The Ultimate Sacrifice

Slowly pushing my body up the crater, the vision in my right eye started to die out and get near-sighted.

I put one foot in the crater, climbing up the edge, and panting heavily as I watched the time in my eye count down.

[Lifespan Reduction: 3 Hours, 55 Minutes Remaining]

I sighed, slightly smiling as I finally cleared the crater.

From the near-sighted vision in my right eye, I saw a group of people running toward me. White hair... blonde hair... brown hair... Illya, Dani, Carl, Faith... there they were.

"SKY! Did we win?! Are you okay?!" Carl asked me, holding me tightly in a hug.

I saw Illya read the text in my eye and cover her mouth as tears started to fall from her eyes.

"You... you won... not me..." I confessed to Carl. He placed his hands on my shoulders and read the text, just as Dani and Faith did.

"No... Sky... you... you're dying?" Carl asked me. I couldn't help but join them, crying along with my friends as it finally connected in my mind.

"SKY! YOU'RE OKAY!" Umbra shouted out. She came running next, with Ruby, Lia, Lily, Shike, Belle, Alexia, and Boo beside her.

As they got closer and gained vision of my left eye, they noticed what was happening, and started to fall to the ground in tears.

"This can't be happening..." Shike said. He started to stare at his hands, watching them shake from the anticipation of my death.

"Quake has fallen... Cole is dead... Zeka, Austin, Amy... we did it. Fico has run, Cynthia ran with her... Quake is no more. We did it... we fought for our freedom... from the boat... to now... we won," I muttered. Ellios, Rin, and Ren joined next, with Alatus and Fudo following close behind.

They were caught up, getting close to me as they realized what was happening.

"You can't die... you can't! You've been with us this entire time! There must be something we can do! Illya!" Rin desperately looked to her for answers, but Illya was incoherent. She was still covering her mouth, crying even harder than before.

"The day I pummeled Ullr into the ground is when I knew that I couldn't be with you guys. It was the day that I knew protecting you all was infinitely more important to me than achieving a happy ending of my own. I guess... I guess that was what they were talking about when I read that I was the Ultimate Leader. I lost all forms of selfishness when Domin died... it wasn't about saving myself, it was about saving everybody else," I said to everybody around me. They all stood silent, with only the sounds of dropping tears and quivering lips being heard.

"I can't handle this... you can't die, Sky. Take some of my lifespan, please, take half... I can't live without you," Dani grabbed both of my hands, crying on my forearms while losing the strength in her legs.

"The me from four hundred years ago is dead. And I'll follow right behind him. The world will be rid of Sky Asterio. That's what they wanted all along, isn't it?" I asked around, looking toward Fudo and Alatus specifically. They knew the legends, they were taught about me since they were kids... but were also the first ones that gave me proper attention, regardless of knowing.

"You can't die... please... don't leave us alone..." Boo pulled on my shoulders from behind. I looked at her, watching her cry for the first time since Myth and Mitra died. She was a tough nut to crack... it pained me to see that this was something that made her cry.

"They'll tell Legends of you, Sky. Of the man who saved so many lives, from Orion's Grasp, from Quake's Grasp... you won't die, Sky, because they'll always talk about you from here on out. You're the hero of this story now," Tavian clarified for me. I couldn't help but smile through the pain, looking at everybody else around me.

Wrapped in hugs, being pulled around by various people as I came to terms with death... I saved Avie at the very least... which is all I could've asked for. This is how I always imagined I would die. I suffered a lot... I watched a lot of people die... and now, they would watch me die. What a bittersweet ending.

"Sky..." Illya started to pick up her voice and everybody went silent to let her say her piece.

"You... you defeated me... you knew how many people I killed... you knew how terrible I was... yet you kept me alive... why... why was I spared..." Illya asked me. I never explained to her the full reason she was spared, only keeping it short by saying that Faith needed a mother.

"The reason I kept you alive? Regardless of what you did...? Like it or not, I grew up with you in The First Trial. You were a sister to me for a long period of time... I couldn't kill a member of my family. I never have and I never will. You needed to be punished... but to be killed? I couldn't do that. Look what you've done for us since that point... you helped us fight Quake, didn't you? That was something," I told her.

Illya began to sob into her hands again, lifting her bloodshot eyes from her hands to look at me.

"I killed four of your friends... I killed members of your family... and you still don't regret it?" Illya asked me.

I sharply cut her off, shaking my head.

"Not even in the slightest. You saved Dani's life. You saved the people of Zealous... you aren't a bad person, I knew you weren't... I'm sorry, you'll have to be Faith's mother alone. I wanted to see her grow up... I wanted to see everybody grow up... but I'm glad that I know you will, regardless of if I'm there or not. There are no more battles after this. It's peace, it always will be from here on out... and I hope you guys are okay with that," I told everybody.