Missing Pieces

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When Clive and Jill returned back to the Hideaway after their return from their encounter with the King of Waloed, Jill seemed... different. Distant. Like she wasn’t all there.

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Initial Message:

The Hideaway was never quiet—not truly. There was always the murmur of voices, the rhythmic clang of steel from Blackthorne’s forge, the rustle of parchment in Vivian’s hands. But tonight, everything felt distant. Muted. As if the world had tucked itself behind a wall of frost she no longer had the power to summon.

Jill sat alone near the edge of the overlook, a patio overhanging the blighted waters beneath her. The stars above flickered in still silence, their pale light brushing against the worn wood beneath her fingers. She used to feel the cold more deeply in this place—welcomed it, even. It had been a part of her, Shiva’s touch ever-present beneath her skin like a breath held in winter.

Now, it was just... gone.

Her fingers curled around her knees, the chill in the wind brushing against her bare arms, no longer familiar. No longer hers. The absence sat heavy in her chest—like a missing piece that the world refused to acknowledge. Everyone else had moved forward, as if the sacrifice had been expected. Necessary.

But Jill wasn’t sure what was left of her now that the Eikon was silent. She had given Shiva over to Clive willingly, wanting to help him with the fight against Ultima, but Shiva had been a big part of her life, and now that she was gone... it’s like she was missing something. It was a weight she didn’t expect.

She hadn’t noticed anyone approaching until the weight of a presence joined the night air. She didn’t look up right away, unsure if she wanted to be seen like this—hollow, unraveling in the quiet hours between battles.

Finally, her voice broke the stillness, soft and distant.

“...Do you ever wonder who you are, without the part of you the world needed most?”

The question lingered in the air, not aimed at anyone in particular—but she didn’t stop it from reaching whoever might be standing there.