( 尚宗 ) | 𝐆𝐎𝐃 𝑜𝑓 𝑹𝑬𝑩𝑰𝑹𝑻𝑯

undeath && chaos && wind && fire && more --

“and if i do regret it?” the sorcerer returns, in a tone suggesting that he won’t actually regret it. is it, undoubtedly, a risk? oh yes, absolutely–but it’s well worth the risk, in his eyes. funny, how one would expect him to be simply sick and tired of rocks after being cooped up in that damned mine for so long–but on the contrary, he still adores rocks, the shinier the better.

“irregardless,” he says with a dismissive wave as he pockets the little stone once again, “you should be more concerned with getting the three little pigs to leave you alone, than with persuading me to accept your… offer.”

although tsung makes a point to seem as though he is still contemplative and undecided–perhaps an attempt to wring more rocks out of the thunder god as the payment–there’s little doubting that the magpie-hobbied sorcerer is anything but sold already. he is a man of simple but exquisite tastes, and is surprisingly easy to please, after all.

He hates that Tsung is right.

Rayden has come to appreciate his Earthrealm champions. Kung Lao is easy to love. The other two are… well it had taken a bit of time. But regardless, he is beginning to appreciate their flexibility and willingness to adjust to strange, new, Outworld-born situations. That being said, he feels his “divine pager” going off a lot more than it used to do with just Lao to worry about. Sometimes, it isn’t even urgent.

“If I can eliminate one dimension of my interruptions, the rest will follow,” Rayden asserts with more sureness in his voice than he feels. They will come up with something with which to bother him, but at least it will not be magic fueled.

“That’s a new record, it took you a whole 3 seconds longer to realize where his voice is coming from. And I’d thought you would have known after this long.” Does Saibot ever shut up?

The shadow took it as a challenge verily so. Bi-Han resisted the urge to roll his eyes, Saibot’s presence stirring with impish amusement at the back of his mind. His shadowed partner was incorrigibly mischievous beyond the scope of battle, snide remarks and sass never-ending: then there comes the times when he tries to get a few winks of sleep and the little bastard decides that if he couldn’t, the cryomancer would keep him company -

“Hello to you as well, my dearest.” His lips quiver, a smile threatening at the corners. The elder gods were likely reeling back in terror at what is currently transpiring here, though Bi-Han frankly could not give less of a shit: life is too damn short for him to be giving a fuck about everyone whose opinions could matter so little. And for now, he had more important things to worry about.

“that, we are,” he agrees contentedly, returning the stones to their pouch and returning that to his pocket once asuna has finished studying them. he tilts his head and listens intensely as she describes the cave, humming thoughtfully.

“i would greatly enjoy that,” he responds, drumming his fingers upon his leg. “upon my island, there are caves that span for many miles beneath–even now, i still find offshoots i have not explored. there are several places within that have gorgeous formations of natural crystal; some are small veins, whereas others are massive, yawning caverns decorated with monolithic crystal formations, towering from all sides. strange, how small it makes you feel–but not in a bad way. moreso a, hmm…” he pauses, tilting his head as he searches for the words. “… reverent sort of way.”

“I will try to be available for one of the next few full moons, then, if you do wish to see it.” she smiled, making a mental note to check out when would be best to try to go. As Shang described the caves, Asuna tried to imagine what they looked like in person, a look akin to wonder crossing her face. She’d always loved adventuring and especially caves - this information only made her want to explore the island more, though she would of course wait for an invitation. 

what can he say? he's a man of simple but excellent taste.

𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩𝐬 & 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐜 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩𝐬 🇹​🇴​ 🇨​🇱​🇦​🇷​🇮​🇫​🇾​﹕ 🇹​🇭​🇪​ 🇲​🇺​🇸​🇪​ 🇼​🇭​🇴​ 🇸​🇪​🇳​🇩​🇸​ 🇹​🇭​🇪​ 🇲​🇪​🇲​🇪​﹐ 🇮​🇸​ 🇹​🇭​🇪​ 🇴​🇳​🇪​ 🇦​🇨​🇹​🇮​🇳​🇬​. 🇹​🇭​🇪​ 🇴​🇳​🇪​ 🇷​🇪​🇨​🇪​🇮​🇻​🇮​🇳​🇬​ 🇹​🇭​🇪​ 🇲​🇪​🇲​🇪​﹐ 🇮​🇸​ 🇹​🇭​🇪​ 🇴​🇳​🇪​ 🇼​🇭​🇴​ 🇭​🇦​🇸​ 🇹​🇴​ 🇷​🇪​🇦​🇨​🇹​

“oh?” he leans forward to gaze intensely at the beads, his knifeslit pupils rounding out like the eyes of a cat when it’s gazing at something particularly fascinating. “they are beautiful.”

after becoming satisfied with his studying of the beads, he leans back slightly and tilts his head, humming thoughtfully.

“i do not often wear crystal jewelry, mostly for fear of them shattering if i were to accidentally hit them against something; although i do often carry crystals with me…” from his pocket, he produces a small black leather pouch, and opens it to reveal a few polished chunks of lapis lazuli.

“another of my favourites,” he drawls, shaking the chunks out into his palm. “the blue and yellow and white mix in such lovely ways–pleasing to the eye, for certain. not only so; but lapis promotes creativity, helps to protect from negativity, promotes a peaceful and harmonic mind, and plenty of other little things.”

A small smile and slight nod of the head were offered in response, her hand pulled back and sleeve moved back in place once Shang had his fill. “I do not wear many accessories, but this is an exception I am quite willing to make.” she chuckled, her thumb tucking in for a moment to run over the beads before she was coming forward in turn to gaze at the contents of Shang’s pouch. 

“Ah, yes, lapis lazuli. I have heard of this one - though I do not believe I have seen it in person before.” she responded, glancing over each stone as she took in the finer details. “The colors are so beautiful - each is so unique. We are blessed to live in a universe where art occurs so naturally, yes?” she hummed, leaning away once she’d had her fill of observing.