The Day of Thunder

Shinsei pursed his lips. "With the boundary so thin in this place, it isn't surprising that such things could linger for so long after the fact. The realm of evil likely knows that to be the case for its all, and seeks to use that to its advantage." He paused, mulling over the words. "Fear and confu...

"That is because those demands would truly be a test, but only of how far you are willing to bend in order to obtain what's on offer. Whatever the Harbinger spoke of...there is likely more to it. I would, however, like to know precisely what was said in this dream, if you can recall in detail."

"Hmm." Shinsei considered that concept for a moment. "Norikage-sama, tell me. If you were here for a miai and the prospective spouse you were looking to betroth yourself to kept doing terrible things to make you a better, more suitable husband, how exactly would you find yourself reacting to that?"

Shinsei blinked slowly in response to that. "Well that's not fantastic news. Not like we've had much of anything else of late. Did this result in a full conversation, or were you simply hearing words spoken without speaking back to them?"

Shinsei gave a slow, tired nod and gestured towards the edge of the Imperial encampment. "I find the farther you are from the kitchen area, the less interested people are in listening to you." Once enough distance had been crossed, the monk seated himself on a familiar looking rock and turned to reg...

"Only division could..." He shook his head at our to clear hood thoughts. "Clarity of mind, focus purpose. These will be the tools." He nodded again. "Despite my efforts, I know of no further advice I could offer. Even having everyone here was...poorly thought out. With no clear plan, I fear for the...

"Shinsei-sensei. Hm." The little teacher paused for s moment. "Shinsei-sensei, Shinsei-sensei, Shinsei-sensei. The more I say it, the weirder it sounds. Maybe we should just stick with sama." A slight inclination of the head towards Norikage. "I am that grave offense to the tongue. You have need of ...

Shinsei nodded a little more vigorously now. "I think that may be wise. This is new ground, we are all of us heading down paths we have no knowledge of. The best we might be able to offer is guidance on where we could go based on where we've been before. It..." He stopped speaking for a moment, and ...

A nod in return. "You looked into the mouth of Jigoku, when it still held sway over the earth, and you turned away knowing what it might do to you." Shinsei turned, eyes focused but still somehow distant. "But the you of right now knows what the you of then was feeling, and you know what you might s...

Shinsei was silent for a very long while, perhaps chewing harder on the words he was considering than any he had spoken before today. "It is no idle thing we are hoping to do here. Even I at my best struggle to truly comprehend the dangers that might befall the world if the thunders do not prevail, ...

Shinsei's expression softened visibly, and he found himself nodding imperceptibly. "I am more than happy to accept your help, Nozomi. I am struggling in my search for how you might do so. Placing too much of my own burden on you is a burden in itself, after all."

"Rest has been a significant challenge of late, I will admit. Moreso here than anywhere else, for obvious reasons." Shinsei reached a hand up and idly rubbed the side of his face, closing his eyes as he focused on breathing for a few moments. "We cannot face destiny alone, that is very true, though ...

Shinsei closed his eyes at that, breathing in deeply and working his lower jaw as if to say something, but no words came from him. When his eyes opened, there was a small hint of sadness to them. "Yes...trying to carry it all by myself will always result in disaster. I am...trying my best to...lesse...

A hand reached up as if to pet the non-present crow, only for Shinsei to tap himself on the shoulder in a brief moment of confusion. Not having the bird there was taking some getting used to. "I apologize if my skills at evasion are so great that I've been avoiding something without meaning to. It h...

There was a floaty kind of swivel as Shinsei's attention moved from...whatever it was he'd been focusing on before to the source of the voice, Nozomi. Beneath the hood, his face turned first one way, then the other, observing the empty streets around them before fixing his gaze back on her and point...

"The dreams I've had when sleeping near graveyards were usually not any worse when sleeping elsewhere, but maybe they would be here. Is that something that someone should be trying in order to learn about our enemy? Would we want to keep a watch over someone doing so?" He asks the little teacher. H...

Makime had calmed since her outburst. "I don't tell my people pretty lies and false platitudes to soothe the pain of reality. No matter the chance of victory." "And I trust them to fight their hardest even if it was futile. Better to die in defiance of fate and standing then live cowering on your k...

"I am a daimyo, Lord of thousands. They look to me for leadership as the world turns to madness." Makime's frown deepened. "They have built and worked and fought and trained. To protect their homes, their families, their clan, their honor, and their future. And this." She stabs a finger at Shinsei,...

Finally her voice came softly, meant for herself, "Destiny has no hold on me little man. I was not summoned." "As you say," Shinsei acknowledged. "If you are willing to support the Champions of Ningen-do and fight the evil of Yume-Jigoku, and I have no doubt that you are, then whether it was destin...

Anjing wrote: ↑

Wed Oct 25, 2023 3:02 am

Anjing takes a moment to adopt her most polite tone before calling out to the holy man.

"What role does your stone play in all of this?"

A magical artifact? A symbol of humility? A pretty impressive weight-lifting regime? She was deeply curious.

Shinsei looks amused. "It's a comfortable seat."