IC Inbox [Victory Road]

[eternallyabsconding]

Please leave any mail for Zagreus here, whether of the electronic or physical variety! He'll get back to you ASAP!

Comments

A day before rocket heist? so 12/19, voice;

[giftofswift]

Quick message for you, boss. Things aren't going exactly as I planned, gonna have to reschedule that Violet meetup, sorry to say.

[More like, he was sure he could probably get out of this 'Christmas' heist the Rockets were planning. It's a bit annoying as he was actually looking forward to meeting his cousin for the first time face to face, but it would have to wait. Did he mention he hates waiting? He does.]

Nebulously between 1/1 and 1/9; Text

[bestswordmaster]

Hey.
You.
Claude told me you're from some kind of afterlife.
Is that true?
Are you dead?

[That's...that's apparently it. No introduction, no preamble. Just that.]

blithely responds in video because text is too much trouble

[eternallyabsconding]

Ah, Claude. The one with the endless questions. You one of his friends? How do you deal with that enthusiasm on a daily basis? It must be exhausting. Nice guy, though.

Not dead, mate. Immortal. Or at least I was back home. I'm the Prince of the Underworld, although the title doesn't suit me much. In truth I'm more of a... Security specialist.

Anyways, you need something?

[bestswordmaster]

[Felix blinks when the video call comes in by way of response. It's unexpected and sort of unwanted, so when he answers it he already looks grumpy.]

Yes, that Claude. And yes, we're friends, and yes, it's as exhausting as you think.

[His brow furrows.]

Dead or immortal, what's the difference if you're in the Underworld for eternity anyway? I didn't realize the afterlife needed security, but if hauntings are an issue, I can see why. Huh.

Tell me about the afterlife. Are the Eternal Flames real? Do the regretful dead really suffer until someone gets vengeance for them?

[eternallyabsconding]

[Zagreus is familiar with that kind of look, and is completely undaunted.]

As a "god" of sorts-- and don't ever call me that, I can't stand it-- I do get preferential treatment. For example, a nice fancy house to live in, and what is more or less free reign of the Underworld, when normal shades are usually stuck in whatever part they're judged to be in. And there are holes in Underworld security. Very tiny, eye-of-the-needle type holes, but holes nonetheless, and they need patching up so dead souls don't get out. It's my job to find and exploit them, so the Big Guy is properly made aware.

As for vengeance, it's not really my wheelhouse. You should be talking to... Well, only one of the Furies is really worth talking to at all if you want to have a real conversation about that. But as far as I'm aware, the dead don't "suffer" because they need or want vengeance. They may be a bit miffed about being dead, but that usually doesn't last very long. And I've never heard of "Eternal Flames," maybe you could be a bit more specific?

[bestswordmaster]

You're a god? You don't look like one. ...not that I've seen many gods. Just someone with a god living in their head. But you're not glowing or anything.

So there are ghosts. [This part is more to himself than to Zagreus.]

I'd think the name 'Eternal Flames' is self-explanatory. [He frowns more.] Where I'm from, the Church claims that the dead either go to rejoin the Goddess in the stars or burn forever in a place called the Eternal Flames. A...friend of mine is convinced that the ghosts of his loved ones are there, and they berate him constantly for continuing to fail to take the head of someone he thinks is responsible for their deaths.

But that's absurd. One of those so-called ghosts is my brother, who would never treat him that way, let alone demand vengeance at the cost of everything he believes in.

[For someone who hasn't even introduced himself, this escalated quickly.]

[eternallyabsconding]

I don't know about glowing heads, but my feet are normally on fire, if that changes anything.

I also don't know of a goddess that lords over the dead, or lives in the stars. We have a Queen down here, but her approach is fairly hands-off, mostly just a diplomat of sorts... Anyways, the Underworld as I know it has several different layers, and you go to a different one depending on how you lived your life. Tartarus is for the sinful, Asphodel for your run-of-the-mill person, and Elysium for the valiant or noble. Tartarus can involve eternal suffering, Asphodel is okay, not good or bad, and Elysium is a rather nice place with a couple of extra features other souls don't get to enjoy.

If a soul yearns for vengeance that strongly, A Keres might get involved. They're the bringers of earthly vengeance, and they stalk their prey until the ultimately die-- but they can't physically effect the mortal plane.

[Here, his attitude becomes slightly more serious, maybe even a little morose.]

Needless to say, shades themselves generally don't haunt people directly. Your friend sounds like he's been touched by grief, not actual souls of the dead.

[bestswordmaster]

It doesn't.

Valiant and noble, huh? Let me get this straight. People who throw themselves into danger to chase some nebulous idea of 'heroism' literally get rewarded in the afterlife? For what, the accomplishment of dying young? Sickening. And who decides where a soul goes, your father? If you're the prince, presumably he's the king.

Tch. I knew it. But try telling him that. Although...is it possible one of these...Keres is following him around and messing with his mind?

[eternallyabsconding]

Hey now, "noble" can just mean you spent your life being kind to others instead of taking advantage of them. But yes, an astonishing amount of war heroes do end up in Elysium. Can't say I approve of all the decisions my father has made, but... Look, you've came to the correct conclusion yourself already!

I'd say it's entirely impossible, seeing as my world has literally no impact on this one.

[bestswordmaster]

Ugh. Of course they do. Sounds like your world and mine aren't so different.

I suppose your world probably has no impact on mine, either. So it really is just his inability to let go. [He looks like he was expecting this to be the case, but had to ask.]

So you help to keep souls in the afterlife where they belong. They have no contact with the living at all? No influence?

[eternallyabsconding]

Maybe such a thing is possible in your world-- haunting, I mean. But as you said, it would be very, very strange for a loved one to harass their own kin beyond the pale. Even if they were somehow suffering in some kind of limbo. It seems counter-productive.

In general, no. Someone with the power the cross between the boundaries could theoretically pass a message along, but that's about it. Death isn't torture for the vast majority, and most shades are content with their lot. Even in Tartarus, they usually understood where they were going to end up while they were still alive. Very few people are unaware of their vices.

[bestswordmaster]

...good. That's how it should be. The dead stay dead and let the living move on.

So what's the point of Tartarus? Or even having any distinction? They're dead. Why does it matter anymore what they did in life? What's the point of them persisting at all?

[eternallyabsconding]

That's the question, isn't it? I personally believe that there's consequences for how you live to keep people in line. It would be chaos without some kind of moral order. The gods up top wouldn't get the praise they want either.

Oh, and spirits in Elysium get the opportunity to reincarnate if they so choose. You don't remember your next life, but it's still another chance at being mortal.

[bestswordmaster]

Pff. You're a god and the prince of the afterlife and you don't even know? I thought gods were supposed to know everything.

If that's the case, it isn't working. People aren't being kept in line if they keep doing things that put them in Tartarus anyway. And I don't know which gods you mean, but the notion of living a certain way just to please some distant power has never worked to keep people from being terrible to each other either. If anything, they're worse to each other because they can and do justify anything 'in the name of the Goddess.'

What does reincarnate mean?

[eternallyabsconding]

We definitely don't! Don't let that knowledge spread, it's a secret most would rather be kept.

[Zag's jovial tone makes it clear he really doesn't care.]

Well, if eternal damnation isn't deterrent enough, I don't know what would be. It sounds like you've got trouble in your world, if people are out wrecking havoc in the name of a god and fellows are being led to believe the spirits of their dead family are haunting them. Care to share?

It means the soul returns to a mortal body to live again. Not in their previous body, but a newborn child. As I said, they won't remember it, but it's a nice option to have.

[bestswordmaster]

Ha. Figures.

I don't know either. Ask someone in Tartarus why they did whatever they did knowing they'd end up there anyway.

Trouble? Hmph. Where do I even begin? Where I'm from, they glorify violent death as some heroic sacrifice, something to aspire to in the name of loyalty, or honor, or whatever excuse they choose. The Church claims the Creator Goddess is benevolent and wise, but it also claims that she's fine with killing unarmed prisoners for daring to question the Archbishop's authority and that insulting the Church is the same as insulting the Goddess herself--which conveniently is another killing offense.

As for the haunting, my country loves its ghost stories to the point where many people believe them. It's ridiculous, but ingrained.

[Felix's brow furrows.] If they don't remember anything and they're a completely different person, that's just an elaborate way to destroy yourself, not a reward.

[eternallyabsconding]

Mortals do seem to love a good war every now and then, I think that's why there's a god in my world that specializes in it. Glorifying it is probably just a way of justifying the bloodshed needed to sort out their differences, or to conquer, and so on and so forth. I'm not condoning the behavior, seems an awful waste to me, but I also think it's a natural thing humans do.

You've got quite the capricious goddess on your hands there. Where I'm from, the gods are a bit whimsical as well. Even types like Athena get jealous every now and then. But the way you're talking makes me think that this "goddess" is the only god you have?

Well, one thing I can absolutely confirm about the afterlife is that it gets boring after awhile. Maybe some would rather have another blind shot at mortal life than continue to sit on their thumbs in the eternal sunshine.

[bestswordmaster]

A whole god just for war, huh? At least that's more honest than a holy figure who claims to want peace and harmony but is specifically known for waging war on the Goddess' enemies.

War is inevitable. Battle is necessary. That doesn't mean they have to pretend that riding to your death is something to be desired.

Yes, the Goddess Sothis is the only god Fodlan has. Other places in the world have their own gods. I know at least one country where they have more than one. Or did, before my father's generation slaughtered them all on false pretenses and took their land.

I suppose I can see how an eternal existence with nothing to work toward would get old fast. Which makes me question again why an afterlife even exists in the first place.

[eternallyabsconding]

We've actually got a few that are all involved in different aspects of it. Lord Ares presides over battle and bloodshed, Lady Athena over strategy and schemes, the Keres fetch the souls of those who die on the battlefield... Everyone has their niche in my world.

Different countries have different gods? That's an interesting thought. I don't know of any beyond the ones that preside over Greece. If they do exist, I'd like to meet them.

[Let's not talk about racial genocide today. Zagreus has had enough heavy thoughts for the moment.]

There's an element of absurdity to it, but I find that it suits often-absurd humans.

[bestswordmaster]

You should tell Claude about Lady Athena. He loves strategy and schemes. At home they call him the 'Master Tactician.' For good reason.

You seem to have a lot of gods. That sounds even worse than having one. If your father's the one who presides over the Underworld, what do you preside over?

Yes, different countries have different gods, although you wouldn't know it talking to people in Fodlan. Most of them barely know other countries exist. We can thank the Church for that, too. [The 'thanks' are clearly sarcasm.]

Whose idea was it to keep all the dead souls around like that? Your father's?

[eternallyabsconding]

Ah, but Lady Athena is not so talkative. Claude reminds me more of cousin Hermes. He's a messenger god that's known for being a bit of a trickster.

As I said, I really don't like to think of myself as such, but... I do have a friend that considers me to be the god of blood. Not in the shedding way, but in the life-giving way. Since I exist in perpetual cycle of dying and coming back to life, it seems fitting enough.

Oh no, the Underworld always existed, but father... Well, you could say he drew the short straw when the various worldly domains were sorted out to the different gods. Lord Zeus the sky, Lord Poseidon the sea, and my father the Underworld. And he's been pissy about it ever since.

[bestswordmaster]

Ha. That does also sound like Claude. I'm glad he isn't a god, though. He's ridiculous enough already without immortality and divine power. [He sounds fond.

Then he makes a face.] How excessive. If you're going to die, just die and be done with it. ...obviously, your world and mine are different, but how likely is it that mine has an afterlife like yours?

[At this last statement, Felix smirks, and then...blinks, realizing something.] Oh. By the way. I'm Felix.

[eternallyabsconding]

By this point, it's just my nature. I really don't mind it.

It's impossible to entirely extinguish a mortal soul, so I'd say the odds are very high. They have to go somewhere after they shed themselves of their bodies.

Nice to meet, you, Felix. You can call me Zagreus.

[bestswordmaster]

[They have to go somewhere. So the idea that they go to the Goddess or to the Eternal Flames may not be as absurd as he'd thought, but there still must be more to it than the Seiros faith claims.]

Zagreus. Right. Claude mentioned that.

Wait a minute. This world has Ghost Pokemon. Which means they're the souls of dead Pokemon. And you're not a god here. So this world doesn't have any gods or an afterlife.

[eternallyabsconding]

You make a good point. But think, if every dead human became a Ghost Pokemon, we'd be absolutely inundated with them. Maybe they're just special cases?

[bestswordmaster]

I don't know. You're the prince of the afterlife, you tell me. But I thought Pokemon couldn't die. So how can there be Pokemon ghosts?

[eternallyabsconding]

No, I mean that seriously. It's a number's game. Far more people have died in history than there are alive today. There'd be 1000 Ghost Pokemon for every person living here. Maybe more.

Pokemon can't die? [That's news to him.]

[bestswordmaster]

I'm being serious, too. You would know better than I would what might constitute a special case. I have a sword that's possessed by a ghost and it's just one of many exactly like it. Claude has a teacup possessed by a ghost. How are those Pokemon the same way cats and pigeons are? None of this makes any sense.

[Felix shrugs.] That's what I'm told. I've never tested it.

[eternallyabsconding]

When it comes to Pokemon, I really don't know any better than anyone else. They're a whole new kind of nonsense. There's nothing like them in my world, especially if they can't die.

[bestswordmaster]

Mine either. I suspect if we ever learn more, it will be Claude talking our ears off about it.

Talking to you wasn't so bad, Zagreus. I might even do it again sometime.

Goodbye for now.

[eternallyabsconding]

[Wow, that's a really familiar turn of phrase.]

I hope we cross paths again.