Weight's Worth in Blood (Rei no Kaado)

[mugenginga]

Seth nodded, his expression back to being a bit pained. He wasn't Cain, he couldn't shrug off death. A single human life was important. Any life was important.

"Hitoshura would have killed me if I hadn't listened to what Cain told me to do. The reason I went out was to stop Hitoshura or die trying. I won't go into the details, they are stupid and unimportant. It was an elaborate death wish," Seth paused. Atsuro already didn't trust him, and this next part could either kill any chance of trust or regain it for the honesty. He couldn't see a middle ground, "I'm the one who slashed Cain's throat."

[Firebreath Fishslap]

"You what?!"

Atsuro knew Hitoshura had been the one to kill Cain. Cain would have been the largest threat for Hitoshura to deal with, so he was a natural choice for people to kill. Not only that, but Kaido had been killed by Hitoshura earlier that day. But now Seth (or this Seth look-alike) was claiming he had killed Cain. It didn't make sense.

And the death wish... that Atsuro could believe. How many times now had Cain told Seth to kill himself if he hated this situation so much? In the end, though, that painful honesty made Atsuro trust Seth just a bit more... if only a bit.

[mugenginga]

"I slashed Cain's throat," Seth repeated. He knew Atsuro had heard him, but he wanted to make sure he understood, "Cain showed up with four demons to stall for time and told me I had to kill him. When Hitoshura defeated the demons, he threw Cain against a wall. I'm the one that actually took his life."

[Firebreath Fishslap]

"That's..." That was insane. In a way it confirmed what Atsuro had been thinking; Hitoshura had been the one who attacked Cain. But Cain had told Seth to kill him. But Atsuro could see no point in that. Cain would just come back anyways, but Atsuro couldn't see a point to him specifically asking Seth to kill him.

"And what about you? And Abel?" Atsuro asked. "Your name came up twice on my COMP. That couldn't have been an error."

[mugenginga]

Seth winced as Atsuro mentioned Abel. He'd have to tell him about that soon. Not just because of how Atsuro would react if he saw the horns without knowing about them. Abel would be upset as well. Seth went with the easier question first, or at least easier with how he saw it. There was no easy way to word it, either. So Seth just spoke.

"Because I took Cain's life, a version of his curse transferred to me," Seth lifted his finger up to his temple and pointed, "I remember every life I ever lived. I regained the memories in an instant. I also don't think I can be killed. Those COMP alerts you got? They were Hitoshura killing me and then a brick falling on my head. It was a slashed throat and the blunt impact should have killed me. As you can see, I don't have an injury from either."

[Firebreath Fishslap]

Atsuro frowned. Actually, that revelation hadn't been all that shocking too him. But at the same time, it hurt just a bit. The memories of his past lives... well, apparently Naoya hadn't been like the way he was now when he was a little kid, and it was really only after his parents died that he got the way he had been. And K1 had changed a lot after getting his memories of being Abel. And not being able to die... that blood on Seth's clothes were from Cain and the injuries Seth had taken, likely.

"...Geez," Atsuro finally said. "...So that makes me the only normal human out of all of us, huh..."

[mugenginga]

Seth tried to have a neutral expression. It was his eyes that showed he was pained at the words. He wanted to say he was normal too, but he wasn't. Hell, he hadn't really been all that normal before. And telling Atsuro he wasn't normal because of what he was doing wouldn't be all that encouraging. So he simply nodded. And then there was how Atsuro had worded it. Human.

"His Majesty... isn't human at all anymore," Seth stated.
-----

Nyarlathotep slid the drawer open and smirked at the two objects within. He was reaching towards them when he felt a presence behind him. It had stepped out of the shadows like he was known, and it was a presence he knew well. Nyarlathotep was not easily surprised... but the annoyance in his aura was from more than being simply bothered.

"Hmph. Didn't I destroy you in that Dark Game?"

[Firebreath Fishslap]

Not human anymore? Atsuro frowned even more at that. He knew Abel wasn't really human, what with his strength and power. It took him a few moments more to get what Seth meant by that, and when he did, his eyes widened and he looked almost scared.

"...K1's gone?" Atsuro asked in an almost whisper. Somehow, he just couldn't accept that. Hadn't he and Seth both agreed they were going to try to preserve Abel's humanity all those months ago?

[mugenginga]

Seth hung his head as Atsuro asked his question. That alone would be an answer. Seth was more upset about it then his current mindset would allow him to show. It was an annoying practicality his hundreds of lives had granted him. Outward displays of grief rarely did much. After a long pause, he nodded. He spoke without lifting his head, his voice having lowered to a near whisper as well.

"Atsuro... We both knew had to happen eventually, even if we couldn't admit it. A human can't lead demons."
-----

The shadows fully receded from around the man who Nyarlathotep had addressed. He was quite clearly Egyptian by his skin tone. His eyes were dull and lifeless with a harsh glare. His expression was neutral enough to be eerie. He wore a tan robe and a linen white cloak and turban. He was not one to share the name he used with those he met, and in fact had only himself given it directly to one person in three thousand years.

"You speak to me becauase your power is too weak to do otherwise. I have no intentions of letting it go beyond that."

"It would be you that knew of that aspect of myself, wouldn't it? The one that Pharaoh allowed me to regain by keeping the Items in one place," Nyarlathotep chuckled, "But don't take me as powerless, Priest Shada. It's well within my power to send you away again even as this."

[Firebreath Fishslap]

"That can't true!" Atsuro yelled, finally unable to hold himself back. "He could have still kept his human side! Didn't Cain say that those 'hitoshura' things were demons with human hearts?! He could have still kept his human side! He could have..."

Atsuro's objections faded into sobs. He clenched his fists and looked away from Seth. He'd stayed with K1 because he'd respected his choices to become demon king, but more importantly, he wanted to keep his friend. Atsuro hadn't been blind to what was going on with K1. Yuzu hadn't been blind either, but she'd run away instead of trying to help him. And now... and now...

"...I just wanted to keep my friend."

It had been more than that. Atsuro had wanted to help K1 make a world where they could all live peacefully. Had it been denial? Probably. The world Abel would create would be one where the strong would rule and the weak (like himself) would be killed. By the time that world came around, Atsuro and Yuzu would be dead. But he had held some sort of hope that when that world came around, there would still be a K1 to speak of, and that he'd show some sort of human kindness in his actions once YHVH was gone.

But in the end, it had been all to protect K1, and he couldn't even do that. At that thought, he found himself sitting down on his bed, still looking down at the ground.

[mugenginga]

Seth didn't say anything as Atsuro shouted at him. He kept his head hung and let Atsuro rant. He had things to say, but Atsuro needed to get this out. He wouldn't be able to listen to his points until he got it out. The last part about wanting to keep his friend hurt the most. In his irrationality, Seth had wanted to keep his brother. Seth waited several minutes after that feeble cry and Atsuro all but collapsed onto the bed before walking over and sitting down next to him. He put his hands in the lap and looked at the ceiling.

"Atsuro, I think we've been looking at this wrong. You remember Nirad, right?" Seth continued without waiting for confirmation. He was sure Atsuro could hear him, "I don't... I don't think the existence of demons, even those in power, is necessarily an antithesis to humans. I don't think the line between "Keiichi" and "Abel" is as clear as we thought. Maybe he doesn't have a 'human heart', but he has human memories."

He looked at Atsuro. If the teenager had looked up at him by this point, he'd continue while looking into his eyes. If not, he'd turn back and keep talking. Right now Seth was speaking from lifetimes of experience. It was more clear now then by any of his other mannerisms that he was older than his body looked.

"And you're right, I'm not a 'normal' human. But if I can't die, I can still function as an anchor for His Majesty. I can't be a tie on his 'humanity' any more, but I can be a reminder," Seth gave a hard swallow and looked at Atsuro. This last part was a bit of a blow, but it might come up in Atsuro's thoughts. He had to clear it out now, "If I can't die, no amount of torture is going to get rid of me. If I have to... If I have to I'll sacrifice my own body," Seth closed his eyes, "Better he uses me then robs humanity of its freedom."

[Firebreath Fishslap]

Had they been taking it the wrong way? Atsuro had no idea. How much of those human memories did Abel really have? Atsuro hadn't forgotten how Abel simply couldn't remember who Minato was. He'd remembered Yuugi well enough, but even back in the demon realm, the name "Minato" had never come out of Abel's mouth when talking about things that had happened in this world.

When Atsuro finally looked up at Seth, his expression was still somber. He wanted to believe Seth's words. Memories meant so much to this group it wasn't funny. Cain's memories had changed him into the man he was now. Seth's new memories had changed him more than they should have. And Abel's memories were the only tie to his humanity he had left.

"Can you honestly promise that?" Atsuro asked. "Can you honestly say you're gonna stay with him forever, and take every bit of frustration he has to unload? You did that once before so he wouldn't lose it, and don't think I didn't see how much that hurt you. You seriously think you'll be able to stay and do that?"

[mugenginga]

There was a long pause. Seth wanted to say yes, to give Atsuro the reassurance he was looking for. But he knew he couldn't. Atsuro was smart, he'd come up with the same risks if he hadn't already. If he was wrong, which he didn't believe but couldn't deny the possibility of, Abel could very well decide to abuse the fact he couldn't be killed. Hell, there was no way he could even be sure of that. A slit throat, a brick to the head, a gunshot to the heart... that wasn't the limit of what could happen. Especially around demons. Who knew what would happen if he was torn apart, decapitated, held underwater for days on end? They weren't things he even wanted to think about. But he had to give Atsuro some kind of answer.

"I can't give you the promise you want, Atsuro. I wish I could, but five thousand years is long enough to realize that nothing is definite," Seth reached up and stuck his fingers into the base of his hair, "You can't understand what it is to have effectively lived that long, and I'd never want you to. I still don't agree with Cain's actions... but I think I can understand them."

Seth raked his hand through his hair and looked back towards Atsuro. He seemed pained, "I assure you my resolve now is more than before. What we were trying to fight before was inevitable. Even if we had managed it through our lifetimes, do you honestly think Cain would have fought for Abel's humanity after we died? Forever is too long to predict, but I can promise you I'll do everything I can. Is that good enough? I can't promise anything more than that. I wish I could."
-----

"You aren't taking the Items."

Nyarlathotep smirked, "And you think they are safer with here than they would be with me? Even if the demon watching them doesn't resonate with them, he can still use them. Your precious little Pharaoh was a fool to leave them here. The King of Bel has descended, after all. And if I can't regain my power... well, who do you think is the larger threat?"

"What a demonic king does with the Items isn't my concern," stated the man, "My purpose is to watch over the Pharaoh and prevent you from regaining your power. I would hand the Pendant itself to him before I let you take these Items."

Nyarlathotep tapped his claw on the thin top of the drawer, "Well then, we seem to have a stalemate here, don't we? Now how should I turn the tide...?"

[Firebreath Fishslap]

Atsuro only gave a nod as Seth finished up. Yeah, that was good enough. And Seth was right; Cain wouldn't have tried to preserve Abel's humanity after the two of them had died. Cain would have just accepted what he saw as inevitable and continued on with his plans. The two of them were really the only ones who would be stubborn about it.

"...Abel's not coming back tonight, huh..." Atsuro finally said. "...I guess he's out hunting Hitoshura, then." Atsuro had already guessed Abel hadn't actually killed Hitoshura. The demon Abel-- no, just Abel didn't like leaving things unfinished. And that thing had killed three of his court.

Now that Atsuro thought about it, this wasn't the first time Abel hadn't bothered coming home for some reason or another. The last time he hadn't was after he nearly attacked Seth after Nirad's death... So maybe Abel was just walking off the guilt from what had happened to Cain and Seth... he'd always thrown the guilt for everything on himself before.

[mugenginga]

The man didn't respond to Nyarlathotep's taunt. If the demon was trying to get a reaction out of him, it was clear he had no intention of complying. He turned his head towards the two beds in the room and walked between them. Nyarlathotep's featureless face seemed to be expressing an unsure frown. Shadi picked up an alarm clock from the bed that had once belonged to Cain. Nyarlathotep smirked, aware of what was about to happen even before Shadi did more.

The man lifted his hand to the side and threw the clock at the closed window. The sound of shattering glass would be audible two rooms down in either direction. By the time anyone could get there, both he and Nyarlathotep would be gone. The remains of the encounter would be a few shards of glass on the inside of the room and the open drawer. Both Millenium Items were clearly visible.
-----

Seth gave a vacant nod towards Atsuro's words. Not towards their meaning, he wasn't consciously hearing them. It wasn't until Atsuro mentioned that he was probably hunting Hitoshura he came out of the way he was spacing out. There was something extremely important he hadn't said yet, and it needed to be said before Abel got home.

"Atsuro, I have to tell you something before you see His Majesty again. He-"

He was cut off by a loud crashing sound down the hall. It wasn't far down the hall, and Seth didn't even have to think for half a second to know where it had come from. He was on his feet and headed out the door without another word to Atsuro. Even he acknowledged the unlikely occurance of what he had been told to watch being under target. But he couldn't ignore the warning signs in his head. He'd be aware if Atsuro followed him, but he hadn't and wouldn't say anything.