[center][h2][B]An Order...or a Plea?[/B][/h2]
[h3][i]Loom - The Academy - Hazumi's Study
Midday[/i][/h3]
[i]Collab: [@yoshua171] and [@Wind Wild][/i][/center][hr]

A stranger among children, strutting through the halls of what was meant to be a haven, Szayeis was rather pleased with himself. It was good to be back, he marveled.

He had already ruined at least three people's days to varied extents, properly terrified several children--not to mention gained new people to torment in the process--and was now about to visit an old acquaintance or two.

Today was going well.

Following Hazumi's essence trail, which she left unintentionally as most did, Szayeis eventually became rather annoyed and simply shifted through a shadow, vanishing in front of a large group of students. Their startled and confused reactions were priceless however, he imagined Hazumi's response to him walking right out of her own shadow and embracing her from behind would be even better. [color=#00001A][B]"Hello, dear Essence,"[/B][/color] he whispered in her ear, a grin spread from ear to ear.

This would be fun.

Hazumi's body twitched and tensed, even though she knew to expect him. She had felt him invade her Academy, felt the terror he spawned in his wake and felt a rather unfamiliar nervousness tickle its way along her nerves. She had considered going to the classroom and had considered all the possible outcomes of their potential meeting, and decided none of them was worth the risk. She had sat here, quiet as a mouse, and just wished the storm would pass her by. Instead it came to loom right over her head.  

Her skin crawled under his cold fingers, the knowledge of them capable of dissolving her to nothing lodged at the back of her mind. At the forefront was an eerie calm and some feeling halfway between dread and happiness. She hated them both.

“I'm getting too many visits from gods lately, I'm not sure if I should consider this a good or a bad sign. I like the formal title, though, despite the fact that your physical proximity clearly indicates it's mockery.” Her voice was clear despite her throat being so dry.

His smile dimmed and he growled internally, something that could not be felt. At least she couldn't read his mind like she might someone else--it was nigh impossible. His appearance having little effect aside from chilling her, the nightwalker promptly walked right [i]through[/i] her body, speaking as he did so,  [color=#00001A][B]"I see you've gained some identity since last we met."[/B][/color] He continued forwards, phasing through the desk, at which point he turned and sat down in the chair opposite her and crossed one leg over the other, appearance entirely relaxed, [color=#00001A][B]"Oh and while I appreciate the compliment, I am not a god,"[/B][/color] [I]yet[/I], he mused, his tone serious.

“I wasn't referring to you.” She smirked. Damn right, she had gained some "identity" while he was away. That meant talking back and pretending to be more cool than you actually are. Unfortunately it also came with a pinch of fear of the prospect of losing said identity. Her eyes scanned Szayeis slowly, looking at him, first on the surface, then underneath. Apparently she thought he was attractive - a bothersome thought. But even more bothersome was the fact that it was impossible to decypher his essence. She didn't know what to look for, and there was too much to look [i]at[/i]. "You are free to explore said "identity" but that's hardly why you came."

[color=#00001A][B]"Ah,"[/B][/color] he said, shaking his head and chuckling lightly. He felt her consciousness attempt to sift through his and his eyes met hers, the look in them clearly telling her how aware he was of her actions. If there was anyone perhaps more aware of Hazumi than herself, it was Szayeis.

Good thing it had been Judas who gained the sword...and not him. Well, good for everyone else.

His hands folding at his lap, Szayeis chuckled again, now at her new comment, before speaking himself. [color=#00001A][B]"Quite true, dear Hazumi. You may fail to read me, as all do, but you know me well enough to say I do nothing without reason,"[/B][/color] his white eyes did not leave hers and his characteristic smirk remained on his handsome features. He briefly wondered if she'd notice the change in eye color, most didn't, [color=#00001A][B]"I am here because I can no longer restrain Inaniae sufficiently on my own."[/B][/color] His tone grew serious, the amusement bleeding away even as his smirk died, [color=#00001A][B]"He must be expunged from this reality, or he [I]will[/I] destroy it."[/B][/color]

At this he waited for her response, his entire demeanor now serious and...oddly professional. He may have been speaking to her as an old acquaintance, but this was business.

Szayeis did not like having allies. Unfortunately, he didn't have a choice....

Hazumi's eyebrows rose in acknowledgement of the change in demeanor. It's funny he said she knew him, she didn't feel like that at all, even if she'd seen him at his most vulnerable. To be honest, his restraint and seriousness came as a surprise. Her body relaxed and her back leaned into the chair, a sigh escaping her as she grabbed a pen and spun it in between her fingers. It gave her something else to look at but his desaturated eyes.  

“You know, it's interesting, I'm learning new things about myself each day. You're the third person in the last month asking me to save you, and interestingly the more people ask, the more reluctant I am to just comply.” She looked at him, a clever smirk pulling on her lips. “After all, I have a history of that and I've spent too long listening to people nagging at me about it. I've heard other opinions but let me ask you yours, what do you think makes [i]you[/i] worth saving, of all people I can waste my time on?”

He let her finish, but when she asked him the question he simply burst into a fit of laughter. After several [I]minutes[/I] of his laughing, he wiped tears from his eyes, his arms having wrapped around his abdomen as he laughed. Had he truly had a body his abdomen would've been sore, but this was just a mimicry of form, rather than an actual one. [color=#00001A][B]"Ahh Hazumi, it really is unfortunate that you were wasted on Judas, I think you and I would have had quite some fun,"[/B][/color] he chuckled and shook his head, his grin having returned by storm, [color=#00001A][B]"To answer your question, I do not consider myself worth saving, not by the hands of another. However,"[/B][/color] all mirth vanished from his features, his gaze piercing her all the way to the very depths of her essence, touching her soul.

He may not have had the eyes of Praestrigia anymore, but his gaze nonetheless could cut that deep. [color=#00001A][B]"Do not bother asking why. I am fully aware that in the eyes of any decent being I am immoral, amoral, and utterly irredeamable. However, I ask you this,"[/B][/color] he stopped for effect, his tone smooth and ever so slightly calculated. [color=#00001A][B]"...is this world worth saving? If that is not enough, then are you? If you do not help me, both of these things will be utterly lost. You, me, and every innocent human, demon, angel, or chimera will be snuffed out; unable to ever reach their potential, or find themselves, love, hate, communicate, or interact. They will not just be dead either. They will not exist at all and the only one that will remember them will be a being with no emotions and no empathy for anything. A being of void who I know you fear just as any being would."[/B][/color] He leaned further back in his own chair before continuing, [color=#00001A][B]"You may act high and mighty all you want, but it will mean nothing when he escapes the prison that I have made him in the coming months, wipes out everything in his path, assimilates me and any of his remaining fragments, and then devours this realm without a second thought. Your inaction will have killed not only yourself, but it will eradicate everything that ever was."[/B][/color]

Szayeis rolled his neck, then stood from his chair, walked around it, then put his hand on the back of it, looking her over. [color=#00001A][B]"Can you truly live with that? Can you live with the fact that you will be the cause of existential genocide? I doubt it. You're not strong enough for that...few are."[/B][/color] He then turned and headed for the exit, stopping at the threshold and looking back for a long moment. If she had something to say, she best say it now, before her chance was lost altogether.

Hazumi let him laugh and let him finish, demonstrating manners that had taken decades to polish. She kept quiet but when he headed for the door she followed and when he turned her hand was holding his sleeve/arm.  "Come on, Szayeis. This is not about the world and it's not about who's noble and who isn't. It's obviously my duty to protect everything in existence and I will the best I can. But you didn't need to come for that. This is about you surviving, because the Void can both exist and die without you, even if it's your biggest battle it's not only your battle. It can go on without you. But [i]you[/i]... you're not noble enough to give up on your asshole manners and you're not iredeemable either - not if I can be forgiven. So the question is, where do you stand in this whole conflict. Do [i]you[/i] deserve to be saved. I have asked you this question before and you didn't answer." She smirked. "I'm almost tempted to believe you have emotions such as regret and something resembling nobility in you. And you're not doing a very good job convincing me otherwise."

He looked down at her, his eyes unreadable as he intentionally veiled his thoughts and emotions both in an unreadable mire. After a long moment he sighed, allowing himself a moment. His eyes closed and the doorway became sealed by shadows. In less than a second the entire room was soundproof. Any sounds would be absorbed from the inside, and anyone trying to telepathically interfere would meet what would feel like an intense resistance.

His eyes then softened and he looked away, pretending to survey the room. His form was no longer human by then, and instead had reverted to that of a base nightwalker, more or less a humanoid silhouette. Gradually the black of his body became grey, continuing to lose its pigmentation with each passing moment, [color=#00001A][B]"Hazumi, I was born like this."[/B][/color] The essence that made up his body was now a luminscent white, but despite the change in coloration his eyes still stood out as surrounding the white irises were black sclera. [color=#00001A][B]"I doubt anyone else remembers, but I had family once. An older brother and a younger sister,"[/B][/color] the timbre of his voice was different, softer, more gentle. There was nostalgia in his eyes...and longing.

[color=#00001A][B]"I doubt my brother still lives, and I know my sister is gone,"[/B][/color] his essence shuddered briefly, anger would for the smallest moment be apparent to her, though at whom it was aimed could not be determined. The white color of his body faltered, beginning to grey again, his eyes closed as the transition began occuring, [color=#00001A][B]"...but by my life, the corruption of the void, and perhaps by power, I have been stained black."[/B][/color] His eyes opened again as his dark tint returned fully, in them was a familiar look. Something on the edge of apathy and boredom, now however, Hazumi might just be able to see something else.

There was more depth in his eyes now. [color=#00001A][B]"This [I]is[/I] about my survival, but not for the reasons you might think. I do not fear death, though I much prefer life. If there is anything I fear, it is, ironically, losing myself...most of all to something else."[/B][/color]  He sighed and shook his head, the shadows in the room fading and the threshold opening. He chuckled, a sad sound in his voice, [color=#00001A][B]"At least I know no one will forget me, even if they want to,"[/B][/color] he smiled slightly at that, and then the barrier of darkness was gone and they were free to leave again. He looked at Hazumi, [color=#00001A][B]"I do not have anything else with which to convince you, Essence, I just know that I want to live. Even if I don't know why, I know that I must live. Perhaps this is how humans feel...with their fleeting lives,"[/B][/color] he mused, then shook his head, smiling at his own foolishness. [color=#00001A][B]"Is that all?"[/B][/color]

He asked, sounding more subdued than she'd likely ever heard him. He may have sounded weak when she visited him in the West, but this was something else. Something...different, that fact, at the very least, was undeniable.

Hazumi stared at him, her face oddly calm despite her surprise. For a moment she had felt like she had made a mistake, the words leaving her before her mind caught up to stop them. She was puzzled then by what she was actually saying, expressing feelings and thoughts she didn't remember having. His reaction, however... It answered that question. It was an ancient piece of her talking, a piece that must have remembered him as he used to be, and a piece that lay dormant among the rubble of souls that was her existence. Perhaps it was a Gatekeeper who felt like a mother to all, or a Gate that has sung soft lullabies in his ear, or maybe someone even closer, possibly his own sister. She couldn't know, but it was somebody who cared. And Hazumi hated that feeling because it was exactly that feeling of love that had brought about so much disaster.

She heaved a heavy sigh, her eyes softer than she liked, betraying a tenderness he shouldn't see. She didn't avoid his anymore.  

“If you live through this you better find a way to reform yourself. There is more than one way to leave a trace. Something I have a feeling you're gradually coming to grips with too.” A slight smile fluttered over her lips and she let it grow. “Thank you for not killing anyone today.”

[I]Funny,[/I] he thought at her final comment, [I]...that one with sight such as yours does not know.[/I] [color=#00001A][B]"Perhaps,"[/B][/color] he said thoughtfully and then, turning on his heel, he departed, strutting down the hall. He could already tell that Lily wasn't present. He'd just missed her. Perhaps he'd come back tomorrow. He had other business to which he must attend. After all, he did not have time to waste, even if he acted like he did.