Obsidian

Obsidian

To the outside world, Obsidian is a Japanese megaconglomerate which started out as Kokuyōseki before changing to the English translation of its family name as its corporate title in the 90s.

To most of those who are employed indirectly by it, they're a far away financial owner that occasionally sticks their nose in and makes weird decisions like opening a fitness club in a weekend and closing it the next.

To those in middle management and above, it's the giant hierarchical company that is somehow still doing well, with secrets and R+D budgets that are clearly out of control, doors that never unlock or lead nowhere, and strange ideas of who should be promoted.

Past upper management, and in the Research and Development Divisions and the Special Divisions, everyone in Obsidian can see through the veil. Nearly all of them wield Dark Energy.

While Obsidian is not a publicly traded company, Obsidian does have a Board of Directors. The titles the Board has on the company website and official documents are very different than the titles they use in the company's closed door meetings.

Queen Beryl, Professor Sabaku, Professor Tomoe, Precia Testarossa, Queen Mirage, Director Kazuomi Hoshina... these are a few of the shadowy names that make up the true Board of Directors of Obsidian. And at the center of it all, the enigmatic and terrifying Father Obsidian, the only man - or creature - who could exert enough authority and power to keep all of these eager tyrants in check and moving towards a single objective - the defeat of the magical girls and control of Earth through Dark Energy. To each Director, Father Obsidian has whispered a different false promise should they prove the most successful. Telling them they could be conquerors, rulers, victorious. That when they succeed he will let the most worthy take his crown. And due to their own hubris and corruption, they believe these poison lies. They drink in the power and believe they are moving towards their own victories, some believing Father Obsidian will willingly give them what they seek, others believing when they amass enough power they will take it from him by force.

And so these tyrants of Dark Energy, each capable of leading an army of destruction, have come to work under him - having seen visions of their own defeat - and bring with them lieutenants, footsoldiers, plans, plots, devices, and magic. They work together begrudgingly, always trying to one-up each other, always seeking to be the most impressive, to catch the eye of Father Obsidian, to make their defeat an impossibility and their success a reality. They drain energy, create plots, and above all try to crush the resistance of Magical Girls. Each still follows their own goals as well - hated enemies must be destroyed, and if they feel they can achieve success without needing to kowtow to the Father, they will attempt it - he would understand, after all. The Board of Directors see each other as stepping stones to success, and alliances are temporary between them, but also not uncommon - while convenient. The Ordered Chaos of Obsidian carries down from its Board of Directors to its various Special and Research Departments, each trying to bring the newest weapons, the most energy, the most successful endeavors to the attention of the Board, or even to Father Obsidian himself to earn a spot on the Board themselves.

But, should Obsidian succeed, only Father Obsidian's desire will come true. And Father Obsidian's one desire is destruction. The destruction of all, the poisoning of this part of the fabric of reality with Dark Energy, to spread like a virus and corrupt the multiverse, bringing everything to a chaotic, destructive last gasp. And in that moment, and only then, will the Dark Father smile.

Like all giant megacorporate organizations, Obsidian has an Org Chart. Please See their Organizational Chart of Evil.

The Internal Energy Economy

Obsidian makes more money than it needs to operate and then some - once you're out of the lower, mundane tiers of the company and you're a member of the "Aware" divisions, money is mostly irrelevant on the day to day scale. It's not much of an issue for someone to open up a gym club front operation, running out of a strip mall on a whim, then close it down a week later when it's found out and raided by magical girls.

What is important is energy. While they may call it different things, energy drained from human victims is the oil which lubricates the gears of Obsidian and keeps everything running and evil plans going according to their timetables. With enough energy, many things are possible; without the influx of energy, the plans of individual departments and possibly Obsidian as a whole will fall apart.

So draining energy is a constant focus for most involved in Obsidian, and trading energy for favors or assistance within and between departments is common. It is this desire to drain energy (and the fact that it directly correlates to success) that means most employees are involved in summoning or unleashing youma for such purposes at one point or another, which inevitably leads to constant conflict with Magical Girls.

Each division is expected to provide a certain amount of energy profit to the organization as a whole, fed into the massive Tenebrous Reactor that lies at the heart of Obsidian and provides the energy for several things, including Obsidian's Door system and the manifestation of Stacked Space. Providing more energy gets you further in Father Obsidian's good graces... and providing insufficient energy may draw unwanted attention from the Board of Directors.