View source for Prelude To Tragedy(Ikuto Tsukiyomi)

{{Cutscene Header
|Date of Scene=2024/06/12
|Location=Undisclosed Easter Company Facility
|Synopsis=In the coming months a shadow will fall over a bright future, stemming from this one act of mad science.
|Cast of Characters=92
}}
-Undisclosed Easter Company facility, some time before the events of 6/12-

"Close the shutters, and check the seals on your masks." Yuu Nikaidou checked his own protective equipment, satisfied at the lack of outside air getting in unfiltered. He wasn't sure the masks were necessary, or if they'd even help in the event of a containment breach. If something went wrong Easter Company almost assuredly didn't have the resources to deal with the consequences, particularly after the recent loss of yet another contractor. He'd never think of telling Director Hoshina this of course; he preferred keeping his job. "We're all good here Nikaidou-san," one of his assistants affirmed. "Excellent," Nikaidou replied. "Follow me, and for everyone's sake the last of you in close the door behind you."

"Arase-san, hand me the tongs. All of you, stand back. If anything happens, take cover behind anything you can." Nikaidou reached into the shielded cylinder with the tongs, mindful of the ominous purple hazard label on the side of the canister. "Carefully..." he assured himself while slowly lifting the tongs out.

In the grasp of the tongs was a small oval object. It crackled with an energy that was both purple and black at once, thin tendrils reaching out from it every so often only to retract soon after. This was a highly unstable object Yuu Nikaidou gotten ahold of, and none in the room had dared to ask how he'd obtained it, or for what purpose this "experiment" was being done. They just hoped he knew what he was doing.

Nikaidou approached the operating table, carefully holding the tongs in front of him as he lowered the object held in them down towards the violin. It was secured to the table with heavy straps as a precautionary measure. Nothing like this had ever been done, and truthfully he wasn't sure if he was about to get himself and his team killed. "Alright...Kuroda-san, bring the dome over and as soon as you see me start to release the catalyst, place it down over the receptacle. Yes, that means the violin."

"San...ni...ichi...now!" Nikaidou released the egg from the tongs. Kuroda put the heavy plastic dome down over the violin and Arase, waiting with a drill quickly began securing it to the table. Moments later, all three had stepped back from the table and were watching with anticipation. Kuroda began to ask, "What's supposed to hap-" when the glowing egg crackled with a burst of bright purple. Tendrils of dark energy reached down into the violin, passing through the wood and seeming to anchor themselves inside as the egg itself began to descend into and through the instrument. All the while, the sound of crackling energy was filling the operating room and the three men present could see arcs of energy bouncing off of the interior of the plastic dome.

The egg disappeared entirely into the violin, and slowly, the energy began to calm. Soon the crackling had ceased, and there was no trace of the dark egg. "Experiment...successful. Arase-san, Kuroda-san. Go get yourselves a cold drink, and try not to think too much about what we just did. It's really better that way." Nikaidou waited for the two other men to leave the room and took out his phone, dialing a number. "Director, it's Nikaidou. The egg has been placed. We've only to wait for Black Cat-san to take the bait."