Chapter 7

Cryo finds himself in the Void Between Worlds. He stands alone, confused.

“You have great potential Cryo,” I echo. “Yet great burdens to carry.”

“Don’t tell me about my burdens God, you gave them to me!”

“Your choices are the cause of your burdens Cryo. And every choice you’ve made so far has led you to this one.”

“‘This one?’”

“Your life… For Belphors.”

“You want me to sacrifice myself…”

“Your journey won’t end here. Your soul will continue with new opportunities ahead of you. Yet, you do not get away without a price.”

“Which is?”

“Your whole world. Everything you’ve ever known, and was, will be erased, the ‘you’ you are now will be eradicated, as well as everything you were. This will be your apotheosis, your perfect act.”

Cryo takes a moment to himself to ponder. “But what makes Belphor’s life worth such a sacrifice?”

“Belphor will take the place of his father. He will rule over Stoneveil, and perform the reformations his father never could. Varys will be imprisoned for the remainder of his life span. His execution is only prevented by the grace of his son. Belphor will become a fine leader, and a fine ally.”

“But I’ll never see it!”

“You flaunt your ‘burdens’ and ‘duties’ as if you’re selfless, but you have them for yourself. You just want the image of a hero. Sacrificing yourself will give you the actions of a hero.”

Cryo further considers the choice. He thinks about the stories he has yet to tell, and the people he has yet to save. He wonders about the guildmates he’d be leaving behind, and the stories he wanted to tell. He thinks about Thomas, and David.

“I can’t leave my friends, my guild! Regardless of their flaws, they mean everything to me… And beyond that, there’s so much change that I can make now! You said my choices matter, yet you ask me to throw away every choice I made thus far. I can’t throw away everything I am for power, for faith!”

“Belphor died in his attempts to save you”

Cryo tears up, “So I can’t throw away his sacrifice. It’s just one more burden on my pile. One more burden I will carry to the finish line…”

The answer Cryo gave was unexpected, yet reflects the passion within his soul. He has chosen the path of strife.

“I will honor your choice Cryo. Return to the land of Vespera, and prove your existence.”

Cryo awakens from his daydream as he notices the crowd close in. Behind him, the commoners overrun the guards and release Thomas and David from their chains.

Cryo notices the crow-masked slave approaching Varys. Varys screams, “I know you can revive him! Do it before his spirit departs!”

“I'm sorry sire”, the slave starts, “but why should I save a common child?”

Varys picks up the pendant, opens it, and shoves it in his face. “This is my wife, Eleanor!" Varys screams. “I gave this pendant to my son when she died. There’s no reason why he’d have it if he wasn’t my son!” Varys begins to frantically hold Belphor’s head to the slave and show the birthmark. He pulls down his cape to reveal a similar mark. “This is the mark of my lineage! Save my son right this instant!”

“Why should I?” The slave responds. He sneers at the sight of Varys’ terror. “You promised to change this country. You promised that under your control, we would never feel the fear that Sunderfall placed upon us. You promised! And you failed. I think many of your subjects agree.”

The crowd is terrifyingly close, and silent. They stare upon Varys with resentment, hatred, and relief. Their subjector is finally within their grasp.

“Wait!” Cryo screams. “It doesn’t have to be this way, Belphor is his son, let him rule, he can bring peace to Stoneveil!

The masked man looks at Cryo and simply says, “No. No longer will we place our faith in the Varys lineage. He had his chance, and he squandered it.” He pulls a hidden blade and begins to swing toward Varys. Cryo steps between them, and the blade punctures Cryo’s palm.

Through the pain, Cryo squeaks, “Please, now's the time for redemption. This cycle of violence has to end. This isn’t the way…” Cryo falls to his knees. The injuries from his encounters with Varys, as well as the knife in his hand has caused him to grow weak.

“How about we get rid of you too then…!”

The crowd roars, and enclose the group even further. David tries to pierce the crowd with futility, and Thomas is unarmed, but still shows the will to fight. Cryos pleads are drowned in the stampede. A voice rings out.

Cryo notices the crowd’s look of horror focused behind him. When he turns, he sees Varys driving his blade through his own chest.

“MALGORATH!” a voice echoes throughout the city.

The crowd looks for the source, and spots Gnomeo atop a building, amplifying his voice with a magical implement.

“‘The revival of Malgorath, the Cosmic Destroyer, is paramount to the success of the DarkHold,’” Gnomeo reads from stacks of paper. “‘With his revival, we will course correct this world, and eradicate the Gods that interfere with our world. The Seven Holy Dungeons hold the Shards of Evil which house his essence. We already hold 5.’”

Shock murmurs through the crowd. Varys peels his eyes away from his son and whispers, “Malgorath? His name was attached to the Sunderfall rituals…”

“We must stand together!” Gnomeo continues. “Now isn’t the time for a civil war. We must unite ourselves, and Vespera to battle the threat that we all face!”

The crowd falls silent, and they slowly back away. The crow-masked slave is shocked. “Coward!” he screams. “It wasn’t supposed to be this way! You won’t take my satisfaction!”

Cryo twists his hand in pain, disarming the slave. He spartan kicks him to the ground, pulls the blade from his palm, and holds it to the slave’s neck. “That’s enough out of you!”

Guards circle the slave, and drag him away while Cryo stares pensively. “This isn’t fair!!!” the slave screams as he disappears into the crowd.

Cryo turns around and hurriedly runs towards the dying Varys. Varys’ breath grows weaker and weaker through every passing moment.

“Hey, you had a duty right?” Cryo asks Varys as he holds him in his arms. “What about your people, your mistakes, your son! You can’t make up for them if you’re dead!”

“A bastard that kills his own son doesn’t deserve to live. You and the rest of these commoners… You spout duties… and burdens… It's so much simpler than that…”

“I don’t care how simple it is! You were a hero at some point, why throw it all away?”

Varys places his hand on the blade, smearing his blood on it. “Your friends… your family… They are our weakness… Lose them, and you lose yourself…”

Varys’s breath gets more and more shallow. “What?” I scream! “I’m not like you. I won’t throw away my future because I lost some–” Cryo pauses as he thinks about his decision.

Varys picks up on this pause, “You won’t forget this day… I know it…”

“How do you know?”

“Because you will take this sword, and carry your burdens, just as I have.”

Gnomeo leaps from the rooftops, and lands in front of Varys and Cryo. He squeaks an “I’m Sorry.” Varys stops, but doesn’t direct his gaze toward Gnomeo.

“I’m sorry for not being there on time back then. I’m sorry for not cracking the message before the ambush. I’m sorry for being too late, even now… For 15 years, I’ve regretted my actions everyday!”

Varys slowly glances towards Gnomeo and says, “I… cough cough don’t even know…. who you are…” Varys’ eyes glaze over. His grip loosens from the blade. His head tilts high, the clouds part, and the sun beams on Varys’ cold expression of regret.

Gnomeo drops to his knees and screams in despair.

The old man approaches Cryo with tears in his eyes and asks, “Why couldn’t you save him!”

“He wasn’t yours to take,” Cryo responds coldly.

“I know… But his life still shouldn’t have been taken.” The man sobs.

The crowd stares at the scene in silence. Cryo stands, drenched in blood of the father, his son, and his own. He slowly draws the sword from Varys’ lifeless body and looks at his bloodied reflection in the blade. Thomas places his hand on his shoulder and asks “What now?”

“I don’t know.”