“ ✦, nothing but shattered scenes .

[encia]

x

𝐈 𝐖𝐈𝐒𝐇 𝐈 𝐅𝐄𝐋𝐓 𝐍𝐎 𝐆𝐔𝐈𝐋𝐓, 𝐁𝐔𝐓 𝐈𝐓'𝐒 𝐉𝐔𝐒𝐓xxxxxx

.xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐒𝐏𝐋𝐈𝐓!

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one x one between myself & traumereii,.xxxplease do not post
unlessxxyou'rexxeitherx.ofx.usxxorxxaxxmodxxthankxxyouxx<3

[encia]

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i mithra ii no nns ''iii 20 iv ci
smale (he/him) .v demisex/
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𝐈'𝐌 𝐓𝐑𝐘𝐍𝐀 𝐅𝐈𝐍𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐓

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rom vi human vii lean build, stands at 173
cm/5'8 viii platinum blond hair, lavender g
ray eyes, pale complexionxx'the amnesiac
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x
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•
•

•

•
•
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐈 𝐋𝐎𝐒𝐓
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a lone wandering adventurer 'who happens to b
e the reincarnation of a certain s-ranked adven
turer and founder of solardawn, 'though he's un
aware of it. 'in the same incident that caused h
is death, 'he was cursed to never remember, an
d that curse 'has followed him 'to his current lif
──────────────────────────────
𝐈'𝐌 𝐓𝐑𝐘𝐍𝐀 𝐁𝐄 𝐖𝐇𝐎xxxxxxx
xxxxxxxxxxxxx𝐈 𝐎𝐍𝐂𝐄 𝐖𝐀𝐒
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e. 'as a result, he's very forgetful, often forgett
ing where he's placed things, and sometimes ev
en forgetting his own hometown and name. for
this reason, he carries around a journal that he
writes information in. 'unsurprisingly, he's an ai
rheaded ditz, and probably the most serene pe
rson anyone could ever meet.xseemingly unfaz
ed by everything, he simply gives an absentmin
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𝐌𝐈𝐒𝐒𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐒 𝐎𝐅 𝐌𝐘𝐒𝐄𝐋𝐅
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ded smile to anything that comes his way.x.but
as untroubled as he may seem, he's still bother
ed by some things. mainly, his forgetfulness. 'h
e can't count the number of times his own forg
etfulness has made him forget something impo
rtant and gotten him into trouble,xxwhether it
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be with a guild, or even his own fr
iends and family. he's tried going t
o doctors and priests to find out w
hat the problem was,'xbut none of
them could tell him anything, so h
e's given up on it for now. it's even
made others 'question 'his abilities
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𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐁𝐄𝐂𝐀𝐔𝐒𝐄,xxxxxxx
xxxxxxx𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐁𝐄𝐂𝐀𝐔𝐒𝐄
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as an adventurer, 'but they stop as
soon as 'they see 'how skillful he is
with his spear. most would describ
e it as a dance, .'but no one really
believes it until they see it for the
mselves. 'his affinity for the spear
and light & healing magic is somet
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𝐈 𝐋𝐎𝐒𝐓 𝐌𝐘𝐒𝐄𝐋𝐅 𝐈𝐍

x




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𝐘𝐎𝐔!
x
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hing 'he's also inherited 'from his p
revious life.xa gentle soul,xthere's
very little malice in his body.xit ta
kes a lot to anger him, but when h
e's angry,xwell... he really is like t
hat demonic mithra from the past.
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[traumereii]

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i. memphis ii. around 400, looks 22 iii. nonbinary (they/them)
iv. grayrom/pansexual v. human (immortal) vi. lithe; 177 cm
vii. navy blue hair bordering black, lavender eyes, fair skin ✦

positive: confident, focused, incisive, magnetic, self-critical
neutral: austere, contradictory, cerebral, intense, reserved
negative: abrasive, calculating, erratic, insincere, nihilistic

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xxxxxxxxxxxｔｈｅ ａｉｒ ！！
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hailing from the icy citadel of the north, memphis sought to seek a more
lucrative life in the capital, intending on making full use of their magic.
upon joining the guild "aeternitas," they quickly rose through the ranks
with their abilities & charisma. as one of the few s-ranked adventurers in
the entire country, mithra's existence led to a competitive streak that saw
both parties being cursed, with mithra ultimately dying & memphis to live
the aftermath. that competitiveness quickly turned to bitter spite.
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( ｃａｒｖｅｄ ｏｕｔ ！！ )
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"memphis" is something of
a household name, in part
due how readily they take
requests, all to vanish yet
again from the public eye.
there are also tales that a
traveler would hear often,
of a never dying memphis.
what the people never
know is that memphis is a
being left behind, doomed
to live & remember for the
rest of eternity; seldom
seen, yet a story to know.
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because of their association to mithra, it was all too easy for
memphis to be caught in the crossfire between aeternitas &
solardawn. memphis became a recluse under the pretense of
wanting to further hone their craft, but in truth, they were
exhausted by the rumours. they hadn't intended for a simple
rivalry to result in the way it had, & even though it was in no
way mithra's fault, he was the only one that memphis could
blame. their charisma melted away into something cutting,
but since they retained their soothing speech, most would
assume them to be stressed instead of a repugnant human.
feigning indifference to the world comes easy with practice.
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if memphis's magic could be described as gentle waves
in the past, then currently their powers are as cold as
their heart. to rise to the top & overcome solardawn's
members that wish for their downfall, memphis had to
be better, stronger. ice is a product of freezing water,
& though fragile and may shatter, it is enough to serve
memphis's purpose. they demand respect through the
mastery of their craft, but as icy as they may seem,
they dream of the unmelting snow of their homeland,
far from the reaches of a sun that could burn one
alive. still, no weaknesses can be shown. not again.
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ｒｅｍｅｍｂｅｒ ｉｔ ａｇａｉｎ ！！
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what is the meaning of life when you have all the time in
the world to watch, again & again, as humanity beats itself
down & picks itself up in turn? is there a point in seizing the
day if it'll only repeat monotonously like clockwork? memphis
only needs their brain, their hands and their magic. nothing
else may breach the sanctuary they've built for themselves,
least of all mithra, who just had to come back to life.

[traumereii]

x
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ＭＥＭＰＨＩＳ ─────────────── ！！ ✦
(ii“iiiｍｙ ｈａｚｙ ｖｏｉｃｅ ｂｕｒｎｓ ｍｙ ｐａｒｃｈｅｄ ｔｈｒｏａｔ ｔｏ ａ ｃｒｉｓｐ，
──────── ｉ ｄｉｄｎ＇ｔ ｋｎｏｗ ｗｈａｔ ｉ ｗａｓ ｓｕｐｐｏｓｅｄ ｔｏ ｓａｙ ！)



indenttoday was supposed to be an easy day. most days typically were, and as the familiar stone walls over the capital city loomed over memphis's figure, they sucked in a breath. four hundred and some years later, they still found themself drawn to its imposing shadows. once upon a time, those walls had promised great things. now, they smiled sardonically, shifted the staff they carried on their back, and strode towards the gated entrance.

indentwith their back as firm as an ancient oak and features as confident and impassive as ever, they ignored the way the guards' hushed whispers cut off abruptly as they approached. with the kind of reputation they had as one of the only s-ranked adventurers in the entire country, it wasn't necessary for them to show identification, yet they still flashed their golden badge just to go through with the motions. if nothing else, it was as much of a reminder to themself as it was to others; it showed that they were above such drivel talk and that they needn't care about things unrelated to their work. they were one of the best for a reason.

indent"welcome back," one of the guards had managed to get out, and memphis fixed him with a cursory glance. he withered almost immediately under their piercing expression, so memphis only nodded and moved along. they pretended to not hear the guard's obnoxiously audible sigh─really, would it kill him to at least wait until they had moved out of earshot?─and simply continued to walk, feeling the familiar tendrils of resentment and spite that pulled at their heart.

indentso yes, they were used to such judgment from the citizens, they thought. however, no matter what people tended to say, time certainly did not heal all wounds, least of all the ones that they had carried with them from centuries ago. time had only festered those wounds, rotting it until they learned to be numb to it all out of necessity.

indentthat didn't exactly mean that it doesn't hurt in the moment. their step faltered momentarily at the return of the memories from that time, but they gritted their teeth and willed their legs to keep walking, to not stop, to never stop, to not look behind─

indenttheir head snapped up in that moment as they turned around, hackles raised, ready to fight back should the situation call for it. the only thing that met their eyes were a group of children that had been playing behind them, and at memphis's glare, the children's movements stuttered to a fearful stop.

indentit was just children. it wasn't anything like that sort of monster that they encountered with mithra so many centuries ago. memphis felt their lips curling down even more into a disgusted sneer at the thought of the other name, and with a flick of their cloak, they spun around on their heel and stalked off almost angrily. the citizens didn't even try to keep their voices down this time around: "did you see the way that adventurer just glared at those children like they had personally offended him?" "he has such a horrible personality. you'd think that someone of his status might show a bit of class." "yes, yes, how terrifying and uncalled for... honestly, he might be an s-ranked adventurer, but there has to be something wrong with him. no one ever lives that long. not even monsters."

indent"all of you are the real monsters here," they had wanted to scream out, to defend themself, but as always, they bit it down on their tongue and let the words wash over him like rain. certainly, memphis had envisioned their return to ruffle less feathers this time around, yet they always had a penchant for ruffling feathers. no matter. people talked about them because they were worthy of note. it could be considered as something like praise, if they really wanted to look on the brighter side of things.

indentthankfully, they were able to return to their guild without too much trouble otherwise. memphis murmured a quiet greeting at some of the familiar faces that didn't shy away from them like the public did. they feel the newcomers staring at the interactions with wide-eyes, most likely petrified at being in the same vicinity of someone lauded like a legend. earrings clinking against itself, they raised a gloved hand lazily in a wave as they walked off towards their quarters. hushed whispers broke out from behind them; even if they're not the guildmaster, everyone would know of them. while memphis didn't care for public opinion, they at least cared enough about the harmony of the guild to try and be amiable to those adventurers.

indentit didn't surprise them in the least that aeternitas was still a place of comfort, even with the increasing frequency at which they took on commission after commission. perhaps misguided, but the guild was the only support memphis had, then and even now.

indentthey dropped a bag of gold coins they had earned from their last commission onto the receptionist's desk, having already taken out their share of the commission. the receptionist greeted memphis with a wordless nod and took the gold, quickly busying herself with updating the guild ledgers and other documents that memphis didn't really know or care about. their next destination was their room within the guild where they'd drop off their things─minus their staff; they've since learned to never go anywhere without their staff and leave themself defenseless─before heading out of the guild headquarters and towards the commission board in the middle of the town square.

indentmemphis hadn't noticed it before, having been more preoccupied with hammering their feelings down, but the sun was uncomfortably warm with all their layers of clothing. in their haste, they had forgotten to remove some articles of their ensemble to account for the climate of the capital. an oversight on their end for sure, given how long it had been since they had last returned from a job. they peeled off the cloak weighing down on their shoulders and magicked it back to their room with a flash of sparks from snapping their fingers. it still wasn't ideal, but it would have to do for now. memphis had never been the picky type, and they certainly wouldn't start now.

indentit was also then that memphis was made aware of the strangely large crowd that hovered around the commission board. many did not seem to be adventurers; they had sent out a wisp of magic to feel and react to any adventuring badges that adventurers were to keep close to them at all times. it also served the double purpose of announcing their presence, as a path opened up automatically in front them, with people on either side glancing at them nervously. it hadn't been memphis's intention to draw attention to themself like this, but they weren't one to look a gift horse in the mouth and simply took the opportunity to advance to the commission board.

indentactually, there was one person that hadn't turned around. they had been about to tell the other person to move when they had caught sight of that tousled platinum blond hair. it couldn't be. yet, the improbable only seemed more and more probable the longer they spent staring at that back. the last time they had seen that back was when mithra's body was sprawled on the ground in front of them, barely fighting to cling to life. it hadn't taken much to snuff even that out of him, in the end.

indentand to think that memphis had thought that this was going to be like any other day. they had never liked being wrong, and this revelation only made them scowl harder.

indent"you. what are you doing here." it didn't matter to memphis that their question was more like a statement, and though it drew a round of murmurs from the onlookers, they only felt their blood boil hotter. they clenched their fists in an effort to resist the surge of magic that threatened to explode out, and some of the nervous looks from the crowd suggested that their control was quickly fraying. for once since that incident centuries ago, memphis wasn't interested in performing damage control in the least.

indenthow dare he show himself in front of me.
x
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[encia]

“ 𝐌𝐈𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐀 ! ── » 𝐈 𝐃𝐎𝐍'𝐓 𝐊𝐍𝐎𝐖 𝐇𝐎𝐖 𝐈'𝐋𝐋 𝐅𝐄𝐄𝐋, 𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐍 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐃𝐈𝐄 .

indent"hm? oh, the capital's over that way," the old man gestured in the other direction. ah. it was in the total opposite direction from where he had been travelling. no wonder he never even caught a single glimpse of it, no matter how many meters or kilometers he walked.
indentmithra scribbled down a note of the correct direction inside of his journal, before he put away his pen and closed the journal with a soft sigh. if only he had gotten directions from someone earlier, or even when he first picked up this commission. if only. then he wouldn't be as lost as he was right then.
indentin that moment, he briefly wondered how upset the person who requested this commission would be when he finally got there. he hoped they weren't too mad.
indenthe absentmindedly muttered out a "thank you" to the old man, his mind preoccupied with calculating the minimum amount of time needed to reach the capital. two, no, three days if he walked the entire distance... maybe he could buy a horse? ah, but, he wasn't sure if he had the expenses, or if he'd even remember about the horse the day after. perhaps hitchhiking onto a merchant's carriage somewhere would be better? but where was he going to find one of those? he didn't know any of their routes...
indent"boy," the old man's voice pulled him out of his thoughts, and he looked at him with a puzzled look. was there something else he needed to know about the way to the capital? it definitely wouldn't be filled with monsters, would it-
indent"are you going there looking like," the old man gestured to himself, "that?"
indent"my clothes? is there something wrong with them?" he looked down at his own clothes, then back at the old man. huh? was there something wrong with his clothes? even if it did look a bit ragged from the wear and tear it's been through from all that combat, surely the people at the capital wouldn't judge too much?
indent"no, i mean that look..." the old man started, but upon seeing the increasing confusion on the younger man's face, he stopped himself with a loud sigh and the wave of his hand. "nevermind about it. just be careful."
indent"i will, thank you." another thing to note down into his journal.
indentbut in the end, it was nothing after all. oh well. but anyways, about his mode of transport... as he made his way out of the town— in the actual, correct direction of the capital this time— he took out his pouch and opened it up, only to be met with some silver and bronze coins.
indentin other words, he was broke. no horses for him.
indentlooks like he had no choice but to walk the whole way. hopefully there'll be carriage kind enough to let me tag along in exchange for protection...

indentlife never really goes the way you want it to, and mithra was once again reminded of that during his three day travel to the capital.

indentthe guard gave him a strange look, before spitting out a single "identification, please" in a robotic sort of manner and sticking his hand out. mithra fumbled about for a bit, before handing the man a bronze badge and a card.
indentwith the guard scrutinizing his card with such an awful look he'd never seen before— not that he really remembered any of the faces anyone made towards him anyways—, he had to wonder what it was about him that made the guard make a face like that.
indent"mithra?" the guard uttered out in a tone that seemed almost... cutting, in a way. like the sort of tone you'd speak in towards someone you held contempt or disdain for.
indenthe hated to admit it, but... it was something he was all too familiar with, even with that horrendous memory of his.
indent"yes?" he tilted his head to the side, preparing himself for the worst, but instead...
indent"it's nothing." albeit with narrowed eyes, the guard dismissed it like nothing had ever happened, and handed him his badge and identification card back. "you're free to proceed into novaesium."
indent"ah, thank you." placing them back into his bag, he took out his journal and flipped to the page where he had written the directions of where to go to for the commission. but just as he had taken a few steps in the direction of the house—
indent"what kind of sick prank is that?"
indent"no idea. guess those people at solardawn are just that messed up in the head."
indent"i mean, they have to be... even if you're a fanatic, it's one thing to dress the same, but to have the same name? creepy... and not to mention, doing it while they're in town-"
indent"shut up, you two. as much as i want to agree with you, we're on duty right now, so keep your gossip for later."
indentprank? solardawn? fanatic? what were they going on about? maybe it had something to do with the way the guard looked at him just now. he would've liked to know more but... he had a commission to finish.
indentin any case, he never would've thought he'd be leaving with more questions than he already had.

indent"don't worry about it too much."
indent"eh, but... it was one day late-" mithra tried to protest, but he was interrupted by the cheerful laughter erupting from the woman.
indent"like i said, it's fine, it's fine! the first time i travelled here i got lost once or twice too," the woman said, and he got the feeling she wouldn't budge no matter what he said, so he decided to give up. no complaints though, since it meant he'd be getting the full pay hassle-free, and he was sure in need of that.
indent"here," the woman handed him a bag of coins with a soft clink, "6 silver coins for your troubles."
indent"thank you," he said with a slight bow of his head. how reassuring it was that the person who requested this delivery was such an easygoing person.
indent"by the way..."
indent"yes?"
indent"you must really like that person from the legends, huh? you know, the one with the never dying memphis. what's his name again... mehr? no, not right..."
indentit seemed like the lady would continue rambling on if he let her continue, so he decided to interject "sorry, i'm not from around here, so i've never heard of that legend before."
indent"is that so? that's surprising," the lady gave him a skeptical look, but didn't prod any further. "then i guess you wouldn't know."
indent"about?"
indent"mm, it's too long of a story to summarize... but do be careful while you're here. especially around the members of aeternitas."
indent"i will, thank you." as he was about to write down a note to himself, he noticed another note from a few days prior that said the same thing. to be careful in the capital.
indenthm? seems like someone had given him that exact same warning already. how odd. was the capital such a dangerous place?

indent13, 14, 15... as he counted, the coins dropped into the pouch with one clink after another. 23 silver ones and 6 bronze ones. he had enough for food and an inn for at least a week or two, and that was only if he spent everything on essentials.
indenthe let out a sigh, placing his coin pouch back into his bag. looks like i won't get getting much rest any time soon... thinking that to himself, he got up and started heading over towards the commissions board, wherever it was. town square, probably. at least, that was what his intuition was telling him, so that was where he was headed.
indentthere it is, noticing the board in the middle, he made his way over, and started looking over them. item delivery... it was easy, but the thought of getting lost for the nth time and the relatively low pay made him think twice from immediately choosing that.
indentthen his only choice was monster extermination. but most of these required a party, and well... just from a quick look-through of his journal, it seemed like past him had never written anything good about being in a party before. oh well, not like he could do anything about it, so he just had to find one suitable for a solo adventurer-
indenthe paused, feeling a small wave of mana hit him. but it was small enough that it couldn't have been any kind of monster, and besides, he was in the capital, right in the middle of town square. what kind of monster would waltz-

indent"you. what are you doing here."

indentsurprised by the voice, mithra turned around, only to be met with a pair of narrowed lavender eyes, and a glare that felt like if it was given the chance, it would slice right through him.
indentdeja vu, much? although he couldn't remember where or when exactly someone else had been staring at him like that.
indentbut, did he know the person? as much as he flipped through his journal, there was no mention of a person with medium-length, blue hair and lavender eyes, carrying a staff befitting of a mage. not in the pages where he'd usually write down the names and descriptions of the people he should know, nor any of the other pages filled with random scribbles and notes.
indentin other words, he'd never met this person before.
indentand yet, from the way he spoke, it felt like they knew him, and like he should know them. like he'd actually met them from somewhere, but perhaps he'd forgotten to write them down. he wouldn't put it past himself to do that. but... as much as that felt like the answer, it felt... wrong, somehow. but if that's not it, then what is?
indentfor some reason, the more he looked at this person, the more his heart started to ache.
indentwhy? he'd never met this person up until this point.
indentbut every time he thought that, it just hurt more, and more. and he didn't know why.
indentwhat was this feeling meant to be?

indentafter a moment of silence, mithra asked, "sorry, do... do i know you? i don't think i've met you before."
indenthe sheepishly rubbed the back of his hand as he gave them a weak smile, continuing, "i might be wrong though, since my memory's not the best. if we've met in the past before, i don't really remember that, and i apologize for that."
indenthe briefly wondered how to continue. what was he even supposed to do in this situation? even though it was similar to many of the situations he'd been in before... none of them were exactly the same, since this person wasn't even recorded in his journal.
indent"if it's not too rude... is there something you need from me?"

[traumereii]

x
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ＭＥＭＰＨＩＳ ─────────────── ！！ ✦
(ii“iiiｍｙ ｈａｚｙ ｖｏｉｃｅ ｂｕｒｎｓ ｍｙ ｐａｒｃｈｅｄ ｔｈｒｏａｔ ｔｏ ａ ｃｒｉｓｐ，
──────── ｉ ｄｉｄｎ＇ｔ ｋｎｏｗ ｗｈａｔ ｉ ｗａｓ ｓｕｐｐｏｓｅｄ ｔｏ ｓａｙ ！)



indentupon further consideration, memphis acknowledged the fact that they probably shouldn't lose control right in the middle of the town square, not when there were still so many people milling about and refusing to leave. it wouldn't be right to cause more trouble for aeternitas─not after the events centuries ago─and based on the reactions of everyone else here, it was also clear that no one had forgotten. even if none of them had been there to witness the spectacle in the first place.

indentall in all, the situation seemed like a disaster in the making, and of course memphis just had to be caught in the thick of it.

indentactually, it probably didn't even matter if they caused more trouble by dealing with the look-alike (imposter?) in their own way. most people would be happy about it considering how much pity they felt for mithra from the legend (not to be confused with the mithra they actually knew; no one in their right mind would dare think of him as pitiful), and they knew that aeternitas would side with them no matter what they did. usually.

indentand so, after weighing the prons and cons in that moment, memphis returned to the present where look-alike─"imposter," their mind supplied helpfully─had turned around and was staring back at them, his face equal parts confused and pensive.

indentincredulity coloured their features, and they were about to interrogate the other man more when he said something that just about brought memphis's entire world shattering down around them:

indent"sorry, do... do i know you? i don't think i've met you before."

indentof course. the absolute gall of this bastard.

indentif their blood was boiling before, then it was burning white hot now. sparks flared at their fingertips, faster and more frenzied than before, and although they saw the man's mouth moving, they heard nothing. not even the sound of the citizens' startled shouts made it to their ears. it was infuriating. it didn't even matter anymore if he was the real deal or some fake that solardawn─because who else but solardawn would do this kind of thing to get a ruse out of them?─had sent over. the confusion, weak smile, everything about him seemed so foreign and so wrong.

indentbut he still had mithra's face, and of course this was something that memphis couldn't bring themself to get over. it was then that they belatedly realized that even the voice was perfectly identical, even if the words spoken were completely uncharacteristic of the real mithra. they had heard curses slung their way, banter that was nothing less than aggressive, pained gasps and wheezes of a dying man who still refused to ask for help.

indentwhat kind of perfect imitation magic had been used to create such a likeness to their old rival and the one person that they hated most in the world? if it hadn't been for the fact that the person in front of them was not riddled with injuries, memphis might've come to the conclusion that necromancy and reanimation magic was involved to bring mithra back to life. it just simply wasn't possible for mithra to not have died, not when it happened in front of their own two eyes.

indentthey had checked for his pulse themself, only to find that there was none in the end. i was the one cursed with eternal life, after all.

indentit was then that memphis remembered the curse partner to their own. "when the spear wielder dies, his soul will not rest. no, he will exist in turmoil until he's called back to the world, stripped of all his memories and his identity save for his name," the monster had said in its nasally, croaky, grating tone. condescending up until its last breath, the monster leered as it died, even as memphis took that opportunity to skewer its body with dozens of their hardened, icy spikes.

indentunfortunately, it seemed as though the universe finally decided to make good on that promise and effectively ruin the rest of memphis's day─if they could help it, they would not let mithra exist in front of them for a single moment longer.

indentthere was no point in trying to deny the truth that was standing in front of them, clear as day.

indentso this was how it's going to be, huh?

indenteven without actually processing mithra's words, memphis could more or less guess what the other man was saying. apologizing for not knowing who they were, and maybe even asking what they needed from him... it was laughable. he had always been good at putting up a front for most other people, but they figured that it was something that just came with the title of s-ranked adventurer─after all, why would you try to purposefully ruin your own reputation by being rude and surly?

indentmemphis wasn't sure what kind of expression they had been making before, but when they attempted to relax their facial muscles into an air of deceptive calm, it was stiffer than they had expected. well, no matter. they would allow their magic to do most of the talking for them instead.

indent"seems like the curse came true for you as well, seeing how you really remember nothing. in any case, it doesn't matter. i want you to step away from that board and take your little pretty face out of this city. novaesium has no place for roaches like you who refuse to stay dead," they drawled loudly, barely managing to temper their emotions. gods, they had forgotten how difficult it was for them to keep a sane head around mithra. it was almost as though the other adventurer had a special talent for specifically bringing out the worst in them. then again, the average person could also do it with little work, but something about him just irritated memphis especially so. how unpleasant.

indentthis version of the s-ranked adventurer they feuded with so often seemed almost softer, where his brows weren't knit in a perpetual frown. memphis would almost be inclined to consider him weaker than before if it weren't for the quiet thrum and pulse of the all-too-familiar light magic buzzing just below his skin.

indentit was maddening how they no longer knew him.

indentthe townspeople also made no move to hide their thoughts on the exchange.

indent"this is crazy. isn't that mithra? what's he doing here? isn't he supposed to be dead?"

indent"beats me, honestly. more importantly, doesn't memphis look kind of scary right now? it's almost like he's ready to blow up the entire square."

indent"gods above, please don't jinx it. it really is bad taste for... that other adventurer though. what the hell was he thinking, showing up like this? you'd think that most people would have the common sense to not draw memphis's ire."

indent"seems like someone new. can't exactly blame him. i do wonder what's going on in that head of his, though; he hasn't budged an inch even though memphis had been so aggressive to him."

indent"aeternitas isn't going to overlook this slight. i just hope that things don't turn out like how it did several hundred years ago."

indenttrue to their words, mithra hadn't moved. memphis didn't even know how to read his face because it was uncomfortably blank, but personally, they had never taken well to being ignored. it was a good thing that the onlookers had the self awareness to be wary of how the situation might blow up, because they certainly did not feel like taking responsibility for how things might turn out.

indentbarking out a near-hysteric laugh, memphis figured that enough was enough. they didn't have all day for mithra to dally and try to divert the conversation, not that they knew if that was something that this mithra would even do.

indentfine, if this was how he wanted to play, then they would play along and force him into action.

indentwordlessly, soundlessly, they simply let go of the restraints on their magic. almost instantaneously, the temperature at the town square dropped many degrees. the explosive release of their power resulted in a sheet of ice materializing on every available surface and shackling every pair of feet to the ground, save for their own. spikes of ice, eerily similar to the ones they had summoned in that fateful fight against the monster, burst forth from the ground, aimed towards the onlookers─anything that gave off organic heat─and stopping just precarious inches from their faces. memphis wasn't exactly fond of threatening people who had no means of defense to spur their targets into action, but as always, mithra left them with little choice.

indentignoring the cacophony behind them, memphis exhaled from the light exertion, pursing their lips at the sight of the wisps of his breath being crystallized by the low temperatures. it was a nice feeling; maybe they'd look into permanently altering the climate of the capital city. being in a more centralized area in the country, it stands to reason that it'd be warmer than the place of their birth. they didn't know why such a thought had never occurred to them before because this was much more comfortable than the sickening sticky warmth that always bled through their clothes, no matter how thin the layers were.

indentin any case, memphis decided to meet mithra's own steely eyes, and they smirked at the palpable alarm in those irises. "if you had left when you were told to, maybe this wouldn't have happened," they mused, their words dripping in faux cheerfulness as they crossed their arms. "which do you think will be faster and stronger, my ice or whatever paltry shield you call up?"

indentmaybe they were playing dirty by doing so, but the moment those words left memphis's mouth, they lifted a gloved hand and snapped their fingers. "shatter," they commanded, and fine spiderweb cracks appeared across all of the ice spikes they had conjured earlier. in the next moment, true to their word, they shattered explosively, ready to fly and find purchase in warm, soft flesh.

indentwhat they hadn't been expecting was for mithra to truly rise to their challenge, although in hindsight, they should've coming it based on the other adventurer's intrinsic nature. instantly, a shimmering golden shield wrapped around all of the townspeople and even around he and memphis. the sharp ice projectiles hissed as it slammed into the shield before ultimately disintegrating into speckles of fine crystals. the cocky turn of their lips slid right back into a frown. play time was over.

indent"i gave you a chance to scram," they started off slowly, quietly, barely trying to hold back the rage that bubbled to their tongue. "to defy aeternitas's will in their home turf is a very rookie mistake, you know? i hope you're prepared to pay the price."
x
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[encia]

“ 𝐌𝐈𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐀 ! ── » 𝐈 𝐃𝐎𝐍'𝐓 𝐊𝐍𝐎𝐖 𝐇𝐎𝐖 𝐈'𝐋𝐋 𝐅𝐄𝐄𝐋, 𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐍 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐃𝐈𝐄 .

indentthe other person's face seemed almost inscrutable to him, but at the very least, he could tell, somehow, one way or another, that the other was upset.
indentand if he had to be honest, upset was a bit of an understatement. it would be more accurate to say that they were a ticking timebomb ready to go anytime, what with the mana around the other was going haywire— something he could feel even as far as he stood from the other— and the sparks that danced around their hands. signs that it was more than a simple emotion like "upset".
indentdid i say something wrong? perhaps he had gone about it the wrong way. but when it was the only way he could think of? he couldn't really help it, could he? besides, how else was he supposed to reply to them? he didn't know them-

indent"seems like the curse came true for you as well, seeing how you really remember nothing."

indent... curse? the corners of mithra's lips curled downwards, having been caught off-guard by the other's words. what did they mean by that? nothing about curses, or even anything about him being cursed, for that matter, had ever been written down in his journal. even if it was something he'd just forgotten to write down— which he doubted so, considering it's something as bad as a curse—, surely one of the priests that he'd visited would've at least said something about it, and yet, none of them did. he would've written it down if they did.
indent"this is crazy. isn't that mithra? what's he doing here? isn't he supposed to be dead?"
indent"beats me, honestly. more importantly, doesn't memphis look kind of scary right now? it's almost like he's ready to blow up the entire square."
indent"gods above, please don't jinx it..."
indentthe chatter from the townspeople around them sure wasn't helping in easing any of his confusion either.
indentthat's strange. how did they know his name? it was his first time there, and he didn't think he'd been there long enough for people to just know his name. and neither did he think he was famous enough for anyone to recognize him at first glance, seemingly unlike the person standing opposite him.
indentbut, oddly enough, at the same time, it didn't really sound like they were referring to him per se. rather, it was more like they were referring to someone else... someone else that clearly shouldn't have been there.
indentand "memphis"? was that their name? he was almost sure it was his first, maybe second, time hearing this, and yet, for some reason, it felt familiar. but where? ... just where had he heard it from before?

indent"hah, hahahah!"
indentthat bark of laughter brought him back into reality, and before he knew it, his feet had been encased in ice, effectively shackling him to where he had been standing. looking around, he definitely wasn't the only target. everyone else had also been chained to the ground by the freezing ice. everyone but the mage standing in front of them, that is.
indent"eek!" he turned around at the slightest cry from one of the onlookers, and at that moment... it suddenly became very apparent to him that they were in a rather... precarious situation.
indentspikes of ice— for some reason, he felt like he'd seen this magic somewhere before, but now wasn't the time to ponder that, was it?— were pointed at the onlookers, just mere centimeters from their faces. any further, and... well, it wouldn't be a very pretty sight for anyone at all. was that the mage's way of trying to provoke him?
indenthow... awful.
indenthe frowned, turning back to glare at the mage. his own lavender gray eyes met with the mage's lavender ones. and in those eyes held a fearless sort of look, like not even the threat of death could faze them. in that moment, when their eyes locked, it wasn't a lie to say that the look in their eyes intimidated him.
indentbut for some reason, that smirk on their face... it was stirring a strange mix of emotions within him. some, he was pretty sure he'd never felt before. if he had to say, it was sort of a mix of irritation and annoyance, like he wanted to one-up them. but why? ... he couldn't explain it.
indentevery time he looked at this mage, everything got all the more stranger. that feeling in his chest, then that mix of emotions he was feeling right then... he didn't think anything had ever made him feel like that before, at least up until then.

indent"which do you think will be faster and stronger, my ice or whatever paltry shield you call up?" they taunted, and immediately, mithra felt that twinge of irritation again. paltry? how dare they look down on him...?
indentwith the snap of their fingers, the mage commanded their magic with a "shatter."
indent"crap, he really is crazy-"
indentfine cracks appeared along the ice at an increasing rate, and it was clear to the bystanders that they were about to meet an unfortunate end, pierced by the splintering ice.
indent"this crazy monster-"
indent"damn it, not like this..."
indenthe'd make them eat dirt with that taunt of theirs. "light, shield us."
indentin that moment, right as the ice shattered, a golden, shimmering light wrapped around everyone in the vicinity. the projectiles slammed into the shield with a loud hissing noise, before disintegrating into finer speckles of crystals as it fell towards the ground.
indentas soon as he was sure the flurry of ice was over, the shield slowly disappeared into the sky, like a curtain raising.
indent"huh...?"
indent"did, did that man just save us?"
indentthe smirk on the mage's face was quickly replaced with a frown, clearly upset by this turn of events. hah. the corners of his lips turned upwards slightly, a feeling almost like satisfaction washing over him. they were better suited with that look. they didn't fit that cocky attitude whatsoever-
indentwait. what... what was he thinking? why was he talking like he knew them...? those thoughts, they aren't his, are they-
indent"i gave you a chance to scram. to defy aeternitas's will in their home turf is a very rookie mistake, you know? i hope you're prepared to pay the price."
indent"i don't give a damn about aeternitas or whatever," mithra scoffed, in a low sort of voice he'd never heard himself talk in before. "you want me to pay the price? then come at me."
indentone hand reached out for the spear on his back, while the other motioned for the mage to come at him. "i'm the one you have a problem with, right? so don't involve the others," he said, readying himself into a fighting stance as he mocked, "or are you so weak that it's all you're capable of?"
indenthe... he wasn't even sure if it was himself talking anymore. had he ever spoken like this to anyone before?

indent"stop."
indentbut before the two of them could take a step towards each other, a feminine voice called out to them, and mithra turned around to see who it was. a lady with jade-green hair tied up into a ponytail, dressed in some sort of armor that, along with the sword at her hip, made her look like a knight. one of the guards, perhaps?
indent"if you two are going to fight, i'd rather you take your squabble out of the city. we can't afford to spend anymore on repairs," she gave a hard stare over in the mage's direction, as if she was specifically calling them out, before shifting her gaze over to him. "by the way, that man... i've already confirmed it with solardawn's vice-guildmaster. he's not affiliated with solardawn. he swore it on their spear, and i'm sure you understand what that means."
indenther gaze landed back on the mage as she said, "i won't be able to cover for you if you start a fight now."
indentagain with the solardawn crap. but at least this time, that lady wasn't trying to say that he was a part of them. glancing over at the mage, he was surprised to see that they had decided to back off, as reluctant as their face made them seem. maybe it was what that knight lady said to them, whatever that meant. anyways, what did he even do to them that made them so pissed off?

indentbut either way, it seemed like that was his cue to leave. "if that's all, then, i'll take my leave-" he dipped his head, about to take his leave when a hand tapped him on the shoulders.
indent"no, not so fast. even if we know you aren't affiliated with solardawn... we still have some questions for you, and we'd like you to answer them," the knight lady said, in a tone that made him feel like even if he protested, she wouldn't let him go.
indentoh well. what could he do. but what did they want to ask him anyways?

[traumereii]

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ＭＥＭＰＨＩＳ ─────────────── ！！ ✦
(ii“iiiｍｙ ｈａｚｙ ｖｏｉｃｅ ｂｕｒｎｓ ｍｙ ｐａｒｃｈｅｄ ｔｈｒｏａｔ ｔｏ ａ ｃｒｉｓｐ，
──────── ｉ ｄｉｄｎ＇ｔ ｋｎｏｗ ｗｈａｔ ｉ ｗａｓ ｓｕｐｐｏｓｅｄ ｔｏ ｓａｙ ！)



indent"i don't give a damn about aeternitas or whatever. you want me to pay the price? then come at me. i'm the one you have a problem with, right? so don't involve the others, or are you so weak that it's all you're capable of?"

indentnow this was the type of mithra that memphis was used to. they sneered at how easy it had been to bring out this uglier side of him; truly, some people never change, even if it had been over four hundred years since they last walked on this world. as he reached for his spear and shifted into a fighting stance, hackles on high alert, memphis only crossed their arms. those barbed words didn't mean anything if mithra wasn't prepared to truly fight, and for the spear wielder, there would be no holds barred from them. now that they knew that he would prioritize the citizens, they had nothing left to worry about.

indentit's been so long since then. if nothing else, memphis swore to be the one to put him six feet under again. what happened in the past was surely a mistake; it had to be, because there was no way someone as prideful as mithra could've someone so selfless as to save a pathetic mage who left their back wide open in his own twisted, selfish ways. this would be the end. there was no other way around it. memphis would take mithra's life and return to the droll monotony they had been living up until this point where there was no other purpose in life than existing for the sake of existence.

indentfor two troubled souls both cursed in turn, this would be a fitting end to the fate that monster had consigned to them both.

indentchuckling to themself mirthlessly, memphis was just about to reach for their staff and freeze over novaesium if it really came down to it when they spotted a flash of jade hair. they tsked as amara, the current guildmaster of aeternitas, strode up to the pair. despite being a fair bit shorter than the other two, she carried herself with an air of natural grace and command that turned heads and demanded respect no matter where she went. it was why they had vouched for her when she fought for the position, but sometimes, memphis really despised how much amara stuck her nose into everything.

indentjust like what she was doing now.

indent"stop."

indentbreathing out a harsh exhale through their nose, memphis rolled their eyes but fell back, nodding at her just so she couldn't get on their case yet again for showing respect for superiority and just propriety in general. not like any of that really mattered for them in the long run, but if it kept amara happy and away from messing with their affairs, then they'd do the bare minimum. they listened halfheartedly as she went on her spiel, something about squabbling outside rather than inside due to city repairs─because of course that's what she was fixated on, instead of the entirety of mithra's existence. at this point both amara and the murmurs of the citizens still hanging around the commission board were little more than white noise, and memphis had half the mind to just leave if this was all that's going to happen.

indentand then she dropped the bomb on them: "by the way, that man... i've already confirmed it with solardawn's vice-guildmaster. he's not affiliated with solardawn. he swore it on their spear, and i'm sure you understand what that means."

indentreeling back as though they had been sucker-punched in the gut, memphis stared at amara, eyes widening in disbelief for what felt like the hundredth time since returning to the capital. was this the universe's elaborate joke on them? were they going to wake up and find out that all of this was a dream?

indentcould this person not be mithra?

indentno, thinking about it more, there was no way that could be true. the man was mithra's spitting image─albeit a little shorter and perhaps more youthful looking─but there was no other possible explanation. but at the same time, what kind of mithra wouldn't have association to the guild that he found himself? just how much of his memories had been taken and thrown into the void, lost to the sands of time?

indentit was a struggle trying to keep an impassive face when greeted with all this information, but if anyone could see through that mask, no matter how good it was, it was definitely amara. still, she made no comment on their reaction─a blessing and a curse─and continued on with what she had to say. "i won't be able to cover for you if you start a fight now."

indent"wouldn't dream of it, no need to worry about that," they forced out quietly between their teeth, clenching their fists so tightly that they could almost feel their nails digging into their palms, even through the gloves. even as they turned to scowl into the ground, there was nothing they could do to quell down the multitude of feelings welling up in their gut─feelings that they quickly identified as a combination of distaste, fury, and perhaps even despair. truly, it had been a big deal for the vice-guildmaster to swear on that spear, mithra's spear, and unfortunately, memphis was all too familiar with the implications.

indentsolardawn truly hadn't known of mithra's return.

indentwhat did that mean for them, then, facing a man who shone as brightly as the sun but could no longer have anything to do with them?

indentunnerved and losing themself to their thoughts yet again, memphis stood in silence, trying their best to ignore mithra's presence. even so, they couldn't help the way their head snapped up reflexively at his voice, even though his words were the last things they had wanted to hear in this situation. "if that's all, then, i'll take my leave-"

indent"no, wait, you-" can't just leave like this without another word. you can't just pretend that my existence is meaningless to you.

indent"no, not so fast. even if we know you aren't affiliated with solardawn... we still have some questions for you, and we'd like you to answer them."

indentthey hated the way their voice sounded almost plaintive to their ears and was glad that amara's speech flowed smoothly and seamlessly layered over their words, lest they embarrass themselves further. she had moved to stop mithra in his tracks, but memphis didn't miss the way she fixed them with another hard stare. they could do nothing but swallow down the frantic beating of their heart and attempt to school their expression into one of calm. they only hoped that no one else had caught onto the palpable desperation in their eyes.

indent"guildmaster amara," they said instead, rubbing their hands together in an attempt to generate some feeling back into their numbing limbs, "with all due respect, what good would it do for him to answer your questions? i assure you that he won't be able to offer anything of substance. it'd be better for me to just take him out instead, like what i was about to do before you interfered." at this point, most of the onlookers had left, whether it'd be out of respect for amara or just the fact that it would do them no good to be potentially caught in the crossfire between aeternitas and solardawn. memphis allowed mana to flow to their fingertips again, even as the knight-turned-adventurer glared at them.

indentit was a contradiction to everything they had wanted to say before, and amara knew it. unfortunately, memphis figured that she wasn't going to let it go so easily, not when they had indirectly challenged her authority like this.

indent"memphis, i will not allow you to destroy the city or harm anyone innocent," she stated simply, leaving no room for negotiation.

indent"he is not innocent. besides, between the guild ledgers and my own pockets, we both know that we have more than enough funds to cover the costs of whatever destruction i cause."

indenta tired sigh. "not the point here." shaking her head, amara turned to face mithra again, this time with a tight-lipped smile on her face. "in any case, there are things that we really need to discuss, and the town square is hardly an appropriate place for such a talk. why don't we return to my office? all three of us," she said, tagging on the last bit for memphis, who rolled their eyes at the fact that she had made their presence mandatory.

indentbecause she was the aeternitas guildmaster and thus didn't need to wait for anyone's approval to do what she wanted, amara unsheathed her sword and cut a rift through the empty space to her side, effectively opening up a direct portal to her office. in that sense, memphis was glad that she didn't intend on parading them or mithra around in some kind of walk of shame. she stepped in first, confident that the other two would follow, and memphis knew that she would raise hell if they didn't.

indentnot that this version of mithra seemed like he had a habit for flaking, but memphis knew that they couldn't be the only person disgruntled by the turn of events. shaking their head and unwilling to look at mithra for another second, they entered the portal as well, already dreading the conversation when they made it clear that they wanted nothing to do with mithra.
x
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[encia]

“ 𝐌𝐈𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐀 ! ── » 𝐈 𝐃𝐎𝐍'𝐓 𝐊𝐍𝐎𝐖 𝐇𝐎𝐖 𝐈'𝐋𝐋 𝐅𝐄𝐄𝐋, 𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐍 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐃𝐈𝐄 .

indent"guildmaster amara." so that was the knight lady's name, not that he'd remember it a few moments later anyways. he'd note it down like usual, but doing that in this precarious-seeming situation? it didn't really seem appropriate, to say the least.
indentbut guildmaster? she did give off this authoritative aura when she spoke just now, but he hadn't actually expected her to hold such a position of importance. he silently apologized to her for underestimating her abilities, and for assuming that she was a mere commonplace knight.
indent"it'd be better for me to just take him out instead, like what i was about to do before you interfered." he flinched at this statement, shooting a wary glance at the robed man as his hand slowly inched towards the spear that he'd slung back onto his back. would they not give up on that idea?
indentthe knight lady seemed to have a similar idea, as she stated, "i will not allow you to destroy the city or harm anyone innocent."
indent"he is not innocent. besides, between the guild ledgers and my own pockets, we both know that we have more than enough funds to cover the costs of whatever destruction i cause."
indentmithra frowned at that person's words. just as he thought, he really didn't like this person. what with the strange swirl of emotions they made him feel, and an attitude so arrogant— rather unbefitting of them, he thought, but he didn't know why he'd ever think that when it wasn't like he really knew them—, it just made him want to distance himself from this city, but most especially, that person.
indentthe lady shook her head with a sigh that seemed to be saying she didn't want to deal with this anymore, before she turned to address him. "in any case, there are things that we really need to discuss, and the town square is hardly an appropriate place for such a talk. why don't we return to my office? all three of us."
indentshe really had to emphasize on that last part. he shot a glance over at the mage, whose look of dissatisfaction was as clear as day on their face. that mage really wears his heart on his sleeve. he'd really rather not, but... what could he do? that knight lady gave him the impression that she wouldn't let him go, even though he'd only had a brief conversation with her... well, could you really call it a conversation, rather than a command?
indenteither way, it didn't seem like he had a choice. it's just a simple questioning, he told himself. there shouldn't be anything too hard about a simple questioning... maybe just an incident report or two, but that should be it. he'd be free to do whatever afterwards.
indentwith that thought in mind, he hesitantly followed after the two.

indentan unfamiliar sight, accompanied with the faint scent of ink and papers.
indentit shouldn't have come as a surprise to him that an office would be unfamiliar, being a commoner and a c-rank adventurer and all, and yet, it did. but when everything about that mage just seemed familiar to him somehow, it... kind of raised his expectations a bit. like maybe, just maybe, he could finally bring an end to this mysterious amnesia of his-
indent... no, he glanced at the mage, who had decided to quietly stand by the wall. as if his amnesia could be solved by this random mage. since when had he become so delusional?

indent"alright. i'll start with the questions now." the knight lady was now standing behind the desk, and oddly enough, she didn't seem out of place at all. wait, so she wasn't just a knight? strangely, he had a feeling of deja vu as he apologized internally— once again, though unknowingly to him— to the knight lady.
indent"let's start with the basics, like your name, age, adventurer rank. ah, and your hometown."
indent"i think my name's mithra? as for my age... um..." he fumbled with his words as he rummaged through his bag, and a moment later, he found what he was looking for. he really hated how he couldn't remember anything without this raggedy-looking journal. opening up to the first page, he read aloud the personal information he'd written down. "i'm turning 20 this year. c-ranked adventurer, not in any party or guild. i'm originally from valhurst."
indent"... valhurst?" there was a hint of surprise in the knight lady's voice when she repeated the name of his hometown. in the corner of his eyes, he could see that even the seemingly disinterested mage had reacted a little, with a look of puzzlement on his face.
indent"it's near the border, so i guess you probably haven't heard of it?"
indent"that's not it... no, nevermind," the knight lady shook her head, before proceeding with the next question, "have you ever heard of solardawn? or helios, for that matter?"
indentwas it what they were talking about before? he had a faint— albeit, very— recollection of it. flipping through his journal, it was just as he had expected. he'd never been anywhere near solardawn's headquarters. he'd never even stepped foot into the city of helios before for that matter. "i haven't."
indentonce again, both of their faces were colored with puzzlement, like the fact that he'd never even heard of those two things hadn't even occurred to them. "... that explains why solardawn's vice-guildmaster was so shocked," she let out a sigh.

indent"then, do you recognize this person?"
indentmithra's eyes followed the direction of her gaze, and he was met with a pair with lavender eyes, of course belonging to the mage that had been standing by the side the entirety of this questioning. as odd and strangely nostalgic this person made him feel, when he flipped through the journal, it was as expected.
indentthis person, he didn't know them.
indentwith an apologetic smile on his face, he said, "... sorry, i really don't."
indentwas it just him, or did the mage have a rather pained look on their face when he said that?

indentthe knight lady had no comments, and only remained silent at his answer. even though it only lasted for a moment, that air of awkwardness that filled up the office as the knight lady seemed to be thinking of her next question... he really didn't know why it felt as suffocating as it did.
indent"that reminds me. what's in that journal of yours? i noticed you've been referring to it a lot." she finally asked another question, and he couldn't be more thankful that she did.
indentthere was a weak smile on his face as he answered her. "i write important things in it. i'm pretty forgetful, so i tend to forget a lot of things."
indent"then... do you remember what we're here for?"
indent"questioning?"
indent"what about before? what were you doing before we entered this office?"
indent"i was-" mithra opened his mouth to answer, but stopped halfway. what was he doing before this? he flipped to the last page of the section that had his logs on it, but there was only one sentence under today's date. finished the commission in novaesium! "i... don't remember. i didn't write it down."
indent"i see," the knight lady nodded, with a look that seemed to say she was done asking whatever she wanted to. "then, what do you think about this? memphis."
indent... what. and here he was, thinking that the questioning was done. "is there anything you'd like to ask? of course, i won't permit any fighting. if not, then he's free to go."

[traumereii]

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(ii“iiiｍｙ ｈａｚｙ ｖｏｉｃｅ ｂｕｒｎｓ ｍｙ ｐａｒｃｈｅｄ ｔｈｒｏａｔ ｔｏ ａ ｃｒｉｓｐ，
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indentwhen their feet found purchase on solid ground after exiting the portal, memphis let out a shaky exhale, allowing themself a moment of respite to recover from the unwieldy side effects of portal travel. a moment was truly all the time they had, because the person who looked like mithra stepped into the center of the office shortly after. they took the chance to straighten up and inch closer to the wall while the other adventurer was distracted by amara's office, and─

indentoh. memphis swallowed thickly as they felt a gaze that they couldn't decide was more familiar or foreign land on them. it took everything in their willpower to not snap at the other man, to not immediately resort to throwing their magic at him and hoping that he'll reciprocate in the same manner that mithra would've done four hundred years ago.

indenteven if the other man could respond in such a way, memphis wasn't sure if they wanted him to. the wounds from four hundred years ago still gaped, aching and sore, no matter how many times their body stitched itself back together. they felt the fluttering phantom pain brush against their sides, serving as a cruel, ever-present memory of the events that had transpired then. time was good at healing most physical wounds, almost scarily so, but whatever memphis felt wasn't something that could fixed by the ticking of the clock or the changing of seasons.

indent"alright. i'll start with the questions now." amara's voice pulled memphis out of their reverie, mostly speaking to the other adventurer from behind her desk. even so, her declaration served as a message for how she also expected memphis to listen along, seeing how she went through the extra trouble of making them come to the office in the first place. "let's start with the basics, like your name, age, adventurer rank. ah, and your hometown."

indentthey watched as not-real-mithra introduced himself as mithra, all the while tripping over his words and fumbling with his sentences. memphis raised an eyebrow as the other adventurer dug out a tattered-looking notebook, discreetly readying themself for combat lest he tried anything stupid. while they had full faith that amara would be able to take care of herself, they weren't going to pass up a chance to properly deal with not-real-mithra if an opportunity presented itself. to their slight disappointment, he started to read off the journal, almost as though there was something preventing him from remembering even the most basic facets of himself.

indentthey could only frown in response. and then, because the universe seemed hellbent on having it out for them today, not-real-mithra dropped an earth-shattering statement:

indent"i'm originally from valhurst."

indentstunned, memphis stared blankly at the other adventurer, unable to even attempt to mask the confusion on their face for something else. it seemed like amara was similarly taken aback by the answer, judging by how she repeated "valhurst?" in the same manner that she'd tackle a particularly troublesome report. he's not from helios, but valhurst?

indentamara shot them a warning glance, and memphis realized that they had accidentally broadcasted their thoughts out loud. thankfully, it didn't as though not-real-mithra had heard; if he did, then he made a good show of pretending otherwise. either way, thinking about it irritated them and they edged closer towards the wall, hoping that it would swallow them up already.

indentdespite memphis's interruption, the guildmaster of aeternitas carried on with her questioning, asking whether not-real-mithra heard of solardawn or helios. he responded with a negative to both, and the mage could only grit their teeth and listen. if it had been anyone else, they wouldn't have spared even a single second of their time, but because it involved a mithra that was long gone, they had no choice but to get caught up in his orbit once more. it should've been so easy to just let the fragments of those bygone memories fall away like sand, but memphis had always been a creature of foolish sentimentality. it was for the best if mithra stayed dead, but if he had to come back to life, then memphis wanted, no, needed to set things straight once and prove themself.

indentyet, how were they supposed to do that if not-real-mithra really ended up being mithra's reincarnation, dissimilar in every way aside from his appearance and abilities? it was like fighting a losing battle; all memphis had to do was truly hate mithra from the bottom of their heart and be done with it. the fact that they couldn't even do that sent a wave of disgust over them, and they averted their gaze from the conversation, instead choosing to glare balefully at the tiled ground instead.

indent"then, do you recognize this person?"

indentmemphis's head snapped up at amara's words, equal parts shocked and outraged that she would draw attention to them like that. she met their gaze levelly, and with a heart pounding towards imminent despair, they slowly turned to the side to greet soft, purple-hued gray eyes. it was nothing at all like the piercing gaze that mithra used to sport, but it still made them swallow back a lump in their throat.

indentthe worst part about the questioning was that they already knew that he was about to say, as much as they wanted him to stop.

indent"... sorry, i really don't," said not-real-mithra who probably really was mithra's reincarnation, and memphis fought against letting their expression crumple and fold in front of a man who they once swore to never show weakness towards. as much as they liked to pretend otherwise, they weren't a cold, unfeeling statue of ice; the rejection of their memory, however unintentionally, physically burned at them. they sucked in a deep breath to try and regain their bearings, all the while crossing their arms, further closing themself off from the other two people present in the room. memphis slid a guarded look onto their face as they caught amara's eye again, and they conveyed their intent to share a few words with her after the questioning. to her credit, amara didn't look the least bit cowed, although she did seem a little apologetic for putting them through all that.

indentworst of all, mithra had the gall to mirror her expression. quit showing me your pity and apologies. didn't we already agree once that such useless feelings had no place in any of our interactions?

indentand then, as a bitter afterthought: not like he can even remember any of those times, now.

indentthere was a thick silence that amara awkwardly tried to fill moments later, but at that point, memphis was no longer listening. dazed, they stared off into space as amara and mithra talked about the extent to which the other adventurer remembered things, hearing and picking up certain words but not truly perceiving. when amara said their name again and asked about their thoughts, they wanted nothing more than to lie down on their bed and not wake up or continue to burn through commissions. either way, they wanted to be anywhere but in her office.

indent"he's telling the truth," memphis intoned dully, slowly. "as much as the mithra i know hated me and derived joy from tormenting me, he was never the type to take on unnecessary burdens if there was an easier and more efficient way to go about things. he was also never nearly this airheaded."

indentthe usage of past tense was something they had to force out, resulting in something that sounded slightly strangled. nevertheless, memphis pushed forth, staggeringly, haltingly. "still, i don't trust him and i don't think he should just be left to wander around the country like that. he should stay with aeternitas so we can keep a close eye on him."

indentamara sighed. "he is right there, you know, you can stand to not treat him like some insignificant object," she responded wryly, but as she turned to face the other adventurer, memphis knew that she was considering their words. it seemed like they did still have some leverage over her, despite how she normally acted with them. "as much as i hate to say it, memphis has a point. you'd stir up trouble, especially around novaesium, and we can't really have that happening. still, i'd like to ask for your thoughts; would you like to stay here in aeternitas? we're technically not recruiting anymore, but exceptions have been made in the past and i don't see why such exceptions wouldn't be able to apply now."

indent"even if he doesn't agree, he doesn't have a choice; he's on our home turf."

indentcue another sigh. "it's the illusion of choice, memphis," she said wearily. "i'd rather not have to strong-arm him into making a decision, but yes, mithra, i am afraid that this is something that isn't really negotiable."

indent"oh, good; i was thinking that if you said anything stupid, i'd have to raze your silly little office to the ground."

indent"memphis."

indentthrowing their hands up in mock surrender, they very consciously kept their gaze away from mithra. they had no idea what thoughts might be running through mithra's head at this moment, but whatever it was, it couldn't have been pleasant. the barest hint of a sardonic smile slipped onto memphis's face, and they remained tight-lipped in response to what the other adventurer might say.
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