An Unsure Alliance
Loom
Morning
Collab: yoshua171 and @Ganryu.
As Zeki joyfully yapped on his cellphone, he heard footsteps behind him, and a shadow cast by him. His eyes opened wide, and he shut his cellphone mid introduction, turning it off.
It was the first time that phone had been turned off, or even a phone call ended early in its whole life.
Zeki turned, holding his cane up to the approaching figure, the insignia on the bottom of it pointed at the man.
"You!"
Having searched for at least half an hour for the man, he found himself somewhat surprised when Zeki whirled and aimed his cane at his chest. Standing several inches from the end of the cane, Szayeis found himself glancing down at it, noting the insignia, then looking back to Zeki. So he wasn't just a businessman, he was an old acquaintance too, and an influential one at that. Why, he hadn't seen the man for at least two thousand years, if not longer. Portraying this amusement was a smug smile and a knowing look that rested upon his face and in his eyes.
"Hello Zeki, I've been looking for you, but it seems I have stumbled upon information far more interesting than what was given to me to find you." He looked down at the cane again and raised his hand, moving it towarrds the cane. "I wouldn't suggest that, we're in a public place and I don't think you want anyone to get hurt," his smile remained as he used a single finger to lightly push the cane downwards.
Zeki put the cane down, a smile coming to his face too.
"Wouldn't suggest what? I'm just your friendly neighborhood deal broker. It's just a cane. I was just surprised that's all. I didn't expect to run into someone of your status. So! Do you like the atmosphere up here? I think the little things make it lovely."
Zeki aptly using his cane to lower his hat a little as he looked at the person he least expected to run into. It wasn't often he ran into 'old friends'. Or whatever the hell this fiend infront of him was suppose to be. It soured his day a little, he'd have to think for the first time in a while about his aptly place prospects. This made things not so simple. In a way, perfect, it threw some spice in life, in another way, he wasn't sure he liked Szayeis as the chef.
"So, old timer, what can I do for you? I've got some lovely business going here. Feel quite settled here.
I'd hate to see anything happen to it. "
On edge, yes that was the phrase that perfectly described this fellow, and how he did love to put people into such situations.
"Oh? I'm sure you have some...wonderful prospects in contract. Walk with me," he gestured for Zeki to follow him as he walked past him.
Zeki followed without a moment's hesistation, twirling his cane to his side as he walked to the side of Szayeis, whistling an old tune.... far older than this city. Something probably only Szayeis would recognize. An old hymn.
Chuckling lightly as he heard the song, something lost in another time to all, but the few who lived so long as to outlive an era. Yes,
Zeki had always interested him, even if the demon rarely allowed him near. After half a minute of listening, Szayeis chimed up, looking about their surroundings at how Loom had changed, or rather how it had been rebuilt, in the last 200 years.
"I'm not sure if you're aware, humble businessman you are, but the end of this world is coming," he did not so much as look at the man as he spoke.
"Do not misunderstand. I am not the one threatening this world," at least not this time, he thought with a chuckle.
"Something far older is at work. It's rather...fortunate that you are more than I thought you to be Zeki. After all, this gives us both a unique chance," he glanced at him, a sly smile ever on his lips,
"A chance for us to, perhaps, ally for once rather than fued as we used to do, even if only in jest. Of course, once the threat has...passed, we can forfeit this contract, if you will, but I think it would benefit both of us if the world continued to exist, don't you think." His smile grew and he laughed as if he'd said some kind of joke, before he turned away, appearing to observe their scenery again.
Each time he blinked, he noted another detail elsewhere. Something marked with this man's essence, or perhaps
someone. Yes, it really did seem that his old
friend enjoyed this new Loom.
Perhaps later...he would tear that enjoyment away, but not till later...not till he'd been of use.
Zeki's arm wrapped around Szayeis's shoulder as he joined in with the laughter, finding Szayeis's joke hilarious appearantly, he pressed the on button to his phone.
"Always were funny you were. Afterall, it was hilarious when in jest you burned down my island, and even more so when half your demons got stranded and lost."
Zeki's tone was a little confusing on whether he found that funny, or just Szayeis in general. He took a selfie with the man. Zeki's nature wasn't particular brave, but it wasn't to back away either. He marched to his own tune, and nothing was going to change that.
"So,
buddy, what exactly is in store to make you scared? That. That is interesting to me."
Zeki unwrapped his arm, his voice more serious.
"Do you know how hard it is for something to be interesting to me? But you, you being scared is one of them. I don't particularly care what title you use to describe us, allies, enemies, whatever, it's all the same. People like you are normally easy to read, see what benefits you the most. It's all so boring. But circumstances like this.... it makes me feel alive to experience something new. It doesn't matter if you're trying to play me or not, I'm curious. Do tell."
While he heard Zeki's comments about some of their prior...exchanges, Szayeis made no comment, instead he just smiled slightly, a false smile,
"Indeed." As the man continued however, he found the demon's choice of words rather
annoying, even if it was more accurate than he'd like to admit.
"This is hardly the place," he said, glancing about,
"...perhaps somewhere more...private would suit our purposes better, mmm? If you don't trust me well enough for that, then let me first offer you a teaser. What we're facing isn't just stronger than a demonic lord, or a gatekeeper, it's stronger than a god, and its only wish is to see this world, and the two joined with it, wiped from the face of existence along with everything that lives within it." As he finished, the lord looked to Zeki and smiled, yet while his smile appeared innocent enough, the look in his eyes showed a deep malice that would tell him to stop
toying with him.
For all the sufferring he inflicted on others, Szayeis did not much like it when the tables were turned--even if only in minor situations. One could say that Szayeis coveted control, perhaps that was why he was so good at manipulation.
"Huh."
Zeki's reaction seemed underwhelmed, though truth be told, it was something that definitely caught all of his attention. He was already getting deep in thought when he noticed Szayeis's glare.
"Please, you look like my mother-in-law."
He scratched his chin, and leaned against a wall as he thought about it. This sort of thing wasn't normal. For 'Gods' like Szayeis to use the term, this thing apparantly had a pretty good shot at doing it. The world ending
would be bad for business. And stopping the world from ending
would keep him busy for a little bit. How wrong would it be to be bored when the very world was ending.
Zeki's face broke into an even larger smile.
"Kudos, Mr. Szayeis you've caught my interest. I believe we have a partnership. Let's see. I know of a warehouse not too far from here that will be empty. I'd love to see how I fit into your plans."
The word 'will' was definitely definitive. If it wasn't, it was going to be. Zeki, curious, was one of the most dangerous forces on earth.
His glare diminished somewhat after which point he looked away, raising his hand and looking down at it. He could feel the essence he'd managed to gather thus far, it still wasn't enough, but it was a start, at least no normal schmuck, or some demonic lord could step all over him now. He had Darius, and his earlier
feast to thank for that.
Glancing up when Zeki smiled and began to speak, Szayeis nodded then gestured forwards,
"Lead on then." He liked how the demon had said it would be empty, rather than supposing that it already was. Perhaps they'd get to have a bit of lunch before their...chat.
Zeki held a briskwalk towards the warehouse, walking straight through the front door. Several forklifts were at work in it, and a manager directing it. He turned to see Zeki.
"Mr. Glaedwine? What can I do you fo-"
"Get out. Send everyone home. This place is taking a break today."
"Today's packed there's no way-"
Zeki simply glanced at the man, whose essense ebbed, the back of his neck burning. Zeki's mark visibly showed itself through his clothing.
"Right away! EVERYONE, CLOSE UP SHOP!"
The warehouse was empty in under a minute, more like evacuated. He turned to Szayeis.
"I'm sure you're disappointed. Now, as you were saying, some heathen wants to play god. What's the story?"
Zeki leaned against a crate, waiting to be filled in.
Mildly impressed by Zeki's influence, but also mildly disappointed, Szayeis watched them all file out, after which point he let out a deep breath, his form ceasing to be human as he reverted to a more natural state. He was like a three dimensional silhouette in his base form, a silhouette with white pupils embedded where a face should be. Slight discolorations showed various features, namely a mouth, fingers, and the seldom marking that slipped over his shadowflesh--if one could call it flesh at all.
"It's not quite that simple, if it were I'd not be asking for help, now would I?" His tone was much more serious now.
With little humor in sight he began to explain,
"As you know this world was formed by a god named Aaurus, who later created Lucy, the second god, or rather first goddess I suppose." His white eyes glanced towards Zeki as he continued,
"That is a god, a being capable of easily and seamlessly creating not just life, but entire realities as well. This is not what we're dealing with. What we're dealing with, is a being...or rather half of a being, that most people are not even aware exists--even though they talk about it here and there." He paused again, his form fluctuating slightly as his essence assimilated nearby shadows, though he did not change their form by doing so.
"The void, as most call it, is not just a realm. It's a massive, infinite being beyond the scope, in both power and consciousness, of even the gods. In fact, Aaurus is apparently its child, from what I've gathered." He looked to Zeki again,
"The bad news is we're dealing with this being, whose name is Inaniae, the good news...we're only dealing with half of it, which incarnated into a mortal form near the beginning of Hell and was later fooled into shattering its soul."He stopped there, regarding Zeki for a long moment. He wasn't quite done, but he was curious as to the demon's reaction to all of this. Plus, he wasn't sure if he wanted to tell him the whole truth. He didn't know if he wanted to tell this man, who in some ways was his equal, that within him dwelled a fragment of Inaniae's shattered soul. Even further he did not want to reveal that it was very possible that, if done a particular way, he would die in the process of purging Inaniae from this reality.
So how much more should he say? That was the question after all. It always was when one was playing the Game. That...and how to say it.
Zeki reguarded the situation very seriously. It was in a way, applaudable in the Szayeis had shut up his banter with the news. It wasn't just some minor demon rebelling, or some angel displaced. It threatened all demonkind, mankind, angelkind, and chimerakind. For a minute, he wondered if Crow wanted a 'god' to add to his collection. Zeki though had one question that he couldn't find the answer to.
"Where do I fit exactly into all this? I'm not sure exactly what a humble shopkeeper like myself can do. It seems to me, the best choices we have are not reasonable ones. I don't like anything I've come up with.I'm guess you are planning on incorporating the void into all of this. Are we throwing ourselves, or this 'god' into it? I don't see even solutions to this ending well."
With Zeki's reaction, he figured he could trust him with a bit more information.
"Well there are two things of relevance really. First is its fragments, which must be sought out and purged, the second is of course, Inaniae himself. I managed to lock him in the center of my realm within the Chimeric Citadel, but that will only last so long. Once his fragments are gone and his body destroyed, he will, like any being with mortal form, be sent to the void where he will rejoin with his other half. Normally this would be an idiotic plan, but the process of entering the void erases personality and emotion. From what I could tell while the damned primordial was attempting to assimilate me to hasten its awakening, it normally would not have emotion and without motion it would lose the very hatred that drives it to wish destruction upon the reality we all call home."He took in a deep breath and then looked to Zeki,
"So yes, I suppose the question is twofold for you, Amrit. Will you gather enough people together to assist in the defeat of the main body and the search for the remaining fragments by way of your connections, or are you willing to stand against it yourself when the time comes?" His eyes bore into Zeki's own as he waited for the man's response. Both plans of attack would be helpful, but in his opinion Amrit would gather others to serve both as fodder and to find the other fragments, then stand alongside those who would ally to prevent the destruction of all they had ever known.
However, they did not live in a perfect world.
If they did, he would not exist, and neither would this problem. So it was up to the demon before him.
Zeki flinched at the use of his real name. It reminded him that he didn't hold over Szayeis what he held over almost everyone else, experience. He hated having anything close to an equal there. Power, that didn't mean much to him, so many people had that, but experience.... that was a domain he was rather fond of having. The eye boring for once actually did bother him. Zeki grabbed his hat with his cane.
"You do realize, this could be the worse possible scenerio, if we succeed, it could be far worse than if we failed."
Zeki didn't bother explaining, and stood up fully.
"I think I know what I'm doing. Power's not really important to me, so I'd rather not stand against it myself. I'm a busy man. I'd rather it be a wee bit weaker, have someone younger and more spry do the job. Put me roughly under the category of finding fragments."
For a long moment his eyes remained on Zeki as he considered the demon's choice.
"Very well," he raised a shadowy hand and gathered together a sphere of essence, infusing into it the necessary knowledge to discern fragments. He then weaved the essence into a spherical construct of shadow and let it go, at which point it drifted over to Zeki.
"Mark that with your sigil, it will provide you with the necessary knowledge to tell the difference between a normal nightwalker and a fragment. There's enough essence in that for you to share it with some of your other colleagues and...clientele if you deem it necessary. When in public the orb itself will hide in your shadow. Feel free to tap into it at any time. Doing so, depending on whether or not your intention is to contact me, will notify me of your use. Think of it as a phone of sorts."He left it at that, his form drifting to a nearby shadow, before he glanced at the demon again.
"Good luck Amrit..." he then turned away and strode through the shadow, vanishing from the area, both form of presence both.
What Szayeis' new ally didn't know was that the orb also served as an eye. Szayeis didn't quite trust him after all, and so to leave him with such extensive knowledge and not at least attempt to place some insurance, would be utterly foolish.
With this in mind he had constructed the orb. Luckily, Zeki, while an old
friend, did not know much of his personal capabilities--few did. While the demon broker would surely know he could manipulate shadows, take in chaos, and detect deception with his eyes--an ability that he no longer actually had--he would not know the subtleties of such. This gave him an advantage. However, he was in a similar position. After all, the two had neer fought outright.
Putting it out of mind, the nightwalker headed for the Academy. It was time to pay Aeris a visit, at least before he got down to business.
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