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Post by garland on Apr 1, 2010 16:48:46 GMT -5
This place...
It was scarred, in far more ways than one. Two-thousand years had taken its toll on the temple, a fact that Garland had seen himself first hand. He had stood in its halls during it's peak, had even been moved by the chaotic beauty of it all. Its glory had confirmed that his destiny would make him into something far greater than he was, that he would have the power of a god. The worlds would kneel beneath his power, would shiver in his wake. His ascension would turn the sky black, would cause the earth to tremble and bring the sea to boil.
No longer did Garland feel this way at the sight of the old, broken, temple.
This was no a place of glory, or ascension. It did not promise power, only defeat. It was a mark of shame upon his soul, one that he could not bear. The fiends sneered at him from their portraits, for they knew of his shame, had witnessed it first hand. He would have them all destroyed, if it were not for Chaos. The thought of that being brought Garland to tighten his grip on the handle of the mighty blade that he drug behind him, for that being was but another mark of shame.
A failed ascension.
Chaos was not the being that Garland aspired to become, for the power that the God of Discord possessed was not enough. He did not bring the world to tremble, nor could he smite down the only foes that faced him. Even with the aid of some of the most powerful warriors did not prove enough to make Chaos superior, and it was for this reason that Garland resented what was to be his future self.
Was his fate to descend into failure?
Garland stepped up the walk way, his blade running through the red rug, tearing a gash in the fabric. He cared no more for this place than he did the God of Discord, for it represented all that had gone wrong in the many cycles he had lived through. Infinity was beginning fail Garland, just as this temple and Chaos had. There was nothing to be gained from these weaknesses, nothing at the end of his cycle that would benefit him.
And so he would destroy.
The rush of destruction surged through Garland as he brought his mighty blade down upon the ground before him, bringing smashed rubble to rain upon the ex-knight of Cornelia.
He reveled in this destruction, for there was no other pleasure that existed in Garland's indefinite life.
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Post by cosmos on Apr 3, 2010 10:23:25 GMT -5
Compassion mingled with pity was what she felt.
The Goddess of Harmony watched in silence as Garland carried out his destructive wishes upon the ruined shrine. A shrine dedicated to fallen God, one that would be one in the same with the fallen Knight before her. Cosmos was not sure of her emotions regarding Garland, because she knew the purpose for what she was created, but how could she ever relate to him? Her embodiment of Harmony and Light, while he would eventually become one of Discord and Darkness. An opposite to her in each and every way, but she still felt the compassion for the man before her, his youth ruined by those that had experimented upon him. What was there for Cosmos to do, though? She waited within the shadows of the ruins, unsure of how to even proceed with the situation that had presented itself before her. A world where her greatest enemy and greatest champion had been born into. An unfair destiny had trapped them both, and she as if she were the hand moving these pawns of fate where she would.
How the Goddess loathed it.
What else was she do, though? The whim of Shinryu was what should mattered, but she longed to break such timeless bonds. The same cycle over and over, and she could see the pain it had wrought. The man before her was no exception, and Garland appeared to revel in the destruction he caused, but was that the truth? Cosmos did not know, because his motives were still a mystery to her. She wondered if the ex-Knight had even noticed her presence as of yet, but maybe that was a good thing. Her azure eyes lifted to the heavens above her, and a soft sigh escaped her lips. This game was so tiring, but there had to be an end, at some point within this indefinite life of hers. The last cycle, and perhaps a chance for harmony to reign, but that was simply wishful thinking. One could not live without the other, and all things had to have balance within the worlds.
"Tell me, is destruction all that sways you, Garland?" she askedd lightly. Cosmos stepped from her perch within the shadows, her form as radiant as one would expect. No mockery tainted her words, and she regarded the man before her with a compassion that should not have been there. Appearing defenseless, but she did not believe he would attack her needlessly. A tactical man he was, and part of her wished to soothe the pain within him. If there was such a part left within him, but she had yearning to find out if that was so. It was merely Garland and herself, and so Cosmos stood there before him. Compassion in her gaze, and a solemn weight weighing upon her slender shoulders. Yes, she had the wish to know and understand. A purely logical wish, and one so driven by emotion that it could be dangerous.
If so, then so be it. |
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Post by garland on Apr 3, 2010 13:31:47 GMT -5
That voice gave him pause.
The last of Garland's destruction fell to the ground, his blade staying at the arrival of a goddess. He did not respect her power, for she drew her strength from weakness. Compassion and harmony, these were false powers. And yet they had defeated him time after time, without exception. Was the light too strong for Garland to defeat, or was he too weak? The shame that such a contemplation evoked in the fallen knight was enough to make him drop his speculation immediately, there was no room for doubt in his armored form.
He turned to face Cosmos, instantly feeling pangs of anger and hate at the sight of the goddess. She wore a look of compassion, kindness even. He was her enemy, had never been anything else, and yet she looked upon him as she would look upon one of her own. The sight of her disgusted him, not because of the failure she represented, but because of the other emotions that she brought to Garland. He could feel nothing but conflict in her presence, an internal war that was on the verge of tearing him apart by the simple sight of her.
Such weakness could not be tolerated.
"Not destruction. Release."
Release from shame, from weakness. Garland could not bear these things, and so he sought to expunge them from his body. Such a quest was one not so easily achievable, for not even becoming a god had changed these things, had in fact only increased them tenfold. Was there no end to the failures that plagued Garland, both internal and external? He had been felled many times, only to return so that he might be defeated once again. There was no end to this cycle that he had drawn himself into, no release.
But Garland was not hopeless, he knew that there had to be a way. His true ascension would come to him in time, even if it took millions more cycles. He would continue down this path, regardless of how insane countless deaths might make him, regardless of the failure and shame that he would hold heavy in his ironclad heart. Cosmos was only an obstacle, even if a seemingly insurmountable one. The fallen knight would strike the goddess down that instant, if not for the question that he had kept to himself for so very long.
"Why do you pretend? You are not her, so what does this make you?"
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Post by cosmos on Apr 11, 2010 7:13:35 GMT -5
His plight saddened her.
Gazing upon Garland evoked emotions she should not feel for someone that would become her greatest foe, through whatever time loop. Cosmos could see Garland and Chaos were one in the same, and yet she felt that desire to protect and show compassion. A purely illogical reaction to someone that was the exact opposite of her nature, but that was how it had been intended. Fate was a cruel mistress, and the irony was not lost upon the Goddess. His sword had been stayed by her sudden appearance, but Cosmos had no doubt he would turn it upon once the chance arose. That moment had not come, and she felt the desire to perhaps know Garland better. His fate was cruel, and had been forced upon him by those seeking power. This shrine was a testament to such a fate that befell the fallen Knight, but Garland was not one to back down. He would seek another way to destroy his enemies, and perhaps even her in the end.
"Release from the fate bestowed upon you," Cosmos answered. An internal struggle held the Goddess where she was, her every instinct to perhaps strike down this pawn that would become Chaos, and those emotions that had been given to her upon her existence. Created as a means to sooth the Knight, and yet that had never come to fruition. The Goddess was tempted to move closer, in her attempt to placate, but she held herself still. Such actions would most likely meet her wish battle, and more confusion for the both of them. Did her presence not fill him with rage instead? Did it not confuse and bring him hatred? How could one such as she sooth the heart of such darkness and anger? Even a Goddess did not have all of the answers, and the baffling of ironies stood before her now. She closed her azure eyes for a moment, weariness suddenly overcoming her, and she wondered what she should do. How could one reason with someone that hated her presence so? Fate was a cruel thing.
"I am what you see. Created in her image, to sooth the anger and hatred within your heart, but it is not to be," Cosmos answered truthfully. Garland deserved that much from her, and it was all she could give. It was never meant to be, as the result of his future incarnation proved. Harmony and Discord were placed against one another, to see the results of such a collision. An endless cycle that had not been broken, and yet she had tried to within the last cycle. Even Cosmos could scheme within her own web of deceits and pretty promises. She had returned the crystals to her champions, and yet the cycle began anew. Cosmos was curious, and she looked to Garland with a saddened expression on her features. Why was she made to feel such concerns for him? Answers she held, but the Goddess did not understand why.
"Do you hate me so?" |
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Post by garland on Apr 12, 2010 18:24:00 GMT -5
Garland said nothing in response to the Goddess' words, having no voice with which to speak them at that moment. He would deny that statement, tell her that he sought no release from his fate, but it would be a lie. Garland had begun to feel weary, had begun to feel the toll of a hundred deaths. Was such a thing fair to a man, any man? It had long since past when Garland thought of himself as human, but that did not mean he was not so. He bled like any other, died when a sword entered his heart. Did the cycle that kept him take away his humanity?
Was it even worth keeping?
The blame for his transformation into a machine of death and destruction was not on his shoulders, but on that of those who sought to use him. He had only been a child when they changed him, and it was then that Garland believed to have lost his humanity. They wished to make him a monster, and he had become so. There was no denying that his heart was black and hard, like stone. Seldom did he feel emotion, the one thing that made him feel even remotely human. His emotion was rage; his fuel was destruction. He no longer lived to satisfy his own desires; he simply wished an end to it all.
To break the cycle, and the universe with it.
He had not expected Cosmos to speak the truth, had instead expected a lie. Garland was not one of her champions, there was no reason that she should care enough to even speak, let alone speak true. The explanation that the Goddess provided explained all of it to Garland, revealed to him why Cosmos cared. Her likeness to his mother, by heart for there was no blood between them, had been an unexplained mystery to him before, but now he understood.
The emotion that Garland felt was not rage this time.
Cosmos had been created to serve Garland, to soothe the beast within him so that he might be human once again. Perhaps if Garland had seen her, had been held by her... The ex-knight refused to think about those possibilities, there was nothing that could change what he was and what he would become. Cosmos was an obstacle, as was everything else that existed in this universe, though one more difficult to overcome than the rest. To strike her down would be to kill the image of the only being he had ever loved.
"There is nothing that I do not hate. My rage is insatiable, a tempest that desires nothing less than to devour everything. No longer am I human..."
Garland raised one hand to his chest, touching his covered hands to his chest, his helmeted gaze meeting that of the Goddess before him.
"It is not flesh that this armor covers, but a living embodiment of hatred."
The hand fell back to Garland's side, his grip on the hilt of the blade he held tightening. Before him stood the last fragment of his humanity that existed, the only thing that prevented him from embracing his monstrous nature. The ex-knight took a moment to steel his resolve, feeling regret at the way things had passed between Garland and the Goddess who could have given him an inner peace that this endless cycle would never grant him. Perhaps the Goddess would sense this momentary weakness, though there would be nothing to gain from that knowledge.
"This hatred will consume you."
Garland's voice was void of the emotion that he had felt only a moment ago, replaced the inferno of rage he was so normally occupied with. Garland did not allow the Goddess a second before he had raised his blade, gripping the hilt with both hands, and rushing towards Cosmos in a charge, bringing the large sword down with all his might once he was close enough.
A monster could do no less.
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Post by warrior on Apr 15, 2010 3:07:23 GMT -5
He was not drawn to these damned ruins out of curiosity or anger, but true confusion. Fallen pillars and crumbled walls marred the facade of what was once a great stronghold for the creation of the ultimate fiend... and yet the mighty Chaos had been slain. The Fiends met his blade and perished, so why were these shattered ruins haunting him so? What was there to learn from tattered cloth and architecture strangled by plants? It was haunting him, this void in his mind- what was he forgetting?
Forgotten and battered, this weary structure told tales of its own, infested with petty beasts. The Warrior offered no mercy, cutting down snarling hounds and wretched ghouls alike as he almost hypnotically followed a path he knew nothing of. Abandoned, beaten... festering with monsters of rage and ghosts of doubt. Was he any better than this pitiful structure? Without Chaos, this shrine was dedicated to nothing but failure. Without Cosmos- without a goal, without a war... what was he?
No- he could not question his resolve, or it would shatter. To remain steadfast and faithful in Cosmos was his only option if he was to figure out who he was, what he was, and why he had forgotten everything about himself in the first place. The Goddess was the only chance to regain everything he had lost, and he would not idly stand by as fate attempted to chain him into the same bloodthirsty destruction that had dominated Garland. A fallen knight... a disgrace. Garland was a haunting reminder- a warning of what would happen if the Warrior was to spurn the light that blessed him, even for a moment. He could not fall victim to hopelessness and despair.
He would shatter the chains of fate that shackled him to eternal war and battle, if only so he could learn his origins and identity. He wanted to protect Cosmos, to repay the favor to the goddess who placed so much faith in her ten Warriors- but more than anything, Cosmos's champion wanted to know the truth. Garland had told him of their eternal struggle long before, but by now, the Warrior of Light cared little for the revelation, knowing that if he kept fighting, he would eventually cripple the forces that controlled their fates and finally end the war that had tortured them for so long.
He contemplated this in silence, until he heard what he knew very well to be sounds of destruction- sounds of rage and... chaos. Something at that moment snapped in the Warrior's psyche, eyes cold and apathetic as he drew his sword and readied his shield. Charging down the winding path in this labyrinth, he now knew his destination- the throne room where he had met Garland in battle so many times before, emerging victorious every time- though some battles were far more difficult than others.
The minute he rammed through the doors that led into the grim chamber tainted with the snarling portraits of the Four Fiends and haunted by a grim throne that would never be filled, the Warrior stopped dead in his tracks. Cosmos? Why was Cosmos here in the land he called home- why was she in this place, of all places? For the goddess of harmony to venture into a monument to discord seemed like the greatest of follies, but the Warrior's initial alarm skyrocketed the minute he saw him.
Garland was alive- as alive as a tortured pawn could be. Hatred, disgust, pity... raw anger. How dare the foul beast be near the goddess...! How dare that fallen warrior give into rage, turn into a demon, and endanger the world...! And then, Garland charged- not for him, but the goddess.
Hearing the violent slam of his armor as the Warrior quickly moved to intercept Garland, a fever pitch of emotions coursed through the normally stoic fighter, golden cape whipping around him as the Warrior stood in front of Cosmos, blade and shield at the ready. He just had to brace himself, prepare for the impact powered by all of Garland's hatred and rage...
The sound of metal violently slamming against metal was one that he thought he'd never hear again, but the Warrior retaliated, feeling the ground shake beneath him as he used both sword and shield to hold Garland's own weapon back. He was back... the monster was back. The cycle had begun anew- in the same place. Were they truly to spar eternally...? Why was the Goddess... why had she not struck him down the minute this disgusting beast approached her?
"Garland! Cosmos is not your foe, but I. Would you truly reject salvation and freedom, and instead attack the one who embodies such things?!"
Anger- his voice had never held such fiery contempt, the horned-helmeted fighter knowing very well what Garland intended to do with that attack. If he wanted to destroy Cosmos... then he would destroy him. Garland was an embodiment of destruction... so be it. The Warrior would embody righteousness, and protect all that it represented.
He would never understand the fallen knight before him, and the Warrior didn't care. Garland saw himself as a monster- and so the Warrior would as well. He would kill Garland again, for justice, for mercy... and out of repressed hatred.
To slay wretched fiends- that was what a hero was expected to do. The Warrior would gladly oblige.
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Post by cosmos on Apr 16, 2010 16:05:48 GMT -5
Was she to blame for this discord and destruction?
This cycle was a cruel and unforgiving one, and the ex-Knight before her was the epitome of that testament. Garland had been given no release, no salvation, and perhaps she had herself to blame. It was a rather illogical assumption, as she had not been the one to place Garland through this cruel life. Cosmos had not been the one to use him for a weapon, but she had been created in the image of his mother. Yet, she had failed in that endeavor, had she not? The man before her held nothing but perhaps fate for her existence, and it pained her in ways that made little sense. He was not her champion, but perhaps he could have been. The Goddess took a small hand forward, serene expression breaking, and her hand lifted upward a fraction. What was his true countenance beneath that helmet, or would she only find his eyes filled with hatred and malice for her, as well? Cosmos looked away, not able to bear the rage that filled the man before her. None of this was fair, and his wish to end the cycle was one she shared, but not at the cost of the universe.
Could she raise a hand, and strike against him?
"I am sorry for everything this cycle has pressed onto you," Cosmos replied gently. It was guilt that weighed upon her heart, and a realization that had she been there, perhaps none of this would have happened at all. What was the Goddess to do, though? She had lived many lifetimes in this never-ending cycle, and nothing had ever seemed to change. Until she had met her new Champions from the former cycle, and had realized the importance in the bonds of friendship and loyalty. The Goddess had sacrificed herself with the knowledge they would succeed, and with the hope that perhaps they could end it all. It was not meant to be, but now she had the upper hand upon Chaos, but it meant nothing to her. Friendship, love, and companionship. That was what she now truly longed for, but was it her to place to? When the one that had perhaps needed her most stood before her? No longer human, and the weapon those scientists had so wished for.
"It has consumed me once before." Chaos had incinerated her with the hatred he held for her, but that had been her plan. True darkness had to be shown in order to bring her ten warriors hope to defeat Chaos. No emotion was within his voice, and Cosmos watched with saddened eyes as Garland charged toward her, his sword raised. Should she defend herself, and perhaps place an end to the ex-Knight? It would be for the benefit of all, but it hurt to consider. Not that the Goddess had to, because the sight of another Knight filled her vision. The crashing sound of screaming metal met her ears, and Cosmos's eyes widened in surprise and shock. Her form was rooted to where she stood, and the hatred that the Warrior of Light held for Garland was staggering, but he had the right to do so. Did she have the right to raise a hand against him, though? "It is within his right to do so, for all I have done."
There were things even the Warrior held no knowledge of.
It was apparent he had not heard the words uttered by her in confession. What side was she to choose? That of her friend, or that of her would-be son? Perhaps all was lost, for Garland had saw fit to try and end her existence just a moment before. How could she sooth, when he no longer wished to be? A hand reached forth, grasping the Warrior by his plated arm, and she teleported both herself and him out of reach of Garland's sword. Reappearing a short distance away.
Her decision had been made. |
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Post by garland on Apr 21, 2010 16:03:25 GMT -5
She was... Sorry?
Garland's charge did not halt at the admission, but it gave pause to the tempest of anger that had taken over his mind. To know that Cosmos regretted his fate, to hear such words come from her lips, filled Garland with more emotion than he could express. Rage warred with his own regret, for the ex-knight did not know how to feel. It insulted him to have her pity, but that insult was smothered by the concern that had been present in Cosmos' voice the entire encounter. A weaker man would have fallen to his knee, would have dropped his blade, would have asked Cosmos to be the mother he had been cheated out of.
But Garland's hate had taken on a life of its own, and in the face of such a monster there was no way to possess his own aspirations and desires. His path was anger, the end was destruction of everything. There was no other fate that Garland could ask for, nothing that could redeem him and remove the hatred that had become infused into his being. Long before being drawn into the cycle he had resigned himself to that hate, had even enjoyed the power. Over time everything had turned into hate, even the sense of exhilaration that came from destruction. Garland had not felt anything but rage in so long, not until this day.
Such an encounter with Cosmos had never been expected. Garland had always neglected the fact that the goddess looked so much like his own mother, had seen her as an obstacle to his ascension. To see the goddess now had opened his eyes, to meet with her during a time of vulnerability, weakness to Garland, and to see that she regretted his path as much as he did gave the ex-knight a hope he had never possessed before, a hunger that gnawed at the back of his mind.
A hunger for redemption.
Such a thing could never be achieved, and so Garland's hatred had moved quickly to stomp out that feeling, to remove the hope that perhaps he was not a simple monster, a beast deserving of the infinite deaths that was his fate. Anger guided his hand as he brought the large blade in his hands up, hatred taking control of the muscles that would bring the sharp steel to slice through the goddess of harmony.
Garland's counterpart would not tolerate such an action.
The harsh sound of steel against steel exploded throughout the room, an exclamation to Garland's surprise. The ex-knight had not expected the presence of his other, the being that had proved to be his opposite in every way. Where Garland sought an end, the Warrior sought a beginning. The one could not bear the other's existence, and yet the cycle had continued on for all this time. Would there be an end to the vicious battle between Garland and this Warrior, or would they draw steel against each other for eternity?
Before the ex-knight could answer the Warrior's words, words that possessed an edge of fury that Garland had never detected before, the goddess of harmony instead spoke, offering words that stayed Garland's scolding reply. If not for the Warrior, would Garland have been able to strike down Cosmos without resistance?
That possibility disgusted the fraction of humanity that remained with Garland.
He did not want the goddess to offer herself as a sacrifice to appease the anger within the ex-knight, nothing could sate the all consuming rage within him. Garland had truly wanted to be struck down, perhaps if he had been killed by a goddess there would be no return. The ex-knight cared for Cosmos in a way he had not cared for a being in so long; as a son would care for a mother. To see Cosmos die by his hand was not the desire of the little humanity Garland possessed, for such a thing would provide no end to the ex-knight, would only cement the fact that he would spent eternity in a cycle.
Garland's blade passed through air as the Warrior was teleported away by Cosmos, bringing his sword to smash into the ground that had formerly been occupied by his opponent. The destruction brought no solace to Garland's heart, for the ex-knight was incapable of feeling such a thing. He freed the blade of the earth's grasp, bringing his gaze upon the goddess.
"This cycle will never end."
There was no confidence in Garland's voice, no pride. His tone was empty, a sign of his submission to that fact. There was no release from his dark fate, nor was there an end. Ascension would not be achieved, oblivion would never come.
It was with this hopelessness that Garland willed magic upon his blade, causing it to break into pieces and fire forth three flaming projectiles that would home in on his opponent.
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