43 The Long Night
Canopus Farms was to be the party's final stop. The darkness that settled over the land was thick. While the stars were still visible, many of them had vanished behind rippling, unnatural clouds tinged gold. A checkerboard pattern could occasionally be seen within them. Rumblings from faraway – like thunder, or explosions – could be heard, causing the earth underfoot to tremble. All the vegetation had darkened in color, and the trees drooped, as though they could not bear the weight of the world's end.
The site had nearly doubled in size and tripled in population. Tents had been erected around it. She saw everyone from Heretics to chocobo farmers milling about among them. Wails of fear or pain rose from the assembly, while others simply stood around looking as though they didn't know what to do.
The darkness made her think of someone pouring black tar over everything. The shadows themselves seemed as though they had actual substance.
The group, looking weary from trying to get through Luxerion without catching any attention, fanned out into the crowds. Snow stuck close to her, though, as did Caius. The three of them moved off away from the others, and she rubbed her hands over her face. Exhaustion had settled into her bones, and time was growing very short – not only with the world, but with her ability to keep moving. Bhunivelze's power no longer favored her, though she had been able to hang on to much of it by resisting his attempt to pull it out of her.
"So we've pretty much agreed Luxerion is gonna be where the final showdown is," Snow said in a quiet voice. "I guess that's where we'll need to go, then."
"I'll need rest first," she murmured. "There's no way I can do this without some sleep." Closing her eyes a moment, she breathed in, exhaled, and reopened her eyes. Spread out before her was the Wildlands, all the way to the station, but the grass was thin, dry, and dark. What lights still remained looked like tiny points in an expanse of pitch darkness beneath the tree boughs. "It's finally here."
"The long night has begun." Caius told her.
Thinking about the last sunset and Yusnaan's revelry in the final hours before its destruction, she realized she felt relief within her as well. Once it was over and they traveled to the new world, she was going to live her life right, no longer taking anything for granted. Every moment she got to spend with Serah would be even more precious, and she would never push away her friends again. She would pursue her dream job, she would find her future, and she would be happy at last as long as everyone around her was.
So what if she had to go without her heart? How often had her emotions simply weighed her down?
Deep inside, she knew those thoughts were wrong.
Canopus Farms was a lone patchwork of light in a sea of thick shadows. Though the chaos had not risen yet to swallow the entire continent, she knew it had begun to seep into the earth underfoot. The feeling of ominousness reminded her of when the party had stood before Edenhall and seen Etro's Gate hanging overhead, or when she had stood with Noel and Serah in New Bodhum long into the future, where everything had died.
It was terrifying, and somehow exciting.
"I'm gonna go rest, as best I can. Wake me in a couple hours." Turning away, she made her way into the thick of the encampment. In her peripheral vision, she saw men and women trying to comfort their children, or Heretics standing beside hunters, or elderly sitting on the ground and staring at the roiling sky. A contradictory feeling of hope and despair, horror and wonder, pervaded the group.
When she passed Sazh, who had been kneeling beside a group of children, he looked at her and stood. "Really feels like the end, doesn't it?" he said.
Lightning slowed to a stop. "Yeah, it really does. Be sure to get some rest."
"You bet." He drew in a deep breath. "It's, uh, actually kind of exciting. If it means I get to see Dajh again and bring him on home with us, well, I'm up for anything. No matter what happens, we're with you, just like we were in Orphan's Cradle. Together to the end, you know?" Patting her shoulder, he smiled at her. "And soon, Serah'll be back. That's definitely something to celebrate."
"Yeah, it is." She smiled a little. "What're you gonna do in the new world?"
"Me? Oh, I don't know." He shrugged. "Maybe become a pilot, or I'll take up gardening. Or farming. I've got a lot of interests." He shook his head. "Then there's Dajh. I am gonna make sure he grows up tall and strong, and he gets an education so he can have a better life than his old man."
"Things will work out in the end. We just have to push back Bhunivelze." She sighed. "No pressure, huh?"
"None at all," he murmured. "Get some rest, now. Try to relax."
She nodded and continued on through the crowd. Vanille was off in the distance, among the Heretics, while Fang stood by a weaponsmith, apparently making sure everything about her lance was in working order. Noel sat near the fence, on the ground, and seemed too preoccupied to pay her any mind. The only one missing, then, was Hope, and her steed, Odin, whom she hadn't seen in a good while now.
It took her longer than it should have to realize that Caius was behind her, following her step for step, but it didn't bother her at all. It felt normal, and natural.
"Lightning? Is that... did you come back to us?"
She hesitated and looked all around for the source of the familiar voice, finally spotting a young woman coming toward her on swift feet. "Oh, it's you," she said. It was the girl from Poltae who had told them of Bhunivelze and first spoke of his mother. "Forgive me, I can't recall your name..."
"No, it's fine, it's fine." She smiled. "Aeia."
"That's right." Smiling back, Lightning grasped her hand and shook it. "I'm glad to see so many safe."
"Yeah, we're okay." The girl shook her head, then raised a hand to her hair. She stroked her fingers through it as she spoke. "So, is it true? I heard around camp you're gonna face Bhunivelze himself!"
"Yeah," she muttered. "Word gets around."
"No, that boy, uh... Noel? He's the one who's been talking about it."
"Really. Did he say anything else at all?"
"Only mentioned that you are running around with the Destroyer after all." Now her eyes flicked to Caius, but she didn't look frightened, only a little wary. "You could've said so in the first place."
"It wasn't the right time then."
"Maybe. So he really is helping you, huh? He's gonna help you stop Bhunivelze?"
At this, Lightning turned her head to her companion, encouraging him through her eyes to speak. Caius looked right at the girl and said, "I will stand at Lightning's side as her Guardian, and I will help her fell whatever may stand in her way. This is the only atonement I can offer."
Aeia looked him up and down. "You're definitely still scary," she said, "but... I don't know. I definitely expected you to be, well, scarier. I wasn't scared before, and I'm still not now. I mean, I can see..." Scrunching her brow, she rolled her eyes. "You know what, never mind. It doesn't matter."
Caius nodded to her. "All that has happened shall soon be washed away, and you will know peace."
"Hopefully the kind that involves me being alive," she muttered.
"It will," Lightning said. "I promise you that."
For a few moments, the girl looked unsure, but then she nodded. "I trust you both. I mean, I could worry about him–" Here, she glanced at Caius again. "–but if you trust him to help you, then... then I won't worry. If he's the one you warred with in Valhalla so long, and now you want him with you, I'm not gonna worry."
"You shouldn't." Her hand came to rest on his upper arm, just above the elbow, on the back side. "Caius will do all in his power to help me accomplish my goal."
The girl smiled broadly and laced her fingers together, tucking them in front of her hips, then bowed at the waist until her hair hid her face. She held this for a few moments before straightening again. "Be well," she said, "and may you be blessed in all your endeavors."
The warrior looked at her a moment, then pressed her heels together, extended one arm, and brought it to her chest – the classic Guardian Corps salute, something she hadn't used in what felt like lifetimes. The girl wouldn't know what it referred to, but from the warmth in her eyes, she did understand the meaning.
The inn was still standing, and the same woman still manned it. "No charge," she said in a very soft voice when the warriors approached. "Not much point, anyway. All that matters is that you and your friends push back the dark so we will be able to see the light of a new world."
Lightning stopped in front of the inn entrance, staring at the woman. She didn't know her name, didn't know much about the people here, but in that moment, a kinship seemed to form.
These people were counting on her. On them.
She reached out and gently touched the other's arm. "I'll make sure it happens. I promise."
The woman smiled, her eyes moist. "Thank you."
Lightning pushed open the door and went into one of the two rooms – very small, with room for a tiny closet, a twin-sized bed, and a nightstand. When she sat down on the bed and sank into it, some of the weariness vanished from her bones; she pressed her hands into the sheets and hung her head.
Caius stood just inside the doorway, making the already small room look even smaller. When he spoke, his voice was so soft that it was only just audible. "While you rest, I will be in the temple with Yeul," he murmured. "When you wake, I will return to your side."
She abruptly looked up at him. "Caius..."
The shadows shrouded him, but the faint light streaming through the window at her back illuminated enough of him that she made out his expression, unreadable but for the intensity in his eyes.
"I... I..." Finding words for the thoughts roiling in her mind proved difficult, and she gathered the sheets at her sides in both fists. "Thank you. For everything. Over these past... days, you've been a great help to me. You have proven you want to make things better, and I... I don't regret bringing you with me at all. When this is all over, I promise I won't let you be forgotten in the new world. Stories will be told for generations, and everyone will know about the Guardian of the chaos who helps keep these events from repeating."
Armor creaked when he shifted his weight, looking at the floor. "I should be forgotten."
"No," she said in a gentle voice, "you shouldn't. You really think the man who brought about the world's end, then helped the Liberator and the other heroes of the Day of Ragnarok, should be forgotten? His tale should be told right alongside all of ours. It's a much a part of the Crystal Age as anyone's."
Caius lifted his gaze back to hers. "Every world ends, Lightning. Even the new world will end one day. Oblivion is the fate of all things. But, for you and all those who escape this one's end, it will be long in the future."
She found no other words that moment, instead gazing at him and nodding.
"Rest well, Lightning," he said. "I will return soon."
As Lightning settled back on the bed, turning onto her side, the last thing she saw before she closed her eyes and let sleep overcome her was her companion turning away and closing the door.
Etro's temple sat upon the core of the Sea of Chaos. It had always been positioned over the most active point, the whirlpool around which the entire ocean cascaded. Even as the Sea slowly began to rise, covering the lowest points of the continent, the temple seemed to revel in its slow approach. The rocky chasms filled with chaos. The sky overhead reflected the flow of the Sea.
Within its walls, as Caius retook his solid form, it felt like the eye of the storm. Though he felt the chaos raging beneath his feet, the inside of the temple itself stood silent as death. Even the echoes of memory and time were not as fierce, as though the whole place held its breath in anticipation. That which he had set out to accomplish so many centuries ago, lifetimes ago, was about to be fulfilled.
Yeul would never again see the future. Never again would the strain of Valhalla's touch, and the kiss of the chaos, cut away parts of her life. After the end, he would be with them, and they would be happy. Some of them would wish for him to die, or to leave, but those who loved him most...
Standing in the throne room, he stared at the floor.
Those who loved him most would know boundless joy, and for that alone, he could, and would, set aside his own desires and wishes for their sake. He could not abandon them. They would be alone in the chaos. They would have each other, of course, but he would not be there to guide and protect them as he had for lifetimes. They were still children, and they still needed his love.
In the most secret places of his heart, he tried, at that moment, to let go of her. To forget Lightning. To release the feelings that had built up inside him for so long.
And it was as futile as ever.
"You have returned."
He lifted his head to see dozens of shadowy shapes around him. Some stood on the crystal throne, others on the broken pillars, on the stairs, in midair, and they all looked at him. Every one looked different – war paint, braids, different styles of clothing, a different cut of the hair, the very way she stood.
"I will always return to you," he told them. "In a short time, this world will end, and I will be here forever. Until then, I will be at Lightning's side."
"It is good you chose to take our advice and help her." One of the girls stood close to him, and he looked down at her when she spoke. "There has been so much pain and loss throughout this world, and knowing you are there, helping her end the suffering of countless lives, is a burden off us."
"As we destroyed the world," another said, in a lower tone and with a steadier gaze – the Yeul of War who cared for him deepest, "so shall you help save those whose lives have been stolen from them. Regretful though it is we cannot rejoin the people in the new world, it will be enough to know they will live good lives."
Caius nodded to her. "I will do all I can."
"We wish we could return," another said. "What we would give to see the sky and the rivers again."
"But it is not to be," the Yeul of War said, and bowed her head. "I cannot apologize enough. I have not even had the chance to do so to Lightning. On behalf of us all, may our sorrow always be known."
"It was beyond your control," he said in a stern tone. "Why blame yourself?"
"Did we not hurt your heart and drive you to this?"
He frowned. "Yes, but the fault is my own. What happened can only rest on my shoulders. If I had been stronger, perhaps this would not have happened. I only accomplished what the fal'Cie could not. It would have happened at some time regardless, though perhaps not in the same way."
"This was also Etro's fault," yet another said. "She reached into your world and created fractures. When she saved Fang from Ragnarok and sealed her brand, she widened the crack that had begun when she bestowed you with her heart. Saving the l'Cie from becoming Cie'th, reversing the crystallization of the four heroes, even bestowing upon Serah the Eyes of Etro..."
"Etro was a foolish goddess who did not fully understand what she did. Bhunivelze gave her too little power and not enough of a mind. Her intentions were pure. Her lack of foresight was not." The Yeul of War shook her head. "We can debate for days over who is truly at fault and end up with a dozen names."
"Perhaps." Caius looked up through the broken ceiling at the void of chaos hanging over them. The fountainhead flowed faster now. "It matters little now."
"At least Lightning has forgiven you your transgressions," the Yeul of War said. "That is a burden off her heart."
"Yes, it has helped her greatly," another said.
He looked at the one who had spoken, but did not reply.
"My Guardian..." The Yeul of War spoke again and came forward with a few small steps, though she kept her hands clasped together. "When you venture with us into the dark beyond, I ask, will you open your heart to us? Will you let us see the deepest recesses of your soul?"
He did not intend for his displeasure to reach his features, but could not stop it. "No."
"But you will be with us," she insisted. "What–"
"Perhaps one day, Yeul, but that is not something I wish to discuss now." How would she feel knowing that, in the deepest recesses of his heart, he despised the idea of remaining behind? That his feelings for Lightning had grown far beyond what a Guardian should feel for his charge? He could not bear to hurt her in such a way. This girl – this one in particular – cared for him far too deeply, and though he could never return her affection the way she wished them to be, he also could not callously break her heart.
No. Better to wait until he had released his budding affections for Lightning. Better to wait until his heart no longer yearned for the woman he could never have.
Not that she could ever want him. What had he done to earn her favor?
"Time is growing short," he said, desperate to change the subject. "As Lightning rests, we must prepare. Tell me all that you know that can help us, and I will relay it to her."
The Yeul of War nodded, her sad expression thankfully fading away. "Bhunivelze gathers power in Luxerion, the last seat of his influence in this world," she said. "All of his followers – the Order and worshipers alike – will be there on the steps of the cathedral, pleading for salvation from the encroaching dark. Though the clavis has been lost, he has other ways of destroying those left behind. All of mankind has been judged by his critical eye and found wanting, but he will give Lightning one final chance to reverse that decision."
"But he wishes to keep mankind only as tools."
"Yes. She must defeat him before any of them can travel into the new world. Bhunivelze will unleash everything he has. Within him, he bears his own heart of chaos: Hope Estheim, eyes closed, as though asleep."
Caius folded his arms. "Explain."
"It is... difficult to see all of it," another Yeul admitted. "Bhunivelze himself is not of the chaos. He is formed out of crystal, a hollow shell we cannot truly see, but a thread of chaos is anchored to him now simply because Hope is present within him. Bhunivelze does not know how to handle having a heart. He stole Hope away to use him as his own eyes and ears"
"That may be to our advantage, then."
"Yes, but be warned, Bhunivelze is very powerful. He will not be felled easily. When you bring the fight to him, be ready to unleash all of your power. Nothing less will stop him."
He flexed his fingers and studied the girl who had spoken. Bhunivelze combined the aspects of the crystal realm, where those of his kind existed, with the mortal and chaos realms. His power would be great indeed. Still, all of it could combine and work to their advantage – if Bhunivelze could not handle holding a human soul, and heart, within him, then it could be just enough to break his mind.
But what of the new world? Had he already created it, or did it already exist somewhere in this universe? Was it in another universe entirely?
He knew Yeul would not know the answer.
"Is there anything else?"
The Yeul of War looked to the side at one of the others, who said, "There is one. The power Bhunivelze fears is growing in strength. When you travel to Luxerion, you must cross the Sea of Chaos, but you will not need to go on foot. When you reach the shore, have the others call upon their Eidolons."
Surprised touched him. "Etro's power is gone."
"The Eidolons are of the chaos. They are Etro's work, but they are made of the chaos. Call upon them, and they will help you in the final battle to come."
Caius felt a prickle of understanding in the back of his mind, but let it go for now.
Moving past the girls who had taken semisolid forms, he made his way back to Etro's throne instead of melting back into the chaos. When he was here, in solid form, instead of dispersed as he normally was, he could keep himself out of the watchful eye of Yeul and his heart sealed away. It was not foolproof, though, as fringes of his heart still spread outward and could be felt by anyone with a link to the chaos.
He took a deep breath and rested his head on one hand, letting his eyes fall closed.
This was it. After countless centuries of planning and working, and five hundred years of waiting, the end had finally arrived. The plans of the fal'Cie had also come to fruition. Everything that had ever happened throughout human history culminated with these final hours.
In his bones, in his heart, his very soul, he was tired, and ready for the end.
Lightning woke with a start and opened her eyes to pitch darkness. There was no sound beyond that of her own breathing and her clothing rustling. When she sat up, she thought she might have closed the curtains and didn't recall, only to discover that they were open; she felt the coolness of the glass panes beyond when she pressed her fingers to it. Startled by this find, she rolled over to kneel instead and pressed her forehead to the glass, craning her neck, trying to perceive any sort of light.
But nothing, not even starlight, greeted her from outside.
From behind came a familiar touch of chaos and the sound of her name, followed by a soft violet glow appearing that reflected off the glass. She looked over her shoulder. Caius stood in the doorway, an orb of violet light in one hand, just above his palm, his features outlined in the glow.
"How long was I out?" she asked, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. She felt stiff, having slept in her armor.
"A few hours, as planned." He tipped his head. "It is time to go."
"What happened to all the light?"
"Come outside. You will see."
Not liking the solemn tone of his voice, she crawled off the bed, took a few moments to work the stiffness out of her joints, and followed him outside.
Canopus Farms lay under a blanket of darkness so thick that she couldn't see the hand in front of her face. No stars could be seen overhead. When Caius released the orb of light and let it hang in the air, it cast black shadows that made it feel as though the universe beyond had simply ceased to exist. The huts still stood, as did the tents, the trees, the grass, and the flowers... but she could see no people.
She held her breath, but even when she strained her hearing, nothing could be heard at all.
"Caius," she murmured, "what happened?"
He moved to her side, boots crunching across dirt, gravel, and dry vegetation. "The chaos has come. All the people have been swept away but those who have been personally touched by Etro. Sazh, Noel, Snow, Fang, and Vanille are here, out in the camp, looking for supplies. They will join us soon."
She shivered and rubbed her hands on her arms. She perceived a faint golden mist that drifted through the air and smelled its rancid scent. All of those people, swept away simply because they had never developed an affinity to the chaos like she and her party had.
"This is really it." Releasing her arms, she rubbed her hands together. The air had grown cold and still, like the air in Valhalla, though lacking its lifeless breeze that had stank of death and chaos. "It's... terrifying. Like the rest of the universe just... doesn't exist anymore."
"We will need to stay on the move," he said. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a flicker of light – the others, it would seem, returning. "The chaos beasts still linger around us, and if we stay in one place for too long, they may try to devour us. Our affinity to the chaos shields us, for now."
"But it's still a risk." Cracking her knuckles sounded like fireworks in the still air. Never before in her life had she experienced such complete silence. Even Valhalla had had the sound of warfare, or the blooms in the temple being stirred by the freeze, or the Sea of Chaos lapping at the shore. "Are we all that's left?"
"Beyond those in Luxerion," Caius said, "we are."
Lightning shivered and shut her eyes. Trying not to think of all the people she had encountered drifting in the chaos proved a futile task. "Vanille needs to get to Luxerion. She has to help these people."
The others walked into the pink-hued light, and Sazh switched off the flashlight he had been carrying. They all gathered in a small circle without a word, exchanging looks. For a long time, no one said a word, and they all kept glancing in her direction with expectant eyes.
Lightning opened her mouth, then hesitated as she looked around. Long ago, she and her party had stood before Orphan in his cradle. They had fought Barthandelus and defied their fate to destroy Cocoon. With everything they had, they freed Cocoon from being held under the control of the fal'Cie, who had bred humans just for the sake of ultimately sacrificing them and opening Etro's Gate. They had overcome hardships, even within themselves, to accomplish that final goal.
The odds they'd faced on that day had been mighty indeed.
Then she looked at Snow, who looked back in silence. She had demanded he get away from Serah, had threatened him, hit him, apologized and meant it, accepted him. The man standing before her had changed, she knew, from the one she had first met in Bodhum, but in his heart, he was still Snow Villiers. He would still go to the ends of the universe for her sister. If only everyone had someone like him.
"Snow," she said in a quiet voice, "do you remember the vision you and the others had in Orphan's Cradle?"
"You mean..." He frowned. "...after I became a Cie'th the first time?"
"Yeah. Can you..." She swallowed. "Remind me. Please."
Snow lifted his chin, a look of slight surprise in his eyes, before folding his hands together and gazing down at them. "I saw... I saw all of us someplace I never saw before, smiling and laughing. Everyone was there. Fang was there, and Vanille, Hope and Serah, and faces I had never seen before."
"That isn't what happened," she murmured. "That future never came to pass."
"It may yet still," Sazh said, his voice very quiet. "When we get to the new world, everyone is going to be standing around, smiling and laughing. Everyone will be there. I doubt it's what we saw. I think it was just our Focus, what we wanted to have happen. But, uh... if that's the case..."
"Then our Focus will truly be complete," Vanille said then, smiling a little. "We can do it."
Lightning bowed her head. They had all come so far, traveled long roads into an uncertain future, worked so hard to make it to the end. They had started out despising one another, chafing under each other's accusations and faults, only to come together into a team that could face down the world. Now, at the very end, they would save one of their own, and even Caius Ballad, an avatar of the chaos, would be with them to help.
There was nothing, anymore, that could stop them. Not Lindzei, not the chaos beasts, not Bhunivelze, not the chaos, and not the deadline of the world's end.
"We can do it," she said, echoing Vanille's assertion. "Together. We're gonna take the fight to Bhunivelze, and we'll show him what humans are really capable of. Does..." She looked around. "...anyone want to say any words?"
"Hmm," Sazh said. "Well, I can say one thing for sure: I'm glad I met every one of you."
"Me, too," Vanille said. "We're all so different, but we are more than friends now, more than family. Even in the new world, I won't forget any of you, or what we accomplished together. There's lots of memories in this world, and we'll keep them safe in the new one."
Lightning smiled at the two of them. "Yeah. We've really done it, huh?"
"Lady Luck ain't gonna be on his side," Fang said with a snort. "I dare him to try and stop us." Then she half-smiled and patted Vanille's shoulder. "No matter what happens, we're all in this together. We're a family now. Whether we die or live, whether we fail or we succeed, there's no regrets here. I'm ready."
"Right," the redhead said with a nod.
"And I..." Noel spoke up now, very quietly. "I... just want to say... Caius..."
The dark warrior shifted his weight; she caught something unreadable in his eyes when she glanced his way.
"I... know I... I just..." The boy hung his head with a sigh. "What happened is still your fault, but I let myself slip away. It's not all your fault. I need to forgive you. So..." When he looked back up, his eyes seemed to shine a little brighter in the light. "...I do. I'm letting it go."
Warmth crept into her blood; she laid a hand on Caius's arm, feeling the fringes of his chaos prickling against her palm. She looked up at him in time to see him nod.
"I still wish Yeul could go with us," he continued, "but I'm not ready to give up just yet."
"Anything can happen," Lightning said. "Keep your chin up."
The assembly nodded.
"That's it, then," she said. "We have to get moving to Luxerion, one way or another."
"There is that matter, as well." Caius spoke now, and she listened as he told them all he had heard from Yeul – that Bhunivelze held within himself the heart and soul of Hope Estheim, that he can be expected to unleash all his remaining power upon them, and then, the most surprising of all.
"The Eidolons are able to be called upon?" Snow sounded incredulous beyond belief.
"Yes," Caius told him. "We will need them to cross the Sea."
Fang and Vanille looked at each other while Sazh folded his arms with his eyebrows raised. "Well," he said, "can't say I'm gonna complain. Haven't seen mine in so long, and it'd be good to again. Now I'm ready to be moving just to try this whole thing out."
"This is it," Lightning said, bringing all eyes back to her. "Be strong. Be brave. Remember, you're not alone. Look at the comrades and family beside you. Know that together, we can do anything." For a moment, she took them all in, memories of their journey flooding her mind, then blinked it away and smiled.
Snow made a fist and tapped it on his chest, briefly flashing a smirk. Fang hefted her lance, letting it glitter in the light of the purple orb. Vanille folded her hands in the familiar, superstitious gesture she recognized from their long journey. Sazh patted his pistols and nodded to her. Noel folded his arms and managed to smile a little.
And beside her, Caius met her eyes, and there was no need for words between them.
She looked back at the assembly and said, "Let's finish this."
I think this is the fastest I've ever updated this story. It only took three days to get this chapter out, though it helps that the events were easy to write and it was a relatively short chapter, at least compared to the others. Fitting that this "eve of battle" chapter is released on New Year's Eve, then.
A couple of notes: I had originally planned to bring the Eidolons back much earlier, but the story wrote itself in a way that didn't allow for it. Also, I didn't want to stray away from Luxerion being the site of the final conflict. I did consider some other options, but in the end, I decided to stick with the canonical final location. That being said, I'm going to put my own twist on it, so it'll hopefully be entertaining regardless.
The next chapters are the climactic ones. I've been planning them pretty much since I started almost three years ago, so I expect them to be out very quickly as well. I don't expect to go into February, as well. Thanks, and please let me know what you think!
