♥ 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]

[It'd felt wrong in his head before. It feels even more so, now that she's said it.]

No... no. No way. There's nothing inevitable about it if it's a choice you can make in the future! How could that possibly be the best option?

[He grits his teeth, suddenly vehement. All he'd needed was confirmation. Locking herself away- he doesn't like that either. But being completely erased, over a maybe? It's absurd. It's wrong, so wrong.]

There has to be something else. I won't accept that.

[iustaegis]

[ She looks at him is disbelief, betrayal, and her voice drops to a cold, horrified whisper. Of all people, she thought he would-- ]

What are you saying? There is no other way.

[carbungle]

[The betrayal in her eyes stings - he knows, he knows the hypocrisy of it - but he can't help how wrong it feels. A sacrifice to prevent a greater evil- that, he understands, and he'd assumed that was the case when he'd accepted her answer before. But he can't in a hundred years, or five hundred, or more, imagine her being the threat that needs to die, for the world to be saved. That is what's wrong.]

Why not? Why is it inevitable?

[iustaegis]

Because--

[ Her voice quivers with an inhale as she attempts to explain herself. Why is it inevitable? Because she feels it in the core of her very being, tied to a power that will trigger all to end and then rebuild. ] Because I feel-- [ Her hand covers the crystal at her chest, eclipsing its light as if it could burn him.

That is her power, her privilege, something her brother did not have but coveted all the same. Because she knows that it's happened before, but the memories and data are muddled and nauseating.

She doesn't know how to explain it. ] Because it's not a question of if, but when.

[carbungle]

That isn't an answer.

[His hand tightens a little around hers, as if afraid that challenging her on this too much will cause her to reject him and send him away, something he knows she can do- she has all the control here. Still, he can't help being stubborn. Reiterating the same point isn't satisfying his confusion, so it won't be enough to convince him either. Inevitable she says, when she says, but there's no reason behind it. It only sounds like fear.]

[iustaegis]

[ Finally her eyes lift to meet his, and her expression is entirely helpless. Her other hand, still held by his, goes slack. ] I-- I don't know... Instinct! A feeling, Noct.

[carbungle]

Feelings... can change. Instincts can be wrong.

[It's the smallest of hopeful slivers, but he clings to it anyway, focusing in on it as he grasps for alternatives. Feelings aren't inevitable. Feelings aren't a guarantee. It means she hasn't been given a reason to feel that there's a better alternative. Not yet. Right?

He has to try. It isn't fair that she have to endure this fate without being forced into a corner.]

Doesn't that mean that you still have a choice? You can look for better options. Save the world, and yourself, too. Or- do you want to die?

[He'd said it in a rush, but as soon as the words are out his chest aches, terrified of the answer. Mostly because he... doesn't know what her answer might be.]

[iustaegis]

[ It's either her or this world. If she remains, then it won't be this world; it'll be gone, and another will replace it. It happened before, it will happen again: a matter of time, that's all it will be, until the end.

Yet in answer to his question a single word lifts from her tongue, acrid and blasphemous, and without her able to stop it at the height of her corrupting emotions: ] ...No.

[ This is the only way, she tells herself, to deliver the world its freedom from being ended. It would be a chance for her brother to laugh at in the end, the chance for humans to ruin the world on their own, by their own accord, by their own means, bleeding the land they gave them bit by bit as the millennia turned. It would be a slow and painful death for the world they created, but it would be theirs, and it would not be cut short...

How she hopes that they'll defy the path upon which they are set. She also tells herself this: there is always hope. However, that hope is only there without her to stifle it. ]

[carbungle]

[She's stubborn, too. He knew that, of course, and to an extent he understands the tenacity. He'd been much the same way with Cor, trying to come to terms with his own fate while the other tried to convince him to search for a way to live. On the other hand, if the freaking top-tier god of the world says it's time to die, what else is he supposed to do?

Here, it's... like she's telling herself that she has to. And that isn't right. To make a sacrifice like that, it should be the last resort, the best option. Only after all options are explored. He's not convinced of that yet.]

If you want to live, then try that, first. Fight with everything you've got, find help- anything. Nobody should have to die unless there's no other way.

[He doesn't care if it makes him sound like a hypocrite. He wants to save her, wants her to have the sort of future he can't. Projecting? Sure, maybe. But protecting is what he prefers, and he's decent enough at it most days that he's planting his feet here and now until he's forced to move.]

[iustaegis]

[ Help.

Help? Help her, when it is the mortals that need help the most in the world, who struggle and toil and die, who among many regard their life as too painful to endure, when that blame is solely upon the Architect and the Trinity because they are the ones who made it? She wants a better world for them, she wants them to exist. She doesn't to not rob them of that chance to lose it, to overcome their pain-- ]

I'm telling you there is no other way! [ She struggles with her words, with controlling her voice, the stress of not being believed. Distress and pain make her tone crack, and her eyes are wet. ] Destroying it.... that function is a part of us!

[carbungle]

You keep saying that, but it doesn't mean anything except a possibility unless something forces your hand! Just because something can happen doesn't mean it will. There's so much else you can do with your power... even without it, you help people.

[It's hard to stamp down on his anger, teeth clenching to try and keep his voice restrained. He'd been so distressed for her fate, but stupidly he hadn't bothered to question the source of it before now. He'd imagined the dying world she described, floating continents made of massive creatures, struggling and falling out of the sky, and some elaborate... mystery that required her life to power and salvage that world. Fix the Titans, or give them a land beneath to fall upon safely. He hadn't thought about it, had only thought how awful it was that another world had to be saved through something like that. He'd felt angry at whatever must have directed her towards this fate. How dare they choose her, someone so kind and loving who didn't deserve to die, who could help so many more, who has more power hiding inside her than he could fathom, if this is what she fears it'll do. How dare they.

But... it's her. She's deciding herself, unprompted. So now he can't help feeling angry at her choice instead.]

If you want to live, then live. Fight for it with everything you've got. If your powers are the problem, seal them, not yourself. Save the world by watching over it!

[iustaegis]

[ She flinches as if she's been slapped, and the recoil has her blinking fast and hard until a few tears fall from her cheeks to the grass below. Had it been a mistake to tell him after all? Quickly, she withdraws her hand to wipe at the wetness upon her face, attempting to quell her emotions. How they bother her even now. She feels as if she's being trampled. Observing the world had been all that she did before awakening. Eons and eons of watching the world grow up from dust, waiting for sentient life to begin anew.

She can't help but think she's insulted him and his own circumstance. It's his deities, the powers in his world, that are telling him to die; of course he would be angered at her for deciding this herself.... even if she is one of the powers of her own world.

"--anything except a possibility--"

...It is true. She had never-- she was never brave enough to... ] ....Do you want to see it with us?

The future of our world.

[carbungle]

[Her flinch and withdrawal stings, but he knows he deserves it so he doesn't chase. Rather, he drops his hands to his sides, one between them, both curling in the grass as he feels his frustration swell. He hates this. Life is so much better and easier when the problems in front of him are foes he can battle with a sword in hand, rather than with words. He's too earnest, he'd never been gifted with his father's silver tongue for negotiations or convincing arguments, he lacks Ignis' talent for strategy. His mind is racing, trying to think of what next to do or say. He doesn't know enough, her world has too many mysteries, and she...

...and then she says that, and he's silent for a long moment, brows furrowing. That's right... he'd half-forgotten, but there'd been something about her uncertainty that had bothered him, and now it clicks. Her crystal... she could convey the future to someone. Witnessing his own death and the aftermath had almost shattered him at the time, but ultimately it had been integral in helping him on the path to accepting his fate, coming to terms with what his future was. There was something immensely peaceful about the knowledge that it wasn't a maybe anymore, that if he did it right, the sun would rise again, that it wouldn't be for nothing. It had the potential to give her the same relief, but she'd said...

He focuses back on her, hating the grief in her eyes but needing to confirm.]

...You've never looked, have you.

[iustaegis]

[ Separated now, her hands fold together upon her lap as she closes her eyes, and after a delay, nods her answer: he is correct, she hasn't.

 With the confession made, shame consumes her, and she ends up bowing her head. For all the emotions she has developed within her humanity, the first and strongest with which she had been awakened was an imprint of fear. Addam had already seen the destruction her brother had caused the world, and he had doubts as to controlling a weapon of the Architect. The aftermath only made her own fear grow within, and at the end of battle, that devastation and fear had caused them seal themselves.... if only for a time. ]

We felt there was no need to.

[ She says, at first, but then shakes her head. No, that explanation is not quite right.

So she corrects: ] We were scared.

[carbungle]

[He'd been about to object to the first answer - it did feel wrong immediately - but her follow-up mollifies him. It's a fear he understands. Since his arrival in this world, when Cor told him of Luna's fate, he'd tried to avoid talks of the future. He'd pretended it was to avoid complications, but... he knew it was because he was afraid of it. Of hearing the heartbreak that lay ahead of him. He hadn't wanted to know how much he failed.

And then he'd fallen asleep, and he'd lived it, and... he had felt it over, and over, and over. He'd been left alone and he'd failed every time. The rite. The train, chasing an illusion. Ardyn's gloating revival from what should have been certain death. Gralea. Bahamut's revelation and an empty crystal prison. He'd been alone and he'd hated it. He'll be alone with his ghosts when he dies. The future was lonely, and who would want to witness it on their own?

Remembering all of this is enough to help him decide, though his answer was all but a foregone conclusion already. She'd asked him. Angry as he is, his answer to her will always be yes. He turns towards her, his gaze focused, and he reaches up to touch her shoulder, urging her to look at him.]

Let's do it. We'll do it together- and whatever happens, I'll accept your answer.

[Even if it's bad, even if the future is cruel. He's already learned that not everyone gets a happy ending to their story. But if there's a chance, then- gods, he wants to take it, just in case it lifts that burden from her shoulders. If anyone deserves to be happy, it's her. She's carrying so much sadness already...]

1/2

[iustaegis]

[ Guilt comes from having ruined so much before, from having sundered so much of their land in an already dying world, and also from having forgotten all of that loss in the bliss that is love. She's fallen, and she's fallen so far from what she once was, from what she feels had been meant to be-- just observing, just lying in wait at the Architect's side, just being there until it was time to scrap all of the world again. She fears confirming a future just because of this instinct, a feeling she has. His hope lies in her feelings being.... wrong.

It stings, thinking more about it.

Are they not all wrong to begin with? It's not as if she should have them, anyway. Yet as she looks at him, she can't help but feel them for him. A love for him, a guilt at loving him because it distracts her from how much others have suffered, then fear if it is all wrong, all wrong. Her gaze lifts as he touches her shoulder, drops, then moves sidelong to the grass; she is unable to meet his eyes, hurt. The bell still tolls.

Be brave, they've both said. He makes her feel brave, she had said, but this proves to him that she's been nothing but a coward the entire time. With her hypocrisy bared to him, how can she not feel even worse? In this moment, he makes her feel little and wrong. ]

[iustaegis]

My turn.

[ Mythra appears in Pyra's place, seated casually with one leg out, the other propped up. With a wave of her hand, she brushes her long hair over her shoulder. She's frowning. ]

This is going to take a little bit of concentration. [ Slowly, the world of Elysium grows dark as the realm begins to fade. Entire buildings of the empty town in front of them vanish, followed by the hills and forest beyond them. Object by object, then section by section, the realm systematically deletes itself.

A moment later, they're sitting on nothing. ] I haven't looked into the future too far before.

[carbungle]

[The switch is abrupt and a little surprising, but in retrospect, it makes sense. Pyra was obviously struggling, and he'd been overly harsh, probably. Maybe. ...Definitely. He can't blame her for needing a break, and Mythra is more likely to tell him off if he pushes too much, based on his impression of her so far. He doesn't know her as well, it feels... less personal, to an extent. Maybe this is easier for her.

Gods, but he hopes this helps. It sure would be on-brand if he screwed this all up and made it worse for everyone.

He looks around them as the world vanishes, leaving them in emptiness, and his heart lurches helplessly, shifting his body closer to Mythra's on instinct, brushing up against her side. It's too much like his crystal now, an empty void where he was doomed to float alone. The contact is grounding, and it helps him settle enough to focus back on her, grasping at his waning confidence. He's committed; he's here for her, for them. Whatever comes, he's not going anywhere.]

Sounds... like a challenge to me.

[And that sounds like something she'd be good at.]

[iustaegis]

[ As the realm around them fades into nothingness, Mythra alone becomes the only source of light within the void. Noctis remains beside her, and then the visions begin.

They are relentless, flashes of minutes, hours, days, and years torrenting past them like a stream of consciousness, distressed and urgent, yearning and searching.The visions branch and break, mold and snap, converge and cease, blurring and colliding into each other as the future is searched for possibility. What will the future hold, if she does not beg for destruction of herself, if the Architect does not grant her request?  The visions do not tell of time, of how long until the end may come, but of only the end that will.
 
The vision shows a sphere backlit by the sun; in space, all is silent. A light shines and shoots around the globe, and when it returns to its origin point, a great burst of white light shoots outward, consuming all of the universe.   Silence follows.

And now Noctis is alone, save for being seated next to light-- the familiar teal-emerald light, shining as a beacon of all.

"I was here at the beginning," says the source of light, its rays remaining at a constant so as to seem solid within the void. "And I will proclaim the end." ]

[carbungle]

[It's... not what he'd wanted.

It was a possibility, of course. There's always a chance that things go badly, that the world is more cruel than he wishes for, and the chance for that is high, he's learned over the course of this past year. He'd been afraid of it, of confirming a void of hope, though it's a fear that she's clearly been carrying for a lot longer. And this is the reality, her reality- a void of nothing, should she make the wrong call.

So... it's back to how it was before. Her fate wasn't changed. He doesn't fully understand what he just witnessed, but he can recognize the end clearly and plainly enough, and much as he'd love to deny it even now, he doesn't want to hurt her anymore. Already he worries what this might have done, what ripples that his argument and that fleeting desire to save might create in her. Will she, they be okay? Will knowing be better than an instinct? There can be peace and turmoil both, born from such knowledge. He doesn't know what she'll feel, one or both or neither.

All he can do is ask, and do his best to clean up whatever mess his meddling has caused. Very tentatively, he reaches out towards the light.]

Mythra? ...Pyra? What happened...?

[Is Elysium gone? Is she gone? What comes next, after oblivion?]

[iustaegis]

[ Him, the light, the void: this is all that exist within the vision. If shadows could burn, the perfect uniform of nothingness would be an immaculate branding iron. But as time passes, the light begins to quiver as if strained, attempting to hold onto the last of that very same vision. Indeed, what does come after oblivion--

"This world is stagnant.... expired." He will feel as if he is falling. "Therefore I will ask you, its new god, what is your wish..."

Something like thunder resounds through infinity, and the vision shatters like glass.

Once more, it's the both of them upon an empty field, looking out into the void. Mythra sits beside him, and she's breathing heavily, jaw clenched and fist tight upon the grass by her thigh. Her eyes, bleary and exhausted, are narrowed into a glare, but she's staring at nothing. What did this tell her?

That she was right. Her feelings were right. That instinct was right. But what else does it tell her? ]

D.... Dammit.

[ --That those feelings are all she has right now, because there will be a future in which she feels nothing. That there is more she does not understand of her future or her past, and that there is something blocking her still. It hurts her head to think about. It hurts now, and the headache is searing. ]

....Dammit. [ She repeats, more softly this time, as she lowers her head. Her voice cracks as her bangs fall over her eyes, and her shoulders shake with a struggle to keep her composure. Another curse tears from the throat, dry and pitched: ] Shit.

[ Mythra lifts a hand to wipe at her cheek, struggling, frustrated, ashamed, and she slams that same hand down into the ground beside her afterwards. The back of her knuckles are wet. ] Auugh, fuck.

[carbungle]

[He's silent as she curses beside him, breathing hard as he re-adjusts to being back in this reality, the layers of the vision peeling back to reveal the crystal Elysium, and his relief at being freed from that dark, empty abyss is clashing with the heaviness he feels in his heart, recognizing what it is that they saw together. Even if he hadn't gotten a bad feeling from the vision itself, her reaction would be all that's necessary to know that it wasn't good news.

It's also the first time he's seen such a visceral response from Mythra herself, which itself isn't that strange - his experiences with her overall are still so limited - but it's still a surprise nonetheless. It worries him even more what Pyra's response might be, when (or if) she returns here, or when he leaves the crystal and finds her outside it instead. He can only do one thing at a time, though, so... as Mythra swears and hits the ground, he reaches a hand out, hesitates, then rests it on her shoulder. If she'll allow it, he'll wind it around her and pull her in. She can yell at him or hit him if she needs, he'll take it, but he won't let her cry alone.]

I'm sorry. I- I'm so sorry...

CW!! death, suicide, probably should have mentioned this before ;;

[iustaegis]

[ Her shoulder lift when his hand falls upon one of them, but she doesn't fight his pull towards him. Her hand raises from the ground and knocks lightly against his chest in a half-hearted thump as she buries her face against his collar. She all but crumples into him, too exhausted to keep herself upright. That-- that had taken a lot of power to execute, and her mind is still reeling, the energy within her is still thrumming, and her vision is hazy with tears and flashes of what she had seen. ]

Just---.... just like last time.

[ She hadn't even remembered what it had been like when the first version of the world was scrapped, of what happened, what triggered it, what started it. But now that she's seen this future-- a light circling the world, coming back to its starting point, then igniting a power of change-- those memories have resurfaced. She knows that it's exactly as it had happened before.

By the Architect, how many eons has it been since this world began? Too many to count, and to think that all of it will be undone once more if she doesn't-- if they don't...

Her teeth grit. ] That... That is the future... if we do nothing. That's why-- that's why we have to beg for our death.

well it's certainly more explicit now :x

[carbungle]

[Beg for our death. He can't help wincing at those words, though her first comment confuses him. Last time? So this has happened before? Or was that what it was like when they brought down the Titans of the past? Does it even matter? An answer is an answer, whatever sort of history it was born from. The world as it was known ended, and it will end again.

He supports her as she leans against him, his free hand lifting to stroke through her long hair. It isn't fair, still. After all that, still. Why can't they have this power be taken from them? Why can't they live on as normal people, in the world they love? It's cruel, to be given that sort of strength and have it be used for so much destruction. Not when she's so good at helping people live.

His breath is shaky as he exhales, a dozen more questions or apologies on the tip of his tongue. Instead what he says is,]

From who?

[iustaegis]

Our.... Father.

[ Mythra lifts her head up from his shoulder, withdrawing her hand from his chest to wipe again at her cheek impatiently. Why is she crying, she already felt this would happen. Perhaps she had underestimated the impact of actually seeing it for herself. Perhaps finally seeing it being destroyed a second time is that much more devastating. There are people in that future. There must be good people in that future, people like... those here in Havenwell. People who she knows she will love. People like those she had known before or would come to know, people who who are kind, intelligent, strong, brave. People like-- like Noctis. Like Somnus. Like Honerva, like Lup, like Ardyn, like Zenitsu, like Yuuji, like Cloud, like Era, like Lup, like Taako, Shinji, Kyoko, Vianca, Prompto, Will, and everyone else.... Like Lora, like Jin, like Hugo....

Like Addam.

Humanity may be driving the Titans to extinction in her world, but if there is any chance of there being humans like them in it, or reflecting any of their wonderful, unique qualities... she wants to preserve that world for them. Or at least, ensure that it's not cut short. Not deemed a failure, scrapped for another world.

Heaving another frustrated sigh, she continues to speak. ] The Architect. He'd be the only one that could possibly...

[ Her hand lifts to her forehead, pressing her fingers at the bridge of her nose as the vision replays through her mind. There's something wrong here. Is she wrong about the Architect having that power?

"Therefore I will ask you, its new god, what is your wish..."

She lowers her hand from her face, her expression now slack. ]

I don't know anymore.