melodiesofeternity | Anniversary Event: Defying Fate

Is the treasure chest there to test them? Perhaps it is, perhaps not. Whether or not it is doesn't matter ultimately as ere long, they can hear noise originating from the throne room. Should they approach, they may get to see three people in the room. One is a blonde young man, looking quite serious and wearing a white suit as he stares by the window.

Another is tall woman, looking quite a lot like the ghostly woman Serge saw outside, standing by the throne.

... And between them is the spitting image of Serge.

This isn't the first time Serge has seen another him.
Even so, it's a shock, seeing himself standing there, bold as brass- though not quite. The scar's missing. Not quite the Serge from El Nido, either, something subtly... different, about him, though he can't put his finger on him. "Another one," he mutters, under his breath.

As Sephiroth inevitably leaves the chest and approaches the commotion coming from the throne room, he approaches slowly, drinking in as many details as he can from looking around as he does so.

Similarly for the three people; it seems to be a royal pair of some sort? Does it seem they're noticed here or just spectators?

Though initially confused about Serges' apparent-self being there in the scene as well, his adventuring partners muttered comment clarified something in an instant; Serge perhaps is as aware as he himself is, in regards to the existence of alternate realities, the potential for any number of versions of a person. It had been a concept thrust at Sephiroth by his own interest, by Takeshi, pretty early on in this Vaikunthan saga.

"Hm-"

The blond arrogant-looking young man by the window, the ghostly woman, and the copy of Serge do not react to the two intruders. Rather, the blond man flicks his combed hair and turns to the woman with an impatient look.

"Well? Are you going to give us any news? Garland decide to keel over from a heart attack, every else die trying to stop the Calamity? God, I thought the end of the world wouldn't be this slow."

The woman frowns at him, but her body language betrays no hesitation or fear. Serge - the one in this vision - looks between them and stands up.

"Hey, hey, let's not get into another fight, alright? We might finally get some answers, and we really need to focus. Got it?" He aims that question specifically at the blond man.

The woman speaks up. "The party sent to kill Garland has not yet moved into position, but they will fight him soon. We don't have much time for this."

Serge watches, frowning. Who's Garland? He glances up at Sephiroth, searching perhaps for a hint that the older man knows something, maybe some recognition...

Garland

That name...rings somewhere in Sephiroth's memory as significant in some way, but for all of the mental concentration in keeping it together through various loops thus far, the connection is frustrated. Did he read that, somewhere? Perhaps. Those notes he's kept from Takeshi concerning Crystallis? Possibly. Not immediately coming to the forefront, however.

As a result, while Sephiroth doesn't make eye contact firstly, the deepening crease to the skin between his eyebrows is enough of a tell; the silver-haired warrior is trying to rack his brain at the same time as keeping his present-attention at what is presented before them.

After a few moments, Sephiroth blinks and catches Serges' glance only briefly, before proceeding to cast his awareness wider around them rather than specifically to those parties talking, trying to pin down something in the throne room that might give a clue as to the when, but more crucially which world they're bearing witness to.

"And? Are we contacting the Calamity or not?" The blond mans crosses his arms and glares at the woman. She ignores him in favor of speaking to Serge.

"Have you readied your Crystal?"

Serge nodes and pulls out a blue crystal that glows as he grips it. A strong magic within had it glow. "Ready. Hey, Rufus, you too."

The blond man grips his arms to hold back whatever retort he had, sighs, and walks to Serge.

The throne room appears to have been empty for a long time. Months, possibly years. Tapestries depicting some familiar Eidolons adorn the walls but some details differ from their manifestations on Vaikuntha. A long table with dusty ornaments sits on one wall opposite of the grand windows overlooking the crystallized landscape.

Serge frowns, looking at the blue crystal... is that the Dragon Tear? It definitely looks kind of similar. "Contacting the Calamity... but I thought the Calamity destroyed worlds, why would we be contacting it?"

Rufus.

Even if Sephiroth hadn't been so intensely looking everywhere else that name gives him pause immediately. Before sweeping his gaze back to that blonde man; quickly picking up on familiar traits to the man he recalled; the white suit unmistakable. Rufus ShinRa...but what he was doing... here? Wherever here is.

The crystal almost seems secondary as Sephiroth makes a concerted effort to roll back the tension creeping into a deepening frown as he tries to get his head around-

Serge helps immensely by drawing attention to the dialogue rather than those speaking it. The silver-haired warrior even seems to become more relaxed as he much more naturally recalls the answer to that particular question. It feels good to know that his recollection of facts isn't degrading through being stuck in a loop.

"I read about that...if memory serves. On Crystallis, as a result of a previous cycle the Calamity gained an interest in the offworlders brought in. So much so, that in the following cycle of existence it made avatars of itself to interact with them in different ways-

"-this could be one of those first contacts-"

"Ready?" Serge looked at the woman, who nodded in response, then Rufus, who held out his own blue crystal. The three brought their glowing trinkets together. Then, the woman spoke.

"Narayana, we, the Heroes of Light, request to speak with you. As you cross worlds, we also cross worlds, and after the past few months seeking you, now is the opportune moment to talk."

The three look at the ceiling, waiting for something to happen. While they were focused inward, the landscape outside grew darker.

This... this is it. This is what he came here for, he knows it. He hadn't ever thought of Narayana as something that could be communed with, but here these people were, trying to... what, negotiate?

As the three crystals were brought together it drew all of Sephiroth's attention towards the center of these proceedings too, and silence fell deep enough even to quieten his internal thoughts some.

He found that he too was staring at that point on the ceiling until the light that was pouring in from the landscape and through the open door did indeed seem to be getting darker. To begin with, it seemed it might be an optical illusion; dark spots brought on by too much light in the room but beyond a certain point the difference was obvious.

Something was undoubtedly happening.

The other Serge gripped the hands of his compatriots, clearly excited about whatever might happen. Rufus frowned at the ceiling, disbelieving in this endeavor but waiting for the result. The woman's expression remained calm.

A dark energy was felt through the room. it seemed to center on the three Heroes of Light. A gray circle formed underneath their feet.

The woman smiled.

"Hell's Judgement"

A severe blast, much more powerful that Sephiroth had used in his time as Calamity Knight, emerged between Serge and Rufus both barely had time to react as they were thrown to opposite ends of the room. The woman set out two large Fire spells at their bodies, ensuring that they would be dead.

"Well. He was not wrong that I would be more powerful." The dark haze went away, and the sky, while still unsettling, lost some of the dark hue. The woman gripped her crystal and watched the scene.

A voice spoke from outside a side door, behind the throne. A deep, older man's voice. "You have done well, Lady Yunalesca. Very few are able to keep their word."

Serge stands there, for several seconds. He hadn't been expecting this to end happily, but he'd thought- something Narayana would have done, some way the plan had gone wrong, but-

They'd been betrayed.

"You... that evil- that-" He grits his teeth, clenching both fists. "How could you?! We could've helped, we could've stopped it, somehow, how could you just stand there and-" He'd died. No dignity, no justice in it- he and Rufus had died like- like they weren't even worth a second thought.

Sephiroth held an arm out to the side towards Serge and lowered it in a downward gesture as if to try to calm the boy, his own face not exactly empty of all expression as it had been before; the area around his jaw and eyebrows had certainly taken on a harder set. They were only here to observe this event, for reasons unknown, he didn't want to miss something because of Serge being outraged.

"It's not yet over." He tried his very hardest to take the edge of a vocal tone which was undoubtedly on the sharper side.

He cast his glance over towards the side door, eager to see whom it was with the deep voice -indeed the question running soon after through Sephiroth's mind wondered if it were any tone he recognized.

Yunalesca adjusted her Job outfit. "There was no other choice. My former compatriots were chasing a dead end and refused to listen to reason. If you present an option to stop the Calamity from devouring Crystallis, then there stands no doubt that I will follow you."

She stepped towards the entrance, keeping a respectable distance. "Garland."

A man wearing a large suit of armor emerged from the passageway. He held a regal air about him, his face serious and focused. He wore no helmet, so Sephiroth and Serge could see that he was an aged man. His hair was grey, and he worse a short-haired beared that was trimmed with utmost care. What was most striking, however, is that he resembled an older Director Cid.

"Come, Lady Yunalesca. We have work to do."

At this, the memory started to fade away.

Anniversary Event: Defying Fate

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