Why is this taking so long to download?! Since my Mirage clearly defeated Viktor's little friend this time, I'm clearly the winner, right? I thought this was finally my chance to get my hands on some of that guy's precious data, but this is ridiculous. It's been at least four hours now! Do you know how fast GHOST's connection is?! Thank god I'm the one in charge of communications and data management, if I saw a download of this size while auditing anyone else, it would surely look suspicious.

Oh! It's done! Just what am I about to find here? Well, as long as my boss doesn't find out I'm going to be okay, but are you sure you want to see it? It's okay, it's okay! Let's investigate together!

...

Huh?

You have to be kidding me... there's over ten thousand illustrations of anime girls in military uniforms. No, I'm not exaggerating, just look at this! I keep scrolling and scrolling and it never ends! Is this what that guy is into? And the image quality is ridiculously big! No wonder that took forever to download! Why do you need the images to be so big?! You know what, I think I would be doing a favour to society if I put this guy behind bars.

Ah, finally, there's something else in this folder after all. Is this the data I asked for? Let's see... Okay! Here we go! Don't tell Viktor I showed you this though! Well, not like you could even if you tried, hehe.

Eschatology: A Velvet Burst with the ability to reveal the multiple layers of the world. There seem to be no limits to what the user can see with Eschatology but it definitely has a limited range. I theorize the limit is between 5 to 10 meters, I'd love to run more tests but it's extremely risky.

Hm, I never expected there would be any more Velvet Burst users other than Mirage, it's such a bizarre ability, not even Vani was able to figure out how Mira can trigger that. Viktor mentioned being able to see the layers of the world, but is that a good way to describe it? For one, he sounds convinced that the world works in multiple layers but we have no proof of that. I guess this would make sense if we thought about ghosts or other paranormal phenomena people can't see, they simply live in a different layer. Are there any rules for how these layers interact with each other? You know? Like with those ghost hunters you see around sometimes, if some of them were real, it means some ghosts might be able to send some data to this layer in order to communicate or move things. Well, we did see something similar earlier though... Anyway, if Viktor is so scared to run experiments guess I'll take it from here.

The Procella Event: This one is common knowledge, right? A tower picked up a signal from space, warning of a disaster, and then said the name Procella at the end. Was the sender signing this message, or was Procella meant to mean something different? Either way, there is no one alive who wouldn't know of the cataclysm that hit the world, but I personally still don't think it was a natural disaster.

So he is saying the Procella event was manmade? It's hard to believe a disaster of that magnitude could be caused by someone, if anything that would mean we as GHOST failed since it's our job to shut down paranormal threats after all. To be fair, I was only a little girl when that happened, I wasn't even working yet! It was right on New Years so I remember being at my family's party, the disaster didn't hit as hard where we were so we all managed to survive, but we were still hit by some pretty crazy earthquakes.

It took a few months to get communications back up. Going online was so weird when half of the world still didn't have access to the internet, and no one knew what happened to several countries! It was really something, you know? Before, you could simply look up videos to see people vlogging their life, and getting to see lots of places around the world no matter where you were. But after that? It was some pretty eerie silence. With communications so fractured, you could only really see what happened to places you could reach by foot. Even the news couldn't tell you much because, with transport down, there was no way to check on someone else. Sometimes people would celebrate once they were able to confirm other countries survived, I can only speak for myself since I was there at the time, but the celebrations when the UK finally managed to stablish contact again with the rest of the world were pretty crazy, I'll never forget that weekend! Well, it wasn't until all communications were properly back worldwide that we got a solid confirmation on the state of things. Once they managed to take pictures of the planet from space, well... there was a lot more water than before. I guess Glint City was just an inevitable result of all that. If something like that was manmade, whoever was behind it could probably end us all in an instant. At that point fighting back might as well be useless.

Philosopher's Stone: A stone of eternal life. This stone has heavy ties with Alchemy, but you often hear about it in urban legends. It seems like that maid's soul was bound to the stone, but I wonder if that's the extent of what it can really do.

Hm, if you were to ask me, I don't think it was so much that her soul was tied to the stone, and more like her soul was the stone itself. For once, research on souls and science don't blend together well at all, we still don't have any solid evidence.

I know, I know, it sounds illogical coming from me of all people, especially considering what our boss is, but science is science, and the fact we have no solid proof is what it is. As for more research on this stone, I'm sitting this one out. I've never had to deal with an alchemist myself, but there's a reason why they have the worst reputation even among users of other phenomena. Hell, if what I've heard from the other members is true, trying to summon a demonic entity with forbidden Magic might be safer than dwelling in Alchemy. Let's not talk about this anymore, just saying this much might place you in danger, you know?

World Break (DV Burst): A dormant Velvet Burst. The trigger for this ability relies on both the intent of the user and their opponent. If any kind of attack is launched with the intent to attack, and if the opponent on the receiving end has the intent to defend, the attack will connect no matter what. When the attack connects it will do piercing damage, meaning no kind of shield, armor or barrier will stop it.

I thought Mirage's Wheel of Fortune was bad enough, but this one is outright nasty, huh? So if Faith has both Eschatology and World Break, as long as he is in range, can't he just snipe you? He doesn't even need an opening since this can probably bypass walls. Well, Viktor did mention intent, as long as you don't have the intent to defend it won't trigger. I guess if you really need to take down Faith, a full-force offensive strategy is the way to go. I'll keep this in mind, just in case.

Velvet Objects: Items that are able to trigger a lesser-form of Velvet Burst. Their origin is unknown, more research is also needed to figure out if there are different types, or whether they have an effect on the user.

Aha! Here is where Viktor is a little wrong, good. I believe we do know their origin. Well, the data Faith sent from that clone girl helped a lot with this. Remember how the people in that hope organization were all clones of people trapped in heaven? I think the clones themselves become Velvet Objects. It should be something like this, if you regress the clone to their base state, it looks like a chipped-bone. If you look closer it's not really bone, it's some odd kind of metal protecting all the circuits inside, let's call it Velvet Key. Hmm, okay! Let's write this entry down, might as well!

Velvet Key: Strange metallic objects shaped like a chipped bone. When activated, a Velvet Key can become a clone of someone trapped in the Artificial Heaven. When regressed into a Key and taken to heaven, it can help liberate the original, and once the connection with the host is severed, they receive the data from the host's terminal and evolve into Velvet Objects.

That said, why did Celeste have three Velvet Objects? If this data is correct, one of hers comes from her own Velvet Key, so what about the other two? I'm guessing this means there might be two more people who were liberated from heaven out there.

Artificial Heaven: A man-made simulation using the citizens of Glint City's Blue District to run an artificial world where they can live a happy life and obtain their own heaven.

I agree that this simulation is likely man-made, there is no way it isn't. I wonder how did they get this technology, even for GHOST, it's not something we have access to. When talking about a simulation, realistically it's a possibility in the far future, but even then, we are not all there yet. Furthermore, you would usually think of using AI when it comes to running a simulation, but this one is just using real people. Maybe it would make more sense to call it an advanced form of virtual reality.

Hope and Heaven, terms like these keep popping up, but I'm still not sure whether the ones behind this meant to do it with a religious undertone, or if it is supposed to mean something else. What's more, if they went out of their way to kidnap so many people, why would they make them see something that only brought them happiness? There is no way something like that isn't going to damage their brains in the long run, sometimes sadness and other feelings are necessary too. Or maybe, are happy memories a requirement? Is this connected to the creation of Velvet Objects? What do you think?

Seasonal Outburst: A really cool band, have been listening to them a lot lately. You should check them out!

Huh? What does this have to do with anything?! This is Viktor we are talking about so I don't know if there's any meaning in looking deeper into it, or if he's just trying to waste my time. Oh, you haven't heard about them? They are known as "the group that connects all seasons" - a really popular band nowadays, they started by posting their music to CorpTube and quickly became the number one most subscribed channel. I guess part of their appeal is that no one has ever seen their faces, and most of their songs have really bizarre imagery that stands out a lot.

CIRCLE: I know you have one! Add me!

It's just a popular messaging App, let's just pretend we didn't see this. Besides, he can already contact me somewhere else! I'm not adding him! That's only for Mira, Caro and Vani!

Cryonic Bullet: A new type of bullet for the Scarlet Grimoire. Medium Cooldown.

Authority Bullet: A new type of bullet for the Scarlet Grimoire. Very Long Cooldown.

Is that... all? Did he bother to research at all, or does he just expect me to do it myself? Anyway, I'm guessing these bullets came from Velvet Objects. At least seeing "Authority", I'm pretty sure it was that girl's... Eri's? megaphone? yeah. We were only able to figure out what it does pretty quickly thanks to Caro, she's sharp like that sometimes. I'm guessing the Authority Bullet works the same way and lets you give someone an order they can't defy.

If it's linked to Velvet Objects, the Cryonic Bullet is definitely linked to Claire's bangle. No idea of what the extent of its power is, but it seems to be able to create really powerful blizzards, and even materialize and shape ice out of nowhere. But why is the Scarlet Grimoire able to adapt and replicate the power of Velvet Objects? Maybe that's where the Grimoire part of it comes in.

Error Spot: An anomaly in the world when it is overloaded by the rupture of multiple Velvet Threads. Further data on this anomaly is still unknown.

I did try to look deeper into it when the anomaly started but all communications were cut off, and I wasn't able to do anything but wait for Mira to make it out. Mira was acting a little weird after that, but hopefully, it's not anything to worry about. At any rate, it's no wonder the world would crash when the thread of reality is ruptured so much. If Velvet Objects are tied to the cause of this, stopping the production of more should be of really high priority.

This is only if I take Viktor's hypothesis at face value though, there could still be other different parameters involved. For one, the presence of the Philosopher's Stone could have been a major catalyst. If I remember properly, isn't modern Alchemy all about trying to ascend into the world beyond? If the Philosopher's Stone lets you go against the cycle of life and death, that's already going against the laws of the world. In that way, maybe Velvet Burst and Alchemy aren't so different. Hmm, I'll consider upgrading alchemists as Event Horizon-level threats in the Entropy Scale after this.

World Fragments: Alternate Realities? Different timelines? Or is the world itself being rewritten? All the inconsistencies, and all the possibilities, I've named them World Fragments.

Well, it's true that we at GHOST have detected a strange shift in the flow of time, and- oops, I was about to say too much, wasn't I? I'm really sorry, but there are some things I really really can't say, or else being fired would be the less bad thing to happen to me.

World Reset: Okay, above I mentioned the world being rewritten, but hear me out. I have evidence that the world is being reset multiple times. I don't know the parameters, what triggers it, or how many times it has happened, in fact, you probably already read this before, but Alice should be able to bypass that, and if she says it's true, I believe her!

A gross siscon and a chuunibyou at the same time?! Viktor really outdid himself with this one, maybe he really needs to be in jail after all.

Well, I guess that's about it. Of course, as a scientist, theorizing about this phenomenon is fascinating, but I can't confirm anything without solid proof. Hm? Ah, it does feel like you saw some things you shouldn't have, sorry about that. If someone asks about it, just pretend like this never happened, just tell them you read it in a manga or something. Lie detectors are pretty easy to mess around with, you'll be fine! Well, if it gets worse than that, let's just say this too, was part of my little experiment, ehe.