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KENOS IC CONTACT
© TESSISAMESS
[ Communion with Silco is like being doused in cold, polluted water. It feels like taking a breath is difficult, like there's fingers around your throat, pain all over. The water is too-slick like it's almost more pollutants than water, and the water crashes against you, inescapable, even if you were to somehow find the ability to breathe, there is still no escape from the sickening undertow. Somewhere, perhaps deeper in the water, or something else, is a simmering, vile hatred, resentment, and it feels like it should be hot enough to make the water around you boil, even if it's almost too-placid, and too cold. Like all of this hatred is buried deep. Then again, the fact that it feels so close means it must burn so hot. ]
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It actually brightens something within him, when curiosity is evoked within the other man. To see that within a creature so devoted to his short life and grievances is, perhaps not inspiring, but it does strike a fond, dark little chord within Set. There is a reason he favors Silco with his bargains, why he goes to a man so beloathed by the majority of Shardbearers, or viewed as a practical operative to ally with from time to time, and β entrusts something in him.
He leans in, eyes bright and mouth smiling. Made happy, by the most miserable man in existence. ]
I do not wish to draw conclusions without further exploration, but the little hints and rivulets of information I have obtained [ from the image of the Shardbearer burnt in the north, the Shardbearer who pleaded for peace and felt only happiness with the Tree, the conversations he has held with the great Tree of Life, and the dreams some Shardbearers who have experienced death have had β ] it speaks to the fate of our predecessors, and what is potentially truly waiting for us if we do not learn from the past.
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When directed. When his efforts were pointed in the right direction. It is good that Set does not point out the happiness of the tree with peace, or the expressions of others. Silco was not one for peace -- though neither was Set -- and propositioning him with that would have never caught his interest. ]
My, I am curious about the last bearers, and how to avoid them. Some were left, you know, from another time, another generation.
[ Birdie had been one of those. She was even a member of Meridian. What had left her still here, still lingering? Would that be his fate, should they last long enough? To be the next generation's Birdie Martinson? No, of course not, but it was a frightful thought. ]
I should like to avoid sticking around for the next generation, as I am sure you would like to avoid as well. That we should be the last bearers, no matter the result, should be the goal for us all.
[ Though Silco knows which result he would prefer. ]
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[ Perhaps it is why he will never truly subsume himself in Meridian's power, given to naught but foolish confidence in someone who has their own agenda. As much as he innately understands that his faction can ( and will ) do what they promise, he will not forget the fact that generations came before them, and generations have had time to lay their plans β to threaten the "last" generation Silco wants them to be.
He does not think Silco is blind to that. Set only means to say that no matter how loyal to Zenith his partner is, should it threaten him? He would rip it asunder. Which means he laughs a little, shaking his head. ]
Absolutely not. If our factions debase themselves to fight in ignorance, I will slaughter all and wait for another generation. Naturally, I would like an end, but I will not suffer a pathetic showing simply for the sake of victory. All or nothing, Silco. I want to see everyone struggle with their faith, shake up the status quo and see how strong their convictions actually are if they are revealed to be built upon falsity. Anything less is too orderly for me.
[ Even speaking like this? There is no insult, nor injury that he devotes to Silco.
It's like two besties shooting the shit, and in his own way β it reveals he cares more for Silco's desires, and the future of his daughter. Failing to interrogate their world means leaving too much uncertain, and working passionately might net a victory... but, will it be a victory that the Shardbearers want, or their leaders? ]
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[ He says, and there is a... certain logic in the chaos that Set indulges in. Set wants it all, all or nothing. No compromise, no ceded land, no nothing. There is a... purity in that. In how he is so willing to get what he wants, it's almost charming. Enough so, that Silco smiles a crooked little smile at that.
He doesn't... quite disagree. Sure, his end goal is different, but he does not want this world to survive him. Not long, anyway. He understands that he will not find this new world -- he sold his soul, after all -- but he has a legacy he wishes to find a place for. Whether it is this supposed new world, or if it is something else -- perhaps their returned worlds (not ideal) it is that it is done that is most important. That there is a result. That he did everything he can to launch a mark (a stain) on the world so dark that it will not be swept clean.
A dirty little thing, but one that can spoil the whole load, if allowed. ]
I do not...necessarily disagree. Though I do not wish for continued existence. Not here. Not in this...mire that we are trapped in. If we are to have to continue, the balance must be shifted. Anything less than an upset of the status quo is unacceptable.
[ Even if Set was happy to bide his time, he refuses to see it continue as it is. It's Detestable, perhaps even part of the reason why he bears the mark of the Harbinger on him.
Still, it's with enough good humor, since he and Set are. You know. Partners. It's merely establishing lines in the sand. Thankfully, they're close by, even if on opposites sides of the spectrum. ]
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[ Someone or something looking down upon them, moving them all like pieces. Set refuses to be a pawn in a game, though he is not the type of man who will not accept a blow to his pride ( what pride, or dignity, does he have left? ) if it means winning. He'll chase the world's secrets, because he hopes to take that power in hand and drive others to despair and disorientation.
Some part of him yearns to see people on their knees, after all, offering him anything they have in exchange for his power. It is the part of him that is most demon-like, after all. ]
I will not shift the balance in any favor other than our own, Silco. Neither your leader nor mine deserve to be given the victory we are working for. I am an agent of ruin, not of order. [ Unlike Silco, who now served a woman who was the epitome of tranquility and harmony. ]
The Shardbearer we met was Zenith Iconoclast, who began with dreams of returning to his world, but eventually found his mind subsumed by Zenith's power. It warped him, changed him β how much of any of us will be "us" in the end, I wonder? How much of who you were has already been lost to the will of another?
[ He scrutinizes Silco, to determine how he had changed from the day they had met. How he seems so focused on upholding Zenith's goal now, instead of being able to look at it with the eyes of an outsider. Still, he does not speak poorly of it. Instead, he looks to see how they can still partner and dive into their mutual goal β ensuring chaos reigns, and a legacy is left in the event of a Zenith victory, and ensuring Set will always be strong enough to watch over Jinx, no matter the end.
With confidence, he smiles winsomely. Gladly. ] That is why I am your partner, in the end.
[ Someone needs to take notice, of the places where Silco's mind has been corrupted toward a goal that might only reflect his desires in theory. ]
To business, now! Would you mind if I set up a Cornerstone on your premises? Kowloon has been a little annoying to traverse, as of late, and I wish to pretend as though it has driven be off. That way, our association can fall into shadow better.
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[ He said, but it's with a light airiness, that belies that there's something more coming. Silco and Set were...partners. For all that he spoke of being a god of ruin, Set wanted to bring his own world back. Silco wanted to destroy it. He does not realize how much he has slipped and said things like "Zenith's goals", often a shorthand for saying that he was complying, to win the attentions of his allies, but perhaps... perhaps there was some belief in it.
He tipped his chair back, and forth. Telling Set even this was... an extension of trust. Great trust. It was not something any others knew save for Sebastian. He had kept it secret. He would not share this, but with Set... Set was a partner, just as wild and destructive as he was. They had promised that they would support each others' growth, but he knew Set may see that as something different.
This was not to be shared. ]
I already have one here.
[ He said, finally, after some pause some weight. ]
If you promise not to share it with anyone, I would allow you use of it.
After all, it is you and I against the world, is it not? No matter the conflict out there. [ He leaned forward, then. A scrape of his chair's wheels against the wood floor. ] Is that not the point of this partnership?
It is not the goodness of our hearts, but because we need each other.
[ They knew secrets about one another, now. How much of it was the fact that they were bound by that, and how much by promise? ]
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It was better than one, pitiful realm made by equally wretched fools. Destruction was not simply an abandonment of the old, but took the form of despair, disorderliness, the death of a dream, the prayer he has to be able to bring Zenith to their knees when he gestures to the people they chose to turn away from, to save the few they could. He hopes they are devoured by their worlds, and those who choose not to return to them must live as wraiths β ruined, by their failure to accomplish their task and the fact that they must live now, with that knowledge.
A different form and focus, but ruin nonetheless. Spiteful and arrogant and chaotic as he. ]
β do you now? I would be pleased to have use of it, and naturally, no mention of it will leave my mouth. I like what is ours to remain ours. [ Of course Silco would have a cornerstone in Kowloon. Anything to be able to sneak around in the shadows, in the darkness where he had always been, unseen and unknown until it might be too late.
Not that Set has any intention of robbing Silco of his victories, wherever they come. He will benefit from them, if he can twist Meridian to his manner of thinking; joining himself to the Church had been the first step, and his willingness to become a monster, to embody power and antagonism, was the second. He folds himself into a crouch, alongside Silco's hip, to pool his chin across his forearms balanced upon the arm of that chair of his. Looking up to him with honest delight, a dark sort of adoration in the face of a reprehensible, unlovable man's existence. ] For that is the meaning I find in us, too.
[ And maybe, it might be deadly to take Silco's hand. Demon-contracted, poisonous vermin he was β but he takes it, regardless. Slips his hand into Silco's and grasps it tightly. ]
It means if there is a wall in our way, I expect us to tackle it for opposing ends, though we will do it together nonetheless. That I know what we share will be used to further our respective goals, but in a way that will not become a blind betrayal of the other. That we know what to expect from one another, Silco. So, to that end... before longer, I will inform you.
[ He smiles, winsome and sharp-toothed. ]
I have joined myself to the Church of Helios.
[ That says nothing, yet. Just that he has, and perhaps that he is warning Silco ( and Zenith ) of whom they will find now, if they fuck around with his territory. ]
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He does not fight Set because he is allowed to worm into Silco's space. Because they are partners, and just like Silco offered his secrets, Set offered his.
Because while they had chosen two sides of this conflict, their goal was the same. They both wanted destruction. Silco simply didn't care what happened after the destruction, whereas Set was immortal, and thought with an immortal's mind. Silco did not expect to survive it, the conflict, and he would leave his mark -- his daughter's soul flung into that world to terrorize it like was proper. Set wanted to terrorize the flush of worlds before them when all was returned. Two aims, similar goals. There was no opposition. If Set managed to "win", Silco would either be dead anyway, or left to burn the last of what was left of Runeterra to the ground anyway, if his daughter didn't survive.
Two goals, similar enough that they had such overlap. There was no antagonism between them. It was what led Silco to allow this. The intrusion on his space, the requests, even the touch, something he normally pulled away from at any given turn. Because they would find an answer in the wealth of what they had laid before them.
The church was... a start. ]
How interesting. [ He says. His finger tapped -- the one Set held -- considering. ]
Perhaps we will learn more of what we located in the Industrial district, hm? I'm curious -- I search on one end, you on the other.
[ A pause, and then -- ] If you are with the church, it may behoove you to look out for one of ours. I won't say who, or when, but someone may be... poking around soon. [ A smile. ] I was hoping they would be seen, but perhaps being seen by one of their own members is better, hm?
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That, however, is the shape of their similarity. The reason for it and what mark it has made upon their psyche is entirely different, and that is why they attend to one another, is it not? ] I could have asked what it was. I felt ingratiating myself into the Church, however, would be better long term. Who knows what they're up to, or what sort of power they're sitting on!
[ And that, perhaps, was where Set differed from his partner. Where he aligned more with the demon in Silco's employ β he thought far, far into the future. He would be satisfied with a proper ending to this small stage upon which Shardbearers danced and warred with on another, because he knew there would be another stage. And as long as his child ( as Horus ) was with him by hook or by crook, he would never, never lose. Because ultimately, his goal revolved around his most precious thing,
and that, unfortunately for Meridian's best and most steadfast, was an entirely selfish matter. ]
Oh, a little Zenite in their midst? As if you lot have any other abilities other than sneaking and spying. [ Says the ambush predator, with a similar skillset. ] I'll keep my eye out. Would you like me to leave them be for the Church officials to set upon, or shall I personally handle the matter as I see fit? My voice does carry, after all, and I am no stranger to commanding attention.
[ Smiling slyly, he squeezes Silco's hand and rises from his crouch. There's no intention to relinquish the hold he has just yet, fastened onto the man as he is. ]
May I see where your cornerstone is, as well? I will miss our walks together, but it will be better for now if we are not seen together except in an antagonistic light.
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[ Silco may not be able to see as far as a demon, or god, but... he at least knew what it was to plan. Not as far, of course, never as far, but enough. He can see the wisdom in what Set looks toward, and he can recognize what a powerful perspective it is. It is something he has seen from Sebastian, as well. The demon can look so far ahead, whereas Silco was still painfully -- pitifully mortal.
He stood, when Set tugged him up and with him. Almost automatic -- almost -- enough that he does not fight it, though his hand twitched in Set's, reflexive. ]
Mm, well, you'll simply have to visit me more frequently in secret, hm? Few know that this exists. You, Sebastian... myself. [ AetΓ³s. ]
It should be relatively safe. I did not make it, though it has not... vanished when the creator did. Whether they are alive or not... proximity or frequency of creator use does not cause these to crumble.
[ He knew Set liked things -- information -- and Silco did not mind sharing this. Observations such as this. It was curious, certainly. And he knew Set would take such information and use it.
He tugged him toward the closed door in the office, and he opened the door, to reveal the cornerstone. ]
I keep it rather close, hm? Or Birdie did, before she... vanished.