[It takes a moment for him to tear his gaze away from the moving pictures, that vision of a younger, more foolish self. He faces Tuuri.]
I... It was he who--
[His voice is quiet, and it's drowned out by the sounds coming from that screen as it continues.]
MEMORY: STRONGER
No matter how hard you try, it's useless.
Every day, you train with the sword. Every night, you study the magic arts.
And yet, you're still so much weaker than the men you're supposed to be leading. You have no talent for magic. No strength or stamina to stand up against a seasoned warrior. For years, you've tried to get stronger, and failed. You slip up, get wounded, and start to fall behind. Why are you the leader, anyway? You only fail them, time and time again.
And not just them. The villagers who rely on you for protection. The children, waiting for you to return with food and supplies in hand. And most of all... that man. The great sage you've devoted your life to serving. You're failing him.
"I have to be stronger...! Stronger...!"
Today, like many other days, you sneak away to train in secret. It's futile, but you won't stop trying. You swing your sword again and again, using a tree for a target, adding to its hundreds of scars -- all of them pathetically shallow. Desperation growing, you swing and you swing until at last, you collapse. Your muscles ache. Your lungs burn. Is this all you're capable of?
... A familiar chime pulls you from your thoughts. The sound of his staff.
"Allow me to grant that wish."
You can barely stand, but you just manage to turn to see him. The great sage, clad in red, extending his staff towards you.
In that moment, it's as if everything around you is bathed in crimson. Dark tendrils extend from him to you, binding you in place as the magic fills your body. There's a horrible crawling feeling, a feeling of things shifting in unnatural ways underneath your skin, a feeling so strange and terrifying that you can only scream. Your skin hardens, uneven rock protrusions forming in various places. Your sense of feeling dulls, and all that's left is a lingering sense of wrongness... and the bitter taste of betrayal.
[Tuuri doesn't even need to see the end of that memory to guess what's going to happen. By the time the Zelgadis in the video is screaming, Tuuri is already turning away to grab for Zel to pull him into a tight hug.]
[Zelgadis's jaw is tightly clenched, his fists even moreso, as he braces himself for what he knows is coming. A scene that's replayed itself endlessly in his head, in his nightmares, again and again.
But the hug is unexpected. Unfamiliar.
He doesn't know how to react to it. So he just stands there like a statue as the screen finally goes dark...
Then finally, he lets out a short breath he hadn't realized he was holding, and takes another. His hands relax, and the tension lifts.]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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[Hm. She sees the tension in Zel's body. Something tells her that this isn't going to be a happy story.]
Do you want to talk about it? You don't have to if you don't want to, I won't push or anything. But I'm here if you want to.
hey maybe the notifs won't break this one
I... It was he who--
[His voice is quiet, and it's drowned out by the sounds coming from that screen as it continues.]
Every day, you train with the sword. Every night, you study the magic arts.
And yet, you're still so much weaker than the men you're supposed to be leading. You have no talent for magic. No strength or stamina to stand up against a seasoned warrior. For years, you've tried to get stronger, and failed. You slip up, get wounded, and start to fall behind. Why are you the leader, anyway? You only fail them, time and time again.
And not just them. The villagers who rely on you for protection. The children, waiting for you to return with food and supplies in hand. And most of all... that man. The great sage you've devoted your life to serving. You're failing him.
"I have to be stronger...! Stronger...!"
Today, like many other days, you sneak away to train in secret. It's futile, but you won't stop trying. You swing your sword again and again, using a tree for a target, adding to its hundreds of scars -- all of them pathetically shallow. Desperation growing, you swing and you swing until at last, you collapse. Your muscles ache. Your lungs burn. Is this all you're capable of?
... A familiar chime pulls you from your thoughts. The sound of his staff.
"Allow me to grant that wish."
You can barely stand, but you just manage to turn to see him. The great sage, clad in red, extending his staff towards you.
In that moment, it's as if everything around you is bathed in crimson. Dark tendrils extend from him to you, binding you in place as the magic fills your body. There's a horrible crawling feeling, a feeling of things shifting in unnatural ways underneath your skin, a feeling so strange and terrifying that you can only scream. Your skin hardens, uneven rock protrusions forming in various places. Your sense of feeling dulls, and all that's left is a lingering sense of wrongness... and the bitter taste of betrayal.
it worked! No notif breaking!
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But the hug is unexpected. Unfamiliar.
He doesn't know how to react to it. So he just stands there like a statue as the screen finally goes dark...
Then finally, he lets out a short breath he hadn't realized he was holding, and takes another. His hands relax, and the tension lifts.]
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She doesn't pull away until she feels him start to breathe again. But when she does, she offers him an encouraging smile.]
It's alright. It's over now.
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[He looks down at her, his expression softening.]
... It's fine. It's something I have to face every day.
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With the way you reacted... It's got to be tough, huh?
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In the blink of an eye, my life as a human was over.
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But...you're still you, regardless of if you're human or not. You know that, right?
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I...
[He hesitates.]
... I just have to find a way to reverse it.
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What?
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That is- um-
[Suddenly she takes out her phone.]
Oh look, I've got a message from Hunter! I guess I better go see what he wants!
[There is no notification on her screen. And they're still in the void anyway.]
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[He's looking away politely, trying not to make this any more awkward. But while he looks around...]
... There's an exit.
[It probably appeared when the screen went dark, but they didn't notice.]
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[She is smiling as she hurries out that exit, but she's screaming on the inside.]
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