Northwest Wandenreich
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[From Central Wandenreich: Silbern]
Casually walking through the streets of Wandenreich is nothing new for Adonai nor his people. He walks amongst them like they are his equals, and he treats them as such. Just like in Silbern some wave back while others bow respectfully and others go a bit further and drop to their knees, keeping their head to the ground, not daring to look at him. He allows it, he allows all of it because everyone has the freedom to greet him as they please, to their level of comfort. This is what the smaller kingdoms outside of the Wandenreich fail to understand, they are too busy grasping for power to take over to see that all Adonai is offering is freedom. If he truly willed it the lands of Freiewelt would all be flying his banner, but that is not what he is after.
Adonai’s journey at the moment is taking him to Toska’s Haus Des Schmerzes where he has to meet with one of his other Sternritter, concerning a very special matter. The Gotei Thirteen had two very prolific individuals flee from their clutches during the Civil War, two individuals whose powers would prove to be a thorne in anyone's side if not subdued in time. These individuals are former Captain of the 5th Division Sagishi Hashimoto and the former Muken prisoner, Kano, Mother of Vizards. Sagishi’s actions during the Civil War are what led to her freedom on top of three Shinigami being afflicted by Kano, turning them into Vizards. They fled to Hueco Mundo shortly after that and were on the run from there.
While the Soul Society was licking its wounds from the Civil War these two individuals met with Valiosa and imparted knowledge to her about the existence of Fullbringers and how their powers stem from Soul King Fragments. They were of course using her as they had plans of their own, plans that would come to an immediate halt due to one unexpected variable, the Quincy. Valiosa’s victory was all but certain in their eyes but when the Quincy attacked they were caught off guard and unprepared for such a foreign entity. They were swiftly disarmed of their Zanpakuto and rendered unconscious after a very brief fight. Knowing they were traitors to the Soul Society, Adonai ordered for them to be interrogated, to know and understand what they were after in Hueco Mundo. They proved unbreakable and so Adonai, regretfully, sent them to a man who specializes in breaking others, Josef Von Toska, Sternritter P - The Pain.
Adonai obtained the information he wanted from them, their ultimate goal, which ultimately ended up being rather petty. Using her powers as a Vizard she planned on creating more of her kind, controlling them and then taking over the Soul Society with the former Captain serving as her right hand in it all. Adonai was so disappointed in such a simple, childish goal, that he allowed Josef to do as he pleased with them and whatever other info they gave was merely a bonus. Ten years, for ten long years these two individuals were under the “care” of Josef. Adonai never asked about the two whenever he saw Josef because he had scrubbed their existence from his memory until rather recently when he thought of things he could give the Shinigami as a bargaining chip of trust. Dead or alive they were fugitives and whether they were forgotten or not Adonai planned on returning them to the Shinigami.
The Quincy Emperor arrives at Toska’s Haus Des Schmerzes and politely knocks on the door, awaiting an answer. Adonai is not fond of the work Josef does, he does not like to look at it with his own eyes, he does all he can to avoid watching. But since this is a very special day, he needs to make sure everything is in order for what is to come.
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KNOCK
KNOCK
KNOCK
The sound of the Emperor's fist tapping against the door. Seconds pass before the doors creak open, an elderly man standing in the door way. "Greetings sir, I take it you're here to see the young master." He steps aside to allow the Emperor to enter, and with the doors now open he can hear them, the songs of screams. It is a concert of agony, barely muffled by the doors that hide the owners. It is a sound that is a constant within this manor, music to the ears of those who bear the name Von Toska.
The old man acts as an escort, guiding Adonai through the mansion and down a long stretching hall. As they walk they pass a series of doors on either side, and with each door passed there are a different series of cries, screams, shouting and begging. The owners of these magical singing voices were unknown to the emperor, this was a world kept from him. No, rather it was a world he avoided, not only him but many other Quincy as well. The more they walk, the further down the hall they travel the darker it becomes. The song of agony grows more distant as their travel takes them down a series of steps, descending into what can only be described as an abyss. Visibility scarce, and the silence deafening, maddening even. It is nearly impossible to tell how far they have longed and how far down they've gone until finally they reach the bottom. The escort guides him to a massive door and pauses before carefully opening it.
"Excuse me master Josef, the Emperor has come to see you." In the center of the massive room stands Josef, his back to them. His hands busy at work, carefully assorting a series of unsavory looking tools. Their shapes leave much to the imagination regarding their purpose and exactly how they are used. Unlike upstairs, oddly there are no screams in here..not now at least. The only sound that exists is the clacking of metal as he places his tools down. "Have you come for the guests you last left in my company?" Josef does not bother stopping what he is doing, nor does he turn to acknowledge Adonai. A hand lazily motions off towards the distance, and there half bathed in the shadows of the room were two cages. Within the cages sat the former Captain and the mother of Vizards. They sat there, unmoving, eyes lifeless. What had they endured for so long? The two though alive, were hardly in a good state. They were incredibly thin, skin pale. The longer one stared the more issues they would find with their physical wellbeing. "They haven't sung for me for sometime. You may have them if you so desire. It seems our days of making art together has long since come to an end."
When he was first given the two he was excited, after all..he did wish t make sure beautiful art with a Captain Class shinigami. Two powerful souls with equally powerful pride, the challenge was so tantalizing. They had fought, resisted, screamed, promised and threatened. At times they had even broken free and attacked him only to eventually be subdued once again. The memories pass through him and he can't help but to smile, a hand rising up to touch his lips softly. Yes, what they had was special, something he thought about with ALL his guests. He'd forever remember them, just as they would forever remember him.
Upon being let in Adonai’s demeanor began to slowly shift, where he was once all smiles and friendly he had become more cold and callous. He treats all his Quincy with the same amount of respect, however, he does not interact with them all the same way. Where he will crack jokes with Ryker and laugh with him for Josef he takes a more serious and professional tone due to how Josef operates and the kind of person he is. To add to this, the place he is in is not exactly one where someone can remain joyful and “jokey”. While making his way down the hall the walls were lined with doors, all of which had agony spilling from them, agony that would never reach the Emperor’s good natured heart. He does not know who they are and he plans on keeping it that way, this is not a place he enjoys visiting and only hopes, from a distance, that the Toska family is doing this for the good of the Empire.
Upon reaching the end of the hall, stopping at a large door, Adonai places his hands behind his back, watching as the door is carefully opened. Inside is Josef, arranging his tools, staying organized. Adonai’s gaze was locked solely on him and nothing else, for the moment. He is pondering what sort of life this particular Sternritter leads outside of this house of pain. Outside of “breaking” people, what does he enjoy or does he enjoy anything else at all? This work he loves to do, is it the only thing that brings stimulation to his existence? Adonai steps into the room, still watching as Josef continues to organize his tools
He motions towards some cages, half bathed in shadows. Adonai approaches them, igniting a blue flame in his palm to look over their bodies. They still clung to life, barely, but they were alive. Adonai thinks to himself for a moment while looking over them and the state they are in. He doesn’t dare imagine what they went through, it would make him cringe with disgust if he was told of even one session they had with Josef. But, did they deserve this? To be tortured so to the point of no longer being mentally there, just shells of flesh and bone. Much like Josef, Adonai does not care. They are criminals, sinners in his eyes as they aided the Arrancar in gathering his Father’s fragments to use as tools.
Adonai looks over his shoulder towards Josef, due to the blue flame igniting in front of him the side of his face looking towards Josef was covered in shadows. The flame fades and blue light illuminates the room very briefly for two very fast instances. Two arrows, fired from the tip of Adonai’s index finger, pierced cleanly through the skulls of both captives, one arrow for each of them. Upon hearing that they have nothing left to say the next best thing to do was to eliminate them. Now, as nothing more than limp cadavers, Adonai turns his attention to Josef. As stated before, he understands how this man operates so if he does not turn to face him while he is talking he doesn’t take it as disrespect.
Adonai walks away from the cage, strolling past Josef then standing beside him to look at the tools he is arranging. Adonai has prepared many variables for these peace talks, he is betting everything on things going well so that they can co-exist with Shinigami. But he has seen their brutality before, he knows what they are capable of, what they can do. So he is also taking measures for if things go south, for a time where the Wandenreich must go to battle against the Gotei 13. Adonai speaks in a hushed tone, it is clear he does not want anyone else to hear what he is about to ask of Josef.
Having two Shinigami here to toy with means that they would be able to gather much more info on their potential allies or enemies. While the Shinigami would know nothing about them, the Quincy will at least understand them on a deeper level than they expect.
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The blue glow of the Heilig Pfeil launched by the Emperor illuminate the space like a dying candle; ever fleeting. Next comes the thudding of their bodies lifelessly collapsing within their cages. Josef pays none of this any mind, as no more art could be made with them his attachment to them as a result has long since ended. However the memories, those he cherished and would continue to cherish forever more. He is unmoved by the words of praise from the great Emperor and gives no form of acknowledgement to the order of placing the bodies in body bags for the Shinigami. He simply continues to work, even when the one he is meant to serve moves to stand beside him.
Still Josef does not speak, shows no sense of reverence to the man's presence or urgency to respond to his query. It's only after the final tool is neatly and calmly placed on the table does he choose to acknowledge the question posed to him.
"What songs would you hear?" He asked, fingertips grazing over each cleaned and polished tool of torment and pain. "Would you hear of the strange vents in their wrists to regulate the control and release of their reiatsu? How blocking it will lead to death by their very own reiatsu?"
He does not look towards the Emperor while speaking, eyes appearing to be looking at something afar off, perhaps a memory. He steps away from the Emperor moving towards another part of the room, bending down behind what appeared to be a shelf of some sorts.
"Or perhaps you're more inclined to hear of sealing their powers by way of piercing their Saketsu (鎖結, Chain Binding; Viz "Chain") and Hakusui (魄睡, Soul Sleep)."
He rises up, dragging two off white bags, the body bags he was tasked with preparing. He drags them over, eyes still in an almost haze. "There's also the song of the strange spirit class they use to classify their strength. Separating themselves into further categories. Truly a divided people through and through."
Josef having made his way to the cages opens them one after the other, carefully bringing the corpses out and tucking them into their respective bags as if he were tucking a child into bed at night. He caresses their faces and combs his fingers through their hair before finally zipping the bag up completely.
"So many songs, so much to be heard. So much art made and yet to be made."
He remains on one knee between the two bags, a hand resting on each one as if saying a solemn prayer. Unlike other Quincy he has not visited the World of Humans, nor has he bothered to mingle with his fellow Quincy. Perhaps one of the most isolated of their kind half by choice, and half by inevitable design, as he is hardly the type of man others would gravitate around or even choose to associate with. Still, he is never sad, never burdened...never alone. In him lies the memories of all he has bonded with.
Adonai waits quietly for Josef’s response, he doesn’t rush him as he knows every Sternritter has their own unique quirk. Anyone else would have been asking if Josef heard them or may even press him for an immediate response. Even Adonai is slightly curious about how Josef would react to such treatment. Such a person may never leave this place if they spoke to him like that.
Adonai’s eyes perk up and he raises his hand, letting his own Quincy Cross dangle from his wrist. He uses Avirimkodsh (騎士の聖餐; Kishi no seisan; Knights Communion) to contact their Communication Hub back at Silbern.
The cross glows blue, transmitting everything Josef says back to the Communication Hub.
Adonai frowns as this is a new revelation to him, such a thing must be common knowledge for the Shinigami while also being a closely guarded secret as well. He quietly theorizes what could happen if one or both arms are removed from a Shinigami. Could they still use their power or would they be rendered powerless? But the topic of being powerless comes up immediately after Adonai has that thought. He follows behind Josef, ensuring to give him space to do what he needs to do without crowding him but also close enough to still capture his voice for recording.
Adonai’s eyes widened upon hearing this, he never expected Shinigami to have such complex physiology outside of possessing a Soul Chain. In his own defense he has never had a close up encounter with a Shinigami in his very long life. At the moment Josef is the leading expert in Shinigami Physiology and it couldn’t be in better hands. If things go south with the Shinigami it will be good to know how to hurt them, how to cause them Pain. Adonai is fully invested in what Josef has to say, his mind and ears open to receive any and all information he has to say. He continues to follow him but what he says next triggers something in Adonai that has him stare off into nothingness.
That final sentence echoes in his mind.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Silence from the Emperor and not the kind he has been giving Josef out of respect and courtesy, it is a deeper emotional silence as his arm lowers down, forgetting to properly transmit the Sternritters voice. The word divided echoes on as images of his father’s body parts flash in his mind, the sin of the Shinigami, dividing his father for reasons unknown to him. He feels an old buried anger and hatred start to boil up to the surface like bile from the stomach racing up one’s throat before throwing up. He closes his eyes, inhales and exhales slowly, pushing it back down, he can’t let that consume him, he has to walk the path of peace no matter what. It's what his father would want, right? When Josef speaks again it snaps Adonai out of his trance to refocus on him.
Adonai deactivates Avirimkodsh and tucks his cross back into his sleeve. His eyes dart around like he is trying to recollect himself, even running his hands through his own hair with a sigh.
He looks at the two body bags, realizing he’ll need them delivered to Silbern but he has already tasked Josef with too much as it is. While it may be trivial work Adonai understands that it may be work that the artisan would not find enjoyable. He comes up with a compromise.
Adonai sees himself out, walking down the hall that was once loud with the sounds of torture but now muted to him as he is locked in his own thoughts everything else is irrelevant. Once outside he took a deep breath of the fresh air to steady his nerves and aggression. Thankfully he has firm control over his Reiatsu, the only person who would have noticed something amiss with him would be Josef who was in close proximity to him and could see his body language. Everyone else outside of Toska’s Haus Des Schmerzes would assume he is just relieved to be out of such a place. He begins walking down the street, pieces of his plan slowly falling into place along with new tidbits of information as well that he did not expect. He walks past a window and spots another version of himself staring back at him, his inner thoughts made manifest.
Adonai does not respond to himself. The him he is speaking to is the version of himself that would have existed had he not divided his power up the way he did a little over one thousand years ago. The Adonai everyone knows today is the one born from growing up not knowing who or what he really was until his 90 years of intellect elapsed. Two very different versions of Adoani exist in one body, thankfully the more friendly aspect is the one who is in control. The other, more tyrannical and vengeful, aspect is what keeps him grounded, reminds him of who and what he is. When Adonai’s mentality wavers for whatever reason the other side of him appears to bring back balance.
He remembers the first time he used Auswählen to cull nearly half of his own people due to the actions of a false emperor.
Adonai’s reflection returns to normal in the window and he walks on, no one around him heard his conversation because it took place in the confines of his mind. He continues his stroll down the street, back to Silbern so he can make preparations for the eventual Sternritter meeting.
To Central Wandenreich: Silbern