Chapter 160
The Sword of Hope
Sonic slid Caliburn's broken blade carefully into its sheath. The hitched edge grazed the sides of the leather so Sonic had to twist it gently to avoid tearing a hole. He strapped the sheath belt over his shoulder and tucked the strap under his arm. Putting the sword over his back was second nature to him now, but it was impossible for Sonic not to remember the first time Blaze had helped him attach the sword belt to his back.
He had not wanted to accept the weapon then, feeling that it would prove more of a hindrance than a tool. The blade had bounced awkwardly at his hip when he first tried it on so Blaze had adjusted the belt so he could wear it across his back. Even with the adjustment, the sword felt cumbersome and annoying. It jostled behind his back and felt like a small anchor holding Sonic back whenever he tried to run at full speed.
Fast forward to the present and Sonic felt naked without the sword around his back. He slept with the blade resting beside him, and it was the first thing he put on when he woke up. Back when Levi had first tried to teach Sonic about the true nature of swordsmanship Sonic had not believed him when he insisted that the weapon was more than just a slab of unconscious steel. The relationship between a swordsman and his instrument was more complex and deep than that of a woodsman to his ax. Sonic would have to learn to trust Caliburn, and in turn earn the respect and trust of his blade.
"A blade is no common tool. You can not use it as you would a hammer. When a warrior respects his blade and puts his trust in it, the sword will do the same to you. A bond is created that is far more powerful than the individual parts."
Sonic examined Caliburn closely for signs of activity. "It's just steel."
"As long as you believe that, you will never access its true power. In this next bout, listen to the clamor of the steel. You will hear the song the swords make. Our clash is not just a contest between us, but between the blades. It is a test between the bond I have with my swords and the one you have with yours."
This had not made any sense to Sonic at the time, but now he knew that there had been a bond forged between himself and his sword. It had not come about in some crystalling moment during combat, nor had it been forged over years of training. Sonic's bond with Caliburn was one of shared grief. Both he and the sword had failed. The shattered edges of Caliburn's blade mirrored the broken bones in Sonic's leg. Both of them had crashed into the wall that was Infinite's overwhelming power, and each of them had been decimated. The cost of that defeat had been the death of one that they had both loved.
Sonic couldn't say how, but he knew that the blade mourned Blaze just as he did. The light that was supposed to shine out in the darkness had been quenched, just as the one who was supposed to be the fastest thing alive had been outrun.
But that won't be the end of our story. Sonic promised himself and Caliburn. He stood beside the tree overlooking the Sanctuary and looked up into the sky. The predawn world was just beginning to be illuminated by the rising sun. A perfect calm hung over the gorge. Sonic could hear nothing but the faint whisper of the wind and the distant calling of birds flying above the clouds.
He felt a strange warmth in his heart, which was a dramatic reversal for how Sonic had felt over the past few days. Though their situation had not seemed to change, Sonic had awoken with a decidedly different disposition from the night before.
Sonic followed the trail down from his tent and into the main camp. Gray robed scouts were the only ones awake so early in the morning. When they saw Sonic, many of them crossed their arms over their chests and inclined their heads. Sonic returned the salute. For better or for worse, Sonic had the respect of the soldiers. At first it might have been his amazing power that turned heads, but now Sonic was truly one of the Thirteens, tethered to them by the same grief that connected Sonic to his sword.
A rush of wings above him signaled the arrival of Gawain. The Knight of the Sky adjusted the lens over his left eye and let out a massive yawn. "Did you sleep well?"
Sonic shook his head. "I didn't sleep."
Gawain shrugged. "Same. I doubt that I will rest again until this is all over." He glanced nervously over at the main command pavilion. "I still don't know how I feel about Silver going out on his own."
"He'll be alright," Sonic said.
"You really think this Lord Typhon character can help us?"
"If our aims align with his."
"You know Sonic, even if we are able to lay siege to the city we will still have to deal with Infinite."
Sonic's fingers twitched. "I know."
Gawain looked at him, a knowing glint burned in the falcon's piercing gaze. "You won't have to fight him alone."
"I'm the only one who can."
"Is that why you think the princess knighted you?"
"I don't-"
"We are the Knights of the Round," Gawain said forcefully. "We are at our strongest together. Infinite has never fought all of us. Not together as one."
Sonic smiled. "Then we fight together."
The flap of the command pavilion opened. Silver walked out, stretching out his arms and stifling a huge yawn.
"Didn't anyone get any sleep?" Gawain asked.
Silver glowered at him. "We can sleep when we're dead. Which-" Silver yawned heavily a second time. "May not be so far away."
Sonic and Gawain laughed. "I suppose there's no point in trying to convince you to take Sonic with you?" Gawain ventured.
"No, there wouldn't." Silver turned to Sonic. "In fact, I'm waiting for Erenfel to come here. He's great at maps, you can tell him how to find this lord Typhon and he will draw it up for me."
"My leg is feeling alot better," Sonic tossed out.
Silver struck his hand out and pushed Sonic. The sudden loss of balance made Sonic stagger, and he instinctively allowed himself to fall instead of risking sticking out his leg.
"We need you at one hundred percent," Silver told him as he offered out his hand. "I know you're fast and all, but you can't fight if you don't trust your leg."
Sonic allowed himself to be picked up and dusted himself off. His cheeks were slightly red. "I see your point."
Gawain turned aside as Erefnel came shuffling towards them. He inclined his head to Silver and showed the parchment and charcoal he had brought.
"Good," Silver said. "Sonic, tell Erenfel what you know."
Sonic obeyed, quickly telling the priest how he and Levi had found the Underking, and the basic route he had taken to get from the Underking to the deep cistern where he had dueled lord Typhon. As Silver had said, Erefnel was well adapted at understanding directions and managed to transcribe a usable map. When he was done, the priest handed it to Silver.
"This will work," Silver said before rolling up the parchment and storing it in his cloak.
"Well, captain," Gawain said with a feigned bow. "Can we at least escort you out?"
Silver frowned. "Whatever."
The three Knights did not use the main entrance to leave the Sanctuary. Instead, Silver floated high above the gorge and descended into a heavily canopied section of the forest. Gawain flew close behind, allowing Sonic to hold on to his talons. "You're pretty good at that," Gawain chuckled as they flew.
"Well, I used to do this kind of stuff all the time." Sonic couldn't help but be painfully reminded of the countless times Tails had given him a lift in the same manner.
Once they were in the forest, Silver led them to the first checkpoint. Upon pulling back their forward forces from Castle Town, Silver had wasted little time in creating hidden checkpoints in the forest where his scouts could protect the perimeter of the Sanctuary.
The gray clad scouts all bowed and crossed their fists when the knights approached. "Has Percy reported yet?" Silver asked the garrison leader.
"He came a few hours ago. I sent two of my scouts with him, he said he had orders to return to the city."
Silver nodded. "Keep up the watch captain."
The leader bowed and Silver turned back to Sonic and Gawain. "I think I can find the rest of the way by myself."
Gawain folded his arms. "Last try. At least let me go with you."
Silver sighed. "I go alone. I don't want to take any more risks. If I'm not back at the camp by dawn tomorrow, then you will have to assume command."
Gawain's feathers ruffled. "Me?"
"Of course you," Silver snapped. "Now come on. We all have our jobs to do. For now, I order both of you to return to camp and get some rest. I need you both in top fighting shape-"
"Silver!" The trio turned to see a gray cloaked scout burst out of the bramble. He scampered to them and dropped to one knee. "Silver….Mary and the other healers…I just ran into them….quick…you must-"
Silver's eyes flashed with mystic green energy. "What happened?"
"They're talking nonsense. They asked me to send you-"
"Where are they?" Sonic demanded.
"On the road to the old shrine-"
"Show us!" Silver did not wait for the rest of them, but instantly started sprinting into the forest. Gawain raced after him prompting Sonic to try and follow. He braced himself for pain and eased into a light jog, which still allowed him to catch up to the others. The hedgehog scout kept pace beside him. Sonic's leg wobbled slightly, and every step brought with it a flare of pain. He put this aside as he followed the scout through the forest and onto a small path.
Mary the healer sat on the side of the road. Her attendants were encircled around her. All of them were white faced, clutching at their cloaks and rocking back and forth. When she saw Silver, Mary fell to her knees and crawled towards him.
"What's happened?" Silver snapped.
Mary could hardly speak. Absolute terror captured her as she tried to form words. "The princess…the tomb…she…she-"
"What have they done!" Silver floated in midair, his eyes flashing and balls of mystic energy enveloping both his hands.
Mary couldn't bring herself to continue speaking. One of the other healers threw back their hoods and came over to Sonic. He recognized her instantly.
"Maren?" After all the excitement following the battle of Masada, from seeing Amy again, to Silver's capture, Sonic had not had a chance to see how Maren was doing. Her hands were shaking as she reached for Sonic's. She smiled faintly at him. Like the others, her face was as white as a sheet.
"She is alive…" Maren's lips trembled as if she did not expect Sonic to understand her.
"The princess…she found us….she's alive…" The other healers all moaned and clutched their robes.
"What?" Gawain pushed forward. "Alive? What are you talking about?"
"The tomb is…empty. She spoke to us…she told us to tell you to meet her at the Overlook…"
Green light flashed around them as Silver took off in a burst of speed down the road towards the old ruins. Gawain leapt to the sky and followed in rapid flight.
"I have to go after them," Sonic said sympathetically as he untangled himself from Maren. Her hands were shaking too badly for her to realize how hard she had been holding on to him.
"I…I don't understand it-" She managed, tears blooming in the corners of her eyes.
Sonic turned aside and sped after Silver. He reached the old temple a few heartbeats after Silver did. Gawain descended from the sky as they rushed for the grave sight. The imperial soldiers were gone. Dozens of smashed Sentinels sparked and burned on the floor. Silver's magical barrier had burned out. The fountain covering the hole had been blasted apart.
"No!" Silver ran to the lip of the hole with Sonic coming up beside him. They both looked down. It was empty.
"Damn him!" Silver's energy expanded outward and cracked the ground. The entire temple trembled as his power spiked. "Mesto…"
"This was Mesto?" Gawain asked. The falcon knelt at the top of the hole and looked around. "Where are the guards? Why smash up the Sentinels?"
"This was Infinite…" Sonic clenched his fists. "Infinite wouldn't have cared about the deal. He hated Blaze more than anyone." He turned to Silver. "Only Infinite would have been strong enough to break your barrier."
Silver's eyes flickered. His rage was so intense that it seemed certain to break out in an explosion. Sonic saw that the golden bracelets on Silver's wrists were emitting an orange light. "Calm down." Gawain stood and put a hand on Silver's shoulder.
"They took her…" Silver growled.
"And losing control won't help us." Gawain stood face to face with Silver. "We need to think clearly."
Silver visibly strained to control his energy. After a few seconds, the aura around him dissipated. "We have to find her, now."
-"Who are you looking for?"
The three knights whirled around. Neither of them had heard anyone approaching. A stranger in a tattered gray cloak stood before them. The faint glimmer of gray eyes could be seen beneath the raised hood. There was something oddly familiar about them that Sonic couldn't quite place.
"It's none of your business," Silver said hotly. "Be on your way."
"But I have come here for a purpose." The stranger's voice had a distinctly alien character to it that made it impossible to tell their age or gender.
"You're no imperial?" Gawain asked, suddenly sounding curious.
The stranger shook their head. "Soleanna is my home."
"Then you might realize that we are talking about the princess."
To this, the stranger made no reply. The eyes beneath the hood turned over to Sonic. For some reason, Sonic felt rooted to the spot. The stranger's gaze seemed to carry immense pressure. Sonic felt slightly vulnerable as though he was completely transparent.
"Everyone knows what happened," Silver picked up. "Mesto and his minions had the princess killed publicly in the city, and then-" Silver flung up his arms and sighed in exasperation. "Why am I explaining this to you? What else did the healers say?"
Both Gawain and Silver turned away from the stranger. This was more difficult for Sonic, as he felt himself drawn to the figure. He had to strain to keep himself from looking back at them. "Maren said we were supposed to go to the Overlook."
"Maybe Infinite is hoping to ambush us there," Silver ventured.
Clap. Sonic punched his fist into his hand. "Then I say we turn the tables on him."
"We aren't ready," Gawain argued. "Your leg isn't healed yet. Even the three of us together aren't a match."
"We can't afford not to go," Silver snapped. "If they have my sister then we will simply have to take the bait."
Without waiting for Gawain's counterargument, Silver turned aside and started marching towards the forest. Sonic followed, noticing as he did so that the stranger had completely vanished. However, neither Silver nor Gawain seemed to have noticed.
As he had done that night when he had first met the Thirteens, Sonic followed Gawain from the old ruins to the Overlook. Silver set a quick pace which made it painful for Sonic to keep up. His leg throbbed with nearly every step, but he forced himself to keep going. For nearly half an hour, Sonic kept up the effort until at last, Silver slowed down.
They had reached the last thicket of dense bramble before the clearing of the Overlook. Silver motioned for them to keep quiet. All three of them listened closely for the sound of enemies. Sonic's heart raced as he waited for the sudden emergence of Infinite from out of one of his black portals.
The three knights crept forward soundlessly. Sonic's every sense was on a knife's edge. Silver used his power to move aside the branches so that they could approach the Overlook without even breaking a twig. As the path cleared they saw that someone was indeed waiting for them, but it was not Infinite.
The stranger sat on a rock with their legs dangling over the edge. Though neither of the knights had made a sound, they instantly turned at the approach. The stranger had removed their hood to reveal a shaggy feline face. "Well met," They said jovially.
Silver, Sonic and Gawain exchanged looks. Sonic's heart continued to race, but all threat of danger instantly left him. Instead, he was left with a different kind of adrenaline, but he could not describe exactly what he anticipated.
"How did you beat us here?" Silver demanded.
"I asked you to meet me here, don't you remember?"
Gawain unslung his sniper and pointed it at the stranger. "Are you working with Mesto?"
The feline did not flinch. "There is no need for weapons in a meeting among friends."
Silver huffed and stormed past the stranger so that he could stand at the edge of the Overlook and look out across the forest. Gawain slowly lowered his weapon and started searching the skies for potential threats. Sonic watched the stranger. The face was one that Sonic could have sworn he had seen before, but he could not place it. When they looked over at him, Sonic once again felt that intense pressure. He turned away and joined Silver at the edge and pretended to look out over the environment.
The vista was just as gorgeous as it had been on that first night. To the north, the high towers of the city were kissed by the first rays of the rising sun. Far below them, the valley sparkled in the glimmer of lightly dewed grass while trees rustled faintly in the easy wind.
It was a perfectly calm morning and, though Sonic had seen such stillness violently punctured by sudden violence, he somehow knew that there was no battle imminent.
"There's no one here," Gawain said flatly.
Sonic did not answer. He was suddenly afraid to turn around and face the pressure of the stranger's gaze.
"Damn them," Silver cursed. "I will make Mesto pay for this."
A long silence followed. Now that they had come all the way here, the surge of adrenaline and energy was giving way to a sense of emptiness and despair. Of course, none of them had actually expected to find Blaze here, but Sonic knew that he had not been the only one to latch onto the words of the healers like a dying man grasping at an oasis, even if he knows it is a mirage.
"Take heart, friends."
They turned around. Blaze stood before them. The tattered cloak of the stranger fluttered in the wind and was then carried away by a strong breeze. Her face had not actually changed, but it was if something had changed within Sonic that allowed him to finally recognize her.
White and yellow light swirled around her. As she had on the mountain top of the Sacred Lamp, Blaze had transformed. Clothed in a red dress as bright and crimson as a Phoenix's wing, tongues of orange fire swept around her in an incessant display of opulent power. Burning Blaze: Sonic recalled the name Silver had given this manifestation. That insignificant detail bounced inside his mind as the rest of his brain recalibrated. Her yellow eyes flashed and the intensity of the pressure fell on Sonic like a sudden increase in gravity.
One by one, the three knights dropped to their knees. Blaze stepped forward and all at once a shadow seemed to fall over them. Two lights competed for supremacy, and Blaze outshone the very sun. Sonic looked into her face and for a fraction of a second he was afraid. An ancient power looked down at him and he had the sense of a mind far older than the very bones of Arvana, a mind so alien to him he could not begin to understand it. Then, as always, that veil faded away and Sonic looked up into the face of his friend.
She smiled at them and motioned for them to stand. The spell broke. Sonic lurched forward as if he were suddenly released. He laughed and rushed towards her. Blaze allowed him to hug her and she embraced him back. He felt the warmth of her touch and the all too familiar tinge race down his spine.
Gawain clutched at her dress. The ever stoic Knight of the Sky allowed his tears to fall freely. "The Phoenix…" He said faintly. "I had hoped…I had…"
Blaze beamed at him. "You always believed. Even when you doubted, in those darkest moments your faith was proven even stronger."
"The Phoenix?" Sonic repeated. He could not stop himself from smiling. Tears fell down his face as well, but they were tears of relief. Sonic felt as if years of anxiety and weight were being lifted from his shoulders.
"She shall be taken in front of the elders, and in front of the people. Ashes she will be forced to eat, and chains shall be her blankets. The Flames of Atonement will be unleashed, and the smoke of sacrifice shall rise to the heavens. Thus shall Iblis be defeated, and the Phoenix rise from the ruins." Blaze repeated the words and Sonic felt a latch turn inside his head. Rapidly, he remembered the symbols on the fountain from when he had first arrived, the ceremony Priam had performed with Blaze, the visions he had seen after Blaze's betrayal.
The block inside Sonic's heart was removed and he understood or, more accurately, he recalled what he had already known. He saw the vision in his mind's eye as clearly as he was seeing Blaze at that very moment: The great fire, Solaris the King of the Eternal Flame, the draconic Phoenix, and the princess Blaze. Everything fell into place.
"Wait!"
Sonic was pushed back. Barriers erupted between Blaze and two knights. Silver's hands were encased with energy. "This could be a trick!"
Blaze's smile faded. She looked intently at her half brother. "Why do you doubt?" She turned sideways and shrugged her shoulder free from her dress. The lace slipped down to reveal the skin of her arm and upper back. Scars traced up and down Blaze's body, remnants of the scourging Mesto had subjected her to.
Silver shook his head. "No," He snarled. "No!"
"Silver it's her!" Sonic insisted. Though now, he too was infected by Silver's doubt. Sonic had to actively resist the temptation to look around and make sure that Infinite was not lying in wait to ambush them.
"What would it take to convince you?" Blaze asked calmly.
Silver's face was taunt with abject misery. Fear warred all out against hope, and Silver was left to suffer in the middle. "Unless I see the wound- I will not be fooled by this."
Blaze sighed. She seemed slightly disappointed as she beckoned him forward. Blaze held up her dress and pulled it up to her midline. Just above Blaze's rib was the stab wound from the spear that had been thrust into her. Silver walked forward in a daze. The barriers around Sonic and Gawain faded.
Driven to a point of near drunkenness, Silver collapsed as he reached his sister. Tepidly, he raised his hand and put his finger in the wound. This seemed to confirm things beyond a doubt. Silver whimpered and collapsed at her feet. Blaze smiled wistfully and pulled him up.
"Have you believed now, dear brother? It shall be a greater blessing for those who believe without seeing."
Silver laughed. Tears wet his face, but he did not need to worry. Blaze smiled at him and pulled him into a hug. The two siblings embraced and it was Blaze who was the last to let go.
"My friends," She said, her smile hardening to a serious expression. "We have come now to the end. The Realm Lord's thrust into our world has been abated, but our enemy is not destroyed. It falls to you to beat him back for good. Arvana must be saved if the emperor's power is to be fully neutralized."
"We will take back our home from Mesto," Silver said. "We are already planning for an all out siege on the city."
"That is well," She said. "But the fight will not be won so long as Infinite lives."
"I don't know if I can beat him," Sonic admitted. He drew Caliburn from its sheath and held up the broken sword. "He's already beaten me at my best. I don't know what else to try. Even with Silver and Gawain with me. It might not be enough."
"It won't be," Blaze agreed. "But you will have something that you didn't have before." She held out her hand clearly expecting Sonic to give her Caliburn. Sonic handed the sword over. Blaze swung it around a few times and clicked her tongue. "This won't do." She glared fixedly back at Sonic. "This is my own sword, Sonic the Hedgehog. But you were not ready to wield it in its true form, so I had the forge master Tragen create the steel to house its inner power. Now I will give it to you in full." Blaze brought the blade to her lips and blew gently upon it.
Instantly, the remaining steel shattered and in its place was a roaring beam of golden flames. Blaze twisted the hilt and held the sword aloft. The gushing fires expanded outward in a dazzling triumph of golden light. She then brought it down and offered it to Sonic. "This is Caliburn at its full power. The cold base was inscribed with a message written by Tragen 'The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it.' That was a promise. Now is the fulfillment. Take this Sonic, it is the weapon that has been waiting for you; The Sword of Hope."
Sonic accepted the sword cautiously. As soon as he touched the hilt the golden flames wooshed. Sonic panicked and nearly dropped the blade, but his instincts helped him stand firm. The golden flames sparkled, but they did not burn him. Sonic tried moving the sword around and discovered he had an instinctual understanding of how the flames moved. The fire blade was the same length as Caliburn's old steel one, and just as intuitive to move. When Sonic no longer wished for the flames to burn, they instantly receded. Sonic was now holding just Caliburn's hilt. As a test, he squeezed the grip and the golden flames reignited.
"Do you remember Jasmine's dream?" Blaze continued. "She foresaw a hero faster than the wind, blue as sapphire, with a speed so great it creates a flame that lights the world. The hope that you have given this planet is the very power of this sword. Jasmine, Priam, Levi, everyone who hoped for a better future, their hope is now your power."
Sonic's stomach fluttered with nerves. He had to physically shake out the butterflies zooming through his body. Part of him wanted to resist, to refuse the call of destiny. To accept the sword felt antithetical to everything he used to believe in.
Blaze did not press the point. She turned to the other two knights. "You two already have my gifts. Now it is time to use them." Blaze approached Gawain and he knelt. She kissed him gently on the forehead and blew gently on his head. Small sparks of flame crackled and burned as Gawain stood back up.
Lastly, she turned to Silver. He hung his head and stuck out his arms. Blaze took hold of the bracelets he always wore. "You think you are lesser because you never learned how to fight without these, but when the time comes you will understand. There is wisdom in restraint." Blaze breathed on the bracelets, but nothing visible seemed to have happened.
"You talk as if you aren't coming with us." Silver's voice cracked as he could not keep the longing out of it.
"I am needed elsewhere," Blaze said sympathetically. "I leave the rest to you."
"You can't!" Silver protested. "We need you now more than ever. With your power, we can win easily!"
Blaze shook her head and looked out towards the steadily approaching dawn. "Even now the empire continues to abuse the planet. The Flames of Disaster have been diverted for now, but Sol Gems are still being mined. If we are going to win this war then the empire's power must be crippled. I will go myself to the fires within and intercede with Solaris. There shall be no more judgment until the end of time itself."
"What does that mean?" Gawain asked.
"The Sol Gems of the empire will fade into dust. They are the power that keeps Arvana alive, but I will take their place. You see, I cannot go with you. If I stay then the empire will simply force the Flames of Disaster to be released again. If I go, I can cripple them dramatically."
"Wait, are you saying you can destroy all the Sol Gems?" Sonic asked.
Blaze nodded. "After today, all the Sol Gems in the empire's possession will fade into dust. All except the corruptions of Mesto such as the gem that powers Infinite."
"Wait." Sonic stepped towards her. "If you do that then I won't ever be able to return to earth!"
"Perhaps," Blaze agreed. "Or perhaps not. Earth and Arvana share a connection beyond just the imperial ambitions of the emperor. You of all people should know that. Don't you remember what you heard when you went into the Underground and found your Chaos Emerald?"
Sonic thought back. What was it that lord Typhon had said?
"With the power of the Sol Gems, we should be able to transport ourselves anywhere in the universe. But for some reason, we are always drawn to the same planet. Something acts as a beacon, drawing us there. My scientists believe that the connection is related to this emerald."
"But I don't have the Chaos Emerald anymore!" Sonic protested.
"Sonic might be right," Gawain said. "Perhaps it would be better if you stayed with us. Even if the empire has the Sol Gems we can-"
Blaze held up her hand and Gawain instantly stopped speaking. She looked at them all and smiled wistfully at them. "This is how it must be. The unnatural power of the Sol Gems has empowered the empire and fueled Robotnik's ambitions. That must end. When they are gone, the gap in power will be lessened just enough to give you a chance."
"But what about earth?" Sonic said again.
"Earth will have a better chance as well. All the Sol Gems, including the ones on earth will fade away." Blaze turned to face Sonic. "You must look to another road to find your way home."
She put her hand on Sonic's shoulder and gave it a reassuring squeeze. When she let go, she walked over to the edge of the Overlook and breathed deeply. Her eyes turned towards
the city, a strange, unreadable smile playing on her face. "I must go now," She said.
"But we need you!" Silver implored. "Please…"
"I will always be with you brother, with all of you."
Crystal clear white light descended from the sky and shone down upon the princess. Sonic watched as Blaze was carried up into the sky, hovering above the forest. He felt torn, his heart squeezed by the pain of knowing that he was losing her again. For a half a heartbeat, Sonic considered jumping into the air and pulling her back down.
Blaze shook her head, and smiled widely at him. She laughed, and somehow Sonic knew what she was thinking. He held up the hilt of Caliburn and saw his own reflection looking back at him through the golden crossguard.
"Wait!" He said suddenly, rushing up to the edge of the Overlook. "How could this have been made for me if it was forged thousands of years ago?"
Blaze's smile stretched and she continued laughing. Sonic frowned. He hated when someone got the last laugh. But inevitably, he smiled as well and chuckled to himself.
Ever since he had come to this world he and Blaze had been carried along by opposite forces. Her every step had taken her invariably to her destiny, a fate set for her since time immemorial, whereas Sonic had always been completely free. That had been the dichotomy that made both of them so fascinated by the other.
Sonic's love of freedom had brought him here and entangled him within her story; one utterly different from the adventures he was used to. Blaze had told him that destiny did not need his permission to use him, and Sonic finally realized how he had misunderstood her point. Because here he was, set on a predetermined path towards the final battle, wielding a weapon chosen for him thousands of years in the past with the climactic confrontation against Robotnik looming on the horizon.
And yet, Sonic had not been moved like an automaton without a will of his own. This was the fight of his choosing, and yet also the one fated for him just as Blaze had suggested at the very onset.
Freedom and determination did not seem as if they could go together, but at that moment Sonic understood that they could. Blaze and Sonic were not at odds with one another, Sonic had only been missing the larger perspective. A world established and determined by love was a free world. The only kind of free world where one's choices truly mattered. That was the essential difference between the world of love and harmony that Sonic wanted to protect and see grow and flourish and the mechanized world that Robotnik wanted to conquer. The end of Robotnik's world was the deathless stasis of the Realm Lord, but the end of Sonic's world of absolute freedom was a world ungrounded,unanchored and set adrift at random, a world lacking the cold exactness of absolute order, but also a world without love.
Sonic held up Caliburn and understood why the weapon had been chosen for him. He pushed aside his initial resistance to the idea and finally embraced it: he was the hero of prophecy. This was both his destiny and his choice. Sonic had been like a wildfire, content to burn and spread, to roam wherever he wished without thought or purpose. What Sonic had once called freedom was really just the absence of direction-a fire without a will. But now, like Caliburn itself, his inner fire burned with the same intensity, but now shaped and guided by principles he had chosen: hope and love. Sonic set his feet, gripping the hilt firmly, ready to face the battles ahead without fear.
"Fight well, friends," Blaze called down to them. The sunlight dazzled around her and the clouds above seemed to part as she was lifted into the sky. "Take heart and remember that I will always be with you unto the breaking of the world!"
The sky closed and Blaze vanished. For a moment, the world was held in shadow, before the sun rose in earnest above the eastern trees.