[August 6] [Shaman King] Rise and Fall

[asakurahao.livejournal.com]

Title: Rise and Fall
Day/Theme: August 6 - to the lords and ladies of Byzantium
Series: Shaman King
Character/Pairing: Hao
Rating: PG



Rise and fall. Rise and fall. Rise and fall.

He closes his eyes in death, only to open them again in life.

He has seen empires rise out of dust, only to awaken to find their ruins (dust to dust). He has walked so deep into death that he knows the ways to escape it. He has breathed life so deeply that he understands that life and death walk hand in hand.

He has seen sights so beautiful that words cannot express their wonder. He has seen sights so monstrous that words cannot express their atrocity. He has seen and he has seen.

In the beginning, he saw beauty in their short lives (like fond, but blurry memories, like the soft struggle of a withering flower) and loved them for it.

But they grew and they grew and the world shuddered underneath their weight.

And then, he saw ugliness in their endless lives and hated them for it.