"Heya pal, how're ya feeling? Did you see the Goddess while I've been gone?"
Spiteful, he gritted as he spoke, raising an arm and gesturing it for the other to join him. To make it worse, he used the same arm that Korosu was now without.
Maware himself was completely free of any wounds, including the scars given to him over his many years of training. The warrior had been sitting, watching the unfamiliar scene play out in front of him, completely detached. All he was missing was a box of popcorn. That was, until a certain someone had finally and unmeaningly decided to join him.
"Kiddin'. So, they the ones you're telling me about?"
Korosu blinked at Maware as he suddenly came to awareness in his dreamstate. Before the two of them, two foggy images of boys played with wooden swords. The ghostly children were laughing and chasing eachother through a hazy village with blurring colors. They were Korosu's sons of course, but what was this asshole doing here? "How did you get here?" Korosu hissed at Maware in annoyance, walking over to him.
If only the Goddess herself were present, she would have found the situation itself absolutely hilarious. The irritant hiss from Korosu was enough to give Maware himself a chuckle, unable to help his unwanted appearance. He was stuck there as much as the Demon was stuck with him.
“Well, I think I ended up here ‘cause I’m dead! Not exactly intentional, bud.”
He dropped his question momentarily, choosing to answer the other’s. With a shake of his head, he turned his eyes back to the tranquil scene.
“They look a lot like some of Solarisclan’s youngin’s. Some energy with those two! Bet they’d have made a pair great warriors. If weren’t lying before.”
With a face full of irritation, Korosu looked away from Maware and also watched the boys. "Some of it was true, I suppose. I do have two sons and a dead wife. But I didn't come from Welkinclan and my boys sure as hell weren't stolen." He returned his gaze to Maware, looking a bit entertained. "I suppose I could tell you everything, since you're just an unfortunate piece of my imagination now." Resting his hand on his arm stump (in the way one would usually cross their arms) and looking away again, he sighed. "Damn, soldier, did you fuck up letting me into that clan."
Bursting into a hearty laugh, the former Deputy took a moment to react to Korosu’s insult before wiping a tear away and standing. He dropped a hand on the other’s shoulder and gripped it tightly.
“I did, I did! But my clan is strong enough to support where I’ve failed, y’know. The Goddess herself is always testing us— them.”
He corrected himself and removed his hand, grin shifting into a mere smirk. Although he had his own clan in mind, he was surrounded by the other’s inner remembrances. He was there for a reason.
“And now you. What happened to these happy scenes? Everything else that surrounds us’s shrouded in darkness.”
He scratched the back of his head, almost embarrassed at the thought. Considering what he had heard from Korosu before about what had happened to his children, and the fact that they were no longer with him...
He sure had too much of a heart in life.
“And I meant what I said. You should ask her yourself if you’re so curious.”
"Ask who? You're 'goddess'?" He said, using dramatic air quotes. Korosu looked up at the dream sky and continued with a mocking voice. "Great goddess, why is this pestilence talking to me while I sleep? I'm sure you know all the answers!" With a bratty and sour smile, he turned his head to the side with his hand to his ear in an exaggerated display of waiting for an answer.
Such a bright grin stayed plastered onto his face as he ignored the obvious jabs at the higher power. In fact, he probably took the same amount of swings at her at some point in his life.
“She’s definitely more likely to show up talking shit like that!”
He encouraged the rebellious nature, and was equally thrilled to see the looping scene morph into something similar, yet much more nightmarish.
While the two remained the same, the picture in front of them did not. The dream shifted from being faded to pure static. No boys, nor village could be seen beyond the two of them. The static was monochromatic in nature, yet received sparks of neon glittered into the scene until it formed a face.
How familiar she looked, almost as if she started to use marker on top of her crayon picture.
「 I’ve given you a gift! 」
The voice was grainy, but comprehensible. It didn’t contain such a demanded aura as had his past experience, nevertheless Maware would still take a knee for the presence.
「 Its a blessing— nothing more. But if you use it this way, it may show you more than mere dreams. 」
Korosu's smile vanished and he jumped back in complete surprise at the response. He looked around with a gaping expression before noticing the face. "You again..?" He shook his head at her with disrespect. "Now I know you were only a dream." Korosu looked at Maware and gestured towards the goddess. "See the bullshit my mind comes up with?" Now facing the goddess, "You dumbass, demons don't get blessings. Stop showing up around here, I'm busy."
The great warrior’s head lowered as he brought a hand up to his mouth, choking back laughter. Eyes squeezed shut as he shook, waiting for the goddess’s presence to subside. As it eventually did so, another scene from the Demon’s memories would begin to play on a looped repeat.
“Busy? In a dream?”
His voice cracked as he joked with the other. As soon as he confirmed that the goddess had left them, he stood back at attention.
“Well no wonder ya couldn’t stand me! I must’ve smelled like nothin’ but th’light of the sun if you’re really a demon. Heh... So, care to the explain the scene here? Unless you’ve got somethin’ better to do in a dream.”
"I've always got something better to do than talk to you, fuckface." Korosu muttered. The dream was transforming now, and all around them grew darkness. A huge, blinding light appeared over their heads, slowly taking the shape of an enormous eyeball. The eye was veiny and staring and suddenly there were dozens of them. Huge, moist, looming eyeballs spread out before the two men. Korosu watched them without an expression.
The biggest and first eyeball to take shape then began to seep blood. It dripped huge droplets onto the black ground in front of them. All at once, the eyes began to bleed profusely. The demon ducked his head as the blood poured down onto them in torrents, filling the air with a roaring sound.
Maware was never one to freeze in the face of danger. He had his sturdy sword after all, and an amazing build with plentiful years of training. But where did that leave him- after death- and in a hellish nightmare? He stared up at the giant blue eyeball trying to find the answer.
“Yeesh-“
He took a loud and clunky side-step as he avoided the first shower of blood, his armor clattering as he moved. And then came the torrential downpour.
Flipping his cape upwards and above his head, he motioned over to the demon and stretched the fabric over him. Blood is denser than water, if only slightly. Attempting to keep the two’s faces clear of it wasn’t the easiest task.
“This-“
He didn’t know if he’d be heard under the roar, but he spoke anyways.
Instinctively Korosu flinched away at the first sign of movement from Maware. "Get-!" But as he realized the caring gesture, he stopped. Standing under the cape, the demon looked like a pissed off cat after a bath; his large mess of hair drenched, dripping and plastered onto his face and his expression fixed into a scowl. "Something good?" He shouted back at the man, "This is good compared to what usually happens."
The blood was gathering high around their knees now, almost as if they were in a contained tank.
"I wonder what would happen if you died again?" Korosu said, giving Maware a side-eyed grin.
