- And as He was the first, I will be the last stop of this universe.

The two Ravens looked at Ernoth in shock, trying to digest his words. Before they could awaken from their dazed state however, the rings on the Gatekeeper's hand lost their shine, and the deathly aura that covered him slowly dissipated. Without power to feed his true form, Ernoth had to revert to his usual self. If he didn't, he risked losing himself in the hunger, and devouring all that stood in his path to recover his strength.

There was a reason Ernoth was a personified Force. As his Friend once told him, in the beginning, the universe was made in equal parts of Something, and Nothing. Of Light and Dark. All creation however, stemmed from inbalance. The universe and everything inside was just a small ripple in the giant sea of creation. The sea was stable. Motionless.

In order to create the universe as they knew it, his friend had to manage the Nothingness, so that it would not corrupt his creation. But the Nothingness was everywhere, and it constantly ruined his creations. So he took all of it into one place, and made a deal with Nothingness. And so, Ernoth was born. A personification of all the Nothingness of the universe. The moment Ernoth stops existing, the deal between his friend and Nothingness will be complete. The Nothingness will erupt, and the world will once again return to the primordial soup it was born from.

Of course, the Ravens didn't know that much about Nothingness. Funnily enough, as the wannabe rulers of everything, they knew very little about the true state of things. They were more concerned about him being Death, rather than anything else he said. Eagle recalled the feeling he got from the black miasma. It was true nothingness calling out to him. In other words, this power could kill even them. It was what scared him the most.

Ernoth calling himself Death was not just a form of speech either. Death as a concept was a part of the deal. Sooner or later, this universe will end. But in the meantime, as the things got older in the universe, they died. Animals, Humans, Stars. Their deaths kept nothingness more or less satiated and at rest.

Eagle took notice of his open mouth, and closed it with a snap. As soon as Ernoth's aura stopped oppressing him, he once again took his domineering stance.

- This time, out of respect for our Father, we will spare you. - Eagle said with a snort, and pressed his feet against the ground, leaping into the air. A flash lit up the sky, and a huge eagle started his journey back up from Hell.

- I know this is hard for you. - Said Minerva, slowly lifting herself into the air as well. Her whole body started emitting bright light, albeit less intense that that of Eagle.

- But try to do your job properly from now on. Remember, no one is untouchable. Even our Father wasn't. - Leaving behind this veiled threat, her body emitted a gentle flash. She was gone, and a giant owl joined the eagle on his journey.

Ernoth sighed and looked around, searching for his crystal ball. With each second, the sand around him was slowly shifting back to how it was before the two Ravens appeared. Finally, he found what he was looking for. The Gatekeeper leaned on the pillars heavily, and gazed into the ball, trying to discern what happened on the plateau. His tired eyes were filled with a slight glint of curiosity.

***

The enormous flow of power stopped eventually, and Sarah's body hung limply from the pillars. She couldn't let go now, her hands, arms and legs were all turned into obsidian, and the cold glass was slowly spreading to cover the rest of her body. As for the mist... the creature was no more.

She slowly looked up while the power slowly rotated inside the pillars. She did not use everything. If she played her cards right, maybe she could stitch her broken soul back together and survive... And as she thought that, through the closing crack in the sky, her eyes caught a glimpse of clear, blue sky.

It was beautiful. After all this time here, she never got to see it. No one here has. And no one probably ever will.

A tear fell from her eye and through her cheek. And as her face was slowly being enveloped in cold glass, and her soul started losing itself into oblivion, she sent one last command to the pillars.

'Make this place a paradise.'

***

Thoren opened his eyes. He saw the sky... or at least what he thought was the sky. Last time he checked, the sky was... Thoren paused, and then shrugged. Not remembering the color of the sky was normal considering all the things that were happening to him lately. He just knew that red was wrong, all right?

He looked around, and then slowly stood up. Last thing he remembered was Thaed pressing a gem to his skull, and then... nothing. He tried searching his memory, but to no avail.

Thoren was on a clearing in the woods. The trees were made of some black, stonelike material, and the few leaves here and there were made of fire, but since the closest thing he could think of was a forest, he decided to call it that.

- Where am I? - He asked himself. Thaed said something about taking him as far as he could, so at least he should be closer to human lands.

- 58th. - A voice said. Thoren looked around in panic, his heart jumping inside his chest, as his eyes darted from place to place trying to pinpoint the source of the voice. But there was nothing. There was a still, silent forest. Black trees, ashen grass, flaming leaves. After a little while, his heart slowed down, and the man settled himself. It was just the wind, nothing more. It must have been the wind.

And just like that, he picked a direction, and started his journey. No matter what happens, all he dreamt of was civilization. And now that he knew that there were entire floors where humans lived, he was determined to get there.

***

Leo sat on the ground, looking at the sunset. It was just an illusion, but he loved the sight nonetheless. He put his spear beside him, and leaned against the cold black glass. He sat there for a few minutes, enamored by the sight in front of him. It has been just a few hours, and he knew he would never get tired of this view. Of the hills, the trees, the lake. And the huge, sprawling city, finally safe. He scratched his chin with his right hand, still wondering if he was ever going to grow a beard. It seemed their bodies were frozen in time in this place however, so his chances were rather slim.

- You know... - He said quietly. - I really thought we would go out someday. Walk out of here, breathe fresh air, drink clean water... See the sky. - Sadness slowly made it's appearance in his smile, an emotion so rare that his face almost forgot how to express it properly. He looked above and to the right, at the obsidian statue that was all that remained of his friend. The statue that expressed everything about her. Her wisdom. Her beauty. Her pain.

- But not like this. Not like this...

And between the huge festival that took place in the city, and the ever present rumble of holy magic working to expand their paradise, the lone man's cries went unheard. His only companion was the black statue, bearing witness from her glass prison.

***

*Shiiiiik.

*Shiiiiik.

*Shiiiiik.

Xeo was in the smithy of the 86th floor, below the one where they fought a few hours ago. His scimitar got dull from overuse, and so he was trying his best to maintain the blade. His hands gently operated the whetstone, and soon, one could hear involuntary whistles, as he immersed into his work. He preferred not to think on the what could be's. Some things were necessary, and that was all that mattered. Then, he froze at the sound of footsteps, his whistling cut short, as if the arrow of his song finally hit the mark.

- Sir? - A soldier came in, dressed casually in a little too short clothes woven from imp fur. - Sir, they will be closing the portal in a few minutes, the Saintess has requested your presence in the city. - He said, stumbling through the first few words, but then picking up the speed, like a child learning how to run.

- Tell her i still have matters to settle here. Hurin...

- The Saintess said to leave the matter to the priests, who are the only ones who can do anything about the situation. - Xeo's excuse was cut short by a priest, who showed up a short while after the soldier came in.

- Go. - He hurried him with a soft smile. - Celebrate. We will worry about the future tomorrow. Xeo looked the priest in the eye, and then nodded, taking his scimitar and whetstone with him, and went towards the dark red portal in the middle of an outpost.

***

- HOORAY! HOORAY! GLORY TO THE HEROES! GLORY TO THE SAINTESS! - People didn't care that the city was destroyed, that streets were littered with demon corpses, that just a few hours ago, this place was a battlefield that almost turned into a massacre. Streets were quickly cleaned, scouts that were sent out discovered that the forest nearby, that before consisted of charred stumps, was now full of game, fruits and all kinds of herbs. The river, once a muddy, sulfuric mess, was now a clear spring, full of clean water and ending in a lake, home to tons of fish. The bubble of clean land created and maintained by the pillars was not big by any means. But it was enough.

The people quickly gathered all kinds of foods, plenty of water and once those that died in the battle returned to their "capital", they threw a party the kinds of which hell had never seen before.

'The public truly is different' Thought Maia, as she was sitting on a most throne-like chair they had, just outside the doors to the chapel. One by one, people came by and tried to give her gifts for bringing them peace, and she respectfully smiled, and redistributed them to those who needed help the most, since most of them were either food, or small ornaments carved from demonic bones.

She felt someone's gaze on her, and so she looked around and smiled, as she saw Xeo walking her way, swiftly weaving through the crowd. When their eyes met, they instantly understood what the other had in mind. They understood, that despite their feelings, they cannot ruin the day for everyone here. After all, Sarah was a great commander, a genius magician, and an even better friend, but for everyone here, what price was the life of one person, against the paradise for all?

The people didn't care. They won. They had their freedom. Their blue sky.

***

Breathe in. Breathe out. WHYYYY!? Where were they?
Demons. How did it come to this? Huuu...
He wanted to smash something. KILL. DESTROY.
Make them suffer. ...riiin. They all hate you.
Killed them. Killer! She counted on you.
Who killed them? Can't you see it? Hurin?
Was it the demons? HAHAHAHAH! Hold him down!
Hell no, it was you. Why did no one help me?
No... But the power, think of the POWER! Wake up.
Where are you going? Venegance. Give it back!
Im not done yet. You killed them. Why? You should've died.
Why? She cut you up like a peace of meat.
No, this isn't right... Wake up! ...why?
Wake up...
Wake up Hurin...