[CLOSED]

[aionpcs]

WHO: Gray, Meteion, Childe, Silco, Makoto, Kaeya, Luo Binghe, and Eustace.
WHAT: The Regent review some memories.
WHERE: The Regent's throne room.
WHEN: The early days of Visoseri (June).
WARNINGS: N/A

It's in the early days of Visoseri that the Kenoma who witnessed the Innocence Entity will begin to be summoned by the Regent to share with them their memories of the events that transpired within Venera. They've been called upon, they'll be told by the servant sent to retrieve them, because Xishen's report included word that they witnessed the being infecting the city first hand. The Regent will meet with them in their throne room, and there is no room for delay. They are to come immediately, the moment the servant finds them.

Upon passing through the grand doorway to the Regent's hall, they will find the Regent sitting at their throne. Beyond that singular presence, the room is alarmingly empty. While the Kenoma that were first to arrive may remember the dinner tables that were set up in the center, now there is nothing but the throne, which is not even particularly large or attention grabbing. It could be that this sense of emptiness is the point, given what the Kenoma represents. The Regent themself is nearly unreadable, wearing a silvery, faceted mask and flowing robes of black, their body of a height that seems just a bit taller than yours. The only way to know they've even seen you is the way they raise their chin, ever so slightly.

"Come," they will say, beckoning you forward with a wave of their hand. "There is no need to explain. Your memories will do the talking."

Provided you acquiesce, you will feel the Regent begin to probe your thought with a touch of their frigid, clawed hand. If not, you best have a good explanation as to why you are refusing.

[These threads will be done in summary unless a more direct conversation ends up being needed. Please tag in with how cooperative your character is being. Each interview will be done separately from the others. If they have any questions before or after submitting themselves, they may also ask those now.]

Comments

[aionpcs]

"That would depend," they say. Despite their reaction when first feeling the 'curse', there doesn't seem to be much urgency in their tone now.

"Could you describe what effects you've experienced thus far?"

[affal]

He summarizes to the best of his ability. "I noticed the change almost immediately upon regaining consciousness. I had been brought to the hospital in Venera, and I awoke with this sort of... sense of those around me — or their pain, at the very least. I felt compelled to go to one, and once at their side, I..." This part is a little more challenging to explain, given he hadn't exactly had a great vantage point on the spectral wings sprouting from his own back. He focuses instead on what he had inferred from it. "Something seemed to activate, and it drew upon my own energy to transfer it instead to the injured, healing them."

He had eventually managed to force himself to leave, but it had taken some time. Not enough time to completely heal the injured individual, but enough to see some change to their condition.

[aionpcs]

The Regent makes a soft scoffing sound, as one would when finding something 'typical'. Overall, they see to be fairly familiar with this being and what they might expect from it.

"Intended to be an ironic punishment, I'm sure," they say, more amused than troubled. "I take it this new 'ability' of yours is not to your preference?"

[affal]

Given what he had seen and experienced first-hand in Venera, he would have to agree that the curse seems rather in-line with what little he knows about the entity itself.

At first he doesn't reply. Since the banquet in which they had first met the Regent, Makoto has operated under the assumption that they know all that they could possibly wish to know about him, so... he gets the sense that they're poking fun at him...? He closes his eyes, takes a deep breath, and exhales. When they reopen they do as slits of red and silver, as cold and reptilian as his answering tone, "...No."

"If there's anything to be done to rid myself of it — anything — then I will do it."

[aionpcs]

"Well," the Regent says, sitting up straight. "In that case... I'm sure something can be done. Though, you may not be the same afterward..."

While they are teasing, there is also something deadly serious about that, as if he should really be weighing whether the relative severity of his current curse.

[affal]

Tragic that his bluff would have to be called so soon.

He hadn't actually intended it as a bluff — whether it's an objective to accomplish or an ordeal to weather, Makoto has confidence not in his strength or endurance but in his tenacity. But to change... To lose or have altered any intrinsic part of himself is perhaps the only thing that would give him pause. He's lost so much since he was brought into Hell. Himself, his name, and his goals are all he has left, and he fights like a devil to protect them.

Though... as far as he is concerned, the invasion of the Innocent's will into his shard is already disruption enough.

Makoto very clearly hesitates before continuing, words slow and careful, "Would Your Eminence be able to elaborate - to the manner or extent by which I might be changed?"

[aionpcs]

"Souls are delicate things," they explain, their teasing tone fading entirely. "To cleanse you of such a powerful mark, it would take a certain kind of... soap, if you will. And I can't promise that it won't be abrasive."

They tilt their head, examining him.

"On the bright side, its hold on you could be deeper. It clings to your Shard, but hasn't fully infected it. A sign you rejected its influence wholly."

[affal]

A crease forms between his brows. "Surely you've seen such a cleansing before. What sort of changes did you see in —"

He catches himself, frowning and then dipping his head in a short sign of deferent apology. "...My apologies, Your Excellency. There's much to think about."

He's already drawing out arrays of pros and cons. As disgusting as the thought of that thing still clinging to his shard is, he does know that it's at the very least possible to resist the compulsion it gives him. It would be a very obvious detriment in a fight, but... The worst case scenarios he can imagine from any damage to his soul are far more daunting. Damage to, what — his emotions, his convictions, his memories, his relationships? Makoto is a delicate and carefully-constructed engine of anger; if even one piece of those things is suddenly out-of-place, he's not even sure he'll function the same.

One more possibility occurs to him: "The creature that did this to me. If it's destroyed, will its mark remain?"

[aionpcs]

"I couldn't say," the Regent says. "After all, it's never been destroyed before." They fall silent, leaning back as they tap their claws on the arm of their throne. "I take it that you will not, in fact, do anything to rid yourself of it, then?"

They almost seem disappointed by how quickly his conviction vanished when faced with such an existential threat.

[affal]

Once he had been so cavalier with his soul — so thoroughly afraid of and disillusioned with the life he potentially had ahead of him, he had signed it away to a demon without a thought. And once J had decided to bring him into hell rather than kill him as promised, that soul had only belonged to him in name; according to another's whims, it had been irrevocably warped. Being brought to Horos had given him more possession of and agency over his soul than he'd had in years. It makes him defensive.

He keeps his head bowed, though largely to camouflage the way his jaw clenches in anger. He feels as though he's being misinterpreted, and he's always been fastest to indignation.

"All that I am is what I want to achieve, why I feel I must do so, and what I've done to put myself on that path." He drains the emotion from the words, laying them one in front of the other like bricks. "Missing any piece of that equation, I worry I would find myself - adrift, and ultimately of less use to you."

"But, ignoring that," he takes a breath and sighs. "Then yes. I suppose so."

His shoulders fall, the wind having fallen out of his sails.

"Is this a choice I must make now?"

[aionpcs]

Their little with which to gauge the Regent's reaction to his explanation, but it can at least be said that they do not response with mirth. Instead, they are silent until he is finished.

"It isn't," they say. "After all, it's your burden to bear... as distasteful as I find it to have the stink of that creature in my presence. I'd be less patient if I believed this curse capable of threatening your fellow Kenoma... but as it is, it's more of a fungus that needs scouring."

They lift their hands in some manner of shrug.

"I will remind you, though, that loss is inevitable. You've experienced plenty of it in your short time living, but there will never be a true end to it, either. There is always more to lose."

[affal]

Similarly, Makoto makes his face a mask as he receives their reply, immovable except for a faint tension in the corners of his eyes.

He nods. There's nothing more to be said on that, as disheartening as it is to hear.

He will defend himself on one point, though: "It's not the loss itself I fear, sire, but the possible effect it might have. After all," his eyes narrow to slits of crimson and silver, "The best way to keep a dog vicious is to keep it starving."

There is much Makoto denies himself, and he keeps himself wreathed in the pain and anger stemming from his past, all because he knows that desperation is the only advantage he can hope to obtain to make up for what he lacks innately. Apart from that, what could he fear to lose? His humanity long gone, his hope winnowed with the chaff, the tiny spark of goodness he'd once had as a human being buried beneath a ton of earth. He's long since known he marches a path to ruin — the will of his soul had crumpled before the Kenoma acknowledging the inevitability of that final destination — but that doesn't mean he won't do everything in his power to try to carve out his final revenge while he can. It would be a disappointment to lose anything else before then, especially if it made it all for naught, but assuming it was out of his hands, what could he do?

That's just the thing. This time, it is in his hands.

"If that's the case, I would like to make this decision later, once I gather my thoughts. Is there anything else Your Excellency would have of me?"