I knew I was dead. And I didn't care. I had lost everything, and the least I could do was die saving the only friend I had left. But, of course, when I saw the ball of fire hurtling toward me, instruct took over. I flinched away, and covered my face with my sword the second I saw it leave Dianite's fingertips. And then, I suppose some small bit of luck caused the sword to be positioned exactly so the fireball would hit it, and fly right back at the sender.

My eyes flew open in shock, just in time to see the powerful god disintegrating, right in front of all of us. His own weapon was too strong for him. Everyone watched, in silence, as Dianite burst into a puff of smoke and was no more. Even the Shadows, who didn't have distinguishable facial features, seemed to be watching with fear and horror as his last hope crumbled before him.

I wasn't going to let this opportunity get away. "Kill him!" I yelled, pointing my blade at the fog. I was sure that the Shadows were going to retaliate, and fly past everyone else to kill me for what I had done, but he seemed to sense that this wasn't a battle he could win anymore. Before any of us could react, the black fog dispersed and wrapped itself around Alyssa and Bella's bodies.

"You may win this battle," the Shadows hissed at us, lifting the two girls into the air and hurling them at the wooden ship, "but there is no way you can win the war."

Both of them screamed as they painfully collided with the hard floor, and Alyssa's sobs were clearly audible. Ianite and Mianite charged at the ship, desperate to save the two girls, but it was too late. The Shadows fled, pushing his children out of the way and leaping aboard the ship. The ship, along with Bella and Alyssa, vanished into the void.

They were gone, and I wasn't sure I was ever going to see the girls again.

"What's going to happen to Alyssa?" Jeriah asked, his voice hoarse and shaking.

"I'm not sure I want to know," I answered, letting the sword fall out of my hands. It clattered to the ground, a burn mark showing exactly where the fireball had struck it.

"Are we teamed again?" Ianite asked, a dash of hope in her voice. "Now that you've seen how cruel the Shadows really are?"

Jeriah and I turned to Redbeard, not knowing what to say. "I still haven't forgiven you," the pirate growled. "Now you just saw firsthand what became of the girl you betrayed back in Ianarea. Endless torture and beating. You could have saved her from that. But you didn't."

Ianite opened and closed her mouth wordlessly. "But... I... look, Redbeard. I know I made a terrible, terrible mistake. I understand. If there was a way to reverse it, I would. But there's nothing any of us can do." When he didn't reply, she turned to me. "Spark, you knew me better than anyone. You know I would never mean to harm anyone! Please come back and..."

"You want Spark to come back?" Redbeard burst out, looking enraged. "After all of this? Are you out of your..."

"No," I interrupted calmly. "No, Ianite. I will not come back to you. That's not going to happen. I understand that it would be incredibly stupid to refuse your help, so I will accept it. We're partners against the greater enemy, but nothing more. Do you understand."

I could see the pain behind her violet eyes, but I didn't care anymore. "Yeah... I understand."

"Now, we can move on," Jeriah said, clearing his throat loudly. "We need to think of a plan. We don't know how quickly he'll come back."

"Yeah, Jeriah's right," Redbeard said, his voice low and filled with fury. "We need to focus on the task at hand."

"Do you think he's going to bring Dianite back next time?" I asked, wondering how I would defeat the god a second time.

"Definitely not," Mianite said. "To bring him back faster, the Shadows gave him some of his energy, making Dianite incredibly powerful, but making himself much weaker. That's why we almost beat the Shadows. He isn't going to do that a second time."

"So he's going to come back more powerful this time?" the priest asked fearfully.

"Depends on how long he's away," Ianite answered. "It takes a bit for him to regain his energy. If he takes a long time to attack again, he'll be much stronger. But, then again, so will we. And that's what he doesn't need."

"So I guess we just won't know," I sighed. "Waiting is what I do worst, and it's what I have to do the most of, it seems."

Nobody replied for what seemed like ages. Exhausted, we all sat down on the charred ground and leaned against one another for comfort.

"We should get some rest," Redbeard said after a while. "But we need someone to watch and make sure that he doesn't return before we're awake."

"We don't need to sleep," Ianite answered immediately, gesturing to her and Mianite. "We can wait by the void, and try to keep the ship from entering Aethoria."

Redbeard turned away, saying nothing. "That sounds great," Jeriah answered quickly, seeing that none of us wanted to reply. "We'll sleep inside of the houses. Wake us immediately if there's any sign of trouble."

"Got it." She and Mianite went to sit by the place where the ships entered, and the rest of us split up to sleep in different houses. If the Shadows attacked the houses upon arrival, we didn't want to all be in the house he attacks.

Jeriah and I took a house relatively close to the main area. We climbed to the top floor, where the beds were, and tried to get at least a little bit of rest.

"Why did you distract Dianite before?" Jeriah asked me after about fifteen minutes of silence. "He would have killed you if that last second had gone just the slightest bit differently."

"I don't care about living anymore, Jeriah," I reminded him. "I thought you could understand that."

"I don't have anything to live for," he said. "I figured you did."

I turned away and muttered, very quietly, "Ianite was my reason for living."

"Oh." Neither of us knew what to say next, so we tried, desperately, to go to sleep.

Who knew what the next day would bring?