Shattered Future

Miguel and I eat at Karen's village.

Sun: "How is your armor?"

Miguel: "It's repairing itself... I didn't expect that guy to be so strong."

Sun: "It's not your fault. It's mine, for trusting Slinger."

Miguel: "Expected betrayal is not a betrayal. It comes when we least expect it."

Sun: "If she hadn't disappeared, I would have killed her..."

Miguel: "She had everything planned in advance."

Sun: "I'm not satisfied. 'Nothing personal' my ass. Every betrayal is personal."

Miguel: "What could she possibly gain from that?"

Sun: "She's after money. That greedy bastard... that's why she opposed us killing Biggus Diggus. She's scum just like him."

Miguel: "But we were making a lot of money together."

Sun: "Greedy 'people' always want more. It's human nature."

We stay silent for a moment, trying not to make the atmosphere any darker.

Miguel: "Hey, if you don't mind me asking... Sol said something about you being his creator. Is that true?"

Sun: "Yes, it is. I have no reason to hide it anymore."

Miguel: "But then why did he want revenge? Shouldn't he be grateful?"

Sun: "I just had an idea of ​​him. I never made him official in my story."

Miguel: "Your story...?"

Sun: "This world is the same as in my story, just expanded. I didn't create you individually. You were born randomly."

Miguel: "So this entire world is fake...?"

Sun: "If it were, I wouldn't be here. It became real, for some reason. I'm stuck here with you."

Miguel: "Really...? I'm sorry to hear that..."

Sun: "It's not your fault. It's probably the goddess'."

Miguel: "The goddess? Sol mentioned something about her."

Sun: "She's a creation of mine. She has all power over this world."

Miguel: "Then, isn't she omnipotent? Why would she need a pawn like Sol and Slinger?"

Sun: "I don't know... maybe something is interfering with her power."

Miguel: "Then we stand a chance against her. Together."

Sun: "What...?"

Miguel: "You and I. We're the only members alive now."

Sun: "About that... I don't plan on staying here for long."

Miguel: "What do you mean? Are you going to live somewhere else?"

Sun: "No, I mean... this timeline. I can go back in time."

Miguel: "You can?! Then why don't you just reverse everything?"

Sun: "I will have to abandon this one. I will have to leave you behind."

Miguel: "Is that what concerns your mind? Don't worry, I can take care of myself, thanks to you."

Sun: "Not just that. I have to find out why Slinger betrayed us. Nebula and D are dead here. I can't let their sacrifices go to waste."

Miguel: "Is that so? I'll help you with that."

Sun: "Are you sure? We might never find her again..."

Miguel: "Your family has connections, right? Mine does too."

Sun: "Didn't your family abandon you?"

Miguel: "Thanks to you, I now have the power to stand up for myself. I can use a little force."

Sun: "That would happen a lot. Thanks, Miguel."

Karen runs into the cafeteria.

Karen: "Sun, a friendly village is under attack! Do you think you can help them? They will repay you."

We arrive at the village. I land with Miguel carefully not to hurt him more than Sol did.

Miguel: "Thanks for giving me a lift. I will learn to fly someday."

Sun: "You can tame a flying summon and ride it."

Miguel: "That's a great idea! Thanks, friend."

Sun: "You're a great friend too, Miguel. I wish Slinger was like you."

A villager approaches us, frightened.

— Are you with Karen...?

Sun: "Yes, she sent us here."

— Thank god! Some huge spiders have been attacking our village, and it's getting harder to defend ourselves.

I look at the ground. The soil is red and bloody everywhere. Like a completely different biome.

Sun: "Has this place always been like this?"

— No... the grass has turned red lately, along with that mountain over there.

She points to a mountain in the distance. It's completely red, covered in spider webs and huge spiders.

Sun: "Could the spiders be coming from there?"

— Yes... we think they made a nest there.

Sun: "That's a big help, thank you. Miguel, can you scan the forest with your crow? We need to know if there's any chance of spiders attacking the village while we get there."

We walk through the trees. Miguel spots a spider. He orders his sand warrior to cut it in half. The spider's blood is yellow and sticks to the sand.

Miguel: "Is that dangerous?"

I approach the warrior and heat him only where the blood is. It evaporates, but a piece of sand around the blood is also burned.

Sun: "Looks like the blood weakens where it touches. We should avoid it."

We enter a mountain cave. While we kill the spiders, I heat the surrounding area to evaporate the blood before it touches us. I stop before falling off a cliff. Since we're still inside the cave, we can't see where the ground or walls are. I set everything on fire. Something large stands out in the middle.

I fly with Miguel and we land near it. Three fleshy cords emerge from the large structure and disappear into the red rocks. I try to cut them with my ice sword, but a hard layer protects them. I punch the structure, but it, too, is too rigid.

Miguel: "Shall we see where they lead?"

I punch the rocks and explode them, causing minor damage to the ropes but opening a path to where they lead. In a small chamber, a heart beats. It's not covered by the hard layer. I punch it, causing it to crash into the wall and explode. The blood evaporates instantly. The cord dies.

A roar fills the cave. We do the same with the other two hearts. The hard layer around the structure dies, revealing a huge capsule beating like a heart. It speeds up until it explodes, and a huge spider emerges, roaring and enraged.

It shoots a high-speed web at me, which Miguel's warrior blocks with his shield. The sand woman shoots spikes at the spider, piercing its body and causing it to bleed all over. I jump and punch it with a glove and pierce and freeze it with the ice sword.

Before I land, the spider bites me with its hard fangs, injecting me with venom and yellow blood. I feel weak and dizzy.

I guess it's time to test this... I can't let it go to waste.

I grab the Excalibur from my Stocker.

A legendary weapon, huh? You were only strong because of this, Sol.

I point the sword at the spider. A ray of sunlight comes from the sky, burning through the ceiling and the spider.

Miguel: "Are you okay?"

Sun: "It's not that strong. Take the spider's fangs. They might be useful for crafting."

Suddenly, the ground begins to shake violently.

Miguel: "An earthquake? Come here!"

He hops on the sand woman's back. I do the same. She begins to fly us out of the cave.

Miguel: "Thanks for your advice, pal. I hadn't thought about using my summon like that."

We leave the cave. However, we are in the sky.

Miguel: "What?! Is the mountain flying?"

Sun: "No... it's walking."

We fly further to fully understand what we're seeing. The mountain now has legs and walks across the landscape, destroying everything beneath it.

Miguel: "The mountain was alive the whole time?!"

The sand woman hurls a massive sand spear at it, damaging only the trees and grass. I point the Excalibur at the mountain, scorching it with a deadly beam of sunlight. However, due to my loss of senses, the beam deviates from the mountain and begins to destroy the surroundings.

A hail of thousands of missiles hits the mountain, destroying its surface. Then a larger one hits, releasing a nuclear explosion that devastates the landscape. The sand woman disappears due to the intense shockwave. I struggle to hold Miguel. I search for the source of the attacks.

It's Slinger. She's on top of another mountain, staring at us.