Seth’s CQ 1: Elder Brother, Younger Brother, And...

Seth apparently starts narrating about Seth Original, saying he was so beautiful he’d fall in love with him. He looked brilliant as a warrior with the war paint around his outer eye, the envy of everyone. And Ash himself reached out without thinking about it, wanting to reach him, wanting to be him. It was that time when it happened.

 

A voice calls out, saying “you know nothing.” A detestable voice, cold, indifferent, and ridiculing. It sets Seth on edge, but he doesn’t know where it comes from. What he does know is that this is the voice of someone he knows. The voice speaks again, saying that at the foot of someone that shines is someone who falls to the shadows.

 

The voice fades away with the light, and darkness rises. Eventually a single form rises from that darkness, staring straight at Seth. A shadow of someone that should be light. It’s the one he loves and respects most, the person most important to him in the world. He speaks, “do not avert your eyes. This is your—“

 

Seth argues back in denial, saying his brother is his...something cut off as he wakes up gasping for breath. After a moment he asks what it was he just saw and yells in frustration. Narration says it’s a recurring dream, a dark image that becomes clear in the daylight. If there’s anyone Seth could talk to about it, he can only think of one person. He has a contact number, so maybe he could call it and come up with a countermeasure.

 

Seth thinks aloud to himself that he feels that the great master Seth, the Unruly King of the Desert, doesn’t seem like the sort of person to rely on others. He also gets embarrassed as he admits he’s not good at actually initiating a conversation with other people. But if it were that guy (re: Gouryou), he could just casually invite him over. Seth then figures it’s fine to go talk to him a little bit at least.

 

Seth continues mumbling to himself as he pops open the App to send a text. Scene then shifts over to Shinjuku Academy where it’s just another day at a time between the end of classes and the official end of the school day. Your phone vibrates as you get a message, which turns out to be from Seth.

 

Seth’s text asks how you’re doing as he says he’s doing alright. He then writes about how that wasn’t what he wanted to talk about but gets tongue tied over text for a bit before inviting you to hang out as he has no plans for the day. He’s already making his way over, and if you could meet with him today that’d be great. He has something he wants to talk about, preferably alone.

 

So with that faintly confused text, you think over your plans for the day before sending Seth a response text. You can either say you’ll hear out any request he’s got, call him little brother and say he can come whenever he wants, or tease him and ask if this is a date.

 

Going C, Seth responds back and is embarrassed at the idea as he says it’s nothing so bold. He admits it does sound like one now that you’ve mentioned it, but if that’s what you want then he’s okay with calling it a date. He asks if it’s fine to meet up at the train station closest to you, Shinjuku Station. Anyways he’ll be going now, so he’ll see you there.

 

You take a moment to think back to your meeting with Seth. Narration says a mysterious fate guided you, and the two of you became friends who helped one another in a journey through an endless desert. The path of that little brother who proclaimed himself to be the elder brother pops up clearly in your mind. This memory hangs in your head as you make way to the station.

 

Scene shifts over to the station where things look the same as always...up until you notice Christine in her Scheherazade outfit. You either comment on how she stands out, greet her and comment on your reunion, or say you wanted to see her again.

 

Going B, Christine greets you back and says it looks there’s a connection again. She clarifies that it’s not you specifically, but someone else who’s lost their way. She smiles in her mysterious ways, speaking in a way like a bird chirping.

 

Anyways, Christine asks if you know how to cope when you lose your way. You answer that you calm down and not make any rash movements, then go back to a place with landmarks you recognize. This is a lesson a certain senpai taught you. Christine refers to it as a lesson you picked up in the mountains and says it’s a good judgment.

 

Christine talks about how disasters can happen anywhere even besides mountains. You only need to take one step down a side path in a place you know well to lose sight of where you should be going. Should that happen you’d best not panic and act carefully, right?

 

Christine nods as if discovering something, then continues talking. If you don’t know what’s causing you to lose your way, then there will be times where you’ll repeat your mistakes. A mistaken map can’t lead you to where you’re going, but she says maybe it’s more correct to say that something can’t be kept locked up in the heart. And on that strange note Christine decides to excuse herself, praying for your successful efforts.

 

After Christine goes, you comment on how mysterious she is. That also reminds you of Seth as you wonder how he’s doing and if he’s lost before you notice something. Your phone rings, and it turns out Seth is texting to ask where the exit to the station is. Narration talks about how Shinjuku Station has different routes depending on whether you’re taking an above ground train or an underground train. You realize you guys never mentioned which entrance you’d agree to meet at, then apologize with some shame or laugh it off.

 

The two of you have a rapid text conversation, and Seth complains about there being a north and a new south entrance and not just an east and west. He thought he was on an above ground line but ended up in an underground station, then ended up on some other platform after passing through the ticket gates. Seth then asks if Shinjuku is some sort of labyrinth and says he might be stuck forever at this rate.

 

You text back saying it’ll be okay and ask him to stay where he is or wait by some sort of landmark. Once that’s sent you run off to the underground levels. On your way though, you pick up on a strange feeling that something happened, but everything around seems to be business as usual. You decide to keep on going, then see someone standing around looking helpless.

 

Seth is initially happy to see you and starts calling you brother before stopping himself as he calls you by name and acts all mad about how late you are. You can either respond by calling him by name and being glad he’s alright, call him little brother and say you came to get him, or call him bro and say you were worried.

 

Going C, Seth coughs and tries to save face by saying it was helpful that you came for him. He also mentions underestimating how hard to understand the station would be and compares it to an underground maze. Seth then talks about how crazy Tokyo is to have a place like this underneath where everyone lives, then watches all the people walking by as he does so.

 

Seth starts talking about how there’s this one gigantic snake back in Aaru. Since he brings up his homeworld you decide to ask him what it was like and start with asking if it’s hot. He takes a moment to think and says it’s a bit like that desert world you guys journeyed through. It’s a vast desert with countless oases, and in the center of the land is a great flowing river. Every year, it starts overflowing during the rainy season. Once that passes, the farmlands plant their crops.

 

You either comment on how calm the place sounds and/or ask if Seth did farm work too. Seth says that his/Seth’s job was different because he’s Aaru’s best warrior. It’s his role to fight off foreign enemies and protect the peace of the land. Honorable work, that. Demons (or Shadows I suppose) appear in his world, especially at night. It’s ‘Seth’s’ Role to protect people from them.

 

You either smile and nod or listen closely as Seth talks. Either way, Seth stops as he decides to change the subject and attempt to ask you about something else. Specifically, he asks if you remember anything about Seth Original. You tell him you don’t know since you aren’t him, and you can shake your head as well.

 

Seth apologizes for the odd question and says that’s not what he really wants to know anyways. He talks about wanting to live as his ideal Seth, just as he swore he would in the desert he traversed with you all. Every day he trained and thought a lot about things he’d try at jobs or being a gangster in order to be Seth. He admits that sometimes he wonders about whether things are okay as is. Can he really become like Seth?

 

Seth mentions that when he looks at you, sometimes it surprises him how much he sees Seth Original in you. Normally you two are completely different, but sometimes a gesture you make or the way you speak is so much like him. He knows logically that you two are different, then apologizes for getting flustered. You can either tell him that you believe what’s important is making an effort, that you like Seth as he is now, or tell him to not push himself too hard.

 

Going C, Seth agrees after a moment and says that’s all that can be done. He shrugs and says he may help it if he worries, and all he can do is be the best he can be before something catches his attention.

 

A voice speaks out from nowhere, calling Seth shallow and foolish. It resembles no one you know, yet it feels like a voice you’ve heard before. The voice continues, telling Seth to look away from the truth and to know the weakness of his heart as the same ruling of the underworld returns.

 

Seth demands to know who’s speaking and where they are. The voice tells Seth to remember what form his brother’s shadow took. It says it was supposed to be the form of an ominous terrifying dragonic serpent. It is Uroboros the Regenerating Snake that can’t escape, the true form of the demon who is embroiled in the eternal war with the hero Seth. The voice also says that the hero of Aaru carries one other hidden Role.

 

You try to ask about the voice, and the moment the voice stops speaking the surrounding area changes. Seth is shocked that the area has suddenly changed and surrounded you two. There is no presence of anyone else around in the stone maze you find yourselves in.

 

Seth demands to know what’s going on and seems to recognize the voice from before. You talk about how it mentioned Seth having a true form and having another Role. Seth doesn’t say anything at first, but he thinks aloud about Aaru’s regenerating serpent Apophis.

 

The voice answers back as it calls Seth the executioner of criminals and the one who stands in the way before naming itself Apophis. Seth denies that Seth Original was anyone like that, and you try to calm Seth down to ask for an explanation of what they’re talking about and who Apophis is.

 

Seth apologizes as he says you don’t know anything. It’ll probably take a while but he offers to tell you about his homeland some more. He hesitates as he does so but slowly starts to face you as he speaks.

 

Set explains that in Aaru, they have a certain belief. That is, eternal rest exists after death. When the sun sets, it can even resurrect itself from death to rise again the next day. Death is how an eternal world can be realized, and Aaru is a world where its underworld’s System constantly regenerates. Seth is described as holding back some of his emotions as he thinks back and talks about this.

 

Seth adds that there was a certain restriction added to this arrangement. The dead are judged, and only those whose worth are recognized may be resurrected. You ask what happens to the other people, so Seth talks about how Aaru has two great rivers. The first is the River of the Living which supports life. That one is above ground and flows for the benefit of the people.

 

Before Seth can talk about the other one, he is cut off by the sounds of a large amount of rushing water. He recognizes what it is and suddenly runs off, and you chase after him. You guys find a large volume of water appearing before you two, and Seth asks in surprise why the River of the Dead is beneath Tokyo. While Seth calls it a river, it looks more like a lake or an ocean to you. It is dim and cold, giving off only silence and chills.

 

Seth calls to his brother as he casts his NP. The parching desert wind barely manages to pin down the waters and protect you two. Seth pants as he asks if you’re okay, and you ask if this is the other river he was talking about. You can’t help but mention it looks more like an ocean to you though.

 

Seth says he’s sure because his artifact tells him so. He explains that the River of the Dead exists to wash the ones whose lives have ended to the room of judgment. Not everyone is included in this cycle however. Those who stray from the laws of the world and barred from resurrection are eaten by Apophis down there.

 

Seth explains that his brother was once famous in their world for being the one hero who could fight equally against Apophis. There was a subset of people who were jealous of this though, so they slandered his reputation. Seth says he didn’t believe it himself, and you ask if Seth Original ever said anything about those rumors.

 

Seth says he thinks his brother avoided talking about it to him. He tries to insist something about himself when a dark serpent shadow appears before you guys. Its silhouette and dress is evocative of something from Seth’s dreams. Seth says he wants to deny it, then demands to know why it smells like his brother.

 

You call out to Seth and tell him to get away or tell him to not space out. You run in and block the Shadow’s attack, and its movements and abilities remind you of the Shadow Seth you met back in the desert. Seth starts talking about the tyrant who would mercilessly slay all that refuse to obey the rulers. He is the hunter of those who rebel against Aaru, the assassin of change. Seth connects the dots of what he’s seeing, even as he wants to deny it. The Shadow names Apophis confirms it and says that Seth is both the Slayer of Apophis as well as Apophis himself.

 

Apophis continues and asks what Seth would say to his question from earlier, prompting him to answer as he calls him an imposter. Seth is flustered by this response, deeply impacted that the rumors he always thought baseless are being held as true. Apophis talks about how the one who protects regeneration and the one who causes the untimeliness of death are the Same Person. That is how Aaru’s faith is ruled and the cornerstone of its System. The Evil Dragonic Serpent that Seth’s brother fought? A charade of an enemy he made up himself.

 

Apophis says that the ideal Seth adored was much the same from the beginning as well. There is darkness in the answer he sought, and there is evil in the Role he desired. Apophis prompts Seth to accept that his brother had this side and role to him. His voice is described as not being the voice of someone with a personality, but only having the emotion of one delivering a proclamation.

 

Seth is shaken as he tries to deny it, falling to his knees in doubt. His thoughts overwhelm him, and you remember what Christine was talking about earlier and wonder if this is what she was referring to when she said people may repeat their mistakes if they don’t know why they are lost.

 

Seth sits still in his stupor, and you decide to focus on getting him to move again. You try to figure out how to do that when you get an idea and tell Seth to look at you. You can either slap him, hug him, or kiss him on the cheek.

 

Going C, Seth doesn’t immediately get what’s happening until he freaks out upon you kissing him. He flails around trying to ask what you’re doing. When you step back, he tries to get his bearings again when he noticed you looking at him. You tell him that the Seth you saw back in the desert was real, and so is the Seth he believed in. There’s no need for them to all be the same.

 

Seth regains the light in his eyes as if finding the exit of a long and winding path he was lost in. He gets up as he thinks aloud about the idea that he doesn’t need to be the same as his brother. Now that he’s calmed down, he faces the Shadow. Seth admits that what Apophis said may be true, but he then asks why Seth disappeared from Aaru if so. If he’s an accomplice of the world, why did he have to be driven out?

 

Apophis doesn’t answer, and Seth says there are still things he doesn’t know. Those are things he’ll have to see and think about for himself. The answer may not be there, but Seth at least knows that this isn’t the end for him. He says he’ll continue to think some more after this, on and on until he finds the real answer. Seth proclaims he’ll be the Seth he admired, and he aim for that and continue to be lost about it. He then gets ready and tells the Shadow to bring it as the episode battle starts. More comes after.

 

After the battle, Apophis dissolves after taking one last hit. He asks if denial and rejection is Seth’s answer, then says that path is not ‘Seth.’ He’ll know one day, and narration says this sounds like a curse Apophis is making while being the only thing he can say now. Seth however accepts this and shakes his head.

 

Seth says that even if that’s true, his brother was light to him. He also denies Apophis as being Seth and demands that he leave Seth’s life. Seth waves his staff, clearing away the memory coating covering the world. The next moment, you two are back in the familiar sights of Shinjuku Station.

 

Seth comments on you guys returning and is glad it didn’t turn into a bigger thing. He apologizes for getting you caught up in some trouble and is sure it’s his fault it happened. He might have been the one who called up that Shadow in his egotistic imagining of his brother, though he’s not sure. And as he looks around the area, he remembers his old home.

 

Seth says he was supposed to have understood back in that desert, that he can’t become his brother. Yet somewhere in his ears he still chases after his shadow. Seth admits that he doesn’t know everything about his brother, and that anxiety about it may be the thing that made that Shadow appear.

 

Seth gets annoyed as he says he acted like a spoiled kid and says it looked dumb. He is Seth, but he is also Not Seth, which is some resolve he needed. Even if Apophis was Seth, that isn’t the Seth he should strive to be. He says he wants to be the Set (re: self) he wants to be, not the Set (re: role) he was given.

 

You say Seth will be alright if he can say that, say he’s great, or comment it seems like he’s blown his worries away. Seth says he doesn’t feel like he’s understood enough for you to say that though, and either way he doesn’t have a concrete plan thought up yet. He sighs as he wonders how he should be the best Seth he can be.

 

You suggest that you figure that out together with him. Seth is surprised, but laughs after a bit as he agrees and thanks you. Seth then asks what you’ll do now since he’s done with the thing he wanted to talk to you about. You can either suggest going in a date, imitate Gouryou and suggest hitting on people, or suggest going to play somewhere to clear your heads.

 

Going A, Seth is taken aback by the idea but blushes as he agrees to it. If he’s changing himself to a new person he’ll need to be open to at least that much. He then puts the act back on as he puts some enthusiasm into the idea, and his eyes shine with trust and deep affection.

 

In any case Seth says it looks like things will be going on for a while, so he hopes you guys can get along. The two of you walk off into town, carrying both the day’s happiness and hope from tomorrow. End of Seth CQ 1.