Deep into the Infinite Stair

[Ebiris]

Alicia passes the seed to Jessica before accepting that hug from Latha. "We'll celebrate properly in a minute, once it's all done," she promises, giving her a squeeze and then turning to watch as Marie reaches for the seed with both hands, focusing on drawing out its remaining power for herself.

[Anastasia]

It's a smooth jolt and a sense of movement. It's a sense of your mind being many times larger. It's like falling into fire and ice at the same time. It's like reality is there and not and high and low. Everything changes, changes in a way beyond any words Marie has to describe. It's a moment after becoming but before became, a moment of every dream and reality crystallizing within her.

As this happens, the seed crumbles to dust and then that dust is gone, nothing left behind.

Marie gains divine rank zero.

[Ebiris]

Alicia looks a bit disappointed that the seed leaves no remnant afterwards.

"Ohhh... it feels so different from being a proxy," Marie says, eyes wide.

[Anastasia]

"I have no words for it," Latha says in open wonder. "Do you, Marie?"

Jessica watches with a gentle smile.

[Ebiris]

"I understand Antenora struggling to describe it," Marie nods. "But I'm not sure if this is the same or different as her... wow. So what do we do now?" she asks.

"A good question," Alicia admits. "You'll both have to introduce yourselves on the stage so you can gain worshippers, compete, and grow into your divinity just as Jessica and Antenora have been doing. But it means we're going to attract a lot more scrutiny than we did before."

[Anastasia]

"There's another matter that deserves consideration before we focus too much on that, as important as it is." Latha says, "You see, Seira visited. They've found Sylvie."

What follows is a lot of exposition I know you don't need, so I'm going to dodge the dreaded label of exposition bitch and handwave it.

I'm sure Rei-chan's metal teeth gnash at it even now.

[Ebiris]

"So it actually did turn out to be a safe portal after all..." Alicia says thoughtfully. "Does this mean she's taken all her skills and power back from Calley, or is that waiting until we complete all these trials of hers?"

[Anastasia]

"It's complicated, Seira and Moore could tell you more," Latha admits, "I heard this secondhand from Antenora, who was there when Syala and Antenora received Seira. As far as I know Calley still has his powers."

[Ebiris]

"Lets go catch up with Syala and Antenora first then," Alicia says. "Then we can go talk to Seira about all this."

[Anastasia]

Okay, so what's your plan here, Alicia? Mainly if you need/want to talk to them IC first or if you want to go straight to Seira.

Just trying to organize rooms here.

[Ebiris]

Can just go straight to Seira, I'll send my avatar over.

We'll be chatting over ramifications and plans with the gang in Sylica but that can be offscreen so we can focus on the adventure stuff with Seira.

[Anastasia]

Okay, I'm going to move you over to Seira's thread in a bit then.