Words over wars.

Shinda continued to wonder about Onrah's presence. To have a brother that wise and sacrificial, offering all of his power just to help his brother years into the future, Akvan was lucky. The Devil almost scoffed to himself, apparently he should be lucky too, since Onrah considered Shinda family too. There was a sickness on Shinda's tongue, and for days he glared at himself in the reflection of water. Why had he dropped so low as to give up like this? Let Akvan go, let him recover and come back stronger? Let Onrah's words sway Shinda into trying something new and utterly hopeless? Shinda thought he had a goal, something to head towards, a better future for everyone. But, perhaps admitting how much he hated it here to that ghost, maybe Shinda had reminded himself that... there wasn't anyone else. And there never would be. He could mess with the real world, but the reality was, it would do nothing for Shinda, he'd get no better future, no matter what course the living world was on. Was he so low to think so selfishly, though, as Onrah had said, it must be hard for Shinda, so far into rotting here, to picture anything else. 

The pool remained still, no motion in Purgatory would stir the water and cause it to ripple, so Shinda could stare down at his crystal clear reflection in peace. Though the ripples remained in his mind, conflicting Shinda on what he even wanted to do now. He thought giving himself a companion would help, but Itami didn't offer Shinda any peace of mind, it wasn't friendship, just respect shared due a common goal. It meant nothing to Shinda, and in fact, seeing someone like her, the evil in her dead heart, made Shinda feel more repulsed by what he was doing. He felt no despair when Itami was sent away, in fact, Shinda almost felt relieved. Shinda tried not to think to hard on anything, he needed to see if Onrah was telling the truth of not. If it was worth Shinda asking the Sun shit for help, if not, then Shinda would kill him, end the conflict in his mind and remind himself of the goal. Drowning the world in evil, countering that dark shadow that existed by using it against itself. Creating peace, by doing the opposite. The goal Shinda had the moment he 'woke up' all those thousands of years ago. A part of him didn't want to give up on that plan, no matter the result of this talk with Akvan. He'd sacrificed his friends, his alignment and whole existence just for this goal, it didn't feel right to give up on it. Shinda feared for the world, what would become of it if he didn't step up to the plate, continue to be the embodiment of evil. 

It was so long into thinking that Shinda didn't move, he just stood like a statue staring down at the water. Not even the approach was heard, not until Shinda took a breath, and caught the Sun child's scent. His eyes narrowed, and like a defensive animal, Shinda turned to watch Akvan. It seemed his twin had the same kind of stance, but Shinda was more interested in the thing Akvan was holding, the thing he then presented to the Devil. Shinda stared at it for a moment, going to take it, before hearing her name. Tenshi, funny, Shinda had almost forgotten she was alive still. His claws grasped the flimsy letter with more force, pulling it from Akvan's grip and opening it quickly. He didn't know what to expect from Tenshi, perhaps some sickly words of forgiveness of her begging Shinda to stop. He almost smiled wickedly, but that desire to grin was soon washed away. This letter was a threat. Tenshi was threatening Shinda. He supposed she had the right. He'd taken everything from her, family, friends, children. Shinda had tried so many times to rid Tenshi of the pain of living, but she was protected by divine forces of light and a whole lot of luck. He regretted not being able to kill her the moment he was forsaken and thrown into this place. She'd be better off dead, he'd be better off dead. But, he didn't focus on Tenshi for long. Not after she mentioned Sayo. Shinda could hardly remember what Sayo looked like, she was just a flicker of light in the back of Shinda's mind now, and in his heart. He wanted to see her again, despite all the bitterness Tenshi put in her letter. Maybe Sayo would never forgive Shinda for all he'd done, or any of his friends, but... he still needed to see them. And to do that, he needed to get out of here. Shinda stuffed the letter into a pocket, glaring back up to Akvan with a shimmer of newly formed tears in his eyes, which Shinda refused to let fall. "I'm not in the mood to fight, Sun shit. But don't think I won't if things don't go well. Your brother asked me to try something first, so I'm going to fucking try." Shinda stated, pausing a moment. "Are you going to listen to what I want to say, Akvan?"

Shinda huffed, but he couldn't help but have a flicker of... appreciation, that Akvan so easily agreed to listen. After everything the Devil had done to remove all sense of sanity, hope or peace of mind from this being, it was very surprising to know how considerate Akvan remained to be. Perhaps his older brother was right. Shinda's tail flicked behind him, and he almost smiled. But, this wasn't a happy story, it was a long and harsh one, that for the first time in his long, long life, Shinda was reciting to someone else. 

"Fine, whatever. Now listen, for... for this to work, I need to tell you everything. So you might want to find a seat." Shinda suggested, glancing over to the nearby woods, full of half-dead trees that didn't last well in the swamp like atmosphere. Shinda took a deep breath. "I was born a feral creature. A simple minded Demon, one of a large litter. We were nothing different from any other animal, living down in early Dranar. During my childhood, I lost all my family, and was almost killed by a larger Demon. Not that harsh of a beginning, it's nothing different than the life found in nature every day. Except, rather than dying and being another's meal, I was saved by an Angel named Iruka. At first, I was kept as a pet, being of a simple mind, and was kept hidden by Iruka and his sister, Sakana. They treated me well, and Iruka planned to... study me, find out more about Demons, figure out just how intelligent we were. I enjoyed life, despite not really understanding anything around me. I felt like I had a home, a new family made of Iruka and Sakana... and their two friends, Rifi... and Tenshi." Shinda paused, a hand moving down over the pocket with the letter inside. "After a few years, Iruka taught me everything he could, speech, history, logic, everything any Angel would learn as a child. I became less of a pet and more of a brother.. if not son to him. At that time, Iruka and the others meant everything to me, but I still needed more. I knew I belonged with them, but not with their race, I was too different and secret. So I was taken down to Dranar on an expedition to find other Demons. I protected the others from an attack, and we finally found another Demon, a similar appearance to mine. She was injured, so we took her back to Aura, where Tenshi decided to keep her as her sister, kept secret from her father." Before starting his next sentence, Shinda needed to swallow a little, taking a deep breath that ended with a little growl. Things went downhill soon enough, and Shinda needed to keep reminding himself of that promise he'd made himself. 
"She was named Sayo-Nara... and, I was very fond of her. She was the only other Demon I knew, and more than that, she was the... most incredible person I had ever known. Life and joy just seemed to spill out of her, and it effected me. As time went on, Tenshi and Rifi found love for one another, and I thought of taking the next step with Sayo as well. I wanted her to be my mate, share a home with me.. raise children of our own. And she wanted the same. If I had to think of the last moment I felt such such an impaling feeling of complete happiness, a feeling of one's life being at the pinnacle of perfection, it would have to be right then, when we agreed to start a family together." Another deep and grinding breath. "But... Good doesn't last, sooner or later a greater evil overwhelms it. I wanted to go and see Sayo one day, when she didn't return to our home together. What I found, was Tenshi's father, killing his own family, trying to attack Tenshi... and murdering Sayo in cold blood. He tore her apart, for no reason other than what she was, a Demon like me. I understood what evil was that day, why it couldn't be reasoned with, or defeated. So I accepted the evil around me, let it turn into a blood red magic that I used to tear apart that man like he did to my Sayo. I promised myself not to let my life fall into such a state of love or good ever again, and I promised to the world that I'd make it better."
Shinda didn't raise his voice, though his red hands seemed to glow a little from the Oblivia energy within. "Angel guards tracked me down, they'd never see their own kind as the accused when a Demon was present, so I was hunted. I returned to my 'home' to find refuge, and in the fear of what had happened, and what was coming, I struck my sister Sakana and killed her, the deadly poison that my tail carries made quick work of her. It was an unfortunate loss, but at least she wouldn't have to struggle in that horrible world anymore. When I tried to flee down to Dranar, I was eventually shot down, and should have died. But instead, the evil that stirred within me granted me more power, enough to make a true stand against the so called good I was taught to respect. It made me the embodiment of evil, and I used my powers to make that evil spread into the souls of all Demons, giving them intelligence, power and the will to make a better world alongside me." Shinda stopped then, accepting whatever look Akvan chose to give him. He'd explained his past, now he needed to be even more honest. 
"A part of me, wants to tell you the story by what the legends about me say: The leader of the Demons, a merciless killer and Devil with immense power, enough to challenge the Sun Goddess herself. But... I need to tell you the true story, the honest one." Shinda folded his arms together, the frown that creased his brow together seemed to relax, and all of Shinda's features softened. "I was just as scared as I was the moment I was almost eaten by that larger Demon. I wanted a perfect world, where none would have to cry, lose loved ones, feel such utter hopelessness that they ask for death. But... it seemed impossible, even with such powers granted to me. I was still trained to be 'good', by my Angelic family, and in that way, I tried to help other Demons and turn them into a giant family. I adopted orphaned young, one particular orphan being a very small, purple creature that I called Mo. I taught them all magic, and daily we would fight against Angels who tried to exterminate us. The legend calls the Demons murderers, massacring fields of Angels, but all I told my family to do was stay alive, and reduce the risk of fighting again, which could be considered as having no mercy. During those years, as my power as leader of my Demon family grew, my Angelic family still tried to bring me back. Tenshi especially. I felt such pity for her, my sister, she was the one I felt the most connected to. She'd lost her parents, her sister, and I only knew life would get no better for her, so I attempted to end it. But Rifi got in the way, taking the dying blow rather than her. Killing him, my friend, didn't give me any sense of the achievement I thought it should. I felt more like a monster than a being of mercy. After killing him, seeing Tenshi finally view me as a monster, and no brother of hers, I forced myself even more to abandon my good. Evil was my source of power, I used it to strengthen the Demons might even more, to raise Dranar up into the skies, to put us at equal footings to Angels. I thought, that if a world that balanced good and evil caused so much heartbreak and suffering daily, then a world that was either pure good or pure evil was the only way forward. And, it had become clear as day to me that good was powerless against the force of evil. So I forced my emotions down and away, attempting to make others see the same as I did. I killed again, Iruka, as he tried to bring some sense to me. And Tenshi's child, which she told me herself that I had forced her to lose years ago. I can't admit I didn't feel pain for what I was doing, changing the world isn't a painless task, but I was determined to fix everything, even if it made me the world's enemy. But, as the legend says, as the war reached it's point of crumbling, that Sun Goddess, mother of yours got in the way. I should have been angry, but at that point, her interference felt like help. Perhaps she had a plan on making the world perfect, like I had. From all of my struggling, I thought I'd at least be forgiven... but instead, I was killed by her powers, and sent here. A world of nothing, where I just watched the world continue to plummet down the path I knew would only lead to more disasters."
Shinda glanced towards Akvan. 

"I've been here two thousand years, losing all aspect of living, of anything. I watched the world go on around me, and thought of how cruel my existence was. I hated that Sun bitch, and you and your siblings, along with everyone taking for granted the chance to live. At some point, around twenty years ago, I planned to finally force my way back into the living world. If not in body, then simply in mind. Mo was still alive, and I'd communicated with him how to come back. I thought I'd make one last attempt at living, perhaps figure out something I'd missed. But Mo made a mistake, he forced your powers into my new body, and linked us. Then, the rest is history to you, isn't it? Frustrated that yet again, your kind had forced me to remain trapped and useless, I recalled my previous judgements on the world. I'd make one last attempt at making a world where good didn't exist, where perhaps there would no longer be any suffering, where everyone alive would only know evil, and therefore never need to feel the pains of having goodness destroyed. However, I have two options... I can either destroy you, continue with my mission, sacrifice as much of my sanity and powers as possible to rid the world of suffering, or... I can give up. I want to die, seeing your brother get rid of Itami from this place made me realise how overdue dying has been. But, killing me here won't do anything, I'll simply return in another dimension of Purgatory... Which is what I truly want to ask you." 

Shinda sighed a little, "I'd understand, if after all I've done to you, that you won't want to do this... but keep in mind, if you don't agree, I'll just kill you right now and carry on making the world perfect. But, you're apparently the only one who can help me get out of here, and let me finally move on and die. Being a Sun sh... a Sun Child, you're more likely to figure out how I'm supposed to leave than anyone else, and I sure as shit know the Sun bitch isn't going to help." Shinda stopped, his tail flickering a little more. "So... will you help me?"