A/N: Ah! The end is near ***sobs*** After all this time, we're drawing to a close… ***sigh***… and I enjoyed writing this fic so very much…

            Maieve: I'm glad to see that people sympathize with Nyx and Crea and that some people are sad to see Marisa die.

            Lunatic Pandora1: No, off course I won't make Dark Jak only have a small cameo… he's gonna be here for a long, long time.

            Cherie Duarte: Hmm… ***ponders*** perhaps I'll write and Ashlin/Torn R fic as a one-shot? Who knows… would anyone like to read it?

            Krimzon Yakkow-026: Naw, it isn't weird. Dark Jak is awesome! Now if you went around screaming 'I'm a monkey' when in fact you're a yakkow… well then we'd have something to talk about…

            Zeo339: All shall be revealed in this chapter! This is the last sum-up chapter before the big fight and then ***sobs**** finale!

            Chris: Getting Dark Jak in my story made me feel a little bit better about killing off Marisa…

            Daheim: It's okay that you're not upset about Marisa. Truly, I killed her off because she was to stoic for my taste since I barely gave her any real perspective after chapter one.

            Prexistence: Don't piss off Dark Jak… that's rule number 1… number 2 is IF you do run like HELL!

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Act Fourteen: Conversations with the Divine

"The Goddess shall show herself to her chosen and explain to her of the world. There it will up to the Chosen to decide how the world shall go."

                        Keira stared at Erisen in horror before shaking her head, "Impossible! How can… you and the Goddess? No! No, I refuse to believe that."
            "Believe it." Erisen snapped, looking out in the sand which had started to glow white. A sign the gods were awakening, "The Goddess and I were lovers, as much in love as you and your Mar. Shall I tell you the story? The real story the Goddess never told her people because she was shamed?"

            Keira said nothing as she slumped to the floor in defeat. Her mind was reeling. Erisen and the Goddess… Erisen is the Grand Knight but Nyx said his name was… was Daniel… how is this possible? But she knew that he was telling her the truth. Something inside her knew.

            "It was after I and my team had defeated the Phoenix. I was lost… Nyx and Crea were content to baby-sit the pesky newborn Goddess and Nik—my best friend—was happy wherever Nyx was. I had nothing so I wandered through the desert aimlessly. I humored myself by helping the local desert tribes with dragons and the like, but I was lost. And then I was called back to Sage-Harmona for the one year anniversary of the defeat of the Phoenix.

            "I met the Goddess there… in a garden of wild roses. She had seen me at the feast and had followed me. I fell in love with her after she had spoken the first word. I couldn't help it, I loved her. I loved her like no man should a divine… but she loved me back so there was nothing to stop me. I knew it was wrong, she knew it was wrong, but like selfish children we refused to be beaten. We came together.

            "I was Daniel then… and She called me 'Danny' or 'Dan' because no one else would. I was always Sir Daniel to them." Erisen chuckled, though Keira did not see any humor in it, "We were young and in love when Eris came and attacked us. My Goddess became battle hardened but I still loved her. I was so happy to fight with her. Somehow, with her by my side, I knew that I'd never lose. But then she went away, called to the Krrez Lands by her father and mother.

            "That was when I started to doubt her. I thought she had left me and my people because it was a lost cause. I thought she had denied my love. That was when Eris made herself known to me. She was the ruler of Chaos and she said that the Goddess left me because I was nothing more the filthy bug to her. I believed the woman of Chaos and my heart turned cold to the Goddess. Then Eris offered me my own divine right. If I became her lover and she bore me a daughter then I would be a God and could extract my revenge from the Goddess.

            "So I did and I fought the Goddess… though never face to face. Eris kept my tucked in the background to make sure I would not join the Goddess and her cause once more. She never thought that I hated my former lover. And then she was cast into the Krrez Lands with the Goddess and I and Erisa were left alone. Yet again, I felt betrayed by the woman closest to me but I swore to carry on Eris's work. I have been alone for a very long time… always feeling as if everything I've ever wanted is just out of my reach…

            "But no longer! Eris shall arise and with your death she shall become all powerful! We shall destroy the Goddess and rule this world!" Erisen threw his arms up in the air and behind him the air twisted and formed a white portal. The gods would come from there.

            Keira gasped and placed a hand to her mouth. Erisen was her ancestor. He had been the Goddess's lover and had been the father of her daughter, Kendra… the first in the High Priestess line. The man trying to kill her was in fact her grandfather.

            "It cannot be!" Keira cried, reaching for her glaive. Grandfather or no, Keira had promised her mother that she would stop Erisen. She would do that so the world would be safe for everyone.

            But Erisen strode towards her and swatted the glaive from her hand. It crashed into the hard stone feet away, "How about I end you now, High Priestess? Eris will be most pleased to find your managed corpse at her feet when she awakens. Maybe enough to allow me to kill the Goddess. Let's find out shall we?"

            Keira stood and prepared to fight tooth and nail until her Goddess awakened. It was no longer in her hands. She had put the wheels into motion and now it was up the sleeping divine.

            As Erisen walked menacingly towards her, Keira cringed. Here she was with no weapon or any means of defense and she was still going to fight. Jak must have been rubbing off on her.

            I wish Jak was here.

~~**~~

                        Sala dodged a spear blow delivered by Erisa and brought her double-headed axe up to attack. Erisa blocked the thrust and returned with a counterstrike. Sala grinded her teeth and jumped away so she could regroup.

            She tripped over a bloody, sprawled body of a harpy and crashed into another body fight besides her. She glanced up, thinking it to be a harpy, and stared into Gareth's blue, blue eyes. He hooked an arm around her waist and pushed her back onto her feet.

            "You cannot die just yet, Sala. I have to prove to you we're meant to be first." He called to her over the rush of the battle.

            Sala didn't answer him as she turned back to Erisa and continued to fight. Erisa grinned at her stubbornness and brought her spear to Sala's heart. Sala used her double-headed axe and batted it away. She twirled around and lashed out against Erisa's legs. Since she couldn't seem to land a direct hit on the woman's fatal zones she decided to go for something less fatal but just a crippling.

            Erisa dodged it by cart-wheeling across the battle field. Sala was right on her heels and brought her labrys down onto the Chaos goddess's dark head. But, as usual, she blocked and pushed Sala away.

            "You're being stupid, you know." Erisa snapped as she whipped at the blood that trickled down her mouth with a casual hand, "Eris, my mother, shall awaken and your High Priestess will be dead. We shall control this world and lay waste to your city." She grinned at the very thought of it.

            Sala growled but kept herself crouched into a fighting stance. She knew now was not the time to lose her temper. She needed to remain calm and focused or she'd never beat Erisa. Erisa was—even Sala had to admit it—a strong opponent and it would take all she had to defeat her.

            "Less talking, more fighting." Sala snapped angrily and Erisa laughed. The young heir to the Holy City gripped her labrys so tight her knuckled turned white. Her teeth grinded against one another so hard that she waited for the sound of them cracking. But she didn't hear it; all she heard was anger pounding in her head. Erisa screamed and lunged at her, Sala ready for the block.

            Gareth watched Erisa and Sala duked it out and decided to help her. Even if Sala cursed him for it later, he couldn't possibly let her face Erisa alone when he was right there to help her.

            He moved passed Sig as he sliced off a wing of a harpy. Another harpy tried to swipe at him but with a quick discharge of thunder from Daxter, he was saved. Crea rushed passed him chasing some harpy and shooting her guns like madwoman. Nyx wasn't too far behind. Her sword was dyed red from the blood of the harpies that she had killed and her face was caked in mud.

            He had almost reached Sala when something caught his eyes. He wheeled around just in time to see a white blur zip past him. It slowed down to swipe at a harpy with jagged black claws. It seemed to relish in the blood of the harpy as it cocked its head to the sky and howled.

            "What the hell!?" Gareth shouted in horror. Was this thing another creature of Erisen? If it was why was it attacking the harpies? What the hell was going on? Should he go and fight it? Destroy it?

            "Jak!" He turned and saw Tess waving her arms franticly and making the beast known to Daxter, "Jak, over here! Daxter, Jak's come!"

            Jak!? Gareth thought in horror. This was Jak!? Well, he could see it now. The way the creature stood, the cloths the creature wore, but Gareth found it hard to believe that it was Jak. He remembered Keira mention something about Jak having a dark side that came out sometimes but he never thought it was at this caliber. He found himself backing away. Jak had this crazed beast look in his eyes that told him the young man was having trouble telling who was friend and who was foe.

            He certainly didn't want to be on the receiving end of those claws…

            "Jak!" Daxter screeched, momentarily forgetting the danger of the battle. Luckily, Tess was there to create a shield around him so the harpies didn't get him, "Keira! Keira's in the Krrez Lands! Erisen's gonna kill her!"
            The beast-Jak seemed to register that and turned from Daxter and Tess. He hunched over and prepared to run. Crea came up on his side and stopped short. She stared at him wonder, not fear, and when Jak turned his head towards her to growl she pointed to the portal that stood were the Black Doors had once been.

            The creature released a howl of beastly rage and began to run, dodging harpies left and right. Crea tugged at her sister's arm and pointed to Jak's darker form. Her eyes were still wide with awe and shock.

            "I wanna be just like him." She whispered and Nyx sighed in impatience before turning to behead a harpy. Crea whooped, loaded her .45's, and began to shoot like it was going out of style.

            Gareth chuckled and turned back Sala. His eyes widened as he watched Erisa plunged a sword deep into her side. Sala howled and slumped to the floor, gripped her wound in one hand. Erisa grinned above like a cat who had just caught a bird between jagged its yellow teeth.

            Erisa was to busy being cocky to watch as Sala raised her labrys with a wince. She brought the axe above her head and brought it down on Erisa's side… repeatedly. Erisa's face was still locked in a look of triumph as she fell to the muddy ground.

            Dead.

            Sala spat one her foe's body once before her eyes rolled to the back of her head and she fell to the ground, still gripping her wound.

            "SALA!" Gareth cried and dived for her, just managed to protect her rag-doll body from the dead body of a harpy as it crashed into the ground. The jagged talons of a harpy dug into his left leg and he released a howl… and then he felt it in his right. He looked down at his legs and saw the blood pouring from them, useless. He groaned in pain and pulled Sala tight into his arms. Tess couldn't see them in the muddy ground so there was no way for her to heal them. He would just have to keep them both safe until he could get Tess's attention.

            Hurry up, Jak.

~~**~~

                        Keira raised her hands in a vain attempt to ward off Erisen's attack. Just as his power slammed down on her, she rolled over to the side of the platform.

            She tumbled off and her palms scraped against hard sand. She gasped at the roughness of the sand but shook it off. She struggled to her feet, the raging wind and sand stinging her eyes and exposed skin.

            Glaring at Erisen, she stood in ankle deep sand and wished she had her glaive. She pushed her wild hair—filled with sand now—from her eyes and hunched over for Erisen's next attack. Her legs were bleeding from when the sharp glass had cut into her delicate flesh, but she showed no signs of relenting.

            Erisen shook his head and walked over to her, his fingers already crackling with power. Keira growled at him and back up slightly, trying to buy herself more time. Luckily, Erisen was cocky enough not to think about attacking her right away. He was gonna get as close to her as he could before he killed her and even then… he may just toy with her first.

            She bared her teeth in a snarl at the thought of being toyed with, being tortured. Fear also bubbled in her heart but she forced it down deep inside herself. If she was going to end this way, then she was going to end bravely.

            Like Jak…

            "Are you ready to die, High Priestess? And herald in the new era of gods?" Erisen asked her with a laugh in his voice. Slowly, agonizing slowly, he stepped into the sand and moved towards her.

            Keira stood firm and showed no fear as the god neared her, "Do your worst, Erisen, you'll find that the world will not be beaten down so easily. Destroy the High Priestesses and there be another set of people ready to fight you. You doubt the people of this planet far too much."

            Erisen crackled and formed more power in his hands. Keira winced as he raised it above her head and called to her through his sheen of power, "Say goodbye, Keira Kinover. Say hello to your mother for me."

            Keira screamed as Erisen released the power, symbolizing her death, when she felt strong arms around her waist. Then the hard sand was pushing against her shoulders and she winced in pain as the left side of her face scraped the sand. She became aware of another hard object pressing against her from above.

            Gasping, she twisted her neck so she could see what was on top of her and looked into the startling black eyes, "Jak…?"

            Only it wasn't Jak. It was him in dark form. He was Dark Jak. Keira could feel his talons dig into her waist as he dragged her to her feet. There seemed to be a struggle going on inside Dark Jak. He seemed torn from his need to protect Keira and his need to destroy Erisen. She could see it in his eyes.

            "So this is your man Jak?" Erisen asked with a surprise chuckle, though there was no worry in it, "I thought I sensed something off in you. An aura of darkness. You High Priestesses sure can pick them. Why are you picking the one man who is sure to get you killed?"

            Keira ignored the god and pressed her hand to the wind-ragged shirt of Dark Jak, "Jak," she whispered into his ear as she saw his hold over his sanity loosen, "stay focused. Stay in control. I'm right here for you."

            Dark Jak growled at her before his good side managed to gain control once again. Keira could see the focus come back into his beady eyes, even though it was slight. He nodded to her to show that the battle of wills had been waged and good Jak had won. He turned back to Erisen.

            "So you want to fight me for her?" Erisen asked and Dark Jak only answered with a growl, "I'll take that as a yes. Very well, Dark One, I shall fight you since I have all the time in the world. Once Eris awakens, you're all dead anyway."

            Jak howled and lunged, trying to impale his claws into Erisen's stomach. The god raised a shield and deflected the blow with a casual shrug of his hand. Jak, however, would not be daunted as he lunged back to parry with the god. He seemed to have forgotten the Virgae-Mors sword the clapped at his hip.

            Keira turned and made a mad dash for her glaive, knowing Jak couldn't fend the god off for much longer. She pulled it from the sands and turned just in time to see Jak sent crashing into the hard stone of the platform.

            "JAK!" She cried out his name and rushed over to his side, seeing the blood dribble down from a wound in his arm. She almost recoiled when she saw that the blood was purple, not red, but forced herself to touch his shoulder to see if any bones had been broken by the god's blast.

            Jak howled in pain and jerked his arm away from her, barely managing to keep from lashing out at her. His talons dug deep into his palms. He gave her a warning snarl, but Keira couldn't be intimidated.

            "Are you okay, Jak?" She asked him and the dark man gave her a curt nod. She was about to ask him how bad were the extent of his injuries when a golden blast zipped by her eyes and into Jak's chest.

            The man-turned-beast cried out in pain as the blast in his chest sent him careening to the floor feet away.

            Keira jumped to her feet and started to make her way over to Jak. When she saw him start to move his arms in an attempt to shake off the pain surging in his body, Keira made a detour. Jak needed time to recuperate before tackling Erisen again. She was going to have to buy him the time needed.

            She turned and faced the god, clutching her glaive in two hands and bringing it to her face, "Erisen, this is the day I destroy you. I will end you for all the High Priestesses who died at your hands."

            The god looked amused at her proclamation, obviously thinking it was nothing to worry about, and said, "I was hoping to make you watch your mate die before you, but since you're so willing to die… HAVE AT ME!"

            Keira obeyed. She swung her glaive above her head as she jumped into the air. She brought the deadly weapon down on the dark god's head, but he raised his gold tinted hand to block her. As metal met magic, the energy surged.

            A gold-like fire surrounded her and it scorched skin. She grinded her teeth and brought her foot up into Erisen's wrist, breaking the connection. She gave herself a jerk to shake off the aftershock of being touched by a divine's magick.

            Erisen nodded to her and her fighting skills. He summoned a magick ball in the palm of his hands and fired it at Keira. The young woman screamed and raised her glaive, a green/blue aura surrounding it.

            Magick surged around her, burning her wrist in a pure heat. The glaive held tight in her hands seemed to be emitting it.

            Keira blinked at she felt the power grow in her. Now she finally understood about High Priestesses having their own breed of magick. She could feel hers burning at her fingers tips, ready to be used. It wasn't elemental or white magick, but divine magick. It felt like the magick Erisen used.

            As the golden ball of deadly power neared, Keira struck the ground with her glaive. A greenish blue shield rose up and caught the gold ball as it drew nearer. The shield and the ball rose high into the sky where it exploded in bursts of light, like fireworks. Grinning, Keira turned back to her foe.

            But Erisen looked disinterested, "So you now know how to use divine magick? That's the magick your mother used to escape that night, with her bleeding and you unharmed. I shall correct that mistake now."

            "Go ahead, I'm not afraid of you." Keira snapped, her power crackling in her hair and around her hands that gripped her glaive.

            "I would be." Erisen pointed out and another gold ball formed in his hands, but instead of firing it he changed it. It transformed to the outline of a large sword, deadly and powerful.

            The magick died down and the sword took its true shape. The hilt was black with rubies engraved in them. In red outline was the shape of a phoenix with a long flowing tail. The head traveled up the hilt and opened its mouth to welcome the sword. The metal of the sword was so bright it stung her eyes. A jagged light silver line made its way from the start of the phoenix's mouth to the tip of the sword.

            Erisen offered her a boyish grin, "I thought that since you got to play with your toy I might as well play for with mine. This, High Priestess, is Phoenix. It was given to me by the people of Sage-Harmona the week after I killed the immortal Phoenix. They were so ready to welcome me as their hero."

            "You don't deserve the people's love like Nyx and Crea do." Keira snapped angrily, her eyes blazing with an angry inferno of rage.

            "Do not speak of what you do not know, High Priestess." Erisen said, his own voice filled with anger, "Nyx and Crea were good fighters, yes, and deserving and respect and love, but they were foolhardy clinging to a belief that didn't exist. I went onward towards the future. I accepted life as it was… a disappointment."

            "Life is not a disappointment! It is a gift! You can't seem to understand that, Erisen." Keira swung her glaive in the air, "Now, we fight!"

            "Have at me!" Erisen thundered and they lunged at each other, burning with the divine power that flooded through their veins.

            Dark Jak groaned as he forced himself to stand. He totted a large wound in his stomach that oozed black blood. His jagged talons reached out to cup the wound in an attempt to stop the flow of the blood. It was useless since he claws did more harm then good.

            He raised his head higher and watched as Erisen and Keira duked it out. He growled as Erisen's sword nipped Keira's shoulder. He stood to defend her, but his legs gave a sharp sting of pain and he couldn't stand. He collapsed to his knees and watched as Keira and Erisen continued to fight.

            Keira howled and slapped her metal against Erisen's thigh as hard as she could, causing a small trickle of blood to run down from the wound as Erisen swatted her away. Keira dodged a swipe at her head but couldn't dodge his ball of divinely-charged energy. It hit her hard in the stomach and sent her sprawling on the floor.

            Grinding her teeth, Keira used her elbows to raise her upper torso. Blood blurred her vision and she resisted the urge to rub her head wound. She tried to boost herself to her feet, but she was psychically exhausted, both from Erisen's attack and her own usage of magick.

            "This is almost too easy, High Priestess. You do not have half the power your mother had." Erisen said as he hovered above her like a falcon and its prey, "But I shall grace you with a warrior's death… struck by a sword."

            Erisen rose Phoenix above his head and Keira squeezed her eyes shut. Dark Jak's howl rang in her ears as she thought: I'm sorry, Mother. I've failed you.

            She heard the whoosh of metal slicing through the air and prepared herself for unbearable pain. Only, she never felt it.

            Keira disappeared in a wave of blinding light. Erisen's sword struck the ground and embedded itself in the spot where Keira's heart had once been. Erisen blinked at the spot for a moment before realizing what happened.

            "So the Goddess awakens?" Erisen pondered himself, "Fine, she can take her little High Priestess to safety, I care not. Only the mate of a High Priestess can hope to defeat my beloved Eris… and he is too impure to do so."

            Dark Jak rose to his feet, ignoring the pain in them. He bared his teeth in snarl at Erisen and dark eco crackled in his hair. He jumped into the air as his left, closed fist turned deep purple. He slammed his knuckles into the earth as the dark eco was discharged through the sands and ruins.

            Erisen was thrown back full-force, but didn't fall to his knees. He wiped away the blood on his lip he had got from biting it in surprise. Dark Jak lunged then and brought his deadly claws into Erisen face.

            The god tilted his head so that the claws only nipped his check. Then he rushed past Dark Jak and withdrew his sword from the ground. Dark Jak, in blind animal rage, followed him to attack again.

            For his efforts, Dark Jak got a slice in his arm. Backing up, Dark Jak clutched his arm as black blood seeped between his fingers. Erisen looked at him calmly as Dark Jak shook off his pain.

            "You cannot hope to defeat Eris, not in your impure state, mortal. What is the point of this fighting?" When he received only a growl as an answered, Erisen shrugged, "Very well. I had been hoping to force you to watch the girl die… but this will do as well. Have at me!"

~~**~~

                        Sweet smells filled her nostrils and she became aware of a tickling at her nose. Butterfly fingers ran their delicate tips across her cheeks and she felt herself shiver. Her bones no longer ached from her fight… she felt completely relaxed. Like she was drifting along a soothing river that took her nowhere and everywhere.

            Keira's eyes fluttered open and they were tickled by the purple and blue and red flowers that surrounded her. As her eyes widened in surprise, she pushed her upper torso up and looked around, taking in the beauty.

            It was a meadow filled with wildflowers, full and in bloom. Their purple and blue and red petals swayed in the breeze, a cool gentle breeze. Off to the side there was a rippling waterfall that fell into a pool of crystal water. Mist rose up from the small lake and created a beautiful sheen of gossamer silk around the area. The sky was a mixture of colours… blue there… white here… red there… it made her head spin.

            Then Keira became aware of the small white, Victorian china table further off. She could also make out white, beautiful metal chairs. It looked so welcoming that she almost ran up to it before she remembered that she was supposed to be battling Erisen… and Jak! What happened to Jak!?

            "Where am I?" Keira asked, not expecting to be answered—she seemed to be all alone—but getting one anyway.

            "This is where I have rested for many centuries." Came a honey-silk voice, "Ever since I trapped Eris and myself in the Krrez Lands."

            Keira turned and gasped. Her knees buckled and she crashed to her them in horror and awe. The Goddess—who stood in front of her in a glorious light—was a sight behold. She glowed so brightly with her divine power that Keira thought she would surely go blind.

            The Goddess was a fair-haired maiden with skin of ivory and eyes of ebony. Her hair—like the waves of a churning sea, blue and green mixed—traveled down to her waist in cascading waves of lush curls. Her eyes were dark like a panther's pelt and sharp like a falcon's. Her high cheek bones held a slight hint of blush, which contrasted with the milk colour of her skin. She wore a dress made of purest white silk that trailed to her feet. There was a small off-white belt tried around her waist outlined in gold that flowed to the ground. Her body was willowy and slim. She was very tall, she stood a good one and a half feet above Keira when she was standing, and it made her look regal and even more beautiful.

            "Goddess…" She whispered, unable to say anything else.

            The Goddess smiled so bright that it stung Keira's eyes, "Please, youngling, call me Gaeny for that is the name my parents gifted me with."

            "Y—yes…" Keira trailed off and stood, so she could look in the Goddess's eyes, "You're so bea—beautiful." Keira thought 'beautiful' shamed this immortal but the Goddess seemed to like it.

            "As thee is, youngling." Gaeny said walking over to Keira, "Will thy come and sit with me? We have much to talk of. There are a lot of final things I must explain to thee before thy fight again…"

            Keira was about to accept without thinking when she shook her head ferociously, "I cannot. I—we have to fight Erisen and Eris! Please Go—Gaeny! My mate is down there… he cannot possibly defeat Erisen by himself. He needs our help."

            "Ah yes… Jak Mar favoured by Lokin that detested trickster God." Gaeny said, a small frown marring her perfect features, "What will he do now that he is free…? But that is not the concern now… I must explain things to thee, Keira. In order to defeat Erisen and Eris thou must know them. If thou doth not, then thy will surely fail. This fight is not perfect… there are things wrong here that would've been better if they had been correct… or different."

            Keira sighed, realizing she had no choice, and walked with Gaeny over to the china table, "What do you have tell me?"
            "Let us start with your Jak Mar, yes?" Gaeny took her seat, her slider fingers tapping against the china table, "He is the perfect mate for thee, I should say… but alas he has been tainted by both the Trickster's touch and the Dark Eco. Only one of pure and untouched flesh can hope to destroy Eris when she rises. You're Jak cannot destroy Eris, not by his own hand."

            Keira stared at Gaeny blankly, her face pale and her lips quavering, "Then what hope have we of defeating Eris and Erisen?"

            "Thou must guide his hand, youngling." The Goddess explained with a soft smile, "Together… Jak's strength and your purity shall cast back Eris and right the world. Cities and humans shall be revived from ancient times as I decreed long go. When Eris is defeated the world shall began a new era… the Era of Humans. With your blow to Eris you shall end this Era of Immortals."

            "And what of Erisen?" Keira questioned, frowning at the thought of the god that had caused her line so much pain, "Surely he will not allow Jak and I to get so close to his Chaos goddess without a fight?"

            "Thou will leave Erisen to me. I shall detain him and give thee the leeway thou doth so desire. Besides I wish… I wish to speak with him one last time before I… youngling, I must be the one to destroy Erisen. Allow me that… for I have caused the hatred in my beloved and I am the only one that can set him right. Will thou allowith me that one wish?"

            Keira nodded grimly, "Of course. I understand. Erisen has changed because of your love…" At this point Gaeny lowered her head, losing her maturity to look once more like an innocent eyed child, "But you mustn't blame yourself, Gaeny. He didn't have to join Chaos. He could have chosen to have faith in you and waited for your return. That was his mistake… not yours."
            "I thankith thee." Gaeny replied, her wisdom coming once more into her sharp eyes, "Thou hath done a great thing for me. Thou hath ridith me of my burden. I can face Erisen now, as I had not been able to before, and not feel guilty. For to long I have waited in the background… now I shall join your fight and give Erisen the rest he doth so deserves. It shall be my last gift to him."

            Suddenly, as if pulled by some unseen force, Gaeny snapped up. Keira quickly followed suit, her eyes wide, "What is wrong? Do you see something? Is it Eris? Is she here, Gaeny?"

            "No." Gaeny answered, "Eris has all but passed into the mortal realm. Soon she will fight your mate. We must make haste. There shan't be any hope if we amiable along as we are doing. The final fight hath arrived, youngling. Is thou ready?"

            "I am." Was Keira's answer.

            Gaeny reached and took Keira's hand in her own, "Then let us face the god… the love of my life… together… one last time, High Priestess. The line shall end with you as will the Age of the Gods. Be brave, my youngling, you hath your mother's heart."

            And in a wave of light they were gone.

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                        Okay, an installment on the short side but I wanted to save the last fight for the last chapter, the next one! Okay, in the next chapter it's the big fight between Keira and Eris (who finally shows her face) and then the end. Yes, the next shall be the last installment (boo-woo!). Just one more thing before I leave, I can't post the next chapter next week since I'll be visiting my new cousin all next week. It should be posted two weeks from now, maybe a little sooner, but it won't be posted on it's regular date. Sorry! Until then, review! Thanks!