[ well, luckily for kara, the scene in the dream has changed when he turns around.
no more blood, no more gaudy trinkets and women armed with guns. instead, the room has cleared out to nearly nothing--much of it has been burnt, and a fine layer of ash is coating the floor underneath ookurikara's feet.
sitting in the center of the room is xie lian, the same young, recognizable one from before, who was holding ookurikara's body in his arms. he's dressed in the same pale white as the daozhang often is, though in the crisp lines of a suit instead of the traditional robes of a priest, and he sits with his knees drawn up and his forehead rest against them, his shoulders shaking gently.
there are a few newspapers spread out in front of him. some have visible headlines - mayor of montevallo--murder or accident? says one, another, "philanthropist patriarch and matriarch xie found dead in an alleyway; no suspects known". "bodies recovered from warehouse fire; women, children among victims" and a small, clipped one reading, "benefactor of yiling ridge orphanage forced to flee from montevallo, authorities in pursuit".
there's a lock at his feet, too, the edge of it open, torn from something with pliers, and perhaps more disturbingly, directly across from them lie several large, body shaped lumps in sheets, lined up in neat rows. the further down the room ookurikara looks, the more numbers there seem to be.
the door behind him is locked. only one way out of this dream, and it appears to lie with the young man in the center of the room. ]
no subject
no more blood, no more gaudy trinkets and women armed with guns. instead, the room has cleared out to nearly nothing--much of it has been burnt, and a fine layer of ash is coating the floor underneath ookurikara's feet.
sitting in the center of the room is xie lian, the same young, recognizable one from before, who was holding ookurikara's body in his arms. he's dressed in the same pale white as the daozhang often is, though in the crisp lines of a suit instead of the traditional robes of a priest, and he sits with his knees drawn up and his forehead rest against them, his shoulders shaking gently.
there are a few newspapers spread out in front of him. some have visible headlines - mayor of montevallo--murder or accident? says one, another, "philanthropist patriarch and matriarch xie found dead in an alleyway; no suspects known". "bodies recovered from warehouse fire; women, children among victims" and a small, clipped one reading, "benefactor of yiling ridge orphanage forced to flee from montevallo, authorities in pursuit".
there's a lock at his feet, too, the edge of it open, torn from something with pliers, and perhaps more disturbingly, directly across from them lie several large, body shaped lumps in sheets, lined up in neat rows. the further down the room ookurikara looks, the more numbers there seem to be.
the door behind him is locked. only one way out of this dream, and it appears to lie with the young man in the center of the room. ]