I feel cold, endless... empty. Whisperclaw looks down at me, her hands moving frantically. Behind her, I can discern the blurry outline of a shadowy figure with glowing, slitted, yellow eyes. The figure raises a crimson sword. I shove Whisperclaw out of the way, and the blade plunges into my gut. I cough, blood flying onto the face of my attacker. They are no longer blurry. Instead, I see Renald standing over me.
I try to speak, but words elude me. I feel myself pulled backwards. Renald fades away into the distance, and darkness envelopes my vision. I keep falling, on and on, until I feel my body slow. I look down and see a bright white light beneath me. My feet touch the light, and I can stand. It's as if the light is a solid floor beneath me. The light spreads, blinding me. I squeeze my eyes shut and shield my face with my hands. It doesn't help. The light grows brighter and brighter. I drop to my hands and knees, sweat pooling around my fur. I can't help but think that this is what death must feel like. The light slowly dissipates into a single source in front of me. I open my eyes. I am inside a massive, cavern-like structure. On either side of the structure are two pillars. Wrapped around the cavern is a massive woman I would recognize anywhere.
"You have returned to me again, my chosen champion." Celestria says weakly.
Her skin is paler than the last time I saw her. The green in her veins pulses, like a heart. Her light is dimming. That much is painfully obvious to me.
"Once more, I found my way to you accidentally." I smile.
"I would laugh..." Celestria takes a deep, hollowed breath, her eyes drifting close. "...However, as you can see, I'm not in the most ideal condition at the present moment."
"Am I dead?" I ask, looking at the gaping hole in my stomach. "I mean, Renald killed me... Didn't he?"
"He did try." She says. "Then again, he didn't. Not his mind anyway."
"So... I'm not dead?" I wipe my face. "Where am I then?"
"We are deep beneath the ground." Celestria looks away from me, gazing into the distance. "It was once a sacred place, a place for me to replenish the tower's mana springs. Now, it is the place where I choose to die."
I look at the ground. I already saw this coming, I just didn't say anything. I never do. Gazer told me it was my weakness as a doctor. I can't bear to look at a patient's face when I give a negative diagnosis.
"You don't look surprised." Celestria chuckles dryly. "You're smart. I assumed you already had a hunch."
"I did, but I had hoped you could be healed if possible." I say, unable to keep my sadness from leaking into my voice. "You're a goddess, aren't you? Shouldn't you have immortality?"
"This tower is full of more danger than you could imagine." She answers calmly. "There are things in this world that are powerful enough to slay even a goddess such as myself."
"Like Vanhiel." I murmur. "That thing is a monster."
"He has been corrupted by ancient dark magic." Celestria says, with a bit of urgency in her tone. "His link to the ritual was severed, but he is still dangerous."
"What should I do?" I ask. "I feel like I can't fight him, even with your power."
"Then you must get stronger, my champion." I can see sadness in her eyes. "In a few months, my powers will likely be nothing more than a memory. You must learn to rely on yourself, for I will not be able to save you."
Something tugs my body upwards. Celestria smiles at me and winks.
"The time has come for you to return to the land of the living." She says. "Be courageous, my chosen champion. Have faith. Victory is more achievable than you think."
"Thank-" I'm yanked into the sky, through the cavern ceiling, and back into the endless void. I didn't even get to say thank you.
I see a faint light, my body propelling itself closer and closer. The top of my head hits the light first. A rush of cool air jets past me, like a splash of water. My eyes snap open. Whisperclaw looks over me. Pain courses through my back and stomach as I try to sit up. Out of the corner of my eye, I notice Vanhiel standing from among a pile of rubble. For the first time since his transformation, his face betrays his emotions: rage.
"I warned you, God of Death." Vanhiel points his claw at Hawk. "Now, as punishment for your interference, I will silence your vessel for eternity."
An eerie energy surges into the chamber. At the same time, Vanhiel's finger becomes engulfed in blue light. The light flies from Vanhiel's finger in the shape of a small beam. It pierces straight through Hawk's chest. As the beam comes out of his back, I see Hawk falls out of his fusion with Avarice. The skeleton whips around and catches Glimmer's dad in his arms as he falls. Even from this distance, I can see it in his eyes. Lifelessness.
"Shit." Avarice says, small beams of white light crashing into it from the ceiling. "We still had 6 seconds left."
The beams of light pull the skeleton out of the room and up into the sky, where it disappears. I don't know what to say. I don't know what to do. I can't heal someone already dead.
"Dad!" All of us, Vanhiel included, look towards the chamber entrance.
Standing in the doorway is Glimmer, who drops to his knees with a look of complete disbelief. All around him are knights clad in armor bearing the Sellsword Guild crest. I look down at the ground, lacking the strength to stand. We failed him. We couldn't save his dad. We couldn't even save ourselves.
"Hahahaha!" Vanhiel's emotionless laughter fills my mind. "Yes! I did it! My ascension has been completed!"
"Ahhhhhhhhhh!" My eyes snap back to Glimmer, who screams with all his might, tears streaming down his cheeks.
The room shakes violently. Glimmer grips his flute tightly. Plumes of thick, sparkling blue smoke fume angrily from both ends, filling the chamber. I can't see anything anymore except Whisperclaw.
"What's…" Whisperclaw helps me to my feet. "...what's happening?"
"I'm not sure." I answer her question as carefully as I can. "The way our luck has been, it can't be good."
It has to be Glimmer's magic, I'm sure of it. I can feel a massive amount of mana surging throughout the entire room, something that wasn't present until Glimmer showed up. The screaming stops.
"What is this?" Vanhiel's voice quivers. "Who, no…what are you?"
A wind gust sweeps around the room. The smoke wraps around itself, like a tornado. I feel my feet slip towards the spiraling smoke column. Even Vanhiel is having trouble standing upright, digging his claws into the ground. The smoke collapses on itself, exploding outward. Whisperclaw and I get slammed to the ground, and my vision becomes clouded for a brief moment.
The smoke reassembles in front of Glimmer, molding itself into a large human-like form. Glimmer's eyes are dull, almost soulless. He's not moving, but he's stopped screaming. The form solidifies into a young man with many human-like features: dark brown colored skin, bright pink hair with spiky ends, perfectly white teeth, standing around six feet tall. The smoke forms into elaborate, multi-colored clothing around him. It takes the shape of a small cape on his back, long white gloves that reach up to his elbow, and slim black boots that reach to his knees. His eyes are two different colors, yellow and purple.
"Hello reality!" The man yells out, striking a pose by sticking his hand on his hip and flaring his other hand into the air. "It's a pleasure!"