we are one with the light at the edge of the sun

The Citydwellers speak ruefully of death without a trace; to them, a corpse is the unnatural thing. They know nothing of burials - of the compulsion to perform the returning of bodies to ether yourself, or to bide a dormant crystal. In some sense, the sacrament of human life. The ritual.

They know nothing. Wondrous thing, it is. And the former heroes won't tell them, necessarily. Not everything. It's enough that they know the old world is behind, without excavating its every trace. If they attempted to recreate it, blunt anew, how would they find it?

A cannot help but be amused. Amusement, after all, is a passing emotion that can be practised in any face, no matter the history that lurks behind it. Endearment, however...

An entirely different notion. A is familiar with the shape of it, and what is known should not be feared, but trepidation is always wise.

A has a tremendous fondness for wisdom. Shulk and Rex have a tremendous lack.

They are cheeky, those two. They know A will indulge them in anything they ask. In what position is the remounted avatar of conscience to refuse them, anyway? What would A do? Cast them down, with that shattered, brutal implement? Drill speech of consequence when exactly none of the rules are left known? No. Not this one. Not A.

Indeed, A. The A that exists the same way they exist. Not as an afterimage, but as a vital part of this reality. Even more vital now, but always so.

There are no tears on the taller two's faces. Well, Rex's left eye cannot cry, and Shulk would speak of rust in his joints, but bitterly swallowed tears do not resemble lazy smiles.

A is almost compelled.

"You are insufferable."

"Eh." Rex doesn't sling an arm; he's not that insufferable. "Whatever we feel, think, express at this moment, you'd be...what's the word. Bemused, probably? You don't know what to do with us."

Shulk laughs, untimid. "We don't know what to do with ourselves, Rex! We're just lucky we were able to help how we did."

"Someone had to," A puts in. "And there was no one better suited than the two of you. Melia and Nia are best suited for later."

"Later...when you're not around."

"Pessimism, Rex?"

He can't help but adore A's exquisite - and yes, genderless - primness. "Well, I don't think you're gonna come back. Actually, I think you're comin' with us."

So plain is it to see, how Shulk cherishes his more voluble partner. A laudable combination, indeed.

"I would not be who I am had I not known the both of you."

"I've counted on it."

He can see Origin descending to crush his (well, not, but home is home is home), but he's in good company.

Everyone we know shapes us, even for periods and in places so small and distant as to be definitionally insignificant.

But we sing anyway.

Therein lies love. Therein lies life. Yes, indubitably, this is true.