"We'll always be together, Mo'."
Severa lied.
Everything life had taught her up to this moment was that fleeting idea was never further from the truth. Even if every star aligned, every fate defied, and reality itself twisted for the benefit of the sisters, the great equalizer came for everyone in the end... and then, one way or another, one of the pair would be left alone forever without their other half. Even still, it was her duty as an older sister to ensure the safety and happiness of her younger. Severa looked down into the ever exuberant eyes of Morgan- those eyes that had never lost their luster since she was babe- and faltered.
Morgan could always feel when something was off with her big sister, and gently she took Severa's hand, the matching set of their parent's signet rings gently tapping together. What little it did to ease Severa's nerves, it was better than standing in this dour silence.
"Always together, Sev!"
Morgan wished it the truth, yet even she was not as naive as she had once been. She still spoke with a smile that could lighten the most dark of hearts, and with an enthusiasm that would not betray the anxiety she felt coursing through her mind, for it was her duty as a younger sibling to make sure her older sister never swayed in her purpose.
As the pair stood in the yawning maw of that great otherworldly gate, the oppressive darkness of the night was washed away by the radiant spectrum spilling forth from the great door. It beckoned them to ascend its grandiose steps, and who were they to refuse such a divine artifact. Yet each step stabbed yet more daggers of anxiety and fear into their hearts 'til the two girls stood before that great swirling vortex of the unknown, practically embracing one another before its vastness.
"J-just… just hold onto my hand." Severa gripped her younger sister even tighter as the magic of the gate nipped at her skin, like a cat eager for its next meal. "We will be fine as long as you hold onto me."
"Got it!" Morgan had no qualms about it. Ever since she was able to walk, she had held onto her sister. First it was out of fear- the unknown, the great expanse of the world around her that overwhelmed and oppressed. Yet as she grew older, she clung to her sister still. Even as her mind came to make sense of everything around in a logical and analytical manner, Morgan could never shake the feeling of a looming loneliness and emptiness that seemed always seemed to creep ever closer with each passing day. It was something her logical mind could not make sense of- and as her world began to spiral into darkness, Severa still stood. Even as all others fell, her sister, through sheer force of will, persevered.
But this was different. After everything the two had seen- had suffered…
This was something that Morgan knew in the deepest recesses of her being, would not go the way they hoped.
How she wanted to say she was scared- how she wanted to collapse on that very step and cry for her mother and father, her aunts and uncles, her friends... everyone she had grown up loving and being loved by. How she wanted to curse the fate that had been spun, rage and unleash that virulent hate and ugliness she held within for so long.
Looking now at her sister, posture of a seasoned warrior in a youth who never experienced innocence, face bereft of emotion where the joys of adolescence should have lit a bright smile- a false strength brought on by necessity… Morgan could not back away from their shared conviction now.
Severa had kept them alive, and Morgan kept them sane. What would happen to her dear sister if Morgan gave up hope? Who was she to question any sliver of light still housed in Severa's already rent heart? No- it was going to be Morgan's darkness to bear for the sake of her beloved sister. She held onto Severa's sleeve exactly like how she did when walking the long halls of the Ylissian court as her sister crossed the threshold.
Morgan stumbled in after her.
The magics tore at them.
Tumbling, spun in a mighty vortex of cosmic power, Morgan shut her eyes so tight that, at least to her perception, the blinding scintillation of lights went dark. She wanted to scream, to let a guttural roar from the seat of her belly so loud that her sister would be able to hear her of the maelstrom around them.
And yet-
A whisper, so soothing and calm, washed over her very soul.
If you could be reborn, child-
What would you wish?
A price was demanded. A deal proposed. Equity demanded for the scale.
How long had she simply followed her sister? How long had she held Severa back. 'tis true that she never wished to harm her sister ever again… but perhaps-
-perhaps if Severa could see them again… the pain would be temporary. Maybe even she would find herself there eventually...
"I love you, sis." Morgan whispered as Severa's sleeve slipped from her fingers.