"Vildred, I don't have much time left"

Ras gently nuzzled against the swordsman's cheek, his voice quivered as the world around him became blurry.

The moment his duty was finally fufilled, Ras chose to be selfish. His only wish was to save the man in his arms, who followed him through six worlds, who carved a place in the heir's heart.

The one he has failed to protect so many times despite all his effort, once again closed his eyes from the world.

But its fine, Vildred can take a rest after all that fighting. This time, he would give Vildred what he asked for, an Orbis that he hoped to see.

"If this is your wish, then there shall be no goddess nor archdemon anymore..."

Ras never cried. But he let the tears stained his face this time, as their journey reached the final chapter.

"...And so is the Heir of Covenant"

Ras could feel both his soul and body crumbled into pieces, filling up Vildred's pierced heart. He finally able to listen to Vildred heartbeats once again, the calm, steady rhymth lulled him into his endless sleep.

Arky would be sad, he thought. And Mercedes might feel guilty with his death. Iseria, Yuna, Ludwig and Krau, so many friends that accompanied him on his way, they might tell him that he is crazy, that he shouldn't be this stupid.

But if there were anything left he wanted to say to them, it would only be empty words to them, pointless apologies.

His eyes closed, lips brushed softly on Vildred's forehead.

A simple blessing.

(Vildred, stars still shine over the vast ruin)

Ras wished he could reach out to the constellations outside of the broken windows, but felt no strength left in his arm.
He remebered one time when Vildred and him would sleep under the starry sky, sharing their warmth under a blanket. When he stretched his arm, it felt as if he could grab all those twinkling lights in his palms.

(So I pray that even if you got lost on this path, the stars of Orbis shall lead your way)

...

"Enemies are retreating, full force ahead! We will win this war!"

The soldiers headed Iseria's command and charged foward with a loud cry, as the elf's swords neatly pierced countless enemies. Iseria wondered if Ras has won the battle against the Archdemon, as the unknown monsters retreating at a visible rate, only some Homunculuses remained on the battlefield.

Torches lit up the nightsky, their swords and shields clinking, slashing toward the sea of enemies, beams and rain of arrows buzzing through the sky. Yuna's shout was drowned out in the midst of chaos, voice full of shock.

"What happened over there? Is Ras okay?!"

"Huh?"_Ludwig made a questioning look, his eyes followed Yuna's gaze to where Ras is.

There was a strange barrier wrapped around the place out of nowhere.

Ludwig was sure that it was not something dangerous, he sensed Ras's power within the barrier. But still, he couldn't help himself but feel a kind of bad omen, his senses tingling in distress.

"That guy should be safe" Ludwig mumbled, hands clenched tightly "Or else I won't let him hear the end of this"

Yuna raised her pitch, she sounded worry: "Should we just have someone run over and check?"

"For now, with that barrier, we cant just rush toward where he is. It will take a while. And even when the unknowns are retreating, they are endless... Such a nuisance." _Ludwig commented while blasting more enemies. He was impatient, but as much as he wanted to run over there, the war wasn't ended yet. The bad feelings only grew as time went by.

"Let's hurry and crush them all!" Krau yelled.

They have to believe in Ras now, no matter what.

...

"I wonder if it was a blessing or a curse, for you to gradually be able to understand human's emotion"

Diche's hands gently hold onto her heir's last piece of consciousness, she mumbled in a sorrowful tone.

"Was it really worth it?"_ She asked.

Ras no longer could answer her anymore. But this question was meaningless, she already knew that the moment her heir dropped his sword, his voice cracked painfully as his soul was teared apart by himself.

When one's soul shattered, there will be nothing such as "next life". He would never be at peace, trapped in this world as an incompleted being forever.

Ras knew this, but he choosed to do it anyway, throwing away his life, his holiness, his everything.

Diche watched Ras ceased to exist, unable to say anything, couldn't dissuade his suicidal act. She didn't have the heart to do that, knowing Ras's true feeling for the former general of Ezera.

"Ilryos, this cruel cycle has finally come to an end." She whispered to the empty space. On her palms, Ras's consciousness was wrapped in a dim light. A seal appeared on Vildred's right hand.

"Consider this as my final blessing to you, my dear heir. I shall grant your wish. Though this will never be enough for my mistakes..."

She made him carried too much, and never able to guide him properly with her weakened state. The very being she created to be the light of hope for this world collapsed by the hope be brought for everyone.

People wished upon the stars, but no one will ask what the stars wished for.

The Godness smiled bitterly, her form vanished into thin air.

...

Vildred woke up, his heavy mind steadily came back to the fact that he was still alive and breathing. His senses somewhat muffled, only able to hear the soft cries next to him.

It was Arky.

The guardian whimpered in despair, his eyes never strayed from his hand even an inch.

The swordsman was confused by the situation, unable to understand what happened.

On his right hand was a seal with a simple design of a four-pointed star.

Vildred was dumbfounded, trying to recollect what's going on after he got attacked by the archdemon who controlled Mercedes body.

In his deep slumber , he heard Ras. He sounded as if he was crying, and it made Vildred fell into a state of panic as he struggling to find a way to break out of the invisible strings that pulled him down bit by bit, down to the pit of hell.

"Ras?"

No one answered his call. There was no familiar mass of white hair or those blue, jewel-like eyes that shone vividly in his memory.

Where did he go? Mercedes was lying in the corner of the room, so Ras has won. Arky is here, so there shouldn't have anything bad happened to him...

Vildred waited for his messed up memories to untangle itself, then stopped with Ras frightended face, Vildred collapsed on the ground.

There was Ras' painful cry, an a sound of something bursted. All his thoughts freezed, confusion replaced with growing fear.

His hand unconsciously reached to where his heart is, only for relization to struck him down like lightning - the seal on his hand burned and his heart raced painfully.

Why?
In million of possibilities that he thought of when he decided to walk down on the path of revenge, he never thought of this. But even if he refuse to accept this reality, Ras would never return, even the slightest traces of him vanished, like the Heir of Covenant was just a tale that people created.

Vildred stayed there, lying on the cold ground, tears rolled down his cheeks silently. He felt like a dead man, his whole body unable to function properly, a statue without life.

Arky had stopped crying, his gaze fixed on Vildred. The former general stayed quiet. He couldn't face Arky straightfoward, now that Ras has gone, for his sake.

"The barrier appeared when master finished his sacrifice...Arky think it was because of the sudden burst of energy"

It was strange and depressing at the same time, hearing Arky voice with such a cheerless tone.

"Everyone won't be able to get inside for a while, so Arky think you should run."

Suprised, Vildred raised his head to look at the guardian. Arky said nothing, he headed toward the unconscious Mercedes, his form shifted back to his daily look.

Seeing Vildred not even lift a finger, he urged:

"Don't just stay there. Master... Master finally looked so happy after all of this..." The guardian let out a choked sound " Master is happy, so Arky is happy too..."

That's a lie. Vildred said nothing about it. He could still feel the wetness Ras's tears on his shoulder, his quick and gentle kiss on Vildred's forehead. And Ras's soul, now resonated with his, filled his heart with both warmth and pain.

(Your tears burn, Ras. It hurts.)

Next to him, Ras's sword lay on the floor, the only thing that stay after Ras's disappearance . Vildred carefully held it on his hands, the sword shone faintly with his touch.

He took a deep breath, hands and legs struggling to stand up. His gaze crossed with Arky's the last time as he ran foward, nails digging into his palms, the pain helped him to stay focus.

There was enough time for him to get out of this place, like Arky said, he should be hurry.

The clashing noises outside could not bother Vildred.

"Vildred, hurry up, let's go"

Ras's image flashed at the end of the road, smilling ever so brightly under the nightsky they shared through the past worlds. Even in this chaotic war, the glittering skyline of Ritania stayed the same, brighten up the bloody battlefield.

"Slow down, Ras. Wait for me"