Destiny Strings COMP network

[pseudo-voice... or is it???]
Attention, peons!

[Viridi's voice echoes once again with its usual Message From the Divine manner.  Nothing out of the ordinary here.]

...OK, look, I'm not going to pretend I like you humans any more than I did before, but for what it's worth, I guess you're not all completely horrible.  I mean, you're still active participants in a culture that exploits nature, hastens the death of the planet, and imprisons livestock in horrifying conditions, but I'll give you a step up to 'Mostly Horrible' since it seems like some of you actually care about restoring this planet.

[This can be interpreted as a major concession for Viridi.  ...Some form of concession, anyway.]

Anyway.  I've talked about that stuff so much even I'm tired of hearing it.  Let's move on to the real topic.  Take a look at this.

[The COMPS will automatically activate their video feed as what appears to be a prerecorded message begins to play.  It displays Mt. Utsugi in Gemini District - and the time stamp in the bottom corner displays 23:59:45.  Those who have been in Gemini District during the 13th Hour will know what's coming.  At the stroke of midnight, without any fanfare whatsoever, the mountain will quietly and seamlessly raise itself from the ground, contort horribly, and mutate into a horrifying amalgation of stone and clockwork and steel.]

There!  I'm sure some of you have seen that in action.  The question is, why isn't anyone trying to investigate what's obviously the main dungeon of this RPG?  I mean, just look at it!  If we're here for any reason at all, it's to march into that abomination and stamp out the final boss!  There's no reason not to storm in there right now and shake the bull by the horns until it moos!

...I mean.  Aside from the part where some stupid apes think they know better than a goddess - not you guys this time.  I can get around them, but barring some form of mass destruction, I don't think they're letting you through.  ...But that doesn't mean you should sit around on your butts twiddling your thumbs waiting for permission!  As entertaining as it is watching you live your pedestrian, quotidian lives, you need to be prepared to do so some serious demon fighting when it comes up.  And it's going to come up.

So here's where I come in.  Call it... divine intervention.

[The feed flickers from the view of the Mictlan into a view of a petite, nine-year-old girl.  This would be the first time since she came here that Viridi has shown her face.]

Alright, the first person who says anything about how I'm a little girl is getting turned into a rat.  I'm serious.  Rats don't live happy lives; don't test me.

Now listen closely.  It's demeaning enough having to say it once, so I'd rather not repeat myself.  ...In my world, gods traditionally choose heroes and mediators to act and fight on their behalf, because if it isn't obvious, having gods throwing punches at each other generally doesn't work out for the longevity of the world.  As might be obvious, my generals aren't here.  That means I need someone to work through. 

You can see where this is going.  If you want to fight demons, but you're not sure you can handle it on your own, I'm willing to Support you. Criteria - Don't take this for granted.  Don't talk about the environment unless you agree with me.  For both of our sakes.  And don't be really annoying.  That's more on a person-to-person basis, but just as a general scale: Hades - really annoying, Dark Pit - pretty darn annoying, and Pit - more tolerable than annoying except when he sings.

The perks for you are the Power of Flight, teleportation, access to my sanctuary, hearing the melodious sound of my voice, and getting Supported by a goddess.  And yes, the Power of Flight means you can fly.  Five minutes maximum before you fall - don't yell at me if you go over because I didn't make the rules on this.  I can only really do one person at a time, so this is a first-come first-serve sort of deal.  ...Now see how selfless this all is?  I am nice.

[Viridi pauses at the end of her speech.]

What is with this stupid weather, anyway?  Is this the century where global warming begins?

((Basically, this translates to periodic fighting logs!  I've discovered that I'm rather fond of running those so I'd like to do it more often.  I'll just be throwing up a demon-fighting log every now and then with Viridi acting as Support for you.

Also Viridi is serious about the rat thing.  Don't respond ICly with that line if you don't want her casting Ani on you.  Or do so if you want that!)) 

[voice, public]
[Viridi has learned her lesson.

...Well no she hasn't she never does, but she can at least recognize the fact that the people here were too stupid to be expected to understand why gods needed to communicate the way they did.  Or how, exactly, this sort of communication worked. 

The telepathic broadcast is once again aimed to everyone within the city.  Instead of ringing directly in the ears of the unwashed masses, though, it seems to be reverberating from their communications devices instead.  There's an oddly echoing quality to it, and they'll find that her voice is impossible to shut off through the COMP, but hey.  She tried.]

So.

You've all been busy.  Paying visits to the mysterious 'Velvet Room', huh?

I couldn't help but notice that you're all practically lining up out the door to do favors for some strangers you don't know from Adam.  I'd call it altruistic, but we all know you're just hoping to get some shiny trinkets out of it.  A new weapon here, a better Persona there...  Call me crazy, but it's almost like you're making offerings in the hopes of receiving a blessing from some higher power you're pretty sure is benevolent.  Isn't it weird how familiar that sounds?  And you know, come to think of it, I could use a spare hand for some fetch quests, too.  Since you're all just so eager to be helpful, I'm sure you have time to spare.

Of course, I don't need anyone's faith, but a few favors here and there might just mean some handy-dandy divine intervention in your future.  I'm a goddess of my word.

You can even ask Pit!  My Treasure Hunt board had the ideal balance of difficulty to reward.  Palutena's was the lamest thing ever and Hades basically made his for sadists.  So act fast!  Once I've got what I want, you're just plain old out of luck.

[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!