KSBD 4-78
Meti’s Sword Manual
Argument
1. Glory to the Divine Corpse, o breaker of infinities
2. I am Meti, of no house but myself. In my 108th year I am surrounded by fools. My compatriots cling obsessively to their destiny, and my only apprentice is an idiot speck of a girl with more talent for eating than skill with the blade. Therefore I have decided to die drowning in the boiling gore of my enemies, of which there are many.
3. My master was the greatest lord general to the king Au Vam, Ryo-ten-Ryam, who first coaxed me into learning the ways of turning men into ghosts. As his interest quickly turned to the wholly uninteresting and most useless parts of my body, I returned the favor and relieved him of his.
4. It is my personal opinion the straight sword is best if you can obtain one, but I also favor the sabre. The spear, stave, or club are peasant’s weapons of which I am wholly unfamiliar and so will not speak on them.
5. Upon meeting me, you might find that my appearance is quite dreadful and unkempt. I have been spat upon by priest, king, and merchant alike. I have no retainers, and possess nothing except a straight sword six hand spans (5 and a half kret) long (this is the proper length). This is because I am Royalty and the undisputed master of the principal art of Cutting. I will fight naked with ten-thousand men.
6. From the age of thirteen I practiced every day with the straight sword. I followed a strict vegetarian regimen, and harsh training of barefoot sprints (five) between cities, squats and breathing exercises (two bells), and sword drills and resistance training (three bells).
7. By the age of sixteen, my body was a steel edifice. I was so often mistaken for a man I began to wear my hair long with no pins and unbind my breasts. I could break stone with my hands with no effort, I could sprint between the Yellow City and the Lunar dominions in a day or less and barely strain my breath. My mastery of the sword complete, I enlisted in the Middle Army’s third legion, where I was widely respected as a swordswoman of incredible power.
8. When it came time to face my first real opponent, the Colossus of Pardos, in my youthful pride and immense skill, I brought all my training and mastery to bear. Scarcely half a day passed before my sword was shattered into thirty pieces, my right leg was almost torn from its socket, and my honed body was broken pathetically in a hundred and forty places. I defeated him by gouging his brains out through his breathing valves. My thumbs, in this case, proved far more useful.
9. At that moment, with my thumbs in his brains, I had a revelation. I had trained far too broadly. Existence and the act of combat are absolutely no different, and the essence of both, the purity of both, is a singular action, which is Cutting Down Your Opponent. You must resolve to train this action. You must become this action. Truly, there is very little else that will serve you as well in this entire cursed world.
10. I hope that by reading this manual, you will be thoroughly encouraged to become a farmer.
How very odd. I don’t suppose it happens often that the Witch in Glass is mistaken. Then again, mayhaps she isn’t. Suffice to say, I have my own thoughts about what she truly means.
Meti…seems an interesting sort. What she says about her apprentice intrigues me, however.
So, what are the chances Meti’s apprentice is the woman shown in the second to the last panel of offering 3-44? The dress and the manner in which the hair is done up seem to match the noodle connoisseur. The woman in the fan, then, may be Metis herself?
It is highly likely that Maya is the apprentice, that the woman pictured in 3-44 is Maya, and that the person on her fan is Meti.
If that’s the case, does that mean Meti was a demiurge? Her dismissal of her compatriots as people who “cling obsessively to their destiny” makes a lot more sense from that perspective.
I think it’s more likely she fought in the war, but wasn’t one of the 7 winners.
Tremendous deduction abilities, in hindsight
Indeed. For who else but a disciple of Meti would be a “swordsman who carries no blade” ? I feel Auntie Maya learned more than her master gave her credit for.
She could be right nonetheless, I’d only rather challenge her to an eating contest over a sword fight because the consequences of losing would be less dire.
Oh-ho, I spy with my little eye a certain blue-skinned character and a certain knight.
BUT WAIT WHERE’S WALDO!? O,O
Is that a breast on 82? Man, even Jadis thinks they’re a female.
Some day, it’ll stop denying this.
I wonder if Murder the Gods and Topple Their Thrones is the apprentice mentioned in the beggining.
Speaking of which, she makes an appearance on the top-right of the prophecy over there.
Seven black emperors, one non-ruling king, one mendicant knight, one liquid angel, one liar, and one…?
Seems like old glassy up there still has something to say. I wonder, what could it be?
I wait all week for this very moment, and each week I am never disappointed. Abaddon, the irony of your name is not lost on me.
In the wiki, it says there’s an interview with Abbadon… where is it? I can’t find it.
You mean this one? http://killsixbilliondemons.wikia.com/wiki/Thread:3228
If so, I think that one came from Abbadon and Vylus Wiki messaging back and forth.
Thank you
my hats is off to you sir and if you find it i’d like you to keep it as a token of my great appreciation of your birdlike grace and poise and skill with the pen and brush
I’m almost positive that Jadis is trying to say “He is the successor’s lover” (or boyfriend, whatevs). She’s just taking a loooooooooooong time to finish that sentence, as befits someone afflicted by Sloth.
I can make predictions too, though the accuracy is not consistent.
Here goes: the successor’s name shall be spoken as ‘All-YSUN’ or similar such misnaming.
Alison = ALL-YSUN
Well shit.
Note, fellow sophonts, that when the Living Ghost of The Conquering King spoke to Allison, bearer of the First Key, he named her Alice.
Alice. ALL IS.
The eyes of the King, dead though he is, see much that is veiled to us.
Is it just me or the image/prophecy on the cube shows Jagganoth as an ally of Allison. He isn’t shown as defeated/fallen like other demiurges instead he is shown as standing along with Allison’s allies.
It might be that his ass is so big, that it stretches past the invisible boarder that separates the party and the dread emperor’s, which causes much confusion.
Every single lineage of creature is allowed only one joke about the great demiurge’s butt, and so I and all of my family and future descendants are disallowed from making any more for the rest of eternity. But they shall see this post created by their great-great-great-great-great grandma, and chuckle.
Truly Jagganoth’s bottom is a wonder for the ages. And that is sincere, it is one of his assets.
Now, I must think of a proper joke about said divine buttocks, if only so that none of my siblings or descendants tell it for me. This might be difficult-…
Glory To The Divine Butt
No, he is, it’s just that he’s to the side. Note his posture; he has his arms up, held between him and the Successor, and his head is turned away. He is recoiling from her.
What has me curious, personally, is Incubus. Of the rest of the Seven we’ve seen, all but Solomon David seem decayed or decrepit (which is appropriate for one of his pride). Jadis and Mottom are withered hags, Jagganoth a marked and scarred brute, and Gog-Agog a seething mass of worms that looks its best when painted and imitating someone else. Meanwhile, we see Mammon in the picture, looking like his draconic self.
Incubus, though, is covered; we have nothing to go on but past images of him and a few limbs here. Truthfully, I think it would be interesting if he shared the same fate of much of his comrades; while he would not evoke it in many people, I think it would be appropriate for the lord of lust to be a withered old man. Appropriate, and rather amusing.
The name! The name! I know it (of course). Do you?
I
This, we think, is the truest answer yet, for it is the True Name of God, He That Is All.
It is also the ultimate, and first, Lie.
Aha! Meti, whose sword is herself, what a wonderful woman! I am as much a fan of her writings as I am a fan of Prim’s journey, yes.
Ahaha! Though I imagine what is more relevant is that Jadis is as ruined as was Mottom. The legends show them coming out of the great conflict severely injured, but not deformed. Methinks that was simply propaganda, for they are all withering and decaying now, I see? Aha! Pray these seven kings in ruin do not relieve me of my head, full of musings!
It bet the Allison’s name will be the first word on the next page. Completely different place and time.
Dammit, that seems too plausible.
Two things come to mind:
1.) Meti’s got the right idea. Should be required reading for all prospective warriors. Probably is, at that.
2.) Classic prophecy gender error. They never learn, do they.
And his name shall be The Ineffable Bob.
The image of Incubus is obscured. One wonders why, when we have seen him before.
I wonder how the years have changed him? Such that he must be obscured.
This is why I so despise forsite. It is forever open to misinterpretation.
Better to let the future play out as it will, lest you be caught in a self fulfilling prophecy.
His name will be Just Dan, Nothing Else.
The great hero Just Dan, Nothing Else will rule into eternity! Proclaim!
Sorry, but now I’m imagining Dan from Dan Vs. seizing a key, marching against the armies of reality with his few companions in tow. Heart fueled by a fury that could melt mountains, spitting his wrath upon everything, bloody sword in one hand, a mountain of explosives in the other. The little king ascendant.
Dan Vs. All Creation
Okay, I just did a quick search, and found that besides its Biblical relevance, “Dan” is used in ancient Amarna cuniform. When combined with “is”, as Dan-is, it means “greatly, strongly, fervently”.
Fitting.
I look forward to seeing how the 108 Heavenly Spirits and Earthly Fiends will make themselves manifest in this turning of the wheel…
Would anyone else like to bet that our encased Goddess is about to say “S-she.” And everyone will be confused?
The 108 Stars, huh.
That’s gotta be from Water Margin, aka Outlaws of the Marsh.
Here in the west they might be more well known as the recruitable characters from the Suikoden games.
I have to admit I actually read the whole thing, Water Margin that is. My university had an English language edition and I slogged through those 1600 or so pages. It was entertaining, but it also had a lot of tedium – they were feasting and drinking a lot, almost every chapter, which was quite boring to read.
In any case, I’m interested how the 108 Stars are planned to be incorporated into the story, or if they even mean remotely the same thing in K6B.
It may not have anything to do with Water Margin: In certain Buddhist traditions 108 is a meaningful number; Most relevant to this particular story is that it often denotes the number of feelings (or temptations) that a human may experience.
With that in mind I would not be surprised if it denotes the pack of fools who fight over Allison’s key as well as any others who may join them as Allison gains in status (both those thieves and treachers who try to take power from Allison and later those allies, true and false, who stick by her and support her that they might further their own gains.)
There’s been quite a bit of exposition and flesh given to this universe, I’m sure that this will continue into the foreseeable future. With Yisun having the first suicide, most holy it is, and that is continuing and happening at all times with all gods coming from the most high’s first thought of suicide, with Yis and Un being absent, I know that this series of events could make the face of all things appear at one time to our heroes. Or, I could be lying.
Didn’t Mad Max already kill that rambling weirdo? Like, back in the 80s?
SSS-SS-S-SHUT THE FUCK UP!