Gwyneth convinced the king and queen to order a total evacuation in Aeceria. Being the so-called savior had its perks after all. Three days later, the group was able to carry out their plan. They reached the same area Ares and Gwyneth (and Thea) had fought, knowing Ares was likely the only one who would carry on.

“You can do this. This will work,” Gwyneth said to Ares, but in reality, she was trying to convince herself.

“I hope your hunch was right.” Ares sighed smiling at her. Her eyes were exactly like the emeralds back home. How had he not noticed before? “Do you think when this is all over…” he trailed off, unsure if he wanted to finish that sentence.

“Yes?” Gwyneth gave a puzzling look. Was this about the Spirits?

”Never mind.” He shook his head. “I’ll tell you later.” Those words weighed heavy. What if there wasn’t a later? What if they freed the Earth Spirit just for the world to be recreated without them?

“Okay. We’ll wait here for you so we don’t accidentally end up like the Fae that passed through here. Speaking of… Why haven’t they killed us yet?”

“They likely sense yours and my presence. But yeah, let’s not push our luck.” He ruffled Gwyneth’s hair causing her to grunt and pull away. She hated it when he did that.

“Come back to us alive, okay?” She combed through her hair with her fingers.

”What, you think I’m going to die?” Ares feigned hurt causing the princess to roll her eyes.

“No, you’re too stubborn to do that. Even death won’t kill you.”

“Would you two shut up so we can get this over with?!” Cetri shouted from behind them, causing Gwyneth to blush. With an understanding look between the two, Ares departed.

A strange light awaited him at the other side of the tunnel. He wasn’t sure what to expect, but a brown semi-transparent dome encircled the Earth Spirit that was chained to the walls and ceiling by restraints made of rock. He pressed his hands to the dome and it disappeared.

“Ares… Is that you?” the Earth Spirit asked groggily.

“Yeah.” He smiled, blinking back the tears he had been holding ever since he had first set out to find the Spirit. One of his greatest regrets was not intervening when they had decided on sealing themself away.

“How long has it been?” the Spirit asked wistfully, their voice deeper than Ares had remembered, likely from slumber.

”At least eight hundred years.”

”Aeceria… It still stands?” There was something innocent about their voice — as if they were a child wanting to be praised for doing well.

“Yes, thanks you to.” Ares wiped away his falling tears. If he continued to cry, the Earth Spirit would think the current situation more dire than it was. “You can come back now. We evacuated the area so no one will be lost when the land fails.”

“So, you finally succeeded where you could not before. You’ve grown, Ares. Something about you is different from how I remember.” The Spirit chuckled.

“You’ll find a lot of things different,” Ares paused. “But… There’s more change to come.” The words were heavy on his tongue. “Ballard is dead — he has been for some time. Now that you’re free, the four of you can recreate the world again.”

“Ballard is gone…” The Spirit mused. “Somehow that doesn’t surprise me. I always figured one day it would be you or him. I had always hoped you would be the survivor.”

“I’m certain you’re the only one who felt that way.” Ares chuckled humorlessly.

“Why are you so eager to recreate the world? Tired of your role as Darkness already?”

“It’s not me who’s eager, it’s my friend. Ah, someone you haven’t met yet.” He couldn’t help but smile to himself when he thought of the princess.

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“They’re aware of the cycle?” Earth had always been soft-spoken, yet their words felt somehow dangerous.

“She’s Thea’s successor.”

”Successor?” Earth sounded bewildered. “How did that happen? I don’t believe we accounted for anything like that.”

“Then perhaps you should meet her in person.” Ares smiled.

—-

“We should go,” Elric suggested.

“And abandon Ares?!” Gwyneth shouted, hurt that he still didn’t trust her equal.

“If Ares succeeds then this whole place will crumble. We shouldn’t be here when that happens.”

“Oh… Right.” Gwyneth felt slightly embarrassed she had assumed the worst when the very thought should have crossed her mind.

Quickly, the group backtracked out of the tunnel, out of the castle, and eventually out of the city. Halfway through the city, they could feel shaking. The Earth Spirit must have been freed.

“How much of Aeceria is supposed to crumble?” Gwyneth asked out of breath. “The entire region or just the city?”

“I imagine the entire region, though it may not be all at once,” Thea answered.

“We better hope not. The border is several days from here; we’d never make it in time.” Elric instinctively gripped Isla’s hand he had been holding tighter.

“Besides, if it came to that I imagine Ares would save us,” Isla added.

“If we’re not dead when he finds us,” Cetri decided to add for good measure to no one’s delight.

Once they were out of the city, the ground began to cave in beneath them.

“Go!” Thea shouted as she roughly pushed Gwyneth’s back, launching her forward.

Elric could feel Isla’s hand slip out of his. She was hanging off the side of the newly created cliff, trying her best to pull herself up. In one swift motion, Elric pulled her up, the ground slipping beneath his feet.

“Not this again…” Gwyneth muttered under her breath, having flashbacks of the last time this had happened.

Isla’s heart dropped as she instinctively reached out to him, far too late. Not giving it a second thought, she dove off the cliff, focusing everything she had into summoning wings. She hadn’t flown before, but she needed to now. She would fly.

“Isla!” Gwyneth gave a bloodcurdling scream, Thea’s arms being the only thing stopping her from following Isla off that cliff.

“Keep going! I’ll go after her!” Cetri called out to the two as she dropped down and began slowly scaling the cliff. She had done this before at home, but she was far used to the rigid sandy stone of the desert. Earth was more difficult to scale.

Isla slowly descended to the ground. Roots and remnants of land meshed together creating a thicket of earth reminiscent of a forest. On one of the large roots lay Elric, barely breathing.

“Elric!” Isla cried running to his side. She grabbed hold of his arm and instantly regretted it when he winced.

“You should be with our princess…” He said slowly and weakly. “You need to protect her—“

“And who will protect you?!” She shot back. “The princess is more than capable of protecting herself! Plus she has Thea and Cetri!”

“I don’t need protecting anymore… This is where i meet my end.” He tried not to sound so depressing, but he never had a way with words.

“No… I can’t lose you! I can’t! The princess can’t lose you! Halcyone can’t lose you!” She screamed, bending her head into Elric’s stomach. She tried healing him, but he was too close to death — she could feel her magic only stalling the inevitable, dragging out his pain.

Why did it have to be him? Why did he go back for her when she could fly?! Of course, neither of them knew it at the time, but it still made her feel guilty. She would have had a chance to survive when he never would have.

And now he wouldn’t. And it was all her fault. Everything was her fault, wasn’t it? All of those souls she had stripped the afterlife away from to fill their death with suffering. And what about all of that time they had wasted rescuing her from the doctor? All of that emotional baggage she had placed on them that they didn’t need? She didn’t deserve to live — he did. He had selflessly served his princess and made every effort to protect not only the princess but everyone in the group.

So, why did she get to live when he didn’t?!

A thought came to mind. The Fae had sacrificed themselves to lengthen Camellia’s life. Lunelle had nearly traded her life for Ares to be reborn. Could she not give her life for Elric’s?

Before she knew it, she could feel the life draining out from her as Elric’s body slowly recovered.

“How are you doing this?” Elric eyes widened as he stared into her eyes for the answer. Her face was still stained with tears, and he could see new ones beginning to form.

“It’s okay… You’re going to be all right now.” She smiled through the pain. She could feel her body being torn apart from the inside as if her blood was being sucked out and funneled into another being — Elric.

“Isla! Stop!” Realization hit Elric and he knew exactly what she was doing as she grew weaker while he continued to grow stronger. “You have to stop! You’ll kill yourself! I-I’m all right now, see?”

Isla shook her head slowly, regretting the motion as it caused her more pain. “If I stop now I’ll just kill both of us.”

“It’s better than a life without you!”

“You were about to subject me to a similar fate.” She chuckled hoarsely. “You need to live; for the princess and for me.” She paused as her voice hitched. She barely had any time left. “I love you.”

Her body faded into a bright yellow light leaving no corpse behind. Elric could feel the ghost of a hand on his cheek before nothing.

“Are you okay?!” Cetri ran up to him, but he couldn’t process her presence. “Where’s Isla?”

“Gone…” he whispered so lowly that if she were a human she wouldn’t be able to hear.

Not understanding the situation in the slightest and knowing now wasn’t the time for answers, she closed her mouth. Not knowing what else to do, she mimicked the motion she had seen her friends do in hard times. She hugged him.

“I’m sorry.”