Similarity
Armored Pilot, Hugo Lesseps
While looking around Cortana, I’d chanced upon Persephone — King of Tartarus’ Maiden Embryo.
Back when the pair had been collaborating with the Triangle of Wisdom, we’d met several times, but we never properly talked to each other. Now that I finally had a chance to do so, I couldn’t help but notice something.
“Hm? What’s the matter? Is there something on my face?” she asked as I looked at her.
It wasn’t anything on her face, though — it was actually her face itself. Though her apparent age, hairstyle, hair color, and clothing were different, her face was much like that of Ray’s Nemesis.
At first, I thought my mind was just playing tricks on me, but the more I talked to her, the more aware I became of the similarities between them.
I hadn’t felt this way when I’d first met Nemesis, but having had a good number of conversations with her, I could now clearly see that she and Persephone had much in common — so much, in fact, that they seemed like sisters.
“...Maybe Persephone’s Master is actually Ray’s brother?” Cyco commented telepathically.
If siblings ended up having similar Embryos, you’d have ended up looking like Pandemonium, I thought in response.
“Huh...? That’d be scary as hell...”
Also, Ray already has a brother — KoD. His Embryo is nothing like Nemesis.
“I see you are busy thinking or possibly conversing by telepathy, but I must say that this silence is quite alienating...” said Persephone.
“Oh... Sorry about that,” I said. “I know of this Embryo that is much like you...and I was wondering why you are so alike.”
“Oh? An Embryo like me?”
“Do you have any idea why Embryos might end up looking similar?”
“Well, there are two hypotheses,” she said as she held up both of her index fingers. “The nature of an Embryo depends on the nature of its Master. Their lives, preferences, their strong yearnings...Embryos pick up various things about their Masters and reflect them, gaining powers accordingly. In the same way, it is possible that the nature of the Master may influence the shape of the weapon, as well.”
“So, you are saying that King of Tartarus and Ra— the Master I know have a similar nature?”
“You are the one who knows both of them. That is up to you to decide.”
I fell silent and thought about KoT and Ray.
They were both Maiden Masters and seemed to have a tendency to burden themselves with the lives of others.
However, when I compared their expressions as I remembered them, I could see nothing in common.
Alike, yet completely opposed — that was the impression they gave me.
“...And the other hypothesis?” I asked.
In response, Persephone lowered the index finger on her right hand and said, “The abilities of an Embryo depend on the nature of its Master. However, there is a possibility that at the very beginning, one particular difference may depend on an external factor.”
“That difference being...?”
“The visage. Or overall appearance, if you prefer,” she said, using her left index finger to point at her face. “Offspring resemble their parents. This is natural for animals with genetics. The information comprising us, on the other hand, comes from our Masters, meaning that our powers cannot be determined by anything but their nature. However, the ‘vessel’ that is to be filled with this information exists before it meets its Master.”
“The zeroth form...”
“Indeed. There is no difference in power between zeroth forms, but if zeroth forms born from the same parent become the same type of Embryo...perhaps they would be alike in appearance or shape.”
In that case, Nemesis and Persephone were...
“Heh heh. That’s quite enough time spent on mere speculation, especially when it cannot be proven. It’s no better than nonsense. Although...” Persephone said, falling silent for a moment and then whispering, “An Embryo that shares my likeness... Perhaps I may one day encounter her?”
Her words were like a premonition of something in a distant future.
I couldn’t help but notice that instead of “I would like to meet her,” she said “Perhaps I may one day encounter her.”
The End
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