With a grip like a vice Kiyoshi pulled the ephemeral purple crane by the neck until the two of them hung eye to eye, floating in zero gravity. Blind with rage he leveled an ultimatum at the bird and proceeded to attempt the binding...
A Kyo-Tee-Shee can be bound to a soul if certain conditions are met. The soul must be an appropriately large vessel. Most people are unequipped for the task. The soul must be familiar with the metaphysics of the transfer of mana. Those who remain deaf and dumb to the effects of mana are like shallow puddles in which nothing can be immersed, least of all a Kyo-Tee-Shee. And of course, the Kyo-Tee-Shee in question must be intoxicated on a recent consumption of mana, but not just any mana. Like rivers, some streams of mana are purer than others.
When Kijuuki consumed Suraisu-Oni's mana she was indeed drunk for a few moments, but it was like being drunk on Schlitz Malt Liquor. The searing headache which rushed upon her woke her from her stupor in time to realize what was happening and to know that she was in no danger. You see, Kiyoshi already had one Kyo-Tee-Shee bound to his soul and no soul, no matter how great, can accommodate more than that.
So he thrust himself upon her intending that they should be united, intending to entrap her like he had trapped her brother... but she smiled.
In a split instant a look passed between them and in that look there was a great deal of information. Kiyoshi saw that what he was doing was impossible. He saw, also, that he had gotten himself into great danger - for he held a free Kyo-Tee-Shee about the neck. One with a large quantity of mana, and no god-question-answer-manifestation left to serve. Kijuuki had become a powerful and arbitrary force of nature, bound by no laws - especially not the law of death.
I cannot be destroyed. The look said. I cannot be controlled. I am free at last to consume mana to my heart's content and you and your friends will pay for imprisoning me.
Had this all taken longer than a flash of lightning to occur, Kiyoshi would have done a hundred different things to stop Kijuuki, but it was all over in an instant. Kijuuki blazed with purple light, searing his hand and blinding his eyes. She evaporated amidst that light sending Kiyoshi one last image before his brain shut down from overload dragging him into a coma.
Kiyoshi drifted into a deep sleep with that image replaying over and over in his mind. It was a picture of the place she was going next. Going to gorge herself on mana. The Emerald Isle.
Ruins
Cities
8 comments:
Yeah, knew that would not work but felt obligated to try. Sucks to be the remaining Dusk Sages...
It seems like, regardless of what else happens, it will suck to be them
And now we're obligated to go save them.
Looks like we know where we'll be going next.
There is no such obligation. They made it pretty clear that they are "dying" regardless. Looking through the mask High Dive took they have even less future potential than you lot. Besides, only Kiyoshi knows this information in character.
And if Kiyoshi keeps that information to himself, it will prevent there from being an ethical dilemma for everyone who isn't Kiyoshi.
There is an obligation, however, because even if a highly destructive mass-murderer is targeting terminally ill patients who are likely to die in another couple of weeks regardless, it's still a moral imperative to stop said murderer.
Except that said murderer cannot be killed or constrained, as far as we know...
Killed? Clearly not. Constrained?
Clearly, you are unfamiliar with Sealed Evil In A Can.
Sealed Evil In A Can is a wonderful process by which some great evil which cannot be effectively destroyed is instead sealed in a can (preferably tin, but R'lyeh or some other site of mystical sealing significance works, too). The prison created for Kijuuki is thereafter guaranteed to last just long enough that when she finally escapes, nobody will remember how to reimprison her, and she will become 100/1000/5000/10000 years from now's problem. ;)
Well, we had ourselves a big can of Evil floating in orbit, but unfortunately Moses punched a hole in it...
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