Out of the Summer Garden [Cyrus, Arcadia]

Everything had changed.

That was no exaggeration on Cyrus' behalf, not simply some metaphor to describe a drastic shift in his day to day life. All at once, the world Cyrus knew had simply become something entirely different. He knew, the moment it happened, that there were far too few people who would understand exactly what it was that he had seen, what he had witnessed occur, but he knew that there was at least one person who would grasp it as well as he did. In that, he was thankful, because he could not imagine if even she simply had not noticed it, as so many others had.

"Arcadia, my dear. I imagine you know exactly why I have come."

Most of the time, a sentence like that might have carried with it a sense of expectation, or of professionalism. But the primary tone of Cyrus' voice was concern. In truth, he was worried about near everyone in his life after this had occurred. Al'in, Helle, Ninsianna, every single member of the Vandenreich that he had taken in. But he could certainly be forgiven for going first to the woman he held so dear, couldn't he?

It took her but a moment to understand what had occurred and in that revelation did frustration follow. A feeling of malice which bubbled under her skin and left her smiling to not let her anger seep out where it didn't belong. Sitting within Cyrus' room while staring at the horizon as though it might settle her fury at the knowledge that thing had shamed and disgraced her then been allowed to fade into oblivion without so much as the reprisal that it deserved.

If she could but have a moment to punish it, ground it's face into the dirt where it belonged then all would be right but it was not. Alas, she could not dwell on these things but the circumstances surrounding Ahura Mazda would be a lingering taint on her mind for a while.

"Of course, my love."

The woman said under her smile but her irritation towards the whole situation still lingered in her eyes no matter how much she tried to hide it. At least the arrival of her companion did a little to quell those feelings and dampen their ferocity.

It certainly was no surprise to see that Arcadia was displeased with the situation. After all, Cyrus was hardly happy with it, either. All of his efforts, and Mazda simply accomplished everything that had been laid out, escaped any possible consequences and left the world as it had been.

"It would seem that I no longer need to concern myself with fixing the realms, or removing Mazda from the equation."

Taking a seat next to her, Cyrus pulled her into a close embrace, really just reaffirming that she was still here, and that she had not changed when everything else had. He felt fairly certain that, had Arcadia lost sight of that prior world, he would certainly have gone insane.

"But I certainly still have a great deal to do, don't I?"

Putting aside her own greivances when she felt his embrace, it was the benefit to his presence really that problems like that could be cast aside for a time and grant her thoughts some peace and clarity rather than be plagued by spite at the circumstances she was in.

"For better or worse your goal that sustained you has been fulfilled."

A little more harsh than she'd have liked to put it but it was something that Arcadia refused to let him run from, the same way that she could not escape all of the things that she had done. Regardless of how Cyrus felt about what she said, the single-minded pursuit of fixing the realms and to become a deity to fulfil them had been a crutch for many years.

Arcadia moved closer and took a seat in his lap, an opportunity to rest his head on her chest and run her hand through his hair in a comforting gesture.

"What is it that you wish to accomplish now then?"

It was a comfort in its own right to hear her treasured love sound confident and still resolved. A kind of curiousity as to what new ideals had filled the void since his previous goals had been accomplished. What purpose had succeeded their predecessors and did they fill him with the same purpose that he felt like he was lacking before?

"I certainly wish that it had been accomplished in a less unsavory manner, but I cannot turn back the clock. As for what I will do now..."

Cyrus took a moment to genuinely consider the question, holding Arcadia closer to himself as she leaned against him. He certainly never grew tired of the feeling of her fingers through his hair, a comforting reminder of her presence. In a sense, he still felt profoundly that she was all that he had, but that was a thought he had forced away from his mind countless times.

Regardless of how far he had fallen, there were too many others that believed in him. Cyrus would not dare to let them all down again.

"Having seen the world when collapse is so near, it would be nothing short of evil if I were to simply let it happen again. I...the Vandenreich must ensure that the realms do not cross again. That the boundaries of life and death are made firm, absolute."

He trailed his own hand through Arcadia's hair in turn, moving slowly down toward the small of her back before it came to rest there. At times, in these quiet moments of intimacy, Cyrus wondered what his family might have thought of her, what a life such as that might have been like. But that was an impossible fantasy, and he, a man driven past humanity by his own ambitions, could hardly ruminate on that for long.

"I must be able to lead them again. Inspire them. Words will not be enough to do that when our enemies inevitably come."

"Hoh?"

She thought about his words with a bit of care, idly pulling him just a bit closer into her so that the calm and steady sound of her heartbeat was audible to him.

There was a little to ruminate on, while she certainly agreed the presence of the demons had seemed to shrink in a way to become a ghost of a threat. The world still seemed to be aware of spirits and she wondered if Mazda had left that intentional or not. One thing though did cross her mind, who this threat to the stability was now?

The balancers that must surely be jubilant by this new situation? A chance to correct where they had failed and the Vandenreich having lost such a boon in the form of the divine dog which was shackled by that witch? Though, where did the two of them stand to clash now if this situation was both beneficial to them?

"Who is the threat to the realms now then?"

It was times where being a thirty party in the world of the living's affairs was a boon, she was impartial to all of the occurances but it made her feel a tad detached at times.

"The greatest immediate threat is certainly the Gotei, but I fully expect there to be others. Individual interests who do not remember the world we have left behind. It may well simply be a matter of time before Vastime once more rears its head, or some other ambitious upstart wishes to achieve something similar. We must be ready to cull those efforts before they can take root."

Cyrus knew that was quite more decisive than he had been for a long while now, and far more aggressive. He had allowed a great deal, allowed for other organizations and people to engage with their ideals. But to do that any further could be a danger to the world itself, to all people within it. He had no other option, did he?

"Every threat to the realms must be treated with the severity you and I know it deserves. It would be a sin not to act, knowing how grave it all might become with inaction."

Her eyes closed to think about his words, a faint inkling of her essence disagreed with him though she rejected its input. The old should be succeeded for the new, progress is not found with stagnation and for better or worse these powers would move. At the same time she rejected that notion that was more a impulsive reflex of her origin than anything meaningful, had an older world not just been completely wisked away and succeeded by a new one?

Succession was not something that should be rushed for her when it's potential had yet to be seen and the struggle that came with those that rejected the change be given a chance to have their desires made.

"I understand though I am inclined to wonder..."

Quickly it was, the sudden shift of Arcadia flexing some of her body's strength to push Cyrus onto his back while she held him down and gave him a playful smile which seemed all too pleased with itself. Content to let herself fill his vision, she asked.

"With the loss of your soul king powers and no hope of me seizing the demon god's power anymore, how do you plan to enforce these ideals against the powers that threaten the worlds when I can hold you down as I am now?"

It was a cruel reality check but an important thing to understand. She did not want her love to fail or be snuffed out by a stronger entity that threatened his values.

Ah, she'd certainly made all too valid a point by pushing him down, and while Cyrus was more than willing to enjoy the sight of such beauty before him, at the same time, he did still have an answer for her. After all, what sort of leader would he be if he didn't?

"At the moment, I alone can certainly do nothing to enforce those ideals. But that is why I have built up the Vandenreich, is it not? To share this dream with others, to help each and every one of them make a world that none of us alone could make? I once stole godhood itself so that I could bring myself to power without struggle. Yet one more expression of my hubris."

He was quite assured in this now, but he nevertheless appreciated dearly that Arcadia had brought the matter up. After all, it was one of the things that had always defined their relationship. She tested him, questioned him, and at the same time understood him more deeply than anyone could.

"I intend this time to reach power by my own efforts. There will be no half-measures, no shortcuts. I cannot rely on others if my intention is to let them rely on me."

"That is true but the Vandenreich is only your strength when they agree with you."

She sat back up, wiggling in her position to get comfortable and unwilling to surrender her spot, giving him a bit more freedom again after illustrating her point.

It went without saying everything else to her point that Arcadia understood where he was speaking from when he spoke of the Vandenreich but even she as an outsider could recognise issues surrounding Cyrus' leadership. His loss of power, his loss of that charisma that drew people and certainly the loss of resolve which had needed to be rekindled.

"Hmm, and how do you intend to grow in power by yourself? Effort should be rewarded but how is it that you quincy become stronger anyway?"

Contrary to her own wisdom, the race as a whole was alien to her. In some way she wished to assist him but had no idea of how to do so. How irritating.