Fanfic / Hikari

A Library of Ruina fanfic that answers what happens when you combine the game with The Nucleus Incident.

You know the Library's Light? The thing you use as Mana Points to fight and what Netzach uses to create infinite alcohol at will? What if, one day, the Light has a major unforseen hiccup? And leaves the Patron Librarians with uncontrollable powers? Well, this answers those questions as well.

It can be read here.

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Hikari contains examples of:

• Ambiguously Human: The assistants are this already to a certain point, but Nicole calls London's voice skipping he supposedly has due to his awakening going slightly wrong as 'glitching'.
• Badass Normal: How 'normal' they are can be argued about (see previous trope), but the assistants manage to hold off Distorted Yesod (who hasn't stabilized at that point, mind you) before Angela arrives. Granted, they were already equipped with Pages and according to Rose, they had to use Abnormality E.G.O, but for a Ragtag Bunch of Misfits without superpowers granted by the Light who were just arguing a moment before, they pack a pretty big punch on their own. It's slightly more understandable given that this story is set after the game's end, so they have already fought some large threats anyway.
• Be Careful What You Wish For: Rose and Netzach speculate that the Light reacted on their situations right before they got their powers. For example, Netzach wanted a way for time to pass faster during moments he's in distress, and Yesod complained about one of his assistants never listening to him.
• The Berserker: Netzach. When he's stressed, he loses consciousness, but the rest of him continues to do things without any inhibitions. The first time this happens, he almost kills Gebura. The second time, he tears out Hod's eye before Tiphereth does a Big Damn Heroes. However, he's less fueled by rage as he is empty, as is shown through his creepy Empty Eyes expression when it happens, and his actions are calculated, despite him not thinking at all.
• Big Damn Heroes: Arguably, Yesod finally speaking up and saving Gebura from being killed by Netzach.
  • Tiphereth enters the scene just after a mindless Netzach attacks Hod and captures him. Even the chapter description says 'Also, Tiphereth is a badass'.
• By the Power of Grayskull!: After some practice, Yesod and Netzach eventually manage to keep the latter's power in check behind a trigger phrase only these two know. Questions understandably arise once someone other than Yesod triggers Netzach to go on his second rampage.
• Call-Back: Nicole stares at Distorted Yesod's single eye, immediately blurring her vision.
• Calling Your Attacks: With a dash of Date A Live. By the time of chapter 8, Gebura says that she has named her power 'Khamael' in order to get a better feel of it and to see it as something to command. It's shown that others have also gotten on to it, with Chesed naming his power 'Zadkiel' and Tiphereth addressing it with 'Raphael' when restraining Netzach during his second rampage.
• Casting a Shadow: Binah, fittingly.
• Character Development: Angela thinks about this with Hod and Roland.
  Angela thinks that Roland has grown. If this were to be happening when he first arrived, he wouldn't offer help like this. [...] And with that, Angela thinks that Hod is also no longer how she was when she awoke.
  • Yesod after Distorting becomes less reluctant to use his power, as he goes from refraining to talk in anything but Third-Person Person to using his power thrice in one conversation. He also shows signs of having become Sour Outside, Sad Inside, which also shows during said conversation. It seems like he's started to purposefully use his Compelling Voice to avoid having to talk about stuff he'd rather not bring up.
• Comically Missing the Point: London, the first assistant who awoke on Yesod's Floor says he is unfit to be a leader because he cannot hold a Rousing Speech.
• Compelling Voice: Yesod has this, with some specific rules attached. Basically, everything he says hypnotizes everyone who hears it, except for when he specifies the one he talks to - in that case, only that person will be affected. This leads to him reluctantly becoming a Third-Person Person by way of Loophole Abuse since his power obviously doesn't affect himself.
  • Notably, this is also the only thing that Netzach hears once his 'light goes out'. This leads to them having to practice together.
• Cryptic Conversation: Binah and Hokma, tail end of chapter 12.
  Binah: Hokma. We need to talk. Under four eyes, now.
  Hokma: So we are right.
• Deadpan Snarker: Yumi.
  Yumi: This another ploy to get rid of your work?
  Yumi: Damn, finally a Floor without weird fuckery going on.
  Yumi: Of course you would say that.
• Demonic Possession: Especially chapter 11 highly implies that Julian is posessed by Carmen, or at least part of her.
• Disproportionate Retribution: Julian, an assistant on the Kether Floor, pushes a fellow assistant off the ladder after noticing she sorted a book wrong. Lampshaded by Angela:
  Angela: Julian, you can't push Elena from the ladder just because she's sorting one book wrong.
• Does This Remind You of Anything?: After they leave for Malkuth's Floor, Roland and Netzach admit to really liking being hypnotized by Yesod. It is seen by Angela as well, who just wonders how fast this can possibly escalate, while Yumi is just grossed out by the implications.
  Netzach: 'Well, it was a shock knowing afterwards, but...It almost felt...nice? Like...I didn't have to think about anything. Just do what I'm told like I'm a dog.'
  Roland: 'No, really. It creates some sort of rest, a quiet place.'
  • This is elaborated upon in chapter 10, where it is heavily implied that this is the reason why Netzach is spending so much time on Yesod's Floor.
  • In chapter 11, Yesod is taken away by Julian, who grabs him by his arm, explicitly without Yesod consenting to it all. He tries to make him stop, but his power doesn't work on Julian (or rather, the one who is also in Julian's body, which is strongly implied to be a female entity) so he is abducted anyway. Two chapters later, Yesod reappears in a Distorted state, and after the assistants help him return to partial human form, he can only utter a Madness Mantra of 'Don't touch me!'. Furthermore, chapter 14 reveals that he has an eye on his back after stabilizing, now extra watchful of his surroundings.
  Malkuth: But what that guy did to you is completely unacceptable. [...]
  Gebura: It wasn't really that Kether assistant, was it. It was her.
  Yesod: Stop it.
  Gebura: She really Distorted you...
• Elective Mute: Yesod, at first, because everything he says hypnotizes the one who hears it and he finds it rather troublesome. This leads to him communicating with written notes instead, causing some weirdness when Roland, Netzach, Angela and Yumi check up on him. Later, he subverts this by talking again, albeit as a Third-Person Person.
• Empty Eyes: Netzach, when he's mindless. His face also seems stuck at the same blank expression. His silence along with this is what sets others off.
• Eye Scream: On his second rampage, Netzach tears out Hod's eye. Not that it's permanent, of course.
• Fertile Feet: Tiphereth is implied to have these, at least at the start, where she accidentally turned her entire Floor into a jungle. Her emotions play a large part in what kind of plants she generates, ranging from perfectly edible fruit to thorns and poisonous berries. As she showed a rather free control over her plants when fighting a mindless Netzach, seemingly generating sedative plants on the fly, it's safe to say that she has mastered her ability.
• Game Mod: If you pay close attention to what is said in the first part of chapter 6, one can figure out that the 'game' they are in is modded. Namely, Malkuth mentions Odelie (one of her assistants) using Restrain. There are canonically three versions of this move in the game, and none of them are actually collectible. However, they would be if one modded the game. This is supported by Rose thinking back at Yesod using Thought Gear: Brainwash as his Signature Move, which is, again, something he shouldn't be able to do at all let alone as Signature Move, as there is only one person who can use this move - Eileen.
  • Finally, this post that gives an overview of all characters basically confirms it.
  Strengthened with the power of what once was their most dangerous enemy, they have harnessed it successfully and there's pretty much nothing standing their way.
• Gravity Master: Chesed, who is like Scout stuck in his own reversed gravity at first. This means that he is only able to move across the ceiling as if it were the floor. He does improve and he tries to use it as telekinesis instead.
• Green Thumb: Tiphereth, who has incidentally the same power as Sniper in the original story. Similarly to him, she accidentally causes the entire Floor to turn into a forest after the Light is disturbed. She gets better after Netzach's second rampage.
• Hates Being Touched: After calming down, Distorted Yesod only says 'Don't touch me', even when Angela does as much as coming near him. Chapter 14 has Gebura merely leaning on the bookshelf next to him and he already freaks out.
• Instant Expert: Subverted for pretty much everyone. The closest to this would be Binah.
• Intangibility: Hod. How she still stays on the ground and breathes is probably a result of either the nature of the Library itself, Required Secondary Powers, or both.
• Invisibility: Julian is able to turn invisible at will from chapter 15 on.
• Irony: Binah and Hokma comment on this going on with their powers. Malkuth, a naturally personable girl, has been struck as a Poisonous Person, as an example.
  • According to Rose, Yesod's Signature Move is Thought Gear: Brainwash that immobilizes the enemy. It is highly implied that his power has brainwashed Netzach subconsciously for real.
• Lightning Bruiser: Mindless Netzach. During his first rampage, he's fast enough to attack Gebura and keep her in a chokehold before she can act or anyone else to interfere. It's downplayed during his second rampage, but even then he's able to sneak through the hallways without anyone but Tiphereth noticing.
• Little Bit Beastly: Hokma. The Light caused him to be part bird of prey, and thus he is affectionately dubbed 'Hawkma'. The most obvious sign are the wings attached to his arms, but his eyesight has gotten better to the point that he doesn't need any vision aid anymore and his nails are permanently claw-like. For some reason, while it doesn't seem to be visible, his hair is also feather-like.
• Loophole Abuse: Chapter 7's description says 'Loopholes for the win'. It is in that chapter that Yesod figures out a loophole in his power.
• Loves Secrecy: Binah, big time. While she does seem to be a step ahead from all Librarians not named Angela or Hokma, she never reveals any details about how she is.
• Madness Mantra: In chapter 13.
  Yesod: Don't touch me don't touch me don't touch me don't touch me!
• Mass Super-Empowering Event: The entire premise. For a yet unexplained reason, the Light has given each Patron Librarian save for Roland and Angela superpowers. It is possibly of a slightly different nature, as Hod has started to hear the Distorting voice, hinting that these powers may just be undeveloped E.G.O. This would also explain Angela being exempt, since her E.G.O is already manifesting. This is eventually confirmed as Yesod Distorts.
• Mundane Utility: Tiphereth says she's been using her power mostly to grab a quick snack, since she can also create fruit and most vegetables. Chesed eagerly awaits the day the can use Mind over Matter to brew coffee without leaving his chair.
• Personality Powers: Cruelly inverted with most characters, to the point that Binah and Hokma point out the Irony of it all. The Genki Girl becomes a Poisonous Person and Walking Wasteland, and the Technical Pacifist becomes The Berserker. The two speculate that their powers are supposed to challenge them personally, similarly to God Tier titles.
• Pieces of God: In chapter 15, Angela shatters Carmen and spreads pieces of her into people. She takes at least one piece for herself, Julian takes another, and four of them take the form of the Da'at librarians. Said librarians remain oblivious to this, even when directly told, and will only know the truth if they ask themselves 'Who am I?'.
• Poisonous Person: Malkuth generates nitric acid, and although she is immune to it, the people surrounding her are not except for when Angela casts temporary immunity on them. Later, it turns out that Malkuth's power extends to chemicals in general, not just nitric acid.
• Red Eyes, Take Warning: Julian's eyes tend to turn red at certain moments. It is an indication of something more sinister.
• Required Secondary Powers: Naturally, everyone is immune to their own powers. For example, Gebura can't turn her clothes into sand. The outer walls and the floor also seem to be immune, as Hod can't phase through those either. Yesod uses the former to his advantage by becoming a Third-Person Person.
• Sand Blaster: Gebura, to the point that everything she touches save for herself, the floor and the outer walls is immediately turned into sand. Extends to The Power of Glass later.
• Soft Glass: Discussed when Gebura learns how to create glass.
• Shout-Out: Gebura's power (turning everything she touches into sand, including people ^note  The latter is never demonstrated but Gebura doesn't exclude the possibility of it also working on people ) is basically the exact same as the one of Leona Kingscholar of Twisted Wonderland, but initially always active and without needing By the Power of Grayskull!. Unlike him, however, she can also use The Power of Glass (though only after significant training).
  • In chapter 8, she reveals that she has named it 'Khamael', prompting Malkuth to name hers 'Sandalphon'. Chesed follows suit with naming his power 'Zadkiel'. However, in chapter 10, Tiphereth calls her power 'Raphael', hinting that it is switched with the name 'Michael', probably to hint at Hod's deadname.
  • In chapter 15, Julian basically becomes Shadow as he gains the power to fade into shadow and subsequent invisibility (partially if he wants to). Roland has to shout his name in order to make him appear after he's made his presence known by his laugh. At first, the librarians tried singing a song, but as this didn't work, Roland just shouted his name instead. When he returns to being invisible, he even says 'When you need another story, just try and catch me!'!
• Skewed Priorities: When the assistants of the Floor of Technological Sciences pick up ruckus from their Floor, one of their first concerns is having to clean up the same category that they cleant up the day before.
• Stealth Pun: Hokma has gained traits from a bird of prey. Canon heavily implies that he was a War Hawk.
• That Makes Me Feel Angry: Surprisingly often.
  Gebura: Why did the Light skip you and not me? You barely do anything to keep this place in order! All you do is slack around after drowning what's like the thousandth beer! Don't get me started on how fed up I am with all of this now!
• Third-Person Person: Yesod, reluctantly so. Because of Required Secondary Powers, he is immune to his own power. Thus, he needs to say his name every time he talks in order to cancel out his own power. As a result, though, this can get quite silly:
  Yesod: You tell Yesod. Personally, he doesn't know how.
• Tragic Intangibility: Lampshaded by Hod, as she was badly treated in the past for snitching.
  Hod: I mean, there was a time I was treated less than you, but this is ridiculous...
• The Trickster: Julian's got a mischievous streak, and especially enjoys disappearing and reappearing at will.
• Un-Sorcerer: Netzach is the only one seemingly unaffected by the Mass Super-Empowering Event, which is something he notices himself and Gebura is annoyed at. But then we find out as to why this trope seemed to be in effect at first...
  • Both Angela and Roland did not gain any powers from the Light. Roland speculates it is because he was brought in later, and Angela assumes it is because she is a Robot Girl.
• We Would Have Told You, But...: Binah pulls this against Hod, when she asks how Binah knows that she has been hearing a voice that is trying to persuade her.
• Wham Episode: Chapter 13, 'We Can't Exactly Ignore That Order'. Yesod finally returns to the Library, but as a Distortion. The assistants help him partially stabilize, but he needs time and after a visit from Angela, she reveals that he's forced to stay inactive for a while.
• Wham Line: Technically, two.
  Binah: You've been having hardship with your power and now you start to hear someone. Right?
  Hod: That's true.
  • Chapter 13:
  Angela: Yesod has Distorted.
• Year Inside, Hour Outside: According to Yumi, time passes differently in the training Reception books, so that an hour inside would not even be fifteen minutes outside.
• You Do Not Want To Know: Angela to Roland, referring to Distorted Yesod.
  Angela: This is bad. Roland. I know where Yesod is. I'm off to the Floor of Technological Sciences.
  Roland: Wait, what's happening?
  Angela: Trust me, you do not want to see this.

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