act49side

Memories from time immemorial pour down like a torrential rain, washing away Its enormous, empty consciousness.

The remnant consciousness slips and slides about the land of dreams, trying to find a single scrap of something, anything, to use as its foundation...

But those dreams are now as blank as unscribed bamboo slips, with only the grain of the wood to provide texture. There should be people and events written upon them, yet such things cannot be grasped.

...It has lost.

Without doubt.

You wish to seize Its body, take Its place. But what of your siblings?

They will not see me again, nor will they come to fill this void you have left behind.

That said, I will not disappear. I shall always be with you.

No matter who sits upon this corporeal throne, a void shall form. Since you have no intention of filling it, I shall haunt this place eternally...

...To torment the master of this body?

...To usurp Its will, to torment Its mind, are but two sides of the same tongbao.

There <i>will</i> be something to fill your vacancy.

All that is left of you now is emotion. Abundant emotion, but that matters not in the face of this shattered consciousness. If it did matter, Its rage would have filled it long ago.

...Hah. That will not be a worry.

The one replacing you shall be far more terrifying that you have ever been.

The proxy steps forward, leaving the white creation behind him.

The Feranmut, about to drown in Its own hollow mind, lets out a bitter cry.

Soon, even that cry filled with pain and defiance dies down, leaving only an echo, reverberating throughout the room.

(Murky dying gasp)

You are about to die.

...I am going to die?

Who am I? Why will I die?

...You were the most arrogant of dreamers. In your dreams, you pushed evolution to the endless sea of stars.

But this egotistical evolution was cut short by humanity, that humanity you saw as nothing.

And then your anger, your hatred, and your defiance dragged you to your grave.

But at the very end of it all, you died by my hand.

You...

(Murky dying gasp)

You will destroy... the future?

That future of evolution that escapes ruination, and through infinite expansion, touches the face of the void?

It was a dream you would never have been able to see to fruition.

Evolution will not stop because of your death. Your passing will simply be release for a will that has suffered for a thousand years.

If you truly yearn for that future where the stars shine only for you...

He lifts up the last of his stones. In his hand, they slowly lose their forms, turning into a blade.

It looks on as he lifts up the last of his stones. He throws them up into the sky, up towards the boundless heavens.

He takes the last of this congealed sharpness and thrusts it into Its eye—

It watches as those black stones become a galaxy that flows towards It, until...

The bestial Sui closes Its eyes.

The bestial Sui espies the future that exists only in Its dreams.

...May you dream well.

The entire room begins to shake, before ultimately collapsing.

The forms of proxy and Feranmut slowly merge together. No longer shall they be parted.

Here, a new 'Sui' is born.

Still hanging in there, Shu?

This is no big deal. It's just that handling this many of Its minions takes its toll.

Hey, Dusk! Fire that way, there's tons of geists there—

Where?

Where I'm pointing!

There's nothing there!

Are you stupid, there's—

Nian is stupefied.

There really is nothing there.

And not just there. It is as though someone has sneakily wiped away the blot of ink staining the ground. The rampaging geists of just a moment ago are nowhere to be seen.

Whoa, whoa, you nearly chopped me in half!

I'm obviously trying to chop that <i>thing</i> in half!

Huh? Where'd the monster go?

Understood.

The Sui Regulator reports that all the scriptgeists have disappeared.

We... We won?

Don't let your guard down—

An earthquake?!

It stirs.

All hands, move to an open space!

The shaking from afar arrives.

The time has come.

The True Lung grasps the jade seal used to start the device. It might just be his imagination running wild, but he feels a connection between the machine and the blood running through his veins.

During this moment of hesitation, a great shadow appears before him, nearly covering the entirety of the Originium's radiance.

Are you... It?

The shadow utters what seems to be a threatening, low roar. Within that roar, the True Lung hears a haggard voice, one he heard decades ago.

No... You are no longer It.

But how many of Its memories and dreams, Its thoughts and feelings have you inherited?

Will you be of aid to Yan in the future, or will you bring only misfortune?

Are you he, or an all-new Sui?

Its pale memories, withered dreams, exhausted thoughts, befouled feelings... They all roil and jostle through my consciousness at this very moment...

But... you are correct.

Sui is dead!

The shadow lets out a long howl that shakes both heaven and earth.

But what you, your ancestors, your nation, owe It, is also what you owe me and mine.

Those Arts winding their way through your body are proof your ancestor shackled us for a thousand years!

Though these memories be faded, these dreams be wilted, these thoughts be decayed, these feelings be rotted away, this rage of a thousand years still burns as bright as the sun!

But you... are not him.

If your hatred has not been diminished, then make your move.

You wish to use this piece of Originium to take me down with you?

It shall be my final act in service to Great Yan.

If you are a new Sui, I shall rid my country of you, even if it costs me my life.

If you are Wang...

Then my promise to you stands. Your life shall be spared, and you will be pardoned for deceiving the crown... and now, for regicide.

I shall also pardon myself for the crime of unclarity of thought, which lead to suspicion between parent and child, the scattering of kin, the formation of factions, and unrest that rocked the nation.

Do you truly seek death?

If it can begin a new chapter in the history of Great Yan... Why would I deny you my life?

Very well...

As you wish.

Did you believe all our grudges settled?

You are finally here.

We finally meet.

Hey—

You... are no longer It?

It was slain by my hand.

You are too late.

You actually did it... That ridiculous plan of yours actually worked?