zerotohiro | Some Legends Are Told, Some Turn To Dust Or To Gold [CEREALIA INBOX]

[Mikleo nods.]

Longer than that by three months, in my case. I might be the furthest along out of those from my world right now. And, yeah, I had to go through the PowerPoint and ViViD all over again. Very much like how I first came here, but the only difference is that I could log out immediately.

Which means they saved your data from before. Like sitting through the load screen of a video game but being able to activate your save file right away. What's the last thing you remember from your world?

[There's an unmistakable flash of pain that cuts across Mikleo's expression at the question. It's not an unexpected question, and yet....]

I....

[He has to talk about it, though. It's the only way he's going to be able to get used to living a long time without Sorey. At least it's temporary and not permanent like it would've been. So...Mikleo takes a deep breath.]

I was walking back with the others away from where Sorey's sleeping. [The water seraph knows that Hiro won't be satisfied with that answer, so he'll elaborate.] He's fused with Maotelus to purify him so that Maotelus' blessing can be restored to the continent. At the same time, Sorey's working to increase the humans' ability to naturally perceive seraphim, which means that all of his senses will be cut off. Until the purification is complete, he'll be asleep. The process could take centuries.

[That's…not good. He doesn't want to hurt his friend by asking questions but there's so much he suddenly doesn't understand. And if these things are related to why his mask is bleeding, he needs to know.

But it's hard to ignore the fact that his own expression is starting to appear disheartened. Sorey…this isn't what Sorey had told him at all.]

Mikleo…["Who's Maotelus?" He can guess he's a Hellion or something based on the context. He knows Sorey works to purify people and seraphs and protect the lands and that's why the seraphs hang out in his chest, but this is a new name. Maotelus. Maotelus…Maotelus' blessing. He must have been a seraph of some sort, though the whole continent? He was a Lord of the Land then that was destroying their world, maybe. He's silent through this whole process of leaps and bounds while he puzzles it out, and the fact that Sorey's fused with a seraph means…it's a weird form of armatization? He knows the Shepherd is powerful but…centuries?]

…what happens if he…[Even he's not callous enough to ask, though he's sure Mikleo knows where he's going with it. "What happens if he doesn't wake up?" He's taking a few slow, deep breaths to really let that sit.] Seraphs live for centuries, don't they? You told me that when we first met, that seraphs live for a long time and how their aging works. Sorey will be the same when he wakes up because he's part-seraph now or something right?

[Mikleo doesn't answer the unfinished question. He can't think about that. The seraph knows full well that doubts like that will only lead him down to the path of becoming a hellion. He never, ever wants Sorey to wake up to learn he became a dragon. It's a promise he's made to himself, one he's determined to keep.

He shakes his head.]

Not entirely. When it's all said and done, Sorey will most likely come out of it as a full fledged seraph. The human body simply won't last long enough. In fact...when he first became a Shepherd and tried to help Alisha hear us, he had to stop breathing in order to cut off his senses of smell and taste.

[The water seraph remembers telling Hiro about seraphic rebirth, so the teenager can tell how one thing will lead to another in rapid succession.

He pauses again before continuing.]

Sorey told me that he'd be doing this some time before that happened. I said that I'd wait for him, no matter how long it took.

[His eyes show steely determination to keep that promise to his friend. Sorey's more than worth the wait.]

[That's horrifying. This is all very much horrifying and he doesn't say anything else as he thinks about that. Right. Cutting off all senses and knowing what he knows about the longevity of the human body...]

...if he becomes a seraph...then the two of you can be together fore--a long time. ["Forever", he almost says.] He's safe, isn't he? While this is happening...he'll be safe. What'd Sorey say when you told him after you got back?

[Mikleo nods at that first part. Their parting won't be because of Sorey's human lifespan in that situation. Something he's grateful for, as saying goodbye to his best friend would've been the hardest thing he'd ever do in his life.]

He's safe, don't worry. I put a stronger seal on the entrances to Camlann—where he's sleeping.

[His free hand falls to rest on his hip.]

Sorey wasn't exactly surprised. He was just happy to see me back. [Mikleo shakes his head slightly, a tiny affectionate smile appearing without his knowing.] He never told me that would happen back home, but he's been taking this as an opportunity to have more time with us.

Good. [The word is sharp and quick and after that he seems to relax a little bit. Hearing that Sorey didn't tell them doesn't surprise him, but he smiles slightly even if it's a little crooked.]

Yeah. I think I know how he feels. …take all the time you can with him, dude. It'll be worth it even knowing what's going to happen when we get off this planet. [It's said without much thought and he looks away back at the mask.] Let's see what Baymax comes up with. I scanned someone else's mask earlier this week but it had fingerprints on it. This might yield different results.

[Mikleo agrees with the sentiment. It's best not to dwell on how neither of them might remember all that's happened here.]

Possibly. Just let me know what I need to do.

Just hold still and let Baymax do all the work. [Baymax waddles closer to scan the mask, getting used to this now. The results are soon displayed on Baymax's stomach and…it's still nothing.]

This is exactly what happened with Adelina's mask, too. And when you touch it the blood's not there, is it?

[So...then it must not be blood that's on the surface of the mask, at the very least. He nods at Hiro's question.]

Right. It doesn't feel like blood or even paint. It's almost like it's part of the mask itself.

Freaky, isn't it? [He chews on his lip in thought.] I know a couple of other people who have this mask, but...the correlation doesn't make sense when we throw you in the mix. It also doesn't make sense since others with similar situations didn't receive the same mask.

[Mikleo looks interested in that.]

What's their correlation?

[...Why does he have the feeling that he's not going to like what he hears?]

It's not good, I can tell you that. [He's worried about telling him, actually.] …Mikleo, I need you to explain something. What exactly happened while Sorey fused with Maotelus?

[Mikleo tilts his head in mild confusion. However, he humors Hiro. It's obviously important.]

Well, Maotelus had been forcibly fused with the Lord of Calamity, and Maotelus' vessel was the continent if Glenwood itself. Not only had Maotelus become very corrupt due to the sheer amount of malevolence generated by the Lord of Calamity, but so had the land itself. In order to separate the two, Sorey needed to use the four seraphim he contracted with to sever their ties before dealing the final blow to the Lord.

In theory, we should've died, since we had to convert our forms into pure energy and have Sorey fire us into their body. However, since Sorey retained his purity as our vessel, we were able to survive and eventually escape after he killed the Lord of Calamity.

[They got lucky. Very lucky.]

Once he fused with Maotelus, he was shrouded in a bright light, with a flowing stream into the sky.

["Sorey needed to use the four seraphim he contracted with to sever their ties before dealing the final blow to the Lord."

Sorey drew power from the seraphim to armatize. Sorey needed them, and Mikleo even says that they should've died. But he seems so unconcerned about that. It's strange, but there are stranger things that have happened. It's a lot to take in and he's afraid of asking the next question but he needs to know.]

...what makes you think that death didn't actually stick somehow? By Cerealia standards I mean.

Edited 2016-02-10 19:03 (UTC)

[An interesting question!]

Well, I suppose it comes down to the fact that our essence never dispersed or become absorbed permanently into the Lord of Calamity's body. Not only that, but we were able to reform ourselves once we'd reached safety.

[However, now he's looking at Hiro with a thoughtful expression. This line of questioning and the insistence the human has in getting an answer to this has Mikleo connecting the dots. The seraph decides to cut to the heart of the matter.]

Hiro. What connection to death does my mask have?

[No. No, no, no, he's putting together the puzzle faster than he wants to and he's not sure he wants to explain what he's just clued in to. But...it wouldn't be right to lie to Mikleo. He respects the seraphim more than that and instead he's busy staring at his feet.]

The other people I've talked to who have this mask are people who've stayed dead. [He swallows suddenly, remembering their very first conversation.]

Mikleo. Tell me again how a human becomes a seraphim?

["All humans have at least a little bit of negative energy in them. The process to becoming a seraph means having all of that negative energy stripped away to become completely pure. It's rather aptly named as 'reincarnation.' The downside is that the memories they had are erased."

Reincarnation. The concept that the soul can begin a new life in a new body. After biological death.

If Sorey and Mikleo grew up together since they were babies, but Mikleo's been a seraph his entire life then...

Whoa.]

Depending on how the human dies, they can undergo a process that strips away all of their negative energy. There's another requirement I didn't tell you since, at the time, it wasn't relevant to bring it up. Their purity is a major factor, too. Once they're a seraph, all of the memories of their previous life will be erased, but their personality, likes and dislikes, strong feelings, and most of their physical appearance remain the same. I say 'most' because their hair color will change to reflect their element.

[As he speaks, he puts his mask away and has an irrational urge to try scouring the blood off of it. Mikleo crosses his arms, looking slightly tense. The seraph still hasn't examined his feelings about the cause of his death, but...he can't deny the truth or dance around the issue forever. Besides, Hiro must have already put the pieces together just as Mikleo has.

Mikleo decides to put his trust in the teenager once more. There might come a time when his family history haunts him again, and it'll be good for Hiro and his contacts to know about it if it becomes a factor again.]

The Shepherd before Sorey was a man named Michael, my mother's brother. When I was a baby, he used me as a sacrifice to fuse Maotelus to a mortal man and placed a curse on him. The man's family would die one by one, his children would be born as monsters, and he would be denied death through conventional means. Only a Shepherd could kill him at that point. That man would become the Lord of Calamity.

[He speaks calmly, trying to detach himself from it so that his confusing mass of emotions don't surface.]

Muse—my mother—asked Gramps to save me.

[That explains why Mikleo's hair is kind of that weird silver-blue. He remembers that the previous life is erased though the purity factor is new information. His eyes follow the mask for a moment before he realizes Mikleo's going to continue and he sits back, patiently waiting. Baymax can pick up on the tension in the room and Hiro's nervous about what he's about to hear.

And then...there's that. There's that and he slowly sinks down into his chair and subtly covers his mouth with his hand as he processes all of that.]

...but you were a baby. [Guess who has "needless death/needless sacrifice" issue!] That--why would a Shepherd think that's even acceptable? That's not okay! [Nope. Nope!] And that's why you're still so young for a seraph...

[Mikleo winces a little. Hiro is honestly giving voice to what the seraph's underlying thoughts shout every time he thinks about what Michael did. 'That's not fair! That's not okay!'

He regains his composure quickly, though.]

Remember how I told you how the village near Elysia was destroyed? Camlann is that village. We call it "the Origin Village" for that reason. The Rolance Empire was about to take it over as a military stronghold, but Michael refused. When a small band of Hyland forces attacked, the Rolance army didn't go to their protection.

Muse and I were terribly injured during the struggle. When Michael saw that...well. He did it, even though his sister told—[screamed at]—him not to. After the curse was complete, a piece of the temple housing Maotelus fell on him and killed him.

[He quiets down again to listen to the rest, still not at all impressed with what Michael had done. That's not how a Shepherd should solve things. That doesn't make any of this okay. This makes it worse, in fact, that he gave so little regard to someone else's life to try and save himself and get his own way. Even if that someone else meant something to him.

It sounds achingly familiar.

Baymax knows that Mikleo's feelings mirror Hiro's own, though intensified. He shuffles forward, resting his squishy body on the seraph and patting him gently. This works for Hiro and it worked for Katsura. Maybe it'll help Mikleo as well. And while Baymax does that Hiro shakes his head.]

He probably deserved it. [Bitter. Quiet.] How could he not realize what this would cause? Isn't the point of being the Shepherd to protect people, not hurt them?

[Mikleo's surprised by Baymax' actions, but after the initial shock he leans a little into the robot. The support is needed and appreciated, in all honesty. Edna's words echo back at him, but he shoves them aside. He's not going to cry. Not now. This isn't the time or place for that.

He sighs at those questions.]

When he was made a Shepherd, he was 12 years old. During his journey, he tried to help the humans better interact with the seraphim and reignite worship for us. By this time, a lot of people in the clergy had twisted what we wanted to suit their means. Things like how people praying to us for their children to recover from their illness is selfish and why their children would only get sicker, and paying the priests is the only way to redeem yourself. Or how one group told people that if you committed a crime that brought dishonor to your family, then the only way you could get salvation from the seraphim was to throw yourself off of Temple Guinevere, which is a structure about as high as a mountain, if not taller.

[Honestly, given all of that and even more examples he hasn't told Hiro, Mikleo isn't surprised that there are seraphim who want nothing to do with humans.]

Michael didn't feel that he was doing any progress. So, he quit being a Shepherd after a few years and founded Camlann with like-minded individuals and his sister. It was meant to be a place where humans and seraphim could coexist peacefully.

[Then, everything changed when the Hyland forces attacked.]

He wrote a book that described all of the places he'd seen and the stories he'd compiled during that time. It's called the Celestial Record, but it said that there hadn't been a Shepherd in over 200 years. Given what we now know, it was a lie and possibly an insight to how he felt about his time as a Shepherd.

Edited 2016-02-11 19:48 (UTC)

[Good Mikleo, best seraph. Just let Baymax take care of you for a little bit while Hiro slowly loses his mind and progressively gets angrier at Michael.]

So…he got frustrated and just gave up on humanity. He lost sight of what was really important because of other people's oversights. …I understand being frustrated and just giving up on people but that doesn't make any of this better. It doesn't make it right.

[A pause.] …but I guess even the most influential people can change when they're driven by anger. [By grief.] So where's that record book now?

[He'll absolutely let Baymax take care of him for a little bit. How can anyone say no to the Stay Puff Marshmallow Bot?

Mikleo can agree with that. Still....]

I don't know if he deserved to die or if maybe it actually saved him in the end. All that anger and grief could've very easily turned him into a hellion after that. And Muse never got closure with her brother about what happened. [The seraph looks at Hiro for a quiet moment.] You sound like you speak from experience, though.

[Ah, but that question.]

Sorey has Michael's copy. The two of us loved that book as children, inspiring us and other people to explore ruins around the world. Even now we still refer to it. The Celestial Record is frankly his most prized possession.

Some Legends Are Told, Some Turn To Dust Or To Gold [CEREALIA INBOX]

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