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@@ -11,83 +11,86 @@ int32,str,str
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7,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_NEMJIJI_000_035","It seems that once again we have you to thank for this much needed respite. With Professor Claudien back safe and sound, we can begin making steps toward a return to normalcy."
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8,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_NEMJIJI_000_040","With matters settled and memories of events still fresh in my mind, I think soon I'll begin the recordkeeping process. This time I saw everything with my own eyes─a perspective which will be of great use when I sit down to write my stor─ Ehem, when I sit down to write my <Emphasis>reports</Emphasis>. "
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9,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_NEMJIJI_000_050","The more I try to make sense of what happened, the more my mind ties itself in knots. It will take weeks─or dare I say months─to navigate this maze of questions. I may have to suggest that Professor Claudien hire more assistants..."
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10,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_Q1_000_000","What will you say?"
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11,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_A1_000_003","How goes the investigation?"
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12,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_A1_000_004","Nothing."
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13,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_NEMJIJI_000_100","Professor Claudien has asked me to write detailed records of your investigation. If you wouldn't mind staying for a while, I would ask you to tell me more of your adventures in the past."
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14,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_NEMJIJI_000_101","Adventures that started with that mysterious crystal, seemingly containing a message declaring a crisis in this “Pandæmonium”... Of course, Professor Claudien will eventually make a report, but we are deficient on concrete facts at present."
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15,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_NEMJIJI_000_102","To that end, I suppose a comprehensive catalog of the beasts you encountered in the “Asphodelos” circles would be a fine starting point. Yes...I require every gory detail, every hair-raising description!"
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16,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_RUISSENAUD_000_103","Nemjiji! I've brought the volumes you asked for, but...are you quite certain we need all of this just to research the crystals?"
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17,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_RUISSENAUD_000_104","Some of these─<Emphasis>Habitats of Aquatic Life-forms</Emphasis> and <Emphasis>Myths and Folklore of the Phoenix</Emphasis>, for example─seem to have little bearing on the subject. In fact, many of these tomes seem to be related to the creatures of Pandæmonium <Split(<Highlight>ObjectParameter(1)</Highlight>, ,1)/> spoke of..."
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18,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_RUISSENAUD_000_105","Surely we have better things to do with our time! <Split(<Highlight>ObjectParameter(1)</Highlight>, ,1)/> has already encountered and subdued them, so what use could further insight offer? "
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19,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_NEMJIJI_000_106","On the contrary, Ruissenaud, we would be remiss in our duty as academics <Emphasis>not</Emphasis> to take every opportunity to learn more of these subjects. To view the creatures of bygone times through the lens of modern science is a dream so few have the chance to achieve!"
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20,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_NEMJIJI_000_107","Of course, I'll not deny a personal interest in the matter."
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21,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_RUISSENAUD_000_108","Hmph─as I thought. While there were enough relevant volumes for me to fulfill your request this once, if you wish to sate your appetite for knowledge again, might you do so on your own time?"
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22,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_NEMJIJI_000_110","Ahem, shall we proceed? Tell me everything you remember. And please, spare not a single detail─I don't easily frighten, you may be assured."
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23,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_NEMJIJI_000_111","We might start with your battle with this transformed warder─Erichthonios, was it? I would also like to hear of the keyward and the nature of his metamorphosis."
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24,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_NEMJIJI_000_112","Good, good. Thank you for this priceless information. While I'm disappointed I couldn't behold your foes with my own eyes, your stories have given me more than enough to write sufficiently lurid─I mean, thorough─descriptions."
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25,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_NEMJIJI_000_113","Perhaps we should also include basic theories concerning the growth and behavior of these creatures. It would give our little catalog some flavor, wouldn't you agree?"
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26,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_NEMJIJI_000_114","We could start with... Ah, I have it! Aquatic life-forms in our time have been observed to grow to sizes that are orders of magnitude larger than their larval forms."
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27,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_NEMJIJI_000_115","In fact, it may not be so preposterous to posit that the hippokampos you encountered was merely the larval form of a much more massive─and dare I say, horrific─entity!"
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28,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_NEMJIJI_000_116","Now, don't look at me like I'm some mad magus. Breakthroughs have been precipitated by even wilder theories than that. As the professor always says─we mustn't let logic stand in the way of brilliance!"
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29,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_NEMJIJI_000_117","Until proven one way or the other, every hypothesis is a valid one. Ah, there is nothing quite like the ambrosia of inspiration!"
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30,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_Q1_100_100","What will you say?"
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31,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_A1_100_100","Are we making records or creating faerie tales?"
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32,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_A2_100_100","Your ideas are intriguing to me..."
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33,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_NEMJIJI_000_120","So long as I make a note in the margins of my records indicating that a theory is unproven, we can let our imaginations run wild! Yes, I said <Emphasis>our</Emphasis>─you needn't be a researcher to have an idea that will leave its mark for generations!"
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34,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_NEMJIJI_000_140","<Split(<Highlight>ObjectParameter(1)</Highlight>, ,1)/>, may I have a moment? If you would be so inclined, I would very much like to hear the story of your battles in Abyssos and Tartaros."
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35,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_NEMJIJI_000_141","While I have no difficulty producing reports for the Forum with a general summation of events, I could use some help with the finer details. For the record, you know."
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36,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_RUISSENAUD_000_143","For the record, you say? Come now, be honest and admit it's to sate your own curiosity. I've seen the tomes you've left scattered about the laboratory─bestiaries of creatures both real and imagined."
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37,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_NEMJIJI_000_144","I will not─and I daresay, should not─deny an intellectual stake in the matter. But surely <Split(<Highlight>ObjectParameter(1)</Highlight>, ,1)/> will understand that a thorough recounting will help Professor Claudien's research as well. Now then, whenever you're ready."
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38,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_NEMJIJI_000_145","...Fascinating. As you say, the savage creation you encountered in Abyssos bears more than a few similarities to the Carbuncle. Could it be that the arcane entities we know now had their origins in ancient times?"
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39,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_NEMJIJI_000_146","Just as curious was your story of the keyward who was melded with a tree of legend... Where do the limits of the hemitheos creation process lie, I wonder? And how do such creatures even survive, once melded?"
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40,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_RUISSENAUD_000_148","As expected, you cannot help yourself from asking ever more questions─what purpose would such knowledge serve?"
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41,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_NEMJIJI_000_149","Oh, Ruissenaud, one day you too shall develop the keen instincts of a researcher. Then you shall understand that it is impossible not to wonder, once the spark of imagination has been struck!"
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42,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_NEMJIJI_000_150","<Split(<Highlight>ObjectParameter(1)</Highlight>, ,1)/>'s stories have already set several theories stirring in my mind, and I feel even more bubbling just under the surface."
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43,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_NEMJIJI_100_150","Take Hephaistos for example. It would not be a great leap to assume that he studied at length the regenerative and death-defying properties of the Phoenix. And that is just the tip of the proverbial berg!"
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44,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_RUISSENAUD_000_151","You are free to exercise your imagination all you like, but─need I remind you─these reports are meant to be submitted to Master Fourchenault himself. I implore you to exercise restraint."
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45,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_NEMJIJI_000_152","...Professor Claudien would have encouraged me, you know."
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46,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_NEMJIJI_000_153","He thrives on theories and imagination. But I do understand your point, Ruissenaud─if I were to submit such a report to Master Fourchenault, I would soon thereafter be forced to write a formal apology."
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47,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_Q1_100_200","What will you say?"
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48,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_A1_100_200","Fourchenault is more open to wild theories than you think."
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49,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_A2_100_200","He doesn't look like someone you'd want to make mad."
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50,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_NEMJIJI_000_155","That very well may be! An academic does not achieve the station he has without a curiosity as deep as the aetherial sea itself."
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51,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_NEMJIJI_000_160","I was hoping you would be more supportive, <Split(<Highlight>ObjectParameter(1)</Highlight>, ,1)/>... Very well, I shall include only conjecture that is directly relevant to the contents of the report."
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52,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_NEMJIJI_000_165","Now I should set ink to paper, and let the wonder of theory guide my hand. Within reason, of course."
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53,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_NEMJIJI_000_166","Yet I cannot help but dream ever larger─there are no bounds to what the mind can imagine! And if there are, let us both strive to find them, <Split(<Highlight>ObjectParameter(1)</Highlight>, ,1)/>! "
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54,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_NEMJIJI_000_200","<Split(<Highlight>ObjectParameter(1)</Highlight>, ,1)/>, may I have a moment of your time? I would very much like to hear of the battles you fought within the Pandæmonium that appeared in our age."
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55,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_NEMJIJI_000_201","While I was fortunate enough to witness most events with my own eyes, I was not there to write down a blow-by-blow account. Your testimony would be a welcome and flavorful addition to my records."
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56,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_NEMJIJI_000_202","...To think your foes would be even more fantastic than the ones you faced in the past. Truly, not even my wildest imaginings could come close to what reality gave us."
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57,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_NEMJIJI_000_203","I'm particularly fascinated by Athena, and cannot help but wonder what she would have become if left to her devices. We were terribly close to finding out, and doubtless it would have been one of the last revelations of our lives. "
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58,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_NEMJIJI_000_204","But she may not have gone so far if not for the auracite, which magnified her desires to an almost incomprehensible degree. Just how it could influence one so is a matter well beyond the ken of modern scholarship."
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59,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_NEMJIJI_000_205","I believe you saw how twisted those under its sway can become when you faced the Lucavi. Just what designs did Ultima, the High Seraph have in bestowing the “gift” of auracite to those poor souls?"
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60,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_NEMJIJI_000_210","I will admit, it makes me rethink the numerous stories and legends which feature mysterious crystals at their core. Some of them tell of tragic figures who, much like Athena, were transformed."
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61,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_NEMJIJI_000_215","If Athena had achieved her dream of godhood, she may very well have been able to bend even auracite to her will. And soon the world would have followed suit!"
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62,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_NEMJIJI_000_216","What a chilling end to my story...and, er, a fascinating theory to add to my report, of course. I must scour our documents for any supporting evidence!"
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63,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_CLAUDIEN_000_217","(-???-)...Ah, now I understand why you sent Ruissenaud to fetch any scrap containing even a hint of crystalline machinations."
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64,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_NEMJIJI_000_218","P-Professor Claudien!"
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65,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_CLAUDIEN_000_219","I had noticed that important tasks were being left neglected, and when I inquired as to the reason, poor Ruissenaud explained that he could barely keep up with your requests. Something must be done about this new obsession of yours..."
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66,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_CLAUDIEN_000_220","...You must pursue it until you find the answers you seek! I believe you are on your way to a discovery that shall make you the envy of your peers─myself included!"
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67,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_CLAUDIEN_000_221","We often find breakthroughs only after shattering the rules of conventional research. I shall tend to Ruissenaud's tasks, but you must promise me that your report will be a thing of wonder!"
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68,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_NEMJIJI_000_222","...Of course, Professor, you have my word!"
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69,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_NEMJIJI_000_223","I shall give every scenario a fair shake─where evidence is lacking, imagination shall fill in the gaps. I shall blend the lines between fantasy and science so skillfully that you will doubt if they were ever there at all!"
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70,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_CLAUDIEN_000_224","I would expect no less from one of my assistants. Before you put pen to parchment, I would be honored if you shared some of your idle musings with me."
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71,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_NEMJIJI_000_225","I will, Professor, I will!"
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72,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_NEMJIJI_100_225","If you have any interest, <Split(<Highlight>ObjectParameter(1)</Highlight>, ,1)/>─and I know you do─stop by any time and I will share with you my most recent theories."
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73,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_NEMJIJI_000_400","By Professor Claudien's order, our reports to the other research bodies have been somewhat scarce on concrete information."
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74,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_NEMJIJI_000_401","Even if we wanted to go into further detail, there are too many unknown variables concerning how this crisis might affect our present..."
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75,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_NEMJIJI_000_402","We only know for certain that the crystal we found ties us to the past. We've had no luck eliciting further memories from its depths."
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76,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_NEMJIJI_000_403","We're at present gathering as many soul crystals and shards as we can to conduct thorough comparisons, but those experiments have yet to bear fruit."
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77,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_NEMJIJI_000_404","Of course, the fact that none but you can hear our enigma's voice to begin with puts something of a damper on our potential progress. Yet even so, Professor Claudien is doing all within his power to move things forward!"
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78,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_NEMJIJI_000_410","With the professor absent, there is little for us to do besides organize our papers and keep the laboratory clean. I suppose it could be worse..."
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79,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_NEMJIJI_000_420","Sometimes I think I should have stopped Professor Claudien from departing on his journey. Even if I had to resort to force..."
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80,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_NEMJIJI_000_421","He is a brilliant researcher, to be sure, but at times like these I am reminded of how difficult he can be."
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81,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_NEMJIJI_000_422","While he is usually calm and collected in his methods, once he catches scent of a new discovery, he quite loses sight of his surroundings. And his opinions often become...intractable."
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82,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_NEMJIJI_000_423","I am sure that he departed upon his journey in high spirits, but I am afraid that his extreme focus might have made him throw caution to the winds."
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83,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_NEMJIJI_000_424","Even so, he is not one to falter in the face of unforeseen obstacles. Though I admit it becomes ever more difficult as the moments pass by, I must have faith that he will return unharmed..."
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84,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_NEMJIJI_000_500","Looking ahead to Professor Claudien's eventual return, I am doing my utmost to keep careful and up-to-date records of everything that has transpired. That way we can resume our research as if no one had mysteriously disappeared without a trace."
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85,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_NEMJIJI_000_501","Of course, circumstances being what they are, I've had little time to go back and review my work─a task which shall have to wait until we are once again at full strength. I very much look forward to it, even if the others might not..."
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86,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_NEMJIJI_000_600","With Athena's research put to decisive end, things around here have returned to what one could almost call “routine.” "
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87,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_NEMJIJI_000_601","But even so, we are as busy as ever. The aetherial sea must be analyzed thoroughly for any adverse effects caused by recent events, and Professor Claudien seems most eager to analyze the Heart of Sabik. "
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88,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_NEMJIJI_000_602","Although no trace remains of Athena's memories, there is yet power inside the crystal, and it still possesses the same corrupting influence of auracite. Naturally, as the most qualified to do so, it falls upon us to plumb its depths."
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89,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_NEMJIJI_000_603","Knowing the Heart's history, and the history of other crystals like it, the prospect does fill me with some dread, but not so much as to overpower my sense of curiosity. So long as we move forward with courage and caution, I am sure our findings can prove to be a boon to the scientific community─and perhaps society at large!"
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10,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_NEMJIJI_000_060","We went to painstaking lengths to ensure every detail of the mammet is just right. Why, I wish I could be there to see Erichthonios's expression when he receives it!"
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11,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_NEMJIJI_000_070","I take it Erichthonios liked the mammet? Truth be told, I at first suggested we design it after the spectacular form of Themis you faced in combat, but the professor rejected the idea."
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12,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_NEMJIJI_000_080","Thank you for delivering our gift to Erichthonios. Now I can return to writing my tales─ Er, I mean writing my <Emphasis>reports</Emphasis>, of course!"
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13,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_Q1_000_000","What will you say?"
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14,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_A1_000_003","How goes the investigation?"
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15,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_A1_000_004","Nothing."
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16,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_NEMJIJI_000_100","Professor Claudien has asked me to write detailed records of your investigation. If you wouldn't mind staying for a while, I would ask you to tell me more of your adventures in the past."
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17,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_NEMJIJI_000_101","Adventures that started with that mysterious crystal, seemingly containing a message declaring a crisis in this “Pandæmonium”... Of course, Professor Claudien will eventually make a report, but we are deficient on concrete facts at present."
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18,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_NEMJIJI_000_102","To that end, I suppose a comprehensive catalog of the beasts you encountered in the “Asphodelos” circles would be a fine starting point. Yes...I require every gory detail, every hair-raising description!"
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19,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_RUISSENAUD_000_103","Nemjiji! I've brought the volumes you asked for, but...are you quite certain we need all of this just to research the crystals?"
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20,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_RUISSENAUD_000_104","Some of these─<Emphasis>Habitats of Aquatic Life-forms</Emphasis> and <Emphasis>Myths and Folklore of the Phoenix</Emphasis>, for example─seem to have little bearing on the subject. In fact, many of these tomes seem to be related to the creatures of Pandæmonium <Split(<Highlight>ObjectParameter(1)</Highlight>, ,1)/> spoke of..."
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21,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_RUISSENAUD_000_105","Surely we have better things to do with our time! <Split(<Highlight>ObjectParameter(1)</Highlight>, ,1)/> has already encountered and subdued them, so what use could further insight offer? "
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22,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_NEMJIJI_000_106","On the contrary, Ruissenaud, we would be remiss in our duty as academics <Emphasis>not</Emphasis> to take every opportunity to learn more of these subjects. To view the creatures of bygone times through the lens of modern science is a dream so few have the chance to achieve!"
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23,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_NEMJIJI_000_107","Of course, I'll not deny a personal interest in the matter."
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24,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_RUISSENAUD_000_108","Hmph─as I thought. While there were enough relevant volumes for me to fulfill your request this once, if you wish to sate your appetite for knowledge again, might you do so on your own time?"
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25,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_NEMJIJI_000_110","Ahem, shall we proceed? Tell me everything you remember. And please, spare not a single detail─I don't easily frighten, you may be assured."
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26,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_NEMJIJI_000_111","We might start with your battle with this transformed warder─Erichthonios, was it? I would also like to hear of the keyward and the nature of his metamorphosis."
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27,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_NEMJIJI_000_112","Good, good. Thank you for this priceless information. While I'm disappointed I couldn't behold your foes with my own eyes, your stories have given me more than enough to write sufficiently lurid─I mean, thorough─descriptions."
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28,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_NEMJIJI_000_113","Perhaps we should also include basic theories concerning the growth and behavior of these creatures. It would give our little catalog some flavor, wouldn't you agree?"
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29,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_NEMJIJI_000_114","We could start with... Ah, I have it! Aquatic life-forms in our time have been observed to grow to sizes that are orders of magnitude larger than their larval forms."
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30,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_NEMJIJI_000_115","In fact, it may not be so preposterous to posit that the hippokampos you encountered was merely the larval form of a much more massive─and dare I say, horrific─entity!"
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31,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_NEMJIJI_000_116","Now, don't look at me like I'm some mad magus. Breakthroughs have been precipitated by even wilder theories than that. As the professor always says─we mustn't let logic stand in the way of brilliance!"
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32,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_NEMJIJI_000_117","Until proven one way or the other, every hypothesis is a valid one. Ah, there is nothing quite like the ambrosia of inspiration!"
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33,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_Q1_100_100","What will you say?"
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34,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_A1_100_100","Are we making records or creating faerie tales?"
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35,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_A2_100_100","Your ideas are intriguing to me..."
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36,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_NEMJIJI_000_120","So long as I make a note in the margins of my records indicating that a theory is unproven, we can let our imaginations run wild! Yes, I said <Emphasis>our</Emphasis>─you needn't be a researcher to have an idea that will leave its mark for generations!"
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37,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_NEMJIJI_000_140","<Split(<Highlight>ObjectParameter(1)</Highlight>, ,1)/>, may I have a moment? If you would be so inclined, I would very much like to hear the story of your battles in Abyssos and Tartaros."
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38,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_NEMJIJI_000_141","While I have no difficulty producing reports for the Forum with a general summation of events, I could use some help with the finer details. For the record, you know."
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39,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_RUISSENAUD_000_143","For the record, you say? Come now, be honest and admit it's to sate your own curiosity. I've seen the tomes you've left scattered about the laboratory─bestiaries of creatures both real and imagined."
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40,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_NEMJIJI_000_144","I will not─and I daresay, should not─deny an intellectual stake in the matter. But surely <Split(<Highlight>ObjectParameter(1)</Highlight>, ,1)/> will understand that a thorough recounting will help Professor Claudien's research as well. Now then, whenever you're ready."
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41,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_NEMJIJI_000_145","...Fascinating. As you say, the savage creation you encountered in Abyssos bears more than a few similarities to the Carbuncle. Could it be that the arcane entities we know now had their origins in ancient times?"
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42,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_NEMJIJI_000_146","Just as curious was your story of the keyward who was melded with a tree of legend... Where do the limits of the hemitheos creation process lie, I wonder? And how do such creatures even survive, once melded?"
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43,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_RUISSENAUD_000_148","As expected, you cannot help yourself from asking ever more questions─what purpose would such knowledge serve?"
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44,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_NEMJIJI_000_149","Oh, Ruissenaud, one day you too shall develop the keen instincts of a researcher. Then you shall understand that it is impossible not to wonder, once the spark of imagination has been struck!"
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45,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_NEMJIJI_000_150","<Split(<Highlight>ObjectParameter(1)</Highlight>, ,1)/>'s stories have already set several theories stirring in my mind, and I feel even more bubbling just under the surface."
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46,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_NEMJIJI_100_150","Take Hephaistos for example. It would not be a great leap to assume that he studied at length the regenerative and death-defying properties of the Phoenix. And that is just the tip of the proverbial berg!"
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47,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_RUISSENAUD_000_151","You are free to exercise your imagination all you like, but─need I remind you─these reports are meant to be submitted to Master Fourchenault himself. I implore you to exercise restraint."
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48,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_NEMJIJI_000_152","...Professor Claudien would have encouraged me, you know."
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49,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_NEMJIJI_000_153","He thrives on theories and imagination. But I do understand your point, Ruissenaud─if I were to submit such a report to Master Fourchenault, I would soon thereafter be forced to write a formal apology."
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50,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_Q1_100_200","What will you say?"
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51,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_A1_100_200","Fourchenault is more open to wild theories than you think."
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52,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_A2_100_200","He doesn't look like someone you'd want to make mad."
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53,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_NEMJIJI_000_155","That very well may be! An academic does not achieve the station he has without a curiosity as deep as the aetherial sea itself."
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54,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_NEMJIJI_000_160","I was hoping you would be more supportive, <Split(<Highlight>ObjectParameter(1)</Highlight>, ,1)/>... Very well, I shall include only conjecture that is directly relevant to the contents of the report."
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55,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_NEMJIJI_000_165","Now I should set ink to paper, and let the wonder of theory guide my hand. Within reason, of course."
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56,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_NEMJIJI_000_166","Yet I cannot help but dream ever larger─there are no bounds to what the mind can imagine! And if there are, let us both strive to find them, <Split(<Highlight>ObjectParameter(1)</Highlight>, ,1)/>! "
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57,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_NEMJIJI_000_200","<Split(<Highlight>ObjectParameter(1)</Highlight>, ,1)/>, may I have a moment of your time? I would very much like to hear of the battles you fought within the Pandæmonium that appeared in our age."
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58,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_NEMJIJI_000_201","While I was fortunate enough to witness most events with my own eyes, I was not there to write down a blow-by-blow account. Your testimony would be a welcome and flavorful addition to my records."
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59,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_NEMJIJI_000_202","...To think your foes would be even more fantastic than the ones you faced in the past. Truly, not even my wildest imaginings could come close to what reality gave us."
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60,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_NEMJIJI_000_203","I'm particularly fascinated by Athena, and cannot help but wonder what she would have become if left to her devices. We were terribly close to finding out, and doubtless it would have been one of the last revelations of our lives. "
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61,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_NEMJIJI_000_204","But she may not have gone so far if not for the auracite, which magnified her desires to an almost incomprehensible degree. Just how it could influence one so is a matter well beyond the ken of modern scholarship."
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62,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_NEMJIJI_000_205","I believe you saw how twisted those under its sway can become when you faced the Lucavi. Just what designs did Ultima, the High Seraph have in bestowing the “gift” of auracite to those poor souls?"
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63,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_NEMJIJI_000_210","I will admit, it makes me rethink the numerous stories and legends which feature mysterious crystals at their core. Some of them tell of tragic figures who, much like Athena, were transformed."
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64,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_NEMJIJI_000_215","If Athena had achieved her dream of godhood, she may very well have been able to bend even auracite to her will. And soon the world would have followed suit!"
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65,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_NEMJIJI_000_216","What a chilling end to my story...and, er, a fascinating theory to add to my report, of course. I must scour our documents for any supporting evidence!"
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66,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_CLAUDIEN_000_217","(-???-)...Ah, now I understand why you sent Ruissenaud to fetch any scrap containing even a hint of crystalline machinations."
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67,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_NEMJIJI_000_218","P-Professor Claudien!"
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68,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_CLAUDIEN_000_219","I had noticed that important tasks were being left neglected, and when I inquired as to the reason, poor Ruissenaud explained that he could barely keep up with your requests. Something must be done about this new obsession of yours..."
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69,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_CLAUDIEN_000_220","...You must pursue it until you find the answers you seek! I believe you are on your way to a discovery that shall make you the envy of your peers─myself included!"
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70,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_CLAUDIEN_000_221","We often find breakthroughs only after shattering the rules of conventional research. I shall tend to Ruissenaud's tasks, but you must promise me that your report will be a thing of wonder!"
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71,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_NEMJIJI_000_222","...Of course, Professor, you have my word!"
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72,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_NEMJIJI_000_223","I shall give every scenario a fair shake─where evidence is lacking, imagination shall fill in the gaps. I shall blend the lines between fantasy and science so skillfully that you will doubt if they were ever there at all!"
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73,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_CLAUDIEN_000_224","I would expect no less from one of my assistants. Before you put pen to parchment, I would be honored if you shared some of your idle musings with me."
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74,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_NEMJIJI_000_225","I will, Professor, I will!"
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75,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_NEMJIJI_100_225","If you have any interest, <Split(<Highlight>ObjectParameter(1)</Highlight>, ,1)/>─and I know you do─stop by any time and I will share with you my most recent theories."
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76,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_NEMJIJI_000_400","By Professor Claudien's order, our reports to the other research bodies have been somewhat scarce on concrete information."
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77,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_NEMJIJI_000_401","Even if we wanted to go into further detail, there are too many unknown variables concerning how this crisis might affect our present..."
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78,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_NEMJIJI_000_402","We only know for certain that the crystal we found ties us to the past. We've had no luck eliciting further memories from its depths."
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79,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_NEMJIJI_000_403","We're at present gathering as many soul crystals and shards as we can to conduct thorough comparisons, but those experiments have yet to bear fruit."
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80,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_NEMJIJI_000_404","Of course, the fact that none but you can hear our enigma's voice to begin with puts something of a damper on our potential progress. Yet even so, Professor Claudien is doing all within his power to move things forward!"
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81,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_NEMJIJI_000_410","With the professor absent, there is little for us to do besides organize our papers and keep the laboratory clean. I suppose it could be worse..."
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82,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_NEMJIJI_000_420","Sometimes I think I should have stopped Professor Claudien from departing on his journey. Even if I had to resort to force..."
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83,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_NEMJIJI_000_421","He is a brilliant researcher, to be sure, but at times like these I am reminded of how difficult he can be."
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84,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_NEMJIJI_000_422","While he is usually calm and collected in his methods, once he catches scent of a new discovery, he quite loses sight of his surroundings. And his opinions often become...intractable."
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85,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_NEMJIJI_000_423","I am sure that he departed upon his journey in high spirits, but I am afraid that his extreme focus might have made him throw caution to the winds."
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86,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_NEMJIJI_000_424","Even so, he is not one to falter in the face of unforeseen obstacles. Though I admit it becomes ever more difficult as the moments pass by, I must have faith that he will return unharmed..."
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87,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_NEMJIJI_000_500","Looking ahead to Professor Claudien's eventual return, I am doing my utmost to keep careful and up-to-date records of everything that has transpired. That way we can resume our research as if no one had mysteriously disappeared without a trace."
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88,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_NEMJIJI_000_501","Of course, circumstances being what they are, I've had little time to go back and review my work─a task which shall have to wait until we are once again at full strength. I very much look forward to it, even if the others might not..."
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89,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_NEMJIJI_000_600","With Athena's research put to decisive end, things around here have returned to what one could almost call “routine.” "
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90,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_NEMJIJI_000_601","But even so, we are as busy as ever. The aetherial sea must be analyzed thoroughly for any adverse effects caused by recent events, and Professor Claudien seems most eager to analyze the Heart of Sabik. "
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91,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_NEMJIJI_000_602","Although no trace remains of Athena's memories, there is yet power inside the crystal, and it still possesses the same corrupting influence of auracite. Naturally, as the most qualified to do so, it falls upon us to plumb its depths."
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92,"TEXT_CTSOPN60NEMJIJI_00732_NEMJIJI_000_603","Knowing the Heart's history, and the history of other crystals like it, the prospect does fill me with some dread, but not so much as to overpower my sense of curiosity. So long as we move forward with courage and caution, I am sure our findings can prove to be a boon to the scientific community─and perhaps society at large!"
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xiashtra