"You're sure you want to stay on this creepy island? I was getting used to having a crew."

The captain looked at the three friends with a sad look on his face. Rwyn hit his back forcefully, trying to cheer his spirits up.

"Come on, aren't these girls too young anyway?"

"Young but valorous and bright. Maybe ti's for the best we split ways, you're worth better than being mere pirates."

"We have a different path to walk on, I hope everything will be alright on your side."

Gol'tooth laughed at Neige's words before forcefully caressing his head.

"The life of a pirate is a short one, but ti's a great one! There are many treasures and riches to find in this vast world. Maybe someday, our paths will cross again. Neige, Sepide, Silva, may your future be bright. See you, space pirates."

The captain left with a sad tone in his voice. Rwyn just gave them a thumbs-up before leaving for her ship. The three friends looked at each other and prepared to leave but were stopped by Neige.

"Sepide, where did you get this hat?"

Sepide suddenly had a pirate hat that she hadn't before, holding it dearly on her head.

"I like it, it was in the cave."

"So you just take things in the tomb of the Goddess of death and don't think it's dangerous?"

"Oh, I didn't think about it."

"Next time you will." Neige took a small book from his pocket and showed it to his friends. It was a bunch of notes that Sepide couldn't read.

"That's the best thing I've ever seen!" Exaggerated Silva.

"I know you're blind. It's notes from the tomb, I didn't want to talk about it with the others around but there's something I wanted to show you. All the divinities of death have a name and were birthed in different worlds."

"Different worlds?" Asked Sepide "Maybe we've seen her before then."

"We probably did. Apparently, the Goddess of Death is attracted to people who were supposed to die but didn't. She's not always aware that she is though."

"So what was her name?" Silva asked with barely contained excitation.

"There were multiples. Rani, Lina, Nia, those were some of them."

"That sounds similar to Ina." Noticed Silva.

"Yes, maybe she's the reincarnation of the Goddess of Death. I doubt that she knows it though."

"But why would she be? It sounds weird."

"I can understand you think like that Sepide, but I have a few reasons to think so. Either way, it's better not to tell her I think, we aren't sure and I don't want to stress her over nothing."

The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

"It doesn't change anything though, right? I mean she won't try to kill us suddenly." Silva laughed at those words but stopped when she felt Neige's silence.

"The Goddess of Death guides souls toward the other world, forcing those that should have left to leave."

"Do you think that someone like that was in her home world and that it's why she was there?" Sepide wondered.

"No, I think it's on the ship... I think I need to talk about it now, I can't avoid it forever."

Neige turned toward the skull-shaped rock for a moment and took a deep breath.

"The leader's death, six years ago..."

The smoke pricked Neige's eyes and filled his lungs. Despite the sight of his town in fire and ruins, his only thoughts were to find his friend and ensure her safety. He searched everywhere he could and finally managed to find her inside the church of the town, praying alone.

"Yada, what are you doing!? We have to leave!"

"The book... It doesn't work..." The woman answered silently "I tried... There's nothing I can do, it's like a strong force is at stake."

"This force can screw itself, we have to leave."

Yada silently nodded her head and went to her friend. They hurried to leave but were met by a shapeless dark matter approaching them and surrounding them. Neige took a stick on the ground that he pointed at the creature, shielding his friend behind him.

"What is that?"

"Is it because of the book? Are the Gods coming to get us?" Yada asked, at the border of tears.

"If that's our God then I'm glad I never worshiped it!"

The black matter seemed to stare at Neige despite its lack of eyes. He couldn't explain why, but Neige felt like he had seen it before, a familiar feeling echoed in his heart. The creature suddenly attacked him with a kind of tentacle, feeling the danger Yada pushed her friend out of the way.

The monster in front of him didn't matter, the town he lived in didn't matter, the world itself didn't matter. At this moment, all Neige could see was the body of his friend lifelessly falling on the ground. His body froze at this sight but Neige managed to gather his last strength to take his friend to the church, away from the monster.

His hand reached to her chest, trying to feel the heartbeat of his friend. He couldn't feel anything more than the touch of her clothes. Her breath was no more and her eyes were closed for what should have been forever. Neige took his friend in his arms, a tear falling from his face. As he did, a sound caught his attention, the book that Yada kept with her fell to the ground. He knew what it was, the book that they promised to never use. Without thinking he searched for a pen in his friend's pocket and managed to find one. His shaking hand picked up the book and opened it. He stared at his former friend in his arms, his mind was already decided.

"Even if it breaks the world I don't care, I just want to see her eye and her smile again."

"I don't remember the rest, it's all foggy after that."

The two girls comforted Neige who seemed to still be affected by what happened. Sepide was a bit hesitant but managed to ask what she was wondering.

"This dark matter that killed her... Was it the anomaly?"

"Yeah... I remember it from her side too. The first world she came in, it was mine. The leader... Yada... She was supposed to die there but... I changed her fate. Maybe everything that's happening is my fault. I only wanted to help, but I caused chaos instead."

"If you didn't do it, I would be alone in my world, the Kronos wouldn't exist and so many worlds would have been destroyed. If whatever created us thinks that you were wrong then it's its problem."

"I agree with Silva, you saved your friend, even if you promised to not use the book, I don't think she minds it. And it's not like she never used it either."

Neige stayed silent for a moment, the sound of the wave soothing his heart.

"The Goddess told me she wanted us to live our lives by ourselves without her interfering... Once everything is over, we should destroy that book. We'll save the universe by ourselves, what do you think?"

"Yeah, let's destroy the precious artifact that can create worlds, what could possibly go wrong?" Silva hit her friend in the back while taking a sarcastic voice.

"It's not like it will be soon anyway. Kairo is stopped for now but we still need to catch Silv and figure out what to do with the anomaly. For now, we should return to the ship. We managed to protect this world from an uncertain future... I hope that we're managing to save the universe with everything we're doing."