In less than two weeks all necessary preparations were completed. The sunlight had grown dimmer, but unnoticeably so for the larger population. The sudden appearance of an entire town of mature archumans had caused disorders in the Perimeters, but they had been quelled in a few hours, mostly through the use of gentle but repeated beatings.

Unfortunately, less than ten of them had decided to actually interact with the inhabitants of this side. Most of the remaining ones had remained in the Last Harbour, while the others had disappeared into the wildlands. In reality, I was surprised so many had decided to help out. Archumans, especially adults, were extremely individualistic by nature after all.

Through Sloan’s guidance, I was able to identify the portal in the “sea of stars” which would take me to my final destination. At first sight, it appeared very similar to those in its surroundings but after the application of a handful of obsidian mixed with several other reagents, it quickly grew in size and density. It left out a strong mana wave as it grew in size, which caused all other portals in the valley to collapse and disappear.

The pathway it was connected to appeared to exist in the same conceptual space the hole in the Last Harbour brought to. This meant an appropriate vessel was necessary to traverse, but looking at the peculiar flows of mana, not any of them would suffice. Funnily enough, this was the first and last time Caleb had proved himself competent or at least useful.

While digging through the underground of the Epsilon, a vessel was found. It became clear it had been hidden in the depth of the Perimeter years ago. By comparing the testimonies of the inhabitants it was confirmed Caleb was the one to bring it there. I let the genai people under Faye study it and a resonance between the vessel and the pathway was confirmed. Now, it stood in front of the portal, ready to carry me whenever I desired to depart.

Nevertheless, I was waiting for a few people to arrive. Although I was confident in my chances of success, Faye had me promise I wouldn’t go alone. So, I selected the few who would follow me. Our relationship may have been strained, but they couldn’t just do nothing as their world fell into chaos.

The party of people who would accompany me were Jonah, Lily, Isaac, Chloe and Hector. It may have been preferable to bring a few of the inhabitants of the Last Harbour, but there were two main reasons why I wouldn’t.

The first one was that there was no way for me to actually do so. I could resist the repulsion exerted by the pathway thanks to my different nature, but archs couldn’t. They were bound to the rules of the world, at least until I defeated the remaining enemy.

The second one was that Isaac, Lily and Chloe had to make up for their mistakes. Their choices had brought them to stand opposite to me, and for this reason, they needed appropriate punishment. I deemed having them take part in the final expedition to be a suitable way to make amends. It bothered me to have them risk their well-being, but being firm was necessary. The remaining two, Jonah and Hector, had simply volunteered to participate.

Nevertheless, the selection of the party would have most likely fallen on those five anyway. After all, the members of the main cast were just built differently. They were meant to reach the final destination. The “story” required them to. Isaac held an incomplete Focus, but it was still his destiny to face the genai king and I wouldn’t deny him what he had been training for throughout his entire life.

Hector was the only exception to the rule. He wasn’t a member of the main cast, nor someone who resonated with the mana waves of the portal. He was someone who just happened to become my trusted right-hand man, who just happened to inherit a few drops of my power and who just happened to have the Thorn of The Green become part of his being. He was someone the portal would have repelled, had his altered body not endowed him with some form of resistance. Through his efforts, he had earned the right to be a part of the expedition and I wanted him by my side.

Even if according to destiny he wasn’t meant to, and even if he wouldn’t be able to exert all of his strength, it didn’t matter. After all, once Isaac bounded all of us together with his powers, my strength would flow to all of them.

I continued to wait for my companions’ arrival, Hector and Faye by my side. There was no great rush. It was true that the first hostile genais had begun to spawn all over the globe, but the adults had taken care of the situation. The only result obtained by the opponent was to make sure Faye’s genai squad would steadily grow.

“I’m bored. Can we take a short walk?” Faye distracted me from my thoughts.

“Sure, make the way,” I readily accepted.

I stood up ready to follow her and Hector did the same, but Faye raised her hand and signalled him to stay still.

“I’d like to spend some time with John alone if you don’t mind,” she spoke gently but firmly.

“Certainly, my lady,” Hector slightly bowed his head before straightening up and standing fixed on guard. It wasn’t necessary as there was no one here besides the three of us, but I still appreciated his dedication.

Faye and I began to distance ourselves from the portal. We walked through the barren valley, only a gentle wind accompanying us in our stroll. Faye picked the way, guiding me far enough so Hector wouldn’t be able to hear us.

Her heartbeat had steadily increased since the beginning of our stroll. I prepared myself mentally. I already knew what her intentions were, but I wasn’t ready to break the subject. Had it been the past, a long lost past, I would have broken out in cold sweat. Fortunately, although my mind and being were still troubled by the remnants of my original nature, my body wasn’t.

“So… we are at the end of the run, aren’t we?” she gave me a forced smile.

She didn’t know how to breach the subject. I went along with it, trying to stall for time.

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“Yes, I think so. We have experienced much, haven’t we?”

“It was truly one hell of a ride. When I think about how everything started, I can’t believe it. I was a country girl literally living inside a bubble and now, look at me! I am the one responsible for… basically everything”

“You have earned it”

“That you can say for sure! Have you any idea how hard I worked?!”

“I do, I do”

“Well, how couldn’t you, when you were the one to push all sorts of duties on me?! I’m almost convinced your true aim wasn’t to… dispose of whatever you had to dispose of, but to have me die of overwork!”

We both chuckled. She laughed at her absurd proposition, while I smiled at her happiness. The good atmosphere lasted briefly. We stopped walking. She turned to me and looked me straight in the eyes, her stare turning resolute.

“John,” her voice became determined.

“Yes, Faye?” my voice sounded timid.

“To me, you are the most important person in my life. Am I the same to you?”

“... Of course you are… How couldn’t you be?”

“Then, let’s stop this farce”

She held my hands and put her face close to mine, enough for me to feel her breath on my skin.

“Let’s stop holding back”

Her forehead rested against mine and our nose touched. My heart remained calm but my mind fell in disarray.

“Let’s stop pretending we don’t desire each other”

Her voice tickled my ears. A little, almost imperceptible movement and the deal would be signed.

Part of me was rejoicing. My mind was heated by the fire of passion. After all I had been through, after all we had been through, it was the logical, perfect ending to our story.

But alas, my hand rose as a barrier between the two of us. I felt her soft skin against mine. I wavered. But I remained steadfast.

“... I can’t. I’m sorry Faye, but I can’t. I can’t, I can’t, I can’t. F**k! F**k! I want to, but I can’t! I simply can’t, I’m sorry!” I distanced myself, while my voice rose in frustration.

I held my head in my hands and shook it, trying to force my brain to reset itself. It would have been easy to ignore everything, but I couldn’t avoid the sense of wrongness that had invaded me.

Faye looked at me stunned. Her eyes were wide, but they showed perplexity more than surprise.

“... Why not? Why can’t you?” she tried to hold my hands once again.

I took a step back and stared her right in the eyes.

“Because I made you, Faye,” my hoarse voice resounded.

Her lips trembled.

“I told you I already knew, didn’t I? I’ve read everything there was to know about the old world, don’t you think I would come across its stories? I know you are the one who came up with this world, but I don’t care! Anyway, isn’t it common in those types of stories for the protagonist to fall in love with his characters?! I’m just happy you aren’t the harem-type. That would have been really irritating” she raised her voice.

“It’s not the same!” I matched her tone.

“Why not? Because there were two of you? I don’t care if Caleb got involved in my… design, you are my protagonist!”

“He didn’t… he simply stole it…” my head was starting to hurt.

“Then there’s no problem!”

“Yes, there is,” my voice turned cold.

Faye was taken aback by my sudden change. My tone was emotionless, ruthless even. My head cooled down as the memories and emotions of how everything had come to be resurfaced at the top of my mind.

I opened my mouth and words flowed by themselves.

“In the stories you talked about, most of the time the author is simply transported in a replica of the world they designed. They have no part in its actualization. But in my case? It is different, very very different.

She wanted to make this world a reality. I don’t know why, probably for her amusement or some s**t. But you see, there was a small problem. She couldn’t just take the idea and replicate it. I think it had something to do with how our souls were made, but my species’ minds were severely guarded against outside intervention. Without explicit permission, she couldn't do anything. Doesn’t it sound ridiculous? Conceptual copyright over a species noosphere. What a strange world this is. Anyway, to simplify things for herself, she destroyed my entire world and called to her the one she needed.

Then, another slight problem. She contacted the wrong person. She mistook that idiot as the true author. Her eyesight must have been really bad. Honestly, shouldn’t have she paid more attention? She may be able to create entire worlds, but not alone. She needs the right seed. Anyway, I think she tried to make some kind of deal with me but to no avail. I was barely conscious at that time, so I don’t remember that part well.

But I remember what followed. Oh, the pain. It still makes me shiver. If she had been herself, she wouldn’t have been able to do anything, but remember? She wasn’t alone. With his help, she ripped my body and soul apart and took what she needed from me. And with this, she conceived this world and all of its inhabitants. Interesting, isn’t it?”

Silence fell. Faye was covering her mouth with her hand and blood had left her face. My body was trembling in anger and shame. The memory of those days still haunted me. Now that my soul was whole, I should have been capable of reigning in my anger better, but with all sorts of complex emotions having returned to me, it wasn’t true. I still felt her hands all over my body, her fingers digging inside my skin and her words breaking my mind apart. I couldn’t help but hate her so much. Every minute not spent hunting her down felt like torture.

A warm embrace suddenly enveloped me. She was barely capable of holding on to my shuddering body, but she used all her strength to do so. After a few minutes, I managed to calm down. My wrath subsided and the flurry of thoughts running wild in my head calmed down. My mind and body synched once again and my usual countenance returned.

“Do you understand now? The way you were conceived was, how to say it…” I spoke placidly.

“A little more involved than usual?” she took the words out of my mouth.

She released me from my embrace and welcomed me with an open smile.

“Welp, it was worth a shot. You sure you don’t want to go the mythology route, my maker?” she teased me.

“Absolutely not. I refuse to be like those ones,” I remained stone-faced.

She exploded into laughter. My face warmed and a smile blossomed on my lips.

“You’ll always be my number one. Never doubt it, okay?” I spoke softly.

“I know. But remember this: I may get very very angry if you don’t behave, okay?” her mouth smiled but her eyes were fierce.

I hid my thoughts behind a smile. Had it been my old body, it would have appeared weird. It was one of the advantages of being reborn. Although I wouldn’t have normally minded to go along with her request, I doubted I could this particular time. I hoped she wouldn’t come to hate me, but I still had my duties. The first one was to reclaim my world, the second one was to…

And it was at that moment that the ones I had been waiting for arrived.