Must we be doomed?

[Jaszt]

Jaszt woke up and looked around. He wasn't in his apartment, and he knew he was still in hers. For a moment he panicked, not sure if it was entirely safe to have slept here at all.

He calmed himself and realized he was still here. He hadn't been arrested or killed. He was safe, as safe as he felt with her, even though he was of the Faithful, and she was of the Chosen. He knew she wouldn't betray him, nor would he betray her.

He rolled out of the bed and found his pack containing his armor and gear. After suiting up he looked around again. For being as evil as he had always been taught, she did a nice job decorating her apartment. It was a sure sight better than his place.

Jaszt prepared to leave and as a last minute thought, pulled out a scrap of paper. He didn't think the recorded messages and videos of the day were quite as personal as a simple note. After writing it, he headed for the door. On his way out, to his surprise, she returned, dressed in her own armor. He smiled when he saw her and approached her.

"Sorry... I had an emergency..."

"It's alright, I didn't expect you to wait for me to wake up..."

"I wanted to..."

And so, knowing that they're both doomed, they began another day. A couple of warriors on opposite sides of a war that could no longer survive without the other. Yes, they were doomed. Yes, they knew it. And knowing this, they had to make every day they had count.

On the bed, the note sat. "One day we will meet in Elysium, where we may dwell in each other's arms for 250 years... or longer."

[Jaszt]

The following morning, he woke up there again. Why did he come back here? Jaszt knew this really could lead to nothing good. Yet there he was, waking up in her livingroom, with her right there this time.

She was still asleep, and he knew she had a long day prior, and it had been a long night. Better to let her sleep, he thought. With this in mind, he carefully lifted her and carried her to her bed, laying her down gently.

Nothing cood can come of this, he told himself, nothing good at all. Although at this point, there was no debating it, and there was no denying it. This had become bigger than anything else. This, the possible downfall of the world. Now it was just a ride to the end.

Jaszt sighed and collected his gear once again, securing his armor and checking his weapons. Again, nothing out of place, nothing tampered with, as he expected. Maybe, he hoped, he could soon allow himself the luxury of not having to check. Twice she could have harmed him, and twice now she did not. That had to count for something, right?

After preparing himself he checked in on her once more, watching her sleep. She was so beautiful to him, not at all the loathsome being he should have seen asleep on her bed. How could this have happened that he felt so? "It doesn't matter now," he whispered to himself, knowing it to be true. What was done was done, and there was no turning back now. He headed for the door...

After leaving, there was only one place he could go. The one place he knew he could be at peace, even if only for a little while. He went to the fields of Elysium, far away from prying eyes, away from the portals, away from the inhabitants. He went to meditate and clear his mind.

[Jaszt]

For the entire day, Jaszt meditated in Elysium. He reflected on the last two eventful days, trying to sort through them, but all he could think of was her. The normal calm brought by meditation was interrupted frequently as his pulse quickened every time she came to his mind. At least in this state, he no longer had to contend with what the spirits thought of her.

He knew they wanted to destroy her, to save him and stop the damage that would be wrought. He knew they wanted her gone, but would have sooner died himself than allow it. How could he feel this way about one of the Chosen? Jaszt had much to meditate upon.

Still, she was not the only thing in his thoughts. He had felt it when her own spirits threatened her, tortured her. He had heard them somehow. He had called out to them and they heard him, he was sure of this. He couldn't understand how he could speak to her spirits in such a way, yet he clearly had. This made him wonder what manner of being he could be to do such a thing. As far as he had known, no Shade known had been able to speak directly to the spirits that another possessed and make them listen. Was he more than just the Jobe-born Opifex he was made out to be? Could anyone do what he had done with the right motivation? So many questions. Maybe he needed to talk to the scientists in Jobe for the answers. Maybe he needed to test their insurance to do it.

Jaszt shuddered at that thought and wondered what brought it on. He knew his spirits usually did not affect him when he meditated. Could it have been something from her causing him to think like that, or were they stronger now that they had been silent for nearly two whole days? By the time it had begun to concern him, night had fallen.

After resting his body in such a manner, it was now time to rest his mind, and he proceeded to the best place to do so. He travelled south to the Cape of Callous, and once there he took a look around. There was no one else in sight, which was good considering what he was about to do.

After taking a deep breath, Jaszt whispered to himself, "Okay... be free..." and for a moment, he could feel them almost leave his body and return. His spirits were freed, and they wrapped around him like a second skin. He slipped away from his own body, retreating into himself, and let them take control.

First it was the Mortiigs, lesser enemies of the Guardian, that fell. An entire group of them dead before the first hit the ground as he weaved through them. This only excited the spirits, sending them to seek further destruction. So they proceeded along the brink, destroying the horrors and hecklers along the way, dodging their blows and tearing them apart. All the while, Jaszt slept, letting them have their fill before the morning would come.

By the time the sun came up and he awoke inside himself, he was near the portal that led to the plaza of Jobe. Broken bodies of the monstrous beings of the brink surrounded him, and for a moment he felt sickened by the absolute destruction the spirits had caused, even to such vile creatures. He felt sore from all the spirits had done with his body, but he was not injured at all.

Since he was close to the portal, he headed back to Jobe. Maybe he would see if she was awake yet...

[Jaszt]

It had only been a matter of time, they spent too much time together everywhere they went. They had been found out.

Jaszt hadn't been too concerned when she came to help him and the clan he was a part of. They knew him and they trusted him, and so they trusted her as well to an extent. Although looking back, he realized he probably should have been a bit more careful with how publicly they were showing their affections.

From the moment they walked into The Cup in West Athen, he knew there would be trouble. The spirits sensed it immediately and told him he should leave. The voices he heard from across the room were the last proof he'd need to know that this day would not be easy.

Several members of the clan Assembly were present, among them miss Jenae Godfray, or Tussa as her callsign was. Jaszt didn't worry much about her. He had spoken with her before and made it known that he did not believe that Shades had been given a fair view by the public. In fact, he had been told by one of her clan's members that Shades had been used in bedtime stories as monsters to get children to sleep. He had hoped that she had seen that at least he was not a monster, but that would make little difference compared to this.

For a moment, he considered leaving as soon as they walked in the door, but she moved to a table, and he would not be leaving her here with them, especially not after all she had been through to even get here. So he sat down with her and at first, tried to ignore the others there. This did not last long, and became quite an argument. (I'm sure anyone who was there would be glad to share if anyone out there is interested.) Even several members of the clan he was a part of came to stand with him against the verbal assault.

In the end, Jaszt began to realize just what the potential consequences of the day would be. Afterall, he had just been appointed as a representative to the Council himself, and surely this was not appropriate behaviour as such. He contacted the preident of the clan and prepared to be told he would be leaving, or at least stripped of his new position. To his surprise, neither result occurred, although he decided he needed to take some responsibility for his actions.

He stared at the screen for a long time, trying to think of what he would say. He wanted it to be clear to his clan that he knew what had happened was his fault, and that he would make amends, but he also wanted to be clear that it would not prevent him from seeing her still. In the end, he had a nice, formal apology, and he got up, preparing to head out for the day. Maybe he would go to see her, since that always made him feel better.

[Jaszt]

His family didn't let him down.

Jaszt had apologized to them and they didn't ask him to leave. In fact, now he was going to be representing them on the council. That was a bit scary to be sure.

He thought about the potential consequences of the situation again, and every time they made his head hurt. He knew it was going to be addressed and he had no real way to defend against it. His only hope was that they, like his family, would be able to overlook it for the potential good he could do there. It did sadden him to think that it needed to be overlooked though, because it shouldn't have mattered either way.

It didn't matter anyway. He was going to do what he could for them, because his family was important to him, but he wasn't going to let her go either. They just had to get used to the idea of it. Most of them already had.

He was tired, and decided to get some sleep. Tomorrow was going to be an interesting day.