Guardians of Corruption and Clouds
Skri'ik watched as Liro trapped Cyra. Impressive, and just what he needed. He was grateful to Liro for this - it was a perfect set up for interrogation. He thanked Liro and turned to to Cyra.
"I will be questioning you for some time about what happened. Now then, you attacked Fear and killed him, causing Death to appear. That is what happened, no?"
"Well you missed the part where he screamed but yeah."
"Yes, he screamed. I highly doubt that he wouldn't scream when getting ruthlessly murdered. I'm not particularly interested in the circumstances of his death. What I am interested in is your reason for killing him."
"Why did you kill him? At the very least, it was not the smartest time to kill him, with me, Liro and Airis around. You knew this would happen. So - why exactly did you kill him?"
She leaned forward, smirking right in Skri'ik's face.
"He was an obstacle."
While Cyra leaned forward and smirked, Skri'ik did not back up one single inch. He regarded Cyra's reasoning, but persisted in questioning. "Why exactly was he an obstacle to you? What did he prevent you from doing? What will his death accomplish?"
She regarded Skri'ik with an amused expression. "Maybe it was just an impulse. Maybe he wasn't an obsatcle. Maybe it prevented me from doing nothing. Maybe his death accoplished nothing." She played with a dangling strand of hair.
"Maybe you are correct, but I am not willing to believe that. You have your reasons, and that is fine. You just have to reveal them, so the appropriate cause of action can be taken."
"Oh?" She laughed. "What are some 'appropriate causes of action'?"
Skri'ik narrowed his eyes slightly. "Don't get ahead of yourself. I'm the one asking the questions here. Your task is to answer them for now. Then a course of action shall be determined.
"What if I want to get ahead of myself? What are you going to do? Kill me? 'What will my death accomplish'?" She mocked his tone.
"I do not plan to kill you. Your death will not accomplish anything, and I am aware of that." Skri'ik sighed, knowing he had to give up some ground. Arrogance and force would not help here.
"I don't actually care that you killed Fear. What I want to know is why. To me, Fear is just another key to the lock that is your motive. Let us co-operate. In the long run, it will help both of us."
"'Fear is another key to the lock that is my motive.' Wow so complicated. Well he's dead. The key's gone. Buh bye."
"The key isn't Fear himself. The key is your relations to Fear, and what caused this incident. If you don't explain your actions, then I'm afraid I cannot let you leave this place."
"Why does the intention matter? He's dead." Her face was clearly apathetic.
"If we know your reason, we can determine how much of a threat you could be, and what you could possibly do in the future."
"Well... you can't, just saying."
"At the least, we can evaluate all the factors and determine the risk."
"I'm the Guardian of Corruption. You can't determine the risk. I'm random. I can be really nice and then slice off your head-" She gritted her teeth. "-the next second."
"You may well be the Guardian of Corruption, but ultimately you are still a sentient, intelligent being like the rest of us, no? You are affected by emotions. That is your weakness. Friends and foes cloud your judgement. That is weakness present in the vast majority of sentient races, and most likely in yours. From that, at least some risk can be determined."
"I don't understand why you're asking this again. I told you, he is-" She laughed. "Excuse me, 'was' an obstacle."
"I know that. He was an obstacle to you. But an obstacle in the way of what?"
Why was he an obstacle in the first place? The fear reaction? Her need to corrupt? "How should I know? He just was."
He sighed once again. "There's more to it than that, isn't there? You must have some form of purpose that you are aware of."
"Or you know, maybe I don't."
Skri'ik didn't think he would be able to get anything more out of Cyra, but he still persisted, for the sake of knowledge. "Do you drive by impulse? Do you lack the resolve? The self-control?"
Now she was irritated. "Look, I don't know what's your problem. I killed him. He was an obstacle. I don't know if I had an impulse. I don't know if I had a resolve. I don't know if I had self-control."
It was probable that Cyra was hiding something from him, but if she was, then she stood defiant. He would gain nothing from continuing this questioning. "I understand." It was Skri'ik's turn to smirk. "You don't know if he was an obstacle - you merely think he was an obstacle, regardless of if he actually was or not."
"Well, Cyra, I'd advise clearing your mind and setting yourself a clear motive. Acting based on instinct and short-term thoughts will not get you far. For now, I'm done with questioning, but it is not my choice alone of what your fate will be. I will communicate with Liro and we shall decide."
"Maybe what you said is true." She said, still smiling. "Well I'll just settle down and get comfortable in this... what is this anyways? Rocky cage? Nice design, Liro."