“Hope and friendship…” She chuckled and shook her head. “Ah, my friends… I think the only reason we haven’t fought yet, was so I could listen to those wonderful speeches of yours. Please, allow me to answer your questions and offer my own interpretation, ere the seemingly unavoidable conflict begins.”
When multiple Heroes made a move toward her, Kalki phased out for a split second. When she re-appeared, she was where Lust had been moments ago—And Lust was where Kalki had been, therefore any moves that were made toward Kalki would hit Lust instead. Regardless, Kalki’s gaze shifted to Sheena.
“I am not the voice you heard in the rift. What you heard was the Cloud of Darkness, an entity far more powerful and far less reasonable than I am. It exists to see everything returned to the void, and cares little for our evolution. I despise it as much as you do.” She sighs before shifting her gaze to Jack. “Jack, rest reassured, you are not at the center of everything. Committing suicide in front of a person going through evident emotional distress certainly doesn’t shine as your brightest moment, but far be it from me to condemn you for it. And know what I am offering isn’t the immortality you have known, or that any of you have. It is something which our minds might not even comprehend.”
She took a few steps toward the edge of the platform, staring into the abyss.
“Ever since the dawn of time, all sentient entities have strived to evolve. And through all times, there were those afraid of evolution. There were those who called medicine unethical. ‘All living beings will eventually die. All things must come to an end. Why then extend our lives? They argued we should accept death when it comes and burnt to the pyre those who offered to improve our lifetimes. There were those who argued using machines is a sin. It will be a world where people have no heart or soul, they’ll take away from us everything they are.’ They claimed our kind should suffer and strive on its own without using our gift for evolution to accommodate our lives. There will always be those striving to move the world forward, to change it, to better it. As there will always be those favoring stagnation, too afraid of what change will bring. Yes, living is hard and I fight so we can change as we should.” She turned back and looked at Riku. “Riku, universes are not unlike Machina. I trust you remember how the followers of Yevon would see heresy in your attempts to use Machina to better the world. How they couldn’t understand how these worked. The situation at hand isn’t unlike the one you have known, but you are now standing in the place of those who once persecuted you.”
She then looked down at Ales, shaking her head.
“Nothing was an act. You sought help and I was happy to provide. Did I also prepare you to overcome your shadow? Yes, but you already had the potential to do it on your own. As a few others here do.” She looked at the Heroes of Light, one after the other. “When sentient entities first came to be, they didn’t understand the world around them. They feared what they saw, they feared the extinction of their existence, they feared the unknown. Thus to control their fear, they created God. An entity that could answer all of their questions, an entity that made order out of the chaos around them. And as evolution moved forward, we realized we could find answers to our questions. We could understand what we once believed to be chaos. Science replaced faith. And as we make order out of the chaos, we are slowly becoming the very God we had once created.”
She then shifted her gaze to Chiaki, with a most disappointed and aggravated look.
“Chiaki, you are such a disappointment. Truly when I studied your profile, I expected far more depth from you. Life as we know it isn’t divided between hope and despair. Good and evil, right and wrong, light and darkness—Notions created to make the world sound simpler, yet it is far more complex than a mere division between two extremes. Beneath your hope lurks fear and acceptance of our condition. Under the pretense of hope, you accept a world, a situation, a predicament that is harmful to us. What sees you for tomorrow? Hope. How shall you make this better tomorrow? Lacking an answer, hope is once more your answer. How do you choose to face the dark and grim reality? You refuse; you stall your growth and brandish hope as an excuse. All who live fear pain, fear transformations, fear the unknown. But we grow to conquer those fears, to draw strength from them, to further our own growth. I can think of no greater evil than the hope you are offering me, for it accomplishes naught bur prolong our suffering with no hope in sight.”
She then marked a pause.
“I am not here to offer you hope or despair. I am not here to give you comforting answers. The day will be harsh and the coming dawn is scary. What I offer shall not happen without pain and sacrifices—All of those things you have described as being life itself. Fight me if you will, but I will see this evolution accomplished and if you try to stop if, you will have to kill me right now.”
no subject
When multiple Heroes made a move toward her, Kalki phased out for a split second. When she re-appeared, she was where Lust had been moments ago—And Lust was where Kalki had been, therefore any moves that were made toward Kalki would hit Lust instead. Regardless, Kalki’s gaze shifted to Sheena.
“I am not the voice you heard in the rift. What you heard was the Cloud of Darkness, an entity far more powerful and far less reasonable than I am. It exists to see everything returned to the void, and cares little for our evolution. I despise it as much as you do.” She sighs before shifting her gaze to Jack. “Jack, rest reassured, you are not at the center of everything. Committing suicide in front of a person going through evident emotional distress certainly doesn’t shine as your brightest moment, but far be it from me to condemn you for it. And know what I am offering isn’t the immortality you have known, or that any of you have. It is something which our minds might not even comprehend.”
She took a few steps toward the edge of the platform, staring into the abyss.
“Ever since the dawn of time, all sentient entities have strived to evolve. And through all times, there were those afraid of evolution. There were those who called medicine unethical. ‘All living beings will eventually die. All things must come to an end. Why then extend our lives? They argued we should accept death when it comes and burnt to the pyre those who offered to improve our lifetimes. There were those who argued using machines is a sin. It will be a world where people have no heart or soul, they’ll take away from us everything they are.’ They claimed our kind should suffer and strive on its own without using our gift for evolution to accommodate our lives. There will always be those striving to move the world forward, to change it, to better it. As there will always be those favoring stagnation, too afraid of what change will bring. Yes, living is hard and I fight so we can change as we should.” She turned back and looked at Riku. “Riku, universes are not unlike Machina. I trust you remember how the followers of Yevon would see heresy in your attempts to use Machina to better the world. How they couldn’t understand how these worked. The situation at hand isn’t unlike the one you have known, but you are now standing in the place of those who once persecuted you.”
She then looked down at Ales, shaking her head.
“Nothing was an act. You sought help and I was happy to provide. Did I also prepare you to overcome your shadow? Yes, but you already had the potential to do it on your own. As a few others here do.” She looked at the Heroes of Light, one after the other. “When sentient entities first came to be, they didn’t understand the world around them. They feared what they saw, they feared the extinction of their existence, they feared the unknown. Thus to control their fear, they created God. An entity that could answer all of their questions, an entity that made order out of the chaos around them. And as evolution moved forward, we realized we could find answers to our questions. We could understand what we once believed to be chaos. Science replaced faith. And as we make order out of the chaos, we are slowly becoming the very God we had once created.”
She then shifted her gaze to Chiaki, with a most disappointed and aggravated look.
“Chiaki, you are such a disappointment. Truly when I studied your profile, I expected far more depth from you. Life as we know it isn’t divided between hope and despair. Good and evil, right and wrong, light and darkness—Notions created to make the world sound simpler, yet it is far more complex than a mere division between two extremes. Beneath your hope lurks fear and acceptance of our condition. Under the pretense of hope, you accept a world, a situation, a predicament that is harmful to us. What sees you for tomorrow? Hope. How shall you make this better tomorrow? Lacking an answer, hope is once more your answer. How do you choose to face the dark and grim reality? You refuse; you stall your growth and brandish hope as an excuse. All who live fear pain, fear transformations, fear the unknown. But we grow to conquer those fears, to draw strength from them, to further our own growth. I can think of no greater evil than the hope you are offering me, for it accomplishes naught bur prolong our suffering with no hope in sight.”
She then marked a pause.
“I am not here to offer you hope or despair. I am not here to give you comforting answers. The day will be harsh and the coming dawn is scary. What I offer shall not happen without pain and sacrifices—All of those things you have described as being life itself. Fight me if you will, but I will see this evolution accomplished and if you try to stop if, you will have to kill me right now.”