...I have a demon of my own. He is not in my heart, as literally as yours is, but... he does much of the same.
[ speaking the vile name of that creature still spooks xie lian - as if he may suddenly appear. some part of him wonders if he already has, puppeting this place the way he puppeted xie lian's home. ]
...He is called the White No Face. A creature, like the ghosts you saw in the Kiln, wearing a mask - half smiling, half crying. He chose me as a target some time ago, and told me many of the same things, but instead of controlling me, chose to destroy my kingdom and my people for reasons I still do not know.
[ xie lian, xie lian, you're going to lose!
even now, he can recall the sight of his own face behind that white mask with crystal clarity. it sends a chill down his spine - san lang, still qilin formed, makes a soft noise and abruptly shifts, curling closer to xie lian himself, protective. ]
I did not defeat him - escaped him, rather. I have not seen him since Xian Le fell, yet his words still haunt my waking and resting moments, and I often find myself wondering if he has simply decided to complete his toying with me and move on to torment someone else. The thought makes me even angrier - I cannot bear the thought of someone going through what I did.
And though it would be easier to never see him again, I wish that cowardly supreme would show his face to me once more, so I could destroy him for the things he has done.
...so you are right. Our strength in these times comes not from bearing these weights alone, but struggling through them together. [ xie lian turns his head to rin, now, and gives him a small smile. ] We must not falter - but it becomes easier to hold such things when we don't do so alone. I'm happy, to struggle through that with you.
no subject
[ speaking the vile name of that creature still spooks xie lian - as if he may suddenly appear. some part of him wonders if he already has, puppeting this place the way he puppeted xie lian's home. ]
...He is called the White No Face. A creature, like the ghosts you saw in the Kiln, wearing a mask - half smiling, half crying. He chose me as a target some time ago, and told me many of the same things, but instead of controlling me, chose to destroy my kingdom and my people for reasons I still do not know.
[ xie lian, xie lian, you're going to lose!
even now, he can recall the sight of his own face behind that white mask with crystal clarity. it sends a chill down his spine - san lang, still qilin formed, makes a soft noise and abruptly shifts, curling closer to xie lian himself, protective. ]
I did not defeat him - escaped him, rather. I have not seen him since Xian Le fell, yet his words still haunt my waking and resting moments, and I often find myself wondering if he has simply decided to complete his toying with me and move on to torment someone else. The thought makes me even angrier - I cannot bear the thought of someone going through what I did.
And though it would be easier to never see him again, I wish that cowardly supreme would show his face to me once more, so I could destroy him for the things he has done.
...so you are right. Our strength in these times comes not from bearing these weights alone, but struggling through them together. [ xie lian turns his head to rin, now, and gives him a small smile. ] We must not falter - but it becomes easier to hold such things when we don't do so alone. I'm happy, to struggle through that with you.