sparkstrikes | empatheias IC contact. (archive)

[Of. All. The. People.]

What the hell!?

[If it wasn't for her needing to scold him for contacting her via telepathy, she would have torn her crystal and its chain from her neck. Fortunately (???) for Caius, he gets an answer in the form of that as well as a spark of electricity through their link.]

Can't you knock on the front door like a normal person?

[She hates this telepathy stuff.]

[ He makes a soft sound of irritation to the little spark sent his way. Perhaps surprising her this way wasn't really the best idea, but this way he knew she couldn't ignore it. ]

I didn't realize you would get so fired up. I was beginning to think your spark has gone out.

[Ha ha, very funny Caius. Anyone contacting her via the amulet is sure to "light her spark" again, so to speak, Caius most of all.]

... What do you want?

[ He thought it was pretty clever. ]

I need to talk to you about something, though I am uncertain if it would be easier for you in person or not.

[She rubs at her temple, groaning.]

Anything is better than this.

[But what the hell is it that he wants to talk about that it would warrant contacting her so suddenly this way? She'd like to know that, at the very least.]

... Where do you wanna meet?

I assumed you wouldn't want me near your home, so pick a place and I'll meet you there.

[He assumes right.]

Meet me outside the Hearth, then.

[She has no idea how long it'll take him to get there from wherever he currently is, but it won't take Lightning long at all. So if she arrives before he does, she'll be waiting for him, leaning up against the wall of the restaurant, arms crossed, and her sword strapped to her shoulders...]

[ Caius makes a sound, but thats the last thing he does before ending their connection and heading off to the meetup spot. It takes him about fifteen minutes to get there after Lightning, and much like her, he had his own weapon strapped to his back. He didn't really go anywhere without it. ]

So you did show.

Tch. The last thing I need is you bothering me over the stupid crystals until I did show up.

[She pushes herself away from the wall and in Caius' direction. The restaurant is still open, and she's not going to do whatever this is with its clientele still around. No, this was just a convenient location to meet. There are some nice benches across the street and thankfully, it's late enough that the city is mostly empty.

Once they're there, she won't sit. Not yet, anyway.]

Out with it.

[ With his arms folded across his chest, he follows behind Lightning with a quiet hm. Of course she wouldn't want to be seen with Caius near her. And this probably wasn't something either of them wanted to talk about where others might hear anyway, so he doesn't mind following her. He doesn't sit either, just standing there until she finally had enough. ]

You've seen the outcome of what happens afterward. I thought after everything that happened, that would be the end of it, but it seems your story lasts longer than that... so what happens?

[So here are two grumpy losers with swords standing at a park bench. This probably doesn't look strange at all.

The question that he does ask comes as a surprise to her, but she hides it well enough behind a scowl.]

What happened after what? After you got exactly what you wanted and destroyed everything?

[ That causes Caius to give her a raised eyebrow. She's not wrong, but the way she said it just reminded him of her sister so much. They really were similar without even trying that's for sure.]

Ah, so you did bring out the spark of life. I thought this place dulled it, but it seems you reserve it for me.

Don't flatter yourself.

[Please, she's always had her spark!!!! It's never dulled! ... Right? Unless he's saying these things because he takes pride in ruffling her feathers, because they are certainly ruffled right now. Lightning bristles, however her sigh is defeated — she's not going to have made this trip all the way here to meet him for nothing.]

How much do you already know? Last I heard, it was right up 'til Noel ended it.

[ He frowns thoughtfully as he looks off into the night. His hand raises to touch his chest over where his heart "was". How was he even still going on. With Etros' heart stabbed, it didn't make sense for him to be here, unless this place took him at his last breath... He will never understand this world. ]

Yeul didn't say much, but she mentioned at selenium that... I was able to free her. Other than that, I don't know anything. My last memories are.. as you said.

[So he knows the ending, but none of the middle details leading up to it... She's not sure if knowing all of it will make it more or less confusing.]

I'm not even that far in the timeline. I don't know how you free her.

[Or what the circumstances of that moment are.]

Last I saw you, you'd made Etro's temple your new home.

[ That gets a bitter laugh out of him, his hand still over his "heart". ]

So even I couldn't free myself from Etro's hold.

No. The Chaos had its claws in you.

[In ways that it did no one else.

Lightning removes her sword and sets it down on the bench, her shoulders suddenly feeling heavier. It feels strange to be talking to Caius about this, of all people, but she knew that the day would come when she would have to. She just didn't think it would be so soon.]

The Chaos infected the human world. Time stopped, and the cycle of life and death were broken. Bhunivelze wanted to create a New World where all of humanity would be reborn, and I had thirteen days to save as many souls as I could.

[She fixes him with a firm stare.]

I tried to save you, too.

[ none of this really surprises him. He knew something bad would happen to the rest of the world. He knew the chaos would do something horrible, but he didn't care. It's that last thing she said that surprised him.

His eyes widen briefly, a look of actual surprise on his face. ]

Why? It sounds as if I was getting what was deserved. So why would you try?

I was doing it for Yeul.

[Her answer comes quick, before Caius can get the wrong idea. More than that, it's just what the Saviour was supposed to do – save as many souls as possible. There were no other reasons past that (or so she'll keep telling herself.)]

I knew she'd want you to be free... and she did, but... it was complicated. Over the years, Yeul's soul became fragmented. All of those times she'd died and been reborn – they were all there.

That... I do not find hard to imagine.

[ He frowned thoughtfully as his gaze turns to the ground. Slowly he moves to sit down on the bench with his sword pressed flat against his back. ]

You said that the chaos had it's claws in me... I can only assume it was for her... If she was stuck in that chaotic realm then there is no doubt in my mind I would ignore everything else to be with her...

That wasn't what she wanted.

[For Caius to be stuck in the Chaos with her. Well... that isn't entirely true. Lightning folds her arms and shifts so that she's facing away from Caius as he sits.]

Or what one Yeul wanted. Others wanted you to stay, to take care of her. She was a living paradox. Even if you wanted to die, her wish to be with you brought you back.

[Which is partly why Lightning still isn't sure she trusts Yeul to know what she wants without guidance. She may have been freed from the Chaos by Caius, but she's still young and naive, and some kids just don't really know what's best for them.]

To "live" forever in the chaos for all eternity... it would make sense that she would feel lonely without some guidance.

[ Caius seems oddly quiet throughout this. Thinking on everything. ]

Wanting me free, but not wishing to be alone... that is very like her.

[She isn't even sure how much more detail she should delve into with Caius. From what she knows and has experienced herself, there isn't a whole lot else that relates directly to him. She's heard the stories of what comes after from Hope, except for the fate that awaits the man next to her. Does he, too, free himself from the Chaos? Or does he stay behind? Just another piece of the puzzle that Lightning is missing.]

Yeah...

[It's all she says at first, and she casts him a quick glance over her shoulder.]

Did Yeul tell you her role in the Chaos?

[She's here, and telling him all of these things, might as well give him as full a picture as she can.]

She did not, and I didn't ask... The words she gave me were merely an attempt on her part to comfort me. I... at that time I honestly couldn't begin to think about what else was going on.

[ With his legs now crossed, he leans forward and wrings his hands a little as he stares out to nothing in particular. He didn't want to look at Lightning and deal with her cold looks. ]

She has already been through enough, I felt it was inappropriate to worry her with questions.

[Just as Caius leans forward, Lightning takes a seat at the edge of the bench, making sure to leave some room between them. Contrary to him, she folds her arms and leans back, but doesn't look his way either.

So is this why he came to Lightning instead? To find out the things he didn't want to ask Yeul? At least she can take it, even if this conversation was completely unexpected, and is awkward at best for the two of them... Something like this wouldn't be easy for Yeul to talk about, she figures as well. She didn't take it well when Lightning told her.]

Each time Yeul died, her soul was splintered. The Chaos that infected our world was... it was her love for you. Each reincarnation only made it grow...

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