Being appointed as Oracle is not just a promotion, it is an honour. To me, it is the greatest honour any human being could receive. Oracles are not glorified secretaries, they are the very one person chosen to work at their Lady's side; to become one is a goal for a lifetime, as is serving in our role. Never once has an Oracle resigned before old age made it impossible to fulfill their duties; I personally doubt any of them ever will. Seeing one's Lady keep the nation going and tending to it every passing day instills the determination to carry on in us.
-Nishizawa Keiko
Dark clouds hung above the metropolis that was Revay; a storm was to come, yet never would. Not a single gust of air disturbed the plants in the hanging gardens; nonetheless, traffic had subsided almost completely on even the most busy of streets and all connections between the many layers forming the city proper.
Amidst all of this, Green Sigil stood with its pure white walls; the vast veins of toned glass leading up to the circular chamber in its center on the high wall had changed colouring, from green to red. The large structure gleamed almost menacing both toward the inland in the south and the Droidan Sea up north, its large structure bridging over the harbour and coming down on the outermost island before open waters.
A crowd had gathered inside of Leanbox' main Basilicom; all stood quietly as a single ocean of brownish red, much like the actual sea lying before the capital. Thousands had come to personally attend the ceremony, millions more were watching from afar.
It was rare for a nation to be silent like this.
On stage in front of this hall stood the Lady Green Heart, wrapped in a layered dress of the same colour all those in front of her wore; next to her stood a casket, surrounded by a sea of flowers.
"I have many fond memories to look back at; Yvoire was a great man and an even greater friend to me, as well as an honest worker dedicated to his nation's wellbeing." The Lady spoke solemnly as her eyes kept scanning the crowd; her green hair was bound into a tight ponytail and she had discarded the gloves she usually wore, delicate fingers wrapping around themselves as she stood.
No mechanical aides brought her voice to those in the back, for it was the very air that resonated with her power and made the words clearly audible to everyone. "I am proud for him to have been my right hand for a full fifty years; his advice, I will dearly miss."
The front row showed the most devastated faces; while the deceased had never started a family of his own, his brother and sister did. Both of them were present, together with their children and grandchildren. Grave faces and tearful eyes were commonplace among them and the goddess noticed without doubt.
"I rarely see a person grow like this, I have to admit. Yvoire began his work at twenty-six and brought with him the enthusiasm of youth still present; as time went on, his cheer never once faltered and turned into content over the years. If anything, I believe he was a happy man throughout his life." Green Heart gently turned her head to the casket, lips curling into a weak smile while she regarded the picture of her Oracle, placed amidst the flowers. "I never had parents of my own, but men like him make me wish I did."
The hall became silent as the Lady finished, sunken into the sight for a few seconds longer. Then her gaze returned to the people, who were respectfully bowing their heads not to her, but to the man they were seeing off. "His passion to the task will be inspirational for the next generation, and many more to come."
When she spoke these words, two of her subordinates stepped up in their green robes, taking position at the casket; taking the sign for what it was, Daniel Simmons, Yvoire's nephew, as well as his daughter ceremoniously headed up and onto the stage. They were followed by a hulking man in deep green trousers and a brownish red shirt, who also wore shades despite the faint lighting in the room. The last to take her position opposite from Maker Bungie was another Basilicom-attendant; Green Heart slowly took to the air while those six lifted the casked.
There was a gap amidst the crowd, a path purposefully left free of people for this very moment. Those standing to its sides retreated further out of respect when the procession began to move, the Lady gliding after it without a word. Every row they passed turned around to once again face the man they lost this day; when the carriers passed the large doorway leading outside, the last row got moving after them. Row by row, people began to follow the procession.
The air was continuously still and the sun blocked by a curtain of dark clouds. Faint lights shone through the cover, though; one was white, one black and the third purple - the other CPUs had come to pay their respects as well. Yet none landed, for this very moment belonged to the nation's ruler alone.
Ever so slowly, the procession began to move through the streets; a long wave of human beings washing through the lower layers and upward over the intersections, moving over the designated path toward their goal. Their Lady never left her place above the casket, her dress rustling and a weak aura of green light surrounding the deity.
The people walked on in silence, moving further upward and out onto the cliffs far above Revay harbor; here, Green Heart had declared, would be his resting place. The cliffs that Oracle Yvoire had loved to spend his free time on, staring out onto the ocean and wondering about the endless possibilities of life.
The casket was put down at last, only a few dozen metres from the cliffside and on a carefully marked patch of ground. The terrain itself did not allow everyone to align as they did before, but people made do in rearranging their positions; the main difference was that, aside from the deceased's direct family who once again took the first row, the order was now inverted.
Once the shuffling ended and all eyes were on her again, Green Heart touched down in front of her followers. "We will now put this great man to rest." As she spoke, the very earth behind her began to move, sliding aside and forming threads spiralling into the air.
The casket started to sink in as more and more ground was shifted out from below it, slowly and steadily moving into the earth. As everyone gathered watched in a mixture of awe and reverence, it vanished from sight before the threads of solid earth began to wiggle together, contort and form into two waves. The first one gently settled onto the grave and covered up what was now inside, the second draped above the first and formed a small hill.
Then, as if it was but an afterthought, a finely crafted gravestone rose out of the ground further behind, made out of greenish white rock and with finely crafted letters.
It was done.
::
The crowd stood silently for many minutes, but soon began to disperse. One by one or in small groups, people stepped out of the circle of those still remaining, then quietly left.
In the end, it was only Green Heart left after more than an hour had passed; the CPU continued to gaze at the closed grave with an unreadable expression, her eyes sometimes wandering to the seemingly endless sea beyond.
She felt the air shift and her grasp on the weather loosened at last, allowing wind to blow once more; rain would soon fall.
Three people had descended to the ground behind her, waiting for her to speak. She knew them all and by heart; her dear friends, rivals, colleagues and companions. They were all that and more.
At last, Green Heart turned around and let out a sigh, her clothes slowly reverting to a dark green much in tone with her hair. "It feels like yesterday."
There was no need for reassurances between them; they all understood what she meant, they all knew the feeling. Black Heart smoothed out her dress and nodded at her while White Heart remained impassive. Purple Heart kept her silence as well, but she was the first to step forward and place a handful of earth on the grave, carefully mixing it with what was there before.
Black Heart followed in much the same way and White Heart did so as well; each of the three payed their respect by providing a piece of their nations' soil to this place, for that it may prosper.
"I guess you've chosen your new Oracle already?" White Heart broke the silence at last, ruffling through her own blue hair in exasperation. As much as they disliked talking about this so soon, Leanbox needed its Oracle just like any other nation.
"Yes. I plan to officially introduce her next week." She was not happy with having to do things like this, but there was no way around it. Yet Vert could not help it; every time she had to do this, the memories resurfaced and drowned her mood in sadness.
The CPU shook off her heavy thoughts when a hand landed on her shoulder; Purple Heart's kind eyes met hers and the ruler of Planeptune squeezed, conveying what ten thousand words never could.
"We are all with you, as always." It was something she said a lot; a kind reassurance given to any of them, whenever they lost their way. Vert nodded and returned a grateful smile while their colleagues kept to the side. A few drips of rain began to fall as they stood, the sky finally tearing open.
"I guess it's raining", Black Heart noted, then she turned and lifted off again. "I have work to do, though. Sorry I can't stay longer."
White Heart excused herself as well and the two of them took off, leaving only two CPUs at the cliffs.
Once they were gone, Green Heart and Purple Heart turned to walk along the rocky path; neither of them really felt like returning home just yet. Twin-braids of purple hair bobbed up and down next to a wave of green; all their other assets were firmly fixed in place and hidden under their dresses. Even if they were not, Vert did not feel like jiggling today.
"Would you like to have Nepgear over for a few days?"
Green Heart smiled again, waving off her friend's concerned expression. While she was very fond of the planeptunian Candidate, this was the wrong time for her to see the trials of age. "She is but a child, Neptune; children should not have to see the pain of their elders. I appreciate the thought, though."
Her fellow CPU nodded and walked along, her fair skin starting to glisten from the rain. Neither woman bothered with pushing the water away, seeing that it could not do anything to them either way.
They just walked on in a comforting silence.
This was the only solace Vert had for a while; she would need a few days to get over her raging emotions. All the goddess could do in the meantime was not showing it. She had gone through this before, so she already knew she would get better eventually.
. .
. .
It was a dull weekend, but she managed; some ice cream, a good night's rest and twenty-four hours of nonstop gaming helped lift Vert's spirits back to an acceptable level. Now that she was presentable again, the blonde had decided to meet her new Oracle; Yvoire had been in charge of showing her the ropes after choosing her as his successor, so interaction between Vert and the young woman had been scarce up until this point.
So now here she sat in her office, gently sipping from a cup of tea and eyeing the human in front of her with curiousity; Hakozaki Chika was in her mid-twenties, about a hundred and seventy centimetres tall and rather thin. Her red eyes were still moving, the woman's gaze darting over Vert's person with almost painfully obvious awe.
She wore a simple dress in black and green, which flowed wonderfully with the long hair falling down to her backside; green, just like Vert's own when in HDD. It was a nice complement to see, all things considered.
On top of that, her last three Oracles had been male; this was a nice change of pace.
Notes and sheets were placed in front of the CPU; results from the initial examination, Chika's personal history, certificates... all of this had been quite interesting to read. Granted, she read them right after Yvoire made his choice, but one had to be thorough with the important things.
"I am quite confident in your abilities, Chika. Your grades during the examination were outstanding... although I am still wondering a little about your reasons to apply for the exams in the first place. With the resume I have here, I would have expected you to be more interested in either business or becoming a veterinarian."
The young woman shook off her stupor and nodded quickly, not really meeting her eyes while responding. "Oh... ah, yes. I actually planned to go into medicine, but then I saw that they held the examination for the next Oracle, so I just applied. I wanted to at least try." Chika blushed a little bit and rubbed her head while Vert motioned for her to go on. "Well... I just think I should give my all for Leanbox, in whichever way I can. Just like you always do, my Lady."
By herself, Vert noted that there was probably more to it; however, she was the best among all those willing to serve Leanbox and the blonde would not have hunches like these get in the way. She just smiled and nodded friendly. "I see, that is a very pleasant attitude to have. I am glad to have you, Chika."
Her new Oracle started beaming in a way similar to Neptune after getting some pudding, then she nodded with vigor. "Yes, I'm glad to serve, my Lady!"
This is what they always say... yet all of them die in the end...
The moment Vert realised what she was thinking, she stopped herself and suppressed a sigh. This was the beginning of a new chapter, so she should do her best once again.