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Chapter 31 - Home Stretch

Heavily breathing while still gripping her chest, Amelia uttered. "We-We did it."

For a moment, space shook as if it were an earthquake.

"The waves..," Olivia said, "The waves, the Star Quakes I had set off from your planet while performing the ritual, their effects are still immanent; I almost forgot about them!"

"What?!" Amelia forced out.

Biting her lip, Olivia began to think out loud. "Yes, they've been rapidly destabilizing the essence of the world; it's slowly crumbling under itself like a paper-ball. I'm sorry, I forgot I.."

She grits her teeth, cutting herself off from apologizing too heavily.

"I don't know what we're supposed to," Amelia said, "We used nearly all of our Energia in our battle and to stop the moon. DAMMIT DAMMIT DAMMIT DAMN IT ALL!" She started to grip and pull out some of her hair from the stress of failing Omnidea and letting the world end, but her hair regrew as she only continued to beat herself up more. "I failed."

Olivia thought about how Amelia didn't kill her when she had the opportunity to do so without resistance, but instead, she spared her and only told her to never return. In Olivia's eyes, Amelia was a good person on her own, she didn't need to prove herself, she was already her own person. She was selfless, caring, kind, and merciful; the exact opposite of Olivia herself. So, for once, Olivia wanted to be a good person, at least for a single moment.

"Amelia," She said, "I want you to absorb my essence."

Slowly turning her head, Amelia looked to Olivia with a fading light in her eyes, she was losing hope.

"You want me...to.."

"I do. I want you to to absorb my essence in it's entirety," Olivia repeated, "After you absorb my essence, you'll not only have the power to stop the world's collapse, but you'll be able to bring your friend and sibling back. I figured...that maybe since this was my doing, I could at least do something good before I die."

Amelia's eyebrows furrowed, she looked saddened and confused but had a new light of hope in her eyes. "Die...what do you.."

A loud thud echoed through space again, shaking it once more, stronger than it had ever before.

"Amelia, once you absorb my essence, I'll cease to be. It will however, unlock your maximum potential within the Ghost Witch; you'll have the combined energy of all three of the deities. Just...don't argue, we don't have much time so just let me do the one good thing I'm able to do."

Amelia couldn't believe that Olivia had thought of something so selfless on her own and without anything to gain. It was so unlike her. "Was it something I did?" She thought. Still, she honored Olivia's dying wishes; she didn't argue and instead gave Olivia a warm embrace. Olivia's body was giving off a tremendous warmth; she had never experienced true affection, this was a new feeling to her.

Was it love?

Hugging Amelia back stronger, Olivia's body softly burst into a cloud of orange light, a warm and gentle mist, before it was absorbed. Amelia felt reenergized, less tired, and more powerful. She could feel the power racing through her veins. Her body wrapped itself in a combination attire between her mother and Omnidea; she could feel that she had surpassed all of her previous allies.

Maybe this is what it felt like to be divine, she thought.

Everything began to rapidly shrink, the world was collapsing on itself. The edges of the world were within her grasp, nearly crushing her while she gripped its fabric and tried to push back. She was fighting, only to be overpowered by the weight of the world.

Everything went dark, everything went back to the beginning, to nothingness; a single point.