The old shack creaked in the quiet.

Beams of light shone down through straight line gaps in the roof.

The wizened figure who had aided The Princess and Rapture slumbered solemnly in his chair.

He hardly noticed as the dust stirred, invisible and silent boots trod their impression in the floorboards.

The slender form of a woman took shape, The Vanir Goddess, Feng, in all of her glory.

The world stood still, all except for her, even the creaking triggered by the wind came to an end.

She pulled from thin air a rifle, then pointed it toward the old man.

She waited, silent, still, and a reaction, however minor, came to greet her.

The old man huffed.

His lips raised their corners in a smile, and his hat clad head lifted itself slowly.

She couldn’t see his eyes, only his chin, as he leaned his temple to the barrel.

The Goddess’ pupils trembled just a little.

Even then she placed her finger on the trigger.

She saw his eyes at last, both of them peeking up at her through the gaps in his haggard hat.

Sapphire irises surrounded abyssal black pupils that bore into her spirit.

He gazed with disinterest to meet her shaking vision, all this despite the gap in power.

He let a fearless smirk escape from his lips, which were young and healthy.

“Come again, have you?” He said, his tone betrayed that he thought it all a dreadful bore, “You know the full story…but if you still can’t forgive me…”

He pressed his forehead to the barrel and tapped it twice.

Her unfocused pupils turned cold and firm upon him.

Her finger tightened around the trigger, yet the old figure didn’t even close his eyes before the reaper.

His gaze stared blankly into her own.

Then, with a swipe, her ashen form was scattered.

What undid her was a simple broom held in the hands of the old man’s granddaughter.

One moment later, the elder looked upon the lass.

She had her back to him, and he was no longer dreaming as he had been until now.

He shot a glance upon his ankle, which she had kicked to stir him awake, and then gave a sneering chuckle.

The room was filled with an awkward silence after that.

The only sounds about them came from her broom, which was hard at work on the wooden floorboards.

“Rapture and Lucretia have departed,” She told him.

The old man reached for his hat.

She could hear it then as his old rags hit the floor.

The white clothed form that sat to her back was now anything but aged.

Tall, slim, muscular, with a face sharp of features and black hair down well past the shoulder.

She returned to her sweeping, she saw all this though she did not turn to face him.

He spoke then, but was dismissive in his manner.

“That’s good,” He said, “They should know by now what it is they have to do.”

The girl stopped her sweeping motions, however briefly.

The man in white, Orthrus, stared back at her in earnest.

“Those dreams,” She asked him, “do they happen often?”

The man’s mood soured immediately, as expected he did not wish to talk about it.

An affirming grunt accompanied his only reply,

“The Duchess does like to get her point across.”

The Goddess’ broom faded to a sakura fog.

She did not need to ask him about the point that he said Feng wanted to convey.

She already knew it anyway.

What troubled her was his response to her anger: his total surrender, that was what irked her.

“She just wants to make sure I know where things stand.”

She didn’t doubt it.

Feng more or less wouldn’t care if he was Diehurtz or not, he was born of the man, that was enough.

Furthermore, his counterpart betrayed and sealed her daughter, Authun.

She needed him right now, only he could set The Blue Goddess free.

The threats were a reminder, as he said, she wanted to make sure that he knew she was watching him.

“So you were only standing your ground?” Asked The Goddess, just to make sure, “You don’t actually want to die?”

“Of course not,” The man said with a sneer, indeed he seemed very sincere.

Feng couldn't kill him just yet anyway.

She didn’t fully believe him, however 

There was the memory of how he died back then.

His previous incarnation, Diehurtz, gave into his guilt and allowed the Prime Minister to shoot him dead; this was a very prominent memory that the Vanir could access very easily.

Indeed, regardless of what he said, whether he was Diehurtz or not, her worries shouldn’t be unjustified.

He saw it in her eyes, he knew she'd gleaned something, that she’d made up her mind.

he wasn't willing to ask her about it, however.

“Rapture’s gone,” He said, “We’ve done what we can, it’s time we also went on our way.”

He turned on his heels, a fog-like form escaped his shallow shape.

Vak wanted to ask him why his mood had soured so, but she dared not do it.

She’d always known him to be a loner, and there are times when it might be best to simply let him be alone.

He would sort it out in time, whatever it was that irked him so.

She wanted to believe all of that.

Then a presence gave her pause.

Her gaze drifted to her heel where an emerald dust scattered like fog.

Her expression turned cold as she stared it down; the last remaining remnant of Feng’s will and shadow.

“I now you’re listening,” She told her fellow, her kindred, her former commander and confidant, “Heed my words, Major; if you try to hurt him then I will not stand by idly either.”

With a sweep of her hand, the broom returned to form, it took no effort to scatter those last lingering traces to the winds.

Feng was now well and truly gone from this place.

Vak renewed her vow aloud, she didn’t really care if the likes of the Emerald Goddess could hear it or not,

“I will not abide any harm to befall him, not even from you.”

That was her resolve as she followed after his lonely shadow.

Sakura petals soon flew on the wind, her shape vanished amid the maelstrom.

The hut was left empty and abandoned…

Out in the garden there lay a pair of graves.

They seemed unengraved, at least at first, but as the gods grew distant their engravings returned.

The first headstone said it belonged to an elderly man.

The second headstone, meanwhile, was in memory of his granddaughter, a girl who had never in reality managed to get out of Jupiter alive.