letsdeadaland | Wouldn't you like to use more than words?

Wouldn't you like to use more than words?

The last thing you recall is likely your own death. Whether it was fast or slow, it's over now. And you're... where are you?

One moment, you were among the living. The next - you may be one of the unfortunate ones who actually died. In which case, you've found yourself flowing in the lazy rivers of the river Styx, unfathomably deep underground. Just for a moment, mind you. It's not long before your consciousness is yanked from the waters by some scary monsters, shoved into a healed body, and pushed through a portal.

Or, maybe you were caught red-handed and sentenced to your doom. But, instead of a proper death, you were whisked down into the Veins of Tartarus. And there's really only one place that could lead to... Or is it?

You've been tossed down here by the will of the Titan, but what you find is A helping hand swooping you up - possibly literally, and potentially out of the grasp of the Titan himself.

Not a moment after, you're whisked through another rift, this one a shimmering gold. Into a realm of slightly more stable platforms and a lot more shit to look through. The area is practically littered with the ill-gotten goods of a thieving God (who is happy to note via pop-up illusion that you are touching his stuff). Here, however, you are safe; assured that Typhon cannot find or hurt you here.

For the moment, you can breathe before the next part comes.

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[When they reach this safe shelter Fenyx as brought them to, Quark has a moment to look around, eyes wide. Then, to Alex:]

...wow, you weren't kiddin' when you said this place was a mess.

[Well, he's here now, for anyone that'd like to greet him.

Later, after meeting with some familar faces, Quark is just going to go and walk around and see what there is to see. There is, of course, the chance that he'll run into someone along the way, but he'll leave that to chance]

[Seymour, for the most part, has been doing his best to stay away from everyone else. He doesn't want to see them, and he's quite sure they don't want to see him, either; coupled with the fact that he's still trying to slowly reboot into safe mode, he's ensconced himself in an out-of-the-way corner to just rest.

He doesn't seem to be aware that he has company at first, just sort of curled up in a makeshift attempt at a bed. He's calm enough now that Zvei is comfortable leaving him for short periods of time, and for better or for worse, it will be during one such period that Quark stumbles across him.]

[Stumbling is, in fact, what happens. The stacks of (he's assuming) stolen items are piled high, and as Quark turns his head to look at something that glitters interestingly, his foot catches on a discarded stone plaque--and he squawks, stumbling forward, shoulder going into one of those piles of things and knocking some stuff free with a clatter. Quark jerks back with a wince, one hand going to his ear as he braces himself on the pile. He looks up, glancing around it--at which point he spots the makeshift bed.

He blinks, once, before he's straightening off the pile, lowering his hand to tug the ends of his jacket into place]

Well, well, well. Look what the Caitian dragged in.

[The clattering sound jolts him into wakefulness almost instantly, violet eyes snapping open as he makes an awkward attempt to scramble into a sitting position. For someone who is such a powerful mage, it's a distinctly odd reaction for him to be trying to shrink away more than anything else, his expression wary and his eyes darting around for a moment as if looking for possible escape routes. At last they settle back onto Quark to just stare, apprehensive; he almost seems like he's waiting for something.]

You...

[There's less vehemence in it than one might expect. It just seems... tired, almost.]

[Seymour shrinks away from him, and, unlike with Ferdinand, it is viscerally satisfying. Is it odd? Yeah, it is, considering the last time Quark saw him, he was spouting insane things about salvation and death and killing everyone. But then again, Quark was told that everyone still alive stopped him, and they made it hurt.

Good.

He killed Aoi (and she'd bled out in Quark's arms, scared and wanting to live-) then used Aoi to kill Quark. Needless to say, he has absolutely no sympathy, no matter any glimpses he might have caught of Seymour's sad little life during that whole scene. A lot of people have bad lives. A lot of those people also don't murder people, much less try and murder an entire world.]

So! How's this whole salvation of yours going? [he grins widely, but there's no humor in it. Only sharp-tooth viciousness.]

Pretty poorly, it looks like. Almost as if it doesn't actually exist!

[Though he tries to keep his expression neutral, the wince that flickers across his face betrays how much those words sting. It's like a knife right into his weak spot... which, in all honesty, he supposes he deserves after what he did. He can't blame Quark for that much.]

... I... thought I had said as much. There is no salvation for me.

[Back in his world, he would have become Sin, destroyed all life in Spira, and then existed as the new Sin while his consciousness was slowly consumed by Yu Yevon until nothing of "Seymour Guado" remained-- a slow and horrible death of self, with him being fully aware of it the entire time.

The salvation he sought had never been meant to be for him.]

[Quark considers that]

Huh. I guess you did say that. [he shrugs] I was too busy trying to get under your skin to really care about anything you were saying.

Though you know what I did pick up on? And the real kicker of this whole thing?

[he leans down a bit so he can be eye level with Seymour]

That whole salvation scam? The one that you tried to force on everyone? The one that you say was never in the cards? The thing is, after your ex dumped you, there were people that stood up for you--like Leb, during the seance. Or that bloodsucker seemed pretty willing to spend time with you. You had other people that you could have turned to--I'd say almost everyone was pretty sympathetic after that trial. And you walked away from all of it, from a second chance to have it. Because that's the closest thing to actual salvation that anyone ever gets. That's the thing that makes any suffering lessen; that's what makes it bareable. Someone could even say that's what makes it worthwhile. And you ignored it and tossed it all aside.

And I've been thinkin' about that, and about this whole sad boo-hoo tragedy of yours. Because I'm betting that Mommy and Daddy really didn't love you, or if they did, they did it in a way that messed you up. But that's not any excuse, because lots of people have awful childhoods and manage not to murder other people, but I'm digressing here. All of that? That's not the real tragedy. The real tragedy of you is that you could've had salvation, or the closest anyone can get to it. And you walked away and decided to throw yourself at big, ugly and stupid because you were to busy focusing on you, you, you and your supposed pain and suffering, you narcissistic moron.

Y'know, maybe I'd have a bit of sympathy for that. If you hadn't gone and killed Aoi and me. So instead, I would just love for you to sit and think on that, and really understand how badly you've frinxed this whole thing up. Because you deserve nothing less.

[and he straightens, taking a step back]

Oh, and when we get out of here? Stay away from Aoi. That's not a request.

[With that, he's turning to walk away]

Edited 2025-08-31 21:57 (UTC)

[Hurrying behind him, Fenyx is quick to quip,]

I've been trying to clean things up, but it's not easy to sort through godly possessions. Some of it's some valuable stuff, some of it's like a random goblet I was using one afternoon--

[As if to punctuate her words, a flickering image of a blonde man appears next to Fenyx. Somehow, she doesn't jump at its appearance. She simply looks annoyed.]

"Hello, I am an illusion of Hermes. If you are watching this, it means you are touching my things, and I don't like that! So stop!

Also, if you're Fenyx, DON'T tell that other Athena about my stuff. You keep touching it as it is, and ruining my sense of aesthetic. Honestly."

[The illusion fades. Fenyx is just making the icon's face.]

[Quark's eyebrows go up as he watches that hologram]

Huh. So a Collector.

[you can practically hear the capitalized "C" on that. And though he does has some questions about this, more importantly--]

So, you work with Athena.

A thief, to be correct. God of thieves.

[Ahem, yes! She thumps her chest with a fist.]

Fenyx, goddess of unity. I've been working with Athena since... oh, well, since we ran into each other. She was searching for a world to practice this 'theory' on, and I said I'd help her!

Bumps in the road, of course, but I think it's still going pretty well!

Right, that theory about gods and humans working together.

[he kind of arches an eyebrow a bit, though]

I wouldn't have said pretty well, considering the whole--[he gestures around them]--Big, Ugly and Kill Each Other and also whoever he's serving of it all. And the murders. The murders have been pretty bad. [dryly] No one likes getting killed, let me tell you that.

I'll give you an "it could be worse," but that's a very generous "it could be worse."

[anyway]

How'd you run into each other exactly? And that Collector--[he lifts his chin a bit towards where the Hermes hologram was]--he said something about an "other" Athena? What's that about?

Right. Not the part with Typhon, or the killings. Those are definitely bad. But I've still got hopes about her plan; gods and mortals, working together in harmony? Healing the world with that connection? That's something I can get behind.

...But I also haven't seen how things are since, uh... It's been a while. I'll concede the point to you.

[coughs]

It's funny, actually. She was searching for others who would help her, and I was doing a bit of searching of my own - just for things to help with, not anything too grand.

Oh. Yes, she's a different Athena from the one I know. Quite a bit nicer, too. It turns out, there's multiple versions of Athena, and the other gods, too. That was surprising for both of us.

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