The normal path to get to Vellweb would to be to get back on the main road and steer clear of the Kashua Glacier, going around it.
However, Lloyd takes the shortcut. Instead of going back to the main road, he leads us to simply cut through the rest of the Glacier, several of us slipping on the ice and steadying ourselves before we fall into the chasms.
The ice slowly turns to snow, but a blizzard is rising. Shards of ice cut into my face, so that I abandon my grip on the hilt of my sword to shield my eyes.
"We won't get too far in this storm!" Albert yells over the howling wind.
"Let's just go a little farther!" Dart shouts back. "There's nowhere to hide!"
So we walk along a little further, our hands away from our weapons to protect our eyes from the storm. I keep everyone in my line of sight. I cannot afford to lose a single one of them, Lloyd included.
"Dart!" I yell, jabbing one finger through the whiteness at a dark spot against the side.
Lloyd has one hand in front of his eyes, and he does not shout, but his voice carries the distance to everyone. "We can take shelter in there. I have something to tell you before we go to Vellweb. It's about Diaz."
Dart makes a gesture at everyone else, and we struggle through the knee deep snow until we reach the cave and duck inside.
"Whew!" Haschel breathes out sharply as he settles himself on a rock. Probably a sign of pain.
"It's cold out there!" Meru comments, huddling in front of the makeshift fire from the Red-Eyed Dragoon Spirit.
Well, you don't wear too much. What did you expect?
The others are complaining as they sit in front of the fire, except for Lloyd and Dart.
The slender Wingly is still in his battle armor, leaning his back against the stone wall of the cave. He shows no sign of fatigue or pain or cold. He only glares at the fire, unreadable thoughts going on in his head.
And Dart is glaring at Lloyd, obviously still not trusting him. His hand rests on the hilt of his sword, ready if the time should come.
For some reason, I am not wary of Lloyd. No doubt he could defeat me in battle, but I am not afraid. He seems not to be planning treachery, but is genuinely following us, or at least until this truce ends.
Dart is looking at me, asking my opinion. I tilt my head to the side just fractionally, and the warrior loosens his grip on his sword.
"Can I ask you one question?"
Lloyd shifts his eyes slightly. "Yes."
"Why did you save Wink twice?"
The swordsman looks away. "I had no reason for doing that."
"I see…"
After a moment of silence, Albert asks Lloyd quietly, "Why are you following Emperor Diaz?"
The platinum-haired man shifts his glare from the fire to the king, and answers in a flat tone. "It's for my utopia."
"Utopia?" Half the others echo.
"Yes." Lloyd answers, looking at all of them. "My utopia. To help save the world."
No one needs to ask him why. The world truly is a disgusting place. All the killing, and the Black Monster…
"The world isn't all bad." Meru chirps, trying to be optimistic.
No one answers her.
So Lloyd isn't evil at all. He just wants to reshape the world. In fact, he's a noble chivalrous person that went a little bit off the track.
"Emperor Diaz promised to help me with my utopia. So I did what he wanted. I got the girl, and I stole the Divine Moon Objects."
"But…" Dart falters. "Lavitz…and Neet…"
Lloyd shakes his head. "Your friend Lavitz was in my way. But…as for Neet…I lied to you. I never went to Neet. I'm not the Black Monster."
This new revelation stuns the red-clad warrior. For so long, he has searched Endiness for the Black Monster that destroyed his hometown. After eighteen years, he finally found him, or at least, someone he thought was the Black Monster. He had thought his quest ended. But…now he finds out that Lloyd is in fact not the Black Monster. His quest for revenge, or whatever he shall do when he finally meets that demon, is not over and must begin again.
"Death gives birth to tears. And tears give birth to anger. When anger turns itself into rancor, it opens to war." Lloyd continues to speak about the golden age that he wishes to create in place of our world, of his utopia. He talks about how Diaz promised to revive the last species so that they could rearrange the world.
"The Moon Child of the legend is the last species." Lloyd states.
"That's not true." I say from the back of the cave, firmly.
"That is the truth." Lloyd argues calmly. "Why does the Black Monster continue to kill the Moon Child?"
"…"
Lloyd looks at the cave wall. "That devil wants to stop the evolution after imagining himself scorched to death by the blessed light brought by the last species."
"Lloyd." Dart calls sharply. "What is the relationship between the Divine Moon Objects you have been pursuing and the birth of the Moon Child."
"The Winglies feared their status as the supreme species would end, and they sealed up the 108th species. The keys to dissolving the signet are the Gem, Dagger, and Mirror named after the Moon."
"You were going to release the Moon Child, in other words, the God, by using the Divine moon Objects." Albert concludes.
Lloyd looks at him gravely. "If I don't do it somebody else will. Even the last god cannot escape from the fate determined by Soa. That's all I wanted to tell you. The rest will be told by Diaz."
Dart runs over and grabs his armor. "If you desire a utopia, why did you take Shana away?! What is Shana to you?!"
Albert and I gently pry Dart's hands from the Wingly's armor and push him back.
"Everything will be answered in Vellweb." Lloyd says simply.
I notice that the other team members do not look at him with such hatred or spite anymore. Of course, they still hold a grudge for what he had done to Lavitz, but…they have learned that he is not the ultimate evil.
Perhaps this Emperor Diaz is.
Also by the time the story is over, the blizzard has ended.
Meru runs out, sinking in the snow and twirling around. "Wow! The snow stopped!"
"Our traveling will be easier without the weather to hamper us." Miranda states.
"We have to get on our way now." Dart says. "Let's go."
Our party, now numbering eight, continues the trek through the snowfields, with Meru in another one of her happy moods, constantly pirouetting or singing as she skips along. She is still a child.
Haschel lags along at the back, kicking at the snow. Earlier on, he had said that being around young people reminded him of Claire. But he pauses, reading a wooden sign, muttering to himself.
As I watch, his eyes widen, and he yells up the path at Meru, who is the farthest along of us. "Meru, don't!"
But the dancer is spinning again, and this time she is too close to the edge, seemingly strong enough, but composed only of soft snow.
"Aaahh!" She shrieks, tumbling down the slope.
There is a rumbling above. Meru's scream has caused an avalanche, with the snow so loose so soon after the heavy blizzard.
"Look out!"
Stooping down and wrapping my hands around my head, I wait for the snow slide to come down. It will not hurt. I have been studying the slope. It is not steep and there is a thick packet of snow on the bottom. We shall simply have to climb back up.
The snow slides under my feet, carrying me down the slope so that I end up comfortably on my back.
I climb to my feet, brushing myself off.
"Is everyone all right?" Dart asks immediately.
"Yeah."
"Sure."
"Hey, look, there's writing here! I think it's Wingly writing!" Meru exclaims, jumping and pointing at a stone slab with three forms of writing on it. She does not seem fazed by the avalanche. The path up is right next to her.
Meru peers at the carved writing on the slab. "Wow…it must be really old. I think it's archaic. I can't understand it."
"Giganto writing too." Kongol comments, looking at the carvings. "Kongol doesn't understand. Gigantos lose to books."
Dart moves forward. "There's human writing too, but it's weird. I can't read it. Can you read it, Rose?"
Well, now he understands.
I toss my hair over my shoulder, black against the white, and walk up to the stone slab, ducking past the three studying. The slab is not actually stone at all, but a door filled with magic, a transporter to somewhere.
Skimming the writing quickly, I read out loud, "'The cursed land where the decline of the Winglies began. Nobody is allowed to touch the door. The judge Nomos at the court of Zenebatos'."
I turn around to see the others looking at me strangely.
"How is it that the Wingly and Giganto and Human writing is too faded and archaic for us to read, and yet you can still read it?" Albert asks.
I've read many in my time.
"I don't know." I dodge the question, shrugging casually.
He is frowning. "Wasn't Zenebatos…"
"One of the five major Wingly cities in the Dragon Campaign, yes." I answer. "Whether or not it still exists, no one knows."
Again the puzzled looks.
"Anyway," Lloyd interrupts. "The path leading back up to Vellweb is over there."
"You guys go ahead. I want to check something out." I say quietly, moving fluidly toward another pathway, half covered in snow. "There is something I want to find out."
"Rose, wait!" Dart calls. "Wait. I'll go with you."
The pathway is short, leading out of sight around a curve and into a clearing with the open sky above. The stone paths wind down, uncovered by snow, leading to an icy raised platform with a stone throne on it.
We are in Gloriano now. We have left Mille Seseau and are now in Gloriano. Vellweb is only a few days away.
"You said it is Fort Magrad?" Dart's voice echoes in the emptiness. "Is this one of the Winglies' ruins too?"
I shake my head. "No. It belonged to Humans. It was the land where Diaz declared war against the Wlingiles with tens of thousands of soldiers and seven Dragoons. I heard about it."
Back then…when Diaz announced the upcoming war…I had been afraid. Dragoons are descending here in the place again.
I can still hear Diaz's voice.
"What we desire is freedom!! Or give us death!!"
And the Humans cheering him. "God bless Diaz! God bless Gloriano!"
"I am to bring light to the Human's future! I am the pass judgment on the past of the Wlinglies! I am Diaz!!"
"God bless Diaz! God bless Gloriano!"
I gasp slightly as I am pulled out of my reverie.
"Rose?" Dart is calling my name. "Is anything wrong?"
I shake my head, dazed. "No, nothing."
Leaving my sword in its sheath, I ignore Dart and walk up to the throne, kneeling before it, placing one hand on the foot of the throne.
"…"
Another flashback tears through my mind.
Zieg and I had spoken to Emperor Diaz, in this very spot before the last battle. We had knelt right where I am standing, and Emperor Diaz in the throne.
We had fought for Gloriano. When the Winglies burned down this fourth continent, Humans rebelled, with Emperor Diaz in the lead. Now…now it is nothing but a deserted land not fit for living. Desert and glacier, that is all the great continent now is.
And it was during that war, that Emperor Diaz announced our fates.
"You. I heard that you are going to have a wedding after this battle." Emperor Diaz commented. He was a large man, staring down at us from the throne.
"Yes." We both answered.
"There is no guarantee of coming back alive." Diaz was not being harsh; he was merely stating the harsh truth. It was his way of helping us.
It was Zieg that answered him. "Even if one of us dies, our bonds of affection are forever."
I had looked at him with tears in my eyes. My voice was soft; it was always soft and gentle back then. "Zieg."
"Your eyes are already looking at our future!" Diaz accused. "Then I will realize the future for you!"
But I didn't hear him. He was right; I was looking at the future.
And Emperor Diaz only shook his head.
"Rose?"
Dart's voice stuns me out of my painful flashback.
If only I had managed to save him…I would still have him. We were going to get married after the battle…Gods, I miss him with a pain that seems almost physical.
I take my hand off the throne, turning to face Dart.
He takes half a step back. It is not that I look angry, but he knows, as a fellow Dragoon, or perhaps as something else, he can sense that something is wrong. No tears come to my eyes, but I am sure that he can sense them within me.
"Sometimes, I don't know." he says softly. "Sometimes I wonder if you are really the Rose that I know."
I try to conjure up a weak smile, not from my lips. "I am…just me." I reply. "Come. There is nothing here anymore."
Nodding assent, we return to the others.
"What happened? What did you see?" Meru asks. I walk past her, heading up the path.
Dart shakes his head.
"So she just decided to go sightseeing?" Miranda asks, but her voice is not annoyed, only mildly curious.
I stay silent all through the rest of the journey to Vellweb.
"There it is. That's the capital Vellweb." Lloyd states.
Vellweb almost blended in with the rest of the desert. It had been two days ago that the iceland faded into desert. The…city itself was crumbling. It wasn't a city as much as it was a giant ruin.
Vellweb…
I clamp my lips tightly together as we travel down the dusty slopes into the ruins. One of the five Wingly cities, fallen after the Dragon Campaign.
"The seven towers…" Dart is referring to the seven towers in the distance. "Is Diaz waiting for us somewhere in there?"
"That is the tower of the seven Dragoons. The throne of the Holy Emperor is underneath there." Lloyd explains.
"We are standing at the legendary place where Humans began their liberation." Albert says in awe. "I wonder if it is an abominable place."
"You think too much!" Meru remarks, trying to be lighthearted. "It's the same as Kadessa, isn't it? When you drag the past around, you cannot walk anywhere."
"It is true, Meru. The Forbidden Land that was the royal capital of the Winglies. And this Vellweb is a mere historic ruin."
"Yes." Dart takes one step forward. "We can do nothing but settle for the present."
At the entrance, Shirley appears.
"I've been waiting for you." She whispers.
"Shirley!" Dart gasps.
"Shirley, why?" I ask her. "Why are you here? Didn't you say you were going to leave?"
She turns her shining-light face toward me. "I had something to take care of here in Vellweb. I couldn't leave the trapped souls alone in this world."
"Are you talking about…?"
"Yes. The four souls of the Dragoons who lost their lives during the Dragon Campaign." The spirit of her hovers there, floating red hair around her sad face. "I've anchored their souls here. After you are finished speaking with Diaz, please free the souls of the four lost Dragoons. I couldn't leave them here." She pleads, and disappears.
Of course…the souls of Damia, Belzac, Syuveil, Kanzas. Shirley is so kind…she is their guardian. She would never leave them trapped here.
"What was that?" Haschel asks.
"We can't bother with that now. We have to deal with Diaz first." Dart says. "Lloyd, you know the way."
Wordlessly, Lloyd continues through the weaving maze of paths.
There had been so many memories here…my head feels as if it is going to explode with all the thoughts flying around in my mind.
"Diaz is in there." Lloyd finally says, pointing to a door.
For the first time, anxiety fills me. I had never thought of it before.
Could it be possible that it is truly Diaz in there? Is it actually him? If it is, what must we do? Destroy him? For the utopia that Lloyd wishes is not what Diaz is thinking…I have lived longer than Lloyd, and I know what the Divine Moon Objects truly mean…
Deciding not to think, about anything, I follow Dart into the room.
There is a canyon about five meters across separating this side of the room from the other. The other side is more only a wall, and Shana floats in front of the throne, unconscious, sleeping peacefully.
Carved into the wall is a throne, with only three feet of platform in front of it.
Sitting on the throne is Emperor Diaz.
Or at least, someone who looks extremely like Emperor Diaz. Right down to the very armor and mask and outfit. The plump rounded body in the long white gown. Red shoulder armor, and a matching red mask that covers his entire face. How he sees past it, I do not know.
I gasp.
"Shana!" Dart yells.
Lloyd brushes past all of us, kneeling in front of the canyon, speaking to Emperor Diaz.
"Diaz. Here are all three Divine Moon Objects." The Wingly pulls them out and holds them up. "There are no more obstacles to hinder our utopia. Release the girl."
Diaz uses his power to levitate the Divine Moon Objects to him, catching them and placing them in his wide outfit. "Fine."
Shana floats toward us, and drops. Dart moves forward swiftly and catches her, stumbling before regaining his balance. Quickly, he leans her against the wall and yells up at Diaz.
"Diaz! What are you going to do with the Divine Moon Objects?!"
The man that may or may not be Diaz answers smoothly. He even sounds like Diaz. But shouldn't he recognize me? "Didn't you hear it from Lloyd? My only desire is the advent of the last species."
I decide it is time to speak. It is time for all of them to know the truth. I step forward, acting defiant even though I am quivering inside. Could this be the real Diaz? How could he have survived 11,000 years without the… My voice is loud and clear. "If you are the true Diaz, you should know what that implies."
Diaz nods and answers almost cheerfully.
"Total destruction."
I have the satisfaction of seeing Lloyd surprised. The swordsman steps back and gasps. "Wha-what do you…?"
Diaz smiles behind his red mask. "Lloyd. Well done bringing me the Moon Gem, Moon Dagger, and Moon Mirror. Now we can let the Virage Embryo, the God of Destruction, the last species we desire, the true Virage, arise. I will create the utopia you wanted, after the Virage Embryo purges the world."
I turn to Lloyd. "Everything so far was an overture to that, Lloyd. He showed you a false utopia from the beginning."
Lloyd is glaring at Diaz. "You deceived me. My utopia exists in the future of this world. What I desire is the creation of the future, not the destruction of the world." The Dragon Buster is unsheathed in his hand.
Diaz speaks harshly. "I don't need you anymore."
Just as Lloyd is leaping up to attack, Diaz forms an energy sphere and blasts the platinum-haired Wingly.
The force of the attack knocks Lloyd down to the ground, and farther. The ground crumbles and Lloyd falls into the canyon. Still weak from the battle days ago, his wings fail him, and he tumbles out of sight.
Lloyd!
"Diaz!" Dart yells, pulling out his sword. "What are you thinking?!"
Diaz stands up in a fluid motion. "I don't need to hide anymore."
His hands move up to remove the mask.
Finally. For the moment of truth. Is it really Diaz?
Shana groans as she awakens. "What?"
"It's been a while." Diaz says, unfastening the mask. "Rose. Dart."
Why does he call Dart?
The mask comes off and the face is revealed.
My hands reaching for his, quickly turning to stone.
"Let go. Save yourself."
The rock knocking into my arm, him torn away.
"Zieg!!!"
"Oh! It cannot be!"
But I am not—cannot be—wrong. The silky brown hair had faded gold-silver with the years, and the impeccable soft skin is lined with creases of age, but the liquid eyes are still bright, and even though he must have doubled his age, there is no mistaking him.
Zieg.
Oh gods above…how is this possible?
The full force of the situation hits me, and I stumble to my knees. The "reincarnated Emperor Diaz" is, in actuality, my long-lost love. Somehow he had found a way to break the curse, and now he is back.
As my enemy.
Anything else I had been prepared for. But not—never—this.
Oh gods, I have to fight the one person who is more important to me than my life. I have to fight the love that I lost 11,000 years ago.
If it had been back in the Dragon Campaign, I would have flung myself at his feet and obeyed him without a question. His meek, loyal, loving servant.
But…
Oh no…
My raging internal battle is blissfully interrupted by Dart's voice, incredulous and amazed.
"Father?! Is that really you, Dad?!"
Father. So Dart had been Zieg's son. No wonder I thought them so alike. No surprise I was attracted to him. …Who had been the mother?
Part of me is in shrieking delight that Zieg is alive after the battle. Part of me is in frustrated anger that he did not try to seek me out over the thousands of years that I have mourned his "death". Another part of me is deeply hurt that I did not mean enough to him, that he took another woman for his wife. I feel an anguished despair that I will have to fight Zieg, because I still love him.
And perhaps…most of all…I feel fear, because I don't know what to do. I had made many decisions before in my life, and for the first time in my long life…I do not know whwat to do.
My words leap out of my throat without my thinking of them.
"You died! With Melbu Frahma on each other's swords!!" I scream, my words desperate, seemingly trying to persuade myself instead of him that this is not true.
But it truly is him. I could never forget him. He could be in a totally different body, or aged so many years, and yet I would still know him.
Dart looks at me strangely. "Rose, what are you talking about?"
Zieg smiles. His smile has not changed. He looks so graceful there, with the red shoulder armor and the white robe that is too large for him, flowing down around him. "Now I can tell you everything…
"The beginning of the world was an absolute nothingness…darkness. The Creator Soa sowed a seed to the Earth. This is the plan of Soa, that created all species. The birth of the Divine Tree…
"Eventually the fruit of the Divine Tree ripened and fell to the ground to fill the world with life. Gigantos from the 97th fruit. Minintos from the 99th fruit. Dragons from the 105th fruit… And at the end, the Virage Embryo, the God of Destruction, was to be born from the 108th fruit. Soa desired the destruction and regeneration of the world by the Virage Embryo, the god of destruction. However 11,000 years ago, Winglies found out the tragedy waiting for them, and sealed the 108th fruit by separating the flesh and the soul. The flesh of the god, the flesh of the Virage Embryo, was taken away from the Winglies as the Moon That Never Sets that glows in the sky.
"And the soul of the god was captured in the Crystal Sphere, and Melbu Frahma kept it. Yes, to withdraw unlimited power from that, and to conquer the other creatures. However, even with unlimited magic power, the domination was not eternal. Humans arose with the Dragoons in front. Nothing was their match because they obtained the power of the Dragon.
"And finally, they drove Melbu Frahma into a corner. I felt certain of human… my victory." Zieg corrects himself smoothly. "And it was in the next moment, the spell of petrification cast by Melbu Frahma, captured me. I have waited 11,000 years.
"Time, almost eternal, dissolved the spell of Melbu Frahma and I was released from captivity. Days spent with Rose became the eternal past. And I lived as the father of Dart in this age. Until the tragic day in Neet."
"I cannot believe it." I state firmly, louder than I need to. I refuse to believe it!
"I am here, that is a fact." Zieg replies.
"Then," Dart swivels his head back and forth, staring from Zieg to me. "Then both Dad and Rose…are the heroes of the Dragon Campaign?!"
"Yes, but that is not all." Zieg resumes the story. "Humans made a mistake. Silly humans destroyed the Crystal Sphere, which was the container of the the soul, along with the royal capital Kadessa. The Virage Embryo, the god of destruction, was exultant. It could now be born. The free soul released from the Crystal Sphere started to wander. In order to go back to the body left in the Moon That Never Sets to be born as the last god, to destroy the world.
"The soul without a body possesses a human body and heads for the Moon That Never Sets by repeating the transmigration every 108 years. You now know. The soul of the god of destruction is the Moon Child. The truth of the Moon Child in the legend.
"Count every 108 years, and when the Moon That Never Sets glares red, the Moon Child shall descend upon the land and give a holy blessing ot the world. The holy blessing is the destruction. The destruction is Soa's will. That is…the fate that rules the future of the world."
What happened to you, Zieg? You never used to be like this. You were never one to submit to Fate. You don't believe this destruction crap, do you? Please tell me you are joking. Please come back to me.
Zieg turns away. "But there was one Dragoon who found out about it. In order to deter the birth of the God of Destruction, she has had to kill the Moon Children."
No please don't.
"By stopping her own time. She was even called a demon."
Zieg…please…
"That is the story of Rose…"
I shut my eyes.
"…The Black Monster!"
Even with my eyes closed, I can see what happens.
Dart turns around to look at me, eyes wide and full of pain. The sword drops out of his hands, clattering with an eternal echo on the ground.
"Rose…is…the Black Monster…?" he repeats stupidly, in disbelief.
I turn my face away from him. Now you understand why I couldn't tell you about the Black Monster, Dart.
He moves forward and grabs my shoulders, turning me forcefully so that I must face him. His eyes are full of incredible sadness, pleading, imploring for the truth not to be real.
I look at him for only a second before turning my face again, trying to wiggle out of his grip and failing. "The Moon Child has to be killed. And the people around it too, before they become the servants of the god of destruction."
Dart's grip seems to tighten and relax at the same time. His voice is thick with tears. "N-Neet…too?"
I slide out of his grip, too weak to look him in the eyes. When I speak, my voice is callous and harsh, a sheet of titanium buried in a glacier of ice and snow. My cold exterior is the only thing I can cling to, before I fall into the abyss without my Dragoon wings to fly. Dart deserves to know the truth.
"For 11,000 years, there have been no exceptions."
Dart stumbles back, bent over like he is going to retch, but hands over his face like he is going to cry. His voice is thick and muffled.
"God!" he screams. "Why you?! Why do you have to be the Black Monster?!"
I'm sorry, Dart. I'm so, so sorry…
Zieg smiles, that enchanting smile that still captivates me. "That's it."
From her place against the wall, Shana groans again, and goes limp in the eerie grip of telekinesis. Zieg makes a sharp gesture with his arm, and the unconscious girl's body flies toward him to hover in front of him.
"What are you going to do?!" Dart demands at his father.
Zieg smiles again. "Let me tell you one more truth. Rose, you thought the Princess Louvia you killed eighteen years ago was the Moon Child, but it is not true."
My head snaps back to the man garbed in red armor. "!?"
Zieg's lips pull back in another smile, not the enchanting one, but more like a wolf getting ready for the kill. His words are slow and deliberate. "Louvia…had a twin sister."
I gasp. "N-No!"
No! All my hard work! All my sacrifices!
"Shana is the Moon Child!" Zieg declares. "Shana is…the soul of the Virage Embryo, the god of destruction! I'll dissolve the Signet of the Moon That Never Sets, and cross it with the Moon Child. Now, I have everything in my hands."
"Release Shana!" Dart commands, picking up his sword.
"And are you going to kill her?" Zieg's voice is amused. "To save the world?"
I'm sorry Shana, but this is what I must do. For the sake of the world.
"I'll kill her!" I snarl, drawing my sword and pushing myself off the ground, clawing toward the girl hovering in the air.
Another brilliant energy sphere forms in Zieg's hands, and he fires it toward me. Just before my blade enters Shana's flesh, the magical weapon strikes the center of my chest, knocking me back.
"This," Zieg says scornfully. "Is the limitation of humans."
"Zieg!!!" I cry. "Why?!" You were never like this before!
But he answers not from the past. "All is the will of the creator, Soa. My hands start the world; my hands end the world. Yes! Fate desires it!"
With that explanation, Zieg—and Shana—rise into the air, flying out the open ceiling and away from Vellweb. Zieg didn't even need to use wings. His power has grown so much.
"Dad!" Dart yells. "Wait! Shana!!"
Only the eerie silence of the Vellweb ruins answers him.
When he pivots sharply, I can see his eyes. Fear for Shana. Amazement for his father. And for me…
Utter and total hatred.