 t seems like just another day in this place. It's chilly, but not miserable, and there's a bit of holiday cheer in the form of a few of those trees people have managed to decorate.
Of course...there's also the shades, but who cares about those?
They wander, drifting too and fro, following their usual, typical lives as if they have no idea that they're not longer alive, no longer in their own proper home. They walk over the frozen lake in Flavo as if it's not even there, open doors that no longer exist, and settle into rooms that are nothing but rubble.
They're living in a past that only they can see, but perhaps you can see a bit more from watching them?
Only... maybe don't spend too much time with them, lest you start seeming too much like a ghost yourself.
Welcome to Awash's fifteenth event log, everyone! Further information on this event can be found here at the OOC post. You are welcome to make your own logs and posts for this event!
If there are any questions, please ask them here. Thank you! |
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I am hardly undesirable, you know. [ That's...kind of a lie, actually, for she knows that there's a reason no magus summoned her of their own volition, and there's a reason for the end of her mortal life. ] Unless you mean to say that you are simply surprised that I have deemed someone worthy of my affection.
[ She is willing to give Pyra the benefit of the doubt, because she's earned it. ...By being cute. ]
1/2
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And then: ] ...Strong. [ There, that's it. Confidence and passion are indeed strengths, and Saber excels at both. ] At least to me.
[ Ah, but before it becomes too sentimental, she quickly adds, smiling at her: ] They're lucky to have won your affection, I think.
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But just because Nero is strong, whether by necessity or by virtue of her being, does not mean Pyra cannot be, or is not strong right now. Nero has seen with her own eyes how someone weak became strong, won the Holy Grail War in the Moon Cell, overcame all that stood in their way, and most importantly, kept the viewpoint of the weak, wanting an end to the very system that allowed someone like Hakuno Kishinami to seemingly flourish so. She sighs, a nostalgic smile on her face, remembering her first encounter with her Master, asking the iconic question. ]
That is a bit of an oxymoron, no? To chalk something up to luck while earning it with one's own efforts? It was because we both refused the will of the heavens that we met in the first place.
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Well. That's an interesting thing to say. More than interesting. It gets Pyra to pause and look at Saber yet again, only this time there's an added layer of wonder to it. And, perhaps, fear.
She is hesitant, her voice hushed as if just questioning it would be to speak blasphemously. ] ...What do you mean by that? [ Refusing the will of the heavens...
Pyra-- no, she could never. Would never. To do that to the Architect, to Father... ]
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[ Nero keeps her arms crossed over her chest, her Santa outfit not the only thing keeping her warm as she recalls her first meeting with her first proper Master. ]
She was not strong. She had no outstanding abilities, or her memories. She wasn't even a proper magus. It should not come as a surprise that she lost in the preliminary round, which, according to the rules, meant she would die.
[ Nero that it was the way of the world for the weak to remain weak, and to perish, their cries unheard. It was because she knew this that she couldn't stand for it. What kind of heaven would ignore such powerful will? ]
But...even in her death throes, against everything telling her she was not fit to survive, she wanted to fight and live. And so I answered to that kindling that refused to fade, the brilliance of her soul that twinkled like a star in the night. It was not out of pity or sympathy, no. It was because I was angry.
[ Despite the subject matter, the smile on her face remains. ]
Because if the will of the heavens would not answer that purehearted wish, and would sentence it to flicker out instead, then it matters not! For how could I ignore the cry of such a noble soul?
[ Thus, a contract between Master and Servant was formed, in the former's most dire hour, and the latter taking it upon herself to do what the will of the heavens did not. ]
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She wonders if luck still has to do with it, for not all magi must be as fortunate o have had Saber answer their dying wish to live.
And Pyra still cannot truly comprehend it. To be able to have that sort of autonomy to choose to answer an unfortunate soul's final desire. She's rather in awe, really, but also troubled. ] The powers-that-be are... mysterious in their intent, aren't they?. [ She says, tone careful. Pyra looks forward as she walks, nonetheless humbled by Saber's strength. ]
....You are generous, to have helped them. What happened after?
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We became Master and Servant, and fought alongside each other. ...I shall leave the rest up to your imagination.
[ Saucy details of their romance, etc. Truth be told, she can't really place a finger on precisely when she started to think of Hakuno that way herself, only that it just...happened. ]
Do you have anyone like that, Pyra? Someone you share your pain with? Someone you would throw any aggressor into the fiery crucible of the sun for?
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She thinks of him, of course, and how could she not? The one who awakened her to begin with, who taught her of life, humanity, compassion, and the reasons they fought... and the one who, perhaps, lost the most because of her, maybe feared her the most, and the one who... ]
There was one... [ Pyra begins, almost absent minded as they walk. ] There was one that we admired. We never met a more incredible person.
[ It speaks to the progress Pyra has made in this world, telling another this much of her past. But something about Saber’s confidence is inspiring, trustworthy. ]
Although [ She adds playfully, as if trying to shift the subject back to her. ], there are many incredible people here as well— yourself included, Saber. [ She jokes, laughing lightly.
The smile never reaches her eyes. ]
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The sudden use of "we" catches her attention even more, as she thinks to herself that perhaps there's another soul in that body. Not unlike...well, some Servants she knows. Mash, for one. Zhuge Liang, for another. She tilts her head as she gazes at Pyra's face, some of her framing strands falling over her cheek. ]
Yes, yes! [ It is natural. The emperor is brilliant and incredible. ] It is like I have never left Chaldea. [ Well, except the creature comforts... ] I am positively enchanted by how incredible and varied the people here are! And you are included, of course. Why do you not consider yourself so?
[ She might be presumptuous in assuming so, but that's Nero for you. Comes to an absolute conclusion that she barrels into, almost with brute force. ]
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Instead of answering the question, she asks instead, chuckling while shaking her head: ] Saber, where do you get all of that--... sureness?
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Sureness. Certainty. Confidence. There wasn't a precise event or moment where she gained her initial (delusions) perceptions of the world. It simply...happened. The people had to love her, because she was the emperor, and she loved them. ]
Do you need to be told by others that a rose in full bloom is beautiful? To see that a heart that appreciates wonderful songs is beautiful? To tell you that the tender love shared between close friends or family is beautiful? I would hope not!
[ Umu! ]
I am an emperor. I am a proud Servant to my Master. Though I take those two duties quite seriously, I am also an artist, who has devoted her life to beauty itself. I think it is because of that, that I am able to easily recognize it in many things, even in the most unlikely times and places. And if I lacked confidence, it would be rather difficult to convey just how beautiful they truly are. [ To the Master in the Moon Cell, who did not recognize her own blossoming talents and wish. ] If I do not carry myself in a manner I also deem beautiful, then it would be like turning my back on all I have devoted my life to.
[ Where her confidence comes from, in the end, may stem from her...devotion/love and passion for the beauty in life itself. For how can a self-proclaimed protector and appreciator of beauty not recognize the beauty in one's self? No, there must be something worth protecting, there. She must be confident because appreciating the beauty in other things requires it. She must be absolute because her people needed her to be absolute. She is resolute in her belief that certain things are beautiful, because they just are.]
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Pyra stands in awe of the emperor once more, but is only left feeling lacking because of it; she pales in comparison to her brilliance, she is wretched in the glaring face of their difference. And they truly are different, not just for these reasons, but graver ones as well. ]
...Saber.
[ There's a smile. A simple, singular smile, but oh is it so very appreciative and amazed and humbled and lovely and joyous-- ] Yes, Saber, the world is beautiful. [--and she's approaching Nero, coming to her, and taking her hands as she did before, squeezing them tenderly, tightly, desperately, and she is in pain, torn, broken, hurting, burning behind that smile because she can't, she can't, she can't adore the world in the way Nero does, because it is a favor to it for Pyra to not exist so that it might live and grow and thrive, and this, this is what she knows to be true, this is what she had learned when she was stolen from paradise... ]
The world is ever more beautiful... especially because you are in it.
[ The smile grows. ] ...You've inspired my wish.
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But Pyra is not Hakuno Kishinami. And she does not know any of that. How could she? She's not a mind reader. She's not some half-incubus sorcerer who wanders into dreams, peering into them for nutrition (like a certain court mage).
Nero herself has a few secret shames she's hiding from others, after all. Her true name, for one. Her true historical reputation as a hedonistic despot. Nero simply tilts her head again, this time in thought, and squeezes Pyra's hands back. ]
What is it, then? We are nearing the bell, I think.
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But here Pyra seems so very happy to be before Saber. Excited, even. For she knows that there is a very true possibility that her wish may be answered, just as it did earlier with it granting her ramen shop. ]
...Just a wish that this world will be safe, of course.
[ And she releases her hands, stepping away. She walks backwards along the path that others have traversed before, beckoning towards the emperor. Playfully, she gives her a sweeping bow as they enter the clearing housing the tree. ] But you should go first, Emperor Saber.
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Then again, calling upon dead people for something is like, the entire basis of the Fate/ franchise.Nero steps into the clearing, the glint of the bell catching her eye almost immediately. Even if it weren't for the strange sudden knowledge that she must speak her wish out loud, she'd do it anyway, because that's how she is. However, she pauses, eyes slightly narrowed in slight suspicion.
It's not Pyra she distrusts, of course. But, well, some things about the Holy Grail and Holy Grail War from what she remembers of the Moon Cell are kind of...distasteful. ]
Hm...you are certain that nothing bad will come of this, yes?
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If you mean that it is a trap—.... I thought that at first last time, too. [ She smiles, though, shrugging. ] ...Are you worried this is one of those instances to “be careful of what you wish for”?
Not all of us have an emperor’s power to grant a dying person’s wish. [ She continues, smiling lightly. Pyra turns just a few meters from the bell to look at Saber. Of course the emperor is wary; what is ringing a bell and asking for comfort and safety to someone who is that strong and sure, able to create roads, walls, borders, laws with but her word?
It begins to snow around them. ] Those of us weaker than you cannot help but find some outlet for little hope we have... It becomes worth taking a risk for that hope, for we have not the power to fulfill it ourselves.
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Yes. That I know very well to be true. I would not begrudge you [ general "you", too ] of that desire to wish upon something larger than life.
[ It's only, like, the entire basis of a good portion of the franchise, after all. ]
Very well. [ Nero takes a few bold steps forward. ] I originally planned on wishing for a vineyard, for I miss the drink of my empire so.
[ She misses wine, okay...and yes, she is of drinking age, despite her youthful looks!! She's post-death!! ]
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You have something different in mind? [ Pyra gives her a curious look, but then quickly realizes that it’s a moot point to ask when the bell is right there. ]
Well, whatever it is that you will wish for, I promise to keep yours a secret. [ Wishes are personal matters, after all. ] As I hope you will do the same with mine.
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[ She's not particularly ashamed of making these sorts of wishes, though, so even if Pyra wanted to keep it a secret, Nero wouldn't mind if she didn't.
Were this solely about herself, Nero's own wish even in the Holy Grail War would be the same: to not die alone. But that does not need an omnipotent wish-granting device or mechanism to happen, and she is not in a Holy Grail War, so there is little point in offering it to the heavens as so. Instead, Nero nods, takes the rope of the bell and rings it with a firm tug. ]
...I wish for those here to be able to partake in the warm love of my people.
[ Of Rome. Not the scheming, conniving government she knew, or the bloody conspiracies intertwined with power struggles in her family, but the gentle, tender love of the masses. The smiling people who cheered and celebrated with family during Nerofests, the beautiful works of art that the Roman people created to express the beauty of their souls, the artists who created classical works like no other, the brilliant engineers who toiled night and day to improve the lives of their fellow citizens. The mercy of that lone soldier who found her in the wilderness and covered her body despite her despair and shame. That is the Rome she knew and loved, even if they had faults, and even if they did not love her back in the end.
It is both a selfless wish and a selfish wish at the same time. ]
But if that is too much for a mere bell to bear, I would not mind a vineyard either.
[ It's a small joke. She can get grape seeds and the like from elsewhere (probably), but though the people here are not her citizens, she does not mind using her wish for their happiness. Despite her selfishness, she is also strangely selfless, for what does a spirit who has already died even wish for? ]
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[ What a selfless wish, fitting of someone like Saber, Pyra thinks. She wishes for those here to be able to enjoy what her people have enjoyed. Pyra's first wish, in contrast, had a been a little more selfish for once: she had asked for a ramen shop! But after walking and speaking with Saber, she's been inspired to do something more to show how she too love the world-- to wish for the exact same thing she would wish for her own world, for her world to be safe.
Pyra approaches the bell hanging from the tree, footsteps melting the snow as she walks over it. ] I wish.... [ She draws a slow breath, and her exhale mists soon afterwards. She closes her eyes, envisioning what it is that she truly wishes for: within her mind she can see it. The people here, happy. The other-worlders here, content. Her friends, her acquaintances, those that she has happened to pass by in all three districts, safe. The world, existing.
She imagines exactly as it would be should she one day find herself at the top of the World Tree once again, there before Elysium, before paradise, before the Architect, the Architect that she calls Father, Father who calls her by a different name, her true name, Father who created her, who gave her a purpose, a power to both create and destory. Her greatest wish, her greatest desire in her world is the same as it is now: she loves the world, and there is only way to show how much she loves it, to--
...--to beg Father to let us die. ]
Please.
Our wish... [ She speaks in unison, certain as she will ever be. Our, I; they are synonymous to her. ] is for our existence to end.
[ This wish-granting bell may do nothing at all in the end, for all she knows. But if it has such strange reality warping power, the same kind that brought her to Chroma in the first place, perhaps-- just perhaps it could also grant her this wish as well. If not to erase her existence forever, then for a little while. ]
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You...What kind of wish is that?! Take it back this instant! Do you know what you are saying?!
[ She is a mix of emotions at that lone statement, uttered as if in a prayer. Confusion, hurt, anger, concern, but she lets righteous anger take the foremost. It is the easiest to process, for Nero. ]
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She lifts a hand, extending one finger up and presses it to her own lips: the universal signal for shhhh. ] ...You promised to keep mine a secret, remember?
[ ...Which is why Pyra brought up the topic earlier in the first place. Saber had struct her as an impressive person, an awesome being, and when she had mentioned she was an emperor? She knew her to be honorable as well. And honorable people keep their vows.
Pyra steps away from the bell, and towards her, eyes sweeping over her form and noting the tension and anger; she feels for her, she really does. But this is what is necessary-- and... for once, she appears happy, relieved. Not that she knows her wish may come true or not, but that she got to speak it aloud for once, instead of keeping it in. ] I will not take it back. This is the best wish I could make.
[ Her finger lowers from her lips, curling inward as she places her hand upon her crystal. ] You were the one who inspired me, Saber. [ She closes her eyes, smiling. ] You were the one who reminded me that a wish is best used selflessly, to bring others happiness... and to protect them.
[ Opening her eyes, she looks upon her with gratitude. ] Thank you.
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And so...Nero will keep her word. This does not mean she will give up on her, of course.
The relief on Pyra's face does not bring any to Nero's own heart, it only makes her madder, sadder, indignant. At who? At what? It's confusing, but she has to suss this out and untie the knots. The gratitude only makes things even more complicated; why is she thanking her? For inspiring her to give up her existence? ]
Why do you think surrendering your own existence is the best way of protecting everyone? Do you think it will make those who love you happy?
[ Not just her life, her existence, something similar to giving up even one's ability to be summoned through the Throne of Heroes. ]
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...Wouldn't it? [ She asks, openly, her smile quiet, humble. ] If I wished for those I love to be safe.. [ It strikes her curious that Saber seems to be treating it as if it might come true. Wishes aren't things that ]... it would bring the same result, I think.
[ She pauses for a moment, seemingly thinking of a way she could explain better so that Saber might understand, might sympathize, and-- perhaps, might even accept what Pyra is trying to say. She straightens, and lifting a hand, palm upward, as if extending an invitation to believe her words. ] If we were back in your world, Emperor, and you wished to protect your people, to truly ensure that they have a future...
It would be your duty to make that same wish. [ To wish Pyra's existence gone. ]
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