“So, what did you see exactly?” Cedez asked curiously.
She and Remicra listened as Dave went on to describe his bewildering visions of other worlds.
“What do you think?” He asked. “What did seeing all of that have to do with Phantomancy?”
“I think you’re getting stronger,” Cedez mulled after a minute. “You can see souls better than anyone else here. I think what you observed were your and Remy’s past lives or perhaps some kind of alternative parallels, other worlds in which your souls exist. From what I’ve read, some Archmagi believe that Arxtruria is a great nexus of an infinity of worlds, a great Wheel that pulls all souls to itself. Countless beings are summoned to Arx by the local Gods and perish here beneath the radiance of Nihilim.”
“Damn,” Dave rubbed the back of his head. “So me and Remy are…”
“Cosmically tied,” Cedez concluded. “Ended up together more than once across infinity of possibilities.”
“I see,” Dave said, sitting up.
Remicra simply blinked at both of them.
“Surely, that’s not possible,” she said.
“Anything’s possible with magic,” Cedez shrugged. “For example - this is my third life on Arxtruria. First I was Empress Nox, then I was reborn as Nilix Astrix and now I’m Cedez.”
“Third life… huh?” The dragoness mulled. “Companions… What happened to the people who helped you before? What happened at the Crown Tower Arcane?”
“I… erm,” Cedez gulped.
Remicra’s sharp, violet-gold eyes bore into the foxgirl.
“They died,” Cedez exhaled finally. “Nilix Astrix sacrificed them to pass the Crown trials.”
“What?!” The blacksmith snarled. “So you expect us to just waltz…”
“I would never sacrifice you or Dave!” Cedez crossed her hands, her eyes wide. “You’re my friends. Real friends, someone whom I would never give up! Nilix… Lady Natalie Oppaz was born into great wealth and she threw it around to get her way. The people she brought with her to the tower were servants and chess pieces, cards to be played, people that she didn’t give a damn about.”
“Oh? And you’re different now? Why do I not believe you?” Remicra growled.
“Because you want to protect Dave, as much as I do,” Cedez sighed. “Please believe me, I’m not like Natalie at all. I had, err… have good parents… a family who loves me in Shandria. Natalie was raised by her maids; her mother barely spoke to her, she wasn’t anything like me. The Engine of Crown Continuity tries different things, creating completely different Sovereigns with each attempt. Yes, my soul is structurally similar to Natalie’s because we’re both one ninth of Empress Nox… but, I’m absolutely not her!”
“I think that Cedez is honest,” Dave said. “Helping her is our best bet.”
“She could also feed us to the Tower,” Remicra pointed out.
“Whyever would I tell you about Nilix Astrix?” Cedez shot back. “If I wanted to feed you to the tower, I would keep you in the dark! I’m trying to be a better person, damn it, stop raining on my parade! I'm a lot stronger than Natalie, I'll control the Shadow in me and won't let it consume you, I swear!"
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The garden grew darker yet as the sun sunk behind the black hole.
“It’s late. We’ll talk about this… tomorrow,” Remicra said.
She grabbed Dave’s hand and pulled him out of the fountain, heading to the cottage. Cedez remained sitting on the marble ledge, her tail swishing as she watched the pair retreat.
The dark foxgirl opened and closed her fists, looking miserable.
“I’m not her,” she whispered to herself. “I’m not going to make the same mistakes. I'm stronger...”
----------------------------------------
“Do you really think that we’re together, elsewhere?” Remicra asked.
“I am pretty sure that we are,” Dave said. “Although, we aren’t anything like ourselves. It’s all pretty crazy, mind boggling bullshit if you ask me.”
“If you didn’t just have a hallucination, if you really saw my soul and us elsewhere then… that’s sort of nice,” the dragoness sighed wistfully.
“In which way?”
"That somewhere out there, in some other place or time, there are versions of us that found each other,” she said, her voice soft. "That our souls cross paths no matter what we look like or who we are. It's... comforting, in a strange way… sort of like the Song of Destiny."
Dave looked at her and saw dancing sparks in her eyes. He reached out and took her hand in his, giving it a gentle squeeze.
"That’s a good point," he said, his voice low and earnest. “What’s the Song of Destiny?”
Remicra looked at him and she smiled, a small, genuine smile that made Dave's heart flutter in his chest and then she began to sing. Dave wasn’t wearing his translation bracelet anymore, so he didn’t understand the words, but he still enjoyed the melody of rising and falling notes that danced through the old cottage.
Even in the face of looming danger and uncertainty, he felt that in Remicra he found a moment of peace, a shared, unbreakable connection that spanned across time and space. As the couple sat on the couch, hand in hand, Dave was ready to face whatever lay ahead.
Together, they were stronger. Together, they could face the trials of the Crown Tower, and maybe, just maybe, they could make it out alive.
The song fell silent and Remicra drew him into her embrace.
In the quiet of the evening, the world around them ceased to exist. The looming trials of the Crown Tower, the uncertainty of their fate, the doubts, the fears - all disappeared into the background. All that mattered was the warmth between them, the comforting rhythm of their shared breaths, and the silent understanding that passed between two souls.
Remicra leaned her head on his shoulder, her eyes fluttering closed. A sigh escaped her lips, a sound of contentment that resonated through the silent room. Dave looked at her, his eyes tracing her peaceful expression. He felt a surge of affection wash over him like a tidal wave.
Suddenly, he knew exactly what he had to do.
“I don’t want you to get hurt,” Remicra whispered as she felt him tense up. “I don’t want to lose you now that I’ve found you, my twin-soul-spark.”
Dave peered past the physical world into elsewhere. He saw that Remy’s violet, spectral aurora was hugging him, reaching out to hold him with her entire soul across the boundary of infinity.
At that moment he knew that Remy was his destiny, his support, his anchor.
He realized that Rimzadria was his home from now on and forever and that he would also do everything possible to protect the girl in his hands and make her happy and free no matter what it took.
He looked past the glass window of the stone cottage to the garden. The night had fallen and Cedez was already changing, her shadow-form reaching out to the sky and changing to the monstrous leviathan that was joining the ring-cloud.
“This is our home,” Dave said to Remy, petting her crystalline hair. "I'll be back."
He let go of the dragoness and walked to the door.
“W-what are you doing?” the dragoness blinked.
“I’m going to change this city’s future,” Dave replied, opening the door into the night.