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[More information? One new arrival, at least, has all the information she needs. The influx of energy from this one is massive, completely unsubtle, almost as if purposefully designed to attract the attention of anyone with any sense whatsoever of the divine. It doesn’t fade away nor does it seem to be easily localized. This surely wasn’t ‘Magatama Energy’…

Whatever ambiguity this might present is cleared up almost immediately. Despite that no one may be in the vicinity, the voice of a young girl sounds clearly throughout the city of Hinoto-Ri to nearly every inhabitant, as intelligibly as if the speaker were standing right next to those she addressed. …Perhaps too intelligibly. The first sound they hear is an vehement, despairing cry.]

NO!

This can’t be…! The forests… The oceans… The deserts and mountains, the tundra and the plains! W-Where are they?! Who did this?! What did you do to them?!

[For a few moments, the speaker seems too overwhelmed with ire to speak. The sound of her breathing eventually slows...]

Humans. Look at this world. Look at it!

I knew this would happen. In every world across every dimension, it doesn’t matter! You -- you’re all the same! See for yourself! This is what will happen if you tear through all of nature without respect for anything but your own wealth and gain! Are you happy?! My children… 100 million species. One hundred million. There's almost nothing left...

I am Viridi, Goddess of Nature, ruler of the Earth and all living things! And I will not allow this land to be desecrated any further.

They say there are monsters ravaging what remains. If you stand against them, then... heed the command of a goddess and CRUSH them!

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Oh naturally, that's as I thought.

So do you have any particular directions, or should I just keep investigating that horrible temple-thing that takes over the mountain every night?

That what?

Wait, are you actually listening to me? That wasn't Witty Human Sarcasm™?

Dark Pit and I are bossy enough for the whole cast, too!

If you'll excuse me, I'm going to need to find some more crystal vials.

((Oops! I got that confused with Mir somehow.))

Really?

Wow, wait, don't tell anyone I said that. It was... a test. To see if you were paying attention. Um.

Hey, souls, let's talk about those! Trust me, I already like yours a lot better than most of the others I've seen so far.

We're on the same side, right? Why shouldn't I listen to you?

I might not take orders, but I'll listen.

Why is it that every human thinks they know anything about my job after speaking to me for 10 seconds? You don't go into a debate with less than a minute of preparation; you get laughed right off the stage.

As a goddess of nature, I enforce the balance of nature to ensure that the cycle of life stays intact. I wouldn't exist in the first place if it was OK for things to just run willy-nilly in any direction! We were taking a risk in making a species so close to us when we created humans - and it obviously didn't work out.

You're welcome to loosen it however much you like; that's not my problem. What are you even saying?

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I don't think I actually remember how to make conversation when someone's not disagreeing with me.

Trust me. I know the feeling.

My name is Meetra, by the way.

"I'm trying to find the source of this message."

Oh.

...Nice to meet you.

It's like I got everything I wanted for Christmas, but the toys didn't come with any instruction booklets.

I just said -- goddess of nature! Viridi! Smash demons, grr!

Well, I'm no good at small talk either, so I should probably tell you what I know about the 13th Hour and the Mictlan. Did you get any of the explanations about either from the local government?

"Oh, so this is probably telepathy, not insanity. I have some data on the monsters I've observed if you would like it. Also, if you have time I'd love to hear your thoughts on terraforming."

[[Hahaha, not a problem! Honest mix-up.]]

Right.

[And he sounds surprised, like as if he's won an award he knows he didn't get nominated for.]

What, who, mine? You like mine? [And a long pause.] I...don't really know how you do, I think my soul is rather dull compared to everyone else's. I mean, I don't see it having much worth as, say, a goddess would.

[Recommended BGM: Ar tonelico OST Disk 1 Track 20: Leave It Be.]

[Today has not been Cloche's day. From the moment she woke up--late, of course, because she hadn't set the alarm on her watch properly--and saw that the sky was clouded and overcast, she had the sinking feeling that things were not going to go her way. And they haven't. She burned the last of her bread trying to make toast. She missed the first tram to the Taurus Ward--and, when she got there, it ended up being the red light district. (The impropriety of it all!!) Although she was able to catch a tram out of there quickly enough... she got off the wrong stop in the Pisces ward and had to walk, getting lost along the way, back to the apartment complex. And, finally, when she had tried to cheer herself up with a piece of decadent chocolate cheesecake on her way upstairs, the cafe was sold out for the day by the time she had managed to get there!]

[All in all, it's been an awful day. It could even be called a terrible, awful, no good, very bad day. And when a girl can't soothe her temper with some chocolate cheesecake, the second best option is to take a nice, hot bath.]

[Considering how the rest of her day turned out, Cloche has taken extra care with her bath to make sure it would be perfect. The water is hot, but not scalding. The water is a relaxing shade of amber and covered with big, fluffy bubbles, thanks to the packet of Herbal Jewel that she's tipped into the water. The entire bathroom is filled with a warm, soothing smell, also thanks to the aforementioned bath powder. A Walking Gergo is ponderously patrolling the edge of the tub, which brings a smile to her face. Her towel is hanging within easy reach for whenever she's done relaxing in the bath--which, if Cloche has her way, won't be for a long time.]

[Needless to say, Cloche doesn't get her way.]

[When Viridi began her tirade, Cloche had just finished settling in the tub. The sudden mental shouting in her ear makes her shriek and jolt up in shock, sending water and bubbles everywhere. The Walking Gergo, once the picture of uglycute and serenity, is knocked carelessly on the floor, legs flailing helplessly in the air.]

[Cloche's bath--her absolutely perfect bath--has been......... completely ruined.]

[For a moment, Cloche is silent. Underneath the water, her fists shake. Her jaw clenches and the muscles in the right corner of her mouth twitch. She takes in a slow, deep breath--and then responds in kind, decibel for decibel.]

Excuse me?!

How dare you interrupt my bath with your--with your maniacal, tyrannical rantings! Have you no sense of privacy?! Of decency?! I don't care what kind of Goddess you are, you have no business interrupting my bath!

Not only that, but what right have you to invade the minds of people who have nothing to do with this world's deplorable state of affairs?! Even if you are a Goddess of Nature, it is beyond the scope of your powers to blindly accuse those who find this world to be as horrifying as you do for its destruction! Just how self-centered can you be?!

I, Lady Cloche Leythal Pastalia, the Holy Maiden of Aqua of Metafalss' Neo Grand Bell, deny your insane demands! If you continue to terrorize the public, I won't hesitate to declare war and bring you down!

Because I know more than most humans. I've seen enough gods fall in my time from foolishness or simply being overpowered.

Even if you attempt to wipe them out, you'll never be successful. A god will never understand the depths a human will go to simply to survive. No matter what you do, you can't stamp them out. It's already too late for that.

[A brief pause.]

No.

[Yes she did she was too busy ranting and raving about disrespect to goddesses to listen.]

Why don't you go ahead and do that, sure.

"Huh."

Well this was a change of pace from yelling matches, anyway. Viridi pauses for a moment to try and regain her momentum.

"Strictly speaking, it's less telepathy than it is a mental broadcast through special wave forms. Don't think too hard on that one unless you actually want to go insane.

"What kind of data do you mean? And I've only done it once; it's not like I'm an expert."

Yours doesn't start ranting and raving about how humans are obviously a font of perfection and they probably produce rainbows and sparkly snowflakes as waste and how dare I -- the goddess who created humans -- judge them when I should clearly just ignore all of the other 100 million species on the planet to let the poor humans go ahead with their plans of deforestation and mass pollution and global extinction.

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I can't actually see souls, by the way.

I would have been if it weren't for that meddling goddess of light and her stupid angel. The only thing she cares about is the safety of humanity; they could start sacrificing babies and she'd just 'tsk tsk' at them.

...Actually some of them do sacrifice babies.

Maybe humans have some sort of mutant superpowers where you come from, but they don't stand a ghost of chance against even a minor deity in mine.

...

It's the middle of the afternoon. The only people I know who take baths at this hour are the gods who've spent so much time in hot springs that they've completely fried their brains.

Huh, never mind, looks like the pattern's holding true, anyway.

Well...

[The explanation takes a while, but can be summed up with an explanation of the 13th Hour as an extra hour after midnight where demons are more active, and the Mictlan is some kind of strange transformation of the mountain in Gemini District that looks terrifying and forms a hard-to-navigate labyrinth.]

I'd tell you more, but I haven't been able to get in more than a few hundred feet without getting turned back around again. There are more demons living there, though - ones that are unfriendly even to the local mountain spirits.

I'm sorry! I am!

[ He didn't do anything but good lord when someone yells at you this intensely and you're not used to getting into this much heat apologizing becomes your first reaction. Fortunately this isn't his first time dealing with a god either... ]

B-but I... I don't want to crush anyone, Viridi-sama! Is there any other way I can help?

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