The Herald of the New Dawn floated in front of the hole in the sky. Even now, the hole expanded as mana streamed out from the edges of the boundary, and the walls of reality continued to crumble.

The Herald expanded his mana and sent it out across the world. And then…the mana began to flow back into him, mighty streams of power that grew visible as glowing rivers of light. Without Shialnor’s core, there was a huge gap in the network of mana that once connected the dungeons to the Blessed Land. The Herald of the New Dawn now took advantage of this gap, and inserted his own core into it. The other cores accepted it as the new nexus of the system as the largest core still remaining, and began to feed mana into him.

A truly massive magic circle then covered the hole in the sky. The ground began to tremble as the circle activated. Something began to emerge out of the darkness of the void. Black rock broke through the hole in reality, further tearing at the edges of the boundary. A great shadow covered over the land, plunging entire nations into darkness.

Letoris, the fallen continent, had returned. Now black, barren, and crumbling rock, stripped of all life ever since it was cast from Aelea. The Herald’s core began to shine as it resonated with its former home, held together purely by the core’s power. The Herald nodded as Letoris emerged from the void, floating in the sky.

It was appropriate to use the ultimate symbol of the Aesdes’ failure as the beginning of the new dawn. To take the continent that had been cast aside, and reforge it into the cornerstone of his new world.

He flew up to the continent and landed in an empty crater at its center. The only sign of the Great Demon Lord’s castle that once dominated the continent. The Herald spread his arms and a massive magic circle formed. The mana surging into his chest now spread into the ground, and through the continent, binding the crumbling rock together. And as the hole in reality continued to grow…so too did the edges of Letoris, new matter forming from the mana and material of the rest of Aelea.

The Herald grinned.

Soon, this fallen world would be at its end.

Soon, all the suffering and pain and evil would come to a close.

Soon, he would tear this cruel world down to its base material, and form a new one. A peaceful, perfect world that knew nothing of death nor pain.

And neither Aesdes, nor Ancient Dragon, nor killer cyborg remained to interfere. There was no one left who could stop him…

Seero’s companions stood in silence, staring at the place where she had once stood. Taog fell to his knees. Tears filled his eyes and then streamed down his cheek.

Seero…was gone?

After all she did…after she had done for him…and then just like that she was gone. He never once had a chance to repay her. He never had the chance to be friend to her like she was to him…and now he never would.

He could feel his connection to Seero, his Contract, break and shatter.

His heart shattered with it. He grabbed his head and slammed it into the dirt, and then began to wail.

R joined him.

“How?! This…this is impossible-unthinkable! This cannot be! How could the Wise-Mighty-Gracious Boss-Queen die-perish?! This…This…”

Lilussees trembled, clutching her head.

“This is, like, so annoying…”

For she knew in her heart…or rather, was forced to admit…that Seero meant something to her. And now that she was gone…Lilussees would never sleep well again.

B roared and pounded the ground, the other monsters joining in. 00B-Beta frantically accessed every piece of hardware and software in the network, desperately searching for a way to ease 00B’s pain.

Agedia grit her teeth. Once again, the Heralds of the New Dawn had taken everything…and she had failed to stop them.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Back in the Primary Home Base, the ground rumbled as the core lost connection with its master. Melion froze, and then flattened as thin as they could go.

“Master…”

Even the drone-golems were affected. Error messages flooded the CELIU network, with every unit reporting a potential primary directive failure. Every unit began activating every protocol they could to reestablish contact with the designated CELIU network commander. Drone-golems began activating scanners and patrol routines, searching every which way for any signs of Seero.

But none were found.

As for Ateia…she rose to her feet in silence. Taog glanced up as Ateia stepped past him, and looked up into the sky.

“...they’re not dead.”

Taog’s heart sank. Ateia had been the one who couldn’t give up on her father. So he knew that she would not accept this situation. But this time…this time was different. He opened his mouth…but no words came out. How could he say it? What would it change? And yet…such was the grief in his heart that he could not accept Ateia’s words.

“Ateia…Seero’s gone. There’s…there’s nothing we can do.”

Ateia whirled around and glared at him.

“They’re! NOT! DEAD! Not Seero…not Victoria…not the Aesdes! I KNOW they’re alive! I can feel it in my heart!”

Taog took a step back at the force of Ateia’s words. The girl began to glow…and the world took note. Golden and silver light began to spin around in a gust of wind. Streams of Holy mana redirected their course as they found the last steward of the world remaining. They stopped flowing hopelessly into the void, trying in vain to repair the critical damage. They instead moved towards the one with the authority to command them.

And as they connected, they carried her voice across the world. Everyone heard the voice of a girl in their ears, caught glimpses of a girl even as they looked up at the terror in the sky.

“We don’t know where they went, we don’t see their bodies before us! I believe they’re still out there! So as long as we don’t give up, they aren’t gone! I’m NOT giving up as long as even a shred of hope remains! You know Seero, you’ve met Victoria. I bet that even now, they’re working to find a way back to us!”

She turned up to the sky and glared at the black continent spreading out before her.

“And this time, things are different! We’re not helpless little kids anymore, waiting for someone to rescue us! This time, we have the power to do something about it!”

As Ateia spoke, the people of the world began to look in her direction. The refugees who she had saved, the soldiers who she emboldened to hold the line, and everyone trembling below the hole in the sky...one by one their hearts began to beat. Tiny sparks of hope began to flicker within their chests, pushing back against the despair. These sparks became tiny bits of mana, joining into the flows of Holy mana surging through the world. One by one, they began to arrive, joining with the power swirling around Ateia. Her eyes began to glow, her wings spread out and shone bright as the sun.

“I am NOT going to sit back and watch this monster tear down our world! The Aesdes are gone? Seero can’t save us this time? Then I’ll go and beat him myself, and make sure they have a world to return to when they find their way back! And if Seero’s still not back by then…I’ll find a way to bring her back! I’ll MAKE a way if none exists!”

Words rose from deep within her. She lifted her hand and the swirling Holy Mana formed into a massive bow. She pulled on the string of light and bright arrows appeared.

“So says Ateia, the Lady of Hope and Perseverance, She Who Defies Despair! The Last Aesdes, until we get moving and bring the rest back!”

Ateia let loose. The arrows streamed into the air, forming new stars as they collided with the edges of the black continent. A moment later, bright light filled the sky. Chunks of rock broke off and the hole in reality receded ever so slightly before resuming its expansion.

Taog stood with eyes wide open. He felt a fire burn within his heart, even as pain stabbed through his chest.

He was the boy who lost his parents, who was rejected by almost everyone. Who kept losing and losing until he couldn’t imagine anything else. The boy who learned to expect pain and loss, for to hope for anything else would bring nothing but pain.

That boy opened his heart. He let the fear of loss grip his being and pressed on regardless. He snarled and stirred up his mana.

If anyone would refuse to die just like that, it would be Seero. So he would believe she was still out there. He would CHOOSE to believe it, even if it would bring him further pain to do so. Seero deserved no less from him.

He stepped forward, joining Ateia.

“Let’s kill that jerk.”

Amulius joined them, nodding at his daughter.

“My mistakes ruined everything. The least I can do now is help you fix them.”

Agedia joined him.

“That goes for me, too. I don’t know what good I can do, but my lance is yours as long as you still want it, Ateia.”

R rose to his feet, his head hung low.

“How is my faith exceeded-surpassed by these insolent man-things? The Wise-Mighty-Gracious Boss-Queen cannot be defeated-destroyed so easily! And this 01R will fight-strive in her stead, as required of her servants, yes yes.”

Lilussees stood with them, a frown on her face as her mana distorted the air around her.

“For just this once, I’ll put in as much effort as I need to. Let’s tear him to shreds.”

B stood up and roared. Lightning shot from his circuits, forming into the shape of a bear made out of electricity and code. 00B-Beta joined him and let out a roar that sounded like crackling thunder even as it sent a message across the CELIU network.

“This.protect(family)”

One by one, the drone-golems in the area ceased their search protocols, and began forming up behind Ateia. Legion upon legion of metal warriors landed and took positions behind her, acknowledging her as temporary commander and awaiting her orders.

Ateia nodded and smiled at the sight.

“All units…engage termination protocols!”

She flapped her wings once, and then a bright light shot into the sky as she flew towards the black continent. The other cyborgs lit up their repulsors and launched into the air after her.