The North Gate was the primary means of entering and exiting the city; it was the only gate still open after all these years, with time eroding the others into a state of dysfunction and disrepair. Their usage would have ruined the illusion that such an Unreal city never existed. That, of course, was a truly ironic illusion; beings that longed for reality so sought comfort and respite from the harsh world of gray, comfort in the walls of the of unreality . . .

Perhaps he felt that the half-masked and effeminate ones would greet him at the gate, but it was not to be. The greeting of knowledge was far from an amiable one.

He awaited the arrival of knowledge, the azure haired man in bulky winter robes. Cold blue eyes watched the gray of their world beyond the north gate, eyes not of impatience, wonder, or genuine curiosity, but eyes befitting an image of complacency. There was not but hate or love, only a painful existence somewhere in-between, yet only capable of reacting to some leftist degree--

With folded arms, Toushikyo waited, in the stead of Illorex and Milos, for the arrival of Emil from his previous charge in Reality: Hillcrest.

Eventually a figure emerged from the gray, one that would be hard to miss. The word bright could not be used to describe many of this realm's residents, at least an aesthetic sense, but it described him just fine. A bright green, unzipped jacket covered a cream colored shirt. Orange wrist warmers were on both arms, and even his jeans seemed lighter than what others wore. And of course there was his vibrant blonde hair.

He was Emil, the Memory of Knowledge, and if he was expecting to meet someone else at the gate he didn't show it. "It's been awhile, hasn't it Toushikyo?" he greeted cheerily. "It's good to see you all healed up."

Indeed, Toushikyo was relatively healed since the last time he'd been seen. He no longer required assistance to walk, stand, or move, not by another person or by cloth, bandage, or crutch. He was in all ways perfectly fine. At least, at first glance he was fine.

In truth, there was something wrong with him. It was hard to see for most, but Emil was one of few people who might notice it, that little difference in Toushikyo, how unnaturally complacent he was, how his eyes were opened only half-way, yet how tired he was not. Beneath his left cheekbone, there was a harsh red mark. One could only see it up close, but it was there, and roughly the size of the tip of a thumb.

This fact seemed to be distant from his mind, though. Why, however, was a different story. Shame? Time? A lack of desire to worry about it?

"You're alone," Toushikyo noted rather than overtly greeting Emil; he lifted his eyes to the man's face and continued, "Why is that?"

He's calm. I wonder why? It was a well known fact that Toushikyo hated everybody and everything, and only the degree of hate changed. Emil figured he ranked something of a simmering annoyance with him, which in the scheme of things was probably not that bad.

Then again, he did get the impression he ranked that with a lot of people.

More interesting was the mark of his face, as though someone had pressed their thumb against it hard. He wondered why it was there--some act of violence, falling asleep with his face in his hand? (He'd done that more than once himself.) But he didn't seem tired, though he did seem out of it. Weird.

His question caused Emil's cheer to falter a bit. "Well...because there's no one left for me to come back with," he replied sadly.

It was somewhere in the [dark unknown], somewhere that existence was questionable even beyond their current state of being, somewhere that Toushikyo stood not a chance; he was defenseless and antagonized someone he should not have antagonist. The price he paid, perhaps, was a permanent one. There were some wounds that could not be undone-- some injuries that would remain with you 'til the end of your days. Such were Toushikyo's.

Nonetheless, he was still standing. Physically, he was fine. The injury was elsewhere. The injury was something more . . . metaphysical.

And so, it didn't wasn't an immediate concern of his. What was, of course, was the news Emil had to bring from Hillcrest--namely why he was alone.

". . . why?" Toushikyo asked in earnest; his tone did not denote a feeling of care or hatred, however. Instead, it was sternness--a demand for an answer with no underlying feeling behind it.

Emil regained what little composure he'd lost, tilting his head to the side and looking perplexed. Explaining fact was easy, explaining motive sometimes a bit harder. He knew why they made the decisions they did, but it was something he couldn't entirely understand.

"They both found something that was more important to them than their existence. For Oboreru it was revenge against the Reaper, and rage against the village--or perhaps humanity in general?" he wondered aloud. "For Akizetsumei, it was the desire to stop her brother--a promise she made that was very important to her--and love for the Reaper. They both invoked Evovaeo Nil, but Akizetsumei united with the Reaper, and they prevailed over Oboreru."

He leaned in suddenly, peering closer at Toushikyo's face. "What happened? That mark isn't going to go away, is it? It's not a normal injury. And where were you? And why are you so melancholy?"

"Evovaeo Nil . . ."

Toushikyo nearly shut his eyes entirely as he looked away from Emil. He knew exactly what that meant. In truth, that meant three-- three who'd succumbed in the very same way-- three who no longer lived, by virtue of some irrational and unnecessary emotional reaction.

Before he could come to any definitive conclusions, however, Emil was practically in his face, spouting off a slew of questions that undoubtedly through Toushikyo off. He stepped back as if to stumble and displayed dome degree of unpleasant surprise, evident by the widening of his eyes. He unfolded his arms and held them by his sides, as if ready to react violently if Emil were to try and do that again. This, however, might strike Emil as even stranger. Personal space, be it his own or someone else's, was not a concept that Toushikyo really took seriously. At least, not seriously enough to nearly throw a punch over it.

"N-- Nothing."



As if uncomfortable, Toushikyo worked to straighten himself up. He shifted his eyes away from Emil again. He did not approve of what Emil was doing.

"Nothing important," Toushikyo spoke almost with a hint of a stammer in his voice, "What is important-- are details." Sufficient straightened up, he made eye contact again and clearly tried to disregard the notion that Emil asked him anything personal to being with. "What happened out there?"

Emil's eyes widened slightly; he still wasn't sure what happened, but something deep and profound and extremely rare happened, of that he was sure.

However, the sharing of knowledge was equally important to him as the acquiring of it, so he was quickly distracted by Toushikyo's question. "Well...Akizetsumei went to look for Oboreru, but forgot the way--why didn't someone go with her, by the way? That part should have been obvious to anyone--and wound up confused in Galaens. The Reaper ran into her--literally--and offered to guide her to her destination, which was of course his home. He also offered to help look for her brother once she explained why she was there--she forgot the description of the Reaper too, naturally, so she had no idea who he was."

"Well, it turns out the Reaper's a pretty nice guy, and Akizets grew smitten with him. Though at the time her feelings were unrequited. But they kept searching for Oboreru, and when they found him he felt betrayed, because she was with the man he'd gone to Hillcrest to kill. And, like I said, he attacked them, and there ended up being a bit of explanation, as up until then the Reaper had no idea who your siblings were and Akizets had no idea that he was the Reaper. When that was explained, they split up, and the Reaper returned to his home. But by then Oboreru had started to gather a storm using the lake, and while the Reaper didn't know that he knew something was wrong, so he went out to investigate despite feeling depressed and guilty."

"He found Akizets and Oboreru, and for awhile it was something of a three-way standoff, though not quite; Akizets was willing to attack the Reaper, but he wasn't willing to attack her. But he was willing to attack Oboreru because he was trying to drown the village. This continued until the Reaper got disarmed, distracted because of the effects of the emblem they had me plant. Oboreru got hold of the Dusk Remnant, and was going to kill the Reaper but Akizetsumei stopped him, because she didn't want him to kill anyone. And then the Reaper stopped Oboreru from killing her, and I think Akizets realized that she and the Reaper had the same goal and that she forgave him, so she sided with him and ended the standoff. That was when Oboreru snapped and invoked Evovaeo Nil. He never was able to control his feelings, but I think Akizetsumei helped him somehow, so her apparent betrayal pushed him over the edge."

"Well, he was pretty frightening to deal with, and even when the Reaper managed to blow the clouds away it only helped for a little while. Seeing that they were going to be killed, Akizetsumei tried to invoke Evovaeo Nil herself, but she failed--I'm not sure why, I don't have a good grasp on the technique yet--and the Reaper took her and fled into the woods. There, they realized they'd grown more fond of each other over the course of the battle--I guess fighting side by side can do that--and kissed, and that somehow let Akizetsumei invoke Evovaeo Nil, except the Reaper got the powers instead of her. I really don't get that technique at all, I'm going to have to study it more. Anyway, since the Reaper's Qi abilities already manipulate wind, he became really, really, really strong, and he killed Oboreru--though I suppose in a way Oboreru killed himself, or maybe they both sort of killed him, I don't know--but Oboreru didn't seem all that upset as he faded. I don't think he liked having no control over his emotions. And when the Reaper returned to Akizets she also started to fade, but she was able to remember things, and she told him what the Dusk Remnant is and made him promise to protect it and not let anyone take it from him, which I guess means us."

He frowned slightly, as the next part confused him a bit. "And after that the Reaper just cried and stared at the sky for awhile, and then went and gathered Akizetsumei's fans and Oboreru's staff, and he buried the staff and one fan in the woods near the lake and put a pile of stones to mark where he did it, and then he made a third pile of stones which I think was meant to represent your father except that he didn't have anything of his to bury. And then he stared at them sadly for awhile before taking the Dusk Remnant and going home, taking the other fan I think as a keepsake."

"...And that's about it," Emil finished, a bit short of breath from speaking so fast. "I left after that to report, and here I am."

"Th-that's . . . that's horrible . . ."

The voice that spoke before Toushikyo, locked in thought following Emil's exposition, was an effeminate one. The two of them had another overhearing them--or, rather, he'd come in the middle of Emil's explanation of the events in Hillcrest. Toushikyo opened his eyes, previously shut in thought, and turned slightly to look behind him. Milos was there, adorned in a large blue sweater and baggier slacks. He covered his mouth with both hands as he approached them with an austere slowness denoting a feeling of horror and dismay. He couldn't believe what he heard.

"First Gestahl . . ." Milos whispered, "Now, Akizetsumei a-and . . . Oboreru . . ."

Toushikyo interrupted Milos instead. "Oboreru was already dead."

The chord was struck immediately. Milos furrowed his brow and pouted out his lower lip. That was something he downright refused to believe. "N-no, no he wasn't!"

"Akizetsumei put a hole in his heart," Toushikyo replied.

Milos frowned still and replied with eyes averted. "I know, but . . ."

"He was a Quezats," Toushikyo replied coldly, "Back then, weeks ago, he was too dangerous. Locking him away did little. He nearly killed us all. Akizetsumei ran him through; she put a hole in his heart. She turned him to a Quezats. He was nothing anymore. When he escaped to the real world, it was but a matter of time before he was dispatched. For whatever her reasons, Akizetsumei felt it was her responsibility. She left of her own accord; she refused assistance at her own will. There is little more to be said."

Quezats--a term Emil would undoubtedly recognize, just as Milos had. A Quezats was a person devoid of its awareness, stripped of the ability to think or feel, only move in mindless repetition; it was a veritable lobotomy. Quezats could have been anything, truly--Memory, human, spirit, anything, anyone. Their mind was reduced to something simple; they became eternal machines. Illorex could create them. Under certain circumstances, Memories could become them. Oboreru was turned to one and allowed to mindlessly wander the city-- but it was only for Katalyna's sake.

But, of course, a Quezats wasn't suppose to regain its mind and return to normal . . .

"He was a Quezats? Huh, I hadn't seen him recently, I never knew..." It was less pity for Oboreru and more regret that he hadn't had a chance to observe one before that prompted his statement.

Frowning in thought again, Emil tilted his head to the side and began tapping it lightly with one finger. A Quezats...it's nature was basically a hollow shell that remained of a person, mostly characterized by being devoid of emotion and ceasing to think.

"A Quezats, huh? So Illorex must have started to make Toushikyo one for the same reason...except he can still think, so he must not have gone all the way," Emil mused out loud, forgetting that a friend of Illorex and Toushikyo himself could easily hear him.

Milos, perhaps, was the first to react. Indeed, he was a friend of Illorex's. It was hard to imagine, really, someone being a friend to Illorex--but it happened, and Milos wasn't the first person to befriend the man, either. Illorex, after all, was in Galaens for several months with a few other Memories than Milos . . .

"Wh-what?!" Milos cried, "I-Illorex did-- wha--"

But Milos couldn't get out a full sentence. Toushikyo already reacted by then. Emil, in a state of personal thought, not focusing on Toushikyo in the least, might not see it coming: a fist in his jaw, planted hard and with a perfectly straight arm, locked elbow and all-- a stiff-arm punch. There were few punches in the world that could be so painful; no one ever through such a punch until they knew they could pull it off, or were upset enough to want to hurt someone terribly.

Whether or not Toushikyo struck home and sent Emil off his feet, if he looked to Toushikyo after the fact, he'd find the man glaring at him--a brief moment, before he clenched his eyes shut, almost as if he were trying to hold onto a feeling, a sensation of hate, before complacency returned. It was only that that Toushikyo would turn from Emil and depart from him, to brush by Milos roughly in the process, and remove himself from the northern gate.

A yelp of alarm escaped knowledge as he suddenly found a fist flying at him. It caught him square in the jaw, with enough force to knock him right off his feet. By the time he came to his senses Toushikyo had already left.

"Owwwwww..." he whined, rubbing his jaw as he stood back up. "Why did he get mad? I was only telling the truth."

"Well, I guess normally he's always mad, but I guess it really was incomplete if he can still get angry." He turned to Milos, this time intentionally. "So, is Illorex coming, or should I just report to you?" he asked, already his usual cheery self again.

On one hand, Milos wanted to stop Toushikyo from straight-arm punching Emil in the face. On the other hand, he couldn't deny that Emil partially deserved it.

It was the same reason he didn't overtly attempt to help Emil up. Whatever happened between Illorex and Toushikyo was between them, and shouldn't have been brought up openly by someone who wasn't involved! Milos would just have to try and talk to either Illorex or Toushikyo about it. He had much more tact than Emil--or, at least, displayed a willingness to care about the feelings of either, even if Toushikyo's emotional range wasn't a terribly healthy one.

"I-I, um, I'm not sure where . . . Illorex is . . ." Milos replied with a bit of shame laden in his voice, "S-so, I came on my own. I figure, um, I'll tell it all to Illorex when I see him, I . . . I guess."

It went without saying that Milos was not fond of what they were doing. He clearly knew something about the Dusk Remnant, but just like with Illorex, Emil was partly blocked from discovering such information unless they verbally admitted to it--and there was no way he was getting anything out of either. With his arms folded over his chest and eyes averted from Emil, he frowned somewhat.

"I guess Illorex was going to ask you about the Dusk Remnant, and how it reacted to the sigil," Milos continued with a disapproving tone in his voice.

Fortunately for Milos, Emil was as bad at reading people as he was at dealing with them in general. He had no way of knowing that he was being blocked, since his ability didn't work consistently. That, and much of what was known about the Dusk Remnant was what he'd discovered in the first place; he didn't have any reason to believe someone else might know something he didn't.

But despite not having as large an audience as he hoped, Emil was still glad to share what he'd learned. "Well...I can't say for sure without examining the Dusk Remnant up close again, but my best guess is that the emblem brought the consciousness closer to reality. The practical result was that the Reaper more easily shrugged off blows while it was active, presumably because more of the damage was being shunted to the Dusk Remnant itself. It distracted him a bit, but if the goal was to weaken the Reaper, the experiment failed spectacularly because it only made him stronger!" Emil concluded brightly. Not that he really knew if there was a certain outcome that anyone hoped for, but he presumed they wanted to impair the Reaper, not aid him.

"I wonder where Illorex is?" Emil wondered aloud, trying to think of where he might be; while he might have been indecisive, once he made a decision he usually stuck with it. It was unlike him to not show up for something he was already committed to.

"I guess so . . ."

Milos clearly didn't give it much thought. He regarding Emil's report enough just to memorize it, but beyond that, he hadn't much other use for it. This was all for Illorex's sake; if Milos could help it, this whole mess in Hillcrest would've never happened, and three Memories would still be alive right now.

"To be honest with you, I don't even know why you were sent there. What . . . to plant something and observe the Dusk Remnant? That's all I know about it, and . . . why? What's the point in wasting anymore time with that thing? Attis had a dozen other remedies you should be looking into," there was a heavy amount of disdain in Milos's voice; he disapproved of the search for the Dusk Remnant enough that he could not return the cheeriness of Emil's, "If you're going to follow one "traitor's" lead, then why not follow all of them?"

Attis. He said that name, a name which was usually better left unsaid. Milos didn't go into his feelings about that, but when he spoke of Attis as a "traitor," it was in the most sarcastic and satirical ways. Truth be told, he and Illorex might have been the only ones that were able to see that subject matter as absurd.

But all digressions aside . . . "Anyways, it doesn't matter. I'll tell Illorex, he'll pass it on to . . . whoever. For now, just stay out of Hillcrest. And just forget you ever heard of the Dusk Remnant."

With this, Milos turned from Emil and began his slow departure from the northern gate.