CLOSED TO ZENITH | PHANTOM THIEF OF ORACLES

[corvidant]

[ Though the familiar red of his presence shines bright as ever, the heat of anger that usually follows is down to a low simmer, almost pleasant if one has an inclination for a continuous undercurrent of chaos. Fellow Iconoclasts might be able to feel it like a fever, just barely high enough to keep you restless through the night, a heartbeat too impatient and eager for relief, but on the outside, this is perhaps as close to calm as Akechi ever gets. ]

Something has been on my mind since our communion with Florence-san. Something of a high stakes gambit.

[ And it goes without saying that it should be high risk, as well, but he's fine with that. His entire past life was all about playing a rigged game with the odds stacked against him; whatever new world they create going forward would be meaningless without a fair fighting chance. ]

So, I'll be blunt: I'm not willing to sit pretty and simply wait for the enemy to make a move on us. Zenith continues to bleed, and since so many of you-- [ are so SPINELESS as to refuse to KILL ENEMIES IN A WAR-- okay, deep breaths, Iconoclasts please disregard these careless whispers ] --have qualms about trimming Meridian's numbers, I should hope that taking direct action to bolster our forces would be more... palatable.

As it stands, our best alternative would be focusing on the Oracles, though I don't intend to wait for trials, either.

[ Should he mention his experience with big heists and forcibly changing cognition? Maybe, when the moment is opportune. For now: ]

Whether it is creating a new world from scratch or [ scoff, big eye roll ] a deluded promise of restoration, the fact remains that neither side will accomplish their goals with only a portion of the Oracles in their hands. We have barely managed to scrape a win and even our numbers last time, and assuming we can claim the remaining two, at the end of the day it would all be futile effort without the six of them. If I work on the premise that Oracles are persuaded to joining a side just like Shardbearers, then it becomes logical that, like Shardbearers, so too can they shift allegiances. 

Well, that's only my working hypothesis, anyway. It would be easier to figure out a potential pattern had I been present for past successes and failures, so this is why I reach out to you today: for details regarding past trials. With few leads to follow, even hearsay and rumors about the nature of Oracles would be appreciated.

[ A beat, and as he hesitates, his constant simmering rises to a near boil: ]  Unless anyone else would be interested in coming along to investigate?

[ What is this? Teamwork?! UGH. The things he does for Zenith...!! ]

Comments

[baltimores]

We already got the Iconoclast one, so we don't gotta worry about that.

[ There's a note of intrigue as Amos speaks, but mostly he's just pleasantly relaying information. ]

We were in Greenwood Yards for the Exalt one, 'cept we were all shrunk down, so it was kind of a mess. It wanted us to get some stuff that was important to it? [ Sentimentality is not his strong suit, so no, he doesn't get it. ] Meridian ended up with all of them to give back to it though, so they took that one.

The Harbinger one was kind of a dick? Like nothing was gonna be good enough for it, so fuck if I know why it went with Meridian.

[corvidant]

[ And Akechi appreciates the intel, of course, but it's gunny to note that he's come to appreciate Amos's presence, too. It may have been reason for suspicion at first, but the man really is as easygoing as they come, just playing along in earnest with Akechi's potentially questionable ideas. ]

The Harbinger Oracle is the one I've been able to gather the most intel on so far. [ Since the trial was broadcast and all. ] It demanded sacrifice after sacrifice, and I hear our side took the brunt of casualties. I don't imagine that must have made for a very good impression.

But, between that and the Exalt, I'd wager we could have better odds of persuading the Harbinger. If it truly was a matter of sacrifice, then perhaps we could raise the bar, so to speak.

[ They should blow up a Meri this time around! That probably racked up their points by a lot!! ]

sorry for the delay!

[baltimores]

[ Oh, and he is very pleasantly vibing as it dawns on him that Akechi is appreciating his presence. Like he's doing something right, and helpful, and is mildly pleased about it. ]

What're you thinking? I mean, the Exalt one was pretty straightforward, but I might just be able to better understand it is all. [ He's an Exalt... which means he's also opposite from Harbingers... It makes sense to him, at least. ] I don't got a lot to sacrifice, exactly.

Unless it was more interested in casualties, but I dunno if we could just like, smash it or something.

[ Fucking nothing impressed that thing; maybe destroying it would?? ]