Another Beautiful Day

Peace. Tranquility. Rest.

How long had it been since he truly was able to rest?

Not a nap that, while easily lasting a century, was nothing more than a momentary respite before he returned to his duties, but a real, honest to good rest. He couldn't tell, so long had it been. But he had done it willingly, albeit complaining along the way as he was wont to do.

Because he loved his world; his people.

So much that he had been willing to sacrifice everything. Yet somewhere along the way, he had grown tired and a certain hollow sentiment had started to seep into his mind. But now…now it was over. Felled by none other than her.

His mind flashed to the look in her eyes when he made her promise to remember them, and he knew that she would do her best to carry on their memory. She would be the eternal wind carrying them ever higher. It was the best end he could have hoped for.

And now he could finally…

"Rest…" he exhaled.

…

…

…

A bright light pierced the tranquility surrounding him.

"Of course," Emet-Selch sighed, rolling his eyes underneath his mask before casting his senses out in the direction of the light. "Now where are you…Ah, there."

Closing his eyes, he followed the shining beacon that was her soul. When he opened them again, he found himself atop the Syrcus Tower, where Emperor Xande once held court. A dramatic battleground if he had ever seen one. In front of him, a man clad from head to toe in ornate armor floated above the ground.

Elidibus. His form might be a different one, but his soul was still in there, even if the voice that spoke sounded almost like that of a different person than his old friend. "You…"

Emet-Selch raised his hand–

"...It cannot be!"

–and snapped his fingers.

In a flash, she and those warriors from distant worlds that had heeded her call appeared once more. Good, his work here was done. He would leave the rest to her.

Without so much as a passing glance towards Elidibus, he turned around and walked away, offering only that dismissive hand wave of his as he disappeared. Within seconds, Emet-Selch was again surrounded by tranquil silence. Another sigh passed his lips and he reached out to remove the mask resting upon his face, letting it disperse into aether.

Slowly, his eyes began to drift shut as he let himself float across the aetheric currents of the Lifestream. His lips curled into a crooked smile in response to the absolutely brilliant one appearing in front of his mind's eye.

Rest…

Wind wafted through the throne room, its sound nothing but a faint whisper to her ears as the clouds began to break, taking with them the visions of raining fire to reveal the beautiful early evening sky. For a moment, it was entirely silent until a groan made her look towards G'raha, slipping down to his knees. The crystallization of his body had further proceeded and he was visibly out of breath, but he still offered her a smile and a nod before turning his gaze forward.

A soft mist of aether had formed where the magnificent form of the Warrior of Light had stood only moments ago, destroyed by the same spell that G'raha had wanted to use to take the Light that had gathered inside of her into himself. As the mist dispersed, she noticed a figure in white robes kneeling on the ground. Elidibus; the true Elidibus.

Slowly, she began to walk towards him but he didn't seem to notice her even as she knelt in front of him. Gods, he looked so small, a far cry from the gargantuan shades in Emet-Selch's Amaurot. She reached into her pouch and pulled out the stones of the Convocation, placing them on the ground one by one. That got his attention.

"This..." he said, reaching out to pick some of them up. "Yes... I would become Him. I would save everyone. This I believed. Yet still they cried out, in rage and despair...Divided over the fate of the star. A rare occurrence, always fleeting. But not this time. Not this time..."

He looked away from the crystals and towards her.

"Reconciliation. Elidibus. I was needed. I withdrew myself from Zodiark. For them...My people. My brothers. ...My friends." A tear escaped his mask, running down the side of it, then floating up to join the tiny particles of aether breaking away from his form. He buried his face in his hands, his voice beginning to crack. "Stay strong. Keep the faith. At duty's end, we will meet again. We will. We will. The rains have ceased, and we have been graced with another beautiful day..."

He raised his head towards the sky—

"...but you are not here to see it."

—and his body dispersed into aether, taking with him the stones of those he held dear. S'eni watched it rise high and into the Crystal Tower. They had won...

...then why didn't she feel like it?

As she shifted a little, she felt her foot connect with something and she turned around to find the spirit vessel that Elidibus had taken. Picking it up, she looked it over. It didn't seem to be damaged.

The sound of a body hitting the ground made her spin around and run towards her friend. Kneeling down next to him, her eyes widened when she saw that the crystallization wasn't stopping.

He chuckled, his lips curling into a self-deprecating smile. "I concede, I may have overexerted myself."

"There's got to be a way to—" he silenced her with a hand and slowly pushed himself into a sitting position.

"Steady now, and listen. I told you before that I had a plan, and that when all was said and done, I would ask a favor of you." He paused for a moment, looking about. "We have averted the Eighth Umbral Calamity. Found a way for everyone to return to the Source, and...last but not least, we have secured the future of all the people of Norvrandt. We have won, S'eni. So I hope you'll forgive me for this moment of selfishness. And...while I wouldn't want you to feel obliged..."

G'raha's eyes found hers, his crimson gaze filled with a bittersweet warmth that made her throat seize up.

"Promise me you'll take me on your next adventure. A journey. Together. That's all I ask."

Gods, why? Why couldn't he have asked her sooner!?

You're such an ass, G'raha! Releasing a shuddering breath, S'eni mirrored his smile and said, "I promise."

He chuckled. "If I were to tell you that this isn't the end, that we will meet again, would you believe me?"

She nodded, raising the hand holding his spirit vessel. Gingerly, G'raha reached out to place his hand upon it. "Thank you."

He let his hand linger there for a few short moments longer, before raising it towards his hood to pull it over his head, then took hold of his fallen staff to push himself back to his feet.

"My friend...My mind and memories shall travel with you to the ends of the world and beyond. But in this place my body shall stand immovable," he said while walking to the center of the chamber, his every step carrying with it the cracking sound of his limbs turning to crystal. Coming to a stop, he turned around to face her again. "May it serve as an undying promise, not only to those who looked to me for leadership, but to any soul who has known despair, that hope is everlasting."

The spirit vessel in her hand glowed and his smile widened, remaining like that even as the rest of his body was consumed; committing it to eternity.

Staring at his crystalized form, her eyes began to burn and she furiously wiped them to try and get rid of it, only for her fingers to come back wet. With a quivering breath, she slammed them shut instead and clutched the vessel tightly. She stayed like this even as the others arrived.

Minutes passed with no one saying a word, until a set of footsteps approached S'eni. A hand gently guided her to turn around. Finally looking at whoever it was, she found silvery-white eyes staring back at her and the same hand that guided her settled against her cheek. She didn't resist when Y'shtola pulled her into a hug, burying her face into the crook of her neck instead and inhaling her calming scent.

When she felt ready again, she raised her head and let their foreheads come to rest upon one another, lingering there for a few more short, sweet moments, before saying in a small voice, "Let's go."

Giving G'raha one last, lingering look, they walked over to the others and left with them in silence. No one said a word as they made their way down, the expressions on their faces making it clear they were all lost in their own thoughts. Y'shtola's hand brushed against hers and she gently grasped it, holding it until they stepped out onto the Exedra.

It was only then that her lover spoke, running a gentle thumb across the back of her hand. "Sometimes, I wished that I had been gifted with the Echo as well," she said. "Then I might see what you have seen and glimpse into your heart without the need for words."

Closing her eyes for a brief second, S'eni took a deep breath and offered Y'shtola a smile. "You already know what's inside," was her reply. "I'm fine now. Really."

Y'shtola gave her a searching look, before mirroring her expression and nodding. Letting go of her hand, S'eni stepped back and looked at the others, each giving her a nod as well. Except for Ryne, who looked up at the tower, still very much lost in thought.

"Are you alright?" she asked after walking over to the girl, causing her to jump a little.

"A-Am I alright? I should be the one asking..." Ryne shook her head. "But yes, I'm fine, thank you. We all are. The people are fine, the city's fine, and the starshowers have stopped. It's almost as if we'd gone back to the peaceful days that followed the night's return. Almost."

"Yeah..." S'eni turned her gaze upward. Someone would be missing from now on.

"Eni, if you're ready, would you recount to us what unfolded?"

She nodded and began to explain what happened since she split off from them, culminating in Elidibus' defeat and his last moments.

"I see...So you reached out to Elidibus at the last...and his heart was moved," Y'shtola said after she was done.

"Hm. I just don't know if I did the right thing..."

"Perhaps you did. Perhaps you didn't. None can say. But the important thing is this: though violence proved unavoidable, you did at least come to understand your foe. And knowing his hopes and dreams, we can remember him. Him and his legacy. So long as they remain unforgotten, the love he and his brethren bore for one another and the star may yet be rewarded."

"Yeah, I suppose you're right."

"You said that an Ancient came to your aid," Alphinaud then said. "But how is that possible?"

"Not just any Ancient. It was Emet-Selch," she said. There was no way she could mistake that dismissive wave of his. When it had looked like they had lost, he had followed her call for help.

"A gift from him," Y'shtola said. "He knew of Elidibus's plight. Foreseeing his own death, he made provisions to bring Elidibus's suffering to an end, lest his friend be left to continue the struggle alone. Or so I wildly speculate." she did a little shrug. "It's unlikely we will ever know the truth. The best we can do is to remember events as they happened, no more and no less. As the Ronkans so rightly put it, 'History is learned, not lived.'"

"Ah! There you all are!" another voice called out and they all turned to see Beq Lugg walking towards them.

"My friend!" Urianger exclaimed. "We were given to understand thou wert injured. Shouldst thou not be abed?"

"Lie down at a time like this!? Don't be absurd!" they waved the issue off. "I would have come sooner had the guards not made such a fuss! Now, tell me what's happened. Where is the Exarch?"

"He's..." she stopped herself and looked towards the tower's apex instead.

The Nu Mou's eyes widened for a second, then their shoulders sank. "I see... S'eni, will you show me his spirit vessel?"

"Of course," S'eni said, kneeling down to the ground and holding the vessel out towards them. They stepped forward, taking it into their hands and looking at it closely, then nodded.

"Yes...Both his soul and memories seem intact. Good," they said, handing it back to her. "Unlike the others, his aether was not highly charged, and so it did not seem necessary to employ a familiar for the imbuing. But I needed to be certain all the same. Oh, what a relief..."

"Then 'tis but a question of restoring his soul unto his flesh," Urianger. "And as thou didst lately tell me, the success of this process resteth on no more than our friend's soul recognizing his flesh as its own."

"Given his apparent desire to return to the Source with S'eni, one would think his soul would be only too happy to be home, no? Surely it wouldn't balk at the relative newness of its accommodation?" Thancred asked.

"So one would hope, but none can speak for the Exarch's heart of hearts. And he can no longer speak for himself. Furthermore, though I have drawn upon all of my not inconsiderable experience to predict the outcome, the fact remains that there is no direct precedent for what we are attempting. Will his body accept his soul? Will his essences blend properly? Will he awaken whole of mind? Any number of things could go awry." Beq Lugg paused to look at each and every one of them. "...Assuming I have succeeded in tempering your expectations, I should probably add that I did ask the Exarch if he still wished to return to the Source in full knowledge of the risks. A simple enough question, one would think, warranting a single-word reply. Yet the answer I received was quite longer than that. Almost comically so, in fact. Regardless, out of respect for the man, I shall attempt to recite it, with a certain amount of poetic license. Ahem!"

As the Nu Mou told them the words G'raha had spoken, and what sentimental sounding ones they were, S'eni couldn't help but smile and look at the spirit vessel in her hand. Yes, that sounded just like him. After Beq Lugg was done, they once again cleared their throat.

"There! I told you it was long. And unspeakably sentimental to boot," they said. "One would think them the outpourings of a dewy-eyed boy, not the old man the Exarch seems to believe he is. I mean, really, he's scarcely been alive as long as I've been in hiding!"

A chuckle escaped Y'shtola. "I daresay he's blushing in his vessel," she said, then looked at the others. "Speaking of which, we should make ready for our journey. Time remains of the essence, after all. Needless to say, once we leave, there is no guarantee that we can return. If anyone has unfinished business, now is the time to see to it."

A round of agreements followed her statement.

It was time to say goodbye.

Surprise! I included the snap after all!

Just had to find a way around the battle, and what better way than to have it from our favorite Ascian's pov instead? Hope I managed to do it justice in a different way. :)

Alright, next week it's time to return home. Until then, have a nice weekend! o/