Originally Posted by
Cthulhu_of_R'lyeh
Sarada's response, when it came, was hardly what Ishtar could've expected.
Or at the least ... the follow up was. The way the Saiyan Monarch swore, at this point, had pretty much become a vocabulary staple; and one of the many traits the Oni had developed a fondness for. Though despite the response -- and Sarada's offered opinions -- Ishtar's mood did not improve, nor did her gaze waver from the surface of the lukewarm bathwater. Though she did not continue on in silence, for very long.
"There is no 'rule book', no. For there was no time before his death, to choose a successor. There is simply an understanding of what my job ... fate ... entails. Put the most simply, that understand is that; in a sense, a God of Destruction is to the Universe they reside in; what a Kami is to the planet they watch over." The golden-eyed Oni muttered, softly.
"Only ... there is one of ... them. Me ?"
Ishtar fell silent again, eyes still fixed on the soapy water; until the pieces in her mind had been broken down until it was easily understandable.
"Under normal circumstances this would not be such an issue, I suppose. The God of Destruction assessing threats, and putting an end to them should she deem necessary. Yet Asha'rah ..." she trailed off, before a quick shake of her head. No ... she does not matter. Just what was facilitated by her hand. "Indar'en was murdered, before a successor could be chosen. Then the Heavens were torn to pieces, from the War of Fool. So for one-hundred thousand years, threats -- both mortal, and divine -- have been untended to ... so many threats ..."
Ishtar paused a moment then, more so that the information could be digested, than for not knowing what was to be said next.
"Which now now rest upon the shoulders of the would-be God of Destruction to remedy."
Ishtar looked up then.
"That you have offered to help ... is another part of the problem, too. This is not your mess to manage ... how could it be ? Your only transgression is being born into a Universe ruined by the Gods that gave it life. Besides. How many have died already for the 'Sins of the Fathers' ? Evangeline ? Jack ? Not two hours ago, Erosa nearly met the same end were it not for an act of desperate creativity." Which was perhaps, her main point: what they were doing already, was bordering on being beyond them; and they had already suffered tremendously.
With the addition of everything else -- Auroc, Sakin, the First Race and its Dreadnaughts ... Genesis ... -- How much worse was it going to get ?
Not that wondering, mattered. Given that it was what was going to come to pass now, regardless ... and this was the nexus of her fatigue and dread. Because it meant that, in the face of what was coming, Ishtar was ... "... for the first time in one-hundred thousand years, Sarada. I am lost." There came another pause, then, and with an almost deliberate slowness the Oni finally responded to the comments about her 'family'. "Nor do I know yet how to feel about Sihn, and Zurvan. I simply know that hating them will not change what now is ... and they yet have their parts to play."