A long time ago everyone gathered around the great tree just like this. It had been summer then. Heat waves sloughed off the plaza in a wavy illusion that went all the way to the ocean. The pier had still been there, waiting for its ship to come home. It waited, and waited, until the waters swept away the last plank.
Today snow crusted the town's landscape. It was quiet, and there were no travelers to wonder why so many people were standing around with their eyes cast to the ground. Instead of a shrine a magic swirl floated in front of the tree.
The black swirl fizzing at the edges was not a true gate. The connection only carried sound and the impression of an image. Its murky insides clouded with storm. Occasional flashes rippled through the rolling mist. Red magic. Then purple.
"We can hear you!" Livia shouted. "Don't give up!"
One by one townsfolk stepped up to the sphere to speak their minds. Some were loud and encouraging. Others were quiet. Martin stood nearby hearing things not meant for him. He'd already spoken his part.
"I remember what you told me," Priscilla said into the spiral. "I'm making a new wish now. Please come home."
"You must return," Beatrice whispered. "Without you we have no hope of awakening the last star, and I fear what shall come to pass if I fail. My uncle's influence is already spreading to SEED. The kingdom needs you."
Hina knew what being at the foot of the great tree meant. "If you don't come back I'll be sad forever," she said.
Somewhere on the other side of the divide Alice fought for the sake of humanity's heart. She battled a dread that'd rooted in anyone who suffered, a force that took Fuuka's pack one by one, tried to possess Priscilla, stole into Martin's shattered spirit, and corrupted a person who should've been a hero.
You can't have Alice, Martin thought. If he were able he'd have gone into Lucas' gate immediately even if it meant oblivion. Murakumo echoed the sentiment aloud. "If I could, I'd take your place in a heartbeat."
But that wasn't how things worked. Wishes couldn't change the past. Martin knew that, having stood in this exact spot before.
On the other side of the magic Livia and Radea had long gone quiet. No sign of Alice appeared in the rolling mist.
Martin focused his unsaid hopes into the darkness. He wasn't the only one. Terry had a sad, pensive look on his face. Misasagi bowed her head in silent prayer. The atmosphere hung heavy with unspoken words.
Inside the portal the billowing storm puffed before racing inward to one tiny point. Gold rays interspersed with rushing darkness. Corruption and life became one.
A rumble shook beneath Martin's feet. The earth itself shivered a tremor into his bones while crackling thunder rolled from the sphere. As he watched light blew apart the inside until it shone pure white. Radiance beamed from the swirl.
Gradually its shining rays grew softer. They took the darkness with them. Dread lifted from the land and did not return. But, when it left, something else went with it too.
A swaying sigh swept through the runeys. The ripple pooled outward, fanning through every living creature, a knowledge that this first breath of freedom had come at a cost. Rigbarth looked on to the empty gate and waited.
From the fading swirl a single sparkle floated out. Then another. Tiny motes of magic dust emerged. Harvest gold colors drifted up past the boughs of the great tree, disappearing into the blue.
Lucas' shoulders sank. "Oh…"
At the base of the tree the gate shuddered and collapsed in on itself, vanishing. For a few long beats nothing happened. Then a burst of magic dropped two people at the tree's trunk. Livia stumbled on her feet. Radea folded to her knees where she fell. Blood smeared both of them.
Simone stepped forward. Livia shot the doctor a look that made her stop.
Radea's long nails scraped snow at the tree's roots while she struggled to stand. Priscilla came to her side.
"Don't."
Priscilla's hands faltered, then settled into her dress. She looked to the spot the portal had been. Everyone waited for the light of Alice's magic. Any second now. She'd come back the same as always.
Radea staggered up of her own accord.
Lucas' eyes were crushed shut. He covered them with a hand.
Martin already knew. He'd known soon as he saw the twinkling colors, now gone.
Captain Livia would not look at him. She and her sister silently made their way through the group. Radea paused as she limped by. Her dragon's eyes met his. Age far beyond her appearance weighed the cosmic colors inside.
"She saved everyone," Radea said.
Her gaze dropped. Then she continued on the path.
"Captain Livia!" Scarlett called.
Livia paused. Her head turned just enough to reveal a glimmer of gold. Those eyes closed. She gave the slightest shake no before turning back to the road.
"But…" Scarlett looked back and forth from the spot the portal had been. "No…"
What was there to say?
Alice wasn't coming back.
Ludmila collapsed sobbing on the spot. Her skirts pooled around her on the snow-mudded brick. No one else spoke. Ludmila's hiccupped sobs echoed in the winter plaza.
Lucy turned and ran.
Martin walked past the others. He didn't see their reactions. He went to the bench by the great tree, the one he always waited for Alice at, and sat. Fingers threaded together. An emptiness so profound he felt nothing gradually bowed him over. The imprint of his hands dug into his forehead.
A cloak draped over Martin's ruined outfit. Cecil was there too. He clamped onto Martin's side.
But he just. He wasn't there.
Snow started to fall.
He couldn't accept this.
