#Confluence of Nothingness

[smokeybrandreviews]

Guten Essen

It’s been a few weeks since Confluence of Nothingness completed and i was able to sweep the new Iron Blood ships. That sh*t taxed my pockets way more than i would have liked but, i must say, just Bismarck Zwei has been worth the effort. She has been everything Ultra Rare ship should be. In terms of raw power, Zwei is a whole ass problem. Sure, stat wise, she’s slightly above average but her skills, when executed properly, are kind of f*cking amazing. Zwei is, admittedly, no Musashi but for a UR KMS, I'm here for all of it. Regensberg is a fun ship, overall, but kind of a pain to use properly. A lot of her appeal is based on how she’s deployed but i kind of don’t care about that type of stuff. I have my Feet which i run and Regensberg is, more or less, eye candy to me. Also, but that Dark Dragon, Brilliant Beach, though! I just really love her design. Now, Otto von Alvensleben, on the other hand, is a gem. This ship is quite the powerhouse and really made the grind to max out my new boats, a total breeze. Otto eats mobs for breakfast and when you’re about that power leveling, this sh*t is a goddamn godsend. Confluence of Nothingness paid off tremendously for me in terms of raw power and i am completely satisfied with the results.

As far as the grind is concerned, i have finished maxing the levels of all of the Nothingness ships, their affection, as well as their skills, save U-556 META. Still debating whether to actually grind her out as i don’t use META ships at all but, you know, KMS main and all so we’ll see. It’s odd having completely maxed out the new boats in such a short time, took me about three days after they dropped from the Banner, one of which is topped out at 125. I’ll let you guess which one that is, or not. It’s Zwei. Of course it’s Zwei. She’s a UR Kraut. Of course i would break her limit first. The problem i have now is the fact i only have enough of those goddamn Cognitive Arrays to Limit Break one of my SR ships. I’m leaning toward Otto for the sheer versatility but i REALLY like Regensberg. I’ll get enough to break the other one during the next Seasonal Cruise but, i mean, right now? The Limit Break grind is the only thing i have left for these two so it kind of doesn’t matter either way but, like, doesn’t it? Decisions, decisions. It’ll probably be Otto but, you know, Musashi is also an option. She’s just sitting over there in my neglected Sakura dock, looking awesome and being the best UR available in the game right now, with a stockpile of Experience that will immediately blast her to level 125 the second i Break her. But that’s kind of the point. The short-lived KMS grind is complete and i have found myself at the same impasse i was at before Azur Lane dropped Confluence of Nothingness: What do i do next?

Marco Polo is basically complete, i just need to grind out that last bit of Experience. I mean, U-556 META is always an option but I'll never use her for anything, especially considering the other Super Rare KMS subs in my Fleet are, technically, better and they’re all topped out at level 125 already. I could construct another PR ship or two, kind of gave up on the other Docks because that sh*t was getting expensive and i don’t care to do it in general. I still want Kronshtadt and Shimakaze, but, like, i don’t particularly care to finish the rest of those docks. And the Ruskies are actually my second favorite Fleet in the entire game! Maybe I'll focus on the Rainbow Ships for now. Not only the Ultra Rare boats but the Decisive ones, too, because, holy sh*t, some of those Decisives are a big time. Azuma dropped way back in Series Two so i imagine a Fate Simulation may be on the way and, even without one, she’s still a problem. Her Series mate, Friedrich, got one a few months back and that sh*t has made her an absolute monster, even if she was one to begin with. I dunno, man, I'll think about it while i enjoy my buffed up Iron Blood dock for a while. So far, we KMS mains aren’t eating like last year but the dish served up this time, was absolutely decadent.

[ashes-16-al-wallpapers]

Full art*

[ashvalentine16]

Confluence of Nothingness rerun and Taihou-chan's trust milestone event: Passionate Confession Practice rerun

[miyanagateru]

my apologies to ulrich but seeing her so sad and angry at bismarck over friedrich back in confluence of nothingness just fueled my bisfried love more. i love one sided love so i cannot let friedrich love you, ulrich

[caelumcreative]

Humanity, Born of the Collision

Humans, Those who roam the world, the children of the void, the Divine Accident, the forsaken of the Elder Gods. When the world began there was nothingness, and from that came the Elder Gods. But alongside them was their elder sibling, the Void. This was the place that would keep all that the siblings discarded, including their parent the nothingness itself. For the ages of creation the Void sat alone, watching, waiting, hoping that they could one day make their own creation. With the time of the Collision rushed upon the many worlds of the Elder Gods was a confluence of energy and power, all of which slipped into the Void. From this void came a gentle voice, and then another, and another, and another, before the voice was a chorus of sound and song. The Void was astounded by the sudden creation that now voiced throughout them and needed a place to put them. It opened a wound in its side and from it fell all of humanity onto the world of Caelum. From the beginning, humanity was a lost people in a foreign world, but their time in the Void made them resistant to the elements, magics, and adaptable to all places. Humans wondered and explored reaches of Caelum that the Elder Races could not or refused to, for though they are not immune to the powers of Dark Magic, they deterministically continue on. For now they have spread throughout Caelum and many lands now bare human cities and cultures a plenty when the time of the Ancients was done.

[mealvaan]

Sojourn

TW. Suicidal ideation.

The last traveller in line evaporates to dust.

Emerging from the outskirts of the plaza, Signe traces the footsteps of the adventurer that once was. Their terminal is unknown to her. Funny, how travelling via aetheryte can make even a destination a deeply personal thing. Most opt for a hands-off journey, being chauffeured from their beginning to end without a care — without control. 

People often speak of one’s constitution and aptitude in manipulating aether as necessities for aetheryte travel, but neither concerns her. No, it’s the unspoken requisite of setting intent — the reliance on one’s will as the sole compass — that roots her in her place.

Signe’s mind is the source of her power. The Scholar’s blessing and the Spinner’s curse. From her fingertips, trickling streams flow into the well of the crystal, releasing a floodgate of conscious and subconscious thought that merges into a confluence.

The potency of her reason cannot be tamed; no matter how much she wills it to silence, her thoughts prise their maws open with gnashing teeth and desperate winges. She knows what they say even in echoes. 

The aetherial sea is devoid of tactile feeling. The ocean is her own liquid skin, the lot of it familiar and folding in on her. Kneading dough that serves to nudge her along, but only just, as other presences — presences that feel like her, but also adamantly individual — flit past with great ease. She floats along the lazy river. How comfortable. How modest. 

Would it not be nice to stay a while?

She wonders how long one can rest here before they are cast out, how long before the corporeal realm gets tired of her too. Is there a place in this realm where one can indulge forever and a day, shielded from the current in a pocket of blissful nothingness? Bathed in dim light. Pickled in it.

Her thoughts recognise what she’s done as the unpleasant, broiled word passes her psyche. 

Do you remember where you had meant to go?

She doesn’t remember the name of any place in this state. They’re all blurs and backdrops to her. Set dressing for another rotation of events, the palette of meaningless filler. She doesn’t know where she was meant to go despite how routine it is. Why would she leave, for that matter, when the Lifestream cradles her so?

Temptation beckons to bask in the warmth of her blood — to fall into deep slumber.

If she had eyes, they would glide shut.

Filtering through her faux lids, there is a bright light — the sliver of Thanalan sun through a drawn curtain. It slices through her sleep, carving a warm yellow glow into her cheek and nose and mouth, all of which she can’t move, she can’t feel. The light is incessant and impossible to ignore. The light is belligerent and demands her attention. The light needs to be addressed. 

Now.

Her physique coalesces with unreasonable conviction, each part of her falling into place and tied together with the slab of obsidian she calls a greatsword. A perfectly wrapped parcel, delivered right to her apartment tower’s doorstep. She has the gait of a groggy child woken from a nap, yet she drives herself forward as if she’d been awake the whole time.

Nothing happened. 

You can’t get rid of me that easy, says Brand, lounging in her peripheral. You won’t get rid of us. 

You don’t want to.

[sakuraswordly]

Spoilers #Tsofph Season 11(Chapter3 The beginning of the miracle)

Peter: *Gasps*PUNCH!

Punch: *Gasps*Punch! *Shock and Heartbroken*

Peter: No.....no....!!....*Heartbroken and hug Gilgamesh tight, caressing him so close to him like trying to protect him even it is too late*

????????: There's nothing you can do. The world will still end and the darkness will end the universe itself.

*Thup thup thup*

Sonic: Punch! Are you guys ok------?! *Gasps*.....no....no..!!*Shock and Heartbroken*

Peter: *He hug Gilgamesh tight, Tears streaming down, he's so heartbroken but until....*

Gilgamesh: Peter.....everything will be okay.

Peter: Punch..! You still exist...!!

Gilgamesh: *Smile back*

Gilgamesh saves Peter keeping Peter from breaking entirely.

Kujaku: You...! How dare you!!!!!!

????????: I'm just wondering if you could please be careful now. That which lies ahead...does not yet exist. Or the world will become a part of it… one day. But I… will not end. Nor will you end.

Enkidu: .....................*Growing Rage*

????????: And so it begins. A confluence of worlds...and emotions. Loss, chief among them. It engulfs fleeting moments of joy, transforming them into rage, sadness, and hatred.

Peter: ..............!! The world...no..!......the universe falls apart.....*turns head to Gilgamesh, tightens his hold on him and never wants to let him go*

Gilgamesh: *Nod and smile. Leave his trust to Peter*

Peter: I got this.*Pull the excalibur out*

.

.

Sonic & Punch: ........................!!

????????: I must admit....I underestimated you.

Gilgamesh: Let's end this--together!

Punch: *Relief and smile with happiness*

Sonic: Are you ready?

Gilgamesh: As I'll ever be!

Sonic, Punch and Gilgamesh stand ready and the final clash with the end of the universe begins

.

.

Everyone heads to their fallen ally. Sonic hurried to Gilgamesh and knew his body was dead and he wasn't alive anymore then Sonic placed his hand on Gilgamesh with a heartbroken and grief. Punch walks towards Gilgamesh's carcass. We then see everything from Punch's perspective with everyone absent. Punch picks up Gilgamesh's body.

Because Sonic, Punch and Gilgamesh are the same. Because they are Punch. Gilgamesh: If I died like Enkidu, I can go back to Punch Whalen's body. If Punch is killed, he/she will come to stay in my body. We are the only proof that god of the nothingness still exists.

Punch: Punch.....Wake up.

Gilgamesh opens his eyes and Punch smiles.

.

.

Punch: But what if something happens? I mean as Sonic said.....only two of us know that you're okay(exist) but no one could know you're okay.

.

.

Gilgamesh: You came. Even though you’re about to break.

Peter feels Gilgamesh’s hand on his arm and breathes in sharply.

Gilgamesh: That’s a good sign. So… why did you come inside Punch?

Peter: I knew you were safe but you can't exist as alive any longer.

Gilgamesh: Peter.....I am okay....why are you still guilty over me? You did promise me as you promised to me.

Peter: But I failed to notice you.....if I had more power then I......I think…I want to be forgiven. Hm. More than anything.

Gilgamesh: By who?

Peter: ............

Gilgamesh: *Sigh* You're more narrow-minded than I thought. Isn’t it time you did the forgiving?

[smokeybrand]

Into the Abyss

Boy, it has been a clean minute since I've updated my Azur Lane progress, mostly because the content has been a trickle this year, but with the current Rerun Event, I felt obliged to do so. Seriously this year has been mad slim on stuff to do in my favorite WWII sim. As a KMS main, coming off a year which was straight up lousy with Kraut progress, I am a little… disappointed with the current offerings. I feel like it’s been that way for a while, actually. Like, I found the stagnation of the game to be pretty prominent last year but, again, I am heavily Iron Blooded so that’s probably just my bias. That’s not to say I haven’t gotten anything for my main Fleet over the last few months, just that I kind of wanted more. Still, there were other facets which have progress so I can’t be all that mad. But I kind of am.

Please, Sir, May I Have Some More

Look, man, this Iron Blood drought is killing me. Like, we've had a few crumbs but that's it. Crumbs. Obviously, I've gobbled up what i could, which ain't much. The two P6 boats, one of which was a Decisive and the Confluence of Nothingness event. That's it. Man, i am STARVING over here! So much so that, when Friedrich Carl showed up on that Banner, i dove wholeheartedly into that sh*t. And, boy, did it cost. I went at that banner with round four hindered Wisdom Cubes. It literally took close to three three hundred of the f*ckers to finally pop the first, new, Kraut Girl in almost a year. Seriously, i popped SO many f*cking dupes of almost every other ship on the Banner before i finally scored Carl. That sh*t hurt my pockets, bad. Like, egregiously. She finally decided to appear, when i was at my wit's end, but I'm content about it. I ain't happy, but my main Fleet is still one hundred percent complete, so small victories. But, for real, Manjuu needs to drop some more KMS ships soon. I'm dying over here!

The Coldest Winter

The whole reason I am writing this thing, is to address the massive Ruskie mammoth in the room – the Abyssal Refrain Rerun. Once upon a time, long, long ago, i passed on this Event because i kind of didn’t give a sh*t about chasing another Fleet at the time. I was headlong in my Iron Blood quest so I missed out on a lot of ash*t back then. Shimakaze, New Jersey, and, prudent to this particular post, Kronshtadt. Tunnel vision, for sure. After I netted U-110 and caught up with the Iron Blood offerings, I set out on honing my Northern Parliament Fleet next. After the Germans, the Russians are my favorite Fleet based on aesthetic. By then, however, Abyssal Refrain was in the rear view and I missed out on, like, three of those ships, Kronshtadt being the most important. Not only was she a glaring hole in the puzzle that was my burgeoning SN Fleet, she was the last UR boat I needed, after claiming both Shimakaze and New Jersey on Rerun Lite events. Seeing her banner reappear, I absolutely made a run. The thing is, I was low on resources. Chasing after Friedrich Carl taxed my pockets hard. Fortunately, since this is a Rerun which I had kind of participated in before, I had Ship Building tickets. Ran through those real fast but it wasn’t enough. I only had around one hundred, fifty Wisdom Cubes and was sitting on the edge of my seat rolling for that UR sweetness. It only took three. Sixty Cubes and she popped. I FINALLY had EVERY natural UR ship (not Decisive) available! Yes, I've included Sovetsky Soyuz in that assertion I absolutely made out like a bandit during Snowrealm Peregrination. It was, like, four rolls, total, and i popped all those ships. One of the easiest Banners I've ever attempted. That luck would not hold. Anyway, the Ultra Rare side quest is down, but I’m still missing Volga at the moment. Popped two Kievs chasing Kron and i hate it. Why the f*ck am i loading up on Shop Ships and not the one Banner i still ain't got? The f*ck?

[miss-cupcakez]

I’m suuuper hyped about the new Iron Blood event in Azur Lane! ♥ It’s called Confluence of Nothingness. :O

I immediately started playing after the server maintenance ended and the story starts out really really exciting! Can’t wait to find out more. :3

There’s also a bunch of cool new ship girls to get - first and foremost of course, Bismarck Zwei!

She’s got a super cool new rigging and she seems to be really strong as well - I can’t wait to add her to my fleet. :3

Also looking forward to getting Regensburg. She looks a little bit like a demon or succubus. xD

There’s also a separate mini-event where we can explore a mysterious deserted island, gather materials, build a little base and play mini-games, so I’ll certainly be busy in the coming days. ♥

[biseugen]

the tower was created. the tower was destroyed. the tower exists forever. that's the translation of rondo at the rainbow's end text. both iron blood events are connected to the tower, which the antiochus seem to be quite protective of.

I don't know if it is the arbiter named after tower arcana or a facility (tower of midgard perhaps), though.

[smokeybrandreviews]

Into the Abyss

Boy, it has been a clean minute since I've updated my Azur Lane progress, mostly because the content has been a trickle this year, but with the current Rerun Event, I felt obliged to do so. Seriously this year has been mad slim on stuff to do in my favorite WWII sim. As a KMS main, coming off a year which was straight up lousy with Kraut progress, I am a little… disappointed with the current offerings. I feel like it’s been that way for a while, actually. Like, I found the stagnation of the game to be pretty prominent last year but, again, I am heavily Iron Blooded so that’s probably just my bias. That’s not to say I haven’t gotten anything for my main Fleet over the last few months, just that I kind of wanted more. Still, there were other facets which have progress so I can’t be all that mad. But I kind of am.

Please, Sir, May I Have Some More

Look, man, this Iron Blood drought is killing me. Like, we've had a few crumbs but that's it. Crumbs. Obviously, I've gobbled up what i could, which ain't much. The two P6 boats, one of which was a Decisive and the Confluence of Nothingness event. That's it. Man, i am STARVING over here! So much so that, when Friedrich Carl showed up on that Banner, i dove wholeheartedly into that sh*t. And, boy, did it cost. I went at that banner with round four hindered Wisdom Cubes. It literally took close to three three hundred of the f*ckers to finally pop the first, new, Kraut Girl in almost a year. Seriously, i popped SO many f*cking dupes of almost every other ship on the Banner before i finally scored Carl. That sh*t hurt my pockets, bad. Like, egregiously. She finally decided to appear, when i was at my wit's end, but I'm content about it. I ain't happy, but my main Fleet is still one hundred percent complete, so small victories. But, for real, Manjuu needs to drop some more KMS ships soon. I'm dying over here!

The Coldest Winter

The whole reason I am writing this thing, is to address the massive Ruskie mammoth in the room – the Abyssal Refrain Rerun. Once upon a time, long, long ago, i passed on this Event because i kind of didn’t give a sh*t about chasing another Fleet at the time. I was headlong in my Iron Blood quest so I missed out on a lot of ash*t back then. Shimakaze, New Jersey, and, prudent to this particular post, Kronshtadt. Tunnel vision, for sure. After I netted U-110 and caught up with the Iron Blood offerings, I set out on honing my Northern Parliament Fleet next. After the Germans, the Russians are my favorite Fleet based on aesthetic. By then, however, Abyssal Refrain was in the rear view and I missed out on, like, three of those ships, Kronshtadt being the most important. Not only was she a glaring hole in the puzzle that was my burgeoning SN Fleet, she was the last UR boat I needed, after claiming both Shimakaze and New Jersey on Rerun Lite events. Seeing her banner reappear, I absolutely made a run. The thing is, I was low on resources. Chasing after Friedrich Carl taxed my pockets hard. Fortunately, since this is a Rerun which I had kind of participated in before, I had Ship Building tickets. Ran through those real fast but it wasn’t enough. I only had around one hundred, fifty Wisdom Cubes and was sitting on the edge of my seat rolling for that UR sweetness. It only took three. Sixty Cubes and she popped. I FINALLY had EVERY natural UR ship (not Decisive) available! Yes, I've included Sovetsky Soyuz in that assertion I absolutely made out like a bandit during Snowrealm Peregrination. It was, like, four rolls, total, and i popped all those ships. One of the easiest Banners I've ever attempted. That luck would not hold. Anyway, the Ultra Rare side quest is down, but I’m still missing Volga at the moment. Popped two Kievs chasing Kron and i hate it. Why the f*ck am i loading up on Shop Ships and not the one Banner i still ain't got? The f*ck?

[ashes-16-al-wallpapers]

[whitherliliesbloom]

cumulonimbus

[ kayelily ]  ★ [ 6,119 words ]  ★ [ somewhere post-sb ] // as lily laid eyes on the young boy whose eyes were ever cast upwards towards the moon as if to search for his own purpose in this eternal storm that was life, she could not help but to feel her heart ache in grief.

When Cid boasted of Garlond Ironwork’s latest and greatest state of the art innovation, utilizing technology he’d observed during his and the Warrior of Light’s time in the omegascape... Lily had expressed nothing but uncontained excitement for their development and eagerness to make the earliest convenient trip to Rhalgr’s Reach with the Warrior of Light to check this shiny new invention out - and it’d only increase tenfold when Cid had offered her the chance to test it out for herself.

Kaye had his reservations, as he always does... he was never someone who seemed to place much trust in technology in the first place... and thus denied the offer to put on the questionable, yet fancy looking headset that Cid and Nero had claimed to give it’s wearer the ability to be transported into a point in the recent past in the form of a lucid dream.

It also wasn’t like he didn’t already have the ability to see into the past with the use of the echo, and for most of his earlier years as the proclaimed hero of Eorzea, he’d even seen it as an unwanted gift. Looking into the past has never been attractive to him, forced or not. 

But he wasn’t about to deny Lily the chance to potentially experience what it’d be like to potentially revisit buried memories, and so watched intently from the side of the bed with his arms crossed over his chest as Cid gently placed the headset over Lily’s temple and prompted for her to lay down.

“Alright, after you’ve been transported into the memory, it’ll feel like you’ve actually been brought back into the past. You’ll be free to interact with the environment as you please. Once you’re ready to leave the memory, look for the aetheric confluence.” Cid briefs with a reassuring smile, before stepping back towards the control panel. 

A wave of anxiety suddenly strikes Lily, and as if sensing her sudden nervousness, Kaye moves forward to place his hand upon her shoulder.

“I’ll be here.” 

He doesn’t say much, but those simple three words are enough to ease Lily enough to smile back gently with a slight nod of her head before closing her forest green eyes.

---------------------------

Cid wasn’t kidding when he said that having her consciousness be transported into a fragment of time that has passed would be like lucid dream - because after what seemed like a mere few seconds of nothingness.... of a dark, empty void from behind the lids of her eyes... she feels a breeze and hears the rustling of leaves.

When she opens her eyes, she’s suddenly standing. Cid and Nero have vanished, as did Kaye and the warmth of his hand upon her shoulder. 

No longer was she laid upon a bed in a secure, warm quarter in Rhalgr’s Reach... but in the middle of what appeared to be a slum with rickety looking houses maid of moldy planks of wood and rusted nails. 

The novelty of having her senses be transported into the past so quickly and easily is wearing off on account of the scenery being wholly unfamiliar to Lily, and she’s not struck with wonder like she had hoped upon seeing a glimpse of her past... but utter confusion.

This isn’t anywhere she’s ever seen or been to in her life prior... and she’s certain that even if she had somehow forgotten, the power of nostalgia would convince her otherwise. 

Cid had briefly told Kaye and herself about the experiences of previous subjects who tested the headset on before herself - all Garlond Ironwork employees... who spoke about how they had either been transported back into a quaint memory from their childhood home or were able to relive the simplistic joy of a meal from several days ago.

Results of how far back the testers were transported back into their long distant memories varied... but they all shared the common trait of being nostalgic... and things that they could vividly remember. 

And yet there was nothing here that reminded her of her own past... from the foreign scent, to the cold bite of the night air and the grimy, sad looking houses. Looking around her surroundings made her feel uneasy and lost - further worsened by the seeming lack of human presence besides herself.

Perhaps the test was a failure on her for some unforeseen reason... perhaps she was not compatible to be using the headset in the first place. 

Whatever the reason, Lily saw no reason to linger any further... 

But just as she was about to leave to search for the aetheric confluence, she hears soft, hurried pitter pattering of feet against the dirt ground behind her and spins around abruptly, hand almost raising up to reach for her revolver.

“Don’t move, or I’ll cut you up!”

It wasn’t the threat that made the woman stop short... nor the tiny brass knife that her would be assailant was holding, or even the fact that said would be assailant was a lalafellin child a whole head and a half shorter than herself (though, it certainly was a contributing factor. a mere child brandishing a knife at her would bring her pause any day of the week no matter their size).

Lily’s eyes widen in shock, and for a brief moment she feels like time has been turned onto its head, wondering with emptied lungs and a soft gasp if she was truly dreaming somehow - that this lucid dreamscape conjured up from the Garlond Ironworks invention was but just another part of one big dream of her own making. 

But the chill of the night air and painful, tense silence that hung between them tells her otherwise.... that she has truly entered a fragment of a time long passed, a memory - just one that didn’t belong to herself. 

A boy with sun kissed brown skin, light freckles dotted across his cheeks and darkened ear tips. His long, disheveled hair spilled over his shoulders, jet black as the night or the wings of a raven. And staring right up at her was a pair of familiar, unmistakable stormy blue eyes, though slightly rounder and wider than she was used to... but carrying the same cautiousness and distrust she’d seen when they first met - at least in the real world.

“Kaye...?” too swept up by her wonder and surprise, or perhaps still not yet able to believe her own eyes, Lily mutters out... but the boy seems merely momentarily perplexed before he takes a step forward, still holding his knife up towards her.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.. but you shouldn’t be here. State your purpose!”

He doesn’t recognize that name - in hindsight, Lily should have known that would be the case. At this point in time, at the age the boy seemed to be - even if he was truly the manifestation of the Warrior of Light in his younger years, he wouldn’t have gained his mercenary name until he reached adulthood and set foot in Eorzea for the first time. 

In spite of that however, Lily was almost certain that the boy could not be anyone besides Kaye... 

Despite his evidently younger, shorter, chubbier, far more innocent looking appearance... despite the clear lack of balance in his stance, and the flash of uncertainty that spoke of inexperience and not yet properly developed confidence in his expression... and of course, the softer, higher pitch of his voice that only made his threat to harm her sound all the more unfounded.... 

In fact, all of that would only make all the more sense if the boy was indeed who she suspected it to be... That this was Kaye as he had been in his childhood, and that she had been transported into a fragment of his repressed memories.

If the boy in front of her truly was Kaye... then she surmises that she must be in Thavnair from over at least fifteen years ago... perhaps even more. It would explain why her surroundings seemed completely unfamiliar to her.

Lily hasn’t the faintest idea why she would be brought back to Kaye’s memories instead of her own.... or how that would even be possible when Kaye hadn’t put the headset on himself. 

Perhaps it was because of close Kaye had been to her when she fell asleep? Or perhaps the utilities of the headset had somehow combined with the power of Kaye’s echo to bring her back to his past. She could only speculate, she wasn’t exactly that much more tech savvy than Kaye was. 

Instead, she focuses on the boy in front of her now, as she raises her hands up above her head... more as a show of peace and attempt to gain his trust rather than an action done out of fear for him - if she really wanted to, she’s certain she could easily disarm and subdue the young Kaye... He’s not exactly the same, ferocious, vaunted fighter now as he would be in later years of his life.

“I-I’m sorry- I’m lost. I don’t mean any harm, I promise.”

It’s not a complete lie, at least... she really was lost, and worry for what the consequence of being transported into Kaye’s memory instead of her own would be dictates that her first priority now would be to find the aetheric confluence Cid spoke of and to wake up as soon as possible - though she would be lying if she said she wasn’t even just a tiny bit tempted to stay here a little longer to sate her curiosity about the boy. 

Kaye raises an eyebrow in part disbelief, frown deepening as his eyes dart up and down to size Lily up cautiously.

“Get rid of that gun.” the boy orders, jabbing his knife forward to gesture at the revolver strapped to her back.

Even as a child, Kaye still held an air of danger to him, of a caution and wariness that is completely at odds with his young, innocent appearance and spoke of a troubled childhood that he as an adult only ever shared small glimpses of with her.... and Lily swallows down the beginnings of melancholy beginning to rise in her chest to nod.

Though Lily is reluctant to part with her weapon, she reminds herself that this was merely a memory... and obliges his instruction by grabbing her revolver by the barrel and making a show of opening up the cylinder to empty it of bullets. The bullets are scattered onto the ground, rolling away into the dark before she finally tosses the now empty revolver in front of her.

“There... Now do you believe me?”

The boy seems visibly more relaxed with the threat of a big, ornate looking gun out of the way... and he takes the opportunity to move forward and kick the abandoned revolver aside. 

“You... you don’t look like a local. This village is remote... and nobody ever comes here unless they’re looking for uncle.” 

‘Uncle’... he says... Lily remembers Kaye speaking of his uncle before - a highly respected assassin whose services were widely sought after, a man who raised the young Lazala Tatozala in place of the boy’s diceased mother and unscrupulous neglectful father, well... raised in the only way he knew how, at least. 

Though Kaye had spoken highly of the man whenever he took the time to recount his childhood with him, Lily has always had her doubts about the ethics behind his uncle’s methods of coaching a child - not that she ever raised said doubts to Kaye... she never had the heart to. To Kaye, his uncle was his savior.. and the only family he had to help him feel connected to his own biological mother that he lost at a tragically young age. 

“Like I said... I’m lost.” Lily sighs, shoulders drooping in disappointment. Really, just how distrustful could a kid even after she’s made a show of ridding herself of her weapon? If she wasn’t convinced before that this boy was Kaye, she certainly was now. “I’ll be happy to get out if you’d show me the way out.”

She senses a tinge of hesitation in the boy when he begins to lower his knife after a brief pause... it’s the only thing indicating he was a little more naive and forgiving than his older sense, because an older Kaye would have kept the blade held to the column of her throat until she fully left - an experience she’s had a vivid experience with when she stalked him through Thanalan at Thancred’s request and was unfortunately caught. 

But even with his knife lowered and the tension in his shoulders lowering, there’s still a hint of unease in the boy’s expression as he swivels his head around to gather his surroundings, as if worried now of the potential of ambushed by another adult lurking in the dark. He’s long known to not loiter in this part of the village too far from the safety of his uncle’s home at night... and perhaps worried too for the safety of this strange lady with clearly foreign garments and a startling and dangerous lack of direction, he gestures at Lily to follow him and begins to walk. 

“Follow me, I’ll show you to the docks.” 

Lily obliges with a relieved huff, scurrying after the boy.

-----------------------------------

It doesn’t take long for the pair to make their way out of the village.... but even without worn down wooden houses to surround her at every corner, the cold, vastness of the open fields outside was not anymore reassuring. 

In fact, she spotted a good bunch of giant snakes in the distance... A species of reptiles the young Kaye had told her was called Bhujamga, which proved her suspicions of them being located in the great wilds of Thavnair. 

The heavens know just how long it would’ve taken Lily to be able to find her way around... and though she couldn’t exactly tell the boy what is was she was looking for exactly, it was at least a tiny bit reassuring to be accompanied by someone who knew his way around and would lead her somewhere with a little more civilized company. 

Lily had spent majority of the time simply admiring the scenery.. mostly out of pure curiosity as someone who has never been to thavnair herself... and when she wasn’t gawking wide eyed at the colorful array of plant life around her in the wild, she’d watched the boy an arms length distance in front of her as he waddled with each step - still perhaps dumbfounded that she’d been granted the opportunity to meet the Warrior of Light as he was as a child. 

It was hard to imagine that this child.. so much smaller and shorter than she was at his current age... would grow up to become a renowned hero who stood a little over 3 inches over her (which, to be fair, was an impressive height difference by lalafellin standards) and was infamous for his ruthlessness in battle. 

Their trek was mostly silent, interspersed only occasionally with a question or two from Lily... and a curt reply from Kaye. Even as a child, he was a boy of little words.

She’d at least gotten his name out of him - not that she didn’t already know Kaye’s birthname, a privilege afforded to only a select few individuals close to the Warrior of Light.... but she obviously couldn’t call the boy by his birthname before he’d introduced himself or his future self-chosen mercenary code name... lest it incur panic and yet another knife-pointed interrogation session from him again. 

 “So...how long more until we reach the docks, Lazala?” Lily asks, and the boy answers without even turning behind to look at her.

“We still have to cross a river and go through the Zadahn Shroud before we reach the docks.” 

She should’ve figured, the boy did say his uncle’s village was in an extremely remote area, after all... it’s a complete mystery to him how anybody would be able to find their way there unknowingly. 

Lily’s lips part, about to respond to the boy with a trivial comment about how it seems to be taking forever for them to be making any progress on their hike when they were rudely interrupted by the violent rustling of leaves from the foliage directly in front of their path. It would seem like Lazala’s fears of being ambushed has come true.

A pair emerged from the shadows, and from the short sword the men wielded and the equally raggedy clothing they wore, Lily would hazard a guess that they were but petty thieves who were after their money - hers most likely, she had guessed... given that she was a seemingly unarmed foreigner.

But much to her dismay, and later turned utter disgust as the men approached with eyes bearing down at the young boy who now seemed utterly in comparison to them - she was but a bonus catch sitting next to the true prize that they had their eyes on.

“Look who it is.... the son of Ulamaal! I was afraid we’d have to wait till sunrise to catch him in the wild, but I guess luck’s smiling down on us tonight.”

“HAH! All those weeks of watching and waiting’s finally paying off huh? You gave us a hell of a lotta trouble, kid... trying to be sneaky and all. But we knew... we knew that as long as we bid our time, we’d be able to catch you out here alone someday. How much do you think your ransom would be worth, hmm? OH, and i’m sure the pretty miss behind you would certainly fetch a nice sum too!”

If Lazala was shocked or surprised, he certainly did a good job of hiding it, his facial expression merely twisting into a scowl as he draws his knife from his pocket once more and holds it up in front of himself.... and Lily.

The boy had stepped in front of her, shielding her with his own body in spite of his own size... An act of recklessness that felt so painfully familiar, tinged even more in a sorrow that came with the knowledge that a child of this age shouldn’t be this fearless- shouldn’t be this undaunted by the risk of getting hurt or even killed. 

She had her suspicions before, of course, she understood perhaps better than anybody just what kind of upbringing Laz had to go through... the pain he suffered through in order to forge the man that he was in present day. 

But perhaps seeing Kaye as he was in his younger days has affected her emotionally more than she’d anticipated... and the idea of anybody doing any more harm to him has Lilian quaking in fury. 

“The only thing pretty will be the hole I’m putting between both your eyes if you two deadbeats don’t scram.” 

Reaching for the small, hidden pistol that she had strapped to the holster on the back of her thigh, Lily lifts the gun up and points it towards the taller of the pair of hyuran men, whose complexions began to drain from their face at the sight of the black hole of a barrel staring them straight in the eye.

“Shit! She’s got a gun. Let’s get outta here!” 

The men left as quickly as they came, metaphorical tails tucked between their legs as they ran off together into the distance... and it’s only after they’ve both disappeared from sight that Lazala turns around to cast a vexed, accusatory glare up at her.

“So you were hiding another gun from me.” 

Had it been anybody else, Lily would have perhaps rolled her eyes and dismissed the accusation with some kind of snide remark. It’d be utter foolishness on her part to go completely without a weapon, especially in a foreign land. Hell, had it been the Kaye from her present day - her Kaye... she would have likely teased him for not foreseeing the possibility of her having another hidden weapon (it’s not a mistake adult Kaye would make, but she likes to entertain those wild thoughts sometimes). 

But she could not find it in her heart to do the same to this Kaye - young Lazala who is already well on his way to becoming the cynical, distrustful and isolated young mercenary she’d first met in Ul’dah.... the Laz who has not yet fully escaped the environment that made him so jaded. 

So she finds herself far more docile and apologetic, bowing her head in remorse as she lifts her finger off the trigger of the pistol.

“Sorry. I just didn’t think it’d be safe if I got rid of all my-”

“No. It’s okay.” 

To her surprise, Laz shakes his head, an almost sorry expression plain on how his face as his eyes dart to the ground beneath his feet... as if he could not bring himself to look at her for himself.

“You saved the both of us so... I guess it’s okay.”

There’s an almost endearing innocence in the tone of his voice.... both apologetic as well as embarrassed... and though it was far too dark for Lily to be certain, she could almost swear she’d caught a hint of color rising up the boy’s freckled cheeks that has her letting out an involuntary grin. 

“I’m glad to hear that. Does that mean I get to keep my pistol, then? It’s very expensive, you know.” 

“Well... I-I mean....” The boy’s stammering, a rarity coming from Lazala. “Fine. You did protect us and all. And I don’t think you’d hurt me with it.”

“Of course I’d never hurt you. You should’ve trusted me from the very start, you know?”

“I didn’t have a reason to-”

“Yes, yes... but don’t you think it’d be better to greet someone with a smile rather a knife pointed at their face? I think you’d look a lot cuter if you smiled.”

“HUH?????” Lazala sputters out loudly in exasperation before turning away quickly to hide the darkening of his cheeks. If he wasn’t blushing before, he certainly was now. “Wha-...Wha- That’s so stupid....”

Oh, he’s adorable! The first smidgen of emotion surfacing from his cool exterior has Lily letting out a gleeful laugh, to the utter confusion and dismay of Lazala who could only force out his best attempt at an annoyed grunt. Lily resists the urge to tell him he’d perfect it come adulthood. 

“Why don’t we take a quick break, Lazala? I have some water and snacks in my satchel I can share with you. As thanks for showing me the way.”

It takes a good several seconds for the boy to regain his composure enough to turn back around to look at Lily... but it would seem that he isn’t as completely infallibly stoic as his older counterpart as the sight of Lily’s smug grin plastered upon her face would have a rosy tint rising to the tips of his ears once more.

“.....Fine....”

-----------------------------------------------

“Do you like chocolate, Laz?” It’s another pointless question. She already knows he does, apparent in the way the boy’s face lights up like bright sparks in the dead of night in anticipation at the mention of the sweet.

“Um... I do, yeah.” 

There’s a light rustle as Lily reaches for her travel satchel around her waist, grateful that she was able to bring with her whatever she had on on her own body the moment she fell asleep with her into the dreamscape. 

And as she had been traveling through Gyr Abania together with Kaye earlier, she had packed one of his favorite snacks into her satchel... just in case he’d neglected to take care of his own wellbeing again and refused to eat in exchange to work - an annoyingly common habit for him. 

Fishing out the bite-sized chocolate coins with golden foil, she graciously placed a handful into the young boy’s hands before sitting herself down next to him on the rock, watching with a pleased smile as Laz began to impatiently tear apart the wrapping before tossing the chocolate pieces into his mouth.

He doesn’t wait to finish his first coin before he’s already unwrapping the second chocolate, stuffing it into her rapidly filling cheeks like a starving squirrel. 

And above all else, Lily could see in his eyes the familiar glimmer of joy and childlike glee... and it causes her to let out a soft laughter that has the boy narrowing his eyes incredulously.

“W-what’s so funny...?” he asks after swallowing his two coins worth of cocoa, and Lily shakes her head.

“Oh.. nothing.. You just remind me of someone, is all.”

Young Lazala is evidently a little more curious than his older self... and it doesn’t take much hesitation from him to ask with a slight tilt of his head who it is.

A flash of melancholy seeps into olive green eyes that stares down at the ground, and Lily wonders for a moment whether it would be right for her to be talking about Kaye out loud in front of his younger self.

But reminded perhaps... that this was supposed to simply be a dream, she allows herself the selfish chance to reminiscence a little, her smile turning gentler now at the thought of the man who had promised to stay by her side until she woke up.

“He’s... someone very special to me. Someone who has always protected me and stood by my side and listened to my troubles... even when I was completely unaware.”

The first two years of getting to know Kaye had admittedly been a little rough, to say the least. Getting a man who has spent his whole life working alone to open up to an organization he had been...semi-forced into joining wasn’t easy - not that she’d ever expected it to. And he had been particularly distant towards her in particular for a while, the one who had collected intel on him and reported his activities to the scions and then subsequently recruited him. 

Perhaps in Laz’s eyes, his simple lifestyle had been turned upside down because of her... and she wouldn’t blame him if his coldness towards her had been a result of her unusually sunny disposition even after dragging him into a life of wearing the mantle of a hero that he never wanted. 

Slaying gods was but an upgrade to the killings he had already been tasked with and was being paid quite handsomely for... But Kaye was never a man who wanted to work for some self-proclaimed altruistic group of protectors... he said as much when she’d first approached him.

But after a long while of getting to know him, Lilian began to realize the reason for his cold, blunt and seemingly selfish demeanor.... she’d seen the cracks form even before Haurchefant perished, and it showed clearer than ever before as she watched through tear-filled blurry vision as Kaye approached Nidhogg alone. 

Kaye’s refusal to join the scions and his cynical outlook on the value of do-gooders like them stemmed not from malicious intent or an innate lack of care for the plight of others... but from the belief that has been drilled into his head since he was a child that he would never be destined for anything but to bring sorrow and hurt to others. 

What else was a boy who was raised to do nothing but kill good for besides killing? How could a man who has never once been shown love show affection towards others? 

He’d watched as the people in his life shunned him... and thus he’d begun to believe that his existence was one of inherent destruction towards anything around him. So deep was that belief that Y’shtola had even theorized that his inability to wield proper healing magicks without it causing excruciating pain to others stems from the way he expels aether from his body - viciously and as a defense to nobody but himself.

He didn’t believe he was deserving to be called the Warrior of Light, and he still doesn’t. He simply has come to grown used to it. 

And looking at this boy now... at yet young, innocent stormy blue eyes that already held a hint of pain in its hues as he stares up at the full moon above him, as if to question his purpose in the world, Lily feels a pang of grief gripping at her heart. 

“He’s kind, gentle and earnest... more than he’d ever give himself credit for. The type of person who would put his life on the line to save somebody, yet would not see any good in himself or what he did. The kind of man who hides his thoughts and feelings to himself because he believes that it’s a weakness to express himself. The only type of idiot in the world who would sit in my bed, hold my hand and pet my head after I get nightmares... and yet has zero inkling of my feelings when I tell him to stay by my side and hold me tighter.”

It isn’t until Lily’s vision begins to grow blurry from tears she didn’t know she’d been holding back that she’d quickly blink them away, clearing her throat to take a quick swig of water from her metal canteen. Just what was she thinking bearing her heart about a man she’s in love with to some kid?! Some kid who wasn’t even real and is a manifestation of a past memory of said man she’s in love with, no less?!

“Oh... Seems like you’re really good friends with this guy.”

The mouthful of Lily took into her mouth is instantly spat out onto the ground, and she coughs out while hitting her chest with her free hand, choking on the absurdity of what the boy just said.

He hasn’t grown out of his denseness at all!

“Are you okay?” Laz asks, concern apparent on his face... and Lily doesn’t know whether she wants to laugh or cry more. 

“I-I’m... I’m fine. Don’t worry about me.”

-------------------------------------------------------------

Lily has almost completely forgotten about her original goal of finding the aetheric confluence until they’d reach the docks.... at which point she has begun to start feeling the sting of reluctance of having to part with the young boy who’d so enthusiastically swallowed her whole satchel full of chocolate treats in a single sitting. 

Inwardly, Lily wonders if Kaye would remember this when she wakes up. It’s unlikely, given that Kaye was fully awake when she’d fallen asleep and entered the dreamscape. It was by pure chance and perhaps a side effect of the echo that allowed her consciousness to enter into his memories. 

But just as Cid had explained to her, while she’d be able to interact with the environment within the memory as if she had truly been transported back in time... it ultimately is simply that - a lost memory... a dream that though set in reality, could never be changed in the real world. Nothing that happened here, nothing that she says to Laz would truly matter. 

It’d be a true miracle if Kaye does gain a vision of sorts of her meeting his younger self in this dream... but she’s not counting on it. 

She’s happy enough getting a glimpse into his past and learning just a little more about him. 

At the edge of the dock, hovering just a few feet above the water was the confluence, proof perhaps that it was by fate that she should be brought here to meet Lazala... and she turns to the boy to say her goodbyes.

“Thank you for taking me here, Laz. Are you sure you’ll be okay going back to your uncle’s house all by yourself?”

Lazala’s uncle was a frightening man... his reputation is half the reason why Laz hasn’t been targeted earlier... and by the boy’s own admittance, until he gets stronger and trains to fend for himself better, he spends most of his time loitering about the village near where his uncle lived for his own safety. She refused to ask about his father or even dare to bring up his mother - even though any rational, ignorant person would understandably ask.

“After you pointed that little gun at those guys, I don’t think they’d try anything else on me. Besides, I can defend myself. Probably...” 

“Good. But still... stay safe.”

Laz is pursing his lips, it’s clear that he wants to speak... and so she allows him the time to pause before speaking. 

“Um... I never did ask for your name, miss...”

Her eyes widen momentarily at the sudden formality, before she lets out an amused giggle.

“My name’s Lilian.”

“Lilian. Okay.” Laz darts his eyes away from hers, voice nearly trailing off before he works up the courage to ask yet another question.

“Will we get to meet again?”

She feels a sting in her heart as she gazes down at the boy, knowing the answer, yet not having the heart to tell him that no - they wouldn’t... at least not in his current incarnation. 

He wouldn’t remember her once she wakes up... and the innocent boy who had enjoyed chocolate coins sitting next to a strange lady from a land faraway would cease to be. What she wouldn’t give for Kaye’s first memory of her to not be the bitterness of their conversation subject in Ul’dah... but the distant warmth of getting to bond in his homeland. 

“Of course. We’ll meet again.. and next time, I’ll give you even more chocolates.”

Lilian isn’t sure why she’s so pressed to say those things, even though it didn’t realistically matter what she did or said.

Her rationality may know this isn’t real... that only she would remember their exchange when she wakes up... or that the Lazala in front of her right now wasn’t even real - the real one was waiting for her in the realm of the waking. 

But when she looks upon the boy.... at the form of Kaye who is both so familiar yet different from who he is in present day... of the boy who she knew had such a troubled past that he didn’t believe himself worthy of being loved, she could not help herself but to step towards him, placing a hand atop his head to pat him gently, smiling down at the bewildered expression on his face.

“You’re doing good, I’m proud of you. Just remember that there will always be people out there who cherish you, okay?”

His flustered stutter and questioning of what she met is met with a mere chuckle, and Lily straightens herself up to turn and walk towards the confluence. 

--------------------------------------------

The first sight she’s greeted with upon opening her eyes is the sickening orange florescent glow of lamp lights and a stone ceiling... as well as the cold sting of a metallic headset that sat tight upon her head as she laid on her back.

“Ah, you’re awake!” She hears Cid’s voice, but is barely able to even think to formulate a response for him. 

It takes several long moments for Lily to process her thoughts and reel herself back into the present... the walls of Rhalgr’s Reach seeming almost foreign now in comparison to the chilly night air of Thavnair... 

But her senses snap back into focus when she instinctively turns to her side in search for the man who had stood beside the bed when she fell asleep... and the sheer relief and overwhelming joy that rises up in her chest as she sees that Lazala - the real Lazala; her Lazala... has indeed kept his promise and stayed by her has her eyes watering with tears. 

“Mornin’” he greets nonchalantly - and Lily absolutely loathes how he would never be able to understand the weight of that singular word he’d just said to her.

Lilian sits up on the bed and throws her arms around the man’s torso, burying her face into the safety of his chest even as the man lets out a puzzled grunt. 

“Lily- What’re you-”

“I’m back, Laz... I told you we’d meet again.”

Hushed whispers of confusion from Cid and Nero go unheard, as does the bewildered huffing of the raven haired man who she was certain was putting on a faked expression of annoyance now. 

All she can hear now is the hammering of his beating heart... and the warmth of his hand as he places it on top of her head to lightly stroke her head comfortingly. 

“Yeah... Welcome back, Lilian.”

[askvectorprime]

We know from reading your answers that there are universes we know nothing about, other than the glimpses you give. But are there universes which you cannot see or give details about?

Dear Unknown Unknown,

For the sake of argument, let us imagine a universe does exist that I cannot provide information regarding. The very fact that it exists is itself a notable characteristic, is it not? Thus it is impossible for me to answer your question in the affirmative. As for realities occluded from my own view, I have noted these from time to time—particularly at the fringes of the Megaverse and beyond, but it’s not unheard of for temporal anomalies or interplanar phenomena to hide a once-perfectly-perceptible universe from would-be voyeurs. Often, when such realities return to my sight, a perfectly rational metaphysical explanation for the lacuna presents itself.

In conversation with beings possessed of a similar multiversal awareness to mine, I have been made aware of some frightfully obscure realities. I was always delighted when this occurred, but sometimes I found myself unable to replicate whatever circumstances allowed them to observe the reality. Sometimes, it was a matter of their biology being suited for dimensions that are utterly foreign to mine; I was able only to view a “projection” of the reality, or otherwise make inferences about it based on how it interfered with my domain.

Often, though, it was just a case of being at the right place at the right time—to witness a rare confluence, like a Klud breaching the waves, dimensional media frothing into fine structure and rippling into nothingness. To find only that lost media, part of the cosmic background, with none of its resonance… it does upset me, in truth. Oh dear, look at me going on—I must seem very silly to you! I am blessed with a rare perspective, and thankful for it, but I am far from omniscient. There must be so much of existence that I cannot even begin to fathom.

[iamalivenow]

“You are a novelty.”

Asahi sas Brutus was a simple man. Slight, demure in appearance compared to the Garlean nobility he brushed elbows with every day, and it was always to his advantage. People underestimated him. They saw a Doma boy and assumed he would just roll over and heel like the rest of his country. He had, of course when he was asked by his lord, hadn't even hesitated.

The Warrior- this thing, this rat that Lord Zenos had dragged to the capitol was a big boorish thing. Some abomination dragged out of a literal jungle- what Lord Zenos saw in them, Asahi could not even begin to imagine.

He had found them in the hallway, walking about as if they owned the place, the egomaniac. No guards to accompany them, as if they've really just been given full run of the place. Lord Zenos couldn't possibly know. Couldn't possible allow.

“Pardon?”

They turn on a heel, sharply and quickly,

“You're a novelty.” He repeats. And deaf too. Just another broken toy. “He'll get bored, and slit your throat in your sleep.”

“Zenos, you mean?”

“Lord Zenos.” He emphases the first word as hard as he possibly can. “Yes.” Who else.

Dullard.

“He's had plenty of opportunities to kill me. He's not availed himself to them yet.” The look him over. “I don't believe we've met.”

“We haven't.” If they expect a name they don't show it. They shrug and turn back away to carry on to their original destination. To the court room. Asahi follows them the entire way. He's allowed into council meetings, if someone sees fit to have him. Why THEY are allowed into the council meeting, he can not even begin to imagine.

They don't speak for the most part, just sit in the corner and listen, eye occasionally drifting from Lord Varis to the portrait of Lord Solus on the wall. And inattentive.

“And you, eikon slayer?” They blink twice, clear their throat. “Was the might of the empire felt, where you were born?”

As they're about the answer the doors of the meeting hall open, and-

Lord Zenos looks resplendent, especially with his usual helmet off. The door carries a draft and his hair seems to float along with the breeze. He stares, with his piercing gaze right at- no. Asahi's nails dig into his palms until they sting.

“Finally deigning to join us?” Lord Varis drawls out but Lord Zenos all but ignores him, coming to settle by that eyesore's side. His shining armor makes it's usual fair bit of noise, the cacophony of metal, one Asahi is so accustomed too. He kneels- Actually kneels- Asahi is going to pull his own hair out at this rate- and whispers something into their ear.

“Excuse us.”

“By all means, Warrior.” They bow, awful form, he can see their leg wobbling even from here. “Far be it from military movements to hold your interest.”

Good, good, and then Zenos sneers and tugs them along and they just go! Walking side by side! Side! By! Side! As if they're deserving. They should be crawling behind him at a start. No one should ever be equals with his Lord.

Asahi stays for the rest of the meeting. It's not as if he can just shirk his duties whenever the fancy hit him, and by the time it's released two hours later he's all but forgot about that awful eyesore. Maybe just a quick stroll past Lord Zenos' quarters, just for a moment.

Lord Zenos' chambers are sat on one end of a court yard, recently renovated in Ala Mhigen style apparently. Filled with all sorts of exotic flowers and little beasts running by as they desire, It's lovely, and Asahi frequently found himself taking walks through it. His Lord has such an eye for design. A window was open, letting the cool breeze in and fluttering the silken drapes of his Lord's bedroom. A rare moment of warmth had taken the capital, where for once, the breeze was enjoyable.

It was a lovely day, and nothing could ruin it for him.

Except, of course, for what he saw through the window.

“Oh yes my beast. Just so-”

The tableau is enough to make anyone reel back, but Asahi can't look away, frozen at the window.

Lord Zenos on his back, that mongrel thrusting inside of him, their palms bleeding and smearing blood over the both of them. From here alone he can count five bite marks on their neck, so obviously claimed by his Lord, Asahi feels vaguely that he might start sobbing. And then he sees the bite marks on his Lord's neck and any sadness is all to quickly removed with blinding rage.

His Lord's pristine skin, unmarred by countless battles, bruised and bleeding and worst of all, worst of all, slicked with sweat and blushing from exertion and the thought that anyone else did that to him, that it wasn't Asahi's love and attention, makes Asahi's blood boil over.

He has half a mind, no, more then half a mind to burst into the room and rip that abomination away from his Lord.

And then Zenos groans and Asahi's knees give out.

He scrambles to the wall, to press flat against it to make sure that if either of them heard it he would not be discovered, but now that he's closer all he can hear is the beast panting and the slap slap slap of skin on perfect pristine skin.

“Should we be concerned?” The gall, the nerve, they don't even stop-

“Over what? Everyone already knows you're mine. That you're only here for me. That you're my friend.”

His- his friend?

His-

“Ah-” They sigh out, “You're my friend too.”

Asahi shoots up, more rage then anything powering his body, the adrenaline taking him all the way to the door that he barrels through.

Zenos is bent at an angle now, one leg up on their shoulder which gives Asahi such a clear view of his Lord's- his Lord's everything that he almost expires right there and then. It most likely would have, if his Lord's eyes were not locked on his now.

He can't look away, he feels trapped, frozen under the gaze of something so much more then himself.

“Why did you stop?” It sounds like his voice is a million malms away.

He can't look away from his face, even when Zenos seems to loose interest in maintaining eye contact, but he can hear them begin to rut into him, the sound of their panting, the sound of Zenos' grunts when they strike in particularly deep. What must that be like-

Why are they the ones who get to-

His knees do give out again, and he just sits there, staring at Lord Zenos' face while he clearly enjoys himself. All Asahi should do, really, is enjoy this granted experience. It's a gift, in a way. It's certainly a gift to know how flexible his Lord is. The sounds he makes. The way blood looks on him. How disheveled his hair is.

He wants to run his hands through it so badly.

They reach forward, tangling a fist in it and pulling hard enough to get his head off of the mattress and another pleasured exhalation.

“Yes- yes-” He gasps, breathless and mirthful, wild look on his face. “Harder-” Their arm twists as if they're pulling rope on ship instead of a lo- a friend's hair, “Yes!”

Of course he would prefer it rough, Asahi never labored under any illusions otherwise, but so rough it makes his stomach twist. Eikon-slayer, even a magic user, someone who's fought his Lord and lived must be strong- he's sure if they pull any harder, they'll rip it out. But the way their blood streaks through his hair is undeniable too, red on golden silk.

Their pace is relentlessness, both of them writhing, a partially gorgeous confluence of bodies-

Asahi would do anything to take their place.

Anything.

They actually turn to look at him, for maybe the first time, or the first time that he's noticed. Their look is just as unforgiving, just as hard as the rest of their actions.

He'll never forgiven them for robbing him the sight of his Lord's finish.

Asahi snaps back to stare, spend already cooling on the sheets, and where he expects them to stop, to drop to their knees in reverence and clean him, they fuck him through it, and keep fucking him after, the leg still on their shoulder drawing them closer, pressing down on their back. To what end? He's done, can't they see? Surely, Surely they're not so selfish to seek their own pleasure after the fact?

Isn't being with him pleasure enough?

(And the oversensitiveness that comes with these matters?)

Asahi's chest is potentially on fire. All of him, is potentially, on fire.

“Who are you?” He meets Zenos' gaze again, feeling like he's shrinking down into nothingness. “And why-” A grunt- almost for him- he could pretend it was for him- “are you still here?”

“He's watching the novelty.” His eyes snap to theirs, quirked up with their smirk.

“My Lord-” He bows deeply, head already on the floor. “I meant-”

“Just kidding.” They say, and run a blood smeared hand over his leg, all the way up to the ankle they press a kiss- no, no of course not, they drag their teeth across.

“He might as well make himself useful then.”

“I doubt he can even stand.”

And they're right.

He absolutely can't.

[listing-to-port]

Nine lanterns

1. A lantern which can be configured to put out a menu of boutique lights. For example; the range of wavelengths and intensities typical of the Northern lights reflected off snow; lights like a fire burning in a cave; like a tropical sunset; like the light of an oncoming Class 390 Pendolino train. With it you can serve up a whole light banquet, blanketed at each end by warm and nutritious dark.

2. The lantern hanging outside the door, I don't know if you remember the one? You were very young. I think that if you saw it again you would remember. You usually do, even though the lantern usually manifests without the door, these days. But it is so easy to forget it again soon after. The real test, of course, comes with that time when you see the lantern again and the door with it.

3. A lantern that is dangerous for cows, but not in the usual way. You see, due to the lantern's unusual size and to the number of other lanterns like it and also due to a generally odd confluence of events, the cows in the upper field have assembled a functional hot air balloon. The danger is not that they will escape (they are doing so even now) but that, having fallen in love with the sky, they will use their balloon to embark upon doomed expeditions to the Arctic.

4. A metal lantern full of dark, carried by the old hob on his boneyard horse around the Winter streets. When nobody is looking, the hob lifts his lantern to the streetlights and puts them out for a moment then, defeated by electricity, he moves on. His days of spreading dark across the country are almost gone, but he likes to remember.

5. A lantern that contains a tiny universe slowed almost to a standstill at the point that it bursts out from nothingness and begins to grow. This is, for the moment, an economical, technically-innovative method of providing perpetual energy. Quite what to do with the universe at the point that it gets bigger than the lantern is unsure. At current time-slowing technology, it will take more than a hundred years for the first universe lanterns to outgrow their enclosures, and we will surely have thought of something by then.

6. A lantern that is burning in the mirror, but is absent in the world that it reflects. The severed souls of vampires may light these as a warning that their bodies are close. If you keep hold of the mirror, you will see the lantern go out when you have reached a place that is safe.

7. The mournful ghost of something many-jointed and wet that lived at the time of the dinosaurs. Its physical body transmuted into oil and in turn the ghost became a kind of ghost-oil, ready to burst into spectral flame as its remains were lit. These ghosts gather in their millions over power stations. If you can see ghosts it is like a sea of flickering stars up there.

8. An unusual lantern which generates no light of its own, but works by elevating a large rock high enough that the sun will shine on it even at night time; otherwise known as the moon on a stick. May also work without the stick but, given that that would diminish the value of the stick, we at moons on sticks incorporated would much prefer not to risk it.

9. A small portal into mid-day yesterday which may be used both as a lantern and also as cctv footage which you can throw a rock into to disrupt if necessary. If you can find the other end of the portal, of course, you can look a small distance into the future: but the most you may be able to discern is that it is dark there.