Chapter 7 - AethertideSome Time Ago"Okay long story short, a long time ago, the kingdom of Atlantis made a pact with the Dirac Sea, gaining power and prosperity in exchange for giving it a yearly tribute. Now this worked out quite well until around the time of the Atlantean Sovereign Debt Crisis wherein a pretty bad case of fiscal mismanagement lead to them being unable to make a sufficiently large tribute. Turns out if you somehow strike a deal with a hypothetical model of the vacuum that won't even be invented for centuries to come, which by the way I wouldn't recommend, you really don't want to default on your debt. The Dirac Sea repossessed their entire landmass, wiping their civilization off the face of the earth overnight. The Aethertide arose from the void left behind in the world. It's a peculiar place, distance and direction do not exist outside of its islands, navigation is a matter of knowing the destination not the route. Fortunately for you, that won't be something you'll have to worry about.""Like most other realms, spirit energy is abundant in the Aethertide. It's similar to being in a leyline all the time, so things like magical appliances are ubiquitous there. The denizens are all Awakened, though you as a Godslayer will still be a definite step above most in terms of natural power. Godslayers and Aramitama usually do not arise in these other realms. As an aside, it's not a bad place to find work if you ever decide to retire from this job. You'll be staying in the uh, Guantanamo Bay Resort there. It's a lot nicer than the name suggests, it's just a really bad coincidence. Kouta, since you're technically not Awakened, we'll be providing you with a wristband unit to let you use the technology there, you resort card will also encode that information so you won't end up in a situation where you need to be Awakened to do something."NowThe bow of the boat cuts through the still see like a knife, its V-shaped wake spreading and dissipating to naught. With no landmarks, no sense of direction, it's hard to tell you're moving at all, nothing but featureless sea and perfectly smooth sailing. You've ventured a fair way to get here, your trip starting with a flight from Sendo International Airport to well, nowhere really, a set of coordinates that no longer exist. From there you had touched down in the former fortress city of Kingshaven, it is to a medieval castle what a cancer is to a mole, a sprawling vivisected fortress with tendrils of marble white battlements tracing across its magnificent coastscape, grand tapestries floating alongside modern energy relay system, trains glide along miniature great walls, all beneath the gaze of the floating multi-segmented office buildings rising up from the commercial district. All manner of beings seemed to prowl its busy streets, most at least somewhat humanoid, though there were a few odder beings amongst them too. You hadn't had much time to gawk though, the schedule was tight and you soon boarded the ship in which you find ourself in now, a well-furnished ferry sleek and angular in construction that seems to slice through the waveless waters with alarming speed.
It is now that you see, it, emerging from the horizon, Guantanamo Bay Resort. Contrary to its name, the resort is effectively a private island owned by the resort company itself, and imprisoned within a grand dome of clear hexagonal plates that stretch out well into the surrounding waters, a life-sized snowglobe, minus the snow. Check in as it turns out, takes place when crossing through into this globe, identification checked and resort access cards being handed around here, and soon enough you find yourself disembarking onto the warm sandy shores of the resort proper. It's basically a small town really, with a sprawling main complex that splits off into collections of various smaller buildings wrapped by a series of footwalks and light rail tracks.
You could head to the concierge now if you need them for anything. The mini-map on your cards meanwhile indicate that you've a bit of ways to go from your bungalows for the unpacking. Oh there's also a few cafes and whatnot if you just wanna faff about right now anyway.