There's an achingly painful flinch through her emotions, one that hits like a knife with its familiarity, and thankfully this is still emotions week so have a lot of fun with that, Hua-Cheng!]
Good and virtuous...
...
What... happened to him, Hua Cheng? What happened to that kingdom, to make everyone forget?
[ Hey that's fun! Hua Cheng doesn't react to it, at least, though he does register it there. His own emotions are neatly packed up for this, the dangerous storm that always looms in the background faint now.
Something quiet replaces it, like the reverence that any old, important tale carries. ]
War and time. Kingdoms are lost to both, when they aren't the victors. He had tried his all to solve a drought that threatened a sister kingdom, tried to prevent an illness from spreading, tried to find an end to the fighting.
He didn't deserve to be forgotten, when all he had wanted was to help the common people.
They did, at first. Everyone would rally behind the Crown Prince Who Pleased the Gods - flower in one hand, sword in the other, he did his best to lead the people in a way that he thought was right. And it was, at its core. There was no ill intent, as all he wanted was for peace between the kingdom and the city that would become a kingdom.
But there was no answer to a drought that affected both sides, even with the power of the Heavens in his possession. There was no cure to be found for a plague that swept through the citizenry, which was forced out of the kingdom walls to try and prevent the spread. There was no making both sides happy, even if that's all he'd wished for in his heart. The odds had been stacked against him, and misfortune was all that smiled down on the kingdom, in the end.
[ Anger bubbles, for a moment, before he pushes it back down. ] He went from an icon that the people revered and followed, to a name that was spat upon.
[It's sparked out, vicious and hot, nearly the moment after Hua Cheng's own anger dies down, like an echo across a canyon.]
Even with a power past what other people might have... he was just one person! And to try whatever he could... maybe he made mistakes, or acted before he thought, but... no one person can be perfect like that...! And to shame someone for only trying to do everything they could...
Hearts that are in pain need somewhere to go, but to do it like that is just cruelty!
[ Though it simmers, Hua Cheng has to keep it compact - for fear of it becoming more than her spark of anger, a fire burning for 800 years without end. ]
The gods are infallible, perfect, and other to mortals that worship so reverently. They look at them and expect no failure or imperfections - especially when it's one that so many people saw as a mortal, first.
To have a prince ascend into godhood in their lifetimes... they had pride, and hope. But they didn't realize the weight that was put on this one person who could only do so much. Who gave and gave of himself, until there was barely anything left, if only to ease their suffering in the end.
With none of the salvation that they'd prayed for, no retribution against their foes on either side, they only saw one option.
[She knows he's leading up to something horrible, and her stomach tightens.]
That's wrong...
That's all wrong...
Part of being a human is that you can't be perfect. Even one that can become something better...
That doesn't change who they are! That they still deserve to have desires and lessons of their own, and that they shouldn't have to suffer because of their compassion--!!
It doesn't. The prince was a good, kind person. Strong. Compassionate. He defied the odds that were placed against him and his causes. His desires were those that would help others.
[ His gaze remains forward, on the shrine - seeing it, but seeing another shrine, too. ]
When given two choices, two ultimatums, he would choose a third path. All because he refused to think there wasn't another way.
[ Hua Cheng takes a deep breath, one that he might not need, even here in the Realm, and he exhales a mirthless laugh. The anger is still there, and echoes behind his words, with a rising determination. ]
I may be the last, devoted follower of Taizi Dianxia. The one who remembers him for all that he did, because of his courage - but because of his despair, too, and not despite it. The Realm may try to take all else from me, but I refused to let go of these memories for 800 years. It will have to try much harder than that.
[ The silence, this time, stretches on for longer. But Hua Cheng moves to make sure that the scroll is on display visibly with the shrine, so that people will see the faces of those they've lost.
And, as he does, the turbulent emotions settle into something softly reverent. Warm. An embrace itself. ]
I had once asked Taizi Dianxia a question, not long after he had first ascended, begging that he would answer this one question. Every day was suffering. Every day was agony, even before the war had truly crested. "For what should I live for in this world? What does it mean to live?"
[ Gaze lifting up, like he's looking to the Heavens even in this place, he rises from his knees - so as not to prostrate, and instead to stand on his own two feet, with this memory. ]
"If you don't know how to live on anymore, then live for me. I have no answer to the question you asked. However, if you don't know the meaning of your life, then make me that meaning, and use me as your reason to live."
[It's a little aweing, to see Hua Cheng speak like this, and not with the cold ruthlessness he used so often in trials. It's like a little window, secret and vulnerable, into the heart of a man that has simply wanted to live, and let someone else live alongside him.]
I... hope, wherever Dianxia-sama is, that he knows how devoted you are to him.
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no subject
There's an achingly painful flinch through her emotions, one that hits like a knife with its familiarity, and thankfully this is still emotions week so have a lot of fun with that, Hua-Cheng!]
Good and virtuous...
...
What... happened to him, Hua Cheng? What happened to that kingdom, to make everyone forget?
no subject
Something quiet replaces it, like the reverence that any old, important tale carries. ]
War and time. Kingdoms are lost to both, when they aren't the victors. He had tried his all to solve a drought that threatened a sister kingdom, tried to prevent an illness from spreading, tried to find an end to the fighting.
He didn't deserve to be forgotten, when all he had wanted was to help the common people.
no subject
...Was there a reason he wasn't able to do that? If his intentions were good...
I know that doesn't mean success. I... know really well that it can just lead to a lot of hurt sometimes, no matter what. But...
If the prince really had tried so hard for his people, then... what made his people want to not try for him, too? Did he make a mistake?
no subject
They did, at first. Everyone would rally behind the Crown Prince Who Pleased the Gods - flower in one hand, sword in the other, he did his best to lead the people in a way that he thought was right. And it was, at its core. There was no ill intent, as all he wanted was for peace between the kingdom and the city that would become a kingdom.
But there was no answer to a drought that affected both sides, even with the power of the Heavens in his possession. There was no cure to be found for a plague that swept through the citizenry, which was forced out of the kingdom walls to try and prevent the spread. There was no making both sides happy, even if that's all he'd wished for in his heart. The odds had been stacked against him, and misfortune was all that smiled down on the kingdom, in the end.
[ Anger bubbles, for a moment, before he pushes it back down. ] He went from an icon that the people revered and followed, to a name that was spat upon.
"Thanks Obama" meme but it's just XL
[It's sparked out, vicious and hot, nearly the moment after Hua Cheng's own anger dies down, like an echo across a canyon.]
Even with a power past what other people might have... he was just one person! And to try whatever he could... maybe he made mistakes, or acted before he thought, but... no one person can be perfect like that...! And to shame someone for only trying to do everything they could...
Hearts that are in pain need somewhere to go, but to do it like that is just cruelty!
YOU'RE NOT WRONG BUT ALSO
The gods are infallible, perfect, and other to mortals that worship so reverently. They look at them and expect no failure or imperfections - especially when it's one that so many people saw as a mortal, first.
To have a prince ascend into godhood in their lifetimes... they had pride, and hope. But they didn't realize the weight that was put on this one person who could only do so much. Who gave and gave of himself, until there was barely anything left, if only to ease their suffering in the end.
With none of the salvation that they'd prayed for, no retribution against their foes on either side, they only saw one option.
no subject
That's wrong...
That's all wrong...
Part of being a human is that you can't be perfect. Even one that can become something better...
That doesn't change who they are! That they still deserve to have desires and lessons of their own, and that they shouldn't have to suffer because of their compassion--!!
[It's hitting somewhere hard, somewhere agonizingly personal.
She knows how this story ends, and it makes her want to vomit.]
no subject
[ His gaze remains forward, on the shrine - seeing it, but seeing another shrine, too. ]
When given two choices, two ultimatums, he would choose a third path. All because he refused to think there wasn't another way.
[ Hua Cheng takes a deep breath, one that he might not need, even here in the Realm, and he exhales a mirthless laugh. The anger is still there, and echoes behind his words, with a rising determination. ]
I may be the last, devoted follower of Taizi Dianxia. The one who remembers him for all that he did, because of his courage - but because of his despair, too, and not despite it. The Realm may try to take all else from me, but I refused to let go of these memories for 800 years. It will have to try much harder than that.
no subject
[Her lips thin.]
Is... there prayers you say to him, Hua-chan? To let him know you still know him as... as a whole??
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[ A contemplative moment. ]
Never prostrating, because he didn't think that the gods should be worshipped like that. But always with a fresh white flower, every day that I could.
no subject
To not bow before a god...
[#relatable]
... I know you said he became a god, but...
What... happens to gods, if their people despise them?
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[ His voice is solemn, but there's something almost vicious within his emotions. ]
Their power comes from their followers. With no one to worship them, they're not only loathed, forgotten - they're erased.
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...You've... been trying to keep Dianxia-sama alive for 800 years, Hua-chan? All by yourself?
no subject
And, as he does, the turbulent emotions settle into something softly reverent. Warm. An embrace itself. ]
I had once asked Taizi Dianxia a question, not long after he had first ascended, begging that he would answer this one question. Every day was suffering. Every day was agony, even before the war had truly crested. "For what should I live for in this world? What does it mean to live?"
no subject
[Quietly, letting her eyes settle on the scroll with a pained flicker.]
no subject
"If you don't know how to live on anymore, then live for me. I have no answer to the question you asked. However, if you don't know the meaning of your life, then make me that meaning, and use me as your reason to live."
no subject
[It's a little aweing, to see Hua Cheng speak like this, and not with the cold ruthlessness he used so often in trials. It's like a little window, secret and vulnerable, into the heart of a man that has simply wanted to live, and let someone else live alongside him.]
I... hope, wherever Dianxia-sama is, that he knows how devoted you are to him.
no subject
[ A little boy, beaten, dirty, born under a star of solitude. A nameless boy, too young for war, but there regardless. Why would Dianxia remember him?
Nothing like melancholy tinges that devotion. Just a quiet understanding. ]
And that is enough, for me.
no subject
Hua-chan...
...
If I come to find you, to make sure you remember Dianxia-sama, no matter what happens...
Would you allow me? To help remember your cherished prince, even if it's just for a little while?
no subject
If you will protect it, and help me to cherish it, then I would entrust my memory of him to you, Hikaru.
no subject
...Thank you, Hua-chan.
I'll do my best with your trust in me.
no subject
Mm, I'm sure you will.