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I remember the day when I learned I was Azem and the true meaning of ‘Lotus’. That being said, I don’t think the same day I had to kill one of my lovers when I was unsundered was the way to go; it’s one of those times I will be forever grateful for my friends who like to randomly be summoned from the ninth shard, especially since I was also still partly blind thanks to the light poisoning.
“No, … It can’t be…” Emet-Selch, no, Hades murmured as I went on to remember the life I once had lived. How I had loved not only him, but Hythlodaeus as well.
“What’s wrong Hades, don’t you remember me? You said you always would, no matter who I was or where I went.” Was my response, spoken in the most condescending tone I could muster. I took a step, then another, and another, until I noticed a small shadow with ears behind Hades, and I stopped cold. So that was his master plan now?
“How can you hope to stand against me alone?” I could tell, even as blind as I was, how he smirked into his words. “Oh, I don’t think I’m exactly standing alone. Aren’t you forgetting a few people?” A small wink was flashed in the Exarch’s general direction, prompting him to speak.
“We stand together!”
The fight had truly begun.
Now, everyone was gone, except for Luna. Unmade by Meteion, leaving only their souls that let me continue my journey throughout the broken ‘world’ of Ultima Thule. As I walk to the next area, I see the souls of the dead and of the still living. Ardbert, Ryne, and Haurchefant, I see them all. The walk up is truly painful, my brain making me relive all of the events I hear. All the pain, all the sorrow, I remember it all. At long last, after what feels like hours of sorrowful walking, I arrive at the top, and find Meteion. Everything feels pointless, but I know it can’t end this way. I need to use Azem’s, my crystal, but I can’t summon the Scions back or else this place will become uninhabitable, so who can I? Then it hits me, the ancients. I can call upon those of the past, my past loves.
“I won’t forsake our cause.” The words I speak are soft, like midnight rain, and at long last, I activate the crystal, summoning the two Lotus cared for the most.
“I bid them remember, but all this time I’m the one who had forgotten. A right fool you made of me, Hermes. And to add insult to injury, I’ve been denied a sound rest! Forced to watch this clamorous show.”
“Oh, come now, it’s been a griping tale. Unbreakable bonds and noble sacrifice sprinkled with moments of levity to counterbalance the pathos. It’s got it all! I, for one, would have been perfectly content to watch enraptured from the stalls. But I won’t say no to a part.”
“What are you?” comes Meteion’s question almost shocked, but it seems the answer is clear. Emet-Selch and Hythlodaeus are back, almost hale and whole.
“Half-faded souls of the dead, isn’t it painfully obvious,” I would’ve laughed at Hades’s comment if I wasn’t so shocked I had summoned them both, again. “Worry not, we haven’t the power to defeat you, nor is it our duty to do so, not anymore. That being said, we do have a score to settle. So here I am, Venat, I suppose you needed me to tie it all together. These frayed threads of our history, but knowing you I suspect there’s a joke in it too. Oh yes, I can imagine you gloating over my forgetfulness. Were I feeling charitable, I might assume you had left room for the possibility of this outcome. Even so, you’ll get no applause from me. A single gesture will not lighten the burden I’ve had to bear.” He looks back to me before continuing his spiel. “Still, you must be commended. Our methods would not have brought mankind this far. And so, as a show of respect to the last of us, I make this declaration.” He looks back, glaring at Meteion. “You will not end our journey. That is our answer. The answer of all lives of Etheris, past and present.”
“As you’ve called us to the stage so shall we preform,” Hythlodaeus is speaking now, and I feel that before Elpis, and even before I gained my memories of Lotus, I would be able to tell who both of these fools are. ”And creation magics never fail to please. Drawing upon the hopes of your comrades, we will make for you a new path.”
“What form said path takes depends on you, so focus. Focus and envision that which rejects the claim that you cannot attain your goal.” I grant Hades a small nod before attempting to divert my thoughts.
“Ours is the wisdom to weave the fabric of reality. Ours is the power to create.” The more I focus, the more I zone out to the world around me, but I can still tell who speaks; I would even still if I was as blind as I was when I went to the version of Amurot Emet had made in The Tempest.
I hear a small ‘snap’ before I feel the ground under my feet change as I look down. Elpis blooms glowing in every color of the rainbow. The same Elpis flowers Lotus, no I, had created all those years ago. So much has changed since I first became Azem, but somehow, those flowers have remained, even now, after even the world has completely changed. I hear faint of what Meteion hears, but I know that, somehow, she’s remembering Hermes’s words as she sinks into the flowers. I think she finally recognizes me.
“These Elpis blooms serve as proof that this realm is not utterly devoid of hope. No more can you deny its power. No more is yours the domain of despair.” I glance over at Hades, silently wondering if the flowers weren’t just to prove a point to Meteion. Without my silent question answered, the two walk over to the side, them both looking back at my face of surprise. “In case the practical implications were lost on you, your comrades no longer need fight their fight. So go on. Call them back to your side.”
I crack a small smile at him before gripping the crystal again, working to bring my friends back from the brink of death, which has happened more than once in the past few weeks. A set of flashing lights surround me, and I feel the presence of the Scions surround me yet again as tears rush into my eyes. I watch Venat’s magic slowly fade from the crystal, which lets the floodgates loose. As much as I try to hide it, I start crying silently, knowing that she was finally let to rest. There are soft murmurs heard behind me, which is a swift reminder of the company I have again, so I try to hide my tears to no avail.
“Good to see you again. Our heroic sacrifice paid off I take it?” Alisaie’s question is all I hear before I sink to the ground, wailing. I feel everyone’s surprise in my actions, but they also aren’t at the same time. By know they all know how much I care, and the most of them are like family to me, so loosing them yet again is rough, especially knowing how little the chance is of them coming back is. In an instant, I feel two people’s grip, soft yet firm surround me in a hug as I cry. Alisaie and G’raha, my two current loves. I can tell even without looking, after learning how to feel people’s presence near me. I cry for gods know how long until I finally calm down enough to stand, and try to speak as Meteion does, which seems easier that someone having to interpret sign language again.
“I’m glad you all are safe. I don’t know if I could’ve bared not coming back with you all, and if I even would. Much less Tataru’s wrath.” I giggle at the slight surprise that surrounds me as I mentally talk to everyone in the vicinity, except for Meteion, who I know can hear me anyway, whether I wanted her to or not. I take a few steps up to Meteion, who shares a very slight feeling of shock at my movement. “It’s over Meteion.” I still speak mentally, and I know that everyone can still hear. It was close enough to the same as me speaking normally. She only cries more, letting her nest’s walls crumble, allowing us a way in.
“Can you… hear me?” She quietly asks, similar to when she first spoke in my mind back at Elpis. “The voices wailing… Crying in pain, wailing in sorrow… Hurting… Hurting… End it… Silence it… Silence our song of oblivion!” She transforms back into the bird, but black this time and retreats back to the nest, showing how we enter.
“The way is open. They can proceed.” At that moment, Hythlodaeus’s voice is nothing more than a whisper to my ears, but I hear it regardless. His voice is one I never forget.
“So it seems…” Hades responds before I can even think of a thank you, which as normal as it is, makes me smile just a tad.
The words truly register in my mind as I look over to the both of them only to see their forms glowing. They’re leaving. They’re leaving me again, this time only to never return. I feel myself start crying all over again.
“You’re leaving?” I can tell how Alisaie almost shouts but knows not to still, so I don’t get startled.
“Of course. The encore is finished, and I will not suffer myself to live again by Hydaelyn’s magick. But more than that, the future you seek is not the past we loved. That is why we fought. Any why I lost. But though you defeated me, my ideals were inviolate. Invincible.” I feel myself start to cry before running up to hug them both as tightly as I could, a silent plea for them to not leave. “Spare me your pity. I have no use for it. If you would do something for me- save our star. See this tale to a triumphant conclusion, and with elation in your hearts, let the final curtain fall. Only then may it rise again, and a new tale begin- with new parts for all to play.”
“I don’t want you idiots to leave again. Not after I just got you back. Stay, please. I know it’s not the same, but-“ I cut myself off by crying harder as it gets harder to fully form words.
“Tell me, have you been to the ruins beneath the waters of the Bounty?” Emet questions, pulling me off of him and Hythlodaeus while resting a steady hand on my shoulder. I shake my head no, so he continues. “Or the treasure islands beyond the frozen waters of Blindfrost, in Othard’s north?” I shake my head again, but still don’t see the point he’s trying to make. “The fabled golden cities of the New World? The sacred cities of the forgotten people of the south sea isles?” Another head shake is added to the plethora of ones I give. “What about Meracydia, the southern continent? Do you know aught of its present state of affairs? …I though not. Even of your little Eorzea, you know precious little. The true identities of the twelve, for instance.”
“And you’re saying you know any of that?” I whisper solemnly, still trying to convince him to stay. He smiles at me before continuing, leaving the question for a moment.
“All of which is to say; expand your horizons. Go forth and seek discovery. Some of the civilizations in the reflections will surprise you, but to Akira’s point, no, I don’t know all, but I do wish to someday learn. Take the ninth for example, I know very little about that shard,” he looks me dead in the eyes,” but I know you do. I would love to one day be made whole again and for you to tell me all about that shard, so I raise you this. You are Azem, you still have the power to create. Find a way to make us whole without Venat’s magick, and we might as well stay until you return to the star. Can I trust you with this?”
I nod happily and slowly walk back to where the Scions are standing, letting one last tear fall.
“I pray we meet again. If not in this life, than perhaps another. Whensoever it should be, I trust it will be a most joyous reunion.” Hythlodaeus’s words ring in my ears as both disappear into the aether, resting at last.
I know I’m getting stared down by the Scions, wanting to know our next move, but I bend down, and grab three Elpis blooms from the ground. I walk over, give one to Alisaie, and then one to Raha before taking my own and tucking it behind my ear, securing it with a clip from my small braids. I sense the confusion go through the air, so I make sure to explain.
“When I was unsundered, the one thing I loved to create were flowers, so I made this one on my own. It seems fitting, since my name was Lotus.” I smile into the words as the confusion fades, and we thought back to why we are here.
It’s finally time to end this tale, to pave the way for a new adventure to come.