—Heaven: Stargazer's Observatory—
Saef's knocking were answered almost immediately. It was pretty much as if someone was standing by the door, waiting for any guests to come by, be it by fate or coincidence. This certain someone was a white-feathered harpy, wearing a maid outfit. The aura emanated by the being, made it clear that she was one of many Celestial Spirits, aligned with the stars and constellations of the endless night sky, one of the many creatures that serve Ciel, thanks to her unique position.
"Welcome sir. What may I help you with?" She asked as soon as the door swung open, with a light gust of wind, no doubt of magic nature.
If Saef was surprised at the speed of the welcome he didn't show it. Not in any major way at least. The comparatively young man put on his best smile, the one he used to use to convince grant givers back home, and spoke.
"I was wondering if the Stargazer would allow me an audience. There many stories about her but few hard truths. I may be young among the ranksnof the divine but even I know that the best place for knowledge is the source.”
"Lady Ciel will be glad to have your company," the Harpy replied, smiling as she beckoned Saef inside. She took a moment to look at the other individual following closely behind the young man, before addressing him again, "Excuse me for asking, sir, but is she with you? Lady Ciel's instructions were a little vague about the number of guests we would have tonight. I may need to get more refreshments ready if you have company."
With a confused tilt of his head Saef turned to look behind him, and then up. His brow furrowed as he caught sight of the goddess watching them.
“No...I didn’t even know she was there.”
Amaterasu’s presence was worrying for a variety of reasons. Did the higher ups not want him to meet with Ciel? No, if that was the case he would have been stopped before reaching the observatory. So why was she here? And the fact that he hadn’t noticed her irked him. The safety of Heaven was making him soft, he had started to rely on his technology too much and had let his personal awareness slip.
He turned back and stepped through the welcoming doorway. Giving the maid a smile and a nod as he did so.
“Thank you. It appears the Stargazer is more knowledgeable than I had expected.”
"Very well then, please, follow me, sir," the maid said. She left the door open, as an obvious invitation, in case Amaterasu decided to come inside as well. Finding her way to the library were the Harpy was guiding Saef to wouldn't be an issue. 'All roads lead to Celestia' was a saying even more true when someone like Ciel could freely manipulate causality to make 'coincidences' happen more or less at-will.
"Lady Ciel is waiting for you in the library. Excuse me while I bring up the refreshments," the Harpy bowed graciously after she guided Saef to the entrance of the observatory's library, before leaving towards the kitchen.
Ciel waited inside the spacious chamber, whose walls were lined with all sorts of books, scrolls and mystical looking artifacts all the way to the ceiling —almost three stories above their heads. The center of the library was arranged in a way that made it clear that Ciel used it as living room. A luxurious circular couch occupied the edges of a small depression in the floor, around a glass table decorated with a simple vase holding some of the same flowers that lined the fields outside. Above them, ceiling made entirely out of wrought crystal allowed for a clear view of the sky.
"Welcome, please make yourself at home," Ciel said beckoning Saef to take a seat.
"What may I help you?" She asked with a smile in her face.
Amaterasu took the chance, seeing as she had nothing better to do with her time. The goddess followed a fair distance behind the Harpy and Saef, seeing as she wasn't willing to really start any conversation. She didn't have anything to talk about, so there was no point in even attempting any conversation.
The goddess sat down on the ground next to Saef in Ciel's library, maintaining her silence. This meeting was Saef's, after all, and it was already rude enough for Amaterasu to intrude on the meeting.
The inside of the observatory was large, too large. To say that the dimensions were off would be an understatement of space warping proportions. He could have sworn that the building he entered wasn’t more than two stories tall. The library the maid led him to was a full three.
It really shouldn’t have surprised him as much as it did. At least his host seemed nice enough.
Saef too a seat on the large couch, not right next to Ciel but not on the opposite side of the table either. Call him paranoid but he figured the closer he was to Ciel the less likely Amaterasu was to try anything.
“Since I’m new to Heaven my knowledge of who is who is a rather lacking. I’m doing my best to rectify that when not busy on the battlefield. And it appears that you have a significant fan base. Lots of people know of you and quite like you. But nobody seems to know much about you. At least nobody who will tell me. I couldn’t even find out what you do.”
The Thaumaturge leaned forward with a respectful but eager look on his face.
“So if you don’t mind me asking, what is it that you
do for Heaven?”
Amaterasu's reaction earned a chuckle, followed by a warm smile, from Ciel. The Stargazer was used to this kind of reaction coming from older, less trusting beings, but a young goddess such as the Solar deity before her being this wary of Ciel was rare. Obviously, the Stargazer was aware that the cause of it came from a cosmic misunderstanding—which Ciel might try to help solve, if that's the stars decree. Yet it was ironic that a Celestial Spirit, of all beings, was this apprehensive when in the Stargazer's presence.
"Lord Saef Harken, right? Iona talked about your arrival in the Nexus," Ciel asked, after Saef finished his questions. She tried not to sound like she knew too much about him, out of education, while confirming that she indeed was aware. An encounter of this magnitude wouldn't pass unnoticed by the one that knew all paths of fate, after all.
Before Ciel answered the second question, the Harpy from before came into the library, carrying a silver tray, holding a tea set made out of the same crystal and silver that decorated the skylight. She filled the cups with a fragrant tea whose smell was slightly reminiscent of that of the flowers that dotted the fields around Ciel's observatory and served them along with checkerboard cookies covered with sparkling vanilla powder.
"Thank you, Aquila. Please, take some of these to Leyona as well. It's not fair of us to be the only ones enjoying your cooking," Ciel said, dismissing the girl, who bowed graciously once again before leaving the library.
"I'm sorry for the interruption," Ciel said, beckoning them to the tea, before taking a small sip of hers. "To answer your question in the simplest way possible, Lord Saef. What I do for the Heaven as you know it can be summed with one word: Nothing," she chuckled slightly, before adding, "Well, it is slightly more complex, but I don't know how much you would be able to comprehend without seeing your reaction to what I just said."
Iona had talked to Ciel about him? Doing so now might make some sense, what with his recent successes in battle. But to have two such important people discussing him back when he first joined was odd to say the least. At least odd enough to try and find out the specifics of their discussion at some point.
As the Stargazer continued speaking Saef accepted a cup from the white harpy with a polite nod. A wisp of steam rose from the liquid in the elegant cup, carrying with it scent that harkened back to his walk through the field outside the observatory. It appeared that his host had a fondness for that particular flower.
He took a sip as the youthful looking woman before him continued. His mind racing at her words. ‘The Heaven as he knew it.’ That would imply that there was a Heaven that he didn’t know. In fact hadn’t he just come across something like that in the last battle...
“How,” He cleared his throat as he set his teacup back to its saucer. “How many Heavens have there been?”
Amaterasu remained silent, but something resonated in her. The thought of another Heaven was intriguing, if anything. It was becoming easier every day to understand what emotions were, but this was something she still couldn't fathom. Was there truly another world that existed for Amaterasu to protect in some other dimension? She didn't know, nor did she care to know, really. Did she? It was all a blur at this point.
A low and emotionless noise came forth when Amaterasu felt the presence of the harpy return into the room before escaping. Why did that happen exactly? Perhaps it was her instincts. She was a fair amount canine compared to the other residents of Heaven, save that magenta-furred humanoid and the submissive disgrace. Maybe she was bred to act like one of those dogs they held in hospitals, calm in every situation. Bah, whatever. She would figure it out in time.
Ciel stared blankly at Saef and Amaterasu's reaction. It was only after the angelic man asked her how many Heavens there were, that she noticed what was the source of it and... broke out into a fit of light-hearted laughter. "Oh, hah, hahaha... I—I'm sorry. I kinda screwed up there, did I not?" She said, resting her cup on her lap and taking a small breath to regain her composure.
"While it's not untrue that there have been other... iterations of the Heavens, as you saw when we met for the last time under Lenuria's waters. However, that wasn't what I mean by 'the Heavens as you know it.'" Ciel brought a finger to her chin and stared at the polished, black marble floor for a moment, considering her options, before she continued, "Well, I guess that telling you a little more isn't going to hurt."
"The reason why I replied like that is that I'm not bound to what you understand as Heaven, or even the Nexus itself. Well, not 'this' me, at least," Ciel made a brief pause to see if Saef and Amaterasu were following her train of thought up to now, before continuing. "This may take a while to explain, if you want a proper explanation, that is. What do you prefer: to hear about me, or about the Nexus itself? Well, at least about as much as I'm allowed to talk about it..."
They had met before? Saef certainly didn’t remember meeting Ciel in the now restored underwater city of Lenuria. Although the mermaid ruler of the city did perhaps bear a certain similarity to the Stargazer.
And as far as the Thaumaturge knew you couldn’t leave the Nexus once you were pulled in. It was the nature of the eternally war torn universe. If she wasn’t bound to this place like the rest of them well, that meant a lot of things. Both about her and the Nexus. The questions he wanted to ask her bounced around in his head like ping pong balls inside a box. He wasn’t sure which one he wanted to go with first.
“Honestly, both. But if I must pick I would like to know what you can tell me of the Nexus. My knowledge of it is as limited as my knowledge of its inhabitants.”
Amaterasu spoke for the first time in this entire ordeal, her cold voice simply uttering her answer to the question. "Harken has the correct mentality in this situation." She believed that, anyhow. Asking a question about Ciel seemed unneccessary for the time being. It was like asking Amaterasu how she felt about anything.
There was only one true question the goddess had to ask the Stargazer, but that would come in time. Her own thought settled down in her mind as Amaterasu shifted into a more comfortable position for her to be on the floor in, which just so happened to be on her front looking forward towards the two other people in the room. Instinctively, her tail began to wag to and fro, though there was no emotion associated with it. Perhaps it was just out of a newly achieved sense of comfort.
"It's not that you 'must' but rather that I cannot speak about two different subjects at once, can I?" Ciel had a loving, yet slightly patronizing smile on her lips—not unlike that of a mother or older sibling talking to an eager child— as she answered Saef and Amaterasu. While it wasn't untrue that Ciel could talk about both literally at once, what purpose would it serve?
"Anyway, I'll assume that you are familiar with the publicly available history of the Nexus. Please, correct me if I'm wrong," Ciel said as a way of introduction before making a brief pause.
"Among the information that I can talk about—for a number of reasons of various degrees of importance— the one that I think that you are most aware at the moment is that this is not the first... shall we say version?, of the Nexus. What you were fighting for in Lenuria was one of the previous capital cities of Heaven, from the times of the former Triumvirate," Ciel said as she summoned a starlight globe to project images of the battle of Lenuria, or so it would seem at first, until the obvious discrepancies like it not being fought by the same combatants, one of which being the very same Mermaid Saef talked to before, and that the giant whale-like creature seemed to have an actual physical form as it rampaged through the city spreading death and destruction unimpeded. The soundless projection ended as soon as the creature's massive form charged into the Mermaid's squad, her fate left untold.
"I assure you that both Hell and the Humans shared a similar fate. It happens every time when the forces that are behind the demi-world known as the Nexus, issue a test and its inhabitants fail to succeed. On the other hand," Ciel changed her projection to what looked like the even more distant past, or distant future, showing what might as well be considered a travesty, or blasphemy, by modern Nexus' standards: The three factions coexisting in peace, along with a number of beings who seemed to be members of the higher Cosmos' Hierarchy—of which at least Iona would be recognizable for Saef and Amaterasu— looking over them, "if the tides of fate shift ever so slightly, this world would be achievable as well. After all... even if Their methods are not the most appropriate, They will indeed offer compensation to those who are 'worthy of it' in Their eyes."
The more human of Ciel’s guests sat silent for several moments as he absorbed the information. The Nexus was even more different from an ordinary universe than he had though. He was even starting to suspect that it wasn’t a natural universe at all. Rather it was more akin to some sort of cosmic Petri dish, created by the Powers of the multiverse in order to some desired result. And had apparently failed and wiped clean an unknown amount of times. It made one wonder just what they were after.
The second scene also gave him pause. Demons had all but destroyed his world, the remaining habitable areas wouldn’t remain so for much longer after the massive ecological damage done. There had even been talk of creating a massive mobile space station to hold the survivors. Regardless, Saef hated the denizens of Hell. Hated them with a passion that had once threatened to consume him. The idea of peace with them caused him to clinch his jaw as the embers of his rage smoldered in his eyes.
And yet even as the emotions rolled through him he could see what lay ahead. Eons of constant and unending combat. None of the three sides of the Triumvirate would ever truly win. Not while the resurrection system was active. And he had the distinct feeling that They wouldn’t allow the creation or usage of loopholes in that system. No, they wanted the fighting to continue like this until somebody passed their test.
Saef’s jaw unclenched and he slowly blinked. When his eyes opened again the lights were gone, the rage now a dim thing exiled to the back of his mind.
“Something tells me you know the kind of shift needed to bring about such a future. If you are willing I would like to hear it.”
Amaterasu silently listened to the explanation, understanding most of what occurred in the past Nexii. Amaterasu felt like she should've felt some kind of emotion here, but she simply couldn't. Rage? Empathy? Susanoo would be drunk off her kiester and Tsukuyomi would just be looking for others to understand how to feel. Amaterasu just... didn't know. She didn't know what to feel.
So, she didn't. She remained with a stoic expression on her face as she watched the light show continue. Though, one part did pique her mind. A compensation would be awarded by the Gods of Gods? It only piqued her interest because of one thing and one thing alone. The goal of a real heart.
But first, Amaterasu would wait. This was Harken's business.
"They don't call me a Fulcrum of Fate for nothing, you know?" Ciel replied to Saef's question with another one of herself, before letting out another light-hearted chuckle. "I'm sorry for that, I know that I should not steal others' time—especially in an hour of need such as this one— but I'm having quite a bit of fun breaking my routine. Let me answer your question straight and perhaps address a few other of the other concerns I can see on each of you right now."
"First of all, I do know what paths of fate could lead to that outcome—I know about all of them, after all— but neither can I exert much of will to steer fate towards any given path, nor do I see it in you the will to try and follow a path that would end in peacemaking with the Demons. If you still wish to know, I can guide you but is that really the choice you want to make, Lord Saef Harken? Also, what is your opinion Lady Amaterasu? Even though your heart is locked, you should be able to make choices and express your desires," Ciel asked with a more serious tone now, staring Saef and Amaterasu with an intense gaze, before returning to her default expression.
The Stargazer scooped a cookie and nibbled at it slowly as she waited for their reply.
“Spoiling are we Stargazer. I never expected someone of your stature to so loose-lipped.”
The fun and games were over; whatever calm Ciel felt would dissipate to a voice she knew very well. Made manifest in a flicker of reality, the space beside her temporarily undoing herself, came the mismatched girl. Her expression curled into a sneering frown, Harley not even giving Ciel so much as a glance; her interests lay more in the two who wanted to learn more about the Nexus. Only when she had studied both did she bother to regard the Stargazer.
“Careful now pet. You might choke on your cookie if you talk too much,” Harley mused, leaning on the sofa’s edge. “We wouldn’t want to have these fine warriors of the Nexus get the wrong idea now do we. No, not at all,” the Vassal said, placing an unwavering stare onto Saef. Immediately however, she flicked back to the goddess and smirked.
“Well, well, look at her Ciel. She’s just like that undead brat of yours.”
"I hold no stong beliefs in either way," Amaterasu stated bluntly. "As sad as I should be to admit, I'm a bit foreign and ignorant on the concept of 'desires'. I hold one true desire, and that is to retrieve my heart from the Machina that stole it."
The group was interrupted by the sudden arrival of Harley. Amaterasu had been informed of rumors of such a being, but never actually expected to meet the being under these conditions. Similarly, she didn't expect for her ear to flick towards Harley in a disapproving manner. Protective instinct, possibly. The Stargazer was a figure of high authority, and it made sense for Amaterasu to leap to her aid.
"What do you mean by 'undead', Miss?" Last time Amaterasu checked, which was about fifteen seconds ago, she was breathing and alive. What is the meaning for this attempted insult?
Something happened and a black and white woman was suddenly among them. His knee jerk reaction was to go for his tome, this person was most certainly not friendly. He stopped himself however. The monochrome woman before him radiated zero power. That just didn’t happen. Ever. Everyone and everything possessed some level of magic no matter how small.
Besides this had all the hallmarks of a warning. The kind he had been expecting from the goddess on the floor nearby. Apparently they were dancing around some highly classified information here. The type that They didn’t want their little test subjects knowing.
So he didn’t jump halfway across the room to gain space. He didn’t summon his most powerful barrier. And his tome remained tucked away in its pocket dimension. His momentarily widened eyes narrowed once more while his posture remained rather tense. He didn’t care if the monochrome woman knew how much she freaked him out. It would probably help his chances of survival. When an apex predator showed up it was best to let it know you knew what the pecking order was.
“If I might chance a question,” He asked of the newcomer. “What should we not get the wrong idea about? I would hate to have my spine removed because of a lack of clear information.”
—Heaven: Palace of Celestia—
"Sometimes, even I'm impressed by myself, hehe! This is really gonna be great," Diana said to no one other than herself—while flashing a huge grin— as she made her way back from the store she went to visit earlier, lugging a couple of bags that were full with a wide assortment of cooking supplies. "I wonder what I should do for Bastion? Last time we fought I remember that she had a bit of blueberry smell coming from her— perhaps I should do a jam filled one for her? And for Suparna, I guess that fermented golden apples will do fine. But... what if I screw up and make them alcoholic? Nah, like that gonna hap—"
Diana's outwardly thinking was interrupted when her ears caught an unfamiliar noise. "Someone's playing something? How long has it been since the last time?" Diana asked herself as her feet carried her towards the source of the sound. A quick visual scan would lead to Diana spotting someone she wasn't acquainted with playing the violin in a balcony overlooking this wing of Celestia. While Diana didn't think that it would be polite to interrupt said person's solitary sonata but she didn't have any pressing matters—the chocolate won't run away on its own... right?— so she found a place to sit nearby and took a moment of her time to listen to the song while chowing down one of the golden apples that she bought earlier.
Shade sat in silence, gently bobbing its head while listening to its partner's music and calmly munching a cookie. Despite being a fragment of a force that existed before Creation itself, it did not have grand ambitions like its counterparts such as a desire to maintain an abstract ideal like "Balance" and much rather enjoyed peaceful moments like this. This was likely the reason it and Sheena went together so well as they were both content to do their own thing when not out taking care of a mission.
Sheena had never been the most talented at playing music back when she was human, but did well enough to had been offered the chance to play in his/her high school musical....which was yet another event her deadbeat father had never showed up to, which was fine with her as she figured he had stopped caring about her a long time ago. Shade seemed to appreciate the music though, so that was an upside. As she took a break, she heard someone munching an apple and turned to face the lady who had been watching, "Oh, hello there. My apologies, I didn't realize I had an audience."
