Virtual Summer Memory Prologue Part 2

We pick off right where we left off last time, where tapping our phone has made your surroundings change. The water’s surface above you makes the sunlight sway while fish of all colors swim around, making it all the picture of an undersea world. You freak out, think you’re drowning, or ask if this is an overworld shift.

Talos tells you that you’re in a Virtual Space made from the best technology so there’s no need to worry about drowning. He then welcomes you to what his creator He Himself as Totally Hephaestus made as an Ideal Sea. You get curious and ask about being on the phone until just earlier, refer to Talos by name before playing along and calling him Hephaestus, or comment that he has a cool looking swimsuit.

In A, Talos explains that he invited you into This Area through an App phone call. In B, Talos keeps the act up saying he’s Hephaestus’s ideal form, and if you recognize it as such then it’ll make him the happiest thing in the world. In C, Talos thanks you and says Hephaestus should be happy to hear that. He explains that he’s using a design thought to be the best suited for this ocean from analyzing a bunch of resources. He also admits there’s a lot of uncertain elements in it, but if it meets your ideals then that’s all he cares about.

Anyways Talos takes a moment to once again welcome you to the Virtual Beach Hephaestus created. He talks about how it’s a place using the App’s network as an intermediary and using links to share memories, and he invited your consciousness here. Talos figures it’d be best to have Hephaestus explain things to you directly at this point, so he sends a link to Hephaestus. The game compares the command he speaks aloud to a spell chant, and a window pops up in front of you two.

Hephaestus tunes in, laughing a little as he asks you how it is since he heard you were disappointed about not being able to go to the beach. He used all the knowledge he picked up in Tokyo to create a Pseudo-Overworld Shift Dimension via the App. It’s all just a simulated image, so your actual body is still where it is in Shinjuku. You either ask if Hephaestus heard you talking earlier or be amazed that Hephaestus made this thing all alone.

In A, Hephaestus gets flustered as he insists that he wasn’t listening in on you and begs you to believe that much from him. He just saw you sad and felt he had to do something about that, so he hopes you have your fill of fun with all this. In B and C, Hephaestus talks to himself about how you complimented him and his ugly twisted talent and laughs. Once he processes through that, he says everything in the virtual world belongs to you and him, so have as much fun as you want.

Talos talks about how this virtual world was made with the goal of recreating the sea world of Hephaestus and your (or Eurynome’s I suppose) memories. If anything bothers you or if there’s anything you want, he says you should go ahead and tell him. You either ask if Hephaestus will come into the virtual world and invite him to join you or you can talk about hogging Talos for yourself.

In A and B, Hephaestus says he has to operate the virtual world from the physical world. And as much as that world is imaginary, it’s still made from his memories of when he lived with you, so if he gets in with you he says he might not want to leave and try to prevent you from leaving too. In C, Talos is surprised but laughs it off, saying he’d like you to see how much he’s grown this year. Hephaestus is also surprised by this before getting into a jealous fit about how disgustingly perfect Talos is acting. He then catches himself and tries to calm himself, saying that he’s ordered Talos to perfectly embody the Ideal Summer.

Anyways, Hephaestus goes back to talking about how he made that sea for you, so you should be able to enjoy it in full. He orders Talos to show you around and to support you. Talos confirms the order input, then turns to you and suggests going around together. You take his hand and the two of you start swimming around.

Some time later after swimming a bit, you take a break at Talos’s suggestion. Hephaestus pops the window open again to ask you what you think of the place. You can either say it’s great fun, say it’s alright, or say you think it’s missing something. In A, Hephaestus is glad you think so. In B, Hephaestus is surprised and thinks on your mild reaction to himself before getting mad. In C, Hephaestus is shocked as he asks you what it’s lacking.

In any case Hephaestus asks you to wait as he says he’ll make things even more ideal as he starts typing away outside. You take the moment to say you’d like everyone else to come since it seems a waste to be the only one there and/or say you feel a little lonely. It’s just a casual comment from you, but it stops Hephaestus in his tracks. He asks if you’re saying you want to bring your friends into the sea based of his and your memories. He’s ambivalent about having other people in there as he grinds his teeth trying to process his feelings, looking around as he thinks.

Hephaestus eventually chooses to comply with your wish with some reluctance, then asks for permission to connect to your phone. Once he links in, he routes to your contact list and expands the scale of the virtual zone. Hephaestus clicks on everyone who touched the box from earlier and since then, then branches out to anyone he thinks will come. Once he’s done with that he informs you that once a two-way link is sent to someone it’ll be possible to bring them in. He then orders Talos to help you by welcoming the visitors. Talos accepts, then asks you to take his hand and think of the people you want to invite.

You do as Talos says, and people start popping in starting with the main three, Moritaka, Ziz, Touji, Agyou, Li Chou, Nezha, Hanuman, Macan, and Nomad. Li freaks out and wonders if he’s dreaming, in which case it’s way too different from usual. Nezha rolls with things a lot faster than that as they laugh and wonder how they can be at sea, or rather the sea floor. Nezha swims around right away while Li looks back and forth trying to get his bearings. You either comment on Li’s swimsuit and belly, say Nezha is dressed for undersea combat, or note that Hanuman came too.

A has extra lines where Li Chou freaks out further asking you to not look at him, then asks where you came from and where his swimsuit did for that matter. Li then tries to swagger about how having some heft is healthier for you, pointing out the idea that a powerful man has a powerful figure. Then he mutters to himself about how it’s Tokyo’s fault for having such great sweets and foods he never had back in his home world. In B there’s other extra lines as Nezha notes that you’re here, making motorcycle noises as they rev up to charge. They then reveal that they’re kidding and talk about how cute and powerful their undersea battle form’s mobility is. They figure you must be strong in the water too and suggest duking it out later.

Anyways, Hanuman tells Nezha to not bother other people, then sees you and asks how this is happening. After he left Shinjuku for the day he got into some scraps with his schoolmates, went to bed, then found himself here. He notices the rest of the Summoners right after that and calls out to them.

Ryouta swims over to you to express his amazement over everything and how he can breathe underwater. His train of thought then goes through wondering why he’s suddenly in a swimsuit and then to wondering who you’re with. Talos announces that the people who’ve responded to your invite link have turned up, which he observes is a lot for how late it is. The port is still open, so he predicts more people will be coming later. Hephaestus orders Talos to keep close watch on the login so no one can come in illegally. He admits that since the links are coming from your address book it shouldn’t be possible for people you don’t know to show up. You either thank Hephaestus, ask Talos to handle everyone, or tell everyone else this is all thanks to Hephaestus.

In A, Hephaestus gets all bashful about all the thanks you’re giving him, and he says he’ll make anything you ask of him. If he’ll be of help despite how warped, sullied, and incorrigible he is, then anything is fine. In B, Talos acknowledges your request and says he’ll do everything for his creator’s ideals. Hephaestus gets mad and says Talos needs to act prouder because that’s how his ideal self ought to behave. Talos is surprised and quickly asks you to let him take care of your safety, then immediately asks Hephaestus if he’s doing it right.

In any case, Ryouta nods as he gets the explanation about Hephaestus making this place. Then it actually sinks in for him and he asks in shock if Hephaestus did all this on his own. He talks about how your beach plans had to be scuttled and that it was a huge bummer, then thanks Hephaestus profusely. Hephaestus is uncomfortable taking his thanks and orders Talos to do it for him. Talos needs a moment to get into character to do so, then asks everyone to make as many memories as they like. Talos turns back to Hephaestus and asks if that works since he doesn’t have any reference on how he ought to act now, but he gets cut off by a ping alerting him to a new arrival, which he announces and brings in.

Tiger Man bursts into the area accompanied by some music mysteriously appearing from somewhere shouting amigo. You either express surprise and call him Senpai, call him amigo back and say you wanted to see him, or comment on how sharp his swimsuit looks. In A, he takes note of your presence before announcing his arrival. He’s been busy with pro wrestling shows so he hasn’t been to sea in a while, and he’ll therefore make the most of playing here. In B, Tiger Man thanks you for your passionate call. He says it’d be a huge commotion if this were a real beach with his fans all around, so he’ll take the opportunity to enjoy things. In C, he notes that you’re focused on him and asks if the new sports swimwear looks good on him. It’s a nice purchase, but he’s only ever had the time to use it during training, so he’s glad someone noticed it.

Kengo greets Tiger Man and says he hasn’t seen him since that time with the spar. He also talks to him about his plans to work at some specially installed ring at the coastal park. He was planning to go, but now he asks Tiger Man if that’s all been postponed. Tiger Man says it’s unfortunate, but he can’t be depressed forever. So long as he can face the sun, he’ll keep flying because that’s how he lives!

Agyou cuts in to ask where the weirdly cheery music is coming from and says he feels its coming from around Tiger Man. Talos seems surprised, then confirms that Tiger Man’s bright and cheery personality is affecting the virtual space. He turns the music off since it’ll impede communications otherwise. Another ping comes in, and Talos says more people are coming.

Shennong pops in next looking surprised. He calms down quickly as he talks aloud about understanding what the virtual beach business is all about, mentioning that he thought he clicked on some shady link. He then sighs that he’s stubborn enough to have clicked anyways and how that can’t be changed. You either observe out loud that he’s here, welcome him over as you refer to him with sensei, or be agog at his adult swimsuit.

In A, Shennong is mildly annoyed and reminds you to call him sensei since that’s the relationship between you two. He then chooses to shrug it off since you did get him into a virtual ocean he’d otherwise not have a connection to. In B, Shennong talks about his surprise at being invited by a student to the sea so late at night, but then again here he is. Also you’re the problem child of the school, so you might need some guidance from him. In C, Shennong thinks you’re just being weird and asks if the hot night is messing with your dreams.

Anyways, Shennong asks when he got into the swimsuit he’s in and says he saw it in some window in Shinjuku. Talos explains that the swimsuit everyone is wearing is influenced by their strongest image as to what a swimsuit is. Shennong asks if that’s why he’s wearing something he just happened to see but admits he did think it was intoxicating.

Shennong then talks about how he’s built up a lot of toxicity from testing so many poisons with his own body, though he’s not sure if he’s mentioned it before. It’d be an issue if they start leaching out if he gets in a pool with someone, so he’s always backed out until now. Since this is a simulated world he doesn’t need to worry about that, so he’ll use this time to have as much fun as he can. Also, while this is summer vacation he figures there needs to be a chaperone for the Shinjuku students. Shirou thanks him for being here and says he’ll do his best as class rep too.

A voice from somewhere looks around and comments on how Tokyo’s technology can make something like this, then asks their buddy about not being able to look down on them for it anymore. Another voice answers back that it’s too early to say it’s made with Only Tokyo’s tech, accusing them of having not checking if other stuff has been added yet. They talk about needing to carefully discern the cause just like cleaning trash, and that’s how a competent cleaner should act. You either act with surprise or more neutrally as you recognize the voice. Algernon greets you as he says he saw you earlier today, then came at your invitation. You either express happiness that he came or call his swimsuit aggressive.

In A, AI-gernon asks if it’s so surprising before saying of course it would be. It’s not like anyone would imaging Charles nodding to an invite to the beach. Algernon also says they wanted to make some great summer memories since memories of having the sun beat down on them all summer would suck. Charles is all annoyed and tells Algernon to do whatever. In B, Algernon wonders if you mean aggressive as in impactful, conquering, or more assertive. Algernon also tells you that the design is referenced from his memories since he figures a virtual beach needs something more active. Charles says a cleaner that stands out at the workplace should be ashamed, and that the job is about being inconspicuous, patient, and efficient. Algernon pushes him to stand out proudly then since looking self-conscious would be even more noticeable. Charles gets mad as he points out the swimsuit is Algernon’s idea, and Algernon teases him back by asking if being looked at by his kouhai is making him hot and bothered under the collar.

In any case, Hephaestus is having a mild crisis over how things are straying so far from the ideal he imagined. But then he reminds himself that you’re happy about what’s happening, something that’s come about from his technological abilities. Talos interrupts his self-conversation to tell him the guests are requesting stuff of him, which he’s surprised to hear.

Kengo starts talking about how nice it is to swim the way he wants to in his head, and Hanuman picks up on his sentence and adds that he wants there to be something more like an attraction. Nezha agrees with the sentiment, saying the place looks boring and wanting something around that’s worth destroying. Li Chou reacts to that with shock, but then requests for a place with some good food. Hephaestus is baffled by all this, so you decide to ask Hephaestus to make the best summer for you.

Hephaestus is surprised, then agrees to do it for you. As he types he talks about sampling references from an external library and merging it to already existing space. He also talks out loud about how he’s constructing data and missing parts from the black box’s memory region. He asks you to watch as he makes the best summer now, and bright waves of light converge on the expanded area of the sea. When the light fades, a castle appears, which Agyou is amazed about and asks for details of.

Touji compares the scene to the Dragon Palace, something he’s seen from picture books from when he was younger. Ryouta mentions the detail in the story about being taken there by a turtle that was helped, then says it’s surrounded by tasty looking flounders and sea breams. Shirou is shocked that Ryouta sounds like he wants to eat the fish. He also feels that there’s something more important there, then expresses amazement at how quickly it was thrown together.

Nezha is freaking out happily about the castle and says they’re so gonna destroy the thing. They also talk about totally killing some (ruling) dragons, laughing and charging ahead. Hanuman is alarmed by this and tells them to wait. Kengo says you guys should head over too as he tries to make a race of it. Ryouta says he’s called the Dolphin of Tokyo Bay, then declares he’ll get there first. Tiger Man laughs at how much everyone is getting into this, but he won’t lose to anyone either. Shennong also gets alarmed as he tells Tiger Man not to push himself because of his heart.

Everyone quickly hurries over to the gate of the castle, though only one person finds any of this strange. Hephaestus is surprised at the Dragon Palace showing up since he says he doesn’t remember adding data about it into his library. And as soon as someone passes the gate, light shines up from the ground as Otohime rises from below. She robotically confirms the presence of visitors and rattles off about how all systems are green. The Memory Management Program is initialized, and the avatar Otohime has been loaded up. Otohime then welcomes everyone in and invites them to forget everything as the episode ends.