KENOS INBOX

[erbe]

COMMUNION

Reaching out to Rin is like stepping into a moonlit parlor. Everything is quiet, muted, and neatly tucked away. Almost like a "lobby," of sorts to keep visitors away from the rest of what goes on in her head... and her heart. This space is cool, and placid. Much like the surface of a lake in winter as it reflects the pale glow of the celestial bodies hanging above it in the sky.

A reflection of serenity rather the true thing. A mask of elegance to hide anything that may be unsightly. Anything that may betray her.

✧ Specifics

✦ Unable to block out: Harbinger
✦ Compatible with: Iconoclast | Advocate
✦ Discord Accrual: Exalt

(CODE)

Comments

[settingup]

So now they go pittin' you against each other, huh?

[ He says like he didn't have an extremely competitive relationship with his own sibling.

It's different though when they two of them chose that for themselves, and their parents never made them feel like one was better than the other. ]

Not sayin' a little competition's bad, but you guys really did have a messed up way of goin' about it all. We never gave away Samu just 'cause I was better than him.

[ Humble. ]

[erbe]

What would be the point in keeping her? So that her talents could be wasted? She was given away because the Tohsaka line had no use for her, and as a sign of truce to another mage family whose bloodline had withered. In fact, it could have just as easily been me given away.

[settingup]

[ There's some struggle for him to get his head around this one. He's somewhere who cares deeply about something, has a passion that he's dedicated his life to, and that he wanted to keep dedicating his life to.

But at the same time if push came to shove and he had to pick one or another, he'd pick his shitty brother any day of the week. He already was, wasn't he? That's why he was here with the Zenith. ]

Magic really matters to you all more than family?

[erbe]

Yes. As mages we are researchers first and people second. We gain knowledge and pass it on to the next generation until one of use reaches the Root. I even expect my marriage to be one of convenience as my parents was.

[settingup]

[ He doesn't like that answer for a number of reasons. Maybe he's doing a little too much "if I were in that situation..." thinking right now, but it sits badly with him. ]

You're seriously gonna keep it all up now that it's all gone? There's other magic out there, ain't there? Betcha could get a lot more outta learnin' more about all of it than tyin' yourself down to just one type, and followin' all the stuffy rules that come with it.

[erbe]

...No. I cannot abandon it. Doing so would make all her suffering in vain. Given away for what? Me to leave it all behind? As if being chosen to keep the Tohsaka name wasn't some luxury compared to what she had to endure? I refuse. Sakura's pain isn't something I can just toss aside until I fix it or end it. I will make sure to prove that I was the right choice.

[...Ah. She has said too much. Not just about Sakura, but a glimpse of her own insecurity as well.]

[settingup]

[ Yeah, as dense as he can act, Atsumu's deceptively sharp when he wants to be. The whole "I'm not worthy" bit is really jumping out loud and clear to him too. He won't call her on it for now, but he they're talking through communion, and they're both Harbingers to boot. There's almost no chance Rin doesn't get the sense that something is clicking into place for him. ]

How is you makin' yourself miserable doin' anything to fix her pain?

[erbe]

It cannot be fixed. At least back in my world. She had been far too entwined with something evil that she could not come back from. Before I came to Kenos I was on my way to grant her a mercy killing before she slaughtered more people.

But in a new word? Where her body is untouched and untainted? She can be free.

[She hates how close they are. How alike they are. It was with Shirou too. Rin had somewhat resented the qualities of herself reflect in him. Wanting to save everyone. Wanting to bring about justice. But he embodied all of her childish ideals. That's why it hurt too much to look at him.

It's also why she supported him in trying to save her sister when there was still time. And now Atsumu will be privy to the emotional knot she ties herself into over Sakura.]

[settingup]

[ He's getting that. Even without the connection what she's saying is enough to give him a sense of just how fucked up the situation is. This is some magic gone wrong story, but instead of being out of a movie he watched or book he read, it's coming from the real experiences of someone he knows.

And he really is out of his depth knowing how to respond to that. ]

Great, so we get a new world up and runnin' like we're plannin' on doin' anyway. Then you don't have to go through all that crap you're talkin' about, and she'll have a fresh start.

[ The words are flippant, but he doesn't quite manage to hit that casual note in his tone, despite his attempt. ]

[erbe]

...Yeah. That's the goal, at any rate.

[Though there's something... uncertain in the air between them. Rin's doubt over Sakura's shard. Her doubt in both of the factions as she wonders if there is something more at work. The concern that even if Zenith wins their wishes may not be granted.

After all... the Holy Grail wasn't what it was meant to be either.]

[settingup]

[ He feels it. Of course he feels it, because there's no way two Harbinger Zenites wouldn't be able to hone in on even hidden emotions. The thing is that whatever it is that's causing her uncertainty right now, Atsumu selfishly doesn't want to hear it. Her wording is enough to give him a hint as to where some of that might be directed, and it's not a conversation he wants to have. It goes past her personal struggles, after all...

So he pretends that he thinks she's talking about something else, even though just like he can get a sense of what might be lurking in the back of her mind, she'll be able to tell just as easily that he's avoiding it. ]

We just gotta keep beatin' the Meris to the punch, right? No problem.

[ Easier said than done. ]

[erbe]

—Actually.

[You know, she's curious about his opinion. Especially as someone who came from a relatively normal point of view. Now that he brings of "beating Meris"...]

Who do you think the biggest threat in Meridian is?

[settingup]

Dunno honestly. I've kinda avoided goin' toe to toe with most of 'em in an actual fight.

[ Though... ]

Set's an actual god though, ain't he? And he's already gone and offed one of ours at one point, so he's takin' it real serious.

[erbe]

[Oh. The name Set brings a few complicated feelings to the surface. Mostly confusion and frustration. She doesn't understand him, and she doesn't like him.]

Mm, yeah. He seems troublesome and annoying. Quetzalcoatl is also a god, but she seems much more reasonable.

1/2

[settingup]

[ This is a very serious conversation they're having right now. They touched on some real insecurities here, and some pretty sore subject matters, but... ]

[settingup]

What the fuck?! They get two gods, and all we get is a demon?!

[erbe]

...You're surprised? Think about the nature of gods and demons. Shouldn't the division be obvious?

[settingup]

[ It's sinking in a bit, but... ]

We ain't the bad guys, are we?

[ Not that he's jumping ship just because he's the villain of the story, but damn that feels bad to be on the side naturally picked by demons. ]

[erbe]

["I am," is something that gets held back in favor of a different answer that she believes just as much.]

Think of what gods have to lose and gain. In a new world they are not omnipotent nor the beings of all creation. In a new world they would be the same as us. But if brought back to their old worlds they would still get to bask in faith and tribute given to them by their worshippers. Why would someone give that up?

[settingup]

I dunno about you, but I wouldn't say they're the same as me.

[ Not omnipotent or not, they still presumably have some degree of god power. ]

Guess that makes sense though...

[ And does at least assuage some worries. ]

[erbe]

Besides, I wouldn't call any side that Set is aligned with wholly good, ever. Even if he were to switch to ours I wouldn't consider "our" side in any way good. It's not about Evil or Not-Evil. It's about what comes out of the end goal. By returning their worlds they have more to gain than starting fresh somewhere else. Meanwhile I think that many of our worlds don't deserve to be revived from destruction. Even people on Meridian's side are trying to revive worlds that have no right to live again.

[settingup]

[ Before he can even begin to ask what her beef with Set is, he's immediately derailed by her display of being a much better Zenite than he is. ]

Kinda harsh, Teach.

[erbe]

It's the simple truth. If it wasn't, then why would they try and placate people by telling them that even if they revive their old world that was terrible to them that they don't have to return to it?

[settingup]

I don't really get why people would wanna go revivin' worlds like that in the first place, but guess it's all moot anyway.

[ Says the boy who doesn't believe it's possible. ]

[erbe]

I suppose if there is nothing else then we are done here?