Lost. Lost was a good word for how Halia felt lately. The battle in the sky against the world eating serpent had just been the turning point, it seemed. After that, everything felt like it started sliding, slipping, falling apart. Her lease had ended and she found that the building was being sold so she couldn’t renew, meaning she had to move. Moving meant leaving her current job, meant leaving the place where she learned to be more confident and where she first felt accepted. Leaving behind two people who she at one point would have given the world for and learning to stand on her own two feet without their protection. And then there was, of course, learning to fit in at a new job where she knew no one. Oh, and the discovery of having feelings for her friend. That was no big deal though. …right?

The halls of Aruna always were calm and welcoming, like open arms waiting to embrace a child after a long, arduous day and welcome them home. Halia felt herself spending more and more time there as of late, just simply existing there, be it in the library, in Aurelia’s chambers, or in the cavern below where the lake sat, surrounded by glowing moths and flowers. Simply sitting in comfort as she allowed herself to relax, soaking in the quiet support her planet seemed to give her. It was during one of these times that she had recovered a memory of Aurelia feeling much the same. In her mind’s eye, she watched as the former Aruna walked the halls, smiling to hide the exhaustion and the wear on her soul. She watched on as Aurelia entered a chamber to which only she was allowed, and watched as she meditated to clear her mind. The memory told her that whatever went on in that room, Aurelia always felt so much better afterwards, always so much lighter and less worn. Today, Halia wanted to give it a try for herself.

Relying on the memory in her mind, Aruna walked quietly through the empty halls of the Necropolis, only getting turned around once or twice before finally finding the large, intricately carved door. The pattern was a circular spiral of sorts that seemed to feed into itself, and the material seemed to be various types of stone somehow all put together. Pressing her hand against the cool stone material, she was surprised as the door opened with ease, almost seeming to open for her, to bid her enter. She hesitated for only a second before walking in, not letting herself be startled as the door gently swung shut behind her. Had this place… been waiting for her?

The room was nearly identical to how she had seen it in the memory, as if time had never touched it. Crystals glimmered around the room that was void of any furnishings save for what might have once been candles, and gently glowing plants grew here and there. Some, Aruna noted, she recognized from down below at the lake and at various other locations of the Necropolis. Others, she was surprised to see, were completely new to her, including various fern-like plants and a few fungi, some of each seeming to give off a glow, though it was somehow different than the rest in its hue.

Once she was done inspecting the room, Aruna moved to the center to sit, much like Aurelia had in the memory. Closing her eyes, she took a few slow, deep, steadying breaths and tried to center herself. Meditation had never been something she had tried before, but right now, she needed it. Needed whatever calm her planet could give her. The more she focused and continued with her deep breathing, it almost seemed to feel like little pinpricks on her skin. As if she had taken a bath in mint and it was tingling. After a while, however, something felt… off. As if she were being watched. Frowning, she opened her eyes, only to find the impossible staring right back at her. Before her was none other than Aurelia herself, smiling warmly at her.

So I see this place continues to aid. Tis good to see. Be welcome, child.

Aruna stared, mouth open slightly in awe. ”Au….relia?” Her voice came out as a whisper, and the woman laughed softly.

Tis who you see before you, no?

Aruna nodded, her back straightening just a bit more. ”I….I have so many questions, so many things I need to know-”

Aurelia lifted her hand to gently stop the flow of words, shaking her head with a kind smile. But those are not why you have ventured here, are they? Tell me, my brave little spark, why you have come? What answers did you seek upon entering this chamber?

Cheeks coloring, Aruna stared down at her lap, still sitting on her knees. ”I….don’t know what to do anymore. I feel so lost. Like nothing I do is quite right. Like even though I’ve become Eternal Aruna, I’m still just a child playing at being a superhero. I’m scared that I’ll let people down….and I’m scared I’ll be hurt as well.”

Aurelia’s smile turned sad and she nodded. Do all people not feel that way? Scared of failing, scared of being failed? Surely that is not unique to you? Tell me. What scares you most, child?

Aruna fell silent as she thought, trying to pinpoint exactly what of all of it scared her the most at the moment. ”I’m scared….that when the next Herald comes, that I won’t be of use. That I won’t be able to protect the people I care about.” Aurelia nodded as she spoke, listening patiently before responding.

And are you alone to face it? Is it on your shoulders alone to stop a calamity? To save a while planet and its people? Or are there not others who stand beside you, whom you fight along side? You do not need to be the strongest, child. You simply must endeavor to fight to the fullest that you and you alone are capable of. There is no need to compare your own strength to that of others.

Aruna nodded slowly, rolling it around in her mind. ”Do what I’m capable of and don’t shoulder unnecessary burdens of worry. Right…”

Precisely. What else clouds your mind that I might aid in?

Thinking a moment longer, Aruna sighed softly. ”My friend….he’s… I’ve got feelings for someone I’m friends with. And all of it is wrong. I shouldn’t feel this way about him. He’s younger, and he’s seeing someone, and I’m in a mentor role and…” She trailed off, shaking her head.

I see. So you are not allowed to feel? Why is that?

”Because it’s wrong….he’s younger, and he’s already seeing someone…”

And that is enough to tell you that your feelings are not allowed to exist at all? Little starlight, why in all of the stars should your feelings not have a right to exist, just as you yourself have a right to exist? Is it not more what you do about these feelings that matters than simply their existence?

Aruna frowned and looked up at her. ”It’s…..okay? I’m……allowed to be in love with him even so?”

Aurelia did not confirm or deny, however, simply gazing at her with a kind smile. You tell me

”I…..I am allowed to have my feelings. My feelings don’t need permission to exist.”

Her words earned a smile from Aurelia. Good. You should keep that confidence in all that you do. Have faith in your own decisions. You are a good senshi, Halia, and a good person. You try so valiantly to be strong, and you succeed, my sweet girl.

Something about the words, be it the tone or the cadence, made Aruna frown. And then her own name left the woman’s lips. ”You….you’re not really Aurelia, are you? You’re….just what I hoped she would be like.”

The image before her shimmered and shifted, and before her no longer stood Aurelia, but somehow herself in all her Eternal glory, with shimmering, glowing markings on her skin. The other Aruna smiled at her. I am the voice you have deep inside you given form. You already had these answers within you, Hals. You already knew all of this. You just needed to remind yourself.

Aruna stared at the Other Her, mouth slightly open in surprise. ”But…”

No buts. You are so much stronger than you allow yourself to believe, and you know it. You can move the land itself. You’ve brokered an alliance with a General King, you faced the end of the world and survived, you are so much more than you allow yourself to think. Be brave and bold, remember? Stop holding yourself back, Hals. Embrace what’s within you, and embrace the strength of Aruna in its entirety.

Nodding, Aruna stood to look herself in the eye. ”Embrace the strength within me and within Aruna….” Taking a deep breath, she nodded and smiled at the visage before her. ”I can do that. I trust myself, and I trust my planet that gives me my strength.”

The Visage grinned, then. Good girl. You’ll do alright. Stepping forward, the Visage embraced Aruna in an almost ghostly hug as it dissipated, leaving Aruna alone in the room once again. Or perhaps, she thought, she had been alone all along.

The tingling feeling returned to the forefront of her mind, and Aruna looked down at her arms, gasping softly in surprise. Trailing up her arms in delicate, swirling filigree patterns, were gently glowing markings. Transcendence. A small, soft smile curved her lips and she traced over a mark with her fingers. She could do this, and she knew that as she was, she was enough. Her powers were enough, her feelings were enough. Halia herself was, finally, enough to herself. And to the rest of the world? They would just have to find her to be enough as well.