soul_campaign | 2. May 21

It's how people can find stability, by finding their own foundations and standing on them. Even if the world begins to sink around them, they still are standing tall. But that's hardly the point of it... it's good you realize that things aren't black and white, because they are. Good and evil don't exist on the battlefield. All that exists... is survival and how to ensure that for whomever you want most to continue. Right?

That's how it usually works in war. The moment you get tossed into this shit hole you're just the same as everyone else. Fighting in a proxy war and fighting proxy battles.

Only difference here is that people get to live normally even though there's a war going on. Hell, it's not even that bad compared to what other people may have gone through back in their own worlds.

No one ever stops to think about that though. They're all too caught up in whatever is next in their agenda.

That's how the world works. It's how it always works. No one thinks about these things, and that is why we're constantly in this cycle. Just nature. But neither of us are surprised... I know that you'd just use your sword for justice and protect those that want to live normally.

Isn't that right, Jack?

The rules of nature won't change. Just like how we can't change our pasts.

Why on earth would you be surprised by something that you see everyday? I'm used to being treated this way.

Jack? [He just laughs because duddeee what the hell?]

No one calls me that anymore. It's Raiden.

No, we can't change our pasts. They are what made us who we are today. They're what made our memes, and see what will be passed on to others through our actions.

Because this is a new world. You'd think that it'd be different, but it seems across all worlds, the same ideas, the same memes... they're there. This world only has one immediate difference -- the idea of working in partners verses being alone. That's the one difference in it, which allows it to almost change itself, but not quite.

[ ... ]

Raiden. I like Jack the Ripper more. It's more honest.

As for me, since it seems like you don't quite remember, I am Monsoon of the Winds of Destruction. Or I was. I had to retire from that group seeing as I'm here now.

Memes again? Is you being a piece of shit a meme too?

It's not that I don't remember.

I just haven't fought against you yet, but that's fine and rosy. All I did was kill the cold wind of France in Georgia. You'll get your turn eventually. [Raiden's just laughing now. Not because he's amused or anything but it's that twisted killer laugh again.]

I don't think Nevada is ready for both Jack the Ripper and the Winds of Destruction. We're just going to be shitting on people with our memes and genes. What's good about that?

That's a bit more creative than what you said last time. I'll admit that much.

It's just that you haven't experienced it yet. And without that experience, you do not have any of my memes within you. But you will. You'll be passing something on to the people of our world.

Mistral. I'm a bit surprised that you didn't feel any kinship with her. But I'm not disappointed. The reasons she killed were hardly that in relation to nature, to purpose, to reason. The reasons she follows us is for her own emotion and affection verses understanding of what needs to be done. I can't say I disliked her since she did work very hard for us all, however.

I'm not part of the Winds of Destruction, anyway. I retired from that band and joined Shibusen. Now I seek a Weapon to fight in this war. Jack the Ripper may find his own place here, though. But as for the Winds, they don't blow over Nevada. Fortunately, our memes will be passed to people here... we can't change that much. We're always influencing those around us... eventually, something will get passed and stick ... changing that person. It may happen as easily as in a battle, but for now, we can only just watch the environment shift due to our involvement. That's how it always is, and that's how it always will be. There's no good or evil in it... it just is.

Really, now? What sort of crap did I end up saying to you the first time?

Color me interested.

You can keep your memes. I've already got plenty of them. Jack the Ripper is a meme that shouldn't even exist, but it does.

Mistral...

She's not like me. Not like you. I have my own reasons for fighting. Mistral would never understand my ideals. She's the one who called my sword of justice naive. Look at where she ended up.

When you put it that way it sounds like Shibusen is just a PMC under another name. Jack the Ripper has no place here. It doesn't matter if people know him or not. Sooner or later he'll come back wanting to kill again.

Maybe that's why Shibusen choose us to fight in this war. We're killers by nature, but we shouldn't be worrying about it. That's just how it is.

A lot of interesting things passed through that mouth of yours, but it doesn't need repeating. It'll be heard soon when you return. Did you know that time stops when you return home? So you'll be saying them soon enough to me.

There is nothing that shouldn't exist, Jack. Things exist for a reason. Even Jack the Ripper. Even the Winds of Destruction. It is others who say that they shouldn't exist which makes them seem like they're "evil" or "unnecessary." But why should they be? They're part of our identity. Our being. To say they shouldn't is the same as dismissing their existence.

Either way, I'm under the belief that she was quite happy in the end. She finally got to feel something other than the emptiness that she accepted as her meme.

As for your sword ... I wouldn't say that it's naive, just misguided, however.

It is another PMC under another name. You'd understand if you came from the time after you met me. You'd understand a lot. But if I start you down that road, Jack the Ripper will appear. Still, Shibusen isn't lying to any of the people here. They're even allowing us to live here quietly and out of the way, but that's not for either of us, you're right about that, Jack.

We're going to be forever on the battlefield, because it's where we belong. We can no longer live anywhere else, and that is the meme forever given to us. One that those of war will always know.

No, I didn't know that. Got too caught up during my mission.

It hasn't even been all that long since I arrived here myself and I'm already being used for this fucked up shit. Everywhere I go I end up being used to fight someone else's battles. Someone else's war. These guys are no better than the Patriots.

Well, that's fine with me. Dismissing Jack the Ripper can only be a good thing.

Tch. Mistral's back story is tragic, for sure. Having your parents killed and fighting in war is just downright terrible. It can be traumatizing, but Mistral...she killed she realized that she was a good killer. It's not something you should be proud of. You aren't going to get a medal for killing a hundred soldiers on the battle field. That's just the way things are as well.

Sorry to say, but I've never met a shit head named Monsoon before up until now. You're gonna have to wait until Jack's ready to appear again.

You're right. Shibusen isn't lying to anyone and you can live a normal life. But if I go off and do that then I'll hear the voices again. Voices calling out my crimes and I can't even sleep when that happens. Living a normal life just wasn't going to work out for either of us. Wind of destruction or not.

We've got no place anywhere else but the battlefield. It'll be us who'll cause fires in the war economy here because we're just tools here. Tools used for killing.

You need to learn to ask more questions.

We're always going to be fighting other people's battles. But you chose the reason for why you're fighting for this one, right? I know I did. Unless you're just doing it because you're asked. That's different than how the Patriots were. There was no asking with them. Now there is. I'm not defending these Shibusen people, though. They are just a PMC of a different breed. Yet they've almost got the idea.

If you say so, Jack, but I feel like that isn't how it should be.

Actually, Jack, you do get medals for just that sort of thing. Kill enough men and the government would reward you with gold to show your accomplishments. It's a way to lessen it for people out on the field. To make them soldiers instead of killers. The distinction is important for all people, even us.

You'll have lost your mind and we wouldn't have anymore conversations like this, though.

Let me stop you there... we're Meisters, Jack. We're not the tools of destruction. We're the ones who choose the path of the destruction. I'm choosing for it to be against the ones this place calls monsters, but I can't say that it is really monsters. After all, they have their own histories, their own tragedies, their own reasons... no one seems to see it, though. All they see is the action and none of the reason. It's unfortunate, but that's what this is...

Wind blows, flowers die, and the strong prey on the weak.

You think?

Okay then. How's the weather today? What's a Hara Kiri rock? Am I asking enough questions yet? It's not going to work that way. Sometimes, asking questions will only end in negative results. It depends on who you're talking to.

Yeah, I've chosen my reason for fighting. It's exactly what you said earlier. To protect those who want to live a normal life. They have something that we'll never be able to go back to and that's why I fight here.

That's your opinion.

It's just how it looks on papers. A soldier still goes out on the fields to kill. It's not much different. Just worded differently to give off a different feel. One that has meaning behind it.

You're probably right. I'm not claiming to be the most mentally stable person out there.

No one sees anything unless it's front of them and spelt out. They don't care about reason.

Is that another meme?

You need to know to ask the right questions, Jack. Following without question, that's what makes a person into a tool.

Still fighting for those sort of reasons. You don't want another Jack the Ripper. I hope that they don't end up having to have the young ones fight. But one never knows what will come. We'll try to push the boundaries of this war back, but ... [ An audible shrug. ]

It needs meaning behind it. Otherwise we're just feasting on the insides of our enemies. We're just monsters. Monsters hunting monsters, Jack. That's all that we'll be if we let ourselves think differently than being killers. We're not. We're just soldiers. Good ones. That's what we're raised and so we shall always live upon the battlefield.

And that's why I repeat you need to ask the right questions. Once you stop questioning, we're just killers.

It's the meme of nature.

You're being reasonable about shit for once. What the hell is that? My original mission was to halt activities from the Winds of Destruction.

Instead, here I am arguing with a bunch of kids who think they understand what war is about after being here for a few months. They shouldn't even be in war. They'd be better off in college, doing whatever they need to. They can do just about anything else but war.

For us, it's different. A lot different.

Does a good soldier enjoy killing their enemies and slicing them up to bits? What's the difference between that and being a monster?

You've not spoken to me before now, but I will say that I am always reasonable. The Winds of Destruction are not here, and so I have no ties to them. If others from my group arrive, that wouldn't change that they are not here. The Winds only exist in the world we come from, Jack. I'm not planning to cling to the titles and past of that time, because we must live here first and foremost.

They're going to get themselves hurt or worse. There's nothing that can be done about that. That's the choice that they made. This war isn't as cruel as it could be, and maybe it will never get to be. So let them believe what they like, because if they saw the truth... they'd end up like us. Something you don't want, I know that for sure. But as for me, I couldn't care less as it was their choice to see, to experience, to accept the meme of war.

The difference is we have our orders. I live upon the battlefield and find great pleasure in it, because that is where I belong. It's different for us because its where we're most at home. It makes us monsters to them, because they cannot understand that thought process, true. But we're not monsters. We're just carrying out what nature made us, and doing what we're good at. An artist feels joy when they paint. A musician when they create, when they play. A solider when they kill.

I'm starting to think that maybe you're just like me. Not that that's a good thing. Yeah, you've already made yourself clear on that. You won't see me chasing after you for being a national threat. That's all in the past.

It's not so bad here. No, I'll try to stop people from becoming killing freaks. That's why my sword of justice exists. It might not be that cruel here, but it's still war. The psychological effects it has on people and the violence. Those still exist here.

I once thought that I could leave the battlefield and enter into a normal life, but it's as you say. That kind of world isn't for us. We're meant to be on the battlefield.

Is it possible to defy your nature?

I told you the same when we first met. You took it as an insult. But I'm thinking that you're starting to see that it isn't... it just is the truth between us.

War is the cruelest parent, but it has its purpose. [ All he really has to say on that subject. ]

There's nothing wrong with that, though. There is always gonna be battles, always going to be wars. We leave one war and battle to face this one. It's the same everywhere. The violence won't stop, and so there needs to be men who can live forever on the battlefield so others can sleep at night. I wouldn't say that those others are that great, though, since they consider themselves privileged and consider those who have to live here something to pity rather than something to feel humility towards. Because if it wasn't us, it'd be them. No need to pity your shield, your sword.

It isn't. We're made up of the memes of nature, and only the ones that are the strongest will live on within us. To defy those that survived this long would be no better than denying that they exist, because they're always there. Always present, and can never be removed. So no, it is not possible. All you can do is lie to yourself.

Don't get me wrong, I still think you're fucking batshit.

There's just some facts that I can't exactly bring myself to deny now that the Winds are gone.

You could almost say that war is part of our nature. Are memes all you ever talk about?

I wouldn't dream of it. As for the state of my mind, well, there's no reason to go into it.

I can talk about other things, but it felt like this was the piece of information, of chatter that is the most important for the here and now.

You're just messed up. How about that?

Perhaps. Going straight to the most important pieces of information helps save me waste my time from listening to pointless chatter.

If you need to put a name to it.

And so we've achieved the goal of avoiding pointless chatter.

Sounds about right.

I'm done talking to you. Got better things to do than to sit around chatting with an EX member of Desperado all day. [Hangs up.]

[ Well, he expected that. It happened a lot later than he thought that it would have, though. ]

2. May 21 | audio

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