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Ish has always been a figure of the underground outskirts of Ermit city.
It's a weird thing to think about, no one knows what the man entails, no one knows what his powers are. Though they are controlling, they are ones with force, that could be used for who knows the bounds. Even with how much the man is hyped up, and with how little is known about him, (Ish isn't even his real name, just an alias) there is some sort of respect and praise that follows his title.
That's probably why Ish had attracted the attention of the Watchers.
See, although Ish is very grateful for all the praise he gets, he doesn't really live up to his name once you get to know him. Still, the amount of charm and control over the underground of.. practically all three main cities of Crearé is unmatched. It's hard to be so known, yet so unknown at the same time.
Though, being a.. business man (sure, let's go with that term) in the underground, laying low is just part of the job.
Giving credit where credit's due, yeah, Ish is all of those things. He has immense power and authority and whatnot, but it wasn't all on purpose. He didn't even really want this much fear placed on his name. It just.. sort of happened!
Now, as much as Ish appreciates the mystic around him, half of the things he's known for isn't even his fault?!
The only reason he knew about Elanuelo (one of the most wanted criminals of Pandora) dying, was because of his super hidden and secretive power. Which, by the way, isn't all that impressive when all you can do is affect the surroundings, never people, or yourself.
...
Okay, now that Ish really thinks about it, his powers are pretty cool.
There's not a real name for it yet, since.. naming your abilities can take a while, especially the ones that are obscure. But he likes to call his powers, admin abilities! For the simplification process, his ability is to change the world around, and it just sort of.. follows his command! Not only that, but for some odd reason, if he just... wills hard enough, he can simply become invisible and invincible.
It's so weird how many abilities he has, with a power like this, he could probably take over the world, solve world hunger, cure cancer, start the apocalypse, kill all his enemies, etc etc..
He has way too much power than he asked for. And what he asked for was an extremely bold move on his part.
Ish doesn't think of himself as a... bad person?
But honestly he's done and seen far too much to really consider himself as a good person. With all the power under the sun, if he was a good person, he'd would've joined the hero force and defeated all villains.
Being a hero has nothing to do with what Ish wants.
All he really wants to do is tell a good story.
Combining everything he just monologue'd about in his head, his.. thin morals, and his one and only wish. To tell a good story. It doesn't even have to be one where there's a happy ending where everyone lives! (Although sometimes more interesting to see how surviving doesn't automatically mean you have a happy ending) But it has to be a good story.
Maybe that's why he knew way too much about the death of Elanuelo, and when he told some kid off the street about it, it went crazy— because the future news reporter had been recording!
That's why he had known about the two brothers, that's why he had known about the separation between Pandora and Yggdrasil..
Because he was there.
Ish likes to call his invisibility and invincibility combined.. spectator mode.
A he can do is watch, all he chooses to do is watch.
That's an oddly fitting conclusion, because right now, he's in front of the Watchers.
"You all requested me?"
He asked, fitting a smile on his face. One that seemed to stretch out too far. "We've heard of you, Ish." They addressed, in sync, a little creepy, but hey, maybe it's symbolic! Always up to the viewer, isn't it?
The looming hall in front of him was oddly intimidating. Candles from every side, burning just bright enough to release the tiniest bit of light into the room. Cloaked people walking around the area like ghosts, he stood out here. He was an outcast. They were all in uniform, they were all anonymous. Ish had no way of telling who was who. With the same motif of a square eye on their chest and blindfolds.
"You could be in great use to us."
"Aw! Gee, thanks!" He feigned appreciation.
ll"Cut your games, spectator." They ordered. "We know just how ruthless you can be. We know how powerful you are."
He stepped over carelessly. "Lil old me?" He pointed to himself, blinking. "Yeah, no, you're pretty correct." He gave up on the act, shifting into a more casual position than the dramatic one he was in. "I could probably kill everyone if I wanted to."
Ish stated, like he was mentioning the weather.
The Watchers didn't stop to look at him however, just a simple pause in their graceful strides told him everything he needed to know.
"Do not toy with us, Ish. We will figure out your weaknesses. We will find a weakness, and we will use it against you." He hummed in response, following them down their hall of their.. group. Sure, he'll say that. He wanted to be polite while he was here. After all, he was a guest.
And the easiest you could be caught was when you were in their nest.
"What do you want me for anyways? You know I won't help you with any evil scheme, I'm a storyteller, man! I tell stories? I don't go around kidnapping kids or whatever." He reminded.
"You are in our territory."
"Mhm.."
"You need to learn respect."
"I don't need it." He shrugged, challenging them. "I don't have to be here, I could go see Flux and his situation ship and whatever their bond is. I could go see Infernus and their weird cult. I could go hang around the people in Capital city. Maybe I could even watch your favorite assassin." He suggested, knowing he was pressing buttons.
"Ish." They warned.
"You are not to even touch Xelqua."
"Hit a nerve there." He commented. "But hey, fine, since I came all this way, what do you have for me?"
"We have the future."
Ish blinked, his hands falling out of his pockets. "Wait. What?" His attention immediately spiked. "We know what will happen to the children of Aculon." There's no way. "We can see the future of the trapped bird. We can see the future of the morally challenged angel. We know what will happen to our dear Xelqua."
"Are you.. serious!?"
Ish was intrigued, now they did have something for him!
"How!? Do you have someone who can see into the future!?" He asks, fists clenched in excitement.
"There is only one condition."
"I am NOT joining your weird cult." He immediately says. The Watcher looks at him with extreme disappointment. The one in front of him, at least, he isn't sure what the other ones are doing.
"Just follow us."
They seemed done with Ish. Which, well yeah, fair, he was provoking them.
Walking behind them, Ish felt oddly scared. Since the Watchers nest was actually really horrifying up close. He knows he can leave whenever, yeah, he knows that. But it's still intimidating, being in a room with a bunch of assassins. Even when he knew that they probably couldn't kill him with spectator mode up his sleeve.
Ish walked into a room, a mini auditorium.
Suddenly, something started playing. A narration.
Puppets of multiple cut out drawings were being controlled back stage. A lamb, an angel, a bird, and an actual puppet.
"What do you think happens when a lamb doesn't hate the shepherd that sacrificed him?"
Ish pondered the questions.
He supposed that the concept was simply tragic. A lamb has no reason not to resent the one who murdered him in the end. Though there has to be a reason behind attachment. Whether it's just because of the time, or because of how the shepherd treated the lamb. Either way, the lamb is still killed off, and the shepherd believes their life— along with others— are safe.
"What do you think happens when a good person continues to care for a horrible one?"
"That's awfully vague."
He said out loud. But in the same way, it just seems counter productive. Caring for someone who is due to mess you over. Either being tainted with the same morality they hold, or being wrecked in a way of no return.
"What do you think happens when a bird with a damaged wing is hunted?"
The bird dies. The bird is too weak to run away from the predator. The bird can't fly away with their wings. The one thing that provides them freedom. They are hunted until they are killed.
"What do you think when a puppet no long has their controller pulling their strings?"
The puppet falls onto the floor. Unable to do anything else without their puppeteer. They are simply a block of wood.
Ish found himself clapping at the end of the narration.
"Amazing! Amazing work!"
"You understand what it means?"
"Course' I do. All you'd need to do was pay somewhat attention during English class." He retorted, getting out of his seat, watching as all the cardboard cut-outs (and the singular puppet) got pushed off the stage. "Is it not worrying to you how the future for them will end up?" One of the Watchers asked him, Ish shook his head.
"They can create their own future." Ish said.
"And besides, what I though would happen is far from what may actually happen. You only said their situation, not what will happen."
"Isn't it obvious?"
"The obvious isn't entertaining."