I messed around with my 3d printer for several hours, taking the time to relax and just create something. My Doctor Absolom figures were becoming more detailed as I improved my skills, and soon they would look mighty impressive. I had only used about half a roll of plastic filament to print too, so I should be good for a while at the current pace.

I slowly reviewed my memories over the last week as I made figurines, trying to remember as much as I could about Glitching. Hopefully, I would be able to recognize my tainted thought process if it ever happened again.

At most, everything was a nightmarish haze as if I had been asleep. I remembered some of the major details and emotions, but everything in between was a mindless haze. Slowly, more details started to brighten in my mind. The constant fear. The heart sundering guilt. Even the way some of the shadowed morphs overrode my perceptions-

I had to take a break for a few minutes to refresh and recenter myself. Realistically, there was no point in looking back at it much more. I already got my answer; extreme paranoia. If I noticed myself slipping down a paranoid slope- immediately seek Nael. Just like most things in life, it was far better for me to just compartmentalize it and move on.

After I returned to a calm mental state, or at least mostly calm, I finally paid attention to the Interface. Not that I had been necessarily ignoring it; I just hadn’t wanted the added stress at the time. Now it was a welcome distraction.

 

「Request - Snakeskin - Complete

• 1 Skill Point」

 

「Deception - 4>5」

「Criminology - 4>5」

 

「Name: Shiro Tsukuyomi

Traits: Fox’s Grace, Quick Healing, Insight

 

Skill Points: 1

 

Tracking - 4

• Stalk

Tech - 5

• Eidetic Schematic

Stealth - 7

• Fox’s Paw

Sleight of Hand - 8

• Hidden Hands

• Ambidextrous

Perception - 4

• Aetherial Perception

Net - 2

Melee Weapons - 1

Local Novice (Little Yukoto)

Intimidation - 1

Firearm - 3

First Aid - 3

Evasion - 2

Driving - 7

• Land Vehicles

Deception - 5

• Honest Face

Criminology - 5

• Cues

Concealment - 8

• Lethargic Presence

• Hidden Weapon

Brawling - 1

Accounting - 1

 

Request Board - (empty)」

 

Small gains this time around, though I’m not sure what exactly I was expecting. It’s not like I could really even remember much of what I did. The Skill Point was nice, but I’m not sure if I’m up to using it. I don’t think my mind is quite ready to be trapped in the interface space once more.

I sipped some water from Crow’s Canteen of Chaos as I stared through my list, eyeing each and every Skill. Maybe it was about time to start actually trying to level one of them up? Maybe some focused leg work could help me get through the slow progression… or maybe I was peaking? That was a scary thought…

My eye trailed up to the list of Traits. It was kind of funny; I still had no idea what Fox’s Grace actually did. I hadn’t felt anything from it, nor had I noticed any significant benefit. Not that I’m calling it useless! Don’t get the wrong idea, oh ye' eidolonic watcher… just that I had yet to figure it out.

Insight and Quick Healing both had obvious effects, ones that had proven to be invaluable throughout my time with the interface. Fox’s Grace, on the other hand…

What was even the point of the interface? I got it since I was in the right place at the right time, but why was the original holder chosen? Eidolons have only been a thing- or at least in contact with humans - since the Aetherial Concourse, so about a hundred and forty years. Why did they decide to give the interface to the original person?

Did they want something from them? From Nathos? From me? It’s not like they’ve offered a whole lot of guidance or anything of the sort. The requests were the closest thing, but even they were almost in reaction to the things going on around me.

Well, spitballing ideas without a backboard really wouldn’t help me much. After cleaning up my small work area of any plastic residue and turning off the printer, I pulled out my phone. Work couldn’t wait forever, so I called Carone back. I was supposed to take it easy, but as long as the gig wasn’t anything too bad, it shouldn’t hurt. And it would be nice to have something to distract me with.

I arrived outside of Carone’s storefront a few hours later, just as the sun started to dip in its endless journey. The heat of the day was significant, only helped by the mass of towering buildings casting long shadows.

Noon was by far the worst time for the city- the sun made getting around annoying, and the lights and sights didn’t work quite so great under it. The holographic advertisements were barely visible under the abundance of light, nor were the neon signs everywhere.

Only those set into deep shadows were perfectly fine, their colorful glows all the more eye-catching. Unfortunately, the sheer amount of neon everywhere distracted from the catchiness, causing everything to blur together into one form- or maybe that was thanks to only having one eye.

Far off in the distance, I heard an explosion as if a tank just fired in the middle of a city. With how this city had been going recently, it could’ve very well been a tank. It wouldn’t surprise me one bit if Sentinel had started to bring something a little bit heavier into play… or it could’ve been an Edgerunner after things went south.

Regardless, it wasn’t my problem. I turned back to what I was doing and into Carone’s shop. I was back in my normal, non-crusade attire, and easily managed to slip my gun past the gonks at the door once more. At this point, they were more doorsteps than actual guards.

For once, the fixer wasn’t standing behind his countertop. I had to hit the bell once- twice… okay okay, several times. It was just so satisfying, you know? Gah, Shiro, you really are childish.

Carone walked out of the back of the shop, the candles all around the counter instantly sparked into life as if reacting to his presence. Neat trick. “Shiro, you seem… well.” Yep, still as annoying as always. Why is it that he draws out every sentence?

I waved a hand up to my eyepatch. “Oh, this? You should see the other guy…”

“Riiiiggght.” I could see the skepticism strongly in his gaze. “Are you still… capable?”

“‘Course! I wouldn’t be here if I wasn’t.” I chuckled and smiled as innocently as I could. Turns out, thanks to Honest Face, acting innocent was quite easy.

The skepticism dropped from his face, though he didn’t look entirely convinced. “Well, guess you don’t really need both eyes anyway for this one. My… client wants someone who can track down the source of some… unwelcome messages. A thousand Rayn, and five hundred extra for keeping this quiet.”

The pay was pretty damn good for just tracking down a source of messages. How hard could that even be? This would be nice- get back into the swing of things. It had been a while since the last investigation-type job. “Alright, I’m in.”

“Mr. Abernathy is the client.” He reached under the counter and passed me a laminated card. ‘Visitor’s Pass’ sat printed in bold lettering across the length. “He lives in Elysium. They don’t like… outsiders, so security might be an annoyance. Not a problem, yes?”

Ugh- I was going to have to deal with a corporate executive, and not a small one if he had the privilege of living in Elysium. Hell, did it have to be Elysium? That entire section of the city was a hotbed for corporate greed. “Not a problem… What corp is he with?”

“ASCorp.”

At least it wasn’t one of the Big 7… still, ASCorp wasn’t small, so- “Why not use a corporate operator?”

Carone shrugged and snapped his fingers. I flinched slightly as a familiar clawed hand- The flame formed a hand, out of fire. The flames looked slightly bigger and brighter than the last time. “Who knows? Execs have any number of… considerations.”

That was a fancy way of saying they were pompous asses who cared more for their reputations than human decency… Still, a paying job was a paying job. “Alright. Does he know to expect me?”

“I’ll call him…” He looked me dead in the eyes. “Shortly.” Maybe it was some paranoid remnants from when I was Glitching, but I coulda’ sworn that comment was directed right at me.

“Chek…” I paused for a moment as I looked around his shop, feeling a bit awkward. “Well… your antiquities look… um- ancient?”

Cue helped me spot a tiny flicker of… something on his face. “Shiro?”

“Yes, sir?”

“Leave.”

“Yes, sir.” Yep. Still a bastard.

 

This was part of the problem with Elysium. It was basically one gigantic, sub-district-wide gated community, where the guards came heavily armed and the residents were all corporate executives. Quite the hellish place, if you ask me. At least in the city, when you saw someone drugged out of their mind you knew they weren’t faking it. With corpos? They could smile and offer you cookies one day and stab you in the back the next.

The guards stopped me at the gate because of course I didn’t fit in with the typical crowd of people who lived in Elysium. I didn’t have any fancy, custom-ordered clothes that could fit to a T, nor did I drive the bestest and baddest car. I was clearly slightly better than a street rat.

That being said, I got through security rather easily thanks to the Visitor’s Pass from Carone. They didn’t even search me either, just waved me on through once I showed the pass. And then I was in.

Elysium was… something else. Compared to the rest of the city, I could really see the wealth disparity. Not even a foot in, and I could see real, vibrant grass the likes of which I’ve only seen in the Dragoon Saloon’s courtyard. Verdant lawns were at every house, showing off the wealth and prestige of those who lived there. Well-kept flowerbeds sat at every corner, showing a wealth of bounty. Unlike the city, the colors around the perfectly paved roads were far more natural.

Houses, as if to impose their owner’s superiority, loomed in a way far different than the high-rises and skyscrapers of Downtown. They were far shorter, the biggest one only hitting the third floor, but each and every house was individually loaned. There weren't eight families squeezed into a single room like the projects, but just one living lavishly at the small price of their souls.

It was so weird being here. The greenery on every side felt almost like walking into a time capsule of an age long since passed by, though there were the occasional reminders of the real world outside of this place. The fake smiles and looks as neighbors greeted each other. The glow of the neon backlighting the north. The ocean’s scent of rotting decay that lingered even after being run through their Autoduct™ several times.

Elysium was sold as being the epitome of perfection by the corpos, so the little imperfections were well hidden under a veil of deceit and illusion as if nobody would notice as soon as they stepped in. Out of sight out of mind and all that.

In reality, everyone here was a corporate lapdog, all rolled over in their owner’s lap waiting for a belly rub. Most of the houses weren’t even owned by the people that lived here- rather they were given to them under a corporate contract. And yet they still seemed to showboat around like it was their home.

I cruised through the streets, careful not to draw more ire from the rampant security than I already was by just existing. Now, if I could just find my client without getting lost in the maze of houses, today would be a good day.