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[For once, a certain someone was remaining anonymous for now. Surprising, given how loud she tended to be. Some may recognize her voice, but it was clearly filled with venom at the mention of the stone giant.]

That thing still around? If you're getting rid of the bastard, I want in.

Yes. Information on it was scarce. [He'd tried to find it. Oh, how he'd tried.] And, since it stayed dormant within the Forest of the Felled, the focus of the general public shifted to more immediate concerns.

I take it you've been gone and come back?

[He's known at least one who did that. It makes the most sense at this point, as the stone giant is rather hard to miss, enormous as it is.]

Makes sense. This place loves to keep throwing more problems anyway.

And I have. So it's not just me, huh? Didn't even come back from the spring. Just...somewhere else.

[Somewhere else? Was magic becoming unstable again?]

I haven't heard much about coming back through different locations, but I do know of at least one person who vanished for a time and came back for a time.

[But he'd vanished again after, and has yet to appear again.]

Likely not the only one. Soon as I got out, I heard lots of yelling in people's homes.

But back on track. Whatever you need to pull this off and take the bastard down, I'm in. So what should I handle besides offense?

Sir Hijikata and I are working out some of the details. We have a few things to consider.

[He counts off with his fingers, one finger for each of three considerations they have already begun to take into account.]

Who is to be offense, as you say, and who is to take on the role of stripping away the giant's powers.

What may happen once the giant awakens, considering its appetite for disembodied spirits.

And what may happen to the person who attempts to take on such powers, if that part of the ritual even works.

Our focus may not be as divided this time [There's no mountain collapsing on an entire city to contend with, and no dragon attacking yet another city, for starters.] this will likely still require a significant effort.

Lotta things to consider I guess. Could always try bringing in people with those tattoos, maybe get new ones if they got got poofed away like me.

Still, does it have to be one person who sucks it all in? Do we have any way to just cut it all up? Like maybe seal it up in objects, or give it to more than one person?

[She was about to suggest scrolls, but she likely wasn't going to get the materials for them to work here, assuming they did at all.]

We were only given the basic instructions for a ritual. We don't know what will happen if, say, multiple people attempt it at once. Maybe the magic will be split between them, but it can just as easily end up going to one of them. Or run through them all in turn.

As for the tattoos you mentioned, it should be technically feasible to recreate them. But we'll need the ingredients to do so.

[So little information frustrated her, an annoyed sigh. Well, she can't expect an answer if nobody ever tried.]

Sounds like a lot of planning needs to get done then. I'll find a list and start gathering all the shit we need. I could use a good walk anyway. [Maybe a violent monster to punch too.]

That's as good a start as any.

I'll keep working on the arrangements.

I'm interested. Count me in.

Good to know. I apologize for not having come up with something more substantial sooner.

[As much as he loathes to admit, there is only so much one mortal human boy can do. But better something than nothing, and better late than never.

Even if earlier and more is definitely more his preference.]

[So Walter saw that quest too... Hijikata tunes in to address him without preamble.]

I've read the instructions a few times now, and the ritual as such seems manageable, but also risky as hell. Whoever posted that quest didn't say what consequences there are to sucking up that thing's powers, and I bet my ass there'll be consequences.

[Regardless, he wants to help permanently depower the gigantic golem. Having seen the lengths Ereshkigal went to in her desperate attempts to gain support from Merlin and Morganna and complete the latter's quest he, as a fellow death mage, doesn't want to leave Avalon without having sorted this matter out.]

At the very least we should take a siphoner along, or else a counter-curse potion... though I'm not sure if that'll cut it.

[Ah... Sir Hijikata has a second account?

Walter doesn't really understand why, but it is clear enough who the man is, so he responds without bringing it up.]

You make good points. Honestly, I doubt it would hurt to have more than one such person along.

There's also the matter of who should be sucking up its powers to begin with. I had an idea as to who might be the best-suited, but I don't see any responses from her yet.

[What are you talking about, Walter? This is totally his only identifiable account! The other one couldn't be more anonymous! Alas, sadly the matter at hand here is even more serious than the mayo wars (if that is indeed possible).]

You mean Ereshkigal? I wonder about that. She's a goddess, but deities become mortal here, don't they?

[He feels for the girl (she may he thousands of years old, but he can't help but feel older than her... especially after seeing her cutely decorated room that she carefully tried to hide behind ominous dark curtains, not to mention the last time he saw her when she was unwittingly trying to get drunk on water).]

I'm torn on this whole venture. What if it's a trap, and completing that ritual will only awaken it again?

[There is only one person he knows of that carries a supply of mayonnaise with him. His devotion and response to that inciteful post was a dead giveaway.]

It's true that deities become mortal here, in a sense. I saw as much when Horus and Lord Set had to contend with that terrible winter storm we had. But I should think that if anyone could possibly handle the additional power, they would.

[He goes quiet a moment, absorbed in thought as the camera continues to record.]

...But you're right. Once it awakens, it will probably try to absorb whatever souls are in the area. We'll need to prepare for that.

[He pauses another moment, considering their options.]

What about the ritual we participated in last year?

The one with the spirit guardians?

[He thinks about it for a moment, trying to recall what the ritual entailed. Since he went to Lestari to collect fairy coins he didn't participate in the hunt for undead creatures in the Lands of Rot that took place at roughly the same time, but he's pretty sure that the remains of those were the essential ingredient to create the spirit guardian eggs.]

There are no undead left, are there? The zombies disappeared with the Fisher King, and I think we took out most if not all of the skeleton warriors.

[Who would have thought that this of all things would become a problem?]

The Fisher King's curse didn't create undead, I think, so much as it made the land uninhabitable for everything but the undead.

But it would seem that we have cut down on their numbers considerably.

[However, obtaining the ingredients necessary for that magic isn't entirely beyond the realm of possibility. Other death mages exist, and not all of them go down the exorcism route.]

I heard or read somewhere that in addition to corrupting the land he was responsible for anyone buried in it turning into a zombie, but don't quote me on that.

[The only thing he is pretty certain of is that the skeletons, unlike the zombies, had been raised by long-forgotten necromancers and were simply left behind with no allegiance to anyone. Despite being a death mage it somehow hasn't occurred to him that they could simply make their own undead if required... he really has firmly been on the exorcist path this entire time.]

If we can still find a couple of zombies or whatnot somewhere, do you think we can recreate the ritual? Or, if not, that the experts would be willing to help us? Anyway, it'll be a moot effort if we can't find a volunteer to take the stone giant's powers into their body.

[Part of him feels like he should step up to the task, but the worst-case-scenario is simply too awful. If he, who tried hard to provide the drifting souls of Avalon with purpose and community, ended up devouring them, he wouldn't know how to cope with it.]

I see. That makes sense. I know that death magic is technically capable of creating them here, so I thought perhaps some death mages were responsible for their creation.

[He'd personally gone the exorcist route, but the other side of death magic is of interest to him in the professional sense.]

That said, should we obtain the necessary components for the ritual, I don't see why I couldn't be replicated. Though whether or not the experts will help... your guess is as good as mine. We could always ask.

I'd be on board with that, but first we need a volunteer. Any spirit guardians we make can only be a contingency plan to save as many souls as possible if things go haywire.

[He feels torn!! Should they really be meddling with this when they're this close to averting the calamity? What if they inadvertently cause a repeat incident of last year's autumn equinox and bring tragedy over Avalon's dead? He pulls the quest up on his phone to briefly reread it before switching back to Walter's video feed.]

The more I think about it the more I feel like releasing those powers is going to be a recipe for disaster. Before the quest was posted I wanted to try destroying the physical stone giant rather than extract its magic... but who's to say that wouldn't have had the same effect?

That would depend on if the magic can exist independently without a host.

[Something they had no information on, unfortunately.]

I'd rather not assume it won't be a problem if we try taking a shortcut and cutting it down without putting any safeguards in place.

Yeah.

[This sucks... but hold on. Looking at the quest just now reminded him of something. He picks up his burner phone that he uses to access the dark web and checks back on what he saw there. When he speaks again his voice has new intensity in it.]

There may be a way. Listen, if you speak to Ereshkigal, tell her that there's someone on the dark web promising a spell that restores outworlders' original abilities, permanently, while still retaining the local magic. The quest they want done in return for it is for the quester to kill a werewolf. I'm one of those.

[Originally he just wanted to intensify the night patrol to prevent any such crimes, but now he feels like that quest may open up a small sliver of opportunity for them.]

If she takes me out and gets that reward - and if the quest-giver isn't a liar or scammer -, then she may have her goddesshood restored. If anyone could handle the stone giant's powers it'd have to be a deity. As for me, tell her not to worry; I'll figure it out. We're all death mages.

That is, if she's willing to give this a shot.

[If seems like a big "if", and he couldn't blame Ereshkigal. What if the dark web fae is lying? And even if they aren't, what if the stone giant's powers are still too much? Yet he can't help but feel confident that a bona fide goddess would be a match for the ancient creature.]

You want me to broach this plan to a goddess I do not even know?

[And one who might be worried about him, no less.

He'd responded to her post once. They had a single interaction between them.

He sighs, a grumbling sort of noise bubbling in his throat as he reaches up to run a hand irritably through his hair.

They're death mages, yes, and he happens to know a healer, but he has no idea what this quest is, or what sort of proof the quest giver might want in exchange for giving out the offered reward.]

If she throws a fit I am pointing her straight at you.

Ah, I thought..!

[He thought Walter and Ereshkigal were friends or something!! But it seems like he, who actually met her face to face several times and supported her in her endeavours regarding the stone giant, may be better positioned to broach his reckless idea to her.]

No matter. I'll reach out to her directly. If she's willing to go through with it, would you support us? I'd rather she have backup meeting up with someone from the dark web. Besides she'll need help transporting my body.

[He sure talks about his own murder casually... but that's because he has no intention to actually die. He's already come up with a potential cheat involving the support of yet another fellow death mage: Emet-Selch.]

[No, the boy and the goddess are not friends. He just pays particular attention when the interests of others seem to align with his own professional interests.]

Of course.

[Since Hijikata won't exactly be in a position to aid her if the negotiation he has in mind goes sour.]

You're quite possibly mad, but there's no reason she needs to be put in excessive danger for this scheme of yours.

[He has no idea the man doesn't actually intend on getting himself killed and then revived later. He's used to hanging around someone that enjoys taking 'lethal' injuries, after all.]

Thank you. I'll contact you again once I've spoken with her, then we can meet up and discuss the details.

[In person, he'll share his actual plan... he simply is too paranoid about technomancer spies to tell the full story on a call!]

Understood. I'll see you soon.

[That said, he ends the transmission.]

I am a little bit wary at the very coincidental timing of this "lead." But I want to believe Morganna wouldn't endanger so many innocents simply to take revenge on me.

It goes without saying, I will lend all of my strengths to any effort directed towards bringing about an end to this monstrous thing.

[Ah. There she is. Still using text, but at least this is a sign she's around.]

Good to know.

Tell me, did you ever succeed in creating your land of the dead?

No.

[ There is a bit of a delay before the next part of the reply. She'd managed to complete the quest, but the result had been. Sad. ]

The land of the dead Morganna promised me exists only inside of a kettle.

[ And she'd fallen for it, which was even sadder really. ]

I see...

[Ah, he can almost feel the disappointment radiating from those words.]

What if I told you that even if something looks small, it can still hold more than you think? That even your little land of the dead may prove useful for this task?

I do not think I could fit more than one soul in it. Two or three if we really discard the need for comfort, maybe.

[ ... She'd tried. She had hoped maybe this was a pocket dimension or something. But maybe he meant something else. ]

Do you believe this could have any use against the giant?

[At. That is unfortunate news. But he won't be deterred. He has one idea to put forward, but even if it doesn't work out, a space for one or two or three souls is useful to at least protect one or two or three souls, and that is better than none.]

It may be of use in protecting souls from the giant once it wakes. If they are contained within your little land, perhaps it will not be able to suck them into itself.

As for the number that may fit inside, this is only an idea, but have you tried using an inventory slots potion on it? I tried out one on something of mine, and what was a very small bag became capable of carrying quite the number of objects.

I had not thought of using this potion. I suspect Morganna did not consider the possibility either... If so, the odds this could work are in our favor.

[ That was a pretty smart trick, really. Why hadn't she thought of that herself? ]

By making clever use of it, it would be possible to store a near unlimited number of souls inside. This would be neither comfortable nor desirable for resting souls, but as a temporary measure this should be doable.

That's the idea.

As for the other parts of this assignment, I think I can manage on the dismantling part, though there are several others ready to join in.

[As long as they can prevent those powers from going out of control, this should be manageable.]

I shall contact those amongst my allies who may be of assistance for this.

[ She's trying to make it sound more impressive than "whoever I can manage to talk to and has somehow the means to help in this." Still, if this needs to be said: ]

You have my thanks for organizing this.

All in a night's work, ma'am.

[And he'll cut the feed here.]

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video/ UN: bladeworks

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Private Video | UN: hijikata

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text; un:goddessofdeath

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