[ xie lian, immortal god and scrap collector, is usually fairly good about keeping up with text messages. since being equipped with the PHS, he's tried to use it fairly frequently to reach out to different people from the Realm - often with silly grandpa advice, or blurry pictures of whatever's going on with his day (no one said he was ever good at it). despite all of the chaos in his own life, he reaches out once a week, to as many people as he can. and, though he doesn't always get responses back, xie lian is consistent.
however, there's a while (years and years and years) down the road when a month passes between messages. and then a week, and then another week. no blurry pictures, no weird life advice, nothing.
and that is because he is injured - and badly so.
though xie lian's not particularly killable, whatever got him this time around was really, really powerful. it ate away at his golden core, still functioning centuries and centuries later, leaving his presence in the world (in his own realm and outside of it) particularly faint, barely a blip instead of the usual strength of who has now become arguably the strongest god in his realm.
[he does not care to hear from xie lian, and he holds to that any time it is mentioned.
it isn't as if he considered them friends, after all, upon leaving the realm. xie lian is simply... a constant. consistent. emet-selch has deigned to see him in person some few times since their departure, if for no other reason than he is certain it will happen whether he likes it or not (or so he claims); he knows the nature and color of xie lian's soul, knows how to seek him out.
not that he wants to. the quiet is welcome, he insists. he doesn't mind the lack of communication at all.
but as the weeks pass with nothing...
emet-selch does wonder. xie lian should be nigh impossible to be rid of, and yet it seems he is somehow silenced-- and if it is only something holding his attention, it's taking far too long for him to handle it. that's all. that's the only reason he bothers to travel to that world, to begin to seek his soul.
it should be so much easier than it is, which is concerning in itself. that presence should not be so hard to locate. so when he finally does hone in on that faint little blip of it, he pursues it immediately-- not out of worry. never that. nothing personal, at the least. simply concern for what on earth could be happening to affect him so.
and that's how, wherever he is, whatever state he is currently in, xie lian will suddenly hear:]
There you are.
[as emet-selch materializes in a short burst of shadowy magic, arms folded, eyes narrowed.]
And just what in the worlds has happened here-- do you know what trouble it was just to find you? What have you done this time?
[ since being freed of his cursed shackles, xie lian's spiritual energy has been almost boundless. there was a reason why the heavenly emperor had snapped him up all of those years ago (well, there were several reasons), and his awesome strength was one of them. now that the wall holding them back was broken, he was more or less capable of wielding a limitless well of energy, that meant even the most dangerous of demons and ghosts and what have you meant nothing in his stead.
...until once, they didn't.
so, it went like this. a world ending calamity - this time, not just a zhongguo ending, but a truly world ending calamity rose out of the ashes of a different nation and xie lian went to protect his homeland with everything he had. the humans here look to him now as the heavenly emperor, now that jun wu has been banished, and it is his duty, to save the world, and so, he has. a fight that was so legendary it was being said by the humans that it could have put new constellations in the sky, it raged on for days. he poured everything he had into fighting with it, into protecting the people of his home, until, as it turned out, he could find the bottom of the spiritual energy well after all. whatever weapon this ghost that i'm making up stabbed him with struck his core, and fragmented, it has started to put itself together again.
...the body that contains that core, however, has certainly seen better days.
xie lian is covered in dried blood and injuries, as his body focuses all of its energy on repairing its golden core. he looks so small, here, curled up on the bedroll in puji shrine, instead of in one of the temples to the crown prince of xian le, instead of in the heavens, still dressed in his ratty white-now-mostly-crimson robes, his hat off to the side.
the presence of someone else stirs him out of the drift of his meditation, trying to keep his consciousness anchored to his barely functioning soul. xie lian's eyes flutter half open, dark brown strange in his too pale cheeks, and he turns his head, brow just briefly furrowing. ]
...Emet-Selch?
[ what is he... doing here?
xie lian tries to focus. he holds himself still, but finds he can't really move as much as he'd like - even still, he is stubborn. he shifts on a barely functioning arm to try and push himself up, and...
the first thing xie lian does, like the stubborn idiot he is, is put on a smile, aiming for reassuring. when he speaks, he tries to regain some of his usual warmth; still, his voice is softer than ever, the mellow tone of normal almost faint. ] ...Is this where I tell you... that your timing is poor?
You-- stop moving, have I ever told you how foolish a god you are?
[many times, undoubtedly. he huffs out a breath as he reaches out to push xie lian back down, though not too forcefully. stubborn. so, so stubborn, even like this.]
Of all the times that I could have chosen to come, I should think this is not a poor one... but I do not know that even I may do much about your condition.
[while he could understand it if xie lian had wished to be alone for this, not to be seen like this... the fact of his state remains, and it would not do for him to be lying here on his own with it going completely unknown if anything were to go wrong.]
he goes with the push when it's given, though. honestly, xie lian's not really strong enough to fight it right now, so he can't be stubborn in much but his words, and the persistently calm expression on his face, despite the fact that he is, really, in an agonizing amount of pain. xie lian does lift a hand, though, as if to wave off the notion of emet doing anything. ]
...It will heal, eventually. [ it always does. ] I have been reduced to less...and survived worse. There's no need for anything to be done... just time.
[
....he thinks?
he's never had his soul damaged before. this is a new one!
anyway. there's a pause. his eyes open again from the smile, a little softer, now, wryness in his words. ] ...You will always find something to call me foolish for, one way or another... Even with no explanation, already...? Haha...
I most certainly will, for you have shown no signs of growing less foolish with time. I have utmost faith in your ability to continue giving me headaches like few others have ever been capable of.
[god of migraines, as far as emet-selch is concerned. truly impossible.
and yet here he still is, dealing with xie lian once again.]
You are aware that you speak not only of your body, but your very soul? How certain are you that it will repair itself-- in all the time you have remained silent, it still appears that it barely holds.
[will it heal fast enough, is the question, if it will indeed heal at all.]
[ that comes with a huff of a laugh, xie lian's mouth lifting at the corners, as he turns his head back straight again and closes his eyes. even like this, his good humor never seems to really fade.
...the amusement disappears from his expression, though, more serious, and xie lian takes another deep breath, feels the way it rattles his bones. inhale, exhale. ]
... When I... the last time I was grievously injured physically. To the point of what should have been no return. [ when he was a pile of completely unrecognizable blood and flesh on his own altar, one hundred killing blows later. emet would know, if he can remember their shared memories, from centuries past. ] ...It took a week for my body to properly heal itself back to where I could even stand. There was no injury to my core.
This... will take longer. [ no shit?
he reaches up to touch over his heart, his movements slow. ] ...But my heart is beating, and I can feel my core still. It is knitting itself back together.
...Besides, I can speak, right now. And I can move some, too. That is an improvement over last month.
Only a week, and now you have gone a month, perhaps two-- still in this pitiful state.
[his mouth thins into a line as he frowns, looking xie lian over; looking through him, almost, as he takes a closer look at the state of his soul.]
Just what do you intend to do, Xie Lian? Lie here for the better part of a year-- several years, perhaps, and simply wait? All anyone would need to do is strike at you once more while you are in this condition to undo the progress you have made.
The Heavens don't need me. I spend most of my time in the mortal realm anyway, heavenly emperor or not. I don't need to be at my full strength, either... just enough to be perceived as strong, and then I'll be fine. In order to strike at me to wound me... they would have to hit me, first.
[ so
yeah! that's his exact plan. he has enough protection in puji that he can just lick his wounds for a couple months. he'll be fine!
as for what happened...
xie lian's quiet for a moment, taking a few steady breaths to keep himself anchored to reality as he dips into his memories of before his body started healing itself.
the strongest, clearest memory is the fevered prayers of his believers, calling for the heavenly emperor to protect them. to keep them safe.
this time, xie lian refused to fail. ] ...A creature of a great magnitude attacked the world of the mortal realm with the intent of destroying it. Not just here - but outside of Zhongguo, to the entire planet itself. I preempted it to protect the humans of this world...and fought with it until I was able to eliminate it from existence before it harmed anyone else.
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however, there's a while (years and years and years) down the road when a month passes between messages. and then a week, and then another week. no blurry pictures, no weird life advice, nothing.
and that is because he is injured - and badly so.
though xie lian's not particularly killable, whatever got him this time around was really, really powerful. it ate away at his golden core, still functioning centuries and centuries later, leaving his presence in the world (in his own realm and outside of it) particularly faint, barely a blip instead of the usual strength of who has now become arguably the strongest god in his realm.
it's fine, though! he's fine.
probably? ]
no subject
it isn't as if he considered them friends, after all, upon leaving the realm. xie lian is simply... a constant. consistent. emet-selch has deigned to see him in person some few times since their departure, if for no other reason than he is certain it will happen whether he likes it or not (or so he claims); he knows the nature and color of xie lian's soul, knows how to seek him out.
not that he wants to. the quiet is welcome, he insists. he doesn't mind the lack of communication at all.
but as the weeks pass with nothing...
emet-selch does wonder. xie lian should be nigh impossible to be rid of, and yet it seems he is somehow silenced-- and if it is only something holding his attention, it's taking far too long for him to handle it. that's all. that's the only reason he bothers to travel to that world, to begin to seek his soul.
it should be so much easier than it is, which is concerning in itself. that presence should not be so hard to locate. so when he finally does hone in on that faint little blip of it, he pursues it immediately-- not out of worry. never that. nothing personal, at the least. simply concern for what on earth could be happening to affect him so.
and that's how, wherever he is, whatever state he is currently in, xie lian will suddenly hear:]
There you are.
[as emet-selch materializes in a short burst of shadowy magic, arms folded, eyes narrowed.]
And just what in the worlds has happened here-- do you know what trouble it was just to find you? What have you done this time?
no subject
...until once, they didn't.
so, it went like this. a world ending calamity - this time, not just a zhongguo ending, but a truly world ending calamity rose out of the ashes of a different nation and xie lian went to protect his homeland with everything he had. the humans here look to him now as the heavenly emperor, now that jun wu has been banished, and it is his duty, to save the world, and so, he has. a fight that was so legendary it was being said by the humans that it could have put new constellations in the sky, it raged on for days. he poured everything he had into fighting with it, into protecting the people of his home, until, as it turned out, he could find the bottom of the spiritual energy well after all. whatever weapon this ghost that i'm making up stabbed him with struck his core, and fragmented, it has started to put itself together again.
...the body that contains that core, however, has certainly seen better days.
xie lian is covered in dried blood and injuries, as his body focuses all of its energy on repairing its golden core. he looks so small, here, curled up on the bedroll in puji shrine, instead of in one of the temples to the crown prince of xian le, instead of in the heavens, still dressed in his ratty white-now-mostly-crimson robes, his hat off to the side.
the presence of someone else stirs him out of the drift of his meditation, trying to keep his consciousness anchored to his barely functioning soul. xie lian's eyes flutter half open, dark brown strange in his too pale cheeks, and he turns his head, brow just briefly furrowing. ]
...Emet-Selch?
[ what is he... doing here?
xie lian tries to focus. he holds himself still, but finds he can't really move as much as he'd like - even still, he is stubborn. he shifts on a barely functioning arm to try and push himself up, and...
the first thing xie lian does, like the stubborn idiot he is, is put on a smile, aiming for reassuring. when he speaks, he tries to regain some of his usual warmth; still, his voice is softer than ever, the mellow tone of normal almost faint. ] ...Is this where I tell you... that your timing is poor?
[ everything's fine! see! look at him smiling!
(it is not fine.) ]
no subject
[many times, undoubtedly. he huffs out a breath as he reaches out to push xie lian back down, though not too forcefully. stubborn. so, so stubborn, even like this.]
Of all the times that I could have chosen to come, I should think this is not a poor one... but I do not know that even I may do much about your condition.
[while he could understand it if xie lian had wished to be alone for this, not to be seen like this... the fact of his state remains, and it would not do for him to be lying here on his own with it going completely unknown if anything were to go wrong.]
no subject
he goes with the push when it's given, though. honestly, xie lian's not really strong enough to fight it right now, so he can't be stubborn in much but his words, and the persistently calm expression on his face, despite the fact that he is, really, in an agonizing amount of pain. xie lian does lift a hand, though, as if to wave off the notion of emet doing anything. ]
...It will heal, eventually. [ it always does. ] I have been reduced to less...and survived worse. There's no need for anything to be done... just time.
[
....he thinks?
he's never had his soul damaged before. this is a new one!
anyway. there's a pause. his eyes open again from the smile, a little softer, now, wryness in his words. ] ...You will always find something to call me foolish for, one way or another... Even with no explanation, already...? Haha...
no subject
[god of migraines, as far as emet-selch is concerned. truly impossible.
and yet here he still is, dealing with xie lian once again.]
You are aware that you speak not only of your body, but your very soul? How certain are you that it will repair itself-- in all the time you have remained silent, it still appears that it barely holds.
[will it heal fast enough, is the question, if it will indeed heal at all.]
no subject
[ that comes with a huff of a laugh, xie lian's mouth lifting at the corners, as he turns his head back straight again and closes his eyes. even like this, his good humor never seems to really fade.
...the amusement disappears from his expression, though, more serious, and xie lian takes another deep breath, feels the way it rattles his bones. inhale, exhale. ]
... When I... the last time I was grievously injured physically. To the point of what should have been no return. [ when he was a pile of completely unrecognizable blood and flesh on his own altar, one hundred killing blows later. emet would know, if he can remember their shared memories, from centuries past. ] ...It took a week for my body to properly heal itself back to where I could even stand. There was no injury to my core.
This... will take longer. [ no shit?
he reaches up to touch over his heart, his movements slow. ] ...But my heart is beating, and I can feel my core still. It is knitting itself back together.
...Besides, I can speak, right now. And I can move some, too. That is an improvement over last month.
[ yikes! ]
no subject
[his mouth thins into a line as he frowns, looking xie lian over; looking through him, almost, as he takes a closer look at the state of his soul.]
Just what do you intend to do, Xie Lian? Lie here for the better part of a year-- several years, perhaps, and simply wait? All anyone would need to do is strike at you once more while you are in this condition to undo the progress you have made.
How did this come to be?
no subject
[ so
yeah! that's his exact plan. he has enough protection in puji that he can just lick his wounds for a couple months. he'll be fine!
as for what happened...
xie lian's quiet for a moment, taking a few steady breaths to keep himself anchored to reality as he dips into his memories of before his body started healing itself.
the strongest, clearest memory is the fevered prayers of his believers, calling for the heavenly emperor to protect them. to keep them safe.
this time, xie lian refused to fail. ] ...A creature of a great magnitude attacked the world of the mortal realm with the intent of destroying it. Not just here - but outside of Zhongguo, to the entire planet itself. I preempted it to protect the humans of this world...and fought with it until I was able to eliminate it from existence before it harmed anyone else.
I would have sooner died than let it succeed.