Mysteries: Arcana Wars

Backlund time, 20:30 on Winter Rite

30 minutes after the outpost was launched.

Gloria put away her heavy sniper rifle and looked at the fallen petals scattered on the ground in the alley without any joy or sorrow.

According to the original plan, she should have followed Field Moretti's trail all the way to the amusement park.

However, due to interference from the Sky Cult, Gloria's fate took a turn for the worse. The curse continued to work, but Gloria failed to arrive at the amusement park on time.

Realizing the absurdity of fate, Gloria rushed to the amusement park and unexpectedly discovered a group of postmodernists hiding in a corner.

Team battles can be lost, but the postmodern school must die.

This is an ironclad rule universally acknowledged in the mysterious world.

Gloria's heart skipped a beat. She looked up towards the amusement park and saw that the eerie red glow had disappeared. She knew she was too late; a more powerful being had descended and resolved the problem in a moment.

With the biggest problem solved, the next challenge is dealing with these smaller issues.

Gloria Adam then reported the situation of this group of postmodernists to Ms. Ariana.

Having confirmed that the amusement park incident was over, Gloria received authorization from Ms. Ariana to temporarily accept the task of eliminating the postmodern school of thought in front of her.

At this point, the protesters, no longer afraid of the "mysterious laser weapon," stirred up again, shouting and restarting the interrupted march.

"Overthrow the deception of the gods! Your destiny belongs to you!"

The loud slogans were deafening, but Gloria remained unmoved.

She switched [Wither] to sniper rifle mode, concealed herself in the shadows, and aimed at the leader of the marching crowd.

Gunshots erupted from a pre-arranged corner, mercilessly taking the lives of the leaders.

As planned, these postmodernists, driven to a state of frenzy and leaderlessness by the deaths of their leaders, separated from the ordinary refugees who were fleeing in all directions. They irrationally rushed into the alleys following the sound of gunfire, determined to capture the repressors to prove the government's evil.

Without the interference of innocent bystanders, Gloria's mission was no longer hindered.

The next action consisted only of steady pulling of the bolt and firing, watching as each protester turned into withered black petals under the bullets of "Withering," until there was no one left alive in the alley.

Gloria put away her gun, and after confirming that no one had survived, she left the scene without looking back.

Time to get off.

******

Backlund Time, Winter Rite ▇▇: ▇▇

▇▇ hours after the outpost was launched.

"Melissa!"

Klein awoke with a start from a void, looked around, and saw nothing.

There was no architecture, no reality, and no trace of Melissa.

A cold touch came from his hand. Klein looked down and found that he was holding an ancient lantern tightly in his hand, which was emitting a warm light.

It looks like the lantern I carried when I was walking in the land of the forsaken gods.

Looking down, where the light reached, Klein's feet were on an ancient, mottled stone slab that stretched in all directions to the end of the light before disappearing into nothingness.

So... is existence, and the connection to reality, only within the area illuminated by the light?

Klein tried to walk forward. With each step the light moved forward, the cobblestone path grew a little further in the direction he was going, and the path behind him disappeared a little further.

Under the lamplight, a familiar feeling crept into his heart. He took out his pocket watch and glanced at it; all the hands on the Disillusionment Compass were spinning wildly and erratically.

Is this my illusion?

No, that's not right!

Klein remembered; this feeling was exactly the same as when he fell into the Fifth Age-style manor and was being chased by Alice and his self-projection.

At the time, Klein was busy escaping and, coupled with the effects of the madness, didn't have time to think things through carefully.

Looking back now, it seems that's indeed the case. Those long corridors were brightly lit, while the corridors further ahead were pitch black. But if you run forward, you'll find that the corridors ahead actually exist.

The end of the disappearing corridor is not without light; it's just that when Klein believes there should be a corridor ahead, light appears to illuminate the void, giving birth to an illusion that can be understood and explored, or perhaps a false reality, allowing Klein to explore further and exist in this unique space.

Therefore, the rule here is that perception and illusion, and the possibility of interaction with reality, only exist where light shines. Furthermore, the perceptible world changes according to one's will; what exists in the light is related to one's own will.

Klein wiped away his tears and started walking again. He had roughly confirmed the reliability of the rule, and now it was time to put his grief aside for the time being and get back to work.

...Back to reality...back to reality...

...Away from amusement parks...away from church angels...to the side of Tarot Society members...

Consciousness determines reality; he tried hard to imagine his destination and walked forward with a determined look in his eyes.

Finally, a glimmer of light appeared ahead.

It was an old-fashioned door, with a wall lamp illuminating a section of the wall and floor. Klein walked up, placed the lantern on the hook, mustered his courage, pulled open the door, and leaped into a burst of white light.

thump!

Klein fell awkwardly onto the street, landing face-first in the mud.

"You are... Merlin!?"

Emlyn exclaimed softly.

"Where did you come from!?"

"Uh, that's not important..."

Klein stood up, dusted himself off, and looked around.

This was at the intersection of a small alley near the main road. Emlyn was kneeling on the ground, with the unconscious Audrey and the anxious Susie in front of him.

"What's the situation now?"

"As you can see."

Emlyn opened his palm, on which lay a bloodstained obsidian lens.

“Audrey had a little accident; this piece of obsidian suddenly pierced her head.”

Emlyn pointed to the girl's forehead.

"This is the place."

"After that, Audrey fell into a coma."

"Susie found my phone number in Audrey's terminal and called to explain the situation, so I rushed over."

"She's fine now. Thanks to the potion, these are just minor injuries."

"only……"

Emlyn gave a sullen look.

Even after her injuries healed, Audrey remained unconscious...

"That shouldn't be the case. No matter how I check, she's perfectly healthy, even healthier than the doctors at our hospital who work all night!"

"But why can't he wake up..."

As soon as she finished speaking, Audrey's arm suddenly twitched, and she slowly opened her eyes.

However, his eyes were filled with doubt and surprise as he slowly sat up and looked around.

"Susie...where are you?"

She seemed not to see anyone around her, her expression growing increasingly terrified. She even curled up on the ground, hugging her legs in fear.

Why am I in the forest?

5-Intermission-【Reshuffling & Changing Lineups】—The End