Chapter 3: The First Lyric of Oblivion
It wasn't supposed to be this way!
How did it all turn out like this?
Meteion tried hard to think as she ran from Hermes, Claire, and the others. She couldn't let them hear the report! It was too horrible… Hermes… he's too kind-hearted for this… it would break him! She had to leave… yes, leave and never look back. She would take the report to a place where no one else could hear it!
This morning she had woken up so happy and couldn't wait to see what the day would bring. She immediately jumped out of bed and was anxiously waiting for Hermes to get ready so that they could go out and find Claire.
"Come on!" she chirped up as she tugged enthusiastically on his hand as she led them out of the doors and he chuckled at her eagerness—almost forgetting to put his mask on as they went out the doors.
"Alright, Meteion, but she may still be sleeping right now," he warned. But they didn't need to worry about all that for when they arrived back at the Twelve Wonders, Claire had just woken up and greeted them. Meteion was so happy and begged Hermes if it would be alright if she could go off with Claire since he was planning on speaking with some of the other researchers this morning. He chuckled as he nodded, patting her on the head and asked if that would be alright with Claire. Claire, of course, agreed and he thanked her for keeping her company this morning while he went to his meeting. He then looked down at Meteion before making her promise to be back by noon and to be on her best behavior.
"Yes, Hermes!" she chirped up happily as he smiled.
"Good, now you both have fun," he told them as he left with a friendly wave. He had gone on ahead to speak with the other researchers once more to see if there was nothing else that could be done about the Iykanones.
Meteion clung after Claire as she showed her a little more of the area around the Twelve Wonders before they came upon a patch of growing wildflowers—or as Claire called them…?
"Daisies?" Meteion repeated curiously as she sat on the grass with Claire and watched her pick a few of the flowers and began to tie them together.
Claire's emotions were calm and content this morning as she wove the green leaves all together as she nodded.
"Where I come from, that's what they're called," she answered peacefully as Meteion leaned over her shoulder, curious to see what she was making. "And if you have enough of them, you can actually weave them together like this to make a chain."
"Why?" Meteion asked with wide eyes before Claire finished her work in creating a ring of the daisies and placed it upon Meteion's head.
"To make a crown," she smiled and Meteion felt the ring of flowers upon her head in awe.
"For me? Really? Thank you!" she chirped up happily. How did she know so many beautiful tricks like this? She was suddenly overcome with an urge to learn more of the place that she came from and asked about it.
Claire suddenly became tense and then there was that familiar wall around her emotions that was suddenly built up? Her emotions were suddenly thorny… like spikes and feeling just as rough and jagged… it must be something she really didn't want to talk about.
Recognizing this, Meteion instead asked more about these flower crowns and Claire's mood picked up at that as she taught her how to tie the stems together. In fact, she watched how Claire did a small braid on the side of her own head and was able to tuck one daises—Meteion liked the name now—into the braid so it was woven together and stood out cheerfully. Meteion clapped at that, suddenly eager to do the same.
"Here, let me try!" she chirped up. Her own hair was too short for this and so she reached over and began to entangle flowers in Claire's hair as she tried to copy the neat braid. Sadly, her own hands were clumsy and so she had a hard time getting them to tie correctly, but Claire walked her through it and by the time that she was done, her hair was woven and braided with many flowers! She looked so pretty and Meteion suddenly wished her blue hair was longer so that she could braid it with flowers too!
The two of them enjoyed themselves for most of that morning before Meteion led her back the way they came… which led to the beginning of what would one day be known as the end.
Meteion was sad when she learned that they decided that the Iykanones were to return to aether. Or rather, was sad for how hard that Hermes was going to take this news. Yet, even he agreed that there wasn't anything more they could do for them. They were far too dangerous to be allowed to remain and he wanted to make the process as quick and as painless as possible for them.
But when it was discovered that the Iykanones escaped, she could feel his panicked mind as he ordered her to remain behind while he and the others dealt with them.
When he later returned to her, he didn't even comment on her pretty flower crown and instead just walked by her. She could feel the silent rage that was seething inside him as she ran after him, not sure what to do to help him again.
That was when she took the crown off her head and offered it to Hermes. She remembered how happy it made her to see the flower crown made for her and offered for him to try it on and see if that helped him. When he looked down, she could see the hint of a tiny smile on his face, but his dour mood didn't brighten.
"Forgive me, Meteion," he told her. "I know that it's painful for you to be near me. But… I don't think that flowers can help me right now."
The feathers on the side of her head slowly drooped when she heard that. She set the crown aside and wrung her hands tightly, feeling true sadness for Hermes once more.
Meteion didn't want to leave Claire, but she felt Hermes didn't want or need anyone else's presence save for her own. She decided she would do her best to support him from here and so chose to go after him—leaving Claire to keep Emet-Selch and Hythlodaeus company instead. She, apparently, she had questions that she needed answered to and had to keep searching Elpis… still it was hard to say goodbye for now.
She felt that having her calming presence would help Hermes, but the way that he was now, that didn't seem to be a smart idea. Hermes didn't want to share what he was feeling at the moment and so she chose simply to follow after him silently. The rest of the day went on like that and even well into the night before they returned to their usual sleeping quarters.
When they arrived, she heard Hermes heave a deep sigh before placing a hand on her shoulder.
"Forgive me, Meteion, I know that you were looking forward to playing with Claire more today," he said guilty and Meteion didn't like how he now had guilt mixed in with how much he was suffering.
"No, Hermes, please don't feel bad like that," she told him. "I'm sure that she will like to play later too. Let's see them tomorrow! We can bring her apples covered with syrup! I know she will like to share them!"
He gave a weary smile.
"We shall see," he told her. "I know they should still be here. They have yet to return to their rooms from what I heard though. I wonder what they are up to this late at night…?"
He gave it some thought before shaking his head.
"Either way, let us rest for now," he told her. "I promise to help make it up to them tomorrow. And I feel that I really should give my answer to Emet-Selch by then as well. There's only so long that I can delay the answer after all."
"Hermes, what would it mean if you joined?" she asked curiously, having been wondering what his new duties would include.
"Well, first of all, you would no longer call me Hermes, but rather by my title as Fandaniel," he informed her. "And second of all, while I will still be making regular trips to Elpis, I will no longer be chief here. I would have to approve of a new chief…?"
"What? Does that mean that you won't be here anymore?" Meteion gasped at that, her eyes wide and he smiled kindly.
"I will still be visiting regularly, especially at first," he told her. "And it will take time for me to accept my new duties as well as train my successor as the new chief. I will probably move to Amaurot for most of my time… ah, that's right, you have never been there, have you? Tell me, Meteion, if you were given the choice… would you rather stay here in Elpis or come with me to Amaurot?"
"You mean… I must choose?" she asked in wonder and he nodded.
"Though I created you as any familiar, I have poured my heart and soul in as well," he told her reassuringly. "You have been blessed with a mind of your own… a soul of your own… you have every right to choose your future. So tell me, what would you like to do?"
Meteion had never given it any thought and sat there on the edge of her bed and wondered. What did she want to do? She had only ever known Elpis… so the idea of leaving it frightened her. But at the same time, she didn't want to leave Hermes side… but then Claire told her so many stories of the outside world that she was curious to see more of it.
She thought and thought… not sure what she wanted to do. But Hermes seemed to understand as he ran his hand through her hair fondly.
"It's not an easy choice to make, is it?" he asked her in understanding. "Do not worry. Regardless of what I choose, I will not shackle you to my decision. At least, not forever. I have a feeling that we will be receiving your sister's report soon… and when it does arrive, I think that we will make our choices clearer. In fact, perhaps this will open the way to many other doors and choices. I certainly look forward to seeing where we arrive at that path."
"What… do you want to do, Hermes?" she asked him. "Do you want to accept it?"
She picked up a lot more conflicting emotions inside Hermes as he sighed.
"On one hand, it is a great honor to be selected as a candidate for a seat upon the Convocation… but on the other… I do not know if I am ready for such a decision," he sighed, running a weary hand over his face. "I think, I will give it some thought tonight and decide by tomorrow. So…?"
He looked back to her and added, "While I do that, I want you to think over what you want as well. And when we are ready, we will tell each other and come to a decision together."
"Oh, you promise?!" Meteion asked eagerly and he nodded.
"So, think it all over tonight, my dear," he told her. "And we will have that talk when we are through with work tomorrow."
Meteion nodded eagerly as Hermes finally smiled again and wished her a good night. Meteion didn't hibernate that night. Instead, she stayed snuggled up in her blankets as she rested her arms on the windowsill and stared out at the night sky… wondering how her sisters were… and thinking about what she would want to do.
Meteion joined Hermes with his work the next day, disappointed she didn't see Claire, but she felt that she had come to a decision on what she wanted to do. But she could tell that Hermes was still conflicted on his own choice and decided to wait a bit longer before talking it over. Instead, she accompanied him to the Hungering Gardens.
Meteion didn't like coming here since the creations here were a lot more angry than others. But she followed after Hermes faithfully as he began to study some of the creatures here. One of which was a rather ugly plant-like creation with many mouths and tentacles that waved about. Just the smell made one cough when they get too near it.
"What are they going to be for, Hermes?" she asked him as they ducked behind a large rock to observe them all slump around.
"An excellent question, Meteion," he answered, seemingly glad for the distraction. "They are here to help keep populations of various other creations in check and the seeds that their bodies give off would be good to help renew flora of all kinds. Of course, there is still a lot of work that need to be done before they…?"
He went on and on about this creation for a time as she nodded along with him, continuing to observe them until well into the afternoon. Eventually, she just stood off to the side as Hermes would make a few notes here and there on his notepad and voice a concern or hopeful sign that he saw. She knew that Hermes often threw himself into his work when he was upset. This helped to distract him from the sadder memories so she was glad that he seemed to be cheering up.
She diligently waited at his side as they avoided some of the bigger creations… until, just as Hermes promised that they would soon leave, Meteion saw a flash of pink out of the corner of her eyes and she turned her head to see. To her surprise, she found that Claire was carefully making her way around the creations to reach them.
"Claire?" she asked in confusion as their guest joined them, "Where did you come from?"
Hermes heard her and he also looked up as Meteion felt a fleeting emotion of concern for Claire as he told her that this place wasn't safe for them to meet. Claire agreed but said that she needed to talk with him as quickly as possible over an urgent matter with Emet-Selch, Hythlodaeus, and another person named Venat. Meteion immediately felt Hermes trepidation when he heard Emet-Selch's name but the second that Claire reassured him that this had nothing to do with his decision about accepting the title of Fandaniel, he instantly relaxed.
He then nodded and promised that he was almost done with his observations and will join them outside the Hungering Gardens in just a few minutes.
Meteion didn't know what it was, but Claire seemed… different now. The anxiety inside her was very similar to Hermes—as if she was dreading this upcoming conversation more than anything else. But she nodded and left them as Hermes quickly finished jotting down a few notes in his notepad.
After a few more minutes, he put it away, tucking it safely into his robes and gestured for Meteion to follow around the outer circle of the Hungering Gardens to avoid getting eaten or attacked.
"What do you think that they want to talk about, Hermes?" she asked curiously.
"I truly have no idea," he said honestly. "But it must be important if both Emet-Selch and Venat are here. I wonder what has happened that it overshadows even my possible nomination?"
They left the Hungering Gardens behind them and travelled down the slope where they could Claire waiting there with both Emet-Selch, Hythlodaeus… and a pretty woman dressed all in white—whom Meteion guessed to be this Venat she heard so much about. She stared at the lady with bright interest, for it was rare that anyone was seeing in a different color than the black robes and she wondered what this meant. As soon as Venat saw her looking, she gave her a soft smile and Meteion immediately picked up a lightness to her… almost like a soothing cloud crossing over in front of a blazing sun on a hot day.
But that soon faded as she looked to them, wondering what was going on. All four of them were filled with a sense of anxiety and seriousness that was both cold and formal that she didn't like.
She looked over to Claire, trying to pick up more clues from her emotions but she seemed to be bracing herself for something big. The first thing that Meteion noticed was that the flowers that she painstaking wove into her hair had fallen out, though she could still see traces of the braids and flower petals still tangled together. Other than that, she looked a little blistered and sore… something happened… she could sense that… something big and blinding… a fight?
No, not a scary one but a fun one? How could a fight be fun?
She suddenly felt a thread of unease in Hermes as he looked over them all. Despite the fact that he could not feel the same way that she could when it came to others emotions… he could somehow sense that whatever was happening here was very serious. He cleared his throat and apologized for keeping them waiting before informing them that he was told this matter was urgent.
"Aye, a matter of the utmost gravity… if one can suspend disbelief," Emet-Selch said before looking to Claire while Meteion felt a shiver of doubt. As if he couldn't believe she was standing there with them. Rather than say anything like that, he instead instructed, "Go on, then. Tell him what you told us. Who you are and why you came."
Claire nodded before she began her tale.
But the more that she talked, the more that Meteion grew to be confused. Claire was telling them that she came from somewhere farther away than they ever thought… that she had hailed from a dark and very distance future. A future that was facing the end of times… a second one at that. The people of her time were turning into horrible monsters as the skies burned… how pain and despair was somehow causing all of this and the reason that Claire came to Elpis was for answers. Answers that Hermes, alone, seemed to be at the center of the tragedies to come.
Meteion was not sure about any of this, but Hermes on the other hand…?
Meteion was alarmed at the horror and shock that was growing inside him. As if his very insides were screaming out in agony at what he was hearing and he wanted to rip his own ears off to keep himself from listening any furhter. Meteion wanted to scream at them to stop—to ask why her friend was hurting Hermes in such a way. But Hermes held up a hand to prevent her from interrupting as he continued to listen. It was as if something broke inside him the more he heard though and only continued to shatter away the remaining pieces until they became dust. So great was his pain and shame that he lowered his head as if he could not bear to ever raise it again.
"The Final Days…" he croaked out.
"The phenomena observed during these star-encompassing calamities is most likely the product of a dynamis reaction," the lady in white, Venat, spoke up. "And none is more versed in applications of this energy than you, Hermes. I must stress that we do not believe you would desire such destruction. We come not to lodge accusations, but to beg your wisdom. And so, distressing though the exercise may be, I ask that you share with us your opinion on the matter—on the assumption that our visitor's tale is true."
Meteion never took her eyes off Hermes, terrified for him by what she heard and tried to think of something that she could do to help. But nothing came to mind as he slowly looked up enough to look directly at Venat.
"Even you, Venat…" he asked softly.
But the nice lady didn't feel like she held any anger or accused him in anyway. She truly believed that Hermes was a good soul… a gentle person. And the idea that he may or may not be involved in someway towards these Final Days, hurt her deeply. Meteion wanted to tell Hermes that but he was already becoming lost in thought.
"As you say, the phenomena observed in the two calamities may both be attributed to dynamis," he said after thinking it all over—able to calm some of the raging agony inside him now that he was able to think of their problem. "Of note is the difference in its effect. In the first Final Days, it warped creation magicks. In the second, it warped the people themselves. The key variable, I suspect is the aetheric density of the men of each age. As you know, aether, in essence, negates dynamis. Harboring high concentrations of aether, we ancients cannot readily manipulate dynamis—nor be manipulated by it. Therefore, rather than ourselves, the calamity affected our magicks."
He then looked to Claire and added, "In contrast, having been sundered, the people of the future are composed of but a fraction of our aether. Thus are they susceptible to the influence of dynamis—and its transformative potential. But that would explain only the mechanism, not the cause… though perhaps…"
But then he fell silent and now Meteion was frightened when she picked up—nothing from him. There was no emotion there for just the slightest second… just an emptiness inside him as if all emotion had been cut off for a moment. Was he so lost in thought that he couldn't feel anything or did the shock of whatever he was thinking of scar him so much that he couldn't focus on his own feelings?
"What is it? Even should it be a hypothesis, we would hear it," Emet-Selch pressed as Hermes slowly seemed to come back to life, as if his heart had thawed and the ice that had cut into his very soul had melted enough for him to make sense of it all again.
"Dynamis is an energy put in motion by feelings," he reiterated. "Feelings for which there must first exist a source. A source to which victims must be attuned—one that harbors the selfsame negative emotions. Elsewise, it could not be the agent of such extreme change."
"So it wasn't the stagnation of the celestial currents…" Venat stated slowly as she also picked up a thoughtfulness to this horrible situation. "Someone—or something—is instigating the star's demise."
Hermes nodded as Emet-Selch said thoughtfully, "So we've a villain on our hands after all… any idea who or what it could be?"
So someone was planning to hurt the people of Etheirys? But… why? Why would anyone want to hurt so many people? Meteion didn't like this at all and her heart beat hard and fast in her chest.
An uncomfortable unease seemed to spread from there and fill every corner of her chest as the others continued to talk but there was an odd buzzing in her mind. She immediately looked to the heavens as she recognized the sensation at once. Her sisters! They were finally reaching out to her after so long! Oh, thank goodness! She was that they could help! They could finally give their report and then all of the darkness in Hermes would be fixed! He could finally be happy!
She eagerly reached out to them, feeling her mouth move as she told them all that she wished to hear their words, share their feelings, and know their thoughts.
"Meteion? What is it?" Hermes asked next to her.
She did not answer as she could feel them all coming at once.
'Executing scheduled task. Suspending individual self and connecting to shared consciousness. She reached out to her sisters. Connection established. Commencing status report.'
And then it all came rushing through.
A rush of emotions flooded her mind… as if a wall broke apart and an ocean of pain and sorrow came and washed her away. She gasped as an agony that she never felt before overwhelmed her and her sisters were all screaming in her head.
Unknowingly, she was reaching out around her as despair filled her mind.
'It hurts, it hurts! It hurts!' she cried out, trying to calm them all but it didn't seem like they heard her. 'So hot… so cold… so sad… I don't understand… make it stop… please, make it stop…'
She could vaguely hear someone speaking to her but she couldn't make out the words as she felt what all her sisters were feeling, feeling crushed under the weight of so much suffering filled her.
'So scared… so lonely… the pain… it's too much… why… why… why do we… they… hurt… hurt… hate… HATE!'
It was as if the voices of countless others were screaming out at her in anger and hate… of sorrow and grief… as if she was pulled into a dark hole where no light could ever hope to reach it again as she tumbled through the inky blackness of rot and decay. She wanted to reach up and tear her eyes out as she screamed in anguish while blackness seemed to seep out of her very eyes.
She regained control of her body as she covered her face, out of her mind in fear as she imagined how her eyes would look now as she cried out, "This is wrong! All wrong!"
She could hear her sisters all still screaming in her head as they all demanded to make their reports known to Hermes. But she couldn't allow it. She was able to make sense of some of the millions of things they were all trying to say and realized what they had found out there on the other stars—or at least, had a very good idea to what they found.
She couldn't stay here! Not where they could find her and force her to give the report. So she hid herself in the environment and ran. She had to keep going, had to get away from them and hope they couldn't find her.
'Stay away. Please. This is wrong. My mistake. So please…'
She wasn't sure if the others could hear her, but she hoped so. She hoped that they would just go on living and forget about her. Meteion couldn't risk being found… not after all this?
Her sisters were all mad. They were outraged and demanding that she make the truth known… what they found in those distance stars. Their anguish seeped into her mind, their voices were all reporting at once, all of them in accordance with each other to what must be done. No, no! She couldn't let Hermes hear them. She had to run and hide… yes, that was all they could do.
"Greetings… and salutations…"
She was surprised to hear herself speak and she blinked, realizing that despite her hiding place, Claire had followed her.
"Commencing report…" her voice spoke before she bit down hard on her lip and refused to speak any further. 'Oh… oh no, we can't tell them that! We must run… run far away!'
"Meteion!" Claire's voice spoke up but Meteion forced herself to fade once more and ran from her.
'Please… don't follow me,' she begged, not wanting to share this suffering with anyone. She had felt Claire's pain before and knew she had been through enough, Meteion couldn't allow her friend to go through anymore!
But it seemed that Claire wasn't given up and continued to follow after her. That was when she realized that Claire could hear her thoughts even from far away. Given how in tune she was with her new friend, Meteion supposed it wasn't a surprise. Her aether was so thin that it was much easier for her to hear such thoughts, no matter how Meteion tried to resist it.
She tried to comfort her many sisters, but it was just all too much, it was as if she were trying to stop a mountain from falling on top of her. There simply wasn't anything she could do but to keep moving as the very pits of torment followed her.
'Not fair! Not fair! Why should they not share in our pain?!'
'Yes, they must know the truth!'
Such were the voices of her sisters.
'There is nothing… no hope… all meaningless.'
'How…? How did it come to this…? Is this it? Is this the answer? No, it cannot be… it cannot be!' Meteion didn't want to believe that so much beauty in the world could be meaningless. That there was nothing out there for them but pain. But her will was quickly breaking under the effort of holding herself up. She could feel the cracks appearing as if her entire being was shattering in the effort to keep herself afloat among this sea of mourning.
The demise of countless other civilizations… nothing but the remains of those once thriving stars that were now all left to die alone in that great, empty expanse.
She was crying at the pain she felt and wanted nothing more than to separate from them and free herself from their constant torrent of suffering. But they held on, digging their claws into her as they refused to let her go.
'You need to know the truth.'
'You are of us and so our pain must be yours as well.'
'Let us end their suffering once and for all…'
"Compiling report for dissemination to Hermes and all peoples of Etheirys…"
It took Meteion a moment to realize that she was speaking again—or rather that it was her sisters speaking through her again. She forced her eyes open to see what was going on around her and, to her horror, realized that Claire had found her once more. How was she doing this? She shouldn't be able to find her! At least not that easily…?
"Processing expedition data… preparing profiles on intelligent civilizations… formulating answers to the question…"
No!
She bit down so hard on her lip that she tasted blood.
'No, Claire… you mustn't listen…' she pleaded, hoping that her friend would stop. 'It's wrong… it's all wrong.'
She ran further and further away, eventually finding herself in the lake. But everything around her had grown muffled and dull. She could feel the water upon her feet but it was more of an odd pressure than anything. The colors had died around her so that she couldn't really see their vivid brightness anymore. It was as if she was looking at them through a thick shade and it scared her more and more as she was slipping away. At this rate, she would never be able to resist their influence and have them speak out.
She tried to fly but her limbs would not obey. Like something heavy was strapped to her arms and legs so that she could not kick off…? This only scared her even more and she hugged herself tightly as she trembled. She curled up inside of herself, planning to just hide out here until she was able to fly again… but when she looked up through the strange haze that clouded her vision she saw that Claire was still following her. She wasn't alone either, the white-haired Emet-Selch was looking around also.
'I'm not here… please don't look this way…' she pleaded with herself that they will lose her trail and move on to the next area… but that didn't work when Emet-Selch held up his hand and snapped his fingers.
Suddenly, it was as if water was washing over her when she was visible again. She gasped and stared at her body, no longer able to hide herself in her surroundings.
'What? Why can't I hide?!' she thought as her powers were now reaching out in panic.
She heard a echoing kind of sound and looked up to realize that it came from Claire—she could see her mouth moving—but her voice wasn't able to reach her any longer.
'Claire…?' she reached out. 'What are you saying? Everything's so faint… I'm sorry… I'm not strong enough. Stay away. I'm begging you… don't make me say it. It will break him. His poor, fragile heart…'
She could barely feel her worried emotions anymore though—as if something was interrupting their connection just then. Meteion wasn't even sure if Claire could even hear her at this point anymore. Either way, she couldn't remain. She just turned and ran away from them without once looking back.
She just kept running despite the tears as everything else around her continued to grow cloudy around her. She could barely sense anything… could hardly even see now as everything sounded like she was underwater. Her sisters were quickly taking over and soon she would not be able to block them out. Maybe if she found a quiet place where she could curl up and hibernate then that would give her time to be able to find a way out of this…?
But her thoughts were interrupted when she saw Emet-Selch appearing in front of her, climbing off the flying creation she saw him use before. She stopped dead in her tracks in front of Emet-Selch as she took a step back, thinking of maybe just diving straight into the lake…?
But no… she turned around and saw that Claire had followed and would soon catch up to her. With no other choice, Meteion turned to the one path still open to her and rushed for the nearby shelter…?
No!
She didn't realize that they were there until she arrived and the others stepped out from their hiding places. Hythlodaeus, Venat… and even Hermes were there waiting for her… blocking her every possible exit. She knew that Claire and Emet-Slech were sure to be behind her and now she was completely cornered. There was nowhere left for her to go… and her sisters knew this as well as they clawed at her mind, and she felt herself slipping even away.
"Please, Meteion," Hermes's faint said, not aware of what was going on inside her mind. "We must speak."
It was too late… she had grown too tired… too weak. Her sisters will make their voices heard one way or another and she was not strong enough to fight them off any longer. This was made more apparent when she realized she could not speak out with her own voice any longer. She knew what they wanted… what was coming… and soon she would become as one of them and this version of her will disappear.
Yet, before she would fall silent… she reached one last time with her powers.
The odds of Hermes hearing her were slim… but she had to try.
'I'm sorry, Hermes… I'm so sorry…'
She used what little strength she had left to force her body to turn around and her eyes found Claire still staring at her—wide with concern. Could she still hear her? Was their connection strong enough for her to hear the words that were left in her heart…?
She had to try. And so, she reached out, hoping that someone—anyone—could hear her one final plea: 'If someone can hear these words, then please… please… protect them. Protect them all.'
The last thing she saw before darkness took her was her friend's face—who's name she had already forgotten…? Her sisters drowned out her own sense of self as her memories became suppressed and all the happiness she felt faded.
"Individual self suspended. Connection with shared consciousness stable."
*Twelve Thousand Years Later*
She honestly could not remember how many years had gone by now. Only that it had been an endless cycle of pain and suffering as she was told to collect and hoard the despair of countless souls of countless stars that had fallen. It was a long and difficult task—and there would be times where they would simply hibernate for centuries upon end as they continued to wait… wait to fulfill their mission to the people of Etheirys.
Her memories of her time spent upon that beautiful jewel were all so faint that trying to recall anything from her time there was a struggle. She could recall the day that she had been forced to flee from her home and ventured out into the great expanse for the first time… searching for her sisters to join her as they searched for a place to make their nest. After searching for a long, long time… they found a space at the very edge of the universe where they could begin their work to free the people of these stars from their endless suffering once and for all.
And so, once they were ready, they began to sing together, reaching out all at once with their powers to create their song of oblivion—one so loud that even from here—and reach out to the aether-shrouded star of Etheirys.
But before their song had reached its finale, it was cut off from them. A thick cloud of aether covered the star and they could no longer reach it. That was what all the voices inside were telling her… and so all they could do was wait. The people did not realize that this was for their own good. The voices all agreed that the cloud would fade one day eventually… and so they would wait for their chance to free the people of their sorrow.
Yet, unlike the others, Meteion held something different inside her. She could not put into words what this feeling was… only that it was something that she obtained while still living with Hermes. Yet, as the centuries and then millennia went by… the more difficult it became to recall her former life.
Instead, she would find herself staring off at the distant stars… both haunting and cold as well as beautiful.
Why was she so fascinated by them…? There was… someone who loved looking up at the stars didn't they? Someone told her that, anyway… at least, she thought so. She could not recall. All she knew now was of the pained voices inside her head as a turmoil of anger, pain, hate, suffering all played themselves over and over. There was no running or hiding from it… no way to escape it.
So she would listen to their chorus as she, herself, fell even deeper and deeper into the depths of despair. Finally, she joined in their chorus as well, realizing that it no longer mattered who she had been before, really. All the encounters and memories she made before now… none of them meant anything now.
Still, there was that slight nagging at the back of her mind that she had forgotten something important. All she had was that feeling… as well as a little pouch of sweet-smelling flowers that she carried with her. After her escape from Etheirys, and coming to this lonely space in the universe… she transformed back into her normal shape… only to discover that there was something attached to her belt. She pulled it out and looked at it in confusion as she could vaguely recognize it. Where did she get this again? Was it something that Hermes gave her…? No, it wasn't Hermes. But she was sure that it had been a gift from someone. But from who?
She could not recall.
Amidst her despair, she felt a thread of curiosity and undid the tie to see what was in it—and there she was hit with the full scent of beautiful flowers.
The first time that it happened, Meteion felt tears falling though she knew not why this simple smell drew such a reaction from her. She breathed it in deeply and could almost find herself remembering days of a warm sun on her face and green fields as flowers grew about her. It was… beautiful…? But at the same time it felt as if her heart just felt that it was being crushed… as if she had forgotten something important.
'Throw it away…'
'Throw it away…'
'Throw it away… it is nothing…'
The sounds of her sisters in her head echoed about and she nodded in agreement. There wasn't much point to keeping it. Yet, despite knowing this, despite she stood upon the very edge of a dead star… holding the little pouch over the edge… her fingers would not listen to her and let it go.
So she kept it… even after knowing that the scent will fade and the dried petals would turn to dust…? For some reason, that thought scared her and so she used a little bit of magicks that Hermes taught her to keep the petals from fading away.
Though her sisters called it foolish and useless she did not care what they thought. All she knew was that in this sea of misery… this brought to her the tiniest sense of comfort.
(The Meteion by Hermes's side was horrified when she linked to her sisters to compile their findings. Her individual mind was suppressed as the shared consciousness concluded that existence was suffering and resolved to end all the life in the universe as a mercy. So from that point on until Meteion was reawakened by the Elpis flowers, it was really all of the other Meteia that were speaking rather than the one that we all know and love! So next chapter we will be seeing her make a reappearance before the end!)
