soul_campaign | 010 ⊗ [VIDEO] August 8th, Noon

[It isn't a clean scene because this is recorded in the office. Documents are on their side, unable to be read, and Naoto isn't going to take complaints about organization today; talk to her later if you must nitpick.]

Greetings. While I have a feeling the majority of you know me, I'll introduce myself for the few who don't. I am Naoto Shirogane, Shooting Instructor at Morning Training and Agent at the Kuzunoha Detective Agency.

Introduction and credentials aside, I wanted to report a very recent investigation that my Meister and myself conducted on the cave system located near Death City. There appears to be an odd mist of Madness within the tunnels and while thin, it's potent. We're offering to escort groups who wish to practice combating its affects into the caverns. I advise having a few missions under your belt and not to merely drag a Meister or Weapon with you for this exercise. All interested parties will contact either myself or Kanji, and please do so as soon as possible. We cannot guarantee it will remain for much longer.

Thank you.

[The address is concluded and the feed turns off.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

That is what we suspect. Since the emitter was there before, it may be a factor in the lingering presence.

The emitter? [She had missed the mission in the caves...] Like the one they said was on top of that mountain back in March?

Yes. Exactly the same.

[She remembers not seeing Lily, but she didn't know she had been entirely absent.]

I don't remember hearing about one in a cave. Did it give off the mist then? I never got close to any of them...

[Although that was probably a good thing with how Lezard reacted to Madness at times.]

They weren't made to release Madness in clouds, just amplify the wavelength itself. It would be more likely for a Kishin egg to have created it.

[Of course, that's not the answer.]

Do you think it was one that was missed back then? But months seems like a long time for something like that to linger.

[Defeating the demons generally seemed to clear away the Madness they gave off too.]

It does seem strange. Still, there's nothing else in the cavern so we may as well take advantage of the opportunity.

Is it really safe to do that? Mysterious Madness-inducing mist seems more like the type of thing to keep folks away from. And what about other possible side effects?

We've already experienced what it does. It's the same as training with the normal Madness wavelength; you'll hear voices, maybe see things, and feel mentally and physically exhausted afterwords. If you don't experience it now, you'll be vulnerable facing it on the field later.

[That sounds kind of like the illusions that Sitri tried to use on her when she was investigating the art school...]

So, it can make people hallucinate? It's never had that effect on me but my partner seems to lose his mind sometimes. [Maybe, that explained why... She'd never been completely certain what was in Lezard's mind when he was affected by Madness.]

You may want to be careful with your partner. These levels will knock your resonation out of sync should you enter unguarded. If he goes too far, drawing him back will take more effort and he could pull you in as well.

Is that common? To start losing your mind if you partner does? [She hadn't realized it possible since she managed to bring him back to his senses the times it happened.]

It appears to be so.

[From the documents she's checked at least.]

[She's kind of hesitant to ask...]

What happens if you do get pulled in? Is it possible to still regain your senses on your own?

Through strong will, you can pull out. Still, it will do its best to drown you.

I see. So it's like that too... [Much like it was with Sitri and his illusions...]

I'll keep that in mind, Naoto.

[She nods]

I'll put you both down for coming?

I should ask him first, I reckon. When did you intend to do this?

We haven't decided yet. We wanted to gauge interest and also further examine the Madness before taking anyone along. Still, we're hoping to go before the month is out at the very least.

[A nod.] All right. I'll let Kanji know after I ask my partner.

Very well.

010 ⊗ [VIDEO] August 8th, Noon

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