15-2 Bearer of the Sword

He looks at the rhombus, it appears to be—

For the first time in his life, Theresis feels a shiver run down his spine.

But it isn't his own instinctive reaction. He feels that a force, a will he can't see is trying to make him submit.

Dead silence, cold. There is no response from the void.

The Ascalon standing before him is no illusion. This marvelous space has materialized his memories.

Theresis raises his sword.

'Ascalon' disappears into a purple haze. She's used her Originium Arts.

Theresis thinks back to the day he and Theresa led the remnants of the Sarkaz army into that storm...

The day he walked into the purple smoke alone and took the knife from that girl's hands... just as he does again.

The rhombus-shaped eye is collapsing.

Theresis raises his head and looks up at the golden sea above. The platform's 'descent' is slowing, but it will still eventually crash into the ocean.

As he steps onto the platform, the sky and the ground, up and down, instantly reverse themselves.

In this barren void, without any rules, what does 'destruction' even mean?

Just what should he do now? Theresis isn't sure.

Theresis swings his sword with all his might, cleaving the memory construct, and the already broken platform, in two.

'Ascalon' begins to shatter into pieces. Her shards, along with the other debris, 'fall into' the golden sea, transforming into more chaotic information.

He can no longer hear Theresa or the myriad souls, but he still has a slight sense of familiarity with the information scattered around him.

Everywhere, although it's vanishing quickly—

She's fighting against it, as are the myriad souls.

The tower has completely collapsed.

Everything has returned to the sea of data. And the sea is slowly calming down.

Theresis is also falling into the vast, golden ocean. He is silent, and miniscule—

'Theresis, our blades will not be enough to destroy the gods. However, we may manage to destroy them with their own methods.'

'But I can't promise you this will work.'

'I have no reason to doubt your judgment, Theresa.'

'Tell me what I must do.'

'Face the gods, directly.'

Theresis turns around and, without any hesitation, swims for deeper waters, disappearing fully into the black abyss of data.

After a moment, the surface of the sea begins to stir and boil again.

Then, the sea splits open, as if sliced by a sharp blade—chaotic streams of information surge endlessly into the abyss.

She opens her eyes and sees the small, frail creature.

Then all the violent scenes come to a screeching halt.

Manfred stands alone in front of the empty throne, facing you down.

Ascalon is fully locked onto him, leaving him no room for any reckless moves.

The standing water from his earlier battle with Ascalon has soaked Manfred's cloak, leaving him slightly disheveled.

Kal'tsit looks at you, her eyes filled with worry.

Just as the Teekazwurtzen in Manfred's hand begins to glow red, the King of Sarkaz's Arts and Ascalon's blade descend upon him.

Ascalon instantly dissolves into purple mist, scattering amidst the flash of the blade, before reforming again.

The barrier woven by Amiya protects you and Kal'tsit, but it begins to falter against the blade flash.

The blade's master slowly emerges from the darkness. He looks even more terrifying under the faint light.

You see a man standing calmly before the throne—Theresis.

He looks nothing like the man you once knew. He's tightly gripping a vivid, gleaming crystal.

Amnannam is responding to Theresis's call.

The entire underground throne room begins to shift. The path by which you entered is now gone.

The hole sealed in the lower layer of Londinium is being filled—at a pace visible to the naked eye.

The surging Originium assimilates Amiya's Arts, something she has never experienced before.

But Theresis still shows the same, rarely seen, pained look on his face.

You'll never forget how you felt in that moment. You nearly lost Amiya.

However... you feel a torrent of jumbled information rushing through your mind—

Time is slowing down, but you can feel the Originium, the Originium you control.

Maybe, just maybe, you still have a chance, so long as you can remember everything that happened.

If you can do that, you'll be able to stop the Originium.

The surging Originium activates the pool of dead water that has lain still on the surface for ages. Mist clinging to your mask makes it hard to see the road ahead.

However, you feel a silken thread wrap around your waist, gently guiding you forward.

Originium creeps up Manfred and Ascalon's bodies, pushing them toward the edge, to the end of the battlefield.

Manfred's voice vanishes within the underground throne room. Theresis has already scuttled him off to a safe place.

Ascalon dissolves into a purple mist, slipping through the cracks in the Originium and remaining in the throne room.

She is everywhere all at once, just waiting for an opportunity.

Amnannam is still flashing, but his movements are becoming increasingly difficult.

The Originium is restricting his arms, his eyes, and even his thoughts.

But still, he forces himself to remember one goal——to bury everything here.

He needs to hold on to his last shred of sanity so he can leave Amnannam with Manfred, who is finally safe.

He struggles to lift up his sword, as he once did when he served at the side of the King of Sarkaz.

He raises his sword for the Sarkaz one final time.

'In the sea filled with both truth and the unknown, I saw...

'A fleeting vision of the gods before they died, and root of the pain you bear.'

'I now understand you, though you have already passed away. Now I'm the only one left, and I'm speaking to you.'

'Before I retire to my eternal slumber, I will destroy you. I shall build a ladder for the Sarkaz.'

'No longer will anyone toy with the fate of the Sarkaz. We shall reclaim our own destiny, Doctor.'

Theresis swings his sword.

A beam of light stings your eyes, and you wrack your brain, trying to recall how to stop Amnannam.

Amiya's barrier breaks, layer by layer, amidst the gleam of the sword. You think you see Mon3tr's huge frame blocking your view.

You suddenly remember everything about the moment you almost lost Amiya. You remember how you stopped it all.

You did it, Dr. Doctor.

You remembered—

Theresis struggles to lower his head and sees the blade that has pierced his heart, as well as Ascalon, with a determined look on her face and tears in her eyes.

The figure steps out of the smoke and pins Theresis to the throne with all her strength.

Amnannam and his sword fall to the ground, lying in the shallow water reflecting the dim light.

Theresis raises his hand.

Theresis clutches Ascalon's assassin blade and uses all his strength to slowly draw it from his chest.

There is no blood. There is no warmth. All that's left are a few shattered crystal shards.

Theresis, straining, shifts his gaze towards Amnannam laying on the ground.

Ascalon feels herself being pushed away by a very weak hand.

He hears faint cheers from above, the cheers of the Victorians.

She holds up Amnannam, and Theresis's sword.

The sealed passage reopens yet again.

Ascalon looks at the figure on the throne. In the darkness, she cannot make out his face.

Her eyes are a bit blurry.

The Cautus hugs Ascalon tightly. Ascalon suddenly realizes that the frail Cautus she once found in the wilderness has grown up.

It's very quiet. All you can hear is dripping water. You silently creep closer to the man on the throne.

His voice is hoarse.

He grabs at his clothing. It seems like he's trying to find something.

There are deep cuts on his breastplate, wounds left by Ascalon.

He finally finds what he's looking for—the stone blade he always carries.

He's just trying to throw you the blade.

Directly below the Palace of Westhaleg throne room, on the lowest throne in Terra, the Regent of the Sarkaz accepts his fate, alone.

This first Victorian throne, which has been eroded by time and bears little resemblance to its original form, was moved here intact when this nomadic city was first built and became part of the foundation of the Palace of Westhaleg.

The king who built Londinium said, 'This symbolizes that Victoria's royal authority is everlasting, from beginning to end.'

According to official Victorian records, the Sarkaz mercenaries, led by an organization called Babel, withdrew from Londinium in October 1098.

However, the leader who ultimately directed all of this, Theresis, 'vanished without a trace.'

His ears can no longer hear anything, but the sound of the ocean waves floods his brain, just as it did before. This is the voice of the Assimilated Universe.

An endless stream of information crashes into his consciousness. It is frenzied and unclear; it is beyond his understanding.

Theresis has very little time left to think. His final shred of consciousness surrenders to the vast sea of data.

His consciousness comes to rest beside a lonely monster.

The ugly Teekaz, wearing a black crown on his head, walks out from the silvery mountains. He looks up at the vast starry sky.

The eternal starry sky. The wild, primal continent. From every corner of existence, countless lives look beyond the earth and stars—they all gaze up at the same universe.

He's not lonely. He feels more calm and peaceful than he's ever felt in his life.

He wants to say something more, to call that name one last time, but he can no longer speak.

He's totally exhausted, but as he prepares to close his eyes, a faint white ray emerges from the darkness.

He strains to open his eyes. His field of vision grows ever darker.

But he recognized the figure in white some time ago, as soon as it first appeared.

'Goodbye, Theresa.'

He doesn't need to hold on any longer.

He flashes a slight smile and allows his last wisp of consciousness to dissipate.

The light dispels the darkness.

The light brings forth the darkness.

When the light pours into his eyes once more, time seems to have gone backwards, back to the moment before the collapse.

'Who speaks to me?'

'I remember... my consciousness was shattering...'

'And then... disintegration... death... but, why?'

'...'

The Cautus, who should have perished and returned to Terran soil, looks around in confusion.

She has never seen a place like this before. Light falls upon her, and she feels warm.