Glenn stretched as he exited the teleportation station, shaking off the slight discomfort he felt. He'd already finished with the Eastern Town, which was why he'd left so quickly. And to be perfectly honest, he'd rather not stay too long in this garbage can. The Church of Onnea was working hard to make it a better place to live, but Glenn wasn't keen on that right now. Later, when it was less of a cut-throat alley and more of a proper town, perhaps he'd come back to enjoy the entertainment they offered...

'Hehehe...' Diamanes snickered knowingly, making Glenn roll his eyes.

'I was thinking about the theaters, you fucking...sigh, why am I even trying?'

Diamanes only laughed, not even bothering to defend himself. His main goal, which was to annoy Glenn, had been more than accomplished. The young man headed to the Northern Town's Church of Onnea, enjoying the lack of distasteful red lights and the provincial style of houses.

"I have to admit, the Northern Town did grow on me a little..." Glenn muttered, thinking about what was soon to come. Slowly but surely, the list of the things chaining him down to the Fringe was slimming down; Nelg was about to create his First Circle, and Sahro was soon done with the Workshop's contract. Redan was supposed to wake up in a few, and everyone was already plenty strong enough to head to the Bourgeoisie. He was still a little worried since everyone was Rank 3, but he also felt like relying on the ranks too much was a mistake. Milena could probably punch above her weights with her mind-fucking spells, and Sahro had access to both Mana and Aura. Liara...He didn't know how strong she was exactly, but with her impeccable swordsmanship and the fact that she was a Black Heir, he wasn't too worried. Oh, and there was Javier, too, but Javier could be a guy without power and still be as threatening.

And let's not forget Mary's help in the shadows. The terrifying woman was probably going to be an important factor in their future success at hunting and slaughtering the Occult Wanderers.

As he was having these thoughts, Glenn didn't realize he had already arrived at the Church of Onnea.

'Someone unaware might believe you're a truly pious guy, seeing how often you visit this place...' Diamanes grumbled disgruntledly. Glenn smirked and entered the Church, making his way straight to Redan's room without asking anyone. No one tried to stop him either; his face was starting to get well-known in these parts after all. He entered the room without knocking, sinking his hand in his dimensional pouch to pull a few flowers from them.

"What's up, old man? Don't bother me about the flowers; they're supposed to be good for your health." Glenn spoke as he took away the wilted flowers in the vase on Redan's nightstand and put his in. He had no idea what they were called, and he honestly didn't care. They looked like tulips but in a light, blue ice color. They were slightly magical and exuded a bit of white cold mist. It looked cool and made Glenn think of the old man. The part about the flowers helping Redan's health was a complete lie, but the old man wouldn't know anyway.

After all, he was still asleep.

The positive point was that he looked much better, though, even if he could use some time in the sun. The old man was pale, deathly so. Glenn took a seat on a nearby chair and crossed his arms, sighing heavily. He watched for a good moment Redan's chest rise and fall, before shaking his head.

"...What a mess," muttered Glenn before standing up and going for the door, reaching for the handle.

"What the shit are those flowers?" An old and tired voice called out, freezing him in his steps. The young man's hand was stuck above the door's handle, but it slowly fell next to him. Heavy with emotions, Glenn turned back, finding Redan with his eyes opened, struggling to sit up while pushing away the cold tulips. The student helped his teacher with a discreet Gravity Manipulation. Redan grunted, his head resting against the wall as he closed his eyes for an instant, giving up on getting rid of the icy flowers.

"I ain't dead yet, I take it?" Redan asked with a hollow voice. Glenn made a wry smile and sat back in his chair.

"I guess you're not. How are you feeling?"

Redan looked at his hands for an instant and tried to reach in the air for something. He clenched his hands as hard as he could, but nothing happened. The old man sighed as his hands fell to his side.

"That can't be good, ain't it?" He muttered with a mixture of sadness and relief.

Glenn's eyebrows rose as he inquired, "What's wrong?"

Redan looked at the small window giving off a bit of sunlight and chuckled softly.

"My Mana Heart's gone, and so's my Aura Core. Am' nothing but an ol' man now."

Glenn's blood froze in his veins and his jaw fell to the floor for a second. Glenn tried to speak but nothing came out of his throat. An awkward silence took over the patient's room as Redan kept looking at the window and Glenn failed to find the words he needed to say.

"...I'm sorry, Redan. Had I known, I'd have—" Glenn's apologies were interrupted by an annoyed grunt from the old man. Redan looked at Glenn and gestured at him to approach closer.

"Listen, kid, I already lived ma' life, alright? Don't bother apologizing; I'm ol' and tired." Redan laughed gently and weakly patted Glenn's shoulder.

"Well now, I'm mighty grateful I still got the ol' peepers to see just how strong you've become. Third Circle, ain't that right? Mighty impressive for your age, that is. So tell me, do ya reckon you got it in ya to break the Wall?"

Glenn looked at the floor and laughed softly, before extending his right hand. He used one of the first spells he ever learned, Projection. A perfect copy of the Magellanic Clouds and the three rings of stars spinning around them appeared above his opened palm, humming gently. Redan's eyes widened as he gasped. The old man hissed, worrying Glenn for an instant, until the hiss transformed into a chuckle, and the chuckle into a wide laugh.

"Hahaha...Hahahahaha!!!" Redan couldn't stop laughing, even slapping his thighs. Tears of laughter were dropping from his eyes, his face flushed red as he kept on laughing. Glenn smirked, before laughing with the old man, his laughter contagious.

At some point, Redan's laugh did finally calm down, even though the wide grin decorating his face didn't seem to be going anywhere. Glenn calmed down as well, crossing his arms as he did so.

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"...So ya' broke the Wall, but didn't climb up a Circle, ay? Ain't that some funny business...Heh..." Redan chuckled slightly, looking away for a moment as he seemed to recall some moment of his past. Glenn clenched his hand, dismissing the Projection. Redan coughed in his hand, looking at his palm with a little annoyance. Glenn paled slightly when he saw blood in the old man's hand.

"Shit!" He shot to his feet and rushed for the door, "I'll go get a Priest, give me a sec—"

"No," Redan simply said, stopping him dead in his tracks. Glenn clenched the handle, grimacing in hesitation before shaking his head. He went back to his seat, frowning.

"Why?"

The old man wiped his hand on his bed's sheet, disregarding its previous cleanliness. "Ain't no sense in wastin' a healin' spell on me, boy. Without a Core or a Mana Heart, I ain't got much time left in this damned world..."

Redan trailed off, coming to terms with what he just said, his shoulders drooping slightly. It seemed like saying these words was much more effective than thinking them. Glenn paled even further and he grabbed the old man's shoulder.

"Stop bullshitting. I saved you from the Beyond, that's not for you to die right after you wake up, you old coot!" He shouted, angry. Redan looked at Glenn with a lost look, before laughing.

"The Beyond? You went into the Beyond to get the little ol' me? I'm honored...At least I'll die in this good ol' Limbo..."

Glenn looked at the ceiling and almost screamed it, but restrained from doing so. He drew a deep breath and clasped his hands together.

"Why are you so pessimistic? I'm...I'm sure there's a way to fix broken Cores and Mana Hearts! Wait, I know just the guy...Bob, I hope he's still around..." Glenn grasped at his hair, struggling to find a solution. Would Bob, Rusty's slimy helper be able to help Redan? He had a hard time helping when he Overloaded for Nelg's creation, so two entirely broken sources of energy? That seemed...

No, he couldn't just give up. There has to be a way somehow, somewhere — Redan sighed, putting a stop to Glenn's racing thoughts.

"I...don't want to be saved, boy." The old man softly said, transforming Glenn's panic into another, deeper emotion.

'Glenn, you don't have much time. The lifespan he gained with his Core and Mana Heart...it's disappearing as you're talking.' Diamanes warned with a serious tone, his usual jeer or mockery nowhere to be. Glenn's heart stopped and tears accumulated in the corner of his eyes.

"Shit, why...?" He blurted out as he hid his eyes behind his hands. He had gone through so much to save the old man, why was he damned to die nonetheless? Why was Fate so cruel?

'...Wait, could I...?' Glenn raised his head and looked at the ceiling, praying earnestly from the bottom of his heart. A gentle, golden light washed over him, coming from nowhere in particular. Filled with hopes, Glenn directed the golden light to Redan, covering the old man in a warm, divine cover. Redan looked at his body glowing with the gentle golden light and laughed.

"Ya' also got cozy with the Dame of Harmony, ay?" Redan chuckled and waved with his hand, breaking the cover of golden light. Glenn watched in awe as the divine help ripped open like paper, disappearing in a flutter of light sparks. Redan coughed and shook his head.

"I never was much of a believer, and certainly not in Onnea. Always leaned more towards the Gold Church myself, even if I ain't all that keen on the merchant side of things... The Dragon God, now, he was kind to me..."

Redan looked at his trembling hand, feeling his life draining away. He sighed with a little disappointment as Glenn silently wept.

"I...I did have a few things to share with ya', but I guess Giselle can tell ya' all that. Ya' know Reginald too, right? Ask him too. He might even know more than ol' me, haha!" Redan laughed, a wide grin plastered on his old, tired face. He reached for Glenn, who hurriedly grabbed his hand. Something was wrong, he knew it, but he couldn't do anything. He was helpless, again, like so many times now. The first to help him in this hell of a world, who taught him and introduced him to magic. If it wasn't for Redan, Glenn might not have been alive today.

That's why he couldn't accept it. No, he couldn't. He had to do something... C.P.R! He could use C.P.R!

Mana swirled over his left hand as he desperately summoned the spell that traded pain for heal, but Redan's weak hand pushed him away effortlessly.

"No use wastin' Mana on me, I told ya. Now, instead, ya should tell me about that purple hand of yours. Tell me about your friend, ay?" Redan smiled knowingly as Glenn's heart stopped once more. How did he know? How did Redan know of Diamanes' presence? He opened his left, purple and watched in awe as Diamanes appeared in a bright, smiling mouth.

"I'm honored to be invited to your last words, old man," Diamanes spoke aloud with casual respect. Redan laughed weakly, his skin paling further and his lids drooping.

"Oh, but I knew you ever since I read that notebook the kid gave me, with all the experiments and torture. "3333", if I recall correctly. Am I recalling correctly?" He looked at Glenn with an inquiring look. The young man nodded with difficulty, unable to say a word.

"Yes, 3333... What fucking bastards, these Thorn Church guys... In my days, they weren't so damn horrible... Anyway, let's stop talking about bad memories, shall we? Instead, why don't my disciple share his adventures with me? I heard a bit, but nothing too precise..." Redan demanded with a curious, yet weak voice. Glenn sniffled and gulped his sadness away, determined to honor the old man's last will.

He told him everything. The whole truth, even the part where he came from another world. Redan's eyes went wide more than once, but his smile remained steadily wide. The plains he woke up in, the first monster he killed, the Blood Moon...His adventure to the Still Peak, the meeting with Diamanes, and the torture in the Thorn's Church prison. The Auberge, him finding out that other earthlings existed in this land, like Exan. The Harvest and the loss of people he shouldn't qualify as friends, and yet. His quest for power, his months of madness and slaughter...The Blessed Grove, the Heart of Darkness, his encounter with Milena. Palancar, the Fallen Mother, and him breaking through the Third Circle and the Wall at the same time. The Blumar Quarry, and Doyle Malory, the Lightbringer. His alliance with the Maron's Company and his discovery of Apostles. His fight with the mad Abbot Hank of the Thorn's Cult, his rise to Dark-Gold rank. The creation of Nelg. The Eastern Town, his quest to save him, the Occult Wanderers, and Laurance. And finally, the execution once and for all of the revived Hank and his encounter with the Cursed Book of Doloratrox. And now, him, sitting there speaking to a dying old man.

Redan whistled weakly, impressed. "Well..." He rasped, gasping for air, "...Ain't that an incredible life ya've got there. Ya're nicknames suit ya quite well, don't ya think?" He laughed. Glenn smiled and nodded, not letting go of Redan's hand. The old man coughed and closed his eyes, breathing at an increasingly slower rate.

"I gotta tell ya', my life was quite fun as well...sad, filled with adventures, loyal companions and betrayals..." Redan sighed and made himself more comfortable. He reopened his eyes and stared deep into Glenn's, serious.

"Don't go makin' the same mistakes I did, Glenn. Find folks you can trust, folks you'd die for, and who'd do the same for you. That's the only way you'll live the life you're hankerin' for..."

Glenn's head leaned forward, his forehead touching the old man's hand. It was cold, wrinkled, and dry, and yet holding it brought a warmth Glenn couldn't find anywhere else.

"Thank you, Redan..." Glenn barely managed to say through his stuffed throat, choking with sadness and grief. The old man chuckled, closing his eyes for the last time, his hand slipping out of Glenn's. The sunlight dimmed as if acknowledging the loss that the world experienced at this moment.

For this day was the day Redan, the Ice Wolf, previous Lord Commander of the Northern Gate, and previous Commodore of the Wolf Order, finally gave his last breath.

Today, a legend died, leaving his spot for a new one to take.

A legend that should shake the world.

But for now, that soon-to-be-born legend wept, for he was no legend yet.

For now, he was a just grieving young man who lost his family.

Today, was a sad day.