Outcome and Winners
Instead of going straight to the group home with Sky, he carefully traveled to the hospital with Tavian, Dante, and Rin in it. He knocked on the door, waking up all three, and causing different reactions to shoot through their faces.
"Sky!"
"There he is!"
"Good to see you alive."
From Rin, Tavian, and Dante, their responses were all... predictable.
"Everything is okay now, right?!" Rin asked.
"That's right. I've solved almost all of our problems. It seems you're doing okay as well." He mentioned, looking at her injuries.
"That's right! I'm healing up just fine! You know, Dani cut me in half!" Rin shouted. I still felt guilty, but Sky smiled and laughed, apologizing for my misconstrued actions.
"You did it, kid. You won the war against Orion, finally. How does it feel to be a victor?" Tavian asked Sky with a smile.
"It feels like I never want to do that again. I shouldn't spoil your fun so early, but there are more enemies on the horizon. And, powerful ones with that. I plan to take them all on using the motivations and strategies you gave me out of the kindness of your heart. Thank you, Tavian, I won't let you down." Sky told him. Tavian noticed his sincerity and nodded.
"Looks like I can retire just fine now. Which, I'm sure Dante will retire as well." Tavian said. He closed his eyes and put his hands behind his head with a satisfied smirk.
"Retire? Don't be ridiculous. With this new body, I'm capable of much more now. You won against me, so, you can command me around, Sky. It seems I owe you a great deal for not finishing me off." Dante said. He was tracing his arms with his eyes, seeing all of his wounds heal. Lia was still frowning at him, but Sky shook that off and looked at him.
"I'll give you free will to make your own decisions. You didn't see what went down on The Scorched Isle, but any traces of it have been completely destroyed. Following me into Hell once more will be your decision alone, but I won't persuade or dissuade you from making that call. Do as you want to, Dante." Sky said, turning back toward Tavian.
"What happened to your arm, kid?" He asked.
"I may have permanently ruined it. Doesn't matter. The White Stone that cursed my name has finally turned off completely. It's a fair trade." He said, moving his position on the bed while looking out of the window.
"Can you truthfully call that a curse? I'd say it's the reason you were brought this far. Well, no matter how you decide to cope, I have to wonder... what's next?" Dante asked.
"There's a group of people, nothing like Illya, nor Orion and his army. It's Quake. Seven individuals that are all more powerful than me and Illya combined, it seems. I have to train to get stronger. I would let you decide to join me or not, but you can't do it without strands." He said.
"Not a problem, Dad! They can learn Essence Strands, just like Alex." Faith said.
"That's right... I remember you telling me about that. Those aren't as powerful as mine, but I hope they can be one day." He mentioned.
"Back up. Dad? Sky is your father? When did you become a father?" Tavian asked. A reasonable confusion.
"About four hundred years ago, Mister Tavian! I've been watching over Dad's interactions with you, and it's an honor to meet you!" Faith gladly said, shaking his hand forcibly.
Right... well, anyway, thanks... Faith." Tavian said after learning her name.
"Are you all doing well? Has your healing progressed without problems?" Sky asked them. Tavian, Dante, and Rin all nodded with each respective person at their side. That being Noboki, Ellie, Ellios, and Shiro.
"So far, yes. No complications." Rin said.
Sky stomped his foot into the ground and strands shot all over the room, coated in a gilded, gold color that entered the bodies of Tavian, Dante, and Rin. They were all shocked by the look of the strands underneath their skin, but their bodies were healed and they felt rejuvenated with a ton of energy within.
"What... what was that?! I feel great!" Rin shouted out.
"A little skill I picked up. Who's watching over you?" Sky asked the three of them. That's when Hiyochi, the person training Lia, Lily, Alexia, Griff, and Jeff entered the room.
"That would be me. And you are?" Hiyochi asked him.
"The name is Sky Asterio. Will you run from me?" Sky looked at her from a side perspective. It was kind of creepy with the golden strings in his eyes, but Hiyochi didn't falter. I heard stories about her, but it seems they were all true.
"I would never cower in the face of a new opponent, injury, or friend." Hiyochi gladly said.
"Then, can you examine my friends once more? I would like to test something." Sky said. Hiyochi nodded and looked over their injuries.
"Tavian still has muscle fibers that need time to heal, Dante has minor scrapes along his body, and Rin's internal organs are currently shifting back to their original positions," Hiyochi said without taking a breath.
"Muscle fibers, scrapes, bruises, and rearranged organs? Let me try." Sky said.
He put his hand on Tavian's stomach and slowly turned the strands in his body. Hiyochi was watching carefully with a defensive stance, but once she realized what he was doing, her eyes lit up in amazement.
"What?! How did they heal... how did you do that?!" Hiyochi screamed out to Sky.
"It's my oh-so-evil powers that you've been taught to fear, I'm sure. Tell me where Rin's organs are supposed to go." Sky said to Hiyochi. They were locked together, with Hiyochi getting way too close to his arm, and pointing to where specific parts of her stomach and intestines were supposed to go. After that, Hiyochi analyzed the way Rin's stomach moved, and was even more amazed.
"You... you are... AMAZING! My name is Hiyochi, it's an honor to meet you, Sky Asterio!" She said. Hiyochi took his hand and profusely shook it with an exaggerated motion. Sky smiled and looked at Hiyochi with a strange look.
"Hey, can you take a look at this?" Hiyochi asked him. As soon as she started to lift her shirt, I immediately grabbed her hand and put it back down to waist.
"Let's not do that. I can look just fine." I told her. She reluctantly nodded and lifted her shirt.