They had finally arrived at the Tower of Unity — the place where they would either succeed... or die trying. After neutralizing the exterior defenses and securing the first floor, they split into teams, each with a critical task. Deacon, Adira, Dawn, and Zephyr were assigned to sever Abrianna's connection to the surveillance network. Meanwhile, Diana, Corwin, and a few other citizens of Katashi focused on disabling the tower's internal security systems. The remaining citizens of Katashi divided into small groups, each searching for anything that might threaten the mission or catch them off guard. While they were all doing that, Serenity and Lucas began their ascent up the tower to confront Abrianna.
After climbing up the stairs to the second floor, they reached a door, and Serenity used PAM to unlock it. It slid open, and she stepped inside with Lucas following close behind. The lights flickered on automatically, revealing rows of pedestals displaying Militeck memorabilia. Though many of the devices were dated, newer-gen tech stood beside some of the exhibits. As they passed a model of a crystal, a nearby device projected a hologram in the shape of a woman. "The Primordial Neural Nexus." On December 23, 1852, Ms. Millicent discovered The Primordial buried deep underground. As the religious of you may know, The Primordial is an ancient crystal — one that precedes even the goddesses themselves. It holds mysterious and tremendous power. Ms. Millicent harnessed this power to create the Primordial Neural Nexus. A marvelous invention that prolonged her life, that of her partner, and—" The comment about Abrianna's "partner" made Serenity angry and, before the hologram could finish, Serenity impaled the device with a blade that Lucas gave her. This caused the hologram to glitch out and dissipate along with the voice. "A museum." Serenity mutters. "Tacky." "Very much so." Lucas adds. They continue to walk through the room and more holograms spouting Militeck history come on, but Serenity doesn't bother with them. Eventually, they reach the exit and move onto the next room, but as they do, they are tackled to the ground by automatons. After a moment of struggling, multiple lasers go through both of the automatons, causing them to deactivate. They both look in the direction that the lasers came from to see Frieda. "Hey, my little star! Hey, Tinker! Been a while. Figured you could use some help in the final act. I guess I was right." She says with a smirk as she walks over and helps both of them up. "Frieda... It's good to see you again. I didn't get the chance to say this sooner, but... thank you so much." He said, his hand lingering on hers. Frieda gives him a sincere smirk. "'Course Tinker. I never break a promise." She says. She then turns to Serenity with a more playful expression. "On another note... Your performance was kinda sloppy, Serenity." She says. "After all, aren't you supposed to be the big, strong hero?" She teases as her hands link together in front of her chest and her lips formed into a playful pout. Serenity rolls her eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Smartass. Let's see how you handle yourself next time you get caught." She says. "If I get caught." Frieda corrects. "After all, Abrianna didn't catch me for two hundred years." She adds. Serenity gives a small laugh. "I admire your confidence, but don't get too big a head." She says. "Now, if you're gonna join, then come on. We don't have the time to stand around and talk." She said, walking past her. Frieda smirked and skipped over to her. "Well, since you asked so nicely." She teased.
After climbing a few more floors, they entered a large room. Abrianna's voice echoed from above. "I hope your little infiltration has been enjoyable, Clemente." They looked up. She stood on a high walkway, hands folded behind her back. "Oh, trust me, Abrianna... I'm going to have the time of my life finally ending you," Serenity said, drawing her pistol and firing. The laser seared her, but Abrianna didn't flinch. She only laughed. "My apologies, Clemente. This body is only an automaton," she said, gesturing to herself. Then her gaze shifted to Lucas and Frieda, as though she had just noticed them. "Hm. It appears I missed one of your pests. And Amabile... I always suspected you'd go rogue. Though I thought it would be sooner." "What can I say?" Frieda replied with a smirk, folding her arms. "I'm a great actor." Abrianna laughed. "I commend your performance, Amabile. But acting is rather useless in a fight, wouldn't you agree?" Just then, two figures entered. One slid in as though skating; the other dropped from the ceiling. Helmets concealed both of their faces. The one who slid in had their left forearm replaced by two jagged blades. The fingers of the right hand were elongated, curling like claws. A third appendage extended from their back, sleek and mechanical, its tip emitting a faint glow. The second figure was similar, but both hands were clawed. Its legs had been replaced with several pointed, spider-like limbs, and no third appendage extended from its back. Frieda's breath hitched. She glanced at Serenity and Lucas, seeming on the verge of saying something — but she stayed silent. "Send whatever you want, Abrianna. We'll tear it apart," Serenity said. Abrianna smirked knowingly. "I was hoping you'd say that, Clemente." Serenity fired at the one with jagged blades. The shot didn't penetrate — it only melted the helmet, revealing the face beneath. The lower jaw and tongue were gone, leaving the upper teeth permanently exposed. Serenity's stomach twisted. The face was horribly maimed, yet preserved with deliberate care. Every feature remained unmistakable. "Althea..." Lucas muttered, covering his mouth. Serenity's body shook. Her teeth ground together as tears welled in her eyes. "Why the hell would you do this to her, you sick fuck?!" she shouted. "If you simply must know," Abrianna said coldly, "Ms. Kendrick had a habit of going rogue, disclosing unwanted information to Ms. Reign. I attempted to remedy the issue. Yet Ms. Reign always managed to discover the truth." She paused, hands folded behind her back. "Eventually, I grew tired of the cycle. So, I decided to simply break their minds. Now they are nothing more than predators with a lust for blood." As if to prove her point, Althea snarled. The appendage on her back flared. A beam lashed toward Serenity, who dove aside as Althea slid forward, seizing her by the neck. Lucas snapped out of his shock and fired at the side of her head. She growled and jerked her gaze toward him, then hurled Serenity into the wall and rushed at him. He froze at the sight of her face. Meanwhile, Reign leapt onto Frieda, claws aimed at her chest. Frieda fired her rifle point-blank through Reign's heart, and Reign collapsed, twitching. Frieda glanced up just in time to see Althea charging Lucas. She fired at the back of Althea's head. Another growl, another lunge toward Frieda. Frieda fired again, and again — finally, Althea crumpled. Reign attempted to strike again. Serenity forced herself upright, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth, and fired to stun her. Frieda took the opportunity to ram her rifle through Reign's helmet and pull the trigger repeatedly. With a low gurgle, Reign collapsed. Abrianna clapped. "Very good. Very good, indeed," she said, walking through the door at the end of the walkway. When the adrenaline faded, Serenity staggered to Althea and dropped to her knees. Lucas knelt beside Reign's body. Frieda stood between them, softening her expression. "I'm sorry. I know this must hurt like hell. If you want... we can stay here a bit," she said. Serenity wiped her tears with her arm and shook her head. "No," she muttered. "We need to keep going." She forced herself up and gripped Lucas's shoulder. He looked up at her, eyes filled with pain even though he could no longer shed tears. "Lucas... we can grieve later. Right now, we need to stop Abrianna." He glanced back at Reign's body, then nodded. "R-right..." Together, they continued their ascent.
Meanwhile, Deacon, Adira, Dawn, and Zephyr had made it to the surveillance room. They opened the door to find a larger space than expected, with a massive screen in the center — and a desk, along with an empty chair "I have no doubt that Ms. Millicent's encryption is tight," Dawn said, stepping forward, her eyes scanning the room. "If it weren't, she wouldn't have left it unguarded. We'll need all the time we can get. I'll stay outside and watch for any dangers." "I will as well!" Deacon quickly added. Adira turned to him with a concerned look. "Deacon, are you sure you'll be able to handle facing Abrianna, if it comes to that?" "Yes! I'm positive," he said with conviction. "I didn't spend all that time training with Serenity for nothing." She still looked unsure. "Please," he said, softly gripping her hands, "for once, let me be the one to defend you." Adira's expression softened, and a sincere smile tugged at her lips. "Alright, Freckles." "Thank you," he said, giving her hands a final squeeze. He started to walk out with Dawn, but Zephyr's voice stopped him. "Deacon, wait!" Deacon turned, meeting Zephyr's gaze. "Don't get caught off guard." He said. "I won't, Father. I promise," Deacon replied, before following Dawn into the hall.
After a while of guarding the door, Deacon and Dawn notice Abrianna approaching them from across the hall, hands folded behind her back. Deacon wastes no time in pulling out his pistol and firing, but a shield appears in front of her, blocking the laser. A short moment later, the shield disappears, and a claw shoots out of her. It grabs Dawn by the neck and yanks her toward Abrianna. "Dawn!" Deacon exclaims, as he tries to grab her, but he was too late. Abrianna examines Dawn. "A rogue CGVR-1800M... Where have I seen that before?" A screen flickers to life in her palm. She scrolls for a moment. "Ah, here you are. Serial number RLSF2HXACV7M0. The defect that got away... and left a trail of casualties in the process... You'll make an excellent pile of spare parts." Deacon fires at the claw and it melts, causing Dawn to fall to the floor. "Ah, Deacon Cross." She turns to him with a grin. "Your family has been missing you." "I'm with my family!" Deacon snaps. She lets out a loud laugh. "A defect, a runaway, and a rebel? You call that a family? That's almost cute." Deacon ignores her and sprints toward her, but another claw bursts from her and snatches his ankle mid-charge. It yanks him off of the ground and dangles him upside-down in front of her. "You've definitely gotten braver, Deacon, but bravery can only get you so far." The claw flings him into a wall. He crashes with a grunt, crumpling to the ground. "You won't survive this battle, Deacon. Go back home — to your real family." Deacon staggers up, blood trickling from his lip. He rushes toward her once more, firing in rapid shots — but she blocks them with ease. A sharp appendage lashes toward him. He dodges it and closes the distance between them as he drives his blade into her side, but she doesn't even flinch. She simply laughs. "Maybe you're stronger than I thought... But not strong enough." She knees him hard in the gut and slams him into the floor. Just then, Dawn launches herself onto Abrianna's back. She tears the fabric of her clothing and rams her fist into her side, over and over. Eventually, she pierces the plating of Abrianna's body. She drives her hand deeper, clawing for wires and vital cores. "You took my family from me once, Ms. Millicent. I won't let you do it again." Just as Dawn rips out a component, Abrianna grabs her by the wrists and slams her onto the floor. "They weren't your family, Defect. Just as the pests invading this tower aren't your family." She slams her foot down on Dawn's stomach. "You don't have a family." Just as she seems to realize something, Deacon attempts to tackle her, but she grabs him by the face. He attempts to shoot her arm to free himself, but she simply slaps the pistol out of his hand. She then turns her attention back to Dawn as he struggles in her grip. "Well, Defect, you managed to extract my Programmable Matter Directive Chip. Luck seems to be on your side — I'm saving hand-to-hand combat for someone else." With that she throws Deacon aside and turns away from her. As she walks away, Dawn jumps up and grabs her by the back of her head. She then shoves her into the wall. "I'm not letting you walk away, Ms. Millicent. I don't care if this isn't your true body. I'm still going to tear you apart." She says, shoving her head into the wall over and over. She then tears through the fabric of her clothing once more and slams her into the ground. Her foot comes down hard until the synthetic plating cracks. Wires hiss and snap, but Dawn doesn't stop there. She plunges her hand into the broken cavity, ripping out anything that still hummed with life. Eventually, the expression on Abrianna's face goes still and lifeless as her automaton body deactivates. She then goes to check on Deacon, who had already sat up. "Deacon, are you okay?" She asks, laying a hand on his shoulder. "Yeah. I'm fine. Just a couple bruises and some blood." He says. "Would you like me to apply basic medical care?" She asks. He shakes his head. "No. It's okay. I just... need to rest for a second." He says. After a moment, he sighs. "Some help I was." He mutters. "What do you mean? You did help. You freed me from Abrianna's grip." She says. "Yeah, but other than that, she just kept throwing me around like I was nothing." He says, letting his head hang low. "This was one of your first real fights — and Abrianna is a powerful foe. All that considered, I'd say you did amazing." She says. He meets her gaze for a moment and sighs. "I guess you're right." He finally stands up and groans, clutching his stomach. Dawn gently grabs him. "Deacon, please. Allow me to scan you." Her eyes roam over him for a moment. "Hm... You appear to have mild blunt force trauma," She says. He whimpers slightly. "Am I still able to fight?" "Yes," she replied. "But it will be painful if you need to engage in hand-to-hand combat." "As long as I can still fight. I want to be able to help." He says. After a few moments, Zephyr and Adira finally emerge from the Surveillance room and notice Deacon. Adira rushes to his side. "Deacon! Are you okay?" She asks, her voice filled with concern as she puts a hand on his cheek. "Yes, I'm fine, Adira," Deacon replies, laying his hand on hers. "Just a couple of bruises. I can still fight." Adira looks at him, worry still in her eyes. "Deacon, you don't have to push yourself for me." "Yes, I do! You always do it for me." He pulls her hand off his cheek and holds it in both of his. Adira exhales softly. "I guess that's true. Just... don't push yourself too hard, okay?" She says. "Okay." He responds. She lays her other hand on his cheek. "I love you, Freckles." She rubs his cheek with her thumb. "I love you too, Adira." He says. After a moment Dawn walks up to Zephyr. "I assume you both finished severing Abrianna's connection to the network?" She questions. "Yes, we did." Zephyr says with a nod. "Great! Now we can go join Serenity. I have no doubt she will need our help." Dawn says. They then start to walk off to the next floor.
After many floors, Serenity, Frieda, and Lucas finally reached an office. As they walked in, they noticed that Abrianna stood at the same level as them this time. Serenity immediately charged at her, but a claw shot out from her body and pinned her to the wall. "Oh, Clemente. Always rushing into battle without thinking. I'm surprised you got this far with that short temper." Abrianna's voice dripped with mockery. Serenity struggled, but it was no use. Frieda then rushed forward, narrowly avoiding the sharp appendages that shot in her direction. A blade materialized in Abrianna's hand, and she struck — only for Frieda to block it with the body of her rifle. "Amabile," Abrianna sneered, "I assume you've been training for this day." "Of course I have," Frieda spat. "Why wouldn't I dedicate my life to ending you? After you took everything from me." Frieda's gaze burned with fury, her teeth clenched. Abrianna's sneer deepened. "Get off your high horse, Amabile. You were the one who abandoned your kingdom without a second thought." In a blink, she slipped through Frieda's guard, and the blade slashed across her stomach. Frieda yelled, collapsing to the ground, her blood staining the floor beneath her. While Abrianna was distracted, Lucas snuck up behind her and attempted to tackle her, but she caught his wrist mid-flight and hurled him to the ground. A clawed appendage pinned him in place, and a pistol formed in her hand. "Lucas!" Frieda cried, pushing through the sharp, burning pain in her stomach to scramble forward. She grabbed Abrianna's ankle, but Abrianna simply shook her off and stomped on her hand, causing her to cry out in pain. "You can wait your turn, Princess," Abrianna said, leveling the pistol at Lucas's head. Frieda's hand trembled as she tried to reach him. "I... I kept my promise," she said, her voice breaking. Tears welled up in her eyes as she gasped for breath. Suddenly, a laser blasted the pistol from Abrianna's grip. Abrianna growled, spinning toward the source. Isaiah stood in the distance — his eyes locked onto hers. "Isaiah, what are you doing?!" she screamed, her voice trembling with fury. "I'm protecting innocent people," he said, his voice sharp. "That's what you always wanted, isn't it? Or was that just another one of your lies?" Abrianna's expression faltered, the anger in her eyes flickering with something else. "Izzy..." Her voice cracked, barely a whisper. "Isaiah." He corrected, his tone cold. Abrianna's fists clenched. Her gaze shifted back to Serenity. "You," she spat, voice dripping with venom. "It's always you!" She charged forward, landing a brutal punch across Serenity's face. Another followed, and then another. "You always manage to take him away from me!" she screamed, her voice cracking with anger. "That's exactly why I'm going to revel in every moment of your pain. Death is too good for you. I want you to suffer!" Before she could strike again, several laser blasts pierced her body. Abrianna froze, her body stuttering for a moment before she crumpled to the ground. The claw dissipated, freeing Serenity. She staggered to her feet and looked toward Isaiah. His hands were trembling. He gripped his rifle tightly in an attempt to hold back his tears. He managed to hold them back and lowered the weapon slowly. "That wasn't her only one," he said hoarsely. "She has several. We need to reach her main unit — fast." Serenity stepped toward him. "Isaiah..." She opened her mouth, struggling to find the words. All that escaped was a simple "Thank you." Isaiah glanced at her, his face a mixture of pain and apology. "I'm sorry, Serenity. I was blind. A part of me still is." "Hey," Frieda cut in, her voice weak but steady as Lucas helped her up, slinging her arm over his shoulder. "I get it, Isaiah. She messed with my head too. I only got out by dumb luck." She winced. "Frieda, you need immediate medical attention," Lucas said. "Nah, I'm fine. Me and him heal faster than normal people. Just give me a makeshift bandage, and I'll be good as new in about an hour," she said, managing to smile through the pain. Lucas took out a bandage wrap. "Or... actual bandages. That works too, I guess," she muttered, slightly disappointed. Lucas laughed, then began cleaning the wound. After a moment, Isaiah spoke again. "But this is different. You were freed early. Me? I know that I've hurt people I loved... And yet, even still... even after the truth has been shoved in my face... a part of me still loves her." His voice cracked as his hands trembled slightly. Serenity gently took his hand in both of hers and he looked to her. "It's okay, Izzy," she said softly. "You were under her control for a long time. No one should expect you to let go of those feelings overnight." She offered him a warm, sincere look. Isaiah averted his eyes and shook his head. "Yeah... I guess you're right," he murmured. Then he straightened. "But enough talking. We need to go." He turned and walked over to Frieda. "Think you can handle a bit more fighting, Frieda?" She smirked. "You kidding? Of course I'm gonna keep fighting. I want to be there when the curtains close on Abrianna." Lucas finished bandaging her up, and Frieda pushed herself to her feet. The sudden motion caused her to grunt slightly. "Ah. Okay. Yep. Still hurts," she muttered, then gave a small smirk. "But I can take it." Isaiah returns her smirk. "Alright. Then I guess we're good to keep going." He said, and the four of them continued on — toward the final battle.
After climbing many floors, they approached the door that housed Abrianna's main unit. They hadn't seen a single one of Abrianna's automaton bodies, which was strange. Once they reached the door, an automaton dropped from the ceiling. Its weight cracked the floor beneath it. It towered at nine feet. The polished metal gleamed, and its featureless face bore only two glowing white eyes — piercing and unblinking. Isaiah's voice dropped, thick with fear. "The prototype. I didn't think she finished it..." They had no time for any further talking. The automaton slid forward, similarly to the way Althea did. Serenity barely rolled away causing its fist to slam into the wall. Debris burst into the air. She drew her pistol and fired into its chest, but it didn't even damage it. "PAM, can you disable this one?" she snapped. "I am currently attempting to do so, Serenity," PAM responded. The automaton whirled, an energy blade snapping from its forearm. It just barely missed Serenity's ribs. Lucas lunged in, grabbing for the blade, trying to tear it free — but it caught him and slammed him against the wall. Its fist cocked back, humming with force — then stopped. A hand held it in place. "Dawn!" Lucas gasped. She drove her fist into the automaton's arm, eventually causing it to free Lucas. Deacon, Adira, and Zephyr came running in to join her. "We'll handle this. You all go after Abrianna!" Dawn said. Serenity hesitated. "Are you sure you can—" "Yes! Now go! Quickly!" She said. Dawn turned back to the prototype, holding it at bay as they rushed through the door.
Finally, they had reached Abrianna's main unit. She sat motionless in a chair, her body entangled in a web of wires. "Truly tragic, isn't it?" her voice echoed, though her lips remained still. "My body is frozen in time. The injury Clemente inflicted was more fatal than I expected. I barely managed to connect myself to The Primordial Neural Nexus. At the time, I knew so little about The Primordial. I could not comprehend the miracles that it was capable of... And by the time I fully understood the extent its power, it was too late. I could no longer reunite with my body. Not unless I—" She stopped herself, and there was a moment of silence. "Hm... But, that's neither here nor there... This is as far as you get." Serenity charged forward, only to be halted by an invisible force field. She slammed her fists into it again and again, growling in frustration. "You coward!" she shouted, her voice thick with fury. "Coward? I am simply defending myself." She said. "Give up, Abrianna! You've lived long enough." Isaiah said. "Isaiah..." Abrianna's tone was sorrowful. "It truly hurts me to hear you say that... You need an attitude adjustment." Suddenly, Isaiah's pupils dilated, and his body shook violently. He screamed in agony, collapsing to his knees. Serenity whirled around, grabbing his shoulder. "Isaiah! What's wrong?!" she exclaimed. "She's pulling him back into the system," Frieda said in realization. "She's going to fight him for control. If she wins, she'll reset him." "No. I'm not losing him again!" Serenity shouted, her voice filled with desperation as she rushed toward the force field once more. Isaiah collapses and his vision goes dark.
Isaiah awoke in a strange place. There were no walls — only an endless expanse of swirling colors that shifted slowly. Columns of glowing runes hovered in the air around him, humming with faint energy. Some of them mirrored the markings etched into his neck. He scanned the surreal landscape and saw Abrianna. Without hesitation, he charged at her and attempted to tackle her. But she effortlessly dodged him. He hit the ground, rolled, and sprang onto his feet. He then whipped around to face her. "You won't defeat me, Isaiah. This has happened before — and you lost. Save us both the trouble and surrender. Be mine once more," she said. Isaiah steadied himself and raised his fists. "No. That's not what I want anymore," he replied, firmly. She let out a soft, amused laugh. "It will be," she said. He attempted to strike her, but she caught his fist with ease. She drove her other hand into his stomach, and he flew backward, skidding across the strange terrain. He managed to catch himself and jump up, but by the time he did, she was already in front of him. She grabbed his shirt and flung him into the air. She then leapt after him and attempted to strike him again. This time, he managed to block her fist. They exchanged strikes — each one faster than the last. Their blows collided in the air, shockwaves rippling through the space around them. After a long moment of fighting, Abrianna grabbed both of his wrists and struggled with him. "I made you more than you ever were, Isaiah!" she hissed. "Without me, you could barely even aim. It's why you lost to me so easily!" Isaiah grunted and twisted. Eventually, he managed to free himself and punched her in the gut multiple times. Each time his fist connected, the scenery changed. The swirling colors started to crack and eventually shattered like glass. They now floated in an endless black void, lit only by strands of glowing blue light that pulsed softly and stretched toward distant runes hovering in the dark. All of the strands converged at a single point. Isaiah threw her aside and rushed toward it. But before he could reach it, she grabbed him by the collar and yanked him back. He elbowed her hard, broke free, and kept running. Just as he reached the core, she appeared in front of him. Her hand clamped around his throat, lifting him off the invisible floor. He kicked and struggled as his thoughts began to cloud. She had already begun the process of resetting him. "Oh, Izzy... Don't be scared," she said softly, tightening her grip. "We're going to be together again. Just like it's meant to be." His body trembled. He wasn't going to let that happen. He couldn't. With tears welling in his eyes, he made his choice. He quickly raised his hand and grabbed her thread, tearing it from the core. A distant rune flickered — then shattered. Abrianna gasped, her strength draining, causing her grip on him to loosen. He fell to the invisible floor as she staggered, collapsing to her knees. "No... I-I can't lose you... I can't!" she cried, attempting to grab him, but only managing to fall onto her hands. "Not again..." she muttered. "I'm sorry, Abrianna. But I won't let you control me again. I won't let you make me fight my sister again," he said, his voice strained. "It's always her!" she snapped. "It's always her..." she muttered, the pain in her voice clear. Isaiah shook his head. "No, Abrianna. It's you." He said. She gasped and fell silent. Then, they faded from view.
Serenity was still struggling to break through the forcefield when Abrianna suddenly gasped and collapsed from her chair. Her body convulsed with violent coughs, each breath a desperate, rasping struggle. Eventually, she simply laid there. "Isaiah!" Serenity's voice was urgent as she turned — just in time to see him sit up. She rushed to his side. "You still remember me... right?" "Yeah... Nitty," Isaiah's voice was steady, warmth filling his gaze. A sigh escaped Serenity's lips, and she pulled him into a tight embrace. As she helped him to his feet, Lucas let out a triumphant cheer. "I can't believe it. Abrianna is finally defeated," he exclaimed. "I never doubted us for a second," Frieda added with a confident smile. "Well, now that it's done, let's get out of here. I don't want to be in here... with her—" Isaiah muttered, casting a glance at Abrianna's crumpled form. "Yeah. Let's go," Serenity agreed, guiding him toward the door. Her arm wrapped around his neck. "I'm looking forward to making up for lost time, Izzy." But just as they turned, they heard Abrianna's voice. "And what little time that will be," She rasped, each word drenched in bitterness. She lay sprawled on the cold floor, her breaths shallow and labored. Serenity paused, her expression hardening as she turned back to face her. "He'll outlive you, Clemente," Abrianna continued. "He'll watch you wither and die... Simply by living your life, you will devastate him." A weak, strangled laugh left her. "I suppose... that is the best I could ask for." With that — she breathed her last breath and fell limp. There is a moment of silence as Serenity stood there with her head lowered. Her expression was unreadable. She exhaled slowly, turned back, and tightened her grip on Isaiah. "Come on," she murmured. "I'm tired of this place too." Together, they walked out of the door.
After a long drive, they made it back to Katashi. Frieda was finally home for the first time in many years. The familiar streets stretched before her, lined with lush vines that clung to weathered walls, a blend of age and beauty. Each step she took stirred a flood of memories. Her heart pounded as she approached the castle. She walked through its grand halls, her footsteps muffled by faded carpets. Eventually, she reached the throne room. Her hand trembled slightly as she reached for the handle. Taking a slow breath, she pushed the heavy doors open. The room was vast and silent. Beams of light pierced through the stained-glass windows, casting soft colors across the marble floor. She walked forward, her gaze locked on the grand throne. Her mother's throne. Gently, she grazed her fingertips over one of the armrests, feeling the cool surface beneath her touch. Then, with a steadying breath, she lowered herself onto the throne. Her vision blurred as tears welled up, but she held them back. A quiet, shaky whisper escaped her lips. "I will make you proud, Dad."