The Dreamer and The Wake

[mad cunt]

'It seems the only blood I can settle for now...' Mitsukai mused, her upturned nose lightly surveying Valyon's final resting place...

'Is yours, Ukiah.'

Her old godslaying urges had re-surfaced. The original goal she had turned her back on after all these years. She had settled for a life free of such torment. To shape life, rather than end it. Now, she wasn't sure if she'd ever meet her students again.

In this form, at least.

She stepped away from Zetsumi. All others around Mitsukai faded from focus and sight. All except The Dreamer. From here on out, she'd have to strike to kill. Any less would be less than enough. But she didn't want to kill Ukiah, she wanted to dance with him. Not like the poor dance of Ankuko and Prayer. But a warrior's dance. A measure of worth and respect.

And of true strength.


OOC: The battlefield is up to you, I guess.

[Morpheaus]

I'll edit this with a post after I return from running some errands. Good luck to you, Beau.

[mad cunt]

Good luck to you too, Rick :]

[Morpheaus]

Ukiah witnessed Valyon's death with more than eyes alone. Magic changed, becoming wilder and less focused without Valyon's will. And in many places, Valyon's old works began to fade. He'd done many things. Some terrible and some good. And everything he touched bore some lasting impression of him.

“He was wrong about one thing. I've seen this moment a thousand times. I will continue to see it,” he said, staring down at Valyon's corpse. “He'd have made a fine stage actor...”

Shifting his attention to the young woman standing only a few yards away, Ukiah offered her a blank stare. She'd grown up so quickly, as people tend to do. It didn't surprise him in the least to find her thoughts filled with the confidence one attains from a life time of harsh experiences tempered by brief flares of happiness. He still remembered the way she looked the first time he saw her. Despite the hunger in her eyes, he still glimpsed a spark of gladness. The sign of someone thankful to be alive and eager to move forward.

You were the only one that ever saw me as a god, Mitsukai. A high honor, considering the lofty realms you've tread and the company you've kept. I am no god, though. I'm just playing my part...

He smiled at her then and raised his right hand. From his palm a pale light flicked for an instant, bathing Mitsukai in it's soft yellow glow. The light receded quickly, leaving the pair of them standing beside a modest sized hearth with a wooded mantel and a small fire in its heart.

“This is my home, or as close an approximation as I can manage. I sometimes have trouble accommodating different perspectives.” He motioned to a small table, upon which rested several books of various size. “They're representations of my memories. All of them are.”

He grinned like a proud child, as the light in the room brightened to reveal a vast library. Countless shelves stretched on, far as the eye could see, each stuffed haphazardly with an assortment of mismatched books in various states of wear and tear. Not far off, an open doorway led into a chamber with many marble pillars supporting various staircases leading off in an impossible number of directions, some of which didn't quite make sense after a second look.

“Welcome, my dear. We shall have one more match, but this time it will be honorable. No deaths today. This place is the only structure which exists within the Whiteness, it will accommodate our needs very well.”

In a fluid motion, Dreamer flew from the sheath with an echoing ringing. Ukiah smiled again and leapt at Mitsukai, spinning the snow white blade in a wide feint to her head.

[mad cunt]

'You knew Valyon better than I did... but I think he was wrong about a lot of things.'

Call it the infinite space of age and wisdom that divided her from them, but Mitsukai did not feel pertinent to the adage. Perhaps another foolish step on the broken, winding path that she tread. Perhaps not.

Greeted by the warmth of Ukiah's abode, Mitsukai stared distantly at the vast consortium of the God's thoughts and memories, in physical style. It were as if desire itself had also achieved mass and form... she could feel it, what could only be described as a... dense longing:
To become but another addition to The Dreamer's prestigious collection.

“Welcome, my dear. We shall have one more match, but this time it will be honorable. No deaths today. This place is the only structure which exists within the Whiteness, it will accommodate our needs very well.”

At that, Ukiah leapt forth, head-on at Mitsukai. Her hairs stood on end, eyes widening to impossible degrees as information flooded her transient mind independent of time and fear. The blade...

Peculiar angle.
Calculated sweep.

With a snap of her heel she targeted the flat face of Dreamer and planted it into the ground with her bare foot. Then, utilizing the rotational momentum, launched herself forward and directed the opposing shin at Ukiah's temple.

OOC: Let's build this up, nice and slow.

[Morpheaus]

Dreamer's milk white blade slipped into the marble floor like a bird's wings cutting the air. Mitsukai's counter-attack was an earnest one, but effective nonetheless. Dropping into an open stance, Ukiah bent at the waist, extending his body over his knee and slipping below Mitsukai's leg in one graceful motion. He came up outside her guard, holding Dreamer in a basic guard position as he pushed off her shoulder to gain some distance.

“Men with power tend to lose perspective. When you stand on high to look down on the world, you will often find it difficult to see the finer details. Valyon's pride and zeal blinded him to many things. It should be a lesson to us both. Might does not make right.”

As he spoke, Ukiah slowly began to circle. He stepped behind the set of chairs, blocking the glowing warmth of the fire. The brief movement threw him into an eerie silhouette, heavy shadows adding to the length of his face. A series of glyphs flashed within his retina before another step brought him back into normal lighting.

“Forgive me,” he pleaded. “I so rarely have companionship. I do tend to drone on...Old dogs and new tricks, as humans say.”

Feigning a forward lunge, Ukiah tossed his head slightly, while subtly drawing the elbow of his weapon-hand into his ribs. It was a well practiced feint, meant to bait Mitsukai into reacting reflexively.

[Agreed]

[mad cunt]

Rolling with Ukiah's weight, the distance between the two grew just as quickly as it had contracted. Mitsukai came into a low, mantis-like stance, but with her arms totally contradicting the form; tightly curled just in line with the breast.

After a brief spiel, Ukiah went with the offensive yet again, lunging head-on. Again Mitsukai's body took over. She had later than sooner realised his first strike wouldn't have actually made contact. This was another direct and heavy approach; was the plan to feign again?

Her extended leg swept back in an axe-like sliding motion, and with the simultaneous forward thrust of her arms Mitsukai glided in reverse along the marble floor, as effortless as a figure skater, the gentle wave of force barely buffeting against Ukiah's oncoming frame and raven tresses.

'Not at all... the civil conversation elevates the conflict beyond a mere... dance of savagery,' Mitsukai jested, her suddenly wolf-like teeth glistening in the light shadow cast by her animalistic attire.

An old dog, and a creature of the pack.

The pack...

No longer a thing of dreams, but an actual reality. Something she found difficult to believe at times. Why, the thought begged to question where The Dreamer found true substance; in reality or in the dream? Mitsukai couldn't help but wonder if the answer was shelved somewhere in this great library.

She didn't want to break anything. But she'd have to soon. Her smile went wry.

OOC: Yeah... just... didn't feel it was right to counter just yet, haha.

[Morpheaus]

“It's easy to descend into savagery,” Ukiah spoke the last word in a disdainful whisper. For him, the word carried far too much meaning. He'd seen so many cultures and individuals descend into depths of depravity so deep that the very fabric of Dreams had been forced to weave new and more perversely terrible nightmares to plague their sleep.

“It scares me sometimes, how freely individuals will impose their will upon one another. You know, when I first took this form, I personified one of the sincerest desires in all existence. Life is exhausting and often bleak, and people have cried out for ages to be saved. Everyone just wants someone strong enough to come along, right all the wrongs, light the way, and cast aside injustice...”

As was his tendency, Ukiah continued to their lethal dance all through his oration. A feint here, a probing stab with Dreamer, a quick sidestep, all thoughtlessly designed to maneuver Mitsukai into opening her defenses. But experience had given her a keen eye and a half-hearted effort wouldn't break her stride.

Leaping backwards in a sudden flurry of motion, Ukiah somersaulted at the highest point of his jump and snapped out a kick with his left foot. His heel slammed into one of the towering bookshelves, sending the hulking mass of wood and worn memories straight down upon Mitsukai's fur clad shoulders.

The theatric quality of crushing her beneath the weight of his memories made him shudder with suppressed laughter. It was a strange reaction for him; nonetheless, a very refreshing one. Still, it wouldn't due for her to catch him in such a compromising position. His sense of humor tended to be vexing at best.

Swinging Dreamer horizontally, he sent out two sky blue crescents. Spinning end over end, the two blades roared in the booming voice of a tornado before colliding in mid-air directly above the fallen shelf. A single thunderous crack echoed through the library, followed by a much less dramatic clatter of loose pages falling all around.

She wouldn't be undone. Not by such sub-par attacks. And Ukiah continued to speak, as if the two of them were simply sitting at the fire, enjoying a comfortable evening conversation between old friends.

“But heroes aren't forever. Or at least, they aren't wanted forever. I found that no matter how many wrongs I righted, the very people I aided eventually assumed the role of oppressor. It's easy, I suppose. After all, the power to overcome can quickly be molded into the power to dominate. And so the cycle continues. You can be a savior, but you can't make people change. People have to want to change, all at once and for the benefit of everyone. No singular power, even mine, can make that happen. But to my lasting regret...I didn't understand until far too many mistakes had been made...At first it was altruism which motivated my actions and then, like Valyon, it was pride."

Glancing down at the pages falling to the floor, Ukiah caught sight of a page reflecting the memories playing through his thoughts. It was an image of himself, hand locked upon a young Mitsukai's throat and grinning with confidence. It was the memory of their first encounter. "I was wrong..."

[By the way, Beau. Don't feel that because something I post is lengthy that I expect the same from you. I suspect that for either of us to fully enjoy this, we'll both have to be willing to accommodate one another's moods. I pretty much just work with what I'm feeling at the time.]

[mad cunt]

OOC: Totally, it's the same for me. Lately my writing hasn't felt suitable for roleplay... so apologies if you've been waiting on me. I'll try to make a post today.

[mad cunt]

frustration

[Morpheaus]

Originally Posted by mad cunt

frustration

You're too young to be so stressed. Relax. We're doing this for our mutual satisfaction, so there isn't really a time frame to work within.

Besides, the faster this ends, the faster I vacate the forums.

[mad cunt]

OOC: I'll take my time, then. ;]

In the midst of the destruction, stood Mitsukai; hunched slightly, steel-like hands blackened in protection. Chips of wood and soot were shaken from her shoulders, falling to her feet. As her back straightened and her arms fell to her side, a veil of pages concealed her visage; a storm of dust and paper picking up around her.

'There are those who cry for salvation, yes, but then there are those who seek power, control, because they fear that it would be held against them. I should know. I feared my weakness, I feared the Omniverse. It's what drives the cycle of oppression.'

The pagestorm grew in intensity, imbued with energy, criss-crossing, crackling in arcs and sparks. Then suddenly the pages shot off in all directions, pinpricks of laser light that would cut cleanly through flesh like warm butter.

'But I want to know... is it so wrong? Or are we asking too much?'

[Morpheaus]

'But I want to know... is it so wrong? Or are we asking too much?'

“No living, thinking being should live in fear. It's a terrible thing...to live in fear.”

The deadly squall of energized pages cut a deadly swath through the surrounding library, biting deep into timeless leather bindings, wood, and stone alike, filling the air with the pungent stench of ozone. Ukiah suppressed a wince, glancing away from a hand crafted silk banner which crumbled to the floor like confetti in the aftermath of Mitsukai's attack.

“But fear is as much a part of life as love or joy. Overcoming fear is something each mortal is tasked with. Sadly, the methodology of choice is dominance. Is that a fair price?”

With an upraised right hand, Ukiah casually swatted aside a handful of pages and made a fist. Clenching tightly, a sunburst of blue light spread outward from his fist, rippling outward in sharp wisps of heat. It took less than an instant for glowing blue wisps to incinerate the contents of the library, leaving behind dunes of still glowing soot. The wash of heat had erupted with such pressure the doors had splintered outward in a flare of kindled slivers, revealing an absurdly large library, complete with a collection easily dwarfing the now charred remains of the first library.

“I find it curious that the only way to overcome fear, is to defeat it. Sometimes, you just have to learn to live with fear, rather than within or without it.”

[mad cunt]

Mitsukai dropped to the floor, the wave of incandescent heat washing over her shield of beastskin garb. It was singed to tatters in the blue wake. Rising a second time, she unclenched a concealed page in her hand and allowed it to fall to her feet in realisation of the library's size and greatness.

The piece of paper was blank; the only one left in this room.

'Well I'm glad we're on the same page then,' she half-joked.

This room was only one small fraction of Ukiah's entire being. Was this her own little section of the library? Is that why he brought her here? If so, she was glad to see it in this state. Mitsukai would write better memories for the two. She started by hefting the bulky coil from her neck; which had been offset by the ruin of the garb it was once attatched to.

A light sigh escaped her, her whole body seemed to limber.

'This neckpiece... I've been wearing it ever since I returned from my year-long meditation. It's a rare super-compressed neckpiece, whoever made it folded the steel an innumerable number of times. It weighs roughly the same as my homeplanet. I guess I felt the need to bear the world's weight on my shoulders...'

She ascended to Ukiah's height.

'Excuse the puns.'

This is where they'd push the limits of physical combat. Just like the page from before, she let the coil fall from her hand. In realtime its contained mass would utterly demolish this and a few surrounding rooms before it even hit the ground. But now it just hung there leisurely in open space. The space of a moment.

Pouncing, two sickle-like apendages of energy materialised in Mitsukai's hands, and bore upon Ukiah in an upward sweep; like a pair of open fangs.

[Morpheaus]

Mitsukai's speed was such that the space around her fractured like shattering glass, literally collapsing itself before righting itself in the wake of her assault upon Ukiah. He met the attack with equal velocity. The combined force of their attacks shook the walls, splashing still smoldering ash through the air, even while fissures stretched across the walls and ceiling, buffeting both fighters with a fresh hail of falling stone.

Ribbons of frayed cloth fell from Ukiah's chest where Mitsukai's blades had touched, leaving wicked red welts in his bronze skin.

“Gods and time have left less of a mark...” A cheerful smile spread across his face, matched by an equally warm tone. He admired her work, even as the redness of the welts paled and vanished. “I suppose there was some reason I wore all that armor before.”

Rough vellum snared Mitsukai, engulfing her head in its thick, oily embrace, oozing downward to cover her shoulders like a macabre shawl out of some nightmare. The page she'd released only seconds before clung to her like a second skin, gaining in both mass and size while various images played played over its nebulous surface. They were memories, of course; images of people and places shared by both Mitsukai and Ukiah, although terribly and absurdly twisted by the now amorphous page.

“There's not much left to be had from this section, my dear,” he said, grabbing Mitsukai's wrists with hands strong enough to rend stars. “Perhaps now would be an appropriate time for a tour...”

An improbable gale began to form around them, driven by Ukiah's dizzying spin, drawings stone and soot into a great vortex. Soon a gray hurricane spun around the two, building upon Ukiah's motion as he twirled Mitsukai through the air. At the highest point of the spin, he through her upward, holding tightly to her wrists and allowing her body to smash through the already crumbling ceiling. The momentum sent them hurtling through several levels of glossy white marble.

“This is the treasury...No, too fast. We've already entered the armory and now the gallery...Soon you'll take us into the-” he paused mid-flight and released her as he said the words. “Actually, I can't say for sure where we'll stop. This place is fairly mercurial, unless I impose consistency upon it. But that's no fun for either of us...”

A cacophony echoed through the great pit which now extended high above his head. The sounds of marble and various other items being pulverized. Glancing first down then up, Ukiah shook his head at the great pit running through his home. In retrospect, his choice of maneuvers now seemed ill-considered. With a resigned shrug, he turned and chased after Mitsukai, accepting that this would probably be trivial damage compared to whatever came next.