I will ask you not to fight her, Teyrey. I do have an accord with her. She's another General.
But she's a -- [Red eyes flicker. How to explain.] On Earth, when we speak of demons, it's a spiritual contrast to angels and God. In a literal sense, I fought the monks and religion. She also did. I know I mentioned heaven, the celestial realm is the stars, but in a more dark sense...
Let's see... I don't know Greek religion and mythology very well. I remember -- [Furrows his brow and squints.] Underworld? But they meant in a more -- Ah Egyptian way. Bear with me, Teyrey, [A smile.] I know this is irritating. The idea that after you die, your soul goes into the ground and that who you are is almost trapped in that. Hell, likewise, is the idea that after death, instead of reincarnation, you could get trapped and punished for all your misdeeds.
This place -- Eterna, is like Purgatory in a sense. In between heaven and hell. For someone in space, heaven, it's closer to hell than you've ever been, and you don't like it. For someone like me, it's closer to heaven than I've ever been, so I do like it.
Valdis comes from Hell, like me. Not Japan, just in a hellion kind of way. [He'll let Valdis conceal or reveal the hellhound thing as she wishes.]
Remember when you thought Join or Die meant I'd kill anyone who didn't join? I told you, in Hell, you can't stay neutral. Someone who didn't join my army, even if they were a merchant or an artist, even something other than a soldier, then they would be forced into the war no matter what. There is no escaping the wars in Hell. In all of Hell, there is nowhere truly safe. There is no peace, and the only path towards prosperity was through me, because I was the only one foolish and reckless enough to strive for that. The only one stubborn enough to say there was a way out of hell, and stubborn enough to drag everyone no matter how they fought against it.
Contracts in Hell are -- as close as one can get to slavery. I cannot say with absolute certainty that she thought you were trying to trick her, but understand: most demon kings are nothing like me. As badly as you think of the Captain, and then add some more layers. Saito Dosan... Until here... I thought he was normal for Hell. Now I wonder. And he is why I know; at least I'm very certain, we were truly in Hell, and I just didn't believe it until here.
Saito Dosan was my father's killer. Mitsuhide's former employer... if you can call him that. His evil Uncle, to borrow the future's story terms. Kichou's father... Tch... I have fucked up plenty on my own with Kichou, even without blaming his father, but Kichou would not be a hundredth as damaged if not for Saito Dosan. All the things you think of pirates, or Klaus' father: Reginald Hargreaves; he was that and then some. This sort of person is standard for Valdis' world. The kind of person who uses contracts to hurt people. To force them to do things they hate. A reason I do not have Klaus in my army. He has already had to do things he hates, and will again just by being my partner. I have clauses with Mitsuhide. That if I ever go too far, if I ever do become like the other demon kings: Saito Dosan and the others, and betray the dream of ours, then he's the one in charge of killing me. Because he would know the signs. And as it is, I push Mitsuhide to the absolute limits, well beyond normal friendship, as I've told you.
Do not make pacts with other demons, Teyrey. I told you I once did. I sold my soul, thinking I don't have one. Demons corrupt souls. They have to. It's the only way they exist at all. Lashing out like crabs in a bucket, keeping them all trapped there instead of cooperating to get out. I joke about it, with Klaus, and others. That I want to corrupt everyone - because I mean freedom, which the religious are against. But that's not true for other demons. They want to hurt people, and they aren't so ambitious as to try to get the most satisfaction out of it. The very short fleeting enjoyment of punching someone is almost enough. They are not just oathbreakers. They will twist everything you value to try to make you hate it.
Hate is the only weapon I'll never use, Teyrey. Not ever. I've been told letting myself be hated was still going too far, but I wasn't smart enough to think of a way out of it. Demons will try to make you hate everything you cherish, and yourself. The smart ones won't break their oaths, because they know doing so is fate worse than death, but they will do everything to make you want to break yours. This is the kind of place Hell is. Why I was so desperate to get Japan free of that, by any means necessary.
Valdis is not that way herself. She has a beautiful soul, she wrote poetry for me the first time we met that made me sing and dance with joy. But she doesn't know you yet. And contract with her is going to take a lot. I told you I trust no one once, not even myself or my right and left hands. She uses faith like like I use trust. I'm not saying she's afraid of you, but certainly she'd be suspicious of traps. You're like oil and water. You're from opposite worlds. Heaven and Hell.
For you, contracts are beginning overtures of peace. For someone who's never known peace, or prosperity; only torture, death, and hell, that's like telling you that she's a mythical dragon -- a creature that doesn't exist. "Magic" in the non-code word way. Understand?
no subject
But she's a -- [Red eyes flicker. How to explain.] On Earth, when we speak of demons, it's a spiritual contrast to angels and God. In a literal sense, I fought the monks and religion. She also did. I know I mentioned heaven, the celestial realm is the stars, but in a more dark sense...
Let's see... I don't know Greek religion and mythology very well. I remember -- [Furrows his brow and squints.] Underworld? But they meant in a more -- Ah Egyptian way. Bear with me, Teyrey, [A smile.] I know this is irritating. The idea that after you die, your soul goes into the ground and that who you are is almost trapped in that. Hell, likewise, is the idea that after death, instead of reincarnation, you could get trapped and punished for all your misdeeds.
This place -- Eterna, is like Purgatory in a sense. In between heaven and hell. For someone in space, heaven, it's closer to hell than you've ever been, and you don't like it. For someone like me, it's closer to heaven than I've ever been, so I do like it.
Valdis comes from Hell, like me. Not Japan, just in a hellion kind of way. [He'll let Valdis conceal or reveal the hellhound thing as she wishes.]
Remember when you thought Join or Die meant I'd kill anyone who didn't join? I told you, in Hell, you can't stay neutral. Someone who didn't join my army, even if they were a merchant or an artist, even something other than a soldier, then they would be forced into the war no matter what. There is no escaping the wars in Hell. In all of Hell, there is nowhere truly safe. There is no peace, and the only path towards prosperity was through me, because I was the only one foolish and reckless enough to strive for that. The only one stubborn enough to say there was a way out of hell, and stubborn enough to drag everyone no matter how they fought against it.
Contracts in Hell are -- as close as one can get to slavery. I cannot say with absolute certainty that she thought you were trying to trick her, but understand: most demon kings are nothing like me. As badly as you think of the Captain, and then add some more layers. Saito Dosan... Until here... I thought he was normal for Hell. Now I wonder. And he is why I know; at least I'm very certain, we were truly in Hell, and I just didn't believe it until here.
Saito Dosan was my father's killer. Mitsuhide's former employer... if you can call him that. His evil Uncle, to borrow the future's story terms. Kichou's father... Tch... I have fucked up plenty on my own with Kichou, even without blaming his father, but Kichou would not be a hundredth as damaged if not for Saito Dosan. All the things you think of pirates, or Klaus' father: Reginald Hargreaves; he was that and then some. This sort of person is standard for Valdis' world. The kind of person who uses contracts to hurt people. To force them to do things they hate. A reason I do not have Klaus in my army. He has already had to do things he hates, and will again just by being my partner. I have clauses with Mitsuhide. That if I ever go too far, if I ever do become like the other demon kings: Saito Dosan and the others, and betray the dream of ours, then he's the one in charge of killing me. Because he would know the signs. And as it is, I push Mitsuhide to the absolute limits, well beyond normal friendship, as I've told you.
Do not make pacts with other demons, Teyrey. I told you I once did. I sold my soul, thinking I don't have one. Demons corrupt souls. They have to. It's the only way they exist at all. Lashing out like crabs in a bucket, keeping them all trapped there instead of cooperating to get out. I joke about it, with Klaus, and others. That I want to corrupt everyone - because I mean freedom, which the religious are against. But that's not true for other demons. They want to hurt people, and they aren't so ambitious as to try to get the most satisfaction out of it. The very short fleeting enjoyment of punching someone is almost enough. They are not just oathbreakers. They will twist everything you value to try to make you hate it.
Hate is the only weapon I'll never use, Teyrey. Not ever. I've been told letting myself be hated was still going too far, but I wasn't smart enough to think of a way out of it. Demons will try to make you hate everything you cherish, and yourself. The smart ones won't break their oaths, because they know doing so is fate worse than death, but they will do everything to make you want to break yours. This is the kind of place Hell is. Why I was so desperate to get Japan free of that, by any means necessary.
Valdis is not that way herself. She has a beautiful soul, she wrote poetry for me the first time we met that made me sing and dance with joy. But she doesn't know you yet. And contract with her is going to take a lot. I told you I trust no one once, not even myself or my right and left hands. She uses faith like like I use trust. I'm not saying she's afraid of you, but certainly she'd be suspicious of traps. You're like oil and water. You're from opposite worlds. Heaven and Hell.
For you, contracts are beginning overtures of peace. For someone who's never known peace, or prosperity; only torture, death, and hell, that's like telling you that she's a mythical dragon -- a creature that doesn't exist. "Magic" in the non-code word way. Understand?