This is one of the longest chapters in my fanfiction so far.

Piccolo Sky's Quote-of-the-Day: "You spoony bard!"

Within another hour, the troops had assembled. It took some time, but they managed to separate themselves between the adequate and the hurt. Once they had gathered them, theytook uptheir weapons and went on the march. Again they went into the forest,leaving the injured with a few able-bodied guards behind.

The forest changed now. The bark turned dark. The leaves began to fall down. The air grew darker and drier yet. Daylight broke, but the sky did not light up. It only grew dim out, and then no lighter. The sun did not show its face all day, even when dawn finally came. The people continued to grow more tense as they went on. They trembled, looking around all the time for an attack or some foe to come forward. The ground turned into rock and ash. The trees soon began to die afterward. They twisted and knarled, becoming gray ruins that shot into the sky. But they began to pass as well as the people moved on.

The army began to weaken. Many were still tired and injured. Their dressings barely held on. A few more people were unable to keep going, and had to stop. But the far majoritykept going none the less. Fear came upon them, and manybegan to cough and choke. Something had to do with the air. And it was getting worse the further they were going. But still they were going on forward. And worse as it became and bad as it grew, they kept on going. They walked for miles and miles, with the ground growingmore ashy.Everyone was soon getting dirty somehow. Even the closed dressings were getting dirty. Many seemed drained and sick, their eyes burning and their lungs hurting. But still they pressed on.

Ahead, Odin and Gilgamesh led the troops. Neither was bothered by the waste around them. But Gilgamesh would not look at his father. Odin looked to him now and then, but didn't betray emotion. He couldn't do it now as they entered into battle. But still, he could pick up the anger and animosity coming off of his son. And it seemed there was nothing he could do to repair it until he at least left. In many ways, he still thought he was a failure to him. And so he could not have the courage to react.

At last, the group reached a dip in the path ahead. Here, a trail began to form that had walked through the forest and gone straight down into the area ahead. The group looked to this trail and followed it. The host moved a bit more, and dipped down into this newest valley. As they got closer, however, they began to see a change. Far in the distance, amid all of the fallen and twisted trees, a single spire was reaching out of the ground. It was crowned with spikes and thorns on top. It was also dark, blacker than any of the rest of the rotten ground. There was some sort of foul-colored flora surrounding it. It did it everywhere for a mile around. The army saw this, but continued to march forward. And as they did, they began to see that there was more than met the eye initially.

It wasn't a foul-colored flora that they saw.

It was troops. Thousands and thousands of troops, covering the area like a mass of vegetation. All of the foul creatures were there. And as they army got closer, they saw them clearer and clearer. Each moment they came closer, they discovered more of them. There were goblins…ogres…trolls…ochus... Small little monsters with glowing yellow eyes, green skin, and big knives… Great wyrms to replace the dragons… Wolves and wargs… As they got closer they saw more and more of them. And as theybecame more detailed…they saw their viciousness. The monsters were foaming and snapping. They thrashed and snarled. They were full of wickedness and violence. They seemed mad and monsterous looking, and ready to kill. They filled the men with more fear as they approached. Soon, everyone was trembling and nervous. But they kept going. They forced themselves on, because their leaders forced them on. However, it was soon obvious…there was a difference between the two groups. The men were scared, and had to be led onward. It was only the will of the leaders that was keeping them going.

At last, they came to a halt. Their own host was gathered before them, but unfortunately they looked far smaller than the forces before them. They also looked less fierce and strong. The enemy before them seemed far stronger. They looked insidious and unstoppable, fuming with anger and rage. Their own army of men seemed far beneath them, notnearly enough tobe able to leave a dent in their forces. They began tobe taken over by terror, and tremble before the forces and Dark Tower.

But Gilgamesh rallied them. He immediately ordered out the horsemen and spears in front. He placed the rest of the spears behind them and had them brace for a charge. The swordsmen went in back. After that, he held them still for the moment. The people were silent. They rattled in their armors and stared forward anxiously. Odin and Gilgamesh together stood before the entire army, bold looking and glaring at the battlefield. Neither side moved for a few brief minutes.

Finally, a reaction did take place. There was a great platform over at the Dark Tower. It opened up at this point. When it did, the full attention of the new army looked ahead. They now stared overhead at the new opening. They saw the sky too, and saw the frame of darkness and clouds overhead, the ominous wasteland stretching everywhere. It showed that they were no longer in their domain, but in that of the enemy. They were in their terrain now. But from the dark opening, and new form came out.

At last, the humans had their look at the enemy. He was tall, about Odin's size. He was covered in blood-red cloth, with a great hood pulled over his face. A black collar fastened it around his neck. He has the face of a sharp-toothed skull. His eyes blazed with red light, and his teeth clenched and relaxed as he looked out over the men. Even seeing that thing led the humans to feel the wickedness coming off of it. It made them feel cold inside, and filled them with more fear than ever. Only Odin and Gilgamesh stood bravely.

"So it appears that we have guests in my realm." The dark being spoke. "Well, allow me to introduce myself to you. I am Hades, lord of this land. What brings so many to my tower this day?"

Gilgamesh frowned in response. He immediately called back to him. "There is only one lord of this land, and only one King of the West, and that is Gilgamesh. And your crimes against my realm have brought me to make you answer for it personally. You will pay for the destruction of my outposts. You will answer for the slaughtering of my messengers, and the desecration of their bodies. You will be punished with destruction for the invasion of my lands and the hostile attacks. You will disband your army at once, and you yourself will come down and answer to me for your crimes. Do so, and your army will be spared."

Hades merely gave a dark laugh in response, his voice chilling. It filled the troops with fear, and destroyed more of their resolve.

"Well, I see no King of the West before me. I see only the Lord Odin astride his mount leading an army of mere men into battle, and a lesser person at his side, standing in the dust. I hear no reports of any Gilgamesh striking down my dragons. I hear only of Lord Odin leading the people to victory. Perhaps you are mistaken about who is the true King of the West."

Gilgamesh tightened up at that. His pale face flushed red. However, Odin, on seeing this, spoke up in reply. "You still have not answered our ultimatum, beast. Stop avoiding the matter and answer him."

"Ah…so this is who I have heard of." Hades darkly answered, still calm with a voice lined with maliciousness. "This is the Odin. He has come after all. And tell me, why is it that you have come, Lord Odin? Have you come to take the crown of this king for yourself? For why else would you have found it necessary to come before me?"

Gilgamesh's fists tightened after hearing this. His teeth clenched. However, he spoke out again. "Odin is not the mouth of Gilgamesh, so do not address him as if he was. Direct your attention to me, and do as I command or I shall destroy every last one of you."

Hades turned back to Gilgamesh, but merely laughed again. His voice was wicked and cold again, sending more of the troops into fear. But as for Gilgamesh, it only drove him into more anger.

"Who is the mighty Gilgamesh that I should fear him?" Hades laughed. "Some lesser ruler who needs the help of others? An incompetent ruler that cannot govern his own people? Would you have so much as raised a hand against me were it not for your father?"

The men reacted to that. They stiffened up and turned to Gilgamesh and Odin. Their expressions turned to surprise, for they hadn't known that. Odin himselfclenched his teeth. Gilgamesh too flushed with anger. Now, the secret was out. The people knew there was another immortal warrior among them, and that he was actually the younger of the two. But Hades went on.

"Are you not really the incompetent son of Odin? Are you not the lesser offspring? For this is why he has come with you, is it not? To ensure success where you would be unable to. You are nothing more than a blemish on your race, and a disappointment to your father. I'll not bow to the lesser son, a man who must still have his own father save him in time of danger. You are a poor ruler…and a poor man."

That was the last straw. Gilgamesh's face flushed with rage. His anger had been fully aroused. All of his inadequacy and failures had been brought up now. And he could not endure them. He would not endure them. He would prove that he was the greater of the two. He'd prove that he was the successor, and that he was better than his father. He had endured him for too long. For years he had tried to please him, and now his father still saw him as a failure. He wouldn't let him take his kingdom from him. This was it.

Giving a yell, Gilgamesh drew his sword out, and struck it across the air before him. A great flashing arc shot across the sky and toward the enemy.When it struck the first line of the enemy, it immediately tore into them. The front line of the enemy instantly flew into pieces. Their bodies were slashed into fragments and thrown everywhere, just from the force of the blade in the air. Not only that, however. The shockwave still sent the next line flying. Their bodies were thrown into the air and cast aside. They weresent crashing into the rest of the troops, bowling more over in the process.

But that wasn't all. Gilgamesh continued to cry out, and now went running forward into the enemy. Odin turned to this and tried to call out, but Gilgamesh was yelling too loud, and he no longer cared about what his father said anyway. He continued to dash into the enemy, swinging Masamune in front of him again and again as he did so. Each strike sent another shock into the enemy, killing some and smashing others out of the way. The hoard yelled back, and charged at the warrior.But it was too much for them. His strikes sent them flying out of the way everywhere. So the enemy ran also to the army that was gathered. Seeing this, and seeing that the army was filling with fear and falling back, Odin realized he couldn't look after his son right now. He saw that Gilgamesh was mad, andgoing out of control. At this point, he realized that his son was being baited. Hades was playing off of his insecurities. He was setting a trap. He was going into a set-up, and he didn't know what would become of him. He didn't know whatthe monsterwould do. He needed to see him and stop him, but the people needed someone as well to lead them. He had to take care of it, or they'd be struck down before they had a chance to fight back.

"To arms! Do not back down!" Odin cried out. Quickly, he drew his sword out from his sheath and waved it overhead. He beckoned ahead of him and gestured forward. "Calvary! Charge!"

The soldiers held back a bit longer. But it wasn't for long. The bold voice of Odin bolstered their courage. His huge appearance gave them bravery. There was still a great and powerful leader before them. And so, they managed to come back. They held, turned back to the enemy, and faced them down. And as Odin turned around and swung his sword forward, the horsemen managed to charge forward andcounter the charging creatures.

The two forcesran to each other for a few brief moments. But after a few seconds, the twocollided. The men on horses soon proved themselves better. The taller units were stabbed with spears. The smaller units were trampled. The horsemen soon drove themselves deep into the enemy line. As for Odin, he flashed his great sword around like lightning again, slicing the enemy into pieces left and right. However, his strikes were not as great as Gilgamesh's had been. He did not destroy multiple enemies at once. The initial charge went well, but the rest of the enemy soon flooded over the horsemen, and even with the height and trample advantage they could only have a moderate success. Soon, the enemy began to stab and bring them down, attacking the horses first, pulling the riders down, and attacking. Others, like ogres, charged forward and smacked the soldiers off of their horses all together.

But the rest of the troops soon came in. The spearmen camea moment later, striking the enemy in the back just as they had finished surrounding the cavalry. After their strike, the swordsmen quickly poured in from the back. They were the weakest of the human units, but even then they were still successful and helped to bring the tide over to the humans. Soon, both sides were engaged in terrible combat, struggling to strike the other down with all their might. And as the fervor of battle took them, the humans found enough bravery to overcome their fear and fight on.

But Odin no longer cared about just the battle.

He cared about getting through this and finding his son.

Gilgamesh continued to bash through the enemy until he made his way to the Dark Tower itself. Ahead of him, the gate was barred and reinforced with iron. Two giant trolls stood before him, and struggled to come up and attack him. But their move was useless. With one swipe, he sliced the heads off of both of them. That done, he dashed up to the gate and sliced again. Despite the lairs of iron that had been put on the doors, the force of Gilgamesh's Masamune sliced the entire gate in half. In a huge crash, the fragments of the massive gate collapsed, breaking off of its hinges and falling to the ground. After that was done, Gilgamesh immediatelyran in.

The Dark Tower interior didn't really have much to it. It was pretty much just an inner meeting chamber without much other detail, other than a few trappings to make the room look sharp and dangerous, like a great razored thorn, covered with blackness and iron. There were enemies outside that could have followed him in, but most of them were now preoccupied with the rest of the attacking units, and ignored him. Instead, there were several wild men on the inside, brandishing weapons of bone rather than bronze. They came to attack the king, only to have him immediately dip forward and slice his blade through the air twice. The force immediately sent them crashing into the wall and flying into pieces. Soon, they were all dead, and Gilgamesh was free to proceed. He quickly looked around the room, and found some black obsidian stairs in the back. Within moment, he reached the black steps and ran up. He paid no mind to the dark feeling inside the tower, or how cold and dark it was. He cared not for the feeling of death and coldness inside it. He didn't sense the warning in his heart either. He cared only for killing Hades, and proving himself the better.

Soon he was up the stairs, and on to the second floor. Here, there was only a narrow corridor that led to the next set of black stairs, and a wall that had a huge set of arched double doors on it. Curved spikes lined it, made of iron and cruel-looking. The door seemed solid, heavy, and immobile. Only green torches illuminated the hall, burning with an unnatural, ethereal green light. However, Gilgamesh didn't care for it. He wanted only to move on. He went right to the doors, and swiped his blade twice at them. The doors were instantly broken into fragments, and collapsed in an even heavier crash of metal shards.

A blast of cold, deadly air immediately whipped over Gilgamesh. A feeling of death and evil came over him. Even in his angry situation, he could still feel thedark powercoming from the room. His hair prickled, and his skin began to crawl. He felt nervous and uneasy here. His blood seemed to run slower, and his stomach turned. Some of his anger abated as fear replaced it. However, he stared in none the less. The room was black and dark, impossible to see that well into. But beyond the front doors, there was a small light. A purple flame burned inside the chamber. It glowed its impure, unnatural light dimly, allowing some illumination. Above it, a great black cauldron was boiling and bubbling, sending out a foul, poisonous, multi-colored miasma. And above it, the foul creature itself stood.

Gilgamesh remembered his anger on seeing him. He brandished his blade before him and glared at the foul being. "So, it turns out that I, the 'lesser son', have been the first one to meet you. And now I shall destroy you."

Hades glared back at him through his hideous red eyes. Gilgamesh glared on at him without changing. Neither moved for a moment. But then, in the end, Hades grinned even more than before, twisting the bones in his face if that was possible.

"You shall never prove yourself to be anything more than a lesser son to me, Gilgamesh. My very existence testifies against you."

Gilgamesh hesitated at that, but did not move. Hades merely gave a dark laugh, and continued.

"You look unmiffed, but you should be. Exactly how much do you know about me?"

"I know that you are a foul creature of evil, mistakenly spawned from esper kind." Gilgamesh answered. "I also know you are a liar and wicked beast. Therefore, I have nothing to trust from you, and your words have no effect on me."

Hades darkly laughed at that, making Gilgamesh's heart turn cold and his stomach turn. "Wicked perhaps, but you are the only liar in this room, Gilgamesh. My words have already sank deep into the very marrow of your being, while I have said nothing but the truth. So your father told you about me being an esper. But he conveniently forgot to mention who my father was. I came from darkness and wickedness, the evil side of an esper's heart. I was born from the evil half of a great esper, and now I am that wickedness personified."

Gilgamesh snorted at that. "Dark indeed has the esper race become if one would come forth who would willingly spawn you from evil. I should like to know what manner of esper indeed would do this."

This only made Hades grin wider, and speak more wickedly. "Then you should know him indeed…" Hecooed in a sinister, malicious fashion...relishing thepain he would causewith this. He hesitated only a moment for effect...

"...Because we share the same father, half brother of mine."

Gilgamesh froze on hearing this. His heart seemed to stop. His blood ran cold. He gaped at the fiend before him. That couldn't be true. "…No…" He replied, head shaking. "That's not possible."

"Oh but it is, Gilgamesh." Hades darkly answered. "Our father was displeased with his sons. He decided to make a truly spectacular son that would not have the weaknesses that he had. And so he spawned me. I may not be exactly as he intended, but I nevertheless have achieved success far beyond that of his other boys. Besides…in the end, he thought I was worthy of a trial."

Gilgamesh couldn't believe it. His father had been the one. He had called the creature a liar before, but he knew it to be true. He could sense it in the mind of the thing. If it was lying, he would have known. But there was no lie in the voice or mind of the thing…only satisfaction. It enjoyed telling Gilgamesh this. It enjoyed letting him hear this horrible fact. But Gilgamesh stood in stunned silence. A great weight had been dropped on his heart. His brain stirred over this. His face was frozen in disbelief. His sword lowered somewhat. His father had been the one. He had been the one to make this evil spawn. And Gilgamesh knew why too. It had become clear, even if Hades didn't imply it.

"Who would have thought that there would ever be such a failure of a son…that a father would believe that his evilness would be a better substitute?" Hades spoke maliciously. "But he did."

Gilgamesh couldn't speak. He couldn't do anything. He looked to the ground and stared, unmoving. He couldn't believe it. It had been his father. His father made this thing…this monster…this murderer…because of him. Because he had hated him. Because he would have preferred to have a creature that was evil than him. He had actually thought he was so much of a lesser son, he wanted this monster instead. He had forsaken him so that he could have this thing, this thing that had murdered so many and done so much… The shock was too much to bear initially…too much to handle.

However, it didn't last long.

Instead, Gilgamesh's anger began to swell in response.

So…he was the lesser son, eh? Odin had preferred this monster to him? Then his father was a fool. He couldn't believe it. After all he had done…after all he had tried…he had made this monster. He made this thing to be his replacement. All Hades had done was bring death and destruction to everyone. All he was to anyone was a curse and a plague. And what had Gilgamesh done? Hadn't he always struggled to be the best son? Hadn't he always tried to be a good man? He had labored physically and mentally to make himself the best he could possibly be. He had always done everything his father had wanted. And still he thought he was the lesser son. Still, he desired this foul creature as his replacement.

How could he have ever been so stupid. How could he have ever been so foolish. He should have never tried to help his father. This spawn…this monster…this was Odin. This was the evil inside him. This was what he had been catering too. He knew better now. There was nothing in his father but pride and selfishness…and now it had gone to madness.

At that moment...he hated his father. He hated him for doing this, for driving him through the torture of his early life…

...For never loving him.

Gilgamesh's teeth grit. His blood boiled. His passion raged. The Masamune was again brandished, and he glared at Hades. "I'll show myself better than you and my father, by doing what he could not and finishing you right now."

The battle continued to rage outside. Black and red blood was spilled everywhere. Great wyrms leapt up and crushed some men, while spears drove into the guts of ogres and trolls. A hoard of goblins tore a man off a horse, while swordsmen jumped onto horned beasts and drove their blades into the backs of the monster. Chaos waseverywhere. The two armies had mixed in now, and were fully engaged in battle with each other. Death and carnage was flying everywhere as the two struggled to destroy one another.

However, as the battle raged, some things were changing. Many of the enemy had stronger, larger foes among them. However, few of them had weapons. Even the weaker spearmen and horsemen were able to drive their weapons forward into larger ogres and trolls. There were no dragons there to help the enemy, and so the humans already had one good advantage. Smaller goblins were in great number, but many of them were trampled under the horses. Gilgamesh himself had killed some hundred enemies alone coming in, and now Odin was continuing to stack up enemy bodies as he charged in and flashed his terrible Zantetsuken. The enemy was vicious, but it wasn't experienced or organized. And though they outnumbered them, most were weaker than an individual warrior. And as a result, the enemy stayed even with the humans. That was…until Odin started throwing his Gunge Lances again. On striking the enemy and scattering them with blasts of light and power, more of the enemy was thrown into fear. Many hated light, and fled from it. With this latest chaos going on, the enemy was beginning to buckle and break. The tide was turning. Now, the humans were getting the advantage.

But Odin was not staying for the whole battle. Once the humans looked to have an upper hand, he spurred Slepnir on toward the Dark Tower. The massive steed trampled goblins and imps underfoot, and kicked away enemies on all sides. Odin flashed his blade again and again, striking down another enemy with each swipe. It was still hard going. He had to struggle and strain to force Slepnir forward. But he kept spurring his steed on, and he struck down more enemies as hecharged. It was a terrible struggle, and more and more foes threw themselves in his path along the way. But he didn't care. He had to get through.

Finally, he broke totally through the lines, and found himself at the Dark Tower. Bodies and the shattered doorway stood before him. Gilgamesh had already been there obviously. Quickly, Odin dismounted Slepnir and then entered the tower. He began to develop a new fear. Gilgamesh still didn't know the origin of Hades. He didn't know how he had come into being. Only Odin and Hades knew…but he feared that the monster would tell him soon enough. And he couldn't let that happen. He quickly charged to the back of the room, stepping by all of the dead bodies and carnage that surrounded the floor.

Odin soon reached the steps, and immediately began to ascend them. He didn't get very far up the steps, however, before he heard the furious voice of Gilgamesh. "I'll show myself better than you and my father, by doing what he could not and finishing you right now." Was sounding just above him. Odin heard this, and immediately feared the worst. Was he too late? Had Hades just told him the truth? He didn't know, but he didn't care to find out. He quickly bounded up the remaining stairs and arrived on the second floor. He paused only long enough to find the entrance to the next room. He saw the open doorway, and the pieces of debris that were once the door. He quickly charged forward, going through the dark opening and into the next room.

Odin turned the corner, and saw for a brief moment Gilgamesh framed against the purple light of an unnatural fire. And beyond that, Hades stood over his black cauldron. But as he did, the black cauldron spilled forward toward him.

"Gilgamesh!" Odin yelled.

But it was too late. His son didn't even have time to turn back to him. At that moment, the cauldron spilled. There didn't seem to be any liquid in it, however. It seemed instead that all of the liquid immediately became a thick, foul, multi-colored fog. It turned as thick as liquid, and moved like liquid on air. But it smelled foul and loathsome. Immediately, Odin sprung back as the huge frothing foul substance came forward. But it was too late for Gilgamesh. He was right before the cauldron. And now, the foul mist boiled forward and surged into a deluge of miasma. It blasted forward and washed over the area, swelling and growing and surging forward. Odin continued to pull back, and ducked out of the doorway and covered his mouth.

Moments later, the foul swirling miasma poured out of the opening. It spilled out into the hallway and filled the doorway. It fell down to the ground and spread everywhere, blasting everywhere, rotting everything. Odin felt his skin itch and burn. His eyes watered. The foul smoke went into his nostrils and mouth despite all he had done to cover it. It spilled around his feet, and ate away at the armor around his legs and blistered his skin. It rotted the stone, and it began to crumble around him. It raged and frothed like a boiling geyser. It was terrible and foul. But at long last, after rushing and boiling for a long while, it finally died down. The foul mist went away and vanished again into the air. But even after that, Odin felt sick to his stomach. His body still burned. Nevertheless, he endured the pain, and turned around, and faced the inner chamber once again.

The cauldron was spilled and emptied now. The foul substance was gone. And Hades still stood, still ferocious and wicked looking. But as for Gilgamesh…there was nothing there except the sword Masamune. Its power alone had withstood the attack. Other than that, there was no sign of him at all.

Gilgamesh was gone.

For a moment, Odin's strength failed. His muscles seemed to lose all support for the first time ever, for not even in the fight with Griever had he felt this wretched. He stood in stunned silence. He was able to support himself for a few moments, staring in vacant shock at the sword. His insides felt hollow, and his eyes turned dry. He struggled to walk…but there was no strength left in him. He collapsed down to his hands and knees. His headfell toward the ground. His eyes glared at the stone in wide-eyed shock, and tears began to fill his vision.

He had been too late.

His son was dead.

And he had never shown him he loved him. He couldn't save him when he needed it. He was destroyed…horribly killed by this monster before him…a monster he himself spawned so that he could have a better child. He had a great son…a son who had done everything to please him. And he had spurned him for this monster. He had made this thing because he never realized how good he had it. He had never realized all that he had done for him, and he had spat in his son's face. He never did anything for him… He never respected him… He never showed him any love… He always treated him as a failure. And now, he didn't have any time left. His son was gone.

Hades poured salt into the wound. "What's the matter, Odin?" It hissed wickedly. "Don't you know better? Don't you see that at last, I am the best heir? I have overcome all others, including your son. Am I not better than you could have ever thought possible? Isn't this what you wanted?"

Normally, Odin would have flown into rage about this. But not now…because at one point he had wanted this. At one point he had hated Gilgamesh and loved Hades, and he was a foolish man for doing so. It was his lust for power, his drive to become king of the espers that had driven him to this…that caused him to lose the one son that would have loved him and proven himself better than an heir. He would have been a true son to him, and a son was far more than just an heir to his father. Odin hadn't realized that until now, what it meant to truly be a family. He had never thought of anything but himself. The monster was right…he had done wrong. It was his fault. His son was dead, because he had never loved him. In the end it was that which had killed him, not Hades' cauldron. And the truth devastated him.

"Tell me, am I not everything you ever wanted?" Hades spoke maliciously.

Odin shook and trembled a moment longer. He breathed in hard, and closed his eyes. He felt tears begin to come out of his eyes. He felt broken and weak, and felt the guilt weigh down on him. It was all his fault. He had done this. He was dead because of him. That was enough to paralyze him and keep him down.

Were he anyone else, he might have been finished. He might have simply lain there until he died, or Hades killed him.

However, he was a warrior. And he was able to control his feelings. What more, he knew that this was his fault. And because it was his fault, he would not give up. He had to be the one to end this. He had spawned this monster, and he was the one who had to destroy him. He could not take back the terrible thing that had happened. He could not take back his son. But he could reap what he had sown. He could execute this foul creature. He could destroy it once and for all, and rid the world of it. That was what he had to do now, and that was what he would do.

"You are nothing that I want." Odin spoke darkly at last. He submerged his sadness and tears. He drew himself up. He tightened his grasp, and then sprang back up and glared against the monster. He drew his sword out and focused his gaze on him. "Save for what I wishto destroy."

Without another word, Odin dashed forward and sliced at the monster. Hades quickly leapt back away, however, avoiding the swipe and leading Odin to hit only air. After that, he aimed his palms at the esper warrior and blasted out his foul miasma from his hands. Odin didn't waste a moment. He swept his cape around his mouth and quickly leapt to one side. Even then, his eyes burned and his mouth choked. He swiped his Zantetsuken at the monster again, but this time his aim was so off that Hades was able to shoot back across the ground, as if being pulled by an invisible cord, to the back of the room. He answered back by summoning balls of poison and flinging them at the esper. Odin quickly dodged to one side and the next, trying not to breathe the foul substance. As he did, he closed in on the monster, and swiped his blade again at him after a few moments once he was near enough. The monster arched back, but Odin managed to twist around and swing his leg at the monster instead. The kick smashed the monster in the middle, flinging it back and sending it flying away from its parent. The blow did some damage, but not much. Even as Hades flew back, he spread out his arms to stop himself. He spread his arms back in front of him as he halted in mid-air, and fired off his poison back at Odin. It was in a giant cloud this time, flooding the ground in front of him and sweeping forward.

Odin couldn't dodge it this time, so he swept his cape around him, shut his eyes, and struggled not to breathe. But it was impossible. The miasma penetrated his eye sockets, sank into his being, and burned him from the inside. It made his skin crawl like it was covered with fire ants. It turned his stomach and made him want to vomit. He grew dizzy, and felt about to fall. However, somehow, in all that, he managed to sense something coming. During the poison, Hades had taken up a spiked pole that was against the wall nearby. Brandishing it as a staff, he turned and was rushing Odin again. But Odin could fight even unbalanced and blind. Quickly, he stepped back, and crossed his sword in front of him to intercept a crushing blow from overhead as Hades charged him and brought the metal staff down. After doing so, Odin quickly swept the weapon aside, and tried to slice at the monster himself. But Hades was able to guard again, and Odin's vision did not enable him to be accurate. He struck again on the monster several times, but even though he was able to force him back, he could not land a blow.

Odin's eyes eventually did clear, however, and he finally managed to aim a well placed blow at Hades' neck. He swiped his sword at him, but the monster managed to duck, and then answered by driving his staff end forward hard into Odin's chest. The hit was powerful and hard, and it sent Odin off of his feet and flying backward to the ground. He landed on his back, but stayed only a fraction of a second before he brought his legs up and swung them down, flipping himself back up and throwing his body forward head first. Now, he smashed his great horned helmet into Hades with all the might that he could muster. The wraith-like esper gaped in horror for a moment before Odin's head smashed in to his, breaking two of his teeth and sending the monster flying backward. This time, he hit the covered opening to the Dark Tower portico. His body smashed both doors off of their hinges, then sent him flying outside, exposing the tower to the sounds of the grim battle outside, and flooding the area with gray light.

Shaking his head, clearing the poison, Odin grit his teeth and quickly rushed out after the monster. Soon, he too bashed through the broken doors and emerged out onto the platform outside. He brandished the Zantetsuken and looked for his foe. However, he saw nothing out there. Far below, the two armies were still engaged in mortal combat, but there was no sign of Hades. Odin hesitated a bit, but then quickly went out further. He looked around at the spiked railing, and up and down everywhere. He saw nothing for a brief moment. But then, turning his head around behind him toward the wall, he saw a flash of crimson red suddenly vanish over the rooftop. Seeing this, Odin sneered again and clenched his teeth and muscles. He quickly turned around and looked to the side of the tower. He crouched, and then leapt once, leaping him into the air and toward one of the spikes. He seized it on landing, twirled around, and then used the force to fling himself upward toward the roof. Moments later, he sailed over the spiked parapets, and landed on the top of the building. He quickly spread himself out and brandished his blade again.

The wind was dry here, hot and fierce. It whipped around the capes of both foes as they stood. Ahead of him, standing on a slightly raised area of the tower, was Hades. His back was to Odin right now, and his weapon was still out. It was standing up and tilted slightly to the side with its spikes out. But the monster himself did not look to Odin. The warrior esper sneered at him.

"It's time to die, monster." Odin scowled.

Hades didn't react. He continued to stand still and cold for a few moments. After a pause, however, he chortled darkly.

"This changes nothing, you know." Hades chuckled. "You can't destroy what I have begun. All of the pieces are already in play. Destroy this army. Destroy this tower. Destroy me. You still can't stop it. I didn't come to conquer. I came to lay the foundations for the true reign of Chaos. You can't stop this. Nothing can."

"I'll be the judge of that." Odin darkly answered. "Now, let us end this."

Hades snorted again. "You fool…I represent all that was truly powerful and remorseless in you. I am what made you strong. You yourself recognized this when you made me. And you think you can simply do away with me?"

"I thought wrong." Odin darkly answered. "I had a wrong concept of power. And now, I have come to correct my mistake."

"And I have come to prove myself the true king of espers…just as you always intended!"

With that, Hades spun around and blasted out his largest miasma blast yet. This time, it rivaled that of the black cauldron.In a wave it struck Odin with all its might. The ripple went so quickly and strong this time that Odin was unable to avoid it. In fact, he gave an expression of shock this time, taking in a breath and opening his eyes when it hit him. Immediately, hot needles pierced his eyes. Choking mist filled his lungs. He couldn't breathe. He couldn't think. His insides felt twisted into knots, and his body was paralyzed. He bent over in agony, and lost all feeling in his body. The miasma, however, was a surge now. It ripped him off of his feet and pushed him backward. And he, sick and helpless, was shoved back toward the roof edge by the wave of mist. He couldn't stop himself. He couldn't halt himself. Soon, he was pushed over to the side of roof, and pushed over the edge and nearly off.

However, somehow, he managed to have enough power to stop himself. Somehow, he commanded his paralyzed, burning muscles to shoot out an arm and seize one of the spikes. He grabbed it and held it as the miasma sailed by. But it only did worse. It filled his lungs with death. It drove his mind crazy. It made his heart race and his belly turn cold. He couldn't move. And the mist just kept on coming. Finally, he fought back. With all the strength he could muster, he yanked himself back over the edge and back onto the tower. Fortunately, the miasma disappated a moment later. But he was still weak. His entire body seemed ready to convulse and rot while on his bones. He was in a collapsed position, and was unable to move. He was dizzy and blinded, and his strength had left him. But somehow, he forced his body to move again. It felt like he was controlling himself outside of his body, but he was able to force his limbs to move. He slowly raised his blade and began to rise again.

But Hades was already on him. Odin felt a painful jolt suddenly go through his arm. He opened his eyes and managed to see well enough what happened. Hades had smacked the Zantetsuken out of his hand. Now, the schimitar shot through the air and landed way on the other side of the roof, far away from Odin. But Hades wasn't done. He swung his staff up and brought down the heavy end with one of the spikes onto Odin's shoulder. The black blade pierced his armor and drove itself into his flesh. Blood poured out from the wound, and Odin yelled in pain. The miasma soon festered the wound as well, making it even worse. It drove him into further pain, stiffening him and making him more paralyzed than before. Now he was in truly bad shape.

Moments later, he felt icy hard fingers enclose around his throat. After that, he was immediately yanked off of the ground. He was still being effected by the poison, but his vision was clear enough to see what was going on. He saw that Hades now stood before him, and was yanking him up off of the ground by the neck. The monster was tall, and soon he was able to throttle the warrior esper. Odin's vision continued to clear, even though the monster choked him. As he did, he saw his bloody mouth, his nasty teeth, his red eyes…and smelled his foul breath coming over him. He looked absolutely malicious and cruel.

"So…it appears that I still am the master here, and the master over you." Hades sneered. "I am the true heir after all, and I shall prove it by destroying you. I guess I will be able to see my future come into play after all."

Odin hesitated for a moment after that. His body was still burning. His mind was cloudy, and he felt sick all over. However, he still forced himself to move. He gathered his strength for a moment, but then fought the paralyzing gas. In a flash, he put his arm down to his side and grasped the hilt of his other blade…Ragnarok. Hades reacted and looked to that, but it was too late. In a flash, Odin drew out the blade. It flashed like a light from the sun, shining a glorious light everywhere, including the battlefield below. The fighters below froze and turned to the sight. Hades himself shrieked and looked away, unable to see the pure light coming from the blade toward him. That was his mistake, for Odin immediately drove the blade forward into the torso of the creature.

Hades gave out a shrill cry, sounding like a foul wraith from the abyss. The shriek pierced the ears of all around, driving them into pain as it did so. Odin himself was no exception. But while the other soldiers below heard this cry and collapsed in pain a moment, Odin managed to stand. Hades released him and collapsed to his legs. And as he did, Odin was dropped back onto his feet. The warrior esper released the blade, letting it stay imbedded in the creature. He himself stood upright, his body clearing and gaining more strength. He turned his head to his own sword next. He extended his hand and performed a summoning spell, and a moment later the blade sprang up from the ground and shot into Odin's hand. Once it landed there, he brought his sword up and prepared to deliver the killing blow.

"Guess again." Odin darkly answered.

However, Hades didn't give him the satisfaction. He writhed in pain only a moment longer. But then, he seemed to adjust to the stab. He held for a moment, but then smiled again, grinning wickedly and triumphantly.

"This isn't over…father…it's only just begun."

Odin merely snarled in response, and swung the Zantetsuken. A moment later, the head and hood of the foul esper flew from its shoulders. A flash of purple light and foul smoke immediately shot into the air, like a geyser erupting. The sky seemed to turn darker than before. The air grew foul smelling and deadly again. Quickly, Odin leapt back and covered his mouth and eyes. He had to keep going back, for the foul miasma spread itself on the ground as well. It continued to spread out and run to the sides of the tower, fountaining out without end from the body of Hades. This miasma was the deadliest yet. Had it not been on top of the tower, far above the people below, the poison might have killed them all. Odin realized that immediately, seeing how deadly and powerful the poison was that came out and poured over the area below. But as it was, it seemed to be contained within the top of the tower. Nevertheless, Odin couldn't stay. He quickly had to leap over the edge, seize a spike, and now held. He stayed there and waited as the foul smoke poured out and filled the area. More miasma poured out after that, but still it was contained on top of the building. At last, however, it died down again. This too faded and went into the sky. Finally, at long last, it was gone.

Once that happened, Odin quickly pulled himself back over the edge and back onto the roof. Once he was up, he quickly looked over the area. But all that was there now as a pile of red fabric, with the hood laying to one side and the Ragnarok piercing it. Odin moved over to this pile at once. When he reached it, it kicked it with his foot and felt around. But there was nothing there. The monster was gone. Apparently, its body had turned into miasma on dying. It had fountained out this black mist in one final move.

Odin thought about this for a moment. Was this what had happened? Was this what it had meant? Did it intend to give this miasma out as a final deathblow? Had it been anywhere else, Odin might not have escaped. And many of the army could have been killed. This could have been its trump card…but Odin had a dark feeling that it wasn't. Hades seemed too smart for that. He could have been planning something else. But what was it?

Odin didn't care at the moment. The important thing was that he was dead.

And now that the monster was at last destroyed…and his fury was spent…he collapsed to his knees, bowed his head forward, and wept over his true son.

The battle raged only for a bit longer. However, the attention of both sides had been drawn by the death of Hades. They both turned and looked to the roof, and saw the foul miasma pour out into the sky. They saw Hades fall to the ground and die. On seeing that, the enemy turned to fear. They were terrified now. They had only had bravery and organization under Hades. But now that their leader was gone, they turned to cowardice. No one was over them now. None were helping them. And so, they broke up.They trampled each other and ran around in fear and anguish. They ran into each other and shoved their weapons into each other.Disorganized as they were, the humans now took the upper hand. The enemy was struck with fear, and they were now emboldened by the death of Hades. They struck back and struck hard. Soon, the enemy was falling left and right. And as the deaths mounted up, the enemy grew more fearful than before.

Finally, they could take no more. The enemy broke for it. With their backs to the humans, many more fell. Few of them managed to get by and keep running. But the horsemen charged after them, striking again and again. They did not turn back until all were destroyed. The few that did survive were wounded or hiding in the ground in terror. The battlefield was then routed. The horsemen came back, brandishing their splintered spears. Victory was theirs. The enemy was destroyed.

The world began to change immediately. The gray clouds broke, and blue sky began to come through. The air turned cooler, and had moisture appear on it. The smell turned fresher. It seemed as if things were coming to life at long last after so long.It seemed as if the evil would finally come to an end, and that the world will change at long last for the better. This new feeling of hope began to travel through all the remaining people. And they felt it regardless of the losses that had come. In the end, they were victorious. This filled them with hope. It filled them with jubilation. Humans had struck back against the forces of darkness and had won. They now cheered and shook their weapons. They exulted with joy. They tramped around and gave cries of victory once again.

Unfortunately, that feeling of victory did not last.

The people learned that many had died. Despite the victory, a third of the army was dead. That was hundreds of people. However, that was not the worse.Odin left the tower and met with them. For a brief moment, the people went up to him and cheered for joy and triumph at the victory that he had helped bring about. They praised him at the top of their lungs. However…that didn't last either. Odin bore Masamune and a somber look, and gave the people the bad news. Their king, Gilgamesh, had died fighting the monster on top of the tower. Now, there was nothing left of him save his indestructible sword. Their leader was gone.

Soon, the joy and triumph of succeeding over their deadly foe faded. This turned into mourning and tears. The men gathered around and bowed their heads somberly for their dead leader, and many cried out in anguish. Gilgamesh had not only been a king to them, but a father to many of them. He had given them hope when they had none, and had sustained them for generations in times of all adversity. But now, their immortal leader was gone. Their claim to power was gone. Their victory came only at the price of a great loss. All uncovered their heads and threw themselves into dust, and wept long and hard.

However, Odin got them up. He would not let them cry long, but forced them to care for the other dead. As before, the enemy was burned in large pyres, while the warriors were buried in mass graves. There was no body of Gilgamesh to bury, however. And so, every soldier, no matter how injured, small, or strong, gathered stones together and piled them up in a monument. Once done, Odin placed as a marker the sword Ragnarok. Many called for Masamune to be placed, but Odin refused. He said that the sword was Gilgamesh's and his alone. He would take the blade away and place it where no other robber could ever find it. That done, the sun was beginning to set, and the air was turning dark. The people at last had to turn and return to the rest of their men.

It took a long walk. Many were still injured, and had tobe bandaged and dressed along the way. Many still died from poison, infection, and injuries on the way back. Others had to be amputated. And the weight of many losses were on their hearts. Yet Odin, astride his horse, told them all to be brave and strong. On returning to their home, there would be time to mourn for many a day over the king Gilgamesh. But for now, they must be happy, and let their enthusiasm deliver them from pain and hurt for now. Let it deliver them until they got back home, and remember that this victory was still a victory, despite the price that had been paid. The living had a right to enjoy it.

Once they returned to camp, they were in much healthier parts of the world. And now, there was no danger of attacking again. The injured were able to rest at last. And so, they were left to rest there. Many were tended too, and it was agreed that the injured would rest three days before they would pack up and return home once again. News of victory was given them, but news of loss was given as well. As they settled down, the people began to ponder over what the future meant now. What did this mean? It meant that for the first time in generations that a new king had to come forward. They had no leader now. They had none to lead the people on after this. There had to be a new one. But Gilgamesh never left any offspring. There was no help now. There would have to be a new leader elected among them.Several of the commanders were suggested in rumors, and those rumors began to grow louder again.

Yet in the end, however, noises of Odin began to circulate among the rumors. The possibility of making him, the father of their king, the next one occurred. Some began to try to find him at that…

But none did. All they heard was one guard reporting that he saw the great rider on his great horse vanish in a flash into the woods. He was just in time to see the cape fade. None of those men ever saw Odin or the Masamune again.

The land of Terratopolis was not ignorant to these events. On the contrary, light dragons were constantly dispatched to inform them about what was going on. They heard the events unfold bit by bit as they went by. The espers were a captive audience, unable to focus on anything else until they heard what was passing. Leviathan himself continued to speculate, wondering what was going on with this Hades and his forces, or what his objectives were. As he looked at it, he began to realize that Hades was himself an esper. The feeling signature was unmistakable. It was too familiar to the previous evil esper Crusader. He felt horrible evil coming from this one though, and he didn't know how to explain it. Bahamut himself thought of going out to attack this force and come to the end of it.

However, that was not needed. The events were resolved much sooner than expected. In no time at all, the fiend was destroyed. One of the late reports came in saying that Odin had triumphed over the foul creature. Based on the speed of the creature, the monster had been destroyed some twelve hours ago by the time the dragon gave the news. However, the dragon also brought bad news with it as it landed.

It had just told the entire assembly of espers the news of victory. Now, it stood in their midst, as they surrounded it with Bahamut in the lead. They all listened intently to what was going on. The sun was down, but lights were put out. The king of espers was desperate to hear the news. Starlet leaned in intently. Leviathan also looked in close. But of the two, Starlet looked far more emotionally concerned. The dragon himself bowed his head sorrowfully.

"…Gilgamesh… He is dead." He spoke at last.

The espers stared in fear and shock. Their faces fell. Many of them froze. Never had one of their kind died…not in centuries. But that wasn't all. Many knew him. Many had been tied to him. Bahamut closed his eyes and bowed his head. Leviathan's mouth hung open, and he stared at the dragon as if a piece of his heart had been torn out. Tears welled in his own eyes. But Starlet cupped her hands to her face, quivered, and bent down. She began to weep bitterly and aloud over her dead child. Many other espers bowed their heads and wept. No one said anything. They only cried and moaned, or paused in silence for their departed kin.

Bahamut couldn't believe it. He had no idea this would be how it ended. No espers had died in so long. He thought that he was on a world where no esper would ever die. But he was wrong. A good esper had died…a great young one who had been upstanding and kind. But now he was gone. Pity took the king of the espers. Gilgamesh had deserved better. He should not have died at the hand of such a wicked being. He had tried so hard to make things better. He always struggled toward self-improvement, and had tried to help people who needed it. He had tried to make the world a better place. But in the end, he had died. And Bahamut didn't know what to think now…or how to react to this world that had changed to become a dangerous place even to espers.

However, Bahamut didn't think of this long. Abruptly, one of the younger espers cried out and pointed to the sky. "Look! Odin comes!"

Immediately, the people turned their heads up. Even those weeping looked up and changed somewhat. As they did, they saw far above them Slepnir ride over the lip of the mountain. The great horse immediately dove to the ground, with its rider astride it. Within moments, it had descended the cave and landed on the bottom. The light dragon stepped back, and the esper was given a clear place to land. He immediately did so, landing in the center of all the espers, andpulling Slepnir to a halt.

Everyone stared at the new arrival. Bahamut himself stared at Odin, and saw that he had changed. His look was somber and dark. His face was downcast and grim. What more…he seemed to not be carrying the same swords that he had before. He was carrying a new one at his side. Nevertheless, he did not comment on it. He simply dismounted, and then stood next to his horse. He turned and looked to Bahamut. His head was slightly downcast, and his appearance was dark. But he didn't say anything immediately. He just turned to the others and looked straight at Bahamut. His eyes were the worst. As Bahamut looked at them…he saw something he never had before. He saw sadness and depressioncoming from the warrior esper. It didn't even seem like him.

Odin inhaled slowly and looked to the king.

"Let us go to the meeting area." He spoke at last. "I'll tell you everything."

The Dark Tower has been slated for destruction.

The men were too weak now, but they would return and would not leave one stone on another. They would finish what Gilgamesh and Odin had begun. But for now, it was gone. Not even crows came near it to feed on the carrion around. It was alone and solitary. Night had fallen now, but nothing touched it. The air of evil was still around it. The unnatural feeling was still on it. But it would be destroyed. Eventually, the men would return and ruin it at last.

However, none had set foot in it since Odin. And none viewed the remains of Hades.

They lay in a dark pile on the rooftop. They were still in a pile of blood-red rags, foul-smelling and reeking with death. But they did not shift since Odin had pushed them. For hours, they had just lain there unmoving, for they were no longer filled with the decaying body of an esper of death and evil. However…Odin had not felt everything there.

Deep inside the robes of the creature, there were still two things. One was the imperishable part of all espers…the magicite. This one did not gleam with power or flame like the first two had. This one was dark and empty, like a crystal that had somehow lost all shine. It seemed to suck light and life into it. It was void of warmth, seeming to draw that into it as well and become a cold, lifeless stone. However, that was nothing compared to the other. The Oblivion Stone had been concealed there. It was far blacker and darker. It was far colder, with a perceptible evil radiating from it. Even one not attuned could feel the numbing black power coming off of it. This was a deeply wicked thing, black and evil…seeming to be void of all life and light in and of itself.

And now, something changed. The magicite that had formed seemed to make its way to the stone. It was slow going, almost impossible to see. But an invisible force was drawing it closer and closer. It took hours for it to happen. But it did make its way there. And then, at long last, the two objects worked their way through the remains of the clothing. They touched each other at long last.

Immediately, a dark ringing began to come from the black stone. In response, something happened. The magicite seemed to melt. It softened its edges, spread out, and began to cover the stone at once. It moved fast now. In no time at all, the magicite melted over the crystal. Then, at once, it began to seep into it. Like water into ground, the now liquid-like magicite sank into the new black object. Within moments, it was gone and vanished.

But now, the product of Hades' labor changed. If possible, it grew even blacker than before. It seemed to drain light from the air now. It made the entire tower cold. It created a feeling of death for the entire surrounding area. The evil within it grew darker yet. It sank deeper into blackness. And then, at long last, a dark threshold was reached.

Deep inside the stone…a new being of pure evil was born.

Gilgamesh groaned where he was. His eyes fluttered, and they slowly opened. His nose and mouth were bleeding. Scowling, he reached up and wiped them off. His vision was blurry and he was in pain. But his senses came back to him somewhat. However, things had changed. His mind was darkened. His body seemed dulled. Things seemed to be colder and blander to him. Things did not have so much light to them either. Things didn't smell so good. His limbs seemed number. He felt things less, and his heart seemed to be stiffer and stonier.

Sneering, Gilgamesh spat and began to roll up. He looked around him a bit, and soon placed himself. He was far away now, still in the dark area around the Dark Tower but not near it. He looked around a bit, and soon he saw it rising on the horizon. But it was far away, well out of range of the battle area. And it was night now. He remembered somewhat what had happened. He remembered preparing to charge Hades. But then, before he could strike, the enemy has washed him over with his black miasma. Gilgamesh had felt horrible pain in response. He felt his entire body burning and rotting. He thought he would burn away into nothingness. But now, he was here. Obviously he didn't. Groaning, Gilgamesh feltstiff and cold all over.His bodythrobbed and numbed. However, he managed to roll up and get to his feet. He wasn't dizzy, but his head hurt as he got up and glared at the area. He continued to wretched, like a piece of ice. And he didn't like the feeling.

In fact, he didn't like much of anything now.

As he glared out at the battlefield, Gilgamesh felt himself get angry. Where was his army? Where were his troops? Had they bothered to look for him? No…of course not. The filthy ingrates didn't care about him anymore. They had Odin. They had his father. Before, Gilgamesh had just been getting annoyed about this. But not anymore. Now, he felt a deep seated hate. He felt it growing inside him…and yet already in there as well. It was like a black cloud covering his mind, or foul roots piercing into his mind and heart. They filled him with anger…consumed him.

They never cared for him. They cared for only who would give them power. That's all anyone cared about, whoever had power. It had been that way for Griever. It had been that way for Hades. And now, it was that way for Gilgamesh. Humans…stupid humans…slaves to their own wickedness… Treacherous…wicked…betraying… How had he ever loved them? He couldn't feel any love now. He couldn't remember any love for them…or for his father…or for anything.

In fact, he couldn't remember any love. He couldn't remember ever loving anything at all. He couldn't remember ever feeling good, or being happy, or feeling content. He forgot about Starlet…and Terratopolis…and Leviathan…and anything that was ever good and pure in his life. He forgot about the births of children…the smiles of familes…the sounds of music…and the feeling of life. It had been blotted out, choked out and clouded over by the miasma. There wasn't any good or warmth left in his heart. All of it had been broken up and forgotten. All he could remember now was hate…and evil…and wickedness… All he could see in the world now was how broken and sinister it was… All he could see of other people was how twisted and wicked they were. There was nothing good in the world now. There was nothing good anywhere. Just evil.

And his father was the worst. His father had spawned only more evil, because he had hated him. He always hated him. He hated him more than anything else. He hated him for being weak, and stupid, and a failure as a son. He was never a mighty conquerer like him. He was never a mighty warrior like him. He was never anything but a failure to him. The monster…he was the worst of all. He wasn't Hades…he was worse than Hades. That evil had come from him. He had all that evil and more. Everything he hated about Hades he truly hated about his father. He was a wicked, foul being…

Indeed, all in this world was wicked. All of it. There was no good in anyone. There was no good in anything. You struggle to be good, only to have it be taken advantage of. You struggle to uphold justice, while vagabonds and evildoers did whatever they wanted with it. There was no good in the world. Good, he now realized, was an illusion. There was only evil now. Evil was the state of the world. And it only grew moreevil as time went on. The races of the world only grew more and more foul. They didn't respect good anymore. None of them did. Not the espers…not the humans…not anyone. No one cared for good anymore.

No…they cared only for power. Everything cared for that. It was that which ruled the world. Nothing else mattered. Gilgamesh saw that now. The people only respected him so long as he had power. Once Odin took his place, he was yesterday's news. His father only respected him so long as he had power. When he showed himself weak, he no longer cared. He was just another failure. Only the powerful commanded respect. Only they mattered. Nothing else. It filled Gilgamesh with fury. It drove him mad with anger. After all he had done, this was what happened. This was what was the result. What did he get for his care and leadership? Pain…injury…misery… And they readily turned to a next leader. That's all they cared about. That's all they ever did. Them, and all humans… The whole damn wicked race…

At that, however, Gilgamesh came to a realization. A thought entered his mind, and quickly took root. So, that was how things were done. That was how the world worked. Then so be it.

For too long he had been catering to others. For too long he had tried to fulfil the dreams of others. And why bother, in a world where no one cared about basic virtues? Why bother in a world without goodness? If the world respected power…then he would get it. He would become better. But it wouldn't be for Odin or his people anymore…it would be himself. He would be the best. He would be the greatest warrior alive. He would gain the supreme power. And all others would be put down at his feet. All others would bow to the supreme power that he wielded.

He saw it now. All this knowledge…diplomacy…caring…useless. Power was all that mattered. Power was all that was needed to bend others to his command. And why shouldn't he be the one that had the most? He was a son of great espers. He had skills and intelligence above all others. Hadn't he labored harder than all others? Hadn't he strained more than all others through his entire life? Why couldn't he be the best warrior? Why shouldn't he be the strongest? Why shouldn't he be the ultimate being?

And why couldn't he?

He could. He could become the best. He could become the greatest. He could make all others bow to his power and will. His strength could become the greatest, and he would surpass all others human and esper alike. He could do it…he would do it. After all, he had the greatest weapon ever…

Gilgamesh lowered his hand to his side to grasp the weapon. However, as he began to feel down to his side, he felt nothing. His face, which began to smile in response to his new line of thinking, suddenly turned to a look of surprise. He quickly looked down to his side, but saw nothing. His face turned to shock. Quickly, he looked around his body, struggling to find his sword. But he saw nothing. The Masamune was gone. That was impossible, unless…

His face flew into anger again. His father had taken it…stolen it from him. It wasn't enough for him to take his people. He had to take his sword as well, a blade better than any other sword ever made. Gilgamesh cried out in anger. He struck the ground with his foot and hissed. He acted almost animal like now, twisted and furious, his thoughts dominated with anger and rage. Curse his father! Curse him and his notions of heirs and successors! It filled him with anger, making his quiver in rage and fury. His weapon was gone…his sword was gone! That would have made him king of the entire planet…

He had to get it back… He had to take it back! But how? He wasn't strong enough…he didn't have any strength now. He lacked a great weapon. His father was better than him now, for he was already superior in strength and he had the Masamune. He had to become stronger… He had to become better…but how? What could make him stronger? What could make him better? How could he gain the strength to overwhelm all others? What could give him that power?

As if in response to that…a dark voice suddenly ran through Gilgamesh's head.

Immediately, the esper stiffened. He snapped around and looked behind him. However, he saw nothing. There was no one there. He turned around slowly, searching around for a moment. But he still saw nothing. He began to ease down after that. But just as he did, the dark voice went through his head again. It was clearer this time. It was weak and soft, like a whisper. But it was definitely a voice and not an illusion. Gilgamesh spun around violently again. His eyes widened, and he quickly looked around in a circle. But he saw nothing.

Again, the dark voice spoke out. Gilgamesh didn't bother turning this time. He tried to focus on it instead to find the source. However, it seemed to be coming from all around, and echoing through him as well. Gilgamesh's face tightened. Worry creased his face. Anxiety gripped him from within, and he felt nervous and afraid.

"Who's there!" He demanded at last.

The voice whispered in reply to him.

Gilgamesh paused a moment, breathing hard and panting. Fear had taken him now, and he was stricken with panic for a few moments. But he kept breathing and held a long time. He didn't move, but waited and waited to calm down. Then, at last, he spoke out again into the air.

"I hear you… You're…in my head?"

More whispers followed.

Gilgamesh blinked, and shook his head. "No…what…I mean, what are you?"

A pause went by, as Gilgamesh stared forward into the darkness around him.

"You're…what Hades was making? You're the plan he spoke of?" A pause, then a snort. "Figures. Father was telling the truth after all."

Another pause, and Gilgamesh turned his face to anger.

"Of course I hate him!" He snapped. "I hate him more than ever now…now that I see him for what he is."

A brief pause, and Gilgamesh's face softened.

"I will have revenge…but I need power now. I need more than I have."

A pause went by. Now, Gilgamesh's eyes widened.

"What? What do you mean…you can give it to me?"

Another pause.

"Ultimate power?"

A longer pause.

Gilgamesh's face turned eager. His eyes flashed in desperation. "How? Tell me, how!"

Another longer pause, the longest yet.

Gilgamesh paused and thought over this a moment. He hesitated for a few brief seconds. His face turned to concern, and seemed to mill this over. He thought over it for quite a long time. "So…" He spoke up at last. "You need more power… And then, it shall come to me when it has culminated. But how do I get it?"

Another pause.

Gilgamesh's head perked up at this. "Where?" He asked. He looked around desperately for a few moments. But then, his head rested on the Dark Tower. It was far in the distance, but it was still near enough. He looked to the air at that, and then gestured ahead of him. "There?" He asked. "Very well…I'm going."

Gilgamesh immediately took off. In no time at all, he was bounding across the field toward the Dark Tower. Thanks to his esper strength, it didn't take him long at all to cross the field. He passed by the mass graves, the funeral pyres, and all the rest of the carrion still laying around, and went right to the entrance once again. Once there, he quickly entered the tower, shot through to the stairs, and thenascended in a flash. Within no time at all, he was up past the first floor, the second, and the third…and finally charged up onto the roof itself.

The dark wind blew around. It was colder and more stagnant up here. If anything, the wind here seemed even more foul than that morning. It felt like walking into a grave. But Gilgamesh didn't care. He only cared about what he had to find. He looked around a bit more, and then finally spotted what he had been told to seek. The pile of blood red robes on the ground. Gilgamesh orientated his whole body toward it, and then quickly ran over to it. He ducked down next to the pile, and immediately pushed and pulled the rags aside. As he pulled the robe aside, he finally found it.

It gleamed with a sort of darkness, rather than a light. It seemed to shimmer with a sinking blackness, as if it was drawing light into it rather than shimmering it. It seemed to radiate blackness and shadows. It felt like a piece of ice, and the life seemed to be drawn out of Gilgamesh's hands as he touched it. All warmth faded as he touched it, and it seemed to drain the breath from his mouth as he breathed over it. It seemed to be an item of pure evil…pure darkness.

Yet Gilgamesh only hesitated a moment. Then, hands trembling, eyes wide-open…he leaned down and took up the stone.

"S-s-so…this is it?"

A pause.

"The Oblivion Stone…"

Another pause. Gilgamesh stared at it a moment longer. But then, he raised his head up. He looked into the sky, his eyes wide…filled with a new madness.

"So…everything has been prepared?"

A pause.

"All the forces are ready?"

Another pause. Slowly…a grin began to spread across Gilgamesh's face.

"Yes…all is ready. The construction can take place right away. You only need one to be the architect…and one to inherit the power."

Gilgamesh grinned darkly, a new wickedness coming over him. Quickly, he drew himself up on the top of the roof. He held the great black orb over his head. He beamed over all of the countryside, teeming with power and fury as he stood there. He could already anticipate the new power. He could already feel himself surging with might. He glared out over the black landscape, already looking forward to the glorious future.

"This shall be built. The Temple shall be built, and the power of Chaos shall be mine! Nothing will stop us! Nothing!"

"…And then I returned here." Odin darkly finished, his face down and grim. "That, essentially, is what has happened in my life ever since the birth of Shoat."

The assembly of espers were silent. They stared at their older brother and didn't say a word. The original group was there, as were the first few generations of espers. But other than that, the others were put outside. Still, the most mature group and leaders were gathered there, and they had just heard Odin's long story. Now, they stood in stunned silence. Starlet's head was down and she didn't react. Leviathan blinked in astonishment and mused over all that had happened. Bahamut stood in the back, gaping and amazed.

Long had he feared that one of them would reproduce by severing off their evil half. But he never really believed one would do it. But Odin had. He eventually had been driven to that madness. And it had caused great chaos in the world outside. It had killed his own son. However, he could read his interior. He knew well that Odin had learned from this. That was why he had sealed himself up in grief for so long. What more, he also knew his new feelings toward Gilgamesh. But those feelings had come far too late. Now his son was gone, and many other humans lay dead. The price of Hades' blood had been the blood of many others. His mistake had cost hundreds of lives, and had bred all sorts of evil on the world. Bahamut didn't know what to think. He didn't know what to say. The monster was dead, but it didn't change what had happened…

Bahamut was distracted by his thoughts when he suddenly heard a shift. He looked to the sound, and saw that Starlet was getting up. Her face was calm and controlled, and she seemed much more composed from earlier. However, as she got up, she slowly walked over to Odin, who was still seated. He looked up to her as she came, but said nothing and showed no emotion. Finally, she was standing right in front of him, and there she halted.

Almost immediately, she began to strike Odin across the face as fast and hard as she could.

"Starlet!" Leviathan cried out. He got up to rush over to her, and the others quickly began to rise and come over to her as well. But they couldn't reach her immediately. The first two people who grasped her from behind were angrily thrown off as Starlet continued to maddeningly hit Odin.

"You bastard!" She screamed. "You killed him! It was you! You killed him! He's dead because of you!"

Odin didn't resist. He didn't even close his eyes. He merely let her continue to strike him. The other espers jumped on her, and eventually they began to pull her back. She kept resisting so she could strike again. At last, Leviathan came around from behind her. He quickly extended his coils around her arms and waist, pinning her back and pulling her back. As he did, Starlet's anger suddenly broke, and she burst out into tears instead. Sobbing loudly, she turned and buried her head against Leviathan's neck. Her strength vanished, and she collapsed against Leviathan. Soon the sea serpent had to hold her up as she wept. Leviathan's own face turned to sadness. He lowered his head against her own shoulder, and began to try and reassure her. The rest of the room calmed down and backed off, looking to Starlet as she sobbed against Leviathan. Finally, Leviathan turned her around and began to lead her out of the room. She moved very stiffly, and Leviathan had to move her out mostly, but he did manage to take her out of the room. Soon, both of them were gone, and the room was silent again. The espers turned and looked to each other for a moment, but then they began to calm down. They all moved back and returned to their seats once more. After that, there were a few moments of silence.

Bahamut stared at Odin, not knowing what to do now. He wasn't sure what he should say at this point. Regardless of whether or not Odin repented of this evil didn't change the fact that the crime he committed was inexcuseable. But before anything else could happen, Odin raised the edge of his cape, and looked down into it.

"All right, you might as well come out now."

The other espers looked to this for a moment. But then, to their surprise, four green faeries flew out from within it. The surprise didn't last long, however, as they remembered that Odin had explained that he had picked them up in his story. However, until now, they didn't know that they were here with them. But they were here now. The four readily floated in the center of the room, and there they stood for a few moments.

"Here they are." Odin explained. "I brought them back. You can decide what to do with them now."

Bahamut looked up and stared at the Sylph for a moment. They had been bad, that much was true. And they had caused a lot of bad actions. But they had returned. That was the important thing. All of their heads were bowed, and they appeared to be penitent. If that was the case, then perhaps they could still change for the better. And so, he gave a nod to them.

"Well, welcome back, children." He told them. "Now that you're back, you're going to have to learn to abide by the rules here. And you'll have to work hard if you want to earn our trust after all you've done. But you'll be treated the same as everyone else, so long as you behave yourselves."

The Sylph continued to be bowed down for a moment, continuing to look penitent. But then, abruptly, three of them threw their heads up and blew a raspberry at Bahamut. The espers saw this, and were immediately taken aback. The fourth one looked up to this, and seemed a bit surprised at this sudden reaction. The other three immediately laughed and flew higher to the ceiling, away from the others. The fourth one hesitated, but then flew after them. Soon they were all flying overhead, and laughed and yelled down.

"Ha! Yeah right!"

"We're finally free, and you think we're going to do all that boring stuff?"

"We're going off to find new people to torment!"

Odin's face immediately turned to rage. He quickly shot up out of his position and glared at them. However, the Sylph saw this, and quickly flew up higher than before. "You little ingrates!" He snapped angrily at them. "You promised me!"

"Yeah, yeah…we promised you." One mocked.

"We promised we'd come back with you here, but we didn't promise that we'd stay!"

"We promised we wouldn't curse anyone anymore, but we can still tease them and cast spells on them!"

"So long, suckers!"

Three of them immediately flew off, laughing and swirling around each other as they shot out of the sky and toward the exit. The fourth one, however, actually held a moment. She alone didn't laugh or insult. She instead looked kind of surprised at this entire chain of events. She looked to the people around her and back to the flying Sylph for a moment. But then, in the end, she turned to the others and flew out after them. Odin scowled at them for a moment. Bahamut himself rose and looked out after them. But soon, they were flying out and were gone.

"I'll get them." Ogopogo said, beginning to rise.

Bahamut, however, merely sighed in response. "No…let them go."

The others, Odin included, turned and looked to him in puzzlement at that. Bahamut sighed in response, however, shaking his head as he looked out. "They won't stay. We can't make them. The only thing we could do would be imprison them. And perhaps we'll have to eventually. But so long as they're not cursing anyone, they can't do any lasting damage. If they make any trouble again, however, we may have to destroy them. But not right now. Enough espers have died for the time being."

The espers couldn't argue with that. They bowed their heads and became silent on hearing this. Odin frowned a bit, and might have protested and followed up on his threat. But he was too ashamed with himself for now. And so, he said nothing. The others settled down after this. The incident was allowed to pass for the time being. Now, Bahamut raised his head and looked over to the warrior esper. He turned his thoughts to him again after this. A brief time went by, as he looked at him, trying to think of what to do next. There was silence for some period.

"Well…Odin, I'm afraid I have to do something about this." He told him at last.

"I'm well aware of it." Odin replied, still standing, and resuming his bold look again. "However, I have my own suggestion."

The other espers looked a bit more intently at Odin at that, intrigued at this sudden change. Bahamut himself creased his eyebrows and put a hand to his chin. Odin looked back at them silently for a moment, then spoke.

"I seek to finish the job that my son started. I wish to return to the world of men."

The espers seemed rather surprised at this. A few had their eyes open wider, Bahamut among them. He hadn't expected this sort of response. None of them had, especially after all that had happened. Moreover, Bahamut wondered why he would want this. His suspicions were immediately aroused. He wondered if the part of Odin's story that told about the men of Gilgamesh praising him actually had affected him. Perhaps he wanted it now. That only made Bahamut a bit more uneasy.

"Why?" He asked at last.

"Gilgamesh set out to unite all humans under one banner again, to establish a lasting peace among all people." Odin explained. "He toiled and labored in the world among mortal men for years doing this. And in the end he died far from home. I feel I owe him after all he sacrificed. It's the least I can do in penitence for the trouble I caused. Perhaps I can curb the violence of mankind."

There was a pause among the espers in the room. Bahamut believed Odin was serious, for the warrior rarely lied. However, he still felt uneasy. He wondered if there was some alterior motive involved in this. And so, he hesitated for a long while. The others did too.

"…I have some fears regarding this…" Bahamut spoke up at last.

"I understand." Odin responded. "But consider this. I do not plan on having full range of my powers in the world. I intend to take the form of a human for the duration of my stay among them. I will not wield Masamune. I already told you once that the blade belonged to my son, and I will not let anyone else wield it, human or esper. Finally, I do not plan to build on my honors and take the throne of Gilgamesh's people. Those were his people, after all, and not mine. In short, I intend to start off as just another human stranger. But you must understand something else." Odin paused for a moment. His head bowed slightly. His voice became lower and spoke more quietly.

"I cannot remain in Terratopolis after what I have done. I have done far too much evil in my time, injuring all who could have been in my family. Regardless of what punishment you think I deserve, I will not stay in this esper paradise while my sons rot in the ground."

Bahamut paused after hearing that. He looked Odin over, and thought about this matter. There was a long silence in the room. The espers looked to one another but said nothing. Bahamut himself rubbed his chin and inhaled deeply. Again, Odin seemed to be genuine. And he could not deny the fact that the world still had much wickedness in it. It needed a figurehead like Odin to keep it in line and guide the people. Still, he had many reservations. And he did not want to act rashly. This event had also shown him the dark side of an esper ruler in the world…

"…Give me a week to think it over." Bahamut spoke at last.

Odin nodded to this, accepting it.

"You're dismissed."

Odin immediately rose up, gave a small bow to Bahamut, and then turned to leave. Soon he departed the same way the others had. Some of the others watched him leave, while others were deep in thought. But at any rate, Odin was soon gone. The council was left together in silence. Bahamut didn't watch Odin leave. Instead, he looked forward and paused for a long while. He inhaled deeply and thought. In the end, however, he bent his head down. He propped it up in his arms and stayed silent for a few minutes. No one left, however. They all turned to him and waited, seeing if he would dismiss them or say something else. At last, he did speak.

"…One thing puzzles me…where was the magicite for Hades and Gilgamesh?"

"Ha! I can't believe he fell for that!"

"Espers can be even bigger suckers than humans!"

"No more Hades now!"

"Yeah!"

"Now we can do what we want again!"

"Yee-ha!"

"So what do we do first?"

"We can't curse anyone anymore…"

"So let's stampede some cattle!"

"Or tie knots in little girls' hair!"

"Hey! What's up with you?"

This last comment turned three of the Sylph around to look at their fourth sister. The one was lagging behind the other, and she didn't look nearly as happy or jovial. They had flown higher now, exiting Terratopolis and now flying over the great mountain. The three of them were dancing around and full of excitement, but not the fourth one. More events had happened that had impacted her since she entered the home of the espers. And those events built on the ones from earlier. Similar as they seemed, the four Sylph were not the same creature. They all had their own personalities. And now, one of them was exerting her own. Unlike her sisters, she had not been able to shake off the warnings of Odin so easily. And so she lagged behind. Even now, with freedom looming ahead, her mind was troubled. More troubled than before as well.

"I…I'm…not feeling well." The Sylph answered at last. That was true enough. She didn't feel well. She felt a burning inside, and a coldness in her heart. Emotions of guilt and heartlessness were filling her now.

"Well, come on!" One yelled. "You're holding us up!"

"Hey, I got it!"

The other two Slyph turned to this sudden announcement. The fourth did not. She held back a little, and only slowly looked up to her.

"Let's give people warts!"

"Hey, yeah!"

"I always love doing that!"

One turned around to the lagging Sylph. "Yeah! And you used to be the best at it? Wouldn't it make you happy?"

This Sylph kept her head bowed and hesitated. She continued to be slow and hesitant. "I…I guess…" She finally said, slowly and reluctantly.

All three Sylph frowned at her at this. They began to pout.

"You're no fun!"

"Stop being such a stick in the mud!"

"You don't actually believe that crud they told you, do you?"

"What are you, some sort of goodie two-shoes?"

"You used to love cursing people!"

The fourth swallowed. She kept her head down and looked uneasy. She didn't move, and grasped her wrists and wrung her hands. "Um…maybe you guys should go on ahead. I'll…I'll catch up…later…"

The three stared back in puzzlement for a moment. They hesitated and looked over her. Finally, they all snorted as one.

"Fine."

"Mope around here if you want."

"We're off to have fun."

With that, all three stuck their tongues out at her. Then, in a flash, they turned and began to fly away. They spiraled around each other and laughed as they did. Within seconds, it looked as if they didn't even care there were only three of them. As they flew away, they seemed as happy and cheerful as ever. Soon they were gone. As for the remaining Sylph, she watched them leave. She was somewhat unhappy to see them go. She was hoping that they would have tried to make her feel better. She hoped they would have cared about her more. But as she hovered there…she realized that was a foreign idea to them. None of them had ever really cared about each other. They just stayed together so long as if was fun for them to cause mischief together. They never really cared about anyone or anything except themselves. And until recently, this Sylph had been the same way. She didn't care who she hurt or what was wrong, so long as she was doing well. However…she felt a burning inside her when she wanted to return to her old way of life, and it turned her back toward the mountain realm below her as she hovered there.

True, she had loved causing mischief. Even when doing it under command she enjoyed it. But now, what Odin said affected her. She didn't appreciate being abused. She hated it, in fact. She remembered well the pain and misery that Hades had given her. She remembered it all too well. So much in fact that she had been willing to do anything to escape him. Perhaps she would have been like the others too, willing to make any promise but then break it. But when Odin had reminded her how much misery she caused others…she remembered something else. As she threw herself down at Odin's feet, she remembered other humans throwing themselves down at her feet. She remembered that she held the power to make them miserable or happy. And when they had pleaded with her and begged for mercy, their pleas fell on deaf ears. She enjoyed baiting them, in fact, making them feel that she would have mercy only to turn around and do evil to them a moment later. And she began to realize…what if Odin had done the same? What if she had been treated in the same way? It was what she deserved. It was what they all deserved. Odin shouldn't have given them any mercy. But did that make him the fool for showing them pity? …Or did it reveal something else?

When the Sylph had come to Terratopolis, she saw something else. She saw the mother she had insulted and spurned years ago. She was thinner now, looking like a regular person. And she saw her weep over her dead son. She almost wondered…would she have acted the same way over them? Or would she have been glad that they were dead? After all…what good had they ever done? Gilgamesh had been a help to humans and a pride of the espers. But what of them? What were they like? Would anyone mourn them? Would anyone be sad when they died? Or would they be happy that they were delivered from a curse? The Sylph realized a horrible truth. There was only one other person she knew who had died and no one had cared. That had been Hades. What did that say? Were they really not so different?

None of the Sylph wanted to be compared to that monster. But in truth…she began to realize something more horrifying. They weren't all that different after all. Both of them delighted in misery and pain. Both of them loved nothing. Odin was right…they were a pair. They considered themselves justified because they were oppressed by Hades. But in the eyes of everyone else…they were just as guilty as he, and just as unloved. And that led to an even more chilling revelation…one that made the Sylph bend over in fear.

No one loved her.

Not her sisters…not her parents…not humanity…nothing. By leaving Odin just now, they had broken their last tie. No one loved them anymore. No one cared if they lived or died. No one would help them again if they were in trouble. No one would care for them if they were hurt. People would just leave them to die from now on…and spit on their graves. They had no friends…no family… They were just as bad as Hades. They were in the same group. And that made the Sylph feel more alone and empty than ever. No amount of temporary pleasure would arrest that. She was unloved…and with no hope…

But then, as she hovered there…she began to wonder if there was some hope.

She hadn't been born to be wicked. No…her mother had once loved her. Her mother had once wanted her to live with her. Before they spurned her, she accepted them unconditionally. Would there not be some way to return to her? Would there be some way to be pardon of her? Could she not throw herself down at her feet, admit her evils, declare herself unworthy of being her child, and beg for pardon? Was there not still some chance to repent? Could she still not have a life?

No…there was no hope, she realized in sadness.

They had come too far. The Sylph were too evil. No one trusted them now. No one would accept her promises or mercy. No, she was too different. She was too much of a monster. She would continue to be considered the same as Hades. It was hopeless, she realized, feeling crushed again. She had ruined everything. She was not even a shadow of who Starlet had once loved. Once she had tried to make the perfect child. But now…

But at that…a new thought entered the Sylph's brain.

How was it…that Hades came into being? Was it not by Odin pulling out the evil from his body, and embodying it? And couldn't it work the opposite way? Could she not take all the goodness out of herself, whatever was left…and make it into a new body? Could she not purify herself? Then there would be no evil or doubt left in her. There would be no more wickedness. All that would be left would be the pure child that Starlet always desired. A perfect child. Surely…surely Starlet would accept her then. Surely then she could call her mother, and be loved.

It was a ray of hope…a possibility…a chance. It was her one shot at redemption. The others were lost, but she could save herself. She could take everything that was worth anything in her and make something of herself. It was her only chance…but it could work. It had to work! It was her only hope at erasing the black image stained on her life and soul.

With that, the Sylph decided. She turned and began to fly back to Terratopolis as fast as she could.

Once out of the chamber, Leviathan reverted back into his human form. Using this he was able to embrace Starlet and let her cry against him. He couldn't blame her, just as he couldn't blame her for her anger. Leviathan was plenty enraged himself. He couldn't believe that Odin had done something so wicked and irresponsible. He couldn't believe his obsession with an heir had driven him to that. And now, because of him, his pupil was dead. He had such great hopes and dreams for Gilgamesh. He had expected so much to come from him. And because of Odin, a son that was worth more than a thousand Hades had been killed. Leviathan almost wanted him to pay with blood for this death. He might have flown into a rage and sobbed himself. But he had to be strong now, for his wife. Much as this death outraged and hurt him, the death effected her much more. It was her son.

Starlet continued to lean against him. She sobbed and sniffled. But she broke in crying, long enough to say one thing.

"First Phoenix…and now Gilgamesh. Everyone I love dies, Leviathan…or leaves me… Like the Sylph…"

"No…no…" Leviathan tried to reassure. "Don't say that."

"…It's my fault. I should have gone to help him. I could have saved him. I-"

"We didn't even know what was going on, Starlet. We didn't know what was at risk. If anyone is to blame, it's me. I thought he could have lived. I thought he could have handled anything with the Masamune. But I was wrong. If I hadn't miscalculated, I could have gone to help him."

"I…I just wish I could have done something…" She spoke with a pause. Then, her voice began to choke up. "Gilgamesh…my son…" With that, she broke again and buried her head against Leviathan more strongly than before. She sobbed more loudly than ever, and clutched him harder.

Leviathan looked up and out as she did this. He wished he could say something to lessen the pain, but there was nothing. He did not believe it was Starlet's fault though. No…that was ridiculous to say when the real culprit was so clear and obvious. This whole chain of tears only made him further enraged at Odin. He felt almost like attacking him himself. And he would be far less gentle than Starlet. For though he hadn't lost a son, he had to see his wife endure this misery…

However, something happened abruptly that tore Leviathan's mind away from Starlet and Odin. He sensed something. Immediately, he raised his head and looked to the air. Starlet continued to cry against him, not noticing this. But he focused none the less and directed his attention to this new sensation. It was a new powerful signature. It was relatively weak compared to other espers, but strong compared to normal creatures. And it had just passed in to Terratopolis. Now, he sensed that it was traveling through the halls…all the way down to…the fusion chamber.

Leviathan hesitated a moment. He didn't know what to do. He looked back down to his wife, and tried to think of the best way to extricate himself from this situation. He looked around uneasily and thought for a few moments. But then, at last, his fidgeting over this caused Starlet to sniff and calm down a little. She had relaxed again somewhat anyway. She turned her head up and looked to her husband's face, and she saw the new concern in his eyes. Despite all that had happened to her, she realized this and picked up on it.

"What's wrong?" She asked.

"I…I sensed something." Leviathan responded. "A small signature just went into the fusion chamber. I think it was an esper, but I don't recognize it among anyone else."

Starlet blinked a moment, but despite all her pain she began to realize the seriousness of this new event. She stared at Leviathan a moment. Leviathan himself finally licked his lips, and then turned nervous. In a very apologetic tone, he began to speak again. "I…I don't see anyone else responding to it. I think I'll check on it." Quickly, he added more. "But I'll be right back. I'm just going to run out to look at this real quick and make sure it's nothing. Just wait here and I'll be right back."

Starlet paused at this, and thought it over. But then, after some pause, she managed a slow nod. She knew very well that despite misery or sadness, things still had to be done. Duties still had to be carried out. Leviathan then began to pull himself away. However, he didn't get too far before Starlet spoke up in a bolder voice. "I'll…come with you." She said at last. "I'll see this myself."

Leviathan paused at that, but then gave her a nod. Soon, he turned down the hall and began to walk down it toward the fusion chamber. Starlet followed after. For a few moments, Leviathan led on. But then he fell back and alongside her. He then mostly guided her along and walked with her. She moved slower now, due to her grief. And he wanted to support her.

The going was slow then. They only gradually made their way toward the chamber. Leviathan was a bit afraid whatever was there would leave before they got there. But Starlet didn't break down. She sniffed and restrained her tears for now. She followed along and let her duty and concern replace her sadness for the time being.

It took quite a while to move down the corridor.But the energy signature didn't leave. Then,when they were only about a hundred yards away from the entrance, Leviathan suddenly sensed something new. The energy seemed to be dividing. Leviathan, in an instant, recognized what that meant. It was reproducing. Leviathan froze, and his face turned to surprise. He turned and looked to Starlet at that as well. At this point, she too was sensing the signature, and she had sensed the same thing. Her own face looked more concerned now. In a flash, both of them turned and broke into a short run. Even with her grieving, Starlet was able to manage it. They quickly closed the remaining distance and reached the doorway to the chamber. In an instant, Leviathan flung it open. Both of them rushed inside to the room and looked around immediately.

For a moment, Leviathan thought he saw a flash of something. As he entered the room, his eyes first settled on the opening overhead. Starlet did as well, and they saw a shadow move across it for a moment, before vanishing into the sunlight. Both of them quickly rushed in and looked up to it, staring up and wondering what had just left through it. Leviathan began to scan himself, seeing if he could track it. But as he did, a soft, pleasant, innocent, gentle voice called out to them.

"Mother…"

Immediately, Leviathan and Starlet ignored the shadow. Instead, they turned their attention to the voice in some shock, for they had been surprised by it. They soon found themselves looking at the fusion tiles. And standing on one of them was an esper they had never seen before. She was tall and blonde-haired, and humanoid in appearance. She looked a lot, it seemed, like a somewhat younger version of Starlet. Her face was fair and similar in many ways. However, she seemed to radiate with an inner purity. No malice or wickedness was in her eyes. Her smile was gentle and kind, and she was covered withan aura of love and goodness. A long white gown clothed her, and the one thing that made her different from a humanoid was a large set of white wings on her back, feathered and soft-looking. These too seemed to glow with an inner light. It seemed as if there was an angel in the room. However, this young woman turned all her attention to Starlet, and extended her arms out to her in an offering gesture.

"I'm back."

The two espers stared in puzzlement of this person. Neither of them moved. Starlet blinked at it for a moment, and took a tentative step forward after a moment toward the new esper. As for Leviathan, he was suspicious. He began to scan the esper over, and was surprised at the result. Not only did the esper not resist his probes, she seemed to offer up more information to him. And there was nothing to find. There wasn't a dark thought in the esper's brain. She seemed totally pure and innocent, if such was possible. Starlet herself blinked, and looked her over.

"Do I…know you?"

"It's me." The esper spoke back gently. "One of the Sylph."

Leviathan's eyes expanded at that, taken aback at this sudden revelation. Starlet herself was stunned. And yet, she felt herself take another step toward it. "The Sylph?"

"Yes mother. But not the wicked creatures who hurt you so much years ago." The esper continued softly. "I felt sorry at long last for what I had done. I finally felt remorse. And I wanted to make myself into someone that you could love that would be free of all the evil I had accumulated in my life. So Iremoved the evil in my heart and separated into a pure, good esper. The Sylph is gone. My name is Saraphim."

Leviathan was astonished. He continued to muse over this. Starlet herself stood in amazement. She looked over this being, but began to realize it was true. She too could sense no lie coming from it. And she realized it did look much like her. The esper, Saraphim, however, bowed her head and took a step off from the tile. She walked forward toward the woman esper herself. Leviathan actually took a step back, but Starlet continued to stare at her in amazement. At last, Saraphim reached her, and in one gesture bowed down before her. Her wings spread across the ground at her feet.

"Forgive me, mother." Saraphim continued, growing mournful and sad. "I was foolish…stupid…overcome with thoughts of youth and personal pleasure… I never cared about anyone else. I never loved anyone else. And until now, I was so full of myself and my own desires that I still didn't care about how much pain and misery I gave other people. I only cared about my own well being. But those days are over now. I won't act that way again. Now that I am free from my evil and selfishness, I only feel love for others. I want to repent for my past misdeeds. I want to prove that I can love and care for people, and I will devote myself to such from now on. And I want to start with you, mother."

Starlet blinked in astonishment. She couldn't believe it. The child who once hated her and rejected her, mocked her and scorned her, had come back. And now, she had changed herself to become something radiant and pure. She had turned herself into this esper of goodness. She was amazed. She couldn't believe it. Was this truly her child?

"Even this act was done only for personal gain. I wanted to feel loved, and so I did this to make myself worthy of love. But I don't feel that anymore. Now, I want to give love as much as I receive. I want to give you the honor you are due, mother. I want to show my appreciation for you, and repay you for your kindness. Please…accept me back, and I will become the perfect child you always wanted. You once loved my unconditionally. Please…do so again now. Give me one final chance to repent from my evil."

There was a long pause of silence in the chamber. No one said anything. The hall was silent. But then, at long last, a reaction did occur. Starlet looked down at Saraphim. But then, she slowly lowered herself down as well. Saraphim kept her head bowed, not looking up to her. But Starlet came down next to her none the less, until she had kneeled before the young woman as well. She looked at her, her eyes growing longing and softening. Her tender heart began to feel for this new esper.

"…For six hundred years, a day has not gone by where I hoped and prayed that my children would come back to me." She began softly. "Today I felt as if my life was cursed, with the rejection of my children and the death of my son. But you have given me new hope…my daughter. You have filled me with a new kind of happiness…to see that after all these years one could still come back to me."

With that, Starlet reached out her arms and embraced the esper. Tears soon broke out again, but now they were tears of happiness. Saraphim could not fill the void left by Gilgamesh, but the thought that one of her children had come back had healed an old wound at long last. It filled her with hope and joy that one of her children had come home. She hugged the new esper tightly to her and cried for joy, half-sobbing, half-laughing in merriment. Saraphim only held a moment, before she too reached out and embraced her as well. Her own wounds of being alone and unloved were healed too. And so, she soon began to cry out as well in joy that she had a mother again. The estranged mother and daughter were at long last reunited. And that filled both with a happiness that neither of them had felt in a good long time. They stayed there kneeling on the ground, clutching each other tight.

Leviathan, seeing all of this, didn't have the heart to say anything. How could he? His wife was happy again, filled with a new joy. And he was happy…in some way…to see that a Sylph had come back. Because this esper had goodness within her, he realized she had the potential to do all that her mother did in regards to healing and curing, and perhaps could surpass it. And it would be nice to have another esper around who could bring so much happiness to his wife. With all that, he indeed couldn't say anything to darken this moment.

Yet his mind was already growing dark…for he realized that the Sylph's evil half had not just simply disappeared…

Her face was yellow with what seemed like jaundice, and her eyes burned with a merciless, cruel fury. They laughed with a mocking sinister emotion, for she delighted not in self-pleasure, but in pain and death. That was honey to her tongue and nectar to her senses. In her mind, she felt nothing but desires for wickedness and mischief of the fatal kind. She was long and thin and scantily clad, a voluptuous version of her alter-ego. Her hair was long and blond, and like her skin seemed to be both healthy and sickly. It seemed to be not death or life but life-in-death. Indeed, her thinness looked almost like it was a wraith-like body rather than alive. Her teeth were bone white behind blood-red lips as she grinned at the mountain she had left, already wickedness filling her brain.

"Tricks? Mischief?" Her cold, cruel voice addressed the air. She laughed in a high-pitched squeal, like a banshee or monster. "Games for children. No…misery and agony are what give me pleasure. And Siren will provide plenty to go around."

With that, the fiend esper, Siren, turned to look and find someone to curse, mentally spitting on the empty promise it had made Odin.

To be continued...