Post
by M0rtimer » Sat Dec 26, 2020 5:40 am
Begin tale: The doomed scholar (The magician)
Slow, methodical steps progressed through the forest. Occasionally, the man that seemed to stroll as if he were only on a lazy afternoon walk, despite it being almost the dead of night, checked the apparatus on his arm. Numbers and digits that made sense only to his eye filled it. Each time, sometimes adjusting his trajectory a bit, he continued walking toward an unspecified goal. Though he halted as behind him came the sound of a snapping twig. Without even looking around, he began to speak.
"Ah, Kyurem. I was expecting to see you, still," the man spoke. Just a couple paces behind him, the figure came to a halt as well. A tall, imposing man, stoic gaze upon his visage. His voice cold as he responded.
"You used me."
"Did I?" the scientist spoke as he turned around himself, even now still fiddling with the device on his arm. "I believe we had made a trade, and both of us got what we requested."
"The DNA splicers are not what I wanted. They are... An abomination," the God spoke, gaze averting. Colress, now finally turning around to face him, seemed just as stoic as he responded once more.
"But it was what you requested. The fact is simply you did not know what it truly is you wanted. To be quite honest with you, I still think you do not know what that is. Personally, I think you are requesting a logical fallacy or an impossibility," he spoke, silence falling for only a second as he continued.
"You are an empty shell left behind when you split in two parts. You want to feel whole again, without attacking the individuality of what you consider to be two sons. It is an impossibility."
"I predict an about twenty-three percent odds you will try and fight me. We both know that is a battle you cannot win," Colress posed, silence for a long moment... And then, an answer.
"...I need the artifact back," the man responded. Immediately, he found an orb tossed in his direction. It was caught with just the slightest hint of surprise.
"...That easy?"
"I already have everything I need, Kyurem. My plan succeeded. I've opened a way home. I'm leaving."
"A way home, at what cost?"
"We've already had this discussion before, didn't we?" the scientist seemed to shrug off. "I do not care if some demons die. Though this particular method of destruction was orchestrated by Ghetsis. Quite a demon, that one. Part of me considered dealing with him myself. But ultimately, you should deal with your internal affairs yourself."
"Goodbye, Kyurem."
With a nonchalant turn, the scientist continued once more toward his goal. An awkward moment, as if either side was expected to lash out after all. But after a bit, even the god turned around, returning with what was important in hand. Though the man would have one more interruption before achieving his goal. This time, it would come from the rustling of trees above. Whoever was there clearly not intent on hiding. And all Colress needed to deduce who his final encounter would be to look upon the pair of legs dangling from the branch, and the gaze of slightly glowing eyes.
"Ah, N. I wasn't expecting you, I'll admit. I figured you most likely to go after your father. That, or you trying to get what you'd call justice... But you are not stupid enough to be here alone if tha-"
"I just want answers," the voice from above interrupted. Colress gaze briefly sliding down to the device attached to his arm, before his eyes turned back to meet the boy. "I suppose I have some time to spare."
"Why did you follow fathers plan? We had made a promise. You got the orb- You could do whatever was needed with it to get home without causing all of this."
"If I remember correctly, my promise to you was that I would not cause more death if I did not find it necessary. However, it absolutely was. An interesting observation I made is that the world of the dead appears to lie directly between your world and mine. In other words- If my plan was to work, I would have to go straight through there."
"The artifact was but the catalyst. Opelucid city was the payload."
Above him, N almost seemed to growl, though the young boy stayed well put above the scientist. Accosting him only with words rather than actions.
"And deception doesn't make you a 'demon' either, I presume? You knew this from the start!"
"Technically, I spoke the truth. But it would be a lie to claim a technical truth is what makes it okay," the man started, still occasionally tapping away at his device with no pause.
"Really, I just see no issue with lying to demons."
"But you know we're not demons!" an upset voice came from above. "You know we're not all evil. Maybe that's how things work in your world, but it's not here! Things are different!"
"But neither are you all good. By sheer logical conclusion, the only possible outcome is that you are all demons," the scientist nonchalantly concluded, pushing his glasses further up the bridge of his nose. "It would be false to claim that demons can not perform acts that look altruistic from the outside, after all. For example, it may appear to look as if they are defending one another. But in truth, it is simply a survival tactic- If one of them dies, they can't be protected in return. If they offer a favor, it is always with the expectancy of increased relations, or for it to be returned in the future."
"But- You do all these things too! Don't you see the hypocrisy?!" the boy yelled by this point. The scientist responded as stoic as ever.
"But it is different for us. We are our lord's chosen ones. We know that any actions from us to each other, are true altruism. Really, I don't think you need to be a scientist to figure that one out," Colress now practically mocked, by this point seeming to get tired of the conversation.
But N had one more thing left to say.
"...Alright. Here's one thing I figured out myself. I'd have thought maybe someone as smart as you would have done the same, but I guess you just need a helping hand."
"It is obvious our worlds are connected in some way. Mirrored in some aspects, perhaps? I remember your stories, about the demon clans. But there's a funny observation I made. You only recount six. Each one seeming to resemble one of the sins we recognize in this world."
"But we don't have six sins. We have seven."
"Your lord wanted something he could not have. So he created a lie."
"You, and everyone else in that city of yours. You're all demons too! You're all Pride!"
A silence overtook the clearing all by sudden, as even the distant chirping of Pokemon seemed to grow suddenly very quiet. And the temperature dropped- A chill overtaking the clearing, a breath of hot air escaping from Colress as fangs briefly glistened behind that pearly visage. Around the scientists feet, grass seemed to wither away inch by inch. Until all suddenly seemed to return to normal with a laugh.
"Ahaha. I see you are trying to anger me. Perhaps cloud my judgment? I am afraid it will not work. It is a cute theory you have however. Completely baseless, of course."
"Now. Get out of my way, N. I will kill you if I have to."
In the trees above, the boy seemed to hesitate a moment longer, before getting up. And with a couple of leaps, disappeared from immediate sight. With no further hesitation, Colress continued. It was not far now.
Still, as he looked at the device on his arm, at times he could not help but frown. Some of these readings seemed... Off. Not exactly what he expected.
But he swallowed those doubts. After all, he could not be wrong. His plan had worked. It was the only possible conclusion.
And so he ignored the fact that as he got closer and closer to the origin, even if the energy he senses did not seem exactly what he would call "home", he chalked it up to... Interdimensional warping. A quick theory he was sure to examine. Later. When he was at home.
Quite so confident he was, that by the point he realized something had truly gone wrong, it was already too late. As the fabric of space was torn open in front of him, and it reached out.
TVkgREVBUkVTVCBMSVRUTEUgSU5TRUNULgpJIEhBVkUgU0VFTiBZT1VSIEJFQUNPTiBDTEVBUi4KSSBBTSBIRVJFIFRPIFNBVkUgWU9VIEFMTC4KV0lUSCBNWSBBTEwtRU5DT01QQVNTSU5HIExJR0hULg==
End of tale: The doomed scholar (The magician)
Unlocked 1 of 2: The empty one
PERHAPS IT WOULD HAVE BEEN MORE FITTING IF IT HAD BEEN ICARUS TO BE FIRST BROUGHT TO THIS WORLD.
THOUGH THIS SEEMS LIKE A FITTING END REGARDLESS.
END INTERMISSION 10