Born to Die in Berlin [DE, R, Hard]

[Hadrian J. Ryan Ⅻ]

Name: Born to Die in Berlin

Participants: Anyone

Location: Berlin

Difficulty Level: Hard (technically Extreme, but I can’t set that threat level anymore. )

Setting: DE

Plotline:

It all began at the Berghain. The night where over a thousand of the clientele of Germany’s most prestigious nightclub just disappeared. There was a cursory investigation, both by the spiritual world and the world of the living, into the mystery - however all efforts to investigate were successfully repelled. And then, over time, the tragedy was simply forgotten. The Berghain became something akin to a local oddity. Tourists would look at it from a distance, the tragedy distant enough now that it could be theorised about. Conspiracy theories bloomed and wilted like the flowers left at the fences in tribute to those who had been lost.

Of course, the Spiritual Worlds were not so lax in their investigations. Many teams would enter the nightclub, trying to discover the source of the disturbance, but few returned. The ones that did were in no condition to go again. Even their debriefings were jarring and inconsistent. It was impossible to get any read on the place. Compounding this problem was the lack of communication between the various factions involved. Rarely did they communicate to one another about what they were doing. Xcution in particular has been incredibly reserved about matters regarding the location, leading many to suspect that they had a hand - either willingly or through negligence - in what happened 2 years ago.

However, just two days ago, the spiritual worlds were sent into utter disarray. Berlin completely blacked out, the entire city and some of the surrounding countryside becoming a complete blank spot to all of those monitoring the world of the living. Attempts to contact those already within the city boundaries were futile, as were attempts to probe the area remotely. An entire European city had been wiped off the map, as far as the monitors were concerned. And now, you have been sent by your various factions to investigate. To probe deep into the heart of the city, and discover what happened to Germany’s capital city, and whether it relates to the incident two years ago.

Estimated Enemy Strength: Enemies suitable for Class 2+ characters.

Estimated Time Until Completion: Hopefully we can get the majority of it done over the summer.

Starts: When there are 4 participants.

[Ludwig Verrlicht]

I’d like to have Ludwig join in this.

[✠Asmoskon Masurao✠]

Asmoskon is on the case!

[Zeich Yajuu]

I'm game to send Zeich in for this, if you're good with it.

[Kazura Uzaki]

Kazura would love to join in as well

[Hadrian J. Ryan Ⅻ]

Apologies for the delay!

The approach to Berlin was by far the strangest journey that any of those sent to investigate had ever been on. Gone were the luxuries of fast travel, that could have been so easily provided to them before by their various affiliated organisations. The Shinigami could not produce Senkaimon, any attempts to move into the space through the use of spiritual technology had also failed, thwarting the attempts of those who investigated with their own power. It was therefore necessary to use the ‘old ways’: plane, train or automobile. It was deemed to safe to appear 20km from the edge of the Berlin city borders, and so it would be from there that the explorers would begin their travels.

The approach to the city would not yield much in the way of useful information, however. As they approached the city, there did not seem to be any obvious physical disturbance - certainly not on the scale that was suggested by the spiritual blackout. What would be unsettling was the distinct lack of ‘spiritual background’ from the direction of Berlin. For those who spent most of their time in the World of the Living, it may have been the first time they had encountered such a feeling - a complete absence of spiritual presence, with zero contribution from any obvious spiritual beings. Normally a city like Berlin would be thrumming with a low level of energy, simply from the number of spiritual beings that resided there.

The Shinigami investigating, however, would have felt a similar feeling before. If they had ever been near the prison towers in the Seireitei, the distinct absence of spiritual background would be very familiar. The prison towers employed Sekki Sekki as the perfect defences against spiritual assault - a material that is entirely resistant to Reiatsu and Reishi. But to encase this entire city in that material should be unfeasible. The Seireitei was the largest producer of it in all the Worlds, and even in the World of the Living only an extremely limited number of people/organisations had access to a small amount. To replicate the effect of the material around an entire city was a feat that by all metrics should be impossible.

As these spiritual beings approached, however, another effect of this mysterious cloaking was made manifest. At first, a small tingling emerged - not on the skin, as one would normally expect, but rather what felt like the centre of their bones. It was as if the marrow of their bones itself was shaking in anticipation of what was to come. The effect would only grow in magnitude as they approached the city limits, slowly becoming what was definitely more of an ‘ache’ than simple ‘stimulation’. Eventually, as they began to reach the outer reaches of the furthest suburbs, the pain was starting to become distracting - a small burning sensation in the core of their beings, as if their bones were heating up and cooking them from the inside out.

The effect was obviously not ignorable. However, any attempts to probe deeper into the city would be problematic. But could they really hope to find a solution in the suburbs? Where would they even begin to look?

Feel free to travel into the city with other participants, based on organisation affiliation