Silence was one of his favorite companions. The enigmatic man known as Onamuji knelt before statues of Stone Country's five gods, his eyes closed in quiet contemplation. Even when he looked the most at peace, he was really battling his inner demons and struggling to retain some shred of mental calm. For the few years since the incident that plagued him, he had done all he could to forget it and move on. Muji thought he had conquered his guilt, and had proven at the very least that he could suppress it, but it still nagged at him - clawed at his soul in the times when he was alone and stuck with his thoughts.
"I don't think about you anymore..." the sage muttered almost inaudibly, to some invisible specter in his own mind, before sighing and adding, "...but I don't think about you any less."<i></i>
The pained man forced his to remain shut, battling his way through the memories. He didn't used to be so walled off and heartless. He used to be a free-spirited, pleasant man some years ago in Sunagakure. He was one of three friends, and they lived and worked in relative happiness. One of them, the Red Queen, had grown to be Muji's lover. In a tragic turn, she gradually became more and more ruthless and prone to killing, to a point that alienated the Rikudo Sennin. Yet, he remained by her side in all things, hopeful that she would snap out of it at some point. He was proven wrong when she turned on their common friend and brother-in-arms, announcing that she was leaving to kill him for betraying her trust - as well as the woman he had taken as a lover. Torn between his own heart and the lives of two innocent people, Muji was forced to kill the only woman he had ever truly loved with his own hands. He became a common murderer in order to prevent murder, doing evil to stop evil. That day, his heart was torn in two. He mourned the loss of the woman he loved and was wracked with the guilt of it all; but he also came to the enlightening realization some months later that the world itself was full of such injustice, and what he had done was precisely how injustice had to be dealt with.
It was no solace, either way. Onamuji tried running from the memories, but found there was no way to flee something that was ingrained into your own soul. He played the part of the cold, calculating warlord, but when the others weren't present, he had demons of his own to conquer.
The statues weren't helping...
The sage had hoped that the spiritual nature of the Temple would provide some direction or comfort, but it seemed as silent as could be. No magical relief, no mystical reassurance. Muji grinned, laughing at himself on the inside.
"What did you expect, you fool? Always running from your problems, waiting for something to fix them for you," he thought to himself, stifling back a laugh, "It's time to stop delaying the inevitable. You know what you were meant to do. There's nothing left now but to do it."<i></i>
And with a long, wistful sigh, the Rikudo Sennin stood up from his kneeling and stared down the statues one last time. It was time to close the page on one chapter and begin a new one...
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"I don't think about you anymore..." the sage muttered almost inaudibly, to some invisible specter in his own mind, before sighing and adding, "...but I don't think about you any less."<i></i>
The pained man forced his to remain shut, battling his way through the memories. He didn't used to be so walled off and heartless. He used to be a free-spirited, pleasant man some years ago in Sunagakure. He was one of three friends, and they lived and worked in relative happiness. One of them, the Red Queen, had grown to be Muji's lover. In a tragic turn, she gradually became more and more ruthless and prone to killing, to a point that alienated the Rikudo Sennin. Yet, he remained by her side in all things, hopeful that she would snap out of it at some point. He was proven wrong when she turned on their common friend and brother-in-arms, announcing that she was leaving to kill him for betraying her trust - as well as the woman he had taken as a lover. Torn between his own heart and the lives of two innocent people, Muji was forced to kill the only woman he had ever truly loved with his own hands. He became a common murderer in order to prevent murder, doing evil to stop evil. That day, his heart was torn in two. He mourned the loss of the woman he loved and was wracked with the guilt of it all; but he also came to the enlightening realization some months later that the world itself was full of such injustice, and what he had done was precisely how injustice had to be dealt with.
It was no solace, either way. Onamuji tried running from the memories, but found there was no way to flee something that was ingrained into your own soul. He played the part of the cold, calculating warlord, but when the others weren't present, he had demons of his own to conquer.
The statues weren't helping...
The sage had hoped that the spiritual nature of the Temple would provide some direction or comfort, but it seemed as silent as could be. No magical relief, no mystical reassurance. Muji grinned, laughing at himself on the inside.
"What did you expect, you fool? Always running from your problems, waiting for something to fix them for you," he thought to himself, stifling back a laugh, "It's time to stop delaying the inevitable. You know what you were meant to do. There's nothing left now but to do it."<i></i>
And with a long, wistful sigh, the Rikudo Sennin stood up from his kneeling and stared down the statues one last time. It was time to close the page on one chapter and begin a new one...
[Topic Entered/Left]