Magical Lotus - Mahou Shoujou Byakuren - Episode 3, Part 4

[Oldmansour]

>"Perhaps not all would agree, but many - myself among them."

>"And what of things that exhibit no intelligence? Things like the sea, or trees? Flowers, and stone?"

[DracoOmega]

>"Some might still believe so."

[Oldmansour]

>"Some might still believe so."

>"And what of the planet itself?" the demon asks you. "Are there those among your kind who believe the planet you stand upon has a soul, a will?"

[DracoOmega]

>Are there, that we know of?

[Oldmansour]

>Are there, that we know of?

>There are individuals who claim to be able to hear the voice of the planet, who have a deep connection with the very ground they stand upon. That Mother Earth lives just as they do.

[DracoOmega]

>"There are some, yes."

[Oldmansour]

>"There are some, yes."

>"Everyone on my world does." Louise replies, steel in her voice. "Because it is true. The planet we are imprisoned upon has a living soul, Terran. A will of its own. And it hates us. It despises our kind. It has been trying to exterminate and consume us since the day we arrived."
>For a moment, you and your comrades are silent as Louise's statement sinks in. Rin asks at last, "You've been fighting your own world?"
>"Planet, not world." the demon corrects. "Our world is our people. Our planet is our enemy. And before too long, it will win."

[DracoOmega]

>"Trying to consume you? Forgive me my ignorance, but... how does a planet do such a thing?"

[Oldmansour]

>"Trying to consume you? Forgive me my ignorance, but... how does a planet do such a thing?"

>"With growing ferocity." Louise answers. "You really can't imagine what it's like, Terran. And that's fortunate for you. The horrors and hunger of Makai would drive you mad to behold. Solid ground falling out from under your feet, or turning jagged and exploding into deadly shrapnel. Fire flowing from stone when someone draws near. Water boiling and freezing one second to the next. And the creatures..." The demon trails off. "We don't even sleep, you know. To remain still for so long is death. Makai will find you."

[DracoOmega]

>"That sounds truly horrific."
>"Though... does this mean that your kind do not require sleep?"

[Oldmansour]

>"That sounds truly horrific."
>"Though... does this mean that your kind do not require sleep?"

>"Correct."

[DracoOmega]

>"If this planet of yours is alive and has its own will... is it possible to communicate with it somehow?"

>"Also... you say it has been trying to kill you since the day you arrive, but have its actions lately become more aggressive than before somehow? Since I gather that you have lived there for a very long time by this point."

[Oldmansour]

>"If this planet of yours is alive and has its own will... is it possible to communicate with it somehow?"

>"Also... you say it has been trying to kill you since the day you arrive, but have its actions lately become more aggressive than before somehow? Since I gather that you have lived there for a very long time by this point."

>"Only Mother could, if it was even possible."
>"Did she?" Lily asks.
>"I don't know. Personally, I think she would have tried, but I can't say that since I don't care to make those kind of assumptions."

>"A very long time." Louise answers with a faint nod, a trace of weariness undercurrenting her words. "The only reason we survived there at all is because of Mother. She put forth her power and quieted the Dark Planet. Her will kept the stones still, kept the waters clear, kept the skies bare. But, her power is not infinite. Time has worn on her like a grindstone, and Makai is relentless. She cannot hold Makai at bay for much longer. Even as we speak, her power wanes more and more."
>"That's why you've been stealing energy from people." Lily speculates.
>Louise nods. "Correct."

[DracoOmega]

>"Do you... do you know why it might hate you so much? Is it only your kind it attacks? Do other creatures live there which are spared its ire?"

[Oldmansour]

>"Do you... do you know why it might hate you so much? Is it only your kind it attacks? Do other creatures live there which are spared its ire?"

>"The other creatures who inhabit Makai are extensions of the will of Makai. Birthed by the will of an angry planet, they exist only to destroy us. They are not spared its ire, Terran, they ARE its ire."

[DracoOmega]

>"But why? Why would it wish so much to kill you and your kin?"

[Oldmansour]

>"But why? Why would it wish so much to kill you and your kin?"

>"I actually don't know the precise reason." Louise admits. "I don't even know if there IS a why. The planet may have a will, but I don't know if it has a mind. It could be nothing more than mindless hunger, a need to consume anything that isn't it. I do not know."
>Rin mutters something under her breath, but you didn't catch it clearly.

[DracoOmega]

>To Rin: What is it?

[Oldmansour]

>To Rin: What is it?

>The kasha mentally curses. Uh, sorry... She twitches her ears, then says aloud, "Instinct."
>"What about instinct?" asks Lily.
>"If a living planet is like other living things, it has to have some basic instincts, right? Everything has the need to feed, the need to move, the need to have kids..."
>"Do not try to apply the logic of your world to Makai, Terran." Louise advises her. "A planet is not the same as a dog or a fly."
>"All I'm sayin' is there's somethings that know almost nothin' beyond feeding and breeding. Maybe a living planet's like that too?"

[DracoOmega]

>"I'm afraid it is well beyond my experience to say or even speculate. And even if it were instinct and not malice, that does not lessen the danger of the realm to its inhabitants. I would very much wish to know why it is as it is, but I dare not presume to guess here."
>Pause a moment
>"Before you were exiled to Makai... was it this planet that your kind called home?"

[Oldmansour]

>"I'm afraid it is well beyond my experience to say or even speculate. And even if it were instinct and not malice, that does not lessen the danger of the realm to its inhabitants. I would very much wish to know why it is as it is, but I dare not presume to guess here."
>Pause a moment
>"Before you were exiled to Makai... was it this planet that your kind called home?"

>"I will say that Forest would be able to tell you more." Louise offers. "She is one of the oldest of our kind."
>"WOULD she talk to us about it?" Lily asks.
>"That I don't know. I can't speak for her. But if any of us Six would know the most about Makai, it would be the Champion of Forest."

>"For us, our 'home' is wherever Mother is, be it Makai or any other."

[DracoOmega]

>"Does that mean you do not know what there was before coming to Makai?"

[Oldmansour]

>"Does that mean you do not know what there was before coming to Makai?"

>Louise shakes her head. "That knowledge is instinctive in us. We are born knowing certain things, and that includes the knowledge of our banishment and the world we failed to take once before. I simply wished to correct you on the term you used."

[DracoOmega]

>Nod
>"Of course."

[Oldmansour]

>Nod
>"Of course."

>"So, puttin' it differently," White Rose asks cautiously, "Did you live on Earth before Makai?"
>"Yes." is all Louise says.

[DracoOmega]

>"I understand why your kind would need to seek a way to leave Makai, but what I do not understand is why you feel you must conquer this world in the doing. There is a great deal of space on this planet - room, certainly, for more than just those who now dwell here."

[Oldmansour]

>"I understand why your kind would need to seek a way to leave Makai, but what I do not understand is why you feel you must conquer this world in the doing. There is a great deal of space on this planet - room, certainly, for more than just those who now dwell here."

>Louise adjusts her hat down a bit. "What makes you say that?"

[DracoOmega]

>"That your kind are imperiled by their own home is obvious from what you tell me. Nearly any sentient being would try their hardest to escape such a fate, be it for their own survival or the survival of those who are close to them. Though your kind have harmed mine, I would not wish such a fate upon you. Far more would I rather see us coexist. Why must an exodus from your planet necessitate the subjugation of ours? This is not a world where each day's survival must be fought tooth and nail."

[Oldmansour]

>"That your kind are imperiled by their own home is obvious from what you tell me. Nearly any sentient being would try their hardest to escape such a fate, be it for their own survival or the survival of those who are close to them. Though your kind have harmed mine, I would not wish such a fate upon you. Far more would I rather see us coexist. Why must an exodus from your planet necessitate the subjugation of ours? This is not a world where each day's survival must be fought tooth and nail."

>"Subjugation is our way now, Terran." Louise answers, with some resignation. "For time longer than mortal memory, we Children have fought to conquer our planet. If we didn't, we died, it's that simple. Mother subjugated the will of Makai, and when her will faltered, we died. It's all we know. We rule, or we perish, and fade into nothing."
>"But it can be different, don't you see?" Lily pleads with the demon. "Our world isn't like that! You can change, you can get used to this world!"
>"You are a winged being, Terran." the demon answers. Lily seems stunned, but Louise continues, "A being of flight. You spend as much time flying as you do on land, don't you?"
>"Well.... When I can..." Lily stammers.
>"If you lost your wings tomorrow, would you stop trying to fly? Could you adapt instantly to life forever on the ground?"
>Magical Lily does not answer.

[DracoOmega]

>"I would neither ask nor expect that anyone change their inner selves instantly. But that does not mean it is not possible to change, nor that the first steps cannot be taken, no matter how far from the path one presently stands. You say that you value survival above nearly all else, but the skills which helped you to survive the horrors of Makai may not be the same ones that could best ensure your survival into a future beyond it. You believe that your victory over us is inevitable, and for a moment let us even assume that this is true. But it will not be without cost. We will resist you, we will defend each other, and we will force you to fight for every inch you lay claim to; for this I speak not just of those gathered here, but countless others across our world. Others of your kin may be harmed or killed in the fighting, and the longer it lasts without resolution, the more of your kind will fall prey to the ire of your planet as they wait for a way to leave. Land and infrastructure that might have served your people's benefit could also be lost in the course of resistance. And yet all of that might be needless. You may consider them necessary or valid sacrifices in the name of a greater cause, but if a being truly seeks to maximize their own survival and the survival of their kind, surely it makes sense for them to a least consider a course that might require none of these?"
>"I do not wish to harm you and I feel sadness at your suffering. In ensuring your people's survival, we might even be allies; please do not assume we must be enemies."