expiationlogs | [CLOSED] got a colony of ants underneath my skin

Tsk! Again -! How vexing.

[The voice comes from above, only seconds before a heeled boot comes down dangerously close to Morph's fingers with a violence that can only be intentional. Even though Douman hadn't moved after his initial attack while their eyes had been on him, he is now on the ledge of the roof they are hanging from, staring down at them. He is still wearing the same gold-colored Okina noh mask as always, but the visible burning hunger in the cold eyes beneath it ruins the gentle carved smile of the old man's face.

Beneath them furniture crashes and glass keeps splintering as his curse digs itself deeper into the building before Douman cuts it off with a cutting swipe of his pointer and middle finger through the air in a typical Onmyoji fashion. He only wastes half a thought on how it's a good thing that the store had been closed and empty as he considers what to do with his catch.]

I really should adjust my grit to include animal shapes as well.

[He knows what they mean, though. He knows. But wouldn't that not be also a grand disguise? The culprit, sitting right among the victims, pretending to be one of them. He can't be certain. He needs to be certain. So he starts chanting a spell under his breath again.]

Is that so? I wonder . . .

[Morph gives a start, and it's less about their fingers and more that the creepy guy just appeared up on the roof with no indication at all. Was it super speed? Teleportation? Having that ability along with a bunch of lasers was already bad news, and what's more, Morph has no idea how they're doing it at all.

Not that they have much time to think about it. Morph is pretty sure the cat thing was the fastest that they've ever shifted forms before, and it was a near thing. Whatever that chanting is, they are not going to let it continue if they can help it.

Suddenly, they're growing much larger, their skin forming into metal plates as they take Colossus' form. Their fingers are no longer only clinging onto the roof but digging in, cracking the shingles in an effort to keep their increased weight hanging there for just a little longer.]

You are better off learning some manners!

[It's a heavy Russian accent they chide the masked stranger in before making a grab for his ankle. If Morph can get a hold of the guy, he's getting thrown straight to the ground, no questions asked. After that earlier display, they're not willing to play around.]

[Good. His opponent seems disturbed. That is exactly what Douman wants: to perplex and unsettle his opponents during a fight to the point where they can't tell what he can and cannot do and make mistakes because of it. Getting overestimated is just as useful as the opposite. There is no need for anybody to know that he is actually using three techniques in unusual ways to create the illusion of a single overwhelming one.]

Tsk, tsk. Trying to catch a Nurarihyon... How very unwise of you.

[He doesn't try to evade the grasp. Moving around carelessly on a rooftop is dangerous even if nobody is coming after you, and his boots weren't made for that kind of acrobatics either. Besides, that'd be giving ground. Running from the one who has been messing with him. Undignified. The word is whispered in his mind in the amused lilt of a rival long dead. It's making the scar over his right eye ache and burn.

The moment colossus' plated iron grip closes around it, his ankle - and a good part of the leg it's attached to - simply fragments and disappears, dissipating like a bank of fog while only leaving the unsatisfying feeling of almost having grasped something behind.

Douman uses the chance to aim a kick at Colossus's face with his remaining foot before he lets his form dissolve fully and reappears at the other side of the roof like a ghost flowing apart and then back together again. The feeling of his presence disappears again, even though the killing intent can still be clearly felt.]

You are no Japanese, are you? Everyone knows that trying to attack me is doomed to be futile. I, on the other hand, can do a whole lot of things to you.

[Just not try to kick him again. That must've hurt Douman a lot more than Morph just now!]

[CLANG! goes Morph's metal head as Douman's foot hits him squarely, but with their metal skin a simple kick barely registers. No, they're far more bothered by the fact that the guy disappeared so easily - it had to be a form of teleportation, but dealing with it was going to be a real pain. They couldn't hope for backup of any kind, not while whoever might come running at the sound of a fight was a potential enemy, too.

They pull themself up on the edge of the roof, very carefully, aware of how more shingles are fracturing under their weight.]

Sorry, despite accent right now, I am dumb American. But you are no mutant, I am guessing. So - you say I cannot attack you, eh? Let us see how far that goes!

[With that, Morph briefly shifts back to their natural form as they dash across the roof at Douman - but instead of launching a direct attack, they just as quickly shift back into Colossus in front of him and slam their fist down against the roof. It's too delicate to support their increased weight and being smashed, so predictably, Morph falls right through it, swinging their fists at the lumber holding it up in an effort to take Douman down with them.]

Is that so? [His voice sounds way too casual as he shifts into his chanting stance again.] That's a pity. ℜ𝔦𝔫! 𝔓𝔶𝔬𝔲! 𝔗𝔬𝔲! 𝔖𝔥𝔞! 𝔎𝔞𝔦! 𝔍𝔦-

[This time he doesn't bother to interrupt his chanting as he dodges again. With his youkai trait already set up as the big power that he's using, Douman has no problems switching from relying on it to using Divine Step instead, a technique that lets him pass through walls and appear anywhere at will. Most would consider a magic that is limited to only those who have close ties to at least one god a step up rather than down from using his innate youkai powers, but he knows his limits. It's far easier and more comfortable for him to simply sink into the ground as he makes a show of dissolving his form into black mist again, only to resurface from the other end of the floor on the level below Morph before the other has even gotten to finish his attack.]

-𝔫! ℜ𝔢𝔱𝔰𝔲! ℨ𝔞𝔦! ....ℨ𝔢𝔫!!

[He doesn't hold back with the lightning-aligned attack that he's slinging at Morph. If the other wants to hide within a metal-armor, then Douman will show him what it's like to be a living lightning rod!]

Allow me to teach you to fear me the hard way. 𝔎𝔶𝔲 𝔎𝔶𝔲 𝔑𝔶𝔬-

[His voice is a happy sadistic little purr as he lets his grid take over all of the floor beneath them, leaving nowhere to run. If his enemy insists on flitting around, then Douman will simply catch and bind him with some chains.]

[Well, that didn't work. It's the one thought that flashes through their head in the instant that their enemy disappears, leaving Morph to fall through the hole in the roof on their own. That shouldn't have been a problem while they were using an armored form, but they weren't anticipating the lighting that hits them on the way down.

Morph slams into the floor hard, in a shower of sparks and debris, the impact leaving a little crater that doesn't quite allow them to fall through entirely. There was no missing the grid this time, the lightning strike seizing up their muscles before they could react, along with a good dose of pain. They can feel the grid draining their strength somehow, and frantically slam a metal fist against the floor, once, twice - but they're losing cohesion quickly, forcing them to shift back into their natural state.]

What are you...?!

[Morph doesn't look very good. Their skin is starting to drip like melted wax, but they're at least able to keep their humanoid shape for now. They might not have any actual spiritual power to speak of, but it's still doing a number on their life force, making them feel awfully weak.]

Didn't I already tell you? Nurarihyon.

[Douman is pleased with the damage his attacks have done. There is not really a good way to deal with shapeshifters. They're one of those annoying kinds that need to be constantly covered in attacks until they get exhausted or manage to escape, or they will just keep on bouncing around you over and over again. He is glad that this one seems to have low endurance. But he is still going to stay careful as he moves closer and shifts his mask partially to the side to get a better look at Morph.]

Call me the leader of the youkai, if you wish.

[He murmurs a spell that makes the grid change into a set of glowing chains that wrap around Morph tightly. Their energy drain is adjusted to exhaust them to the point where continued fighting is not an option, but not to the extent where they might faint or die -- that'd get in the way of questioning.]

You are more of a disappointment than I expected, though. Could it be that you are merely a shikigami for whoever is responsible for this?

[Now it's chains?! Morph squirms, but they soon discover that there's absolutely no give afforded to them, leaving them bound uncomfortably on the cratered floor. They could change that by shifting, probably, but doing it without a plan was what landed them here in the first place. If the guy was going to keep talking, then Morph could use the time to think.]

W-Wait, you're - a Japanese demon? Is that why you're hauling out the kinky stuff?

[They really can't claim to know anything at all about yokai. They're pretty sure that Logan told them a fable about yokai once, but it was at a bar and Morph had been pretty drunk at the time. Something involving pearls? Yeah, they're super out of their depth with this one.]

Look, I'm not whatever that is! I'm a mutant! And I'm not working for anyone, either!

[Hey, you need to keep up with the times and always have a new trick up your sleeve when you're dealing with students. Using the five elements to attack as well as bind are still entry level for Onmyoji like Douman and Seimei.]

Kinky? I haven't even used the flesh-eating tentacles yet.

[His tone is perfectly level, not betraying whether it's a joke or a threat. Douman doesn't see any need to correct the assumption of him being a "Japanese demon" either. Youkai and Ayakashi might lack the clear distinction of good and evil that some Western cultures seem to be so fond of, but it's close enough in context.

At least in that nobody would ever consider him a good spirit.]

I'm not really in the mood to talk retro-comics and evolution theory, so let's just cut to the chase. I'm looking for the one who is upholding this realm. The pillar.

I don't have anything against you personally, but a lot of my precious time has been wasted already and it's a little annoying. So I am just going to beat you until I get the answers I want.

The what?!

[Ohhh boy. That didn't sound good - none of it sounded good - but Morph also didn't quite understand what the yokai wanted. Morph could guess that this was a 'take to me to your leader' situation, but in that case they couldn't tell him what he wanted to know regardless of if torture was going to happen or not. If they had any idea what was going on, they wouldn't be stuck here in the first place.]

Comics and pillars? Are you nuts? Look, I obviously can't give you what you want, and this just isn't my thing. It's not me this time, it's definitely you.

[And with that, Morph rapidly starts to shrink.

It's the tiniest form they've ever tried to take, as anything smaller than the cat was something that they normally shied away from doing - but if anything qualified as an emergency, this was it. They push themselves to do it, fighting against the fatigue, until they become a little white mouse that could fit in the palm of someone's hand.

Immediately they burst forward with panicked squeaks, attempting to slip past the chains. Their target is a crack in the floor, the crater they left behind earlier having ripped up parts of the carpet to expose jagged edges of plywood and the darkness beyond it.]

[Oh, that reaction is even better than he had been anticipated. It would be easy to blame the happy little hop his heart is giving at Morph's yelp on his infection, but the truth is that Douman is simply a sadist through and through. He has this part of him under very good control, but he'd be lying if he claimed that coming up with entertaining ways to "punish" those who annoy him too much weren't one if his favorite games. (Un)fortunately some of his latest hirees tend to provide plenty of chances to live it out, too.

So it's not actually any real greed that has him smirk and play up the 'horror' element of their encounter even more. It's just like with a cat and a string. Morph is currently dangling the string, so of course Douman's got to bat ~~hit it.]~~

What? I thought you wanted kinks- Hey!

[He is alarmed when he sees his quarry shrink, already worrying that the other might turn into a bee or some other agile and hard to catch insect. But no, it's a mouse. The unintentional play on his mental analogy from just now has Douman almost laugh. It's with an instinctive fondness that he lets the chains fall rather than tightening them into a cocoon.

This little sly fellow... !

If he really isn't involved with the upkeep of this trap realm or whatever it is Douman will have to congratule them. That's a lot of spirit energy they had him waste on them so far, and seeing their will to continue fighting is pleasing. Not many youngsters still have that kind of spunk nowadays.]

You know, you remind me of somebody from back home. Only of my loyal and oldest followers. He scurried away from me like that too when I showed him the difference between our powers.

[Tesso aka. Mouse-sensei is one of the most reliable ones out of his bunch, even.]

Ice.

[There is no chance that Douman can just catch Morph like this and he knows it. He only has human-like agility and stamina. But he can manipulate the water and heat in the area to seal up all the cracks in the room they are in, so he is aiming to do just that.]

Keep amusing me, and I'll make this easy for you. You just have to give in and submit yourself to me.

[Oh sure, they hear that bit about loyal followers and everything, but Morph is too determined to get the hell out of there to slow down. Their only real warning about what's about to happen is the sudden drop in temperature - and then there's ice forming right over the crack that was their one chance at escape. Morph runs into the ice head-first, with a wet thunk as they half-splatter against the obstacle, the tiny mouse-body quickly reforming from off-white goo before they scramble back in the opposite direction.

This was bad. Morph was running out of ideas; it seemed like the creepy masked-guy had enough different powers at his disposal to counter everything Morph could pull off. Even if they shifted to another muscular form and tried busting the wall down, the yokai could just use the lasers and chains again. All they were really accomplishing was to wear themself out faster with every attempt.

Morph scampers up onto a mostly-intact part of the floor before shifting again, growing back to their natural humanoid form. They're still looking a little melty, and now they're out of breath too, eying the yokai suspiciously. They're trying to stay defiant but there's some definite fear mixed in, thanks to their growing realization of just how outclassed they were.]

What, are you practicing your villain speeches, too? I don't know anything, and I'm not going to sit here and let you beat me! We shouldn't be doing this - there's a lot of other people out there that'll be coming for us.

[In Morph's mind, becoming gnosia mixed in all too well with being a mutant, being hunted. The world had always been out to get them, and now it had only gotten worse.]

[Oh, that looks like it hurt. Douman flinches in empathy even though a huge smirk is spreading over his face at the same time. If it weren't so undignified, he'd be taking a page out of his charges' books and film the whole thing. Not for social media, of course, just for personal use.

But he is also a little concerned with how melty the other is looking. Is it a sign of bad health? Or are they preparing another trick? The gnosia part of him is leaning towards the first. If they're the same, then shouldn't he be lending a helping hand rather than keep twisting the thumbscrew? But his paranoia disagrees, saying that he can win first and always apologize later.

His boots make dull sounds of somebody who is very real as he calmly crosses the distance between them to loom over his target (and with his 6'1" even without his heels on, he's got plenty to loom.) He knows that Morph's still capable of fighting if they want to. But if his instincts are right, then being able to fight and having any fight left in them are two different things.]

Villain speeches? I don't waste my breath on that. [First kill, and then make a show for the ones left, maybe. But no such nonsense as leaving an opening.] Like I said, I want to be sure. Hold still, and it'll be brief. Struggle...

[He waves the rest of the threat away like the tired phrase it is. Crouching down to be on eye level, Douman offers Morph his hand with his palm up.]

They can come, but I'll be the one doing the hunting. Don't you want to be on my side, if you're as innocent as you claim?

[Morph watches him approach like they're expecting another nasty surprise, which is probably the safest bet here. Cowed as they are, their gnosia side is unhappy that another has proven to be the better predator, and Morph still feels a distinct urge to strike out, fight back until they had nothing left. But Morph is also not stupid, and the idea that they might survive long enough to kill the people who need it is keeping them from pulling any other desperate moves.

There's no way they can trust Mr. Masked-and-creepy, but what choice did they have? Morph knows there's a good chance they'll end up regretting this later, but...

They reach up tentatively, hesitant to take the offered hand, but they do take it.]

Fine. I submit. Is what what you wanted to hear?

[Morph shouldn't feel too bad about being overwhelmed. Douman has over thousand years of experience of it, and started learning how to do it by facing the worst kinds of horrors that would have killed him at the first sign of weakness back when he was barely more than a human kid whose age had finally reached the double digits. When he had died, he had been a magician on par with Japan's version of Merlin. And he had only kept growing from then on.]

That too. But mostly I wanted your scream.

[The hand that meets Morph's is warm and solid as it grabs hard and yanks them forward. For a moment Douman is so close that they could see the sadistic curve of his smile behind the gaps of the carved gentle smile of his mask. Then he grabs the upper half of their head with his free hand and starts to whisper and it will hurt.

Originally Douman had planned for it to be a curse. But since they had been a good loser he feels an obligation to be a good winner: so they're getting his most effective exorcism spell instead. The magic is meant to drain its target's life forces to the point where they will faint and be no longer be able to host or be a source for anything magical, and since it's one of his most-used magics Douman's control of it is impeccable. Fine-tuning it to the point where Morph will be kicked to the real life equivalent of 1 HP within less than 3 seconds should be easy, unless they were hiding something more from him. That should be barely enough time to register the pain before they'll faint from exhaustion for a bit.]

[Morph has no time to react, and even if they did, they couldn't anticipate what was going to happen next.

They've been hurt before, plenty of times - gotten splattered apart in fights, had brain surgery, had telepaths forcefully take their will away, gotten migraines from two halves of their own psyche struggling for control. The pain caused by the exorcism is worse than all of it, as brief as it is, the sensation like someone was driving red-hot nails into their skull.

Morph does scream, and just as promptly loses consciousness. True to their word, there's nothing more than the infection in them, except for stiffer psychic shielding than most normal humans might have. Their legs buckle underneath them, but if they do hit the floor, they're not going to feel it.

What might be more unexpected is that Morph's losing a lot of cohesion - they're still halfway solid, but the white goo that forms their body flows like mercury, never quite sloughing off of them before it's pulled in close to their body again. Even unconscious, they don't go fully liquid, but the sheer exhaustion is making it a lot harder to keep themself fully together.]

[A nice person would have made an attempt to catch them before they collided with the ground, but Douman is no nice person. Never has been, really.

He lets them fall without a care and then waits.

The strange change of his quarry's body isn't unexpected. A lot of youkai and other spiritual beings lose control of their powers and might revert to their most 'bare' forms if you drain them of their spiritual powers, so what says that it won't be the same for mutants. He still isn't going to touch that goo, though.]

......Tch.

[Looks like he owes an apology. He ends the effects of all spells he had in place with a chant under his breath and then frowns. If this one isn't the one responsible, then the culprit is still somewhere out there. He ought to find them. But they are also gnosia, and he sort of gave his word ....not enough to feel any obligations towards them, but having them killed simply because he left them alone would be annoying.

What did they say, 'we're in this together'? That's not an exact quote, but it was clear that they had been scared of more than just him. Douman doesn't think that they have any need to worry about being hunted with the powers they've shown in their fight, but he's knocked them out, so--- Augh! Enough! Curse him for being a bastard, but not That Much Of A Bastard to let a felled enemy fall to the vultures! Ugh, he's getting himself into trouble again with this, isn't he!?

When Morph comes to they will find Douman's kimono thrown over them as a make-shift blanket, and the air clean and at a pleasant temperature that might be just a little too perfect. Douman is sitting propped against the wall in his hakama pants and a white button up shirt.]

You woke up. How are you feeling?

[Even before they opened their eyes, the first sign that Morph was regaining consciousness was that the goo that made up their body had stopped flowing, slowly solidifying back into their regular humanoid form. Morph is looking a little melty still, but not half as bad as before, the imposed catnap having given them the time to literally pull themself back together.

Groaning, Morph pushes up on one arm, though when they spot Douman sitting there they freeze like a deer in headlights. They're slower to rise up to sitting after that, subconsciously pulling the blanket tighter around them (and where did that come from?)]

Like I could sleep for a week. What was that?

[Morph is amazed that they aren't dead. That the room doesn't feel like a freezer anymore is a huge bonus, though their fight had certainty left the place a little wrecked, and with a good-sized hole in the ceiling. Maybe that could've been an escape route about ten minutes earlier, but right now it's taking all of their energy just to stay in their natural form. Besides, they surrendered, so - that meant staying put. At least for now.]

The sledgehammer version of finding out whether you're telling the truth or not.

[Douman sighs and shifts a little, pushing one leg forward so that he can rest his hands and upper body against the propped up knee of the other. He doesn't bother to hide his frustration.]

Simply put, I took out your battery to see if that'd make the bothering lights go out. It didn't. That means you're not the culprit. [It sounds flippant, but that's pretty much what he did. Trap realms and spells feed off the spirit energy of the one who casts them. The base principle of an exorcism is to drain the target of their spirit powers to the point where they'll be unable to keep up whatever magics they're doing or have become uninhabitable barren land to whatever supernatural entity had latched onto them, thus forcing it out. Knocking the caster out via a powerful exorcism could even break a Medusa's petrification, so using it to knock Morph out and see if doing so would cause any notable change in the world around them felt like a reliable test.] You should make a full recovery after getting some rest.

Huh, okay.

[Honestly, the simple explanation was best - Morph isn't familiar with magic, or anything approaching it. They tended to wander off whenever Hank so much as started rambling about metaphysical concepts. Most mutants, and even the non-mutant superheroes, had much simpler powers by comparison.]

I haven't been in the city much longer than a month, and believe me, I wouldn't be here if I had a choice. We're both rats in the same maze.

[It was good to know that what they were feeling was only exhaustion, but now was a bad time to be out of commission, and they know it. Even if Morph hadn't seen how gnosia were talked about on the network, their conversation with Rogue had convinced them that it was very much a 'hunt or be hunted' situation. There were other mutants here, too, and Morph knew they'd all fight like hell to defend each other. That's exactly why Morph had to be the one to handle them. Who else would know the other mutants better than one of the family?]

So what now? There's - I have friends that I know aren't like us. I have to deal with them before they realize what I am.

Also about month, huh? Then we must have arrived around the same time.

[Douman would envy such freedom. Both as Onmyoji and leader he needs to understand things as much as possible, if only to know where to put a lever and hope that he can move them in a direction that's a little less troublesome or chaotic. Or for knowing where to look when things inevitably end up going wrong somewhere along the way anyway.]

I'm no rat.

[He scoffs lightly at the description of their circumstances, apt as it might be. No offense to the clever rodents, but he isn't anybody's toy or specimen to poke and probe at however they wish. He is a former noble and a Nurarihyon - Ashiya fucking Douman. The trap that can hold him still needs to be invented!]

You are intending to hunt your own friends? How cold! [but there's an intrigued note in his voice, rather than judgement. Douman wouldn't turn against those that have allied themselves with him even now, but like all youkai his idea of morality is rather polka dots and stripes than black, white or even just grey. There is loyalty between family, between friends, between weak and the strong whom they follow, and even just that based on what or who brigs you the most personal satisfaction. And it all constantly weighs against each other and creates new struggles and compromises. So while Douman wouldn't hunt them, he'd also have no qualms using them as meatshields and alibi for himself.]

[Morph wasn't about to argue the point. Yeah, it was ironic that someone so powerful had ended up here along with everyone else, but maybe power levels didn't matter. They still had no idea exactly how they or any of the other Chosen had ended up here. Hell, Morph had been on an asteroid in Earth's orbit and still been plucked up and transported to Aldrip like space itself hadn't been an obstacle.]

I still owe them payback for what they did to me. Besides, I can get close to them. I know them better than anyone.

[Kurt was the one exception, but Kurt also hadn't been involved in that particular incident. He'd need to die only if he wasn't gnosia. For the others it was personal, and even if they were infected, Morph wasn't so sure that they'd let them go. The gnosia gave them power that they'd never had before, and they intended to use it.

It's only as they tug off the 'blanket' that they realize the fabric is a garment. Morph looks between Douman and the kimono, visibly surprised, but they don't comment on it. Instead they hastily fold it up and lean over to pass it back to him.]

Are you going to keep looking for our so-called jailer? Because I oughta warn you, I've talked to people who have been here way longer than we have and haven't found any way out. Not yet.

[Douman unfurls himself to his full height and pads over to take his kimono back wordlessly. Tucking it beneath one arm, he tilts his head to give Morph a proper once-over through the eye-slits of his mask.]

I'm aware. But the longer I'm away, the more the school will be at danger. [Whether it will be by outside forces or simply imploding from the many different kinds of supernatural beings gathered in one place, or Haruaki being Haruaki again... The possibilities are endless, and it's giving Douman a headache just thinking about it. The nightmares and slips of visions that have been plaguing him are harrowing, but it's fairly easy to dismiss as memories and materialized fears. But the school, his precious school with all its students, staff and teachers... That's real. He can't let anything happen to that. Not again.]

I will unravel this trap dimension and find a way back. That's a fact, not a promise! ...and if I wring the neck of who is responsible for it in the process, then that's a mere fringe benefit. [Like hell he'll let them get away with it so easily! He'll even turn against the gnosia if that means getting his will! The thought pulls him back to the present and has him consider Morph once more. The smart choice would be to join forces, now that their respective positions have been confirmed. But that'd mean a detour.]

Does taking your revenge really mean that much to you?

[Morph hands it over before trying to climb back up to their feet - trying being the primary word here, as their legs are shaky and it takes a lot longer than it should. But hey, at least now they won't get a crick in their neck looking up at the guy.]

If you're going to bust out of here, I'm on board. I have a school I need to get back to myself.

[It wasn't what they expected to hear from a demon - if that word was really appropriate - but any reason to leave is a good reason. Morph had been eager to find a way out when they first arrived, too, but the reality of their situation had set in pretty quickly. What Morph had left behind wasn't just a team, but a badly injured friend, and being forced to leave his side still sucked. They had no idea what condition Logan was in now, if he'd gotten better, or... if he was like he'd been on the jet, unconscious and barely responsive.]

It's... important. But as long as they don't catch on, I can still take them out whenever I want.

[The changed tilt of his head and the mask with it is the only hint Douman will allow to betray that he is ready to catch the other this time. He isn't enough of a hypocrite to suddenly fake a sense of camaraderie when he's the one to blame for Morph's poor condition in the first place, but he also isn't the kind of sadist who takes pleasure in pointless pain.]

Don't push yourself if you're still feeling weak.

[People are resources. It's bad to waste them.]

It's a bad idea to rush into confronting your friends unprepared. They will know your strengths and weaknesses as well as you do theirs, after all. I don't mind standing guard for a little longer.

[As token for the misguided beating he'd given the other. The itch of the gnosia is still strong, whispering and pulling at him to join in the hunt no matter who it is they're hunting. If they'd work together, then Morph's friends surely would stand no chance. It'd be a quick, easy success.

But Douman doesn't like wins that come without bragging rights. He wants to hunt the big game, or no game at all. So Morph will be on their own in their vendetta. Maybe they'll even win and survive.]

In my experience everybody will be released once the seal is broken. I can't guarantee what's going to happen after, but I won't leave anyone behind.

[CLOSED] got a colony of ants underneath my skin

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wrapping this up :)