[There was a vibrancy Byleth was unaccustomed to churning through his blood these past few days. The exhausted apathy from the merciless trials beneath the Tree had peeled away into something almost animalistic in its restlessness, making the populated clamour of Springstar as repulsive as it was tempting. He didn't belong here, some lucid part of his mind snarled, echoed by Sothis's opinion on the matter, so why are you getting comfortable here?
So, unsurprisingly, he fled to Alenroux.
The countryside - a mix of tamed and wild - was far more familiar to him. Even if an alien part of him felt uneasy at being so far from Springstar, he ruthlessly compartmentalised it and aimlessly wandered the breadbasket island in some sort of absent-minded daze. He could almost pretend he was back in Fódlan, travelling through the farmlands of Adrestia, scouting ahead while Jeralt's mercenaries followed behind, and he could even pretend he could hear his voice-
...or... not? Byleth paused, tilting his head when he heard a familiar voice howling on the gentle breeze. Like a moth to flame, he headed towards it, coming upon frantic, crazed Set, scrabbling in the earth and snarling like a rabid dog, eyes flashing and fangs bared. Byleth simply stood in the field with him and watched with blank eyes, as if he was witnessing something mildly interesting, rather than the obliteration of a man's sanity.
Even the gods weren't immune to mind-breaking despair, it seemed. Sothis always seemed so robust, so unfaltering even when faced with complete ruination. She cemented her rage into basalt, solid and unyielding, but concealing bubbling magma beneath, and didn't break beneath grief. She just got angrier. There had to be a point where her rage and obstinance plateaued, though, right? Where she broke like the more fragile Set had?
Byleth felt a rush of disdain from her, drowsy and like a swat on his flank. It was an admonishment for his idle thoughts, and he accepted it with a slight tilt of his head, his gaze heavy-lidded as Set finally acknowledged his blatant existence and screamed at him. Byleth let the words wash over him as water off a duck's back.]
I heard you from the road. You sounded distressed.
[Byleth's voice was, as usual, calm and flat, without a single inflection betraying his true mood or thoughts.]
Are you hallucinating? You were screaming at nothing.
Alenroux
So, unsurprisingly, he fled to Alenroux.
The countryside - a mix of tamed and wild - was far more familiar to him. Even if an alien part of him felt uneasy at being so far from Springstar, he ruthlessly compartmentalised it and aimlessly wandered the breadbasket island in some sort of absent-minded daze. He could almost pretend he was back in Fódlan, travelling through the farmlands of Adrestia, scouting ahead while Jeralt's mercenaries followed behind, and he could even pretend he could hear his voice-
...or... not? Byleth paused, tilting his head when he heard a familiar voice howling on the gentle breeze. Like a moth to flame, he headed towards it, coming upon frantic, crazed Set, scrabbling in the earth and snarling like a rabid dog, eyes flashing and fangs bared. Byleth simply stood in the field with him and watched with blank eyes, as if he was witnessing something mildly interesting, rather than the obliteration of a man's sanity.
Even the gods weren't immune to mind-breaking despair, it seemed. Sothis always seemed so robust, so unfaltering even when faced with complete ruination. She cemented her rage into basalt, solid and unyielding, but concealing bubbling magma beneath, and didn't break beneath grief. She just got angrier. There had to be a point where her rage and obstinance plateaued, though, right? Where she broke like the more fragile Set had?
Byleth felt a rush of disdain from her, drowsy and like a swat on his flank. It was an admonishment for his idle thoughts, and he accepted it with a slight tilt of his head, his gaze heavy-lidded as Set finally acknowledged his blatant existence and screamed at him. Byleth let the words wash over him as water off a duck's back.]
I heard you from the road. You sounded distressed.
[Byleth's voice was, as usual, calm and flat, without a single inflection betraying his true mood or thoughts.]
Are you hallucinating? You were screaming at nothing.