Above the Sky [Chapter 118]

Before I can reply, Zero speaks up again.

"I cannot explain everything, but she can. She is the answer."

I pause for a moment, confused, but soon reply.

"The answer? To what?"

Our eyes meet, a slight chill rolling by me.

"Everything."

With that, Zero spins around and starts walking out of Grim's body. I slowly follow behind him.

Nevereth, what do you think? Should I?

I walk slowly, waiting for Nevereth's answer, but it never comes. A bad feeling emanates from my stomach, slowly stretching into my chest and throat. The light strikes my eyes as I step out of Grim's corpse, a few clouds high up in the sky and the unblocked light shining brightly on the scarred battlefield. Ash, corpses, and weapons strewn about litter the landscape. Zero continues forward, making his way to the beach ahead of us. I follow, still hoping to hear Nevereth say something. Surprisingly, it isn't Nevereth that I suddenly hear, it's Azeroth.

"D-Dante, what...happened?"

I look back, seeing him barely standing a short way off. He struggles to stand, his legs shaking wildly, not used to the sudden difference in strength to what he had mere minutes ago. He looks at his hands, then tries frantically to open his stats. He pauses, then looks back to me. Before he can speak again, Blankk appears behind him and taps his neck. As Azeroth falls forward, unconscious, I teleport to him and catch him. I set him down gently, making sure not to accidentally hurt him. I look to Blankk, seeing his skin is now slightly glowing blue. The blue tattoos also seem to stretch farther and glow even brighter.

"This is it, Dante. I've seen how almost everything would unfold, but from a few moments ago, my well of knowledge has run dry. From here, everything is new, unpredictable."

I quickly reply.

"Why did you knockout Azeroth?! And what do you mean it's unpredictable? I thought the Nexxus has the catalogue of all events that will ever happen, and you have access to the Nexxus?"

"I have told many lies to keep it safe, to pretend to be the creator of the Nexxus, but now that we've reached the end, I have nothing to hide. Nothing to protect."

He closes his eyes, taking a deep breath to continue speaking. Zero interrupts him, quickly speaking up.

"The library you refer to as the Nexxus, is mother's library. Xa'gorthep was placed as the guardian over it, with access to almost all of its contents. I, as well, have access to most of the Nexxus. But, may we make haste, she's waiting."

Blankk nods, taking a deep breath. I hesitantly agree, still feeling strange that I haven't heard from Nevereth yet. We follow Zero to the ocean's edge, where he stops and stares at the sky above the ocean. I look where he's looking, seeing large fluffy clouds slowly moving across the sky. I speak up.

"So, where is she? How do we find her?"

Zero lowers his head.

"Mother, we're ready to come home."

With those words, the ocean seemingly bursts into life. The water shifts and raises off the ground, freezing into the form of a large staircase. Blankk and I stare in awe, completely blown away by the sheer amount of magic it would take to manipulate the very ocean in such a way. The stairs are wider than a building and stretch far past the clouds far ahead and above us. Zero steps onto the steps made of ice, I see what looks like a pulse rippling through the staircase. Zero waves for us to follow and starts up the stairs. Blankk follows suit and heads up slowly with him. I put my foot forward, hovering it right above the step.

I understand it, more clearly than ever. If I start up this path, I'll probably never see them again, my friends- no, my family. Even if it was built on a lie, even if our relationship started off as parasitic, it was real to me, and near the end, it became real to them. I extend my hand, using magic to engrave a final goodbye into their minds. When they wake up, they'll hear it.

"I know what we made wasn't from pure intentions, but at least in the end we managed to do some good. I'm sorry, but till we meet again, this is goodbye. I'll forever cherish my time with you all. Thank you all, for helping me, when I couldn't even help myself."

I put my foot down, starting up the staircase. I follow them up, watching the staircase disappear into the clouds. We pass through the cloud, our clothes moist from water vapor. At the top of the cloud, we see a faint shimmer of an invisible platform. The shimmer slowly changes to a clean black stone surface and reveals a tower floating above the clouds stretching even further into the sky. We continue to follow Zero, quickly climbing the massive tower. We soon reach the top, the top of the tower opening into a large forest. As we move out of the tower, I hear a faint chirping. The sound of leaves rustling causes a memory to resurface from when Nevereth and I were still merging.

I look around, my heart throbbing. Images of the horrifying creatures flashing in my memories. Almost on cue, a large bark-like creature peeks at us from around a tree. It lumbers forward, far slower than I remember. It extends its needle like fingers, but I easily step forward and punch it into pieces. Zero leads us through the forest, us easily disposing of creatures along the way. Up ahead, we see the garden. Gold, black, red, and white flowers cover the clearing. As we walk closer, we see someone tending to a flower in the garden. I feel a wave of anxiousness wash over me, my throat getting dry and tight. I pick up the pace, moving passed Zero and Blankk towards the garden. While moving faster, another beast extends its hand towards me. With no hesitation or restraint, I punch the creature through several trees. I enter the clearing as the person holds their pale hands to a black flower.

"See? I was right. I wouldn't always be there to save you. Not because you'd be out of my reach, but because you'd grow strong enough to not need me. Though, it does disappoint me that the other two weren't strong enough to survive. But that doesn't matter since you have their strength now."

The woman stands up straight and looks back to us, pulling her hood back. Her long red hair falls past her ribs, her piercing blue eyes staring directly at me.

Zero and Blankk catch up and stare at her as well, Blankk hastily speaking up.

"It's nice to see you again, mother."