act49side

<p=1>Year 759</>

The right leg... almost fully polished.

I can't believe the first thing I'm doing after reforming my vessel is to die for someone else's sake...

It's time to go—

Oh, it's you.

No, you're It, but you're not It. You're... ah...

Interesting. Very interesting indeed.

How does it feel to see your old enemy split apart like this, and your old followers turned into an unruly rabble?

What enemy?

I simply had a dream that caused some delay. I managed to evade the Great Hunt before I awoke. It's not such a bad thing to die here after awakening.

But you should not kill me here quietly. You should let me die before the Yanese army. Otherwise, maniacs will keep coming, trying to die in my name.

It would be the last thing I want.

Desperate people will resort to desperate measures. You are not necessarily the reason.

I won't kill you. Quite the opposite. I can't let you die.

You want to help me instead of killing me? Interesting.

How do you intend to deal with the self-proclaimed 'Shanhaizhong'? Though it is no more than a fragment, they have indeed inherited the old carpenter's arts. They are not entirely unassociated with me.

They'll live, if you leave.

What do you mean?

The Yanese army wants you, not them. It's trivial for you to leave.

I'll help you, if you encounter any obstacles.

As for the Shanhaizhong, they'll last two more days, give or take. Ultimately, they will all die, taking a third of the Yanese army with them.

If you die for them here, they will become even more fervent and fight to the bitter end.

If you leave, they will flee, and Yan's mission will be done, so they can recall their armies.

This is the only way for you to stop the war.

You are It... no, not quite. You are ten times It in scheming and intrigue.

I would be indebted to you. What do you wish from me in return?

A piece in reserve that could perhaps come in useful. No great loss, if it never comes into play.

Now <i>that</i> makes me feel a little slighted.

I'll repay this debt. I promise.

How do you intend to help me, when you don't know what I'm trying to do?

You would treat a Feranmut as a piece in reserve. What you're plotting must not involve mortal man. This is about yourself. Split apart, you said? How many pieces are there?

...Twelve.

Then I take it the only thing you care about is whether it is the twelve that is left, or the one.

One word of advice. One tree does not make a forest. You are defying the laws of nature. You need all the help you can get.

Ask your siblings if they've thought of any alternatives. Beings like you are not meant to be measured by normal logic and reason.

If you can find the solution, you will rid the world of a great threat...

We will never be truly gone, as long as my dream has not been fully worn away, as long as the twelve of us persist in my dream.

Falsehood is reality, the Great Way unfettered. Such is for all things.

It sounds to me you intend to carry the heaviest yoke of them all.

You want to drag the entire family into the instant before Sui awakes, then extend the instant into eternity in your waking dream...

How long do you think you will last?

What if I drank all the wine across all the lands?

I hope there is a less desperate way.

We were never equals to It. Desperate times call for desperate measures, do they not?

I know. But...

...I did not save Ju on a whim.

Why do you bring this up again? Of course you have your reasons for doing things, but too often you cast your eyes too far and forget the things that are near...

Wait, what do you mean?

I was asked to do so.

By whom?

Hou.

The old man's alive?

He has avoided the eye of Yan, as he does not have followers like the Shanhaizhong. He told me about Ju after I took him beyond Yanese reach.

Have you told our eldest brother?

Not yet.

You can be pretty astute, when you need to be.

I asked Hou about ideas for a way out, after I helped Him leave Yan. His words have given me thought.

'Perhaps I am not in Its dream. Perhaps It is in my dream.'

Interesting, that old man. I would love to drink with Him, if I got the chance.

The unusual activity of Sui may indicate that something is disturbing It in its dream and accelerating Its awakening.

It's merely addressing the symptoms, but if I can enter Its dream and see what the culprit is...

Risky. Are you not concerned It may awaken?

Does it really make a difference, whether It awakes in seventy years, or seven days?

What if I offer not my help?

I'll find a way.

Might this way have something to do with me? Such as, stealing something from me?

I will take that as a 'yea'.

...*sigh*.

Give me your word, you will not do anything too foolish in this dream.

If I violate my oath—

Stop.

There is no need for oaths between family.

But please, do not break my heart.

Yes.

Now then, drink up. You may take the goblet with you.

Just drink?

What more do you need to dream? No ritual necessary.

The elder proxy takes the cup and downs its contents.

As vertigo overcomes him, he attempts to support his body with his arms.

The stone table beneath his elbows had turned into a mountain boulder covered in moss.

He has never seen such scenery, be it in the chaos, or after he came into the mortal realm.

He is It, but Its dreams are too complex to be closely examined one by one.

Where am I...?

A battlefield.

A battlefield of void and emptiness.

The proxy hears Feranmut roar at Feranmut, humans swing their weapons at other humans, humans swarm Feranmut, before they are suffocated, crushed, and devoured.

He hears the pained trembling of Feranmuts, as massive human weapons are locked and loaded...

But he sees nothing.

Invisible Feranmuts walk across the ground. Vegetation disappears where they tread, revealing black and yellow soil.

Invisible entities strike the mountains, cracking them and causing avalanches.

But It remains still.

It is in fear, angry, in pain, but It cannot fight back, cannot avoid it, not even let out a whimper.

Is this Its... nightmare?

After the twelve of us left, Its dreams lost their visible image...

The proxy takes a step back, but even the mountains are trembling in the nightmare.

He can hardly keep himself upright—

Just because you're in a dream doesn't mean you shouldn't watch your feet.

Who's there?!

How did you get here?

Ju wanted to come personally to help you, but His brain has a hard enough time dreaming for Himself, much less entering another's dream. I'm more suited to these things.