The deadline came and went, and no more volunteers emerged. Rather than the communications becoming more heated as time passed, they seemed to cool, with everyone under the shared assumption that everything was already taken care of. Realizing this, Dana let out a sigh, and shook her head in indignation. Sprigga had already handed over the life core, with the promise that it would be put to good use.

Sprigga knew that she could have asked for the original core back, and only use the copies created through the Digital Conversion system for their plan. However, she didn’t do so for two reasons. First, she felt that it would undermine the meaning of Giles’s sacrifice if his life core remained in the end.

Secondly, with the knowledge that he would be returning through the Heroic Spirits, she didn’t want to linger on the loss. She would rather wait for him, so that she could welcome him back with open arms, instead of letting him find her mourning over a shadow.

With the invasion of monsters fast approaching, Dana flew to the sun, core in hand. Thanks to her brief visit to Sarah’s Admin Room, she already knew how to perform the reinforcement necessary to enhance the network.

As soon as she arrived at the array, which seemed to revolve slowly around the sun, she found the crystal that was used as its core. Dana sent an apologetic look towards the core in her hand, before beginning to dissolve it, letting the pure energy flow into the crystal. As it did so, the array seemed to pulse with newfound energy.

Sorry… Dana whispered in her mind, because unlike Sprigga, she knew that Giles was still conscious on some level. He couldn’t perceive the outside world, couldn’t tell the passage of time. However… he would be able to feel pain. The pain of having his life core dissolved and imbued into another item was something Dana didn’t want to imagine.

And I have to do this nearly ten more times. She muttered to herself in her mind, watching as the process completed. She’d never had to kill the same person so many times before, even in her long life.

That’s why, even though she could feel the space solidifying with the enhancement of the seal, there was no mirth to her face. She simply closed her eyes, tearing open a portal to go to the next world and repeat the process.

Mixed emotions spread throughout the world when the news came out that the monsters would be repelled. Footage was aired, showing distorted images to censor the memetic effects, but the result was clear. Any memetic entity that forced its way into the barrier was torn apart by a black and red force.

Normally, this would have come as a great relief to everyone, if not for the fact that Dana Jafer delivered this news personally. She stared into the screen, her eyes remarkably cold for someone delivering news of salvation.

“I’m disappointed.” She said, and many people could almost feel her gaze piercing them. “For those that do not know, this disaster required the willing sacrifice of a Fallen God. When the world was in crisis, so many of you sought to achieve personal gain instead. I will not list names, nor will I list the desires specified, in order to spare the individuals involved further punishment than will already befall them. Even more remained silent, as if feigning ignorance.”

“I’m sure that many of you are wondering who stepped forward, as none of those you expected to be missing are gone from this world. I’ll say this. Only one person came forward with a simple goal. Not some extravagant agenda. All he wanted was for his family to be safe.”

“For that reason, I was forced to replicate his life core nearly a dozen times over, dissolving it repeatedly with my own hands. Because only one person was willing to make this sacrifice.”

“I know that some of you may be thinking, ‘If someone else stepped forward, why should I?’... and it is that line of logic that makes me disappointed right now. This was a time to show solidarity. Even if the spots were full, and every world had a dedicated sacrifice, the gesture of a selfless offering would have been recorded. Merit would have been given regardless.”

“The only one to step forward was one that many of you have probably never even heard of, a Fallen God of Unity by the name of Giles. He was a half-merkin, half-elf born in Spica. He moved to Earth as an adult, and fell in love with a golden Sylvan. After the events of V-Day destroyed alien life, the two of them traveled the stars together, planting the seeds of life, in hopes of recovering what was lost.”

“When they learned about the memetic monsters, and the sacrifice that was required, his only request was to build network nodes on the planets that they had seeded with life. He didn’t ask for glory, or anything else. All he wanted was for his daughters to be safe.”

“Many of you volunteered with the sole intent of being brought into the Heroic Spirits, to be forever honored as one of the select few to stand alongside the Keeper. However, those seeking such glory will never find it. Only true sacrifice, the type of sacrifice that this unknown Fallen God made, will ever be accepted. So, I will say this. Giles will return. He has earned his place in the eyes of both the Keeper and the Greater Pantheon. And if anyone has a problem with this decision, I wholeheartedly invite them to discuss the matter with me personally.”

There was a chill in Dana’s voice as she finished with that sentence, allowing the news to return to its regular broadcast. Even those who were dissatisfied that someone else had been given the chance they sought after knew better than to accept Dana’s offer. There was a very good chance that any who did would likely never be seen again, approaching her when she was already in this sort of mood.

For the general public, those that were previously unaware of what their safety would cost, they looked at those Fallen Gods with renewed understanding. They knew that it was not an easy thing to give up one’s own life, but this was also a case of sacrificing oneself for billions, if not trillions of people.

For those Fallen that knew that they had either earned Dana’s ire, or her disappointment at saying nothing, they remained silent. There was little that they could do, especially when she already addressed the very reasons that they had said nothing in the first place.

Sprigga, meanwhile, was surprised that Dana came forward. She hadn’t expected her to announce what had happened like that. In retrospect, she understood, as there was always some form of announcement that happened whenever anyone was brought into the Heroic Spirits. If anything, she took this as a public guarantee that she would see her beloved again.

Soon, Sprigga felt a wave of people wishing to speak with her, dozens of other golden Sylvans all calling to ask how she was doing. However, there was one other connection that she focused on first.

Is my boy really coming back? A distressed voice spoke into her mind, sounding like it was on the verge of tears. Sprigga knew right away that this was Giles’s mother. She hadn’t been told about her son’s actions, so this must have come as a shock to her.

He is. I received the promise myself. I’m sorry that you found out this way… I was planning to come and speak with you in person. Even with knowing that Giles would return, it felt cruel not letting his mother in on the plan. However, there had simply not been the time to go to her and explain everything.

It’s… it’s fine. So… I have grandchildren now? It was clear that she was trying to distract herself, putting on an amused tone. Though, in truth, the question made Sprigga stiffen. She and Giles had always traveled alone, so it was only natural that Nimora had never had the chance to meet their daughters. 

You do… they’re lovely young ladies. When this is all over, and they’re safe, would you like me to take you to meet them?

There was a light chuckle over the communication. I would like that very much.

When I heard Dana’s announcement, I couldn’t help but be surprised. First, I was surprised that she even made the announcement at all. Secondly, I was surprised that only one person came forward. When I heard that, I immediately thought of Strea, Lyra’s old partner.

To learn that it wasn’t her, but a far lesser known Fallen God came as a shock. Now I understood what Sarah meant when she said she hoped it went well for me. By my understanding of her worlds, she had a far larger population than I did, as her civilization had expanded out into the galaxy without facing such apocalyptic horrors. By virtue of sheer numbers, there were likely more people on her end that would have volunteered.

Still, I turned my attention to the report, noting how the modification had been applied to every world. From now on, until they were able to develop the ‘key’ to allow Fallen Gods through the barrier, they would be barred from joining any exploratory vessels. Otherwise, they may trigger the defense field upon entry.

As for the matter of securing the worlds that Giles and Sprigga had colonized, that was naturally accepted. When Dana came to me with that request, I didn’t even need to ponder over it, as it seemed obvious.

Though, now that this matter was resolved, I couldn’t help but think back. Sarah said that she had created Fragments of Acidia primarily because of this field. Part of me wondered if there was something similar in her other games, little easter eggs that could lead to further development.

I could ask her, but I had a feeling that I knew what she would say. Even if such easter eggs existed, they were more fun to find on one’s own, rather than being told exactly where to look.

I did, however, message her to let her know that the enhancement worked. I didn’t go into any detail, because that wasn’t strictly necessary, but she seemed happy to know that the issue was resolved. She even invited me to bring Dana back another time, to give her some better memories of Sarah’s Admin Room than ‘living sacrifice’.

I took her up on her offer, planning to bring it up with Dana after she had settled down. It didn’t take a genius to know that she was in a bad mood. Though, I had expected Tsubaki to help with that. To my surprise, Tsubaki said that she needed to step away from Olympus a few days before the plan was implemented. If not for her regular check-ins, I might think that she was outside of the wall, dealing with those monsters.

This was one of the very rare times when she left, without it being a training mission or a Trial. When I thought about that, I shook my head. Regardless of where she had gone, I knew that she would be able to handle herself. There were very few entities in this world that I felt would be able to stop her if she was truly determined to do something.

With that in mind, I focused back on the reports from the institutes that were indirectly monitoring the barriers. The sheer number of monsters that they counted was mind-boggling. It really did remind me of the hordes of monsters that existed outside of the ‘safe’ space within Fragments of Acidia. And now, that’s what our own space would look like, from this point on.