Akari's head ached as she woke up, mind contorted with memories that brought a quiver to her lip.
Thin rays of sunlight burst through the window shades, illuminating the hotel room and heating the chamber ever-so-slightly.
Her pink hair was a mess of frizz and fluff as she rolled over, groaning, swinging her feet over the edge of the bed.
Today's the last day here…
Stretching out her arms and yawning, she stood up, grabbed a change of clothing, and headed for the shower.
It was September 24th, early at dawn, the moon still visible in the brightening sky as it gradually vanished behind the horizon.
As it was and always would be, there was no shadow cast upon the moon's surface, an oddity that plagued all great minds throughout history.
In the grand scheme of the world, the moon not being blotted out was something people had grown to live with; the reality of terrors and gods far more eye-catching than a floating rock.
Telescopes had advanced with the aid of Cauron Thorn's astronomy research fifty years ago, relying on lenses enhanced with mana and imagery technology, but they were still less than optimal.
Even with a telescope, only three planets were visible throughout the entire night sky, each one smaller than the last, but their inspection led to many discoveries.
The closest one was covered with rich plantlife and crystal clear water.
When this was confirmed, the scientists celebrated the possibility of developing the vast plains of solid soil, a resource so scarce to the people of the blue planet that they couldn't even begin to imagine that much dry land.
This idea didn't last long, as only a few months later, during the pits of winter, a strange phenomenon was observed.
The large moons surrounding the lush planet forced massive tidal shifts along coastlines, ripping and tearing at the land like a toddler tattering their toy.
For a week, the entire surface was covered in water before drying again.
Scientists struggled for an answer to explain such an event, yet Lord Thorn closed all the discussions with a simple statement.
"If our home has monsters that can bend the seas to their will, then why couldn't that world?"
It was a rather obvious point; however, at the time, it inspired further research into the oceans of their own planet.
The results showed that every planet other than its own had a moon with separate phases, vanishing and appearing at different times.
Akari, as the curious girl she was, once asked a question that left Aaron stumped, unable to come up with a straight answer.
"Why is this place different from everywhere else?"
Could it be the existence of life?
Was it the sea terrors that dwelled in the waves?
Perhaps even the Ghostships and the gods?
There was no answer defined by science, and there never would be, as there wasn't even a sliver of evidence to start from.
Even as technology improved over the decades, nothing changed.
Dimension barriers filled space with an iron-tight wall that guarded against divine interference that threatened the world.
That was, of course, until the night when a certain constellation, the Twin Bridges of Hetrolara, aligned perfectly with the World Between.
As the world drew close to an event so rare it had only happened once in history, three individuals sat around a table, making plans to take advantage of this unique phenomenon for their nefarious schemes.
Akari Ayaka, the cherry-haired girl from Strava, had no idea what was about to befall the island of Crescent Moon's End, a disaster surpassing that of Sea Fallen two months prior, and a night that would live forever in history.
…
Opening the bathroom, Akari reentered her bedroom and grabbed a small sack that carried her essentials for the day before hurrying out.
The hallways were a bland beige that contrasted with the girl's appearance, which brightened the environment everywhere she went.
As she walked down the corridor, she counted the room numbers carefully, memorizing their residents from a file in her hands, one she had stolen from the reception the night before.
Her mentor had drilled the reconnaissance protocols into her head within the span of an entire week, forcing her to adapt quickly and improve later.
And as she connected the room numbers to the names on a sheet, she whispered them quietly.
"Room 130, Zak Dale."
He was a gruff man, yet his eyes sparkled with a light of their own, shining through the paper image printed onto the sheet.
Continuing forward, she read another number, pinpointing the face before the name had even been finished.
"Room 121, Aarav Gray."
She paused, staring at the paper but only slowing down slightly as her lips curled down at the thought of how close the name was to Aaron's.
Akari continued this exercise for the minutes that followed, each name a gentle reminder of how many people could actually fit in just one small city.
Reaching the front desk, she noticed a suite, number one out of three hundred, a face flashing into her mind for a second.
While the special room's information might not have been listed on the stolen document, earlier that night, she had watched three strange figures enter together.
She had grown concerned at the demographics of that group, two men and one child, yet to her, such a thing was inconsequential unless they were targets.
Today, the sun was shrouded with fog, and only dark clouds and raindrops coated the city, discouraging the girl from going out and exploring like she had originally wanted.
As she stood by the doorway, she sighed deeply, closing her eyes and thinking calmly.
It's too risky to leave with this storm… I doubt the repairs are done as well…
Rubbing the bridge of her nose, she tied her hair into a ponytail, a smile forming across her lips as she remembered her mentor's words.
Guess a little training couldn't hurt.
Without a care in the world about herself or her clothing, the young lady ran out into the misty rain, exploration on the mind, and the consequences saved for later.
…
"This street looks odd…"
Akari's voice echoed out silently as she hid under a canopy, water dripping from her hair as she panted lightly.
She had run for nearly two kilometers, the rain cooling her as she went, allowing her endurance training to take effect.
Commodore Maxus had a strict set of workouts, training exercises, and daily tasks for the girl to complete, each more rigorous than the last.
When conditions were imperfect, she could get off with only half the work, with today being no exception.
Surrounded by rain and fog, she ran half the length of the longest end of the island, while also tracking down one possible target for a future mission.
Right as she finished her routine, she spotted the child who had followed the two men into the suite that night, watching as she sat quietly in the downpour.
The girl's short, snow-white hair reflected water like an umbrella, her eyes a light azure glow that seemed to radiate knowledge like no other.
In her small hands, a book was propped open, the words on the cover written in a language far beyond that of Akari's own studies.
Its appearance excluded a strange presence in the environment, rain bending around the parchment, protecting it with an imaginary barrier.
Narrowing her eyes to look closer, the pink-haired girl caught a glimpse of the girl's upper forearm, noticing a large purple gash that throbbed beneath the skin.
Her eyes immediately widened at the sight, her blood running cold as various possibilities shot through her head faster than she could think.
An injury? Did those men do this to her? Or is it a birthmark?
Akari's thoughts were calm, calculating, yet mixed with a hint of affection towards the child, unwarranted yet still tugging at her heart.
Little did she know that this young child, one seemingly separated from her parents, was in fact the one who had seeded the descent of a devil.
Esme Blair, the child seer and tongue-master of the Seven Head Order.
Her allies, Stein Brevmore and Raymond Filch, were off on their own side-quests, whether it be gathering food for dinner or completing final preparations for the unsealing of a being that surpassed even the Sea Kings.
As a byproduct of the disaster that occurred on Deity's Descent, she had nearly been erased from the world; however, by a miracle, Nidhogg itself had defended her.
That monster had also granted the girl enhanced perception, as if to support her efforts to break the remaining seals that held it back.
Esme, of course, was happy to oblige, with all four seals planning to be broken by the day of greatest convergence in the world.
January 1st, a day remembered in history as the First King's Day, yet there was another name before that, one that acted as a warning.
Abyssal Convergence.
One day out of the 480 days that made up the year, the Abyssal barrier would fall, exposing the world to disaster incomparable to any other day.
This event, in fact, was being discussed at the very moment a young Akari Ayaka appeared behind a building half a kilometer away from Esme.
Her improved sense of hearing caught Akari's slow but steady breathing in the distance, where she lurked ominously.
Who is that girl~?
The white-haired girl wondered silently while slamming her book closed before standing up and walking away.
In the distance, Akari moved quickly, tailing the girl down narrow paths and tight alleys.
"Did she notice me?"
The pink-haired girl's voice was quiet, barely a mutter as she turned the corner, facing a blank wall, one with a visible lack of any white-haired children.
I-I was just outmaneuvered by a child…