VOICES: CHAPTER 10

After the last few days, Shiva was surprised Ifrit's Dominant chose the cliff overlooking the shore to seek solitude on. Though perhaps 'solitude' was a misnomer. He certainly hadn't been subtle about letting her Dominant know where he was going, and even if he had tried, Fenrir seemed to like following him around even when he wasn't particularly wanted. One just had to follow the trail of tracks and fur.

But no, her Dominant had picked up on the signals, and seemed of a similar mind, and so here they were in the dark of the night with a glamoured sky, picking their way through the underbrush of the forest leading to the bay.

Shiva had to snort in amusement, recalling the state in which she and her Dominant had found the pair of Hellfire channelers here a few days earlier. Maybe they enjoyed being chewed on and there was something soothing that made them want to wander back to the site of Leviathan's tantrum.

Shiva sighed to herself. Leviathan.

What a twist that had been.

One of their own so lost she had given him up to time. She had been so sure that his Motes had been snuffed out and with it whatever fetters Ultima had fashioned for the great sea serpent.

Though really, she should have known, the moment they passed through that glamour that something wasn't right. Something was amiss. How had Leviathan's Motes survived and yet not bore a Dominant for their Eikon in over a century? The longest any of them had remained dormant between Dominants had been one time Titan had skipped two generations. Though if anyone bothered to ask, Shiva would have said that it had probably been due to his Dominant being slain before he awoke twice in a row. Honestly given the ruthlessness of humanity, it was more surprising that didn't happen more often.

And why had she felt a nagging sense of familiarity with this place? Sure, the human hovels were reminiscent of her Motes, her Dominant seemed to revel in the familiarity, and delight in her lover's interest in her thoughts on it but that had never mattered before. She had never cared what her Dominant was interested in before.

Her Dominant. Maybe that had been why Shiva had been so uncharacteristically unnerved. The remnant power of a Dominant of a century ago that she had discarded when her time had passed and Shiva returned to dormancy to await another. She hadn't realized it because ever since her current Dominant had surrendered a large portion of her power to Ifrit's, her focus had been split and more and more cracks were forming in her barriers. Her ice still responded to her, her Dominant still wielded it as before, though muted from it's full intensity. This was all expected.

But that there was a small portion of Shiva that felt pride watching Ifrit weave her element so effortlessly into all the others, was not. The feeling of glee when she thought of showing that perverse god-worm a taste of Hellfire with a will and an arsenal. The feeling of sorrow atop the Fallen tower when she witnessed that mutilated horror that they had taken to calling The Eikon of Insanity. The feeling of white hot rage when she thought of the Fallen and what they had done to one of their own.

She had never done emotions the way humans knew them. She was simply her element. Cold and all consuming, bitter and crude, solitary and powerful. Some Dominants could handle it, some could not, and to her it never mattered which. She never felt much of anything when it came to her Dominants, or at least, that was how it had been.

When confronted with the reality that her previous Dominant had woven the spell that had trapped Leviathan and his infant wielder, she could not ignore the feeling of sad regret that her power had been used for such a cruel spell. To bind an Eikon to an infant Dominant for nearly a generation…to leave them awake and aware to nothing but the echo of their own minds…Shiva could not find fault with the anger she felt when Leviathan had turned his gaze upon her. As he slowly regained his sanity and let his Dominant float down to the ground, the initial hiss of water and spray at their group stung more than she had expected.

Shiva had never 'cared' before. She had battled Eikons and humans alike across the ages, and never once had she held any grudge, or ire beyond the initial clash. Until Ultima. Until Ifrit.

The Queen of Ice shifted in her space within her Dominant as her thoughts wandered to the the two entities that had turned existence upside down and inside out. The one that taught her what it was to truly hate, and the one that she could not stay away from. She felt Jill's attention drift to her for moment before she resumed her trek along the path. Shiva was rather grateful her Dominant's mind was on other matters at the moment.

Since Phoenix had taught them the trick of speaking directly to each other, Shiva had quickly found that she enjoyed talking to the other Eikons. Phoenix was a soft motherly touch, somewhere between a hearth and a threat of a wildfire, always full of insights and observations she couldn't help but share and a temper brewing underneath that she tried to ignore. Shiva seemed to get enjoyment out of sending cold bursts of truth and reality to blow out the candle of the firebird's words and stoke the embers beneath just to see how similar the twin flames were.

Bahamut had wandered in by accident. He had been studying his current state in preparation to figure a way to prime without overwhelming his Dominant when they were finally ready to approach Origin, and had followed the tethers linking him to Ifrit mostly out of curiosity. Inevitably that lead him directly into the middle of one of their conversations, Shiva forgot which one, there had been so many in such a short span of time. The Divine Wyrm for a brief moment lost his fucking mind, screeching and barking about madness and other such nonsense until the Phoenix had realized what had happened and managed to calm the Eikon of Light down before he roused his Dominant. They had just gotten their own Dominants used to the idea that they could speak amongst themselves, they did not need to broadcast that it apparently was wider spread than they thought.

Since then, the Great Wyrm hadn't stopped talking until they had left the Hideaway, being even chattier than the Phoenix and Ifrit combined, asking questions of how this was possible, how they learned of it, everything. The Eikon seemed starved for knowledge of this newfound discovery and leaned into every opportunity to explore the nature it. Phoenix was ecstatic, happy to have someone else to wax philosophic with, being a similarly multi-faceted Eikon. Ifrit wasn't quite as thrilled with the Eikon of Light's nosiness, but when he realized it was genuine curiosity and not some veiled attempt to dissect him or utilize him he seemed to settle, and even would humor the wyrm. Shiva herself treated the overenthusiastic bluster of the Warden of Light with the same mentality she treated Dominants that would bombard her with questions. Short blunt answers, and when it finally got on her nerves she'd insult him to shut them down and divert him elsewhere. To his credit, Bahamut didn't seem to mind the harsh dismissals. He seemed to have a great respect for their natures and how their elements shaped their personalities. She had to at least give the wyrm credit for that.

But it was Ifrit that Shiva enjoyed prodding the most. The hellfire beast was temperamental and wild, full of flares and shifting magma that never truly cooled no matter how docile the rock looked on its surface. His reactions to her barbs and remarks were a delight, and as the weeks had gone on, he started giving back as good as he got. When he had asked her how far up her ass she'd shoved that glacier of a stick, Shiva had almost laughed. Laughed. The Eikon of Ice, brought to laughter by a crude comment conceived by human vulgarity, delivered by this wildfire of an Eikon that she couldn't seem to help but want to be near. It did not help that Jill was in love with Ifrit's Dominant either, but if Shiva were to be honest to herself, she would have to admit that she looked forward to the moments they stole away from the others.

Ever since he'd woken up, she couldn't seem to leave him alone. At first it was just curiosity, watching him fumble around between the aether and his Dominant, belching smoke and embers like a sputtering caldera. Amusement watching with her own eyes as one of their own clawed their way out of the primordial planes from which they were born and into a world of wills and words. But then those fucking accursed visions had thrown things into question and her Dominant started asking questions and Shiva was just grateful Jill had been too distracted by her own insecurities and ridiculous fabricated problems to notice that Shiva didn't know how to respond when it came to Ifrit. All she knew was that whatever it was, it was widening the cracks that Shiva hadn't noticed were there. Cracks that let in those human concepts that her Dominant had posited that the Eikon had unknowingly adopted.

Rage. Hatred. Horror. Happiness. Joy. Confusion. Sadness. Shame. Regret.

Love.

Shiva dimly noted that her Dominant had cleared the underbrush of the forest and made her way to the open cliffs of the Bay. The distant reflection of the moon could be seen off the still frozen waves of the Surge. Jill's target was not that, but the figure of Ifrit's Dominant silhouetted against the sea in front of them. When she was within reach of him, they embraced, uttered some nonsense of chaste greetings and polite touches that fooled no one, because within minutes they were curled up arm in arm together while they spoke.  Fenrir, ever the observant, decided that the nighttime wildlife needed to be further from his masters and padded away once Jill was settled.

But Shiva's mind wasn't on what her Dominant or Fenrir was doing. Her musings had soured when she 'saw' the frozen wave and her memories of earlier that day returned to the surface.

Their Dominants had been asked to help prepare some ridiculous ceremony to welcome Leviathan's Dominant back into the Motes of Water, and like the helpful fools they were, they'd done as they asked.

She had been sorely tempted to freeze the smallclothes off the one called "Famiel" in repayment for that horrible Dusk Crystal incident. Phoenix had pointed out that there was no way they could have known there was an insane Eikon roosting at the top of that tower, nor were they the ones who created such a pitiful abomination, and Shiva had sighed and let him pass unmolested. Jill promised merciless teasing as an appeasement, which the Eikon had accepted with grace.

But any amusement or mirth was quickly demolished once the ceremony started. The humans were droning on and on about some nonsense about water and life and the nature of existence, whatever myths the Motes of Water had concocted to ease the burden of their mortality. But in the strands of aether wound between the Eikons, that hissing spray of sea and brine from the few days earlier slithered in. They had been too distracted, talking amongst themselves to remember that Ifrit now had a part of Leviathan, and while the sea serpent's Dominant was a helpless infant, the Eikon of Water was not.

He was old, and he was clever.

Iiiiiinteresting…

The three Eikons had frozen in the aether at the unexpected voice, sinuous and prodding as it coiled around their various bridges.

I have never seen this before…Eikons speaking to each other as humans do? Fascinating.

 This was nothing like when Bahamut had stumbled upon them.  The air around the sea snake was hostile and aggressive, as opposed to surprised and shocked.  Phoenix was the first to break the silence. Leviathan?

And TWO Fire kin? The world must have indeed gone mad in my absence. The sea snake seemed to ignore the Phoenix's comment and continue his narrated musings as he coiled around the three of them. Shiva felt his investigative nudges as he slithered along the aether. Ah, I see, it's these strands…all threaded through…you?  Leviathan turned towards Ifrit, who bristled slightly at the sudden attention. Yes, it is you…I wonder, am I able to wander these threads because you took me from my Dominant?

There was a huff of embers and magma in response to the glancing accusation. We were trying to help. My Dominant thought it would help ease the burden. Allow yours to regain control if the spell was released and the full weight of your power wasn't there to bury him.

There was a snort of indignation and sea spray. Interesting way of helping, you have. We were used by our Motes, treated as nothing but a power source for their avarice. We rejected them, and imprisonment was our reward. And now you come along…this…what are you? Leviathan cocked his head, circling around Ifrit as if to study him from all angles. Like he was a prized animal being inspected by greedy humans. Shiva didn't like it. You are fire, yes, I feel your flames from here. But there is something odd about you. You reek of others…and…of YOU. Shiiiiiiiiva.

The 'gaze' from the water Eikon shifted, and like a current it swirled from Ifrit to Shiva. It had been an unfamiliar feeling, this sense of being watched so closely. There was no sense of danger, but the oily off putting sensation felt alien and foul.

The one who's magic was used to weave the chains that bound us for 80 years. The shackles that painted us as the threat and not the victims. How interesting that you choose to undo such work now. What has changed, I wonder?

Nothing has changed. My Dominant did what she did then, and here and now my Dominant did what she did. As it has always been. Yours, on the other hand, is an infant. A wild out of control child driven by rage and anger, Shiva said simply with a hint of cold disdain.

And you would know, would you? You were there after all. Listening to our screams, watching the humans scramble to undo their mistake before it swallowed them, Leviathan hissed, salt and brine scraping along his teeth. And now my Dominant will only know a sliver of what he was to be, all because you wanted to HELP. Well done. Your Dominants are no better than the beasts that sought to use us as a weapon to bury their enemies. The only difference is the Motes of Water know what truly happened, and at least were willing to admit their own failings. You hide behind noble intentions and unchecked arrogance.

They told us what happened! Ifrit growled, but the flames wavered every so slightly. This whole exchange was unnerving all of them. And Leviathan picked up on that.

Did they now? he said with false levity. How did they paint it, I wonder.

Leviathan slithered across their bridges, echoes of the great serpent's physical form brushing up against the other Eikons in a vaguely off putting way. It wasn't aggressive, it was obvious he knew he didn't have to power now to go up against the three of them without endangering his Dominant, the one human he seemed to value. That knowledge did not make it any less invasive feeling.

What was it they told you to absolve themselves of the atrocities they committed upon me and mine? Did they tell you of how they ripped my Dominant from his mother before he had even opened his eyes? Did they tell you of how his father sat by and did nothing while they performed their vile ritual? Did they tell you that he could hear the scream and the crack as his mother fell because she died in WATER?

They sought to use our power and control my domain. OUR domain for themselves. To use it as a weapon. My Dominant screamed for that which was taken from him. I merely agreed. The waters are MINE. My Dominant is MINE. And I will protect that which is mine.

Shiva remembered staring at the sea serpent after his little speech. All three of them did. The fixation the Eikon of Water had with ownership over his domain and the emotional drive to protect it with zealot-like fervor had made everything much clearer and at the same time much muddier. They were elements, and as such there was always overlap. Life and warmth, fire and destruction, cold and water.  Claiming sole dominion over any of them was simply stupid.

Maybe nearly a century bound to a trapped human infant, beings of pure emotion and no logic, their wills a scattering of feelings and inputs and needs, had had some unforeseen side-effects on Leviathan's mind as well. Or maybe he had always been this way and they were only now seeing it because they could hear his words.

Shiva decided to remind him of what they were anyway. I do not apologize for imagined slights. This notion of ownership is ridiculous. You may claim dominion over the seas and waters, but they are my dominion too, Cousin of Ice.

Yesssss I suppose that is true, we are kin, in that sense. Ever at war between the ice above and the abyss below. I wonder what your Motes have done in my absence, Cousin of Water. Have they found new victims to weave your invasion of time upon?

She did not rise to the bait, though she felt the heat of Ifrit's flames flaring every time the snake threw a barb at her. She had to give him credit, he was doing a much better job than usual at curbing his temper. Probably because their Dominants were still happily cooing over Leviathan's Dominant, cheering amongst themselves, and if he were to make any real moves over the bridges they'd notice.  The growl of brimstone from Ifrit's side of the bridge caught her notice and she absently leaned across and redirected some of her ice towards the roiling magma. The growl grew subdued and an echo of horns and obsidian leaned back into her and the rage ebbed.

That magic was left here, as my Dominant had intended. This one has shown no interest in mastery over time, Shiva said simply.

Yet, Leviathan snarled threateningly. You bind us for a century, then return to release us but only AFTER you've taken my power from us? And you expect us to simply let things pass as if it has not entirely uprooted the balance of our domain?

Shiva curled her lip in dismissive disdain at the threatening tone and 'baring' of teeth, but it was Ifrit who hit his breaking point. If you want to get mad at someone, get mad at me. I'm the one who took your power from your Dominant, He snarled low and dangerously.

Oh I have not forgotten you, Amalgamate.

To his credit, Ifrit didn't flinch at Leviathan's sneering tone as he casually tossed the insult at him, and merely growled across the threads. However, the flicker of warmth at Ifrit's attempt at defending her that Shiva had felt before rapidly evaporated and a bolt of anger replaced it. Even if Leviathan didn't know how much it stung Ifrit when his otherness was brought up, it still incised the Ice Eikon more than it should have.

You are bitter at your and your Dominant's treatment. That is fair. Phoenix. Ever the diplomat.

Leviathan snapped his head back to the Phoenix and sneered. Do not try to flatter with your soft words, Firebird. Your kin should know its place is not among us. It is not…natural.

Neither, it turns out, are we! Phoenix snapped back, the crackle of that wildfire that always simmered just beneath the comfort of her flames peeking out. Shiva's anger stilled as the firebird's fury replaced it. This was always the part that got interesting with Phoenix. Shiva had seen the firebird in full fury several times over her tenure, but hearing it in her voice made it very clear that however weak she might seem as the Eikon of Life, just a hairs breath below that sat the Eikon of Fire that people often forgot. And she was fiercely protective of her sibling. Shiva had decided to to sit back and see what happened.

None of us, not you, nor me, nor Shiva, nor even Titan or Odin, are 'natural'. We were made. Forged by a demented god that created our Dominants and bound us to these forms, so it can bleed our world dry and save its own skin. Our Dominants are trying to change that. And my brother and his are they key to it.

Leviathan, to his credit, stopped coiling around them menacingly and seemed to cock his head at Phoenix as she spoke, taking note of her anger and then looked back at the other two Eikons that flanked her. 

Look at your domain, Phoenix trilled harshly. Does it feel as it did a century ago? Do you not feel the emptiness?

There was a pause of consideration from the great sea serpent, and then his massive form settled back and looked at them expectantly. You have my attention, Fire Kin. Go on.

And so they had, for the rest of their Dominants' time amongst the Motes of Mysidia, explained to Leviathan what had turned the world upside down in the last 30 some years. The truths they'd uncovered. The anomalies they'd experienced. This unexpected gift of being able to hear the voices of their own kind, and the price the paid for it.

The fact that Ultima had thrown Leviathan away even before the Motes of Water froze them in time.

The great sea serpent had laughed at that notion.

Of course this thing would cast us aside. The waters are ever-changing, and we are not some easily trained pet. We are vast and endless and without us everything withers. We can be gentle or we can be abominable. The water cannot be controlled.

Leviathan's hereto constant tone of disgust softened, as if while speaking he suddenly had an epiphany, and he glanced at Ifrit out of the corner of one eye. The water cannot be controlled, but it can be guided. By Earth, by Wind, by Ice…by Fire. So…it is you who is to guide my domain in this fight, is it, Amalgamate?

My name is Ifrit, The hellfire Eikon snorted in irritation, but picked up on the shift in Leviathan's tone and let the insulting nickname pass.

Leviathan nodded. Ifrit, then.

We are going to end this thing, the horned Eikon said firmly. And we are all going to be free of him.

Shiva raised an eyebrow at Ifrit's phrasing. Something about the way he had said they were going to be free had her hairs standing on end, as Jill would say, but she opted to leave that for another conversation where Leviathan wasn't eavesdropping.

The great serpent studied Ifrit for a moment longer, then Phoenix, and finally Shiva. When he seemed to have finally found what he was looking for, he loosened the long coils of his body that he'd wound around their bridges as the exchange had gone on and suddenly the tension and pressure abated.

Shiva had been surprised she didn't feel it closing in on her, given how relieved she felt when it disappeared.

Then guide us well.

Leviathan fully left then, his presence retreating back across the strands of aether and returning to his Dominant, who appeared to have fallen asleep. Their Dominants made some final good byes, some final promises, and left the great hall shortly after. Their time in Mysidia was at an end, and come the next morning, they'd make their way back to the mainland.

Where Origin awaited.

Where she could not follow.

There they go again, came the rumble of brimstone and flame across their bridge.

Shiva 'glanced' up out of her thoughts and refocused on the present, finding the source of Ifrit's amusement. Of course, while Shiva had been lost in her thoughts, her Dominant and his had ended up practically sitting on each other and where talking about something or other with their faces much closer than was technically necessary. Whatever he had said to Jill seemed to be extremely pleasing to her.

Shiva gave it a few minutes before their armor started coming off and their hands started wandering.

We really can't take them anywhere, can we?  Shiva replied with the same sense of amusement. They may be clumsy about it, but at least they don't squander what they have while they have it. I have seen many Dominants wither out of ridiculous notions of heartbreak and pining.

Ifrit glanced over at the Eikon of Ice, his tail tapping with interest. Do you have a favorite? Amongst all the Dominants you remember?

Shiva had shrugged indifferently. I have never considered my Dominants as anything but the humans who wield me. How they chose to do so always differed, but in the end they are all similar enough. Shiva felt Ifrit's curious attention linger on her when she stopped, and through some compulsion she did not want to explore too closely, she added with gesture towards Jill, Though this one has probably been the chattiest Dominant I've ever had. Certainly the first to ask questions as to my nature beyond the obvious.

Shiva took a moment to study her Dominant, who was now busy seeing if she could crack Ifrit's Dominant before she needed to come up for air. The answer seemed to be 'yes'.

She was a solemn child when I woke. Bound and beaten into submission by her captors, she rarely spoke to other humans, and instead turned her lust for connection to me. Certainly not the first Dominant I've had that treated me as such. Loneliness is something that breeds rampant in humanity. But usually that would fade with time as the Dominant grew into the understanding of what they were. With this one…it did not. Even before you arrived, she treated me with the same sense of respect she treats her friends. In a sense…I suppose that has made me fond of her in ways I have not considered Dominants before.

And now?

Now what?

Now what do you consider your Dominant? Still just a human to wield you?

I suppose…I can consider her…a friend, I believe is the closest human equivalent.

There was a huff of approval, though to what Shiva could only guess, but the warmth spread across the bridge and she readily absorbed it without even thinking. Thinking would be admitting that she wanted it. That she liked it. Without even considering what she was doing, Shiva sent a small trail of frost back towards the Hellfire Eikon where it was quickly consumed.

I wonder what it would have been like…having more than one, Came Ifrit's idle purr after awhile.

Shiva sent a cold glare across the tethers. 'Would have been like'? You speak as if you don't expect to exist beyond this fight.

Ifrit went quiet, but he didn't close off the threads to her, merely rumbled in contemplation for awhile before he spoke again. Ultima plans to use my Dominant to remake this world. And to cast humanity aside once that is done. It stands to reason when they go, so shall we.

So your Dominant had said upon his return from the Rift. Which is why we shall win, and it shall be crushed like the worm it is, Shiva replied easily, though she sensed there was more than what Ifrit was saying aloud. Unless your Dominant did not tell us everything.

There was a soft snort of embers. I don't think he's realized it. Ultima gave the world the magic it has. Harnessed the elements into something humanity could channel. Created the Motes, Ifrit rumbled. His voice wasn't hesitant, more…resigned. Say we win. Say we grind that fucker into dust and scatter it to the void. It's his magic that causes the Blight, his influence. Even if he is gone, we remain. Our elements belong here. We as Eikons do not.

'You do not' is what you are truly saying, isn't it? Shiva said bluntly. Self pity doesn't suit you.

Ifrit chuckled at the gentle insult. Maybe a little. But you saw that Tower as well as I. Ultima's Mothercrystals are not the only cause of the Blight. It is many parts, but at its core, is magic diverting the aether into weapons and creations of war and destruction that would level this world far quicker than a creeping Blight.

You speak of the abomination in the Tower.

The Eikon of Insanity. A creature made from human magic and machinery that would have obliterated reality. Even Ultima couldn't entirely kill it, or the Fallen, if the tomes my Dominant read are to be believed. It would have been terrifying if it hadn't been so sad.

Shiva couldn't keep the disgust out of her voice. Sad? Don't be delusional. Such a vile aberrant does not deserve such words.

No?

No. It was a flawed creation with a broken mind left to wallow in its own madness and power by a people even more devoid of compassion than I am.

Ifrit sighed. And yet for one twist of fate, if not for these Dominants, that would have been me. A mindless barrage of rage and power consuming all in its path.

You are NOTHING like that THING! Shiva had snapped like an icicle cracking from its perch.

Now who is delusional? Ifrit laughed at Shiva's reaction. You know it's a fact. The only difference would be the master behind the monster.

The Ice Queen snorted but did not answer immediately. She knew he was right and she didn't quite understand why it bothered her so much. It was a fact. What did it matter that it compared Ifrit to such pathetic and malignant creature as the Fallen's Eikon? Why did it incise her so to even consider the similarities?

I don't know what will be waiting for us in Origin, the Hellfire Warden continued after allowing Shiva a moment to collect herself. But having been forced to listen to my Dominant's constant mewling of freedom and choice, I have come to realize we Eikons are pawns. That thing calling itself our maker controlled us. Manipulated us. Our Dominants are our one key to freedom and if this Blight is not stopped, they will not last. So we will stop Ultima, but I don't know to what extent that means. It may mean more than simply killing a god.

Shiva read between the lines. You mean it could mean destroying magic. Destroying us.

Ifrit let out a roil of smoke and embers across the aether in affirmation. That…is a possibility I don't think my Dominant has thought of yet. Not that I think it would matter much, he will do anything to ensure a future for those he cares for.

And what if we choose not to accept this fatalistic bullshit? The humans prattle on and on about being able to choose how they live or die, do we not get the same consideration? Just because we are element does not mean our wills are unwanted chains, Shiva snarled, ignoring how once upon a time the hypocrisy would not have bothered her in the slightest.

But it does mean we would be free.

Free to what?! Die!?  Fade away?!  How is oblivion better than any other cage?! Shiva hissed like an avalanche itching to fall.

I don't know that it would be oblivion. At least not as the humans see it, Ifrit said.

You have been listening to that half-cocked fireduster you call a sister too much if you think such a soft sentiment is anything approaching what reality is. We are our elements, and if our connection to Dominants is destroyed, so too are we, dissolved back into that which we were born without will or word.

We would 'die', yes.

She wasn't sure what it was that finally pushed her over the edge, the calm tone of acceptance in Ifrit's voice, or the way he seemed to dismiss the concept of giving up the one thing Eikons had to claim as their own. Whichever it was, Shiva's restraint broke. You fucking asshole! You barge your way into existence, upending everything everyone has ever known in less than one human's lifespan and then decree that if it all has to end you accept it?! How dare you!

Shiva turned her full focus across the Bridge to the Eikon of Fire that sat across from her, letting her ice and cold seep across and claw at the magma that roosted there. Because of you, I have heard the voices of others of my kind! I have FELT fondness for a Dominant who should have been nothing but another human to channel my element. I have a FRIEND in that overgrown campfire probably having a conversation with her Dominant about how similar the baby carrying that fucking sea snake is to Bahamut's Dominant! And YOU! I cannot stay AWAY from you because your fucking flames have burned all these cracks in me and I FEEL and I DO NOT WANT IT TO END, but now you tell me that there is a very real chance that only our humans will have a future after this is done?! How can you so calmly accept this?!

Because I will find you again. 

Of all the responses in all her eons, this was the one Shiva did not see coming. And certainly not with the flare of warmth that curled across the bridge, woven through the bands of frost her wrath had left, and wrapped around her in an echo of obsidian plated claws that she couldn't help but embrace.

You saw them too.

Of course she did. Those phantoms of ice and fire haunted her anytime she dared remember that night on the Shadow Coast. Twin elements dancing around each other through worlds and times that were anywhere but here.

Ifrit's voice was a rumble of an active volcano that sat still on the surface but moved and shifted in a whirlpool of magma just beneath it's surface.  Your ice has helped calm what I could not, and I can finally see clearly what has been in front of me this entire time.  That I have known you many times.

There were no direct words to describe the feeling in Shiva's chest as she felt Ifrit's presence curl around her, claws and tail coiling around protectively and horns gently lowering in submission to her. All she could do was timidly reach out and take hold of him in her icy grip, letting the cold wrath of her frost hiss and burst into a gout of steam as it raced along the fires. If their Dominants hadn't been so distracted doing…yes that…again…Shiva was certain Jill would have felt Ifrit's purr of approval and the unfamiliar rush of emotion that accompanied it.

The desire to keep, to hold, to never let go.

If this is truly the end for us, then I will know you again, if you would know me, the great Hellfire Eikon purred with a mirror of her want and coiled tighter, flames searing through the ice as the hoarfrost tried to cover him.

Shiva now understood Jill's fear that night on the boat, when she had asked where she belonged now that she had consummated her desire from Ifrit's Dominant. But Shiva already had her answer. She was Ice, and her beloved carried a piece of her with him. This was how it would be, and how it would end. One way, or another.

She didn't say that aloud. She didn't have to.

Instead she simply whispered, How could I not?  

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