AKUDAMAX [Ending]

[akudamods]

You have received—reappropriated, by rights—the tools you needed. In the end, you are gathered on the floor of one very tall and quite humid factory. Perhaps it's exciting, for those of you who thought you were dead. Perhaps the news that you are fundamentally altered is shaking. And besides, it's not as if there are a lot of snacks or drinks in the factory. You've had a long, difficult fight.

So now, you are offered the choice. This world? Your own? Yet another's? Is there a distinction between separate timelines that you need to decide about?

Good luck, to those who will be known forever as the infamous X-Class Akudama.

Comments

cw suicidal ideation

[fullswingkiss]

[ And back again, more miserable than ever. Adam may be dressed in his showman outfit, but he's not actually putting on a show this time. ]

... what a waste of a good ending.

[ He means his death, really. As grateful as he is to be out of Kanto, he's not precisely pleased to be back alive.

He's going to hang around and watch everyone else for a little before taking the plunge and leaving, at least. ]

[your_best_friend]

[* Flowey may be doing other stuff, but Adam may see him give a quick glance your way. A moment later, a vine pops up and sets down a Nice Cream next to the Entertainer.]

[* If opened, the wrapper says: "You're super spiffy!"]

[fullswingkiss]

[ Unfortunately, Adam is still pretty displeased about their run-in during trial, so the peace offering will go ignored... ]

[your_best_friend]

[* A few minutes later, the Nice Cream gets placed on his lap.]

[intimations]

[What a happy ending for everyone. Teamwork winning the day! The dead coming back to life! Everyone getting a way back home!

It's so perfect, it almost makes him want to puke. But he doesn't let the disgust on his face show as he strolls toward Adam, canting his head at that statement.]

Oh? Most mortals would consider coming back from the dead to be a miracle. Not a fan?

[fullswingkiss]

[ Belial may be masking his disgust, but for once Adam is absolutely too annoyed to put on a cheerful show. His loathing seeps into his voice unhindered. ]

If this is a miracle, maybe I need to blaspheme harder so God finally casts me out from his protection.

This world is such a drag, it makes even death unsatisfying.

[intimations]

[There's a couple blinks at the sheer venom he's hearing here, but it only lasts for a moment before he bursts out into raucous laughter.]

Is that right? Well, if this world is so dull, then how about dragging it all down with you? That should be enough to tear you away from God, shouldn't it?

[fullswingkiss]

Are these people worth the effort?

[ It at least makes him smile to contemplate it for a moment. There always used to be chains around him - a society has rules for advancement and he had to follow them all in carefully calculated little steps. Here, nothing matters. He has run with people to whom such things are insignificant, he has experienced things no other from his homeland could. ]

Are they fun to chase, do they make me forget? They're just as boring and judgmental and vulgar as those I am used to.

[intimations]

Hehe... isn't that all the more reason to give it a go? There's nothing to miss if all you're doing is taking out the trash. So why not give it a try and see how you like it, first? It's not as if you've got anything left to lose, and having a body like this does have its perks.

[Well, honestly this is probably pretty bad advice either way just because being undying doesn't save you from being subjected to pain or suffering, but. Sometimes you need to test the waters to see what people can be pushed to do.]

[saucerous]

I think that's because it wasn't really one.

[It kind of sounds like she's I-told-you-soing him, but...Marcille is just framing it hopefully. It isn't over until it's really, truly over.

And even then there's still sometimes room for an epilogue.]

[fullswingkiss]

[ Somehow Marcille manages to be one of the more welcome sights right now. Those two weeks in the same house did forge a weird sense of camaraderie. ]

Well, it would have worked better if it was one.

For myself, anyway. Your demise was without much fanfare. Congratulations on escaping it.

[ He does mean that, despite it all. ]

[saucerous]

I think I've died in worse ways, but that doesn't make it any less unpleasant.

[And, truthfully, given how easily she was taken off-guard, how stupid she felt for falling for Debbie's tricks to get her vulnerable, she can also say that it was a pretty embarrassing way to go.]

I'm...relieved it wasn't permanent. There's still something I still need to do. [She smiles a little, but there's worry behind her expression.] Couldn't you find something like that, someone who might depend on you?

[Title card: Marcille accidentally encourages a serial killer.]

[hunterandhunted]

Sweet Adam, twas not a waste, but your opportunity to give encore.

[Zenos' smile splits wide with his joy for seeing the dancer again.]

I know what feelings wrest your heart now, but know that your return merely gives chance to perform ever more splendidly a second time.

[fullswingkiss]

[ It should feel good to see him again and be encouraged in words so perfectly in his own language. He's mostly hollow though.

I know what feelings wrest your heart now. Does he? Does he really? It's hard to believe but it would be a comforting little fantasy. ]

It's not my performance I'm worried about so much as the stage. This one has served its purpose and my own world... is insignificant.

[hunterandhunted]

[Such emptiness is something Zenos does know well, and it's why he splays his arms in grand gesture as he says:]

This stage is much too small for you, Entertainer. The masses here do not appreciate you as you are but, your fire, your... passion— I understand it well. Return to Hydaelyn with me, and you will be able to run free to your heart's content.

I will not allow anyone to get between you and your hunt for Eden.

[fullswingkiss]

[ Stop, stop, stop, stop. Offering understanding is far too cruel. Offering escape is... it's death without dying, to disappear from his world entirely, never to be found. An eternal question.

Is it worth it? He imagines his aunts, he imagines the people of Okinawa, he imagines everything he's built and built and built... and it feels small, compared to what he's seen. It feels like he truly won't be able to move if he goes back.

'Too small' indeed. ]

What's in it for you?

[ He should put it in flowery language, but this one time he needs to be frank. Nothing is ever unconditional. ]

[voidseeing]

That makes two of us.

[He's here, he's still alive, and he's not supposed to be alive. What is he supposed to do about that? Especially now that he's given to believe he's functionally immortal, which is possibly one of the last things he'd ever wanted.]