Chaos is known as the being that never became a star. It is everywhere and yet nowhere at the same time.
Neither good nor evil, the ultimate expression of nothingness. The antithesis of the cosmos, creation itself.
Although Chaos claims to be the very state of existence from which the first entities appeared, it cannot form into the entity it wants most.
So it has been cursed to stay in the form of a dark and shapeless void. Floating between existence and nonexistence.
Longingly watching as stars are constantly born and lives are lived. The seeds of malice had been planted, flourished and transformed Chaos into the purest form of evil.
Honestly Erica didn't feel like she did anything worth being thanked for. She commented on a whim on the girl's lacking skills with the fighting game. She didn't consider herself an expert with it and wasn't at the level where she could give concrete advise. You could only get better with games through personal experience after all. But still somehow she got a thank you. It was a weird feeling.
She smiled back and watched as the girl tried again. But there were no miracles today. Once more she tasted defeat, but judging from how she did, there was a noticeable improvement in her playing. She took one point at least, which was better than the zero she had earlier. Did people really get better at games through a quick demo and verbal advice? The girl looked satisfied anyway and that was the most important thing. She introduced herself as Ai and Erica couldn't help but notice her somewhat odd speaking. It was English, but a bit awkward.
"I'm Erica. It's a pleasure to meet you too."
"I suppose you're not from around here? I'm the same honestly. I'm an exchange student from America, and I'm just glad this country is accommodating enough to English."
A business major whose family owned a chain of jewelry shops. That explained the air of wealth around the girl. From the way she spoke, it was like she was the one practically running the business already and that she was only going to school to get a degree as a formality. It was certainly impressive for someone her age. Erica realized that the entire shopping trip so far had been her being coaxed into buying things by a shrewd businesswoman. Except she didn't really feel like she was being tricked or cheated at all. Noel had a very good grasp of her field of expertise, and despite her recommendations being on the pricey side, they were in fact quality goods and merchandise.
"Oh, I didn't realize you were some sort of celebrity. I've only been staying in France just for a few weeks you see. I'm an exchange student from America participating the exchange program in St. Elbandia. But seeing what they have to offer here so far, I'm inclined to consider transferring long term."
The program was for first years, so there was a high chance Noel was her senior. It was also likely that they would run into each other on campus some time and Erica would remember to greet her properly then.
As they continued to walk, Noel suggested grabbing something to eat as they passed by the food court, causing Erica to raise an eyebrow ever so slightly. After all the rich girl shopping they had been doing, Noel was suggesting to eat in the food court? It was a little unexpected. But maybe she knew something Erica didn't.
"Oh definitely, I'd love to grab a bite. What would you recommend? I'm craving something a little sweet honestly."
Erica stood still for a bit, looking at the paperweight on her hand against the light and admiring it. It was a fine crystalline piece that reminded her of precious stones. It wasn't as though she intended to wait for the battle in the planetarium to finish, but perhaps in a way she wanted to know what became of the "heroine" that stepped up to the occasion. It didn't take too long. Soon enough, the other girl finally emerged from the projection room looking worse for wear. She approached Erica, appearing a bit uncertain with herself. With some difficulty she stammered a greeting followed by a bow and thanks. To which Erica reacted with some mild surprise.
"Thanks for assistance? I'm not quite sure what you mean."
Erica returned the paperweight she was holding to the receptionist counter which was just a couple of steps away from where they stood. She did promise to return it after borrowing it. Though seeing the current state of the planetarium, a lost paperweight was probably going to be the least of their concerns.
"If anything you deserve the thanks for taking care of all of that. So allow me to say thank you on behalf of everyone else who cannot because they were unaware of your brave actions."
She gave the girl a short one-person applause for a few seconds before continuing to speak.
"You look terrible though. But I think it's a good sign you're still able to walk and talk. Let me book you a ride to the hospital to get those scratches patched up. It's the least I can do."
Erica took out her phone from her purse and quickly requested for a car to pick them up and drive them to the nearest hospital. Well, it was mostly for the girl. Erica wasn't hurt in the slightest. But if a beat up girl stuck around here when the authorities and everyone else arrived, it would raise some annoying questions so it was best that she left as fast as she could.
"I suppose it's weird getting taken cared of by a stranger. Believe me, I wouldn't consider myself a saint or anything. But certain obligations must be fulfilled. Ah, I guess we can consider this to be the assistance that I owe you. Your thanks earlier was a little premature after all."
"I'm Erica by the way. Erica Cypher."
"Oh, how lucky. It seems we've got a car on the way already. They're just under a block away."
At least she was trying. That was Erica's thought as the other girl hacked away at the skeletons between the two of them in an effort to get to her. She was rather handy with the sword but watching her like that, Erica came to the conclusion that she likely didn't possesses any abilities that allowed her to attack from a range. It was also a bit strange that the girl was forcing her way through instead trying to draw attention to herself like she had been doing all this time. Did she forget that she was able to attract the skeletons to her earlier by making loud noises? It probably wasn't on purpose, but banging on the shield of the spear-wielding skeleton would at least draw the attention of one the two approaching Erica back to her.
Still the girl was taking too much time with fighting and Erica decided she had to take care of that one skeleton that was still heading her way. She quickly stepped back out of the room, closing the door as she did, but that wasn't going to stop the skeleton who forcefully pushed the door open a few seconds later. This would be the first time today that she was facing one of these things head on. Every other instance before now she had gotten the jump on them, thanks in part to the other girl being very good at getting their attention, though not this time.
She figured she ought to try engaging the monster properly. She jumped back while simultaneously tossing in front of her the paperweight she was holding. Suddenly bits and pieces of the floor began to crack and break with the debris being drawn to the paperweight like a magnet. It only took a couple of seconds at best, but before Erica now stood a tall humanoid figure made of marble and stone. Meanwhile thin strings of light extended from her fingertips in the direction of the humanoid figure, though they turned invisible before actually showing any connection to the figure. The skeleton halted its advance, staring blankly at the new "opponent" that appeared before it.
"Honestly, this is a bit excessive. A skilled enough human proved that you lot can be taken down by human-level strength. This one has enough strength to lift a ca..."
Of course the skeleton didn't care about anything she said. Before she could finish talking it charged forward with its shield while raising its sword arm to strike. Well, it wasn't as though she was expecting to have any sort of proper conversation with a monster anyway. She moved her fingers slightly and her golem assumed a fighting stance, winding up its arm for a haymaker. There was no need for any sort of technique or deception here. They possessed the superior strength and so she would use it to its fullest. The powerful punch connected with skeleton's shield and sent the monster flying backwards. It crashed through the planetarium door and broke into many pieces when it made impact on the floor. Erica didn't actually see that part, but somehow she was certain that punch defeated it.
"Hmm. That was really a little too much. But thanks for the good work."
With just a thought, the marble stone golem fell apart returning to its composite materials and the paperweight that had been its core flew back to Erica's hand. She imagined that one skeleton being sent flying through the door probably startled the other girl. It would be best if she didn't leave a tall golem materialized there to stress the girl out her any further when she was done cleaning up the rest of the skeletons in the planetarium and came out. She's had a rough day.
It seemed Erica had stayed outside a tad too long. By the time she entered the building to try and catch up with the girl and the other skeletons, she just barely spotted the last of them going through the doorway to the projection room where they were earlier. The lack of screams would tell her that the people who had taken refuge inside before were probably no longer there. Still she had to wonder what the girl was thinking, leading those things to where civilians might have been hiding. At least luck favored her that the people were already somewhere else. Unless she somehow knew that herself. Well it was no use overthinking things. What's done was done. On her way after them, she picked up a paperweight that was on the receptionist counter, now devoid of people. She would only be borrowing it for a while.
As she reached for the door handle to enter the room herself, she paused for a moment to think. She could hear the sounds of a fierce battle going on inside, particularly the clashing of blades. At this point, should she choose to proceed, there was no longer any watching from the shadows. Opening the door was essentially the same as announcing her presence. Of course there wasn't anything wrong with that. But she did wonder what would be the best kind of entrance. Perhaps appearing to enter the room by mistake?
Smiling, she pushed open the door, pretending to nearly stumble forward as she did. The main lights were off and so the room was fairly dim. Her entrance would cause the light from outside to illuminate the part of the room near the entrance just a bit, drawing the attention of a few of the skeletons and of course the girl fighting. Erica took particular note of the peculiar sword she was wielding, almost certain that none of the skeletons were holding anything as flashy as that. Was it her own weapon then? She smiled a little, though with the light outside behind her, you wouldn't really be able to make out the expression she had on her face.
"Oh dear..."
Two of the skeletons would turn around and start walking towards her. Meanwhile hidden behind her back, held by her left hand, was the paperweight she had picked up earlier, glowing ever so slightly.
Erica was actually somewhat rooting for the girl, all things considered. Someone willing to act out in the open was exactly what she needed to keep attention off herself while she made her own contributions. Erica couldn't quite call her moves polished however. And despite having the courage to draw a huge group to herself, it didn't seem like she actually had a solid method or plan for dealing with large numbers surrounding her. A moment of carelessness would send her flying from a stray blow, though she would recover quickly from it.
As Erica continued to watch and wait for an opportunity to make her next move, the girl suddenly demonstrated heightened agility, beyond what would normally be possible for an ordinary human. That settled it. She was definitely one of those special people. It was rather bold of her though to make that move now despite taking great care to look like an ordinary person until just a while ago. Perhaps she thought there was no one else around staying to see what was going on.
The girl put up a valiant fight, but in the end the numbers were just overwhelming and she was forced to retreat back into the building. Erica watched as the skeletons followed after her, entering in pairs as the door wasn't big enough for all of them to go in at once. The final remaining pair lingered outside for bit, looking around before making their way inside too.
It was at this point that Erica stepped out of her hiding place and made a dash for the two skeletons while their backs were turned. She passed by one of the defeated pile of bones and activated her puppet strings to take control of a sword that she launched right at the back of one of the skeletons, impaling and defeating it. The other one turned around and started heading towards Erica to attack her but she was already expecting that. She used her puppet strings again, this time on the sword of the other skeleton that she just defeated. As it was collapsing to the ground its arm swung the blade in its hand in an arc to lop off the head of the remaining skeleton. That was two down.
As she had a little time to breathe, she bent down for a bit to examine the remains of the skeletons more closely and spotted what were unmistakably grief seeds. It would probably be dangerous to to just leave them like that and so she made sure to collect what was scattered outside before venturing into the planetarium herself. Of course should the other girl be interested in them, Erica was willing to hand over her proper share. But that would also depend on how she would handle the rest of them.
Cautiously, she slipped back inside into the building, keeping a close eye on her surroundings. It would be bad if some skeletons actually stayed behind there to try and ambush people like her who entered.
Based on the girl's response seemed more determined than she appeared. Erica wondered if she misread the girl's down expression earlier after suffering that loss. Erica's words were actually an attempt to console the girl a bit but seeing as how she was only eager to keep trying, Erica suddenly felt that she said something silly and unnecessary.
When the girl stood up asking if Erica wanted a turn, it surprised the blonde a bit. Erica was really only interested in watching people play for now, but maybe she could use this chance to at least look like she knew what she was talking about.
"Oh, sure I guess. One round wouldn't hurt."
She accepted the girl's offer and took a seat in front of the machine. Now this was one of the more recent games to come out this year. But in her last few months back home, she had gotten a chance to try her hand at it. At the very least she was capable of pulling off long combos in practice. But this would be her first time sitting down in an arcade since coming to New Paris.
In the end, the match actually went pretty well. True she had picked more newbie-friendly characters than her opponent, but it was the end result that mattered. She managed to win without losing a single round, though it did come close at one point. She at least rebuilt her confidence that she was still a decently good arcade gamer even until now.
"It's really been a while. There were some combos there that had totally slipped my mind. I'm normally much better at guarding."
She stood up from the machine, feeling a little refreshed at that fun workout. Though she wasn't keen on playing any more than that. It was just a one time thing today. She then gestured to it to the girl if she still wanted to play.
"Sorry for bothering you earlier. Win or lose, games are meant to be enjoyed. Sometimes my perfectionist side just gets the better of me."
Erica had to admit it. From the way she spoke to the extent and thoroughness of her suggestions, Noel was a fashion expert far beyond her own knowledge. Suddenly it began to make more sense why the girl had offered to buy Erica a new outfit on their very first meeting as she certainly wasn't wearing anything that would impress a fashionista. Noel even took into account the color and style of the dresses she just picked up. Both were party dresses with lace trimmings as the key parts of their design. The black one was off-the-shoulder while the white one was a spaghetti strap style.
Noel's words were both very educational and impressive, while also sounding business-like. It seemed Erica had misjudged her as just some rich girl and there was more to it. The least she could do was humor her.
"I do like the sound of that. Let's go have a look then."
The day went from window shopping to actual shopping. But with a pro by her side, Erica likely wouldn't regret any purchases she would make today. She would certainly make the most of it.
"Say, are you perhaps a fashion student? I thought for sure I had a decent knack for it, but I suppose casual self-studied knowledge just can't win against actual expertise."
To be fair, she didn't really try today with her outfit. She just put on something comfortable but presentable. But saying that out loud would just make it seem like she was making excuses. She'd allow Noel to have the spotlight for now.
It was really a very untimely interruption. Just when the show was starting to get even better, the sound of screams would suddenly be heard from outside, causing those within the planetarium to stand up in alarm. The one managing the projections was just as clueless and tried her best to get everyone to settle down, even turning the light back on. Seeing all this unfold, Erica resigned to the fact that the show was over. She had one guess about what the commotion was all about, and knowing her luck, one guess was all she would need. Yet again these "interruptions" were getting in the way of her daily life.
As Erica sighed and stood up from her seat, people suddenly rushed in from outside to take refuge in the planetarium, all while screaming something about stray robots attacking. But were they really robots? Since she was seated close to the doors, it wasn't too difficult for her to slip outside, past the people fleeing in the opposite direction. If this was really the type of situation she was thinking it was, then she literally couldn't just stay out of it. And frankly that suited her just fine. She wasn't too pleased at getting her day off interrupted and she had an urge to take out her annoyance on someone or something. If she could help people along the way as part of her contract, then that was killing two birds with one stone.
The scene outside was chaos as expected. The source of robot attack claims were a group of skeletons, armed with swords and attacking everyone around them. It was one of those unfair scenarios where the enemy could flaunt themselves as they wished with no regard for witnesses or keeping things secret. Meanwhile, Erica was bound by a code to not let magic be known.
Just as she was pondering her course of action, another girl would spring at the scene, seemingly coming from the direction of the planetarium as well. She stood out to Erica because she was the only one not running away and instead even trying to approach one of the skeletons. She whacked one in the head with her bag and when the monster lost its skull, the rest of its body just collapsed into a pile of bones.
So weak. If that was all it took to beat them, then the local police force should have no problem suppressing these things at all. Those were the thoughts that lingered in Erica's mind. The girl wasn't through playing hero though and tried to draw the attention of the other skeletons to her. Was she planning something else? She was either very brave, very foolish, or maybe she was in a similar situation to Erica in which she couldn't just leave the situation alone. If it was the third, then this would be the first time Erica would run into someone else like that. It didn't look like she picked up the grief seed from that first skeleton though so she wasn't sure.
Looking around for something to use, Erica spotted a ball fountain close by outside the planetarium and had a spark of an idea. Standing behind the big sphere away from any prying eyes, she activated her puppet strings and took control of the ball. Now there wasn't much a huge marble ball could do other than roll, but that was the only thing she was after anyway. Detaching itself from its base, the large ball began to roll in the direction of the skeletons until it got out of range of Erica's strings. That was fine because all she needed to do was setup the direction and give it a rolling start. Momentum would take care of the rest. It would take a while for the skeletons to notice the ball as the other girl's clanging would do a decent job of attracting their attention. And so before any of them could react, five of them were taken out like bowling pins as the ball crashed into their formation. By this time Erica had already retreated behind a pillar, watching the scene out of sight and looking for her next opportunity.
As much as Erica wanted to get more reactions, it seemed her benefactor was intent on playing it cool and distant. She didn't want to appear rude by taking too long and so when Noel called out if she was done, Erica decided that would be her time limit. In the end, she was back to the first two dresses she had picked out from the start. None of the other outfits really interested her much. She stepped out to where Noel was waiting and walked on over to the counter to pay, both dresses in hand.
"Sorry about that. I can be a bit indecisive at times. And in most cases, I let greed get the best of me and just take everything."
She handed both of the outfits to the shopkeeper to wrap them up and then reached for her purse and took out her card.
"I'll be paying for the other one. The offer was only for one outfit after all."
She smiled again. Although it was an unexpected purchase, she appreciated being introduced to this outfitter and was glad to actually find something she liked. She might just come back next season to check out their collection then.
"I wonder if I should have picked out some shoes and accessories too."
In all honesty, Erica's intended destination today was the Fruit's Parlor cafe on the second floor of the Royal Crown. She had been spending her free time going around and sampling sweets from the various cafes in the city. Despite how she was, she was rather diligent when it came to things that truly interested her. And she definitely wanted to be personally aware of where one could grab the tastiest desserts and sweets. But before she could get to the Fruit's Parlor, one had to pass through the first floor that housed the Game Center.
Erica had an interesting relationship with games. She actually loved them. But perhaps not in the same sense as your typical gamer. What she was truly fond of was winning, and doing so in a way that gave her opponents a hard time. It was a bad habit of hers, letting someone else feel like they were ahead before snatching victory at the last moment. In any case, most people end up being surprised that a princess like herself was actually very familiar with most games and that catches them off guard. She chuckled at the thought and wondered if she would see something amusing today. The Game Center was a detour on her trip that she didn't mind taking at all.
If she remembered right, the articles on the magazines she had read said that this place boasted of having the latest games. And it appeared that boast was no lie. Already she spotted a couple of titles that were just released in the last week or so.
As she casually strolled around, looking over people's shoulders as they played, she chanced upon a girl who had just taken a hard loss in a fighting game. She caught Erica's eye not just because of her struggle but also because she didn't look French, or even European for that matter. If Erica had to guess, she was someone from East Asia perhaps? Chinese, Japanese, and Koreans were a bit difficult to tell apart. It didn't really matter much since back in America they all spoke English anyway.
She wasn't sure why she did so, but Erica struck a conversation to somewhat console the poor girl who didn't look like she was used to this sort of thing. Perhaps the girl's discouraged expression struck a chord with her. Whether or not that was a good thing remained to be seen.
"This game isn't very beginner-friendly. Back where I'm from, you'd need to have spent countless hours practicing at home before getting confident enough to step into an arcade to play against other people. Or you could play online too I suppose."
Erica found herself whisked away as the girl grabbed her wrist and dragged her around the mall until they reached a certain outfitter that Erica immediately identified as not the kind of store most people can afford. Typically she would only walk into such a place if she wanted or needed custom-made clothing. But it seemed they had quite the impressive collection inside as well. For now she couldn't tell if Noel was just enthusiastic about this or she just wanted to get it over quickly.
Noel de Masseur. The name didn't ring any bells but she had a feeling a local to New Paris might have heard of it. Considering how she had been acting so far, Erica assumed that she was somewhat of a big deal. Dragging her into that store, Noel then asked her to choose anything there and she would pay for it as thanks. It had been a while since Erica last met someone who flaunted their wealth rather openly and resisted the urge to laugh. Though in previous occasions, they were people who were trying to impress her. This situation was a little different.
"That's really quite generous of you. I'm a little envious of your friends."
That last statement was a little tongue-in-cheek, as Erica went with the assumption that Noel behaved this way to everyone. A more humble person would have refused the offer. Just briefly glancing at the price tags on the few outfits on display would give the average middle class person a heart attack. Erica would actually pull the same joke herself if she had the chance to. For now she was content with playing along and waiting for the punchline, if there was one.
She walked over to the nearest display rack and began to casually browse the selection. Not only the designs but the material felt high quality. If nothing else, this was definitely the kind of store had every right to sell at exorbitant prices. Though at the same time it felt kind of stuffy. As she looked good in pretty much anything, Erica had long outgrown her excessive fondness for beautiful dresses like these. Perhaps if she was going to a party she'd be more motivated. The mood. The mood was very important for things like this. But out of politeness she had to at least pretend to look interested.
Erica had a bias for lacy attire. She pulled a black lacy dress from the rack along with a similar white one, comparing them side by side.
That really happened didn't it? A person offering to by someone an entire outfit as thanks. Maybe being a goody two-shoes wasn't so bad after all. Erica found the situation hilarious despite the distinct coldness of the other girl's tone. The girl was probably trying to be polite but it didn't quite come out right. It was around then that it finally dawned on Erica that she was being looked down on somehow. And that was... amusing to say the least. She stifled a chuckle before giving her response. This girl seemed like a lot of "fun", and if she was offering to hangout, then Erica wouldn't pass on a potential source of enjoyment.
"Well, I wasn't planning on picking up anything today, but certainly if you have any recommendations, I'd love to have a look."
It was probably an almost equally weird response. The girl offered to buy something for her, but her reply suggested she could afford whatever the girl was thinking of getting for her. Erica maintained her cheerful expression, not showing any signs of being offended. How could she be when someone practically offered to entertain her.
"I'm Erica by the way. Erica Cypher. It's a pleasure to meet you."
She loved it. From what Erica had seen of the show so far, this was easily in the top 5 or even top 3 planetarium exhibitions she had seen ever from the quality alone. New Paris' projection technology didn't disappoint. This was a more children-friendly show however and despite that not really being bad thing, perhaps she was looking for something a little more complex. The stunning visuals more than made up for it though. She could appreciate that if anything else.
When they reached the segment about the shooting stars, Erica felt the general excitement in the room rise up a bit, especially for the kids when the narrator mentioned making a wish. Here the projection flexed its capabilities, with the shooting stars moving not only overhead but even on the sides and the floor. This wasn't the first time she had seen something like this, but this was definitely one of the better executions. Usually at these parts, the younger members of the audience would get a bit unruly and spoil the experience a bit, so she was glad that those in the crowd were quite behaved for the most part.
The neutron star bit was again quite captivating if not oddly familiar. She had definitely seen something like it before but it escaped her memory where. Apparently for most of those present, this was the most impressive part so far. The reactions of awe and amazement were much more noticeable. The momentary brightness also allowed Erica to briefly glimpse a few other faces in the room. All attention was at the shape being formed in the projection. Despite the feelings of deja vu, she too was eagerly awaiting what would come next.
It was the Halloween season. Well, technically there were still a few days before Halloween itself, but the festive mood had taken over the arrondissement by storm. While taking a stroll through the mall, there wasn't a single shop in sight that wasn't in on the Hallows' Eve spirit. To Erica, this was a huge reminder of home where Halloween was a big event celebrated by everyone. It was a pleasant surprise to see that New Paris was enthusiastic about the holiday too.
Erica wasn't particularly out to buy anything today. But like any veteran of window shopping and casual browsing, she was wholly prepared for some unexpected purchases. The many shops and boutiques certainly made their appearances more enticing as the decorations and Halloween gimmicks drew more attention to them than usual. She even found herself stopping to look at the display of a store that sold cookware even though she didn't know a thing about cooking besides heating food in a microwave. They had the cutest diorama of a pumpkin patch on their storefront that caught the girl's eye.
As she took the time to appreciate the decorations around the shops, she spotted from the corner of her eye an accident waiting to happen. Up ahead, a certain girl was even more engrossed than Erica was at admiring the Halloween ornaments. A few steps ahead of her around a corner, a shopkeeper was pushing a trolley with a stack of boxes full his wares while talking to his assistant about setting up decorations in their shop too. If they kept going at their current pace, a collision was inevitable. As nobody else seemed to have noticed, Erica figured she ought to do something about it.
No she wasn't being a goody two-shoes. She was simply sharing in the festive mood that was going on around the mall. But an unfortunate accident like that would spoil the mood. That wasn't the kind of "panic" that she would consider fun and appropriate for Halloween. She quickened her pace, walking straight ahead, past the corner and reaching the absentminded girl first. She then put her hand on the girl's shoulder to stop her, no doubt drawing a confused reaction from her. Meanwhile, the trolley loaded with boxes almost immediately passed by behind Erica, missing her and the girl by inches. The shopkeeper pushing it was still animatedly talking to his assistant and didn't notice at all that he almost bumped into the girl had she taken another step.
"Ah that was close. My apologies if I startled you. The decorations are all so nice, but it would be bad to be too careless while walking."
Erica gave a friendly smile. The girl appeared to be around the same age as she was, though she wasn't too sure who was older. As the danger had passed, Erica took her hand off her shoulder and nodded slightly.
"That's a beautiful dress by the way."
Erica by comparison was dressed as, well, a student. It was the most comfortable attire to her, despite the university allowing more casual outfits. She felt most at home in a blazer and skirt.
The skin LIGHTS OFF was made by JAWN of WICKED WONDERLAND.
HALATION was created by KOJIHIME. Images belong to their respective artists. All codes and scripts belong to their respective coders. Please DO NOT take anything without the owners' permission.
