BEYOND 3A: BloodRed and ScaleBlack

The Fifty-Fourth Feather: The Resurrectionist

Back to Murmur, She successfully acquired Corna's head, but instead of destroying it or something like that, she held onto it tightly and sat down on top of Jake, saying: "I've been in her shadow for the better part of a whole year and I've seen every move she made and every thought she had and yet... I can't for the life of me understand what draws you to her. All she's ever done is cry and be pathetic and yet you stick to her like family. You see something in her that I don't, perhaps? Or are you just doing this to fulfil your ego? Helping and protecting some child weaker than you and earning their undying love must be quite a big stroke for your pride, I'd imagine. I suppose that doesn't matter now, when you look back at all of this in the future, although with regret, you'll come to understand the inevitability of her demise. Why so? To answer that, let me tell you a secret. Do you know why I couldn't take over her body? Why did this identity you call 'Corna' come to exist? It's simple. She was an error. She was never meant to overlap with my existence. Sometimes, Although rarely, A deceased child with incredible intelligence might prove stronger than I and other Beyonders like me, pushing us in the rear and we end up losing our control for a while, leading to the reincarnation process to occur as normal. An example you know of, Iblis. That moron ended up possessing a hyper intelligent child, so his control over her body became extremely limited, if not non-existent. I understand how you feel and I'm sorry that you had to be attached to an error that was bound to be erased, but c'est la vie. Fate has one talent it is good at, and it's to tear down a person's entire life in seconds."

Jake: "...(You understand how I feel...? That is such a poor attempt at humour, it doesn't even loop back around to being funny.)"

Murmur: "Hah?"

Jake: "Grrr...(If you really knew, you would have let me bring her back. You already regained your freedom, you shouldn't have any interest in anything we do. But I get it. I get the big picture. You're jealous of her, are you not? You wish there was someone who would care about you as you would about them. At the end of the day, garbage is always garbage, no matter what you get rid of to make it prettier.)"

Murmur: "You... You dare to call me garbage, you filthy fucking mutt?! The only reason you aren't a slobbering puddle of goo on the ground right now is due to my generosity!"

Jake: "...(Sure, if that's what you want to call 'bluffing'.)"

Murmur: "...What?"

Jake: "...(It is a funny thing, how powerful a simple bluff can be. If you could drive me to insanity with your mental knife, then why did you feel so inclined to show it off? Why didn't you simply stab me with it if you had total unlimited control of where it goes? I'm sure you know this from Corna's memory, but I'll have you know, scare tactics are quite common with wild animals. It is why cats hiss, it is why wolves bare their teeth, it is why poisonous frogs are colourful, and it is why humans carry knives. No one wants to fight a potentially losing battle, so when they fall back on a move like that, they have already lost and they want to avoid the repercussions... However! I AM AN ANIMAL KINGDOM! I AM WELL-VERSED IN CHEAP TRICKS!)"

Suddenly, two arms shot out of Jake's back, captured Murmur, and reacquired Corna's head. He got up in a large, adult body with Murmur strapped tightly to his back. She grunted: "H-hey! What the hell?!"

Jake: "...(You were right about one thing, life really is unfair, but I am sick of playing these stupid games. I want Corna to live the normal life she deserves, and I want to share it with her. I'll make sure that she accomplishes her mission at any cost. Today, that cost is you. I will make you give Corna her body back, whether you want to or not.)"

"You dinky fuck!" she shouted as she shot several sparks of electricity into Jake's brain through his spine. In response, Jake morphed his face into that of a bat, rendering him blind but able to see his surroundings via echolocation. He told her: "...(I believe we've fought enough today. Let's end this mess.)"