[ Her brows furrow back, an exhaustion clear in her features, though the amount it shows is restrained. She must remain strong, for she is a leader. ]
YSAYLETo accompany me, that we may keep strength. You too, would realise our dream of peace come true, won't you? As bearer of Saint Shiva's legacy... I will have this senseless war and bloodshed resolved.
[ With a grunt, he begins pushing himself up to his feet as well. He may not be at one-hundred percent right now, but he's an android. He doesn't get ill. ]
[ Comes back from work so I can tag this again. Ysayle, who remains grim, only nods after a moment. She dare not waste your efforts with pointless worry. ]
YSAYLE...Thank you. Then let us travel.
[ They are in the Churning Mists, having set up camp not far from the halfway point -- you know the platform with the moogle beast tribe stuff. Yeah.
Anyway, she points towards the spire they have to climb. It's a fuckton of stairs. ]
YSAYLEAt the top is his roost. We will call for him with the horn.
[ Sometimes... you really get certain types in your group of outcasts. It's fine, she simply nods.
AND SO THEY CLIMB UP THE MASSIVE SPIRE... it can be in relative silence, or 9S can chat if he wants. It'll be if 9S wants to though, and I'm guessing he won't.
At the top of the spire is a flat platform. Give her a second, while she pulls out a large metal horn and plays a simple tune on it that echoes. Meanwhile, 9S can take a look at the breathtaking scenery that is the Churning Mists from such a high point.
And give it a moment, before there is the sound of flapping wings, and from high above, a massive dragon descends, all white and feathered. It roars once upon landing, and speaks -- and its tongue is draconian and foreign, and yet, the meaning of his words ring crystal-clear in your mind. ]
HRAESVELGRMortals. Why have you disturbed me from my solitude...?
YSAYLE...Hraesvelgr. Do you remember me? 'Twas I whom you found in Dravania -- I who glimpsed the truth. The truth about your past... the truth about Shiva.
[ ...No sooner than when she speaks that name, however, the wyrm's eyes (or eye, rather) snaps open, and it roars in harsh anger at both of you. ]
[ 9S is really just getting all kinds of new experiences today, isn't he? Yeah, Hraesvelgr Huge. Up and close is rather impressive when even just one of his eyes almost feels like it could be the same size as 9S's head. The glare from his eyes is also almost oppressively strong, though not with hatred -- a mere, low reluctance, and an indignant anger to be disturbed so.
Ysayle frowns but she does not flinch whatsoever. Instead still pressing forward. ]
YSAYLEBut I must! I have summoned Shiva's soul from the beyond, and offered myself as her vessel... she has made her heart known to me... I have surrendered mine to her! Do you not see, my love? I am Shiva reborn!
[ She calls out, desperate. But the dragon merely affixes his gaze at her, pitying, lips bared in a snarl. ]
HRAESVELGRThe spirit thou hast summoned belongeth not to Shiva -- 'tis but a shade conjured by thine own fancy. Such gods are not summoned, but created. Phantoms spun from the threads of misplaced faith.
[ ...A silence rings from Ysayle, who can only look on with lips slightly parted, eyes blank -- and her expression a mire of gref and self-doubt. When she speaks again, her voice has none of the made confidence in it, the volume to bolster her will. ]
YSAYLE...Then... the spirit that answered me...
[ The weather around you... turns dark. As soon as the dragon appeared, the gales had picked up and the sky darkened as if heralding the wyrm's presence, but... this feels strange. The darkness is familiar, small smoking wisps of grey and black lining the edges of the platform you stand on. ]
[ Yeah, a lot of new experiences. Genuinely and true, 9S hasn't the faintest what the fuck is unfolding in front of him; wasn't this supposed to be about a war? The hell's all this nonsense about "Shiva" and spirits and...
Not that it matters for long. 9S whips around, watching as their surroundings grow dim, an inky swirl of black seeping onto the very ground they stand upon. ]
HRAESVELGRAye. 'Twas but thy dream of Shiva. Thy soul hath been corrupted by a deity of thine own making, child.
[ It speaks -- but then, your vision seems to glitch. The woman besides you, the foundation of her belief shaken, falls to her knees as she feels her strength give out from under her. As the smokey tendrils come closer, 9S's vision seems to look akin to a screen that begins to ERROR, and the dragon's countenance turns from pity to anger. His tone, spiteful. Bashing the woman further. His eyes glowing a noxious red, rather than the passive yellow. ]
HRAESVELGRThou kind's history is one of avarice and treachery -- but thou wouldst speak to me of peace? Hark thee, mortal, to the naked truth... then tell me thou deservest forgiveness. When 'twas your kind who first drew the blade, who first murdered mine brood-sister in cold blood, all but for the sake of mere power! And you would dare! Dare sully the name of mine beloved on your tongue! Dare tempt me to break our promise and shed thy blood!
[ The woman shakes and trembles, eyes wide, fingers grasping at the earth. ]
[ 9S grips at his head as his vision malfunctions, unable to focus as the dragon's voice continues to pierce through his mind with a deep ferocity. None of it means anything to him. This woman is a stranger, this conflict to foreign to him, and yet— ]
No—dammit, no! I have to get out of here!
[ But which way? The smoke creeps closer, and he can barely see. ]
[ 9S's head won't stop ringing as the dragon roars, its voice becoming distorted. He hears laughter, mocking, spiteful, hating. He feels Ysayle's faith breaking as if it were his own, completely tearing apart the fabric of all that he had known thus far. It doesn't make sense, it shouldn't -- but the heavy weight of her grief drags him down.
Did he know that this reality is all false? In a thousand years, humankind has achieved perfection. But the perfection was so immaculate that mankind could not bear to go on, having accomplished every one of their goals. Thus, they engineered a beautiful, augmented reality that allowed them to travel to a false world with no memories, but with plenty of faults, such that they may experience what it was like for ancient humans to make mistakes again. This experience, too, is one of them, for under perfection, mankind sought pain to feel again.
「No?」
Then I must share with you the truth, that you have been abducted by alien machina and the time that has passed since has been a mere 0.003s seconds. All brains are merely made up of synapses, a single spark determining the outcome of a million and one possibilities, just like you androids. This is all but a figment of your imagination as we prepare you for disassembly.
「No?」
Does he know if there is a point to existence? A reason for going on? 9S doesn't know what's 'right' anymore, how does he expect to continue when his sensors are overloaded with trying to figure out what's 'right'? ]
[ He doesn't, not now. How can he even think of it when there's the oppressive force of pain and pointlessness upon his very being?
He can't make sense of any of it. It almost feels as if there's no point in trying, and so, he collapses to one knee, hands still gripping at his head—and whatever is to come from here, could he even fight it? ]
[ Your battle is pointless, as it has been built and fought on false grounds, on false premises, on lies. And you hoped you could do something?
9S's vision goes dark, and he feels the blizzard coming again. He hears a sharp crack of breaking ice tear through the cold winds, and he can just catch that Ysayle's body has been encased in a massive crystal of clear ice. Oppressing, cold, would that the pain of war could stop.
He feels hands grasp at him, desperate and shaking him for answers. Having everything you know be stripped from you, could you go on? If everything you knew was a lie...?
[ It's funny—these aren't new sensations to him. Battles built on lies? He knew that already. He's had everything taken from him. And once he goes back, finally kills every last one of them, exacts the revenge that bubbles underneath his surface every day, even as he's forced to waste away his days in a world so far from his own—
No. There's no reason to go on. And something here wishes to so keenly remind him of every last one of those feelings. ]
[ The anger. It's a crutch. You feel the temptation to latch onto it, that you may fight and bleed and claw and tear until you're nothing left but an exoskeleton, that you'd want to burn the world even if it meant burning you.
The distorted version of Hraesvelgr's rage courses through you. That were it not for his beloved, he too would have razed man to ash. That he should raze man to ash for making such mockery, thinking they could use you like this.
The cold burns, and Ysayle is no longer herself -- you see the frozen body of Saint Shiva, the Primal, her blue eyes staring through you.
Does your ice cool and calm? Or does it scatter like dust to the wind? ]
[ Oh, there's no calming this. No one could do so before, and the face of a stranger—Primal or no—could do so now.
Pushing himself back up onto unsteady feet, 9S draws his sword. There are no machines here, but the wrym's fury courses through him nevertheless. It doesn't feel as though machines are the only thing to blame here anymore. ]
Get out—get the hell out of my way.
[ Whether she's a mirage or in solid form, it matters not to him. 9S slashes his sword through Shiva's form. ]
[ Her countenance remains still, but the ice shatters into a million pieces. 9S's mind is poisoned by anger, by hatred. Infected, as his vision is tinted with a shade of red. Why did he bother with any of this? He should've accompanied the others and simply slayed Nidhogg too, instead.
Nothing will stop him.
Nothing will stop him.
Peace was never an option, only the dream of a fool. Her ice scatters, small flakes of dust, and her sobs die out. He feels the spirit of Saint Shiva over his shoulder, but as a cold, artificial entity, not a benevolent god -- only a tool for his future success.
He walks, moving forward, as the world goes dark.
In the distance, a light -- a goal to walk towards. He emerges, back to the tome room... ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
saturations) wrote2022-02-28 08:34 pm
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Is truly, terribly ironic.
For better or worse, his visor masks his furrowed brow. ]
And what do you expect me to do?
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YSAYLE To accompany me, that we may keep strength. You too, would realise our dream of peace come true, won't you? As bearer of Saint Shiva's legacy... I will have this senseless war and bloodshed resolved.
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You think you can do that?
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YSAYLE I will make this right. I will not forsake this cause. I cannot. I will see this cycle broken and peace restored. I... we can do naught else...
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Fine, all right. Let's get to it then.
[ For whatever reason. It doesn't make any sense why he's here. ]
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[ She's still concerned that 9S may still be ill, even as she gets up. ]
YSAYLE Perhaps we should eat, ere we embark... it isn't long, but still a while to go 'til we reach the roost.
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[ With a grunt, he begins pushing himself up to his feet as well. He may not be at one-hundred percent right now, but he's an android. He doesn't get ill. ]
I'll be fine. We can go.
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YSAYLE ...Thank you. Then let us travel.
[ They are in the Churning Mists, having set up camp not far from the halfway point -- you know the platform with the moogle beast tribe stuff. Yeah.
Anyway, she points towards the spire they have to climb. It's a fuckton of stairs. ]
YSAYLE At the top is his roost. We will call for him with the horn.
no subject
That is a fuckton of stairs. Do we have all the aether currents yet. ]
Can't we just call him down here?
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[ Listen... ]
YSAYLE Dragons are prideful. It would be immensely disrespectful to call him down so low. So we climb.
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Whatever, then.
[ Fine. Up they go. ]
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AND SO THEY CLIMB UP THE MASSIVE SPIRE... it can be in relative silence, or 9S can chat if he wants. It'll be if 9S wants to though, and I'm guessing he won't.
At the top of the spire is a flat platform. Give her a second, while she pulls out a large metal horn and plays a simple tune on it that echoes. Meanwhile, 9S can take a look at the breathtaking scenery that is the Churning Mists from such a high point.
And give it a moment, before there is the sound of flapping wings, and from high above, a massive dragon descends, all white and feathered. It roars once upon landing, and speaks -- and its tongue is draconian and foreign, and yet, the meaning of his words ring crystal-clear in your mind. ]
HRAESVELGR Mortals. Why have you disturbed me from my solitude...?
YSAYLE ...Hraesvelgr. Do you remember me? 'Twas I whom you found in Dravania -- I who glimpsed the truth. The truth about your past... the truth about Shiva.
[ ...No sooner than when she speaks that name, however, the wyrm's eyes (or eye, rather) snaps open, and it roars in harsh anger at both of you. ]
HRAESVELGR Do not speak her name, mortal!
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Yet what is there to say? Their words mean nothing to him, all just as alien as the world around him. He flinches at the roar, but otherwise... ]
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Ysayle frowns but she does not flinch whatsoever. Instead still pressing forward. ]
YSAYLE But I must! I have summoned Shiva's soul from the beyond, and offered myself as her vessel... she has made her heart known to me... I have surrendered mine to her! Do you not see, my love? I am Shiva reborn!
[ She calls out, desperate. But the dragon merely affixes his gaze at her, pitying, lips bared in a snarl. ]
HRAESVELGR The spirit thou hast summoned belongeth not to Shiva -- 'tis but a shade conjured by thine own fancy. Such gods are not summoned, but created. Phantoms spun from the threads of misplaced faith.
[ ...A silence rings from Ysayle, who can only look on with lips slightly parted, eyes blank -- and her expression a mire of gref and self-doubt. When she speaks again, her voice has none of the made confidence in it, the volume to bolster her will. ]
YSAYLE ...Then... the spirit that answered me...
[ The weather around you... turns dark. As soon as the dragon appeared, the gales had picked up and the sky darkened as if heralding the wyrm's presence, but... this feels strange. The darkness is familiar, small smoking wisps of grey and black lining the edges of the platform you stand on. ]
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Not that it matters for long. 9S whips around, watching as their surroundings grow dim, an inky swirl of black seeping onto the very ground they stand upon. ]
... Dammit. Not again.
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HRAESVELGR Aye. 'Twas but thy dream of Shiva. Thy soul hath been corrupted by a deity of thine own making, child.
[ It speaks -- but then, your vision seems to glitch. The woman besides you, the foundation of her belief shaken, falls to her knees as she feels her strength give out from under her. As the smokey tendrils come closer, 9S's vision seems to look akin to a screen that begins to ERROR, and the dragon's countenance turns from pity to anger. His tone, spiteful. Bashing the woman further. His eyes glowing a noxious red, rather than the passive yellow. ]
HRAESVELGR Thou kind's history is one of avarice and treachery -- but thou wouldst speak to me of peace? Hark thee, mortal, to the naked truth... then tell me thou deservest forgiveness. When 'twas your kind who first drew the blade, who first murdered mine brood-sister in cold blood, all but for the sake of mere power! And you would dare! Dare sully the name of mine beloved on your tongue! Dare tempt me to break our promise and shed thy blood!
[ The woman shakes and trembles, eyes wide, fingers grasping at the earth. ]
no subject
[ 9S grips at his head as his vision malfunctions, unable to focus as the dragon's voice continues to pierce through his mind with a deep ferocity. None of it means anything to him. This woman is a stranger, this conflict to foreign to him, and yet— ]
No—dammit, no! I have to get out of here!
[ But which way? The smoke creeps closer, and he can barely see. ]
no subject
Did he know that this reality is all false? In a thousand years, humankind has achieved perfection. But the perfection was so immaculate that mankind could not bear to go on, having accomplished every one of their goals. Thus, they engineered a beautiful, augmented reality that allowed them to travel to a false world with no memories, but with plenty of faults, such that they may experience what it was like for ancient humans to make mistakes again. This experience, too, is one of them, for under perfection, mankind sought pain to feel again.
「No?」
Then I must share with you the truth, that you have been abducted by alien machina and the time that has passed since has been a mere 0.003s seconds. All brains are merely made up of synapses, a single spark determining the outcome of a million and one possibilities, just like you androids. This is all but a figment of your imagination as we prepare you for disassembly.
「No?」
Does he know if there is a point to existence? A reason for going on? 9S doesn't know what's 'right' anymore, how does he expect to continue when his sensors are overloaded with trying to figure out what's 'right'? ]
no subject
He can't make sense of any of it. It almost feels as if there's no point in trying, and so, he collapses to one knee, hands still gripping at his head—and whatever is to come from here, could he even fight it? ]
no subject
9S's vision goes dark, and he feels the blizzard coming again. He hears a sharp crack of breaking ice tear through the cold winds, and he can just catch that Ysayle's body has been encased in a massive crystal of clear ice. Oppressing, cold, would that the pain of war could stop.
He feels hands grasp at him, desperate and shaking him for answers. Having everything you know be stripped from you, could you go on? If everything you knew was a lie...?
Or would it be better to give into madness? ]
no subject
No. There's no reason to go on. And something here wishes to so keenly remind him of every last one of those feelings. ]
no subject
The distorted version of Hraesvelgr's rage courses through you. That were it not for his beloved, he too would have razed man to ash. That he should raze man to ash for making such mockery, thinking they could use you like this.
The cold burns, and Ysayle is no longer herself -- you see the frozen body of Saint Shiva, the Primal, her blue eyes staring through you.
Does your ice cool and calm? Or does it scatter like dust to the wind? ]
no subject
Pushing himself back up onto unsteady feet, 9S draws his sword. There are no machines here, but the wrym's fury courses through him nevertheless. It doesn't feel as though machines are the only thing to blame here anymore. ]
Get out—get the hell out of my way.
[ Whether she's a mirage or in solid form, it matters not to him. 9S slashes his sword through Shiva's form. ]
no subject
Nothing will stop him.
Nothing will stop him.
Peace was never an option, only the dream of a fool. Her ice scatters, small flakes of dust, and her sobs die out. He feels the spirit of Saint Shiva over his shoulder, but as a cold, artificial entity, not a benevolent god -- only a tool for his future success.
He walks, moving forward, as the world goes dark.
In the distance, a light -- a goal to walk towards. He emerges, back to the tome room... ]