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PARKING GARAGE
ANY CAR IN A STORM
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Those people being dragged inside by some invisible force...? Silly, they were so excited to come that their bodies moved before they realized what was happening. Those are struggles of joy and definitely not the casino's infamous ghost hands dragging unwilling guests to the party at the behest of the house. Look, they're literally hurling their bodies at the card tables with unrestrained glee!
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[ Well, of course Wei Wuxian knows the requirements. It's his ritual, after all. So, when he talks about it, it's a little breezily, like none of this matters in the first place and they're talking about the weather. ]
Eh, it's nothing too complicated. It's called "Sacrifice" since the person who performs it has to sacrifice themselves to the spirit they call. They give up their body and their life and in exchange, the spirit has to adhere to their last wishes or they'll be destroyed, never to reincarnate. It's kind of a last ditch thing, no one's that desperate to use it. Usually.
[ Unless you're Mo Xuanyu.
Then there's a pause and he remembers who he's talking to, immediately narrowing his eyes at Xue Yang. ]
For the record, you can't force someone to do it for you either. It's a contract between a spirit and the sacrifice. A third party getting involved would mess it all up.
[ That look in Xue Yang's eyes absolutely says "you can't force someone? We'll see about that." ]
A contract, huh? So it takes the resentful energy of the one performing the ritual and uses that as a beacon, or a tether--is it both? Binding the captured spirit to the world of the living using the same principle as a ghost, but there's a still-living body ready to hold it instead of the corpse of its original body. So all the ritual itself needs to do is summon the soul and align it to the body. Forcing the soul to do the sacrifice's bidding is obvious; unsettled resentful energy on that scale would collapse into qi deviation if left inside something living for too long.
So the obvious problem with using someone else as a sacrifice would be how to plant resentful energy for the ritual. Forcing it in on that scale would normally trigger a deviation before you'd have enough for a summoning. Even if it didn't there's a risk external energy wouldn't be sufficient to bind the soul. Maybe you can force someone to cultivate in an environment that steadily raises their resentful energy. Then you just need to make them share your goal so it gets passed along as their will. What do you think?
[ From one scientifically-curious demonic cultivator to another ]
[ Why does this kid always get it!! It's so frustrating for Wei Wuxian, leaves him slightly annoyed. They've only been talking for who knows how long now but the leaps Xue Yang makes when it comes to demonic cultivation remind him of himself, the understanding potent. It makes sense why he would have such understanding and if they were two very different people — they might even be able to get along over this.
But they're not, and Wei Wuxian refuses. So, he just gives Xue Yang a frown when he's done his spiel and shrugs his shoulders. ]
I guess. That's one approach to it, it's not like I talked to the guy who sacrificed himself for me. Who knows what his whole deal was?
[ Even though at this point, yes, Wei Wuxian knows Nie Huaisang led Mo Xuanyu to the ritual through his own means. And yes, that sort of aligns with the suggestion Xue Yang is throwing at him. But is he going to encourage that line of thinking? Is he going to tell him he's right on the money? No!! Of course not!! ]
[ Xue Yang isn't certain, but his suspicion is that the dismissive response means he's on the right track. He knows that there's a few things Wei Wuxian never looked into; whether they were because he wasn't interested, didn't have the resources, or thought the world would be better off without the knowledge wasn't Xue Yang's particular concern. But being dismissive means Wei Wuxian isn't interested now, even in theorizing. And he didn't outright deny it and give Xue Yang an opening to probe more for additional information so he could solve it himself, so it's probably a problem he doesn't want solved.
It can be another thing for Xue Yang to investigate more. Just knowing about the shape of the ritual and any details is a good starting point. ]
But you do have your side of it. Have you fulfilled his will? What were the side effects? Have you felt any disconnect from this body?
[ He can't help the expression on his face, one of discontent. He's torn because on one hand, talking about the sacrifice is genuinely interesting and he does like the idea of having another cultivator to talk about it with, who will engage him in earnest. But on the other hand... it's still Xue Yang.
The answers spill from his mouth before he can help himself though, wincing slightly as he does give them. ]
I have. No side effects. No disconnect.
[ He was just going to leave it at that but — ]
... Initially, there was some disconnect. During the summoning. It was a strange sensation, being here but not. Then once his soul departed and I took over, it was as if the body was mine wholly. Even if the wounds from our agreement wouldn't heal.
[ Ah, wait. He didn't mention the wounds earlier. Shit, now he's given Xue Yang even more to pick at. ]
What wounds? Were they a part of the ritual? Or was that how his will was passed along? Are they still unhealed? Show me them.
[ He wants to see, and (for once) not just because he enjoys violence for its own sake. Any information is more information, and while Xue Yang hasn't given himself any permanent wounds for the sake of a ritual or curse, he's not unfamiliar with them. ]
[ ... Sigh. In for a penny, in for a pound. Or something like that. Wei Wuxian rubs tiredly at his forehead before pulling up the sleeve on his arm. The wounds are healed but there's a bit of scarring as he shows it to Xue Yang. ]
There were four slash marks on my arm that wouldn't heal until I took care of the people he had grievances towards. Once they died, the wounds healed.
There's a chance, in another ritual, that the person making the sacrifice doesn't want death out of their deal. That wounds like this heal a different way. It's just that in this specific case, the guy who wanted me to do revenge for him, wanted the people revenged upon dead.
[ Xue Yang listens attentively, but his gaze is glued to the scars. Without waiting for permission he reaches out and grabs for Wei Wuxian's arm. To trace the cuts, see how the skin has healed and try to imagine what they looked like when fresh (he's seen open wounds plenty of times, less so healed ones; people tend to die on him first). Sense for any lingering resentful energy that might still remain behind as clues. ]
Were these caused by a tool or were they opened by the resentful energy itself?
[ He is not very surprised when Xue Yang grabs for his arm, just letting him take it and inspect it as he wants. It would be a futile effort to fight it and also just kind of a pain so he lets him look.
While there isn't any resentful energy left on the wounds now that they're healed, Wei Wuxian is sure of his answer as he responds — ]
Made by the resentful energy, I'm sure.
[ Because of the way they were kept open, no matter how much he tried to tend to them, tried to make them heal. They stayed opened, bleeding sluggishly but not really making him feel any pain. It was bizarre. ]
[ It's clearly fascinating Xue Yang and his eyes study the scars as the seconds tick by. He's never seen anything like this in practice.
Finally he gives an exhale as if he'd been holding his breath as his focus shifts and returns to Wei Wuxian's face. He doesn't let go. ]
Were your souls ever in the body at the same time? How long did the exchange take?
[ Is time a meaningless thing when one is a disembodied consciousness about to get dragged into someone else's body? Maybe. Is Xue Yang asking anyway? Yes. ]
[ Wei Wuxian's mouth pulls into a thin line as it becomes clear Xue Yang is not letting go of his arm. That's... well, he's not sure he likes that. He sure hopes Xue Yang doesn't decide to try and take his arm, no, that would suck.
So, he answers his questions as much as he can as his arm is still being held hostage, after all. ]
Not sure how long the exchange took but that's when our souls were in the same body. It seemed short? I just heard my name being called over and over and suddenly knew what I was being asked to do and then... it was over? Then he was gone and the body was mine. It left me a little groggy though.
[ His tone is flat as he explains, fairly unimpressed. This would interest him more if his audience was anyone else but for now, he just gives what he can give and feels safe to give while still trying to figure out how to get out of this conversation altogether. ]
[ Meanwhile Xue Yang has zero intention of letting Wei Wuxian out of this conversation. Which is very related to why his arm is still being held captive. (And that at least gives him an incentive to leave it attached?) ]
The knowledge of the task was conveyed differently from how your name was called? Why? Is the task decided unconsciously?
[ In which case it would mean one is an intentional choice, the other not, and they could get conveyed accordingly. If it's actually not intentional, that makes another person's use of the ritual even more difficult to influence... ]
[ THANKS............ at least his arm is safe, for now.
Unfortunately, at Xue Yang's question, Wei Wuxian is thinking the same thing. He hadn't thought about it like that before and has to give it a good think before he's able to respond, chewing over the details in his head. ]
I think he knew what he wanted me to do, his desire was so strong that it was conveyed without needing to say it. I'm not sure if the summoner needs a specific task in mind before they summon the spirit, or just a desire to be present for the spirit to absorb. But no, he called for me, but he didn't say "kill my entire family for me" afterwards.
I think a lot of this depends on the caster's intentions, and how badly they want their request fulfilled. That's the key part.
[ Perhaps not unexpectedly, the phrase "kill my entire family for me" gets absolutely no reaction from Xue Yang. After all, what else would someone sacrifice themself to call Wei Wuxian specifically for? ]
When you have someone performing the ritual intentionally they're obviously gonna want it pretty badly, but if you're making someone do it that's not necessarily true. I should try it out. I bet I could get it working in five or six attempts. With enough refinement it could be a good option for guaranteeing you can come back after your death instead of having to leave it to chance.
[ And doesn't that sound delightful? Xue Yang setting up his own rebirth! ]
[ He's not surprised by the lack of reaction to that, because he had the same thought too — why else would he be summoned?
But what Xue Yang says next does surprise him, and get under his skin a little. Okay, so, that confirms that Xue Yang doesn't know that Wei Wuxian had a hand in his death. (Ha, hand.) That's... good. Probably. Maybe? Geez. ]
That's... not wrong, I guess. [ Ugh. ] Would you really not trust a natural rebirth?
And drink Meng Po's soup? [ He gives a derisive scoff. ] I don't want to start over again. Having to listen to cultivators to learn cultivation was a pain in the ass enough the first time.
[ Do you have any idea how many Jin Sect cultivators he had to put up with and not kill or even maim?? It was awful. ]
[ So tragic, for you. He feels so bad. Sooooo bad. ]
You might risk cutting yourself off from the cycle of rebirth by doing something like this though. If it fails, you'd be fucked. Your soul would be destroyed.
Yeah, I know that. That's why I'm gonna refine it first. [ Every demonic cultivator worth half their salt understands that they're working with forces that could fuck them over the moment their footing wavers, and the ones who are good at it don't survive long enough to get that way by treating it haphazardly. Xue Yang may be a delinquent, but he's not stupid enough to test these things out himself before he's confident in them. ] I'm not nearly as infamous as you are, Senior Wei. I can't trust that someone will think of my name first when they want someone to help with their revenge so bad they would die. I can figure out how to set this up, and it won't fail.
[ And he might wind up killing a person or twenty along the way, but that's such a small number, isn't it? ]
[ Wei Wuxian feels like he's made a terrible mistake here. He's not sure if he should try and convince Xue Yang of a different direction (doubtful he'll be able to) or if he should just let him do his thing and wash his hands of the venture. It's a little hard to figure out. Shit.
Then again he can't really do much here, can he? He's not sure. He's still figuring this place out and trying to understand the rules. Is demonic cultivation an easy hobby to have here? ]
Okay, yeah, well. I guess I'll leave you to it then. Can I have my arm back?
[ Demonic cultivation is a very easy hobby to have if you're focused on the ghost part and almost completely impossible if you're focused on the corpses part. Not that Xue Yang has tried to kill anyone or otherwise witnessed a near death to find out what happens in this place around that, but. There are ghosts. There were walking corpses, once. There's things to work with.
Xue Yang looks down at Wei Wuxian's arm, then back up at Wei Wuxian, his expression looking very much like someone thinking hard about a major decision. ]
If you stick around, Senior Wei, we'll definitely see each other again.
[ A promise, and a threat.
He squeezes the arm a little tighter for emphasis, then lets go. He's gotten a satisfactory amount to chew on from this conversation. ]
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peacockstop2025-01-15 09:00 pm
wow dw trying to cockblock us
Eh, it's nothing too complicated. It's called "Sacrifice" since the person who performs it has to sacrifice themselves to the spirit they call. They give up their body and their life and in exchange, the spirit has to adhere to their last wishes or they'll be destroyed, never to reincarnate. It's kind of a last ditch thing, no one's that desperate to use it. Usually.
[ Unless you're Mo Xuanyu.
Then there's a pause and he remembers who he's talking to, immediately narrowing his eyes at Xue Yang. ]
For the record, you can't force someone to do it for you either. It's a contract between a spirit and the sacrifice. A third party getting involved would mess it all up.
indeed 😔
A contract, huh? So it takes the resentful energy of the one performing the ritual and uses that as a beacon, or a tether--is it both? Binding the captured spirit to the world of the living using the same principle as a ghost, but there's a still-living body ready to hold it instead of the corpse of its original body. So all the ritual itself needs to do is summon the soul and align it to the body. Forcing the soul to do the sacrifice's bidding is obvious; unsettled resentful energy on that scale would collapse into qi deviation if left inside something living for too long.
So the obvious problem with using someone else as a sacrifice would be how to plant resentful energy for the ritual. Forcing it in on that scale would normally trigger a deviation before you'd have enough for a summoning. Even if it didn't there's a risk external energy wouldn't be sufficient to bind the soul. Maybe you can force someone to cultivate in an environment that steadily raises their resentful energy. Then you just need to make them share your goal so it gets passed along as their will. What do you think?
[ From one scientifically-curious demonic cultivator to another ]
no subject
But they're not, and Wei Wuxian refuses. So, he just gives Xue Yang a frown when he's done his spiel and shrugs his shoulders. ]
I guess. That's one approach to it, it's not like I talked to the guy who sacrificed himself for me. Who knows what his whole deal was?
[ Even though at this point, yes, Wei Wuxian knows Nie Huaisang led Mo Xuanyu to the ritual through his own means. And yes, that sort of aligns with the suggestion Xue Yang is throwing at him. But is he going to encourage that line of thinking? Is he going to tell him he's right on the money? No!! Of course not!! ]
no subject
It can be another thing for Xue Yang to investigate more. Just knowing about the shape of the ritual and any details is a good starting point. ]
But you do have your side of it. Have you fulfilled his will? What were the side effects? Have you felt any disconnect from this body?
no subject
The answers spill from his mouth before he can help himself though, wincing slightly as he does give them. ]
I have. No side effects. No disconnect.
[ He was just going to leave it at that but — ]
... Initially, there was some disconnect. During the summoning. It was a strange sensation, being here but not. Then once his soul departed and I took over, it was as if the body was mine wholly. Even if the wounds from our agreement wouldn't heal.
[ Ah, wait. He didn't mention the wounds earlier. Shit, now he's given Xue Yang even more to pick at. ]
no subject
What wounds? Were they a part of the ritual? Or was that how his will was passed along? Are they still unhealed? Show me them.
[ He wants to see, and (for once) not just because he enjoys violence for its own sake. Any information is more information, and while Xue Yang hasn't given himself any permanent wounds for the sake of a ritual or curse, he's not unfamiliar with them. ]
no subject
There were four slash marks on my arm that wouldn't heal until I took care of the people he had grievances towards. Once they died, the wounds healed.
There's a chance, in another ritual, that the person making the sacrifice doesn't want death out of their deal. That wounds like this heal a different way. It's just that in this specific case, the guy who wanted me to do revenge for him, wanted the people revenged upon dead.
no subject
Were these caused by a tool or were they opened by the resentful energy itself?
no subject
While there isn't any resentful energy left on the wounds now that they're healed, Wei Wuxian is sure of his answer as he responds — ]
Made by the resentful energy, I'm sure.
[ Because of the way they were kept open, no matter how much he tried to tend to them, tried to make them heal. They stayed opened, bleeding sluggishly but not really making him feel any pain. It was bizarre. ]
no subject
Finally he gives an exhale as if he'd been holding his breath as his focus shifts and returns to Wei Wuxian's face. He doesn't let go. ]
Were your souls ever in the body at the same time? How long did the exchange take?
[ Is time a meaningless thing when one is a disembodied consciousness about to get dragged into someone else's body? Maybe. Is Xue Yang asking anyway? Yes. ]
no subject
So, he answers his questions as much as he can as his arm is still being held hostage, after all. ]
Not sure how long the exchange took but that's when our souls were in the same body. It seemed short? I just heard my name being called over and over and suddenly knew what I was being asked to do and then... it was over? Then he was gone and the body was mine. It left me a little groggy though.
[ His tone is flat as he explains, fairly unimpressed. This would interest him more if his audience was anyone else but for now, he just gives what he can give and feels safe to give while still trying to figure out how to get out of this conversation altogether. ]
no subject
The knowledge of the task was conveyed differently from how your name was called? Why? Is the task decided unconsciously?
[ In which case it would mean one is an intentional choice, the other not, and they could get conveyed accordingly. If it's actually not intentional, that makes another person's use of the ritual even more difficult to influence... ]
no subject
Unfortunately, at Xue Yang's question, Wei Wuxian is thinking the same thing. He hadn't thought about it like that before and has to give it a good think before he's able to respond, chewing over the details in his head. ]
I think he knew what he wanted me to do, his desire was so strong that it was conveyed without needing to say it. I'm not sure if the summoner needs a specific task in mind before they summon the spirit, or just a desire to be present for the spirit to absorb. But no, he called for me, but he didn't say "kill my entire family for me" afterwards.
I think a lot of this depends on the caster's intentions, and how badly they want their request fulfilled. That's the key part.
no subject
When you have someone performing the ritual intentionally they're obviously gonna want it pretty badly, but if you're making someone do it that's not necessarily true. I should try it out. I bet I could get it working in five or six attempts. With enough refinement it could be a good option for guaranteeing you can come back after your death instead of having to leave it to chance.
[ And doesn't that sound delightful? Xue Yang setting up his own rebirth! ]
no subject
But what Xue Yang says next does surprise him, and get under his skin a little. Okay, so, that confirms that Xue Yang doesn't know that Wei Wuxian had a hand in his death. (Ha, hand.) That's... good. Probably. Maybe? Geez. ]
That's... not wrong, I guess. [ Ugh. ] Would you really not trust a natural rebirth?
no subject
[ Do you have any idea how many Jin Sect cultivators he had to put up with and not kill or even maim?? It was awful. ]
no subject
You might risk cutting yourself off from the cycle of rebirth by doing something like this though. If it fails, you'd be fucked. Your soul would be destroyed.
no subject
[ And he might wind up killing a person or twenty along the way, but that's such a small number, isn't it? ]
no subject
I... guess...
[ Wei Wuxian feels like he's made a terrible mistake here. He's not sure if he should try and convince Xue Yang of a different direction (doubtful he'll be able to) or if he should just let him do his thing and wash his hands of the venture. It's a little hard to figure out. Shit.
Then again he can't really do much here, can he? He's not sure. He's still figuring this place out and trying to understand the rules. Is demonic cultivation an easy hobby to have here? ]
Okay, yeah, well. I guess I'll leave you to it then. Can I have my arm back?
no subject
Xue Yang looks down at Wei Wuxian's arm, then back up at Wei Wuxian, his expression looking very much like someone thinking hard about a major decision. ]
If you stick around, Senior Wei, we'll definitely see each other again.
[ A promise, and a threat.
He squeezes the arm a little tighter for emphasis, then lets go. He's gotten a satisfactory amount to chew on from this conversation. ]