Ame clicked her pen, placing it atop of the notebook on her desk, letting out a deep sigh.
  “You know, Kronii…” The blonde said as she adjusted herself in her seat. “I’m gonna be honest with you...”
  Kronii knew what was coming, even without needing to travel through time. She already had a feeling.
  “This whole…’detective’ thing is my shtick. I’d say I’m pretty damn good at what I do, but…man, this…thing you’re talking about, it just…defies ordinary explanation, and believe me, I’ve grown quite accustomed to the unusual.”
  “That…doesn’t make me feel any better.” Kronii said dejectedly, sinking back into her seat. “I mean, it’s not like I’m expecting this whole thing…this whole situation to be solved immediately. If anything, it’s just…really bugging me. As soon as I think that ‘oh, I haven’t had the you-know-what dream’ in a while, there it comes again. I wake up with more questions than answers.”
  Ame nodded.
 “Yeah, I know how that feels…that last bit you said. I’ll tell you what. I’ll look it over again, I’ll keep tabs on things, let you know if I…come across anything that…well, you know…looks off. You’ll be the first to know as soon as I figure anything out. Sounds good?”
 “Well, yeah…” Kronii responded in that same dreary tone. “I guess. Promise you won’t tell?”
 “Scout’s honor- wait…detective’s honor?” Ame said, trying to figure out how to respond accordingly. “You know what I mean. These lips are sealed.”
 
 Shiori Novella held a large dusty tome in her hands, rifling through the pages methodically as Kronii talked, seemingly without pause, about her situation, trying to see if there was anything applicable she could reference.
 “...so then Ame was writing all the stuff in her little notepad thing and I was there for a while venting, saying what I had to say, but midway, I figured that maybe if I were to come and talk to you, I’d get a good…oh, what’s the phrase I’m looking for…uh…a good distribution of…you know when you see multiple doctors about the same thing-”
 Shiori chuckled under her breath without looking up.
 “A second opinion?”
 “Yeah, that’s what I was coming over here for. Clarity, even if it’s just a bit, and all that. She doesn’t know I’m here.”
 “Mmhm. Maybe, and I’m just throwing this out there, not like what I’m going to say is what you’re experiencing…but I like being…thorough.” She paused for a brief moment. “Maybe you’ve been enchanted?”
 Kronii furrowed her brow, about to say something, but decided against it as she knew Shiori was right about considering every option, even if the options sounded outlandish in prospect.
 “Enchanted? Who’d even do that, enchant me? I’m literally a god. How would someone enchant a god?”
 “Good point.” Shiori quipped, thumbing through the pages once more.
 Unknown to Kronii, Shiori’s mind was already coming up with the possibilities. It was a fun little thought experiment, nothing nefarious, thinking about the multiplicity of ways a god could be subjugated, although she would never admit to that out loud. All of the secrets a god could hide, being forced to divulge every single one without even knowing at just a single trigger word…
 “Shiori?”
 Kronii’s voice cut through the archiver’s train of thought, bringing her back to reality.
 “Yes, I’m listening, I swear!” Shiori looked up, meeting the time warden’s gaze. “...did you say something?”
 Kronii looked at her quizzically.
 “No…you were looking through that book of yours pretty intensely though.”
 “That’s just how I look normally- no, wait! HOLD ON!”
 Kronii flinched at her sudden outburst.
 “Did you find something?” The time warden asked with a sliver of hope in her voice.
 “Well, no…but I thought of something really good. Two words. Koseki. Bijou.”
 The still air seemed to amplify the quiet as Kronii stood there, expecting Shiori to continue.
 “What does Bijou have to do with anything?”
 “I knew you were gonna ask!” Shiori replied, closing the large tome with a reverberant thud. “Stay with me here, but all of HoloCouncil’s members are pretty much avatars, right? Yes, or no?”
 “Y-yeah…and?” Kronii replied sheepishly, crossing her arms, not entirely sure what point Shiori was trying to communicate.
 “The word avatars implies that you five were mortal at some point long ago, getting your dominion over concepts some time down the line. That being said, the divine powers you all possess are basically your external shell. Your human parts are the core. That’s how I interpret it.”
 Kronii stood silent for a beat before speaking.
 “I’m aware of that, Shiori, but why’d you mention Bijou?”
 “Beebs is like a…living prism made from collective human emotions. The reasons why she’s so coveted are because people found reflections of themselves through her.”
 “I…think I get what you’re saying…kinda.” Kronii remarked.
 “I’m just gonna cut to the chase. Bijou needs to sleep with you.”
 “And…I lost you.”
 Shiori chuckled, realizing just how absurd the suggestion sounded out loud.
 “Hear me out, I’ve a little theory brewing. You fall asleep, your subconscious…your human subconscious, takes the reins. Through Bijou, having her all up next to you, think of it like…absorption. Whatever weird dreams you’ve been having will be shown through her and when you wake up, boom! Clarity!”
 “Shiori…” Kronii replied without missing a beat. “...I…don’t know if I’m comfortable with bringing Bijou into this…I mean, these are some pretty weird dreams, and if they get too out of hand then, what’s going to end up happening to her?”
 “It’s not like we’re going to have Beebs become or do whatever’s in your head. She won’t even be aware of it happening because your resident archiver knows a thing or two that might prevent it.”
 Kronii wanted to believe in Shiori’s method, but now she seemed a bit too eager. Nonetheless, she hesitantly deferred to the expert.
 “Okay, so…on one hand, let’s say I have Bijou…ugh, sleep with me. She does her…thing, but completely passively, that’s what you’re implying…but then after I wake up, what happens then?”
 
 “Wait, wait, wait! You’re gonna do what to me?” Koseki Bijou said through Shiori’s sentence.
 Shiori sat down on the bed with her, holding her close by the shoulder amicably.
 “Relax, mmkay?” The archiver said to the gem fairy with a low whisper. “Kronii had the exact same reaction. I promise, it’ll be like having the best sleep you’ll ever have! Trust me, hypnosis is a very versatile tool…”
 Shiori couldn’t help but realize that this was probably the closest she had been to Bijou in a while. She could catch the scent of Bijou’s lavender nightgown, freshly washed, the specific brand of shampoo she used to wash her hair. She wondered if Bijou could also smell the scent of the archival halls emanating from her clothing as well.
 “B-but…” Bijou stuttered, looking at Kronii, who was also nightgown-clad, standing in the doorframe, her voice dropping to a whisper. “...I’ve never actually been hypnotized before, nonetheless having someone else experiencing it with me! This whole thing gives me a weird feeling in my chest…”
 “That, my dear gem, would be the feeling of anticipation!” Shiori replied, taking a positive spin on the situation. “Besides, it’s not like I’m going to have you run my errands or anything. It’s just going to be you and Kronii sleeping together like…a sleepover! No spells, no mess, just the magic you yourself provide…”
 Shiori brought out an azure metronome from her satchel she had been carrying, placing the heavy instrument on the ivory nightstand near the bed with a satisfying thud.
 “Courtesy of Nerissa!” The archiver said with an upward lilt in her voice, motioning her over. “Okay, c’mon, Kronii, she’s ready for ya!”
 The time warden exhaled slowly, almost second guessing what she had gotten herself into. Shiori had always been unconventional with her methods of problem solving, but at this point, she didn’t have too many options. She approached Shiori and Bijou, seeing the corner of the archiver’s lips almost arch into a smile.
 “On your knees, please!” Shiori chimed.
 Kronii winced ever so slightly at the phrase, resisted the urge to say anything in response as Bijou got herself off the bed and onto the floor, now sitting on the ground.
 “You know…” Kronii said while standing next to the gem fairy. “...if we’re both going to be…you know…uh…down here like this, maybe we could move that carpet so that we’re more comfortable?”
 “Yeah!” Bijou added. “I’d like to be a little more comfortable too, being that it’s my…first time…”
 “God, why do you have to say it like that?” Kronii muttered under her breath.
 “We can do that, just…give me a moment.” Shiori replied, dragging the royal purple carpet over, smoothing it over with her hand, letting the two adjust themselves accordingly.
 The archiver went over the words she was going to say repeatedly in her mind, practicing them almost ritualistically, but then she looked up and realized something she hadn’t before.
 It wasn’t particularly odd to see Bijou in sleepwear, but Kronii? It was rather titillating. Her pastel blue nightgown accentuated her body in certain areas, an almost teasing drape over her ample chest, the soft fabric clinging to her curves in ways she hadn’t intended, or maybe hadn’t noticed at all, but Shiori definitely had.
 She slowly knelt behind them in brief observation. Bijou’s feet were tucked beneath the curvature of her bottom, as were Kronii’s. Bijou’s painted nails, glinting with a soft, opalescent polish that matched the gleam of her hair, seemed to shimmer faintly like the gemstone she embodied. Her toes curled slightly in apprehension, and Shiori’s gaze lingered there for a moment longer than necessary.
 Next to her, Kronii’s posture was rigid and somewhat stiff, which was in stark contrast to her feet; smooth, immaculate, larger. Her navy-blue nails were glossy and expertly trimmed, catching the low light like polished onyx. The way her arch rose so cleanly, the deliberate stillness in her heel resting against the carpet, toes in perfect proportion, she wasn’t trying to show off. She just existed like that.
 The scene was nearly intoxicating, but then Kronii spoke up suddenly, breaking her out of her reverie.
 “You having fun back there?” She said, still looking forward.
 “Oh, you have no idea…” Shiori wanted to say, but held back.
 “Lemme start this thing already!” Bijou said, leaning forward and attempting to manipulate the device.
 Shiori swooped in at the first two beats, holding the pendulum bar and adjusting the sliding weight all the way upward.
 “Much too fast before, Beebs. You gotta really let it sink in…slowly…”
 With the syncopation of the metronome’s rhythm, it was time for her to truly begin her work.
 “My one request for you two is to not let your gaze drift away from the metronome. For now, your new reality is just that, and my voice. Okay?”
 Neither said a sound. Shiori preferred it that way.
 “Let your thoughts drift to the wayside with each and every tick, each and every tock…”