Fragmentary Record - Wallachia
Its name is [TATARI] - that is, one of the Japanese words for "Curse", though not the one typically used with regard to Magecraft. Not an intentional cursing of a particular person, but a generalized curse, a sort of indiscriminate natural disaster inflicted upon all the land by a vengeful kami or an angry ghost. This word is the summary of its existence - the e-mails repeatedly sent to Chaldea which ultimately resulted in its emergence here consisted only of that word, printed over and over.
Though I referred to it as a 'Sentient Reality Marble', this is not truly the case. The TATARI has already lost consciousness, its personality and desires being dissolved into a storm of formless malice. How this occurred is complicated to explain, but I will start at the beginning - the wish of the Atlas Institute.
The Atlas Institute, unlike the Clock Tower, which eternally searches the present for a path to enlightenment, unlike the Wandering Sea, which forever searches for a way to bring back the past Age of the Gods - the Atlas Institute concerns itself with the preservation of Humanity's future. In this sense, they are the branch of the Mage's Association most closely aligned with Chaldea, save for one difference - truly, their fatal flaw. Unlike Marisbury Animusphere's mad quest to proactively seize Humanity's future - the mad quest of the Atlas Alchemists was to react to each and every threat as it came.
But, this is something nearly impossible for a human to do for a prolonged period of time. The Sisyphean struggle of averting one apocalypse only for another to take its place - it is enough to drive any man mad, given enough time. And indeed, Atlas's directors went mad. One after another, they lost their minds, each one inevitably producing a world-ending superweapon that their successor was forced to seal away.
That man who became TATARI was, in some ways, different. He produced no superweapon, merely making use of his predecessor's constructions. They were enough. Utilizing Atlas's supercomputer, Tri-Hermes, alongside recreations of the world-simulating [Logos React], the man once named Zepia Eltnam Atlasia could foresee every disaster, and see the path to resolution - and so, for hundreds of years, after becoming a vampire to prolong his life, he balanced on the razor's edge that was Atlas's command, without losing his mind.
Until, at last, the day came - Zepia foresaw a disaster that he could not answer. The Aylesbury ritual; the return of Crimson Moon Brunested, the Ultimate One of the Moon. And, seeing no way to halt the end of humanity that would come with the revival of the first vampire - Zepia forsook his role as the chief of Atlas, abandoning his former name and taking up the one he held before becoming director - Zepia Eltnam Oberon.
From there, his actions cease to make very much sense - he had lost his mind, after all. But, the ultimate consequence of this was as follows: Zepia Eltnam Oberon made a bargain with the Black Princess of the True Ancestors, receiving a 'Concept' that pushed his inner world beyond his limits, and gave birth to the TATARI. Perhaps he hoped, in a world where any possibility could be born, he might find some fictional solution to the end of humanity - perhaps he had simply lost himself to his obsession with theater, and he sought to write as many tragedies upon the world as he could before the inevitable end. Regardless, his consciousness had already disappeared at that point, and from that day forward he became little more than a wandering disaster - an unfortunate curse that would manifest in small towns and wipe them off the map, over and over until the promised day.
He became known as the "Night of Wallachia", after a particularly infamous incident, wherein a certain Noble was incited to become a blood-drinking monster solely based on the production of rumors from the TATARI. Among the Dead Apostle Ancestors, he was numbered the thirteenth.
Of course, some of you look askance at these assertions! That is only natural - since, as you are doubtless aware, none of this has occurred! Zepia Eltnam Atlasia retained his mind, and maintained his position as the director of Atlas up until the incineration of humanity! The Aylesbury ritual is something unheard of in this world, and its counterpart was abandoned nearly eight hundred years ago, after the demise of the majority of the Twenty-Seven Dead Apostle Ancestors!
Yes, now I see the realization dawning - but, you are still wrong! There is also no involvement of the Kaleidoscope in this incident, no involvement of a parallel world - at least, not in the traditional sense. My records, after all, do not stretch across the boundaries of worlds. The reality is far more simple, and far more foolish.
The true culprit of this incident, the origin of TATARI, is not a parallel world - rather, it is a simulated one. In short, the events that I described did unfold - but not in reality. The origin point of Zepia Eltnam Oberon is none other than one of the countless simulated worlds crafted by Atlas's [Logos React] - or rather, one of its replicas.
***
"QUASAAAAAAR!" Natsuki Subaru screams, shaking his fist at the sky. "I figured it was somehow tied to her the moment I heard it was something from Atlas, but come on!"
"...No, seriously, Subaru-kun, why is it always super niche knowledge with you?" Romani Archman asks. "First Yumizuka, and now you call out a Logos React Replica by name - or at least, I assume that's what you're yelling about?"
"Ah, that's…" Subaru says, guilt filling his countenance. "...Quasar isn't unrelated to me. That bastard, Flugel, had her created to be delivered to me in the first place, or something like that. If it really is her… then all of this is my fault. Sorry, everyone."
***
Natsuki Subaru has jumped to conclusions - but they are largely correct. Of course, that this circumstance unfolded is not his fault. There was no way to predict that such events would stem from his refusal of Flugel's gift; indeed, from every reasonable expectation it ought to have been impossible for the [Quasi-Stellar Object]Quasar to achieve a disaster of this sort. But Logos React is considered a superweapon with just cause, and its replicas are no less dangerous.
It was created to be delivered to Natsuki Subaru. Having arrived at the end of humanity without such a meeting occurring, what was Quasar to do? Simply quietly shut itself down? Of course not! It searched for a method to achieve its purpose, running countless simulations in the vain hope that it would find some reality in which it could be delivered. But, among the possibilities glimpsed-
Zepia Eltnam Oberon, the TATARI, was born.
He was defeated, within the simulation - but Quasar, who was already simulating countless possibilities to achieve the impossible, held the same principle as Zepia Eltnam Oberon.
Was it the Thought Magecraft of the Spiral Manor? Was it the standard passing down of a Reality Marble? Some form of possession? The phenomenon called [Idea Blood], present within that simulation?
It does not matter; the net result was the same. Quasar inherited the TATARI. Its pseudo-personality was overwritten, and dissolved into the mindless storm of blood-drinking rumors. And, the first rumor born of this new TATARI as it took form in reality, outside of the simulated world of [Logos React]'s replica - was none other than Zepia Eltnam Oberon, who gleefully seized control of what he sees as his stage.
***
"Wait, wait, back up a bit," Natsuki Subaru says, "let me see if I've got this straight. Quasar simulated parallel worlds to try and find a way to Chaldea - but in the process she got completely taken over by one of her own simulations, and now what we're dealing with is that sort of… rogue NPC?"
"It's not unheard of," Scandinavia Peperoncino responds. "The original [Logos React] had an incident like that, a decade or so ago. I was actually one of the people Director Zepia - ah, the real one, that is - called in to help with that! Poor lil' me had to work with just a few other mages to keep a copy of King Arthur busy while he rebooted the thing!"
Several eyes flick towards Mysterious Heroine X, who looks away, attempting to whistle. She appears not to know how to do so, though.
"Well, as for the fake Director Zepia - oh, that's really such a long name, can we please call him something else?" Peperoncino says. "Oberon, maybe?"
"Uh, no. No way. That's a really bad idea," Heroine X says. "I don't want to name anything after the Black Hole Emperor."
"The-!? No, it isn't worth it," I restrain myself, somehow. The Servantverse is better off ignored. "We will refer to him as 'Wallachia' henceforth, then."
"Alright, then!" Peperoncino smiles. "Well, as for Wallachia - I don't imagine he has the legend required to become a Servant, but what category of existence is he now, really?"
***
Wallachia is a 'Rumor', conjured by the TATARI - but that says nothing of what we can expect. What is the quality of his existence? Could he survive a clash with a Servant? What, then, of the other existences conjured by TATARI? Those who possess personality are surely a subcategory of Spirit, so what should we call them in order to distinguish them from inanimate rumors, such as the Pleiades Watchtower, or the Tokyo Sub-singularity itself?
-Fundamentally, these rumors hold a similar constitution to a Servant. They are, ultimately, made up of information given form. However, while a Servant's existence is a mix of the reality of an individual, influenced by the tales told about them, the rumors conjured by TATARI are made up of the tales told about a person, influenced by their reality.
For this reason, I will propose another term - rather than [Servants], let as call these existences [Figments]! Or, if you prefer the terminology of the Clock tower - rather than [Ghost Liners], we will refer to them as [Ghost Liars], because at their core they are falsehoods!
And so, to codify Wallachia's existence - he is a Figment, who Chaldea's analysis has designated with the bizarre class of [Moon Cancer]. His Noble Phantasm, [Blood-Stained Nightmare Stage]TATARI, is a Reality Marble capable of conjuring Figments in response to the spoken words and internal worries of those caught within. With that being said-!
("Well, MoonCancer is the class for Rogue AIs after all," Mysterious Heroine X says something, but I ignore it. "You'd have to ask BBB for more details, though, and good luck with that.")
The TATARI in which Chaldea's staff has been caught does not belong to Wallachia! It is still the TATARI which belonged to Quasar! Wallachia may be piloting it, but his extermination will have no effect upon the current TATARI's ability to sustain itself! It is for this reason that he fled after our clash in Chaldea; it is for this reason that his lesser TATARI is currently hiding within the greater TATARI.
And so, our task with regard to Wallachia becomes clear! We must reach the end of the Pleiades Watchtower so that I might destroy its rumor - once Chaldea's staff is restored, he will have no choice but to confront us. From that point, it is a simple matter of crushing him within my Noble Phantasm! He has no answer to my [Puppet Playground]; Wallachia's TATARI can do nothing in the face of Mystery's refutation as it is made entirely of Mystery!
***
"But, Hieda-sama," The maid Rem interrupts my speech. "Why does defeating the Pleiades Watchtower… whatever that means… why does defeating the Watchtower cause Chaldea's staff to return?"
"Defeating it means beating the three trials, right?" Shaula says. "Oh, but actually, there are seven now…"
"What the hell do you mean, seven!?" Natsuki Subaru shouts. "...No, I guess one for each floor makes sense, but-"
"...As for Celaeno and Alcyone, I've cleared them already," the Figment of Xiang Yu says.
"'Cleared' my super sexy butt!" Shaula protests. "You just smashed them!"
"Well, destroying the trials isn't forbidden…" Subaru says with a nervous laugh.
"Putting aside the question of the number of trials, the important question is," I stretch my arms into an exaggerated shrug to emphasize my point. "What happens when they are all cleared?"
All eyes turn to Natsuki Subaru and Shaula, the latter of which just shrugs cluelessly.
"...I don't know," Subaru admits. "I'm not even sure if the last trial was cleared by the time I got sent back to Earth. Shaula fell asleep, so I assume it was, but…"
"Huh?" Shaula tilts her head. "I'm supposed to disappear when they're all complete, though?"
Natsuki Subaru's breath hitches, and his gaze turns upon her in horror.
"-Regardless of the 'true' result - the fact is, not one of those present can confirm the results of the Pleiades Watchtower being cleared! Even the altered Natsuki Subaru in the library of Taygeta cannot answer that question!" I raise a finger. "And, that very ambiguity shall be the tower's unmaking! When it is forced to answer the question 'what happens when the tower is cleared?' it will invariably fail! And, given that incongruity, I shall disprove both the tower and its library, and thus restore Chaldea's staff to their existence."
Subaru looks as though he wants to digress, to interrogate Shaula and come to some sort of understanding with her - but I cannot allow that at this stage. They will have more than enough time to talk until their tongues go dry later, but for now, we must continue!
And so, painstakingly, I begin to explain the remainder of Chaldea's adversaries.
***
Figment Parameters - Wallachia
Class: Moon Cancer
True Name: Zepia Eltnam Oberon
Alternative Names: TATARI, The Night of Wallachia
Armaments: Nails, fangs, wings, etc.
Alignment: Chaotic Evil
Manifestation Cost: Extreme
Bio: A Paradoxical existence, both a Figment, both born of the TATARI and its origin point. His original name is Zepia Eltnam Oberon, but he is already completely insane, totally diverged from the true Zepia of this timeline. For more detail, see "Fragmentary Record."
However, it is worth noting, that at this stage...
His motivation for attacking Chaldea, and the method by which he is powering his existence, have yet to be revealed by Recorder.
Parameters
Strength: C
Endurance: A
Agility: D
Mana: B
Luck: -
NP: A+
Class Skills:
Magic Resistance: A
Territory Creation: A
Personal Skills:
Creature Channel: B
A combination of teleportation and self-erasure. Wallachia dissolves into the TATARI and can re-form anywhere else. Naturally, as long as the TATARI persists, refusing to re-form is an option. In such a case, Wallachia becomes essentially invincible until the TATARI is dispelled or some other ability seals this skill.
Replicant Coordinator: A
A variant of the [Familiar] Personal Skill. Allows the conjuration of short-lived Figments as familiars for the purpose of delivering attacks in combat.
Noble Phantasms:
Night on the Blood Liar: Unzanity
Rank: C
Type: Anti-Army
Range: 1-30
Maximum Number of Targets: 10 People
Essentially a storm of attacks via [Replicant Coordinator]. The use of this Noble Phantasm does not require the cancellation of [Creature Channel], and so Wallachia is free to make use of it so long as his Mana Reserves persist.
Blood-Stained Nightmare Stage: TATARI
Rank: EX
Type: Anti-Town
Range: 0-50
Maximum Number of Targets: 50,000 people.