Magus wanted to bury Schala, but had neither the time nor strength to do so. It disturbed him to have to incinerate her body, as it truly felt like she was disappearing from his world. However, there simply was no alternative, and he refused to simply dump her body in the woods for someone or something to find.
"I'm sorry..." he uttered, under his breath. "With you... I would have done it. But what point is there, now? I return to an old woman I feel I never truly knew... an old man I have no fond memory of, seeking to dictate my life, if your words are true... and a world where Lavos already won..."
"Well," Magus thought to himself, "Maybe my fate is to perish. If so, then I must simply laugh. Nothing stands in my way now. I will have my revenge."
As Schala's ashes scattered, Magus stood up and retrieved his scythe from the burst-open chest cavity of what used to be Axl. Then, with Axl's remains wrapped up in his cloak, Magus returned to his castle.
Keeper's Dome, 2299 Kingdom Calendar
Queen Zeal had a nightmare the night before, and her feelings did not subside when she awoke. An intense, unbearable feeling came over her, and she needed to speak to Belthasar.
"Belthasar..." she muttered, dragging herself out of bed toward his side.
"Your Ma-Zeal?" he muttered. "Why are you awake so early?"
Zeal sat down in a chair. She was trembling and wrapping her arms around herself, hunched over a bit and looking very distressed.
...
"Zeal?"
...something chilling escaped her lips.
...
"The Black Wind howls... ...Schala has failed."
...
Belthasar stood there for a moment, processing both the gravity of her words, and what to do for her in this difficult moment. Finally, he just sat down with the Queen and held her in his arms, trying to comfort her as the weight of things began to hit him. He knew he was losing his mind... that he would likely never get to leave this time period... Truthfully, when the time he had hoped Schala and Queen Zeal one day could...
...That unfortunately never came to be, for either of them. As the day passed, Queen Zeal spent far more time around Belthasar than normal. She smiled sincerely through all of his controlling and insufferability, just wanting to spend time with him, as if she knew something was coming that he did not. When she went to bed that night, she thanked Belthasar for always being loyal to her kingdom... and for trying to stop her in her moment of weakness. She apologized to him profusely for that, seeking any kind of redemption or forgiveness she could, so she could have a clear conscience.
Sure enough, she did not wake up the next morning.
Belthasar was now completely on his own, aside from his mechanical Nu.
Magus's Castle
600 Kingdom Calendar, three days before the capture of Queen Leene
Axl's rotting skull was no longer recognizable on its wooden stake outside the entrance of the fortress, and Magus had ordered it to be removed.
Schala's arrival a year ago had sown some distrust. However, what happened to Axl sent a clear message to the other fiends that Magus meant business, and would not be crossed.
Still, Magus thought deeply about her. There was nothing left of her, now. Nothing but the pendant...
"The pendant..." Magus uttered out loud. He'd almost forgotten about the pendant, and the mysterious ruins they could unlock.
"Huh?" Ozzie perked up.
Magus stood at his demonic altar, the site where he would summon Lavos. Thinking deeply, he turned to face Ozzie.
"The battle at Zenan Bridge... the fiends who successfully crossed have camped together right? Where are they now?"
"Well..." Ozzie thought to himself, "They're holed out in the old Manolia Cathedral. Why?"
Magus steepled his fingers and rested his forehead upon them.
"...My sister sold something important in Truce: a pendant, with a brilliant blue stone. I want it . I don't care who bought it, who you have to kill. I... Want... That... Pendant."
"Not a problem," Ozzie smiled. "Yakra is over there now. I'll let him handle whoever has that pendant."
"Excellent," Magus spoke. "Now, leave me... the time is almost upon us, and I need solitude."
Ozzie nodded silently, and left the room. As he did, Magus took a moment to let the sound completely die from the room, until he was in complete silence and darkness, before his demonic altar, to practice in peace. Turning away from the entrance, he raised his hands out to his sides, palms up, and began chanting again...
...
"Nuega, Ziena, Zieber, Zom...
The Future Refused to Change.
Rise of The Fiendlord
2019 Rustedsoda
The End