Floor 2, Room 3

[troublereduction]

JOYOUS DAY

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[impacter]

Mm?

[He looks up from his own cup of shaved ice, a lemony looking glaze over top.]

Ah, sorry. Which part? [He rambled off quite a bit there.]

[troublereduction]

About Ithaqua not having left any loose?

[ What is "any" here, he's not sure? ]

[impacter]

Ah, that.

Sophie and Eva's mana stones. [He doesn't look entirely thrilled, but it's... important to mention them by name.]

[troublereduction]

...Oh.

[ That makes sense. ]

Guess it's better to be safe than sorry, huh.

[impacter]

Exactly. I'd like to not have any more magical incidents out here just because we weren't thorough.

Have you experienced one yet? A wizard's mana stone, I mean.

[troublereduction]

No. Haven't eaten a single one.

[ Which is very South of him, depending on who you ask. ]

[impacter]

Mm.

Is there a reason why?

[troublereduction]

...Couldn't bring myself to get used to idea of gettin' stronger by eatin' somethin' or someone else.

[ And when the idea was introduced by someone asking if how he felt about cannibalism...well, it doesn't make him feel good.]

[impacter]

[His smile fades slightly, a little pained.]

You're aware, then.

The beasts aren't an issue, unless that's something you feel you would be particularly sensitive to. But... I'm afraid I can't say the same about the others.

[troublereduction]

Thought about it too, but I can't even hunt. [ I.e., kill wild animals. How can he possibly eat mana stones from magical creatures if he's not comfortable with that?]

...You know since you ate Sophie's mana stone.

[impacter]

[His finger raises to his lips, before he continues in a much quieter tone.]

How I went about it could be considered a taboo, so be careful what we say in mixed company.

But yes. You're correct.

[troublereduction]

Ah. Sorry 'bout that.

[ ...He'll stare at his shaved ice and take a spoonful. ]

[impacter]

No apologies needed. Let's just not cause a scene on accident.

[Like, he's used to being a pariah so it's no big deal, but he'd rather not drag Day with him just because of the conversational topic of choice.]

I think you're one of the only ones who's had appropriate amounts of caution upfront. Who did you learn that from?

[troublereduction]

From our previous mentor. I asked him about how wizards can get stronger, then he asked me how I felt 'bout cannibalism.

[ Thanks, Wanderer. ]

[impacter]

Ah.

I would consider it a little less cannibalism and more... Mmm.

[Actually, he should probably check before he continues...]

Well, you work with Heaven in some capacity. What happens to soulss when they pass on, Day?

[troublereduction]

Heaven ain't officially involved in what happens after people die. Can you imagine what a mess it'd be if you got the bureaucracy involved? If they don't pass on to the Lethe to be reincarnated, they either stick 'round in the Underworld or the mortal realm...which ain't usually a good thing.

[impacter]

Ah, you deal with reincarnation. I see.

Well, in this case then -- why is it not a good thing, if a soul is left to the mortal realm? What happens to a soul that can't find peace?

[troublereduction]

[ There's a pause here because Day is trying to figure out a good way to explain that gets the point across—he feels like he has to, given he lived with two people very intimately with death and undeath and why it's not a harbinger of a good future. ]

People stick around a ghost usually 'cause of some kinda attachment or unfinished business, yeah? But once you die you ain't quite the same as who you were when you were alive, you're more like...what's left of yourself. Lotta ghosts lose parts of their livin' selves and cling to the strongest feelings and passions. The harder they cling to and try to fulfil those things, the more it becomes like an obsession. The longer they obsess, the more it consumes 'em, and they keep goin' until they either burn themselves out or become a shadow of themselves.

I guess you could say undeath as a ghost is...what's it called, just another samsara. Ain't really alive, but still stuck in a weird, messed up imitation of livin'.

[impacter]

Mm. It sounds very similar to the ghost who hitched a ride after Central's mission, doesn't it?

[Twisted up and over itself in an agonizing imitation of what mattered in life, doomed to his cycle.]

When the land we're in has magic that operates purely off the strength of our hearts and feelings, do you wonder what happens if those final feelings of the magical don't truly get a chance to settle?

[troublereduction]

...Yeah, I guess he was just a ghost who stuck around for too long.

[ Almost pitiful, if it weren't for the attempt murder. ]

Kinda, but...I guess I haven't really wanted to think too hard 'bout it. It's already kinda sad that wizards can't show their faces in death to whoever survives 'em.