Chapter 572: The Successor

Chapter 572: The Successor

Narrator: In Heaven. Some time has passed.

*All of the angels of Heaven go about their lives peacefully*

Zeth: (Narrating) 5 years have passed since the end of what became known as “The Final Great Chaos”. It is now October 18th, Year 179. This time, the calendar was not reset as it has been after previous wars between Heaven and Hell. The New Era is here.

***

Narrator: In a rebuilt Reign City.

*The humans of Reign City also peacefully go about their lives*

Zeth: (Narrating) Reign City’s damage was so significant that it had to be completely rebuilt from the ground up. Everything was started from scratch. But with Heaven’s help in the rebuild, this process was done a lot faster than it otherwise would have.

***

Narrator: Back in Heaven.

*A crowd of hundreds of thousands is gathered in front of a stage. There is a lectern with a mic on it at the front of the stage*

*Zeth, Sasha, Zaydra (who now has a black eyepatch over her right eye socket after losing her right eye in the war), Zenfaro (who now has a prosthetic left leg after losing his left leg in the war), Emily, Joe, Kurt, and Keith are sitting in chairs in the very front row*

*Harmona walks out onto the stage with the lectern. There is a loud applause as she does. When she gets up to the lectern, she holds her hand out to signify to the crowd to end their applause*

*Harmona speaks into the mic on the lectern*

Harmona: I think you all know why we are gathered here today. Standing here before you all, I have decided who my successor will be.

*Everyone in the audience looks excited but some are also nervous and start saying things to each other*

*Harmona holds out her hand to quiet them again*

Harmona: This decision does not mean that I am about to step down as the Light Goddess. There is still a long time before that day.

*These words calm down the nervous people*

*Harmona has a genuine smile as she continues*

Harmona: So let’s get right to it. I will now announce who my successor is. The one who will succeed me as the ruler of light in the future is…… Zeth.

*The crowd cheers*

*Zeth and Sasha stand up and hug each other in joy while the others look at them with congratulatory expressions*

Zaydra: Honestly, I agree with the decision.

Zenfaro: So do I.

Zaydra: Zeth and Sasha will bring permanent peace between Heaven and Hell, and besides, there are worse things than becoming a deity.

*Mark is near them and cracks a joke*

Mark: I’m so shocked, I can feel my bones vibrating. Har har. In all seriousness, this was the least surprising announcement ever. Who else could it have been? Congrats Zeth!

*Emily giggles*

Emily: I guess we should call you our god from now on.

Joe: Who knew that when we first met 61 years ago that I was looking at the future Light God?

Kurt: I look forward to being of service to you when the time comes.

Keith: Sweet, I can tell everyone that I’m friends with the Light God!

*Harmona continues speaking*

Harmona: Zeth’s relationship with Sasha shows that he is the one most capable and most deserving to lead us into a time of peace between Heaven and Hell.

*She looks at Zeth in the front row*

Harmona: Would you like to come up and share some words?

*Zeth smiles*

Zeth: Sure.

*Zeth steps onto the stage*

*Harmona steps back as Zeth walks up to the lectern*

*Zeth looks at the crowd and then scratches his head and smiles. He speaks into the mic*

Zeth: To be honest, I’m a little nervous speaking in front of a large crowd. This isn’t a prepared speech or anything so it will all come from the heart. So here we go. I am truly honored to be chosen as my mother’s successor as the ruler of light. This has been a long time coming for me. I grew up on Earth believing I was a mortal for the first 17 years of my life. It’s truly something when you go from that to finding out you are the son of the Light Goddess. Finding out about my true origins… It suddenly left me with new responsibilities, powers, friendships, and of course, questions. I didn’t get to this point alone. I had help along the way. I would first like to thank my girlfriend, Sasha, as well as my friends Joe, Emily, Kurt, and Keith. They were there for me when I needed them and I wouldn’t have made it far without them.

*Those five smile when they hear his words*

Zeth: I then would like to thank my family members, my mother, Harmona, my sister, Zaydra, and my brother, Zenfaro. They were the ones that taught me what it means to be a divine being which was especially important because I originally thought I was a mortal.

*Those three smile when they hear his words*

Zeth: Of course, there is my grandmother, Zothena, who also provided me with invaluable help.

*Zothena (who is sitting in a wheelchair due to severely weakening her own soul during the war) smiles when she hears his words*

Zeth: And lastly, there are countless others out there that I want to thank, some of which are here, others of which aren’t, including those that have lost their lives. I don’t know when I will become the Light God, but when I do, you can rest assured that I will do my absolute best. I can promise you this. There will be no more wars between Heaven and Hell. Sasha and I will make sure of that. Thank you.

*Zeth steps away from the lectern as the crowd gives a loud applause*

*Everyone looks pleased with Zeth’s speech*

***

Narrator: Later.

*The crowd has left for the most part, but the main characters are now joined by Zothena on the stage. She is no longer sitting in her wheelchair*

Zeth: You can finally walk without assistance?

Zothena: Yes. I was still sitting in the wheelchair during the announcement just as a precaution. Anyway, this shows why you should not rely on the Bursting Soul part of Soul Power. I weakened my own soul so much that it took 5 years of soul recovery just to be able to walk of my own power again. Being in a wheelchair was… different.

Sasha: Do we know how long it will take for your soul to fully recover?

Zothena: I’m not sure. Probably between 10,000 and 20,000 years. Right now, I’m not any stronger than your average mortal.

*Everyone is shocked*

Zaydra: That’s crazy!

Zothena: Well, after giving Zeth and Sasha the power to defeat Dakame, I had no more than 1% of my soul energy left. Anyway, I have something I want to say to you all.

*They all look interested in what she has to say*

Harmona: What is it?

Zothena: I am going to go back to the Divine World.

*Everyone looks shocked*

Zeth: Already!?

Zothena: Yes. My time has passed. I’ve done everything that I needed to do and now that I can walk on my own, it’s time for me to go.

*The others look sad*

Harmona: But I feel like I was just really getting to know you after losing you initially at the age of only 34.

Zothena: And we enjoyed these last 17 years since you freed me from Zenos. But it should not be put off any longer. You must focus on the future. Not the past.

*Zothena looks at Zeth and Sasha*

Zothena: I hope to see the two of you succeed as the united god and goddess.

*Harmona then looks at Zeth and Sasha*

Harmona: I hope you two are ready to go through god schooling.

*Zeth and Sasha look a little nervous but chuckle*

*All of them head toward the one-way door that leads to the Divine World*

*Zothena opens the door and a bright light comes from the opening. She looks back at them*

Zothena: It’s time.

Harmona: Goodbye, mother.

Zeth: We’ll miss you.

Zothena: I will miss you all too. Farewell.

*Zothena goes through the door and it closes. They all just stare at the door for a moment*

Zeth: (Narrating) So then, Sasha and I started our god schooling.

*Zeth and Sasha are sitting at school-like desks in a room. They look like they are having difficulties. Harmona is the teacher*

Zeth: This is harder than I thought it would be.

Harmona: Ha! Well, be thankful you have me to teach you. I had to go through it all being taught by those who had no experience with the position and mostly after I was forced to take the position far too early because of my mother’s disappearance.

*Suddenly, three female angels walk into the classroom. Two of them are Clora and Diamond. The third one is unknown*

Clora: We know you are working hard.

Diamond: But we wanted to introduce you to a new assistant. Her name is Pearl. She is kind of shy.

*The new assistant has pink hair that is in a braided ponytail. She certainly looks shy*

Pearl: H-Hi. I’m Pearl. I w-will be here to a-assist you.

*Zeth and Sasha look happy to meet her*

Zeth: Hi, Pearl. It’s nice to meet you.

Sasha: Having assistance will be great.

***

Zeth: (Narrating) So what became of everyone else in these last 5 years? To start, Salina became the interim Dark Goddess until Sasha is ready to take over.

*Salina is smiling while sitting on the Dark Goddess throne*

Zeth: (Narrating) Joe and Emily had a daughter. She is 2 years old now. Her name is Ashley. They continue to supervise their son, Michael, on being the pirate captain.

*Joe and Emily are with their daughter on Earth and they watch as she plays with a toy*

*Michael is continuing to lead the good pirate organization*

Zeth: (Narrating) Kurt’s abilities are so impressive that his rank in the angel army skyrocketed and he is now a Commander which is one rank below General.

*Kurt is receiving a promotion from Harmona. He is wearing a memorial badge that has Easia’s name on it*

Zeth: (Narrating) Keith returned to the Swamp Underworld and became one of its leaders. He learned from Commander Moss and Major Smithy who continued to be the overall leaders of the Swamp Underworld. They honored Major Tarres by creating a company called Tarresdo which specialized in making video games.

*Keith, Commander Moss, and Major Smithy are standing next to a building with a sign that has “Tarresdo” written on it that is attached to the building*

Zeth: (Narrating) Sean succeeded his fallen mother, Zonbi, and became both the King of Undead and Deity of Undead.

*Sean is in the Undead Underworld and he is hosting a Chaos Tournament*

Zeth: (Narrating) Bonetru, Ruby, and Sapphire all got promotions in the angel army too and now lead their own units.

*The three of them are all facing the angel soldiers assigned to their teams*

Zeth: (Narrating) Kennedy became the leader of the Great Magic Underworld.

*Kennedy is overlooking the main city of the underworld from his office*

Zeth: (Narrating) Gice was given a memorial in the Dark Jungle Underworld for falling in combat. Alaina was honored with commendations in the Lunar City Underworld.

*Gice’s memorial is a statue of him along with a plaque in front of the statue’s feet. Alaina is receiving a medal from the president of the Lunar City Underworld*

Zeth: (Narrating) Grinton was the only angel general left until a replacement for Zentano could be named. Mom also gave Apollo a memorial in Heaven.

*Grinton sits on a bench in Heaven. He has prosthetic limbs for his left arm and left leg after losing his arm and leg in the war. Like Gice, Apollo’s memorial is a statue of him but his plaque is attached to a stone to the side of the statue. Harmona is standing in front of Apollo’s memorial, just looking at it. A tear flows down from one of her eyes but she starts to smile*

Zeth: (Narrating) Daniel continued to lead the vampire clan and led them on a path of good.

*Daniel is walking in the night and there are a lot of vampires following him*

Zeth: (Narrating) The neutral spirits were finally sent to Heaven as thanks for their help in the war.

*The neutral spirits are happily arriving in the paradise of Heaven that good mortals go to*

Zeth: (Narrating) Master Dom, Jane, and Sandy all returned to a peaceful life in Shango town. RAG became the mayor of Flagron Town.

*Dom, Jane, and Sandy have all returned to their daily life, though Sandy has some permanent scars from the wounds she received from Vollmond. RAG is in an office and is reading over some papers*

Zeth: (Narrating) Dayna spent time traveling the world repenting for her and her father’s wrongdoing. She spread mom’s good name to those that started doubting her.

*Dayna is walking in a foreign country and she smiles as she looks around*

Zeth: (Narrating) As for Mark. Well, he continued cracking jokes. Apparently, he is considering stepping down as a grim reaper to pursue other opportunities.

*Zeth and Sasha are meeting with Mark and they are laughing at one of his jokes*

Zeth: (Narrating) Sonzen is coming along quite nicely as a little bird too. It’s still going to take a long time for him to return to his former self but it will be interesting to see the progress as it happens.

*Little Sonzen is in his old chamber in Heaven and is flying around the room*

Zeth: (Narrating) And finally, we have Sasha’s little brother. He was named Diablo by Dakame but Sasha decided to change his name to Josh because Diablo sounded menacing. Josh is more of a mortal name but everyone was fine with it. He’s now grown into a little kid. He can be a handful at times but he is being raised right by angels and Sasha gives a hand when she can as well.

*The 5-year-old Josh is happily playing around in Heaven. He has a big smile on his face*

Zeth: (Narrating) Actually, there’s one more thing.

*Zeth and Sasha are standing on a beach looking out to the ocean in the evening as the sun is getting ready to set*

Zeth: It’s amazing. We’ve come so far since we first met.

Sasha: And what a time it’s been.

Zeth: It’s been a great time… and that’s why I think it’s time.

*Sasha looks at Zeth*

Sasha: Time?

*Zeth faces her and starts pulling something out while getting on one knee. He holds out a small box with a ring in it*

Zeth: Will you marry me?

*Sasha is speechless for a moment as her eyes open wide looking at the ring. Zeth smiles as he waits for her response. She then gets super excited*

Sasha: Yes! Absolutely yes!!

***

Narrator: About 4 months later. It is now March 14th, Year 180. Zeth and Sasha are getting married. The marriage ceremony is being held on Earth so mortals can attend too.

*Zeth and Sasha are standing on a stage set up for the ceremony. Zeth is wearing a black tux while Sasha is wearing a white wedding dress*

Male Angel: You may now kiss the bride.

*Zeth and Sasha embrace and kiss*

*Friends, family, and many others are the guests sitting in chairs watching*

*Jack (Zeth’s stepdad) looks so proud*

Jack: Oh Miranda. I wish you were here to see this. Our boy is getting married.

*Jack wipes a tear from his eye*

Jack: I know you would be just as proud of him as I am.

*Zeth and Sasha are posing for a picture with close friends and family at the wedding*

Zeth: (Narrating) A beautiful wife. And family and friends that I care for deeply. I couldn’t ask for a better life!

Narrating: Life advances for everyone after the end of the war. Zeth and Sasha are now married. What awaits them in the future? There are only 2 chapters left!

Chapter 572 END

To be Continued in Chapter 573: The New World