Audience - Viktor

[holyspirits]

Comments

[hextech]

[Look, shut up, okay. Maybe he still thought he was human, you don't know!!!] Yes. To both. [Transcendence.] My body was born hindered, and where I grew up polluted what was left. I don't know if my later illness made my body worse - likely, the deterioration was the sign of it - or if its intentions were merely to kill me. I tried to save myself when I used my body to experiment with the Hexcore. I knew... it had the potential of restoration, but it was missing something I couldn't unlock... [In their language:] An equation I could never solve. I knew I had to do whatever it took if I wanted to live. But the repercussions... [Yet again, he pauses as if he hears something. His eyes shift to the side, but he doesn't look this time.] I thought it was dangerous. It... could be. It could be used badly in the wrong hands. I asked Jayce to destroy it, but he used it instead to save me. I was hurt, angry. I had become... a monster, I thought. But I had not yet seen the beauty of what I could do for others who were suffering. For once, I was able to make a difference.

[holyspirits]

[ this form does not have visible eyes, but it is obvious that kiraman is watching viktor closely. ]

He thought he was doing the right thing by trying to fulfill your wish to live, and the repercussions made you this. [ understandable. relatable. ] Not knowing the missing link, but using yourself to find it... I get it.

[ there's a thoughtful pause. ]

And have you seen everything now?

[hextech]

[He's thoughtful of his answer for a moment.] I know there is still more to be seen. I wasn't quite there... at the peak of perfection, a being who could stop violence and instill ultimate peace. But I have seen enough to know it's possible. A utopia can be made one the collective extends its reach.

[holyspirits]

[ once again swinging around to thinking maybe viktor is in to something. ]

But then there's the work in keeping the collective peaceful. The negotiations among them and their thoughts. How do you handle a job like that?

[hextech]

[No.........] You've seen the place where I would keep them. Their minds would be safe and everything would be peaceful.

[holyspirits]

I have. But that doesn't change what I asked. People... with independent thought. How can you make sure they don't break from the collective?

[ never mind, vaguely evil again. ]

[hextech]

[He shakes his head as if the fact he says this should be acceptable.] The strength of the arcane should hold them within. They can be who they like inside the collective, but hypothetically none should be able to break free. Compliance is the link to coexistence. The commune wasn't much different. People were still themselves, but they coexisted peacefully because there was no need to untangle superficial perceptions. Shared work, shared thought, shared emotions. It breaks away the blockade of misunderstandings.

[holyspirits]

But it also eliminates individuality. Like... if you and Jayce were in the collective together and weren't capable of thinking differently, would you have been able to create Hextech at all? Compliance is fine for those who want it, but wiping their personalities to be more in line with each other just takes away the key pieces of their programming.

How can you say it's superficial?

[hextech]

As I've said: they are free to be who they wish inside the collective. [He turns away to move around the shelf. The echo has returned to his voice.] Their individuality may stay. [The echo deepens; his voice twists into two.] But rebellion will not be tolerated. [What emerges on the other side of the shelf is not Viktor, the Herald, but instead, Viktor, the Machine Herald. An unnaturally tall, slim figure, alien in the plated mask over the sculpted, familiar face beneath. Two glowing eyes bore into Kiraman like clinical, icy steel. The transformation is grotesque and beautiful simultaneously. A glimpse of the future!!] Once we transcend the limits of my humanity, we will give everyone a paradise where they do not suffer the malignancies imposed on each other.

[holyspirits]

[ they are not a huge fan of the echoes, actually. ]

Yeah. Yeah, I think you might have to get used to it. [ there you are, bitch. they do not seem concerned by what they're seeing, standing a little taller to face him. ]

Your humanity, huh? Thought the whole idea was about the collective being the same. Hey, who's we, anyway?

[hextech]

[Them: do not like the echo. Also them: the body horror is w/e.] The idea is the collective is free from the burden of what makes him hurt each other. [He is quietly paused for a long moment.] We?

[holyspirits]

[ anna. ]

Yeah. Once "we" transcend the limits of your humanity and "we" will give them a paradise. Who's we?

[hextech]

I don't know what you mean. [He sounds genuine despite the eeriness. Confused. He turns away from Kiraman again, this time more like Viktor than the hulking entity he is right now.]

[holyspirits]

[ oh good. back to "i need to fix this man's brain.

also, back to being a twink. ]

... Viktor. Can you repeat what you said to me just now?

[hextech]

[He lifts his hands to look them over. He felt different. His body. Hm.] ...I'm sorry, I don't remember. [Why does his brain throb!!]

[holyspirits]

[ hateful! ]

... okay. [ they accept this for now. ] Don't worry about it, I'm... gonna look into some stuff for later.

[hextech]

[He is still looking at his hands... He lifts them to push his fingers back into his hair by each temple, and he gently squeezes his head after closing his eyes.] That's not why... [His voice is low, like he is speaking to someone closer to him.] Something is happening. [His eyes open. He stares into the middle distance, distressed, and then very suddenly he bolts. He doesn't run, per se, but he quickly leaves the shop to stand just on the other side of the door, outside. He leans back on the wall there, head tipped against it.]

[holyspirits]

[ YEAH BUDDY, SOMETHING IS HAPPENING. kiraman watches him run, waiting for a few minutes to give him some space before they follow after him. they'll lean on the wall nearby. ]

... I don't know what's happening. [ quietly. ] But we can look into it.

[hextech]

[He's slow to open his eyes; when he does, he searches the sky slowly back and forth.] I'm sorry, [is what he says first. About his weirdo moment...s. Then, more quietly:] I can hear her sometimes. In the arcane. Sky. But I can't see her anymore. [As if not seeing her is somehow more bizarre than the fact he is just fucking seeing some random person in general.] I feel... [Trying to think of the best word.] ...overwhelmed. I want to get rid of the feelings.

[holyspirits]

[ contemplating this... ]

How... often do you usually see her? Did that only start when you merged? [ how wacky are your hallucinations, viktor. ]

Tell me what feelings are overwhelming you most. What are you thinking?

[hextech]

[Very many much.] I began seeing her after I awoke from being merged with the Hexcore. She's always there, somewhere. [:)] All of them.

[holyspirits]

... [ great. ]

But you see her the most?

[holyspirits]

... [ great. ]

But you see her the most?

[hextech]

She is the only one I see. [Kiraman is missing vital information here. He lifts his head off the wall, but sort of hangs it forward instead.] She died, and the Hexcore... must have migrated her into the arcane of itself. Now I can communicate with her as I am also connected.

[holyspirits]

[ they are busy wondering if this is actually a manifestation of viktor's guilt. ]

You said she was your assistant. [ hm. ] Did the Hexcore have those capabilities before you merged with it?