Act 3: Path of the stars - Chapter 2

The Archives' dark and silent hallways had never felt this eerie as Kyusaku ran around desperately looking for his partner, praying to whatever God could hear him that he wasn't among the Archivists lying around, acting like zombies.
A part of himself told him that Miyaji was different and that he wouldn't succumb so easily to whatever was behind this; after all, he had witnessed him come out of many terrifying situations. Despite this, he couldn't help but worry. He had to see with his own eyes that he was alright.

And to think that there was a time where he couldn't have cared less what happened to his partner.

In ten years of working together, he hadn't really thought much about it – but Miyaji really was different from his previous partners. Reminiscing about his past self not realizing how important Miyaji was to him, he wanted to slap himself for being so blind.

He really had to do better as a friend and get closer to Miyaji.

"Kyusaku!"

His partner's voice echoed in the hallway behind him, and he turned around just in time to see the redhead rush towards him, Tsubari right behind. Relief washed over him now that he knew his partner was alright.

"Thank the gods, you're alright!" Miyaji exclaimed, grabbing his arms, as soon as he saw him. "I was so worried when I saw everyone looking like zombies! How are you feeling? Were you able to rest? Any more nightmares?"

"I'm fine, I slept well and only had pleasant dreams... Wait, how did you know I had a nightmare? I didn't tell you."

"You think I wouldn't know?" His partner deadpanned.

"… You know me too well."

With a sigh, Miyaji explained that he could tell at a glance that something was wrong when he saw how tired he was. He might not have slept much, but he still shouldn't have been in such a state. That was why he suspected he had another nightmare, and combined with everything happening around them, it couldn't be a coincidence that he, too, felt incredibly tired.

"What exactly did you see this time?" His partner asked with a serious expression.

So Kyusaku told him and Tsubari about that nightmare, describing that strange plane that was both the ocean and the sky, and that horrifying creature that had shown up. The dream was still very vivid in his mind, and he couldn't help but shudder as the memory came back to him.

Tsubari's wings twitched as he brought a finger to his chin, deep in thought.

"That faceless creature doesn't ring a bell... However, that "ocean of stars" does!"

"Really?!"

"The Archivists have all been talking about it lately. Saying they dreamed about this place. None of them mentioned the creature, though."

"This is quite strange..." The elf commented, now even more confused.

"Thinking about it, I remember seeing it mentioned multiple times in one Archivist's research."

Normally, it was considered taboo to look at another Archivist's unpublished research without their consent, especially if you weren't close to them – but this time, they really couldn't be bothered with something like this. It wasn't like they could ask the person anyway, since they were currently sprawled over on their bed, one arm hanging limply at the side, and staring at the ceiling without moving.
Kyusaku wasn't surprised. It was starting to look like their research was heavily related to the current situation, so it would be strange – and even a bit suspicious – if they remained unaffected.

The elf spent a good hour skimming through the research papers and notes scattered over that Archivist's desk and floor, eyes quickly gliding across the letters, stopping here and there when certain words caught his attention.

From the information Tsubari gave him and what he could gather, that Archivist seemed to be researching a rather niche religion. So niche in fact that so far, the only things tied to it were a recently discovered monastery and some texts and paintings.
That mysterious "ocean of stars" they all dreamed of was one of the most prominent imagery in that religion. Although not much was known about it yet, from the texts deciphered by the Archivist, Kyusaku understood that this place – referred to as the "Plane of Clarity" – was supposedly a sacred location not accessible in the physical world. The monks aimed to reach it through a form of "awakening" as they believed the Plane of Clarity would reveal the truth of this world to them.

With a sigh, the elf put the papers down and leaned back in his chair.

"Did you find out anything?" Tsubari asked anxiously, fidgeting with their sleeves.

"Yes, and no." He stood up and stretched his back a bit before explaining. "I now know what's happening to everyone, but I still don't know why it's happening."

Miyaji, who had been looking over his shoulder as he read those papers, brought a hand to his chin as he thought deeply about the situation.

"Should we go and visit that monastery?"

Kyusaku shook his head. "It will take too long. Let's look around a bit more, and if we still can't find anything, we'll head there."

As he nodded, his partner seemed to notice something behind him. "By the way, what's that?" He asked, pointing to a glass containing the leftovers of a drink on the desk. "It's been bugging me since we came here."

The reason that drink had been on his mind the whole time was because it seemed quite peculiar, as the few drops left in that glass were an unnatural bright blue. Kyusaku had noticed it too, but since looking over the research was his priority, he didn't think much of it at first. It was most likely some kind of potion, probably to counter fatigue or boost focus. He had used a number of those in the past, and they weren't an uncommon sight in the Archives.

But the reason this particular one caught their eye was because potions weren't typically drunk in a glass; they were usually drunk directly in their bottle. Unless...

"Ah!" Tsubari exclaimed all of a sudden, their wings jolting up. "I knew this looked familiar!"

"What about this potion?"

"Lately, the Archivists have all been talking about this 'special tea' that enhances focus and relieves fatigue... I didn't realize it was actually a potion!"

"A tea...? That's strange," Kyusaku commented, "if it was just a potion, why call it a tea?"

His instinct told him to check the papers again, and he was right – in the part that roughly explained this "awakening process", the word "tea" was mentioned a few times.

"I think I know what happened..."

He figured that this tea was likely the one mentioned in the texts, and for his research, that Archivist had the brilliant idea of recreating it after figuring out how it was made and finding out that it had these useful properties, shared it with other Archivists. And before they knew it, they all ended up in that state.
Either that potion was dangerous to begin with – after all, if it was used in an obscure religious ritual, it was hard to say what the effects were supposed to be - or they made a mistake somewhere while preparing it.

"Either way, now we're the ones left cleaning up their mess," Miyaji said with a shrug, annoyed.

Kyusaku and Tsubari had to agree with him. Though they hadn't always been the most careful, they would still not drink a random potion from an old religion when they didn't really know what it would do, and they would certainly not share it with others.

With a sigh, Kyusaku resigned himself to deal with this situation – at least comforted by the fact he knew the one who caused all this would be severely punished when they'd finally wake up.

Now, while it was true that Kyusaku definitely, absolutely, completely SUCKED at magic, potions were a different story. After all, he used them more than he'd like to admit to stay awake and keep working when he wasn't supposed to, or to recover from a cold quicker, and a wide range of other things. Naturally, since he was consuming so many, he eventually learned how to make his own, as it was much cheaper.

Neither Miyaji nor Tsubari knew about this side of him, so he had to explain this multiple times and in great detail before they let him into the kitchen. He could understand their reluctance, since whenever he tried using magic it either straight up didn't work or resulted in a terrible disaster.

Inside the kitchen, they found a recipe left behind by the Archivist. It seemed this tea was made with a few different magical plants. They weren't dangerous on their own, but mixed together like this, they produced this effect. This might have been the results the monks wanted, judging by the appearance of the Plane of Clarity in the dreams of those who drank it, but since those who drank it remained stuck in this state, it was likely that there was more to the ritual than simply drinking this potion.

Kyusaku got right to work preparing an antidote, expertly mixing the ingredients. Potions were closer to medicine than regular beverages – and just like medicine, when handled wrongly, it became poison. Once he knew how the potion was made, it was easy to figure out how to counter its effects.
After he tested his antidote on one of the victims and confirmed that it worked, he taught the other two how to make it. They were eager to help and got right to work.

They spent almost the whole day brewing enough for everyone who had been affected – which was actually almost every single Archivist present at this time. As they distributed them, Tsubari commented that maybe they should cover the walls with posters to remind Archivists of basic safety rules.

A week had passed and most people had recovered from the incident, though a few were affected more severely and were still resting. The Archivist who had carelessly shared this "special tea" with everyone suffered from the consequences, and was harshly punished.
Not only had they been suspended for three months, they had also been demoted to a mere librarian assistant and been forbidden from ever researching that topic again. That was truly the worst thing that could happen to an Archivist, but that was a fair and even light punishment considering they had put in danger the life of more than a hundred people.

The matter wasn't completely resolved, though.

With that Archivist barred from continuing their research, said research had been passed onto them. It was actually Miyaji who requested Tsubari to let them handle it for the time being. After all, Kyusaku had seen the Plane of Clarity, while the texts from that religion mentioned that the potion's effects only appeared over time.

Not to mention the faceless creature.

So, now that the research and notes from that Archivists were in their hands and they had nothing better to do anyway while everyone recovered, they spent that week carefully looking over everything, expanding upon the Archivist's findings and drawing their own conclusions.
There were a few pages of notes regarding that recently discovered monastery, but it seemed like only a fraction of it had been explored, so it looked like their next step was to check it out.

"What's on your mind?" Kyusaku asked his partner as they were busy preparing to leave. "You've been quiet lately."

He only realized after seeing the smirk on Miyaji's face that he had given him the perfect opportunity to tease him.

"What, do you like hearing my voice that much?"

He rolled his eyes. Then it occurred to him that he could retaliate.

"I like it so much I dream of it."

Completely taken by surprise, Miyaji stammered a little bit, not sure what to say, before it seemed to click.

"Wait. You don't have dreams, only nightmares!"

The elf held back a laugh. "Anyway, what were you thinking about?"

"That creature you saw in your dream."

Kyusaku instantly tensed the moment he mentioned it. He had almost forgotten about it, but the terror that filled him when he met it was still fresh in his mind.

"I have a bad feeling about it," Miyaji admitted, his face dark. "You saw the same location as the other Archivists, but you're the only one who saw that thing. I'm afraid that's not a coincidence. Something might be after you. That religion is also strange..."

Kyusaku checked he had everything he needed and closed his bag before turning to his partner, listening intently.

"Have you heard of it before?"

"No, and that's what worries me. I know a lot about gods and religion. Yet, I've never heard of that religion or the place they call the "Plane of Clarity". Or what the "truth of this world" is supposed to be... "

"How confident are you about your knowledge?"

"You could say I'm an expert on the subject."

"Hmm... No doubt because of that God of Knowledge that you seem to really like," Kyusaku teased him.

"Ahem, anyway. Since I know a lot about this, it's really strange that I haven't heard of it before. It may be related to something a bit dangerous... like that creature."

"Do you have an idea what it might be?"

"Not really. Truthfully, I've never heard of anything like it. But I get the feeling that it's extremely dangerous, and it seems to only be targeting you."