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He arrives at the boundary of Fontaine and Sumeru, and sees her by the very edge of the cliff, looking into the distance. She does not face him, and for a moment he wonders if she has not noticed his arrival.
"Egeria," he says, and she still does not turn to face him. He wonders if this means that he will not see her face one last time.
"Vepares," she replies, voice soft, "I'm glad that you could come."
She does not need to say any more, he knows. She will leave, and it is all too likely that she will never return to Fontaine. He is here because she needs to appoint him to a vital task, and she trusts him to abide by it to the bitter end.
And that is when she finally faces him. He does not need to breathe, yet his breath hitches at the sight regardless: the Hydro Gnosis floats above her palm, its glow illuminating her features. There is a pensiveness to her expression that he cannot quite understand, in the same way that he does not understand why she committed her sin.
"You know what this is, don't you?"
It is a rhetorical question. He has seen it before, of course. He is perhaps one of the few beings who has been blessed with such a fortune.
The Hydro Archon sighs, and with graceful steps, she approaches, the Gnosis hovering with her as she does. He wants to close his eyes and not see this, because he knows what this means, and it sears his being like fire.
Egeria is smiling, nonetheless, and she allows the Gnosis to float slowly to his waiting hand, fingers closing over the object. It resonates with an unsettling hum.
"Keep it safe," she tells him then, "I need to help the others for now."
That is a lie, and they both know it, but Vepares will entertain her wishes as long as it means that she has the faintest sliver of hope to carry with her.
There are no other words that she needs to say, but she looks him over nonetheless, and she closes her eyes, cradling her hand over her heart. She steps back, and turns from him for the final time.
He will not see her again, and this statement repeats in his mind as he watches her prepare to depart. This memory etches itself within him, never to be forgotten.
"Keep them safe, please. Save our people."
She has assigned unto him a duty, and he must fulfil it until the bitter end.