Main Event Right Hand of the Magic God

[Crow]

"Yeah... Let's talk this over. At least we have the Arrow back! So we have a chance!"

"Great. A pointless argument we get to have that has to do with the fate of the multiverse. Are we back in the civil war? Because this feels like the civil war, except it's all of our ideologies against one unyielding brick wall known as Othinus."

"So, do you want the brick wall to win?"

"Hell no! I just... I don't want to lose Carrie again."

"What are we talking about, Mace?" Caroline asked, only keying into the conversation after Othinus as left. The conversations with, concerning, and around the Magic God were completely filtered out of her perception. Just as any of the other residence of the new Avalon, she didn't evn acknowledge the almost naked flying witch.

"We're just going to go check out the hotel nearby. Don't worry, we shouldn't be long."

"Aww, don't want me to come? Is your girlfriend embarrassing you?"

"N-N-No, of course not! It's just..."

She giggled and gave Mason another kiss on the forehead. "Relax. I'm only teasing. Go have fun with 'the boys' or whoever. I'll see you at home later. Don't eat too much, I'll have dinner ready!" She then walked off, disappearing from sight around a nearby corner.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"Alright, let's get to that hotel. We might have to fight her and have her reset the multiverse again before I have to eat her cooking again. I don't know if 'paradise' lets her gain cooking skill."
​

"Uh, Ben? In my experience, gaining powers not native to your home universe can have very, very mixed results. It might not be a safe idea to try to give Stands to those who don't need them."

Mason, however, did have his attention drawn to the Arrow. His eyes became glued to it as Ben brought it up.

"Yeah... Right... We don't need them at all..."

"Mason. No."

@Ver @Lucky @Yun Lee @Kaykay @Hahli Nuva @Jeremi @CrunchyCHEEZIT @Gummi Bunnies @York @Alex Azure @Crow @Takumi @Sark @Everybody​

Ben dials his Omnitrix up and shows her some holograms.

"I haven't suffered any noteworthy negative side effects from turning into aliens that obey different laws of physics. Huh, now that I word it that way... you might have a point, bit still, the cosmos is at hand here.

Say, do you think the very, very mixed results are what caused Othinus to hurl back there? Wait, those futures Clockwork saw..."

Ben clenches a palm into a fist.

"If we are to respect the choice of Othinus, if we are to see her as a hero," Ben turns to Toppo for a bit, "we will have to stop her from using her power, for her own good, she's in denial.

Should we see her as a evildoer, then she shall have to face the punishment of having power she has used unwisely taken from her.

Wherever we stand, I believe our endpoints align.

Now, onto strategy."

"The arrow was one of the few pieces Othinus needed to acquire such immense power," Grandpa Max adds to the conversation, standing beside Toppo as he crossed his arms, "if you ask me, that alone should give us some form of noticeable advantage. How noticeable - that remains to be seen. It could be as measly as 1 or 2 percent."

Ben asks Touma, and all.

"Which is better, Touma, everyone - a temporary utopia hosted by a deity who is probably too sickly to maintain it in the long run, ending all they've maintained unwillingly, or a balance where evils exist alongside the good, but we will always know there will be a tomorrow to look forward to?"

@Ver @Yun Lee @Kaykay @Hahli Nuva @Jeremi @CrunchyCHEEZIT @Gummi Bunnies @York @Alex Azure @Crow @Takumi @Sark @Lucky @Everybody​

 

[Lucky]

Phil Connors and Rita Hanson

" Seeing as I have lived through one, I prefer the balance. The same happiness over and over can get old quite honestly. The fact that there is no tomorrow here just rubs me the wrong way, especially if nobody has a say or even notices the loop. It's kind of jarringly unnerving," he admitted.

" I agree with Phil on this one."

@Ver @Yun Lee @Kaykay @Hahli Nuva @Jeremi @CrunchyCHEEZIT @Gummi Bunnies @York @Alex Azure @Crow @Takumi @Sark @Everybody

 

[York]

Spoiler: Replies

"I'm sorry" Jiren murmured, his mind elsewhere "You must have me confused with someon--" A dagger cut through his distant mind, drawing his focus from the abyss. That voice... it seemed all too familiar. Something about it sturred the sharpness if regret within his heart without alerting his mind as to why. Every syllable became a covert attack on his being, chilling him to his core.

A memory rolled free from its shell: A face, a name.

"Scha...Schala? Are you... Schala?"

"The time for a hero... Never passes" Toppo cried, making his way across the courtyard, a tired smile on his lips. It had all happened so quickly.

A fight for his life.

A fight with a friend.

A flash of Dark Light.

A fitting end.

The next thing he knew he was passing the grassy plains of an endless garden, the wind in his moustache. For a moment of bliss, everything made sense. He had completed the heroic sacrifice he and Max had spoken of at the mansion. His journey had finally come to a close...

Yet the dirt beneath his feet was not that of the afterlife... or at least, not the afterlife he had expected.

Avalon... a City Reborn.

It hadn't taken him too long to find his way back to his old friends.

"If death has taught me anything, its that there will always lives that need protecting. No matter how safe we are. No matter how safe we think we are, danger will always come to the surface... even in this paradise. The heroes are those who acknowledge this truth but refuse to accept it. In the name of liberty and all things holy, they fight to redefine that truth. Being a hero isn't about catchphrases. It's not about capes or cowls or power or poses... it's about conviction. Othinus has rewritten all the natural truths of our world... and in that regard, I would call her a hero. Yet the power she possesses... I fear that it shall corrupt her sense of justice, just as Jiren's corrupted his own. As long as her ego remains... I fear that the burden of strength will eat into her very being... and she shall not remain a hero for long... we must call for her to surrender her power! It is the only way this New Multiverse can be free! Tenneson... the path of the hero"

@Ver @CrunchyCHEEZIT @Yun Lee @York @Takumi @Hahli Nuva @Alex Azurea​

"Well, I'm sorry, Othinus, but Mason isn't going to give in to your world!"

"Macy, you can't speak for me."

"Huh? Wait, are you not gonna be the plucky hero all of a sudden?"

"You like this version too, don't you? You're happy to have everyone here. You don't need to feel the pain in people's hearts because there isn't any."

"Is that it? Mason, I don't mind the pain of others. I'm happy to heal others. How can I heal in a world without pain? How can you be a hero in a world without villains?"

"A hero is an idiot, Mace. A hero is somebody who will run headfirst into danger to help somebody else out of danger. That's not to say a hero is pointless. I love playing the hero. Every now and then I actually succeed. Heroes have their place, just not in this world."

"No, I disagree. Now is hero time. If there is a world of peace, it has to be protected! Somebody had to create this utopia, and I don't mean in the way Othinus did. In this phase, people fought to create paradise. We need to fight for this paradise's future! Toppo is right. If we don't stop Othinus, then she'll either loop today or change the phases again. If we want to keep this world, then we need to fight back!"

"And then Othinus will wave her magic stick and I'll lose the love of my life again. I finally have something I can really lose. Othinus wouldn't take you away, but I can lose Carrie. I'm not fighting her again if it means I lose Caroline."

"Mason... Guys, I'm doing my best! Can somebody knock some sense into him?"

@Ver @CrunchyCHEEZIT @Yun Lee@York @Takumi @Hahli Nuva @Alex Azure @Crow​

"It's as Leivinia said before," Touma answered Severa, "She wants to return to the previous "phases" of the world... or maybe in this case, multiverse. A time closer to the beginning, maybe the time she had been born into. But she won't say why she wants to do that..."

As the group talked over what to do from there, conflicted and clashing against one another's, Othinus let out a soft chuckle, as though this whole exchange -- or lack thereof exactly -- amused her. "It appears that some of you are torn. To continue to fight, regardless of everything. To stay here and accept this as the end. I will not persuade you one way or the other. Humans seem to enjoy their concept of free will, after all, and I shan't take even that away from you."

"But when you are truly ready to make your decision -- all of you -- I can only assume that you will be ready for the consequences of them, good or bad."

She said nothing as Toppo suddenly appeared, suggesting that the best course of plan would be to goad her into surrendering her power, nor did she directly respond to Will's angry monologue. It mattered little to her so long as the group was divided like this, fallen out of grace. As she was now, the multiverse's strongest humans meant as much to her as the multiverse's strongest ants.

"And when the time comes for you to finalize that decision, I will be waiting at the edge of the city."

Suddenly, Othinus did something perhaps unexpected. She unhooked the Arrow off her hip and tossed it forward, toward the group -- Giorno specifically, as it had once belonged to him, the object clanking as it bounced across the ground.

"If you must, I even dare you to make use of this if you resolve to oppose me and reject this very multiverse. I've no use for it anymore, after all. Now then..."

Touma bent down to pick up the Arrow with his left hand, eyeing it, almost doubting that it was real for a moment considering the strange turn of events there, but it was real without a doubt. The Arrow that had been used in conjunction with Gungnir once it had been completed.

And then when he looked up again, Othinus was gone once more.

"..."

And he didn't know what to say from there. Except...

"Maybe we should... think over this at the hotel Severa was talking about..." He mumbled weakly. Truthfully, he was just tired. This day had been gruelingly hectic, and he just wanted to close his eyes...

@Lucky @Yun Lee @Kaykay @Hahli Nuva @Jeremi @CrunchyCHEEZIT @Gummi Bunnies @York @Alex Azure @Crow @Takumi @Alex Azure @Sark @Everybody​

"Toppo! You're alive!" Ben exclaims excitedly as he sees old Toppo return, "I should've known you'd return when Jiren over there did."

He hears the resolves of Will, Schala, Toppo, Mason & Macy, and doesn't seem to have very specific responses to each of them.

"Every one of you seems to see the concept so differently," he says to the group, then looks to Schala for a bit, agreeing with her latter statements in particular, "I can't exactly say any of them are entirely wrong, that's why I want to hear 'em all."

He then looks at Othinus actually leaving this time.

"Oh- uh, sorry ma'am, didn't realise you were still there. Well, we'll be doing things now... but since you heard us, you know what I'll ask later, now don't you?"

Ben then looks at the Arrow left behind by Othinus.

"Hey, isn't this the thing that gives Stands? It gave Othinus a Stand, wonder if it'll give some of us a Stand too..."

He then looks towards the Stand Users in the group.

"... or maybe even make already-existing Stands even stronger?"

@Ver @Lucky @Yun Lee @Kaykay @Hahli Nuva @Jeremi @CrunchyCHEEZIT @Gummi Bunnies @York @Alex Azure @Crow @Takumi @Sark @Everybody​

"Yeah... Let's talk this over. At least we have the Arrow back! So we have a chance!"

"Great. A pointless argument we get to have that has to do with the fate of the multiverse. Are we back in the civil war? Because this feels like the civil war, except it's all of our ideologies against one unyielding brick wall known as Othinus."

"So, do you want the brick wall to win?"

"Hell no! I just... I don't want to lose Carrie again."

"What are we talking about, Mace?" Caroline asked, only keying into the conversation after Othinus as left. The conversations with, concerning, and around the Magic God were completely filtered out of her perception. Just as any of the other residence of the new Avalon, she didn't evn acknowledge the almost naked flying witch.

"We're just going to go check out the hotel nearby. Don't worry, we shouldn't be long."

"Aww, don't want me to come? Is your girlfriend embarrassing you?"

"N-N-No, of course not! It's just..."

She giggled and gave Mason another kiss on the forehead. "Relax. I'm only teasing. Go have fun with 'the boys' or whoever. I'll see you at home later. Don't eat too much, I'll have dinner ready!" She then walked off, disappearing from sight around a nearby corner.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"Alright, let's get to that hotel. We might have to fight her and have her reset the multiverse again before I have to eat her cooking again. I don't know if 'paradise' lets her gain cooking skill."
​

"Uh, Ben? In my experience, gaining powers not native to your home universe can have very, very mixed results. It might not be a safe idea to try to give Stands to those who don't need them."

Mason, however, did have his attention drawn to the Arrow. His eyes became glued to it as Ben brought it up.

"Yeah... Right... We don't need them at all..."

"Mason. No."

@Ver @Lucky @Yun Lee @Kaykay @Hahli Nuva @Jeremi @CrunchyCHEEZIT @Gummi Bunnies @York @Alex Azure @Crow @Takumi @Sark @Everybody​

"We can go to the Hotel? Oh my Gawds, YES!!!!" Debate or not, this was something like a dream come true! "Follow me, everyone, it's this way!" She started off on her merry way, her sudden shift in demeanor making her seem as if the entire discussion they'd had about Othinus had never happened.

"Forgive me, but I need to go meet with the others." Libra apologized to Luca and Sumia, still heavily unsure of what to do. Could they really take the happiness of the Multiverse away like that?

@Ver @Lucky @Yun Lee @Kaykay @Hahli Nuva@Jeremi @CrunchyCHEEZIT @Gummi Bunnies @York @Alex Azure @Crow@Takumi @Alex Azure @Sark @Everybody​

"Maybe so, but... The question is, should we use this? Would it even matter either way?" Touma said to Ben, gazing at the Arrow in his hand and even holding it up a little for the others to look at. It technically belonged to Giorno, so maybe he should be the one to decide, but... Perhaps one could say, the young don was too shell-shocked to make his own decision on what to do with his own Arrow in this moment. Not that the spiky-haired boy could particularly blame him, considering the gravity of this situation.

As the group bid farewell to the people of the utopia, who thought little of Othinus's appearance and sudden departure, like it was the most natural thing in the world, the group began navigating their way to the hotel, if only at the insistence of Touma and Severa, it seemed. As they moved, Touma, dispirited now more than ever, pursed his lips.

"... And if it did matter, are you all really willing to make a choice for the sake of the entire multiverse? I mean... How? How do we proceed from here? We can't just blindly keep going forward if it means that in the end like this... Can we?"

@Lucky @Yun Lee @Kaykay @Hahli Nuva @Jeremi @CrunchyCHEEZIT @Gummi Bunnies @York @Alex Azure @Crow @Takumi @Alex Azure @Sark @Everybody​

"I dunno...I mean, why have us oppose her when she can just force us into submission with a flick of her wrist?" Severa's mood dimmed a bit as Othinus cane back up in conversation. "First she tells us we're gonna be punished and broken until we rot, then she gives us a chance to live happily ever after? Why not just shove us into some new world of hers and be done with it?"

"She did say she found amusement in torturing us for opposing her," Libra said, still conflicted, though being away from the others helped him focus more. "But...is that truly it? Why punish us, only to turn and give us and everyone we love peace and prosperity?"

@Ver @Lucky @Yun Lee @Kaykay @Hahli Nuva@Jeremi @CrunchyCHEEZIT @Gummi Bunnies @York @Alex Azure @Crow @Takumi @Alex Azure @Sark @Everybody​

"Because it's a reminder... of everything we could never give the people most important to us..." Touma sighed, looking sadly at the disturbingly happy people they passed by as they walked, "In a sense, I'll bet... to say that everything we've ever done in our entire lives was worthless, if everything was meant to end this way no matter what."

"And she knows that... if we do decide to oppose her, we'd be throwing away everything -- their happiness, their only chance to live a normal life without suffering -- that we could never give them. My mom, my dad, our friends, even our enemies...! It doesn't matter to her, does it? On a whim, she could just as easily tear it all down without a single thought. What do you say about someone like that? You can't call someone who saved the entire multiverse a villain, but you can't call someone who murdered the entire multiverse a hero. What are we supposed to do here?!"

@Lucky @Yun Lee @Kaykay @Hahli Nuva @Jeremi @CrunchyCHEEZIT @Gummi Bunnies @York @Alex Azure @Crow @Takumi @Alex Azure @Sark @Everybody​

Phil Connors and Rita Hanson

" The word you are struggling to find is anti-villain. They are people who do dark things to reach good ends, the good end being a world full of happiness here, but whatever her end is, she hasn't used the best methods to do it. In a weird way, she is daring to not quite be villains, but I wouldn't call us anti-heroes, heroes or even anti-villains. We don't exactly fit into any of those tropes. I'm pretty sure we were all picked because our organizations had a vague idea of what she wanted to do," he dryly replied.

" We have to do what is wrong, even though this world is happy. I noticed that whatever happened if we opposed her couldn't be seen, but we saw the future of this place if we do nothing. It stays the same. I'm not saying what we're doing is right, but someone has to make that decision and we are the only ones with the free will to do it."

@Ver @Yun Lee @Kaykay @Hahli Nuva @Jeremi @CrunchyCHEEZIT @Gummi Bunnies @York @Alex Azure @Crow @Takumi @Alex Azure @Sark @Everybody

Ben dials his Omnitrix up and shows her some holograms.

"I haven't suffered any noteworthy negative side effects from turning into aliens that obey different laws of physics. Huh, now that I word it that way... you might have a point, bit still, the cosmos is at hand here.

Say, do you think the very, very mixed results are what caused Othinus to hurl back there? Wait, those futures Clockwork saw..."

Ben clenches a palm into a fist.

"If we are to respect the choice of Othinus, if we are to see her as a hero," Ben turns to Toppo for a bit, "we will have to stop her from using her power, for her own good, she's in denial.

Should we see her as a evildoer, then she shall have to face the punishment of having power she has used unwisely taken from her.

Wherever we stand, I believe our endpoints align.

Now, onto strategy."

"The arrow was one of the few pieces Othinus needed to acquire such immense power," Grandpa Max adds to the conversation, standing beside Toppo as he crossed his arms, "if you ask me, that alone should give us some form of noticeable advantage. How noticeable - that remains to be seen. It could be as measly as 1 or 2 percent."

Ben asks Touma, and all.

"Which is better, Touma, everyone - a temporary utopia hosted by a deity who is probably too sickly to maintain it in the long run, ending all they've maintained unwillingly, or a balance where evils exist alongside the good, but we will always know there will be a tomorrow to look forward to?"

@Ver @Yun Lee @Kaykay @Hahli Nuva @Jeremi @CrunchyCHEEZIT @Gummi Bunnies @York @Alex Azure @Crow @Takumi @Sark @Lucky @Everybody​

Phil Connors and Rita Hanson

" Seeing as I have lived through one, I prefer the balance. The same happiness over and over can get old quite honestly. The fact that there is no tomorrow here just rubs me the wrong way, especially if nobody has a say or even notices the loop. It's kind of jarringly unnerving," he admitted.

" I agree with Phil on this one."

@Ver @Yun Lee @Kaykay @Hahli Nuva @Jeremi @CrunchyCHEEZIT @Gummi Bunnies @York @Alex Azure @Crow @Takumi @Sark @Everybody

Schala Zeal
@Ver @Yun Lee @Kaykay @Hahli Nuva @Jeremi @CrunchyCHEEZIT @Gummi Bunnies @Alex Azure @Crow @Takumi @Sark @Lucky @Everybody

Schala blinked, cocking her head as she seemed to realize Jiren was... Not completely there, mentally anyways... Well, not yet. Though, seeing that her presense seemed to invoke at least some of his memories, she managed another smile.

"Yes... It's me... Schala... Don't you remember what... Happened to you?" She asked, carefully reaching out to him.

However, this motion was abruptly stopped by what Othinus said, coupled with Touma's words, and Toppo's theories. In the end... She sighed, shaking her head as she stared at the arrow in Touma's hands, shrugging her shoulders when he mentioned that hotel.

"A hotel... ... Yes... Perhaps what we need is some rest..." She said, rubbing her temples for a moment before she continued.

"If there was a way to maintain a state of reality like this forever... Without any more sacrifices... I would not oppose it, but yet... I fear that's not the case; I fear that this place is... Finite."

There was a pause as she recounted Othinus' words before continuing.

"She said she wanted a place to return to... Rather than nothing at all... ... I believe she was referring to a place to return the multiverse to when she has to rebuild it again... Because each reality she creates, if what we have been... Told is correct is unstable. Perhaps it's somehow linked to the great spirits... Or maybe... In this case... It's linked to a fatal flaw in this 'paradise', something that will force her to reset everything once again... Perhaps that's why the future where we stayed... Loops to no end..." She said, sighing a little as she looke towards the arrow Touma was holding now.

Then, her gaze turned to Jiren as she spoke again, a sad look crossing her face as she once more recalled their conversation in those vaults.

"My answer hasn't changed... From back in those vaults... ... I refuse to sacrifice a Multiverse just to create the one that I know and love... I would put aside my own ideals, for the happiness of others... But... This 'paradise'... This... 'Heaven', there's something... Wrong with it. I just... Don't know... If I should let things run its course, or take pre-emptive action... And break the cycle before it has a chance to come full circle..."

The young woman who had once been so confident in her actions back then had become one full of conflict. Then again... Perhaps she had always felt this way deep down, and it only took the right environment for it all to come out.

It was... Just like her Kingdom again... Sitting on the sidelines, unsure of what to do... If anything at all... Watching what was once a paradise slowly become a living hell as her mother began to grow mad with power.

Othinus was like a god now... No, she was the god here as far as they knew, but yet... ... She too, was human in her own right; she was self motivated, and in the end... Perhaps she too, will succumb to the madness that comes with seeking, and maintaining such power forever.

Was she willing to allow people in this multiverse be happy for just a bit longer... While this paradise still lasted? She... Wasn't so sure right now...​

 

[Macy Moretti]

"Maybe so, but... The question is, should we use this? Would it even matter either way?" Touma said to Ben, gazing at the Arrow in his hand and even holding it up a little for the others to look at. It technically belonged to Giorno, so maybe he should be the one to decide, but... Perhaps one could say, the young don was too shell-shocked to make his own decision on what to do with his own Arrow in this moment. Not that the spiky-haired boy could particularly blame him, considering the gravity of this situation.

As the group bid farewell to the people of the utopia, who thought little of Othinus's appearance and sudden departure, like it was the most natural thing in the world, the group began navigating their way to the hotel, if only at the insistence of Touma and Severa, it seemed. As they moved, Touma, dispirited now more than ever, pursed his lips.

"... And if it did matter, are you all really willing to make a choice for the sake of the entire multiverse? I mean... How? How do we proceed from here? We can't just blindly keep going forward if it means that in the end like this... Can we?"

@Lucky @Yun Lee @Kaykay @Hahli Nuva @Jeremi @CrunchyCHEEZIT @Gummi Bunnies @York @Alex Azure @Crow @Takumi @Alex Azure @Sark @Everybody​

"I dunno...I mean, why have us oppose her when she can just force us into submission with a flick of her wrist?" Severa's mood dimmed a bit as Othinus cane back up in conversation. "First she tells us we're gonna be punished and broken until we rot, then she gives us a chance to live happily ever after? Why not just shove us into some new world of hers and be done with it?"

"She did say she found amusement in torturing us for opposing her," Libra said, still conflicted, though being away from the others helped him focus more. "But...is that truly it? Why punish us, only to turn and give us and everyone we love peace and prosperity?"

@Ver @Lucky @Yun Lee @Kaykay @Hahli Nuva@Jeremi @CrunchyCHEEZIT @Gummi Bunnies @York @Alex Azure @Crow @Takumi @Alex Azure @Sark @Everybody​

"Then this is the trick, isn't it? She's playing a game with us. The game is that we can entertain her by constantly retaliating. She's testing us by seeing just how long we will retaliate. It's her game. It doesn't matter how many times we fight her, she's only going to keep remaking the multiverse until she finds on that breaks us."

"Even then, she might still reset things if we don't fight her. She'll find every way to break us she can. Or maybe she'll start a loop, and keep breaking us in the multiverse she found breaks us until she gets bored."
​

Ben dials his Omnitrix up and shows her some holograms.

"I haven't suffered any noteworthy negative side effects from turning into aliens that obey different laws of physics. Huh, now that I word it that way... you might have a point, bit still, the cosmos is at hand here.

Say, do you think the very, very mixed results are what caused Othinus to hurl back there? Wait, those futures Clockwork saw..."

Ben clenches a palm into a fist.

"If we are to respect the choice of Othinus, if we are to see her as a hero," Ben turns to Toppo for a bit, "we will have to stop her from using her power, for her own good, she's in denial.

Should we see her as a evildoer, then she shall have to face the punishment of having power she has used unwisely taken from her.

Wherever we stand, I believe our endpoints align.

Now, onto strategy."

"The arrow was one of the few pieces Othinus needed to acquire such immense power," Grandpa Max adds to the conversation, standing beside Toppo as he crossed his arms, "if you ask me, that alone should give us some form of noticeable advantage. How noticeable - that remains to be seen. It could be as measly as 1 or 2 percent."

Ben asks Touma, and all.

"Which is better, Touma, everyone - a temporary utopia hosted by a deity who is probably too sickly to maintain it in the long run, ending all they've maintained unwillingly, or a balance where evils exist alongside the good, but we will always know there will be a tomorrow to look forward to?"

@Ver @Yun Lee @Kaykay @Hahli Nuva @Jeremi @CrunchyCHEEZIT @Gummi Bunnies @York @Alex Azure @Crow @Takumi @Sark @Lucky @Everybody​

Phil Connors and Rita Hanson

" Seeing as I have lived through one, I prefer the balance. The same happiness over and over can get old quite honestly. The fact that there is no tomorrow here just rubs me the wrong way, especially if nobody has a say or even notices the loop. It's kind of jarringly unnerving," he admitted.

" I agree with Phil on this one."

@Ver @Yun Lee @Kaykay @Hahli Nuva @Jeremi @CrunchyCHEEZIT @Gummi Bunnies @York @Alex Azure @Crow @Takumi @Sark @Everybody

Schala Zeal
@Ver @Yun Lee @Kaykay @Hahli Nuva @Jeremi @CrunchyCHEEZIT @Gummi Bunnies @Alex Azure @Crow @Takumi @Sark @Lucky @Everybody

Schala blinked, cocking her head as she seemed to realize Jiren was... Not completely there, mentally anyways... Well, not yet. Though, seeing that her presense seemed to invoke at least some of his memories, she managed another smile.

"Yes... It's me... Schala... Don't you remember what... Happened to you?" She asked, carefully reaching out to him.

However, this motion was abruptly stopped by what Othinus said, coupled with Touma's words, and Toppo's theories. In the end... She sighed, shaking her head as she stared at the arrow in Touma's hands, shrugging her shoulders when he mentioned that hotel.

"A hotel... ... Yes... Perhaps what we need is some rest..." She said, rubbing her temples for a moment before she continued.

"If there was a way to maintain a state of reality like this forever... Without any more sacrifices... I would not oppose it, but yet... I fear that's not the case; I fear that this place is... Finite."

There was a pause as she recounted Othinus' words before continuing.

"She said she wanted a place to return to... Rather than nothing at all... ... I believe she was referring to a place to return the multiverse to when she has to rebuild it again... Because each reality she creates, if what we have been... Told is correct is unstable. Perhaps it's somehow linked to the great spirits... Or maybe... In this case... It's linked to a fatal flaw in this 'paradise', something that will force her to reset everything once again... Perhaps that's why the future where we stayed... Loops to no end..." She said, sighing a little as she looke towards the arrow Touma was holding now.

Then, her gaze turned to Jiren as she spoke again, a sad look crossing her face as she once more recalled their conversation in those vaults.

"My answer hasn't changed... From back in those vaults... ... I refuse to sacrifice a Multiverse just to create the one that I know and love... I would put aside my own ideals, for the happiness of others... But... This 'paradise'... This... 'Heaven', there's something... Wrong with it. I just... Don't know... If I should let things run its course, or take pre-emptive action... And break the cycle before it has a chance to come full circle..."

The young woman who had once been so confident in her actions back then had become one full of conflict. Then again... Perhaps she had always felt this way deep down, and it only took the right environment for it all to come out.

It was... Just like her Kingdom again... Sitting on the sidelines, unsure of what to do... If anything at all... Watching what was once a paradise slowly become a living hell as her mother began to grow mad with power.

Othinus was like a god now... No, she was the god here as far as they knew, but yet... ... She too, was human in her own right; she was self motivated, and in the end... Perhaps she too, will succumb to the madness that comes with seeking, and maintaining such power forever.

Was she willing to allow people in this multiverse be happy for just a bit longer... While this paradise still lasted? She... Wasn't so sure right now...​

"And how exactly do we break the cycle? I'll agree, loops kinda suck, but what do we do? Stab everyone with the hopes of everyone getting a punchy brain ghost? Or just stab the already Stand Users and hope their stands all level up to Othinus-beating levels? That Arrow has seen some shit, too."

"Anybody who uses that Arrow should be ready to face a lot of dark emotions and malevolence. I don't think it's healthy for anyone, Jojo's included."

@Ver @York @Yun Lee @Kaykay @Hahli Nuva @Jeremi @CrunchyCHEEZIT @Gummi Bunnies @Alex Azure @Crow @Takumi @Sark @Lucky @Everybody​

 

[Ver]

"Not heroes or villains... I guess that just makes us human at the end of the day," Touma sighed to Rita, looking toward the ground with a furrowed brow, though these sentiments either way did little to assuage him. He never cared for such titles himself, always instead opting for what he simply believed was right, but... Now he didn't know what was right.

To Ben, he shook his head. "How can we say how strong or weak she is? Even with Fiamma of the Right's spell and Ollerus's sacrifice, she didn't show much sign that she was getting any weaker, beside that one coughing fit she had. It could have been a one-off effect for all we know. But... either way... he's right," Touma went on, gesturing toward Mason, "It's a gambit for us, but it's just a game to her. This situation is impossible from every front."

As they stood in front of the hotel, the boy clenched his fists tightly again. "And no matter what, the fact remains that those people out there -- our friends, our family -- they were saved in ways we never could do for them. Even if we can't accept this reality, they don't remember any of it! This isn't a matter of tricks or illusion. Real as day, those people are happy, and even if such a multiverse becomes stagnant even for them, Othinus could just wave that spear around and make it go away! I... I can't take that away from them!"

"Sounds like a real quandary that you're all stuck in /return. Maybe I can pitch in my two cents /escape?"

From above, the voice of a teenage girl with a peculiar speech pattern was heard from everyone, prompting Touma to look up and gawk at the sight above.

"W-What the...?!"

View attachment 3402

"Yaho, greetings /return! How do you all do /escape?"

Some of the group (ideally all, considering how they'd met her during the fight in the flooded city) might have been able to identify her as a "Misaka Sister," specifically 10032 that had accompanied them back then, but... Something was certainly different. Even though she wore the exact same outfit, from the school uniform to the goggles atop her head, she spoke like a typewriter or an old computer, unlike how 10032 had before Othinus had become the true Magic God of the multiverse.

@Lucky @Yun Lee @Kaykay @Hahli Nuva @Jeremi @CrunchyCHEEZIT @Gummi Bunnies @York @Alex Azure @Crow @Takumi @Alex Azure @Sark @Everybody​

 

[Crow]

"Not heroes or villains... I guess that just makes us human at the end of the day," Touma sighed to Rita, looking toward the ground with a furrowed brow, though these sentiments either way did little to assuage him. He never cared for such titles himself, always instead opting for what he simply believed was right, but... Now he didn't know what was right.

To Ben, he shook his head. "How can we say how strong or weak she is? Even with Fiamma of the Right's spell and Ollerus's sacrifice, she didn't show much sign that she was getting any weaker, beside that one coughing fit she had. It could have been a one-off effect for all we know. But... either way... he's right," Touma went on, gesturing toward Mason, "It's a gambit for us, but it's just a game to her. This situation is impossible from every front."

As they stood in front of the hotel, the boy clenched his fists tightly again. "And no matter what, the fact remains that those people out there -- our friends, our family -- they were saved in ways we never could do for them. Even if we can't accept this reality, they don't remember any of it! This isn't a matter of tricks or illusion. Real as day, those people are happy, and even if such a multiverse becomes stagnant even for them, Othinus could just wave that spear around and make it go away! I... I can't take that away from them!"

"Sounds like a real quandary that you're all stuck in /return. Maybe I can pitch in my two cents /escape?"

From above, the voice of a teenage girl with a peculiar speech pattern was heard from everyone, prompting Touma to look up and gawk at the sight above.

"W-What the...?!"

View attachment 3402

"Yaho, greetings /return! How do you all do /escape?"

Some of the group (ideally all, considering how they'd met her during the fight in the flooded city) might have been able to identify her as a "Misaka Sister," specifically 10032 that had accompanied them back then, but... Something was certainly different. Even though she wore the exact same outfit, from the school uniform to the goggles atop her head, she spoke like a typewriter or an old computer, unlike how 10032 had before Othinus had become the true Magic God of the multiverse.

@Lucky @Yun Lee @Kaykay @Hahli Nuva @Jeremi @CrunchyCHEEZIT @Gummi Bunnies @York @Alex Azure @Crow @Takumi @Alex Azure @Sark @Everybody​

"I'm going to break your illusion!"

Ben prepares to punch Touma in the face, but his fist, arms fully outstretched, ended up but a mere few centimetres away from his nose.

Ben laughs.

"Ahahaha... ahahahaha... AHAHAHAHA... Gotcha, didn't I? I don't think I can get mad at you. We're alike, you and I - hero types who want everyone to be happy, even if such a concept is impossible, maybe until now, that is. If I am to find you a bother, I'm probably just as bothersome, just as painful to hang around. Kamijou Touma, I feel a bit of doubt from you, maybe it's also the doubt of myself. You question what we are about to take from them, but do you question if Othinus took anything from them already - something that can only be given back to them by fixing all this?"

All looked up and saw-

"Good timing!" Grandpa Max smiles as he looks up to see the very specific MISAKA. "Come join us down here."

@Ver @Lucky @Yun Lee @Kaykay @Hahli Nuva @Jeremi @CrunchyCHEEZIT @Gummi Bunnies @York @Alex Azure @Crow @Takumi @Sark @Everybody​

 

[Macy Moretti]

"Not heroes or villains... I guess that just makes us human at the end of the day," Touma sighed to Rita, looking toward the ground with a furrowed brow, though these sentiments either way did little to assuage him. He never cared for such titles himself, always instead opting for what he simply believed was right, but... Now he didn't know what was right.

To Ben, he shook his head. "How can we say how strong or weak she is? Even with Fiamma of the Right's spell and Ollerus's sacrifice, she didn't show much sign that she was getting any weaker, beside that one coughing fit she had. It could have been a one-off effect for all we know. But... either way... he's right," Touma went on, gesturing toward Mason, "It's a gambit for us, but it's just a game to her. This situation is impossible from every front."

As they stood in front of the hotel, the boy clenched his fists tightly again. "And no matter what, the fact remains that those people out there -- our friends, our family -- they were saved in ways we never could do for them. Even if we can't accept this reality, they don't remember any of it! This isn't a matter of tricks or illusion. Real as day, those people are happy, and even if such a multiverse becomes stagnant even for them, Othinus could just wave that spear around and make it go away! I... I can't take that away from them!"

"Sounds like a real quandary that you're all stuck in /return. Maybe I can pitch in my two cents /escape?"

From above, the voice of a teenage girl with a peculiar speech pattern was heard from everyone, prompting Touma to look up and gawk at the sight above.

"W-What the...?!"

View attachment 3402

"Yaho, greetings /return! How do you all do /escape?"

Some of the group (ideally all, considering how they'd met her during the fight in the flooded city) might have been able to identify her as a "Misaka Sister," specifically 10032 that had accompanied them back then, but... Something was certainly different. Even though she wore the exact same outfit, from the school uniform to the goggles atop her head, she spoke like a typewriter or an old computer, unlike how 10032 had before Othinus had become the true Magic God of the multiverse.

@Lucky @Yun Lee @Kaykay @Hahli Nuva @Jeremi @CrunchyCHEEZIT @Gummi Bunnies @York @Alex Azure @Crow @Takumi @Alex Azure @Sark @Everybody​

"Hi Misaka!" Macy said, with a more chipper voice than she'd been able to summon previously in this conversation.

"Hey, 10032. I'm open to suggestions. What do you have for us?"

@Ver @Lucky @Yun Lee @Kaykay @Hahli Nuva @Jeremi @CrunchyCHEEZIT @Gummi Bunnies @York @Alex Azure @Crow @Takumi @Alex Azure @Sark @Everybody​

 

[Lucky]

Phil Connors and Rita Hanson

Phil looked up at Misaka. " We're all doing okay, I guess relatively. What would your suggestion be?" He asked, piling about a dozen doughnuts from his jacket pocket and starting to eat them while he waited.

" ….Phil, why do you have a dozen doughnuts in your pockets?" She asked.

As he finished swallowing his seventh one. " One, I'm hungry. Two, they remind of home and three, I don't know why. Kind of developed of having a dozen doughnuts and haven't been able to break it," he replied.

@Ver @Yun Lee @Kaykay @Hahli Nuva @Jeremi @CrunchyCHEEZIT @Gummi Bunnies @York @Alex Azure @Crow @Takumi @Alex Azure @Sark @Everybody

 

[Ver]

"Don't mind if I do /return," the girl spoke as she slipped down from her ledge, safely landing in front of everyone at Max's invitation.

With an aghast look at the mere notion that what they were talking about had caught the attention of someone else here, Touma could barely say anything comprehensible. "U-Uh... It can't be... You're...?"

"Hmm, I suppose technically you could say that this body is of Misaka 10032, since it's the one most familiar to you, but /backspace the entity that stands before you isn't quite as single-minded /return," the girl said, performing a bit of an exaggerated curtsy with her short skirt.

"You're... not 10032? Then who are you?"

"That's a bit complicated to say, but /backspace in a nutshell, you can say that I'm the single Will of the entire Misaka Network /return. Nice to meetcha ☆ /return."

The Will of the Whole Misaka Network. That was what she was known as, to put it shortly, and here she was, making a peace sign with her hand as she held it over her right eye.

Without waiting for anyone to inquire further about what exactly that even meant, the "girl" went on. "Why don't you come on inside /escape? We'll have just a bit more privacy that way, and from there, we can discuss how to deal with the pickle you all are in /return."

"You don't mean...?"

"The mere idea of fighting a god defies all logical explanation, but /backspace surely there will be a solution we can unearth, even if it's not the answer we all exactly want /return."

@Lucky @Yun Lee @Kaykay @Hahli Nuva @Jeremi @CrunchyCHEEZIT @Gummi Bunnies @York @Alex Azure @Crow @Takumi @Alex Azure @Sark @Everybody​

 

[Lucky]

Phil Connors and Rita Hanson

" It never is the answer we want to find." [/COLOR] Phil shrugged and entered the place.

" So what is the solution?" Rita asked as she walked in.

@Ver @Yun Lee @Kaykay @Hahli Nuva @Jeremi @CrunchyCHEEZIT @Gummi Bunnies @York @Alex Azure @Crow @Takumi @Alex Azure @Sark @Everybody

 

[Crow]

"Don't mind if I do /return," the girl spoke as she slipped down from her ledge, safely landing in front of everyone at Max's invitation.

With an aghast look at the mere notion that what they were talking about had caught the attention of someone else here, Touma could barely say anything comprehensible. "U-Uh... It can't be... You're...?"

"Hmm, I suppose technically you could say that this body is of Misaka 10032, since it's the one most familiar to you, but /backspace the entity that stands before you isn't quite as single-minded /return," the girl said, performing a bit of an exaggerated curtsy with her short skirt.

"You're... not 10032? Then who are you?"

"That's a bit complicated to say, but /backspace in a nutshell, you can say that I'm the single Will of the entire Misaka Network /return. Nice to meetcha ☆ /return."

The Will of the Whole Misaka Network. That was what she was known as, to put it shortly, and here she was, making a peace sign with her hand as she held it over her right eye.

Without waiting for anyone to inquire further about what exactly that even meant, the "girl" went on. "Why don't you come on inside /escape? We'll have just a bit more privacy that way, and from there, we can discuss how to deal with the pickle you all are in /return."

"You don't mean...?"

"The mere idea of fighting a god defies all logical explanation, but /backspace surely there will be a solution we can unearth, even if it's not the answer we all exactly want /return."

@Lucky @Yun Lee @Kaykay @Hahli Nuva @Jeremi @CrunchyCHEEZIT @Gummi Bunnies @York @Alex Azure @Crow @Takumi @Alex Azure @Sark @Everybody​

"And where exactly are we going to unearth it?" Ben adds. "I'm not sure if this new world would just have the key lying around."

Ben seemed a bit shocked.

"Wait, wait, inside, like inside your fancy network? It's the MISAKA network, not the Ben network or the whatever network."

@Ver @Lucky @Yun Lee @Kaykay @Hahli Nuva @Jeremi @CrunchyCHEEZIT @Gummi Bunnies @York @Alex Azure @Crow @Takumi @Alex Azure @Sark @Everybody​

 

[Takumi]

"Geneva is me!" A redheaded woman arrived, hugging Lindel's arm. "You must be...uhhhh..." She glanced at Lindel. "Psst! Is that one Chise or Ruth?"

Libra chose not to speak up as he listened to Othinus say her peace. Could they truly decide this for everyone? They were all so happy now...not just his own desires were fulfilled. Luca was happy, able to live a life free of cruelty. Sumia had the man of her dreams, and was starting a family she'd always wanted. Lindel, Geneva, Miki...they were all happy now. Even if it was suddenly granted by Othinus...it was real, wasn't it? A true peace. Heaven on Earth.

Who was he to take that away?

The priest sighed, then gently squeezed Luca's hand. Perhaps...

".........."

---

"What is she talking about, 'going back to the beginning?'" Severa asked Touma and Leivinia. What was Othinus trying to accomplish, anyway? There had to be more to this!

@Ver @Lucky @Yun Lee @Kaykay @Hahli Nuva @Jeremi @CrunchyCHEEZIT @Gummi Bunnies @York @Alex Azure @Crow @Takumi @Alex Azure @Everybody​

"That's Chise, Ruth is the dog, dear." Lindel spoke, pointing to each respectively.

"Oh um...hello..." Chise greeted Geneva a bit awkwardly, before noticing the rest of the group prepared to move out. "Um, excuse us!" She said before rushing off to catch up with the rest, Ruth taking notice ans following after her.

"Ever the one to rush into things, I tell you." Lindel sighed.

"Don't mind if I do /return," the girl spoke as she slipped down from her ledge, safely landing in front of everyone at Max's invitation.

With an aghast look at the mere notion that what they were talking about had caught the attention of someone else here, Touma could barely say anything comprehensible. "U-Uh... It can't be... You're...?"

"Hmm, I suppose technically you could say that this body is of Misaka 10032, since it's the one most familiar to you, but /backspace the entity that stands before you isn't quite as single-minded /return," the girl said, performing a bit of an exaggerated curtsy with her short skirt.

"You're... not 10032? Then who are you?"

"That's a bit complicated to say, but /backspace in a nutshell, you can say that I'm the single Will of the entire Misaka Network /return. Nice to meetcha ☆ /return."

The Will of the Whole Misaka Network. That was what she was known as, to put it shortly, and here she was, making a peace sign with her hand as she held it over her right eye.

Without waiting for anyone to inquire further about what exactly that even meant, the "girl" went on. "Why don't you come on inside /escape? We'll have just a bit more privacy that way, and from there, we can discuss how to deal with the pickle you all are in /return."

"You don't mean...?"

"The mere idea of fighting a god defies all logical explanation, but /backspace surely there will be a solution we can unearth, even if it's not the answer we all exactly want /return."

@Lucky @Yun Lee @Kaykay @Hahli Nuva @Jeremi @CrunchyCHEEZIT @Gummi Bunnies @York @Alex Azure @Crow @Takumi @Alex Azure @Sark @Everybody​

"How exactly are you not effected by Othinus?" Chise asked, following the rest inside with Ruth right on her heels. She happened to notice that, while doing so, Elias seemed to move in her shadow, as if leaving it.

Maybe there was something about the hotel he was avoiding? Or-

"I'll wait for you out here, Chise."

"Oh, um, okay Elias..." She blinked, watching from the corner of her eye as he took form and waved.

As nice as it is to seem him happy...it doesn't really feel right, like this... she thought, before she pushed on to figure out what was with this whole MISAKA Network or the like.

@Ver @Yun Lee @Crow @Alex Azure @Everyonr

 

[Sark]

"Toppo! You're alive!" Ben exclaims excitedly as he sees old Toppo return, "I should've known you'd return when Jiren over there did."

He hears the resolves of Will, Schala, Toppo, Mason & Macy, and doesn't seem to have very specific responses to each of them.

"Every one of you seems to see the concept so differently," he says to the group, then looks to Schala for a bit, agreeing with her latter statements in particular, "I can't exactly say any of them are entirely wrong, that's why I want to hear 'em all."​

"I... I at least think I'm alive. I supposed being totally obliterated tends to mess with the memory" The Old Man laughed, the edges of his moustache dancing across his neck. "What I mean is, I'm glad to be back, even if the world I'm returning to is so... different"​

"Well, I'm sorry, Othinus, but Mason isn't going to give in to your world!"

"Macy, you can't speak for me."

"Huh? Wait, are you not gonna be the plucky hero all of a sudden?"

"You like this version too, don't you? You're happy to have everyone here. You don't need to feel the pain in people's hearts because there isn't any."

"Is that it? Mason, I don't mind the pain of others. I'm happy to heal others. How can I heal in a world without pain? How can you be a hero in a world without villains?"

"A hero is an idiot, Mace. A hero is somebody who will run headfirst into danger to help somebody else out of danger. That's not to say a hero is pointless. I love playing the hero. Every now and then I actually succeed. Heroes have their place, just not in this world."

"No, I disagree. Now is hero time. If there is a world of peace, it has to be protected! Somebody had to create this utopia, and I don't mean in the way Othinus did. In this phase, people fought to create paradise. We need to fight for this paradise's future! Toppo is right. If we don't stop Othinus, then she'll either loop today or change the phases again. If we want to keep this world, then we need to fight back!"

"And then Othinus will wave her magic stick and I'll lose the love of my life again. I finally have something I can really lose. Othinus wouldn't take you away, but I can lose Carrie. I'm not fighting her again if it means I lose Caroline."

"Mason... Guys, I'm doing my best! Can somebody knock some sense into him?"

@Ver @CrunchyCHEEZIT @Yun Lee@York @Takumi @Hahli Nuva @Alex Azure @Crow​

"More looping? I should have anticipated Othinus to attempt to dominate time itself, especially after what happened in the village... But the fact that time progresses on Avalon normally would imply that Othinus is not truly omnipotent. Her looping must be a conscious response, and not an instinctive one. If her powers were always active, Avalon would remain frozen in time... so if we can take Othinus by surprise and apply enough pressure, we might be able to prevent her from resetting time... or at least, hypothetically. Still... we must find a way to overcome her reality manipulation abilities..."

Phil Connors and Rita Hanson

" The word you are struggling to find is anti-villain. They are people who do dark things to reach good ends, the good end being a world full of happiness here, but whatever her end is, she hasn't used the best methods to do it. In a weird way, she is daring to not quite be villains, but I wouldn't call us anti-heroes, heroes or even anti-villains. We don't exactly fit into any of those tropes. I'm pretty sure we were all picked because our organizations had a vague idea of what she wanted to do," he dryly replied.

" We have to do what is wrong, even though this world is happy. I noticed that whatever happened if we opposed her couldn't be seen, but we saw the future of this place if we do nothing. It stays the same. I'm not saying what we're doing is right, but someone has to make that decision and we are the only ones with the free will to do it."

@Ver @Yun Lee @Kaykay @Hahli Nuva @Jeremi @CrunchyCHEEZIT @Gummi Bunnies @York @Alex Azure @Crow @Takumi @Alex Azure @Sark @Everybody

"You're right, Rita. This is a world of stagnation. The cost of conflict it... progress. Perhaps there is paradise even greater than this. Maybe there is a world of complete spiritual harmony just beyond our reach... but without conflict to announce the call to action, nothing will ever change. A Multiverse stuck in today... denied its tomorrow..."

Schala blinked, cocking her head as she seemed to realize Jiren was... Not completely there, mentally anyways... Well, not yet. Though, seeing that her presense seemed to invoke at least some of his memories, she managed another smile.

"Yes... It's me... Schala... Don't you remember what... Happened to you?" She asked, carefully reaching out to him.​

"I..." His heart froze, his spirits tumbling inwards. He felt a fraction of his being shift as if cracks had started to dance across its icy plane. A shiver crept down his spine, and a flicker of a twitch danced in the corner of his eye. "What... happened to me?"​

Then, her gaze turned to Jiren as she spoke again, a sad look crossing her face as she once more recalled their conversation in those vaults.

"My answer hasn't changed... From back in those vaults... ... I refuse to sacrifice a Multiverse just to create the one that I know and love... I would put aside my own ideals, for the happiness of others... But... This 'paradise'... This... 'Heaven', there's something... Wrong with it. I just... Don't know... If I should let things run its course, or take pre-emptive action... And break the cycle before it has a chance to come full circle..."

The young woman who had once been so confident in her actions back then had become one full of conflict. Then again... Perhaps she had always felt this way deep down, and it only took the right environment for it all to come out.

It was... Just like her Kingdom again... Sitting on the sidelines, unsure of what to do... If anything at all... Watching what was once a paradise slowly become a living hell as her mother began to grow mad with power.

Othinus was like a god now... No, she was the god here as far as they knew, but yet... ... She too, was human in her own right; she was self motivated, and in the end... Perhaps she too, will succumb to the madness that comes with seeking, and maintaining such power forever.

Was she willing to allow people in this multiverse be happy for just a bit longer... While this paradise still lasted? She... Wasn't so sure right now...​

"The vault...Knowhere..." Jiren felt the walls of his own illusion closing inwards, constricting every breath he took. Faded images flickered through his mind, stretching and fading like a shaken polaroid. With every word that met his ears, they seemed to grow clearer, the boundaries of his trace forcing the streams of colour back into paintings they had once been. He saw waves of light leaping across a beautiful skyline, dancing in the wake of 9 proud warriors. He saw mountains crack and crumble, the most amazing towers of light reaching out from every crevis. He saw the finest red uniform, stitched with a lifetime of care, and how countless worlds praised its coming! And countless more... feared it...

Stories of the dreaded grey filled his head. Stories of the Cold Bastard who turned his back upon the OMDA to ensure its destruction. He was a traitor, a soulless titan fighting for the sake of fighting, desperate for something to believe in. A man, lusting for something to die for, having lost all faith in the value of life. He saw worlds burn and people cry- the sights that had once driven him to defend the Grey- but in a moment of clarity, he saw the force that had created them. He saw worlds burn before his hand. He saw people cry at the sight of that once proud uniform.

But these sensations... they weren't real... they weren't right... But knowing that didn't make them go away. With each passing moment, the dream became more and more real, and the truths he had lived his whole life under became dreams themselves.

His family... his tribe and his child- The most sacred moments of his 'life'- were soon in the haze. He reached for them- he clawed at them with all the strength he had- but they too grew harder and harder to envision. The memories disappeared behind the iron doors of the Vault of Knowhere, overwritten by foul thoughts- the darkest thoughts that succeeded all dreams- death. He felt loss consume him all over again.

"This... was me? This fear you all feel... Schala... it was born of my sacrifice..." His breaths shortened. A hand trembled, reaching for hers "I can see... I can see flickers of your mind and I... I am not myself, am I? I did something... something evil... and I've convinced myself it was only a dream... Please... Schala... my... friend" Something sparkled. A tear? A tear for what? Himself? The man he was? Was it for the world he had left behind, or for the one he had created? That night before the spirit... its negative burned into his eyes. "What did I do? Who... what was I?"

"The arrow was one of the few pieces Othinus needed to acquire such immense power," Grandpa Max adds to the conversation, standing beside Toppo as he crossed his arms, "if you ask me, that alone should give us some form of noticeable advantage. How noticeable - that remains to be seen. It could be as measly as 1 or 2 percent."
Ben asks Touma, and all.
"Which is better, Touma, everyone - a temporary utopia hosted by a deity who is probably too sickly to maintain it in the long run, ending all they've maintained unwillingly, or a balance where evils exist alongside the good, but we will always know there will be a tomorrow to look forward to?"

"Maybe it will only give us 1 percent of 1 percent... but it will be point one-zero-one percent better off than we were, to begin with. We must explore every avenue and take every advantage we can...We come from a world that made its own God... but maybe it also made a band of heroes to undo its mistake. As long as we live and breathe, there is hope. We can win. It will be hard, and it will come at a great price... But we. Can. Win"

"Then this is the trick, isn't it? She's playing a game with us. The game is that we can entertain her by constantly retaliating. She's testing us by seeing just how long we will retaliate. It's her game. It doesn't matter how many times we fight her, she's only going to keep remaking the multiverse until she finds on that breaks us."

"Even then, she might still reset things if we don't fight her. She'll find every way to break us she can. Or maybe she'll start a loop, and keep breaking us in the multiverse she found breaks us until she gets bored."
​

"And how exactly do we break the cycle? I'll agree, loops kinda suck, but what do we do? Stab everyone with the hopes of everyone getting a punchy brain ghost? Or just stab the already Stand Users and hope their stands all level up to Othinus-beating levels? That Arrow has seen some shit, too."

"Anybody who uses that Arrow should be ready to face a lot of dark emotions and malevolence. I don't think it's healthy for anyone, Jojo's included."​

"Health won't be a problem- unless we take risks like this, we won't live long enough to reap to fruits of old-" His eyes flickered to Max for a moment, causing his cheeks to rise

"Or older age. We must be willing to die to defeat Othinus"

An idea burned behind Toppo's eyes.

"That being said... Othinus might have sowed the seeds of her own... its no coincidence that Kyle, Falcon and myself were resurrected... and that we've all run into so many lost loved ones... In an attempt to appeal to our hearts, Othinus has summoned an army to overcome her... Look around us: there are enough proud warriors here to overcome any foe. We won't need stands if we all stand up and stand strong! If we call in every favour we have and unite Avalon, then Othinus won't know what's hit her... we don't need to raise up a handful of heavy hitters! Absolutes are always outnumbered. Its the curse of the Gods!"​

 

[Crow]

"I... I at least think I'm alive. I supposed being totally obliterated tends to mess with the memory" The Old Man laughed, the edges of his moustache dancing across his neck. "What I mean is, I'm glad to be back, even if the world I'm returning to is so... different"​

"More looping? I should have anticipated Othinus to attempt to dominate time itself, especially after what happened in the village... But the fact that time progresses on Avalon normally would imply that Othinus is not truly omnipotent. Her looping must be a conscious response, and not an instinctive one. If her powers were always active, Avalon would remain frozen in time... so if we can take Othinus by surprise and apply enough pressure, we might be able to prevent her from resetting time... or at least, hypothetically. Still... we must find a way to overcome her reality manipulation abilities..."


"You're right, Rita. This is a world of stagnation. The cost of conflict it... progress. Perhaps there is paradise even greater than this. Maybe there is a world of complete spiritual harmony just beyond our reach... but without conflict to announce the call to action, nothing will ever change. A Multiverse stuck in today... denied its tomorrow..."

"I..." His heart froze, his spirits tumbling inwards. He felt a fraction of his being shift as if cracks had started to dance across its icy plane. A shiver crept down his spine, and a flicker of a twitch danced in the corner of his eye. "What... happened to me?"

"The vault...Knowhere..." Jiren felt the walls of his own illusion closing inwards, constricting every breath he took. Faded images flickered through his mind, stretching and fading like a shaken polaroid. With every word that met his ears, they seemed to grow clearer, the boundaries of his trace forcing the streams of colour back into paintings they had once been. He saw waves of light leaping across a beautiful skyline, dancing in the wake of 9 proud warriors. He saw mountains crack and crumble, the most amazing towers of light reaching out from every crevis. He saw the finest red uniform, stitched with a lifetime of care, and how countless worlds praised its coming! And countless more... feared it...

Stories of the dreaded grey filled his head. Stories of the Cold Bastard who turned his back upon the OMDA to ensure its destruction. He was a traitor, a soulless titan fighting for the sake of fighting, desperate for something to believe in. A man, lusting for something to die for, having lost all faith in the value of life. He saw worlds burn and people cry- the sights that had once driven him to defend the Grey- but in a moment of clarity, he saw the force that had created them. He saw worlds burn before his hand. He saw people cry at the sight of that once proud uniform.

But these sensations... they weren't real... they weren't right... But knowing that didn't make them go away. With each passing moment, the dream became more and more real, and the truths he had lived his whole life under became dreams themselves.

His family... his tribe and his child- The most sacred moments of his 'life'- were soon in the haze. He reached for them- he clawed at them with all the strength he had- but they too grew harder and harder to envision. The memories disappeared behind the iron doors of the Vault of Knowhere, overwritten by foul thoughts- the darkest thoughts that succeeded all dreams- death. He felt loss consume him all over again.

"This... was me? This fear you all feel... Schala... it was born of my sacrifice..." His breaths shortened. A hand trembled, reaching for hers "I can see... I can see flickers of your mind and I... I am not myself, am I? I did something... something evil... and I've convinced myself it was only a dream... Please... Schala... my... friend" Something sparkled. A tear? A tear for what? Himself? The man he was? Was it for the world he had left behind, or for the one he had created? That night before the spirit... its negative burned into his eyes. "What did I do? Who... what was I?"


"Maybe it will only give us 1 percent of 1 percent... but it will be point one-zero-one percent better off than we were, to begin with. We must explore every avenue and take every advantage we can...We come from a world that made its own God... but maybe it also made a band of heroes to undo its mistake. As long as we live and breathe, there is hope. We can win. It will be hard, and it will come at a great price... But we. Can. Win"

"Health won't be a problem- unless we take risks like this, we won't live long enough to reap to fruits of old-" His eyes flickered to Max for a moment, causing his cheeks to rise

"Or older age. We must be willing to die to defeat Othinus"

An idea burned behind Toppo's eyes.

"That being said... Othinus might have sowed the seeds of her own... its no coincidence that Kyle, Falcon and myself were resurrected... and that we've all run into so many lost loved ones... In an attempt to appeal to our hearts, Othinus has summoned an army to overcome her... Look around us: there are enough proud warriors here to overcome any foe. We won't need stands if we all stand up and stand strong! If we call in every favour we have and unite Avalon, then Othinus won't know what's hit her... we don't need to raise up a handful of heavy hitters! Absolutes are always outnumbered. Its the curse of the Gods!"​

"Guess I'll do what I can to deal with her," Grandpa Max adds, "maybe I'm way out of my league on the direct battlefield, so I'll have to think of something less direct, be it a Stand, or even some backup. Wait... if we're supposed to live here, maybe the old Rustbucket's lying around somewhere. That thing's like family to me, so it has to be here."

"That's not actually that bad an idea, Toppo. Lots of the pals I have back in Bellwood and met throughout the multiverse - I could gather their help, and so could everyone here! And those guys could gather their pals, and so on... Lindel, Noembelu, Birdie, just to name a few on my side...

Plus, if our time spent with our happy friends and family will be inevitably cut short, then we'll just have to make the best of it, now wouldn't we?

Toppo, if you need a good place to start, Schala & I saw Jiren earlier."

@Ver @Sark @Alex Azure @York @Lucky @Yun Lee @Takumi @Crow @etcetcetc​

 

[Yun Lee]

"I...I am unsure of that working," Libra admitted. "Everyone uniting...Othinus could just as easily turn our loved ones against us, or destroy them before our eyes..." And the people he had seen here in Avalon were the last he wanted that to happen to.

"How about we talk it over inside like Misaka said to, yeah?" Severa hastily suggested, rushing up to the Hotel. She was getting IN, damn it!

@Ver @Lucky @Yun Lee @Kaykay @Hahli Nuva@Jeremi @CrunchyCHEEZIT @Gummi Bunnies @York @Alex Azure @Crow @Takumi @Alex Azure @Sark @Everybody​

 

[Ver]

"... No, I meant heading inside the hotel /return. After all /backspace, you'd all appreciate some privacy after however long you had to endure talking to those other people, right /escape?" The Will of the Whole Misaka Network said to Ben with a flat face, crossing her arms into an X to verbally indicate how off the mark the hero was, briefly gesturing toward Severa with a nod of confirmation as she walked backward and began leading everyone inside the hotel through the front.

The Will chuckled lightly at Chise's question as though it were a simple matter. "Let's look at it one way /return. That Othinus goddess has free dominion over life and death for humans /return. Like a heavenly world and a human world /escape? Like heaven and hell /escape? It might be based in a religious concept I don’t really understand /return. But I’m a single organic system created from 20,000 units, y’know /escape? This network contains information from Misaka Units who are dead and those who are still alive /return."

"To that end, as a unit who is neither necessarily alive or dead, perhaps this existence managed to slip in between the cracks of her thoughts; am I resurrected or preserved /escape? Of course, it isn't to last if she were to realize her error /return. After all, perhaps the same could be said about robots or androids, who can't be necessarily said to be alive or dead in the conventional sense, but /backspace surely a god has the power to rectify that /return. It's only a matter of time /return."

"Oops, I let myself wander on like that /return. Sorry /return!" The Will playfully said, clapping her hands together like an exaggerated apology and a wink, before going on anyway, leading the group down an open hall inside the hotel, which in of itself seemed mostly empty at this moment, "So I suppose before you can find your answer, the question needs to be reiterated /return. Do you all know what you want to do here /escape?"

"... What?"

“Now that you know this is a perfect world of nothing but happiness, what will you do /escape?”

"It seems some of you are still conflicted /return. It's good to have resolve in your intentions, but /backspace that resolve shouldn't come so carelessly. Whether you like it or not, no matter what decision you make, you have to accept that it is a massive responsibility, and you are the only ones in the entire multiverse who can make it. No one will ever know either way what you did for them, except me, and even then, I don't believe we'll meet again /return. Can you accept that /escape?"

...

The Will waved toward Toppo and Ben. "That won't work, I think, if Othinus really has the rest of the multiverse under her thumb /return. Sorry /return."

@Lucky @Yun Lee @Kaykay @Hahli Nuva @Jeremi @CrunchyCHEEZIT @Gummi Bunnies @York @Alex Azure @Crow @Takumi @Alex Azure @Sark @Everybody​

 

[Jeremi]

"... No, I meant heading inside the hotel /return. After all /backspace, you'd all appreciate some privacy after however long you had to endure talking to those other people, right /escape?" The Will of the Whole Misaka Network said to Ben with a flat face, crossing her arms into an X to verbally indicate how off the mark the hero was, briefly gesturing toward Severa with a nod of confirmation as she walked backward and began leading everyone inside the hotel through the front.

The Will chuckled lightly at Chise's question as though it were a simple matter. "Let's look at it one way /return. That Othinus goddess has free dominion over life and death for humans /return. Like a heavenly world and a human world /escape? Like heaven and hell /escape? It might be based in a religious concept I don’t really understand /return. But I’m a single organic system created from 20,000 units, y’know /escape? This network contains information from Misaka Units who are dead and those who are still alive /return."

"To that end, as a unit who is neither necessarily alive or dead, perhaps this existence managed to slip in between the cracks of her thoughts; am I resurrected or preserved /escape? Of course, it isn't to last if she were to realize her error /return. After all, perhaps the same could be said about robots or androids, who can't be necessarily said to be alive or dead in the conventional sense, but /backspace surely a god has the power to rectify that /return. It's only a matter of time /return."

"Oops, I let myself wander on like that /return. Sorry /return!" The Will playfully said, clapping her hands together like an exaggerated apology and a wink, before going on anyway, leading the group down an open hall inside the hotel, which in of itself seemed mostly empty at this moment, "So I suppose before you can find your answer, the question needs to be reiterated /return. Do you all know what you want to do here /escape?"

"... What?"

“Now that you know this is a perfect world of nothing but happiness, what will you do /escape?”

"It seems some of you are still conflicted /return. It's good to have resolve in your intentions, but /backspace that resolve shouldn't come so carelessly. Whether you like it or not, no matter what decision you make, you have to accept that it is a massive responsibility, and you are the only ones in the entire multiverse who can make it. No one will ever know either way what you did for them, except me, and even then, I don't believe we'll meet again /return. Can you accept that /escape?"

...

The Will waved toward Toppo and Ben. "That won't work, I think, if Othinus really has the rest of the multiverse under her thumb /return. Sorry /return."

@Lucky @Yun Lee @Kaykay @Hahli Nuva @Jeremi @CrunchyCHEEZIT @Gummi Bunnies @York @Alex Azure @Crow @Takumi @Alex Azure @Sark @Everybody​

"Or, you know, we just wait until she gets bored." A voice rang up from behind. It was Jolyne who seemed to have a rather defeated look on her face as she continued. "Look either we just drop dead here and hold hands, or we show her the finger. I don't even think choosing this world is going to like be the end. What's she going to do then? Being all knowing and all powerful has to be some of the most boring shit. You can do everything and you know everything, what's left?"

"I totally think we need to figure out what she actually wants." Ermes added her two cents. "Not what she thinks we wants but what she actually wants."

@Lucky @Yun Lee @Kaykay @Hahli Nuva @Jeremi @CrunchyCHEEZIT @Gummi Bunnies @York @Alex Azure @Crow @Takumi @Alex Azure @Sark @Everybody

 

[Yun Lee]

Libra nodded. "I agree. We cannot fight her, as none of us stand a chance against her in battle. If we truly want to stop her..."

He trailed off, hesitant. Did he want to stop her? What if they failed, and everything, everyone, was completely obliterated just as before?

Thankfully, Severa picked up. "Yeah, I get it. We gotta try and figure out her motive here. That's the missing link in this whole thing!"

@Ver​

 

[Ver]

"Maybe you're right /return. Maybe it doesn't matter either way /return. Whatever you decide, it wouldn't matter if you don't have the power to make it so in reality, right /escape?" The Will asked, something of a reversal to what she was talking about as she responded to Jolyne and Libra, as she nonchalantly led everyone into an empty room in the hotel. White walls, a wooden floor. It was a pristine, sterile environment, like a room that had been created but not quite completed. A room under construction, a place yet to be realized. A rectangular room, large enough to fit the small crowd, blank like a canvas.

Holding her hands behind her back, the Will went on as everyone settled. "Let's put stuff like the gap in your powers against hers aside /return. It's undeniable what she's done /return. It's not an illusion or a slight of hand /return. Those people out there -- everyone you've ever known -- were saved /return. They have no memory of the original multiverse, and they believe you to be a part of this place as well /return. To that end, you just might be missing something simple, hidden in plain sight, under your noses /return."

With a strangely sweet, if not even sad, smile, The Will spoke simply.

"Othinus is afraid /return."

"Think about it /return. You all aside, why would she refuse to let everyone remember their original lives /escape? Why would she refuse to let them know that you were the only ones still suffering in this world without suffering /escape?"

@Lucky @Yun Lee @Kaykay @Hahli Nuva @Jeremi @CrunchyCHEEZIT @Gummi Bunnies @York @Alex Azure @Crow @Takumi @Alex Azure @Sark @Everybody​

 

[Yun Lee]

"Y'know, Wanda and Kyoko were saying the same thing...kinda," Severa said. "Back in the 'everyone died' multiverse, they mentioned that there was something Othinus wanted, some sort of...ideology? Or something?"

"What if..." Libra hesitated, unsure of the answer. "What if she was lying to us? Her goal was not to break or punish us...but to show us something. But no matter what...why us? We were not the only ones to oppose her..."

"Maybe because we were actually there with her?" Severa suggested, before looking at Touma. "Didn't Wanda mention you specifically? For some illusion or something?"

@Ver @Lucky @Yun Lee @Kaykay @Hahli Nuva@Jeremi @CrunchyCHEEZIT @Gummi Bunnies @York @Alex Azure @Crow @Takumi @Alex Azure @Sark @Everybody​