Welcome to Gaia! ::

Just after the horrific realization of Nyx, the Essence of all Darkness, and her maddening powers over the element of shadow, Arannis finds a moment to take himself and Eri away to where what they knew as their story began, 2300 years ago, in a small room at an inn in the town of Aezea. What little chance they have to rest is either well-spent or wasted, as the realization dawns on the both of them, that the future is indeed, bleak.

Arannis lay Eri on the bed that she had taken all those years ago, closing his eyes in concentration, pouring all his healing into her as rapidly as he could stand while still not tapping into his own dwindling life force.

"Don't die... not now, Eri..."

Although severely shocked by Eri's sudden swell of movement, Arannis managed to keep himself somewhat steady.

"So you are alive yet... Fate, as it seems... is far less kind than I had imagined. As if Ryn wasn't enough..."

He looked around, inspecting the wards he had put in place originally.

"Welcome back to the Evening Moon, by the way..."

"On the contrary..."

Arannis' look of sheer despair spoke volumes of his realized suspicions.

"I would show you, but I couldn't bear to let you witness the pain..."

"They are dwarfed in comparison, Eri..."

Arannis put out his wings - or rather, the remnants thereof - and sighed, inspecting the thorough damage. It would take months, at the very least, to mend.

"In fact, no... That would be a twin set of Orochi, one of which released from my bladehold... No, I suspect that even the pains that I have suffered so recently are nothing in comparison. Even at the very peak of potential, I was powerless......"

He lifted a hand, and an off-white orb hovered above it.

"There will come a time when we will face our fears, though... If you believe it should be known, take this into yourself... although I did warn you."

"I... have a slight confession regarding that..."

Arannis turned an honest gaze to her.

"Do you remember the name 'Sinnara', by chance? She and I met long ago, shortly after I left here in such a hurry. As it turns out, she knows far more about the powers at work, here... While indeed, we stand nothing against this essence of darkness... In our downfall, there may yet be hope."

"Not at all..."

Arannis held up a hand, as a white, silver, and gold orb appeared above it. Slowly, the orbs began to meld into each other, a portion of each blending into the adjacent pair.

"What we have here is the hypothetical unification of any of the higher planes."

He focused for a moment, and one sliver between the gold and silver shone brighter for a while.

"Here would be that realm of possibility for if we ever do find peace, although I have an idea regarding that... which will be discussed later. The end result of the Celestial-Divena union may turn out to be a power enough to match this eternal shadow... although none can be sure at this point."

"Eri, I'm so sorry to have brought you into all of this... I never intended for it to happen like this."

Arannis stood, facing the wall, resting his head on his arm, crying softly.