Epilogue VII
--Ellie's Perspective--
After I was thrown by Fico around halfway through the fight, I landed in the ocean, swimming back to shore while laughing my butt off. I can't believe she threw me like a football!
I'm seriously lucky I landed in the water though, otherwise, I would've been a paste by the time I stopped moving on the ground.
I took a deep breath on the beach, looking at my surroundings and reminding myself of the very beginning of my new adventure... I guess it was about time I retired at this point. Well, as soon as I get back to home where Sky and the others are, I guess it would be a good time to call it quits.
I walked further into the forest, crouching down to watch a crab move around in the fallen leaves from the trees above. I was mesmerized by it, trying to poke it a few times and watching it reciprocate the same thing. I laughed, falling on my butt in the sand. It was a dire battle I was missing, but I knew we would win, especially with Sky on our side.
As I found myself thinking of the battle, I felt a hand on my shoulder, and a gaze so violating and powerful that I found myself with chills all over my body. The head full of black hair moved over my left shoulder from behind me and I was stuck staring forward. I couldn't swallow or breathe.
"Do you know Sky Asterio?" He asked me. His voice was dark, emotionless, and very powerful when speaking. I found myself with the opportunity to speak all of a sudden, presumably by his own decree.
"I have... no idea who that is..." I said, stuck in blinding fear.
"Would you like me to ask again, Ellie Danafall, daughter of Orion Danafall?" He said. I turned my head towards him in a powerful burst of strength fueled by confusion, watching his golden eyes violate my own as he stared at me with an emotionless face.
There's no possible way he could know that... absolutely no way at all...
"Who... are you...? I don't recognize you..." I mumbled. My voice became silent when he decided, and patted my shoulder lightly, guiding me to my feet while I continued to stare into his golden eyes.
"Then Sky Asterio has not told his friends about Eirikr Asterio?" Eirikr told me.
I felt chills shoot up my spine yet again... he vaguely mentioned this person... but failed to mention how intimidating and frightening his presence was.
"Don't worry, I am not here to hurt you or him... but I do need you to lead me to him," Eirikr told me. I was stuck between listening to him out of fear of my own life or misleading him to give Sky a chance to survive.
Before I could even think of a decision, the bushes ruffled to our right, and out came three people. One person was a large man with a black robe, the others were smaller and almost hid behind him.
"Hey! Looks like you're a little too close to that poor girl... why don't we take a step back?" He said to Eirikr. I wanted to tell him that it was a mistake to talk to the man behind me, but the broad person didn't even budge after looking at him.
"Nobody is in any form of danger... besides you, for talking to me so casually," Eirikr told the person with his two friends.
"Hmph, you know, not a real fan of that kind of talk," He said.
He pulled a dagger on Eirikr, throwing it toward his face with an eager smile.
Eirikr stopped it right as it left his hands, and threw it into the sand between his two feet, watching him with the dull golden eyes.
"You are one of the absolute last species I would listen to about my talk. Arkians cannot amount to me, Khalil Leyndell," Eirikr said to him. Even Khalil's face was warped with fear... but still, even more, eager than before, he declared a fight.
-
-
-
-
-
--Fico's Perspective--
"So, you're telling me that being in The First Trial is the only way that Illya would've given her lifespan to Sky? I'm missing that part of this entire story," I told Cynthia.
We fled from Zealous at her rule, as soon as she was able to confidently tell me that it was a lost cause, and we both left almost instantly. Now, we gathered in an underground bunker she was able to spot and set up a temporary camp.
"I pushed Sky to his limit in The First Trial, I gave him his first headache, which meant his first bout of strand growth. It's quite simple when you think of it as I'm the one who started his ascension to be a Deity," Cynthia admitted, blowing on her nails while staring at the wall of the bunker.
"You were able to act that far back and get an outcome as good as this? It's great and all that Illya is dead because now Sky can't receive his memories from all that time ago... but what about Eirikr? Does your Eye there predict that I kill Sky before he can even reach Overlord Eirikr?" I asked Cynthia with an annoyed grin.
"The eye sees three paths possible. One path is in which Sky loses his mind, going on a journey of murder and violence just as he did before, in which he will, in turn, murder you and best Eirikr in combat. I see another path that's not as clear, where he is overpowered and engages in combat all around him, and somebody else takes the veil... and the third path, in which nothing is clear, but small glimpses of the far future. In each future I see, you are presumably killed," Cynthia told me.
--TO BE CONTINUED--
---
---
---
What a journey. We've finally reached it, the end of Volume Seven. And wow... wasn't that a lot?
I wanted to do something different with the characters and planned deaths. Originally, a lot more people were supposed to die in the Quake Conflict, but I decided rather than ruining so many characters with large upbringings, to focus on killing off the past, thus leaving Illya Asterio dead. And yes, she is dead.
At this point, after so many chapters in Survival Evolved, it is probably foolish to admit that the First Person structure I've kept after so long is getting very, very weak. The plan is to adjust to Third Person to allow for a smoother experience and a more enjoyable read. From this point on, all Survival Evolved Content will be written in the Third Person.
As for everything during the volumes, I hope that the Black Strands, System Synchronization, and Iridescent Strands were all equally as confusing as before. I didn't want to explain them too much, but I do want to remind readers that just because it looked like the maximum capacity for Strength peaked, doesn't mean that it has.
I will be taking a quick break from the daily posting of Survival Evolved to work on my final draft, a Third Person rewrite with a few more plotlines of original content. I'm only asking for two weeks, making it a month in total I've asked for since I started posting on January 22nd, 2022 (for those who are binge-reading, that's almost 500 days ago)
As for the last bit of my afterword, I wanted to thank all readers who have made it to this point. Volume 7 has by far been my favorite Volume to write, as it is a peak of everybody's development so far, and there is so much more to come. Volume 8 will start with conflict, obviously, but will be relatively laid back in terms of conflict as we continue forth. We need to rebuild a little before we start destroying again.
Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for making it this far. Your time is invaluable to me, and I greatly appreciate those who have given it to me, and to this book, to read what I have published.
Thank you. I will see all readers back in two weeks for the 8th Volume of Survival Evolved.
---Survival Evolved Incarnation: Overhaul