La Fin

"The connection is secure," Yara said, excitement gleaming in her eyes. "Though I have no way of knowing where on Fanasi it will lead us."

"It is an acceptable risk," Illia said. Her voice trembled and she gripped Cress's hand.

"I wonder why she's so nervous to return home? Is it because of her sisters? Is it because of me? Does she not really want me to come with her?"

"You should inform your friends," Illia whispered. "The portal will not last long. I am almost out of mana and even the trickster seems fatigued."

Cress nodded, giving Illia's hand a final squeeze before walking over to her friends.

"I know that look," Vianna said, Ian in one hand and Kirian on her other arm. "I wondered if you'd follow through."

"Through with what? Is something wrong with my Crescent Roll?!"

"Sort of… I've decided to go with Illia to her world."

"Absolutely not!" Ian yelled, stepping forward. Vianna's hand locked with his and she yanked him back. "Vi, you can't seriously be thinking of letting her go!"

"It's not our decision to make, babe. Cress is an adult. Stop being so overprotective."

"This isn't about being overprotective! She's not moving a couple hours away. We'll never see her again! Do you know what that'll do to her mom? Cress and I are all Aunt Cindy has left. And what about William? Are you just going to abandon him?"

"Ian! Just shut up. I know this is sudden and I didn't expect it either, but this is what I want."

"You've known her for a few months, Cress. This is crazy."

Cress clenched her fist and took several deep breaths. He wasn't wrong. It was essentially a shotgun wedding. She didn't have any doubts, but she couldn't deny she was being reckless. She would be completely dependent on Illia and she couldn't say she was fond of the idea that there would be other giant spiders. Still, her heart told her she was making the right decision.

"I won't try to say you're wrong, Ian. But this is right for me. I feel bad about mom, but she'll understand if you tell her and you know she'd be happy to take William. It's not like I won't miss all of you, I know I will, every second of every day. It's just… I wouldn't just miss Illia. When I think about never seeing her again, I can't even imagine the future. I'll just be a ghost drifting through."

"You could find someone else. Someone here."

"Then what if it was Vi?"

Ian choked on whatever his next argument was and he looked at Vianna. Their eyes locked and his expression softened. A strange clarity came over them and he let out a defeated sigh.

"See? Nothing can stand between true love!" Kirian said. Her cheerful voice quavered and though she was smiling, tears ruined her makeup. "We should all be so lucky."

"Oh, Kir." Cress pulled her into a crushing hug and kissed her on the cheek. "I'm sorry for being mean to you all the time. I've always loved you and you're one of the best friends I could have ever asked for."

"D-Ditto. God, it's so stupid that you can't go back and forth. I'll have to make daddy build something so I can visit."

Cress couldn't hold back her snort and wiped Kirian's eyes with her sleeve. "I can't wait. You know where the portal is now, so use that money to come see me."

"I doubt that's… Yeah. We'll do it together, Kir. We'll see Cress again." Vianna's body was tense and her neck was strained to the point of snapping. She blinked tears from her eyes, and was biting the inside of her cheek. "I'll take care of these idiots. You don't have to worry about them."

"I know you will," Cress said, pulling Vianna into her hug with Kirian. "You've always taken care of us. You're the most reliable and smartest friend in the world." Then Cress leaned in and whispered in her ear. "Just don't let Ian find out your other side. Not until you're married."

Vianna's cheeks flushed and she shoved Cress towards Ian.

"I can't talk you out of it?"

"Nope."

"You're sure?"

"Yep."

Tears dripping from his square jaw, Ian lifted Cress and squeezed her until she thought she'd pop. "Don't worry about Aunt Cindy and Aunt Kathy. I'll do my best to expl—"

A deafening rumble shook the room, garnering worried cries from several of the witches and Illia appeared at Cress's side. All eyes shifted to the portal as the tremors grew, and the air grew stagnant with uncertainty. Then, chaos.

Several crimson red hound creatures charged through the portal nearly skewering Yara with the three jagged horns caging its head. One of the younger witches wasn't as lucky and let out a gurgled scream as the horns pierced through her and the hound's double rowed teeth tore through her stomach. Sword in hand, Illia cleaved the two charging towards them cleanly in half, leaving their split bodies to splash in the water on either side of the group.

"What's happening?!" Cress asked, as more screams echoed through the chamber.

"Hornhounds," Illia hissed, pushing Cress towards her friends. Half-a-dozen more of the creatures barreled through the portal and by the time Illia was finished cutting them down, she was panting on one knee.

"Illia!"

"Stay back, Cress!" Her voice was tired but sharp. Her skeletal fingers clutched the grip of her sword and the blade wobbled in her hand. "I know exactly where this portal leads."

"Where's that?" Sivan asked, appearing next to Illia. Despite her sisters dying around her, her whimsical demeanor hadn't changed.

Illia glared at the woman with all eight of her eyes. They were almost black, with only the faintest tinge of green. "The portal leads me closer to home than I realized."

"What do we do?" Ian asked. "We can't fight these things and Illia seems sure there'll be more."

"We can't just leave!" Cress protested, struggling to free herself from Kirian and Vianna as they held her back. "There has to be something we can do!"

Looking back over her shoulder, Illia gave Cress a knowing smile. From the portal, several shiny black legs poked through heralding the arrival of several Cave Stalkers. What was left of the coven fled from the room into the larger chamber, leaving Cress and her friends at the entrance and Illia, Sivan, and Yara inside.

"No. No. No. I've seen this scene play out. I need to get in there! It'll be too late if I don't!"

After slicing the legs off of the first stalker that reached her, Illia flicked the wrist of her free hand. Dozens of thin threads shot from her fingers, wrapping around the wounded monster and with a yank of her hand, the giant spider split into dozens of black-blooded pieces. Threads in one hand and sword in the other, Illia butchered her way through the steady stream of stalkers and hounds, each kill stealing her balance and each swing becoming feebler than the last. Yara frantically did her best to assist, casting what seemed to be fire magic from her hand, though it resembled a can of hairspray with a lighter more than the stone melting stream Mia had used in the other world. In contrast, Sivan seemed completely unfazed, fading and rematerializing around the room. While she wasn't directly helpful, her antics distracted some of the monsters, giving Illia much needed breathing room.

"Let me go!" Cress screamed, trying to shove Ian, Vianna, and Kirian off her. Her fingers jabbed several eyes and nostrils as she did, but she couldn't break free. Ian's grip in particular was locked around her waist like a vice, refusing her no matter how much she clawed at it.

"It's alright, Cress!" Illia called back from in front of the portal. She'd made enough headway to cut down the creatures before they could fully emerge. "It's alright."

"Don't say it, Illia! Don't you dare!"

Illia gave a tired, lifeless laugh, turning just enough so a few of her blood splattered eyes could see Cress. She nodded at Yara who retreated to the center of the room and began a series of strange hand signs. "I will always hold you in my heart, Crescent. I truly wished to walk by your side until our final days."

"Then do it! You said you were selfish, so be selfish! We can—"

"Stop playing the fool!" Illia yelled. Her voice was raspy and feral. She stabbed the protruding face of an emerging hound and spat as its body pulled her sword from her blood slick hands. She tried to grab the weapon before it slipped through the portal with the creature's corpse, but her legs stumbled beneath her, stealing her chance. "The only thing waiting beyond this gate is death!"

"I! Don't! Care!"

Adrenaline coursed through Cress and she redoubled her efforts to break free, forcing her already exhausted body to push past its limits as the slabs of the stone doors began to close. Why was everyone being like this? Was it so wrong for her to want to die next to Illia rather than live without her? Why were they being so selfish!

She screamed and begged, flailing, kicking, elbowing, and cursing as the doors slowly closed. She couldn't hear anything over her own voice, shrieking curses and pleas. Blood dripped from her skin from the deep scratches of her friends' nails, but none of it mattered. All that mattered was getting into the room, getting to Illia before the doors closed.

Cress wasn't sure what Illia said as the head of a spider more colossal than Illia's peeked through the portal and buried its fangs into her arm. In an instant, Illia's body went limp, but even then she never took her jade eyes off of Cress.

Her sharp toothed smile was the last Cress saw of her.