A Splitting Decision

[xGoggles]

The fox-girl nods, "So I guess we won't feel as out of place there then, heheh~", Darren says with a laugh.
"But I don't mean to be a critic, but, is there a specific reason you are giving me--.. us one of these? I'm not complaining, but why this over a normal gun?", he asks, being what empty on ideas of the utility of the gun.

Taking the phone and giving it a look, "Oh wow, how long have I been out, this phone looks fancy. I'll try to take good care of it." The shadow currently possessed by Saiya also gives it a look, a little less enthusiastic. Listening to some questions of Saiya, Darren answers out-loud, "You don't have to learn how to use this, but don't you want to? It seems useful to know though... Uh... Well... You can use it to get in contact with Lyra from long distances... No, not by letter it's...", turning back to Lyra, "Can you maybe help, explaining what a phone is to Saiya... Now she is kinda rambling on about talismans and maybe getting her soul sucked into the spirit-reach; I think she is getting what off track."

--

Minor confusion first why it was a throne instead of just a hole in the ground, but Oyoki was a smart girl, able to figure it out quite quickly; knowing there was a need to flush was a different story~ Meanwhile, she was more occupied trying to look for a way to escape. Not like there were any openings inside she could consider using. Since this place was supposed to be private, not that she'd really put much trust into Lyra's words anyway, she tried some hand-seals and even tried to make some artifacts out of toilet paper by origami; all unsuccessful since there was always a detail and a method she just couldn't remember, nor did she have a sufficient amount of magic energy to charge them.
Pouting, she leaves the bathroom in a minor mess. Passing Lyra by going back to the couch, "If are you imprisoning me, just to taunt and annoy me, I'm going amuse myself by simply ignoring you and continue watching this show. Come back, when you can state what you actually want from me, so we can strike a deal already." The little fox-girl says, not sitting, but lying down now on the couch, in a more lazy position than before while watching TV.

[Whatevr89532]

The witch nods, and having some experience explaining technology to 'pure-fantasy' people, tries that. "Look, imagine a spell that only carries the sound of your voice and another person's voice back and forth, for communication. So you can talk to your friend even if you're far away from them, because you both know the spell. That's what phones started out as. People started coming up with more ways to use them, like sending miniature 'letters' back and forth, and eventually even gaining the ability to see who you're talking to. It's all done through technology, not magic, so it can't interact with people's souls or anything like that. Now, that's what basically anyone you'll be calling or texting with the phone will have, although 'purely non-magical' is not an entirely fair description of the L-phone itself, because Lexica is inherently a magical system, but, look--Lexica is effectively an extension of me. D'you trust me?"

--

Lyra steps over to inspect the bathroom, apparently having genuinely kept that area private (although her ears were capable of picking up sounds from in there). She shakes her head. "Just terrible. If I let you out now even with all your powers you'd be, like, the demon queen who didn't know how to flush a toilet. Henchpeople'd be laughing at you behind your back because you'd have to have someone help you use a sink." She heads inside and flushes the toilet, not bothering with the rest of the mess for now. "My number one goal is to teach you some measure of empathy, but it's increasingly obvious you won't be able to function without an education in basic pluming usage.."
The TV, meanwhile, is still paused. Well..that's not nearly as interesting to watch.

[xGoggles]

The fox-girl trades in mannerism with her shadow and then passes the Mini-ungun to it, feeling confused with holding this ranged weapon over her naginata, the shadow taking it with its free hands since the shadow-naginata apparently disappeared this time when they traded. "Thank you very much for our gifts Mistress, and of course I trust you. Don't take my questions as a form of fear but as a way to certainty. If this technology was very powerful I wouldn't want to risk it falling into enemy's hands.", Saiya said giving a soft bow.

((Oh, but didn't hear the answer to why they were given the Mini-ungun and not just a regular one.))

--

Oyoki, very bored now, lets out a long sigh and lies down on her back, her head over the edge of the couch and she was looking at Lyra upside-down now. "I don't need to learn all that new knowledge, if you give me back my powers, I can just have servants do that stuff for me. Or if I really needed to know, I could just pry it out of their minds...", she stares at Lyra with an unamused expression again. "Also, I already learned empathy, I know how it felt like... But also know how easy it was for people to abuse it. I learned how foolish I was for ever believing in such a thing. So I passed that stage already and unshackled myself from such a weakness... Your lessons are meaningless to me."

[Whatevr89532]

"Oh, about security: The L-phone is actually way safer in case someone steals it than even a normal smartphone," says Lyra. "With a normal smartphone, all the data--uh, the information--is stored on the phone, so if someone can steal the phone and guess your password, they can get access to everything that was on it. The L-phone isn't like that, it's actually just a receiver for Lexica, with no data stored locally. And what I was saying about it being ID-locked, that means it...umm, I guess you probably don't know what a hash function is...well, it detects some unique properties of your specific fused-soul makeup, which no other person could possibly ever have, and if it detects the wrong person then it just shows a screen that says 'you're the wrong person' and on Lexica's end there's basically no communication. It becomes useless in anyone's hands but yours, in other words. The only way for someone to steal and use that phone is if they were literally you, like if for some reason you time traveled back from the future at some point and decided to also steal your own phone. The one major downside of it being a receiver is that if you go somewhere Lexica's signal can't reach, it also won't work, but...well, you'd need either a complete nullification of magic plus some high-powered signal jammers, or some very specific anti-communication wards to keep Lexica's signal from reaching you."

She pauses, making an expression as if listening to somebody else. "Oh, right! The reason I chose the mini-ungun rather than a normal gun: It's supposed to be a gift, so I prefer to hand you something unique that you couldn't just buy in a store. If you got a job in Muffinville or whatever you could just go to some self-defense gun store and buy a whole arsenal of firepower if you wanted to." (This part probably sounds very concerning to a former-policeman.) "But that thing is special, rather hard to get a hold of something like it in general. Plus it's slightly better, in that you don't have to go buy bullets. You could basically just have a handful of rocks in one hand and dump them in there six at a time while firing with the other hand, and not have to ever really stop to reload."

((I totally didn't forget! Lyra did! XD So...Lexica just reminded her.))

--

"If you see it as a disadvantage, then you never really learned about it. Overconfidence is your weakness, and faith in one's friends is not." The Star Wars reference undoubtedly goes over Oyoki's head. Lyra returns to the living room area and takes a seat at one of the chairs, leaning back in it. "I will tell you of the Crimson race, from my home universe. They are a humanoid, all-male race born with a unique form of magic which, when used on a person, transforms them into a weak, subservient woman, and brainwashes them to be the user's servant and plaything. In the time when they reigned, there was no power or magic or strength of will sufficient to resist this effect. They are also totally extinct, across not one but all versions of my world discovered to date. Do you know how the grand majority of them died?"

[xGoggles]

Saiya looks back at the L-phone then passes it to, the by Darren occupied shadow, because she was also unsure how to properly hold and handle the L-phone, just like with the gun. "I'm amazed you made it so it would only work for us, however, what happens if we somehow get changed? As in, if we were transformed like I had earlier." Already having her fair experiences now with getting influenced by color magic, it would be concerning if things like that would seal away their way to communicate.

The shadow listens and nods, then after Saiya says, "Darren says he is happy with the gift and it certainly is quite unique. So he is very thankful Mistress Lyra. He also says it sounds disturbing if getting guns here were to be so easy, and ask if you could lend him some knowledge on the law-system of the Muffinville." The shadow did a thumbs-up at the fox-girl for translating that.

--

She gives a short and soft chuckle, "Taking your earlier statement, I'd guess 'overconfidence' would be the reason for their fall; but I'd say they'd likely got overpowered or outsmarted, that is how it usually goes." She fiddles and plays a bit with her nails, still lying on her back, she didn't appear all that interested, or maybe she just didn't want to show it. "Oh, but please do tell.~ How did the fall happen of this mighty race? Did you go after them~?"
Turning over on the couch to rest on her belly, and her arms under her chin, her tiny legs moving up and down in the air as she continues, "And maybe I'll tell you a story of how 'friendship' was my rise to power and my friend's faith in it their weakness, haha~", she giggles evilly, taking quite some pride in her accomplishments.

[Whatevr89532]

"That's the wonderful thing about ID scanning: I've yet to meet a method of being transformed that makes it fail to recognize a person. Now, if you died or erased yourself from existence somehow and got reincarnated, that's the one exception I've actually seen." Lyra nods. "Anyway, the thing you need to understand is that Muffinville is a universe of almost pure chaos. They have regularly-scheduled Kaiju fights--uh, giant monsters--and that's pretty mundane compared to a lot of what goes on. If they even have a police force it's a lucky day they'd be able to bring in a few purse-snatchers, way more likely justice comes from them getting eaten or transformed by the purses or their owners honestly. There is an organization called the CTC that tends to help people out if they get unpleasantly transformed, and there are lots of powerful organizations like that interested in preventing the world from getting taken over or destroyed, who generally manage success in that area at least. There are safe places, like the Mungojerrie which strictly forbids fighting and transforming people on the premises and has the clout to enforce that. Sooo, like...the thing about buying a bunch of guns or other weapons for self-defense is that your average Muffinvillian either knows how to stay out of the way of a gunfight really well or can do something crazy like dodge bullets or take an RPG to the face and just walk it off. Overall, if you're gonna explore Muffinville you just need to be a little careful, use your good sense, and don't walk into obvious traps."

--

The fox-witch nods, not appearing upset at what Oyoki's said. "I'd love to hear your story when I finish this one. But...no, they were on the whole neither overpowered nor outsmarted. And I didn't do anything about it, that would involve messing with my own history, which is inherently dangerous. All of the Crimson race, across all of the universes, save for two, were destroyed by the same thing: Their own 'harem's. At one time it was believed that it was because they were spreading themselves too thin--trying to use their power to rule over too many people at once, and allowing a few of their 'playthings' enough free will to do things like poison them or set traps to kill them, or so on. But even those who took very few suffered the same fate eventually, because no matter how much of that magic they pumped into a victim, that person's original will was still there, and it was always eventually enough to remember who they really were and take down their 'masters'. The truth is that no matter how much control you think you have over a person, it can never be absolute."

She leans forward slightly. "The two who survived, each from a different universe, rejected their power's nature in two different ways. One called himself Feral, and twisted his power to grant him physical strength and near-invincibility, and then also to grant a fraction of that strength to those he changed. He framed the use of his power in deals, granting people the strength to destroy their enemies in exchange for service to him from then on, with a certain amount of freedom. He ruled his world for millennia this way. The other called himself Wolf, and chose to reject the nature of his power altogether, studying magic in an effort to find ways to redirect his power into something helpful to others. Depending on how much of that armor's memories you had access to, you may be a little familiar with him. He grew to be about equal to Feral in power, but he had no servants--only allies and friends built from years of trying only to do good in the worlds he encountered. The race is all gone now, because the two eventually fought. Feral attacked Wolf in his own home, bringing his strongest and most loyal servants, and initially found him alone. Without his even asking, Wolf's allies and friends came to his aid, and they were far too much to handle; even Feral's servants ultimately turned against him and he was forced to retreat, gravely wounded. Wolf tried repeatedly to track him down, and eventually chose to use a spell that would destroy both him and Feral permanently rather than allow him to recover and continue to harm people."

And Lyra leans back again. "It's just one anecdote, but innumerable similar stories exist. The evidence is clear: Forced servitude is a recipe for betrayal. Loyalty bought as a transaction is fragile. Both require constant, diligent, costly upkeep to mitigate those risks, and I've yet to meet a person capable of delaying those drawbacks indefinitely."

[xGoggles]

"As chaos has it's values, order should always try to be maintained, even if it's just to create a balance where life can prosper. Perhaps we should explore the Muffinville and ensure the safety of its citizens", Saiya says and then listens to Darren's soul for a moment, "I suppose you are right, finding allies that aim for the same cause will be beneficial to everyone." With that, she turns to Lyra, "Mistress, can you help us get in contact with these organizations that try to protect this world? We can do good on our own, but with their aid, we might be able to do more." The former-armor really seems to get into the whole purpose of life thing, like a fire of motivation has been ignited within her.

--

Oyoki listening to the story, maybe a bit too eagerly than she liked to show. Also with a sense of this reawaken child-like curiosity, that she desperately trying to control.
Her eyes twinkle a little when Lyra mentioned Feral, because who wouldn't like to have a near-invincible being be put to good use.~ Taking the little knowledge about Wolf, she could consider both to be rather powerful. Yet didn't this fox-male from earlier also claim to be Wolf? So many their destruction wasn't as permanent as they planned it to be. Not much a surprise.. even in her world beings had their ways to come back if not dealt with properly...

And maybe to Lyra's surprise, Oyoki agrees? Or maybe not... "Yes, what a wise lesson. Depending on the loyalty of your servants is a mistake so many, even the most powerful, can make. Especially, if those servants would be so eager to harm you if given the free will to do so~ A wise lesson indeed, but do you really think I didn't know that already? I have worked with demons, monsters and the undivine; creatures that if given the chance would just take everything you have in the most gruesome way possible... But that is why you don't let them. I'm very selective in what openings I give my temporary slaves. And that is the key dear witch, they are just tools, temporary tools. Tools you can throw away if they are of no use. Tools you can put to better use after their original one got fulfilled. If someone or something under my control didn't do what I needed of them, I had taken the preparations to put them out of commission, either by a spontaneous de-summoning, destroying their body or any other darker means~", she says and giggles again.
"Trust is a hard thing to get, so why depend on it really? The only one you can partly trust is yourself and even that could be manipulated... Only when you get rid of all your attachments and bounds, you can truly be free...", she sighs, "But I'm getting off-topic... You were trying to tell me that his mighty Crimson race got destroyed by betrayal. Yet you still praise friendship?", Oyoki's tone darkens, "The only difference between servitude and friendship is that with servitude the rules can be made clear.. with friendship the rules are vague and abstract, yet doesn't even guarantee it will become successful or even last. Friendship is as likely if not more open for betrayal, because you let others way too free. I lost my trust in others a long time ago, and so ensured I was in no need for it anymore."
The little fox-girl lies down on her back again, getting herself more relaxed, "But since you got rid of all my powers, I'm back to depending on all these weaknesses again~"

[Whatevr89532]

"Hmm..the CTC has been pretty quiet lately, for some values of 'lately'. I can make an attempt to get them to notice you when you enter Muffinville, though. There's also the Infinite Defense, who have a presence across a large number of worlds but seemingly limited interference with Muffinville affairs specifically; I believe I can get in contact with one of their ships or a friend of a friend of theirs, or something like that, with only a little effort. I don't really know whether the Exorcists still exist, but they were always a small group anyway and I have no idea what their entrance requirements were, or even if they accepted anyone new..." She seems to be weighing the options.

--

"Having a way to get rid of your 'servants' is just more upkeep. The overall problem of upkeep is one you failed at too, because--you know--you did die in the end. If your way of coming back prevented you from remembering how that happened and you're curious, I'm quite sure Lexica can observe the event itself and give you an accurate simulation. You betray your ignorance of what friendship even is in saying it's anything like servitude, but rather than going into that...why don't you tell me about the first time you wanted power?" From her tone of voice, it's unclear whether Lyra actually forgot which story Oyoki actually offered to tell a moment ago, or is intentionally guiding her to talk about something different.

[xGoggles]

Both the fox-girl and the shadows listen carefully to Lyra, interested in the different potential groups they might be able to join. "If they are still out there and open new members, we'll make sure we won't disappoint them. Thank you very much, Mistress Lyra, for informing us. Hopefully, we'll manage to come into contact with them."
Meanwhile, Darren tries out the L-phone and see if he can find any more information online about these organizations.

--

"It wasn't that much of an effort to maintain, it is all in the method of 'recruitment'... As for that event..", she begins to frown. "I can recall what happened back then perfectly. And it had nothing to do with betrayal or upkeep! Just a.. slight miscalculation on my part that those humans were fortunate enough to exploit; a mistake easily fixed that would never happen again if given the chance.", she started to get very defensive about the topic, as if there was something in there she didn't want to admit. Glaring again at Lyra, though the source of her hate didn't seem as directed at her as to maybe someone else.
Oyoki remains in thought for a while after saying that, then continues, "Betrayal was the start of my accretion, me just getting sloppy after already finishing my goals, was the only reason to my fall."

And then she yawns, not clear if it was because of showing disinterest in Lyra again or her body showing signs that it might be tired. "Don't think of me as some power hungry idiot, with the only ambition to get more powerful... My powers to me, were just tools, just like anything else, to be used for whatever task I needed them for. A bigger collection just meant more options became available... Hmph... Asking the first time one wanted power, is like asking someone the first time they were hungry and wanted food, or the first time they were cold and wanted to be warm again, or maybe asking an orphan to have their parents back. If they had the power for it, their wishes would come true...", then again with a slight smirk, ".. at any cost~"

[Whatevr89532]

Muffinville's version of Wikipedia has some very outdated entries on the CTC, The Exorcists (though most of the pictures seem to have been removed for some reason), and, curiously, not the Infinite Defense itself but one of its more important members, Psycho Kitten ((Second entry in that post, scroll down a bit)).
Lyra, meanwhile, is silently digging through some less easily accessible files via a direct mental link to Lexica's data storage. "Hm...yeah...it seems like the infinite defense recently decided to have a 'permanent presence' around Muffinville, so they may be our best bet to start off. No idea if or how they recruit people but I'm sure they could at least have some freelance hero work around..."

--

Lyra rolls her eyes. "Tools this, tools that. If you talked about tools any more your name would be Tim Allen. It must be so lonely and boring living in a world full of hammers and duct tape. What do you even want tools for?"

[xGoggles]

Darren mentioned to Saiya that he found some information sources of the different groups, but when it came to explaining what a Wikipedia was to her, it went a bit too far over her head, so Darren volunteered to read into it and pass the basic info about them through their soul-link communication.
Listening to Lyra, "That sounds promising. But how do you suggest we get there? Do we have the use this.. device as our main way of transportation?", the fox-girl asked about the L-phone.

--

The reference of either who or what, Tim Allen or duct tape were fell short for the old-world fox-girl. Oyoki blinks and frowns, "Are you.. making fun of me?.."
But not long after asking that she begins to chuckle, "Actually that is quite funny; you'd judge me for looking at others as mere objects of use, while you yourself actually bond a friendship with an armor.~ Becoming friends with a simple magic influenced object and you are calling me pathetic? Haha!~" She laughs loudly, dodging the question of what her wants might be, preferring to rather make fun of Lyra.

[Whatevr89532]

"Oh, that's just part of the room configuration. The same way you can ask Lexica to make the next door lead to whatever kind of room you want, you can also ask her for an exit. Like this." Lyra walks up to one of the other doors in the hallway and says, "Lexica: Make this door an exit to Muffinville."
A voice in the air states "Acknowledged," and then the witch opens the door into an alley somewhere in that city, about midmorning time-wise.
"I've been doing that the whole time, but I use the mind-link I have with Lexica to do it silently because it can be a little obnoxious to my visitors for me to announce that at every door. When you want a way back into this place, you can just ask her to make a door to home in front of you on a wall or in an unoccupied space, and it'll appear after a second." She starts to lead the way through the door, apparently planning to get in contact with the Infinite Defense right away.

((Almost ready for this part of the thread to splinter off into a different one ))

--

"That's where you're mistaken. I mean--factually mistaken, like scientifically," says Lyra calmly, as if she didn't even register what Oyoki said as an insult. "See, when the Crimson energy hit the magical matrix in that armor, there was present just enough magic woven with just enough complexity to create an overload surge that fused the whole thing into a proper soul. I don't think I need to tell you that your curse thing wouldn't have had any effect on something that didn't have most to all of the requirements for actual personhood, such as a soul and a mind with proper memories. Your world still has wild foxes, as I recall." And then she sighs slightly. "It always disappoints me when someone as tactically clever as you misses out on basic common sense. The problem isn't upkeep specifically, it's strategy overall. When you have no friends, you have no one watching your back--I mean, who isn't looking for ways they can stab it. If you had just one person able and willing to notice and point out your mistakes, who you would actually listen to when they did, the probability of acting on a miscalculation like the one that got you killed nosedives faster than...you know, the temptation is strong to literally upload pop culture to your brain so I can make coherent conversation? But I've resisted that plenty before.
"--As I was saying, I had a brief conference with Fox in the relative blink of an eye before I started telling that girl you were in my plans. He pointed out the flaws in the one I originally had and suggested something better. You actually benefit from that a little bit because--well you don't know what it is, but Red girl is a lot more palatable than Green girl as a state to be stuck in."

[xGoggles]

Right before following Saiya still ask, "So we are able to travel, from this place to anywhere in Muffinville? Mistress, could we perhaps use this also as a fast way of travel? As in, when in need, go back to this home, then open a gate here, near the place where we need to be in Muffinvile?" In a manner, she tries to explain the tactic of portal hopping from one place in the Muffinvile to another by using Lyra's home as an in-between.
Then the fox-girl and her shadow follow Lyra through the door, ready for their new destination.

--

Oyoki just rolls her eyes when Lyra was talking about the curse as if she knew it better than the caster herself, that had studied it carefully in ancient scrolls for years. "Doesn't change the fact that they were an object once, them having a soul or not doesn't mean you should treat them any differently... Just change then back if they can't do what they were made for.", she says with a sigh.
She smiles about to say she did have something to watch her back, but then trying to remember it, nothing came to mind, strange something didn't add up, but her memory fell short for that specific topic. Realizing what this likely meant, she just stopped thinking about it and changed the subject; though the realization took less than a second, almost an instant, but maybe just enough for Lyra to pick up on it. "Tush, tush, and you don't see your weakness? Apparently, you need your friends for everything. Poor thing, can't even make a plan without flaws without someone's help, hahaha~ And what would you do when you are alone? Or when your friends turn against you? Would try to make your enemies fall asleep talking about your 'golem', lightning manipulation or human technology? I'd like to see that, ha~" And then she yawn.. again.. Was someone getting sleepy? Also, It appears that the little fox-girl doesn't take Lyra's knowledge in potential combat very seriously.




Meanwhile, away from Oyoki's influence, a few scrolls of certain specific techniques start to drop in temperature, as if some of them are emitting magical cold, without the need for any ambient energy either, more so they actually pour more energy into the place, foreign energy at that, for an unknown reason. Neither the energy or cold were harmful in anyway way to the scrolls or the surroundings, and it was very unlike Oyoki's magical matrix. It was hard to figure out where it was coming from though, as the scrolls were written and placed, no energy was present in them, not even spiritual energy was inside them... It would appear that just the stored knowledge itself of the spells was sufficient to be causing this somehow.
Being all-monitoring-system Lexica likely would be picking-up something going on, but unless she has an actual mind, she might see phantasms of little light blue butterflies, slowly flying around the storage room. Their movement speed doesn't depend on the time of room, but more on the perceiver, if there even was any.

(( Well, since we are dropping one[well two] out, might be time to add another one in~ [If I can?] ))

[Whatevr89532]

"Well, sure. Once you're more familiar with Muffinville you can ask Lexica to open to specific landmark spots. Or...heck, I could whip up something that'll let you target and 'tag' a spot with the phone's camera as a regular place to enter and exit from if you like," Lyra nods. And so, they come outside...

--

The witch just shakes her head. "You bear several fundamental misunderstandings. First: The conversion of object to being is an irreversible one, and a being is inherently more valuable than an object. If you had a handful of unwanted paper and it turned into gold, it'd be silly in most situations to want it to go back to being paper so you can burn it. Second: There is no such thing as a person who doesn't make mistakes. Simulations have indicated that even the original flawed plan would've worked, but Fox's suggestions reduced the risk from unknown quantities among your abilities causing trouble--quantities that turned out to not be any trouble at all in the end.
"Third: My friends will not turn against me all at once. I have too many, and I'm always making more; the probability is lower than that of a black hole spontaneously appearing in your eye in the next three seconds. Somebody decides for some reason to not just betray but attack me, there are five or six who will warn me well ahead of time and/or personally protect me, if for some reason I don't notice and take those measures myself, as it has been the last...two hundred-ish times something like that happened. Fourth: I think you forgot the brief demonstration of a fraction of my power I gave you earlier. One doesn't become the kind of person I am without being very good in a fight or a lot of other situations, even alone. We're talking because I like talking, and--I assume--you prefer talking to trying to fight me in your present state. I mean, you had a steak knife next to you earlier and didn't even take one lunge just for spite's sake.

"Anyway..you sound tired. That door leads to a bedroom if you don't wanna sleep on the couch," she says, pointing to a door on the same wall but the opposite corner from the one that leads to the bathroom. "I'd better go speak with the dream guardians about that business. Oh, if you're not tired this'll unpause the show," she adds, producing a weird remote control with just one play/pause button on it and setting it on a coffee table in front of the couch. "See you a little later. Just remember, friendship is magic~." She leaves using a "Cheshire-Cat" spell which makes all but her smile fade out first, then the smile.

--

Lyra's mind, connected to Lexica's, notices the strange fluctuations instantly, and moves the affected scrolls to individual isolation pocket dimensions to see if the effects persist. Since the long-term plan includes giving Oyoki back her powers, a record of what spells they were is created and sanitized in a way which should prevent any interaction of this kind from that secondary record.

((No problem. FYI, if separating the scrolls stops the effect Lyra will just put them together again in some kind of isolated cell to see what happens. Someone like her can usually afford to be curious after all.))

[xGoggles]

Saiya might still have asked what 'tagging' or a 'phone camera' was, but Darren ensured her that he'll take care of the technical stuff so she doesn't have to worry about it. And with that, they left Lyra's place.

--

Oyoki rolls her eyes and murmurs something under her breath, "And the dragon shows its tongue" and eventually giggles slightly. "Yes, you sure like to talk. That's nice~ You are like an open book, showering me with your knowledge. And why would I even dare to fight with you? You are sooo much more powerful that little poor me~", the tone sounds sarcastic while the message likely wasn't; and as weak as the fox-girl might be, she portrayed the difference in power like a mockery, unimpressed and teasing. Her tail swaying around, as she was enjoying the conversation in her own way.

Her pleasant mood suddenly dropped after hearing that she sounded tired. And even if her own body might have betrayed her, Oyoki quickly snapped back, "I'm not tired! Nor should I be..." And when Lyra announced she was about to go, "Hey, don't leave yet! I'm not done with you. I don't need... sleep..." Oyoki gets interrupted by another yawn and then lets out a frustrated groan as Lyra faded way. She didn't like this tiring feeling and then the only person that could prevent that just left before she could make a deal of some kind to get her powers back. Grabbing and examining the weird device the witch left on the table, having no idea what either of the buttons meant or what a remote was generally used for. Far too furious and far less too patient to just try pressing the buttons, she angrily throws down the remote to the floor. And given her current harmless Red form, the remote only landed with a soft thump on the floor, being undamaged by the attempt to break it.
If there was one thing she surely didn't want to do was fall asleep, not with these beings after her. She had to stay awake until Lyra returned, even when her body started to disagree with her....

--

And as the scrolls get separated the effects still persists, not only that, but the storage room they were removed from also still had its effects (though none of the other items inside got affected by it)... Attempts to 'clean', delete or suck-up this aura seemed to be quite tricky, like an annoying smudge that even after a lot of scrubbing still left its mark. Whatever this mysterious phenomenon was, it was very persistent, maybe unlike anything she had ever seen before.
For 'sanitizing' the spells onto a new record was another very difficult challenge on its own... ( like imagine taking all the e's away from this thread, and make the sound and the meaning of the text still to be similar enough to work with ) seems whatever this effect could be, it was very intertwined with the spells itself. These isolated spells mostly following themes of sealing, freeze, memory and time -magic, not giving much indication why only these incantations and techniques were affected. But if Lexica, when cut-and-pasting in Oyoki's memory, also dated the point in time when she learned these spells, they would appear to be around the same era, if not within a few years apart.
And as the effect kept on going, more butterflies started to appear, and even white flowers began to form. All having no physical mass and could be considered as minor illusions.