prismatica | Text: UN: lan.furen

Even if it is imperfect, it's better than nothing.

[But also...]

Why were you villified?

[And then, realizing that this wasn't something he should be asking in public like this...also, like. No one should be sharing potentially dangerous arrays, however imperfect the drawing, over the network, probably!]

You can tell me in person. Just pluck the centre from the messenger haitang when it arrives.

[And then...no messages follow after not to clarify or to give an address or directions. Except after a few minutes, there's a golden haitang blossom made of spirtual energy floating over to him and it hovers in front of him. If he does pluck out the centre, there's a man's voice giving him instructions to an apartment, one of the ones new people are given because Chu Wanning has never bothered to move out.]

[It was quite unique, and he had to use all of his will power to not try and inspect how it all worked. He really wanted to study the method and see if he could recreate it. He could hold his curiosity though and ask how it was done later.

He carefully followed the instruction and had no opinions of the provided housing. He had never even moved into one and didn't particularly care that much about where he lived as long as those he cared about were around him.]

Hello?

[He knocked on the door.]

If you really want to know my story, I assure you, it's boring and unfun.

I would not have wasted my time asking if I didn't want to know. [Impatient and just a little annoyed sounding there. Then,] Come in.

[Since he's not in the habit of locking it, the door is pretty much always unlocked when he's home.

His voice is...not very expressive at the moment, calm and aloof and the man it belongs to matches it with cold phoenix eyes and thin lips that make him look severe (or gives him a terrible and perpetual case of resting bitch face depending on who is asking) and elegant white cultivations robes that contrast with his inky black hair tied up in a high pony tail. In looks, he is every inch the cultivation grandmaster he's famed for being back home.

...the rest of the apartment, however, doesn't fit this image at all.

For one, there were various machine parts on the floor, not enough to make walking difficult but only because his disciple had been by to clean. There's also a broken bowl on the ground, as if the person had dropped it then decided it was too much work to clean up afterwards. There was also what looked like a human shaped mecha standing near the kitchen doorway, still and imposing, without the tell-tale character of this place (covered in crystals and colourful). A magic tool and one probably meant for combat.

Scattered here and there are drawing of some sort of black armour, some of them seemed to have wings on them as well as notes. The papers, at least, he had the decency to put on the table...the couch, on top of the counter...places where they probably should not be but are safe from being stepped on.

There are also, if one looks in the direction of the kitchen, what appears to be dishes in the sink.

The only clean part of the apartment is a selection of blank paper on the table Chu Wanning is sitting at.]

Watch your step.

[He comes in not really bothered that much be the annoying voice. He was used to annoyed people. In fact, somehow seeing such a man with such an expression dressed in white is so familiar and so expected to be accompanied by annoyance that somehow it just makes perfect sense. A cultivator who wears all white will always be sour. That somehow was a truth of the world.

Well, maybe not one hundred percent truth, but truth enough.

As for the rest of the apartment, it all felt familiar as well, perhaps not the machines, but the mess? Definitely. It was the sort of mess he made when lost in thought, or by just being careless with himself. The way drawings and notes were all around, this was very similar to how he operated, and would still operate if he weren't cleaned up after.

What an interesting person! He wanted to know more about these creations.

Carefully walking through so as not to step on anything, he pauses a moment to read some of them and look at them closely. He had completely forgotten why he was here already.]

What are these? They look interesting. How do they work? What do they do?

[It's been a few months since he ended up here and yet he's still not used to people not being intimidated by him at first glance.

He didn't move from where he's sitting because that would be too much like retreating and he's too thin faced to do such a thing. But there's some tension in his shoulder, some sense of discomfort. Not unlike a cat that has just been met with an over enthusiastic puppy and is uncertain what to make of its energy and enthusiasm.

And yet, despite the complete lack of friendliness, he doesn't hesitate to answer. He's never been one for keeping these things secret and...as much as he doesn't know how to deal with people not being intimidated in his presence he's at least comfortable with this topic.]

They're armours from another world. Gu Zi Xi asked me to help maintain them. [Some of them had wings...but there was another that looked much bulkier and larger, as well as another that looked more like regular armour. All of them were black and mostly in a similar style. Though there were occasional papers with notes about magic tools or weapons the majority had to do with these armours. Clearly, they were what occupied most of his time and attention.]

They ran on something called ziliujin that can burn much hotter than coal and it can generate steam to power these armours. They've been modified to run on Chroma but the conversion rate was...terribly inefficient. [He scowled.] It's a work in progress to improve upon it. I thought I could use something similar to what I use for the Holy Night Guardians but every time I bring up learning to cultivate Zi Xi just gives me some kind of ridiculous reason and dodges the question!

[.......between talking about his projects and now complaining about Gu Yun he's also sort of forgotten what this meeting was for for a moment.]

Ziliujin? Well, these are quite amazing and I would love to meet this Gu Zi XI if he knows more about them.

[He definitely has to meet them. Such amazing tools! He felt inspired. Could he figure out something like this? Suddenly his few accomplishments felt like nothing. He needed to be more imaginative! Especially in a world without spirits, what did collecting spirits and finding spirits matter?]

Chroma is very hard to use in such a way I find. But is demichroma also not a good fit as a substitute?

[He scoffed.]

He would be more than happy to give you a demonstration. He'd probably take you flying in his Eagle Armour if you so much as hint at being interested in such a thing.

[He's exasperated, but there's a little note of fondness there as well. He's...to be honest, he's a little excited? There were very few people who specialized in building mechas and related subjects. And virtually none of them were in the same sect as him. Furthermore...most people wouldn't even talk near him let alone with him.

So he wants to converse! But he's a little clumsy with these things.

Which means...he doesn't look very friendly but he keeps the conversation going.]

Demichroma is less potent. With the amount we're paid as Moonknights it won't be enough to burn and... [The tips of his ears turn red before he turns away with a scowl.] That man is shameless so aquiring Chroma isn't as much a problem.

[But it was still a problem just because of what happens when Gu Yun starts running low on Chroma.]

[Thankfully Wei Wuxian was very practiced with talking enough for two people by this point, so keeping a conversation going, or working with little was hardly a problem. The standoffishness wasn't even worth worrying about.]

I would love that! Being in this world has introduced so many new and interesting things.

[Who would think such large tools that were people shaped, more or less, could be made!]

I heard chroma can be converted into demichroma, but I have yet to look into it for myself. I'm sure an exchange could be done simply through trade as well.

[He sighed a little. To thing the thing that was supposedly so valued and needed was the thing he felt he needed the least.]

Chroma is very easy to get, as long as you have friends or family or a lover it's in endless supply. And yet, it's so hard to use as an energy source, it's quite frustrating. Can basic spiritual power be used?

[He's not good at conversations but this subject falls directly into an area he actually could talk about!

By degrees, the tension in his shoulder fades...even if his voice doesn't become much friendlier. At least it's less annoyed and more just aloof.]

Converting Chroma to demichroma...the trade isn't too difficult but for this case it's not a usable method. [Because Gu Yun has other health complications that require chroma to keep under control. Though when he thinks about it, if they could get that under control using means other than Chroma wouldn't that make things easier...?

As he thought about it, his frown deepened for a moment before he sighs. Well. What can't be done can't be done. He knows Gu Yun won't agree to such a thing because he didn't even want to admit to any weakness...and to be honest, Chu Wanning could understand that.

He reached over to grab a different sheet of paper. What's written on it is something more familiar: a talisman.]

What truly powers these armours is steam. Spiritual energy can create heat, of course. But to generate the necessary heat isn't exactly a beginner's skill. Spells and talismans can make up for that lack in skills, but to activate it still requires at least a little bit of spiritual power. [He's used to designing things to be simple for amateurs to use, oddly enough...though none of the disciples back in his world would believe it. But...as he's already said, Gu Yun won't take his suggestion for him to cultivate seriously!] Even if I lend him some, it seems risky to rely on something that he can't replenish if no one is near to lend him spiritual energy.

[...he's thought a lot about this.]

So it's a matter of a specific person to be able to use it.

[It was quite troublesome to think that the most logical solutions were off the table simply because the person was not a cultivator.

But, the first obvious solution was not off the table.]

I am interested in these things and knowing more, so what if I obtained a lot of demichroma? Chroma and demichroma are not things I personally need in particular.

[He would be grateful if someone could help him nag--er. Convince Gu Yun to take his suggestion of learning to cultivate seriously.]

Hn. It's not as if anyone else knows how to use those armours except him.

[He hasn't forgotten that first demonstration, that moment when the Heavy Armour had reached out and let the strands of his hair fall between its fingers. For something that was a weapon--and such a large one at that--to be able to do something so gentle. How much fine control did that take?]

It's good to keep a good level of Chroma in case of an emergency. [He's scolding you! Don't be like him before he started making out with Mo Ran in all sorts of odd places and nearly run out of Chroma after every emergency!

But underneath that...he can't help but be a little interested. In all his time here, he hadn't found another person to talk in depth about these things to. And another cultivator no less!

...not that it's overt. It's just there in the way he seems more alert and less annoyed.]

Do you have experience making magic tools or building mechas?

He should make a demonstration.

[Then others could learn!]

And I'm not worried about emergencies. It will be filled every day regardless.

[It was the one department he was not left for wanting, and would never be left for wanting at least for as long as Lan Wangji was in this world.]

I have no experience with things like this, but, in the past, I did make a fair amount of useful tools. Though, some of them less perfected than others. Tools to draw spirits, tools to detect evil guide you towards it. Little things here and there, though most of it was in regards to demonic cultivation.

I'm sure he'd be more than happy to give one.

[He stares for a moment, frowning as if in thought...then he blushes bright red when he realizes what you probably mean. Right...this man was married, wasn't he?

Still, he turns his head and does his best not to sputter. Focus on other things! Focus on something less...less shameless!

He actually almost missed some of that because of all this but...]

...why demonic cultivation? [Not judging! Just...concerned.

But again. On this face concerned looked a little similar to 'annoyed' or 'mildly angry'.]

[He could almost hear the unspoken 'shameless' this person really was similar in several ways! But! This person could also talk about things easier, and that made making friends less difficult.]

Something happened and I had to take a different path. No cultivator is just going to quit, right? So, why not use resentful energy which is lying around anyway? With the right tools and theories, it is a useful resource.

[Where he's from, the cultivation world would certainly have expected Grandmaster Chu to whip someone for suggesting thaty demonic cultivation could be usable. It seemed on brand for the man who was vocal...often violently so, about things he didn't agree with. And what part of the famed Beidou Immortal, who seemed to stand above others seemed like the kind of person who would approve of demonic cultivation?

But while he did scowl, in truth...he was more concerned than anything.]

...I will not deny that resentful energy may be useful. But it's different from spiritual energy which comes from the self. How much can you trust that sort of cultivation? What are the potential damages to yourself?

If you balance yourself and work with a partner very little. Having the potential for a golden core also mitigates a lot as long as you're careful.

The potential damage when unregulated is immense, however. I would never recommend it as a viable path unless you have no other choice. In the end, I died a terrible death from backlash due to it.

[He can't help but sigh a little. Not about his death, that was something that was a given. But, at the lack of choices, he had suffered then. In truth, he never would have even used it if he hadn't been forced. But, he did not want to die, and to not die required controlling resentful energy.]

[That reminded him...]

You were going to draw what you remembered of the array...and tell me what you remembered about dying.

[He takes the plans and puts them in a neat stack...and promptly leaves them on the couch because why not?

Then he draws the blank paper and pen he'd prepared earlier closer.]

Ah yes!

[He reaches over to take the paper and the pen, he was still a bit awkward with pens but he gets a close approximation, at least as much as he can remember.]

There's not really much to dying. I had made a powerful tool full of resentful energy, hundreds of years of it. I destroyed it and it backlashed on me. Fierce ghosts and spirits ripped me to shreds.

But, that's the sort of end you expect with demonic cultivation.

[He spoke like it was nothing as if it happened to someone else, but it was a lie to say it didn't bother him on some level. He had just accepted it a while ago.

[He was studying the paper very carefully...but then he looks up with a frown.]

...perhaps. [After all, if one were to play with fire, one should expect to be burnt at some point and yet...]

That doesn't mean it should have happened to anyone.

[After all, that seems like an awfully painful way to be killed.]

Maybe, what's done is done though.

[Even though he completely felt he deserved that awful violent end, there was no reason to dwell on what happened. It was done and past, talking or thinking about it would never change it.]

The important thing is that I was at peace when I died and had moved on from this world. A soul such as that can't simply be found easily. There's no way to summon it, but you can with a sacrifice summon. The one performing the ritual offers up their body to the spirit with demands. The spirit, in turn, needs to do these bidding or else be destroyed and removed from the reincarnation cycle forever.

[There were a lot of words he wanted to say about it still...and yet, if the person it happened to has accepted it then who was he to drag it out again?

So instead, he focused on the drawing.]

What were the demands?

The only demands such a sacrifice warrants, revenge!

[He delivered the statement rather dramatically.]

He wanted his entire family murdered, which I can't blame him for. They were quite abusive.

[And, quickly he added as he realized how that sounded.]

Ah! But I did not kill them. They happened to die from circumstances while I was around, it counted as far as the curse was concerned.

Circumstances.

[He says it very flatly. What sort of circumstances!? But then he frowns down at the array on the paper because...he should focus and not let himself be dragged along.

He ran his fingers over the lines.]

Simply reversing the effects wouldn't be of any help to anyone... [He sounded thoughtful and yet it wasn't a question. Reversing the effects would probably harm the person beside him, after all.] Who had created this?

I don't know how you would reverse it. The array needs to be drawn in your blood.

[Enough of it to bleed out, it was a really gruesome desperate last stand thing to do.]

I don't know who the original creator was. It's very old, I only found records of it's use a few times in the past several hundred years. All I did was learn about it from those who had died, and old texts I put together. A lot of the sources did not even know the original ritual, or at least not all of it.

I'm rather proud I priced it together so well.

[Without saying anything, he pulled a piece of blank paper over. He draws a different array, one that requires slow, careful and above all, precise lines. When it's done, he slides it over to Wei Wuxian.]

If it's drawn on most talismans, it will cause its function to become reversed. Though with anything drawn with blood it could become problematic.

[And if anything, using it on something meant to summon may very well just banish.

That being said...]

It is impressive but maybe you shouldn't have done it. Some things are lost or forbidden for a reason.

[Yes he is scolding you!]

Text: UN: lan.furen

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These nerds have completely forgotten what they were here for...

Maybe they will remember eventually?

They have to eventually, right?

One can hope!

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