Disclaimer: Even though this is the last chapter, I still don't own Slayers.

Destiny

Last promise

Once again he found himself surrounded by darkness. This time was different than the last time however. This time he was aware of his surroundings. He was sure that he was floating since he could feel no ground below him. For some reason he found himself incredible calm. It was almost like his spirit was missing the usual rage. "Awake now, are you?" a voice came from behind. He spun around. A large man was standing inside a pillar of light. His long red hair hung loosely down his back. He had one hand in the pocket of his long trench-coat, while the other rested on the hilt of his sword. "Who are you?" Eruk whispered. Deep inside he felt that he ought to know this man, even though he felt certain that they had never met before. "Who am I?" the large man laughed "we are as one, and yet you do not know who I am?". He drew his sword an leaned it casually on his shoulder "I'm the very source of you power" he smirked. "I'm Gaav, the demon dragon king" he laughed. Eruk tried to back away from the mazuko, but found himself unable to move. "Give it up, human" Gaav laughed at his futile attempt to move "in this place none of us have any power". Eruk tensed "where exactly is this place?" he asked carefully. "This place" Gaav said, while walking forward "is your own soul". Even though Gaav was moving forward, the pillar of light followed him wherever he went. "Then let me ask you this" Eruk narrowed his eyes "what do you want?"

Little by little, the darkness faded away. Eruk found himself standing on a beautiful field. "What I want" Gaav said "is you". He looked around "This is the place you've been searching for all this time" he said "this is the place where you can have peace". Eruk looked around. This place really was peaceful. He had longed for such a place for so long now. A place where he didn't have to worry anymore, a place where he could bid farewell to his troubles. "Yes, it's really something, isn't it?" Gaav asked. Eruk was stunned to find that the demon dragon king was standing right next to him, but for some reason he didn't feel any fear.

"You could stay here forever, you know" Gaav told him "this will be your very own domain". Eruk swalloved hard "but what about….?" He was interrupted before he could even finish what he was about to say. "You are thinking about that woman, right?" Gaav smirked "you don't have to worry about her. She's right here". He pointed to the left. Eruk turned his head in the direction Gaav pointed. "Hello Eruk dear" Sylphiel greeted him warmly. She was sitting in the grass beneath a large tree. Eruk took a step forward "Sylphiel?" he asked. The shrinemaiden nodded slowly "It's me Eruk dear" she confirmed. He went over and knelt down in front of her "What are you doing here?" he whispered. She embraced him warmly and held him tight "I just wanted to be with you" she whispered back. He placed a hand on her head "what about miss Lina and the others?" he asked. "What about them?" Sylphiel asked back "we got each other don't we?"

"No!" Eruk pushed her away "the Sylphiel I know would never give up on friends like that" he shouted. In an instant the field was gone. All there was left was the never-ending darkness and Gaav. "You idiot!" Gaav hissed "turning your back to happiness like that!". Eruk stood up and faced him "Happiness at what price, lord Gaav?" He ask firmly. "We share the same body, don't we? If I were to remain here, you would be the one in control". Gaav raised his sword "What do you know about anything, human!" he roared. Eruk shrugged "Not much, I know. But I do know that if you gain control of a body again, all hell will break loose. If being tortured by you in my soul, is the price I'll pay to keep my friends save, then so be it!". The light around the demon dragon king started to fade. "You are a fool human" Gaav's voice echoed through the darkness "I offered you peace here and now. In time, your guilt of what you have been responsible for will consume you, leaving only me behind". Eruk stood for a while and thought about the mazukos words. "I know, I'm just a human" he whispered "but I'll manage somehow…". He stood up "My name is Eruk Shadowheart!" he shouted "I'm nothing but a failed experiment, but I will make my own way! Do you hear me, demon dragon king!?"

Eruk slowly opened his eyes. He couldn't see anything but a white light. Blinking a few times he slowly regained his sight. He was lying in a soft bed. From the outside he could hear birds singing. Slowly he turned his head and gazed out of the window "I won" he whispered. After a few second he had to turn away, the sunlight was to strong for his eyes to handle. He turned away from the burning sun.

A smile crossed his face. Next to him Nimph was snoring loudly. Her blue hair was spread all over her little pillow. For a brief second he wondered how she managed to get her hands on all the stuff she seemingly had, but he quickly dismissed the thought. It wasn't likely that she could give him an answer anyway. "Hey Nimph. Wake up" he tapped her chin very carefully. "G'way wanna sleep…" she mumbled "Wake up when master wakes…". She drifted of to sleep again. He decided to use a more direct approach. He took a glass of water that was placed on a table next to the bed. Very carefully he splashed a few drops over the sleeping fairy. "Wake up sleepyhead" he ordered. Nimph jumped up "Huh? Who? Where? What? Why is it raining?". She looked at the door "Ok, I know you are hiding out there. How dare you try to dump water on the master?". Eruk just couldn't help himself, he dumped the rest of the water out over her. "What the??" she spun around "Master?".

Eruk had raised himself to a sitting position "Finally awake?" he asked innocently, and hid the glass. "You are all better!" she cried and threw himself at him. He grimaced in pain and collapsed on the bed. "Nimph be careful" he whispered. She let go of him "Sorry". He managed a smile "It's ok. You couldn't know, just be more careful. At least until I recover". The fairy nodded "So how do you feel anyway?" she asked. His smile faded "Like I've been to hell and back" he admitted. He looked down on his stomach. Despite the intense healing spells he had received, he now had a large scar on the entire mid section of his torso. "Oh, I didn't see that" Nimph pointed at his stomach "Looks painful".

He nodded "It is, but never-mind that. Where are the others?". Nimph looked around "Others? What others?" she asked innocently. "Don't play games with me right now" he sighed "I know they are somewhere around, because you couldn't have carried me here on your own". She stood up and flexed her muscles, which honestly didn't make her look much stronger. "What's that supposed to mean? I'm strong as…as…a human!". He gave her a tired look. "They are downstairs, I think" She finally said. Eruk nodded "I better go see them then". He started getting dressed. It almost reminded him of the first time he woke up in Sylphiels house in New Sairaag.

He sat down on the bed. So much had happened since then. "Master? Are you ok?" Nimph asked "you look a little spaced out there". He snapped out of his thoughts "Nothing's wrong, I was just thinking".

"How long has it been now?" Lina asked "Three days? Or is four?". Zelgadis put down his teacup "You mean since we got here? Five days actually". Lina looked around in the room. The inn itself was a nice enough place. Nothing out of the ordinary though, and it bored her. Normally she wouldn't even consider spending more than one night in a place like this, but Sylphiel had insisted that they stayed until Eruk woke up. "Amelia would you please stop hugging that piece of paper?" Lina scowled at the Seyruun princess "You've been reading it over and over a hundred times already, but you haven't told us anything about what's in it". Amelia raised her eyes from the paper "Sorry miss Lina, but it's private". Lina snatched the paper from her hands "private my ass. Now let's see…"

Lina quickly read through the letter. "What is this anyway? *Sorry for abandoning you* signed Gracia?". A this point Zelgadis started to get interested "Gracia isn't that the name of your older sister, Amelia?" he asked. Amelia nodded "It is, but how did this note end up in my pocket?". Taki opened her mouth to say something. However, a harsh glare from Zelgadis made her shut up. Even though he tried his best to deny the truth, it was pretty clear to him that Gracia and that Naga woman was the same person. He figured that it would shatter Amelias illusion about her sister if she knew what kind of woman she had turned out to be.

"Do you know anything, Mr. Zelgadis?" Amelia asked while staring at him with her big round eyes. "No, not really…" Zelgadis turned his attention back to his teacup, while trying to hid the blush that had spread over his face. "Aww look! He's blushing!" Lina pointed at the chimera. If nothing else, she could have some fun picking on Zel.

"If you would excuse me…" Sylphiel stood up from her seat. "Don't tell me you are going back again so soon?" Lina held her back "You've been watching over him for 5 days now. You deserve a break!". Sylphiel sat back down, no matter her feelings, you didn't disobey Lina Inverse. Lina sat back with a satisfied look on her face "Good, we understand each other". The shrinemaiden went back to staring out the window.

"Say Sylphiel, can I ask you a question?" Lina had seated herself next so Sylphiel. "I was just wondering, how was he able to survive all that? If he's that powerful, who knows what else he can do?". Everybody stopped what they were doing and looked at her.

"I'm flattered, Miss Lina, but I can't take full credit" A voice came from the door. "Eruk dear! You are awake?" Sylphiel stood up. He was leaning against the doorframe. "Are you sure you should be moving master" Nimph asked. She was sitting at her usual spot at his shoulder. "Sylphiel…." Eruk took a step forward, something that caused him to fall over. "Eruk dear, careful" Sylphiel caught him before he could hit the floor. "Sorry, still a bit weak" he whispered. With a little help from Gourry he managed to sit down on a chair.

"So you think you can tell us exactly what has happened?" Lina sat down at the seat across from him. "Well there isn't that much to tell…" He started. "Are you kidding me?" Lina cried "you just survived a fight with a really powerful copy of yourself, and a double dragon slave attack. And you are telling me that it was nothing?". Sylphiel placed a hand on her shoulder "You should at least let him answer" she scolded her lightly. "So it was a double dragon slave you used…" for a second he was lost in his thoughts.

"I've never seen a spell like that before" Taki added "How did you survive it?". He gave the young waitress a warm smile "Actually I have you to thank for that Taki". Everybody stared at him in disbelief, Taki most of all. "It was the amulet you brought" He explained "I used it to shield myself from the spell". He only explained briefly what had happened during his fight, leaving out the details of the beating he had taken after sealing his magic. "Where is that thing now?" Taki asked. He shrugged "It shattered. Apparently it couldn't handle that level of attack". He finished his story, and leaned back in the chair. An empty look in his eyes.

"Are you ok?" Filia asked "You look like you could drop any moment". Just as the words left her mouth, Eruk slumped down on the table.

Slowly he opened his eyes. He was back in his room. "Nimph?" He looked around for the fairy, knowing that she would never stray far from his side. "She's asleep over there" the voice almost made him jump in surprise. "Sylphiel? How long have you been here?". He had turned towards her, and was looking into her emerald eyes. She fiddled a bit with her hair. He had noticed how she did that when she was nervous. "Well…" She started " an hour, I think?".

He looked over her shoulder. He could see the dark night sky through the window. "You really shouldn't lie" He told he carefully "It's been longer than that, hasn't it?". She nodded slowly, but said nothing. He tried to sit up, but failed. His face grimaced in pain. Slowly Sylphiel reached out to him, her hand was glowing. He closed his eyes and felt how the healing energies started flowing through his body. "Just like when we first met" He whispered. She blushed a bit, but pulled herself together. She had promised herself that she wanted to hear the truth.

"Why did you do it?" she asked. He winced a bit "I don't get off that easily, do I?" He hoped that a little humor could help him avoid explaining his actions. Sylphiel just kept looking at him. He turned serious "I know it can be hard to believe. But I did it for your sake". She finished her spell "My sake? What do you mean?". He stretched, enjoying that his pains had been eased. "I had this feeling that it would be dangerous, I hoped that I could avoid getting the rest of you anymore involved. But I guess we both know how things went from there".

Before he could react, Sylphiel slapped him in the face. He brought a hand up to his red cheek "I must be a bad influence. It's the second time you hit me". It took a few seconds before her mind registered what her body had done. "I'm sorry!" She hugged him tightly. "I was so worried about you" She had started crying again. He hugged her back "Sorry for putting you through all of this".

None of them had no idea how long they were holding each other. "Get away from him!" Sylphiel felt someone pulling her hair. She let go of him and turned around. Nimph was busy trying to pull the much larger girl away from the man she considered to be hers. "Nimph, that's enough!" He ordered. She immediately let go of Sylphiels hair "Sorry master…" she flew down and landed on his chest. "Eruk dear?" Sylphiel looked at the fairy, "How did you end up with that fairy?". He had been unconscious for several days, and in all that time Nimph had never left his side. She hadn't been eager to talk to any of the others in all that time, so none of them really knew anything about her.

He shot her a look. "It's hard to explain. She sought me out when she was left alone, and we have formed a kind of mutual relationship". Nimph's face turned beat read "oh master" she giggled. "In other words" He continued his explanation "We need each other for survival. I am infused with the power of the demon dragon king, and sometimes that power goes out of control". Sylphiel shuddered a little bit, she could still remember the look on Taki's face when he first lost control of his power. "Somehow she lives of my energy, absorbing it, and helps me control it" He finished his explanation by patting the fairy gently on her head.

"So everyone ready to go?" Lina shouted. During the last few days, Eruk had recovered. The entire party was waiting outside the inn. "Taki, you better hurry!" Lina called. "Coming miss Lina!" Taki called from inside. She hurried outside, carefully stuffing several pieces of paper into her pockets. Finally everyone were ready to leave. "What was that all about miss Taki?" Amelia asked. Taki smiled broadly "Recipes, Amelia." She padded her pocket "These will help greatly getting a job when I get back home". Amelia stopped walking "Get a job? Are you going to continue working as a waitress?". Taki nodded slowly "It's all I know…". Amelia spent the next few hours trying convincing Taki to give up on her career. "Why don't you come to Seyruun with me?" she offered.

"Be quiet you two!" Zelgadis held them back "there is something up ahead…". Three creatures jumped out of the bushes a short distance away. "It's more of those chimeras" Eruk stepped forward "You just leave them to me…".

5 minutes later, the three creatures were nothing more than smoking piles of ashes. "Wow…" Lina was speechless "those things were almost impossible to kill, and he just…". Eruk turned around, a grim look on his face. "Come on, don't be so gloomy" Lina slapped him on the back "you did great!".

It was almost nightfall when they reached a town. "Finally, I'm beat!" Lina headed directly towards the village inn. "Hey innkeeper! Bring the menus!" She had barely sat a foot inside, before she started ordering people around.

"What's wrong Eruk dear?" Sylphiel was a bit worried about him. He had not touched his food at all. He just sat there staring out of the window. "I'm worried" he confessed "there might be more of those chimeras out there…". Lina sent him a harsh glare "no way, I bet those three were the last. Nothing could have survived when that building blew op!".

Eruk nodded "I guess you are right…" he sighed.

He turned to stare out the window. What could that maniac be thinking? He thought to himself. Damien Shadowheart… Is that who I really am?. "In time, your guilt of what you have been responsible for will consume you…" Gaav's words kept echoing though his mind. Already he was feeling somewhat responsible for the destruction Damien had caused. I need to do something about this he thought to himself otherwise Gaav might…

"If you all would excuse me?" He said and stood up "I think I'd better go rest up now. I'm still a bit weak from the battle today". He turned around and started heading for his room, when he felt a hand on his shoulder. "You are not hurt are you?" Sylphiel asked, a concerned tone in her voice. He shook his head "No, not this time Sylphiel" he smiled "Trust me, I know better than to lie to you". She gave him a concerned look as he vanished out through the door "Eruk dear…" she whispered.

"Master, what are you doing?" Nimph sat on a table and looked at him getting his gear ready. "I'm leaving Nimph" He said, with a sad look on his face. "Again? But I thought…" she tried to argue with him, but he didn't listen. "Nimph, I know there are more of those things out there" he explained "I have to put an end to everything. I'll never be able to rest if I don't". Nimph stood up, readying herself to leave "What about your friends? Are you leaving them behind again?". He nodded slowly "this is my battle. There is no reason to get them involved". A happy smile spread across her face "Just you and me traveling again, It's going to be so much fun!".

Careful not to make a sound he stalked outside. He closed the door to the inn behind him and took a deep breath. He had made it outside safely. "Eruk dear?". He spun around. Sylphiel was sitting on a bench beneath a large tree. "Are you going somewhere?" she asked, almost as if she was afraid of the answer, He walked over and sat down next to her. "I am" he replied. She turned her head away "why?". He could feel how sad she was. "I have to end this." was his only reply. "And you better not get in the masters way!" Nimph added. Eruk shot the fairy an annoyed look "Why don't you go ahead and wait for me?" he asked. Nimph nodded sadly. She didn't like when he wasn't around, but an order was an order.

They sat in silence. She had turned around. Two pairs of emerald eyes were staring into each other. Sylphiel fought bravely to keep the tears at bay "Is this goodbye?" she asked. He nodded, "at least for the moment". She wrapped her arms around him "Be safe". He didn't say anything. He just sat there letting her have the moment. He couldn't help thinking how beautiful she looked in the pale moonlight. A weak frown crossed his face, he had never really thought saying goodbye would be so hard.

Hesitantly she let go of him as he stood up. "Go home" he told her, as he started walking. Just before he vanished in the dark, he turned around "Let me see you smile" he told her "I don't want to remember a sad face. Especially since a smile looks so much better on you". Sylphiel rubber her eyes and gave him a weak smile. He nodded, "I'll see you again. It's a promise", with that he was gone. For a while Sylphiel sat silently and stared in the direction he had left "And I'll be waiting for you…" she whispered.

Authors notes:

*Sniff* so sad…

Yes, this is how I'm ending the story. I know, It may not be what you expected, but I thought it would be better than the over-used "Happily ever after" ending. But have no fear, work on a sequel is already in progress. It may take some time before I get around to updating it, I still have to figure out the small stuff, but I have a general idea of the plot.

Thanks a lot to anyone who has read/reviewed my debut fic, I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it.

Any suggestions/comments will be welcome either by leaving a review, or by dropping me a mail (address found at my authors profile)