terminus

[cancrymods]

the final layer

Down, down into the darkness you go. It's not the first time you've made such a blind descent... though some instinct beyond any kind of conscious thought tells you that it will be the last. There's no movement down here. No motion. The air is so still that as you descent, it feels like stepping into a wall of ice as you leave behind the heat of the Wrath Layer and continue into the bitter cold of... Oh. This is the end, isn't it? The machine that sits at the bottom of Purgatory is incomprehensible. The sheer scale of its size make it impossible to imagine that it could ever have been built by anyone – and yet, the sheer complexity of its design simultaneously has you reeling from the idea that it could have come into being without some intent. Wherever you look, frozen gears interlock in a labyrinthine network that soars high into the space above your heads and down into the inky depths below. All at once you remember what you had been told so long ago. Not even a god could withstand this. It's still here. So still that it feels obscene to move or to make any noise. The air is at once thin and heavy - like stealing a breath from the hanging jaw of a skull. You've reached the Cogs of Renewal. Investigate . . . ?

Comments

[daughterofthemark]

[Veil's instinct is to say it's okay, the others will figure it out... but if that thought doesn't make her feel any better, why would it be any more helpful to Rei?]

We're two of a kind, it seems.

[She smiles, a little.]

Perhaps that's part of the reason I don't want to leave you.

[cancrymods]

[ The smile Rei manages in return is a tiny one but no less sincere for it. ]

Mm. I'm really glad that you didn't. ... I'm really glad that you've been here all along. I acted like I knew what I was doing right at the start but... the truth is, I was just scared and alone, and scared to be alone. I only made it this far because all of you said you'd help me.

[daughterofthemark]

I think, perhaps, that is what it means to be a person. Scared and alone, we find strength in others.

[...

...

......

This makes her previous hesitation seem like a brief pause to catch her breath, and not without reason. Veil made her (non-)decision already, right? And she certainly has no desire to prematurely revive the argument from before.

And yet.]

Dame Rei. If we have the choice, I think I'd prefer to stay with you.

[cancrymods]

[ Rei blinks. Stares at Veil for a moment like she's growing a second head. And then her words stumble out of her. ]

You don't– have to. N–not that I wouldn't want you to stay... or that I wouldn't be sad to see you go, but... if there's someplace else you need to be or someone else you want to become... you shouldn't force yourself to hold back because of me.

[ ... even saying that, though... ]

... but I'd be really happy if you stayed.

[daughterofthemark]

Dame Rei...

[Veil draws her into a hug.]

I would never have to force myself to be with you. You are my precious friend, and I love you.

...I would be remiss in not mentioning that I do feel some obligation as well, but it is in large part because of our friendship. I'm truly fortunate, to have my wishes align so closely with my responsibilities.

[cancrymods]

[ It's those words that finally cause a smile to crack Rei's pensive expression and she tosses her arms around Veil in a hug as well – tight. ]

Mm! [ For a second, her throat's too swimmy with tears for her to respond. ] Mm. I'm really glad.

[ Somehow, that hug manages to get even tighter. ]

I love you too, Veil.