aionooc | TDM #1

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TDM #1

DREAMING

At first, there is nothing. You are nothing. Whatever existed before ceases to be if for a moment. Then, bit by bit, you start to become aware. Where there was not even darkness now is a dim haze, gentle and almost mist-like. You have limbs again and beneath your feet lays a path of light reaching out like limbs of a great tree beneath you, twisting and climbing out into the horizon.

You take a step forward for what else is there to do? As you walk you begin to remember what it was you were doing before the nothingness; maybe something as simple as chatting with a loved one or close friend. Maybe you were just beginning a great journey or facing off against an old foe. Whatever it was, you get the distinct feeling that wherever and whenever that was, it is not here. Not now.

The path of light twists off into different directions. When you look up you can see that it is not a sky above you but the sky of everything, a grand cosmic tapestry littered with not mere stars but galaxies and clusters of galaxies that gleam like crystals against the velvety backdrop of space. Admire it for a moment, if you will. You don't know how long you will drift here, but you are not alone. Other wanderers will come and go as you bask together in the vastness of creation.

It seems to you that there are two paths to walk in this place, the light and dark beckoning in turn.

❖ THE LIGHT AT THE CENTER
One leads you to the center, splintered fragments folding together and colliding until only one thing remains: a light that speaks to you with the voice of all there is and has ever been. It greets you simultaneously as an old friend and as a lost child, both rejoicing in and mourning your arrival. You remember it too, somehow, with a feeling of complex nostalgia, as if returning to a place recalled from your distant childhood.

You’ll feel the same of the other wanderers that join you in the light; you know their faces, their voices, and as you reflect upon the world of your birth, you may witness fragments of theirs as well. You feel a comradery, then, a synchronicity of thought and emotion. Are the lives of others truly so different from your own? Or are you simply two hands of the same, greater being? Though some individualistic part of you may resist, the longer you spend in the light, the more you will find yourself becoming one with it.

Despite this welcoming call, no matter how eagerly your pursue its embrace, before you can fully submerge yourself in this oneness you will find yourself being torn away. As if seized by the impossibly long, cold arm of a creature unseen, you are plucked from the edge of fulfillment. The last thing you will remember is the sensation of your world, and all the others your experienced here, collapsing into nothingness.

❖ THE DARK OUTSIDE (CW: deep despair, ego death)
The other leads towards the outside, where the splintering becomes so great that the vestiges of reality can do nothing but collapse back into the abyss at the end of everything. As you wander to these barren outskirts, your thoughts will not be drawn to familiarity and oneness, but instead to memories of discontent and waste. The darker the path becomes, the more you find yourself dwelling on life’s disappointments and injustices, of the things about yourself and your world you find wanting.

If you see others here, at first they will feel frightening or contemptible, as if representing to you the worst experiences in your life. Even if they are someone you’re certain you know, that familiarity and affection will be stripped away in the face of the great emptiness before you. In the end, you were all the same. In the end, none of this was worth it. If you approach the end together, you may even form a kind of kinship around this acknowledgment, as the need for paranoia and hatred fades.

Slowly, the darkness encroaches, and you can see it devouring all the things you once knew. Memories of your home, of those you loved, dissolve into nothing, and you can only reflect on the barren emptiness in your heart as you see it happen. In your final moments, though, you feel peace with it all, knowing that there was no other way. You step from the edge of the last dwindling fragment of being and are greeted by silence.

❖ THE END
No matter which way you go, you are left with a single impression: you feel the world you came from die. It's a realization that transcends logic or sense; it weighs on your heart and leaves the vestiges of dark memories dancing in your thoughts like motes of ash. It's a memory of your home crumbling away into nothing as if consumed from within by rot. Returned to the void, all that's left to you is to be reborn.

REBIRTH

In a new time and place, you awaken. Stirring within a capsule of warmth and isolation your senses will slowly return, only to observe that you are trapped. Your body, as it wakes, is tangled in close, yours eyes unable to open, as if still within the womb. You are held tight in the embrace of something unyielding, so smothering that at first you only have the strength to struggle for moments at a time. Yet, as you persist, the pressure begins to relent in turn; it may take hours, but eventually you will find the purchase to push, to claw, to fight, and it will all give way.

The chrysalis surrounding you bends like flesh and cracks like glass. It tears as you force your fingers through, finding liberation one inch at a time, until finally you have emerged. As if having undergone metamorphosis, you feel old and new all at once. You are weak, piteously so, but the markings and scars of your previous life remain. As you slump down upon the smooth cavern stone, you realize that you've just wrenched yourself free of gigantic crystal, though its hollow, shimmering form is now in pieces on account of your passing. Somewhere on your body, a shard of similar material remains embedded.

The cave itself looks almost like the inside of a geode, the walls and ceiling bedazzled with greyish crystal that shines with all the colors of the rainbow. While they vary wildly in size and shape, only a few have grown large enough to hold a form like yours, and you can see the one you just escaped isn't the only one bearing a passenger within. They may have already hatched, or they may still be lingering in stasis. Either way, there's enough time that you may have a chance to speak to yours unexpected peers, or to perhaps to struggle to find something to cover your naked body with. You feel the chill of the open air against your moisture laden skin, a distant light trickling in through the cavern's opening.

Make the most of this time. It won't be long before you're interrupted.

[Mod Note: If you don't want to deal with your character being naked in front of the others at that location, feel free to assume they emerge at a different time than the others of their legacy. Characters will be 'hatching' over a period of several hours.]

CAPTIVITY

It seems that someone was waiting for you to arrive, and not in the most friendly of ways. Though the specifics of who comes to get you will vary according to which legacy shrine your character awakens at, there are certain commonalities: most notably, how they are ostensibly here to capture and imprison you. It's easy for them, all considered. You can barely stand, so fresh out of your chrysalis, and whatever powers or special abilities you may have had will not answer your call. Even worse, your would be captors are well equipped for the job.

Each group arrives with several 'whips' made of unknown materials. What makes them so special only become obvious when one of them inevitable snakes its way around your body. Whether it be your ankle or your neck, being bound by these cords puts you under the influence of whoever is holding the other end of your leash. Your mind remains untouched, but you will find yourself physically incapable of performing physical actions that go against their will. While the possibilities are frightening, thankfully they all just seem to want one thing: for you to come along as a good little prisoner and to not cause any of them too much trouble.

The rest depends on your character's legacy:

❖ THE LOVER
The small island the shrine is built upon is approached by several modest boats with colorful sails. They carry what appears to be a collection of fearful fisherfolk and town guards. They are reluctant to speak with those being pulled out of the shrine or even look them in the eye. If they have their choice, the entire process will be done in silence. If you try too hard to upset them, the guards will sternly bring you to heel.

❖ THE CELEBRANT
The infrastructure of an entire festival ground seems to be built around this shrine, and as a result, there are an usual amount of people present. While most keep their distance, a few will engage with the local guards that arrive to capture the Aions, complaining that this is going to interfere with their preparations for the upcoming Lover’s Festival. They are pushed aside in short order, and the rest of the retrieval will be done in a stern but business-like manner.

❖ THE MARTYR
At first, those arriving to capture the Aions will be hesitant to even enter the barren crater this shrine is held within. Once the presence of the new arrivals becomes clear, however, they will run in as if crossing the no man’s land of a battlefield and complete their work with gusto. It appears to be mostly military folk and they seem to lack any patience or sympathy for those they capture.

❖ THE SOVEREIGN
The captors here seem to be a mixed bag, almost as if two separate squadrons have arrived at the same time. One is a gathering of people who give off the impression of mountain folk, while the others are well armored soldiers. Though it will be hard to make out the specifics, there seems to be some manner of disagreement between these two parties over what should be done, but the ones kitted out in full military attire win out in the end. By then, they are completely out of patience for further resistance.

❖ THE ARTISAN
The people here seem to have mixed feelings about your arrival. On one hand, it seems to be a moment of considerable trepidation, on the other, they seem unbearably curious about your nature. They will ask questions about any unusual features you have, or what your skills are, while others from the group try just as hard to shush them. Ultimately, they don’t seem that enthusiastic about having to capture you, but they also don’t seem to think they have much choice.

❖ THE INNOCENT
Among rolling hills of flowers, at first it seems as if this shrine may not be visited at all. Before the arriving Aions can escape it, though - naked and weakened as they are - a group of fairly normal looking townsfolk will arrive. They pause as they spot you near the shrine, almost like they are hesitating about coming at all. In the end, they will converge upon you and ask for you to please cooperate. They won’t hurt you, as long as you come with them.

❖ THE SEEKER
Armored soldiers are the ones to first pull you from the shrine, but as you arrive outside of it you'll see that it is situated at the edge of a great forest. An ancient observatory is build into the cliff face behind the shrine, and your captors are apparently in the process of negotiating with a series of robed individuals that have emerged from it. According to them, the soldiers kidnapping you are trespassing. Unfortunately, they are not the ones with weapons.

❖ THE WANDERER
When you first emerge from the shrine, it will appear as if you have just missed a skirmish. There are a few bodies scattered about, all wearing woodland armor made of leather and fur. The victors, it seems, come in the form of fully armored soldiers. Thoroughly irritated by the fight that just happened, they will not waste time on niceties. If you try to ask them what just happened, the best you may get is a sneer about ‘those damn forest people.’ You may spot a couple more bodies on the trail leading out of the forest as well.

❖ THE FIREBRAND
The first thing to be seen beyond the cavern entrance is a sheer drop into a raging canyon river far below you, with only a narrow path leading up the steep cliff face. It would be a difficult situation, even without black-cloaked warriors making their way down it to collect you. Struggle too much and you'll be at risk of being thrown into the chasm. These masked assailants are largely unmoved by your protests and will drag you the entire way up the cliff if you force them to. "Your soul will be claimed," they say.

❖ THE VISIONARY
The view from the mouth of the cavern is awe inspiring, revealing the foreign shapes of a world you've never seen before. Unfortunately, the altitude of this shrine means you will also be greeted with sharp wind and biting cold. Fortunately, or not, a party of mountaineers and three black-cloaked warriors will arrive to collect you. Despite their seeming inability to defy the orders of the warriors, the mountaineers will toss you some shoes and blankets for the trek down, even if they are taken away from you later. If the warriors speak at all, it's mostly in the form of ominous utterances.

❖ THE CHAMPION
Even if one were to stagger out of the shrine's cavern before being approached, the Aions arriving here will swiftly find themselves in a hopeless situation. Not only are there soldiers here to collect there is a moderately sized military barracks built around the shrine itself, and this particular squadron is not on your side. You will be swarmed before you can get far at all. There seems to be a mix of two squadrons here, some wearing heavy armor and red accents, while the others wear full face masks and dark cloaks.

Once you've been captured and pulled from the shrine, you will given a formless white gown made of moderately comfortable fabric, with sleeves reaching your elbows and its bottom reaching down past your knees. You will not be given pants or shoes. You're in for a journey, apparently - no matter who plucked you from the cave, most of the heavily armored soldiers in the prompts above will turn out to be 'Hylician soldiers', while the smaller number of black-robed warriors are referred to 'Achamites'. After the initial dealings with the shrines, all prisoners will be passed off to a squadron of Hylicians, though a few Achamites may follow along depending on the location.

Where are you all going? Back to Hylici, apparently.

WAITING

After you've been handed off to the the Hylician military, you have a long road ahead of you. Loaded up onto carts, and then eventually onto river borne boats, the people collected at the shrines will all be brought to a forest in the center of Horos. Along the way, the squadron ferrying you will combine with others from neighboring shrines, more and more captives arriving in your group the closer to your destination you get.

Along the way you will be fed and watered well enough (though only with military rations), and at night you will be given flimsy bedrolls to sleep around the fire with. Captives will be under constant watch by the Hylician guard, and anyone who shows any signs of resistance will be required to be bound by one of those magic whips, usually around the ankle or wrist. The rest of the trip is spent being pulled along in carts or the storage bays of boats. After the groups start converging, captives of the same legacy will not necessarily be kept together.

The final muster point of the Hylicians and their captives will be among forest ruins. For what purpose you have arrived they will not say, but the entire group will be camping there until preparations are complete. Sadly, you won't be allowed much space to explore - not without being bound and under watch. If you've behaved yourself it's possible to move about the central ruins, but only if the guards are confident they'll be able to wrangle you when necessary. It does allow for moderately private conversations along the pillars and walls of the ruins, but venturing out into the forest itself is definitely out of the question.

From beginning to end, characters will spent about two weeks in transit and waiting in the ruins. To what end is yet to be seen, but if you listen closely, you may hear whispers of a 'ritual space' being prepared.

QUESTIONS

Are everyone's homeworlds really gone?
That's a complicated issue, and while the fate of their world is not without hope, they may certainly get the impression its been destroyed from the dream they had. Alternatively, they may refuse to believe what they felt and attempt to dismiss it as only a vision. More about this situation will be revealed as the game goes on.

Can I only experience one end of the dream sequence prompt?
Characters may experience one ending, both endings, or neither. If they experience both they will struggle to recall which came first or which feels the most 'true' to them, as both will simultaneously be the thought they are reborn with. If your character refuses to pursue either path they can simply linger in the middle until the infinite worlds above them start being extinguished one by one, eventually expelling them into darkness in a similar style to the light prompt. Which dreams they experience will not dictate their intial sect affiliation.

Is it possible to pull another character back from the end of the light or darkness dreams?
Yes! If your character is able to resist the pull of either end, they will have the chance to try to pull another character back from the edge of the abyss or the edge of oneness. Whether or not they succeed is entirely up to the other character, though.

Do you come out of the chrysalis wet?
For most intents and purposes it's the same experience as hatching out of a real butterfly chrysalis, so yes, a bit.

Can my character resist the influence of the whips?
Those possessed of particularly strong wills may be able to struggle with the whip's control in brief spurts, but not long enough to make a full escape attempt. They may be able to take an impotent swing at one of the guards or fight against being pulled along, though. Naturally, doing this will indicate to the Hylicians that you are a problem, and their handling of you will become harsher the more it occurs.

How cruel will the Hylicians be to the player characters?
The Hylician military are not friendly people and come across as being a bit callous even at the best of times. However, unless you provoke them, they will be primarily focused on just getting the job done with as few interruption as possible. If your character makes a habit of pissing them off, either by constantly fighting back or just by being persistently obnoxious, their treatment will get worse. If driven to it, they may take the opportunity to take out their frustrations on particularly troublesome prisoners, via physical punishment, humiliation, or deprivation.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ No, this certainly isn't the man that the former regressor knows. This is a broken thing, unmade by the crushing weight of guilt and shame. He can't even allow himself to look at Joonghyuk because what right does he have?

Maybe if he weren't wallowing in self-pity and despair, he could take longer than a mere moment to wonder why Joonghyuk is so upset. Did he get into a fight with the other Dokja? He hopes so. He hopes they bicker in the same way they once had. Hopes that the arguments are over the stupidest, most insignificant things.

While this Dokja suffocates in his hatred of himself. ]

I just didn't want to see your face.

[ It lacks the strength it would have once had. ]

Just didn't want to see my face is it? Bullshit.

[There's no way that this man would legitimately mean those words, but that begs the question-]

I haven't seen you in three years. Did something happen in those years you were gone?

[He doesn't know where they went. What happened. He just believed that Kim Dokja would return. He refused to believe that the man was gone forever. Kim Dokja had to see the end of the scenarios with them. There's no way the man would let himself die. He just doesn't know what the other had up their sleeve to survive. Just that he woke up and they were gone.]

Are we not companions any longer after your little detour?

[ That manages to elicit a reaction out of Dokja, his eyebrows drawing together in confusion as he glances up at Joonghyuk, only to quickly look away once more.

Three years...? A detour? ]

I don't know what you're talking about.

[ Does this have to do with the other Dokja? Wouldn't that mean three years have already passed in the world-line that he left behind? He's lost all meaning of time, but for that to have already happened...

It's too painful to think about. ]

[His brows furrow. This was a problem. They were on completely different wavelengths. Something was terribly off.]

After the Demon King selection. When I woke up...we were in Seoul and you were gone.

[There's no way that the other could be so confused. Surely they would have-] Kim Dokja. [He seems to carefully consider the situation.] What has happened to you last? Something isn't lining up right.

[ What...? What the hell is going on? His fragmented mind can't recall all the details of back then, but that had been... entire scenarios ago. It's a nonsensical response that has Dokja dumbstruck, eyes wide as they dart around in search of an answer that will have this make sense.

This is, undoubtedly, the Yoo Joonghyuk of the 1864th world-line. But from the past? How could this be possible? ]

I... [ His hand comes up to clutch at the fabric of his gown, right over his heart. He's finding it hard to breathe. ] That was a long time ago, for me.

[ His gaze finally forces itself up to meet the other man's. As much as he wants to avoid that face, as much as he wants to turn away, this much he has to endure. ]

Yoo Joonghyuk... We're from different points in time.

[It's such a shocking statement. It didn't make sense. He didn't believe the dream he had as reality, but it made even less sense if the dreams were true. The two of them couldn't be from different points in time otherwise, could they?

He's sure they were of the same regression, so how?]

A long time ago? How long ago?

[He tries to keep his tone even. Tries not to let this get under his skin. The passing of time had been odd at times before even during the scenarios. Is this how Dokja felt when he arrived fifty years late?]

You've gotten farther into the scenarios from my point then. [It sits heavy on him to know that. What could have happened in that timespan.]

[ As unnerving as this entire situation is, Dokja can't overlook the convenience of it. He can use this to his advantage, and the gears in his head click back into place as he forces a smile to his face.

He can do this. Even without the Fourth Wall there to steady his mind, he has to tell this story even if it tears open the unsealed wound still marked across his very soul. ]

We made it to the end of the scenarios.

[ This much isn't a lie, though his hands tremble as he squeezes them together, the movement barely perceptible. Shit, he doesn't want to recall that time, the amount of carnage and slaughter they'd left behind them only to open the doors to something even worse. A hopelessness that he had, perhaps, always known about. ]

You and I... And everyone else.

[He had the acute feeling that the man was hiding something from him. It’s a feeling that seeps into his core and it leaves him slightly anxious.

It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Dokja. He did. Just that he couldn’t completely trust the other either. The man lied like it was breathing and they purposely omitted details to fit his narrative. They weren’t a reliable narrator.

He couldn’t outright ask though. It felt like they were out of reach more than ever.

It was an awful feeling.]

We made it. Together. [He repeats it carefully.]

Why don’t you seem happy? [The smile was more unlucky than ever. The tremble in Dokja’s hands. Of course he would pick out every small detail. The protagonist had watched Dokja just as carefully as they watched him.

It still didn’t answer the question the man had been avoiding.] If we made it to the end with everyone… Why did you run away? You told me I shouldn’t be here. [His eyes narrow.] if everyone is together then why would you say those words to me?

[ Ah, damn it. They know each other too well for this to be convincing. Dokja instantly regrets his hasty decisions from before, each one made in a moment of panic, but he doesn't show how flustered he is now. He maintains a carefully neutral expression, has his eyes go blank as if he doesn't know what Joonghyuk means.

Then blinks a few times like it's all coming back to him. ]

Oh, that. We got into an argument before all of this.

[ His lies spill too easily from his lips, an apologetic look timed perfectly over his face. ]

You said some really scary stuff, so naturally I wanted to avoid you.

I threw you off a bridge when we first met. [He doesn’t think any threats to the other meant anything any longer. The man had grown immune to every threat he made and every glare thrown his way.] You’ve never once kept your distance no matter my threats to kill you even when I had a sword drawn. [It was like they were magnetized to each other.

Did Dokja really think he was going to believe that an argument would put distance between them?]

I waited three years now for you to return; getting stronger. If you’re going to lie to me then at least make it convincing enough that having the lack of lie detection would trouble me.

[He’s visibly upset. Surprisingly patient despite it.]

[ That's right, there's no relying on lie detection here, and Dokja makes full use of its absence.

He stubbornly sets his jaw, gaze unwavering as he fixes Joonghyuk with a glare. The blueprints for the story are laid out for him to reference, despite his quiet reluctance to think back on the scene he couldn't be a part of. He reminds himself that he's the one who knows the future, not this version of Yoo Joonghyuk. ]

I'm not lying.

[ There's a concentrated effort to even out his breathing, quell the pounding of his heart, and delude himself into believing his own lie. ]

We had an argument. It got serious enough that I needed time and space away from you.

I don’t believe you.

[Is it denial? Or maybe a stubbornness to accept what the other is saying. Typical of Joonghyuk to still be unmoving with his convictions even if Dokja is from a far future.

It’s just something about the other that felt off. The Constellation wasn’t as sneaky about his body language either. There was something about it that had him on edge. Even if it was an argument and Dokja needed space, the way they ran and the look in those eyes…]

Whether or not we were fighting is also irrelevant here. Would you really avoid someone over an argument when we’re in an unknown situation and place? You’re a fool, but you’re not so much of an idiot that you’d avoid someone familiar in a new place like this.

[ Despair had morphed into an ugly frustration, and now that Joonghyuk continues backing him into a corner, his frustration sharply veers into anger. The logic the other man throws back at him is sound, but there's no give on Dokja's end. ]

Then don't believe me, [ he snaps as he pushes himself to his feet. ] Who says that I need you to?

[ His entire being, that's who. He's desperate for Joonghyuk to buy into this pathetic lie. It's so much better than the truth. ]

I am a fool. I am an idiot. Really think about it, how much do you know about me anyway?

[ If this is the Yoo Joonghyuk from before Dokja had returned from the 1863rd round, then he doesn't know about Ways of Survival... And he certainly doesn't know about the hand Kim Dokja had played in everything, the very reason why guilt sits so heavily upon his heart. The discoveries that they had made...

Dokja will bear them alone. ]

Don't act like you know me. You don't know anything about me.

[What had he waited all this time for??]

If you didn't need it, then you wouldn't be trying so hard to convince me.

[Joonghyuk has always been unkind in that he refused to compromise. Even if he knew that the other wanted him to accept such flimsy and brittle words.]

So it's alright for you to act like you know everything about me? How was I ever supposed to learn anything about you when all you had done was avoid ever talking about yourself? Do you-

[He grits his teeth. He's angry, but there's something unbearably soft in his gaze too. That despite Dokja's guilt and ugly feelings about himself, the protagonist of his beloved story has considered him someone important.] Do you think I wait just for anyone?

You're a fool. A self sacrificing idiot who has put all of us before himself over and over again. You use your life like it's just another way to get through the scenarios. [Dokja was always the one he couldn't protect. Couldn't save. They were the one always saving him. He couldn't save them against the Disaster of Floods. He even had to kill the other during the Dark Castle. And then he woke up to the man gone as though they never existed. Or at least that would be the case if the scars on the hearts of everyone who had grown to care for him wasn't so painful.] It's always been you who had purposely left out details and never revealed anything to us. [And yet, they all had accepted it hadn't they?]

If this is what you want then I'll leave you alone for now on.

[After all, he had always been used to ending up alone.]

[ Each and every single word wedges itself into the cracks formed along Dokja's heart to further splinter it apart. The pain is excruciating, and he tears his gaze away from the other man's, not allowing himself a glimpse of that softness.

He doesn't deserve it. Not Dokja. He's the reason for Yoo Joonghyuk's suffering, his eventual descents into madness, the torturous life that the regressor had led for almost two-thousand turns.

And so he pushes him away. ]

It is what I want, [ he says, voice shaking. His throat feels tight, there's a dampness around his eyes, and if the Fourth Wall was here, it would be mocking Dokja for crying again. ] Stay away from me.

[ This is for Joonghyuk's sake, he tells... no, lies to himself. He's a coward, and he can't fully admit that he wants the other man away from him for selfish reasons. Yoo Joonghyuk, Han Sooyoung, the story that he loves most, all of it... for someone as worthless as Kim Dokja...

He turns away, makes to leave. ]

[It's on impulse that he grabs the other by the wrist. He doesn't even realize he had done it with his body reacting before his mind even registered the movement. He doesn't have it in him to let go either.

He should. The other, lying or not, obviously wants them to part ways. Joonghyuk can't accept it though. And maybe his mind is screaming at him anyways. He had felt the man disappear right through his fingertips with his sword through their chest. He had woken up to the man gone and waited three years for now for their return.

He couldn't just willingly let go, he realized. If he let go, would they disappear again? He didn't want that. And Dokja's shaking voice and the refusal to look at him; it would be a mistake to let them go.]

I can't. Do you think I can ignore the signs when you sound like that? [He sighs.] I'm not going to ask about the particulars and you can be mad at me, but it would be foolhardy not to try and stay together while we're here. Endure it for the time being.

[Joonghyuk sounded tired. Worst, it seemed that he was going to graciously take the blame for things he hadn't even done if it meant that they could reach a truce.]

[ Endure it... He's endured it for over twenty-thousand years, alone, on that subway with only his story to keep him going. If not for the Fourth Wall, he would have lost his mind. Or maybe he already has and he's fooling himself into thinking he's sane.

He doesn't feel sane. Not right now.

His wrist burns, nerves alight where Joonghyuk holds him and Dokja's entire body goes tense. Twenty-thousand years and he's still burdened by the scene of familiar, frightened eyes staring back at his own, his panicked desperation to find a sword, the way nothing had gone right, the decision to part ways with the people that he loves...

He swallows down the lump in his throat, runs the heel of the palm of his free hand over his wet eyes, and pointedly doesn't look back at the other man. It would be so easy to refuse, but no one knows Yoo Joonghyuk the way Dokja has learned to. He's not going to shake the regressor off that easily. ]

... You can't ask me anything about the future.

[He doesn't know what to do. Joonghyuk isn't exactly the person you would go to when you needed to be comforted. He wasn't great with words or offering words of encouragement.

He's a little shaken. He doesn't think he's ever really seen the other like this and it makes him burn with curiosity. If they reached the end then it should have been fine, right? What had happened to have the man end up like this? It wasn't like he was so naïve to think that the path to finally make it to the end wouldn't be perilous, but he's acutely aware that their hardships have barely started it seems.]

If it's the future, then I'll experience it myself when it happens.

[He could live with just knowing that the end was reached. His curiosity of it was more of a concern for the man who became a Constellation and sacrificed himself constantly for his companions. A salvation that was never asked for, but forced upon them.

Joonghyuk places one of his scarred hands onto the top of Dokja's head. It's awkward, but he's trying. He looks away from the other to offer a meager semblance of privacy.]

It's not like you'll answer my questions anyways, so there's no point to ask in the first place.

[ For a moment, he wonders if he should demand a condition about not asking about the past either. Dokja's memories are halved and it would be troublesome if Joonghyuk were to bring up something he couldn't remember, but making that ask is sure to rouse even more suspicion.

So he stays silent, tries to even out his breathing as the weight of Joonghyuk's hand rests on his head. ]

Damn it, [ he mutters, dragging his hand over his eyes once again. He feels stupid and pathetic right now, and he hastily wipes off the rest of his face before he finally turns back to look at the other man.

Move on. Leave this behind. He's been doing just fine pretending like everything's okay, so what's different this time? This Yoo Joonghyuk doesn't know, and if that face resurfaces the guilt he'd been ignoring, Dokja won't show it. ]

Hey, you're not hurt, are you?

[ After that beating from earlier, he wants to make sure. ]

[Joonghyuk has already mentally decided to keep a close watch on the other. He was still suspicious. Not of the other, but what might have happened. There was something very wrong.

If he watched the other he could also make sure the other safe. Maybe here he could try and protect them. Maybe this time he won’t fail.

The man scoffs.] It’s nothing so grievous that you have to worry. Besides, this has how it had been the entire trip. [It was likely that the Hylicians would have been kinder had he not been a thorn in their side the whole time.

It’s probably more obvious now that they were in closer proximity of each other. There were obvious new bruises and scratches, but there was also older ones that had a day or two to heal.

The man certainly has decided to be difficult no matter where he was.] They stopped pulling their punches when it came to me awhile ago.

[ It's always been easier for Dokja to focus on others rather than himself, and he eagerly takes this opportunity to fret over Joonghyuk's appearance. His eyes don't miss the faded bruises layered on top of fresh ones, and the corners of his lips turn down as he loses count of the number of them.

He pulls his wrist from Joonghyuk's hold to grab him by the arm, tugging him down toward the ground so they can both sit. ]

Seriously, I know it's not like you to listen to other people, but isn't this too much?

[ There's no fighting back when they're powerless and the guards have their fancy magic whips. Dokja himself had been on his best behavior up until the shock of seeing Yoo Joonghyuk had caused him to make a break for the forest. ]

Keep your head down for now.

[The man let’s himself be pulled down and he sits cross legged in front of them. If he was supposed to feel bad for getting himself in this state, it has no effect. He doesn’t regret being difficult even if it was probably a useless endeavor.

Dokja shouldn’t be surprised that he’s like this. He had always been rather defiant.]

Don’t wanna. [What a brat.] We don’t know what they’re going to do. Should I just take that sitting down?

[Even if Dokja said yes, they both know what Joonghyuk’s answer would be.]

I’ve had worse. You’ve seen me in worse states.

[ Ah, a frustrating bastard through and through. Maybe Dokja had missed this, but he doesn't encroach upon the feeling any more than he has to. It's still all too surreal to have Yoo Joonghyuk in front of him like this, after everything that had happened...

He hastily shakes his thoughts from his head, places a scowl over his face in response. ]

That doesn't mean you should get senselessly beaten.

[ He sighs as he rubs at his forehead. This whole situation has unbalanced him, and with Joonghyuk here to further complicate matters... ]

Look, we can't do anything to them right now. I'm telling you to save your strength. How well are you going to fight when you're in this state?

I’ve been quiet. [Somewhat. After the first few times he had become significantly more docile. The only reason he had retaliated was because of Dokja in the end.] I wasn’t going to let them touch you so easily.

[Didn’t this always happen? Joonghyuk would seek the man out like they were magnetized. Like when he went into the demon world.]

My state isn’t that bad. Shouldn’t you worry about yourself? You relied on the system instead of trying to physically train previously.

[ Well, he wasn't expecting to have that unfortunate truth spoken to him and he flinches as he looks away. It's true that his body isn't what it used to be. He finds himself growing out of breath faster than usual and notices all too well that his strength fails him over and over again.

He doubts he'll be able to do anything like this. ]

I'll be fine.

[ The concern is brushed aside the way it always is. ]

I don't think we're going to fight our way out of this anyway.

[ Not with the number of soldiers... Not with how organized they've all been throughout this ordeal. ]

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