The End of a Story

Two weeks ago, after the funeral at night, a dark shape moved through the Timeless Cemetery.

Her form was feminine, but the dark dress and black veil made it impossible to see who she was.

The woman walked between the headstones and crypt entrances like she was floating. Her every move seemed to be perfectly balanced, and with each step, her center of gravity didn't move.

Her long black dress dragged along the grassy ground, making the illusion more believable.

She moved with purpose, without looking away from the ground even once.

Below the veil, her eyes were teary, and she seemed anxious about something.

As she walked more, her steps grew less firm, until she reached her destination, where she finally broke down.

She fell to her knees in front of a gravestone. It had a few simple lines written on it...

'Suze Miles

1269 - 1304

Beloved Wife and Mother'

These few lines caused Veronica's body to tremble, and her wailing increased.

She wanted to come here alone. She lied to Michael, saying that she was alright, but he obviously knew that she wasn't.

There was sadness and regret in his eyes, but he let her go. As always, she didn't judge or order her, he just let her make this decision.

In the past week, the pain was overwhelming. At first she was angry and wanted revenge, but each day her heart ached more and more. It took her a week to reach her breaking point.

While crying, her hand moved below her skirt, and she pulled out a beautifully carved silver revolver. Her hands trembled just by holding it, the despair of her decision weighed heavy on her mind.

She stared at the revolver for a few minutes before looking at each of the graves in front of her.

Each brought back a happy memory of her life, which caused the anguish to increase.

Eventually, she stopped at her own, where she knelt again. With her blurry vision, she read the few lines on the stone...

'Veronica Navarro

1283 - 1304

Beloved Wife, Daughter and Sister

An Artistic Soul'

She didn't understand what the last line meant, but at that moment, she didn't care.

With a trembling hand, she lifted the revolver to the side of her head. Her heart ached more. By each centimeter it moved.

She held it close to her head, and after taking a few quick desperate breaths she heard her brother's voice...

'I'm sorry it ended like this... I hope we meet in the next life... I love you... Little Sister...'

Veronica wanted to say how sorry she was, how much she regretted everything, how she wanted to spend more time with him, how much she loved him, but her grief was overwhelming.

After crying for a few more seconds, Veronica took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

Her index finger on the trigger pulled. The hammer moved and hit the casing, which caused an explosion propelling the bullet further.

It left the barrel and was about to enter Veronica's skull, but it didn't.

With closed eyes,, she waited, then waited some more. She heard the sound of the gunshot, but the bullet never reached her.

At first she thought the bullet missed, but when she opened her eyes, something strange appeared in front of her.

The bullet was stationary in the air, only a few millimeters away from her skull. She did not know what was going on, but soon she heard footsteps from behind her.

It was the purple-robed woman who held the ceremony. The hourglass still rested on her neck, the sands still moving upward. She carried a bouquet, and she placed one flower on each of the graves.

A purple violet on Ted's. A blue cornflower on Rob's. A light blue flower that Veronica didn't recognize on Sofie's. A black flower on James's. A yellow tulip on Suze's. A gray flower on Michael's. And a pink rose on Veronica's.

The woman stood close to her for a while. She didn't say a word, nor did she acknowledge the gun or the floating bullet.

Veronica tried to look below her hood, but either the lighting was bad, or there was simply nothing under it.

The woman sighed heavily, then moved around the grave until she stood in front of Veronica.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but before you make this final decision, I thought you might need to talk. First, I would like to offer my condolences. Losing a family is always hard on the soul, and it only gets worse each time..."

"I could lie and say it will get better, that the pain will go away, but you aren't new to grief. We both know the pain will grow smaller, but it will always lurk at the edge of your soul..."

"I also know that making permanent decisions based in an emotional state is a horrible idea. That's why I came here. I will give you a second chance. That bullet will start moving in five minutes. If you truly want to die, then stay kneeling in that position and wait!"

The woman didn't even raise her voice once. After she spoke, she began to walk away, but Veronica stopped her with a question.

"Who are you and why do you try to help me?" she said, her voice tried to stay firm, but she felt too weak.

The woman glanced backwards at Veronica, and even though she couldn't see below her robe, she felt the woman was smiling.

"Just call me Kathrine. I'm someone who doesn't like to see innocent people die for no reason. Think through my offer, move and live, stay put and die. Life is precious, and it would be a shame to throw it away like this."

With that, the woman took another step and dissolved into purple fog.

Veronica just continued to stare at the spot for a minute. Her mind was racing, her hands grew sweaty, and she kept glancing at the bullet with worry.

She tried to take a few breaths and calm herself down. She carefully aligned herself with the bullet so it would enter her head.

She then waited. Her mind continued to race and watching her impending doom wasn't helping at all, so she closed her eyes.

Tick, tock, tick, tock. Time moved by slowly as Veronica's mind worked.

Memories of her past families kept popping up in her head.

First there was her first family who lived in this world. They got killed by Him, the individual who wanted the Theater and the leader of Remot's Rise. He would be one of the people she wanted to kill.

Next came her brother, who got killed by her, but Tom's death was His fault too, which was another reason why she wanted to kill him.

Then there was poor Rob Robbins. She never really got to know him, but seeing how devastated Billie was, she wanted to avenge him, too. His death was caused by none other than June, a high-ranking member of Remot's Rise.

Ted's and tens of thousands of civilians' death was caused by the Chaotic Order, which meant they had to pay as well.

Then there was her own family. Their death was still a mystery to Veronica. She tried to find the person who snitched about the hideout, but the DSS covered their tracks well. If she wanted to find out more, she had to go into the Dracish Empire, and do some investigating there.

All these people she had lost made her heart ache. What was worse, she didn't want to give up. She wanted to get her revenge. But she also want to give in to the pain, she wants it to stop.

Thinking about this, her soul got torn apart. One side saying she doesn't owe anything, the other saying she had to do something.

She spent another minute shaking her head angrily, then she turned towards the sky and screamed in frustration.

Her blood boiled from anger and madness. Her screaming was incoherent at first, but then it turned into one word... "WHY?!"

She didn't even know where she was shouting. She stared at the sky, but the Gods didn't care, which caused her frustration to increase.

These higher beings of pure power. They were so selfish and wanting that they ignored their believers and hid in their domains.

The more she thought about it, the more she realized why everything had happened. It wasn't because there was an evil person who wanted to do something horrible. Everything happened, because the powerful people in the sky didn't care to stop it!

"A cultist group attacks her city, sacrifices a priest, and destroys a temple. What does the Goddess of Time do?! NOTHING!" she shouted at the sky, her face turning red from anger.

"Thousands of people die because of said ritual, but The Creator, the so called 'Giver of Life', does HE do anything to help?! NO!"

"In the heart of the poor district, where the criminals live, where people never get judged for their crimes. Does Judgment do anything to stop them?! OF FUCKING COURSE NOT!"

With her anger, the hatred she felt grew. She wanted nothing else but to destroy all the hypocrisy the Gods had created.

"And the worst of all. The three that fight, using their believers as toy soldiers! Do they care about each life lost in their bickering?! Do they care what happens to the families?! To the spouses?! To the children?! FUCK NO!"

After screaming for a good few minutes, she finally took a few deep breaths again.

She turned towards the stopped bullet with annoyance, and just as it began to move, she jumped out of its way.

She didn't even look at the graves. She didn't say goodbye to her loved ones. She didn't utter a single word.

At that moment, she realized the problem with this world. What she experienced in her two lives wasn't the problem.

She still wanted to kill all those people who caused her pain, but they were only the symptoms of a deep disease. After realizing the problem, she planned on cutting out the cancer of this world.

For Veronica, the person who knelt down in front of the grave wasn't the same person who stood up.

When she pulled that trigger, that person died there. That was the end of her story, and after this dark day, a new story would begin.

The journey would be long and arduous, she knew that, but at least she wouldn't have to walk it alone.

Thinking back on the person who waited for her in that crappy hotel room, a smile appeared on her face. The darkness cleared from her heart, and she felt like even after losing so much, there was still a lot to live for.

It was strange to think like that, especially after committing suicide, but she didn't care.

After this week, now was the first time she felt alright. There was still a lot to do, and her grieving was far from over, but she would take this new journey one step at a time.

Her smile grew the more she thought about Michael, and as she left the cemetery, the clouds moved in the sky, revealing a large crescent moon.

For a second, she stopped in her tracks to watch the rare clear sky, and in that moment she began to laugh.

It was hysterical, maniacal and outright ridiculous, but she laughed anyway. The pain in her heart would never leave her, but with her laughter, it eased.

After a while, she took one step, then another, then a third, until she was walking again.

Her story had ended here, alone in a cemetery. Her name might have stayed the same. Her looks weren't different, either. But, deep down, she wasn't the same person.

It would still take time to get to know herself, and decide if the change was good or bad, but one thing she was sure of...

It was necessary for the future...

[End of Volume One - Dancer]