#lightricks

To boast the power of two gods was a battle within his soul; not for dominance, but of two gods in such syncopation that what existed in him was a hurricane that directed the maximum of his abilities, only fueled by his Dragon's Delirium that reared wildly and virulently in his battle royale with Ren. Within the cargo hold of a derelict freighter of the IPC found adrift in space--so like the ones they had once narrowly fought to the death within--did they claim it as a sparring ground, and the destruction wrought upon it was not unlike the kind that existed within his heart. Wild swaths of flora angrily grabbed at the sidings and tore metal like vicious claws, splashes of blood shed upon the ground that had gushed from Ren's body when violent roots had clutched at the swordsman and tore him apart with the gracelessness of a child.

Spear and sword had clashed, the ground wet with the waters he'd summoned that ran like bilge water with the blood, nourishing a tree that had grown with unpredictable suddenness until they wove through the branches, clashes ringing through the expansive canopy until Ren had feinted and knocked Cloud-Piercer aside, Dan Heng not even realizing he'd been disarmed in the frenzy of a mutual berserker state as one of Cloudhymn had taken its place instinctively, a dragon of water racing alongside him in a continued charge.

And yet, as if he'd been chasing a shadow in his rage, Dan Heng veered wildly when Ren's hand gripped his throat and slammed him into the trunk of the tree, clawing at him until their eyes met.

The ferocity in him doused like water had been thrown at it, sizzling away into an impotent hiss. This was a moment of weakness, but most of all, he was tired. There was part of him that was exhausted by his own resistance, and had been for the thousands of years he'd now existed. Tired of fighting what was there. Fatigued from twisting himself around and around by the red string of fate until he was choking from it.

He didn't know if Ren knew and was taunting him, but then and there, he just didn't care.

When their brows touched, Dan Heng exhaled his last, angry breath, deflating like a bellows. He gripped the lapels of Ren's top, somewhere muddying the line between reproach and a plea, as if begging him to stay while threatening to maul him if it was a farce, some falsehood to disarm his brittle psyche. Wanting at once to be vulnerable, to show his heart, while not being able to trust the man he wanted desperately to show it to.

Words didn't need to be spoken. At their feet, unseen from the inches between their faces and their mingling breaths, vines crept around Ren's ankles. Delicate, flowering vines that quietly begged him to stay like this. Expressing what his heart thrashed against walls of bone to say. To beat against his pride, his distrust, that foiled dizzyingly with burgeoning love he didn't know how to express.

“ hey, hey, doctor, aventurine told me to show you this neat little trick i can do. ” caelus already had whiteboard marker in hand, jotting down the numbers with rapid succession despite not fully focusing on the scrawl itself. the lines themselves wave and bend naturally, but the speed and dexterity with which the nameless records the numbers, was fluent and without pause to think about the next entry. before long they had filled up the entirety of the whiteboard with rows and rows of numbers, ‘til he could no longer fit another symbol. “ so uh, do you know what any of this gibberish means ? ” somewhere, in caelus materialisation as a stellaron, the lost knowledge of the cosmos had been connected to this idiot mouth. the reason centre which had memorised over 700 digits of pi blown up, leaving only the end result in the trailblazer’s muscle memory.

"What now?" Despite the chastising sigh, the good doctor shuts his book without hesitation the moment Caelus calls for his attention. To his surprise, the Trailblazer stands with a whiteboard ready and a marker in hand; before a dry quip can leave his mouth, however, Caelus has already started scrawling on the board — feverishly, without thought, and entirely, perfectly correct. Whatever comment Ratio had in mind dies on his lips, replaced with simple fascination. That awe evaporates the moment Caelus opens his mouth again, shattering the brief instance of mathematical beauty.

It was almost amusing how easily they fit in with the other Yokai that disembarked from the steamboat, across the Dovebrook in what was one of the most antiquated corners of the planet, far from the teeming activity and chaos of Duomension City. In his form as Imbibator Lunae, Dan Heng looked no different from the other Imaginae that had journeyed with him, away from the overreach of the IPC. With everything to come, an ominous fate awaiting them all, it seemed like a break was sorely needed. And past the neon shoreline of the utopia behind them, the warm bands of light of the towering bathhouse ahead of them greeted them like a beacon.

Stepping off the gangway with his tail swishing behind him, Dan Heng lingered at the shoulder for his companion, scanning among the other masked passengers leaving ahead of them. It was only when he spotted one of the few human faces among them that he folded his arms expectantly, canting his head.

"For what's worth... this could count as a diplomatic meeting, High Elder."

If the Stellaron Hunters and Trailblazers were indeed destined to wage war against the Ruin Author, it made sense that they would begin by chipping away the factions that declared loyalty to THEM.

The Annihilation Gang splintered into dozens of other subgroups; one had aleady been eliminated by the Hunters while the Ever-Flame Mansion had been hobbled by Acheron, as the Emanator herself had informed him when they'd partnered together during the last leg of Stellaron Crisis in Penacony. This faction, as Elio had informed them, was known as the Parable Brotherhood, a sister faction of the Japella Brotherhood operating within a small star system they seized in an ineffable, tyrannical vice. The hum of the starship they'd rented for the sake of the mission created a hollow dissonance louder than the expansive, almost awkward silence that filled the ship's modest parlor.

With only the two of them delegated to this mission, Dan Heng stubbornly wished he could focus on the book he was reading, the cover and pages he'd read through bent under as he was wont. Gunmetal greens flickered upwards furtively, chancing looks at the swordsman with an air of expectancy growing tenser.

@lightricks " you just love bringing that back up to annoy me. " he'd like everyone to collectively forget he drunk ink that one time. @ lumine. / kaeya \ PRE ESTABLISHED CONNECTIONS AND CREATING HISTORY BETWEEN CHARACTERS

( 🌙 ) THE STAR IS trying not to laugh but stars forbid that paimon make it any easier by continuing the traumatic event play - by - play ; its only when shushing her gently that lumine can compose herself 'fore sniffing. wiping peppered tears away from her eyes she cracked a light smirk.

❛ IF ITS ANY consolation .. i did try and warn you. its just .. the sound you made was really funny , kae. ❜