[She's about to accuse him of lying, only to remember thereafter that he doesn't lie about these things, much as she might like him to just to be able to call him out on it.]
That was... really your reasoning?
[This time, she doesn't know how to refute that. The fact the Exarch still exists would suggest things haven't been altered as they thought... doesn't it? Perhaps events of great importance like that are more difficult to completely erase.
Her ears slowly tick up from where they've been marginally lowered on her head this entire time, and her face softens a bit.]
You're still a complete arsehole for doing it. But... I think I understand what's going on now.
[ He hunches his shoulders and glares sullenly at her. He knows he tried to solicit their cooperation during their crusade against the Lightwardens, yet both sides had been very aware that they would ever be on opposite ends: the Light to his Dark and vice versa. They need each other or, as Elidibus oft reminds them, they will repeat the mistake of the Thirteenth. And needless to say, if they lose the Source, they lose all hope.
It's easier when they hate him. It hurts, but it makes things so much simpler. ]
For better or worse, you have proven yourselves capable of containing that Light which slew me. If you perish...'twill be a long time before another hero rises who is strong enough to temper our chaos.
[Don't forget that more personal reason of yours, she doesn't say.]
You need to trust us more, Hades. We may not be invincible, but the original source of what was to kill us unexpectedly and suddenly has already been destroyed.
Gods, but you are the biggest damned fool... I could smack you right about now if I didn't pity you so much for being injured.
[She glances away, matching her teeth and setting them hard, then gestures to a nearby sofa in the common area.]
Sit the hell down. You look like you're about to collapse.
[ He stubbornly refuses to sit at first. But then he turns his head to the side a little too fast and the world spins again. He wobbles and his knees buckle, barely catching himself by bracing his hands on the floor. Cursing softly in his native language, he staggers upright towards the sofa and collapses in it, doubling over with his head in his hands. Again, he shuts his eyes and focuses on soaking in the latent aether.
Ugh, he wants to return to his room and bathe in the Dark there. ]
[ Oh. Oh, no. Oh, it couldn't be Elidibus because he knew Elidibus' original plan for his great-grandson's body and their Emissary certainly would not suddenly and violently destroy a plot his Architect had set in motion. But his great-grandson would, and that meant the experiment he originally thought had ended in failure was instead a success.
A short burst of laughter erupts from him and he flops back against the couch, arm draped over his eyes. ]
[It puts Zenos at least on par with the Ascians in terms of sheer power. Perhaps even greater, which is a thought she almost doesn't even want to entertain. If Elidibus was so quick to flee at being confronted by him... what could that mean?]
[She sounds morose as she says it, though, like she's definitely turned over the thought a few times already. Especially when he'd just come back anyway.]
Much as I might like to take my frustration out on you, it'd be a waste of effort in the end. All you have left to you now is to recover and let the dust settle a bit.
[ His lips press together. He draws his feet up and allows himself to slump sideways, tucking in with the armrest as his pillow. He would stretch out but she's sitting on the other end and clearly wanting to avoid him.
(No, he doesn't care that he's just put his boots up on the seat.) ]
Out of all three of you here, I considered you to be the most likely to attempt it once you learnt of the news.
I can't decide whether I should be flattered or annoyed about that.
[At first, when the rage overtook her, she had to mull over several options to prevent herself from just busting his door down and doing the deed. In the end, she didn't need any convincing not to do it, because the memory of the mirror world fight was still fresh in her mind.
And besides... she never wanted him dead in the first place. He simply would not have stopped his efforts to kill them until made to stop.]
[ One arm lifts and he flaps his hand at her. He doesn't sit up. ]
You chose to turn away from the path of the holy knight. I think that speaks for itself. All that rage channelled into a thirst for justice that the laws of men do not touch - you would not care for propriety; you would do what you think needs must be done.
[ He curls up a little more as if retreating from her words. Fool. I could have interpreted your question in an entirely different manner to your intent.
But he had chosen not to. Because he knew she would respond as she just had. ]
...I managed to make my way down here. I can take myself back up.
[Irhya looks him up and down, dissatisfied but unsurprised by the response, and stands up, making a noise of acknowledgment as she turns away.]
...Take care of yourself, Hades. May the Dark keep you.
[It's a mysterious thing, why she would add those parting words to someone she's supposedly so angry at, but she makes no attempt to take them back as she skulks off.]
[ 'May the Dark keep you,' she says. He waits until he can no longer her her footfall before his façade breaks. He curls up even more tightly and chokes back a dry sob.
More and more, he's starting to wish that the Dark would up and leave. It has dragged him along for nigh on twelve millennia and has shown him nothing but despair and suffering. Even as he laboriously sits upright and tries to convince himself that he's acting in the best interests of Zodiark and the Warriors of Light, a part of him dreads losing their camaraderie.
May the Dark keep you...
He collapses once in the corridor on the way to his door, but eventually he manages to ensconce himself in his Dark-suffused bedroom. He crawls on to the bed and sprawls bonelessly, drifting in the serene calm his element brings. ]
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no subject
That was... really your reasoning?
[This time, she doesn't know how to refute that. The fact the Exarch still exists would suggest things haven't been altered as they thought... doesn't it? Perhaps events of great importance like that are more difficult to completely erase.
Her ears slowly tick up from where they've been marginally lowered on her head this entire time, and her face softens a bit.]
You're still a complete arsehole for doing it. But... I think I understand what's going on now.
no subject
It's easier when they hate him. It hurts, but it makes things so much simpler. ]
For better or worse, you have proven yourselves capable of containing that Light which slew me. If you perish...'twill be a long time before another hero rises who is strong enough to temper our chaos.
no subject
You need to trust us more, Hades. We may not be invincible, but the original source of what was to kill us unexpectedly and suddenly has already been destroyed.
Gods, but you are the biggest damned fool... I could smack you right about now if I didn't pity you so much for being injured.
[She glances away, matching her teeth and setting them hard, then gestures to a nearby sofa in the common area.]
Sit the hell down. You look like you're about to collapse.
no subject
Ugh, he wants to return to his room and bathe in the Dark there. ]
Black Rose... You already...destroyed it all?
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[Wildcard that he is. But thinking about it, it does line up pretty well with his usual motivations; you can't hunt dead bodies in a dead forest.
She takes a seat at the far end of the couch, leaning back and crossing one leg over the other.]
We got a report from a firsthand account that he murdered Varis, destroyed the remaining stores of Black Rose, and then took off to gods-know-where.
no subject
[ Oh. Oh, no. Oh, it couldn't be Elidibus because he knew Elidibus' original plan for his great-grandson's body and their Emissary certainly would not suddenly and violently destroy a plot his Architect had set in motion. But his great-grandson would, and that meant the experiment he originally thought had ended in failure was instead a success.
A short burst of laughter erupts from him and he flops back against the couch, arm draped over his eyes. ]
Incredible... So it did work.
no subject
[It puts Zenos at least on par with the Ascians in terms of sheer power. Perhaps even greater, which is a thought she almost doesn't even want to entertain. If Elidibus was so quick to flee at being confronted by him... what could that mean?]
Are you... going to be all right?
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...Would you like the direct answer or the evasive one?
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Do both of them boil down to "no, not really"?
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There is not enough aether in this place for me to recover at my usual rate. You could probably slay me right here, right now, without the other two.
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[She sounds morose as she says it, though, like she's definitely turned over the thought a few times already. Especially when he'd just come back anyway.]
Much as I might like to take my frustration out on you, it'd be a waste of effort in the end. All you have left to you now is to recover and let the dust settle a bit.
no subject
(No, he doesn't care that he's just put his boots up on the seat.) ]
Out of all three of you here, I considered you to be the most likely to attempt it once you learnt of the news.
no subject
[At first, when the rage overtook her, she had to mull over several options to prevent herself from just busting his door down and doing the deed. In the end, she didn't need any convincing not to do it, because the memory of the mirror world fight was still fresh in her mind.
And besides... she never wanted him dead in the first place. He simply would not have stopped his efforts to kill them until made to stop.]
Do I truly come off as that temperamental?
no subject
You chose to turn away from the path of the holy knight. I think that speaks for itself. All that rage channelled into a thirst for justice that the laws of men do not touch - you would not care for propriety; you would do what you think needs must be done.
no subject
[Maybe she ought to watch the fights she picks more often. Not that she regrets picking this particular fight. Just... others.]
Well, congratulations, you're not getting skewered upon my blade this day. Anything else you want to tell me so I don't have to find out the hard way?
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No. And you really ought to pick your phrasing with more care if you wish answers from me.
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[She shifts uncomfortably with a sour look on her face, drawing her arms up around her.]
Do you need help getting back to your place? I'm hoping you don't collapse on the way, but from the looks of things...
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But he had chosen not to. Because he knew she would respond as she just had. ]
...I managed to make my way down here. I can take myself back up.
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...Take care of yourself, Hades. May the Dark keep you.
[It's a mysterious thing, why she would add those parting words to someone she's supposedly so angry at, but she makes no attempt to take them back as she skulks off.]
no subject
More and more, he's starting to wish that the Dark would up and leave. It has dragged him along for nigh on twelve millennia and has shown him nothing but despair and suffering. Even as he laboriously sits upright and tries to convince himself that he's acting in the best interests of Zodiark and the Warriors of Light, a part of him dreads losing their camaraderie.
May the Dark keep you...
He collapses once in the corridor on the way to his door, but eventually he manages to ensconce himself in his Dark-suffused bedroom. He crawls on to the bed and sprawls bonelessly, drifting in the serene calm his element brings. ]