jikan_network | {Voice; UN: bakusaiga}

[That was an entirely unexpected reply.

Xie Lian had been ready for either 'someone to talk to' or 'someone to fight'. Not this. This was an area where his expertise was... lacking.

A hint of red coloured his cheeks, lips parting in a soft 'ah'...]

I see... [He didn't. Not at all! Well almost. He knew very well what the magic of this world was capable of.]

This world is indeed a strange one... [He looked away then, considering his next words carefully.] Is there something that stops you from 'more'? A reason why it causes you distress? Or is it just that it is new?

{He might be too blunt in these matters, but Sesshomaru doesn't know shame.}

Mm. {With all he has already endured, he must agree. Jikan is very odd.} I am a demon. The majority of those who inhabit this world are human. I did not think I would be like my father.

I don't think this world discriminates. [Xie Lian replied with a delicate little cough.]

Even a god can be affected... [Though he'd hidden away and meditated until it had passed.]

{He cocks his head and breathes deeper. Is this the scent of another god?}

I have met two deities. Are you a third?

For what it's worth.

[A god without followers, without temples and incense to be burned, could they really be called a god?

Xie Lian stepped forward and lifted his head to look up at the sky, his straw hat fell to rest against his back and he raised a hand to shield his eyes.]

I ascended to the Heavens. [Again...] But I'm still working on a following...

{Is a following required? The power is the same, surely. Sesshomaru has never given heaven or gods much thought - unless a demon claiming to be a deity crossed his path. Then he only sought to cut them down.}

You were once human? {He has heard stories, but to meet a being that has experienced both mortality and immortality is intriguing.}

[In his world a following was everything. Followers, worshippers were the ones who could make or break you. It was with their prayers and offerings that a God earned merits, had temples built for them. Xie Lian had to make his own. A small little shack in the middle of nowhere in desperate need of repairs.]

I was born human. In my world, human's ascend to godhood through great deeds and accomplishment, and some through hard work. [His own ascension, at least his last, had been due to his tireless years of cultivation. Hard work was not one that was common for ascension since it could take a life time to complete. Or, in Xie Lian's case, several life times.]

[But here, in this world, no one knew him or anything about his past. And yet he still hedged around it, almost as if he were afraid to admit to who he was. Xie Lian turned around then, smiling.]

I was once the crown prince of a kingdom called Xianle. But that was over 800 years ago.

{...that's really too adorable for words, Xie Lian. For what it's worth, Sesshomaru would trust a god with a shack way before he would trust a god with a mansion or a palace.}

Priests in my world seek something similar. They do so through prayer and good deeds. {Whether they are successful or not... He isn't sure.}

What became of your kingdom?

... It was destroyed.

[With 800 years to get over it, Xie Lian is able to say the words without much emotion. It was just a fact. His kingdom had come to ruin. It's people long dead. Those who survived were gods or ghosts.]

A war broke out. And then a plague. There was no way for it to survive.

{Human kingdoms rise and fall; it's nothing new. And with eight hundred years to process the loss, it doesn't surprise him that Xie Lian is so blunt about it.}

Those are common. And now you are a lonely god. {It just...doesn't seem like a gift.} Was it worthwhile?

[Worthwhile...? This was his third time! That first time, his answer would have been yes. The second a resounding no. But this third..?]

A lonely god... [Xie Lian laughed. A complete stranger had nailed him perfectly. Imagine that?]

Many would say ascension is the pinnacle. The highest honour a human can attain. [A small sigh.] As for me? So far it has been nothing more than a headache.

{He isn't surprised by the answer. There must be more meaning, more in store, for all of them.}

A grand lie. {Who decided to tell humans such fibs?} Jikan has more to offer you in the way of company. I do not know how much you experienced as a prince.

Lonely by choice.

[Xie Lian had to correct this little slip, company... was a double edged sword in many ways.]

Though in my human days, I had friends. I had family. [He had been loved. Resected. It was strange to look back on, now he was the Laughingstock of the Three Realms. But why would he tell Sesshomaru that? Even if he could shrug it off and care little for the talk behind his back (or often times right in front of his face), he wasn't about to invite such talks.]

To put it bluntly, my luck isn't the greatest.

Relationships require work - not luck. {Sesshomaru doesn't have the greatest luck either. He is the son of two demons who are not the warmest. His childhood was probably a nightmare of tests meant to teach him how to survive. It's no wonder he left his mother's side when he was old enough - only to find that his father had a new family. Really, him choosing the Path of the Conqueror isn't shocking. He wanted control somewhere.}

You can have them again if that is your wish.

[Xie Lian's own childhood had been a blessed one. His parents had adored him. His people had. He had wanted for nothing and had the best of all things.

But the higher you were, the greater the fall. And Xie Lian had fallen hard. Not that it mattered much to him these days. Looking back at how he had used to be seemed almost like a dream or a memory from someone else. He wouldn't know what to do with riches and admiration now. He was happiest in his own company.

Mostly...

As for his luck...]

Sesshomaru-gongzi, you're very kind. [But his luck...] Did you really come here to find out all about me? I'm nothing even remotely special. A scrap collecting god who is out of a job, after having arrived in a strange world. I'd be interested in hearing your story, if you are willing?

{Focusing on another helps ease the chaos in his mind and heart. Sesshomaru knows he is stalling - he knows he is outright refusing to make a decision - but this is new territory for him. Maybe he shouldn't rush?

Arching a brow at being called "kind", he cocks his head.}

I am the son of the Great Dog Demon. He ruled the Western Lands until his untimely death. I inherited the expectations and duties and I have seen to them for four hundred years.

Great Dog Demon? So you must be strong?

[Xie Lian had to wonder if demons and ghosts were the same, or similar. A whole different world, the rules must have been different. And yet it was still fascinating to learn.

And hush, if Xie Lian wants to see you as kind, Sesshomaru, he's allowed!]

But tell me... Do you're 'expectations and duties' extend to here? Surely you can live for yourself when visiting another world?

I am the strongest. {As far as demons go - and when he isn't as powerful, he is generally craftier.} I do not need to prove my worth here.

{Yes, that was part of the "expectations".}

I have found mates and allies. My time has been spent learning of humanity.

That's good.

[Xie Lian smiled before he glanced away and half turned to once again turn his gaze up toward the sky above.

It was a little thing he was slowly coming to realise here himself. The expectations he'd placed upon himself, the rules of his world, didn't necessarily apply to him here. Was he even really his 'true' self? What if he was a copy or this was a dream? How would he ever know?

But so many years following the one path, it was hard to stray now. Even thinking along those lines felt sinful.]

Time used wisely then. Have you learned anything useful?

{Voice; UN: bakusaiga}

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