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Chapter 21-A: Light's End (Part 1)

Thuban's presence filled the air with a noticeable tension. As the giant machine gazed upon the now revealed ruins of Adamas, his voice sounded once again, "You who bear the fragments of times long past. A call of despair, a call of fear, a call of hope has reached my ears." He now moved his hand down, gently holding it before the tower where Aldric and the others were standing at.

"What is he doing?" Cervantes asked in panic as he drew a gun. "Is he going to kill us all?"

Aldric glanced at him and shrugged. "He just said he would be our sword and shield. It would be counteracting his purpose, if he wanted to harm us."

With a spark of energy coming from the metallic dragon's palm, the light on the ground began to bend and break, until eventually a smaller draconic shape appeared, bearing elegant clothes and eyes that were showing every color of light. "There is a certain reason for such fears. It was I who destroyed the city of Adamas ten millenia ago."

"Why however?" Aldric now asked as he approached the figure. "What made you choose us over the menni in this conflict?"

The dragon crossed his arms at the question. "It might have been a flip of a coin, as I struggled with my decision. Ultimately however, I decided for an option with the best possible result."

Cervantes gazed up on Thuban's massive form, his eyes showing his disbelief. "Injustice? You annihilated us, forced us to live in this prison under the sea."

"The myths and stories tell of me destroying Adamas," Thuban replied calmly. "Yet, what about other places inhabited by the menni? Adamas was the city to resist my offer to find a new home for your kin, Cervantes. Far away from this world."

Aldric now placed his left hand on his chest, and closed his eyes as he got even closer to the projection. "It matters not of what happened in the past. You are aware of Aleftav, correct?"

Thuban nodded. "An agent of an invading demiurge, a cruel god who wishes to see this world turned to nothing, to become a blank canvas of his own ambitions." His gaze now wandered around the many people around. "And as it stands now, you are holding your weapons at each other. Does your bloodlust and lust for dominance not tire you, I wonder? Leaders of two groups, you have strength and knowledge respectively, but neither of you has any wisdom."

Anna snarled as she raised her fist at the projection. "Say that again, and I break you to pieces."

"You are proving his point," Vidar now stepped forward and crossed his arms as he looked into the leonberger's eyes. "You want not to protect your own kin, you want to destroy the kin that you blame for all your suffering. Yet, out of the whole of the menni, how many have played an active role in all of this?"

"A total of 15%," Cervantes stated casually. "That includes the security that is required to keep you at bay."

The wolverine sighed. "On the other hand, most of your people probably just want to have a peaceful and good life. Ultimately, I think you and whoever is in charge of these hairless folks really need to learn a lesson about leadership. And if I tell you that, you know it is serious."

"Trust him, he made every single mistake to learn from," Aldric commented as he rose his staff to the sky. "And better keep in mind. Thuban can easily enforce this upon you, if you don't do it on your own."

Both Anna and Cervantes looked angrily at Aldric and Vidar. And in response Thuban let out a roar. "Heed the warnings of words of wisdom. Work hand in hand, or perish as you spill each other's blood senselessly."

"So, can we come to the point already?" Lucille now stepped closer with Khaba on her back. "You will fight Aleftav, Thuban, correct?"

The dragon chuckled. "That is what I was made for. It would be foolish to challenge this being without possessing the power to do so."

"Obviously," Khaba stated as he was flying up from Lucille's back and channeled his magic to summon the darkness around himself to form his more imposing form. "Good thing that we got some power to show."

Thuban looked at the fruit bat, and then his projection disappeared and the giant body of his began to move. Moments later, two portals opened up below him. "As for everyone in this city, the time for your exodus has come. I will send the remaining menni of this planet to the ones I send back eons ago. The dogs, I will send them to a place yet untouched and ready for them to shape."

Several of the people around the skyscraper now approached the portals. Those who were bearing the collars soon were freed as a signal coming from Thuban deactivated them, and they entered the one on the right, while the menni took the one on the left.

"You two better get everyone and bring them through," Aldric now suggested to Anna and Cervantes. "It will be a fresh start at the very least, and you have nothing to lose anyway."

"In all actuality," Cervantes sighed as he looked at Anna. "He is probably right. As it stands now, it is our only option."

Anna frowned and then looked at the few men that did not leave thus far. "We need to get the rest of the people out of here. And then, we will wait for Aleftav's destruction."

Vidar now clapped his hands. "It is not a victorious peace, but it is a peace for the benefit of both sides. We will help out the evacuation as well."

The leonberger and menni both nodded, and together with Aldric and Vidar they went towards the remaining living quarters in the city.

Some time passed, and eventually the evacuation of Adamas proceeded rather smoothly under supervision of Thuban, leading to little complications as eventually only a small number of inhabitants remained.

Aldric and the others were waiting in the lobby, and observing the last few people that left the ruined city behind. The badger was scratching his head, and then looked around the group. "I suppose we have fulfilled our mission. Thuban will fight Aleftav, and hopefully defeat it. We meanwhile, we may have to return home."

"There is no home left for me anymore," Lucille spoke as she approached Aldric. "I think it might be hard to say where I will be going. Maybe I am going to the east?"

Völundr laughed. "My, I hate a similar idea. They have excellent healers there, so I pondered that I could learn from them the art of healing magic."

"Once Thuban has send away everyone, we can essentially tell him any place where we want to go," Crawford concluded with a smile, which then changed to a frown as he noticed Leofwine's glare. "It should be done soon, right?"

Aldric nodded. "Cervantes and Anna should be done in a few minutes. After that, it is our turns." He chuckled for a moment and then turned to Fionnbharr.

The albino nodded, though he did not smile. "I did, probably worry my father and brother too much while I went here. All I left was a message, so, they probably are thinking the worst."

"You did help to awaken Thuban, so I am sure that at least any potential anger might not last for too long," the shaman reassured him. "Anyway, I think we should head outside and see how far the evacuation is now."

A bit later, the group walked out of the building and approached the plaza of portals. Cervantes and Anna were standing there, waiting for them. "Well then, it is about time I take my leave. Have fun with your planet," Cervantes spoke as he walked into the portal and simply vanished.

Anna meanwhile remained and took a deep breath as she looked at the beastmen from the surface. "I guess this is it, yes? Was actually quite fun to have you around, and now, well, now it is already time to say goodbye. Gotta admit, now that we can start a new future, I am happy. I am not sure where the portal will lead me, and what will happen from here on out. But, I thank all of you for this."

"Nah, we just went here to," Vidar scratched the back of his head. "Uh, save the world. Well, we hope you folks will have a good time for now. I kind of wish I could do more than hoping here."

The leonberger chuckled. "I got this. From here on out, we will live better live. Maybe we should go back to tribalism as well. Got to adjust to the world we are going to live in. Or, maybe we mix tribalism and technology. We will see, I suppose."

Crawford now jumped up and down. "I would like to be an inventor in your new society, Anna."

"No!" Leofwine now stomped on the ground. "Crawford, I am your older brother, and you listen to me now. You will not step through that portal!"

"That again?" the younger otter rolled his eyes. "I guess your talk about not being the overprotective old brother was all a lie, wasn't it?"

"I," Leofwine stopped for a moment and then looked at himself. "Damnit, don't you get how dangerous this could be?"

Thuban now moved his head in direction to the two otters. "In all honesty, he should be able to make that decision on his own. There also used to be a saying in times of humanity, if you love something, let it go. You love your siblings, do you not?"

The older otter was about to say something, but then sighed. "I guess, we are indeed unable to return home to Topaz Lake. And, unlike me you do not have someone like Vidar. Gods, I am such a fucking idiot at times, I know." He now approached Crawford and pulled him into a hug. "Take good care, will ya?"

"You know me. I solve problems the smart way," Crawford jested as his face eased up to a smile. He gave his brother a hug as well and then looked at their sister.

"Well then, if any of the present people say I did this, I will murder them," Lucille remarked as she got closer to her brothers and joined into the hug. "Good luck, Crawford. I will be missing you, brother."

Crawford smiled and as soon as the hug ended, he walked towards Anna and nodded to her. "Let us head through."

Anna gave him a smirk, and together she and the otter waved at the other, before they finally disappeared through the gateway.

"Well then," Thuban now looked at the rest of the group with his prismatic eyes scanning them all. "I shall send you home before Aleftav appears. This fight, it will be mine and mine alone now. Each of you, tell me where I shall send you to."

Lucille and Khaba were now stepping forward. "I and Khaba wish to be brought to the Steppes of the East. We plan to continue having a life as adventurers. So," she now looked at Leofwine again and gave him another hug. "We will be visiting you whenever we can, I promise."

A few moments later a portal opened behind Lucille, and Leofwine took a deep breath. "I wish you luck. And, you are welcome in Jokulldal anytime. Goodbye, sister."

"Goodbye only means we will meet again," she replied and together with Khaba she waved everyone off before leaving through the portal.

Now Völundr stepped forward and looked at Vidar. "Alright, take care of Kjeld, will ya? Trust me, as his uncle I will rip off your balls, if anything happens to him."

"No need to do so," the wolverine reassured the boar and clapped him on the shoulder. "So, where are you going to go to?"

Völundr smirked and then looked up to Thuban. "Ashtashantie is known for its healers. I might try my luck there to become one myself. I have learned that a sword is not what I need to help people."

"A wise decision," the machine replied as he opened another gateway for the boar to go through. "You will find, there is a certain usefulness to magic that can translate the languages."

"Most certainly," Völundr spoke as he turned to the others and gave them a smile. "Thank you for everything folks. I will be sure to return home one day. Till then, take good care!" And with that he stepped through the gateway.

Vidar sighed for a moment, and then looked to Leofwine. "It is our time then. Let us return to Jokulldal."

"Yes," Leofwine replied and fell into the arms of the wolverine before looking over to Aldric with a smile. "It is a little weird. How it all began so many months ago. And how it is all ending now."

Aldric chuckled as he got closer to the two and gave them a smirk and a hug. "I must admit, even with Vidar being the biggest dumbarse I know, it was a lot of fun with you two around."

"You me too, smartstripes," Vidar said and then gave him a grin. "And well, make sure that, if you ever get to meet a dragon, try to persuade some to volunteer for my military. I need something to make everyone piss themselves, so they leave us alone."

"Will do," the badger said as he gave Vidar's belly a clap and then looked the two with a smile on his face. "Slán abhaile!"[1]

"Fárvelir!"[2] Vidar exclaimed as a portal opened behind him and Leofwine. "And seriously, dragons can have absolute amnesty, if they take the offer, tell them that!"

Aldric gave him and Leofwine a nod as the wolverine and otter disappeared through the portal. "I will miss that moron and Leof. At least until the next time we will meet again."

"So, only we three are left," Tychon spoke somberly as he looked down onto his feet and sighed. "Honestly, I have no idea of what to do from this point onward. But, I will return to the palace of Xandros. I am sure that Albanus and the others are waiting for me. I will just let my own heart and mind guide me from there on."

The shaman nodded and walked closer to Tychon. "Maybe, you should try it with a smile. After all, not many can say for themselves that they have explored a forgotten city and played a key role in saving the future. Stop thinking that there is no point in your existence, because you have proven yourself otherwise."

Tychon smiled as he looked up and closed his eyes as suddenly a portal opened behind him. He stretched out his arms and then simply let himself fall back into the gateway. "Until we meet again."

As no only him and Fionnbharr were left, Aldric approached his brethren and gave him a nod. "Alright, it is time for us to head back home, hum?"

"Father and brother probably are worried," Fionnbharr admitted and smiled at his friend. "It is time to end this adventure, and return to our normal lives. After this, I think we deserve it."

"Wise words, my friend," Aldric gave back and hugged the young albino before turning his head to Thuban. "Well then, I wish you good luck in your battle against Aleftav. We will cheer you on during all of this!"

Thuban laughed. "A strange thing to say to a machine." He then spread his wings and a portal opened behind the two badgers. "Though our time together was short, I shall be keeping it in my heart. Farewell, and may your lives be prosperous."

Both badgers nodded and waved at the massive, mechanic dragon before walking through the gateway together.

"And thus, the final battle draws closer," Thuban thought to himself as he ascended gen the firmament. He soared through the atmosphere, and into the vastness of space between the planets of the solar system. "Aleftav, I shall destroy you once and for all."

One hour later, it finally arrived. Aleftav was approaching the planet, and floating right before Thuban. "It appears the human race meant to destroy me with their lousy technology."

Thuban, unable to speak due to a lack of oxygen and telepathy, only spread his wings as his engines began to turn faster. A moment later, he shot a blast of what appeared like dark plasma from his maw.

Aleftav at first did not move, but as it got hit by the attack, its body was suddenly pierced, and it floated backwards from the draconic machine. "Dark energy? How could they?"

The engines of Thuban activated again, as he shot another blast of dark energy at Aleftav, forcing it to move aside.

As the power of the mechanical dragon was seemingly too much, Aleftav was forming a massive blade of light and rushed at Thuban with full force.

To the machine, it did nothing as the plasma vanished on contact, giving the dragon perfect opportunity to grab Aleftav and descend upon the planet once again to smash it into the city of Adamas. "You would be surprised how specifically I was designed to counter your light based magics and form."

"I see," Aleftav now got up from the debris, and a moment later its body regenerated. "Those pesky mortals. I thought their role ended once my pieces were recollected. Argh, you think you can protect them?" A laughter escaped the orchid-shaped entity as it suddenly began to crack and form six copies of itself, all in different colors. "I shall kill them all!"

Thuban was about to unleash a massive blast of dark energy again, but the next moment the six fragments of Aleftav shot into all directions, giving him only the time and energy to hunt after one of them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Well then," Tychon took a deep breath as he found himself back in Xandros at the palace of the Emperor. He was in company of Albanus, Rufus, Harshad, and Ayontunde, who all sat in a circle with him. "This is what happened in the forsaken city of Adamas. We woke the Gray Star, and it is going to destroy Aleftav, or so I hope."

Albanus nodded. "I am just glad, that you all are okay. When I saw Gaius, I was devastated. It might not befit the imperial image, but, I cried until a few hours ago."

"Albanus," Tychon took a deep breath. "We all are shaken by his death. And yet, we have to move forward, as much as it pains me to say. I will keep him in my memories."

"So will we," Harshad spoke as he was holding Ayontunde close to himself. "Our young child will soon be born, and, we probably won't be able to do our journey south for now. Instead, we will remain in Xandros, build up a new life."

Tychon looked at the two big cats, and for a moment his frown disappeared, and a smile replaced it. "Yes, life will change, and for the better from here on out. In memoriam of Gaius, we should celebrate life."

Albanus smiled for a moment, but before he could add anything to the conversation, something flashed on the sky and a massive shockwave went through the entire area. "What was that?"

"This aura," Tychon now got up from his chair and looked over to Harshad. "Quick, I need a spear!"

The tiger nodded and quickly headed towards a room to get the fox a rather simple looking spear with a metallic shaft. "Is this one alright?"

"Perfect," the fox told him and then looked to Albanus and Rufus. "Get every magus of Xandros together, I will buy us some time!" he told them before heading out of the palace and rushing into the desert, where he already could see what just appeared on the sky.

A green entity, bearing the image of Aleftav, was floating above the sand and looking down onto Tychon. "I remember your face, Tychon. A poor man, whose heart is disgusting me with its filthy compassion."

"This compassion is what drives me forward," Tychon spoke as he held his spear ready and closed his eyes. "Yes, I understand now. I am not Septimus, am Tychon, and I hold the power of will to defy you, false god!"

Aleftav just chuckled. "Puny mortal, you do not even understand the power you are facing. I shall annihilate you!" A moment later Aleftav shot a sphere of energy at Tychon, which began to melt the sand below into glass.

"I will open the gates of Tartaros for you," the fox spoke as a gate way now opened before him, which devoured the fireball of Aleftav, while its counterpart shot it from behind the entity. "For Gaius, I will destroy you, and if it costs me my life!"

"You little," Aleftav recovered soon after it got hit, it created many smaller flames and shot them towards the fox. "I will burn your body, mind, and soul for your insolence!" Aleftav now screamed, and the number of spheres tripled almost, searing the very air around it.

Yet, the fox simply danced around, his spear moving like a staff on the ground as he was opening more and more gate ways in the sandy ground itself, causing masses of sand to rain upon Aleftav, causing its fiery magic to be snuffed out. "I realize, that Danica herself gave me the means to destroy you. Showing me the realm in which you cannot exist, the will to defy your divinity."

"It means nothing," the entity spoke angrily as it rose up again and summoned countless crystal spears to let them rain down onto the fox.

Tychon however remained calm and closed his eyes. The next moment another gateway opened, and an icy cold came through it, which caused the spears of Aleftav to be absorbed. "Gaius, give me the strength." The fox now stepped closer, and with an outcry the gateway got larger and began to suck in both Aleftav and Tychon.

"What? This is, not possible!" the head of Aleftav glanced up, to see the realm that was drawing him and the fox in. "You are banishing yourself into eternal damnation!"

"Is that so?" Tychon spoke as he now grabbed his spear and used another getaway to get below Aleftav, and hit it with the tip of his weapon, as his eyes began to glow, and the tip of his weapon was engulfed in a white flame. "Well then, we should not make them wait!"

"No! You have no idea what you are doing!" Aleftav exclaimed in pain, as the suction of the gateway got ever stronger.

Tychon however just smiled in satisfaction. "I know exactly what I am doing." He now pushed the body of Aleftav further ahead and as soon as it hit the border of the gateway, the crystalline shape was disintegrated. "You are a soulless puppet. Unable to exist without light."

The entity screamed, yet it was becoming more furious and lashed out at Tychon with several blades of plasma, which the fox could only barely block with his own fire spells as they got closer. "I am not going to let you get away with this."

"Who said that I was getting away? I will take you down with me," Tychon spoke coldly as he now rammed his spear into the heart of Aleftav and twisted it around. "After all, my life values less than all lives in this world."

"No!" Aleftav now grabbed the fox, and hit him with full force, leaving him unarmed as its body was sucked through the gateway and dissolved as soon as it was touching the endless darkness beyond. "No!"

"Guess, that is it, huh?" Tychon's eyes stopped glowing and his body turned numb as it drifted ever closer to the gateway ahead of himself. "This was, my final trick." With a sigh, he closed his eyes and spread his arms. "It is time for me to rest."

"Brother, have you truly given up on yourself already?" a voice suddenly spoke through the portal, as Tychon almost touched it. A moment later, something grabbed Tychon, and pushed him downwards again, almost to the ground.

Tychon opened his eyes, and he glanced towards the gateway he created. And while his vision was blurry, he saw the outline of someone before the portal closed and ceased to be. "Gaius." A smile came over the fox's face.

"Tychon!" from the distance, Albanus now approached with several hundred men behind him. "Are you alright? We saw that, thing being devoured by the rift."

The fox now got up, and looked at the white wolf with a smile. "I am alright. A part of Aleftav is now gone." He then stepped forward and pulled Albanus into a hug. "I think, Gaius saved me. Moments ago, I was about to be sucked through the gateway, but, then I heard his voice, and he pushed be back to the ground."

"Truly?" Albanus asked as he perked his ears and then broke out in tears again. "Gods be blessed!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"So then," Lucille took a deep breath as she and Khaba entered a small settlement in the now snowy steppes of the east. "We are here now, so I suppose, we should, well," she scratched her head. "I kind of imagined it to be a little livelier."

Khaba snickered. "We simply have to find adventures first. You know, talk to people, ask them about rumors, or problems they may have. And given it is winter, we should probably head somewhere warmer."

The otter chuckled. "Becoming more social, eh? I suppose that is what adventurers do." She then entered the village with Khaba on her back and tried to locate the tavern.

It did not prove difficult, as a building somewhere in the middle of the settlement already seemed to be already bursting from visitors, of which not even a third was sober anymore.

"I do hope I do not have to break any noses," Lucille spoke as she entered the tavern, and headed right towards the counter. On her way, a bull tried to flirt with her, but she simple kicked him in his groin and moved on towards the barkeep. "Excuse me, I and my friend are new to this area. And we were wondering, if there are any rumors going around?"

The barkeeper, an aged donkey, shook his head and crossed his arms. "No, not really. As it turns out, there is simply nothing going on around these lands. You are from Bijulac, are you not?"

Lucille nodded. "Yes, and currently on a bit of a journey with my friend Khaba. So, rumors are out of the picture, but are there weird places around? Ruins, forsaken caves, all those things."

"Ah well," the donkey had to laugh. "A bit further to the east lies the Empire of Lianhua, and on the path, there are a few abandoned buildings. Not sure, if they still have treasures or anything, but maybe you find other things of a less material value."

The otter smiled. "Thank you very much," she replied and bowed gracefully before leaving the tavern and soon the settlement on the past eastward. "Alright, I think it would be in fact lovely to explore Lianhua, given it is a high culture like Urbulchem."

"I read in one of Gaius' books about it," Khaba said as he was looking at the path ahead of themselves. "Apparently, it trades with the Axis region via caravans, mostly with spices and silk."

"It also got mythical beasts quite different to ours," Lucille added and hoped up cheerfully. "I could get used to this lifestyle."

Khaba snickered. "Good thing I got a bit of a boost now, so you cannot endanger me so much anymore."

Lucille had to shake her head. "No, I think we had a few risky situations, so from now on, use that shadow magic to your hearts content and make people piss their pants and pass out."

"Should be no problem," Khaba said as he now used his spells to create several specters around himself, taking many terrifying forms. "The scarf makes it quite easy even, I could freak out an entire palace, if I wanted to."

"Oh, you already know about the first thing we will be doing in Lianhua's capital?" the otter grinned widely. "Oh, this is going to be so much fun!"

Khaba was about to agree to her, as suddenly a gust of wind pushed him off her back and onto the ground. He shook his head, but as he was about to jest about it, he gazed with widened eyes at the horizon. "No, this, this cannot be."

Lucille now turned her gaze towards the sight in the distance, and instinctively drew her chakram. "This is, Aleftav." She got into a battle stance, and then let Khaba fly onto her back again. "But, wasn't Thuban supposed to fight it?"

"Why is it here now?" Khaba asked as he was reading for battle and spread out his wings. "Did it follow us?"

The shape of Aleftav, now shining in the color red, was approaching them, and an eerie cackle came from its body. "You are very perceptive, bearer of the soul of pride incarnate. I ought to destroy those, who purposefully interfered with our search for the demiurges."

"Demiurges?" Khaba now moved his wings closer to Lucille's body. "What do you mean by that?"

Aleftav chuckled. "I am not here for idle chatter, dethroned prince of pride. I am here to annihilate those who threaten our plans!"

"We got no choice," Lucille spoke with a fearful frown. "It will fight us, and we have to fight back to survive this."

With a nod, Khaba now flew from Lucille's back and let darkness surround his body once again, forming yet another husk in the shape of a draconic daemon. With shining eyes shining from the darkness, Khaba opened his maw and glared at Aleftav. "We will survive this, Lucille!"

"You are but a spirit trapped in flesh," Aleftav spoke as it summoned forth two massive blades and got closer to Khaba and Lucille. "I however am an agent of a force beyond your imagination."

Lucille now used the moment where Aleftav was distracted by Khaba and drew the gun she received from Seraph and then took aim at the joint between the main body of Aleftav, and its flowery extension.

It did take the entity by surprise, and indeed a part of it splintered as the bullet hit its target. Aleftav now turned to Lucille, and with an outcry rose both its blades to rush at the otter.

Khaba however used that chance to strike at an opening and casted a powerful wind spell to blow Aleftav's body into the distance. "It is hardly the origin of these powers that matters. It is the will and might behind it."

Lucille chuckled a little and then patted the flank of the shadowy body of Khaba. "It seems we got a war poet in you. Now let us beat this overgrown crystal into pieces." The next moment, Lucille got ready and folded her hands to channel her magic.

Aleftav however just returned without any sign of harm being visible anymore. It however vibrated angrily, and soon several spears of light were formed around itself. "Filthy mortals. I will sear the flesh off your bones."

"Your words ring hollow, Aleftav," Khaba now spoke as his voice rang deeper, as if not his own. "The depths of the Naraka could not sear away all my darkness. It could only strip me of the curse that one calls faith."

With a worried glance, Lucille now looked at Khaba, yet quickly turned her head back towards Aleftav. "Khaba, I am not really understanding a bit of your words, but, we do need to take this thing out."

Khaba laughed. "My point being, Aleftav has a glaring weakness. A weakness common to most divine being." He now folded his hands as if to cast a prayer, and a grin formed on the face of the husk surrounding him. "The fact that its entire being is a construction of the mind."

Aleftav now shot its spears at Khaba and Lucille, but as soon as they went into close proximity of the armor of Khaba, they simply were devoured by the darkness. "What? No, my light ought to pierce your shadows, Prince of Pride!"

"Because you are of a higher rank as I was in my previous life? Come on, I defied a being just as powerful as yourself," Khaba just chuckled and shook his head, before pulling his hands apart again. A moment later however he went onto his knees and the husk dissolved. "What? No, I am Khaba, I am Khaba."

"What was," Lucille now stepped closer to Khaba and lifted him up to rest on her shoulders. "Nevermind, are you alright?"

Khaba nodded weakly, but then looked at Aleftav, who was getting closer to them. "We need to run!"

Lucille now moved her hands around and formed a massive wall of ice, before turning around and rushing away from Aleftav. It did not do much, as the entity blasted it with a single spell, causing the otter and bet to be pushed away be the shockwave.

"Pesky little things," the entity now rose its arms, and formed a massive blade of light in its hands. "I will end your pathetic existence once and for all." And with those words, it swung directly at Lucille.

Khaba, who was lying several meters away from her on the ground, looked with widened eyes at the blade as its sharp edge came ever closer to the one person he cared the most for in the world. In what appeared to be minutes to him, darkness engulfed him once again. He shot forward, and spread his wings to grab the blade of searing light.

And, it was immediately devoured by the shadows of his wings, nullifying the attack of Aleftav. "What? You cannot, this is not possible!"

"It is possible!" Khaba exclaimed as he flew up towards Aleftav, causing the many shadows around him to lash at the entity like countless blades. "I will not let you hurt her!"

Aleftav tried to grab the fruit bat, but the darkness simply cut through its entire body, destroying it more and more. "This, this cannot be! How can a mortal defeat me?"

"Because," Khaba now surrounded himself with the darkness again and shot like an arrow at the core of Aleftav, piercing through it, and destroying it. "You messed with the wrong ones."

Within moments, the crystalline structure of Aleftav collapsed, the different shards now bursting into sparks of light, leaving nothing behind.

As soon as he was sure of his victory, Khaba descended down again and then collapsed as soon as he reached the ground next to Lucille. "It is, over."

The otter now turned her head to the bat, and gently pulled him closer to herself, letting him rest on her chest. "It is. You know, I would say we should head to the village, and rest in a warm room for now."

"No objections," Khaba replied and closed his eyes as he fell asleep in her arms, being finally at peace.

---

[1] Irish for "Return home safely."

[2] Old Norse to say "Goodbye" to a group of men.