I awoke to excruciating pain, spasming as I became aware of an infinity of things I had never known before. Everything was deeper, richer, and not by an insignificant margin.

The world I saw now was so different from the one I once saw I wondered how I could have ever been so blind. I saw the people, fighting and snarling like animals, and with a thought I reached out and quieted them. I could not easily restore their spirituality, that would need to wait until after I ascended.

And my ascension was close. My Heart had been worthy of it, and as soon as I mastered it, I expected the final barrier to crumble like paper before me.

I saw the watcher, god, bound in his cocoon, struggling furiously to escape. With my newfound sight, I could tell he would escape within a few years. I frowned. He would be a difficult opponent, even after I ascended. I had no confidence in winning, but I would not back down.

Not when the fate of humanity hung in the balance.

It was a daunting task, and for a moment, I felt lost, hopeless. I stretched my will out, scouring the universe for something, anything that could help me. Angelica’s tomb was long gone, destroyed in the Homeworld’s ignition, but the knowledge she had taught me would be invaluable.

Still, I needed more.

And I found it, in the form of a man I had long thought dead.

I stepped through space, emerging right before a pair of violet eyes. Merlin was sitting at my desk in my atrium. The bodies of Xanthar and his fellow rebels were nowhere to be found.

Merlin still looked like a young man in the prime of his life, but I knew better. It was honestly a miracle he was still alive, and I suspected it was only due to his body-soul dissociation. His soul was hanging on by a thread. He would not last another hour unless I interfered.

I reached into him and prepared to stitch him back together, only to be opposed by power he should not have.

“No, Kyoko.” he said, “My time is up. Do not prolong my suffering.”

My shock at him talking overwhelmed even my surprise at being recognized.

“Why Merlin? I can save you. It will cost me nothing.”

He chuckled. “Not the cost that matters. I’m done. I miss Beth. Being trapped in my own soul for ages was enough.”

“How did you… get back?”

“That massive wave of spiritual power temporarily bridged the spiritual and physical. I was able to use that to jump back to my body. It took me a few years to deal with the trauma in my mind and gain back my cognition. Honestly, it's all hazy. I wouldn’t have even bothered, but I suspected you were behind this.” He frowned at me. “Kyoko, what the hell’s going on? That wave,,,”

“Yeah.” I whispered, confirming his unspoken question. “I managed to keep most alive, but they’ve had their spirituality stripped from them. They’re in a similar state to how you used to be. I can fix it, but not for so many, so I’ve put them in stasis. Besides, we have bigger issues to worry about.”

Merlin raised an eyebrow. “What could possibly be more important than this?”

“The destruction of the universe.”

“What?! Did everything go to shit the second I left!?”

I took a seat in the chair beside him and explained everything from the beginning. Father’s death. The rage, the sword, and Nero’s death. The fallout. The path I forged and the second breaking of the universe. My Heart. For those precious few minutes. I was a child again, explaining a particularly difficult problem to Merlin. I missed those days. He nodded along thoughtfully, as he always had. I had been so far above for so long. It was nice to see somebody that remembered my childhood antics. When I finished, Merlin lapsed into a thoughtful silence.

When he opened his mouth to speak, I somehow expected him to have the answer. “What the actual fuck!?”

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Silence.

Of all the things I had expected, that had not been one. I couldn't help it. I started to laugh, and once it started, it didn’t stop.

Merlin looked at me irritatedly. “Oh get over it. You’re old now.”

I only laughed harder.

Tears came to my eyes as my laughter slowly transitioned into sobs. Merlin looked alarmed, and immediately, perhaps forgetting I wasn't a young child anymore, took me in his arms and hugged me.

His voice was soft. “Are you ok, Kyoko?”

It was my Heart. As a being of pure passion, control was of utmost importance, but my Heart had once more skewed the balance. The waves of sadness and trauma I was radiating could have overloaded planets full of people, but Merlin seemed unaffected.

“Damn,” I heard him comment through my tears. “That's a hell of a lot more powerful than when you were a kid.”

“Y…y…y…yeah” I stuttered, ashamed of my weakness.

“It’s alright, Kyoko. We all have our moments. I used to break down every time I thought of Beth.”

“R…r…really?”

He continued to babble meaningless words, soothing me like I was still a child. It was comforting to let somebody else care for once. Slowly my sobs tapered off.

“Are you alright?”

I sighed, finally in control once more. “I don’t know. The majority of my people just died and the remnants have been reduced to animals. The end of the universe is upon us, and I’m not ready to face it. My Heart is out of control and I can barely control my emotions. I just don’t know what to do.”

Merlin started to speak but I spoke over him.

“Of course, I'm still going to fight. My conviction is powerful as always despite my unstable state. But I just don’t know how to win. And if I fail humanity dies. I can't fail my people again. I simply ca–”

“Kyoko!” Merlin yelled.

I started out of my spiral, wincing. I was really losing control. How was I supposed to master my Heart in only a few years?

“Kyoko, you there?”

“Yeah.” I mumbled.

“We’re going to do some emotional control exercises.”

I let out an instinctive groan, recalling those boring sessions from almost a century ago.

Merlin chuckled. “Still hate hard work, eh. You know some of us need to work to achieve success.”

I chuckled with him and sat down cross-legged on the ground, closing my eyes. For a moment, there was silence, then a deep, calm voice.

“Picture an endless surface of water.”

The image came easily to me, more vivid than anything I had ever pictured before, my Heart making it simple to connect the visualization to its parent concept.

“Now let a steady stream of drops land in the middle.”

A perfect drop appeared, a conception made real, and fell into the middle of the water.

Then another.

Then another.

“Watch the ripples spread, observe them one by one.”

Time seemed to stop as the ripples rushed outward, disturbing the perfect calm.

“Now, one by one, remove the ripples, taking care to not disturb the other in the process.”

Time passed as the ripples slowly vanished.

Finally, I opened my eyes to see Merlin grinning down at me.

“Feel better?”

I did feel much better. More controlled. And I sense a resonance from my Heart I had not sensed previously, one that seemed to connect to everything and nothing at the same time.

“Much better” I finally responded.

“When the problem seems endless, I like to handle it one piece at a time, one problem at a time. A thousand-mile journey is not finished in an instant. It is achieved step by step. Break down the problems, Kyoko, and I think you will find yourself more than enough to face them.”

“Thank you, Merlin.”

He smiled. “Anything for my boy.”

We spent the rest of his time talking. It was absurd, the last two sentient beings talking in an empty universe, while god himself prepared to smite them.

I asked him to stay, but he only smiled sadly.

“I am done, Kyoko. This is that last shred of my will. And this is not a simple matter of repairing my soul. I am old and tired. Even if you managed to stabilize my being, it would be a constant drain on your power. But mostly, I just can’t” His smile slipped. “I wish for nothing so dearly as oblivion. I was broken long ago, and I only want to see Beth again.”

I wanted to scream. I wanted to shout. But I understood. My Heart felt it. If I pressed, he would stay. But every moment would be agony. He just wanted to rest.

I understood.

Empathy is a curse sometimes.

Finally, the time came for him to go.

Tears filled my eyes, “I’ll miss you, Merlin.”

He smiled. “Remember, step by step. You can do it.”

And with that, he closed his eyes.

I felt his soul leave his body, and acting on instinct, I drew on the power of my Heart and blessed the soul, willing him to find Beth.

The last thing I felt before he left was peace so profound it shook me to the core. I suppose it was his last gift.

And then I was alone.

But now I knew what to do.

And I would do it.

Step by step.

—---------------------------------------