[IC] Paragon's End [Modern/Fantasy/Anime/Adventure]

[Cottonmouth]

Nemo chuckled at the phrase "Garden the shit out of". "Oh I'm sure you could manage it if you really put your heart into it." He tapped his pointer fingers together a couple times before replying. "Do you ever want to have kids Raiya? A family? Does the idea of being a mom hold any value to you?" He asked, using a more earnest tone than usual.

[ShiningSector]

"Honestly, my prototype was seemingly more complex than what we have here and it functioned just fine and typical mediums. I wouldn't see the problem with our rune working in the same manner," Travis replied while gathering their documents and drafts on the new rune, "plus, I aim to make my spells applicable as possible."

Having sorted out their illustrated designs and the proposed final product of their research, Travis produced a blank scroll from the pile and propelled it into the air with a levitation spell, "since we're not being picky, I suppose this should do. Think of it this way too; we can at least it properly documented."

As he held the scroll in the air, Travis channeled additional mana and began projecting the rune into the air. Having the rough designs to go by, it didn't take him long to complete it. Though even he would admit that he needed to make sure that that oriental nature of the rune was properly applied to the rune. With the holographic rune now manifested, he completed his part and had it imprinted into the scroll. Each character and symbol dematerialized as it itched into the fibers of the scroll.

Travis took hold of the scroll and momentarily gazed upon his work, checking for any unlikely inaccuracies may have occurred. Feeling satisfied, he recalled his attention back to Felix, " I do believe we're set with the medium; what's next?"

[Prodigal Son]

Raiya raised her right eyebrow in surprise, "Are you aware of what the yakuza beast tattoos do to us upper ranking officers? I've told you a bit about how they give our bodies attributes of the animal the tattoo represents. I've also told you how there is a limited number of them and they are only passed on to someone else after the bearer of them dies. But do you know to what extent the tattoos change a person?" Raiya folded her arms, "In certain cases, the tattoos interfere with the biological reproduction system. In my case, this is what happened. I don't know the theory behind, I just know that the snake essence within the tattoo has essentially stopped or paused my menstruation cycle. The only way to have kids is to remove the runic spells from my body. This is a very long way of explaining to you that, no, I have never thought about having children. And I probably never will. Giving up my unique magical abilities just to further my genetic line is asinine."

---

Felix shrugged, "The only way to really test this is to test it on me. So I suppose we step outside the magic boundary of the manor. I hold the scroll and place the crystal in the center for a mana battery of sorts, and then see what happens."

[Cottonmouth]

Nemo seemed saddened by Raiya's explanation. "That's terrible, Raiya... No woman should have to give up their own ability to create, or have a family. Your abilities are part of who you are as well, you shouldn't have to choose between one or the other." He spoke softly and then paused, clearly stumped on what to say next. "I'll... I'll fix it though." He assured. "I don't know how yet, but I'll figure something out. That's what... 'best acquaintances' are for, right?" Despite his words, Nemo didn't give off a tone of complete confidence in what he was saying.

"I know I'll never have a family myself, and well-" Nemo paused, sounding even more downtrodden than before. "Well that's something I have to think about every day." He finished, making it sound like something he had a hard time admitting. "But it shouldn't be too late for you, Raiya. Both of our abilities make age something that can be defied, but if there's one thing I've learned in my own years, it's that it get's lonely eventually. So even if you don't value it yourself yet, if I can make sure you never have to feel how I feel, then I'll have done at least one deed that I can truly be proud of before I die."

Nemo got up from the couch started walking towards the kitchen intent on getting something to drink, but he paused before passing the couch. "For what it's worth, I think you'd be a pretty good mom, Raiya."

[Prodigal Son]

There was a silent awkward pause in the air for about fifteen seconds before Raiya began to laugh hysterically. "The puppet show, the making dead men talk by moving their lips;" Raiya was talking between gasping breaths of laughter, "out of all of your comedy routines this has to be the funniest one yet!" Raiya was now doubled over in pain, her sides aching from laughing so hard. It lasted about two minutes straight before her laughter died down. She sat back up and caught her breath, wiping a tear from her right eye and flicking it off her finger.

"No but seriously, could you imagine? Me? Taking care of something living? Wooooohhh boy that's funny right there." Raiya paused a moment and struck a more serious tone, "I live for myself, Nemo, no one else. I have never had anyone depend on me and I don't plan to start any time soon. I destroy, not create, it's in my nature."

[Cottonmouth]

Nemo filled up a kettle with water and placed it on the burner, waiting for it to boil as Raiya ensued her spiel. "I once said something like that, Raiya. The difference being when I said it, it was true." He scavenged the kitchen for a bag of tea. He found Earl Grey. "Did your two apostate friends not depend on you when you were all cast out from the Arcanocracy?" He asked. "And in the same regard, now you depend on them. Right now you depend on them to run your gang. And if they were in trouble, would you not rush to their aid?"

The kettle began to whistle as the water boiled, Nemo picked it off the burner and poured it into a ceramic cup with the teabag inside. "I already know you would." He crooned. "That's why you were so upset with me when you thought they were in danger. You even said they were your friends."

"Not to mention the reason you left the Arcanocracy in the first place? What a tale, Grand-Magi risks it all attempting to expose corruption within the upper command. That doesn't sound like the act of a selfish rouge to me." After a proper infusion Nemo removed the teabag and poured in a shot of milk. He took a sip before continuing. "The reason you say such things, and I say with as little ego as possible, is because you are attempting to prove to everyone else, including yourself, that you are like me."

"A creator must always live in fear that their creations will be destroyed, but a pure destroyer has nothing to lose. You don't want to get hurt again Raiya, that's why the guise of a destroyer is so alluring to you, even to the point where you've convinced yourself that it's true. But I know it's not." He explained. "There is nothing you could do to hurt me Raiya, nothing in all your power, or all of Felix's power either. You have nothing threaten me with, but can you really say the same about yourself?"

Nemo walked back over to the couch with his tea and sat down. "Your actions might not all be virtuous, Raiya, but you've gone to great lengths to protect the people close to you, and do what you think is right, even if it's a detriment to yourself. And so that's why I say you'd be a good mom."

[Prodigal Son]

Raiya shrugged, "I need those people. That's why I am friends with them, that is why I risk so much and get angry over them. They are the biggest means to my end." Raiya was stroking a lock of her long hair that draped from the back of her head, staring at it as she talked, "What about you, huh? You claim to be an unfeeling uncaring murder machine, or at least that's how you portray yourself. But when you say there is nothing I could do to hurt you... I wonder about that." Raiya summoned her USP, it did not have its usual suppressor attached to its barrel. She looked at the gun for a moment before raising the gun and pointing the barrel at her right temple. "I wonder just how you'd react if I blew my brains out right here in front of you." Raiya began to squeeze the trigger, the hammer was not cocked backwards so the double action trigger had an extra pull to it as it half cocked.

[Cottonmouth]

Nemo instinctively flicked two of his gloved fingers upwards, causing a line shaped warp in the space from his hand to Raiya's gun. The spell generated enough force to knock the gun out of her hand before the discharge had any chance of happening. The USP was send flying, which Nemo casually caught before it could hit the ground.

He hesitated in his response back now, looking at the weapon in his hand silently for a few moments. Nemo cheek twitched, and then he looked back over to her. "What are you trying to imply, Raiya?" He asked.

[Prodigal Son]

Raiya smirked and waved her hand over the pistol that Nemo caught, it disappearing into her manainventory. "Don't try and hide it Nemo. I could right after I sobered up when you first brought me here. I am not sure what it is, but you are infatuated with me in some way. You've done things for me that I have never seen you do for others. It's simple," Raiya began to stroke a lock of her hair again,"I'm your weakness. If I care about my friends and gang members, and that is my weakness, then by the way you have acted towards me, I must be yours. If that is what would make me a good parent then I suppose since you are capable of the same thing, that by that logic you'd be a good parent too. However, I don't follow that logic. There is something more to being a parent than all of this that I do not possess. Patience, maybe? A level head? Sobriety? I'm not sure, but I know that I don't have it."

[Cottonmouth]

Nemo took a drink from his teacup, chuckling after he swallowed. "But how can you be so sure? Maybe I need you for something else, maybe you're just a elaborate plot to get revenge on Felix. Besides killing, my acting skills are well known. Maybe what you think now is only exactly what I want you to think. What do you think makes you so special?" He replied. "By the way, I really need to get you a new pistol."

"The reason I'll never be a father rears up far before that. I could never bring myself to create another life when I know there's a possibility they could be... like me. " Nemo took another sip. "People have always seen me as something that should be exterminated even when I was a child, I could never bear to see my kin be treated the same. You understand, right Raiya?"

[ShiningSector]

Travis eyed Felix only momentarily having noting the Magi's second gesture of indifference, "Well then, what are we waiting for? Let's give it a whirl!" he exclaimed while he rolled the scroll into a more portable shape.

[Prodigal Son]

"You can pretend," said Raiya, she smirked slyly before continuing, "that this is all a part of an elaborate plot to get back at Felix. Felix spent years thinking about why it was that you let the arcanocracy take you into Mamertine. Seeing your powers up close, you and I both know that you could have left that prison whenever you wanted to. I have a theory. You don't hate Felix. Felix was the one person who matched you in strength and cunning in your long career as a killer. He put a stop to you through sheer mage ingenuity. He's the Batman to your Joker. You could no more kill each other than the night and day could kill each other. Oh, I'm sure you'll both end up fighting each other again soon. But, tell me, if you had him in checkmate, gun to Felix's head, could you pull the trigger?"

Raiya looked downwards a bit forlorn, "I understand perfectly what it's like to be treated differently. Even treated like a monster. I wasn't just excommunicated from the arcanocracy for defying the orders of the upper ranks. I was already on thin ice for researching what was seen as dark arts or satanic magic. I was looking into snakes, trying to gain some insight into why God cursed a animal to slither through the dust. What power could a snake have held in order to defy a god? That's what I was interested in. That was not enough on its own to have me excommunicated, because I had a brother in the arch-magi, supporting me. But, as soon as Felix rejected me, the arcanocracy quickly put together a case to have me excommunicated. My charges included heresy of the highest order. They would have executed me on the spot had Felix not stepped in at the last moment. My punishment was exile from the church, never to partake of Holy Communion again. For Catholics, that's a sentence to hell itself. Many people that I used to rely on saw me as a monster, a demon. So I dedicated myself to figure out how to slay the gods they relied so heavily upon. I figured out quickly that to slay a god, you need to become a god. That's how I wound up in the Yakuza. Some of the most ancient god slaying magic had been passed down from ancient times within the beast tattoos that the ranking officers of the Yakuza have. I learned this, and willingly got captured and subjected myself to Yakuza torture to gain their trust. After being initiated, rising up in the ranks wasn't hard at all. I quickly discovered that being seen as a monster wasn't so bad after all."

---

Felix grabbed the inscribed runic paper, and the mana crystal battery, and then opened up his crux-glyph portal, the other side of the portal opened up just outside of the manor's barrier out in the redwood forest. "Well, let's go then."

[Cottonmouth]

"He spared me once, naturally I'd have to repay the favor. However that doesn't mean I'd extend the same courtesy the second time. The world has been more interesting with him in it, sure, but I have no reason to spare him the most spectacular ending he could wish for twice." Nemo replied, a somewhat prideful look on his face. "You're right, though, Raiya, I could have broken out of that cell anytime I wanted." He said, his tone turning more serious.

"I remember you at the trial, you know. I never forget a face, even if it's just a glimpse." He said, tapping his temple a couple times. "You weren't supposed to be there, but you wanted to get a look at me. And since the Arcanocracy was making my sentencing into such a grand show, that wasn't so hard."

"They were escorting me out when I saw you, so you and anyone with a brain knows the Catholic journalists were lying when they said I begged for mercy and groveled at the high command's feet. You know firsthand that the rumors were true, that when I was delivered my indefinite sentence, I laughed all the way out of the courtroom. But you, and probably only you can remember that I paused when I saw you." He took another drink fro his teacup. "I stopped laughing because I was surprised, it was first time since I was a child that a kid had looked at me with not just fear, but hatred as well. You disagreed with my sentence didn't you? You know that I slaughtered Felix's master, his crew, and nearly Felix himself had it not been for his final gambit. You wanted me to be executed, because that was the only way to be sure."

"That's the one bad thing about never forgetting, you don't forget. The... faces, they stick with me forever. I had started to become numb to it though, the sight felt like a sign that I had done well in my acts of discord on my persecutors. But yours still hurt, it hurt because I knew I was wrong. You were an innocent kid, you never did anything to me, you were still free from the dark world I inhabited, and yet you hated me all the same. I knew then that if only I had not been so weak and deranged in the beginning, if I had been strong enough to let it all go, maybe things would have turned out differently for me."

"That's why I never tried to break out, because ironically, that prison cell was the only place I knew I was safe from judgement. It was the closest I've ever come to feeling peace."

After a long pause, Nemo reached over and ruffled Raiya's hair. "It's kind of strange to see you now though, after all this time. You've grown up to be quite a talented and beautiful woman."

[ShiningSector]

Travis briefly watched as Felix took passion of the scroll before generating on of his signature rifts. After Felix made his welcoming gesture, Travis stepped through the portal and exited into the Redwood forest. The Untalent took the moment to scan his surroundings, noting the massive base of each of the trees that surrounded and dwarfed him, all the way up to their towering apex. Eventually, Travis turned back and faced the portal, awaiting Felix to exit through.

[Prodigal Son]

Raiya's eyes narrowed as she grit her teeth. She began idly tracing her finger over the cross crest on her flask. "What a load of crap." She growled softly but angrily. "You expect me to believe you voluntarily stayed inside the worst prison to ever exist because your conscience kicked in when you saw a little girl? Give me a break." She spat the words out, each one carrying a force of its own. "I was thirteen years old. Indoctrinated by the church. And on top of all of that, you tried to kill the person who was most important to me at the time. Of course I hated you. Are you seriously trying to tell me that over the course of your long career as a killer that there was never another time that you were confronted with a family member of the ones you killed? Or was I just the straw that broke the camels back? Was that it? Of the many in the arcanocracy that you had killed, I knew three of them personally. All three of them were married, but only two of them had children. I attended the funerals for all of them. I consoled the children who were too young to understand that their daddy was never coming back. But when you saw me that was it huh? You have your moments of sanity, but you really are truly insane aren't you."

Even though it seemed as though Raiya was initially infuriated, she seemingly relaxed after her spiel. Raiya sat back, wresting her head on the headrest of the sofa, and downed the rest of what was in her flask. She rolled her head to the side to look at Nemo, "Beautiful, huh? Never once in my life have I ever even tried to look pretty. I wear clothes that hide my feminine features and I never wear makeup. I've been called all sorts of things, but the only one to ever call me beautiful and mean it was Felix. Beautiful, huh? That's rich."

---

Felix stepped through the portal, and immediately felt the healing properties of the ley-lines and the manor-wide glyph dissipate. He could feel his mana wells slowly shrinking and the familiar feeling of weakness overcame him. "Alright, better start right away." Felix said, holding the scroll with and crystal with shakey hands. Felix placed the mana crystal in the center of the scroll, and immediately the scroll began to glow with a blue light. The shrinking of Felix's mana wells and well as his feeling of weakness, stopped. Felix looked over at Travis with a smile, "Well, Travis, my boy. It looks like we've done it!"

[Cottonmouth]

"It really makes no difference to me whether you believe it or not, but it is the truth." Nemo replied. "You were the last straw in this case. I'd be lying if I said you were the first, as there have been many relatives to come after me in the past, certainly not many kids though." He took another sip of his tea, nearly finished. "You must realize that I kill killers, Raiya. Just because the Arcanocracy might pretend they do what they do in God's honor doesn't make them any less stone cold than me. You know that from experience."

"For every magi and officer I've dealt a final blow to, there's a mobster and murderer in line as well. I'm sure a good deal of them were family men as well, doesn't mean they should be spared the guillotine. My methods may seem rather imprecise, but I've never parted a truly innocent person of their soul as of yet."

"In the case of my capture, I had to fight to stay alive. It wasn't me who cast the first stone in that case. I was ambushed, wasn't I?" He paused, finishing off his tea and washing the cup out. "The prison was unexpected however. That sentence meant that I didn't have to kill to survive anymore, I could simply exist in there, alone. In that box I would no longer have to hurt anybody else, or be hurt myself. Even something like me could exist in harmony."

Nemo stepped over to the couch, pausing until he collected his thoughts on the second topic. From behind he leaned over and rested on the top-frame at Raiya's side. "You don't have to be frilly or in a dress to be pretty, Raiya." He let out a deep sigh to relax, rolling over so that his back was resting on the edge and looking up at the ceiling. The backwards bent posture looked awkward, but Nemo seemed to be fine with it. "Beauty isn't inherently feminine, or even kind for that matter. It can range from flowers and fine art, to storms and explosions." Nemo pushed off from the ground, slowly snaking over the top of the couch until his back hit the cushion and he was sitting upside down with his legs on the backrest. "You are beautiful for the same reasons you may think you aren't. You're not afraid to be yourself. You're a unique person with a unique sense of style, there's nothing wrong with that." Nemo rolled off the seat backwards to come full circle standing upright in front of Raiya. "I've spent most of my life curating things considered beautiful, so it's a praise I only use when I truly mean it."

[ShiningSector]

The moment Felix exited the portal, it didn't take Travis long to notice a slight change in Felix's physical condition. He watched as Felix's assured movements soon allured to enfeeble gestures. The hints were minor but added up after the former Arch-Mage instilled urgency to begin the experiment. Travis momentarily pondered how Felix got around as he rounded up everyone into this crazy quest, knowing that fact that leaving the protective perimeter of the manor would increasingly become taxing. Seeing Felix's condition immediately begin to deteriorate, even at a slow growing pace, it was more evident to Travis that their project had to succeed.

With a mana crystal in hand and in position, Felix activated their rune with the inscribed text emitting a calm blue glow. Travis immediately began jotting down notes and while he didn't find anything visually remarkable, through the use of his manalysis, he could perceive Felix's aura and mana traces improving from an apparent lessened state. While Felix seemed more lively and confident of their success, Travis didn't express the exact same tone.

"It does appear that our runic spell is doing its job, see as your cheerful attitude it back," Travis began, "though I am still concerned how long it will hold up. I'd rather it stay functioning for least several hours rather than a few short minutes, or even for a moment."

[Prodigal Son]

"Well, I suppose we could wait here a while, see how long this mana crystal can hold a charge." Felix proposed.

---

"I don't want your excuses," Raiya said drunkenly, "Many of the people I've killed had families as well. It would be hypocritical of me to judge you on that alone. My point was that your epiphany being triggered by my presence at your hearing is sloppy." Raiya chuckled, "You might be the most inconsistent man I've met. Or maybe there's something deeper to all of this, a secret you've been keeping maybe?" Raiya made it sound as if she suspected Nemo of a deeper treachery. She left the question hanging in the air for a few moments before breaking the silence with laughter. "Ah, well. I guess we will never know what goes on in that deranged head of yours." Raiya conceded with a wave of her hand. "For now, for whatever reason, you're on our side and I guess that's what matters.

Raiya stored her flask in her mana inventory, before looking back up at Nemo. "Oh? And why exactly should I take you of all people as the authority on beauty? Sure you might be a collector, but that doesn't mean your sense of human aesthetics are the same as mine. In fact. You would probably be the last person on earth I'd consult on the aesthetics of humans." Raiya explained. "Still, your statement was, from what I could tell, an honest compliment. So, thank you."

[Cottonmouth]

"I'm not one for secrets, Raiya. Our game from before still stands, I'll answer any question you want as long as you answer one of mine." He said, folding his arms. "Though I have to be honest, I'm a tad bit hurt. I've never had my taste questioned before." His expression seemed to brighten up by Raiya's final words however.

"I need to ready some of my equipment in my room, you're welcome to join me if you'd like." Nemo said, resting his hands behind his back and walking upstairs. He opened the door to his room and flicked on the light, revealing the full extent of his renovations. He clearly had spent some time placing various knick-knacks he had found from all eras, ranging from 1700's paintings to 1980's technology.

Nemo walked over to the ornate wooden cabinet he stored his watches and revolvers in and used a small golden key to unlock the top half's swing out doors.

[ShiningSector]

"I suppose that is a fair trial, given what we have at the moment," Travis replied, "it'll sure be like watching paint dry if it does last awhile though."