closed 🪶 it's a long way down to the bottom of the ocean...

[garudas]

Who: Benedikta Harman & others.
Status: Closed.
Where: Around.
What: Some MANTA stuff.
Warnings: The usual Benedikta warnings.


[ If you would like a closed thread, please feel free to hit up my plotting comment so we can hash something out! 💚 ]

Comments

[indispensable]

[After the first one has been dealt with the second is not far behind, quickly slain by Benedikta's hand and left to die from the gaping wound in her throat. Alhaitham, on his end, waits until the cries of the succubus have faded away for long enough before he draws back his sword, making another face at the stains on his blade and doing his best to flick as much away as he can.]

At least it sounded like they haven't gotten to anyone else besides the alchemist. [He says in response to Benedikta's remark. They'd certainly taken their time with him, for better or worse. It's hard to say if Alhaitham pities him, even though he knows the backstory from what Kaveh had told him of his own prior encounter with the now deceased man. The grief for his wife is, of course, understandable, but to chase after something that is clearly beyond human ken, throwing all rationality and logic aside... its easy to sympathize, but ultimately there is no denying the fact that his death was one that he brought upon himself.

Alhaitham gives his sword one more flick, ensuring that the worst of the ichor is gone from the blade before he sends it back to the ether, and with both of his hands now free he crosses his arms to study the collection of books that line this entire room—the ones that haven't been ruined or damaged from the fight earlier, at least.]

These books shouldn't be kept here.

[He can't quite decide yet how they should be dealt with, but the important part is that they should not remain here for anyone to come across, considering what the knowledge in them has wrought—the evidence of which now lie dead in this very room, bleeding out pools of dark liquid.]

[garudas]

[Benedikta reaches into the small pouch strapped to her sword's belt and unfurls a small, torn piece of paper that looks like it was taken from a book.]

I've no idea where he kept the recipes, but this was telling enough.

[It's a page about the lore and mythology of succubi. Just one of what was clearly many, and it could have been from any of the books here. And the reason she knew that Alhaitham might have been in trouble. It would explain their strange behaviours, and why the Alchemist himself was done in before they even got here.]

I've half a mind to burn it all.

[indispensable]

[Alhaitham eyes the scrap of paper that Benedikta holds out towards him, eyes narrowing as he reads whatever he can off it; the words themselves are familiar, and it only takes a moment for him to remember that he's read it off one of the books from Elah's archives a while back. Perhaps this is a copy that the alchemist has made, or something that'd been smuggled over—either way, the fact that it'd been torn off suggests that finding the book will most likely be a lost cause.

But that aside, Alhaitham takes a second to actually consider the suggestion that had been put forth. While he does agree that the dangerous stuff should be disposed of, part of him can't help but find it a bit of a shame to have everything in here destroyed. But its not as if they really have the time to go through and catalog every single book in here, and considering the nature of what he has done—and the depths of his desperation—Alhaitham highly doubts that he would have deviated much from his research, so...]

Let's. [He says once he's made his decision, glancing over to Benedikta.] These books are most likely too dangerous to keep, even under lock and key.

[Because people have always been curious... and while that isn't an inherently a bad thing, the cardinal sins established by the Akademiya exist for a reason—and what the alchemist has done here has very much crossed it.]

[garudas]

At the very least... [Benedikta's brow furrows.] We've managed to cull the problem. No more men will be lured into their trap.

[Magic lights up at her fingertip, and unlike her usual wind magic, this is different—it's made up entirely of just pure aether that she draws from her body, the specks of light that flicker from it blue in colour rather than her signature green, and she brings close to the sofa, where already, the scent of burning velvet can be picked up, but she pauses.

...

....

And something like a voice in the back of her mind compels her to ask because god damn it, why the hell does she even care?]

... Are you feeling all right?

[Not in the physical sense but more the "two 'women' just tried to trap him forever so that they could suck the life right out of him" sense.]

[indispensable]

[That much Alhaitham can agree on, and he hums to indicate as while he eyes the ethereal fire that Benedikta has summoned onto her fingertips. That, at least, seems quite far removed from anything that a Vision is able to do, and not for the first time he finds himself considering the differences between his set of abilities against the people from Cid's world. He'd been told the basics, and he'd done a degree of speculation beyond that, but he knows its touching the surface at beat. Still, there is no real desire to dive too deep; as interesting as it is, it is knowledge that is ultimately not wholly relevant to him now, especially since it does nothing to bring them closer to the ultimate goal of finding the rift.

He's drawn out of his thoughts when Benedikta suddenly asks him that question, and its surprising enough to draw a blink out of him.]

Yes. [He returns with no trouble.] If you're worried about any potential aftereffects, I would tell you that I did not feel anything from either of them in the first place.

[He doesn't really know if they've tried any of those things he'd read from the scrap about them seducing their prey. The only thing that really comes to mind is how forward they were being, But the only reason he paid any attention in the first place is to get any kind of potential clues; had it been any other situation he would have far too easily ignored her.

And as for the part about his life being in danger—well. All he can say is that it's hardly the first time people have tried to both use him and come for his life. If anything he can almost appreciate the simplicity of this whole event—its a change from the likes of Azar and Siraj. Even if the plans of those two people had more than a few fundamental flaws, handling them did not come as easy as it did for this.]

we can wrap this here I think! 💚

[garudas]

[Benedikta gives a small nod of approval, and an odd sense of relief washes over her. She can't imagine what she would have to say if she had to explain to Cid and Kaveh why Alhaitham was acting strangely after a job with her, but more than that, she is just... glad... that he is okay. An odd feeling, that, and one that she swallows down so that she can return to lighting the sofa up.

The heat immediately takes hold of the velvet, turning to flames, much to her surprise. She can feel the aether already growing thick as it picks up, and she motions for Alhaitham to scurry out of the room.]

It won't take long for it to catch. Now, let's be off before we get caught up in it.

\o/ yee

[indispensable]

[Alhaitham watches the way that ethereal fire takes root and spreads, quick to engulf the couch and the books that were already stacked upon it. Soon enough it'll be a matter of time before it spreads to the rest of this house, and once that happens all that's left is to simply just let it all burn down, like it should. Like what they both agreed on.

Not for the first time Alhaitham is struck by the fragility of knowledge itself. Though he has never been naive enough to think that everything that has been written down can be taken at face value, part of him had always upheld a sense of... sacredness in them, for a lack of a better term. He's always respected at what the written word has held, even if he'd never fully agreed on some of the texts that he reads, and he has always been aware of the fact that how history is more often than not shaped by those who live long enough to record it.

Despite knowing and being aware of all of those things, the knowledge that he is here now, in this very moment, making the conscious choice to actively destroy knowledge. The fact that it is dangerous knowledge does not lessen the severity of this moment in the slightest. Dangerous, forbidden knowledge is still knowledge in the end, and knowing that he is part of the reason why this will be lost again elicits a strange feeling he will have to contend with, in time.

But for now there is Benedikta calling for him so that they can finally leave this place, and Alhaitham gives the burning stack of books one more look before he turns and follows after her to make their exit.

Regardless of his own feelings, it is a fact that nobody will be able to make use of this knowledge after this. And that alone is enough for him to know that he won't look back on this decision.

At the end of the day, humankind is not a vehicle for knowledge, nor is knowledge itself the aim of humankind. If it has to be gone, then so be it.]