[hr][center][img]https://i.imgur.com/WKdecqD.png[/img][/center] [hr] The group followed the route made by Kimberly. Eventually, as they moved through the tunnels they saw an orange light... and they kept getting closer and closer until they were there. The massive room in which the Glutton was sealed behind. Just like in John Reid's recollection, the glutton was a massive ball of orange light sealed behind a massive glowing barrier made out of light. However, the barrier was cracked... and the Glutton's black tendrils can be seen wiggling out of it. However, they had the power of Ascension, which meant they could repair the barrier and seal the Glutton back. However, when they entered the room; they heard a clapping above them. It was the Speaker, standing on a tendril and being lowered down, "I'm amazed," The Speaker said, "You all made it. The Hound couldn't keep me occupied for long... I was hoping you all would listen... just this once." "Fuck off, we've come to stop you and the Glutton." "Glutton... I hate that name, so insulting to my master," The Speaker said as they put their fingertips together, "A more accurate name would be... [i]God.[/i]" Justin raised an eyebrow as the Soul-Self attacked... only for the barrier of embers and orange light to appear and block it. "Ages ago, far before there was even creation; there was a being, God, who had the gift of no other. The gift of life. All existence was inside of her and together we danced, peacefully. No sin, no misery, no suffering, only true peace. However, other beings out there were jealous of God... so they ripped the gift of life out of her womb and created perversions of her creations. Molding all intelligent life after them and harvesting the gift of emotion from them. However, now they are hiding behind their perversions seeing that God wants back what is hers. Ah, I remember when my eyes were opened..." The Speaker laughed as their hand was covered with a ball of orange light and embers as they forced the group into another illusion mimicking the recollections they've been seeing for ages. The scene burned away into embers... as another scene faded in. There was sand on the floor and there was an alley formed out of one building constructed out of a sand-colored stone. Soon enough a child came running with something in their hand as men with spears came running by. "My world... its name isn't important, was simply a hive of sin and tyranny. It was so long ago... that I don't even remember my name." If the group looked closely; that running child looked exactly like the Speaker. They tripped over a rock and what fell out of their hand was simply an apple, but the men caught up and beat the mere child with the other end of their spears and stomped on the child. Eventually, one came up with a dog and let the thing loose. The brutish creature ran up and mauled the young Speaker's arm as the men laughed. "That'll teach you to steal from us, slave!" Eventually, they grabbed the dog by the collar and gave the young speaker one last kick to the ribs. As the Speaker spit out blood, they tried to climb to their feet. They grabbed their arm as they walked down the alleyway back into the bustling street. All they could see were whores, thieves, tyrants... and they were a mere slave. Eventually, the Speaker made it back to a building and stepped inside the door - it formed a classical church. "In my world, there was a powerful theocracy that was originally a benevolent one, but as time went on they let sin taint their souls and they let themselves become... perverted. Eventually, they did whatever they felt like and simply justified it with their religion. After all, they worshipped a deity of whoring and degeneracy." Eventually, the Speaker dragged their feet to the middle of the aisle and dropped to their knees; they put their hands together and closed their eyes. "Every day, I prayed for change. I prayed for a day I wouldn't be abused and raped by those tyrants... then she came." The scene changed as the young Speaker walked through the streets that were lined with hundreds of dead. The streets were flowing with blood as the sky was red... and there was an orange ball of light in the middle of it that seemed to mask a blackness within it. The Speaker found it strangely enticing, they walked down the streets until they found themselves outside of the town. They stood on a cliff and stared at the Glutton... The Speaker narrated. "When I made it there, I screamed..." "Why are you doing this to us!?" The tendrils of the Glutton slowly descended from the sky and wrapped itself around the young Speaker. They were lifted into the air until they were engulfed into the being. "When I entered the light... my eyes were opened like never before. I realized this being was slaughtering us because of our sinful ways, that with every death we were being redeemed. That this being... was the God I so passionately prayed to for justice every night. Since then, I dedicated my life to serving her, and converting others to her ways..." The illusion faded and they were back in the mountain... [hider=The Beginning is the End is the Beginning (Piano Cover) - The Smashing Pumpkins][youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=naYqePsQIzk[/youtube][/hider] "Since you all are so keen on this broken path... well..." The Speaker said as they stuck their hand out, "You [i]will[/i] be redeemed..." Out of their hand came a barrage of orange tentacles that forced the group to scatter. Taking cover behind the rocks, but Justin had a plan. "I'll keep him busy! Fix the barrier!" Justin shouted. "Let's go!" yelled Penny as she led the charge towards the barrier. Thanks to Justin running interference she made to the barrier unscathed, her hands glowing white with Godforce as she directed her will towards one of the seals. The power of Ascension took over from there, filling the cracks with light and mending the only thing keeping the Glutton locked away. She glared at the incomprehensible mass of orange light and black tendrils as it thrashed around inside of its prison. It wasn't a God. It wasn't even a monster. It was just a rabid animal, desperate to break free and rampage. A black tendril whipped through one of the cracks and stabbed out at Penny, she reflexively held her hand up. A Godforce-infused glyph appeared at her fingertips and repulsed a spear of white light into the tendril, pinning it against the barrier. Rita stepped in beside Penny and nodded at her. The quiet girl didn't have a doubt in her mind what she needed to do as she lifted her hands and began channeling white light into the seal. With Rita taking over for her Penny was now freed up to assist the others. She moved with fluidity around the barrier as her eyes pathed the movement of the Glutton's tendrils, bolts of pure Godforce blasting out from glyphs to either knock away or pin down the tendrils. She saw Hagan. Claire. Zoey. She wouldn't let the Glutton lay one inch of its oily tendrils on any of her friends. Penny was a hurricane of white light and magical glyphs. With Justin taking on the Speaker and her locking down the Glutton's only defenses, the others were free to mend the barrier. Tuyen found herself reaching another seal, taking a deep breath as her shadow erupted into life behind her and she lifted her hands to the seal. They glowed with a bright white light that aided in the reparation Rita was already doing, dancing from her fingers and giving strength to the failing barrier. She let her mind lose all its doubt, forced away from the negative thoughts that had been there, and let it all flow through into the barrier. Her shadow completely covered her, easily destroying any tendrils that came towards Tuyen. Rien joined Tuyen in channeling energy into one of the seals, Caelea close behind. Even as she found her spot to help fix the barrier she kept an eye out for any stray tendrils that Penny missed, glyphs and wind flickering around her. Justin floated in midair to the same level as the Speaker, as his Soul-Self floated behind him, however, the being stuck out their hand and a mass of tendrils came from the ground and trapped Justin in a cage. "This won't hold me!" Justin shouted as he stuck both of his hands and fire came out. However, the ground started shaking as a huge chunk of rock floated out of the ground, surrounded by orange light and embers. It flew directly at Penny as the Speaker stared on blankly. "When will you learn." Afterward, the Speaker followed with a barrage of tendrils coming out of their palm. Penny repulsed the giant rock out of harm's way like it was nothing, but it left her without time to dodge the tendrils. She held out her hand to attempt to blow them back, but instead, the tendrils just stopped a few feet in front of her hand. Her enhanced abstraction began to pull the Speaker towards her—an attraction instead of a repulsion. Penny smirked as she telekinetically attempted to drag the Speaker within her five-foot range, an array of white glyphs materializing around her body. Penny got what she wanted when the Speaker faded away in a mass of orange sparks and embers and reappeared next to better. They made a knife-hand and swiped directly at Penny. "Watch out!" Caelea shot out from her spot, easily propelling herself with a blast of air and another blast of Godforce to block the knife hand (even as she realized Penny could probably handle it herself). The Speaker smirked as he was stopped. Another tendril came out of their body and looped around Penny and went straight for Caelea. While another tendril split off of [i]that[/i] one and tried to flank for Tuyen. Caelea cursed under her breath as she had to suddenly change the direction she was traveling in, shifting the air around her to flip up and over the tendril that was aiming straight for her. As she did she pushed out her hands to shoot a bolt of Godforce at it to pin it to the ground below her. With Caelea away from the blast zone, Penny was free to activate her glyphs. The ground around her rippled as the mountain floor jabbed up like a thousand swords in an attempt to eviscerate the nearby Speaker before they could teleport away. And each spear and spike impaled the Speaker and cut clean holes through their body... which strangely fell apart as if it was made out of stone. Each part that fell off didn't reveal any flesh in the slightest. Instead, all that could be seen as the glowing embers. The Speaker's upper head was completely gone; replaced with a spike, and they still grinned. Tuyen's shadow slipped around her to block the tendril aiming for her, form large and nightmarish as it grabbed it and slammed it against the barrier - but not before it pierced through the shadow's hand. The sudden, stabbing pain in Tuyen's hand was enough to jerk her out of her concentration at healing the seal even as the wound near-instantly healed. Her shadow tightened its grip and grew even more in size, trying to cover as much as Tuyen as possible, as she tried to regain her concentration. Meanwhile, fire surrounded Justin until he was a ball of flames which pushed against the cage more and more - until it broke open. Massive flaming wings appeared on Justin's back as feathers made out of fire came down. Out of the cracks of the barrier, there was a tendril that sprouted many other tendrils out of it. From there other tendrils slipped through the cracks. However, Justin smiled. Behind him... every animal that Justin could think of, made out of flames, appeared. There were hundreds of them... and they all flew directly at the tendrils and slashed at them as the tendrils strike back. Slicing each other to pieces while Justin tried to make time for Penny and the others. As the battle raged there was crashing against the barrier, the barrier that was getting more and more cracked as it went on. The Glutton was doing everything in its power to break free from its constraints. It probably was above concepts like pain - but it let out a hellish screeching sound with every crash. As the cracks grew wider the black tendrils of the Glutton were forced through the barrier... it let out a hellish screech as it tried to break the barrier apart. Undoing everything the group has been doing. "You think I'm a mere human?" The Speaker asked as they half-grinned. "I am the embodiment of God's power, in all of its forms." The Speaker disappeared and reappeared in the center of the room completely in one piece. "Die, all of you." Suddenly the Speaker exploded into an absolute hellish mass of glowing orange tendrils that ended with bladed tips as they attacked the heretics from all angles. Kimberly let out a squeak as she shot a blast of Godforce at the ground and created a wall of stone to block the tendrils - but one got through, stopped only by a blast of ice from Rita. Justin's animals were killed as he was dodging the tendrils left and right. Before he retaliated; he shot both hands out and fired an enormous inferno of flames that burned some of the tendrils. Penny repulsed tendril through tendril, creating some orange glowing form of a hellish rat king as she ducked and weaved around the rogue tendrils that slipped around her. However, the Speaker was engulfed in flames... they teleported out and Justin fired another absolute hellfire blast of fire that sent the Speaker flying directly into the wall. The Speaker was losing the battle; however, the Glutton wasn't going to stop and let itself get sealed. Oh no. The Glutton began violently pounding against the barrier, forcing itself through the cracks. It let itself make noise as it was burned by the Godforce, its body got smaller but more and more cracks began to form on the surface of the barrier. The Glutton had stuck tendrils through every available surface, trying to break the barrier apart. The orange light shined brightly through the cracks as the barrier was breaking down piece by piece. The Speaker stopped as they turned around and let out a laugh. They grabbed onto their face as they laughed maniacally, showing the most emotion yet. "It's finally here!" The Speaker shouted as they stuck both their hands out and basked in the Glutton's light. "I've waited so long to see this, but God is [i]free![/i]" Eventually, the barrier was falling apart like glass and then... "No..." Justin said. ... The barrier broke completely. The ball of orange light that was the Glutton quickly ascended into the sky - eating the mountain as it rose. At this point, the mountain was collapsing in on itself. The cavern in which they found their way into the inner sanctum was collapsed. There was no easy way out. [b]"Kimberly,"[/b] The girl heard the Child's voice, [b]"You can save all of us."[/b] "Huh-how!?" Kimberly shouted. [b]"The abstraction you never utilized until now..."[/b] An orb of white light appeared in front of her face and when it faded it showed a photograph of the forest outside of Farmer Hill. [b]"Grab it and focus. Envision yourself and everyone there... your power has been increased to God-like levels."[/b] "Ooookay...." Kimberly said as she bent down and focused on the photograph. It was good of an idea as any, mostly because they had none. She sighed... everyone there was being engulfed in purple light. They faded away much like they did when the child teleported them. And then there were gone. [hr] Eventually, the group was teleported to the forest... where the orange ball of light that was the Glutton was in the middle of the night sky. However... it was making a strange sound as its body violently vibrated as if it couldn't hold a stable form. It changed shape every second, as orange pus drained the light from its body. Around the Glutton were white motes of light scattered all over the night sky like will-o-the-wisps. The Speaker stood under it, on the remains on the mountain, with a horrified look on their face, "Master, that was foolish..." The Speaker said as they shook their head [hider=Ghost Note - Breton][youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLFOrcxokAo[/youtube][/hider] Appearing out of a beam of light from the sky, the Child appeared in front of the group. "The Glutton! It's weakened!" The Child said as they stuck their hand into the air. It gathered all the motes of white light towards the group. "We have only one chance! Everyone, put your hands together and we can end this for good!" Justin was the first to join hands with somebody in the support group - Kimberly. When they touched they glow with a white aura as they power they felt went in between them. Justin smiled as he extended a hand to Penny. She grabbed it and linked hands with Rita, who offered hers out to Tuyen. Tuyen blinked before taking Rita's hand with a slight smile, offering hers to Caelea who took it quickly. [After the group finishes touching dicks] A massive beam of white light erupted from the group and quickly clashed with the Glutton. "M-Master!" The Speaker said as they covered their face with their sleeve. It wasn't long until the Glutton was being overwhelmed by the pure Godforce in its weakened state. It let out a hellish sound that faded with time... as it was erased from existence. The night sky went back to normal as the beam faded. The group had accomplished their goal at last - they eliminated the Glutton. "We... did it!" Kimberly said as she jumped up and down like a child. "Hell yeah!" Justin shouted as he high-fived Kimberly. Rita squealed and threw her arms around Tuyen, who grinned and wrapped her arms around her friend in a tight hug in response. "We fucking did it," said Penny, clapping Justin on the shoulder. "I think I'll skip the next campout, though." "I don't think any of us will be camping again any time soon," Caelea snorted, rubbing her head. [hr][hider=Breton - Envy (Orchestra Remix)][youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUwK2uraI_0[/youtube][/hider][hr] The group was teleported to a different place in an instant by the Child... a white expanse that was seemingly made out of white smoke, far as the eye can see. And in front of them was the Child... who smiled. "You've done it," The Child said, "You've saved us all from the Glutton. That abomination seemed... unstoppable, but you did it." Justin smiled, "The impossible is possible, you should know that." "I can't even begin to thank you..." The Child said, "We freed everyone who was being tortured by that thing." "You said you might be able to resurrect the people killed by that thing?" Justin asked. The Child nodded their head. "I... cannot bring back everyone, however," The Child said, "The people who died in the conflict were so numerous that it's just too many..." "... And The Child cannot revive those who have not been killed by the Glutton as it was their time to go," The Hound bellowed as he walked up. "Which means... certain members of your group are gone for good." "I see," Justin said. "Son of a bitch," muttered Penny under her breath. "Nevertheless, I think they have some words for you." Suddenly behind the Child, the spirits of all the people who died in the conflict appeared behind them. From Claire to Lynette, to Aliana, to Dexter... all of them. "This is the least I can do," The Child said, "Everyone who dies may have the choice to go back or pass onto the Godforce to continue the cycle - for now; say your farewells." The Child nodded their head. "Take as long as you need to." [hr] "Hehe, you did it," Claire said to Caelea, bumping an elbow her way. "I was watching ya' the whole time, I gotta say; I'm impressed pretty squirt. I didn't think you had all that in ya'... I'm gonna miss ya'." "What you talking bout, I was always gonna succeed. I'm tough, y' know," Caelea smirked in response, even as she rubbed an eye which had some dust in it or something but not tears. "I'm gonna miss you too... things just aren't gonna be the same around here, are they? Damn, it's gonna be so boring." Her voice wavered slightly even as she gave a fierce grin. She'd never expected to see Claire again - so now was the time to be fucking sad about that. "I mean you're short, but big things come in small packages, sis," Claire said as her ghost put its hands on its pockets and floated off. "Things aren't going to be the same... but they aren't supposed to be." She shrugged. "What are you talking about?" Zoey said as her apparition reappeared. "Aren't you coming back...?" "Well, surprise," Claire said, "The Child said there wasn't enough room for both of us... so I agreed." She shrugged as she sighed... a tear ran down her cheek. "... You'll find new people," Claire started, "Both of you. Just... move on and forget about me." Claire said as she disappeared. "Take care now." [hr] "Hey, Penny..." Lynette said, and as the girl turned towards her - she was wearing the last outfit she had on before she died. A heavy parka, jeans, snow boots, doesn't matter. Lynette smiled at her as she said, "Thank you... I mean, I know, I know. I... wish I could cry right now; I'm so happy you did it." "You should have been here for this. It wouldn't have been possible without you," said Penny, her voice a wisp of its former self. "You had my back every step of the way. I was so consumed by the Glutton, I didn't see the threats closer to...Lynette, I'm so sorry. I'm so..." her voice broke and she hung her head. "It's okay," Lynette said with a warming smile as her hand grabbed onto Penny's shoulder. "You have nothing to be sorry for." "... It's me that has to be sorry, Penny," Sharon's spirit said, grabbing her arm by the elbow with her other one, not making eye contact with her. "I... made everything about me as Amethyst did. I didn't think about Lynette. I didn't think about her family. I didn't think about you. I just...." Penny peered up without lifting her head, her eyes burning through the locks of hair that had fallen in front of her face. She felt something tug inside of her, a string trying to pull a cord on her back that'd feed the girl the acceptance she wanted. It would be the right thing to do. The living can repent for their mistakes, but the dead can only hope for forgiveness. All she had to say was it's okay and be done with it. A simple act of kindness. There was no need for pettiness now. Just say it's okay, even if it was a lie. Penny opened her mouth but no sound came out. Inside, she felt a swell of acid burn through the string. Traitors were disgusting. They deserved no sympathy. Penny lifted her head and gave Sharon a look that said what she could not bring herself to say in front of Lynette. Her look said: [i]I will [b]never[/b] forgive you.[/i] "I can't be angry at you, Sharon," Lynette said with a smile. "We're both dead now, and we're going to be moving on... there's no point in holding onto these emotions." "I can't forgive myself." "Penny," Lynette said, "Did I ever tell you I had a little brother and sister?" "You didn't," said Penny, finding her words. She thought of Henry and how she had tortured herself seeking closure for years. "I'll find them. I'll let them know what happened." "I should have... we existed in two different worlds now that I think about it," Lynette she laughed. "Jaden and Cierra. They were two gigantic pains in the ass... they were normal. But, I loved them nonetheless..." That smile disappeared before her face turned flat. "Please... tell them everything," Lynette said, as she began to fade away, "They deserve to know, after all." "You know I will." Right before Lynette was completely gone had some last words for Penny. "I'm going to miss you, Penny," Lynette laughed warmingly, "I know you weren't perfect. I [i]understand[/i] you weren't, but I know deep down you're a good person. I'm... glad that you finally have closure for what happened. I died from having mine. If nothing else; I'm just begging you to stay safe out there, Penny." She kept laughing right before she was gone. "Maybe we'll meet again - but who am I kidding? We will. Maybe both of us will be alive," With that, Lynette was gone... however Penny heard her voice one last time. "Who am I kidding. This is the end, just remember this: I love you." Sharon was still there and hung her head as she rapidly disappeared. [hr] Jordan and Kimberly were stuck staring at each other wordlessly. Until Kimberly just lost all bearing and broke down into tears as she embraced Jordan's spirit for a hug. "I'm going to miss you, Jordan!" Kimberly said. "I'm gonna miss you too, girl!" Jordan said. "Nutty ass white girl!" "I'm gonna miss you more!" "I'm going to miss [i]you[/i] more!" "Jordan Nichols," The Hound said as he approached. He simply sat down on his behind as his imposing red eyes scanned the two girls. "We had a deal..." "Yeah, we did..." The Hound created a huge mass of black fog, and [url=https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/d6a717ba-0b57-4b36-a2fe-00aeb45799b8/d4v1ifk-036540c4-aff9-48a3-b190-3bb37875be90.jpg?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1cm46YXBwOjdlMGQxODg5ODIyNjQzNzNhNWYwZDQxNWVhMGQyNmUwIiwiaXNzIjoidXJuOmFwcDo3ZTBkMTg4OTgyMjY0MzczYTVmMGQ0MTVlYTBkMjZlMCIsIm9iaiI6W1t7InBhdGgiOiJcL2ZcL2Q2YTcxN2JhLTBiNTctNGIzNi1hMmZlLTAwYWViNDU3OTliOFwvZDR2MWlmay0wMzY1NDBjNC1hZmY5LTQ4YTMtYjE5MC0zYmIzNzg3NWJlOTAuanBnIn1dXSwiYXVkIjpbInVybjpzZXJ2aWNlOmZpbGUuZG93bmxvYWQiXX0.wvPQd0mO3c6B7E8R24VHjChPKk28DHj_OAQbpv09mro]somebody stepped out[/url] "Maddie!" Jordan said as she hugged her cousin's spirit. "She will have no recollection of her death, Jordan Nichols," The Hound said, "And for all intents and purposes; her spot will be switched with yours. The world will believe you died that day and Madison went to Grand Ridge Academy... but she will be alive." "Okay." "Are you... sure you want to do this, Jordan?" Kimberly said as one last-ditch effort to have back her only friend. "It isn't too late to, you know, turn back..." "I know you may feel some kinda way about this, but this is the way things are supposed to go, girl," Jordan started off her explanation, "Finally... I feel that guilt lifted off my shoulders as I can finally begin again. Maddie can have the chance I took from her." "... Won't she feel the same way?" Kimberly asked. "Madison, unlike the others who have been revived, will have no memory of the other timeline," The Hound started, "... I suggest you keep it that way." "Very well..." Kimberly sighed. Jordan faded out of existence as she smiled at Kimberly for the last time. "Goodbye, I hope we meet again." Kimberly fell to her knees as she broke down into tears. [hr] Justin wished that he could join the others but there was somebody he needed to see. Somebody important to him. Justin approached the spirit of his grandmother... for the last time. He hung his head as his arms dropped dead to his sides. He sighed. [i]"I failed to protect you, Grandmother,"[/i] Justin started, [i]"I am a disgrace to the Liaos, the Zhaos, and the -"[/i] Justin was interrupted by his grandmother embracing him and he broke down into tears. What he didn't realize was that, on his hands, a sigil of a stone rock appeared. [i]"It's okay Justin... there's nothing you could have done to save me. If you were there; she would have killed you too... There's nothing to do at this point anyway - all parties involved are dead, so my death is formally avenged. Mystery solved my brave grandson."[/i] Justin was sobbing as he said, [i]"You're right, I gotta let this go..."[/i] [i]"I'm proud of you... you will lead a great family."[/i] "Um...." Justin trailed off, figuring now is a good time. He clenched his fists as he closed his eyes - nearly speaking through his teeth, [i]"I have a confession to make; grandmother. I'm... gay."[/i] Lihua paused for a second. "[i]Hahahahahahha, so's your[/i] mother!" Lihua broke out into laughter as she dropped the biggest bomb on Justin so far. "[i]Or bisexual, whatever the hell you young people call it these days. Know how many times I caught her making out with her best friend? And I'm not talking about a light kiss on the lips - I'm talking about tongue and everything![/i]" Justin was silent. [i]"Personally, I think that she married Danny to hide it, but she continued the family name. And that sister of yours is the[/i] same [i]way!"[/i] She waved her hand. [i]"I don't know what it is about my children - but it didn't come from me, it came from your grandfather. You'll continue my bloodline one way or another - or I'll have strong words for you when you get to the other side, yes?"[/i] [i]"... Yes."[/i] [i]"Now, I have one final request for you, Justin... I gave you my abstraction."[/i] [i]"Why grandmother... I don't feel like I deserve it."[/i] [i]"Yes you do, but I don't feel like poetically waxing about it,"[/i] Lihua started, [i]"I need you to go find a spot in the kitchen... it's that stone tile that always stuck out in there - pull it out, open it up, and take what's inside back to your mother. Then I need you to burn down the place."[/i] [i]"... What?"[/i] Lihua chuckled. [i]"Don't worry about a little arson... maybe the fumes will improve the smell of that town - what's left of it that is."[/i] Lihua slowly faded away into nothingness. [i]"It was great while it lasted, boy, but I must go. I fear if I stay here too long you'll want to join me. Just remember..."[/i] Lihua smiled right before she disappeared and imparted these last words onto Justin. [i]"... Through fire, through stone, through peace, through war, through snow... I will[/i] always[i] love you."[/i] Then she was gone. Justin could do nothing in response but smile. [hr] A sigh escaped Britney's lips. Of course, she couldn't do too much in the way of feeling now that she no longer had a body. The only sensation she had was this flowing sensation all over her body as if she was made out of gas. She looked at her hand and noticed it was transparent and green... she sighed. All she remembered was the rock, then she was here. She kept her hands together below the waist as she floated her way over to Penny and the others. There wasn't much to say at this point. "... Hey," Britney said to Penny and the others, "I, well, don't know what to say really." She shrugged. "All my life... it has been dedicated to stopping the Glutton... and I wasn't even there to see it end," Britney began her longwinded yet heartfelt speech. "It's not even a pride thing. It's... everything I did in my relentless pursuit to stop the Glutton. All the lying, killing and manipulating I did and yet... it was pointless in the end. It was... I..." Even though she didn't have a body to feel with; she had a soul. She sobbed as she couldn't say anymore. She hung her head and stared at her feet as she let out the end of her speech. "... I don't expect any of you to forgive me." "Britney, why is it that no matter how many times I told you to shut the fuck up you somehow kept talking?" said Penny. Her words were harsh, but her eyes were smiling. "What you did wasn't pointless. Those things you did were, shit, they were incredibly fucked up, but they still have weight. It was what got us here. You got us here. If you didn't push us as you did we never would've stopped the Glutton. So stop lying to yourself. You were there." "Penny's right," said Rita. "I always felt like there was something off about you and it made me mistrust you a lot, but you sacrificed yourself to save us. So, thank you. Truly." For a few moments, Britney was completely silent as she kept her mouth shut. She didn't know what to say... or even feel. Not anymore. She looked at her hand again and exhaled. "... I wish I lived, you know," Britney said as tears went down her cheeks, and began a speech. "I have a lot to make up for... I wish that I could live alongside you all. At least [i]try[/i] to make everything I did worth [i]something[/i]. Do you want to know why I was so ruthless? Because I just loved all of you. I couldn't let the Glutton or the League hurt you. But truthfully I finally got what I want: a world without the Glutton. And... I can't even live to see any of you enjoy it. Honestly, all I want is for all of you to be happy..." Britney loudly sobbed into her hands as she began to fade away. It was her time to go to the other side... but she had one last thing to say. "... This is for the best." Those were Britney's last words. After everyone said their goodbyes, the spirits of the truly deceased passed on. Fading away after their time was up. That just left the Awakened and the Child. Who still had some words for them. "Now... I have to say something; the Godforce has returned to Shimmer which means you all will be returning to a [i]very[/i] different world." [b][i][color=lightgray]“What do you mean by that?[/color][/i][/b]asked Rita, unintentionally using her abstraction. "New Awakened will spring up all over the world, as well as Adepts will discover their true heritage and dormant Apparitions will awaken as well... I cannot interfere as it's my sworn duty as One Above All to protect the remaining worlds. And as I do that; I will be creating new ones," The Child said, "I... have one final request for you all; and I know it may be a lot, after what you've done." "Yeah?" Justin asked. "I want to seal away the Power of Ascension," The Child started, "It is simply too powerful... however, you will not lose it. If your power is required again I will awaken it inside of you. But, that is only for the direst of events." "Fine... it was kinda broken anyway," Justin said. "I kind of enjoyed it," said Penny with a smirk. "But seriously, nobody should have that kind of power." Soon enough the group was engulfed in white light yet again. It was warming, comforting. Before the group was gone, the Child said, "This is... goodbye, for now, I will be watching over you all." The Child started, "And don't worry, I cleaned up the mess the Glutton made." They faded away into nothingness. Were they ready to enter a new world? [hr][hider=Breton - Titan][youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mImotdsv0l4[/youtube][/hider][hr] The first thing the group felt was the bright sun hitting them. When the white light faded, they were in the middle of Farmer Hill. A rather frantic Farmer Hill, of course. All around them were EMTs, National Guard, and Reporters. The first thing that looked different was that the people that were sacrificed were gone. The graffiti of Redemption on the walls of the town were gone. There was no snow. Nothing. It was almost like a bright day in spring. There was something about Farmer Hill that felt... brand new. Uplifting even. A reporter was standing in front of a camera not too far away. "I am Reporter Molly Schuller," The Reporter started, "I report here at Farmer Hill where a seven-point-five magnitude earthquake suddenly erupted and ravaged this small town. As you can see behind me; it was powerful enough to destroy the mountain." Mount Ever Reaching, the mountain that Farmer Hill was almost famous for, was collapsed just like it was in the previous timeline... [b]"Son of a bitch![/b] shouted Penny loud enough to make Rita jump. Her hand was grabbing at the top of her head as the girl stared at her. "W-what?" said Rita. "I," Penny drew her lips thin and glanced towards the ruins of the mountain. Her eyes narrowed in the bright sun. "I think I lost my sunglasses in there."