“You should know better, Demistar…” Robin says, as we sit together in a dark room, our glowing eyes lighting the room just that little bit... “I do…” I turn to look away from her… “I just… She’s been suffering for years…” I say, as I rest my arms on my abdomen… “That one’s on you, Demi. You knew what would happen if you told her, and yet, you still did. This isn’t like you… So why?...” Robin says, surprising me- “I just, I thought she deserved to know… I mean, knowing she’s going to die… One day, all her dreams will suddenly disappear, gone in a flash with her life…” I look at her again, our lights meeting each other’s gaze… “But now look at what you’ve done. She’s suffering more than she ever could have, if you had not interfered… Well, who knows, maybe she would have never been scarred, and forced to face the reality of her future…” She says, as I curl up further into the fetal position… “I know… What do you…” I trail off, trying to find the words, but she interrupts me- “Think you should do? Sorry Demi, but this show is of your own making. It’s up to you to fix your own mistakes.” I nod, and we stand up in unison. “Thanks Robin.” I say, before opening the door, and leaving.

-√Z1-

“We’ll live on…” The young boy of the Kamble family says, as I continue to crush the rest of his family… “The Kamble family can’t ever truly be finished of-” He tries to say, but I crush his throat! “No, no I don’t think your name will. I’ll hunt down every last Mega, and kill it. There won’t even be a chance that they survive.” I say, before finally finishing him off. Traitors… It’s all that’s left for them. They dared to betray my faith, and now they will face my justice… Nobody’s spotted me, and even if they did… I could just tell them all the sins the Kamble family has committed.

I am guiltless.

Later today, I return to my throne, Polaris having returned a little while before me- “How has your day been? Did everything go well?” He says, surprising me- “O-Oh, yeah, it was great. How about you?” I ask, trying to dodge the question- He smiles warmly, and sighs… “That’s so good to hear… When you had shut yourself in for those three days, I had worried you’d become a whole other person… Anyways, the hero Esoterra has returned, they were able to save my speech. I worry that it might have resulted in another rebellion, if it wasn’t for them…” He says, reminding me that I was there… “Ah, that sounds amazing. Maybe with the hero’s return, we might see the end of this disaster…” I say, as I lie back-

Before we can think though, the right door slams open, and one of the guards run into the room- “Your highness, the Kamble family have been wiped out!” They say, with a distressed look on his face- “What?!” Polaris says, as he stands up- “The entire family?!” -he runs over, a distressed look of his own- “All bodies have been accounted for, even the people that have been employed! Nobody has made it out! We fear the only remaining family members are still out of Ryleth…” He says, as I stand up and walk over myself. “We should locate all of them, and take them under protective custody. There’s no way the family was killed off that easily, it was planned. We cannot let what happened at the Kamble Family mansion happen to the rest of them.” I say, as I stop in front of the guard. “Y-Yes, of course! Right away!” He says, before running off.

“Vallin… First he loses his closest relatives, and now somebody is trying to finish where you…” He trails off, trying not to touch on the subject. “I know what I did, Polaris. There’s no tiptoeing around it. I’m a monster now. But if saving the rest of them would mean some sort of redemption for my sins… Then nothing will stop me.” I say, after turning to look at him. His expression on the other hand, shows me just how foolish this man really is… “I see… It’s good to see that you’re still that incredible, caring woman I married… I’ll see to helping out with the search for the rest of the Kamble Family.” He says, before- He kisses me, completely out of left field- That’s right, you’re my husband… We share in each other’s embrace for all but a moment, and finally separate…

You can’t let yourself get emotional now… You still have work to do. Everything you hold dear is threatened by the presence of the Megas… They have to die… I have to kill them, they will find no home on Orion… I WILL see my home safe again…

-√Z2-

I finally put the two boys to bed, after having exhausted them of their energy… “By the old one’s name…” I say to myself, as I shut the door behind me… “I was starting to think that would never be over-” I say, as my back slides down the door-

Suddenly though, a bullet flies through the air, next to my head- “WHAT-” I shout, as I barely move out of the way of the next one, and turn my head to spot the sniper- It’s a Demihuman- He fires another shot, but this time I deflect it with a Hexafield- He’s a Blue Marlin Demihuman! I dash towards them, dodging and deflecting bullets with my shield- They dash backwards themselves, but I’m still much faster! After a few more shots, I grab the barrel of the gun, and tear it from their grip- He stabs me with a bayonet- I suddenly fall over, and clench the area in pain, dropping the rifle... He picks it up, and suddenly aims it at my head- He fires, but the rifle explodes! “What the-” He reflexively shouts, before I slam my foot into his abdomen, sending him flying into the wall! I slam what’s left of the gun into his head like a bat, breaking it against his skull- He tries to stand up, but I slam my fist into his head, trying to knock him out! I repeatedly whale on him until I’m certain he’s out cold…

Blood continues to flow from my open, gushing wound, but I quickly cover it with military standard medical magic. “Alright, that should heal…” I say to myself, but I can’t get it off my mind… “WHY?! I thought we were finally done!” I say, as I slam my fist against the wall… Multiple guards run in from the other wound, and spot me with my newly bloodied shirt, and the broken rifle still in my hand. “Sirius, was this your doing?” Ulta says, surprised with my handiwork… “Y-Yeah… He tried to assassinate the young lords, but I was able to overpower him. Or well, that’s what I think he was here for, at least…” I say, as I stumble a little, having to hold myself against the wall for a moment- “Are you okay?” She says, as the rest of the guards pick the guy up, and carries him away- “Yeah, he just stabbed me, that’s all. Blood and Tear on my shirt for proof, if you’re curious.” I say, as I pass my hand through my newly remodeled shirt…

She nods, and shrugs. “Well, good job man. Didn’t think I’d find a baby-sitter doing my job though.” She says, as she folds her arms, and gives me a funny look- “Ah- You- Yeah! Do your job!” I shout, my disbelief quickly turning into an immature determination to get her back for what she just said- She just laughs at me, then turns around- “Hey, I gotta’ go. Thanks again, Man, don’t know what we’d be doing without you.” She says, as she walks away, reminding me why I’m here…

I’m here for my friends… I steel myself, and move on.

-√D-

I land on one of the upper floors of Ryleth, my Mana Shield fading as I stand up to look around, and find that- Everyone is in a better mood? What? They should be angry, like they were yesterday! I fly away, and find a secluded area behind the buildings of this commercial district, and shout- “Robin! Where are you?!” A hologram of Robin appears in front of me, and tries to shush me- “Not too loud, sis! Liyoxis said this was necessary for later. I’ll catch you up- So turns out Ryleth has this hero named Esoterica or something? Anyways, they’re supposed to return hope to Ryleth. Once they figure Regel out, she’s sentenced to death, her family included- Demi…” She says, as I assume my expression only slowly grows more grim…

She just folds her arms, and rolls her eyes… “Listen, if you don’t want to do your part, just tell me now so I can go shut off your emotions.” She says, causing me to stumble backwards, my body beginning to deform from the stress- “N-No, I can do it! Just, don’t do that again-” I say, and she nods… “Thank goodness… You really had me worried there, kiddo. You know how I hate to do that to you.” She says, and I nod back, while rubbing my arm. “Alright, get moving now.” She says, causing me to disperse and move on.

-√Z1-

Demistar appears in front of me, glaring at me… “You’ve committed quite the atrocity, your highness…” She says, as she floats there, that judgemental look on her face… “They attacked, I merely defended myself. I harbor no guilt.” I say, as my tendrils block access around the hallways. “You’re trying to wipe out the rest of the megalodons, all of them! You’re trying to wipe out an entire race, because ONE of them angered you! Do you not hear yourself!?” I shove my fist through her head, but she moves out of the way, and it reforms- “What the-” I say, but she just floats there and stares at me… “Don’t you dare try to judge me… You don’t know what it’s been like, it’s all gone downhill… It’s all gotten worse… I can’t save everyone… But I’ll save anyone who’s worthy!” I say, as I try and strike her again! “Worthy?! You can’t seriously believe that… Is this how you cope, your highness?” She says, as my rage grows, and I try to grab her, my hand phasing through her body- “Have you really turned yourself into a monster, to justify to yourself the genocide?!” She says, but I refuse to listen!

“I’ll kill you!” I shout, but she suddenly disappears, nowhere to be found... “So even Neotopia bears witness to my change…” I say, realizing I’m talking to myself again…

…

I find myself playing hero, all throughout Ryleth. I should’ve done this a long time ago, it’s way more fun than being a queen! I land in front of a falling building, and use my mana to hold it in place- “Move, I’ll hold it in place! You can try and repair it in the meantime!” I shout, causing them to nod- After a while, we get the building repaired, the citizens thank me, and I move on.

I run into a roaring fire that sparked up from an oil spill, pumping my mana into the suit’s frost function! I quickly disrupt the fire, and heal multiple people with minor burn wounds. See?! I AM a hero! I AM guiltless!

After a few more heroic saves, and a couple good deeds. I spot myself on the Ryleth Broadcast… “It seems that the ancient hero; Esoterrastar, has returned to save our kingdom. I think Ryleth may be able to look forward to a great future once more.” Raven Rayfield of the Ryleth Current says, as people begin to notice me standing here. “Hey guys, look! I’m on the Ryleth Broadcast!” I call out, causing them to cheer!

Raven Rayfield, a stage name made by the woman herself. Her primary appeal is how she’s so weirdly cute, which is what has gathered many viewers to her station.

An explosion bursts from the wall behind Raven, and she falls from her chair with a high pitched scream- Everyone just looks back at me, while I just look from the Monitors back to the Citizens multiple times, until I remember my job- “Well, looks like I better get going!” I say, before jumping away!

I land in the building, to find that multiple masked rebels have the reporter at gun point- “Es-Esoterra!” She shouts with stars in her eyes. “Well, at least we don’t have to look for them now.” The one I’m assuming is their leader says, before ordering his teammates to surround and aim their guns at me. “What do you think you’re doing?” I ask, causing him to lower his gun. “Good, you really CAN be reasoned with. I need to know where your allegiance really lies.” He says, even his voice masked with a modifier. “My Allegiance lies with the people, the kingdom.” I say, as I look around, and make it clear that I fight for justice. “Then join us! The rulers have failed! It’s time to move on without them, and return Ryleth to the right path!” He shouts, but before anyone can think, I dash towards him, and tear the gun out of his hands- “What-” He says, but he’s immediately interrupted by my knocking him out with his own weapon- The Rebels fire multiple bullets at me, but my deflector shield reflects all of them out of my way, but not after I manage to build a shield around Raven! I dash towards the next one, knocking her out! Then the next, a younger boy, probably in his twenties- “Behind you!” Raven says, causing me to turn around, and spot one of the rebels has charged her gun with mana- I pump tons of my own mana into the deflector shield until it’s visible, and dash towards the girl with a single kick off the ground, ramming my body into her like a juggernaut. She’s bruised and out cold, good. “Police?” -I ask- “On their way!” Raven says, before giving me a thumbs up, as my mana shield lowers around her. However, more rebels burst through the walls, and aim their guns at Raven- I can’t raise a shield in time- They grab the knocked out rebels, and retreat!

“Th-They got away-” Raven says, as we just stare at each other. “It would seem so. Tell the Police I said to keep an eye out for anymore Rebels. I’m going to hunt down the rest.” I say, causing her to nod, and me to quickly depart.

-√Z2-

“Are you okay?” Flinsh says, as she stares at the healing scar on my stomach. “Who did this to you?” Inzor says, as he just stares at it… “It was a rebel, he was trying to kill the princes while they were sleeping. Luckily though, I was able to knock him out after he stabbed me with his bayonet, and the guards took care of the rest.” I say, as I rest against the wall… “He was there to kill two krakens, that bayonet you mentioned might have been covered in some sort of poison. Simple medical magic won’t be enough to stop it.” He says, as he pulls a syringe from his bag, and extracts a blood sample- “Alright, just gotta’ take a look at this~” He says, after placing it in a machine, and watching for the reading- “Is it poison?” I ask, trying to figure out what the monitor on his device is trying to say- “Yep. You’re lucky to be alive right now too. Just one stab would definitely put down an infant Kraken. Let me just put together the cure real quick- What pushed you to get so strong?” He says, as he starts working on the aforementioned cure. “Thanks man… I guess hanging around the King and Queen made me feel inadequate. I wanted to be strong like them, but I’m still so far off…” I say, before Inzor suddenly injects me with a new syringe- “Oh, done already?” I ask, surprised with how fast he made it- “Yep, you should start feeling better in a few hours.” He says, as he gives me a thumbs up.

“Everything considered, good job. You really ARE a hero, Sirius.” Flinsh says, before kissing me- “Damnit all-” Ignold says, as he looks away. “Ah- Yeah, everyone’s been saying that lately. I guess this it’s what happens when you save two princes…” I say, after we break apart. Ignold has left the room, to go do whatever it is he does all day…

“Hey, Flinsh.” I say- “Yeah?” She asks, curiously- “Do you know what Ignold does all day?” I ask, surprising her. “Oh, not really. I figured if anyone would know that, it would be you. You’re his best friend after all.” She says, surprising me too- “Does ANYONE know what he does all day?...” I ask, as our eyes begin to widen… We quickly run out of the room, but he’s nowhere in sight- We run down the corridors, splitting up to cover more ground. Every now and then, one of my colleagues asks me what I’m in “Such a hurry for?” for, and I tell them I’m “looking for ignold!” before running off. Most of them are too busy to assist, but sometimes they’ll ask why I’m looking for him.

After a while, I instead started investigating his whereabouts. Halfway through, I meet up with Flinsh, and we start working together again…

A little more investigation later, and we stop in front of an alley… “So... This is our only lead?” Flinsh says, as we stare into the creeping darkness of the alley… I deflect a bullet with a hexashield, allowing me to spot one of the Rebels. Just as I expected- “Flinsh, I’ll need you to distract him, then take him out.” I say, surprising her- “Right!” She says, before equipping Charybdis- “Break!” I shout, and I back into the alley, disappearing from sight, while Flinsh runs towards him, activating the destruction function of her glaive, and using it to destroy multiple bullets! I run around, and wait until he’s too distracted with Flinsh to realize I’m still here too- I climb the side of the building, and vault over the railing behind him- I land right behind him, and strike him in the back of the head with a roundhouse, knocking him out! “Woah!” Flinsh says, surprised-

She leans over, and looks down at him- “I thought I was taking him out, man.” She says, as she rests her weapon. “I didn’t think I could knock him out so easily…” I say, as I stare at the back of the Rebel’s head… “So who even is this guy?” She says, and I just shrug. “Oh well. So, back to our investigation?” She says, shrugging back. “No, I was actually hoping to find one of these guys. They’re all armed with these powerful rifles.” I say, as I grab the rebel’s rifle, and inspect it… “Yep. This is Ignold’s work.” I say, as I stare at the design… “So he really has been working with them…” She says, as we just stare at it… “You know, I had my suspicions with the first guy I took down, but I broke his rifle against his head, so some part of me wasn’t certain… Another part of me didn’t want to believe it. But now I guess I HAVE to face reality…” I say, after looking away. “We should move quickly, he might have been a guard, and they’ll be looking for him when he doesn’t report back.” I say, as I toss the gun into her arms, and hoist the Rebel over my shoulders.

-√Z3-

I awaken to a vision filled with a blinding blue light, a great heat brushing against my skin... It suddenly fades, and I notice a white figure, with a blue light standing in its place… “Demi?” I ask, as I rub my eyes- “Y-Yeah.. Hi, Rigel…” She says, her remorseful tone shining through the usually more cold and distant one… “What are you doing here?” I ask contemptuously, after my brain lights up with memory. “I…” She tries to say, as her body begins to seemingly melt- “I’m h-here-” She chokes up on the ‘h-here’ as we stare at each other… “Spit it out, Demistar.” I say, surprising her- “I-I-I…” She falls to her knees, and slams her fist into the floor, it shattering into a white puddle on the floor- “What in the world-” I reflexively say, but she looks up to meet my eyes- “Fate be damned! I don’t care about a future I don’t even know, I care about you!” She shouts, as her body somehow pulls itself together- “Wh-What-” I say as she holds out her hand-

I slowly raise my arm, as tears well up in my eyes… “D-Does that mean I’ll… I’ll live?” I ask, and she nods quickly- I jump out of bed, and embrace her! She spreads her angelic wings, and I fire a laser through the roof of Ryleth itself! We ascend at alarming speed, until we rush through the column of water that will soon be flooding my room-

We fly through the night sky once again, just like the last time… But this time she’s truly holding me, as I cry my eyes out- “Are you alright?” She says, and I smile at her, genuinely for the first time since I was barely a year old! “Yeah, I’m fine, I’m just so happy!” I shout, a powerful tone of relief filtering my voice over the rushing wind, surprising her! “I’m so happy to hear that, Rigel. But we’re not out of it just yet. Liyoxis will send armies to find us. I’m still not sure why he hasn’t shut me off already…” She says, as she thinks to herself for a moment- “But who cares!” She tosses me into the air, flying upwards to catch me in the bridal carry-

We playfully fly around, while laughing together, and performing all kinds of amazing tricks! “Demi, what are you doing?!” I say, as she hugs me as closely as she can! “I’ve never felt so free, Rigel! Maybe we really WILL make it out of this!” She says, before we land on the ground, and she lets me down. “Yeah, maybe… But, what should we do now? I can’t imagine going home is an option anymore…” I ask, as I walk over to the side of the cliff, and fold my arms. “Yeah, they’ll certainly be hunting you down. Let’s move quickly, I’ll figure something out as we go. I’m having a hard time holding back Robin as it is. Come on.” She says, before we run away together-

End of Chapter 8√Z3D “Give life, give death, give everything you have.”

Thank you for reading.