Kori eventually awoke, finding herself in Velvet’s small cramped fighter, a fact which was leaving her fairly lacking for comfort. It was fortunate that Rosa was quite skilled with complex holos, the only comfort that had actually been provided for her.

“So, it seems Holi is pissed. It seems that I might not have gauged the EMP dosage very well, and that may have absolutely fried the circuitry of the nanites here. I mean.. I wanted to make sure she didn’t just surprise us, that would have been a disaster. She’s not seeing it that way though, determined that she could have done stuff to help out as well.” “Oh, you’re getting a signal from Epsilon? My DREs aren’t picking up anything, though I guess they aren’t exactly industrial strength communication gear. I guess the fact that there is none of Holi present right now actually might play an even bigger role here. Don’t worry, when we get back, I’ll see about trying to put together some stuff to rebuild losses to Holi’s collection, I’ll even let her know that it was all by my request. Actually, about that, thank you for being there for me when I needed someone’s help.” “No problem, all part of the mission, right? Just remember this in the future too. I know you’re going to be all uptight in being over-protective and such, but you really should give some people a chance to prove what they’re capable of.” “That’s something I certainly won’t forget, don’t worry about that.” Velvet started giggling with a contagion that Rosa quickly picked up on. Rosa had quite the ambition to make sure she didn’t fall for all of the same mistakes Velvet had grown up with. This time, things would be very different indeed.

“Seriously, you’re both so loud, some of us have been trying to get some rest here.” “Oh, sorry Kori, did we wake you?” “No, I was already waking up as is, but this isn’t the most comfortable way to come to my senses. Well, if you’re both so keen on talking right now, maybe someone would be so kind as to bring me up to speed on everything that happened? The last thing I remember is bringing the power back on at the citadel.. everything after that is just a blur.” “You missed out on all the incredible stuff after that? Wait, even in your own awesomeness as you wrought paradox to safeguard your own identity into your own cybernetics? Oh come on, I really wanted to hear more about that story.” “I.. may have some slight inkings to what you’re talking about, but a refresher on everything else might make things a lot more clear. You go first.” Kori listened carefully to Rosa’s retelling of all the events that had transpired, herself really impressed with everything that Rosa had accomplished standing up to such a threat like that. The whole dominion of magic was especially unbelievable, if not for the fact that her chaos was capable of confirming the results. Kori really wished she could see such a thing, the creation of a new principle, that was something she would love to explore. Less likable was the threat her own presence had left behind while otherwise.. occupied. The ruthless chase through the citadel, the clash of conflict within some kind of strange empowered room. Rosa however had endured it all.

“Well, I guess the way things panned out for me was that I was sort of feeling a pressure through my own ability, a convergence of time, though I didn’t know such then. Yes, I guess I did manage to withdraw into my own sense of comfort, and I guess that did come with some kind of stealth setup, but I can’t exactly account for everything there. All I know about it is that I had applied chaos to a paradox of existence, that I was there, but that I was not, kind of like how the whole time-rift thing worked. I guess, using it against a threatening act of time, that actually makes more sense than it should. I can tell that such has left a lasting impact though, the link between us doesn’t at all.. feel.. like it once did. However, think about it, four bodies, two people, one being. If the link was blocked, what did I have to myself? At the time, I didn’t even have a body.. but I couldn’t have endured as only just a person. I suspect that I’ve rendered our being into a paradox. Chaos however is infinite, so such might explain how an aspect of chaos could have more than a single perspective. I expect your portion of chaos is still unaware of it, but is probably getting a share of the same story.” 「This would explain why there remained undefined distortions in the link, chaos having been wrought onto chaos. Such might have been further assisted by the divisive state between you both, where that one’s temporal version had commanded an individuality in existence. It seems that the truth behind such distortions is that such bonds are no longer constraints, only opportunities. If there is a need for it, you both could move independently, even between both principled planes. You yourself have, at this moment, the ability to release the link and return to being Lyun. You could even then at any time switch back to Rosa just as easily. However, if both halves had the need and shared the same plane at the same time, the link could be restored without any difficulty. By true chaos, you are free.」 Kori had really done it this time, she had resolved one of the earliest concerns they held through this entire conflict, all in a way that provided options without denying any opportunities.

Kori however knew that Rosa had left her with a tremendous blessing in turn. This confrontation with a probability-infused variant of herself had established that such a key and powerful option that wrought significant influence on the other side did not hold nearly as much weight on this side. Chance was Ruixse’s weakness, that was absolutely undeniable at this point. All that they needed now was to resolve it, to revoke such a weakness from any further exploit. Also obvious though was how Rosa appeared to have forgotten one thing that was rather important. Mheridz would still be lost wandering the halls of the citadel while they wasted such time, trying to resolve this specific concern for them. However, such would also become the last step in the time traveller’s missions, this completion would revoke their continued stay from thus forth. Kori knew that she couldn’t ask Rosa to simply leave Velvet behind like this, not now that they had the option to pursue their own paths. Kori would just go on ahead, leaving the two to what time they still needed, while ensuring that Mheridz too was not left forgotten.

Rosa felt the new unfamiliar feeling, the feeling she knew quickly to signify the unbinding process between her and Kori. She had only turned away for little more than a second, and Kori was already gone.

“You have to go after her, don’t you? Go on, we already said our farewells, this was only just a bonus. Come on, you know I suck at this stuff, it’s even worse in person. I…” Velvet was suddenly cut off, caught in an enveloping hug, no other words needed. This was the part of their farewell that Rosa had missed, it was the only extra part she needed. Once the hug ended, Velvet found herself the only one remaining present. Well, in all accounts, that wouldn’t be true for much longer either, so maybe she should get her ship docked safely aboard the Epsilon. There might still be a lot more fragments to clean up, but she wouldn’t have the chance to do much more. Her mission, her work.. was over.

Lyun took to the logic she had recently been presented, reforming the link to Axln on arrival, only for it to not work. 「Axln is not detected on this plane, the link can not be reforged.」 Wait, if Axln was not here.. where was she?

The lone figure stepped forward through the haze, a haze that fled her very presence in complete fear. The hunter was here, how? Wasn’t the seal still strong? The might of the temporal scattered, uncertain what additional threat the hunter could bring them. Devastation, that was undeniable, such a demon could not be stopped. However, the lone figure continued until she reached an aspect trapped to this plane that was not so aligned. Ruixse’s will. The lone figure did not know why she was here so suddenly, but knew that such was the way with all approaches to the world’s will. No one ever came for a reason, it was simply random. However, even if her arrival would be random, she was determined to forge a purpose out of it, to create a destiny out of it.

“Oh, you’ve returned. You and your companion have managed to do quite a lot, haven’t you? Where are they, anyway?” “She’s looking into other matters of importance, our teamwork won’t be so limited as to require us to do everything together anymore.” “My, so then you have a bit more clarity on who you are now, don’t you?” “More than a little, actually. My context suits my company. To those who are of Aestus, I’m known as Kori. You thus are free to call me Axln, as that would be much more accurate right now. I’m not one or the other, I’m simply both, such is simply the name given to me by those whose name it suits. Names are the way of people, after all, but such does not capture the completion of our identity. For example, you are Ruixse, but you are more than just Ruixse, you are Ruixse’s will. Ruixse would too have an essence, imparted by the seed brought, as its heart. Ruixse’s mind would lay within its eternal dream too. All parts of a person’s identity makes up their overall whole, and that remains true for more than just people. You are then just a single of many of the aspects Ruixse has to offer, in an eternal bond to connect the entire collection into an overarching whole. I know this, so I have no reason to wonder.” Ruixse was surprised by the depth of Axln’s revelation, a reach of confidence that spelled a sizable understanding.

“If you seem to know so much of me, then tell me, what is my greatest weakness? If you do, I shall tell you your own.” “Your weakness is that you have forgotten the blessing of fate, that you’ve had it torn from you. You used to have such, although it was built too high. The key was not to deny all fate, but to work with it, much as how I’ve worked with chaos itself. Giving a person the ability to control their own fate, without simply revoking the meaning of fate, brings a semblance of order to your world. Things are allowed to be predictable, to be obvious, just so long as there remains choices from such predictability that allows people to pave their own way. Destiny should be what people make of it. If there was a way to restore fate to you, to restore fate in this way, you would no longer be so vulnerable to outright chaos.” Ruixse pondered Axln’s conclusion, seeing that Axln had indeed succeeded in uncovering a complete understanding of such weaknesses, even bringing forward how such should instead actually be. Ruixse’s smile was apparent even through her temporal visage.

“Meanwhile, your own weakness is that you easily overcomplicate things that are much more simple. You succeed in uncovering solutions, but then complicate the problem by taking it upon yourself to resolve a problem that isn’t even your responsibility. Your responsibility was simply to bring such truth to light. You even speak of the revocation of fate, an act invoked by my mother after her own champion brought her the resolution of her concerns from that time. She may be my mother, but I am not so powerless that I am incapable of invoking my own changes. With this, your duty has been completed.” “Ah, I remember now, that’s what that book was writing about, the invocations of changes the world bears from chosen champions. I might thus invite you to consider how much fate could bring you opportunity in the same process, where fate’s questions could itself test the common people for your own answers as to what change the world needs. After all, more than just your own champion, I am also a champion of true chaos, and I believe you will find great use in working with true chaos to discover the endless potential that people could offer.” “You speak with resolve becoming only of your own chaos, as if you’ve even grown in understanding of that nature as well. I do seem to recall such chaos’s conviction to stand champion to such a great cause. I may have need of that conviction, so that true chaos could be used to reveal future truths before the veil is brought to threat. I look forward to the continued blessing of your being through the ages of eternity.” Ruixse had always appeared to naturally feel like a superiority over Axln from all their past encounters, but there was something about this scene that seemed to turn respect towards Axln’s favour instead. Axln's chaos remained silent, its will having been spoken for already so naturally.

Axln turned from her meeting, her complete purpose having been resolved, thus leaving her nothing further of importance here. The temporal mass sustained its distance, especially after witnessing her resolute glare. Her very presence was a challenge, that if the temporal ever tried to step out of line again, true chaos would be waiting. Quite a collective of the temporal began to audibly wonder if, just maybe, this true chaos stuff might maybe be a much better fit. Chaos had always believed itself to be on the superior path.. but this demonstration raised such doubt as to make that no longer so certain. Maybe the chaos which had fallen to such a path.. maybe in falling it had only grown stronger, becoming better. Maybe then.. maybe that was the better way. There was still quite a lot of hesitation, but the spark of curiosity had been lit. Chaos itself was contemplating its own surrender to such unwavering might, if only it could figure out a way to achieve it without true chaos simply obliterating it. Axln couldn’t help but smile mischievously at the conflict growing, the changes that had been invoked. Such had been the goal of her own chaos, that too realized, a prosperous venture indeed. Technically, if the influence of true chaos did grow, her being would remain the overseer of the entire prospect. That technically made her a sort of royalty to true chaos, the sort of thing which could really get to her head. Well, that’s why she wouldn’t be alone, she would have people there to make sure she didn’t screw up. After all, true chaos was all about the ways of people, she couldn’t neglect that either. Still, she was in no hurry to begin an empire, so she wasn’t going to make acceptance an easy process for such chaos either. This timeline was not one of surrender, if such chaos wanted to join her cause, it would have to prove itself worthy of it. For now, she had people she wanted to meet up with, other things she wanted to resolve too. Once she was gone, chaos resumed its presence within the domain, but the will of the temporal itself appeared disregarded, the will of chaos becoming so much colder towards it.

The temporal clearly was a great power that would remain effectively frozen, ever unchanging, and that was its own greatest weakness.

「Lyun is a valid presence in this plane.」 Oh, nice, so Lyun had already tried to test her own ability to cross between sides. It did mean though that Lyun had probably gone to look for Axln, hopefully only after having resolved things on the other side. Reconnecting their bond was exactly as easy as was originally determined too, the process going very smoothly. Less smoothly was Lyun’s reaction, Lyun not even wanting to use their chaos as an intermediary of intent, pressing the full pressure of her concerns through a direct pool of thought. After that onslaught of a scolding, Axln took a moment to compose herself from the daze such an exposure had left her in. Lyun was certainly not happy, not at all. Lyun wasn’t even hard to find, standing impatiently at the entrance of the citadel.

“You know, this is the second time I’ve left first to reach the citadel and yet you still beat me here.” “I know you wanted to just give Velvet and I time together, but you could have at least said something before leaving. This whole being unlinked thing is really disorienting right now, communication is going to be extra important. On that note, what exactly even happened to you. I’m pretty sure you kinda vanished from both worlds there.” “Oh, uh, I got accidentally called to another assembly with Ruixse again in the temporal, so we had to talk a few things out. We worked out the whole chance problem ordeal, things are supposedly a lot better now.” “Oh, so you ran off and got things done without me? Actually, I shouldn’t be upset at that, not after all the stuff I had to do to bring you back to us. Seriously though, I would have liked to have been there for that. If you had waited, I wouldn’t have missed it!” Axln had to admit, Lyun did have a point at that too, Axln had effectively excluded her from a fairly important step in their entire process. Regaining their independence was clearly going to become a bit of a learning process, though one they shouldn’t have too many more troubles with. Learning processes, discovery, that had simply become their thing, they were both way more capable with change than a regular person should be.

Then again, neither girl could possibly admit to simply being a regular person, not after everything they had gone through. Such had simply become their fate, even if that concept was still itself only coming into realization around them.