a thing; w/ ruinsprofessor & conductingresistance

[simulsimul]

universe list
canon
breached
confessed
dadly
future
grigori
mercenary
MEover
origin
reversal
titans


scenario list
canon: Kratos needs to stop running off
confessed: wing reflex
confessed: actual wingpull
confessed: turning Renegade
confessed: son meets father
dadliness: confrontation
dadliness: awakening
dadliness: illness
dadliness: a fundamental lack of understanding on the word 'abducted'
dadliness: updating parameters
dadliness: assassination assignation
mercenary: hiding in the library
mercenary: aftermath of librarian saviour
reversal: oracle destroyed
titans: storming the tower
titans: safety in the canyon
titans: night horrors


canon
- combo of Kratos and Zelos ending
- Zelos does the stupid thing, but not so far as his death, and is still the eighth member of the party to Derris-Kharlan.

scenarios
scenario one: Yuan tracks Kratos down at Dirk's.


breached
- canon right up until after Botta’s death
- no one uses Yuan’s name around Mithos so Mithos walks right into the Triet base with them
- cue an epic OH SHIT in which Yuan gets a lil bit beat up while covering the evacuation of the rest of the base
- until Kratos appears to intervene and have the Chosen group get Yuan out of there
- Mithos gets Kratos tho and he’s a bit mad cos, yanno, traitor and all
- time to be locked up and punished and need to be rescued
- kind of puts a crimp in the creation of the Eternal Ring plans
- mostly cos Mithos turns Kratos lifeless, with some armour to regulate his mana so he remains a seraph. can't have the seal becoming less powerful, yo
- it does mean he can only obey orders tho
- the first rescue fails miserably but at least no one dies and they know they need to reforge his key-crest
- the second rescue attempt (circumstances of canon-point under percolation) goes a little better, though Yuan almost gets killed by Kratos trying to attach the key-crest
- luckily that and the first telepathy in a while gets through and Kratos manages to break out a la Colette, and heal Yuan enough for Raine to get there
- after which, angreh father-son beatdown on Mithos.

scenarios
None yet.


confessed
- almost successful assassination lands Kratos as an injured stranger in Iselia (1-2 years pre-canon)
- recuperation leads to accidental-on-purpose 'holiday' in Iselia
- doubts result in a request for Dirk to make a key-crest like Kratos' own
- oracle room undergoes some stealth sabotage
- regeneration journey is slightly delayed, prompted by Genis and Lloyd being discovered at the ranch
- Triet is awkward. so very awkward. for the Renegades -- whose side is Kratos even on these days and why was he vanished for two years?
- initial overall journey similar to canon, save that Kratos is a bit less circumspect about advising Colette on how to cope with angel transformations
- there are more overt Dun Wanna Feelings
- then Luin, wherein things happen and the group is in town during the Desian attack. the others naturally want to fight but tis a mite difficult against an army and building-destroying magitech. luckily, angel on their side. unluckily, wingpulls in order to muster the power to cover the townspeoples' retreat
- questions and confessions ensue
- Colette rejects the key crest (for the moment) so there's still hopefully maybe ambiguity about Kratos's position re the last seal
- it wouldn't fit anyway, it's modelled for the hand like Kratos's is because he was a derp and did not specify otherwise, so Lloyd needs to make a thing to make it fit
- slow protective retreat toward Asgard.

scenarios
scenario one: Kratos confesses before Salvation; Raine wants to follow up.
scenario two: Raine's examination of an angel; and also Kratos realises how far he's put his foot in it.
scenario three: Kratos goes to taunt Yuan a little, and also ask for his help.
scenario four: in which Raine makes Kratos tell the children all the things, and Yuan takes too much amusement from it.


dadliness
- Kratos retires in Iselia under the name Irving to raise Lloyd after the death of his wife
- no exsphere. ageing occurs! so does a beard and a braid
- teaches Lloyd swordplay, but on the sly, to avoid the other villagers noticing. his daytime job is weaving
- Lloyd finds the box of their exspheres and wants details. after some prodding by Dirk, Kratos explains how exspheres are made and that one is Anna's life. Lloyd is too young yet, but when Lloyd comes of age (~15) Kratos lets him make his own decision re wearing it
- Lloyd chooses not to wear the exsphere
- Genis befriends Marble and Lloyd meets her, as in canon; this happens before the journey begins, with the fallout
- difference being that Colette is still in the village so they can't be too horrible, so they just demand Lloyd be turned over for a flogging
- Kratos stands in his stead because natch. luckily, they're only mooks and don't recognise the bearded weaver as anyone important
- gives Lloyd his guilt complex early tho
- the oracle happens much the same way except Botta doesn't quite recognise the weirdly familiar bearded swordsman
- he does when he's reporting to Yuan tho
      'there was an exceptionally skilled human'
      /brief physical description/
      /did x other faintly recognizable thing/
      and both he and Yuan are aware that Kratos has been awol for a while, so there's a moment of pure silence and dawning 'no, it couldn't be'
- but then obviously one of them has to go make sure
- cue an interruption just out of Triet.

scenarios
scenario one: Yuan feels the need to investigate; this results in Kratos injured and abducted.
scenario two: Yuan realises he can't kill Kratos with his own two hands; Kratos gets mothered.
scenario three: Kratos gets sick on the heels of his recovery. Yuan mothers him some more. Botta disapproves.
scenario four: Kratos recovers and makes an escape attempt. Sort-of.
scenario five: Kratos recovers more and talks to Botta, when not needling Yuan about his lack of preparedness.
scenario six: Sheena's contract takes a slight shift into undercover instead of assassination work.


future
- Aselia is Earth ~10,000 years in the past
- all is peachy-keen except the tree is now underground and the elvens/half-elves/some humans are in hiding in the centre of the planet, hidden thanks to the summon spirits
- Colette is working with humanitarian aid in various impoverished nations
- Zelos is a diplomat in West Asia / Middle East trying to keep the peace
- Yuan is a crotchety lecturer at Cambridge who's also HUGE into environmentalism
- Lloyd and Kratos are having family time in space
- occasionally the trio on Earth meet reincarnations of people they used to know
- but rarely at the same time and almost never in a position where they meet
- but then they start meeting them
- lots of them
- all in the same span of years
- they're starting to think something's hinky
- until the space-elves attack
- and then they know something is hinky.


scenarios
None yet.


grigori
- at some point significantly before canon, Kratos actually calls it quits
- the Church's institution calls him a fallen angel of vengeance
- really he's just going around trying to help people and avoiding being taken back to Cruxis
- assigns himself to the Chosen parties whenever he can, up to Colette
- ????? idk some kind of profit somewhere

scenarios
None yet.


mercenary
- when Yuan visits Kratos at the beach when Lloyd is 3 months old, he does not manage to escape before Anna and Lloyd return
- accidental attachment to this kidlet who likes pulling his hair
- three years later, Yuan can't stand to hold back while Kratos fights Kvar, so he throws caution to the wind to help
- Anna is still killed but they rescue Lloyd and Noishe and both are branded as traitors
- Lloyd is raised as a Renegade with Dad, Uncle Yuan and the extremely reticent Uncle Botta (how dare)
- meanwhile in Tethe'alla Yuan infiltrates the castle as the library archivist
- stays out of sight, mostly, but has a good ear around the politics thanks to recruiting Princess Hilda
- also happens to stumble on Zelos hiding in the library right after his mother's death
- look he's got a 'nephew' he can't just do nothing (even if all he meant was to recommend a book)
- unwittingly accidentally 'adopts' the Tethe'allan Chosen by virtue of being the only one who doesn't treat him like the Chosen
- sometimes Kratos brings Lloyd to visit and basically they're all separate pairs of exasperated bros
- by canon Lloyd and Kratos are wandering mercenaries, helping people on the sly while gathering intel to send back to the Renegades
- Yuan and Zelos are actively building resistance to the Church using inside knowledge
- the ninja are all Renegades
- Colette is escorted by Raine and by the priests
- yes the 'chain up the Chosen and drag her to every seal if necessary' priests
- she meets Lloyd randomly in Triet but Lloyd doesn't know her as the Chosen. they're a bit out of touch on the Journey of Regen timeline
- stuff happens and they keep missing each other up until Palmacosta, which is a warzone between the Desians (and Dorr as their figurehead) and the Renegades (with Neil as their leader)
- Colette wants to help; priests say no
- out come the chains
- Raine objects, but she has no exsphere so what can she do
- btw Genis got caught in the Iselian ranch and tossed in as a traitor to be made a host
- he gets sent to the Palmacosta ranch
- right after Neil manages to take the city, after Colette and Raine leave it, Botta takes the Palmacosta ranch and rescues Genis, among others
- Genis becomes his little shadow and is much preferable to Lloyd, in Botta's opinion
- Lloyd and Kratos are still trying to catch up to Colette to rescue her when they drop by
- Genis hears what they're trying to do and insists on coming along.


scenarios
scenario one: in which Yuan accidentally adopts a Chosen instead of a book from a library.
scenario two: in which Yuan is accidentally-deliberately adopted by the Meltokio Castle Knights.


MEover
- Mass Effect crossover someplace in the realm of 15,000 years after TOS canon
- except started before then, cos elves are really from Feros, planet of the cranky telepathic plant
- got decimated by the protheans trying to assimilate them into their empire
- elves objected, got killed a lot, fled Feros and got stuck in Aselia's orbit
- kinda forgot a few things but planted a seed from the Ferosian mother plant on Aselia
- Origin hasn't forgotten tho, kinda has a grudge against grumblegrumbleprotheansgrumble
- the entirety of TOS happened, and then some
- Kratos, Yuan, Lloyd, Colette and Zelos are the only ones left, but tis okay, they have each other
- somethingsomething natural space disaster, Aselia is destroyed but they manage to move Yggdrasill onto Derris-Kharlan and do a quarian by becoming a roaming ship
- mana is a variant of eezo lbr
- Derris-Kharlan's too big to use the mass relays, but c'mon it generates its own mass effect field so they develop tech to do hops on their own
- they're in no hurry tho, i mean lbr primarily angelic, elf and half-elf population
- so they're just bumming around their local clusters doing thorough investigations on all the things
- so much eezo on their ship
- so much
- suddenly the Normandy running from a reapers comes along to hide behind them
- reapers start shooting
- everyone on Derris-Kharlan objects
- JUDGEMENT IN SPACE
- so much profit and judging of reapers.


scenarios
None yet.


origin
- Kratos tells Lloyd the dad thing in Triet
- dad and son feelings ensue
- they culminate at the Tower of Salvation in Kratos stabbing Yggdrasill in the back
- unfortunately he does not quite die but impales Kratos against a wall and goes berserk on the Chosen party to the point of Yuan stepping in to help
- that is, by threatening to stab Kratos in the back while he's vulnerable (with Kratos's permission)
- Yggdrasill calls his bluff and fails, and Yuan does the thing
- while Yggdrasill is distracted the Chosen's group nail him but good and he retreats
- luckily while heart-stabbing happened, Kratos's cruxis crystal is still intact, and between Raine's healing and Yuan's mana transfusion he survives long enough to be taken to the Triet base and a refresher
- stuff happens in some fashion or other up until opening Origin's seal
- as it turns out, the mana tranfusion has fused the lock, so to speak, and Kratos can't unlock the seal even voluntarily
- only way to get Origin out at this point is to let him fuse with Kratos, so Kratos becomes Origin
- stipulation of this: Kratos refuses to let go of his humanity
- luckily Yuan already has a literal bond with him thanks to the mana transfusion, so with him as his summoner Kratos can keep his humanity, and only use Origin's powers when Yuan summons them
- commitment like woah for a literal eternity
- but hey, they messed up but good and it's the only way they can reunite the worlds.

scenarios
none yet.


reversal
~ 2000 years in, Kratos and Yuan conspire to kill Mithos and succeed, sorta
- he's stuck inside his exsphere, possessing people
- but he manages to survive and while Kratos and Yuan claim Derris-Kharlan for their base, he takes most of the angels as 'fallen', as well as the Eternal Sword
- most of his bases are hidden behind dimensional slips created by the sword - Iselia included
- Origin refuses to trust either Kratos or Yuan with the job, anyhow, and they don't have a summoner
- instead they're forced to fight Cruxis, embroiling the worlds in an angelic war between Cruxis and the new organisation of Chayim
- the Chosen bloodlines are more important to Cruxis than Chayim, but Mithos seals the seals so only the Chosen bloodline can flip the mana switch. Kratos and Yuan need someone to do that until they can reunite them, so the Journey remains an institution, just without compulsory death at the end
- there is angelification tho, if only so Chayim gets more soldiers and so the Chosen can defend themselves against Cruxis
- Kratos sends Anna and Lloyd to Iselia, because even though enemy territory, it's the safest place there is for them
- Anna get word to Kratos that the Desians are using Iselia as a long-term cruxis crystal cultivation location, and that the sword is held there
- her spy succeeds but is intercepted, and Mithos locks down the dimensional slip to prevent exit and access by angels for ~15 years
- Lloyd grows up in a town with a heavy half-elf population and believing he's training to help the good guys
- he has his own cruxis crystal as a host, but doesn't tell his mother due to the faith-based propaganda encouraging hosts not to bring it up or risk the powers not taking
- he wants to help though, so he steals a key-crest to ensure he can fight
- Yuan and Kratos plan to assault the town and shrine but Mithos uses the sword to interrupt travel between worlds, keeping Yuan in Tethe'alla and forcing Kratos to attack Iselia alone.

scenarios
scenario one: Iselia is attacked by Chayim to claim the sword, with the sword already gone


titans
- Yggdrasill captures Kratos before Kvar finds Anna and Lloyd, but after Kratos makes an Eternal Ring
- Yuan figures hell no and raises the Renegades to try and take Derris-Kharlan, rescue Kratos and solve the split-world problem
- the attack fails. a lot.
- Renegades are wiped out, Kratos is still in Cruxis's hands, but Yuan manages to escape with the Eternal Ring
- Cruxis follows him to Triet base, which gets destroyed and the few remaining Renegades scatter
- Botta is still around tho, helping out how he can
- mostly Yuan just goes searching for Lloyd and Anna
- doesn't manage to find them before Kvar does tho, and Kratos hears from Yggdrasill that they're dead
- this is slightly inaccurate, cos Lloyd still winds up rescued by Dirk in Iselia
- where Yuan eventually finds him, not knowing that he's 'supposed' to be dead
- so Yuan settles in Iselia for a bit to watch Lloyd and the Chosen
- cuts and dyes his hair, the whole shebang
- learns how to carpentry, invents a new use of magic lightning and light can totally become a laserbeam amirite
- winds up being Genis's role model just because scholar and magic-user and half-elf who can pass but also takes no shit from people
- is one of Colette's companions on the Journey when it starts
- he's been challenging their understanding of the Church's institution this whole time lbr
- Sheena is still a thing because the ninja have taken over the Tethe'allan base, which has survived, somewhat
- a grilling ensues
- sometime just after the Asgard Ranch Yuan does have to drop the bombshell
- about how the Journey is just a front, he and his bestie are angels, btw his bestie is Lloyd's dad
- how they're out to topple the institution of religion
- forget sacrificing Colette for the Regeneration, when they get to the seal they can do that without anyone dying
- and then move straight on to rescuing Kratos in Derris-Kharlan
- then they get to the Tower and realise Yggdrasill has Kratos under a Prometheusesque punishment a la 'impaled on the Eternal Sword to suffer the Seed's pain and watch the Chosen get murdered'
- luckily this does not happen, as they manage to rescue him and escape Yggdrasill instead, barely
- retreat to Botta's hiding-place in Asgard so Kratos can recover
- and also find out that Lloyd is actually alive
- the Chosen group goes around to make as many pacts as they can while in Sylvarant
- they get up to Aska when Yggdrasill sends his angels to attack Asgard
- cue Yuan and Kratos being unstoppable battle gods together


scenarios
scenario one: in which Yuan leads the Chosen's party to the Tower of Salvation to dismantle all the traditions ever, and find Kratos waiting for them in serious need of a rescue.
scenario two: in which being in safety reveals that Kratos is not precisely unscathed, but he's doing his best.
scenario three: in which Kratos is emphatically not okay, but with Yuan's help, could be.

Comments

[ruinsprofessor]

[Raine isn't under the illusion Kratos is best pleased with this; but he's bearing it, which she appreciates.]

...I see. How long does that aspect of the transformation take? Is it very common?

[...She did say this was instead of an exceptionally thorough questioning, didn't she. Hm. Oh, well; if Kratos objects he'll just refuse to answer, most likely.]

[At his last she tilts her head, curious. That's definitely something she was unaware of, and would like to become aware of. Very soon, as possible.]

How destructive? Does she know about the other?

[simulsimul]

It's necessary to the completion of the transformation. The timing varies.

[At the last he hesitates, though only slightly. It's likely Raine was preoccupied enough with tending the townspeople to have missed some of his more destructive actions during the fight in Luin. Banked wings were obvious enough, even if his real use of them had escaped her attention.]

Doubtful. She won't be able to use it until the transformation is complete, regardless. It's a state that can only be achieved if the wings are properly attuned to the person.

[ruinsprofessor]

[Impossible to miss the light: but she had not thought it attached to his wings, no.]

Hm. I see.

...while it's true that it's likely not specifically relevant to Colette, I'd like to see, if you don't mind. Unless the destructive nature is too hazardous at the moment?

[She's assuming 'properly attuned' refers to his state as opposed to the possible alternatives. And she is so very curious. And has not missed that he did not answer her middle question, either.]

[Raine will have to revise her conversational tactics where Kratos is concerned.]

[simulsimul]

[Kratos shakes his head.]

Just having my wings active won't harm you -- though I've no doubt you'll notice them more easily than otherwise.

[To say the least. It's the mana equivalent of static electricity and a lightning strike nearby. The former is startling but harmless; the latter is overwhelming but isn't necessarily harmful -- unless it hits you.]

Their natural state is banked, however. You may wish to make your observations of that first.

[So saying, he gives the coil of mana in his back a little nudge. It corresponds with his spinal cord, travelling along it and spilling out between his shoulder blades, exactly where Raine had laid her hand. The bone lines of his shoulder blades serve as the plateaus on which his mana gathers, blooming into the blue crystal-shard facets of his wings, not unlike Colette's.

[Though the use of mana is immediately obvious, there's nevertheless a sense of reserve about them; present and enabling an additional limb or sense, but husbanded.]

[ruinsprofessor]

Yes, I would.

[Kratos knows her that well, at least. Raine watches, paying close attention with multiple senses, as his wings flower into visible existence. It's fascinating in addition to beautiful -- mana made visible always is, as uncommon as that generally is.]

[It's a shame, some part of her thinks, that these must always be hidden. She understands why: but it's a pity, nevertheless.]

[She breathes out, and it's only a little bit like a gasp.]

Fascinating. They're perfectly stable, but I think, now that I'm looking for it, that I can see what you mean regarding being 'banked.'

Would you mind repeating that shift once or twice?

[It actually does seem a little different from Colette, but she can't quite lay a finger on how yet.]

[simulsimul]

If you wish.

[It's barely a moment's thought to tug the wings back in, and they fade from sight from the joints outward, the edges shimmering as an echo before the mana dissipates altogether. Kratos counts off ten seconds to give Raine a chance to file any observations; then he nudges again, and the wings bloom. He does that twice more, each time with a count between.

[The transition is simple enough, and that shows plainly with the ease with which his mana ebbs and flows between visible and invisible; it's learning the control which is difficult. Once the wings are attuned, nudging mana to life or drawing it in barely takes any effort. Attuning is what angels like Remiel get wrong.]

[ruinsprofessor]

[By the third time Raine has her eyes closed, head tilted slightly to the side, and she can tell exactly when he makes the switch: though she wouldn't, she thinks, if she wasn't paying attention. Still.]

[It's evident this is something almost like breathing to him.]

Yes, thank you. I can perceive the difference between you and Colette fairly clearly now. Though I'll admit I'm still not sure precisely how it would be corrected.

[Raine suspects it may be something that can't be corrected without further progress in the transformation or perhaps a key crest. Or both.]

And the other?

[simulsimul]

Ah. ... Wait here.

[Kratos rises and walks away from Raine, nearly to the ledge on the other side, before halting without turning around. His wings are already visible, so there's no need to bring them up; but this time he needs to enforce his will into his mana, and maintain it. This, he does less frequently -- but it's as familiar to him as swordplay, after all this time. It takes effort, but it's familiar, and comfortable.

[The facets of his wings grow brighter, almost audibly. The area between his shoulder-blades suffuses with mana -- and so does the area behind him, crackling with something not-quite-lightning. Tendrils of light spread from his resting wings, peeling away as threads and threads of filaments which reach out at anything to be touched nearby. The rocks glow with reflected mana, pebbles skittering away from the few tendrils which reach toward the ground, patterning across it as though fingering.

[When Kratos turns it's clear the mana has gathered in a shape more like Remiel's feathered wings than the butterfly facets of the resting stage -- but far larger, spreading past Kratos's head, with the faceted wings still present like a support for the active. The light draws some colour out of his hair and clothes, and rings his head like a halo.]

Do you feel them now?

[His voice seems stronger like this, reverberating not just through air but mana too; strident.]

[ruinsprofessor]

[Raine stares, unabashed.]

[This is what the scriptures reference; this is the bright glory of angels that Remiel had seemed somehow pale imitation of, never mind that he descended in divine light. This...]

[It might be overwhelming, if she wasn't prepared for it. Raine just looks a moment longer, but then Kratos' voice is calling her back to full awareness in the present moment.]

I... yes. That's difficult to miss.

[She tries to imagine Colette like this; and she could see it, perhaps, but Colette's customary warmth makes it difficult to imagine fear, where if Raine had less trust for Kratos it would be very easy.]

[And Raine is studying, not simply sitting in awe. She shakes herself mentally.]

How... sensitive are they? Can you feel what they touch?

[simulsimul]

Yes; but more in a state of mana than physical touch.

[His wings are lifted over his head, stretched to full length. Kratos lowers them, an action not precisely folding but near enough for analogy. More of the tendrils reach for the ground, spreading, feeling.]

It's to sense the connectedness of mana. It's necessary, for--

[He sweeps those wings back and in the space of an eye-blink he blurs and is there in front of Raine, like he's stepped through space instead of across it. Even with his wings held back, the light reaches forward, patterning lightly across the rock on which Raine sits, and the cape, and her hair and clothes. It's painless, but only in the sense of static being painless; unthreatening, but only because there's so much being held back or redirected. If Kratos wanted, he could unleash that mana on something in the form of powerful magic and know that it would strike -- just as he had on some unfortunate Desians in Luin.]

[ruinsprofessor]

[Raine flinches even trusting him, even knowing his priorities and that he's on their side. It takes maybe a second for him to cross the space between them. If that.]

[Fortunately she's very quickly distracted by the feeling of it. It's power; it's static, Kratos' lightning restrained and kept tamed to his will. The sense of something larger behind it is impossible to ignore.]

[It's almost harder to breathe. Raine does anyway.]

How exactly does that work? Is it harder, with Sylvarant waning as it is?

[Initial concern recovered, she's leaning in, eyes bright and interested.]

[simulsimul]

Drawing my wings, no; the instant flight, yes. There's less mana to reflect the state of a waning world, and that makes it more difficult to see in such a fashion.

[But nevertheless, keeping his wings vibrant means expending mana, where the passive state recycles it. Kratos stops his deliberate draw and his outer wings fade much the same way his faceted wings had before -- from the inside out, and leaving a lingering tingle of power in the air echoed only by the sub-audible hum from his passive wings. When Kratos breathes in, he almost feels as though he's tasting earth stone, and that odd combination of human and elf, from Raine.]

But bringing my wings to bear still requires using mana; I can be taxed, in doing it.

[His voice now sounds almost thin, in comparison to the resounding fullness created by his mana's influence.]

[ruinsprofessor]

[The difference is both a relief and, strangely, a loss. Raine breathes a little easier, though the air tastes different now.]

It... yes. I can see how; it feels like a huge consumption. Do you have deeper reserves of your own, to compensate?

[She can't see why he wouldn't, but neither does she exactly know how the Cruxis Crystal works.]

[It would be difficult to imagine Kratos taxed, if she had not met him the way she had.]

--is it simply a matter of seeing?

[simulsimul]

Yes.

[Considering that Kratos has been fairly thorough with his explanations so far, it's a noticeably short response. Some of those mana reserves are his, developed over centuries; but the greater bulk of it is in the Cruxis Crystal, and Raine does not yet know how those are made.]

It's --

[Kratos pauses. Explaining how the world feels through his wings is difficult, even to half-elves, who already have a mana sense. It's even more difficult to someone who's never lost their sight.]

No. It's ... more skin to feeling mana when your eyes are closed, except that you can feel the dimensions of the things around you. In Sylvarant, the sensation is obscured, because there's so little mana to use as an aid, but in--

[--Damn. He cuts off there, nearly sharp.]

[ruinsprofessor]

[In-- in what? Somewhere else? Somewhere not Sylvarant? Raine's eyes narrow.]

[Kratos cut himself off too quickly for that to have been intentional. Put together with how Sheena has slipped before...]

So there is another world.

[She doesn't catch Kratos out often, but when she does it's significant.]

That's the only answer that makes sense, considering Sheena.

[simulsimul]

[For the briefest of moments, Kratos considers trying to lie, and it's one of the briefest considerations he's ever attempted. Raine would never accept it. Maybe if it weren't for the ninja -- but no, Kratos has tipped his hand a little more than he meant.

[The length of silence is more due to a conflict of feelings. There's so much he left unsaid in Iselia, but there's so much he said, too; he's used to talking to Raine. He's used to not holding back, because the things he had to hide had never been relevant in that quiet village. But, in the end, he does admit reluctantly:]

Yes. Tethe'alla. It's flourishing, currently -- that's where the mana goes when Sylvarant wanes ... and vice versa. Sheena is from there.

[He has to wonder who had sent her -- the king or the pope.]

[ruinsprofessor]

Not the moon.

[Raine is sure of that, but feels it needs to be established anyway. She appreciates that Kratos isn't trying to dissemble and hide this from her now, at the very least.]

...I see. So that's what she meant, when she said that 'this world' would be saved. Regenerating Sylvarant... means condemning Tethe'alla to the same fate.

[She looks down and away for a moment, processing, then back at Kratos.]

Clearly you're aware of the nature of the world. Is there truly no other way?

[simulsimul]

Not the moon. Sylvarant and Tethe'alla's fates are intertwined; there isn't enough mana for both at once. I --

[He hesitates once more, because Raine, as usual, is asking the uncomfortably pertinent questions.]

I ... I don't know.

[It's been so long since he's committed to this action, since he's doubted, since he's questioned; it's been so long that he doesn't know anymore what's a viable option and what's simple dreaming. He knows, theoretically, what might be ... and part of him wants to hope that, maybe, Colette will be the key ... but he also recoils from the possibility. What it means. What happens if it fails.]

I can't talk about this. I'm sorry.

[ruinsprofessor]

There was once, though, wasn't there?

[She'd always assumed that the Great Tree was a fairy tale; a story told by the Church of better times, and demonstrative of the price of sin. But this exchange of mana between worlds...]

[Raine knows she is relatively young, and hardly an expert on metaphysics, but what experience she does have implies to her that something is terribly unbalanced here. That one world should not, in fact, survive at the cost of another.]

[It's an odd sort of burgeoning hope, and so Kratos' abrupt shutting-down is the precise opposite of welcome. Her eyes narrow.]

Why can't you talk about it?

[simulsimul]

[Kratos looks at her wordlessly, and he doesn't have an answer. She's right; there is another way. But it's so twisted in what he's done, who he is, what he is -- what he wishes he were -- that he can't find the words.

[Worse, he wants to tell her. He doesn't know how to start. It's been a long time since he's been open with anyone, and that person had died shortly after.]

I don't know how.

[He doesn't like the feeling of being helpless, but it's so very rarely that this feeling is caused by something within him, instead of something he's done or witnessed.]

[ruinsprofessor]

[Raine quashes the impulse to yell at him -- what sparks stubborn teenagers won't work here, not when someone usually so competent and self-assured looks so lost.]

[She just can't fathom why.]

If it's not that you're restricted from talking about it, then it's simply a matter of finding the right words, isn't it?

Try. Please. If it meant that we could build a better world than this-- for everyone--

[Raine sweeps one arm wide, breaking off.]

[simulsimul]

I'm not -- meant -- to talk about it ...

[But Kratos says it slowly, haltingly, precisely because who makes those judgement calls? He does. Who makes sure things are running smoothly? He does. Mithos has grand plans and visions and the passion to inspire action in the interim, but he doesn't care about the mechanics of the start to the finish.

[What's really stopping Kratos, except for the weight of four thousand years of sin?

[Kratos looks away, and he speaks abruptly, surprising even himself.]

They weren't always two worlds. It's -- possible -- to put them together again, given the right ... circumstances.

[ruinsprofessor]

Meant?

[Raine echoes him, gently pushing. Meant by whom, for what-- these are the questions she wants answered, but Kratos is already having a difficult enough time.]

[She has rarely, if ever, heard him so utterly hesitant.]

...I see.

And if I asked you about those circumstances? What would be required to achieve them, and why the worlds were divided in the first place?

[If she thinks of it as an hourglass it makes sense, though not in a way she much likes. It should be impossible. How could something like this have happened?]

[simulsimul]

[What if she did? She already has. It's the 'why' that makes the words stick in Kratos's throat; it's the 'why' which is making this so difficult. But the circumstances might be easier, and after a fashion preferable -- silence is suffocating, but so are words.

[Except for the circumstances. It's the one thing Kratos feels he can do in this moment. He can't walk away; he needs to work with this woman. She'd hound him. But he's finding he can't just swallow the words, either.]

The eight elemental spirits need to be awakened -- not just here, but in Tethe'alla -- to break the mana barrier shielding the Great Seed. We'd need a magic swordsman of both elven and human blood to handle the Eternal sword and heal the divide. We'd need something of great mana output to germinate the Seed once they're reunited. And --

[And. He closes his eyes.]

... And I'd need to die.

[ruinsprofessor]

Those are... tall requirements.

[Raine's voice is dry and remote to cover exactly how stunned she is. The spirits they have already been awakening on their way; that shouldn't be so hard, but what if it puts those in the other world to sleep as well? And on the heels of that thought it is stunningly obvious where Gnome and Volt and Celsius and Shadow have gone: not some long-hidden undiscovered ruin, but never here, in Sylvarant, in the first place.]

[The solution to that mystery is not near so satisfying as Raine had hoped.]

Neither Genis nor I can handle a sword. We'd have to search for someone suitable...

[She shakes her head.]

I take it the Great Seed is what remains of the Tree. What is the Eternal Sword? And why would it require your death?

[Raine was resigned to sacrifice, though she disliked it; there had seemed to be no other way, and if Colette was all right with it, then she would do what she needed to support her student through the regeneration of the world. That was no different for Kratos, were it his life necessitated. If the safety of the worlds demanded, and if Kratos was determined, then she would work toward what was necessary. Except--]

[Well, none of her students would accept it so peacefully. Perhaps she shouldn't, either. She looks troubled by the time she stops talking, despite her best efforts.]