[Chapter 66 part 1] Free - Answers

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Cracks had appeared on the arena wall. It pierced the force field? No… probably not. When Sion died, the barrier must’ve started to fade.

Free shook her head. I shouldn’t dwell on the meaningless… They’d won against impossible odds, yet she felt no joy. Silver and Kate are out of danger, but Rose…

“No, no, no… It can't end like this…” Sarah stared at the fallen immortal in dismay. She turned towards them and raged, “Sion Gale was a Legend! How—— How in the HELL did he lose to a bunch of kids? It’s a sick joke!”

If she locks us in again, that’d be bad. Free sent out her roots and dragged the stunned Steward into the ring. Breaking free, the Isle’s steward scrambled to her feet, fear now on her face.

“Stay back! I still have this.” She yelled, holding a vial containing a mummified digit. “Come near, and I’ll crush it.”

After that battle, this threat holds no weight. Besides she doesn’t have the will to kill herself. They all felt this as they merged on the panicking woman. Backed against the wall, Sarah railed, “You bastards. I could’ve been regent! The Isle would’ve——”

A spell circle finishing forming, and Dawn clenched her fist, “Ice Coffin.” Sarah became a block of ice. Weren’t you collapsed a minute ago? Dawn, you’re too absurd.

“Free, can you help?” Wise’s pained voice rung out. Is he hurt? She rushed over.

Wise waved her hand away and gestured to Rose, “Can… can you put her back together? I grabbed her soul so…” He glanced to the arm clutching their sister. “If you can restore her body…”

Free’s heart pounded. With a crazed smile, she burst into maniacal laughter. I’ll do it. “Time to raise the dead.”

Elation transformed to focus. The entire midsection is gone. Creating that much from scratch is too much. “Dawn, Soul, Hope, Light… I need blood.”

With the four providing the necessary building material, she began working as her mind drifted. So what if I follow in my original’s footsteps? Fuck Sola, I’ll never become her. With siblings like these and a mother like Astra, why did I ever worry? Rose slowly became whole, but there was more to do. “Wise, now.”

Free refreshed the flesh. She forced lungs to breathe and the heart to beat. Brain cells began firing. It’s done. What’s more, it didn’t take eleven years. Take that Sola. The comparison wasn’t fair, but she didn’t care.

Groaning, Rose lethargically looked up. Then her eyes snapped open, and she placed a hand on her stomach, “I’m pretty sure I remember dying.”

Tears flowing, Hope pushed through and grabbed Rose in a tight hug, “You’re back!”

“Ow, ow, owwwwww.” Rose flailed in the loving embrace. “It hurts everywhere.” Free chased Hope away.

“I’ll have you patched up enough to move in a minute.” She said smiling. She’s alive. Bashed, bruised, drained, but alive.

“So what happened?” Rose asked, “Did we win? Also, how did I live?”

“Wise grabbed your soul, we defeated Sion, and Free put you back together.” Hope summarized happily.

“I see…” Rose said slowly. “Wait a minute what about the bomb? Isn’t it set to blow soon?”

They froze. That’s true… It’s been half an hour. They had almost forgotten. Free clicked her tongue. Worst case, we evacuate and leave it here.

“How long do we have?” Soul asked Wise, who was lying on his back. “And why don’t you seem concerned?”

“We’ve fifteen minutes, but it’s alright…” Wise answered without moving. “Simon is here.” What?

Shoosh. The arena’s wall slid back and Simon Black emerged. Their anxiety dissipated. Everything will be fine now.

While his arrival made no sense, Free didn’t care. Instead she jokingly yelled out, “Couldn’t you have gotten here a bit faster? We really could’ve used a hand.”

“Unfortunately, that wasn’t possible.” Simon joined them. “Not that you needed my help. In ten minutes, the nine of you would’ve safely escaped to the Undercity. That’s how I found you.”

“Orthos rigged Kain’s arm with explosives.” Soul said. “It’s next to the podium.”

Simon vanished. Free next saw him holding the glass container lined with runes and glowing orange.

“There’s no anti-tampering protection…” Simon stated, glancing over it. “This will be simple.” He placed Kain’s arm upright and drew his dagger. In a flash, all the RSF was sliced off, falling to the floor. “Done.”

“It’s mine now!” Hope rushed forwards greedily, picking up each explosive and encasing them in metal, all of it vanishing into her pouches.

Satisfied, Hope fingered her amulet, “You came because of this?”

“Yes, I sensed several averted deaths, and rushed back. While I realized where you were, it wasn’t somewhere easy to reach. Fortunately, I narrowed the entrance’s location thanks to eyewitness accounts. For some reason, the ISF was flooded with complains of fairies barging into residences. That was when I found you in the future.”

“How’s the werewolf situation?” Soul asked.

“Mostly under control.” Simon answered. “The ones threatening settlements have been eliminated. All that’s left are the couple thousand that scattered. Astra and the others are tracking them down, but I suspect many will lose themselves in the Darklands. They’ll remain a threat for the next few months.”

“Enough of that,” Simon glanced at Sion’s body. With a soft smile, he bowed grandly. ”Congratulations, you’ve defeated an immortal. What’s more, you did so without casualties. This is an astounding feat. I’m in awe.” They shifted about in giddy embarrassment.

“To tell the truth,” Silver said slyly. “There was an interim fatality…”

“Luckily, we’ve someone who can raise the dead. Right?” Kate added.

“Ah, yes…” Free fumbled under the attention. Despite her earlier resolve, it felt weird when they complemented her resurrection skills. What’s the proper response?

“Why are you acting all meek now?” Wise chimed in. “You were cackling madly about raising the dead a couple minutes ago.”

“Oh no… I did, didn’t I?” Remembering, Free put her hands over her face and curled up into a ball, “Can we forget about that? Please.”

“No, I want to hear more. I wasn’t technically there after all.” Rose said seriously. “And what else did I miss? How in the world did you guys manage to win anyway?”

Silver and Kate, already giggling, burst out laughing.

“Stop… Please Stop.” Silver exclaimed, clutching his stomach. “It hurts.”

“Some of us…” Kate continued. “…are injured.”

Simon smirked watching the two. His eyes then traveled to Sarah, locked in ice, and the grin faded, “So she was the traitor.” He walked over and leaned close.

“What’re you doing?” Light asked.

“Recovering this.” Simon spun around, holding a vial. “The Laughing Man fled the battlefield, and he knows this place. I won’t leave any part of Kain for him to find.”

As the others chatted with Simon, Free noticed a headband besides her. She offered it to Wise, “You lost this.”

“I don’t really need it anymore.” Wise hesitated, then took the headgear. “But I’ll wear it one more time. I really overdid it.”

“You weren’t the only one.” Free turned to Rose. “You should have seen Dawn’s Sublime Vagary. It was amazing in so many ways.” I can’t believe her over-sized ego served a useful purpose. And that chant… She deserves respect for daring to utter something like that.

“What?” Rose was flabbergasted. “Really?”

“Yes, and it was cool.“ Light confirmed. “Specially how she launched into that invocation without knowing it would work… I’m not sure even I could manage that.” Another backhanded compliment which Dawn will ignore.

“Actually,” Dawn remarked pensively. “I don’t think that’s its final form. It feels incomplete.”

They all chuckled. Her potential is infinite in her eyes. It’s that absolute confidence, defying comprehension, which formed the basis of her ability.

“I want to visit the Pillar.” Hope stated, staring at Simon. They all went quiet. “You said you would bring me there if I wished. Now is the time.”

“That’s your decision?” Simon asked.

“It is.” Hope affirmed. “I want to know why I killed a man tonight.”

Simon nodded, “It’s a good opportunity, with Sion gone. Morning mist drifts the Undercity. We should approach undisturbed.”

(continued in part 2)