She awoke standing atop a boundless sea.
The sky above her was filled with stars that seemed to stretch out to the horizon, and the ground beneath her reflected the stars.
If she were to put a single word to this world, it would be, 'serene'.
However, at that moment all she could feel was 'confusion'.
Where was she? What was she? Who was she?
She didn't know. She closed her eyes and tried to remember.
A group of people. They numbered eight. A girl with curious ears and a tail. Seven. A man who blazed like a raging inferno. Six. A boy who devoured all that was thrown at him. Five. A woman atop a large weapon, with bright light and searing pain. Four. A brilliant flame that enveloped her sight. Silence. And then… the End.
She stopped remembering. She had found some of her answers.
The End… that term was familiar to her. That was what she was. What she represented. What she caused.
She was Finality.
But then where was she now?
"Ah! If I knew I'd be having guests I'd have gotten some treats out!" A voice cried out.
She turned to face someone that wasn't there before.
'Pink,' was her first thought seeing this new figure. 'Very Pink.'
The pink figure was sitting on a floating staff, looking like she'd been there the whole time. "That was just a joke. I knew you'd be here since I'm the one who brought you here~."
The pink girl seemed familiar somehow, though from her limited memories she didn't think they'd met before. And yet, she realized she knew exactly who this girl was.
"You are… Origin." Her throat hurt as she spoke, as though she'd never spoken before.
"Bingo~! Though I prefer Human over Origin, and I prefer Elysia over both." The newly named Elysia hopped off of her staff, though her feet never touched the ground. She floated in mid air staring at her, seemingly waiting for something.
.
.
.
"Oh, right, I suppose you still aren't too used to this" Elysia suddenly looked rather bashful.
"Used to… what?" Hm, her throat still hurt. Maybe she could drink some of the water that surrounded them?
"Living, I suppose. After all, unlike me, you were born without free will of your own."
"Free… will?" What was will? What made it free?
"Yeah! Free will! The power to live your life the way you want to! A lot of Herrschers lost their free will, and became mindless destroyers. You however didn't have that from the start." Elysia seemed to like gesturing as she talked, and finished her sentence pointing at the Herrscher of Finality.
"Then… what about… you?" It only seemed right to return the favor, so she pointed at Elysia as she finished her sentence.
"Me? I'm the exception, I was born in complete control of myself, and I got to see the beauty of humanity. I decided that such beauty deserved to be shared, so I used my authority of Origin to share that with all Herrschers, and turn my exception into the rule! I did the same just now, when I brought you here." She seemed proud of herself as she spoke. "It was pretty simple, all things considered, after all, Origin and Finality are closely intertwined. I only wish I had managed to get through to you before you descended."
Elysia closed her eyes and fell silent, seemingly out of, grief?
Oh.
"Those people… in my memories. Did you… know them?" The words were tough to get out for a new reason this time, one she couldn't place. Elysia nodded.
"Mhm, they were my friends, and my family in arms. Now I'm not sure if any of them are even alive." She sighed, opening her eyes and staring at the Herrscher of Finality. "All things considered, I should probably hate you. After all, you killed my friends, and the humanity that I loved," She smiled again, in spite of her earlier words. "But I don't. After all, you weren't even aware of yourself, much less anyone else. You were just a slave being puppeteered. And besides," Her smile grew even wider, "How could I hate such a pretty girl~?" Just like that, the somber atmosphere was gone, and Elysia returned to the way she was before.
The Herrscher of Finality let out a breath. Odd, she hadn't noticed she was holding one to begin with.
Perhaps this was fear, or maybe guilt.
However, there was still one question she had.
"Why?"
"Hmm? Why what?"
"Why… give me… this?" She gestured, though she didn't know what she was gesturing towards.
"Ah, that." Despite her vague statement , Elysia seemed to understand perfectly. "I said it already, didn't I? I wanted to share the beauty of humanity with all other Herrschers."
"But… humanity-"
"Humanity is still alive. The embers of my era have given rise to the next, and they ought to be thriving at this very moment."
She was surprised to hear of humanity's survival, even in the aftermath of Finality. But more than that, she was still confused on why?
Elysia seemed to recognize her confusion, and hummed to herself.
"All right! I've decided! How about I give you a sneak peek preview of the best of humanity?"
"Huh?" But before she could get any more words out, Elysia grabbed her hand, and the world faded to white.
When she opened her eyes, she was no longer in the endless sea of Origin. Rather, she seemed to be in a human settlement… maybe? It seemed a little too bright though, and with weirdly shaped buildings.
As if reading her thoughts, Elysia answered her question.
"This is an amusement park! It's where humans come to have fun and go on rides!" Her outfit had changed, and she was now holding a strange cone shaped object.
Holding the object up to her mouth, she spoke again, "Testing~! One, two, three, testing~!" Her voice was a lot louder now, and the Herrscher of Finality winced. "First stop on Elysia's grand tour is the roller coaster, the must see attraction at any amusement park!"
She pulled her onto the long vehicle on the tracks, and pulled the bar over both of them. As the vehicle started moving, Elysia spoke again. "Please keep your hands, arms, feet, and legs inside the car at all times. And most importantly, have fun!" As she spoke, the coaster began climbing up slowly.
The Herrscher of Finality had yet to see what made this 'roller coaster' so amusing, but as the coaster made it to the top of the hill, she remembered the power of the 9th Herrscher.
Gravity, a force that attracts and pulls things. It keeps all things on Earth from going into space.
It also makes things fall fast.
With a quick yelp, the coaster picked up speed very quickly, and while Elysia cheered, the Herrscher of Finality's mind was elsewhere. She can fly, and she has flown fast before, when fighting Elysia's friends. However, this coaster was absent of the tenseness that came with battle, where a single misstep could mean pain. There was none of that here, it was simply letting the coaster carry them, and listening to Elysia yelling in her ear. Looking over at Elysia revealed that she had her hands up in the air, and after a moment, she mimicked Elysia, raising her hands and feeling the wind push past it.
It was nice.
After the roller coaster, Elysia took her on various other rides, like a 'merry go round' which was much slower than the roller coaster, yet the Herrscher found to be calming in its own way, and a 'slingshot' ride that accelerated much faster than the others.
As they rode the next ride, a 'ferris wheel', to the top, she found herself with another unfamiliar feeling, though unlike before this one was quite pleasant.
Perhaps this was fun, or maybe happiness.
Having ridden all the rides at the park, Elysia grabbed her hand again and the landscape changed to a large field, with some human made buildings off in the distance. Elysia said this place was called a 'park'.
"No tour is complete without a picnic lunch, you know~!" She didn't know, but she supposed that was why Elysia was the guide and not her. Elysia laid out a blanket and a basket filled with food. Where she had gotten them, the Herrscher didn't know, but she assumed it was just some other power of Origin she didn't know about, like the voice amplifier from before. Elysia said she had food from different countries, but to the Herrscher, all the differences seemed redundant. Humans ate food to survive, didn't they? Why make so many different types? Elysia simply laughed when she voiced this out loud.
"Humans love their individuality, and they aren't content to stick with one thing that works. That's part of what I love about them, their constant drive to change. Now you have your own individuality too." The Herrscher was content with this answer, even if she couldn't fully comprehend it yet, and simply gazed out to the setting sun."
Though there was something else nagging at her.
"You said… that this was a tour of humanity? So then… why are there no humans?"
"Oh that? Well, there's a couple of reasons. First is that I didn't want to overwhelm you. The only human you've spoken to so far is just me, so I didn't want to make it too overbearing." Elysia took a pause to finish off the sandwich she was eating. "Though the main reason is that, for all that I know and love about humanity, it's not enough to be able to recreate them in this space. It never will. Each human is so wildly different that it'd be impossible for little old me to recreate even a small amount. I figured it'd be better to let your first impression of humanity be the true humanity, not some replica I made here. That'd be the best way to show off the humanity I love."
"The humanity… that you love." The Herrscher repeated. She thought back to the sights Elysia had shown her. She also thought back to the only other humans she'd ever seen. Elysia's friends.
"I'm… sorry."
"Hm? Whatever for?" Elysia seemed perplexed.
"Your friends. The ones I killed. I'm sorry."
Elysia seemed caught off guard, probably the first time she's looked like that since they met. But then the shock faded to her signature smile.
"Oh, you don't need to apologize for that. I already said I don't blame you, didn't I?" She paused afterwards, her smile becoming more somber. "But thank you, really. It means a lot more than you'd think to hear that."
She looked out to the horizon again, and the setting sun.
"I had a lot of fun today, how about you?" The question was rather abrupt, but that was how Elysia worked.
"Hm?" Did she have fun? She thought back over the tour, from the amusement park to the picnic they were in. "Yes, I believe… I did." Elysia's smile returned in full force.
"Perfect! Then that means that Elysia's grand tour was a success! If you thought that this was a blast, then I feel confident that you're going to love humanity just like I do!"
She stood up as the landscape returned to the sea of Origin they had started in. "Now I feel good, knowing that I can leave you in good hands."
Wait.
"Wouldn't… I still have you?"
Elysia smiled again, though this one seemed softer than any other before.
"I wish that were the case, but I have already been dead for a long time." As she spoke, the space began to crack. The starry sky began to fall away.
"I died 50,000 years ago. But you, you didn't die then. As we speak, you're still there on the Moon, without a purpose, and without life. But there's still a flicker left, the same flicker that brought you into the world can be reignited."
As they stood there together amidst the collapsing world, the Herrscher of Finality could only ask the same question she's asked before.
"Why?" She didn't need to clarify. Elysia laughed softly.
"Because you don't deserve to just rot up there, having never gotten even a chance to live, never having a chance to be happy. So I decided to give you that chance, just as I gave all the other Herrschers."
The Herrscher of Finality stood silently.
"What will I do… without you?"
"Oh silly, don't you remember? Origin is the tie that connects all Herrschers, and Origin and Finality are more closely intertwined than any other. As long as there is you, there is me."
The Herrscher felt something on her cheek. She wiped it to reveal her hand was wet. Another drop fell into the sea beneath them. What was this? It was another new feeling that she had never felt before.
Perhaps this was sorrow, or maybe grief.
Elysia lifted her hand to the Herrscher's face.
"Aw, don't cry, how about this? We'll make a promise.
You go and see all the sights humanity has to offer, and ride all the roller coasters for me, ok~?"
The Herrscher could only nod, not quite knowing what to say.
She supposed that all these new emotions, whether they feel good or bad, were all part of being human. And thus she would cherish them, for they were Elysia's gift to her.
"Oh wait, I completely forgot!" Elysia seemed shocked that she could forget one of the most important parts of being a human. "You need a name! You can't just go on being called 'Herrscher of Finality'. That name is simply too long, and could get all kinds of bad attention."
She put a finger to her chin in deep thought, ignoring the continuing collapse of the world.
"I got it! The perfect name for you!"
And so the Herrscher of Origin faced the Herrscher of Finality.
"Your name will be KIANA, how about that? A pretty name for a pretty girl~."
And so Elysia granted a name to KIANA.