Sky Asterio, Deity of Wrath

"I'm sorry." Faith told me.

"What are you sorry for? Nothing is your fault. I'm sorry you had to be pulled into this terrible world so hastily. I'm not a fan of it myself either." I explained to Faith.

I keep forgetting she has been with me ever since I first woke up. She's watched me suffer more than some of my friends had. She understood that pain, and still, she respects me, and sticks to my side. As a person, I respected her deeply.

"I think you're explaining it wrong, Dad." She told me. I would never get used to her calling me that...

"Explaining it wrong? Why do you say that?" I asked her. I turned to Faith and she kept her eyes facing forward, toward Illya's position.

"You don't hate this world. If you did, you wouldn't have fought so hard to stay alive in it." She told me.

For a moment, I wanted to laugh at her, but the longer the idea sat in my mind, the more I realized that she was right.

She nailed it right on the head.

I don't hate this world one bit, there's something else in this world I hated. Or maybe... I hated the fact that I let this world push me around.

Did I still hate myself?

"You don't hate Mom either, or else you would've killed her. Just like you killed Providence. Mom killed your friends and you let her live, but Providence killed your mom and you boiled her alive. I don't understand, Dad. I don't question your decisions, but I want to know why Mom is alive, and why Providence isn't. What is the difference in what they did?" Faith asked me.

I sat for a moment and thought about an answer to her question.

And I found myself crying.

"I... I don't want to sound ignorant in front of my kid, but I'm afraid I'm not sure. I boiled Providence alive because I had always wanted a Mom ever since I was born on the Isle. I wanted a Mom and the second I gained my memories back and realized my old wish, my mom had already spent her life. Having that taken away from me made me so mad that I couldn't think straight. However, I don't regret killing Providence. I would do it again, and a million more times. With Illya... I pray that one day, I realize that not killing her was a good decision." I told Faith.

"That's what I believe as well. I'm not sure who to kill, and who not to kill, but I know that when your life is in danger, you don't stop to defuse the other person, you only stop when they are dead." Faith explained to me.

"And that's why I'm alive. The people I've killed were unreasonable beings who all wanted me dead, and so, I granted them death. Tell me, do you think of me as any less of a Father because of that?" I asked Faith. I was dreading her answer, but she jumped up and hugged me with her head tucked into my shoulder.

"I don't care. You are my dad, and I will love you no matter what." She told me.

Dammit... this kid...

I held her tightly as I crouched down to the ground, and after about three seconds, she let go and pat my head with a smile.

"I trust your judgment. If you don't think it's smart to keep somebody alive, I won't judge you. Your decisions are the reason I'm alive and here, I have to trust you." Faith told me again.

I nodded and walked back to Illya with Faith's hand in mine.

Boo was beating Illya's face into the ground, knocking out teeth and giving her two black eyes. I wasn't sure if Boo killed her or not, but she was getting close.

"Has everybody gotten their punches in?" I put my hand on Boo's shoulder, pulling her away while looking at everybody else.

"Are you sure this is the right decision, Sky?" Mandi asked me.

I consoled Boo, who was still sobbing into her hands when she was done punching Illya and nodded.

"Illya's strength is too valuable to give up on. Plus, she knows about our past, so, she'll have an opportunity to tell us everything about the world we used to live in. She's valuable to keep alive because of her experience and knowledge." I explained to everybody.

"How sweet of you," Illya said to me.

"Why aren't you healing yourself? I know you have strands." I asked her.

"I lost my strands to Dani. She has my strands, not me." Illya explained. I sat there dumbfounded... realizing that it was probably safer that way if Dani even wants Illya alive after what she did.

I set my hand on Illya's shoulder and healed half of her face, replenishing her vision in one of her eyes, and letting the rest of her injuries sit.

"You two." I pointed to the two people I didn't know standing a good distance away from the crowd.

"Uh... hey there! My name is Fudo, and this is my sister, Alatus." Fudo explained to me. I nodded, greeting Alatus as well.

Fudo seemed very nervous, and his sister seemed very put-together. I found their contrasts funny, it was like Ren and Rin in my group.

"Thank you, for helping my friends. Is there anything I can do for you?" I asked them. Fudo was caught in an amazed stare, and his sister slapped him on the arm for staring too long.

"Sorry, the legends in our hometown say that you're a terrible person. After seeing what you've done here... I think we need to have a conversation about the teller of that legend. So... you're really the Deity of Wrath?" Alatus asked me.

"That's right, I'm sorry for the late introductions," I said, looking up into the air and taking in a deep breath.

"I am Sky Asterio, The Deity of Wrath," I told them.