Open Zakaden Crystalice Fishing

[Askera Question]

Zakaden-a world entombed in a crystal picture. Grass lie beneath the feet, yet one could not reach past the layer of clear glass that separated oneself from the once-beloved nature of the past. This land was forever locked in an endless painting of a single time. That, however, was not to say that the land was lifeless. In fact, should one know where to break the surface, one can find many things within Zakaden besides the crystalized sentinels.

"...What is this? A carp? Why is there a carp in here..?" The researcher mutters, a new fish on the end of his line that hung in the warm air. Unfortunately, he was not a marine biologist-he did not understand that the simple carp, destroyer of worlds, could live anywhere and nothing would stop it from doing so. It was understandable for him to be surprised-his last catch had been named like a rock pun, something he had expected in this of all places.

He was fishing today, his methods the same as ice fishers in arctic regions-smash a hole and fish. With him was @Toko , a purely business-related kouhai that had come out here in hopes of seeing the world beneath Zalrisis.
Frankly, nothing that Askera described about the affliction could have properly prepared someone to see this, a world frozen in time.

 

[Toko]

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"This is amazing...!"

All Toko had expected when she reached out to Askera for information about Zalra had been tidbits of information... probably over a long conversation in his stone workshop, which had hopefully gotten restored to its original state by now? Instead the man had suggested a trip to the very region Toko was curious about, claiming he too had been interested to study various things in it, and so the Lepus had signed up as both a body guard of sort and also a kouhai to the man and his research.

"Ooooh, I think you're right Askera-senpai... that does look like a carp." She stepped closer to get a better look at the fish, barely resisting the urge to poke it, before the hare returned to pay attention to her own fishing rod... which had yet to get a bite. "... am I doing something wrong?"

A sigh escaped her lips before the Lepus' eyes wandered over the crystalized landscape once more, before a thought crossed her mind.

"Hey, Askera-san... does anyone know where Zalrisis comes from?"

@Askera Question

 

[Askera Question]

A question it was indeed, one that caused pause in his thoughts. While he had told her all about the dangers of Zalrisis and what it did, he hadn't actually found a source to the danger. There was a story that he had read in the Astorean archives, however...

"I once heard of a goddess of the land. Read about it, more accurately. The infected cults that can be found in the explored regions of Zalra give praise to a 'Crystal Mother'. I believe that her name is Zalrea, but I couldn't tell you more than that. I don't even know if she causes this blight or is trapped within it. It's... something you could consider to be currently a space of missing lore."

He could only hope that it was the latter scenario. The thought of a goddess awakening and actively spreading the crystal blight as a world event was something that he didn't want to deal with just yet-not until he could find a solution to the problem of Zalrisis itself.

@Toko

 

[Toko]

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"A goddess, huh..."

That would be a very game oriented plot hook, at least from what Nao had slowly learned over the time she had been playing this particular game. She was always careful to leave TerraSphere out of her searches of course, but as she found herself spending more and more time within the VRMMORPG it was only natural she had begun searching for more information on the overall genre on her downtime.

"Think it might be the hook for a new story down the line?"

Honestly it was very easy to forget that this was just a game, the realism of everything around them easily blurring that line for Toko whenever she deep dived into The World. Another glance was given to her fishing rod, before the Lepus gave it a soft tug or two to see if that perhaps would entice any fish to inspect the bait closer and get a nibble.

@Askera Question

 

[Askera Question]

"I think so. At the very least, previously unknown gods in the past were revealed to Starcalled before the time of the game's shutdown. Idna was the primary case of this. I find it very possible that we'll find this pattern to resurface again, and if it does, it likely won't stop."

The researcher cast his line back into the surface of the water. It had been surprising enough of a discovery that fish were even alive underneath the Zalrisis at all. He had assumed that the landscape had been simply frozen, but what if that wasn't the case? What if the grass really could survive underneath a sheet of crystal somehow?

"At the very least, I can tell you that this goddess, real or no, is connected to the spread of crystal as a whole. There's no way that she wouldn't be related. As for whether I could discover more... That would likely require an expedition further past Zakaden. I wouldn't recommend that right now."

Some things that Askera had told Toko about before their trip here was the kind of entities created by the affliction. Given the destructive power of the sentinels, it could be seen why Askera was wary of taking a trip towards them.

@Toko

 

[Toko]

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"I should really brush up more on the pantheon of this world..."

She vaguely recognized the name of Idna, but the Lepus couldn't honestly say she had a solid enough grasp on how the gods and goddesses connected in this world. Most of what she had come to known had been from bits and pieces Toko had heard here and there, whether it was from the Landers or other Travelers.

"Y-Yeah, that makes sense.. exploring this place probably won't be in the cards for a while even for the League, much less the Guild."

A shame really, had it not been related to such an impactful and negative disease the Lepus would've found the effect Zalrisis had on the world rather fascinating... almost beautiful, even. However there were currently too many unknowns and, without a working cure—especially after the Red Fever experience not long ago, the hare wasn't exactly keen of exploring the lands too far out there and coming across many of the entities Askera had described to the Lepus on their way to Zakaden.

@Askera Question

 

[Askera Question]

Another thought came to mind as they spoke of the matter.

"Given what I've heard of the Goddess, the only source of information that we have on her comes from the Zalri. They're something like... well, like a cult, you could say." Aum Shinrikyo happened before he was even born, yet still it was ingrained into his mind in school that the mere thought of the word 'cult' was a dangerous one to have. He didn't like to mention it, yet it seemed fitting. After all...

"According to the accounts, it's not actually clear whether they even know the goddess they worship. It could be an expy to our own religions, a manner of using God as an excuse to conquer. Something like what occurred in various western historical accounts."

His thought was paused as another fish caught his line. He had a damn good rod, one that he had made himself. The fish on the line shone like silver, and seemed as if it flowed like the metal as well. It was a terribly blocky fish. Poor thing.

@Toko

 

[Toko]

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"Naruhodo..."

A cult, huh? The rabbit couldn't help but frown slightly at the word, wondering just how dangerous these Zalri were that they had earned such a reputation. There were still many unknowns of the world in this game for Toko, with the deities just being part of that, but even she could tell that at least the landers seemed to believe heavily on the pantheon.

"With all of that happening here I'm surprise the devs decided to go with the Kurungaar mother instead... you'd think they might've continued to explore all the hints dropped about Zalrisis instead."

It was very easy to forget that this was just a VRMMORPG at the end of the day, the realism of the world and everything Toko could experience while deep diving easily blurring that line on most days. By now her rod had been steadied against the crystal surface of the lake, the hare having been surprised to discover that her Geomancy could manipulate part of the material to keep a decent hold on the pole... even if it had been with more difficulty than usual.

"Okay, you need to share your fishing secrets with me... or is there a fishing mastery in this game that I missed?"

@Askera Question

 

[Askera Question]

'I'm sorry, Toko-san, but you just don't have the gift for this.' Such a thought was something he kept to himself. It would be terribly rude to be honest about such a thing, especially to a lady. He needed to think of a way to politely shift the idea to something more polite.

"I happen to have have exceptional equipment on my hands. Perhaps later I would make you something to help you fish? We could test it out later together." Askera gave a white lie. This rod was only exceptional in quality-it had no magical properties. That didn't mean that the thought he just came up with was unappealing.

As if to give the man breathing room, the next fish to catch the line came with an announcement on his UI.

[You have logged all fishing targets in the area!]​

Thank goodness. Now he wouldn't have to talk about fishing anymore, at least not unless Toko decided to press the matter. The researcher informed her that his work was, in fact, done.

"Should you wish, Toko-san, we could do something here that you wish to do in stead of the work we've done for my own sake. Is there anything that interests you in Zakaden right now?"

---

@Toko

 

[Toko]

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"Hontooh...?!"

The Lepus' face seemed to light up in response when Askera mentioned the possibility of working on a new fishing rod design. "Yeah, I'd love to test it out with you!" Ears perking up instantly even as the hare's tail quivered excitedly behind her.

Who knew, maybe that way she'd be able to catch many different types of fishes—the idea of being able to try sashimi of various fish unique to TerraSphere being something that had appealed to Toko ever since the summer event aboard the Imperial Petunia.

"Mmm... not really? I was just interested in seeing the place," Her eyes slowly drifted through their surrounding, the crystals that clung to every surface giving the place an almost ethereal feel. "Zalrisis is made of crystals after all, right? That actually made me curious to see if it was something I could manipulate with my Geomancy, just like I can do with geodes and other stuff."

@Askera Question

 

[Askera Question]

A glint of curiosity entered the pitchness of Askera's eyes. He mused aloud, "...I see. I'd never thought about that, but I see no reason why you shouldn't be able to." It seemed reasonable. The crystals were just another form of earth as far as he knew, so why shouldn't Toko be able to move them? His only question at the thought had to do with why she had never tried in all of their time out in Zakaden to begin with.

Perhaps she already had tried, and he had missed how she emphasized how she just wanted to see the beauty of the place now. If that was the case, it was no wonder why she had jumped on the opportunity to go on a journey together with Askera. Logically speaking, it was the reason that made the most sense, he told himself.

"Well, I happen to take an interest in a place I've heard about. It may have other things to catch, as well. Shall we depart?"

The two's travel took them from a silent wasteland to a shimmering slope. This place, he explained, was known as the 'Prism Cliff', a relatively dangerous spot to look around with an even harder to reach area. Two, from what he had heard. Their journey took them down off the side of the cliff, carefully navigating the crystal side of the incline into a great chasm that loomed before it.

Askera had made sure to carefully equip Toko and himself with sturdy gear to climb down this face. He absolutely did not want an accident to happen. Unfortunately for him, an accident would be what he got. The support for the wedge he had driven in decided to slip, beginning an unfortunate series of events. Askera's rope slackened, and he began to fall in a panic. He didn't even have time to speak-the wind had taken away his words.

Perhaps he was to die, felled by the trap of the endless earth once more.

---

@Toko save me, rabbit in shining armor!

 

[Toko]

"Yeah, that's what I thought too—and it actually worked!" She had been excited to discover that at first, even if the Lepus had been quickly met with the difficulty that the task actually entailed. "It's certainly a challenge though, and really consumes a lot of my energy meter too whenever I try it."

It was an odd feeling too considering the hare had never really struggled manipulating matter with her Geomancy, it and her Martial Arts being the only two masteries that Toko had truly taken to like a duck to water from the very beginning. Ears perked upwards as the man mentioned another area he wished to stop buy, a smile instantly crossing Toko's lips at the thought of seeing other areas of Zalra. Terrible as the Zalrisis seemed to be she couldn't deny there was an inherent beauty to the crystals that accompanied it.

"Sure!"

Their travels had taken them to a steep crystalized slope, the rabbit letting out a whistle of appreciation as she glanced down the face to the area below. "Oh, that fissure looks rather deep..." Askera had come equipped with the correct gear for a careful descent, adamant on them both taking the proper time to equip it before starting to climb down the slope.

He'd insisted to go ahead despite the hare's protests, after all she was meant to be his bodyguard during the little expedition into the surrounding areas of Zakaden. "I know you're our senseeh and all, but this type of stuff is what I normally excel at doing—Askera-san?!" Her gaze had just turned downwards to the man as the Lepus tried to get a point across, watching as one mistake suddenly snowballed into a series of unfortunate events before her eyes.

Her hand shot forth without thinking, managing to grasp the end of the rope that had somehow frayed and snapped, before the hare grunted as the sudden weight caused her to lose her own footing. She slipped, sending them both sliding further down the slope and towards the chasm as Toko struggled to find some form of purchase. She finally found it, a small indent in the surface where her fingers were able to hook into, before the rabbit quickly focused her energy into the crystal.

It caused a ledge to erupt a foot or so below Askera's feet, the hare finally letting go of his rope so he could land on the outcrop before she let go of her hold and joined the researcher on it.

"Kusoh... see? This is why you should let me go first, Askera-san!"

@Askera Question

 

[Askera Question]

Kaito Kuraba didn't immediately respond to Toko's complaints. The fall had taken into him worse than he had expected-he was pretty sure that he was in shock. At least, that's what he assumed was happening, given how he just couldn't think straight right now. A dull ringing took into his ears like a hornet furious about the damages of its' hive and would not let go of his skull. It was accompanied by a constant, rhythmic throb that was felt more than it was heard-his heartbeat?

He started thinking about important things-his name, where he was... Askera noted how far down they had gone. Hidden by the surface, a rippling waterfall fell in a place that was just too close to be called 'the distance'. The pulsing of deep sound was coming from the falling water, not his own head. It was a relief to understand this. This was not just any waterfall, lit by the reflection of the cave's base beneath the sun-it was the place he had been looking for.

"Ah... Toko? Toko-san." The researcher corrects himself, realizing that he had forgotten honorifics. How embarrassing. Askera attempts to direct attention away from this slip-up by gesturing towards the waterfall she probably has had minutes to look at while he had been having his panic attack.

"...There it is. Behind that waterfall is a cave that hosts an underground pool. We've found it."

@Toko

 

[Toko]

Askera wasn't the only one that had been momentarily out of it as their unexpected sliding down the slope came to a halt, the hare allowed herself a moment to rest on her back as she processed the thought that they had almost fallen right into a chasm of unknown depths in the middle of fucking nowhere. Little by little the Lepus could feel as her irregular heartbeats stabilized once more, her eyes slowly trailing towards the man besides her as she watched the panicked look in his face slowly subside.

"Hai?"

She responded naturally as he called out her username, the mistake of a missing honorific unnoticed until Askera corrected himself moments after. A gesture was made by the researcher, causing the hare to look away from the man and to a spot further out besides them, before a look of surprise crossed her face as she noticed the entrance Askera was talking about.

"Oh... We made it!"

@Askera Question