rogue_4

Energy begins to converge upon the launch pad, on the Kazdel above the clouds.

All of Terra has their eyes on this moment. The energy beam it fires will soon pierce the sky, revealing the secrets beyond.

Many memories come to Theresis as he gazes upon the culmination of the work he has devoted so many years to.

The one called Doctor did not provide an answer for him and Theresa. But they did learn many secrets of Terra, resolving Terra's energy crisis and ushering in an era of rapid technological progress.

When there were no longer barriers between the peoples of this land, when all the problems before them had been resolved, the final problem surfaced, and he and Theresa cast their gaze towards the skies above—

Their only enemy, and their only answer.

This Kazdel, which has conquered the sky, is the pinnacle of Terran technology, and the key to the answer, one they had built for themselves.

'Five, four, three...'

Theresis is confident that he is ready, but something makes him look up with a start.

A black halo has appeared around the sun like a cocoon. The sun continues to shine, but those bathed in its beams feel not warmth, but a chill from the deepest reaches of their hearts. He turns around. There are many expressions on the faces around him, but none of them are moving. Everything has stopped.

Then, the sun changes again. The black halo begins to churn like waves, and a drop of ink drips down from it.

The drop of ink falls directly onto the launch pad. The charged up energy, enough to destroy an entire nation, is absorbed by the ink like water to a sponge. The ink starts to condense, eventually becoming a tiny black orb.

A hand takes the orb.

Theresis knows its owner. It is the King of Sarkaz.

But he immediately realizes that this is not the one they know. In the eyes of the one they know, there was sorrow, but also hope. But in this one, there is only sorrow.

'Do you know what lies beyond the sky?' This King of Sarkaz looks at him.

'The future,' he answers without hesitation.

The delicate King shakes her head. 'This land will be doomed the moment you open it up.'

Theresis senses no hostility from the King of Sarkaz before him. Only sorrow. She truly grieves for this world.

But he draws his sword nonetheless.

'Tell the Doctor to think of a way. I will buy time for you,' he says to an empty space, as a black crown appears atop his head.

King charges towards King. Darkness clashes with darkness.

Darkness melds into darkness.

The delicate King of Sarkaz walks into the remains of a ship, deep within Kazdel's mobility layer.

'Impressive. Theresis could not defeat you. Ama-10 could not keep you out.' The Doctor sits quietly at the place of awakening, showing no sign of surprise at the coming of the King of Sarkaz. 'There is no data about you in Civilight Eterna, nor is your arrival part of PRTS's computation. You do not belong to this world, do you?'

The King of Sarkaz does not answer. She simply raises a hand, the black orb floating upon her palm.

'This Kazdel is both their life's work and mine. The instant the sky is ripped open, this place will be connected to the Celestial Fulcrum. Once this is complete, life will continue to persist, even if they fail.'

'They are not ready, and your choice will only result in the destruction of everything on this land.

'I have witnessed different choices all leading to this tragedy. The struggle only prolongs the pain.'

The black orb floats towards the Doctor.

'You are certain that they are walking towards their doom. I understand. I felt much the same when I first saw this civilization: shortsighted, feeble, backwards.'

'Then why do you undertake such futile efforts, knowing that this day will come?'

'As long as they exist, then they have the right to live. Even if they have imprisoned Ama-10, even if their civilization was born unplanned, even if an unbridgeable gulf separates us...

'I could never mock the efforts they make for the slim hope of a future. On this, they are no different from the people I am so familiar with.

'As for why... Because they don't believe it's futile, and neither do I. They've prepared meticulously and made the right choices at every turn. If it all ends in tragedy, then it was destined from the start, and we'll both have to accept it.'

The delicate King of Sarkaz waits for the Doctor to finish, before saying, sadly:

'I have seen the destruction you saw, which is why I have come to create a new choice.'

The black orb touches the Doctor's body and begins to absorb it.

'I see... your world, your sorrows...

'Now I understand. You are neither the bringer of destruction nor salvation. You are the closing note, the final coda... But this should not have been your burden to bear.'

'—Amiya.'

All comes to an end when the Doctor is fully engulfed.

In the withered garden, the King of Sarkaz picks a snapshot of the story from the branches. It is like a photo, showing Kazdel as it was before it took to the air.

She gazes at it for a moment and begins to put it away, then suddenly looks up. There should not have been anyone else in this garden.

Theresa is smiling at her.

'Why?'

'The Doctor chose to stand before you for a reason.' Theresa lifts her hand, and black Originium appears in her palm.

'...You have permission to access Originium too.'

'The Doctor's permissions were incomplete, but through you, the Doctor had a chance to touch upon your essence.

'In doing so, the Doctor learned about you and obtained the information needed to complete the permissions, or should I say, reset them...

'Thanks to Civilight Eterna and the connection that the Doctor opened to me, we now have the opportunity to parley with you as equals.'

Theresa looks around her. All the plants in the garden are withering, the delicate King of Sarkaz its gardener. There is no one who wants the garden to regain its vitality again more than her, but all she can do is trim the branches and seal them away, preventing them from reaching the end of their growth, preventing them from going down the path of decay.

Hopeless and futile.

The King of Sarkaz hears her thoughts: 'If there is a way to let these branches grow forever, then it is neither hopeless nor futile. It is the only way.'

'Why do you think you will find it?'

'Because no one is born to await destruction. No story is destined for inevitable tragedy.'

In every story, no one is closer to Amiya than Theresa. Therefore, Theresa understands Amiya, her Amiya, and it brings tears to her eyes.

'The first time I saw her, I wondered how you would have looked if you lived. Now, I understand. You will always set out on a journey. A journey in search of 'kindness'.

'The path you walked must have been difficult, and the sights you saw filled with sorrow. You would become many Amiyas, but at the end of it all, you will find the kindness that belongs to you.

'But I have always regretted it. Would you have found a different end, if I had walked with you on your journey? Would the kindness you found have been less sorrowful, if your journey was not as lonely?

'Now, let me try to ease my regrets a little.'

Theresa reaches out to embrace the delicate King of Sarkaz.

She understands the power the Doctor granted her, the permissions to peek into all the secrets of Originium. She did not have the time to fully peruse its contents, but she saw boundless love, a love that shared certain commonalities with the kindness of the King of Sarkaz, but was fundamentally different.

Theresa hesitates for a moment. What would become of the Terra she loved, at the end of the story where they gave everything to defeat the King of Sarkaz? But she does not have time for sorrow. Originium envelops them in the blink of an eye.

King embraces King. Darkness embraces darkness. Kindness embraces kindness.

Black Originium shatters the snapshot, and they are once again surrounded by the Kazdel above the clouds.

King and King rise into the sky, embracing one another, until they enter the sun and become the sun itself.

The sun no longer gives out light. Darkness embraces the land, and all life comes to a standstill. Terra would know night and day no more, only a sun that transforms from cocoon to Originium and back again.

Only two voices murmur in the infinite darkness.

'Your efforts are futile, Theresa. You cannot imprison me. The Originium that the Doctor shared with you is too wild, too unruly. You cannot control it. You do not know what you are doing.'

'Someday, the cocoon will devour your Originium, and I will break free.'

'I have no other choice, King of Sarkaz. But the more important thing is that new hope will be born upon Terra before the end.

'Of this, I have no doubt.

'Of all the stories about Theresa, mine was happy enough. I walked together with Theresis, war did not consume Terra, we achieved true peace, and we even saw a ray of light with the Doctor's help.

'But you are not part of that story. Let's talk about your story.'

The murmur does not go on.

But the story does.