Chapter 41: The Words of Those We Cherish

It has been four days since the worlds of Tethe'alla and Sylvarant have been brought back together, and naturally there has been a lot of confusion coming from the people of Sylvarant since they were the ones left unaware of the other world. Lloyd and the others have been doing a lot of traveling across both worlds to try and get things sorted out amongst the leaders of each town. Yuan hasn't been seen since, and Kratos and Riku have been staying in Iselia with Colette and Dirk respectively to recover from everything that has happened.

At the start of the fourth day of the reunited world, Riku wakes up and goes to meet Dirk outside his house. The dwarf glances at him and says "Mornin' there Riku. Did you enjoy your sleep?" He was carrying a heavy log in one arm and an axe bigger than Presea's in the other, but he didn't look the least bit tired. Riku smiles and says in response "It was definitely an upgrade to lay on a wooden bed after the last few nights on the ground…Thank you Dirk."

"It was my pleasure boy. Of course, it helped that Lloyd's bed was currently freed up." Dirk says in turn, and then with a slight lift of his right arm to heave the log back up he comments "So…Are you feeling well enough now?" Riku says "Yeah, I think I can fly around again. As nice as it has been to be here, I really should see how everyone else is doing…The process of merging the worlds has got to be having some effect on the citizens…"

"That's for sure…But now we can no longer worry about earthquakes or Chosens…Or Cruxis, for that matter." Dirk explains in a semi-relieved tone of voice, and with a tiny smile through his beard he then says "Not to mention, a whole world of materials have opened up for me to use in crafting."

"You thinking about getting back into crafting?" Riku asks in a tone of genuine curiosity. Dirk nodded and said in turn "Making that ring for Lloyd ignited an ol' spark in my dwarves blood. But I think I shall wait for things to calm down a bit before I go explorin' Tethe'alla."

"Sounds like a good plan…Thanks again for the hospitality Dirk, but I'm going to head to Iselia to check up on Kratos now." Riku says, and Dirk tells him afterwards "Ok boy…You take care of yourself, alright? Don't be afraid to come back here if you need a place to stay…I'll be here all the time." The particular words the dwarf used made Riku realize that Dirk already knew what he was planning to do by going to see the others, but he only gave him an acknowledging grin before he kicked off the ground and flew straight towards Iselia.

It was a short flight, naturally, and Riku made the conscious decision to land straight in front of Colette's house. Nobody batted an eye at Riku flying…Which suggested that Colette might have been flying around here on her own in the last few days. Ignoring that matter for the moment, the teenage Overlord walked towards the front door, but before he could reach his hand out to open it is suddenly pushed open with Colette falling forward onto her face on the porch.

The door open is so sudden that Riku is thrown off the porch and sent onto his back. Genis was standing right behind Colette, a bothered expression on his face as he comments "…I guess some things never change…Hey, isn't that Riku?" It takes the half-elf a moment to notice the teenage Overlord's presence. Colette lifts her head up merrily without so much as a care in the world for her current position and says "Oh hi Riku! How have you been?"

Riku gets back on his feet and shakes his head, responding to Colette with "I've been doing well…I'm surprised to see you two here, even if this is your home." Colette gets back on her feet and brushes her clothes off of the dirt, and Genis stands beside her and says "We were just stopping by to say hi to everyone…And take a bit of a break, we've been flying around non-stop on the Rheairds for the last few days."

"Really? What's keeping you busy lately? …And I mean be specific here Genis, none of your usual sarcasm." Riku says, and Genis grins while waving one hand out and explaining "Don't worry, I was going to take this seriously. Anyways, Colette and I were spending a lot of time in Palmacosta, Luin, and the remains of Heimdall…Raine was with us for a while there, but she flew off this morning to somewhere else."

"Raine went somewhere else? Do you not know where she sent?" Riku asks in a puzzled tone of voice. Genis shook his head and commented "She just said she had something important to take care of and left…I don't think she's getting into any trouble, but I am kind of worried." The teenage Overlord thinks to himself for a few seconds about where Raine might have gone to, but it doesn't take him much effort to realize where she went.

But for Genis' sake, Riku said nothing and kept a poker-face as he responded to the half-elf with "I'll try and keep an eye out for her. In the mean time though, why exactly did you go to the remains of Heimdall?" Genis replies with "Well, the elves are starting to rebuild after the destruction of the Tower of Salvation, so I figured we should help them out. It'll be a good start towards equality, I think."

"Well that's good to hear. And what about you Colette? How have things been now that you don't have to worry about being the Chosen?" Riku inquires, and with an innocent folding of her hands in front of her chest Colette replies "It'll be a while before I'm used to it, but I am so thankful to Lloyd for helping me out through this…No, I'm thankful to everyone for what they did. Right now I'm trying to find Lloyd, but I haven't seen him at all since we planted the Giant Tree."

"Really? Where could he have gone…" Riku ponders this predicament for a few moments, but this time Genis is able to provide an answer for him with a swift "I heard he came here to speak to Kratos about something, but Kratos left here after a day of rest and we haven't seen him since."

"Raine, Lloyd, Kratos and Yuan…None of them have been sighted recently…Well, I was planning to say 'Hi' to all of them anyways before I headed off." Riku explains, and Colette and Genis both flinch before commenting together "Oh, you're going to leave?"

"Yeah…Everything has been taken care of around here, and even after all that has happened I can't bring myself to stop helping other worlds, regardless of whether or not I know what's going to occur." The teenage Overlord's words are met with Genis replying "Well you don't have to just go to other worlds…You can always come back here and relax after helping another place out. I mean, there has to be some way to find our world in space, right?"

"Of course there is Genis…And I'd love to stay here, I really would…But think about it. The planet is being supported by the mana of the newly born Giant Tree…At the rate things are going, I'll probably be poisoned by the planet. And the only cure…" Riku's explanation is cut off by a disheartened Genis saying "…Is to give you an Exsphere…Ok, I guess that makes sense."

"I figured that out when Mithos took over my body with the Cruxis Crystal…I was able to survive even the atmosphere of Derris-Kharlan with that inside of me…Anyways, it has been fun being around you guys, and I'm glad I was able to share this journey with you both." Riku says with half a smile on his face, leading to another voice commenting from behind "Huh? What's this about 'being around you guys'?"

Colette comments in a delighted tone of voice "Oh, Sheena!" Riku glances over his shoulder and sees the summoner approaching slowly from behind, and he turned around the rest of the way while saying "Oh, I was going to be heading off of the planet pretty soon. I was just trying to say goodbye to everyone I met throughout the journey before I went."

"What, seriously? But there is so much you can go and look at now that everything has gotten peaceful, why would you-" Sheena has to think about things for a few moments before she comments "Oh right…Mana poisoning. Then you really don't have much time left anyways." "What? Sheena, I'm not actually poisoned yet…But I can't take the risk of sticking around for very long." Riku explains calmly.

"Sheena, why are you here anyways?" Genis asked, leading to Sheena glancing at him and saying "Oh, I didn't see you there for a moment Genis. Umm, I was trying to find Colette's grandmother. Is she around at all?"

"Uh-huh. We just finished visiting her, what's up?" Colette comments happily. Sheena nervously rubs the back of her head and comments "Umm…So your grandmother is an expert when it comes to the seals of Sylvarant, right? I know this sounds weird…But I've been hearing Corrine's voice ever since we planted the Giant Tree."

"Corrine? But Corrine died back at the Temple of Lightning, right?" Genis asks, leading to Sheena commenting "I know that Genis, that's what makes this really bizarre. But if there's a seal in Sylvarant with a strong connection to Summon Spirits, I feel I should check it out real quick…Just to be certain that I'm not going crazy."

"Ummm…Well, I can help you with that Sheena. The Martel Temple just north of the village is probably the best place to check." Colette says in an all-too helpful tone of voice, and Sheena perks her head up and says "Really? Thanks Colette, I'll go check that out right away!" "I wish we could join you Sheena, but we need to make it back to Palmacosta and help with the relief efforts after the Giant Tree's earlier rampage." Genis says.

"That's fine Genis, I'll go with Sheena to make sure everything goes ok." Riku comments in a reassuring tone of voice, and Sheena says "Are you sure? I mean, if the mana poisoning…" The teenage Overlord raises his hand to stop her and comment with a smile "I'll be fine. Let's go to the Martel Temple." Sheena nods her head in agreement, and after one final farewell towards Colette and Genis her and Riku go north out of Iselia to make a straight walk towards the Martel Temple.

It was a lone building sandwiched between two tall hills, but it's divinity was clear in the way it was designed. As Sheena approached the staircase leading up to the temple, she felt a tremble in her heart and commented "…He's here. I can feel it!" Riku says in turn "I can actually sense something myself…And I have to say, it's a surprising sensation." The boy places one hand against his calming heart and follows Sheena up the staircase, where the two of them enter through the front door of the temple and find themselves met with three separate paths.

"Hmm…This is where Colette's journey as the Chosen began, isn't it?" Sheena took a moment to focus away from her mission and comment on past happenings. Riku nodded his head, saying to her while drawing the hand away from his chest "Lloyd's and Genis' journey began here as well. Remiel…Botta…Kratos…They met them all right here in this temple."

"It feels really weird to be here now that the whole Chosen system is at an end…But I doubt you feel the same way, right Riku?" Sheena turns around and asks that of the teenage Overlord, and Riku nods his head while replying "It's hard to feel like that when your only connection to this world is through memories and not actual experience."

"Yeah, I guess…But you still ended up traveling with us for most of the journey, so you can at least say you got to experience some of it yourself. So in a sense, your own experiences have overwritten the memories you had of this world, yeah?" Sheena's words made Riku blink a few times in surprise, and with a slight smile he said "I didn't expect you to say something like that."

"Yeah well…I had a little time to think about that. Plus, Lloyd told me that you were kind of beating yourself up about everything when he saved your from Mithos' control." Sheena said, and Riku commented "Oh, you saw Lloyd recently? Where was he at?" Sheena responded swiftly in turn "Well, while I was at the Elemental Research Laboratory, I ran into Lloyd on the way out of Meltokio…He told me he was trying to find Kratos."

"And naturally he hasn't been successful so far…And let me guess, you were at the lab because you thought they might know something about Corrine calling you?" Riku inquires, and with a nod of the head Sheena said "Yeah, I tried talking to two of the smarter researchers, Richter and Aster, but they said that it'd be better to check Sylvarant than Tethe'alla…Of course, they probably gave a quick response because they were busy dealing with something called Ratatosk, but oh well."

"…Just try and remember that for a later date, Sheena." Riku comments bluntly, and Sheena says "Huh? That's actually going to be important for us later on?" The teenage Overlord scratches the back of his head awkwardly before commenting "Give it a couple of years and it will, yeah…But right now, let's get back to finding where Corrine's calling to you from."

Sheena agreed to that plan while keeping Riku's warning in mind, and the two of them advanced towards the central path, since that's where Sheena felt the strongest connection to Corrine's voice. Once they reach the small teleportation seal, they are warped to the highest floor in the temple, where they are greeted by a seal similar to the ones used by all of the Summon Spirits, but this one had a blank presence to it compared to the rest.

"…I definitely felt Corrine's presence here. He was calling to me, I know it!" Sheena sounded confident in the way she spoke, and Riku said "I was feeling the exact same thing myself, Sheena. You aren't going crazy…Corrine has to be nearby." With the teenage Overlord backing up the ninja's suspicions, Sheena reached into her clothes and pulled out the bell she won back from Kuchinawa, clasping it in her hands while whispering into it "Corrine…If you can hear me…Please…Show yourself!"

As though responding to the desires of her voice, Corrine's bell suddenly glows a vibrant pink and rises up from Sheena's grasp. The ninja looks on in awe as the bell flies forth above the center of the seal, where a heavy influx of a warm pink mana flows into the bell from all corners of the temple. Surprisingly, Riku doesn't feel at all pained in the presence of this mana.

From this influx of mana comes a flash of light that heralds forth a new yet familiar creature before Sheena and Riku's eyes. It was a tall, majestic fox with nine radiant tails extending out from the back of it's body and paws swirling with a relaxing blue aura. Around it's neck was Corrine's bell, now larger in size to fit the creature. Sheena's heart stopped for a moment in shock, and as she placed one hand on her chest she asked "Corrine…is that you?"

With a single step forward, the fox looked down upon Sheena with closed eyes and said "Sheena, descendant of those who control powers of summoning…You, who showed me the human heart…Desire, generosity, laughter, sadness, anger, violence, concern, love, hate…What will I ultimately gain from the human heart? I, Verius, pose this question upon you. Now, show me…"

"C-Corrine?" The words from the one calling himself Verius puzzled Sheena immensely, and she didn't know how to react beyond glancing at the fox as it stood still and it's tails lit up with a soft pink aura. For a few seconds, this aura lingers, only for it to fade away as Verius nods his head and states "I have felt both of your hearts…Anxiety, regret, impatience, loneliness, confliction…but even greater hope, courage, and love…"

"…Confliction?" Riku murmurs out, realizing not long after that Verius was likely referring to him when he said that. Afterwards, Sheena says "…Corrine…No, Verius, why are you saying all this?" Verius lays against the seal set below his body, elegantly folding it's tails around the sides of his body while saying "I exist to observe all beings that possess a heart. I form no pacts, I will be bound by no one."

"I-I never would do that to you after all that you've been through…But…At the same time…" "I may not actually be Corrine?" Verius felt the doubts in Sheena's heart, and with a nudge forward the fox caused the bell around it's neck to jingle slightly. The fox then smiled and said "Sheena…Though my name has changed, I was once the Corrine that you cared for as a friend. But now, for being the one Summon Spirit with the closest connection to the human heart, and feeling emotions both negative and positive…I have transformed into the Summon Spirit of Heart, Verius."

"So in the end, you are Corrine still, right?" Sheena says. "In essence, yes…" Verius replies merrily, and Sheena asks despite knowing somewhat what the answer would be "…So…Does this mean we can be together again? You-You'll come with me, right? Corrine…I…" Verius shook his head and replied "I am sorry. I must become part of the world and watch over all those that possess hearts…"

Dejected, Sheena lowered her head and murmured out a single "No…" while trying her hardest to hold back the tears, but Verius warms her with the light of his aura and states "Sheena, descendant of summoners, I cannot go with you…However, my heart will be with you. For my existence as the Summon Spirit of Heart was established by touching your heart in particular…"

"Our hearts…will be together?" Sheena asks with a warm expression on her face. Verius nods his head and states "Yes, they will as long as you…as long as people have hearts, I shall be with all people…And I shall continue to walk with you, Sheena. Never forget. Your promise with me is your heart…" Verius said all that it needed to, and as a pillar of light comes down around the seal Sheena extends her hand out to try and pet the fox for what might be the final time…

But she misses, as Verius is taken by the light to the realm of the Summon Spirits. Even so, Sheena draws her hand and places it against her chest, feeling her heart beat steadily as she lets out a calm breath and states "…Then I never will forget you…Corrine…" Afterwards, Sheena turns around and says to Riku "Well, I guess that's the end of that…"

"Heh, I really didn't need to come with you, did I, Sheena?" Riku notes with an awkward grin on his face. "Well, since you were planning on heading off, I'm glad we got to spend a little more time together before you did go…" Sheena replies, letting out a gentle chuckle in the process. "Yeah, same here…I'm glad Corrine will be ok now. By the way, now that you're done with this, what do you plan to do now in this new world, Sheena?"

"Hmmm…Well, Mizuho is no longer moving to Sylvarant since the worlds merged and the Pope's death got everyone off of their backs, so I'll probably head back there…Actually, first I need to go see what crazy plan Zelos had that involved me. He said he needed to talk to the King first, but knowing him it's probably just him trying to take advantage of the celebrations to get me into the local hot springs. Other than that, the only thing left for me to do is get the Summon Spirits back to where they belong since they fulfilled their end of the pacts."

"Sounds like you got a lot on your plate then, even with the Rheairds. Speaking of Zelos, I guess I'll head over to Tethe'alla and try to find him along with Regal and Presea…And I need to keep an eye out for Raine, Lloyd, Kratos and Yuan too." Riku explains his plans for the rest of his time on the planet, and with a nod of her head Sheena says "…Then I guess this is where we go our separate ways."

"Unless we run into each other trying to find Zelos, then yeah." Riku says, gesturing with his right hand near his forehead as he smiles and leaps onto the window sill behind him. Sheena waves him farewell, and he leaps out of the Martel Temple and flies off to find the next person…On his mind at the moment was Raine, so he decided to seek out the flying city of Exire since that was likely where she ended up.

A city in the sky would be quite easy to spot, even if they hadn't noticed it throughout their travels before. Sticking between the ground and the lowest part of the sky, Riku glanced around for any signs of Exire in the Tethe'alla part of the world. It wasn't that hard to figure out how the geometry of the world was now due to his memories of the combined world, but that didn't help in relation to Exire…After a good fifteen minutes of searching around at high speeds, Riku eventually took a moment to pause and wait before going any further.

"…I really thought this would be easier. Come on, where are you Exire?" The teenage Overlord glances around while floating still in mid-air, but as his curious eyes wandered around the lands of Tethe'alla he caught a glimpse of the burnt tree of Ozette. With suspicions plaguing his mind, Riku looks down at the bottom of the tree and happens to notice a rather familiar couple of people with pink and blue hair standing down there.

It didn't take much thought for the teenage Overlord to fly down to the base of the tree, where he finds Presea and Regal looking at the grave of Presea's father. "Dad…Alicia has finally been allowed a chance to rest in peace…And the ones who led her to her death have all been punished…But I'm still going to live. Heh…It's been sixteen years since that day, and now I'm twenty-eight years old, can you believe that?"

"…Mr. Combatir, I too must offer my apologies for the harm I indirectly caused to both of your daughters. But I have done everything that I can to atone for my crimes, and I will continue to do so for the rest of my life. For the first time in years though, I feel I can safely do this…" Regal stretches his arms out, exerting a precise amount of strength into his muscles in order to snap the cuffs that had been wrapped around his wrists for years. The metal bands clink against the ground in front of the grave, never to be worn again.

"…Regal, thank you for coming here with me…" Presea says in a quiet but appreciative tone of voice, and in a gentlemanly manner Regal nods his head and says "It was my pleasure, Presea. Now then, shall we be off?" Presea nods her head and says "Yes…Let us return to Altamira for now…" As the two begin to turn and leave Ozette, they notice Riku's presence finally, to which Regal flinches for a moment in response.

"Riku…How long have you been here for?" He asked in a barely bothered tone of voice. "I just got here. So you two were paying your respects to Presea's father?" Presea nodded her head slightly and said "Yes. Now that the worlds have come together…It felt right to tell him that there is no reason to be worried anymore…I will be alright from now on."

The girl placed one hand on her chest and tilted her head to the right, smiling lightly in turn. Regal glanced from Presea towards Riku, asking of him "So…I am going to assume you are here to say farewell to us both, is that not correct?" The teenage Overlord wasn't surprised that Regal figured that out, and thus said to him honestly "Yeah…I was trying to find Raine, but just so happened to run into you all here. So what are your plans for the new world, since I won't get a chance to ask this again…"

"Blunt with the questions today, aren't we? But I understand, and will oblige to answer. Since peace has returned to the world for the time being, it would be in my best interest as President of the Lezareno Company to use my resources in order to help reconstruct places harmed by Cruxis' reign…Palmacosta, Heimdall, and Ozette are high priority places that I plan to rebuild." Regal explains himself elegantly, and Presea adds-on in turn "I plan to help with the reconstruction of Ozette in particular…and Altessa has agreed to assist with Heimdall."

As usual, Presea was short with her words, but the message was meant to be simple anyways. Riku waves his right hand out and states "You might want to let Genis know about Heimdall, he was planning to help them out as well. By the way, if you visited Altessa recently…How did he react to Tabitha becoming Martel?" Regal responds in a melancholy tone of voice "…Altessa was very disheartened to hear that, especially in light of his recovery, but he admitted that he always figured that he would lose her someday…I imagine he's just trying to be strong, for her sake."

"…Poor Altessa." Riku says, and Presea agrees with the sentiment. "Anyways Riku, I wish we could have more time to speak, especially in light of you departing…But we have a meeting with the King of Tethe'alla over the reunion of the worlds, and being late is not an option. Just know that no matter where you travel throughout the universe, you are always welcome to come back and stay, even if it's just for a day. We will all be here to greet you, that, I promise." Regal says in the utmost honest voice he could muster.

Nodding his head, Riku says to the man "I will keep that in mind, Regal Bryant. Just don't get yourself back in handcuffs before I return, alright?" Regal lowers his eyebrows in an ill-humored manner and says sarcastically "I hope that's meant to be a joke and not a serious remark about my future, considering you might know about that…"

"Of course it's a joke Regal…Unless you ended up taking a liking to wearing cuffs, for some odd reason…" Riku states in a stoic tone of voice to throw Regal off, but the man says "…Your choice of words isn't filling me with confidence." At which point the teenage Overlord chuckles and waves his hand out while saying "Don't worry about it Regal, it really is just a joke. Anyways, I shall see you two later, I'm off to find Raine once more!"

Riku kicks off the ground and flies off quickly, leaving Regal pondering the boy's words in a concerned manner a while after he's gone. Now that he was back in the air, the teenage Overlord makes an immediate glance to the right of Ozette and manages to notice a flying stone city floating nearby. "…I'll take this coincidence." He says in a dull tone before he flies straight towards the city of Exire.

The city was filled to the brim with stone huts and a rather vibrant atmosphere born due to a pact Mithos made with the Summon Spirit Maxwell, which also helps keep this city afloat. Exire was a sanctuary for half-elves, and a place that will probably still see relevance even with the changes that will happen in the new world. Riku glides above Exire for a few seconds before he finds Raine sitting on her Rheiard with a slightly distressed look on her face.

Riku landed beside her quietly, leading to her giving him a brief glance to the right and letting out a tired groan before she said "…I should have known you'd be the one to find me." The teenage Overlord says nothing yet about Raine's condition, leaving the half-elf to lean her head back and bemoan "…I see why you were reluctant to tell me about where my mother was. I almost wish I hadn't tried to find her at this point…The way she held that doll that looked like me and called it her precious child…."

"…Raine, do you need to cry at all? It's ok…The only one who would know is me." Riku says in an empathetic tone, since he was the one responsible for the emotional stress that Raine is failing to hide from him. "N-No…I'm fine…At least I know now that…My mother Virginia hadn't forgotten me…" She lets out a melancholic sniffle and subtly brushes a forming tear away from her face with her right sleeve, and then after letting out some quiet breaths to try and calm herself Raine swerves her body and faces Riku.

"…I'm guessing everyone is worried about me just running off like that, aren't they?" Raine asked, bringing the subject back to why Riku was at Exire at that moment. "Genis and Colette were concerned, yeah, but no one else really knew that you had run off when I ran into them." Riku explains, and Raine doesn't take long to realize what the boy meant when he said all that.

"…So…You were going around saying goodbye to everyone, weren't you?" Raine asked in a distressed tone of voice. Riku, after a few moments of hesitation, nodded his head. The half-elf then sighed and said "…I see." She clearly wasn't accepting of this fact, but unlike the others she had rather sharp words to say to Riku before he could leave the planet "You really are an idiot, Riku."

"Huh? Why do you say that, Raine?" Riku asked, oblivious to what the half-elf was berating him for now. Raine glared at him angrily at this point, a sharp contrast from her earlier melancholy as she exclaimed to him "Why the hell do you have to go now?! After everything that's happened between all of us, you just plan to up and leave the planet because of your duties, don't you? …We all liked having you here Riku, even if you did a few questionable but otherwise harmless things, so why can't you just make this planet your home?! I-…I mean…We all want you to stay, so just stay, damn it!"

Raine's furious words struck a cord within Riku's heart, and for a moment he had to be at a loss for words. But he had to respond to what was said, to which he hung his head and closed his eyelids in a disheartened manner before replying with "…I know that Raine…I really do…But if I stay, I'm going to die once the planet is covered in mana from the Giant Tree."

"Then we'll find a way to make it so you can survive! You don't need an Exsphere, there has to be another way!" Raine's blunt words reminded Riku so much of something Lloyd would say, while caused the teenage Overlord to crack a smile as he replied again with a raise of his head "Raine…I really thank you for the optimism, but I'll likely die before you figure something out."

"…I just don't get it, why do you have to be affected so negatively by the mana on this world? …Who could allow this to happen…?" Raine bemoans in a tired tone of voice, and Riku shrugs his shoulders while saying "I think I have an idea who is responsible for that one…And as I'm traveling the universe again I plan to do something about them. When I'm successful…I promise, I'll return to this planet and be able to live here."

"…I know you'll fulfill your promise, Riku…Sorry if I've been selfish about this whole thing." Raine says with half a smile brimming across her face, and Riku nods his head while beginning to say "Raine…Trust me, I-" But before he could get his full sentence off, a huge explosion goes off in the distance behind him, causing him to shift his body all the way around to look and see where it went off. Towards the icy rocks near Flanoir is a heavy, rising cloud of smoke coming from where the Tethe'alla Renegade Base was…

"Yuan…Damn it, what have you done?!" Riku exclaims upon putting what he knew together inside his head. He turned back around to look at Raine, and with an accepting smile she said "Go. Don't let me hold you up anymore. I need to get back to Genis before he gets into any trouble…After all, that's what we do for those we care about…"

The teenage Overlord doesn't say a word to Raine afterwards. There was nothing the two needed to exchange anymore, so Riku felt it was fine to put all of his attention towards what was happening with Yuan at the former Renegade Base. Taking flight from Exire, the teenage Overlord heads straight for the plume of smoke, while Raine gets on her Rheaird and heads off to continue her life in this new world…

Next Time: Goodbye, Aselia…