A moment’s rest

Skipping cheerily through dilapidated buildings and rows of corpses Allegrano suddenly stopped and turned to the both of us.

"Need something?" 

Marlowlia told Allegrano once again to cease the upheaval. But to that, he just shrugged his shoulders before continuing on his way.

Not feeling like negotiating anymore Marlowlia threw a blue piece of paper on the ground. Circles and diagrams encircled Allegrano. 

*Tap tap*

Allegrano with scrutiny analyzed the invisible blue wall obstructing him. Then he tried to walk through just to bump his head into it.

"A no go huh."

His lips pushed out and he started to pout.

"Well, I can't have you stopping me like this. This is an absolute order I got."

A green flower sprouted out of his cheek and lit up bright green.

"I haven't been able to play around with this for quite some time."

Allegrano sighed as if remembering all the time he spent isolated from the real world by the other Allegrano.

An adorable but malicious giggle came from him as he touched his face with both of his hands. His face was flushed and almost drooling in pleasure. 

"The Aeon of Joy's ability… you wanna know what it is?"

His hand was on the invisible barrier but in the next moment, he wasn't in it anymore. 

He stood now face to face with Marlowlia staring down at her with a grin filled with euphoria.

"Reversal of property."

Marlowlia tried to send another conservation talisman at him, but before I could stop her, the wicked smirk of Joy had completely consumed her. 

Feeling a sense of dread growing inside of her, the mark of conservation cancelled out and the flower wilted. 

"Realized it now haven't you?"

Allegrano stood behind her with his hands gently stroking her cheeks. 

"You are going to destroy what you tried to preserve."

Those words were all it took for Marlowlia to fall down onto her knees realizing what she had just done.

"The reversal of conservation, destruction."

So that's why Devina warned me to stop Marlowlia. That inner voice of hers, I shouldn't have doubted her words.

"Oya? Feeling down now?"

He bent down to knee height and smiled at Marlowlia who sat there despondent.

"Allegrano, no more."

A dissatisfied sigh came from him as he stood up.

"Ah…"

He walked in circles around me with his hands behind his back telling a story.

"There was once a little duckling who was born different. It had a different color from the other ducklings and had a weird personality. It strayed from the group and eventually found another place to belong. But no matter how many times the little duckling tried to fill that void, a bigger one was created. 

The duckling thought it just needed to wait and wait until time and destiny gave it what it wanted. But there was no such thing. For 4000 years it waited and yet the endless void was etched deep within its soul."

"Where are you going with this?"

"AAAAH, don't interrupt a storyteller!" Allegrano outburst.

"Continuing to waddle, the duckling saw the light. But it wasn't the light one would usually imagine. The bright heavenly illumination, nay, it was the pitch-black void.

Not being able to resist this comforting warmth that the darkness provided, the duckling embraced the end and was consumed by the abyss. Though the body of the duckling had been swallowed, the happiness was unlike anything the little one had ever experienced."

My eyebrows furrowed while listening to the story. The duckling that Allegrano spoke of, sort of reminded me of Devina. 

"Allegrano?"

He spun around looking excitedly at me. 

"Wassup?"

"No matter what we do you won't stop protecting this city right?"

"Yep!"

A spark of yellow reemerged from my cheek as a flower grew out of my cheek. A bright yellow blooming flower.

Allegrano took notice of the mark of Dexterity on my cheek.

"That mark… how did you acquire it?"

I shook off his question and threw him a piece of paper. 

Reading through the contract he couldn't help but laugh. 

"You are Devina aren't you?"

"Who knows."

"Only a person like this would come up with a ludicrous plan like this."

*Somewhere inside Vivshi*

Devina was in an empty void floating around. Huddled up into the fetal position she continued to drift endlessly. When she opened her eyes she saw a figure. A very familiar being.

She sat down next to it and asked what it was doing. 

"I'm waiting, for the destruction of the world. The eradication of all life."

"After that, what will you wait for?"

There was no answer. Devina sat up and explored the void but she always came back to the entity in the center of all of it.

"I believe you and I are the same."

Devina was staring back at Devina. An exact copy of her was sitting in the middle of the universe. 

"All concepts in the universe hold no meaning. The things we see around us, it is knowledge am I wrong?"

The two Devina looked at each other before one of them reached out a hand.

"Let's go for a walk shall we?"

Devina grabbed onto her hand. Both of them started to walk together.

"An eternal road made solely for the two of us."

"Truly a curse."

"Truly a blessing."

Both of them giggled hearing each others' answers.

"Do you believe the time we spent trying to understand everything was worth it?"

"Honestly no."

"Why?"

Devina shrugged her shoulders.

"Though my conception was indeed a blessing. The benediction of life, but at the same time the oh so… painful path."

"The gregarious world granted us the opportunity for everything yet stole everything from us."

They intertwined their fingers and continued into the dark.

"If we didn't exist, the burning path of coal wouldn't have scorched the soles of our feet as we transcended."

"If we had only been a normal human, would we have suffered less?"

After centuries of walking and talking with each other, they decided to stop to rest.

"Do you still think it is a blessing?"

"As long as I have you, I will continue moving forward."

The other Devina pulled away from the other Devina's hand, their skin tearing after holding hands for so long. 

Devina got agitated and reached out immediately. She was scared of losing the only thing she had in this endless void.

"I think I need to rest for a little bit. You can continue without me."

Devina grabbed ahold of her hand and hugged her.

"I'm sorry." 

"Why are you apologizing to yourself?"

Tears rolled down from one of their cheeks and wet themselves onto the other's shirt.

"Just a little bit more… walk with me."

"Just a little bit more."