"Your... rebirth?" Kim asked.
"Yes, but not in an angelic meaning. It was a rather... adolescence-to-manhood vibe. I never got the chance to age normally, hell, I'm still not gonna! But, I'm fine with that. There will come a time when my time has ended, but as long as I get to see my children grow old and have new children outside the cycle of hate, I'll be happy."
Autumn's winds suddenly appeared, and whose hair did they choose to fly through but none other than the Reaper's? Flittering strands levitating above, the light enveloped him, just barely staring off into the distance, hearing the distant chirping of avian calls. Katie couldn't believe it. Even with these crossed arms, she couldn't restrain the dazzle in her eyes, marveled by the divine presence of a heavenly prophet. To think she stood on the same ground as the Reaper... she could only imagine how heavy that weight bearing down on Ace's shoulders truly was.
"Why me and not June?" Kate asked.
"Cuz June and Kimmy are weaker physically. Make up for your weakness with training on the battlefield! That way, the next time you fight, victory is ensured. Isn't that right, Kimmy?!" August yelled with a raised fist.
"YEAHHHH!!!" Kima and August yelled in unison, flexing their biceps.
Katie, with her little cousin June, watched from the sidelines as the Wilders' father goofed around with silly phrases indistinctively resounding out. One of them shook her head with her father's disapproval, and the other giggled with a hand over her mouth.
"Alright, alright, enough fooling around. Kima, by the end of this year, I want you to have manifested five more beasts. For battle, not recon or travel!" August clarified with his finger waving around her face.
"Yes, sir, Reaper, sir!" Kima stomped her foot and waved a salute.
"June, for you, I want you to gain more specialization with Eternal Sight. Train your eyes, focus on surveying. Master on utilizing that and Convergence in timed intervals. Since that's better said than done, I'll teach you, too. Is that clear!"
"Yes, sir, papa, sir!" June replied, mimicking Kim's motion secondly.
"Alright then, you two, dismissed. Katie, move your ass."
"I'm coming. Don't die, gramps."
On Katie's third return mission to the Island, she stepped over... human shells. It was only then could Katie mentally compared their melted corpses to a caterpillar's chrysalis.
"Y'know, these corpses kinda look like those little shells butterflies make before they turn into butterflies and sleep for a while," August commented, leading her through the main street.
"I thought so too."
That was all she responded with. A simple agreement to the educator that annoyed her so. The edge of Divergence's crimson hue shined onto her face with his head barely turned to the right, but that was enough to formulate a scenery. If the Reaper's awakening atop the Nest sent sparkles of amazement to her eyes, then the tearing of his angelic facade to reveal a devil's horns hiding beneath was surely enough to send tears to those dry corners.
At the end of the tunnel, that blinding light awaiting to envelop her in its warmth had been shrouded by the overwhelming cloak of darkness. She started to shiver and her breath turned visible, turning tail with her back to the storm, but as she was about to take the first step—there was his voice.
"Katie, you have people that care for you, a father that adores you, sisters who cherish you, and a brother that loves you. You did what you thought was right. They ignored you and you repaid them the same kindness they showed you. Don't let anyone take that truth away from you. This isn't your sin. It's your freedom."
Her freedom. A reminder of her capability to do anything she wanted, for the world was her oyster, and she was no one's slave. Just like her father did so long ago, those chains were shattered and disappeared into the seas of time to never be seen again. She couldn't help but chuckle at the word, wiping away the tears,
"My freedom, huh?"
"Had to think of something. I didn't wanna control you but I also didn't wanna leave you crying in the streets… sit here with me," August beckoned her to his side.
Now seated cross-legged, his bottom grew accustomed to the curb's shape. Reluctantly, Katie's bottom followed suit. The vastness of the sky stretched out before her, spread wide with abstract clouds, each one shaped differently. Most of them were basic ciphers, bubbly specters shaded ivory, differing from the blue-orange glow of the surrounding airspace.
"Ya know, it's said that the sky is a bigger unknown than the ocean. You can never know what's happening up there with all those grey clouds covering the truth as the rain drenches its victims below," August proposed with a raised finger.
"Maybe one day we'll get to explore it with proper scientists and builders making spaceships for us to reach that height," Katie said.
But her hope was a childish one, it seemed she knew that. Using her strands to cover her beet-red features, his gloved hand patted her head, guffawing as loudly as a father would.
"There's no maybe. If you want to explore the sky, then we'll make that happen. If you want to save people, you'll become stronger. Actually, heh, is that what you want? I never got to ask you, but, if this peace thing works out and we finally end reconstruction sometime in the future, what do you want to do?" August asked.
And sure enough, she answered.
"Amidst the nightmares of my youth, I'd have one dream. Normal, comforting, warm. Every time for about a year, it'd reappear solely among a sea of terrors. And every time I'd awaken after, I'd do the same thing and cry terribly at the thought of my life being no less away from terrible compared to my fantastical dreams where my imagination held no bounds."
"…What was the dream about?"
"I'd be free falling with the wind rushing against my face. The wind was so chilly, yet warm as it embraced me. I wish I could've stood there forever in its arms and slipped into the same eternal rest I'd always desired. But that wasn't the real beauty of the dream. Rather, it was where I was falling. A plain of greenery so bright and wide it sent tears to my eyes. My eyes were watery, but through the teary mist, I could spot but one cottage composed of wood implanted on that natural surface. I can't explain it, but… for forever, I've known that was my home. A land so fertile and peaceful, where the raging flames of chaos nor the chains of any ruler could reach. I want to save people and give them better lives, but for myself, when I finish saving people and I get the time to live peacefully as I wish… I want to live there. Whether it be alone or with Ace or Kima or June or Dad, it doesn't matter. I want to forgive myself and live happily for the rest of my life. That's all there is to it."
He could imagine it so clearly as if he were dreaming alongside her, falling alongside her, but with just one blink, he was reminded their fates were different. She had her dream that she strived for, he had his dream to strive for. It was only after he sat up that they locked eyes again. Noticing his extended limb, he yanked her to a standing posture after she slid her hand into his.
"I can't relate to you, I've never been abused. But I have family who has been. I want to fight for those close to me, not the people I can't even see. Whether that's noble or not isn't my concern. As long as my family is happy; that's good enough for me," August said.
Snowy strands glittering through the summer's air as perfectly as ever, Katie turned her head away from his perfect face.
"That being said, let's get moving. Before long, night'll fall, and we'll be stuck in the belly of the beast. So, whaddya say we get movin'… Katie?"
Eventually, their conversation ended, Katie having recovered from a brief breakdown and an explanation of her dream. They continued onward and what they found inside the Opera House was darkness, which Katie recognized. The only light source, excluding August's right hand leading the way, was that white pod, paranormally shining amid the blackened chamber.
"See any way to turn the lights on?" Kate asked.
"Yeah."
August swatted away the light enveloping his hand, and from his wrist, spun a dark tendril that pulled at a lever. Angling it downward so sparks could violently spark along with the ceiling, Katie started to step back, for the pod had now lighted up a second time. But from that object, she could spot lines beneath her feet, leading to the walls behind her… it became clear as she finally recaptured her balance. Standing beside August from the back of the room, the width of their environment truly became apparent. This place was huge, yet empty.
Bordering the Reaper and his companion was a black platform differing from the usual grey ground Alex's chamber was embedded on. Four separate wires extended from each corner, sinking into the crowd while transferring electricity into the broken device.
"Follow me," August demanded.
Katie's body stood idle as she watched. What she witnessed was Rivera's foot smashing into the grey floor surrounding the pod. A hole formed beneath his leg, revealing another room, this time, not dark. The two fell into the hole with the male first then Moon landing afterward. It was a lab. In the center was a bulky device, almost like Alex's pod above ground, but with more wires pointing out its head.
"This is some crazy shit," Whispered Katie.
August took notice of the circling computers like a crowd surrounding the main device. The proper lab was much more compact than the initial experimentation field over their heads.
"I now understand. This device is where you place the main vessel, and the one above it is where the clone exists. Alright, tomorrow, we head here again early in the morning and get started…
On my clone!"
To Be Continued.