The 3rd Walpurgisnacht
Episode 1 - Episode 2
Episode: 1
Location: Aboard Mephistopheles
Sinclair Ah...
Ishmael Woah... how are these green lights still... green?
Another unexpected alarm. But we all react with measured astonishment, as we'd all grown rather used to the randomness of it all.
Faust It is unlikely that it has completely evaded the influence of T Corp.'s Singularity. However, it can be said that this partial retention of color can be attributed to the fact that Walpurgis Night is a transitory moment in which numerous possibilities coincide.
Dante <Makes sense...>
Faust nonchalantly walking up to the driver's seat and shutting off the alarm.
Don Quixote Lo! 'Tis return'd, this Wal-Walpu-whatever night!
Don Quixote and her eyes that begin twinkling at the smallest bit of diversion after another long-period of idle standby.
It's all just become a part of the routine.
Even mysterious things like these 'Walpurgis Nights'.
Faust Oh. An additional volatility, aside from the Walpurgis Night, has been detected.
Dante <An additional volatility?>
Faust Indeed. The entrance to a new Mirror Dungeon has opened.
Heathcliff Oh, yeah. That.
Heathcliff mutters quietly as he rises from his seat.
Heathcliff I thought it was about time we got a new one. It happens every time we go through the bloody wringer. ... Didn't expect it to appear with the green flashes, though.
Heathcliff lightly struck the end of his club against the floor in visible anticipation.
... The word that was once engraved into his club had changed.
A few days ago, I saw him sitting at the back of the bus, busily sanding and carving something into his club.
I didn't have to ask to know what he meant by that new word, so...
... I decided to not bring it up to anyone else.
Only Heathcliff and I retained that memory, after all.
Heathcliff Thought I was goin' mad from tedium. C'mon, let's go bash some sods.
Vergilius How nice.
Vergilius I like seeing some initiative from the Sinners. Miss Faust?
Faust Indeed. Let us move without delay.
Faust Dante, bring us to the corridor past the Backdoor.
Dante <... Got it.>
I tried my best to suppress this uncomfortable feeling I had about Heathcliff's newfound enthusiasm. Something was off about it, like it wasn't just some optimistic passion. But I led the Sinners to the Backdoor anyway.
Location: Bus’s Backdoor
Dante <Two types of doors at once, huh...>
Two new sets of doors, just as Faust had predicted.
One set of doors was, as I expected, two metal doors resonant with the sound of wuthering gusts. A new Mirror Dungeon.
And the other set of doors was...
Outis Are these... paper?
Sinclair It's... all sparkly.
It was an unfamiliar door, radiating with an odd gleam of light.
Technically, we did see the weird, radio-frequency-like squiggly lines around the door before, but everything else about it was new.
Rodion I guess this one doesn't connect to the Lobotomy Corporation like the last one did...
Gregor Weird. I think I'm hearing... Is that jazz?
Heathcliff Oi, is this even a door...? It's more like a window than a door, innit?
Right... this new entrance definitely resembled a large window rather than a door. The window was blurry, and all I could see past it were some globs of shapes moving about.
Yi Sang There appear to be several shambling entities past the entrance...
Faust …….
Faust seemed to have realized something, but she didn't tell us what it was. Instead, she merely looked in my direction without saying a word.
... I'm starting to get what she means by that look.
Dante <... Guess I'll have to get in there to see what this is all about. Right, Faust?>
Faust You are experiencing regular growth in capabilities. Faust considers this to be a positive development.
Dante <... Yeah.>
Location: ???
A field of green and a wall of tall, great trees appear before us as we enter the door. But at this point, it'll take a bit more than this to surprise us.
Rodion Ah, it's so nice to have our colors back for once, huh~?
Meursault Quiet. There's an Abnormality.
Dante <So these things were what we saw past the window earlier...?>
Meursault We are yet to be discovered. I recommend that we prepare for combat, Manager.
This time, the Sinners didn't need me to tell them what its nature was. It was pretty evident from the get-go that we'd be facing off against an Abnormality, by the looks of it. They stood on standby, ready to charge into battle at my command.
But... it's a bit different this time.
Dante <So... Faust. I'm starting to get the hang of this Walpurgis Night thing. And...>
Faust Please, do continue.
Dante <... I think there's something different about these Abnormalities. Can you explain why?>
Faust ... Considering the nature of Abnormalities, every encounter with an Abnormality would be equivalent to an encounter with a summoned entity.
Faust Nevertheless, there exists a certain degree of difference when we encounter them in a Refraction Railway or a Mirror Dungeon.
Yi Sang That is to say...?
Faust We enter a site once known as 'The Library'. A building that inexplicably appeared above the former L Corp. headquarters.
Location: The Library - A Space Within a Book
Faust And this exact location is said to be a space that exists within a book in which the Abnormality resides.
'The Library'...? Where have I heard that term before? Some Sinners talked about it, that's for sure...
Yi Sang Quite... Yet this 'space' is fairly distinct from the containment units we had witnessed afore at one of the branches.
Yi Sang It appears as though an ideal habitat has been established precisely for that Abnormality's residence. A rather striking difference from the very limited space and unaccommodating environment provided by the containment units.
Faust Yes. You may compare this place to a terrarium. The Abnormality inhabiting this place has transformed its environs to a form most suitable for its dwelling.
Faust Here are some comparisons that may make it easier for one to comprehend: a fish would fill this space with water, and a worm would fill this space with soil.
Yi Sang Hmm...
Rodion Gotcha. So, as long as the Abnormality exists within this 'book', it can deck this place out with whatever fits its fancy, huh?
Faust It would be more accurate to say that an Abnormality, once outside the confines of the Qliphoth Deterrence, can rebuild its environment to fit its needs.
Rodion Woah, that's kinda like free housing, huh...?
That's when...
... Don Quixote, who was standing rather far from the group, who was made aware of these revelations only after Meursault had relayed them to her...
Don Quixote Book...? Our journey hath brought us inside a BOOK, thou sayeth?!
Don Quixote T-th-th-the Library of legend that vanished like a mirage, for truth...?!
... suddenly blew up with explosive enthusiasm once again.
Meursault ... I will add a preamble in the future to prevent such outbursts.
Outis The enemies have detected us, Executive Manager.
Dante <Yeah... Let's get this over with first.>
Episode: 2
Location: The Library - A Space Within a Book
Dante <That was way harder than I expected...>
Faust Faust explains that we find ourselves in the Library's past. We are participating in a certain repeated battle within the Library; its purpose was to attain something called 'the Realization of the Floor of History'.
Dante <Um... Yeah. Sorry, I don't understand most of what you said.>
Ishmael Floor of History, huh. Are there other Floors, too?
Faust That appears to be the case, yes. It can be extrapolated from the collected intelligence that the Library is, like some normal libraries, composed of several floors divided by subjects such as 'Literature' or 'Religion'.
Doesn't sound too different from your average library, but... I doubt it's that straightforward.
Dante <Anything more you can tell us more about that Library, Faust? Something more detailed?>
Faust Um...
Faust's voice carries an air of troubled uncertainty.
And I'm starting to realize why.
Dante <So you don't... know about that just yet, right?>
Faust ... I see that you have intuited a certain degree of truth, Dante. I don't suppose there is any more reason for me to remain evasive regarding this particular subject.
Faust let out a barely noticeable—but clearly shocked—gasp before regaining her usual calm demeanor.
Faust Yes. I am yet to become a Faust who has access to that information.
Dante <Yet to become...?>
Faust ... As your journey continues, I may also gradually gain recognition and access to further knowledge.
Faust One thing is certain, however. Faust regards this consistent, continuous improvement to be a positive development, Dante.
Dante <... I see.>
The longer my journey, the greater her knowledge, huh...
... Maybe that explains why she kept falling silent in the middle of her lectures.
I have no idea how long this journey will last for, but...
Dante <... Who knows. Maybe we'll find ourselves at that Library one day.>
With that, I returned to the Sinners wandering about the scattered pages of the Abnormality.
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