ACCOUNTABILITY.

[blackmass]

[The sound of footsteps is slow, but deliberate and without hesitation. And as they echo through the room he walks into view lacking fear, lacking hesitance, lacking...much of anything at all.]

[He's tall--perhaps taller than his profile had implied--wide-shouldered and built like an unbreakable fortress wall, wearing the solid black of a priest; the light catches a gold cross around his neck to confirm the fact. And as he steps forward, his long coat (the deep purple of poisons and nightshade itself) trails behind him before coming to a stop as he does.]

[A smile cut across his gaunt and pale face, but it was far from a pleasant one. It was the enigmatic smile of someone witnessing a joke only they found humorous, and yet it did not reach the dark and emotionless eyes that scanned the room briefly as though the priest was carefully calculating what course of action to take.]

At last we meet face to face, my Apprentices.

[The voice that leaves him is recognizable as the same one that was heard only moments before, but clearer in person. Now it seems to ring like the largest, deepest bells of Notre Dame itself, no louder than an ordinary speaking tone--the result sounds more like distant thunder heralding an oncoming hurricane.]

[The real difference lies not in how he speaks, but what he says. The short, impersonal sentences of the weeks prior are at last discarded, and the man before them speaks as a true preacher--a true wordsmith--would address his congregation.]

Rejoice and be proud of your accomplishments. Each and every last one of your number, dead or alive, has truly exceeded all expectations I had for this group. And now you have clawed and scratched your way here, on the backs of your fallen friends' struggles and failures. You have proven that their own accomplishments would not be in vain simply by standing here before me--I do not doubt that your success is the wish most of them held in their hearts, at the very end of their lives.

[He places a hand over his own heart, taking on a tone that nearly sounds genuinely proud...until a patronizing current begins to run through each syllable like a deadly undertow.]

Do you perhaps feel satisfied? You would be right to, for making it so far. Your sorrow, desperation, joy, determination...all of it has been a magnificent thing to behold as you fought to reach this point in time. Each second of it has served its purpose, and served it very well. I am one who believes such struggling and effort deserves to be rewarded, and so this alongside my own endless gratitude is what I will grant you in return for all that you have done for me.

My name is Kirei Kotomine.

[He holds his arms out slightly to his sides, a gesture that would almost seem welcoming if 'Kageshirou' did not react and coil--completely harmlessly--around his arms like a black serpent. The smile he wore turned to a razor-edged smirk, the challenge set before the remaining Apprentices clear even without his next words:]

And now that we have properly met, tell me: shall we continue our discussion?

Comments

[oyashiromama]

[Hanyuu clears her throat.]

Probing Kirei won't get the results we hope for, I fear. We have much to discuss, still.

Sportacus and Jasper found a blacksmith workshop of some kind, with no forge but many attempts at making weapons, hilts. In this room, there was an alchemy circle on a table, and a note about fueling something. It confirms there were groups before us, and that we are reaching "the end" in whatever capacity that means.

Elda and I found a chapel, Kirei's own personal one. The pews were burnt and beaten, and there was a note among them, about running out of time. Candles were recently lit, as I assume Kirei was praying, though to what I'm unsure. These flowers [the white hydrangeas] were around some of them, and...if I recall correctly, in Hanakotoba, hydrangeas mean "pride." Additionally, there was a hidden compartment at the pulpit, but whatever was in there was removed. ...Perhaps it's something he has with him now, or something someone else found.

Silver and Lusamine discovered his room. There were entirely too many things needing locks, a fancy bottle of wine, and some gem shards. Lusamine in particular discovered books, relating to cross world travel, philosophy, and the philosophical nature of the soul. ...Presumably, he was reading this regarding himself, but it's likely souls have something to do with why we're here. Since Lusamine found a note about an energy source, that is the assumption we have been running with. It's clear the energy source is related to what needs fueling.

Lastly, Guzma and Estellise explored his study or...a sort of library. There was a book no one could read, written in...a language none of us can even vaguely recognize. Most of the books were about the soul once again, especially regarding self-actualization and the process by which how to achieve such a thing. Many of them also included information about the soul being connected to the body and separating it, through death.

[...She catches her breath.]

If...there's anything significant I missed, I apologize but...that is where we are right now. We should determine...why this game, and just what Kirei is fueling. The assumption is...Angra Mainyu?

[elepe]

Angra Mainyu would be the least far-fetched assumption. If he is using us as the energy source, he must...want us to get angry. To disdain, to despair...

[...Hmm.]

And perhaps...his intention is to travel through the worlds, with it. This is but one world, isn't it? To think, what could be done with two...or three...or more...

[iaspis]

More sacrifices. The more worlds it consumes, the stronger Angra Mainyu might become.

[elepe]

And the stronger it becomes, the more his purpose is fulfilled. Until it truly become's the despair of all worlds, perhaps?

[oyashiromama]

For a single person or a few people to travel through worlds, it's easier. To move a concept... That sounds like an apt assumption to make.

[elepe]

We all come from many different worlds. Think for a moment, the despair those at home must feel due to the lot of us disappearing in the night? The level of emotions...they would be an incredible fuel.

[oyashiromama]

...I- I still have to wonder- why this? What... What gave him this idea? Has anything like this...where did he get it from?

[blackmass]

...Do you really think the concept of fighting and dying for a cause is anything original?

[acherontiastyx]

I don't know. I mean, he seems like he mostly just wants the thing to exist and be able to do its thing instead of go on a merry murder romp everywhere.

[elepe]

[this seems awfully familiar]

Same difference, is it not? It's 'thing', so to speak, could be fueled by something like this.

[acherontiastyx]

Yeah. But like... I guess the question is why he'd need souls from all over the multiverse instead of just getting some people from where he's from? Unless he can't for some reason.

[elepe]

...Could he have possibly sacrificed people from his own world, to start the first of these? And perhaps he needs more souls to compensate for those he uses to drag us in...

[...man, his guess is as good as hers? Maybe he just wants to drive people into despair and ran out of fun things to do at home.

She doesn't know man.]

[firstaid]

Perhaps it's as he said, he wishes for us to feel anguish, despair, hatred, and rage. Certainly they are emotions we've felt when we've lost others to this game. However, I believe that we need to express the opposite emotions. Happiness, hope, love, and we need to remain calm. To act otherwise is what I believe Kirei and Angra Mainyu want of us.

[iaspis]

[nnnnnngh]

You're right. To do otherwise would prove his point.

[firstaid]

It would prove it. So, let us keep our heads calm and let us fight against this negativity. We've made it this far. We're stronger as a result even if we've hurt so much along the way.

[sportadork]

[so he's been like SUPER quiet until just now--]

I don't know how something could eat oranges and be filled with despair. [LIKE HE'S. JUST SAYING.]

[firstaid]

I suppose all that means is that oranges will not make someone happy. If only it were as easy as that.

[sportadork]

I don't know; I have a lot of oranges here.

[firstaid]

I mean, you could try to see if it works. Perhaps that will make it happy!

[matchbreaker]

[ Man Hanyuu is their goddess.

But okay no, ]

Does that mean the dead people are inside Angra Mainyu as fuel already?

[oyashiromama]

...I don't know. They said their world is surrounded by it...but they can still communicate with us. How, if they were already "fuel?"

[matchbreaker]

[ . . . ]

... I don't know.

Wait.

[ .... Elda's eyes go wide.

And she bites her nail. There's no way. ]

[oyashiromama]

What?

[Her breath catches.]

What is it?

[feistytrader]

If it's about taking their negative emotions, wouldn't it be better to keep their souls around to keep being negative?

[matchbreaker]

Yes.

Yes, that sounds right.