florescences | shadowheart catchall

You were striking then, but I do think you're cuter now.

[ the possibility of last week was real, and it does make elysia wonder how close shadowheart was to making that decision. the past can't be changed, and she is happier to see this shadowheart.

she will let shadowheart keep it at embarrassing. ]

Although if making that choice got you killed, we'll have to think of a way to get around that, right?

Cuter, but less striking? Hmm. A difficult bargain to accept.

[striking is better but, well, elysia is probably not wrong.]

...Yes. I should think so. It's not exactly an easy path I have waiting for me back there.

Aww, Shadowheart, cuter is much more versatile. I should know~

[ she crosses the distance between them and reaches for her hand, the hand that shadowheart was rubbing absently not so long ago. ]

You'll have to tell me how you'll avert the danger that awaits you.

[a small smile at that, but she will take her hand. the mark is still on the back of it, present as ever.]

It's unusual for a goddess to kill a mortal directly. [something happened in a way it wasn't supposed to, to have her wind up here.] I was trapped in her realm, in the Shadowfell, but once I'm free of it, that isn't the concern.

[though she looks at her hand.]

Pain, yes. But it won't kill me. No, she'll send followers after me. I'll only have to be stronger than they are, even without the blessings Shar gave me.

[and despite the fact that she rudely flew away, there's still aylin. and... there's still selûne. who at the least must owe her a debt by now, even if that's still hard to contemplate.]

[ that's confidence enough for elysia. even if it'd better if there were no pain and that followers wouldn't go after her, she doesn't think shadowheart would have an inflated view of her abilities. she remembers there were friends who went with shadowheart, friends she was willing to be vulnerable in front of. ]

All right. I'm appeased enough by that. Shar isn't your biggest concern, but what is....?

[ she tries to remember what else was mentioned in the memory. ]

Parasites?

The parasite is not great.

[though maybe it's more accurate to say that shar is her biggest concern, but she doesn't want her to be.]

I'd like to try... having the things that were denied to me. Knowing who I am, having a future, having things that are mine. That cannot happen until the parasite problem is resolved, but if I'm being honest, that's more worrisome to me.

[ she squeezes her hand gently. ]

You deserve all of those. I don't know what kind of threat the parasite is, but surely, you and your friends are on your way to solving it, right? If your trial was in the middle of it...

[ she does not know enough to dim her optimism yet. ]

I would not be surprised if the solved it without my aid entirely. Although Gale's plan for it was a tad drastic.

[maybe he already blew himself up and ended the whole issue.

also give me elysia memory?]

Gale?

[ before memshare swept us away, elysia would have answered shadowheart in our last thread. she would have said she was battling something that was corrupting her world, the elysian realm. it did not go as planned.

the images in the mirrors change.

the honkai is a threat to elysia's world, to human civilization more specifically. it manifests in monsters, in beasts, in radiation, in illnesses, in natural disasters. it can take over certain humans and create vessels of them and wield unimaginable powers based on a concept they are named for, an authority. that is a herrscher.

it is finally time for elysia to face the herrscher of corruption, and she talks to her first, to understand. it does not mean she will let her live. an enemy remains an enemy to elysia.

this is story with(out) any significance. (2:05:24 to 2:12:14 when it says delete completed )

yay ]

[being so yuri for elysia you become evil... relatable...]

That's how it ended for you?

[even though there are still five minutes left in this video. it seems unfair.]

What will she do?

[ those five minutes could be world ending?

she nods. that was how she ended up here. ]

She has the ability to corrupt and propagate. She can infect and corrupt machines and humans both, so she'd probably fire nuclear warheads at every major city. Nuclear warheads are one of the most destructive weapons of the world I live in.

[thanks for clarifying because she was going to ask.]

So you needed to stop her from spreading, even if it cost you your life.

[ she remembers shadowheart is not modern. she is trying to be good about it. ]

Yeah. I want the current civilization to have a future. That's always been my goal.

When you said you expected your story to come to an end, is that what you meant? You would give your life for this, but you would want the chance to stop her from succeeding?

You understand me.

[ she's pleased, but she'll add more softly: ]

Every story has an ending, but it's never easy for me to say goodbye. I wouldn't have existed for so long, if it was.

Is that all there is, to understanding you?

[that she genuinely means the many wonderful things she says, that she would give her life for those things? shadowheart smiles at that, slightly amused.]

If understanding you means believing in you, then I do. To my surprise, but I do. [it isn't natural for her not to question people, doubt their intentions, but it's hard to doubt elysia.]

[ there's a flicker of surprise that disappears when a smile blooms on her face. of most of the people here, she did think it'd be more difficult with shadowheart. ]

Thank you, Shadowheart. I do enjoy surprising people that way.

[ it's said lightly but no less sincere than she's ever been. ]

It's not all of it, but it is a huge part of it. You asked me once what I was afraid of. I doubted the truth of my existence once.

[ in front of the mirrors, it's more difficult to deflect when she thinks it can reflect what she wants to take time to address, what she'd like to lead people to slowly, but she'd prefer to be the one to say it. at least, in this moment, she prefers it. ]

You doubted the truth of your existence?

[she's not sure whether she means she doubted herself, or if she means it on a deeper level.]

What did you do, to change?

[ it's both. ]

I accepted that things about my past and my present only made more sense if what I didn't know before was the truth. I didn't like it at first, but if that was now my truth.... what could I do with that new truth?

What could I change? I could change the future.

You say you didn't like it at first, but I imagine it's more difficult than that.

[it sounds impossible, though. to accept putting aside everything that came before and trying to build a path forward out of nothing? she makes it sound so simple, though surely that's many years of hindsight.

of all the things she thought elysia would believe in, nothing is quite as terrifying to her as the prospect of believing in the future. not even necessarily a future she'll see for herself.]

It was.

[ it came after thinking and thinking and thinking and hoping for anything else. she didn't have many options left.

not if she wanted to continue being herself. ]

But if I loved the people who raised me, the people who guided me, the people who befriended me... the people who fought with me and by my side.... If I loved the world I lived in, I wanted it to have a future, with or without me.

... I would have liked it more if it could have been with me.

There's no way that it can be? You've given up on that entirely?

[that is what the situation sounded like, but...]

Well... if there's a possibility for something else, I'll take it. I love defying expectations. Being a surprise is fun.

I won't pay any price for it, but if it's something I don't mind doing, I'll go along with it.

[ she makes it sound so casual. ]

You make it sound very casual.

[just saying.]

It's funny. I don't even believe in the future as much as you do, and the one thing I know I won't do is give up on my life. I want the future even if I can't imagine something good for it.

[ elysia has yet to let go of shadowheart's hand, so she brings her other hand to envelop it and holds their hands up like a prayer. she's not religious, but she has wishes. ]

That's the kind of thing I like hearing best. I don't need you to think like I do, but I want you to want a future. I want everyone to have a future.

Even if you can't imagine anything good for it now, it doesn't mean something good can't come.

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