Legend of the Empyrean Blacksmith

UNITED

Ashes, dirt, splattered pieces of rocks and uprooted trees made up the disfigured landscape which once was a valley stretch in-between two mountains . From full of life, now it seemed desolate, empty, silent, void of it entirely . At the epicenter of the destruction, where a massive crater stretched for over five miles altogether, Lino stood, his shoulders sunken .

He stared at the nothingness beneath his feet with a dulled gaze, his soul seemingly ripped out of this realm . Occasional whizz of the wind would bellow his hair and cloak, yet he remained immovable like a statue, forever frozen in the time .

It was only hours later that some focus reached his gaze as he lifted his head up and looked at the shrouded sky . His face was dirtied, jetted in mud, lips dried and bursting . The clasp that used to hold up his hair together had vanished at one point, leaving his long, black hair to freely straddle down his slumped back .

He found little joy or relief in killing Eos, or even ’killing’ Aurora -- as the Writs were part of the natural order, it was almost impossible to kill them, so Lino settled on the next best thing -- practically ’resetting’ their state of being and forcing them to grow anew . From what Ataxia told him, it would take at least a whole century before Aurora could even be passed onto the next Bearer of Light .

None of that, however, came even close to being considered ’reparation’; not even looking down at the whole world and declaring the war brought him much joy, as it would on any other day . All he felt was . . . empty . It was an all-too-familiar state of mind, all-too-familiar sense of self .

He’d come to stare blankly at the sky for hours, through the night and the dimmed dawn . No one approached him, no one called out to him, no one tried to ask him anything . Many-an-eye stared at him from the distance with concern, yet none of the mouths made a sound .

Eventually, however, he knew he’d have to move -- he’d have to turn around and face the reality . Standing still there and staring at the sky didn’t freeze the time; it still flowed like a rapid stream . Unlike the past, the present was ever-changing; the former would always be there to look back onto, but the latter had to be grabbed lest it disappears before his eyes .

Sighing faintly, he turned around at last and walked away . He didn’t tidy himself up, didn’t tie his hair or clear his face, didn’t even bother washing the dried blood from his tattered clothes . It was just outside the range of destruction that he’d met a familiar face -- he faintly glanced up and met Hannah’s eyes .

" . . . you okay?" he asked briefly and emotionlessly .

" . . . yeah . " Hannah replied .

"Where is she?"

"At your place . "

" . . . " he began walking slowly, pausing for a moment as he passed her and whispering in a low tone, "I’m sorry . . . " before trudging toward the city .

Hannah turned around and watch his back fade into the distance, barely managing to hold back the tears . Once again, the burden fell onto him and there was nigh-nothing she could do past feeling guilt over feeling a tinge of anger toward him and what he did . Yet, she could not blame him audibly; she was more than certain that he simply saw no other choice but the one he took .

Ella and Eggor sat on top of the flying ship, looking down at the walking Lino . The latter still had quite a pale complexion, his eyes denoting even a faint trace of terror as they focused on the youth’s figure .

" . . . I have to go back home," Ella said in a serious tone . "And you -- you can’t let him out of your sight . "

" . . . that’s a tall order, right there . " Eggor grumbled but didn’t reject it . "They probably won’t let you leave once they figure out you’re pregnant, though . "

"I’d love to see them try and stop me," she replied emptily . "Especially when I’m going to save their asses . "

" . . . you won’t talk to him?" he asked .

" . . . there’s nothing to say," she said, getting up . "He’s no longer the kid we met, Eggor . He won’t break, at the very least . "

" . . . " Eggor said nothing, merely glancing down at Lino who stopped in front of a rather simple-looking, two-story building and remained standing nearly ten minutes before entering . Ella, on the other hand, appeared next to Hannah, startling her .

"You need to go back home . " she said .

"Huh?" Hannah exclaimed softly .

"He’s declared war on the world, Hannah," Ella said, glancing at her . "Go and see your loved ones and try to convince them . Take this," she then handed her a shoddy-looking talisman . "In case anyone tries anything funny, just activate it and you’ll be teleported next to me . By now, the leaders of the Grounds must have declared the hunt on him as a priority . The entire world will be swarmed by high-end cultivators, and I don’t think he has an inclination of playing it nicely with them . Just . . . do your best . "

" . . . will he be okay?" Hannah asked just before Ella left .

" . . . why not just ask him?" Ella glanced at her and smiled faintly . "He can take more than you can dish out . Trust me . It seems time has come for you to make a decision . Perhaps a bit earlier than you otherwise would, but, well, the world rarely waits for the perfect timing . "

" . . . " Hannah didn’t say anything, knowing full well already what Ella was talking about . "It’s hardly a decision," she chuckled, putting the talisman away and looking up . "I’ve lost him once . . . and once was enough . "

" . . . then you know what you have to do . " Ella smiled before disappearing .

Without pausing, Hannah suddenly disappeared and reappeared inside a dimly-lit room with only a bed and a bedside table decorating it . Lucky was lying on the bed, covered with a thin blanket, her expression terrible, while Lino sat in the corner, his head lowered . It was only when Hannah appeared that he looked up .

"What are you doing here?" he asked, seeming slightly surprised .

"Like I can trust you to handle a hysterical woman," she chuckled, walking up and sitting down next to him . "No offense, of course . "

" . . . it’s true," Lino chuckled faintly . "Sassy lass? Flirty one? Dangerously maniacal one? I’ve got those covered . A hysterical one, however . . . eh, I’m not confident . "

"And for good reason," she added . "But, not to worry, I happen to be an expert in handling hysterical women . "

"So, what’s the secret?" Lino asked .

"You just feed them a lot of booze," Hannah replied with a shrug . "A lot of booze . "

" . . . well fuck, I could have figured that one out too . "

"But you didn’t . "

"A fair point . " Lino nodded as the silence fell between the two . "Are you angry?" he asked after a while .

" . . . a little bit . " she replied .

" . . . did I do the right thing?" he asked lowly . "Or just fuck everything up beyond repair?"

"I wouldn’t know whether you did right or wrong," she said, wrapping her arm gently around his neck and pulling him into her chest . "But I do know that you pissed off a lot people . Probably more than you can even imagine . "

" . . . isn’t that just par for the course with me, though?" he said .

"Ha ha ha, yeah, I suppose it is . But, at the very least, you made a great show out of it . You both pissed them off and scared them shitless at the same time . I don’t think many people can pull that off . "

" . . . I’m tired Hannah," he sighed lowly . "I know I keep saying that shit a lot . . . but, I think, for the first time in my life . . . I truly, truly mean it . "

" . . . I know . . . "

"I haven’t thanked you . " he said suddenly .

"Thanked me?"

"Yeah, for showing up when you did . " he continued . "And saving that girl . "

" . . . you wouldn’t have killed her even if I didn’t show up . " Hannah said .

"I would . Without a shred of remorse . " he said . "Just so I can ’get even’ . "

" . . . "

"I’d have killed a completely innocent girl," he continued . "For the stupidest reason imaginable . All the while I believed I was entirely immune to the world’s corruption, that no matter what I wouldn’t turn into one of those murderous maniacs who exterminate entire towns for the simplest of slights . That, no matter how bad things got, I would never involve innocents into whatever shitstorm I’m involved in . "

" . . . "

"Clearly, though, I’ve overestimated my ability to resist," he added with a sigh, pulling himself out of her arms and leaning back onto the wall . "When you grabbed my arm, back then, I’d realized: I’d already lost . I can bitch and whine about how the world handles shit for however long I want, but what of it if I’m no different?"

" . . . so what?" she asked after a few moments of silence, causing him to meet her gaze once again . "In the end, you didn’t . And, just like this time, if in the future you once again feel yourself slipping away, I’ll be there to pull you back . . . because I know you’ll also be there to pull me back . As they say, united we stand, divided we fall . "

" . . . they’ve probably figured out that you’re in bed with me, now," Lino said, taking a deep breath . "Well, most-likely they’ve yet to figure out you literally are, but they know you’re with me, so you pretty much have no choice . "

"Oh, that’s just terrible . " Hannah stifled her laughter . "Now I’m stuck with you no matter what! What will become of my life?!"

"Well, you know, a little bit of dancing," he said, smiling faintly . "A little bit of dining, little bit of fighting, little bit of sex . So, you know, the standard affair . "

"So there’s gonna be dancing?! I can’t wait!"

"You’ll have to teach me first, though . " he said . "And then we can dance to your heart’s content . "

"And we will," she said, smiling . "So you better don’t skip leg days from now on . "

"I’ll try my hardest, m’lady . "