locked to meridian + ota

[warmare]

[Hayame had plenty to say about this disgraceful farce the moment she had regained consciousness... But she waited. She waited, so that her emotions would be as locked down and as under control as she could manage. Until only harsh anger and the burn of judgement come through- at least, for now.

First, she addresses only Meridian.]

I hope you are proud of yourself.

Those of you who have been too weak to commit properly to this cause, content to let those with drive and will do the winning of Oracles on your and your world's behalf.

Those of you who claim allegiance to Meridian but have been content to play "neutral" and hide like a weak little bug in the shadow of those more powerful than you.

Those of you who could not draw a single line in the sand and loved playing friend or whore too much to break off relations with people working to ensure that the lives of everyone in your world are snuffed out permanently.

Those of you who have refused to shatter the shards of our enemies, whining about the sanctity of a soul, even though that is the only way to kill someone properly in this twisted world.

Mourn that sun goddess for the power she possessed that our faction has lost. Mourn the kindness she showed you, if you so wish. But I will impart a lesson unto you- If someone is kind to everyone, then their kindness means absolutely nothing. That empty-headed fool of a woman had her shard shattered by the very man whose shard she protected, after I and another killed him in the labyrinth of the Harbinger Oracle trial. If she had given that foul thing back to us so that I might crush it beneath my hoof, then she would be alive today.

That is what kindness of that nature will reap you. A disgraceful public execution at the hands of a wizened, corpse-gnawing gaki barely managing the veneer of a man.

If you wish to dedicate yourself further to the actual cause you claim to serve, or if you wish to train and empower yourself, I will gladly help you. It would be my honor.

But if your plan is to continue living the sort of shameful existence that helped allow for the assassination of Springstar's Tribune at his own godsdamned home, then either purge yourself of that treacherous weakness... or I will try to find the time in my days to do it for you.

[Maybe this is where she could stop, take a breath... But she does not. The rest, cold and hateful and roiling with anger, is said to everyone, Zenite and Unharmonized alike.]

To all those who still claim allegiance to Zenith... I will not waste breath trying to convince you of anything at all, let alone now, after what your faction has wrought upon countless innocents. Whether you are a poor thing who would abandon every life in your world simply because you were treated badly, whether you are a pathetic thing who cannot muster the will to hope for anything but that sacred bitch on high and a committee of degenerates making a new world for you to exist in, or whether you are a sick thing who delights in watching worlds burn and people die... I, Hayame of Echigo, do not care, and I will not show mercy to one any more than the other.

Unlike, it seems, the many dishonorable among you, I say this to you plainly and clearly.

I will disable you if I see you step foot in Springstar.

I will hunt down your cornerstones and smash them to pieces.

And I will kill you if you put yourself between me and the possibility of returning to my world and my duty.




... Ah, yes. To those of you who have still not chosen a side, even after seeing what has occurred this moon... My advice to you is to stay Unharmonized, to pick up a hoe, and to go tend crops in Alenroux. You obviously lack the determination required for this conflict... and the people require food. Go on.

If you need a recommendation for a farmer looking for labor, I know plenty. Do you fancy turnips, or buckwheat?

Comments

[kaientai]

Not much to argue in that case, is there? With how things have been looking lately, we could all die tomorrow.

[ Someone would have to be deliberately obtuse to deny the signs. ]

And yes, I would. Destroying a soul is an extreme act that could have unknown cascading effects I'm in no hurry to find out about, even if it doesn't cost us a victory altogether.

[ Ryouma recognises he's getting into speculation — which he never likes to do — but in this case, he feels it has a greater purpose. ]

That's vague, so I'll give you another example. We don't understand Oblivion, but it doesn't seem passive. We could be providing more footholds for dangerous entities in this world every time another soul gets destroyed. What will rush to fill the void Quetzalcoatl left in existence?

Anyway, it's not fair to shoot down an idea without offering one in return, so I say we should be looking at why the margin of victory is so narrow in the first place or where we could do better, like how the door was basically held open for them in Kowloon. We can be angry about what's been done and taken from us, but we can't be angry about the fact that they took advantage of the opportunities handed to them. If we don't learn from these mistakes, we'll just keep on paving the way for our own demise.

Let's fix the problems in our own house before we worry about anyone else.

[warmare]

[Maybe another time, after a different assassination(?) she would listen to the words he's saying, but. Right now, all Hayame hears is weak, weak, traitor bleeding heart bullshit. So the only thing she says about that is,]

Then you had better hope you reach whichever Zenites you care about before I do, because I will be aiming to actually kill them until you throw actual evidence at my hooves.

[We can't be angry???? Hah.]

Why the door was held open for them? It was held open for them because of that rat and his pet demon, what more do you want to know?

I have been trying to fix the problems in our own house for months before you waltzed in here, Nobody.