Shao’s body landed somewhere near where I was getting to my feet. With a shout, I ran over to her. As soon as my hand touched her, I started trying to use healing spells. Yet, this was a soul dungeon. She didn’t have a physical body, so what exactly was I trying to heal. As I left her head in my hand, I prepared to send some of my life into her. Just as I was about to do this, Shao’s hand whipped out and grabbed my wrist, stopping me.

“Stop.” She declared, her eyes fluttering open. “Your Shao… is still out there.”

“E-even so…”

“I know her… Deek. I’m based on her. As much as Miki’s creations were created at her whim, she wasn’t a fool. Her mastery of mind and magic led her to understand us in ways we didn’t understand ourselves.”

“What are you saying?”

“Shao… is in trouble.”

“What?” I responded. “She’s on Earth.”

“Even so… you were the rock that ground her. When you died, the world would have fallen out from under her. I know her, and I know you. So, save her next… please.”

“I will… in fact, we can both save her together.”

She slightly shook her head. “My purpose is over. It’s time for me to leave. As long, as you don’t forget… I’ll always, be inside…”

Her hand gently touched my chest. Then her head fell back, and her eyes began to film over. In my arms, her body began to dissipate into smoke. After a few seconds, there was nothing left.

“Do you understand now?” Hero asked in an arrogant voice. “Some people can’t be saved. Some people don’t want to be saved. Sometimes, it’s better to just let them die.”

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Hero was speaking, but he was only speaking out Miki’s will. My hands clenched into fists, and I slowly stood up, my body shaking. Hero had remained unmoving since he had attacked Shao. The fake Lydia had already disappeared into miasma, and even though he has been close enough to attack Miki, he had waited for me. Perhaps, there was some kind of guilt there or an approximation of honor. Alysia was still fighting Terra and Celeste. With only the two of them, she was holding her own much better, but with Celeste’s speed, it was only a matter of time.

I glanced at Miki, who had her head down in a way her pale blonde hair blocked her face. It was as if she was hiding from the world. There was something off about it, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on things. There was still a part of the puzzle missing.

As I thought about it, I started laughing. I threw my head back and laughed. The Hero frowned, not understanding what the joke was.

“I understand now,” I responded, lowering my eyes back on him. “I understand everything.”

“Then, I will end her life now-”

“You were created based on me, at least the me that Miki felt that she needed.” I cut him off. “For the longest time, I had felt that I wasn’t good enough for the girls. I felt that if I just became better, and stronger, and more capable, that I would one day become everything they wanted me to be. I would become the man that deserved all of these women. That was a mistake.”

“You are powerful, but in this place, I will have the advantage.” Hero declared.

“You misunderstand… I’m not saying that I’m not powerful enough. I’m just saying that the mistake I made was thinking that I needed to meet their expectations. It was meeting their expectations that was the problem. Miki was convinced I had died. Perhaps, Celeste being the smartest in the party was accurate, because she was the only one who had faith that I didn’t perish. For the rest of you, you couldn’t imagine a me that survived. As our time was short, you likely were always thinking somewhere in the back of your mind there was a time when I would leave you. Even as you smiled, and held onto me, you feared, no… expected that this time wouldn’t last!”

“What are you saying?” Hero demanded.

“I thought I had to meet the expectations of the women of my life. I thought I had to be good enough for them. I was far too modest. I had to be better than that. I needed to be a stable rock that would never fail and would always come, no matter what. I’m no longer satisfied with being enough.” I pulled out another blade from my inventory. “I will be the best!”