becomeanwarrior | [Private Threads of Various Stripes]

[ He's certainly making no move to stop you. You get the sense as long as you're at least trying to answer his questions and not just, y'know, book it, he probably isn't going to do anything too forceful. ]

Her Majesty's camp and Noriko's camp. Her Majesty made it very clear when visiting the version of you I'm more familiar with that the two of them aren't aligned.

... Why would my alternate have any involvement in this, to make that clear?

*clearly does not know about the attack.*

'Her Majesty' herself came to pay them and Shian a visit and sicced one of His Majesty's creations on them when they apparently refused to leave town.

[ Matter of factly. ]

And given she has publicly been talking about looking for a certain goat-horned woman...

Edited 2023-05-17 02:28 (UTC)

... Strange. I'm not sure why She did that, exactly.

*their response seems... sincere, at least.*

As far as anyone knows, I don't know where or what Noriko aims to do. But at the same time, I don't know the fullest scope of Her plans. I do as I'm ordered to do, because the alternative is worse.

[ Coerced into being a grunt with no idea of the greater scope... blah. Here I was hoping I'd found a more credible lead... ]

And what have you been ordered to do, exactly?

Edited 2023-05-17 06:01 (UTC)

*scanning possible futures-- makes a disgusted expression*

Oh, that's definitely something I can't say out loud.

[ Makes a slightly disgusted expression right back. ]

You know, the other you told me that you might have a penchant for catastrophizing.

What -can- you tell me that doesn't immediately send you pings of 'you are going to die for this'.

This isn't me "catastrophizing"-- let me attempt to explain the process, before we move on.

You are likely aware, via my alternate, that I have a form of precognitive vision. It's only thanks to the power of the Black Rose Dragon that I have some form of control over it, enough to at least focus in on one thing and see the possibilities before me, even if they all tilt towards the negative.

But there's a "most" and "least" negative. And in a split second for you, and perhaps several minutes to hours mentally for myself, I can count and judge how many possibilities I see are "most" and "least".

Every one of the results for answering your previous question is that I would be eternally burnt and tortured until I begged for release.

[ He rubs at his temples. He is trying very hard here, Sadame. Please understand. ]

Let's say I believe that you are 100% accurately predicting this, and there isn't a layer of paranoia tilting your biases. I did say I offer protective custody. I'm sure you've analyzed that as well.

But fine, let's change the subject. How did you become a Signer of Black Rose Dragon?

Edited 2023-05-17 06:32 (UTC)

Ah.

*... takes a drink of water first, before answering*

You know of the Dark Signers, correct?

Enough to have made an extensive report about their capabilities, yes.

Wonderful. *saying that in the most tired way possible*

You're aware then, of a time when signs were appearing, that the Dark Signers would awaken. This was before I had become a Signer, but apparently, the Dragons had gotten it into their head that they should simply kill the potential hosts of the Dark Signers.

This being before we found out that untimely, vengeful deaths would cause them to awaken, of course. My Black Rose Dragon was unable to explain what possessed them to do such a thing, honestly-- but that's besides the point. *waving off that thought*

The Obsidian Lord. His Majesty. He was falsely identified as one of the potential Dark Signers, due to his nature.

...Ah, fuck.

[ I know well enough about the impulses the Dragons go through, given Kamala's own... problems. ]

So it's not just the Obsidian Lord, it's an Obsidian Lord who awoke to the powers of a Dark Signer...? and probably in full control of his 'host body', I'm going to wager.

Edited 2023-05-17 06:54 (UTC)

*waving a hand*

I said falsely identified. He isn't a Dark Signer-- not even remotely. He hadn't even been wholly awakened to his identity as the Obsidian Lord, yet.

But the Black Rose Dragon that came before mine, along with her Signer... they killed him. Striking him down in cold blood.

Even though he later revived as a result of the Obsidian Lord's power awakening within him, Her Majesty was... absolutely furious. She effectively awoke first in response to the murder of Her beloved, and did away with not only the Dragon, but also the Signer, absorbing their power into herself.

[ He folds his arms, his brow knitting. ]

...Some of this is starting to sound strangely familiar. Which I guess isn't surprising.

So Lady Suzume absorbed the power of the first Black Rose Dragon, and their Signer. And the Obsidian Lord awakened to his power and revived.

Yes.

The problem is, the false positive led to the actual Dark Signer being awakened without the Dragons' involvement. Which is why... I had to be awakened as a Signer, when a new Black Rose Dragon was born.

I'm... afraid I don't actually have any experience in a Dark Signer being awakened without the Dragons' involvement, misjudged as it was. [ He frowns. ] Judging by how you're describing it, it didn't exactly go well, I imagine.

[ He sighs. ] Pretty rotten luck, on your part, too.

Edited 2023-05-17 07:09 (UTC)

Yes.

Especially when the Dark Signer in question turned out to be my elder sister, Shiei.

*looking down, gripping the water bottle a bit tightly*

[ Onni's eyes widen a bit. ]

It was Shiei...? Shit. [ He looks off to the side after a moment. The Signer - Dark Signer conflict... it really did tear people apart. ]

...What happened between the two of you, then?

Heh. *taking another drink of the water*

I never knew what she was going through, honestly... as much as our parents neglected my problems, they ignored any problems she had, too-- she couldn't feel much of anything. She had difficulties forming attachments. And yet as the eldest, she was considered to be their "favorite". Her problems could be blanketed over, unlike me, paranoid and sleep-deprived.

*suddenly takes the bottle, and slams it against the vine wall, palm used for the force, the bit of water that was remaining splashing out and seeping into the plantlife surrounding them-- but it's obvious what they're trying to symbolize.*

When that happened, and she revived as a Dark Signer, she was... Happier. She could feel things. She felt the emotions she thought she never had. The first thing she did was sacrifice our parents-- for their neglect. For their ignorance. And I couldn't... I couldn't chastise her for that. I couldn't begin to feel like she was wrong for it, even though it was... Even though I was supposed to be the one to stop her... *letting the bottle drop as their arm goes slack, looking down*

[ ... There's a pause as he lets Sadame get their emotions out, before speaking up. ]

I never... liked the Dragons. I thought that the Dragons were forcing scenarios that could only bring more suffering, all because they thought there was a chance everything they were worried about would occur. At least in our world, there's plenty of evidence of the scars they left in their wake.

[ He clenches a fist. Sadame might even be able to see his eyes flash a very emerald green before he tapers it. ]

Things have... evened out, over time. People have healed. But I remember having to deal with the aftermath of what we experienced. I never wanted anything like that to happen again.

Edited 2023-05-18 05:19 (UTC)

Maybe here, things have evened out.

But for me... it's still going. How can fate-- how can anything really tell me to strike down my own sister? The last family I have?

She agreed with that sentiment. She asked me to join her, instead.

[ He's clearly on edge, he's still sitting, let Sadame tell their tale. ]

...All things considered, you'll forgive me if I presume this story doesn't exactly have a happy ending.

So, you joined with her, I presume?

I still wouldn't be a Signer, properly, if I did.

We struck a deal instead. I would be given the time to decide if I'm going to join her, or fight against her-- and she would be given the time to do the things she was never going to be able to do, with the problems she had. With the parents we had. Traveling the world, seeing what it had to offer.

A part of me hopes she keeps on traveling, so I never have to make that decision... *and that's why they're here. because it's harder to travel to another timeline than it is to travel around the world.*

...So that's why you're here. And why you don't know that much about what Her Majesty or Noriko are doing.

To you, this is just a way to extend the timer on that deal. So you don't have to go back and resolve it.

[ He sounds... understanding, but perhaps a bit disappointed by all of it. You can see his shoulders slump. ]

Edited 2023-05-18 05:37 (UTC)

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