[i][/i][center][img]https://i.imgur.com/kCP8PFd.jpg?4[/img] [h3][b][s][color=00aeef]Chinami Nadakai[/color][/s][/b][/h3][/center] [center][h3][b][color=00aeef]"Liliya Montoya"[/color][/b][/h3][/center] [@Dezuel] "Liliya" did not so much as allow a downturn of her lips to cross her blank, placid expression, as she slowly blinked at Reverios's words. Being mistaken for one of Darla's robots... Well, at least she could be certain her disguise was extremely effective now. Still, that was a misconception that would be easy to disprove, and she didn't see a reason to let it fester. [color=00aeef]"I do not know a 'Darla',"[/color] Liliya replied bluntly in a whispery monotone, tilting her head slightly. [color=00aeef]"However, I witnessed your scheming on the top floor and the blonde girl you were speaking to... She and her conversation partners were... loud. I presume she is the 'Darla' you speak of."[/color] She watched silently, as Reverio acquired the Tome of the Trium Throne, still muffling the mysterious book under his arm. Truly, the more she heard of his self-directed ramblings, the more aware of how big the bullet she'd dodged was. This man... was truly unstable. Insane. To think she'd almost been enamored with him... It gave her the shivers. [color=00aeef]"Peace..."[/color] Liliya murmured quietly, slowly, almost seeming to taste the word. [color=00aeef]"I suppose it could be... under a certain definition."[/color] After all, the annihilation of all life would, indeed, create a sort of "peace" in the aftermath. [i]And if this was the Great Evil...?[/i] Behind her back, quick as a flash, her Spirit's invisible arms rifled through her backpack, quietly ripping off a sheet of paper from the notebook she kept within. A pen was uncapped, a number scrawled in large digits, the number of a burner phone, as the pen was recapped and paper folded several ways. She waited until Reverio was sprinting for the exit to follow, matching his pace, as her Spirit slipped the paper from her pack out of sight of them both and stealthily slid it into Reverio's right pocket. [color=00aeef][i]###-###-#### - Liliya Montoya.[/i][/color] As the two finally parted ways, Liliya glanced over her shoulder, allowing a muted smile to upturn her lips ever so slightly, [color=00aeef]"If you dive into more forbidden places, call me. It's not every day one finds a fellow seeker..."[/color] And then she was gone. [hr] The first step in her new plan was to get in touch with an old friend, a face she hadn't seen since her archeology group broke up, their go-to when it came to getting them all the right documents to go when and where they pleased... [i]Brrrrr... Brrrrr... Brrrrr...[/i] The ringing noise finally ended with a muted click, as a man's voice on the other end finally answered, an edge of confusion in his tone. "Hello?" Chinami smiled broadly, holding her cellphone closer to her ear. [color=00aeef]"Uncle Ron!"[/color] "Wha?" There was a moment of silent incomprehension, before he chuffed. "Chinami? Kid, it's been... years! How did you get this number?" [color=00aeef]"Mom,"[/color] Chinami shrugged. "Ah, that would do it, yes." There was a scratchy noise that gave the impressing Ron was probably rubbing his beard with one hand. "Well, to what do I owe the pleasure?" [color=00aeef]"Ahem... unfortunately not a social matter."[/color] Chinami scratched the back of her neck. [color=00aeef]"It's something only you can help me with, I'm hoping."[/color] Leaning back in her chair, she eyed a government webpage and another tab dedicated to St. Laurel's School of Divine Excellence. [color=00aeef]"I need a solid."[/color] "...I'm listening." [color=00aeef]"Your work in government administration gives you access to places I can't reach. I need a new identity and records... high class ones."[/color] "Wha-?" Ron muttered. "Are you and Harumi in trouble?" [color=00aeef]"Not... yet,"[/color] Chinami sighed, shaking her head. [color=00aeef]"We're fine, but there's something I've stumbled across... something... forbidden. Knowledge, a secret, and worse, how to find where something [i]terrible[/i] is hidden... [i]sealed[/i]."[/color] "[i]Chinami[/i]..." Ron sighed. "I thought you swore to leave that life behind... after..." [color=00aeef]"I [i]did[/i],"[/color] Chinami grimaced. [color=00aeef]"But [i]unfortunately[/i], I'm not the only one that has this information. If I had any say in the matter, it would stay buried till long after I've come and gone, an issue for another generation to deal with, but..."[/color] "Someone else knows how to open the seal, don't they?" [color=00aeef]"Yeah,"[/color] Chinami grunted, slumping back in her chair. [color=00aeef]"Maybe it's all nonsense, but if you'd come across this information the way I did... Well, you certainly wouldn't think it was bluffing. If I'm going to have any chance of stopping them, I need to know [i]exactly[/i] where the seal is."[/color] Her eyes drifted to the computer screen, recalling the memories she had browsed within her mindscape shortly after separating from Reverio. [color=00aeef]"I [i]know[/i] where it's buried, but I lack the excuse needed to spend extended time on -and search- the location."[/color] She adjusted her phone, leaning back and glancing at the ceiling of her room. [color=00aeef]"I need your help to make me a new identity with excellent records, one that will let me work at Rhea's administrative center. If anyone can get me an in, it's you."[/color] "Will you be able to [i]uphold[/i] that excellence?" Ron asked, a frown in his voice. [color=00aeef]"Nowadays?"[/color] Chinami grinned. [color=00aeef]"Absolutely. I originally went to Kiburi's because my education was lacking, but no longer. I'm confident I can uphold this persona."[/color] Ron was silent for a moment. "I suppose I'll just have to take your word on that." He let out another sigh. "Look, kid, this sounds... Are you sure you should be going this far? If you know who's after this seal, why not bring it to the attention of someone higher up? Why are you doing this alone? You're just, what, sixteen?" [color=00aeef]"Seventeen now."[/color] Ron huffed. "Look, what I'm asking is why I should help you put yourself in more danger. If something happens to you... what do you think that will do to your mother?" Chinami grew quiet at that, and the silence stretched on for a while. Finally, a deep sigh escaped her. [color=00aeef]"I'm going to be in danger regardless. The other culprit, both they and I are aware of the exact location of two of the three keys needed to break the seal, along with where the seal is buried. It's only a matter of time before the third is found."[/color] "And why act alone?" [color=00aeef]"Because I didn't exactly get my hands on this information through the most... [i]legal[/i] channels."[/color] Ron sighed, earning a grimace from Chinami. "Dammit, kid..." [color=00aeef]"This information was hidden for a [i]damn[/i] good reason,"[/color] Chinami forged on. [color=00aeef]"If I try to tell anyone I have it, even if it's just to warn the right people... I can't predict what they might do to keep it quiet. I'm just... not certain."[/color] "Sounds like you're backed into a corner, huh?" [color=00aeef]"Yeah... I am, so..."[/color] Chinami exhaled through her nose, getting straight to business. [color=00aeef]"Will you help me?"[/color] Ron was quiet for a worryingly long time, before a long-suffering sigh reached her ears. "Alright, I really hope you know what you're doing." Chinami closed her eyes, inhaling slowly. [color=00aeef]"Me too."[/color] They got to work. [hr] Several days later, Chinami's thoughts were churning, as she hung up, placing her phone on her desk. Staring back from her on the computer screen, her administration profile as 19-year-old "Liliya Montoya" stared back. For a while, she simply browsed through it, looking through various forms of orientation material she had access to via either her profile or new email she'd created for this purpose. Her schedule was set, her identity forged... She glanced at her Chinami email, where she'd finished arranging for her Kiburi's schoolwork to be mailed to her home to be worked on in her absence from campus. Everything seemed to be in order. One hand slowly rose to run down her face, as she fully processed what she'd just committed to. She'd just... gotten herself a whole other life... and a [i]job[/i]... as a [i]secretary[/i]. [color=00aeef][i]Just... keep your eye on the prize, girl. All you need to do is find the seal, and your powers are restored. That was the deal, and that's the priority. Opening it? Helping Reverio? Bullshit. All of that was to one end: reaching the seal. That's the demon's end of the bargain.[/i][/color] She didn't need to worry about the third "key", the third sword. As long as she could deny either of the ones she already knew about to Reverio, she could honestly drop this whole ridiculous quest entirely, let Reverio uselessly stew in his delusions for eternity... Not that she wouldn't look for the Albion key. If she could get her hands on it first, all the better... And she knew [i]exactly[/i] how to do it. If she could find the Seal and get her full power restored according to her deal with the demon inside her, she could use that power to locate and steal the third sword and then hide it away where hopefully none could retrieve it. No, the sword wasn't a priority, merely an inevitable acquisition. And besides, no matter what, Reverio could only accomplish his goals by reaching the seal. No matter what, if he found the third sword first, he would have to come to her... go through her. And then, she would put an end to this nonsense and restore her quiet life [i]once and for all[/i]. Yet... her curiosity was piqued. After reading the contents of the Tome of the Trium Throne, reading the tale of St. Laurel and the Lyngurium Lie, some inconsistencies had arisen in her prior assumptions. The Lyngurium Lie had supposedly been a comrade to the being that was sealed away. At first, Chinami had almost come to the absurd conclusion that the one sealed was some "evil" version of St. Laurel, but a more careful read clarified that it was someone she had run with before her time with Laurel... or at least before turning on him. It could have been another member of Laurel's group of heroes, but... the immortal Lyngurium Lie supposedly sought a world of conflict she'd shared with Laurel in their youth. The prisoner was from a time before even the lands of Rhea. Yet, knowing that the prisoner was the Lyngurium Lie's ally... That meant. [color=00aeef]"They can't be the Great Evil."[/color] The demon within her did not contest her, but she knew it was true. It had to be. Reverio, the fool, only [i]thought[/i] he had found the Great Evil; but thankfully for all of them, his intent was undercut by that selfsame tunnel-vision. [color=00aeef]"If there was ever a time the Lyngurium Lie could be called a hero, someone of sound morality, then the 'prisoner' cannot be the Great Evil. If it was her former comrade, she would have been corrupted and consumed long before she ever met Laurel. She wouldn't have had any heroic period of her life on record."[/color] [color=32CD32][b][i]"So, it would seem..."[/i][/b][/color] the demon replied. Chinami couldn't help but feel a mix of relief and anxiety. [color=00aeef]"Yet... our deal still stands?"[/color] [color=32CD32][b][i]"This One hast conveyed before; even This One is beholden moste firmly in a Pact."[/i][/b][/color] Chinami grinned. This day just got a little bit better. Even knowing that something that was so dangerous it needed to be sealed a way might lay around the corner, the fact that it most likely wasn't a fragment of the Great Evil soothed her heart greatly. It was a drastic de-escalation of the terrible stakes she'd feared prior. If her new conclusion was correct, then even in the worst-case scenario of a broken seal, this was... actually pretty salvageable. Of course, that didn't mean whoever was sealed [i]wasn't[/i] dangerous, and it was certainly in her best interests to stop them from being released, but the urgency she'd felt prior was... reduced, like a great weight taken off her shoulders. Furthermore, she had no idea what this "Lyngurium Lie" was like, aside from the fact that the old word "grimalkin" pegged her for some sort of ancient cat-girl or feline shapeshifter. She'd just have to keep her eyes peeled, she supposed. For now... She glanced at the time in the bottom corner of her screen. It seemed she'd better get a good night's sleep. She had work tomorrow. [hr] An hour later, as was perhaps too often her habit, Chinami found herself lying awake in bed with phone in hand, frowning at news reports that had happened to cross her feed. The death of someone she... actually recognized. Suzakura's father? Who was also a big name in the Old Faith Collective? Well, even if she also wasn't the biggest fan of the Gods, given some of the sentiments this group was purported to support, she was hardly going to shed any tears. Yet... The media seemed rather riled about this. That... was a problem, right? Well, hopefully, it could keep for later. Seal first, social unrest preferably never... Yet, she knew all too well that unless she forced it to, the world didn't care for her comfort, for her peace and quiet. The longer she resisted getting on top of this matter if it had even the slightest potential to screw with her, the worse it would probably be when it finally did... [i]Choices choices[/i]... Chinami sighed and turned off her phone, setting it on her bedside table. She'd sleep on it and decide in the morning.