[center][h3]The Fungal Knight[/h3]
Location: Government Hub
[@Gardevoiran][/center]

As the skeleton waved, the mummy shrugged.  “Huh.  Guess 'e didn't want nothin', after all.  Coulda sworn 'e was anglin' for some kinda 'elp.”  The next moment, a rush of enchanted wind blasted forth from his ring, enveloping him completely.  Beside him, the other strangers' rings rendered them similarly surrounded.  As one the speed and noise of the little storms intensified, until in a flash of light all three vanished without a trace.

When Bonesword queried his phylactery, no reply whatsoever came through to him.  Not even an acknowledgment of his request made itself known.  All that remained to him in terms of guidance was the drone floating nearby, its angle pointing him in the direction of a restaurant a couple blocks down the road.  Judging by Oren's prerecorded message, delivered to Bonesword just minutes prior, his next opponent lay thataways.

[center][h3]Inari[/h3]
Location: What Lies Beneath – Toward the Underground City
[@Kapuchu][/center]

Emile grinned again.  “You got it.”  On went the crested helmet, the lenses in its visor flickering dully with magic, and the owlman crossed his arms.  He also crossed a leg, but other than that made no more delays before he started speaking.  “I wanted to talk to you, and to get some information.  I picked you because you seemed reasonably sane, and interesting.  I'm glad to tell you more, but it's a lengthy explanation so please hold any remarks until the end.”

Uncrossing his arms, he clasped his hands in his lap.  “My friends and I arm from a world called Yggdrasil.  From what we've gathered through observation over the course of the last day or so, pretty much all the competitors brought here are from different worlds, which struck me as very interesting.  I don't know anything about your world, so forgive me if anything I say seems trivial or obvious, but I'll tell you about this place.  This planet is called Earth, and this continent called Europe.  To go further, I have to get something out of the way first.”

“You see, when I say we're from Yggdrasil, that's not the whole story.  I'm a little different.”  He leaned forward just a touch, his hands sliding out to rest on his knees as he straightened them out.  From behind his back came a faint scraping sound like metal on stone.  “I came here from Yggdrasil, but that's not my origin.  I'm from [i]this[/i] world.”  Emile leaned back.  “Or a world a lot like this, at least.  Everything is the same except one thing: this city, the City of Echoes.  In my world, a city called Rome occupies this area.  The critical point I'm making is this: the world of Yggdrasil isn't real.  I don't know if you know what video games or movies are, but suffice to say they're technological forms of entertainment, and Yggdrasil is a video game that I played with my friends.  This isn't my real body, but the avatar I used in that game.  Everyone else in Deadbeat Sky -that crow and its citadel- is a non-player character in that world.  Weird, huh?”

“But here's the thing.  I noticed a few things while watching you fight.  That vial of healing liquid you use is just like something called an Estus Flask from a game called Dark Souls.  And the globe you pocketed is from Treasure Planet, a movie made by a company called Disney.  I wouldn't say you should...ah, think about it too much, but it's still very strange to me.  And I bet it sounds insane to you.  So, now that's over with, I was wondering if you could tell me anything about your world, or anything you've learned about the nature of this tournament.”  His speech concluded, Emile slipped his hands into his pockets and crossed his legs again.