Heart Game: Sol [#02]

[idolpro]

Note: please be as cryptic as possible regarding any specific actions your character takes when discussing them in the game channel to avoid influencing everyone else!

Comments

[syncintohell]

[ he got his paranoia back a few days ago, let him live.

weighing how much he wants to get inside versus how irritating it will be to come back out to investigate that later if he needs to.

.......To the noise. ]

[bluerosestyle]

[Good luck, Shu! You try to locate the source of the sound, and your quest leads you into the forest. Thankfully, nature is very kind in this world, so at least you won't have to brush off any mosquitoes or predators or anything of the sort.

You come out to a clearing and find yourself facing...



...a very big, majestic tree. Well, this picture is what you see at first, but then the sight changes even as you look at it; the trunk and its enormous roots take on a deep madder color, and the branches and leaves disappear.

The monstrous tree you first saw is now little more than a gigantic trunk, pruned to exaggeration. It has a couple of branches in moss green and cotton candy pink color, and more than a few in navy blue color. In fact, it looks like the navy blue color is starting to spread onto the trunk.]

[syncintohell]

[ . . . He reaches up to touch the tree, as if that will solidify for him what is truth and what is hallucination.

is the red of the tree the same red as the madder on his uniform, and the others matching respective other units? ]

[bluerosestyle]

[But of course. Also, the tree is very solid, yes.

And now that you got closer to the tree, your paranoia might tip you off-- that crack you just heard was the sound of someone stepping on a branch on the other side of the trunk. It's wide enough to hide you. You have the advantage!]

[syncintohell]

[ Shu presses himself against the trunk, and-- can he use the surface of his phone as a dull mirror to see who is on the other side? ]

[bluerosestyle]

[Yes he can!

Someone is picking up a newly pruned bunch of gunmetal dark grey branches from the ground. He’s wearing Taisho clothing and a big scarf around his neck, and because Shu is Shu, he may be able to recognize this person as Sol very quickly.

His back is to you. He hasn’t seen you yet.]

[syncintohell]

[ Stepping out and around to reveal himself, then. ]

Sol, what precisely are you doing?

[bluerosestyle]

[Jumps and turns to look at him immediately.

He’s wearing an eyepatch on his right eye, so at least you don’t get to see dark bags under both his eyes... He looks paler than usual, his clothes are torn and have traces of dry blood on them.]

Shu? What-- What are you doing here?!

[syncintohell]

[ Crossing his arms. He doesn't know what he's doing here either, how is he supposed to answer that. ]

I was planning on freezing to death, lost. Now, do not change the subject, I believe I asked you first. You look an absolute fright.

[bluerosestyle]

. . .

I'm doing what I have to do.

If you're cold, would you like to join me? I'm going to make a bonfire with these.

[he gestures... somehow... at the branches he's still holding in his arms]

[syncintohell]

[ sighs!! that's still not an answer. But doesn't press it, instead saying: ]

Is there no form of civilization nearby? I do not know why you are mutilating that once proud tree, but if you are to do such a thing, you ought not be the sole beneficiary. Surely in this cold, we are not the only two who need firewood.

[bluerosestyle]

Mutilating? You're mistaken. I'm only making sure this tree can thrive, for the good of the village. Even in the cold, no one wants to see these branches.

...Actually, do you know what this tree is?

[syncintohell]

I do not, but I do know a tree cannot live without leaves and branches.

[bluerosestyle]

[he smiles a little]

Well, this one can. Originally, the Gigas Cedar was a demon tree that sucked up the blessings of the Goddess of Light to make them its own. But this is now known as the Tree of Life, and instead of feeding itself from light, it feeds itself from color. And everyone's life depends on it staying like this.

I only cut the dangerous branches.

[syncintohell]

So by taking the blessings of the Goddess, it robbed others of her blessing; but I fail to see what is wrong with monochrome or how what is dangerous is determined.

[ less being obstinate, now, but thinking it through to see if he understands— he can be obstinate again once he understands the situation. ]

[bluerosestyle]

Well, letting the tree change colors is punishable by monochromatosis. And if I leave it alone, the trunk becomes stained.

[syncintohell]

While we cannot and should not reject our core selves, to ruthlessly prune away all other influences simply because of rules is absurd. It is better to die for your beliefs than to render all your choices to the proclamations of others.

[ He touches his hand to the tree, where color has started to bleed down the trunk ]

If you decide you hate an influence for yourself, then it is your choice to make; if you decide one branch or another may stay, then I do not see why that is not a feeling worth protecting. Even if you may face danger for it.

[ Turning back to Sol, as he continues. ]

Death is not the worst of all possibilities. Survival presents us with the possibility of rot and decay, where a noble death may stymie that. A martyr's life is extended by the glory of his death, the memory made indelible so long as his cause was just. To become one of the crowd, keeping your head down and wallowing in the muck, too fearful to lift it up is no life at all. Even I, who continue to live long past the day I should have perished, do not live on solely for the sake of breathing alone.

[ He holds a hand out to Sol ]

Why do you do this, Sol?

[bluerosestyle]

Imagination: You succeed in making some branches regrow! The tree is not quite restored to its former glory, but it does look... more healthy. Navy blue seems to be mingling with the madder red color in equal amounts. Cost: You're lucky there were spatial resources you weren't aware of in this setting. All flowers have disappeared from sight. And all leaves. And even some of the grass. Let's hope no one needs them later...

[he would pay attention to the hand, but. THE TREE!!!!]

What are you talking about? What did you do?!

[syncintohell]

I spoke the unvarnished truth and the world responded with a miracle.

[ Stop ignoring his hand, he had a question!! Who cares about miracles. ]

[bluerosestyle]

That's not a miracle, that's-- an advanced Sacred Art, which you shouldn't be able to use unless you're an Integrity Knight! I don't even know where to start, but-- you shouldn't talk about death like that in this place, or you'll--

[you'll]

You feel a sharp pain behind your right eye. Blood red color covers your vision. The sensation of your limbs fades. You feel faint. Your Life has dropped by 800.

[syncintohell]

[ He shouts, his hands clapping over his right eye— for as long as he can feel them. Feeling robbed from his limbs, feeling light-headed, he falls to his knees with the noise of alarm quieting as he tries to cling to consciousness. ]

[bluerosestyle]

[When he is able to focus again, Sol will be by his side, holding him up so he can stay on his knees at least]

. . . Please be more careful with the things you say. You'll hurt yourself like that.

[syncintohell]

[ His first instinct is to like immediately declare he'll take any damage necessary.

...if anyone thought he wasn't going to follow that, well. ]

Some suffering must be endured for the sake of certain ends. If I was able to reach you, then I will not regret it.

[ his voice is a little weak, but he smiles at Sol. Did he help him, at all? ]

[bluerosestyle]

. . .

Well... I've had enough of that. I'm tired of seeing all of you suffer. All of you, with your talk of self-sacrifice and ideals... You never think about how others will feel when they see you like that. And either way, it's easy for you to think that way, because you have somewhere to go back to if we ever get out of here.

[he fixes his gaze on some faraway point]

My life depends on this tree. But even so, I won't lie... Sometimes I wonder, what if I took my sword and cut it down myself...?

[he stands up, glancing up at the trunk]

That's why I'm the one who has to look after this tree. None of you will do it, and it's my way to atone. This is not something imposed on me-- I'm a criminal, so the Taboo Index doesn't apply to me anymore. This a Calling I chose for myself, out of necessity.

[syncintohell]

[ laughs, inappropriately. ]

It is because I think of others that I am not dead yet. [ but he shakes his head— is now the time? ]

So your calling is, as you have decided it, to destroy things you hold dear because you judge it necessity? Nothing you have said has made me understand why this is your necessity. I am apparently insensitive and thick-headed both. I told you this before, I do not understand others. But still, I wish to. If you deny my request, then that is that, I cannot press you further.

[ he finally removes his hands from his eyes, blinking if possible to see if he still has vision in both. ]