video | un: empyrean

[lightofkshahrewar]

WHO: Kaveh and you
WHERE: the app
WHEN: early May
WHAT: A new arrival complains about a weird development in his life.
WARNINGS: none!

[ The video opens with a shot of a certain sparse as fuck tiny basement apartment, before the phone's owner adjusts the available options, switching from the rear camera to its front-facing counterpart. The user posting under the name 'empyrean' turns out to be a young man in his mid-to-late twenties with a pretty face, long golden yellow hair, and oddly distinctive red eyes. He hasn't yet realized they're no longer brown. ]

Is this thing on? Yes, okay. Ahem.

[ At first he's only muttering to himself, but as soon as he verifies the recording is live, he begins properly. ]

I've been doing some reading. It seems this app appears on someone's phone shortly before strange things begin to occur? I'll admit I hardly understand half of what you people are talking about; it all seems too strange to be true. But, considering I've just had my own supernatural encounter, I'm not in any place to judge.

[ Kaveh reverses the camera again, this time revealing a small green plant-like creature perched contently on his knee. It's a Budew, but he doesn't know that. ]

Can any of you explain how my roommate's plush toy just came to life? I'm not really sure what I should do about this.

Knowing him, he'll probably blame this on me somehow.

Comments

[reenforces]

The reason for that is a little more complicated. Luckily, you're talking to someone whose assignment it is to research and collect data about all this.

[Since he's giving a full on lesson he'll just doodle on a piece of paper and hold it up.]

Now, instead of a wavelength, try to think about the world around you in a more physical way. Like this is one big dig site, and you're drilling down to take a core sample. [This really does look like a geology diagram.] You have the normal mundane stuff, like the big lake and the architecture and other fixtures of the normal city. The supernatural things that are a part of daily life here, those are another layer. And beneath that, there's a whole other layer that even people who live with the supernatural might not be aware of. This is Kaisou's Spirit Vein, and it marks the barrier between Kaisou and other worlds entirely.

If you look up at the sky at night, you should see something resembling aurora borealis. That's what the Spirit Vein does to the sky when it's particularly strong or active, and Kaisou's is both.

A while ago, there was someone with... ill intent... who tried to punch through the veil between worlds. He damaged it in such a way that the Spirit Realm—which is on the other side of that—has been leaking into our world. Suddenly becoming aware of the supernatural, gaining powers and features you didn't have before, visitors from other worlds, gates to the Spirit Realm appearing with alarming frequency... these are all symptoms of that.

To be clear, Spirit Gates leading to other places have been a part of our history for a long time, and they feature prominently in many mythologies and legends. But it usually isn't like this. That's part of why me and my colleagues, including... it looks like you know Abasi? That's part of why we're here.

I'm Mikleo, by the way. Officially I'm Assistant Wisteria, but just Mikleo is fine.

[lightofkshahrewar]

[ Had he just explained all of this outright, Kaveh definitely would have doubted the veracity of his claims. But the scholarly way he's addressed Kaveh's questions resonates with Kaveh, and he's far more willing to listen now than he might've been otherwise. ]

I had no idea.

[ Well, that's obvious enough, but it's just an expression of surprise as Kaveh mulls this new information over. Soon enough, he offers Mikleo a warm smile. ]

Nice to meet you, Mikleo. I'm Kaveh.

[reenforces]

[He's taking it well. Mikleo has a feeling that Kaveh will probably ruin this by running into a wall or something when he hangs up.

He returns the smile, though.]

Kaveh. It's nice to meet you, too.

[He is deathly curious as to how someone as nice as Kaveh gets mixed up with Abasi, but it might be rude to ask especially if they're close...]

I'm sure once it settles a bit more you'll have questions. For now, ah, how are you feeling? Hopefully panicking a little less about the little friend you've made.

[lightofkshahrewar]

I'm fine.

[ Is this the smile of a man who is fine? Probably not, but luckily he has a roommate he can interrogate whenever he gets home later. ]

I was never really panicking, I just... wasn't sure what I was dealing with.

If it's been this way the entire time and I simply didn't realize, then there's technically nothing wrong.

I appreciate the information. You've been more than helpful.

[reenforces]

[Mikleo gives Kaveh a look. He's a little amused, but...]

I don't need to be a biologist to figure out that's bull.

[lightofkshahrewar]

My biggest concern was I'd somehow ruined one of my roommate's things. Now that I know that's not the case, everything is fine.

[ De Nile is a river in Egypt. Kaveh is stubborn, however. ]

[reenforces]

[Mikleo shrugs lightly, and smiles once again.]

If you say so. But when you've decided things are actually insane, just know that the rest of us are here to listen, and we also probably agree with you.

The world as it truly is?—it's wild and wonderful, beautiful and dangerous, but sometimes it's also just flat-out ridiculous. Like playing hot potato with a swan...

But that's enough lecturing for one day. I'm sure you get that enough from your roommate.

[lightofkshahrewar]

[ Maybe he'll take Mikleo up on that—eventually. But right now, he's determined to take this all in stride, no matter what it might cost him later. ]

You've got that right. The day al-Haytham turns down the opportunity to lecture me about all and sundry is the day I know he's been replaced by a pod person.

[ Of course, the same could be said about Kaveh by his aforementioned roommate. ]