tvk | [Voice]

[The audio of the phone turns on, and it picks up a slightly muffled argument. Naoya seems to be having a quite vehement disagreement with someone.]

- fair at all! Genesis 38:7.

[There's the sound of pages flipping for a moment.]

'… Er?'

Yes. He was killed for no reason. It doesn't say anything about why he was killed at all.

'He must have had a reason!'

He is cruel and a tyrant. You need to realize this.

'I don't believe you.'

It's in your own book! Exodus 11:2. Leviticus 5:17. Deuteronomy 7:10. The entirety of the book of Job. Ezekiel 18. Shall I start on the New Testament?

[The woman he's arguing with just seems to be getting more and more frustrated.]

'But He loves us! You need to accept His love!'

[… Naoya goes quiet for a long moment before starting to shout at the woman.]

"Love"?! Where was His love when I made a mistake and did something I didn't understand the consequences of?! Where was His love when he cursed me?! Where was His love when I went through so much suffering over and over at His hands, being placed in the worst situations because of what He did?! I refuse to crawl back to Him, and He is going to die for all He has done - not just to me, but to humanity as a whole!

'… You can't kill God!'

Oh, but you can! Now leave, before I kill you!

[That seems to do the trick, because the woman runs. It's quiet for a long moment, before Naoya starts to laugh.]

Once I return… once I return, the war will begin.

[He keeps laughing for a while, and eventually the phone shuts off.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

... She was right.

[ Yup, that's all David has to say - he's argued with Naoya over this before, after all, and knows they will probably never agree. But still with the kind of atmosphere hanging over the city lately some part of him still feels compelled to say it. ]

Fuck you. She's wrong, and so are you. You never saw what I saw.

[Normally he would be more eloquent, but this atmosphere has him even more on edge.]

[ His voice remains the same, either way - maybe a little tighter than usual, but still. ]

And you never saw what I saw either. It is not as if we can weigh our experiences against each other.

You were favored by Him. I was hated. Of course you see things differently.

The Lord would never favor one over another as long as the two have equal good behaviour. Instead of being favored, I was merely chosen to fulfill his wishes as a king.

And yet I had done nothing wrong when He favored my brother over myself.

Are you sure about that? Sometimes we can not even see our own sins, after all. [ David of all people can know.. ]

I was as a child! How would I have known?!

The only one in a position to judge is God. Not you nor me. Hence why I will not try to point out what it might have been to you, since it is not my place to do so.

God has proven to be inconsistent at best and outright cruel at worst.

Such is your opinion, is it not? I am fairly sure neither of us will manage to convince the other.

[He knows the statement's logical but he's still pissy and frustrated.]

Likely not. I still think you are a fool for it, though.

Likewise I think you are a fool for thinking of God in such a way, so the sentiment is returned.

[... He just laughs at that.]

You're brave. It's been a long time since someone has called me a fool.

If you know about me, then you must know that I did not fear the Philistine either.

[ and he was, you know, a giant.. his tone doesn't waver in the slightest either. ]

I am merely stating my opinion about the matter here, after all.

[Yes, yes. :| ]

As am I.

[Voice]

[ voice ]

[ voice ]

[ voice ]

[ voice ]

[ voice ]

[ voice ]

[ voice ]

[ voice ]

[ voice ]

[ voice ]

[ voice ]

[ voice ]

[ voice ]

[ voice ]

[ voice ]

[ voice ]