| [ Fitting, that this journey should end where it began.
Five hundred years ago, there was nothing here but destruction and death. Now, the tainted remains of what once was are destroyed, too, and that is for the best. It is pointless to mourn Khaenri'ah's ruins, after all, this desolate, crumbling place — Khaenri'ah was already no more. These broken pillars and steps are nothing but the last traces of a rotting corpse finally laid to rest, faded bones and dust.
What awaits a wanderer at journey's end, then, when home no longer exists in the world?
Well, it would be a lie to claim that Dainsleif has lost the capacity to harbor hopes and dreams and wishes altogether. Cursed to endure eternity, he may have retained a sense of purpose in unfinished business spanning the centuries, but with that done, only one thing steers him onward — though by rights, it should have been crushed like a fragile flower trampled beneath careless soles. That single remaining thing drives him to dash through the darkened phantom realm around him; his heart beats with the urgency of reaching his final destination.
And there—
He acts against Aether's wishes, he suspects. The Abyss Order's leader, defeated, has no desire to be rescued, not now, not even if his own sister were the first to find him (or especially not then, perhaps). The man he came to consider an enemy is surely no better a prospect. Yet Dainsleif does not keep his distance, kneeling at Aether's side upon discovering him slumped against a slab of debris — wounded, all too still. ]
Aether...
[ Very lightly, taking care not to jostle him, Dainsleif's gloved fingertips touch Aether's cheek, lingering where they should not. Dainsleif leans closer, listens for faint breaths drawn. He stirs again to confirm the extent of Aether's injuries before securing his arms around his former traveling companion, meaning to lift him from the floor.
If this is journey's end, whether or not one last reunion leads to any reconciliation, he would welcome rest after seeing Aether to safety. ] |
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