XOqNI

[tongueamok]

Hello, this is Carlisle. I mean, it's not Carlisle as in I'm actually answering you right now, so if you're trying to reply to me at the second, you should probably save your breath because I'm not really here. This is some kind of a recording of my voice, but this is my communicator. I'm going to assume these devices are as common here as they are in other places — not my world, but others, ones more technologically advanced than where I come from— so if you'd like to leave me a message, then you may do so here, or er... Right. Here is fine. So just leave yo— [beep]

Comments

[puzzlingly]

「Carlisle cannot see him, but that makes Atem smirk.」

thats exactly what i need

[tongueamok]

Ah.

[Right, he should probably send another message for more clarity:]

This might be a bit long for a letter, but if you would like, we can discuss it in person.

[You know his hangouts, Atem.]

[puzzlingly]

of course...
though idk where your garden is now

「Stupid islands making it all hard.」

[tongueamok]

[Oh right, islands. Carlisle was lucky that his apartment and his garden ended up on the same one; others were not so fortunate.]

Northern island, within the park.

> action.

[puzzlingly]

itll get me a while to get there but please wait for me carlisle

「True to his word, and after the expected time one would take to travel between islands, there is some soft knocking on the shack's door. Hopefully Carlisle didn't get too anxious from all that waiting. What he wouldn't give to have his good old dragon to carry him around....」

Hey, Carlisle, are you there?

「But, man! Getting to the shack wasn't as easy as it had before, with all that rain, there were plants everywhere!」

[tongueamok]

[... please wait for him? Where else would he go?

Carlisle can ponder the mysteries of Atems' inquiry later; he does as requested and remains at his garden, content to prune his coilers while waiting. There certainly are plants everywhere, as the rainy weather and lack of desert heat has allowed his garden to thrive once more. He has to trim the spiraling vines of the coilers nearly every day, lest they take over the entire park.

Carlisle doesn't seem too anxious as Atem calls to him, but he does look a bit uneasy. The topic of demons will never sit well with him -- certainly not after what happened to Emily. He responds, still pruning at the vines that hang over the cottage.]

You say that as if I would abandon our plans for others.

[puzzlingly]

「The moment the taller man meets him, Atem pulls off quite the smile, one could say as always, but this time he doesn't look awfully tired like the last time, nor overshadowed by worry like the time before that one.」

And I thank you for that.

「He hasn't really felt so much like himself in a very long time, that's for sure, and Carlisle has given him new hope, there is nothing that could put him down now.」

Shall we?

「It is him who invites him inside the little cabin. Figures.」

[tongueamok]

[Carlisle nods, not questioning the invitation into his own abode. He sets his shears aside and takes off his gardening gloves, leaving them in one of the empty pots for now.]

I assume this is quite serious, if d- demons are involved.

[He tries to keep his composure, but demons are not a light topic.]

[puzzlingly]

It is.

「Whether if is a light topic or not, it doesn't seem to deter Atem at all, he's dealt with this before, he will again... no matter how many lifetimes he has go through to do it.」

Have you heard of a "woman" 「He definitely uses air quotes and everything.」 named Caedra?

[tongueamok]

[Carlisle's brow knits.]

I believe I've read that name on the network before, but I cannot place it. Enlighten me.

[puzzlingly]

Well, it's a demon.

「He says with the slightest of shrugs. He also doesn't dare to address her as a woman, there is no way in earth Atem will consider Caedra a person... ever.」

It's killed several people, hurt others, summoned creatures from the void and tortured the souls of the original inhabitants.

「The hell have you been hiding, Carlisle?」

And... some people don't seem to care much, regardless. 「Some of his friends, even...」 It has been allowed to roam freely around this place, even after what it's done.

I'm not sure if you saw the infected Null's post, but, some people have decided to go find this ninth god. And... they don't care the demon being part of their team for as long as it is useful. But they also don't seem to understand how dangerous it can be.

「He allows a little pause, but goes on before Carlisle can speak.」

I've dealt with demons before, back home... and I must admit that this archfiend isn't nearly as bad as the one I fought against, but I will not underestimate it.

[tongueamok]

[He assumed this 'Caedra' was a demon, yes -- and the way he rolls his eyes just a tad as Atem says that indicates as much. What else he has to say is far more severe: summoned creatures, and tortured souls? That is grave news, and something he'd know if he actually followed the network to any degree.

It takes him a moment to find an answer; his voice hides within his throat, squeezing into his airway.]

A wise decision. They are at their strongest when underestimated, able to surprise their prey without ever needing to resort to true guile. Physical prowess means little to a monster that can bend the will.

[He wrings his hands together.]

Why has no one stopped it? Was it brought through the Door, as we were? Or summoned into this world, as the gods have done before?

[puzzlingly]

「Atem doesn't need to make evident that he knows these things, but it is not him who needs the reminder, it's rest.」

That's what I've been asking myself. It came through the Door not too long ago, and I've gathered that Hope did something to it, to weaken it, and yet, it hasn't been enough.

I no longer have the means to destroy something like that, nor to seal it away. I clearly cannot fight it nor convince others not to even talk to it. But there has to be something that can be done to keep them safe. And this is why I'm here. I don't fear for their deaths, bodies are nothing but vessels, and Hope... for as unreliable these gods can be, seems to know what he's doing whenever he has to bring someone back to life. But... I am afraid of what the demon can do to their very souls and I doubt even Hope has the power to restore one.

[tongueamok]

[There's definite hurt that flits across Carlisle's expression as Atem talks about Hope and his inability to restore a soul; there's fear as well, as though it's something he's considered himself, even if he'd never ask the false deities for such a favor. His nose wrinkles, his lip quivering as his nerves pull tighter upon him, and he turns away from Atem to mask his discomfort.]

You say you have no such means any longer... you mean you did, at one time?

[puzzlingly]

「If only Atem knew... and, well, he does, he wouldn't hesitate to ask Carlisle about it, he promised he wouldn't do anything about Carlisle's problem without his consent, but at the moment he seems to forget about it in favor for the immediate threat. Later, maybe, when he realizes, he might understand the terrible mistake he just made.

He nods at the question.」

I used to, I even had that power for a little while in here. But... it's not worth talking about it since I don't have it anymore and I doubt I ever will again.

「After what Law told him, he's trying very hard not to make it all about himself, and as he sees it, telling Carlisle all about his past and the Millennium Items would make it so. There's no use crying over spilt milk after all.」

[tongueamok]

I see.

[That does paint the lad in a different light, though -- he had abilities once, and has had them stripped from him. How dreadful it must be to feel so... useless, particularly when the need for such magic arises once more. Carlisle can empathize, having suffered from his own aural exsiccation more than once, unable to heal even his own friends when they were wounded.]

So you seek something that would keep the others on this... vessel with the demon safe. That's quite a task, to protect so many.

[puzzlingly]

「For a little moment, Atem remains silent. If he could, he would do everything in his power to protect every single one of them, even those he doesn't know a single thing about. But just as Kaiba (and Law) had told him before, he cannot save them all.

A shadow of remorse crosses over his eyes and he does not look at Carlisle when he speaks again.」

To be frank with you... there's... two in particular I'd want to protect before thinking about all of Hadriel.

「He knows he's got little time for it too, he's unsure as of when they'd set sail to try to recover the ninth god and he doesn't know how long preparing for it would take.」

[tongueamok]

[Atem may feel remorseful that he cannot protect everyone in Hadriel, but Carlisle sounds relieved.]

Oh, thank goodness. That makes my job far more manageable. Enchanting is not my specialty, admittedly, but the nature of my energy opposes that of demons -- or at least those from my world. Were I to try to ward everyone, there wouldn't be enough to go around. But two? Two, I can do.

[puzzlingly]

「Carlisle's relief is certainly met with a bit of a comic stance, as Atem blinks at him several times.」

I am not as... delusional as others think I am. It would have been too much to ask.

「He, then, seems to hesitate.」

What do you mean, the nature of your energy?

[tongueamok]

Ah, the restorative arts. Reparation. 'Healing energy,' as the layman would call it. Energies tend to oppose one another, not as enemies would so much as... two faces of the same coin. Here—

[He motions for Atem to join him at his table, grabbing his journal and pen off the workbench on the back wall. He slides into his seat, drawing a few symbols on the paper.]

This one, light, is the primary attunement of nearly all my healing. The opposing force is darkness -- this one, here.

[He taps another, nearly identical symbol, then goes back and forth between them with his pen.]

Day, night. Clairvoyance, the uncertainty of the void. A cacophony, and silence. You see?

[puzzlingly]

「Atem listens with wide eyes, it sounds so familiar to what he's used to that he's a little surprised. So, maybe different dimensions can be connected by the same principles. His, and Carlisle's for instance might not be so different one from the other (except, maybe, he doesn't have Duel Monsters either...)

But something in the way he says it makes gives him goosebumps. His mortal enemy, had said it before, claiming that they weren't so different from each other, that we're really just two sides of a coin.」

Light and Darkness... 「Atem repeats, idly, as the words of the Darkness itself makes way from his memories.

Powerless as you all are, you cling to the tiny scraps of this light with all you have.
That light, Nameless Pharaoh, is you.」

Hn, I see it.

「He says with a little nod. He, and Carlisle, are no different either, as it turns out, they are both agents of light.」

Do you seek balance, then... or it's your purpose to overthrown the darkness?

[tongueamok]

Balance is preferable, but that does not mean I'll allow demons to bend people to their whims. The void is best handled by those willing to use it properly, not by abominations.

[puzzlingly]

「That's an answer he can get behind any day.」

Then we definitely are on the same page.

「He leans forward to take a better look at the symbols.」

How does this work? The symbols channel your... energy and intent into an object, like you did with the tea?

「That's pretty much how it was done in his time, and more or less what Carlisle explained to him, but truth to be told, he was so tired then he could not pay that much attention. It's time to mend that.」

[tongueamok]

Yes, simply put.

[Carlisle grabs more paper, deciding he'd better write this down for the lad this time. In Atem's defense, he did seem exhausted when the clergyman last explained such principles to him, but his minor annoyance manifests in the curl of his lips regardless.]

My magic is channeled manually through my hands, though if I wished to use other elements -- the flame, the mountain, the void -- or schools with which I am untrained -- illusion, transfiguration, and the like -- I could use glyphs to obtain the same results, as I do with my teas. If I wanted to enchant something for someone else to ward off demonic energy and the influence it grants, for example, I would start with a glyph...

[He scrawls out some smaller circles, connecting them all within two larger ones. He draws a complicated symbol in one of the smaller circles.]

Charming.

[Another line to another circle, where he draws another sigil.]

The purity of light, clairvoyance.

[To the other side and to two overlapping circles there his pen goes.]

Abjuration, and clairvoyance here, as well.

[And another circle, this one connected by a single, thin line.]

The void. And here, in this space between the stage and the platform, I could dictate precisely how these elements would interact.

[puzzlingly]

「Oh! So it's like putting a puzzle together!? Pieces and parts of little things to make it work as a whole. It's wonderful.
To see it all being put together before his eyes, brings a bright to them that hasn't been there in a long time, he's excited, hopeful. This is the kind of magic he's used to.」

What is it that you need to write in that space? More glyphs? And how do you inject your energy into it? Is this the space where you put the thing you wanna enchant? 「He points at that empty space in the middle.」 You called it, stage... right? What other schools are there and what do they do? What is this other line for?

「He wants to know everything!」