TDM #3

[aionmods]

TDM #3

DREAMING (new characters)

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 (new characters)

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.]

DREAMING (OLD CHARACTERS)

For those already in Horos, they will find themselves in the same dreamscape as the new arrivals, only, this time, it's familiar. You'll feel more cognizant of your surroundings as you reawaken in this psychedelic realm, more in control of your emotions. What's more, you recognize that light at the center and the darkness at the edge: it's the Pleroma and Kenoma respectively. The one you are attuned to will call our to your soul, and though you are technically free to wander as you please, the closer you get to the force of your opposite sect, the more it will grate against you spiritually. Pleroma attuned nearing the Kenoma will feel as if its presence is desperately trying to tear them apart, and Kenoma attuned nearing the Pleroma will feel as if its light is burning them from the inside out.

More importantly, you notice that entirely new souls are wandering here with faces you didn't see in the cavern. It gradually becomes clear that they are Aions in the same state you were prior to your rebirth, lost and wandering this stretch of the cosmos with no idea what's to come. Maybe this is your chance to ease the confusion of their arrival, or maybe you'd simply like to scope out what kind of people are on their way. It's also possible for you to run into Aions already in Horos, wandering just like you are. Unfortunately, things are a lot less neutral than they are the last time you shared this realm.

No matter what you do, eventually the cosmos above will begin to burn out, just as it did the first time you were here. As darkness swallows reality itself, you will wake with the visceral memory of your world corrupting and breaking apart.

SEARCHING (OLD CHARACTERS)

Soon after the dreams begin, it will become clear that the Aion NPCs of either sect are also aware of what's happening. For those in Achamoth and Greentruth, the imminent arrival of new Aions will become a matter of official discussion. All able Aions will be called upon for their aid, in whatever way they can offer. Getting to the shrines themselves will be easily accomplished via teleportation. What's would be more complicated is ferrying any new arrivals back to a secure location. Thankfully, this is something both sects have already prepared for.

All characters will have the opportunity to acquire a 'returning stone' if they don't already have one. In all cases, this will amount to an amulet made of the same shimmering material as the shrine monuments, though the stylization differs between the Pleroma and the Kenoma. While regular Aion teleportation can bring you to any of the shrines you know the sigil and location of, a returning stone is magically programmed to bring its wearer back to a specific destination to which it is attuned. Normally, these stones will only be able to store enough energy for one 'return' a month, but it turns out that the ambient power created by the shrines being active will temporarily super charge them. Though it's not guaranteed, this means they may generate enough energy to perform multiple returns for TDM purposes. More information about returning stones can be found on the powers page.

Spare returning stones will be issued to all Aions so that they can be used to bring back anyone they collect, as it's possible to bring someone alongside you if they are also wearing a returning stone. Where your stone leads will depend on your sect.

❖ PLEROMA
Tehri will be the one to supply returning stones, based out of Greentruth. She will not travel to Godsblood to deliver returning stones to those that have not visited Greentruth, but it can be assumed that Greentruth's visitors can pass them along to anyone who has been staying in the city. The returning stones are set to bring them to a secure location beneath the water of Godsblood's coast. From there, new arrivals will have to be allowed to rest and then brought up into the city when they're ready.

Greentruth is limited in its resources, but it will attempt to send troops to the Innocent, Seeker, Wanderer, and Firebrand shrines, all of which are close to the forest. Compared to the last attempt, these troops are a bit better armored. Meanwhile, bolstered by recent events in Godsblood, bands of Resistance members and guerrilla fighters will turn up at the Artisan and Sovereign shrines. The Resistance members will work willingly alongside with the Pleroma Aions, but the guerrilla fighters seem to have their own priorities and that is mostly that they have a beef with the Achamites. These reinforcements will struggle against powered Aions, but they might be able to delay any troops sent by Achamoth or Hylici.

❖ KENOMA
Xishen will be handing out returning stones to all Kenoma the day after the dreams begin for the Aions that don't already have one. She'll explain how to use them, and state that the Regent expects for them to head to the shrines once they become fully active. The Kenoma will have whatever mundane weapons or supplies they need at their disposal for this mission, along with minimal Achamite reinforcements. Due to injuries and death in both Godsblood and Venera, many are in recovery or on their return to Achamoth. She'll reiterate not to rely too heavily on them; after all, only the Aions are able to quickly move between the shrines and at the Citadel. The regular troops will have to be deployed by river or by land, and mobilizing them will take time. They will feasible be able to reach all of the shrines to some degree or another, but will more easily populate the shrines of the Martyr, Celebrant, Lover, Champion, Visionary, Sovereign, and Firebrand.

The Hylicians will be called to fill in the ranks of the diminished Achamite troops. They follow the orders that they are given but are very standoffish otherwise, even more than usual for them. Xishen herself says she will be traveling to the shrines and the Kenoma will be expected to communicate their movements to her as they work. Dionys remains in Achamoth to 'keep watch'. All Kenoma Aions will be given a familiar vial of black sludge, and are instructed to feed it to any Aions they capture at the shrines. It will cause the same effects it did in the cavern, though it will resolve in a few days rather than a week.

RETURNED (ALL CHARACTERS)

New characters that are found a the shrines will be brought back to one of two lodestones, depending on which sect they are taken by. This will be accomplished by their escort putting a 'returning stone' around their neck that will enable them to be teleported to a secure area in their sect's territory. It is advised for your character to be taken by whichever sect you'd like them to end up in.

❖ TO THE PLEROMA
In a dazzling flash of psychedelic light, you will find yourself brought to the Pleroma's lodestone: a monolithic rock set in the center of temple-like ruins. The entire cavern is hidden away beneath the ocean waves, just outside of Godsblood, and the ceiling itself is comprised of nothing but a barrier of water, as if held back from filling the space by some unknown force. The waters surrounding the lodestone are exactly body temperature, with swarms of tiny, violently iridescent fish darting through it. Crabs that look as if they're made of pure, clear crystal wander the sparkling, sandy shores.

There isn't much here in the way of accommodations, but it's comfortable enough that the new arrivals brought in by the Pleroma can take a moment to catch their breath. Some relatively plain but assorted new clothing will have been brought to the cavern to make sure they are actually clothed, as well as blankets and basic food items. It's a good time to ask your questions, or if you are an established Pleroma, to help out your freshly arrived peers. After all, their welcome at the shrine may have been a confusing one.

New arrivals will be permitted to leave the lodestone's temple when they are ready. Unfortunately, the only ways out of these place are through your choice of either swimming through pockets of water that eventually lead to the surface, or by spelunking through a series of tunnels to make your way the cliff faces near the city of Godsblood. More information about the city itself can be found on the setting page, though it would be preferable to keep TDM interactions to the lodestone area. As characters emerging from the shrines will start our as Untouched (more info about attunements here) they will not be permitted entry into Greentruth until they have attuned to Pleroma.

❖ TO THE KENOMA
As your returning stone activates, you will feel yourself thrust into a suffocating void, only to emerge just as quickly somewhere else. The most pressing thing on the minds of anyone taken by the Kenoma will be the vial of pitch black sludge they are forced to drink, whether it is before or after their arrival. Maybe their 'escort' from the shrine gave it to them, or perhaps another Kenoma does soon after they arrive. If not, one of the Achamite cultists wandering around definitely will. Dedicated servants to the Regent's will as they are, they are not afraid to gang up on the vulnerable new arrivals and force it down their throats.

Once in your mouth, the potion will slither down your throat as if it's a living thing. The effect takes hold quickly: as this darkness creeps through your insides, it will embolden your darkest and most despair inducing emotions, plaguing your thoughts with the worst sorrows of your life. What's worst, it simultaneously seems to awaken some form of enhanced psychic empathy within you, both projecting your thoughts for others to hear, and allowing you to receive those of the others around you in kind. Black ooze will begin to seep from orifices, or the space around your shard. The effects of this contamination bring out your worst, and its recipients will be forced to live with these effects until they accept the force corrupting them into their souls.

This world is not good enough, a voice speaks to your through the Kenoma. This suffering you feel, the cruelty that has birthed this darkness in you... it is simply the rot that is consuming this existence. A better universe awaits, one forged by your own hand, and all you need do is first bring about this broken reality's end.

How long this goes on will depend on how long the characters is able to fight it. Acceptance of the Kenoma can come as quickly as immediately, if your character is inclined towards it, or it could be drawn out to take a few days. In the meantime, they will have to stay in the barren halls surrounding the Regent's lodestone, and will not be permitted to exit into the greater Citadel as the current Kenoma are. All that will immediately be offered to them down there are stone slabs that can be used as beds and formless white robes that reach down past their knees.

Of course, that doesn't mean the characters that are already of the Kenoma can't do something about that. If they desire it, they will be able to bring food or other supplies to those suffering with their Kenoma infections, and it will be equally within their power to try anything from bullying them into accepting to lovebombing them. Once a character accepts the Kenoma and attunes to it, they will be permitted to leave, but for the sake of the TDM interactions should be kept to the lodestone area.

QUESTIONS

Is this TDM canon?
Mostly! It's part of an in-game event. However, only threads with new players that app and are accepted will be considered game canon. Threads between old characters will all be canon, but threads involving new characters that don't apply or aren't accepted will either need to be tweaked to remove their involvement or made non-canon. New characters will also be able to decide TDM threads aren't canon if they end up changing directions.

Who can toplevel on this post?
Anyone, whether they are a new character or a current one. However, we do ask for current players to do their best to tag new characters. If you are bringing in a new character and want a current character to bring them into your sect of choice, post your request here! ICly, current characters are fighting to claim new arrivals, but it's up to the player of new characters where they ultimately end up going.

When is this TDM taking place chronologically?
The beginning of August. The shrines will be active and forming Aions during that time. The dreams will start around the 29th of July. All current Aions will be able to sense when it's time for the new arrivals to start emerging.

What are the shrines like?
Every shrine is comprised of the crystal-filled cavern character emerge inside and then the massive statue symbolizing the relevant Legacy built on top. More information about each shrine can be found in the "Aion Shrine" section of the setting page.

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?
New 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 initial 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.

How does attunement to the Pleroma or Kenoma work for new characters?
More information about sect attunements can be read on their dedicated info page, but in summary: when new characters are brought to Horos, they will be in the state of being "Untouched" meaning they are not attuned to either sect. By the end of their first month in game it is expected they will either attune to Pleroma or Kenoma, though for those taken by the Kenoma's forces, the transition will be forced within the first few days. If taken in by the Pleroma, it may take then some time to attune to Pleroma, depending on the strength of their spirit, but it could also happen almost instantly if they are allowed to. How quickly it happens will depend on how strongly they align with the Pleroma's traits. Characters who have been taken by the Pleroma but that remain Untouched will not be allowed into Greentruth until their attunement to Pleroma is complete.

Can a character taken by one side end up attuning to the sect of the opposite one?
This is theoretically possible, yes: a person taken by the Kenoma could potentially resist the Kenoma's call, and someone taken by the Pleroma could end up falling to the Kenoma while staying with them. Generally, though, we recommend that you have your character be taken by whichever sect you want to end up in, as doing a switcheroo will cause narrative complications that might bog their introduction down in plotting that will need to be done with the mods. It can happen, but it is not to be done lightly!

Comments

zero | drakengard 3 | martyr

[dendritic]

[ ooc note: drakengard 3 and zero herself can be abrasive at best, but i feel that warning for zero's backstory warnings is a necessity before delving into rp with her. please don't be afraid to opt-out of playing off of her. i completely understand. d3 may almost be a decade old, but i also want to mention that spoilers are possible, as i play zero from before the battle with one in branch d. ]

🌸 a better end. ( the crossroads. . . )

[ how strangely rewarding it is, to be what she is: zero.

nothing at all, finally, at the end of everything. it's easy as falling asleep, to float around in the ether, to be an as of yet or never forthcoming. it's like finding your place in the world, settling into a hole perfectly shaped for you. she's zero. jack shit. not at fucking all.

and it is taken away from her, piece by piece. nerve by nerve, drop of blood by drop, limb by limb, consciousness blooms and unfolds inside of her like a dying star collapsing in on itself and she feels as if it is a wasted moment. like all things, she's been robbed of it. the peace and complacency. she feels nothing for it, apathy ebbing and flowing through her too dead blood with purpose.

at the crossroads is a woman. with her white-blonde hair, lamb-white dress and capelet, she blends into the background of pure nothingness, a splotch of breathing white against the stagnancy of everythingness and nothingness. zero has willed a memory to the front of her mind; her sword is stuck into a patch of (maybe?) grass, and she's squatting with one arm balanced lazily over the tip of the hilt. she gazes into the fork in the road, and decides on... nothing. her expression, impassive but tinted with the barest hint of frustration, is hard to read, but not impenetrable.

she grunts, with recognition, after a hazily long moment of silence. ]

Never had a stalker before.

[ were you staring? it doesn't matter. she feels watched, all the same. ]

🌸 antipurity. ( rebirth / the martyr shrine. . . )

[ the crystal splinters. it cracks down the middle, creaking until it splits in half. shards burst from the crystal, ricocheting around the shrine like bullets are being fired and a melodic shrieking fills the stone-stacked room.

zero is born, screaming and angry— what at? there's a ferocity in her one-eyed, rosy pink stare that seems unholy and inhuman, but she's a stick thin woman with hair the same color as jasmine. when she turns to stare at someone— at anyone, covered in crystal fluid and thin splinters of gemstone, there's almost a feral quality to her. she thinks of all she'd done before now, the leaps to assert her own freedom and rights to an existence, everything she'd accomplished with mikhail, each of her sisters she'd fell...

for what? she shakes with rage. for what?

it doesn't help that she pathetically crawls out, flopping onto the ground in all her nakedness, to arm herself with a chunk of the stone, really. ]

🌸 this silence is mine. ( wildcard. . . )

[ zero is likely going to end up in pleroma, despite her, uh, everything. i change my mind its kenoma time!!! the consequences of a yoko taro protagonist. if you'd like to write your own starter, hit me with it. i'm totally open to whatever you're feeling, and am always down for whatever. if you prefer to plot things out, though i'm contactable by pm to this account or pp to hagclub.

...sorry in advance!! ]

🌸 A better end

[lachtara]

[ The voice behind her sighs. ]

A captive observer, more like.

[ Emet-Selch steps out of the shadows and into visibility. He had observed a little, as is his wont, before engaging. This one seems to be content not to travel down either path they are given. Is it indecisiveness or something more?

He folds his arms and looks on. ]

It is a frustrating decision; deciding whether to move forward or hold firm to where you are tethered.

[dendritic]

[ the snort that she gives in response is both unladylike and unamused. when zero turns her gaze, one pink eye settling on him and the other claimed by the roots of a pink lily, she doesn't sense any lethal intent from him. he must be telling the truth.

she wants to bite back, but instead, she lets him in on a little secret of her's. it is more than she can offer, but he gives her something to work with. ]

...I've never had a choice. [ zero's voice is gruff, and and deep. she speaks like she's commenting on the color of the sky; cold facts. ] Not once. Not here, nowhere before.

So? [ don't perceive her. ] Who the hell are you?

[lachtara]

[ He dips his head in polite greeting. ]

Emet-Selch. [ Flatly: ] Charmed.

[ With that, he looks to the path ahead. ]

Coming here is no one's choice; This oblivion is thrust upon us all. However, here at the edge of creation, you may make your first choice of what you seek to do about it.

Either permit yourself to the kind embrace of the darkness, or find comfort in the light that awaits you. [ He looks back. ] Or to stay as you are in the midst of quiet nothingness. Any action you take will be a deliberate choice. One that is yours and yours alone.

[dendritic]

You talk a lot, dummy.

[ hoisting herself to her feet, she pulls her dragonbone sword from it's perch with ease. it whistles lightly, the hum of sharp steel being wielded as the weapon it is. she doesn't strike, but zero holds it in hand and stares out into the crossroads. emet-selch gives her his name, but zero doesn't use it. ]

I thought you talkative types always had some spiel to shit out before telling me to pick the "right side" or something. What are you gonna do if I stay?

[lachtara]

Wake up, I imagine.

[ It's a dream after all. More than that, sigh, No one has an appreciation for the drama of the spoken word around here. ]

Before I explain something that you would sooner ignore, perhaps you would indulge me in why someone such as yourself would never have been permitted choices before this.

[dendritic]

[ a complex question with a complex answer. this world is stacked against you from the moment you get thrown into it with no choice but to live, and from the moment you've arrived, it's you against the universe's need to claim you.

she should be answering with a question of her own, if she wants to be a petulant shit, but no. she hates that. meathead behavior only. ]

Because. There, that's good enough. Give me your personality test.

[lachtara]

[ A light sigh. Oh, another petulant child. Wonderful. ]

Fine. Give me your name and I'll give you my little 'test'.

[dendritic]

[ here's the problem: she doesn't have a name. ]

You don't need my name for this.

[lachtara]

And you don't need a glorified test to make decisions. Yet here we stand.

[dendritic]

You're really starting to test my patience.

[ as if she had any. ]

Fine. Zero. That's what they call me.

[lachtara]

Very well, Zero.

[ And he says it in such a delighted way. As if the act of getting her name is an effort in defiance itself.

But his tone soon sombers as he mulls over what questions to ask. ]

Tell me, are you satisfied with the world you knew?

🌸 antipurity

[vapour]

[ Should he be surprised? Probably not, he tells himself, but he still is. That's a lot of pent of rage to be reborn with it in such a manner. Whatever's going through this young woman's mind suggests she'll either be a perfect candidate for the Kenoma, or she'll end up like that centaur on the Pleroma side. Unlike last time he visited individuals at the shrines, he can't give them a choice of where they want to go. Those days are over, especially with the failure in Godsblood looming over their heads.

He approaches quietly, watching her closely as she makes a reach for a piece of her shattered crystal. She's looking for a weapon? There's certainly a hint of potential in them being able to hit it off, but considering how he gets along with most of the Kenoma, he won't hold his breath even if she isn't a vehement shoe-in as a Pleroma follower. ]

You can put that down, girlie.

[ he stays where he is but tosses what is held in one hand that had been at his side: a towel and pair of basic top and bottoms so she won't be stuck naked. ]

Have a bad dream?

[dendritic]

[ childe gives her a pretty good deal, all things considered. clothing and a means to clean off are at a premium for her right now, but she stays planted where she is. with a distrustful gaze, she angles the chunk of crystal in her grip. already, she's white knuckling it with her grip. zero is watching him closely, but armed with weak arms (even if one is a prosthetic outfitted to look like a knight's gauntlet) she can't do much. a heavy silence follows as she refuses to move.

eventually, her deep voice echoes in the shrine. ]

I don't dream.

[ she doesn't give a damn about being naked and dirty; she's going to live through this however she can. ]

Not interested in killing me?

[vapour]

Not really. [ he chuckles, slowly coming to crouch down without getting any closer. It would be stupid to put his guard down when this young woman is clearly used to fighting every step she has to take. He doesn't doubt if he shows too much of an opening she'll try to kill him just to be sure. Better safe than sorry sort of mentality. ]

I have been waiting for you to take you back to Acamoth, though.

And maybe you don't, but you saw it, anyway, didn't you? Felt it? The cosmos, that ugly feeling that we all lost our place in the universe without our consent? I'm just like you, except I came out of my crystal months ago.

i'm sorry.

[dendritic]

[ suspicion is still painting her face, and she's quiet for a moment, listening to him. "acamoth" sounds like it's some kind of important place, but the idea of being taken anywhere at all... ]

Hey, firecrotch. You talk a lot, but none of it's actually making your real point. If you don't get to it soon, I'll rot. Gonna leave you here with a stinky corpse. Sound good?

[ or maybe she isn't listening. he's not wrong, though: she felt it, hated it, and rebelled against it. she always had, always will, and her one eye blinks up at him. for all the vitriol she spits, the way she holds onto the crystal like a lifeline— she's listening. ]

never be sorry

[vapour]

Oh ho! At least take me out to dinner before you start referring to me over what's between my legs~. [ it's clear Childe's teasing what with how he can't help but laugh at the nickname even if it's not exactly the most endearing thing he's ever been called. Still, he guesses he can be straight to the point, if that's what she wants. ]

Yeah, all right. So, we've been brought here to fight a war for the fate of this world called Horos. Both sides want the same thing, but have different ideas how they want to do it. Either protect this place as it is, or destroy it to cleanse it of sin and start a cycle of rebirth.

Normally, I'd let you pick. I can't do that, anymore, though, so if you want to play for the other side you're gonna have to defect on your own later.

Not picking a side means you become a sitting duck for both sides to chase after, meaning you'll just prolong the inevitable and gain nothing for your efforts. If you had any abilities that allowed you to handle yourself or take on more than an average human, they're gone until you align with one side or the other.

If you come with me, you can get a place to sleep, all you can eat, and not worry about any of that shit. You'll hate it if you aren't okay with ending this world, but it's definitely the best way to go about dealing with this place.

[dendritic]

[ childe starts speaking and though zero gathers enough of her strength to start getting dressed, she makes sure not to look at him as he speaks. her long, choppy blonde hair sticks to her body still, but the simple clothing will do for avoiding the chill that's starting to hit her. with her body toweled down, she does what she can. ]

So you come down, gather up people without asking them, then throw them into your war. Do I got that right?

[ she figured it wouldn't be anything else. there is never a choice, not out in the world. it's all the same. different scenery, same stench of shit. ]

Not much of a choice. [ with leaning back down, she plucks the chunk of crystal up again. it's heavy in her grip, and it takes a lot more strength than she expects to hold onto it. it glimmers softly with what light is in the shrine, reflecting her image back at her. not too long ago, she hadn't ever bothered to look at her reflection before. ]

I could take this and beat your skull in, though. Get the spiel from the other see, what it's all about.

[vapour]

[ he nods to her question if she properly absorbed the info.

At her threat, he smiles just a little more as he props his chin up with one hand . ]

Sure you could. Are you saying you don't already know what their version would be from listening to mine, though?

Because I think you already do.

[dendritic]

Then I kill them. [ it's punctuated with a shrug; "no big deal." she's been killing for a long time. one more is nothing to zero. ]

Besides... It's not for me. [ she motions as if to throw the crystal at him, but her grip stays firm. it's a momentary fake out, done more to measure him than anything. he's too calm. ]

I'm sparing you the embarrassment of crawling back to your little destruction bed emptyhanded, moron. [ zero drags her free hand down along her face, wipes the goo from her check and lets it splatter to the ground unceremoniously. if nothing else, however: she's listening. ]

"Purging sin," huh...

[vapour]

[ Childe doesn't flinch but he does blink in slight surprise at her fake out. She's sure acting like a loose cannon, but she hasn't physically lashed out yet, either. That's pretty good, he thinks. Despite her situation, she's not having a meltdown that forfeits her full control. ]

Oh? You'd do that for lil' me? And here I don't even know your name! I'll still get in trouble, though, because even if you do kill me, I'll just come back, anyway.

[ Childe shifts to stand up now, considering what to say next.] The Pleroma will label us villains and evil for our ways, but you seem like a smart girl that knows nothing is that simple. You will definitely have a hard time in their ranks with your willingness to kill and destroy instead of using it as an absolute last resort.

Personally, though... "my" side is the only path I see having an ending to this conflict that we didn't ask to be dragged into. I don't want to be here forever, I want to be go back home. The only feasible way to do this seems to be purging this place and letting it start anew. The other side... I just don't see "their war" ever having an end. So, I guess that's the other thing.

Are you willing to be here forever to "protect life," that's already beyond redemption on its own? I don't really see any reason to do, especially since it's this place's fault we're here.

[dendritic]

[ to be fair, she doesn't have one. a name, that is. zero lowers the rock again, but that is a threat, too. she's aware of it in her grip, seemingly listening all the while.

he's not wrong. she's never really gotten along with others, and even now she's going out of her way to protect herself before asking questions. is there even anything to gleam, now? she wouldn't trust someone at their word now more than ever. ]

I told you... you talk too much. [ it isn't his fault. he has to talk... sense into her. he suceeds, all the same: zero knows he's right. she may not ever have an intention of fighting as someone else's soldier, but an end to that is a necessity, it seems. ]

Okay, whoo. Destruction, yay. Will that get me into Shitamoth?

wildcarding you 'cause i can.

[subsist]

[ the lodestone feels so empty despite being occupied by the new arrivals. kaeya busies himself with making sure they're looked after, no matter what they might need, but every now and then, he has to leave this area in order to collect more supplies — mostly food and water.

when he comes back, he is armed with a tray of fresh bread, cured meats, and some fruits. simple things to eat while the kenoma does its thing. he approaches someone who looks like she's going to hate the idea of company, but those are the kinds of people that he likes to bother. ]

Hungry? If none of these are to your liking, I can go grab you something else.

[ countdown to how long it'll take for zero to spit the food out... or maybe not? ]

[dendritic]

[ he picks the stinkiest person in the damn room.

whether it's because zero has a natural odor about her (she does: blood and death seems to stick to her no matter how hard she's scrubbed her skin) or because she's drenched in sweat and upset is up to him to decide. maybe it's both, in truth, but it's not like she leaves much to the imagination. zero hates company, it's true, but she doesn't turn down food. she grabs a whole loaf of bread and some meat, staring at him like she dares him to try and take it back.

she huffs; a small, bitter chuckle. ]

Firecrotch wasn't lying. You fuckers go out of your way.

[ zero eats like a barbarian, wolfing the loaf down in big, unladylike bites. she genuinely sees nothing wrong with this. ] So, you drink their poison and they reward you like a dog... must make for complacent soldiers.

[subsist]

[ luckily, his job as a knight back home means he is practically immune to stinky characters. he doesn't seem all that bothered by how she scarfs down the food like a hungry animal, as if she's been left to starve for who knows how long. there's almost a part of him that envies her— where was his appetite when he consumed the kenoma kool-aid? ]

... Firecrotch doesn't really have any reason to lie, but I can only imagine what you were told.

[ he hazards a guess that this 'firecrotch' person mentioned something about how the old guard likes to fuss over new recruits. well. it's only fair that he returns the favour when they looked after him the first time he arrived, after all.

her next statement makes him laugh. ]

And I wouldn't say that. It's only recently that we've had to deal with traitors in our midst.