Zeroth Directive

Archive III

[Classified Log] Closure's asked me this plenty of times already. My dear eldest brother can't do anything over-the-top like melt things down as he pleases like me, nor does he have any way to just diddle a thousand years away in a dream like Ling. He's got the body of a normal guy, what do you want from him? ... Oh, I just remembered something funny that I should really tell you. He's been inside Dusk's paintings before. A long, long time ago, he went to pay her a visit. She was too scared to see him, but she still had to, so—right, you're pretty good. Smart, aren't you—Dusk drew the mountain she was in, that shack of hers, and herself, all exactly the same. Dusk showed him her latest and greatest paintings, took him on a magnificent journey to tons of amazing sights: an exquisite palace that stretches far into the air beyond the cliff without collapsing, landbeasts crawling across lotuses mere inches wide to cross a great river, and a mountain full of rusted weapons on an old battlefield that have yet to wear away even after a thousand years... Then, she had to listen to him drone on and on for over an hour about how she shouldn't wallow in her inkscapes, and he even tried to persuade her to go to the frontier fortress with him like Ling... Just constant nagging like that. So all in all he spent an entire day and night in that painting with that Dusk. Then, at daybreak, he tided up all the open scrolls there, and went on his morning practice. He executed a few sets, then, boom—the fog settles and the sun rises, and the painting's torn to shreds. Outside the painting, the mountain and the shack were the same as before. Of course, Dusk's dour face, too. Haha. Hah, when did he figure it out? He probably knew right from the start. The way he put it, 'who wouldn't recognize their own sister?' As for why he had to wait a whole day and night, Dusk thought he was taking her for a ride. She can be immature like that. The way I see it, he was playing along with her wishes and cheering her up, haha. How did he break out of the painting? Obviously, he stayed calm and paid attention to the tiniest details... Perhaps this is the 'sublimity' that kung fu folks like to talk about? I mean, why else do you think he loves human techniques so much? Instead of using martial arts to refute the old man's existence, it might be more fitting to say he used it to attain ultimate self-affirmation. It is through martial arts that he found to answer to the question, 'who am I?' As for how he separated from the old man and molded that body of his, how am I supposed to know? Not like I was gonna learn from him. But now that that basket of blunders has figured out the trick behind it, he's bound to stir up trouble sooner or later. When the time comes, I sure hope our eldest brother will teach him a good lesson! ... Alright, now sign this form for the camera equipment rental! Otherwise, that's all I'm gonna tell you.

Archive IV

[Classified Log] The Grandmaster has defended Yumen for years, and all of Yan is eternally grateful for his efforts. Likewise, the Sui Regulator would like to express our sincerest gratitude to your company for accepting him aboard your landship for recuperation, now that his years of accumulated stress have caught up to him and forced him to retire from his post. We understand that Nian, Dusk, and Ling are also aboard Rhodes Island. These three are equally as important to Yan as the Grandmaster, and we ask your company to give all relevant matters the most appropriate treatment. ... —Official correspondence from the Yanese Sui Regulator, discovered moments before Nian set it on fire in her furnace. 'Retirement.' When I first heard our eldest brother utter that word, I was still in Yumen. He has been busy, these many years, and far beyond Yumen. Wars in the north, pirates in the south; wheresoever the court doth wish him to be, there he will be. Of all us siblings, he was the first to abhor violence, yet remains the closest to violence. He's made acquaintance of many an interesting fellow, yet the more he meets, the lonelier he becomes. The affairs of man are chaotic. Is this the fault of war, or is it not...? Retirement has ever been on his mind, and the court has likewise guaranteed him one. Yet many springs and autumns have come and gone while I awaken from my drunken stupor, and still he awaited a more opportune moment. 'Twas in part the court's apprehensions, in part his own. And his long wish now fulfilled, as siblings we must rejoice. ... But is he truly free? Over these long years, too closely bound by ties to the military he has become. The Sui Regulator, the Ministry of Rites, the Ministry of War... Many eyes in the court, and few will wish to see him a hermit. Moreover, with days numbered, 'Ya' has returned to Yan, and with the sounds of war during that hunt a thousand years ago yet to cease, Its awakening can only draw ever closer. Perhaps there is someone else aside from that basket of blunders pulling strings behind the curtain... By nature, we siblings love this mortal realm, and none of us wish to return to chaos... but this does not concern my eldest brother. Nay, he is no longer 'Shuo,' and has not been for some time. And thus, he loves this realm more than any of us. After all, Chongyue belongs to the mortal realm. Ah, never mind. 'Tis nothing worth minding. When the water is turbid, let it be until it clears. When the water boils, take off the lid. Am I scared? What is there to be scared of...? When you sober up, raise another flask. Right. Do not trouble yourself going to him. While he is aboard Rhodes Island, let him enjoy his retirement.

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