There's more of them? Rin shudders. Not like it affects him right now, but the thought is incredibly unnerving.

Link: https://www.sylestia.com/forums/?thread=94683&page=135#1341 Author: Mystiria827 Time Posted: 1/31/2021 at 4:24 PM There's more of them? Rin shudders. Not like it affects him right now, but the thought is incredibly unnerving.

"To be able to forget is something that is blessed on its own," Hitari finally says. "But you are all lucky enough to never know in the first place. Each world has its own version of the last's inhabitants - and it so happens to be the inhabitant's intentions. . .never truly changed. Except with this one, it seems."

What are you saying, that alternate "mes" don't like you? That sounds just like here, Itami says, letting the false kindness fall out of his voice. Besides, if they could get here, wouldn't that just make some kind of temporal paradox or something?

"This place is. . .painfully. . .far away from the rest, like some mutation brought it far off the cosmic phylogeny tree. Everything. . .is new," Hitari replies, sounding wearier by the second. "That's not supposed to happen, yet the "yous" entertain the idea of unyielding expansion - I, conveniently to you, am reachable at some point in every timeline. No matter where or when I go, on any world." He turns and looks blankly at Itami. "Are you telling me the idea of a potentially infinite source of control over a universe does not sound appealing to you?"

Itami starts. . . .uh. I don't exactly understand how that all led to that last sentence.

Hitari sighs. "I didn't expect you to. Anomalies are. . .usually in previously inconsistent people, you know? But here, everything is altered - warped, in a way. This world, more than the others, must be removed."

Are you. . .I don't know, drunk or something? Itami asks, standing up and wincing. You came here like some overarching time lord, but now you sound like a sincere old man asking for his stories to be told when he's gone.

- - - - - - - - - -

A show, Chaos muses. Is it not meant to be rare that you show yourself, even to us?

"Much," Zandaka says. "But I have not met a mortal - apart from him - in quite a while. She intrigued me."

Still pretty terrifying to me, Rin thinks grimly. I wish I could just say you were drunk, Itami.

Link: https://www.sylestia.com/forums/?thread=94683&page=135#1343 Author: Mystiria827 Time Posted: 2/1/2021 at 8:11 AM Still pretty terrifying to me, Rin thinks grimly. I wish I could just say you were drunk, Itami.

"Inconsistent," Hitari mutters, turning back. He stares at the ground - if it weren't for the glint of anger (and potentially other emotions) in his eyes, you could almost think he was zoning out. "You're not meant to listen." The earth around his feet creaks and turns an ashy grey-black. "Too much is different for me to simply fix a single variable - " His breathing catches, and he, too quiet to hear, says something.

Hesitant yet curious, Itami takes a couple steps closer. You okay, pal? Getting sleepy, perhaps? He peeps over at you. I mean, I don't know about you, Rin, but I think I'd like to have our Hitari back now.

"I did have Chaos leave," Hitari says, slightly louder. "And - " His head lolls, as if he is drunk. " - I - he - depended on it more than I thought. . ."

Great, his mind was already wearing away, now his. . .everything remaining is going to get some of that, Itami grumbles. And we shouldn't do a thing about it, in my opinion.

- - - - - - - - - -

Chaos, still bored, taps at the invisible border keeping them from leaving. They are collapsing.

". . .was he not already?" Zandaka asks.

More so, since I am not present. My cipher's sanity and life were kept stable with me; the other knows this and thought he would be fine despite a practical merging of their beings. The falling is akin to a drunken stupor.

"Not your first, I see. But will he not forget his anger because of this?"

They will forget and fill it with what the situation provides, like a lost child without memories.

"And you will not assist them, nor ask me to?"

Certainly not, unless it begins to threaten this experiment again. . .the Creator is finally curious as to what we two are up to.

"Order is not here."

They are busy collecting. . .references. . .directly.

Rin glances at Itami. So he's starting to break down. Is that good, bad, or good-bad? I'm going with the third. He looks back at Hitari. .....wow, he really DOES look drunk.

Link: https://www.sylestia.com/forums/?thread=94683&page=135#1345 Author: Mystiria827 Time Posted: 2/2/2021 at 8:56 AM Rin glances at Itami. So he's starting to break down. Is that good, bad, or good-bad? I'm going with the third. He looks back at Hitari. .....wow, he really DOES look drunk.

How about, you, uh. . . Itami says. . . .take a nap? Yeah, that sounds great. Take a good ol' nap. We won't disturb you. Hesitant, he reaches out and pats Hitari on the back. It'd be nice, right?

"Must'nt; it'd. . .be a waste of time," Hitari replies, eyes glassy. "Can't go back here."

That's. . .cool. Look, you've. . .er, done a lot, and deserve a rest, pal.

"But. . .I. . .don't want to. . ." Hitari, who has been drooping this entire time, leans forward, and would have fallen to the ground if Itami didn't catch him.

Geez, he's like a pouty kid, Itami grumbles, repositioning him to be face-up on the ground. Good thing he let his apparent curiosity roam. Now what? We've got two asleep now.

- - - - - - - - - -

Asleep, Chaos murmurs. That was quicker than I anticipated, albeit still remarkable in his resistance.

"May we go down now?"

. . .soon. I just want to remain a bit longer.

"Well.... um, maybe he can't delete us while he's asleep," Rin decides with a sigh. "But that's alright, of course. More awkward waiting for us. Yay. Couldn't be better." He clenches his fists, finally starting to crack under the pressure.

Link: https://www.sylestia.com/forums/?thread=94683&page=135#1347 Author: Mystiria827 Time Posted: 2/2/2021 at 1:59 PM "Well.... um, maybe he can't delete us while he's asleep," Rin decides with a sigh. "But that's alright, of course. More awkward waiting for us. Yay. Couldn't be better." He clenches his fists, finally starting to crack under the pressure.

Riveting stuff, yeah. Itami sits on the ground. Ugh, I don't even have bones or muscles, but boy do I feel strung-out and sore. He glances at Hitari, who is sleeping soundly. Maybe I'll go look for Chaos and force them back together. I almost prefer the destroyer-of-worlds him as compared to. . .this. You wanna take a nap like our friends here?

"I'll... try, but I don't think I can," Rin admits. "I'm..... a little on edge. Okay, a lot. And yeah, I'll take Bringer of Doom and the Apocalypse over Drunken Grandpa," He says ruefully.

Link: https://www.sylestia.com/forums/?thread=94683&page=135#1349 Author: Mystiria827 Time Posted: 2/2/2021 at 3:04 PM "I'll... try, but I don't think I can," Rin admits. "I'm..... a little on edge. Okay, a lot. And yeah, I'll take Bringer of Doom and the Apocalypse over Drunken Grandpa," He says ruefully.

Itami snickers at the "Grandpa" comment. Heh, nice. Look, I'm going to just go out into the woods for a bit, as that's where he came from in the first place. Chaos is likely to be there; probably trapped in something too. Otherwise they'd have rushed over here already, since they're all about balance.

Without waiting for a reply, he wisps off in the direction of the trees, leaving you alone with the two sleepies - well, one sleepy. Shiawase still seems to be very lightly asleep, and could probably be roused awake if you want to bother doing that.

- - - - - - - - - -

"Itami's coming," Zandaka says. "What is your plan?"

Let him come - in fact, call him up. I think we can do something interesting with him.