Lyn slumped her forearms across Arisz's shoulders as he continued to piggyback her up the mountains to D'Avuzel. When they finally arrived to its entrance, they found a plethora of Figment civilians and soldiers gathered around, offering their fullest respects and honors to the two responsible for avenging their fallen chief. Lyn and Arisz both watched as the soldiers kneeled and the civilians bowed in unison.
"Congratulations," Arisz said to Lyn. "We've been promoted to celebrity status."
"What?" Lyn's voice seemed astonished at the praise. "All for what we did?"
One of the Figments approached Arisz and Lyn, offering a celery stick in honor of their retaliation against their chief's assassin. "Please. Take. We offer you gifts. Dog is forgiven." It said, referencing Arisz's title post invasion.
"Dog is forgiven!" The crowds chanted in support for Arisz's return.
"That simple, huh?" Arisz said. Instead of cheering with them, Arisz stood firmly in the center of the crowd and yelled, "MOVEASIDE!" His voice berated all of the Figments for trashing him away as if he was nothing.
As the crowd of Figments slowly dispersed backward, Alfaic appeared, still clutching Chiwa on the ground with Ardine and Claire by his side. Arisz approached the group, gently leaning backward to let Lyn off of his back. Instead of taking his time, Lyn collapsed on the ground, still injured by the battle with her and Nia.
"Lyn!" Claire rushed to her aid.
Lyn held her palm up towards Claire, prompting her to stop. "Don't worry about me. I can take care of myself." She clarified.
In the distance, the young humans that relocated to D'Avuzel crowded in one big bushel. Their faces wore the same expression of despair if a loved one were to pass away as they watched among Chiwa and the other Figments huddling around Lyn's group. They opted to stay further away, not wanting to disturb the mourning. Dorothy, who appeared in the center of the group, stared down at her feet in numbness.
Arisz approached Alfaic, who continued to hold Chiwa. He sat on the ground, crossing his legs together in front of Chiwa's corpse. "A life for a life," He said. "The chief can rest easy now."
"None of this would have happened if I hadn't been so careless," Alfaic said, ashamedly looking away from everyone. "If there was only one way that I could tell her how much I respect her for fixing what we did to the Figments-"
A crinkling sound made Alfaic open his eyes in shock. Arisz shot himself upward as Lyn, Claire, Ardine, and the other Figments traced the noise toward Chiwa's corpse. Tingling vibrations erupted in Alfaic's fingertips, forcing him to look down at her body. The center of her chest where Nia's bullet struck began to pry itself open, like a mole escaping its dug hole.
All of a sudden, Chiwa's entire head popped entirely off, releasing a vat of white smoke and steam from inside. Alfaic jolted upward until Arisz caught him with his palm. After closer examination, an extremely miniature rose-golden Figment no bigger than the size of a kitten popped out, sporting an oversized head with a thin body frame.
"No way." Claire muttered.
"That's just..." Ardine followed.
"C-Chiwa...?" Alfaic voiced out, pressing his eyes closer to the miniature Figment.
"Ahem," The Figment's voice was baby-like, revealing a miniature red cape tasseled on its small back. "Yes. It is I, Chiwa, in the flesh!" She introduced.
Suddenly, an uproar of Figments cheered and crowded around the surrounding area. They all jumped for joy as Lyn and the others remained completely bewildered at everything they had witnessed.
"I..." Alfaic was speechless. "How did you... no, you were completely..."
Chiwa scoffed, placing her small hands on her glass hips. "Hmph. You did not think that someone as well-established as me would have no precautionary failsafe in case of sudden assassination, did you? What do you take me for, dog?"
Arisz lashed forward, snatching Chiwa by the cape and flailing her in anger. Figment soldiers crowded him, pointing their spears at his sudden action. "You stupid little brat," He insulted. "I ought to kill you myself for this!"
"Unhand me this instant!" Chiwa squealed, dangling her legs in an attempt to run.
"Do it." Lyn commanded.
Without conflicting opinion, Arisz let Chiwa drop to the ground, making the soldiers back off in return. "Ahem," Chiwa coughed to clear her throat before pointing at Lyn. "After seeing to what great lengths you took to fight for us, the amount of respect I have for you supersedes everyone I have ever known. You have done our village a great favor for defeating the assassin, and I commend you for your extraordinary bravery."
"Don't give me all the credit," Lyn said, looking at Arisz. "He dealt the killing blow. He deserves your respect more than I do."
"Hmm, indeed," Chiwa said. "But it was you who chose to retaliate first, and lived to tell the tale. Perhaps I was wrong about you humans, and for that, I offer you and the rest of your group a celebratory festival in honor of your impressive feat."
Arisz leaned close to Lyn, whispering in her ear. "D'Avuzel never celebrates anything. You're a lucky one." He said.
Chiwa gestured for the Figment soldiers and civilians to huddle apart from Lyn and her friends. "My fellow warriors and citizens, let us gather tonight and dance underneath the crystalline stars in honor of these humans! And once we have, let us honor them by granting them a single wish under our perfect faithful names!" She chanted, gathering the shouts and screams of all those in unison.
Lyn stood up as the Figments dispersed, seemingly hurrying to gather multiple supplies in preparation for their celebratory festival. Chiwa approached the group and bowed in respect to Lyn. She chose not to address Alfaic nor Arisz for their actions. Before she left, she hopped on top of Lyn's shoulder and whispered in her ear.
"The lands of D'Avuzel are alive," She said. "And they tell me that you were not alone in the battle. Someone else wearing a hood vaporized the assassin and disappeared in the shadows."
Lyn's face shot up in surprise. "Are you saying we're-"
"Being followed, most likely," Chiwa interrupted, dropping to the ground once more. "I would watch your backs, just in case. Now, leave us to our business, and we'll call you once the festival is in place!"
Before Lyn could press her for more information, two Figment soldiers escorted her away, giving respectful nods to her. Alfaic approached Lyn with concern. Their eyes clashed with each other in silence and regret. Lyn clutched her chest, still feeling the repercussions of Nia's blade piercing through it from the start.
"That was the first time I ever had a near-death experience," Lyn admitted. "I'm still feeling off about it."
"I should have been there to protect you," Alfaic said. "I'm sorry."
"No. You had to stay behind to take care of the chief. There was nothing else you could have done."
"She didn't need protection after all. So, it was really my poor lack of judgment-"
Claire intervened. "You're really trying to win in this battle of apologies, aren't you?" She said. "Let's make up, forgive, forget, and let's talk about how that chief played us all for idiots."
"Still can't believe I came all this way just for that." Ardine said, shaking his head in disappointment.
"Not used to trickery, are you, old man?" Claire teased. "You're just as clueless from the first moment we met."
Dorothy, who had been watching the group from faraway, approached Lyn and the others with the human refugees. At closer glance, most of them were children under Claire's age, while some were older teenagers. They were well cared for it seemed by first impression, as they sported clean clothing and signs of being well-fed from their bodies. "Good to see you again, Lyn." She greeted.
Before Lyn could speak, Ardine intervened, still puzzled by what she had said earlier. "I'm still waiting for you to tell me the other half of your story, D," He pressured. "What you said can't be true."
"What did she say?" Lyn asked.
Ardine cut off Dorothy's words. "She said that the royal guards and the overseer in Gietha were slaughtered by the Rot," He repeated from memory. "Left no survivors. Locations of the refugees and civilians are unknown at this time. If a certain someone had done her job right, maybe this wouldn't have happened."
"What? They're gone?" Claire's voice arose beyond belief. "All those people… dead?"
Dorothy chuckled, shooing the children away from the conversation by swishing her palm. Claire watched as they scurried away, frightened by their talks of agony and despair. To take her mind off of the situation, she quickly approached them to make friendly conversation, reminding herself of the village she used to live in with Szene and the others. She had enough of the taste of death.
"Do you take me for a liar, Ardine?" Dorothy asked.
"I take you for a coward," Ardine retorted. "Those were innocent lives that you could have saved, in place of your own. And you run away and end up here?"
"That's entirely up to you to believe. I can't help you any longer in this path of delusion. These times with these folk have truly made you different," Dorothy said, focusing her attention on Lyn. "But you on the other hand, have improved overall. I'm really impressed and happy for you."
"Thanks," Lyn voiced out. Although, she seemed equally as disturbed about the news of the Giethan civilians falling from all of the heart and hard work she did to protect and establish their homes in the first place. "But Ardine's right. Is that really what happened?"
"It is," Dorothy said, crossing her arms. "Though, I can't say much for those who escaped. I'm sure they're out there somewhere. Hopefully, they'll rebuild sometime down the line."
"You should have stayed." Ardine spat.
"Oh? Then why don't you go with me back to Gietha and find them yourself? Or are you still going to play the pointing finger game at me, hoping things could have been different?" Dorothy asked.
Ardine's eyebrows slanted down in silent rage, turning away to cool himself down.
"That's what I thought," Dorothy said. "I never took you for someone to be so emotionally pressed, Ardine. Has your journey made you this stupid?"
"That's enough," Lyn said, pressing her palm on Dorothy's shoulder. "Just let me handle him. If you can go back to check on the civilians, that's entirely up to you. We can't control your actions. But I believe you."
"I'm glad you do," Dorothy said, looking at Alfaic and Arisz. "Well, I'll stay for the festival for a little while before I take the children back to their homes. We'll stay alert for Rot on the way, and hopefully we'll catch up later."
"Yeah. See you." Lyn said.
Dorothy departed with the children and acknowledged Claire with a quick nod after speaking to the children. They seemed gradually entertained by her presence after she had shown them a quick magic trick with her left hand, vanishing a piece of wooden debris on the floor. She returned to the group with her palms extended and clasped behind her back, ecstatically giddy after the short moment.
"You seem happy," Lyn commented. "What did those children say to you?"
"How amazing I was, obviously," Claire's voice rose in excitement. "It's sad how they've been out and about, experiencing death instead of merriment. And after everything that happened back where we were… I wish I could stay with them and show what it means to have fun once in a while."
"They'll stay for the festival," Alfaic said. "Maybe you can say your goodbyes and play with them then."
"Hmm, maybe," Claire said. She noticed Ardine on the side completely passive, steering away from the group in silence. "Hey, is he going to be okay?" She asked.
"He just needs some space," Lyn said. "I'm not exactly sure what to think about what Dorothy had said. All of those people that we saved... gone? It can't all have been for nothing."
"I didn't know any one back there," Claire continued. "But the place looked so different from Qliphos. Had a lot of heart and life, minus the fat man harassing me for my eyes. I'm sorry to hear this."
Before the rest of the group continued to speak about the situation, Arisz interrupted all three of them, placing his arm around Alfaic in jubilation. "Alfie," He began with his deep raspy voice. "Thanks to these wonderful ladies, I finally feel my warrior blood coursing through my imaginary veins. I feel so alive right now!"
"Glad to hear it, old friend," Alfaic said. "But really, it's me that-"
"I'm taking a nap," Arisz interrupted, turning away from the group. "Wake me up once the festival starts."
They watched as Arisz left D'Avuzel, assuming to also retrieve his spear from Nia's vaporized body. "He's... interesting," Claire commented. "But, to be honest, I think I might just join him on that. I'm really tired, and I think we deserve a rest after what happened to Lyn and… you know."
"Might not be a bad idea," Lyn said to Alfaic. "I'm still a bit... startled after everything that happened to me... in the forest."
"Did you want to talk about it?" Alfaic asked.
"Maybe later," Lyn said, turning to Ardine. "We're going to join Arisz. Are you coming?"
Ardine grunted, ignoring her question. Before Lyn respected his space and left with the others, he extended his arm and snatched her shoulder, preventing her from leaving. "Claire. Alfaic. Lyn and I need to talk. We'll join you in a bit."
Claire and Alfaic exchanged glances at each other before nodding together. Alfaic transformed back into blade form and hovered beside Claire as they ascended the mountaintop out of D'Avuzel.
Ardine stood directly in front of Lyn with a facial expression she had never seen before. It was a conflicted gaze of uncertainty, mixed in with pure silent aggression. It almost seemed as if he was about to burst in an explosion of emotion, but Lyn knew he was not the type of person to do such a thing.
"I want to go back to Gietha," Ardine confessed. "If I had my airship, it would be no big deal, but if what D said was true, it must have been destroyed. So if I take the ship from Qliphos back to Gietha, then I'll find out if she was really telling the truth."
"You would have to go back down the mountain that Blade took us through," Lyn said. "That would be at least a few days or so, by yourself."
"I'm willing to take that risk," Ardine continued. "What Kaiden did to those people was enough. Now, they're all dead, just like that? I refuse to believe it."
"Maybe Dorothy was telling the truth. Maybe she's still processing what happened-"
"No, I know D. She has to be hiding something. I know it. And if anything, if I find Scabs, he'll tell me the truth. He's got several hiding spots stationed somewhere. I could find him easily."
Lyn glanced off into the far distance, wondering if Ardine would make the trek by himself. All of it seemed too rocky to even think about. "Think about this before you make your decision. We need you here. Claire needs you." She said.
"I know," Ardine frustratingly said. "I know she does. But I can't let this go either. You know this."
"Maybe you can make up your mind after the festival tonight? I think having a fun time with everyone will give you a chance to clear your mind."
The suggestion froze Ardine in place. "Fine," He stubbornly said. "I guess I can."
The two of them ascended up the mountain, hoping to finally achieve a sense of relaxation and reflection from the stockpiled amount of conflict pushed against them. As they did so, Lyn remained behind for a split second, pressing her right hand against her chest. A phantom sense of dull pain coursed through her fingertips.
She would never forget the feeling of death ever again.