Spirit War that had been going on tore nations apart. The apostle had been
winning. Alliances had been torn apart. Amongst the chaos, the Castle
Organization began to rally their forces for one last attempt to save the world.

The Castle Organization believed they found the key to saving this world.
Ouroboros Infinity. The tinkerer of Castle found a solution to the world’s
problems. The Cube. The sacred object was an invention designed to drain the
power from any magic user. Though the effects were temporary, it would be
enough to end this war.

The Castle forces marched through the city. If they could make it to NOVA
District, they might be able to begin the process. All guards were set to escort
Ouroboros. Their target was the Apostle of Mania. If Ouroboros succeeded,
they would win the war.

The front guard used their magic in order to clear a path forward. The rubble
in the streets were cleaved as the organization moved forward. The Castle
forces were able to move through the Cyberpop region successfully so far. At
least until they found the bodies of the scouts they had sent ahead.

The bodies were dismembered violently. Somewhere on every corpse was a

magical mark. A sign of Bridge. Bridge was a faction that broke from Castle.
They wanted to turn the Cube into a weapon. They wanted to use it to turn
stolen magic upon its users. Infinity didn’t agree to their claims. He fired all
the scientists who had that idea. But because of his unwillingness to comply,
they only lengthened the war.
The Bridge forces severely outnumbered Castle. Shots were fired by both
sides. Eventually Castle began to be pushed back. Infinity decided to take his
weapon and a few soldiers and push toward the NOVA District capital. They
made their escape near midnight. The squad walked for 5 hours before they
encountered enemy scouts. The squad was slowly picked apart one by one.
From 20 in numbers, they slowly dropped to 2.

Infinity hid with his escort in a small abandoned shop. The soldier was
injured. A wound to his leg and ribs. Infinity began to channel the magic of the
Cube. We started to mend the bones of the soldier. The soldier turned on the
radio and cruised through the channels.

001: Watch out! The tower is collapsing! Move. MOVE! Get out of-

002: We are- Every direction- Get out of here- We are- Retreat- Being
Attacked

003: Can anyone hear me? Please, we need reinforcements. Please send he-

Infinity clenched the cube harder. He desperately tried to mend his ally’s
wounds. Soon came the footsteps and voices of approaching Bridge forces.
Infinity's last remaining escort shunned the aid. And pulled out an arcane
grenade.

“No, just a little for time,” Infinity claimed. “I can heal you, I just need more
time.” “Never was enough time,” the soldier said as he fired a pulse at Infinity
which blew him out through the rear window.

Infinity ran with the Cube. He heard the grenade go off. The screams mixed
with the explosion rang through the air. The shockwave ran through the sky
and struck Infinity. He tumbled onto the ground and quickly scrambled back
onto his feet. He ran deeper into the NOVA District. Exiting an alley, he found
himself surrounded by tanked and soldiers. He took a step back to see a mage
aimed toward him.
Infinity absorbed the mage’s magic and used it to form a barrier around
himself. It would only hold for a minute longer. The cube shifted into a watch.
Whatever the costs. A burst of light filled the entire city as Infinity
disappeared.
 437/9 Day -78: Winter
A girl woke up in a room; She had never seen the place before. The walls
seemed to be made out of wood and there were portraits of some unknown
people on walls. The room had no windows and just one door. There was food
on the table. At first the girl thought that she was kidnapped. She didn't want
to eat the food in fear that it might have been poisoned. But she quickly threw
that idea out. Why bother kidnapping a person, just to kill them with poison.
The food was ok, but of course not her mothers famous Kare-Raisu.

At least, she thought her mother made that dish for her once. But she couldn’t
remember who her mother was. She noticed on her right hand there was a
mark that resembled the roman numeral for the number three. She didn’t
remember if she always had it. The girl wanted to call her parents but her
phone was missing and there was no other alternative in the room. She was
sure she had a phone, but even that she couldn’t remember. Checking the
door, she found it unlocked, so she exited.

She walked into a long, and narrow corridor with an endless amount of doors
on both sides. The girl started checking each door. The doors were made of
wood with different patterns on them and they each had keyholes which
were shaped like different objects. There was a drama mask, crown, prism and
plenty of other items that she couldn't make a connection between. None of
the doors had any names of people who might have lived or worked there.
The girl came closer to the first door and knocked on it, no response. She
tried the door handle, but it seemed to be locked. The girl tried to call for help
but there was absolute silence. After trying most of the doors she started to
get frustrated.
But her hope was still not lost; she believed that there always is an exit in any
situation. She heard a noise coming from all around her, the doors started to
shift and change positions. It was like she was in a place created by magic .The
girl could no longer check doors as easily as she had done so before. She
looked around more carefully and found that one door was not moving. It
seemed to be calling out for her.

As the girl walked closer, she saw ice or glass sculptures of people; all of them
posed as if they were trying to run away. The door had white colored pattern
on it and a keyhole, which was shaped like a snowflake. As soon as she
touched the door handle, the door opened and an ice cold wind flew out.

Her body began to crystalize as her head began to panic. She now understood
that those statues were only rodents that fell into this trap. Her heart began to
slow. As her limbs began to sprout icicles, her mind started to think that this
is where she ends. But it wasn’t the end of her. The ice seemed to absorb into
her, not leaving even the slightest trace that it was there.

As she walked into the room, everything in there seemed familiar, but she
couldn't remember why. She walked closer to the table and saw a crown made
out of ice. Inside of it there was a diamond bracelet. Touching the crown, the
ice absorbed into her body and left the bracelet.

As soon as she touched it, she started to see memories, flashes of her previous
life. At first she saw a good looking man. She saw glimpses of herself having
fun, hanging out with him. There was laughter and eventually, he gave her the
bracelet. The girl smiled but the next memories to come ruined that smile.

The girl laid on the floor, crying with the bracelet in her hands. She couldn't
take it anymore, her tears drained the life out of her blue hair. Her bubble
blue strands embraced the cold and changed to a pure snow white. Without
much thought, she encapsulated the bracelet in ice and shattered it to pieces.
Then she saw more of her past; a girl with orange hair. That girl, in her
memories, had mended the bracelet and gave it back. As if it had been broken
once before. The orange hair girl spoke one but only one thing could be heard.
“Veronica.”

That must be my name the girl thought. She was sad. She did not want to
waste the work the little child had done to fix her bracelet. No matter how bad
the memories were. Veronica took the shards and used her powers. She
created a new frame of ice. A frame that while worn on her arm would never
melt. As she did her white hair began to return to its natural blue color. She
heard footsteps coming from the corridor. Veronica turned around to see a
white haired woman standing there.

II: I… I think my name is Veronica. That’s the only name I remember.

IX: You have the number three on your hand.

II: Yes, I do. I don’t remember if I’ve always had this mark.

IX: And what of your item? What item gave you your memories?

II: This bracelet. Are these memories true? Did they really happen?

IX: Those memories are, how do I say it… Old, they may have been your
memories but you have a chance at a second life now.

II: Are there more?

IX: More memories? Plenty.

II: No, more people like us?

IX: There is plenty more. Much more people like us.

II: What should I do now?

IX: Come with me. Come find the rest of your memories. And then when you
have them all, you can decide if you want a second chance at life.
Genevieve opened her book and looked at the photos. The child with white
hair began to fade away and was soon replaced with Veronica. Only 3 more to
go. She would find the others. No matter how long it took.

Veronica followed Genevieve. They would soon meet up with Avenir. And
then they would meet III.
 Day -75:Horizon
It was a new day and Aurora had just woken up. She didn't have time for
breakfast yet. Usually her day started with a shower and a cup of hot choco.
Today was no different. However unlike usual, her mother came to visit her
and Aurora wanted to show her mother the things she was up to lately. She
hoped that her mother would support her. Aurora’s mother arrived later than
expected. There was a traffic jam, her mother explained. Everyone wanted to
see Lumi singing on the NOVA Theatre Stage.

Aurora had a dream to one day be on the same level as Lumi. Lumi was her
inspiration; her final goal. She wanted one day to go onto a stage with Lumi.
To sing and to dance together and to be friends. It was because of that dream,
that she started vtubing. A month ago Aurora had her first successful debut,
people seemed to love her, however she just needed more time.

Her mother was amazed by the setup she had and asked where the money for
it came from. Aurora claimed that it was all from the fans and her mother
became very proud of Aurora’s work. She was amazed with what Aurora had
done with her room as well as the rest of the house that Aurora lived in. There
were figures of different in-game characters on the shelves. There were
flowers that were carefully placed in the vases all around the house. Aurora
told her mom that her fans nicknamed her Enigma, because of her actions. In
the games she played, she was known as one of the most unpredictable
players, as if her moods were fighting each other. In order to be in control.
 Day -72:Lost
II: Genevieve.

IX: Yes, Veronica?

II: What are we going to do?

IX: What do you mean?

II: What are we going to do about our memories?

IX: Avenir and I are still working on that.

II: Who’s Avenir?

IX: Avenir is V. She is the second one that woke up in this place.

II: Are you the first one?

IX: I am.

II: What item are your memories tied to?

IX: You see this book. It is the object linked to my memories. These photos
appear and change according to what I learn.

II: That girl. Is that me?

IX: A younger version of you I assume.

II: Does that mean we knew each other?

IX: If these memories are true then we have known each other long ago.

II: And that girl. Is she Avenir?

IX: She is.

II: And those 3 identical girls. Who are they?

IX: They are the husks of the other 3 girls I haven’t yet found. All of us start off
that way. Blind and mindless husks. It is when we find our rooms, that we
fully evolve. But even then, we still don’t remember everything.

II: These rooms, how do they know who they belong to?

IX: I don’t know. I believe that they remember the pain of the person’s past
life. A pain that can’t be seen past an individual person.

II: What did you do, when you were alone here?

IX: I came up with a plan.

 Day -65: Prism
Pale sunlight filtered through the frosted windows as she opened her eyes.
The light was gentle. The soft rays shone across the room in multiple
directions. The beams reflected off the mirrors that laid in every corner of the
room; the refractions created a sharp, harsh diamond-like pattern. Tucked in
calmly, was a girl. Her hair was a dull silver and her eyes were iridescent.

She woke up surrounded by warmth.

She didn’t know where she was.
She didn’t know where she came from.

As she rose slowly and gracefully from her white bed, an eerie and dissonant
echo of birdsong seemed to pour into the air around her. The girl didn’t seem
to notice the air becoming thicker, as if she were floating in honey.

She stared at her reflection in one of the taller mirrors. Her skin was pale with
bluish veins just barely visible beneath the surface. Her facial features were
sharp with high cheekbones that seemed to resemble shards of glass.

She wore a pale cream-colored lace dress and a pleated matching headband
that held her hair back as it cascaded like a waterfall down her shoulders. She
tilted her body slightly to examine herself and noticed a bright ruby necklace
gleaming near her collarbone.

The ruby was as big as her entire fingertip, and sparkled with an iridescent
glow that seemed to mimic her eyes. She turned it over, and on the back of the
silver setting there were two letters: PV.

It took her a second. But as she looked back into the mirror, she saw
something in her left eye. In place of her pupil was a symbol.

VII.
Have I always had this? she wondered. But once again, passiveness blanketed
her mind and she ignored it.

She hesitantly brought her hand to the mirror where her own face looked
back at her. In a flash, the mirror seemed to tug her hand inside, liquidating at
her touch until her entire forearm was caught in the now rippling mirror. It
tugged her forward, drowning her like quicksand until she finally let in. The
soft liquid pulled her in as if it intended on consuming her.

She closed her eyes just for a moment, and the glassy liquid pulled her all the
way through. The thick liquid started to suffocate her, but only for a moment,
and then it was gone. When she opened her eyes, she stumbled forward into a
tall, cavernous hallway. It seemed almost dim compared to the room she had
been in, however there was some light reflecting and dancing on the walls.

As the girl wandered down the hall, she took note of the extravagantly
designed doors. Some were decorated with flowers, others with snowflakes or
even real jewels. The sound of her bare feet on the cold ground seemed to be
the only sound for miles.

After what seemed like hours, she came across a door that made a feeling of
recognition sweep over her. It was decorated with an intricately designed
border, and shards of mirror glass that drew out beautiful patterns and swirls.
Pieces of stained glass were set in the wood like a mosaic.

Entranced, the girl reached towards the doorknob—

Until the shards on the door attacked her.

When she awoke, she was leaning against the wall opposite to the door,
propped up against the baseboard. Silvery liquid ran from the places in her
flesh where the shards had cut her. A deep gash circled her neck like a choker
of silver; it ran down her chest, arms, and legs in rivulets.
But she didn’t feel any pain, only the tickle of the silver runlets on her skin.

Shakily, she stood up and made her way to the door once more, her passive
traits masked by an aggressive determination that blinded her so much so
that she didn’t even notice when the silver fluid began to absorb back into her
wounds.

This time, the shards dug deeper as she turned the doorknob. But as she went
in her wounds began to heal and she viewed the room. It was similar to the
one she woke up in, but the light here shimmered in all different colors.
Although the room seemed to sparkle and glimmer upon first glance, the light
was softer and calmer than the first room.

Like a candle glow, she thought to herself, slightly in awe.

Glass prisms were hung and strewn everywhere like party decorations,
refracting light in bolts of color. The girl reached out for her hand to catch one
of the rainbows, and watched in amazement as it colored her skin.

In one corner of the room, a tall bureau stood with a single square glass prism
set on top. She picked it up, still entranced by the multitude of colors it
refracted. The glass was cool and smooth against her skin, and brought a wave
of calm over her.

She held the prism up to her eye and saw her own iridescent reflection in it.
But there was something else.

Suddenly, it was as if she was transported to a time years, maybe even

decades or centuries ago.

A blizzard that blistered and burned flashed before her eyes. Then there was
shelter, and a gentle warmth. Then that shelter was torn away from her by a
blinding rage of fire and glass and ice.
She was violently jerked back to reality, with the glass prism hot in her hands.
In a state of panic, she hurriedly set it back down on the bureau before
sinking to the floor.

What have I lost?

Who was there?
How dare they take away something I cared for?

The thoughts were like a whirlwind in her mind, almost as powerful as the
blizzard that she had seen from her past memories. She doubled over, silver
tears of rage streaking down her face. The girl’s hair began to take on a purple
color; only the upper regions remained its original dull silver.

“Did you hear something?”

“No, is something wrong?”

The girl sat up, gasping slightly. She stood up and wiped her tears, checking
her reflection in the mirror that hung over the bureau and promptly grabbed
the prism and hid it behind her as the door opened.

A woman with snow-white hair and violet streaks peeked inside. Her eyes
were a bright periwinkle-blue, and sparkled with a composed sense of
curiosity that intrigued the girl. Cautiously, the white-haired woman stepped
inside.

“Hello,” she began. “What’s your name?”

“Why should I tell you?” the girl hissed.

The woman’s eyes sharpened. As she sighed, they relaxed into a gentler state.
“My name is Gene. I’m like you. I woke up here and gained only a few
memories. I assume your story is similar.” Her tone was lethal, but soft.
“I feel like I've lost something or someone close to me.”

“I’m sure you have,” the woman said empathetically, her voice softening even
more. “My number is nine. I can help you if you let me.”

The silver-haired girl relaxed, and her iridescent eyes seemed to glow with
relief. “My name is Prismarine Vendetta.” She wasn’t sure where the words
came from, but they seemed to roll off of the tip of her tongue like second
nature. “My number is seven, I believe.”

“That’s good. You’ve figured out a lot on your own. Everything in this room
may be connected to your past”

“Everything?”

“Yes. We can give you some time alone, if you need.”

“Actually… Can I ask you two to stay with me? This is all very confusing, and
I’d rather have someone to share the experience… if you don’t mind…” she
trailed off shyly.

Just then, the other woman entered the room. She too had white hair, but
with a bluish tinge. Her skin was pale like Prismarine’s, and her eyes seemed
to shimmer like frosty icicles

Prismarine set the square glass prism down on the bureau, and began to go
through the drawers. They each contained an accessory made of glass. One
was a butterfly brooch, another was a flower hairpin; there was a set of
earrings with teardrop-shaped glass dangling from them, and the last drawer
contained a bright sapphire pendant.

Prismarine stood up from where she crouched near the lowest drawer with
the sapphire pendant in her hands. It was exactly the same size and shape as
the ruby that hung around her neck.
Once again upon instinct, she put the sapphire and the ruby back to back so
that the silver settings matched up. The gemstones began to sparkle even
brighter as the silver melted together, creating a two-toned pendant.

“That has to be the most beautiful pendant I’ve ever seen,” said the snow-
haired lady, who had previously introduced herself as Veronica.

“I had no idea I possessed all of this. What items did you find?”

“I had a bracelet,” Veronica replied, holding up her wrist. The bracelet

shimmered with small diamonds set in the silver and ice-laid chain.

“This book,” Gene stated, holding up the silver-rim book she had found in her
room.

“How come there is so many?”

“Who knows,” Veronica sighed, shrugging her shoulders.

Prismarine carefully adorned herself with the glass ornaments. First the
butterfly brooch on her dress, then the flower hair clip to keep her silver hair
away from her eyes, and finally, the dangling glass earrings.

“Shall we go?” Gene asked quietly.

“Go? Where to?”

“Well, we have more to do. There are others we have to find. There’s more to
be done.”

“What about my past?” Prismarine’s usually sparkling eyes darkened with

bitterness. “What about the people I’ve lost? I need revenge upon those
who’ve hurt me!” She gripped the prism in her hands so hard that it nearly cut
her skin.
“We’ll find them. We’ll help you too. But it’ll be easier when we’re all
together,” Gene explained, ever so calm.

“Fine,” she agreed, still seething.

“Don’t worry, everything will fall into place soon enough. Gene has a strong
plan. You can trust us, we’ll be fine.” She spoke quietly, but her tone was regal
and demanding as if she craved something more.

Prismarine tried to smile at Veronica’s reassurance, but was still uneasy.

Revenge was the only thing on her mind. It swallowed her thoughts until the
storm in her mind was tinged with red.

Whoever hurt me… Whatever hurt me… I’ll find you.

And I’ll make sure you never see the sun again.
 Day -61: Event
The towering stadium laid ahead. The distinct smell of gas and rubber filled
the air as Aurora approached the arena. She glanced at the ticket she had in
hand: "ICR 600". Last month she had won the tickets in the Conor M. Royalty
magazine as she was voted as the most Popular Idol out of all the 3023
Vtubers. Ever since she won, she wondered what it would be like in the
stadium. In an attempt to find the entrance, she wandered around to find
stands filled with delicious festival food. The smell of the delights was
tempting however she decided against it.

As Aurora reached the entrance of the stadium, the sound of the cars got
louder and louder. A few of the employees recognized her and directed her
toward the VIP section of the stadium seats. Aurora had been to this place
once before. When she was the one in the center of the stage presenting and
singing to thousands of people. To her surprise, Lumi was there that day.
Aurora stood in the elevator and waited as it took her to new heights. Then
when the doors opened, she smiled as she found a letter on the desk nearby.

“Dear Aurora,
It might be days, months or even years before you read this letter. But today
was one of the best days I’ve had in a long time. You are one of the most
adorable girls I have ever seen on stage and you have so much talent. I’m
sorry that I won’t be able to meet you today but I hope sometime in the future
that we can be together and have some fun. I am going to leave this letter here
in hopes one day you will find it. I’ve already bought this one room. And when
you finish this letter you can have this room all to yourself. So you can one
day, look down and watch another idol like I did today.
Signed, Lumi”
As Aurora finished reading, she heard the siren go off. The race had just
started. Finding a chair, she pulled it up to the window and looked at the
leaderboard. In first place was Ken Rigo; he drove a black Razor sports car
with red stripes and white highlights. Jame Oz, who was in second place,
followed closely in his white Cloud9 drift car that had golden accents.

Looking around the track, her eyes laid upon a light blue SKT electric racer.
Driven by Cole Ray, his silver lighted car was currently in 9th place. Aurora
watched as Ray pulled into the pit and changed out his tires for a new set of
Glitchpop glider wheels. Upon pulling back out onto the track, the crowd
roared as Ray zoomed past the competition.

Ray soon passed 8th and 7th. Aurora sat on the edge of her seat as she watched
from the booth. Ray quickly caught up with Rigo and Oz along the turn. Oz’s
drifter was able to overtake Rigo and Ray soon overtook Rigo as soon as the
straight came. The race became close between Ray and Oz, and soon the
crowd stood on the edge of excitement as the final lap came down.

And then came a loud boom.

 Day -10/9
IV: Did you find Petal VI?

VII: No. She does not seem to exist yet.

IV: And what of the target?

VII: Escaped. I don’t know where that imbecile sent her.

IV: Imbecile?

VII: She was there, she protected the target.

IV: You DO NOT address her as an imbecile. Do you understand?

VII: My apologizes but I don’t recall her needing to be a nuisance to my tasks.

IV: Doesn’t matter now does it? You failed. And unless you want to be replaced, I advise
you do not fail the Organization again.

VII: Understood.

IV: Have you taken control of your vessel yet?

VII: Not fully. There is something preventing me from taking full control.

IV: Do you need V to search?

VII: Unnecessary. III or II will be enough.

IV: I will assign III when she is done with her current task.

VII: Understood.

IV: You know your tasks. Do not fail these ones.

VII: Understood