Several months have passed, and now it's been a full year since Rei and the others arrived in this timeline.
At Port Breeze Archipelago, a grand festival is being held to commemorate the one-year anniversary since the tragic events caused by the attack of the Lesser Archangels. The festival serves to honor those who lost their lives in the disaster, and amidst the celebration, Gran and his crew are seen enjoying the festivities while keeping an eye out for any troublemakers.
"Ahaha! I'm lovin' all this hustle and bustle!" Vyrn exclaimed, clearly thrilled by the lively atmosphere.
"Me too! After the terrible disaster we went through, it's great to see everyone keeping it together!" Lyria agreed with a bright smile.
"Yeah, it's just too bad Rei and the others can't attend. Rei's already gone to Canaan for training," Gran added with a hint of disappointment.
A few months ago, they had received a letter from Rei, explaining that he wouldn't be able to visit them because he was heading to Canaan—a place far away—for his training. Understanding Rei's struggles with controlling his power, they could only send back their wishes of good luck and hopes for his health.
Meanwhile, in Canaan, where Rei and Lucifer were training...
*Clang* *Bam*—the sounds of explosions and clashing swords echoed through the air.
"Good, hold all that power, Rei," Lucifer said, pushing his sword against Rei's with force.
"I know! Stop saying that!" Rei yelled, using even more of his strength as he pushed against Lucifer's blade.
Currently, Rei was wielding the Sword of Repudiation while using six of his dark wings, facing off against Lucifer in an intense sparring match.
"Haaaahhh!" With a fierce shout, Rei managed to overpower Lucifer, pushing him back.
*Clang* After winning the clash, Rei ended the duel by landing a solid punch to Lucifer's face. *BAAAM*
Lucifer staggered back slightly, wiping the corner of his mouth with a grin. "Not bad... you're getting there."
"Hahh... hahhh... hahhh... how long has the sparring gone this time?" Rei asked, panting heavily.
Lucifer paused for a moment, as if calculating, before finally answering, "It's been 233 hours, 22 minutes, and 49 seconds since we started."
"Hahh... That's pretty long this time too," Rei said as he dispelled his sword and let his six wings vanish.
"So, what do you want to do after this? Going back to that place?" Lucifer asked, watching Rei carefully.
"Yeah, I'm still not done reading all the books here," Rei replied.
Ever since arriving in Canaan, Rei had easily found a hidden chamber used by Lucillus for his experiments. Within, he discovered numerous notes and books detailing how the Primarchs and Primal Beasts were created.
"You're not going back to the others?" Lucifer inquired.
"No, maybe later—after I'm done with that place," Rei said, already walking away from the training grounds.
Lucifer could only watch him go, shaking his head in mild exasperation. But then, suddenly...
"Fufufu, he's still the same as before," a woman's voice echoed behind him.
Lucifer immediately turned around and saw a familiar face, though something was different. "Belial? Your body!?"
The figure only laughed softly, covering her mouth. "No, no. You call me Belle in this form."
But Lucifer didn't care about the name. "What are you doing here?" he demanded, his expression hardening.
"...!"
It happened in an instant. Lucifer looked down to see a blade twisting between his ribs. Its wielder emerged from the void that materialized behind him—a hooded figure cloaked in shadows.
"What a pathetic conclusion you've come to," the hooded figure sneered, stepping out fully from the void.
"Hey, bubs! I was still talking to him!" Belle snapped, clearly annoyed that her conversation was cut short.
"Shut your mouth! You're always just playing around!" the hooded figure barked back angrily at Belle.
"Axion!" They suddenly hear someone shouted as the situation escalated.
"Argh!" The hooded figure was hit from behind, while Belle narrowly dodged a laser-like beam of energy.
"Lucifer!" Rei arrived, his six dark wings showing as he rushed towards him.
Rei moving swiftly delivered a powerful kick to the hooded figure, sending him crashing into a nearby wall. Without wasting a second, he quickly grabbed Lucifer and retreated, carrying him away from their two attackers.
"Lucifer, are you alright? Well, there's something stabbing your stomach, but you'll be fine!" Rei said, his gaze turning sharply toward the pair.
"Belial!? Why does your body look like that?"
"Heeey, Rei! We meet again. Thanks to your attack from a year ago, I had to reshape my body. The old one was destroyed," Belle said, waving her hand at Rei.
Meanwhile, the hooded figure, who had been thrown back, reappeared in his previous spot, glaring at Rei. "What!? Lucillus?? How could this be?"
"Beelzebub!?"
[IMAGE]
"Impossible! How are you here?" Beelzebub was shocked, knowing that Lucillus was just a head without a body. But now, Lucillus was here, fully formed with six wings on his back.
"It's none of your business why I'm here, Beelzebub. The only thing that matters..." Rei raised his right hand, and purple lightning appeared, forming the Sword of Repudiation.
"Since you're here, I'll take this chance to kill you before you destroy the entire Sky Realm!" Rei pointed his sword at Beelzebub.
"Tch, Belial, did you get involved with him?" Beelzebub shouted at Belle.
"Me? How could you think that? I'm just as surprised. Who would've thought Faa-san was already here?" Belle smiled sarcastically as she spoke.
"Tch!" Beelzebub didn't believe her words.
His plans were utterly ruined. Initially, he intended to kill Lucifer and release the Avatar primal beast left behind by Lucillus to absorb it into his body. But who would've thought Lucillus would be here? Nothing made sense.
"Phosphorus!" Rei's sword became enveloped in his dark aura, and he immediately swung it at both of them.
"Uh oh," Belle muttered, seeing Rei's attack.
"Damn!" *BOOOOOOM* The entire place was instantly destroyed by the swing of Rei's sword.
After the chaos settled and the smoke from Rei's attack cleared, he noticed that Belle and Beelzebub had vanished.
"They're gone?" Rei muttered, but he remained on guard, knowing they could use the void gateway to reappear anywhere. He focused, trying to sense their presence nearby.
"They're... gone, Rei," Lucifer's voice came suddenly.
Hearing that, Rei turned toward Lucifer and saw the object still embedded in his abdomen.
"Lucifer!" He immediately rushed to him to examine the wound.
Lucifer's injury was severe, and Rei could feel that the thing stabbing him was hindering his regeneration with a dark aura emanating from it.
"You'll be fine, Lucifer, just let me heal you," Rei said, dismissing his six black wings and revealing twelve pure white ones.
He channeled the power of his wings into his palm, and soon his hand glowed with a golden light.
But just as Rei was about to remove the object from Lucifer's stomach, Lucifer grabbed his arm.
"!? What are you doing?" Rei asked, surprised.
Lucifer only smiled before speaking, "You know why... This is supposed to happen."
"What!?"
"If you have the power of my friend and me, you already know... This is meant to happen so everything can move forward." Lucifer smiled gently as he said this.
Hearing those words made Rei remember what happened in the game. Lucifer was killed, triggering the awakening and rampage of the Avatar. Sandalphon then received the power of the other tetra primarchs and used the power Lucifer had given to Lyria² to defeat the Avatar. Afterward, pieces of the broken Avatar were absorbed by Beelzebub, but Belial stole a part of it to use on Lucillus...
"Are you an idiot? I'll never let you die! The others will kill me if they find out!" Rei tried to joke, attempting to pry Lucifer's hand off his own.
But Lucifer still held on. Then, he began coughing up blood—*a lot* of blood.
"Lucifer, you don't have much time! Just let me heal you!!" Rei pleaded.
But instead, Lucifer extended his other hand, and soon a golden light appeared in his palm. When the light faded, a feather emerged in his hand. "Here, Rei. Give this to Sandalphon."
"That feather!" Rei immediately recognized it.
It was the same feather players in *Granblue Fantasy* used to Max Limit Break Sandalphon and raise him to level 100.
"You know what this is for, right?" Lucifer said softly.
"Yeah, yeah... but you can give it to her yourself. I don't want it," Rei replied, his voice tinged with desperation.
Rei clenched his fists, trying to keep his composure as Lucifer continued to weaken in his arms. Lucifer's smile remained gentle, his voice strained but sincere.
"Rei... I'm glad you, Lyria, and Orchid came to this timeline," Lucifer said softly. "It's because of you that I've been able to witness so much... things I never thought I'd see."
Rei looked at him, eyes widening as he listened.
"Sandalphon... she's happier than I've ever seen her. She smiles more now... and it's all because of you," Lucifer added, his voice beginning to falter. "For so long, she bore everything alone. But with you... she's found something she didn't know she needed."
Lucifer's breathing became labored, but his eyes still shone with gratitude.
"You... have given her a future," he said, his voice barely audible now.
Then, with a final sigh, the light in Lucifer's eyes dimmed, and his body became still.
"Lucifer!" Rei shouted, his voice filled with desperation. He could feel it—a surge of energy, as Lucifer's essence began to dissolve. The golden feather in Rei's hand glowed brightly, and before Rei could react, Lucifer's form disintegrated into particles of light, which were swiftly absorbed into Rei.
As the last traces of Lucifer's presence vanished, Rei could feel his power surging, but he was left kneeling in silence.
Lucifer was gone.