#atd open

Sitting on a strange wooden...'seat' of sorts that he'd never seen the likes of before being transported here, the young magician sighed, pushing fins fingers idly against the bridge of his glasses to fix them and take in what he'd learned: apparently, Grima was not the only 'nightmarish force' out there, though he had assumed that when Robin had sacrificed everything to prevent the demon coming back ever again, that would be the end of any 'shadows' or things that haunted nightmares, that was clearly not the case.

He was quick enough to pick up on that much, however: what on earth was this...'phone' thing that the 'Admin' had given him? He'd never seen a thing like it: it was round, like a Beaststone or a Dragonstone, perhaps, and it seemed just as 'magical' as those two items: apparently able to form a picture far more detailed than any drawing of a 'map' of the general area, and facts about the city itself.

What kind of spells had the maiden used to make such a thing? Truly, it all was most fascinating...even if he had quite wished that he'd been able to keep his Elwind tome, for sake of fighting those supposed 'nightmares', he could also see why it hadn't been given to him. Ah, it was a clever bit of an idea, to provide a 'reason' to actually fight, but he was quite curious indeed about this 'magical' phone!

How exactly did one work such a beguiling magical instrument as this? 

"Hm...this is all most intriguing, indeed. All of this is bound to provide a multitude of subjects to note down in my taking down of tales...even if I shall have to no doubt get my bearings first before I know which path of action to take."

Musing to himself aside, a curious stranger passed him by, and he decided to approach. Perhaps they knew more about the 'magic' behind the phone and how to use it.

"Excuse me. I do hate to be a bother, but do you, perhaps, know how to work this most mysterious magical device?"

[Dreamwalking. The very concept itself sounded impossible but here he was in a foreign place that didn't look like earth at all. What more proof did he need? He wasn't pleased by this but they told him that this place was in need of help and he couldn't go back for now so maybe he should help them as fast as he could and be done with it. The earth was also full of evil that still needed clearing and people who were harmed by it everyday so if he was to go back to helping there, he would first deal with the problems here.

That being the case, he decided to start investigating the place and went on for a walk in the city. So far, the vicinity of the hotel and uptown seemed quite peaceful, it seemed hard to believe for him that there was such calm because he asked around and people seemed pretty happy living there and they didn't seem to have many issues with crime either which was surprising.

The young man decided to go further into to city to try and find out if this was the case everywhere and as he expected, downtown was more close to the normal feeling he had in most cities and of course, he found out that it was about as safe as a metropolis so maybe he could continue doing "community service" in the shadows like before.

As he expected, he found a group of guys on an alley kicking an already unconscious so they didn't notice Ogami's presence until he was too close to them.]

It seems there's even trash to be wiped out in this world.

[Purposely letting his presence known, one of the guys turned around but not fast enough since Ogami's hand reached his face and his whole body burst into blue fire. The man merely managed to let a scream before becoming ash in just a couple of seconds leaving not even blood on the ground. Of course, the rest of the guys went on guard and drew guns which were pointed at Ogami instantly.]

I'm afraid I'm gonna have to erase your existence for the greater good.

The fear that had taken hold of him when the shadows—“nightmares” as the red-haired woman had called them—had first lunged at him was only slightly mitigated as he listened to her lengthy explanation, and the terror that the nightmares had quickly instilled in him changed into pressing worry. He still didn’t have the foggiest idea of what these new enemies were capable of, and what damage he could do against them in his weakened state.­ Not only that, but…if he screwed up here, then everyone back in his own realm, in Sakura-shin, would pay the price.

However, the image of Sakura-shin in his head, the small suburban town he called home, soon gave way to that of the much larger and definitely mysterious Empyrean City. Though the sun shone down in the same way, and the breeze was just as calming as the one in his home realm, they were definitely clashing in tone--secretive and intimidating, as opposed to open and inviting.

Even so, the safety of its citizens in this realm was a more immediate concern, and he’d have to try his hardest to help them, too. Though it was a simple conclusion to reach and an objective he was ready to fulfill, a bitter emptiness spread throughout his being at the realization; he had no mayor to serve here, no little sister to protect.

Why him, he wondered. Why was he chosen when there were others that could take to this much quicker than he could? Why choose someone who wavered as often as he did?

Why choose someone who had chosen to wander Empyrean City, rather than head straight towards the hotel and try and get his bearings straight. He wandered in a listless daze—as if the city itself was a dream. He couldn’t focus. Too many doubts continued to fill his head, and he needed to clear them out. As he continued to place one tired foot in front of another, he concluded that in order to get past all this, he needed something to get these suffocating worries off his mind, just for a bit--

And that distraction appeared in the form of a person looking Kyousuke’s way. Whether their gaze was one of confusion or concern, Kyousuke couldn’t tell, but he couldn’t just keep walking after acknowledging their presence. Even though he was just about spent, he did his best to clear his mind and look presentable to the stranger.

Even if it had been almost an hour since Ene arrived at this city, she was still not used to her surroundings in the slightest. Her mind was filled with distressing thoughts, and she didn't know what to focus on. She was scared, scared because she was no longer with the people back in her own world. Scared because for the first time in so long, she was alone- without anyone, without Shintaro. She had spent so long in his computer, only talking to him, but it wasn't like that any more. Knowing him, he was just at home hiding in his room again probably playing bad video games. But still, she was worried because she could never be certain now he was doing that.

She could barely even concentrate on these thoughts, as suddenly having a body again was an overwhelming experience. The smell of the city was so strong that she hated it, even if it wasn't an unpleasant smell. She couldn't stop moving her tongue around in her mouth, just feeling it there was a sensation she had forgotten. And ever since she had been given it, she had kept her phone in her hands and continuously moved it; she would flip it and turn it around and just slide her hands over it. Whether it was because she was incapable of staying still or because she wanted to embrace her sense of touch again was hard to tell, but she kept doing this without even fully realising it. Ene didn't even want to think about the fact that she had feet again, because whenever she did she was overwhelmed with a feeling of weirdness- wrongness. Her mind was slowly processing that she was no longer a program any more, and that she was in a physical body in a new world with no one she knew. This was going to take a while.

She was wondering down one of the streets in Uptown mindlessly, with no idea of a destination in mind. She would take any turning that looked to lead somewhere interesting, absolutely loving the feeling of being able to explore again, and didn't care where she would end up. Underneath the fear and stress of all these sudden changes, Ene really did feel excitement. Her mind was filled with ideas of all the things she could do now with a physical body again; she could do anything as far as she was concerned!

Bursting with excitement, she decided to twirl around in the middle of another street (only partly to express herself but mostly because she could and she is going to do stuff like this so much now because she can), but during this she lost her balance and ended up bumping into someone causing her to fall over backwards. She let out a sharp “Ow!” and rubbed the back of her head, which felt a dull pain. What a pleasant way to be reminded she can feel pain again. She moved her attention onto the person she bumped into now, looking at them with a sheepish look as she stood back up (which was incredibly awkward to do, she had to spend about 10 seconds making sure she was properly balanced again.)

Well, you built up a world of magic Because your real life is tragic.

Her current predicament didn't award any particular expression, even the minor exposition to a vague explanation did not faze the branded woman. Not on purpose, despite her current mentality was a forced choice; she cannot differ what is spoken nor have the hopes to ever understand. Patience and time is necessary to drill the smallest command and all she can offer is a confused blink, head tilting to the side when she is left to her own luck.

None of it truly matters, though it is hard to believe she will pay complete attention to her surroundings until something truly catches her view.

--Pretty.