♥ September (Ohnir) Event Log

[hugtopiamods]

September (Ohnir) Event Log
The month of Ohnir brings with it a slow but steady relief from the heat, as summer gives way to autumn and the city begins to change with it. Plants are slowly deflowering, leaves are starting to fade and fall, and while the season is not yet in full swing, all the signs are there if you know where to look. The city is abuzz with new energy as the residents realize that for the first time in centuries, they have some actual nature clean-up ahead of them: raking leaves, pruning branches, protecting young wildlife and fresh plants from the incoming chills of winter. Such work used to be relegated to those who cared for the botanical gardens and zoos, but now everyone who's been enjoying this year's garden harvest has to learn how to future-proof their treasured flowers. Offworlders are encouraged to do the same, lest all of the growth be lost over the winter.

---

❥ PROMPT I: A Clean Getaway

With all of the work to be done, it's no surprise that some are looking for new ways to refresh themselves and relax, and what better time would there be to open up the Public Baths! All the volunteer work cleaning the place has paid off, and the facilities are officially open and available for use. It is technically free to use, as a public facility, but those visiting are encouraged to tithe a small donation once in a while to pay for upkeep and freshen up the place, provide new soaps, etc. No judgment if you can't! It'll just make everything that much nicer in the long run.

The baths are separated into a few sections: oil baths for the native residents, and water baths for the offworlders. For obvious reasons, offworlders are encouraged not to enter the robot-residential sections! Though they are not strictly forbidden... it would be quite messy and bad for your health.

The offworlder half has additional separated sections that may interest characters when they visit:

1) Hot Springs Style - Clothed or Unclothed: there are 3 available rooms for each, one for separate presented genders, and a shared bath for those comfortable with the concept or don't wish to use either male or female. Each room has one larger pool and a few smaller sets, so you can sit by yourself or with others as you please.

2) Pool: a shared public pool! The water is nice and cool, which should be a comfort to those still struggling with the lingering summer heat. There is some water game equipment available for open use if people want to play and get their sports on.

3) Sauna: similar to the springs, once again, there are 3 rooms for gender splits so everyone can enjoy the place at their own comfort level.

It all seems very nice and relaxing for everyone, but this wouldn't be a proper event without some shenanigans now, would it? There are a few effects that may occur within the baths, and these effects are somewhat random. Some characters may experience them to a powerful degree, while others feel nothing at all. Players can decide for themselves who and where these will affect, so feel free to mix, match, and go wild. The effects are:

• The spring water is so relaxing that you feel free and more willing to talk about yourself, or share your feelings more openly.


• The swimming pool is cool and energizing, making you want to horse around and play with others nearby. You may also feel inclined to drape yourself onto others, like a cool, comfy pillow.


• The sauna has you dishing up spicy hot takes, releasing negative emotions or complaints, and makes you a little more inclined to gossip.

All effects can either be nullified or emphasized according to player discretion by physical contact. For some characters, holding hands or something will stop the effects, but for others it'll intensify them - it should keep characters guessing!

❥ PROMPT II: REM Stands for Realistic Emotional Memory in These Parts

Characters who were around last year might remember a bout of strange and sporadic dreams that plagued the town around this season, along with the sensation that they were being followed. This year, dreams once more enter uninvited to one's mind, but this time, it occurs as a random daydream while they are awake, and it is very different from person to person- instead encouraging you to do the following. All visions start out hazy, like a grainy old movie where details and figures are difficult to make out, but there is something both familiar and alien about it. It feels like a memory… but it is not your memory. Over time, the visual begins to clear the more often the dream repeats, until slowly the images grow more distinct, offering clearer faces, the addition of voices, discernable quotes or expressions. The memory will provide hints as to who it might belong to, though the subtlety of those hints will likely vary. Before too long, if you have not found a way to rid yourself of the dream, you will experience an entire memory of another person in town as if you were witnessing it from their perspective!

Now, how does one rid themselves of these strange visions? You could wait it out, if you're patient enough and not inclined to seek the answer, but those who've been here long enough can wager a guess: you must find the source of that memory and "send" it back to them through physical interaction of some kind. Some memories may take longer to transfer than others, and it may depend on the person, the memory itself, how clear the memory has become in the time you carried it… no two experiences are likely to be the same.

There are a few specifics about these memories that are worth noting:

• the memory should be of a single event, not a series of events that span a long period of time. For example, you could witness the stretch of someone's day at a wedding or long party (sped up to skip insignificant moments so it doesn't play in real time), but not a memory of an entire war that goes for months. How long the memory goes for is up to the player that the memory belongs to, as long as it falls within these guidelines.


• you are not limited to a single memory from a single person. Once you have solved one vision, after a certain amount of time, you may find yourself plagued with another.


• you will not necessarily end up having the same memory partner! You won't always have the memory of the person who has your memory. Characters are encouraged to pair up and try to piece together clues that might lead you to your intended partner. Help each other out and guide one another in the right direction if you can.


• those whose memory has been borrowed may find it difficult to recall it; it can seem fuzzy and indistinct, missing entirely or simply missing choice details. Through physical contact, that memory will fully return to them and both participants can experience it together.


• you can find your partner accidentally! If you're still searching for clues and happen to touch your partner through other circumstances - such as shake their hand at first meeting, or hug a friend - you may find both of you are suddenly experiencing a memory together as it is transferred! Aren't you lucky, to have found your partner so easily?

!!! IMPORTANT !!! The contents of the memory shared is up to you, but please be mindful of harmful subjects and tag/mark your comments and toplevels accordingly! Triggering memories should be noted with content warnings. Be kind to your fellow players! If someone asks you to tag something and you have not done so, please correct it as soon as possible. Untagged comments that aren't adjusted and are reported to us may be subject to mod screening until the issue is resolved.

❥ PROMPT III: I Shall Fight With My Bear Hands

Closer to the tail end of the month, one of the research facilities distributes a "Help Wanted" advertisement through the network, requesting the aid of offworlders. The advertisement reads:

"Calling all offworlders! Havenwell Research and Development is seeking volunteers for both physical prowess and supernatural ability testing. All are welcome! Even if you have no combat skills and feel only a desire to learn, we have a job for you. Those who already possess some form of self-defense or combative powers will be partnered and asked to "spar" in a partially digitized facility, or proceed with a simulation that will gauge destructive capabilities. And for those who possess neither, don't worry! Our program is specially designed to help you discover just where your talents lie.

No harm should come to any volunteers, as this is strictly simulation-based, similar to the virtual reality technology already widely used throughout the city. However, in case of any accidents, medical staff is on site to treat injuries as needed. Additionally, there is no need for you to wear any of the VR headgear typically required in our cafes, so if these devices cause you discomfort, this may be a simulation that better meets your needs.

Please contact us ASAP if you are willing and able to help. A monetary commission will be awarded upon completion of each session."

Any volunteers or inquiries will be provided with more information, and invited to one of the research towers located in town. They are guided to a floor that is abuzz with activity, partnered with whoever happens to be scheduled at the same time or a partner they themselves opted to bring with them, and taken to a room akin to Star Trek's holodeck. There, they can input "powers" or "no powers", and a simulation will be created for them based on their selected guidelines.

With Powers:
The console invites characters to select one of two options- their own abilities, or temporarily gain access to the elemental powers offered via AC Rewards (point levels 50, 100, and 200). They are able to choose a particular power level for the duration of the simulation, which can either dampen their natural abilities to a more fair level for the test you're undertaking, or remain normal. While in the simulation room, rather than actually using any real abilities, the room will materialize whatever ability you choose without causing true damage to either the room or your opponent. Science, or magic? It's probably both. Feel free to go wild and have fun, maybe try some powers you've never experienced before or vent your frustrations on being stuck here!

Without Powers:
The console invites characters to select a type of weapon and skill level, and said weapon will materialize in a basic form; while held inside the room it moves and feels real, but it cannot be removed from the facility. Those who are skilled in utilizing said weapon are free to wield it as if it were the genuine article in their chosen simulation. Those without much or any skill will be walked through a tutorial on basic techniques from a variety of styles, old or new, most unfamiliar but well suited to the body type of the person using the program. It's quite intuitive, though it is by no means perfect, so characters might end up being guided through a stranger workout than intended.

For versus mode, each participant has an HP bar displayed above their heads, and everyone has the same HP unless both players select an unbalanced mode, and the goal is to force your opponent to hit zero HP. Characters can also choose how realistic the simulated violence is and how the process feels: in low realism, it's similar to laser tag, where characters flash a colour when hit and take damage without feeling anything more than some uncomfortable vibration. In high realism, pain is genuine to a certain degree depending on how high a level they choose, though it is artificial and will fade as soon as the program ends. Hitting zero HP will not result in a knock-out, but characters will feel dizzy and be forced to sit down, unable to rise again until they surrender. All effects wear off as soon as the simulation ends.

For demonstration mode, participants are given a selection of virtual targets to practice on using whatever method of combat they've chosen. It could be moving targets, such as creatures that have invaded the barrier previously (via the Wild Wild prompt), or simulations of the more dangerous beasts in the museum/zoo areas of town. It could be simple targets built to take a beating without providing much challenge in return. It could be a collection of buildings that characters can break or explode as they please. This mode is designed to gauge just how strong a person's destructive potential is, either with their own powers or with powers granted to those who have been blessed by their patron god.

Characters are welcome to volunteer as many times as there are available partners and/or slots! So feel free to try a few times using different options.

❥ PROMPT IV: A Bonus Trip Down Memory Lane

Last year, some offworlders might remember the tradition of sharing stories in the temple of Ohma, to offer small tributes to the god on their first month of devotion. It is that time of the year again, and everyone is welcome to return and share more stories, or perhaps retell an old favourite to a new audience. Here is the event as described previously:

Ohma's temple is particularly lively during Ohnir and the priests are busy cleaning and sweeping, decorating it with rolls of parchment and digital inkwells and quills that write as if they were actually fountain pens. The natives, especially adherents of Ohma, start to make pilgrimages to the temple in little processions, some playing music, others flying banners.

Anyone who chooses to follow can observe the natives going up to the altar and sharing stories with one another. They talk about things they did over the past year or things that are far, far in their past. Some of the stories are happy and result in the procession laughing and some are...well, not everyone returns safely from certain disasters that befall the city throughout the year. The priests diligently write every story down on those parchment rolls and deposit them onto the waiting altar, where they're summarily lit on fire to the cheers of those present. The more emotional the story it seems, the brighter and bluer the flame that it emits and the louder the procession cheers.

As the file out, they notice you watching and urge you to go up with someone else in the temple to clear your heart and offer up your own stories. They can be stories of home, information about your worlds, or stories about your life.

---

This event will run from September 14th to 30th. Click on each prompt's title to see the text. If you have any questions, feel free to direct them to the FAQ or to the Mod Question thread.

Comments

[carbungle]

[Noctis doesn't answer at first, blinking rapidly as if that will somehow shake off what just happened. He looks over at her, purses his lips, and heaves himself up out of the water.]

Hey... can we talk for a minute? In the back.

[He doesn't know why he was given this memory, why here and now, but he does know that with how privately she keeps her past to herself, this isn't a conversation for the side of a public pool. Normally he'd take her hand and help her up, but he hesitates and keeps to himself for now, not wanting to trigger something else. He knows firsthand how strange visions work sometimes.]

[iustaegis]

[ This would be the time he would take her hand. Finding it odd, she can only nod to him instead, rising out of the pool alongside him, not bothering to don herself with a towel because she'll be dry within minutes, given the heat she provides.

For him, she only grows more worried. ]

Er, is something wrong?

[carbungle]

[He shakes his head - not as an answer but a momentary dismissal. Not here. Instead he leads her from the pool, finding an unoccupied change room that looks about as private as it's gonna get. Once he's sure no one's around, he turns back towards her and wordlessly reaches a hand out, as a test. If this doesn't work, he'll tell her properly.]

[iustaegis]

[ It works.

It works enough that Pyra actually withdraws her touch from his as if she had been touched (and could be effected by) hot coals. Her lips part with an audible after thought, as if a million thoughts condensed into one, only to shatter upon unification. ] ....Ah.

[ She blinks as her vision blurs, her expression distant and lost, her limbs slack at her side, her face growing pale. In this mist of her eyes she sees not the blue of a uncrowned king before her, but the golden ones of another. Blinking again yields wetness down a cheek, and she's brought back to the present. She has to focus upon the present, who's right before her...

But Addam, Addam, and the continent, lost. And her world, she has to get back, she has to. It's not safe here, it never was; what a fool she had been to think otherwise.

Pyra reaches for Noctis' hand again. ]

[carbungle]

[There it is- he feels it at once, his breath catching for a moment as the memory becomes less vibrant, less real- instead like something he'd watched on TV rather than experienced firsthand. When she pulls back he doesn't chase, his eyes lifting to study her expression, drawn immediately to the tear as it falls. As he thought, it was hers, and one that hurts her deeply.

He ignores her hand, instead closing the distance between them and drawing her into a tight hug, one hand around her back as the other rests against her hair.]

I'm sorry...

[iustaegis]

[ Touch is what's needed to restore this one, and then hopefully return to her own world. So she accepts the embrace for that reason--

And of course, because his presence brings comfort, his arms keep her from falling apart, and his reassurance prevents her from spiraling down into returning to as she once was, of thinking only of returning home. He's here, she's here, but it still hurts....

It's hurt all this time. For almost a year she's been here, and all of these memories have remained hers. Perhaps they haven't been at the forefront of her mind, but they've always been present, a contributing, if not driving force in part behind her actions.

He was so good. He was so good, good enough to tell her that sealing her wasn't just a way to protect the world, but with the hope that the world would one day be worthy of having her again-- as if he truly believed that! As if, after seeing all the destruction she had wrought, the world wanted her...

Pyra buries her face into his shoulder, lifting a hand to clutch upon his chest, shoulders shaking as she cries. ]

[carbungle]

[When she cries he holds on fast, keeping her close enough that he can tug her down with him as he sits on the change room bench, pulling her into his lap and stroking a hand through her hair.

His heart aches for her. What can he even say? There's still so much he doesn't know, so many questions he has but hesitates to ask, lest it cause her more suffering. As if he didn't know already, that memory proved she's been through so much. He can't imagine how it must have felt to be sealed away like that, left sleeping for so long- not dragged in as he'd been with his Crystal, tricked by his enemy, but made to go willingly by someone she clearly must have cared for. It's just a small slice of what she must have endured to get where she is now, and somehow she's still so kind. Kind, but... sad.

Unable to find words that might help, he waits quietly for her, letting her weep as much as she needs. He tries to do what she's done for him several times already: just be there, and hold her. He hopes she can take some comfort in his presence.]

[iustaegis]

[ If it weren't for him, she'd be grieving alone as she's done before. Just her and Mythra, as it had been. (As it should be?)

It's far too easy for her to slip back into her old ways, especially when given such a jarring reminder to break apart the foundations she's so carefully built up to support herself... all the while refusing to let others-- even Noctis-- in further that she must. This reveals the fault in her walls, how weak they had been from the beginning. All it takes is a simple memory. ] 

Noct...  [ He shoulders shake with grief.

Why now. Why is she reminded of this now, when she could have continued to simply smile for him instead and listen to him and comfort him. She is not the only one who has lost something, and to be sure, this isn’t about her, either. It’s about so many lost, wonderful people lost, and a beautiful Titan lost. Still she weeps. ] I am... so sorry.

[ She loves him. But she needs to get back. ]

[carbungle]

You don't have anything to be sorry for.

[He doesn't get her meaning exactly, but anything he thinks of causes him to immediately disagree. The memory shared isn't her fault, and while the forceful method is bad, the chance to get to know and understand her better isn't entirely unwelcome. Crying on him? As if that's a chore. He's not glad for her upset, but he doesn't begrudge the opportunity to try and give back a fraction of what she's given him many times already. What else could there be to apologize for?

Nothing. Not a thing. She deserves comfort, not blame, and she can take as much as she needs.]

[iustaegis]

[ What can she say to him?

She is not the one who suffers. She still exists. Torna was a kingdom that was destroyed. So was Lucis. Torna was a continent that had been-- that she had destroyed. Honerva's home planet had been destroyed. Lup came from a universe were multiple worlds were destroyed! She had been sealed for centuries. Ardyn had been sealed for far longer. She fought in a war. So did Nico as a child! So has Era as a hero. Cloud is a solider. Zenitsu is a demon slayer. Everyone she knows has suffered, sacrificed, or fought for something more than them in some way. They build, they support, they laugh, they are honest, they are kind.

She, meanwhile, has only destroyed ever since she had been imprinted with humanity. This memory returned to her showed her parting with Addam, but the moment she had been awakened for the first time remains clear: how, after burning all of the others of his family before him-- the candidates that had tried to claim her core crystal as their own-- she had resonated with him, finding him worthy. She chose him to wield an artifact that shouldn't ever have fallen into human hands. She imposed this burden onto him.

"I didn't get to harvest the gromrice this year..."

He hadn't even wanted to have this fate. As fifth in line, he could stayed with his wife tending to his lands as a lesser lord. Someone else could have ruled. But it didn't matter, because she took that all away form him.

But what if it hadn't had been him, what if she did not select anyone? Couldn't so many more have been spared... No. Torna had to fall. It was the battlefield. There was no choice, and she had been consumed.

As ever, her turmoil remains unvoiced. ] Never once did he ask to see the future. Not in-- not in any of our battles.

He never asked for our power. He never wanted--... [ She draws in a quick breath, as if it would help steady herself. It doesn't. ] he never wanted the world upon his shoulders. [ He had always been the better man, honest and compassionate and kind, silly or serious when the situation called to be, charismatic when it was necessary... Yet she saw how it weighed upon him, the distinction of wielding the Aegis.

She doesn't know why he smiled back then. He should have hated them for destroyed everything he loved. ]

[carbungle]

[That's a whole lot of him, him, him. This Addam guy. His story is admittedly familiar- maybe it's why some of what he's shared with her has resonated, why she's been so good at comforting him. Somnus, too. They each carried the world in a similar fashion, charged by a higher power to do what must be done regardless of what they might have wanted out of life.

This isn't about Addam, though. He doesn't know this person, or care about him. It isn't about Noctis either, or Somnus. This was Pyra's memory, and she's the one who was locked away.

He brushes her hair back from her face, trying to get a look at her expression. She can be hard to read when she's like this- always sad for other people, empathic but guarded. It must be so much easier to focus on those around her rather than her own pain, but he knows it's there. The memory had given him hints enough of that, and even without it, who wouldn't feel pain from what she'd gone through? To be buried and abandoned sounds so lonely. He need only think about how quietly sad Ardyn is, how pitiful he'd felt after being dragged into the Crystal and away from his friends, to assume how it might have affected her.]

I doubt you asked for this, either. What about what you wanted? Why did he seal you away like that?

[iustaegis]

[ Brushing back her hair unveils her sorrow. With tears forming at the corners of her eyes she looks at him, then can't look at him as she shuts them tightly. It's not pain she feels, it's torture. To exist when so many suffer when she is the one that brought about, to exist knowing that she can still cause so much more harm to others, to exist while being selfish and staying, trying to help, trying to do good--

She's had visions like this before. Of seeing him, then seeing him dead by her hands. There, then gone, like so many others before. She hates it. She hates that the potential remains so long as she exists, when all else around her has done nothing but grow and build. She loves them too much to let that all go to waste. The world doesn't need her, and that's wonderful. It can exist without her, without her crystal, without an Aegis or knowing the future. ]

I wanted that! [ She says at last, her voice raised by fear alone. Then, it drops. She speaks in a whisper, shoulders huddling forward. ] I wanted that, too.

With his help, we sealed ourselves from the world to protect it.... for as long as we could remained sealed and unknown.

[ And now... And now she doesn't know. Now she wants to stay here with him. Now she wants something that's dangerous for everyone involved. Why does she want? She draws her breath, bowing her head in defeat. ] Because we took everything from him. We destroyed his kingdom... The continent, too.

[carbungle]

[His breath catches at those words, stunned speechless for a long moment. Destroyed...? Took everything? That doesn't sound right. It doesn't sound at all like the Pyra - and Mythra - he knows. While it's true there's a lot he doesn't know about her, he feels as if he knows enough: that she loves people, that she loves the world she hails from, that she wants to save this world and help those who live in it. That she'll die for her home, if that's necessary. So much of this he understands, so much he himself feels. Someone like that doesn't just destroy continents, doesn't cry about it. Not maliciously. It's like hearing Ardyn take the blame for things Izunia will do in his future; it feels wrong, doesn't fit the picture of the man he knows now. Those statements don't match up with her, and he needs to know more.

Recognizing that words like that can be spoken in order to drive someone away, he stubbornly defies it. His arms tighten around her instead, drawing her closer, his lips pressed brief and hard against her forehead. He won't let her go. Not with just those words, not without the truth this time.]

Pyra... Mythra, too. Tell me what happened, I want to understand. [He pauses, then adds tentatively,] If it's hard to say here, then- I'll go back in. To your crystal. You can say anything there and no one else will hear it, right?

[iustaegis]

[ Instead of pushing her away, he's only drawn her closer. He holds her, he kisses her upon her forehead. Gestures like these emphasize his words. He wants to know, and immediately she's hit with the same thoughts from before, how she should tell him, because to not do otherwise would be deceiving him. Should he enter her Crystal, no one will hear it except for him... and they won't be sitting in an adjacent room while still soaked from the pool.

But should he enter, he'll have to-- well, enter that crystal, which she knows is unpleasant for him.

She blinks back a few of her tears, looking at him. ] Noct--- no.... No, that's.... I don't want you to hurt yourself for me.

[ Her voice cracks, and distress paints wildly across her expression. ] I don't want that-- any more of that. No more suffering. It's so... It's so much. Everyone is hurting...

[ And she doesn't want to contribute to it. She doesn't want to cause it. She loves him, she wants to stay, but she can't bear the thought of hurting him more, too. ]

[carbungle]

[He purses his lips at that, internally cursing himself for his hesitation. She'd been so careful that first time, and she hadn't lied to him- it hadn't hurt. It isn't his favourite activity, sure, but it wasn't anything like he'd expected, and the trade-off is worth it, especially if it's what she needs. Or even just what she wants.

He shifts his hands, reaching up to cup her face, to hold her focus.]

Hey- hey. It doesn't hurt me. You don't hurt me. I promise, it's okay. I just... I want to help you. But you gotta let me. You're the one always getting me to talk about stuff, aren't you? Why won't you let yourself do the same thing?

[She could be protecting him, again, and that's not a good reason. And if she's protecting herself, he might be able to accept it, but he can't help doubting the validity of a claim like that. Not when she looks so distressed by this, not when she's clearly been through so much and has had to deal with it all by herself.]

[iustaegis]

[ Her eyes are misty as she holds his gaze, supported by his gentle hand upon her cheek. He remains encouraging as always, gently urging her to speak, but not demanding.

Why won't she talk about herself? Because what she's gone through seems so little in comparison to the people she has hurt, to everyone else who has suffered. She comes from a place of privilege-- immortal, sacred, and powerful, untouchable in the eternity she's lived through and seen. Others only have one life, one chance for peace. She will only know an end-- thus saving her world-- if she begs the Architect for it. Failing that, she'll continue to exist as a crystal.

It's not fair to them.... He should know this, she thinks, but still he wishes to help her and wants her to let him help her. A part of her, the weak and selfish part of her... wants that. She wants that understanding, she wants his comfort. After what seems like a century of silence, tense and teetering as if a battle is being fought just beyond the veil of her tears, she nods, casting her eyes downward. ] ...Place your hand upon the crystal.

[ They can speak within it. ]

[carbungle]

[When she at last agrees, he pauses only long enough to rearrange them a bit, leaning against the wall at his back so he won't just fall over on her when he falls asleep. This'll be embarrassing if someone walks in on them either way, but on the wall is better then being sprawled across the floor or something, and it'd be more work for her if she has to pick him back up again while she's trying to talk to him. (can she do that? he has no idea what she can do while he's in there.)]

Okay... see you there.

[Or Mythra? He doesn't know that either, but whichever one meets him on the other side is fine. He said it to their shared body, anyway. What matters to him is that she's willing to at least try talking about what might have happened to her. He... really hopes it helps.

Closing his eyes, he quietly moves his hand to press his fingers on her crystal, unresistant to the pull that follows.]

[iustaegis]

[ For his real body, Pyra allows him to rest against her shoulder as his consciousness is pulled into the crystal. She makes a note that he seems to tolerate the transition far better, without hesitation this time...

The realm inside is as it has been before: peaceful, stagnant, a bright blues for the sky and deep greens for the field and forest around them. A bell tolls in the distance. Much like he's resting against her in reality, he'll be awakening with his head upon her shoulder as they sit within the shade of the tree. She waits until he wakes, allowing him to remain as he rests or straighten up. Between them, her hand is already in his. She's making an effort, it seems, to remain and speak, even if her body is as rigid and tense with something reminiscent of... fear.

It could very well be the fear of rejection, of knowing that delivering more of her past might make him push her away. But wouldn't it be right if he had that choice, instead of deceiving him, hiding it?  ] ...Where do I begin? [ She speaks quietly, keeping her gaze lowered at the hand upon her lap.

"Tell me what happened, I want to understand." ] There was a war.

...There was a war, and we fought with all of our power.

[ Too much power, with catastrophe as a result. ]

[carbungle]

[When he wakes, Noctis checks his surroundings only long enough to confirm that nothing's changed before focusing his attention on Pyra. It's as beautiful as ever here, but that doesn't matter right now. He lifts his head to look at her, but he doesn't pull away fully, curling his fingers around hers.

He waits, letting her decide what to say and how to say it.]

Who was fighting?

[He wonders why as well, but it's a pointless question. Having grown up in a world perpetually at war, there was never a good reason for it, in his experience.]

[iustaegis]

Everyone.

[ All the nations had been embroiled in a conflict that had started even before either Aegis had been awakened, but the damage the mortals did was nothing compared to the Architect's children. ] And us, too. When we awakened.

....My.... [ She hesitates, as if deciding on which word to use, and then: ] brother and Mythra. We fought at the very end. [ Her eyes close as she exhales. Her hand upon her lap is tense, her fingers curling in. ] It was us fighting that caused terrible damage. We-- destroyed so much.

[ Coeia fell overnight in battle. Temperantia, charred and uninhabitable. Torna, sunken within hours. All of those cultures lost, all of those people lost. Information, music, cuisines, industry, families, lives, all gone. ]

We took the form you see now, to limit our power. We buried our third sword in in a royal catacomb. Then, we were sealed separately. It was all we could do at the time...

[carbungle]

[Noctis is quiet a moment, brows furrowing. It... sounds like the Astral War, or at least a little of what he'd heard about it. It was ages ago, after all, but the damage was as permanent as one would expect when gods went to war with one another. The scar stretched across the entirety of Taelpar Crag, a whole cavern forever useless because of how ruined the land had become. That much power could destroy worlds. He knew why that war happened. This...]

What were you fighting for? And- why your brother?

[He's especially curious about her having a brother, for sure. That's new- he hadn't known she might have family. Or... might have had? She didn't mention how it ended aside from how she'd been sealed.]

[iustaegis]

[ And here comes a more complicated answer, a part of which she struggles. Her hand lifts from her lap to her chest, palm to crystal, and then back down to her lap. ] We are the same. [ It goes deeper, more than the reason she can ever remember. He can enter this place, and she can do the same. They are connected, and there's an innate feeling that they were once one... along with another, but the feeling is too muddled, too ancient, for her to truly parse. It's like her connection to her Artifices, or for Malos' to his myriad Artifices that he has. They're all connected, they're all as one...

Thinking about it causes the energy within her to pulse, mimicking a headache is she thinks too deeply. ] We were both imprinted by humanity, but by different people. But he--

How he felt towards humans...

[ She swallows, then lifts her head. Her tone becomes distant, hollow, as she brings up his words. Her brother had said these, but at one point they had resonated within her, this conclusion. She remembers how she had been when she first awakened: uncaring. ] The divine flame of life is wasted on them, how they wreck our world and each other. They plunge towards oblivion.

[ It's almost chilling how easily she can slip back into saying those words without attachment, without thought. A part of her-- that part that is her brother-- is something she's still connected to, even if she herself sees differently now; thus, she still retains a fragment of this belief. But it is only just. One that her human part of her fights against. ]

He... was right. He wanted to accelerate it-- like finishing off something that suffered. [ And ignoring that they still want to try live. ] I fought him... It felt wrong to fight him. But I did.

[carbungle]

[Complicated indeed. He listens, but he's not sure he understands. War was... destroying the world? And her brother wanted to push them over the edge? And Pyra- Mythra agreed- but fought him nonetheless. Is... that why she needs to sacrifice for the world? Because the alternative is this terrible destruction?

He feels a shiver up his spine, an uncomfortable resonance. Having to fight a family member who longed for the world's inevitable destruction... now that he knows Ardyn, he can fathom how terrible something like that might have felt. And they'd done it despite... agreeing with him? He could never agree with what Izunia's done or what he intends, but should he carry his memories from this place they won't make it easier to end his immortal life. If he'd agreed that mankind should be ended... he could never do it, even at the behest of the gods. Mythra, Pyra... they must be so strong. But why would they agree with something like that?]

...Hang on. [He hesitates, frowning, feeling unsure.] Just because he's correct doesn't mean he was right. Even if they suffer, it's still their lives to live. It... isn't wrong to let them choose. Doing what you did- you helped save people.

[iustaegis]

[ She shuts her eyes. Letting people choose their path, even should it lead to their destruction... isn't that the way it should be? She had expressed that to Addam, that the future was in their hands. That all changed; it became muddled, messy, the more she fought upon the earth. That mess only exacerbated when she confronted her brother. ] I believe that. They should have that chance, even should they fall eventually.... It-- just felt wrong to fight him. He's-- was... is a part of me.

I fought for that... I fought to stop him. But I destroyed so much. Coeia, a great Titan, fell-- I couldn't stop him. Then I burned Temperantia, another Titan. Finally, Torna, the largest... [ She draws in a shaky breath. This all happened within a year, and the more she thinks about that single year, of all she had met as Mythra and everyone she had seen, the continents to which she had traveled, the children, the life on all the Titans' backs... When she shuts her eyes, she sees only ghosts. ]

I didn't save people, Noct. I ruined their lives, their homes, their land. We beat him. [ For now, anyway. ] In the end... I caused more destruction than he did.

In our final battle, he reminded me of my purpose-- something I had forgotten, after awakening. I alone have the privilege to destroy our universe.

[carbungle]

[He remembers her speaking of the Titans before, and what her words mean. They were continents. Entire continents fell and burned and were destroyed. It's horrifying to think about, especially now that he's seen the breadth of Lucis in person rather than just on a map, taken a train through Niflheim's stolen territory and seen the scale of his own world. Losing two continents would mean losing most of Eos entirely. It's unimaginable.

That sort of destructive power, it... doesn't sound at all like a privilege. And by the tone of her voice, with how much she struggles with it despite trying to remain strong, he can't imagine her viewing it as such, either. Not when all he's seen of her before has been a focus on saving, saving people, saving the world, this one and his own and hers, especially. It doesn't match up with all he's seen her say and do since they met. Not if it wasn't necessary, not if there was another way.

His eyes drift from her to the field around them, feeling her against his side and the solid tree trunk at his back. Elysium, a paradise. It's beautiful, lush and peaceful, but... empty, just as she'd said. Just her alone, for centuries. He's quiet, thinking over what he might say to that, how he feels about her words. Finally, he speaks up again only to ask,]

How long ago was that? Do you know what the world is like now?