Grasp the Future

**Grasp the Future** is the thirtieth episode of Reflectio.

*Into the Sylt Islands! The whirlwind strategy begins as the group travels across the surface of the ocean towards the waiting forces of the pyromancer of logic. Under the brilliant sun and skies, the self-proclaimed battle idol Melli Luxity can't shake the feeling that her home may not be the same as she left it.*

## Summary

The night before OPIA’s deployment to the Sylt Islands, Melli Luxity stands on the balcony of her floor of the OPIA dorms and thinks about her home. Inside, Willow and Ruth have a conversation in the common area. Treble arrives on the floor and approaches them, where she points out that their Reflections are also conversing with each other. Treble takes the opportunity to catch up with the Sword of Hope, which she used to wield during the era of World Nine, and she recommends to Ruth that she should take a second Reflection. Outside in the garden, Arg0s talks to Ridill and Cast about Mic’s departure from OPIA and the upcoming mission. Eventually, Treble appears to take Ridill to another round of training at the Lunar Gate. In the Derelict, Basil and the Pristine One approach the tower where the Pyromancers make their Demons. They encounter Isaac, who talks to them for a moment before Nectar appears to chastise him for not sticking to his diet by drinking a milkshake. Basil continues onwards. After training, Ridill and Treble head to Darkside, where many other OPIA and FLOW agents have gathered for some last minute training and relaxation. Circuit briefly speaks to Willow and asks her to take Lugh on the secret mission to Beleth.

Laughter, Sei, the Golden Knight, Stephano, and Mic continue exploring Beleth and discover a large outcropping of Godsblood. Some time later, OPIA deploys to the Sylt Islands and requisitions several warships from the local government. They sail to Aura’s home island to prepare for the conflict against the Court of Logic. Melli, whose home island is also nearby, worries for her family, and sneaks off to her home with the help of Ace, Arg0s, Ridill, and Willow. Cast details OPIA’s battle plan to the remaining agents. Back in Fuse City, one of Circuit’s bodies informs Verona about what one of her other bodies saw within the Old World. Verona notes Circuit’s abnormally high Burn, but Circuit assures her it’d be better to not tell her what she saw directly. Meanwhile, Melli’s group lands on her home island, which they find in ruins. They encounter a government worker surveying the damage, who tells them that the wounded are being held at a hospital deeper into the island. Back in Beleth, Laughter’s group sees the massive land shelf above the swamp suddenly explode, and immediately realizes that Logic is attempting to destabilize the foundation of the Sylt Islands above. Mic and Stephano run off to help civilians while Sei also runs off to use her ability to seal the artificial waterfall Logic created. At the same time, the OPIA agents still on Aura’s island are attacked by a deployment of Logic Demons. Treble, the Director, Robin, Charybdis, and Justice head to the center of the island to disrupt a radio tower that Logic commandeered.

Melli’s group arrives at the hospital and notice that the debris around the entrance has been rigged to explode. Willow and Melli jump across the hazards, while Ace grabs Ridill and Arg0s and uses his abilities to teleport directly to the second floor. After making it to the second floor, the team is greeted by a Simulacrum of Logic. Logic challenges Willow to a game of “tag”, where the price of failure is him using Pyromancy to make Willow explode. Ridill uses a nearby terminal to find three preexisting pyromantic bombs that the team needs to disarm. Willow uses Keyhole to track down some of the bombs, and pushes the limits of her Reflection in the process, causing an apparition of Keyhole to appear besides her and show her that the wounded civilians are being controlled by a large Demon at the center of the hospital, and that one of the bombs is implanted on a civilian somewhere else in the facility. Logic is able to see this apparition of Keyhole, and becomes enraged and scared upon seeing an incarnation of one of his enemies from Omeria. Willow continues on, using Grasp the Earth to ignore the weight of a horde of possessed civilians piling on to her. Logic attempts to chase her, but Ace teleports through the ground and distracts him. Meanwhile, Arg0s heads towards the center of the second floor, where a false Mic created by the “puppetmaster” Demon that Willow saw approaches him. He initially falls for the deception and follows the fake, but after a cluster of false Mics attack him, he realizes what’s happening and disarms both the Mics and the bomb before running to assist Melli. After Willow finds the civilian that was turned into a bomb, Ace uses rudimentary Pyromancy to splice out Logic’s own Pyromancy, giving Willow the opportunity to leave the hospital with the rescued civilians. Logic’s simulacrum follows her, but Ace and Ridill appear to assist. Back in the hospital, Melli is attacked by a powerful Logic Demon known as the “Devious Endtable”. She manages to hold off its attacks with her Reflection long enough for Arg0s to arrive and give her the time to disable the bomb. Back outside, Willow, Ace, and Ridill engage Logic. During the ensuing fight, Willow’s two Reflections work in tandem for the first time, allowing her to locate Logic’s weak points and destroy his simulacrum. Ace then uses the same Pyromancy he used earlier to remove a command Logic forced on Ridill to make her explode and puts it inside a brick, which he throws up in the air before it explodes in their faces. On the other island, Treble’s team manages to break through to the radio tower and hijack it, allowing the Director to pinpoint the location of Logic’s main fleet.

At the Derelict, Basil and the Pristine One enter the Demon-producing tower. She uses her ESP to find a secret entrance in the room where Strangers are summoned. It leads to another floor where groups of Compulsion Demons are interfacing with terminals that automate the summoning process. The two sneak by the Demons and progress deeper into the tower. On one of the lowest floors, they find another secret entrance that’s sealed tight. Basil bribes the Pristine One with ice cream to open the hatch, which he does. They drop down to the bottom floor of the tower, where they find a room identical to the Stranger-summoning room above. Basil feels a call from the machine in the center of the room, and impulsively interfaces with it. She blacks out for a moment, and when her vision returns, she finds herself inside the machine and watches as a new consciousness occupies her body and leaves. Her vision then goes completely dark. Back in Beleth, Sei reunites with Laughter and the Golden Knight, and the trio progresses further into the swamp.

## Characters

### Player Characters

* Ace Galatine
* Basilisk Id
* Arg0s
* Willow Wisp
* Ridill Arondite

### FLOW

* Aura Pridwyn
* Melli Luxity
* Ruth Galatine
* Charybdis
* Robin
* Justice
* Breach

### OPIA

* Dr. Verona
* Director
* Mic
* Circuit
* Cast
* Isabeau
* Cal

### Demonic Courts

* Pyromancer of Laughter
* Golden Knight
* Logic
* Isaac
* Nectar
* Sei Miscellany
* Stephano
* The Pristine One

### Exulansis

* Gram
* Treble
* Decca

## Trivia

* This episode was the first to use the 0.7 rules update for the Sentiment system.