( video | un: revanche )

[nilhilistic]

[ there is a man with very pale hair and red eyes, addressing the network stiffly. ]

Greetings. I am a new arrival to this world. I will assist to the best of my ability.

However, I must ask . . . is it true that we must be . . . touching? What does that mean? What level of touch is acceptable?

Are there tiers of touch? Surely, someone must have worked out a system.

Comments

[nilhilistic]

[ nil wouldn't say it's been all that great for him either. ]

Yes. I no longer recall how old I am.

[essenceborn]

How come? Did you forget...?

[nilhilistic]

After a while, the passage of time becomes meaningless. As does your age.

[essenceborn]

But if you don't keep track of the time, then how do you know if it passes? How do you know the same day isn't happening over again?

[nilhilistic]

[ his expression flickers for a moment, as if out of recognition. ]

I do not, unless something meaningful occurs in it.

[essenceborn]

Doesn't that bother you...?

[ It would bother Nen. It would bother Nen a whole lot--even after leaving their world and arriving here, they keep a strict record of how many days it's been since their arrival.

They don't even sleep until they're certain the day as switched over into a new one and hasn't repeated itself. ]

( spoilers )

[nilhilistic]

No. Nothing can be worse than the thousand years I endure by myself.

[essenceborn]

By...yourself?

[ Nil noooo :c ]

[nilhilistic]

Yes. Alone in an empty world. Nothing else lived there.

[essenceborn]

[ Nenonen's not the most expressive person out there, but when Nil says that...something about their expression shutters. It's a subtle thing, but it's there. ]

...What happened to everything?

[nilhilistic]

[ nil happened. though, he merely killed off an already dying world. ]

There was a war, long ago. It wiped out all life there, save for a few exceptions.

[essenceborn]

[ War. Nen's heard that word before, but hasn't gotten around to looking it up yet. Ayato mentioned it once, briefly, while they were helping to clean up the graveyard. ]

What's...war? What were the exceptions?

[nilhilistic]

[ huh. ]

Do you not know what war is?

[essenceborn]

No. A friend said it was a terrible thing, and it was best that I didn't understand. He didn't explain it after that.

[nilhilistic]

I suppose they are not mistaken, but I'm not sure if I agree that ignorance is better. To know a terrible thing ensures you are less likely to do it.

[essenceborn]

I could make a war??

[nilhilistic]

Anyone can, with work and time.

[essenceborn]

I don't want to make one.

[nilhilistic]

I didn't think you wanted that.

[essenceborn]

Can you tell me what is it? So I know what not to do?

[nilhilistic]

Very well.

Wars take place for a variety of reasons. Some begin as invasions of other countries, to take their resources and wealth. Others happen due to a difference of opinion, mostly religious. Sometimes, there is a long history of violence between the two that simply explodes into a war.

The rulers of the country are responsible for their wars.

[essenceborn]

Do wars only happen between..."countries"?

[nilhilistic]

Yes. They require a large amount of people. A war cannot take place with a singular person.

[essenceborn]

I wish you'd started with that!

[ Nenonen sags a bit, shoulders releasing some of the tension that had been building in their form. ]

[nilhilistic]

It's not my fault you jumped to conclusions.