???'s Fathoms, part 1 (after battle)
"If that's how everyone's been living, then my life... my photographs too..."
<So this is S corp., too... right?>
It is... reminiscent of my homeland, but the sights are much too hideous compared to what rests in my memories.
"Hideous" was apt. When we emerged from the entrance of the Dungeon into S Corp.'s streets, what greeted us was a distorted and eerie scenery I wouldn't be surprised to find in an S Corp.-themed haunted mansion.
'Tis a place hardly fit for human habitation, far more dilapidated than once expected. Thou sayest that people inhabit these lands, for truth?
Really? I think it has a cool vibe.
Vibes my foot, I don't think I'll be able to get a wink of sleep in here.
The lives of the downtrodden were beset by a thousand woes and tenfold more struggles. And the streets they inhabit reflect that reality.
Many times I had contemplated in consternation how the folk here had even the will to live on.
... The shadow that had begun to haunt Kim's face still lingered there as he looked around.
If the Distortion reveals the fathoms of those it gazes into, as Kim had said...
Perhaps this is how S Corp. is reflected in Kim's eyes.
On the days when the skies were spotless blue, and without orders from the Councilor, I would scale to the roof of that <ruby=thatch-roofed house>choga</ruby> and feel it rustle beneath my back as I lay upon it.
... I thought it to be a respite solely mine, yet in this mirrored world, another has walked here before my arrival.
I join him in looking up at the thatched roof of the choga.
Beneath it...
A wicked tunnel have I passed... And now I witness myself before the one who shall strike the head from my torso.
There was a figure standing tall next to the building, staring defiantly up toward the man on the straw roof.
... Im Gyeong-eop.
... Are you home?
.......
Are you home, I asked.
... What a strange visitor I have.
Why not call at the front gate if you've come seeking the master of the house? Be not like a dog barking up the wrong tree - it's unbecoming.
A dog...? Really now...
I can see you up there, lounging on the roof. I'm not going to speak to the door like I'm blind.
Has a spell of some sort befallen the day?
To have such an odd occurrence transpire twice successive... The work of a bewitching spirit, I say.
What's so "bewitching" about checking in on someone?
Isn't it odd? That a high-and-noble Military Commissioner of our esteemed corporation would come in person to simply "check in" on how a lowly mercenary fares?
... You know me?
Heh heh... She certainly knows her jests!
She marches forth, vested in Warstrider Armor, yet expects no violence... She wields a two-handed greatblade like a demonic yaksha, yet harbors no hostile intent...
Why, who else might she be but Military Commissioner Gyeong-eop the Principled, of the famed Im family!
You are certainly in the habit of speaking in hyperbole. I am not so noble that I deserve to be complimented with an epithet so grand as "the Principled" -
Ah ah, not a compliment. You see, Commissioner, this is a rhetorical technique known as a "backhanded compliment," in which I damn you with praise, for you are so bound by your precious principles that you would rather be unreasonable than betray them.
Does an officer ranked Second Ordinant have no wit to engage in such banter?
.......
Why, am I "out of line," as they say?
... You two are friends, right?
This was our first meeting. So no, not at that precise moment.
I know, I'm just saying that if I were her, I wouldn't ever let myself become friends with you after such a bad first impression.
Can't imagine becoming friends with someone who keeps pushing my buttons...
Hehe, maybe. But people do find friendship in such personalities if they have a taste for prickliness!
You've got a friend in us, don't you?
... *cough* Uh... fine, you have a point. I guess I do have a habit of pushing people's buttons, too...
But still! I hope you're not seriously comparing the way I talk to his sassy, gotcha-digging, pun-riddled -
Well... The world we live in is a vast and diverse one. Consider yourself lucky that you're surrounded by so many quirky characters.
It's because of that same luck that she took the joke well rather than respond by trying to cut off my head.
You are out of line, yes... But I knew you would be, so I won't take issue with it. Though I must admit, the rumors of your sharp tongue do you no justice.
The streets speak of a man they call Kim <ruby=bamboo rain hat>Lib</ruby>. A man who once had intended to pursue the path of the Brush, only to realize the sins of his forefathers and exiled himself to the Backstreets.
Yet with the sheer power of will, gritted teeth, and scarred heart, did he find in the path of Sword another way into the Nest. As the Right State Councilor's sworn guard, at that.
That's you, isn't it?
All those superlatives, yet the reality is that I've merely found the path of man-butchery as a viable way of life.
Direct any compliments you have toward the Right State Councilor, if you will. I am but a butchering blade that happened to fall into the right hands.
Ah, ah. Not a compliment. Just the word on the street.
Ha... You're a quick learner.
And spare me the fancy reading of my name. Watching you pretend that pompous posturing comes naturally is painful enough already. Keep it simple and spell it out as "Bamboo-hatted Kim," thank you.
Ha ha... And does he continue to veer away from the line.
I'd rather be a corpse cold and dead than stay in line. Have a shred of mercy on me, O mighty one.
If I'd come all the way here just to punish you for every little misdeed and ill manners, I would have laid you out and split you in two, three ways before this riveting dialogue brought us this far.
Hm!
So, feel safe to continue traipsing outside the line. But in return, would you answer a few of my questions?
I've been watching you from a distance for a while now, and...
Really? Stalking someone's not very principled of you.
... You sure she didn't give you a good wallop after that?
No. Truly a mystery, isn't it?
Besides, she did give me free rein to "continue traipsing outside the line." I couldn't in good conscience turn down such offers of kindness. Not that I ever do.
You sure have a way with words... A way of finding your way under the listener's skin, huh?
Perhaps, yet are such japes not to be expected among fellowships of close mutual bond?
They don't look like friends yet, though...
So, care to tell us why she's been watching you?
Ah... I was engaged in the age-old pastime of throwing rocks.
Oh, you speak of the game of <ruby=rock tossing>Sukjeon?</ruby>
Save them for the festivities of Dano. I was throwing rocks at the passers-by.
Fie on thee! That is a wrong deed, good sir!
I suppose it is...? People of <ruby=bone>Ppeyo</ruby> and <ruby=flesh>Sal</ruby> in particular found it to be distasteful. And they did not let their discontent be hidden.
But the <ruby=blood>Pi</ruby> and the downtrodden cheered me on, to a degree. They found it cathartic.
Hoh, curious. Then is it a right deed or a deed not right?
Hmm...? Ppyeo...? Sal...? Whatever is it that thou'rt describing?
It is a well-known truth that S Corp. is also known by its other name, Salpippyeo Agroindustries.
A Wing specializing in the general agriculture and livestock industry of the City, the vastness and the depth of its responsibilities have necessitated such divisions of labor.
Thus, District 19 is split into three Court Circles responsible for different aspects of the industry: Sal, Pi, and Ppyeo, each meaning flesh, blood, and bone, respectively.
Sal, responsible for the cultivation of rice and other grains; Ppyeo, responsible for meat and livestock...
... and Pi, in charge of the technological aspects of both.
As a scientist and a researcher who once toiled at S Corp., you must have felt the persecution the Pi faced firsthand.
It is believed that the trinity was designed for balance, that they would provide assistance when requested and keep one another in check when needed. It was once a promise of cultivating a fair and sustainable S Corp.
Alas, the noble intentions of yesteryear now lie sullied, the trinity now degraded to three quarreling bands of profiteers blinded by avarice, relying not on honor but betrayal and perfidy to claim the top of the triangle.
An adherent of the flesh claims the position of the Chief State Councilor and monopolizes rice as the commonfolk starve;
An adherent of the bone, once a Right State Councilor, toadies to Sal and rises to the seat of the Left State Councilor;
When such shameless conspiracy permits not the commonfolk to even till the land as they please, anguished cries of suffering flood the streets.
Thus, the commonfolk are reduced to livestock bleeding out, hanging from a hook, while bone and flesh collude like that of the emaciated dead.
Who shall claim the severance of flesh and bone and force them both to yield?
... An oft-heard poem when walking the streets of S Corp.
Hoh... Oho...
Then the people whom thou have targeted with thy rocks were...
They weren't people. Rats.
Rats...?
Oh yes, the Councilor finds rats detestable. Much better to stop them from a distance if you want to crush them.
By any chance, do these rats... have a habit of sneaking into the Royal Court to better pilfer what the commonfolk rightfully deserve?
... They certainly suffer from a severe case of kleptomania.
So you purposefully threw a rock at his feet to trip him to the ground, knowing that he was a kleptocrat?
Well, I simply could not help but react as such in the presence of scurrying rats.
... Pffft.
Is there aught you find funny? Speak if you do, I could use a good laugh about now.
Just heartily expressing my gratitude, that is all.
Those whose corruption is revealed ought to readily receive their scarlet Ohra bonds. The gall to scamper away with their expensive prosthetics... My men were having some trouble apprehending them... until now.
Well, if that is your intent, you are invited to leave a token of gratitude somewhere in the vicinity. Perhaps I'll happen to pick it up... Wouldn't want to get thrown in the dungeons teeming with real vermin.
Oh, I was going to do just that.
...?
So, when'll you stop being a sword and be human again?
What?
When do you clock out?
The way I see it, you're not the kind of person who'll ever let a drop of liquor get to his tongue while on duty for the Right State Councilor.
Return to this choga when you're human again. I'll buy you a drink as thanks.
... Hah!
She's a funny one, hmm?
Mentor, then this "fellow" you had often mentioned fondly was -
Correct. Haven't I mentioned her a few times as a drinking fellow I had left behind in S Corp.?
I must say, I myself found that relationship most intriguing - that a Military Commissioner of the "Sal" faction would fraternize with a bodyguard of the Right State Councilor, who was of the "Pi" faction.
S-still, I knew not that the "fellow" was none other than a Military Commissioner of S Corp....!
Aeng-du's eyes had gone wide in shock, her voice rising unconsciously.
It is news to me that you have had ties to a Second Ordinant official, a military officer with command over high-ranking employees of the Wing at that...
Well, I was in the service of the Right State Councilor, who's a First Ordinant, you know.
W-well, that might be true, yet...
... Yet you would like to know why I, with such a powerful friend by my side, have ended up an exile from S Corp.?
... Yes. Your silence over matters of such great import is why I have come to introduce you to others as a reticent one, Mentor.
We had made the Blade Lineage our home, for S Corp. availed no home for us but the Lineage. But you, Mentor...
... I would rather show than tell. Let us proceed, shall we?
This enchanted place seems intent on unearthing all of my past, both savory and unsavory. All shall be revealed in due time.
Kim looked around, a twinge of loneliness in his eyes, before moving on.
... We followed without a word.