We'll probably need to rush ahead in order to get more time next round then. Maybe try to sneak into the village unnoticed and get to Liren's house that way? Should probably have Kun with come along.
The Path Unending (A Cultivation Quest)
- Thread starter Vesvius
- Start date
- Original
-
- Tags
- original xianxia cultivation quest
From something that had washed ashore that he picked up, a Natural Treasure probably. Brother Crab had gathered, outside the loop, a nest full of things that had washed ashore, so it's not that unlikely.
No chance of getting the Clerk to take a rest day. The man is a workaholic.
IMO we should be able to have Zhi or Diayu claim that they sense anam within Liyu so she shouldn't be tested and is technically an Artist.
- Location
- Hell.
- Pronouns
- She/They
...I keep forgetting how close to the sea this location is for some reason, but honestly... That would make the most sense.
...Especially if the Treasure is Time aspected. Something dumped as being considered too Dangerous, only for it to wash up ages later in a village, where just the wrong confluence of circumstances ends up causing this.
- Location
- Pittsburgh, PA
Actually.
Does anyone know if the Symphony-in-Rags slaughtering the world's Time Artists happened before or after this time loop began?
- Location
- USA
The test can probably continue on as usual. Just have someone tell the Clerk that we can sense a strong amount of Anam from Liyu and that if she is tested then it is almost a certainty that the Testing Treasure will be destroyed or damaged. The Clerk isn't going to take that bet and will take our word for it. The Testing Treasure comes before all else in his mind and he would probably actually be grateful for the warning. And it isn't like we are lying either, the Treasure will be damaged if he tries to test her.
- Location
- USA
Long before. This loop began maybe a dozen Emperors ago, and the Empire itself has been around a lot longer than that.
If we want someone to sneak around, then Mei is presumably better suited for it. She isn't quite as useful in a fight, but not alerting the Kukuni would be the most important part. If it gets tipped off the loop would just begin anew, with the Kukuni prepared and our chances dwindling.
Presumably it's safe in that regard. Techniques were used not far from it when it was in the case, so as long as it's stored it shouldn't be a problem. What happens if it's outside is less certain.
CedeTheBees
Probably high right now
- Location
- Somewhere
- Pronouns
- They/Them
- Pronouns
- He/It/Argh!
SiR doesn't do that. It just happens to people trying to mess with the alien anam layer.
The only thing that SiR seems to do is watch disaster happen.
This is something I'm wondering about. On the other hand, it isn't reacting to the abnormal ambient anam in the normal way either. Clerk Ni hasn't felt anything off from the Treasure.
When we are going to make a move to finish this, we should make sure the Treasure is sealed in the casing though.
- Location
- Hell.
- Pronouns
- She/They
Thats when Symphony began - the time artists hearing the song began later, once people figured out that the anam layer was made of Time.
Kun was more than capable to sneak into the vestige infected village though, so I'd rather have the increased fire power.
Edit:
Mei is also better suited to handle Clerk Ni while the others are away.
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- Location
- Pittsburgh, PA
Having gone back and read the original description of the Symphony-in-Rags, we're both wrong.
The reason why Time Artists are all but unheard-of is that they eventually will begin to hear the Symphony-in-Rags' "music", after which they suffer horrible calamities - occasionally just befalling them, but more often smiting everyone and everything in their general vicinity. Connected to that, the Symphony-in-Rags has put on "performances" for the masses at a few points in history, and disaster always followed.
We were taught the Stallion's Enclosed Garden by our family as a way to protect us from the Symphony-in-Rags. Now, I suppose it's possible that our family are ignorant fools who wasted our time. However, the alternative would mean that the Symphony-in-Rags' "song" causes disasters to happen, but only if the full "performance" is heard, so you can protect yourself by removing your ability to hear.
Both things are true - after it was determined that the weird anam underlayer was composed (partially) of Time, those who poked it too hard turned to dust.
As for our family being ignorant fools... I think that's an aggressive framing. I would say rather that the Symphony is one of the most powerful beings in the world, operating at a scale even a Sage like Siani can't resist (that's why we're still alive and a Time artist, Siani can't prevent that outright), and is very mysterious in nature. I'm sure Bi did the best she could but I can't help but feel the Symphony is far too powerful to be thwarted so easily by a Soldier's Monk tech.
Due to the mystery about it, we also don't really know if Bi's interpretation of events is correct. We can assume that Rags was there, but I'm not sure how much we can rely on causation equaling correlation. It's very unclear why an eldritch Time entity would be interested in causing apparently unrelated disasters.
The parallels between the ambient anam here in Shoubiao's Wake becoming agitated with each loop and the Rags's anam becoming agitated are certainly concerning, though.
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i'd bet the Symphony in Rags is just trying to warn people about the disasters, not create them. The song is described as being like a thousand voices, which sounds like someone in a Shattered Mirror state trying to communicate.
i'd also guess the dangers the Symphony is trying to warn Time Artists about is likely due to their own techniques causing dangerous paradoxes.
i'd also guess the dangers the Symphony is trying to warn Time Artists about is likely due to their own techniques causing dangerous paradoxes.
I think they might be on to something. I suppose SEG also spiritually remove the ability to hear? Like when Zhi first went into the Warren dungeon and closing his eyes didn't solve the puzzle, but using SEG to do so did. The Sage of Hidden Truth also knows of the technique that SEG developed from, which seems like a big deal.
Of course they could be wrong, because I doubt that it has ever been tested.
- Location
- Greece
So I haven't been participating in the discussion because I'd rather binge this quest every few months, but I followed the entire discussion, and this may be not particularly relevant or important, but...
Why does the crab behave differently from all other sapient beings? The villagers either have some awareness of the loop, or have a strong resistance of altering their routines. Clerk Li and us, well, we are new to the loop.
But the crab is presumably not new to the loop, changed its routine the first time it met us and does not seem at all aware that anything is wrong. It may be that it is not quite sapient, but... it seems sapient enough to me, what is even up with it?
Why does the crab behave differently from all other sapient beings? The villagers either have some awareness of the loop, or have a strong resistance of altering their routines. Clerk Li and us, well, we are new to the loop.
But the crab is presumably not new to the loop, changed its routine the first time it met us and does not seem at all aware that anything is wrong. It may be that it is not quite sapient, but... it seems sapient enough to me, what is even up with it?
The SoHT knew of the technique from which SEG was made - he called it the Harbinger's Hunt, but noted it had been altered to block the user's senses. I'm betting Auntie Bi cooked up SEG herself just for us.
- Location
- USA
Actually we have word from Ct that the crab is not intelligent enough to join the Sect.
Unclear where that line is, since it is smart enough to spar.
I think it's also possible that the crab is a fairly recent "capture". We know the loop expanded over the course of a few days to cover the entire village, but it seems to have massively slowed down or stopped since then. Given that the crab seems to be several hours away from the village, it's possible the loop reached it only recently and it hasn't gained full awareness of the loop yet (you may need some minimum number of loops to gain that if you aren't a Time artist).
- Pronouns
- he/him
i hope there is a YET in there because brother crab becoming a sect brother would be increadible
273. A Dancer at Midnight
Vesvius
The Wicked God
A/N: A big thanks to the 35 people who have pledged to me on Patreon! If you'd like to join them, you can do so here. Or, if you'd like to support me without the monthly commitment, you can buy me a cup of Ko-Fi here.
----------------------
<Mu->
-I open my eyes and the world is full of stars.
The familiar constellations hang in the sky, filling the inky void above us with their familiar radiance. Directly overhead hangs the Ivory Ferryman, just waiting to carry the souls of the fallen past the Ravenous Kraken and to their final destination. Far in the distance is the Autumn Hunter. He is not shining with the radiance of the dusk or standing out in the stillness of the morning; he simply stands there, almost fading into the background as the other stars hold sway. The distant figure of the Lord-In-Coin skulks amidst the Silent Plum, using its falling petals to hide from those who would covet what he owns, and the Beast of Lianmu Thicket stares balefully at the gates of the Eastern Tower as if daring them to open.
Yet the stars above pale before those that have fallen to earth. Dozens, no, hundreds of gleaming orbs of twilight fill the world around us, each a different size and shade. These orbs, these Nestinglights, sit upon the forest floor, tucked safely amidst tangles of roots. They hang from thick boughs drooping with age and weight. They sit upon treetops, crowning the canopy like fine jewels.
And a single Nestinglight before me flickers like a flame in the wind.
I stare blankly at the golden glowing egg for a long moment. It feels as if there is a warm blanket wrapped around my mind and like my tongue is too large for my mouth. But as I contemplate the nest, a sense of familiarity falls upon me. A single thought pierces through the shroud muddling my mind: I have been here before, and there is something I am supposed to be doing.
This egg… it wasn't abandoned. No, the bird that nested here had tried with all its might to keep the Nestinglight lit throughout the night, but it simply couldn't generate enough Light Anam and had fallen from the exertion. I am… I'm here to help the egg hatch, to gather the light and focus it on the egg.
It looks as if I've already begun. A flat mirror sits beneath the nest, one that captures and reflects the whole of the forest's light onto the egg. Wool lines the twigs and leaves, reinforcing the nest and keeping the egg in the perfect position. More wool is in my hand just waiting to be used; my task is clearly not done yet.
I'm not supposed to be doing this alone, though. Mei Daiyu was here as well. She collected starlight and painted it on the egg, working tirelessly to ensure it saw the dawn. Indeed, when I look past the nest and the pillar of light surrounding it, she is kneeling opposite me. The lenses she uses to capture starlight sit beside her, dripping a steady trickle of power into the waiting jar. All she needs to do is reach out and take it, and the egg will live to see the dawn.
Yet she doesn't.
Mei Daiyu simply stares at the egg, an oddly empty expression on her face. It is not the carefully controlled expression of one trying to hide their thoughts or feelings; it is one devoid of such things entirely, as if the wearer simply does not feel a thing. "You mortals are so… untidy," she murmurs, her musical voice flat and dead.
With an effort of will, I force myself to blink, fighting with everything I have to ward away the strange fuzziness that clouds my thoughts. "What?" I manage to ask even as my hands move on their own. They rip a piece of wool from the larger clump and I lean forward to press it against the egg-
-but find nothing. The bare tuft of wool falls into an empty nest. I force myself to look up, to look through the pillar, and find Mei Daiyu holding the egg in one hand. "Untidy," she repeats, her inflections not changing in the slightest. "You mortals are untidy. Messy. You contaminate the world around you with worthless thoughts and useless sentiments."
<Annoyance. Anger. Disgust.>
Mei Daiyu turns the egg in her grasp, examining it idly. "The very setting of this conversation pollutes the world. We could be speaking anywhere. A still meadow or a remote cave. In fact, there need not be a setting at all; the world around us could be empty, leaving only the things that matter."
"Yet we are here," she murmurs. "Here in a place of sentiment. Of meaning. Of mortality."
The chirping and cawing of the Nestinglights around us grows stronger, swelling up from the forest like a rising tide. It is as if the birds, the nests, the very forest itself takes issue with Mei Daiyu's words. She glances away from the egg for the barest of moments-
<Amusement. Annoyance. Anger.>
-and one of the Nestinglights winks out as if smothered like a candle flame.
Mei Daiyu's gaze turns back to the egg. "I am not surprised, though. I have long since ceased being surprised by the futility of your kind. Everything you do is thick with your unclean pointlessness. Why would your thoughts and dreams be an exception?"
Something cold trickles through my mind, something that feels akin to a knife of ice sliding through the back of my head. Some small bit of the bleariness plaguing my brain retreats. It is not gone entirely, and it still feels as if I must swim through the air to connect even the simplest thought, but one thing is clear even now.
I force my hands to open, dropping the scraps of wool, and push against my knees until I'm sitting up straight once more. "I see we have decided to dispense with the subtlety," I say to the creature wearing Daiyu's face. "I mean no insult, but I must be certain: you are the same visitor I received last time, are you not?"
<Disgust. Distaste. Annoyance.>
The creature who is not Daiyu ignores me entirely. "Even I am not immune," she muses, eyes fixed squarely on the egg in her grasp. Her fingers tighten around the shell and a soft cracking noise fills the air, quieting every other sound. "Your foulness pollutes even me. Why else are we even having a conversation at all?"
Her words are soft, but in the quiet stillness they may as well be screamed. "There is no need to discuss anything. There is no need to speak at all, let alone in such an inefficient way. Yet here we are, nonetheless, having a tedious conversation."
Off in the distance, another of the Nestinglights vanishes as if it never was. "Mortals are truly a blight upon this world," the creature states with Daiyu's voice. "And you are a greater strain upon all three realms than any other mortal I have ever met."
Part of me wants to answer the creature. I should not simply sit here and listen to its barbs. I should be fighting back, casting defiance into its teeth as it snarls, or rising with fists clenched, or doing anything other than just kneel before the Perfect Mirror. But when I tell my legs to move, they ignore me. When I fight to say another word, my breath freezes in my lungs. It takes every ounce of effort I can muster to keep my very thoughts coherent under the weight of the pressure this monster exudes.
"When others fight against the turning of the hours, they are forgotten." Some heat enters Daiyu's voice as she speaks. There is none of her temper or passion in her words, just a dry, almost alien hatred. "Merchants leave without disruption. Elders sleep their lives away. Herbalists wander through the forest from dawn until dusk without disturbing anything. Sisters leave without comment."
The creature's voice is low, almost reverent. "Poor influences are excised. The peace is restored. There are no painful, pointless dramatics. There are no complaints of aches and pains. There are no morning visits with lies stoppered in bottles. Everything that might serve as a distraction is… gone. The day simply moves forward in a simple, harmonious whole."
Daiyu's knuckles whiten- and the egg shatters in her hands. The limp form of a bird unborn falls from her grip, vanishing into the inky darkness. She stares at the liquid dripping from her hands without blinking. "Only you are foul enough to linger. Only you remain when you are unwanted."
With all the speed of a dead branch blowing in the breeze, the creature that is not Daiyu turns its flat gaze on me. "You have no idea how much your wild flailing has cost me," she murmurs. "You have no idea how much your very existence continues to cost me. Still, you linger, a stench that refuses to be washed away."
The pressure on my shoulders redoubles. My fists clench tighter than they ever have before, piercing my own skin and sending rivers of heat trickling between my fingers. "What… have…" I manage to get out, but once again I am completely ignored.
"The day must continue," the figure opposite me hisses. Its features elongate, becoming gaunt and cavernous. It only barely resembles Daiyu anymore, yet it still speaks in her voice. "It must be shaped. It must be directed. Poor influences must be curtailed. Positive experiences must be strengthened. It must be perfect."
The final word does not so much pass through the air as it does break it. The mere sound of the creature's perfection sends the world around us reeling, as if reality itself flinches away from it. It has no place in the spoken word; it is too whole, too final, and rings with an absolute certainty that simply doesn't exist.
Every hair on my body rises. My vision swims and buckles, and I blink away hot tears. I force myself to blink, to rub at my eye, but my hand comes away crimson.
+1 Physical Stress!
<Contempt. Fury. Satisfaction.>
"You have gone beyond straying from your path," the monster growls. "And now you actively hinder the Day while I am fixing it. This day must be perfect. It will be perfect! You are ruining it with your disorder and broken reflections- and it can no longer be tolerated."
The creature pauses for a long heart beat and cocks its head to the side, like a beast scenting its prey. "You are the first mortal I can say that I truly despise," it states, sounding almost surprised by the fact. "When someone is unmade, they are forgotten and left behind, naught but shadows in my memory. But you? I will remember what happens to you- and I will cherish the memory."
Composure Check: 5d10s7(1.2). Dice Rolled: 10, 10, 9, 6, 4, 2, 9. 4.8, rounded up to 5 Successes!
The pressure emanating from the creature is a physical force, wrapping around me like a hand around a flightless bird. It presses against me, seeping into and through me- and I push it from my mind.
The threat the creature poses? It is not important. It will either utterly erase me from existence or it will fail, and allowing terror to rule me will only help it. I turn my focus away from the overwhelming aura, the bone shaking power seeping through my skin, and towards something that might actually help me: the monster's words.
The beast wearing Daiyu's face is not thinking clearly by its own admission. It isn't used to talking at all, either. The fuzziness in my brain is shrugged off as I wrack my thoughts, analyzing everything the creature has said. There's every chance it let something slip without meaning to. I just need to…
…an herbalist?
When the creature was railing against my existence, it spoke of the people that 'fought against the turning of the hours'. It spoke of a merchant, and that must be what happened to the driver of the cart left outside the village. It spoke of elders; that could refer to any number of villagers. How many are even left from when the Perfect Day began?
It spoke of a sister, and a dozen disparate pieces congeal into one certainty. The villagers were gossiping of how the miller's son was caught with both the rancher's daughter and one of the farmer's sisters. The headman had the record of a wedding that would require the mill to be shut down, and the announcement was a barely concealed diatribe against the family of his former betrothed. Liren, Liyu's father, was the rancher, meaning it was his older daughter who was betrayed by her lover.
Which means Liyu had an older sister. And since she comes to the testing alone… she likely does not any more.
But there has been no record of a village herbalist or healer. There has been no shop or stand, or even a sign with their wares. Even the headman's notes show no records of her. The creature unmade them, and did such a thorough job of it that there is not even a single whisper left of her.
The creature has limited resources or power. It does not act lightly.
So why did it bestir itself so completely to remove the village herbalist? What 'lies stoppered in bottles' did they use? And to what end?
<Surprise. Confusion. Hatred.>
The pressure on me redoubles and I'm dragged from my thoughts to see the now-formless creature staring at me. Something akin to disbelief settles on its blank expression. "Are you… ignoring me?" it asks, voice hushed. "Do you not understand the fate that is about to befall you? In moments, you will no longer exist."
My mind goes blank- and as so often happens, my mouth moves on its own.
"Maybe so," I hear myself say. "...but you failed last time. I may as well consider all possible outcomes."
<Rage.>
The Nestinglights flare with a rusty crimson light. Something moves in the surface of the Perfect Mirror. The creature that was once Daiyu vanishes in a haze of crimson that swallows everything until it reaches me.
Cycling Check: 10d10s6(1.2) (Kong Zhi's Cycling Technique). Dice Rolled: 10, 9, 8, 7, 7, 7, 6, 5, 5, 3, 1. 8.4, rounded down to 8 Successes!
The changing of the seasons and the weight of ages presses against my spirit- and I breathe.
Which technique does Kong Zhi cycle this power to? Pick Two.
[] [TECHNIQUE] The Northern Auroch's Onslaught
[] [TECHNIQUE] Warhound's Cry
[] [TECHNIQUE] Shatter the Mirror
[] [TECHNIQUE] The Everdistant Flame
And when Kong Zhi awakes with Zhuan Kun rousing him beside the fire, what approach does he take to investigate Shoubiao's Wake?
[] [APPROACH] Something that is more clear than ever is that there is something very wrong with the villagers in Shoubiao's Wake. Kong Zhi will try and gain answers from one whether they like it or not.
-[] (Write-In which villager)
[] [APPROACH] There is no longer any question about it; this village is dangerous. Kong Zhi will approach Clerk Ni and ask him to wait outside of the village while he enters to investigate in a more subtle way. Clerk Ni has a good feeling about today and will not be delayed, no matter what.
[] [APPROACH] In the past, Kong Zhi wandered freely through the village. Perhaps that was a mistake. We will continue the examination as normal, only Zhi will take a different role.
-[] (Write-In which role)
[] [APPROACH] Shoubiao's Wake is dangerous, and the wise thing to do would be to retreat. Zhi will attempt to redirect the examination towards Twelve Fields, where a more learned expert may be contacted The time to flee has passed..
[] [APPROACH] (Write-In)
And are there any small (and let met stress small things Zhi would like to do regardless of the path taken?
[] [SMALL] (Write-In, please append the [SMALL] prefix to any votes for this addition. Anything with over half the [APPROACH] vote will be added if possible. Use this to add details you would like to be certain are covered. Daiyu and Zhuan Kun will be read in on the situation once again automatically, and function normally.)
----------------------
<Mu->
-I open my eyes and the world is full of stars.
The familiar constellations hang in the sky, filling the inky void above us with their familiar radiance. Directly overhead hangs the Ivory Ferryman, just waiting to carry the souls of the fallen past the Ravenous Kraken and to their final destination. Far in the distance is the Autumn Hunter. He is not shining with the radiance of the dusk or standing out in the stillness of the morning; he simply stands there, almost fading into the background as the other stars hold sway. The distant figure of the Lord-In-Coin skulks amidst the Silent Plum, using its falling petals to hide from those who would covet what he owns, and the Beast of Lianmu Thicket stares balefully at the gates of the Eastern Tower as if daring them to open.
Yet the stars above pale before those that have fallen to earth. Dozens, no, hundreds of gleaming orbs of twilight fill the world around us, each a different size and shade. These orbs, these Nestinglights, sit upon the forest floor, tucked safely amidst tangles of roots. They hang from thick boughs drooping with age and weight. They sit upon treetops, crowning the canopy like fine jewels.
And a single Nestinglight before me flickers like a flame in the wind.
I stare blankly at the golden glowing egg for a long moment. It feels as if there is a warm blanket wrapped around my mind and like my tongue is too large for my mouth. But as I contemplate the nest, a sense of familiarity falls upon me. A single thought pierces through the shroud muddling my mind: I have been here before, and there is something I am supposed to be doing.
This egg… it wasn't abandoned. No, the bird that nested here had tried with all its might to keep the Nestinglight lit throughout the night, but it simply couldn't generate enough Light Anam and had fallen from the exertion. I am… I'm here to help the egg hatch, to gather the light and focus it on the egg.
It looks as if I've already begun. A flat mirror sits beneath the nest, one that captures and reflects the whole of the forest's light onto the egg. Wool lines the twigs and leaves, reinforcing the nest and keeping the egg in the perfect position. More wool is in my hand just waiting to be used; my task is clearly not done yet.
I'm not supposed to be doing this alone, though. Mei Daiyu was here as well. She collected starlight and painted it on the egg, working tirelessly to ensure it saw the dawn. Indeed, when I look past the nest and the pillar of light surrounding it, she is kneeling opposite me. The lenses she uses to capture starlight sit beside her, dripping a steady trickle of power into the waiting jar. All she needs to do is reach out and take it, and the egg will live to see the dawn.
Yet she doesn't.
Mei Daiyu simply stares at the egg, an oddly empty expression on her face. It is not the carefully controlled expression of one trying to hide their thoughts or feelings; it is one devoid of such things entirely, as if the wearer simply does not feel a thing. "You mortals are so… untidy," she murmurs, her musical voice flat and dead.
With an effort of will, I force myself to blink, fighting with everything I have to ward away the strange fuzziness that clouds my thoughts. "What?" I manage to ask even as my hands move on their own. They rip a piece of wool from the larger clump and I lean forward to press it against the egg-
-but find nothing. The bare tuft of wool falls into an empty nest. I force myself to look up, to look through the pillar, and find Mei Daiyu holding the egg in one hand. "Untidy," she repeats, her inflections not changing in the slightest. "You mortals are untidy. Messy. You contaminate the world around you with worthless thoughts and useless sentiments."
<Annoyance. Anger. Disgust.>
Mei Daiyu turns the egg in her grasp, examining it idly. "The very setting of this conversation pollutes the world. We could be speaking anywhere. A still meadow or a remote cave. In fact, there need not be a setting at all; the world around us could be empty, leaving only the things that matter."
"Yet we are here," she murmurs. "Here in a place of sentiment. Of meaning. Of mortality."
The chirping and cawing of the Nestinglights around us grows stronger, swelling up from the forest like a rising tide. It is as if the birds, the nests, the very forest itself takes issue with Mei Daiyu's words. She glances away from the egg for the barest of moments-
<Amusement. Annoyance. Anger.>
-and one of the Nestinglights winks out as if smothered like a candle flame.
Mei Daiyu's gaze turns back to the egg. "I am not surprised, though. I have long since ceased being surprised by the futility of your kind. Everything you do is thick with your unclean pointlessness. Why would your thoughts and dreams be an exception?"
Something cold trickles through my mind, something that feels akin to a knife of ice sliding through the back of my head. Some small bit of the bleariness plaguing my brain retreats. It is not gone entirely, and it still feels as if I must swim through the air to connect even the simplest thought, but one thing is clear even now.
I force my hands to open, dropping the scraps of wool, and push against my knees until I'm sitting up straight once more. "I see we have decided to dispense with the subtlety," I say to the creature wearing Daiyu's face. "I mean no insult, but I must be certain: you are the same visitor I received last time, are you not?"
<Disgust. Distaste. Annoyance.>
The creature who is not Daiyu ignores me entirely. "Even I am not immune," she muses, eyes fixed squarely on the egg in her grasp. Her fingers tighten around the shell and a soft cracking noise fills the air, quieting every other sound. "Your foulness pollutes even me. Why else are we even having a conversation at all?"
Her words are soft, but in the quiet stillness they may as well be screamed. "There is no need to discuss anything. There is no need to speak at all, let alone in such an inefficient way. Yet here we are, nonetheless, having a tedious conversation."
Off in the distance, another of the Nestinglights vanishes as if it never was. "Mortals are truly a blight upon this world," the creature states with Daiyu's voice. "And you are a greater strain upon all three realms than any other mortal I have ever met."
Part of me wants to answer the creature. I should not simply sit here and listen to its barbs. I should be fighting back, casting defiance into its teeth as it snarls, or rising with fists clenched, or doing anything other than just kneel before the Perfect Mirror. But when I tell my legs to move, they ignore me. When I fight to say another word, my breath freezes in my lungs. It takes every ounce of effort I can muster to keep my very thoughts coherent under the weight of the pressure this monster exudes.
"When others fight against the turning of the hours, they are forgotten." Some heat enters Daiyu's voice as she speaks. There is none of her temper or passion in her words, just a dry, almost alien hatred. "Merchants leave without disruption. Elders sleep their lives away. Herbalists wander through the forest from dawn until dusk without disturbing anything. Sisters leave without comment."
The creature's voice is low, almost reverent. "Poor influences are excised. The peace is restored. There are no painful, pointless dramatics. There are no complaints of aches and pains. There are no morning visits with lies stoppered in bottles. Everything that might serve as a distraction is… gone. The day simply moves forward in a simple, harmonious whole."
Daiyu's knuckles whiten- and the egg shatters in her hands. The limp form of a bird unborn falls from her grip, vanishing into the inky darkness. She stares at the liquid dripping from her hands without blinking. "Only you are foul enough to linger. Only you remain when you are unwanted."
With all the speed of a dead branch blowing in the breeze, the creature that is not Daiyu turns its flat gaze on me. "You have no idea how much your wild flailing has cost me," she murmurs. "You have no idea how much your very existence continues to cost me. Still, you linger, a stench that refuses to be washed away."
The pressure on my shoulders redoubles. My fists clench tighter than they ever have before, piercing my own skin and sending rivers of heat trickling between my fingers. "What… have…" I manage to get out, but once again I am completely ignored.
"The day must continue," the figure opposite me hisses. Its features elongate, becoming gaunt and cavernous. It only barely resembles Daiyu anymore, yet it still speaks in her voice. "It must be shaped. It must be directed. Poor influences must be curtailed. Positive experiences must be strengthened. It must be perfect."
The final word does not so much pass through the air as it does break it. The mere sound of the creature's perfection sends the world around us reeling, as if reality itself flinches away from it. It has no place in the spoken word; it is too whole, too final, and rings with an absolute certainty that simply doesn't exist.
Every hair on my body rises. My vision swims and buckles, and I blink away hot tears. I force myself to blink, to rub at my eye, but my hand comes away crimson.
+1 Physical Stress!
<Contempt. Fury. Satisfaction.>
"You have gone beyond straying from your path," the monster growls. "And now you actively hinder the Day while I am fixing it. This day must be perfect. It will be perfect! You are ruining it with your disorder and broken reflections- and it can no longer be tolerated."
The creature pauses for a long heart beat and cocks its head to the side, like a beast scenting its prey. "You are the first mortal I can say that I truly despise," it states, sounding almost surprised by the fact. "When someone is unmade, they are forgotten and left behind, naught but shadows in my memory. But you? I will remember what happens to you- and I will cherish the memory."
Composure Check: 5d10s7(1.2). Dice Rolled: 10, 10, 9, 6, 4, 2, 9. 4.8, rounded up to 5 Successes!
The pressure emanating from the creature is a physical force, wrapping around me like a hand around a flightless bird. It presses against me, seeping into and through me- and I push it from my mind.
The threat the creature poses? It is not important. It will either utterly erase me from existence or it will fail, and allowing terror to rule me will only help it. I turn my focus away from the overwhelming aura, the bone shaking power seeping through my skin, and towards something that might actually help me: the monster's words.
The beast wearing Daiyu's face is not thinking clearly by its own admission. It isn't used to talking at all, either. The fuzziness in my brain is shrugged off as I wrack my thoughts, analyzing everything the creature has said. There's every chance it let something slip without meaning to. I just need to…
…an herbalist?
When the creature was railing against my existence, it spoke of the people that 'fought against the turning of the hours'. It spoke of a merchant, and that must be what happened to the driver of the cart left outside the village. It spoke of elders; that could refer to any number of villagers. How many are even left from when the Perfect Day began?
It spoke of a sister, and a dozen disparate pieces congeal into one certainty. The villagers were gossiping of how the miller's son was caught with both the rancher's daughter and one of the farmer's sisters. The headman had the record of a wedding that would require the mill to be shut down, and the announcement was a barely concealed diatribe against the family of his former betrothed. Liren, Liyu's father, was the rancher, meaning it was his older daughter who was betrayed by her lover.
Which means Liyu had an older sister. And since she comes to the testing alone… she likely does not any more.
But there has been no record of a village herbalist or healer. There has been no shop or stand, or even a sign with their wares. Even the headman's notes show no records of her. The creature unmade them, and did such a thorough job of it that there is not even a single whisper left of her.
The creature has limited resources or power. It does not act lightly.
So why did it bestir itself so completely to remove the village herbalist? What 'lies stoppered in bottles' did they use? And to what end?
<Surprise. Confusion. Hatred.>
The pressure on me redoubles and I'm dragged from my thoughts to see the now-formless creature staring at me. Something akin to disbelief settles on its blank expression. "Are you… ignoring me?" it asks, voice hushed. "Do you not understand the fate that is about to befall you? In moments, you will no longer exist."
My mind goes blank- and as so often happens, my mouth moves on its own.
"Maybe so," I hear myself say. "...but you failed last time. I may as well consider all possible outcomes."
<Rage.>
The Nestinglights flare with a rusty crimson light. Something moves in the surface of the Perfect Mirror. The creature that was once Daiyu vanishes in a haze of crimson that swallows everything until it reaches me.
Cycling Check: 10d10s6(1.2) (Kong Zhi's Cycling Technique). Dice Rolled: 10, 9, 8, 7, 7, 7, 6, 5, 5, 3, 1. 8.4, rounded down to 8 Successes!
The changing of the seasons and the weight of ages presses against my spirit- and I breathe.
Which technique does Kong Zhi cycle this power to? Pick Two.
[] [TECHNIQUE] The Northern Auroch's Onslaught
[] [TECHNIQUE] Warhound's Cry
[] [TECHNIQUE] Shatter the Mirror
[] [TECHNIQUE] The Everdistant Flame
And when Kong Zhi awakes with Zhuan Kun rousing him beside the fire, what approach does he take to investigate Shoubiao's Wake?
[] [APPROACH] Something that is more clear than ever is that there is something very wrong with the villagers in Shoubiao's Wake. Kong Zhi will try and gain answers from one whether they like it or not.
-[] (Write-In which villager)
[] [APPROACH] In the past, Kong Zhi wandered freely through the village. Perhaps that was a mistake. We will continue the examination as normal, only Zhi will take a different role.
-[] (Write-In which role)
[] [APPROACH] (Write-In)
And are there any small (and let met stress small things Zhi would like to do regardless of the path taken?
[] [SMALL] (Write-In, please append the [SMALL] prefix to any votes for this addition. Anything with over half the [APPROACH] vote will be added if possible. Use this to add details you would like to be certain are covered. Daiyu and Zhuan Kun will be read in on the situation once again automatically, and function normally.)
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- Location
- Washington
Haha well it's pissed off as fuck. But hey we learned a lot here. Also seem to getting a lot too out of this.
