[Event Post]

[photonslight]

::So Shian, your anti-cop Shian Senses are tingling. You sense tingles of something troublesome coming. Most likely marching towards your villa.::

Comments

[ancient_prophecy]

There is a monster at the end of every story. There is a reason you fear the dark. The most merciful thing in the world is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents.

There is a reason why you don't mention them, why the Crimson Dragon had them completely buried and disappeared. Why the only thing left was the Legendary Numbers.

[kattobingore]

They... really couldn't have been super bad people, right?
What exactly makes them so scary to you?

[ancient_prophecy]

It's not about 'bad' Tsukumo Yuma..

What if I told you the Astrals, such as your friend Hope, were the frail end point of essentially a caste of ascetic monk-scientists. I mean in the sense of self starving sages.

Now. Imagine what someone with a flesh and blood body would be like.

[photonslight]

::Ponders, with a look of concern...::

[kattobingore]

Hmm, can you explain kinda what that means?

[photonslight]

Imagine a thin frail scholar who is basically a floating mass of energy. That's Hope or Eliphas. You remember what the Astral World did to Lady Hirume's world.

Imagine an entire civilization of Astrals who have flesh-and-blood bodies and can actually wage war or throw a punch.

She's implying the Astrals, despite their ascension, got weaker.

[kattobingore]

Oooh, right.

Yeah, that is kinda bad now that I think of it... especially knowing what the Astrals have done in their current form in the past.

[ancient_prophecy]

I am confident a single member of their people could erase the entire world as we currently know it.

[photonslight]

...

[kattobingore]

They... really could be that dangerous?

[ancient_prophecy]

Mmm...

My recollection, but it's hazy and that era is an era where reality was very much fluid...

As I said, they were the monsters at the End or, rather, Beginning of the Book.

The world was an abyss unrecognizable as what you would call the world, a world beyond your imaginings, beyond your understanding. The myths of Tiamat, Leviathan, Pangu, Ymir. The creation from a world beyond description into ours. The Earth diver myths, are all referencing the world going from Them to Us.

My siblings and I had to fight one of them, Cipactli, to help save the People of the Dragon Star and establish the world.

It nearly butchered us several times over. Us.

[kattobingore]

*You can't help but notice that Yuma is looking slightly dejected at the thought of this.*

So, what happened to them in the end? Was that the turning point where they started to become the Astrals? Or did most of them just disappear?

[ancient_prophecy]

Humanity and Duel Spirits turned on them, and there was a combination of luck, likely in-fighting on their part, courage and stubbornness led the Chaoskampf heroes around the world to slay the old order.

The Astrals are more of a group that decided to keep ascending, but them being in many ways their brain trust, it would not be a surprise if that crippled them, though I do recall a critical battle being won by the failure of nearly 9 million of their soldiers showing up.

And with a critical collapse in key battlefronts, I was asked by the 'Gods' of this world to seal away Fantasy, and with it. Them.

[kattobingore]

So, your concern is if we keep looking into it, we might accidently unseal what you sealed, including them?

[ancient_prophecy]

Yes.

... Though Avalon being brought up personally hurts.

[photonslight]

Why.

[ancient_prophecy]

Avalon is the closest thing I ever had to a home.

And I had to seal it away to ensure your kind, Tsukumo Yuma, could thrive. Mankind dies in the endless ocean of fantasy. And Avalon is one of the most fantastical, wonderful, beautiful places in all of creation.

And it would make sure you never moved past cow herding.

[kattobingore]

I'm... really sorry you lost your home.

I'm guessing all those places we listed are places that were sealed away?

[ancient_prophecy]

Yes.

Zed was a major proto-Astral City that became a city of the people of the Dragon Star, Quetzalcoatl Ultimaya, i.e. The Crimson Dragon. It is the Lost City of Z.

Iram of the Many Lofty Pillars, if I recall, is where a dragonoid member of the Proto-Astrals was experimenting to become humanoid.

Buyan of Sannikova is a sunken city where a powerful sage hid his soul.

The fifth one, Qin Shi Huang is not a place, but the strongest general of the Proto-Astrals, later taken and emulated by the first Emperor of China. For simplicity's sake the Qin Shi Huang here should be called "The Yellow Emperor".

Also, I don't recall the full name. But. "Vel" wasn't their name.

[kattobingore]

What do you remember about what they were actually called? Even if it's just part of the name.

[ancient_prophecy]

... I think "Vel" was a part of it, but anything further is beyond me.

I would tread very cautiously.

Also, I would note Albion at least requires the Queen of the Fairies to open its doors.

[kattobingore]

The... 'Queen of the Fairies'? Who's that?

[photonslight]

I would assume Ancient Fairy Dragon, but since she's wording things the way she is...

I assume she means her Signer.

And that the location in China is the absolute bottom of our list.

[kattobingore]

Ah yeah. That might be a bit difficult, as I don't think anyone will want us involving Kamala in this.

[photonslight]

Hmmm...