[ AUDIENCE: TAICHI YAGAMI ]

[dormheads]

Comments

[inaccordant]

No. I was probably brought here in a similar manner as you.

[goalsides]

[jan give me a memory you coward unless i'm going first.]

I guess that makes sense. It would've been too easy if you guys actually have memories about that. But I had to check.

[inaccordant]

Sorry, nothing.

[but also fine wow memory

You stand before a giant crystal, inside which the silhouette of the god can be seen. From two points behind you, beams of light pierce through it.

This is only the starting point, though. You raise your hand and channel your energy into the crystal—at which point it cracks. It's working. You pour all of your magic into it, and in return, the god's own lashes back. Energy whips at you, tearing at you on the outside like a harsh wind; and inside, it feels as though something is ripping you apart from within.

You can taste blood in your mouth, rising from your throat.

"Tch..."

But you endure. You have to, until the final moment.

"Hugo!"

She calls, from behind you.

You haven't felt a hint of hesitation all this time, and you still do not. You're not afraid. However, a pang of sorrow hits you—a lamentation that there's still one person left who'd grieve for you.

There's nothing to be done about it now, though. As blood spills from your lips, your vision fades, and the last of your energy is spent, you hear the crystal shatter—

You succeeded. This world will change.

But with that, you are gone.]

[goalsides]

[...oh. wow, memshares are a mistake, and after the memory fades taichi faces hugo for a long moment as if trying to process all of that. it's...obvious, maybe, but maybe he also doesn't want it to be obvious?

god. okay. so.

so!!!

haha.]

...I...dude. [this is not even remotely intelligent to say, but he has to take a moment.] What were you...was that really the only option?

[inaccordant]

[...

well, the thing taichi mentioned before about always seeming calm? that's definitely at play here, as hugo keeps a level expression.]

Yes.

[goalsides]

[hate that for him.]

Is that the last thing you remember before waking up here? Or did you go somewhere else after that?

[sometimes other worlds have afterlives, right? look at manwol.]

[inaccordant]

That's the last thing.

[goalsides]

What were you stopping? Like...what was that god doing?

[inaccordant]

[...]

The opposite. I was trying to unseal him.

[goalsides]

[...unfamiliar.]

Why?

[inaccordant]

[he's quiet for a while, as if debating how much to say.]

... A long time ago, he became corrupted. Instead of trying to purify him, the other gods chose to seal him away, to protect the world.

But it was an imperfect solution. Even when sealed, his corruption seeped into the outside. Peace was maintained by... [for a moment, he frowns] ... dealing with the symptoms. Like that, though, nothing would ever truly get better.

[...]

I—wanted to change that. Unsealing him so that he can be purified was a risk, but... I was tired of accepting the way things were.

[goalsides]

[there's something in his expression that changes from a little confused to something more understanding. it fades to something of an agreement, like he understands exactly why hugo did that but simultaneously understanding the risk itself.]

Removing the source of the infection is the only way to save the world sometimes. Right? [wild to think about.] Was there someone who knew how to purify him?

[inaccordant]

[he nods.]

That's been handled. The tricky part, after unsealing him, is primarily that the others will have to subdue him in order to purify him.

[though that's technically an issue beyond hugo, because he fucking died for step one.]

[goalsides]

I understand. But if there's enough people working together maybe that won't be so bad. [...] The others like...a team you had?

[inaccordant]

[he's quiet again.]

... That might be putting it strongly. [...] More like... people who sympathized with what we were trying to do, I suppose.

[goalsides]

[...hm...]

How long were you working with those people? Or, I guess, how long were they around?

[inaccordant]

Not that long. A few of them I crossed paths with before for different reasons, before running into them again. The person I primarily started this with is... [he's quiet, as if trying to figure out how to word this] ... someone I also crossed paths with then.

[goalsides]

But they came back to help finish what you started even if you met them for different reasons? [he tilts his head.] Those sort of sound like allies to me, Hugo. If not friends.

...that girl you were with at least sounded like she thought you weren't just someone doing their job.

[inaccordant]

... Senia is...

[something uncomfortable flickers across her face.]

... I suppose she did say we were friends, and she's done a lot for me. That's exactly why I wished she didn't try to help in the first place.

[goalsides]

I don't know if we ever really get a choice when it comes to people who choose us as their friends. [he says, as a person who will constantly throw himself in danger and do everything he can for friends.]

Did you believe her when she said it?

[inaccordant]

Considering she knowingly ruined her own life in the process, it's hard not to.

[which is why

he wishes she fucking didn't!]

[goalsides]

[....WELL.]

...that was her choice to make though. Even if you don't think you're important enough for that, she obviously did.

[inaccordant]

... I'm aware. I'm not ungrateful.

[but compared to dying, knowing that he caused someone so much pain, even if it was mostly by her own will, is far worse.]

[goalsides]

...I just mean...[he doesn't get to elaborate on what that means, because instead hugo gets this. sorry it's long there's stuff in the middle that makes it an awkward cut.]

[inaccordant]

[...

well. there's one part that stands out to him.]

Infections?