“So, are you not going to tell me who you are, and why you act all this mysterious? Is there a reason for that? You seem to be aware of me more than enough. It is only polite for it to be mutual.” Murai said.
“Bah!” The old man sneered. “Another nonsense that has no validation. We are in a Hell Haven. It is a place of many interests, but also quite a deep secret. It is only fitting for this to be a place of such meeting.”
“I am serious,” Murai said coldly. “Talk.”
“You are serious as a cat's purpose in life. Always changing and cunning like a predator. Chasing dreams like mice, or various rats. That isn't such a waste if you think about it, yet the true manner of honesty is like that, changing when it is fitting.”
“You... So you are a simple prick?” Murai scowled. Hearing the man talk in this manner was quite demanding in attention and thinking.
“Just a man doing his dutiful wonder. A man needs no prupose. Just an excuse. I am all here for you.”
“Why?! What are you scheming in this temple, talking to me in this manner, hanging by that chain with weird pendant, and making... something I would rather not even guess.”
The old man paused the drawing for a few moments to glance at him and his pendant. “Your development has been quite something in some layer, but so little in others. It is the age issue, I reckon...” he mumbled to himself before going back to the drawing.
Murai was fairly close to him, itching to smack that book away from him, but he hadn't done that yet. “Do you like me this much? These feathers and beak!? Wanna feel them on your head, hm? Tsch. So many people are curious until I bite back. So?”
“Bite with that beak of yours would hurt a fly. Well, not from where I am from, but it poses a nice prose. To me especially. You are the one who started talking to me, remember? I am not interested in this conversation, although I can work even in the middle of a fight, argument, or who knows what else.”
“What a whole lot of bullshit.”
“I wouldn't dare to say that. It's the same situation as with you. Are you liking to lie to yourself often? What do you eat? Are there enough growth periods? What about the Boosts this world provides? Do they grant some abnormalities? Well, I will see that for myself. Everything should be as clear as the starry sky outside of this humble hut, but you, my little friend, could be a problem of bigger proportions than a little duck can bear.”
“Hm?” Murai frowned, taking his ideas for yet another concerning warning. “This duck can live just fine. No worries, old man. I can bear whatever this duck will have to take. It doesn't concern me if it does or not. Others should be concerned!”
“Good for you.” The old man would applaud such massage if he could. “I am many things, alright? I know that from the outside or inside perspective. Many do know it as well, which is why I am here, able to talk to someone who many would kill for. You may soon get this too.”
“Agreed. Was a fiend, hater, or killer. Bunch of things, really. A murderer too, even. But not a liar.”
“Subjective facts surrounding oneself are often exaggerated. It is your opinion of the truth, which might be wrong as it is subjective in the outer perspective. You are many things; were too. Many people and beings hold their truth deep down in their hearts, while often forgetting about them when they need it. Few see through it, but it all makes the world lovely and complicated. They could even view you in that light that is as undeniable as a lie, or trust you without a shred of hesitation. There is nothing wrong with that.”
“Why would... That... matter? ” Murai thought of it further, but couldn't see why he talked about this in this way. “Alright. That does sound good. Truthful, almost. Rightful too.”
“Precisely. Think about this in the future. You may like the change of pace. Or hate it. Feel free to do either, as one is always the boss of their inner heart, I presume.”
“Hmph! you bet I am. You speak as if you are your own boss yourself. It reeks out of you... like problems and wonders out of your pendant... Seriously, what is that? I thought I knew, but now I am second-guessing myself. I don't like it.” He lied as he couldn't see through it at all.
“Who says something about a boss, huh?” The old man pinched his pendant, thinking that what Murai said was interesting and funny.
“My guess. What? Is that bad?”
“That is a wonder that better remains unspoken. You don't need to know it. This thing has been with me like life has been with you. Unquestionable. It is no different from a lie or truth. See? It's a matter of perspective, while the truth it holds means nothing to you. Only to me.” He argued, let go of the pendant, and pushed himself to the other side of the table.
There, he folded many kinds of pieces of leather and fabric, spreading them around the table all the way to Murai.
“Now... this will be important,” he said. “Which ones?”
However, Murai never let his gaze from the old man's face or that pendant. These pieces of material weren't there for his eyes. He was observing him because he decided to trust him, but the way this conversation went, he couldn't point out if he was exaggerating, or lying about that pendant.
How important it was, might be not for him. That much was truth, Murai felt.
But he felt like he should question him some more, get the truth out of the way, and ignore the growing urge to forget the pendant.
“Since you don't wanna answer me, what is with this hut then? Are you part of the Hell Haven, or some other demonic faction? You, a fast talker, old man, and someone who speaks more than acts?”
“Oh?” The old man seemed surprised as he caressed the layers of materials, wondering what should be best to seize or choose for his little experiment. Perhaps a pair? Folded-up layers of material often worked surprisingly well for what he was about to make. The question was, which were the best? “This old man is free as the Skies over our heads. So... that may pose as a lie. Who knows?”
“That is false... and you know it.”
“Perhaps. Lies can be on top of one another but never make a truth. Though, this old man isn't fearful of chains or a universe beyond the horizon. I am as free as you. Free to do what one wants, free to seek happiness, betrayals, love, hate, or frustration because some things are simple way too complicated, or out of hand. It has always been like this in this world, as this is my home. Not here. This temple is just a tool anyway. This room is just a hideout I helped to create, against the odds and other interventions. Thanks to that, I speak with you today.”
“How silly then. What about you in particular? Do you think this talk is meaningful? I don't.”
“Well, you and I are not much different in this matter if I dare to say so myself. Power runs supreme, like Laws that set the world ablaze, or beyond the limits of what is possible. It is a truth that can truly shatter the lies.”
Hearing his words, Murai sighed and decided to go with his flow. He started to not be that angry with him.
“You would dare to do a lot of things just for yourself? Like a fool going against the flow? Against the odds that others don't want to see? If that is true, you are a fool like me. If not, you are a fool either way, because I trust you... which makes me foolish as well.” Murai chuckled and almost began laughing.
“Precious freedom, isn't it? It sounds like a lie, but you do what is right, so those who don't like it shall just disappear into obscurity.”
“Agreed.” Murai nodded and glanced at him with fervent light in his eyes. “Fine. My head is on my shoulders, thinking and wondering, so what's up with you and me then? You keep yourself and myself attached, but that sounds wrong. Or, is it really something about the past? Future? Have we met? Is this meeting what you wanted for a long time, while all I can do is swallow it and accept it like a fool? Again, I don't like being taken advantage of.” Murai returned to the topic that constantly ate his mind.
“We may have met, but not in a fitting way. I don't find it intriguing, as facts may be different from regular meetings. It isn't fitting, as paths collide and souls flow. Now, we are here, at the time where we are present. Meeting one another.”
“That doesn't make sense... Do you always speak like this? What a charade of a character.” Murai complained.
It seemed the old man decided on the choice of leather and fabric to go beside one another, forming a single piece. One was brownish-yellow leather and the other were greenish fibers sowed together to make a fabric.
“Well, fine. These will do. Many things make sense when the time is right. You always liked being alone, right? Figuring things out on your own principles sounds better than expecting it from others. It has always been hard on you, yet it kept going as stubbornness is also part of power. It will keep us going, improving the limits. Like always. A true love and hate relationship, because it means insanity and continuous struggle against the odds. One ought to crash it all to bits, be the master of it.”
“Ru... Rudolf?!” Murai exclaimed, uttering a high-pitched quack. He recalled the exact same words from many lives ago. It was still clear because it had a tremendous impact on him back then. Alone, in a world of confusing magic, it was part of a time when he started this whole charade of many lives.
It had a huge impact on him to this day, guiding him for better tomorrows and proper limits, but where was the start? When or how it all began?
He didn't remember.
“I fear not my little friend.” The old man said without hesitation. “But you guessed and remembered the words well. Rudolf, however, is still a special case that is hard to forget. He is my ancestor. A person that this world mended and changed. Or he changed the world? I don't recall the facts. It was a long time ago. A lot of things happened in the past, similar to the further past, leading to his memories, ancestry, and power for future generations. It is an interesting legacy if I dare to say so myself. Thus, I know some things that some may find surprising. You, being that, for example, but it goes deeper than Rudolf. Much deeper... and without his knowledge. He would've loved to...”
This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.
“Wait. Wait. Wait. Wait. Wait. Don't run into the walls!” Murai quickly quacked, surprised and shocked by this development. He felt this old man wasn't lying or joking, but this was a lot to take even to his head.
Rudolf was a topic he had found only by luck in Acaman Tower. Suddenly, meeting his descendant seemed far too weird. Well, the descendant clearly met and found him instead, as he proclaimed and acknowledged it a few minutes ago.
It was a bit confusing. This old man didn't resemble him in the slightest, but perhaps the way he talked was similar. No way. Murai doubted it was a valid reason. Perhaps he was even lying about Rudolf? But he did know that quote...
Rudolf was more savage and straight to the point. Not like this. This old man had no redeeming qualities of Rudolf that he remembered. His face looked different. It was the face of a clever elder that had mischief and a lot behind him, and no likeness and harshness of a king the Rudolf dared to call himself.
It was a level of confidence that only he, calling himself Great, would force and trust it like a Law.
Murai had never seen Rudolf grow very old. Only a little, so that may be why it felt strange considering this old man was a distant relative to him.
“I am not running anywhere like Rudolf would say. See, I am already close to a finishing line, so charm your feathers and ready your eyes. I am doing it.” The old man gestured to the content of the table, pointing to the pile of stuff and research that needed assembling and careful finishing touches. “Since we got the Rudolf topic for the start, let's take the voice somewhere else.”
By this time, the old man changed his position at the table again, towering over a pile of choices and his work, right beside Murai, who was standing like a frozen duck statue.
The old man began his masterpiece with a long shiny needle in one hand and a glowing sphere of knotted threads in the other. His hands flashed and moved, right when Murai was lost in words and memories this old man initiated.
Little by little, the sphere was getting smaller, the needle pierced the layers of fabric and leather, pieces of thin metal, or some plates. He often changed his hand to a knife that cut the pieces of leather and fabric into smaller portions, while heat and mana moved under some weird glove he took from nowhere.
He moved well, like the threads that connected the pieces and layers, while mana, materials, and runes fused. Or had the green fabrics done so by itself? They did seem to eat the threads, runes, and that yellowish leather like nothing, although the greenish fabric was losing in color and edge.
Like talking and working, his pace of knitting was incredibly quick. Assembling his pieces was no different. He worked over the knitting and runesmithing, creating layers with a precise style that seemed to combine on their own.
Murai had no idea what he was making, but it was some attire if he dared to guess. Murai took a single glance at his hands, but he soon returned to his face or hanging pendant. He was more or less disinterested in what was happening down below or around him.
He had other wonders because many things needed answers. So he asked. “What is this meeting? Is this a predetermined meeting between me and you? Is Rudolf somewhere? Anywhere? What is his legacy or time in this world?”
“Right. Rudolf was many things, as you may know, little friend. Thus, I fear it's not something clever like reading Fate, I fear. Your situation is more unique, far detached from the Fates of my late ancestor. Though, his reputation still growls old, not weaker than legacies of others.”
“So, is he dead? Shame.”
“Shame indeed, but that is what time gets and takes. This world is intense in that idea, although some could take age and time differently. It is hard to tame and impossible to see the heights of it. Few manage to outgrow it, with most growing into it, mending to its rules. Like an addiction, it is wonderful but hideous. That is what this world is like. Though, living is always a fleeting thing. One mistake and it can be gone forever.”
“He used to mention it like that. Dead is the End. Gone. Finish line. Life is precious.” Murai speculated in melancholy.
“Of course. It is a truth of his teachings that goes on for many generations. I spent decades under such teachings, albeit some take it better than others. And as descendants go—I must say—I am not taking the smaller kind of branch out of the bunch. Calling myself the most prominent figure of his past regime isn't an exaggeration, but... I think I am getting ahead of myself. Let's talk about you. I am not that interesting.”
“You do... and are. So, I am all ears to hear all about it. Got time?” Murai's eyes glowed in excitement and hope to hear more about Rudolf and what he had done in this world.
“Are you sure to hear that? I have my suspicions that you've come into contact with one of his belongings. Tome? A log of his life? Ancestry and legacy materials are hard to find. Many are still around the world, scattered because he didn't follow the family. He wanted to challenge it. His intent is powerful, hiding so deep that few folks would recognize it.”
“Uh... He did... what? What has he done? I don't even recognize or feel a thing. What do you mean?” Murai frowned, thinking of the moment in the past when he wielded Rudolf's Tome. He opened it relatively well for his level and power, but it wasn't that difficult because he knew what kind of shit he would create.
Heavenly Shaping was more insane in this case, while its use was probably better for him. Whatever it was, that Rudolf left in that stolen tome, it shouldn't shatter Murai's limits.
But again, he hadn't gotten much time with it either. He barely read through some of its chapters before Razmund stole it from him.
Murai had plenty of teachings that Rudolf gave and pierced into him anyway, so it wasn't all that important to him after all. What was important was the information he left there about this world.
“Hm. Perhaps he hasn't done much to you. I don't know about you and him either, nor the tome you've found. Not important, I suppose, but that tome is different. Its legacy is deep and great just like his title. Just think of the ever-changing, yet fateful destiny that is between all of that. You and him had a history together, yet both of you arrived into this fascinating world millennia apart. It is fascinating, isn't it? Ages can pass, yet the past can connect with the future's present. I can't fathom it enough even at my age.”
“I think it's not as difficult to comprehend it. It's like strands of the river. At some point, they may become connected after being separated for a long time.”
“Oh?” The old man momentarily stopped moving his hands, pinched his pendant, and glanced at Murai for the second time.
“A river, huh? That is a fascinating vision that I never thought of. It adds perspective to more things than I assumed, similar to the flow of time, Fate, and various other things. Runes works similar, as old and ancient as they are.” Then he went back to work, leaving Murai wondering if he never thought of it in this way.
It wasn't even that difficult to fathom the myriad of changes like a river. The future and the concept of time were quite deep and unchanging in their structure. It should be less of an issue to be confused with, as time was set into the flow of the universe. Focused and unchanging, it was clear even if it was often very confusing or weird.
Hence, Murai decided to continue talking but with a much stronger voice than before. After fully appreciating this old man's words, and all thanks to Rudolf, he figured out where to start.
Meeting his ancestor in this matter was an interesting time for him. So much so, that any breaks and hestition in him became loose.
Interest in history, legacy, and time were all up to this world. Who else but his descendant would answer it better? Whatever Rudolf did, or what he accomplished in the past were all things that Murai wanted to know.
So he let his beak open and talked without breaks. He asked many things, but the old man—whose name was yet to be told—never budged more than he wanted. Sometimes he answered like Murai wanted and other times vaguely, but Murai never became angry with him.
He kept talking at a fast pace without ever stopping working on things under his hands. Minutes became minutes, and then 10 minutes passed into the 20th minute since Murai arrived here.
“What about his family? You are his ancestor, so I presume he had a wife? What about other children? Is his legacy or family important, fused together and part of yourself?” Murai asked, insisting on knowing more about Rudolf's legacy, family, or what he accomplished. The old man mentioned fewer things about that for some reason as if hesitation or afraid to talk about it.
For the past 20 minutes, he at least mentioned basics without releasing what Murai wanted.
Legacy was up to his ideas, but the old man did mention more things about his accomplishments and history thousands of years ago, rather than his setting or politics. Murai liked it. If Rudolf hadn't changed in this world, it sounded like him.
“Family, huh?” The old man slightly furrowed his brows, looking at the table with a deep gaze as his hands slowed down. “You ask a deep thing, for someone who never considers families to be somewhat important. I wonder how you manage this. In this life too... I suppose I get it. You don't want it.
“It isn't as if I want it. They are usually bothersome. Not worthy caring for.”
“Uhm... That is a rather unique idea. As I've said, such things as Bloodlines and families are a complicated problem. He was a weirdo, like many under his later lineage. I am the same, but... in new twisted layers that he would find funny or insane. Shame he can't see that.” he chuckled lightly before continuing.
“I wonder what he would think sometimes, but when the core of a family had such a nasty fella, it was probably like you would think. He was never the kind of guy to live things down. He was intense, mended the family, and turned many politics aside. He cherished freedom, but he was born into a family already possessing that idea. So it got more intense and fierce, as this world takes such ideas to a new degree, rather than a new leaf. Gods are rampant here, or so under his head. He challenged that idea that was never meant to end well. It was always fighting, coming to terms with new systems and power, while cherishing what he had or would have. Politics was that, or how power flows. He was a huge pillar in that past, but that may be long forgotten now.”
“Forgotten? If it was long ago... I can see why. Were the Gods involved in his death?”
“Gods? Oh, it's like that always... Lofty people can't live with other lofty people, but I do not know the precise details of it. It is about pride, you see. I know all about it on a new page since I live in an age quite separate from him. It is because many years passed and his legacy or memories are no longer much to regard with. By the general public or powers, of course, few know about him. Some still take historical figures for something great. Like Pillage that you've mentioned a while ago. He was a beast older than Rudolf, whose tomes are left out, cherished, or forgotten but never destroyed. Many did find them, toss them aside, or learn from them, cycling his interest as he wished. In this sense, Rudolf was like Pillage.”
“Sounds like Rudolf indeed,” Murai added.
“Just so you know, the family changed with the political aspects of this world. After his death, changes came. Most powerhouses end like this because this world has constant shifts and lives. His home changed as he ended up as Blessed, so his reputation holds over the present like a charming blessing. Many of his descendants still occupy a fortress in the Battleworld. Though... in terms of the further past...” The old man visibly strained his face, deepening his wrinkles and lowering his voice. “There is one son of his still alive. A problematic fella. A taker of his Path, to say the least. He isn't a troublemaker, but someone who cracked his head over his legacy that is still alive.”
“That sounds... like no problem of mine, but why do you sound like this? It was long ago, so is that a problem for you? Are you like.. patriarch to his family? What about their name? Yours?”
The old man didn't answer every one of his wonders but continued. “It is just thin worry that passes no worries onto my family. It doesn't matter, in a sense, but I feel you wouldn't like this.”
“Why?”
“He killed Rudolf. His son...”
“Oh? Sounds normal to me but... A family, huh? Rudolf probably died laughing in this case.” Murai chuckled which the old man took with some surprise before going back to work with more speed.
“Take that with what you want. I fear that all regards to his family are complications like mine. It all became a bit hard to express. Probably because his Bloodline and mind were so unorthodox. I don't mind it. It is just intensity that holds some truths and confidence. His son was like him too and his Fate may be entangled with yours.”
“Why? Does that son of his has some problems with him or me? Wait, why? Wait, how long ago was Rudolf's reign in power? If his son is still alive, does that mean...”
“He is a God. It happened quite a few millennia ago, my little friend, which I mentioned, haven't I?” He frowned as if uncertain about whether he even mentioned it to Murai or not.
He didn't mention anything about years or how long ago it all happened. He talked more about specific stories, rather than key points.