video; un: wisteria

[reenforces]

WHO: Mikleo and you!
WHERE: The network
WHEN: The end of April
WHAT: Mikleo has some questions for the people who've lived here a while.
WARNINGS: None, will update as necessary.

[video;]

[Lo and behold, the spicy healer who was barking orders at people during the Zodiac heist has a face and sometimes he shows it on the network. He has a very serious demeanor about him, to the point where he even is wearing his custom blue and white labcoat. SCHOLAR MODE: ON.]

Hi again.

This is Mikleo, also known as Assistant Wisteria. I'm with POKEGO as an archaeologist with my focus being religious sites, especially those linked to the Spirit Realm. You've probably seen me around at this point, especially since something about Libra boosts everyone's ability to perceive me in the first place, but... I digress. (To prevent repeat questions: I'm a kind of nature spirit—not a ghost.)

Now that everything's settled down a bit, I wanted to go over some of the research I've compiled from various reports. Here are the facts that are relevant right now:

[He drags a whiteboard into view and starts summarizing bullet points as he speaks.]

• The boundary between the Spirit Realm and Kaisou is thin. We know this because there's a long history of supernatural folk living in the city, and of course the Spirit Vein in the sky.

• In 2021, people from other worlds began arriving in Kaisou ("isekais"), which was unprecedented at the time. About a year after that, people here in Kaisou began remembering their past lives. Zodiac released Libra so that these groups could connect. Ostensibly they also saw an opportunity to make money.

• In August of 2022, the boundary was damaged when some people made an attempt to return to their worlds.

• The Willow incident a few months later damaged the veil further.

• After that, there was a sudden spike in people waking up with animal features and the like.

• While interviewing the Seelie in March of this year, we got some leads. They confirmed that Spirit Energy was accumulating at a rate that should be impossible due to the damaged veil, and it's changing the residents. Normal people can't survive in the Spirit Realm for an extended period unless they are 'changed' themselves; this is why the fae transform people when they are taken to the fae realm. When pressed about what Kaisou's rapid accumulation of energy could be in preparation for, they brought up the disappearance of the Roanoke colony.

• To recap: the Roanoke colony disappearances are an enduring mystery from the founding of the United States. The most popular theory among historians is that they could have integrated into a nearby tribe, but there is very little hard evidence to rule anything out. The Fae seemed to imply that the residents could have been involved in the supernatural much like Kaisou, and the disappearance of the colony's people could be linked to the Spirit Realm as a result.

• There are visible signs of Spirit Realm contamination in the park where the Seelie were staying last month, indicating that the barrier has continued to deteriorate.

So what does all of this have in common?

The barrier or boundary-slash-whatever you want to call it is a major reason why we face the troubles that we do, and also why it hasn't been worse. [He circles the whole list of bullet points and writes "barrier" outside of it.] Every time the barrier has been thrown into chaos, we've seen disaster befall the city to the point where it was affecting people who can't see the paranormal. There are, of course, stories from ancient times of people crossing over into the Spirit Realm... but the implications we heard from the Seelie are on an entirely different scale.

I believe that if we look into the past we might be able to find out where all of this began, and it could help us understand what's happening to us right now.

So, if there's anyone who has lived here a long time... Do you remember anything out of the ordinary happening in 2021? Mysterious disappearances, for example. Or maybe you saw something you shouldn't have, and it's been buried until now? ... That seems unlikely, but maybe it could be related.

The reason I'm asking is because, from the history we have, we know that every recent uptick in Spirit Realm activity has been preceded by some kind of trigger. My theory is that something happened in early 2021 before the "isekais" arrived, and something else happened in late 2021 just before people began remembering their past lives in Kaisou. These two inciting incidents remain a mystery because people who are off the app perceive things differently.

Anyway, even if you can't remember anything, I hope that this illuminates the severity of the situation. Now that Zodiac is no longer actively causing us problems, we should be monitoring the state of our border with the Spirit Realm.

Comments

voice; un; Deja Boo

[schrodingersghost]

When you lay it all out like that, the entire situation sounds so much worse.

I've lived here my whole life, but I don't know how much help I'll be. I've only been able to see all the spirit stuff for the last year. I think I first noticed it around last May? Before that I actually thought life in Kaisou was pretty boring, if you can believe that.

voice;

[reenforces]

It's definitely serious... though I haven't been able to personally measure just how bad the deterioration is. My uneducated guess is that in another year or so we'll see more adverse effects.

It's all right if you don't remember. Thank you for considering it.

[schrodingersghost]

[Never leaving his house again was sounding more and more appealing. Especially since it sounded like there was a more than good chance of more dealing with the Fae. Danny would be perfectly happy to never have an encounter with them every again.

Too bad he was already well aware that could never work out.]

Any guesses on what kinds of effects we could be looking at?

Sorry I couldn't be more help.

[reenforces]

We don't have a precedent, so I can't be sure. We've already well surpassed any historical accounts of Spirit Energy accumulation... But if I had to look at the patterns and extrapolate from there, I'd say that we'll see more widespread transformations among the townspeople and stronger abilities, more mysterious disappearances, as well as more rifts like last year.

If anything crosses over, even temporarily, it could leave lasting impressions on the city beyond just flowers—like specific buildings, animals, maybe even people. We're already seeing weird and rapid changes in our world that have links to some people's past or current lives; it's not that much of a leap to leave something behind.

Beyond that... I don't know. It isn't time for panic yet, but we should keep this in mind moving forward and try not to agitate the veil any further.

voice | un: blackbirdtarot

[drewthetower]

I've lived here for a few years now, since I started college, but I got nothing. I'm also probably not the best person to ask, since I've been involved with the supernatural since birth.

voice;

[reenforces]

Actually, I think you might be the best candidate since you would see things that are out of the ordinary...

I'm starting to wonder if this line of questioning was a dead end. That's all right, though. It just means I'll have to focus on a different one.

voice;

[drewthetower]

I didn't even notice the isekais until the app showed up. That was around the time my readings, like, got even better, if that makes sense.

voice;

[reenforces]

Really? Interesting... So whatever it was, it started small.

That must have been strange for you—growing up with magic, then realizing your neighbor has had elf ears the whole time or something like that.

voice;

[drewthetower]

Just a bit, yeah. Like, sure I knew about gates and shit, but other worlds? Yeah, no, what the fuck are you talking about?

Video | un: sorey_not_sorry

[notevensorey]

[Sorey is honestly hesitant to bring this up, but he thinks it might be time. Mikleo's made a strong support net for himself, and the man's had some time to really start to process his grief. He just hopes that this isn't too soon. If nothing else, he can at least test the waters.]

I do have the answer to what caused the isekai phenomenon, unfortunately. It... turned up during our full investigation on Willow.

[It's an invitation to Mikleo. Does he really want to know more? Sorey doesn't mind breaking it to him gently and being there for him, but he also wants to give Mikleo a way to back out gracefully.]

text | un: shinope | private

[killerapp]

what?

Private

[notevensorey]

We, as in POKEGO, launched a full investigation into Willow after the incident last year. This was all to determine not only the full scope of his plans, but also to figure out just how many people had sided with him.

It's an ugly picture that it paints, but I can share the case file with you if you feel that you're ready to read it.

Private

[killerapp]

just give me the tldr first

Private

[notevensorey]

I can do that.

Willow's first experiment with Giratina began January 2021 and resulted in failure. This caused a deep wound in the fabric of the spirit realm, which then brought in the first isekais.

The second experiment came about in January 2022. This also resulted in both failure and a deepening of the wound, causing all of the very visible and strange phenomena occurring here. After this, he changed his plan from traveling to other worlds to restoring his own world.

un: silverrose

[fionnuisce]

i'm sorry what now.

[notevensorey]

A full investigation was launched to dig into Willow's background to determine the scope of his plans, as well as to figure out just how many in POKEGO were on his side. There was an internal investigation as well as one spearheaded by The Black Order and Zodiac. I had thought that Zodiac would've shared their findings with you all, but it appears not.

[The Black Order, from what he's observed, doesn't give a fuck who knows and who doesn't, so he's not surprised by that. Sorey also won't be surprised if the Guardians here are unaware.]

The reason isekais are here is because of Willow's initial experiments with Giratina. His experiment failed, but it left a deep wound on the boundary between Kaisou and the spirit realm. The results of that first experiment's failure was the appearance of people from other worlds.

[fionnuisce]

well that certainly proves my own assumptions shared by wisteria as to an inciting incident on that specific front, though the reasoning beyond past life memories continue to elude me. let's take it from the top, doctor:

-of course zodiac wouldn't tell us shit
-what the hell is a giratina
-is there any likelihood of fixing said damage to the boundary

[notevensorey]

Of course.

Giratina is a Pokemon known to cross dimensions. We've classified it as a legendary creature, a step below mythical.

We're still in the process of determining whether or not it can be. Normally, tears will heal on their own given enough time. However, the second experiment Willow conducted in January of 2022 made it a much bigger wound. This is all new territory we're going into.

As far as remembering our past lives are concerned... we're not sure what's going on with that. The phenomenon of remembering these lives we used to live was not only an exceptionally rare occurrence, but usually was triggered by something traumatic. It's impossible to predict who will remember and who won't, but that trigger is universal. Kaisou is strange because of the sheer amount of people who are remembering it, and all without any sort of trigger that we can tell. This might be related to Willow's experiments, but it also might not be. At this juncture, it's hard to say what's causing the memory recall.

--> private to sorey;

[reenforces]

[Well, isn't this a great way to start this off.]

Damn it. I know what you're about to say.

[This deserves a swear word.]

It was in his file, wasn't it? I never looked. I don't think they would've let me, but I also never asked.

You can tell the others. I just... I need a moment.

... Sorry.

Private

[notevensorey]

[Sorey just... looks sad, but his voice is gentle.]

Take all the time you need, love. But... yes. It's in his file. I have it if you want me to send it to you, but not until you're certain you're ready.

[reenforces]

[He looks like an idiot considering the premise of his questions, but naturally he's not too concerned with that right now. It's everything else.

His partner hasn't even been dead six months.

He needs to take some deep breaths by himself, so he sets his phone down in order to do that. He gets some water. And finally, a few minutes later, he picks up where they left off.]

... Okay. You can send the case notes.

[He breathes out and rubs his temples.]

Thank you for handling all of this. I didn't realize just how big my blind spot was.

UN: hikari-vi | voice

[whiteshroud]

I'm afraid the only strange thing I remember from 2021 was when my dad brought home Amal for dinner and he had very pointy ears.

Though, my dad back then usually tried to discourage me from going near anything supernatural.

voice; un: wisteria

[reenforces]

Ah, that guy. His ears are very pointy, aren't they?

[Boy do they have a case file on that guy.]

Still, that's something. It fits into the timeline. Thank you.

[whiteshroud]

Yeah. At first I thought he was an otherkin who wore fake ears, but then they started moving....

[It was wild.

Jun knows he doesn't have much else to contribute, but he can see how the rest of the conversations are going and....]

Do you need anything?

[reenforces]

[... That's not a word he knows the meaning of, and he's afraid to ask.]

I'm okay.

[It's a lot. He needs some time after all of that, but...]

Maybe we can watch a movie in a bit?