When I woke, I saw the blue sky above me. I stood tentatively, relieved to find that everything still worked. We were back at the carriage - the others must have carried us out of the Scar.

Seth: “Oh Yreth, I have the mother of all migraines right now… and why am I so hungry?!”

Xenna: “Seth, you’re awake! I’m so relieved!”

She threw her arms around me.

Wolfgang: “Ha ha ha!! I never had any doubt!”

He slapped my back with so much gusto, I almost went flying.

Zyturak took an incredibly deep bow.

Zyturak: “All of Arden is in your debt. We could never thank you enough.”

I didn’t know how to respond. Was I supposed to feel like some kind of hero…? I felt the others had done so much more than I had. 

Luckily Maeve woke up and came to my rescue. As the others hugged her, she looked as uncomfortable as she did happy.

Maeve: “Wow... that was some seriously crazy shit! I can’t believe we made it!”

Xenna: “WHAT!? But you sounded so confident going in, are you saying that was all just bravado!?”

Seth: “...he let us win. It was decided the moment Maeve entered his soul.”

Maeve: “Huh...?”

Seth: "He lived for millenia fostering his hatred, and yet he never took the time to actually understand humanity. He only ever saw in us - er, you - what he wanted to see; all the broken traits that he himself had. For all his planning, he could have never guessed that Maeve would let herself be assimilated just for the slim chance that I could be saved."

Maeve: “And I’d do it again! And maybe a third time, but by Bedlam I hope you’ll be out of crazy relatives by then...”

We laughed.

Seth: “Once The Architect took our souls into his own, it should have been over. But he hesitated. He hated Yreth and the humans so much, he would have never allowed himself into Bedlam with a human soul mixed in with his. I think he was afraid that somehow that would be enough for his guilt to survive with him, and everything that happened afterwards was his extremely misguided way of trying to make amends. There was no reason for my brothers and sisters to have been there, already fully assimilated as they were - The Architect released them, made that happen. He may have been the worst father in the multiverse, but… it was nice to see them. Even just to say goodbye.”

Wolfgang: “You have siblings! But then, where are they now?”

I put on a brave face, but I couldn’t answer him. Not yet.

Maeve: “Sorry Wolfie, he needs a moment on that one. Say... how did we get out of that crazy place?”

Xenna: “Everything happened so fast… After you jumped into the Denizen, we ran like you asked. The Space was being filled by that nasty thing so quickly, I didn’t think we were going to make it. It pushed against Bedlam’s walls so hard I seriously thought they would topple over, and even flying as fast as we could it almost got us. But within a minute it started to shrink back down into nothing.”

Wolfgang: “We thought it might be a trick, but we went back anyway. And there you two were, nearly stuck together. We untangled you, and I did my best navigating to get us back to the rift before we starved to death. I was surprised when you didn’t wake up after a full day!”

Zyturak: “We were getting quite nervous, but you were still breathing, and I couldn’t sense the onset of a coma or anything like that. Perhaps your souls just needed time to recover. It’s embarrassing to say, but when we made it back to the rift we had to prop you up and put the artifacts back on you. Luckily The Key still activated from around your neck, spitting us back out on Arden. And here we are. As you can see, the corruption is being undone even as we speak.”

I was overjoyed to hear that, but my mind was still reeling. I felt sudden vertigo and fell backwards onto my butt. Maeve rushed to my side, kneeling down and handing me her waterskin, which I drank from gratefully.

Seth: “I’m okay, it’s just…all of that was a lot. My head hurts, I’m starving, I’m... Cenotaph. I’m still trying to process it all.”

Maeve leaned her head against my shoulder and started gently rubbing my back. Not only was it really helping my anxiety, it felt amazing. Everyone gave me a serious expression saying they understood how hard that might be for me… except Maeve.

Maeve: “But yeah, you being Cenotaph sure explains a lot, doesn’t it! Koa’s accusations of corruption, that weapon I found coming to life in your hands, The Key going haywire back in Dajjal when you touched it...”

She was comfortable enough with me to know she didn’t have to walk on eggshells. That was something I loved about her.

Zyturak: “I had my suspicions for quite some time - your bond with Maeve is like nothing I’ve ever seen before, after all - but it was so unlikely that I just couldn’t be sure.”

Maeve: “Our bond? What about it, Zy?”

Zyturak: “Well, like you said before - the Denizens of Bedlam don’t grant immortality. You may have been given power by Bedlam, but Seth helped you push it to its limits.”

Seth: “I thought it was too crazy to consider, too! I knew that Cenotaph could use their magic to Soul Bolster, but I never could have imagined that I myself was one... All I ever really did was pray for Maeve’s safety, but somehow things always seemed to work out.”

Maeve walked over to me and poked me in the chest.

Maeve: “And here I thought I was lugging dead weight all this time. Are you seriously saying that the power of love kept me from biting it three times over?”

Seth: “It’s a little more complicated than that, but… I think so?”

She burst into laughter, and it was somehow even more beautiful than the last time I heard it. Even as she teased me, her face was going scarlet.

Maeve: “Oh, lover boy... Only you could have a superpower that lame.”

We took a moment to consider everything that had happened. We made it to the Ardenscar, walked right into The Architect’s trap, and yet, here we all stood. Somehow, we had made it back home.

Home… where would we all go after this? Nobody wanted to move. After all, this would be the last time we would all be together on this journey. 

Zyturak: “So, uh... we’re pretty well out of supplies. Before we do anything else, shall we head back to Ellia and get something to eat?”

Maeve: “You read my mind, Zy!” 

He shifted uncomfortably, and we laughed.

Xenna: “That sounds great! I’m so sick of trail mix that even just the concept of hiking has been ruined for me!”

Wolfgang: “That chef at the MusKeg can’t compare to your skill, Zyturak, but he’s a close second. I’m too exhausted to forage for ingredients anyway, so I think a nice easy meal just might hit the spot.”

I smiled as I listened. I was still a little shell shocked, so I couldn’t contribute much to the conversation. But hearing their banter was exactly what I needed right now. 

In all honesty, I don’t remember much of that night anymore - just that there was boisterous laughter, wild metaphysical theories, and genuine smiles that never left our faces. I watched Maeve laughing along with everyone and being honest about her insecurities for the first time. She had finally let her walls down, and I was moved to see the trust that she was now able to put in everyone. Wolfgang, Xenna, and Zyturak listened as she told her story and affirmed her incredible strength to have persevered. They accepted her completely for who she was, regardless of her difficult past and alien powers -  it seemed they had done some growing of their own, too.

At the end of the night, we fell into a long, companionable silence. After all that we had done together, there was nothing more that needed to be said.

There’s one other thing I remember. When the morning came, not one of us said goodbye - there was no point. We knew that no matter where the rest of our lives may take us, we would definitely be seeing each other again someday.

--END OF ACT 3--