Mistakes were made. What were you thinking,[sr]leaving SE.RA.PH under these circumstances?
[k]
＠A：???
Ever hear of curiosity killing the cat? Or did the sight of this deep-sea beauty make you go soft in the head?
[k]
[charaFace A 2]
＠A：???
Not that either case says anything good about your intelligence! Now I've got to step in to help clean up your mess, stupid!
[k]
？1：...Do I know you...?
？2：...Who are you again...?
？！
[charaFace A 1]
＠A：???
Hmm. So, your perception is just as shot as I thought. You aren't able to reconcile what you're seeing now with your own memories, huh?
[k]
＠A：???
Your mind and memories are both still sharp, but they're having trouble accessing what happened here.
[k]
＠A：???
You're now essentially back to square one...a rookie Master who barely knows what [&he's:she's] doing.
[k]
＠A：???
Ah, well. I suppose I'll have to pull out all the stops to help your sorry ass!
[k]
＠A：???
I'm H. C. A., the electronic fairy in charge of this trash compactor...the Cage of the Fallen, Klein Cube.
[k]
＠H. C. A.
You can think of me as an acquaintance of BB,[sr]since she's the one who summoned me, not Chaldea.
[k]
？1：An acquaintance of BB...?
[charaFace A 0]
＠H. C. A.
That's right.[sr]We've only ever talked online, though.
[k]
＠H. C. A.
But I'm not a digital demon like her.[sr]I'm more like a Rogue Servant.
[k]
＠H. C. A.
I have plenty of time on my hands, and I only want to spend it working on my stories at your world's outskirts. I really don't have any desire to get involved with your world.
[k]
？2：I'm sorry, what was your name again?
[charaFace A 3]
＠H. C. A.
...I'm H. C. A., an electronic fairy. Ugh, it's[sr]kinda hard to actually say that without cringing.
[k]
＠H. C. A.
I know no one else is going to hear this,[sr]but still, it's really damn embarrassing.
[k]
？！
[charaFace A 1]
＠H. C. A.
Anyway, let's start by breaking down[sr]where you are and what's going on here.
[k]
＠H. C. A.
Right now, that building sinking to the bottom of the sea that looks like a bad joke... Sorry, Freudian slip.
[k]
[charaFace A 0]
＠H. C. A.
That building used to be an oil rig called Seraphix...but now, it's called SE.RA.PH, and none of the standard laws of physics apply to it.
[k]
＠H. C. A.
In SE.RA.PH, time doesn't flow in only one direction. Instead, it's something that can be measured in some interesting ways.
[k]
＠H. C. A.
And the spacing on the calipers used to measure it is nothing like your conception of physical space.
[k]
＠H. C. A.
That's probably because time and space are both measured from a one-dimensional perspective there.
[k]
＠H. C. A.
Sometimes, you can even be in two different times while in the same space. This area we're in now is proof.
[k]
[charaFace A 1]
＠H. C. A.
Here, neither BB nor SE.RA.PH can touch us. Why?[sr]Well, think of us as being a failed timeline.
[k]
＠H. C. A.
Even though Seraphix is currently in the process of being reborn as SE.RA.PH, a purely digital structure...
[k]
＠H. C. A.
...this place we're in now was produced as a sort[sr]of nonexistent space, even in the original SE.RA.PH.
[k]
＠H. C. A.
What for, you say?[sr]To get rid of anything unwanted, obviously.
[k]
＠H. C. A.
Think of it as the oil rig equivalent[sr]of sweeping things under the rug.
[k]
＠H. C. A.
Humans have always been good at ignoring things they'd rather not think about. It's one of their best defense mechanisms.
[k]
＠H. C. A.
This is rather like that, only more so. Like sweeping things under a rug, then destroying both it and the rug so thoroughly it is as if they never existed.
[k]
＠H. C. A.
Now this place is beyond all things, outside thought and knowledge, a place where one cannot normally reach.
[k]
？1：So...it's like the Trash Heap?
？2：Does that mean it's like that one pitfall?
？！
[charaFace A 1]
＠H. C. A.
Good! That's pretty much the right idea! This place[sr]is basically a hole, like a cave or a tree hollow!
[k]
[charaFace A 0]
＠H. C. A.
That gravitational field continues on to a place absolutely no one knows about. It's almost like a trash can where the bottom is thousands of light-years away.
[k]
[charaFace A 4]
＠H. C. A.
However...while this cage was originally[sr]supposed to sink into the void forever...
[k]
＠H. C. A.
...the one who recreated SE.RA.PH, unbelievable as it may be, seems to have also gone to the trouble of recreating its surrounding data.
[k]
＠H. C. A.
She knew about the danger involved, and went ahead with it anyway because she thought it seemed fun.
[k]
[charaFace A 0]
＠H. C. A.
This kind of reckless laziness is just like her. She wants everything she sees, but she can't even be bothered to get out of bed.
[k]
[charaFace A 1]
＠H. C. A.
I knew she had a cow's tits, but I didn't know she had a cow's brain too! Hell, maybe those horns of hers are actually something she was born with!
[k]
[charaFace A 0]
＠H. C. A.
Still, that alone wouldn't be too much of a problem.[sr]It's only now that another idiot's got [&himself:herself] mixed[sr]up in all this that it's become such a mess.
[k]
？1：Another idiot...?
？2：What idiot?
？！
[charaFace A 5]
＠H. C. A.
You're the idiot! It's you!
[k]
＠H. C. A.
What else would you call someone who just waltzes into a place they don't even need to be during an ultra time-sensitive emergency!?
[k]
[charaFace A 0]
＠H. C. A.
Now that you being here has accidentally proved this place exists, the proverbial gates of hell are about to be thrown wide open!
[k]
＠H. C. A.
That gravitational field didn't even exist until you showed up. Same with the path that brought me here.
[k]
[charaFace A 1]
＠H. C. A.
Oh well. I hate physical labor, but I love seeing idiots get what's coming to them.
[k]
[charaFace A 0]
＠H. C. A.
Now listen up, [%1]. There's a Servant[sr]sleeping at the very bottom of this hole.
[k]
＠H. C. A.
A monster so awful that even BB threw her hands up[sr]pretending not to see it, and so dreadful even that lazy cow gave up on it.
[k]
＠H. C. A.
She's still sleeping right now, but it's only a matter of time until she starts looking for you in her dreams.
[k]
＠H. C. A.
Now that you've opened this place up,[sr]you two have practically already locked eyes.
[k]
＠H. C. A.
If you leave here now, she'll sort of wander outside in her sleep, looking for you.
[k]
＠H. C. A.
And if that happens, it's game over. You and everyone on SE.RA.PH will be utterly obliterated.
[k]
？1：Th-that's awful!
？2：So, then...what should I do?
？！
[charaFace A 1]
＠H. C. A.
Oh. Finally starting to understand how bad this is,[sr]are we? Good. Now is the time for action.
[k]
＠H. C. A.
You're the one who opened this hole,[sr]so you're the one who has to close it.
[k]
[charaFace A 0]
＠H. C. A.
And to do that, you need to defeat the monster who's been relegated to the bottom layer of the trash compactor.
[k]
＠H. C. A.
Once she falls at your hand, she should remember that no one needs or wants her, and go back to sleep.
[k]
？1：...Okay. So I just have to get to the bottom, right?
？2：By the way, what are you doing here?
[charaFace A 1]
＠H. C. A.
Oh, that? I'm just the odd spirit out. SE.RA.PH might be summoning Heroic Spirits from throughout all of history...
[k]
＠H. C. A.
...but it's also set up so that I can never get inside. Call it a mental block made tangible.
[k]
＠H. C. A.
Who knows why she even bothers! I can only guess she must have something she really doesn't want me to see, though I couldn't even begin to guess what might be worth hiding at this point!
[k]
＠H. C. A.
If she's gonna be that embarrassed about it, she could start by giving her mind a good, thorough scrubbing!
[k]
＠H. C. A.
Of course, she'd need to work AWFULLY hard to get all the dirt out! Hell, she could probably spend a lifetime in a washtub and it still wouldn't be enough!
