Reflections
...And it wasn't justice that gave birth to a new creation; it was sin.
Leto closes her eyes.
She is standing on the endless blue of the sky. Clouds, white and wispy like soft cotton race underneath far beneath her feet, as if time was somehow sped up. Above her head there is an expanse of starry blackness, the cosmic ocean of space, rippling and cracking like a mirror into multicolored fragments. However, it remains in place. She is rooted to the spot, unmoving like stone, body like lead.
There is no curiosity burgeoning in her mind; no need to know more or see more than she already has. She has been here before and she will be here again; from beginning to end, this is the circle, unbroken and unending. The pale reflection stands before her, the black ocean of stars mirrored in the other’s eyes. The reflection’s expression is unchanging and unmoving as she opens her mouth to speak. Though she forms words, they are not so much heard as they are felt.
Ilya, is it enough?
And Leto knows the answer. She knows the reflection knows the answer, as they always have. Though she cannot move her mouth to speak it, nor can she reach her arms out to comfort her other self. Does she need to be comforted?
The cracks ripple across the endless sea of black, spidering their way across the stars and through space with the deafening roar of silence. Multicolored lines trace their way further and further, beyond even her sight.
She knows the answer. They both know the answer. They always have.
Leto opens her eyes.
The hiss of fysa burns her flesh, bubbling and churning in response to its opposite in Aria. The two come together in a heated, icy clash; humidity and lightning crackling against each other in a concentrated, localized storm. Through the inky darkness and blinding light, another sliver is taken from the great circle - another sin is added to the countless others that threaten to shatter the ocean in her dream. She does not need to know what will happen when it breaks.
Power ripples across her like a riptide, threatening to tear her body and mind apart, ebbing away and then pulling her core towards the star. It’s a delicate balance, she has to remind herself. She was but a conduit for the power that went into all her creations. Her will. Her determination. Is it enough?
The song reaches its crescendo, a violent scream of magic tearing through the air, essence being devoured and reshaped into a new dream. She pulls her hands away from it as it threatens to swallow her whole. The tide dies down into silence. The dark star sinks from high above the center of the circle and her hands rise to claim the newborn. Bubbling and oozing, the formless mass cracks like an egg, revealing the completed shape within. Her limbs and mind feel heavy and sluggish, but even through the haze of fatigue, it still whispers its secrets to her.
This one belongs to her. It is her burden to bear alone. She thinks back to the reflection in the dream, eyes mirroring the night sky. She knows the answer. They both know the answer. They always have.