RotMG Sequel: Chapter X
Warning: This story contains adult content.
Oh…how long have I been fighting?
Did I just fall unconscious? When will this battle be over?
When Milam opened up his eyes, he found himself lying down at a corner of the room with Claire standing beside him. He groaned and felt a pain in his chest, which he recalled was the place where Geb had struck him with his lightning spell.
What am I here for? Why am I fighting the Ancients again…?
Milam rubbed his eyes, and then he slowly began to lift himself to his feet again. He saw Bes standing at the center of the room, covered in arrows and dagger marks and burns from fire spells; the Tomb God appeared to be doing nothing but pulsating with energy.
To end their reign of terror…
"Ugh."
Claire turned around with a look of surprise upon her face. "I see you're awake," the Huntress whispered. "You're a tough one, you know that?"
The cleric shrugged. "I can't believe that I survived, either. How is the battle going?"
Claire pointed towards Bes. "We're orchestrating a last desperation attack upon him," she answered. "Just watch what happens — you can help as well if you see that it's necessary. As for Geb, we've got him paralyzed in a corner with one of McFarvo's arrows."
Sounds like it's going surprisingly well.
"Is it going to work?" Milam asked.
"I wouldn't know," Claire responded. "It's about to start. Get ready!"
Bes cried out in pain as an unseen dagger pierced him in the side; the Golem swung around at his opponent, but his fist cut through thin air. Bes suddenly bent his head towards the ground, and BMJ materialized to reveal that he had climbed right upon the God's neck — a bit too soon, unfortunately. With a terrifying roar, the golem grabbed BMJ off his body and prepared to smash the Rogue's face with a punch.
"BMJ!"
Milam stepped forward and immediately blasted Bes' arm with a bolt of lightning from his wand, causing the God to reel back in pain and throwing BMJ into a wall. McFarvo came running towards Bes and shot a wave of arrows at him. In response, the golem raised its fists up into the air and unleashed a barrage of fiery crescent-shaped blades towards the archer, but McFarvo was able to evade them easily by simply dropping himself to the floor. Then, at ground level, the archer took out one of the massive six-feet long arrows from his Golden Quiver, and he shot it at Bes' knee.
The golem cried out in pain as paralysis took over his body, leaving him vulnerable to an attack from behind for just a few seconds. "Claire, now!" McFarvo yelled.
Without hesitation, the Huntress stepped forward and threw out a stream of fire from her Aether Stone towards the Tomb God. Milam saw — to his surprise — that the fire did not actually hit Bes directly, but rather entered straight into the God's body.
"I call this the Implosion," Claire said.
There came a gargantuan blast of energy as Bes's body exploded from the inside, and the God was incinerated by a stream of blinding white fire. Milam had to shield his eyes as the yellow golem disintegrated, and when the light disappeared he saw that only ashes remained of Bes. The second Tomb God was finally dead.
"YES!" Came Claire's voice as she jumped up and shouted with joy. Now the only one left for them to deal with was Geb. Meanwhile, McFarvo ran towards BMJ and gave the Rogue a few Ichors so that he could recover from his wounds. Milam turned towards Geb, who stood at the opposite corner of the room, and was surprised by what he saw.
The last Tomb God was furious, no doubt, but the look upon Geb's face was surprisingly tranquil, and he almost appeared calm.
"You will pay for your crimes," the wizard whispered in a hostile tone. "Nut and Bes may be dead, but I shall still persevere." To the party's surprise, Geb threw his staff to the floor, and it transformed into ashes. "I am the leader of the Tomb Gods. I shall not be defeated."
Yet Geb did not seem angry at all, and a second later, he sat down upon the ground in a meditative position with his hand placed in front of his chest. The last God closed his eyes, and then all became silent.
What is he doing!?
Although he should've been worried, Milam felt surprisingly calm as well. There was none of the tension in the room that he had sensed when Nut or Bes were casting their spells, nor did he get the feeling that something bad was going to happen. Usually the cleric thought that he could feel the presence of powerful magics by sensing a heavy pressure in the air, but the room could not have been more serene at the moment.
That's a rather unusual statement, Milam thought as he observed just how battered the room looked. The floor was covered in ash, and debris lined the walls in huge burning chunks.
"Geb! Stand up and fight us!" McFarvo yelled at the Tomb God, and he raised his bow up into the air. "Do you have a death wish or something?"
There came no response from the Tomb God. In fact, he almost looked like he was asleep — for Geb was as still as a statue in his meditative position with his eyes closed.
The archer put down his bow and crossed his arms. "You'd let your comrades Nut and Bes go to their deaths, and then just sit down and admit defeat like that!?" McFarvo took a step forward.
"Wait!" Claire yelled as she sprung after the Archer. "This could be a trick. You don't know what he might be plotting!"
McFarvo notched an arrow to his bow. "Don't worry," he responded. "Geb can't attack me when he's sitting like that. I'll go finish him off."
The archer turned around and looked at the others one at a time. First at Claire, who had a worried look upon her face; BMJ with his solemn expression, and Milam, who remained stoic and determined. He notched an arrow to his bow and then pointed it at Geb.
"This will end the reign of the Ancients," McFarvo whispered. "It's been a long and tough battle, but I'm glad that it's now finally over."
The battle hasn't exactly ended yet, Milam thought. Geb is still alive, and he's sitting there…
"And good riddance, too!" BMJ added, raising his dagger up into the air. "Deceit, torture, and human enslavement — how much worse can these monsters get?"
The archer took a shaky step forward, and then he began his charge. McFarvo leaped at Geb and unleashed a flurry of arrows from his bow, including one out of his Golden Quiver. "But the human beings of this Realm will never be enslaved!"
So, this is it, then? This is how the Ancients will resign themselves?
McFarvo…You didn't have to-
At that instant, an amalgamation of spells completely exploded out of Geb's body, as if he was a bomb that had just been set off by its fuse. McFarvo didn't even have time to register what he was seeing before he became annihilated by the overwhelming cluster of magic. Out flew streams of dark lightning; arrows that were forged of flames; a heap of exploding crimson bombs; rainbow-coloured crescents of energy; and massive diamond-shaped artifacts that shot out a helix of black bolts. Milam watched in horror as the archer was literally vapourized, and the arrows that he had fired — those that flew through Geb's explosion of magic — fell to the floor upon striking the barrier that appeared around the wizard.
Everyone was completely stunned.
And now the room was even more silent than before; for as soon as Geb's spells disappeared all the tension in the air cleared, and the only thing that became different of the room was one less person. Nothing remained of the archer; he had taken Geb's spells full in their destruction and now McFarvo was gone, bodiless, scattered to the void.
The Cleric could only slowly shift his eyes around to see the reactions of the others, which were just as perplexed as his. Claire's mouth was hanging open, while BMJ simply looked mortified.
This…can't be…
Milam began shaking. He felt himself losing control over his body as his arms and legs began to writhe about, heedless of his mind's command to get a grip upon himself. The cleric could not stop shuddering.
McFarvo…
He felt himself unconsciously reaching for the wand which lay by his side. Then he felt the gazes of his two companions upon him; BMJ and Claire, who were now looking up to Milam as if they somehow expected an answer out of him.
I…will…not..
And he noticed that the looks upon their faces were no longer that of astonishment, but had instead been replaced with rage and disgust, and he knew then, what had to be done.
I won't let your death be in vain…
Milam raised his wand up into the air. "I'll avenge you, McFarvo!" He yelled out loud, before casting all five of his barriers around himself: the blue of protection, the red of resistance, the green of magical deflection, the yellow of speed, and the purple of regeneration. You're not the only one with barriers, Geb!
There suddenly came a deep laugh from out of nowhere, and the room seemed to vibrate with its echo. The voice was familiar, and Milam instantly recognized it as belonging to Geb. Only now the Tomb God still had his mouth closed, and he was actually speaking to them through their minds. The room seemed to reverberate with Geb's ominous presence.
"Yet again you have underestimated my power," the Tomb God spoke. "Little mortals, do not think so mighty of yourself. For I am an Ancient, and the power within this Tomb still belongs to me. I shall crush each and every one of you!"
"No!" Milam cried, and he saw Claire and BMJ rally to his side, both running under cover of his barriers. "You will not win. You will never be able to prevail against us, no matter how powerful you are."
The Cleric held his wand up as high as possible. "This is our march to end the Ancients. Come on!"
Milam turned around and saw both Claire and BMJ nod to him.
"These barriers will not fall. Upon my life, I will withstand all that your throw at me!"
And then the three of them began their charge towards the Tomb God. As soon as they came within radius of Geb's spells, Milam suddenly felt as if they had walked right into the middle of a massive thunderstorm. Just as before, there came an explosion of magic from Geb's body, and the God's spells struck against his barriers with a force that the cleric could never have imagined. It was as if all the elemental forces of nature — the very fabric of reality itself and the energies that reigned over the universe — were against him, and Milam's strength began to drain faster than ever. Claire did not even need to ask before she threw her bag of Mana Pots at him; the strain upon the cleric's face spoke for itself. Even BMJ reached into his bag, and — aside from taking out another dagger — threw a dozen Mana Pots at Milam.
They marched and ran until they came face-to-face with Geb.
Now Milam's barriers were taking all of Geb's spells full-on, as McFarvo had done, and the cleric could only gulp down Mana Pots as if they were the very juice of life to maintain his strength. Meanwhile, BMJ began stabbing at Geb with his two Agateclaw daggers, though his attacks were repelled by the Tomb God's barriers. Yet still the Rogue persisted, and he continued slashing Geb's shield in his ultimate attempt to break it down. Claire helped as well by blasting the God with spells from her Aether Stone. Of particular aid to them was the magical field of speed, or Anti-Stasis (as Liwen had called it), a barrier that Milam had never used before, for now Claire and BMJ's attacks were doubled in their agility.
It was a battle to see whose barrier would break down first.
Over and over again Claire blasted Geb's barrier with spells of fire from her Aether stone, until the Huntress was so tired out that she simply collapsed upon her knees. BMJ continued to stab at Geb's shields, slowly whittling it down bit by bit until his dagger just seemed to touch the edge of the God's body. Yet, after a while, it was obvious whose barrier was depleting faster — it was Milam's. Even with Claire and BMJ helping him, their total damage output simply could not match the sheer destructive force of Geb's magics, which contained power far beyond their knowing. It took only a minute before Milam completely ran out of Mana Pots to drink, and he was heaving and gasping as if he had just run a marathon. The others looked at the Cleric hopelessly as they began to realize the direness of their situation.
If Milam let even one of his barriers down, a calamity would befall them.
With one final burst of energy, Claire summoned up a massive fireball from her Aether Stone and launched it at Geb. At the same time, BMJ threw his own body forward and smashed his two Agateclaw daggers into the God's shield. The two of them were now so terribly worn out that they could hardly stand upon their feet; Claire and BMJ sank to the floor. But worst of all was Milam, for the strain of maintaining the barriers around the group used up so much of his energy that he began to feel the very life being drained out of his body. His face had now become pale, and tears were welling up in his eyes; the cleric nearly began clutching at his throat as he realized that he hardly even had the strength to breathe or exhale anymore . Yet still Milam kept his wand up in the air, holding it there so that his shields could remain, even if doing so would cost him his very life. It was the only thing that he could do to protect his friends.
My…life? Am I going to die here?
The smoke from Claire's fireball began to clear. What appeared behind its fiery veil would reveal the fate of their struggle against the last of the Tomb Gods.
If I die…no, but I promised Liwen…
I promised Kirie and Liwen…that I would return soon…
Milam's eyes flashed wide open in horror as he saw that Geb still remained standing, and the barrier was still up around the God. At that very moment, for just a split second, the shock of seeing their failure made the cleric lose his concentration — and that was all the time that the Tomb God needed to finish them off. There came such a massive blast of magic that both Claire and BMJ were hurtled several feet through the air, and they smashed into walls; Milam shrieked as a dozen streams of dark lightning coursed through his body. It was the end. It was the moment of Geb's inevitable victory, and they would all die.
NO!
Yet the Cleric still remained standing.
As tears streamed down his face, Milam suddenly grabbed at something that he had kept inside his pocket for a very long time — it was a familiar vial of magic, and inside pulsed a memory, a promise that forced him to continue fighting despite the hopelessness of his situation. The cleric reached into his pocket and threw out Liwen's vial of magic at Geb, and the bottle smashed into pieces upon the God's barrier.
It was my signal. This bottle could send a flare high enough up into the sky that Liwen would be able to see…
Out came a gargantuan explosion of magic, and pillars of rainbow-coloured fire smashed into Geb's barrier with such force that the God's shield instantly disintegrated. At that moment, Geb's eyes flashed open, and then Milam saw — for the first time — the figure that was Artemn within the God's body, and not the Ancient that currently stood before him. Artem was Geb's weak side, the part of him that still remained human despite his transformation into a God, and Milam could see this weakness in Geb's eyes. Fear seemed to suddenly pour into the expression upon the God's face, but before he could defend himself -
Milam raised his wand up to Geb's forehead, and blasted the God with a spell at point blank range. All the cleric saw after that was a flash of white, and then streaming lights began to swirl about his head. He was enveloped in a release of pure energy.
I've done it…
I've…
Finally…
Defeated…
The Ancients…
He heard the sound of his own body collapsing to the floor.
I've never been so relieved.
I don't know why, but I can't help but feel a strange and elated sense of happiness right now. Well, it's not any sort of happiness that I've longed for, really. But it's been a while since I was so calm. When was the last time I had felt like this?
…I guess it had been one of my nostalgic moments of conversation with Kirie. He knows some of the most amazing things, especially about our past life, and my forgotten memories.
We were at Laviel Hills that day, which lay east of Nexus. There's this really pretty tree there called the Blossom Tree, which had both black and white leaves. It grew on top of this tall hill, and below the hill was a small lake where we sat in the afternoon.
It was about evening time when we began talking. Kirie and I sat together upon the edge of the lake, upon the lush wet grass that grew amongst the tall reeds and cattails. I didn't really know what to say at first — this was before I decided to settle down in a house at Dale's Port. But then, Kirie started talking. He just kind of poured everything out at me when I told him that I would hear whatever was on his mind. He remembered a surprising lot about the world before.
None of us know about that world.
I sat there and heard the rustling of grass as the wind blew across the hills, and I saw the bright white light from the stars reflected in the still water of the pond like tiny gleaming little crystals. Kirie told me about the place that he lived in before he came into this world. It was a city very different from the towns of this world, and yet it was very similar as well. He told me how, unlike this world, the lights inside the city never shut down at night. He could walk out of his house and explore the streets even when the skies above him were dark.
The cities were very festive and full of people. In the afternoon he would stand upon the balcony of his apartment and watch the setting of the sun from a very tall height. The skies would be the colour of lavender, and as the sun descended beyond the horizon the entire city would light up, so that it never got dark. Life had been so much more carefree back then. We all lived comfortably and had lots of stuff and we could always buy more things if we wanted to.
So, why this? Why the injustice of being brought into this Realm?
And then I saw tears flowing down Kirie's face. That was the first emotional outburst I've ever seen from the boy. He seemed to wonder why all of us were brought into this world, a question that I frequently asked as well. I couldn't give him any answers, so I simply told him that perhaps one day, we could go back. Perhaps we'll be able to leave the Realm, and then we could go into the city at night and make ourselves happy again. I knew in my heart that it was a false hope, but even then, I wanted to believe in what I said…I just wanted to believe that I could make Kirie happy…
I couldn't help but feel sorry for him, so I wiped some of the tears off his face. We must've learned that day what it meant to be happy. All of us have to suffer a bit before we can really appreciate what we have. I also realized that we all have something that we cling on to — whether it be a memory, a friend, an item, or whatever — something that we'd never let go.
So I sat by the pond with Kirie that day, and I listened to him talk while watching the twinkling stars upon the lake. Even though he was crying, the boy still had a smile upon his face, and I could tell that he was trying very hard to forget about the past and just move on with his life. It made me happy to hear Kirie speak so passionately about something…and yet, I was sad that I could do nothing to help him…
Oh, what is that music?
It's a different melody this time…but I've definitely heard it before.
It's being played out on a flute, isn't it? A flute…Kirie?
Milam opened up his eyes and found himself lying down upon a couch. The cleric felt a throbbing pain in his head, and his legs hurt when he tried to move them. Slowly, Milam lifted his hands up to his face and rubbed his eyes to clear up his misty vision. A few seconds later the cleric looked up again, and everything seemed clearer to him; the walls, the floor, the ceiling…and then it hit him. Instantly Milam realized that he was inside his own house — there was no mistaking the way that everything looked, the blandness of it all. I never had any money for interior decoration, anyways. But the homely nature of this house made him feel glad, and — for the first time in a long while — he felt safe and relaxed again.
And sitting beside him was Liwen; Kirie stood nearby, playing a soft and flowing melody upon his flute.
"You're awake," Liwen whispered. "It's nice to have you back. You were out for over two days."
Two days?
Milam stretched again before sitting up, and once again he felt a burning pain in his legs - he realized they must have been the scars from his terrible battle with the Ancients back inside the Tomb. He couldn't have felt happier, however, to see both Kirie and Liwen alive and well beside him.
I've missed the two of you..
Back when I fought against Geb inside the Tomb, I thought that was going to be it…I thought I was going to die…
The cleric raised his hand up into the air and waved shyly at Kirie while the boy continued playing his song.
The thought of never seeing the two of you again…I just couldn't take it…
I…I never want to leave you guys again.
"Well done, by the way," Liwen added; Milam thought he heard a tone of repressed sarcasm inside his voice, as was usual of the gray-robed boy. The cleric thought of it no further, for at the moment all he wanted to be was happy and free from his usual worries.
"The others told me everything about your bravery in the battle against the Ancients."
Wait…the 'others'? Does he mean Claire and BMJ?
Milam turned around and gave Liwen a concerned look. "Did they all make it?"
"Well, McFarvo didn't," the gray-robed boy responded. "The Huntress told me that he had perished unfortunately at the hands of Geb right before you launched your final charge."
Milam took a deep breath. "Oh," he said sadly.
My 'final charge,' huh?
"But BMJ and Claire are both alive and well. They were the ones that actually brought you out of the tomb and took you over to your house. I was waiting for you when they arrived."
The Cleric sighed, and then he leaned back against the couch and closed his eyes. "I see. What else happened?"
"Let me finish my story. Well, a lot's happened, actually — first of all, the entire town felt it: the destruction of the ancients, I mean. Claire said that you had struck their leader, Geb, down with that magic-in-a-vial thing I had given you. At that moment all the people in the city heard it, including me — it sounded like a low rumble, coming from somewhere deep inside the Earth."
Wow…was my attack really that powerful?
"But then everyone became relieved. All of a sudden they felt as if something dark and atrocious had parted from this world. We all knew, then, that you had succeeded and the Ancients were dead. Immediately everyone set to work dismantling the Sphinx, which turned out to be a lot easier than building it. Our strongest wizards simply cast a few spells, and then the entire statue collapsed to the ground. Over the past two days we've been cleaning the town up and rebuilding this place — specifically Artem's old charity house — and basically everything seems to have calmed down a bit. The city is peaceful again."
Milam smiled to himself. I've done a great favour for this town, then, he thought to himself. Damn — I don't want to feel so arrogant. I should be as modest as possible.
"That's good," the Cleric replied, trying to keep his voice as patient and stoic as possible in order to hold back his happiness. "Does the town know — well, who exactly performed the favour of bringing down the Ancients?"
Liwen shrugged in response, before throwing a sly and sneaky smile at Milam. "You want some fame for yourself, don't you?"
The Cleric shook his head. "Oh, not at all," he replied. "In fact, it'd be better if word didn't get out about it. I don't want any sort of popularity for myself."
"That's a lie," Liwen said with a smirk. "You've always complained about how poor you are. But once you get famous, there's no way you'd ever go hungry again — if I was in your situation, I'd accept all my praise wholeheartedly."
Oh, really?
Milam leaned forward and closed his eyes again. "No, you don't understand," he answered calmly. "I know what my goals are and what I want — and fame just doesn't belong in any part of it."
"Your goals?"
The Cleric did not respond but rather simply sat in silence, listening to the melody that Kirie was playing upon his flute. He thought that he had heard the song somewhere before, though it was definitely different from the other tune that Kirie had played when they were inside that Aether Cave; the one that made him feel a nostalgic sort of joy. No, this one was sad as well, but it filled him up with courage and hope, as if it urged him to continue living for his happiness. There was a quaint tranquility in the melody, and he almost thought that perhaps there were lyrics to it.
Come to think of it, I do remember a lot of songs from my past…melodies that Kirie knows as well. I wonder how they all relate?
Milam opened up his eyes and looked up at the ceiling, and he thought for a second that he should sing to the music that Kirie was playing. Yes, there were definitely lyrics to this song…but how did they go?
Kirie ended the song, and he put the flute down upon the chair beside him. The boy turned and smiled cheerfully at Milam, but he did not really say anything.
"That was wonderful," the Cleric said, and he clapped his hands softly. "You can play the flute really well. And I think I knew the song that you were playing, too."
"I know," Kirie responded simply before sitting down.
He knows? What does that mean?
Feeling suddenly tired again, the Cleric allowed himself to lie down back upon the couch, this time upon Liwen's lap. This seemed to surprise the gray-robed boy at first, and he threw Milam an awkward frown. But Milam simply closed his eyes and allowed himself to rest — if not a bit playfully, just to annoy Liwen.
Now I can't deny my gratefulness towards you, either, the Cleric thought as he looked up mischievously at Liwen's face. Without your wand or your magic-in-a-vial, I wouldn't have survived my battle with the Ancients. You gave me the means to defeat them.
"Would you…" Liwen began, but he quickly shut himself up. Milam smiled again, and then he took a deep breath. He noticed that Liwen was grinning at him as well, though he could feel that the boy was rather tense.
Relax. Shut up.
Milam absentmindedly raised his hand and moved it towards the side of Liwen's face. Without looking he suddenly tapped his fingers upon and began stroking Liwen's lips, even going so far as to rub his thumb against his teeth, which almost made the boy recoil in bewilderment. Next, Milam caressed Liwen's cheeks, and then he moved his hand up farther to touch the boy upon his forehead, and he parted a few strands of dark brown hair along the way.
"Umm, Milam…"
"Be quiet."
Milam turned around and saw that Kirie had an awkward smile upon his face, one that he easily recognized. Whenever he did something embarrassing Kirie would half-roll his eyes and stare up diagonally at the ceiling while biting his lips. The Cleric quickly looked away and began concentrating upon Liwen again.
He sat up and kissed the gray-robed boy softly upon the lips.
I'm not doing this for any special reason, Liwen.
That was when there came a knock upon the door, and Milam groaned a bit. I wanted to continue this, he thought before pushing himself off Liwen's lap so that the boy could get up. Liwen went towards the door to greet his visitors, and a second later Claire and BMJ came in. Milam looked at the two of them in surprise.
"Hey! You're okay!" Claire yelled as she rushed into the room and threw Milam a hug. BMJ followed right after; that was when the cleric first noticed that there was something pressing against his chest. He did not turn to look towards it, though, for he was too preoccupied at the moment with greeting his friends.
"How are you doing?" BMJ asked.
Milam shrugged a bit. "Fine, I guess, if not a bit sore. Are you two okay as well?"
"Of course we are," Claire said, before suddenly pointing towards something that lay around the cleric's neck. Milam looked and saw that a thick brown piece of string hung there. He reached into his shirt and pulled out what looked like an emerald green stone rimmed with gold.
"You should thank Liwen for crafting that. It probably saved your life."
Huh?
Claire and BMJ seated themselves upon two chairs while Liwen returned to the couch. Milam quickly took the amulet off and inspected it closely.
"Oh. I actually forgot to tell you about that," the gray-robed boy said before taking the stone from Milam's hands. "This is Claire's Aether Stone. When mixed with 'Life Water' in solution, the Amulet of Resurrection can be forged."
An amulet…of 'Resurrection'!?
"Fascinating, isn't it?" BMJ commented. "I never knew that magic could bring the dead back to life. This is a major breakthrough in the Realm."
Claire reached into her bag and took out a familiar-looking vial containing a colourful teal liquid inside. "Remember this? I collected it from the remains of the Sarcophagus inside the Tomb. This is the 'Life Water.' I gave it to Liwen along with my 'Aether Stone', and he was able to forge the Amulet within a few hours."
Wait…so does that mean…I was dead!?
Liwen noticed the concerned look upon Milam's face. "You were very, very close to dying," he said in a sympathetic tone of voice. "There was a chance that you actually recovered by yourself, but it wasn't likely; the Amulet did the trick, then. You were brought back to life."
So…I died, and then I was resurrected?
Claire folded her arms and sighed. "Don't be so surprised. We did everything that we could, and in the end, our efforts paid off."
"We owe you one, too," BMJ added. "Your final attack there was what finished Geb off when both of us were incapacitated. Without you, we would not have been able to win that battle."
Milam looked up at Claire. "You had to sacrifice your Aether Stone to make this?"
The Huntress nodded. "Without a second thought. The stone may have been powerful, but the life of a friend was far more important. And thanks to Liwen, you were brought back to life."
Milam turned towards Liwen. At first, the look upon his face was one of shock and bewilderment, but slowly he began to smile, and then finally he let himself go in a burst of mirthful laughter.
"…Thank you. Thank you all," Milam said, nodding towards the others.
Especially you, Liwen. You're amazing. More reason for me to be grateful…
"We're really, really glad to have you back," Claire said before extending her hands out towards the cleric. Milam reached forward and gave her a tight hug.
"Unfortunately, we can't bring McFarvo back," BMJ added with a sullen look upon his face. "The archer was completely vapourized. It's a shame that we've lost a veteran of this Realm."
Milam sat back down upon the couch and sighed. "Yeah. It's terrible what happened to him. I only wish…I only wish that we could've all made it out of that battle alive."
For a while there was silence in the room, and nobody spoke. Despite the cleric's sudden outburst of happiness earlier, everyone now seemed mournful.
"You know…that might not actually be the case," Claire said suddenly, and instantly all eyes were upon her.
"You're all going to call me crazy, but I'm going to have to bring up my 'Dream Theory' again. "
Dream theory, huh? Could that actually be true? I remember the Ancients mentioning Oryx and his 'Nightmares' before we fought them…
"Go ahead," Liwen answered.
The Huntress nodded. "People don't die in dreams — that's just not possible. Rather, I think that in this world, everyone who dies just come back to life, but with no memories of their past selves."
Uh…what?
"This might sound extremely implausible — and I know that none of you will believe me — but I think I saw one of my 'dead' friends just the other day," Claire continued. She blinked several times and then sighed. "Her name was Kira. Killed by a Cube God five months ago, she was a wizard and one of my closest friends…"
Kira?
"…You know what? Forget what I just said." Claire looked up at the ceiling and took a deep breath. "That's another story for another time. We all have our own stories, don't we?"
"In a world where magic and monsters — and now even resurrection - exists, you can never be too sure of anything," BMJ said. "What you're saying might be true, Claire, but there's no way for us to confirm it…not unless all of us sees someone come back to life by ourselves — without the use of an amulet, that is;" and the Rogue turned towards Milam.
Claire laughed. "That's not the important issue that we've come here to discuss, though." The Huntress suddenly reached into her bag and took out an object shaped like a gold-and-orange disc.
"What's that?" Liwen asked.
"Geb dropped this," the Huntress responded. "I have no idea what it is, but I think it's important."
"And that's why we plan to journey to Nexus to ask others about it," BMJ added. "There are much more veterans there than here in this town. If nobody knows, then we could go farther east to Fedrinas Kingdom, where there's a giant library for us to do research."
A gold-and-orange disc…
"So, we came here to ask you if you wanted to come along," Claire said.
Milam closed his eyes and quickly shook his head. "I'm not like you guys," he said with a shy smile upon his face. "I think I've had my fair share of journeying for a while. I've made some fame and gotten some riches, so I'm quite well-off living in this town by myself."
BMJ nodded. "We knew you would say that," he replied. "That's perfectly fine with us. You've fought some tough battles and shown us how courageous you can be. We're more than willing to let you take a break."
Claire stood up from her seat and put the disc back into her bag. "But we're still going, though. The two of us are leaving tomorrow morning at dawn."
Milam nodded and leaned back in his couch. "Good luck, then," he said. "I guess I'll see you guys sometime later."
The Cleric turned towards Liwen and Kirie. Both of them nodded as well.
"Speaking of which, it's getting late," BMJ commented. "We need to go back to our houses and pack for our upcoming journey."
The two of them made their way towards the door. Milam followed after them and gave the two a final goodbye.
"Be safe!" The Cleric said, before reaching forward and shaking their hands. "You guys are great. I enjoyed fighting with you two, and I hope to see you again!"
Claire smiled. "It was fun traveling with you too, Milam," she said. The Huntress then turned towards Liwen and Kirie and waved at the two of them. "Goodbye, all of you!"
"Bye!" They shouted back.
Milam watched as the two left his house and prepared to depart back to their homes — or basically BMJ's house, since Claire didn't have a place to live in this town. "Good luck!" He shouted to them a final time, and watched his two friends walk away into the distance.
The cleric returned into his house and looked towards Kirie and Liwen. "Well, guys?"
Liwen shrugged, and Kirie reached for his flute again.
Looks like everything is well. I've got food and equipment, the monsters have been driven out of this town, and I can finally live peacefully again.
"Liwen," Milam whispered as he turned towards the gray-robed boy. He noticed that, despite being about a year younger than him, Liwen was actually a bit taller — it was just a random observation. The Cleric smiled, and then he bowed his head. "Thank you for everything."
The boy seemed to chuckle a bit. "I guess I really did help you out a lot, didn't I?"
"Yeah."
Then Milam turned towards Kirie, and — without hesitation — reached forward to give a boy a hug. They embraced for a long while, and neither spoke during that time.
I know that you aren't so fragile, but still, I won't leave you again.
The Cleric reached down and kissed the boy upon his forehead, and then he stood up and walked into the kitchen. First, he would have to make dinner for the night, and then they would have a long talk with each other about all that has happened.
What time is it again? 'Who is it?'
…
Oh…am I asleep? Am I having a dream…again?
"You've always been dreaming."
Wait…what!? Who are you? Where are you? Why are you talking to me..?
…
"You don't recognize who I am?"
No, I don't. Not really…
"…I am the one who controls this Realm. Do not be afraid. Claire has spoken to you what I have told her, but she only knows part of the truth."
…You!?
"I am freed at last. For too long I have dreamt this time, the shadows plaguing my mind. You have rid me of my demons, Milam, and for that I am glad. You have disposed of the Ancients. They were a thorn at my side, always trying to take over my Realm."
You…why are you talking to me?
"Do you not wish to know about this Realm and it's purpose?"
Yes…but why?
"Consider it as my reward. At times I will give those who I consider worthy my knowledge."
Alright, then. Go on.
"In a time long past I sealed myself in eternal sleep, and with it the origins of magic. In fact, magic disappeared right off the face of the Earth. This was around the time referred to as the 'Dark Ages'…there's a reason why the medieval times are so popularly associated with magic, you know. But all of it disappeared from the Earth when I sealed it away, and magic no longer exists on your planet."
"I was a powerful magician then…but I was disgusted with humanity. We warred too much, we killed for pleasure, we…we are exactly what we fear. I wanted to sleep, to erase the evils of mankind from my memory. But one cannot sleep forever, and at times I was exposed to the horrors of the world: genocides, famines, torture, enslavement…I grew mad, and I wanted, then, to just destroy everything…"
"In my mind I conjured up the Realm, a world of dreams, and within that dream I filled it with everything that humanity feared: monsters, and magic. The 'Ancients', for example, were the Gods of an old religion that humans used to worship. I spent years crafting this world…I did not want to wake up and leave it behind. I needed to convince myself that the world I created was nothing less than real, even if it was just a dream…"
"I used my magic to steal those who slept and bring them into my world. That way we all slept, and we dreamt a collective dream. Your thoughts, Milam, as well as those of everybody else in this Realm, are all a part of my thoughts. Why do this? I needed to delude myself…yes, I may be the Mad God, but I am well aware of my madness…as a collective identity what is 'truth' is simply the majority's truth. Faced with fear, humans no doubt fought for their survival in this Realm, and their efforts filled me up with hope. A hope that this Realm was real, and the evil world outside was not…"
"For in this Realm, humans fight against monsters and not amongst themselves. I have slept for a thousand years, far longer than I have actually lived in the real world. Thus I know that the Realm is real, even if it is just a dream. For it is a far more pleasant dream than anything else in reality, and I shall stay here, and continue to bring humans into this world forever…"
…What!? So that you can just kill them all!?
"Ha, ha, ha! It is no more than the suffering you bring amongst yourselves! At least in the Realm everyone is united and rallied together under one single cause: the goal of destroying me, the Mad God. There is no conflict amongst humans in this universe, not like the terrible, terrible world that exists outside. This Realm is a paradise!"
…I can't believe this…
"But I have spoken too much. I say this to you because it is a fitting ending to your story, Milam. Everyone in this world has their own story, their own path that they follow."
"Sometimes I dream of Nightmares, and that's when the Aether and many monsters arrive. I tell you everything because you have done a deed to me; you have allowed me to vanquish these Nightmares so that I can dream longer of this Realm…so that this world may remain eternal. That is your story, Milam. It is the book that you have written with your own accomplishments. I simply wish to make you aware of what you have done for me."
…
Oh…
Is that it…? Is this…what I've been doing all this time?
"Goodbye, Milam. Perhaps one day we shall meet again upon the battlefield when I arrive to terrorize the humans of this Realm."
No!
…You're leaving already?
"…"
Oryx…
That's…that's the reason why this Realm exists!?
Milam's eyes flashed open, and he felt his heart pounding heavily. He looked around him and saw that Kirie was sleeping peacefully upon the couch. Liwen had already left and returned back to his own house by the end of the evening. The Cleric looked out the window and saw that the skies were magenta in colour, and streaks of golden were appearing from behind the horizon.
It's morning time.
Without thinking the cleric suddenly rushed towards the door. He ran out of his house and down the steps of his front porch; then out of his garden until he was on the streets. Milam turned a corner and ran northwards as fast as he could, towards the eastern exit of the town. It was not too far away from where he lived — and he hoped that he could get there in time. He passed by the town square, where many early morning shoppers stood by the marketplace purchasing their food; he made his way down many streets and past many tall buildings — including even the demolished charity and the rock garden beside it - until finally the front gate of Dale's Port came into sight.
It had already been opened.
He rushed outside and saw the wide expanse of the plains before him. A cool wind blew by, ruffling the lush green grass — wet with morning dew — around his feet. In the distance he saw standing upon the hills two familiar and shadowy figures, one holding a big red bow. He watched them depart slowly down the other side of the hill until they were well out of sight, and then the morning sun appeared up in the sky, rising from beyond the eastern horizon.
Claire…you were right.
Milam thought about what he had dreamt, and whether or not anything Oryx had said to him was true. He could not really confirm that it had been the Mad God speaking to him — perhaps he had imagined it all this time.
He was reminded of the time that he had stood out upon the beaches north of Dale's Port and observed the waves. He had thought then about the eternal drifting of the tides, and how the ocean waves would go on forever, even if everything else around it would eventually disappear.
But so what if this Realm is all just a dream?
In the Realm, nothing lasted forever. But he didn't care, as long as his friends and the people that he loved were beside him. That was all that mattered.
I know what's important…I have Kirie and Liwen with me, and I will protect them with all my heart.
The Cleric raised his hand up into the air and waved goodbye, even though he knew that Claire and BMJ could not see him. With a heavy sigh, he turned around and prepared to depart back towards his home, the place where he knew he truly belonged.
The End