As Cass pondered which genre to shift to, Lucas paused at the last piece of info Shi gave.
"Just to be sure... You mean to say that her power will protect - for instance - our sanity as well. Correct?"
Shi nodded. "Such as it is now that you had contact with the Far Realm, yes."
"So this is what it's called." - Said Lucas.
"This is what I call it. It's also what most 'deities' call it. But names matter little. You called it the Infinite Staircase, Cassandra called it Yggdrasil, and neither name was any less true. You are outside reality. Meaning loses meaning here. This is but an interface our minds create." - Said Shi.
Lucas thought about it. "I see. What did you mean 'such as it is now that we had contact'?"
Shi shrugged. "You just observed something no mortal ever did. You are outside reality as we speak, and you are witnessing things beyond your comprehension. You will not go insane just by having witnessed this world, mostly thanks to Cassandra's protection, but you now know what lies beyond reality. You don't have a faith. You know. This will not drive you insane, nor harm you, but it most likely will change you."
Lucas nodded somberly. "I see. And... Are there safe places here? Places that will have things and that will not drive us insane?"
Shi nodded. "There are few. If you find them, you will have safe haven from the effects of the Far Realm, so long as you stay there. These places are usually the abode of new deities that, for some reason or another, want to keep their abode livable for mortals. Whether they are there or not at the moment, and whether they are benevolent or malevolent, if these words mean anything here, I cannot say. So they are safe, but they may or not remain so when you arrive there."
"I see." - Lucas said - "I want to thank you for the information, Shi... Is there anything I can do for you?"
Shi looked at Lucas. A sense of longing could be seen in her look. "No."
Lucas nodded. "I will see to it that you regain your self and become able to go back."
"It is a noble thought, but it is not possible." - Said Shi, evenly.
"Chaotic Neutrals disregard impossibilities." - Said Lucas, smiling. - "I will see to it."
Shi ignored Lucas's boast and handed her a glowing stone. "As long as this stone is glowing, you can call me. When this stone ceases to glow, you will be unable to call me until you go back to a point in which it glowed."
"Perhaps a mockumentary...?" - Said Cass.
Lucas looked at her. "Mmm... Could work, but we'd likely have to narrate stuff for it to. What about comedy?"
Cass sighed. "If we have to, it is safe, I think. The problem is we'd not learn anything. It'd be all 'A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Far Realm." - She smiled lightly at the pun.
"Nice one." - Said Lucas - "Let's see. In certain kinds of adventure, no one dies..."
Cass nodded. "Yeah, but it might be unsafe. Especially for you, seeing as I'd be the lead character."
"Hmm. What about epic?"
"I need to be back today, not in ten years." - Smiled Cass. - "Okay, I think I got it. A mix between Iyashikei, mockumentary and just a little adventure. Enough to explain where we are and for us to work the tropes, but not enough to risk us too badly. Enough mockumentary to allow us to proceed, but not enough to hinder us. And Iyashikei to prevent bad events..."
Shi nodded. "Seems agreeable, if you manage not to run into someone who could undo it. I wish you good luck."
Shi opened the door. Cass concentrated for a bit, nodded to Lucas, and they stepped through.
