Genso Suikoden III and all of its characters, places, etc. are copyrighted by Konami.
Timeline: Post-final battle
Pairing: Luc/Sarah.
A/N: First fanfiction ever finished! I'm so, so ashamed. I dare to post this one because compare to all of my failed attempts on fanfiction (which are just horrid), I think this piece is quite decent. I'm not used to writing fanfiction, so please be gentle on me. Oh, and I apologise for the grammatical and vocabulary errors you'll probably find. English is not my first language, so I hope you could bear with my lack of skills. Erm, again, be gentle on me, please?

Other than that, enjoy!

Withered Lily

She had thought she would witness an end to this world. She did not.

The sun was setting faster that particular day. Sky tinted with the ever spreading golden and red. She watched this under her half-lidded eyes. The ground under her feet was shaking and the walls trembling. Something crumbled from a faraway place. Something was being destroyed.

For a split second after regaining her consciousness she thought that perhaps the whole world had begun collapsing, that perhaps they had prevailed. She was wrong, she noted, the sky had never been so beautiful. Another realisation occurred to her, snapping so forcefully into her mind that did not want to accept this truth: they had been defeated. Yes, defeated, failed, humiliated. This was the end only for them, for her and the person who had shared this sin with her.

She glared at the sun, hoping that it would burn her eyes and make them water. This time only, she begged, this time only, let me cry out and scream, be released and die. But it was not happening. The luxury of shedding tears had been robbed off her for so long. No more mercy was to be given to this woman who had delivered thousands of lives to their eternal slumber. There was no escape of this anguish, guilt and regret; they would be a part of her until she drew her last breath.

She then looked down at her hands, the hands that bore power that had led her to this kind of an end. She smiled. She was grateful that she had those hands, glad that she bore this power. These were the things that connected her with all that mattered to her.

The range of the rumbling stones drew closer to her place, not that she cared. She had given up life years before this, when she consented to the scheme of destroying the humankind in order to make a renewed one, the world that would reborn after its death. A holy task no one would understand; no one could ever understand. She closed her eyes, as though this one act would instantly send her to another life, another dream. She looked serene and out of place in this horrifying view of destruction.

There was a loud, devastating crack from the marble stone beside her and then followed by another crack from both another marble wall and her crushed bones on her back and left arm. She clenched her teeth; it would be a painful death, no doubt, but there she stood still in a calm acceptance. She guessed this was the time to bid farewell to this world that she loathed so much, and her mas--

-- No!

Her eyes snapped open; there was a loud, almost painful thump at her chest. With the help of her staff, she tried to straighten herself, and cried out when the broken bones at her back sliding against each other. There was a place she needed to be. One last time...just one last time, one more moment, let me bear this power. She chanted a spell and an unseen shield materialised around her. She choked when energy was being absorbed from within, and ignored the taste of metal on her mouth, wiping the warm, red liquid from her lips.

One step followed by another. She had walked miraculously to the place where the true wind rune had been sealed, evading rumbling stones with the very last of her uncanny power. She arrived there, head pounding painfully, her breath ragged and heavy. Right there, lay one figure of a man. His brown bangs spread messily over his face, a void and weary look on his eyes. There was unbearable pang on her chest. She had never felt this useless and broken. She had never seen him this weakened. She could not be his strength, after all.

"Master Luc!"

She did not know when or how she summoned up the strength to run her way to him and hold him up in her arms. She forced her voice not to tremble too much with every word said.

"Master Luc, are you all right?"

"It's you...S-Sarah." He looked at her with his eyes, jaded like their owner was. "By collecting the powers from the five elemental true runes I tried to destroy my True Wind rune, but it ended up with me merely drawing power out of the rune... and my soul wasn't able to bear its brutal power."

She digested these words with utmost difficulty, her mind too distracted by the state of the man she was holding.

"Master Luc, so that means..."

"This ruin will fall apart sooner or later... Sarah, run away from here. You need not keep me company any longer."

She smiled faintly at his words, acknowledging his concern in silence. He was the only one who would wish her to stay alive and the only one who needed her to be nothing more than herself. She did not feel that she was allowed be alive anymore now, after what she had done, what they had done. Death would be a proper punishment and a proof of her devotion. She shook her head.

"No. I chose you over a million lives. That is a sin that cannot be forgiven." Funny how tears overflowed her eyes when she did not want them to -- as if they were playing tricks on her. It had been too long. She wiped them off her face, trying not to look weak. But the tears kept coming.

"Sarah..."

---

In his two eyes she was an ethereal being. Her pale skin and hair made her almost translucent. Striking blue eyes hovered above him, not letting him go off their gaze. They were dying and it had never been a pleasant thing for the living. But for him, all this felt right.

He had learned that something he had not known exist existed all along.

---

If there were a term of beautiful death, then theirs were the ones. Luc's and Sarah's bodies lay deep in the ruins, undamaged, as if the rubbles were reluctant to touch them. Peaceful countenances adorned their features. But these were the ones who had committed an unforgivable sin. These ones had been manifestations of living reaper. Was this, perhaps, the last gift of The True Wind Rune? Or was this the power of 108, which could even change fate?

Nevertheless, for reasons unknown, their souls had found peace; a brief one, but it was more than they could have ever dared to ask.

Above them, stars emerged. Two of those were shining their brightest, welcoming the lost souls at their final resting place.

- FIN –

Thanks for reading. I'm seeking for ways to improve so, yep, reviews and constructive criticisms are very welcome :D