encounter with bruno

Fate has an odd sense of humor.

For a man that was outlawed by the Empire and likely sought out by many other for the crimes committed against several nations, to encounter him here of all places almost had an effect of comedy behind it, but..

It's not an opportunity he would squander.
Even if it means putting himself in danger.

"--You."

Is there any wonder that almost immediately Marcel draws upon the sword of Primordials, Vseron? Bruno should know Marcel all too well by now.

He could stare in the eyes of death and still raise his weapon- all in the name of the Empire.

"I'd ask why you did it, but I think that's pointless."

"Probably some nonsense about your faux intellect, the need to ascend or whatever other bullshit flies your lips to justify murdering your sister."

In his eyes, Bruno was just an enemy now. Nothing more, nothing less.

And he expects to be treatedthe same way.

"Where is Celicia?"

It's no wonder he asks him about this either. If he was aware about Marcel's exploits at all..

This isn't the first time a dear friend betrays him.
(Marcel Delisle)

From sight alone it becomes obvious that Bruno was not having the greatest time of his life. His eyes were more red than they had ever been— bloodshot from the lack of sleep and the terrifying nightmares haunting him. Faint scratch marks litter his jaw and neck as disheveled strands of white fall before his countenance.

And yet, he speaks as if everything was the same it always had been.

"Those who impede evolution and are obstacles to humanity's growth have but one fate reserved to them. That is what the Empire has taught us.

Do you stand against mankind's rise, against stripping the Primordials of their stolen powers?"

His question is one soon followed by Bruno's right hand reaching up to his weapon, gripping it tightly.

"I did what I had to do. It does not please me."

The fact remained that he murdered Achyon's Commander, his superior, and sister. All without an ounce of mercy.

"Celicia was cast away as I was. Do you seek her for revenge or do you wish to merely... understand?"
(Bruno pyr Aertas)

Even now, he would try to justify it?

The frown deepens across his features. Is it the lack of regret that he spots upon Bruno? Is it the incessant buzz that he did the right thing, even if it meant killing his own blood for the sake of ascension of humanity?

For humanity that didn't even deserve it.

"You.."

"You honestly believe that you did the right thing, don't you?" Quite likely, he does. But if there's one thing that Marcel isn't - he isn't a coward. Despite all the danger, he inches closer.

Knowing full well how unfortunate the end to this could be.

"You raised your weapon against a family." Can't he see that what he did was utterly wrong? Can't he see the heartache he caused..

The heartache that could never be repaired?

"You raised your weapon against your own comrades. This is not what we fight for, Bruno. The Empire, all of us - we are a family, and even if we don't always agree with one another, we stand united, or else we fall divided."

Does he feel.. anger to this? It's difficult to tell. There's something in his chest that makes it difficult to breathe, something born out of sheer emotion he feels; but it's not anger alone.

"This isn't the Bruno I knew. The Bruno I knew, despite his callousness, is one I would stand for and defend with my life."

"I didn't fight for it to be like this."

It's not desperation.. more so a hurting, aching heart that has lived through too much betrayal already, yet forced to experience it all over again.


"This isn't the end that I fought for!"


A shout. It rises and falls.. but the bitter look on his face does not disappear. Even now, it stares down upon Bruno.

"What is there to understand?"

"I was backstabbed. Again." And again and again.. for how long it would last?

"I suppose I really do suck at picking friends and allies."
(Marcel Delisle)

"Is that what they've told you?"

The volume, the intensity of Marcel's pain was felt, echoing within Bruno's own heart as he saw a man who felt not only the death of a comrade, but the loss of many others. Friends. Allies. Family. The kind he could never have. The occultist understood now why the man would adopt such a problem child; Marcel Delisle's heart, his humanity was a weakness that controlled his life. How heavy must his burden be.

"My own sister rose her blade against me. She interrupted our growth, our drive, our message to the world. She demanded we cease Celicia's Ascension, that we rip away her dreams of becoming someone greater."

A step forward is taken and the weight of the world comes alive. Bruno's own madness, his pain, his suffering, his immense heartache was as vibrant as his eyes, despite lacking Marcel's volume.

"Ifought because I had to.

I took her life because it had been stolen from her."

It was rare to see the man being so expressive, pain painted so blatantly upon his features as he allowed for the Sergeant to grasp the situation in full.

"She came for my future. My power. My dreams. For Celicia's, too.

And the man who leads you now? He came for my life. Before I could muster the force to claim hers."

He was closer. Much too close, now.

"It was my life of hers. Would you allow everything you've built thus far to fall merely because someone disagrees with it? Would you lose your life for the sake of saving another?"

He stopped. The grip upon his weapon relaxed — as if he expected Marcel to be more... sensible. Wiser. Less savage than the rest.

"I suppose the Docro were always good at manipulating the truth.

Yes. I was the one who killed her.
No. I did not want things toend this way.
She is my sister. I love her.

You may decide to believe the truth of a Sylavanum-fueled thief, freedom will always remain yours. However..."

Eyes went shut and the man's demeanor shifted. For as horrible and tormented he may have seemed he was still capable of bringing along this bone-chilling, horrifying neutral expression of his, as if nothing before him mattered more than his thoughts. As if the world was unworthy of his emotions. It's with a crimson gaze that pierces that he brings along his thoughts.

"If you stand against the New World Order, I will do what I must."
(Bruno pyr Aertas)

Tension.

There was growing heartache that he could do nothing about, other than suppress and endure- the assessment that he's taken someone like Sanguinius under his wing was a very much correct one. Unlike himself, he hoped that Sanguinius could have a good childhood, and a bright future to look forward.

He hoped that Sanguinius would never get to feel this pain.
Hoped that he would never have to do the same things.

To Marcel, that is the epitome of humanity- something that defines him not as a servant to any god, a spirit or anything alien; no, he despised all of it. He despised everything strange and otherworldly, because it was responsible for ruining his life.

He was a Man, first and foremost.

It is the only role that he'll embrace - with all the strengths and weaknesses that come with it. But where Bruno tells this, there's a narrowing gaze.

The grasp on the weapon eases some, but.. he doesn't let go. Not entirely.

"...You lie."

Disbelief. After his experiences, he learned to always question the situation first before he comes to conclusions- for even as much as he doesn't believe this, he considers the option.

For now.

"This doesn't make any sense..."

"Why would Matryona raise her blade against you first? Why would she interrupt Celicia's ascension?"

He knew that Iron Chambers have long given up their souls to otherworldly beings- the trait he despised just as much as the rest of the alien traits, but..

Willing to overlook it, as long as they served the purposes of the Empire.

"Why would any of them ever attack you like this?"

"What do you mean that her life had been stolen from her?"

The implied threat at the end did nothing to Marcel; if he were to battle Bruno, then so be it. He learned how to not fear danger or death a long time ago.

But he wants the truth.
(Marcel Delisle)

"Fear."

This was the source of it all. Fear in his growth, fear in him losing it completely, fear in the fact the Empire would be overthrown by zealous occultists. Fear was the centerpiece of it all, yet there was more.

"Years of being fed verbal poison by those she called her new family brought her there. It brought her to give her life to a man who deserved it not."

There was a brief stop, a shift, a light frown displayed.

"The Docro have made my sister sign away her soul for their own greed. They took not only everything she had in life, but all that would follow in death, too."

There were answers that Bruno cared not to spill any longer. He was no longer part of the Empire: The truth of that fateful night was for all interested to know, now.

"If you do not believe me, ask Celicia."

He refused to speak of his greater goal, even if it would bring him safety. Marcel needed not to know the true purpose behind the New World Order, he needed not to know its greedy, horrendous design. The idea of trading away to a Primordial those loyal to him to free his sister's very soul would not be revealed, for if it were to be it would ruin everything he had suffered through thus far.
(Bruno pyr Aertas)

Suspicious, still.

In all truth, this does not absolve him of the crime for killing his sister- and try as he might to justify it, there's only one thing that he remarks about it all.

"--Even if your goals may hold some noble end to it.."

"You still killed your sister. You had a choice to walk away, or keep it hidden, or reason with them, or change their minds." He makes no comment about Matryona selling her soul away. She chose to be with Docro, and he knew that she loved him.

It was not his place to speak about complicated relationship the two shared.

"I'll find the truth to it all."

"You're not clear out of it all yet."

That, however, implied that Marcel will do his own share of digging for truths- it implied for more to be searched; unless stopped by him, he moves past Bruno somewhere else.

"And... one more thing."

"Your feud with Docro family is your own. For now." A pause.

"Even if the Imperials are not your family anymore, they are still mine." It is a warning, more so than anything, but he realizes the importance of saying it.

"Defending yourself - I can understand that. In this age, it's unclear who's right and who's wrong- what's a lie and what's the truth."

"But kill any of them - and I will devote everything I have to come after you."

It is a fair warning- spoken by a fair man. He does not expect Bruno to not get into combat with Imperials, but..

Choosing to kill them is different.
(Marcel Delisle)