Chapter 54 - Season Finalé?

A room filled with nothing but despair, in a world smothered by light.

The path leading to this place so far from the entrance had been hovering, as though they were in flight over those magnificent rotating rings which held ancient floura of a time long lost to history.

He didn't know any of them. 

Researching all sorts of plants in the past, he had investigated everything about the floura of Karlan that he could get his hands in the vast imperial palace library, and yet... not a mention of these plants anywhere.

But he knew well that in this place, with walls of scathingly white stone, that the tubes filled with the remains of humans of a bygone era was not normal.

To have so many people, trapped into these glass containers that appeared to be hooked up to the ground by some sort of metal tubing, filled with blue liquid that did not appear like water, it was definitely not normal.

And the little amalgamation, was not as simple as it had first appeared.

He had chosen to give it the air and listen, given the nature of it's existence being neither friendly, nor hostile, he had chosen to merely observe, but the time for observation was done.

A world hidden underneath the ruins of a civilization that would otherwise be proof of the established history, now a testament to it's falsity. 

All of the races adjoined by love...?

His gaze darkened.

What a farce. 

He looked back sparingly.

It was falling apart.

The spread of that ancient power in this place was being suffocated and dispersed out into the surroundings, destroyed by the very nature of the world similar to the phenomenon around the dissolving of magic or the crushing force upon aura.

It was being reverted back to what it was supposed to be. What it was meant to always be. And the little amalgamation, had been first to fall apart completely.

The scent in the room was quickly growing into a smell like rotten fruit.

And yet the little bag in his hand and the notes were unaffected. A special magic? Or a method beyond magic, like the gears and strange tubes?

There was too much he didn't know, and it was of no comfort to now have a random thing from who knows where, with them.

But he was aware that this place was in the midst of being destroyed, and there was no time to assess the situation too closely.

A figure stood with a solemn disposition, but a stiff look in her eyes.

He could not imagine.

It must have been a shocking revelation.

Corruption had not come up in the wake of the Lich King's death to the glorious heroes chosen by the Goddess.

Though it was a world changing revelation to him, to her it must have been as if finding out that left was right, and right was actually North, while North was secretly down and the moon was the suns shadow.

A flipping and breaking of countless philosophies for which the Church studied and taught to be able to face down life, and it's challenges, as well as it's approach to faith.

Her face was pale, it was too much. All of it had come too suddenly for her mind already clogged by the blood loss that had fogged her.

He turned back ahead. The room was filled with human sized tubes, the glass was shiny, clearly well taken care of, with roots rising from the bottom of those things, likely through the tubes, grabbing and rooting into the people that floated within.

One of their fingers twitched.

An eye opened.

His eyes glimmered curiously.

It looked around.

It looked ...at her. 

Reaching for the glass, the woman behind the glass opened her mouth and started screaming, slamming her fist against the glass, but it would not budge.

He idly looked at what she would do.

He heard teeth gnashing against each other, and Constance was off.

Sword in hand, holy power alight, she descended upon the tube, seeking to split it open! 

His eyes were dark.

Without a doubt, the shining example of a hero, taking action for their beliefs before investigating for the true meaning of things.

Given the circumstances, of everything being turned, broken, and stitched back in places they should never have been, she still acted in spite of the crippling conflict that this place had given rise to in her heart.

Despite her faith and principles being challenged by the mere implications of a place like this, she did not hesitate.

Once again, he could not help but feel it was admirable ...albeit foolish.

He could feel it, as the pure white stone was being broken apart and shattered to dust around them, that this place, and everything that had been hiding from the world, was already doomed.

That would include that woman.

The woman in question fell out of the tube with shattered glass and strange blue liquid spilling everywhere, Constance caught her before she could cut herself up, holding her up, she turned to look at the woman, and opened her mouth to speak, but her pupils could only shrink as a storm of teeth came for her face! 

A dagger found it's mark in her forehead, killing the woman instantly, spraying blood all over Constance's pale demeanor, she slowly turned back to Argo, as if asking why.

The tubes in the rooms were breaking apart from the decay, and the people within, awoken from a dream untold centuries long... could not be called humans anymore.

Argo retrieved the dagger, and ignored Constance's look, it was something she would understand on her own and was self evident. 

He handed the dagger back to the girl.

Glancing at the amalgamation on the ground, it had fallen off the tube after Constance's strike, it's body was shattered, and broken to pieces, but a single gemstone remained untouched despite the decay.

The girl had it in her hand, and looked up at him.

"...Well done," He quietly picked her up and looked ahead, the decay in the underground Terrarium was nearing by the second, and the people in the tubes would be free soon, "We need to move."

"...How could you?" Constance gripped her sword tightly as she watched the people trying to break out from their confinements, her teeth grit, "She wasn't a threat. She was scared. She needed help." 

"With her mouth ripping out your throat, I'm certain you would be perfect to render aid," Argo merely gave her a glance, she seemed determined to have an answer right that second, he picked up a piece of glass, the girl brandished her dagger, holding it tight while in his arms, but he was not in the mood to respond in detail, "You can stay if you really think you'll make a difference. We're leaving." 

He glanced back.

There was no time left.

This place that had chemicals he did not understand, the tubes filled with liquids that could preserve people for such an unnatural span of time, the idea of eternal life, and the implications of it all.

As curious as it all was, there was simply no time left to maintain a conversation, and so he chose to glance at Constance who was still in deep thought, in a moral dilemma as both a Hero and as a human being.

He struck her neck as hard as he could, sending her into a sleep, before catching her and tossing her over his shoulder, he took off dropping the glass shard.

He never intended to use that little meagre piece of glass that was breaking apart alongside this place in the first place.

He had indeed lied.

She was coming, whether she liked it or not.

His memories had mostly come back, and though it was smokey in some places, he was able to recall a great deal of it smoothly due to the soothing effect of the strange power in the Terrarium.

She was indeed a Hero of the Church, underneath Bishop Melavandra, and the hope of Karlan in their future endeavors, a powerhouse of influence.

If she went missing, they would spare nothing to try and find out what happened, and it would not be long before it was found out that she was here in Avancia by those refugees of which, he could not bet would all die.

And with that, his name and face would also be remembered.

She could not die under his watch.

Her life and death, were thus his responsibility.

She could hate him if she wished, but he had a responsibility to his people, and those that looked up to him, to keep their families fed, and their children safe.

And that, was worth far more to him than any one persons hatred.

The glass containers ahead exploded apart, the glass flying in every direction!

The decay of the glass must have made it structurally unsound, and the pressure inside burst out as a result!

His jaw tightened and his muscles tightened with explosive strength, lowering himself as close to the ground as he could, as glass cut him up from all angles! 

He had been healed, and most of his blood was in tact, unlike Constance who despite being healed had lost a great deal of blood leaving her vulnerable enough for him to take advantage and knock her out.

The remnants of the multicolored healing light mended his wounds almost immediately, since the glass couldn't cut too deeply due to it's fragile nature, for that, he was grateful.

His hands were full, but he only needed to move intelligently, slipping the grabs of the ages old humans who were blood lusted but disoriented from their stay in those tubes.

They were not strong, nor were they becoming stronger either, the decay was consuming them quickly.

He saw the gate at the end of the hall. It had some sort of puzzle on it, a similar one to the one he had seen. There would be hardly enough time to figure it out.

At precisely the same time as that thought crossed his mind, he felt a little hand push on his neck, and he ducked in response, a sword gave him a light fade off the top of his head!

...Eyes of pure light, cracked armors exuding that same brightness, and a sword that remained in tact despite it all.

The amalgamation looked on the verge of collapse and yet it didn't stop it's attacks, and didn't aim specifically at him, the humans swarmed it, and in response, it cut them down, blood spraying in this place, the roots on the ground reached out to devour the nutrients.

But it was all nothing but fruitless carnage, they were all equally doomed in the end, from the moment the world had taken notice of this place.

And if he was not quick, they would be too.

His feet didn't stop, he charged the gate, arriving shortly as the melee behind him was growing to it's peak, as the humans were decaying, so too were the amalgamations.

These aging antiques were battling each other to the last, despite the futility of it.

He looked away to the puzzle, it was straight forward. He could tell simply by the nature of it, that it was meant to be far easier to solve.

And yet, as he was about to begin, the door glowed with an immaculate sapphiric light, engulfing the room in a hues of blue, the scent of the sea filled his nostrils, almost sending him into shock.

His face paled slightly, his gaze dark, but he pushed it open.

The gem of the Caretaker, had resonated with the door and opened it. He pushed through, sending them sprawling to the other side since he had misjudged the force needed to open it! 

His eyes were wide as he looked up.

Amalgamations were on their feet, with their swords raised rushing them! 

There were too many... he rolled of, gritting his teeth as he covered the girl and Constance with his body, holding them tightly as he mustered up what courage he could.

He braced, cursing his own weakness, that this was the best he could do.

But the pain never came.

They ran straight passed them, into the collapsing room, throwing themselves into the melee, swinging their swords with deadly accuracy! 

The gem shone brightly! 

Blood had spilled onto it's surface, but it was not his, but hers.

The girl wielded the gem in her hand, a scrape like any other, and blood like most, had touched it's surface, he was reminded of their blood being cleansed before entering.

Was this why?

Those amalgamations charged into their end without a shred of hesitation.

He looked down, to get to his feet when he saw Constance's eyes open, staring straight at him, his throat went dry, but his composure remained as he stood up, picking up the girl.

He levied a glance at Constance who had managed to her feet, she was looking back at the carnage behind, the people fighting had already aged into middle age, soon they would be seniors being slaughtered.

Her heart... boiled.

"May the Goddess guide your souls to paradise." She mumbled, but he could hear it. She looked at him with a stern gaze.

He knew that there would be a time someday soon, where he would have to pay up for stealing this choice from her, but he would still have done it all same.

He nodded in response and they started running, it was a sharp upwards slope, on either side were those glass pipes filled to the brim with water.

Constance could see it clearly now that the illusion had been shattered by the strange power in the Terrarium.

Argo's body was weak in the presence of water, he was not afraid in mind nor soul, but his body was still reacting to the water running past at break neck speeds.

And yet he pushed onwards with the top of the slope his only goal.

Behind, the sounds of battle were growing quiet, when the sound of a collapse exploded from below! 

Dust shot upwards towards them and the sounds of something shattering exploded from the walls! Water rushed out from the glass pipes! 

Water... Argo sped up significantly, his body felt better than ever, as he ran like hell, Constance behind him summoned her holy power forward and charged right beside him to try and keep up!

The girl wrapped her arms around Argo's neck holding on with everything she could muster!

The water flooding below smothered the sounds of battle completely.

Were they drowning? Or had they all already died? She didn't know.

She didn't know what was right or what was wrong, if it was fine for her to do so, if she was a cruel bastard, but she prayed they had been cut down, to at least avoid such a horrible end like suffocating in water.

She could not imagine their suffering, nor the nature of what it was that it was, to wake up after an untold amount of time to find out your life has been robbed from you, the years you are owed, gone like smoke, and then to fight against insurmountable odds, only to drown.

Her heart couldn't take the thought of it. And the fact that she had just left them to such a fate.

But he was right.

For as much as she hated it.

As much as she hated to admit it.

He was right.

There was nothing... she could do.... not yet. Her teeth crushed against one another.

It would not always be like this. Her heart crossed. And she focused on the run ahead. A single slip or misstep would spell death.

Amidst her moral anguish, the water rose at an exponential rate, trying to consume them.

The slope could go for thousands of meters, or perhaps only a few dozen, but there was no way to know, with the break somewhere in the glass pipes below, the whole area would be compromised. 

The girl held the gem close, it was warm.

Argo observed everything even during this dire run, looking for somewhere to make it out. Something to escape.

There was no way that such an advanced civilization had made all of that, and had not put in safe guards in case it all failed...!

He grit his teeth, the muscles all the way down his neck painfully tensed, he could feel the cold of the water approaching through the temperature in the air dropping rapidly, and the scent of salt on the nose.

He looked to the ceiling.

Unless that ancient civilization never foresaw it failing to begin with, could they have been so arrogant...? 

...They could.

His face paled.

They had built most of the unknown world in ancient times, remembered even to the present day when most races had been lost to history or lack thereof but they had been recorded in nearly every kingdom.

They definitely could have been too arrogant! 

His limbs were growing tired, and his aura had not returned yet, despite his best efforts.

Turning his sight back for a moment, he saw the water ready to consume them and roared, "HOLD YOUR BREATH!" 

He held the girl tightly on his arms as the cold water shocked his system almost knocking him out right then and there, with nothing like aura to protect himself, it was nigh-impossible to withstand.

The girl in his arms held onto him as tight as her little hands could, and he kept her in his arms with his life on the life, no matter what, he wasn't going to let her go.

If they were to die, then it would be together.

The only thing he could do as he held her, his body bouncing against everything in he slope as they shot upwards, was that he was right.

A ship that held air in it's cargo holds would have buoyancy against the sea, and that was how it was allowed to float, if a human could take a deep enough breath and stayed at the front of the wave, could they not also float? 

He curled up with the girl in the center, his body slammed against glass, was cut open by it and the slope under him as they were shot at breakneck speeds upwards! 

Constance had holy power surrounding her, healing her as she was fired up like a cannon ball alongside everyone! 

Argo couldn't see anything, but Constance who had some leeway with her holy power saw the doorway above coming fast and concentrated her holy power into her sword, pointing it dead ahead! 

As they arrived there, she detonated her holy power in a devastating burst that stemmed the water for a split second and destroyed the doorway above! 

They shot from that destroyed doorway in a geyser spray that launched them dozens of feet into the air! 

Argo opened his eyes, and took a deep breath, he looked down and saw the girl gasping, but alive, and his heart relaxed for a split second only to tighten up a moment later, the ground was coming fast! 

He braced his legs, a body strengthened by its discipline was stronger than a regular persons even when aura was not being used, though at different ratios dependent upon their origin, but for him, he knew he would survive but... it was going to hurt.

It was almost peaceful high above, as they reached the top of their arc in the air! 

A searing heat exploded from behind him!

The shockwave blew them from a vertical drop into a horizontal spin! He held the girl tight and braced his back! 

A blinding light stole his vision a split second later as they tumbled through the sky! Had it finally gone critical?!?!

He grit his teeth, and skidded across the stone floor being sent into an entirely unique agony, after all he had never been skinned before.

The flesh on his back was torn off by the sheer grit on the ground, but as he breathed through the agony, he knew he was alive, though he didn't know how much of comfort that was, with the new situation he found himself in.

A golden light was nearby, he could sense it there, a spray of thin water turning into mist fell from above like a light shower in mid autumn soothing the burning heat.

It was warm.

Hands touched his face desperately, he looked down and caught big round eyes staring at him. She was trying to check him for wounds, the gem was pressed against him, he could only slightly smile at the look on her face from his back.

Looking back at how he had thought and treated her prior to getting his memories back, he could only think of what all the things he was going to give her, once they got out.

"...I'm fine..." He leaned onto his side, the girl helped him, and when he started to prop himself up, she dug her heels into the ground to help him with her whole body weight.

It was unnecessary, but even so, he remembered it, and gave her a pet on the head, "...What am I... going to do with you..?"

That giving nature was something that he dually noted in his mind as a fore front issue to be taken up, once they were out of there.

He leaned forward, and the girl saw the raw nature of his back, she bit her lip, and tried to press the gem against it, but there was nothing.

It was not a cure all.

He could only endure it, dragging himself to his feet, he looked around, Constance had been blown some distance away, she was covered in a protective golden light holding her arm tightly, her sword looked dim.

She had detonated her holy power, and the arm that was holding that sword, had likely been crippled until someone who could do deep healing could get to it.

Her face was pale from the blood loss, and she was looking around trying to find them, but with the mist, it was difficult.

But he could see her.

He could see through the mist...? 

He touched his face. The girl was next to him, and they were definitely in the mist, but why could he see her? 

His head ached. 

He looked at the direction of the explosion.

Shadows of the ruins had been seared into the stone like stains on the environment. He looked back over, Constance was next to him now.

She was saying something but he couldn't hear her. Had the explosion knocked the hearing out of him? There was a whistling in his ear.

The mist was thinning, but he could feel his flesh starting to get cooked by the intense heat even from so faraway. 

He looked back at the direction of that soothing melody.

A great gate stood there.

In it's magnificence, there stood a Giant revealed by the light of the explosion as it continued to detonate. 

It seemed utterly unaffected by it all.

Standing alone, she stood with a winged helmet, holding a double bladed longsword, and armor covered most of her body, her eyes were straight forward and felt like the meaning of judgement.

...But even she, was not unscathed in this nightmare.

There was a hole in her chest.

And her side.

And straight through her left knee.

The closer he looked, the more he realized the gate was in tatters.

He had almost missed it, for the beauty of it.

On that masterpiece even the holes seemed as if they had been apart of the gates original carving itself. It felt like they were meant to be there.

The hole at the bottom of the gate, was big enough for them to get through.

Another shockwave could come at any moment. To survive, they needed to get through. Constance urged him to move, and as he did so, his legs wobbled, but he grit his teeth.

Was it a concussion as well? He touched his head. The girl... where was the girl...?

...When had they gotten to the gate? 

Third Gate.

First Daughter.

Sword Daughter.

Corruptions... people? People in rocks.

That whistling continued to grow louder, but it was never obstructive, rather, it was quite the melodic thing.

This place, this whole place... his heart slowed.

His expression fell.

It was not a safe haven, like the people of Avancia thought, nor a final resting place for their people.

This entire place was a laboratory, meant to research a cure to the corruption of the Gates, that had been spreading during that time, and they had been using humans as fodder.

Floura with innate power, able to exude healing light, grown from nutrients of the dead, a flower perfect for a world full of war and destruction.

This place was not what they thought... then...

A terrible line of thought began to form in his mind.

...Then what was the Lonely Flower? 

If it had been alive from the times when Giants still roamed, and the first corruption had devastated everything then, it would have to be a few thousand years old, at least, predating even the Lich King.

Such a creature couldn't be as weak as a Master.

And they were heading towards it, as the escape path that Murphy was going to use? Was there any escape at all? Had their contacts lied? 

How could they ever try and escape from under a monster like that...?

It... he looked back.

It was bright. Blindingly so. But even so, he could not see it.

The ruins had not been moved. It was only light and heat. That was all. The explosion itself, had not destroyed anything. The ruins were not being sent flying.

There was dust, and mist, but not destruction.

His hypothesis began to take on it's final form.

His heart beat again.

Just what... what was living down here?

He looked back ahead.

Constance had stopped in her tracks, the girl held onto his pants.

Roots ran through the floor.

Vines hung off the ceiling.

It was a cavern, not a great hall nor even a road. 

This place had not been built as apart of the Giant Roads, this place wasn't a Giant Road at all. It was nothing like it.

They were all wrong.

All of them.

Him too.

A single light penetrated the top of this mountainous place, illuminating a large pond, that laid somewhere ahead.

He felt that they had been moving quite fast for some time now, he glanced back, the gate was far, the light and heat of the explosion was nonexistent anymore.

How... had they travelled so far, so fast? 

Hadn't they stopped?

He turned back around.

The pond was right next to him.

The cottage door was right in front of him.

Sun Fish.

There were, Sun Fish, exactly as he knew them, in the pond there at the top next to the straw cottage. 

Had that entire system been built for a mere pond? What kind of...

He saw Constance looking up, her eyes were golden, her Insight, was active. But what was he staring at? 

He looked up, and felt the familiar tampering of his mind, those tendrils creeping through it, but he was not unprepared this time.

The girl at his foot was completely gone. Her sight was like someone who was asleep, unable to process the surroundings, and yet she was still holding onto his pant leg.

Using the feeling of her hand to ground himself to reality, and Constance's sight to know where to look, the scene in front of him shattered like glass against a void.

...His heart stopped.

He felt a hand tightly holding his wrist. A silent, terrified look landed on him from Constance, who moved her eyes but not her head.

Her hand was trembling.

It was there.

It's eye was closed.

His feet felt squishy. They were standing on vines that laid across the ground, for as far as the eye could see in this cavernous expanse.

Beautiful multicolored flowers bloomed on those vines that had overgrown the entire area. 

Her trembling hand squeezed his arm.

It was beautiful.

A flower with four complementary colors, blended together into a single solid color with different shades starting from the edges of the petals down to the center.

The air in the room was thick with it's pollen. A little light shone valiantly below him, and he turned his gaze down, catching the sparkling jewel of the Caretaker radiating dimly.

It was slowly growing weaker.

He, very carefully, bent down, and picked up the girl, his body was in enormous pain now that the mind tampering that had walked them here was over, but he could only endure it or die.

And the adrenaline in his body forced him to endure it.

Constance held on his wrist, turning her head very, very carefully.

The flowers blooming off of the vines in this place, were looking at them. But the Lonely Flower that hung on the ceiling was silent.

An escape route...? 

Where? 

His breath caught in his throat. 

A person was standing not faraway. He recognized their clothes.

The Owl Court.

The Internal Affairs division of the Imperial Palace beholden only to the Queen, his mother.

Each and every single one were elites whose every movements were decided by the Queen, from the time they sleep, still the time they shit.

Yet, once was here? Stuck in an illusion, unable to escape it. Another, further away, was a skeleton. Roots had wrapped around the living one, though.

They entered the agents ears... A terrible feeling rose in his chest. He set aside the fact that one of his mothers agents was here, and turned to look at the floor.

Baby roots were starting to wake up.

He looked up.

He hated being right.

Why did he have to be right? 

Constance squeezed his arm, and he very slowly looked over, he had been holding his breath, when he saw what she was looking at.

A path laid ahead, a gate that was broken open.

But... 

He looked up.

...It was right underneath the Lonely Flower.

There was no time to be slow. The jewels light was starting to dim even faster. It could not keep the pollen at bay for him or the girl for much longer.

He raised a foot, and Constance's eyes widened. She held her breath.

The flowers didn't open their eyes.

He put his foot down gently.

...They were still asleep.

She held onto his arm tightly, and took a step as well.

Exchanging looks, they started to walk forward. Taking extreme care to avoid any of the spikes of the vines or the flowers and their roots.

Slowly... slowly... slowly...

A noise came from above.

They froze in place.

Argo took a small glance upwards.

One of the Lonely Flower's petals had shaken, and changed color. It was starting to detach off it's body.

Was it suffering backlash from stopping Murphy's magic? 

His pupils shrank.

If that petal fell, it would block off the exit entirely. He quickly looked at Constance, who had clearly seen the exact same thing.

She bit her lip and her eyebrows raised up, before a desperate look creased her sight. He felt the rouse of holy power.

...And so did everything else.

Thousands of eyes opened all at once, staring at them from the inside of the flower petals blooming from the vines all over the room.

His heart sank, but his body acted.

They ran over the squishy surface of the vines with hell at their backs! The vines were starting to move and shake around, as if they were just waking up! 

He felt the creeping of tendrils trying to manipulate his mind, sending him images of forests, trees and walls in his way, but he kept running! 

The jewel was helping to render those illusions ineffective, but, it was still disorienting to have the whole world be one way one second, and another the next, and the next, and the next.

A sword came flying for his throat, and on instinct, he ducked it and lost balance, he looked up at where it had come from but it had already faded to nothingness.

A spike had gotten pierced his leg at some point during the illusions in the desperate run.

He looked up as he started pushing forward again, he could see the white cartilage of the flowers petal now, it was about to break! 

"...Come on!" Constance stood ahead at the path's entrance, she was waving her hand at him, her sword was dancing as it chopped at the vines and roots to keep them at bay! 

Argo took a half step forward, and then turned on a dime in the opposite direction! 

There was no holy power in her sword! 

He burst through a wall that was actually the pathway, and saw the real Constance standing over him with a pale face, and no words to speak.

She helped him up as the petal fell from above covering the paths entrance and sending a gust of wind and pollen in, which threw them both off their feet.

It was dark in the tunnel, but there were no roots or petals or vines.

Argo gasped for breath, and Constance did the same. He touched around in the pitch blackness, finding the small body that is the girl, and brought her closer.

Constance lit up her holy power burning it for light, but Argo raised a hand, and after a short look, it turned off. 

His nose twitched.

Water.

Freshwater.

He turned in the dark.

Constance kept a hand on his shoulder as they walked.

He hit his head against a stone wall at a corner of the pathway, and turned.

A light.

A faraway light.

It was small, like a spec, but it was there.

Constance poured her meagre amount of holy power into him, to try and stem the debilitating damage to his body as they made the last walk, he gripping the tunnel wall to keep himself upwards.

The light grew and grew.

Was it an illusion? He didn't know.

He didn't know if in the next moment, he would be waking up in that chamber with the Lonely Flower.

Or if he had ever left the battlefield in the Second Gate... or even if they hadn't been stuck in one long dream, from the moment they arrived in the Lonely Flower's territory, and they were ending up like the people in the glass containers of the Terrarium.

He didn't know.

And he had no way to know.

No way to... tell.

But, as the light grew, and the natural warmth of the sun began to press against his skin, he knew that he didn't care.

He was happy, for the sun.

Day was not simply day.

It was hope.

He took a breath, and the scent of redwoods and maples filled his lungs, the fresh air of day.

He took another step, and between conscious and unconscious, he stood at the edge of the tunnel.

The sun had just come out over the horizon illuminating the vast mountain range covered in tall verdant trees, and vibrant grass.

It was morning.

They had... survived.

His legs gave out.

His head hung powerlessly, he had never been so grateful for anything in his entire life.

He cried.

They had survived.