To see a world in a grain of sand

[god_damned]

Characters: Kirei Kotomine and OPEN
Setting: The Dormitories (1-04). Floor forty-eight (the graveyard). Aaaand wildcard meanderings which you can happily place at your leisure!
Format: Brackets.
Summary: Kirei wakes in the Tower and explores his new surroundings.
Warnings: General disclaimer that Kirei is an awful person, discussions of suicide in his thread with Claudia, and specifics will be added as necessary.


Dormitories
[ He reads the letter, and he feels nothing.

What should he feel? Sorrow? Perhaps another person would label his utter lack of response as a state of shock or disbelief, as if he were denying the gravity of the message. However, while Kirei is reserved about taking those words as full truth, it is not a fool's hope which motivates him to such skepticism. What was lost in that world that he could mourn? Very little, in the end.

However, there is the War he left behind – and with it, he left behind the Grail, and his one chance to have his questions answered.

Perhaps it isn't nothing after all, but the feeling in his chest is not that of an honest man. But does it matter? Now, there is no remaining trace of his life save for a trunk of impersonal, unimportant things.

Regardless, he opens it, changes into his vestments, and exits into the hall. ]

Floor Forty-Eight
[ It is only natural that he finds himself in a place like this.

The graveyard stretches before him: like an echo of the world which he has been told is gone. He steps toward and kneels before a stone, trying to read its worn lettering with no success. It is difficult for him to determine why he makes the effort; perhaps he expects to see a name he recognizes.

Perhaps he expects to see his own. ]

Wandering
[ It is similar to the day he woke with the Command Spells, in a way, when he finds himself in this place. He was thrust into a world of unknown to him, of magi and their Holy Grail War. At the beginning, he had not understood his involvement in such a battle. Then, he spoke to Archer...

Perhaps this Tower is the same: he does not understand it now, but he can explore. He can discover more of it, and of himself.

But will what he finds favor him, or destroy him? ]

Comments

[pinnaculum]

[To Sephiroth, too, the scene does not appear beautiful, but he does not go so far as to think that others must find it such. He sees it as the setting of a potential battle, weighs its advantages and disadvantages. This would be a good floor for him to fight on. The pits are an advantage for him. Because of his magic and his teleportation, they pose a minimal danger to him, yet his enemies could be drawn or driven into them. The blood on him, likewise, doesn't matter to him, as it represents no strategic disadvantage, but it is simply hygienic to be clean, which is why he moves to remedy the matter.]

Yes. There are monsters on all the floors. They are especially numerous at night. [He adds the obvious, toneless:] I have been fighting them. There are none here now, but there might be soon.

[His eyes glow faintly, his pupils narrowed to slits, as they tend to be before and after he does battle.]

[god_damned]

Monsters. [ This is the first he's heard of it from another person, and he is not one to doubt. He has lived in a world with demons and magic; such things are no great shock to him.

The image of the boy before him, however, is new. Kirei had been as young as this when he began his training as an Executor, and the boy seems as at ease with the blood on his hands as Kirei had been. The two of them are similar...

He focuses on those unnatural eyes as he speaks again. ] And you? Are you human?

[pinnaculum]

Yes. I have studied them for months, and if you have any questions about them, I can answer them. [He assumes this man is a new arrival. Otherwise, he would have known about the monsters. They are hard to miss, after only a very short time in the Tower.] They are brought here like we are, from various worlds. [By "study", he largely means slaughtering them, but also observing their behavior and examining samples.] Many of them are quite dangerous. There are some that cannot be defeated.

I am a genetically engineered human. [How he was genetically engineered is not something he's aware of, however. As far as he knows, he's human. He's half-right.]

[god_damned]

A homunculus? [ The pale skin and paler hair seem to indicate it, as well as his unnatural eyes. Kirei's frown deepens for a moment. It is not an ideal answer, however that is a preferable response to the boy being some sort of demon himself.

It also explains his calm disposition, when faced with such a slaughter. ]

These monsters, do they inhabit the entire Tower?

[pinnaculum]

[Sephiroth is not particularly impressed by this unscientific guess, but one wouldn't know by looking at his perfectly polite expression. He knows that many worlds do not have the technology to manipulate DNA. However, he must correct this misconception.]

No, I am a human being, as you are. My parents were both human and reproduced sexually, but my DNA was modified through exposure to radiation and chemicals before I was born.

[And combined with the DNA of a world eating alien. Because that's all so much better.]

Yes, they do. Usually they do not enter the dormitory floors, but there are exceptions to that. There are specific types of monsters that can always enter the dormitories, and during certain times, the usual rules are suspended and other monsters can enter as well.

[god_damned]

[ Kirei accepts the explanation without further prodding. He doubts the boy has any reason to lie, and the plain, direct manner of his speaking is too blunt to be deception.

What did it mean, however, to be 'genetically engineered'? How human is this boy, in reality? His face seems too calm for the amount of blood on him, and his words an edge too cold -- too familiar; too similar.

Instead of continuing down that dangerous path, Kirei focuses on the other matter at hand. ]

And can these monsters be defeated by human hands? [ The state of the boy before him implies 'yes', but it may not be true of all of them. ]

[pinnaculum]

[Sephiroth is perfectly content to stand there covered in blood and answer Kirei's questions. It doesn't bother him in the least. Neither does battle, nor death. He was created to be the perfect soldier--and he decidedly isn't (for reasons he doesn't remember), but he appears to be.]

Some can, yes, by skilled warriors. I would advise most people to avoid them. [His gaze is piercing. His empathy is weak, almost nonexistent, and he has no idea what Kirei might be thinking or feeling, but his ability to gauge the physical abilities of other is keen.] You have experience in battle.

My own strength, speed, and endurance are enhanced, and I possess a means to escape from any battle, if necessary. There are monsters that cannot be defeated by any known means. They must be avoided, yet if they see you, they may pursue.

There are floors on which any power will be disabled. If you have access to magic or you are enhanced, your abilities and enhancements will be negated there, but the abilities of the monsters are not. Avoid these floors.

[god_damned]

I am capable in combat. I have faced demonic creatures, perhaps of a similar origin.

[ Kirei has the ability to enhance his own body, if need be, but he does not specify that -- especially since it appears that his magic will be irrelevant on certain levels. He is certain his experience will serve him well without his magic, but it sounds as if these monsters may be too formidable.

He accepts the advice with an appreciative nod. ]

Have many fell to these monsters?

[pinnaculum]

[Sephiroth nods, believing Kirei's words.] My world also has monsters.

Yes, many have died. I have also died, but the dead are revived here. If our bodies are killed, our souls are placed in replacement vessels.

[Sephiroth glances down at his body, which looks quite human and normal to him, as it should be--although he knows it isn't. He feels it is his duty to explain this. It is better to understand, to know.]

What you see around you is an illusion. Few things here are real. The monsters are, but our actual bodies are not with us. The bodies we are in are in fact constructs built to house our souls. Artificial. Robotic in appearance. When they are too badly injured, we are gathered up, and our souls are put in new bodies. Even our abilities are illusions that can be turned off as the administrators will.

[god_damned]

Yes, I have been told. [ Although the reminder does still feel chilling. It does not seem 'real' to imagine this yet. ]

Then do you still fear death, if you are aware that you will return, rebuilt?

[ The concept is still difficult for Kirei to imagine. ]

[pinnaculum]

Most people here contribute to the dissemination of information.

[Sephiroth says this with approval, then takes in the question, unblinking.]

I did not fear death before this.

[He says this without boasting. It's only a fact. Why should he, a superior human, fear death? He did not require the evolutionary adaptation of fear. It did not enhance his abilities, so for him, it served no purpose. Whether he was born without fear or conditioned not to feel it, it doesn't matter.]

I believe many still fear it, as pain and trauma are not dampened and may be amplified.

[He doesn't speak for himself where the fear is concerned, but that's the impression he's gotten.]

[god_damned]

I see. [ Likewise, Kirei himself has no real fear of death. After all, he had made the decision to end his own life once. He was ready to face the end by his own hands... however, it had not progressed that way. ]

They would be right to fear it. [ Kirei can recognize that such a reaction is more expected; more natural. This boy, like himself, is detached from that in some way. Is it due to the manner of his creation? ]

What makes you unafraid?

[pinnaculum]

Fear is an adaptation I have no use for. I do not require emotions. They serve me no purpose. My senses cannot be further heightened.

[Fear responses promote survival, but Sephiroth does not need them. He has developed beyond the use for them.]

I am my world's ideal warrior.

Do you feel fear? [He asks the question simply and frankly: a child's curiosity.]

[god_damned]

[ An ideal warrior. Kirei wonders what that entails. As an Executor, Kirei was considered ideal. He was rewarded greatly for it, but felt no accomplishment despite the many gains. He wonders if this boy feels similarly. ] Do you take pride in your title?

[ The question gives Kirei pause, and he considers his words before lowly responding. ]

Not in this place. [ Then, after a beat, he adds: ] Not as of yet.

sephiroth more like slowiroth

[pinnaculum]

I am confident in my abilities. I know I am superior. Is that pride?

[What he feels is a certainty that he is strong, that he is capable of facing challenges, that most others' abilities are lesser. He sees people in terms of strength and weakness. In assessing Kirei, he has decided that he could kill him, but he will make no move to do so. They are not enemies.]

You may. Our emotions can be altered. Have you felt fear in your world?

s'all good

[god_damned]

Not necessarily. Confidence is not arrogance. [ And arrogance is not strictly pride, but it ties together. ]

And no. Not particularly. I have never felt much to lose.

[ then after a moment: ] Would you tell me your name?

[pinnaculum]

I wished to know what connotation you preferred.

[He and Ryuunosuke had had a similar conversation. Ryuunosuke had considered his confidence pride.]

I am in agreement with you. If you do not have a fear response, perhaps it is not necessary for you.

[Makes sense to him. It's scientific.]

I am Sephiroth.

[No big deal, his insane dad just gave him a stupid, grandiose mystical name.]

[god_damned]

Sephiroth. [ He repeats the name, as if testing the foreign sound of it. ] Do you have no family name? None of your father?

[ But also, manners: he bows his head. ]

My name is Kirei Kotomine.

[pinnaculum]

I have no family. I do not know who my father was.

[He might have an inkling, as he's an intelligent child, but it's not something he wants to contemplate, so he does not, displaying a rare reluctance to face facts.]

I am pleased to meet you, Mr. Kotomine.

[god_damned]

[ Kirei cannot exactly return the sentiment; he feels no pleasure from this meeting... curiosity, however-- ]

Most children of your age would miss their family.

[ But Kirei never felt that way for his own father. ]

[pinnaculum]

I have never had a family.

[He never will, not really.]

My mother died when I was born, and I have no father.

[His tone is slightly firmer as he says this last.]

I had a guardian, but he would not desire me to miss him, so I will not. It would not be productive.