Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Nikol is hiding away sometime after Matthew leaves to explore Aionios. He’d been doing well, all things considered. They’d figured out the Ouroboros Stone, if nothing else! But then… Riku had left, too. Rex, Shulk, Matthew, and Riku. All gone in such a short amount of time.

It’s hard to take his mind off it. So he keeps to himself when he’s not working on the construction of the City. It’s going well -- should even be mobile in case of attacks in the future. He thinks Shulk and Riku would both be proud of that if they could see it now…

But they can’t, so he feels pretty alone. Alone enough to wander the streets when everyone else should be tucked in after a hard day’s work. What can he say? He has trouble sleeping sometimes…

He should be alone on the streets, but then he sees Panacea. It looks like she’s putting together a little shrine of some sort. He’s curious, if a bit shy. She was close to Shulk, from what he could tell. He had practically raised her once they ended up in Aionios, from what he could tell.

He didn’t know much about that raising business, but he could tell it was important. Maybe that’s why he was brave enough to approach and crouch next to her. She just looks at him and gives a nod in greeting, before going back to what she was doing.

“So, uh,” he starts. “What’s this for?”

“The shrine?” Panacea asks. Nikol just nods. “It’s for an old goddess, from the world I was originally from.”

Nikol had thankfully learned about the idea of gods before this, but the fact Panacea’s world had some? That was news. “From Bionis?”

Panacea shakes her head. “From Mechonis, the Titan that was at war with Bionis long before I was born.”

“Oh, I guess they get along now if you’re making a shrine to the goddess, then,” Nikol says, unsure why he feels… so unsure about that.

“Kind of, really both Mechonis and Bionis are gone. Meyneth lives on through the hearts of many, though,” Panacea pauses. “That’s what Aunt Fiora used to say, anyway.”

“Aunt Fiora…” He likes the sound of that name. “Did she worship Meyneth, too?”

“No,” Panacea shakes her head. “She was… her friend.”

“Friends with a goddess?” Nikol asks.

“Best friends,” Panacea says.

“Wow…” Nikol looks at the shrine. “...I would have liked to meet her, I think.”
“I think she’d have loved you,” Panacea says.

“Really?”

“Really,” she gives him a smile. “I’m told she loved her creations, her children, like no one else. That she gave up her life to stop the god of the Bionis.”

“So… the god of the Bionis…”

“Zanza, Klaus. Whichever you want to call him,” Panacea explains. “He… wasn’t a good guy.”

“...I wonder why Shulk called his world the world of the Bionis, then,” Nikol mumbles. “It sounds like Meyneth and the Mechonis were much better.”

“That…” Panacea pauses. “I think that’s something you’ll have to talk to Teacher about when you see him again.”

Nikol nods. “...Would you help me with that?”

“Sure,” Panacea says. “I would love to.”

Glimmer had seen Nikol and Panacea talking by a shrine. One that, when she looked at it, she felt nothing. No connection of any sort, despite the way those two seemed to glow near it. It was frustrating her, really. So she tries a different shrine, one she sees Linka go to a lot.

The feeling… isn’t pleasant. But there’s at least something this time. Like she was looking at a memorial more than a shrine. Someone people had looked up to, despite all the mistakes that had been made.

“Who’s this for?” She asks as Linka steps next to her.

“Remember Boss mentioning Klaus?” Linka asks. “He kinda made our world, so you could say he’s a god. Dad always said he was a bit of a dolt, but that his heart was in the right place.”

“Oh, so he was an idiot, just like Rex,” Glimmer says.

Linka laughs. “Dunno about that, but, hey. He gives us hope. If he could keep going until things were set right, we can too, right?”

“Right,” Glimmer nods. She looks at it again. “Still feels like… I dunno, sad. And not the kinda sad you’re probably thinking of.”

“Sad in a kinda pathetic way, right?” Linka shrugs. “It makes people hope, so that’s enough for me. Even if he did sound like a soggy toy when Mom tried to describe him to me. To think his daughters were, as she put it, such lookers…”

“Oh, so the god just had. Kids that were running around,” Glimmer mumbles. “Okay, sure. I’ll just find a way to cope with that new fact.”

“Wait ‘til you figure out you only exist because of them…” Linka mumbles, probably trying to be quiet enough Glimmer wouldn’t hear. But she did hear her, loud and clear.

“What do you mean I only exist because of them?” She asks, frowning and placing a hand on her hip.

“W…well,” Linka scratches her cheek. “They were there to help, y’know, save the world! From their kinda evil brother--”

“So Klaus had an evil son, too?” Glimmer frowns. “Next you’ll tell me A and Alpha were his kids too, or something.”

“Well, technically you aren’t exactly wrong,” Linka replies. “It’s a really long story, though. I would have to totally fill you in on Klaus’s world and other major players if you even wanted to try and understand, so--”

“Yeah,” Glimmer holds up a hand. “Let’s not and say we did.”

“My thoughts exactly,” Linka replies. “Glad you can be understanding, Glimmer.”

She would usually ask what that’s supposed to mean, but… Not this time. Instead, she just stares at the memorial. Some of the feeling is definitely that pathetic sort of sad for someone feeling… But there was something else underlying it.

Something she hadn’t noticed until Linka mentioned the fact this god apparently had kids. She frowns, and decides that it might be better to think nothing of it. There was too much to focus on now to worry about mysteries she’d never get the answer to.

…Maybe she would ask Rex, when they one day reunited. He would probably be more open about it than Linka, even if it was only on accident.

Chapter Text

Valdi has a bit of a one-track mind when it comes to Levnises. That’s why it’s a bit of a shock when he stops his sprinting towards them to stare at a shrine. Lanz, a bit thankful he didn’t have to tackle Valdi, stops next to him. When he does, he thinks he gets it.

There’s a magnetic pull of some sort to it, the metallic structures left in offering feeling… right. He feels naked without one to offer himself, especially when Valdi picks through his pockets and places a few nuts and bolts down on it.

“So,” he says. “Who do you think this is for?”

“No clue,” Lanz says. “Gives off a nice feeling, though. Think Monica would--”

“That’s Meyneth’s Shrine,” Shania’s voice cuts through Lanz’s suggestion. “She’s an old god, from when the worlds weren’t a mess.”

She approaches and Lanz finds himself frowning a bit. He’s not exactly a fan of her, even if Sena seemed to take a shine already. Usually he agreed with her, but this? Nah, he didn’t see what she saw in Shania.

Valdi, however, is naive. Naive and kind to a fault. So when he sees Shania he simply perks up and smiles. “Oh, hi! Can you tell us about her, then?”

“Apparently her people worshipped her and saw her as a mum at the same time,” Shania says. “She believed in unconditional love for them all, even if they went down a dark path.”

“Oh,” Valdi says with a smile. “That’s really nice, isn’t it?”

“Yeah,” Lanz agrees. “It is.”

Shania, however, scoffs. “Fat load of nothing, if you ask me.”

Lanz frowns, hands on his hips. “Really? It’s a touchin’ story and your reaction is just… Nah, load of Armu dung.”

“If people really believe in her, they sure don’t follow her teachings,” Shania shoots back. “She’s not even real, she’s just an excuse to feel good about yourself if you even kinda try to be like her.”

“I think she’s real,” Valdi says without thinking. “Or, well, was real at some point.”

Shania raises an eyebrow. “Got any proof of that?”

“It’s just a feeling,” Valdi replies with a shrug. “Like… a warm hug made of light squeezing me tight and telling me it’ll be okay.”

“The feeling goes away,” Shania says.

“So you’ve felt it too?”

“Like I said, it goes away,” Shania looks away from Valdi’s curious gaze. “...A feeling doesn’t make reality hurt any less, anyway. I thought a soldier would understand that.”

Lanz furrows his brow, frowns. “...You got something you want to get off your chest? We’re all ears.”

Shania jumps at that. “N… no! I don’t have anything to get off my chest!”

“You sure?” He tilts his head to the side, Valdi mimics him.

“Yes, I’m sure!” Shania huffs and turns on her heel. She clearly doesn’t want to talk anymore, and that’s fine by Lanz. If Valdi wasn’t here, Lanz would probably storm off himself, make it even.

But…

“She seems really sad,” Valdi says, voicing the thought on both their minds. “I hope she’ll find that warm feeling from Meyneth again.”

“Yeah…” Lanz watches her go. “Me too.”

--

It’s pure chance the group is travelling with Alexandria, who has a real hunger for knowledge, when Mio and her stumble upon a little shrine. At first, Mio thinks it’s like the others she’s seen. Ones that don’t really mean anything to her, no matter how long she looks.

But this one makes her feel almost sad. A longing for something that no longer exists, almost. Judging by the way Alexandria’s brow furrowed, she guesses she’s not the only one.

“How…” Alexandria starts.

“Sad?” Mio asks.

“Pathetic,” Alexandria replies. “What even is it?”

“A Shrine to the Architect,” Masha says, making Mio jump when she realizes the woman is behind her. “The man who once gave life to the people that now make up Agnus.”

“So a god,” Mio says.

“Yes, and one that supplies many with hope, at that,” Masha walks over to it, wipes a layer of dust from the primitive statue that sat there. “...Though there’s plenty who feel off about it, too. Just like your friend here.”

“Well, I’ve done some reading on your idea of gods and all that,” Alexandria says. “If he is one, shouldn’t he still exist? Or maybe he was slain.”

Masha hums, thinking. “I believe the Kevesi equivalent was, does that count?”

“Aha!” Alexandria turns to look at her. “If Keves, whatever it used to be, had a god in a similar role that just means you both fell into the same trap.”

“Trap?” Mio tilts her head to the side. “What do you mean, Alex?”

“Simple, they couldn’t explain things with science,” Alexandria puts a hand on her hip. “So they made up a god to fill in the blanks.”

“Maybe so,” Masha says. “But a bit of hope never hurt anyone. And that doesn’t explain Meyneth.”

“W… who?”

“Well, before you two get into… theology was it?” Mio speaks up. “I want to spend some time soaking all this in. I wonder why it made us feel so strongly when we’d never heard of The Architect before…”

“Maybe it’s something in your DNA,” Masha suggests. “Or in long forgotten memories.”

“Maybe…” Mio hums as she looks it over. There does seem to be a pull to it, one she can’t describe. Not like the pull to Noah or to Miyabi but… something different.

Something almost divine. Mio shivers and looks away.

“I think I’ve seen enough,” she says. “Alex, would you like to head back to the group with me?”

“Not until I pick this woman’s head some more,” Alexandria replies. “Don’t worry, I’ll catch up.”

“Alright, Masha I’ll leave her to you then, if that’s alright.”

“Of course,” Masha smiles. “I would be happy to help.”

Mio gives her thanks and then she starts walking away. The Architect made the very people that came to be known as Agnus, huh? Something about that unsettles her, deep in her stomach.

Like no man should have that much power… But was The Architect ever simply a man?