Atlantis

[Apollymi]

Hikari heard out Karna and that lad also claimed to have arrived at the level he was at when he was outside in their world. Seriri considered this as well, and she too had arrived at the level she'd been adventuring at. "Hm, that is weird, I also arrived at my level of play..." she said calmly. "Eh, I wasn't very far in and I arrived at my own level as well. I was a bit stunned when Nii-san mentioned he'd come in at level one and run into her... but that allowed them to level together," Hikari clarified. Of course, there was a lot to be considered about their future endeavors with matching this pair up, but it was almost as if the universe itself was aiming to do so as well...

In the meantime as Miki traveled alongside Akashi, the lad heard out her major plan and he had a bit of input. His main idea being that it was apparently not going to pan out because of the lack of progression in the Atlantean Kingdom to start with. She'd already considered this, of course not to as great an extent as Akashi or Kou... or the person behind them had. The lass gave a gentle sigh. "Yeah yeah, I've already considered that. The will of the people isn't really my thing, but I know for a fact the Atlanteans need the humans here," she said with a curt nod. "If they didn't, this entire Kingdom wouldn't be underwater and unrecognized as one of importance by the five. At this point even the Lizardfolk are better acclimated to modern politics," she said very calmly. "Besides, what the weak tend to bring to the table in this situation is innovation, the ability to figure out problems that don't necessarily involve muscle or just being strong. It only really takes a single moment of progress to level the playing field or cause the revolution... either works theoretically. One such moment is probably how one like Tsu-chan ended up in charge of this place..." she mentioned though thinking about this mildly was why she'd taken her first set of actions. "But knowing that just trying to shift this would likely cause some sort of outright war is at least part of the reason I claimed the Lich King's Obelisk... It would likely be the first place anyone with old knowledge turned to when things started going south. With that off the table I can prolong the inevitable, while someone else figures out what to do with the remaining people. I did mention a great number of listless adults being a problem, and it seems like you are more suited to dealing with that aspect. The people problem." she said calmly. Even now in this moment with him as a completely different person, Miki had made the assumption the lad would do what was necessary to calm the rest of the people and stop the rebellion brewing, in the same way they had in Eonis while such a thing was doable.

[Bloodedge]

"Hmm. It might be something worth figuring out. With that kind of issue being exclusive to them of the people we know, it might mean our little princess is gonna get the Devouring next. Though, she'll probably be fine for now..." As a former Dragonewt, Karna had a bit of interesting insight. He knew what it felt like to be a Dragon in the presence of another Dragon. If Miki was destined to contract the Devouring as well, he imagined it would come at a later time...

Akashi could agree that humans were necessary to the structure of an ideal Atlantis, but he also understood that humanity was both the bane and boon of all civilization. However, the Merfolk of Atlantis would not see things that way as a whole. "The humans will be killed off by war before they can bring their innovation to Atlantis. Mankind excels as a developmental species, but never when the world around them is above their current comprehension. That takes time, and an especially clever person even among humans. Atlantis is too far gone." Fair enough, Miki had removed the Lich King's potential influence over any individual in Atlantis. Sadly, there was a very real possibility that, if in the right hands, it could have turned the tides for the sake of good in this kingdom. Still, it wasn't worth the gamble at all. Even as he was, Akashi was likely to do something about this issue... albeit in a very different way, and only under the condition that nothing more suited to his personal interests occurred. "They're all pathetic. If power is what breaks them down like this, power will be what brings order. Rise of the humans, fall of the mer."

[Apollymi]

Karna made an interesting point about the nature of the pair's entrance into the world and their potentially shared sickness. Seriri thought about it for a few seconds and though she'd never heard of anything like this happening simply because of a reason like that, it might be something which needed handling in a more direct fashion. "If you think she'll be fine for now, I am alright with that, though I am unsure why you say that..." Seriri said. "But the devouring has no real cure and I can force the shift between existing avatars but there is no telling if constantly doing so will cause issues with those other avatars as well. It might be good to try and consult some others... I knew of a 'witch' who was trying to treat the Devouring, before I settled here. She might be able to give them a more solid solution than I can currently offer," the Queen of the Merfolk offered such information. As far as she knew this pair would be fine thus they could be emissaries in this part, and the other two could stay close by in case of a relapse. "Whatever, I'll go do it. I can't have my brother dying on me after I went through all the trouble of finding him here and I finally have the chance to attach him to a proper Nee-san. Nope, opportunity has come knocking I can't let them down. And I haven't felt sick at all since I ended up here," said Hikari with a decent bit of spunk. At her current level she wasn't exactly a huge threat, but she had been taking care of herself decently since she first arrived in this world. A simple fetching quest couldn't be too much for her potentially.

Akashi seemed to have quite a bit to say on the necessity of humans, and even the type of humans needed to fix the problems of Atlantis. And he did all of this while stating the largest negatives, the main ones being that the humans would be killed off by war, long before their innovations could take hold. This was fair enough unless there was something in their possession already which would allow them to deal with the Atlanteans which obviously there wasn't because they were still being treated as lesser than their peers. "Fair... that is pretty problematic. I'll be the first to admit it... but I am under the impression that there at at least a few clever people here," she said with a chuckle. "And a dragon... that's important~" she said in a manner most sarcastic and a tiny bit cheeky. They arrived at the palace and were casually moving up the inclined steps while neither of them touched the ground. "Down with the Mer and up with the Humans. I can back that financially and even structure the economy that way. If you think it works, I can support it..." she mused, something about her agreement with this statement made her head feel strange. There was the gentle rushing sound in her ears like running water and it felt like something was pushing at her from inside. The hand beneath her chin moved up the right side of her face as she suppressed what felt like water pressure within her head.

[Bloodedge]

"Because it's accurate. Haven't you heard anything I've ever said?" Karna replied to the curiosity of Seriri. As far as he was concerned, it was only a matter of time now. Actually, he could be colored surprised that his gatherings hadn't come to fruition already. Alas, there were more important matters. An emissary would be necessary to find a potential cure for the Devouring, and Hikari volunteered to be just that. Surely she was overestimating herself just a bit, right? Karna couldn't be having that. "I'm not going to stick around and play nurse while someone else gets to go do real Adventurer work. I'm in."

Following Miki's mention of there being a Dragon present, Akashi floated out ahead, and turned to face the girl. By the time she reached mention of supporting his clause, he'd felt it. The one he knew was there, reaching out to meet him as a proper Dragon should. In response, Akashi reached out with his right hand, which would carve a path toward Miki's chest, where it intended to lay as he made his point known. "Two Dragons. You also have the power of influence... Tatsuki," he said while retaining a very direct amount of eye contact, as if he intended to peer through Miki and view the Dragon within.

[Apollymi]

"Yes yes, we've heard you say things, it doesn't mean skepticism isn't healthy," these were the words of Seriri. Of course they had more distinct matters to get to of course and this included the apparent volunteering of both of these individuals to go off and find a more reliable source of saving for their companions. "Well if both of you are going there isn't anything to worry about..." she said calmly. "The 'Witch' you are looking for is the Witch of the Black Forest, her name is Lilura. She's a sorceress and the closest thing this world knows to a proper Doctor. She's been alive for a long time, so she's a bit strange to talk to... but the last time I saw her she was developing magical objects to stave off the fevers and looking for a potential cure for the Devouring," she said calmly. "She's probably somewhere in the Black Forest... so I'd say be careful, that starts at the edge of the Dragon Lagoon and goes pretty far inland," she offered. This was about all the information which she could give about what they were looking for. "Hai hai, come on... Dick-sensei. We've gotta keep our targets alive, we can worry more directly about hooking them up after~"

In the meantime, Akashi moved in front of Miki stopping ahead and facing her in such a way that she had to stop herself from running into his chest again rather abruptly. But it seemed she was destined not to be able to avoid physical contact with this Dragonoid today. In fact, he reached out for her, carving a line towards her chest which he made contact with simply by virtue of her not being able to move past him or around him fast enough to avoid it. When this happened she felt it again, like a pulse of power washing over her skin, or the swirling of a riptide beneath her flesh. Such power would be seen briefly in her very eyes. "Power of Influence? I'm Miki... not..." she paused it was like she wasn't allowed to mention not being Tatsuki at this moment while staring at the lad before her. 'What the hell is going on with me...' she wondered. That being said she couldn't really stop herself from looking at the lad. He was way too close, and something about this staring felt challenging and as such she couldn't look away, it seemed like she'd be losing if she did.

[Bloodedge]

It seemed an agreement had been reached. Hikari would make the journey, and Karna would be joining her. It was likely for the best, since the Dungeon which gave them all access to Atlantis would be closing soon. At that time, there would be much difficulty in leaving and returning, which would especially be a problem for someone stricken the way Kou had been. Alas, any leave they would take was destined to come later. Karna shifted his gaze, realizing that the pair they spoke of were in sight within the palace, albeit quite distant still.

"Power of Influence. You're a Dragon. We are living Artifacts. Where we exist, there could be a cataclysm at any moment. Even an idiot can feel it." Everything Akashi said, he said while his hand was pressed against Miki's sternum. Eye contact continued, with Miki even returning it with a demeanor that implied challenging. "You can hear me. I feel it. My Tatsuki." With these words, his hand rose gradually, sliding along her sternum and neck until it found its resting place by lifting her chin. In that very moment, his own face also drew dangerously close to Miki's, still maintaining the same intensity of eye contact.

[Apollymi]

Karna was soon staring off into the distance, and Seriri followed his line of sight as well. She saw the two who'd previously left in such a rush, stopped for some reason she didn't yet understand. Hikari was also shifting just a bit, seemingly annoyed as she took a seat on the arm of the throne for the sake of not standing for too much longer. 'Yare yare, how long does it take to retrieve a single item... what is the hold up?!' she wondered petulantly.

In the time where the others looked on from a great distance, Miki found herself in a staring match with a Dragon she didn't want to lose. Beyond this, it was pointed out by this lad exactly what Dragons were by their nature in terms she found conventionally acceptable. His explanation explained the sudden pulsing of power she felt within her body but if this reaction was simply to a Dragon being in her presence that didn't seem like it should be happening with an avatar of her own creation. 'Unless... they all count as part of me...' she thought in this moment. It explained quite a bit, but she still didn't intend to let some other part of herself fully enjoy her life to find herself sidelined. 'Obviously, she can hear you... she's plucking at the inside of my head like caged animal,' she thought. Still, she was being forced to maintain this eye contact, and found the lad's hand moving up her chest to her neck and settling below her chin. Her face was now so close to his, she was almost afraid to move her lips, but something he'd just said was stuck in her head, and brought a strange feeling to her body. But there was a question, right on the tip of her tongue, which passed through her barely moving lips. "Your Tatsuki?"