AGG: HSS: Stiles 1

Stiles 1

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Commissioned by Chaosbrain

Word Count: 1068

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What makes an individual worth more than another? Is it power? Perhaps, experience? Or, maybe, it’s their drive? Why is it that some catch my eye more than others? What makes some better to make fools of than others? Why is it that I want to make a target of one individual over another? How is a warlord any different from a CEO mired in corruption? What of a darling with a sordid, wretched past and an icon in the wasteland?

How can I not find another target to pursue, besides Li Song, when he is patently and completely beyond my grasp?

My sources of power speak at my behest. I force them to speak, even if they have to whisper, or if they must sign with their fingers, as some are bereft of their tongues. They had come upon me. They had demanded of me. They had fallen to me. Each one was the height of a fool, believing that they could overwhelm one another after they felled me, until they were reborn. Thus, when they thought me dead, I struck. The Gods each fell to the simplest trick in the book, because they could not comprehend their vessel to be without pride.

They were useful as sources of information, so I let them continue to live, and so I inquired them of answers.

The best would be free of torment, while the others wailed.

One couldn’t be too careful with malicious entities of divine power, especially those lauded in history to be untrustworthy.

If they somehow died due to my methods, their power would remain, so I simply chose the most prudent path.

But, I have allowed my mind to wander from my objective.

Li Song. The Savior of Japan. The Miracle. The savior. However, of all the silly titles rendered unto him, the most important was the simplest and most terrifying. He is the Aspect of Conflict. A being who personifies overcoming every challenge. Thus, that mantle was his greatest asset.

Or, it should have been.

Being born a human and raised by the Tuzi, he was naturally enamored with the pursuit of happiness, the destruction of all who lord over life, and realizing freedom. They were a tribe of former slaves, after all, so when he was taught their most cherished legends and traditions these values were bestowed unto him. That upbringing is coupled with his status as the Reincarnation of Lucifer, who betrayed the Aspect of Creation and created the all of Devil kind. But, beyond those facets of his personality, he ultimately ought to be the Aspect of Conflict.

Opponent to the End.

Partner to the Hero and the Hunter.

My target.

He is change personified, and I am the master of change, so his sufferance and servitude ought to be mine. I was to be the shadow behind the throne. The one who held his leash, who advised him,strengthened him, and saw him overcome all his obstacles, which would all be my own, too. He ought to have been a beacon of light that I could steal away with utter ease. A source of hope that I could take without consideration. A weapon and a shield that I would take for my own gain.

Yet, even if he was more worthy than all others I could ever hope to sway, why did I choose to continue pursuing him when he proved to be Li Song, a human, before all those other titles?

Humanity, when driven to extremes, given time, fortune, and faith, will triumph. Eschewing petty morality, looking upon situations with a rational mind, and pursuing a goal intelligently, a single man can equal the greatest of archangels, vilest of devils, and the cruelest of gods. Those who lost their humanity, their drive to continue onward and continue to rise, are easy prey. Among their number are humans, those who are content, happy, and lulled into security, and instead of individuals who can shape history, they are mere obstacles for those who can truly change the world.

Li Song, discontent with all his gifts, pursues his goals in spite of Reality itself. He brokers deals with those he should be eternal enemies with, invests into companions instead of searching for his own strength, and fights to save instead of destroy. He confronts challenges without hesitation, sacrifices himself without qualm, and endeavors the harshest of ordeals without a single grimace.

Undoubtedly, irrevocably, he is human in his ways, methods, and means, yet I choose to continue to hunt him, despite the danger he poses.

I can defeat the Aspect of Conflict with utter ease. Li Song is beyond my reach. So why do I continue to foolishly reach out for him?

It is within my ability to never be found. The End will be sorely pressed to find me, no matter her skills and abilities, but here I am amongst the Preservers. I am within the lion’s den, amongst the most dangerous people of Earth, Hell, and Heaven’s ambassadors. I am mighty, because of the impossibility of my circumstances, but only within the belligerent laws and rules of my mantle. Should Coda come forth, I will be defeated, and they will all slow my escape before I can truly be free.

Yet, I came.

Yet, I do not turn them against another.

Yet, for the first time in decades, I recline in a domicile after a bath, and have no escape route or need to find sustenance.

One of my worthless accomplices makes a snide comment. They, those who deserve nothing besides scorn, say I am intrigued with the notion of being captured instead of being the one who captures.

It is a decent notion.

One certainly worth of a night of freedom.

While the others are punished for not being as clever, wise, and intelligent as they are.

Hmmm, perhaps I’ve tired of running, and taking my liberties of the undriven, worthless, and incapable. That moment, where Li Song had told me that he’d relieve me of my fate, which I had inadvertently pursued heedlessly due to my own lack of self-maintenance, truly intrigued me.

I had not seen such an ardent, ferocious gaze since my bullet entered my brother’s skull.

Having been surrounded by puppets and monsters and puppet masters for so long, would I even recognize a fellow human, someone I could truly trust and rely upon?

And, should I, given how dangerous he is to my mind, body, and spirit?