[Voice]

[undyingcrow]

[In the middle of a restless night, Akechi addresses the radio.]

One thing has become abundantly clear since my arrival: the vast majority of us hail from different times, if not different worlds.

[He pauses, letting that sink in.]

For instance, I'm from Japan in the year 2017. However, it is specifically the same version of Japan shared by Akihiko Sanada and Naoto Shirogane... in the future. That places the three of us in a shared reality, but not the same point in time.

However, our version of Japan has endured a number of odd, even supernatural occurrences, such as a "Dark Hour" and, more recently, the vigilante work of a group of "Phantom Thieves" who quite literally changed the hearts of wicked adults through the use of a parallel, cognitive world.

[His voice remains calm, if tinged with a subtle weariness.]

But that is far from universal. In my time here, I have encountered a talking turtle from a world where yokai and mutants are real. I've spoken with someone who had been sent into a digital world, like an isekai protagonist. I even had to explain the concept of religion to Serph-san, as well what a horse is.

[...]

All this to say, it may be worthwhile to cross reference the worlds and time periods we hail from. If nothing else, it may help us discern patterns that could in turn heighten our understanding of our present circumstances.

Comments

[undyingcrow]

I suppose it isn't entirely dissimilar. We are becoming monsters, after all.

[His own sigil, the claws, and now his teeth... All these changes, made without consent, serve to cement his disdain.]

I suppose for someone like me, it's an outward reflection of the internal, but I still can't stand it in principle.

[undyingcrow]

It began in 1939, and many of the greatest atrocities in human history followed.

[He'll keep it at that unless pressed, however. It's less relevant here, and it's hardly appropriate conversation for an insomniac to kickstart.]

Perhaps your vehicle was selected specifically for its familiarity. Then again, Viktor-san's vehicle was a great affront to the eyes and unlike anything he had seen before.

cw: more warcrime talk

[undyingcrow]

They created an atomic bomb, capable of great devastation. From that point on, the development of nuclear weapons and technology changed the game for warfare.

[So many weapons. Enough to destroy the world in theory...

Not that it's happened yet.]

[undyingcrow]

That's quite a drastic shift from the Earth I'm most familiar with.

[It all sounds so fantastical, really. Then again, his own experiences both here and in the Metaverse are hardly ordinary to begin with.]

It must have been a considerable power to change the world so drastically. Sapient elements and objects are commonplace within human mythologies and fiction, but outside of cognitive worlds such as the Metaverse, they're otherwise unheard of.

[undyingcrow]

Then you must know Yang-san.

[She did mention Remnant during their first meeting, after all.]

All things considered, the time discrepancy could be worse. I'm several years ahead of Shirogane-san and Sanada-san, though we'd never personally met even in my time.

[bufudine]

[Understandable.]

There were many who felt the same way about our demons.

["For someone like me, it's an outward reflection of the internal...?" It feels like the sort of thing that speak to Akechi about in private.]

What's an isekai protagonist?

[undyingcrow]

[In hindsight, he walked into that one.]

Protagonists are the lead characters in a story.

Isekai stories involve one or more characters being transported to another world.

In concept, it's a very old framing device for stories, though in the modern day, people tend to associate isekai with light novels, manga, and anime that often involve virtual reality or protagonists being reborn in a parallel world, rather than entering through portals, magical doorways, or being summoned by outside forces.

[bufudine]

[..............................]

...We contain data from humans who died in Nirvana. Does that make me an isekai protagonist?

[undyingcrow]

[That's... a good question.

Huh.]

I suppose it could. You did travel from one world to another...

[constantvrunning]

Meaning that people think those things should exist, but don't really expect to run into them?

[Unless you're a conspiracy theorist - which do still exist in the 'world' of Tamaris! Not that V wants to lend them too much credence, here.]

cw: nuclear bombs

[solitarysoul]

[Levi's silent for a few moments. He'd seen things capable of great devastation but none of them were new. What sort of terror caused even more than that? And could shift warfare for everyone.

He doesn't want to think about it.]

That...w-we didn't have anything like that. The Bremens just got what they wanted then agreed to a peace treaty.

[airskate]

I'm from Earth. It's 2024. Japan exists, but I'm not sure if there was anything involving a Dark Hour or Phantom Thieves.

[ What might be distinctive...

... Oh. ]

... An orbital laser recently cut the moon in two.

[guidemyway]

I do actually, she's my sister!

[She is not surprised to hear that her sister is out there making new friends.]

Yeah. The most I really had to explain to them was that I got haircut. Which is good because I totally wouldn't trust me to remember all of the other details if we did something really important.

That is pretty wild though, being like years apart from other people where you're from.

[undyingcrow]

[That's... certainly an alarming bit of news.]

I wonder how that will affect the tides. Surely its gravitational pull changed as a result...

[undyingcrow]

It's good that you have each other, then.

[Notions of family are so distant for him. The only relative who ever treated him with kindness left him behind in the end.

Still, there are more pleasant topics to cover.]

It's an odd feeling, having people from the same world, but no one I knew personally. Of course, it's likely for the best that it's me and none of my... peers.

[guidemyway]

Yeah, well she'd be pretty lost without me. I keep her in line.

[This is not true. At least not entirely true. They are both beings of chaos.

Still, she can kind of relate to what he's saying.]

Yeah. I get what you mean there, it'd be kind of awkward meeting people like that. When there are totally normal ways that you could have run into them instead.

But I think that says a lot about you. That you'd rather take on the burden of being here instead of them. Shows how much you care.

[airskate]

[ Finally, someone else asking the real questions. ]

I wasn't there long enough to see. But I thought that was why no one here recognized any of the stars as first. If something like that changed Earth's axis, the constellations might all look strange.

[undyingcrow]

It's a bit more complex.

Some of these concepts are rooted in myths and folklore. Others reside purely in the pages of fantasy novels, concocted by the author's imagination...

Yet, in a world of cognition, such concepts and archetypes are real. The power of the collective unconscious is so powerful, in fact, that it manifested a false god.

[A pity he never got to fight it, given Yaldabaoth's influence on his life...]

[undyingcrow]

It sounds as though the war ended on less catastrophic terms, then.

[Granted, America got exactly what they wanted in the end. That such weapons persist speaks for itself.]

[undyingcrow]

I wouldn't call myself kind, per se. That being said, I am much more deserving of such a hellish fate than any of them.

[A grunt of derisive laughter escapes him, directed at himself.]

Not that I'm thrilled, mind you. Truthfully, I'm rather tired of being a play thing for some higher power.

[solitarysoul]

W-well...

[Prehevil was wiped out, but that wasn't the fault of the war. But the thing under it...]

There was, um, something that happened at the end. They were trying to create a new god. I don't know how that ended up.

[Because he became part of it.]

[undyingcrow]

That's a fair point. Not to mention, the moon is of great significance within this world...

[Albeit in a very different context.]

There are many mysteries waiting to be solved. The stars, the moon, the old recordings and abandoned vehicles...

[To say nothing of the Husks, really.]

[thetatters]

I see.

[ John wants to ask which worlds Earth fought against. But he's concerned about where that conversation might lead, so he lets it lie. ]

This would imply that someone with personal knowledge of us is choosing our vehicles, either to help or to harm our odds in this world.

[ Which makes sense for him, because obviously he was dumped in this world by Kayne. But it seems unlikely anyone else here is important enough to merit an Outer God's attention. ]

[constantvrunning]

So it's not quite the same as 'power of belief', to use the colloquial, but it certainly sounds as effective. And as dangerous.

[Gods, magic - quite the fantasy kitchen sink!]

[undyingcrow]

Of course.

[Akechi growls out a sigh.]

I can't even say I'm surprised, considering humanity's collective will created a god in the cognitive world.