>Each entity in Nod should respond yes or no, so that the 16 million inhabitants answered individually with a positive (given the majority beyond-line). That question had to be answered also taking into account random pairs of people, situations of Desperation and Thomas, Desperation and Depravity, Desperation and Neth, until completing another 16 million surveys. Groups of 2, 3, 4 up to 16 million that generated 16,000,000! possibilities. The universe computed the simulations, delegating part of the calculations to a human mind located in Montenegro. The human Ali Muhassabid Popó exploded one second before receiving his portion of work, although the request was completed anyway. After mentioning the Spiritual League, an information injection occurred.
"Desist. The most capable agent is already on site. Besides—" "!!Take it!! It's done, you can activate them now"
>It was a delicate female voice; she explained to you that they had already sent the best man to the location. Yet, in your eyes, less than 100 meters away, that person was lamenting on the ground in despair after "waking up" within themselves. It didn't sound convincing; the woman was about to negotiate another solution or warn you of something, however, a mechanical male voice snatched away with a loud smash sound effect of shattering porcelain, springs, and a Wilhelm scream. That cut off the "communication," which should have been a recorded message, and authorized you to initiate the bombs. A being from Beyond, or whatever that voice was, was interfering with the Spiritual League's operations. It meant no one else would come to stand before you, resulting in a slow and tedious countdown. Even if you accelerated or unraveled the sequence of numbers, there was no external reaction to stop you from carrying out the great terror attack. It fixed its target on all of Nod; the levers inside the bombs resonated twice, stimulating the first and second reactions within the bombs. Naturally, although the explosion causes a brief delirium in your head for a few seconds, demons can survive the nuclear energy discharge. The same applies to some Beyond-line entities, mainly demigods, perhaps some Enigmas tied to deep concepts or related to atoms themselves. However, everything else would be erased, transformed into plasma then contained by Nod's barrier. So it happened. Hundreds of blinding flashes brighter than the sun occurred simultaneously as temperatures rose to millions of degrees Celsius. Within the first microsecond, hundreds of fireballs formed, incinerating everything in their path. The expansion of destruction generated a shockwave that rebounded a thousand and one times within the barrier. For minutes, continuous thermal radiation set fire to everything flammable, and within Nod a field of mushroom-shaped columns made of rubble and smoke formed. You still couldn't see the damage because immediately dozens of unexplained secondary nuclear explosions occurred. Dozens of kilometers-long tentacles appeared and Nod began slowly reconstructing itself. The image zoomed out while blurring, and the frames on the television flickered. What should have been your vision turned into a kind of cheap DVD playback showing a "2X" logo and a backward arrow to rewind again to the moment of the explosions. You find yourself inside one of the offices of the Spiritual League, the lights are off leaving only the shadows cast by popcorn as the sole illumination from the "movie." A childish voice spoke from the side, the one holding the TV remote.
(-) It was incredible, wasn't it?!. Everyone flew into a million pieces and were immediately reassembled. However! That radioactive enigma fell asleep and everyone suffered a lot for a good while. Did you like the outcome? Do you regret it? Would you do it again? Just for that movie.
>It ruined what would happen after the city's reconstruction. Apparently the blonde girl dressed as a clown has already seen the footage, so she has no problem explaining. She floats slightly in the air, she and her hair. She is a few years older than Bagoriceny, whom you completely forgot about and who should have died in the explosion if it hadn't suddenly been a false image. The orb-like creature brought her face closer invasively while asking strange questions. As soon as you realized she was a space human, the type that runs simulations, she shook her index finger while returning to her position on the sofa. At some point the lights turned on.
(-) Sorry, miss, I can't tell you my name. I'll die soon, to protect them all! All the helpless girls in this world! And the big ones among the big ones. But as an Orboide, you thrilled me too much! (...) You're tough. Alright! You can call me Yeiyei. I was told to stall, to die here if possible, to let each of your attacks land, and yours miss.
>After demonstrating a powerful energy reaction, clenching her fists to assert herself, the orboide betrayed her own words. You did nothing, yet she couldn't resist revealing her identity, along with her cheerful nature. Her mission loosely aligned with the actions you were performing while waiting for the explosion. An orboide illusion, even of low quality, can manipulate the perception of time for every being involved. It's possible you were even stuck on the count of second 54. Defeating an orboide is only possible by weakening her in her own game, bringing another orboide to cancel her magic, or eliminating the vital historical figure that gives her life. As you slowly became aware of the situation you were in, Yeiyei acted. She removed the seats and lowered the floor to place you on your feet; she turned the TV into camera lenses and every nearby technological object into recording and live broadcasting gear. The walls collapsed sideways, ignoring the prosthetic light effects through the door. Everything indicated they were about to become part of a television show, with the lunar orboide fairy as host.
(Yeiyei) No way…! Was it a set the whole time? Alright, it's time to cook! Desperation, Constructo de transformación, and Thomas Tremblay—three contestants, only one golden apron.
(Thomas) Hahaha, good luck, friend. I didn't think you'd be here. When was the last time we saw each other? Colorado in '93? I'm not sure I can win, but him... He's got some practice. Be very careful.
>The Libra agent reappeared in his bright, cheerful demeanor, giving you a pat on the back before pointing toward Neth's Construct, who had also crossed the guest threshold. The audience was a mix of humans and beings from Beyond, cameras manned by qualified personnel—likely representatives of other League agents. The atmosphere matched a competitive cooking show, featuring a resource and ingredient gathering zone, a preparation area equipped with kitchens and tools, and finally, a tasting zone. Suddenly, everyone was at their stations, and after the technical announcement, Yeiyei floated in with a virtual list of ingredients for the cooking challenge. It was a free-form preparation.
(Yeiyei) The ingredients for this program are: Human viscera and blood, uugh. Sugar of hope and salt of despair. (...) Oh, we've got two red-alert ingredients. Uranium-235 and lithium-6 deuteride mix. What does the on-screen notice say? It'll be a mandatory ingredient!
>A massive panel with flashing lights burst through the ceiling, displaying an atomic symbol signaling a challenge or dare for the program. The two mandatory resources to be used in the dish preparation were projected. Before you could react, you already saw Tremblay baking lithium into small cookie dough shaped like bunnies. In your prep area, a spotlight keeps constantly blinding your vision, creating intermittent, disorienting multicolored flashes. The cooking station closest to yours belongs to the one-eyed, shapeshifting Construct, currently stir-frying uranium in a pan with a high concentration of scalding hot oil. During one of its quick motions, some of that oil splashes onto your arm. A red accident frame and replay appear on the cameras broadcasting the live feed of events. It's strangely painful—probably because your humanoid form is granting you basic humanoid resistance. Though it's uncertain whether damage sustained inside this orb-like area is being projected outside, it's still concerning. But even more worrying is that you haven't finished gathering your raw materials for cooking, while the judges are already being presented to taste the dishes in a decisive verdict.
(Construct) I'm sorry, I didn't mean to! Are you hurt? I'll fix it.
(Yeiyei) Goodness, looks like we've got a kitchen accident. Can't you save that for later, guys?! Let me ask the audience—do you want to see a painful emergency, or would you prefer to meet the three special judges we've invited exclusively for this program!
"Desist. The most capable agent is already on site. Besides—" "!!Take it!! It's done, you can activate them now"
>It was a delicate female voice; she explained to you that they had already sent the best man to the location. Yet, in your eyes, less than 100 meters away, that person was lamenting on the ground in despair after "waking up" within themselves. It didn't sound convincing; the woman was about to negotiate another solution or warn you of something, however, a mechanical male voice snatched away with a loud smash sound effect of shattering porcelain, springs, and a Wilhelm scream. That cut off the "communication," which should have been a recorded message, and authorized you to initiate the bombs. A being from Beyond, or whatever that voice was, was interfering with the Spiritual League's operations. It meant no one else would come to stand before you, resulting in a slow and tedious countdown. Even if you accelerated or unraveled the sequence of numbers, there was no external reaction to stop you from carrying out the great terror attack. It fixed its target on all of Nod; the levers inside the bombs resonated twice, stimulating the first and second reactions within the bombs. Naturally, although the explosion causes a brief delirium in your head for a few seconds, demons can survive the nuclear energy discharge. The same applies to some Beyond-line entities, mainly demigods, perhaps some Enigmas tied to deep concepts or related to atoms themselves. However, everything else would be erased, transformed into plasma then contained by Nod's barrier. So it happened. Hundreds of blinding flashes brighter than the sun occurred simultaneously as temperatures rose to millions of degrees Celsius. Within the first microsecond, hundreds of fireballs formed, incinerating everything in their path. The expansion of destruction generated a shockwave that rebounded a thousand and one times within the barrier. For minutes, continuous thermal radiation set fire to everything flammable, and within Nod a field of mushroom-shaped columns made of rubble and smoke formed. You still couldn't see the damage because immediately dozens of unexplained secondary nuclear explosions occurred. Dozens of kilometers-long tentacles appeared and Nod began slowly reconstructing itself. The image zoomed out while blurring, and the frames on the television flickered. What should have been your vision turned into a kind of cheap DVD playback showing a "2X" logo and a backward arrow to rewind again to the moment of the explosions. You find yourself inside one of the offices of the Spiritual League, the lights are off leaving only the shadows cast by popcorn as the sole illumination from the "movie." A childish voice spoke from the side, the one holding the TV remote.
(-) It was incredible, wasn't it?!. Everyone flew into a million pieces and were immediately reassembled. However! That radioactive enigma fell asleep and everyone suffered a lot for a good while. Did you like the outcome? Do you regret it? Would you do it again? Just for that movie.
>It ruined what would happen after the city's reconstruction. Apparently the blonde girl dressed as a clown has already seen the footage, so she has no problem explaining. She floats slightly in the air, she and her hair. She is a few years older than Bagoriceny, whom you completely forgot about and who should have died in the explosion if it hadn't suddenly been a false image. The orb-like creature brought her face closer invasively while asking strange questions. As soon as you realized she was a space human, the type that runs simulations, she shook her index finger while returning to her position on the sofa. At some point the lights turned on.
(-) Sorry, miss, I can't tell you my name. I'll die soon, to protect them all! All the helpless girls in this world! And the big ones among the big ones. But as an Orboide, you thrilled me too much! (...) You're tough. Alright! You can call me Yeiyei. I was told to stall, to die here if possible, to let each of your attacks land, and yours miss.
>After demonstrating a powerful energy reaction, clenching her fists to assert herself, the orboide betrayed her own words. You did nothing, yet she couldn't resist revealing her identity, along with her cheerful nature. Her mission loosely aligned with the actions you were performing while waiting for the explosion. An orboide illusion, even of low quality, can manipulate the perception of time for every being involved. It's possible you were even stuck on the count of second 54. Defeating an orboide is only possible by weakening her in her own game, bringing another orboide to cancel her magic, or eliminating the vital historical figure that gives her life. As you slowly became aware of the situation you were in, Yeiyei acted. She removed the seats and lowered the floor to place you on your feet; she turned the TV into camera lenses and every nearby technological object into recording and live broadcasting gear. The walls collapsed sideways, ignoring the prosthetic light effects through the door. Everything indicated they were about to become part of a television show, with the lunar orboide fairy as host.
(Yeiyei) No way…! Was it a set the whole time? Alright, it's time to cook! Desperation, Constructo de transformación, and Thomas Tremblay—three contestants, only one golden apron.
(Thomas) Hahaha, good luck, friend. I didn't think you'd be here. When was the last time we saw each other? Colorado in '93? I'm not sure I can win, but him... He's got some practice. Be very careful.
>The Libra agent reappeared in his bright, cheerful demeanor, giving you a pat on the back before pointing toward Neth's Construct, who had also crossed the guest threshold. The audience was a mix of humans and beings from Beyond, cameras manned by qualified personnel—likely representatives of other League agents. The atmosphere matched a competitive cooking show, featuring a resource and ingredient gathering zone, a preparation area equipped with kitchens and tools, and finally, a tasting zone. Suddenly, everyone was at their stations, and after the technical announcement, Yeiyei floated in with a virtual list of ingredients for the cooking challenge. It was a free-form preparation.
(Yeiyei) The ingredients for this program are: Human viscera and blood, uugh. Sugar of hope and salt of despair. (...) Oh, we've got two red-alert ingredients. Uranium-235 and lithium-6 deuteride mix. What does the on-screen notice say? It'll be a mandatory ingredient!
>A massive panel with flashing lights burst through the ceiling, displaying an atomic symbol signaling a challenge or dare for the program. The two mandatory resources to be used in the dish preparation were projected. Before you could react, you already saw Tremblay baking lithium into small cookie dough shaped like bunnies. In your prep area, a spotlight keeps constantly blinding your vision, creating intermittent, disorienting multicolored flashes. The cooking station closest to yours belongs to the one-eyed, shapeshifting Construct, currently stir-frying uranium in a pan with a high concentration of scalding hot oil. During one of its quick motions, some of that oil splashes onto your arm. A red accident frame and replay appear on the cameras broadcasting the live feed of events. It's strangely painful—probably because your humanoid form is granting you basic humanoid resistance. Though it's uncertain whether damage sustained inside this orb-like area is being projected outside, it's still concerning. But even more worrying is that you haven't finished gathering your raw materials for cooking, while the judges are already being presented to taste the dishes in a decisive verdict.
(Construct) I'm sorry, I didn't mean to! Are you hurt? I'll fix it.
(Yeiyei) Goodness, looks like we've got a kitchen accident. Can't you save that for later, guys?! Let me ask the audience—do you want to see a painful emergency, or would you prefer to meet the three special judges we've invited exclusively for this program!
My pasts an future selves
to what extent can I accept them?
Gradually, my sense of living
grew blurred an weak...
Your past an future selves
to what extent can I tolerate them?
Someday, my contaminated fickleness
will fall heavily upon you...
It's inexcusable.
I heard those words in the past,
and no matter how many times I hear them
they will always lead to the same answer.
Enough! Stop lying to me,
and tell me the truth.
The nameless winds will sing,
If you'll let me love you, completely.
"If you wish to change yourself,
then separation is inevitable".
Is that, the weight of our respective lives,
what ties us together?
Have I really managed to come this far,
Being unloved by everyone?
After unintentionally reminiscing,
My outlook became so very clear.
I got rid of everything I don't need... long ago.
Enough! This tenderness, this hatred,
and this unhealing pain in my chest.
They'll all be carried away by the nameless winds
if you can forgive me, completely.
How long, how long will this continue...?
I want to accept myself soon...
to what extent can I accept them?
Gradually, my sense of living
grew blurred an weak...
Your past an future selves
to what extent can I tolerate them?
Someday, my contaminated fickleness
will fall heavily upon you...
It's inexcusable.
I heard those words in the past,
and no matter how many times I hear them
they will always lead to the same answer.
Enough! Stop lying to me,
and tell me the truth.
The nameless winds will sing,
If you'll let me love you, completely.
"If you wish to change yourself,
then separation is inevitable".
Is that, the weight of our respective lives,
what ties us together?
Have I really managed to come this far,
Being unloved by everyone?
After unintentionally reminiscing,
My outlook became so very clear.
I got rid of everything I don't need... long ago.
Enough! This tenderness, this hatred,
and this unhealing pain in my chest.
They'll all be carried away by the nameless winds
if you can forgive me, completely.
How long, how long will this continue...?
I want to accept myself soon...
Someone's body that fluttered down
will disappear tomorrow morning.
"Because I will always be by your side"
I will never forget those words.
Even knowing these are flowers that never wither,
like butterflies, we simply wander lost.
If our fragile hearts sway unstably in mid-air,
we end up hurting each other
while trying to protect one another.
Softly...
with just a gentle touch, there is no going back.
Don't let go of me tonight.
It's alright if I don't go home... until morning...
My wings torn to countless pieces
will disappear tomorrow morning.
Even knowing these are flowers that never wither,
we keep going around in circles, despite knowing we love each other.
If our fragile hearts sway unstably in mid-air,
we end up hurting each other
while trying to protect one another.
Softly...
with just a gentle touch, there is no going back.
Don't let go of me tonight.
It's alright if I don't go home... until morning...
"—It's all your fault."
Whispered at my ear as if you're whispering a curse to me
It's alright if you don't walk me home, 'cause, you know?
That way we don't need to make promises for next time,
right?
That's right.
If our fragile hearts sway unstably in mid-air,
we end up hurting each other
while trying to protect one another.
Softly...
with just a gentle touch, there is no going back.
Don't let go of me tonight.
It's alright if you don't go home, we'll welcome the morning together.
will disappear tomorrow morning.
"Because I will always be by your side"
I will never forget those words.
Even knowing these are flowers that never wither,
like butterflies, we simply wander lost.
If our fragile hearts sway unstably in mid-air,
we end up hurting each other
while trying to protect one another.
Softly...
with just a gentle touch, there is no going back.
Don't let go of me tonight.
It's alright if I don't go home... until morning...
My wings torn to countless pieces
will disappear tomorrow morning.
Even knowing these are flowers that never wither,
we keep going around in circles, despite knowing we love each other.
If our fragile hearts sway unstably in mid-air,
we end up hurting each other
while trying to protect one another.
Softly...
with just a gentle touch, there is no going back.
Don't let go of me tonight.
It's alright if I don't go home... until morning...
"—It's all your fault."
Whispered at my ear as if you're whispering a curse to me
It's alright if you don't walk me home, 'cause, you know?
That way we don't need to make promises for next time,
right?
That's right.
If our fragile hearts sway unstably in mid-air,
we end up hurting each other
while trying to protect one another.
Softly...
with just a gentle touch, there is no going back.
Don't let go of me tonight.
It's alright if you don't go home, we'll welcome the morning together.
