Code-O; Euphoria For A Champion

The spunky lowest Restriction of Triere's Thirteen Restrictions had been on her own for quite a time in the Delta, doing whatever she liked under her own protection both as the Ruler and also the Crystal Goddess. She lived a charmed life, despite not being recognizable to anyone that didn't actually know her Thirteen Restrictions. The only thing that was known was that she was related to the Royal Family somehow, but it was believed to be that she was just a regular Tensei, like the rest of the generic race of beings that spawned from the Royal Family. Plenty of them wanted the acclamations of being part of the Royal Family, but they were sadly only distant relatives.

Tsukimiko, this Zeroth Restriction version of Triere, found herself before a relic of a place that still kept its nostalgic charm, despite the owner not running the place. It seemed to run itself, and was also kept up by the Delta, for whatever reason. Tsukiko seemed to know why on an intrinsic level, and looking at the place stirred up feelings within her. "... Man... Koudo's old place, huh...?" Tempted to walk inside, Tsukiko turned around suddenly when she finally realized what was going on behind her all around in the Delta, being the last of Triere's Thirteen Restrictions to be informed. Things started to make sense to her, and she was able to connect things together which allowed her to understand the plans of her higher selves. "Code... O...?" Tsukimiko uttered to herself, the temporal waves and major distortions flowing into her.

"... Ngh..." The great and overwhelming power of her upper Restrictions was now hitting her, almost like she was the intended target the entire time. All of them were connected now, and through the information that was being poured into her at such voluminous amounts, she was able to see the power of the 'Code-O' protocol that was invented by Cleff and stored within the Tabrynth as it was released for The Assault -- one of Cleff's greatest creations.

Now Tsukimiko had more of Triere's memories with Koudo when she was still Priere, and so the building as well as the actual protocol named 'Code-O' made sense, and also why she was gathered to this location unknowingly. The Code-O protocol was also used during his first return to the Veritas from beyond, and had also absorbed the temporal energy which came from that phenomenon, and could be utilized again in different instances afterward, which was why it was being attracted to his establishment in the Veritas. It was a beacon, and Tsukiko was the X that marked the spot.

It was then that she realized what this was about between her higher self and Koudo, and she felt warmly in her heart.

However, her face was all but overjoyed to come to this conclusion, and in fact seemed a bit reluctant to come to accept it. The overwhelming surging of energy continued to bombard Tsukimiko with the higher powers, until her hair started to glow a glittering ultraviolet color, as opposed to its normal brown coloration. "... Goddamn, what the hell is going on now?!" Tsukimiko was the most ignorant of Triere's Restrictions, since she was the lowest, and also technically disconnected from them.  So she only knew very basic things about her connection to the Tensei Family, and the higher knowledge was withheld within her higher Restrictions.

Now, however, she felt through each strand of her newly changing ultraviolet hair the link to each string of information that belonged to her higher Restrictions, and it was growing unstable how much she was being exposed to all at once.

The changes being undergone by Tsukimiko caused her to be able to draw in information from afar with her ultraviolet colored glittering hair. The latent psychic power that was within every Tensei of the Royal Family awakened with her once her mind was overloaded with information, forcing the awakening of the psychic power in order to cushion the impact. Her sparkling hair hovered in midair weightlessly, each strand seeming independent.

'What's going on...?' Tsukiko wondered, hearing and seeing so many things that also made sense to her, but were coming in too quickly for her to process completely. She remained in place where she was, standing before the doors of Euphoria, Koudo's 'Chillout Spot'.

Sooner or later, the shared thoughts among all of Triere's different Restrictions unified in synchronicity with establishment of Sapphiere, whose hair was capable of picking up on the independent thoughts in each of them simultaneously. Triere, who had command right now, was able to speak directly to Sapphiere as she was generated from Tsukimiko's ascension. "... Your Name Is... Saphira..." Sapphiere was given this name upon conception, but it was ultimately her own duty to untangle the mass of thoughts between herself and her other Restrictions. She would still be fed all of the necessary information, but it would come to her in whatever fashion, and not based on her level of comprehension at any given time.

She may not have understood why she would see these visions all of the time and also know how they all connected, but the information revealed itself to her gradually the more it pieced itself together randomly. Now, it may have seemed as though she had no control over the random thoughts sorting themselves out, but if she concentrated, the path of randomness would become clarity unto her vision, and she could traverse all of the random information connecting in different ways and only go for what was relevant whilst never losing the information shared between them all.

And, of course, the higher Restrictions could communicate with the two lowest ones much more easily this way. "Go Inside, Saphira, And Let Your Thoughts Settle. Once You Can Think More Stably, The Information Will Become Clear To You." The voice of Triere was recognizable amongst all of the other Restrictions, since she was the Original, making for Sapphiere to be fully comprehensive and knowledgeable up to a point. The thoughts may have been overwhelming enough to cause her to stumble, but she would be able to make her way inside and to a seat to let the thoughts settle.

Data in transitional space between Saphira and the other Restrictions came to her sporadically, manifesting her signature bow atop her head out of psionic energy transfered from the other Restrictions, making Saphira more like Triere. The bow itself seemed receptive, and once upon her head, also seemed to regulate the information from Triere -- something like a steeple. '... Inside...?' she thought, not having spoken once since her hair changed. Her body was weightless, and her movements fluidly shifted through dimensional boundaries, such as time and space, light and darkness, and things of other such natures. She could see bits and pieces of her history coupled with the future, and her own stabilization where she was presently became somewhat disjointed.

Like most First Restriction Tensei, Saphira bore an assortment of purple-colored themed accessories, such as the color of her hair and attire, or even energy used. Her dress remained the same, but was now in some sort of stasis between all of the other styles of attire that the Triere Restrictions maintained for themselves, almost like it couldn't decide. Once inside, she didn't understand how she got there, nor where she was now. Nothing formulated around her when she sat, as if space and time hadn't yet caught up, or if they never finished. Yet, when she tried to focus on something, there it would be, only this time, instead of someone else behind the bar, Saphira could see the one whom this place was made for. '...Is this energy from... The Code-O...? Or is that really...?'

For the life of her, she couldn't tell why he seemed so familiar, or like she knew him, even though she already clearly proved that she definitely certainly knew who he was only moments before. Yet, she'd also never before been informed about the 'Code-O', but somehow knew so much about it. The entire confusin scenario had her impaired for a while, almost like she'd gotten blackout drunk. It didn't help that she was in a place such as this...

The timelines between Triere and Koudo played out cinematically before Saphira in all manners; they appeared in reality, as projections on screens, as images in her mind, and in various other ways, such as on the very fabric of reality. Time was in constant flux, and a growing sensation of responsibility rested on Saphira. Her role to play amongst herself would become clearer, yet not much clarity about herself could be established... As if it didn't exist, and all that existed of her came from her higher Restrictions; like the higher beings shaped the lower beings rather than the lower beings shaping the higher, as it was with the original creation.

For whatever reason, Saphira could not stop seeing these timelines. This was likely due to the temporal fluctuations that were coming from the Veritas, but a large portion of them seemed related to Koudo. It felt like an eternity of waiting was summed up in all but a few seconds, and all of that waiting amounted to nothing. She felt heartbroken, though she never experienced anything with this person before, and actually had no relation to him herself personally, and all of her relationship came secondhand. '... I guess it was just foolish of me to think that he'd come back...' Saphira thought, though as if she was thinking someone else's thoughts, and not her own.

Her eyes glowed a faint ultraviolet color, glittering intensely, yet coming to a focal point near her pupil. '... This is where the 'Code-O' algorithm ends. I suppose it is supposed to be like a 'Bat Signal' in addition to its primary functions...' The strange phenomena that were going on all over the Delta had energy which overlapped here, at Euphoria. Saphira's vision became less fractured among different planes and started aligning in rhythm with the glittering that went on in her eyes. '... Something's happening...' Whatever was going on with her eyes, she felt it in her brain, and it seemed to also be happening all around her. Saphira raised herself up from a slumped seated position, following her own sight as it started aligning.

The aligning sight that occurred with Saphira was not just a mental image, but also actual thought happening, neurons connecting. With her, however, it amplified her psychic power, allowing her to use her 'Psychodynatheos'. Purple electricity would surge throughout her mind as it charged up, the glittering flashes in her eyes becoming more rapid in their flickering...

The next thoughts on Saphira's mind would link up perfectly, and a bolt of purple mental lightning would shoot out of her, causing her to proverbially 'strike' the point she thought of, giving her power to do a variety of things using her thoughts. The name of this ability, 'Psightning', would be implanted into her the very moment she figured out what the ability did, as if she came up with the name herself right on the spot.

Saphira continued stumbling in the directions that her vision led her, as well as what made sense, until eventually things made complete sense to her, and her eyes flashed, releasing the psychoactive stimulant energy. The energy was capable of causing the mind to maximize its potential, which resulted in greater thoughts, and likely any latent psychoactive powers. This would cause others to have to think more critically when exposed to it, something like when dealing with Khrona, but the main effect was first on the one who was using this energy, boosting their own power first.

The 'Psightning' hit the point of time that was at the end of this particular timeframe, where the opening to the Veritas would close off, bringing an end to the Code-O algorithm. Saphira could see where this point in time was, and so began moving toward it, because that was also a point that he could potentially be if he wanted to see her again, as well as anywhere in between. For some reason, Saphira searched for him, led only by her visions and the mental stimulation of her 'Psightning'.

Sooner or later, Triere answered Saphira about what was happening. "That Is The Point Where All Of The Energy Runs Out," she explained to Saphira, who was now moving toward that position, "And Also Where You Fit In To Cause It To Happen." The nature of Saphira so far was paradoxical, as was to be expected from a being like her. "That Is Where This Will End And We Will Pick You Up." Triere remained unspecific, but Saphira should have been able to understand after a time. "Don't Forget About Blue," Triere warned before leaving Saphira to wander through the 'Lost Time' on her own.

With the concept so vague and naturally paradoxical, it would take a bit more effort to understand than something that wasn't contradictory by nature, such as a Tsundere. Her ultraviolet hair wriggled around in the air, sensing for all sorts of wavelengths on their own and ionizing as Psightning and striking whatever wavelength it was. As much as she had no sense of self, she still knew that this was important for knowing and understanding herself, because her mind was still knowing to all of these things that happened with Triere.

She thought long and hard about what she saw between herself and Koudo, and though thinking objectively, did notice that the relationship was deeper than it seemed on the surface. Perhaps this is what Triere was trying to emphasize, just to see if that bond had any meaning anymore. Saphira didn't know where this was all going, but it was starting to make sense that some form of reaching out to Koudo himself through the Code-O was intended from the very beginning.

Some strange entities began to manifest near Saphira, each one bearing qualities of a human, an angel, and a demon in one. They came in much variety, but that theme seemed to be common among them all. From their nature, it seemed like they fit the depiction of what only the Veritas knew as 'Insangels', of which there was originally only one of -- Triere. As the First and Oriignal Insangel, she pioneered the race, but it seemed like that just like with the Tensei heritage that she had, which was God blood, it spawned a race in her likeness known by her original title as 'Insangel'. Granted, in the dimension she came from, there were other Insangels, but they still came after her conception, and she was still the original, making her their origin. These offspring were just others like them, and they were returning to their mother from beyond because of all of the fluctuating energy about.

The more that gathered, the more of them started filling up Euphoria.

Saphira seemed not to notice the beings that were around her as she stumbled about the loose environment. She walked up the stairs to the next floor, but nothing seemed to be stable about the interior anymore. It was all rather ambiguous, and growing more so as she walked up the stairway.

She touched her head, clearly still struggling, and ran her hands through her hair. Still, Saphira hadn't spoken a word since the transformation, but didn't seem to notice it at all yet. Her thoughts were so loud, they seemed like actual verbal communication, and the fact that there was so much going on, her mouth moved and didn't vocalize her thoughts. Sooner or later, Saphira had to notice the creatures suddenly appearing here, but she honestly thought they were part of a delusion. '... The hell are these things...?' she wondered, falling to a wall for stability so that she could look around and inspect them.

The Insangels that were filling and occupying Euphoria now each had something unique about them, but as of right at this moment, they common ground was their relation to Triere, who is the First Insangel. As Triere's First Restriction, Saphira also had a connection to the Insangels, but with all of the energy concentrated into one place, it gave them an opening to make a move from where they were and into the Veritas -- where she lived. They wouldn't speak to her, but they would all seem to be relatively subservient to Saphira, even as they inhabited the location.

From them, she would be able to see her own days as an Insangel, as Triere, with Signis and Blue -- her angel and demon. Now, rather than seeing only the timeline of Triere and Koudo and all of those possibilities, she was able to see herself and all of the relations with herself through each of the Insangel offspring which came from the dimension that she was placed in.

As Saphira walked on, Euphoria continued to shift into a similar, yet still completely different place, and would still do so the farther she got up the stairs. '... Ngh... What in the...?' Obviously still disoriented throughout the entire process, -- especially due to her crippling psychic power, which was common for a Tensei coming into their First Restriction for the first time -- Saphira could barely tell the difference between the fact that she was transitioning between two different atmospheres within the same establishment. It didn't seem to matter to her as she progressed, but was only noticed as a progressive change, which didn't make sense... But she was too focused on what she saw at the end of her Psightning.

'... Is that where... I need to go...? To see...?' Information came to her randomly, but it made sense to her slowly; as slowly as the change of scenery from the bar to some pretty subtly luxurious rooms that seemed fit for only people who were rich and wanted to keep a low profile. She didn't understand why that change was happening, nor why the bar actually had that many floors, given a bare was typically only one or two stories, tops. This place... Was more like a tower, and it seemed like part of the design for something larger.

'... This doesn't feel like the same place...' she finally noted, the changes being far too drastic to be left unnoticed. 'There are too many floors here... Like people actually live here, or...' Other things came to mind, but she still ended up going up the stairs, as if seeking the top blindly. '... Maybe...' she thought, eyes squinting, as if she was looking for something, feeling her way up the stairs, despite it being clear that this was no ordinary bar with ordinary space within it. It was connected to another building, and the space in between it seemed to bind them, despite both locations existing in two different places.

Things were starting to make sense, but she couldn't tell why they aligned so perfectly... Nor why she felt compelled to reach out at all, traversing these stairs...

All the while, the Insangels followed Saphira, despite her obvious transition through a spaciotemporal flux that bound two spacetimes together in an anomalous fashion. They appeared everywhere in the new location as well, almost like they were the locals that came by naturally, but also like they were the ones that also worked there, running the facility for someone. They didn't seem inept at whatever they did, and were actually rather structured and organized, though still wild and free, not seeming to be bound by any true servitude. One could wonder why they would even choose to do such a service at all, let alone also be a cause of revenue, but all of it seemed connected to Saphira, and Triere through her.

The once barren area seemed to suddenly become noisy to Saphira, but she couldn't quite understand why that was. It was like something around her changed without her knowledge, and she was only just picking up on the shift, which was slightly overwhelming to her. She heard the Insangels doing what they would about the establishment, which now sounded to be much larger than it was previously -- like a stadium. It was then very much solidified that she was not in the same location, but the locations were bound by a spacetime continuum one could traverse. '... He was always dabbling in such powers after he got bored with technology...' thought Saphira with familiarity, as if she actually recalled when the person she reminisced about awakening his latent power. She smiled slightly, pressing on up the stairs as the noise got louder, and the people more numerous.

Despite Saphira's focus on Koudo, she still saw what happened with Triere and Signis and Blue, explicitly through each of their eyes as it happened. The split vision should have further been disorienting, but it was all still completely informative to her so that she further understood herself, and also the Insangel offspring.

'Ngah!!' Saphira shrieked in her mind as she saw Triere, Signis, and Blue's memories from before they were united an after. There were many dark spots and gray areas in their histories that they kept from each other, but Blue and Signis knew each other from before Triere's birth. Saphira was now crippled by the disorienting visions, having fallen to her knees, but she was also very close to the top of the building -- the place that was supposedly designated to be the end of the Code-O protocol. She wanted to continue, but the memories impeded her, detracting her mind from being able to focus on one function, including just moving. It was clear that her mind was too strong for her body right now, and she simply had to let the two of them adjust to each other before she could move again.

During that time, Saphira saw more of the first Insangel, Triere, her higher Restriction. She was also reminded of what Triere spoke to her earlier, about not forgetting Blue. 'B...lue...?' Something about Blue stuck with Saphira. '... Isn't that... My name...?' Though she knew her name to be Saphira, somehow, that name triggered memories of the same name belonging to the demon known as Blue. Saphira stopped looking into Triere and Signis and instead delved into the shaded past of Blue.

That's when it all came back to her -- the secrets within Blue kept from Triere.

Blue's true name was Saphira, and she was the ruler of her people, who had blue affinities. They opposed the Reds, which Signis was the original leader of. The entire war flooded her mind, including the point where both Signis and Blue -- who was Saphira's alias -- inhabited Triere's baby body. The timeline of memories stretched out even unto the conclusion of that war however long later, when Triere and Koudo went to Blue's world and found out about it, and Koudo fought alongside her people. That memory weighed heavily on Saphira, who now recognized that she was the very same Blue that was part of Triere as an Insangel. "Kou...do..." Saphira finally muttered verbally, that being the first actual word she'd spoken.

Instantly, the Psightning reacted, Saphira transforming into a purple bolt of psionic lightning, shooting through the final floors of the building and up to the top. The Psightning burst, releasing Saphira, who stood then before a sign that read 'Champion'. "... This is... Your other place..." Saphira uttered, looking forlornly upon the sign of Champion, which was located in the Lawless Land of Valparaiso -- a place Koudo favored quite a bit. "... They're still here... For you..." she went on to say, turning around to look over the City Of Ruin, Valhalla, Central City Of Valparaiso. "... And so am I... Koudo..."

Saphira stood there, watching. The Code-O sequence was about to be finalized, as she'd made it to the top of Champion, and the Insangels were manning the two locations now specifically for upkeep. However, she still waited.

Even as Saphira learned about who she was, the Insangels did not stop showing her things. Now, she would see things about who they were rather than who she was, since there was no point in that any longer, due to her understanding her true self now. Her Psightning was allowing her to do this, but the Insangels were the ones directing it, since they could see her control with it was not great yet. They picked up the slack for her, working her power inversely so that they directed her thoughts, rather than she doing it herself.

'... It's us, Priere...' said several voices, '... Your spawn...' She would see the Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Insangels, who, in such order, became the next Insangels to exist after Triere did. Their origins were different, but they became related through the connective bond of their being Insangels. Even if they weren't of the same blood, they were of the same species, and Triere was the first of their kind, which made her the de facto progenitor. That was why the Second through Sixth returned to her, bringing also with them more and more offspring that were created all the time that she was gone.

The Second Insangel, whose name was Delfina, swore fealty and servitude to Priere before she went to the parallel dimension belonging to theirs, and before Priere was known as Triere, or that she was actually a Tensei. So she was the one that ended up rounding up the other Insangels in an effort to get them to her, because she witnessed the day Priere was transported from their home dimension to the parallel one that some who lived in theirs actually originated from. She never knew its name, but was sure it existed when the higher ups were talking about coming from there, and when people were drawn back into it. From that day on, she swore an oath that she would find Priere-tan again, and figure out a way to that world.

It may not have worked out that way, but it did end up having the desired result, which was to return to Priere wherever she'd gotten to. Saphira would see the history of Triere with the other sequential Insangels...

... But something broke their focus, as another Insangel down below where the fighting arena was had some urgent news. "You guys! Something huge is coming this way! I think it wants to fight!!" The Insangels, who now also maintained Champion in tandem with Koudo's original hires, -- that were left, anyway -- geared up, seeming to be concerned because of the worry that the one who bore the news had. It was likely that the large creature would not want to back down, and might try to take over the fight club.

It came to pass that the large being which was being spoken of before indeed came to Champion for battle, and as it entered the facility, the doors were blown down, and the creature, whose head was oversized and carried its smaller body through the air, hovered before the readied insangels. 'Greetings,' spake the being, only mentally, 'I am the Titan Coeus, the personification of Intelligence itself as a God. We Titans have been released into your world once again, free to do as we please. My kin have already dominated the rest of these lands, but I have come for this territory...'

Coeus' head overshadowed its body, but the monstrous size made it clear that it was a Titan. 'If you become my slaves, I will let you live. If not, I will defeat you. If I cannot, then my kinsman will come and do so. You cannot hope to defeat us all.'

Saphira felt the powerful mental presence appear even from all the way at the top of Champion, which disturbed her attentiveness to the familiar Insangels to her. Her redirected sudden thoughts shot as a swift bolt of Psightning all the way to the very bottom of Champion, striking down and allowing her 'Remote Viewing' of the entire area. "... The Insangels are in trouble..." Saphira muttered dreamily, still somewhat in a daze. "... I'm sorry, Koudo..." It seemed like time was up. She waited as long as she could.

Rather torn, she had to choose her people over him, especially with the likely probability that he wouldn't come at all. There was no use being stupid and letting that detract from her responsibilities. Triere had never been like that, even after she did share feelings with him. Saphira took off toward the stairs again to make her way to the arena as fast as she could.

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Hikarigami Tempora summoned the power of the 'Zeitgeist', which was known as 'Spirit Of Time'. Not only would this create Zeitgeists, it would allow for Tempora to control the spirits of the other versions of herself and unify them in continuity. She cast forth the Zeitgeists and used the technique of the same name to call upon all of her spirits from each of her different Restrictions and establish a 'Temporal Resonance' between their souls, a great type of 'Soul Resonance' that flowed through time.

Tempora was the Sixth Restriction of Triere's Thirteen Restrictions, and had control over the power of Time. With this active, Triere, who had control over Tempora, could use her power of Time to her advantage to assist her First Restriction self and also to split her from her Zeroth Restriction self, who was known as Tsukimiko. With the anomalous nature of the relationship between Champion and Euphoria, as well as the energy of Koudo, it would be easy to split them up and have one of them existing in the Lawless Land of Valparaiso dealing with Champion and the other in the Delta, dealing with Euphoria.

When Saphira ran, she would immediately go through a temporal jump that shot her toward the very bottom of Champion, where she wanted to be. However, at the same time, the timeline would split, separating Tsukimiko from Saphira and sending them through the bound space between Euphoria and Champion.

Saphira would appear at Champion, and Tsukimiko would appear at Euphoria.

Tsukimiko awoke from what seemed like a dreamy daze standing right outside Euphoria, almost like she never went in. Yet she vividly recalled everything and more, seeming to have been exposed to a great deal of new information. "... Daaaamn..." she said, her knees a little wobbly from how discombobulated she was, "... That was pretty sweet." It didn't seem like she had anything left here to do, but it might have been a nice place to visit every once in a while.

"... I'd better get back to Pandemia... Just because I'm a Tensei doesn't mean that they're going to go easy on me..." Perking up, Tsukiko hop-skipped her way toward the college, picking up a bit of speed along the way. "... In fact... They might even be harsher on me because of my lineage!" That was much worse to consider, which made her expedite her trip back to the school premises.