2319 One Step (Part 1)

Fyrwal fell to the ground, sobbing. The hole she felt in her chest was no smaller than Phloria's. It shed no blood but it made her feel empty as the pain from losing her friends rose anew.

Inside the Golden Griffon, Thrud burst into a belly laugh while dancing through the Throne Room with the small Valeron the Second in her arms.

"Idiots! All of them, even the Ernas girl. I told her that I'd reunite her with Verhen by the end of the war and I'm going to keep my word. Once I kill him, I'll bury them together!

"I mean, seriously? What kind of forever did she expect? With the academies down, I no longer need her. Phloria's stupid friends should have learned their lesson by now.

"Once I can't keep something, I have no qualms about discarding it. Just like I couldn't stop Verhen from taking my cities, I couldn't stop him from rescuing Phloria. So, I just tossed them away!

"I would never betray Verhen's secret because I can't risk someone killing him first and taking that priceless tower for themselves. I can't have him living either, because his life will be my compensation for Jormun's death while his tower will be Valeron's."

"Best of all, now Verhen knows my pain. He has killed a woman who he had loved and who loved him with all of her heart in the same way he killed my husband." Thrud kept dancing and spinning while Valeron giggled, unaware of the tragedy orchestrated by his mother.

***

Lith was still in front of Phloria's corpse, bawling his eyes out. He didn't want to cry nor could he afford the time to. A few kilometers from there, the two armies were still fighting and dying.

Among them, there were the few people he treasured and who he called friends. They needed him yet he couldn't muster the strength to stand up.

His mistake had been to conjure a drape from his pocket dimension and use it to wrap Phloria and cover the gaping hole in her chest. It was then that it had happened.

The figure of Phloria lying on the ground had overlapped with that of Carl lying on the obituary table. Both cold, their skin paled from death, and covered from the neck down to make them presentable.

Yet this time it was much worse.

This time it wasn't a stranger or an enemy to have taken Lith's loved one away. Phloria had died by his own hand and guilt was tearing him apart.

He had failed his best friend in the most horrible way possible. He had come to rescue her and had ended up killing her instead. His mind kept spinning, replaying the fight from start to finish and finding no mistake.

Yet the result of his perfect plan that he had perfectly executed was right in front of him, dead.

Phloria's rune was gone and so was her sword.

'How could I mess up like this? What will I say to Jirni and Orion? How can I explain to them that everything went fine yet Phloria died anyway?' Lith thought over and over, his agonizing wails audible for kilometers.

War lay by his side, wailing with him. The grieving blade mourned the loss of its twin and of the person it had been crafted to protect. It refused to use Phloria's blood to form a scabbard and to be put away as well.

War had no idea who, but someone had to pay. The edges of the blade turned into small spikes, clacking in anger and gnawing at the ground. Alas, it found no relief in the wanton destruction.

"It's not your fault, Lith. You can stop crying." Phloria's Demon took form right above her corpse, floating down until they were at eye level.

She cupped his face, forcing him to open his eyes and look at her.

"It was all part of Thrud's plan. My enslaved self had no memory of it because Thrud ordered me to forget about it, but now I remember. At the last moment, I had the order to step forward and undo my protections.

"I had my armor slip away, I dropped fusion magic, Life Maelstrom, and Give and Take. You didn't kill me, I threw myself at your fist. Thrud knew how strong you are and how delicate you can be so she used both against you.

"You encountered no resistance because there was none." She caressed his cheeks, wiping his tears away but new ones were instantly shed.

The coldness of her touch and her Demon form were two proofs too many that Phloria was really gone forever.

"Don't cry. No one could save me. Not even Tessa and Fyrwal would have succeeded. I was dead the moment I was captured. You guys just pretended to not know it." She said.

"Not all is lost." Lith said amid sniffles while he regained his cool. "I can keep you as my Demon and maybe Vastor can turn you into one of his hybrids. Together we can find a way to bring you back."

"I'm sorry, Lith, but I'm not staying." Phloria let go of him, lowering her eyes. "I was already halfway gone when I heard you cry. I came back only because I couldn't rest in peace knowing you blamed yourself for my death.

"I let your chain reach me only to let you know the truth and tell you that I don't resent you. You are my best friend and you did everything you could to save me. You did more than I could ever hope for the sake of upholding your word."

"Please, don't leave me." Lith's voice cracked again.

"Please, don't make this any more difficult than it already is. I told you, I'm not staying. I had a short life and it didn't go as I wanted, but it was full and happy nonetheless.

"My parents loved me, I found wonderful friends and sisters, and I've traveled through two continents! How many people can say the same? I was lucky and now my time is over.

"I'm too tired to keep living. Too tired to keep fighting. I've done enough." Phloria said as silent tears streamed down Lith's cheeks.

"Please, don't leave me." He grabbed her hand, sharing with her everything about his past on Earth. "I've lost so many people already. I can't lose you as well."

"Gods, I can't believe it." Phloria said with a peal of silvery laughter that tore his heart to shreds. "You always open up to me when it's too late. I can't stay, Lith. There is no more time for me on Mogar nor space in your life anyway.

"Please, tell Mom and Dad that I love them and that I couldn't wish for better parents. Tell Tulion to straighten up for them. Our parents will need him. Tell Gunyin that he is the best older brother in the world.

"Tell Friya and Quylla that we may not be bound by blood, but they are my sisters and they will always be.

"As for you, Derek McCoy/Lith Verhen, please always remember me. I loved you and I would have kept loving you even if you told me the truth."