Work Text:
The key is hidden deep inside
The world you’re making
And if you find it in yourself….
This mirror’s in your mind
-Cruxshadows - Wake the White Queen
Deafening. The newfound quiet of the Rising stones was a deafening departure from the sounds of the myriad comings and goings of the Scions and Scion adjacent that used the place as their base of operations and home these many years. Now, all that sounded was the occasional pop of a cackling fire, and Tataru’s pleasant humming as she strung needle to thread; finishing up the last bits of her latest work.
‘Yuki’, or Yuray as he was, welcomed the silence. He was not accustomed to the intricacies of idle chat and chatter, and so preferred to spend his time in muted contemplation. There was much to do while his ‘ charge ’ recovered. Of course, Tataru would prefer to see ‘Yuki’ content and calm upon the beginnings of a new adventure. If only she knew…
If only she knew…
***
The plush room smelled of ocean salt after heavy rain; of vanilla, and tea leaves and the barest hints of wood long burned to ash. It floated, ebbing and flowing as if on a tide, so that one was never really standing or laying still. The room was centered in nothing, and yet at its center was placed a large bed seemingly made of clouds and curtained by drapery thin as candied floss.
In this mirrored world, in this cloudtop land, in this mirror created by the mind… Yuki…the real Yuki slept.
***
Yuray blinked heavy lids upon misty eyes. Sleeping soundly as ever . Yes. Sleep . Tataru continued to hum on, occasionally peppering the notes with some question or another. Yuray did not really hear her. He was sure he answered, or at least, must have done so in a way as to not cause alarm, for none was caused. Still, the air of the room became heavy. The smell of spices and open, unused space drifted in and caused the eyes to become heavy. They blinked once , and again…
***
The place was not wholly unfamiliar. For he remembered his battle, seemingly a lifetime ago, with the Cloud of Darkness. Here his consciousness now stood; balanced on the precipice of similar architecture. In the sky, a blackened hole existed where a sun or moon should have shone the light of creation down upon them. Instead there was only emptiness and he was alone.
No. Not alone.
A figure formed in the center of a road leading no where; shrouded in crimson shade. The figure was cloaked in robes adorned with red, and wore a hood to hide their features. From what Yuray could tell; the figure was tall, hunched over even as it floated upon the wind aimlessly. Its arms hung at its sides, yet two additional hands covered his eyes…still..it seemed to know the path. The figure began to speak, but he could barely make out the words.
Thus…..I am….returned….
***
At the edge of the Cloudtop bed rested a mirror. The mirror was a magical thing; sometimes reflecting Yuki’s delicate features; sometimes the hardened, determined grimace of Esteem itself, of Yuray…but this time…
A heavy footstep; the sound of armor clanking; even without meaning to awake the gently sleeping figure, Zenos was never one for silence. A wisp of blonde; lifeless eyes carrying the hint of a spark whorling in a blue abyss. Somehow he had found a way.
Perhaps he had always been there, perhaps the same strange magicks employed to bring his friend to safety carried unintended consequences. He knew not.
Zenos approached the sleeping Viera, running a long finger across high cheekbones as he leaned to whisper upon softly tufted ears. The words were spoken in discordance, some clearer than others:
“ ...Nothing is coming….will swallow The World…you are…returned…..save–”
Upon the gentle touch of the ‘Traveler’s’ lips, The ‘dream’ within the cloudtop palace was over just as it begun, with footsteps through a mirror.
Yuki’s lips moved to form a single word, a single name….but from his sleep, he did not stir. It had been that way since he was whisked away on the back of the strange magicks born of a miracle. It had been that way since they escaped the place at the Edge of creation…since he..since Yuki was made to leave his love behind. After all he had been through, it was too much for any one to bear.
***
But Yuray was not one , he was all; a shield made of barbs and darkness and shadow. For why would he exist , if not to take the pain for the one that served and slayed, saved and slaved. Let Yuki sleep, and let him dream. But if it was love that he was meant to find, then Yuray would see that the one lost to the edge of creation be found, no matter the cost.