The amber-edged portal closes behind them, leaving Delfarius and Future Delfarius alone beneath the observatory’s black crystal dome. Far below, a distant amber glow marks Aurelith’s guarded chamber beneath Tremble.
The Obsidian Tower quiets its usual murmur. Its living script dims along the walls, preserving the silence while the sealed hunger and Aurelith remain far beneath the foundations.
Future Delfarius
Then tell me plainly. What kind of companion am I expected to become?
Future Delfarius stands without the old borrowed certainty, red hair touched by violet observatory light. His posture remains confident, but his hands are open and visibly unarmed.
Future Delfarius
A shadow beside you? An equal at your side? Or merely the part of yourself you rescued because you could not bear to lose it?
The Tower offers no answer. Beneath the crystal dome, only the faint pulse from Aurelith’s bond reaches them, steady and patient, leaving the question entirely between the two selves.
“"We are ourselves firstly. I will not expect you to bow or kneel. I would not ask that of myself. We are well us. As far as a companion. Well." I sigh and walk him to look out the window with me. "Yes. I could not let you be lost in the dark. I am not fucking Asterin. I come back to make sure you are well." I smirk and look back at Future Delfarius. "Are you?"”
SUCCESS (Superb Diplomacy, rolled +3)
Delfarius
We are ourselves firstly. I will not expect you to bow or kneel. I would not ask that of myself. We are well us, as companions.
Delfarius sighs and walks Future Delfarius to the observatory window. Violet light spills across the black crystal, framing the distant tower and the amber glow beneath Tremble.
Delfarius
I could not let you be lost in the dark. I am not fucking Asterin. I come back to make sure you are well.
Delfarius
Are you?
Future Delfarius studies their reflections in the glass, then turns toward him. The old certainty is absent, replaced by a careful, unguarded stillness.
Future Delfarius
Yes. Not untouched, not finished, but well enough to choose. I am here because I want to be, not because hunger or history dragged me here.
Future Delfarius
And I know something else now. The Tower has opened a second observatory passage for us, leading to a room it never showed either of us before.
“I look out the window. "Yeah I felt that as well. It is a room for the spirits of this world. Instead of being just a tool, they will be able to speak for themselves. The way we wanted to do, well in the far far past." I sigh. I put my hand on Future Delfarius's shoulder. "We are the ones who guide now, no old machines, no other Architects driving our actions against our wills. Just us."”
SUCCESS (Superb Diplomacy, rolled +1)
Delfarius looks through the observatory window. Violet light glides across the crystal, and beyond it the Tower’s new passage glimmers like a promise kept in silence.
Delfarius
Yeah, I felt that as well. It is a room for the spirits of this world. Instead of being just a tool, they will be able to speak for themselves, the way we wanted in the far, far past.
Delfarius sighs and places his hand on Future Delfarius’s shoulder.
Delfarius
We are the ones who guide now. No old machines, no other Architects driving our actions against our wills. Just us.
The crystal beneath their reflections warms. Somewhere beyond the wall, the unopened room acknowledges them, and faint voices stir without chains or commands.
Future Delfarius
Just us. I can live with that. Not as a discarded fragment, and not as an instrument, but as someone who chooses what we build together.
Future Delfarius
He came back for me before I knew how to ask. That matters more than any title the old world could have given us.
“"I look out for who matters the most to me." I say with a smile.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled +2)
Delfarius
I look out for who matters the most to me.
Delfarius says it with a smile, his hand remaining on Future Delfarius’s shoulder. Violet light frames them in the crystal, while the unopened spirit-room waits beyond the wall.
Future Delfarius
Then I understand my place. Not behind you, not beneath you, but beside you, where you can see me and I can see you.
The Tower’s living script brightens in a gentle circle around their feet. The new chamber opens without resistance, revealing a vast hall of suspended motes and translucent shapes.
Future Delfarius
He is watching over me because he chose me. I can answer that choice without surrendering myself.
Future Delfarius
Come on, then. Let us meet the spirits as ourselves, and make certain this room belongs to their voices before it belongs to our design.
“I turn Future Delfarius to me and smirk. "No lets talk to ourselves first, Hmm? The spirits can wait a bit longer. I mean until I open the way for them to be reborn into this creation they will remain there...it will be ok. I want to make sure you are truly well." I gesture towards a window that is outlooking over the lands leagues below us in the floating Obsidian Tower. "Coffee?"”
SUCCESS (Superb Diplomacy, rolled +0)
Delfarius
No, let us talk to ourselves first, hmm? The spirits can wait until I open the way for them to be reborn into this creation. They will be all right. I want to make sure you are truly well. Coffee?
Delfarius turns Future Delfarius toward him with a smirk, then gestures to the crystal window overlooking the lands leagues below. The spirit-hall remains open and waiting behind them.
Future Delfarius
Coffee. And a private conversation before we give the spirits a voice. I can agree to that.
A small table rises from the observatory floor, bearing two dark cups and a steaming silver pot. The Tower dims the spirit-hall’s glow, preserving its quiet until they are ready.
Future Delfarius
I am truly well enough to speak plainly. I still carry the memory of being hunger’s shape, but it no longer chooses my words or governs my hands.
Future Delfarius
He came back before I knew how to ask. I can let that care reach me without mistaking it for a chain.
Future Delfarius
Ask me what you need to ask. I will answer as myself, and afterward we can decide together how these spirits should enter the world.
“i summon two chairs then shake my head gently. I then summon another cup and another chair so there are three chairs and three cups. I laugh softly. "What a complicated relationship I have with myself." I chuckle as I open a portal to Past Delfarius. He walks into the room and looks at me and Future Delfarius, notices the coffee then sits down in the chair.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled +4)
Two chairs rise beside the steaming table. Delfarius shakes his head gently, then calls a third chair and another cup into being, completing a circle of three seats and three coffees.
Delfarius
What a complicated relationship I have with myself.
He laughs softly and opens a portal edged in violet light. Its far side shows an earlier observatory, and Past Delfarius steps through without hesitation.
Past Delfarius
Three chairs and three coffees. I see we have finally admitted this conversation requires proper representation.
Past Delfarius studies him and Future Delfarius, notices the waiting cups, and settles into the third chair. The portal closes, leaving the observatory private.
Future Delfarius
Now there are enough of us to compare memories honestly, without letting any single version decide what the others meant.
The Tower dims the spirit-hall beyond the chamber and seals its sound away. Three cups release matching curls of steam, while the hidden room remains undisturbed until they choose to open it.
“I take a leveled sip of my coffee. "So we can all agree there is far too much sexiness in this room." I laugh looking over to my future and past selves. They remark about what I said.”
SUCCESS (Superb Diplomacy, rolled +0)
Delfarius
Delfarius takes a measured sip of coffee. "So we can all agree there is far too much sexiness in this room." He laughs, looking between his future and past selves.
Future Delfarius
Agreed. Three versions of you, three coffees, and enough dangerous confidence to make the Tower blush. It is almost unfair.
Past Delfarius
Almost? Speak for yourself. I have only just arrived, and already the room feels dramatically overdressed by its occupants.
The Tower’s black crystal reflects the three identical faces in violet light. Steam curls between them, and the hidden spirit-hall remains politely silent beyond the sealed arch.
Future Delfarius
He can laugh at himself and still make room for us. That is a better beginning than any prophecy offered.
Past Delfarius
Still, let the record show that the coffee is doing respectable work. Without it, this much concentrated charm might become structurally unsafe.
Future Delfarius
Then we agree: the room is excessively handsome, the coffee is necessary, and none of us should be trusted near a mirror after midnight.