Tokyo is a city of many things for many people. For some, it's just a big city in Japan. For others, it's an exciting place to imagine, the setting of many different anime series and probably hyped far beyond anything it's supposed to be. For millions, it is home.

Though the city itself is massive, and certainly important in many different ways, those within it are of the greatest importance. And there are some, who don't understand just how important they are, or how important a given day in their lives shall be.

On this particular day, three young men sit in the cafe Ma Maison, within Shibuya 109. To them, it's a day like any other, where they can have fun chatting while they eat. That is, until one of them sees another friend enter.

"Eiji-san!" Marcus stands up to greet his friend, who has just entered the cafe. "What are you doing here?" He's actually speaking in English, as all those who he cares to let in on
the conversation are fluent enough in it as well.

Yuu and Daniel already know the history between Marcus and Eiji. The two went to the same church back in America, before Eiji returned home to Japan and Marcus had decided to follow. Besides that, they mostly know that Eiji's pretty good with machines.

"Same as you, I'd think." Eiji responds. "I was hungry, so I figured I'd come get something to eat. What's up?"

Yuu fixes his hair and his eyelashes flutter about. He clears his throat and speaks, but his English is not all that great. "Not a whole lot on my end, really."

Daniel stretches out a little, chewing on a straw, which he casually pulls out of his mouth before speaking up, twirling it around between his fingers. "Yuu pretty much said it for me, yeah."

"How about you?" Yuu asks.

Marcus shrugs. "You heard 'em. We're just hanging out here."

 Eiji chuckles "I see. Well, you're in luck! I just got finished with one of my new toys. Once we're all done in here, how about you come over to Yoyogi Park and I can show it to you in action?"

"Sounds good to me. How about you two?" Marcus asks his friends.
Yuu and Daniel both have seen some of Eiji's "toys". They're pretty impressive for stuff he puts together just as a hobby, and he could probably patent some of them.  If they were any more impressive, really, it probably wouldn't be legal to show them off in a park.

Yuu tilted his head out of curiosity and fixed the bangs that fell over his eyes. He looked at Eiji and remembered that he had encountered some of the latter's 'creations' before, and wasn't really sure what to make of it. Not that Yuu distrusted the inventor of course, but if it were big enough to be displayed at the park... Yuu nodded after a few moments of thought.
 "Well, I suppose it wouldn't hurt! But I am quite hungry now, so..."

Daniel finishes twirling the straw around, simply holding onto it as he re-adjusts his glasses, as if thinking it over, tapping his fingers against his head for a second... before nodding. "Don't see why not, though, ah... Yeah. Yuu kinda brings up a good point. Neither of us really did get around to gettin' a bite to eat..."

"Well, we can fix that soon anyway. Once our orders get here, we can all eat and head to the park together." Marcus suggests. "I already paid for us three anyway so why don't I treat you too, Eiji?"

Eiji smirks. "Ah, I see my charms have won out again. Sure, why not? And then you won't even have to wait for me long at the park, since I already have the machine in the SUV." The fact that it didn't require the pickup truck to carry it showed that it was probably one of Eiji's tamer inventions... Then again, size wasn't everything either.

Yuu nodded and simply waited patiently, remaining quiet for the meanwhile. He didn't have too much to say at this point in time. He was rather curious about the machine anyway.

Daniel rolled his eyes a little as Eiji smirked, shaking his head a little. "Charms? Riiight... I don't see any stale marshmallows on ya, man." He idly looks over at his straw as he says that, his remark out of the way.

The first three orders arrived soon, and Eiji's not long after. The four talked and laughed amongst themselves, until eventually their meal was finished. Afterwards, the four headed out to Yoyogi Park.
Once there, Eiji opened up his SUV, showing a very odd contraption... It looked like a metal sphere on a square base, but with a sharp point suddenly jutting out at the top. The base was covered with buttons and knobs and general high-tech looking things.
"...You've outdone yourself this time Eiji. What exactly does it do though?"

Eiji just gave one of his signature smirks. "Oh, you'll see~ Though hey, would you mind helping me carry this out to the center of the park? It's kind of heavy."

"...Ah, sure." Yuu eyed the contraption in the SUV, wondering what on earth it did, it looked like some sort of strange globe, but he did not know what it did. Nevertheless, Yuu obliged in helping Eiji carry the damnable thing.

Daniel looked the... peculiar contraption over, glancing at it as if trying to discern what the crisp chocolate-coated hell that thing was, to no avail. "Huh? Right, prolly' a good idea if we all carried it anyways." Daniel then moves over to help Yuu and Eiji in carrying the device.

Marcus helped as well, and the four of them were able to haul it to the center of the park without too much difficulty. With four people, it was easy, though Marcus could see why Eiji hadn't wanted to do it alone.

"Now, all of you stand back... Might not want to be too close when this starts up, it's a little loud."

Eiji spent a few moments tinkering with the machine, while a few of the others in the park stared at him in confusion. None of them had any idea what the odd contraption this young man had just brought here was.

After twenty seconds or so, Eiji backed away, and whirring noises came from the machine. The point at the top extended, while the sphere itself opened up almost like a flower. ...It was especially odd given that there hadn't been any visible seams on the surface before this.
Four poles extended outward, pointing diagonally out to the sky, while the point that had first been visible pointed straight upward. ...Strangely enough, while this happened, the sky seemed to be darkening rapidly. It didn't normally get cloudy this fast...

Without warning, lightning struck all five poles, and electricity arced between them. All looking upon it were stunned, but soon to be moreso as each of the outer poles emitted electricity straight outward, shooting out into the sky.

Only one of these bolts was white, however. Opposite that bolt was one that was black, and the ones adjacent emitted blue and red, respectively. The outer poles rose upward and moved inward, until they had all but fused with the central point as they still emitted their energy...

Now, there was a a single beam that shot upward into the sky, an uncontrolled mess of all four colors that composed it. It was intensifying, and the world itself seemed to be shaking...

"What..." Marcus finally gathered the will to speak. "What the fuck is this, Eiji?!"

"Uh, you didn't tell us that your new invention made THAT." Yuu tilted his head and stepped back, wodnering what the heck was happening. It seemed like some sort of strange phenomena, a weird magic was at work. But did magic really exist? This scene unfurling before him reminded him of those scenes one would see in a high fantasy story, or anime or manga.

Daniel steps back a bit, thrown a tad bit off guard by the sudden display of lightning and all the goings on around them, not really knowing what the fuck as he simply utters one phrase in response. "...What the hell did you just do?"

"...I've done my part." Eiji says simply. As Marcus opens his mouth to ask what that means, everything is consumed by the storm of colors, and the world disappears. ...Nothing will ever be the same anymore.

---

From the void of unconsciousness, into another world entirely. Slowly, Marcus opens his eyes to endless white... All around him, there's nothing else that exists. ...Except, for his two friends. Daniel, and Yuu.

"What's going on here...?" Marcus asks, though there's no one that can answer.

Yuu groans as he slowly comes to, wondering what the hell just happened. "More like, where are we?"

Daniel opens his eyes shortly afterwards, looking around to see the vast expanse of whiteness, and the nonexistence of everyone that isn't Marcus and Yuu. "If I knew, I would've said something already. I'm still just trying to process what the hell just happened there."

Suddenly, shadows appear in the vast expanse, three black silhouettes in stark contrast to the void. A voice... Or perhaps more than one voice, speaks. "It is not where you are, or what has been done, that is important. What is important, is the future you shape for your world..."

"The future we shape? What the heck are you talking about? We- Who are you?!"

Yuu simply stared at the apparitions that suddenly appeared; keeping a wary, watchful eye. "Our world? ...We have so many questions..."

Daniel also keeps his eyes on the apparitions, rather wary of their sudden appearance as well. "Indeed. It'd be nice if we could have even some vague semblance of an idea about what's going on here. Just saying."

"Your questions shall be answered in time, but it is not our place to give those answers. Simply understand that it is your actions which will give order to a world of chaos, and you are to be entrusted with great power in this mission, which you shall use to take yet more from your enemies."

The shadows disappeared, and in their place, were strange masses of energy. One left behind a diamond-shaped blue crystal. Another left behind an amorphous blob of darkness. The third seemed to be burning flames of an unnaturally red hue, which emitted no heat.
"To be part of this world, thou must take aspects of demonkind.  Choose your powers wisely, for they shall become part of your very soul..."

"That's it? You steal us away from our lives and just dump this all on us, not even giving us answers? Who the  fuck do you think you are?!"

No answer.

...Marcus realizes he has no choice but to abide by their terms. Somehow, the blue crystal calls to him, resonating with him... He walks over and grabs it, only to disappear from the sight of his friends, along with the crystal.
The darkness and the flames remain.

 Yuu tilts his head and looks at the two formations of... some sort of substance before him. One is a blob of... darkness, whilst the other appears to be an incredibly hot flame. "Uh..."
 He seems to take more interest in the flames, not really seeing much in... you know, a blob of darkness. He approaches the flames, expecting heat, but there is none.

"Well..."

Daniel glances between the two substances, looking them over, as if thinking for a second... that is, until Yuu takes in the flames. "Heh. Afraid of dark, are ya, Yuu~?" Daniel chuckles a little, before stretching out slightly.

"...You know nothing..."

"Hey, I'm just trying to lighten the mood." Daniel shrugs as he looks over the blob of darkness. "Thanks for making my decision easier, though." He casually approaches the blob, moving in to see if there's anything in it, curious.

As soon as each touches that which he has decided upon, he shall disappear from the world of void. There is a period of transformation, as something unnatural fuses with the soul of each one...  Desires rise up.

Marcus feels the desire for control, to bend the world to his will, and rule as he sees fit with none that would oppose him.

Daniel feels the desire for destruction, to eliminate all obstacles to all his goals, and be beyond what others might think of him.

Yuu feels the desire for freedom, to gain power  that allows him to be unrestrained in all his actions, unfettered and entirely himself, with all that means.

These desires might resonate with what they once were and once wished. Or, they might be a source of turmoil, conflict between human and demon souls, even as the lines between the two blur more and more. However, there is one thing certain.

On every level, they are marked. Physically, emotionally, and spiritually, they are something other than human, in many ways more, and perhaps in some ways less. And it is in this new state of being, that they shall awaken to a new world, familiar and yet alien.

---

They find themselves surrounded by a distorted mockery of Yoyogi Park. The remains of Eiji's machine are exactly where the machine was, just before everything disappeared, and their immediate surroundings can be seen to resemble where the incident had taken place.

Yet, everything else is changed, somehow. Red vines criss-cross on and around everything, the ground, the trees, the decorative architecture... The trees themselves are many different colors, and some no longer appear to be made even of entirely natural materials.

The ground itself has changed as well. Where it had been mostly flat, now there seem to be many small plates at many different levels. Right where they are seems to have not been hit hard by it, but...

Tops of faraway trees can be seen beyond and above the trees that immediately surround them. Unless those suddenly grew, and the closer ones didn't, the level of the ground has changed drastically, and they're effectively at the bottom of a pit.

Marcus shakes his head as he stands up, shaking his head. "Ugh... What is this mess?" After looking at his surroundings, he can't help noticing that he seems to have blue tattoos all over his body, and... Not that much in the way of clothes, anymore.
"Is this because of that power those guys gave us...?"

Yuu wakes up to find most of his clothing shredded and/or possibly completely gone. Covering his partially naked and incredibly girly body, he looks about at his surroundings and shivers. On his left cheek is a pink, stylized cross, and from the bottom spoke it trails down and splits into several pink circuit-like veins which run down his chest and his left arm. Similar circuit veins could be seen on his back too, and it culminated into a similar stylized cross which was also pink. "Why... what... what happened to me?" Yuu wondered out loud.

Daniel gets up soon afterwards, finding that most of his clothing, hat aside have been kinda sorta destroyed or poofed into oblivion. He looks himself over, noticing two things. First off, looking at his right arm, he noticed that his hand has turned black, its' fingers ending in clawed tips as it lets off a dull green glow, while the rest of his arm has circuit-like dark green markings of sorts running up and down it,which seem to terminate at his chest, revealing a stylized 'sun' with four points, with the opposite point leading around to his left arm, which has the same general markings, albeit terminating on the back of his right hand, ending in a stylized 'void' of sorts, which has six 'points' around the presumed 'edges' of the circle it was made of.

"What the hell...?" Daniel says to himself, before moving it to feel around his back, blinking as he feels something that definitely wasn't there. "Just... the hell is all of this?" He mutters to himself. Anyone who got a good look at Daniel's back would see there are a few small, curved 'spines' now poking out of his back.

Marcus looks at both himself, and his friends, with disbelief. "We... We're not human at all anymore, are we?" At seeing the spines along Daniel's back, he realizes that there's something on his own back as well... Feeling back there, it's not much... But two small bumps, just below and a bit closer to the center of his back, compared to his shoulderblades.

"Are we demons now, then? Have we really been..." He trails off, not wanting to believe this.  He was a Christian. Demons were... Demons were corrupters, enemies of the kingdom of heaven. Had they all really been forsaken by God, forced into such a role? How could that happen...?

Yuu stands up from his sitting position, looking about and then looking at Marcus and Daniel, who look... very much inhuman. Yuu shakes about and feels something move around with him, to the other two, he must seem to be some sort of seductress. Upon further inspection, Yuu felt that the vestigial bone that was his tailbone had somehow started to grow out. Anyone who could see it would note that it looked like a stereotypical demoness tail. "...Um... Wha..."
"What is that...?"

Daniel glances at both Marcus and Yuu, though his eyes kinda drift over to Yuu as he notices him shake, looking him over, before taking note of his new tail. "...What do you think it is? Really, Yuu. It's a tail, jeeze." Daniel puts his clawed hand over his head as he says that, pretending to look exasperated.

"It feels weird!" Yuu sighs and squeaks.

Daniel walks over to Yuu, going to gently pat him on the shoulder with his regular hand, as if trying to provide some sort of small comfort. "Yeah... To be honest, my new claw also feels a bit strange, but, ah. I guess it's somethin' we'll both need to get used to, huh?"

"Yeah.." Yuu responds.

"Get... Get used to?!" Marcus suddenly bursts out. "Look around you! This isn't just something to 'get used to'! Eiji... I trusted him, and he... He brings out that thing, and turns the world into this... Turns us into monsters! You think we can-?!" He stops. No, lashing out at his friends won't get anywhere. It won't do anything for him, or anything else.

"I'm sorry. But, look at where we are. This... This isn't just some minor change. Has God forsaken us...?"

 "You have it relatively good compared to the two of us, Mister." Yuu looked relatively unimpressed at the situation, his tail swishing about impatiently. He placed a hand on his right cheek and sighed. "Well, the most is that we're here and it doesn't look like we can get back. I'd start thinking on... how to survive."

Daniel simply nods in response to Yuu, glancing around the area.  "Yeah... Yuu does bring up a good point. Kinda need to figure out the whole 'surviving in a completely fucked environment' thing. That, and maybe see if there's anywhere nearby we could use a shelter of sorts. That sort of thing." He rubs his clawed hand against the back of his head, making sure not to accidentally scratch himself.

Having it better than them... How did that matter? He'd still been corrupted, and could feel its influence inside him, wanting control... Did they not care? But no... Asking them wouldn't do anything. If they had been lost... Well, he was beyond redemption as well now, wasn't he?

"Yes, we do need to figure out how to survive here... Let's look around, and figure out what we're dealing with."

Yuu sighed and started walking aimlessly in a random direction. "I'm going this way... I suppose we won't get anywhere if we don't get a move on..." He sighed and felt his tail swish about... This would certainly take some getting used to. Subconsciously, his hips were swaying. He could feel it and didn't like it. "I don't think my body is listening to me."

Daniel glances at Yuu's swaying hips, staring at them for a moment before he lightly smacks himself with his claw, getting a move on as he follows Yuu, walking ahead of him, so as not to get, ah. Distracted by Yuu's movements again. "Yeaahh... Hopefully you'll get it under control..." He trails off, partially unsure whether or not that'd exactly be a good thing.

"I heard that..."

Daniel blinks a little, stopping for a second. "...ah. Yeah. Sorry. It's just... ah. yeah." He coughs a little, awkwardly rubbing his arm before continuing to walk forward, feeling a taaaad bit more awkward now. Yuu could possibly catch him blushing a little if he's paying attention to Daniel's face.

"Y... you liked that...?"

Daniel stops, his blushing intensifying a little, before speaking up. "...To be honest, ah. ...Yes."

Marcus follows too, though not responding to the exchange between his friends. The three don't go far, however, before they encounter something else... Or, someone else. Familiar, yet changed just as they have been.
"...It's you. Eiji."

---


"Um... Hey, Marcus, I know-" Eiji started to speak, but wasn't given the chance to continue as Marcus suddenly grabbed him by the neck and lifted him up with surprising ease.

"What do you know?! You knew this was going to happen, so why did you fucking do it?! I thought you were my friend, but then you use me to help you with that machine, turn us into demons, and throw the world into chaos! What the hell is it that you know that makes it worth this!"

"I... Uh... I... That is...!" Eiji stammered for a few moments, trying to get his words together.
 In disgust, Marcus tossed him to the ground. "Kh... I can't believe I trusted you."

Eiji lay on the ground for a few seconds, gathering himself, before pushing himself up. He looked at Marcus, his face contorted with a bitter mixture of uncertainty, regret, and guilt, remaining silent for seconds that seemed to stretch on endlessly.

Eiji, like the rest of them, looked different. His clothes were ripped, revealing a white line that covered where the edges would be on his body if he were a cardboard cutout. From that line, spirals went out, covering a large chunk of his skin.

Other marks upon him, however, were... Subtle. There was nothing obvious, but his just didn't seem as if he were quite there anymore. It was as if, even though he were right in front of them, he was merely a shadow within darkness, or a feeling of being watched. It was... Strange.

Yuu sighed and stared at Marcus. "Get a grip..." Soon, he turned to look at Eiji. "Explain yourself..."

Daniel stretches out a little, rolling his eyes as he glances at Marcus. "Cool it. Doesn't do much good to smack 'im around now." He then also turns to Eiji, waiting for an explanation as well.

So... They were so calm. Marcus didn't understand it. They'd been tricked and twisted into something else without their consent, and the world had been thrust. Did they really feel nothing about this at all?

"No, it's fine... I deserve it, for not telling you." Eiji speaks now. "I... A messenger from God came to me. At least, that's what he claimed to be, and he showed me powers, told me many things that would make me believe. I don't know what to believe now... Regardless, he told me that I had a mission. A mission to remake the world.

"I was to build a machine, using knowledge he provided for me, to catalyze the fusion of our world and the next. I was to bring the three of you to the site of its activation, so that you could be the warriors that would shape this world, and our own as well, when they merge together. He told me that we would make the world into the kingdom of heaven, and we would have a place in it."

Now, he looks away, refusing to make eye contact with any of the three. "But I think... I made the wrong decision. Even though I'd never believed that bullshit the church fed me, I still-"

Marcus interjected now. "What the fuck?! Was everything a lie?! We went to church together, but it-"

Eiji snapped back. "Fuck you! Did you honestly think I went there because I wanted? Hell, did you honestly think I did any of this because I really wanted to?! I felt trapped! Tell me, what the fuck would you have done if some stranger with blatantly supernatural, destructive powers, showed up and told you to do stuff! At least this way I thought we'd all get out of it alive! But maybe that isn't enough for you, as high and mighty as you are?"

Marcus clenched his fists, shaking with rage. He looked like he was seriously about to snap...

Daniel glances between the two, looking a little uneasy as he sees the conversation start to roll downhill, looking at Marcus and Eiji, before looking back to Yuu, wondering what they should do here, unsure about whether or not he should intervene.

Yuu sighed and looked at Daniel before looking at Eiji and Marcus. "Stop arguing."

Marcus whirled, and nearly snapped at Yuu... But then, he took a deep breath. No, he couldn't lose control. That was everything he didn't want to do. "...Fine." He looked back to Eiji. "I'll forgive you this once for what you're saying... Do you have any idea what we're supposed to do from here?"

Eiji still looked angry as well, but he responded to Marcus' question. "Yes. I wasn't told everything, but apparently there are many different 'clans' of demons... Or, perhaps I should say yokai. You do know enough about Japanese culture to understand that concept, yes?"

Marcus simply glared. Eiji sighed, and went on. "The angel, or whatever he was, that spoke to me called these creatures akuma, but there isn't any inherent malevolence in them from what I can understand. Their natures vary as widely as those of humans. Regardless, these clans... Each one of them has, or will have, a representative. While I don't quite understand how it works, I was told that they are called... Kyoujin. " Madman. A strange term to use for such a thing...

He looks to Yuu, then to Daniel, then back to Marcus. "Yuu is the Kyoujin of the Kijo, the Femme, Daniel looks to be Kyoujin of the Fiends. And you, Marcus... You are the Kyoujin of the Tenshi, the Divine. You should be happy about that. It seems that your God has chosen you to be one of his angels." Eiji's voice was all but saturated with disdain and bitterness.

"Hold on!" Marcus interrupts now. "How do you know all of this?"

Eiji laughs. "Don't you remember that servant of god he mentioned? He told me." Upon seeing that Marcus was less than convinced, he sighs. "Alright, there's something else... I am Kyoujin of the Jirae. Evidently, this has given me the power to... Sense things. I have some sort of radar, and I can tell when demons and other Kyoujin are nearby... I can also simply look at something, or someone, and near instantly tell all sorts of information about them. It's kind of cool, really."


"That... actually does sound pretty neat, yeah." Daniel says, nodding, as he listened to Eiji speak. "In any case... This sounds like... quite the mess. Regardless, ah. How many clans are there, anyway? That is, if you even know the exact amount of course" He says, idly tapping his claw against his head, taking in all this info.

 "I don't understand... What is the purpose of all this though?"

Marcus wanted to call bullshit on all of this. It was just too unbelievable, too insane. ...But so was everything he'd seen so far. Instead, he remained silent, allowing Eiji to speak.

"I'm afraid I don't know the number of clans there are... I'm unsure if the number is even set. However, I can tell you some about this world, and the reason for the Kyoujin... At the least, what I was told." He paused, before continuing.

"Our world, and the world of yokai, have existed side by side for hundreds, if not thousands of years. Once, they were one, before God separated the two, taking humanity as his chosen race. Rifts would open between the two from time to time, and inhabitants of one would enter the other. Those who passed through only survived for short periods of time, but our legends were born of their actions.

"God has decided that the division is no longer necessary. The Kyoujin are champions of humanity, meant to take the power of the demon world for themselves, until the two are one once more, and a greater humanity rules the whole under His guidance. " Eiji shakes his head.

"That's what I'm told. I don't entirely believe it, but it's the only story we have. Yet... If it is true, it troubles me."

"Hmph. Why is it so troubling? Can't stand the idea of the God you don't believe in finally taking the world back for himself?" Marcus interrupts.

Eiji gives Marcus a confused look, as if he's insane. "Um... No. It troubles me because he wants... No, you know what, nevermind. Think what you want. Just... Know that the other Kyoujin may not take kindly to you, and be careful of the desires the demonic power calls in you."

Daniel raises an eyebrow as Eiji mentions that last bit, deciding to speak up. "What exactly do you mean by 'desires'?"

Yuu sighs and eyes Eiji curiously, trying to take into account everything that has been mentioned. So far, it appears that there are some kinds of demonic clans out in this new world. "So... what's this all about? You're just explaining the environs, but I know that we are here for a higher design."

"A higher design? I just told you, YHVH wants you to shape this world. "

Marcus interrupts. Again. "You dare say His name aloud?!"

Eiji doesn't even bother replying. "As for how to do that, it's a bit more complicated... You need to seek out the other Kyoujin. You can proceed on your own from there."

It's only now that he looks back to Daniel. "As for those desires... Have you felt nothing since your change? They might be weak now, but they will grow stronger. As time goes on, your reactions to the other Kyoujin will change."

"Eiji, stop ignoring me! You blaspheme against God, you keep telling us what we should do, and you're obviously not telling us everything! What are you hiding?!"

Eiji looks back at him, irritation evident on his face. "...You know what? I don't have to answer to you. I'm helping you out because I want to, not because I get anything out of it. If I wanted to send you to your deaths, I could happily just lead you to the park's exit and let you try and deal with the demons that lurk outside now. Do you want that?"

"No... Bastard." Marcus was feeling hatred growing more and more for the one he'd once called friend. This was more than the impulsive rage that had been exacerbated by his own fear... He did not being lied to, and toyed with.

Eiji ignored the insult. "Now, if you want to get something done... There's a Kyoujin to the north, for you all to meet. I can project a map into your minds, to help you find the way to meet it, so long as you consent..."

"I haven't much choice." Yuu shrugged and glared at Marcus' seeming immaturity; it was deplorable and felt somewhat out of character.

"Like there's anything else to do." Daniel also shrugs, rolling his eyes at Marcus' outrage; it was honestly rather ridiculous and served to do nothing other than antagonize someone who had answers which is very much the opposite of anything that'd be needed right now.

Marcus knew on some level that he was irrational, and that was rubbing him the wrong way on many levels. ...However, that in itself was only making his frustration more intense. He didn't want to question things, but Eiji's claims were something he had to question, given that he essentially blamed this whole situation on the god Marcus had thought they shared.

...Above all, he was being forced to question the deep friendship he thought he'd had with Eiji,  and his own beliefs. It felt as if God had forsaken him to the chaos. Though he could bolster himself with the thought that it was merely a trial, it felt hollow even to him. The Tenshi, the Divine... There was no reason to think himself different from the other heretical yokai.

Eiji looked at Marcus, his eyes softening. "...I don't want to abandon you to this, Marcus. Are you willing to accept my help?"

There was a moment of silence, before the response finally came. "Yes... Yes, I am."

"Good." Eiji responded, and closed his eyes. Marcus could feel information flooding into his mind, uncontrolled and overloading him for a time. He couldn't tell what was happening to Yuu or Daniel, but he was paralyzed by the overload... Until the moment passed, and he could make sense  of it.

A bond had formed between the four. Each could sense where the other three were, and had an intuitive understanding of their surroundings. It was, indeed, much like a map... Yet, not quite the same.

"I'm sorry if it seems as if I misled you. It's not quite a map... But it serves the purpose needed."

Daniel holds his head, groaning slightly as he feels the information come pouring into his mind, slamming into it like a fierce torrent, leaving him stunned for the moment, before shaking himself off as it ends. "Nnh... It's alright, I suppose. Definitely better than wandering aimlessly, that's for sure."

"So... uh..." Yuu didn't seem to be able to get any words out, after that ordeal. Eventually, he asked, "So, shall we get moving?"

"...That would be for the best, yes." Daniel's response came. "Let us get going, then."

"I'm going to stay a bit behind you guys, and keep an eye on things." Eiji said. "But I won't be far, and you'll be able to tell if anything comes up. I just... Don't think I'll be able to manage in a fight."

"Why is that more true for you then the rest of us, then?" Marcus asked, suspicious.

"Yeah, you know that information overload you got when we were first connecting? My power is kind of focused on managing that into something coherent. If I tried to fight, we'd all go down."

"...Fair enough."

Eiji's mental directions led them through winding passages of trees and raised ground, much like a canyon. There was a source of power to the north, the Kyoujin... However, all would not be peaceful. They were in the world of demons now, after all.