songerein | i'm a new soul; [open]

Entry tags:

i'm a new soul; [open]

Who: Ryu and open!
Which: Depends on prompt!
Where: In Reverein and in dreams!
What: Ryu's shopping and reading! He's also dreaming!
Warnings: Childlike idiocy? Also mention of (child) death, destruction, and general violence in the dream portion.

attention shoppers

Ryu has gone shopping before, but mostly for supplies. Now that he has his own place (at the insistance of a few other people) he has to shop... for the house. This is a kind of shopping he's never had to do before, so when he steps into several stores he feels a bit overwhelmed. You might find him peering curiously at a coffee table as he wonders why people need a whole table for one beverage, or perhaps you might find him staring at a broom, trying to figure out how to hold it... not like a sword. He's never had to clean up after himself in that kind of way, so he has no idea how to use it.

It's not his fault - he's mostly slept either outside or in inns his entire existence. He knows he has to be responsible, but he's just not sure how

learn me a book

Or perhaps you'll find him at the Tree of Stories, sitting and trying to read out a book. He's reading out loud, so it's not hard to find him - though the book he's reading appears to be made for children. ... He's still having trouble with it nonetheless, but he's forging on regardless. His brow is furrowed in concentration as he tries to get through some of the harder words. Should someone approach him he'll look up and smile a little bashfully.

"S - sorry. Was I being too loud?"

He was trying not to - he doesn't want to be inconsiderate! But he's been told that reading things out loud is one of the best ways to work out a word. ... And there's a lot of words he doesn't know.

that empty feeling

But not all of Ryu's time is spent awake. Some of it is spent asleep, and his dreams aren't exactly peaceful. No, this one in fact is quite awful - an empty feeling pervading the whole scene. And what a scene it is.

It's bodies, scattered across the ground in front of him. Close to a dozen of them, with one of them on the ground in front of Ryu. The area around him is foggy, though the remnants of a village seem to be beyond the fog. It's hard to make out anything though, and to those sensitive to nightmare or negative energy, the whole place smells (metaphorically) fishy.

Ryu, for his part, is kicking the corpse in front of him, growling at it. There's an answering growl from within the fog, but he doesn't seem to notice or care.

"Why? Why them?! Why this? Is this what you wanted when you wanted to capture me? Is this - is this what you wanted to get out of it?!" His voice is strained, as if he's been yelling at the dead man for a while. He doesn't seem to notice anyone initially - he's clearly more focused on whatever happened here.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Far too common of a story," he reflected, nudging the body there on the ground. It didn't require wailing on it with a foot to add extra insult to injury. "You made it sound like he committed such acts in order to get to you? These were your villagers?"

He cocked his head as he considered the statement of losing control. He found that interesting, and it left open all manner of questions about this one. Everyone had a reason for doing what they did, even if those reasons were inherently bad ones. "And how did he force you to lose control, hmm?"

"He did do them to get to me - or at least while he was waiting for me to appear. He kidnapped nearly the whole village, took them away... and tortured them for information while he waited." His voice was as flat as he could make it, trying to keep himself calm. "I didn't grow up amongst them, but they were trying to protect me - they were innocent..."

In, out. In, out. Breathe. "He fought me with a construct that was... overwhelming. It nearly killed my entire group in an instant, and the sight of seeing all of them so destroyed it... something inside of me broke. I... I gained a new dragon form but... I can't control it. And every time I get angry it's... difficult to keep from turning into it..."

That was a tactic that was primarily used by Talon and other guerilla groups looking for certain types of attention. Hostages always drew eyes and ears. It seemed to in this case as much as any other, since apparently this guy had shown up to confront the individual in question. He wasn't about to debate the morality of it. "They were a calculated strategy to draw you out. Some would consider it a risk getting close to or seen by the same people over again."

He didn't know much about what kind of dragon's this boy was talking about, but the tone reminded him faintly of Genji. All angry and seeking a justice that would never satisfy. "Then let it out, boy. You can't hope to control it if you're too busy trying to avoid it."

"I can't avoid everyone just because someone is trying to hurt me." He loved people - he couldn't just... stay away from them forever. That made no sense - and besides, Rasso was dead. Though that didn't mean that there weren't other people like him...

He took a deep breath and tried to calm himself. Let it out? "I could kill someone like that. Again. All of these bodies..." He nudged another one of the bodies with his foot. All of them wore similar uniforms, though clearly lower rank than this Rasso he had been focusing on. "They're people I killed because I couldn't control that form."

"No, but you could find the person hunting you and kill them first," he replied with a small shrug of his shoulders. As a mercenary, he had been hunted by many looking to collect on his bounty, so he was used to finding those who were an actual threat and eliminating them.

"So you need to learn control," he said as if it were as simple as that. "Unleash it upon me then, and you'll learn control. I can't die," he added with a wave of his hand in the air and then leaned across the corpse on the ground between them. "Show me what you're capable of, boy."

... He wasn't sure if it would work that way. He wasn't sure who in the Imperial army was looking for him, just that someone was. And he'd rather not kill people... but in this case they might not give him a choice. Not if they were willing to send someone like Rasso out to get him. "Mm. Maybe." It wasn't the worst idea. Getting into Imperial territory again might be... tricky. But this person didn't need to known all of the details. Not when -

"Wait... you're an Endless? Or - or a god?" It wasn't as if he had ever heard of anyone being immortal who wasn't a god. "I... if you're really sure... are you?" He wanted to make absolutely sure before he released his full power. It wouldn't be fair if he didn't leave the man a chance to walk away.

Infiltration happened to be one of his specialties, and as long as he knew where they needed to be, he could scout out a way in. There were many here, there and everywhere that had such talents, of course, but it seemed to him that being able to be confident in control was the biggest issue.

"Neither," he remarked simply. "I'm cursed. You can destroy me, and I will come right back." It wasn't a fun experience, but he had not been killed by dragon yet, and besides, this was a dream so did it even count against his credit? Jack shouldn't be too angry about it if he was turned to dust. "Show me what you have, and if you fail to impress, I'm going to shoot you in the legs."

Cursed? Now that was... alarming. His eyes widened a little, but he got the sense he wasn't going to get much more out of this person without... showing him his strength. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

He felt the anger surge back to him, the anger of seeing bodies broken and destroyed. He could feel his rage pool in his stomach before releasing in a column of red-orange light. He yelled and floated up in the column before -

- He bypassed hybrid form entirely and went straight into his Kaiser Dragon form, the large dragon looming over Reaper. It growled briefly and then barreled down towards him, going to try to stab him with a massive claw. One target. Not multiple. The beast didn't feel the need to try and break out the big attacks just yet.

Reaper waited, wondering if the kid was going to give in so easily with the assurances that he wouldn't stay dead long. It seemed that this one might be a tad too trusting when it came to someone's boisterous claims about their own immortality, but he was rather interested to see this dragon.

It was an impressive beast, very different from the one that Genji wielded on their Blackwatch missions. For one, it was bigger and it consumed the whole boy rather than be direct line of attack with a sword. Fascinating.

As the dragon came towards him, his entire body dissolved into black smoke as the claw passed through his previous position. The smoke moved to the right until he reformed and this time, he had his Hellfire shotguns in hand and fired upon the dragon with his black scatter shot.

"Don't play nice, boy."

The gunshots irritated the dragon more than hurt it, its large head turning as it snorted. Nice? It doesn't know nice. It knows destruction, because that side of Ryu is what it exemplifies the most. It sent a blast of fire from between its 'arms' at the other man before following it up with a hard swipe towards him.

For all of its anger it didn't seem all that strategic. Whatever conscious mind was behind it has disappeared, leaving only the primal urge to destroy and obliterate. Ryu would feel bad if he could feel anything but anger at the moment.

Even if it missed, the dragon still went for a swipe to knock the guns out of Reaper's hands. Enough of that nonsense.

His bullet fragments had a necrotic effect to them, eating into flesh if it was there. They didn’t work on creatures made of magic or illusions, of course.

He was aware of the fire that was suddenly breathed at him, and before it could incinerate that area that he had previously been standing, he teleported in a swirl of black smoke to the other side of the dragon and discharged his shotguns as soon as he reappeared again.

Yet, he was already moving, not willing to immediately risk a sweep of that tail as he did what he could to annoy the dragon. It was clear that there wasn’t any advanced strategy for the beast at the moment, but he knew for a fact that one strike was all it would likely take to cause catastrophic damage.

The flesh was definitely there, and the necrotic damage would become a problem later - but not now. Not while it was still angry. It wasn't going to let this prey get away, even if it could move too fast for it to hit properly. Fine, then. It'd have to cover a larger area.

It reared back and lifted its mouth, opening it to cast a shower of blue lasers over the area. It would be difficult to keep out of it - at least as long as Reaper was in a corporeal form. Even still, the damage might hurt.

It didn't care what else might get obliterated in the area - corpses, the village, anything else... what mattered was attacking until it couldn't anymore.

Reaper could tell that the dragon was fully intending to kill him, and that was exciting. It had been a long time since he had felt the thrill of someone or something willing to actually put in the effort to kill him.

As the laser rained down, he dissolved into smoke and moved around the area, even going so far as to slip under the shadow of the dragon itself in case he had to reform early if the attack went a longer time than he could risk being in this form. If he stayed like this, the higher the risk of losing himself.

Suddenly, he pulled himself back together, noting the damage to the area. It was beautiful. "Are you going to let this mindless beast control you, boy? Put your heart into it."

"... heart..." The word rang in Ryu's mind, the monstrous dragon pausing for a moment before shaking its head in a huff. No. Hold onto the anger. That was all he - it? - it could do. It rushed towards the man, clearly enraged by his attempts to control the beast that was rampaging, going for just slamming its entire body weight down on the man.

Maybe he was fast enough. The beast was betting against him.

Reaper noted the reaction of the dragon, even pausing in discharging his weapons to see if the kid would actually take control back. That was the point of this exercise after all. However, it was a short-lived moment and the dragon came at him.

He moved to dodge from being crushed, but he took partial slamming before he disintegrated to smoke. He reformed a few meters later, shaking off the instant bruising and crush damage. It's fine. He'd had worse.

"Are you even trying, boy? Your dragon has you good and smothered it seems."

He was indeed trying, not that it was visible from the outside. Part of him struggled against the rage, but ultimately his lack of experience with intense emotions was holding him back. He tried to push through, but... nothing. No give in his emotion, and in a place like this he could likely hold out for a while.

It swiped at Reaper as he was trying to shake off the impact, growling and roaring as it kept trying to stab into him. Its jaws snapped as it lunged, eager to get the creature harrying it into a position where it would be unable to retaliate.

Reaper didn't mind that he couldn't see any efforts. He assumed the kid was either being subdued or was putting in some effort. Experience came with time, and he had no issue being a dream punching bag at this point. He just happened to be willing to be sassy about it as his way of encouragement.

He moved to dodge the sweep of claws, pushed backwards to avoid the snap of jaws. He was driven backwards, firing his shotguns at the dragon's face as he was forced to put his back to a half broken stone wall. Oh no, what would he do now that he was partially cornered? For now, he'd wait.

"Come on, boy."

Seeing the opportunity, the beast rushed at Reaper, flames sparking again in its mouth. It slammed down a claw, trying to pin the man down before releasing the fire it was holding in its mouth. Ryu screamed in frustration, leading the dragon itself to roar back - in anger, in pain, in sheer defiance.

He was trying. He was trying to fight it, but the anger... it was like a flood that washed away everything else.

The claw struck true, slamming him against the wall and pinning him there. His head tipped to stare at the open maw because he knew the flames were coming, and he had to time everything right or else he would become ashes. He needed to give the kid time to fight though, and the roar seemed indication that a fight was occurring.

Good. Even if there was no success this time, the fact that the boy fought was enough. In time, it would come along. More opportunities, more fights, more deaths for him but that was half the fun these days.

Reaper dissolved to smoke under that claw as the flames struck, feeling the heat through his clothing as his incorporeal form as he moved under the dragon's shadow. He reformed, but he was actually smoking, feeling the sting of burnt flesh. It was time to take a stand.

"You need more practice. Both of you do."

That was probably true, and Ryu would have to remember it later... but in the present he was still struggling to hold on. He could feel it, like a flame being smothered by a river. There was still a spark, but he couldn't, he couldn't -

It sniffed the air, trying to locate Reaper - there. It could feel something burning in its flesh, but instead of a pained response it tilted its head low. It rushed at the man, trampling over corpses like they were nothing - because to it they were. It wasn't sure what to do with an opponent like this - he just wouldn't stay still!

Moving was the only way to stay alive at this point, and he backed off as the dragon charged at him. He had to dive over the bulk of that serpentine body to avoid those jaws. He tossed his nearly empty shotgun aside to free up his hand.

"So big, so slow. Come on, dragon-boy, let's have a merry chase, shall we?"

Why would he discard his weapon? The beast was confused for a moment before rushing after Reaper again, trying to get to him - if it could just be a moment faster, a second swifter! It growled, teeth gnashing as it tried to follow along with the gunman. At the pace they were going they'd reach one of the ruined village's houses soon, and it didn't want to give its prey a chance to hide.

He had to jump and roll to the side to avoid those teeth, feeling the wind as he flowed back up to his feet. This beast was determined to kill him, which was good. He leaned closer so he could look the dragon momentarily in one eye.

"I know you have more than that." Whether he was talking to the dragon or the boy trapped inside he didn't care who took it that way.

The dragon roared in protest at him, but it was stumbling. The bullets were eating away at it more effectively than it would care to admit, if it could care about anything. The roar was weaker than before as it swiped out with its good limb.

The pain was starting to creep in, and for a moment it paused as Ryu attempted to rush back into control - only to be swept away again. How dare he? How dare this insect challenge a god? The dragon started slamming its claws into the ground, raining dirt and stone and rubble around it.

Well, well, was that... something? He noted that the dragon was seeming to have less strength and while his purpose wasn't to kill, he had to wonder if he was wearing the beast down enough that the kid could put up another fight. It was hard to tell, but he liked to think someone so used to losing control and killing everything would be fighting.

So he continued his onslaught even as he backed away to head to the ruins of the village. He could take cover there and then he would have the complete advantage. After all, he was an assassin for a reason and slipping in and out of the shadows was where his element was.

i'm a new soul; [open]

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apologies for the delay. work killed me :(

It happens! No worries. :3

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