melodiesoflife | Event || Terra Incognita

"We'll be careful then. What about our moogles?" Zelda looked over at those guiding them curiously. Kopula wasn't with her on this trip but she knew that more than a few of the heroes had their moogles with them.

"Wouldn't it be obvious that they are from the other continent? I just mean... if we are trying to hide our identities." It might not matter considering there are others on this planet but it wasn't to hard of a leap to guess that those visiting were a little odd.

She just hoped that everyone would stay safe.

"Narayana. I recognize that name," Rukia folded her arms, her face growing serious. "The Reaper mentioned it after his defeat, and change of identity to Hades. He thanked our group for freeing him from 'Narayana's Curse' it was called."

It looked like she could do some serious investigation here. She just hoped that a week would be enough time to dig for the information she needed to better understand what had happened, and how it had happened in the first place.

"Yes, the Calamity, Narayana, is their deity." The Moogle nodded then widened his eyes. "They are Moogles? But yes, they would need to hide."

When the Moogle opened the door to the pyramid after going past some guard, it would reveal a large hall filled people praying, with statues and stained glasses decorating the place. Specifically, there were four statues. The one in the bottom left corner of the room depicted a woman looking somewhat similar to Nebilim, whereas the one in the bottom right corner looked similar to Ib. The one in the top left corner looked similar to Igor, and the last statue looked like the spitting image of Kalki. All four statues had an extended hand over which floated a fake Black Crystal.

The stained glasses meanwhile seemed to depict events that happened during ancient cycles. Among the various tales depicted on the stained glasses, the Heroes would be able to see something looking like Sephiroth with the Calamity at his side attacking other Heroes of Light while another depicted a similar Dycedarg attacking the Heroes. In other series of stained glasses, they could see people looking like Ganondorf, the Librarian and Blair standing over Crystallis and brandishing a sword against the planet, Heroes of Light being murdered one after the other by the likeness of Haytham and a group of Heroes finding a locked chest on a floating continent.

The escort turned to the Heroes without paying attention to any of this on their end, and pointed to a series of stair going to the pyramid's summit.

"The Sage awaits for you in the Hall of Prayers. We'll be waiting for you here, Kupo."

Twilight stayed silent as she had followed the group, trying to take everything in. She mentally noted everything being said and regretted not having a pen and pad with her. The stained glasses, though, caught her attention. It reminded her of the stained glasses adorning Celestia's castle of her and her friends' exploits...

However, that first window, the one with the Sephiroth look-alike caught her attention, especially seeing the person there with them. Did that... make sense? Was that him in the window?

Jade had said nothing this whole time. Like Sephiroth, he had chosen to observe while the others handled the pleasantries.

Once they entered the pyramid, however, the silence was broken by a sharp intake of breath as he caught sight of the statues -- specifically, the one of Professor Nebilim. It didn't take long before he recognized the others, too.

"The last cycle..."

Zelda's eyes lock on the familiar depiction where Ganondorf stood. She felt her throat dry and her palms become clammy when she realized what this was. The cracked crystal came to mind when she looked at the fake dark crystal and she wondered what the connection was between the two. The dark crystals she thought were bad while the crack one was dying.

It didn't make sense and yet every step forward gave her an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach.

"When was this place built?"

Zelda let the question linger in the air trying not to let on how uncomfortable she was feeling or how important that questions was to her. How could they have known about the last cycle if the world had been reset?

Kidd had been quiet as well. She was not in a particular position to introduce herself as any sort of representative. If anything, she'd rather as little be known about her and her actions and establishment in Crystallis as possible.. It paid to be a little gunshy at times, just to cover the backs of the others.

She followed them along, simply posing as their entourage and ready to make a move to their defense if it was needed. What she was not expecting was the window displaying a tragedy that she was far too familiar with and sometimes could fool herself into having been just a dream.

"Kenway...." The name was all she uttered, softly and just at the level of her breath. It was one that anyone who spoke with her at length might have heard.

"Narayana..."

Robin followed in quiet after that. She could tell by some of the soft murmurs and the stares that some of this was familiar. It made her eyes narrow; it made her wonder, exactly, what happened in the past. The previous cycle, as Jade indicated, was likely an explanation here. She swallowed; then she nodded. She glanced at her fellow Heroes.

Then, she began to ascend the stairs, to the Sage.

Given that Ellie had only been present in this world for a short time, none of the statues or stained glass figures looked familiar to her. She paid them no heed.

Save one.

Sephiroth had a distinctive look to him that could hardly be mistaken for another. When her eyes glossed over the window, they immediately returned, narrowing in quiet speculation. Yes, she remembered meeting this man. He seemed to be depicted as an antagonist to these Heroes.

That was very interesting indeed. It took all of her effort not to look around and see if he was joined with the party, as she was curious to see how he reacted. But if he was here, then maybe she'd chance a peek, just to see if he registered any emotions on his face.

"These window scenarios seem a little grim," she observed openly with a small frown. The only one that didn't seem to contain some sort of grisly portent was the treasure chest, and she half-expected that unlocking it would result in some sort of vile beast biting off everyone's heads in order to fit the trend.

Stopping at the stairs, she looked up, then nodded. "Thank you." And up she went, keeping her place in the relative middle of the group on the far right side.

As they were led into the Pyramid, the various statues and images presented seemed to hit Sephiroth's subconscious in swift succession. As soon as he spotted the first large statue with its black crystal, his gaze was caught by the next detail, and then the next. Upon making eye contact with the stained glass depicting the scenario from his doppelganger, Sephiroth flexed his leather-clad hands as if it might help him temper it.

"Because you have...nothing." He closed his eyes momentarily-

There were two people specifically shot a glance; Jade when he sharply inhaled and then immediately to Zelda whom he held his gaze on for a mite longer before seeming to quietly swallow something within himself and somewhat calmly shake off what -had he not the knowledge he had now- could certainly have had a completely different reaction from him. Inside, he felt something contort, a familiar sense of dread rising but it was a personal beast that he's more used to contending with now.

He met Ellie's eye contact, instantly the epitome of calm if still retaining his usual stern bearing, as if the stained glass figure was the furthest from his likeness. Discreetly he might have chewed on the bottom corner of his lip as she made her comment though; not appreciated, yet certainly this newer Hero of Light didn't know any better. Sephiroth blinked, naturally enough even if his slitted pupils were contracted a little in the gloomier room, and then looked towards the staircase and where their escort bid them climb.

"Lets go." He spoke to no one in particular, yet everyone at the same time as he rose both arms to tighten the tail of his long silver hair and began to climb along with the others. Taking care to keep his pace a little slower than most, maintaining his position somewhere at the back as more of an observer.

Sephiroth would notice in short order that yet another pair of eyes was fixed upon him. Ashelia moved herself closer to him within the group. She could understand Sephiroth's reaction - subtle, but as someone who had known him more than a year, somewhat apparent - but it still gave her pause. If these people held up his doppelganger's actions as an example of greatness, as some holy endeavor in aiding the Calamity's ascendance...was Sephiroth the kind of man to be swayed by such things? She thought not, but she thought not about a lot of things.

So, the Queen hung back with him, preferring to let Zelda do the talking - between the two of them, Zelda was a much friendlier face for first impressions anyway.

Unfortunately, Minato wasn't able to talk to Elizabeth in further detail about Crystallis... this was the second time he regretted he hadn't spoken to her more, before she had joined other Heroes who were in stasis. Not only as an information source, of course, but if she really had a relationship to him other than being his attendant. She was from a future he did not yet know; it all feels like a wasted opportunity.

He recognized the distinctive nose--well, admittedly, his entire face was hard to forget--of her master's. Igor. Just looking at the statue, it takes Minato back to the distinctive all-surrounding blue, and the bright light of that wide, ever-moving elevator. Plus, his words for him to recognize the contract, and take responsibility and accept the consequences for his actions.

When he thought about it...

--He still didn't understand. This was going to keep nagging at him, for the rest of the Mysidia trip now. What was Igor doing, in this world?

". . ." Minato follows behind some of the other Heroes without comment.

Wanting to know what this Sage had to say, K'pandolu had followed- but this raised only more questions. She stared at the stained glass, trying to pull all the details she could out of it, one ear flicking briefly in Sephiroth's direction as her mind spun. The last cycle… How? How did they know any of this?

She moved closer to Sephiroth and the others, mouth set in a line. Whatever they were about to find would be better found if they were united.

When they reached the end of the stairs, a door awaited them. Needless to them, some might be exhausted by then as the stairs went up for what amounts to over thirty floors. And upon opening the door, they would find a very simple room. Unlike the entrance hall where there were statues and stained glasses, nothing of the sort in this room. Only shelves with some small figures, old books and tobacco.

There was a man standing before the shelves, probably the Sage. Without looking back, he addressed the Heroes of Light who had just entered the hall.

"Minato, please be a dear and close the door behind you."

He knew them.

Robin couldn't hide the surprise on her face; for that matter, she didn't want to. She suspected the sage would know they were surprised, at this point. The woman tilted her head to the side, before she nodded.

"It's an honor, Sage," she said. "But... you seem to already know our names."

It was a strange sense of apprehension, stuck somewhere between the desire to know more and a natural inclination to turn away, which drove Sephiroth up all thirty floors worth of those steps. He didn't raise his head, not once, to look at those who might be looking at or keeping themselves a little closer to him - out of silent support? Out of concern? It didn't matter. There might well be answers at the top of these stairs and he had no comment to make about the story of his doppelganger.

Each pace, every footfall strongly preceded the next even if, like many, he'd find himself a little out of breath by the time they got to the top. Warrior and Paladin Jobs aside, they're all only human.

Silently he entered the hall at the top, which seemed to be made up as some type of old study, just as the Sage spoke up to the individual behind him. Bright eyes immediately shot up and forwards to take in all they could of the person who had spoken to them. Again, it seemed most prudent to observe only, for the time being.

Zelda walked towards the front, her posture perfect and her chin raised. When they reached the top of the steps her breath was a little heavy and it took her a moment to steady it. A hand rested over her chest felling the effort to climb all those stairs.

When they walked into the room Zelda inclines her head slightly. "It's an honor to met you Saga" She didn't even bother to introduce herself after hearing him speak the name of another hero. There was probably much that he already knew.

"Could you please tell us of what you see?"

There had to be a reason for them to arrive here now and there had to be something that he had seen.

"I do. I have observed you ever since you first arrived in this world."

He then turned to them and sat down on a cushion. With a wave of the hand, he invited them to do the same, before turning to look at Zelda.

"First things first, I don't see the future. I only see what certain other people do. To be specific, I can see through the eyes of those who share a strong connection with Narayana-- Such as you."

"That is quite the specific skill."

Although the statues down below had shaken him a bit, Jade had recovered quickly and by now appeared quite calm. He studied the man with interest. Not as old as he had expected for someone called the Sage -- though you could never be sure based on looks alone.

"I assume you have some connection to the Calamity as well, then?"

"Indeed."

The Sage said nothing for a moment, looking at the Heroes one after the other.

"I am what you would call an Avatar of the Calamity." A pause. "You have met five before. Shakyamuni, Kurma, Mograma, Varaha and Kalki. That would make me the sixth."

"An Avatar of the Calamity...?" Robin's eyes widened. She hesitated; at least some of the others had been their enemies, and yet, the Sage wasn't being hostile. Did that make him different? She raised an eyebrow.

"What makes one into an Avatar?" she asked. "And... Kalki, forgive my saying, had opposed us. You don't?"

Ashelia stepped forward. "Honored Sage, if I may - the nature of the Calamity would seem to be less black and white than we previously thought." The Queen looked around at the gathered Heroes, her jaw set in its way. "And Kalki...her motivations are not necessarily to oppose us. She works to complete the will of the Heroes of Light - she was once one of our number, in the previous cycle. Her methods are questionable at best and abominable at worst, and she is of the Calamity, but only in so much as all of us are."

She sighed, shaking her head slightly. "Those statues - those Heroes worked with her in the previous cycle to preserve our hope, that we may continue the fight, perhaps even end it." She looked at the Sage. "Is that not so?"

Zelda nodded as Ashelia spoke. "I was told that the avatars would watch, hinder or help us. While some didn't even know that they were avatar's." Another hero had told her after their shared dreams and that space with the crystal.

"How is it that memories of the cycle before had seemed to be lost and yet it's depicted here?" They hadn't seen any hints or books that indicated it before they came here.

"An avatar is a being that simultaneously serves as a terminal for Narayana to observe the Heroes of Light and as an embodiment of her will." The Sage replied to Robin, before marking a pause. "Or rather an aspect of her will. Narayana is a being on a scale beyond our understanding. Kalki acted as your enemy, yes. But even I cannot say if she is your enemy. An avatar may embody the despair Narayana feels. Another may embody her resentment toward the Ancients or her hatred toward the Heroes of Light, while another may embody the compassion she feels for your cause. Or one may embody her desire to see all existence end. Should it reassure you, I feel confident when I say I embody none of these things."

He paused once again and then turned his attention to Ashelia. "Those Heroes are the very reason Avatars such as myself exist. The cycle repeated countless time and everytime, the same happened. From Narayana's point of view, it would be like watching the same play over and over again, only the actors change but never the ending. But these Heroes did something different. What they did intrigued Narayana, they caused the Calamity to feel curiosity toward the Heroes of Light."

And finally he turned to Zelda to answer her question. "Memories do not belong to a single person. Those who experienced these memories returned to the source of all life in this world and became one with it, before being reborn as Doppelgangers. Their memories ceased being attached to their own individual experiences and became apart of the collective unconscious of this world."

"I see... it makes sense," Robin mused. She frowned, her hand rubbing at her chin, while she thought it out. The Calamity as a person was something she just came to understand -- and yet, she could see its importance. They weren't opposing an event. They were opposing something that had a personality to it; an existence behind it. "She would like to see the cycle broken, too, then? Who... is Narayana, if you can explain?"

Edited 2015-12-06 22:12 (UTC)

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