Harper's eyes narrowed at him. "Just because you're a king, that doesn't mean you can do whatever you want, and not care if anyone gets hurt." Felix came up beside her. "She's right. You may be the most powerful being, but I have the book of souls." Sythyon waited a moment, his face expressionless. "...Do you all really believe I intend to hurt her?" Silence filled the air between us until Arine decided to speak. "You hurt her before! How do we know you won't hurt her again?!"
His face didn't change as he moved his eyes to Arine. "Because this time, I will make sure that no one will ever make her suffer again." They looked at him in disbelief until Cienar tilted his head. "He's not lying." Harper turned to him. "How do you know?" Cienar held his eye contact with Sythyon. "His blood isn't making the correct vibrations for it to be a lie." Arine's mouth dropped. "You can feel other liquids besides water?! Why didn't you tell us that?!" Cienar sighed. "It never came up in conversation."
Harper's glare faded and Sythyon put a hand on my shoulder pulling me towards him. "You have no reason to worry. She'll be safe with me." I didn't know what to do. 'The quest is over, which means everyone will go home. But I don't have a home. I used to love Sythyon, but something changed. It might've been the lies about throwing me away, or I've just been away from him so long I forgot how I felt about him.'
I couldn't bring myself to keep fighting or agree to go with him. Arine was also defeated in the argument. He sighed. "Promise to take care of her?" Sythyon nodded. I turned around surprised to hear him say that. 'He's letting me go?' Cienar looked down just then. "We're going to miss you Silvera. But you belong with him." Harper let her arms fall. "It was nice meeting you."
I was confused at first until I started to panic. "W-Wait, why are you guys acting like it's our last goodbye?! We're going to see each other again right?!" They didn't answer me and looked away grimly. Sythyon sighed. "I'm sorry. But for your safety I can't allow you to see this world again." I turned back to him even more panicked. "What?!"
He placed a hand on my cheek. "There's something I should've told you a long time ago. You have the soul of a unicorn. Which means that you were one in another life. Something like that has never happened before and it needs to be protected." I felt sadness and the urge to cry again came to me. "...But I-..." I couldn't speak any longer and Sythyon kneeled to my level. "I love you, and if you've fallen out of love with me, that doesn't change how I feel about you. I know that if you are taken away from me again, I will die. So please... let me protect you."
I never realized how much he cared about me. I wanted to see what he really means to me, but I couldn't just leave. I looked back at my friends. "...I can't lose anyone else." Sythyon stood up again and removed his hand. "If you stay, and someone comes for you, you're asking your friends to die too." I looked to him quickly. 'Am I really that much of a burden?!' I remembered the reason Liem died was because he was trying to save me. If that event repeated itself with one of my other friends I would surely die of heartbreak. I looked down at the ground and clenched my fists. "Then, I'll go with you."
Sythyon nodded slowly and silence filled the air until we heard something in the distance. Suddenly, Ikko came flying back quickly with a bruise on his cheek. "HEY!! NO ONE PUNCHES ME IN THE FACE AND GETS AWAY WITH IT!! YOU'RE DEAD DEMON SCUM!!!" Sythyon sighed and turned around grabbing Ikko's hand mid-punch, and hit him again downward into the ground. Ikko climbed out of the Ikko shaped hole in the path groaning to himself. "God I hate you!" I blinked.
'Oh right. I forgot he was shot miles into the sky awhile ago. Wow, Sythyon is strong no question. At least I won't have to worry about him dying too If I go with him.' I continued to think about my decision until I saw Ikko notice how sad everyone was. "Well who rained on your guys's Fiesta?" They looked up and Sythyon answered him. "Silvera is coming to the underworld with me. Better say goodbye before she's gone forever."
His expression turned into a mix between anger and surprise. He stood up quickly. "What?! There's no way I'm letting you take her!" Sythyon crossed his arms. "Oh really? You think you can protect her when you can't even make me break a sweat?" Ikko was about to say something else when I interrupted. "It's okay Ikko. I'm going willingly. You don't have to worry about me, I'll be fine." He looked at me worried and I moved my eyes away, couldn't bearing to see his face. "I'm nothing but a beacon of death, and if one of you died because of me, I wouldn't be able to forgive myself."
I fell silent and heard Ikko walk up to me. He stopped and I returned my eyes to him. He sighed and hugged me. I was caught off guard by his hug, but returned it as soon as I came back to my senses. A tear slipped from my eye as we embraced, and I hugged him tighter. "I'm going to miss you... So much..." He let go of me slowly and looked away. "I understand if you feel this is something you have to do, but, I don't know what I'm going to do without you."
Arine came up beside me and hugged me too. "Yeah, we all don't." He let go and Cienar took my hand. "We'll never forget you." All of this was too sad to take in. Then Sythyon pulled me back to him. "It's time." I waited a moment, then turned to see my friends getting smaller as Sythyon led me down the road. "Goodbye..."
They waved to me and I couldn't hold my tears anymore. 'Is this how the story ends? It can't be. I need them and they need me. But, I can't stay in this world any longer.' The wind blew through the trees making my hair flow faintly behind me. I moved my head to see that a portal had opened in front of us. I looked back one last time, trying to memorize the faces of the ones behind me before I walked through the the black opening on the path that was going to swallow me forever. I closed my eyes as I sank into it, longing for things to have gone differently than what has already been done.
I opened my eyes a few moments later, and looked around to see where it had led me. We were in the Sythyon's castle continuing to walk forward in the throne room. 'I'm back here again.' Even though it was obvious that he would take me back here, it was the last place where I thought the portal would lead me in my mind. Some guards rushed over as soon as they saw us, and caught Sythyon as he almost collapsed. "Your highness!" I turned shocked. "Sythyon?"