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[Mizura]

A shallow wind swept by. Ian thought, she wanted to sleep longer on weekends, until she remembered her situation and woke up. The first thing that was reflected in her eyes was sunlight and feathery clouds on a blue sky. She couldn't believe the change in landscape and blinked, but the sky was still there. As she sat up, several trees came into view, and when she looked down, a lake full of blooming lotuses came into view, from light blue to turquoise to purple, showing off their beauty and harmony to onlookers.
"Is it pretty?"

Ian who had been admiring the scenery was startled by the voice and turned her head. The man was standing at some distance from her, and looking back at her with deadpan eyes. He had short black hair with scattered red, two grey horns, and his face looked sharper. His skin was whiter than Ian's, and he was wearing a black suit that didn't suit this landscape. He looked as though he came out from a funeral home.

"W... who are you?"

Ian's voice was trembling. After all, the landscape had changed, and suddenly this man was here instead of Tak. She could see the horns on his head. Maybe this was the man who came to fight Tak, the one who according to Tak was the one who destroyed her village. As she thought of that, she became overwhelmed with grief and anger, with hot tears spilling out.
"Watching this emotional excess, crying all alone, is like looking at the old me."

The man approached Ian. Ian was scared but did not avoid his gaze.
"You were the one impersonating Taksaka?"
"Yes."
"And now you're going to kill me."
"..."

But Ian continued without waiting for his answer.
"I've got to get back. I knew this was a dream but this is ridiculous. I'm dying even before I touch you, I'm just a worthless human being. Are you glad that you'll finally be able to kill the "Ian Rajof" from 8 years ago?"
"..."
"I won't ask you why you did it. I was never curious about that and now I'll never know. However, that village worshipped dragons. After Suras and humans separated, the wards were created and those who believed in God fingered those who believed in dragons as Heretics! But how could you so brutally trample on human beings who believed in you like that?"
"..."

The man did not answer, but his previously frozen face had slightly contorted expressions.
"If you expect me to beg you for your life, then you're wrong. I'd rather beg you for a better death. Come on, you psycho. Those who once worshipped the Sura will go to hell, but I won't be afraid if the other people from my village are there. Even if I'm punished by the Gods, you will be cursed by the Gods."
"..."

Until then, the man had been listening to Ian's words in silence, but when she said that the Gods will curse him, he grabbed his chest and closed his eyes. Wondering at his behaviour Ian stopped talking for a while. The man seemed to calm after taking a few deep breaths, and opened his eyes.
"In the end, I'd still hate to be left behind as the villain."
"...?"

At that point, he grabbed her hands, and she realized her mistake as he could kill her easily, and closed her eyes.
"Listen to me. You are free not to believe but..."

The wind blew over the lake. The man seemed to be struggling with his words, but in the end, said:
"I'm not the one who destroyed your village."
"...!!!"

The frightened Ian looked up, and could see a subtle hint of sorrow in his otherwise expressionless look. He looked down at her.
"It isn't fair if you are left in the dark until the end. But you can hate me Ian."

At that moment the lake behind the man started swirling, and it seemed that the man in front of Ian would disappear into the lotuses at any moment.

The finite - by Currygom
Chapter 17 - The Azure Dragon

Ian was confused. Tak claimed that this Sura was the criminal from 8 years ago, but this dragon says that he's not. So who should she believe? No, in the first place, no matter who it is, why would he bother to explain? Was this a misunderstanding from the perspective of the Sura?
"If you are thinking about what Taksaka said, he is very innocent, there is no need to doubt."
"...?"

So Tak didn't do it either? Ian didn't know what to think anymore.
"Most dragons lay sleeping in their nest, and show almost no activity. Because of that their appearances are not well known. It is very easy to fool the ignorant man. I also pretended to be Taksaka several times but..."

Ian had lost hope already and thought that she'd die by his hands, but now she looked at him without saying anything in particular.
"... don't you wonder who the real perpetrator is?"
"Do I need to ask?"
"No. You're better off not knowing. I won't tell you even if you ask me."
"..."

The man walked over to the lake, while Ian watched his back. He faltered as he approached.
"Once, my hair was the same color as this lake."
"..."

Ian looked alternately at the lake of blooming lotuses and the man with red and black hair. There seemed to be nothing in common between the two.
"When Visnu first named me, he said. Your hair is more lovely than anyone's, but as you let your heart rot, its beauty shall rot as well. And as you aspire to something forever beyond your grasp, you will meet a horrible ending." (confirmed by Ashenjay! :3 )
"There is no way that Visnu-nim would have said that!"

Ian could not believe the words of that man. The man glanced at her then turned back to the lake.
"Yes. I was wrong to say that. Visnu is a good God."
"..."

The man's voice somehow seemed smaller than before, as though he had lost his energy. His complexion changed as well, as his body swayed helplessy in the shallow wind, and his left hand started to vanish.
"...!!"

The man looked at Ian as she involuntarily let go of his hand. She tried to back off but the man grabbed her hand with his right hand, so she couldn't withdraw anymore.
"I'm sorry, my hands will disappear so..."
"If you're disappearing do it properly."

The blurred area had already expanded from the man's wrist to his left shoulder.
"Uh... uh, what do we do? Is this what you wanted?"
"..."
"Speak to me! What do I do if you just disappear?"
"You seem to be worried about me."

Unlike the very embarassed Ian, the man seemed pretty numb at the fact that his body was disappearing.
"What if you were lying?"
"Why should I lie to a mere human?"
"..."

But she wasn't a "mere human."
Ian was anxious about the dying man. But, no matter what, Ian remained unanswered. He recalled memories as he watched her light pink hair, her lemon-colored eyes and her peach-like cheeks.

--
In order to preserve the Dragon species, they had to abandon their emotions and female form. In return, Half dragons could obtain the power of 5th stage Rakshasas after just 100 years. The Dragons would be able to grab supremacy if they increased the number of Halfs at a faster rate than the number of Rakshasas by other species. However, with their emotions gone, the Dragons lost interest in Sura supremacy and scattered.

However, no matter how much the feelings were abandoned, after the long lonely years, I turned my eyes to the humans even if just for a moment, to ease the feelings of jealousy. I can recall her flowing purple hair and her smile.

When I heard the news that the Half she gave birth to was worshipped by the humans, I remember that my heart felt proud. "I have other feelings left besides those of jealousy", and I thought it was enough. So I tried to keep protecting her descendants. From then on, I stopped trying to impersonate Taksaka.

"Ian of your line and Taksaka will join and have a child."
When I heard this remarkable prophecy, I thought I wanted to look over the child rather than feel jealous of her. I caught a glimpse of the pink-haired girl from the distance, but there was no feeling of jealousy and envy. However, I could not stop the disaster that came.

After the death of Ananta, he emerged as the strongest existence in the Universe. And the only emotion he had left for Taksaka was belligerence.

Our King. Vritra.

Pretending to be Taksaka, he was the one who really attacked the village. Naturally, I was framed as a result. I had already impersonated Taksaka many times. Among Sura, I was thought of as the one who impersonated him and caused a "minor incident in Willarv."

There was only one reason this village had meaning to Vritra: the person who could make Taksaka fall in love was here. A dragon in love will try its best to hide from fighting to protect its love, and after its love dies, the dragon will keep the lover in its memory for a long, long time. Vritra definately does not want that situation to happen, and will try to find the person- and kill her. (thanks Ashenjay!)

At that time Visnu came to mind. Telling Vritra the future, thus giving him the idea to attack, may have been Visnu's ploy. However, without evidence, nobody would suspect this of the reputable Visnu. I couldn't meet him directly, as I feared him from the beginning.

As I was worried, I left to tell Taksaka "Beware of Visnu." Even if I'm killed afterwards, it did not matter. I can die anyway now that her descendants were dead - until then, I thought Ian had died- so if Taksaka killed me eventually I thought it would be okay.

But he was not in his nest. Vasuki said he went to Willarv. For a moment, I thought that Ian could still be alive. The prophecy wouldn't fail so easily after all. Despite the disaster, Ian survived and was destined to unite with Taksaka. And despite the fact that I quit being evil, I would meet a terrible ending. Yeah. Maybe it would not have made a difference if I had gone to Willarv. Taksaka was so close to Visnu that he allowed him to call him with the nickname 'Tak.' In addition, he didn't have the slightest doubt that I was the one who attacked the village.

In the end he'd just get angry when I finally got to Willarv. Of course this depended on the fate of Ian. He did not even question me if I was the culprit from 8 years ago. In fact, I did not know that I had been taking the feeling of being blamed for granted. Even though his feelings were long gone, I had hoped a little warmth would remain.

Expectations?
That's right. I wanted to die at his hands, and that too was a wonder.
Anyway as the conclusion emerged, he didn't even give it much thought. Such promises were not to be kept in the first place. Even so, I was glad I could go cleanly.

--
"No! You're going to fade away! Oh... oh no..."

Ian started to cry as she held him in her arms, as his body faded away. He thought that when she was crying, she reminds him of himself back then.
"Ian."
"What? Yes! Go ahead!"

Her reaction was quite cute. He could see that she was a lovely child. His red and black hair started turning blue, but he did not notice. Ian was also not worrying about his hair.
"Yes, I did not attack the village. But... you cannot tell anyone."
"What?"
"If you told Taksaka, he will begin to suspect others, and will eventually reach the answer. But when that time comes, it will result in a bigger disaster. It will lead to a huge fight that will destroy everything around it. Countless innocent lives will be lost."
"But if you're the only one victimized..."

His fingers that had almost become transparent covered her lips.
"That future is not good, Ian. It was enough for you to know. So do not tell anyone. I shall leave bearing all the sins. I've committed atrocities in Taksaka's name, so I didn't get victimized for nothing. This is just payment for my sins."

His hair turned completely blue, and he showed a gentle smile. Although he was an emotionless dragon, his face was now the warmest in the world.
"Thank you for crying for me."

Ian embraced him as he faded away.
"Live happily with Taksaka."

He dreamed of the future. And as he finally said that, the beautiful hair of the Azure Lotus dragon disappeared completely from the world.


---
*whimpers* Waaaah!! Waaaaaaaaah!!!! TT__TT
Oh by the way. He said a huge disaster. Didn't we see a dragon in the flashback about the N0 Cataclysm? D:
There were parts in this chapter I wasn't sure about, but fortunately Ashenjay has clarified the most crucial parts since.

Edited by Mizura, 14 March 2013 - 05:38 AM.

[Mizura]

Ian was crying horribly in Tak's arms. She was crying as soon as she woke up, and Tak was waiting for her to stop crying. Ian had almost been engulfed in Fedust. The sky of Willarv at dusk was beautiful. But, although humans may find watching the sky romantic, Nastika were aware of the actual reality of the Universe and did not find the sky romantic at all, moreso since Tak was an emotionless dragon.

The land around the area where Tak landed was completely devastated by the impact. It was even difficult to estimate the original state of the area. Luckily there were no traces of humans around. Tak stopped thinking about his surroundings and pulled Ian closer. With Tak in his adult form, Ian was like a child sitting in his lap. This was because Tak was quite big, but also because Ian was quite small. She was shorter than the average female, and her forearm was less than half the width of Tak's. She had tender shoulders and soft hair, and a skinny little body.

Ian was still young. Although by the criteria of Willarv laws, she qualified as an adult, her body was only 14-15 years old. This means that Tak had quite a long test of patience ahead of him. Of course, Tak could wait several hundred years for her to grow up, but with his current mindset a few years would feel like several thousand.

Damnit. That Visnu. It would have been nicer if he could arrange for us to meet 10 years later.
"Tak."
"Uh, huh?"
Uh, huh? What the! Ian's sudden call made Tak answer weirdly, and he wanted to hit himself for acting so stupid with or without the earrings.

The finite - by Currygom
Chapter 18 - To guard against

"What happened to the dragon?"
After she stopped crying, the first thing she asked about was Utpala.
"..."

Ian didn't even know Utpala's name. Why did Tak need to bother to explain? All she needed to know was that the criminal Utpala was completely destroyed. There was nothing more to the story.
"That guy was annihilated."
"He was... annihilated?"
"Yes, annihilated. Nastikas die together with the power of their name. There is no afterlife for us." (Waaaah! T_T )
"..."

Ian showed a sad expression. Even though death was sad, annihilation was even sadder.
"Why such a face? He was the culprit who attacked your village then tried to kill you. If I didn't save you, you'd be dead too. He's not worth your sympathy."
"..."

Tak said this with a bland tone, but Ian started crying again.
"Uh... hey. Why are you crying?"

Without the earrings on, Tak didn't feel anything about the death of Utpala. He failed to keep his promise, but he rationalized that he abandoned it for Ian. But Ian was crying for Utpala, whom she knew nothing about.
"He said to live happily together."
"What?"

No wonder. While she was almost scared to death, Utpala's unique transcendence took shape at the last minute. However, he couldn't have said to live happily after.
"Wasn't it just a dream?"
"No, it wasn't just a dream."
"Was there a lake in the background? Full of blooming lotus?"
"Yes."

That was indeed Utpala's own transcendence. But why would he say that...?
"The dragon did nothing to you?"
"..."

Before the change that scattered the whole race, Utpala was easily the closest to Tak. Tak was just like a brother to Utpala, and his anger was extremely muted towards her. By contrast, Utpala easily became jealous when it came to Tak. Utpala was like a kid sister to him, and they showed a close relationship until then.

However, Utpala's behaviour from when he was a girl didn't change afterwards. He'd pinch his arm, hug him by surprise or sit in his lap. Tak would have killed him without hesitation if it weren't for the promise. But it was hard to bear the gaze from many other Nastika. It was shameful. When Vasuki laughed like crazy, he'd still feel angry. Without the promise, Tak would even have killed him.
"This guy impersonated me without fear. He committed all those atrocities. Why are you shedding tears for him?"
"..."

Ian just bit her lip and bowed. Tak looked unkind, but she couldn't blame him for not knowing the truth. The dragon was no longer here to defend himself. All this time Tak made rescuing her a top priority.
"... thank you for saving me."
"It was quick."
"Tak."
"What?"
"Who can't you win easily against?"
"... can't win easily against? Well, there are about 5 or 6 people I can't win easily against. Why do you ask?"
"..."

Utpala didn't tell Ian who the real killer was. However, from the words he said as he was leaving, Ian could speculate that it was a dragon who was about as powerful or more powerful than Tak.
"How about the dragons that you can't defeat?"

"None."

Tak's answer was firm, with no hesitation.
"But Tak, you're not the King. At least Vritra..."

"Right now he's weaker than me."

The King was weaker than Tak? Ian blinked at this. The "Right now" made her realize that there was a condition attached. She turned her head to look at him. She had studied up a lot on dragons, but rather than bother Tak she wanted to think better for herself.
"Are you hoping to become King?"
"Oh no. I did not mean it like that."

In these past 8 years she only dreamed of avenging her village. But what was resolved now? Tak killed the other dragon, but ultimately didn't care that the other dragon was dead. He did say that the dragon paid for his sins, but Ian cried for the other dragon, and as she calmed down she realized that nothing was resolved. The real killer was still out there, alive, and her revenge for her village was completely unfulfilled.

However, Ian was hesitant to tell Tak the things she's seen and heard. Was it because of the other dragon? Of course, she would not have done so without good reason. It she told the truth, what would happen to Tak? "Can not win easily again." This meant that Tak could eventually be in danger. And she needed to prioritize the lives of other innocent people over the revenge of her village.

""f it's not for that reason, why does the ranking of dragons matter to you? Officially, I am second place after Vritra. However it's been a long time since I last fought him and only because other guys stopped the fight, so it became unimportant. He is called 'strongest in the world without Ananta', but has a bad relationship with me. If he has one enemy in the world, it's me." (thanks Ashenjay!)

Tak's speech was unusually long, so Ian was initially discouraged from speaking up.
"Uh, well, if you are fighting, and the things you want are in danger, but rather than dying immediately..."

Tak seemed to notice something in her statement.
"Are you worried about me?"
"..."

As he reached that conclusion, Ian became embarrassed for some reason, and buried her face in Tak's scarf. She seemed even more shy since she was sitting in his lap. And now she was pushing Tak closer to a desperate state.
"... that proves it, this is torture."

Tak suddenly lifted Ian. The surprised Ian started to apologize to him blindly.
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I won't bother you. Don't get mad. Don't beat me."
"No, you're not bothering me. Wait, when did I hit you? I broke your arm, that's true... but I didn't hit you?"

Tak didn't know what to say so he shut his mouth and scratched his horn. Ian's fear was frustrating. If he went into an argument he might end up blowing everything with his breath, so it was clear what he'd have to give up for Ian to survive.

Self-esteem. Dignity. Nastika pride.

Visnu's earrings made him a fool full of reasoning mistakes. So, he was reluctant to wear the earrings. But at least, with the stupid earrings on he wouldn't hurt Ian. Ian wouldn't tremble, stutter or close herself off in front of him, and she'd occasionally show him a warm smile. Having the earrings on was strange. It was strange feeling something other than anger.
"Ian."
"Y... yes?"

Ian raised her head to the voice of Tak. In front of her, Tak had taken a young appearance again, and beamed a smile at her. It seemed even his personality changed.
"I said that you didn't have to tremble."

Tak smiled and held out a hand.
"What? I keep getting confused..."
"I'll have to stay like this from now on."
"... what?"

"I can stay like this if you want. Ian. My personality changes because of these earrings. Without these earrings, I almost don't feel any emotions other than anger. I could get mad at you, and as you say, really hurt you. And I wouldn't feel anything at the death of a brethren... I really hate myself for that."

Tak stopped talking. The moment Utpala came up he started tearing up.
"Oh, don't cry. I'm fine now. It's okay, really."

Ian squeezed Tak's hands, but as Tak became increasingly depressed, tears started to flow.
"Why did he do it? Why did I do it? Ian. I didn't even ask him properly. I was terrible. I'm a really bad guy. Really bad... Wuuuu."
"Ah... Tak, I don't think that. You aren't a bad person. Please don't cry."

Ian didn't know how to stop Tak from crying in her arms, so she stroked his head. It was the complete opposite situation from when they just landed in Willarv. Tak just whimpered for a long time, his nose turning all runny. Eventually he looked so outrageous that Ian couldn't help laughing. She tried to figure out a way to console him, even removing the earrings.
"What? Nastikas are the same."
"..."

Suddenly she stopped laughing.
"Oh... I'm sorry. I didn't mean that as a bad thing."
"Do you want to live with me?"
"No Tak. Because there'd just be remorse if it happens again."

Ian's answer seemed to appease Tak, but he became very sullen.
"To you..."
"Oh... Tak, um, I'm still..."

Ian wasn't sure if she had the right to reject a Nastika, and dared not speak further.
"No. I can understand. You hate me. Why would you want to live with a selfish guy like me? And... you live in the city and believe in the Gods. It you live with me you'll be branded as a heretic."
"I, I don't see things that way."
"Then?"

Ian didn't know what to say, then finally sighed and gave Tak the desired answer.
"If... you keep your earrings on..."

"Wah!"

Before she could fall, Tak embraced her and ran a few laps in circle around the place. Although Ian gave the answer reluctantly, Tak was almost insane with joy. To Ian now, Tak seemed like a little kid, and with the earrings on she thought he seemed more gentle and charming.

---
As usual, there are a bunch of parts I'm not sure about. I'm especially curious to the part about Vritra. This is typical Currygom: we now have more questions than we have answers. Why was a weakened Vritra running around impersonating someone who's now stronger than him and trying to kill Ian? And if Utpala was right and Visnu set him up to it, why did Visnu do it, and what would Vritra have gained in exchange, since right now he's weaker than Tak anyway? D: Tak also briefly mentioned the power of the name. It'd be interesting to learn how that works exactly.

Edited by Mizura, 12 August 2012 - 08:40 AM.

[Mizura]

A warm sunlight shone inside the court. Empty clotheslines swayed in the wind, while a sweet smell wafted from the laundry baskets filled with wet clothes. A man and a woman sat down next to a stone chair near the basket without saying a word. Rather, the woman was sitting in the man's lap.

From time to time she twisted around to move away, but each time the man responded by hugging her. Eventually, since the situation was not being resolved, the woman told him directly.
"Tak."
"..."
"Tak, I need to hang the laundry."
"I don't want to. Just a little more."
"This is the third time already? You need to learn moderation. I have things to do."
"..."

Tak seemed like he wanted to object, but the arm around Ian loosened. As soon as she came down from his knees, Ian ran to the clotheslines holding the heavy laundry basket. She struggled with a heavy blanket.
"Give it to me. I'll hold it."
"No, this is something I have to do. Since you provide the money, I want to do the housework properly. I don't want to spend all my time playing around."
"You can play around."
"Well, I'm not comfortable with that."

She tried to take the blanket away from Tak, but couldn't.
"Stop that, Tak."

Seeing that Ian was frowning, Tak reluctantly put down the blanket.
"Don't stand there, go and sit down, and stop interfering with the blanket."
"Okay...."

As Tak faced Ian, he wondered how tall she is. 167? 168? While it was clear that she grew taller than when they first met, Ian was still quite short and skinny. He tried to feed her all kinds of delicacies, however he stopped when Ian threw up the meat. (I'm not sure about this part but... did he hunt and try to feed her Sura or something to buff her up? D: And Ian's taller than me. T_T )
"... you have to wait until I'm done."

Tak straddled the stone chair and stared miserably at Ian doing the laundry.

The finite - by Currygom
Chapter 19 - Patience (lol)

It was year D880. It's been 7 years since Tak brought Ian to this house outside the city. In this year, Ian was officially 36 years-old, though her Quarter appearance was that of an 18 years-old. She was considerably lighter and shorter than the average woman from Willarv. Conversely, when Tak focused on a similar age appearance as Ian, he was seriously taller and more built than the average Willarv male. Ian, at least, had a much more beautiful face than him. If someone didn't know better, the two would look like Beauty and the Beast. One day he tried to take a much younger appearance to have the same eye-level as her, but he changed back as Ian was fairly dissatisfied with the change.

Ian called Tak to eat.
"But I don't have to eat... and that's boring."
"Even if you're bored, you should eat."

Ian then proceeded to push Tak's food towards him. Cooked Yaksha liver was supposed to strengthen stamina. Among humans, it was considered an expensive and difficult to obtain delicacy (eww), but Ian disliked eating it.
"You should eat too."
"I don't want to eat it."
"I don't want to eat it either."
"..."

As soon as Tak said that, Ian started to sulk. Tak had no choice but to devour the food and apologize to her.
"I'm sorry, I was wrong, so just eat what you want."
"Really? Thanks, Tak."

Ian kissed Tak on the cheek and started to eat her meal. Tak touched the place where Ian kissed him.
"Where are you going?"
"I'm done eating. I'm going outside to clear my head for a moment."
"Are you angry?"
"No, I'm not angry."
"Come back quickly!"
"..."

Seeing Ian smile, Tak's heart sank as he left. In the past 7 years Ian's skills increased. Whenever there was friction between the two, Ian always won. It helped that just like he had promised, Tak had never once removed his earrings during these last 7 years.

"Has it been 7 years?"

Ian looked at the empty chair that Tak left. Ever since Tak asked her to "Live with me", she had formed considerable determination, and so the fact that he had been waiting 7 years was quite extraordinary.
"My age is a bit... I'm also a bit reluctant to skip the line. Oh, it's just, I'm a little scared.

Before she accepted Tak's proposal 7 years ago, she never had any body contact. Right now she could get a hug every day. She was enjoying this happy little love life, and because of this, she didn't want this happiness to be altered in different ways.

---
Tak looked down on his house. He was standing on top of a steep cliff, with the light of the early evening to his back. He took a few deep breaths to cool off. When Ian smiles it even became hard for him to breathe.
"It smells of my kin."
"...?!"

Tak turned around startled at the sound that came from his back. Even though he was wearing the earrings, he should have noticed the figure.
"Let me guess, you had cooked Yaksha for today's lunch. Ding ding?"
"..."

The woman smiling in front of him had many gray hair braids and blue-gray skin. Tak scratched his head with guilt as he remembered that he cook and ate liver from her same species. Of course, that behaviour was also caused by the earrings.
"It's thanks to what Visnu gave you. Normally you'd have breathed fire at me and told me to get lost."

Tak looked up as she finished talking.
"Visnu? You met Visnu? When? Where?"

The woman looked puzzled and amazed as she had never imagined him looking like that.
"Wow! The performance of the earrings is amazing! I must say I'm quite amazed to see Taksaka this way..."
"You think this is amazing? After he gave me the earrings there's been no news from him for the past 7 years."
"About Visnu, it seems he went to the underworld, and for no other reason than to fight for the cause of your girl."
"..."

Tak had kept quiet for a moment, but glared at her with a serious expression when she said "your girl."
"How much do you know?"
"..."

He was ready to kill at any moment's notice. He wouldn't normally remove his earrings, but Tak noticed that the woman was a serious threat. And she was in a similar position.
"I don't know. I told Visnu that I'm just here with my lover. I've never told anything to the other guys. You know, you and I are both outsiders to our race."
"Visnu aside, you say you have a lover?"
"Why, it was the person who sponsored you. Nard Lehn. Didn't you hear him talking about me at all?"
"..."

He didn't know any of this. When Nard introduced himself to Tak, Tak was "in from one ear, out the other." Even if he mentioned a woman in the middle of the story, after 7 years, Tak could not remember.
"I know nothing else."
"Hmm. Anyway, we were friends then, and it's developed a bit since. We have a child now."
"What? Child?"
"Yes, Nard's going to your home with her right now."
"!!!"

Tak reached his home in a moment and slammed open the door. Even though Nard was his sponsor, he could not afford to leave Ian at home alone with another man.
"Nard Lehn!!! Come out here right now?"

At the sudden shout, three people looked towards Tak at the same time: Ian who was sitting at the table, Nard, and his daughter.
"You, get out! Now!"
"Tak, what are you doing?"

Tak had picked up Nard but Ian's voice stopped his movement. His movements had caused the stone chair to fall over and break. Ian started picking up the debris of the broken chair and shot a cold glare at Tak.
"You don't have your earrings on either. I'm really disappointed in you, Tak."
"..."

Seeing Ian like that, Tak eventually put Nard down and went out of the house without saying anything. After he left, the child burst into tears. She was a silver-haired girl just one or two years-old, with only the silver fur on her arms and her long tail showing that she's not human.
"I'm sorry. He is a little reckless."
"Oh no, it's fine. I'm lucky he didn't twist my neck."

Ian smiled at Nard. Ian and Nard were quarters of similar age, and Nard was slightly shorter than the average male of Willarv of similar age.
"Ian-ssi, I think I made a mistake by coming here when you're alone."

Nard took the child from Ian, and moved to sit in the chair again.
"Oh, the chair is broken, don't sit there."
"Really?"

Nard fumbled away from the chair, and made jokes to stop the child from crying.
"The child's name is "Hana"? It's a beautiful name."
"Thank you. She was named by taking the first character of her mother and father's names."
"Excuse me, can I ask who the mother is? Since she is a half, her mother must be an Advanced Sura, right?"

At Ian's question, Nard hesitated for a moment before answering.
"Well, I can tell it to Ian-ssi. She is a Yaksha clan Nastika."
"...!!"
"Is it surprising? But Ian-ssi is also living with a Nastika."
"Uh, ah... you knew?"
"The day Ian-ssi left with him was a real uproar. Besides, he used the names 'Tak' and 'Shess.' The child's mother said, 'Shess' is the name of a Kinnara clan Rakshasa living on Willarv. 'Tak' is the nickname of Shess' acquaintance: Taksaka the Extermination Dragon. Only 3 people are allowed to use that nickname."

In fact, Nard knew about Tak before he met him, but he thought that he didn't need to bother to mention it here.
"That day Mistyshore became an island. Plus, witnesses saw the dragon turn mountains into a desert, and was lost momentarily in the light of Fedust. Perhaps without the protection of Visnu, even Fedust and Willarv would have disappeared. All that happened after Ian-ssi disappeared."
"I'm sorry for all the trouble I caused..."

Dragons fought at such magnitude. Ian laughed at her pathetic past dreams of revenge.
"But Ian-ssi has been staying with him ever since. Don't you have children yet?"
"Ah... that is..."
"Shouldn't he be amazing at night? When he was with me he tried to climb over the walls to Ian-ssi's home in the middle of the night..."
"I sleep at night. Tak sleeps quite naturally too."
"Oh? Uh, how can that be...?"

Nard seemed confused for a moment, and smiled to defuse an awkward situation.
"Then you'll have to give me a citation? How do you say "You must admit you want it at this age?"
"..."
"... sorry. It was just funny to hear."
"..."

In the past seven years Ian couldn't see directly what Tak was going through, but now she was feeling sorry for him. Nard noticed her unhealthy silence.
"Is it okay that you've never gone to him? I noticed some angry atmosphere."
"Ah..."
"There. I'm going to restore the chair and I'll be back."
"Yes, excuse me. I don't care about locks, there's nothing to steal anyway."

Nard left through the door that Tak had gone out of. He then waved his hand towards Ian.
"Ian-ssi, don't say anything to him about what happened earlier. When such a man has had to wait for seven years, one can only imagine the state he'd be in. Poor guy. Be easy on him."
"..."

The 36-years-old Ian was unable to understand what Nard meant, but she smiled back. She went to look for the places Tak usually turned to. Once Tak had his earrings on, he usually gave way to her smile anyway. She believed that there wouldn't be any problems this time either.

And unfortunately, she said "I'm disappointed that you removed your earrings." Because without them, he acted in unexpected ways. (not sure about this sentence)

To be continued.

---
Well what a normal little everyday scene! : o The name of Ran's mother is Hana! And the name of his grandmother begins with a "Ha". Any theories? It seems Visnu is back, I wonder if he'll show up next chapter. lol, Ran pities Tak for having endured the wait all this time. >.>;;

According to Kareia, the next chapter is supposed to have R-rated stuff, but it'll be censored. So, it seems Tak won't have to wait long after all. Baby Kasak!

Edited by Mizura, 12 August 2012 - 08:41 AM.

[Mizura]

Huh? Oh yeah, it's early this time (censored version today, uncensored version tomorrow). I read it on the blog already but I got the dates mixed up. @_@

Anyway, as some of you know already, Kareia had asked Currygom for permission to translate her novel. However, Currygom doesn't want the extra attention to her novel blog, so she did not allow reproduction of the finite, including translations.

We all respect Currygom's wishes, so Kareia stopped full translations. Summaries are probably still be okay, but lately I've been attempting to
"translate" as much as I can (or whatever one would call my sad attempts at interpreting mangled text from Google Translate). So, for the remaining chapters, I'm reverting to "just" summaries.

You can still try to descipher the text for yourself by installing the Google Translate plugin and ctrl-left click on the page you want (otherwise the translation plugin will be blocked). Disabling javascript will also allow you to copy/paste the text yourself. The way I do it is ctrl-left click, open the source, copy the text and clean up all the tags then replace all the names, but that takes longer.

---
It was night already and Nard was relieved that he managed to fix the broken chair, which was tough because he lacked the Resurrection property. He started a conversation with Hana's mother, joking that if she had intervened, he'd be like a shrimp between two whales.

He then asked if Ian could also have a beautiful baby like them. Hana's mother replied that it was completely different if the mother is the shrimp and the father is the whale. She noted that even if the father is an ordinary man, a woman is exhausted after giving birth.

In this case, would it even be possible for a human body to sustain the child of a Nastika, especially if it involves the dragon Taksaka? Indeed, the Half born would be of Rakshasa level. Dragon Halfs are rare because dragons rarely fall in love, but also because pregnancy would be fatal to the mother. There were a few cases where the father killed the baby to save the mother. As a result, it was better if the woman didn't give birth.

Nard felt upset, but Hana's mother told him to not worry, because Visnu was on the case. He asked if Visnu could be trusted, and Hana's mother said yes, because Visnu is a good god.

After that the conversation shifted to Hana. Hana's mother said that it was a good thing that Hana didn't resemble her. Nard asked why not? Since he never saw someone as pretty as her. Hana's mother laughed saying that it wasn't very persuasive coming from a blind man. She thanked him for calling her beautiful, but told him that there are plenty of prettier girls.

In fact, she was very beautiful, but she was in the same clan as the famous Shuri, who was said to possess divine beauty. Hana's mother didn't seem as beautiful next to her. Hana's mother then noted that Nard didn't bother to check the faces of most women, and didn't even check Ian's, and that if he did, his standards for beauty would be different. It wasn't surprising that Taksaka would like her, even though he was unresponsive to Shuri (they are beautiful in different ways).

Nard replied that she was still the most beautiful to him, which caused her to laugh and say that he's the most beautiful to her as well. When he objected to "beautiful", she proposed "cute" then "not cool" as a joke. She then walked away laughing while holding Hana, and Nard went after her.

The finite - by Currygom
Chapter 20 - Catalyst

Tak had several hideouts because of the "habit of his clan:" he went to sleep in his hideouts, though only briefly when Ian was asleep (he stays by her side when she's awake). It could be a large rock, a pond, a cave, or a large tree. Ian would go looking for him if she woke up first. One of these hideouts was a large rock in the middle of the flower garden not far from the house. Ian walked into the garden, and found Tak sitting on the rock fiddling with something.

She asked if he was angry, and he replied "a little bit." She apologized for her comment about the earrings, saying that she didn't mean it, and Tak thanked her saying that she did not owe him an apology. She asked what he was doing, and if she could come up. He told her not to as he was not wearing the earrings.

Ian's acceptance of his proposal was subject to him keeping his earrings on. Tak was aware that he failed to keep the promise, even though it was because he was angry at the time. "Take this." He handed her a crude bouquet. The fact that he made it without the earrings on was important. This made Ian very happy, and she sat down next to Tak laughing.

She then warned him that she's about to sit on his laps. He told her to wait because he didn't have his earrings on yet, but Ian jumped onto his laps and gave him a quick kiss, which silenced him (there's a picture! Whoa, Tak really is built). She said that she was relieved that he was also like his without his earrings, and thanked him, asking him if he knew that she loved him.

She then told him to go home after putting on the earrings. However, as she was coming down from his laps, Tak suddenly embraced her, causing her to fall down the rock screaming. Fortunately she wasn't injured, but she complained to Tak and asked him what he was doing.

However, he was looking down on her without a word. Although Ian has known him for 7 years, she didn't know what he was thinking without his earrings. She started to get scared, and apologized for offending him by kissing him spontaneously. When he still didn't respond, she added that she was scared, and told him not to do it.

Her anxiety grew as he stayed silent. Rather than moving aside to soothe her, he leaned in dangerously close. She was beautiful when she was crying.

When Ian finally realized the situation, she turned pale and started looking for the earrings, but they were tossed aside, and she couldn't see anything in Tak's hands.

--
I was right, Ian was supposed to die in childbirth. Visnu must have managed to get her life extended, but not for her full lifespan. So, Tak must have hated Kasak ever since, which is why Kasak was afraid of him.

Edited by Mizura, 12 August 2012 - 08:42 AM.

[Mizura]

First off, huge thanks to Kareia for clarifying the many parts of the story that I didn't get:
http://vatoto.com/forums/topic/5662-chapter-63-on-discussions/page__view__findpost__p__243437

The finite - by Currygom
Chapter 21 - Wound

Visnu came out of Ian's room, and Tak who was waiting there anxiously asked him if Ian is alright. Visnu told him yes, and told him that she woke up. However, Visnu stopped Tak before he could go in, telling him that there's something important he has to tell him: although Visnu can restore Ian's body state, he cannot turn back time, because now she has a baby.

Visnu continued that as Tak knew, Half pregnancy last for 40 months (ouch!). As a penalty for having a Dragon's child, Ian would lose a year of her life for every half month of pregnancy. Visnu went to Hell for the matter, but Yama said that Ian would lose part of her life unless she gave up her baby.

Tak thought the answer was obvious, all he had to do was get rid of the child. He asked Visnu how much damage that would cause Ian. Despite wearing the earrings, Tak felt nothing for the child.

Visnu replied that she'd totally lose her mind.

When Tak heard Visnu's answer, he almost cried. What should he do? The child was going to rob Ian of 80 years of life, and all he could do was stand by and watch? He accused Visnu of messing up in the creation of the earrings, which made him unable to sleep for 7 years, but Visnu said that the earrings had nothing to do with it. Tak accused that even so, Visnu was the bad guy, as he knew everything.

Then he angrily grabbed Visnu, saying that he was going to make it so that Visnu won't be able to revive until the end of the Universe.

Visnu said that Tak should discuss this with Ian, and ask for her forgiveness first. Who knows? She might even give him permission to get rid of the child. With that in mind, Tak put down Visnu and went to find Ian. Visnu breathed a sigh of relief. Even though it was the predicted behavior, when facing it in reality, he couldn't help but feel momentarily nervous.

Originally the name Taksaka was not this dangerous, but the dragon of this universe had an error. Maybe it was because the god of destruction could not correct all the errors of the universe, and it had affected the dragon of destruction. He, who had unimaginable transcendental skills and could only feel anger, needed something to soften the danger. Of course Ian did well until now, but she could not control him when he did not have his earrings. There is a need for more control. Even if she has to toil in the process. (translation by Kareia)

"Still, the rest of her life won't be so bad." Visnu smiled and left.

Tak entered Ian's room. She gave him a frosty response, so he quickly ran to her side and went down on his knees to beg for forgiveness, saying that she could just slap him. Ian retorted that it wouldn't hurt him one bit, so he offered to hit himself, and started doing so, while giving her the most pathetic looking expression.

Just when Tak thought that she was about to forgive him, she took out his earrings instead. When he asked why she did that, she said that if he wanted to ask for forgiveness, he should do it in this state instead.

---

... D: @ Visnu

And yes, it was supposed to be a short chapter, which is why it was out early. Next few chapters are supposedly very long though. And despite the baby Kasak pic, I think this chapter is right after Tak slept with Ian. Did he have to call in Visnu because she got hurt? D: Or is it just because she became pregnant?

Edited by Mizura, 12 August 2012 - 08:42 AM.

[Mizura]

Not surprisingly, there was no answer from Tak. Ian clenched the earrings in her hand. Without the earrings, she didn't even know if Tak loved her. Then who has she been living with these 7 years? Thinking about this, Ian suddenly broke into tears.
"Without your earrings you..."
"I'm sorry."
It was a short sentence, but it caused Ian to open her eyes.

The finite - by Currygom
Chapter 22.1 - Forgiveness (1/2)

"I was wrong."

The number 2 of the Dragons had never apologized without the earrings. Ian wanted to look at him to see if he was apologizing sincerely or just reciting it, but she was too afraid to see his cold, scary face instead and have her hopes dashed.
"I have apologized. What else do I need to say?"

So it was just a formal apology. Ian couldn't hold back her tears. He didn't love her.
"I love you."

It was just a whisper, so she thought she just imagined it.
"I love you, Ian."

She only turned her head towards him after hearing the second whisper. He sat down on the bed and stared down at her. Ian reflexively wanted to turn her gaze away to escape, but Tak caught her face and confronted her again.
"How dare you turn away? Do you know how much self-esteem I'm losing by saying this? Listen carefully. I, to you, I love you. I gave you that awkward kiss because I'm crazy in love with you."

Ian started crying and trembling.
"Damn, I apologized and confessed, so why are you crying? Stop crying!"

Ian began to cry louder. Tak was confused. It was so difficult for him to appease the crying female without the earrings. He continued trying to appease her, saying that he couldn't sleep for 7 years because of the earrings... and blamed her for ignoring his warning against approaching him. This made Ian cry louder, so Tak backed off and said no, he was wrong, everything was his fault. He couldn't win here, so he held off his self-esteem a bit.

He then promised that in the future, if she did not want to do it, he'd stop immediately. So could she forgive him? She kept crying. Darnit. Tak was beginning to get annoyed. He couldn't do this without the earrings.
"Please give me back my earrings. Now. If not..."
"I love you too, Tak."
"..."

Clenching Tak's earrings, she hugged herself.
"I wanted to hear those words. I wanted to hear those words from you. When I didn't hear them..."

So, she was only crying over those few words? Tak could not understand her reaction, but if it stopped her from crying, there was no reason to hold back. He repeated "I love you." to her over and over, gently kissing her forehead and eyelids while doing so. She stopped crying, and although her eyes were teary, she was smiling at him. It was the first time she smiled at Tak without his earrings, so Tak said that it was surprising. Ian asked why it was so surprising, and laughed when he didn't answer.

She seemed really happy, and so beautiful that Tak looked stunned. Ian laughed saying that he looked really silly right now, which made Tak mad and made him warn her that he didn't have his earrings on right now. Ian asked So what? Is he going to beat her? Punch her? Smash her head?

Tak said that she was going too far, but she added that she was moved by what Visnu-nim said, that it was a miracle that the Extermination dragon didn't get carried away sooner. Visnu-nim had described how Tak treated his enemies, smashing their bones etc. Tak complained that Visnu was speaking nonsense, but Ian added that Visnu compared the situation to bubbles. For Tak to sleep with her without killing her, it was like rats avoiding popping bubbles. The situation was pretty dangerous for her.

Tak responded with an "I'm sorry" and bowed. He couldn't deny that he'd greatly hurt her without the earrings. Ian reached out her hand to him, and told him that she no longer blamed him, as long as she knew where his heart was. Visnu's word alone wasn't enough for her, she wanted to hear his feelings from his own mouth. She knew that because of his pride, it would have been difficult for him to say, so she's fine now, so "Thank you so much for saying what I wanted to hear."

Tak thought that she was a good woman. In the past 7 years, even though Tak said he could get anything she wanted, she didn't require any luxuries. Her husband was the Extermination dragon, which caused many uncomfortable situations. It was clear that she'd have been better off with another man. Thanks to her looks and personality, she'd probably have been able to meet a man with very good conditions, become a simple wife and happy mother of several children. And she'd not have to lose 80 years of her life for a child.

Tak still looked emotionless, but his eyes were shaking as though they'd tear up at any moment.

Ian continued that about the earlier promise, if she hated it all she had to do was say the word for him to stop.

Thanks to the lack of earrings his tears were not noticeable before, but at her words his face immediately hardened. Ian started proposing sentences to say to get Tak to stop. The promise was placing Tak in an embarassing situation. Fortunately, Ian saw his face, said she was kidding and started to laugh.

Tak whined that this was a mess, and that Huia (Vasuki) would laugh like crazy if he saw this. Ian asked who that was, but he said that he wasn't answering. Ian started inquiring on who Huia is, and as if to punish her, Tak gave her a rough kiss, while Ian knocked on his back. His idea was simple. His promise was to stop if she told him to stop, but it'd be fine if he didn't let her speak right?

However, he eventually let her go when she started to cry. She pulled up the sheets and stuck to a corner of the bed as soon as he did so, and Tak asked in a strangely disappointed voice if she didn't want to. She threw a blanket over him and told him to sleep. Also, she didn't want things to be like back then. Didn't he say he couldn't sleep because of the earrings? Tak tried to reach for her but she swatted his hands away, telling him not to touch her, or she won't forgive him.

That stopped him, and soon Ian fell asleep while clutching the earrings.

To be continued.

---
I've had a tiring week, so I was sort of tempted to summarize this as: Tak apologizes. Ian cries. Tak says he loves her. Ian still cries. Tak gets annoyed, tries again, and Ian cries louder. Tak promises never to do it again if she doesn't want to. She keeps crying. Darnit.

Then she stops crying and thanks him for saying that and they lived happily ever after.

So yeah. @_@;; Darnit, the second half is already up. Wah... (because this chapter is long, Currygom uploaded two halves separately on Saturday and Sunday).

I must admit this chapter really shocks me though. Tak apologized and told Ian that he loved her WITHOUT the earrings. I had always assumed that he could only act that way With the earrings on. Even Kasak stopped loving his wife and threatened to abandon Agwen without the earrings, and Kasak's half human. It also means that Tak could probably remember Ian to a certain extent even after returning to the Sura realm. Surprising...

Edited by Mizura, 12 August 2012 - 08:43 AM.

[Mizura]

Unlike Tak, who was still as a dead man when he's sleeping, Ian always tossed and turned in her sleep. Ian would keep dragging the blanket off him, and he woke up when she collided with him and snuggled to him. Tak was getting frustrated and asked her what she wanted, as she was preventing him from sleeping. However, Ian started talking in her sleep, asking Tak to confirm that he loved her.

The finite - by Currygom
Chapter 22.2 - Forgiveness (2/2)

At Ian's unexpected words, Tak touched his chest and wondered what was these feelings without the earrings. He wanted to hug her, but then gave up and just held her hand and laid down, deciding to give up the role of bad guy.

--
Ian still tossed and turned all night, she rolled to and away from him several times, or even ended up lying upside down on the bed and putting her feet on his face etc. (Poor Tak D: ) Tak had been pretending not to care about the bizarre behaviour. He'd open his eyes every time she put her feet on his face, pick up her foot, then lay her back into proper position again.

In seven years he had seen a lot already. He was well aware that she wasn't a good sleeper. During the honeymoon she just talked in her sleep. But over the years the symptoms became worse, and it interfered with his sleeping. Even with the earrings on, his patience and care were fairly strained. But now that he was without the earrings, no matter how close he was to her, it was hard to endure the rising anger. Having his sleep disturbed was one of the things he hated the most. He'd lost count of how many people he'd beaten to death for disturbing his sleep.

When she put her feet on his face for the fifth time, he decided that he couldn't take it anymore and that maybe it was better for him to leave. He'd locate a nest at dawn even with the earrings on, and now that he was without the earrings, there was nothing holding him there until the morning. As part of his 7-year habbit, he wished her goodnight before leaving.

But at that moment her hand caught his scarf.
"Where are you going, Tak? Sleep by my side."

Tak wanted her to let go of his scarf, but instead she asked him why he chose her in her sleep, which he didn't respond to.

Ian was pretty even 7 years ago, and she was even prettier now. She was sweet and caring and charming, and never showed off any vanity or luxury. She did all the house chores and cooking, and apart from her severe sleeping problem, there weren't any other bad habits to complain of. She was seriously skinny by his standards, but apart from that she met the conditions of every man's fantasy. Tak really resented that Visnu made them meet so early.

Tak looked at Ian's sleeping face for a long time, then eventually gave up and lay back down.

Ian would keep rolling away when she was feeling too hot, then stick by his side when she was feeling cold. By now, this was a tolerable disturbance for Tak. He'd cover her with a blanket and hold it there when she was cold, then open it up when she was feeling cramped.

--
The next morning, Ian was the first to open her eyes. Seeing Tak right there, she blinked in bewilderment and hastily rolled away. Fortunately, he didn't open his eyes. Maybe she should put on his earrings? But maybe he hasn't slept enough yet, and doing so wouldn't be nice.

She was worried for a moment. In order to keep the promise, Tak couldn't sleep for 7 years. In order to force himself to sleep, he built nests around the house, but Visnu said that even so, he almost did not sleep. Looking at his face, she was puzzled at why a Nastika fell for her, and asked Tak outloud what it was that attracted him to her.

At that moment Tak suddenly opened his eyes and answered "Everything." This surprised Ian and she nearly tumbled off the bed. The earrings in her hands fell on the bed, and Ian shouted in surprise. Tak was pretty upset at the situation, and told her that she didn't need to be afraid, that he'd slept enough. She said that it wasn't that, and Tak put on the earrings quietly. He soon held out his hand with a smile on his face, saying that there was something important he needed to talk to her about.

--
Ian was sitting on Tak's lap. She said that now she understood what Visnu-nim was talking about before. Tak said that it was a serious problem. Pregnancy for 40 months is a staggering amount of time. But Ian answered "So what?" She did not seem to have a problem with this.

Tak continued that her life would be reduced by 1 year every half month, so nearly 80 years for 40 months of pregnancy. But Ian said that she didn't care. Since she was a quarter, it'd just mean that she'd life as long as others. Tak said that it did matter, since his time with her would be reduced by 80 years. But Ian said that he knew that they'd be separated eventually.

At that, Tak had a pained expression, but Ian continued with a relatively serene look. Humans live relatively short lives, but Tak will easily live on for eons. Will his memories of someone he spent a hundred years with, still be clear billions of years from now?

Tak wanted to refute her words but couldn't. He may remember her for thousands or even tens of thousands of years, but millions of years after that? And no matter how much he loved her, after 100 million years, all he'd have left of her were a few hazy memories, he wouldn't even remember her smile properly.

Ian continued that after her death, a long time will pass regardless, 80 years won't make that much of a different. So she'd much rather sacrifice 80 years of her life to leave behind evidence of their love.

Tak retorted that he didn't need to have anything left behind. What was important was the present, for the two of them to be happy now. He didn't need anything else. He begged her to get rid of the child. However, that made Ian angry. She retorted that this was their baby, how could he speak of eliminating their precious child? Tak cringed.

Ian smiled in silence. Perhaps once the child is born, Tak will be highly jealous of the child. She hopes the child will look like him.

She asked him that since he is a Nastika, did he look cute when he was small? Tak told her to stop joking around while discussing such a serious matter. Ian just laughed and stretched his scarf around her arms.
"Since the remaining time has been reduced, please cherish it more."

Tak bit his lips and endured the pain that threatened to make him cry. If she was happy with the child, then it was enough. Yes, it was enough. He repeated this to himself many times, to no avail. No matter how much love he gave her, it seemed he will never be able to love the child in her stomach as much.

To be continued.

--

*twitch* If I had a spouse who slept like that, I think I'd have kicked him out of the bed a long time ago. D:
But, wow, Ian was really mature there. I'd at least cringe at the thought of losing nearly half my life. D:

Edited by Mizura, 12 August 2012 - 08:43 AM.

[Mizura]

Looking through books, Nard pointed out that there have been female Dragon Halfs before, though the last case was 700 years ago. Hana's mother noted that if a daughter is born, and she looks like Ian, then Taksaka might become an idiot dad like Gandharva. Nard then joked that they should pray then for the child to be like that for peace at home and peace in the world.

Hana's mother said that unfortunately, there was no chance of that. And that was because Taksaka never took female form.

The way the gender of a Rakshasa is determined is different from humans. Although the chance is almost fifty-fifty, the probability will vary according to the time each parent spent as man or woman before. Of course, if both parents were Nastika, chances were that the mother usually spent her time as a woman, so there'd be an equal probability of the child to be born as a son or a daughter.

However, this is different for Dragons. Dragons could not have children among themselves, so the gender of the child was determined by the gender of the father. However, Dragons had stayed as men save for a brief moment near the very beginning, so the odds of a daughter being born were very slim.

Among them, Tak had the appearance of a 15-years old man since the very beginning, as it was close to his essence. Although he could also change gender, he never did so even once, not even out of curiosity like many of the other Nastika have. He was a man to the bones.

So, Hana's mother said she hoped that the child at least had some resemblance to Ian. Then she proceeded to read a picture book while stroking the head of her baby.

The finite - by Currygom
Chapter 23 - Mother and wife (1/3)

In the beautiful flower garden, Ian was wrapped in a blanket and being held by Tak. She was so weakened now that she couldn't walk without his help, but she held in the pain because if she showed herself to be severely ill, Tak could really kill the child.

In an effort to appease Ian, Tak was trying to start a meaningless chat. He said, in the end, Shuri, Airavata and Urvasi went to find the most emotionless, Vritra, to ask him to make a decision on who was the most beautiful. That was crazy, because he was more likely to kill everyone than answer the question! Unfortunately, that guy was suffering from insomnia, so due to lack of sleep, he did not crush the other guys, but the three still had to flee, and never came back to ask again. However, Tak had answered "If you want to decide who is the most beautiful woman, there has to be at least one beauty in the choices." (thanks Kareia!)

Even without the earrings and even while lacking sleep, Tak wanted Ian to feel better and was trying to appeal to Ian with the story about beauty, but Ian had no interest at all. Tak apologized for the story not being funny, to which Ian said that it was, but she couldn't respond when he asked her what part.

Tak asked her if she was so sick now that she couldn't concentrate on the end? Ian said that if she was, then to the kid... Tak told her not to worry about it, and asked if she didn't trust him, to which she just answered that she wanted to sleep. They went into the house.

---
As she reached the end of pregnancy, Ian noticeably lost weight. Tak was worried about malnutrition. He wondered why the child was so selfish to break his mother's body like that. Ian was on the bed, short of breath, while Tak was nervously grabbing the calendar. Still 2 weeks left until the average of 40 months. The abominable Visnu had left without giving the precise date of birth, telling him to go to Nard's home if there were problems.

While Tak was swearing, Ian yelled out to him. He grabbed her hand fast as lightning, asking if she was sick, or uncomfortable, or hungry, or wanted to wash. (aww) She said that her stomach hurt badly.

As soon as he heard that she was hurting, he removed the earrings and picked her up. He told her that it had already eaten away at her life, so he would not let it be in vain. He would put the earrings back on as soon as they reach Nard's place. Ian leaned close and thanked him. And he lifted her up and brought her straight out of the house.

---
A voice called Taksaka to come look. Nard and Tak jumped at the same time, but Tak pushed past. "Look, he looks just like you..." The white-haired woman approached Tak holding something, but he ignored her and headed straight to the bed. Visnu was besides the bed already. Nard caught up. Ian was lying there motionless, and with her eyes closed.

Tak yelled out to her, then asked Visnu what he was doing, and grabbed him by the collar. The woman tried to calm him down by saying that Ian was fine and that Visnu had just healed her, she was just still unconscious.

Tak turned to the child that the woman was holding. He hardly looked like Ian's child, he looked like Tak as a child. He had 4 horns and sharp arms, so it was pretty intimidating that Ian gave birth to him.

Tak started complaining, and the woman started explaining that it was the penalty. However, Tak exploded in anger, asking if the universe had to be the dragons' enemy? Even without such a penalty, the dragons were not interested in hegemony over the Sura world anyway. He'd rather have a weaker Half rather than the equivalent of a 5th stage Rakshasa. Why did Ian have to go through this pain and lose part of her life? Tak demanded an answer out of Visnu, threatening to really eat him this time.

Just then Ian called out to Tak. He threw away Visnu and took her hand, asking if she was alright. Ian said she was, so he didn't have to worry. Ian asked to hold the child. Tak wanted her to worry about that "stupid thing" later, but she insisted. Eventually he handed her the baby, who looked at her weirdly.

"Honey, it's mommy!" Ian started to laugh happily. Tak was grouchy because she was smiling at someone other than him. Fortunately he had his earrings on now.

---
D885 - July

Ian was sitting in the lush gardens breast-feeding the baby, and noted to Tak, who was also drinking milk, that they had not named the child yet. Tak retorted that he said she could name him whatever she wanted. But, she wanted them to name the child together.

Ian was startled by the sound of bottles crashing, but the child in her arms seemed indifferent. Although Tak was wearing his earrings, he seemed angry and impatient. Ian asked if he was mad, and apologized, saying that she'll think of a name herself. Tak's anger fizzled out, and said he just made a mistake. Tak liked milk so Ian got fresh milk every day.

In the end, Tak said that the child's name is Kasak. He wasn't a genius at names, and in the end just roughly rearranged the name Taksaka. It was the first time he made an opinion about the child's name though, so Ian could not ignore it. So... she said it was nice, and told the baby that his name was Kasak from now on.

The child just gave her a dour look, and did not seem to care. Tak realized he was less angry and laughed.

---
That night, as Ian was laying Kasak down to sleep, Tak looked as though he was about to leave. Ian asked if he was going to his "nest", and he said that it was the case, since he could sleep efficiently in less time in a nest. Ian asked if he couldn't sleep by her side. Rather than efficiency, he could just sleep a bit longer.

Tak said that to sleep efficiently, he'd then have to remove his earrings. He might harm Kasak then, but just then, Ian embraced him from behind, and started pushing him into the next room, to which he protested with a "Uh... hey..." but did not offer any resistance.

Ian pushed him down onto the bed, and made some comments about Kasak, which caused Tak's face to go red, and mumble that uh, yeah, because Kasak was his son, he slept a lot too, superficial similarities. As Ian was pulling up the covers up, he asked if she really wanted to sleep besides him, to which she asked if she really had to spell it out for him.

Tak had no words. Since fathering Kasak, he's slept with her less often, and of course he had to be wearing the earrings. He'd always have to finish dinner first and give her flowers, and even then he had to get down on his knees to ask (wut?). She had never come to him herself.

Tak asked Ian what was going on with her. Something seemed different about her attitude. She asked him why he was so fierce with the baby during the day, to which he said he wasn't upset, but Ian said he was lying. Then she grabbed her clothes.

Here Currygom tells us not to expect too much from this blog. : o

---
The next morning, the starving Kasak started crying out loud as soon as he woke up. This woke up Ian, who started getting out of bed, but Tak pulled her back in, asking her not to leave. The earrings were placed out of her reach. Ian asked him to let her go since Kasak was crying. Tak told her to ignore him. She broke out of the hold of his left arm with almost superhuman strength, but he caught her again with her right arm. When Ian looked at him tearily, he told her not to cry and said he'd let go.

She thanked him, but just as she was relieved and Tak loosened his hold, she collapsed onto the floor. Tak called out to her then hurriedly put on his earrings when she did not answer. Several of her ribs were showing.

Eventually she was treated by Visnu, who asked if they didn't think she should get treatment earlier. Ian needed to be treated as soon as Kasak started breastfeeding. Tak was looking quite upset.

To be continued.

----
*sob* so long *sob*
*twitch* Lousy pregnancy. Horrific childbirth. Do not ever want. D: And now breast-feeding?

Currygom posted this early today, and will do so with the second half tomorrow, which is great since it means I'll have time to translate it before I have to go on a work trip on Sunday. *shoots self*

I must say, though, that's quite an ingenious gender system there! It's a solution to the problem: what if all the Nastikas take male form, and only take female form for a while for reproduction? The answer is that if they did that, then the next generation would be overwhelmingly of the same gender, and won't be able to reproduce further. I wonder how long a Sura pregnancy lasts though. D:

Edited by Mizura, 12 August 2012 - 08:44 AM.

[Mizura]

D894, January

One night, Kasak made quite a name for himself. Ian, now looking to be in her mid-20s, suddenly found Kasak missing. Tak was also missing, but he just went to his nest as usual. Yet Kasak was only 10, and since he was a Half, he looked to be 2 to 3 years old at the most. Recalling the events that day made her worry more.

The finite - by Currygom
Chapter 24 - Mother and wife (2/3)

Ian wasn't usually angry at Kasak, but the house was so badly messed up that day that she was a little angry. She asked Kasak what happened to the house and complained that he used his Breath in it. He had messed up the bedroom. Tak had flown all the way to other planets to gather top-quality materials for the curtains and blankets, and had made a hand-carved bed for her.

Ian asked Kasak why he did it. Kasak complained that while Tak was sleeping in the nest, his mother should spend time with him, yet she was clearly not next to him in the morning. Why? Did she like his Dad more? (possessive little brat O.o;; )

Ian replied that since she plays with Kasak a lot during the day, she should at least spend time with Dad at night. Kasak then complained that she should not leave him alone during the day. While Ian was telling him that sometimes she wanted to be alone, Kasak yelled that she should always stay with him.

It happened instantly. While angry, Kasak had hit his mother's leg with his invisible breath, and she had to sit down on the floor. Fortunately he was still small, if it were any higher then she would have been killed instantly. Soon Ian started to bleed massively on the floor, and Kasak went stiff. He cried out to his mom and ran to her. Ian was still conscious, but her pain was so severe that she couldn't speak.

Fortunately Tak and Nard came home at that time. If Visnu hadn't told them, Ian would probably have died. Nard cast recovery magic on her. Despite not being of the Ressurection property, thanks to 14 years of training he was fairly good at the spell. Ian successfully recovered, but Tak was hugging her and crying. Seeing the bloody Ian reminded him of that day 14 years ago.

Ian reassured him that she was fine and told him not to cry. Kasak, from his corner, got up and went out.

---
Putting aside the fact that her son had just attacked her, Ian went looking for Kasak all around the house, but could find no traces of him. She went to Tak's nest, a dark cave, to ask for his help, telling him that Kasak was gone. Tak told her not to worry and told her that Kasak was there. Ian let out a sigh of relief.

She thought that Tak would hand Kasak over, but after a long while all remained quiet in the cave. She asked Tak was he was doing. Eventually he came out of the cave holding Kasak, who went "I'm sorry, I'm sorry for getting angry mother." He wanted to run away from his dad though, and clutched Ian's clothes while trembling.

Ian asked him what was wrong, and her face completely hardened when she saw the wound on his back. It was nearly healed, but since the child's healing abilities were considerable, it was clearly a very serious injury.

Tak just acted as though he was busted after making a small mistake, but Ian was speechless. Tak replied that it was because he dared to use his breath against her, so if he wasn't taught a lesson now...

"Tak!!!" Ian retorted how really? He'd hurt the child for that? She looked as though she was about to cry, causing Tak to ask her not to cry, but she wrapped her body around Kasak protectively and didn't allow him to come closer.

When she calmed down a bit, he apologized to her, saying he tried not to hit Kasak but that it was hard for him without the earrings. Kasak was visibly shaking. Tak continued that it was really hard for him to see Ian so pre-occupied with Kasak, and Ian cut him off, saying that he was just jealous of his son. Tak confirmed that yes, he was jealous, and that he hated that guy and was mad at him, since she had to start feeding him. No, since the beginning, because she squandered 80 years of her life for him to exist!

Seeing Ian's reaction, he started making excuses, mentioning the earrings and how they prevented him from sleeping, but panicked and started apologizing when he realized that it reminded her of what happened before, so he promised not to attack anymore, maybe.

---
(I can hardly figure out what this part is saying, corrections would be greatly appreciates X_x;; )

Ian said that she was worried. The while-haired woman, who had been listening to Ian's story the entire time, finally opened her mouth.

She told her that she couldn't compare a Nastika to a human's situation. Male Nastikas were strongly possessive towards their wife, while most female Nastikas had weak maternal senses. They weren't completely free of motherly feelings, but... compared to human mothers...they didn't have any at all. But in the case of Tak and Ian, Taksaka's possessiveness was way stronger than other Nastikas...but Ian's maternal instincts were very different from Nastikas. (Thanks Ashenjay!)

"Even though a much higher proportion of male Rakshasas were born compared to females, the reason the number was well matched was because males were sent to battle more often. However, an even bigger reason was because their father is a Nastika. They didn't like it when their son spent time with their wife, and if the son did something wrong and caused the wife to cry, become angry or the likes, the father just would not be able to stand it. (Thanks Ashenjay!)

Ian asks if she meant that the father would beat his son if he got upset. The woman replied yes. It usually wouldn't go as far as killing, but they could hit in the heat of anger. And in the case of Taksaka, he'd unleash his Breath. Even among Nastika, Taksaka had a temper, and it was better not to talk back to him.

Until then, Ian thought that Tak could easily restrain himself from using his Breath. She always had her way with him, but in fact, if she made him angry, it was more likely for him to kill her. Taksaka was trying not to scare her. Still, Ian's voice got a little shaky.

The woman continued that if a strong Nastika thought that he hated his son, then he could hit him dead. In the case of a Rakshasa that hadn't reached 3rd stage, the boy would be dead before knowing he was hit.

Ian complained though that she couldn't bear children indefinitely. Indeed, after Kasak she didn't have enough remaining life anymore. Seeing Ian's tearful face, the woman smiled a little and reached out to stroke her face. She told her that although she understood her, Kasak caused her lifespan to reduce by a lot. Other Nastikas already often disliked their son. It would be extremely difficult for Taksaka to like Kasak in his position.

But Ian said she didn't understand why it was necessary to hit his child. The woman told her to listen: Kasak was the first to attack, and Ian could have died. In this situation which had angered Taksaka, it was hard for Taksaka not to outright kill Kasak, so from her point of view Taksaka exercised great patience, so she asked Ian not to see Taksaka the wrong way. But if necessary, to protect Kasak, she could tell Taksaka not to touch him.

Ian eventually wiped her tears and resigned herself. She asked what she could do after her death though? Without her, Tak and Kasak would... The woman told her not to worry about that, as thinking about that would be too difficult for a Nastika. Ian thanked her for talking to her.

---
Once the woman left (c'mon, give us a name already ;_; ), with Kasak sleeping by the window, Ian thought about what the woman said, that it was too difficult for Nastikas to consider what happened after death. But, that seemed like a pointless judgment of dragons.

Even though it was long ago, she still remembered the last time she saw him, as a blue mirage. She wouldn't be able to see such beautiful colors twice in her life. However, he was worried about the situation even at the end. Never tell Tak anything until your death. Pretend you don't know anything. There was a risk to Tak, and to Ian, her husband's safety was more imporant than knowing the truth.

I'm sorry, I'm sorry. After a while, a smiling Tak entered the house with his earrings on.

To be continued.

---
Um, okay, 911? I'd like to report a case of child abuse? Now I kind of understand why Maruna didn't seem to like his father much. He probably had a hard time under him, then had a hard time under his father's friend. D:

You know, baby Kasak is cute and all, but I admit to being slightly disturbed by the image of a 2~3 year-old looking brat running around and causing much destruction. I bet That one isn't too popular with babysitters. D: Still, I'm surprised that he seemed so possessive of his mother. In the prologue, he didn't seem that sad when his mother died.

Edited by Mizura, 12 August 2012 - 08:44 AM.

[Mizura]

Tak handed Ian a gift, but saw that Ian had swollen eyes. He asked if it was Kasak again and if he should hit him. When she glared at him, he claimed that it was a joke. Ian asked him if he ever thought about after he died. Tak was surprised by the question, but rolled his eyes and said that a Nastika had no reason to think about such things, since they'd just be gone from the Universe.

He asked her why she asked the question. When she didn't respond, he asked her if she was sick. She answered that she was fine, just that she realized how different their views were. (I think the present was a Gandharva fin? Is this the Kubera equivalent of Shark fin for shark fin soup? D: )

The finite - by Currygom
Chapter 25 - Mother and wife (3/3)

Tak asked if he said something wrong. She said he didn't, it was just that she always thought about what would happen after her death. Compared to him, her life was so short that he would just forget her.

Tak proclaimed that he will never forget her. Then he apologized for yelling in her face.

In fact, he knew that after a long time, he'd barely remember her. A Nastika's memories lasted longer than a human's, but there were obvious limits. For example, in the beginning, because of those who committed the sin of falling in love with the same people, three tenths of the Dragon Nastikas died. (not sure about this part) The beginning period was relatively short, but compared to the lifespan of a human, they knew their kin for a long time. But by now, Tak could barely remember their faces, and couldn't remember the names of half of them. How much more could he remember of a woman with whom he spent much less than 200 years?

While he was lost in his thoughts, Ian asked if she could sit in his laps. She did so, hugged him, and thanked him for saying that he'll remember her. Tak held back tears and quietly nodded instead.

Ian then asked him if he could take care of that which was precious to her after her death, as that worried her as well. Tak said okay, and that he'll even write it down. Ian's face lit up, and Tak knew that this promise would not be easily reversed.

Ian said that the first was him. This caused Tak to laugh in a silly manner. She continued that he should always take care of himself: do not get mad, avoid fighting as much as possible. With or without the earrings. Tak said okay. Ian was so cute that he wanted to embrace her.

The second, she continued, was Kasak. Tak's smiling face hardened. Ian said that she knew that it was hard for Tak to love Ian, but could he at least give her nothing to worry about? She said that she was so scared that since Kasak took her life, after she dies, Tak would kill...

Tak answered immediately that he wouldn't do that. Ian quietly removed his earrings, then asked him if he could give the same answer in that state. He said that it was obvious: with or without the earrings the commitment was the same. He won't kill Kasak. Ian said that he said he'd write it down. Tak seemed a bit angry, so she decided not to push the matter with him when he didn't have the earrings on.

I think Tak repeated that he'd let Kasak live? Ian looked at him surprised then thanked him for his answer, then kissed him. They headed towards the bedroom. She thought about the earrings: for her convenience, it was better if he had the earrings on, but she wanted him to answer her without them, to make sure the answer was sincere.

---
While pondering this Tak came into the bedroom. Without the earrings, he acted as though every act was troublesome, but in fact he was just fast and accurate. Ian looked nervous for a while. Eventually Tak asked for the earrings that were still in her hands. He was waiting because of the earrings. Ian blushed at how considerate he was.

He asked if he could not wear them. Ian blinked. Tak took the earrings from her hands, then asked her again if she needed the earrings. She said she didn't need them, and as soon as she said that he threw them accurately out the cracks of the window, even without looking. When Ian asked, he said he could find them later. He added that he wasn't sleepy at all that day.

Ian was surprised, and blocked his kiss with the bed covers. She said that she changed her mind and he should put on the earrings. Her voice was trembling slightly, and she started to apologize, but he said it was okay, then quietly opened the window to pick up the earrings. Then he said that he was sorry and that she should forget what he said. He apologized for scaring her. Ian apologized in return.

---
Kasak was lying in bed and woke up with a blink. Halfs had really good ears, which were troublesome in situations like this. Although he looked just about 3 years-old, in reality he's experienced 10 years. Apparently his mother was easily ashamed and his father wanted to kill him. Eventually Kasak couldn't find a better solution than holding the blanket to his ears. (not sure about this part but it seems that Ian was embarrassed because Kasak could hear them?)

---
Even though it was winter, the flowers in the backyard that Tak grew were vibrant. He excelled at planting flowers from season to season. Ian enjoyed the flowers with her eyes closed, then gently opened them and looked up into the sky. She noted that it was the same as that time: she lay in the flower garden, the moon was up in the sky, and he didn't have his earrings.

Tak apologized and asked if she wanted him to go inside or put on the earrings. She said she didn't, which left him puzzled. She laughed then asked if he could tell her that he loved her. He did so, and she asked him to come closer and repeat it again. At her request, he repeated it over and over.

Although he said so in a bland voice, she happily kissed him on the lips. Somewhere along the way he started to kiss her back.

It was similar yet totally different from the night 14 years ago. Although Winter had begun, Ian wasn't cold at all.

To be continued.

--
So uh, it's like Ian wrote her will already. D: And we can add gandharva fin (soup?) to the list of delicacies in the Kubera world? ... Tak's an expert at gardening?

Edited by Mizura, 12 August 2012 - 08:44 AM.

[Mizura]

Currygom says that she edited this chapter to remove parts about Kasak, to avoid too much overlap with the webtoon. (I think that's what she said)
Also, in her comment box, she said that Agwen's mother is supposed to appear in Chapter 28! But that part may be edited out too. :\ (and apparently she won't be mentioned in the webtoon anymore either, baw)

--
D914 October

Tak and Ian lay on a bed of wild flowers. Ian was nearly seventy, but as she was a quarter, she still looked to be in her mid-30's, while Tak adapted his age appearance accordingly. When she was young, Tak was really worried about how skinny she was, but now that she was middle-aged she had a more generous figure. With the thick clothes she was dressed in, she could even look chubby.

Ian asked about the children playing. When Tak didn't answer, she turned to him. While Ian had a middle-aged figure now, Tak still boasted a near-perfect body like a person in his teens or twenties.

Eventually Ian got up and playfully sat down on his stomach. Tak started complaining that she could get killed by waking a dragon from its sleep. She apologized but said that it was cold, and she just wanted a hug. Eventually he gave in and hugged her. Although this was strange behaviour from the infamous Taksaka, and 40 years meant little to him, but he was very affectionate with Ian. He kept his earrings on most of the time except for sleeping.

The finite - by Currygom
Chapter 26 - Father (1/2)

Just as Tak was dozing off again, with Ian in his arms, Ian asked him if the children playing there looked good. He said he didn't care. When Ian insisted that he took a look, he finally did so. They were playing below a tree. Kalavinka, the Garuda clan Rakshasa girl, looked about 12, while Kasak the dragon half looked about 8 years-old.

Ian noted that Kasak couldn't stay like this, and that he would need a Half identification. But, they couldn't reveal who the father was. Eventually, he could pass off for a Kinnara or Asura Half. After all, Tak had passed himself off as Shess of the Kinnara clan. Tak just recommended living without identification.

For a half to enter a city, he'd have to have a sponsor, but that would be very difficult without identification, moreso since Kasak wasn't friendly and didn't have a good personality. They couldn't rely on Nard: ever since he broke up with Hana's mother, he had taken Hana and started wandering around aimlessly. (aww ) Ian asked if Tak could present himself as Kasak's father, but Tak answered that of course he couldn't.

If it were known that Taksaka fell in love with a human and had a Half with her, Ian would become the target of the Gods. Just as Shakuntala turned out to be Gandharva's weakness several times in the past, Ian would become Taksaka's weakness.

Tak started to say that she did not know about the Gods, and she didn't know about him either. This got Ian curious, and she asked what it was she didn't know. Tak kept his mouth shut, and they went into a staring contest. Although Tak had been with Ian for a mere 40 years, he behaved in a way that Nastikas would not dare to in those years. To this date, only 3 people were allowed to even call him Tak.

Even though he didn't have his earrings on, Ian kept staring at him until her eyes went bloodshot. Eventually Tak looked aside first, and claimed that she knew him well. Ian laughed in triumph.

Even though she was older Tak still found her face cute. He liked her at the start because she was small and skinny, unlike the glamorous 179cm Shuri who was totally not his style. Although Ian was less skinny now, he still found her lovely. Ian kissed him on the cheek. Eventually she gave up getting an answer to her earlier question and continued laughing.

---
Visnu said that it would be fine if Tak identified himself as the father.

Tak looked up in surprise, while Ian was delighted and thanked him. Seeing that Tak was still doubtful, Visnu reassured him: although Tak was worried that the Gods would use Ian as a hostage, this would not happen because of his image. Unlike Gandharva, who'd be ready to die to save his daughter, Tak, well...

Tak protested that he'd go too, but Visnu said that it was only his opinion. To the Gods, he didn't look like the type who'd give up his life for a woman. (lol!)

Tak decided to shut up. Ian, who was listening in, decided to thank him for saying that he'd come for her. Kalavinka, who was sitting next to Visnu, also barely let out a smile, though Kasak, who didn't understand the situation, just watched.

---
A crowd had gathered at the Mistyshore checkpoint, glancing in from the windows. It was very rare for an advanced sura to show up for the registration of a Half.

Tak, with his earrings on, was holding Kasak with one arm, and holding Ian's hand with the other. Normally only one or two employees would be present, but because of the presence of an advanced Sura, 10 employees were present, with one of them ready to use the emergency button to the temple at any time. They'd feel a lot better if the God in charge of the ward could show up, and didn't know why he could not appear on schedule. (?)

The employee identified Ian Rajof, who was the one missing from Mistyshore 40 years ago. But why didn't she register at the checkpoints while leaving? Tak interrupted that he was the one who brought her out, and asked if anything was wrong.

The employees felt worse. Was he the guy who pulverized the whole mountain? Was he a Nastika? Watching the employees mumble, Ian sighed. She explained that they were just here for the child, and had no intention of causing any damage. They'd leave as soon as they get the identification. They didn't even need to go into the barrier boundaries.

The employee said that the parentage needed to be clear on both sides. The wife was already registered, but they weren't clear about the father.

Astonished sounds came from behind as Tak removed his earrings and revealed 4 horns. "I am Taksaka the Extermination Dragon of the Vritra Clan. Any other explanations needed?"

The staff looked at him absurdly, while Ian instinctively hugged Kasak. The staff started to say that the name alone was not enough to prove... some were afraid of him, while others were suspicious. Tak complained if he needed to prove it in some way. Should he use his breath? Should he make the forest disappear?

He started telling Ian that he could take out the whole bunch, causing Ian to quickly cover his mouth and tell him that he shouldn't use violence at the checkpoints. Since he was without his earrings, the employees were now scared stiff. Tak complained that the staff was incompetent, but said that since Nastikas generally weren't known to impersonate each other, he'd just prove that he was a Nastika.

With that, he changed from the appearance of a 40-something man to the appearance of when he just met Ian, when he looked like a 15 years-old boy, then finally became a boy the same age as Kasak. The people looking in from the street could not believe what they were seeing. Kasak, in Ian's arms, could also not believe that his father had become a child his age.

To be continued.

Edited by Mizura, 12 August 2012 - 08:45 AM.

[Mizura]

Tak asked for warm milk. Tak still looked young and was somehow acting like a child. According to Visnu, even though Gods and Nastikas can change their appearance, their mental age remained unchanged. However, no matter what, Tak looked like a kid right now. Because he looked so young, Ian wanted to spoil and pamper him, and the thought made her laugh.

Ian told Tak to wait with Kasak then as she went into the city to buy milk. Even though Kasak had an ID card, he did not have a patron, and the Nastika Tak could get into the city even less.

At that moment Tak saw Visnu coming. By his side were a young boy and the 5-Zen god of Water Varuna (omg!). Visnu had taken the appearance of 40-years-old priest. Varuna had long flowing blue hair tied up in a ponytail and an alluring face. She eyed Tak and Ian without a word.

Ian didn't recognize the God, and asked Tak what was wrong, as his expression had changed. She complained that it hurt as he was clutching her hands. He then hugged her waist with both arms and glared at Varuna as if about to kill her, but Varuna did not seem surprised.
"It is just as you said. I just wanted to make sure with my own eyes."

After Varuna told that to Visnu, she passed a few words to the boy and went back into the city. The boy hastily gave some orders to the checkpoint staff and followed after Varuna. After the two disappeared, Visnu started laughing and turned to Tak, saying that his display of affection was very appropriate.

Visnu then turned to talk to Ian, who thought he was the Priest of Varuna. In fact, the real priest of Varuna was the boy next to Varuna, but he seemed to be 10 years-old at best, so even though he was wearing expensive clothes, one would not expect him to be the priest.

Seeing Ian watch him silently, Visnu started laughing. He told her to prevent any damage to the city, adding that he had to go to another job. Then he told Tak not to do anything wrong. The area was surrounded by the sea, and on the sea she (Varuna) had more power than a Gandharva. In addition, she also controlled the city turrets. In other words, she could kill Ian at any moment.

Tak complained that it was too dangerous for Ian to go now, but Visnu thinks that Varuna won't target her. Since Visnu could see the future, this reassured them about Ian's safety. At this point Ian remembered something and said she wanted to go to the store where she had a part-time job. Tak asked if she meant the store with the annoying manager, and Ian didn't get it. Soon Ian laughed and dragged the two children(?) to the checkpoint.

The finite - by Currygom
Chapter 27 - Father (2/2)

Compared to 40 years ago, the shop had moved to a somewhat different location, and the menu had expanded. The manager told Ian that he should have told him if she was uncomfortable and about to quit. Did she know how much trouble she caused him when his part-timer suddenly disappeared? The now grey-haired manager was sitting at the counter. He had retired from magic, and was now dedicated full-time to the store. Ian apologized to him.

The manager then withdrew 20 gold coins from a drawer, as salary for her work until that day of the month, plus 10 gold bonus. Ian took it reluctantly at the manager's urging. He then went to the back, where his wife seemed to be waiting. Surprisingly, she had a tail. Ian was surprised to see that he had fallen in love with a Half, since he used to call her a heretic. It seemed he had changed with time.

At that moment, Tak started complaining about the fact that there were vegetables in the sausage. Even though he was wearing his earrings, the other guests started to feel overwhelmed. Ian hurried to his side. Ian told him not to complain, noting that Kasak ate everything. Tak objected to the comparison, but still he swallowed the remaining sausages without chewing. Kasak looked at the now empty plates, and Ian complained that Kasak had nothing to eat anymore. Tak said that they could just order more, and ordered the waiter to bring out all the remaining sausages. Ian thought he looked strange, but still so cute that she couldn't help but smile brightly.

--
Ian went to see the place she lived at 40 years ago. She felt tired and sat down in front of the fountain. Quarters shouldn't normally feel tired at this point, but she was weaker than quarters her age, and the difference became more pronounced as she was about to give birth. Perhaps the 80 years lost resulted in an equivalent aging. Fortunately, her appearance aged normally, but she still aged twice as fast as her son.

Tak joined her, while Kasak was looking at the buildings curiously, and finally escaped her arms. Ian was about to follow him but was caught by Tak, who said he'd go after him instead. Since Ian was looking worried, Tak reassured her that he'd keep his promise. Ian wondered if he needed to do some important father-to-son talking with Kasak.

--
The two were by the sea. Tak told Kasak that he was sleeping on the sea when Ian jumped in, thinking he was someone drowning. It was either a coincidence, or inevitable. He didn't know how much Visnu manipulated. So, Kasak had Visnu to thank for his life.

Kasak said it was true of his father. He'd not have met Kasak's mother if not for Visnu. Tak frowned. There was a moment of silence. It was Tak who broke the silence.
"Kasak."
"Yes."
"I hated you."
"Yes."

It was in the past tense, but the young Kasak was not attentive enough to notice. Tak glanced at his son. No matter what, he looked just like him, and just didn't resemble Ian. This was significant for Tak. It was clear that Ian's blood was also in Kasak, but it cost her 80 years of her life. And, because he looked so different from Ian, it was difficult for Tak to give affection to the child. Even if he looked different, if his nature would at least be a bit like Ian's, then Tak wouldn't hate him so much. Or if he had been born as a daughter in the first place...

Tak told him that if he had been born as a daughter, he'd have been a bigger fool for his daughter than Gandharva.

Kasak had heard from Kalavinka about how stupid Gandharva acts around his daughter. Imagining his father like that, he frowned and replied bluntly that if that meant his father would stalk him all the time, then it'd be terrible. So it was a good thing that he was born as a son. (ouch!)

Worried that his father would get angry, he quickly tried to steer the conversation away by adding that he heard his father could not have a daughter. Before Kasak knew it, Tak was holding him by the neck. Tak warned him if he thought he'd be fine since that day 20 years ago. No matter how similar the two looked in age, there was an overwhelming difference in power. Tak reminded him that Kasak took 80 years away from his girl, and Tak would only need to lift a finger to kill him. He just didn't want those 80 years to be in vain.

Kasak's eyes started shaking and began to tear up. No matter how insensitive he was as a Half, he was at least more emotional than his father without the earrings. Apart from the feeling of 'anger', he had also realized the feeling of 'fear' for the first time. Back then when he was very young, he remembered feeling desperately abandoned.

Tak noted that the two were similar in their crying, and loosened his hold. Kasak was only similar to Ian when he was crying, so he felt affectionate to him only when he was crying. As soon as the tears ceased, the affection disappeared as well. ( D: )

Tak complained that it would have been nice if he looked more like Ian, but he somehow ended up with a carbon copy of him. He didn't look at the expression on Kasak's face as he said that. In the end, Tak just headed back in Ian's direction.

--
When Tak approached the fountain, Ian asked what they were doing, because she waited a long time, however Tak interrupted her. Puzzled, she picked him up like she did with Kasak. In the meantime, people passing by were spreading word about Tak. Those who had been to the checkpoint looked startled and quickly left. Others were wondering if he was a Half.

Ian asked Tak why he wasn't wearing his earrings, and he replied that he didn't want to, and fell asleep in her arms. Then Ian saw Kasak walking away. She asked him what they were talking about.

Kasak looked at her without answering, then stepped away from her. Ian told him to wait, but he told her to not follow him. He said that he already took 80 years of his mother's life, and shouldn't want more.

Ian wondered if he was crying as he was confessing that, but Kasak's face was turned around as he said that, so she couldn't confirm. Kasak continued that his father told him that if he couldn't have been born a daughter, he should have at least resembled the mother, to receive both the mother and father's love.

But it wasn't his fault, he thought.

Kasak bowed his head and his shoulders trembled a bit, then he raised his head and with a few steps, disappeared from Ian's sight.

To be continued.

----

... D':

Edited by Mizura, 24 September 2012 - 08:03 AM.

[Mizura]

Ever since that day, Ian and Tak's home became peaceful again. When Tak wore his earrings, he laughed and played with Kasak like a normal father. Everything was fine except his way of playing seemed fairly radical, though Kasak did not seem particularly scared nor avoided such a father. Ian was relieved.
(Uh... *looks back on blog to see if she's missed a chapter* *nope* *don't ask me why everything suddenly seems okay D: *)

"Mother."

Hearing the low voice, Ian put down the shawl she was knitting. Kasak now looked 16 to 17, and had loosely curly hair tied up roughly. He wasn't as big as his father yet, but his four horns were much bigger than his.
"I want to take part in the fighting tournament."

It was the Autumn of D951.

The finite - by Currygom
Chapter 28 - Unchanging

Tak asked if he was going to participate in that state. Ian asked if there was a problem, and Tak said that he'd have to control his own anger: the tournament was about fighting, and the opponents would try to unnerve him with provocations. But, the condition of the tournament was to not kill one's opponents, since recovery magic was useless if the opponent was dead.

Ian protested that Kasak could adjust, but Tak shook his head. Kasak was better than Tak without his earrings, but if there was an accident then Kasak's image would only become worse.

So, Ian proposed to Tak to lend the earrings to Kasak.

Both Tak and Kasak looked at her, startled, at the same time. Tak started to say that she was talking nonsense, and that if he didn't have the earrings... but Ian reassured him that she'd be fine. Tak continued that the tournament lasted a month, but Ian said that she'll stay by his side for that month. She then laughed and sat on his knees, and Tak reflexively put his arms around her waist. Even though both looked 50 years-old, they didn't feel awkward.

A few decades ago, after seeking advice from a friend -Visnu-, he finally dumped Kasak with Kalavinka, but that wasn't the answer (not sure about this part). Eventually Tak took off his earrings, making Kasak swear that he'd return them after the tournament. Kasak agreed and was about to leave the house when Ian stopped him. She asked him if he could put on the earrings here, since she wanted to see her son smiling.

Kasak agreed, and immediately his horns and sharp arms disappeared, and his long hair shortened, causing the band to drop to the floor. Kasak kept his eyes closed briefly as he transformed, then smiled brightly towards his mother.
"Ah..."

Ian, thrilled and proud, began to cry, then approached the embarrassed Kasak and hugged him, causing Tak to glare at his son. Not wanting to annoy his father when he was without his earrings, Kasak eventually pulled back and wished both his parents goodbye. As he left Ian wanted to see him off, but Tak hugged her and prevented her from leaving.

--
One month went by faster than expected. Now that Ian was older, Tak didn't show such radical expressions of affection, and she passed her time on hobbies such as reading books, taking care of flowers, or looking at the stars.

She asked Tak if he wanted to eat lunch, only to find him sleeping in the chair by the window. While he had taken on a similar age appearance as Ian, it involved at most a few wrinkles and some grey hairs. The aging of Nastikas looked quite different from humans, as it did not involve the body collapsing, skin problems or age-related diseases. Ian saw her own reflection in the mirror. People say she's aged quite well, but she couldn't help but feel differently seeing Tak. Moreover, Tak could return to his youthful appearance at any time.

She called him again and he woke up, looking at her with his usual indifferent expression. She had never seen him smile without his earrings, and she never had the courage to ask him to. Anyway, he'd show happy or sad expressions once he put on the earrings. Eventually she just smiled and called him to lunch again.

--
Kasak returned one afternoon a week after the end of the tournament. He was fearful of his father's reaction since he did not come back immediately after the tournament. Fortunately his mother noticed him first. She had just returned from the city with a shopping cart filled with milk for Tak and vegetables.

Kasak greeted her, and she asked if was looking for his father. He said that he brought back the earrings later than promised, but Ian said that it didn't cause any inconvenience, right Tak?

Kasak was startled to see Tak and greeted him. Ian told Tak that she got milk. Tak started to mention the earrings, but Ian said that Kasak must have had his reasons for being late. She asked Kasak to return the earrings. Kasak agreed, but hesitated. Finally, he apologized and asked if he could keep the earrings a bit longer. Suddenly Tak was holding Kasak by the collar and threatening him, only to be reminded of his promise by a teary Ian.

Tak let go and hugged his wife, and asked for the reason. Kasak answered in a low voice that well... he's got a girlfriend.

Tak's expression didn't change, but Ian looked at Kasak in astonishment. Kasak continued that it was the first time he felt such emotions in his life, and she was so lively that he felt like dying, but he was afraid to ruin that love by taking off the earrings.

Tak retorted that if his love would be so easily ruined, he shouldn't start in the first place. In his opinion, if he needed the earrings to love, it wasn't real love. Kasak protested. Even if the love was because of the earrings, he didn't want to lose her. Kasak rarely retorted to Tak without his earrings. Tak still insisted that if he thought he'd lose those feelings without the earrings, then it couldn't be love, since it'd be something that'd just go away.

However, Ian defended Kasak, saying that one wouldn't fall in love just by putting the earrings on. He knew that best, right? She said that it was the same with Kasak, and that rather than him changing his mind, he was afraid that the woman would change her mind instead.

Kasak looked up in surprise. Although he hadn't properly described his situation yet, his mother was completely spot on. Tak was also surprised since he never thought of it that way. Ian continued. She first met Tak while he was without the earrings, while the woman met Kasak first when he had the earrings on. It was a big difference. She could hate Kasak without the earrings.

This was hard to deny. Neither Tak nor Kasak had very likable personalities without the earrings. Their sociability was near zero, and they risked breaking limbs when they were angry. What woman would like such a person? If she were unlucky, she could even get killed by her husband's breath. In fact, most would flee such a man rather than marry him.

Ian continued that she was fine, however. She met Tak first without the earrings, and had been living without problems with Tak for decades. So, please hand the earrings to Kasak. He asked her to confirm if she'd be fine if he was without the earrings, and she insisted that she wouldn't change her mind.

Instead of answering Kasak, Tak went inside the home. Kasak smiled widely at Ian, who congratulated him. Kasak looked down and couldn't say anything. His mother would always solve his problems no matter how difficult he was. Until he put on the earrings, he never felt gratitude towards her. Looking back, she was an endlessly devoted mother and gave him 80 years of her life, yet he never showed proper filial piety and only made things difficult for her.

She asked him to tell her about his girlfriend. Kasak hesitated, then answered that she was his patron to enter Kalibloom. Her name was Meiwen Hael. She had magic qualifications but was more of a fighter, though she was eliminated in the first round of 64 in the fighting tournament. Her close relatives in Eloth represent the creation brand Sabitri.

Ian asked her age, and Kasak said 23. Ian was startled to learn that she was a pureblood, and she did not like the fact that the woman would age 4 times faster than Kasak. In 50 years they'd look like a grandmother and her grandson, and if he had a daughter they'd end up looking like a couple. However, Kasak said that the woman was fine with becoming older before him.

Ian didn't say, that it didn't mean it would be fine for him. Still, she smiled and asked about her personality, appearance and height.

He answered that she had a ridiculous and cheerful, but charming personality, and was a span shorter than Ian.

Ian was 167 cm, so that meant that she was no taller than 150 cm. That was short enough by Willarv standards that one could think there was something wrong with her body.

He continued that her eyes were dark red, almost black. She had dark red hair, cut very short and jagged, a bit like a boy's. Ian said that she didn't like that style. Tak said that when he was looking for a patron, he deliberately tried to look for a man to not burden a woman, but he mistook her for a guy and only found out later... (lol)

Ian laughed at that cute love story. She asked him if she had a prettier face than her. Kasak scratched his head. His mother was already in her 50s in appearance, after all, but she was still adorable, he said.

--
Ian was on the bed with a book in front of her. She smiled and looked at the window. She was happy to have that conversation with Kasak, and concluded that Kasak needed the earrings more. She thought for a moment how the future would be like without the earrings, but soon fell asleep.

To be continued.

-----
Aww. And yet, despite all this, Kasak told Agwen that he stopped loving her mother as soon as he took off the earrings. :'(

D951... Agwen was born around D953. And quarters probably take 20 months to be born. ... Lol! Kasak didn't waste his time, maybe we'll see baby Agwen in the story too! I wonder if Tak was satisfied that there was Finally a baby Ian-like around? Let's see... Agwen is triple fire, so she was born in July D953. Go back 20 months, and you end up roughly around... December D951. Right now it's Autumn D951 + 1 month, 1 week.

Uh... okay, either Meiwen is already pregnant, or she'll be so reaaaal soon. D: Dude. Oh wait, the Koreans seem to count an extra year (as in, you're 1 year-old when you're born), so Agwen was likely conceived one year later. ... still pretty fast though.

Edited by Mizura, 08 September 2012 - 10:38 AM.

[Mizura]

It had been already several years since Kasak left with the earrings. At first Tak thought it would be difficult to go on for so long without the earrings, but Tak was surprisingly quite calm in the past few years. Even his anger seemed to have faded away. The reason was simple: now that Kasak had left for a long time, there was nothing between him and Ian anymore (lol!), and Ian didn't need to care after Kasak anymore. The old Tak would have gotten angry over very minor things, but now with Ian he seemed to have lost his bad temper.

Ian asked him what he thought. There were two candles on the birthday cake: one big one for 100 years, and a smaller one for 10 years. Tak thought, she was already that age. Her face was wrinkled like a smiling grandmother, and she had burned away the most beautiful time of her life to raise a child whom she aged twice as fast as.

The finite - by Currygom
Chapter 29 - Wilted flowers

Tak noted that there would be way too many candles if it were for his birthday. Ian laughed, showing deep wrinkles around her eyes. Tak asked what was funny, and she said they could just have a huge candle for 1 billion years. Tak replied that he was much older than that. Oh.

Ian asked if it felt like a really long time to live. He replied that by then, all the fun of the world had disappeared. Ian protested that surely there would be something new to...

She handed Tak a piece of cake, but Tak only stared at it. She told him to enjoy it, as the person who made it had very good cooking skills. He noted that she was the one who made it, and Ian said something about not changing for decades. While Ian talked he started eating the cake. Then his face slightly frowned. He had his head bowed, then suddenly lifted his head, with whipped cream stuck around his mouth. He asked her what she was talking about, not changing? She said it was a joke of sorts, and that when he had his earrings... she wanted to say more but stopped. After all, Tak had given his earrings to Kasak.

She asked him however, if he couldn't even... Tak noted that it was better if he had the earrings on, after all, right? Ian didn't want to give up so easily, so she got up and walked to where Tak was, and kissed his lips, burying hers in the whipped cream. When she opened her eyes, Tak was just staring at her. She unwittingly took a step back. Tak looked at her, the licked the whipped cream off his mouth.

Then he told her that the cake was delicious, and that the person who made it was really skilled.

Ian took a step back, startled, and looking at Tak. Tak repeated that the cake she made was delicious, that her cooking skills were great to make such a cake. He devoured all the cake save for Ian's share on the spot, and said it was too delicious, she made too little.

Ian looked at Tak with tears in her eyes, without saying anything. She was a 110-year-old Quarter, 55-year-old in appearance. She had aged, and the breathtaking beauty of her youth wasn't anywhere now.

"Happy Birthday."

To that, Ian whispered a small 'Thank you', and smiled. Tak still had cream around the corners of his mouth. He embraced her by the waist and kissed her. Outside, the setting sun shone through the window, and the sound of wind rustled through the flowers.

--
"Tak." Ian called out from underneath the blanket. Tak was sleeping, with his face buried in her hair. She asked him if he remembered when she asked him what he liked about her. Tak didn't answer, but Ian answered that his answer was "Everything." Her voice trembled a litte.

She continued that to be honest, she thought he was attracted to her because of her looks. This made her anxious, as she would quickly grow old, then one day, his feelings for her would grow cold. "I see," Tak replied in a low voice. He asked her if she was still anxious, and she said no.

Ian smiled and turned to him, looking at the four horns between his gray hairs that exposed him as a Nastika. Perhaps one would never see such an old-looking Nastika. She asked him if he was curious. He asked: about what? She said: about why she loves him. Tak asked if she loved him, and she said yes, it was pointless to tell him how much.

Tak hugged her closer to her chest, and Ian blushed. She said that she fell in love with him after watching him. His various behaviours were rather... cute. "Cute?" Tak hugged a bit more strongly, and Ian shrieked while laughing. Tak had his trademark expressionless face, and asked her what was cute exactly. Ian stopped laughing, stared back at him, and kissed his lips. "Everything."

She said that like him, she liked everything about him. Whether he was wearing his earrings or was in sura form, in her eyes everything about him was cute. All was good.

Tak was still expressionless. Ian probably still hid things from him, but Tak did not think so. She would usually reveal her mind to him rather than hide things from him. But there was a separate issue, a secret that she would keep until she died.

Tak did not answer, so Ian was the first to say "Goodnight" and close her eyes. Tak's gaze silently looked over her sleeping form. A quarter had a life span of 160 to 200 years. Ian lost 80 years because of Kasak. So, the next morning, when he opened his eyes, if her body had gone cold the fact would not be strange at all. However, without the earrings, he could only recognize the facts, and feel neither anxiety nor sadness.

"Goodnight, Ian." As the moonlight shone through the window, nothing disturbed the calmness.

After the last Chapter, Chapter 30, there will be a two-parts epilogue.

-
... Wah! T_T (and I was wondering why the chapter was short this time. And yes, the original was short too, not just my summary)
Ian was born in D845, so this is D955. Agwen should have been born in D953. ...so Agwen should have been born already! Well!

It seems Visnu accomplished his goal of moderating Tak's anger.

Edited by Mizura, 24 September 2012 - 08:08 AM.

[Mizura]

On a lush day of summer, Kasak was walking while holding his young daughter in one hand, and Meiwen with the other. While walking they exchanged stories, and would occasionally laugh. Save for the fact that the wife looked much older than the husband, they seemed like a fairly normal family.

Kasak said that he was actually scared. Meiwen looked up at Kasak, who was over 40cm taller than her. Kasak said that he had not been home for quite a long time already, but it seemed there wasn't much time remaining. He wanted to show their daughter Agwen before it was too late. At the word "time remaining", Meiwen's face also went dark. It was clear that she'd also die sooner than her husband.

Kasak said that it was going to be fine, because Tak wouldn't be angry in front of his granddaughter. He said this because Agwen resembled Ian a lot. She may still change once she grew up, but at least for now, Agwen's face clearly resembled Ian's. Taksaka had always struggled to find the likeness of Ian in Kasak, but if the granddaughter resembled her he wouldn't act careless.

Agwen asked her dad if they were there, and Kasak said almost, pointing to a two-story house. Fortunately, the house still looked the same as when he left, with the beautiful flower beds around the house.

As Meiwen approached a bed of purple flowers, she noted with surprise that those flowers only grew on Carte. She was surprised that Kasak's father grew flowers, noting that normally these wouldn't grow on Willarv. She smelled the flowers. Kasak didn't understand the fuss and asked if the flowers were difficult to grow. She said yes: apart from being pretty, they also had high medicinal value. A lot of people had brought seeds to try to grow them, but they were difficult to grow in the environment of Willarv.

Ian was particularly fond of this flower, as it meant "eternity" in the language of flowers. Because of this Kasak's father always spent time growing these flowers in the garden. He probably imported them directly from Carte. Kasak noted that he didn't know that these flowers were difficult to grow. Agwen also became interested in the flowers, and Meiwen told her to be careful not to step on them.

Kasak turned to the house again. He wished his father or mother would come out first, but it seemed it'd be better if he went alone.

Year D961. It had been 10 years since Kasak left with the earrings.

[insert image of Tak holding a prize for best flower garderner* (ahem, sorry, moving on)]

The finite - by Currygom
Chapter 30 - The finite

"Mother, I'm back." Kasak knocked cautiously on the door, hoping that his mother would be the first to come. However, nobody came out. He knocked on the door again, but again, there was no reaction, and he couldn't hear any sounds from inside.

Eventually he grabbed the door handle. If the house was empty, then the door should be locked, but it opened without any resistance, revealing the familiar look of the living room. The floor and ornaments were wiped clean of dirt. With a slightly trembling voice, he called out to his mother and father, but received no answer. The house seemed empty. Puzzled, Kasak turned to the next room.

The kitchen was as clean as the living room.

Something felt out of place however, and Kasak soon realized what: all the tablewares were in place, but the food was not. There weren't any dishes or snacks, or even water to drink.

With mixed voice, Kasak called for his mother again, and began searching the house by opening the door to every room. Every room was clean, but nobody greeted him. Soon he headed to the second floor, which was a loft with low ceilings. It was usually treated like a warehouse, but since there was no-one on the first floor, then if someone was in the house, they had to be on the second floor.

Kasak almost cried as he called for his mother, but then he paused for a moment, unable to believe his eyes. The whole room was filled with the purple flowers he had seen in the garden. The place was filled with mounds of earth and buckets to tend to the flowers. And sitting by a warm sunny window, there was a boy who looked 15, wearing a thick shawl that didn't seem suited to the weather. His eyes were closed as though he were sleeping, and he was hugging something, perhaps his mother.

"Fa... father."

Despite the young appearance, the person was immediately recognizable by the four dragon horns. He was probably awake much earlier, but now opened his eyes to look at his son.

Ian, Kasak is here, he said. There was no response of course, but Tak continued while looking out the window: he's brought his kid, who's playing by the flowerbeds. She looked very little like her though. Did she want to go down and have a closer look?

Kasak fell down crying. He clearly heard from Visnu that his mother would live until D963, so he thought he still had time. But now, perhaps without the earrings, his father did not shed a single drop of tear during his mother's last moments. Crying, Kasak apologized to his mother and father for being late. He was so sorry. Tak looked at him with hollow eyes. That was the only part of his son that resembled Ian: his crying face. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, Kasak continued.

Tak blinked and set down what he was hugging on the floor. Wrapped in white clothes, the bony hand appearing at the hems made a strange sound as it hit the floor.
"Kasak."
"Yes? Yes! Go ahead, father."

Kasak looked up at his father, with a runny nose and a face filled with tears. Tak asked him what he was sorry for. Kasak said that he was late, and mumbled about the earrings, and how without them father...

He thought: His father wouldn't show any expression during mother's last days. Kasak could not bear the thought. His mother had sacrified 80 years of her life for him, but he did not come when he should have. No matter what Visnu said, he had failed his duties as a son. He had told Meiwen that he was afraid of his father, but the real reason was that he was afraid that the earrings would be taken away. Rather than his parents, he thought of his wife and daughter first. And so he acted shameful.

Tak did not say anything as he watched Kasak cry, instead turned his attention to the form on the floor. It was wrapped in fine clothes, but a hand was sticking out the hem of the clothes. He reached out to the loose part in a slow motion and began to loosen the clothes. Kasak's face hardened.

Once a woman with unmatched beauty and character, this could not even be guessed from her body. She had been dead for a considerable amount of time. Let alone beauty, she barely even looked like a human being anymore. This finite beauty disappeared so easily. Upon realizing how drastic this world was, Kasak didn't know why the tears would no longer come.

Tak told him that Visnu had come, and had lied to Kasak about the date of Ian's death. So, Kasak wouldn't be deprived of the earrings, and Tak would not get them back until after Ian died. Kasak asked why? Tak asked if he was asking why he didn't go and find him. Kasak said yes, for this he would have come.

Tak briefly stopped talking and instead, hugged Ian's body on the floor and kissed her. He whispered a small "hello." Then when she slipped from his arms, she crumbled into dust in an instant. To Kasak's dismay, Tak's expression didn't change in the slightest.

Tak said that without the earrings, he wouldn't feel the old passion as she was getting older. So he thought it was better for him to wait for her death without the earrings. Kasak asked what he meant. Tak said that if he felt as much passion for her the moment she died, then... While saying so, he sweeped the scattered remains onto the clothes.

He continued: what would he eliminate then? Planet Willarv? Or the star Fedust?

Kasak said nothing. Tak continued that it wouldn't be enough. He would start destroying the Universe that Visnu tried to protect, and mere words would not be enough to placate him. Perhaps someone would have to kill him, and by then countless numbers of stars would have disappeared.

Kasak had a hard time grasping the scale of the story. Because he's never seen his father's complete Sura form, he thought that half the legends about him were exaggerations. However, now he realized that the legends were true. These were creatures who existed since the birth of the Universe, and there certainly existed those who could destroy the Universe.

Tak said that he could have thought that he didn't care about such an outcome, but it was different now. He collected the powder into a small box, then stopped and thought for a moment.

---
He thought back to a conversation with Ian. She said she was worried about those she cared about after she died. Tak promised to write it all down, an answer that brought a smile to her face. First, she said it was about Tak, which made him laugh in a silly way. She told him to always take care of himself, to not get mad, and whenever possible, to avoid fighting, with or without the earrings. He said okay. Second was Kasak.

---
Tak called Kasak again, and closed the box without hesitation. Tak said that because he loved her, he chose to lose loving her. (I think?)

As he finished speaking, Tak held the box containing Ian's remains in his arms. Kasak didn't grasp the meaning of his father's words, and looked at him with a puzzled face, but Tak headed to the first floor without any more explanations. "Let's go, Kasak. We have to send your mother off."

---
Meiwen was startled when Kasak came out with a boy with four horns. She gasped as she realized that it was Kasak's father Taksaka. She had heard that he had taken an aged appearance to be like his wife, so if he's taken the appearance of a young boy now, it meant that his wife was already dead. They came too late: the only one who could prevent him from becoming angry was already dead.

"What's the matter, mom?" Trembling, Meiwen looked at Agwen. Then Agwen turned her head towards where she could hear light footsteps. The boy was holding a box. The two looked very similar, but the boy looked younger than her father. Then after a while, without even the slightest intimidation, she called out to him. "Grandpa."

The boy's footsteps stopped. Agwen asked her mother if it's grandfather, right? Dad had said that it was the one with 4 horns. Meiwen hugged her, not knowing what to do. She was pointing at a dragon Nastika, whom Meiwen was trying not to offend.

After a pause, Tak started walking again without an answer. Kasak followed with a sigh of relief. Meiwen only answered "That's right" after the two have completely disappeared from sight, adding that maybe she won't be able to consider him such, because the person he was with was no longer of this world (not sure about this part). Agwen looked down in disappointment.

---
Tak asked a surprised Kasak the name of the child. Kasak replied that it was Agwen Rajof. Tak was still expressionless, but noted that her eyes were blue. Kasak confirmed that, saying that they didn't resemble the eyes of anyone he knew: none of Meiwen's relatives had eyes that color.

Tak said that he knew a dragon who looked like her.

But there was no reason for Agwen to look like her, he added. Kasak asked who he was talking about, but Tak did not say any more. Kasak decided that it was better to change the topic, and asked if he needed the earrings. Tak said that he didn't need them now, and Kasak didn't need to return them, but Kasak said that it would be too bad if he sent off mother without feeling any sorrow.

Tak asked if he was blaming him, and Kasak said that it was just decency, since Ian lost 80 years because of him. Tak said that it may end up severe, and that he may end up crying like a child. Kasak said it was okay, and he'd slap him if necessary.

Tak went silent for a while, and thought it was only to send off Ian. The river was far across the forest.

-----
This was the last chapter, though Currygom said there will be a two-part epilogue. This... chapter was creepy on many levels. Before The Finite started, I had always thought that Taksaka only stayed with Ian because of the earrings, and that it was an on/off situation: without the earrings, he'd not feel anything at all. Just like Kasak after the Cataclysm.

However, the story showed that on the contrary, Tak was attached to Ian even in his Sura form, so much so that after she died, he still kept her body and planted the flowers she loved so much. D: After he went back to the Sura world, his other acquaintances must have been very surprised by the change. I am somehow very surprised by how much a Nastika could have loved a human.

And Visnu lied to Kasak. D: We understand why he did it, but still, damn, this proves that Visnu CAN lie. And Agwen looks like Utpala! Will the secret come out? D:

I'm really curious about the epilogue now. After this, I plan to make a list of things we learned thanks to the Finite. Currygom likes to say that the novel isn't necessary to understand the world of Kubera, but I think it nonetheless revealed a lot about this world.

Edited by Mizura, 23 September 2012 - 12:36 AM.

[Mizura]

Wait a moment, until now I made this thread as a "no-conversation thread" to make it easy for other readers to find stuff back. However, I just realized that we know exactly how many chapters are left now (2-part epilogue), so I can just make placeholder posts. D: So, feel free to comment on the novel in this thread, hahah.


Red and black sky and acrid air, and gravity so strong that ordinary people would have trouble standing on two feet. The sura realm was like a hellish barren environment, yet some superior Sura prefered it to the human realm. Especially those who loved to fight more.

Visnu's protection did not apply there. Transcendentals could be unleashed without constraint, and the terrain wasn't affected as much. At most the terrain would just change a little.

the finite- by Currygom
Epilogue, Part 1

"I'm leaving," a woman with coppery skin said. The Garuda clan Nastika had hair that was a mix of red and yellow, and her gorgeous pair of red wings were like a flower pin. The other person complained that she was all work and no play, and that she should stay and play with him. It wasn't like she was getting any love from her husband these days. She only shot him a murderous glare.

The man had long tied up silver hair, and seemed to be a pretty high-ranking Nastika. He had a silver goblet in his hand, and sat in an arrogant position. His wings shone with 5 hues whenever he moved a little. He taunted her to refute him: tons of rumors had spread already, that Garuda had brought a child of Chaos, and abandoned Vinata's children.

(Translation of this part by Ashenjay:
"Why, did I say something wrong? No. Everybody knows about it now. Garuda fell in love with another woman and brought a child of Chaos, and not only that he left Vinata's children and to that dark little kid..."
"What I mean is, the child is just fake, and the real one is Maruna? Or, though it's unlikely, Kalavinka?"
"It's obvious that there is no answer. Even if there is you can't trust the word of his mother...well, there are some who are interested in Kalavinka, but I believe that that may be a trap."

Ashenjay explained that it wasn't 100% clear what this part is about. It could be about the power of the Name and why Yuta can't reveal his name, or Vinata wants her children to be special but the special one is Yuta, or something. Basically, this part is vague)

Vinata didn't answer, and he noted that the Garuda clan was so aloof. But he added that the Asura clan was always open to all, even forsaken females. The man started to laugh, as did all the Nastika around him. Vinata could seriously hurt them in a 1 on 1 battle, but that situation was irrelevant. They were numerous, and above all, that one Nastika sitting there was stronger than her. Ravana sat at the center of the gathered Nastika, some of which were from clans other than the Asura clan.

Vinata could not bear to listen to their bad gossip and ridicule anymore, and retorted that someday, he'll pay for his lowly conduct. However, the other Nastika just laughed and chatted with Ravana, and no longer paid attention to her. Vinata spread her wings and left the crowd.

The Garuda clan and the Asura clan were natural enemies as birds and insects, but only the weaklings made that comparison. The bug Nastika fought on par with the Garuda Nastika. In fact, those with odd, swarm-like Sura forms would sometimes jeer and toy with Garuda Nastikas. The one teasing Vinata, Ravana, had a Sura form in the shape of a swarm of bees. He was the No. 2 in the Asura Clan, but he was a Nastika who did not lose his dirty smirk even in front of the leader of an enemy clan. (paragraph clarified by Ashenjay)

After Vinata disappeared, a Nastika asked Ravana if he heard what Vinata said. He said he did, and that she was a true proud female. He wasn't worried though. Another pointed out that she was the No. 2 of the Garuda clan, which prompted one to ask why the gap between the Garuda King and the No. 2 was so big. Another responded that the other originally stronger Nastika of the clan had since died, so now Vinata is No. 2. So, the race wasn't a big deal. If Garuda died then it was all over.

One noted however that Garuda was much stronger than those in the Asura clan. He noted that the King aside, isn't Ravana not the strongest among the No. 2 of different races? Ravana pondered the question. Another Nastika sitting next to him asked if he ever fought Taksaka. Ravana said he never did, but perhaps he should go prove himself now, and said those who wanted to could come along. He flew off, and of the 13 gathered there, only 5 remained.

The remaining 5 whispered to themselves that not even Ravana could handle Taksaka in a 1:1, and would likely just get help from the other guys. Shortly after that Asura showed up, and they shut up and greeted their King. Asura noted that Ravana messed up his place again, and looked at the scattered bottles and leftover meat that Ravana left around his seat. The Rakshasa at his side immediately began cleaning up the mess. Asura felt a headache coming on because of Ravana, and took his seat with a sigh. The other Nastika hesitated to start talking, but Asura didn't seem to care. In any case, they weren't certain that Ravana would come back alive.

--
"Taksaka? Not right now." Vasuki was lying in Taksaka's nest. Ravana told her that he wanted to duel Taksaka, and Vasuki should just go back to his home. He's saying this because as an allied race, he claims he was sincerely worried about her. Vasuki just laughed.

Ravana taunted her: didn't Vasuki once conceded that she was weaker than Taksaka? Was she afraid of being killed by him? She didn't need to be worried about that. Vasuki muttered that yeah, she may not be stronger than Taksaka. She also noted that he wouldn't use transcendentals unless he was sincerely angry at the other party.

When she didn't get an answer, she sat up, but Ravana's group was already gone.

--
Ravana searched for Taksaka in several places. He heard that Taksaka was recently in the human realm, fell in love with a human and had a Half, and grew old together with the human. Ravana's group denounced how it was a disgrace for the Nastika. Mixing with such an inferior race and growing old together? Hah. That was reason enough to fight him.

Ravana laughed and noted that the Dragon clan wouldn't care if one of theirs died. Nobody would care if they killed him, except for Vasuki or Airavata, so they need an excuse for them to not take revenge. The Nastika around him flattered him as "Ravana the Hunk" or with "So today, the numbers from the Dragon clan will be reduced by one?" Ravana was not sure to prevail in a 1 on 1, but with 8 Nastika present, he was not nervous at all. At least until then.

--
The Sura world was huge beyond the imagination of humans, but despite the size, similar landscapes existed everywhere. It could be a little flatter or steeper, and there were differences in the weather or temperature, but visually everything was similar. Because of this, some would stupidly lose their ways. (part clarified by Ashenjay)

In one area there were a number of bizarely shapped rock pillars. A boy who looked 15 years-old was sitting on top of one of them, completely still save for the occasional blinking. Ravana's group noted that there he was, Taksaka. Ravana said to Taksaka that he heard that he recently visited the human realm? But Taksaka didn't answer. Moreover, he heard that he fell in love with a human woman? And that he had a Half with her? And that he grew old together with her? But Taksaka still ignored him.

Ravana went on: so, the rumors that Taksaka wasn't able to feel anything other than anger were groundless? Perhaps he couldn't even get angry? Taksaka focused on Ravana for a moment. He remembered Ian's words: Always take care of yourself. Don't get angry. Avoid fighting whenever possible, with or without the earrings...

He gazed at the distant sky instead, to get a little peace of mind, before returning the gaze on Ravana's group. Ravana resumed taunting him, asking if he really didn't know how to get angry, and if he was scared because he couldn't beat him. In response to his provocation, Taksaka only said one short sentence: "Ian would hate this."

Ravana started laughing, calling him pathetic and saying that he was a piece of shit who lost his Nastika pride. Even so, Taksaka ignored him. Ravana got mad. So just because he's stronger than Vasuki, Taksaka thought he could ignore him, when there were 8 Nastika besides him? The reason Nastika kill one another were not trivial. Taksaka will in the future be remembered as deserving to die because he dared insult Ravana-nim to such an extent, all because of one human trash.

Taksaka told him to shut up.

Suddenly Taksaka disappeared from the column. Feeling something was wrong, the other gathered Nastika immediately looked to where Ravana was. The one who was probably the strongest Nastika in the group - Ravana, the No. 2 of the Asura clan, was crushed like dirt. Taksaka said that Ravana was right. The reason that Nastika killed each other was surprisingly not very trivial. Taksaka soon set foot on the place where Ravana was standing, staring at his crushed face as though it were trash. "You dared to insult Ian, and you got the death you deserved."

(Last two paragraphs translated by Ashenjay) The boy who had a sleepy, thoughtless expression was gone, and in front of Ravana was Taksaka as a young man with not a shred of mercy. His huge black wings covered the sky like mist. Even though Taksaka was clearly in his human form, everybody there saw a huge dragon crushing Ravana. There had been no time for Taksaka to have turned into his Sura form, and even if he was in his Sura form there was no way Ravana would have been crushed just like that. The only possible answer was that this was Taksaka's Unique Transcendental.

A Nastika startled by the odd Transcendental hurriedly tried to transform, but instead was cruelly crushed. Taksaka was standing in his human form in front of Ravana, but the other Nastika could see a huge dragon's tail on top of their comrade. It was sure that they were stuck in some unknown Transcendental, and there was no way to get out of this situation.

To be continued.

---
Me: Like, who's this Ravana guy?
Me: Oh okay, he's dead already.
Me: ...

The conversation between Vinata and Ravana really made me wince. There were several parts I wasn't sure about, and Ashenjay clarified them for me, thanks a whole lot Ashenjay!

Edit: turns out Ravana was still alive. Bah.

Edited by Mizura, 21 October 2012 - 12:21 PM.

[Mizura]

After Ravana left, Vasuki had a sense of foreboding and went to look for Tak. She wasn't concerned for Ravana per se, rather she felt responsibility as the No. 2 of an allied race, and was worried about Asura's reaction. No matter how impudent Ravana was, he was the No. 2 of the Asura clan, and in female form she was the most beautiful female Nastika of the clan.

"For the revival of the species", female Ravana gave birth to countless children in the early days of the Universe. These, of course, included the children of the King, Asura. Ravana usually took male form, but whenever Asura didn't listen to him, he'd take female form and have Asura in the palm of her hand. If Ravana were to be killed, it was clear that the King would not let it pass.

The finite - by Currygom
Epilogue - Part 2

Vasuki ignored the ash and dry wind smearing his clothes. Instead she was feeling the aura around her. Strange. Vasuki could clearly feel multiple Nastika-grade Sura there, but apart from rock pillars, there wasn't even the shadow of a Rakshasa. Sensing the limits of her human form, Vasuki took Sura form. Her nine heads looked around, and soon, sensing something, she crashed down onto the rock pillars.

For convenience, the Ananta clan was referred to as "snakes", but in fact, there were quite a few that had shapes diverging from snakes. This was the case with Vasuki, who had 9 armored heads with colorful horns. From far away, she looked like a snake from the neck to her mane of hair, but when the limbs were exposed her form looked no different from a dragon. Vasuki felt an invisible wall, and her ninth head pierced it without hesitation, causing a flurry of ash to rain down from the crack. Ravana was on the other side with Taksaka.

Until then, the Asura clan Nastika was terrified, but when Vasuki penetrated with a roar, the Sura form Taksaka disappeared. He stood in front of Ravana in ordinary human form, with the appearance of a young boy. Initially perplexed, Ravana then glared at Taksaka and bared his teeth. "This kid! He dared to cheat!"

Although two people including Ravana could no longer fight, the remaining 7 could easily win against the No. 2 of the Dragon clan, was what they were thinking. Without paying attention to Vasuki, the seven simultaneously rushed Taksaka. Vasuki shook her head. Grinning, a Nastika felt his attack land, only to pale when he realized that he was chocking the neck of his ally. It was the same elsewhere. One was tearing at the heart of another Nastika, and one Nastika had his head halfway crushed. As a result, although 7 of them attacked Taksaka, they only hurt each other while they couldn't even touch Taksaka.

The attacking Nastika quickly removed his hand from his colleague's neck. This wasn't an accident. These seven Nastika were top-ranked Sura. They were not incompetent enough to not realize that the target had escaped and attack their colleagues. The only possible explanation was that some unknown transcendental skill changed each of their targets. However, most of these spiritual transcendental skills didn't work on Nastika. If Taksaka had a spiritual transcendental skill, it would have been impossible for the skill to stay secret for so long. (clarified by Ashenjay)

He anxiously looked towards Vasuki. With his colleagues mortally wounded, only he would be able to fight him. Although they all rushed Taksaka earlier, now that he was alone he didn't have the confidence to fight against the No. 2 of the Dragons. His colleagues needed time to recover, and if Vasuki didn't help it'd be even more hopeless. Despaired, he glanced around uneasily. However, Vasuki's situation was very different from the Asura clan Nastika.

According to what Vasuki heard, in order to begin that transcendental skill, both the initiator and the target must wish to kill each other. If they all attacked before Tak got angry, Vasuki didn't know what would have happened, but those idiots must have wasted time with needless provocations. If not, this situation would not have happened. (clarified by Ashenjay)

Vasuki was glad however that she arrived when the situation could still be corrected. No matter how angry Tak was, he still had a minimum of reason left. The Nastika who attacked him were not dead yet, save for one guy who was crushed to bits, but that could be forgiven since they provoked Taksaka first.

Although Ravana was also crushed... Vasuki flinched. Ravana wasn't there anymore. "Tak!" Before Ravana could attack though, he was caught by a black shadow. Ravana, already on the verge of death, glared at Taksaka with crazed eyes, but struggled against the black shadow.
"Why did you stop me? He dared to try to kill me!"
"Just calm down. Let's go back and talk, Ravana."

The black shadow was revealed himself as Asura, in human form and clad in black armor. Around them, the other Nastika still hadn't recovered. Ravana yelled.
"You can't! I want to kill this guy. I'll kill him!"
"No Ravana. You can't beat Taksaka."
"Then you'll have to kill me. Asura, avenge me instead!"
"..."

Asura sighed as Ravana turned into his familiar female form, whining about how Tak should die, and how he was ignoring her and called her trash that deserved to die, and overall acting like a victim . (me: *facepalm*) In female form, her wings were nearly like the sky. She had thin clothes covering her body and a good-looking face. The reason she was known as "Queen bee" wasn't just because of her swarm of bees.

Asura almost lost reason then gulped, then detached himself from Ravana. Ravana asked him what he was doing, and if he was going to kill that guy. Asura told her to behave herself, and that if it were another Nastika, he'd have killed the instigator on the spot. Since using the beauty card didn't work, Ravana realized the situation wasn't good. Asura faced Taksaka and apologized to him: as a result of Ravana upsetting him, one of his race is now dead, so Tak should calm down now. This would be best for all.

Taksaka nodded in silence and released his transcendental skill. While the other Nastika were wondering what Ravana and Asura were talking about, they were surprised to see Taksaka right next to them. Asura thanked him for not killing Ravana in front of him, and slightly smiled in gratitude. He asked if there was anything he could do as a reward.

Taksaka asked him if he could revive a human that had already died (yikes!). Or, if he could invade hell. If he couldn't, there was nothing he could do to help. Taksaka then cleaned up, sat on the spot and closed his eyes. Since talking was useless now, Asura and Ravana went to help up the other Nastika. Then Vasuki turned back into human form and approached Asura to tell him something. Asura nodded and turned back. He asked Taksaka if it was true that Vritra was trying to kill him. Taksaka looked a bit surprised, and said that it was a misunderstanding. Vritra loved to fight him. If he died, then he couldn't fight him anymore. Asura said that if he wanted to, the Asura clan could side with him. Taksaka said he didn't need it, he could kill Vritra himself.

Taksaka's answer was adamant. Ravana was urging Asura to leave, but he was ignoring her. Asura said that just like him, Vritra's transcendental skills also had tricky conditions. If Vritra wanted to kill him, he'd be much stronger than the Vritra that Taksaka knew (clarified by Ashenjay), so it'd be better to strike first, especially if he had reinforcements. Taksaka noted that a rebellion aimed at killing the king of one's race is unprecedented in any race. Asura said that it was still better to have them on his side.

Taksaka thought for a moment, then shook his head. He said he'd like to avoid fighting as much as possible. Ravana complained that he was talking bullshit, since he was trying to kill her just a moment before. Asura shook his head and they finally left, leaving the wasteland quiet again. Vasuki finally called Tak. Tak said her interference was useless, and asked why she'd intervene if he was killing a few guys from the Asura clan. Was it because of the alliance? Was she going to side with the Asura clan? Vasuki said that that wasn't the problem: by killing Ravana Tak would be turning the whole Asura clan against him. Tak asked what the problem was. She said that in the worst case, he'd get killed. And Vasuki would be sad if that happened.

Tak didn't respond. Vasuki's face contorted, and asked if he wasn't going to answer. Wouldn't it mean anything if she was sad? And Airavata and... Ian. Ian would be sad. (ooh, nice one!) Tak's eyes seemed a little shaky at the name Ian. Vasuki said that he avoided fighting for her sake. Tak said she was right. Fighting wasn't good. He shouldn't fight. He was wrong. He then repeated that he was sorry, over and over again.

Then he asked Vasuki where Ian went to. Vasuki was somewhat troubled by the question, and hesitated before answering that if she truly loved him, then for her sins, she must have gone to hell. Tak asked why? What was the crime? Her nature was such that she wasn't even able to kill ants. She was a good woman, more than anyone, more than he could have hoped for. He just caught her because of his own greed. His eyes blurred, and he said that he was not able to protect her, either in life or in death. His voice was flat, with neither sorrow nor anger, but Vasuki could not bear to look at him.

Vasuki said that the Gods govern over "death", because all dead humans belonged to the jurisdiction of the Gods. If one didn't want to suffer after death, one would have to reject the Sura and trust in the Gods. This is what the Gods wanted. No matter how strong the Sura were, they couldn't go and save a human who had gone to Hell. (clarified by Ashenjay) Vasuki told Tak to forget about her. Anyway, Sura don't even have an afterlife, they will just be completely destroyed.

Tak said that if he didn't covet Ian, she wouldn't have gone to hell, would she. If as she had hoped, she had become a magician who hated the Destruction Dragon, she'd have proven her faith to the Gods and been spared from Hell. He just wanted to kill everything. If he couldn't go to Hell, then he wanted to go to the God's realm and devour all those annoying jerks. (clarified by Ashenjay) There was anger now in his previously bland voice. But even so, the Gods were immortal, and they resurrected incredibly fast in the God's realm. As a result, it was clear that Tak would die eventually. If that could work, Nastika would have already overthrown the God's realm. Vasuki thought that Tak's judgment was very fuzzy at that point, and thought about restraining him against attacking the God's realm. Before he could though, Tak said that Ian wouldn't want that.

Tak asked what he should do? The fact that he couldn't do anything for her was so frustrating. That's why he gave his earrings to Kasak, but... Vasuki asked if he talked to Visnu about it. At Vasuki's words, Tak stopped and blinked. Vasuki continued that Visnu could go to hell, and if Ian went to hell then Visnu's partially responsible. Visnu couldn't pretend to ignore. Tak agreed that he should talk to him. Vasuki added that it was a stupid law. Vasuki was glad that Tak was feeling better, and noted how somehow, people were spreading that Vasuki said that she was weaker than Tak. Now who could have spread that? As she teased Tak, Tak let out his breath, turning an opposite hill into a sponge. Vasuki fled chuckling.

There were many reasons to mourn death, but in Tak's case, it was because he couldn't see her anymore. There'd be no afterlife for Tak. The fact that he couldn't meet her again remained unchanged. If he was human, at least he'd have a little hope to meet her again. Vasuki looked blankly at the sky. "Looking at this rationally, Ian, your husband is a truly bad guy."

----
Shortly after, the rumors spread that Taksaka defeated many Asura clan Nastika on his own. Rumors went that Tak was angered by the gossip, so to avoid angering him, they should avoid talking about Ian. Now, if Visnu would appear and resolve Ian's problems, then everything would end peacefully. (clarified by Ashenjay) However, Visnu didn't appear in front of Tak for many decades. The fact that he didn't show up for so long wasn't strange, so Tak didn't question it. Nothing special happened, save for Tak visiting Kasak in the human realm from time to time.

Until N0.

------
... okay, that wasn't what I expected.
- Ravana's still alive (damnit) and is the Asura clan's baby-making machine. He turned into female form and started whining at Asura.
- The Asura clan offered to side with Tak to overthrow Vritra (yeah uh... wait, what?)
- Ian's in Hell.

... Just wtf did I read? D':

Ashenjay clarified a few parts, so now I can update my list of facts!

Edited by Mizura, 22 October 2012 - 09:54 AM.

[Mizura]

So anyway, I've compiled this list of revelations from the finite! Currygom says the novel isn't necessary to understand the webtoon, but I think it still revealed a Lot about the world. I'll update this if we learn anything new in the epilogues.

As a reminder, I've been toiling miserably to try to understand what I could with Google Translate, but save for parts explicitely corrected by Koreans, I can't guarantee the accuracy of anything, so corrections are More than welcome. It'd be too much to ask someone to look over all the summaries, but I'd greatly appreciate it if any mistakes in the compilation could be corrected at least.

I. The Universe and the Primeval Gods

I.1. The Universe and mechanisms

• There have been past Universes, and Nastikas such as Tak are aware of the fact: Tak noted that Visnu was either unable or unwilling to prevent their destruction.
• The future can be changed: Visnu apparently lost his body in the previous Universe because he kept manipulating time. Also, Visnu can see the consequences of all choices, implying that there Is such a thing as choice.
• Some destinies seem to be set from the very beginning: Visnu saw Utpala's death the moment she was born. It is unknown if he could have changed that fate, or if some fates are attached to specific Names, or if on the contrary, Visnu "predicted" that fate because it was the fate he chose for her.
• The Primeval Gods' ability to govern the names: we saw an example of this when the Vritra clan was changed in order to save it from extinction. However, this was in the early days of the Universe, so it is uncertain how much the Names can still be managed now. However, preventing Nastikas from taking Sura form in the human realm, and preventing Gods from using their own power to enter the human realm, could be additional instances of the Primeval Gods governing the Names.
• The Universe is much older than 1 billion years. Tak told Ian that he was much older than 1 billion years.
• Sura realm: The Sura realm is described as a barren environment that's huge beyond human imagination, with red and black sky and foul air. The gravity is so strong there that ordinary people would have trouble standing on two feet. Despite the size, the landscape is similar everywhere, save for differences in elevation, weather or temperature, so it's easy to get lost.
• Sura in the Sura realm: Sura who like to fight actually prefer the Sura realm to the Human realm, because Visnu's protection does not apply there, and the terrains wouldn't be as affected. (since it's all barren land anyway)

I.2. Visnu

• Visnu's insight: Visnu possesses the "extraordinary" ability to see the consequences of all choices (as revealed by Yama), so in theory he can get any result he wants through trial and error. In his conversation with Tak, he reveals that he doesn't see every event, but he can see big events (general flow?). He saw Utpala's life and death the moment he named her. Tak suspects that he can see the end of the Universe. (his blog entry also states that he remembers everything from previous Universes)
• Time manipulation: Visnu can manipulate time. In the previous Universe, he manipulated time too much and lost his body as a result, and couldn't get it back until the end of the Universe. (the fact he had to "rewind" may show the limits of his insight)
• Past universes: Past Universes existed, and Visnu either could not or did not want to prevent their destruction (he would not say which).
• Visnu's protection of planets: Visnu's power protected inhabited planets, but it only prevented the planets from being completely destroyed. It did not protect the humans living on them, for example.
• Age and gender: Visnu can and did change both in the finite.
• Reputation: Visnu has a flawless reputation among the Sura (who think "he's a good God") and the humans. However, the Gods (or at least Yama) don't seem to trust Visnu.
• Hidden motives: Visnu can deceive by omission (he didn't tell Tak that he chose for him to meet Ian, among others), or by outright lie (he lied to Kasak about when Ian would die). Yama also accused him of "deliberatly making the wrong choice." Although what he meant isn't clear, it could refer to the fact that Visnu went to find Yama to prolong Ian's life, even knowing full well that Yama would refuse. In other words, Visnu just went to put up a show to pretend he did his best. Basically, despite his reputation, Visnu can't be completely trusted.
• Overall, we've learned that Visnu prioritizes the safety of the Universe above all, even going as far as to manipulate his friends (Tak).

Actions in the finite:

• Utpala believes that Visnu made Vritra destroy Ian's village. For Tak's safety though, Utpala died while willingly taking the blame.
• Visnu intended for Tak and Ian to meet, as a way to control Tak's anger (something he didn't reveal to Tak): although the name Taksaka usually isn't that dangerous, Tak became too dangerous when he was left with nothing but anger. Since Ian alone wasn't enough to control that anger, it is strongly implied he intended for Kasak to be born too.
• After the events of the finite, he didn't show up for a few decades in front of Tak, until N0. This wasn't deemed very strange however.

Others:

• Visnu made Brahma change the Vritra race to prevent it from going extinct first (see Vritra race)
• Visnu made Brahma create the barrier orbs to protect humans after they swore loyalty to the Gods

I.3. The other Primeval Gods

• Kali has a reputation of being a liar. Her insights are also thought to be unreliable. Among the Primeval Gods, only she and Visnu would "babble" about their insights.
• Shiva may have been responsible for "fixing" mistakes in each Universe, but was not able to fix all of them (such as the way Tak ended up as).
• Brahma seems to often end up doing Visnu's bidding: she changed the Vritra race at his request, and made the barrier orbs at his request as well to protect humans. The resulting defense system is imperfect, but before N0 it was more or less flawless because Gods powered them instead. Before N0, most human cities had 2 or 3 gods protecting them.

Theory: It is my theory that Visnu kept pushing responsibilities onto Brahma because he knew that she'd produce a "fair" outcome, while avoiding tainting his own reputation. For example, the dragons wouldn't be able to blame him for taking away all their emotions, and the humans only feel grateful to him for convincing Brahma to make a defense system for them. If he had made such a half-assed defense system for the humans himself, their opinion of him may have been lessened.

II. The Sura

II.1. General

• No afterlife: Nastika have no afterlife. When they die, they are destroyed along with the power of their name. For this reason, most Nastika don't really seem to care about what happens after they die, though there are exceptions like Utpala.
• Are certain destinies attached to a name? This is unclear, though Visnu was able to see Utpala's outcome as soon as she was born. Statements such as "The name Taksaka wasn't usually this dangerous" seem to imply that there are usual states for name holders.
• Increasing forces with Rakshasa: Near the beginning of the Universe, all Sura clans had many Rakshasa children in order to increase their power, though Shess's blog entry reveals that not many of those first Rakshasa are still alive (Shess is one of them).

Physical abilities:

• Differences in power: Sura vary a lot in power. Among the stronger, Tak's dragon breath could have destroyed Willarv's moon when he was in human form if not for Visnu's protection, and it is said that dragon breath could destroy a planet. Tak himself implied that he could destroy countless amounts of stars unless he gets killed, and pose a danger to the Universe that Visnu was trying to protect. Utpala, in turn, turned Mistyshore into an island while in human form.
• The environment matters: Utpala is quite strong in a water environment. However, while Tak would not suffer from the burn of a sun, Utpala who is of water attribute would not be able to survive plunging into a sun.
• Differences in size: Sura vary a lot in size across races and within a race, though size isn't necessarily proportional to power (the blog also revealed that the smaller Hura for example is stronger than Cloche). When Ian was on top of Tak and Tak took Sura form, Ian found herself high up in the atmosphere at an altitude where normally it'd be hard to breathe, implying that he's several kilometers (over 10km?) tall. Utpala is comparatively much smaller. Currygom also noted that Gandharva is very big (also supported by an image in the webtoon).
• Dexterity: Tak could catch the drops of a spilled cup of tea in mid-air. Visnu also implied that for him to handle Ian without hurting her would be like a rat handling a bubble. Utpala could swipe Ian off Tak's head with her tail without killing her.
• Nastika can control the environment around their body while blocking out external influences, allowing them to safely transport humans on them through space, for example.

Gender:

• Nastika gender: as we already know, most Nastika take male form because it's the stronger form.
• Rakshasa gender: the gender of a Rakshasa is determined by how much time each parent spent as each gender. As a result, there are more male Rakshasas at birth. However, male Rakshasas tend to be killed off in large numbers, because they are assigned to battle more often, and also because they tend to get killed off by their father by accident. As a result, there are overall as many male and female Rakshasas...

Dysfunctional families:

• Nastika fathers and their sons: male Nastikas tend to be very possessive of their wives and don't often seem to like their sons that much. They can get angry at their sons for being too close to the mother or for making their mother upset and hit them as a result. Because Rakshasa are so much weaker than Nastika, this means that fathers often end up killing their sons by accident.
• Nastika fathers and their daughters: Nastika fathers may be much more affectionate towards daughters. Gandharva is widely known for how much he loves his daughter, and even Tak implied that he may have been a bigger fool of a father than Gandharva if Kasak were a girl. D: To not kill Kasak, Tak spent his time trying to find similarities between Kasak and Ian. (...)
• Nastika mothers: female Nastika aren't completely void of maternal instincts, but compared to human mothers, they might as well not have any.

Others:

• Writing: Do Sura have a written language? Vritra was shown reading from paper. I find this interesting, because wouldn't it mean that humans and non-Nastika Suras communicate if humans learn Sura writing? Then again, fiveseconds pointed out that it wasn't necessarily Sura language.

II.2. The Vritra clan

Change:

• Near extinction: Near the beginning of the Universe, the Vritra clan was faced with extinction: in exchange for their powerful Breath, they could not have Rakshasa children, but this put them at a disadvantage. Dragons in love with another dragon also seemed to die off mysteriously (no additional information given on this unfortunately). As a result, they dropped to rank 7 in number of Nastika (which would make them the clan with the fewest Nastika left if they didn't count the Taraka clan).
• The change: Visnu got Brahma to produce the following solution: the dragons lost nearly all their emotions (by enhancing their racial trait of "muted emotions") and they all became males. In exchange, dragon Halfs will become as strong as 5th stage Rakshasas once they reach 100 years old.
• Scattered: With the new rule concerning Dragon Halfs, the Vritra clan could have become the dominant clan. However, without their emotions, the dragons lost interest in becoming the dominant race and scattered. Most dragons now spend most of their time sleeping in their nests.

Vritra:

• The strongest: With the death of Ananta, Vritra supposedly emerged as the strongest being in the Universe.
• Weakening: By the time of the events of the finite, however, Vritra was apparently weakened, so Tak was stronger than him.
• Unique transcendental: Asura noted however that Vritra's unique transcendental needs special conditions to trigger like Taksaka's, so if Vritra truly wanted to kill Taksaka, then he'd be stronger than Taksaka.
• Vritra and Tak enmity: Vrita apparently feels only belligerence for Tak after losing his emotions. Vritra impersonated Tak to cause destruction (Utpala got blamed instead), and also destroyed Ian's village this way. Utpala suggest that the only possible reason was because Vritra knew that the girl who could make him fall in love was there, and he wanted to kill her before that happened, as a dragon in love would go into hiding and avoid fighting even after the mate had died. There are rumors that Vritra wants to kill Taksaka, but Taksaka said it was a misunderstanding, and Vritra just liked to fight him. If Taksaka died, Vritra wouldn't be able to fight him anymore.
• Vritra and Kinnara: the finite and Kubera Chapter 99 suggest that Vritra and Kinnara are together. How is Kinnara related to everything that Vritra has caused?
• Personality? Vrita seems a bit scatter-brained.

Taksaka the Destruction Dragon:

• Rank: Taksaka is the #2 in the Vritra clan. With Vritra weakened, he is currently the strongest Dragon, though he is not interested in the throne. Overall, there are only 5 or 6 beings in the Universe that Taksaka can't easily win against.
• Emotions: Taksaka is apparently the second poorest among dragons at controlling his emotions, at least according to Airavata and Shess.
• Unique transcendental: For Taksaka's unique transcendental to trigger, both he and the target must want to kill each other. The transcendental skill seems to trap the opponents in a space that Taksaka controls. For example, the opponent may suddenly get smashed by a dragon limb, or they may attack their own comrades by mistake. Those caught in the transcendental skill are invisible from the outside, and those outside will be stopped by an invisible barrier, though this barrier can be broken.
• Utpala: He used to be close to Utpala. See part on Utpala. But, he thinks that Utpala was the one who impersonated him and destroyed Ian's village.
• Visits to the human realm: After Ian's death, he visited Kasak from time to time in the human realm.
• Nastika friends: Taksaka's only Nastika friends seem to be Vasuki and Airavata (Ravana described the two as the only ones likely to seek revenge if Taksaka were killed).
• He also knows Hana's mother (the #3 of the Yaksha clan), who considers that both of them are outsiders to their clan.
• Tak likes to drink milk.
• Tak is good at gardening. The flowers he grew for Ian are from Carte, and normally can't grow in Willarv's environment.

Utpala:

• Fate: When she was first named by Visnu, Visnu foretold that she'd meet a terrible end while longing for that which she couldn't obtain. She's been scared of Visnu ever since.
• She used to be very close to Tak: she loved him and often sat on his knees, while he viewed her as a little sister.
• Loss of emotions: When the Vritra race was about to lose its emotions, she objected heavily to the measure, but in vain. She vowed to Tak that her feelings for him will never fade, and that she'll do whatever it takes for him to care about her again. In exchange, Tak vowed to never get angry no matter what she does.
• Separation from Tak: Unfortunately, Tak's promise didn't last long. Once Utpala turned into a male, he still tried to stick around Tak and sit on his knees, but Tak got laughed at by others and eventually he got fed-up and chased Utpala away. :'(
• Impersonation: For a while, Utpala impersonated Tak and went about causing destruction. Tak ignored him though.
• Half: Eventually, feeling lonely and in order to ease the feelings of jealousy, he briefly turned his attention to a human and had a dragon Half.
• Guardian: When Utpala learned that humans began to worship his Half, he felt pride. Amazed that he had other emotions left besides jealousy, he decided to stop impersonating Tak and watch over his descendents, even long after the Half had died.
• Prophecy: Eventually he learned Visnu's prophecy that Taksaka will fall in love with his descendent Ian and have a child with her. Far from feeling jealousy, Utpala wanted to guard over Ian.
• Vritra's attack: Unfortunately Vritra attacked the village, and Utpala was unable to stop him. Utpala suspected that Visnu told his prophecy to Vritra, and with Ian gone, he went to find Tak to warn him against Visnu, even knowing that Tak would not believe him. Since Tak was already gone from the human realm, Utpala suspected that Ian may be alive. He went to find Tak, wanting to die by his hands.
• Confrontation: Eventually he did confront Tak on Willarv. As he was about to be killed, by being thrown into the star Fedust by Tak, he realized that Ian was on Tak, and grabbed her before he fell into the sun. Using his unique transcendental ability, he communicated with her in a dreamscape. Eventually, unable to die taking all the blame, he revealed to Ian that he wasn't the one who destroyed her village, but did not reveal the true culprit, since as he told Ian, doing so would lead to a disaster causing many innocent lives to be lost.
• Unique Transcendental: Utpala's unique transcendental seems to bring the target into a dream-like landscape with a lake filled with blue lotuses.
• Death: Utpala thus died while shouldering all the blame, with no-one except Ian knowing that he didn't do it. He also did not reveal to Ian that he was his ancestor. Ian would in turn keep this secret until she died. Wah. ;_;

Dragon Halfs:

• Gender: In the case of dragons, the gender of the Half is determined by the father's side: since Tak never took female form, he can only have sons. According to a book Nard read, the last female Vritra half was over 700 years ago.
• Rare: dragon halfs are rare for two reasons: first because Dragons have few emotions, and second because bearing a dragon child is near fatal to a human woman. Ian lost 80 years of her life bearing Kasak. For this reason, many dragons kill the child before it's born to save their mate.
• Other known Dragon Halfs: by the events of the finite, the only other known Dragon Half is a 150 years-old half on planet Taitalika. He was apparently quite famous. As a side note in the blog entry of Praul Ajes (who's also from Taitalika), it is revealed that the dragon half on Taitalika has since died.
• Dragon Halfs aren't known to be particularly evil.

II.3. Other sura clans

• Ananta clan: Ananta already died by the events of the finite, and Vasuki already took female form.
• Vasuki's sura form: Vasuki's sura form looks like a dragon with 9 armored heads with colorful horns. Only the part from the neck to the mane looks like a snake.
• Asura clan: near the beginning of the Universe, the Asura already had 100 times more Rakshasa than Nastika. The blog also reveals that although Asura have a high reproduction rate, many of the resulting Rakshasa are incapable of reproduction themselves (Hura is asexual, as an example). The Asura clan is open to Nastika from other clans, so Nastika from other races can be found there. The Garuda and Asura clans are natural enemies (birds and insects), and the Asura Nastika are as strong as the Garuda Nastika.
• Asura: Asura wears black armor. As thanks to Taksaka for sparing Ravana, he promised the Asura clan would side with Taksaka if he wanted to overthrow Vritra. Taksaka declined however.
• Ravana, No. 2 of the Asura clan: Ravana has long tied-up silver hair, and his Sura form looks like a swarm of bees. He has a foul mouth and always likes to taunt others. At the same time, he likes to surround himself with other Nastika to flatter him. In female form, she is the most beautiful Nastika of the Asura clan and is known as She is known as "Queen Bee." In the early days of the Universe, "for the revival of the species", she gave birth to countless children including the children of Asura. Although Ravana usually stays in male form, he'd take female form whenever he wants to get Asura to listen to him. With a group of Nastika, he tried to kill Taksaka to prove his superiority, but nearly got killed instead if it weren't for the interruption of Vasuki then Asura.
• Yaksha clan: Hana's mother (historically #3 of the Yaksha clan, #2 by the time of the finite and probably third Yaksha King by the events of the webtoon) had Hana with Nard Lehn, a quarter. At least some other Sura (like Shess) disapprove of the fact that she's hanging around with humans rather than helping Shuri take care of her clan. For some unknown reason, she later broke up with Nard.
• Kinnara clan: Shess is the son of Airavata, who may be the one running the Kinnara clan. (It is hinted from both the finite and the webtoon that Kinnara herself was hanging around Vritra, though whether that's still true is unclear)
• Garuda clan: Several of the highest ranking Garuda have died by the events of the finite, leaving Vinata, who is much weaker than Garuda, as No. 2 of the Garuda clan. Ravana's gang described it as "If Garuda falls, then it's all over (for the Garuda)."
• Beauty contest: Apparently Shuri, Airavata and Urvasi once had an argument about who is more beautiful. They decided to ask Vritra, the most emotionless of the Nastikas, but he just chased them away (he failed to kill them though because he was suffering from insomnia). The three never asked him again, but asked Taksaka, who retorted that none of them were beautiful in the first place.
• Nastika wiew on mixing with humans: In Ran's flashback in the webtoon, Ran noted that apart from Dragons, Nastika usually weren't interested in humans. Now we can confirm that Nastika in general find mixing with "such an inferior race" to be a total disgrace and loss of pride
• Rebellions: To date, there have been no instances of Sura rebellion with the aim of killing one's King.
• Booze: Nastika drink. Confirmed! (At least, I'm assuming that the scattered bottles left behind by Ravana contained something other than plain water) Also, while Taksaka always found it a hassle to eat (since Nastika don't need to eat and didn't regain vigor from eating), it seems that partying Nastika do enjoy eating meat.

Note: though there is no concrete evidence, from the tone of the story, it doesn't seem that the death of Ananta was that recent, so perhaps a certain amount of time had passed between Ananta's death and time the Garuda siblings were separated to hide the Power of the Name.

III. The Gods

Gods:

• Indra is the King of the Astikas. Apparently this means the Primeval Gods gave him a lot of work. :\
• Yama is the God of Death, and he can prolong the life of humans. However, he refused to prolong Ian's life when Visnu asked him to. Currygom also said that Yama fell in love just once, with a human woman, but the woman was already happily married. When her husband died, he prolonged her husband's life by reducing her own life. After the events, Yama thought of it as the mistake of a lifetime, and has never bothered with relationships since. He has cold green eyes.
• Agni is a total slacker. He kept sleeping even after Visnu showed up.
• Varuna made a brief appearance, but unfortunately she just looks at Tak and Ian and leaves. She has long blue hair tied up in a ponytail.
• Unlike the humans and the Nastikas, the Gods don't seem to like Visnu much.

Domains:

• Apparently, the higher the domain, the faster time passes.
• Yama's domain is even higher than Indra's, so time passes really fast. This is convenient for Yama, because if others want to bother him about prolonging a person's life, then by the time they're done arguing, that person would have died already, so Yama doesn't need to bother.
• The Gods' realm can be accessed by Nastika (whether other Sura can has not been clarified), but Gods regenerate very fast within the God's realm, so the Nastika are unable to overthrow the Gods' realm.
• Gods control the fate of dead humans. Heretics are sent to Hell. It is impossible for a Sura to save a human who has gone to Hell.

IV. Humans

• By D873, humans had already cut ties with Sura. Humans who still worshipped Halfs were considered heretics.
• Adults: Purebloods are considered adults by age 16, and quarters by age 20. By that age, humans also consider that it is no longer possible to change a heretic's beliefs.
• Pregnancy with a Half: pregnancy for a Half lasts 40 months (four times the length of a normal pregnancy). For a human, the penalty for bearing a Half dragon is to lose 1 year of life for each half-month of pregnancy, or 80 years total. We don't know if the penalty is that long for Nastikas of other races, or if the father is a Rakshasa or Upani, etc. We also don't know if Halfs have similar penalties.
• Pregnancy with a Pureblood: From the above, we can also deduce that pregnancy with a pureblood is 10 months.
• Yaksha Halfs: Apparently Yaksha Halfs are the most common type of Halfs.

Other random factoids:

• Willarv is the fourth planet out of nine of the star Fedust, the only inhabitable planet in the system.
• In the webtoon, we learned that humans eat Garuda eyes. The finite revealed two other supposed delicacies: Yaksha liver (boosts stamina) and dried Gandharva fins. Ew.
• Brilith is not the first person to become a priest at a very young age: the Water priest of Mistyshore was also a young child, though back then summoning Gods didn't drain one's life

V. Timeline

Past events, Sura world:

• Near the beginning of the Universe, the Vritra race was threatened with extinction because unlike other races, they couldn't increase their forces with Rakshasa children. To prevent the extinction of the Vritra race, Visnu made Brahma change the Vritra race: they lost all their emotions and all became male. In exchange, Dragon Halfs would gain the power of a 5th stage Rakshasa when they reach 100 years.
• Ananta died before D873. Vasuki took female form to avoid succession. Vritra emerges as the strongest being in the Universe.
• Vritra was somehow weakened, so Tak is now the strongest Dragon.
• Shakuntala was kidnapped by the Gods before D873 (Tak knew about it).
• Maruna, Yuta and Kalavinka were separated around D873. Visnu took Kalavinka to Willarv.

Events leading to the finite:

• Around D843?: Nard Lehn is born on planet Taitalika (he is about 30 during the events of the story)
• May D845: Ian Rajof is born (Wind-Nil-Nil attributes, dragon quarter), to a village of "heretics" that worships dragons. Unknown to all but Utpala, Ian is Utpala's descendent.
• D865: Vritra, impersonating Taksaka, demanded a sacrifice from Ian's village. Ian's parents hid her, so Vritra destroyed the village. Ian survives and with difficulty, becomes a citizen of Mistyshore, and swears revenge on Taksaka. She has been trying to become a magician ever since, with no success because of her double-nil attributes.
• Nard eventually moves to Willarv with the help of Hana's mother. (we don't know he full name yet, just that the name Hana was made by combining the first part of each parent's name, so the name of Hana's mother must start with Ha)

Events of the finite:

• A bit before June D873: Visnu arrives on Willarv with Kalavinka. He gives the earrings to Tak.
• June D873: Ian Rajof and Tak meet when Ian tries to save Tak, thinking he was drowning.
• Utpala goes to Taksaka's nest to find Tak, but only Vasuki is there. After Vasuki tells him that Taksaka is on Willarv, Utpala heads for Willarv.
• Visnu lures Ian out of Mistyshore, so Ian meets Tak again. After Tak hurts her by accident, he puts on the earrings to not scare her.
• Visnu goes to Hell to negotiate with Yama to prolong Ian's life. Yama refuses and claims that Visnu is deliberately making the wrong choice.
• In order to get into the city, Tak pretends to be a Half named Shess to look for a sponsor. Nard Lehn, a blind quarter, accepts to sponsor him, but not before testing him by feeding him a cucumber. (lol) Unfortunately Ian didn't seem very happy to see him. When she finally decides to give him a chance, he hesitates to answer since he's still pretending to be someone else.
• Utpala attacks Mistyshore to lure Tak out. His attack turns Mistyshore into an island. Tak reveals to Ian that he's not a half, picks up Ian, and runs out the city. When he's far enough, he takes Sura form, and presents the now Sura-form Utpala as the true culprit of the destruction of Ian's village.
• In the meantime, Shess and Hana's mother are observing the fight. Hana's mother reveals that she's dating Nard Lehn.
• Tak grabs Utpala and takes him into outer space, where he's planning to toss Utpala straight into Fedust. Just before he does so, Utpala notices that Ian is on top of Tak, and grabs her. He brings her to a dreamscape using his unique transcendental, and eventually reveals to her that he is not the culprit who destroyed her village. However, he warns her not to tell Tak, since if that happened, Tak would be able to guess who the real culprit is, but the resulting fight will be a huge disaster causing huge destruction and loss of countless numbers of lives. He dies while wishing Ian happiness with Tak.
• Ian wakes up again on Willarv, having been saved by Tak. She accepts to be with Tak on the condition that he keeps the earrings on. Meanwhile, Tak curses Visnu for making him meet Ian when she was still so young.
• Between D873 and D880: Nard and Hana's mother have a baby, Hana. Hana's mother has also since revealed to Nard Tak's true identity.
• D880: Ian and Tak are living together outside of the city. Because of the earrings, Tak was unable to sleep properly all this time. Hana's mother meets up with Tak, while Nard visits Ian with Hana. Tak nearly attacks Nard out of anger, only to be told off by Ian because he took off his earrings. When Ian goes to find Tak again, but when against his warning she approaches him when he was without his earrings, he ends up [censored].
• Ian is healed by Visnu, who reveals that he can't undo the event because Ian is pregnant. He reveals that she'll lose 80 years of her life because she's pregnant with a dragon Half, and that Yama refuses to extend Ian's life. Tak wants to get rid of the baby, but Visnu says that Ian would lose her mind if he did that.
• Ian was shocked by Tak's earring-less actions, thinking that her time with him was a lie. However, Tak apologizes, and tells her he loves her, even without the earrings. The two reconcile. Tak tries to convince her to get rid of the baby, but Ian refuses, saying that she wanted to leave behind proof of their love, and that they'd just have to cherish the time remaining together more.
• D884: Kasak the mini-terminator is born.
• D885 July: Tak finally names the baby Kasak.
• D894 January: Baby Kasak hurts Ian by accident, causing an angry Tak to beat him up. Ian is furious, though Hana's mother explained that Nastika fathers are like that. Ian goes to find Tak, and makes him promise 2 things: first, to take care of himself and avoid fighting, and second, to not hurt Kasak. Tak promises.
• Between D894 and D914: Nard and Hana's mother break up. Nard ends up wandering around aimlessly. :'(
• D914 October: With Visnu's reassurance, Ian and Tak take Kasak to the Mistyshore checkpoint to get him a Half registration. Tak takes on the apperance of a little boy to prove that he's a Nastika. Unknown to Ian, Varuna and Visnu show up, both in disguise, along with the Mistyshore Priest of Water. Varuna allows them to enter the city. As they visit the city, Tak has a talk with Kasak which basically consisted of "damnit why couldn't you have been a girl?"
• D951 autumn: Kasak wants to participate in the Fighting Tournament. Ian convinces Tak to lend him the earrings, so he won't kill other participants and get disqualified. Kasak meets Meiwen Hael, a 23 years-old pureblood, and falls in love. Ian convinces Tak to permanently lend Kasak the earrings, saying that she'll be fine even without them.
• D954 July: Agwen Rajof is born.
• D954: Ian dies after her 110th birthday (I just remembered that the Korean system counts an extra year, so it should be D954 and not D955)
• D961: Kasak goes home after 10 years of avoiding Tak (because he's afraid he'd have to return the earrings). Visnu had lied to him, claiming that Ian would live until D963, when in fact she had already died. Kasak cries upon finding that Ian had already died. Tak notices that Agwen's eyes are the same color as Utpala's.
• ??? : In the Sura realm, Ravana takes a group of Nastika to confront Tak, taunting him with the rumors regarding his relationship with a human. Ravana wanted to prove himself as superior to Tak among the No. 2 of various clans. Although at first, Tak decided to ignore him because of his promise to Ian, Ravana then got thoroughly pwned when he made the bad move of insulting Ian.

Edited by Mizura, 14 March 2013 - 06:29 AM.

[themantarays]

Daaaaaamn, you did a lot of work there.

Suddenly, Visnu looks a little shady. I wish Yama ruled the universe - he wouldn't fart around with ulterior motives.

If the universe is destroyed, do the gods and nastika die, or reset or something?

By the way, do the names of the nastika mean anything in korean?

[Mizura]

The names of the Nastika are also based off Hindu mythology names and terms, so they don't mean anything in Korean. As for Yama in charge, well Yama is strict, that's for sure. xD You can beg and threaten him and he'll still just ignore your request.

As for the Universe:
- The Primeval Gods are independent of the Universe: they won't die even if the Universe is destroyed
- The other Gods will die when the Universe ends. The existence of the Gods are tied to jurisdictions. For example, Agni's jurisdiction is Fire. As long as fire exists somewhere in the Universe (a Sun, for example), he can resurrect. But if all the fires disappear (as would be the case if the Universe ends), then he'd die too.
- The Nastika will likely die then too, and they can also die off by other means

The thing is though, we don't really know what it means for the Universe to end. It's probably more than just the destruction of some planets and stars. We're also not sure what happens to the Names. Sure, when a Nastika dies, its existence and Name is annihilated in this universe, but it can probably still be resurrected in the next Universe, right?

Speaking of Visnu and shady, I once asked Ashenjay to translate a sentence in Visnu's profile. Apparently Visnu sometimes says "I don't know myself." So, it is my theory that Visnu went senile long ago. Who knows how many universes he's lived through? And he's always seing all the different possible outcomes each time. D: