Diabolos

ffxv messenger oc

hellbat. used to be ifrit's boyf and was convinced to betray him by shiva during the war of the astrals 'for the world's own good.' He's Big Regretsy and basically had a fortress of depression solitutde until niflheim was like "Hi" and now he's uh

well he died but he'll be fine (eventually)

-- fancier version:

A Messenger who once served as the prime medium between Ifrit and the people of ancient Solheim.

Once proud, the bat-like Messenger lived under a cloud of contrition for his role in the War of the Astrals. It was he who delivered unto the people of Solheim Ifrit's pronouncement of war, and it was long into the conflict he continued to fight alongside the Pyreburner. Yet the advent of the Starscourge, and the pleas of the rest of the Six for peace swayed him to change sides.

His chief regret is not that he waited, to side with the winners. Rather it is that he ever did at all. He considers it ought to have been his fate, to perish with the Infernian; certainly it was with him that his heart died.

(If you're thinking, "Wow! That's very romantic phrasing!", you're right! It is and they were. Imagine it as kind of a right angle shaped relationship, with Ifrit as the middle point between his Ice GF and Bat BF.)

Since then, Diabolos came to live in a prison of his own making. In the bleached bones of what was once a Solheim city, he lives in solitude. In this small space, there is an unending, hazy vision of a sweltering midday; visitors get lost easily, until they eventually lose consciousness, waking up outside the ruin to see the setting sun. Perhaps the entire time spent there is a mere dream.

His closest connection to the still-living Astrals is to Shiva. Their interactions are, generally.. fraught, however, though it isn't from any particular malice toward one another. Diabolos recognizes that he has largely deserted his duty to the world, and that particular guilt has drawn him out, on some occasions across history - when he does, it has always been on her request.

...But what Diabolos is, now, is nothing more than a magical engine with an eerie glow, set in the heart of a particular clone. Certainly, Diabolos died.

Yet still he dreams. Yet still, he sees. Sometimes, in quiet moments – perhaps he even has a voice?