[F01-SP] four. <<Nature's Treasure>>

[NIGHT 0]

<<Nature's Treasure>>

nature's treasure was nowhere to be found.

"you've got to be kidding me," night murmured when she heard the news. it wasn't the first quest to have been found removed from the system, but out of all of the others, this one had seen repeated, practical use even as she was making her journey ascending the level ladders of aincrad. why, then, would the game remove such an important cornerstone of its eco-system? she stalled in the midst of bistro's store, hearing the news. she thought about the wayfarers on the river of the zero. wondered if the update had or would've flushed all other missing players cooped up in there to return to the surface from the subterranean.

bistro held up a finger. night focused on it, world sharpening into view.

"the garden's still there, of course." she was talking about the city's little courtyard, off to the corner. it was once filled with bug monsters. now it was devoid of hostile life. "but the buff is nowhere to be seen."

night huffed, eyes turning away from bistro at the explanation. she wasn't that much of a slow thinker. she caught the gist of her words immediately. her home was on the first floor, too.

it explained the lot of players still wandering the streets of the higher floors, desperate for another col outlet.

"still," the broker continued. a white mug sat on top of the wooden cabinet she leaned against, and her fingers toyed with the honey lemon in it with a thin metal stirrer. "i have my hunches. there've been reports of a man seen on the floors where nature treasures once were. another investigation tells me he's been spotted on all other floors, too."

"so then..."

night put two and two together, given the context. but it could've been another sort of general merchant or special event npc, the kind one would find in other games, trading tokens and other sorts of elements away.

bistro stopped and raised the cup to her lips. her mismatched eyes gleamed in the shadows, sharp wit highlighted with the pouring of light from the sun through the windows.

"you should look into it."

she took a sip. night squeezed herself further into her seat, gaze steeled upon the broker's nonchalance.

if the adventurer was waiting for more information, on this subject, bistro didn't have any.

so after a minute of waiting, night left.

- - -

she started to walk with nemo after she'd found him. on the outskirts of the floor, this time; she'd followed his steps as her mod directed her to do so. and the man smiled back at her and her secondary when they approached him. a gardener, squatted over some grass and mud half collected in a pail.

"greetings," he chimed. night didn't have much to say to him. pensive, the warrior, but cardinal knew it to be its cue after a moment passed between them, wordless.

day watched the player in curiosity the whole time, nyanko in her hands.

"are you looking for the special dungeon? i can take you there if you'd like."

night narrowed her eyes. no wonder bistro had sent her out for it. and though it meant she should've been more prepared for what conflict that may eventually occur, she wasn't informed of its danger.

maybe the broker was unaware of it, too.

"lead the way," night spoke. nemo nodded and rose from the ground, gathering his things.

| travel post: 1/4

	| NIGHT  | Status: [looking to level gatherer. r1: 0/50xp] Notes: (trying to escape hw atm.)
	Spoiler NIGHT | HP: 840/840 | EN: 142/142 | DMG: 23 | ACC: 3 | EVA: 3 | MIT: 69 | LM: 2 | HLY: 8 | PHASE | LD: 5 | BH: 25 | Stealth Rating: 5  equipment Orgoth's Legacy -- [ Phase | Critical attack rolls of 9-10 ignore half the target's mitigation (rounded down). ] -- [ Holy I | On a natural roll of 9-10, gain 8 holy damage added to your total base damage. ] -- [ Accuracy I | +1 ACC. ] Tracksuit of Unfathomable Fashionability -- [ Mitigation I | +24 MIT. ] -- [ Light Momentum II | +2 ACC on an unsuccessful attack. Buff is removed on a successful attack. ] Silver Crescent Necklace -- [ Accuracy II | +2 ACC ] -- [ Evasion II | +2 EVA ]  battle-ready inventory Imugi's Inspiration (5) | Instant | MASS HP RECOVERY [+10% HP] Cold Brew Coffee (5) | HP RECOVERY III [+15% HP] Teleport Crystal (2) | Instant | TELEPORT  skills Spoiler mod count: 7/7 2HSS | RANK 5/5 ferocity, stamina CLOTH ARMOR | RANK 5/5 athletics, nimble COMBAT MASTERY: DMG | RANK 3/3 SEARCHING | RANK 3+1/5 tracking BATTLE HEALING | RANK 3/5 EXTENDED MOD LIMIT ENERGIST FAMILIAR: PROFESSION extra SURVIVAL CONCENTRATION HIDING blindside, vanish, surprise attack-t [CS] METAMORPHOSES  consumed buffs Spoiler statue TANOS | +25 MIT consumables - - - - - -  misc buffs Spoiler housing Dimensional Backpack, Item Stash | +2 Battle-Ready Inventory Slots. Well Rested | -1 EN for the first three expenditures of each combat.  Relaxed | +(5 * Tier) HP per out-of-combat post. Full energy restoration occurs after two turns out of combat. Squeaky Clean | -25% DoT damage taken from the first DoT applied to this player in a thread. Skylight: Searching | +1 Expertise to declared utility skill. Cooldown of 30 days to reassign. Multipurpose | +1 LD/Prosperity/Stealth/Detection to one post per thread. Can be applied after a roll. Filling | +1 T1 slot to a food consumed by this player in a thread. Can exceed Cook enhancement caps. Col Deposit | +5% col from loot-minimum mobs, +10% col from treasure chests. paragon Lv. 5 | Gain additional col equivalent to 10% of EXP earned in that thread. Lv. 10 | +3% EXP Gain. gathering Greenhouse | +2 G.EXP, +1 CD&LD to gathering attempts. Familiar: Profession | +2 G.EXP

[NIGHT 0]

they started to walk towards the edge of the floor. night was certain of their direction, for there was no where else on the first to have gone. a mountain range bordered the first, running alongside the north of its circumference; to the east and west were forests, one coniferous, the other deciduous. and down the south were plains, empty; the coniferous extended towards that area, and there was a small regional outcrop where the castle opened up to the edge of the world.

she wondered if it had changed during the update. they weren't too far from the mountain range, now.

the three travelers were to stop at the base of it. a flat wall extended from bottom upwards, finely textured; had night been staring at it from a good distance away, she wouldn't have been able to tell that it was orthographic. as though its surface was rough and edged and three dimensional.

now it just looked unrealistic.

| travel post: 2/4

[NIGHT 0]

"now, you may be wondering where we're going," nemo started, walking towards the end of the line. night had slowed herself, as did her light cradling her void. the gardener was unfazed by their movements, momentum unshaken. "but rest assured, i know what i'm doing. just follow my lead."

night was skeptical, but followed hesitantly.

nemo went so far as to meet the rock with the tip of his nose. and he phased right through the environment, as though he was a phantom and the world didn't exist around him.

the duo stopped, eyes wide open.

then the rubble ahead of him collapsed into fragments, and a path, a tunnel opened up at the edge of the world, shrouded in darkness. on the other end, night could see it. a different dimension. someplace new and bright and green.

familiar, it spoke to her. though the woman wasn't sure why.

"this way," nemo beckoned. the venturing couple exchanged looks, furrowed brows to a blank look, and on impulse day reached out for the player's pinky, locking her own into it by habit.

they walked on, silent, quiet. night wasn't sure if she'd expected the contact, or if she had given off the impression she'd needed her companion's reassurance in the slightest.

| travel post: 3/4

[NIGHT 0]

she set it aside once they'd crossed the shadows back into the light. the sun was warm, a little too much so on her jacket, and despite the need to have it on her shoulders all the time, night felt a compulsion to take off her armor and wrap it around her waist. she settled for unzipping it down the center, letting it rest on her shoulders instead. night didn't seek out her companion once she'd folded her arms to hide her figure.

nemo wasn't paying attention to his guests just yet. his eyes were gleaming, set to the sky; unlike the cloudy horizons from earlier on the first, this new location was clear, skated with wisps of white that barely provided the garden any shade.

"dear visitors," nemo announced, turning around to greet his guests. there was a smile on his face; it would have been crazed had the man not returned to the present, glaze retreating from his sights. "welcome to little eden. please enjoy the atmosphere to your heart's desire."

| travel post: 4/4

[NIGHT 0]

something about the last two words of the man's sentence had ticked at night a little. but the player wasn't certain as to why.

had there been other players in the garden, night hadn't caught sight of them just yet. past nemo's outstretched arms, the path behind him was down a sandy lane, with thick foliage and bushes running alongside it, various flowers of different colours obscuring the rest of the road from view. there was a divergence early on, and night sought to explore them as per her prerogative in detail hunting. if only the man would let them pass.

he lowered his arms after a few seconds of silence. awkwardness was all the player knew how to comply. the moment night tried to continue on her way, she was stopped with the gardener's kindly gloved hand.

"ah."

it was pink and rubbery. there were loose clumps of dirt sticking to his fingers. "let me guide you around," he stated plainly. night could feel day's sights burn into her back when he said it, and wondered if it was intentional that she felt her skin crawl along her back.

nemo smiled.

"we wouldn't want you to get lost now. this being your first time here and everything."

id: 188605 | ld14 cd12 -> ld15 cd13
| critical gather (+5, +4 exp) | [r1: 9/50xp]
| materials obtained: 3

[NIGHT 0]

it was the fact that she was being ignored, night reasoned, when the entity fell to her side, silent, eyes narrowed and lips tightened. even her grip of nyanko seemed to have shifted, the two women watching nemo stroll along his path in obliviousness. the player took a second glance to her doppel; wondering if it was the appropriate time to ask for her change in disposition, her current thoughts on the individual they were tailing, strung along on their little supposed 'dungeon run'.

the man looked at them from over the shoulder, and night knew she would have to save her questions for later.

"is something the matter?" nemo asked. neither of them spoke, but the way her counterpart was wry about their situation made night uneasy, hugging herself underneath her coat. wordless, she grabbed the wrist of the other to pull her out from her disdain.

day lightened up a little after that.

id: 188606 | ld20 cd11 -> ld21 cd12
| critical gather (+5, +4 exp) | [r1: 18/50xp]
| materials obtained: 4 -> 7

[NIGHT 0]

she found herself thumbing bare skin. night stopped when stray fingers curled around her own after a moment, realizing the error of her ways once her doppel managed to regain the strength to contain her malice. night pulled away once they came to a stop, tailing nemo at a slowed pace, the player keeping her eyes wide open.

they'd passed two intersections, by now. if this was a guided tour, night wasn't comfortable with having her freedom of exploration taken away from her.

on the other hand, her eyes were locked on a familiar interactable on the ground, a sparkling white glow that beckoned for her to step forth and retrieve it from the ground. it was underneath a bunch of bell flowers, ones that had a purple hue tinged with rosiness, dangling above the material collection spot.

with two fingers, she picked up the item.

instantly, a flash of murderous intent could be felt upon her back.

id: 188607 | ld17 cd3 -> ld18 cd4
| regular gather (+3, +4 exp) | [r1: 25/50xp]
| materials obtained: 3 -> 10

[NIGHT 0]

night whipped around, and was surprised to see nemo by her side, eyes a little more vivid and present than they were before. in the same way, her counterpart's irises were brimming with pressure, and it took nyanko's squealing to have had the entity loosen her single-handed hold of the kitten.

nemo was looking down upon night. the trowel in his hand was tilted, edge catching the white of sunlight at just the right angle. for a moment, his grip tightened on the handle of the bucket he carried, grin still plastered on his face.

night felt eternity pass in those seconds. even her blade wasn't fit to cut through the tension in the moment. but nemo eventually relented, closing his eyes. he started down the trail once more, silent, and the player knew it was expected of her to follow in his steps as she once did so before.

id: 188608 | ld4 cd4 -> ld5 cd5
| nothing found (+1, +4 exp) | [r1: 30/50xp]

[NIGHT 0]

day moved first.

the motion had caught night by surprise, too.

she quickly picked herself off the ground, strides hastened in an attempt to overtake day's own. once she was in the lead, however, she felt compelled to stay that way. as though she needed to be the barrier between the two pawns, though night couldn't place her finger on why just yet. nemo was walking slow, and yet the player wasn't certain why she was motivated to rush to meet his back. to reassure the guide that they wouldn't falter behind once again? to ensure that their progress through the dungeon was kept relevant, and wouldn't be reset once the man was out of their sights?

it was when night caught the glow of another material object that she slowed instead, guiding her direction off towards the right so she would be able to scoop it up as she passed.

id: 188609 | ld13 cd9 -> ld14 cd10
| critical gather (+5, +4 exp) | [r1: 39/50xp]
| materials obtained: 3 -> 13

[NIGHT 0]

another item collection. points for the profession. daggers pointed her way with a turn of nemo's head, and a whip of the gemini's sights towards the other entity.

night felt the air around her grow cold, finding her steps slowing to a halt. nemo's smile relaxed from tautness; his stance was still firm, still angled at his rigidity from her movements. it had to be a reaction to something the player did, by this point.

the material collection?

what about it? did its mechanics cause a bug within npcs in a vicinity, or something?

as night watched the man stroll onwards, she wasn't certain if she'd wanted to continue moving, to opt to use a teleport crystal instead. and yet at day's behest, a hand set on her shoulder, the woman was compelled to say something instead.

nyanko peeped slightly to express his own dissatisfaction.

"c'mon," the construct bargained, as though nothing had transpired between nemo and herself. "we're almost at the end now."

id: 188610 | ld9 cd1 -> ld10 cd2
| nothing found (+1, +4 exp) | [r1: 44/50xp]

[NIGHT 0]

night wasn't sure what words to gather, however, watching her doppel's white cloak as it fluttered in her sights. she willed herself to move, falling into pace beside her other this time instead of ahead, eyes carefully observing nemo's back in earnest. something was off about him; she knew this, but couldn't put the specific into words.

"you feel it too. don't you?" she glanced to day, expectations mild; was it right for her digital companion to feel things? and yet, with the way they'd been acting, with vague vitriol in the glimpses she caught between the two, surely the entity was unsettled, too, by the gardener.

"i just have a hunch," day replied. her thumb was running through nyanko's fur, upon the familiar's back; night thought it an apology to the kitten, for being manhandled along their excursion during those small occasions the entity felt slighted. she was almost tempted to take nyanko back into her tracksuit, but wondered if he was day's limiter, occupying the gemini's hands being carried as such.

id: 188611 | ld11 cd9 -> ld12 cd10
| this venn diagram is killing my head. (+1, +4 exp) | [r1: 49/50xp]
| materials obtained: 1 -> 14

[NIGHT 0]

night let her eyes trail to the sides of their path; the bushes were thick and dense, trimmed and defined like a low hedge, bordering different sorts of plants and trees. as though its sectors were made for varying categories, the creator behind it meticulous in their organization of their flora.

on the ground, she spotted a few various white orbs again. more materials. she let them pass her by, and felt the lack of scorn thrown her way whilst nemo continued walking. neither then did her entity stir with hostility, and night caught herself meeting nyanko's wandering gaze as she poured over her revelations, barely distraught.

if all entities were made the same, gaining and losing different elements of themselves with the use of interfaces or extending classes...

she could barely remember the foundations of programming, but at least she could recall its concepts. then, it wasn't something that affected npcs; unless it only affected human-type constructs?

id: 188612 | ld5 cd1 -> ld6 cd2
| nothing found (+1, +4 exp) | [r1: 54/50xp] -> [r2: 50/200xp]

[NIGHT 0]

it was easier to have brought up her concerns than to dwell over architecture again.

"what do you think, then?" her voice was faint, the player turning around to watch another handful of materials, clustered together, pass her by. what she would give to obtain it; if only she was so certain she wasn't going to be mauled for having done so.

day took her watch off nemo to catch night's glance.

instantly, the woman lost her envy.

"you're gaining his enmity. that's not supposed to happen."

the weight of her other's words only registered once she resumed watching nemo travel along. enmity; like hate? but it was only meant for use in combat; so, nemo was about to spring an attack on them eventually?

night put the pieces together. but there was still a missing component of her understanding.

"you're getting riled up too, you know."

day blinked. "well, yeah. i should hope so. on your behalf."

id: 188613 | ld5 cd1 -> ld6 cd2
| nothing found (+1, +4 exp) | [r2: 59/200xp]

[NIGHT 0]

but why, she'd wanted to ask, before she realized the gravitas of her question, and kept it locked under her tongue instead. she'd wanted to hum, then, in acknowledgement of her counterpart's words, though it felt remiss to have made a sound after their short discussion. and as night continued to walk, she'd wondered when the end of the road would be.

"how much further do you think we'll be going on for?"

they passed another intersection. day paused - night thought she caught a ghost of a smile on her face.

"we're about to make a complete circle."

"huh?"

it wasn't as though night had seen the garden's entrance when she'd approached it from their current angle. but at day's gesturing towards a familiar gap of black in the distance, night knew her words to be true.

"the other paths," she continued, pointing down the two lanes they'd missed earlier. "they split off in different directions. there's a few we'd passed that lead to the center of our loop. though... i don't know what else is down the other sections of the garden."

id: 188614 | ld7 cd3 -> ld8 cd4
| nothing found (+1, +4 exp) | [r2: 64/200xp]

[NIGHT 0]

"we don't have to," night stated, once she'd peered down the aisle towards the center as they passed it. a white pavilion, complete with an accompanying pergola and a pond rested there; and night wanted to step towards it, but that would mean leaving their guide.

her brush up against its direction lead her to simmer a warning from the environment. hexagons rippled out of her contact with it; 'barrier' was the description that it held.

"i bet the other paths have it, too," the player commented, picking up her pace towards nemo. day followed along, alarmed at her speed.

"night, where're you going?"

"to figure something out." and if her counterpart's guesses were right, then surely something might happen if she'd continued to stir the gardener's anger. "look after nyanko for me."

the kitten meowed for his competence. day was reticent, before she gave her original a grunt of affirmation.

id: 188615 | ld9 cd2 -> ld10 cd3
| nothing found (+1, +4 exp) | [r2: 69/200xp]

[NIGHT 0]

so night hunched herself over the floor again at the next cluster of materials she passed. with a tentative scoop, she picked one up; felt that seething anger from nemo even without turning around.

with another, it burned even more into her back. it felt as though the sun was burning brighter onto her coat, though the chilling breeze that had started to rise were messing with her locks and cooling her skin down from the tension.

the player looked right towards the gardener's direction, eyes locking with the npc's own. his pupils were in slits, now; a widened, pained grin from when the woman was staring at him. night felt him bleed fury as her hand hovered over the third material on the ground, and she had almost wanted to smile.

when the object disappeared from the ground and into her hold, nemo's eyes started to glow with green light.

Spoiler

NIGHT

ID: 188616 | BD: 7 - 2 + 3 = 8 | > TEMPEST | (-11 EN)
 | 23 * 14 = 322 DMG | 322 - 100 = 222 DMG

NEMO

[stunned.]

---

NEMO | HP: 498/720 | DMG: 226 | MIT: 100 | EVA: 2

Twin Fangs | BD9 CD8+, 140 unmitigated DMG.
Nature’s Roar | BD10, 260 unmitigated DMG.
Gaia’s Protection | Nemo cannot be reduced below 10 HP, and the fight ends once the player reduces his health to this level.

NIGHT | HP: 840/840 | EN: 131/142 (-11) | DMG: 23 | ACC: 3 | EVA: 3 | MIT: 69 | LM: 2 | HLY: 8 | PHASE | LD: 5 | BH: 25 || [TMP: 0/2]

[NIGHT 0]

his eyes went hollow; the trowel and pail fell to the floor and spilled foreign mulch all across it. night could catch it, how the man was transforming into something different in real time; his hands were shifting into claws, long and razor-sharp and reptilian in nature, the shifting of darkened skin on his neck to a faded mint green, a slip of tiny scales in hue.

"haven't your parents ever taught you any manners?"

night let herself blink, confused at the changes -- her mind wasn't registering any of this, even as the weapon of light came to fruition in her hands. when she regained an understanding of reality once again, nemo had been replaced by a floating serpent, overalls and hat tossed to the floor; he was elegance in all sense of the word.

(though in night's defense, he almost looked like a pokemon.)

"you don't take things from other people's homes. that's called stealing...!"

Spoiler

NIGHT

ID: 188617 | BD: 9 | > GALAXY DESTROYER | (-13 EN)
 | 23 + 8 = 31 | 31 * 17 = 527 DMG | 527 - (100 * 0.5)  = 477 DMG

NEMO

ID: 188619 | MD: 1 | > [miss.] 

---

NEMO | HP: 21/720 | DMG: 226 | MIT: 100 | EVA: 2

Twin Fangs | BD9 CD8+, 140 unmitigated DMG.
Nature’s Roar | BD10, 260 unmitigated DMG.
Gaia’s Protection | Nemo cannot be reduced below 10 HP, and the fight ends once the player reduces his health to this level.

NIGHT | HP: 840/840 | EN: 122/142 (-13, +4) | DMG: 23 | ACC: 3 | EVA: 3 | MIT: 69 | LM: 2 | HLY: 8 | PHASE | LD: 5 | BH: 25 || [TMP: 1/2] [GD: 0/4]

[NIGHT 0]

and then cardinal gave her the instructions, finally, at the corner of her vision -- oh, so this quest they were on actually was nature's treasure, and that their little gardener aide over there was supposed to be put down for one reason or another--

shut up, night had wanted to say, just as the dragon had started to bellow, his head thrown back to ready what she could assume was either a lengthy speech or a breath attack to stir the winds. but her instincts were faster, practiced routines coming back from the past to come to her defense; with the blade in her hands shimmering to life, she'd twirled it around and smashed plain air with her pommel.

instantly, the serpent began to unravel from its floating coil.

the player shifted, arms of her coat tailing behind her as she ran. and though she was fast, it appeared that her counterpart was faster-- wait, no, that wasn't right--

with a lance in her hands (where was nyanko? night thought she had instructed--) day burst forward in the opportune moment, ready to have thrusted her spear into the side of their enemy, piercing its comfortable hide. and though it had seemed that way initially, the splay and spasming of their prey's muscles had caused her instead to raise her weapon to block the attack from above, and night darted past her back to catch the falling serpent in mid air with her blade.

she was fast, blinding. night originally thought it to be the product of a weapon modelled in likeness to cardinal's stock for their entities, but reality was much more subtle; the damage she'd delivered to the serpent was greater than night had ever perceived her attacks doing, and the arc she made was one of complete white, devoid of colours, the absolute definition of purity.

again, her blade went down on it; as though the world was a whiteboard and she was cleansing its elements with a flick of her wrist at her leisure. nemo writhed on the floor, hapless, a dragon's roar screeching at his sudden desecration; night only let herself retreat once his health bar had plummeted to the red.

it stayed there, after pushing from orange. it should've been overkill, with the force of the blow she delivered behind it.

Spoiler

NIGHT

ID: 188618 | BD: 9 | > BACKRUSH | (-6 EN)
 | 23 + 8 = 31 | 31 * 8 = 248 DMG | 248 - (100 * 0.5)  = 198 DMG

NEMO

[gaia's protection.]

---

NEMO | HP: 10/720 | DMG: 226 | MIT: 100 | EVA: 2

Twin Fangs | BD9 CD8+, 140 unmitigated DMG.
Nature’s Roar | BD10, 260 unmitigated DMG.
Gaia’s Protection | Nemo cannot be reduced below 10 HP, and the fight ends once the player reduces his health to this level.

NIGHT | HP: 840/840 | EN: 120/142 | DMG: 23 | ACC: 3 | EVA: 3 | MIT: 69 | LM: 2 | HLY: 8 | PHASE | LD: 5 | BH: 25 || [TMP: 2/2] [GD: 1/4] [BR: 0/2]

[NIGHT 0]

the serpent's body began to glow; by its tail's end, so too did its clothes. from her side, the form of their target shrunk, morphing back into the familiar form of a human. with a spray of particles, glowing orbs of bright green, the light shrouding its figure faded, giving way to nemo as they knew him, the gardener returned to normal.

so that was it then. night felt day enter her space from the side, the pattering of delicate paws coming in soft from behind her.

"i thought i told you to look after my cat for me," the player said, watching the struggling npc attempt to stir from his knock out. day returned her spear to her inventory.

"and let you get hurt? in my presence?" she huffed, raising a palm. "you should rely on me more for more than babysitting material, you know."

nyanko meowed his indignation again.

night was still for a moment, and only spoke once nemo set his hand upon the ground, ready to rise.

"you're only lucky this wasn't going to scale to player count."

[NIGHT 0]

...

"well, i blocked off that tail swipe for you!"

"and i could've done it myself, too. it's not like i needed the help in battle."

under the pergola at the center, the group of four were rested around a table. day was sipping tea from a ceramic white cup. in night's hand, there was a serving of black coffee, tasteless; it was equivalent to drinking hot water. by their side, the once-terse nemo was now quiet, docile, his hands upon nyanko's small body as the cat splayed himself out across the table's surface. under the shade of his hat was a small smile, his hands, now ungloved, running through the familiar's soft fur, feeling the rumbles of equal happiness from the cat as he purred.

"you wouldn't even have known to be prepared without my help, night!"

"and i can't work with you if you won't take my instruction!"

in the distance, the pavilion, once devoid of magic at the center, was now aglow with an oval swirling portal of both green and white. at the corner of night's ui was a message, sent from bistro, pertaining to the results of her investigation.

bistro: good work today. you should try a different floor next time, if you can.