[X] Snap Out of It
##Fanwork Word Count 843
Ulyssian-that-was-Odyssial screamed under the might of Odyssial-that-was-Ulyssian.
The inefficient facets of his personality were slowly ground down to make room for necessity. A Solar Exalt was unbound by nothing: perfection incarnate. No matter the task, perfection, impossibility, were feasible. To reshape the world was as easy as breathing; all it took was for one to realize it. The Exalted stood above all others in matters of skill, power and will, Odyssial-that-was-Ulyssian proved that even the Celestial Incarnae themselves could fall.
Unfortunately, the greatness, the magnitude, of a Solar Exaltation was held, focused, by a mere mortal being. Like a grand mirror reflecting fundamental truth, the Exaltation was limited by its bearer. Emotions. Social ties. Morality. All of it was just chains imposed on unblemished perfection. Nothing could stop a Solar — nothing but themselves.
Odyssial-that-was-Ulyssian refused that fate and sought to snap the ties that bound him. The cruelty of the Primordials' Creation were staggering, mortals suffered constantly, by design. It was obvious to any one that cared to look. Leaving that and allowing their unbridled cruelty and arrogance to continue was... unthinkable. Odyssial-that-was-Ulyssian had experienced first hand the hardships of mortality and had those same experiences thrown back in his face as Ulyssian-that-was-Odyssial. The Primordials and the Dragonbloods, it didn't matter. It was broken.
Odyssial-that-was-Ulyssian would fix it.
And he'd failed, Ulyssian-that-was-Odyssial reminded Odyssial-that-was-Ulyssian. The Lathe of Heaven remained behind his reach, even after cutting down the Unconquered Sun. Creation was no kinder to the mortals of Sesus Ulyssian's time than that of Odyssial's. The only difference was that the rulers were Dragonbloods.
Irrelevant, Odyssial-that-was-Ulyssian reminded his lesser half.
Mind expanding in unlimited, flawless perfection, Odyssial-that-was-Ulyssian noted another four needless deaths that his waste/indecision would kill and nearly a dozen more that would be forever diminished. How many orphans had he created in that moment of weakness? How many cripples? How many Nio-s?
The answer was too many. Too many when he had the might to stop it.
Beheading the last of the corruption with a flick of Ambition's edge, Odyssial-that-was-Ulyssian noted another inefficiency. He, personally, was the center of might for the entire Satrapy. Using his time, his energy, to personally oversee this problem was a phenomenal waste. He'd need to set up squads to carry out his orders and enforce order following this cleansing. Perhaps the two dragonbloods that Seeds had revealed his nature to? They were already watched constantly and limited solely to duty, no new effort would need to be made to weed out traitors.
Dodging around the reach of a particularly determined dragonblood, Odyssial-that-was-Ulyssian plotted his next move. The Satrapy was irrelevant in the grander plan, the millions that dwelled under his banner a mere drop in the bucket when compared to the entirety of Creation. He'd been too soft in investing with them, his personal power literally exceeded that of the entire Satrapy. Only a few actually mattered, the rest were unfortunately irrelevant in the grand scheme of things. Sorcery, Ambition, the Sable Scales, his caches; those were what he needed.
Lily would likely be more than willing to defend the Satrap in his place. Fundamentally, their ideologies were incompatible. By foisting command of on his (for now) equal, he could distract the might of the Realm and ensure that a sliver more of the city's might was preserved and that she would be too distracted to fall back into infighting.
Grimace finally working its way onto his face, Odyssial-that-was-Ulyssian noted that the female dragonblood was persistent is demanding his attention. Ending her would be inefficient, the Admiral put an inordinate amount of emphasis on her survival and well-being, far beyond that of a talented student and she might become relevant in time. Examining her, Clarity provided the answer: they were related. It was subtle, far moreso than most would realize, but the shape of the dragonblood's face and other traits betrayed her under perfection's eye.
Excellent.
By beginning a breeding program it would be possible to preserve the blood of the Shoguns and increase the quality and power of the Dragonblood host. Infertility problems could trivially be solved for with Solar Sorcery; all that was necessary was the proper selection of a mate. Perhaps it would be possible to extort the Admiral to participate in the program by threatening her safety? A mere dozen Shogun's blood offspring would be a profoundly potent force.
Unfortunately, the moment's realization allowed the Shogun's blood to raise Odyssial-that-was-Ulyssian's brow to look her in the eyes. Ignoring the splatter of blood across the bridge of her nose, of a pale white flower stained red over her ear, Odyssial-that-was-Ulyssian started to formulate the necessary words to convince her of her participation in the program. Lily's blessing had thankfully given him an edge over her memory of his previous self so manipulating her with their relationship was significantly easier.
Odyssial-that-was-Ulyssian opened his mouth to give voice to flawless logic when he started. Blinking, he focused on Moon's downcast expression.
Ambition tumbled from suddenly nerveless fingers.
And Sesus Ulyssian fell to his knees.
