Barion's bedchambers were much too lofty for a man of such simple desires. From the days of his youth to 5 centuries later, holing up inside of a castle only reminded him of the suffering experienced by those who didn't have the privilege of gathering their thoughts in a safe place. As he stared from the window towards the amber skyline, his ears twinged with a noise that was both near-silent and unbearably loud. A single, high-pitched tone, radiating from beyond the confines of his lowly planet.
There was a knock at his door.
"Come in." He called.
Dorma entered before he was finished speaking. He didn't mind the intrusion at all--rather, the sight of his beloved was one of the only things that could calm his heart recently. Her hands quickly found his shoulders by the windowsill. Leaning into his ear, Dorma's soft voice was almost inaudible.
"Our preparations are complete." She reported, "By the time we make our way to the grand hall, the Gate will be ready."
"You didn't have any trouble, then?"
"Do you know who you're speaking to?" She smirked, "-Well, not to say that I deserve all the credit. The Fleecian Shamans proved invaluable in quickening the incantation."
"We'd better get moving, then."
"Won't you say goodbye to me first?" She pouted, "If I find out that you've gone and gotten yourself killed up there, I'll be more than a little furious with you."
"I'm not going to die."
"Hm." Dorma huffed, "Can't you try to be a little romantic about it?"
"Are you really worried?" Barion, "That I'm not going to make it back?"
"Whether I am or not--is that something you want to hear? The last thing I would want is for my feelings to get in the way of your mission."
"I wouldn't be able to live not knowing how you feel." He replied, "I don't want any of your opinions to go unheard. These moments I spend with you are the only occasions where I can really relax nowadays."
"...Of course I'm afraid." She admitted, "Do you think I could bear to go on, after all we've promised one-another? I won't accept a future like that."
"That's why I can't afford to make any reckless decisions." Barion vowed, "Maybe that's what I've always been missing--a reason to live on. Now that you're by my side, I suddenly have to temper arrogance with caution. You're quite a troublesome person."
"Oh, dear. Who's calling who troublesome?" She grinned, "...I won't ask you to promise me that you'll return."
"No. I will." He replied, "I've come too far to die now. Black Luna just seems to me like the last hurdle on a long road to peace. No matter what happens, I'll find a way to return."
"You had better honour that promise, then." She warned, "I won't forgive you otherwise."
…
..
.
There was a foreboding feel to the Gate which had been conjured in the castle's grand hall. Not only was it almost twice the size of a regular portal, but there was nothing to see on its other side bar an endless expanse of stars. A number of crimson-hooded Shamans whispered beneath their breaths around the Gate, channelling magical particles into the rift to maintain its existence.
"Hoh. He's here." Shilahi's gaze wandered to the hallway leading deeper into the castle as Barion and Dorma emerged, "Right on time, too."
"Barion." Fusala quickly marched over to the two of them, "By my estimations, Black Luna should be passing by the Gate's exit point in roughly 10 minutes. That will be your opportunity to infiltrate the main body."
"Right. How am I supposed to do that, exactly?"
"Miss Witilla will guide you towards the false moon's entrance." The Homunculus held a mint-coloured crystal out towards him, "Use this magic-infused crystal to propel yourself towards the target with wind magic."
"Will she be alright?"
"Miss Witilla has been outfitted with an enchantment identical to yours. However, dividing the Elven Queen's crystal between the two of you will leave few opportunities for error."
Barion reached into his pack and retrieved a brilliant-white crystal. The focus atop the Elven Queen's sceptre was originally a deep cerulean, but through some kind of purifying alchemy, Fusala had painstakingly altered both its size and shape. She had assured him that it was by far the most powerful magical focus ever created, but to his eyes, it appeared as little more than a chunk of glass.
"Thanks for all the help, Fusala." He expressed his gratitude, returning the crystal to his pouch, "I'm not sure where we'd be without you."
"Bear in mind that I can only account for so many possibilities." She warned, "You will have to rely on Miss Witilla's guidance to complete your mission. I am afraid that this is as much as I can do."
"Barion!" Shilahi wandered over to the duo with a smile, "Seems we've finally arrived at the end of the road."
"Hm. It only took us 500 years…" He muttered, "Aren't you coming?"
"I would love for nothing more, but Witilla is accompanying you, and that is already asking for too much." She folded her arms, "Exactly how do you plan on coming back alive?"
"I suppose we'll be crossing that bridge once we reach it."
"Don't go dying, Barion." Her expression became serious, "Scarcely have there ever been warriors such as yourself. It would be a great shame to lose you."
"I don't plan on dying, I'm sure you'll be happy to hear."
"Pale!" The Hermit shouted, "I can see your ears twitching. Come over here and say your farewells like you said you would."
The Rabbitkin girl marched over with an uncertain expression.
"Barion." She began, "...I wanted to apologise to you."
"Apologise?"
"When we first met, I treated you as a lesser man because you were a human. Not only are you a child of the Steppe like myself, but you've almost certainly seen through more battles than I can ever comprehend." She explained, "If it wasn't for you and Fusala… just about every Beastkin in the world would be dead. Including myself."
"It seems to me like you've cleared up your mind a little."
"Yes… I've been able to see things from a new perspective recently." She continued, "I have this place, and these people, to thank for that. I intend to make full use of the world you're about to create. To usher the Beastkin towards a new age."
"I'd like to see that." Barion smiled.
As they parted ways, he was surprised to see Manyu approaching not long after. The former Demon King's flushed face made it seem as though he shouldn't have been up and about.
"What a strange few months we've had." He mused, "If I have to be honest, I think I preferred my quiet life in Shukora to all this fighting."
"At least you can enjoy the privilege of avoiding the final battle." Barion answered.
"Yes, well… I wouldn't be too confident in my chances if that wasn't the case."
"You think I'm going to die?"
"I'm saying it isn't impossible. Quite the risk, considering it's you we're speaking about."
"That's not going to happen."
"Hm. I wouldn't believe those words if they came from anyone else." Manyu muttered, "Don't act surprised by anything you see up there. There's no predicting what sorts of horrors you might unearth. No doubt you'll be discovering much about your own origins--as well as my own."
"I don't care if Black Luna created us." He replied, "The people we've become, the experiences we've endured… those matter more than the destiny we were created to fulfil."
"Barion!" Fusala exclaimed, "Black Luna will be passing by the Gate soon. Please prepare yourself."
"It appears your time has come…" Manyu finished, "I would wish you good luck, but I wouldn't want to set any unrealistic expectations."
"I appreciate the vote of confidence." Barion turned his head, "Witilla?"
"Y-Yes…" The girl padded over to him, "I'm ready…"
"Let's get going, then."
As the two of them moved towards the gargantuan Gate in the centre of the room, Barion couldn't help but feel a sting of excitement in his heart. Staring longingly into the black abyss beyond the portal's boundary, he anxiously anticipated the appearance of his unseen nemesis.
A few moments later, it happened. One by one, the hanging lights of deep space were extinguished as something moved to intercept their light--a monolithic sphere backlit by the rays of the sun, its surface almost imperceptible.
"W-We have to move, Barion." Witilla encouraged.
"Right…" He muttered.
He resisted the urge to cast a glance behind him, towards the supportive expressions of his allies, and instead pointlessly held his breath while sliding hand and foot through the Gate's threshold. Pins and needles ran through his limbs as he breached the surface, emerging slowly into a weightless, silent frontier, suddenly unable to control his velocity or direction.
As Witilla followed swiftly after, she grasped his arm and stabilised him before he became nauseous. The spinning bed of stars around Barion came to a stop in the abyss as he found himself floating as if submerged beneath the ocean, only there was no water to propel his momentum, and--more importantly--he could still breathe.
The light of the Elven Queen's crystal filtered through the layers of his pack, indicating that magical particles were being channelled into the enchantment which was allowing the two of them to survive. An enchantment, Barion had been told, that wouldn't last for long.
The perfect brilliance of the planet hovered beneath Barion's feet. Beneath the swirling cloud cover, he could only just about recognise the shape of the mainland. The sight forced him into an awestruck silence--not that any attempt to speak would be reciprocated, given that the only thing he could hear was the soft tone in the back of his head and the beating of his own heart.
As his gaze rose, Black Luna was like nothing he had expected. Certainly, its general shape gave the impression of a moon. But the cold, metallic surface, plastered with panes of glass and great valleys of steel, was unlike anything Barion had ever witnessed before.
Witilla didn't attempt to speak--she knew it was a pointless effort. At the very least, she had taken the liberty of scouring Barion's pack for the wind crystal Fusala had given him. Quickly making use of the magic stored within, she propelled the two towards the false moon with short burst of wind. Barion didn't resist her yanking. The possibility of being separated and flying off into the deep unknown filled him with a fear he hadn't felt since he was a child.
Their velocity only increased, unmarred by the planetary winds. Black Luna only seemed to grow before Barion's eyes as the two approached. Witilla used the wind crystal to guide them towards a sunken aperture on the moon's surface, which opened automatically into a small, rectangular chamber flanked on one side by yet another gateway.
As the aperture closed, the frontier behind them disappeared, and for a moment, the two were sent into utter darkness. Moments later, a red bulb on the ceiling swirled with alarm. There was a hissing sound--and slowly, his ears were enlightened to an orchestra of metallic shunts and snaps as he and Witilla both were suddenly slaves to the force of gravity yet again, their feet suddenly drawn towards the 'floor' of the chamber.
-P.G.S.P complete
-Please proceed to the equipment lock
A voice from the ceiling spoke matter-of-factly.
"Is that… Black Luna?" He muttered.
"No… not quite." Witilla corrected, "It would be troublesome to directly label any particular system onboard this station as 'Black Luna'. There are many protocols in place to ensure the smoothness of operations--most of them automatic… it might be helpful to think of Black Luna as the sum of individual parts, rather than a being all on its own."
"Surely we've been discovered if that's the case?"
"My biometric signature is what allowed us entry into the station. As far as the mother intelligence is concerned, nothing is amiss."
"How long is that likely to last?"
"Uh… well…" She hesitated, "We're here to destroy the station, so… not for long."