#eden story spoilers

[evilpenguinrika]

i know i'm like the only person raving on about Hosie/FFXIV AU but like it has been brought to my attention by... well... me, after watching this very immersive and fun retelling of the Eden Story from Shadowbringers (uh, super heavy spoilers for the Final Fantasy 14 story and lore if whoever reads this does play the mmorpg game, so uh, tread carefully?) that Hope and Josie could potentially have a Ryne and Gaia story that you follow in Eden Story

Now. Mind you--I have only made it into Heavensward, which is the second expac in FFXIV, meaning I have a very very long way to go until I meet Ryne (I already know who she is but not who she is if that makes sense). But from that video I watched, I think it would be a very interesting take to see Hope and Josie be Ryne and Gaia.

Though I'm not sure who would be who, like I think the "obvious clear cut" choice would be Josie is Ryne and Hope is Gaia--because Ryne is the Oracle of Light while Gaia is the Oracle of Darkness. Josie has a light that she carries with her and sees the good in people and always goes to bat for the people she cares for. Hope has a trail of death and darkness following her everywhere because of who she is, what she is, and who her family is. So, yeah, the obvious choice in this AU would be Josie is Ryne and Hope is Gaia. Josie does her best to befriend Hope--who wants nothing to do with Josie or anyone else.

But I think another interesting aspect is to switch it to where Hope is Ryne and Josie is Gaia. I say this because even if Hope is always going to have this trauma and darkness following her everywhere, I personally feel like she still sees the hope in things and in people. Whereas Josie I kind of chose because it would fit really well with her stint with Dark Josie. Where Dark Josie is in it for herself, is self-preserving, trying to prove that she's better and can do everything herself without needing anyone there to hold her hand. But like will eventually warm up to people... Probably... (Though probably only if that person is Hope lol)

ALSO, it REMINDS ME A LOT of the whole Dark Josie storyline and Hope never gave up on her in bringing Josie back and then did the head dive into Josie's mind to bring Josie back--like that storyline was what made me think of writing this post bc of what happens with Ryne and Gaia.

ALSO ALSO. Ryne's a ginger, Hope's an auburn. Gaia has black hair (and gothgirl), Josie/Dark Josie is a brunette/dark hair (and gothgirl). Also Hope is short like Ryne and Josie/Dark Josie is tall like Gaia.

THE SIMILARITIES!!!!!

Okay. I may be reaching too much lol. I also had an incredibly full day of going to the drivers place to renew my licence and then doing some shopping and errands and panic when I couldn't find one of my debit cards so this entire post probably is just jargon of incoherent bs but that's okay

as I'm ending this, I realize I have no idea where I was actually going with this post other than "this idea has been cooking in my noggin I Must Speak Upon It". So, here it is. A Hosie FFXIV AU--specifically Eden Story AU--where Hope and Josie play the roles of Ryne and Gaia (the Oracle of Light and Oracle of Darkness) because I, Rika, cannot wait to get to Shadowbringers so I can do the Eden Story raid and finally meet these two cutie girlfriends and continue to connect parallels to Hosie

[lilyofthevalleycaughtintherain]

Live footage of me playing Eden's Promise raid questline

[smile-files]

mommy let you use her ipad, you were barely two

and it did all the things we designed it to do

now look at you, look at you!

(objectober 2024 day 10: internet)

[lulu2992]

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom was released one year ago today!

Even though I’ve dedicated at least 235 hours of my life to playing it, I’ve never shared the screenshots I took, so here are 30 pictures from my Sheikah Slate’s album (in chronological order):

[friendshippedbox]

I Edited Translucent Drdt Characters Onto Text Conversation Bits I Found On Pinterest

Seen this sort of thing before and I thought it would be fun to do xD

So I'm sharing these!! Hope you enjoy and it makes you laugh or something ^^

[hinalatte]

A Thematic Analysis of Chapter 2’s Killer

Drdt spoilers. Obviously

There’s a lot of people who have started liking Ace more since this episode. I am not one of those people. He’s always been my favorite character. I’ve suffered from paranoia as well, and it sucks when people don’t take that shit seriously. Just because it’s irrational doesn’t mean it’s not harmful, and just because it’s stupid doesn’t mean the person suffering from it is stupid. I related to him a lot because of that. His issues are constantly downplayed by the people around him. Either that, or they think he’s irreversibly crazy for fears he can’t really control.

But besides that, I like him because his brain is fun to pick apart. He has so many problems. It’s a genuine shame he’ll never be able to get over them. It’s not the direction I expected his character to go, but it makes a lot of sense.

All that glitters is not gold.

The title made me think that a “good person” would be the killer, but it was Ace, a “bad person.” And his victim was Arei, another “bad person.” The people who died this chapter were the cast’s “worst people,” people who were outcast by everyone else for being bullied. But this chapter also shows their human sides—maybe they were only bad people because they were never given a chance to be good, like Arei. Maybe they were pushed to extremes because nobody treated their problems seriously, like Ace. Meanwhile, the cast’s “good people” are all revealed to be worse than they seemed. That was the thematic reason behind the motive secrets. Some of the others have done things far worse than Arei or Ace.

Nico was someone most of the cast liked. They were never mean to anyone, and they were constantly the victim of Ace’s bullying. They were easy to like, or at least easy to not hate. They quickly formed a bond with Hu (because Hu seeks out people she thinks need her protection). But in this chapter, they tried to kill someone. They admit themselves that it was reprehensible. Nico is a “bad person”.

Hu was supportive of everyone in chapter 1, positioning herself as a motherly figure. She was kind, caring, and helpful. But in chapter 2, she infantilized Nico to the point that she thought they can’t speak for themselves during the trial. She let biases cloud her judgement. She derailed the trial without good reason, because she wanted to be helpful to Nico, even when they weren’t asking for her help. Hu is a “bad person”.

Levi was called a good person by Eden at the start. He’s polite, takes care of other people, and reached out to Ace of all people. But in this chapter, it’s revealed that he did all of that for his own convenience. He doesn’t care about other people. He’s a murderer. He’s a “bad person”.

Levi threatened Ace, making Ace’s paranoia worse. Nico tried to kill Ace, confirming Ace’s idea that he was going to die if he didn’t get himself out of the killing game. Hu defended Nico, confirming Ace’s idea that everyone was against him.

The so-called “bad people” are cursed to die, while the so-called “good people” are shown to have been bad all along.

And isn’t that far more interesting than showing that good people can do bad things, and ending it like that? Now all the so-called “good people” have to live with the fact that their actions led to Arei’s death, without having been Arei’s actual killer. Arei was killed by the cast’s mistreatment, negligence, and trivialization of Ace Markey.

Thematically. Not literally, of course. Ace did that.

But their culpability in Arei and Ace’s deaths, even tangentially, shows in full color the consequences of letting their flaws go unchecked.

And in the context of Nico and Hu specifically, I can’t wait to see how that impacts them in the long run. Chapter 2 was all about facing the darkest sides of some of these characters. So wouldn’t it stand to reason that Ace’s death would influence some of them (like Nico) to examine their actions more closely and try to grow from them?

I can see Nico cutting off their friendship with Hu after this. She refused to acknowledge their fault in the situation. Since Nico is an objective person, I think they’ll understand the part they played in the Ace/Arei situation, and want other people to understand it as well. They won’t want Hu’s misplaced protection anymore.

And for Hu, I have no idea where she’s going after this. After her performance in this trial, where her flaws were pointed out to her by all the other characters, is she going to reflect and change? Or is she going to regress first, especially now that Ace, who she believed to be a villain, actually snapped and killed someone?

A big theme of chapter 2 has been growth. Ace shows the consequences of not growing. He was pushed to murder because of the rest of the cast not confronting their flaws, and he himself committed the murder because he didn’t know how to change.

It’s a bit of a hopeful spin on his death, but I’ll be honest—I’m still majorly bummed out about it. His life has just been terrible and will be terrible until it ends. He’s a horrible person with blood on his hands. He’s a coward and a bully who is hated by everyone. It’s all he’ll ever be, because he’ll die before having the chance to be someone else. Nico, through the sheer coincidence of having their murder interrupted, will be able to grow and change. Ace never will. A terrible life and a terrible death for a terrible person. And he won’t be missed. Not like Arei. Not like Min. Not like Xander. People like Nico, Rose, and Eden may feel bad about it, but no one will miss Ace specifically, because no one likes him.

If you were able to change and become a better person, it only means you were a good person to begin with.

If you weren’t able to change, it means you were doomed from the start. There’s no use trying.

There’s another world where people took Ace’s fears seriously. Where they didn’t dismiss him as a joke at the start and a volatile dog at the end. He might’ve survived if that happened. No matter what David says, bad people can change, if they know how to do it.

When this chapter finishes, I might make a full thematic analysis of it. There are still a bunch of things to say. I’ll just leave this post off with: Nico survivor stocks going up! Invest now!

[yep-yep-yep]

About the seven great secrets of Eden academy: part 1.

Lorelei in the third swimming pool:

Okay, we have already heard this name - it's also the name of the cruise ship in Yor's arc.

The most interesting thing is that Lorelei is a popular real character from german culture. She is a siren, who is "sitting on the cliff above the Rhine and combing her golden hair, unwittingly distracted shipmen with her beauty and song, causing them to crash on the rocks" (from wiki). Lorelei (it's the name of cliff also) is popular by echo and many ship crashes.

So, we have:

1. Swimming pool, therefore lesson with it (I want to see Henderson at this lesson, lol)

2. Damian, who likely is scared by water, in ch 39 he was really panicked and now we know that he could drown when he was 4.

3. And Anya's first stella due to how she rescued the drowning boy from the swimming pool (but I don't understand if she can swim or not).

Good recipe for a interesting school chapter, I think.

But I'm concerned about how this legend was born. I hope it's just "some pupil heard strange noises and his wild imagination gave him an image of a ghost siren", cuz it may be how some girl drowned herself and then it was made to widespreads and after a legend. Really sad shit.

I want to make small odd theories about Eden's secrets, at this moment we don't have much information about school history, but I want to think about it a little.

thanks for your attention.

[lee-hakhyun]

the pure panic in lee hakhyun's whole being this chapter was indescribably perfect. turns out eden isn't after lhh :) but they're going to seal away jaehwan using the same sealing method 1863hsy planned to use on yjh :(

[sunfiltersthroughwillowleaves]

Do you think the Hopeful Steward was scared? [EDEN SPOILERS!!!]

A young child screamed.

And there were more, there were more, light, there were more. Red rock fell from the sky. All screamed.

The Compassionate Cellists embraced the child, who cried, and their parent joined the two. Together, they shed tears.

They watched as ash filled the distant horizon, swooshing closer, emenating from Eden.

"Do you think-"

"Don't worry about it. We have to- we've gotta go."

"Where would we go!?"

They looked to the realm portals, and agreeing, began making their way towards them against the intense winds, and the ash that was beginning to reach them.

One of the many shards of darkness that rained down crashed onto the portals, that crumbled. Their one hope disappeared like a wisp of smoke in the wind.

But, of course, there was more than a wisp of smoke. The Phenomenal Pianist choked on the hot ash in the air, the enormous, thick cloud of which neared.

The child ran to the circle, where they lay sometimes on clear nights to see the stars.

They curled up in front of it.

"Hope!? Hope!? Where are you!?"

Hope looked behind them to see their parent, running towards them, but behind them was the dustcloud. They screamed to warn them, but it was too late.

The ash enveloped her, and what followed was nothing.

I always thought the Light lay at the end of death, they might have thought, if there was anything in the nothing that could think.

But all that was

was nothing.

~ ~ ~

Light.

A small light.

A weak one.

Could not move.

Move?

They had not moved in a very long time, they thought.

A different light now.

After the storm?

The storm was a long time ago.

A small mask, like theirs. Two eyes, a forehead stone.

A tunic, like theirs. Shorts underneath an overshirt, sleeves to the elbows.

Short hair, tied into a small ponytail on the left.

Who are you? they tried to ask, but something else was more important.

Their shape wavered.

They trembled.

Blue. Their skin was blue. See-through. As though they barely existed.

Who are you?

A red candle.

They led the child through the village they once knew.

Where was everyone?

A crusted body, covered in dark crystals.

Although they did not know what had happened, they knew one thing.

Their parent.

After the child left to find their destiny, the Hopeful Steward couldn't help but wonder.

What had happened to this vestige of a deserted oasis? Echoes of the abandoned refuge were present in their mind. The memories of the lost village. Once upon a time, it had been so populated. Now, the only thing that remained were the remnants of the forgotten haven.

But of course, there was one more thing that they couldn't stop thinking about.

Why the child? Why not them?

Why could the child have the destiny of light? Why did the Hopeful Steward have to shoulder the duty of the past and future on their own?

Why did they have to lose everything?

Why did they have to live out the rest of their existence as a ghost, a memory, a remnant, a vestige, an echo?

Why wasn't the child's destiny their own?

[lunaetis]

─「エデン」─  " no more ... monkeys ... "

[multi-lefaiye]

i'm having thoughts about themes and motifs and symbolism and they're clawing and biting and hissing to escape

[ooeygooeyghoul]

I wanna put out the biggest THANK YOU to everyone who ran the Eden raids with me and came out to wish me a happy birthday today!! I don't have the words to say how happy I am that so many of you came to hang out with me!!

Gushing about and doting at Fatebreaker for like ten minutes before starting the fight was my favorite part of tonight, hands down. You're all awesome, and I hope we can get together again to do more fun stuff like this again soon!

[mdddante]

lowiro: arcaeas storyline is done!!!

insight: nuh uh

[annebardot-sl]

Part 2

[gloochi]

Mikoto and Noein?

So if you've looked in the CRYMACHINA artbook at all, you've probably noticed this interesting tidbit on Noein's page.

Her face resembles Mikoto's? And the fact that it's secret lore means that this was intentional. This wasn't just some "oh, we're gonna reuse a face on this character whose face will never be fully shown" situation, so what's the deal here?

Warning! Major spoilers for the end of the game below the Read More. Click at your own risk (preferably don't click if you haven't at least finished chapter 7).

Importantly, I think it's less that Mikoto and Noein resemble each other and more that they both resemble Eve. Sort of. Humans are very much nothing like they are in our world (unless we're also in a simulation that lost what humanity truly looks like), so there are some liberties to take here. We'll start with the Noein connection as that's the one that takes a bit more explaining and Hurts Me more.

Noein is very much a Missing Link of sorts between Humanity and the E.V.E., largely looking like a cross between the two. In fact, she rather heavily resembles the statues in Eden specifically.

Notably, there's also concept art of Noein with four arms, which I truly desperately wish had made the final cut.

As for the connections to Eve, Noein carries herself in much the same way, and I'd even argue that her thorny crown is somewhat reminiscent of Eve's thorny head.

On its own, this sounds tenuous at best, especially since Eve notably has NO eyes due to being a designer baby, but we know from Noein's Personality Data Memoir, one of the Cardinals' Personality Data Memoirs, and the document obtained from completing the Cardinals sidequest that Xu Dong, Noein's creator, was in love with Eve. Considering that Eve's presence on the project was being completely scrubbed, Xu Dong likely would've wanted to immortalize Eve's involvement in some other way, likely by drawing on Eve as her inspiration for building Noein, and thus, Noein could be argued to resemble an abstraction of what Eve would've looked like as a normal Human, a connection that I definitely feel would've been stronger with the four-armed Noein design.

And with that explained, now I can touch on why Mikoto has the same face. As we know, the E.V.E. Project was an attempt to recreate Eve for Lilly's sake, and Mikoto seems to have been the closest to that goal by far. She showed little to no rejection responses when given ExP (her reactions largely being limited to flashbacks whenever it altered her memories), and Evetization even seemed to be progressing at a decent pace, considering that Leben comments on how Mikoto has been acting differently lately in a Tea Party towards the end of chapter 3. On top of that, Lilly even recognized her as her sister ON SIGHT and took her head on the spot, confident that she was the one without even needing to check her personality data. Considering Lilly's genuine confusion as to why Mikoto wasn't fully awakening as Eve at the end of chapter 5, it can be assumed that she still wasn't getting major rejection responses, and the only reason it was failing was due to Eden's failsafes preventing a second Eve from existing. Thus, add on the fact that Mikoto shares a face with Noein and what we've previously established about the both of them, and we can surmise that Mikoto looks INCREDIBLY similar to what Eve would've looked like as an E.V.E., to the point where they could potentially look like twins when side-by-side.

Further backing this up, though, is Mikoto's eyes. As we know, Eve doesn't actually have any eyes, almost certainly due to her being a designer baby. It's unknown whether she can see without them or if she relies more on her remaining senses, but she can at least perceive the E.V.E. well enough to know that they're a poor approximation of Humans.

Mikoto, meanwhile, has two notable details about her eyes. The most obvious detail is that she wears glasses in her virtual form, and considering Eve's (lack of) eyes, Mikoto's glasses are probably just as functional as they are fashionable.

The less obvious detail is that, while it's perfectly obscured in her virtual form, her right eye is incredibly fucked up, and you can see as much if you look closely enough at her synthetic frame. The sclera is blood red, and the iris is pitch black.

Interestingly, there's concept art in the artbook showing her with her hair up, and there, the colors of the sclera and iris are swapped. The old colors can also be seen on her character model (if you use her launcher, then activate photo mode while she's ascending) and very briefly during the NotToNotice(); MV, but the MakeFlowerCrown(); MV uses the new colors, meaning that the change likely happened late in development. This particular shot also feels like it calls attention to it, with it being centered on the camera and only flashing on screen for a brief moment. If I had to guess, there may have originally been plans to call attention to her eye at some point, but those were scrapped for one reason or another, and the colors were swapped to make it easier for eagle-eyed players to notice. Again, though, this is just speculation.

Considering everything else about the connection between Mikoto and Eve, this is almost certainly an analog to Eve's missing eyes, especially when we consider how the NotToNotice(); MV focuses on it for just a brief moment. Interestingly, the fact that Mikoto specifically hides the eye with her hair (even around family) implies a lack of self-confidence in regards to it. It's possible she was mistreated because of it while growing up, which would line up with her being rather similar to Eve. I do wish we had gotten at least a Tea Party touching on her eye, but considering that it would likely have required a whole new set of portraits for her with her eye exposed just for the very little time it's used, I get why it ended up being just a background detail.

Tl;dr, Noein was likely an abstraction of what a Human looked like, likely modeled after Eve as an act of love from Xu Dong, and Mikoto almost certainly looks incredibly similar to how Eve would've looked as an E.V.E. Thus, Mikoto and Noein share the same face. This lore truly is secret, given all the pieces you have to connect to uncover the why of it all. 😆

[etheravie]

The Light Catcher's Eulogy

✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧

The similarities were uncanny. She was in Eden, but she wasn't at home—where the wind howled a mourning song to remember all those she and her sister had encased within stone for future generations to see. Red shards pelted the crying land in an eternal hail and pierced the soles of all who trekked forward to make a willing sacrifice. Where Borealis stood, there was nothing. Her breaths were an echo in the quiet. There was no wind nor red shards. The rocks, stone and debris were distributed just as awkwardly as she remembered, but nothing felt right. The King's princess felt estranged in her own land.

"You lied to me," said a young, echoing voice. It was familiar, but Borealis didn't recognize who it belonged to. She couldn't connect the voice to a name. She didn't want to. The haunting realization of her situation froze her heart mid-beat, which now pulsed pure ice and electricity through her veins.

Oblivious to her peril, the voice continued, "Please look at me. It's been so long, Borealis. Or is that a lie, too?"

✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧

Borealis woke up with a gasp. Her hand flew up to her chest and tightly gripped her vest. It was difficult for her to find a grip due to the material and her panicked breathing, which made her fingers shake. She continued until she found purchase. There were dark spots in her vision that followed her wherever she looked and the feeling of adrenaline coursing through her veins caused the edenkid to tremble. Borealis couldn't focus on anything amidst the panic that arose from rising out of slumber, so she tightly shut her eyes.

She never fell asleep. Even after her sister left her side, Borealis' nights remained restless; she would toss and turn uselessly. The comfort of unconsciousness' embrace had never been the same since that first night—when she and her sister closed their eyes only to awaken away from home and in a world they weren't yet prepared to face.

Borealis breathed deeply and continued to lie on the ground with closed eyes, looking for thought within the fog of fear that muddled her mind. Soon she began to feel the invisible but phantom presence of her twin resting by her side. Her expression was peaceful in contrast to last night's nightmare. Their mother's hands combed through Borealis' long hair and lightly scolded her for neglecting to brush it. An overwhelming tranquility overcame the edenkid when she heard a familiar melody, hummed by none other than her father. At the foot of the bed was Rocky, who slept contentedly. He barely managed to squeeze into the room. His light had finally darkened into nothingness. The dark dragon's gentle rumbles reminded Borealis of passing thunder, leaving glorious sun rays in its wake.

After a few minutes, the Eden twin finally found peace. Borealis' fingers loosened so her hand gently rested atop her chest. The gaping, cracked hole beneath her clothes allowed her to better hear and feel the thrum of each heartbeat, the source of which was protected by the crystals that surrounded it. The memory of the jewels' formation made Borealis shudder. The pain of a heart struggling to beat around a cage of crystals was one that no skykid should ever be able to experience. It had been enough to make the edenkid want to tear out her heart to make it stop.

Soft, glowing yellow eyes opened slowly. The sight of a red sky greeted Borealis in a lovely shade of scarlet. Not a cloud was in sight nor was there a hint of a breeze to be felt. The world was still and only moved when Borealis sat up. She took off her mask and rubbed her eyes, internally covering her ears to ignore the sweet whispers of sleep that beckoned her back into its loving embrace, unwilling to part ways so soon when they had her in their grasp for so pleasantly long. They were intermixed with the sound of idle water as Borealis fixed her mask back into place after she drew in a deep, final breath to steady herself. The aftermath of a waterfall within a river; not a ripple to be seen as it lie slumbering in wait for something to awake it into motion again.

Borealis suddenly jumped to her feet and quickly waved her arms and kicked her legs. The water clung to her clothes in a tight hug she never wanted and stained the hem of her pants and the tips of her white finger-loop sleeves. She nearly wrung the soaking fabric out, but hastily removed her hands with a hiss. She was repulsed by the idea of getting any more of her skin wet.

The water around the platform was shallow yet ever present. Each ripple threatened to submerge her ankles and drag her down into the opaque abyss if she dared to take one step forward. Borealis was safe for the moment, but the proximity of the liquid poison made her anxiety race as fast as her heart.

What stole her breath away was what lie above the waters, in the distance, and all around. She finally ripped her eyes away from the puddles to drink in the sea. In front of the light catcher were the ruined remains of her home. Bits of pillars stuck out of the water, left to forever plead for a higher hand to fix what was irreparable. The stone platform that had been so intricately built with love and precision was shattered and strewn about all throughout the realm. Borealis was thankful for the stones' sturdiness while she numbly walked forward, the water lapping at her feet now left forgotten.

Large rocks filled the majority of the expanse. They jutted out like a defective pit of spikes, stretching as high as they could only to fall short of a dream all those who had a light wanted to see. Most of the towering carnage rose in steep, tiny makeshift mountains to offer skykids of all kinds protection from the elements that poured down in an unending hail. Where soft raindrops would once occasionally sprinkle down on a paradise were now unending shards that lacerated skin and drained the light of any poor soul that dared to brave what Eden had to offer. Luckily for Borealis, she had torn hers out years ago.

She walked forward with awe in her eyes. Her breath was just as stilled as the air around her. It was almost suffocating. Borealis felt as though the crystals around her heart had finally developed the strength needed to infiltrate her lungs and choke her from the inside out.

The similarities were uncanny. She was in Eden, but she wasn't at home—where the wind howled a mourning song to remember all those she and her sister had encased within stone for future generations to see. Red shards pelted the crying land in an eternal hail and pierced the soles of all who trekked forward to make a willing sacrifice. Where Borealis stood, there was nothing. Her breaths were an echo in the quiet. There was no wind nor red shards. The rocks, stone and debris were distributed just as awkwardly as she remembered, but nothing felt right. The King's princess felt estranged in her own land.

"You lied to me," said a young, echoing voice. It was familiar, but Borealis didn't recognize who it belonged to. She couldn't connect the voice to a name. She didn't want to. The haunting realization of her situation froze her heart mid-beat, which now pulsed pure ice and electricity through her veins.

Oblivious to her peril, the voice continued, "Please look at me. It's been so long, Borealis. Or is that a lie, too?"

Borealis tried to cover her ears but a cold, hard hand gripped her wrist to stop her. A scream ripped from the edenkid's throat. She whirled around and tried to pull her arm away, but the statue held her hand with a vice grip. She hadn't noticed how close she had been to them before she slowed to a stop. Through the contact, she could neither feel nor hear a heartbeat.

The statue stared at Borealis with her eyes. Light seeped through the cracks within their body like sun rays struggling to part the clouds not unlike the roots of a plant. When she looked at the statue's chest, she saw no light. When she looked beyond it, all of the statues she had previously passed were now watching her with a hatred far beyond that of what her twin once held. Her despair had been enough to destroy their home, but the animosity of the statues' lights within their frozen bodies may as well have been enough to destroy every star in the sky. Their feet dragged against the earth and water while they walked, slowly but surely, steady on their feet. The sound was akin to that of shattering glass. Only this glass was inside of Borealis, clawing at her insides until she was nothing but a husk of the girl she used to be. She had no doubt that the fellow children in front of her would continue to break her body into nothing but dust once she shattered. Borealis knew that she wouldn't be missed. So she ran.

The princess wrenched her arm away from the skykid that attempted holding her back from an inevitable fate. A snap was a thunder strike in the quiet and the following thud was drowned out by the thunder of her footsteps against rubble and water. There was nowhere to go, yet her feet took her to an endless direction. She jumped up and over rubble and the remains of towering pillars that once stood proud and tall like the elders that ruled the realms. The thought made her blood boil and her heartbeat pulse in her ears like a war drum. It wasn't enough to block out the scraping sound that followed her. Every new statue that she passed moved with a newfound breath of life that the wind she stirred up instilled into them. It was easy for her to create distance, but the symphony of the broken and abandoned was a horrific wail. When she first turned around, there were little more than three. Now, there were almost fifteen. Borealis lost count of how many she and her sister had trapped there.

The wind was too strong. Borealis continued on as far as possible until water met sand; up the dune and down until the land flattened into something more stable. The breeze stirred from her parents' prison was wild, tossing her hair and the fabric of her loose clothes. Each step was slowing her enough to match her pursuers', for even the wind wanted to condemn her and push her to a fate worse than being shattered.

Soon, she was knocked down and to her knees. The edenkid was left grasping at the sand to stop herself from being pushed too far back. Never before did Borealis want nothing more than to break through the eye and reach her parents; to beg for forgiveness and be held within the safety of her family's arms. Never before had she ever been more terrified.

The fear she once held towards the elders wasn't fear at all, Borealis realized. That was hatred. This was fear in its purest form.

"Mother! Father!" Borealis cried, reaching out again as though her parents' prison was within reach. Playing pretend was her specialty, but that was impossible now. Not here. "Sister! Help me, please! I need you!"

"We needed you."

Borealis turned around and shouted in fear. When she tried to back away impossibly further, the unseen wall of wind shoved her twice as much toward the army. It looked as though every skykid in the realms had ventured to this strange Eden and turned to stone just to get the opportunity to watch her cower before them. Their faces were stoic despite the cracks and fractures in their bodies. It would kill any skykid within seconds, yet the ones in front of the Eden twin remained held together by something Borealis didn't understand. The word vengeance came to mind much more often than she would like.

The commander was the same soul that had tried to sentence her to an early fate. Borealis wasn't thankful. She was horrified to see that there was a lack of blood that poured out of the shoulder where there was once an arm. Their other lifted to point at her. It felt like a death sentence, so Borealis waited with bated breath. Behind her mask, tears ran down her cheeks and stung her eyes with pins and needles. "You trapped us," said the general. "You killed us when we needed you most."

Borealis exclaimed, "I didn't kill you! Eden did; my sister created the storm! You all chose to accept the offer. You all chose to follow me!"

Her words marked the rise of the conductor's baton, and so began the encore. It first began at piano, then crescendoed into a roar. Borealis covered her ears and shut her eyes but still she could hear the truth as clear as she could her own broken sobs that she didn't deserve to heave. For a terrifying moment, she thought they were in her mind, whispering pleas that would forever go unanswered.

"I trusted you!"

"You said it was safe!"

"You lied to us!"

"You took my light!"

"How can you blame your sister for what you did!?"

"Help me!" Borealis screamed into the sky when she felt a hand graze her shoulder. This time she was faster. She gripped the hard, icy skin and pulled as hard as she could. The short figure didn't budge. So was to the twin's surprise when they let her go. The wind pushed her onwards and made her stumble, struggling to get a grip and find purchase. The crowd's cries of laughter cut at her skin and the pointed fingers at her tall figure while she ran again dug into her wounds. When Borealis passed them they all prodded and pulled until the horrors of all she had done were exposed for the ancestors to see. Blood poured out of every pore. They tore out her crystals one by one, snapping them off into glittering shards that lie scattered with the sand like pixie dust. It would be the only beauty that she would ever be able to leave behind.

Her body was becoming dust and stone just like the rest. Each step was becoming more and more weighted until the tips of her feet dragged against the floor with a scraping sound sharp enough split the estranged realm in two. It didn't rise enough to silence the shouts that continued to chase after her like ghosts. The hundreds of thundering footsteps were a rainstorm, but it had since become nothing but white noise. It failed to flood the land and deliver her a faster relief. If she was going to die, she wasn't going to be slain by the hands she had once so easily guided. The tsunami of a guilty conscience flooded her heart quickly after the thought.

"Return to us, light catcher!" they began to call.

Another voice chimed, "Let's take her light!"

Within the cacophony of taunts and jeers, a third, distinct voice slashed through her throat and spilled a garden of blood and glass onto the grounds of Eden.

"She ripped hers out. Take what's left."

"Sister!" Borealis cried and turned back. A hand flew up to her mouth in horror. Her twin was standing front and center, with a legion of the lost and lonely. Their bodies were battered and bruised beyond belief, yet they all stood proud and tall with the confidence of an elder accepting their position. Every eye stared holes into the one within Borealis' chest, as though they could tear out her crystals by just sight alone. The other Eden twin, with her intact arm, slowly lifted it to point where Borealis' light once lie. When the battalion began to march on once more, Borealis tripped over her feet in her haste to escape. Her body was crystallizing, slowing her movement impossibly further. There was no light to break through the openings that tore through her skin. She screamed to the wind and never dared to look over her shoulder. "No! Please! Please, sister! You don't have to do this!"

The riot raged behind Borealis in a wildfire. The flames of anger were licking her heels and driving her forward, lest she be swept into the hands of the forsaken, eager to rip her to shreds and take what she had taken. There was no way to run or hide. She would inevitably tire out if she continued to flee, and if she hid, they would always find her. There was no way to escape.

But it was the only way. Borealis pressed forward. Her heart was spilling out of the cracks of her body, slowly being replaced by the shallow waters that beckoned her towards its cold, unrelenting grip. Terror was reflected in the water's surface when she practically fell next to a deeper divot of water, but the sound of hundreds of heavy footsteps reminded her that it needed to be done.

The edenkid didn't take a breath before she plugged her head into the water. The force was enough to crack her mask. She felt the need to gasp for air almost instantly. Every nerve, thrumming with adrenaline, ran on instinct and demanded her to thrash around to escape and take a deep breath. Borealis forced her body as still as she could to stay under for as long as possible. Her tears intermixed with the pooling water into something indistinguishable. Not even the tears shed from Eden's princess would be remembered.

When she could stand it no more, Borealis took a deep breath. The water flooded every inch of her body from the inside out, smothering her crystals and blocking out any light. Her screams were a lonely, distorted melody. The infiltration of any cracked crystals were the most painful. It was the same as fire being injected into her veins. Still she gulped the liquid like a dying man in a desert, wholly believing the water would spare him. It was too good to be true, because it was only a mirage.

Minutes passed and her body continued to let out muffled shouts for air, yet the corners of her vision never darkened. Her thoughts were jumbled puzzle pieces and the anticipated lightheadedness never swept her fright away. When she realized this, Borealis jerked her head back with a gasp. She heaved on her hands and knees, coughing and sputtering until she gagged. There was nothing but water. Everything was clear and quiet except for the gentle splashing of water. There was no death here. There was no freedom.

And then she heard the laughter. Borealis clutched at her torso. feeling as though she could cough for the rest of her life and it still wouldn't be enough to expel all of the water she tried to drown herself with. The statues surrounded and pointed at her with accosting fingers. Their laughter never ceased. Everyone's eyes were bright, which only brought more tears to Borealis'. Finally, they were merry again. They were being given the peace they deserved.

Borealis screamed and dunked her head back under a second time, then a third, and finally a fourth. The laughter persisted and so did her screams from under the water. When she resurfaced for the fifth time, her sister stepped forward. Borealis scrambled back until she bumped into the legs of one of the statues. She didn't dare take any step closer to Eden's elder.

The light catcher pleaded, "Please, sister! I beg you; I beg of you all! Please don't kill me! I'm sorry. I'm so sorry!"

"You're only sorry because you're finally getting karma," said someone from the crowd. A wave of mutters swept through the statues, whispering their agreement. Their giggles were grating to Borealis' ears.

The shorter twin hushed the crowd with only her voice. "You are already dead," she explained. "You removed your light years ago."

"Where am I!?" Borealis demanded. "What are you going to do to me? Why aren't you helping me!?"

Her words elicited another ripple of giggles from the crowd. The elder answered, "You are home, Borealis. We are home."

"Then what are they all doing here? If I'm dead, then where is mother and father? They should be—"

The realization must have been evident on her face, because from behind her twin's mask, Borealis could see her eyes squint with her unseen smile. The light catcher shook her head in disbelief. "No... no, no, no! Please, no!"

She stumbled to her feet and roughly grabbed her sister's shoulders. Her grip was so tight that there was an audible crack. Shortly afterwards, a few pebbles slipped down her sleeves and onto the ground below. The fabric was ripped where her right arm once was, now broken at the elbow. "Who sent you here?" Borealis demanded. "Elisia! Who shattered you!?"

Elisia smiled softly. "You did, Borealis."

The world was crumbling. Borealis shrieked when the statues dove forward and pulled her down, fighting over her wildly like she was the last ray of sunlight in existence. Glass and crystals littered the ground in a monochrome spectra; a glittering, stained glass window rippled as it was broken. Her own life was sharpened into knives. Each shard deemed thick enough was stabbed back into her body, leaving Borealis pinned like a moth on display. Between her screams, she coughed up what was left in a spritz of blood like a breath of mist after the morning rain. None of the statues ever flinched. They took delight in her misery. The light catcher screamed for freedom and forgiveness, but she received none. She shouted for her sister until her throat bled, but no red tinted light could be seen among the carnage. When she was dragged towards her parents' prison, Borealis fought with what little was left of her strength. Not to flee, but to find her sister. To scream apologies not to be understood, but to let her twin know that she truly was sorry for abandoning her when she needed her most. For not turning back to be there for her. For trapping sixty three skykids in the remains of their home to draw the attention of those who had banished her family and herself.

"Elisia! Elisia!"

She didn't need to look for long. Elisia had escaped near to the eye just as Borealis had. The elder opened her arm wide, as though she were about to receive or deliver a hug. Her cape was spread wide and majestic but there was no wind nor light to truly reflect the beauty their elder had blessed her with. Borealis was left wondering once again why they were ever created as twins. Why she was the oldest when Elisia had the weight of the realms on her shoulders. It wasn't fair. None of it was fair.

When Elisia spoke, her voice was not of her own. It was Borealis'. She said, "We have caught the light catcher. Welcome home, sister. I've missed you so, so much."

When Borealis blinked, a krill spike was now in Elisia's hand. The tip was dripping with blood. Around it, shards of a shattered light floated around, frozen in time. Borealis couldn't scream when it was stabbed through her chest, because as the weapon whistled through the air, it carried Elisia's scream with it.