Grand Opening; Dusk

With the Dusk cleaned up nice and tidy, a bright blue beam of light would cast down upon the clock tower that opened the Gates to the vast multiverse. Descending from on high in the spectral blue moon's glow would be a woman fitted with elegant lace, nearly gothic lolita style, with a spider print and theme from her gloves down to the hem of her long dress. A huge elegant web-like fan lay sprawled before her face like a hand of cards, with only her sharp heterochromatic black-and-white eyes lightly glazing over the entirety of her realm with acute inspection. This was the ruler of all the Spectral Dusk and its Central City; Queen Archdeath, Shinritha Tensei. Her curled blonde pigtails bounced as lightly as her large bosom, of which she keenly kept watch of as well. She wanted to see which one of the Dusk Citizens would be enraptured by her attractive appearance, for some reason, and kept that on her mind as she descended from on high.

"The Rozen Goddess Has Returned," her voice echoed throughout the land, like the town crier through a medieval kingdom, "All Hail Queen Archdeath." Though her territory was of a completely open political government under her, she was still Queen over whatever the highest elected official was, since her status was not something that could be elected nor usurped. In this specific scenario, however, Shinritha was also acting as the highest elected official since there was none other than herself yet. Once there was, she would not have to focus so much on Dusk City. None of the residents would be forced to bow or anything of the sort, yet the acknowledgement that Shinritha was Queen and therefore Owner of the land was required in order for it to be recognized by the masses upon her descent. The moment her feet touched the top of the tower, where all the land could see her in her beautiful blue moonlight spotlight, she would begin her public address for soothing the masses.

"Citizens of the Dusk... I know that the past events have been rather jarring for you and it may be taking a bit of time for you to stabilize yourselves from the crises that have occurred recently... However I, Shinritha Tensei, Ruler of this land, state that you must not be alarmed. Know that everything is being handled by your Dusk Security Force and that all is fine. You may see Phantoms and their new Beast Unit on the streets handling the damages, but I assure you that it is best to simply lead your everyday lives and do what you can not to cause anymore disturbances in the city whilst your task force does everything in their power to clean up the remaining ones."

If the citizens weren't irritating the problem by acting out of turn and simply living without panic or distress, then the police-like task force of ninja-like operatives, the Dusk Security Force, would be able to keep them all under control and at peace.

"Do what you can not to get in their way. They will be marked by special masks that hide who they truly are so that they remain anonymous among you. They are my special and personal force as well as your police force, so treat them as such and do what you can not to hinder them.  Even assist them, if you must. Many of you have probably already seen them, but for the most part, they keep to the shadows and remain unseen. Do not be alarmed if you see one. Remember, they are always watching and watching over you to keep the peace in this city."

Lowering her hand daintily, Shinritha would slam her fan shut rather decisively, then continue on with her statement. "As for me, I will be resting as the leading political official of this city until we have a new elected official from among you, of which I will approve after you all decide amongst yourselves who you believe is most worthy to rule over you. After I have decided the worthiness of the selected individual, then that is who will be ruling this city under me. If you have any questions, reports or concerns, please visit the Dusk Security Force building and speak with the head." After summing up everything that all of the Dusk should have head with the sound of Shinritha's voice booming like the ring of the clock, she would take off into the sky, spreading her bat-like wings gently from around her waist and hover gracefully down into the city, where she would begin her own work from there.

Many of the Dusk Citizens stood perplexed at what they'd just seen and heard, having sworn that the last thing that they heard was that after the First Banshoukage had been nominated, he had taken the place of the reigning authority of the city. It must have been during that time of great terror and crisis that many of them only hazily remembered after being evacuated from the city. Those that were left in the city during that anonymous attack were probably dead or scarce, and only the survivors remained in Dusk City, living their lives naturally after the attack. Also, there was some sort of mysterious organized faction all in masks that had attempted to exterminate them in the streets. Some of them wondered if this was the same masked faction that the Queen was speaking of and if she was the one who ordered them. Many of the Dusk Citizens remained wary about if this Queen could be trusted, however being under her rule, they had no choice but to obey, they thought collectively. They were very independent of each other, though their thoughts were relatively the same, preventing any of them from even thinking the other might be thinking the same thing.

However, after having time to think and rabble among themselves in their own confusion, eventually in the buzz of the chattering cityfolk would some of them decide it best for them to become the new Banshoukage, if the first one was out of commission. Word spread quickly that he was killed during the attack, or fled because of the assault on his life, but none of them actually knew what really happened. They were just coming up with their own conclusions and expressing them to their equally as lost and confused neighbor, who would believe whatever made sense as long as it made sense, and then eventually play off of it and spread the word to someone else. No matter what rumors, lies, plots, secrets, truths, ideas and all such other concepts were coagulating in this melting pot of confusion, there was one thing that was for certain; someone here was going to become the next leading political official, and many of them who had the gall to attempt were already thinking up what they could do to achieve it. They would break away immediately once they heard the news of the political space being open and begin to think of their campaign, some even making some major and urgent calls as they returned to their businesses.

Those that did not have this particular endeavor in mind would simply begin to brainstorm on the state of the city as well as who would be the new leading official. Being instructed to direct their questions and concerns to the Dusk Security Force, many headed there, or planned to in the near future. All else who had no care nor concern merely took in the information about the state of the city and cursed it under their breaths, returning to their own everyday routines and schedules as depicted for them based on their own jobs and business throughout the city.

-Later that evening-

When all of the necessary protocols had been met in terms of order and efficiency, a news broadcast would begin to play on the face of the Clock Tower of Nephthys, which seemed something like an electronic screen. "A New Moon Has Risen," were the first words out of the mouth of Queen Archdeath herself, Shinritha Tensei, whose face was suddenly plastered over the Clock Tower's own and upon smaller screens littered about the buildings of the Dusk. There should not have been a screen in all the city that she was not able to be seen. "Which yields much for this city and its road toward growth and recovery." From her manner of speech, it seemed that Shinritha was well aware of the state of the city, as she should have been, which would probably alleviate many who would believe that she didn't have things under control. There was a certain white glint in her ivory eye that could send chills down the spines of those she looked at, which, from every vantage point in the city, looked to be the entire city's population.

"To begin this 'Breaking News Update,' the various complaints, concerns and controversies of both the people and the city will be covered by myself, starting with the most clearly important of all prior to any sort of arrangement; Who Is Shinritha Tensei?"Raising her gloved hand laced with spider woven silk up to her face, it glimmered slightly as she cleared her throat nonchalantly, continuing on with her own introduction in order to easily break the ice. "I am Shinritha Tensei, daughter of whom many of you know as Khrona or Shinrona Tensei, who is the property owner of this land. I, as his daughter, have been named to watch over this particular continent and all its bearings, including the people. I currently sit enthroned as Queen in a position that cannot be usurped, but is merely used as a means of judgment over the actual political order and hierarchy among the government established for this continent. This position is to help secure absolute order in a state of emergency such as the one you have witnessed with the sudden disappearance of the First Banshoukage. Because I hail from the Royal Family and fully know of all that is going on, it's best that I lead you through the entire situation myself so that you will not only remember my face but also become accustomed to it immediately to know who I am and what that means. You may refer to me as..." With her sentence trailing off, her heterochromatic black-and-white eyes would remain still all too striking, the white one seeming to have a certain peculiarity to it. One would think it to have sparkled as the camera panned out from her face to the fullness of her attire, all intricately woven into web-like patterns throughout the lace. She was clearly blonde with very curly elegant drill-like pigtails, though her face seemed pale and ghastly, nearly ghost white. With the length of her form fully upon the screen for everyone to see, she glared at them with piercing eyes filled with pure dominion, which she hoped would give them security over the situation in her composure.


She paused, letting her words and the fullness of her figure settle gently on the heads of all the Dusk Citizens, ensuring that it was made very much public to the masses. For, immediately after that, the screen would return to her face, looking completely stale and unfazed by anything at all, still glaring down intensely at everything below her, and she would continue on with her report as if nothing happened, hoping to still have everyone's undivided attention before she proceeded on with actually answering anything that concerned matters after.

The crowd that had gathered in the streets of the city were looking up to the screens all about, paying very close attention to the figure that appeared before them, affixed acutely to her eyes that seemed to nearly be glaring at them. Some of them sensed a bit of intimidation from her, yet it kept them focused and attentive and didn't escalate to the point of them wanting to become in full terror of this woman and her demeanor. After seeing her full appearance, some figured her regal, and her history seemed to match up from what she was saying. They started to question what type of person she was personally, and the curiosity of the Dusk Citizens about Shinritha Tensei were piqued. Knowing already the standardized requirements for referring to a figure of political power, especially a Queen, they knew to call her by the title she insisted upon being addressed by and not by her name.

"Um... No?" someone in the crowd said, before the rest of them muttered pretty much in unanimous agreement. "Can we move on to the actual questions!?" someone else, who had suddenly become emboldened by the first crier, would shout out after. "Yeah! I want to know what's going on!!" the next one cried after realizing it was okay to shout out of turn and not get repercussions for it. "YEAH!!" a group of them agreed, the rioting spirit suddenly spreading like a wildfire. Eventually, the city was in an uproar again, and if it weren't settled, it seemed like the people could, at any moment, begin to riot or cause havoc in the streets of the Dusk.

"Good. Now..." Shinritha closed her eyes and gathered her thoughts, ensuring to keep a composed and of clear mind when instructing a large crowd in a serious matter. Their impatience was irritating, since it was clear that she wasn't going to forget to answer their own questions. "Be Patient," she immediately commanded, her eyes flashing open with a sharp, white glint, "All will be answered if you allow me to continue without any interruptions." There was no reason for them to talk out of turn, she knew, because of what she knew she was doing to get things accomplished. They, however, probably in their mistrust, would think they needed to be hasty and shout out whatever they needed or wanted to say immediately rather than thinking that Shinritha would pause, like she had done before, and come back to them to ask them if they had any further questions. It was that sort of impatience and mistrust in people that further bred their ignorance and blindness, and honestly, she did not enjoy seeing it in the people. Thinking ahead, she already had plans in mind to correct that, as she figured that would be an issue with the people of this city from their conduct in the Dusk Security Force HQ. Their actions and reactions show a lot about who and what they are as a group, as well as how advanced they are in their reasoning... among other things.

When the crowd became calm, she would continue. "I will be also hosting or establishing numerous important and recreational events throughout the city of my own accord, which are to promote activity, tourism and keep a sense of spirit and morale in the citizens to keep you all from being depressed, frustrated with or bored by the pressures of everyday life and routine." Shinritha hoped that this would give them enough things to do around the city where, at any given time, they can attend some event that would break their mundane routine and bring them excitement or a sense of newness and refreshment whenever they needed before they returned to their individual cycles. "But now that I have fully explained to you my purpose and role in this entire ordeal, many of your questions should be able to be answered more clearly and to your liking, which is why I pulled that one out of turn." She glared at them, her eyes wavering, nearly cutting, yet still remaining focused and restrained, as not to scare them. If only they were aware just how much damage impatience and mistrust actually did. She'd have to earn their patience and trust, however, and that was something Shinritha certainly came prepared for from the get-go.

"To recap; your questions will be answered in an order based on necessity and quantity, so whatever is most important and has had the most people's concern will be dealt with first. They have also been organized to be answered in a manner that connects with all events surrounding them, like a web, so that you get the full spectrum of the connections immediately without me having to jump around and you get lost or forget something from such disorder. They are also chronologically placed to guide you through how they happened and what to do about them, as well as to show you the progressive decline into calamity in a clear-cut manner that you will be able to understand, as to avoid incurring again. This is how your questions are ordered to be answered." Upon the screens, each of the questions, all listed in order and categorized by priority, would appear on the screen for the entire city to see.






With a brief summary of the organization of the questions left upon the screen for a fullness of ten minutes, accompanied by some soothing music to keep them in a state of rest and calmness and not to get impatient further, Queen Archdeath's face would appear upon the screen again, still just as pale and strict as before, as if she hadn't broken that expression for the entirety of that timeframe.

The Dusk Citizens seemed at first to be rather skeptical of this rather young looking woman and her methods, though as she spoke, it was clear that she was a very intelligent woman with many things thought through beyond what the people were thinking at the time, which gave them more of a reason to want to listen to her and seek her guidance rather than go off on their own and do as they pleased without paying attention to the service announcement. With time to review the format of the broadcast on the screen, it gave them a sense of security in knowing what was going to happen and how it was going to happen, as well as in what order. Knowing these things eases people into believing things are alright by still maintaining some sort of order that is happening parallel to the chaos and not because of or with the chaos. Therefore, their attention was locked on her gaze.

"Um. Yes, Queen... Archdeath?" some people called out, not really sure of how to address her or even if they should. Yet, like before, simply because someone else did it first, the next of the Brave Ones would be inspired by the First and end up saying "Yeah, I get that. That makes sense." And so, the spark ignited again throughout the crowd, and a slight roar of harmonious agreement would flow over them. Some even seemed excited about what sort of events this rather eccentric woman would be planning for them. Nevertheless, unless Queen Archdeath asked them a question, the Dusk Citizens seemed like they would be pretty attentive to everything, fixed especially on her mismatched colored eyes...

"Good. Then we'll be moving on to the first order of business concerning National Security." As Queen Archdeath read the questions, they and their responses would appear on the screen individually for each person to read whilst she spoke them aloud.



By the time the full explanation had been given for the first segment, a relatively large chunk of time had passed. Realizing this, Queen Archdeath cut the broadcast off after she was done with the beginning portion, saying, "We will have a brief 20 minute intermission so that you may situate yourselves as you may. We will return shortly with the next segment, and another intermission after that." At that moment, commercials would play for 20 minutes straight, simply to advertise places around the dusk the citizens could quickly get to without going home in order to remain in the city limits

The very second the 20 minutes were up, Queen Archdeath's face appeared on screen again, just the same as it had been before signing off before; stern and stale. "Thank you. We will now be continuing with the broadcast as scheduled with the second segment concerning the State of the City." Like before, as Queen Archdeath read the questions, they and their responses would appear on the screen individually for each person to read whilst she spoke them aloud.


Just as before, when Queen Archdeath stopped the address, she would call for the 20 minute intermission so that the crowd did not get restless or have too much loose and nervous energy building up by being in the same place and not being allowed to move freely to burn it off. Releasing them from restraints such as stress and anxiety systematically based on their patterns of such would be useful in keeping the city peaceful and relaxing, even in a working environment, which the Queen seemed to already be taking note of. Her ivory eye shimmered, yet retained its sharp focus on everything going on. The screen cut to commercials for 20 minutes, once again, after that.

When the allotted 20 minute break was done, once again, the face of their Queen would appear again on the screen rather abruptly, still remaining as still and stiff as it had been for the entirety of the air time. "This is the final segment of this address, and afterwards, you will be introduced to the Dusk Security Force and their members and given instructions on what the main goal of the city is, then be let off on your way to pursue it in your own manners." She closed her eyes and cleared her throat, cracking only the slightest smirk hidden by her fist covering her mouth as she did. "But there will be more on that later. Concerning The Political Official..." She went on, already knowing the entirety of what was necessary for the previously mentioned plans came from this Major Event, "I will address your questions about the position, its rank and what comes with it after answering the following:"


With that, Queen Archdeath's breaking news update had come to an end with each of the Dusk Citizens' most major questions answered and recorded just in case it was necessary to play them back or upload them to a place of convenience to them for easy access. This would ensure everyone was in the know, even if they missed the initial report. "To conclude this broadcast, I will be turning the floor over to the head of the DSF, the leader of the Phantoms; Chroma, the Cheshire Cat, as well as her crew." With Chroma on call, she and the DSF should have been mobilized to enter the streets. "Phantoms, reveal yourselves to the people and assist them." With the Phantoms on the streets to help keep people orderly, everyone would know what they looked like, what they did and that they were a political law-enforcing group that the Dusk Citizens should be wary of. "The Dusk Security Force will assist you shortly with anything else that you may need from this point. If there are no questions, please follow the instruction of Chroma, the head of the DSF, who will be guiding you on the next steps after I sign off. Direct all of your attention and concerns to her once she appears."  That said, Queen Archdeath would completely wrap up the broadcast, ending with "This concludes your breaking news update. Thank You." The screens would suddenly return to their regularly scheduled programs.

The spiritual shockwave from each of the canine spirits touching down on the physical plane all at once washed over the Dusk in a cool, brisk breeze that rustled whatever trees may have been erect in the city at the time. The spirits seemed to be just as numerous as the Phantoms, and to each Phantom, more or less, there was at least one spirit. They would stand side by side, looking at the crowd in a quasi-corporeal form to show their true nature as a spirit, even though they were taking on a physical form to allow themselves to be seen. The still living members of the Beast Unit were already shifted to their lupine forms, and thus stood in the streets as relatively abnormally large wolves. They all did nothing but remain at their posts and close to the Phantoms, as they had been instructed prior, just in case the crowd wasn't accepting of what they had seen outright. The Phantoms as their allies would serve as quick cover for them in case things got rowdy.

The citizens remained calm, but confused during the last portion of the speech, wondering what could be meant by 'shift'. Many of them were no longer accustomed to abnormalities existing around them because of their highly focused, scheduled lives that disallowed time for abnormalities to manifest themselves as frequently, if ever. Therefore, even seeing some sort of spontaneous alteration from man into beast right before their very eyes was quite stunning to them, especially those that were up close. There were many gasps and a great deal of shock, which caused a bit of riff-raff in the streets. What was even more, they also could not tell between each of them if there were anymore that could shift and just weren't telling about it. This brought slight suspicion to everyone in the crowd about their neighbor, and there would be a bit of mistrust among some people. It did not bring about a large disturbance, but it left them all rather isolated.

It wasn't until the spirits were called down from thin air that people really became short of breath, women clinging to their children in a reflexive fright, men covering them slightly. There was a great chill throughout the city; a fear that kept them all in a state of paralysis. Many didn't even believe ghosts existed, and yet when exposed to a legion of them that was going to serve as their police force, they would be forced to see before their eyes something that couldn't possibly exist to them. Those that did believe, however, were able to withstand seeing it a little more without becoming terrified, but it was still a very eerie experience all around. Almost unsettling. Many didn't know how they felt about the Phantoms nor the Beastkin, but figured that, as an individual, one had no choice in the matter. Each of them contemplated their lives deeply after seeing something strange like this. One thing was for absolute certain; they had no idea what to do about this and barely knew how to feel or even how to take all of this in all at once. They were like fresh infants to these sorts of things; many having lost or forgotten their memories of anything they'd seen in the Dusk of olde, if anything at all. They had no clue how to handle a supernatural situation in the slightest, and since there was nowhere that they could run to or cause a panic with each of them spread about the crowd in the streets, the entire crowd looked up to the screen to the commander of the Dusk Security Force and gazed with a fearful anticipation of what was going to happen and what they needed to do in order to handle it properly. They were no more than lost sheep searching for a shepherd.

The Dusk Citizens remained generally flabbergasted even as Chroma spoke, but were completely attentive due to their unknowing of anything else to do at the present. There was literally nothing to distract their minds from listening to her carefully and completely, since they hadn't fallen into hysteria, yet also didn't have any idea what to do. It was clear that they had at least some sort of trust for Chroma and the DSF, despite how begrudging it seemed to be. There was not much option in the matter, anyway, especially not from each of their individual perspectives. What could a single person do, and why would they, at this point, anyway? Unanimously, they decided as individuals that it was best to just let things happen as they may and file their concerns later with the DSF. Whomever wished to take an escort would do so, yet anyone who was not comfortable with this would simply be on their way back to whatever destination was suitable for them at the time. Eventually, the city would be cleared out and normalized to its proper regulated flow of people.

As the crowd disbanded in the said regions of Dusk City. The young woman made her way to the base of the clock tower. Her presence brought the crowd to stop moving. Her long flowing strawberry hair danced with every step she took. Her skin a perfect mocha brown that glistened in the rays of the sunlight. She wore a skin tight jumpsuit, with white and gold trim, best fit for space travel. Her lush hazel eyes would intrap anyone who gazed at her beauty. She was the savior of the people sometime ago. She would stand and listen to the women who proclaimed to be the new leaders of the Dusk. She couldn't care less though it was a great time for this briefing.

When she was at the front of the crowd who would still have their whispers, she wouldn't say anything she just looked at Chroma. Her celestial wavelength could be felt like that of a coming strom. She would ascend to meet Chroma, to let her know she had awaken from her slumber. "Hello, Cheshire.. I have finally awoken from the Distortion's of the Dusk. And this is what I have to say."

The woman then turned to the crowd below her. "Citizens of the Dusk... Many of you may not know who I am. I will tell you.. In my eons I have watched over you. I have been asleep for far to long... And now we are here. Upon the rise of the new moon I have be released from my slumber placed by none other than the great Shinrona. I am the Sky Goddess, Rhien Skylar, The Skies Tear. "

Surely she made the crowd gather once again. Hopefully she was seen by all.