CHAPTER. 166: BOOK 3 EPILOGUE: HAPPINESS

I groaned, getting up from bed. My entire body felt stiff, but also… relaxed. I felt good, in fact, very good. I rubbed my bleary eyes as a yawn escaped me before I finally took a look at my surroundings.

I was in an unfamiliar room of warm colors, one filled with paintings, one filled with statues; it was one that I found pleasing. Yet, even though it was unfamiliar, it nibbled in my mind as if I should have remembered something. I frowned for a moment before my eyes landed on Ceylon, who was sleeping not too far away from me.

And that was when it all came rushing back to me. How I kind of fell apart last night, and all I could do was blink.

“Oh.”

I felt slightly awkward about the events that had transpired, but at the same time, I felt happy. Ceylon was still here, it wasn’t as if she had rejected me, in fact, she had comforted me. I smiled and caressed her head.

“Thank you.”

At that, she simply mumbled something incoherent, which made me stifle a chuckle. In the end, I was happy, more than happy even. I was glad, glad to be able to experience this, and glad to be back. I smiled and laid back down as my eyes fluttered shut, and then a moment later, I fell back asleep.

◇ ◇ ◇

Life was… or rather my life was… wondrous, but also… weird.

I had once been a university student; one that was unloved by their own parents due to their choices, and one that was left to fend for themselves. That was the life I led, and when the System abducted me, it was no different.

I closed my eyes remembering the words that flashed before my eyes in that snowy landscape.

Back in my first hour in that forest.

[ The Arctic Wolf is the starting enemy for your training as a Hero. ]

I saw words that made me freak out.

And yet, I prevailed. Alone. I grew stronger. Alone. I fought my way through the training and eventually defeated the so-called Overlord, allowing me to leave that snowy world. Afterward, I got my first taste of the unfamiliar world of Arlas, and I expected to be alone. I truly did, but fate had other plans.

Because that’s when I met her.

The blonde girl drew back with a shrill shriek as she cried.

“Please don’t kill me!”

Ceylon. The girl I decided to help on a whim, and who eventually ended up becoming my sister, or something akin to one. Perhaps it was because she was my first sincere interaction in some form, or because I saw an image of young me in her; when I cried under the rain, wondering where to go from now; but I decided to help her.

And that’s how I ended here.

I stared down at my pale hands, and then out of the window of my room. I was in the castle of Vaelith, the capital of Draliz. And I was technically its ruler. Even though I had to fight myself out of a broken world first to even enjoy this position.

Due to that, I was now stronger than ever. But in all honesty, I didn’t care too much, not right now anyway. Even if I needed it to deal with whatever the fake Hero of Arlas was planning eventually.

All of that right now was simply unimportant. Perhaps it was due to the fact that I never got to experience proper love from my family, but right now, all I wanted to do was spend my time with Ceylon. To enjoy what I had, even if I knew that this time was merely temporary.

Whether it was because of the fact that the world was doomed to end, lifespans, or even some other unexpected event, I knew that I would eventually need to go out there once more and fight.

But not right now.

Because right now, I had time for myself.

“Hmhm…”

My ears perked up at the sound of stirring, and I turned only to see Ceylon groggily getting up from bed.

“Mornin’,” I said, basically grinning. “You slept a while.”

“Did I…?”

She looked around the room, with evidently hazy eyes, unable to take in her surroundings, which made me smile. It was a cute sight.

“How long have you been up?”

“Hmm.” I tilted my head taking in her question. “Two or three hours maybe…”

At that, Ceylon blinked. “Wait, but that means you didn’t sleep much.”

I turned around, nodding.

“Yeah I couldn’t, I was happy⁠—”

But I found myself being pulled by Ceylon.

“No, you have to get proper sleep, especially after everything you went through.”

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I chuckled. “It’s fine, Ceylon, really.”

But all I got in response was a defiant glare, one that at first gave me pause, but soon made me sigh and listen to her. In a couple of moments, I found myself back in bed, and Ceylon hurriedly making herself presentable to leave the room.

“Stay there, I’ll get you some warm chocolate or something.” She shook her head. “You really should’ve woken me up.”

“I didn’t want to, you looked so peaceful sleeping.” I grinned.

Hearing me, she sighed as she straightened her hair.

“You’re always looking out for me, let me look after you at least once. Especially now that you are back.”

“Right…” That was true. “Thank you.”

She turned around and smiled at me. “It won’t be long.”

And with those words, she left, leaving me feeling strange. And that feeling persisted for a few moments before finally, my thoughts reached a conclusion.

I really am glad to be here. I closed my eyes. To have someone like Ceylon as my sister, I really couldn’t ask for something more.

Back on Earth, my family hardly ever cared for me; throughout my life, I hardly got to experience people worrying for me. But Ceylon did, even Malz or my other friends did… maybe my professors back in college did too, but it wasn’t the same.

In the end, I found true family here.

Even if I knew this peace was temporary, I was going to damn enjoy it.

* * * * *

Regis’karr looked up at the cavernous ceiling before chuckling and looking ahead.

“So… how’s the weather?”

The figure on the other side of the cave shifted before growling. “Regis’karr, you should’ve come up with an escape plan by now, instead of doing these… jokes.”

“We’ve tried, they didn’t work.” Regis’karr sighed. “You should at least try to keep a positive mindset. It’s all we have after all.”

The old man scoffed, his brown robes were tattered and his expression looked grave and dissatisfied. It was none other than the Dragon of Earth, and both of them were sharing the same space in their human form.

“There is nothing to be positive about Regis’karr, we have failed.”

“Indeed we did.”

He was going to say something else, but a moment later his thoughts were interrupted by heavy and meaty steps. The two of them turned and saw a dragon standing outside, then with a flick of its claw, a large fish went flying into the cavern.

“Your food.”

The raw and dead fish hit the ground and soon, the dragon left, leaving Regis’karr to stare at it.

“We are prisoners, Regis’karr,” The Dragon of Earth finally said. “All because you didn’t want to continue looking for the Dragon of Taboo to aid us. And this is the result.”

Hearing that, he shook his head.

“There was no other choice, if we didn’t act then that meant our brethren would die at the hands of Arc.” He closed his eyes. “That is not something I wanted.”

“And yet she vanished without a trace.”

Regis’karr nodded, it was information they later learned. But it didn’t matter. Even if the Dragon of Earth didn’t want to accept it, both of them shared equal responsibility for the situation they were in.

In the end, they failed to stop the Dragon of Nature and were captured for it. Now, they were prisoners. They couldn’t even escape, not until the security was low. All they could do now was wait for their execution and act then or die trying.

That was all they could do and the only thing they could do, and Regis’karr was well aware of it.

A sigh left him.

“I hope you’re doing better than me, Arc.”

In the end, he had failed.

* * * * *

The Hero of Sand hummed in his chamber. The Miri-Sunre republic had been quite stable which meant he had been free to do whatever he wanted for the past few weeks. It had been a treat so far, and today was no different. After all, the world was in a state of relative peace after the stunts the Heroine of Frost pulled not too long ago.

And this peace had allowed him to expand his information network, partner himself with new heroes, and look for more lands and resources to conquer. Of course, he wasn’t some crazed maniac like some of the other heroes. He had concrete plans and goals, and while some remained unachievable he knew that in due time the opportunity would come.

Whether it was easy to seize or not, that was a different question.

“Well, I got anything but time.” He smiled.

It really was a shame that the Heroine of Frost had basically vanished, and the most likely culprit was the keeper of order. He had done his homework, and while most people weren’t even privy to what actually happened in Draliz, he knew better.

The Hero of Spirits and Hero of Flames died… both at the hands of her. He closed his eyes. A shame she pissed off the keeper of order.

Unfortunately, he had to look elsewhere, to broaden his horizons in a way.

Maybe the Hero of Glass could prove useful…

He frowned thinking. Although getting into contact with that man could prove troublesome perhaps it was a venue worth exploring. After all, what he wanted most right now was influence.

The Hero of Sand closed his eyes, and then a man ran into the room through the beaded curtain at the entrance. One of his informants.

“O’ Ultimate Warrior, I have something urgent to report, it’s in regards to the Heroine of Frost.”

He sighed. “Was her body found?”

“No, she’s made a return.”

At that, the Hero of Sand blinked and sat straight turning to look at his informant as he continued.

“And she repelled the Hero of Humans from Draliz, including killing him once.”

“What?”

Hearing his shock the man began to sweat, trembling on his spot as he sputtered, “T-There was a notification⁠— about a threat to humanity⁠— it’s been verified⁠…”

The words of the informant kept ringing in his ears but he barely registered as his thoughts entered disarray.

Wasn’t she supposed to be gone⁠— did something happen? Wait⁠— if she is back doesn’t that mean⁠— Finally, the Hero of Sand broke out into howling laughter.

“I really thought she was done for. God, what a shock.”

He laughed as his informant stared at him aghast, but it didn’t matter.

“So it seems that my plans are far from ruined after all.”

Finally, he grinned to himself.

I may need to pay a visit to Draliz soon.

* * * * *

The keeper of order stomped. His fluttering cloak was torn and the world of darkness he was in trembled. It was the boundary between worlds. a place between Arlas and the Forgotten Places, and this was where he lived. He took a look at the empty space with lighting that seemed to come from no place in particular.

And finally, he flicked his fingers as he saw a screen, a black screen that seemed to have its signal cut.

It belonged to none other than the Hero of Humans.

“AGH!” he shouted. “Just WHY—”

He had been so angry, so insanely angry at the Heroine of Frost, the number of times he thought about killing her only to stop himself was innumerable. The number of times he wanted to lash out and make her pay by taking her companions was also beyond him. The rage he felt was greater than anything he had felt in centuries, and for good reason.

She had ruined everything.

And now, the world was doomed. Perhaps it could survive the impending apocalypse, but not if he couldn’t control Arc, and now; now that she was outside his influence he couldn’t. Not when she had a blessing from the world itself, it was something outside his authority. The world was doomed.

He let out a laugh before he was interrupted by a screech in the distance. He turned and saw a rift opening, causing him to blink.

It was none other than the Hero of Shadows coming for Arc, finally on his way to cross to Arlas.

[̸̨̹̾̈́H̶͕͈́ḛ̷͊͒r̵̪̤̀o̶̜̿ ̷̖̍o̴̖̐f̵̘̆ ̶̘̳͌S̸̹̠̄̋h̷̰̖̀̒a̸̰͓̔̾d̸̡͇̄ö̶̻́w̵̟̓s̷̝͑̔.̴̞̼̌ ̵̧̛̛̯̳̳͎̱̥̼̼͙̱̺̼̥̹̭̖̤͑͗̈́͌̍̊̏̾̈̔̑͛̔̑͂̽̐̀͑̕̚͘͝͝T̴̡̢̨͉̳͖̹̟̬͚̜̬͖̟̮̲̰͚̝̆̓͗̋̉i̷̡̛͓͇̻͈̫̮̱͍̤͕̅͗̈́̒̔̓̇̐̑̾̇͋̐̔̕̚͜͝͠e̶̬̻͈͕̠͚͋̍͆͆̇͗́r̸̡̢̨̛̛͚̤̯͓̲̯̻̻̹̜͕̠̝̗͇̘̙͓̟̪̟̗͇̱̹̪̠͈̈̀͊̑̔͋̈͑̉̑͑̆̀̈́̽̂͂͐͑̄̀̃͋́̈́̒́͂͒̚͘͜͝͠͝ͅ:̵̨̛͍̐̎͛̋̋̊̑̀̍̔̉͝ ̸̢̩̖̯͚͇͉̗̠̫̝̹͚̬͙̣̭̰̏́̓̎͂̈͒̿̊̓̈̐̈́̅̑̇̊́̂̈̒̏́̚S̵̛̼̆͂̉̇̿̾͛̓̐̿̽́͋̃̉͝S̸̡̧̛͕̪̖͖̠͎͓̱͓͖̙̯̠͖̗͚͓̉̏̀͋̅̓̈́̓̓́͊̋̋̆̇́͌̌͑̽͆̒͋̅̈́͂͜͝͠S̷̢̨̧̛̜̼̱͓͚̿̊̆͊͗͒͜]̸̛͚̩̖̥͕̘͍̥̐̂̏͛͑̍͗̾̋͂̾̏̀̽̈́͋͘͝͠ͅ

And to him, it was his salvation.

Because after all, as the Hero of the System, his authority could supersede even the world’s with the use of the corruption.

It was how the world was ending after all.

End of Book Three