Moment of Peace

--Sky's Perspective--

I didn't make it to the back hallway in time, and just as the glacier split in half with the intensity of explosives, I fell with it. My speed increased just as I slid down, passing by collapsing rocks leading into a lake at the bottom of the hill.

I hit a sharp incline in the glacier while sliding, which meant my speed was lost, just like the air in my lungs. I bounced more and more, suffering plenty of injuries on the way down with cuts and stabs. I was losing way too much blood, and this painted glacier was starting to prove it.

I slowed down near the lake and ended up right next to it on the beach, watching large rocks crash into the water and create waves. I sat at the bottom, panting and staring up. If I had no idea what just happened, I'd say they looked like giant shooting stars landing right next to me. I slightly smiled.

The fatigue all caught up with me and my rapidly beating heart slowed down. My muscles were numb and I couldn't move my body.

"Sky?!" I heard people shouting my name, probably looking for me.

I couldn't even raise my left hand to let them know I was here, and my right one was thrown off at the shoulder, so I was pretty stuck where I was right now. For the first time since I woke up on this beach, I felt truly relaxed. The worries of the future disintegrated in my mind as all I could think about was falling asleep. I needed it, I was pretty tired after all.

I basically lived in the hospital up in the base we were moved to, so I hope I can wake up in that bed again. Maybe… maybe I'm saying that because I'd rather be injured than dead.

I don't want to die. I can't die yet, there are so many things I have to do, so many people I want to see again. Like Dani… I miss her, I want to see her again.

"Sky!" Dani yelled. I felt tears drop onto my face and just as if my wish was heard and answered, she sat above me, sobbing and rubbing the tears away from her eyes.

"Still here. I'm still alive." I said, smiling. Next, Ullr, Charlie, and Ellie all came around me.

"I'll pick him up. Bossman? You feel alright? You look pale." Ullr asked me. I shook my head, accepting his offer to help me out.

"I can't feel anything and I'm really tired. You don't have a fix for that, do you?" I asked. I chuckled, as did Charlie and Ullr.

"That was insane. I didn't see much of your fight, but to think you brawled with more White Stones and came out alive, you're really okay? Besides the arm." Charlie said. I felt bashful, but maybe that was the delusion set in.

"I'm about as okay as you'd expect, but let's leave here," I told them. Ullr put me on his back and started walking in the opposite direction when I heard screaming from on top of the collapsing coliseum.

"You won't get another chance next time we meet! White Stone!" Ullr shouted for me. I looked up to him and then away. He doesn't deserve any more of my attention.

I finally got the notification that Talion's life had ended. Talion successfully bought time for me to fight off Elo and then blow the coliseum up… all in all, I wish I could've saved him. I wish I could've been strong enough to keep him alive. That guilt was starting to weigh me down more than this fatigue right now.

I could see Lia in the distance, walking back with Carl's arm around her shoulder. "You overdid it! Oh, Sky! Are you okay?" Lia asked me.

I couldn't bear to look at her in the eyes. I remembered how she and Talion once bonded after she escaped from Dante's grasp.

-

The next thing I remembered was waking up in that bed I thought to be so comfy from before. The pillow was propped, and the weight on my stomach was Dani resting her head against it, sleeping for however long she has been. I looked out of the window, seeing the blocked shine from the stars in the sky and the leaves interfering.

I bumped Dani's head and she woke up, leaning against her chair and rubbing her eyes. "You always wake up with no scratches, what's up with that?" She asked me.

I tried to put my right hand against my face, but nothing was still on that side of my body. "Looks like I have a pretty big scratch here, doesn't it?" I said, laughing. Even as funny as my joke was, she stood silent.

"You said you liked me. Why? What have I done that makes me likable?" Dani asked me. I shrugged. It was a fair question, but she thought about it too much.

"Do you need to have done something to justify the way I feel? I just like you. Let's not make this complicated, I just needed to tell you how I felt." I told her. Dani paused, then walked to the door, opening it without saying a word.

"Then, let me return the favor! I like you too Sky! I want to be with you for as long as I live!" She said, shutting the door after spitting out her prissy attitude. I only smiled and nodded. Sounded like a plan to me.

Carl then opened the door, shaking his head in surprise with a bowl of food. "I gotta stop coming by here." He said. Carl handed me the bowl and sat in silence while I ate.

"This is good! Who made it?" I asked. Carl pointed at himself, and I thanked him for the food, but that didn't lighten the atmosphere.

"I wanted to say that I'm sorry. I should've listened to you. I selfishly went over into enemy territory, lost my right eye, my left hand, and I got Talion killed, all because I was stupid." Carl sulked in front of me. I agreed with him.

"You're absolutely right, that was the dumbest thing I've ever seen somebody do," I told him, continuing to eat. His look turned even grimmer while I ate some more. He probably misunderstood what I meant by that.

"When I ran past Talion in my last-ditch effort to fight off Zeal, he was smiling. It's like Talion had already decided he was going to die up there in that fight. Sure, maybe he didn't want to, but you running to Orion's base also had some good consequences as well. Tavian mentioned that we were going to blow the coliseum to slow down production, and we did just that. I damaged Zeal to the point of permanently scarring him, and we got you back alive. On top of all that, the White Stone's that all tried to kill me are finally dead. Except for Zeal. Orion is a unique case we'll figure out in due time, but I can relax now, and that's because of you." I told Carl. I pat him on the back.

"Those deaths are always going to be on me, all because I'm just so dumb." He continued to sulk. I nodded again.

"You're right, so, are you going to sit there and cry about it, or are you going to make it right again?" I told him with a stern attitude.

"W-What do you mean?" He asked me, looking up from his tear-ridden hands.

"You have two decisions, the way I look at it. End your own life to justify the lives lost, or vow that you won't let those same people down. Right?" I asked him.

"I wouldn't say it so loosely, but I suppose that's a solution. Then, it's settled: I need to fight my hardest to redeem them, right?" Carl said, sighing soon after. I put my thumb up to confirm his idea.

"I'll let you get back to resting then. Thanks for cheering me up, Sky." He said. Carl took my bowl and shuffled out of the room in his slippers. I continued to look out of the window and instantly broke out in tears.

I had been telling myself that for days on end. Red and Domin had both died because I was so stupid and afraid of moving, and their lives, their futures were all ruined because of my mistake. I stole that from them. I couldn't save Talion either, and now his soul rests in my hands due to a failed responsibility. I swore on it that I wouldn't let anybody else slip from my hands again… but no matter how much I tried to block it off in my head, I wondered how long it would be until Carl or Dani died. No matter how I tried to look at it, the thought of them possibly dying was constantly over-shrouded by when they would die.