New World Epilogue 2: Beginning of a New World
He walked by himself... as he always did. But he did not feel alone anymore, not here. She called him, she asked for him.. and he would answer her. Was this the place however? Could he even call it that? Nothing looked real anymore, no part of his surroundings stayed consistent. But of course, none of this belonged to reality. Everything he saw came from his own mind, his own dreams. And yet she swore that they would meet there.. He did not know how to feel about that, about any of this. So much became changed for everyone else he knew, so much stayed the same for him. There were times where he could not assure himself that he wanted to keep living in this world because of his own losses. But the ones he lost would also not let him move on, they would despise him for it. He already failed the ones who called him a friend once. He could not fail his family as well.
"You made it." But a new family awaited him. "Welcome, Midsummer Nightmare." A family of fantasies given life. "You.. Ishmael the Fisherman?" He saw the figure of the Legendary Fisherman come out of the shadows of the void. "The one and the same." Ishmael preceded a long line of shapes escaping the darkness: Olympia, Donna, Veyron, Schwarzwald and... Scarlet Fever. "You? Is this a dream or a nightmare?" Midsummer the masked duelist came to regret his wandering journey.
"Neither. This is another form of reality. While you sleep, your mind crosses into our realm.. the subconscious world." Scarlet started to explain. "Then are you Lilah Singleton or something else? Which shade of Scarlet am I speaking to?" Midsummer Nightmare wished to know. "Lilah is still in the waking world, handling her own affairs and making up her own mistakes. She and I are no longer connected. I am merely the part of Scarlet Fever that remained, after Continuum regressed to near nothingness. We are all what remained. The Continuum swallowed us all, whether we were created by mister Static or miss Echo." She gestured at her comrades. Some of them nodded happily and others like Schwarzwald simply bowed to their new guest. "We were given a second chance inside here, free of our original programming. Those who could be given a second chance. Scura, Wagnerok and even Khan.. they wished to remain as they were and be a part of their original human host. They will not do anyone any harm.. anymore." Scarlet said and added a little laugh at the end. "And what does that say about you? What is your goal for this new life?"
"They want to find the answer to the mysteries of life, Midsummer."
She answered him. "I wanted to tell you in case I never got to see you in person." The person who sent him the message, the voice that reached deep into his inner mind to tell him to dream off her.. "Miss Echo." The lady in blue surfaced from the shadows and turned the void into a clear blue sky. "You are here? I was told that you'd become one of the living." Midsummer tried to hide his feelings behind facts. "I am. But I am also still connected to STHEREA. I exist in both worlds at once. I could not just abandon my friends.. I promised I would bring them back." Echo gave Ishmael and Olympia a warm smile and they returned their own smiles to her. "And I could not go on without saying.. that I am sorry for what I did. What I did to them and did to you. I learned my lesson, I should not try to destroy what is a fundamental part of the human mind. I should not try to bury ever negative emotion until it bursts out like water through a broken dam. I should not force happiness on others." She resolutely shook her head. "Then you are not here to ask me to join you?" Midsummer asked. "No. Of course not. I wont do that anymore and I cannot do that anymore. I cannot say 'I wish you would take off your mask' and make you do that."
"It appears not." Midsummer could not resist a little chuckle as he noticed that he felt no compulsion to touch his mask, let alone remove it. "But now that you have said this to me.. I cannot help but feel that this should not be how it ends, miss Echo." Only when he managed to determine that he was in complete control of his own actions, did he take off his mask. "I forgive you, Echo. I forgive you with all my heart." He wanted her to see his face, when he said those words. "You really mean it?" Echo's face lit up with joy. "Of course. I could never hate you, whether you have your voice or not. You were lost, but it seems you have found your way again You have all found your way. So you seek to unravel the truth behind our very thoughts? To seek the reason for our consciousness? I daresay that I am sorely tempted to join you on this adventure. To give in or not to give in.."
"There is still room, Midsummer." Schwarzwald offered. "I see. Perhaps I shall, one day. But not today. The world waits. There is much of life I still have to enjoy and want to enjoy." He could not explain why, but he felt like this encounter lifted a great weight off his shoulders.
"I understand, Midsummer. If you ever change your mind, you know how to find me. Maybe we will all have another adventure in our dreams again.. when the world is ready. Maybe we will all be at peace. Not because we are forced to be, but because we all want to be." Echo accepted his answer and turned away. "I wish you good luck with your endeavors, miss Echo. I will not forget you." The unmasked duelist said as he saw the shadows grow again. He was waking up.. "Yes we will. Have a good life, Midsummer Nightmare. May we meet again at sunlight or moonlight." The figures faded and became one with the distant horizon. The dream was gone..
But it was not over..