Medrod Pendragon
Aoyama Ruins ~ Ground Zero
"Hah..."
A quiet laugh.
Your body's systems were so fundamentally broken than even your 'dream' self was more or less paralyzed, and yet the sheer force of will that erupts within your chest is one that slowly forces those same systems to start up again regardless; while it appears to be impossible, she never had any real doubt that you would be able to do it in the first place. The power the "rest of you had" to challenge fate was something she had admired but had also lacked, so she is not surprised at the action; it is slow, indeed, willpower can only move a broken body so far, but...
You do make progress.
That progress relieves the mind of impossibility and makes it easier to move; in a sense she is proud, happy even that this sort of thought had appeared in your head even though she was a 'stranger' to you, but...
---It's also bittersweet.
"I'm not really a good person."
Because there is one thing she can do now.
"Everything that's happened... Up until now, I allowed it to happen."
It's the truth.
She could have certainly saved everyone a lot of trouble by acting earlier on, but the need for her plans to be 'flawless' was one that she could not bring herself to disregard, and she had stayed in the background as a result.
...She had kept an eye on everyone, but only an eye.
"Tragedy, crimes, loss... I could've stepped in and stopped it all, but after awhile... I just didn't bother. I thought as long my plan succeeded, then none of it would matter, I would be able to just write the happy ending myself, and everyone could forget about what happened in the past... Utopia... A world of happiness without end, no death, nothing to make anyone miserable anymore."
But she had messed up in a number of ways.
And that power was gone now, and there was no way for her to get it back. Her tone of voice does not try to make herself too sympathetic, as far as she is concerned she is a 'villain,' these chains in this hell are her just desserts, a fitting punishment for her 'betrayal' of everyone she had done all of this for...
And it's a good thing, that she can be viewed as a 'villain.'
There was one thing she could still do, and it would be easier for everyone involved if she could project that image of a 'villainess' for just a little bit longer...
"...So don't worry about me. It's not worth the effort."
Yes.
One thing she can still do.
"As long as it's in my body... I should be able to weaken it, even if only a little bit."
...It's better if the others don't remember. They're already starting to show signs, flashes, of 'old memories,' and if they remember too much there's no way that most of them would do what she felt needed to be done. For most of them, there was an inherent 'heroism' that she lacked and had always admired, and they would shoot for a 'happy ending' even if attaining it required them to do the impossible.
In other words, they'd have a problem with what she wanted to do.
If the Devourer was capable of being defeated, than it would only be when it was in her body, when she was holding it back due to that 'connection.'
"So take us both out at the same time. I'm sure there's something out there that can do it. I will weaken it as much as I can... That will be my contribution to the effort... And it should save Chronos as well since they've been seperated... Heck, I even have a daughter running around... I should do at least one thing as a Mom... Can't stay as this kid forever..."
She smiles.
...She does appreciate your efforts, however.
Hiding behind all of you had gotten you guys killed the first time around; while a part of her wants to scream to be saved, another part is alright with an outcome where 'everyone else survives' at the cost of 'herself.'
...That is fine.
It is time to repay that favor.
---You finally manage to stand, but the progress is still horrendously slow.
She closes her eyes.
It's easier to deny everyone if she can't see them, and...
Slowly...
The dream begins to break apart...
Because it's not yours, it turns out...
It's actually her own.
The 'place' where she had felt safest...
And where she now had to push you out, because...
All of her friends were stubborn.