Tari has fallen, the Lady is dead. We are free. But what did it cost, friends?
-Survivor of the fall
IF stood frozen, her limbs unwilling to move as light blue eyes wandered over her curiously; now that the woman's attention lay on her, there was no longer any doubt. Even without the instinctive knowledge that she stood before one greater than herself, IF could see it in the flawless skin and silky white hair with a tinge of blue; she saw beauty that only few matched.
"You're... a CPU."
The words left IF's mouth involuntarily, making the light crease of her brow grow more visible. IF's eyes began to widen further as realisation set in, almost popping out of their sockets. She had met the whole pantheon save for Green Heart and this was not her, could not be. A CPU this deep within the ruins could only mean one thing, except that it was too fantastic to be true.
"I am," the deity answered with a softly sad smile. The wrinkles on her forehead fell away as she schooled her expression somewhat, then the woman stood; she needed several seconds to get to her feet and began to sway dangerously for a moment, but caught herself before addressing the dumbstruck human again: "What brings you to this place? You are the first visitor I ever had."
Her voice was quiet and subdued, nothing like any of the other deities IF met so far; she kept her hands folded in front of her, the dress gently covering a slender frame.
"I..." IF began before trailing off. She could still hardly speak with a goddess right in front of her, the force of her presence even greater than any of the others without active HDD. She swallowed and took a deep breath, then tried again: "I'm on an expedition. We, uh, came here to find out more about Tari and its history." The CPU flinched at hearing the nation's name, then blinked rapidly for a moment. IF paused and waited, but there were no questions, so she continued.
"I'm technically not part of the actual expedition, I'm with the escort team. Then I got cut off from everyone by a cave-in and found this city." She could have explained many things, but did not know how the old goddess before her would have taken them. She had many questions as well and could not stop herself from asking the most pressing one: "What happened here?"
The deity had listened to her short explanation, but now she averted her gaze. Then she asked a question in turn: "Where do you hail from?"
Calling her out on it was tempting, but IF had begun to get a hold of herself at this point. She would likely get her answers in time; for now, indulging this woman felt like the best course of action. "That may take a bit."
She received a weak smile and a quiet surge of power, then two flat stone slabs rose from the ground; her new acquaintance smoothed down her dress and took a seat, motioning for IF to take the other one, which she did; once both of them were comfortable, as well as one could be while sitting on stone, the human woman began to explain.
"I hail from the nation of Planeptune." She could see the blunette's eyes begin to widen and took her smile as something positive. "We live under Lady Purple Heart, Neptune, as well as her Candidate Lady Purple Sister; the nation was founded five hundred and fourteen years ago, together with three others. Lady Purple Heart rules with a hands-off approach, having her citizens mainly solve their problems themselves and only interfering where necessary. Planeptune is the most technologically advanced of the four, nicknamed as the Land of Purple Progress."
IF leaned back slightly and could not help but huff. "We are also by far the most colourful nation; Lowee looks the part, but I'd say our culture is the most diverse." She considered how to continue, noting her audience's rapt attention.
Then the woman blinked and shuddered the moment her eyes opened again; it only took a half second, but IF noticed anyway. "Are you alright?"
Her question led to a momentary pause while the CPU lowered her head slightly. She clenched her folded hands before denying any problems: "I am. It has just been so long since I had the chance to speak with someone. Please tell me more about Planeptune and the others."
IF had half a mind to insist, but knew from personal experience that people rarely liked their issues poked by strangers. So she continued, explaining the standards of life and mentalities of all four nations.
She did not know how long she spoke, but she was not interrupted once; her audience soaked up every word as if she were holding a sponge into water and that small smile never really faded; it flickered, though. The old deity shuddered as she had done before every once in a while.
Once IF had made it through most of the basics of living in her time, she decided to ask a question in turn. Before doing so however, she left a short pause to catch her breath and make the change in subject more clear.
"I was wondering, are you Tari's CPU?"
The reaction she got was not what she expected; pride she would have understood, or sadness over having outlived her own nation. However, the woman she spoke to instead lowered her head and slowly hugged her knees to her chest. Her face had become ashen and her voice was barely more than a whisper when she answered: "Yes. I am fallen Tari's Blue Heart, Rei."
IF was taken aback by her intense reaction and threw caution to the wind then, leaning over to put a hand on Rei's shoulder. Her gesture was not directly acknowledged, but she could feel the blunette's tension abate slightly.
They stayed like this for a little while, IF doing her best to soothe a woman who, by all accounts, should have been dead for more than a millennium. She dared not ask how this could be or what happened, having seen how badly Rei already reacted to just her nation's name.
"Please let go."
Her train of thought was interrupted by the quiet plea; IF took a moment to register what was asked of her, then quickly did so and sat back down with an apology.
However, Rei merely shook her head. "There is no need. I can not be trusted to be that close to someone as fragile as a human, so please keep your distance for your own safety." She sniffled after that, but gave no other indication of her state of mind. IF's eyes narrowed, though.
"Don't you think that should be my choice?" Her words were more or less selected, as the first idea she had was about arguing that Rei had not done anything yet. Which was a weak point at best. IF then decided to make a point and reached out again, but Rei leaned away from her touch.
"Please don't." When the brunette gave no sign of stopping, she elaborated. "Everything I touch is turned to ruin. I don't want to hurt you."
"You haven't and aren't." With that, IF actually stood to close the distance and pulled Rei from her chair; the CPU squeaked in surprise as she was brought into a soft embrace. "See, I'm fine. Just why are you CPUs so stubborn?" The quip was made without any heat; IF noted that Rei had gone limp in her arms, though.
The CPU remained where she was, head on IF's shoulder and completely still; her reaction, or rather lack thereof, prompted a weak sigh. The human woman did not let go, though. She kept stroking Rei's back for a little while, until she spoke. "How long has it been since Tari fell?"
"About thirteen hundred years," the brunette answered quietly. Rei nodded against her shoulder, an action that already felt like a punch to IF. She did not wince, though. "Eight hundred years without a CPU is a long time and much was lost. I didn't take many history classes, but I know we know less about Tari than we would like."
It was quiet for a long moment.
Rei's behaviour had not changed, so IF slowly made to let go and let the CPU step back. Once they could see each other's eyes again however, the deity averted her gaze and gripped her arm. "I disagree. It is good that you forgot about Tari. The sins of the past should not weigh on the people of the present."
She made to sit again, followed by a somewhat confused and annoyed IF. Most people would at least show signs of a change in behaviour at this point, yet Rei did not; the younger woman was trying to help, but did not appear to make any progress. Perhaps, she figured, she should speak of another matter.
"Speaking of, I just thought of one more thing I could tell you about. If you want?" Rei's eyes narrowed and she threw her a thoughtfully cautious look, but then blinked and averted her gaze again. Then she nodded, and IF began with a disclaimer: "It's already been seventy years since, so I'm only working off of second-hand knowledge. Nep doesn't want to talk about it. You have to know that our history isn't spotless either; the CPUs were at war for almost three hundred years."
That got her a different reaction, seeing how Rei's head snapped back in her direction. The surprise quickly faded while IF continued: "I've never seen the effects because they kept fighting out of sight and far away from their people, but I heard that the nations weren't on good terms for all that time. We now have friendly rivalries with most, but back then things were much more fierce, and cold."
Neptune disliked having to speak about her part in the war, but she never minded giving her a little history lesson about the common people during that period. IF knew enough to understand that people got along much better now.
"How many CPUs were there before this war?"
Rei's question gave IF pause; she tilted her head slightly in wonder. "Four, same as at the end of it. Why do you ask?"
The blunette's eyes narrowed at that and she crossed her arms with a frown. "That is most weird." Her voice actually grew in volume to a normal level as she explained her thoughts, revealing itself to still be soft but with a note of steel in it: "I give you that CPUs are hard to kill, but consider the primary rule; we are the apex predators, one and all. The only being capable of killing a CPU is another CPU, if we ignore... Her." IF shivered, understanding well who was meant. Rei's explanation made her think back to January, though; she had seen how easily two deities could brutalise each other.
"I see that you understand," Rei added after a moment of silence. "Even if all four were evenly matched, for no one to die in almost three centuries is not good luck and no coincidence. Someone did not play ball."
She lowered her gaze slightly and sighed. "Then again, I guess that makes sense." She did not comment any further and IF got the feeling there would be no answers even if she asked.
So the two of them sat in silence once again, this time somewhat less tense than the previous times. IF quietly ate a quick meal to keep herself in good condition and even offered to share by holding out another ration, but her unspoken offer was rejected with a shake of Rei's head. They both remained in their own thoughts for the time being.
The next time Rei flinched and averted her gaze however, IF grew tired of the matter and spoke up: "It's obvious that you're not okay. Please tell me." Her words were a little harsh, but she tried to soften them as best as she could with her tone of voice.
It took a few long moments of silence before the CPU sighed. "Bad End Syndrome." Seeing IF's confused expression, she motioned for what surrounded them. "It is a mental affliction unique to my kind. With every change in perspective, every single blink of the eye, the mind may conjure sights of ruin around oneself. There is nothing worse to a ruler than to see that which they built be turned to rubble."
IF thought back to the dead city she had traversed and nodded slowly; she understood, though she wondered about what Rei saw.
Much to her dismay, the CPU actually continued: "I read in old accounts that an active deity would constantly see flashes of their nation destroyed, there in a moment and gone in the next. I only developed it after the fall and never left this room... but sometimes I feel that I hear the screams outside again." Rei shuddered and turned a now unstaring gaze at the young human. "And every few minutes when I look at you, there suddenly lies a mauled corpse, or sits a mummy, and so many other things."
She shuddered once more and shook her head fiercely, eyes closing as if to tune out the world. "It can be cured if one has the will and the people for it, but I feel it is more than deserved."
IF had been cringing about the description, but now she quickly forced herself to calm down. "Why is that?"
Rei's eyes opened hesitantly, turning toward the ground while the old goddess hugged her legs again. "Because I killed them all. Turned my Tari to dust." She opened her mouth again to continue, but then clacked it shut with excessive force. IF sat still, unwilling to believe what she just heard.
A CPU ending her own people sounded ludicrous, to the point that anyone so much as suggesting such a thing was likely to receive a punch to the face from any firm believers.
She wanted to ask what happened, yet the pure self-loathing and despair in Rei's admission made IF hesitant to poke a still-open wound. She did not need to ask either way, as her conflicted expression was noted when the blunette cast a glance her way.
"I was the worst," she finally admitted in barely a whisper. "The worst person I could be and the worst possible ruler. My methods were indifferent at the best of times, and cruel at the worst. Drunk on my power as the only deity in the world, and merciless toward any who dared question me. My people were unhappy, unruly, and too afraid to stop believing in a long time. But fear is no motivator for faith, and I understand that now. Everything kept escalating for centuries, and I came close to indoctrinating the next generations to instill obedience."
Rei's shoulders slumped and she let out a teary chuckle. "I didn't believe I could be wrong back then, but what you see around you is my doing. Around the full milennium of my reign, my power expanded. Share Energy reformed my body and I grew a pair of great wings."
The CPU turned slightly to display her back. "They slowly use themselves up sustaining me even without any followers, so now there are only stumps left." The silvery protrusions were quite obvious, though IF was more amazed about the fact they apparently kept Rei alive for over a thousand years.
"What happened to Tari, then?" She could guess where the old CPU was going, but was not sure how it connected. "You don't appear like the type to attack her own people."
All that brought her was a mocking snort and a leer unlike anything Rei had displayed so far; she quickly froze and shook her head, the expression fading. "You met me after such a long time of contemplation that I curbed most of it, but the old me is still there. Please don't challenge me, I don't know how well I could hold myself back."
IF remained quiet, though she noticed the silent tears glistening in Rei's eyes; the blunette did not acknowledge them as she continued: "These silver wings boosted my powers beyond anything I ever felt before, but they are so, so unstable. I merely moved an arm to touch them and unleashed a shockwave that destroyed the southern part of this city and ravaged the countryside. Then a few more such reflexive movements and the mere proximity turned everything around into a wasteland; the mountain overhanging the capital fell down to bury it afterward."
Rei clenched her fist and ground her teeth, eyes closed but brimming with tears. "I could only stand still and try to figure out what happened. Fifty million people lived in this city, all dead. With what I did in other places, there wasn't much left of my empire. Not that it mattered; there were still some true believers among my people, and they died just like everyone else. My Shares dropped to nothing very quickly and I decided to just stay here. It's better for everyone. My wings murdered everyone without regard for who they were or what they did."
IF slowly reached out and pulled Rei into another hug, a gesture which made the CPU hiccup and cry pitifully. The human woman did not know what to say, or what to think; this was death on a scale she had only ever attributed to the Deity of Sin. Yet she could also not find herself to care much for people that were a milennium dead, while their crying goddess was right in front of her.
"It's okay," she muttered while stroking Rei's back. "You didn't mean to, and you couldn't know." The other woman only cried harder at that, clinging to IF with almost painful strength.
It took her a while to be calmed down, the grief still being strong within Tari's ruler. IF did not know how much time actually passed, but it was not a short amount. By the end of it, the skin around Rei's eyes was a deep red and she wore a miserable expression.
"Thank you. It means a lot to me." Her voice had become quiet again, barely more than a whisper. Rei took a deep breath, mostly to calm herself, and cast a glance at IF. "But I was not done yet."
The younger woman quickly interrupted her, though. "You don't need to tell me if you don't want to." She felt this needed to be said, and Rei even managed a weak smile in response.
"That is quite considerate of you, but it will be fine. We are already past the worst part." Rei's eyes strayed over IF's face for a moment, but the CPU soon averted her gaze again as she continued: "Once the dust settled, I decided it would be better to stay far away from anyone I could hurt. So I stayed here and sat and thought, and the power became easier to use in time. I can move again without destroying everything."
The blunette leaned back with a wistful expression. "I buried the ugly woman I used to be under all those feelings, so now I am just Rei. Tyrant no longer, as I have no more followers. Ruler no longer, for my nation has fallen. If it has been thirteen centuries since that day," she added quietly with a quick pat on the wing stumps, "then if I do not strain myself, this should last me a few more decades. It was fortunate that you arrived when you did then."
IF tilted her head slightly and wondered what the last part meant, a question which Rei apparently read out of her expression. "Thanks to you, I now know that those who followed after me did not make my mistakes; if they had, I would end my watch to destroy them. Thanks to you, I can remain."
Now the human woman narrowed her eyes, displeased with how much Rei was beating herself up about the matter. "Are you sure? A single journey outside shouldn't be too much to ask for, and I think you'd like Planeptune."
But Rei merely shook her head. "No, it would be wrong of me to leave." She placed a hand on her chest where a human's heart would be, eyes closed. "This is my punishment, self-imposed as it is, for all the wrong I have done. You may call it disproportionate, but a goddess has no right to survive her people. I brought this city to ruin, so it shall be my tomb as well."
The silence held for several seconds before Rei chuckled weakly and opened her eyes. "Not to mention that I can no longer pass for a human even in my civilian form. You could not introduce me to your home without revealing who I am, and then people might actually try to 'help' me."
IF's brows had continued to furrow and she began to wonder about the matter; it was true that CPUs thought differently and measured themselves to different standards, but she still felt that this was too much.
Aside from that however, there was someone missing in Rei's tale. "What about Histoire? Why didn't she stop you?"
She received a shrug in response. "The Tome never came to Tari. I do not know why that is."
Now she had something to look into at a later time; with that matter out of the way, IF returned to the more important problem. She could not force Rei to leave and if she really decided to die below the earth, nothing but words could manage to change her mind. But did she have the right to challenge a CPU's decision?
After a moment of hesitation, IF chose to believe that nobody should end like this. Rei freely admitted that she used to be a horrible person, she had atoned for her deeds in a watch lasting longer than her own nation did. Why she had done so instead of ending her life when her Shares fell away was a question she dared not ask, assuming that the answer would be on the lines of a quick death being too merciful.
After some more thought, IF sighed and met Rei's gaze evenly. "I won't lie and say no one will care; it's natural to be worried about each other. But I think you should at least see all of it with your own eyes, so you can rest without any more regrets or doubts. One week, that's all I ask."
The old deity's eyes narrowed slightly, this being the only sign of her displeasure. Rei gave the proposal a few seconds of consideration; as her expression fell however, IF knew her answer even before she shook her head. "I... could do that, but I do not want to. Your efforts are appreciated, but I would be happier knowing that my shame is not remembered by anyone but Histoire."
"I see." IF was not okay with that, but she also did not want to burn Rei's goodwill by pushing her. "I might come back in a few years, would that be okay?"
This time, the blunette nodded without hesitation. "Of course it would. Please just do not make it the spiel where you drop by every week until I come with you."
They both chuckled about that and IF stood. "Alright, I'll try to keep that in mind. Do you have any idea how I can get out of here?"
Rei rose to her feet in response and motioned for IF to follow. "Not directly, but I can open you a path." The younger woman was quite happy about that; it spared her hours of searching, or failed and potentially embarassing attempts at reaching the cave's ceiling via jumping.
They slowly walked out of the ruined Basilicom, Rei flinching as they went; IF stayed by her side but left her be, knowing that the blunette had to see this for herself. If she truly never left this place since the city was buried underground, the state of it would obviously be a shock.
Interestingly however, Rei merely eyed her surroundings with curiousity once they left the building; the evening's last few rays of light fell in through the holes up high, otherwise it was quiet. Only now did IF realise that the scarcity of monsters likely was because they too felt the presence of Tari's goddess.
"This is... not too bad. Thirteen hundred years would see less sturdy buildings reduced to dust already." Rei even managed a small smile before turning her attention to the ceiling. "And I think there is your way out. May I carry you?"
IF paused at the strange request for a moment, but then nodded. She was not unused to such situations. "Sure; can you fly with those wings?" She stepped closer to Rei and prepared herself to be picked up. The other woman quickly swept her into a princess carry, but shook her head.
"Not directly; I can substitute magic for it, though." And with that, the two of them rose to the air and Rei began to run.
One of the things IF could boast with was that her Awakening-boosted top speed almost hit a hundred kilometres per hour, outdoing most other Makers by a wide margin, though she could not keep up such a sprint for long. Rei moved at similar speeds without any trouble, all while apparently creating a path of solid air for herself to walk on. They reached the area below one of the openings within a few minutes and slowed down.
"Are you alright?" Rei's question was answered with a simple nod; IF had been carried at such speeds before, though never that long. Her stomach did not revolt.
"Good, good. Now upward." And with just a muttered comment, the pair began to rise up; Rei's magic was apparently as versatile as that of any seasoned mage or CPU, despite having not been used for over a thousand years.
They soon stood on top of a small mountaintop far below the actually large mountains, the hole in the ground gaping with a few others being found over the rocky terrain. Few plants managed to make the area their home, but one could see far into the distance from where they were. Planeptune's plains sprawled toward the horizon, the monsters populating them being odd drops of colour in the green.
Rei beheld the sight for a few seconds before slowly lowering IF to the ground and allowing her to stand on her own feet again. Then she offered her a smile. "Just seeing this is already plenty. I know I turned the area into a desert as a punitive measure so long ago. I am glad it recovered."
The human woman had no words for the scale that was just casually mentioned; Planeptune was huge, having turned the entire area into a desert would have sounded ludicrous from anyone but a deity. Plus, she remembered reading that when Purple Heart was born, a good part of land this side of the continent had still been a desert.
With no answer forthcoming, Rei made to turn and leave, but paused. "Oh. I, um, I never asked your name."
She was right; the matter had completely slipped both of their minds, though for different reasons. IF chuckled once she realised that. "You're right. I'm Isabelle, it's nice to meet you."
"Hm. Isabelle, huh?" Rei tested the name once more and gave a firm nod. "It suits an impressive young woman such as you, simple yet strong." IF's cheeks reddened slightly, but she took the compliment in stride.
When the CPU made to turn once more however, this time it was the brunette who stopped her: "Oh, one more thing." When Rei turned back, IF pointed down as she explained. "I will tell everyone something so they don't go digging into the city a little longer."
It was only a small thing to do, perhaps all she could in this case, but IF felt that it should be done; Rei wanted her solitude, so she should not take it from her if it could be prevented.
The deity offered her a last grateful smile and nodded her head. "I appreciate that. Farewell, Isabelle."
"Yeah, farewell."
And with that, Tari's Blue Heart stepped forward to be swallowed by the hole in the ground; she was gone in an instant, leaving only IF atop the mountains with a lot of thoughts and many questions.