02-02-2016, 04:32 PM
The gunsmith leaned back against his chair, holding his hands out in front of him as if to push the shadow away from him. The being slid its face closer to Ballad’s until they were almost touching. Its shark-like teeth were visible through its gleeful smile as it stood up from its seat, rising into the air. It towered over the deceased man, smoke rising like the aftermath of an inferno. The gunner slid down into his seat until he was barely looking over the edge of the table, closing his eyes. He held his hands close to his face, looking away from the apparition as sweat appeared on his forehead, sliding down his cheek.
“Don’t be so frightened, dear gunman. I desire no ill will for an organism like you.” The apparition whispered. It floated up above the seat the soldier sat in, its legs disappearing to form a wisp of smoke. It zipped to Ballad’s side, grasping one of his hands. It tenderly stroked his palm, the touch soothing and warm.
“Rather, I yearn to assist you on your quest to remove this universe of its depravity. It is the only objective that I covet more than knowledge itself.”
The green man opened his eyes, staring in bewilderment at the shade. He glanced down towards his hand, seeing it was still being petted like it was a stray cat. He quickly snapped it back, glaring at the shadow. The phantom’s smile faded away, its eyes dimming as it looked down to the ground.
“I merely desire to support you. Why won’t you allow me?” It uttered, for the first time showing a tiny bit of emotion.
Ballad closed his eyes, taking in a deep breath. He clenched his fists, fighting the urge to tell the ghost off as he opened his eyes.
“Why do you want to help me?” He asked, trying to sound less annoyed and more polite.
The shade paused, locking its fingers together. It appeared to twiddle its thumbs for a moment before coming up with an answer.
“I am a spirit of logic, dear glaucous warrior. I have existed as such for more than a regular amount of calendar years. Within that time-frame, however, I have sought living organisms such as you for one particular purpose: knowledge."
"Knowledge? Aren't you a being of literal thought? Don't you know practically everything?"
"I wish that were so. However, it is inaccurate to describe me as being made of pure rational thought, while also not inaccurate. It is true that I am a being of thought, but I do not yet understand the universe I reside in at the moment. Not everything about everything is comprehensible to me... yet."
"Which is why I am here to help you, my pugnacious destroyer of brigands. You are an opportunity for me to understand. To study, shall we say. In return, I will utilize my vast reserves of knowledge to your benefit."
"So... what you are saying is... you want me to be a test subject for... studying..." The gunner replied, his hand slithering down towards the edge of his coat.
"I speak no untruth, but please, consider it before your palm caresses your firearm." The shade said, its eyes looking down towards his hand as he slid it into his coat. He paused, his digits an inch or two away from his revolver.
"I've observed the deep recesses of your mental faculties. I am fully aware of what you intend to distribute throughout the Omniverse. However, I am afraid to admit to you that you are unprepared for what is out there. There are other realms disparate from the rest, and a plentiful amount that both the Empire and Camelot have influenced. If any of them descry you, you are sure to be banished forevermore."
Ballad kept his hand inside his coat, remaining silent. Part of him wanted to just walk away, but something else wanted him to stay. At least just to see where the thing was going with its speech.
"But... with our combined intellect, you stand a chance at triumph. You see.... a spectre of logic and sense cannot operate efficiently without emotion. No drive to commit to any plan it can concoct. You possess the drive, but lack the thought process for a complicated process such as a holocaust. Ponder. How much do you comprehend about this universe, and will it matter when you find yourself resurrected at the fountain?"
The gunner looked away from the shade, drawing his hand a ways out of his coat. The shade leaned a bit closer towards him, its voice mannerly and calm, as if it was trying to placate a child that knew what it did was wrong.
"You only know a macrocosm of an entire cosmos, my friend. Yes, I am not omniscient, but by comparison, my reserves are vast. Confide with me on this matter, and both of us will be rapturous when we are complete."
The gunsmith curled his fingers, taking in a deep breath. Eventually, albeit half-heartily, he removed his hand from his coat, looking towards the shade. Its smile grew wider than ever as he quietly replied.
"Dammit... you got a point. Fine. What do I need to do?"
"Nothing, in truthfulness. There are terms, however, that I will disclose to you, and that we can agree upon as needed."
"Get on with it already..."
"First, there is the topic of who will take control of your physical form. I propose I be the one to possess it."
"Hold on a damn moment. You aren't just TAKING my body from me, alright? It's fucking mine, so I get to be the one to walk around in it."
"Of course, but how will I study? How will I be able to record what I see? It is unreasonable for you to take complete control of it all the time. And besides, what if your impetuous temper gets us into undesirable inconvenience? How, then, will we be able to accomplish our respective goals?"
"It'd certainly be a lot better than if you stood still, thinking about how pretty the sky looked for ten hours straight, if your "logic spirit" crap is to be believed!" Ballad shouted, standing up from his seat. The shade remained motionless for a few moments before hovering backwards.
"See? If you weren't a fucking ghost, I would've brained you right there."
The shade nodded after a second. "Admittedly, my reaction time is.... less than satisfactory."
"See why I should control it? You'll get us BOTH killed."
"Not if we compromise."
"Hmmm?"
"Clearly, your battle prowess is superior to my own. In terms of diplomacy and overall communal tendencies, however, I am worthier. Therefore, I propose the following: I can handle the everyday aspects of life, but as soon as something... extreme happens that can cause vehement responses, you will take the lead and I will be reduced to a mere voice in your head. This includes combat."
The gunsmith peered at him for a few moments, nodding as he sat back down in his chair.
"In any case... secondly, you do gain some rather... mystical powers of mine that you are inclined to utilize at any opportunity."
"Like?"
"You are familiar with at least one."
Ballad gripped the rests on his chair, shuddering a bit. He shook his head, muttering dejectedly.
"Anything else, uh..."
"Just call me SPB."
"Alright... SPB... you have yourself a deal." He spoke, moving up from his chair. He walked forward towards the specter, seeing the wide smile on its face. He stretched his hand out towards it, feeling its silky palm touch his hand as they shook.
"Where do we start?"
"Firstly.... we must discuss where to go next."
“Don’t be so frightened, dear gunman. I desire no ill will for an organism like you.” The apparition whispered. It floated up above the seat the soldier sat in, its legs disappearing to form a wisp of smoke. It zipped to Ballad’s side, grasping one of his hands. It tenderly stroked his palm, the touch soothing and warm.
“Rather, I yearn to assist you on your quest to remove this universe of its depravity. It is the only objective that I covet more than knowledge itself.”
The green man opened his eyes, staring in bewilderment at the shade. He glanced down towards his hand, seeing it was still being petted like it was a stray cat. He quickly snapped it back, glaring at the shadow. The phantom’s smile faded away, its eyes dimming as it looked down to the ground.
“I merely desire to support you. Why won’t you allow me?” It uttered, for the first time showing a tiny bit of emotion.
Ballad closed his eyes, taking in a deep breath. He clenched his fists, fighting the urge to tell the ghost off as he opened his eyes.
“Why do you want to help me?” He asked, trying to sound less annoyed and more polite.
The shade paused, locking its fingers together. It appeared to twiddle its thumbs for a moment before coming up with an answer.
“I am a spirit of logic, dear glaucous warrior. I have existed as such for more than a regular amount of calendar years. Within that time-frame, however, I have sought living organisms such as you for one particular purpose: knowledge."
"Knowledge? Aren't you a being of literal thought? Don't you know practically everything?"
"I wish that were so. However, it is inaccurate to describe me as being made of pure rational thought, while also not inaccurate. It is true that I am a being of thought, but I do not yet understand the universe I reside in at the moment. Not everything about everything is comprehensible to me... yet."
"Which is why I am here to help you, my pugnacious destroyer of brigands. You are an opportunity for me to understand. To study, shall we say. In return, I will utilize my vast reserves of knowledge to your benefit."
"So... what you are saying is... you want me to be a test subject for... studying..." The gunner replied, his hand slithering down towards the edge of his coat.
"I speak no untruth, but please, consider it before your palm caresses your firearm." The shade said, its eyes looking down towards his hand as he slid it into his coat. He paused, his digits an inch or two away from his revolver.
"I've observed the deep recesses of your mental faculties. I am fully aware of what you intend to distribute throughout the Omniverse. However, I am afraid to admit to you that you are unprepared for what is out there. There are other realms disparate from the rest, and a plentiful amount that both the Empire and Camelot have influenced. If any of them descry you, you are sure to be banished forevermore."
Ballad kept his hand inside his coat, remaining silent. Part of him wanted to just walk away, but something else wanted him to stay. At least just to see where the thing was going with its speech.
"But... with our combined intellect, you stand a chance at triumph. You see.... a spectre of logic and sense cannot operate efficiently without emotion. No drive to commit to any plan it can concoct. You possess the drive, but lack the thought process for a complicated process such as a holocaust. Ponder. How much do you comprehend about this universe, and will it matter when you find yourself resurrected at the fountain?"
The gunner looked away from the shade, drawing his hand a ways out of his coat. The shade leaned a bit closer towards him, its voice mannerly and calm, as if it was trying to placate a child that knew what it did was wrong.
"You only know a macrocosm of an entire cosmos, my friend. Yes, I am not omniscient, but by comparison, my reserves are vast. Confide with me on this matter, and both of us will be rapturous when we are complete."
The gunsmith curled his fingers, taking in a deep breath. Eventually, albeit half-heartily, he removed his hand from his coat, looking towards the shade. Its smile grew wider than ever as he quietly replied.
"Dammit... you got a point. Fine. What do I need to do?"
"Nothing, in truthfulness. There are terms, however, that I will disclose to you, and that we can agree upon as needed."
"Get on with it already..."
"First, there is the topic of who will take control of your physical form. I propose I be the one to possess it."
"Hold on a damn moment. You aren't just TAKING my body from me, alright? It's fucking mine, so I get to be the one to walk around in it."
"Of course, but how will I study? How will I be able to record what I see? It is unreasonable for you to take complete control of it all the time. And besides, what if your impetuous temper gets us into undesirable inconvenience? How, then, will we be able to accomplish our respective goals?"
"It'd certainly be a lot better than if you stood still, thinking about how pretty the sky looked for ten hours straight, if your "logic spirit" crap is to be believed!" Ballad shouted, standing up from his seat. The shade remained motionless for a few moments before hovering backwards.
"See? If you weren't a fucking ghost, I would've brained you right there."
The shade nodded after a second. "Admittedly, my reaction time is.... less than satisfactory."
"See why I should control it? You'll get us BOTH killed."
"Not if we compromise."
"Hmmm?"
"Clearly, your battle prowess is superior to my own. In terms of diplomacy and overall communal tendencies, however, I am worthier. Therefore, I propose the following: I can handle the everyday aspects of life, but as soon as something... extreme happens that can cause vehement responses, you will take the lead and I will be reduced to a mere voice in your head. This includes combat."
The gunsmith peered at him for a few moments, nodding as he sat back down in his chair.
"In any case... secondly, you do gain some rather... mystical powers of mine that you are inclined to utilize at any opportunity."
"Like?"
"You are familiar with at least one."
Ballad gripped the rests on his chair, shuddering a bit. He shook his head, muttering dejectedly.
"Anything else, uh..."
"Just call me SPB."
"Alright... SPB... you have yourself a deal." He spoke, moving up from his chair. He walked forward towards the specter, seeing the wide smile on its face. He stretched his hand out towards it, feeling its silky palm touch his hand as they shook.
"Where do we start?"
"Firstly.... we must discuss where to go next."
C&C Thread
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New to OV? Need a question answered? Want a C&C of your work? Send a PM to me!
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