[Thread] - Worlds

[past_chosen]

Characters: AU Zelos Wilder, OU Raine Sage
Where: Park
When: Shortly after Raine's arrival
Summary: Raine Sage has arrived in Econtra! And the only familiar person... doesn't have the slightest clue who she is. Helpful, that.
Warnings: None.

Comments

[refill_sage]

After Zelos's acquiescence to meet her in the park, Raine had wasted no time in heading straight there. Their exchange of comments over the messenger continued to run around her mind in frenzied circles, for she could not construe even an inkling of an understanding from it. She did have several conjectures about his apparent amensia, but none she could yet ascertain. So, by meeting him, she hoped to find the answers

[past_chosen]

Zelos was looking around, in the hopes of seeing Raine. When his eyes fell upon her, however, he showed no sign of recognition, and waited patiently for her to approach him - for all he knew, this was merely someone passing by. When she identified him, however, he offered her a smile.

"Ah, so you're Raine," he greeted, with a casual wave. "Pleasure to meet you!"

Though he did appear the same for the most part, down to the same clothing, if Raine were to look closely, she could see that he was just a little bit older than the Zelos she knew.

[refill_sage]

Even his voice sounded the same. As did his body language. Yet, there was but one aspect she couldn't help but notice.

He seemed a tenuous bit older.

Was that a trick of the light? Or a factor contributing to the reason he could not remember her? She had been observing him closely, and she had not seen him express even a trace of acknowledgement. Either he was a good actor - which he kind of was actually - or he truly forgot her. Unless, perhaps, he didn't even know her. Considering the slight difference, it was a concept that was starting to become a possibility.

"Likewise," she replied, disregarding the fact that she knew him quite some time already...or so she thought. "I am assuming you still cannot recall ever meeting me?"

[past_chosen]

He shrugged. "You'd be right!" he answered, "although I don't see how it's possible I ever met you anyway. I mean, I am from Tethe'alla, after all."

Zelos' vague awareness of alternate realities did little to make the situation any less surreal. This woman, claiming that he should know her when he did not even recognise a single aspect of her, stood before him, seemed to be cautiously testing him.

"Besides, I'm sure I'd remember a pretty face like that!" He gave a slight laugh, before giving in to curiousity. "I don't suppose you could tell me just how you know me, could you?"

[refill_sage]

Was Cruxis at fault for all this? After all, she had been caught within Mithos's trap before arriving. For all she knew, this could all be an illusion. Or, perhaps, it was some sort of ploy to influence them to fight each other. The possibilites were endless - only, the aspect of an alternate universe hadn't entered her mind at all, for the Warden had never mentioned anything in regards to the matter.

"We were comrades," Raine answered, a bit distantly. "You were helping me - or, rather with me - to help stop Mithos's plan."

Stopping there, she waited to see his reaction, wanting to see just how much he knew of Yggdrasill.

[past_chosen]

In all honesty, Zelos found it difficult to imagine he would consider anyone a 'comrade.' As far as he was concerned, he had always looked out only for himself, and nobody would ever look out for him. "I find that hard to imagine," he answered.

As for Mithos... to Zelos, he was still the hero, who had died long ago. Oh yes, he knew that the leader of Cruxis was Yggdrassil, but that was not the name Raine had used.

"Although I wouldn't mind being the companion of a Super Cool Ultra Beauty! But enlighten me a little, hm? How could we have met? That's what's got me a little stuck. See, I've never been to Sylvarant, and I don't know if anyone from Sylvarant could have come to Tethe'alla. It just doesn't make sense."

He thought about it for a moment, considering how he might, by the differences between reality, might have entered Sylvarant.

"I mean, I know Sheena was able to cross to Sylvarant, but she never came back, so..."

[refill_sage]

Sheena. At the mention of the kunoichi's name, something inside Raine's brain clicked. Zelos was behaving exactly as he had before he met her or any of the others. That would mean the Warden must had selected the Chosen during the time he had yet to encounter them. However, there was still one aspect throwing her off and voiding her previous conjecture - he was slightly older.

If anything, Zelos should've appeared younger, if not the exact same. However, it was the exact opposite. This wasn't making any sense...unless he had been in Econtra for that long? That was a possiblity

[past_chosen]

Now that didn't make any sense at all. Zelos knew for a fact that Sylvarant's Chosen had died, giving up her heart and soul at the end of her Journey of Regeneration. Furthermore, why would he help the Chosen with her transformation, when his world would be sacrificed in doing so?

However, she was correct about the King's illness. The King had died about a month after the Tower of Salvation's disappearance, after a long illness, making way for the Pope to take over the throne. Zelos always had found some of the circumstances suspicious, although he had put this down to his own personal disliking of the Pope.

After a moment, however, he decided that he probably should contribute some information of his own. "The Chosen of Tethe'alla is a two year old girl," he answered, "but you're right! I was the Chosen before her."

[refill_sage]

A two year old girl? Now that did not make any sense to her. How was any of this possible?

"Your sister is a half-elf named Seles, right?" Raine proceeded to inquire, steadily. "She's confined to the Abbey, isn't she? And by being the Chosen...you felt that it's made your entire life a joke? Because no one ever takes you seriously?" She could still recall what Zelos had said, when he had handed Colette over to Cruxis. He had to stil feel the same.

At least, if this entire thing wasn't some strange illusion or facade. It was so difficult to tell - and how was she to tell? There had to be some method to drawing a conclusion from that mystery.

[past_chosen]

Zelos suddenly felt very uncomfortable, and though he tried hard to hide the surprise that she knew he hated being the Chosen - something he kept locked away, hidden beneath a mask - the fact she had hit the nail on the head regarding his feelings on being the Chosen could not go unmissed.

"Right..." he said, trying to pretend that it didn't really bother him at all. "And Lif... the Chosen, my daughter... she's locked away too. To keep her safe from the Desians."

[refill_sage]

A daughter now. This was starting to grow more and more confusing. In fact, it was almost starting to sound like an alternate universe, one of which was playing out what would have happened if they had never confronted Mithos and stopped Remiel from taking Colette away. Yet, the more she thought about it, the more it made sense. The Warden had said there were other universes - was it possible to have a parallel one? However, the prospect of this being a Cruxis act still nagged at the back of her head. Before moving on to any other theories, she'd have to conclude the most prominent one.

"What do you last remember doing...before arriving here?" Raine asked, cautiously.

[past_chosen]

"I found where Lif was being kept," Zelos answered, completely honestly. "I was going to celebrate her birthday with her, but before I even made it inside..."

He didn't see the point of mentioning that he didn't want to be the father who was never there, or that - with the knowledge that Lifthrasir would be sent on a Journey of Regeneration where she would be killed without a doubt - he intended on taking her away from the eyes of the Church.

[refill_sage]

Raine fell silent for a few moments, running all this information through her mind. Her head was completely buzzing with everything. Everything just felt unreal.

"In my world," she said, quietly, "we were working together...to abolish the Chosen system. If things proceeded as planned, it would have succeeded, I believe." She lowered her eyes, feeling her hands clench tightly. "But...it probably doesn't even matter if I'm here. The others will handle everything." It was true. So long as Lloyd helped the worlds lived on - as she had told him before - then it was enough.

"It was strange, though...I had seen you, before being taken here. You were in Cruxis's trap, alongside me."

[past_chosen]

For the system of the Chosen to be abolished... that would be something Zelos could see himself working towards. If not for his own sake - his life was damaged enough by the title - then for Lifthrasir's. He nodded, to show his understanding. He doubted that was the full story, sensing somehow that there was a lot more to it than that, but there was no need to pressure her into divulging everything.

"Tethe'alla went into decline three years ago," he said. "The Tower of Salvation disappeared. Monsters began to attack, Desians made their appearance, the half-elves rebelled..."

He gave a slight, bitter laugh.

"And in order to continue my bloodline, I and many of my relatives were pushed by the Church into marriage, to continue our bloodlines."

[refill_sage]

This was definitely starting to sound like another universe. One where Colette had truly gone through her journey of regeneration.

"And this was all carried out by the orders of Cruxis?" Raine inquired, although she was already certain of the answer, considering how the church listened to Cruxis. "By its leader...Mithos Yggrdrasill."

[past_chosen]

"Well, I don't know if Yggdrassil was directly involved in it," Zelos said, "given that it's all pretty routine for Cruxis and all, but pretty much! Yep! Mind you..." He tilted his head, frowning slightly as he considered what Raine had said. "Beats me as to how you'd know Yggdrassil's full name. I wouldn't have had a clue, never have bothered finding out!"