Thirteenth: Killing the Mood (Video; un: Caster/forward dated to 14th)

[colchismagecraft]

[tw death/afterlife talk]

[Unlike last Valentine's Day, Caster didn't come to the network late that evening looking for a distraction- instead, she used the chance to shatter romantic moods, and ask a question that had been playing on her mind for some time.

Of course, the video was dark, poorly lit and as suspicious as was traditional with her- the lower half of her face only visible by the gleaming of a strange potion brewing nearby.]

Good evening, Avalon. For those I haven't met yet, I go by 'Caster' here.

For anyone else who's grown tired of the day's festivities and would like to humour me- I have a question. Tell me, what is the afterlife like in your worlds? There are so many legends, after all, and I'm always interested in hearing in how they differ.

[A pause for thought, before adding, by way of deflection: ]

Ah. I'm working on some new potions at the moment- do come by if you're curious.

Comments

Text | UN: Anonymous

[mayoninofukucho]

[Caster... after she participated in Maribelle's revenge and put him through the wringer Hijikata is hardly inclined to converse with her, but the flame of vengeance is burning inside him. This witch really didn't have to take so much glee in it!! So he impulsively responds - though this time, unlike on Maribelle's call-out post, he has the good sense to go anonymous, even though he's really just sharing information she asked for. Right?]

In Japan we have heaven and hell, like in many other Earth cultures. Hell is split in 16 levels - 8 warm hells and 8 cold hells. Different crimes will land you in different hells, so murderers, for example, go to the Reviving Hell (warm). There demons will beat you to death, torture, mutilate and dismember you, and each time you'll revive to go through it again and again. Forever.

[That man she loved and whose death she kidnapped Darin over and set the Brocéliande on fire last year was Japanese, right? Much as Darin advocated for them both, right now Hijikata is in an extremely biased and uncharitable mood. That guy must have been a rotten bastard to be Caster's ally and lover! Maybe he wasn't a murderer, but if he was he had it coming, and if she's going to fret now it's well-deserved!]

Video -> Audio/Text

[colchismagecraft]

[Caster didn't switch over to text immediately, so he would be able to see something of her expression as she read over what he had sent- with bored curiosity at first, but then she started to focus.

This person was talking about Japan, after all, so they might have the very information she'd been hoping to get out of fielding questions to the network: Reassurance that her beloved Souichirou-sama wouldn't have suffered too cruelly after his death.

Instead, though... her expression twisted as she bit her lip, the hand that was drawn in close to her chest starting to tremble. A quiet fear she rarely let slip it's way out.

...And then the video was clumsily switched off. Sound was still coming through, though, if the bubbling of potions in the background was anything to go by.]

that cant be rightt
your
rdiculous childrens horror stories i wont

liar

[...Her Master had rarely spoke about his history, but she at least knew that even before he'd met her, he had blood on his hands. Would this- would this cruel punishment really have been his fate? Caster wanted to believe this was just a prank, but the fear was like shards of glass twisting it's way into her- and it wouldn't take much needling to shatter that fragile denial she was clinging onto.]

[mayoninofukucho]

[At first Hijikata feels vindictive joy as he sees her expression turn from mild interest to alertness and then to shock, but there's a jab of guilt in the mix. He has a sadistic streak, it can't be denied, but he feels like he's betraying Darin's wish for him to forgive Caster, all the more after he found out earlier on this very Valentine's Day that the young blacksmith is gone from Avalon. Isn't he partly just taking his overall abysmal day out on her?

When she responds in writing it gives him pause. Those short, unpunctuated, jumbled lines... what do they remind him of? He's still angry at her - he practically feels personally targeted by her at the rate they've been having unpleasant run-ins -, but is it really right to torment her like this? Darin would be disappointed, and so would Kondou back home. He struggles with his conflicting feelings for a moment, then mercy wins out, though he stays detached and factual in his response.]

I'm not lying. But I saw that someone in another thread told you about Yomi, the underworld of the Shinto religion. The heaven and hell I'm speaking of are part of Buddhism. Both are major religions in Japan.

[There's her way out. It's too bad that Ryuudou Temple, Caster and Souichirou's base of operations, was very much a Buddhist temple, but how is he supposed to know that?]

[colchismagecraft]

[Yomi was associated with Shintoism. And this Hell he spoke of was associated with Buddhism.

...She realised the problem almost immediately. What small comfort she'd got from talking to Minato about Yomi were dashed as she thought back. If anything, that made his fate all the more certain!

The witch's breath caught in her throat as she hurriedly replied, her typing getting worse by the minute.]

the monks at the tempele neevr spok e of that
nohing of th esort
they would surely have said something
iif there was trul y a place like that waiting

you cur
i will find you and make suree you burn for sufgesting such a thig

i
ii


i wont accept that
i cant

[mayoninofukucho]

[It almost makes him laugh bitterly how easily she could make her threat reality, but she's the last goddamn person who needs to know that he's been poisoned with the same type of potion meant to be used in the infamous night club quest he jinxed!

But... now he suddenly remembers where he saw that kind of jumbled, grief-distorted text before. It was on the anon meme somebody posted on AOL almost half a year ago.

Shit. Shit!!

Did he seriously commiserate with Caster back then?! Of all people?! She was so sympathetic and, not knowing the names and places, wished him well in his endeavour to one day see his Mitsuba on Primatica again... and he tried to encourage her that there was also still hope for her and the man she loved - Souichirou, in hindsight.

How is he even supposed to deal with this?!

He takes a long time to respond, first finding and re-reading their old thread. It brings back the bittersweet pain, the hope that Mitsuba is still frozen on Prismatica, not back in her grave on Earth... but also the sense of comfort which sharing his grief and worries with Caster gave him back then.]

I checked my sources and realised that I forgot about something.

[That's not true. He withheld the information on purpose.]

The punishment in Buddhist hell isn't NECESSARILY the same forever. There are trials ever so often where the person is summoned before one of the kings of hell. They happen after the first 100 days, then after 1, 2, 6, 12, and 32 years.

If you show repentance and good conduct you have a chance of getting your sentence lessened or even being released from hell so you can be reincarnated. It also helps if people pray for you.

[colchismagecraft]

[In the pause, Caster had put her phone aside- and with the audio still on, there was a shuffling as she curled up on the sofa, pulling the Golden Fleece over her lap like a blanket. Her breaths were small, shaky- however much she tried to muffle the sound.

She was all the more glad she'd turned off the video. The last thing she needed was for this stranger to see the tears pricking in her eyes.

Unlike him, Caster had no idea this was who she'd spoken to on AOL so long ago- or even that the person she was talking to now was Hijikata. She had her share of people with grudges in Avalon, after all.

When the message buzzed through, it took her a little while to bring herself to pick up the phone and read over it- weakly muttering the words as she read them.]

Trials...summoned before one of the kings...100 days...1, 2, 6, 12, and 32 years...

[Did that mean there was a chance for him to escape a fate like that? Slowly, slowly she managed to type a reply.]

pray to who
the kings or


ill have to look a little more nto this

[mayoninofukucho]

[Hijikata doesn't know how to feel, still reeling from the realisation that this woman he neither likes nor trusts shared her grief and hope with him back then. Her weak voice coming through the audio and the following question make his desire to hurt and upset her diminish even more.]

The supreme ruler of Buddhist hell is the great king Enma (Yama is another name for him, in case you come across it). There are no Buddhist temples here, but I guess you can still pray to him and ask him for lenience with whoever it is you're praying for.

[He really doesn't know what kind of guy Souichiriou was, but he sends an addendum, just in case.]

What probably helps people in hell the most is sincerely regretting their sins.

[colchismagecraft]

[There was a faint sound- that of pen scribbling notes in a nearby notebook. Would Hecate be angry with her, she wondered, if she offered her prayers to a being like this great king Enma? She knew the price that came with angering the Gods- but if it meant her beloved wouldn't suffer too severely...]

i will keep that in mind

[Slowly, her composure was starting to come back- the sound that might have been muffled sobs hadn't entirely stopped, but the typing was at least a little more coherent.]

do you believe the great king to be fair or merciful
if they do regret what came before

[mayoninofukucho]

He's a just ruler. Buddhist hell is very organised and by-the-book, so things are done properly in accordance with its rules and laws. There's no undue mercy, but also no undue unforgiveness.

[That's his understanding and belief, in any case. Personally he prefers such organisation over the vague disembodiedness of Yomi.]

[colchismagecraft]

[There was some reassurance in that, at least. Fair, and ordered. Her Souichirou would hopefully be alright.]

i understand

[She wouldn't thank this person, if just out of spite and her own mood- but it at least served to bring a little rest to her fractured mind.

Caster's muttering could still be heard, though.]

This is cruel...why should he have to suffer?

[mayoninofukucho]

["Why should he have to suffer?" Because he presumably got up to some seriously bad shit with this witch!! That's Hijikata's mental response, but his vengeful fire is fully extinguished at this point.]

Best of luck.

[This woman... she's so annoying, shady and sadistic, and yet he helped her out, and all this after she put him through a very mortifying ordeal. This better help his own karma when he ends up in hell!]