she heaved and coughed, sputtering blood from her lips as she held her hand up to her mouth. hair clung to her sweat creased face as she heaved for fresh air. but it burned her throat.  she lifted her head up to look around, her eyes stinging and red. a sea of ash spread out before her, nothing but a few towers left to poke though the mountain of grey. her eyes watered as the scent of ash burned her nose, eyes now red and puffy. 

it had been horrifying, a cardinal sin from the likes of which human kind could never recover. she had watched as the gods converged and were slaughtered, cheered as the flame of agony and pure resent spilled forth and cracked the ground, spears of light showering the earth in the flames of ethereal white. it had been marvelous. and now here she was, sitting in the midst of the ruin. no more duty, no more worries. it was all washed away, in that sea of flame.

and yet, on the hill next to her she saw movement. a hand of metal reached out, black and gold embroidery coated in dust. a figure rolled from the mound, there body covered head to toe in the same noble black and gold armor. once it had been a symbol of power and hope, the strength found within man. yet now those ideas were gone, meaningless as man no longer was there to draw strength from them.

the figure began to push up from their knees, shaking in exhaustion and pain. the armor was melted, the entire left arm sagging onto skin to singe it. but that pain went unnoticed. a cough. the figure's head raises to look at her, and through the visor she sees bloodshot eyes widen. she smiles.

"it's been done. why not enjoy the view? no need to fight, after all, there's no one left for you to fight for."

the figure brings themselves to their knees, turning their head to look at the landscape before them. she cannot she their reaction, but minerva has a good guess. she smirked, knowing the despair and torment flooding his heart. slowly, he reached up and took the helmet off. a face caked in dust and despair turned to meet her gaze.

"...why?"

"does it matter? you cant change it now," she smirked, leaning her head down onto her knees

she stood up, her leather armor burnt and weathered. she reached out a hand.

"but i guess you deserve an answer, dont you?. see, this realm is not all there is. there are more, countless others who we have opened the gates to by annihilating this world. your place here is no longer valid, there is no need for you who has risen and survived to walk among the sands of the tortured and damned. come, take my hand and i will show you the worlds we did all this for."

he simply stared. no flash in his bloodshot eyes, no frown nor grin. not a movement. 

and than his shoulders sag and he looks down, dull eyes staring at the dust. he reaches down and holds some in his hand. at first it seems to only shift and move with the wind, but his eyes widen. tiny arms and mouths the size of needles form in the pile, reaching towards him. even in eternal torture they cling to their symbol, their idol. he raises his head and looks at her, eyes and face crunching into a scowl. 

"...my people still live. they reach and beg for me, their savior. i will not abandon them, " a tear leaks from his eye, forming a river in the dust on his face as it drips off his chin, "and especially not for someone like you. no, i will never join you craven wretches."

she frowns. why would he...

"there is nothing here. these souls will soon form into horrible, wretched creatures and this world will grow cold and cruel, full of madness and horror, molded by the flam of agony. and yet, you wish to stay here?"

his lips sag into a hurt frown, like that of a dog hit by it's owner.

"yes. now leave, leave and never come back."

he begins to rise, and despite his exhausted, slumped shoulders he still stands.

"you are wrong, minerva. i will be their savior, even if they take the form of horrible and wretched creatures. no matter how long it takes, hundreds or thousands of years, even a millienia, i will stay and fight. one day i will give them back there human flesh. i will find a way."

he raises his sword, crackling with red sparks that flow slowly from hilt to tip, buzzing the air around them. she steps back.

"leave, and never come back"

she sighs and turns away.

"if that is truly your wish than fine. you can stay here and rot, while we will live in the countless worlds above us in the stars."

a swirling mass of darkness forms in front of her. pulsing with energy as a deep purple radiates from within. she sticks her arm into it. the pulsing mass expands to cover her arm in an instant, tendrils shooting for her head. she turns towards him as a tendril reaches her neck.

"you will soon regret your decision, and i will not answer your cry for help. rot in your own filth for all eternity, you damned fool"

and than shes gone. sucked away to another land, an entire plethora of realms to cultivate and grow life. 

he turned and stared at the destruction before him. in the distance, the triple peak of the academy shot up, the place where he had once lived. somewhere in the mountain of dust was mothers house, and the bakery run by old man miller just a block down. there had been women and children, men and beasts. now there was none.

he began the treck, heading south. when searching for star seed as child in the forests, he always found them walking south. he felt the hands grasping his legs as he went further. silent cries begging for release, for an end to the pain. 

he would grant them it. even if it took him thousands of years, even if it took him millienia. he would never abandon them, for they were his burden.