KALADIN stared at the wall. Off in the distance, he could hear Leo saying something to him, but the words didn't quite make it through the daze. She was gone. Killed in the Snap right along with the man who had stolen her away from him.

Wit's plan had fallen to pieces. When he'd approached Kaladin about it just prior to the word of the Snap, Kaladin had believed him insane. But when Wit had shown him everything, Kaladin had been left with no choice but to agree. Now though—

What was the point anymore? There was nothing left to fight for. He'd lost his men, his woman, and his drive to live. No one had won in this ridiculous battle. Some of the villain had lost their lives. Arcannen was gone now. Wit was Stormfather knew where.

A hand settled on his shoulder. "Kal. Please."

Syl fluttered down to sit in his lap and stared up at him with pleading eyes.

"Don't you think we should fight now. He's at his weakest."

And so were they. It was him, Leo, and Amadeira. No one else lived. Except Valeia, and she was already helping Jellal. Just like he should if he really wanted to avoid an even greater evil. But his agreement to help seemed unimportant now. "You'll still lose."

Leo settled down beside him, crossed his legs and sighed. "Then we can die trying. What is there left to live for, Kal? The Snap killed most of our family and the majority of our friends. We can't ever return to life on our worlds as we knew it. We either fight and win or fight and die. In the end, we can't sit around and quietly waste away. We owe it to those we lost to do something."

"He didn't send Nim to her death."

"No, he consigned her to a lifetime of lovelessness and pain."

"He did it trying to fight—"

"What, this bigger threat he's going on about every chance he gets?" Amadeira sat down across from him. "Kal, he's delusional, and he's power-crazed."

"He's right. Maybe not in the way he's going about this. But there's someone out there who holds more power than even Thanos's Snap when it comes down to it. Someone who could wipe out the entire world in one giant blaze. Thanos killed half the population to save the world from destruction. This man would kill the whole planet for the sake of destroying the evil of humanity."

"How is either any different?"

"One leaves some of us alive. The other kills us all." Kaladin pulled his knees up to his chest, forcing Syl to move.

"How do you know he's right, then?" Leo crossed his arms. "You're usually level-headed, so explain why you think this."

"Wit has been working behind the scenes to assemble the perfect team for Jellal." Kaladin groaned. "I know how it sounds. Insane. But Wit showed me the proof. This enemy exists, and he will win if someone doesn't stop him. Jellal is the best chance we have to do it without leaving the world in the hands of someone who is inherently evil."

"So you want us to join him after he held our families hostage and let several of us die prior to the Snap? After he married Nimewe off to the worst villain our realm can boast?" Leo frowned. "I don't think so."

And that was why he wasn't going to fight. It was pointless. He'd end up fighting friends. And if he didn't do that, he'd be fighting the only one who had a hope of saving them from a cold-blooded murderer who was bent on destroying the world.

"You're really going to side with him?"

"Would you rather side with a killer who is cold and rational with no error or difficulty in his process to keep him in check besides Jellal?" Kaladin sighed. "Do whatever you want. I don't want to fight you though, and if that means giving up on this, on life, on the whole world, so be it. I'm sick of this."

Amadeira scooted over and wrapped her arms around him. He stiffened, but she ignored him and continued to hold him gently like an older sister soothing a frightened sibling. "I'm sorry you lost her. And I'm sorry for everything that's happened. But you know, you still have something to live for. We're your friends. We don't want to lose you."

"And that's why I don't want to fight you."

"By doing nothing, you are setting us an impossible task."

"Then don't do it. Help Jellal. He's planning one final battle. He said so last night."

"Isn't that hopeless?"

"With the Snap, Zeref was able to push forward and surround us. We're the last stronghold between him and the rest of the realms. We win this, and we've defeated the real enemy. Killing Jellal isn't the answer." Not word he'd ever expected to speak, let alone believe.

"So, you want us to pledge ourselves to Jellal in spite of all he's done just to defeat this other villain."

"He's always been our true enemy."

Neither of them said anything.

Why didn't they get it? If only Wit were here to explain. He dropped his head into his hands with a defeated laugh. Just a month ago, he would've preferred to die than to have Wit around willingly. And now? Now he could only wish for the man's presence. Where was he when he was truly useful? "Look," he said. "I'm going to be on that battlefield when Zeref comes, even if it's the fight that finally claims my life. But I won't let him take over. I swore an oath. Life before death, strength before weakness, journey before destination." He smiled sadly. "I will protect those who cannot protect themselves. I will protect even those I hate, so long as it is right."

"And so you will protect Jellal because it is right."

He bowed his head.

"Are you sure it's the right thing?" Leo stood. "He's done a great deal of evil."

"I hate him. But when faced with protecting him to protect an entire world full of people or letting him die and another take over to destroy everything?" Kaladin lifted his gaze to meet Leo's. "I will protect even the one I hate so long as it is right. I will protect him with my own life. Think about that before you attack, assassin. Make sure you're certain you're really on the right side, on the side of justice, before you make your move."

Leo spun on his heel and strode to the door. "His side will never be the right side."

Amadeira rose to her feet with a weary sigh. "I understand what you must do and why. I only wish we didn't have to meet on the battlefield."

Kaladin grimaced. Didn't they all? But that wouldn't change reality.

"Promise one more thing to me, Kaladin. Swear just one more oath." Amadeira paused in the doorway, her back still turned.

After all she had done to comfort and support each of them in this trial, he owed it to her. "If I can."

She turned to look at him then. "Promise you understand that your life is worth something. That you are worth saving and, likewise, that you aren't able to save everyone."

He stopped. Those words. That request. She didn't know what she was asking. She was asking him to say the Words. The Fourth Ideal. He hadn't been able to yet. Not even in Shadesmar when he'd understood that his life might end if he didn't. He'd tried. But he'd failed. He'd been unable to keep going because he didn't believe them back then.

But did he now?

Her shoulders slumped. "I understand if you can't. But at least think about it before you go into battle. Protect yourself too, even if you are the one you hate most." With that, she turned and walked out, leaving him alone.

Syl watched him, but she didn't speak.

He returned to staring at the wall. Nimewe had taught him so many things. Things he hadn't believed in for so long. Somewhere along the way, she had shown him his worth, shown him that while he could save many, he couldn't save everyone. Her death had proven that. And her life had shown him he wasn't just a slave and he wasn't too broken to be worth something. His eyes welled with tears, and his lips quivered. But the words came out slowly. "I will protect myself, and I cannot save everyone."

LEO stared out across the castle's courtyard. Never in his life had he felt so uncertain. What was best in this situation? He'd never known Kaladin to be one to side with a villain, but that's what Jellal was, so what did that say about Kaladin? Had he misjudged Jellal? Perhaps Kaladin might be right.

"If he's right," Amadeira mumbled behind him. "We'd only be handing over world dominion to a crazed monster. Not saving it from a misguided man on a mission."

"You think he's not a villain?"

"I think he's gone about stopping this threat he's so terrified of in the worst possible way."

"But does that mean we should fight him and bring him down? Or does it mean we should side with him?"

"I don't know. What I do know is that if Kaladin is right about the coming battle, Jellal will need all the help he can get. And if we refuse to help him, we're siding with this Zeref fellow, even if we never raise a finger to fight Jellal."

Leo slumped down to rest his back against the wall below the window. "So we have to help if we see this battle begin."

"It seems as though this Zeref is the true enemy we've been facing all along. He's been hidden in the shadows, sure." Amadeira slid down to sit next to him. "But everything Jellal has been doing up until now has been in the name of defeating this guy."

"If he exists, the thought of his power terrifies me, to be honest."

She bumped her shoulder against his with a smile. "The man who managed to Step for the first time while facing blood-thirsty cultists is afraid of a harbinger of death like that?"

"Yes. I've seen things here that I never thought were possible. Someone with the power to kill half of the world's population with a Snap? Someone with the ability to kill the entire world doesn't seem far-fetched now." He buried his face in his arms. "And I have no idea how you even fight something like that. Something more powerful than Thanos?"

She leaned into him with a sigh. "I don't have the first idea. But I know we can't give up on it. Giving up would only result in more trouble."

"I guess. Doesn't mean I'm not still terrified of the thought that one or both of us might die."

She laced her fingers through his and squeezed, but she didn't respond. After all, what was left to say? Her words wouldn't ease the maelstrom of fear and pain inside his chest. They would only remind him of how empty and futile their struggle felt. Right now, he didn't need that. And as usual, she understood that he didn't need her to say a thing. He rested his head on top of hers with a sigh. Even if it meant their deaths, Kaladin was right. They had to side with Jellal against Zeref if he came against them. It was the only way.

THE army arrayed in the courtyard hadn't moved for the last fifteen minutes since they'd arrived. Jellal paced the throne room, and Valeia watched in silence. What could they do? There was no way to win against Zeref. Both of them knew that. Whatever plans Jellal had made were obliterated now thanks to the Snap. They didn't have the heroes, and they didn't have the troops. They were going to fight a losing battle if Jellal didn't surrender.

And he wouldn't. She knew that from the start. It just hadn't seemed quite so real until now.

"I won't make you stay and fight." Jellal turned to face her, his eyes filling with tears. "In fact, I'd prefer you didn't. We don't have the one weapon Zeref made to kill him, and I don't know how to get my hands on E.N.D before Zeref loses patience and attacks."

She shook her head. "What are you saying?"

He strode to her and enveloped her in his warm embrace. "I'm saying that we don't both have to die here, and I'm saying I don't want to fight knowing you might die."

She pushed away with a cry. "Well, you'll just have to, Jellal Fernandez. I'm not going anywhere! We'll fight him together. If we fail, we fail. But if I run away and you fail, what's left? Where will I go? He'll kill everyone anyway in his quest to destroy the evil of humanity."

"You'll find somewhere. Wit would help you if it came to it. He knows how to get off this world."

She slapped him then. "How dare you try to send me away? How dare you think that I would want to live knowing I was too much of a coward to fight with you!"

He didn't respond.

She punched him then, a sob tearing from her. "I lost you once to him. I'm not going to stand by and watch him take you away again. Not if I'm able to be there to stop him."

Jellal caught her as she crumpled to the floor, and he settled down to cradle her in his lap. He rested his chin on her head and let her cry. "You're right. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry..." He rocked her back and forth. "I won't make you go just like I won't make you stay. This is your decision."

She clung to him and tried to rein in her tears. "And will the others be given the same choice?"

"Of course. We never planned to face him on such uneven terms. If I thought we had a chance of winning, it would be different. But I wouldn't force them to fight for a man who failed to protect the families he swore would be safe in return for their obedience. I would never ask them to stand by me when—"

The doors to the throne room burst open, and Kaladin stormed in. "Just so we're clear, I still hate you, Fernandez."

Valeia pulled out of Jellal's grip with a frown. "Kal?"

He stared at her with narrowed eyes.

She observed him too. What was his body encased in? The armor glowed and molded to him perfectly. It was also accompanied by a glowing blade she'd never seen before.

"And I'm not happy with you either, traitor." He unsheathed his sword with a sigh. "But there's a bigger threat out there. And I swore to always protect even those I hate so long as it is right, just as I swore to protect myself and that I understood I couldn't protect everyone."

Valeia cocked her head to the side, but she didn't interrupt as he stared at his sword.

"Never thought I'd be saying this," he muttered. "But I'm here to stand by you."

Leo and Amadeira walked in behind him, fingers intertwined. Leo stared at her for a moment before looking to Jellal. "So are we."

"You all know I won't make you fight. I have nothing to hold over your heads, and I wouldn't blame you for killing me now."

"With that man ready to kill us the minute you're defeated?" Amadeira laughed. "We're not very keen on the idea of the annihilation of humanity or a new world order. We'll deal with deciding what to do with you if we manage to survive this."

Jellal's shoulders slumped. "Very well. This is your last chance to leave before the battle starts though, you know."

"We know." Leo stepped forward. "But whether we live or die here, we're going to help you fight."

AMADEIRA hit another mage in the face with a blast of water. All around courtyard, geysers had erupted from other similar incidents, and now she had more than enough to work with. Not that it mattered much. Everything was going downhill fast, and it was only a matter of time before they lost. She glanced over at Leo, who was a dervish of shadow and steel. If they'd had just a few more like him, maybe the tide would've been in their favor. But wishful thinking never saved a life.

"Behind you!"

She whirled and slammed her palm into an oncoming soldier's chest, calling the water at the same time. Her mastery of this technique was faulty, at best, but it was all she had to her defense now. She closed her eyes and called on her ashtra before pulling on every drop of water in the man's body.

He howled in sheer agony, and she opened her eyes to find the water dripping from every pore of his body. She grimaced but continued drawing it out of him. Thank the gods that the human body was mostly water. She tore her hand away when he dropped to his knees, his skin shriveled and eyes unseeing.

Kaladin cleared his throat. "Didn't know you could do that."

"N-neither did I for sure." She lurched to the side and dropped to the ground, bile burning the back of her throat.

"Hey, no time to fall apart on the battlefield." Kaladin grabbed her arm and dragged her away from the body. "Just don't look. Sometimes, to save a life, you have to take one. Makes no sense, I know. But it's how it is."

She nodded and stumbled along with him to the outer edges of the fray. "Do you think this will ever end?"

"It will when we're all dead."

"Is there any chance that Jellal misunderstood what Zeref wants?"

"None. If he'd misunderstood, Zeref wouldn't be here mowing us down with no warning."

She glanced over her shoulder and saw Leo fighting his way toward them. "I'll be fine, Kal. You can go back to worrying about protecting yourself."

"No. You need someone to stay here until you're back on your feet, and you're not ready to fight yet. How are your energy levels?"

She sighed. "Not good. They're getting really low."

"How long until they're back to safe levels?"

"A few hours."

"Then sit down next to the wall and stay hidden."

"What? But I can't! We don't have a few hours. Don't you see what's going on here?"

The two stared out of the battlefield together. Zeref's demons had rampaged through the entire courtyard, laying waste to anything that got in their way. Some of the mages on Jellal's side had managed to kill the biggest of the demons before being killed themselves, but the smaller ones just kept coming, and the soldiers rivaled even those numbers. Their own armies lay dying or were being cut down where they stood.

Leo had at least three of the demons on him now, and he released an inhuman roar that could be heard over the din of the battle. Everyone paused to stare. The darkness grew around him until he was invisible at the center of the swirling mass of shadow and darkness. The demons took a step back with screeches of outrage, unable to get close.

Another loud battle cry emitted from the center of the shadows, and Amadeira shivered.

"What's going on?" Valeia jogged toward them, her face and clothing splattered with blood.

Amadeira and Kaladin stared at her too.

She glanced down at it. "Oh, this is only half mine."

Half? Amadeira swallowed. With that amount of blood, how could she be standing, even if only half of it was hers?

"What is he doing? Everything around him has just stopped since he did that, and the humans are going insane."

She shook her head. "I... I have no idea. I've never seen this before. But last time we were in an impossible, life-or-death situation, he discovered he could Step. Maybe he's unlocked another hidden ability?"

"Seems that way." Kaladin readied his spear. "It's even scaring me a bit. What is he?"

"A descendant of Rith. On our world, they're the stuff of children's nightmares and the source of countless legends. The stories twist them into inhuman monsters formed from the shadows by the dark god himself." Amadeira winced. "And seeing this, I can see why someone might think that."

People dropped to their knees all around Leo, and most were screaming or clutching their heads. A few clutched their chests instead as if they were having heart attacks. The shadows covered everyone. Everyone except them. And they didn't seem to be latching onto Jellal's men either. Only the demons and Zeref's forces suffered.

The demons didn't seem happy about whatever was happening, but they weren't dropping like flies either. Whatever he was doing, it didn't seem to affect them. Amadeira frowned. Was it possible that he was touching the souls and minds of these people? Legends claimed it was possible, but she hadn't believed it. Still, the shadows didn't seem to be hurting them physically, so what other explanation was there?

Leo screamed, but this time, the scream sounded pained. The shadows swallowed him, and he flew up through the ground in front of them before dropping back to lay a few inches from Amadeira. She gasped and reached for him. The shadows swirled around him, but his eyes were closed, and his breathing was shallow.

The demons swung around to face them and released a synchronized screech.

Amadeira tightened her hold on Leo.

"Is he going to be able to fight?" Kaladin eyed Leo.

She shook her head, her eyes tearing up. "I don't even know if he'll be able to recover."

"Then you need to take him and get out of here. Do you think you can handle that while we fight them off?"

She stared down at Leo. "But what about you guys?"

"We always planned to fight to the death if necessary. You two have done enough."

She pulled Leo into her arms and dragged his arm over her shoulders. "I'll get him out of here. If..." She swallowed back the lump in her throat. "If we don't meet again, then I'm glad to have fought alongside you all. For whatever it's worth."

Valeia bowed to her with a smile. "And I am honored to have met you."

"Likewise. Now go!" Kaladin shooed them off and turned to face down the hordes, his entire body emitting an unearthly glow.

Amadeira adjusted her grip on Leo and began the long haul toward a broken down segment of the wall. She eyed the demons and soldiers that were nearby, but none of them were focused on her. The demons had focused in on Kaladin and Valeia, and the men were still out from whatever Leo had done. Sighing, she quickened her gait and tried not to trip over the rubble left from the initial wave.

WIT watched the ongoing battle with a sigh. Only the dark mage and the water wielder had made it out. Some time ago, just after he'd arrived to help, Kaladin had breathed his last. Wit had sat with him, and for once, he hadn't bothered to antagonize the man. It didn't seem fair to do that as a good man lay dying because of the onslaught of evil. Evil that now couldn't be stopped because, after all his planning and his work, life had gotten in the way. It had a way of doing that sometimes.

Valeia and Jellal still fought in the center, but Wit had already withdrawn to a rooftop to watch. A few of the demons had approached him, but some well-placed Allomancy to Riot their fear worked wonders. Poor fellows didn't even know why they were suddenly so afraid of him. But Wit didn't care.

A roar from overhead announced the end of the battle. Acnologia had arrived, and with it, the destruction of everyone here. Time to rescue the two heroes who had escaped. If he didn't hurry up, they'd still be in the destruction zone. He stood and stepped into Shadesmar before stepping back out near the hill outside the castle. Amadeira sat beside Leo, her body stretched over his as if that could protect him from whatever might come their way. At the bottom of the hill, a demon sat watching. It appeared to be more cautious after whatever Leo had done to the other men back in the courtyard, but it was slowly creeping forward.

He stepped forward and knelt beside her. "Now what has he done to himself now?"

Amadeira jumped and stifled a cry. "W-wit? We thought you were dead!"

"Afraid not, though it would likely make a great many people happier."

"If you were going to rescue us, I'm afraid you're a bit late to swoop in."

"Swoop? No, no." Wit laughed. "I make it a point never to copy wizards who send eagles to do their work. I had a less swoopy solution in mind."

"Wizards who—" She shook her head. "You know what? Never mind. What are we going to do? I don't have any energy left to fight that thing, and sooner or later, it's going to realize Leo can't hurt it."

Wit popped a few balls of zinc and brass out of a bag. "I think you'll find I can be equally frightening to these things."

She squinted at the metal. "Are you going to throw those at it? Wit, I knew you liked annoying people, but this goes a bit far, don't you think?"

"Hardly. I'm not going to throw them. I'm going to eat them." He popped them into his mouth while she stared. "Or, more precisely, I'm going to swallow them."

She lunged forward and tried to pry his jaws open. "You'll kill yourself! You can't ingest metal."

He swallowed and grinned. "On the contrary, I can. And it allows for all sorts of interesting tricks. Allomancy is such an intriguing thing, really."

"A-allomancy?" She flopped back on her rear end and shook her head. "Have you gone mad?"

"I already was." He sat down too and eyed the demon creeping up on them. "Now, I think it's time that this thing went away."

The demon froze in place and started caterwauling while slowly backing up. Wit smiled at it, and the creature emitted a loud whine before turning tail and fleeing. Allomancy had worked better on this one than expected. The size must make a difference. An interesting thing he might make a study of at some point if—

"What did you do to it?"

Wit blinked. "Oh. Nothing. No time to explain, anyway. I need to get you two out of here before the dragon goes ballistic."

"Dragon? What?"

"You're quite chatty and really full of questions today." Wit stood and brushed his pants off. "Now, no time to talk. Let's get both of you into Shadesmar."

A boom echoed from behind them. Wit turned to find Amadeira watching as the castle crumbled. And now they really had to go before that roar reached their little hill and obliterated them too. They didn't stand a chance when Acnologia was working with Zeref. He grabbed Amadeira's arm and dragged her to where Leo lay. Placing a hand firmly on the other man's shoulder, he took all three of them into Shadesmar. There was only one place that would be safe for them now. He would take them forward to the new world, the world free of Zeref and Acnologia. They would have to start over, but at least they would be alive. And they would be free of reminders of the horrors they had endured.

This was the end. He had failed. But in this, at least, he would not fail. Two would live to tell the tale of what occurred when the worlds collided. Two would carry the truth into the future to tell those who would listen. And he too would carry with him the story to add to his repertoire for a rainy day. Or a day when someone needed to have some sense knocked into them. All that mattered was that, when the time came, this story would be told. And so it was over.