Everyone present

Chapter 36

Meanwhile, in Valebryn…

The rampage of demons had slowly diminished, both from the Thronewarden’s presence and the valiant defense of its warriors. The kingdom had suffered significant damage, but the invaders were no longer gaining new ground.

Unbeknownst to everyone, the conflict that started it all had already been concluded, and after half a day of battle, the end had finally come.

The kingdom watched as each and every one of the demons and Noctis invaders began to slowly rise, drawn upward by an unseen force and left hanging helpless in the air. After a while of struggling, each and every one of them was suddenly engulfed by intense purple flames, erased from existence by the very flames they had sworn their allegiance to, leaving behind not even a single trace of ash.

At that moment, Valebryn and its defenders cheered. Their darkest hour had come to pass, and through their unshakable spirit, they had triumphantly survived into a bright tomorrow.

As celebrations broke out and everyone shared the moment of victory, all of Naoya’s friends, scattered around the Canopy of Names, were surprised by an unexpected message.

“Hello, testing? Cipher and Halo Unit, can everyone hear me?” they heard the bright voice of a young woman speak into their minds.

Though they were apart, all of them heard Captain Eiren’s reply.

“Archmage Solenne?”

“That’s right. Are all of you free right now? I’m about to teleport all of you to Naoya.”

“You’re what?!” they heard Clara exclaim.

“Hmmm… everyone is celebrating. Perfect time since no one will notice. Brace yourselves!”

“Wait, what’s happening?” Lance said as a bright glyph appeared underneath them, enveloping all of them in a brief flash of light, and when they opened their eyes, they had already been teleported elsewhere.

They appeared somewhere near the silent remnants of the Demon Lord’s castle, reduced into a pile of smoldering ruins, as the kingdom’s stalwart walls stood tall as they always had in the distance. After taking in their surroundings, the first presence they noticed was a young woman with blue, wavy hair, wearing a large hat and elegant robes.

Some had met her before, but most of them only recognized her from the countless monuments erected to her and her comrades’ honor.

“Yes, I am the Archmage. Nice to meet you all.” She shook their hands before they could even ask. “But right now I’m just a messenger. They’re the ones who want to talk to you all.”

She stepped aside, and from the ruins of the castle, two very familiar people approached them. Some raised their guard as Naoya walked to the group, completely battle-worn and looking like he had gone through an ordeal infinitely worse than theirs. And reluctantly following him, a fox faunite beauty with silver-grey hair hid from everyone’s piercing gaze behind Naoya’s frame.

They stopped a few paces before everyone, and the tense atmosphere hung in the air.

“Ummm… hi everyone,” Naoya greeted them.

The silence hung before them for a while before Captain Bellan stepped forward.

“Hello, Naoya. Great job on your timing earlier, or the kingdom would’ve been flattened already.”

His words sent a short pang of guilt through some of the people in the group.

“Thanks, Captain. And sorry for not arriving sooner. I know all of you have so many questions about where I’ve been and who I really am, but before that, we have something to say to everyone first…”

He gently urged Hisora forward, who did not have the courage to meet everyone’s gaze.

“We know we’ve done so many irredeemable things in the past. We’ve betrayed everyone’s trust, and even though we can never make up for them, we realize our mistakes. So, from the bottom of our hearts…”

Naoya and Hisora bowed to everyone deeply.

“We’re sorry for everything that happened, both today and for everything else in the past.”

After a while, they stood up and turned to Astrea.

“Trey… I know you can never forgive us, and honestly, after I remembered what we’ve done in the past to you and your sisters… I couldn’t forgive myself, either. But I still want to try, even if it just gives you a brief moment to relieve your hatred.”

Naoya walked over to Astrea, an intense well of fury hiding behind her eyes.

He knelt down in front of her, and Hisora’s dark grey scythe appeared between the two of them.

“Don’t hold anything back,” he said as he bowed down, exposing his head.

Everyone held their breath as they realized what was about to happen.

The girl silently stepped forward and took the weapon. She looked at the man before her as a torrent of emotions raced through her mind.

She raised the blade high above her, ready to avenge her countless fallen sisters.

After his defeat, she had learned to let go of her anger and simply cherish their memories, content with the knowledge that he no longer posed a threat to her and the world. But ever since his return, decades of hidden hatred and regrets resurfaced.

The moment of her revenge had come at last. The moment she had been waiting for since she escaped the crumbling castle before them decades ago. So why…

Why could she not bring herself to complete the deed?

She swung the weapon’s blade with the fury of countless tortured souls…

And smited the ground beside Naoya.

A burst of intense energy swept through everything around her, and she let go of the scythe stuck to the ground.

Astrea walked past him and stopped in front of Hisora, who, to everyone’s surprise, slowly knelt down as well. They could only watch as the girl looked down on the faunite, and after a long, painful silence, Astrea continued walking, this time towards the castle’s ruins.

As the Knight disappeared from view, Clara stepped forward and announced in a cheerful tone.

“Well, if Trey doesn’t want to do it, I will!”

Her wand quickly grew in size, but as she raised the weapon over Naoya’s prostrate form, she was confused.

Her arms would not allow her to deliver the full force of justice.

Why could she not bring herself to crush the evil in front of her?

Unless...?

Still holding the wand above her, she approached Hisora’s similarly prostrate form, where she encountered the same dilemma in her mind.

“But… both of you are evil… the biggest evil of them all. So why…?”

The wand shrunk back to her original size, and she turned back to her friends.

“Why can’t I kill them?”

All of them smiled for her, happy that she finally realized an important lesson in her life about the truth behind good and evil.

Greta approached Naoya, who rose from his position and looked up at her.

“Who are you?

What are you doing in this world?

Are you still the same Naoya we found in that forest…

And where have you been?”

They both smiled as Lance joined them.

“Calm down, Greta. I’m sure he’ll tell us everything.”

Relieved at the sight of his oldest friends in the world, Naoya stood up and embraced both of them.

Hisora gladly watched as he reunited with his friends, and to her surprise, she saw Ana approaching her.

She stood up and cleaned herself, making sure to look presentable before the princess.

“Your Highness,” she bowed to Ana. “I’ll be sure to answer your questions truthfully.”

The princess looked at her with a gentle smile.

“After all this time… all the scheming and deceiving… everything was for him?”

Tears started welling from Hisora’s eyes as she gazed back at Naoya, surrounded by the friends he had made along the way.

“Yes… everything.”