This venerable one is the Moon Supreme of the Moon Tribe, the most powerful being in the Three Realms, and Captain of the Corsair ship the Phantom Moon | 月幻影.
NOTE
Do not bother this venerable one with idle chatter.
[ A few days after their last conversation, Nimona is sending a message. ]
So, I just wanted to check in with you after our talk about emotions and all the other stuff. I thought you might be mad (you sure seem like you can get angry) or something by what I said, so I gave it a few days.
You're not having an existential crisis over it, right?
[He also wasn't having an existential crisis. He knew what he should do about his emotional roots recovering. He simply didn't have the energy to try.
...or anyone he trusted to do the torturing necessary.
They hadn't recovered much, anyway. He had time. He could still experience it a little. Just a little. Just enough to understand what he'd be giving up. Maybe enough to finally understand what Orchid had meant by there being strength in those emotions. By what Nimona had said, even. It was at least worth trying to understand. Since it compelled and influenced so many others.]
[That... that was surprising. Genuinely. He wasn't sure if anyone had ever expressed that they wanted to understand what it was like to be without emotions.
Of course, it could just be words. A trap of some sort.
Nimona didn't think well of him. That was a fact. Those who didn't think well of him often attempted to hurt him or ruin his reputation. That was also a fact. He had started to make a reputation for himself in this world. Another fact. His reputation in this world only mattered as far as it provided him with means to protect those that he now counted as his own people, find a way to break the heart-curse, and find a way to return to the Three Realms. Also facts.]
Without emotions, you can see clearly the pros and cons of a situation. There is no pity, no hate, to drive your choices. There is no guilt over doing what must be done to deter you from doing it.
[ There might actually be people out there that don't have emotions, but it's not exactly the same, is it?
Now, Nimona might not consider them to be friends or any sort of companion, but she's also the last person to hold anything against him. If he had hurt her friends or maybe even called her a monster without trying to understand at all, then they'd really have a problem. But honestly, maybe he'll see that this world is different from his own. Not everyone is out to get him. ]
Ages are difficult to correlate between mortals and immortals. It was before this venerable one's voice cracked and he began the final growth that marks a child becoming an adult.
This venerable one used a forbidden art to kill his emotional roots.
[His father had started it, of course, but Daqiang had obeyed him. That made it much his own choice as his father's. To be filial. How ironic it was, then, that it was his unfilial killing of that parent which firmly put him on the throne as the undisputed Moon Supreme. All because his father couldn't accept Daqiang being stronger than him, ruling over him, and insisting that the only way to take it all from him was to kill him. His father had been weak. Dongfang Qingcang had not.]
No. This venerable one was already the named heir and would become the Moon Supreme so long as this venerable one could prove stronger than all other contenders for the title. This venerable one did it to obtain power that only one other being in all of time had ever held.
Because this venerable one's father, the Moon Supreme before this venerable one, was already losing. Territory. Goods. Lives. And he was the most powerful and talented of the Moon Tribe prior to this venerable one's ascension. He would not have been Moon Supreme otherwise.
He deserved his fate.
If not for this venerable one mastering Hellfire, which gives him enough power to face down an army on his own and more, his people would long be scattered at best. Completely eradicated at worst.
[No. Because a certain God of War killed herself and managed to separate his primordial spirit from his body which made it easy to capture him and imprison both in such a way they couldn't reach each other. But that's not something he's telling Nimona.]
Nearly all our territory had been lost when this venerable one took the throne.
Much of our armies need rebuilding. Even if this venerable one can face an army on his own, Shuiyuntian has had the time and resources to field a dozen. There is still much to regain before we can take the battle to the heart of them.
This venerable one has prevented Shuiyuntian from wiping his people out when they otherwise would have already fallen. That is a feat only one other in history can claim. If it takes another 10,000 years or another 30,000, this venerable one will be the one to bring an end to Shuiyuntian's oppression of Cangyanhai.
[The statement was ambiguous enough to imply that he hadn't had 30,000 year nap that set everything back without actually lying about the matter.]
What will happen when the fight is over, and you don't have to worry about them being a threat? Will you try to restore your emotions or do you want to stay as you are?
[That was a question that shouldn't have had any answer other than 'it doesn't matter because it's not possible'. But it was possible. Because his emotional roots were recovering. Slowly, yes. But faster than he was ready for.
And thinking about what he wanted when it came to feeling them...
No. No. It still wasn't his choice. Not really. He needed to be able to control Hellfire. It was what he'd destroyed himself for. Became a monster for. Was tortured by his own father for. He was the ruler of Cangyanhai. But also their weapon. That was the purpose he'd sacrificed all his emotions and desires for.
What was he if he wasn't a tool of war to hold back whatever threatened his people?]
Once this venerable one has conquered the Three Realms in their entirety, this venerable one will rule over them all and ensure peace remains for his people to thrive.
[Did it answer her question? No. Was he going to? Also no. He didn't really have an answer to give.]
[ That is... a reverse Nimona answer. Where she doesn't tell the story about "how she got her abilities" with truthful words, Dongfang gives a non-answer to the future. It's probably a big question, one he doesn't have an answer for yet. He denies having emotions, but Nimona has seen them.
Truthfully, it's okay not to know exactly what he will want. Maybe he'll get more emotions back or maybe something will happen, and he'll lose them between now and then. He went through a lot for this power to protect his people, sacrificed more than just his emotions. ]
Okay, I feel like I understand a lot better now. Thank you for answering my questions. If you have any for me, that don't involve my origins, you know how to find me.
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permatext;
So, I just wanted to check in with you after our talk about emotions and all the other stuff. I thought you might be mad (you sure seem like you can get angry) or something by what I said, so I gave it a few days.
You're not having an existential crisis over it, right?
permatext;
[He also wasn't having an existential crisis. He knew what he should do about his emotional roots recovering. He simply didn't have the energy to try.
...or anyone he trusted to do the torturing necessary.
They hadn't recovered much, anyway. He had time. He could still experience it a little. Just a little. Just enough to understand what he'd be giving up. Maybe enough to finally understand what Orchid had meant by there being strength in those emotions. By what Nimona had said, even. It was at least worth trying to understand. Since it compelled and influenced so many others.]
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[ She would not stop anyone from experiencing emotions, they can sometimes suck to have, but being without. That can really mess up a person. ]
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Of course, it could just be words. A trap of some sort.
Nimona didn't think well of him. That was a fact. Those who didn't think well of him often attempted to hurt him or ruin his reputation. That was also a fact. He had started to make a reputation for himself in this world. Another fact. His reputation in this world only mattered as far as it provided him with means to protect those that he now counted as his own people, find a way to break the heart-curse, and find a way to return to the Three Realms. Also facts.]
Without emotions, you can see clearly the pros and cons of a situation. There is no pity, no hate, to drive your choices. There is no guilt over doing what must be done to deter you from doing it.
There is no guilt over anything.
[Not even killing his father.]
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Now, Nimona might not consider them to be friends or any sort of companion, but she's also the last person to hold anything against him. If he had hurt her friends or maybe even called her a monster without trying to understand at all, then they'd really have a problem. But honestly, maybe he'll see that this world is different from his own. Not everyone is out to get him. ]
And you've been like this since you were young?
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[His father had started it, of course, but Daqiang had obeyed him. That made it much his own choice as his father's. To be filial. How ironic it was, then, that it was his unfilial killing of that parent which firmly put him on the throne as the undisputed Moon Supreme. All because his father couldn't accept Daqiang being stronger than him, ruling over him, and insisting that the only way to take it all from him was to kill him. His father had been weak. Dongfang Qingcang had not.]
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He deserved his fate.
If not for this venerable one mastering Hellfire, which gives him enough power to face down an army on his own and more, his people would long be scattered at best. Completely eradicated at worst.
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[ It's been 30,000 - so what happened? ]
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Nearly all our territory had been lost when this venerable one took the throne.
Much of our armies need rebuilding. Even if this venerable one can face an army on his own, Shuiyuntian has had the time and resources to field a dozen. There is still much to regain before we can take the battle to the heart of them.
This venerable one has prevented Shuiyuntian from wiping his people out when they otherwise would have already fallen. That is a feat only one other in history can claim. If it takes another 10,000 years or another 30,000, this venerable one will be the one to bring an end to Shuiyuntian's oppression of Cangyanhai.
[The statement was ambiguous enough to imply that he hadn't had 30,000 year nap that set everything back without actually lying about the matter.]
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What will happen when the fight is over, and you don't have to worry about them being a threat? Will you try to restore your emotions or do you want to stay as you are?
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And thinking about what he wanted when it came to feeling them...
No. No. It still wasn't his choice. Not really. He needed to be able to control Hellfire. It was what he'd destroyed himself for. Became a monster for. Was tortured by his own father for. He was the ruler of Cangyanhai. But also their weapon. That was the purpose he'd sacrificed all his emotions and desires for.
What was he if he wasn't a tool of war to hold back whatever threatened his people?]
Once this venerable one has conquered the Three Realms in their entirety, this venerable one will rule over them all and ensure peace remains for his people to thrive.
[Did it answer her question? No. Was he going to? Also no. He didn't really have an answer to give.]
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Truthfully, it's okay not to know exactly what he will want. Maybe he'll get more emotions back or maybe something will happen, and he'll lose them between now and then. He went through a lot for this power to protect his people, sacrificed more than just his emotions. ]
Okay, I feel like I understand a lot better now. Thank you for answering my questions. If you have any for me, that don't involve my origins, you know how to find me.