Gate of Memoirs/Wander

To wander was the Hound's instinct. To wonder was not; and now she pays the ultimate price.
Portrait 	Dialogue
Music: "A God"	Music: "A God"
 	
*A break in the tide, and your duel reaches an impasse.
 	
*At least your opponent seems more vexed than hateful of you.
*Serpent-Caller: What is this...feeling?
*Serpent-Caller: Or is this merely leftover from lingering memories, rooted in futile hope?
 	
*At her surprisingly candid words, you lower your weapon.
*Hadn't she mentioned a name, Tsovinar? 
*You bring up the possibility of a life forgotten, just as you have.
 	
*Serpent-Caller: ...Your name. I would have it.
 	
*You tell her, and the wall of tension begins to melt ever so slightly.
*Though it isn't much, this small respite seems to foster that little bit of clarity.
 	
*Inara: Do not presume this a gesture of goodwill. You seem useful; that is all.
*Inara: Now... Tell me of this enemy we both share. The one who dares claim herself Queen.
 	
*Inara: ...And this has to do with a...'shared' memory we both possess?
 	
*You nod. Outlandish as it sounds, your time spent weaving in and out of these spaces has given you a sort of crash course.
*If your 'forgotten memory' from some other existence as a Summoner had seen this Sero-Anya...
*Surely it would corroborate with the same memory that Inara possessed as 'Tsovinar'.
*It's a wild idea, and you think you sound a little like Noel.
*If Noel cared for what he'd call pseudoscience, anyway.
 	
*Inara seems to ponder your proposal with surprising seriousness.
*Inara: Your thoughts, Vishap?
 	
*Vishap: It appears to me that we have no better optionssss, my lady...
 	
*Inara: ...Very well.
Portrait	Dialogue
 	
*You nod, and after taking a deep breath to settle your nerves, close your eyes.
*You focus on the shimmering entity in the edges of your memory.
*Near you, you sense the presence of Inara's aura. She must be seeing this, too.
*The light grows brighter, and then...
Portrait	Dialogue
 	
*Perhaps for the first time in your current existence, you see the being.
*But something inside you—or perhaps outside of you—seems to recognise them.
*For they are not a singular person, but a collective. 
*Not merely 'Sero-Anya', but much more.
 	
*Inara seems to arrive at this revelation at the same time as you—but with a different name.
 	
*Inara: "...Tsovinar?"
Portrait 	Dialogue
Music: "Overcome"	Music: "Overcome"
 	
*—Outside the space.
 	
*Giselle finds her limbs locked in place, but nevertheless defiantly glares up at the Queen.
 	
*For all her callousness, the Queen seemed almost thoughtful in her unsettling silence.
 	
*The only sound present is the humming from the husk in the center of the cavern.
*That creature that seemed to have picked up while missing in space.
 	
*That little "girl".
*Make no mistake—like Giselle, she was just an approximation. An unformed thing, so to speak, in humanoid form.
*That much Giselle knew from the moment she laid eyes upon her while in pursuit of the Summoner.
 	
*That unmistakable aura. The Summoner's *own* aura.
 	
*Even now, pulsing away in its enormous crystalline cradle, it seemed to devour the very air around it.
*As if it was nurturing something within...
 	
*Giselle: That's it...
*Giselle: That's what it was. It was slowly feeding off everything it saw—like .
 	
*Giselle: And that *thing* inside is your final goal.
*Giselle: That's what you needed for. Isn't it?
 	
*S'eljah: Strange how that comes as a surprise to you.
*S'eljah: You of all should have known from the beginning.
*S'eljah: That this person—no, this entity, you call a "Summoner"...is no mere mortal.
*S'eljah: No. They are beyond this reality as we know it.
Portrait 	Dialogue
 	
*S'eljah: "Like we are."
Music: "Nothingness"	Music: "Nothingness"
 	
*Giselle: NO!
*Giselle: isn't...!
 	
*As expected, the Queen's expression never changes, but was that a twitch in even her impenetrable mask?
*S'eljah: ...I will let you keep your flawed thoughts. They are of no consequence to me.
*S'eljah: They will be cleansed. Purified, and silent.
 	
*The Queen reaches out and puts a finger under Giselle's chin.
*But what Giselle feels is an impossibly cold tendril brushing against her jaw and throat.
 	
*In a single, horrifying moment, the Queen's smile seems to cleave her mask in half.
 	
*S'eljah: You, who by all rights should not exist, and should never have in the first place...
*S'eljah: It was a miscalculation to let you slip. To let you wonder, and wander.
*S'eljah: A mistake I intend to correct, and never repeat.