The Train to Nasu

The train hummed steadily, carrying them away from the bustling heart of Tokyo towards the increasingly chilling landscape of Nasu. Dante, Kaito, Maria, and Yumi sat together in a spacious compartment, the quiet click-clack of the wheels on the tracks a rhythmic backdrop to their journey. Epsilon and Alpha moved about the car, offering snacks and drinks, if not, standing by. The car was sparsely populated, a quiet carriage reflecting the unease surrounding Nasu's recent events.

"Thank you for taking care of Epsilon for me," Dante started, a casual remark that drew Kaito's attention.

"You're welcome?" Kaito responded, a hint of confusion in his voice. He had always assumed Epsilon was simply part of Yumi's retinue.

Dante gave a quick, almost imperceptible glance towards Yumi.

"Hierophant is the creator of Epsilon and similar automatons of the Association," Yumi's text appeared on Kaito's phone

Maria gasped softly, her eyes wide. Even for her, Epsilon was an extraordinary feat of engineering and magic. "You created Epsilon and the others?" she asked Dante, genuine awe in her voice.

"More like retrofitted them," Yumi's next text corrected, "but still technically their creator."

"Such harsh words, High Priestess," Dante chuckled, a light, teasing tone in his voice. "Did you not benefit from its existence as well?"

Yumi's phone chimed again, displaying a simple 'hmp' emoji.

Dante cleared his throat, steering the conversation. "So anyway, how have you adjusted to life so far, Kaito and Maria?"

"I've been doing well," Kaito replied, thinking of his training, his deepening bond with Durandal; as she floated in the air, rolling around, and the unexpected normalcy of their household. "It's… certainly different from before, but I'm adjusting."

"And I too." Maria added. "Would like to thank the Association for letting me join Kaito. It's been an incredible experience, and I'm learning so much."

"I'm glad," Dante said, his gaze lingering on Kaito. "Say, Kaito, would you like to join us as an Executive of the Association? Given your abilities and status, the other executives wouldn't push back on the idea."

Kaito blinked, taken aback. An executive? "What does an executive role entail, exactly?"

Yumi's phone buzzed with a quick answer for Kaito. "Nothing much," her text read. "We hold the power of the Association and tend to vote on issues and plans. However, aside from that, we tend to do our own things, and if desired, contribute to the Association in their own way."

Kaito looked from Yumi to Dante, considering the offer. It was a significant proposition, a step into a much larger world of influence and responsibility. "This is a hard decision," he admitted. "Could I have some time to think about it?"

"No problem," Dante replied smoothly, a hint of genuine appreciation in his voice. "I'm glad that you heard us out in the first place."

Just then, the train's overhead announcement chimed, an automated voice stating their arrival. "It looks like we've arrived."

_______________________________________________________________

They stepped off the train onto the platform, and Kaito immediately felt it. To his enhanced senses, the air was thick with the flowing purple miasma, an unseen blanket to ordinary eyes, but a stark, unsettling reality to him and the others. Alpha moved, handing each of them a sleek, black gas mask. On the right side of each mask, an arcane symbol was etched into the casing.

"This should protect you from the miasma in the air," Dante said, his voice slightly muffled by the mask as he adjusted it over his face.

As they walked through the station and out into the streets, the city of Nasu was a abandoned. Windows of houses were boarded up, crude barriers of wood and tape guarding entrances, evidence of residents who hadn't fled frantically trying to safeguard themselves from whatever unseen terror lurked outside. Maria pulled her mask tighter, her voice a hushed whisper. "It's like a ghost town."

They proceeded in the direction where the miasma was visibly concentrated to Kaito's eyes, bypassing hastily constructed orange tape and flimsy barriers. They hiked a considerable distance, the silence broken only by their footsteps, until the Killing Stone finally came into view.

The ancient rock sat ominously, the source of the visible miasma. As they approached, an unnerving chill became even more evident, a subtle pressure on their minds that even the masks couldn't entirely block. Alpha raised a camera, snapping several pictures of the stone. Dante moved closer, circling the jagged rock. He looked as if he were unsure what to do, contemplating the rock before him.

Finally, he closed his eyes and placed a gloved hand directly onto the rough surface of the stone. Five minutes passed in silence, punctuated only by the distant, faint sound of the wind. Nothing visible happened, no great tremor or flash of light. Then, Dante simply stood up, his expression unreadable.

"I'm done," he stated, pulling his hand away. "We can head back now."

"So soon?" Kaito asked, surprised by the brevity of the 'research trip.'

"I got what information I could from it," Dante replied, turning to lead the way back. "But it might be dangerous for our health if we were to stay any longer, even with these." He gestured to his mask.

They turned and headed back to the train station, the ghost town of Nasu receding behind them. The journey back to Tokyo was just as quiet, filled with the unspoken questions about the bizarre scene they had just witnessed.

Exactly one week later, the unsettling silence surrounding the Nasu incident shattered. A pillar of vibrant purple erupted from the Killing Stone, a towering column of miasma that pierced the sky. This time, it wasn't just Kaito and the others who could see it; the ominous purple glow was visible to the entirety of Japan. The miasma spread rapidly, like an unseen wave, and as it did, more and more people across the nation began to fall ill, especially in the densely populated capital, Tokyo. The invisible illness of Nasu had become a national plague.