Event || Melodies of Death

[melodiesofdeath]

Characters: Kalki and you.
Where: Aqures Ixen, 03rd District.
When: August 03rd.
Summary: As promised, Kalki is before the Crystal of Fire. Every character has the possibility to speak to her (or try to kill her). If you want to speak to her individually, please reply to the first thread! If you want to play out the conclusion, please reply to the second thread-- It is a lead-in to the next part of the Anniversary event and will be one single, big thread.
Warning: All of them.

Open Thread
Where It All Began

Comments

Open Thread

[melodiesofdeath]

[Aqures Ixen was saved, but after the battle the city was in a quite sorry state. Some Districts were ravaged, others were damaged and more importantly people died-- A lot of them, both amongst the natives to this world and the Heroes of Light. And as she promised, Kalki is there, before the Crystal of Fire. Should any character have kept the place under surveillance, they will see she's just appeared out of thin air and without any warning.

She doesn't seem to be doing much of anything for the time being either-- Just staring quietly at the Crystal of Fire.]

(frozen comment) Where It All Began

[melodiesofdeath]

[After a moment, the Crystal of Fire starts shining-- Lightly at first, but before long its shine is bright. Kalki doesn't seem surprised by this turn of event however and instead turn to the Crystal, smiling. She even takes a few steps toward it and places a hand over it.]

Finally. [She tilted her head to look at the Heroes of Light.] You all wanted answers, didn't you?

[Besides the Crystal shining, the temperature in the District can be felt raising dangerously.]

[her_rose_is_red]

[After everything that's happened, Ib isn't passing up the chance to talk to Kalki. Not just because of the letter, or the war, but also because seeing Kalki with the previous heroes has made her rethink her opinion of the mysterious woman. Unafraid, but curious, she walks over to stand beside Kalki, also gazing at the crystal. After a moment, she speaks up.]

I don't think you're a bad person. But...

[She pauses after that, trying to figure out how to put into words what she wants to say. Ib wants her words to be taken seriously.]

A lot of the things you do scare people. And sometimes they get hurt. If you want to help, you should be nicer.

[line_piece]

Kalki.

[Chiaki walks up to the woman slowly, her own expression relatively blank for the time being. She's pretty exhausted from the hacking effort, but there are things she wants to ask and now may be her only chance.]

Hope and despair. What do these words mean to you? Which one are you fighting for?

[melodiesofdeath]

Niceness will not bring about what we need.

[ She marked a pause. ]

But what we need may erase every hurt and scare that has come to pass.

[melodiesofdeath]

Neither. Only fools would fight for such abstract concepts.

[ She slowly shook her head. ]

I do fight for concrete results only.

[line_piece]

[It wouldn't be the first time someone had called Chiaki a fool.]

Then what result is it you're trying to achieve here?

(frozen comment) Where It All Began

[free_spirited_wind]

[Hmm.... Crystal shining, temperature rising... where has he seen this before? A lot of places actually. Regardless, Bartz is pretty sure the crystal of fire is about to explode. And as he watches Kalki step toward it, a memory flashes up in his mind. Crouching behind cover, looking at a glowing, pulsating crystal, before it explodes. And some old guy being torn apart by the shards. The point here is that Kalki is clearly in danger.]

Hey! Get away from there! It's dangerous!

[But Bartz is a man of action more than words and he's already rushing forward, intending to rescue Kalki from the coming explosion.]

[her_rose_is_red]

You shouldn't erase them all. Some of them are important.

[Some of those hurts and fears are what make people who they are. The gallery was terrifying, but if she'd never been there, Ib wouldn't have met Garry. She's sure that other people have things like that in their past too.]

What do you think we need?

[The obvious question, but someone has to ask it.]

[shinrasfinest]

[He wonders if the stench of the battle would ever lift from Aqures Ixen. The smoldering remains of where fire had raged, the spilled blood and dead lying uncared for in their masses in the street

The fighting had waned in the far north-west corner of the City and was under control enough by now for Sephiroth to have left it under the command of his second. Spencer had reminded him of another -far more pressing- engagement.]

So after all of that. [Fatigue is evident in his tones but their apparent strength is by no means dampened by the tasks he's had thrust in his path over the last few days.]

You still manage to get to your objective.

[It's easy to imagine him drawing his sword, assuming a battle stance and fighting for the first time that he has over the whole battle but Sephiroth holds that anger in check; it's more like a whining complaint in his head as he knows he's much too mentally exhausted to be able to fight at his best now.]

What do you want, Kalki?

[melodiesofdeath]

[Kalki had been about to reply to her first words-- But then couldn't help but chuckle when she asked what they did need.]

It is really funny that you would ask that. You did the same two thousands years ago.

[melodiesofdeath]

The same that you are trying to achieve. Put an end to this pointless cycle of life and death, of hurt and sorrow.

[She marked a pause.]

Unfortunately, I am not the one who can do it.

[melodiesofdeath]

[Kalki chuckled at Sephiroth's question, but didn't turn to face him, not did she turn to face him. She kept looking at the Crystal silently, only replying after a moment spent contemplating it.]

The same thing that you do, Sephiroth. [A pause.] You just do not know it yet. And perhaps now you never will.

[line_piece]

You're right. I do want to put an end to that cycle. But I don't see how killing hundreds of people is the best way to achieve that goal. There's got to be a better way than that.

[You don't stop death with more death.]

If you aren't the one with that power, then who is? The missing Queen?

[melodiesofdeath]

They're already dead. You will understand soon why their death is a necessity.

[She shook her head once again.]

Of course not. Who is the one in history people have always turned to in time of need? People have credited for every feat they didn't understand? The being who can answer every question and solve every problem?

[line_piece]

It's wrong to talk about people that way. They aren't just pieces on a chessboard. They're not here for you - or anyone - to control, or to sacrifice.

[Ironic coming from someone like Chiaki, who was created for a very specific purpose herself. But she's gained a new perspective on things here.]

...God.

[Of course. It had to come down to that eventually, didn't it? Most console RPGs do, and this world sure has been behaving like one so far.]

You're trying to kill God, aren't you?

[melodiesofdeath]

[Kalki didn't reply to her assertion that people weren't pieces on a chessboard. There was nothing worth replying to here-- But she did laugh however at her assumption that she wanted to kill God.]

God doesn't even exist, how could I even hope to kill him?

[shinrasfinest]

[Just like when she'd replied to him over the Mognet, the reference to what-was-to-come in his future isn't lost. However, it's been a matter of duty that's made him bury all of those concerns, ever since he was given the assignment now nearing it's end.

Maybe it wasn't even such a direct reference, it could have been his tiredness catching up but still-]

Breaking the cycle by allowing the Calamity to consume the world instead of Garland resetting it each time isn't going to achieve anything but other lives being lost pointlessly.

[Best to keep it on topic, not allowing her to bait him with vague promises of things he might have understood if he were that different man.]

[melodiesofdeath]

You are missing a key element in this, Sephiroth.

[ This time she did turn to face him. ]

If the Calamity does consume this world, then it shall consume all others. Then what will happen?

[her_rose_is_red]

Well... I still wanna know.


[She blurts that out without missing a beat, before a sudden realization dawns.]

Oh! I was right! That was you in that dream.

[line_piece]

Then if it's not that, you must be trying to become this world's God.

[It's always one or the other.]

[melodiesofdeath]

Of course it was. Or rather, who I was before.

[She smiled and finally turned to her.]

What is it that we need? A world free of life and death, of the hurt and scare you seem to despise to much.

[melodiesofdeath]

That would be the last resort only.

[Once again, she shook her head.]

You all have the potential to become God.

[line_piece]

Last resort?

[Chiaki tilts her head in apparent and momentary confusion, but then starts trying to talk through this out loud.]

So if God doesn't exist, it can't be the 'kill God and supplant him to guide the world in his place' motivation. And it also can't be the 'kill God because God is a jerk and humans should live free' motivation.

[She's been counting this out on her fingers and sort of staring off into the sky, but at this point she looks back at Kalki.]

And if 'there is no God, so I will become God' isn't your main plan...

[And here's where her countenance finally takes on an edge.]

...then the only motivation left is the 'destroy everything that exists, because that's the only way to end the cycle of death and sorrow for all eternity.'

[Her eyes narrow slightly.]

Is that right, Kalki?

[shinrasfinest]

[Next logical step, much like the half-step towards her that he takes. The frown that he's been holding back from falling between his eyes starting to happen but for the most part hidden between his bangs of silver.]

Why would you want it to consume all worlds? Just to end all existence- it doesn't seem to have any reason.

[Unless- Suddenly, sharp as ever he remembers for a moment what a certain little girl had shown him. Perhaps after going through all of the darkness and despair the Calamity would leave in it's wake...]

You think that something good is going to come out of all of this?