melodiesoflife | Event || Beginning Of The End

K'pandolu caught a little of Cloud's words and glanced at him, reaching out to touch his shoulder for a moment before moving on in. She nodded back to Jack, ears flicking up for a moment, and found a place to settle, expression carefully neutral.

Jade had made no further comment on their way up. Whatever wounds their last meeting had left on him, he really had no one to blame for them but himself. Taking it out on the Sage would be a waste of time.

For now, he greeted the Avatar with a brief nod and settled in to wait.

Ramza meets Jack's look, and nods. He is glad there are others here who are willing to listen to the man without turning to fighting.

"Indeed, we have come to listen to what you might say, and we pray you will return to us that courtesy. We have questions still in need of answer."

"Perhaps you can supply us with helpful answers for those questions without giving us more puzzles to solve. I for one am much more in the dark than many here. Your cooperation is appreciated, regardless."

Mikleo replied to him. At least, he opt to speak in a formal way compared to what he was going to initially say. He can't say he's happy about the ordeal or even meeting the avatar in person, but if they are going to give him answers or clues, he's going to take them to heart and do what he can to try and stop the Calamity with everyone else. Of course, this whole vision thing was new to him. He's never experienced it but he's heard of it from the times he spends in the library.

Sheena's entrance is a quiet one. She had said what she had wanted to before climbing up the stairs. Now, all she wants to do is watch and listen.

Especially when he mentions others are coming.

Circling around the others quietly, she keeps an eye on the Sage, watching his reactions to what the other Heroes are saying.

“No, it’s for those of you who have yet to arrive. There are always those who come in late.”

The Sage looked idly at the door before turning to the Heroes who mentioned wanting answers. In particular, his gaze stopped on Mikleo.

“If you cannot solve the puzzles, you cannot understand the knowledge you seek nor can you use it correctly.”

With that said he turned back to one of the shelves before continuing.

“By now you have heard of the Calamity half that sleeps within you. I can explain you how to master it, as I had planned, or I can answer your questions.”

"Hmm... Just one or the other?"

That sounded like the Sage, alright. As stingy with information as ever. Jade glanced at the others before voicing his opinion. They had leads to follow on most other things, but when it came to these Calamity fragments -- their Shadows -- they had nothing but the badly damaged video from Kalki to go on.

"I was planning to ask you about facing our Shadows anyway, so that suits me fine."

"Ooh, new super power time!" Deadpool said, grinning, before turning to everyone.

"Alright, no one has any questions to ask, right?" And he pulls out his weapons to prove his point. "Riiiiight?"

"There's no reason to go that far." Tear's words were directed at Deadpool, complete with a barely-repressed sigh. Crossing her arms, she didn't move to come any closer since she was completely content with having this much distance between herself and the Sage.

"Discussing and mastering these Shadows seems like a viable option anyway, I can imagine we would have to eventually." Though, it made her wonder if it was anything similar to what had happened with the other Heroes almost a year ago.

Sparks pushed Deadpool's weapon aside without much of a further glance, as he addressed the Sage.

"For once, I actually agree with these people. Sounds like a lot is ridin' on this inner Calamity nonsense, so let's deal with that first."

Wait. Wait! He was offering to answer their questions! Rialynn was ready! Her book was open, her quill was dipped in ink...ready!

But...everyone else did not seem to be of the same mind as the information-starved bard. She did remember that video (and the haunting melody she'd heard too), and she also recalled that Palitutu had said it was one of the necessary elements of defeating the Calamity.

With a forlorn sigh, Rialynn put down her pen. "Could we maybe ask some questions afterward, please? Like...where to find the last piece of the key, how to find the other crystals, and what we can use the moon base for? Stuff like that?"

Lita frowned quietly to herself, her arms folded over her chest where she reclined against the wall. She thought she remembered reading something about conquering their shadows from that guy's report that got sent out a few days ago. But though it was necessary, she wasn't exactly sure why.

She raised her hand. "What happens if we conquer that part of ourselves? Why's it matter so much? Does that mean we won't go into crystal stasis if we do?"

Rukia stiffened slightly from where she knelt. If mastering the Calamity half of themselves did prevent crystal stasis from taking effect, then...!

She bit her thumb, furrowing her brow. No, she was getting ahead of herself. The question had only been asked, not answered. But if it meant that Ichigo, Raven, and so many others she'd grown fond of over the past year would awaken from their slumber, she would try anything.

But she needed to be patient. She also needed to be careful not to get her hopes up or she risked being crushed by disappointment. Quietly she lowered her hand back to her lap and resigned herself to listening.

And ignoring Deadpool.

Unacceptable. Jack glares at Wade and steps into his space until that blade is only an inch away from his throat. "Put those away and don't draw them again. You've tried your best to ruin every chance of diplomacy and peace that you showed up to. You're not doing it again."

Jack isn't afraid of Wade and he's not willing to let this kind of behavior stand either. Doc said to play it his way? Fine. "You attack anyone? Again? At least you'll finally prove what side you're on and what you actually care about." He presses that inch forward until the point of the sword is touching his neck.

"I don't give a damn if we want the same things out of this. You're not going to enforce it through violence."

"And I'm getting really sick and tired of the high and mighty act you and the others put on. 'Oh, look at me! I don't want to kill people! That makes me so much better than everyone else!'" Deadpool said before snorting and putting away the weapons.

"But, I'll play it your way. Total Zenpool here. I won't draw them ever again. And when everyone drops dead, my last words shall be 'I told you so'!"

And he lifts up his mask to stick his tongue at Jack before stepping away.

And in that moment, Ramza's already substantial respect for Jack quadrupled. He watched for a moment to make sure Deadpool would not turn to attack the fellow diplomat. When it seemed the masked man presented no immediate threat, he turned back to the old man.

"Please proceed then, Sage. We will listen."

It was disappointing, to be denied the chance to ask their questions, but if they did not accept the Sage's begrudging help, they would likely get none at all.

His eye twitched as Deadpool raised his voice, yet he kept quiet for a moment, listening to the others. Ramza certainly seemed content with proceeding to the next part, but something was bugging him. He had a hunch a few months ago, but he couldn't help but want to find out further. Or to see if the hunch was right.

"Kalki once said..." he began, crossing his arms in the process. "-that we would have to conquer our Shadows, the parts of us we have rejected that the Calamity has fed off of, to become the Will. That's not the only use to it, is it?"

Why did they even bring Deadpool? Oh, right, because a heavily armed smart-talking mercenary went where he wanted.

"This wouldn't be a problem if we could do both," Nanami grumbled. But of course they had to choose. Because it wasn't as if they couldn't have all the information at once.

"So let's have it."

"Hard to say that if you're one of the dead," Sheena muttered quietly to herself in response to Deadpool's rant. She didn't doubt that he would have attacked any of them on the spot if they had continued pressing for answers to their questions.

She just hoped he hadn't ruined their chances for the Sage to tell them anything because he thought Deadpool was a lost cause.

Because as far as she could see, mastering the Shadow part of themselves involved using their negative emotions to their advantage--instead of letting the emotions use you.

And well...she might have to have some help with that.

Selphie rolled her eyes at Deadpool's antics and respected the way that Jack dealt with the idiot mercenary. She remembered him from when they'd tried to reason with Palitutu and knew that he was one of the people who would use their words before their fists. The girl made a mental note to send a quick thank you card to Jack for saying what needed to be said to shut Deadpool down before focusing back on the matter at hand.

Selphie was puzzled by what the Sage was saying about conquering the Calamity inside of them and made another note to ask someone more knowledgeable on the subject another time. Even though she had questions to ask, she knew that now wasn't the time to ask them. If subduing the Calamity inside of themselves helped Crystallis, then she was willing to give it a chance.

It doesn't stop the perky brunette however from pulling out a piece of paper and a pencil she'd tucked into one of the pouches around her waist to jot down her questions for later. She settles herself on the floor, crossing her legs like a young child in grade school, alert and ready to listen.

“Crystal Stasis happens as a result of your Calamity Self threatening to take over. It is not Narayana that crystallizes you, but Crystallis. The same is true for the planet. It is not Narayana crystallizing the world, but Crystallis as it defends itself against the spreading Calamity.”

The pause answered questions—But only those related to the Calamity Self. Therefore he ignored Rialynn’s inquiries.

“When you shall face Narayana, there will be nothing preventing your Calamity Self from taking over. You will lose before even trying-- Unless you have conquered it first.” A pause. “Conquering your Calamity Self will allow you to step on crystallized lands and face Narayana. It will also put a definitive end to Crystal Stasis.”

With that said, he turned and looked at Ira.

“However, Ira is right—” A nod. “Doing so will have another effect. Anyone conquering their Calamity Self will be a potential subject for the completion of Kalki’s schemes.”

"Which would mean the crystals we use to rescue lands aren't actually 'rescuing' them, but instead leaving them vulnerable to the Calamity itself." Twilight mused. "Which probably means we've been doing things completely wrong here for the longest time."

Unsurprising, really.

"And being able to travel across crystallized lands would mean we would also be able to confront Garland... or this 'Chaos' Palitutu mentioned. But, the Calamity Self? Is it like our evil self or something? I know that's sort of simplistic of a definition, but it's probably the best I can come up with with everyone else around."

"Not necessarily. The crystallization may be protecting the planet, but it also makes the land uninhabitable for normal citizens. We have no choice but to keep rescuing them."

Jade thought back to their trip to the Mysidian Tower. "Besides... As I recall, the Calamity Simulation was built to manipulate the Calamity itself, not just the crystallization process. We should be fine... Assuming the Ancients were right about their own creation."

Wouldn't be the first time they'd made a mess of things, but the Heroes couldn't really afford to worry about that. The Simulation was the only way they could protect the people of Crystallis.

"Is there a way to return the fragments of the Calamity that reside within us to the Calamity's whole?"

Since reading Jade's report, Ramza had been wondering about the Calamity. If it was truly formed of fragments of lost souls, perhaps they were wrong to try to destroy it. They should be trying to help guide those souls to find peace. And the first step, he thought, was to gather the fragments together. If such a thing was even possible.

"Owen called the crystalization an immune response, like inflammation or a fever on getting sick. It's the planet's way to fight back."

He looks to the Sage specifically, because he hasn't been able to confirm this. "It comes from the First Crystal, from the life cycle on this world. We fall into Stasis to keep from joining the cycle. And contaminating it."

"But the going theory is what gives it strength is the people already living on Crystallis. The native life here helps it fight back against the invaders. Again, just like an immune response. The more people we can keep alive, the more we can slow the Calamity, if this is right."

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