(The End of the World)Fukuhara clears his throat, as the screen opens to an image of the Taisha logo, a stylized version of the Shinju tree.
“As you have already seen, our world is constantly under threat by the monsters we refer to as Vertex. However, none of you know the true devastation they wrought upon our world.
These images were the last images of the Old World, dated to 2015, Pre-Shinju Era. The photographer survived, thankfully, or else we would have no idea what had actually happened to our world.”He presses a clicker, revealing a rather….unsettling scene.
It seems to be a view from a low-standing building of some sort, looking out towards another part of a random city. Or, it would be, if the city wasn’t being destroyed.
The sky above is a shade of deep, almost blood-red, with fire-like strands descending upon the world and spreading as wildfire at the spots of contact with the earth, disintegrating people and property alike on contact. On the streets below, people can be seen running away as a wall of red washes over part of the city, with one unfortunate person visible turning to dust at contact. Vertex-like creatures seem to be emerging from the wall of red, with blasts of rainbow light being thrown at the buildings around the photographer, annihilating them where they stand. Soldiers can be seen firing shots at it with their rifles, to seemingly no effect.
The image is that of a dying world.
“This was the fate of our world, before the gods answered our prayers. Our world was protected, as the Shinju descended down, protecting us by forming a barrier around our world- that which we call the Jukai. This Jukai, this ‘forest’ of sorts is an overlay over our world; if damage is done to the Jukai, then lesser damage is done here. The barrier cushions most of it, but all the same.
The other thing they granted us was the Hero System. A power to protect from the beings that are the Vertex. It’s magic, powerful magic, that allows the Heroes to counter the Vertex. If…..these Trespassers that you and Miss Honda must face are as myself and the Taisha understand it…….then the power of the System might be of use to you. It seems to automatically target the weaknesses of the Vertex; it is why we are unable to fight them while Heroes and, well, yourselves, can, apart from the obvious.
I am prepared to provide you with what I can to assist you. I cannot give you the Hero System, but I can give you the next best thing; a special device that imparts part of the system’s power on you, granting you more power against the Vertex and the Trespassers, it’s been done correctly and our calculations are correct. It will not be ready until tomorrow afternoon, unfortunately.
Which leads me on to my second point. Our sensors predict a Vertex attack. Two Vertex, major. They will get here before the machine is ready, despite all my attempts to rush its production. I apologise. As soon as you can, debrief your allies on this and tell them to enjoy the rest of today. They will have a long and hard fight tomorrow.
Do you have any questions?”
