Back again at Sewi lake. Jhin and Melissa had not talked at all for the few days it took to travel here again. They, Melissa especially, were devastated after the event of Majakike. Worst thing was that they learned that the tumor had grown. Slowly but surely, it would cover all of Masimute.
The flooded heaven had not changed at all. The dust either. Both the RAT and the MOTH were present. "You have now gathered all of the swords. These artefacts have a unique history, one shared by no one or no thing else. About two hundred years ago, Ideals were running rampant. To fight back, humans asked an Ideal to create weapons. That Ideal is the Ideal of the forge, known as the Blacksmith.
"The Blacksmith created these three swords. Because they were created by an Ideal, they have the ability to gravely wound Ideals. Humans, hasty, stole the swords before they were truly complete. For a long time, the swords were used separately. But eventually, one by one, they fell back into the hands of Ideals. Fearing their power, the Ideals sealed them away in their tombs, and the swords fell in obscurity. And fearing that new swords be created, Ideals sealed the Blacksmith away in the forge.
"But now that all three swords have been uncovered, you can go unseal the Blacksmith, and you can reunite the swords into one, as was intended."
-And where is that forge ?" asked Jhin
-It is in the northern lands of Masuli. These lands are covered in ice and snow. However, going to Masuli through Masitelo is impossible due to... recent developments. As such, I will gift you an invaluable artifact. A train pass."
Melissa and Jhin looked at each other, confused. "Old subway lines had been dug long ago, but were deemed impractical for the transport of masses. If it's just you, however, you should be able to use them with no problem.
-Subway lines ?" Melissa asked
-This special network courses between every continent. It forms a curving arc starting on Malutelo, which goes north through Majala while curving east, linking Masitelo. Then, at the north of Masuli, it splits. One branch is short and goes further north, the other goes south and curves back to the west through Masuli. Currently, you will use the north branch."
The mouth of the subway was dark. The lights in the station were turned off. They went in, and took long stairs underground. Very long stairs. The station proper was around 200 meters underground. When validating the pass, they chose the north branch, in the Masuli direction.
The subway itself was... just like any other subway. Except it was a long ride. The ride total took two days. At one point, Jhin got bored, and decided to try and message the sun. Surprisingly enough, an account of the name USER.SUN did exist.
[CHATLOG START USER.MAL && USER.SUN]
>>MAL: hi i'd like to talk to the sun please
>>SUN: listening
>>MAL: i wasn't expecting a response from the sun
>>SUN: & yet
>>MAL: ubu unsealed a great evil, aren't you going to do something ?
>>SUN: not my pb
>>MAL: aren't you enemies ? and opposites ?
>>SUN: and
>>SUN: im not their mom
>>SUN: PB is nature too
>>MAL: aren't you opposed to his purge plans ?
>>SUN: if ubu succeeds
>>SUN: not my pb
>>MAL: if they succeed you won't exist anymore. this doens't seem to bother you
>>SUN: if ubu succeeds i send SGs
>>MAL: SGs ?
>>SUN: solar guardians
>>MAL: i doubt theyre powerful enough to defeat ubu
>>SUN: can't defeat me
>>MAL: you seem sure of yourself, but you can't defeat them either since the war is still going on
>>SUN: and
>>SUN: y are you msging me
>>MAL: because i await at least some reactions from the sun at the doings of its greatest foe. But you seem very passive, as if you didn't want to fight... and you wanted to defeat them.
>>MAL: are you deserving of your position ?
>>SUN: no need to justify my reason
>>SUN: no need to justify my existence
>>SUN: i return the question
>>MAL: i don't see why i'd bother answering if you don't make the effort to justify all this. if you want my answer, then tell yours first.
>>SUN: you all are my reason
>>SUN: always seeking an answer, a cause
>>SUN: can't you accept things how they are
>>MAL: false, we accept things how they are. We simply research to define what things really are, then we accept it.
>>SUN: y research at all
>>MAL: because everything is not as it seems, some things are deceitful.
>>MAL: and the true question is, why NOT research these things
>>SUN: bc knowledge isn't necessary
>>SUN: it removes the wonder of the world, instrumentalizes it for a goal
>>MAL: knowledge is necessary. knowing how our foes will react, what we eat, when we sleep, how long...
>>MAL: all that is crucial to survive.
>>SUN: i see things and appreciate them
>>SUN: live foolishly in the wonder of existence
>>SUN: what you define as knowledge is simply instinct
>>MAL: knwoledge is wonder too. and in that case, that just means that instinct is the first kind of knowledge.
>>SUN: instinct is the only necessary and acceptable knowledge
>>SUN: rest is hubris of insignificant beings
>>MAL: why is it the only necessary one ? thanks to these supplementary knowledges, we can have a better life. Boats to fish or trade, buildings to protect, weapons to defend; is a better existence an insignificant act ?
>>SUN: these acts denature the world for what it is
>>SUN: superfluous knowledge always leads to these acts
>>MAL: the world simply is what it is via its inhabitants, so it isn't denatured.
>>MAL: after all, it's also in the instinct of a fisherman to use a boat and a fishing rod. are you mocking that instinct as well ?
>>SUN: except if the inhabitants are from an external source
>>SUN: like the tribes
>>SUN: i saw the world without the tribes
>>SUN: i saw the world without inhabitants
>>SUN: i saw them denature the world
>>MAL: because of this "forsaken" knowledge
>>MAL: and to denature the world is simply the mark of each existance, like an ant denaturing the earth by digging its anthill. "denaturation" is inevitable.
>>MAL: the only way to keep the world natural would be to get rid of every inhabitant and their traces.
>>SUN: true
>>SUN: but an ant doesnt put thousands of tons of heavy metals in the environment
>>MAL: no, but it still influences the world at its own scale
>>MAL: if you want to make this world natural again, you will have to erase EVERY living being, which would denature the world quite a bit
>>SUN: and i will do it
>>SUN: i know i am part of the problem
>>SUN: this ideal world would be under the watch of an idiotic aster, opposite to my current state
>>MAL: life will appear again, this is inevitable. nothing will change
>>MAL: this goal is a waste of time
>>SUN: this is why i specified my goal
>>SUN: i want to create an idiotic world
>>MAL: this world won't be worth it if there is nothing in it. This idiotic world will be empty and futile
>>SUN: and why
>>SUN: the sun doesn't need to be useful
>>MAL: what makes a world a world is its inhabitants. nothing will be different with any other world.
>>SUN: nothing will be different, except there won't be a consciousness pretentious enough to denature it.
>>SUN: it will stay pure for eternity
>>MAL: everything will be different, purity is only an impurity, the world is not made to stay natural
>>SUN: mine will be
>>SUN: after all, purity is subjective, and i've decided which one is mine
>>MAL: this is only delusion. this purity is a lie.
>>SUN: exactly
>>SUN: but by reaching it, this lie will be no more, because i will not think
>>SUN: it will then become the truth of the world
>>MAL: this truth is useless
>>SUN: everything is useless
[CHATLOG END]
Jhin was shaking. They understood the sun, maybe a bit too much. He could see how the sun had come to this reasoning, and maybe was agreeing just a little tiny bit.