THE HORRORS OF OBLIVION | [@]MERIDIAN

[damnpire]

[D's communion into Meridian aligned minds is like a very polite knock at the door, except when the door is finally opened, a rush of icy wind blows in. No warmth or mirth can be found in the space of his mind, though it's a surprisingly gentle, dark void despite the chill. It's familiar for anyone who has had a communion with him, but probably kind of eerie for those who haven't.

It's also pretty quiet now actually.]

I made an attempt to Reincarnate the late Tribune. [He delivers this all very clinically, very factual.] It failed, but not because he hadn't been willing.

Something else had been inside him. [Can Nothing be something?] It had cleaned his soul out, if he had one at all, and left him as a husk. There was no soul to shift into another body.

It spoke through him. It said, "We never would have been able to Enter without the Choices that have been made."

[:wooper:]

Comments

[sterngaze]

[D gets it.]

That is, fortunately, custom here. I will feel better about this once it has been done.

Though that still does not change the evil that has befallen him.

[Even though most of Zenith probably didn't know this would happen, he's not sure Yima wouldn't have had more insight. He definitely blames Zenith for not just the death, but the total obliteration of a good man.]

[damnpire]

I know, but if Cyrus wasn't there to begin with, perhaps they did us a favor.

[He does not say this lightly, however.]

It isn't what I want to believe. That there had never been a Cyrus we knew.

[sterngaze]

[Liem is thoughtfully quiet for a while. He doesn't want to believe that this might be true, but more than that... it seems wrong to him, like it doesn't add up.]

The last time I dissipated, after the Iconoclast Oracle trial, I had an upsetting dream. I was walking along the surface of an endless lake: stars above, water below, reflecting the sky.

I was looking up at the sky as I walked, and I started to feel... detached from everything. When I looked back down, I realized my body was now walking along without me. That something else had taken it. Then the darkness swallowed me, and I awoke.

At the time I didn't know what it meant... but I think perhaps it was a warning.

[damnpire]

[The mood of D's mind grows serious, heavy.]

That is what it was like. What pulled me in. As it cast me out, it left, consuming stars as it did.

Does it take over a body when those here die and have no defenses against it?

[sterngaze]

It can't just be when anyone dies, I would think. People die all the time, and have been for generations upon generations in Kenos. This feels recent.

[What "choices" could that darkness have been referring to, though, to have allowed it to enter?]

But it does make me more wary of being dissipated again. Not that I was eager for a repeat experience to begin with.

[damnpire]

I'm not inclined to rely on Aetos for any assistance, but do you think they would be able to offer more information?

[sterngaze]

Hm.

[That’s a rather salient question.]

Possibly. If these new phenomena are related to the shared dreams we’ve had, I assume they are largely new to Aetós as well. At least, given what they claimed when they contacted us prior. However, that was some months ago; it’s possible they may now have insights that could prove helpful.

[damnpire]

[Damb, he really doesn't want to have any dealings with Aetós. This much is evident in how his mind churns with distaste.

They remind him too much of the science-inclined Nobility. Ethics are thrown out the door for the sake of progress. Then again, maybe he wasn't so different. He had tried to reincarnate their dead tribune like he was a god.

Blames Set for this (no).]

If we don't learn anything else very soon, I'll see if I can contact them.

[sterngaze]

[Liem, coming from a context where resurrection magic is inherently holy, sees nothing wrong with D’s attempt to raise their leader from the dead. What could be wrong with being a conduit for the divine? That’s Liem’s full-time job. Good effort, D.

On the other hand, he absolutely understands his distaste for dealing with Aetós.]

If they require payment for their cooperation, you may ask me for help footing the bill. This concerns all of us.

[damnpire]

[Why did you have to say it, Liem....... He doesn't want to think about Aetós payment. Tch...]

I wouldn't ever ask you for help paying someone like Aetós, Liem. I've seen the effects of what Aetós has done.

[Liem and D leaping over each other to be targets thinking they are already monsters so what's the problem.]

[sterngaze]

[D????? Have some regard for yourself! (Liem says, pelting him with rocks from the lawn of his glass house.)

He senses this will be a losing argument, though.]

Perhaps it will not be necessary. They indicated they would address themself to this problem free of charge if it was a threat to Kenos as a whole. I fear that may indeed be the case.

[damnpire]

[LIEM, YOUR GLASS HOUSE.]

We'll see what deals they attempt to make, or disregard then. If we can manage to contact them with a reply.