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interlude & exposition; classic magic made somewhat simple
Topic Started: Jul 14 2014, 01:02 AM (435 Views)
Fallen_shinku
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(இ﹏இ`。)*
Idle chatter idly filled the air within the café. As it does everyday. Nothing of worthy note had changed in the café. Sure, the decoration had been rearranged. There were also a few new additions to the menu. New faces made their through those doors. However, what was perhaps most noteworthy, was that old ones no longer did. It is at times like these, with eyes staring idly pass that door, where one might realize that change and peace didn't conflict one another.

Days lull past slowly.

The sun continues to rise and fall.

People will still keep passing the door.

Laughter, chatter, and the soft clink of utensils.

Where the only worry was what to laugh about tomorrow. Perhaps that was the essence of everyday life.

Xie found himself in the midst of this experiences. But several levels off; as if he was standing upon a glass floor, staring down at an aquarium of this strange phenomenon. But then, it would all wash past. Idleness did not fit him. It just didn't agree with the way he was. The way he believed. Idleness didn't bring one to the Root. Like being trapped in water; breathing, but unable to move, grasp, or even speak. Complete and utter stagnation.

The Alchemist turned his head away, gazing out the window. Unlike when he was on shift, the boy was wearing his school uniform. After all, he was off today. However, on any such day, XIe would never be caught in such a place. Much like how employees try not to spend their days off at their employer's.

But yet, here he was. Along with him, seated atop the table, was a lone plate, further from the Alchemist than not. A light slice of cake adorned the simple dish, and a fork not too far from it. However, the plate obviously didn't belong to Xie. In fact, it looked like he was trying to put as much distance between himself and it, yet still remaining at the same table.

Most people would probably write this odd scenario off as another one of his bizarre experiments; one that wasn't exactly insane, but seemed completely pointless. If asked, Xie would agree. His finger fidgeted impatiently with the folds in his sleeve, his feet tapping away the seconds that passed. One, two, three etc. In truth, he wasn't here to eat lunch, especially on one of his days off. And he definitively wasn't here to do any grand experiment or insightful field study. At the moment, he was just here. Wasting time.

Each second he spent scowling, pulling his sleeve and tapping his foot was another second wasted. Except, if one considered the advent of the Digital Layer, it was more close to two and a half. For every second spent here, Xie was losing two and a half seconds of productivity. And he didn't like it. Yet, the Alchemist wasn't throwing off one of his tantrums. He wasn't exactly ecstatic, but whatever he was waiting for was important enough to put aside his antics, at least for the time being.

As footsteps approached, the boy glanced up, his eyes furrowing.

"So, you came after all," Xie remarked, his eyes unflinching. And then, they became speculative. He spoke "You look different." It was hard to read just what the Alchemist had implied; whether he was surprised or not of her decision. It was a simple and mere observation.

Breaking contact, he proceeded to motion at the cut of pie on the table. "Have some. I made it myself," Xie shrugged, leaning back in his chair. Silence followed, as the sounds of the café begin to die out around the Alchemist and his guest.

"Don't worry. I didn't poison it," Xie assured dryly. He shrugged. "Its a perfectly normal piece of dessert, for the most part." Well, he says that, but if his guest wasn't blind, they would be able to see that the pie was glowing. Like, actually, glowing. As in, it was giving off its own light. And it was shining with a golden sheen that should never belong to a culinary dessert.

Posted Image
What was this mysterious dessert? Why did Xie make it? How did he make it?

And, perhaps most importantly of all, who was that one he had been waiting for?
And why was she here?
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Sophia Antistita
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“And what made you think I wouldn’t come?” Sophia’s curt voice answered Xie. “Or is it that you were hoping that I didn’t? You didn’t seem too happy that I was asking you all those questions after all.” The girl sighed as she took a seat opposite to the alchemist. “It’s been a long few days, so forgive me if I’m not looking my best.” It was true, she looked weary, perhaps more so than that night at the hospital.

“If it’s all the same I’d rather not.” She pushed the plate of pie away with a hand. “It’s not that I doubt your baking skills, I’m just in no mood to eat right now.” Even though she said that, the truth was she was a bit put off by the odd glow. Food usually doesn’t do that, right? Besides, Xie even said that it was only normal for the most part, meaning there was something off about it.

Sophia leaned forward and set her elbows on the table with her arms forming a triangle in front of her. “Considering the situation, I’d prefer if we got down to business. I believe you have some answers for me?”
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Fallen_shinku
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Xie frowned.

"That's right. I find it a pain in the ass. Necessary. But still a pain," the spiky haired boy admitted, unfurling his arms. Though it was true that Sophia looked even worse than the day he had talked to her at the hospital, but that wasn't what the Alchemist was referring to. Then again, it didn't matter. What happened with the Valkyrie was entirely her own business.

"Hmph. Suit yourself," Xie almost spat disdainfully as Sophia rejected the plate. Reaching over, he pulled the dessert before himself. Then, heaving a deep sigh, Xie picked up the two utensils before him, and began cutting into the crusty shell.

"Yes, I do," Xie replied, his eyes focused on the shining pie before him. "But that would depend on what, and how much you know. Or would I have to start from the beginning?" The Alchemist opened his mouth, using the fork to move the recently excavated bit of pie into his mouth.

crunch. Xie took a bite of his own creation. He grimaced visibly.

"Damn. I hate pie."
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Sophia Antistita
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“What I know is that Evray was under some sort of mind control by the parasite he calls Lorelei.” Sophia ignored the alchemist’s rude behaviour and instead pressed on with the issue. “I suppose ‘mind control’ isn’t the best term for it since he knew what the parasite was doing and allowed her to do it.” She shuddered as he remembered the young man’s words.

"But. At least she pretended to care."

Taking a deep breath she regained her composure. “But that’s no longer a problem, seeing how Lorelei is no more. Going into that other world made sure of that.” The Valkyrie glanced at Xie with a hint of contempt. “And now you say you want to undo all that and bring Lorelei back? I can somewhat understand your reasoning, but I can’t agree with it.”
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Fallen_shinku
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A short silence followed Sophia after she relegated her conclusions about the situation. The Alchemist made no movement to speak or interject, instead seemingly nonchalantly cutting into and taking slow bites out of his golden pie. In actuality, he was listening very closely to the words that came out of the Valkyrie's mouth. And just not what they meant, but also how she said them.

"I agree," Xie remarked simply, after Sophia had finished. "'Mind control' wouldn't apply here, at least in the magical sense. Perhaps the word 'enticed', or 'manipulated'. Or even 'enchanted' and 'bewitched'." The Alchemist shrugged, signifying that it made little difference. "If you're curious, he was under no spell when I talked to him." As he spoke, Xie continued to cut deliberately and slowly into his pie.

But, as the tone shifted in Sophia's voice, Xie stopped the repetitive sawing of his knife. He glanced up at the Valkyrie mildly, examining the emotion that no doubt prevailed her features while artfully concealing his own. "You seem to have an aversion to that creature," Xie remarked flatly. "Or do you just dislike having your work undone?" A rhetorical question. With a sigh, the Alchemist leaned back in his chair, as if he was dealing with a child. He took another bite of his pie, again slow and deliberate.

"I'm not asking you to agree with me. I don't need your consent," Xie spoke, closing his eyes. "However, I would be willing to make some concessions, if it would suit you." Placing down one of his utensils, Xie reached gingerly into his pocket, before fishing out a small black box. Placing the object upon the table, the Alchemist pushed it forward gently, with the urgency characteristic of his demeanour yet a care from the most professional of craftsmen.

"As you might guess, in order to complete our objective," Xie began, referring to himself and Adour. "You would have to, somehow, return to that place. However, without Lorelei, it would be impossible for even someone of my ability to send you there." Xie paused. "Safely, in any case."

If Sophia garnered to open the box, she would find two simple rings, each inlaid with a mysterious red gem. The gem seemed to shift colour depending on how it catches the light, but no matter what it sheen, it always bellied the deep purple maroon at its core. It would be obvious that this wasn't just some simple stone.
Edited by Fallen_shinku, Jul 18 2014, 10:51 PM.
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Sophia Antistita
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“I couldn’t care less if my work was undone, so long as it’s truly beneficial to Evray. Did you take me for the selfish type?” Sophia retorted with a bit of a huff, as if insulted by Xie’s accusation. “Of course I hate Lorelei, if some parasite was feeding off a friend of yours, would you like it?”

As Xie started explaining how his plan would work, a small smirk crossed the Valkyrie’s face. “Unless I’m misunderstanding something, it sounds like you do need my consent. If you need me to return to the other side, which means you need me to do something there, correct? Even if you force me into that place somehow, I can simply refuse to cooperate. Besides, I know how to get out of that place on my own now, so you can’t even force me to stay.”

The rings worried her somewhat, but she decided not to mention it for the time being, instead choosing to remain on the offensive. “Like I said, I do understand the need for this, so I’m not entirely opposed. I suppose that means whether or not I give you my cooperation depends on what kind of concessions you’re willing to make.”
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Fallen_shinku
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"Everyone is selfish. It's only natural," Xie shrugged. The boy spoke harshly, as if uncaring the offense his words may cause. Or simply not caring. "Its rational to always work for yourself. If you don't, you're simply not rational. Then, you're insane," Xie relegated, as if recalling a passage from some obscure text."No, I wouldn't," the Alchemist admitted to Sophia's hypothetical scenario without skipping a beat. "I've already told you my views at the hospital, and I don't want to repeat it."

Xie returned his hand to his discarded utensil, and began cutting into the pie once again. The crisp crunch of the crust sounded, an ironic background to the tone of their own conversation.

"You are," Xie snarled. "Open your ears and pay attention. I can't send you back to that place. It is impossible, at least without someone to guide us from the inside. And you graciously killed the one thing who might even consider it." The alchemist took another bite of the pie, his patience slipping slightly. In fact, considering his person, it was surprising that Xie could've kept his composure for so long.

"This time, inaction will result in death. No, not even," Xie remarked, not a threat but a warning. "You would perish in a world which will no longer exist." The Chinese boy leaned forward, crossing his arms on the table.

"I'll be frank with you, Sophia Antistita; I don't give a rat's ass about Lorelei. As Adour put it, helping Evray is a side-effect." Xie waited a moment, allowing Sophia to re-evaluate his and her own position. "I'm not giving you an order, a decree, or whatever the hell that compels you. I'm giving you a chance. A chance to save one person," Xie held up a sole index, emphasizing his point.

"If you choose inaction, the result is simple. Really. One more person would die." Xie shrugged, though his words, tone and demeanour was deathly serious. "Now, are you ready to stop looking for an enemy in me? Are you ready to listen?"
Edited by Fallen_shinku, Jul 22 2014, 07:43 PM.
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Sophia Antistita
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Sophia leaned back on her seat and crossed one leg over the other. “Fine. Let’s suppose I am willing to co-operate with your little plan, how would you get me to the other side? You said for your plan to work, that was a necessity, yet just now you said it was impossible since I had killed the only one who would consider it. But you have another option, don’t you? Otherwise we wouldn’t be here.”

“Cut to the chase. How would you get me into the other world and what is it you want me to do there? More importantly, what exactly would happen to Evray if we are successful? Answer these questions and I will consider your request.” At this point she was rather angry, more at herself than Xie. He was right, she shouldn’t be antagonizing a potential ally, but he was trying to bring back the parasite, she couldn’t just let that happen.
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Fallen_shinku
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"Simple, at least in theory," Xie spoke, his tone softening. "Since it would be... problematic, to bring you to that place, I've decided upon a different approach." The alchemist tapped the table top lightly with his knife.

"We bring there, here." Xie paused then, as if trying to figure out how to explain the dynamics and workings of his plan to a compelte newbie in the subject. Frankly, he wasn't certain it would work; he was confident that it would, but certainty is one thing that can never truly be grasped, as a certain robed Magus would be more than happy to remind him.

"I've learned that Evray is, in some way, linekd to that place. From what Adour had told me, Edda's world exists cut off from this one. And I do not mean physically, like a celestial body. I mean on an entirely different level, another layer." Xie spoke slowly, partially to make sure Sophia could follow but also because he seemed to have some difficulty articulating it himself. "But, if that were the case, there would be no way for you and the others to observe, much less enter and affect it the way you did. That means, that somehow, someway, and somewhere, that place is linked and anchored to this one."

Xie broke eye contact then, returning to cutting his pie. Almost half of the golden crust had disappeared now.

"I had a guess at first, but that night at the hospital confirmed it. That anchoring point is Evray." Xie shrugged, popping another peice of pie into his mouth. "Simply, I'm going to use that point, and pull that world onto this one, so that the two overlap. Are you familiar with the man named Abilio and the incident at Tokyo?" Xie would speak again before Sophia could utter a reply.

"Clever man; it was surprising, really, how he could achieve that result with such unrefined methods. A neat creation with much potiential, but with a ridiculous purpose," Xie both complimented and chided, laughing. "But, it did prove insightful. The theory I'm applying here is similiar: create a fantastic layer with reality working as a base. But," Xie couldn't help but jeer. "I'm not as close-minded or naive. And, I happen to be an expert in these things." Then, Xie's visage returned to one of seriousness.

"Even though it is a world, its scale and influence pales when compared to the actual world here. A portion of Hyakuji would be more than enough to cover it. Then, I'll send you into this overlap. In technological terms, what I'm doing is attempting to force this world to run two simultaneous processes; both its own and Edda's foreign one. However, due to the increased load, it would have to attribute it to the equivalence of random-access-memory. But, once that runs out, other processes would have to close. Meaning, for the duration of this mission, time outside of this new layer would be stopped." Xie faltered, the grinding sound of his knife halted.

"There... well I can't really say what you'll find. I have no idea will the resulting layer look more like Hyakuji or that place. But, what I can be certain is that you'll probably meet all the denizens again. Even the ones that had hid themselves from Edda would be stirred by the sudden upheaval of their world. Some people from Hyakuji might find themselves, inadvertently, pulled there as well. Of course, the world would have to be really stingy about that, anyone with too much power would consume too much... bandwidth, I guess would be the correct term. However, anyone with not enough influence would just be a waste of what precious processing it has available." Xie smiled, a bit haughtily. "It'll be a riot. Shame I wouldn't be able to see it."

Xie sighed, as if letting go of an innocent wish upon his breath. "What I'll have to do, is make it so that the world deems that you have the ideal ratio to get pulled into this layer. And that's the easy part."

"I'll be frank," he started, looking Sophia in the eye. "I have no way to force you bring back Lorelei. Once you arrive in that layer, you'll be out of my reach, for the most part. So I won't even bother to try." Xie then gestured to the box he had taken out earlier.

"But, I can ask you this. Here, you will find two rings. One you must wear, and the other you must keep on your person. These two rings are your tickets out of that layer, should something go awry or when you finish your job. And that job is two-fold," Xie took a breath, as if he was about to give away something precious.

"First, find Edda. Once you do, you can consider this fulfilled. Second." Xie paused, making sure that the Valkyrie paid attention to his following words. "Bring one of the denizens back with you. I don't care who. Whoever you like most, you think is the most attractive, or the one you think would bring world peice. Who most deserve a second chance at life," Xie stated sternly. "Because once we finish with that place, it would be the end. It would be no more. The world cannot hold the contradiction that two places exist in the same place, and eventually, it would have to choose one and destroy the other. Would you like to guess which one?" The question was rhetorical.

"My job, while you accomplish those task, is to give you and Adour enough time to do so." Xie closed his eyes, nodding to himself. His lips moved silently, as if he was going through a list in his mind. Then, he opened one, sending Sophia a quizzical look.

"Are you satisfied? Or do you have more problems?"
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Sophia Antistita
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“Yes I’m well aware of Abilio and what he did in Tokyo, so you’ll understand if I don’t exactly hold him in high esteem.” Sophia pursed her lips at Xie’s words. She had been there and seen the illusion barrier first hand, even fell under its spell briefly. But that was beside the point. The alchemist wanted to create a similar realm, albeit for a different reason.

“Let’s say this overlap works perfectly, how does it affect the ‘portion of Hyakuji’? I’m sure you would pick an isolated part of the city to create this realm, but what if someone happens to wander into it while it’s active?” She was worried about Evray, yes, but she wasn’t prepared to sacrifice people to do this. “Other than that your two tasks seem straightforward enough, even if I don’t understand what I’m supposed to do with Edda or how one of the denizens will help bring Lorelei back. Care to explain?”

There were other questions she wanted answered, such as why she could only bring one of the denizens back or what Adour would be doing as she did her job, but for now she wanted to know how this world, the real world, would be affected.
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Fallen_shinku
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Xie silenced at Sophia's words. A short pause from his rather lengthy lecture, of which he just sat still, looking pensive. Even his hands had ceased motion.

"Safe,"Xie stated solemnly. "They'll be safe, I'll make sure of it." Then, as if he had just surmounted a trough, the Alchemist continued his prior actions. "Though, try and keep collateral damage to a minimal. Like in Tokyo, destroying the environment will carry over. Some people might find themselves mysteriously missing a roof." Xie shook his head. "After the layer is formed, no one would be able to enter. Or leave, until the layer absolves." The Alchemist shrugged though, signifying that that was negligible.

"But don't worry about getting stuck there. As soon as the layer breaks, the world will return everyone back to where they belong." It would seem that XIe had all this planned out, and was rather confident that it will work as he envisioned. Then again, when was the egotistical boy not confident?

"Thankfully, that is all you need to do; just find her. Adour will handle the rest," Xie notified Sophia matter of factly, as if Edda was just trashed to be taken out. Which was obviously not the case. In all manner of the words, Edda was a god while in the world. But Xie had already moved on from that. He made a small click of his tongue, as Sophia brought up the doll's name once more.

He sighed.

"I thought I did, but maybe I didn't speak slow enough," the Alchemist admitted with a tone of defeat, as if pitying the girl before him. "They won't. In fact, I lied." Xie leaned forward, lowering his tone. "This is the one thing I'm not certain on: whether or not you would even be able to find it," Xie spoke gravely. "As you could probably guess, Lorelei's... soul, maybe we'll call it. It's being, its not human. I have no idea how it would react in the layer. And with what the Reaper girl had done to it... I'm not even certain does a piece of it still exist within that world." Xie paused then, as if giving the subject some hard thought. Though the layer could reproduce, it cannot produce. It must have an original source. Bluntly put, Xie wasn't sure did that source still exist for the remnant known as Lorelei. In other words, he had lied to Evray.

"Perhaps you would understand better if I said this," Xie spoke slowly. "Helping Evray is a side-effect of what I intend to do." Words left Xie's mouth, similar to the ones uttered by that robed mage so many days ago.

"If you bring back Lorelei, you would greatly change the course and mindset of a certain decrepit boy," Xie remarked casually. "If you don't, well, that doesn't make a difference to me." In other words, Xie saw this as another more than a science experiment. Another trial in his deranged quest for the"ultimate truth". Though he intended to help Evray, that had proven itself to be nothing more than a convenient justification.

"The choice is yours. That is your freedom." Xie turned his gaze out the window. "Just know that there will be consequences to that choice."
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Sophia Antistita
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Frankly speaking Sophia still didn’t quite understand what Xie’s plan was exactly, but knowing that no harm will come to the people was enough for her. Well, it wasn’t a complete guarantee that they’ll be safe, but under the circumstances that was enough for her. What Xie needed her to do was clear, and it was something she could do. “… Fine, I can live with that I suppose.”

The girl sighed heavily, not for the first time today and probably not the last. “How about preparations for this overlap? How long will it take? I’d like some time to get ready for this too you know.” At this point it wasn’t a question of whether or not she’d do it, it’s when and how. She was trying to hide it in her wording and tone though, whether or not she was successful was a different story.
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Fallen_shinku
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Xie smiled.

"Get ready? What do you need to do?" the Alchemist asked, almost accusingly. Xie then waved his hand, telling Sophia to not answer that question.

"I'll manage, things are progressing smoothly. Evray has been annoyingly enthusiastic about the whole thing," the young man remarked. The pie was almost completely gone now, only a mere tenth of its original size. Slowly, Xie placed down the knife, idly twirling the metal fork with his hand.

"Soon," Xie finally replied. "It won't be today. Probably not the day after. But soon." He then leaned back in his chair, the last remnant of pie skewered; perfectly balanced upon his fork.

"Adour will contact you when it is time."
Edited by Fallen_shinku, Jul 30 2014, 06:15 AM.
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Sophia Antistita
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Not today? Good. Not the day after? Even better. It sounds like Sophia would have around a week to get ready. As for what it is she needed to prepare, honestly she couldn’t give a proper answer to that right now, so it was good that Xie didn’t demand an answer right this second.

“Well that’s good enough for me. You have my co-operation, but I suspect you already knew that.” The girl raised an eyebrow at the young man sitting across from her. It seems that despite her efforts to hide her intention, Xie was able to pick up on it.

Sophia stood up and pushed her chair in. “I take it we’re done here then? I’ll wait for the message from Adour then.” She was a bit curious as to how he’d contact her, but decided not to press. “Oh and this time please don’t have me just randomly wake up in the other world. That really was quite an unpleasant surprise.”
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Xie nodded, confirming Sophia's words, his eyes following her as she stood up. The boy, however, remained seated. "Correct," he affirmed simply. However, he did raise an eyebrow when Sophia commented on her prior arrival to that place.

"You're saying that as if its my fault," Xie snapped back, as if the girl had insulted him. He crossed his arms, throwing Sophia a hard look. "Don't compare me to that construct," the young man warned. It would seem that Sophia had struck a particularly sensitive chord. "I'll get you there comfortably. Though, knowing Adour, I can't make a guarantee that it won't be a surprise."

Nothing ever wasn't with that whimsical man. One would wonder where Xie had come across such a character. And Sophia's worry would be rather unfounded; Adour seemed the kind of man that would have no trouble getting her attention, if he wished.

The pie was all but gone now, the only hint of its existence being the immaculate plate on the table and the discarded utensil.

"Disappointed. Some girl-," Suddenly, Xie spoke up again, before stopping just as abruptly. "No. Some witch once said that there was a rule to bad people. That people who waste their food are the real bad guys. That they never finish anything in their lives." Xie had been testing Sophia, or was he trying to tell her something. It was unusual for the boy to be indirect, but it was obvious he had no plans to speak more on the matter. The Alchemist stared at the plate, before turning to the standing Valkyrie.

"I hope you prove her wrong." Xie then turned his eyes out the window, dismissing Sophia in his own unique way.
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