Momentary Respite

An invitation to the end of the world…

I never thought my journey would bring me such a predicament.

Out from behind Lala and Gil call out to me.

“King–are you okay? They managed to get away, what are we going to do now?”

The two look to me for answers but all that comes to my mind now is that they’re finally safe, away from the clutches of the devilish Demon Lord.

“I’m going to stop the Demon Lord… but I’ll do that a little later. Right now, I’m just happy you two are alright.”

The three of us share a loving group embrace. It's hard to believe we spent such a long time apart after surviving together on earth’s withered cities for so long.

Gil’s eyes begin to glisten as he starts bawling his eyes out.

“WAAA King, I thought you abandoned us! I thought it was our fault that you left us… not too long after you vanished, the withering took over our shelter and the Demon Lord found us.”

“I’d never willingly leave you two behind. From now until forever I promise to be there to protect you, no matter what. The Demon Lord said he kidnapped you, did he do anything else?”

Gil and Lala look at each other trying to think of anything else the demon did to them… Gil speaks up pulling a pendant he and Lala now both appear to wear.

“He gave us both this shiny rock, he said it would keep us from going bad.”

The shiny rock he speaks of looks to be some sort of daystar metal, it really just looks like a shard of something bigger though.

“What do you think, is it important?”

“I think so… since he said it would keep you from going bad, I can assume it helped prevent the withering from consuming you completely. Hmm maybe daystar technology repels the spread of decay. No wonder I haven’t been eaten away while walking through this wasteland.”

“You should definitely continue to wear those. What I still can’t figure out is what the Demon Lord wants with me specifically? He clearly wants me alive, if not… he would have hurt you two. But what does he need me for?”

Lala pipes up.

“Maybe you’re the chosen one.”

“Haha maybe to him I am. But to you guys I’d rather just be ya bro yo… Come on lets’ get out of here, there’s someone I think you’d be happy to meet.”

~ ~ ~

Together we wander the halls of the old lab. Using some maps to get back to the doctor. It took some time but with the lights on and the paths clear of withered monsters, it was smooth sailing. Along the way I told the boys all about this world and the wonders of magic it holds. Nudging the thought to them about living here after this whole mess is cleaned up. They didn’t seem to mind the move from world to world, it seemed they’d be happy as long as we were all together.

My thoughts as well.

The door grinds open, finally returning us to the doctor’s study. Dr. Creeks jolts around towards us, seeing me first before Lala and her son, Gil.

“King! You’re back and all in one piece I suppose and with the keycard, that’s perfect. There was quite the rumbling on the outside, I don’t suppose you know something about it?”

“I actually might have been the cause of the rumbling. But that’s beside the point, look who I found–”

I step out of the way, revealing Gil in all his glorious frog onesie. Gil, likely hearing the voice of his mother, began to tear up. And now seeing her in person again after who knows how long… the tears stream down like waterfalls from both of them.

“Gil, my baby–I missed you, I never stopped missing you. I-I never thought I’d see you again. This is a dream come true, getting to see my baby boy again, I love you and missed you so much… Thank you King.”

Gil is his vocally quiet self as usual, but I think I heard a quiet display of affection towards his mother accompanying the stream of tears. The two missed each other very much and it shows. The happy reunion tears rubbing off on Lala, who’s trying to hold back his own.

I hate to break up this happy reunion but there are some serious things we need to talk about, all about the very nature of our world moving into the future. Though I’ll just let this moment play out a little longer, a rest is something we all need.

…

…

…

The crying subsides, and Gil and his mother Dr. Creeks hold onto each other close, not wanting to lose sight of the other ever again.

We’ve set up a little emergency meeting, to both regale everyone up until this point and plans moving forward. Lala and I roll over some office chairs and the four of us begin brainstorming.

“So basically–this shovel allows me to jump from Earth to this world. This world is generally better than Earth and also has magic that I think anyone can learn and master. However the threat from Earth has invaded this world, the withering and its wither monsters. All seemingly led by the daystar known as the Demon Lord, who is basically the opposite of me, magic, shovel, and ideals. There’s also Eryth who you might have not realized was a wooden doll, she’s animated by her own magic. She has sadly become our enemy, gaining some control over wither magic. Now Eryth and the Demon Lord plan to send this world and Earth into a state of complete withering, which would be the end for us all. And for some reason the Demon Lord wants me alive, telling me to meet him at the location of the daystar’s first impact… that’s pretty much everything.”

Lala looks excited at the thought of learning magic, Gil looks nervous about the end of the world thing, and Dr. Creeks is hung up on not realizing Eryth was not human.

“Are you going to teach us how to use electric magic like you?”

“Sort of, I don’t think you’ll have the same element or type of magic I’ve got. It's sort of something that forms within your Soul.”

“That makes no sense… but I can’t wait!” Lala twirls around in his seat daydreaming about what his magic could end up being.

“Why does he want to destroy the world? Is there a reason for his evilness?”

“I’m not sure Gil, the Demon Lord’s definitely got a few screws loose that’s for sure. But I can’t discern the reason he needs to send the world into a dead state. Though it's probably that he’s just straight up evil, like he just wants to rule the world or whatever.”

Gil nods slightly in agreement.

“Then why did your friend Eryth join his side?”

“I’m not fully sure. I didn’t seem like they were completely on each other's good sides when we fought earlier. But they definitely needed each other for whatever they have in store for the world. The Demon Lord likely offered her something, though I couldn’t begin to speculate what she would sacrifice the world for.”

Dr. Creeks still unable to fathom Eryth not being human pipes up.

“She seriously wasn’t a real person? She definitely acted human, I’ve had days where I’d act in the same way.”

“You’d act like that?”

“Well–yeah back in my teenage years. I’m not like that anymore. Despite everything I think she’s trying to act human. Even though now she might hate your guts.”

Dr. Creeks is giving off a worried expression when it comes to talking about Eryth. I guess finding that little piece of her in that moment leads her wanting to know more about the doll turned evil. A motherly instinct I suppose.

“Anyways King, give me the master keycard so I can get a work on turning this facility online.”

Handing her the card she turns toward the door, Gil following closely behind her holding her hand.

“King, you gotta get to teaching me magic! Now’s the perfect time for some practice, come on pleeeease.”

We’ve got time, and Lala should get a way to defend himself.

“Sounds like a plan bro!”

END CHAPTER 25