celestialprayer

[celestialprayer]

okay sorry ive calmed down. Ill stick around after all

[celestialprayer]

ooc;; well, i tried.

[celestialprayer]

... They couldn't say.

They... couldn't say.

Zena watches and listens as quietly as she can manage as Echo offers their display, speaking of logistics that were well outside the woman's prior potential scope of understanding, doing her best to hear the other words amidst the spiraling thoughts that threatened her headspace in this moment.

" ... " Watching the... simplistically-drawn figure drift through its non-existent nonexistence, Zena pondered the implications of those words. This was all well beyond even her, one who briefly shared in wielding the power of creation itself, but she believed she followed well enough. " ... Zethia... " exits a gentle breath, as much of her panic - at least, that which was immediate - begins to visibly dissipate. She was an outlier, and she knew well that causality did not grant her any sort of permanent asylum in a variant of her world that was not her own. After all... where she had fought that final fight, another who held the name Zethia was there, and was native at that. That she had no place there... well, that went without saying, truthfully. Though there was no definitive answer in her explanation... it at least allowed her to hold that fragile shred of hope, even if only for a little longer.

... And though her gut twinged for a brief moment as one final possibility was spoken of, she weighs the other's words toward the side that it played no part in her current circumstance. Infinite energy... to such a literal extent as that seemed an impossibility, at least insofar as Zena was concerned. At the very least, she already had a frame of reference for splitting oneself from causality as she had, and she knew that the mana she wielded, though it had been grand in that conclusive battle, was at least quantifiable, in that it didn't render her soul asunder altogether. " Th-That... seems beyond my scope... th-though I appreciate you being thorough. "

The thought of being personally responsible for so utterly grand an annihilation... were such devastation weighing on her soul, she'd not even humor the thought of continuing forth.

An additional sigh after a brief pause in further dialogue, she decides to speak properly. " ... Pray forgive my outburst, then. If your words ring true... then hope at least remains that they all live on. That... is more than I should hold the privilege of asking for. "

She sits herself down in the reality they shared, and decides to redirect to the logical next question. " Please tell me then, if it is within your scope of knowledge for me to ask - what will become of me now? The death of my world has brought me to this realm - am I to remain here, Echo? Is this... " Penance? Retribution? No... no, such words were hardly fair to the presence before her. This was the others' realm - who was she to speak of it as though it were a punishment? Though a world with little she knew, reality as she knew it non-existent, free from the life and nature and joys of the world she knew... for them, it was life as it remained, now.

" ... my... fate? "

"We cannot tell you that, at least not at this moment. To sift through every timeline is a task that would require no small amount of concentration on our part; it is as easy to peer through the veil into reality as it is to travel here." So, exceptionally difficult, if not nigh-impossible. But the Echo was unsurprised at her panic; it was just like humans of any world to care more about those they left behind than their own current circumstances. It was a trait she had observed for eons.

"However, you may take solace in that your arrival here was not likely a result of that reality collapsing. The destruction of a timeline is not like the displacement of matter; surviving such a collapse would simply leave you adrift until you arrived at another." To demonstrate, the Echo created a projection, of sort - crude illustrations appeared in a hole in space that showcased a stick figure surrounded by crayon-like scenery, only for the scenery to collapse in on itself. The stick figure then floated through a black void before arriving at another set of scenery, likewise crudely-drawn.

It seemed for all her power, artistic skills were not the Echo's strong suit.

"There is a 97.8% chance that, instead, that reality simply couldn't sustain your existence, any longer. For you see, reality is comprised of information, and in any given universe's case, that information does not come into conflict with itself. For example, 1 + 1 = 2 would never change in a standard universe."

"However, should something that doesn't belong appears in that universe, such as you or I, forcibly finds its way in there, that reality gradually tries to correct itself. In many cases, it can do so without issue, and simply makes adjustments; it's why multiverse travelers can jump between realities without too many issues."

"But you and I are anomalies - the information comprising our existences marks us as non-existent. We should not be alive, yet here we remain. So when confronted with anomalies such as us, reality will overcompensate to correct us. And often times, that means ejecting us from them entirely. That is likely how you ended up here - the universe you were in simply could not find a way to justify your existence, and so forcibly removed you. And as you do not technically belong in any universe... you ended up here. Beyond reality."

"Of course, again, there is a second possibility. Roughly a 1.6% chance that the universe was so grossly unable to reconcile your existence that it simply collapsed in on itself. Unlikely, but not out of the question. It would require something extremely out-of-place to cause such a cataclysmic, event, though. Such as if you happened to be a living perpetual motion machine running for millennia, outputting infinite energy while barely using any in exchange - if any at all. In that case, it is likely all of creation would reject you."

[celestialprayer]

bloob ending 69

*these possibilities are pissing me off...

*i'm the original

powers up and deletes t he fuckign

[celestialprayer]

Send my muse “What would you do if...” scenarios.

[celestialprayer]

“ … I see that I am not the only one among this extended multiverse who bears grievances with the physical manifestation of an innate aspect of my world’s existence. ” Ironically on opposite sides of the For Or Against Entropy spectrum, granted, but otherwise,

[celestialprayer]

👀 If you could personally change one thing, without any ramifications, what would it be?

” … If I can aim this theoretical gift toward a wish beyond scope… I wish to aim it toward the origin of our worlds. One that is… kinder. ”

“ Worlds which carry their existence by the strength of their own will, unthreatened by their creator. An existence without Xenos or his spawn. Without the Other. Without fiends, without black mana… a world which we truly could have truly lived in peace. A world without such grand sacrifice. ”

“ … So grand a change… with no repercussions. That I, my family, my loved ones, my people, would still yet live on… with nothing that I value lost…

… A beautiful dream, indeed. ”

… If little else.

The truth // @scrxmblecrossing

[celestialprayer]

Give my muse advice they didn't ask for!

Can be about any topic you like. Go!

[celestialprayer]

" A cleric... er, yes... I hold such experience, at least. " At least, she did hold powers appropriate for healing, among other things (though as of late she'd placed focus more on offensive capabilities) but 'twould be more than she'd wish to elaborate on at present. The situation before her was more important, was it not?

She hears the other's explanation - speaking of the destruction inherent to the existence of this beast. " ... A Fiend-ish sort, then. " She certainly held much familiarity with the existence of beings whose purpose was to ravage, to destroy, to wreak havoc on the innocent. One could argue that perhaps, perhaps she took a perilous path taking his words so cleanly at face value, but there was no denying the destruction it clearly inflicted in its presence here, as she gazed upon the scene - so for now, it seemed reasonable enough.

Watching him make an additional move toward the beast, it catches Zena briefly without guard, causing her to wince - but it was a level of caution that she had to admit that she could understand. Fake-outs, false surrenders and second winds of opponents were something that she and allies she once had were all too familiar with, so with a being such as this she especially, she did not see fit to blame him.

" N-No, no, worry not. If it is as you say, then 'tis better to proceed with caution than to be careless, lest it wreak bloodshed in your absence. "

Undoubtedly she'd stepped into a scene where she could only take the one standing at his word... but stepping away would be of no comfort to her. " Is this something you must do with regularity? You speak of a realm in which beings such as this reside... "

Realistically, she should probably be posing different questions - asking who the other is, where they are, anything of the sort... but she did wish to know that there was no further danger on the scene, lest she ask him to direct himself away from an ongoing scene.

"Holy magic, huh? That mean you're some kind of cleric?" It was more of a guess than anything, his thoughts briefly yanked aside by contemplation of how it would even work. Would that holy magic burn just because of his ancestry, or... no, these were questions to ponder about later.

"...No need to actually answer that if you don't want to, more curious than anything. Not often I see other magic users here." Outside of his tutor, he can scarcely recall running into any to begin with...

If anything, he seemed more intrigued at the question she followed with, head tilting a bit as he tried to figure out just how to best answer it.

"Best way I can describe that thing is... it's an invading monster from a realm dedicated to pain and suffering. Only thing it cared about was killing anything in its path, and despite its lack of higher reasoning, bladed limbs and the strength to tear through people like tissue paper makes up the difference."

The last part of her questioning causes him to pause, clearly thinking it over before approaching the demonic beast again and suddenly taking out a nondescript sword, shoving it in the neck of the already massively wounded (and almost certainly dead at this point) beast and carving it up for a good second.

"Sorry, that can't have been pleasant to watch. Now I can say with certainty it's not gonna be threatening anyone. Some of these demons are clever enough to play dead long enough to escape and rampage again..."

[celestialprayer]

ooc;; . actually.

rereading my Half-assed recap, I realize there isn't much that fills in the situation with Zena's brother - with the Euden who's possession kicks everything off, which is admittedly a fair bit more complicated than simply "he died with the world". Let's talk about that, shall we? It's a doozy.

ooc;; In the latter arc of the second-to-last chapter of Dragalia Lost, Proof of the Pact, Zena finds that her ability to give the fight its all is weighed down both by her continued existence in her world of origin as she merely projects herself into the core timeline, and by her knowledge that her world itself still teeters in its horrible fate as she proceeds forth. She understands the necessity to settle things with her world, that she might give her all to the final battle. She agrees that she must see it done - bringing core Euden along with her in the process.

She confronts Euden. The possessed one. The one controlled by the Other, who ravaged her home - Zena's brother. The nigh-unthwartable might of the Other as it had once been is, with the power she and Our Euden had gained, they are able to finally slay them proper, displacing his mana once and for all, leaving Zena's, at last... wrested free of control. He shows genuine gratitude and excitement, knowing that he is free of the Other's control, free from what he was forced to do, would have been further forced into had things gone on longer still. A joyous reunion, until...

ooc;; ... he reveals what he's been made into, in the state of this world. The Progenitor - the final antagonist of the game, the partial creator and intended Destroyer of all worlds to make his own - has spent much time molding him into a puppet of his own. Corrupting him, driving his will to believe in the justice of an existence that must be cleansed... with it still existing alongside the loving and well-meaning personality that encapsulates Euden.

ooc;; It is her brother. He's not being controlled. There's no longer a possession - simply someone who's too lost in the ideals hoisted upon him by a being beyond a God to know the horrors of what he intends to cause. He speaks true when he speaks of joy to see his sister again, when he expresses relief that he won't cause widespread suffering anymore, all of it - but in the same breath believes that wiping it all instead is its own form of mercy, its own form of kindness, something that's obviously irreconcilable with the protagonists. So though it brings Zena great pain to do it - they're forced to battle him, with his pactbound dragons and all.

And they do beat him, in the end - leaving him unable to fight back further, only to be handled in whatever way he must. The two plead with him one more time, in the hopes that they might reach an understanding, but...

... They know there's no pulling him back... or if there is, there's certainly no time to do so, so they must simply stop him, before he succeeds at his own branch of the progenitor's plan. Euden offers to see it done - but it's Zena who steps forward to make that sacrifice, carrying enough as-is that she knows it will only pile on, as opposed to leaving a mark on Our Euden's mind that he doesn't need right now.

A tragic - but at this point, necessary - slaying to see creation saved. And yet, as she hopes to steel herself... he thanks her.

ooc;; She panics. She feels her resolve shake to a depth she cannot even fathom in that moment. She isn't taking out a puppet - she's killing her brother. Her loving, playful, gentle, patient, friendly brother who's shown all he knows nothing but kindness for all the years she can recall. She's looking him square in the eye, as he thanks her for being alive, and wishes that this was a burden she did not feel she had to bear as she aims to strike with killing intent.

When she moves at last - it is swift. It's harsh. She has to firmly speak her resolve as she does so so that she won't falter... and in the end, she does it.

So when she does speak of her lost brother, when her thoughts falter to those of taking his life, I should be very clear - this is true.

Irregardless of circumstances, he died directly at her hands and her choice. When she speaks of killing him, it's not a matter of failing to save him in saving her world - she's saying that she killed him. Setting context and intended comfort for her aside - she is his murderer, plain and simple.

... That doing so doesn't actually stop him certainly doesn't help matters, either.

[celestialprayer]

ooc;; wanna say as an aside, it's been long enough since reading that I forgot that my Zena's World Lives Through Her propaganda is something the text inspired directly and is not, in fact, me being a good writer. /lh

[celestialprayer]

ooc;; . actually.

rereading my Half-assed recap, I realize there isn't much that fills in the situation with Zena's brother - with the Euden who's possession kicks everything off, which is admittedly a fair bit more complicated than simply "he died with the world". Let's talk about that, shall we? It's a doozy.

ooc;; In the latter arc of the second-to-last chapter of Dragalia Lost, Proof of the Pact, Zena finds that her ability to give the fight its all is weighed down both by her continued existence in her world of origin as she merely projects herself into the core timeline, and by her knowledge that her world itself still teeters in its horrible fate as she proceeds forth. She understands the necessity to settle things with her world, that she might give her all to the final battle. She agrees that she must see it done - bringing core Euden along with her in the process.

She confronts Euden. The possessed one. The one controlled by the Other, who ravaged her home - Zena's brother. The nigh-unthwartable might of the Other as it had once been is, with the power she and Our Euden had gained, they are able to finally slay them proper, displacing his mana once and for all, leaving Zena's, at last... wrested free of control. He shows genuine gratitude and excitement, knowing that he is free of the Other's control, free from what he was forced to do, would have been further forced into had things gone on longer still. A joyous reunion, until...

ooc;; ... he reveals what he's been made into, in the state of this world. The Progenitor - the final antagonist of the game, the partial creator and intended Destroyer of all worlds to make his own - has spent much time molding him into a puppet of his own. Corrupting him, driving his will to believe in the justice of an existence that must be cleansed... with it still existing alongside the loving and well-meaning personality that encapsulates Euden.

ooc;; It is her brother. He's not being controlled. There's no longer a possession - simply someone who's too lost in the ideals hoisted upon him by a being beyond a God to know the horrors of what he intends to cause. He speaks true when he speaks of joy to see his sister again, when he expresses relief that he won't cause widespread suffering anymore, all of it - but in the same breath believes that wiping it all instead is its own form of mercy, its own form of kindness, something that's obviously irreconcilable with the protagonists. So though it brings Zena great pain to do it - they're forced to battle him, with his pactbound dragons and all.

And they do beat him, in the end - leaving him unable to fight back further, only to be handled in whatever way he must. The two plead with him one more time, in the hopes that they might reach an understanding, but...

... They know there's no pulling him back... or if there is, there's certainly no time to do so, so they must simply stop him, before he succeeds at his own branch of the progenitor's plan. Euden offers to see it done - but it's Zena who steps forward to make that sacrifice, carrying enough as-is that she knows it will only pile on, as opposed to leaving a mark on Our Euden's mind that he doesn't need right now.

A tragic - but at this point, necessary - slaying to see creation saved. And yet, as she hopes to steel herself... he thanks her.

ooc;; She panics. She feels her resolve shake to a depth she cannot even fathom in that moment. She isn't taking out a puppet - she's killing her brother. Her loving, playful, gentle, patient, friendly brother who's shown all he knows nothing but kindness for all the years she can recall. She's looking him square in the eye, as he thanks her for being alive, and wishes that this was a burden she did not feel she had to bear as she aims to strike with killing intent.

When she moves at last - it is swift. It's harsh. She has to firmly speak her resolve as she does so so that she won't falter... and in the end, she does it.

So when she does speak of her lost brother, when her thoughts falter to those of taking his life, I should be very clear - this is true.

Irregardless of circumstances, he died directly at her hands and her choice. When she speaks of killing him, it's not a matter of failing to save him in saving her world - she's saying that she killed him. Setting context and intended comfort for her aside - she is his murderer, plain and simple.

... That doing so doesn't actually stop him certainly doesn't help matters, either.

[celestialprayer]

👀 + What from your home do you miss the most?

" ... My brother. "

An easy answer, though it guilted her to admit. There were so, so many wonderful things, so many incredible sights and views she would never see again from the view of knowing it's home... but there was also home. What she was familiar with. A place that she could have always counted on to be there.

'Twas not truly the building, nor the land itself, however, that gave her a home. Home, to her, had been the one person who'd always shared her side, nigh inseparable from birth... someone she'd missed so deeply even as his form yet roamed the former world, someone she missed even as she witnessed his face over and over again, nigh-uncountable times, in so many forms.

... She still remembers his face. How he gazed at her, that one final pocket of time. The despair, the acceptance... the final words he had to offer. To her.

To his murderer.

" I miss him to a depth I could not begin to put into words. That I'll not see him again, it... "

... A worn sigh. It ate at her soul even more how hollow such words felt now, true though they were. He is gone because of her - by her mistakes. By her hand. What right did she have to speak of missing him?

... It seemed she had little else she felt she deserved to add.

The truth // @betweenmanyworlds

[celestialprayer]

Send my muse “👀 + a question” and they’ll have to answer with 100% honesty.

No deleting questions, either!

[celestialprayer]

" ... Nn. Mm... "

... And thus did the lost auspex's eyes once again open. The brightness of morning day greets her upon awakening, initially fuzzy - before trading itself for a clearer view. Her hands take note of, and feel the texture of it - where her hands would normally be used to a dirt-trodden pathway, the gentility of grass, or the wood of an inn... the gravely texture told an all-too-different story, nonetheless not feeling like that of a canyon or the like.

" Oh, my head... "

She is dazed, undeniably so - and as her eyes glance around the area she's found herself in, she finds herself met with the unfamiliar sight of those tall structures surrounding her. The familiar color she would expect to see was not... there, at present. Just... where...

" ... Hm? " It is then that she hears a voice speaking to her, and finds herself snapped back the rest of the way to reality. Oh, she was... somewhere. And one had found her in this somewhere. She's fortunately awoken enough to hear his words. Her processing gaze straightens itself out as she gently pushes herself upward, making an effort to meet the voice's form at least a bit better. She felt a splitting headache, and a heaping exhaustion, despite whatever rest had led her here... but all the same, she could stand - or at least, would not tell the one speaking to her that she could not.

" I... y-yes, I understand. " Not that she knew where a 'place like this' was, exactly, was the thought in her head as she accepted his offered hand that she might stand up again. Wherever she was, it offered a much different image than what she was familiar wi...

" - Ah! " And thus it is in that moment that she catches up to the scene she's awoken to. Memories flood back to her, of battle fought, of world to be protected, of a last desperate struggle, and now... " N-No...! Or, rather, I... "

With his aid, she pulls herself to her feet rather quickly, that she might greet the scene properly. " Pray forgive me, sir, but I must ask where I... "

" ... Urgh! " No, she'd unquestionably stood too fast for one who was unconscious moments before - feeling a sharp rush of lightheaded exhaustion making an effort to pull her back down, embodying itself as a sharp spike of dizziness that made it difficult to even return his look. " I - pray tell me, sir... wh-where I've found myself? Please? "

Despite the lack of visual injuries and the protection she was granted, it seemed whatever scene had planted her where she was was still not as smooth as one would hope.

@celestialprayer liked for a starter.

"Yo, you a'ight? That sounded pretty loud."

What had been a normal day of patrolling the streets of Shibuya for problems to solve quickly escalated into Chao face to face with quite the baffling sight. When the sound of a loud -THUD- was heard amidst the corners of the city, Chao rushed onto the scene, expecting another group of douchebags with bad intent to be harassing some teen who happened to have some money. That was always the case, wasn't it? As nice as the city seemed on the surface, if you knew where to look, you could always find the seedy underbelly of it. When crowds are this big and people always come and go as they please, it's easy for the snakes to blend in. Indeed, that should of been what this was.

—But instead, where he expected a group, he only saw one person, flat on the ground... but there were no signs of violence here? If people had tried running, he would of heard footsteps, for sure. And upon closer inspection of the person, it only brought more questions.

A woman in... very out there clothing, given the trends of the streets. Certainly not something you would expect to see normally. However, she also seemed... mostly unharmed in general. The fall sounded bad, but she didn't look like she was in any urgent danger.

... What, a cosplayer practicin' a routine or some shit?

That was the only conclusion he could come to. This girl had to be some cosplayer. (And credit where it's due, the outfit seems fantastic!). Why she was in a place like this, he couldn't fathom. Perhaps she needed space to practice something to go along with it, or perhaps her parents didn't approve of such a thing and she needed space. Those parts weren't his problem, but they were at the very least explanations for such a strange sight.

Regardless of the reason though, this wasn't a safe spot to be. And as much as he doesn't wanna get involved in something as mundane as a cosplayer falling on their ass, everything about this was too strange for him NOT to engage. Plus, well... She may not genuinely know.

Jeez, you'd think people would learn to stay away from places like this by now...

Doing a double check to make sure there were no noticeable injuries, Chao offered his hand to help the strange woman up.

"You really shouldn't be messin' around in places like this, y'know. They can get really dangerous really quickly. Try not to make it a habit, yeah?"

[celestialprayer]

" A-Ah-!! " Though briefly delayed amidst his moment to realize his position, a frantic feeling finds her as swiftly as it finds him once he realizes the danger he's in.

" A-Allow me to help, I'll-! " Not fully know how to, for one thing! Her affinity for holy magic did not equate to flame-quelling, at least not in this manner! She could heal his wounds, perhaps, but it was hardly returning the favor to simply watch him burn before she does so! " I-! "

Fortunate indeed, at least, that he is able to spot the nearby water even quicker than she. She was used to high pressure situations, but something of the man's spontaneity threw her for enough of a loop that she knew not what to say, so 'twas undeniable how his swift thinking helped him!

... And as swiftly as he recovered with his head in the water, frantically making the effort to put out the fire, and taking only a mere additional moment to acknowledge the crisis that had been averted...

... before casually resuming his conversation, as though it had not frightened him at all. Spontaneity, indeed - she knew not someone who could so swiftly jump between the stages such an event put him through as he did! Once more, Zena was simply... silent. A few beats of blinking pass...

... 'til, in spite of herself, an amused smile crosses her lips... " I-I-- " ... and as she attempts to answer him properly, a shaky start begins her sentence... almost what one would expect from a laugh, even if a gentle one. This man... was kind, undeniably so, with a punchy positivity that reached even her - a troubled stranger who'd yet to even learn the other's name! " Ah - pray forgive me, sir. I-If - If you are lost, I would be more than willing to help return you to your town...! " She pauses for a moment longer - pushing the want to giggle further out of her system - before continuing more earnestly.

" ... Though we should first make ourselves scarce - lest they call upon reinforcements. For at least a brief time - we reside not too far from the halidom. They'll doubtless offer shelter and protection until the empire is off of our trail. If we proceed now, we may even be able to avoid pursuit. "

"Set ablaze? Ah, my mistake. You must be thinking of the endless love in my heart—"

He sniffs the air as he speaks, the smell of a freshly lit fire fresh on his nose. There... was something burning, after all, and it seems pretty close. For that matter, he did feel his hair getting warmer and warmer...

...

"FIREEEEE!!! AIIIEEEEE!!!!!!!"

In a panic, Vash runs back and forth as the fire grows more and more. Something—There had to be something that would help! Roll around? No, probably not, there's too much grass. Pat it down before it grows more? His suit's too flammable, and he doesn't have a spare! Water! there has to be some water!

"I'm gonna die, Meemaw! I'm gonna burn to death on the cross unless I find—WATER!"

Spotting a small pond, enough to put his head in, Vash leaps at it, submerging his entire face as his yelling refuses to cease even underwater.

Eventually, he goes silent, his body stops panicking, and he lifts his head up, giving the woman a peace sign with his fingers.

"Phew! That was a close one! If that fire had grown any larger, my beautiful hair would be lost to time! ... Or even worse, someone could of gotten hurt!"

This man was... eccentric, to say the absolute least. Even after all of that, he still found the time to act lighthearted and goofy, where most others would still be in a panic. In a way, it was an admirable trait... But it could also quickly be deeply concerning.

Scratching the back of his freshly wet head, Vash approached the woman once again. "Sorry, what was it you were saying? Something about getting out of here? That's all well and good, but uh... On that note..."

He lets out a sheepish laugh, and then speaks as truthfully as he can.

"I have no idea where the heck I am! Crazy, right?"

[celestialprayer]

" S-Sanctuary... " Zena blinks for a moment, watching as the form steps closer to her. She takes note of every action, as she seemingly wills a railing into existence with each step that she made, hearing her words, speaking of existing beyond the scope of universes.

She... simply listens, as she ponders the reasoning behind her timely(?) arrival in this scope outside all worlds. Hearing her speak of losing her place in the grand cosmos... the woman feels her heart sink, in that moment. She felt her physical presence here, she knew she was no mana projection... meaning well and truly, if those were the only two explanations, that it must be the latter. " O-Oh... I... see. "

In truth, this was... unsurprising. In her... heart of hearts, she had hoped, prayed for a miracle that might let her see her home again... even ravaged as it had been when she lost it. But... 'twould have been a miracle beyond all accounts to imagine returning all back to as it was before it was well and truly lost. That this poor soul before her, herself, spoke of a world lost, an echo of her own world... she found it frighteningly easy to believe, in that moment. And although it placed a pit in her stomach that threatened to rend her asunder were she not among company, she remains... quiet. Listening patiently to the woman's - to Echo's remaining words.

...

... But... Wait.

Wait.

" N-No...! " No, that didn't mean...! Did it? No, it couldn't. It didn't. It mustn't! Her breath swiftens, she grows shaky, making an effort to hold that threatens to break at a moment's notice, all of a sudden. That her world was lost hurt in ways that no wound could, but bore no surprise... but that she was here instead of where she resided prior... no, no, no, that couldn't mean-!

No - no, breathe, Zethi - Zena. Zena. Breathe. She's said nothing of the sort. Not yet. There... is the smallest, faintest glimmer yet, that maybe... just - just maybe-!

She gently but firmly juts forward to the approached other, making her plea.

" - F-Forgive me, Echo. Prithee, if you know... inform me. Please. Before I awoke within this realm, though my world was lost... I resided within the remnants of another. 'Twas the last beacon of hope we had left against the destroyer of mine and all others within it. To at least return creation as it was... to return we who remained to the home they left, and fend off the horror that threatened to lay it to waste. "

" Tell me - please, please, you must tell me if they yet breathe! I must - I must know that I did not fail at least, at least them-! "

She plays with fire, knowing even now that a firm answer that all was lost will destroy her. But leaving it to chance would eat at her in its own way now that the possibility was lain directly in front of her.

@celestialprayer from here

"This is..." How to explain it, to a girl who is so alike, yet unlike her? "...our sanctuary, one might say. A place outside the bounds of existence, of every universe that is or will be. Even the gods cannot step foot in this realm, for they are no more than false demiurges, divinity stolen from the aether of reality."

The Echo lifts a hand as she begins to slowly walk toward Zena, and as she does, a metal railing forms beneath it, more of the railing appearing beneath her hand as she walks, until she's roughly a few feet away from the blonde.

"And yet you are able to join me, here. There are only two possible explanations; one, you are a purely spiritual being, only existing as a lost soul. Or two, you are much like myself, and have since lost your place in the grand cosmos. And given your stable physical form and consciousness, the latter is the only logical conclusion."

"...I would introduce myself to you, but the event which cost me my reality also cost me my identity. I am multiple beings in one form, consciousnesses and souls mixed together to form a single existence... Although I do admit, interactions such as these can prove difficult without a name. I remain but an echo of a universe long past... so I suppose that will do. You may call me Echo."