emet_sulk | Inbox @ Magisteria

[ What he has to say next surprises Azem further. All this happens after the point in which they've been pulled here? It'd be difficult to believe if not for meeting up with Elidibus by happenstance and both he and Hades knowing Rhea'li.

Azem remains quiet for a long while, so long that one would be led to believe they had nothing to say. However, they do eventually break the silence. ]

I can see why I would not agree to such a plan. Working under the belief that the answer could be found on our star rather than beyond... I would do everything in my power to find it, with or without the Convocation's help.

To sacrifice so many... [ It's inconceivable to them. It goes against everything they've lived and worked for.

They have to wonder what was going through Venat's mind for her not to offer up the answer if she knew it. She loved the star and all it's people, possibly more so than Azem, so why? ]

I suppose the story does not end there.

[ He shrugs and heaves a weighty sigh. ]

The calamity was halted but the star lay in ruins. Of the survivors, half again offered themselves to Zodiark to restore it to its former state. We-- the Convocation, that is - decided that when life on the star flourished enough, we would offer it for the return of all those who gave their lives to save us.

...But Venat and her followers refused to condone this and they summoned their own god: Hydaelyn. With Venat as Her heart, she fought Zodiark...and sundered the world.

More... [ Azem says softly, feeling a bit of anger welling up in them. Sure, it makes sense that a creation so powerful would need so much aether but it doesn't stop them from being upset over it.

Yes, no wonder they left.

But then there's more about Venat. ] She...

[ They stare at him for a moment, brows furrowed. ] Why would she do that?

[ They find it impossible to imagine why their mentor, someone with so much love for the star would sunder it. ]

I don't know.

[ He still holds a grudge about it. It's clear from the irritable undertone. ]

It wouldn't surprise me if she only did so because Rhea'li told her that is what happened to the star. Not even giving us a chance - bah! I never bothered to ask. She made her choice, and we were left to pick up the pieces.

So she sundered the world and then...?

[ That's not the end, Rhea'li is proof of that. They realize they'll likely need to talk to him after this and see what he says about it all. And then, of course, Elidibus. Better to get all the views they can given Venat isn't here. ]

When she sundered it as Hydaelyn, she sundered everthing to the aetherial level. Everything was reduced to a fraction of what it was before, including the star itself, split into fourteen reflections of itself. Our people were reduced to short-lived things, wasting their unbearably short lives arguing and fighting with each other over accomplishing anything meaningful. The creatures we so painstakingly introduced to the star were left to run rampant. Some that shouldn't have been released at all found their way out as well. In short: it was chaos.

...And only myself, Lahabrea, and Elidibus survived her blade, at the cost of having to forsake our physical bodies. We found the sundered souls of the rest of the Convocation and tried to restore them, but they were never the same. Together, we eventually found a way to rejoin the errant shards to the Source. Which is what I have been doing for the past twelve thousand years - and what Rhea'li finally succeeded in halting by killing me.

[ Azem sits in stunned silence for a while after. That's a lot to take in. Not just about their mentor but about how only three survived the entire ordeal.

And then to find out that Rhea'li was the one who killed Emet-Selch. They have to assume he had a good reason from his perspective. They would need to talk to him afterward and hear his side of the story.

After they've had a moment to process they speak again. ]

How was it that you managed to rejoin the shards to the Source?

[ He sits silently for a time. Then, reluctantly, he explains. ]

We instigated calamities of matching elements on both the Source and the shard simultaneously. A frightfully difficult endeavour to pull off when time was inconstant between each one. We accidentally lost the Thirteenth to Darkness before we realised our error. The surge of aether would forcibly break down the barrier betwixt Source and shard and collapse them together again. We succeeded at this seven times... But as we kept trying to instigate the eighth, Rhea'li would foil our plans. We had laid several of them and each one fell short.

Calamities... [ Their brow furrows once more as they frown deeply. ]

Then that means you killed entire worlds? [ It's impossible for them to keep the disapprovement out of their tone. As someone who has ever fought for the lives of others, they find it difficult to approve of such a plan. ]

There was no other way!

[ He spits this out past gritted teeth. His fists clench on the table. ]

If you could see the way I do, you would have wept. Mankind were reduced to less than animals! They were barely fit to be called our people. Every shard we rejoined to the Source made them that much hardier. I actually began to hope we could salavage the mess Hydaelyn made of our star.

No other way? Hades there is always another way!

[ They stand one more, voice rising. ]

Reduced as they might have been they were still living beings with thoughts and feelings of their own!

Well, you weren't there to find another way, were you?!

[ His chair screeches along the floor as he, too, surges to his feet. ]

No, you went off to gods know where and disappeared! You didn't respond when I tried to contact you either, and by the time Venat and her faction made their decision to sunder the world, it was too late! We went from thirteen to three before we even had time to draw breath - and we only survived at all because I made the impulsive decision to abandon my body and flee to the void between worlds with our Emissary!

[ His voice has risen to a furious shout now. His chest feels tight. This is exactly why he didn't want Azem to know. What were any of them supposed to do alone? ]

If you want to blame anyone for this then blame Venat for slaughtering them in the first place! She took her blade and carved them into so many pieces that not a single one remembered who they used to be! All we did was try to piece them back together!

Azem's hands slam down on the table, the resulting impact causing snacks and tea to spill. That goes ignored in favor of yelling at Emet-Selch.

Oh! So somehow it's my fault you couldn't come up with a better solution?!

Given all you've told me, did it occur to you that maybe I couldn't respond? [ They hate to think that they left in search of answers only to perish but if things were as bad as he says it's a possibility that hangs in their mind. If things were so dire they could even see themself not summoning someone to aid them.

As for the rest, they respond by straightening up and glaring at him. They stand silently for a moment before turning and heading for the door.

They pause just before reaching the door and sucking a breath. ]

I need to talk to Elidibus and Rhea'li. [ They don't leave. Not yet. They know walking about after this would only hurt Emet-Selch further. They know him well enough to know that he's lashing out because he's hurt. ]

[ He glares at the spilt tea and fallen snacks. He had expected Azem to walk out regardless. Even though he has braced himself for it, it still hurts. ]

Fine, then. Go. Leave. I've already spent the last twelve thousand years without you; you don't need to spare my feelings.

If that's how you want this to be, then fine!

[ They yell back before storming out, slamming the door behind them. They pause on the other side, jaw and fists clenched for a moment before walking off. They want to be anywhere that isn't here so they can cool off before contacting Elidibus and Rhea'li. ]

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