Epsilon - Maina

[20:28] Epsilon smiles as he takes a spot next to Maina.
(Epsilon)


[20:28] Epsilon whispers: My, my. How the mighty have fallen.
[20:28] Epsilon whispers: Is this all that remains?
[20:33] Maina Invidia asks, "Mm... Greetings... You asked a question, yes?"
[20:33] Epsilon smiles, waving one hand dismissively. "Nothing important. Idle musings."
(Epsilon)


[20:34] Maina Invidia says, "Where we have quite a bit of spare time here on the plains... Those outside are about all that are left."
[20:35] Maina Invidia says, "Father is the last leader."
[20:35] Epsilon says, "Yes, yes. Malentine and Lucien vanishing to the unknown. Such a shame."
[20:37] Maina Invidia says, "Quite... but this turnout is a better result than what could have happened."
[20:37] Epsilon asks, "Oh?"
[20:38] Maina Invidia says, "Yes... Huangzhou could have quite taken our lands. Stomped and paraded on them as if they were there's."
[20:38] Epsilon says, "Your city destroyed, armies broken, driven into the woodlands. Far from a glorious end to your immortal empire."

[20:42] Maina Invidia says, "Hmph! This only proves itself to be a setback. A city destroyed but not taken. A fractured army will give way to something better. And the vampires that first came started in the woodlands of the north."
[20:45] The blindfolded man shrugs, kicking his legs up onto the table with an overly-familiar kind of casualness.

"Oh, no, by all means-" He raises his hands defensively, grinning. "I certainly approve of this. Much preferable to having it simply lay in the hands of idiots thinking themselves accomplishing something."

He pauses, his low, monotone purr becoming only fractionally more serious. "...I am merely intrigued by your... unparalleled confidence. If I were you, the head of my household unleashing a wave of destruction on kin and enemy alike would not inspire in me a great confidence in things to come."
(Epsilon)


[20:56] As said, a better situation than what could have been. Simply, it wasn't the best. That was all. But no one got the best road at the end of the day. There was always a walk, sprint, and leap on the way. She only lowered her head, in some agreement.

Her grin gleaming even so. "I believe uncle Malentine was right in this situation. He'd lay ruin to our small empire to keep others' hands away from it. If the Invidia could not have it, no one could. And so the north was made uninhabitable by all. It might not have been his reason, but I choose to believe it is." An optimist.

And something else. It was quite simple. Invidia or death.

"My only worry is what he might've done if our outlook was in our favor... I feel like this was nothing he could do on a whim, after all." A frown thinking on what father said, only so for a moment, before grinning once more.
(Maina Invidia)


[21:02] "Ah."

Taking his feet off the table, the man leans forward, grinning as if she's somehow stumbled into a trap. Maybe she has, or maybe he's just a little off.

"But that was not the play he made, not at all." He shakes his head, waggling a finger at her admonishingly. "I was there, child. I agree with your uncle Malentine as well, but he destabilized that portal long before the battle was decided."

His smile grows brighter even as the air around him seem to grow darker somehow, his very speech warping it. "Win or lose the war, the result would have been the same. Did you not note what he said?"

There's a tilt of his head, inquisitive and curious, perhaps wondering ifwhat he's saying is registering with her. "He warned you all."
(Epsilon)


[21:08] "... I suppose he had."

It took no strong mind to know a warning when issued. Even one from someone so... 'eccentric' as Malentine. Suppose she'd only believed to think that it was towards those of the west. "I can have my beliefs though, mm?"

But now that it was on the table, suppose she couldn't ignore it. "What might you believe his motivation to be for what he did. No one warns without reason, after all?" Idle musings.
(Maina Invidia)


[21:13] "Motivation?"

His fingers drum on the table gently, offering a thin smile. "I can speak to you easily about his motivations. The fact that you ask it says to me that I may have known your uncle better than you."

He laughs, but it's the kind that sounds less like he thinks the situation is funny and more that it's just deliberate prodding, an attempt to provoke Maina. "He did what he did because he understands the truth of the world, far better than most. I will tell you it- but if I do so, you must promise to understand. What a waste it would be, otherwise."
(Epsilon)


[21:21] "I believe, outside of Vel getting blood from him as a thrall, none of us quite had much contact with him... Beyond providing him with what we didn't need." Reagents, since there was always a lack of Alchemist about. "A shame, but that was how things were."

Maina believed the longest time she spent in the same room with Malentine was the rift lesson so long again. A gloved arm tapped the tables a fews times to compliment as her grin gleamed towards him. "I can't promise understanding." Straight forward about it.

"I can only promise the attempt to do so."
(Maina Invidia)


[21:24] "Of course you cannot."

Again, it seems the answer he was searching for, the next move of whatever private game he's playing. "I would not have trusted nor told you had you promised, after all!"

He smirks as he leans back, idly moving his staff back and forth, the end of it set against the floor. "You have heard of chaos, I assume, little Invidia-ling. The power of the arcane. If you know of it, describe to me what you have heard."

(Epsilon)


[21:33] The right answer. While irrelevant, she found a bit of achievement in it.

"Chaos? Mm..." She thought for a moment. "It's one side to the balance of things on this island. The other being order. It's the embodiment of things of undeath and so on." Anything else...? She thought for a moment more. "That's the general view of it I think. Beyond that, I'm unsure.

The topic never quite caught my interest beyond figuring out what it is."
(Maina Invidia)


[21:41] "No."

Despite the blindfold, there's the distinct idea that he's studying her, thoughtful. He releases the staff, letting it stand on its own... somehow. "Chaos is the truth of reality. It is the manifestation telling me, your uncle, anyone else likeminded, that we are right."

No longer does his voice carry the jovial, monotone manner from before. It's hard-edged, filled with conviction, even as he smiles. "The world as most see it is a joke. A fabrication, and if you have strong enough conviction, strong enough will, you can bend it as you please."

He holds up a hand, apparently wanting to catch any objections before they occur. "You wonder, I assume, why I bring this up. But... here is the truth, friend. Your uncle understood this. He understands there is nothing in the world worth fighting for. He wants to make it bleed, his revenge for forcing him to be a part of it. And he succeeded."
(Epsilon)


[21:53] The tapping of her fingers under gloves came to a sudden stop. Sitting there to listen to what was said to her. A surprising silence of one usually proved herself to be the loudest of the crowd. There was no reason to be, now was there...

"I've seen Malentine use it before against Torham. As well as the Archon 'Queen" against Vel... I see it as no joke. None so in the slightest." She'd seen such an ability before and still saw it was something that didn't interest her. Only something to be curious and wary over.

Continuing to listen, she gave a simple nod towards the end of his words.

"Malentine acted in spite against the world?" She made it sound trivial, but when compared to her beliefs of the reason for all this, perhaps those were the things that were actually quite small.

At least when compared to the grand scheme of things.
(Maina Invidia)


[22:00] "Mm. More or less."

His sly grin remains frozen as the silence lingers for a few seconds. "He hates it! You should too, really."

He stands, sliding out of his chair, the staff remaining in place, perfectly upright. "Or, at the least, see it for what it is."

Back to her, he moves to the cabinet on the other side of the room. He seems to appraise it for a few moments, before the glass shatters, suddenly and violently.

"Our plaything, to do with what we will, for no purpose but for amusement and satisfaction."

The shards of glass don't fall to the ground, though, they simply swarm around the man as he turns back to her. Holding out on hand, the glinting fragments of glass swarm in a spiral pattern around his wrist before spelling out a phrase in the air.

DO YOU SEE?
(Epsilon)


[22:18] Silent observation and listening once again. Not destined to hold such a thing forever, she waited towards the end of his wards to speak. Looking away from broken glass to look to him. "Mm... I have no reason to hate it. Or at least, to reason great enough to be able bend it as I wish such." She relaxed in her seat.

"I believe when we last spoke lengthy like this, I told you what my goal in life was. My greatest pride is being an Invidia, simply. But there's more achievements in this world for me to collect and present. Glory for all to see. What must occur to get it is not quite important." Perhaps why an eye was turned away and she seemed... unworried about the actions of Malentine presently. The world was a plaything, but it was one in her eyes to be used for attention to her and her name. Regardless of that, her eyes finally looked to the words of glass.

Do you see?

Maina stared in brief silence to consider her words. "I suppose I don't. But that's probably for you to decide, mm?" Her grin turned to smile. "And I suppose I don't understand completely..." Back on previous words. "... and despite the explanation, I don't think I'll ever garner the hate as you and Malentine have for the world around us."
(Maina Invidia)


[22:20]

[22:25] "Disappointing."

He drawls the words, bringing the shards of glass back to surround his hand for a moment. His head turns down towards the swarm, as if studying them. Obviously not, considering the blindfold.

"Well. I suppose I enjoyed the chance to talk, even if it has proved... fruitless. Glory is, well- a rather meaningless thing. I would have thought your city of ashes would have shown you that." That said, he clenches his fist, the glass shards suddenly fly towards Maina's face. The shrapnel certainly isn't enough to cause lasting injury, but it would hurt if she didn't avoid it, certainly cause bleeding wounds.

He smiles as he steps past her, as if unaware of what just occurred. His staff flies to his grip as he stretches out his arm, moving past her. "Be sure to give your father my regards."
(Epsilon)


[22:25] A bunch of glass is flying at Maina.
(Epsilon)


[22:45] "... Mm. I shouldn't gaven you the option. Atleast opinions don't matter, ahaha!" Her grin gleamed towards him. Her mood quite high as usual.

As for the war, "A fight for survival and a fight for sake of glory differ. To a large extent. And Malentine's intents and success make an addendum at the end of the that story saying either was useless... Wouldn't you say?" She watched closely as he simply watched glass... though it didn't seem all so simple when it came flying towards her.

She made not a single movement. Simply allowing herself to be impaled. Knowing she would move out the way quickly enough with how her leg was at the moment. "Though, come failure, came opportunities as well. Chances at glory and all! Ahaha!!" She laughed again, as if continuing the conversation. But, this was coming to it's end.

"If I gave him regards with glass on my face, he'd go out and hunt for your head. I doubt you'd want that." There was no change in her expression. Only a slow attempt to pluck glass from her face.

"Wouldn't want him to be fighting over all my smallest matters, mm? I can pay back for little trifling things like this as I want and when I want to. It's my right as an Invidia."

As another piece of glass was plucked from her face, near the cheek she found it in herself to smile. Blood running down the face. Not so the slightest expression of spite, despite the words.

"Fare well, and I hope you enjoyed the conversation. If you see Malentine, if he's still somewhere on this land, how about you give him MY regardless. Mm?"

She stood up. Intent to head up to the throne and pull glass from her face for now.
(Maina Invidia)


[22:51] He slows in his steps, turning back for a moment. There's a tilt of his head again, a small tug at the corner of his mouth as it pulls into a smirk.

Perhaps he was wrong about her.

The remaining shards of glass free themselves from her skin, gently enough that it seems to be done with care. Certainly not concern for the girl, anyone who had any shred of that probably would not have attacked her to begin with.

Amusement, perhaps. Maybe respect. Maybe something else.

The chaos magi continues to stroll quietly out of the building as the bloody shards of glass arrange themselves onto the table... turning black, turning to ash. Then it's gone.

And so is he.
(Epsilon)