We won. Willow is dead. It was a long, hard battle. We expected nothing short. We aren't unscathed but we are unbroken. No one is dead or dying.

No one, that is, except me.

My body is unraveling and my dungeon core is shattered. Either of those problems alone would be easy enough to fix, or at least survive. Already my connection to my forest feels distant, anemic. My control over magic the same.

It's not all without hope, I can try to reincarnate myself. I am reasonably certain that I will succeed. Making a body is something I have done millions if not billions of times, and transferring a soul from one body to another is something I have done thousands. With a bit of Fate I think I can pull it off, but I don't have much time to try. Already my soul is starting to slip loose from the fragments of my core.

I hope I'm not just deluding myself.

I'm stalling the inevitable, aren't I? Everyone else is unconscious or otherwise indisposed, nothing they won't recover from, but they won't be recovering quickly. None of them will be getting a chance to say goodbye. I won't be getting a chance to say goodbye.

I just want my dad to tell me a story one last time before I leave. But I won't live long enough to hear the ending.

Maybe I should tell him a story this time. Yeah, I think I'll do that. I'll leave my diary for them.

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

To Tiddol

Thank you for being my best friend, for everything we shared together. For sticking with me in the good times and the bad. You are the closest thing I ever had to a sister.

To Parius

We never would have made it anywhere without you. You made us much grander than we otherwise could have possibly been. You were like a brother to me, and I admired you for everything you managed to accomplish. Please make sure our people prosper in the future, and please take care of Tiddol for me.

To Azrezel

It's kind of funny, we were like gods to them. All of us were, but the two of us more than the rest. Me, the goddess of life and creation, and you the god of death. And now the goddess of life is leaving this world behind. I loved you, love you, in a way that I never loved anyone else. With a kind of cold passion, an endless drive that I don't think I can ever forget.

To Dad

I'm sorry. I'm sorry I wasn't able to give you the quiet retired life you wanted. I know that is why you settled down with mom, so that I wouldn't be able to get into trouble out of your sight. I guess I found a way to do that anyway. I'm sorry I wasn't a better daughter. But please indulge one last selfishness from me, please take care of your grandchildren. I made sure to leave you plenty of them, just like you wanted. Please share your stories, and mine, with the world again. Please forgive me, and know that I love you.

To Junior and Askos

Take care of yourself, my apprentices. You have the weight of both myself and the Hornmark name behind you, you will accomplish grand things if you so much as try. Grander than I can even imagine right now. Take your legacy and thrive.

To Talus

You were my first, you always will be. And though I can't say 'I love you' anymore I can say thank you. Thank you for everything you did for me. And good luck with your future endeavors. You can take the world by storm if you try.

I don't have much time left, I don't think I'm going to succeed. But I have to try anyway.

Anyway, Good Night Diary.