It was something that she had been anticipating for quite some time. Not only because she had a vested i in going there as the CEO of ASTA Corporation and the head of her growiwork of supporters in Ishtar’s ‘Club’, there was a far more important reason. There was a cult active in Japan, ohat worshiped her alter ego as some manner of savior. She had been keeping track of their rhetorid protests, cataloging their signs and the messages that they put out. To anyone else but a very small group of people these messages would be nothing more than the usual fanatically driven drivel.
To Sonya, it told her that someone she did not know knew way more than she would have liked.
That wasn’t to say that she inteo destroy the cult. Quite the trary. So far they had dotle in the way of actively causing problems for the world around them. She had learhat they were taking in those who had been dispced by the fsh. Japan was a very servative nation and it took time for it to adapt to ges. The fsh had been a very, very big ge. The fallout in the first few months after the fsh had seen light-touched ostracized by their families and uhey lost jobs, careers, even their lives when enough unawakened ganged up on them. Japan was not unique in this, this kind of treatment of light-touched was on iime before Vegas across the entire p.
What made Japan’s situation unique was the group that had taken all these people in and protected them, fostered them, and to the surprise and of many; did not ohem. Acc to what Sonya had learhe cult operated with a very small security staff of Rare and above light-touched. She had yet to learn their names or eve a good look at any stand-outs among their group. Ahing that she had learned was their tenuous cease-fire with the Mythic-Tier Iional Hero Sapporo was deing very fast.
Sapporo was a stern mae the nature of his ability, Festival of Dionysus, he was Yakuza for much of his life before he acquired his ability and embraced the moral responsibility that possessing such power entailed. He could be gruff and short-spoken, rarely speaking a word on assigs acc to the records she had access th her various es within the Panora ittee. She’d met him once, even analyzed and copied his amusingly powerful ability, eventually granting it to Kingshark to turn him into a lovecraftian nightmare of epic proportions.
Sapporo owerful. Sonya did not disabuse herself of the fact that he likely had surpassed hua a long time ago but cared little for titles or prestige. hua was catg up now that their retionship had stabilized and her heart demon had been quelled, but it took time to refine and strengthen an ability in order to squeeze everything out of it. Sapporo’s single-minded approach tthening himself for the sake of his homend and the world at rge had given him the drive to reach heights that Sonya would have expected from heroes years from now.
If she was being ho with herself, she wasn’t even sure she could handle him at full strength.
The fact that you are having that thought predicates that you are being ho with yourself. Ishtar pointed out.
Sonya snorted out a ugh as she leaned on the baly looking dowhe city of New York in the dead of night. Even when so many were asleep, the city tio thrum and as it glowed shtly that it could be seen from orbit. She reached up and brushed the strands of white hair tousling about in the wind out of her face. “Yeah,” she admitted, “I know.”
She looked down at the obje her other hand, ahat had grown a bit in size since she had acquired it from Spice King Erebus as part of her deal to rid the world of Queen August for him. It was bigger than an ostrich egg now, the odd coloration it had before repced with a smooth white veneer ced with silver octagons that made her think a little bit of a golf-ball. It glowed from the ihrumming occasionally in her grip. For a long time now she had been feeding it her internal energy, mana c into her body before traveling down her arm and into the item.
That process had stopped just about an ho.
It’ll be soon, I imagine, Ishtar said, I’m curious as to what will e out of it.
“As long as it’s not some chibi kid or something,” Sonya snarked.
“You’ve been reading from my library,” Marta’s voice came from behind her.
Sonya turned and graced her friend with an easy smile, “You’re up early, or is it te?” She pursed her lips and tilted her head, “Let's go with both.”
Marta snorted, “You seem to be feelier, ma’am.”
Sonya’s smile reached her eyes, “Yeah, still got some things I’m w on but I’m better than I’ve been in a long time, I think,” she said with a chuckle and her expression rexed into something softer, “Cass really pulled out the big guns.”
“That she did,” Marta said befng towards the egg, “Do you think it would be best if we brought it inside?”
Sonya eyed the egg, “I’m not sure,” she said, “Information security says yes, let's do that, but I’m a little worried about the amount of processed mana I’ve pumped into this thing with the number of abilities its filtered through,” she frowned, “What if something humongous es out and ruins my lovely apartment?”
Marta raised an eyebrow, “That’s your ?”
Sonya waggled her eyebrows but said nothing only to get a ft look from Marta. She rolled her eyes, “Fine!” she pined and waltzed her way back through the sliding doors, earning her a sigh of her relief from her friend in the process.
The two of them made their way to the couch, the sliding door behind them closing and the windows turning opaque. Sonya hopped down and jured up a of co, sipping from it as she let the egg rest in her p. Marta gave the a judgemental look and Sonya poi it, “Want one?” she asked.
“Those things are spoiling you,” Marta said with a frown.
“No they won’t, zero calories, remember?” Sonya said with a grin, a box of chocote covered biscuit sticks appearing in her hand with the sound of a popping bubble. She held it out to Marta who stared at it before shaking her head and taking it from her. She sat dowo Sonya and opehe package, fishing out a stid biting down. The smile that came to her faext was quickly schooled into one of mute tration when she saw Sonya grin.
Sonya sipped at her drink, tent to admire the egg while they waited in a fortable silenbsp;
“I’m surprised Bluestar didn’t pin about you stealing her recruits for a weeks vacation in Japan. She seemed like she wahem expl New York,” Marta said after a while.
“Bandit’s in japan supp a dungeon run,” Sonya said offhandedly, “She didn’t say it but she wants me to che on him. It’s a rge-scale unon-tier dungeon, pretty rare, something our newbies might enjoy taking a crack at with a professional team behind them.”
“You think they’ll go for it?” Marta asked.
“Probably,” Sonya said, “Lillian definitely and Snow will follow suit. That said, I hope they don’t spend too much time there. Their experiences in the camp were rough, and if there’s anything I’ve learned is that everyone needs a little rest aion now and then. I want them to see some new sights and e to terms with the life they're about to start. Their grace period before they are required to begin patrols and dungeons isn’t very long, you know.”
This time, Marta’s smile stayed on her face; “It’s good to have you back, Sonya.”
Sonya snorted, “I never left, I was just cold and sour,” she paused, “Speaking of which!” she gestured and a panel of light appeared o her that she rested her on. She flicked her wrist and with another bubble-pop sound a waffle e loaded with lime-gree appeared. She licked it experimentally and shivered, “Now that’s the stuff.”
“How is Ishtar?” Marta asked.
“Why don’t you ask her yourself?” Sonya said, “It’s not hard to switymore, not sure what that says about me really. She doesn’t approve of it but I kind of like it.”
“Okay,” Marta said hesitantly, “Ishtar, how are you doing?”
Sonya’s shoulders slumped slightly before rising up a bit, her tilting up as well as she slowly turned her head towards Marta. Ishtar leveled her with a stare before crag a grin, “Providing the silly girl with a running entary has been amusing, to say the least. I sympathize with your struggles before the fsh, dear panion. She is a handful.”
Marta raised an eyebrow, “I remember you being a bit… chillier.”
Ishtar snorted, “Only because Sonya was a grouch. I enjoy my games as much as she does, we are the same person after all. Her mood reflee. I feel… stronger when she is happier, more in trol and more capable ing my power to bear.”
The maid seemed to visibly rex a bit at Ishtar’s words, “It’s a relief to hear you say that. I know you promised to protect her, but that mean a lot of things.”
Ishtar’s expression turned a little flinty, “That it , panion,” she said and turned her gaze to the city befng at the ice cream in her hand. She frowned, “I hate sweets,” she said with a bit of disgust and waved her hand, the fe vanishing. She tilted her head as if listening to something and crag a grin, “Yes, well I have to taste it too. ’t you enjoy something more refined? Dark chocote is nid bitter.”
Marta raised an eyebrow but didn’t ent.
Ishtar gnced down at her p and frowned, “It’s time,” she said, “I think it would be best if you were in trol for this, silly girl.”
Sonya’s body rexed again and she abruptly sat forward, “Now wait just a minute, I’m not done- oh,” she blinked a few times and looked down at her p before puffing up her cheeks petuntly, “I was enjoying that ice cream.”
“You just make more,” Marta said.
“It’s the principle!” Sonya whined as a low hum began to fill the room and the air began to move, a faint breeze pig up. “Hm, might want to make sure this doesn’t end up on tomorrow m’s carter radar report,” she said and held out her hand. Vines ed up the length of her petite arm befrowing small bulbs that blossomed into flowers. The flowers unched out, spping against the walls and windows around them befrowing in size and taking on an otherworldly pale glow. “There, that oughta do it.”
“That was Visage of Titania,” Marta said.
“Yep,” Sonya said as she rubbed her wrist, Another fre up, her eyes fixed on the egg as it shuddered, the breeze in the room pig up in speed. “I got some practi.”
“I didn’t know, we haven’t talked a lot about how you’ve been developing your ability suite. I’d like to better know what you’re capable of so that I help you better,” Marta ented, getting a wince from Sonya.
“I’m sorry,” Sonya said soberly, “We should do that soon.”
“After this and once you’ve actually gotten some sleep,” Marta said with a reassuring smile, patting Sonya on the shoulder.
As she did so, the door to the bedroom that used to belong to Amos burst open, a bleary-eyed Cass poking her head out, “What is with all the- woah!” she gasped, stepping out and staring i the gathering forces in the middle of the living room. The egg was starting to glhter and brighter, “It’s hatg! You should have woke me up!” she said eagerly and hurried over to the couch to join them.
“Tried to,” Sonya said as the egg began to float up from her p, “Somebody was tuckered out from spending all day flirting with a hero.”
“I was not flirting with Alex!” Cass protested, getting two equally amused side-eyed looks from Marta and Sonya alike.
“I didn’t say Alex,” Sonya said with a wry smile.
Cass spluttered before quickly pointing up at the egg that was now suspended in the air, catg an opportunity to move the versation away from her personal life. “It’s doing something!”
Sonya and Marta looked up and watched as the hexagonal patterns on the egg began to shift, sliding in and out of its surfa waves that made it seem more like a rge stohan something taining a living anism. Light fshed from within, the power inside growing to a fever pitch as multicolored light gathered around it. Sonya shifted a bit in her seat as did Marta, they both knew what that kind of reaeant. A monster was taking shape before them and its focal point was the egg.
The light tio gather, being sht that Cass and Marta had to raised their hands to shield their eyes. Sonya’s own eyes simply recalibrated, shifting and whirring inside her head to pensate for the excessive amounts of input. She barely reacted as whatever it was tio take form, the room trembling once as a pulse of mana rippled out from it only to stop against the surfaces where the flowers had bloomed. A final blinding fsh suffused the room and even Sonya had to avert her gaze for a moment before her eyes adjusted again.
What stood in the middle of the room was a mixture of strange and familiar. It was a lean four limbed creature with the head of a jackal. It had a long thin tail that whipped about as it took in its surroundings with its back to them. Its fur was as white as Sonya’s hair, stark and shimmering in the faint light of the dimmed ceiling lights.
“A hound?” Marta asked, fused.
It turned back to face them, fixing Sonya with an unfling stare through a pair of luminous multicolored eyes. They looked like the rainbow-like energy that heralded its creation was now bound within its eye-sockets. Sonya returs stare, taking in every detail of the surprisingly passive creature. She got more information from that observation than she was expeg. Unlike any monster she had id eyes upon, this one had a e, like that of a human.
Sonya couldn’t help herself with the tension hanging in the room, “Does our building have a dog policy?”