---

ILIAS VAN PAYNE

"You're finally awake," a calming voice said. It was Roxy sitting by my side, her leg resting on a stool while reading a book.

My vision faded from white, placing me in a familiar bed. The entire upper half of my body was wrapped in bandages, covering my burning wound—a giant gash running diagonally from my left shoulder to my right hip.

The pain and fever shooting through my body told me my fate.

"I'm alive."

Roxy nodded. "You're alive."

That's right, I used the one second I was supposed to use to kill Messina to instead kick Jaime out of the way. And in her stead, I tanked Askeladd's sword.

"Jaime!" I tried to pull myself up but my wound seared. "Aaaah!"

"Take it easy. Jaime's alive and is the reason why you are. She only knows basic healing so she couldn't do much.She stayed by your side and healed you for five hours straight just to keep you stable. You lost a lot of blood when we found you. I thought you were gone."

"How's Jaime?"

"She broke one of her gates to keep you stable. She was sleeping for four days and she only has six gates now. But they're much stronger."

"Where is she?"

"She's with my sister and a few of the villagers looking for the bandits' base. Florence and Vienna gave up its location in exchange for their safety."

"So we won?" I gritted through my teeth.

"Do you think we'd be alive if we weren't?"

"Sorry, my mind is racing all over the place." I chugged down a cup of water sitting by the bed. "How long has it been?"

"It's been a fortnight since the battle. You've been sleeping the entire time, but you were slipping in and out of consciousness."

"Yeah, I heard voices but I couldn't understand who they were and what they were saying."

"You know, Jaime is really something else. She singlehandedly took out Messina by stabbing him with a rusty dagger and infecting him with tetanus. She used his own power against him and won."

"Jaime took down Messina? I thought it would've been Askeladd. Speaking of him, where is he? He's the one that did this to me. I'm expecting an apology."

Roxy set her book aside. "Askeladd died on the lake protecting Jaime. Along with Tony and Mondatta."

"Oh. I know about Tony and Mondatta, but not Askeladd."

Askeladd is dead too?

In the end, all I was able to protect was Jaime...

Everyone called me a prodigy. Now that I'm in the real world, I'm just as regular as anyone out here.

How useless am I? I wasn't able to do anything. What's the point of becoming a State Jynxist if I can't even hold my own?

What does Van mean if I can't even protect my friends?

I nodded. "Is Jaime holding up fine?"

"She was quiet at first, but she's back to her normal self. She got a boost in energy when you mumbled words to her during your sleep."

"That's good. She lost her parents, her home, her godfather, and almost lost me. She's very strong."

Roxy smiled. "You two really genuinely care for each other. She's looking after your physical wounds and you're looking after her emotional ones."

Roxy let me control the pace of our conversation, so everything went quiet as I took everything in.

"What about the bandits? What's their status?" I asked.

"They're all dead. We finished the last of them at the cave. Florence and Vienna are the only ones alive and they're under constant surveillance. The friends and families of the people Florence killed want her dead, but we made a contract with them for their safety."

"So the seven sentinels have fallen to four. It doesn't sound quite as good."

"That's the thing with situations like these. We go through hardships and moments of happiness, but one way or another, things must come to an end. What comes after is what hurts the most."

"This is just the beginning of our journey. Jaime and I are still a long way from home."

"Speaking of going back home, the three of us have made a deal with the villagers for the loot. Since there are only four of us, we'll each get more than we originally agreed. Messina, Montgomery, Florence, and Vienna have hefty bounties. They'll make a majority of our share so we don't have to carry much around."

"I know there was a chance of us dying, but I never expected the journey back to Shoya to only comprise half of us."

"Our part in this village is done, Ilias. The four of us have to go home. We can't do that by regretting what can't be changed. A part of me will never accept that Askeladd, Tony, and Mondatta are gone, but they will stick with me forever. It's okay to look back, but we have to move forward to make the most of what they gave us."

That's right. If I had died in their stead, I'd want us to live to our fullest.

"By the way, Mondatta left you a gift." Roxy activated Re-flex, pulling an envelope from the corner into her hand. "We found it on her body."

It was a contract to My Way. The copy Mondatta asked for just in case she changed her mind. At the very bottom was her name—signed in blood.

A surge of energy entered me. The same feeling I had when I acquired Tony's Guns And Roses.

This is exactly what it is.

"Zenyatta!" I screamed.

The Stand materialized beside my bed, hovering cross-legged in the air. "Ubasha!"

Roxy stared wide-eyed. "So you're Zenyatta's master now."

I wiped away a tear that formed at the edge of my eye. "She used the last seconds of her life and her own blood as ink to agree to my contract."

"That just means she regretted not agreeing to it earlier. Her resolve was strong and she got to pass on without any regrets."

Usually, when casting spells, the caster had to have a sense of focus. But controlling a Stand was much different. It was easier. The Stand would do whatever I wanted it to with just a thought.

When I thought it, Zenyatta snap-kicked. When I thought it, Zenyatta performed a handstand. I put Roxy in a bubble just to make sure Zenyatta still had its ability.

Even though I wasn't the original user, I now was its master. Before, I was able to be enveloped in its bubble. But as hard as I tried, I couldn't put a bubble on myself.

"Mondatta said that the user isn't able to bubble themselves. Since My Way gives me ownership of Zenyatta, it really sees me as its master now."

"You're now a Stand User in addition to being a State Jynxist. If you play your cards right, you'll become the strongest jynxist in history."

Decan is considered the strongest swordsman.

It'd be nice if Ilias would be considered the strongest jynxist as well. But just from the battle, I know that's a long way to go.

Wait, if I was now in possession of a Stand—

I held out a hand at Roxy. "Fire Ball!"

A ball of flame shot out from the palm of my hand. The bubble protecting her dissipated the attack.

Thank the gods!

"What is up with everyone shooting me while I'm in a bubble?"

"Sorry, I was just scared for a moment. Stand Users lock out their ability to perform jynx in exchange for a Stand. It looks like it doesn't apply to me."

"Why so?"

"When acquiring a Stand, one must perform a ritual to limit the other categories of jynx. I think it's because I never performed the ritual. My Way bypassed it."

"That's good. It'd be bad if you suddenly lost the ability to perform jynx. That license you worked for would've proven to be useless. But then again, Jaime did say you were much better at swordplay than her when you two were young. You can always fall back onto that."

"No, thanks. Even if acquiring Zenyatta did lock out my ability to perform jynx, a Stand is still jynx. I promised myself I'd be a jynxist and I can't just quit now."

The door burst open revealing Jaime clad in treasure—a golden crown, intricate chest pieces, fine leather boots, amulets and necklaces and bracelets.

"I heard my name!" she announced. "And we have found the bandits' camp! We are rich!"

Roxanne followed her in. "It's more than enough for the four of us to get through the desert."

Jaime's ears shot up when she saw me. "Ilias! You're awake!"

She dropped everything to the ground and hopped onto my bed, hugging me. My bandages began to soak in red.

"Aaah! Jaime! Relax! You'll tear open the stitches!"

"Oops. Sorry about that."

Roxy tossed her a roll of bandages before she and her sister left. "Ilias is still recovering from his injuries. He might get an infection, so change his bandages and get back to work."

Jaime took off her sword belt and leaned three swords against the corner before helping me take the bandages off.

"You've got three now?"

"Yeah, Clash, Sting, and Intermission. Askeladd said Sting was mine if something happened to him."

"And Intermission? I'm guessing Messina didn't give it to you when you defeated him."

"No, but it's a dangerous cursed artifact to store in the armoury. I do want to keep it, but I want to ask for Florence and Vienna's blessing first."

"If they agree, you'll have a cursed sword for each of the three sword styles."

Jaime soaked a rag and began wiping the blood that had seeped through my stitches. I glanced down at the diagonal gash across my body.

Tears began to form in my eyes. I tried to wipe them off, but one drop onto her hand was enough for her to notice.

"What's wrong? Am I hurting you?"

"No, it's not that. I almost died, Jaime. I got caught up in Askeladd's attack and he was going for the kill. I wouldn't be here if he was one centimetre more accurate. All this time I've been hailed as a child prodigy by everyone around me, but that doesn't mean anything now. I'm still weak. And if I'm weak then how are we going to get home? I don't want to die again..."

Die again?

That thought alone scared me. I didn't fear death when I was Decan because I didn't know what it entailed. But I know now. It means floating around nothingness without the ability to think.

I don't want that.

I want to live.

"I don't want to die..."

Jaime wiped away my tears with the bloodied rag and awkwardly hugged me from the side.

"You're not weak, you're the strongest person I know. Our opponent was just stronger and smarter. So many others have died, but we're still here and that's all that matters. This is just the beginning of our harsh journey, but I know that we're much stronger than we were two months ago. Our next opponents will stand no chance."

"You're right. We're much more familiar with ourselves and each other's abilities. And our fallen comrades made us stronger."

"Yeah, nothing will stand in our way."

She's comforting me now. It's usually the other way around.

Jaime's grown so much.

"Besides, we'll have so many stories to tell everyone when we get back home." She began spreading medicine on my wound. "And you'll have the scar to show for it."

"If this wound heals naturally, it'll leave one. Roxy told me you stayed by my side for five hours keeping me stable. Basic healing is all you know, right?"

"Yeah, Auntie Trish told me it's the only healing spell that can heal the user, so I didn't bother with anything else."

"Do you think you can try and learn a more advanced healing spell from Talking Book for me? I don't want this to leave a scar."

Jaime pursed her lips in thought. "No. I'm not going to do that. I think a scar would suit your body."

"You think?"

She began to bandage me up. "And it's also punishment for breaking the promise you made with me."

"What promise?"

"That you wouldn't move in stopped time for me. It took me a while to figure it out, but it was you who knocked me to the ground during our battle with Messina. You kicked me away from Askeladd's attack and got hurt because of it."

"Fine, I'll let this turn into a scar. But I'm not going to apologize for saving you."

"Yeah, because saving me is what led to Messina's defeat. I'll think of it as you thinking three steps ahead."

Once she finished wrapping me up, I put a hand on hers. "Enough about me. How are you holding up? I know Askeladd was the closest thing you had to your parents and that you planned on making him your official godfather once we got back to Gilead. I'm sorry."

"To be honest, I don't know how to feel. I'm happy that everyone who's here is alive, but I'm sad for everyone who died. I'm relieved that we don't have to stay here anymore but I feel a little lost figuring out where our next step will be. We're one step closer to getting home, but we're still very far off." Jaime embraced me from behind and it felt like she would never let go. "I'm so glad that you're alive, Ilias! I thought you were dead when we were on the lake. The colonel, Auntie, Heloise—they're all gone. All we have is each other and we can't lose that too."