godbent | 48th: The Officiousness of Haruhi Suzumiya

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48th: The Officiousness of Haruhi Suzumiya

[Action ]

[ Kyon went home. Kyon went home and the world didn't even notice. Which in some ways is not surprising - he went home just as they were going to Malnosso World. Oh sure the Brigade in Luceti probably noticed as the (increasingly infrequent or at least shorter due to the small size) meetings had him absent where he never really was before but for the most part? Who cared?

Well, Haruhi did.

And because of Haruhi caring around that, she threw herself hard into studying again. In Malnosso World she could work on making progress with her Extended Brigade but in the first week back she signed up for all sorts of missions to not get accepted to any. And so... she studied. Magic, technology, history, cryptoids, anything she could do apart from people because she didn't want to deal with people. Which is why apart from jogging in the morning, going to the Brigade HQ for meetings, and going home at night (maybe a snack between) much of Haruhi's time was in the library and she looks increasingly frumpy. As in she hasn't slept great and her hair has been better. You can encounter her doing this, or you might encounter her practicing some sigils, or meditating for spirits as the weeks drag on... but eventually:]

[ Voice ]

A lot of people have shown themselves to be sort of stupid here before now, but does anyone have some interesting facts or stories to tell me? I want to know more about whatever you want to tell me about. And if you don't, someone come to the HQ and help me test out some things. I've been working on some spells or ways to work with the Filial Spirits. So come on, Luceti.

[ She may or may not be a little distant sounding, but she is interested ]

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But what's the specific way?

The specific way to activate it? Dying, simply that. The specific way to actually have it useful? If you have to do something in the Underworld, like fighting Hades' army or finding something or someone's soul... Have you ever heard of Orpheo's myth?

Isn't that the one where he was going to bust out his girlfriend and then freaked out when it turned out she was a zombie?

... What kind of myth have you heard?

No, the myth I'm talking about is one where Orpheus, a notable musician and poet, loses his wife. The day of their wedding a satyr set sight on her and chased her, in her attempt to run away from him she fell into a viper's nest and got a fatal bite. Orpheus, went to the realm of dead in order to retrieve her, managing to soften Hades' heart with his music and words, the god told him that he could take his wife's soul with him and thus she would return to life, however he couldn't look at her until they reached the outside. Orpheus took his wife's soul with him, but he was so anxious that when he saw the exit he turned to look at her and her soul vanished forever.

The truth of the myth, though, is that Orpheus was a Saint and his travel to the realm of the death, as well as his wife's soul being able to follow him and remain herself, was thanks to both of them awakening their eight sense.

Isn't that basically what I just said anyway?

[ DETAILS ]

But that is interesting. You said no one else was able to return though, so how did they return?

They didn't. Hades liked Orpheus music too much and decided to keep it for himself, so he ordered one of his subjects to make Orpheus think that they had reached the outside. Since she had awakened the eight sense her soul didn't vanish but was still locked in the Underworld because of Hades' power, so Orpheus stayed there with her. For centuries, until we went to the Underworld and he joined us in the fight, but he was killed, and when Hades was killed, and the Underworld was destroyed, Orpheus' wife's soul probably suffered the same fate.

[So he didn't lie, no one until his generation was able to return from their travel to the Underworld.]

.... You destroyed the Underworld? Where do souls go now?

That's a good question and one I've asked myself, but so far, no idea. Maybe another god is taking care of it, like Buddha, maybe now souls just reincarnate eternally. Whatever it is I'm sure it's better than expending eternity being tortured for stepping on an ant once.

Yeah, I'll say, that doesn't sound good at all. And Strange, actually.

Hades had a real "center of the universe" complex. He was supposed to judge souls justly, punish them for their sins and send those with a pure heart and life to Elysium. But for him all the humans were sinners, no matter how small or ridiculous. Ever picked up a flower? Flowers are alive as well so that counts as murder, same for stepping on an ant. And even if you manage to avoid all that? Then you probably didn't pray enough or to the "proper" deities or whatever. Only Hades, the twin gods that served him and their nymphs were allowed into Elysium.

[He snorts lightly.]

The others who went to there were pretty shocked to learn that every human was condemned, no matter what a good person they had been.

[He wasn't because he knew it from before and even the first time he discovered it... He was already too hurt inside to be surprised.]

An that wet on for eternities? No one else noticed that? Or is that only people who believe in that pantheon, I guess, and those societies are dead...

Humans... Didn't get a say in the matter. And I think the gods either didn't care or had truces between them by not getting involved into others' matters. I don't tell you how to rule your realm, and you don't come and kill the people in mine, kind of thing. I think Athena often trying to reason with him, but that didn't go well and at the end it seems the only option left was to kill him.

[Which basically equals to destroying the order of the universe.]

That makes sense though, if he was being a dick like that. Reincarnation's probably better anyway.

Probably, Earth can be a pain, but there are some good parts to it.

...Well it's better than not being anywhere.

Or that being eternally tortured for stupid things. And reincarnation supposedly works balancing what have you done in your past life, after all, if you were a good person you reincarnate into something good, if you were a bad person you become a worm. Or so says one of the theories, another theory says that souls just reincarnate into "new versions" of ourselves, sometimes better ones, other times worse ones.

I know about those theories, and then of course there's the idea that you'll be your own grandchidren or great-grandchildren.

That doesn't make sense, what happens if you don't have children then?

Second cousins.

And if you have none of those?

Then some other relative stop sweeting the details!

[He makes an amused sound.]

All right. I've already told you about the extra senses and a bit about the Underworld, want to know anything else?

Yes, of course!

Are you bottomless?

[Or it all just flies over her head but it doesn't seem the case.]

Do you have any questions about what I've told you so far?

Well... A have a few, but I'd rather hear about something entirely different unless you want to talk about what Hades looks like.

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