I approached the front door to try and see if I was allowed to leave, I opened the door and walked out upon not receiving complaints.
It was slightly snowing out. The cold air scathed my pale skin and fluttered my dirty white hair. I saw evergreen trees to my left and right.
Evergreen. Even though they don't get sad, I get sad for them, simply because they can't. Life's depressing, but I think living life without being depressed is far sadder, because that means you never lived.
I walked behind an evergreen tree to my left and saw a rotting inside. I smiled pessimisticly.
"Look at the that rot. I've always wondered how you can stand so tall and flaunt your verdant vanity so gloriously even when you're rotting on the inside. People often call such a behavior a mask, but I think it deserves more credit than that. I think it's closer to ego, a sense of self, a sense a dignity. The unwavering spirit."
I wish I had such a spirit.
"Tree, humans often personify you, some people think it's because we subconsiously pity you. But I think the opposite, I say it's because we envy you. Tree, you are simple, and because you're simple you don't care about useless things. No, I shouldn't say that. The things we humans think about aren't useless, the're just of no use to a tree, so you have no need for them. People think about these complex, anixety-stricken and seemingly useless things to better their place in society because, for a human, a better place in society means a better life, even if it ends up destroying the life it was supposed to better. We all strive to survive. In that way I guess we're not so different after all. Just how you strive to be apart from the darkness and desolation, we strive to be apart from ignorance, to be in the know. Yet an intelligent creature such as a human claiming to even want to be apart from ignorance might be the most ignorant thing imaginable. That's why some philsophers don't like exploring ideas like these, the notion that the very act of exploring an idea causes the concept to be unable to be explored, irks a lot of people to their core, but I like it. It makes me feel like I'm missing something big whenever I talk about things like these, an undiscovered truth of the universe. To understand a truth that big, it must feel amazing. Maybe if I can understand such a truth, my spirit would be like yours, tree."
I let my hand go from its bark and sighed. I looked over at the door to the shack and then looked up at the sky and sighed once more. I thought about how Runia believed I was going to be their savior and clenched my thigh.
I picked up a stone and carved a phrase into the rotted tree, "Look up, take in what you see and do what you desire, never looking down. —Vanitas, The Vainglorious
I couldn't bring myself to write Valentine.
Walking through the air was chilly, despite it being in the middle of summer. I guess it never really gets warm here, but I don't mind it, i'm aganist the sun anyways. Red eyes are white hair are a result of near no melanin in the body. Melanin blocks the UV rays of the sun, meaning I can not only get the easiest sunburns of anyone in existence, but can also contract skin cancer by just walking outside.
Scary stuff.
After a few hours that seemed like days of walking, I came across a group of trade caravans. I was going to ask them for a ride to wherever they were trading, but then I realized that I had nothing to trade for such a ride.
I'll just bank on the fact that they are generous merchants have room and that it costs them no money to give me a ride, so why wouldn't they, and If that dosen't work, I can always sell my body. One may be out of luck but one is never out of options.
Turns out, I don't have to submit to male prostitution, yay! They were nice enough to give me a ride. Their merchant leader's name is Jasper and they're general merchants who sell whatever they sell as long as they get value.
Hopefully that dosen't mean me as well.
Eh, I'm sure It'll be fine.
They're heading to a place called Hearth City, I presume it's the capital since the term 'imperial palace' was included with it. Although I didn't ask for confirmation on this, since I didn't want to look like a uneducated child vagrant or worse, a foreigner.
I played cards with Jasper and some of his fellow merchants, after losing a game I tried to cheat only to not get caught and lose anyway. I eventually went to bed feeling bitter at my loss, thinking that they had to have cheated as well. I slept with one eye opened, or at least tried to. You see, I've never tried sleeping with one eye opened before, so I ran into a few problems, problem 1: I can't wink and problem 2: I was tired.
When I woke up I was elated upon not finding myself not kidnapped, although I was concerned that the carriage was on fire. But that concern was secondary. I walked out of the flaming toppled carriage to find us being raided by bandits.
I should probably do something. I'm a 'fallen' after all.
I approached a bandito wearing a winter fur coat who was hacking a gentle little merchant girl to pieces with a bloodied silver axe, "Hi." I said, my voice immediately faltering
This was probably a terrible idea, but it'll be fine since I'm god.
He turned to his look at me with an indescrible mania hidden within the depths of his blue eyes, his bloodied yellow hair swayed in the frigid wind as he pointed his axe to me.
I may be god but your god did happen to be pretty scared in this moment, yet god dosen't fear any man, or at least, he pretends not to.
He spoke in a raspy tone, "Who are you, you don't look like a merchant. Hmm, The eyepiece looks expensive, hand it over and you can forget what happened here."
I was put into shock, this mass murderer threatened to pilfer my monocle, this was a crime I could not let take place. I need that for my authority and more importantly, it looks cool!
"Vanitas, the Vainglorious." I responded
His eyes opened wide as he dropped his axe to the ground.
Yes! Fear me! Fear me! Feeeeaaarrr Meeee! The Fallen's natural aura!
My heart dropped as his eyes became more resolute.
Shit. It didn't work. He knows the anti-vanitas techique: common sense!
"I was intially shocked when you paraded as a fallen, that's blaspsemy of the highest order, but then I realized a fallen would never be here." The raspy voice resounded.
"I am fallen though." I responded calmly
"Say whatever you want, if you are fallen i'm already dead and if you're not you're dead." He lifted the silver axe high up in the air and reflected the moonlight off of it, "BY THE HOUR OF RECKONING WE SHALL KNOW WHICH ONE IT IS!"
His axe started vibrating under the respladent moonlight and shined with an expanding silver flame that seemed to resonate with the surronding snowfall. As he took at step forward my brain went into panic mode.
I swiftly grasped my monocle and quickly spoke, "The Vainglorious!"
Authority, do something!
His axe exploded with multiple stars of silver flashing me in a mercuric gradient