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Post by The Merry Lambfish on Aug 31, 2014 21:56:37 GMT -5
(OCC: Ninja)
But suddenly he was stopped. His hammer, arm, and body froze in mid-strike, as though an invisible, skintight wall had formed around him. Strangely, he became to feel calmness seep into his mind, for now temporarily easing the reptile's wrath. A soft voice, a voice beyond the barriers of language, spoke to him in his mind, for him and only him to hear. "There will be no need for more violence, Yimak."
The bodiless voice soon made its presence clear to the fallen End of Life."Those who run this false world have long dealt with beings like yourself, Malice." The voice reached no ears. Instead it was heard deep in his very mind, hushed as a whisper and yet powerful enough to shake his subconscious, neither male nor female, yet both at once. "Many destroyers before you have walked these halls, fought and struggled in the arenas, and yet most have succeed only in the destruction of their own pride. It would not be wise to test your mortality."
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Post by yaburu on Sept 1, 2014 13:14:17 GMT -5
"I'll take that under consideration." Malice growls as he picks himself up from the ground. "Very well. If pain and suffering is all I can cause, for the time being at least, then I will make do with that. And this creature will be my herald to the world of the agony that awaits all who stand against me. Unless.... YOU wish to show yourself, oh disembodied voice."
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Post by Fainis the Sadistic Pansexual on Sept 1, 2014 15:35:08 GMT -5
Kedos folded his brow. Was the great chimera mad? He heard no voice, yet the titanic creature of darkness spoke as if in response to one.
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Hyperlulz
Full Member
Lord and Master of... Pretty much nothing.
Posts: 231
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Post by Hyperlulz on Sept 1, 2014 20:50:01 GMT -5
Yimak let out a whimper of confusion. Though He was calmed by the influence of the mysterious voice. The sudden loss of movement was unnerving. He looked at Kedos and let out a question roar. Thinking He was the one responsible.
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Post by Fainis the Sadistic Pansexual on Sept 2, 2014 3:39:48 GMT -5
Kedos raised his lip at Yimak before spitting a warning at the unstable brute. "Avert your eyes, beast. I am in no mood to play."
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Post by yaburu on Sept 5, 2014 1:22:38 GMT -5
Malice sensed the arrival of yet another creature. This was four presences he felt now, and it was getting annoying. He longed to hear all of them screaming in pain, begging him to allow death to embrace them.
"Enough! I have tolerated this too long. I am responsible for the destruction of thousands of worlds. Trillions have died by my will. I have been weakened, but I am still Lord Malice. And I will fulfill my purpose. One of you, two of you, all of you, it matters not. I will crush you all."
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Post by Vatarian on Sept 5, 2014 1:32:17 GMT -5
"Will you? Why? Are you truly confined to a singular purpose? Poor dear. Like a simple machine. One function, that's it. I almost pity you...."
Cheshire goads the monster with the truth.
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Post by The Merry Lambfish on Sept 5, 2014 2:28:34 GMT -5
The unseen being that had spoken to Lord Malice and Yimak remained silent, both through the mind and though sound. Whoever it was, it had no reason, at this time, to speak its mind.
Yimak felt the invisible barrier surrounding his body fade. He could move freely.
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Post by Fainis the Sadistic Pansexual on Sept 5, 2014 2:31:52 GMT -5
Kedos glared up at Cheshire. The prickly scales that covered his body stood on end, making him seem larger as he swelled up with air and indignity.
"A machine? Made by purpose? How wrong you are," growled the dragon, his tail flicking irritably. Air whistled hauntingly through his flared denticles as the scarred paddle cracked the air. "Purpose, real purpose, is what defines life. It is what separates us from the mechanical, not makes us alike. Machines are not filled with purpose, they are filled with lies- feeble illusions of purpose put there by the filth that made them. It is a pale imitation of true ambition. A pale imitation of life."
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Post by The Merry Lambfish on Sept 5, 2014 19:01:56 GMT -5
Only now did the unseen presence speak, and this time its silent voice could be heard in the minds of all present, taking Kedos and Cheshire both by surprise.
"I'm afraid your claims are inaccurate, Cheshire. There is one thing separating life from its artificial imitator, and that is the very force that dwells within all living things, a force that even the most advanced machine cannot hope to replicate. A soul. Every living being, regardless of species or morals, regardless of biology and molecular makeup, carries with it an ethereal soul, something that cannot be seen, of felt, but exists none-the-less."
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Post by yaburu on Sept 5, 2014 22:24:45 GMT -5
The strange cat-like creature's words stirred a thought in Lord Malice. He'd always known he'd never had a soul. But that was before he was brought to this universe. As the cat had mentioned, sometimes there are beings created. He was one of them, created so long ago not even he remembered his birth. His lifeforce and power were tethered directly to his dimension. Without his universe to sustain his lifeforce...how was he then still alive?
As the cat switched it's voice to a feminine one, Malice stood with a contemplative look on his face, for the first time since he'd arrived not concerning himself with causing death and destruction.
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Post by The Merry Lambfish on Sept 6, 2014 2:27:39 GMT -5
"Not energy, Cheshire. A true soul is neither energy nor matter. A true soul cannot be built by another being. A soul is born. It is brought into existence with each spark of life through the natural aethereal forces that bind the universe together. A real soul cannot be replicated any other way, only mimicked. Perhaps it is a near-perfect mimic, flawless in nearly all observable ways, but without that natural spark of life it will never be truly alive. But of course, Cheshire, you wish to see evidence."
The cat felt something tug him, though his body never moved an inch. The world changed before his eyes as he floated uncontrollably upwards. Everything seemed distant, faint, as he was in a dream. He heard someone speak, their voice muffled and echoed. Whether it was Kedos or Lord Malice, he couldn't tell. As his eyes adjusted he noticed the thick surrounding fog billowing like a stormy cloud, swallowing up everything in sight, stretching on indefinitely. It was a fog that seemed to alternate between an impenetrable black and a gleaming silver, as if the two shades were fighting an eternal struggle for dominance.
"Welcome to the Astral Plane, Cheshire," the voice spoke, unseen as ever. This time it was a speech reserved only for Cheshire's ears. "The home of spirits, ethereal forces, and the subconscious mind, impossible for a body of matter or energy to enter. Gaze upon the others, and you will see the truth."
It was hard not to look, as even through the dense clouds Kedos, Yimak, and even Lord Malice had illuminated like lightbulbs.
"What you see is the essence of their being. A soul means many things to many people. Lord Malice, by his definition, lacks such a soul. And going by his definition, he is entirely right. You, Cheshire, believe a soul contains the personality and energy of a being, something Lord Malice's moral decisions would have no effect on. One could say both of you are correct."
Cheshire began to see figures stirring within the depths of the fog, spirits perhaps? The voice continued on.
"What I define a soul is what you may call a life force. It's not energy, though it can with training and the proper biology be used similarly. In simple words, it's what allows consciousness to emerge from the physical activity of the brain. It is what allows you to feel, to dream. A brain may control the body, but this life force is the body. Without it you are merely a walking corpse, no different from a machine."
It was then Cheshire noticed the black shape floating absently below. Even though the fog he recognized his body all too easily.
And suddenly he was ripped out of the foggy world, hurtling wildly through a dense cloud of nothingness.
Cheshire opened his eyes. The world had returned to normal. The fog was gone, the others were no longer glowing, and Cheshire was back in his own body.
The voice returned to him. "The detailed workings of the ethereal world are beyond most minds to comprehend. I understand if you cannot accept this. Just know that my words are without prejudice. I have no ill feelings for artificial creations. I simply speak the truth. A machine may be run by a brain, it may be powered through energy, and it may be programmed a detailed personality, but it will never have a life force."
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Post by Fainis the Sadistic Pansexual on Sept 6, 2014 8:55:09 GMT -5
"Hold your tongue before I reach up and rip it out!" bellowed Kedos, unaware- and likely uncaring even if he had known- of the experience that had just gripped Cheshire. The cat had stirred something inside of him, a wrath that had been dulled by pain and memory. "No wretched automaton can match flesh and blood. No mechanical entity could ever be equal to me or any other creature that lives and breathes, lord of its own functions and king of all its actions. Machines are unlike life in their very nature. They have limitations and breaking points. Parameters that control them in every ways. They are not the masters of their own fate, they are puppets. Slaves to numbers and commands, even if they are internalized in some pathetic imitation of self will. A sword can never cut through a tank, no matter how hard it tries, yet a flesh creature can do anything if it has spirit enough."
As the dragon raged, his voice had slowly grown in volume until it shook the whole Hub, transmitted through every scrap of vapor in the air, crashing and churning like a billion thunderbolts laid atop each other. It was like standing in the midst of a hurricane. One that swelled and writhed with living anger, mouthpiece to great offense and greater hatred. The veil of depression that had fallen over him in the wake of his battle with Charybdis lifted, for the moment at least, Kedos was living up to his name as the Storm Bringer. "Flesh can kill gods and outlast armies. It can throw away mortality and become timeless. It can cleave its way through an entire world of rogues, heroes, and villains and still stand tall. A machine is an empty shell, a cold metal carcass that holds only a finite amount of outside will. A creature of flesh is an endless portal of will. So do not dare assume that Kedos is broken. That he can be broken. Kedos is flesh. And that means that Kedos is everything. He can be everything and do everything and withstand all efforts to stop him. Flesh can be cut and burned and stabbed, but the power within it- the will of life, the one thing that machines lack- cannot."
The storm quieted. The whirlwind of sound and indignity dissipated just as it had formed- with the rage of the last dragon of Earth H-945.
Air left Kedos in a great huff, peeling brine from his nostrils and spittle from his fangs. As he deflated, his serrated scales fell limp and laid flat against his body, turning him sleek once more. As the drake's coat smoothed, his form seemed smaller. Older. Tired. He had exhausted all the rage his body could muster at the moment and it left him weary. His breath, though quiet, was ragged and uneven and his chest seemed to struggle in its gentle rise and fall. For the first time during his stay at the UCA, his 700 years of life seemed to weigh heavily upon him, visibly wilting his outline. When he next spoke, it was with uncharacteristic softness.
"Mistaking the turn of gears for the pulse of life is a sad, sad mistake."
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Hyperlulz
Full Member
Lord and Master of... Pretty much nothing.
Posts: 231
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Post by Hyperlulz on Sept 6, 2014 11:59:54 GMT -5
Yimak roared as the hurricane died down. This was the Kedos he remembered. The silver cyborg backed away, this was getting weird. It was not like the place he was held it was captive. This was much too weird. He strode off. Looking for a place without flying felines and sapphire drakes. At some point he wanted a match with the large one though. it would pay for striking him...
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Post by yaburu on Sept 6, 2014 15:18:41 GMT -5
Malice had been listening to the conversation between Kedos, Cheshire and the strange presence. There were most certainly significant sections of it he had missed, he could tell. But what had been said that he'd heard made him think quite a bit. And, for the first time in his existence, he was worried. Despite what Cheshire had said, he had no soul in his universe despite his sentience. At least not by the definition of some. But now that he was here, away from the primordial energies of the universe that gave him life...did he now actually have a soul?
With a soul comes a conscience. And THAT is something he wanted no part of.
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