The sword I picked up recently from my Ishgardian hideaway was far from being considered that - it felt more like I was swinging a heavy coffin around. It was as though another blade was hidden deep inside...one I was not yet ready to unseal.
...But deep down, the blade... it yearned for
something.
For every time I swung the blade, I felt something stir within me. I couldn't pinpoint exactly what it was.
But...was I hallucinating, or were the trails of my blade glowing...
...pink? Am I forgetting something?
Fray has been teaching me to master this blade, after I met him in the Brume.
But has he been in my life longer? Do I already know him?
Him?
Fray talked of burdens. Burdens of dreams of heroism.
But I was never like that, was I?
The balance of sacrificing oneself to save lives, versus weighing what those lives mean.Better to die a so-called hero than as a slave, huh.
...The Bloody Banquet feels so far away. How many people died there?How many lives have you ruined, Gaea?
I need to dig deeper.And what will you find at the end?
I never wanted to be a blasted hero. Or a heroine, for that matter.
The burden of the blade starting to wear on you?
I feel hatred welling up inside me.You remember now, don't you?
I do everything the realm asks!And none of it makes a damned difference!
....So what do I do now?
Call out to me. Say my name.
...Fray?...Try calling to me again when you remember everything.
Don't fear the fall, Gaea.
...Fray? No. You aren't Fray. You never were.
Took you long enough.
So say my REAL name. The name engraved upon your soul. No use in dragging this farce out any longer. Open the coffin and call out to me.
Eliza. BLOODY. Talon. The Fifth Light, to put it in your words. The persona of yours that never really got to strut her stuff at all. Hope you don't mind me taking up residence in your headspace with Arionne.
...Hope she doesn't mind, either.
...I suppose Gaea can cause a little chaos every now and then.
Well, if it pleases the both of you, I'm fairly certain we've got a lot on our plate in Ishgard that could use some dealing with...