healingbonds (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
healingbonds) wrote2022-11-22 12:54 pm
healingbonds) wrote2022-11-22 12:54 pm
Entry tags:
Prelude to the Festival and Desire | Chapter 9
Chapter 8 << | index | >> Chapter 10
Murr’s soul shard begins a neat, rhythmic strut, like a grandstanding magician.
He approaches the other Murr, grabs his chin, and tilts it upwards. He observes the face identical to his own.
Murr: Hello.
Murr: Hi!
Murr: How are we feeling?
Murr: I’m gonna bite you~!
Murr sinks his teeth into shard-Murr’s finger like a wild cat.
Murr’s shard doesn’t bat an eye. He lets Murr have his finger, and turns to Shylock.
Murr: You raised him to suit your taste, Shylock. He isn’t me; rather, he’s you. He takes the form of your desires.
Shylock furrows his brows. He shoots an icy glare at Murr’s soul.
Shylock: What a conceited misapprehension. The soul-shattered Murr causes me nothing but trouble.
Murr: I stand by my words. You want me to cause you trouble: I embody both your fear and your thrill.
Shard-Murr grabs Murr’s nose. When Murr opens his mouth to gasp for air, he removes his finger and stuffs Murr’s mouth with a stack of cards instead.
Murr: Chew on that for now. Sorry, but I can’t have you eating me just yet. There’s something I want to see through to the end.
Akira: Something you want to see through....?
Murr’s shard grins like a cat before turning to me and fanning out the cards in his hand.
Murr: I’m researching the psychological effects of obsessive gambling. This is the perfect spot for my observations, you see.
The fear gorta continues to funnel good fortune to Lord Antonio, who believes me to be the ghost and guardian of this casino room.
Akira: So the fear gorta is why the people of the salon are spinning out of control.
Murr: Indeed. Both excessive fortune and excessive misfortune will benumb the heart. The imbalance here is driving everyone to lunacy.
Akira: What can we do? We need Mister Antonio to return to his senses — otherwise we won’t be able to empty the palace in peace.
Oh... If Mister Antonio admires you, maybe he’ll listen to you. Could you try persuading him?
Murr: It’s certainly possible that he’ll listen to me. But I unfortunately cannot offer you my assistance.
Akira: But why....?
Murr: For it would mean the end of my research. I do apologize — my desires run deeper than the fear gorta’s.
Shylock: And my desires run deeper than yours.
We spin around to look at Shylock. Shard-Murr’s eyes go wide when he sees what’s in Shylock’s hands.
A shard of purple sapphire.... I’ve seen one like it before. It’s a piece of Murr’s soul.
Shylock: If I feed this to Murr, you’ll simply be incorporated back into his soul. And that will be the end of all this observation and research that you so adore.
Shylock’s voice rings with ice-cold resolve. Murr’s shard shakes his head, an acidic grin plastered on his lips.
Murr: Oh, Shylock. Resorting to threats? How uncharacteristically vulgar and rudimentary of you — a far cry from the tactical exchanges we used to hold so dear.
Shylock: Murr. Open your mouth.
Murr: A~h!
Murr: You can’t do it. Because what you fear is not losing me: it is my contempt.
Shylock discards his claim with a scoff.
Shylock: I am a Western wizard. I will savor fear, loss, and contempt all the same. Goodbye, Murr.
Shard-Murr’s eyes widen ever-so-slightly.
As Shylock begins to push the purple sapphire shard down Murr’s throat.....
I grab his wrist.
Both Shylock and shard-Murr freeze in surprise.
Akira: I.... I don’t want you to fight.
Shylock: ..........
Murr: ..........
Shylock lowers his hand, and Murr’s shard fixes his hat, a quiet smile lingering on his lips.
Murr: You’ve won my fancy, Sir Sage. So let me offer you a word of advice.
If you want to stop the fear gorta from running amok, you’ll need to restore the balance of fortune in this palace. Deliver misfortune to the fortunate and fortune to the misfortunate.
Good and bad luck ought to be equitably distributed across all living beings. Neither streaks of luck nor persistent adversity should continue for perpetuity.
I wish you the best of luck, Sir Sage.
And with that, Murr’s shard disappears.
Shylock tucks the shard of purple sapphire into my palm.
Shylock: I apologize that I could not be of help, Sir Sage.....
Akira: Not at all. You got Murr’s shard to give up some advice. So we need to re-establish the balance of fortune.....
I glance across the casino room and offer my proposal.
Akira: What if we defeat Mister Antonio in a gamble?
Murr: I like it! Let me take him on! I love gambling!
Shylock: Let’s leave it to Murr.
Rustica: How can we deliver good luck to the unfortunate?
Chloe: I.... I’m gonna try talking to her. The homeless witch.
Akira: Chloe......
Chloe: Because I was just like her..... I thought I was just a useless wizard who wasn’t allowed to think about my own happiness.
So I want her to know that’s not true. I want to teach her all the things I learned during my adventures with Rustica — and all the things I learned at the magic headquarters, too.
Akira: ...All right. Then let’s visit the salon one more time tomorrow.
Next time, we’ll enter through the front gates.
Chapter 8 << | index | >> Chapter 10
Murr’s soul shard begins a neat, rhythmic strut, like a grandstanding magician.
He approaches the other Murr, grabs his chin, and tilts it upwards. He observes the face identical to his own.
Murr: Hello.
Murr: Hi!
Murr: How are we feeling?
Murr: I’m gonna bite you~!
Murr sinks his teeth into shard-Murr’s finger like a wild cat.
Murr’s shard doesn’t bat an eye. He lets Murr have his finger, and turns to Shylock.
Murr: You raised him to suit your taste, Shylock. He isn’t me; rather, he’s you. He takes the form of your desires.
Shylock furrows his brows. He shoots an icy glare at Murr’s soul.
Shylock: What a conceited misapprehension. The soul-shattered Murr causes me nothing but trouble.
Murr: I stand by my words. You want me to cause you trouble: I embody both your fear and your thrill.
Shard-Murr grabs Murr’s nose. When Murr opens his mouth to gasp for air, he removes his finger and stuffs Murr’s mouth with a stack of cards instead.
Murr: Chew on that for now. Sorry, but I can’t have you eating me just yet. There’s something I want to see through to the end.
Akira: Something you want to see through....?
Murr’s shard grins like a cat before turning to me and fanning out the cards in his hand.
Murr: I’m researching the psychological effects of obsessive gambling. This is the perfect spot for my observations, you see.
The fear gorta continues to funnel good fortune to Lord Antonio, who believes me to be the ghost and guardian of this casino room.
Akira: So the fear gorta is why the people of the salon are spinning out of control.
Murr: Indeed. Both excessive fortune and excessive misfortune will benumb the heart. The imbalance here is driving everyone to lunacy.
Akira: What can we do? We need Mister Antonio to return to his senses — otherwise we won’t be able to empty the palace in peace.
Oh... If Mister Antonio admires you, maybe he’ll listen to you. Could you try persuading him?
Murr: It’s certainly possible that he’ll listen to me. But I unfortunately cannot offer you my assistance.
Akira: But why....?
Murr: For it would mean the end of my research. I do apologize — my desires run deeper than the fear gorta’s.
Shylock: And my desires run deeper than yours.
We spin around to look at Shylock. Shard-Murr’s eyes go wide when he sees what’s in Shylock’s hands.
A shard of purple sapphire.... I’ve seen one like it before. It’s a piece of Murr’s soul.
Shylock: If I feed this to Murr, you’ll simply be incorporated back into his soul. And that will be the end of all this observation and research that you so adore.
Shylock’s voice rings with ice-cold resolve. Murr’s shard shakes his head, an acidic grin plastered on his lips.
Murr: Oh, Shylock. Resorting to threats? How uncharacteristically vulgar and rudimentary of you — a far cry from the tactical exchanges we used to hold so dear.
Shylock: Murr. Open your mouth.
Murr: A~h!
Murr: You can’t do it. Because what you fear is not losing me: it is my contempt.
Shylock discards his claim with a scoff.
Shylock: I am a Western wizard. I will savor fear, loss, and contempt all the same. Goodbye, Murr.
Shard-Murr’s eyes widen ever-so-slightly.
As Shylock begins to push the purple sapphire shard down Murr’s throat.....
I grab his wrist.
Both Shylock and shard-Murr freeze in surprise.
Akira: I.... I don’t want you to fight.
Shylock: ..........
Murr: ..........
Shylock lowers his hand, and Murr’s shard fixes his hat, a quiet smile lingering on his lips.
Murr: You’ve won my fancy, Sir Sage. So let me offer you a word of advice.
If you want to stop the fear gorta from running amok, you’ll need to restore the balance of fortune in this palace. Deliver misfortune to the fortunate and fortune to the misfortunate.
Good and bad luck ought to be equitably distributed across all living beings. Neither streaks of luck nor persistent adversity should continue for perpetuity.
I wish you the best of luck, Sir Sage.
And with that, Murr’s shard disappears.
Shylock tucks the shard of purple sapphire into my palm.
Shylock: I apologize that I could not be of help, Sir Sage.....
Akira: Not at all. You got Murr’s shard to give up some advice. So we need to re-establish the balance of fortune.....
I glance across the casino room and offer my proposal.
Akira: What if we defeat Mister Antonio in a gamble?
Murr: I like it! Let me take him on! I love gambling!
Shylock: Let’s leave it to Murr.
Rustica: How can we deliver good luck to the unfortunate?
Chloe: I.... I’m gonna try talking to her. The homeless witch.
Akira: Chloe......
Chloe: Because I was just like her..... I thought I was just a useless wizard who wasn’t allowed to think about my own happiness.
So I want her to know that’s not true. I want to teach her all the things I learned during my adventures with Rustica — and all the things I learned at the magic headquarters, too.
Akira: ...All right. Then let’s visit the salon one more time tomorrow.
Next time, we’ll enter through the front gates.
Chapter 8 << | index | >> Chapter 10