Idia checks the data and says, "Grim's numbers go haywire every time I try to get a precise blot accumulation reading. One moment they spike into the red zone... Like a subject that's gone full Phantom. Then the next moment, they bottom out and go infinitely close to zero. All attempts at blot treatments have had no effect whatsoever. And look at this."

He then types on the control pad and the monitor shows Grim sleeping in his bed.

Talking in his sleep, Grim says, "Myah... Sweets, gimme a bite o' that dessert... Zzz..."

Seeing Grim's sleep talking, Ortho says, "He's sleeping so peacefully. And all of his numbers are stable.

"He got abducted by a secret organization, and yet there he is, snoozin' away and exposing his tummy," Idia says, "Then again, I'm the Secret Organization Boss (placeholder title), so who am I to talk? I learned something else from the non-battle tests we had him do. He's got traces of a powerful spell on him.

"I thought the blue flames coming from his ears were a direbeast trait, but..." Ortho says, thinking about Grim;s abilities, "Do you think it's a curse manifesting, like how it is for you?"

"I tried analyzing it to see, but it's got layers of complex, interwoven magic. I can't piece the whole thing together," Idia answers, "Not even with Styx's supercomputer crunching the numbers. It'd take a century for that analysis to finish. But what I found out from studying the outer layers of the spell is that seriously ancient sorcery's involved."

"How ancient are we talking?" Ortho asks.

"Like, thousand-year-old primeval magic," Idia answers, "I've got no idea who cast such a complex spell on Grim, or why they did it... And it's currently unclear whether the blot resistance he has is a blessing or a curse."

"Those are technically the same thing, of course," Ortho replies. "Blessings and curses are both types of sorcery that bestow magic on someone. The only difference is whether there's a positive or negative intent behind it."

Yup. Same goes for our family curse that incinerates blot the moment it accumulates. Some people would think a guaranteed, overblot-free life is a huge blessing," Idia says, "But I'm sure our illustrious forebears viewed it as a curse placed on them so they'd never revolt again."

Ortho becomes shocked to hear it, "The reason the Shroud family was ordered to be the Watchmen of the Island of Woe in perpetuity... Was because the first family head took the Titans the original Phantoms... and led them in a revolt against the Jupiter family, right?

"Yup. Then the Jupiters chucked 'em in the dumpster," Idia answers, "Their punishment was being tasked with managing Tartarus, a prison for Phantoms... and the Underworld, the Phantom graveyard."

Then Idia grows frustrated, "Ugh... What were they thinking, trying to take down the Jupiters just to steal their spot at the top of the family? They must've known their chances were nil. Are they seriously my ancestors? They screwed over their kids, their grandkids, and everyone after that forever. No hopes, no dreams, no nothin' Over the years, other family heads came up with an idea... They thought if there were no more Phantoms, we'd be freed from watching over this dank depressing place. So they threw themselves into blot research. But you can see where that got us - nowhere. We're still stuck here. Years back, I thought that if we just cast our curse on everybody in the world, the problem would be solved. So I ran an analysis on our curse. But after about three minutes, it hit me. If a curse is designed to incinerate blot, but there's no blot to burn, what would it go for next?"

"It would jump to the source of blot-magic, right?" Ortho asks.

"Bingo," Idia answers, "We HAVE to keep producing blot- negative energy or else we'll get an MP -draining debuff just from being alive. If all the curse did was burn blot as soon as it accumulated. The Shroud family would be an upbeat band of merry heroes, bursting with magical might. But Dad and Grandma supplemented their magic with technomantic devices. And they were ultra-negative and depressing to be around. It doesn't take a genius to understand this curse sucks royally. Was I dense as a kid or what?"

Ortho remains silent to hear it

Idia continues, ""The way our bodies burn blot nonstop makes us suited to one thing, and only thing only. Managing the Underworld, the Phantom graveyard deep beneath this island. A vortex of negative energy. It's the slickest curse imaginable! It's from the Age of Gods, after all. Of course I'd be powerless to do anything about it.

Surprised to hear it, Ortho says, "...You are a genius, you know. I bet if you put your mind to it, you could really change things!

"Well, yeah. I AM pretty exceptional," India answers.

But then says, "But I'm not good enough to solve a problem that generations of our ancestors couldn't. I'd just be wasting my time. Besides, you can't have forgotten what happened to Ortho when we tried to leave this place.

"Well..." Ortho replies softly.

"My fate was set the moment I was born. My only choice was to spend my life in this dark, miserable place surrounded by spirits. I guess technically we COULD ditch our jobs. But if the Phantoms sealed in Tartarus got loose and made it to the surface. The world would go right back to where it started-pure chaos. Then my favorite manga would stop, and there'd be no more Premo concerts. And it'd definitely be a bad time for gaming. I've got no IRL hopes or dreams as it is. It'd be the absolute worst if I lost my escapism on top of everything else. That, and... I wouldn't have the guts to push reset on the save data my ancestors have grinded levels in for generations.

He lets out a sigh and says, "All those people up there, living their happy little lives not knowing a thing about our plight... I couldn't be more jealous."

Ortho remains silent a little and then says, "They say the King of the Underworld diligently undertook a duty everyone else feared -guiding the lost souls of the dead. But I wonder if the truth was closer to your situation. That it was a job he did grudgingly because someone made him do it."

The King of the Underworld, grudging? Nah, not a chance. Still, though..." India says, "If that were the case... Well, I was already a fan of the guy, but that'd turn me into a bona fide SUPERFAN."

Then Ortho asks, "By the way, what about Briar? Was there any more data about her? And about her species?"

"Well, Briar is still a rather big mystery. After some research, it's still hard to tell if she is really part of the Salubrious Fae species and the last of the Seerwood Royal Family. But still, the Salubrious Faes are an entirely unique species who were able to heal mages of their overblots. Of course, there are some cases of when the faes end up getting close to overblotting themselves, but never did. Our family and researchers have always tried to come to the Faes to learn about their abilities and to help with our research, but they usually kept to themselves. Except for other having connections and contact with other Faes and Fairies in this world," Idia says.

"I remember some details about them as well," According to the data, the Seerwood Royal Family are actually some of the most powerful mages in the world. They even have a school and classes that are specifically trained to help the faes learn how to use their magic abilities to heal Overblot. Their main ally and close friends the Seerwood family have was with the Draconia Family. They've been their long friend."

India sighs, "Until they died out that is."

Then says, "There isn't a full clear answer on how they died out. However, rumor has it, it is because of a strange illness from a Blot invasion 12 years ago. It started all of the sudden, and without a cure, they ended up dying. No matter how hard they try, they couldn't find the cure for this disease that invaded their land. They were forced to block everyone out to prevent this from spreading. As of so far, it only affected the Salubrious Fae. According to rumors, the last surviving memories of the royal family were the only ones who haven't caught the disease. But, it will only be a matter of time, despite having been isolated, the disease only seems to affect their species no one else. Another rumor is that the younger sister disappeared and was never found, while the eldest died of the disease. No one knows what became of the young sister. All they know is that they barely managed to find a cure, and inject it into the young princess before it spread and disappeared. No one knows where the young princess is... but it's possible, until now."

"Indeed. However, we're still working to confirm if Briar is the princess that was miraculously saved or not, and to figure out what really happened to her," Ortho says.

"Indeed, however, data shows that it's a strong possibility that she is, and maybe we can know what happened from her. Although, her memory can't fully be trusted as of now," India says.

Just then, Technician says over the monitor, "Acting Director, all tests for Subjects A through E and H are complete. We told them to stay in their rooms until the River Lethe was ready, but there's a slight problem..."

"Yeah, okay. Be right there," Idia says.

Then questions, annoyed, "What do those troublemakers want now?"

Ortho remains silent, until he softly says, "...You could totally do it, Idia."

"Huh? You say something?" Idia questions.

But Ortho says, "Nope! Not a word. Let's go!"