Palace Game 6/5

[fujimaru]

The Dreamer In The Grand Temple
Humanity Foundation Value: ????

What has been will be again,
what has been done will be done again;
there is nothing new under the sun.

Comments

[rootsforyou]

I don't believe I can. I'm looking for a dear friend of mine, and I have reason to believe she is further in. I cannot leave without her.

[fujimaru]

He clucks his tongue, looking distinctly unhappy about this. There's nearly a solid minute as he considers, staring at her with hard eyes. He is close enough that his cross-shaped pupils are obvious.

But at last, he sighs. "Very well! If you desire so strongly to follow this path through Hell, I will not dissuade you. But in this, as the steward of this road, I cannot allow you to go alone."

[rootsforyou]

[inclines her head in thanks; it's not like she could go against him if he pushed her back the way she came, probably...]

I have no one to walk with me, unless you're offering. I don't wish to keep you if you're busy.

[fujimaru]

"If you enter, they will follow." He produces a cigarette from somewhere, lighting it with his own edge a little spark of flame, looking at her straight on again. "The damned souls that call for their vengeance, who rail against the one who brought them so low, they have no concern or desire to be discerning over who they take. Walk alone, and you will join their number, and your own curses will be added among them."

He does not offer his arm, but he does sweep one out, pointing into the darkness ahead. "And that is where my work is! Rather than let these curses grow, I cull them where they begin to flower. So our paths, this once, will go together."

[rootsforyou]

[what a nice young man]

Then you have my thanks, young master. I am Jiang Yanli, currently of Echidna. Might I ask your name, if you care to give it?

[she will follow whatever path he picks for them, keeping pace but letting him choose the direction, since he seems to know where he's going]

[fujimaru]

The """nice young man""" glances at her sidelong, one gold eye barely visible under the brim of his hat. He walks with purpose, though there does not appear to be any real choice to his direction; he just picks one and begins to walk, confident. The blood around his feet seethes and shies away, as if his presence is anathema to it.

"I have abandoned any name long ago," he says. "You may refer to me as 'Avenger.'"

[rootsforyou]

That's an interesting substitute for a name. Is that, perhaps, a...class?

[fujimaru]

"It is," he says, without embarrassment or hesitation. "We are as we are named: those who were abandoned, and who raged against the betrayals laid at our feet. We are those who have been thrown into Hell, and who have come out with the flames branded upon their souls. Our names matter little, in light of that."

And yes, he says that with all earnestness.

[rootsforyou]

[oh we are being poetic, she knows this]

"A cloud is her dress, a flower her face. Spring wind through the threshold stirs deep peony-dew. Though I do not know her name, I know the feeling of seeing her silhouette beneath the moon."

Though there is no need to speak your name to me, I must confess that I disagree with your assessment. Suffering may be great, and it is for each person to determine its impact in their lives, but it is not the entirety of their being.

[fujimaru]

"You are still human," he says, as if this explains everything. "To become an Avenger, you must throw away the parts of you that might remember softness, or kindness. There is only the fury that fuels you. There is sympathy only in those who have struggled, who have also been betrayed and seek their own revenge."

[rootsforyou]

That seems to be a matter of interpretation. You are being kind to me right now. Even if it is fury that fuels you, that does not make the actions taken less kind.

But it would not be a kindness from me to argue your points when you are helping me. So, I will say no more than that on the matter.

[fujimaru]

"There is nothing kind about being brought in this place," he says. He picks up his pace a little, glancing around in the dark as he goes. "The true kindness would be to turn you away. My accomplice would hardly thank me that I have allowed you here."

[rootsforyou]

Ah, you have an accomplice? And who might that be?

[fujimaru]

"You must already know her," he says, without breaking his stride. "She is the one you seek, the origin and source of all of this! You have come seeking her, and perhaps you will find what you seek."

[rootsforyou]

[she probably has to hurry to keep up with him a little, her legs are not especially long. but she keeps up!]

"Perhaps"? If you're working with her, then I have nothing to fear. I'll find her without a doubt.

[fujimaru]

"Such confidence!" he says, but he sounds pleased. "You're so certain of it, even as you stand surrounded by the weight of her sins. And yet, I suspect if I asked you again, you would wish to continue on, even so."

[rootsforyou]

I have no reason not to continue. If this is what she must shoulder every day, then as her friend, it is nothing for me to do so for a short time.

[fujimaru]

He is quiet for a moment, then looks at her sidelong again.

"This is the consequences for one who would save one's world," he says. "To take on that journey means to destroy worlds that might have existed instead, and those who would defend a different path. The world will never forgive those who wish to defend it."

[rootsforyou]

...It is a thankless task to do what you believe is right to save your home, your friends, your family. More so if it is at the expense of others. If there was a way for me to help her carry this burden, to know she isn't alone, I would. But this is rarely a weight that can be shared. And she would not thank me for trying.

[looks up at his face in the dim light]

Might I ask what you make of her path, Sir Avenger? It is filled with resentment of the ones she has left behind, but she does not act weighted down by it.

[fujimaru]

He exhales smoke at that; it, too, glows faintly, reflecting the light that he casts. Through it, she can see there are in fact things overhead--vague shapes that are slightly darker than the blackness, things that are moving and shifting and chattering to each others in the dark.

"It would be worse," he says. "It had been worse, when I first made my contract with her. You speak as someone who has the academic knowledge of such things! Then you must know that they are hardly dead or inanimate on their own. They grow, and they consume each other, and they grow further. They would devour, if they are not beaten back."

He grins, all his sharp teeth. "And I, who have already drowned once, and drown again, am well-versed in doing such a thing."

[rootsforyou]

[tilts her head, thoughtful]

I find it difficult to believe that she would knowingly allow you to hold such a burden. So, I shall ask: is there a way I might assist you in pushing it back, while I am here? Though I am not as capable as some others, it does not make my desire to help any less.

[fujimaru]

"Your services are appreciated," he says, "but there isn't much that could be done. You could sweep the entire place free of demons, and they would simply return. This is Hell, and this is where they breed!"

His voice has increased in volume as he goes, and then he seems to catch himself and shakes his head. "...So long as she continues on her path forward, there is no alternative. She has chosen to fight, and I have chosen this duty for myself."

[rootsforyou]

You both seem rather alike, in that sense. I feel a little remorseful that there isn't anything I can do in this situation, but...Thank you for looking after her. If you do think of something, even if it's later, please let me know. Though you're very dutiful to your task, there's also no shame in resting every now and then and letting others help. That goes for both of you.

[fujimaru]

"I need no rest," he says. "I am not human in the same fashion. I am nothing but a shadow who has burned myself to ash once, and do so again, and again--this is my sustenance! This is how I am defined!"

He sounds like he's gearing up to laugh again, then catches himself visibly. "But no matter. I am content where I am."

[rootsforyou]

...It is grounding, to have a purpose. I am glad you have found yours. My offer remains unchanged, should you ever have need of it.