the price of immortality

[dustodust]

WHO: Guizhong and you! Open to all!
WHERE: Network, then around Brick Alley or Blue Fish Park
WHEN: Evening of January 17th...the full moon
WHAT: Guizhong's contract price needs to be paid.
WARNINGS: None anticipated.

post from: encheneer

[8:44 PM] My work has finished late. Would it be too much to ask for an escort back to my apartment near Blue Fish Park from Brick Alley?
[8:53 PM] Never mind!
[8:54 PM] I'm sure I'll be fine.

[9:06 PM] Have you ever seen such a beautiful full moon? I regret missing moonrise tonight.
[9:08 PM] I could chase after her forever.
[9:11 PM] I can reach her this time, I know I can.

fly me to the moon

[If you happen to be around Brick Alley or walking around Blue Fish Park, you might see Guizhong. She's not exactly the gentle, clever woman she usually is. Instead she seems almost ghost-like, wandering forward, stopping and staring off into the sky, spouting poetry and praise before continuing on. It'll be very evident that she's following the moon...completely disregarding anything that might stand in the way of her quest.

Try to stop her, or save her from whatever impending doom coming her way, whether it's bumping into people, wandering into traffic, or even walking off a cliff somewhere. She's not really in a great position to do any of that herself right now, and the only way to fix the situation is to block her view of the moon.]

Comments

[dustodust]

[9:20 PM] And she shines to expose their sins, lighting the way for the righteous to punish evildoers.

[whiteshroud]

[There's a slight delay in his response, as reading her words triggers another quick, disorienting vision. "Evil is to be sealed away!" rings out in his head, as well as what looks like...a desolate place with monsters?

Nngh. What the hell. None of that makes sense. He pinches the bridge of his nose before focusing back on the conversation with Guizhong]

[9:24 PM] That's poetic, but I think it'd be better for you to avoid anyone doing evildoing in the first place.

[dustodust]

[9:26 PM] Perhaps it would be, yes.
[9:26 PM] I'll go to her and stay with her forevermore.

[whiteshroud]

[9:27 PM] Go to the moon?
[9:27 PM] Please don't do that. We'd miss you.

[Also you know, it's crazy. but she doesn't sound like she'd listen to that logic.]

[dustodust]

[9:28 PM] ...I would miss you all too
[9:29 PM] But I would be safe there
[9:30 PM] Safe and free to watch over you all forever

[whiteshroud]

[9:30 PM] But the moon doesn't even have an atmosphere. You wouldn't be safe.

[dustodust]

[9:33 PM] That's so silly, Jun. [Says the possessed woman.]
[9:34 PM] I would be perfectly alright.
[9:34 PM] She blesses and protects me.

[whiteshroud]

[Yeah, he's in full on worried territory right now]

[9:35 PM] Guizhong, you're not acting like yourself.
[9:35 PM] What's wrong?

[dustodust]

[9:36 PM] Nothing is wrong.
[9:37 PM[ In fact, everything is wrong without her.
[9:37 PM] She completes me.

[whiteshroud]

[9:38 PM] "She's" a rock in the sky.
[9:38 PM] Maybe you should get some rest.

[dustodust]

[9:40] I cannot rest when I have so far to travel.
[9:40] But I'll tell you of my progress tomorrow.

[whiteshroud]

[Welp. He's officially very worried. Part of him wants to go out and find her, but he's already gotten himself in trouble this month over the gate. Maybe he can tell dad when he gets home]

[9:41 PM] Ok. But please contact me tomorrow? I'm worried.

text ⟶ action

[dustodust]

[9:42 PM] As you wish.

[The next day, Guizhong can be found sitting in the public patio area outside of Abel and Jun's apartment, the dark bags under her eyes as low as her slumped posture. Her eyes are closed as she dozes, but hearing footsteps, she struggles awake.]

Jun! Welcome back.

action

[whiteshroud]

[Jun was just getting home from his classes for the day when he sees Guizhong on the patio. She looks tired, like she hadn't gotten any sleep. Still, after her messages last night, it was a relief to see her]

Guizhong! [He walks up the steps onto the patio proper.] You look tired...did you get any sleep?

[dustodust]

Very little. I'm always restless on the nights of the full moon. [She stifles a yawn as she waves her phone a bit in his direction.] I've come to see you, as promised.

[whiteshroud]

Mm, you were acting rather...strange.

[To say the least]

What about the full moon makes you restless?

[dustodust]

I suspect because it was a full moon on the night I almost died. [She heaves a sigh and pats the seat next to her on the bench.] I don't think I've told you the full story. I might as well do so now.

[whiteshroud]

[Jun's eyes will go wide, because yeah, he's never heard this story before! He'll move to sit down on the bench, setting his bag down on the ground as he gives his full attention]

You almost died?

[dustodust]

To make a long story short, I encountered some disagreeable people on my last assignment. People who had no compunctions about severely wounding a woman and leaving her to bleed to death. [She presses a hand to her stomach, lips pressed tight.] I was certain that I wouldn't make it. I believe...

[She trails off here, shaking her head.]

I'm not sure what I believe. But the truth is that I heard someone's voice from far away, just I was about to flatline. And after that, I made a miraculous recovery. Ever since then, every night I see the moon, I'm not myself, and I feel a pull to it. But it's never been so bad as last night. Last night, I was...obsessed.

[whiteshroud]

Guizhong....

[That's a harrowing and troubling story. First because it's horrible to think about her getting hurt like that. Guizhong has always been so kind to him, so to think there were people that'd go after her like that...

But also....well, after you grow up in Krusnik, what she describes sounds way too familiar to him. A possession. But...did she have any idea?]

So...you think your fixation on the moon is tied to your recovery?

[dustodust]

That voice I heard, she offered to help me live. Or more specifically, she offered to extend my life. That offer and my nightly episodes were the only oddities that I could go on. I dove into research after I recovered, and I have no definitive proof, but...yes, I believe they're related. I—

[She makes a helpless gesture with her hands, feeling ridiculous as she says it.]

I think a moon goddess saved me that night.

[whiteshroud]

A moon goddess...

[He goes quiet, unsure of what to say. Not because he thinks Guizhong is crazy. No, quite the opposite. It's because he knows what she's talking about, but he's not sure it's okay for him to say that. So many years he's kept such things a secret. For his and his dad's safety.

But even so....Guizhong was always kind to him, and was opening up. And she was clearly suffering too.

In the end, he decides to...keep it vague. A nice compromise]

I've...I've heard of something like that happening before.

[dustodust]

Have you? To think that other poor souls have gone through this, too.

[She sighs and closes her eyes, leaning back against the bench.]

I would like to reach out in solidarity, but I think it would be best to prevent any future serious consequences of my nighttime activities before that.

[whiteshroud]

[he gives a little nod]

Mm. People who have near death experiences, but are saved by something otherworldly ... a spirit, a god... They make a miraculous recovery, but are occasionally compelled to do strange things they can't explain. Speak in rhyme, commit arson, chase the moon...

[Or drink blood. But he's going to leave that one out, for the sake of his dad]

Yeah...there's got to be some way to keep it in check so you don't endanger yourself.

[dustodust]

The simplest solution would be to stop taking late hours at work and limit my evening socializing. [She scrunches up her nose.] Though the thought of doing that for the rest of my life isn't appealing in the least.