maskeddarkness | Trial of Trials : Act 2

There's something uneasy that can be felt in the city, and seemingly no end to the rumors springing up in the wake of the downtown explosion that leveled BOARD's headquarters. Stories of an odd sickness where the afflicted suddenly winds up anemic, their blood levels dangerously low, despite feeling fine that morning have already taken root, others of strange animals seen roaming at night, and horrible screams and gunshots in one of the parking garages....

The space where the ill-fated headquarters lays silent, an empty patch of dirt and gravel that seemed to attract those drawn to stories and rumors. Police have already had to shoo away opportunists with metal detectors, hoping to find something interesting in the impressively quickly cleared wreckage, and others have reported something that just feels... wrong, when they walk by the site. The ghosts of those who hadn't made it out of the collapse? Or something else? Noone can really put a finger on it to explain.

And meanwhile, under the cover of shadows, things unknown to those who still walk in the light continue to move. Whispers of the rogue mage and a treasure trove of information, of upsets in the vampire hierarchy, and sworn revenge on the mages who had used one of their own for their gain.

And deep in a hidden lab, BOARD's remains and allies continue to work, twisting all they can get their hands on to create the perfect weapon; made of the very things they wish to cleanse from the world. The loss of the incapacitated vampire elder was only a small one, with how much they had already extracted and drawn from it. And if the rumors of their knowledge being in the hands of their enemies were true? They would just have to speed up their projected timeline. Or simply slow down that of the world. After all, they were mages. Reality bended to their will, not that of those who opposed them....

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"Whatever is left was strong enough to survive what would normally cleanse those victims of supernatural death from any influences that might have tainted them," Tachibana explained with a slow exhale. "Not something that any of your kind or kin would want to experience."

He avoided looking over, a note of something much like regret in his tone.

...hm. That's... probably not good. "Hm. I guess I'll have to be extra careful!" It's not going to scare him off, definitely. If anything, that makes him more determined to help whatever's left find peace. Or... depending on who's there, make sure they don't hurt anyone.

"...Can you tell me what that was, at least?" Seriously please give him some hints here.

Another, uncomfortably long pause. "A Mage who had become so lost in his power that he would alter others of his kind to further it. One of many...."

.....Yeah. Not good is the right term for it. "Is that who you think your friend took care of before?"

"With how far down he was... it was easier for me to reach him," Tachibana confirmed uncomfortably.

"...Ah." Also not good! This entire thing seems very not good. "Are you ok?"

That got a huff of something bordering bitter amusement from the Mage. "I didn't have to go near him. I just blasted downward, through everything," he half shrugged, still not looking over. "It's not exactly a delicate thing."

"That doesn't really change my question..." But if Tachibana doesn't want to answer it, he doesn't have to.

"You don't need to concern yourself with me. Less than two weeks ago I would have simply attacked you rather than see you as a person." It's a cold rebuff, defensive more than anything else.

"But you didn't!" See, this shows you've improved! He has faith in you.

The Mage frowned in an almost exasperated way. "Why is it you people are so quick to try and forgive and befriend," he half muttered under his breath. "You'll get yourselves into more trouble that way...."

Ryoji smiles, laughing a little. "It's a lot nicer going through life being friendly, though!" he says cheerfully- and given his specific circumstances, he's very much set on enjoying his life while he has it.

"There's a difference between being friendly and trying to make friends with people who can be dangerous."

"Is there?" Ryoji sure doesn't think so. "Lots of the people we run across can be dangerous. That's not a reason not to give them a chance, unless they're also hostile." And even then sometimes Ryoji will give them a chance.

"...and when you know someone has been hostile?" He was fairly sure Ryoji knew what, if not who he was. And Mages were not exactly known for kindness, forgiveness, or anything else positive, when it came to non or former humans...

Ryoji just smiles. "Everyone can change. It would be worse not to give them the chance. And I can take care of myself." He looks young, and he is, but he's been a Sin-Eater for nearly ten years now. He's got more power than most people would expect.

The man falls quiet again. "...I don't know if I'll ever understand what it is that lets people like you still have that optimism," he admitted, finally looking over again. "The other young man in your position... had a similar outlook, despite the end his life had reached. It took very little for my heart to harden. And something very extreme for me to even admit to myself even the possibility that the path I chose was the wrong one."

There's another pause before a small, faint and rueful smile touches his lips. "Far stronger than I ever was, all of you."

Ryoji smiles. "We all have different experiences that take us different places... and you could say something extreme happened to me that led me down my path, too." Dying when you're ten is pretty extreme. ...Dying at all is pretty extreme. "And there's definitely a strength in realizing you may have been wrong in the past."

Trial of Trials : Act 2

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