BM - Chapter 23 - Nothing Beside Remains

The blinding light and strong blast of wind forced everyone to close their eyes and look away.

Almost everyone, as Calliope didn't need to adhere to mortal needs.

She watched Amelia and the Ancient Ones become one with the bright light as it shot out from the Droplet. The Ancient Ones shrieked and squealed, trying in vain to escape their fate, while Amelia simply accepted it. After nearly a minute of continuous light and wind, everything began to settle down.

The light faded and the air returned to a light breeze. Nothing remained of the Hatchery, Amelia, or the Ancient Ones. Only the Crystal sat lopsided on the ground with slight amounts of purple swirling within.

"It's over," Calliope said, making the other girls open their eyes. Gura's had faded back to their normal blue.

"We-we did it…" Ina said quietly.

"Where… are they…?" Kiara asked, already knowing the answer. Calliope turned to them all, her expression shaking with sadness.

"She saved us."

And like that, the dams on nearly everyone's eyes finally broke. No one was spared from the anguish, except for one Reaper who still had something to do.

Calliope knelt down next to Kiara and said, "I'll join you in a second," before walking over to the Crystal.

She placed a hand onto its smooth outer surface and watched the purple mist inside dance around. Her hand slipped through into the Crystal with a tiny push. She smiled lightly.

"Never one to leave things unfinished…" she mumbled. With one swift step, she entered the Crystal.

The next moments were a blur to her. Visions of darkness with tiny, pinprick flashes of light dancing in her peripheral vision. Any time she tried to focus on them, they vanished back into the darkness. Her perception of time felt sped up, like she was experiencing centuries in mere seconds within this darkness.

Slowly, another shape formed. It was directly in front of her, round in shape, but slightly oblong. Something waved just behind it, like a flag or cape.

The shape came more into focus. It was a ball of shadow with more of it streaking downwards out of her field of vision. It was moving, morphing into new shapes. It almost seemed random to her, but there was structure to it.

A small triangle in the center, two orbs to the left and right as well as slightly above it, a crescent indent below them all…

It was a face…

More details emerged, eyebrows, pores, teeth, bangs of hair…

It wasn't a face…

It was her face…

And it was smiling at her. A wide, toothy grin that held no emotion behind it, stared back at her from the darkness.

Calliope wanted to scream, but found that her voice was trapped in her throat. Her lips were stuck together. When she reached up with her hands to feel her face, the spot her mouth should have been was smooth.

She had no mouth…

She ran her hands over more of her face and felt more smooth skin. Even where her eyes should have been, where she was currently seeing out of, was completely flat.

The face in front of her was stealing her features away from her.

Calliope continued in vain to try to scream. Even the sound in her throat began to become muffled, as more of herself was lost to whatever was in front of her.

She was reverting into the blank ball of shadow that the shape in front of her had begun as.

It wasn't stealing from her…

It was transferring her…

Calliope suddenly woke up on the ground of the Underworld. Red dirt coated half her face and started to seep into her mouth. She pushed herself up, spitting out any dirt that had managed to actually get in.

At least her mouth was back now…

She didn't have any more time left to process what she had just seen. Looking down at her hands while she wiped the dirt off of her, she didn't only see two. There were several pairs that trailed behind the main ones. Some of the pairs didn't even bother following, but instead moved in a completely different direction. However, they all ended up in the same place eventually. As she got to her feet and took a step forwards, she noticed her legs acted similarly.

"I'm Destabilized…" she realized in a quiet voice. She was seeing every possible action she could take. But this effect wouldn't last forever. Already, she could see less possibilities playing out in front of her. She needed to get to her mortal body and enter it while she still had the chance.

Calliope disappeared into the shadows and zipped through the Underworld. She soon arrived inside her old room. Her body reformed once more and she looked around at the place she once called home.

It had been a while since she had last been here.

But now was not the time to reminisce. She had a job to do.

She ran over to the corner of her room where a dark mass stood. It was attached to the walls, ceiling, and floor by several shadowy vines. It hung in the air pulsating like a dark, beating heart. Calliope used her scythe to tear it open.

A body almost identical to her own fell out onto the floor.

This was her mortal body that she had been crafting and perfecting. It was being perfectly preserved and maintained in the dark pod. Now all she needed to do was slip into her new skin.

She knelt down next to it and put a hand against the warm flesh. Her hand sank into it and before she could react, her entire arm was being pulled in.

At first she resisted, but a moment later she accepted it. By the time most of her arm was inside, she began to feel the changes to her mind.

'Amelia is gone…'

Anguish. Even in this inbetween state, she could feel how upset she was about Amelia's sudden departure. She stuck her other hand into the body.

'Kiara's unrequited love…'

Hate. It wasn't directed at her best friend, but at herself. She had let Kiara suffer through so much because of her actions and lack of emotions. When she got out of here, she was going to make sure to start righting those wrongs. Her entire body was nearly enveloped by the mortal flesh.

She gave one last look over her shoulder, seeing her Reaper form turned to wispy shadows behind her.

'You are so mean to everyone…'

'Your cold eyes are scary…'

'Kiara is your only friend…'

Calliope felt her eyes begin to mist with tears. She couldn't see anymore, as she wasn't fully merged yet. However, her emotions were already running wild. Was this what Amelia had meant by emotions were tough?

'Amelia is dead…'

'She's gone…'

'You'll never be able to thank her…'

'You were only ever able to be rude to her…'

'You didn't deserve her help…'

Calli tried to fight back against her mind's torment, but it was a losing battle. Her self-reflection was too much for her.

For the first time, she fluttered open her eyelids, staring at the cold, shadowy floor of her room. Slowly, she rolled onto her back and stared up at the ceiling. The whole room felt like it was spinning around her.

'No one likes you.'

'You were too mean to them.'

'They were just being nice.'

'They were just pretending.'

'You almost let Kiara die.'

'A friend would never do that.'

"N-no…" Calli's new vocal cords croaked out. She felt light headed, feeling the pressure of the Underworld weighing down on her mortal body. The edges of her vision crept closer to the center, as more thoughts flooded her head.

'Am I a bad person?'

'Do I deserve the help I've gotten?'

'Do I deserve anything?'

'Why did I get this far?'

'Why?'

'Why…?'

Eventually, it all became too much for her to bear and she passed out.

'why… her…?'

'why… not… me…?'

"I was wondering when you'd get back," the familiar voice of Death-sensei woke Calli from her sleep. She rubbed her eyes and lifted her head off of the ground. She was in Death-sensei's chamber for some reason. A dark, shadowy cloak was draped over her body.

"H-How did I get here?" she asked, confused by her sudden appearance there. Her mind was still swimming, but it was coming back to her.

"I didn't want you to be alone," he replied, simply. Calli didn't really understand what he meant by that. Slowly, she tried to get up from the ground.

Soreness. It was an odd sensation and something she knew she would have to get used to with this new body. After a few seconds of trying, she got to her feet and stood upright.

She clenched and unclenched her hands in front of her, feeling her nails dig into her skin. The feeling of her body being completely under her control was gone now. No matter how hard she tried, it would remain in this exact shape unless it was damaged.

Maybe she shouldn't use the word damaged. Injured would be a much better term now. A mortal body would feel pain and lose function when it becomes injured.

Calli shook her head and sighed. There was a lot she needed to get used to with this new body.

"You know," Death-sensei cut through what had become an awkward silence, "you are the first Reaper in history to gain a mortal body and emotions." Calli thought about that for a moment.

"I'm also the first Reaper to make friends with a mortal," she responded. Death-sensei stared at her for a moment before he walked over to her.

"There have been many Reapers that have made friends on the other side. However, only one besides you managed to stay friends for any meaningful amount of time." This piqued Calli's interest. She hadn't heard this story from her mentor before.

"Really?" she said, ready to listen to what Death-sensei was going to tell her. They took a moment before beginning their tale in a quieter, more sensitive tone.

"Long ago, there was a Reaper who went to reap a young couple. They had gotten themselves into a lot of trouble and were being held at gunpoint by a robber.

The Reaper showed up early since they were still young and full of excitement for their job. It became clear that the couple wasn't going to give up their valuables. The Reaper got ready to guide their souls into the Underworld.

But they never died. No matter how many times they were shot at, each bullet passed through them harmlessly. The Reaper was astonished, as the couple began to laugh at the robber's attempts at killing them. They then proceeded to beat the shit out of the robber in the middle of the street."

"That sounds familiar…" Calliope said, thinking of a certain someone who could phase through things like that. She tried her best to stay calm, but emotions were already rising up inside her.

"Indeed it should. The Reaper later confronted the couple and asked how they managed to avoid death like that. The couple responded that they were time travelers. The Reaper would end up meeting them many more times over the years and they grew close.

The three of them began to interact outside of their normal circumstance of near death. They all truly became friends when the Reaper helped fight off a mythic creature while off duty.

But even through all of this, the Reaper never tried to gain emotions. It wasn't for a lack of want, they just couldn't find the loophole you found with your soul. So during their time together, the Reaper was never able to experience what a true friendship felt like."

"That sounds rough…" Calli murmured, trying to block out the what-ifs running through her head. She had worked so hard to find a way to achieve this, but someone else didn't…

"When you first went searching for a way to solve that seemingly unsolvable problem, you hid it from me." Calli felt her chest seize and her face grow hot. She was embarrassed. Death-sensei paused and then chuckled slightly, "I know you meant well, Calli. You were nervous that it was taboo since there were no records of a Reaper attempting it. When I told you that I knew what you were trying, you had a very similar look on your face."

"Stop it…" Calli couldn't handle the teasing, covering her face with her hands and arms. Death-sensei continued to laugh.

"I said I would help you and you didn't believe me. Every chance you got, you asked me why I was helping you."

"It was so odd. I know you give me a lot of freedom, but to let me suspend my duties as a Reaper for decades and centuries just didn't make sense to me." Calli mostly removed her hands from her face.

"The Reaper in that story was me," Death-sensei revealed, "My reasoning of liking your attitude and fighting spirit was bullshit from the start, Calli. I wanted you to succeed where I didn't all those years ago." Calli tried to wipe the surprise off of her face.

"What happened to the time travelers?" she asked pensively. She knew it wouldn't be a happy ending, but her curiosity got the better of her. Death-sensei sighed.

"Same thing that happens to all the others, time eventually catches them and they get themselves in an unwinnable situation. I was forced to finally reap their souls one day…" he said with regret.

"I-I'm sorry…" Calli apologized for no reason. Her emotions were really beginning to act up now. Not only was she thinking of Amelia, but also Kiara's attempt at death. For the first time, her own job scared her.

"That couple had the same names as Amelia's parents, but they never had kids. That's why I wanted to see her when she was down here. Even if she isn't related to them directly, it still made me really happy." Death-sensei gave a rare, genuine smile. Calli blinked rapidly to flush away the tears growing in her eyes.

"Sh-she's gone… Amelia is g-gone…" And the dam on Calli's eyes finally broke, as well. For the first time, but certainly not the last, the Reaper cried real tears and felt true sadness. It was overwhelming, her entire body succumbing to the sensation of despair.

Death-sensei held her crying form for several minutes, as she littered the floor with her tears. If they could cry, they would be, as well.

"Everyone else ok?" they asked after a long while. Calli nodded and attempted to collect herself.

"Th-They're all fine, at least physically. All their injuries will heal given time."

"Well that's good to hear. Something else good to hear is that I never sensed Amelia's soul arriving here, so there is a chance she's still alive." Calliope sniffled and wiped her nose.

"Amelia is alive, but her fate is worse than death. She got tossed out of the timeline and is stuck out there, alone…" Neither Calli nor Death-sensei could imagine such a terrible thing.

Never again would Amelia Watson feel the passage of time. She was trapped within her own body until the end of time with no one around.

"You have friends in high places, though, right Calli? Surely you can ask them for help," Death-sensei tried to give Calli some hope to cling onto.

"If you mean Bae and the Council, I doubt it. Kronii would never be convinced to do something like that unless it had some clear benefit. There's nothing anyone could do to change her mind…"

"Well I would at least try," Death-sensei said, patting Calli on the back. They both stood back up and Calli wiped the tear streaks off of her cheeks.

"Thanks for not letting me be alone," Calli said to her mentor.

"You're welcome. Now, you should get back to your friends." Calli nodded and summoned her scythe into her hand. She could feel her mortal body lessening her magical abilities, but they were still decent. She would just need to get better at using them.

She traveled to where the Hatchery would be located and slashed into the ground, letting the cold embrace of shadows carry her back into the Overworld.

Everyone heard the sound of a shadow forming near them. Calli emerged from the ground, having made sure to form clothes onto herself beforehand. She began to question if she really had clothed herself properly because of all the stares she was getting.

"W-Welcome back," Ina said politely, breaking the silence between them all. Calli slowly walked over to the others and stood with them. Kiara tilted her head in curiosity.

"How are you feeling?" she asked. Calli put her hand against her chest, feeling her heart slowly beating within.

"Pretty normal, but it is damn cold here," she remarked. Kiara chuckled slightly. "How long was I gone?"

"Probably around half an hour," Ina guessed, judging off of her internal clock. The sun hadn't moved in the sky by a noticeable amount, so she was at least pretty close.

"How are y'all holding up then?" Calli asked the group. They all glanced around at each other, seeing the faint salt streaks left by tears. They even saw them on Calli's face, too.

"About as good as we can be, given the circumstances…" Ina answered, earning her nods from everyone else. It was clear that everyone's emotions were still on a knife's edge. Kiara took a large enough breath to get everyone's attention.

"Guess it's my turn then, huh…?" she said solemnly. It pained Calli to see her friend in such rough shape. She doubted it would get any better once her memories were returned.

"Come with me," Calli said carefully. Kiara and her broke away from Ina and Gura and walked to the Crystal. The interior of the Crystal still shimmered with purple mist, dancing in intricate patterns. It would be possible to waste hours by just staring at the swirling colors within.

However, Calli wasn't focused on that at all, even though she was staring distantly into the Crystal. She was grappling with how to tell Kiara about her abandonment of her all those centuries ago…

"Kiara…" she said quietly once they stood in front of the Crystal. Kiara looked up at Calli with a small smile on her face. "I…" Calli stopped after the first word left her mouth. Kiara's continued smile threatened to tear what little emotional walls she had put up. For the first time, Kiara saw Calli's eyes bristle with tears.

"I wish that things could have gone differently…" Kiara said, breaking eye contact with Calli to stare at the Crystal, "But we've got to use what we have, right Calli?" Both girls already knew the answer to that question was yes. Calli wiped the small tears out of her eyes and looked at Kiara with a new, more content glare.

"Whatever you see in there, I will always be here for you." Kiara nodded, running her hand up Calli's arm and resting it on her shoulder. The new warmth of a mortal body was something that Kiara could definitely get used to.

"I'll see you soon." Kiara let go of Calli's shoulder and threw herself into the Crystal.

The instant her body made contact, her vision turned to nothing.

In fact, every one of her senses ceased to exist.

For a moment, Kiara was only aware that she exists. She doesn't know where she is, when she is, or even what she is.

Only that she is.

Just before panic would have begun to take hold of her, a single thought floated into her mind. It wasn't her's, but instead a thought that was inserted into her mind by something else.

'Anchor'

At first, she had no idea what this word meant. She wouldn't need to figure it out on her own, however, as all of her senses suddenly returned to her.

She wasn't in her normal body anymore. She felt weaker, but not fatigued. It was simply that her body was less powerful than her present one. When she looked down, her suspicions were confirmed.

She was in the past, living out her previous memories.

This body wasn't under her control, though. When she had looked down, it was her past self doing this. She thought back at how Ina had described her memories. It must have felt something like this, too.

Something was happening around her. There were other Phoenixes running around just outside of the room she was in. The movement was frantic and panicked. Whatever was happening out there, she wanted no part in it.

Currently, she was hiding underneath a desk. She could feel her whole body trembling in fear, but she didn't know why.

'Attack'

Another word floated into her mind from something outside of her control. Pushing all of the fear out of her mind for the time being, she tried to think of what these words were trying to tell her.

Anchor… It sounded familiar to her, but she didn't know where it was from.

'Here'

If Kiara had control of her body, her eyes would have shot open as wide as they could go.

That's what the Anchor was. It was wherever she was. Observing the edges of her vision and what she had seen when she had peaked out, she began to put together where she was located.

The Hatchery… Or the Anchor, she should say.

She never really understood why it was called the Hatchery. Calliope had told her at some point that it was what she had called it.

'Born'

She was born here. Had she assumed that it was a birthing place for Phoenixes and just called it the Hatchery for lack of a better name? She must have…

There was a loud crash outside in the hallway. Kiara felt her body flinch and curl into itself even more. She was a tiny ball on the floor just out of sight of the doorway. The fear she had pushed away was now coming back.

A small noise emanated from the doorway. It sounded like the slight shuffling of someone's feet that didn't want to be heard. Kiara's breath hitched in her chest. It took every ounce of willpower to keep herself from crying out for help. For someone to save her…

A dark presence stood just on the other side of the desk in the room with her. Kiara now understood what 'Attack' had meant.

The Anchor was under attack from something at this moment.

Was this the Reaper attack that had left this place desolate?

Shouting from the hallway brought Kiara back to reality. It didn't sound like scared yelling. Instead the yell was filled with anger and hatred. Whatever was in the room with her made a sharp noise, like it was turning around to face whoever dared to scream at it.

Kiara leaned herself just far enough out from under the desk to see around it. The sight she saw next would forever become burned into her iris.

The thing stood in the middle of the room, staring back towards the doorway. A dark, shadowy cloak covered most of their body, only letting their two horns protrude out of the top of it. Their left hand was outstretched with all their fingers directly next to each other. A blade of black fire extended towards the floor, leaving scorch marks where it hit.

It was confusing enough that the Anchor's attacker wasn't a Reaper, but what really defied Kiara's understanding of the universe was what- or who rather- stood in the doorway.

Calliope Mori, scythe outstretched and pointed at the dark being, stood tall in the doorway. Her face was twisted with anger and hate.

Why was she here? How was she here? Those millions of questions would have to wait, though. The dark being and Calliope both turned and looked at her. Kiara screamed, as the dark being lunged at her and Calliope lunged in to stop it.

The last thing Kiara saw before passing out was two heterochromatic eyes burning with not hatred, but glorious purpose.

Kiara was back in that place. The place where nothing existed, only herself. She wasn't given much time here before she was thrown back into another memory.

Except this time it was more than one memory.

She didn't have much time to process them all, but she could feel the blanks in her memory beginning to fill in.

She saw her birth.

She saw her parents raising her.

She saw them tell her to stay put, while they ran off to fight the unknown attacker.

She saw their cold, lifeless bodies when she got worried and went looking for them.

She saw herself being carried away from the Anchor.

She saw herself training for centuries for when that being came back.

She saw herself forgetting why she trained.

She saw Calliope challenging her to an honorable duel.

She saw herself enjoying it and wishing for it to never end.

She saw the centuries and millennia that she spent adventuring with Calliope.

She saw herself confess to Calliope the first time.

She saw Calliope walk away from her after one of her deaths.

She saw herself crying.

She saw herself wandering aimlessly.

She saw her killing herself dozens of times and wishing for it to end.

She saw Calliope running into her in the Underworld once she nearly got her wish.

She saw Calliope getting her back onto her feet.

She saw the little moments she had forgotten in her recent past.

Then she was on the ground.

Kiara's head hurt like hell when she peeled herself up from the grassy ground. Calli helped her up and steadied her once she saw back upright. Ina and Gura hastily walked over to see if Kiara was ok. The Phoenix held her head in her remaining hand, trying to ease away the pain.

"You ok, Kiara?" Calli asked her tentatively. Every touch she made on Kiara's body was as light as possible, while still keeping her steady. Kiara nodded lightly, still tending to her massive headache. "What did you see?" Calli's voice was extremely hesitant and quiet, like she was trying not to wake a sleeping baby.

"I-I…" Kiara stammered with the words escaping her for the time being.

"If you don't want to or can't, it's fine. I saw some weird shit in there, too, so I get it." Calli's quiet voice soothed Kiara's mind and let her get her thoughts in order.

"This…" she began speaking in a more confident tone compared to earlier, "This place is not what we thought it was."

Kiara told the group about what she had seen in lost memories. Everyone listened along without interrupting. For Ina and Gura, it was to distract themselves from Amelia's death. For Calli, it was to prepare herself for when Kiara told about when she wasn't there for her.

But when Kiara said that Calliope was there for the attack on the Anchor, everyone's mood changed to one of disbelief.

"Sh-She didn't attack anyone there. Hell, she tried to save my life and probably did. I don't remember exactly what happened after I blacked out, but I remember being carried away by someone and it sure as hell wasn't that thing," Kiara made sure to clarify. Everyone breathed a huge sigh of relief hearing that. None of them thought Calliope would do something like that, but it was a terrifying thought.

"Unfortunately, this all happened right in the middle of the Forgotten Times. No one besides you has memories of what happened back then," Calliope said. It seemed like her and Kiara were linked together far before they fought.

"So we're calling this place the Anchor now?" Ina asked, slightly confused by the change in name.

"Yeah, we- well I- misunderstood what this place really was," Kiara began explaining, "I was born here, so I guess I just thought to name it that when I had forgotten its name. This place isn't for birthing Phoenixes, it was to anchor Phoenixes to this timeline."

"Is that why you always rebirth here?" Calli asked. It was uncommon for a Phoenix to rebirth into the same timeline. Some wanted to and would spend centuries perfecting techniques that would only sometimes work. Kiara had always been able to do it without any problems.

"My birth being so close to the Crystal and to parents that were practicing it means that it is just natural for me to," Kiara answered.

"Well, the other main problem is who or what that thing was," Calli said, "They are clearly powerful, being able to kill several Phoenixes permanently. Do you know if I beat them?" Kiara thought for a moment before shrugging.

"I don't think so, but I hope you did. You at least scared it enough to make it never come back," Kiara responded, brushing the whole situation to the side. Sure, she was going to make sure that thing was buried six feet under, but right now there were more important issues. "And that's it. The rest of my memories are just boring training and meeting Calli stuff," she teased her friend. Calli felt a large weight pull off of her body.

"You sure there's nothing-" Calli began talking, but a small wink from Kiara made her stop prematurely. They would talk, but it would be later.

"Well, I guess we should start heading back," Ina said solemnly. Everyone silently nodded. Ina began to prepare a teleportation spell, but she paused after a moment. "Give me a second," she said, grabbing and lightly pulling on Gura's arm.

The Atlantean hadn't said a word since Amelia's sacrifice.

"Hey Gura, is there something on your mind?" Ina asked. Gura's face was expressionless, but Ina could tell that something was happening just underneath it. Small tears ran down Gura's cheeks and fell from her chin onto the ground.

"I-I j-just miss h-her…" she whispered, only barely loud enough for Ina to hear her. Ina's lips curled into a sad smile. She glanced back at Kiara and Calli, where Kiara was playfully poking at Calli's new mortal body.

They had all wanted Amelia to confess to Gura, but not like this.

Gura kept her breathing shallow and steady to remain in control of herself. She wanted badly to lash out at something and turn it into confetti with her claws and teeth. However, she knew that doing so would only make everything worse.

"We all miss her, but we'll search for her. Wherever she is out there," Ina gestured to nothing in particular, "We will find her and bring her back." Ina's declaration allowed Gura to smile ever so slightly again.

"Damn right we will," she responded, her tone sparkling with slight confidence. They both walked back over to Calli and Kiara.

"We should probably contact Emersyn and tell her that we were successful," Calli said when they returned, pulling the one remaining phone out from a nearby shadow. There was another obvious thing she needed to tell, but that would remain best unsaid, for now.

"Good idea, Calli!" Kiara cheered. Calli turned the phone on and looked at the several missed calls.

"Emersyn has been trying to contact us," she said, poking through the notifications on the screen, "It's my fault for not noticing." It was an unusual sight to see Calli's face twisting with emotion. The normally stone cold Reaper looked guilty over her failure.

"It was getting jammed early, Calli. Just call her back," Kiara said, patting Calli on the back. With a few presses on the screen, she was calling Emersyn. The call clicked, indicating that Emersyn had picked up.

"What's-" Calli couldn't get more than one word out before Emersyn began screaming over her.

"Where are you all!? We need you back NOW!" Calli felt her mortal body reflexively pull the phone away due to how loud it was. Pain, it was an unusual sensation for her…

"Woah, slow down, Emersyn. What is going on?" Calli turned the phone call on speaker for everyone else to hear.

"S-Something is going on outside a-and I… oh god…" A loud crash followed by intense static rang through the call. Every girl began to call out for their manager, asking if she was still there and if she was ok. The phone call went dead a moment later.

"We need to get back, now!"

A beam of light streaked up into the sky above the city. It originated from the top of one of the tallest buildings around.

Floating just above the very tip of the building, a being held their hands up to the sky. They watched the city below become enveloped in a dark flash, which tore apart the streets and disintegrated mortal beings. Soon after, a bright flash restored the city to a more hopeful version of itself.

The Nephilim's grin grew larger on her face. Slowly but surely, she would bring hope back to this despair-riddled world.

Author's Note: First off, I would just like the thank every single one of you who read this story. I have poured nearly a whole year and over 150k words into this story alone and I would have probably lost the motivation to keep going if not for your amazing support. No matter if you leave reviews or interact with this fic at all, as long as you enjoy reading it I will keep writing.

Alright, time for the big reveal: the next part in this series will be called, 'Tool of Chaos'. It will involve our beloved Nephilim, IRyS, and Concept of Chaos, Hakos Baelz. Other Council members will be included, but not totally involved until the last part. As you can probably guess from the ending paragraph, Myth and IRyS might not start on the best of terms. The next part will be exploring the fallout of the Ancient Ones' attack on the timeline and how IRyS, Myth, and Council deal with it. There will be many more revelations in the wake of IRyS' reawakening, some good, others not so much. I hope you all enjoy ;)

It might be a couple weeks or a few months until the next chapter, however long it take to bring this next part up to the standard I hold for it. I hope you all will be waiting for when it does come.

The rest of this note is just gonna be me rambling about how much I love this story and some inside bits of information on its creation. Feel free to skip if that's not interesting to you.

When I began planning out this series beyond 'Resetting For You' I originally was going to end the story here. In fact, this part was going to be called 'Resetting for Us' with Amelia using the time watch to rewind time more frequently. There would have been plenty of moral debate on the use of time travel and that's where a lot of the personal conflict would have come from. However, I just couldn't get a satisfactory ending out of it, so I wiped the slate clean and tried something completely different.

The story had been missing a central antagonist (or at least some driving force) behind everything. I realized that the Ancient Ones worked well as a hidden threat that has been lurking for their chance to strike, so I went in that direction. I ended up with this story, but not everything was as it ended up just yet.

Thanks to comments and suggestions from readers, I realized that there was even more potential that I hadn't yet tapped into. Specifically, Gura's trident and Ina's book weren't originally in the plan for this story, but I added them later on. Ina's entire arc about her past was actually supposed to follow her stalking a past version of herself, but I changed it to involve Amelia's timeline again because I thought it would be cool.

I guess the biggest change to the story happened when Council was introduced and their lore was added. I know there are some people that weren't/aren't too happy with their seeming one up on Myth's lore, but for me it allowed the story to be expanded even further. This series, that started as a little AmeSame unrequited love fic, expanded again to five parts.

This part was supposed to be the ending and I think it can still be seen. Amelia was supposed to sacrifice herself and reset everything back to the way it was before. Myth would have probably forgotten who she was and gone about their lives, getting ready to stream together as HoloMyth. However, just before they would have debuted, Amelia would show up again and reintroduce herself. It would have been ambiguous if this was the same Amelia, but she would get accepted into HoloMyth and start streaming with the rest of them. The End.

Because of Council, this story could expand beyond that initial ending. I also think it was a pretty lackluster ending, all things considered, so the story would have probably been expanded even without Council or Hope. I don't really know how, but that's not a problem I need to deal with thankfully.

I love this story. It has taken up a large portion of my time over the past year, but I would absolutely do it again. In fact, I am basically going to since the next part is going to continue this roller coaster into 2023!

Going forwards, I want to get back to a more consistent update schedule or around every weekend for these chapters. Breaks in between arcs would still occur, obviously, but I would like to become consistent again at least within the arcs themselves.

Once again, thank you all so much for your support on this series. Hearing that this story is some of your guys' favorite of all time is an incredible compliment. I will try to keep up with your expectations going into the next part! It will not disappoint!

Until next time, everyone.

-HereToImagine