Bittersweet Farewell

The world trembled in a way that Avii had never experienced. It felt as though the mountain no longer simply held the power to move earth and stone but could now reforge it. As it rumbled and roared, the glow from the magma chamber deep below intensified while, beyond the glass, the towering spire had begun to move. Slowly it sank from view, receding down into the molten floor as thick clouds of magic began to fill the chamber in its place.

A wailing alarm echoed out from every wall as an alien voice spoke in a foreign tongue. It ordered something of the world, speaking with a commanding tone that instilled urgency. And though Avii could not understand it, he knew what was being said. That the slow, methodical pace was a countdown. How, when it was over, the volcano that the city had been built into would erupt.

“What have you done!” Sebastian cried out as he wrestled to take hold of Avii. “You imbecilic mule! Trash creation! What. Have. YOU! DONE!”

Avii felt as Sebastian lifted him, the blade once more around his throat as the devil pointed to the altar. The elation the man carried in his voice at the mule’s torment had vanished, leaving only fury. A hatred so hot that it could match the heating magma beyond.

“Stop it!” The devil ordered, taking his free hand and using it to press Avii’s throat to the blade. “Stop this before it’s too late!”

“It’s already too late.” Avii wheezed past the blood that had filled his mouth. “You’re done. We’re done.”

“Never! Your soul belongs to me! Your suit is mine!”

“My soul belongs to the witch,” Avii growled, feeling the blood begin to spill from the gash forming against his throat. “And for my suit. If you want it so bad, Sebastian, then TAKE IT!”

Raising his fist high, Avii brought it down upon the first of the rods protruding from his gut. He screamed out in agony as the metal spear was forced back into him, tearing past his guts once more before piercing the Kovika armour that hugged against his. Sebastian coughed in response, his blood painting the side of Avii’s face as his sword lowered out of instinct.

But Avii did not stop at one. Instead, he continued to punch at the rods that had skewered him, forcing them through his armour and binding Sebastian to his back. And as he slammed his hand to the final spear, he could hear it. The building pressure of a coming mountain quake, the likes of which had never been felt. That was when he finalized his plan. One that would put an end to the tormented waltz that he had been forced to dance with that devil for a generation.

Avii reached his gauntlet over his breast, releasing the lock atop his chest before ripping open the cuirass of his MULE. Like a bug crawling from its cocoon, the man slipped free his hand, reaching it out to fiddle with the device that hung over his armoured heart. The detonation charge he had salvaged. The final act of his tale of torment.

“MULE!” Sebastian growled past bloodied lips. “I will have it!”

“Then take it, Devil!” Avii yelled in reply as he stretched his arm out from the suit to take hold of the altar. “It’s yours!”

He felt as his body tugged against the rods that had been driven into his sides. Felt as his MULE clung to him, as though not ready to let go of its operator now that they had finally been reunited. So, they held tightly to each other in the final moments until the shaking became too much to bear. Until the trembling mountain formed a crack across the length of the wall. And as the fissure stretched out, spreading its reach like an eager tendril, it finally touched the runes supporting the glass.

All it took was a single sigil to fail for the window to shatter and, in an instant, the world beyond to take a deep breath from the room. What followed was a horrid sucking sound as the heat of the magma beyond drew the air from the small chamber and connecting passage. As it did, it pulled everything not attached to the ground or wall and cast it to the lake of fire below. Or at least, it would try.

Avii held tightly to the altar as flesh and muscle were torn from the parts of his body still tethered to the rods that remained fixed in the armour. Holding on for his life, he glanced over his shoulder to see it one last time. To see his MULE. His saving grace. He would watch as the suit and the tethered Devil were drawn back towards the volcanic lake. Watch as the armours, Kovik and Maldianian alike, were sucked out from the room. As the golems that had previously stood guard over the space were drawn away. All of them destined to become one with the molten floor.

Though Sebastian would not live long enough to reach the bottom. Would not live to feel himself burning alive. But despite that knowledge, Avii would not turn away this time. Not until it was done. He would watch as the Devil’s pinned body hugged the MULE he had so desired. As he grappled with his treasure until the moment the arcanzcore charge flashed red and consumed him in a magical explosion. A blast powerful enough to counteract the pressure Avii felt drawing him out the window. Enough to throw the Maldainian’s mangled remains over the altar and atop the dormant labyrinth sigil.

With that, it was done. Avii had fulfilled his purpose. He had saved Ostave. Thwarted Harbinger. Defeated a Devil. And, finally, ensured that the magic of the mountain would never fall into the hands of mortals. Would never be used to destroy the world and reshape it into one of pain or privilege.

With the pressure of the room stabilized and the heat of space growing hotter by the second, Avii spent his final moments bleeding out on his back. He watched as cracks continued to spread above him with every quake of the world. Listened as the arcanzcores of MULEs detonated within the swelling lake of fire. And, somewhere beyond his sight, he heard the central tower become unstable and fall, shearing a fragment of the city from the walls.

But none of it mattered any more. He cared not for what became of his people’s accursed treasure trove. All he cared for was how he spent his precious final moments.

So, weakly, he reached into his clothing and pulled out the package he had tucked away before the witch took Vivat. Slipping the final cigarette from its carton, his trembling hands raised it to his bloody lips. With a weak snap, a faint flame appeared, and he drew off the end of the slender stick. The last Maldainian cigarette and the last Maldainian. Both marking the end of an era.

And as the flavour mixed with the taste of metal and he felt the adrenaline begin to wear off, Avii chose to spend his final moments with a single image. Straining his broken body even more, he reached up around his neck. There he took hold of the mithril chain, ripping it free from his shoulders and holding it before him. He opened the locket and stared at their faces one last time. Stared at the image of his family. The woman he had loved. The child he had borne.

“Kani…” He wheezed, gripping the crystal and locket as he pulled them to his heart. “Jeanie…”

The world shook as the fissures grew, forming crevasses as they spread with every quake. And through the roiling magma beyond and the crumbling structure of the mountain, he heard the faintest voice.

“Dad?”

With a whimper, Avii shook his head, daring not to look down at the crystal in his hand. Fearing to see if it was alight. If the words that graced his ears were real or the delirium. Instead, he choked on the blood that filled his lungs and managed to wheeze a response.

“Jeanie?”

“Dad? Dad! You-you’re alive—Mom! Mom!”

“Jeanie, I-I—”

“Avii?” Her voice graced his ears, older, but just as beautiful as he remembered it. “Avii?”

“Kani…” He held back tears as the blood drained past his lips. “Y-you survived.”

“Avii, where are you? We’ve been trying to reach you for years, but you never responded to—”

“Kani…are you safe?”

“Yes. We-we all escaped. Some two thousand of us. We took a fleet into the Sea of Regret. The Luk’itha Island Chain. The Koviks…the Estarians—are you okay? Where are you? We’ll send a ship and accompaniment to rescue you.”

“You’re safe. You’re—”

Avii heard wailing through the crystal. Not yelling or screaming but crying. The crying of a child.

“Is that…” Avii struggled to speak, his tears mixing with blood. “A baby?”

“Yeah, dad,” Jeanine’s voice returned. “He’s my son. You’re a granddad.”

Avii laughed weakly at the thought. The thought that his baby had grown enough to have her own.

“Babies having babies.” He wheezed weakly. “Wha-what’s his name, Jeanie?”

“Avii.” She whispered in reply. “His name is Avii, Dad. I want you to meet him. Where are you? Dad, where are you?”

The world shook again as rocks began to rain down over him. Small pebbles and dust at first, but then, he could see it. The vision. His end. He was out of time.

“Kani…Jeanie—” He wheezed, the cigarette falling from his lips as the world began to darken. “Be well.”

“Avii!” Kani cried out. “Avii!”

“I love you.” The tears poured from his eyes as he listened to the world begin to break free. “I love you both.”

With those words, Avii felt complete. He had finally gotten his chance to say goodbye. To tell the ones he loved how much he cared, one final time. And though he would never shift his eyes to confirm if it was real or an illusion, it was enough. Enough for him to be at peace. Enough for him to pass on. And as the ceiling fractured and crashed down atop him, Avii was finally ready. He was content. He was free.