Work Text:
In one of the many labs in the Resonatorium Aulus mal Asina was alone, still working and planning to continue late into the night. He stood at a desk cluttered with magitek parts, crystals and various tools as he worked on some repairs to one of the pods he had designed to copy aetheric signatures — all part of his work for his master, Zenos yae Galvus.
A few yalms away and unseen to him, a shadowy portal silently bled into existence, growing until it was the size of a typical doorway. Then not long after, a tall figure stepped out. He looked around the room before his eyes fell on the engineer — precisely the person he was hoping to find here.
"Aulus mal Asina, I presume."
Aulus' eyes widened and he whirled around to see who dared to disrupt his important work this late at night, only to stop dead upon seeing exactly who it was.
"Y-Your Radiance!" he spluttered and dropped the tool he was holding as he backed into the desk and the metallic clatter of metal on stone reverberated all through the empty lab. A chill ran down his spine. The man standing before him... No, it couldn't be...
"Now, now. No need to panic," the tall man said as he raised his hands apologetically.
"B-but you..." The usually eloquent mal Asina was suddenly having difficulty articulating words. There was no mistaking it — the late emperor Solus zos Galvus was standing right in front of him. And not the old Solus he remembered from a few years past, the young man he saw everywhere in paintings, statues, and in history books. Was he hallucinating?
"Died," the man said bluntly. "Yes, yes. Very tragic. And a story I'd rather not have to recount right now."
"I-I don't understand."
"Everything will be explained in time, but first, I'd like to offer an apology."
Mal Asina once again found himself at a loss for words. An apology? From the late emperor Solus zos Galvus? This had to be a dream. It was something he had dreamed about before, after all. Hells, he deserved an apology after Solus had so brutally shot down his research proposal all those years ago. Had he now seen the light? Was he going to finally admit that his genetic research was the way forward for the Garlean people? Hah! A smile began to tease at his lips. He couldn't wait to hear what his emperor had to say for himself.
"Is that all?" Aulus scoffed, suddenly feeling much more relaxed. If this really was a dream it didn't matter what he said. He could even hurl abuse if he wanted — it was what the treacherous bastard deserved after all. "It's long overdue."
The sudden change in demeanour took Emet-Selch by surprise and he took a step back. "...Yes, I realise that. I am truly sorry to have impeded your research. I'd like to make amends, if you'll let me."
The smile tugging at Aulus' lips then broke into a grin and he began to laugh wildly. Solus zos Galvus! Making amends!? To him!? Oh he wished he'd never wake! He was in heaven!
Emet-Selch watched curiously as Aulus nigh laughed himself hoarse. This wasn't exactly the response he had been expecting. Perhaps it'd been foolish to simply show up unannounced and hope for the best.
"Um... mal Asina?" he asked, after a good minute of truly deranged laughter from the engineer. "Are you quite all right?"
"All right!?" Aulus wheezed, his laughter finally subsiding somewhat. "I'm over the moon! I never want to wake from his beautiful dream!"
Emet-Selch sighed. It looked like he was going to have to explain everything after all. "Well, I regret to inform you that this is, in fact, real."
"Oh, I think not. How are you alive!? And looking much younger besides!" Aulus stepped up to the taller man and prodded his chest. "I went to your funeral! My whole department at the academy did!"
Another sigh. This was going to be more irritating than he first thought. "Are you familiar with the beings we call Ascians?"
That made Aulus pause. He had heard about them, yes. About how the XIVth legion's burgeoning invasion of Eorzea had been thwarted by an Ascian called Lahabrea. Other than that, there wasn't much more he knew. "Why do you ask?"
"Because that is what I am." He took a step back. "Allow me to re-introduce myself," he bowed with a flourish, and as he did so a glowing red glyph flashed in the air before his face for just a moment before dissipating again. "Emet-Selch. Ascian."
Aulus stood and stared for a good long moment as the reality of what was just said sank in. "This... isn't a dream, is it?"
"No," Emet-Selch answered simply.
"I... need a moment," he said, then went and sank into a nearby chair. He pinched himself many times expecting to wake, but what the man had called reality stubbornly refused to leave. Ridiculous how just a few simple words threw his whole world into disarray. His beloved emperor, an Ascian — a master manipulator whose only goal, from what he knew, was to sow chaos. How could that be? Emperor Solus was the bedrock upon which Garlemald was built — chaos was his very antithesis. After all, in the wake of his death what was there but chaos? Perhaps this Emet-Selch wasn't like the other Ascians. Perhaps he was different.
After organising his thoughts as best he could, he looked up at the man once more. "How would you make amends?"
Emet-Selch fixed him with a serious look. "I'd like to support your research."
Aulus scoffed. "The research you originally blocked? The research you called 'a monumental waste of funds' and 'an affront to nature itself'?"
Emet-Selch grit his teeth. "I do regret those words."
"The newspapers pilloried me for months."
"But you eventually found success in the XIIth."
Aulus gave a smug grin. "I did. No thanks to you, I suppose aside from the fact that Zenos is your offspring." He let out a deep breath, then stood from his chair and glared up at the Ascian. "You're serious, then? You'll support my work?"
Emet-Selch met his eyes, impressed by the determination he saw in them — determination he'd admired when mal Asina had made his proposal all those years ago. A determination that had almost convinced him not to block his research if only to see where it would lead him. But he could see it now. Now that it wouldn't affect his plans. "I will."
A wide grin split Aulus' face and he chuckled softly. "What if I told you I've already succeeded?"
Emet-Selch blinked. "What?"
"Yes. A Garlean with the ability to manipulate aether." He raised his hand and a tiny spark of fire filled his palm. He held it there, twisting his fingers around it as he looked up at Emet-Selch, very much enjoying his suddenly astonished expression.
"By the maker, you actually did it..."
Aulus scoffed. "You thought I couldn't. You thought I shouldn't. But now with your help we can give this gift to the rest of the populace! We will no longer be inferior!" He closed his hand into a fist and the flame fizzled out with a small hiss.
It was then that Emet-Selch realised he may have underestimated Aulus mal Asina.