[ we're just jumping into it, here - somehow, you're in the memory fuckhouse, and there's a memory playing over the glass, vibrant and loud. if you can, watch the videoclips to go with it because the voice acting does really make it so much better.
The ship is deathly quiet.
You have good hearing - so much that sometimes it hurts to stand in the middle of a crowd of people. You have never heard this ship, or any of the Xianzhou ships, fall this silent. A bad omen.
You have a good sense of smell, too. You could smell the borisin that crept their way onto the ship like vermin, digging their claws into the metal and peeling it away to release their leader. There was not much you could do. You told Feixiao. You led the young ones, too young, the children with swords and no dreams of anything but serving in battle - you led them to the right conclusion, and you hate yourself for it, but what don't you hate yourself for? That doesn't matter. What does matter is you've laid the groundwork. They will do the rest. Your General, and the future you both want.
Ah, right. Your good sense of smell. You can't smell anything other than blood. It's a good thing you lost most of your taste a long time ago. You imagine the taste of iron would be unbearable, here on the ground in this back alley.
You can't breathe right. It hurts so badly - you've never been very good at suppressing pain, and it blares like the loudest of alarms in your heart. You're a healer, you know what the body's limits are, and you know you're stretching them. You know you don't have long.
You look up at the hulking beast in front of you. He looks a little like you - not you, but your species. He's not. Hoolay is a borisin, but somehow, they've managed to all hide their true visages. He grins down at you, teeth and claws stained red with blood. The blood on his claws is yours, but you don't want to think about why his teeth are stained.
"Secrets are a weapon that a hunter cannot live without," Hoolay is saying. "Those who have no secrets are no more than prey, cut open and waiting for death."
You drag in a breath. Choke on it a little.
"What you’re saying is, in your eyes, I am not more than prey that has exhausted all of its secrets, and is simply awaiting its death?" You ask, staring down at the floor rather than Hoolay. Already, there's darkness curling at the edges of your sight, and you know that isn't because you're dying. A side effect.
"Do you think you have some other escape route? Jiaoqiu, I have already peeled back your disguises and defenses layer by layer. I know all the secrets that you and your general have buried so deep," Hoolay growls, voice amused. He thinks he knows. You told him nothing that would hurt your people. You told him things that could sound like secrets, but weren't. That is what you're good for - a clever tongue, quick to lie and persuade. It's all you're good for.
Well. There's one other thing.
"But you have told me all of your secrets too, Warhead," You murmur, eyes still on the floor. Not out of any sense of submissiveness. You simply don't want the borisin to be the last thing you see.
Hoolay laughs. "But you will never have a chance to use them. You will be buried with them right here. Although, you are a fortunate one... After all, you will avoid having to see the tragic future that awaits your general. I'm sure she understands her fate far better than you ever will. One day on the battlefield, she will be overpowered by her ever-intensifying Moon Rage, and finally be torn apart by her own fury and transformation."
He talks too much, you think. But that's alright. That's what you want. You want time. The longer he is here, gloating over you, the longer your General has time to come up with a plan.
"Not even your God can save her from this fate. Although... THEY can lead her to liberation. And the only way to save her is here, in my hands."
Another bloody grin. You huff, and cough, just a little.
"Are you the healer or am I? Are you really that certain of your own judgement?" You ask, idly. Your voice is starting to fail you. It feels like gravel, like trying to enunciate around marbles in your mouth. Gingerly, you rest a hand on your torso, where the worst of the claw wounds are, and turn your head a little, looking out over the wall. Past Hoolay. To the sky, to the world outside this alley, to the sister-ship of your people. You look at the sky.
"I must leave, foxian," Hoolay says, shifting his weight. "But before I go, you know what I must do, don't you?"
And weakly, you reply: "Drink bloodwine... I hear it is a borisin custom to kill prisoners and drink their blood before battle to stir up their madness."
"You really did put hard work into researching us. It is a shame that this is where your journey ends."
And he moves forward. You flinch, knowing what's coming, but it's okay, it's alright, this is your plan. He's right, you did do your research. You knew, since telling Moze to run in the prison, that this might be the outcome, and you are at peace. It's going to hurt, though.
And it does. Hoolay rips into you. Tears flesh from your neck, your torso, like a wild animal. Frenzied, with razor sharp teeth and claws that dig into your arms to keep you still, to stop you from reflexively trying to get away. You can't help yourself - it hurts, you're being mauled, and you cry out, voice ragged and raw, breaking on your screams. Nobody can hear you. Nobody comes to help you.
Hoolay eats and drinks his fill, and tosses you to the ground, wiping his mouth with the back of his sleeve. He must figure there's no point to killing you outright, or perhaps he doesn't even realize you're still alive. He's driven mad by the smell of blood, the taste of blood, and he lets out a roar of laughter before bounding off towards battle - towards Feixiao, your General.
You are left alone, in an alleyway full of bodies.
Clinically, you know you're seconds from death. You can almost see the autopsy report. Bite wounds that extend over a large area, from the patient's neck to his chest. Fractured clavicle. Toxins in the wounds caused flesh to decay and atrophy. Disturbed blood circulation, massive internal bleeding, neurological atrophy, optic neuropathy. Damage to the liver and kidney, impaired lymphatic and immune system. The only part of that report that was Hoolay's fault are the bites, though. The rest was your own doing.
You smile, weakly, opening your eyes to look at the sky one more time.
Enjoy the taste of my fresh blood... Hoolay. Unfortunately, I am not a man without secrets. I still have one little secret hidden up my sleeve.
Your vision is nearly gone. The sky is a smear of pristine blue.
Tumbledust... I drank it a while ago, and the poison is already flowing through my veins. Sooner or later, you will begin to feel the effects. If the most lethal poison known to this world is able to save innocent lives... then it can also be called a great medicine.
You close your eyes for the last time.
I will do my best to cure you... Feixiao, I kept my promise. At the cost of this insignificant life. Bring victory to the Yaoqing.
this is a testament to how he's been, to how she's known jiaoqiu, using his wiles to bring down those who need to be brought down even if it's to his detriment, or especially because he thinks so little of himself.
she hates the scene that plays out before her, for more than one reason. ]
That is so like you.
[ her voice is soft, and there is a waver to it that there usually isn't. ]
[ she is usually gentler or more playful when offering her criticisms, but she thinks jiaoqiu knows how she feels about him enough. she's never shied away from him before, and she won't start now.
she sighs softly. ]
I don't think there's much that would or could stop you except for yourself.
[ she frowns at him. this is the second time she's frowned at someone this whole game for something they've said or done outside of listening to a horrible autopsy. ]
Aren't you your general's right-hand man? I doubt they'd just leave you. They knew you were in trouble.
[ help absolutely destroyed by her frowning noooooo ]
I am, but the ship was being attacked. [ stupid fox who doesn't think the trailblazer and moze aren't specifically looking for him, ] Moze knew where I was, at least.
[ she continues her pleading face when the mirrors change.
the reality is there is not much of a future left for humanity anymore, at least not for elysia's era. herrscher after herrscher, honkai's most powerful manifestation which made vessels out of humans who could adapt to honkai exposure, have wiped out most of earth's civilization. the twelfth herrscher corrupted and hacked the MOTHs' headquarters, one of the last organizations that stood against the honkai, launching nuclear warheads at the last three cities before it was finally sealed.
elysia knew after this devastation that humanity needed hope in the future, and she knew she had to try to do something even if she wouldn't know it would work. what humanity needed more than anything was hope, more than a victory, and she would try to give them both in a fashion.
she would have one final banquet. she would put on makeup for the first and last time in her life, and she would invite her friends to see her end.
she would lie to the entire world, and the truth about her would be wiped from any record that would make it to then next era. to her era, to the few who remained alive outside her circle, she would be revealed as the thirteenth herrscher, and there would be a "crusade" against her.
but before she'd go on her final stage, she would have some of her last conversations (4:30:24 to 4:38:37).
this is only slightly embarrassing after all the conversations they've had. ]
Shouldn't the protagonist of a story be able to save the world she loves? I wanted them to have any chance at a future at all.
You wanted the same for Feixiao and the rest. A cure for the people you loved, even if it meant your life. As long as the people I love most remember me, that's celebration enough.
[ elysia does love everyone, but she does not love them all the same. ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
w3, MONDAY
and then the room is silent. ]
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this is a testament to how he's been, to how she's known jiaoqiu, using his wiles to bring down those who need to be brought down even if it's to his detriment, or especially because he thinks so little of himself.
she hates the scene that plays out before her, for more than one reason. ]
That is so like you.
[ her voice is soft, and there is a waver to it that there usually isn't. ]
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Ah, I can't tell if that's a compliment or an insult.
[ he says, gently, with a smile. the waver makes his heart hurt, though. ]
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[ leave it to elysia to sound even a little pouty when she's serious, but she's serious enough to actually admit it's also an insult. ]
It's all thing the things I like and can't stand about you at the same time. Your vision....
[ she leaves the question hanging. ]
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as for the question, there's a tension in his spine that he can't quite get rid of. his jaw works. and then: ]
Mostly gone. [ clinical. ] But it does not stop me much.
[ he's not useless. he can still serve a function. ]
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she sighs softly. ]
I don't think there's much that would or could stop you except for yourself.
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You're not entirely wrong. [ a half smile. ] My point is that you don't need to treat me any differently.
[ please don't treat him any differently. ]
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Why would I when you're as soft as ever? Do you know what you're going to do if or when you're returned?
[ he seemed in a slightly dire state. ]
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... No. I haven't much thought about it. If I return to that moment, I may very well die again. I don't know if anybody was set to find me.
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Aren't you your general's right-hand man? I doubt they'd just leave you. They knew you were in trouble.
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I am, but the ship was being attacked. [ stupid fox who doesn't think the trailblazer and moze aren't specifically looking for him, ] Moze knew where I was, at least.
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[ she sounds so certain. ]
Or you can ask to be sent back to where they are.
[ she wants to shake him. ]
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[ he says, absently. ]
I suppose I can see what my options are. [ ... ] For now, it doesn't matter so much.
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[ 🥺 ]
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[ pats her hand gently.
also give me a mem back ]
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elysia knew after this devastation that humanity needed hope in the future, and she knew she had to try to do something even if she wouldn't know it would work. what humanity needed more than anything was hope, more than a victory, and she would try to give them both in a fashion.
she would have one final banquet. she would put on makeup for the first and last time in her life, and she would invite her friends to see her end.
she would lie to the entire world, and the truth about her would be wiped from any record that would make it to then next era. to her era, to the few who remained alive outside her circle, she would be revealed as the thirteenth herrscher, and there would be a "crusade" against her.
but before she'd go on her final stage, she would have some of her last conversations (4:30:24 to 4:38:37).
this is only slightly embarrassing after all the conversations they've had. ]
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Hmm. We're both like this, are we? [ slightly teasing, to cover up how sad it makes him to know that her sacrifice was this big. ]
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[ it's half teasing back, but her smile is a fraction dimmer. ]
Like attracts like, huh? I don't think either of us regret our choices, but... I do wish for your story to have a more beautiful ending.
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I'd prefer for yours to be celebrated. [ ... ] I feel as though you sacrificed so much more.
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You wanted the same for Feixiao and the rest. A cure for the people you loved, even if it meant your life. As long as the people I love most remember me, that's celebration enough.
[ elysia does love everyone, but she does not love them all the same. ]