[ oh, that's so cute - his eyes light up, and he asks, immediately, ] Could I help you? I'd like to lay some, too.
[ what a sweet idea. too bad they don't get any time to process it because a screen pops up in the hole and uriel is treated to a memory! ]
[ it's chaos.
the eighth galaxy's fledgling success as its own, independent system, free of the control of the IUS comes with its ups and downs. in order to make their way in the world - and have enough supplies to reliably keep from being invaded too often - making connections back to the IUS was inevitable, and you had spoken to prime minister edward when the call to create a terminal that connects the seventh and eighth comes through. it's a gesture of goodwill, the head of the seventh says. planet sabien, a ribbon-cutting ceremony, all the pomp and circumstance of a government. they haven't given you any access to their network, but they'll offer supplies. lin thinks its bullshit. so do you.
as a political force, you all agree to take this time to make your stand as an official independent galaxy. two transfer portals exist close to the eighth - the only way through besides the officially built one for the ribbon cutting ceremony - and you, the prime minister, and lin jingheng formulate a plan. right there, broadcasted for all citizens to see of the IUS and the Eighth alike, you'll blow up the two transfer portals. from now on, the only way anyway gets access to the Eighth galaxy is if the Eighth allows it.
you take ankur's supposed trump card against you - a poorly set up attempt to trap the eighth galaxy back into submission - and you flip it over in reverse.
you offer to go to planet sabien in the actual prime minister's stead. you're his right hand - you're young and healthy, but you're refused for that exact reason. besides. you can monitor things from qiming, from... from home, actually, and so, you sit on your sofa at the apex of the eighth's revolution, in the moment that you will all claim your status as, finally, independent. lin goes to the border, and leaves you with zhanlu connected into the digital butler's system. he asks you if you want to forward a message to lin jingheng.
you smile to yourself, remembering the last time this happened, and say - “Give him a kiss for me.”
silence, on the other end, and then.
...Received.
your heart flutters. your commander, as always - you're sure you probably embarrassed him in front of a room of eighth officials, but, well. he's cute when he's embarrassed, and what can you say? you're in love.
as you settle in to watch the event, letting that little bit of normalcy settle your nerves, you watch. you watch the ceremony. you watch - celebrate, mentally, even, as the first transfer point is blown to bits. it's a statement. a warning. we're here.
you watch general ankur and his horror with a little bit of glee. you watch as the prime minister of the eighth opens his mouth to speak and officially announce the independence of the eighth galaxy. there's one transfer portal left to blow.
you watch, as a line of ships point cannons directly at the ribbon cutting ceremony from the front line of the atmosphere. and you watch
as all hell breaks loose.
the seventh galaxy's military fleet opens fire on the planet. on the civilians, the innocent people, on the ribbon cutting ceremony, and you were both expecting this, and you dive into action, and so does lin jingheng. not to just protect the prime minster and the few members of the eighth who came to the planet, but to protect the civilians of the seventh, too - the desperate cries of refugees on the seventh fleeing for their lies, trying to board the eighth galaxy's own ships, trying to get away. zhanlu and lin jingheng organize it with military precision all the while defending, as lin commands a series of eighth defenders like he's a conductor. with the silver ten at their backs, you know they'll be safe.
you get up and you leave the house, immediately, booking it for the head of defense in a flurry of activity. there are already teams of engineers working hard at hacking into the network of the seventh to ensure safe passage and to disable the ships of the seventh to make it easier for lin and his team to create the evacuation point through an emergency transfer. you tap your fingers against a keyboard and you get to work.
and in the meantime, you and lin jingheng both discover something far more rotten at the same time - another fleet. the AUS, opening fire on top of the seventh - destroying ankur's ship, even, the very person who initially plotted against you and yours. his home is being destroyed, and suddenly, this battle has gone from mangeable to massive, and the lighter feeling of safety and winning a chess match starts to sink into your chest into fear.
but it'll be alright.
get the people out. get as many evacuated and away from the AUS as you can. it's lin. he's going to be fine. they'll pull this off. lin jingheng and monoeye hawk help to push the refugee ship through, and turn their attention to the battle, and you rush up to the command post building. you've got a mental map of all the terminals in the eighth galaxy, so relocating refugees onto safe planets and spreading them far, far out so the AUS can't attempt to kill them in one shot will be easy. your mind works like a trap at the best of times, and this is no exception.
commander turan's voice connects into your communication device. “I knew it, all handsome lads have telepathy with me, I was just about to ask someone to contact you. Hurry up, figure out how to relocate those refugees, I can’t handle this on my own when the Prime Minister’s not here, take over for me!"
her attitude would normally make you laugh, but you're worried and in crisis mode, today, so you nod as you step onto her ship and lock eyes with her. truthfully, this will only take you maybe ten minutes - turan comes to join you as you finish with the computer, and you look up at her. ]
When is Lin coming back? Tell me the truth, I don’t have Zhanlu’s main system access permission and he refuses to give me real-time updates.”
[ he's still over there, fighting with the pirates. turan looks at you for a long moment, and then wordlessly pushes a cup of coffee into your hands, and something in you starts to feel sick.
"I hate lying to people's faces." she says. "I suspect the Commander never intended on coming back to this side."
your hands freeze on the coffee cup.
turan must have noticed. she reaches out and squeezes your shoulder, tight. "But - don’t worry, he already informed me that he will return from the back through the underground terminal. Headmaster Lu, since he said he will return himself, can you also stay calm for a bit? If even Lin Jingheng can’t make you trust him, nobody else in this world will be trustworthy.”
you're already thinking about how you're going to get in a mech and join him in the underground tunnel, follow him to make sure he gets back safely - he almost died doing something exactly like this once, would have died if it weren't for you. it's not that you don't trust him. it's that he's proven that he can't be trusted with his own safety most of all.
you swallow, looking at the coffee cup, and as you're about to put it to your mouth, you stop. it wouldn't be the first time that lin drugged you to keep you out of trouble, in his misguided attempt to keep you safe, and you're not falling for it again - you must give it a strange look, because turan snorts.
"I’m not afraid to tell you that I won’t stop you from doing what you want. Are you suspecting that I’ll drug you? I don’t even do such an underhand move when I hook up at clubs, who do you think I am?”
in that moment, you're thankful for her - a friend like turan, who can be a little bit of an enabler sometimes, is a good friend indeed, and you laugh a little, finally, taking a sip of the coffee. it's not her you're worried about, after all, it's her boss, and you thank her.
you can't just sit at home and wait, when your dad and lin both are in danger. you aren't the kind of person to sit back on your laurels. lin has to understand that about you, by now. as you finish creating a simple setup to register the new refugees and send it out to the receiving planets in a matter of seconds, you down the last of the coffee, and give turan a look - she turns away from you as if on purpose, and gratitude flushes your heart again along with worry and sheer, utter determination. you stand up from your chair and turn, because you can't wait any longer. you need to make sure they'll be okay.
you rush to the loading dock of the commanding ship, where a mechbay awaits, and hop in the elevator. no guard or guard robot tries to stop you. the elevator opens with a soft ding and you nod thankfully to the guard as you step inside, the silver doors closing behind you. two floors and a mech await you. you glance down at your personal device as the doors close -
- and you realize the signal's been blocked.
horror hits you like a freight train.
your head snaps up, and you yell, ] Elizabeth Turan! [ but it's too late.
the elevator comes to life - the silence of the tiny chamber filled with the whirr of gears and a pshhh as the ventilation system spits out some kind of mist. you try to hold your breath immediately as it overcomes you, but you realize a second too late, that it's contact anesthetic, that there was no avoiding this, that she must have known and you -
you can't stay behind, you can't. the anesthetic is slower acting than immediate but it takes your legs from you first, and you hit the ground with a thud on your knees, reaching for the door - grabbing at it desperately with both hands, trying to stick your fingers in the crack and wrench the door open, but you're trapped. you grab, and you pull, and you scratch, and you beg - you have to get to them you can't just leave them out there you have to this isn't fair god damn it lin no no let me out let me out let me out - until your fingernails are ground down to nothing and your desperation has you clawing, and as the last of the numbing anesthetic touches you, your hands slide down from the elevator door and leave bloody marks on the cold metal, and the world goes goes pitch black.
--
when you come to, the battle is over.
and when you come to, the first thing you learn is that while you were knocked out, the eighth galaxy lost contact with monoeye hawk.
and one minute later, you learn that the eighth galaxy lost contact with commander lin jingheng and zhanlu.
[ oh Uriel would have loved his help, might see him as the better man to do such a thing. after all, she is an archangel, even if the favor was asked of her.. she has been doubting if she is the proper person for it.
and yet, a memory comes to, and Uriel tries to process this memory herself, and as she does-- a different memory will play. ]
“And you, Archangel! You wake up, too! Are you really going to fight me?”
[Constellation, ‘Demon-like Judge of Fire’, is looking at you.]
Uriel was forming a helpless expression. Anxiety was all-too-clear to see in her eyes.
[Constellation, ‘Demon-like Judge of Fire’, forms a troubled expression.]
“You don’t want to fight either, right? I know. So, why don’t we stop here? And please, why don’t you persuade your friends while you’re at it, too!”
A voice unknown to you sounds out from a woman with dark short hair, though those words only managed to make Uriel’s anxiety run even deeper.
However, the [Hellfire] activated separately from what her expressions had indicated and persistently flew in her direction. The latter didn’t give up, though. There had to be a reason why the Archangel was participating in this regional conflict.
[Fable, ‘Predictive Plagiarism’, has begun its storytelling.]
⸢Uriel must’ve known that this was a trap designed to kill < ■■ ■■ Company >. That is why she had to come here personally.⸥
“What will ■■ ■■ think of you if I end up dying here?” Uriel’s shoulders trembled faintly at the mention of a name blocked from memory. The woman quickly went for another shot. “I’m asking you, are you confident of looking at ■■ ■■, free of a guilty conscience, after killing me?”
[Constellation, ‘Demon-like Judge of Fire’, says that you and your sponsor are ‘Evil’.]
“God damn it! Who cares about ‘Good’ this and ‘Evil’ that? How is that important? You people decided that on your own!”
Uriel’s sword swings had become much more half-hearted than before.
[Constellation, ‘Demon King of Salvation’, is watching the battlefield.]
[Constellation, ‘Demon King of Salvation’, is looking at ‘Demon-like Judge of Fire’.]
They didn’t say anything. Not a word of request for help, no asking for favors, nothing – just them looking on.
[Constellation, ‘Demon-like Judge of Fire’, has stopped moving.]
[Constellation, ‘Demon-like Judge of Fire’, is falling into confusion.]
Uriel’s heart would be a confusing mixture of emotions right about now. On one hand, wanting to save < ■■ ■■'s Company >, and on the other, the desire to win in the ‘Great War of Saints and Demons’. Faint sparks were dancing all around her; Fables that made her who she was, began colliding against each other. The Fable that she loved the most, and the Fable she had been living with, were clashing with each other.
Was it < ■■ ■■'s Company > she liked so much, or the one she belonged to, < Eden >?
[Uriel! Why are you standing around stupidly like that?]
Her indecision prompted other Constellations to step forward; they were unable to sit back and endure this situation any further.
[Constellation, ‘Morning Star Goddess’, has revealed her Status!]
[Constellation, ‘the One who Faces God’, has revealed its Status!]
[Uriel! What are you doing! You must regain yourself!]
The other archangel's true voice must’ve gotten through to her because Uriel seemed to suddenly regain her wits just then. If Uriel decided to jump in wholeheartedly, then everything would be over.
Before that happened, they must….
[….Right, you’re correct. This ■-up war must end quickly.]
And then, Uriel made her move.
[Constellation, ‘Demon-like Judge of Fire’, is revealing her true self.]
The blinding Status of an Archangel dyed the entirety of the battlefield; all of Uriel’s wings unfurled in full, and a crown with a crimson-red ruby shimmered brilliantly above her flowing platinum-blonde hair. Her emerald-colored eyes proudly observed the world.
Uriel stepped forward while withstanding the incredible storm of Probability’s aftermath that came about after unleashing her true body. When facing off against that boundless Status, the earlier woman felt her consciousness waver despite her own Constellation's grace protecting her.
This was the true appearance of the ‘Demon-like Judge of Fire’.
The Archangel of Conflagration that cut down tens of thousands of demons, murdered Demon Kings, and eradicated all evil. The moment that woman saw those eyes, she realized that she was as good as dead already.
In front of that ‘demon-like’ existence, all ‘Evil’ would have to willingly offer up their heads.
The [Flames of Retribution] rose up high to split the sky, and in the meantime, that human sensed the approaching end for once. And then, her vision was dyed in pure white. Like a completely blank page with nothing on it.
However, no matter how long she waited, the expected pain never materialized. Did she die even before she could experience pain?
She sneakily opened her eyes, only to be greeted by a completely unexpected spectacle.
The [Flames of Retribution] that was definitely moving in her direction had changed its shape to a ring and was emitting bright light on the ground.
[You, and you. Move an inch, and you’ll die.]
More specifically, after it had tightly wound around the bodies of the Constellations ‘Morning Star Goddess’ and ‘the One who Faces God’.
[My flames can get a bit hot, you see? I’m not kidding, so if you move a muscle, you’ll really die.]
One could only ask in a dumbfounded tone of voice at this sudden development. [Uriel…. But, why?]
[If you do something like this, the Scribe will….!]
The sound of the Constellation's words only made Uriel bitterly complain. [■ck. I’ll just enjoy some disciplinary actions or something later. You think that’s important right now?]
[This isn’t simply going to end with some disciplinary action! What you did was…..!]
[Shut up! So what if those Chaos Points rise up or something?!]
Only after hearing Uriel’s true voice did the Constellation realize that his comrade was being serious here.
[But you, why…..]
It was at this point that human figured out why Uriel had to unleash the power of her true self. If she were to subjugate another Archangel on the same level as her, as well as a high-class Constellation without killing them, she had no choice but to release her real power.
Uriel was suffering from tremendous pain of the Probability’s aftermath; and there was the faintest trace of demonic aura permeating into her dark laces, too.
‘Corruption’. The harshest punishment that would be bestowed upon her after she refused to heed the divine order.
Just before the woman could say something to her, Uriel took the initiative away first. [I don’t have time to explain this and that. Let’s quickly invalidate this regional conflict and end it!]
Her expression was really urgent for some reason.
It was at that moment that a thought entered the woman’s head.
Even if Uriel did make up her mind, there was no need for her to be this urgent; if an Archangel was willing to deal with such a huge loss just to start something, then there must be a very good reason for that.
So, what could possibly make her behave so urgently like this?
It wasn’t that difficult to figure out the answer.
it's kind of - it's almost a little funny. in the way that many of these events of sharing memories have been funny, in the way that lu bixing once led a revolution from a society that existed solely because of a thing called 'eden', because of his love for his galaxy that had been mistreated by it for so long, because of how lin wanted to overthrow the union and its eden, too. how eden had been kept from the people of the eighth - for the better, really, even if they suffered. to sacrifice it all no matter the punishment. for the love of people, for the love of others.
to see uriel transform is magical - his breath catches in real time as he's watching - and as the memory finally ends, with that last sentence "my huiwon is in danger", he exhales the breath he didn't realize he was holding. it's a nice distraction from his own, because his memory of that day still gives him nightmares, and he murmurs, tilting his head a little back to look at uriel with his good eye, voice softly admiring: ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
[ what a sweet idea. too bad they don't get any time to process it because a screen pops up in the hole and uriel is treated to a memory! ]
no subject
and yet, a memory comes to, and Uriel tries to process this memory herself, and as she does-- a different memory will play. ]
Uriel was forming a helpless expression. Anxiety was all-too-clear to see in her eyes.
“You don’t want to fight either, right? I know. So, why don’t we stop here? And please, why don’t you persuade your friends while you’re at it, too!”
A voice unknown to you sounds out from a woman with dark short hair, though those words only managed to make Uriel’s anxiety run even deeper.
However, the [Hellfire] activated separately from what her expressions had indicated and persistently flew in her direction. The latter didn’t give up, though. There had to be a reason why the Archangel was participating in this regional conflict.
⸢Uriel must’ve known that this was a trap designed to kill < ■■ ■■ Company >. That is why she had to come here personally.⸥
“What will ■■ ■■ think of you if I end up dying here?” Uriel’s shoulders trembled faintly at the mention of a name blocked from memory. The woman quickly went for another shot. “I’m asking you, are you confident of looking at ■■ ■■, free of a guilty conscience, after killing me?”
“God damn it! Who cares about ‘Good’ this and ‘Evil’ that? How is that important? You people decided that on your own!”
Uriel’s sword swings had become much more half-hearted than before.
[Constellation, ‘Demon King of Salvation’, is looking at ‘Demon-like Judge of Fire’.]
They didn’t say anything. Not a word of request for help, no asking for favors, nothing – just them looking on.
[Constellation, ‘Demon-like Judge of Fire’, is falling into confusion.]
Uriel’s heart would be a confusing mixture of emotions right about now. On one hand, wanting to save < ■■ ■■'s Company >, and on the other, the desire to win in the ‘Great War of Saints and Demons’. Faint sparks were dancing all around her; Fables that made her who she was, began colliding against each other. The Fable that she loved the most, and the Fable she had been living with, were clashing with each other.
Was it < ■■ ■■'s Company > she liked so much, or the one she belonged to, < Eden >?
[Uriel! Why are you standing around stupidly like that?]
Her indecision prompted other Constellations to step forward; they were unable to sit back and endure this situation any further.
[Constellation, ‘the One who Faces God’, has revealed its Status!]
[Uriel! What are you doing! You must regain yourself!]
The other archangel's true voice must’ve gotten through to her because Uriel seemed to suddenly regain her wits just then. If Uriel decided to jump in wholeheartedly, then everything would be over.
Before that happened, they must….
[….Right, you’re correct. This ■-up war must end quickly.]
And then, Uriel made her move.
The blinding Status of an Archangel dyed the entirety of the battlefield; all of Uriel’s wings unfurled in full, and a crown with a crimson-red ruby shimmered brilliantly above her flowing platinum-blonde hair. Her emerald-colored eyes proudly observed the world.
This was the true appearance of the ‘Demon-like Judge of Fire’.
The Archangel of Conflagration that cut down tens of thousands of demons, murdered Demon Kings, and eradicated all evil. The moment that woman saw those eyes, she realized that she was as good as dead already.
In front of that ‘demon-like’ existence, all ‘Evil’ would have to willingly offer up their heads.
The [Flames of Retribution] rose up high to split the sky, and in the meantime, that human sensed the approaching end for once. And then, her vision was dyed in pure white. Like a completely blank page with nothing on it.
However, no matter how long she waited, the expected pain never materialized. Did she die even before she could experience pain?
She sneakily opened her eyes, only to be greeted by a completely unexpected spectacle.
The [Flames of Retribution] that was definitely moving in her direction had changed its shape to a ring and was emitting bright light on the ground.
[You, and you. Move an inch, and you’ll die.]
More specifically, after it had tightly wound around the bodies of the Constellations ‘Morning Star Goddess’ and ‘the One who Faces God’.
[My flames can get a bit hot, you see? I’m not kidding, so if you move a muscle, you’ll really die.]
One could only ask in a dumbfounded tone of voice at this sudden development. [Uriel…. But, why?]
[If you do something like this, the Scribe will….!]
The sound of the Constellation's words only made Uriel bitterly complain. [■ck. I’ll just enjoy some disciplinary actions or something later. You think that’s important right now?]
[This isn’t simply going to end with some disciplinary action! What you did was…..!]
[Shut up! So what if those Chaos Points rise up or something?!]
Only after hearing Uriel’s true voice did the Constellation realize that his comrade was being serious here.
[But you, why…..]
It was at this point that human figured out why Uriel had to unleash the power of her true self. If she were to subjugate another Archangel on the same level as her, as well as a high-class Constellation without killing them, she had no choice but to release her real power.
Uriel was suffering from tremendous pain of the Probability’s aftermath; and there was the faintest trace of demonic aura permeating into her dark laces, too.
‘Corruption’. The harshest punishment that would be bestowed upon her after she refused to heed the divine order.
Just before the woman could say something to her, Uriel took the initiative away first. [I don’t have time to explain this and that. Let’s quickly invalidate this regional conflict and end it!]
Her expression was really urgent for some reason.
It was at that moment that a thought entered the woman’s head.
Even if Uriel did make up her mind, there was no need for her to be this urgent; if an Archangel was willing to deal with such a huge loss just to start something, then there must be a very good reason for that.
So, what could possibly make her behave so urgently like this?
It wasn’t that difficult to figure out the answer.
[My Huiwon is in danger!]
no subject
it's kind of - it's almost a little funny. in the way that many of these events of sharing memories have been funny, in the way that lu bixing once led a revolution from a society that existed solely because of a thing called 'eden', because of his love for his galaxy that had been mistreated by it for so long, because of how lin wanted to overthrow the union and its eden, too. how eden had been kept from the people of the eighth - for the better, really, even if they suffered. to sacrifice it all no matter the punishment. for the love of people, for the love of others.
to see uriel transform is magical - his breath catches in real time as he's watching - and as the memory finally ends, with that last sentence "my huiwon is in danger", he exhales the breath he didn't realize he was holding. it's a nice distraction from his own, because his memory of that day still gives him nightmares, and he murmurs, tilting his head a little back to look at uriel with his good eye, voice softly admiring: ]
...Wow.
[ wow. uriel is incredible, isn't she? ]
no subject
It's.. not that big of a deal.
[ it is. since she fought against what she knew her whole life just for those she loves. ]