[Center][h1][color=Lightskyblue]Another End[/color][/h1][/center]

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It was a place that she remembered all too well. Stretching out before them a field of ash and pain. Like statues, frozen in time, most of the Voiran’s remained, now more dust than flesh. Images flashed before her eyes and she fell to her knees amidst the ocean of gray. Both torment and her memory assaulted her. She saw their faces. White and pure, happy and content, fearful and horrified. She had destroyed this place out of malintentions and now that she was back, it was no better. The sorrow overwhelmed her. Like she would never see the sun shine ever again, or a clear blue sky after the rain. It was all choked by a dim haze. 

Her mind wandered, had she become a revenant again?

“Zima, I’ve no more strength… Can you dispel this curse?” Fear asked, clinging onto her as she similarly struggled to stand against the despair that suffused this site.

Zima blinked as Fear’s presence became present to her again. It was a comfort in such a terrible place of her own making. It gave her focus but even that wasn’t enough. She couldn’t do the entire thing, could she? That realization was grim but she had to try. She held up a hand, palm flat against the air. There she sent forth some of her strength to wrap them in a bubble of protection. She did this the only way that made sense; She took the despair and the sorrow back into herself. For it ultimately came from her. 

Once within the bubble, Zima took a few deep breaths and then collapsed. The pain in her chest was spreading, like a hot knife and it was becoming unbearable. Now only coupled by the crippling misery that clung heavy in the air, she felt as if she was both drowning while being burned.

Fear laid next to her, and murmured. “We can take it slowly, one at a time. There’s no rush after all. We’ll bury them all, and then we’ll go wherever the luminous winds take us next, I think.” 

"I…" She coughed violently before taking a painful breath. It was somehow funny to her that she thought she needed to breathe at all. "I don't think… I'm going to be able to." She whimpered. "It’s too much. So little time." She winced, stifling a groan. She twirled a finger and her once concealing clothes vanished away into the high cut dress she once wore. Zima sighed and that dispersed as well, to reveal the full extent of her affliction upon her body. 

Like veins of gold, it spread through her arms and down into her legs, making it look as if the spirit had blood pumping in her. The worst of it was her chest, darkened from Mair's fire and now tinged with a beating, golden mass. Like a heart. It did not keep her alive like a mortal's would, no, it slowly killed her with its molten fury. She could never escape it. "I was struck by something in our fight with those dark ones. Like fire inside…" A weak smile crossed her lips as her voice strained, "It's a fitting punishment for one who caused so much pain, don't you think?”

“Not at all.” Fear gently rebuked, as she inspected the injury with an evident dreadful apprehension and frustration the longer she looked upon it all. Fear could not smile in return, and averted her gaze as she whispered to Zima. “You don’t deserve this.”

"Maybe…Maybe not." Zima answered in return. "Let’s not dwell upon it. Okay?" A tender hand touched Fear's cheek, "Hey, promise me something? Do not…" She gritted her teeth as the pain flared, "Do not let them control you. Your family… They love you but you have to be… Your own person, with your own thoughts and your own dreams. Too many voices… Not good."

“I understand. I promise.” Fear said as she glanced back at her, and shook her head when she began to cry again. She quickly began brushing the tears away as her other hand hovered over the macabre wound. “You know you’re my family too.” The crying champion added, after her hand retreated and she realized there was nothing she could do to heal the affliction.

A smile formed on Zima's lips. "I… Regret not being kinder to you. That I did not get to know more of you as I am now. It seems so short a time." She rubbed Fear's cheek with her thumb. "You're so strong and brave, Fear. I am honored to know you consider me family. I have… No one left. Mish, oh Mish. I wish him well wherever he may be, my only other friend." Her hand fell down to her side, where she moved it over her chest. She sighed, "I'm sorry, I do not wish to leave you so alone here when I am gone…" Her voice broke.

Fear became quiet for a time, after she seemed to fumble and forget how to speak. She trembled, because it was both cold and so she shivered, but also because she was afraid of what would come soon. “I’ll bury them all like they asked, and then I’ll come find you. You don’t need to say sorry, Zima. I’ve told you before; it’s not your fault.” Fear reassured feebly, as she held onto Zima’s hand and refused to let go.

Zima gave her a reassuring squeeze, golden veins beating faster as they moved up her neck. “No…” She tried to shake her head, “You mustn't find me. Where I go…” her voice faltered, “I’ll be okay.” She lied. In all actuality she knew not if she could even try the trials again… if she even wanted to. “I want you… To live a happy life and I will…” Coughs wracked her chest, a golden fluid escaped the corner of her mouth. “I will make sure it will be comfortable. Do not weep for me, my Fear… Do not be scared. Everything will be okay, you’ll see.” her breaths became more labored as the pain burned even hotter and her skin further dimmed. 

“Heh, don’t be… silly. Wherever you go, I’ll seek you out and tell you you’re not alone. Parting ways for a time is just how it is, but we’re family. We’re together even in the end. I’m afraid I’ll have to cry more when you’re gone, but I’ll be happy when you’re back. Everything will be okay.” Fear repeated, her words seeped with sorrowful denial or some truth, while she began caressing her companion with what little time remained.

Zima shut her eyes and smiled. “Always the stubborn one.” her eyes opened, bright blue melding with gold. The veins spread up her face ever further. “Come… Closer.” She murmured.

Fear slowly leaned over her, with hesitation and a question burning in her eyes. Zima looked upon her for a time, just taking in her presence before she, with great effort, lifted her head up to place a kiss on Fear’s lips. Her pain washed away momentarily, as blissful as it was. Her smile did not fade as her head rested itself again. 

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“Zima… would you connect with me?” Fear asked quietly.

The spirit blinked, but nodded. The few shifting symbols of the Gnosis that lingered upon Fear began to increase in number as she began the ritual she had previously performed twice in the past. Her presence became both intangible and ethereal, as her body seemed to sift through Zima and vice versa. Their minds lingered upon the precipice of merging, with thoughts and memories being shared with each other, and Fear revealed as much of herself as she could in the ephemeral moment they had.

The presence of others could be felt along the edges of their connection, as the remnants of the Sacred Septet distanced themselves and provided the two with a modicum of privacy. Fear found herself tenderly touching upon the experiences and emotions that Zima had accumulated throughout her life, and exchanged all of her joyous encounters and wondrous discoveries, along with love and laughter and excitement she felt throughout her own life. She sought to remember what they were together, in a way so that it would never be forgotten by engraving it upon her being.

[i]“I can never let this go… this love shall remain with me when I am missing you dearly.”[/i] Fear expressed as she sang and danced, for words could not quite convey her feelings. There was little need for speech, as they transcended the painful barriers between themselves, and their connection allowed them to be truly intimate with each other. Zima likewise reciprocated all that was given and all that was shared. For a time the pain seemed to fade, lessening its terrible grasp upon her. 

She managed to breathe a soft murmur, “Perhaps more than family...” With the slightest of chuckles. Fear reflected that hint of mirth along with Zima herself, as she shared her senses and showed what she saw. The air rippled like liquid laughter, and the world was warmer and seemed brighter because of the spirit, and Zima herself could perceive how she was seen by Fear; beautiful and innocent, freed from darkness as she shined like a brilliant source of light beside the champion who was afraid of being alone. From Fear’s perspective, Zima could see an imaginary version of herself, where she and Fear were with the rest of her family, and had found happiness after living a long life filled with bliss.

Zima partook in the dance with Fear, waltzing around as if on the stars themselves. Then the spirit held her close, taking her all in before she kissed her brow. It could have been a few moments, days, or even years - but that time shared together, as beautiful as it was, was not meant to last forever.

Zima’s breaths became shallower and she was pulled away from Fear's connection with a blink. She found herself longing for it again but she did not want Fear to share in her death. That would be too much, connected. The veins around her skin began to shimmer as the dark heart beat even faster. 

Death gripped her now, its poison calling her to sleep forevermore.

"At times," she whispered, her throat raw, "I'd imagine being somewhere else. In another place, in another time. In the deep shade of a lonely tree, a gentle breeze in my ear. Or before a field of flowers greeted by the sunrise. Covered by dew, like little drops of honey.” She let out a longing sigh, “A warm breeze of salty air. The smell of falling leaves just before winter." She squeezed with what little strength she had left, tears falling from the corner of her eyes as she looked at Fear. "But none of those places, none of those times… Ever did compare… To just being with you… My… Love…" Her eyes began to dim, golden veins pulsating.

"Tha…nk… You…" She managed to say. Her smile was faint now but it was there and Zima took her final breath, eyes closing as she became very still, her tender grip upon Fear going limp. The veins in her body froze, the dark heart dying with her, having completed its deathly work. 

Zima was gone.

But her duty was not. Her body, in her lover's arms, blew away in a sudden wind. The poison that had killed her, drifting away like golden leaves. It swirled around Fear as the sorrow crept back in like a predator sensing its wounded prey. Except something happened then that should not have been so. The golden leaves turned blue around Fear, a small orb coming into being in front of her. It seemed to pulse before the saddened champion, then flew into her. It became a part of Fear and thereafter, her inner fire reignited, banishing the pain of a diminishing flame.

The leaves around her then became many, shooting up into the sky on a strange wind. Then the leaves exploded above that field of sorrow and it rained, bringing forth a warmth as the cloud and haze overhead began to break up, revealing a brilliant blue sky. Where it rained the land became saturated, green shoots sprouting from the earth. Wherever a voiran had laid, there sprout a strong and sturdy pale oak, whose leaves shimmered with a verdant green upon its white bark. A stream began to flow past Fear, surging forth with life unfettered. It was only when the haze had gone completely was Fear able to see that that field of sorrow was no longer connected to the land itself but had become a floating island when the dance had destroyed the north. But beauty came regardless. All around her sprang up small flowers of spectral blue. Their petals seemed to change shapes, or had it just been her imagination?

When the rain finally stopped and the sky was clear, did at last that sorrow become hope. For even with loss, life could begin again.

Fear had arisen from where she had lay, and stood staring up at the sky for a time, until eventually she would walk among the pale trees, and listen as the leaves sang with the cool breeze. She mourned in serene silence until her hurting heart had healed enough, and she had finally regained most of her strength. Her wandering feet had taken her to the edge of the soaring isle, where she could watch the rest of the world, still mostly frozen, and she wondered what would await her arrival. She glanced back at the sacred grove, and gave another burning prayer that all those that rested here would rest in peace.

She let out a breath, and turned around. “Let’s go.” She said, before she leapt and was away, leaving only a trickle of tears behind her as she departed.

[hider=Summary]
Teleported to the Field of Sorrows, Zima and Fear begin their task. The wound inflicted upon Zima worsens, and she is swiftly dying. Fear forges another connection with her, and they share in each other's love before Zima perishes. Upon her death, the Field of Sorrow was cleansed, and the Voirans along with Zima could rest in peace.
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