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 Posted: Wed Aug 17, 2022 8:26 am
He'd run into her again — Lysithea. She hadn't yet rectified herself to Eternal as Cybele somehow did, but she still opposed them. Still tried to stop them to prolong his ex-subordinate's unearned life. That she would show at such a time, so conveniently when Albite was about to have her, was problematic.
It was because of that encounter weighing on him that Faustite left for a patrol. Stretching his legs oft helped him come up with a solution, and pacing about the office was stale scenery by now. Even if he distrusted himself, he needed somewhere else to be — somewhere he may encounter Lysithea again, if only to test theories. That somewhere could only be Destiny City.
As he walked along the uneven terrain of the city's many rooftops, however, his thoughts struggled to stay on Ilse and Lysithea's defense of one another. It wandered from that to the cooling night air, to how it felt pleasant, to how the evening must see more hapless citizens wandering out of their homes. It said that, surely, if he peered over the parapet, he would spy a human or two, together but isolated, completely oblivious to their status as a convenient snack. And if he had that snack, then certainly he would happen upon an epiphany.
If only to prove himself wrong, Faustite looked over the side of a building turned from mid-century dentist's office to modern-day garage, and there was a girl wiping her hands on a rag as she ventured further into the alleyway. Her hair was disheveled, grease stains in the blonde wefts, but contained in a messy ponytail. She wore a crop top and cutoff jeans, and most of her had spots and scrapes like a battle had been waged, and she was now covered in blood and car vitals. She reached for something in her pocket.
It was easy to tell himself that senshi make that motion all the time. That she was reaching for her henshin pen.
The burning General dropped from his vantage point, landing on the girl's shoulders and forcing her to collapse with a loud, incensed grunt. "Jesus ******** —" was all she managed before the gem left her body.kyuseisha no hikari a million years later, a start heart
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Posted: Wed Aug 24, 2022 7:24 am
It was never wise to travel Destiny City alone. Malus had learned this a long time ago. It wasn’t his favorite choice of patrolling, but desperate times called for desperate measures, and this was only temporary until backup got there.
But then, he’d told them that he was powering up when he’d felt a youma too close to the Food Truck. They knew where they were. He’d told them not to worry, it was just a youma.
Except, it wasn’t.
He knew there were civilians around here. He’d been careful.
A General still showed up. Faustite still showed up.
He sensed him almost as soon as he saw him, and a cold dread clawed its way from his stomach to his chest, out his throat.
He was yelling before he could even think to stop himself, but then–what would have been the point? Faustite could see him, if he turned around. He could feel him, no doubt. He could just teleport, if he wanted.
“Faustite.”
It wasn’t too late, her starseed was still there. He could put it back.
“What are you doing?”
It wasn’t the cleverest of questions, but it was an important one, nonetheless. And, he’d buy whatever time he could. Even if he couldn’t convince him to return it, maybe someone else could.
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Posted: Thu Aug 25, 2022 5:38 pm
Faustite paused at the voice. Glanced upwards and back for where it had come, for where the aura projected outward like a second sun that landed in the city itself. There, at a distance, was the violet one that so upset Lysithea when he attacked him. That was when their relationship had sprouted cracks.
Thinking on it had irked and embittered him, souring him with frustrations about which he could do nothing. He could hardly look at Lysithea last time. by what merit could he possibly get her back? Killing Malus wouldn't erase his feelings, but eating a starseed would —
He paused at the question. Glanced at the starseed in his hand, bright and glittering like dew under the morning sun. What was he doing?
It had all been so automatic. Leaping down from the parapet, likely snapping her clavicles with his fall, and removing the soul from her chest. Would've been easier, still, to pop it in his mouth and bite it in half. He always enjoyed that first crack, like a candied outer shell. Liked it well enough that his mouth ran dry with the thought.
He needed help. Malus was the only one around. Did that make him a traitor?
Half-turning, he looked back up at where Malus stood. "Come get it," he called to him. He sounded strained, like it hurt to hold such a pose. Like the starseed was burning a hole in his hand. He supposed it was, for as much as he wanted to eat it. Especially after being reminded of Lysithea, of Ana, the only sister he would never get back.kyuseisha no hikari i just typoed your un like 50,000 times
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Posted: Wed Aug 31, 2022 1:15 pm
For all that Malus didn’t want to get close to the General, he couldn’t just give up. Every second around him felt like a trap. It felt like looking a lion in the eyes. Like putting his head in its mouth and hoping it didn’t choose to bite.
He didn’t want to come get it.
He tried to tell himself that he had magic. Lots of magic.
Tried to ignore the fact that Faustite had fire. He could teleport. Every part of him looked sharp and dangerous.
But Malus continued forward, and extended his hand as if there was a possibility that Faustite would just hand it over.
Lysithea cared about him. Malus hated him. Didn’t understand him. Thought there was something good in him, something that could have been saved. But then he’d fed Lysithea all of those lies, and fought to keep her.
Maybe he could understand that. He’d wanted her back, too.
He watched Faustite carefully, took in the–what, the strain? The tenseness? The pain? Faustite was a good liar but he didn’t know if he was a good actor.
“...Are you okay?”
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Posted: Wed Aug 31, 2022 4:04 pm
Malus drew closer, but he took his damn time. Faustite's sights were trained on him despite the throbbing in his head, like he stared into the sun by doing so. And while he hated the feel of the boy, all cloying and lurid and saccharine in one, it gave him something else to focus on. Thinking <******** Malus and his terrible aura was, somehow, far easier to bear than I want a starseed, and there's one conveniently in my hand.
He knew it, felt it humming its sweet song of energy in his ear, but he knew where this unnervingly short path would lead. He stumbled along it as a Lieutenant, and he could only guess that he was that much more susceptible as a General. So he needed Malus to hurry his a** up and stop expecting that Faustite could so kindly dump the ******** starseed in his hand —<******** take it," he barked, as if it was all he could do to stop himself from eating the glistering gem. He huffed a small plume of smoke that quickly rose and dissipated between them.
He felt sweat beading up on his face, under his clothes. What did it matter if he was okay? They were enemies. Unless this was some sort of mind game that Malus wanted to play on a whim, Faustite saw no reason why the senshi would ask after his well-being. Faustite tried to kill him. Neither of them should have forgotten.
"Be fine when you take it."
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Posted: Sun Sep 11, 2022 1:50 pm
Caution flooded his veins, and it was hard to believe that Faustite might have been serious about giving it to him
He could only drag his feet for too long, and eventually the adrenaline took over. Either it was a trap or Faustite meant it, and he could only delay the outcome for so long. He inhaled sharply to brace himself and then snatched the starseed into his hands.
The woman on the ground looked like she was going to need a trip to the hospital anyway. He hoped she’d stay unconscious for as long as possible.
He hoped Faustite wouldn’t change his mind.
Malus didn’t want to be in a disadvantaged position, but he didn’t think he had much choice; he kept his eyes on Faustite and knelt as he attempted to return the starseed. If it was away, maybe Faustite would be less distressed by it.
“You look sick,” he said, as he tried to guide the little thing back into the woman. “What’s going on?”
Lysithea would worry about him. Malus–
Might have been better off with Faustite gone. But he’d thought they were friends.
And, he’d never been very good at holding a grudge or knowing what was best for him.
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Posted: Mon Sep 12, 2022 12:48 am
Once Malus took up the starseed, Faustite drew a hissing breath and turned away from the senshi. He paced a few steps away, unwilling and unable to look at what the boy would now be doing. Feeling suddenly cold and clammy, Faustite rubbed his face with his hands.
All of Malus's questions were better saved for someone he could care about. Someone on the same side, someone who hadn't tried to kill him so long ago. It made no sense to answer them because it made no sense to ask them in the first place.
And yet — when was the last time someone asked him what was going on? He couldn't remember.
He'd heard are you okay. He'd heard how are you feeling. Certainly his boys lavished him with all the love and care he could want, but they never pried like this. Even if it was a gentle manner of saying it, from a gentle tongue, that's what it was, wasn't it? Malus was prying into his business. Maybe he could make something of it. Maybe Malus could prove himself more useful alive.
"Don't know," he answered. He flexed and stretched his hands, as if they were the true culprits. As if exercising them would keep them from mischief.
Damn, Malus's aura was annoying. Everything about this was annoying. Even the sound of his own voice annoyed him for how pathetic his words sounded.
"Started happening again after that Dark Mirror."
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Posted: Sun Sep 18, 2022 3:04 pm
Malus pushed the starseed into her chest with as much care and caution as he could; it felt like brittle glass in his hands and he was afraid the starseed would stab or cut her or something as it passed from chest to–
Wherever starseeds went, wherever they were supposed to breathe.
She didn’t move, so he thought she might be dead, but she was breathing. Just unconscious, then. He hoped.
His eyes flitted from her to Faustite so quickly that he was giving himself a headache, but now that the starseed was buried away again, he forced himself to keep his attention on Faustite. He stayed crouched by the woman, one arm around her back and the other on her arm, just in case he needed to run, but…
Faustite didn’t seem like a threat right now. Not to Malus, but–maybe himself.
“What did they do to you?”
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Posted: Mon Sep 19, 2022 2:52 pm
The girl's body accepted the starseed, though she remained unconscious. She breathed steadily, though, so perhaps it was a blessing that she wasn't awake to feel the pain of a fractured clavicle.
Faustite continued to distance himself from her, as if she was a disease, and he might catch her by being near. If Malus followed, then he followed; if Lysithea's friend-who-was-more-important-to-her-than-he-was-even-though-she-never-remembered-the-kid decided to follow him, then so be it. What did it matter anymore, anyway?
"Magic," he almost snapped. "Don't ******** know the sphere. Stupid boy seemed shocked that it happened, too." That was the worst of it — the sheer ignorance of it. The irresponsibility.
"Most magic, on most people — it's cast, you count a minute, it's gone. Transient as the winds. But magic doesn't affect me the same way." He thought better than to go into detail on it, though it wouldn't take a genius to guess the root cause — he was part youma, and youma were ever at odds with senshi. Anyone who'd heard the stories would have figured the same. Malus should know better than anyone.
As he spoke, his pace quickened. "Dredged up something better left dormant. Stirred it up, and now I'm going to eat myself into a ******** youma."
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Posted: Fri Sep 23, 2022 10:05 pm
Breathing was good, okay. She wasn’t dead. It was a start. It was better if she wasn’t awake–for herself, and everyone else, probably.
Faustite looked agitated, and Malus couldn’t blame him.
It wasn’t too difficult to imagine what he was talking about. He’d come for her starseed. He’d managed to give it back.
He knew there was more than one way to make someone into a youma, and he knew that starseeds were dangerous if you were already halfway there.
“No, you aren’t,” Malus insisted. “You’re stronger than that, Faustite. You stopped yourself now,” he insisted, and hoped he wasn’t jinxing himself by saying it. “Does the Negaverse have–can you go somewhere to–”
To what, detox? His memories of the Negaverse were fleeting but he distinctly remembered the lack of any real support system. But who cared about youma? They were too far gone.
Faustite wasn’t. Not yet, at least. “...If there’s magic to do that to you, maybe there’s magic to undo it, too. A lot of Senshi have healing magic.” He didn’t know if that would help. He didn’t know if he wanted to ask Lysithea for help.
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Posted: Wed Oct 12, 2022 11:45 pm
Faustite shot Malus a scathing look. The boy's statement was galling for how deeply inappropriate it seemed, coming from the mouth of an enemy like him. He supposed this was White Moon subtlety — poach people from the Negaverse who hadn't necessarily reached out to their fellow officers, made connections, made friends. Steer away people who expected held hands, kind words, and leniency.
As if Faustite's continued existence wasn't itself lenient. He sighed, and its smoke wended into lazy curls as it made for the sky.
"Can't do what I did before," he answered, still walking on. It was easier than turning to have a conversation with someone whose aura had his hackles raised, whose body implied starseed if he just reached at the right moment. There was no Lysithea hanging about, ready to save him at some miraculous moment. His senses were clear enough to feel that.
He had a team full of senshi, one of the larger ones, but no one on his team had access to healing magic. Worse yet, the only healer he knew of on their side was — gone. For reasons he had yet to understand.
Probably because of this boy, who wouldn't leave him alone. Who had to offer his suggestions, as if keeping up with him wasn't dangerous in itself.
"Why the <********> are you trying to help someone who tried to kill you." Spoken as a statement, but he was certain Malus would understand the frustration and incredulity behind it. He had to understand that Faustite didn't. "Could go for your starseed. No one's around to stop me. You're only harming yourself — and your disorganized mess of a faction — by trying to help me."
And it was Sisyphean, wasn't it? He was already halfway there.
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Posted: Thu Oct 20, 2022 8:02 am
The look alone felt like there was fire in it, and Malus had to briefly scramble to recall what he’d said that could have inspired such venom. He wasn’t going to follow Faustite, not if he wanted to walk off, and for a moment he thought he was going to leave.
But he stopped, and Malus couldn’t figure out if he’d have been more relieved if he’d just gone, or if he was more relieved that he was at least trying to talk to him.
“Lysithea has faith in you. She thinks there’s something in you that’s not all bad. I don’t know, I don’t understand. But I think people can be saved. Even from themselves. I don’t agree with what the Negaverse does. In fact, you terrify me. I’m not a pacifist. I’m not a coward, either. You confuse me.” He should hate him. A part of him did, yeah. As much as he wanted to blame him for losing Cambria, Malus understood it wasn’t exactly his fault. He didn’t appreciate the lies he’d told her, but he had taken care of her.
“And if you come for my starseed, I’ve got magic to chase you off so don’t make me use it on you. I don’t want to be your enemy.” Or anyone’s. “I don’t think you should have to suffer, no matter what your beliefs are.” And he’d probably eat fewer starseeds if he wasn’t going through something, anyway.
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Posted: Sat Oct 22, 2022 1:51 pm
"She's mistaken," he answered matter-of-factly. "I'm rotten." As far as the White Moon was concerned, though they seldom afforded any thought for the people who weren't fully human anymore, unless they could be pity cases and poster children for purification. Faustite was neither. Faustite was unsalvageable. That Lysithea didn't think so was —
Troublesome. It was troublesome. If Lysithea thought so, then others — like Malus — would think the same.
When they last met, and Faustite tried to kill him, the burning General recognized bald fear in Malus's eyes. It took Lysithea to stand as a barrier between both of them, to protect Malus and whisk him away from any damage Faustite could have inflicted. Now he stood before Faustite without Lysithea timely aid, saying he wasn't a coward, saying that Faustite terrified him. Malus wasn't the only one who was left confused.
He supposed, then, that there wouldn't be any seeing eye-to-eye with each other for an age. The lives they lived were oceans apart.
"Bold of you," Faustite griped. His gaze dropped to Malus's chest before it found his face again.
"If you think people can be saved, then tell me: what's going to save me from this?"
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Posted: Thu Oct 27, 2022 7:57 am
“You, if you wanted to,” Malus said; he didn’t rise from where he was crouched with the woman on the ground. “I don’t know why you stay so loyal to the Negaverse when the chaos in your blood is giving you such grief.”
He didn’t think it was presumptuous to assume Faustite wasn’t happy right now. He was the one who was talking about being saved right now, wasn’t he?
“Why do you do it, anyway? Why do you care about the Negaverse? What are they giving you that makes it worth what you’ve been put through?”
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Posted: Sat Oct 29, 2022 5:18 pm
"Not the Negaverse that's causing it." Faustite sized him up. Wondered what part of his words said the Negaverse was the source of his woes. He supposed that it was the difference of being a White Mooner; they were trained to view him in a particular light. To think Lysithea preferred them to him —
"Rest of the world rejected me, but the Negaverse has always been there. In the end, it'll give me what I want. Just have to endure this."
Faustite paused, considered thanking him, but let it go unsaid instead.
He valued actions over words that clamored to say anything at all. Turning, his figure evaporated as he cast his thoughts to the Dark Kingdom, where he might find solace for a while longer.kyuseisha no hikari faustite exit~ thank you! heart
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