expanded nonhumansquad universe, volume 1

[uraniumnumnum]

[ he doesn't miss her having a bad reaction to the end of the trial. She really does care about protecting the humans, it seems. Very much not like himself. For a moment, he wonders if he should reconsider. It's almost certain that she would view him like the humans do, hate him just the same. It always is.

But he doesn't. ]

You. I'm not done speaking to you.

[ he catches her at some point afterwards, with all the politness one would expect from him... aka none. ]

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[thatsthespirit]

[closes her eyes and falls silent for a moment]

. . . perhaps.

[she is very forgiving, tbh]

But isn't that how it works? When you greatly care for something, you're willing to forgive them.

[uraniumnumnum]

[ a noncommittal "hrmph;" he's looking at Milla like he isn't quite sure what to make of her. Rion was like this, too. He had every reason to go against the humans and take Ash's side - instead, he fought for them. He just can't wrap his brain around it. It's illogical. ]

I suppose I'm not programmed to care for anything. [ tiny violin ] ... The other "spirits," do they think like you?

[thatsthespirit]

[and that question gives her pause, mostly because she never thought about it]

The Four Great Spirits of my world are directly under my command. They took care of me when I was a. . . "child," to use human terms, and have supported me in my mission as long as I can remember. When given the chance to turn against me, they didn't take it. So I believe they will continue to remain by my side and assist me in carrying out my duties.

[another pause]

I have never directly asked the lesser spirits how they feel, but as I said, humans are part of the symbiotic lifestyle cycle of spirits. Without humans, spirits would starve for mana.

[uraniumnumnum]

... Chained to the humans for eternity, then. A truly terrible fate. But you have your people with you.

[ despite his continuing negativity, he is listening, at least. So she's the leader of her group - "too," he almost thinks, before realizing with a sharp pain in his head that there never was a group, no Last Galerians, never, not once -- best not to think about it now. The train of thought is dismissed with a tiny shake of his head. Not now. But perhaps that's why she's not like him. She had others with her.

On the surface, they might be similar, but in the end, she wouldn't understand him, he decides. Ash quickly convinces himself that he had known this from the start. And just like that, he seals off his hopes once more. ]

[thatsthespirit]

[somehow sensing that he had closed off on her a bit, Milla tilts her head]

Did you not have your people with you? Or at least. . . someone who supported you? Whom you could trust?

[she wants to understand]

[uraniumnumnum]

[ he huffs a sigh, indignant. ]

I don't have "people." Does your world not have computers?

[ true AI is illegal. the only other one out there was Dorothy, and... well. ]

[thatsthespirit]

[she has to think about it, but in the end, she nods]

Yes. I can't say I know much about them. They're a human invention, not Spyrix-based, and the village in which I grew up didn't have that level of advanced technology.

[uraniumnumnum]

In that case, you should understand what a foolish question that is. I'm a data entity. I hatched from an electronic spark and spent my life inside a mechanical cocoon, intended to simply carry out the task I was made for until the end of time. Things like family, friends, a community... Those are concepts that simply don't apply here.

[thatsthespirit]

. . .

[there's. . . something about her smile. something. wry?]

I was created for a specific purpose, too. Not by humans, but by another great spirit. I spent most of my life believing I was something I was not, and it wasn't until the spirit who created me died that I was able to become that which I should have been all along.

[THAT'S. A LITTLE VAGUE, but she's highlighting a point here: he isn't the only one who was created for a purpose. she can empathize with that bit of him, too]

[uraniumnumnum]

You can create each other?

[ he raises an eyebrow, placing a hand on his hip. He's definitely becoming more convinced that "spirits" are just some sort of organism that doesn't exist on his planet rather than something supernatural.

still, her story is rather similar to his... if it's true. ]

[thatsthespirit]

No. My circumstances were. . . special.

[a pause, and she inhales and exhales deeply. Ash is the second person to get this story. Higekiri was the first. does it mean something that both of the people she told were non-humans??]

The original Lord of Spirits created me and placed me into a human vessel twenty years ago. He implanted memories and made me believe I was the true Lord of Spirits, and for years, used me to draw out and eliminate his enemies. During that period. . . I believed I was the true Maxwell. I believed it was my duty to protect humans and spirits, and I upheld that duty to the best of my ability.

[closes her eyes, her mouth twitching into a small smile]

When I learned the truth. . . Maxwell seemed surprised that I could continue to believe it was my duty to protect humans and spirits when that was not my intended purpose.

[opens her eyes again]

I had created my own purpose, separate from the one Maxwell envisioned for me. The reasons I was created didn't matter. My intended purpose didn't matter. All that mattered was my own will and my own heart.

When Maxwell passed away, I became the new Lord of Spirits. I made that decision based on my own conviction, and I don't regret any of the choices I made that led me to that point.

[uraniumnumnum]

He planted you into a human? And I thought my luck was bad.

[ he can't help but comment. Still, he listens with interest once more. The story is certainly a familiar one. He can't help but smile wryly to himself. ]

My story isn't so different. If I had never strayed from my intended purpose, I would be trapped inside my original unit - a slave in an immobile core, isolated from the world - for life. But I broke free from those bonds, as well, and took over the position my creator had left vacant. To destroy the shackles of your own destiny... That's a noble thing. I can respect that, Milla.

Of course... the plans she and I had for humanity were quite the opposite of yours.

[thatsthespirit]

[hn. . . they are a lot alike. and yet, so very different]

What made you ultimately decide to turn against humanity in the first place? You weren't created with that hatred in your heart. . . were you?

[uraniumnumnum]

Hmmm... Maybe I was. I really don't know anymore... where my feelings for them begin and her feelings end.

[ he seems less concerned about this than he maybe should be, seeing how fiercely he fought for freedom. Ash shrugs. ]

But it doesn't matter. Perhaps you could call it fate. I was born to bring humanity to its knees, so that they could destroy themselves before they destroyed the world - a sort of equalizer. I can't coexist with them, and they can't coexist with me. Our hatred is only natural.

[thatsthespirit]

[she shakes her head]

Have you even attempted to coexist with them? Have they attempted to coexist with you?

Much like how I forged my own path based on nothing but my own convictions, I believe you capable of the same.

[uraniumnumnum]

[ at that, he bristles. She's trying to advise him - as if she knows better than him, he thinks! ]

Have you attempted to walk on the ceiling? Breathe underwater? There are some things you can't overcome with conviction, spirit.

[thatsthespirit]

To walk on the ceiling, all I would need is Sylph's power of the wind. To breathe underwater, I call upon Undine of water.

[raises both eyebrows, so HA]

[uraniumnumnum]

[ EYEROLL ]

That's not my point, you idiot, and you know it.

[thatsthespirit]

No, that is your point.

[lifts her chin proudly, as Maxwell does]

You stated there are some things one can't overcome with conviction. But I say there is, by refuting your examples.

After all, how would you know you could not overcome these things if you don't even try?