Eizen Rangetsu-Crowe turned and looked up at the massive figure that was only a piece of the primal deity of darkness. "What do you mean, you won't give it to us?" he asked coldly.
[WHAT WOULD I STAND TO GAIN FROM LETTING YOU LEAVE?] Kuksedra asked. [IF YOU ARE SO DETERMINED TO CHAMPION MY SISTER'S CAUSE, IT IS ONLY FITTING THAT YOU SHOULD REAP WHAT SHE HAS SOWN, AND SHARE IN MY IMPRISONMENT HERE, BEYOND THE WORLD YOU LOVE SO DEARLY.]
"So what, you'll just keep us here until we die?!" Sahra exclaimed.
[YOU WILL NOT EXPIRE,] the dark dragon told them. [THE SKYPULSE IS A PLACE OUTSIDE OF SPACE AND TIME, OUTSIDE OF REALITY; YOU WILL NOT GROW HUNGRY OR THIRSTY, YOU WILL NOT TIRE OR AGE - EVEN BREATH IS MEANINGLESS TO YOU HERE, AN ACTION YOU ONLY PERFORM OUT OF HABIT. NO…YOU WILL SIMPLY EXIST, HERE WITH ME, FOR ALL OF ETERNITY, AND PERHAPS EVEN AFTER THAT. MY FATE IS YOURS NOW.]
"Unless you decide to turn into hellions!" Niko piped up, smirking.
[THAT WILL NOT HAPPEN EITHER,] Kuksedra stated, and Niko started and looked up at him in confusion. [WHY SHOULD I GRANT SUCH A BLESSING TO THOSE WHO WOULD STAND AGAINST ME SO? THEY WILL RETAIN THEIR BEINGS AND SANITY, NO MATTER WHAT THEY DO. MALEVOLENCE IS MY CREATION, AND WILL DO AS I WILL IT…AND MY WILL IS THAT THE RELEASE OF IMPURITY NEVER TOUCH THEM.]
As Kuksedra said this, Eizen noticed that the malevolence surrounding him seemed to suddenly lift - he could still see it, could still sense it, it was as thick in this place as it had always been, but as he waved a hand slowly in front of his face, he saw that the darkness parted to let his hand pass, maybe half an inch away from his skin. This wasn't the barrier from the blessings of the Five Lords; malevolence itself simply…rejected him.
A sick feeling bit into Eizen's gut.
"Well, if that's the case," Zaveid said, stepping forward, "I guess we're just gonna have to beat you up until you can't keep us here anymore!"
[KILLING ME WOULD ACCOMPLISH NOTHING,] Kuksedra informed them, and the cold pit in Eizen's stomach widened even further. [EVEN IN DEATH, MY SEAL SHALL ENDURE. AS FOR YOUR PRECIOUS WORLD…MALEVOLENCE MAY BE MY CREATION, BUT I DO NOT CAUSE IT TO OCCUR; IT SPREADS OF ITS OWN ACCORD NOW, AN UNSTOPPABLE DISEASE.]
"But you could stop it," Eizen pointed out softly. "If you wanted to. Couldn't you?"
[WHY SHOULD I?] the primal deity demanded. [I HAVE NOTHING ELSE LEFT.]
"You have me!" Niko insisted. "And you have all of them now, too! I might not be able to channel your power anymore, but I'm here with you, you don't have to be all alone!"
Whatever Kuksedra said in reply to this, Eizen didn't bother processing the message into words - Niko's declaration had ignited a memory in his mind, of looking into Kuksedra's armatized eyes as the black dragon gazed upon the cleansing light of the Heavenly Realm. Through Lucine's blessing, Eizen had been able to sense everything Kuksedra had been feeling in that moment…and between that and the ramifications of the beast's true name that he'd instinctively felt upon hearing it spoken…
"Selfishness," he spoke up suddenly.
Any trace of conversation cut off, and everyone turned to him in bewilderment, including the primal deity. Eizen lifted his chin and looked up at the piece of Kuksedra that had manifested, meeting the dark god's eyes as best he could.
"You're keeping us here out of selfishness," he declared, "because you're lonely and don't want to be here by yourself anymore. Hatred: you hate your sister, and any trace of the things she held dominion over, because she betrayed you and hurt you and left you like this. Conceit: even though you know, as part of your very existence, that all things in nature need a balance of Light and Dark in order to be whole, you've still convinced yourself that you can make a better world without Light."
[WHAT ARE YOU-?]
"Obsession," Eizen went on, stepping forward: "you haven't let go of this idea of making a purely Dark world even as tens of thousands of years passed, no matter how many times you've been foiled. Greed: you want the whole world entirely to yourself, and to not share anything in it with anyone. Lust: you long for the praise and worship and renown that the Five Lords are given by the people who think the Elementals are gods. Cowardice: you're afraid of being forgotten, so much so that you think we won't tell anyone about you if we go home, and all knowledge of you will die with us." He'd been walking towards the dragon as he'd been speaking, and now he stopped, lowering his voice. "Despair," he concluded softly: "you believe you will never return home, that to be trapped here forever is your only, unchangeable fate."
Silence filled the skypulse, both from those who communicated with sound, and the primal deity who spoke with his mind, for a long minute.
[WHAT EXACTLY ARE YOU IMPLYING WITH THESE OBSERVATIONS, PACT KEEPER?] Kuksedra inquired at last.
Eizen shook his head. "Kuksedra, don't you see?" he asked in response. "Without your sister, alone here with your broken heart, you've been consumed by your own creation. This, all this…" He gestured vaguely at Kuksedra, at Niko, at the planet in the distance. "This isn't you. You are not a destroyer, you are not evil; you are a protector, meant to maintain the balance between Light and Dark, not disrupt it. But you've been sealed here for so long, alone with your wounds, your anger and your grief, that you've become something you were never meant to be."
[YOU ASSUME MUCH, MORTAL,] Kuksedra rumbled in his mind.
"No," Eizen said certainly, and he gave the primal deity a faint smile as he remembered the words his mother had heard in her nightmare. "I hear you. I hear you, Kuksedra, and I understand. I understand that you're in pain, that you've suffered as no one should ever have to suffer, that you were betrayed by…by the one you love the most, the most important person in the world to you…" As these words came, Eizen suddenly understood why his brain always chose to translate Kuksedra's title for Phoenia as "sister", and had a feeling he could guess what each of his comrades individually had been hearing, too. "And…I don't think you have to be this way. I believe you can heal, Kuksedra, I truly do."
The dark god said nothing, his glowing white eyes staring down at the mortal Shepherd, his emotions unreadable.
"Come here," Eizen said gently, lifting a hand. "I bet I can show you, right now. Come here." This last, he said with both his mouth and his mind, so Kuksedra would understand what he was asking.
Slowly, the manifested chunk of Kuksedra, which took the form of a dragon-sized dragon, lowered his head down, placing the tip of his snout right within Eizen's reach. Summoning the flames of purification, Eizen managed to conjure a bit of white fire on his palm and lay it against the ethereal surface of the behemoth. Though Kuksedra still had no physical form, the power of purification was something beyond that which was mortal and physical, and with a vibrating, burning sensation, Eizen felt his hand touch the dark god's skin.
An image suddenly flashed in Eizen's mind's eye, another of Kuksedra and Phoenia, like the one in which they'd orbited the world together. This time, though, he saw, against a backdrop of black sky and white stars, the two dragons embracing each other completely, their foreheads pressed together, all four clawed feet interlocked, their tails intertwined, their wings wrapped around each other's forms…and it was the most beautiful thing Eizen had ever seen. As the previous image had seemed to speak of perfection and balance, this image radiated with the very embodiment of all that was good in the universe, all that was pure and right and true. Put together, the two dragons formed a heart shape…and not just a heart shape, but the heart shape, the beating heart of the mortal world itself, in its whole and healthy form. In that moment, Eizen knew he was correct in what he'd only just guessed: Darkness was not evil, and Light was not good, but rather, good was what happened when Light and Dark coexisted and worked together in happiness and peace, while evil was what happened when Light and Dark were in conflict and either one sought to destroy the other.
All of this crossed Eizen's mind in the span of a split second before Kuksedra jerked away, threw his head back, and roared, howling with anguish…anguish Eizen was all too familiar with, as much so as any mortal could be.
[PHOENIAAAAAAAA!] Kuksedra roared, filling their minds with words as his scream split their ears with sound. [PHOENIA, MY SISTER, WHY DID YOU DO IT?! WHY DID YOU BETRAY ME?! WHY DID YOU TURN YOUR BACK ON THIS WORLD?! YOU WERE ALL I HAD AND ALL I NEEDED, AND I TRIED TO BE THE SAME FOR YOU, I WOULD HAVE GIVEN YOU ANYTHING! WHY, WHY DID YOU DO THIS, WHY DID YOU BETRAY ME, MY SISTER, MY-?!]
Eizen listened harder, and realized that there was no actual equivalent for the final sentiment in words - "sister" worked, as did "counterpart" and "other half", but other possible translations were "love", "dearest one", "best friend", "heart", and "self", along with many, many others…If there was a single word that encompassed every form of real, true, pure love known to man, plus several forms of love no mortal could ever comprehend, that was the word by which Kuksedra referred to Phoenia.
Turning back, Eizen saw his comrades' understanding reflect his own, confirming that what he had inferred wasn't just wishful thinking on his part…and given that, he knew what he had to do next.
"I know you're hurting," Eizen said gently, turning back up to face the black behemoth. "I know you're lashing out because you're in pain. But I don't believe you have to stay like this. You can heal…just, not on your own - I know from experience, a broken heart can't heal by itself. You need…family, or friends, or…or someone, in order to work through what was done to you. And…I would be willing. Let me help you, Kuksedra. I know I'm not really an expert or anything, but…I believe in you, and I want to help. And I think I can do it, too."
[WHY?] Kuksedra asked. [WHAT WOULD YOU EXPECT ME TO GIVE YOU IN RETURN?]
"An end to the curse," Eizen replied readily, "but…it's not like it would be a price, or anything. It would just be what would happen if you healed - you'd go back to maintaining the balance, as you were born to do. And…you'd get to go home."
Something like hope, mixed with copious amounts of disbelief, poured off of Kuksedra wordlessly.
"Here's what I propose," Eizen said. "I'll stay here with you, and I won't ever leave unless you get to go back with me; while I'm here, I'll help you, however I need to, however you'll let me. In the meantime…" He gestured behind him. "…you let my friends and family go, and they'll tell the whole world about you - your whole story, everything we learned here, they'll tell everyone, including the Five Lords. If four regular seraphim plus a vessel can create a Mana Wheel powerful enough to pierce through to the Heavenly Realm, I'm sure the Five Lords working together could break open the seal on the skypulse and allow you to go free. You still can't be released as it stands now, because you'd just destroy everything, but…once you're better, and ready to go back to your old duties, they can let you out. I'm sure they'll agree to it - they want this curse ended more than anyone."
[IT MIGHT BE POSSIBLE FOR THEM TO BREAK OPEN THE SKYPULSE, IF THEY WORK TOGETHER,] Kuksedra conceded. [WHAT IS FAR LESS LIKELY IS THAT YOU COULD EVER CHANGE MY MIND, AND MAKE ME INCLINED TO FULFILL THE PURPOSE YOU WOULD HAVE ME TAKE UP ONCE AGAIN.]
"Just give me the chance," Eizen said firmly. "I promise I won't ever leave unless you get to come with me, not even if I find another way out; I'll stay here, with you, and I'll help you, for however long it takes. And when we go back…I know no one can replace your sister, but if the Five Lords work together, maybe they can kind of take her position to work with you, and make things the way they're supposed to be. You'll have all of that if you let my friends and family go home now, so they can tell everyone about you."
[YOU AMUSE ME, PACT KEEPER,] Kuksedra rumbled through Eizen's head, and Eizen felt those glowing white eyes turn from him to his comrades. [DO YOU ALL AGREE TO THIS BARGAIN?]
"Hell no!"
Alarmed, Eizen turned to Zaveid, whose red-brown eyes were ablaze.
"We're not going anywhere without you, kiddo!" Zaveid exclaimed. "You can't just make that kind of decision for all of us like that!"
"Uncle, please, you need to go back and tell everyone what we learned here," Eizen begged. "Everyone on Glenwood, and on the far continent, and everywhere else too - if nothing else, the people of the world, and especially the Five Lords, need to know why things are the way they are. The world has waited too long for answers already, and we can provide them at last. I need you to deliver the message for Kuksedra, for me, for all of us…but I need to stay here."
"You don't have to," Sahra pointed out, looking as though she was entirely on Zaveid's side for once.
"Yes," Eizen sighed, "I do. I am the Shepherd, I stand alone between the light and the dark…and it's time for the Light and the Dark to stop fighting. Once Kuksedra goes back to being the guardian deity he's supposed to be, the world won't need Shepherds anymore, there will never be another Lord of Calamity, the people of our world can build something better. I can make that happen." He closed his eyes. "I promised Sadie I would do whatever it takes to end the curse, and now I've found out how it can be done. But I need your help." Opening his eyes again, he turned his gaze to each of his seraphim in turn. "Please," he said, "please do this - if not for me, if not for yourselves, then for everyone who stands to lose everything if the curse keeps plaguing our world as it has. Think of the people you've lost, the sacrifices you've made, and how no one will have to face those horrors again once everyone is under Kuksedra's protection, instead of the subject of his wrath. Please, guys, please understand. This is how it has to be."
Lucine was the first to nod. "I will tell everyone," she said. "I'll tell everyone I can find all about what we learned here. I'll make sure the Five Lords know. I will do my part. I promise."
"I guess there's no point fighting it if Lucine's in," Sahra grumbled, though she was frowning. "Fine, I'll help too."
Zaveid sighed heavily and folded his arms. "Yeah, alright," he relented.
[VERY WELL,] Kuksedra declared; [I ACCEPT YOUR PACT. YOUR COMPANIONS SHALL RETURN HOME AND PREPARE THE WORLD FOR ME, WHILE YOU WILL STAY HERE, UNTIL YOU DEEM ME ABLE TO RETURN. DO NOT COUNT ON THAT DAY EVER COMING, HOWEVER.]
"It will," Eizen stated with certainty, and he smiled. "I know it will."
"Hold on."
For the first time, Edna spoke up, and she walked up to stand beside Eizen in front of Kuksedra.
"Big sis," Eizen began, turning to her.
"I'm not leaving you here all alone, baby brother," Edna told him adamantly. "I'm not going anywhere without you."
"Edna," Eizen sighed, "I have to stay."
The earth seraph who had been his family since birth met his eyes for a long, heavy minute. "I know," she said tonelessly, "and that's why I'm staying here, too."
Eizen wasn't the only one to give an alarmed cry of protest at this statement, but Edna held her ground without even flinching.
"We'll do this together, baby brother, or not at all," Edna stated flatly. "If you're going to be here for the foreseeable centuries, you'll need someone to keep you down to earth. I won't let you do this by yourself, you'll just go crazy before you get through to Sir Darkness." She gestured casually at the primal deity standing beside them.
"But - but what about Isan*?" Eizen argued, desperate to give her some reason to change her mind.
"When Isan and I said goodbye, he made me promise that I wouldn't return to him until my duty was done," Edna responded. "As long as you're here trying to help the primal deity of death stop being kill-crazy, our duty isn't done; I can't go back to him like this."
[WHAT OF THE SON OF EARTH WHO RAISED YOU, UFEMEW WEXUB?] Kuksedra asked. [I CAN FEEL YOUR BROTHER BEYOND THE VEIL OF DEATH, DAUGHTER OF EARTH; HE WAITS FOR YOU, LONGING TO REUNITE WITH YOU ONE DAY. SHOULD YOU STAY HERE WITH ME, YOU WILL MOST LIKELY NEVER SEE HIM AGAIN.]
Though Edna's cheeks flushed, her blue eyes were steady. "And what would I tell him if I left his namesake here alone?" she countered. "That I abandoned my new family to spend eternity alone here with the creator of malevolence, just so I could eventually die and join him someday? That I'm just as selfish as he was when he left me? How could I ever face him, if that was the story I had to tell?"
"Edna-"
"I'm not losing another Eizen!" Edna shouted, her stone-cold facade cracking for just a moment before Eizen could push her any further.
Despite himself, Eizen could hear in her words what she would not say: that she wouldn't leave another brother abandoned to fate just because he asked her to, that she wouldn't let him do to her what her older brother, his namesake, had done nearly two thousand years prior. And, he realized, he couldn't ask her to. "It's…up to you," he sighed. "But are you…really sure?"
"I'm sure," she replied, not hesitating for even a moment. "I'm not leaving you, and you can't make me."
[HEPHSIN YULIND SPEAKS TRUE,] Kuksedra remarked; [SHE CANNOT BE FORCED OUT OF THE SKYPULSE AGAINST HER WILL. VERY WELL, DAUGHTER OF EARTH, I ACCEPT YOUR SACRIFICE - AND BECAUSE I NEVER TAKE WITHOUT GIVING SOMETHING IN RETURN, HERE IS MY GIFT IN KIND. FETHMUS MIOMA!]
A roar echoed from the distance in response, and Eizen blinked; after everything they'd learned and everything they'd done since coming here, he'd completely forgotten that the dragon that had once been Lailah was somewhere in the skypulse with them. At some point, Kuksedra must have manifested the rest of himself, because when the white-horned dragon came soaring to meet them, she was tiny compared to the form of the primal deity. The white-horned dragon dove down, slowed her descent with a few flaps of her wings, and settled to stand beside them, her dead eyes watching them expectantly.
[THIS FALLEN DAUGHTER OF FIRE SHALL BE THE ONE TO BRING YOU HOME,] Kuksedra declared. [ONLY A DRAGON CAN REACH THE SKYPULSE, AFTER ALL, AND ONLY A DRAGON CAN LEAVE IT SAFELY; WITH HEPHSIN YULIND HERE TO ONE DAY BE YOUR PACT KEEPER'S TRANSPORT, FETHMUS MIOMA HAS NO REASON TO REMAIN.]
"But then…what were you going to do before?" Lucine asked.
[I WOULD HAVE USED MY POWER TO TRANSFORM ONE OF YOU TO CARRY THE REST BACK TO THE MORTAL WORLD, ONCE I OBTAINED YOUR CONSENT,] Kuksedra replied.
"You were going to kill one of us?!" Sahra cried.
[ONLY TEMPORARILY,] Kuksedra answered calmly. [AND IN RETURN FOR HEPHSIN YULIND'S SACRIFICE, I SHALL MAKE FETHMUS MIOMA'S DEATH TEMPORARY AS WELL. ONCE SHE DELIVERS YOU TO THE SURFACE OF THE EARTH, I SHALL RELEASE HER FROM MY POWER, AND SHE WILL AGAIN BE THE DAUGHTER OF FIRE YOU ONCE KNEW.]
"But dragons are already dead," Sahra protested. "We figured that out, and…and that's the truth, right?"
[INDEED,] Kuksedra confirmed with a nod of his massive head. [HOWEVER, DEATH IS MY DOMINION, AND MINE ALONE; WHEN I AM ALLOWED TO INFLUENCE THE MORTAL WORLD, I AM ABLE TO CONTROL WHAT DOES AND DOES NOT PASS THROUGH THE VEIL BETWEEN LIFE AND DEATH, THOUGH I COULD NEVER RETURN LIFE TO THAT WHICH HAS ALREADY PASSED ON. SINCE IT IS MY POWER THAT CURRENTLY KEEPS FETHMUS MIOMA'S SOUL IN THE MORTAL WORLD, AND BECAUSE MALEVOLENCE IS MY CREATION AND WILL DO AS I WILL IT, I AM ABLE TO RELEASE HER OF MY POWER SAFELY AND RETURN HER TO HER PREVIOUS FORM, EVEN ONCE SHE LEAVES THE SKYPULSE.]
"Yeah," Zaveid said darkly, "I'll believe that when I see it."
[THEN YOU HAD BEST BE ON YOUR WAY,] Kuksedra said pointedly. He paused for a moment, then added, [I AM AWARE THAT BEINGS WITH SOULS ARE SENTIMENTAL CREATURES; I WILL GRANT YOU AS MUCH TIME AS YOU NEED TO SAY YOUR GOODBYES. WHEN YOU ARE READY, CLIMB ABOARD FETHMUS MIOMA'S BACK, AND ONCE EVERYONE LEAVING IS IN PLACE, SHE WILL RETURN YOU TO WHERE YOU BELONG.]
With that, the dark god dissipated, leaving two humans, four seraphim, and one waiting dragon. All of them stood still for a long, long minute.
"Big brother?" Niko finally asked.
"Go home, Niko," Eizen told her gently.
"But I can't!" she wailed, already on the verge of tears. "I have no place back home! No one will ever let me live a normal life since I was the Lord of Calamity, and I can't be a hellion anymore because of your stupid sword!"
"You have mom and dad, and Cellie too," Eizen told her, kneeling down to her eye level. "And you have uncle Zaveid - he's the Prime Lord, he'll be able to explain everything to everyone. I'm sure, with the Prime Lord supporting you, Maotelus will forgive you for what you did."
"Don't try to make her feel better, baby brother," Edna grumbled, stepping up beside them, and her sky-blue eyes fixed on Niko icily. "Not many people will be willing to forgive you for what you've done," she stated, then shrugged an added, "but in my opinion, the Mana Wheel shard stuck in your heart is punishment enough." A cold smirk curled one half of her mouth. "It's just another one of life's cruel, sick jokes."
A choked chuckle came from where Zaveid stood just beyond them, and Edna turned to him.
"Speaking of which," the earth seraph went on, "Zaveid, can I talk to you for a minute? In private?"
"Uh…" Zaveid blinked as Edna started walking away without waiting for response. "Yeah, sure," he finally managed, and he ran after her.
"People will probably be mad at you," Eizen said after a moment, drawing Niko's attention back to himself. "But you have a job to do now, one given to you by the Shepherd, and with Zaveid and Maotelus supporting you, you probably won't face any criminal charges."
"A job?" Niko repeated, blinking her copper eyes.
"You have to tell everyone everything you know," Eizen reminded her. "That's part of the condition of leaving the skypulse. Zaveid, Sahra, and Lucine are all going to need you to help them spread the word, since you know Kuksedra better than any of us." Something occurred to him, and he smiled as he added, "You'll still get to save the world, Niko. That shard in your heart is the most proof you can bring back that any of this ever happened, so it can't be done without you."
"Save the world…" Niko repeated, frowning.
"Yeah…Hey, hold on a minute, I'll be right back," Eizen said abruptly, and he stood and ran back over to where Stormhowl's hilt had fallen; it was a ways away, and took a while to get to, whether the skypulse was a place outside of space and time or not. Retrieving it at last, he pulled the scabbard from over his shoulder and hurried back to Niko, handing both to her as he crouched down to her eye level again. "Here," he told her, "take these back to dad, and explain what happened."
His sister took the bladeless hilt and the sheath that would never hold the legendary sword again, still frowning. "He'll be mad," she said.
"Nah," Eizen chuckled, "he'll be proud as can be to know what our family's sword managed to do here. I'm sure he'll make you guys tell him the story a dozen times."
Her grip tightened on both items, but when she looked back up at him, her eyes were misty with tears…and Eizen couldn't help but feel a stinging at the corners of his own eyes.
"I love you, Niko," he told her. "You're my sister, and I never stopped loving you no matter what you did. I never will."
"Eizen," she whispered, and she shook her head. "You should hate me. Why don't you hate me? I killed Sadie…"
"You didn't kill Sadie," Eizen stated, even as pain lanced through his heart. "A dragon killed Sadie. You never meant for that to happen. You…only set Mikleo on us to remind uncle Zaveid of the choice he made. Right? To soften him up, make it easier to convince him to join you and Kuksedra?"
Niko closed her eyes, wincing slightly.
"It was an accident," Eizen said firmly. "You didn't want her to die. You didn't want anyone to die. I know that, Niko, I know you meant well in everything you did. All of it, you did out of love - love for our sister, Cellie, and also love for everyone else who would have to suffer and die the way the world currently is. You did a lot of bad things, but you did them for the right reasons, and I believe in you. That's why I know you're going to go down there and tell Kuksedra's story, because you know that that's how you're going to save our world." He stood up, patting her on the head between her pigtails. "Besides," he added, "you're my sister, Niko. I love you, and nothing could ever change that."
"Eizen…" she whimpered, liquid pouring from her wide copper eyes as she gazed up at him in amazement. "I…I love you too, big brother…"
It was all he needed to hear from her. Smiling faintly, Eizen lifted his head to face Sahra and Lucine, the two figures of legend who had been reborn to join him in his quest.
"So," Sahra said slowly, toying with her braid. "This…is goodbye, huh?"
"Yeah," Eizen nodded, and he met Sahra's bright green eyes. "Sahra…I won't be able to help dad train Celica in the Rangetsu style, but it's been her dream her whole life. You were my dad's best student, so you must know the greatsword style as well as the short sword style…Will you help train my sister? Please? As…as family?"
Sahra held his gaze for a long moment, then slowly nodded. "I will," she vowed, then smiled, breaking the tension. "Like I told your father, Celica has that spark, the same one I had, I can feel it; I'll make sure she gets to use it, and become who she's meant to be. Master Rokurou and I will help her flourish, I promise."
"Thank you," Eizen breathed in relief; as long as his family was taken care of, there was nothing he was truly leaving behind. Lifting his chin, he addressed both of his seraphim. "I thank both of you. I'm honored to have gotten to fight alongside both of you - not just for who you were as humans, but for who you became when you were reborn. Thank you, for everything. You were the best allies I could have had."
"Shepherd Eizen…" Lucine said sorrowfully.
"Take care of yourself, Lucine," Eizen told her. He glanced back at Sahra and added, "Both of you, please, take care of yourselves. I know you've both been through a lot, and have a lot more to do even now that we're done here, but…well, don't forget to take time for your own happiness, okay?"
Lucine clasped her hands and bowed. "Thank you for finding me," she said. "If not for you, I would have spent the entirety of my long, seraphic life hiding away, convinced of mistakes I never made."
"And thanks for finding me too," Sahra added; "I don't regret what I was doing in the north, but now I can actually build a life again. And I will, I promise."
"We both will," Lucine concurred. "I promise, too."
"Thank you, both of you," Eizen said. "I couldn't have done this without your help."
~X~
"So what's this about?" Zaveid asked from behind Edna as she determinedly walked far enough away from the others that they wouldn't be heard.
She turned, planting the point of her umbrella in the crystalized malevolence underfoot, and met his eyes. He smirked at her, and she wondered how she had ever believed that cocky smile was anything more than a facade.
"Got any last-minute confessions you wanna make before I go?" he teased.
"Not really," Edna shrugged. "I just have a favor to ask of you. Consider it a last request if I never get out of here."
"You want me to tell Isan where you are?" Zaveid guessed.
"You'd have to do that anyway, since you're going to be traveling the world to tell everyone about what's up here," Edna pointed out.
Zaveid blinked, and she knew that the implications of what he'd been tasked with still hadn't quite sunk in. "True," he mused. "Alright then. What is it you want me to do?"
Mustering all the intimidation and authority she could into the glare she aimed directly at his face, Edna coldly commanded him, "Make Lucine happy."
The wind seraph winced, recoiling away from her. "I can't do that, Edna," he said, shaking his head.
"Yes," she stated, "you can. You love her, and she loves you, so cut the crap and stop pushing her away."
"I can't," he repeated emphatically. "I'm not that kinda guy, Edna, I'm-"
"I know all about the story you told Eizen about how you gave up on being good and all that," Edna interrupted.
"He told you?!" Zaveid gasped.
"He didn't have to," Edna smirked. "You're not the only one who can take seraphic oaths, Fylk Zahdeya. I was spying on you the whole time."
"Huh?" Zaveid asked. "What'd you give up to fool the wind?"
"Doesn't matter," Edna responded tonelessly. "What matters is that I know your big sin and why you think you can't do anything but hurt her and all that nonsense. It's garbage, and you know it. Kuksedra himself said that you failed to destroy all of the Light in your soul - and you yourself admitted he was right!" she added pointedly.
"Well yeah, there are pieces," Zaveid said frustratedly. "A few withered fragments. That's not enough for a girl like her. She needs someone with a real heart, someone whole."
"She doesn't want someone whole," Edna pointed out; "she wants you."
"See, if it was my body she wanted, that'd be fine," Zaveid groaned, "but she wants more than that. She wants something I can't give her, or at least not as much as she needs and deserves."
"Yes you can," Edna said dully, rolling her eyes. "Come on, if the primal deity of darkness can be saved, what makes you so goddamn special that there's no hope for you?"
Grunting in exasperation, Zaveid shook his head harder. "I can't," he said.
"It won't be easy," Edna admitted; "that's why I'm making it my last request. I don't care how scared you are, and I don't care how much you hate yourself, Lucine deserves to be happy…and so do you."
But he just shook his head again, even as he gave a humorless chuckle at how she had dredged up the things he would never have admitted to himself on his own. Idiot, Edna thought, and she reached for her umbrella.
"Here," she sighed, untying the red string that kept her Phoenix plushie attached to her weapon, and she held the little stuffed doll out to him in one hand. "Take this."
"The doll Phoenix made for you?" Zaveid asked, confused.
"When he gave it to me, he told me to imagine it was him if I was ever lonely, and it would absolve my loneliness," Edna said tonelessly. "I never used it that way, but I did find that whenever I was really angry or upset or…" She struggled with herself for a moment, then confessed, "or scared, all I had to do was quickly squeeze it several times, like this." She clenched her fingers around the plushie a few times. "It's really helped me keep my emotions in check. So now, I want you to have it, and whenever you feel like doing something stupid, just look at it and remember that you're honoring a lady's final request…and if you get the urge to do something really stupid, just squeeze it until your stupidity impulse goes away."
"Edna," Zaveid breathed. For once, he seemed to be at a loss for words.
Edna walked up to him, took one of his hands, and pressed the plushie against his palm, using her other hand to close his fingers over it, until she could let go with confidence that he wouldn't let it fall. Cradling the little keepsake in his hand, Zaveid stared at it for a long, heavy moment.
"I…" he rasped, his voice rough, eyes fixed on the doll. "I…I don't…"
Before he could finish his thought, Edna raised her umbrella to point it in his face, letting her lips curl into a scowl. "Don't you dare screw this up," she hissed at him. "Kuksedra will be watching, and if you ruin it, I'll make sure he tells me, and I'll never forgive you!"
Lifting his head to look at her, Zaveid opened his mouth, but didn't speak right away. Something had shifted in his eyes, and Edna brought the point of her umbrella back down to the floor, knowing that he'd finally realized he would probably never see her again, and that this was the last moment he would ever have to say the whole, pure, honest truth.
"…I love you, Edna," he finally said softly.
She rolled her eyes. "I love you too, dummy," she grumbled.
A nasty grin split his face, and he took a step towards her, in response to which she swiftly raised her umbrella and stabbed it into his gut.
"Don't even think about it," she spat.
But as he doubled over, still smiling, that was when it fully occurred to her, too, that she would never see him again. Just as he began to straighten back up, she let herself go for a moment and lunged forward, wrapping her arms around his neck and burying her face in his shoulder, embracing him tightly. He hugged her back, lifting her into the air as he stood, and in his muscular arms, for just a moment, Edna really felt like things would be all right. It felt like being held by her older brother again, the irreplaceable embrace of family.
After a minute, she released him. He still held her.
"You can let go now," she told him, pulling back as much as she could with her boots a couple of feet off the ground.
"Aw, c'mon, let me enjoy this a little longer," he teased, grinning up at her.
Edna summoned her best, most wrathful scowl.
"Alright, alright, jeez," he muttered, setting her back down, but instead of tossing her a smile and walking away, his smirk faded, and he got down on one knee to meet her eye level, gazing at her with naked emotion.
"You should get going," Edna told him tonelessly.
"I…" He shook his head. "I don't have to go."
Edna blinked.
"You can stay here, so why can't I?" he said. "It'll be the three of us, as a family, we'll work on getting through to His Royal Darkness together."
"But…" she said softly.
"Hell, why didn't I already think of this?" he went on, and now he was smiling, pressing the plushie back into her hand. "I'd get to spend thousands of years, maybe forever, right here with you - I'll never have to face my sins, and I'll never have to commit any more. It'll just be you and me, baby, and our dear Eizen. Maybe you'll eventually-"
"You have to go," Edna interrupted, forcing the doll back into his palm and stepping out of his gentle grip on her shoulder. "When has taking the easy way out ever gone well for you, or anyone involved? Quit being a coward and go face the world!"
Zaveid recoiled and stood, but his expression was grave. "I swore to your older brother that I would protect you," he said in a low voice, "and I know how this story goes, Edna, I've lived it twice already: There's someone I love, who loves me, and I leave 'em behind thinking it's for their own good, only for them to end up dead or worse as a result. First Theodora, then Dezel…I can't let it happen to you too."
"I'm willingly choosing to stay here for the rest of eternity, and it's not like my fate could get worse than that," Edna pointed out. "Yeah, chances are good that this is goodbye forever, but I'm choosing it of my own will. You still have a life to live, you have someone to love-"
"I love you, Edna," Zaveid repeated.
"You love her too," Edna responded dully. "Not in the same way, but still."
"I can't leave your side," Zaveid stated. "I can't…"
If Edna was honest with herself, she didn't want him to leave, either. He was family, and maybe more…but…
With a sigh, Edna turned to the distant sight of their world and took a step forward, twirling her umbrella over her shoulder. "Zaveid," she said softly, "do you remember the old malak taboo, from before Maotelus arose?"
"Huh? Uh, yeah," Zaveid replied, clearly confused by the question. "We malakhim swore we'd never tell humans the truth about malevolence, because it would upend everything they thought they knew and cause chaos."
"Well," Edna said, "we've seen, since then, what happens when humans are faced with an ugly truth that contradicts everything they think they know: They fight it, and there is chaos, but if they have no choice but to accept it, they learn to deal with it." She turned back to Zaveid, meeting his eyes. "What we learned up here has the potential to do far more damage than the truth of malevolence ever did. The earth-dwellers will fight it, with everything they have - not just humans, but seraphim too, maybe even the Five Lords themselves will resist. But they all need to know. And in order to get the message across…" She looked over at where their other comrades were bidding their farewells; Eizen had separated the group at some point, and now he was running back, carrying Stormhowl's hilt. "Everyone going back will need your illusory artes."
"My illusions?" Zaveid repeated.
"The only other proof they're bringing back is the word of the former Lord of Calamity," Edna said tonelessly; "without the word of the Prime Lord, no one will listen to her. But even if that wasn't the case, words won't be enough to convince anyone. You need to show the world what we learned up here, as only you can."
"Someone else could take the oath-" Zaveid began.
"The oath is to never kill, right?" Edna asked, turning back to him. "The problem is, seraphic oaths are give and take, you gain power depending on how great a sacrifice you make…and that wouldn't be a sacrifice to anyone else here. Lucine would never kill anyone because she's Lucine, Sahra would never kill anyone because of all her guilt about her guild turning into a bunch of assassins, and Lailah…even if she can be turned back, she's about as pure and goody-goody as Lucine. It has to be you." She forced a tiny smile. "It's just another one of life's cruel, sick jokes."
Something that was simultaneously a laugh, a sob, and a protest choked out of Zaveid's throat at this, and he shook himself. "Was I always that annoying when I said it?" he asked.
"Yup."
"Heh," he chuckled humorlessly. "Fair enough."
"You have to go," Edna told him seriously. "They need you. The world needs you, and the information you can give them. The faster the transition happens, the less damage will be done, and your displays will make it easier for people to accept what we've learned. And…while you're doing that, build a happy life with Lucine. Please, Zaveid," she added, allowing her voice to soften. "Please, go be happy with Lucine."
"I'll miss you," he told her frankly. "So much. Too much, even."
"Surprisingly, I'll miss you, too," she admitted. "But this is how it has to be. You can't stay, and I won't leave. This is goodbye."
"Edna…" He shook his head, his expression pained; he truly wanted to stay here, even despite everything.
It was then that it finally occurred to her. "Zaveid," Edna asked softly, "how come you've never pushed me away like you have with Lucine?"
"Because you're not like her," he replied readily. "See, Lucine…she's a girl with needs - and not my kinda needs. She needs things I can't give her, things I just don't have. But you don't have any needs, so it doesn't matter what I can or can't give you - you don't need a man to be whole, you're perfect just as you are. A girl like you is the only kinda girl I wouldn't hurt."
Edna blinked, astonished - it was exactly what she'd always wished someone would see about her, the respect that had been exactly why she'd given Isan a chance. "All this time…?" she breathed.
"Of course!" Zaveid grinned. "Why do you think I never gave up on you?"
"I…I thought you were just…being you…" Edna stammered, heat rushing to her face as her eyes began to sting, resisting the urge to reach for the plushie that no longer hung from her umbrella. Shaking her head, she whispered, "How could I have been so blind…?"
"Aw, don't worry about it, babe," Zaveid dismissed; "not giving me any credit just runs in your family."
"Huh?"
"Your older brother never gave me any credit, either," the wind seraph informed her, his smile dimming.
"And that's…why you said it was his fault?" Edna asked.
He nodded; he didn't have to say anything, and clearly he knew that. All this time, he'd always seen her exactly for who she was, and she'd never thought…
"…Well," she sighed, shutting down her emotions, "it doesn't matter now."
"It's not too late," he offered. "If I stay-"
"You can't stay," she stated. "You have to go, Zaveid. And if you have to go, you might as well be with Lucine."
"But I-!"
"She'll be happy with whatever you can give her, regardless of what needs you might think she has," Edna informed the stubborn Prime Lord. "She loves you, you idiot, she'll make do. Besides, you said it yourself, you don't enjoy breaking hearts; don't break hers."
Zaveid jerked, surprised, then laughed. "You little brat!" he teased. "How long have you been spying on me?"
"Wouldn't you like to know?" Edna countered with a smirk.
He laughed again.
Edna let him chuckle for a moment before speaking again. "Go," she told him tonelessly, destroying any trace of mirth he'd managed to muster. "Go be with Lucine, don't ever leave her side. She needs your protection more than I do…and you need her, too. Let yourself love her, and let her love you."
The wind seraph sighed heavily, turning to gaze at their comrades; Eizen had just rejoined the others. "You really want me to be with her," he half-asked.
"I do," Edna confirmed readily. "Go be happy with Lucine. She…" She hesitated, then confessed, "She's what you need, in ways I never could have been."
"She can't save me."
"If anyone can save you, it's her," Edna shrugged. "And even if not, her blessing is good for you. You need someone who can see through you…and even I was never able to do that."
There was no response. Phoenix's doll still hung loosely in Zaveid's fingers, his orange eyes distant.
"Princess Alisha used to love Falkewin Squirrels," Edna said after a moment. "Of course, Lucine isn't Alisha, but maybe she likes them, too. Just in case you needed some ideas for how to make her happy."
"Edna…" Zaveid turned back to her, and she saw the shift in his eyes. "You really…"
"Go," Edna repeated firmly. "Be with Lucine. Stay by her side, protect her, love her, and let her love you. Make her happy, and be happy yourself, Zaveid. This is my last wish."
"I…" The wind seraph sighed, looking back down at the doll in his hand. "I…I don't know if I can," he said softly. "But…But I…" With another deep breath, he grasped the string dangling from the plushie's leg, looped it through the belt around his waist, and tied it there. "I'll try," he told Edna, meeting her eyes again. "I promise I'll try. For you, Edna."
"Good," Edna nodded, and she started walking back over to the others. "Now, it's time for you to get going."
He didn't reply, but his footsteps followed hers.
"I couldn't have done this without your help," Eizen was saying to Sahra and Lucine. He noticed Zaveid joining them and added, "And we couldn't have done this without you either, uncle. I was glad to have you as my Prime Lord."
"Hey, it was great to fight at your side," Zaveid said, his tone uneven.
Eizen frowned, and one glance at Zaveid's expression made it pretty clear why. "Everything okay, uncle Zaveid?" the Shepherd asked.
"No," Zaveid sighed resignedly. "But…"
"Go," Edna told him one more time. She turned her attention to the others. "You guys all ready to leave?"
"I guess so," Sahra shrugged.
"Yes," Lucine agreed, "no sense prolonging this farewell any further."
Almost as though she understood, the dragon that had been Lailah knelt down to grant everyone easier access to her back. Sahra leapt up first, as graceful as any Rangetsu, and she and Zaveid worked together to help, first Niko, then Lucine, climb aboard. Finally, with one last, reluctant glance at Edna, Zaveid hauled himself up to sit just behind Niko, Lucine behind him, Sahra at the rear.
"Goodbye, Edna!" Sahra called. "Goodbye, Eizen, and good luck!"
"You too!" Eizen called, waving to his comrades.
Lucine and Niko also called their goodbyes, while Zaveid just stared at Edna, as though trying to savor every last moment he would get to see her face. She met his eyes with a sad smile and nodded to him, waving her farewells to the others. Then, the white-horned dragon leapt up, beating her wings, until she was flying in the direction of the distant planet. After a minute or two, the monster's figure rippled as she passed through the barrier that sealed the skypulse away from the rest of the world, and as she did so, Edna felt a snapping sensation in her chest, as her vessel's Shepherd's pact, as well as her own Sub Lord pact, were severed.
"Ow!" she exclaimed, and she scowled and turned on the former Shepherd. "You didn't think this one through, baby brother."
"Why not?" Eizen asked, turning to her.
"We don't have access to the flames of purification anymore," she replied, "and without a Prime Lord making you the Shepherd, the blessings of the other Great Lords can't protect you anymore, either."
"That's okay," Eizen said, and despite everything, he smiled. "We don't need the power of purification, or the blessings of the other Great Lords. Kuksedra already said he won't let us turn corrupt while we're here, and as for him…" Her human brother turned to look upwards, as though the stars in the night sky were all Kuksedra's eyes. Maybe, in a way, they were. "Just like my parents, all he has to do is realize what he's become and decide he doesn't want to be that way anymore…and he'll purify himself. And he will someday, Edna, with our help. I know he will." The former Shepherd turned back to face the distant planet. "Someday…he'll end the curse. Humans and seraphim will be able to coexist peacefully…and then…"
"The Heavenly Gate!" Edna gasped.
"Yeah," Eizen sighed. "The realm of the gods and the realm of mortals will be as one…just like Phoenia wants."
"Huh?" Edna blinked, completely lost.
"'Your blood will hear the First Shadow, and all will be clear,'" Eizen recited, still gazing at his distant home. "I think…that was a message from Phoenia. She knew I would hear Kuksedra, hear and understand, and that it would lead to this. And if that was her, then…that means she doesn't hate her brother. I don't think she died to banish him, I think she died to create the Heavenly Gate." He shook his head. "It wasn't hatred that made her do what she did, it was love," he said distantly. "She loved her children, and she wanted all of the mortal world to be sanctified, not just those few humans who would be able to transcend into seraphim."
"Where's this coming from all of a sudden?" Edna asked.
"Well, think about it," Eizen said, still not looking at her. "When Phoenia created humans, she betrayed her own duties…she sinned. And then when she tried to defend them from her brother, she broke his heart. Ending her life to make the Heavenly Gate was the only way she could both atone and save the abominations she'd created - and if she wasn't going to exist anymore, she had to seal her brother away or he'd destroy everything she left behind out of grief, just like he's tried to do anyway. But more than that, somehow I…I think she knew, this was what would happen if she did it…or what could happen…" Another head shake. "I don't know…maybe it's just easier to see everything from so far away, but I feel like…everything in the world has its place. All of this was building up to this moment, when we're on the verge of ending the curse and bringing Heaven and earth together, and…I think that was what Phoenia wanted all along."
"Uh-huh," Edna said slowly. It sounded like a load of mumbo-jumbo to her. "And why didn't you tell everyone this before they left?"
"They couldn't know," he replied, his tone suddenly off, somehow. "For the same reason the First Shadow can't know. A choice to ascend to a higher state of being must be made without the knowledge of what the circumstances are, or what the reward would be. Such is the way of all things wherein mortality and divinity intersect - so it has been with humans reborn as seraphim, so it shall be with mankind becoming worthy of Heaven's union. The choice must be made in virtue, not in greed. But it will come; there is nothing left that can stop it now."
Eizen finally turned to look at Edna, and she was alarmed to see that his golden eyes were completely black, even the whites swallowed by a bottomless darkness that also seemed to radiate with warmth. It was the darkness between the stars on a balmy summer night, the backdrop that allowed the celestial bodies to shine in the heavens.
"Do not despair, Daughter of Earth," Eizen said; "you will be reunited with all those whom you love one day, and you will one day experience all the life you've yet to live."
"Ei…zen…?" Edna breathed, alarmed. In a stroke of panic, she jabbed him with her umbrella. "Baby brother?!"
"Huh?" Eizen blinked and shook his head, and his eyes were human again. "Oh, uh, sorry, big sis," he stammered, running a hand through his tied-back hair, "I guess I kinda spaced out for a second. Um…I don't know why I didn't tell them. I guess I didn't really put all the pieces together until just now."
"…Right," Edna muttered, deciding not to bring up what had just happened, the possibility that the primal deity of Light had just manifested in his body. Instead, she looked at the world that was supposed to one day unite with the realm of the gods, thinking over what she'd been told, not believing what she'd just seen.
Nothing can stop it now, huh? she thought, and she ducked under her umbrella so Eizen wouldn't see her scowl. Heh…yeah right. It's like Velvet used to say: hope is a waste.
o~X~o
Riding a dragon out of the skypulse wasn't nearly as big of an ordeal as riding one into the skypulse - though the passage through the barrier was distinct, it also felt smooth, like it wanted them gone. Over the course of his many centuries of life, Zaveid had seen things with barbs, sharp points that went in smoothly but refused to come back out; the seal on the skypulse was, in a way, exactly the same, except that entrance was into the world he knew, and exit was into the skypulse itself.
Beyond the malevolent pocket between space and time, Zaveid felt his pacts with Eizen and Edna snap, and he winced as his mount dove towards the clouds. That fundamental break with the Shepherd severed his Sub Lord pacts with Sahra and Lucine, too, leaving him connected only to Maotelus, the flames of purification burning in his chest where more emptiness should have been, a slight twinge that never went away as he was forced to feel. That had been his sacrifice, after all: a bit of his emptiness. Even without a Shepherd, that would stay the way it was…and because of that, with such a final, visceral end to his connection with Edna, he couldn't help but feel a sharp wave of pain, of the loss of yet another loved one he would never see again. Would that never end…?
It was horrifically cold so high up, but they were dropping quickly, and soon, they were among the clouds, where he felt the lightest brushes of wind. Having been separated from the wind for so long, even those faint traces felt like coming home, and his entire being rejoiced as he was reunited with the element that gave him life. All the cold forgotten, he whooped with something that, had he not been hurting and broken, might have been happiness and relief. Soon, they were low enough that they could breathe air again, and the distant ground of Lakehaven Heights rushed up to meet them, a bit further away from Ladylake than the point from which they'd ascended.
Finally, the white-horned dragon's wings beat to slow her descent just in time, and though the landing wasn't nearly as gentle as Zaveid would have liked, the beast's claws settled in the grass of the hillsides. Sahra jumped off immediately, and Zaveid followed suit, turning back to catch Niko, then Lucine, as they dropped down the monster's scaly side.
Once all of her passengers were safely on the ground, the white-horned dragon roared horrifically, and Zaveid instinctively took a few steps back, his companions doing the same. Malevolence poured off of the dragon that had been Lailah in thick sheets; but instead of latching onto him, as another white-horned dragon's malevolence had once done, it seemed to rise straight up before it could infect anything. Returning to its master, maybe? he guessed.
Slowly, the creature's form dissipated, and Zaveid stared. He hadn't given Kuksedra much credit when the dark god had claimed he could turn a dragon back into a seraph without killing it, but the monster didn't appear to be dissolving entirely. A small shape dropped out of the dissipating darkness, and when all the malevolence was gone, there, lying face-down on the grass, was a woman with long, pink-tipped hair and a frilly red dress.
No. Cold blossomed in Zaveid's gut as he watched. Seraphim dissolved when they died, so it was silly, but he found himself praying that she wouldn't move.
But like all his many other prayers, this too was ignored. Not even a second after the form of the dragon was gone, Lailah groaned and stirred, her fingers curling against the plant life beneath her palms; then, she raised her head and opened her blue-green eyes. "W…What…?" she croaked.
"Lailah!" Lucine exclaimed, and Sahra ran forward to help her fellow fire seraph up.
"I…I'm me again?" Lailah asked faintly, staring down at herself even as she took Sahra's hands and allowed herself to be pulled to her feet.
A dragon turned back into a seraph.
Everything in Zaveid went icy-cold-numb - he would have fallen to his knees if the idea of movement didn't threaten to shatter him completely. There is a way, he thought, horrified. The dragons I've killed didn't have to die. I could have saved them, and I killed them all instead. Not just Theodora, but Eizen and Mikleo, and Forsea - and hell, even that seraph who turned during the battle of Glaivend Basin! They're all dead, because of me. What have I-?
"Zaveid?"
A light touch on his forearm caused Zaveid to jump, and he turned to see Lucine's gentle, violet eyes piercing him. That damn blessing. She knew, obviously, what he was feeling. Did she know how looking at her made the pain of being Prime Lord ease for him slightly…?
"Don't blame yourself," she told him, her tone warm and soothing. "All the dragons you've seen die, or killed yourself, in the past…you couldn't have done anything else to save them. There was no way you could have known about Kuksedra, not even the Great Lords knew; and even if you had known, there was nothing you could have done to convince him to help you, nothing you could have given him in exchange that wouldn't have just left everyone even worse off. Those dragons you killed are grateful to you for setting them free, I know they are. You saved them, Zaveid; if you hadn't, they would have killed so many people, and destroyed so much of the world, in the centuries they would have endured until now, and even now there's nothing you could do to convince Kuksedra to revive them. They were already dead, and I know they're glad to be free. So please…don't hate yourself. You did the right thing. Always."
"Lucine," he breathed, his seraphic blood pounding as he shifted his arm to take the hand she still had laid against his skin. Her fingers weren't soft, there were little callouses from using her spear here and there, but she herself was truly an angel; her loving heart was the only thing she had in common with the woman he'd lost besides her appearance, he'd noticed, she couldn't be more unlike Theodora apart from that, yet that alone made her too good for this world…and his beloved Edna's final request had been…
Without thinking, he dropped down to one knee, his other hand going to grip her fingers as well, pressing the back of her hand against his forehead as he clung to her, as though he was falling and she was the only thing stopping him from hitting the bottom of the abyss, as though he hadn't already hit it and died long ago. After taking several deep breaths to steady himself, he looked up at her, their eyes locking as he mustered all the strength he had to try to be something more than the scoundrel he knew he really was.
"Lucine," he began, "I've walked this earth for over two thousand years-" Don't talk about how old you are, you idiot! his womanizing instincts screamed at him as he fought the urge to kick himself. "-and in all that time, only once have I ever seen a heart as loving and pure as yours." Stop comparing her to other people, that doesn't work, you know it doesn't! "I know you've only been around me all this time because we were pursuing a goal together, to fight the Lord of Calamity," he plowed on despite the sense that he'd already butchered everything, "but even now that our task is done, I…I don't want this to be goodbye." Better. "I want to spend every minute of every day by your side, to see you smile and give you everything it's in my power to give." Much better. "Lucine, please…" He lowered his voice. "Will you be my girl?"
Lucine blushed, deeply, but she didn't pull away, and that tiny spark of hope Sorey had forced into the endless void where Zaveid's soul had once been danced ever-so-slightly. A treacherous wind blew and informed Zaveid that the two fire seraphim standing not far away were both shaking with the effort of not bursting out laughing, but he shoved the information aside, all his attention focused on the water seraph who held his fate in her hands.
"Um…well…" she stammered. "Zaveid, that's, um…that's all…very flattering, but…"
Zaveid's gut twisted. No, he prayed to whatever force might care. No, please, I just lost Edna, don't take this from me too…
"…well, it's…it's like you said, we…we haven't really spent much time together," Lucine managed at last. "We've only had time to fight the Lord of Calamity, and it's only been a couple of days. Why don't we…spend some time together that actually means something first, and…get to know each other, okay? Can we please…take it slow?"
Something expanded in his hollow chest, and, feeling light, Zaveid rose to his feet; for the first time in his life, a prayer of his had been answered. That's not a no! "Of course," he assured her, shifting his grip to hold her hand in only one of his, gently. "We can do it however you want, and I promise I will spend every moment of every day striving to be worthy of your time."
Though the water seraph blushed even deeper, she smiled at him, and he felt the remains of his heart begin to lift into the sky…
…only to be slammed back down to earth as Sahra and Lailah erupted into loud hysterics.
Scowling, Zaveid tore his eyes away from Lucine to glare at the two fire seraphim who had collapsed to the ground in laughter, hugging each other as they roared with uncontrollable mirth.
"Mind telling us what's so funny?" Zaveid growled at them.
"Lucine, you don't have to be so gentle about it!" Sahra laughed. "Just turn him down cold!"
"Turn him down?" Lucine repeated, and when Zaveid glanced at her, he saw that she was frowning. "Why would I do that?"
Zaveid's breath caught.
"Oh, come on!" the younger of the two fire seraphim howled. "Getting down on one knee, the big flowery speech - don't tell me you're really gonna fall for all that crap!"
"Oh, but…" Lucine stammered, her cheeks flushing again. "But…but I…I thought it was really sweet…"
As the two fire seraph women struggled to regain their composure, Zaveid stared at Lucine. Something stirred, the pain from the flames of purification ebbing slightly, and he almost got a faint sense, some distant echo, of maybe, possibly, not being completely dead inside. Edna said Lucine could save me, he remembered; that Lucine is what I need, in ways Edna herself couldn't be. Could that really be true…?
"Well," Lailah finally managed, predictably getting ahold of herself first, "you've certainly found the perfect woman for you, Zaveid."
"Yeah," he breathed, almost without meaning to. "Yeah, I have."
Sahra was still snickering, but before the conversation could go any further, a figure beyond Lucine caught Zaveid's eye. Blinking, he focused on the little girl who sat all alone on a nearby hilltop, her white skin stark against her black hair and dress, her face turned to the sky.
Releasing his hold on Lucine's hand, Zaveid walked past the water seraph to his human niece, trying to tread lightly so as not to startle her as he came to stand by her side. Up close, he could see that her copper eyes were shining with tears; her hands clutched the hilt and scabbard of Stormhowl against her chest as she gazed heavenwards.
"Eizen…" she whispered, audible only through the sound that carried on the breeze.
Immediately, Zaveid was reminded of another small girl, also crying, as she too mourned the loss of an older brother by the same name, a brother she too would never see again. Now he would never see that girl again himself; both he and his niece had lost someone precious to them today…loss he was so painfully familiar with.
Sighing heavily, Zaveid sat down beside Niko, and she turned to look at him. He met her gaze steadily.
"He made his choice," he told her, not needing to clarify who he meant. "Look on the bright side - he's alive, he's doing what he was meant to do, and he's not even doing it alone. It could be worse. Much worse." Same for Edna, he reminded himself.
Niko shook her head, shifting her grip on what was left of Stormhowl so she could swipe at her eyes. "Uncle…"
"Come on, kiddo," he told her, though he didn't stand up, not even as Sahra, Lucine, and Lailah came up behind them, "let's go home. Velvet and Rokurou and Celica will be overjoyed to see you purified."
"Dad and Cellie are really alive?" she asked. "They really are?"
"Yup," he confirmed with a nod, cracking a bit of a smile - if there was one thing he was good at, it was breaking up tension with an easygoing grin. The benefits of not being able to care. "What, you still don't believe us? Come on down to Ladylake. Your mother's cooking is the toast of the town now, she's got a job cooking at the inn and everything. The whole family will be glad to see you, especially-"
His voice choked off, and he closed his eyes, steeling himself. What he was about to do went against his very essence, and he reminded himself of what Maotelus had told him when it had come to light that being the new Prime Lord would cause Zaveid pain. "I need you to push through it for now," the Great Lord had said, "but once your job is done and the world is safe, if you really can't take it anymore, just speak my name and break the pact. Please, Zaveid, don't suffer more than you need to."
"Especially…Maotelus," he managed to grind out.
He shuddered, his whole being almost physically cracking as the Prime Lord pact shattered around him, leaving him feeling dizzy for a moment - first with disorientation, then with relief as the niggling pain in his chest evaporated, and he was empty again, cold and dead save for that tiny spark Sorey had ignited, a spark that wasn't big enough to hurt, to feel. No more feeling…
"Zaveid?!" Lucine gasped from where she stood. "Are you okay?!"
"You broke your oath?!" This was Lailah, and he turned to her and forced a grin.
"It was never really mine," he said dismissively; "I was just keeping it warm for ya. Position's all yours, babe."
Though she frowned slightly, Lailah nodded.
Taking a breath to steady himself, Zaveid decided to get it over with and turned around the other way…to face Lucine. Without the flames of purification eating away at the emptiness within him, he expected to react to her the same way he would any other beautiful woman, with maybe a trace amount of pain from her resemblance to Theodora. But, to his surprise, he instead still felt…something, when he looked at her, even without that constant nagging pain for her to ease. What exactly it was, he couldn't say, but it was…something. Maybe Edna was right after all, he thought, though it still seemed incredible, even impossible.
Lucine smiled at him. Maybe she knew what he was feeling, possibly even better than he did. After all, it was probably something you needed a soul to understand.
Setting all that aside, Zaveid returned his attention to his human niece. "Come on," he said, pushing himself to his feet, and he held out a hand to the former Lord of Calamity. "Let's get home…and start telling everyone what we know. That was the terms of our release from the skypulse, after all - to tell the world the story of Kuksedra. And it's one hell of a tale."
The girl stared at his hand for a minute…then took it, Stormhowl's hilt pressed between their palms, and let him pull her up, slinging the massive scabbard over her slim shoulder with her free arm - it was much longer than she was tall, and the point bounced against the ground, but she was able to tighten the strap enough that it wouldn't fall. At Zaveid's other side, Lucine approached, and she interlaced her fingers with the fingers of his one free hand. Sahra stood beside her, and Lailah took Niko's other side, both taking the hands free to them. No one said anything more; no one needed to.
Together, the four seraphim and one human child turned towards Ladylake and started walking, ready to begin the long, difficult task of preparing the world for the return of the guardian deity who one day would end the curse that had plagued them all for so long.
*I know anyone who's been keeping up with this story before now is confused by this name being in place of "Rohan", so let me explain: A little before I posted this chapter, I went back and changed Marlind's Lord of the Land into an OC fire seraph named Isan, for multiple reasons. His appearance and backstory (and true name) are slightly tweaked to fit, but there aren't any real differences in the story overall for it; even the changes to the chapters he appears in - parts 8 and 16 - are relatively minimal, most of his dialogue is exactly the same. No need to go back if you don't care about him.
Stay tuned for the epilogue, folks! In the meantime, here are a few of the images you'd see during the credits: Zaveid conjuring the image of Kuksedra and Phoenia orbiting the globe for a crowd; Velvet in a bed, surrounded by her husband and daughters, as Niko hands her a newborn baby (yes, Rokurou gets his dream of having a child named Magilou - a girl who would look just like him but be just like Velvet, heiress to the Crowe family artes of the kitchen); Lucine cuddling with a whole swarm of Falkewin Squirrels while Zaveid looks on with a smile; Sahra and Lucine overseeing a political meeting/treaty signing between humans and seraphim; Lailah delightedly watching Arma Dylan perform in Katz Korner at long last (him being there would be established in the Katz Korner sidequest); Eizen, Edna, and Kuksedra playing a game together using the fragments of Stormhowl, Eizen and Edna both laughing. There would probably be a few others of Zaveid and Lucine in there too, but I won't spoil anything else on that front here.
Trophy earned for this chapter: [image of two dragons, one white, one black, completely intertwined into a heart shape] "A War Between Gods" - Proof of unlocking the secrets behind the curse that has plagued your world and finding a solution; thanks to you, it will one day be broken. Now you can start a new game, try to get the true ending, or aim for completion!
