them, he loved them.
Lacrimosa saw him first. She looked toward him from King's Column, and her eyes softened. Gloriae looked at him too, and then—slowly, almost hesitantly—the two strangers turned to face him.
Their eyes. I know their eyes. Brown eyes like his own, the woman's kind and round, the man's weary and haunted. Both pairs stared at him, piercing him.
The two walked toward him. Kyrie stood frozen, half of him wanting to disappear, the other half burning for answers. He held Agnus Dei's hand tight.
When the strangers reached him, their eyes turned soft and damp.
"Kyrie?" the woman whispered. Her voice shook, and a tear streamed down her cheek. "Kyrie, is that you?"
Kyrie! she called. Kyrie, the geese are flying outside, come see them. Kyrie, I wrote you a story, come hear. Kyrie, I love you.
He breathed heavily, staring at her through narrowed eyes. He turned to stare at the man, the tall man with the walrus moustache and the plate armor, a man who looked so weary, so haunted... and Kyrie saw him younger, happier.
Go on, Kyrie! Pull the line, you've got him. It's a trout, and a big one. You caught him, Kyrie. He saw the sunlight on the water, smelled frying fish, heard his brother laugh as they wrestled.
My... brother?
"Kyrie?" the man said. He stepped forward and held Kyrie's shoulder, examining him, his mouth opening, his eyes widening.
Yes, I had a brother once. And I had a sister. But they died. They died years ago, along with my parents, with my friends, with everyone I've ever known.
"Who are you?" he whispered.
The woman smiled—a warm, teary, loving smile. "It's Memoria, Kyrie. I've come to you again. Do you remember me?"
He shook his head, mouth hanging open, eyes still narrowed. "I... no. I'm sorry, but I don't."
"She's your sister," said the tall man. "And I'm Terra, your brother."
And suddenly they were embracing him, and crying over him, and saying so many words he did not understand. They spoke of a tunnel trapping them, and of seeking him in Lanburg Fields, and fleeing into an Ice City, and something about a sorceress and a giant, and a palace built all of ice, and mimic dragons.... Kyrie understood none of it.
"Don't you remember us, Kyrie?" Memoria asked, tears spiking her lashes. "Do you remember our home?" She touched his cheek. "You were so young. You were only six years old when we lost you. Do you remember?"
"I... I remember having a family. I remember my parents. I remember having many cousins, and friends, and older siblings. But... I've always only remembered blurry images, sounds, smells. I...."
Suddenly his knees felt weak, and he had to sit down on a column. Everything spun around him. Memoria and Terra kept holding him, and laughing, and crying over him. Lacrimosa laughed and cried with them, and Agnus Dei still held his hand, and Gloriae moved silently around them. They all blurred around him, becoming smudges of color and sound like his memories.
"I have a sister?" he whispered. "I have a brother?"
It was impossible! I'm the last Eleison. I've always been the last. Dies Irae murdered my family. He....
Terra.
Memoria.
He remembered those names. He remembered! They pounded through him. He remembered the mosaic floor, the balcony, the vineyard, the stream where Terra would take him fishing.
"I have a sister. I have a brother."
He shook and his eyes dampened. Terra patted him on the back and laughed again, that old laughter Kyrie still remembered, and Memoria hugged him, and he was confused, so confused, and he could barely tell memory from reality.
Memoria kissed his cheek, trembling, sobbing now. "I'm so sorry, Kyrie. I'm so sorry we left you. I'm so sorry you had to survive without us for so long. But we're back for you now. You'll never be alone again."
I have a sister. I have a brother.
He looked toward Agnus Dei. She looked into his eyes, her smile trembling.
"Is this real?" he whispered. "Am I dreaming?"
She laughed and mussed his hair. Her eyes sparkled. "It's real, pup. They look just like you."
Kyrie looked at them. Terra. Memoria. With the same sandy hair, the same brown eyes, survivors, fighters, siblings. He lowered his eyes.
"I'm sorry," he said. "I want to remember more. I... I didn't know your names until you told me. I didn't even remember your names. I thought you had died so long ago. I'm sorry that I never found you, that I never.... You know who I am. You have all these memories of me. I