[Center][color=ed1c24][h2]Fujiwara no Mokou (& Sandalphon)[/h2]
Level 6
48/60 EXP

Location: Frozen Highlands - Krat Zoo
Wordcount: 1499(+3)[/color][/Center]

With Sandalphon’s voice interrupting her rest, Mokou simply opened one eye, not seeming annoyed in the slightest as she listened to their offer. It didn’t even take long for Mokou to decide on it, giving a small shrug and nod of her head, [color=ed1c24]“Sure. I don’t much care for riches, but I don’t have much else I’m handling. In fact I was simply going to pick a direction and walk once this was done, so I suppose it would be more entertaining to go with you all for now”[/color] she says, before pushing herself off the bench once more to prepare to move out. Casual as she was, it was clear that she intended to follow her word and stick with this group… For now, at least.

Eventually, the group had begun to move on, leaving the zoo behind them and advancing to their true destination. Mokou herself took more of a spectator role to the procession, observing the group and what they were doing rather than interfering… Yet eventually, she stood up, making her way to Sandalphon, hands in her pockets as they always appeared to be, [color=ed1c24]“So, suppose introductions are in order. Name's Fujiwara no Mokou, but I mostly go by Mokou. Simpler that way. Figured now would be the best time to actually ask where you’re headed: I’m tagging along either way, but a heads up would be nice.”[/color]

When Mokou approached, Sandalphon looked up from the papers she’d been reading, then carefully tucked them into a briefcase that she pushed beneath the bench at her feet. “Certainly. My name is Sandalphon.” She raised one hand and with a flick of her wrist summoned a light screen oriented toward her visitor. In quick succession it displayed images of White Team’s other members, all from Sandalphon’s perspective since they were snippets of her memory. “If you have not already made their acquaintance, these are Blazermate, Geralt, the Ace Cadet, Sectonia, Roxas, Ganondorf, Edward, and Ramattra.” She then displayed an image of a [url=https://i.imgur.com/g4IGDrz.png]colossal crag[/url] beneath a motionless, stony sphere. “Our current destination is Moon Mountain, which you may have seen on the northern horizon, and to get there we are following the Midnight Walk.”

The archangel briefly paused as she considered exactly how much about her mission to share. “In order to safeguard this world’s inhabitants, we are hunting an extremely dangerous man known as Baldur. Although his whereabouts are unknown, we have reason to believe that he will seek out anyone who might be able to pose him a worthy challenge. Additionally, we have reason to believe that Moon Mountain is somehow linked to the long night and falling temperatures that the Highlands are experiencing.” Her unblinking gaze rested on Mokou as she paused to see if everything made sense to Mokou, and give her a chance to ask any questions she might have. 

Mokou simply tilts her head to the side, closing her eyes as she gives a small nod and a few ‘hmm’ sounds, [color=ed1c24]“I’ve certainly seen it, the Moon Mountain that is. You think that this Baldur fellow of yours is around the mountain? Or just investigating one problem at a time?”[/color] she states, red eyes opening and looking back at the angel, [color=ed1c24]“And what makes this Baldur dangerous, if I may ask? Fighting everyone is a problem I see constantly, but when you have an entire group hunting you down, I expect there’s something that puts you above the rest.”[/color]

“He is, for all intents and purposes, immortal,” Sandalphon answered truthfully. “He abuses that fact to run roughshod over the commonfolk. However, he is also an important cog in the machine of Moebius, a despotic faction that controls much of this world from the shadows, whose members treat ordinary people like livestock and orchestrate wars merely for entertainment. Once Baldur is eliminated, we will be that much closer to toppling Moebius.” As far as she knew, Moebius wasn’t among the subjects that Galeem’s influence suppressed, in part because they didn’t exist prior to the World of Light itself. Perhaps hearing of their evildoing would light a fire in Mokou’s heart.

Sure enough, the existence of Moebius seemed to catch Mokou’s attention… But not nearly as much as Baldur did, [color=ed1c24]“A fellow immortal huh? Good thing you came across me then. If I can’t talk any sense into them, then I can just bash it into their skull”[/color] she says before sighing, body instinctively slouching even more than it was already, [color=ed1c24]“I was the same way for a while, just picking fights for the chance of entertainment. But after a few years that sort of thing lost its luster”[/color] as Mokou explains, her mind wanders to her own rival and, for a moment, she ponders if they would be a part of this ‘Moebius’. But the thought is quickly discarded: As annoying as Kaguya was, and how often they liked to pull people’s strings for their own entertainment, she was far from tyrannical. Just overtly carefree.

Without any further probing, Mokou freely admitted just what Sandalphon had been suspecting, which would be a perfect segue into the next topic she wanted to discuss. “So, you are immortal as well? During the encounter with that albino alligator I did observe you demonstrate what I hypothesized to be resurrective immortality. If you do not mind sharing, I would be curious about the ins and outs of this ability, as well as its source. Is this ability inherent to you, or did you obtain it somehow?”

[color=ed1c24]“... Guess I can explain that, just be prepared to be disappointed: I don’t sugarcoat this”[/color] Mokou says as she rolls her shoulder, preparing herself for the explanation she was about to lay out, [color=ed1c24]“To put it simply: I stole my immortality. An annoying hag named Kaguya made a thing called the ‘Hourai Elixir’, and after it caused her nothing but troubles, she eventually had it sent out to be destroyed. I took it while it was in transit and drank it, which resulted with my body and soul being imbued with ‘Eternity’. And to elaborate, you only needed three sips of the elixir to become ‘immortal’, I did far more than that”[/color] she explained, pausing for a moment to let the ramifications sink in for Sandalphon before continuing,

[color=ed1c24]“As a result, I am completely unchanging. I don’t age, I don’t become ill, I don’t even need to eat or drink, really. Anything that affects me will eventually be reverted, doesn’t matter if it affects my body or my soul. Spent a few hundred years trying to find a way to reverse it, but it’s a bit hard to undo Eternity. And if you’re wondering how you can get your own: Nip that desire in the bud. Last I checked, Kaguya had no plans to make any more of them, and the only one with the knowledge to actually make the Elixir is her doctor Eiren.”[/color]

“I see…” Sandalphon’s power symbol-shaped pupils became inverted triangles as she listened. “Well, I have no particular attachment to ‘eternity’. If no more Elixir exists, that means Moebius cannot obtain it for themselves.” Her pupils then became question marks. “One more question, if I may. Do you remember how long you’ve been wandering this country, Mokou?”

Mokou tilts her head, tapping her foot a few times as she pondered the question,[color=ed1c24] “I’ve honestly lost track of time even for something like that, so I can’t exactly give you a good estimation. Gave up on it when I got to thirteen-hundred years of age”[/color] she states, kicking the floor of the stagecoach idly, [color=ed1c24]“Could’ve been wandering for a few months or a few years and I wouldn’t know the difference.”[/color]

[i]But not two hundred plus years,[/i] Sandalphon surmised. While she believed Mokou could survive being killed, it would have surprised the archangel if Mokou turned out to be an exception to the World of Light subjects’ obligate ten-year lifespan. Death and erasure were not exactly the same thing, after all. If her hypothesis was correct, the Hourai Elixir would be of no use when it came to her own predicament, even if she could somehow acquire it. Far better that such a dangerous concoction never again see the light of day. “Thank you for humoring me,” she told the phoenix. “Is there anything else I can elucidate for you?”

[color=ed1c24]“Nah, I don’t have any more questions for now. If I come up with anymore, I’ll make sure to run them by you” [/color]Mokou responds, turning on her heel in order to walk back to where she had set up her shop (I.E: Where she was resting), giving Sandalphon a casual wave as she left. For the most part, she seemed a little bit more excited, as minimal as it was: The chance to face a fellow immortal wasn’t something she got often, outside her duels with Kaguya. 

She’d enjoy the future, that was for sure.