Chapter Text
Shulk slowly walked down Valak Mountain, his teeth gritting at the cold. He felt oddly weak ever since they arrived at Valak Mountain, perhaps it was the weight of the discovery of Fiora’s survival, or maybe it was the freezing weather. They were all wearing High Entian armor, even Riki and Melia despite not normally being able to handle such weight, thank Bionis for skill links. They were approaching a location that Alvis referred to as the Hollow Bone, where they would be able to get down. At the bottom, there would be a Nopon camp.
“Oi, Alvis.” Reyn called, Alvis seemed to be the only one unaffected by the blistering cold. Shulk was too cold to bother asking why. “Are we almost there? I feel just about ready to drop dead.”
“Rest assured that we are close.” Alvis said, trying to be reassuring. “It is not far from here, we are about halfway there.”
“Halfway?!” Reyn demanded. “That can’t be right.”
Before the conversation could continue, a group of Chilkin began to approach the group. Shulk, Reyn, and Dunban did not hesitate to charge at the group. He activated the Monado and prepared to attack the Chilkins when he was jabbed in the stomach by one of them. He growled in pain and used the art Stream Edge. Reyn and Dunban were too distracted by other Chilkin to topple it. Shulk was too cold to ask the group to focus their efforts.
The fight lasted for a long time and Shulk could feel himself weakening with each passing second. Then as if in slow motion, one of the Chilkins’ jabbed Shulk through the stomach. The resulting scream was ear-piercing. Alvis attempted to rush over to Shulk’s aid, but Shulk blacked out before Alvis could reach him. His pain soon after halted as Shulk saw a glowing figure wearing golden robes. Shulk didn’t recognize the figure, it stared Shulk down in disapproval.
“Perhaps you weren’t ready to wield the Monado.” The figure spoke. “I have made a terrible mistake, I suppose I can trust Alvis to substitute in for you.”
Before Shulk could ask who the glowing figure was or what he meant by Alvis substituting in for him, Shulk fell as the figure stared him down. Shulk had ultimately failed. He failed Dunban, Reyn, Sharla, Melia, and Riki, but most of all, he had failed her, Fiora.
“What’s born from the Bionis is returned to the Bionis. That’s the way of the Homs.” - Reyn
“Shulk!” Reyn shouted, he hoped to Bionis that the wounds weren’t fatal. If they were, then he just lost his best friend to a Chilkin of all things. A freaking Chilkin. Something snapped in Reyn as he attacked the Chilkins relentlessly.
Alvis seemed to stare Shulk’s corpse in interest. He wondered if Zanza would be able to revive Shulk. He looked into the passage of fate, the answer was no. Alvis idly wondered just who Zanza would take as a vessel. It seemed that his order to protect Zanza’s vessel was officially over.
The Chilkin group was now dead by Reyn’s rage. Reyn growled and put up his weapon. He rushed over to Shulk.
“Shulk!” Reyn shouted, shaking Shulk’s corpse. “Wake up man! Please, don’t be dead. Not even slain by mechon, just some chickens on a mountain.”
“It appears that there is nothing that we can do for him.” Alvis said, examining Shulk’s body. “His ether levels have already faded.”
“In other words?” Reyn asked, not having a solid understanding on ether and how it works.
“In other words, Shulk is already dead. Again.” Alvis stated, the last part was muttered and went by unheard. Alvis then noticed the bloodstained Monado, it was Shulk’s blood. He walked over the blade in attempt to clean it. The sword was cleaned off rather quickly.
“Alvis?” Dunban asked. “What are you doing?”
“I am capable of using the Monado, I do not believe that the sword should become unused due to one potential user’s death.” Alvis stated. “Besides, you’ll need the Monado if you plan on damaging mechon.”
“Very well.” Dunban said. “It’s painful to think that the Monado will be used by someone else, but it’s understandable.”
Melia stood in the back of the party, heartbroken. Shulk was dead, why was that even possible? His death was ultimately in vain, they didn’t save this Fiora, he didn’t get revenge against that mechon, and now, he was dead, unable to accomplish all of the great things that Melia knew that he could do. Her heart was broken when her father had died back on Prison Island, but now it was shattered into possibly billions of separate pieces.
“We should keep going.” Alvis suggested.
“Indeed, there’s no point lingering around here.” Dunban said. “While I do not know of Alvis’s capabilities with the Monado, at least we know that someone can use it.”
With that, the group left towards the Hollow Bone and then the Nopon camp, where they’d be able to prepare themselves for the upcoming battles.