Chapter Text
To be keeper of the Spring was a different kind of solitude than Yun had expected. The veiled attendants had not seemed particularly surprised by her presence in place of Onasia's, and upon Simulacrum's unconditional surrender, neither Plumbum officials nor Argentum official took any notice of the new keeper. In Simulacrum's former government, Onasia's word had been final, but Yun doubted she would have that kind of political power.
What she did have, however, was time.
Grieving cradle in hand, she stared into the waters of the Spring, and the remnants of Mamina's braid in the wooden cradle still carried a faint shine. The waters here were much like a Simoun's helical motors, transcending time and space, and often Yun caught glimpses of the past and present reflected upon the waters.
At first she had felt much like a voyeur, as if she was spying on private moments. But Onasia had stood here for countless centuries, watching memories she could never be part of, so Yun had to be just as resolved and not turn her gaze away either. To be keeper of the Spring was more than simply guiding young maidens toward adulthood and thus a future; she was also meant to keep memories that would otherwise be forgotten by history.
She was something of a divine figure now, not quite human any longer, but not quite a god either.
In the days since the disbanding of Chor Tempest, several group of sibylla-aged girls had arrived at the Spring, and while they had expressed surprise at the unknown keeper in Onasia's place, they entered the waters nonetheless. Most knew what gender they wished to be, but some didn't, and when they emerged from the Spring, Yun having chosen for them, some wore expressions of relief while others could only cry out in anguish. Like Onasia before her, because Yun did not make a choice for herself, she was burdened with forcing a choice on those who could not choose. However, because Onasia was now at peace, Yun would not regret taking her place.
She stepped closer to the water. Paraietta, Roatreamon, Alty, Kaim, Morinas, Floef, Vuraf - Simulacrum's final Simoun sibyllae. When those maidens had entered these waters, Yun fully understand the depths of the burden she had accepted from Onasia. She would likely never see any of them again, but she held their memories close to her heart.
Gently she touched Mamina's braid in the cradle, and her chest tightened. The memories she saw in the waters were not hers to reveal, no matter how much she wished otherwise. The first time she saw a glimpse of Rimone and Dominura, she had nearly cried. She had always regretted not taking the time to learn more about them, but to know that they both still lived after completing the Emerald Ri Majon was a great relief, even if she could never share that knowledge with anyone else. The kisses Rimone and Dominura shared throughout the years were theirs and theirs alone.
The waters, however, never revealed what had happened to Aer and Neviril, and she understood why. They had opened the door to a new world with the love they shared. They had made a choice only Simoun sibyllae could make, their wings unclipped by the Spring. Yun touched her own sibylla pendant; while she didn't regret her choices, she couldn't say that she wasn't just a little bit envious of them. Where Aer and Neviril how flew together, not even the keeper of the Spring could see.
With a smile on her lips, Yun was about to turn away from the waters, but a new image caught her eye. Rimone and Dominura, both older, walked side by side in a forest path. What they spoke of, Yun couldn't hear, but they smiled so lovingly at each other. However, Dominura stumbled and Rimone caught her arm, and Yun saw what she left behind in her wake: golden flakes.
The longer one refused to choose a permanent gender, the more their body weakened, their skin becoming translucent, and soon they could no longer touch another person. The same had happened to Onasia, and she had been made keeper of the Spring so that no one else would hesitate as she did. Like Dominura, she had been a time-displaced member of Chor Dextra, but unlike Dominura, she no longer had a Pair with whom to fly.
Yun watched as Dominura leaned against Rimone for support, and the image vanished, leaving only a reflection of Yun in the water. "Dominura…" she said softly.