Part 7 –

… sirens. I can hear sirens.

Haiyoto couldn’t feel his body save for a stinging numbness that roused him awake. The patters of rain surrounded him, screaming louder than the voices that spoke in incomprehensible murmurs. He felt like he was in a dream of some sort as he heard words spoken in his native tongue, yet he could not decrypt a single word.

Everything was a blur until his vision returned. Once the darkness began to fade, he realised he was laying on a black road on his stomach, his blood-soaked arm reaching out towards… a disaster.

Scrap metal everywhere. A car? A truck…? What happened here…? Am I… back in Earth? Wait… Earth?

Several vehicles were smothered into the side of a concrete building, crumpled like aluminium cans as they bleed a horrid mixture of fuel and blood. He could see bodied crushed within and underneath, with limbs dangling out with no body to be found.

I… this was…

Haiyoto slowly began to unravel the scene, recognising one of the ringed hands that seemingly reached out for him. He groggily stretched a hand towards it, his fingers trembling.

I remember it… I… saw… there was a truck heading down the lane at a ridiculous speed. I tried running to save them, right? A slow kid like me… what the hell was I doing back then?

Haiyoto continued to reach out for that hand, softly whimpering as he recalled the person that the hand belonged to.

That’s right. I tried pushing dad out of the way, didn’t I? Maybe if I wasn’t so slow then he wouldn’t have had to wait for me there… but would it have made a difference?

He lamented this. For the longest time Haiyoto regretted the death of his father, blaming himself for his weakness in the face of danger. His regrets had lingered with him ever since then, having resurged when he witnessed Exrite’s death on that eventful night. He had never forgotten his ineptitude. His inability to act, even though he was blessed with speed to counter his past slowness.

I… really haven’t changed. How pathetic. I’m so pathetic.

Before he knew it, he was being transported along a hallway illuminated by fluorescent lights. A bed and a handful of medical workers drove him down as they spoke in medical gibberish, entering his ears but never into his mind.

“Mister… up. -Ake – ease.”

A voice…

A child spoke to him, their voice cutting in and out like a faulty connection as he absently stared into the ceiling, wondering whether everything was just a dream or…

Perhaps he was really back in Earth.

He didn’t know. But the memories of that world felt all too real to just be a dream he saw at the verge of death. There had been stories of people living lives hundreds of years in a dream in the span of seconds before.

Was Corozin the same?

His vision faded again, and when he awakened, he found himself imprisoned on a hospital bed. Fluid lines, blood pressure cuffs, oxymetres, catheters – and cannulas chained him to this place. He could no longer survive without these fluids, excrete them, or even eat. As he looked back at himself in the mirror, he remembered something about himself. A frightening realisation that he calmly stared face to face with, for there was nothing he could do to change it.

He had died before.

More specifically, he will die within the next few minutes.

Haiyoto remembered his lonely death. Before his mother and younger sister caught news of the accident, he was already dead. The cause was unknown. He had died before he even realised it.

I’m back here again. Is history playing out all over again or… will I really die this time?

“Haiyoto!”

“Big brother!”

A woman burst through the door alongside a young girl, both tearing up at his dreadful sight. Haiyoto’s eyes widened, unable to believe what was happening as the two rushed towards him, clutching onto his hand as they wept.

He was certain he had died alone, filled with regrets. Yet these two were here for him, accompanying him by his bedside. His face morphed through an array of emotions from shock, disbelief, sadness, and then finally, to relief.

“That’s me.” He managed to speak, unable to embrace the two as he stared at them with solemn eyes and a soft smile. Deep down he knew that these people were just a figment of his imagination.

An illusion. A cruel, heartless illusion.

“What are you saying!? Haiyoto… We’re glad you’re ok!”

“Mm! I’m happy you’re alive!”

But there was also another part of him that wanted this to be real. The horrors of the other world, the deaths, the pain – the suffering… he wished it was all just a nightmare.

If only it were…

“You… you won’t go anywhere, will you!? You’re not going to die, right!?” His little sister suddenly cried, her grasp climbing up his arm as she wept over his chest.

It all feels so real. This… illusion. But I think this is exactly how it would have gone if they came to see me when I was like this… Maybe this is what I wanted to see before I…

No. I didn’t want to die. I wanted to live more than anything else.

But minutes away from dying, why don’t I feel afraid?

Haiyoto already knew the answer to this.

“You can stay here, Haiyoto. Stay here with us forever. Please, don’t leave us. Like… Like –!”

“Like father.” Haiyoto finished, looking down at the two with gentle eyes. His mother gasped, unable to form another word as she wept into his hand. “Mom. I’m sorry.”

“Haiyoto… Don’t look at us like that! You’ll stay with us right!? Forever, right!?” His younger sister sobbed, clutching at his gowns as she straddled him, her tiny hands trembling by his chest.

“I already made that promise, didn’t I?” He brought a hand to her cheek and wiped her tears away with a thumb.

“Liar! You liar! That… you never promised anything! I’m begging you – stay with us! Isn’t the pain scary!? Why do you have to go!? Don’t leave us behind you idiot! Stupid! Don’t make mom sad! Brother…! Brother!”

These aberrations were certainly his family. From their reactions to the warmth of her body, Haiyoto realised that these words truly came from the bottom of their hearts. If he hadn’t remembered the months spent in Corozin he would have believed they were begging him to stay here in this dream.

If he was too weak willed, this would have been the easier choice to make.

However – these raw emotions were derived from his mother and younger sister who were still in Truebirth, waiting for him to return. Their worries had reached him from many kilometres away, through different worlds and though his dreams.

A tear ran down his face once he realised this.

“Mina. I want you to listen. I know I’m clumsy and lack every backbone you can imagine. How someone like me even became a Hero is beyond me, but… I don’t want to lose you or mom… or anyone else again. I don’t want to lose the real you. Staying trapped here would be a dream but this isn’t my home anymore. I died in this world. Truebirth is my home now. The country that took us all in with open arms. The country that made the pathetic me their Hero.”

“You’re… you’re not pathetic. Don’t call yourself that. Brother… you’re not pathetic.” She clutched onto the hand atop her head, her voice so strained that it pained him to hear it for more than a second.

“Even if you’re reluctant… people will still look up to you for help. Haiyoto. Your father died because he tried to do what you failed to do. It wasn’t that you were too slow. It was that he ran faster to help before you could.” His bereaved mother cried.

Haiyoto’s throat tightened as he suppressed his sadness, staring down at the two he cared for the most in the world. But it wasn’t just them he needed to protect. There we people out there, waiting to be saved by someone.

Truebirth was his home. How could he turn his back towards it? He was blessed with being reborn in this world, and no matter how horrific the world truly was, he vowed to never turn his back towards its people.

Maybe that’s why this world needed Heroes.

They believe in me as much as they don’t want me to go. Truebirth… even the child weeping over me is asking help from this pat-… from this version of me. How can I turn my back towards them?

I… I have to save them!

Haiyoto had seen through the illusion from the very beginning. But it was all just a matter of finding his resolve to break through. His weeping sister eventually broke into a final sob before the world morphed all around him. His body was numb again, but he could feel the same child that walked with Vevi shaking him awake as he returned to Palvel.

Behind the silent begging of the child, he saw it. The silhouette of the Undead Brute marching its way towards them. Khalis and Vevi laid unmoving as the survivors tried to rouse them awake but to no avail. The scenery took him back to that helpless time, drawing similarities to the uncontrollable vehicles that approached the crossing.

He was surprisingly lucid all of a sudden, every sense returning at once as the child leapt into his neck. Unfounded determination coursed through him as he slowly rose to his feet, watching the survivors continue their attempts to wake the other two. People far weaker than himself carried a resolve belonging only to the fearless. Despite the inevitable death that approached them, they believed in them more than anything else.

They could have run, but they chose to stay.

When he asked why:

“Because you saved us! Where else are we going to go? If we run, we’ll die. Gods only knows how many Undead are out there hiding! I don’t want to die... That’s why we stayed.” A woman sobbed.

A hand clutched the back of the child’s head as he embraced him, almost in a fatherly manner as he quickly gained their attention. He could feel their faith empowering him as he slowly pushed the child aside, his hands on his shoulders.

With a small smile, he asked him something.

“Hey, will you wake them up for me?”

“Mm.”

“Good. Then, I’m counting on you.”

“Mm!”

“What – what are you going to do!?” A man exclaimed.

“Fight.” He said with unparalleled conviction. “If you can’t wake them up then get them and yourselves as far away from here as possible.”

“W-what about –”

“I am going to fight!” He affirmed with absolution.

Haiyoto didn’t exactly know how he was supposed to fight that thing. But his body didn’t stop to think about that nonsense. Adrenaline overloaded his veins as he drew both blades. The child was taken away by the old woman as Haiyoto fixated on nothing other than saving these people.

A diversion would be the best option. To gain its attention and redirect it in another direction was likely the only way he could stop it from trampling over them. Slashing its legs, or even incapacitating it was another option. And in order to do so –

– He needed to inflict as much damage as he possibly could.

It wasn’t instinct nor some delusion created by his aroused courage that suggested this. Instead, it was his very soul that pointed to this answer like the hand of a compass.

Haiyoto took a deep breath and then assumed his stance. His feet dug into the soil as he lightly tapped the tips of his broadswords against the ground. Conviction could no longer describe the fire that burnt in his eyes as he stared upon the hideous Undead Brute. Even at hundreds of metres away he could feel the tremors beneath his feet, lightly juggling the stone like water on a hot pan.

A single strike from its limbs would kill him in an instant. Without the giant object in its possession, he could only guess how quickly it could move its arms. But in the end, it didn’t matter to him.

After all – he wasn’t slow anymore.

He leapt into action using [Dash – Marathon]. Rock split by the sheer force of his lunge as dust burst in all directions. The ragged attires of the hopeful people fluttered wildly as they watched his back shrink in an instant. He was like a streak of light passing through a dark storm. But no matter how overbearing the darkness of Palvel was, his light could not be quelled.

This was his resolve.

Fight.

The world stretched out before him as blitzed through the road with unmatched speed. He took intermediate steps at every ten metres, which were covered every one second. His armour began to heat from the outside as he pushed on with blades in hand, both reeled to one side as he echoed the word Gruggur gifted him out at the top of his lungs:

“FIIIIIIIIIIIIGHT!”

With the silhouette now unveiling itself as 20-metre monster – Haiyoto found himself only tens of metres away from making contact. His voice alerted it of his presence and combined with the shattering sounds of stone that broke with each step he took forward – it would be a surprise if it didn’t.

He felt its gaze through those soulless cavities; it’s steaming heat as it suddenly froze mid-step, raising its foot in an attempt to squash the bug that was Haiyoto. A mere human could do nothing against a monster of unimaginable proportions.

For man to stand against a monster, they must first forfeit their humanity.

Heroes were different, however.

They were the pinnacle of human spirit. Humans capable of breaking through the limits imposed by the Maiden of Judgement. A definition far from what the three Heroes believed, but nevertheless – this definition was undoubtably the truth.

[Dash] –

Haiyoto’s form disappeared as the ground exploded in the wake of his speed. An afterimage of himself surrendered to the falling feet of the Brute, frozen in the same gallant position as he left it. A flash and the sound of steel tore through the air as he suddenly appeared behind the monster. Two spectacular gashes instantly opened along the leg it stood on, cutting so deep that it exposed the countless layers of intertwined muscle, pulsating rapidly at the sudden damage.

His momentum carried him as he slid along the broken ground, his leather boots nearly burning as the metal tips erupted with sparks. Using his blades like a pole, he leveraged his momentum, twisting around it as he sent himself straight back to the Undead to finish off its leg.

[Dash] –

Another two cuts further deepened the wound. The leg was like the wound of a tree which had been hacked by an axe. In these two passes Haiyoto had managed to cleave out a massive chunk of flesh. But even so – as he skidded and turned to face the Brute – he could tell it was not enough.

The Undead had only now just planted its other leg, securing its balance firmly. The wound was already beginning to heal. Black tendrils wove together as a mass of flesh clumped up like a blood clot. The Undead raised another foot forward in another attempt to squash this insignificant insect again. He was no more than a pebble in its eyes and the Necromancer that commanded it.

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But even pebbles were powerful in the right circumstances.

More specifically – with speed came power.

He needed it to consider him as a threat for the sake of those still behind him.

[Dash] –

Haiyoto’s body propelled forward, appearing directly underneath the Undead this time. Its arms were thrown down at him with tremendous force, creating turbulent winds.

He gazed up with determined eyes. He deeply crouched and clashed his blades in a cross above his head. With only one lunge upwards –

[Dash] –

He threw himself straight into the air, twisting himself past the Undead’s reaching hands with agility he never knew he possessed. Once past its arm, he dragged both blades across its human-fabric face, tearing it in half instantaneously. He was flung more than 30 metres in the air, far higher than he thought.

Yet he was not afraid. Only now did the Undead unleash a roar, cementing its rage towards him forever as it caressed its shredded face with uncanny desperation. From this height a fall would undoubtably kill him. Even with protective magic. He could not find an answer to avoid dying, no matter how many fleeting thoughts crossed his mind.

But even so – he was less concerned about himself compared to not only the flashes of blinding light that sporadically exploded along one of the major streets, but also the clambering Undead that spilled into the tower.

Indeed. The Undead had climbed onto one another into the unprotected gash at its peak. His heart raced as all he could think about now was Amy. The death of Lizen returned to him. As did his father, and all those that perished in this nightmare.

He reached out for the tower; his eyes clad in horror as he began to fall from his great height. No matter what he did he wouldn’t be able to reach them. No amount of speed, strength or will would help him.

Only a miracle could.

Just before his fist completely sealed around the sight of the tower –

The world turned blue.

* * *

I always hated fire. But before I knew it, it was everything I wish I had in those last moments…

Ah.

Someone’s crying over me.

What’s with that face?

C’mon… it’s not like I’m going to…

Die…

White.

Pure, pristine white.

A world of white was the kind of Earth Amy remembered. A cold, barren place secluded from the lights of the city. Here the stars shown themselves in all their majesty along with the dancing lights they called the aurora.

Snow-capped mountains. Wooden cabins of a ski-resort covered in a blanket of snow. A winter wonderland best described these far northern lands. It laid deep within the heart of a mountainous region, sitting in a valley connecting to the vast seas.

It was a trip far up north. All 26 of us. Classmates. Our teacher. The guides… Me…

There wasn’t a cloud in sight. A clear sky, clearer than those sparkling oceans. I remember calling it a fantasy screensaver. Past the dam, following the icy road up to the summit, past the village – our bus finally made it to the place.

The place where it all went wrong.

A long tunnel was carved into the side of the mountain. The bus hissed as it drove over the icy asphalt, the chains attached the wheels rattling louder than the engine. But none were as loud as the high schoolers inside, their laughter and antics as healthy as they could be.

A black-haired girl listened silently as she read from a small book. She was timid, wore glasses and had untidy hair. She sat alone near the window of the bus, breaking away from the book every so often to gaze out at the marvellous view beyond.

This was me before I woke up in Truebirth’s castle. I can already imagine the faces they’d make if they found out I was this gloomy. Not that I could help it.

Yeah. This girl was me.

The black-haired Amy touched the hand of her own reflection, staring back at the red-haired version from the other world. She looked through her eyes and experienced every sense like they were her own. Amy knew it was just a memory. A cruel, twisted memory that brought her back to this same place where they all lost their lives.

For as long as I remember, I never really had anyone in my life. No family. A few people I could maybe call friends. I don’t even remember the names of everyone here…

Not even my own real name, where I was born – or who I even am. I vaguely recall certain moments in my past life on Earth. Horrible memories. I can’t tell if I’m looking at my face or not. All I can see is the Amy I am now, not who I was.

Why am I seeing this?

What am I supposed to do?

I know we’re going to die, so let me move just a bit.

Move. Move…

Move.

She flicked to the next page in her book, adjusting her glasses before suddenly – a girl mashed her shoulder against her.

“Yo~! Watcha readin’?”

Eh!? OH! This girl was… yeah. She was a friend of mine. A close friend. I remember now. Red hair. Too tall for her own good. Pretty. Popular. Eyes so sharp you’d probably scream if you saw her coming out of the dark. But she had the biggest heart of anyone I knew.

“Ah – Alice, wait – You can’t just randomly invade someone else’s personal space!” A classmate exclaimed, clapping her hands together in an apologising manner. “Sorry about her _____.”

My name is even blanked out here…

“It’s fine, ain’t it? _____ is a friend of mine, ain’t that right?” She wrapped an arm around Amy, bringing her dangerously close. “More than a friend if ya think about it~!”

“Maybe try saying that without blushing. Look, you’re weirding her out.”

“What can I say? _____ got a good face.” Alice said proudly.

I forgot I was friends with someone like this. But I never hated her. I was always happy when she spoke to me. I think… I was a little jealous of her. I thought it was amazing how she could speak her mind like it was nothing.

Aha.

“You know, if you stopped hogging her like that, she probably would’ve landed herself a boyfriend years ago.”

“Right?” Alice boasted.

“Uh. That’s not something to be proud of.”

Ahahaha. Ah…

Yeah. If only moments like these could last forever.

Both versions of Amy laughed to themselves. But the current one in the reflection stopped abruptly, their eyes weakening. What happened next changed the lives of everyone aboard the bus for the worse. She instinctively winced moments before the sound of thunder struck.

But it was never thunder to begin with. Amy knew that. The roaring sounds that forever carved itself into her heart was instead the sound of cracking stone. It happened in an instant. In one moment, there were cheerful voices, and in the next – they were consumed with despair.

The tunnel ahead collapsed as the world trembled. She remembered seeing a bright flash of green before it happened. The etched pathway along the side of the mountain crashed into itself, trapping them all inside of a cold tomb. Glass slashed at her face as she watched those standing fly to the front of the bus once it crashed with the blockage. Before she was knocked out by the immense whiplash, she saw bodies split into chunks by railings, coating everything in red.

When I saw Exrite ‘die’ I couldn’t handle it. It brought me back to this moment. And then Lizen died in the same way as we did. Crushed underneath rocks as the sound of… thunder was all we could hear. The screams. The wailings. The despair – whenever I hear thunder, all of this comes back to me.

I was the first to wake up. Everyone was scattered everywhere. The driver was crushed between his chair and the wheel, the guides all dead in their seats with glass stuck in their faces. I remember noting it was a miracle that the bus didn’t start smoking or catch fire.

But I also remember wishing that it had.

Amy began dragging each body out one by one, separating the dead from those still breathing. Their bodies banged against the rocks, the wrecked cage that was the bus, and the ground as she dragged them with what little strength she possessed.

Only a handful of the 20 classmates were awake and capable of lending a hand. Alice was not among them. She wasn’t dead either, just severely injured. They both had smashed their heads against the seat in front of them in the crash, knocking them out instantly.

Alice just hadn’t woken up yet.

She remembered the cold. The gnawing cold that chewed down on all layers of clothing, penetrating all layers of skin and seeping straight into her bones. She was never a strong person, unfit in all sense of the word. Despite this, she fought to save others despite her weakness in hopes that someone – anyone would find them before…

No one found us. We died. Four days later, after struggling with the cold and what was left of the food we brought along – I remember dying. If the Undead seek to eat because of perpetual starvation, then I can’t blame them for it. It was horrible.

They endured the cold before they ran out of food and water. Amy’s body each day steadily declined as more people froze to death. On the final day Amy was among the last to remain alive. She remembered a crying Alice who laid beside her head, squeezing her cheeks to keep her conscious as her vision rocked in and out.

The last of their phones had run out of battery, pitting them in an eternal darkness. Yet Amy could see everything so clearly. The crying face of her closest friend sobbing over her as she could only stare up at the ceiling with an outstretched hand.

It was cold. So cold that it became hot. I remember fighting with Alice because I wanted to take off my clothes even though I was frozen all over. Ah… I hated fire. But just that one time I needed it more than anything else.

But I have it now. I have that power. I can summon flames like it’s nothing.

So why… can’t I fight?

Alice… Why are you still crying?

No one’s coming to save us.

I’m going to die. So will you.

This past me… to the current me – I really haven’t changed at all.

I couldn’t save anyone.

“Of course you haven’t! Yer still you! You’re still the same person who tried their hardest to save everyone!” Alice cried, responding to her internal monologues. “No one expected ya to save us! We waited… We all waited for help to arrive, but it never came! Ya can’t blame yourself for that!”

She thought she was hearing things, but she realised that the mouth of the Alice above her matched those words. For a moment the coldness disappeared as the girl continued to pull at her cheeks, her face amess with tears and the unforgiving elements.

But I have the power to fight back. Yet I couldn’t. Stop it, Alice. I could’ve helped Lizen! I could’ve helped everyone but I… I cowered. I tapped out. I was afraid! She was crushed all because of me –!

“That doesn’t mean you can give up! There’s no point in givin’ up! Yer can’t change the past! But that doesn’t mean ya can get dragged along with it! How long have ya been trapped down here for – Ashely!?”

I… I’ve been here for…

Since the beginning...

The black strands of her own hair began to turn red in the corner of her eyes. Alice’s red hair also faded to black, as if they were exchanging the colours of their hairs.

Alice was right. Amy was trapped down here since the accident. Her cowering of the thunder was proof of it. If there was a desire that Amy wanted more than anything – it was to get out.

She wanted to be freed from this nightmare.

Amy reached an epiphany. It wasn’t power that she needed to get out. It was courage. Willpower… a certain warmth to help her find her way. Her only regret now was that she didn’t find it any sooner. If she did, then Lizen wouldn’t have had to die.

It was not the warmth of the fire that she wished she had, but instead was the warmth of someone close. She had lost it so long ago, and even in this very place. But the Amy in Palvel – the reincarnation of Ashely – still had others waiting outside of the barrier that trapped them in Palvel.

And more importantly, people inside as well.

Tears could not stop falling down her cheeks as she clasped at the air, her soul relinquished of her burden as the ceiling began to crack. In its stead entered conviction, and rage to break out of the tomb that trapped her both here and in Palvel.

Alice… then why are you still here?

She had to ask.

“Ain’t it obvious!? I was waitin’ for ya all this time!”

Something clicked inside of her.

Ashely turned into Amy, and the hair of the Alice above her turned completely black the moment the ceiling collapsed over them. The rocks clumped together in one giant mass. The world went by in slow motion.

Amy heart burst into flames as her eyes glowed a brilliant red. Her hand was engulfed in crimson lights as the world dissolved. Reality replaced her illusion, pitting her back into the horrific world that sought to take everything away from her again.

The crying face of Alice never left. Her tears spilt over her face, stinging the gash in her eye as she continued to clutch at her cheeks. Her eyes widened as she watched the ceiling of Undead mass fall onto them, a maw devouring her extended arm down to her elbow as the girl who looked near identical to Alice sobbed. She was hoisted by her legs, holding Amy’s cheeks for dear life as tendrils converted everything below her waist to necrotic tentacles.

Her rage reached a critical point. Though her arm had been cleaved, the glow encasing it did not disappear. A flame capable of boiling iron rose from the deepest recesses of her soul, channelled through her veins and straight to her phantom arm which then turned blue.

“I WON’T LET YOU TAKE ANYTHING FROM ME ANYMORE!” Her shriek was accompanied by an incredibly surge of blue flames. Without any chants. Without any proper casts – she conjured magic of the [Seventh Tier] using only pure conviction.

A variant of [Firebomb], her strongest magic, was converted into a single, constant explosion of blue fire, originating directly from her stumped arm. This magic had no name. No proper form. No basis other than her overwhelming rage to obliterate all that dared to crush her.

The Undead were instantly incinerated to oblivion. The massive flame maintained a single form, appearing like a giant candlewick from the outside as it reached over 50 metres into the air. The sheer difference in power between magic of the [Sixth Tier] and the [Seventh Tier] could not be understated, for what she formed had become completely physical.

The surrounding stone above them melted away, pouring over the edges as it destroyed the clambering Undead. The flow of molten rock completely prevented them from scaling the tower. The blue flame burnt for a complete 10 seconds before it dissipated with an explosive shockwave, clearing the immediate skies around the tower of ash and soot. Because the magic was focused upwards, the heat did not injure anyone around her.

“Incredible… so this is… the power of a Hero.” Calin couldn’t hide her smirk, awestruck by the power that cowardly girl managed to unleash. “Finish off anyone afflicted by an Undead!”

As quickly as Amy was able to sit herself up, she moved onto the girl she knew was Alice and grinded her teeth when she saw the horrifying state she suffered in.

Calin and the Greater Knights finished off the remainder Undead, which were mostly just recently turned people from this upper floor. Most hadn’t entirely turned into Undead yet. Still, they were killed to end their suffering, for turning them back now would only invite perpetual suffering.

Just as a spear was pointed down at Alice’s throat, Amy threw the Greater Knight aside with tremendous force. A miniature explosion of fire, [Fire Burst], robbed him of his consciousness once he smashed into the wall. It was not her intention to injure him, but her body reacted before she even realised it.

Alice screamed as the Undead in her lower half gruelling converted the girl, feasting on her mana-rich flesh. Not knowing any better, Amy casted [Progressive Restoration] on her blackened, tentacle-like legs. There were probably dozens attached to her lower half, making her appear like an aquatic Demi-human.

“WAIT! Amy – Are you crazy!?” Calin exclaimed, reaching out to her but it was too late. She had already relinquished Alice of her Undead affliction. However –

Alice’s screams became death woes before she suddenly fell silent, knocked again into unconsciousness by unimaginable agony. Amy didn’t say a word, completely shocked by the girl’s reaction.

But she soon realised what had occurred to the poor girl. By saving her from becoming an Undead, she had damned her to possessing those things as her lower half. The ill connected limbs, bones, and muscle would serve to forever agonise her.

“Can she go back to normal?” She suddenly asked, right before Calin grasped her by the collar and hoisted her up with a single hand.

“You’re insane if you think she can. It’s better to kill her while she’s still unconscious. If your conviction’s returned, then you’ll do it yourself.” She warned, knowing well of the fate that awaited the girl.

Amy’s eyes burnt. She grasped onto Calin’s wrist with her only hand defiantly.

“I want her to live! I didn’t come back here just to let people I care about die again!” She exclaimed, raising her other… hand to her face.

“Care about? Who, that girl!?” Calin wondered, surprised that Amy even knew this person.

“She’s – She’s from my world! She’s my friend! The same person who saved me! I am not going to let her die!”

“It’s for her own good –!”

“Wait – There is no point in arguing while we’re surrounded by Undead!” Gruggur interrupted, looking over the molten edge where a vast sea of Undead laid. “That girl woke Amy up, didn’t she? It’d be in our best interest to keep her alive.”

“You’ll allow her to suffer through that?” Calin mocked.

“No. Gods no. But there is someone else who wishes her to live. And as much as it pains most of us to allow it – there are things we have no right to intervene with. A Hero’s wish should be absolute. Moreover from the one who managed to do this.” Gruggur was amazed. With this kind of power back on their side, he felt hope swell back into his mighty heart.

“Who was it then? I don’t believe Haiyoto’s into bland-looking girls.”

“It was a couple thousand years old Elf.”

“Excuse me? What’s an ancient Elf snooping around here for?” Calin eventually let Amy go. The girl snapped away, crouching down beside Alice again and inspected her face.

It really is her… Why is she here in Palvel as one of its citizens?

“I cannot answer that. But she possesses magic that defies our knowledge. That much is enough for me to understand the weight of her wish.” Gruggur added.

“Tch. Whatever… though it doesn’t change the fact that Amy’s powered up. It’s about time you joined the fight. Those flames – I can’t believe I’m feeling jealous over you. What a handful. Everyone – get to a lower floor!” Calin commanded, waving an arm.

In an instant, everyone began to descend through the broken staircase, guided by the remaining Greater Knights until only Amy, Alice, Gruggur and Calin remained.

“Dammit… I underestimated the intelligence of the Undead. I’ve ploughed through a good chunk of my mana already. Just how many of these pieces of shit are there!?”

“… enough to crush us a thousand times over. But the sea has an end. Do you see where they’re flooding through?” Gruggur noted. “Something must be creating them there.”

“An origin point. Good eye. Amy. Are you done?” Calin called her over.

“… just about. It really is Alice.” Amy sighed in relief, brushing the girl’s hair aside to see her face. “Really… just when I thought I came into this world all alone. I’m coming.”

“What’s your mana reserves like? After a spectacular display like that, you might need to be careful –”

“I’m still nearly full.” She answered truthfully, her voice still riled with rage as she clutched onto her missing arm. “This time… this time I’ll fight. If you’re done with your mana reserves, then leave it to me!”

Amy stood before them. The small frame of a girl was the last bastion of their hopes of survival. Her silhouette was hardly convincing, and her injuries only invited one to doubt her power. But beyond this, Calin and Gruggur, who were among the most experienced warriors of Truebirth – were able to sense her fortitude. Her conviction. Her Will.

That alone made her appear like a Hero for the first time in their eyes.

Calin nearly burst into laughter, only grinning to herself as she suppressed the urge. Gruggur on the other hand could not be more astonished. It was said that in these moments one’s true nature would be revealed. It mattered not who she was, but who she is now.

“Don’t go looking so cool in front of two Greater Knights. But after this I wouldn’t be surprised if all of our titles were revoked. Grugger. Get back down there.”

“I was afraid I’d be in the way, anyway.” He said, but before he could leave – “Amy. Everyone’s counting you.”

“Thank you.” She simply remarked. “Uh… I’m wondering if you will be ok? With this amount of Undead you’ll surely be caught in my –”

“Who the hell do you take me for? Fire is my life and blood. If I perished to a fire, do you know how many people will roll in their graves?” She snapped, smiling soon afterwards. “You’re a handful. And to be frank, Anoma and I doubted you’d be of any help. What’s a Hero that can’t do anything? But you saved us there. I guess you do have some guts in you. About time as well. Careful, cause our friends down there will want to take them out.”

Amy broke into a small laugh. Her rage was still potent, but it wasn’t directed at all to anyone but the Undead, and the unforgivable circumstances they were casted into. She was glad she was able to still laugh… even if it was in a time like this.

And with it, came a single tear from the only eye she had left.

“Right back at you! Who the hell did you take me for! I’m practically a prodigy in [Fire] magic!” She roared at the top of her lungs.