A Proposition and a Project (Private)

[Dissonance Valerius]

"In a sense." He responded dismissively. "When I say god, I don't mean someone who's worshipped. I mean an omniscient entity that surpasses comprehension. You are a god, but not god. If the Elite ceased to worship you, you'd cease being a god at all, and just be a daemon like any other. That's the reality of the situation; your godly status is only that way because mortals allow you to be perceived as such. Don't be so vainglorious. You've achieved great things, but what have you done since then? Existed and just reveled in it? The way I see it, you don't aspire for much more. That implies to me that you see yourself as having nothing else to accomplish, that you've reached your peak of achievement and can't grow any further. Is that what you're telling me?" It was about as condescending as could possibly be, and yet said in a totally flat tone that in and of itself implied nothing, as if he were just stating facts.

But in a sense he did make a few good points. You could only stop growing when you allowed yourself to grow idle and stop working to be something even greater - there was no limitation for those who always aspired for more, if they had the will to make their desires manifest.

Her decline of his proposal didn't seem to phase him in any way. In fact it almost seemed as if he'd been expecting that. "It's like I said, you don't need to be a sneaky puppeteer in the background. You can be as actively and openly involved as you desire, but if that's your final answer, I suppose there's nothing to be done about it. I'm going to be playing this game whether you agree to participate or not, and you are my opponent whether you acknowledge it or not. Your consent is not required - did you expect me to simply cede to your will like that, Capone? If you desire to avoid that fate, you had better be working on plans to stop that 'me' and Ecclesia from succeeding, unless you're betting on them to fail on their own."

No, he did not at all need her consent. Did a warrior consent to being slain on the battlefield? Did a child consent to being born? Did a tidal wave pity the people it drowned? The mere idea was laughable. Just a formality. In this game of his, everyone was a participant by sheer virtue of their existence. Daemon, mortal, or otherwise, it mattered not. It was far less entertaining without her explicit agreement and participation willingly, but perhaps her defiance could provide him some amusement in its own way, too.

But she was entirely right not to trust him. He didn't care who won or lost, if Capone succeeded or the Piece-Dissonance found victory in some form or another. All he cared about was avoiding boredom. That's all this was to him; an amusement.

"But your lack of willingness to bet your soul tells me you're not confident enough in your own success, so I can't see you allowing them to continue onward totally unopposed. You were willing to expose yourself to Anthrax and assist her, teach her how to acquire a new body, and yet you won't assist the Elite at large, the very thing you helped found with your flesh and blood, the thing that drew Anthrax into your sphere? Both of us know she was a particular kind of special. The sort that only comes around once in a hundred lifetimes. I perceive your lack of consent as an insult to her." He went on, at once mocking her and appealing to her pride. He did have a certain respect for her, no doubt, he wouldn't be in this state without Capone having existed - in fact he might not have existed in any form at all without that. But that didn't mean she was some sacred creature to him who was above reproach. Him even bothering to have appeared before her in this way at all was, in itself, what he considered to be a form of respect for Capone.

"A child must be nurtured to a degree to achieve success - in this second re-founding of the Elite in their new incarnation, they will be starting off as little more than a child again. They will have to reacquire their greatness through trial and error. Things stand in a very delicate state right now, and we both know it. Nothing is guaranteed."