He'd stumbled away from the clearing, every inch of it etched into his eyelids for the rest of his life.

He hadn't killed Gawain and his old commander had let him go, for some reason. Perhaps he'd seen the look in Zelgius' eyes when he'd felt Micaiah's wrist and found nothing. Perhaps he'd remembered another day, another woman who had smiled as she saved the man she loved.

He couldn't care less about Gawain.

Micaiah was in his arms, so light and fragile, and this was the first time that he was completely aware of how delicate her body truly was, how easily it could be to harm her. Only of course, nothing could hurt her now.

As he rushed through the woods, away from that clearing where Micaiah had performed Sacrifice, his only thought was to run away from what had happened.

Micaiah. Micaiah. Micaiah.

Her name beat steadily in his ears, as Zelgius realized that his cheeks were wet.

Micaiah.

Her body, so still, was starting to grow colder.

He might be going mad.

Zelgius screamed.

"Kill me."

A pause.

"Please."

The next time they had met, Zelgius had made just one request to his one-time teacher. It was strange, that even in the midst of his grief, he was still incapable of suicide.

He had laid Micaiah's body in an old abandoned chapel, where he hoped the animals wouldn't get to her body. It had seemed appropriate to place her in the sanctuary of the Goddess, where Ashera could watch over her.

"Don't be a fool, boy. Your death won't do anything for her."

"I have nothing left to live for," Zelgius whispered dryly. All his tears had left, and the only thing he could think of was being with Micaiah – seeing her again, even if the only place they could meet was death.

"Nothing?" Gawain's face first registered surprise, then something that Zelgius refused to acknowledge as pity. But it was true. He had no children, no subordinates to watch out for, no goal… there was nothing left. Nothing at all.

He'd destroyed the only person he truly cared for, after all.

And yet, even as Zelgius and Gawain fought for the last time, he couldn't find it in himself to truly regret Micaiah's use of Sacrifice in bringing his teacher's full power back.

It appeared that Zelgius wasn't capable of throwing a fight, either.

"Some country bumpkin wants to be the commander in our forces?" The ever-so-lovely Senator Valtome laughed derisively.

"He has Sephiran's approval, I believe," Sigrun, commander of Empress Sanaki's holy guard, voiced softly. Zelgius pictured fighting her in his mind; it was only rarely that he encountered a pegasus knight, and he was interested in how her abilities would differ from that of a dracoknight.

"And what would Sephiran know of warfare?"

"He has already proved his strength in combat –" Sigrun injected.

"Having the capacity to outfight brainless soldiers hardly proves that he is fit for command, Sigrun!" Valtome sniffed rudely.

"He has also proved himself as an able commander, if you had bothered to read the full report, Senator," Tanith, second-in-command of the holy guard, contested.

"Enough."

All the other babble in the room was silenced. Zelgius listened intently, certain that the Empress Sanaki was speaking. She seemed to be the only authority that could make the sycophantic babble of the senators stop.

"I trust Sephiran's judgment. We will put Zelgius on a trial basis to determine if he is capable of assuming the position of commander over Begnion's armies."

Some mutters of dissent ensued.

Sanaki continued serenely. "I realize that this is sudden; however, the recent… death of the last general has led me to believe that a person with knowledge of how the military works will be more suitable for the position."

Zelgius did seem to recall something about how the last general had been a courtier, a fop with nothing but a title who had led his men to their deaths…

As the herald ushered him in to pledge his loyalty to Sanaki, Zelgius felt only apathy while observing the virulent looks of the senators and the doubtful ones of the holy guards. After the usual knighting process, he was told to stand.

He did as commanded, only to find himself looking down into eyes the exact coloring and shape as Micaiah's.

Being Sephiran's puppet was not a horrible experience, at all.

After all, they were working towards the same goal.

Sephiran wanted to destroy the world of beorc and laguz for ignoring the goddess and warring whenever possible while Zelgius had no objection whatsoever to being destroyed.

Besides, being Begnion's highest-ranked general did have its perks. There had been an inordinate number of fighters who had started challenging him when word of his quick ascension had become known. Though none of them had been able to so much as scratch him, Zelgius was sure that someone strong enough would come.

Soon.

If Sephiran succeeded in embroiling Tellius in war, then there would be even more powerful enemies to fight. The laguz, especially, made Zelgius anticipate a great opponent, perhaps even one of their kings.

It was already working, with a so-called Maiden of Dawn in Daein fighting against the corrupt soldiers he had sent to subjugate the conquered nation and Sephiran's machinations causing unrest in the recently liberated Crimea.

Ike had won against Ashnard, naturally. He had fought and defeated, one by one, all of the Mad King's generals and even the dragons that had fought for Ashnard. Zelgius had watched Gawain's son grow stronger, though he could tell that the boy still wasn't strong enough to fight him equally.

It would be a pity to deprive him of his life when he still had so much potential.

It was only when he was not occupied with other tasks that he allowed himself to mourn for Micaiah. That, and when he saw the gold of Sanaki's eyes, or the clerics with their light magic, or the trust in his soldiers' eyes –

Soon, he promised himself, soon he'd see her again.

He felt like laughing.

All this time, all that had happened, and everything had come full circle again.

He faced Ike in the Tower of Guidance.

"No draw. No escape. One wins. One loses. We shall end this. One of us will live… and one of us will die."

And if there was such a thing as justice, it would be him.

"I'm ready. Good-bye, General Zelgius."

He had fought Gawain and lost Micaiah; now he would fight Gawain's son and be with her again.

Ike moved in towards him, eyes intent but no hatred burning in them. Ragnell flashed, and in the fraction of a second before the sword buried itself in his side, Zelgius knew that he couldn't avoid it.

He'd never suffered a wound so horrible and so obviously fatal, never felt this weakness in his arm as he let Alondite clatter to the ground by his side.

Zelgius smiled.

"Thank you…" For sending him to the one he loved.

He could see Micaiah's face again… but why was she crying?

"…caiah, don't cry…"

A/N: I kept getting these Romeo and Juliet vibes while writing this. Personally, I'd have preferred to leave it at the end of the last chapter and I really don't think this was as well written, but... blame the reviewers who kept asking for an epilogue. *scowl*

So, yeah. This is it. Whether or not he's revived, a la Shinon in Path of Radiance, feel free to imagine the "real ending" for yourself.