âŹâŹÎšâââââââﺤ BOUND BY THE THREADS OF DEMISE
Non-commission // Post-collapse with Anaxa
The light has long since vanished from Anaxagorasâ singular eye, his life quiet and lonely until this point - the very end of their world, and soon their existence - built only on a lifeâs purpose those around him rejected him and called him a blasphemer for. Satisfied? Of course; how could he be anything less than satisfied after reaching the very pinnacle of all that he had strived for. But at peace?
When was the last time he had been at peace�
Even pushing aside his achievements, heâd long since had no one to brag to who would genuinely care for them. Heâd had no one to sit along quietly beside, talking about everything and nothing at once. Had no one to comfort him when all of that darkness threatened to seep in time and time again.
âI donât knowâŚâ The scholar mutters, far quieter than he has ever managed to be in front of this woman, âIâm satisfied that I was able to achieve all that I was able to, but - dear Aglaea do promise you wonât make fun of me - I am not certain I have ever been at peace, or at the very least itâs been a very long time. What peace is there to be had in such a lonely existence?â
Her head shifts at the sound of his gentle confession, the way she might turn toward a half-remembered melody, unsure whether it was still playing or merely an echo in her mind. At his request, she makes no jokeâmerely sighs and lowers a hand to the stone between them, fingers splaying loosely in the ash.
The wind catches the hem of her dress, flutters it against scorched tile. Smoke curls lazily skyward, and in the distance she can hear something collapsingâa pillar, by the sound of it. The final groan of marble giving way, immortal stone laid low by a ruined world.
"âŚA thousand years we've labored against our dictated fates, and a thousand more we'll fight again in the next recurrence. Loss and loneliness have been our ever-constant companions during our Flame-Chase journey. We've played our parts to their conclusion, and all that remains is to trust in the prophesied Deliverer to sunder us from this unending struggle. At least now, we are not alone. Perhaps, in the new world, we'll be able to experience the peace that has been denied to us all this time."
