One for all and all for one

"Rise."

A serene yet firm voice jolts him from his eternal sleep.

"Urgh... I can't believe I was used by an old man just to show off..." Kai grunts, lying on the ground.

He slowly rolls over onto his back. The void of absolute nothingness surrounds him.

"Am I dead for good this time?"

"Yes," the same voice confirms, as its bearer drifts into his view.

A spiritual woman in a torn, white robe. Her eyes are entirely haunt blue, glowing with a phantasmagorical essence—a gate to the afterlife. Her hair, the same color as her eyes, gently floats, reflecting the resting faces of those long gone from the world of the living.

"Thank God, Death is a cutie," he sighs, relieved.

"I am not Death. I am Requiem, the Goddess of Souls and Passing."

"Isn't 'passing' just a euphemism for death, though?"

Silence.

"You bear the same humor as Giovanni. Disgusting," she says, turning and floating away.

Kai stands up with difficulty.

"You know him, too? Wait, your voice is familiar... Are you...?"

"The one who made his timeless recordings, yes. I teamed up with him to face a common, greater enemy. I lent him a portion of my power that now lies in the sword you carry."

"If you were helping him, why did you take so long to appear? Isn't it a bit late to show up now?"

She faces him again, slightly angered.

"Fool! Instructions were left in the building where you first arrived, stating that to understand your circumstances, you first had to travel to the underworld to meet me, for I was banished to walk among the living."

"How were we supposed to get to the land of the dead?"

"The projection explained how to easily activate a portal in the church's basement using your sword! I would have explained everything you needed to know from the very beginning!"

"Oh..."

"The only other way for me to contact you was if you gave up your life, but you simply refused to die! Well, until now, at least."

"Oh..."

"Thankfully, Giovanni predicted how unpredictable you were, so he convinced me to make other messages." Requiem ceases her words, noticing something. "Before I continue, give me a second. I'll save your companions from being deleted from existence."

Suddenly, Kai finds himself in another place. It looks similar to the church where he was first brought into this fantasy world, yet it looks newer. The scenery around him is wavy and dark, like an illusion. He can feel that he's not truly there.

A few seconds later, Nicholas and Pietra materialized mid-air, screaming and falling to the ground.

"Guys!"

"Kai?! What happened?! I saw you... God, the hole in your chest is still there!" uneasy and confused, Nicholas struggles to process what is going on.

"Since I'm still hearing you idiots, I'll assume I'm just still blind," Pietra grunts as she stands up. "By the way... I told you it was a trap!"

Requiem appears before them.

"How did you save them? Didn't you say you couldn't go to the world of the living?"

"I physically cannot, but my power is a different story. Upon your death, I was able to use my influence through your sword and teleport their physical bodies to a safe place—somewhere she can neither reach nor see."

"Won't Rasnati notice that we still exist?"

"That is not her name. Also, she is too prideful to even consider that possibility. As soon as she can no longer feel your presence, she will go back to her ridiculous throne of sand and laugh, assuming she can remember you because she is that powerful. But enough of meaningless explanations, I can already feel the sword trying to assimilate me, and there is still too much to be told. Especially about your friend, Giovanni."

She floats again, positioning herself slightly above them. As she speaks, shadows of the past flicker, giving them a visual representation of the story she is about to tell.

"After the demons were defeated by a legion of great heroes and rendered extinct, a millennium of prosperity emerged. Bored by the peace and frustrated by failed attempts to foster new evil, Zeitgeist, the God of Causality, put a despicable plan into action to create one himself. He betrayed, killed, and weakened other divine beings that could match him, stealing their powers and granting them to clueless dreamers he summoned from another reality in the name of false goddesses that do not exist."

"Does that mean Rasnati is a guy?" Kai whispers to the others.

"It wouldn't be the first time you've been deceived by this sort of trap," Pietra replies.

"The power ripped by force from a deity can already become wicked by itself, so imagine what would happen when given to a mortal—someone who, despite being born with a pure soul, is tainted by nature. Even those with good intentions couldn't bear it. Therein lies the origin of the Corrupters."

"All this sounds revealing, but where does Giovanni fit in all this? What was all that talk about a campaign and a masterpiece?" Nicholas questions, still confused. "Where is he?"

She stays silent for a few seconds, pondering, remembering.

"Requiem...?"

"He went after you, using the same portal you did." The shadows grew clearer, showing visible memories of Giovanni. "Arriving just after you left, he rejected 'Rasnati' as a Goddess, claiming that there was only one true God. Infuriated by the affront, 'she' punished him severely."

"What has she done to him?!" Pietra demands, enraged.

"Zeitgeist forced upon Giovanni the ability to see glimpses of an unchangeable future, limiting it only to the misfortunes of his dearest friends, so he could see you suffer knowing that there was nothing he could do about it. However, he used this power in his favor. By knowing what would happen, he planned everything in advance. He made trustworthy allies, left messages, and even deceived gods... all to protect you from Zeitgeist's influence. That was what he called 'his masterpiece', the greatest campaign he had ever prepared."

"Giovanni... He was looking out for us all along..." Kai feels a stab of guilt for having distrusted him. Then, he notices that something still doesn't make sense. "Wait... How was he able to do all this so fast? He was sent to this world pretty much at the same time as us! Did he leave us hibernating in that church? Am I already past my thirties without even realizing it?!"

"No! It... It can't be!" Pietra exclaims, putting the pieces together.

"Pia?! What's wrong?"

"The rest... You should see it for yourself."

As Requiem makes this declaration, the waviness in their surroundings slowly fades, and everything grows brighter. Now, they have a clear vision of the church.

Someone opens a door near the altar.

"God... Why is it always so difficult for things to go as planned?" This familiar voice warms their hearts, instantly making them emotional.

"Giovanni!" Nicholas runs full speed at him and jumps in his direction, only to pass right through him. It's merely a memory.

Kai approaches him and sees something terrifyingly worrisome. Giovanni’s skin is covered in golden cracks, bearing an eerie resemblance to what he saw in Fesolgu. The cracks converge into his eyes, which are no more than two glowing yellow orbs. He is almost… Unrecognizable.

"Are you sure this was a good spot to build this place? It’s right in the middle of nowhere," Requiem's voice can be heard echoing from the room. She holds a much more casual tone while speaking to him.

"The location doesn't matter. I had a vision of one of them being stabbed in a church exactly like this, soon after they arrived. Since it will happen anyway, it’s better to build it somewhere remote to not risk anyone else finding the swords before them," he speaks as he walks with a limp, carrying a bag with the three swords. "Also, could you stop speaking inside my head? I appreciate that you're preventing me from going insane, but this is distracting."

"No."

Giovanni sighs, sitting in one of the pews. He let the bag by his side.

"I... I think I haven't properly thanked you for helping me with all this."

"You haven't."

"Thank you..."

Silence.

"Our objectives are merely aligned. While you seek to aid your friends, I shall have my revenge against Zeitgeist for framing me for killing my equals, resulting in my banishment to the shadow realm."

"I still don't see you as a goddess, though."

"Curse you, Giovanni."

He chuckles.

"How are you holding up?"

"Feels empty... Not having their memories anymore..."

"You were the one who suggested using Saudade's power to forge your memories into the swords alongside the soul fragments of the deities you tricked."

"Because if they ever feel like turning evil thanks to Zeitgeist's influence, I'll need to be there to give them a good scolding... It's one of the only things I'm good at, after all... Talking about the good old Lord."

"You... underestimate yourself."

"It's weird... Requiem... I don't remember their faces... Their voices... Even their names... But... There's one thing I still haven't forgotten... One thing that I still have about them..."

"What is it?"

"Faith... I have... faith in them."

"What does that even mean?"

No answer.

"Giovanni...?"

Pietra falls to her knees, crying.

"Giovanni was sent to this world two hundred and fifty years in the past..." As Requiem speaks, the scene slowly changes to the present day. The church is now abandoned, and a single, lonely skeleton rests in one of the pews. By his side lie three swords. "Even with no hope of ever seeing you again, he still did everything he could with the time he had."

Kai and Nicholas also break down, sobbing uncontrollably.

Giovanni had died before they even arrived.

Instead of looking for a way to save himself or to enjoy his unique experience in a magical reality, he dedicated everything to them. Until his last breath.

Requiem watched them in silence until they had shed all the tears they had.

"After finally knowing the whole truth, I leave you with a choice."

"A choice? What kind?" Pietra asks, her voice still thick with emotion.

"The endings Giovanni envisioned for his campaign." Requiem gestures with her hand, levitating the three swords and aligning them together. "As his 'grand finale', he prepared two options for you to choose. Both honor his agreement with me and secure his desire for your best outcome."

"Tell us. What was Gio's final wish...?"

"With the power of the three swords, I can create a portal to your world, exactly where you left. You may leave everything behind and return home, and I will absorb the swords' power, going after Zeitgeist on my own. As soon as you cross it, you will lose your abilities, but the same goes for your adversities. Pietra will be able to see again, Kai will no longer see ghosts, and Nicholas will no longer bear the risk of killing someone by merely touching them."

"I can do that?!" Nicholas shouts, visibly concerned.

"What about the fact that I'm dead?" Kai confronts.

"I will heal your body and maintain your soul fixed to it. When you use the portal, they will become one again, as if nothing happened."

"What about the second option?" Pietra questions.

"You stay," she says, levitating the swords back to their possession. "I'll hold onto Giovanni's promise that you will find a way to defeat Zeitgeist and allow myself to be assimilated by the sword."

"And why would you do that?"

"Because he believed in you. So will I. What is your choice?"

The trio smiles simultaneously.

"That idiot thinks he can fool us. He gave us the option to leave out of consideration, knowing full well that we would never leave him behind," Kai declares as the other two nod in agreement.

"I recommend you not choose this path with the objective of reviving Giovanni in mind, for he cannot be. His soul was—"

"We will have faith," Kai interrupts her, his words sounding truly confident.

Requiem cannot suppress a sincere smile.

"Very well," she says, and starts to slowly fade away, letting herself be absorbed by Kai's sword. "Reunite your allies, find new ones, learn the full potential of your swords and how to use their power, and most importantly..."

"Defeat Zeitgeist, we got it."

"Bring him back..." With this last, hopeful desire, she fades completely.

The party was sent back to the very church where everything started.

They bury the skeleton, their faces filled with fierce determination before his grave.

"Do you guys remember that ridiculous oath he created when we were kids?" Pietra asks.

"How could I forget? It was so embarrassing we stopped using it like a month later," Kai smiles.

Kai lifts his sword to the sky.

"As you walk the path of stupidity!"

Pietra lifts hers as well, crossing it against Kai's.

"It will never be alone! For I will be there!"

At last, Nicholas does the same, positioning his sword in the middle.

"Whether walking beside you or knocking some sense into you!"

Giovanni's campaign is over. His final gift of friendship and love to those he cherished the most. What comes next is a new beginning—a new story to be told.

"Giovanni! Everything you did until now was for us! What we do from now on will be all for you!"