A gust of wind blows through the seedly alleyway on which the bar is situated, sending a loose flyer into the air. The planet-city is alive with activity, not all of which is necessarily positive. A thief is attempting to reenact a Henry Stickmin adventure. There are criminals, infiltrators, perhaps even an impostor or two around. And, given the state of the megasession, something has to be done before it all spirals out of control.
Shiragiku steps out of the bar. The core of Derse is calling to her, a strange feeling seeping into her very existence. She walks out of the alley, connecting a major road with the seedy parts of town, and towards the entrance to the underground monorail at the end of the station.
ゲーム
ゲーム『ポケットモンスター ブラック/ホワイト』BGM / 佐藤仁美
The carapacians mill about in the streets. A young-looking carapacian (though all carapacians are only as old as the megasession itself) mans a small hole-in-the-wall shop selling assorted beverages - coffee, tea, milkshakes, smoothies, you name it. An older-looking carapacian walks up and drops a few coins on the table - 48 Dersite boondollars - and orders a cold milk tea with extra sugar.
Shiragiku walks across the street at the next intersection, wondering why she suddenly feels this strange desire to visit the core, and decides to go for a non-alcoholic drink - alcohol tends to have severe effects on her coefficients - to clear her mind. She spots the stall, its signs shining in the eternal night.
東方アレンジ
東方Projectアレンジ楽曲 / DDBY
The carapacian manning the stall hands the customer his drink, then notices Shiragiku looking at the menu from a distance, clad in a warm coat to withstand the cold, sunless weather. Though the locals and dreamers are well-equipped to handle the cold, Shiragiku as an outsider is not. "Want a drink?" he asks. "We have hot drinks too."
Shiragiku pulls out her wallet. She's pocketed a few thousand in assorted booncurrencies from her tenure as part-time bartender - not to mention she can just make free money out of charge points and actions. She walks up to the counter, inspects the menu further, and then, with a slight Japanese accent, asks for a hot cocoa. She places a 100 boondollar note on the counter.
ゲーム
ゲーム『Minecraft』収録曲 / C418
Shiragiku walks off with her drink, and as eating and drinking are nominally prohibited in the monorail system, she resolves to finish it before she reaches the station. As she walks, she takes frequent sips, though her strange urge to visit the core doesn't abate.
As she approaches the monorail station, she's stopped by a group of low-ranking Dersite police officers - at least, she thinks they're low-ranking, judging by their insignias. The leader of the squad informs her that they need to see her ID.
Shiragiku sighs, pulls out her wallet, and reveals a small, credit card-sized piece of divinium reinforced plastic identifying her as a (probational) agent of the Godmodder's forces. The police officers, taken aback at the idea of meeting a Descendant, quickly explain that they are suspicious of outsiders due to the recent reports of infiltrators. A younger-looking officer begins to make a joke presumably about when the imposter is sus!, but the leader off the squad cuts him off, thanking Shiragiku for her time.
"No problem. Have a good day," Shiragiku replies, revealing her slight accent. She walks off, and enters the station.
05
ヒロシゲ36号 ～ Neo Super-Express
東方原曲
CD『卯酉東海道 ～ Retrospective 53 minutes』収録曲 / ZUN
Though it's nominally a train, the line going to the core from this station is more like a really wide paternoster-style elevator, going directly up and down perpendicular to the length of the train. As Shiragiku boards the train descending to the lowest station in the system - a journey of five kilometers, taking about twenty minutes - she stops to consider her situation.
NEW MESSAGES
VTuber
Gawr Gura イメージソング / かめりあ
This is the first time she's been in the train system. She's never been here before, nor has she done any research beforehand, but somehow she knows the layout of the system like the back of her hand, and despite this she's never stopped to question it.
What's stranger is that despite what she's doing, she knows she's never really cared for preventing collateral damage. She's always been a neural net trained first on results, and then on empathy. And her abilities have always leaned towards the destructive side, if anything - she's never been one to actively help anything that wasn't part of her mission.
♪ The red train begins to sing - fa-sol-la-si-do-re-mi-fa-sol
♪ Riding on the red train, I'm going to find my dreams
But somehow, here she is.
♪ Even though I should be able to grab it, I can't;
♪ as soon as I open my hand, it's no longer there
♪ I'm the plaything of an unimaginable greater power...
The core calls out to Shiragiku. As she exits the station, she floats into the air, and approaches a cylindrical room at the very center of Derse. Gravity does not exist in this space. (It's a plot convenience.)
The core is where all the essence-wrangling happens. Although it's nominally closed off to unauthorized personnel, Shiragiku, as a Descendant, has free reign to enter and do as she pleases.
She spots a small purple-and-black marbled capsule on the ground, emitting noises that seem to be calling for her. In her native Japanese, no less. How strange.
For the sake of consistency, their conversation has been translated.
"Hello. Who are you?" Shiragiku asks warily. She's seen enough in her past life to be cautious in such a situation.
"i dont have a name" the capsule replies. It shakes a little as it does so. Shiragiku looks at it with a confused expression.
"What are you, then?"
"i am a seed that will grow into the avatar of this planet" the capsule says, its voice growing steadily louder, though not so loud as to be audible outside the chamber.
"but i need help to grow"
"I see. Is that why you called me here?"
"yes" The capsule flashes purple as it does so, illuminating the room Shiragiku stands in. Pipes of all sorts surround a solid essence-metallic sphere that seems to pulsate - this is undoubtedly the core of the planet, running its primary functions as part of the game. Why did it bring her here, of all places?
"In that case, what help do you need?"
"i need energy of some sort so i can grow" the capsule explains.
"Hm. In that case, I may be able to help."
♪ 09
今宵は飄逸なエゴイスト ～ Egoistic Flowers
東方原曲
ゲーム『東方剛欲異聞 ～ 水没した沈愁地獄』BGM / ziki_7
"yes" the capsule continues.
"what kind of energy do you have"
"I have Charge Points. They are a form of energy that Descendants can create."
"could you spare me some"
"I could give you... about ten. Would that be sufficient?"
"that would be good"