bellelurette | Epilogue

Epilogue

EPILOGUE

Your stopped time has restarted. Whether you were in the grassy field or fighting for your life on the castle grounds, you'll suddenly find yourself in an untouched area of the gardens. Ish is back, and so are the items, and the dead.

You return to Chateau Ambregris with the certain knowledge that come Monday, you will greet a new week, in a home of your own choosing. No longer will the chime of the clocks hunt you down, no longer will the oppressive scent of roses haunt your senses, no longer will you be forced to watch the death of those you've come to love and hate.

Parting is such a bittersweet sorrow, isn't it?

Make merry one last time, in this castle of illusions. Ironically, your memories of this stolen time that never existed are the one thing that will truly remain to you.

END NOTES

🔮 All dead are revived as tsukumogami! Congrats on your immortality(?)
🔮 Any other contracts made with Ish will be honored
🔮 Characters may choose to leave for any world they desire.
🔮 Time has not passed while you were stuck in this loop!
🔮 There will be no cross-dimensional world travel, except for on Samhain (Witches New Year October 31st/November 1st). On these dates, Ish will enable everyone to visit each other's world freely.
🔮 Universal Communication will be possible, courtesy of Manba and Ish. Everyone who wants one will be given a small fox that can communicate with other foxes through voice and video; the foxes can talk and are fairly simple creatures, enjoy them and give them fried tofu once in a while.
🔮 Powers are on for the finale, but Ish will step in and yeet anyone who gets too out of hand back to their homeworld, so play nice! (or relatively nice. )

[OOC: Welcome to your epilogue! The timeloop is ended, the evil has been defeated, and you have some time to catch your breath in the castle before the rest of your life begins! ]

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I'd be happy to take responsibility for it.

( It wouldn't be the worst thing he's done recently! )

Will I get to see you two again?

[ Outdated by a few hundred years... Crazy. ]

Kinda like shooting a firework.

[ Right? Same principle, probably. ]

So. What's the deal with it? Your wings and stuff. It was really cool.

Oh...yeah. Definitely a lotta melee going on there.

[ Now that Homura mentions it... Sure was a lot of room for friendly fire there, huh? Luck really was on their side that battle, despite any questionable decisions made. And a lot of help, of course. Her eyes start swimming a little the more she goes down that train of thought. Wow, a wrong move and that really all could've ended so badly.

And well...it almost did for her. ]

Uhh, I think something magic-y happened to block the damage. Which is great, because I totally felt the fear of exploding! But yeah, the hazards of melee, right?

[ The important part is that it didn't happen! She tries to shake it off with a grin and a thumbs up, fueling it with the sheer relief of them still being alive. ]

[ Try for the little clasps and undress him, G'raha. ]

... You know, I'm usually just called a "traveler". [ Wanderer, now. Aimless as they are. ] Adventurer sounds a little too purposeful for me.

[ Not that they dislike it. If it means they can be what G'raha adores. ]

( One of the few times he's tried to fix something was Balthazar's death, and that had ended with Balthazar turning from him. Balthazar did not want it fixed. He did not want to return.

But Yoru... at least, is listening.

He's quiet, for a time. )

... I don't want to let you turn to ash in my hands. More than your eyes, or your voice, or the cut of your teeth, it's you I'd miss, most of all.

( He understands you want to go, but he can't let go, so long as there's still something to hold onto. )

So let's begin again. Let's come to know each other as Hwylryn, and Yoru. And then...

( He inhales, tears in his eyes, feeling like he's still letting go of something, even if he isn't sure what, and it hurts him. He holds his breath, and swallows, and he has himself proceed: )

... And then... I want... to find a name for us that's only for us. Not a name you give anyone else - not a name I give anyone else. ( Would that he knew dearer terms for friends. ) I want to come to know a part of you that only Hwylryn can know. And I want you to come to find a part of me that only Yoru can know. And... I want us to take our time.

( He wants Yoru to last a long, long time.

In some sense, they had something like this, but - he doesn't know. It got messy, along the way. Yoru is right; it became something he had to barter with, as his relationships became more complicated, in depth, expanding - and then, suddenly and by his own hand, contracting into nothing.

Hwylryn isn't learned at all in having more than one vibrant connection at a time, and he's still learning, even now.

But he feels he doesn't have the time to learn, either. He feels like Yoru may as well disappear into the rain if he can't find the right words. )

... Please.

[ He laughs. ]

That's all, is it? You'll allow me a pity visit. I'm honored.

[ This little shit. He's unlikely to admit it, but he's going to miss having Siffrin around. ]

[ It's the leaning in that makes Angelo briefly dwell on the fact that this cigarette is an object that came.. what? Right out of Elias' soul? What is he even meant to think about that?

He doesn't get time to think much of it either way, because then Elias comes out with that offer and all he can do is stare.

It's the third time someone has said this to him to try and protect him from his cold and dark death. The first two had been immortals with questionable ideas of affection and... probably a good dose of pity, as well. Elias, too, has reason to pity him. More than anyone, given what he saw.

But simultaneously it's hard to see Elias pitying anyone, not to the point of inconveniencing himself by having another mouth to feed in a difficult situation.

So that leaves... ]

What's in it for you?

[ Angelo had considered just inviting himself along, but now that the offer has been extended freely, he's more uncertain than ever. ]

[ Yeah, well.

... Join the club, Elias. ]

Just don't miss your boat back, or you'll be stuck in my world for a year instead. [ ... ] Warm, with plenty of land and colors as far as the eye can see.

[ Probably. Many shades, anyway, so... many colors. ]

[ Despite himself, rage bubbles up. Hickey is rarely one to let his emotions get the best of him, but after the insanity of the past week, there's only so much he can do to tamp back his anger. ]

Bugger off. I did no such thing. The two of us made an arrangement—one that I never put to use, mind.

[ Hwylryn's head raises and Hickey squares up to match him. Foolishly, perhaps, he's not about to be intimidated. He steps forward. ]

Here's another thing I never did: I didn't ask a child to bloody his hands on my behalf.

[ oh so you want a third thread going that direction ok ]

Yet you do many a thing that an adventurer does. [ He smiles. ] Unless you feel it’s ill suited?

[ He can change to addressing Siffrin as something else and admire that just as much, honestly. Siffrin still does good deeds, even if they won’t admit to it. ]

( As he listens, as Ish works through the kinks of his story, as he strokes Ish's hair, Hwylryn's lips are pursed, eyebrows furrowed, but quiet.

The cycle of reincarnation sounds faintly perverse to him, though he knows that's not the point of that story. He wonders if he could kill a reincarnation of Balthazar or Gwawlyn; and, in the same breath, he wonders if he could even accept them. What Ish has gone through now - changing in his matter, feeling more like Norna in the scope of his powers, if not his essence, as he does now - is what feels correct, to Hwylryn.

He thinks in quiet, for a brief time. )

... Balthazar was the same. ( He says, finally, softly. ) And... I suspected, Gwawlyn would be, too. It's why I never wished for them, even if it could be done.

( Could Ish resurrect the dead, so long as the dead were short of a goddess with a misplaced soul? It doesn't matter. It'd end the same, whether wizard or dragon; mortal or goddess.

Why wouldn't the dead simply return as they were?

His pursed lips twist into a sort of smile, bittersweet. Upset, yet understanding; heartbroken, yet likewise defiant.

Why didn't they want to return? Because the heartbreak is just too much. That's it. That's simple. There's no more reason why. Why does the mountain's river end in a lake? Why doesn't it go on a little longer? Why don't the currents push a little harder, and try to force further through?

It's just content where it is. Even if that means it dries out. )

... But you have her, still.

( He takes issue with only one thing Ish has said - that she has ceased to exist. )

She is not in the form that she was. She is not here to tell you good morning, or good night, or to go into town with. But she has passed on what she can give to you. I can feel you, and you are rich with her.

( And perhaps that is right, too. He had said already that there is no clear place within Ish's weave where Norna ends and Ish begins - and now it is true, once again. )

In my home, creatures of magic that die turn to beautiful, concentrated stone. If I die, I will turn to one, too. They're rich with the essence of what that creature was— their power; their magic; their memories.

There is nothing crueler than to leave a stone aside. ( In Northern tradition, anyway. ) There is nothing kinder than to take the dead into yourself, and carry them with you.

( He noses Ish, pressing a kiss to his head. )

You've rescued her essence from that sea of reincarnation. And you've taken her along with you. She cannot tell you good morning or good night, but she is still with you here now, as I hold you like this. She will be with you when you show me around Ecumene. And what exists of her in you can dream, and you will feel that she does in your heart, and in your magic.

( His eyes are a little wet (when aren't they, really), but he exhales soft, and warm. )

... At least, that's what I've come to know, and what I've come to believe. Even if it doesn't make up for their absence... it's not nothing. It's not gone.

( It's hard. It's different. But it's not gone. And in the finality of death, maybe - maybe - maybe that's all you can ask for. )

There are worse things.

[ He shrugs. ]

I may be returning to my own world for now, but I don't intend to stay. This universe is much bigger than I'd once imagined, and I've infinite time to explore it now.

[ Even if he had anything worth returning to, why limit himself?

Although, on the flip, then why bother returning at all? A question he'll unpack for himself later. ]

[ in front of god and all else ]

I just never thought of myself as one. I don't really mind it from you, though.

[ So no, it can stay. One more title to add to their collection.

(Hmmm. But how to refer to Raha... if you're still in contact with your family members, anyway.

...) ]

Lover? My heart? Or... Moitié, that sounds nice.

[ sorry to finally bring french to the french game. ]

Because you didn't get the chance.

( He says this without hostility, amused - but in a pleased way - that Hickey tries to match him. He likes the guts. )

If you believe a child can agree to your "arrangement," then you must also believe a child can consent to being an accomplice in murder. If you believe a child can engage in an "honest agreement," then you can believe a child asked to be the one to kill on my behalf.

And so it must follow that you think this is very fair, because a child has enough leverage in a discussion as either of us.

( He's not going to argue that the murders were meant to be this or weren't meant to be that - if Hickey is going to argue on this premise, and Hickey wants to square up with him, then why not? The playing ground must be level for the both of them. They both made completely sound contracts with Junior. How wonderful. )

Junior is a very powerful figure in your imagination, Hickey. I don't dislike that you believe him capable enough to carry out the responsibility of an adult, though I question whether you respect him like one.

Edited (fiddling with words) 2025-04-08 07:16 (UTC)

[ What a sight this guy is. ]

Must you explain it? It's not as if time will have passed there.

[ Hickey's little black fox is also nearby, digging around in the dirt for... snacks or something? Hickey doesn't know. How he's meant to keep this thing alive is a mystery. ]

That's about what it is, yes.

[ good job Sif, you understand the basics of it. fireworks, but now make it weapon. ]

As for the wings... They're just a part of my magic. [ ... ] Well. Maybe not mine, exactly.

[His brow furrows just a little at the mention of curses and monsters, if only because it sounds absurd upon hearing it. Even so, these four weeks were also absurdity incarnate (at least to him), and the fact that Homura is saying it gives the statement more weight.

So he considers it, although he still doesn't grasp the limitations and mechanics of magic.]

I don't entirely understand, but I agree that contingencies are important. [...] Can you tell me more about those monsters?

...Where I can just leave.

[Their own words echo in their head.

* Now we have reached the absolute. Let us erase this pointless world and move on to the next.

It is overwhelming, to learn for the second time that everything you believed in was utterly meaningless.]

With not a single consequences for everything I did. [...] It all would've been easier if I'd stayed trapped here. That would have made sense.

[Let someone else finish the job.

It echoes the truth they had to come to terms with early on in their time with Frisk, with their partner as well - that they were no longer in control. That their only responsibility was to guide Frisk to correct the mistakes that they made when they were alive.

Once again, that was only a half truth.

The thought of returning to yet another world in which they are the only scowling monster in a crowd of happy faces, of returning to another loop to repeat the same thing again and again - it makes them want to weep. They weren't even aware that they could feel that.]

There is no job to finish, Siffrin. There is no home for me to return to.

[They could take it. Take the outstretched hand that Junior offers and share the role of "cursed child", someone who will continue to wander through the caverns of time and space leaving nothing but destruction in their wake.

Is it loneliness? Is that what they were feeling? Someone who would understand them, or at least pretend that they did?

Junior would almost certainly be easily convinced. Their first midnight conversation proved that. He sees himself as something uniquely untrustworthy, with a violent nature. Just like Chara, he is a tool for violence to be wielded.

And yet.]

Do you still want to be friends with me?

I don't have one either. I just travel.

[ But it's interesting, that they say that... The barrier still held, after all. The cycle was broken, but there was still a barrier to destroy.

Siffrin watches them with this quiet curiosity in mind, head tilting slightly. It seems overwhelming. A lot of it must be; he starts again, quieter. ]

I was thinking it'd be nice to wander together for a while. Since you've been trapped behind the barrier, the loops, death itself. To have... a chance to keep using your voice.

The capybara.

[She nods at the plush doll.]

It seems I'm bound to carry it now.

[There is a quiet sort of resignation to her words and movements. He had said this wasn't a fate he'd wish on her, close enough to his own, but here they are regardless.]

[ Elias leans forward, elbows resting on his knees. ]

I could use the help. It's a long walk back to the ships, and my men are in poor condition. And you can help me loot this place.

[ He gestures behind them at the palace. ]

It's not as if Ish will miss any of it.

[ And then, just as casually: ]

You deserve a chance to invent an opportunity for yourself.

[ If it's manipulation, it's not obviously so—although it is difficult to turn off his instinct to play his opponent in every conversation. ]

Then don't do that. You're smarter than that. [She smiles, small and a little sly. Crash the car...? Of course, it's an image of a carriage that comes to Andrew's mind instead of any more advanced vehicle. She supposes she might live to see those vehicles created in her own world, though. What a strange feeling.]

Not as awkward as all that. [At least.] But I do have a tight deadline, and I'm not sure how this will have changed it.

[ the magical school thing is unexpected to him, but it’s fun that she used it to do such a mundane thing.

a part of it is just that, he’s following his whims. and why not be be curious? what’s it gonna do, kill him??? ]

I’d like one good conversation. I don’t think… I could read your vibe well. You didn’t always say things, you know? Sometimes you just projected a really intense aura.

[ hm! ]

So I don’t want to understand necessarily, just talk and listen.

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Epilogue

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cw suicidal ideation obliquely

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