"When he came home, I immediately knew…it was the end of an era."

"He stood before me like an angel floating in the air. Despondence…all bundled up in a demeanor of serenity."

"My throat swelled with discomfort and I was helpless once more."

"I wanted to be free from this nightmare…But my terrible, cruel reality had only just begun."

"He had us all gather in one place, close friends and family alike, and briefly explained what had happened."

"Not a minute was wasted. But that left him plenty of time until sundown."

"I went along with his acceptance like any good wife would."

"But I shouldn't have been his wife at that moment…"

"What he needed most of all…was a friend."

"Yet my tongue could not stir the words out of my gut, my heart was twisted in a baneful knot."

"I watched us all silently depart to our homes. He chose to go alone on one last adventure across his home."

"'Adventure'. Heh…"

"He chose the most innocent way of describing it."

"I think…he wanted to communicate to me in that moment that for as much as he had changed, he still was that curious boy at heart."

"But all it told me was that this purity was being stolen away from us forever."

"And all I could do was march by his side as he entered the gates."

"Only now…did eternity start to feel like a curse."

Chapter 0.4: A Farewell to My Home

Darnia returned to his home and hovered in his old bedroom. He cleaned up the sheets and folded them up neatly atop the bed.

He checked the closet and dusted off his wife's old robes and ponchos.

He stood a long time in the kitchen, staring emptily where she once cooked.

He was exhausted, but sitting on his chair just felt…wrong now.

He was haunted by laughter of his young son running around the living room, and Misty fighting her weakness to keep up with him.

He left outside to get some fresh air, and his old partner Moses sat on his perch, head hung and his squawks drawn out with melancholy.

Darnia took out a treat from his poncho and tried to feed him, but only managed to rub it against his closed beak.

"Hmmm…" Darnia put it away and petted him. He felt cold and rigid, and it left his heart sinking.

Closing his eyes to fight off any tears, he told his loyal friend, "Go. Fly to your heart's content."

The bird let out a brief, hearty squawk and then turned to him, waddling up and nuzzling its beak against his arm.

Darnia couldn't stop a single tear from being shed and with a heavy sniffle broke his voice saying, "Thank you for everything…my friend."

The bird then took whatever energy it could spare in its old age to take flight into the sunny skies.

Darnia then closed his eyes and turned away, walking to the top of the tower where the Titan currently rested its exhausted feathers.

"Darnia Stratos." They did utter with a sense of surprise.

"Wise Twinbeak. Are you well?"

"We will recover in time. But fear not for us. How about you? We sense a storm in your heart."

"Rage, sadness…longing…I have never felt as weak as I do now. Perhaps…it is finally my time to pass on."

"And yet you came before us. As though seeking an alternative."

Darnia looked the wise beast in the eyes and asked, "Can you even part the storm clouds in my heart?"

"That is beyond our power. Only you alone…can measure the value of your worth left in this world."

Darnia hung and shook his head, "Everything I could pass on has been inherited. I never made friends with the others here. I find myself too weak to stay awake, too…saddened to try and relax."

"...But would Misty be happy if she saw you give up?"

"What you do with your life has never been ours to decide. We have always been the protectors of wisdom. "

"We admit to finding the future…uncertain now more than ever. The Rot has been expelled. Our reason for keeping this city afloat is now null. And yet…our people have only known this life."

"Yet we shall weather these uncertain winds for the sake of a brighter tomorrow. We have your son to thank for this chance."

"...My son…" Darnia gave it some extra thought and wondered, "...Perhaps there IS still one last thing I can do."

Meanwhile, Ezekiel was wandering through Oreore, thinking about the first time he met Sarajin. He could remember the exact place they caused a cave-in, though right now that area was filled.

He crossed his arms and grumbled with a growing sense of confusion.

His mother walked up to him with a heavy boulder on her shoulder and said, "A'right boy, break time's over."

Ezekiel looked at her with a weak but proud smile and said, "No stoppin' for any of us eh?"

"Didn't ya hear? Some of our men were checking on the Heaver herds and reported no signs of Rot Walkers for miles!"

Ezekiel raised his brows and uttered, "Y-Yer jokin' me…"

"Nope! So now's as good a time as any to work double time, cause lord knows there's gonna be a heckuva lot more stone popping up eventually!"

So his mom kept doing what she does best along with the rest of the miners, and on any other day Ezekiel would be drumming along with them…

But knowing what he knew now, he felt out of place prioritizing work over his friend's well-being.

"Brother…" Ezekiel tapped his fingers along his arms until his son walked up to him.

"Hey dad?" He asked innocently enough.

With a deep sigh Ezekiel tried to face him with his fatherly smile and say, "What's up, my boy?"

"Are we…never going to see Sarajin again?"

Ezekiel's expression faltered and left him rubbing the back of his head and stumbling over his words, "N-No I…guess not."

"I don't get what he did wrong though."

Ezekiel nodded with a heavy heart, "Me neither, son. But it is is what it is and we just kinda have to acc-"

He bit his tongue and with a choked up gasp he glared forward with a mix of bravery and sadness to say, "No no…you know what? I ain't foldin' up to this fate bullshit again."

He marched past his son and performed exaggerated gestures as he made his point, "After everythin' he's done for me…done for all of us, I ain't gonna let my brother spend his final moments alone."

But upon looking at his son he gulped and lost a bit of his nerve.

His boy was getting older and wasn't too far from being an adult. He couldn't up and leave him now, not to mention Cecilia…

After another sigh Ezekiel asked, "Say, have ya seen yer mother around?"

"Yeah, she's at home." Pitori answered.

Ezekiel nodded and then held his hand out, "Wait right 'ere."

He then headed home and saw her sitting at the dining table with her hands bridged under her chin.

Only for the moment he entered to cause her to lift her head up and lean back to glance over her shoulder.

The two's eyes met and with a brief, cold sigh she remarked, "So, you've already made your decision."

Ezekiel frowned a bit, "That easy, eh?"

She pulled herself away from the table and admitted, "You've known him the longest. There's loyalty there that can't be broken easily."

She walked over to him and placed her hand on her shoulder, gracing him with the rare smile, "Don't worry. I'll be going with you."

"R-Really…?"

Cecilia pulled away and crossed her arms, "I gave it a lot of thought. Consider this…"

"Those of us in the Genesis Samurais who are still alive know him better than anyone, both his flaws and his strengths."

"If he's going to entrust his powers to a successor, then we can ensure that whoever is worthy is actually the right candidate."

Ezekiel nodded along, "I'm following ya, but…ya sure yer ok leavin' our home behind?"

"...Home is wherever our family goes." Cecilia said, evading his gaze elsewhere with a twinge of blush in her cheeks.

Ezekiel melted into a wide smile and nodded, "But what of our boy?"

"...I don't want to leave him here as much as you do, but between Valic, Rai, and your mom, he's got plenty of responsible people looking after him. And-"

"Ummm…" Pitori's mild whimper penetrated into the house and drew their attention with embarrassment on their faces.

Ezekiel sucked his lips in and spat out the inevitable in a meek tone, "How long we're ya listenin'?"

Pitori walked into the house and said, "The whole time…?"

"Ah." Both parents uttered.

Then Ezekiel crossed his arms and remarked, "...Son, yer old enough to make yer own decisions. What do ya want to do with yer life from 'ere on out?"

Pitori held his head up high and said, "I'm going where you're going!"

This caught them both off-guard, with Cecilia breaking her calm to remark, "But what about your projects with Valic?"

"Ummmm…" Pitori was caught on his tongue for a bit, "I-I really do want to keep learning new things, and making new electronics. But…Sarajin helped us all out a lot, and I want to return the favor too!"

Cecilia closed her eyes and shed a prideful smile at his answer. With a reluctant sigh she remarked, "You should at least talk it over with Valic before making a final decision. You still have plenty of time. Plus…I need to take care of one last bit of personal business myself."

Ezekiel gave her a confirming glance and then admitted himself, "And I should talk to me mum. Gonna break her heart, but…I think she'll get through it."

So the family went their separate ways for now to handle their final affairs on this world they called home.

Cecilia marched straight for Cryofloe, slipping past the sights of the other people recovering from the last few days by drinking spirits with their Titan.

It was slowly healing around here, and someday there would be equality between men and women.

But to ensure that, she had to confirm one last thing.

She ventured through the Wilds for quite some time, avoiding the prowling beasts and using her tracking skills to hunt for clues in the slow and ice.

Eventually, all her efforts amounted to finding a broken helmet buried in the snow next to a crack in the icy waters.

With a deep breath, her body trembling over so much relief it hurt her heart, she tipped that helmet into the lake and turned away with a smile.

Meanwhile, Pitori entered Pulsa Minoria to find his teacher fully absorbed into the plethora of new parts he scavenged off the Vortexians.

"Ah! You came just in the nick of time!" Valic ran right over to him, patting him on the back to bring him over to the piles of separated parts.

"My brain's been stirring with so many new ideas! It's like a storm untamed! Ho ho ho! But! I want to hear what you have to say first."

Pitori's brain registered all these parts and his imagination simply went wild thinking of the crazy contraptions the two of them could come up with together.

But guilt won the battle over curiosity and upon turning to his teacher he said, "I-I won't be able to invent stuff with you anymore…"

Valic's excitement was put on pause for his bewilderment. A lighthearted chuckle followed as he patted Pitori on the shoulder and pressured him for answers, "W-What does that mean?"

Pitori gave a quick summary of Sarajin's fate and the decision made by his parents to follow him, along with his own choice.

Midway through Valic started shaking his head and blinking frequently, as though trying to pass this off as some strange dream.

But come the end of it all, Valic was left glaring solemnly into the boy's eyes, recognizing how serious this was to him.

Valic tied his hands behind his back as they tensed up. He wanted to bite his lower lip, he muttered a few things aloud.

He then stepped aside to give his arm room to gesture out, remarking in a hesitant tone, "We're on the cusp of discovering something phenomenal, I can FEEL it…!"

"B-But…" He squeezed his hand and looked at the boy directly, "Your heart…has settled on this decision, hasn't it?"

Pitori gave a short nod, and all Valic could do was drain his resistance dry with a heavy sigh.

Pitori reached out to say, "Hey, did you hear that the Rot Walkers are gone? You don't have to go chasing for the moon now!"

Valic smiled and shook his head, gazing fondly up at the sky, "I don't think I'll ever stop chasing my dream."

"...You've given me plenty to work with. I'll be fine. Though…I will miss having you around. It was a refreshing change of pace to be working alongside such creative vigor. It was almost like having a…"

Valic choked up before he'd let himself finish, not wanting to string his heart along any further than logically necessary.

Pitori lit up with a smile of his own and said, "I'll never forget you, teacher."

Valic's smile winced as he murmured, "Neither shall I, Pitori."

He pulled his hand out and paused, then tried to reach out again. After relaxing himself, he stepped out and gave Pitori a short but sincere hug.

He took a deep breath and trembled as he retreated.

Pitori then wondered, "Where's Rai?"

"He…went on a journey after the chaos died down. Oddest thing. He left without saying a word."

"Who is to say he'll ever come back?"

Rai carried on all on his own through the barren wastelands, repeating the same list of ingredients imparted to him by his friend Adderbolt.

Taking every moment he could to catch his breath, Rai looked up into the sweltering sunny sky and kept smiling.

"I'll keep your memory alive buddy. Our Zap Chew will light up people's hearts with happiness!"

With a bit of exhausted laughter he admitted, "Heh…that catchphrase could use a little work."

He then continued on his merry way.

Tina returned home to the welcoming greetings of her people.

Plenty of sympathetic hugs and words were spread around to the point she felt overwhelmed.

She snuck off to the shoreline where her father and her used to set off. The boat was still there, and his equipment was back at home.

He may have been sent out to sea, but the proof he was alive would never fade inside of her.

Seeing him one last time, and knowing her mother truly loved her, washed away any despair.

She crossed her hands over her chest and smiled, listening to the happiness of the waves.

She didn't need to hesitate over what she wanted to do next with her life.

But when she turned around, an obstacle stood in her path.

Lulu was frazzled with bloodshot eyes, choosing to confront her here while they were all alone.

"Aunt Lulu…" Tina felt a bit uncomfortable being close to her at the moment.

"Ya done foolin' around?" Lulu said with none of her spunk, "C'mon. We're going home."

"Actually…"

When Tina showed a little resistance, Lulu spun back harshly and shouted, "No! No! NO! You are gonna start listening to me!"

"ENOUGH of this childish behavior! You…are NEVER leaving this place again!"

Tina shivered from Lulu tearing her throat out with her demands.

But she could not give in.

She had a sunny smile and held her hands together before her chest, "I'm sorry…but I have to go."

"Why…?" Lulu replied, drained of life, "Why are ya doing this to me?"

Tina stared blankly at her, "I'm not doing anything…"

"My family…is GONE…You are ALL that I have left! Why don't you get that?! Why? Why? WHY?!"

After she vented, Tina calmly explained to her, "I saw mom and dad one last time. And they were happy together. So I don't believe…they would want us to be anchored by their deaths."

"Easy for you to say…You GOT to say goodbye!" Lulu started to break down crying and Tina was immediately on her with a warm hug, letting her hug her back and cry into her chest.

"W-Why do you have to say goodbye too?"

"I realized I'm special because of my mom. I want to learn more about the Aurian side of me, and Lady Auris is the only chance I have left. And I don't know if she'll return once Sarajin goes away…"

"You still have ME. I-I may not be one of those filthy-!"

Tina hugged her softer, "You have to let go of your hatred, Lulu. I don't want you to suffer."

"D-Damn it…!" Lulu cursed at herself out loud, "You're so young. As precious and pure as a glistening pearl. I just…I just want to keep you clean from the filth out there."

"I know." Tina giggled with a hint of maturity in her voice.

"And…and I want to stay and help. I do. I wish I was like the sea, spreading myself over every grain of sand."

"But…I can't."

Lulu opened her eyes and sniffled, "If it EVER becomes too rough…Come back. Yer home is always here."

"I will." Tina whispered.

After a few minutes of hugging, Lulu accepted her path, and went down her separate one alone…

Tina cried for her, but believed she would be ok.

Before she could set out, she needed to enter that forest one last time to meet with a friend.

The forest had never been more quiet. It was almost discordant the way the leaves did not sway, and the colors felt dull…

Acai was on her knees before the Titan, now stiff as a statue.

She kneaded her fingertips at the dirt where her father rested, her body trembling with unresolved anger.

"Now what am I supposed to do…?" She squealed to herself.

A little bit later, Tina hummed her way into the area with a cheery but careful greeting, "Hey Acai!"

"Go away." Acai growled.

Tina put her hands back and chuckled, "Yeeeaah. Funny you say that. Cause-"

"Funny?" Acai shook and dragged herself up like a person walking again for the first time in years

"How can you LAUGH? Our fathers…are dead! And the person responsible got away with it!"

Tina shuddered, "Y-Yeah but…my dad wasn't super upset about it so-"

Acai flung herself at her and rubbed her knuckles up her chest shouting, "Well GOOD FOR YOU! I heard NOTHING from mine!"

Tina was positively stunned by this news, "R-Really…?"

Acai lashed at her mockingly, "Uh huh! God…! Why do you get to be so…blessed with stupidity!"

"Acai…" Tina murmured with regret at herself.

Acai's expression cracked with a heaving breath and she almost collapsed on the spot.

"I…I can't stop thinking about him…! I never got to apologize…! All I can do…is KILL the person who took him from me!"

"I don't think that will help." Tina whispered.

"Then what WILL, genius?!"

Tina clapped her hands and said with a smile, "Well. We can figure that out together! Because…I was hoping you would come with me on my journey with Lady Auris and Mr. Sarajin."

"Sarajin…?" Acai's rage briefly stalled as she whispered to herself, "He would know who killed my dad…"

Tina gave her a spook by leaning over her shoulder and saying, "But! You have to ask your mom first."

Acai bit her teeth and quickly insisted on a painful lie, "S-She never liked me anyways."

Tina was taken aback by this, "You sure?"

"Yeah! Absolutely! Forget her, let's go!" Acai said in a haste.

But before she left, she took one last look at the still Titan and turned to pat the burial ground.

"T-Take good cause of my dad, ok?"

Acai then sprinted away before anything could make her second guess herself, leaving Tina to worry for her safety.

"I should tell Sarajin about this…"

And what of that man at this moment?

After traveling around the world, seeing every sight and sound he loved, and saying goodbye to his remaining allies…

He settled in Sancturia in front of the pyramid.

With the Gaia Temporis dangling by his side, he looked at the front entrance, then down at it, then back up.

"I figured I would find you here." Said Auris from behind.

Sarajin pocketed the stone but her forlorn gaze at the act did not go beneath his notice.

After a short pause Sarajin smiled faintly to say, "This place is very important to us. But I feel like…"

He scratched the back of his head and grumbled, "I'm forgetting just HOW important it is…"

"Now was the time to get rid of the lie. But doing so would have just hurt him more. I…was the last of our small group."

"I would live with that knowledge. Alone. Forever."

Sarajin eventually brushed the matter off with a chuckle and looked content.

Auris squeezed her fists in her sleeves.

After this, Sarajin wondered, "Where is Zeno?"

"He's resting for a bit."

"Ah…Then now's probably our best chance to talk about…you know."

Auris gripped her arms tensely and murmured, "Yeah…"

Sarajin tucked his hands in his pockets and was sympathetic in tone, "I'm not happy leaving you alone like this."

"You know…I can't follow you where you'll be going."

Sarajin nodded, "Someone has to guide Sancturia."

Auris nodded back slower, "...I haven't looked into the future yet."

"I would rather gouge my eyes out a thousand times before I would ever accept a future where I can't wake up with you by my side."

"...Yeah." Sarajin replied.

"Why are you this accepting of this…" Auris commented, only to reprimand herself, "No. I am foolish for asking. 'This is the right thing to do', you will tell me."

Sarajin gestured his hands out and tried to say anything.

She replied, biting her fingernails into her skin, "You. Deserve. Better!"

"..."

Auris trembled, "No. Forgot my personal selfishness."

"Just…tell me you at least feel even a FRACTION of the hate I have towards those…those 'higher-ups'!"

"...There's some methods of theirs I disagree with. But…we also have to take responsibility for our actions."

"I am too powerful to be trusted anymore. But the next person won't be, if I follow God's plan."

Auris then winced painfully, "And you will get nowhere if I do not tell you the future."

Sarajin nodded.

"Why would God not already know?"

Sarajin rubbed the back of his head, "Futanji struggles too. Maybe the 'Poison' makes it difficult for them?"

"..." Auris closed her eyes and made up her mind following a rough and heavy sigh, "I won't check the future until I see this 'plan' of theirs with my own eyes."

"I hope they're ok with that." Sarajin remarked, leading to her giving one of her signature smirks.

"They will just have to deal with it."

"Then let's also bring Zeno along. He needs us both now more than ever."

"I couldn't agree more."

"The two of us just tried to keep this conversation going with minor and major details, but our opponent was the flow of time."

"And soon it defeated us, laying us over with its basking sunset hues."

"As the tension rose in my nerves, that wizard appeared before me for the very first time without casting a presence."

"I felt a strange kinship to his appearance through my hate. My hand twitched, as though it was being connected to the wizard's own."

"Whatever grand power he commanded…it was very similar to the blade I wielded against 'D, and affected the world on a metaphysical level.'"

"But one glance from him told me…'You will find only darkness in your questions'."

"I was not to be the focus of this conversation…"

Yen Sid turned to Sarajin and asked him, "Are all of your affairs in order?"

Sarajin nodded then gestured out to his wife, "Yeah, but Auris is coming with us now. No objections?"

Yen Sid gave a humble bow, "That is…acceptable."

Before the motion was cast to take the two of them away to Sarajin's final destination, a voice cried out with aggravation.

"Oi! Ya better not have robbed us of our one last chance to have an adventure with our old friend!" Shouted Ezekiel, who was not alone, but with his wife and son, Darnia, Zeno, and Acai and Tina.

Sarajin flinched with surprise at them all basking in the sunset, "G-Guys? Wait…hang on. Why are you here? I already said goodbye."

Ezekiel crossed his arms and grinned, "Ya ain't gettin' off that easy, brother."

Cecilia brushed her hand up and smiled, "I agree. If you're going to do this succession ordeal, then it's up to us to make sure it goes right."

Tina announced her presence with a cheer, "I'll do whatever I can to help!"

Darnia extended his hand and smiled, "We're here for you son. To the very end."

Sarajin gasped and got a little choked up inside. Biting down his smile before it looked weak, he shed a single tear.

"Ok…" He told himself in preparation, before lifting his head high and shouting, "Let's go…on one last journey!"

Next Time: Preparing a Prophecy