sempiternals | As an aria signals the beginning of the end

[ If someone had told her of her fate when she was born, this spoiled child of Eulmore's free, she would have laughed in their face. To think not only that there was a world outside of her own, but that she would one day live to see the end of it, that she would travel to another as an agent of that world's demise—

There would have been nothing anyone could say that could have convinced her to believe it.

And yet, here she is now, perched on the edge of a wide desk in a building more technologically advanced than anything she's seen in this life - although, according to the man seated at the extravagant chair behind said desk, this place has nothing on the wonders she has seen in lives past. This world is not the one in which she was born - that world has, in fact, been destroyed, Rejoined with its source, the original world from which she, like her new companion, hails.

In Eulmore, she had a name, but that name no longer matters. Her name is Gaia, and back when the world was torn apart, she was known as Loghrif of the Convocation of Fourteen. Her role now is to aid Emet-Selch in the Rejoining of the Shards to the Source, in the rebirth of their dark lord Zodiark, so that He might make Etheirys whole once more.

Exactly how this is to happen she is uncertain, other than that she possesses powers aligned with the darkness that are to assist... even if she does not yet remember how to use them.

It is, then, for this reason that she sits at this desk, one leg crossed over the other, her foot tapping in the air as she looks back at the man who started her journey anew down this road.

Her voice, when she speaks, is as arch as always. ]

I am sure that you are piecing together the thousands of parts that make up the entirety of this plan, Emet-Selch, but I feel the need to remind you that my memory, this reincarnation, is not serving me as well as it might have previously.

[ Her memory has never been good, not even before she was sundered, but that's neither here nor there. ]

If I am to help with this plan of yours, then I will need to be trained in the use of the powers we wield.

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[ She knows his voice will come through once she presses the button on the device, but something about it still makes her jump, startle a little despite herself as the gate slides open. Unlike him, after all, she's unused to technology— her memory doesn't serve her well enough beyond what little they had in Eulmore, and even that is shaky at best. It's going to take her some time to get used to— which, given she's working for a company in the technological sector, really needs to happen sooner rather than later.

The more she can learn from Emet-Selch, the better.

She nods in greeting, a smile not really her speed, and then shakes her head in response to his question. ]

Right. Not followed.

[ If being a memory-lapsed teen in Eulmore has taught her anything, it's how to fly under the radar— and in this city, full of so many more, it's easier than it might be otherwise. ]

[ As a precaution, he surveys their immediate surrounds with his soul sight before shutting the door after her. Not that he distrusts her, but mortals have a way of being surprisingly resourceful. Sometimes beyond even the Ascians' estimation.

He leads the way to a spacious indoor area which he has already cleared in anticipation of her arrival. It's difficult to say what function it may have previously served. ]

What abilities have you unearthed thus far? What do your memories speak of? We shall start with those and see what else may surface.

[ Once they make it to the area he has cleared for this, Gaia leans against the nearest wall, her arms folding across her chest.

His question is a perfectly fair one, and yet— At this stage, both her experience and her memories are very limited. She remembers that, as the Light on the First waned in power, the faerie's voice— Artemis's voice— in her mind grew stronger for a time, awakening her little by little until the completion of Emet-Selch's plan drowned him out completely, and the Flood swallowed him.

(Luckily, the other Ancient found her before the last remnants of the echoed world were taken in by the original.)

But Artemis's voice, while strong enough to reach her, was never strong enough to teach, to bring the truth of her memories to her, and so most of what she's experienced since has been either guided by Emet-Selch, or uncovered almost by instinct.

Her lips purse; her foot taps. ]

Let me see... I have been able to manipulate Dark energy and summon Voidsent. With your assistance, I was able to teleport through the rift between this world and the First. I... [ And here she pauses, her head tilting as her brows crease in confusion. ] I... seem to have a memory of being able to manipulate time in some way...

[ He nods, clasping his hands behind his back. Even though none are around to watch them, some unconscious part of him holds fast to the act. ]

First, a reminder: no-one can truly, freely manipulate time. At least, not in the sense of traversing back and forth along its stream. The primal Alexander briefly managed it, but at great cost. What we can do is...stretch it out a bit. Delay an attack, and so forth. That much is within the scope of our power.

[ As he speaks he starts to slowly pace back and forth, like a professor giving a lecture. ]

Were Nabriales here, I would ask them to demonstrate. But alas, I've yet to find the time to locate the next shard of their soul. Let's begin with something a little easier...

[ Halting, he stretches out a hand and a dark ball of energy begins to coalesce above his palm. ]

As servants to Lord Zodiark, we are blessed with a greater affinity for darkness. 'Chaos', as some would call it. Yet what is chaos but great upheaval? 'Tis only destructive if you allow it to run unchecked. As you saw of the First, without darkness, a world would languish into obscurity.

As an aria signals the beginning of the end | @emet_sulk

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