Book Three: Redemption, Chapter Ten-
A storm raged outside the broken chamber, water seeping through its many wounds, as footsteps rapidly approached through the corridor. The runner, already witness to the vast amounts of carnage in the previous portions, still made futile efforts despite knowing what would be found in the end room. Emerging through damaged doors, the dark gent entered the charred throne room. At the far end, his worst fear came true as he saw the bodies. Hope crushed, he slowly made his way towards the corpses, having no idea how long they had lied there but the pool of blood they rested upon had remained fluent, gleaming in the moonlight that found way past the tempest. He simply did not know what to say, not yet. He still knew he had a vow to keep. Stopping before the body of the one he knew as Rei, he knelt down and retrieved her journal. Flipping to the end, he found it odd that not only did it have only one page remaining for his entry but also that details regarding the final moments of her life were already inscribed upon its pages in blood. Dipping his lost friend's pen in her very own blood, he wrote the last page in accordance to his promise.
"And as the duel came to a close," Shade quotes his written words, setting down the book, "so did her existence. She always said death followed her throughout her life. It was only a matter of time before it finally caught her. She finally got what she always desired," he speaks, closing her blank, open eyes. "An end." Standing, he turns away from the fallen girl, holding back any feeling.
"Well, Rei, I suppose a burial would be appropriate," he says, unscripted, "but you already turned this place into a tomb, so that's no longer necessary." He cannot help but feel awkward in speaking with a corpse but knows not what else to do. "So, this is it. You finally got what you always wanted. I hope you're happy now, wherever you exactly are." Walking away, never turning back, he mutters, "You'd be the only one." On his way out, he passes the grand battle-ax, wedged into the stone tile, and stops. Compelled, he glimpses over upon it. Clutching a single hand around it, he pulls up and stumbles back as it easily is lifted from ground. Surprised with its ease, he swings it up upon his shoulders as he exits. Meanwhile, outside, the storm grows worse, spraying a few droplets through the shattered window. A few of the heavenly tears splash onto Jacquelyn's face, and her eyes open.
The busted ceiling of the arena is missing, replaced with a starless, black sky, showering gently upon her. The hard, cold stone is replaced with something softer and warmer. Pulling herself from the ground, she finds herself in a field of tall grass, stretching as far as the eye can see. She stands up, awkwardly, to find herself only a shy bit taller than the meadow. Glancing down at her hands, they are those of a child, innocent and free of blood. It was then that the melody came to her. A whistling rang in her ears to the tune that was passed onto her by her...
"Daddy?" she quietly questions, turning about. She discovers, a short distance away, a man, wearing a long, gray coat, black hair flowing in the wind, with his back to her, carrying on with the song. "Daddy!" she shouts with joy. Running through the high blades, the bespectacled figure turns around and smiles, kneeling down greet her. They come closer together, arms outstretched, water swelling in her eyes...
Water swelling in her eyes, it falls from above as she lies on her back. Stacked upon a pile of fallen friends and foes alike, atop a squeaking cart, she unrealizingly stares glossy eyed at her own corpse in the dim moonlight as she is carried off into the shadows by tattered man in the tall hat while the blood on her hands is washed away by the rain...
