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

[blackmass]

Why on earth would I allow for something like that?

[iaspis]

So it happened without your knowledge?

[matchbreaker]

But it happened, didn't it?

[ ... ]

You even threatened us over it! We stuffed the notes in your mailbox! [ Albeit a special part of it ] You were not ignorant of it - so... what? Did Angra Mainyu allow for it apart from your wishes?

[blackmass]

I elected not to stop you because doing so earned me very little.

After all, if your friends were to all vanish after that brief ray of hope written contact allowed, the resulting despair you all felt would have only helped my own cause.

And I do remind you, I still have influence over what happens to them even if I can not bring them back.

[oyashiromama]

But... But Angra Mainyu is the one who controls their fate...is that so? If they are inside it.

[blackmass]

And it is as I said. We are one and the same.

[oyashiromama]

...I'm not sure...that's entirely so. When I offered a hand...the shadows seemed to react independent of you.

Angra Mainyu, can you hear me?

[blackmass]

[The shadows around Kirei moved at that, still more flickering from the priest itself yet again.]

In a literal sense, perhaps not. But if anyone can stop their souls from being erased, then I am the only one with that ability.

[matchbreaker]

[ . . . No, that's not true, is it?

If it's not literal- ]

No.... No, actually. We could bypass you and appeal to it directly.

[blackmass]

...You have got to be joking right now.

You can not all be this stupid.

[matchbreaker]

Why not? You're our "enemy."

That thing might be "pure evil," but it's at best your "cohort" - and a childish, unborn one at that.

[ She smirks. Yes, yes, this sounds like a viable means to pursue. ]

[oyashiromama]

Angra Mainyu has that ability too...wouldn't you say? [She takes a deep breath, and continues to address the shadows.] I was not lying before. I will reach out a hand to you...and help you discover the world. I- I know, from your creation...this is all you've known, but that doesn't make it impossible... You can find something else. Please...just let them go. Don't doom them.

Avenger. Kageshirou. Angra Mainyu.

[blackmass]

[he genuinely can not believe this is happening.]

[Avenger, however, does nothing in response.]

[oyashiromama]

[...She keeps going.]

He said you lack my will, but I...I don't believe that. I believe you can develop on your own...outside of what humanity created you for, and imbued you with. I... I was thought to be an evil, vengeful god once. For centuries, for such a long time...and I almost believed it. To be stuck in that place, it's horrible.

I- I know what it's like to think...that's all you're able to do. That there's a role for you. But there's not! Look at Jasper, who before this by her own admission didn't know who she was. You don't have to be what they created you for! I- I will... I will open my heart to you, I already have. Not just...because you control the fate of those we care about, but- but because every creature deserves a chance!

[matchbreaker]

Who's Noir to you? The words on the chalkboard?

[ she's going to press on, ignoring that second point. This still isn't adding up to her. If he didn't allow it, why would that work? who did allow it? Is this just magic bullshit ]

[blackmass]

'Noir'...? Oh, yes. I am aware of her, but I can not say she's all that relevant in most of this.

[matchbreaker]

How can that be true? If she can contact us, and if we can send letters, even if you only allowed it because of your own amusement...

That means either Angra Mainyu is acting outside of your will or they're worked out how to perform autonomous action within it which can hold influence over this world.

[ And those are hugely important, because either one means he's not in total control ]

[blackmass]

Don't you listen? I already told you I do not issue Avenger orders.

[matchbreaker]

Well, then that means more than just him not being my "enemy," he's also allowed us to communicate with them!

[acherontiastyx]

...did you come up with the idea of getting us to kill each other on your own, though.

[elepe]

[...Lusamine grips her podium hard at that, looking down.]

This was...just for your amusement, then.

[feistytrader]

...No, I don't think it's just that.

[Angra Mainyu needs that negativity to thrive, doesn't it?]

[elepe]

Same difference.

[Give them hope so they can fall even harder when it's all dashed.]

[blackmass]

Is that what you think? It certainly didn't hurt. It's rare that I actually enjoy myself.

[elepe]

[Lusamine grips the podium tighter.]

Then there was another reason alongside that?