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What

[Well, that answer takes Regis aback. Did...she not know about the sleep Noctis fell into?]

My apologies, Era. I take it you didn't hear that he fell into a coma like I did?

Things suddenly make a lot more sense if there is a prophecy involved.

There is, indeed. One that has been with our bloodline ever since it began. You know so many of us, I am surprised it was not mentioned before.

If you do not know, there is a plague upon our world and it is said that one of our bloodline will be the Chosen King, the one who will have the power to clear this plague from the land and return light to it.

[And even without him connecting point A to point B, from what he said before, it's probably pretty clear who that Chosen King is.]

[ Her reply comes a few hours later, as she first needs to absorb all of what Regis has told her, then think of how she feels about it all, and then formulate a suitable response. All-in-all it takes more energy than she can spare at once.

But, eventually, she manages it. ]

I know of Ardyn's future, and lived through past memories of both brothers, as well as Noct's childhood.

One of my worlds was overrun by a plague of Light. Where you have daemons, the First had Sin Eaters. The Scourge is a disease of the body, while the Blight was of aether; the life energy that makes up the soul.

What Ardyn is to Darkness, I became to Light with the aid of the Mothercrystal's Blessing.

Perhaps these words may offer you some measure of reassurance:

Ninety percent of the First was destroyed by the initial flood of Light. The ten percent that remained fought on through it all and did their best to survive.

A century later, the Light has abated and the night sky has finally been returned to them.

Few Sin Eaters remain, with fewer still rising to take their place.

A cure is being made for those infected but not yet lost.

The whispered promises of life rise in the barren Empty.

The First survived because Mother actively intervened, halting the Flood and sparing the world from complete annihilation.

The First was saved, not by any deity or prophecy, but by mortals who never gave up fighting.

The First will recover, because those same mortals have the hope of a better future, and the will to see it through.

...However, there was a future where none of this is true. A reality where the First was lost to the Light, and in turn my home world suffered a horrendous Calamity that turned it into a hostile wasteland.

In that future I had died in the early days, as did my comrades, and with us died all hope.

Many years later, the memoirs my father penned of the Warrior of Light revived that hope. The people that remained finally began working together again, and created the technology to travel through time.

They accomplished the seemingly impossible, sending an old friend back to a time long before the Eighth Umbral Calamity struck.

They knew it would erase their very existence, but they did it all the same.

So matter what anyone tells you, the future is never set in stone, and — with great sacrifice — the past can be rewritten for others.

I dearly hope you are right.

[Just as it takes some time for her to respond, it takes Regis some time as well. He doesn't want his response to be an automatic one, but one he has thought about and considered the implications of. Oh, how he would love a different future than the one he has learned bits and pieces of. One where his son doesn't have to suffer. One where Cor doesn't remain alone with duty as his only partner until the very end. One, perhaps, where there is no need for a bloodied tassel to be the only reminder of a lifelong friendship and words left forever unspoken.

Regis would love it all, but it is harder for him to be so optimistic these days. His wife's death dimmed so much of the hope that once light up his heart.

For other's, though, perhaps he can continue to hope.]

They, and the world, deserve so much more than what seems to lay in store for them.

[At least now, he can understand a little better what Emet Selch meant when he said the darkness was not bad on his world, even if the very concept still makes Regis uneasy.]

If we can be returned home with our memories intact then there is a chance to reshape our futures.

[ She sends another message shortly after: ]

I can't help but think that were I to find my way to your world, I may be able to use my Light against the Darkness there.

It is just an idle thought, however.

Do you think that is still possible though we who have gone home and then come back have remembered nothing of this place while we were gone?

[Oh, how much he would give for that to be so.]

It is possible, though I would hate to ask you to risk yourself for a world not your own. You have already given so much to your own world.

We did not truly 'go home'. During that process our souls are still anchored to the bodies we have here, though appear obscured as if seeing them through fogged glass.

Those that disappear leave in both body and soul. I think that difference is important.

So yes, I believe it is a possibility.

Your world is connected to mine in some way, albeit not as intrinsically as the others of my universe I've been to. If it does not put my worlds in peril I would gladly help yours.

I will not question your knowledge of how our worlds may be connected. You know infinity more about such things than I do. If your power and skill can be of help, then we would be foolish to turn away your aid.

[There is a pause before a response to the first part of her message comes. It is clear this is something he needed more time to think about.]

So if only part of the soul goes back, that would explain why a person's body would change. There is still a link between the self that is back home and the self that is here. Information--in this case memories--passes between the two with the soul as a link. Am I interpreting that correctly?

Noct was actually the one who confirmed the link for me. The story is quite interesting.

[ a.k.a. ask him about it and have more Dad + Son bonding time!! ]

If I am able to assist I shall. Even if I lose all memory of this place upon my return, if an opportunity presents itself I will do my best to offer aid all the same. My comrades would, as well.

[ Era needs a moment before answering, recalling just how she came about this information. ]

That would be the short of it, yes. My partner could see souls, and thus was able to observe this when it happened to me.

[He will definitely have to have a chat with his son about that. How very interesting.]

Of course. I should have realized that. He was able to see the souls that reside in my ring as well.

[It had, in fact, made Regis very wary of the man for a while, but now he is grateful for the knowledge the ability has brought them.]

How very strange to think we literally existed in two places at once for that time. The power these gods have is amazing, even at their current reduced levels.

That is what's wrong with your ring? Are they whole souls, as opposed to fragments or echoes of them?

And you needn't be a 'god' to do such a thing. This is not my first experience with something similar.

[The idea that something is 'wrong' with his ring takes Regis aback for a moment. Of course, he realizes that it a logical way to put it once the surprise fades. After all, most rings don't hold over a hundred different souls in them.]

As far as I know, the souls are whole, yes. They occasionally communicate with the one who wears the ring and each still has the personality they had in life, at least if the records of their lives are correct, that is. It is a gathering place of sorts, allowing the bloodline's power to grow until the day the True King is ready to wield it.

You have experienced so much more than I. I will have to take your word for it then.

[ That is... more than mildly concerning. ]

If it would not cause too much inconvenience for you, would it be possible for you to leave your ring elsewhere, or within your armiger, for the duration of the dinner?

I have an ability that allows my soul to connect with others, however I have no control over it as of yet. As I will be hosting, I would prefer to minimize the chances of an ill-timed bout of unconsciousness.

[Mildly concerning is an understatement. Regis can't help but wince as he reads that.]

Of course. I'm not sure how the ring and the Armiger will interact with each other, so I would rather not store it there, but I will find someone who I can leave it with for a few hours.

[Normally, this would be Cor, but as he is also invited, Regis will look to another.]

If you cannot find someone, do not worry. The Echo does not strike me often, nor cause me any lasting harm. I regain consciousness within a handful of minutes, and surrounded by family of family, I would be safe from any danger.

Still, I would rather be safe than sorry. Don't worry. I will find someone.

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