meridio | (Awash & Hugtopia) IC contact

[ Her glass nearly slips from her hand, despite having already been told that the prophecy and grand machinations of the gods' hands upon his bloodline are to come to an end. That's what he's been speaking about in almost all of their conversations: the story coming to a conclusion. ] Your Majesty...

[ She knows he has regrets, mostly around his brother. He's been waiting for a long time for a release from his purgatory.

She realizes something then and there: finally, he is speaking of what he wishes-- for himself. An end. As tragic as the topic is, she understands that it is something he's wished for. ]

...That is what you truly desire, isn't it.

[ Just like that, his glass is empty. Still, he hangs onto it as he stares off into the distance as much as the walls will allow him. ]

Once the darkness is expunged from the world, my brother will be freed from his curse . . . and we the rulers of yore shall know death as the mortals before us. From the moment I received the Draconian's prophecy, this has been my only desire.

I've remained in the mortal realm long enough. It's time that we moved on.

[ Hers has still one or two more sips to go, and one is taken when he speaks of his fate.

When he returns, he'll be gone. He'll be at rest. If there is an afterlife in his world, he might be with all of his loved ones. Or he might be reborn, she really doesn't know. Either way, his current memory and burdens-- will be no more. Rest, he will finally rest.

No wonder he seems to tired and weary. ]

...I'm glad to have gotten to meet you.

And, I hope... that if I may return to my world, I will not forget your story... and your love for your brother.

I do not need to be remembered.

[ That was never his concern. Glory is no longer his vice.

Somnus sets the glass down. Pyra would still continue to hope for another, and one who doesn't even belong to her world. ]

There is no place in the future for this story. It should remain in the past.

[ She watches him. He’s as impassive as ever, dismissing his story like—

Ah.

A soft breath escapes her; a giggle, perhaps, if she were not so weary. ]

You... don’t even realize it, do you, Your Majesty?

[ Her tone is lighter despite the heaviness of the topic. She lifts her glass. ]

But there you go again.

[ She delays in elaborating, wanting to see if he catches on with any change in his stoic expression. Whether or not he does, she continues: ]

You’re speaking as if you don’t matter.

[ No. He doesn't realize it until she's points it out, because that's not how he sees it. He turns away, facing the counter. ]

I've been remembered long enough.

[ In exchange for erasing his brother from history, he enjoyed millennia of embellished remembrance. His time has passed. He desires no more of it. ]

As have you.

A story like yours is... worth remembering. [ She brings a hand to her chest, fingers curling over the crystal set upon it.

This entire world is full of stories, and she wonders how many of them are based off of a person who actually lived. Somnus’s tale might already be regarded as a legend with two thousand years having passed in his world... ] So are your hopes for your family.

[ “As have you”.... As have you, as in— she’s also been remembered long enough, or that she’s spoken as if she doesn’t matter? Regardless, she bows her head: ] I am sorry... but I hope that you will forgive me for wanting to remember you.

[ He’s taught her something, he’s offered his condolences to her position and fate. He’s watched the stars with her. So, until she’s truly gone... she wants to remember him. ] Not because you are a king or because the gods have chosen you.

I wish to remember you... because of your humanity. [ The humanity that made him envious, the humanity that made him too proud, ...the humanity that made him love his family. ]

[ "Don’t be facetious. The only monster here is you!"

Ardyn's hateful words echo in Somnus' mind. To protect the people, he sacrificed his humanity and plunged a sword into his beloved brother's body more than once. Pyra, out of her all-consuming love for it, will be the only one to remember him for his humanity.

Long has he stood watch over the mortals of his world. Now, stood before the benevolence of a godly entity, he feels like one of them again.

But there's no such thing as a free blessing, and the existence of one mere mortal is insignificant to an immortal. Even now, Somnus desires to be fair. ]

No boon comes cheap. As the people's savior, my brother took the disease unto himself and became its living embodiment. [ He peers down at his left hand where he once wore the Ring. ] The Crystal burns those who would wield the power of kings.

[ His hand lowers down to his side. ]

What do you ask of me in return?

..What... do I---

[ Ask? Of him?

Boon.... because she wishes to remember him?

She blinks at him as if he's just proposed that they are the closest of friends. ]

[ ....And excuse her as she giggles. She can't help it, even if she knows she shouldn't find this amusing. So many here seem to be surprised at being offered some common decency and kindness... or that her motives must be selfish, that she must be wanting something in return. ]

....King Somnus.

[ She smiles at him, eyes kind, betraying a little bit of mirth. She finds something amusing about him. ]

I ask for nothing in return.

[ Again, she laughs, finding amusement where he doesn't. Somnus cranes his neck and watches the warmth in Pyra's eyes when she says that she desires nothing, and he finds himself doubting her claim. There's always something.

Unseemly though it may be to bargain with divinity, he attempts it. ]

I would give you something, then.

[ He leaves it to her to name that something. ]

[ He seems so insistent... but again she shakes her head, hair swaying with the movement. Honestly, she feels a little perplexed herself; why does he feel the need to give her something? ]

You’ve given me some of your time and company already, haven’t you?

[ That hardly qualifies. She, too, has given him her time and company. But his attempt at bargaining has fallen flat, and he settles for folding his arms before conceding in silence. This is the sort of poor company he's given her. ]

[ That hadn't been her intention, to dampen the mood (from an already sorrowful topic). She sets her finished cup down, stepping forward and looking up at him with light in her eyes. She only smiles at him.

The arms crossed, that expression... It's like it's been truly a long while since he's been denied anything. It's almost as if he's-- ]

...Your Majesty. Pouting is unbecoming.

[ She reminds him of the first Oracle then—touched by divinity, yet so ordinary in spite of her extraordinary background. Truly, she reminds him of a mortal more than anything else when she gets like this. Somnus unfolds his arms.

It's time that he left. ]

I thank you for the drink.

[ She nods. ]

And I... thank you for your time.

(Awash & Hugtopia) IC contact

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