Chapter 33 :: Aselia's Last Hour
"Crimson light of the void... burn this world to ashes," Erebus said. "Ragnarok Twilight!"Under Hades Erebus, a red magic circle with runes around it appeared. Countless crimson streaks shot from the seal towards Mithos' party.
"It's a more powerful version of Apocalyptic Prophecy!" Solstice exclaimed, before being hit.
"Solstice! Eternal Sword, awaken! Isis' Protection!" Mithos raised the sword, casting a warm light on his friends. Because the blade matched Erebus but did not exceed his power, Mithos was the only one left standing when the attack finished. Kratos, Yuan, and Solstice lay within a hair's thickness from death.
"It's just one on one, now. Mano a mano," Erebus said. Both stared each other down. "I've been waiting for the moment to confront you, my shadow."
"I'll destroy you for what you did to Martel!" Mithos said.
"Let's go."
Mithos and Erebus flew at each other, both calling their rainbow wings to full size. Eternal Sword clashed against Gungnir four times without any side yielding an ounce of strength. Maybe if Origin isn't enough, I'll have to use every other spirit. Mithos held his blade forward at Erebus. Meanwhile, Erebus was chanting an incantation to call upon the demons of the underworld again.
"All right, Eternal Sword! I summon the guardians of Aselia! Spirits, lend me your strength!"
"Masters of Tartarus, come forth!" Erebus commanded. One by one, colored lights entered the Eternal Sword, infusing it with the power of the summon spirits. On the other side, Erebus' Gungnir pulsed with a red light.
"Light of Eternity!"
"Demon's Wrath!"
A blast of white light exploded out of both weapons, but Mithos's was wrapped with a rainbow of colors while Erebus had a ring of red fire surrounding his attack. Colliding mid flight, Mithos' easily cut through his opponent's attack and struck Erebus's Angel Crystal.
"You will live a cursed life from this day forward. Our battle here has drained the Kharlan Tree of all its mana. The only way for you to ressurect it is tossing away your sister's life!" Erebus' voice said before he was reduced to dust and scattered to the wind. This time, his Angel Crystal broke apart with him.
"It's finally over," Yuan said.
"No..." Solstice replied. "The Kharlan Tree!"
The great tree before them began to break up. The war and finally this last epic struggle had forced it to wither and perish. Starting from the top, entire branches collapsed into the Holy Ground of Kharlan.
"So we saved the world for nothing," Kratos said.
"No, we can use that seed to grow a new tree," Yuan said. "Use the power of the Eternal Sword."
Mithos' face turned blank as he stared into the blossom. He pointed the blade at the seed, shouting, "Come Origin and revive Martel!"
"That is something I cannot do. Martel exists here within the seed in spirit alone. You will need a physical vessel to revive her," Origin said.
"Mithos, you can't seriously be thinking of bringing her back to life. Without the great
tree, this world only has a few months at best," Solstice said.
"Think about what Martel died for, Mithos. To revive her and throw away the world is to go against everything that Martel believed in," Kratos insisted.
"That's the whole reason I sought Origin's power, to control the power of life and death. I wish to bring Martel back," Mithos said. "Yuan, you understand, right?"
"Even if you revive Martel, where will you live? Aselia will be gone!" Yuan said. "What happened to the Mithos that would do anything to preserve peace?" Mithos faced Yuan; the visage of an innocent boy was gone, replaced with one of terrible sadness and anger.
"That part of me died with my sister," Mithos said. "With infinite knowledge of the past which the Eternal Sword grants me, I know how to save both Aselia and Martel."
"Absolute power is something no mortal can control. Don't you see that you are becoming just like Erebus?" Solstice said.
"Erebus cared only about himself and his own gain. I'll build a world in which half-elves can freely live," Mithos replied. "A world where my sister and I can live together for eternity- a world without war. Isn't that what you desired? If we keep the world from having enough mana to revive magitechnology, war can't happen anymore."
"War isn't the result of technology. It stems from the darkness in people's hearts. Ever since we grasped the notion of taking up arms against out brethren, war has plagued us. I won't let this opportunity pass for a united, peaceful Aselia. I'll stop you with my own hands!" Solstice said. He changed into his dragon form and came down on Mithos. Just by pointing the Eternal Sword at the dragon, Mithos drained Solstice of his power and returned him to his human shape.
"You should be thankful that I don't kill you, since I thought you were my friend. I'll cast you out of Derris-Kharlan trapped as an old man," Mithos said. A blue magic seal appeared under Solstice and he vanished through to the outside. "What about you two?"
"We don't have a choice right now, Kratos," Yuan said.
"I know," said Kratos.
"Sword of eternity, split this world into two!" Mithos commanded. A ring of light went out from Derris-Kharlan into the sky. All over the world, auroras danced in the heavens as intense earthquakes ripped the earth asunder. Mountain chains collapsed and entire islands went beneath the sea. At the ocean floor, rifts tore the continents apart. Giant vortexes appeared that pulled massive chunks of land and sea into an alternate dimension.
Aselia was no more, changed into two worlds that would be eternally separate. Derris-Kharlan itself lifted off the surface of the planet into a mass of mana that bridged the two worlds. "World of light and world of darkness, Sylvarant and Tethe'alla." Mithos turned to the lotus blossom once again.
"This the end of Aselia. Our actions today have changed the world forever, and we will have to live with those consequences," said Kratos.
"If this seed is exposed to too much mana, it will germinate and become another giant tree. I won't let that happen," Mithos said. He touched Eternal Sword to the seed, releasing the lights that represented all the spirits but Maxwell and Origin. Maxwell's light flew out of Derris-Kharlan where it sealed itself in Exire, the city of dragons. Meanwhile, Origin's light flew into Kratos' body. "I entrust Origin's seal to you so that we will always have the Eternal Sword with us. Both worlds will share the seed's mana for the rest of time."
Far away on a beach in Tethe'alla, Solstice awakened and found that only a few other dragons, all banished to their human forms by Erebus. He got up and his eyes came to rest on Amaterasu, holding her daughter's hand.
"Solstice," Amaterasu said. She let go of Keiko and helped Solstice to his feet. "In that brief moment, our world we strived so hard to protect was torn apart."
"The humans of this world will undoubtedly blame the half-elves for this," another said.
"Then we will take whatever half-elves we can find to Exire," Solstice said.
"Solstice, your time is waning. The age of dragons is coming to an end," Amaterasu said. "I don't have much time myself. Luna has been laid to sleep, so my mana will fade as well."
"For a few more years we shall spend our lives protecting those who are oppressed and then we will fade into history," Solstice replied.
"I am grateful that I will live long enough for Keiko to grow up," Amaterasu responded. Her hair slowly turned white in streaks. "We can only pray dawn will come again."