I contemplate, with the memories, of the sojourn weeks ago of a place so dreadful, the very warmth of your heart would seem stolen away. It is a place that, should you enter, you could very well be begging death itself to dig your own grave. A place... by the name of Moroch. The words of a menacing ghost echoed upon us before we entered, a voice that seemed to represent the collective whole of all who were lost to this place, and the respective murky depths below... "The way is shut... it keeps the dead... and the dead keep it... the way is shut..." We made our way through the dreaded halls, filled with screams of sorrow and voices lost in here through the sands of time. "So you know the way?... is it here?" The voice said to us again, coming from no direction. A door on the right opened. "Is it here..." There was a creaking sound that opened up further ahead. Aika told me at this point how much this reminded her of the dream she had, entering a mine within the frozen wastelands. And so it seemed to have come true... as this was the place we were meant to go, should we have wished to find the answer. Yes. This is why we were here now.
And then.
I saw a Demon. It was a Demon of Shadow...
"Betrayal... Betrayal...is a hard thing to swallow... Know that, Akarxis."
A chill was sent through my bones, and as this visage that spoke directly to me vanished, the other familiar voice came back. "You cannot find those who are dead... The dead keep it... ... They are coming..." "Do you know what I know? We can't say.."
We befell upon a place where we saw no ordinary walking dead. There were Dwarves in our midst. Dwarves, who seemed to be the very warriors who sought to end the curse. Now, the skeletal remains walk these halls as part of it. It spoke again. "The mines... The mines were once our crowning glory... We dug too far... too deep.. we awoke something long buried..." "We cannot get out... the way is shut... the dead keep it... we cannot get out." And at this point, the nerves within me reacted, and I had to shout back in a flurry of anger. "What ARE you!?!?" Instantly, I regretted this, but for the calm I now felt within my unleashed anger. The voice grew even more ominous, as if hiding within every inch of stone and drop of water. "WE ARE DEATH!" It, or they, screamed unto my soul.
In the water... Dead faces, white eyes, looking sightlessly towards the surface... We did not look at them.
We went deeper, and deeper, through these carved halls. We stumbled upon a room that seemed eerily peaceful. A chest was covered completely in ice, and the fireplace had a glow of several colors. Blue, Red, and Purple flames leaped next to one another. Through thought, we both discovered the solutions to solving what turned out to be a puzzle. Putting on Aika's ring made a green ember. The fire was calmed and claimed by the amulet, and then we used the amulet that had the green flame to melt the ice. Inside was the third Artefact: a Dark Opal Gem. We used this darkness to quench the flames, and this allowed us access into a secret passage behind the fireplace. In a few moments, the two sides parted like doors, revealing darkness beyond. We discovered a twisting realm of shadow, full of memories. Faces seemed to press from the walls as the creatures were trapped behind the shadows themselves, only to blend again with the others. "Was this... my reincarnate's hiding place, before her fall?," Aika said. We saw her. Elissith. She sat before the desk, opening a book, looking at a page. Then, she eyed the courtyard. Moments passed, and she eyed the book again. Then.. footsteps were heard. We saw him. Akarxis. His eyes twinkled with merriment. "Miss me?" "Maybe just a little" He smiled and placed a hand at the small over her back as he looked into her eyes. "So shall we speak now of pleasant things?" "...You know that's impossible." He shrugged, lifting his hand from her. "Pity." "Yes...pity." She waved a hand towards the desk, the book flying into her hand as if by magic. In fact, it probably is magic. "Your eyes are keen, Akarxis...you know more than you say. What aren't you telling me?" "Only the unpleasant things." "I need to know. Do you realize that?" "Are you working for Siner'ra, Akarxis? Are you just another one of her pets?" Hearing this name sent a rush through my spine. Was she indeed the one I saw in that Keep only a day before coming here? He remained silent. "Tell me!" "...Hear me out. That's how it started..." "So it is true." "But that's not how it ended. Elissith...I -do- have feelings for you...stronger than you can imagine. You could come away with me...we could be happy." She smirked. "Come away with you to be another 'breeder,' Akarxis? How many Shade children has Siner'ra planted into the Earthen realm? Five? Ten?" "Elissith..." "-More?-" "Not all of them will show signs of the blood. There will only be few...we think seven...but we don't know. Elissith, you have to understand this is all to defeat Hell." She smirked once more "And conquer us in the process, is that it? I won't let you, Akarxis." And at that moment, explosions sounded from the outside and they turned with wide eyes as Shaedenaar began to go up in flames. "...No..." "You! I can't believe that..." "We have to run! It's not safe here!" The two of them ran as fire rained down from the sky and curled around them.
This was the point when we realized it was a repeating memory, in this pocket of existence. A shade appeared before us. It seemed to be the one we met earlier in our expedition of the Phoenix Isles.
"Sad... don't you agree? They ended up killing themselves, you know. Or I should say...each other. And now they're doomed to repeat the same scene... Over...and over...and over...and over..." "You lie," I told him. "I do not. Give it fifteen minutes to reset." Aika spoke. "..And you're this memory from before, then?" "I'm trapped with them...though freer than they. But yes, I'm a memory..." She responded. "If I had to guess... Elissith killed him, to make him a reincarnate... And she died, giving birth to his child." He smirked. "No." "No?" "No. They had no child. Your friend is descended from his brother's line...not Akarxis directly." "I see..." "They never made it out of Shaedenaar." "So Elissith left these items, before all of that, then." "Yes. It was meant to be a warning." "Perhaps foreseeing her own downfall?" "A warning, not to trust demons," I responded. "Not to trust you," the Shade said, eying me. I narrowed my eyes. "And why is that? ... That would be because I am a monster. Isn't that right, Shadeling?" "No. We are all monsters here. It is because you are a manipulator. History is doomed to repeat itself. Will you free them?" He waved a hand towards his right. "How can one do that?," Aika said. "Haven't you understood?" "Fifteen minutes," I responded. The shade waved his hand and the two disappeared again. He nodded "Fifteen minutes. ...They are you and you are them. Fifteen minutes." "..I'm supposed to absorb the memories of this place, or something?," she responded. "Accept them and change the ever spinning dial. Slow the smooth course of time and direct its flow. Free them." My love raised her brow and waited for them to reappear, still not exactly sure what to do yet. "Play your parts.." The scene was then played over, this time by us. It was a strange feeling, saying those same words to the love of my life. I knew as the moment was coming closer, I had to change it for the better. I could not accept such a destiny 'tween her and I. I said the line... "I do have feelings for you, stronger than you can imagine," and I felt love, guilt, sadness, and shame. "If your feelings are so strong for me," she said, "then will you not also understand my duty for this place?" "Yes. And just as I have done thus far, I will bear the title of Betrayer to the people of the Abyss." "Then... you will help me." "Elissith. You can take it to the bank, and hold my very own heart." And at that point in time, I embraced her as the flames began to swirl like before, this time, around us.
Two images appeared before us. It was them.
"Thank you..." "We've been trapped for so long..." They both began to fade. "Unite the items you found... learn from them..."
The Shade observed it. "Bit melodramatic. But free is free." "So.. do you take back what you said?" I told him. "No, I don't. I speak only the truth." He slowly rose from his seat. "What now, mister shade memory?," the Kunoichi beside me said. "Go back to the land of the living. You have found all three, but there is still more to learn. And... Know this. You have freed them so they now wander. Be wary. For although they hold potential for you to tap into great power... You did not alter their past. You only altered their curse. They are still dead. You are still alive. They are merely free, as I said." "So that means they can be unlocked then.. as it were." "...Yes. As I said...be wary." The Shade then vanished, and the pocket of darkness swirled around us. We appeared before the Great Tree.
I told her... "With every end comes a new beginning... and... My love will be there for you... every single time."
"As will mine, be with you."
_________________ "Even if the morrow is barren of promises Nothing shall forestall my return To become the dew that quenches the land To spare the sands, the seas, the skies I offer thee this silent sacrifice."
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