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Tropical Soda
9c1ef3
Trying something new here, hopefully the update is more readable this way.
>>983591
"So... What sort of war is this?"
It's a little difficult to explain to someone who isn't a Manifestation. That is, an elemental being of power, a... sort of condensed lump of belief in something. There's many of us. I am Justice. My rival, or rather, the enemy overall, is Villainy. Remember, not evil, Villainy. The distinction is important. Evil is too powerful to bother with our affairs. But Villainy is petty. He started all of this. So very very long ago, he murdered one of our number. Killed them utterly, erasing them. No matter what side you're on, that's... That is taboo. It hurts reality. Myself and most of the other Manifestations at the time took issue with it, but Manifestations usually cannot interact directly.
"Which is why the murder was so foul. It was supposed to be impossible."
Exactly. Among other reasons that are difficult to explain. So we took champions to right the wrong, and we clashed with Villainy's side and his champions. We were not victorious. Beaten and broken, he found one among us and changed them. I don't even remember their name or which one was changed, no one does. When Villainy did these things - the murder, the conversion - it was like removing a thread from a tapestry and burning it, or dying it. They were just...
Gone. The manifestation and a chunk of what it represented.
Eavan stopped in her tracks, staring dead ahead. "S-so... If you die..."
Wanton murder, the rise of dictators en masse, horrible things done and never corrected, even worse than now. I'm aware of the state of things, yes. But trust me when I say that Villainy would be happy to see them get worse. It empowers him and his, after all. Take Addiction. If the world is going to hell in a handbasket, are you really going to give up your creature comforts?
Something about the question strikes at Eavan deep, and she shakes her head. Of course not. "What about us? What happens when we weaken Villainy?"
It's not an exact opposite, but people will be less selfish, more orderly, things like that. Killing him isn't possible, but defeating his champion will do something similar, if weaker. Besides, leaving him to his devices is... bad. He has fermented wars before.
"Wait, plural?"
Before you ask, he wasn't the man with the bad haircut and tiny stache. Some doctor, I think? One of the other Manifestations chose little man with the big voice as his champion. It was his type.
>>983677
By now Eavan is nearing her home - a trailer lined up with others in a park. Her father, beloved but dealing with an addiction of his own, as well as the consequences of it, in prison. Mother, deceased. She works and goes to school, and visits him when she can. Not a terribly good cook, her house is full of boxes of powders and pasta, the fridge with ground beef, eggs, cheese and milk, and not much else. A loaf of bread sits on the counter, lonely. She sets to cleaning, a short task given the small space.
"So what's the catch, for me? Amazing cosmic powers, great abilities, a body I only dream of... But what's the hook here?"
Oh, we Manifestations can't kill each other. But, uh. We can always kill the champions our foes choose. Or at least, Villainy's boys can. We don't do that sort of thing, generally. Just drive out the Manifestation. We're very hard to kill. Conversely, without my protection, well... You're quite fragile. All things considered.
"And... You can't heal me, or anything?"
Oh, any Manifestation can keep a body and mind going far longer than they should. But that's just forcing things to pump and move. Healing is a rare power among Champions, if it ever comes up at all.
"So, in exchange for these powers, excitement, and peak human athleticism, I get the possibility of being murdered, maimed, and broken."
Precisely!
>Can I talk to anyone about this?
>Are there other champions out there right now?
>What Manifestations should I worry about?
>Something else (Write in)
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