biteoffherhead

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001

[Voice]

[As always, Moro's use of the journal is extremely minimal. She has only one thing to say to any of you, as she is so kind as to warn you all in advance.]

I have returned. All who grievously harm this forest will die.

[Action]

[With that, Moro can be found in the forest, slowly and stiffly walking about to get herself familiar with the forest of Luceti once more. She sniffs at the bark of trees, scratches at some patches of dirt with her claws, and otherwise silently moves. She has no mark of the demon, as many of her victims from over a year ago have... she has nothing amiss about her other than the bleeding of her chest wound, which is simply dripping along the path she is walking.

She has not yet approached the village. All she has done is use her journal to address them, and she is currently carrying the paper book in her mouth.]

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[She tenses, contemplating standing or even sitting upright, letting out a wary growl. None of Rudy's sentiment truly weighs in Moro's heart - he has no understanding of what a demon is, or the great shame that she holds for becoming one. She did not even succumb in her final moments of life in her own world.]

I have never known that curse to diminish. Even if it retreats, or you are forcing it back in some strange way, it will not be contained. It is your rage. It is your anger, and your fear, and it is your weakness as a mortal being. Once your anger flares the mark will spread and destroy you.

[Well... without him even asking, Moro already answered a few questions he had been intending to ask. Grimly, he nods at her words, even if it meant acknowledging the worst of them.]

I know. Even though it's contained now, I know it won't stay like this forever. But I'm still not going to give up. I can't.

[His gaze falls back to his right arm. As far as his own curse went, it was placed in a dormant state thanks to the efforts of Isaac and Saori. And to a further extent, Eley and Jane's support. Though even despite their efforts, it still couldn't be lifted and Moro was exactly right in her words. It could easily come back if he wasn't careful with his emotions.

But then again... Albert seemed to have his outright cured, at least from his own understanding during their conversation. That meant there was still hope, right?]

It probably sounds strange, but I ended up learning a lot of things this past year.

[Things he didn't necessarily want to admit about himself, and because of that what ended up driving a wedge between his friends and himself. Moro was right - it really was his weakness, and he had to come to terms with that.]

Facing death teaches quite a bit.

[She can understand that much. She ran head-first into danger many, many times. And living for several centuries, she had many dramatic revelations of her place, her power, her purpose...]

But unlike most, who will live for decades... or even unlike most of the gods, who may take that knowledge with them for another few centuries... you will die by that curse. It will consume you. Once you lose control, your fear and despair of its victory will only feed it. And it will be agonizing.

It wouldn't be the first time.

[He's already faced it once before. And he's been forced to learn things about himself even then. Still, he nods once more. ... Though he'd be lying if there weren't some part of him that still feared dying in such a manner over and over.]

And once it does, I'll come back and the process will start all over. ... That much we've learned.

So even leaping off of a cliff to end it will not bring you peace. It was the only salvation I could give to you.

[For a moment, there's nothing from the boy in response. Then, a shaky sigh as his gaze trails off to the side. He'd be lying if he wasn't hoping for something helpful, but he still didn't expect Moro to have any answers. If there were, she'd surely have mentioned them. Right? Still, there was no denying it still stung to hear that from her.]

It's all right. There's still a couple things about the curse that's been bothering me.

[An audible exhale escapes, his expression turning more somber. This might be a difficult subject to tread on - that much he's aware. Even so, he'll continue.]

I know it's supposed to be a, um... a demon's mark. [Visibly, he tenses upon mentioning that last part.] I wanted to ask you more about that. About what your world calls "demons".

Demons are gods that lose themselves to rage and fear. The blood boils and erupts from their flesh, and they become as walking corpses. They are long dead, but they still march on as their body falls apart and rots, held together only by their fury.

I have seen demons only twice in recent memory. One was the boar god Nago, the previous and true guardian of my forest. When humans arrived with their guns and killed his boars, he fled in fear and let his hatred consume him. The ancient boar Okkoto fell to his rage after nearly dying in his assault against the humans, and marched straight to the pool of the Forest Spirit, leading humans there. The world likely ended... I was granted a peaceful death before the humans attacked the Forest Spirit.

[Eboshi took a shot, but.]

Likewise, my feeding on the soldiers in Vaskoth was what doomed you and any others touched by me. I lost myself to the hunger, and shamefully, I did not simply die. The boy Silver had to see to my death.

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