This chapter is very short...but very important...


Bahamut didn't know exactly how long he lay there. His own regeneration was all that could heal him now. He couldn't return to his servants. The portal was closed, and he was trapped down here with the rest of the humans. For the longest time, he tried to wonder if he was dreaming. But he wasn't. It was really over. Wyvern was gone, and he had won. His people were safe once again. But in the end, it had meant killing him...slaying his own brother. The friendly face he had seen thousands of years ago was almost just an illusion now. He couldn't honestly remember that child esper ever being real. He had been swallowed up by this hate-filled monster long ago...and in the end Bahamut wasn't sorry that he had killed him. He could never hurt his brother...but that wasn't his brother anymore. And he had done what was best for the Planet. It was done at last.

The esper king finally managed to get enough energy back. His eyes had partially regenerated, but the rest of his body was still broken. Still, however, he had enough power for an Auto-aero move. He focused for a short moment...and then his body slowly began to rise off the ground, as if it was lighter than air. It took a bit of focus that he didn't have, but he managed. He turned himself slightly, and then aimed his body for the higher platform. Slowly, he began to glide back up there.

The dragon esper supposed he should have been happy...but he wasn't. He couldn't take much pleasure in that grim victory. It had come at the price of spilling much blood and nearly breaking his heart. What more, he realized he had little to hope for either. He was trapped deep in the moon with no way out except the way the humans had come, and he might be too big for that. As it was, he couldn't leave until he had recovered, and through regeneration that could take months. In that time, he would likely starve or dehydrate, that was assuming that the vicious beasts in here didn't come and finish him. He couldn't return now, and he was days from help. In short, he was in deep trouble. Unless he could get something from Rydia's group, then he was doomed. But even then, he might never be able to exit the moon again. It was a dire situation indeed.

At last, Bahamut reached the top of the platform. This area hadn't been spared damage. The cliff and cave looked bent in, warped by the energy that Wyvern and Bahamut had cast off. But Ragnarok still stood. It was free for them to take, if they could recover enough to take it. Bahamut slowly exhaled and looked beneath him. The group wasn't where they had been left. They had all been blown away, farther back and away from Ragnarok. They had come to a stop against a rock wall. All but Rydia were lifeless. That meant little. He was sure they had some medicine on them to restore them to full health, so long as one of them was around to administer it. As for Rydia, she was still, and weakly looked up to him. She couldn't move, it seemed, and had used all her strength to come to that point. Blood was still rolling from her mouth. Bahamut worried somewhat about that... However, he managed to pull himself forward a bit more, until he was closer to them. Then, when he was right in front of the Summoner, he slowly lowered himself against the ground. He felt pain as he did so, but he didn't care for right now. He soon lay in front of Rydia, who continued to sit there and wait.

After a moment, she spoke. Her voice was weak and faraway, but distinct.

"...You look terrible."

Bahamut grimaced in response. "You don't exactly look perfect either, you smartalleck human."

Rydia couldn't smile. She merely blinked and looked back at him. "...I thought you were really going to do it."

Bahamut swallowed a bit in response. "...I almost did."

"Why did you stop?"

Bahamut stiffened. "...Because I'm not a monster. And I am faithful to the summoner's code."

Rydia didn't answer. She just continued to slowly stare back at him. Finally, she was able to crack the weakest smile. "...Thank you."

Bahamut paused for a few second more at that. However, in the end, he merely spoke normally. "...Wyvern is dead. Ragnarok is free for you to claim. But for now, if you have any elixir, you should take it. And then, if you have any Down of the Phoenix, your friends could use some."

Rydia merely blinked softly. "...They were all smashed in the fight with Wyvern. Not that it matters...both of my arms are broken. I can't lift them."

Bahamut blinked in response to that. "...Don't you have any extra?"

Rydia didn't move, but slowly turned her eyes behind her. "...At last night's campsite, we left a few things. But I'll never be able to get there."

Bahamut hesitated at that, but then managed a weak shrug. "I'll go over there. My arms are broken as well, but I can probably manage an elixir..."

"No, Bahamut..." Rydia slowly answered. "...I really won't be able to get there."

Bahamut detected a warning at that. He realized suddenly that things were more serious. He hesitated at this, and looked over her again. She looked peaceful...too peaceful. Bahamut had seen this look before. It was the look of euphoria one had on their face...when their body had given up. It was useless to tell the brain about pain now...for it was too late. He felt his breath catch. "What...what do you mean?"

Rydia swallowed again, and more blood dribbed from her mouth. "When the last blast hit...it threw us all back...but it threw me on something. You can't see it...but there's a three-inch long rock spike stuck in my spine..."

Bahamut's heart went cold. His stomach began to turn as he stared at her, realizing his worst fears were correct.

"...My back is broken..." Rydia wistfully continued. Her voice and face had a dreamlike quality...like she was already half gone. "I can't feel anything below my shoulders already...but I can tell I'm still bleeding. I'm amazed...that I've lasted this long..."

Bahamut felt his breath catch. In the end, it was for nothing. His Summoner was still dying. Once she was dead, he would die too. And when that was done, the rest of her friends would be left to die as well. He had beaten Wyvern, but not before the red esper had managed to defeat them all as well. Now, they only had to sit here and wait for death. Once Rydia died, the rest of them would be doomed. Fear grasped him, as well as disappointment. He couldn't save them after all. They were still going to die. And he'd never see the Blue Planet again.

However, as Bahamut began to despair, Rydia slowly managed to slide one arm off of her torso, and let it fall to her side.

"Bahamut...take my hand..."

Bahamut was turned out of his thoughts, and looked to her again. "What?"

"There's only...one way to save you..." She slowly responded. "My mother...my real mother...did this to the Mist Dragon. They were both going to die...but she broke the link between them. She gave her back her spirit along with her own. The Mist Dragon recovered...and was able to go back to your world."

The great esper looked at her at that in astonishment. "But...that had to have killed your mother. If one takes the link back while the summon is present...then the other perishes. That means..."

"I'm already dead, Bahamut..." Rydia slowly responded. "One of us should live. You don't have to die with me... Your brother is gone...so you can go back to the Blue Planet. You can be the King of All Espers again..."

Bahamut paused in response to this. Inside, a part of his heart was happy. He could live. What more, his broken body would recover, and he could go back to his home and live in peace again. He need not fear any new threat in the future. And yet...most of his heart told him not to. Despite Rydia already being as good as dead, she would die instantly if she did this. And he didn't want to take that from her. He had been about to kill her as it was...and he still felt guilty about that. He couldn't really take her life. In the end, he would feel as if he was the one who truly killed them and not Wyvern. And the guilt would be on his conscience forever. He swallowed and paused again. Then, he shook his head.

"...I have no need for that." He went on. "My people are at peace now. With Wyvern gone, there's no need for me even to be there. Besides...I allowed this danger to happen by my negligence in the first place."

"Don't be stupid, Bahamut..." Rydia croaked in reply, looking to be more in pain. "I...haven't got long. I can't argue... Just, take it... It's better that one of us lives in the end..."

Bahamut again heard the voice inside him to take it. She was right. Why shouldn't one of them live? What was the sense in both of them dying? It was a tempting offer. Sure, he was guilty, but in truth he had tried to do the right thing. He had tried to help in the end. He had done everything possible to try and save them. And he had failed, but he had saved many more lives. True, they still had to go on to Zemes, but it was unlikely that they would succeed in that anyway. FuSoYa and Golbez would be enough in the end.

And yet, despite all this...Bahamut felt himself thinking strange thoughts.

My age is over, and I know it. That went out with the Age of Chaos. I have been king, but what have I done? There hasn't been much to do in the end, save flex my own power and wait for trouble to come. Leviathan is indeed wise and good. I've been alive for thousands of years, and what have I to show for it? I don't have any friends. Most of my life I was waiting for Wyvern...and now that time has come to an end. I wanted to make sure the Planet was safe and that humans would develop right. And now, they can take care of themselves and defend the Planet themselves. We are continuing to diminish. We are fading. If even Leviathan and Odin can be beaten, then there is no need for us any longer. Even I fell to humans. One by one my family members have gone. Now, I have only three left. And though I am ageless...I feel old. Years of fighting and time has worn me out. My emotions have been deadened. I do not have the spirit I once had in my youth in Ultima Nexus...and I have not felt that happy since the day I left it. My heart is full of cares and troubles now, and I can feel it wearing me down.

I want to feel young again. I want to see my sister again. I want to see Palad again. I want to have that feeling of peace again that I once had, and not be in fear of my life anymore. I'd like to be with mother again...and hear her talking to me all the time. I want to turn back time and be just a small boy again, where everything felt safe and fresh and new. I want to see a spring again for the first time, so that it feels wonderful and not empty. There grows a time when being immortal no longer has its appeal. There comes a time when one wishes to die and pass on as all things do. To allow things to fall on one's legacy, and then be at peace at long last.

I may never get another chance.

Bahamut slowly thought these things over. And when he did, he reached a decision. He nodded his head, and then looked up to Rydia. Her life hung by a thread now. It was almost gone, and she had little time left. And so, the esper summoned his power again. Slowly, his body began to rise, and then drifted over to her. He positioned himself so that his broken arm would land over hers, and slowly he lowered until they were touching. Once he set down, his fingers grabbed hers. Rydia turned and looked to him, and she inhaled one last breath. That was all the energy she needed to make the transfer...

But before she could do anything, Bahamut gave a yell as he hoisted his broken arm up. It was painful and terrible, but Rydia was light compared to his power and managed to rip her off of her rock spine. Her body went flying forth, and her last breath was instead used to give a cry of agony as the rest of her life fled her body, and death began to settle on top of her. But as the Summoner was thrown forward face down against the ground...she realized she could still feel it. What more, her head was clearing. She felt deep pain in her back...but it was of a new kind. It felt as if the bones and organs were moving around. Her arms and legs hurt too as she felt the bones shift inside. Her awareness increased, and she felt her strength return. As her face regained enough power, she opened it in shock. She realized what was happening, and she turned to Bahamut in shock. She struggled to stop it then, break her arm free. But Bahamut's grip was like iron. He wouldn't let it end until it was finished. Besides, she was still too weak and in pain. She could do nothing but stare at him as her legs and arms reconnected. Her cuts healed up on her body. Her crumpled spine straightened and smoothed out, and flesh and skin grew over it. Blood began to rush back through her system, and she felt life strongly within her again. As her strength returned, she looked into the face of the great esper next to her...and saw him softly smiling at her...his own eyes growing faraway and distant, as her's were a second earlier.

"No! Don't!" She cried back, her voice already strong and loud again.

But it was too late. The transfer was complete, and Bahamut's added spirit had regenerated her body. She was at last able to break free from his hand...for it went limp and released. Quickly, the Summoner jumped to her feet. She dashed over to Bahamut's face and bent down next to him. Her eyes began to fill with tears. Her face was stricken with sadness. She grasped his head, still softly smiling and still fading.

"No, no!" She cried out. "You're the king of the espers! You should have lived! It should have been you!"

Bahamut merely smiled back. A great peace came over him. To his surprise, it was very pleasant. He felt very contented. This wasn't bad at all. Not rough or horrible in the least. It felt like he was going to sleep after being awake for thousands of years...and that he was going to enjoy it. He merely closed his eyes to her as he felt it fading, and spoke to her one last time.

"May you and your kind guard the Planet well in this age...as I and my kind did in the last..."

Then Bahamut's heart beat its last...and Rydia's presence vanished as his life left his body.

The great king of the espers...was dead.


Rydia's group wasn't able to get together for hours. At first, the Summoner was unable to do anything but mourn the loss of the esper king, a king that she had learned to respect as Leviathan did while in Terratopolis, and now again after he had given up his life so that she could live. She was unable to bury the esper, but she soon found herself not needing to. Until that day, she had never seen an esper die. But when he did, she saw that his body faded away and withered, leaving only a strange crystal behind. Rydia didn't know what this meant...but she could almost sense Bahamut's life inside that crystal. She set it up as a memento, therefore, and then quickly ran back to the campsite. She only picked up five of the Phoenix's Downs. She revived her four friends with them, after which Rosa was able to bring her magical powers to bear to heal their grievous injuries. She was able to make them all capable of walking again, although they all needed to rest before she could heal the rest of them. All save Rydia, that was. She tried to use the last of the Downs of Phoenix on Bahamut's crystal piece, but it was useless. The down could bring back a person from the edge of death, but the power to actually bring a person back from death was lost with Phoenix ages ago.

Once all had recovered, Rydia informed them of how Bahamut had managed to destroy the terrible foe that they confronted, and how he had given up his life so that Rydia wouldn't die as her mother had. Despite her attempts to resist it, his will had been too strong, and he overrode her power to force her to take her spirit back. Rydia related Bahamut's last words, and was sad to feel that she was alive only at the expense of the greatest esper ever. However, Rosa comforted her, saying that he had faith in them and their mission, and he wanted her to be alive for it and to save the world in the future. Rydia took a bit of heart at this, and all of them shared a period of mourning. There was nothing to bury, so the stone was left standing up. Rydia suggested using Ragnarok as a monument, but Cecil refused. It was better for them to have it, he decided, and use it against the foes in the cave. The Summoner at length agreed that Bahamut would have wanted it that way. So they took the sword, bid farewell one last time, and then turned and left back to their own campground. They were too tired to descend any further that day, and they needed to rest. Rydia wished that there had been something left behind to present to Leviathan if they returned...but she wouldn't take the only thing that was left for a grave marker, and so she left it. The next day, the five continued their journey to the heart of the moon, now bearing a great new power. The stone was left to shimmer softly in the silence of the lunar cave.

And for three days...it did just that.

...Until a few hours into the fourth day.

At that time, a rasping was heard. A cluttering of stone rolled against the ground, and debris and rocks fell. If someone had been there, they would have heard it slowly grow louder and louder as time went by. The gasping turned to a wheezing, but still it went on. At long last...a trembling, blackened claw slowly raised itself over the edge of this cliff, and with all the strength that was left slowly pulled the body of the creature over the top of it. It plopped on the ground and panted. The form was almost indistinguishable, but to anyone who had seen the last fight it was obvious.

Wyvern was still alive.

One arm was withered and useless. Blood had long since ceased to flow through it. Most of his scales were gone. One wing was burned almost to pitch. Worst of all, however, was that a part of his scalp and skull was missing in front, and his eyes were nearly burned away. Each of these injuries were so horrible that even his regeneration wouldn't heal them. They would have meant death to a lesser esper. But his power was too great...his will to live and continue too strong. And somehow, impossibly, he drug his body forward. For three days he climbed out of the pit he had fallen into, and now at last he was over the edge.

The creature panted for a long time against the ground. But finally, it had its breath. Its energy, even now, was recovering. But it was practically helpless. Any of the humans could have finished it now, as could any of the creatures in the cave. Yet miraculously he was still alive...and he intended to stay that way. And so, it stretched out another claw and drug itself forward. Somehow it would escape. Somehow it would survive. Somehow it would recover. And then...it would have its revenge. It would grow stronger yet. It would become even better than before. The day would come when it would finally destroy Bahamut once and for all...

But then, the red esper hesitated. He could see only through his mind's eye now, but he saw something up ahead. It looked like...Bahamut. But it was strange. It seemed both weaker and stronger than him at the same time. It seemed almost like...his spirit distilled, collected into one point. And it was too small to be his body. His scent was gone too. Wyvern was puzzled by this. He more eagerly dragged himself forward, to this strange feeling. It took him some time, mostly having to drag his body over his own handiwork. But in the end, he made it to the source. He felt Bahamut strongly in it...and yet he didn't know what to make of him. He wasn't scared of this one. It seemed so small...and yet so focused. Was this his body? Was he comatose or dying? That didn't make sense. He smelled the blood of the five, but they were not here. That meant they must have gotten up and left. They, evidentally, had survived as well. But where was Bahamut then? He slowly reached out and felt for the source, seeing what it might mean.

When he touched it, his hand rubbed against smooth crystal. But it was warm, and it tingled within. He actually shrank back a moment in surprise, before putting it back and feeling it again. Again it tingled, but a pleasant sensation traveled through his body. His injuries felt soothed, and he felt his energy recover slightly. He smiled a bit and relished this pleasant feeling, for it was a blessing to his ruined body. He wasn't sure how long he enjoyed the feeling...before he suddenly snapped out of it. Giving a small grunt, he pulled his hand away from the source. He didn't want to be lost in some daydream. He wanted to know what that was. But even as he lay there...it began to come to mind. He had only seen one other piece of this in his entire lifetime...but he remembered it well. It felt much as this had, only he remembered sensing a different kind of power and spirit in it. It had been that of his dead sister, Phoenix. And at once...his memory registered.

I've seen this. This is...magicite.

But it only shows up when an esper dies...

That must mean...

...Yes...

Despite his anguish and his fury at the beating he received...Wyvern began to feel happier than he had ever been in his life. His body was broken, deformed, and ruined...but it lived. And Bahamut's did not. Here, before him, was the proof. The last of that battle must have sapped him of the last of his energy. He had died afterward.

That meant...he had won.

He had succeeded for real this time. He really was the strongest now. He really was the King of All Espers. Bahamut...his traitorous brother...his eternal foe...the one who had given him so much pain and anguish...he was gone! Now he was the strongest esper in the world! He was the strongest being in the world! Nothing could contest him now! Nothing could stand against him! He was the king at long last! And Bahamut at long last lay broken and dead!

Wyvern couldn't hold back anymore. He pushed himself and rolled onto his back, and laughed loud and long. He didn't care that it tore open burns in his throat. He didn't care that he felt his lungs pierce. He let his laughter sound throughout the entire Lunar Cave, for he had never felt like laughing so much. It was done! Done! He was the master! He was the ultimate! At once, he made a vow to himself. He didn't care how long it took...how much pain it put him in...or how many he had to kill. He would get out of this cave. He would get back to the Blue Planet. And once he was there, he would finally be king, and the undisputed master of the world. He hadn't passed through death twice now and spend thousands of years preparing to let his body and a moon slow him down. He would live. He would succeed. And when all was said and done, he would rule at last and make all bow down to his limitless power. Nothing was going to stand in his way anymore.

Eager and quivering with glee, Wyvern threw himself back over, took up the magicite shard, and put it in the crook of his withered arm. Then, with renewed vigor, he began to drag himself back out. He wouldn't stop until he was back home.

At long last...I will take my rightful spot in the world...


To be continued...