CHAPTER LVIII
The Yoke I Give You Is Easy, My Burden Light
Ingrid's heart was heavy as she watched the battle between Lilly's and Ivory's groups. Every single person present here today had something at stake. The outcome of this conflict would decide their future, in more ways than one. She thought about her own experiences which had led her to this point in time. She had awakened to Sir Galahad, the Wraith-Knight inhabiting her, during the most traumatic chapter in her life, but her own suffering meant little to her. After all, it was her rage that had called out to that Wraith-Knight, rage born from being forced to watch as her family endured torment after torment.
It was that same empathic response that tore away at her right this moment. After all, who wouldn't want to take away their family's suffering? Especially when that torture was so heinous. She slowly turned to her side as she realized that it wasn't just their pain she wanted to erase from the world.
Yuan was also suffering.
He showed very little of it, but his response just a while ago told her everything she needed to know about how the loss of his entire village affected him. Even now he was tempered, but she knew how much it gnawed at him, even if no one else could see it on the outside.
She reached over to his hand, taking it in her own. His fingers were cold. He looked to her. The pain in his eyes was almost unbearable and she turned away briefly before mustering up the courage once more to take it all in.
"Yuan," she managed.
"Hey, Ingrid," he said. His voice was as calm as ever, but she could see the ache in his jade eyes.
She opened her mouth to reply, but all that came out was a whimper. She cleared her throat, embarrassed at herself for such a pathetic response. He beat her to it, though, squeezing her hand in his. She had reached out to him in order to give him comfort, but now here he was doing exactly that for her. How the tables could be reversed so easily.
—
Athena was surprised at how fast and powerful Penny was in spite of her fully human body. She wasn't quite as overwhelming as she once was, but the Golden Girl of Vale still found herself off-guard at some of her mentor's moves.
The two stood apart from each other, both panting. Penny hadn't anticipated just how weak she would become after gaining a fully human body, but she wouldn't trade this for anything. This was what she had always wanted, after all. It was the reason she had asked Liam for a more grown-up body years ago.
But it wasn't just for herself. Lilly had read her perfectly. This was her Domain in the end. Perhaps nothing could hide from her in this world.
"Penny," Athena panted. "I'm not gonna try and convince you to change your mind. But I will ask you to think about other people. This world Lilly is trying to create, it won't affect just us. We are all who we are because of everything we've been through. To rewrite reality itself, to erase the very concept of pain, you're essentially killing everyone."
"The difference is that they don't stay dead," Penny said. "I, too, have died, and am born anew."
"No, I'm not talking about all the strangers in all of Remnant. I'm talking about William Hillphire."
Penny's heart skipped a beat.
"Every single thing he's ever gone through, all of the good and the bad, that's what's made him what he is today. You rejecting that is no different from you rejecting him outright—"
"No! That's not true!"
"Isn't it?"
"No!"
Athena could see that she wasn't getting anywhere with this approach. "Look, just..." she sighed heavily. "Couldn't you at least ask him first? I mean, we all get the chance to consent to this new world order, but he doesn't even know it's gonna happen and then wham! He's in a new reality without even remembering the old one. Something about that doesn't seem off to you?"
Penny clenched her fists as she shut her eyes and pushed out tears.
"Penny—"
"I just want him to be okay again," she whimpered. "I want him to be put back together again. And the fact that I'd be fully human means he doesn't have to work himself half to death trying to make this breakthrough or that breakthrough just to make me more organic. Because it would already be done. I know this is the wrong way to go about it, and I know that makes me a terrible person—"
"No!" Athena yelled. "It just makes you human, Penny!"
Penny smiled at her. "Thank you, Athena. Thank you for being so kind to me, even when our weapons are brandished against one another. It's gonna sound cliché, but this is yet another moment where the teacher is learning from her student once again."
—
Echo watched as Athena exchanged blow after blow with Penny. The sight tore her into pieces, but she couldn't find in herself the courage to join in the fray. After all, which side would she even join? The obvious choice was to fight alongside the love of her life. Although, perhaps the choice wasn't so obvious at all. It wasn't as though she didn't suffer. Lilly had spoken to each and every one of them, including her.
It was as though she knew the deepest pain they all felt. For Echo, it was the fact that she never really got over Nerida. She had taken that step forward, choosing one over the other. She had thought at the time that she would be okay with her decision, and she absolutely was. After all, it wasn't as though she was the one making the decision. Her Semblance had chosen for her.
That was when the epiphany hit. Lilly was aware of something she didn't even know about herself. Part of her was okay with the fact that it wasn't her who had chosen, as if her Semblance making the choice erected a buffer between her and the responsibility of the decision, but she also resented the fact that the decision wasn't fully and consciously hers. It meant that she was never at peace with herself.
She found herself crying, unsure of when the tears had begun to fall. Athena was the love of her life; she had no doubts about that. But nothing could ever replace what Nerida was to her long before she ever met Athena. The fact that she had allowed her Semblance to choose for her gave her no room to ever mourn the decision.
It wasn't so clear anymore whether she should fight for Lilly's dream or alongside Ivory in defense of the current reality.
"Are you all right?" Xanthus said from beside her.
"I should be asking you that," Echo replied without taking her eyes off the battle. She could sense him holding something out to her and she turned to see him with a handkerchief. "What are you, an old man? Who even carries a handkerchief around anymore?"
He chuckled as she accepted the cloth to dry her eyes. Like her, he, too, carried a hidden burden. Lilly somehow knew about his feelings for Ariadne, the younger sister of his combat partner and best friend. Though the latter had teased him about the subject, suggesting that he wouldn't mind them being brothers, Xanthus himself could never find the courage to follow through.
He had experienced this kind of pain before, when he had first found out that his secret crush from long ago also had a secret crush on him. That was a missed chance if there ever was a missed chance. And then there was his feelings for Penny, which could never be reciprocated. After all, her heart belonged to someone else, a message on clear display right this moment.
If Lilly took away these burdens from his heart, perhaps he could find the courage to let Ariadne know exactly how he felt, but for now, he hated himself too much. It must have been a product of his upbringing, all that expectation heaped upon his shoulders, likely why he got along with his team leader so well.
What he regretted most was that this help had to come from the outside. His team leader was out there fighting for what she believed in, her drive coming from within. He would always fall short of that.
—
"Shit," Lilith said as Caliburn transformed back into Myrtenaster. "Man, you're pretty tough to be able to keep up with me for so long that Caliburn fizzled out."
"I'm surprised you haven't defeated me already," Ivory said, floating back down to the earth, glyphs surrounding her from all sides. Her eyes no longer glowed with her Winter Maiden power, but it was present nonetheless.
"I'm not. You don't get how much power it takes to maintain this world, do you?"
Ivory held her tongue.
"It takes every bit of concentration and vigilance to exert your will upon the World of Shadow. It's a lot easier within your own Domain, but it still takes effort. Kinda why we were trying to enlist you guys. It would suck for Lilly to get stuck in this world trying to expand it incrementally upon all of Remnant, but that's why I plan to stick with her if it comes to that. I just figured it would be a lot better for all of us if we pooled all of our power together. Especially your power."
"Mine?"
Lilith nodded. "You have the power of the Winter Maiden, one of the magics native to Remnant itself. With such a powerful magic as an anchor between our magic and Remnant, not only would the rewrite be faster, it would also be seamless. As it is, we have to transcribe all of Ecumene magic to Remnant's paradigm."
"Is that why Caliburn can't hold its form indefinitely now? Are you drawing on its magic to impose this new world?"
"Kinda, but not really. You can't really use a construct like Caliburn like that. It lends us its power; we don't draw on it."
"Right. You mentioned once that it has a will of its own."
"Mm-hmm." She raised Myrtenaster. "You get all the breather you needed?"
"Yes. I can see that you will not change your mind."
"Of course not. Lilly's dream is mine, after all."
—
"I've been thinking about something," Echo said.
The rest of the group turned to her.
"Lilith has said before that she hates people, right?"
"I think those were her words exactly," Ingrid said.
"Yeah. I think she's full of shit."
Perseus chuckled.
"You think so?" Xanthus said.
"Yup," Echo said. "If she did hate people so much, she wouldn't give a damn about this whole 'world without pain' thing. She doesn't hate people at all."
"She loves them," Yuan said. "She loves them too much."
Leon turned to him.
"She loves them so much that she can't stand it. Think about it. Out of all of us—including Lilly—which one of us has been through more Labyrinths than the rest combined?"
"Yup," Echo said.
"Fundamentally, Lilly and Lilith are still the same. Lilly doesn't hate people. She loves them. So much that she's willing to sacrifice herself, staying within this world and crafting a new one for the rest of humankind to reside in, a world without any pain or suffering. Lilith also loves humanity, to the point that she can barely stand to look at us when she sees all of what's in the Labyrinth, the torment we inflict on ourselves and each other."
"And she wants more than anything to wipe that out, too," Ingrid said.
—
Lilly drew a deep breath, holding it for a moment before letting it out slowly. The conflict between her friends had been raging for some time now. The lines weren't always clear-cut. More often than not, one of the four would find herself beset by a double-team attack, which would last for a few seconds before the other would interfere and break it back up into duels. There were times when the dueling partners would swap as well, but it would usually settle back to Ivory against Lilith and Athena versus Penny.
She turned to the house, where her mother was enjoying the new life she had crafted for her. She allowed herself to smile, a smile that felt a bit heavier than usual.
Am I doing the right thing?
"Why are you asking that now?" Lilith yelled at her.
"Huh?" Ivory said, caught off-guard just long enough for Lilith to exploit a mistake in her footwork, but Athena noticed the error in her partner and before Lilith could take full advantage, Athena called on the power of her Wraith-Knight, rapidly deploying her spear into its massive rifle form, sending several blasts their way before continuing her bout with Penny.
—
"I've made up my mind," Yuan said, catching the group's attention. "I cannot accept this new world."
"Yuan?" Ingrid said, turning to him.
"What happened to Kuroyuri is a tragedy. I can find no other word to describe it. But to bring back a whole town full of people; this is no longer trying to do good. This is playing god. We are no gods, Lilly. We ought to know our place in the world."
Ingrid looked to her combat partner, whose face was contorted in confusion and heartache. She turned back to face Yuan. His eyes betrayed the anguish in his heart, but there was something else there.
Determination.
"I cannot deny the sorrow in my heart," Yuan continued as his eyes welled up, "but I also cannot accept a new world in which we feign as gods. I cannot be a part of that world."
"Neither can I," Xanthus said. "And besides, my issues aren't anywhere near as bad as Yuan's or Ingrid's. What excuse do I have? I'll find my courage on my own. Thank you, Lilly, for putting us before yourself, but I think it would seriously hamper our character development if you did everything for us."
"Character development?" Echo laughed.
Xanthus nodded, pushing up his eyeglasses, reflecting the sunlight off his lenses.
"Such a protagonist moment," Perseus said with a smirk, making Echo laugh again.
"I'm with Xan-chan," Echo said. "My issues ain't so bad either. I think I'd like to resolve them on my own. Don't get me wrong, Lilly. You helped make me aware of what my problems are. For that, thank you. From the bottom of my heart."
"I...think I have to agree with Athena," Ingrid said. "And everyone else. Yuan's right. We have no place behaving as if we were gods, being the architects of a new reality. Athena's right, too. Everything we've ever been through, all of the good, and all of the...b-bad. It's...it's what's made us who we are today."
"But you went through so much!" Lilly cried. "And so did your family!"
"And I think that it will ultimately make us all stronger people," Ingrid said, wiping away a single tear. "Yes, that shit was terrible, but I look at my sisters and they're working through it. And so are my parents. I have to trust that they'll be able to survive. Because we all have each other." She held her breath for a bit before releasing it. "And we obviously have you, best friend, our guardian angel who never stops watching over us."
—
Lilly couldn't fight back the frustration building up from inside. She had been certain her friends would join in her effort to change the world and save everyone, so why was it that they were turning their back on a world in which no one suffered?
She expected the rest of them to join in the fighting, but they all kept their distance. Perseus was the one to step forward, holding his left had skyward. Above him, the Rune of Atonement projected itself in the air.
"Perseus..." she mumbled.
"See that?" he began. "That's the Rune of Atonement. It's watching us. All of us. Watching to see what our next move is. The scales keep rebalancing, but they can't reach equilibrium. I defer to its judgment, but honestly, on a personal level, I can't go with it either. As much as I'd love to erase this guilt I bear for what you've gone through, I can't really bring myself to fully embrace it. I decided, on that day this rune confronted me, that I would live with this guilt for the rest of my life. It's my burden to bear. What kind of man would I be if I decided to cop out now? At least, not for me. Like I said, the rune can't even decide whether you're in the right or in the wrong. If you wanna turn Oasis into this paradise, then I'm all right with that. But if you're going to impose this on all of Remnant, that, I can't abide by."
Lilly watched all of her friends for a moment, doubting everything about herself she had once been so resolute about. So far, only Athena, Ivory, Penny, and Lilith were actually willing to exchange blows for their ideals. The others merely rejected playing a part in Lilly's new world order. The mere thought of not having her friends by her side made Lilly's heart heavier than she could stand.
She sensed a presence to her left. She turned to the young man, watching as his ear-length red-tipped black hair billowed in a light breeze.
"Leon?" she murmured.
"Hey," he said.
"Hi." She sighed. "Are you here to try and change my mind, too?"
He shook his head. "I'm not here to do any of that. I just wanted you to know that no matter which decision you go with, I'll be here, standing by your side. You have my full support whichever path you walk."
She smiled, but the brightness was gone.
—
"I don't get why the hell you're even in on it," Athena said to Lilith as the four faced off. "You never struck me as the type who would give a shit about taking away people's pain."
"No," Ivory said. "Did you hear their conversation just now?"
"Who? Back there?"
She nodded.
"There's explosions and shit all around us. That's all I heard."
"Yuan's analysis was perfect. Lilith doesn't hate people at all. She loves them as much as Lilly does; she is Lilly in spite of everything. That's why she wants this world, too, a world without pain. But, in the end, we are still in the Labyrinth, a world in which our deepest regrets, fears, desires—things we may not even be aware of—materialize in a tangible world. Think about it. What was the last thing we all saw before this world exploded into reality?"
"Fuck," was the one word Athena could manage.
"Don't say it," Penny begged.
"Yeah. I don't wanna say it out loud either. But Labyrinths usually form because of something traumatic. I'm pretty sure I'd do the same goddamned thing if I saw my mother stabbed in the—"
"Shut up!" Lilith screamed. "Shut the fuck up!"
Everyone else was shocked not only at her outburst, but the outright fury on her face.
"Lilith—" Ivory managed before Lilith cut her off.
"You shut your goddamned mouth!" she shrieked.
"Lilith!" Ivory asserted. "Stop!"
The elder cousin's Wraith was fuming, but she didn't interrupt again.
"Most Labyrinths aren't even conscious manifestations. What if this whole thing isn't even you? What if this place sprouted as a result of your subconscious fears triggered when you saw your mother's life threatened like that? We saw the castle formed out of your heart. A castle is a place of defense, a place to keep yourself and your loved ones safe. I imagine I'd do the same for my mother if I saw her like that—"
"You're completely wrong!"
Penny turned to her.
"You think this is all because we saw mom get stabbed?"
Athena and Ivory exchanged glances.
"Wasn't it?" Athena said.
Lilith shook her head, clenching her fists.
"But, I thought this was all for Aunt Weiss," Ivory said. "I mean, this is the core of your Labyrinth, your home town, and your house, with Aunt Weiss right inside—"
Lilith gritted her teeth. "You're damn right this is for her!" she snarled. "You guys, have no idea, what I had to watch growing up. My mother wasn't merely in pain. She's completely hollow!"
Leon turned to Lilly, who had tears streaming down her face, though she made no sound.
"But it's not just for her," Lilith strained. "Every fucking Labyrinth we go through hurts so goddamned much. Seeing everyone like that, completely ruined, it leaves me in pain, too! You're right, Ivory, I am doing this for mom. But it's not just for her! It's for me!" She was screaming. "I don't wanna feel anything anymore!"
Even though everyone saw it coming, the words still came as a complete shock. But before anyone could respond, Lilith's demeanor suddenly changed, as if returning to lucidity. She quickly turned to Lilly, who returned her gaze, eyes wide, tears flooding her cheeks. Lilith turned back to her younger cousin, guard fully lowered.
"That...wasn't you just now, was it?" Ivory managed.
Lilith glanced down at the ground momentarily. "Technically, it was me," she said. "Technically."
Lilly didn't break her gaze. She could sense Leon fully turned in her direction, but she couldn't get over the shock of what she had just heard. Lilith was still her Wraith, the side of her that she hid not only from the rest of the world, but even from herself. That side of her had screamed out loud what she wasn't even conscious of.
Lilith released a heavy breath before turning away from Ivory and Athena and walking to Lilly, accompanied by Penny.
"We need to talk, me," Lilith said to Lilly, who nodded. "Look. Shit, where do I even begin? What we're doing here...I don't think it's wrong. But maybe we're going about it the wrong way."
Lilly nodded again.
"I guess what I'm trying to say is...how about we hold off on the whole global paradigm changing thing?"
"Okay," she said timidly as she wiped away her tears.
"Huh. That was easier than I thought. Wait, why was it that easy?"
"Probably because you're basically saying her thoughts out loud," Leon said before turning to Penny. "Are you gonna be okay?"
"I don't know," she said. "Part of me still wants to be completely human. And I still fully want Liam to be okay again, but...maybe this really is the wrong way."
"Everybody's heart is in the right place, I think," Athena said as the rest of the group approached them.
"I don't think any of us are wrong, to be honest," Ivory said. "But perhaps forcing a whole new reality upon a population that couldn't possibly consent...perhaps there is something fundamentally wrong with that."
Lilly nodded silently.
"Lilly!" Weiss shouted from inside the house. "What's all the commotion out there?"
They all watched as Weiss stepped out into the front yard.
"Whoa! You didn't tell me your whole graduating class was visiting!"
"Hi, mom," Lilith said.
Weiss looked at her suspiciously, going back and forth between her and Lilly. "What's going on here? I don't recall you having a...sister." She turned back to the house. "Bedivere!"
Penny's heart began to break into pieces and she dropped Rhongomyniad as she began hyperventilating, unable to withstand the onslaught. "You brought him back?" she said to Lilly as she wept.
"Don't even know who 'him' is," Lilith said, crossing her arms in front of her chest. "We brought something back, something mom obviously perceives as our father. But we don't know how he looks. How could we? Mom doesn't keep pictures of him in the house. And he died before we were born."
"Lilly!" Weiss screamed as she ran back outside. "Have you seen your father?"
Lilly began crying into her hands, even as Weiss darted to her and grabbed her by the shoulders, shaking her repeatedly.
"Where is he?" she yelled. "Where!"
"Mom," Lilith said sternly.
Weiss looked her daughter's Wraith in the eye. "Lilith?"
"Finally you recognize me."
"What's happening?" Ingrid said.
"Lilly's," Xanthus began, "and perhaps also Lilith's control over their world is beginning to fall apart."
"So this place is gonna collapse like every other Labyrinth?" Echo said.
He shook his head. "Judging by the nature of this particular construct, I don't think that's gonna happen. But still..."
"Weiss Schnee was living in this world Lilly and Lilith engineered," Perseus said. "It was a world in which the thing causing her the most pain didn't exist. Or perhaps it is more accurate to say that the thing whose absence caused her the most pain was brought back from the beyond."
"And now he's gone again," Yuan said, balling his fists. "Did we really do the right thing?"
Ivory also found herself frustrated, but, as always, she didn't show it on the outside. She glanced at her rival. If Athena had any regrets, she showed none of it either.
"Mom," Lilly wept. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."
Weiss stared at Lilly as the original reality began to creep back into her heart, that reality in which Bedivere was still dead. The dull ache that had persisted for the last twenty years was settling back into place. It surprised her how much it didn't hurt when the true reality returned to her, but her surprise was short-lived. She fell to the ground in tears as she recalled everything from the false reality she had just been living in.
Lilly followed her mother down to the earth to try and comfort her, but the latter was inconsolable. Lilly looked up at Lilith, who was standing with her hands in her pockets, eyes closed.
"D-Did we mess up?" she stammered.
Lilith shrugged. "Maybe."
The rest of the group put their guard back up at the sound of a large outcry from the town of Oasis, but they lowered their weapons upon realizing what that city-wide wailing was.
"It's not just Weiss," Ingrid said. "The whole town was in Lilly's Labyrinth, and now that perfect world is gone."
Athena let out a heavy sigh before stowing both her shield and spear and allowing her knightly armor to vanish. She walked to the house and headed inside without a word. Seconds later, everyone's Labyrinth clothing dissipated into twinkles of their respective colors.
"That was it," Xanthus said. "Lilly's Labyrinth is gone."
Perseus glanced at the Rune of Atonement, whose eye was shut.
"Is it getting itchy?" Echo asked him.
He shook his head. "It was watching earlier, but maybe it isn't interested anymore."
Ingrid looked to Yuan before taking him by the hand. He gave her a small smile and she returned it. She searched for Leon and found him standing between Ivory and Lilith. He was looking out into the distance. The sun was inching toward the horizon.
"You okay?" he said to Ivory.
She didn't answer.
"All right."
Lilith glanced at the two and then turned back to her mother and other self as they rose back up to their feet to head into the house with Penny. Team APEX followed them along with Yuan and Ingrid.
"I should never have challenged her," Ivory mumbled.
Leon and Lilith looked at her.
"Why? Why the hell did I choose that hill to die on?"
"Ivory?" Leon said.
"I should have just kept my mouth shut. Instead, I had to bring pain back into the world."
"Hey, don't say that."
"Didn't I?" she said, looking right into his lavender eyes.
He had never seen such intensity in her crystalline blue eyes. She turned away from him, walking off down the road toward the town.
"Ivory!" he called out to her.
"She can take care of herself," Lilith said. "Besides, she deals with things on her own. Like Athena. Like me."
He sighed heavily.
"What about you? Which way you headed?"
He turned to her. "I told you I'd stay by your side no matter what path you chose."
"You said that to Lilly."
"And you channeled all of her thoughts and put them into words."
She smirked at him. "You know this whole three-timing thing is gonna suck, right?"
"Th-Three? Who's the third?"
"C'mon," she said dryly. "Everybody knows you're in love with Ivory."
He snickered, but the levity lasted mere seconds. He looked Lilith in the eye. "I'm serious about staying by your side."
She examined him for a few moments, just to see if he'd blink or flinch or something. When no cracks showed in his armor, she shrugged.
"Suit yourself," she said before leaping up and perching atop the house to watch the sun as it dipped below the horizon. Leon walked up to the house before using his Semblance to teleport to Lilith's side. She turned her head to him as the red rose petals fell all around them and he exchanged looks with her. Without a word said between them, they both turned back to the sun to watch it disappear behind the horizon.
"Hey, I have a question," Leon said.
"You gonna ask me to be your girl?" Lilith said.
"Was actually gonna ask to make sure your guys' Labyrinth is actually gone."
"Yeah, it is."
"So, then, why are you still around?"
Lilith paused. "That's a good question."
