#suggestions of jadorre and eighthunter if you squint

[eorzeashan]

First a season of fire. You saw the world burn. You kindled spark into the blaze. You...bound yourself to a darkness falling like rain.

This is possibly my favorite description of the history between him and Jadus, not to mention the sheer surprise coming off of an unflappable Voss Mystic who has seen countless traumas. I've always written their dynamic like dark waters; incalculably deep and frightening like the abyss, but comforting to those who cannot breathe anywhere but in its depths.

Falling like rain...is an oddly gentle metaphor. It extinguishes fire, does it not?

I'll be thinking on this.

Voss questline continues to remind the agent of their core. That strength remains. It's why he's won over and over again, even if he is no longer who he once was.

I imagine that's why he also ultimately triumphs over Hunter; he'll kneel on him and ask, have you ever loved someone, Hunter?

Hunter might stare at him in confusion. Maybe even answer "you, for starters," while coughing up blood in his shitty smile.

Eight will just hum and go, see, that's why you lost.

If there's one thing he believes above all else, it's that everyone needs their reason to fight. It doesn't matter how. It doesn't matter why or if the reason stopped mattering a long time ago. Without it, you truly are nothing.

Amin-Le: Your spirit shines, but it is trapped. You must change, what will you become?

Eight: Changing identities is what I do best. I'll be whatever I need to be.

There he goes again. I adore how compared to his Nine playthrough, this quest reminds him of the sheer Light he holds inside that drives him to victory each and every time. As Nine, he was so broken at this point that he simply wanted to be free, so it was much different than the confidence he has here. He doesn't need to be free as Eight; he has his own power in knowing fully what he can be and what he values most. Nothing can take that away from him.

I can change. I will change. I will not fear it.

Final note: The number Eight resembles an infinity symbol. It has no end, and no beginning.