Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"You’ll be fine without me now."

Mythra’s own words still rang through her head as she ran full tilt for Aion’s hangar. She had done it again. As if being sealed, wanting nothing more than to die, for 500 years and then finally, finally, confronting her fears only to realize she would die anyway wasn’t enough. She’d hurt everyone she cared about because she believed she could save them, again, the same as before.

In a sense, she was relieved. After an eternity of waiting, of things left unsaid, she’d finally be able to see her old friends again. But leaving Rex behind felt worse than anything she’d done. After lacking closure with Addam, Lora, Hugo, everyone, for all her life, it felt like the same knife that guilt had lodged in her heart the whole time had been driven even deeper after she realized she’d now be leaving her Driver, the person she loved, with the same burden.

This isn’t what I meant… when I asked if he was ready to shoulder all of me. 

Mythra's boots clacked with a heavy echo across the Colossus hangar, the regular rhythm seeming to mock her, as if counting down her remaining heartbeats until she either was lost and returned to her Core or was annihilated by her own power. She had seen Rex, heartbroken, clutching her Core Crystal in an iron grip like it would kill him to let go- he would probably feel the beats through it, willing it to slow down, to wait, wishing the same as her for just one second to say a true, proper goodbye- then again, she hadn't allowed herself to say goodbye to him in Tantal after her decision to go with Jin, so why would she deserve a chance to do so now? She could almost see her father's impassive face admonishing her, even though he had disappeared with the Conduit. 

This is the passage of fate, Mythra. The universe has given me my utmost desire to repent. It is, above all, fair... so now it seeks to grant you your own desire. 

The words materialized in her mind as naturally as her own thoughts. Mythra shook her head, attempting to dislodge them like an annoying skeeter, to no avail. She wanted to turn around and scream into whatever void her father had disappeared to, No! This isn't what I want! I just want to protect everyone; why does it have to be this way? Instead, she kept running. God or no, Father wasn't heartless himself. If there was any alternative, he would've known it, and therefore she would have too.

She was seized by another thought. What would they say? When she saw her old Driver, the Blades she had fought alongside everyone she'd never said goodbye herself to, and all the Tornans who Amalthus and Malos had killed because she wasn’t strong enough to stop them… what kind of deep-seated hate would they view her with? Would they see her as the Mythra of now, the legendary Aegis, the one who destroyed Malos and selflessly let herself die in order to save Alrest itself? Or would they see the self she’d been back then- looking out only for number one, lashing out with a barbed tongue at anyone who needed help? The damned simpleton, who couldn’t have hoped to stop another Aegis if her life or the world depended on it.

She winced at the thought of Brighid’s oh-so-familiar barb, her memories telling her crystal-clear exactly how deserving the insult had been.

Well, she thought with a grim smile as the hangar doors slid open, even a simpleton could cause an explosion given enough power.

Sorry, Rex... Nia... everyone. At least this time, I can still protect you...

Chapter Text

It was painless.

Far faster than she could blink, Mythra had been enveloped in the flames that leapt from Aion’s heart, and in another millisecond she was gone, the green-tinted interface of her Artifice replaced by an all-consuming whiteness, and the sounds of the Orbital Ring collapsing swallowed in a silence that left only the echoes of the tearing metal roaring in her ears.

In the instant before losing consciousness, Mythra felt a bizarre thought enter her head.

I wonder… if this is what those monsters all felt when I killed them?

...What those people felt… when I-

The echoes were gone.

Mythra slowly felt feeling return to her body, starting from the hollow where her core had been until recently and spreading at a turtle’s pace to her fingertips. She exhaled slowly, opening her eyes and looking down at herself. Yes, there was her un-obliterated body- her body, in her own white outfit, rather than the sleek green-tinted armor she’d worn during and after the final battle. She felt a strange sense of absence, but after a quick check she determined her entire being was there-

No, it wasn’t. There wasn’t that sensation of another pair of eyes and ears behind her own, the voice inside her head with the ever-so-slightly different cadence and higher pitch (that still jarred her sometimes when she thought she had only been talking to herself).

“Pyra? Pyra!? ”

Mythra looked around frantically, her honed eyesight telling her in an instant that no, her other self wasn’t anywhere to be found, unless she was hiding in that house-

“Py-”

Her panicked yell died in her throat. Shaking her head, Mythra scanned the landscape once again, taking in all the details she’d missed in her search for a hint of flame-red hair.

The expanse of clouds stretching out to her right, the rolling green hills with the great stone ribs of the Titan jutting up from the earth to her left. She wheeled around to check behind herself, and was greeted with the sight of a stocky building of dark-colored bricks whose soaring wood archways and tall spinning fans- the sheets of which bore an emblem she hadn’t seen in centuries- managed to give it an air of elegance anyway. The old sight of the Aletta manor and the military garrison down below seemed to suck all of the willpower out of her.

Oh, god, Mythra had thought she was prepared for this. Now that it was so close to her, she wanted to turn tail and run, jump into the imaginary clouds and let herself sink away from everyone’s sight for good- but her feet stayed rooted to the stone walkway.

No, no, no, please, there he was, the door was opening, she wasn’t ready to bear all of this-

“Mythra.”

Mythra’s eyes widened in hope, shame, relief, and a million age-old thoughts that seemed to crash down in her mind all at once as she recognized the oh-so-familiar voice and the tall, solid figure now standing before her, his golden eyes crinkling like he was about to break into a face-splitting grin- or a flood of tears; it had always been impossible to tell which would come next with him.

“A- Addam, I’m-”

Mythra’s shaking voice was cut off before she could finish her sentence. Addam suddenly clasped her shoulder and pulled her into a tight bear hug, burying her head in his shoulder as if he never wanted to release her.

“What-” Mythra felt her own voice break, tried to steel herself- “what are you doing?”

“I am so, so proud of you, Mythra.”

The dam broke. Addam had pierced her defenses more effectively than Siren itself ever could have, and Mythra felt herself collapse against him, sobbing and shuddering. Her former Driver didn’t say a word, but remained standing, letting Mythra exhaust herself as every pent-up feeling surged out of her. Once her tears had slowed and she had stopped shaking, Addam stepped back to an arm’s length, his hands still on her shoulders, and gave her that damned smile of almost fatherly approval that he’d always pulled out whenever she did something good for another person. (That for some reason hadn’t shown up whenever she volunteered to cook.)

“So…” Mythra felt her voice threaten to crack again and cleared her throat. “So why… don’t you hate me? I… deserve it, after I hurt you by making you use my third sword, and after everything I did to T-Torna.” She averted her eyes, unable to face the look of concern she knew he was giving her.

“Mythra.” Addam gave her shoulder a squeeze and, with his other hand, gently turned her back to face him. Her Driver was wearing that look of concern, but he still smiled. Almost like he was happy to see her. No, it couldn’t be, she told herself. You knew what you were getting into when you wished for closure with everyone. Don’t get your hopes up.

“You grew so much during my time with you. I watched you become the compassionate Blade I had known you could become. And you haven’t stopped growing.” His smile widened. “You looked different when you appeared here. Different from the last time I saw you, or the last time I saw Pyra. I can tell- you aren’t afraid of the power you carry any longer.”

“But…” Mythra cast her face down this time, looking for a different avenue of escape. “I know you are, or you were. I made you scared of me when I went all out against Malos, and how could I blame you?”

“I was.” Addam grew serious, his eyes losing focus as he flicked through his memories of the battle at the Titan’s core. “And I think I’m the one who should apologize to you, Mythra.” Before she could draw breath to counter his words, he continued- “If I had been a stronger Driver, if I had known you better- if I trusted you enough to let you use your power fully, rather than shutting you down every time you even mentioned Siren, maybe I could’ve been your true Driver after all.”

“No.” Mythra let a smile flicker across her face for the first time since she’d arrived. “I’m glad you kept me in line. If not for you I’d have probably destroyed Torna… well, earlier than I did end up doing.”

“How could I truly blame you for any of that?” Addam’s eyes looked deeply hurt- unsurprisingly, with the sights she knew he was reliving- but he didn’t release her from his comforting grip or lose that smile. “You were inexperienced, you were exhausted, and you’d just seen your friends die before your eyes. And-” he smirked- “it was Malos who built the bonfire.” Mythra rolled her eyes at her old friend’s paraphrasing of her partner. “All you did was drop the match. It was a mistake anyone would make in your situation.”

“Thanks, Addam…” Mythra sat down on the worn stone steps at the mansion’s door, and he followed. “You know, I’m really lucky it was you who awakened me first.”

“Oh? Why’s that?”

“‘Cause you introduced me to Jin, Lora, and everyone who was really important to me.” Mythra added her own smirk to the reprisal.

“Oof!” Addam doubled over, mocking clutching his heart in pain. “You wound me, Mythra! You sound as if Brighid rubbed off on you more than I did.”

The Driver and Blade laughed, the tension Mythra felt fully dissipated.

“Oh.” Addam looked up as if struck by a thought. “I know you can’t stay here- but before I forget, there’s someone else who wants to see you.”

“I… can’t stay here?” Mythra tilted her head in confusion. “Where is here, exactly?”

“Well, how do I explain it… I suppose this is like a collection of our memories. We ‘live’ here, in the place where we were happiest during our lifetime, so I suppose you could call it our individual Elysium. When I died myself, I saw Lora… and Hugo.”

“Oh…” Mythra bowed her head in sympathy. “Addam, they can’t have resented you for any of what you did.”

“No, Hugo! He’s here, too; he wanted to see you off.”

“What?!” Mythra bolted upright, pivoting to search for the iconic navy-colored hair and white armor of the young emperor.

He seemed to step out of nowhere, suddenly appearing at Addam’s shoulder- or rather at his elbow, as he was so dwarfed by the Tornan prince. Hugo smiled calmly at Mythra, stepping forward and grasping her hand tightly in welcome.

God, it was so bizarre to see him again- and looking so unsettlingly like Mórag’s little cousin. When Niall had almost died, shielding them on that warship in Indol- it had made her want to double over and throw up from the memories that rushed back at her all at once. He had stepped forward without hesitation, letting his own body take the brunt of the blast when Aegaeon’s barrier failed to shield them, and when the smoke cleared, he was standing there, shaky on his feet, with those burn marks, oh God, so much like after the explosion of the Tornan core-

“Mythra.”
The soft lilt of Hugo’s voice brought her crashing back to the present. She realized she’d been shaking herself- the last time she’d seen the Emperor was when the Ardainian soldiers and Special Inquisitor were carrying his limp body back to the imperial Titan ship. To see him, seemingly alive and well, after all this and have him smile at her like nothing had ever happened that day was too much of a shock to stand.

“Hugo, before you say anything, I’m so, so sorry…”

“Don’t be, Mythra.” He continued smiling at her, his eyes kind and still retaining some of that young innocence even after everything they’d seen. “I know you blame yourself for what happened at the core, but like it or not, we were outmatched. I did what I did to protect Addam and everyone else, and with or without you, I’d have done it again. Besides, anything you might have done to hurt me, you’ve looked after my kin enough to atone many times over.”

Mythra saw that steely determination Mórag always had in her eyes now reflected in Hugo’s, the glint that in the Inquisitor’s case meant she was being as honest (often brutally so) as she could. She smiled- as weird as the thought of Mórag and Niall being Hugo’s own descendants had initially seemed to her, it was easy to see where they had gotten their kindness and strength.

“You… must be proud.” Mythra finally managed to return his smile. “To know your family is so much like you. I’ve never seen someone who can lead like Mórag or Niall.”

“I am.” Hugo nodded. “It is good to see Brighid and Aegaeon are flourishing under her care as well. She is a caring Driver. I hope she can be better to them than I was.”

“Aw, come on.” Mythra folded her arms, giving Hugo a look of slight disbelief. “You think just because you kicked the bucket early-”

“That’s one way of putting it.” Hugo interjected, his amused voice letting her know he didn’t mean any harm.

“You think just because you… er…” Mythra’s eyes dropped as she looked for a possible delicate way to say died in a way I was mostly responsible for, sorry, no hard feelings right? “...Just because you couldn’t grow old alongside them, you weren’t a good Driver?” She looked back into Hugo’s face, firmly, but smiling again. “I honestly couldn’t believe it when I saw Brighid for the first time with Mórag as her driver. She’d always been clever, tactical-”

“Biting, to say the least.”

“Biting, sure. But she was incredibly warm towards Mórag- she treated her and everyone else as equals, not as royals or Drivers or whatever. She’s got incredible willpower, and she never complains.” Mythra grinned openly. “Sound like anyone you know? You rubbed off on her more than you think.” She patted Hugo’s shoulder.

“Thank you, Mythra.” Hugo closed his eyes and nodded. “I know you may not remember, but if you ever do see Brighid again… tell her I am proud of her myself.”

“I will, don’t worry.” Mythra didn’t know what would happen next, or where she would go. But she was an Aegis, wasn’t she? Father had made her and her brother specially, and Malos had remembered her well enough once he had reformed after Torna. There was no way she’d forget enough to ignore a promise to a friend.

-

Mythra passed time for a while with Addam and Hugo, telling them stories of her time with Rex and the others. Addam was especially proud to hear (she hadn’t been able to resist rolling her eyes at this) that the Tornan line was in good hands with Zeke.

After a while, however, she began to feel a strange tugging in her chest.

She stood slowly, like someone or something was pulling her to her feet. Hearing the sound of her name, she turned this way and that in the hope that she could see whoever was speaking, but no one appeared.

“Mythra?”

Addam was looking up at her in slight confusion.

“I…” She spoke hesitantly. “I think someone’s calling me.”

Hugo exchanged a look with the prince. “Yes,” he agreed, “that’ll be them.” He smiled again. “There are still some people who want to see you.” Standing up, he hugged Mythra. “I am glad we were able to meet you again.”

Addam stood up as well. “Make sure you give them my regards when you see them.” Likewise, he squeezed Mythra tightly- she grumbled on principle, but leaned into his shoulder. “I’m so proud of you. Be well, Mythra.” As he finished speaking, it began to sound as if he were speaking from the other end of a long tunnel.

“Wait… Wait, Addam. Who’s calling me?” Mythra felt her voice grow faint and her senses dim slowly. She reached out a hand, but couldn’t reach Addam despite the fact that she was still in his arms.

“You’ll see soon.” Before her vision darkened entirely, she saw him smile widely one last time.

“Don’t worry. The three of them will be very happy to see you.”