"It is good to see you again, hero; you have been away for some time."
When Conaron heard Zaya's voice after years of being apart, she felt a pang of nostalgia struck her heart. She had changed so much since Con last saw her. Everything changed when the Black Rose cloaked the land and took away hope itself from the breasts of the living. Hope that Conaron, even when she had to fuse with her Voidsent Avatar just to live, fights for even now.
"It's been a while, but I've finally came back."
"I pray that the memorial is of your approval; we, too, have struggled to recover from the losses. But, if I may inquire: Why do you choose to visit now, rather than when we constructed this memorial, or when we held service in Lady Yugiri's honor?"
Conaron could feel her stomach churn and drop from Zaya's question. Why didn't she come and visit? Why didn't she visit when the memorial for all the fallen that called Doma their home was erected? Why didn't she visit when her fallen love, Yugiri Mistwalker, was mourned here? Why didn't she do that?
She knows why, and it doesn't matter now. So she'll tell the truth.
"...To be honest, I was ashamed. Ashamed that I wasn't there to help her when she needed it most. But that doesn't matter anymore. Now, I just don't want to have any regrets before the end..."
Conaron can remember the day that she found Yugiri's corpse admist the rubble of the Doman Enclave. Found her having given the last few working gas masks to the Doman Adventurer's Guild to protect them from the fumes. Children she gave her very life to save, and whose memory those children honor to this very day by being the new guardians of Hope.
"... Guilt is a powerful motivator, but alone can do nothing against the actions of time. Take as much time as you require: for your apologies, and your farewells. Yet, before you depart, I have but one more thing to say to you."
"Though we both wish it were otherwise, fate has chosen us as this world's successors. Pray, remember that you fight not only for those who have passed, but for those of us who yet remain."
It was to be the Final Mission for Conaron. In order for the Project to work, the Project to transport the Crystal Tower back in time to prevent Black Rose from ever occurring, she had to retrieve one final component in the heart of Garlemald. Right where the Black Rose was thickest. Where even her Half-Voidsent self wouldn't be able to withstand the potency of the fumes that lingered in the air.
But only she was able to do it, even if the cost was her life. So she gives it.
For those who passed, for those who yet remain.
#Febhyurary
Day 18: Alternate Universe
The Black Rose took so much from everyone, Conaron especially. So when the Ironworks came to her for help, she obliged. She kept obliging until the final step, where there would be no going back. Before she took that step, she had to say goodbye...
#ConaPose
