Chandi shudders at the feeling of emptiness emitted by the core. "Should a core feel like nothing at all? I do not think it should be this empty." She turns her attention back towards the small, group, eyes landing on Lady Destiny's scythe. "To clarify, you mean collaborate of our own free will, and can we describe the person, correct? If so, the answer to the second question is yes and no."
Destiny glances towards the core, "I can feel it's quite different than normal... so no, it should not feel like that. And yes, I mean did you aid that person on purpose? And what do you mean yes AND no? We really dont have time to waste here on puzzle-speak."
Chandi continues, "We did not aid on purpose, though we were struck by the blight in a way akin to what Athena described. Harmony suffered the worst of it, though resisted enough to cut off control. As to the and, we know who it is. We cannot describe him or say his name however, much as we've tried. Alexis even let loose a snippet of his voice during the meeting, but it went unnoticed by the lot of you."
"You mean that gigantic loud 'I...' he shouted?"
Asch actually snickers. "Well, that's unexpected."
Harmony, meanwhile, is tapping her feet... before she finally sighs and says, "In the interest of saving time, should I simply just show her?"
Chandi's muscles tense, and her eyes widen. "You heard that? No other god has been able. Not even Athena. Only the ones who saw him have been able to hear or see him." Chandi nods at Harmony's statement.
"That'd be the easiest way to see if she was immune to the effects." Harmony shrugs.
Destiny blinks, "What are you all going on about?"
Asch gives a slightly dramatic sigh. "Go ahead and show her. Just don't say the name. Apparently that's illegal."
"Here. Allow me to make this much simpler." MUSE comes forth, popping out of Harmony's body.
"This is the God who is responsible for what happened at Utopia. He is more than likely at Asgard right now."
She shows Destiny the image of Tiranade.
"You should have met him, at some point. As close as you were to Athena. He should, in fact, look quite familiar to you."
"Hmmm..." Destiny looks the image over, "He's totally covered in a cloak. How am I to recognize him? You are saying that other people you've shown this image cannot see him?"
As Destiny says so, the conversation between Harmony and Tiranade at the Utopia barrier begins to play out. "Can you make out any details in the form? The eyes? Any facial features? The voice?"
"...that scar." She sticks her face as close to the image as she can, "...is that supposed to be Tiranade?"
"In the flesh." Asch replies.
"So he's real..."
Chandi nods. "As are the other two."
Harmony's eyes narrow. "Indeed he is. Apparently you have sidestepped more than the effects of just the Core's tethers."
Destiny looks at the group in a new way, "...the other Elders told me Athena was losing her mind. That she created those three first students to cope with an accident that scarred her like that. They said she invented them and firmly belived in them so much that to correct her could possibly unravel her... and you are saying you've met those three?"
Asch holds up two fingers. "Two."
"Two?"
"It is impossible to meet the third."
Chandi asks, "She's told you the story, correct?"
"Ah... the one called Eevee. Unraveled yes?"
"According to Athena and the one who referred to himself as 'Makosan', yes." Asch replies. "I'm not convinced, to be honest."
"...you've met Makosan too? You've seen them both?" Her eyes are burning for information, "Are you sure they aren't illusions? Disguises?"
Harmony shakes her head."You didn't see his memories, Asch. He was who he said he was. You can't fake that."
She holds up her left hand - specifically the back of it.
"Destiny... would an illusion give me a Soul Scar? Allow me to SEE his memories?"
Asch turns to look at the core. "Can't fake it, huh..."
"...by the Gods and Goddesses..." Destiny holds Harmony's hand and traces her fingers over the scar, "...they are real..." She looks at Asch, "Memories can be faked... but Soul Scars... that's another matter entirely. What we have here are either two extremly powerful fakers that are trying to fool and trap Athena... or her stories are real."
Harmony gives Destiny a grim smile. "That was part of the reason why I asked him to Scar me, as foolish as it may seem. And I synced into his Shift as he did it. I saw..." She shakes her head. "Well. Suffice to say I have seen enough to believe that the being I spoke to was, in fact, Makosan, Athena's former student."
The Goddess in the blue robes begins to pace, "If what you say is true... then there is some very POWERFUL Memory Rune magic going on here... because the entire counsel is convinced that they are fake. There are no records of them in the school, no trace of them. And yet you met them... took a Soul Scar by one..." she continues to pace, "Now we have a large bomb threatening the school and Athena trapped by Tiranade and a large black crystal. This is all too convinient..."
"Tell me. Is there any way to visually see the tethers from this core?" Asch asks questioningly.
Even as Asch asks, Harmony comments, "There is one more thing that is bothering me about this. According to what I saw on Utopia, and what Makosan himself testified... Tiranade doesn't attack souls. No matter what else he's ever done, he's never deliberately targeted and damaged Weave. The Black Crystal back at Utopia was specifically programmed against it."
"Yes. Just focus on your Souls, reveal them. Viata did so and I saw the Teather attached to her." Destiny then considers what Harmony claims, "...so he's either changed his method... or are you really suggesting that this bomb is a bluff?"
"Or there is a third party who triggered it." Asch replies grimly.
Destiny frowns. "I don't like that option at all..."
Harmony frowns as well. "Neither do I. Especially since it... implies a traitor - a powerful traitor - in the Arbiter organization itself."
Destiny sighs, "Oh the tangled webs we weave..."
"Indeed." Harmony sighs with her.
Asch continues, "And those tangled webs are the ones I wish to see. I do not have the time to check every arbiter in the headquarters one by one." Raising her hand and focusing the mystery aura, she says, "It might be easier to put a tracer on the source and see where it leads."
Hesitantly, Harmony also adds, "There is one more thing... When I was on Utopia, I myself was Blighted. Under the Black Crystals influence. Through the aid of my teammates, I was able to fight off the Crystals influence, sever its connection with its guardian. When I came back, Athena checked me over to ensure that the Blight was completely gone, but..." Harmony looks worried.
"Hold on a moment Asch." Destiny turns to Harmony, "But what?"
"What if Tiranade used me as a trojan horse. Hid something in me - a trigger, or a program of some sort..." Harmony rubs her arm unconsciously.
"Hmmm... there's a way I can find that out. But I will not lie. It will be painful, and you'll have to trust me to do it." Destiny pats her scythe, "I can stab you with my Shift - it will read your past. I will personally search you and your Shift for any traces of the Blight -- we may even find out WHY you are all immune. But again... it involves impaling you and I know you have no reason to trust me as of yet."
Asch cuts in. "I would not advise that right at this moment. If need be we can, however, there are other avenues to explore first. Trace - on." With that, she projects the mystery aura in to the core, attempting to illuminate the thethers and map where they go within the school.
As Asch does so, Harmony syncs into her Mystery Rune. There is a soft
theme from MUSE as she does so. While Asch does her search, Harmony prepares to actively defend the Rune from outside interference, or any attacks from the soul tether.
The moment Harmony and Asch attempt to scan the Core, the void that Chandi felt comes screaming back into the room... but this time the entire group can feel it. There's no resisting the pull as all 4 Goddess are pulled into the Core... they land hard, alone, in pitch darkness... each of them cut off from the other as something begins to creep up thier legs...
And then they are outside the core again - Destiny's hair has gone jet black and her skin white as pearl, her Shift is shining as the group begins to fall inside again - but this time Destiny reaches out, grabs a hold of Asch, Harmony and moves the polearm of her Scythe around her back for Chandi to grab hold of as they are all sucked inside.
This time they land inside a deep cave, surrounded by purple slimy walls... there is a pulse to it, as if something is running through the veins in the wall. It's like a heartbeat. Destiny stands and dusts herself off, "And that, my dears, is why I am the one Defusing this bomb. Is everyone alright?"
Harmony takes a good, long look around her. "What's that phrase MUSE always said... Oh yes."
"I've got a baaaaad feeling about this."