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Mydei opens his eyes and sees the familiar sight. He stands in the middle of a ruin with dark water under his feet. He looks around and sees the souls of people of Amphoreus walking towards their final destination. He is back at the Rivers of Souls. There are lots more souls than he’s used to. But what else could he expect when the end times are near.
He lets out a heavy sigh and asks for silent forgiveness from the ones that he failed to save. He then turns around and raises his foot to walk in the opposite direction. There is a battle he needs to go back to. He tries to put his foot forward but no matter what he is unable to step forward, like he keeps hitting a barrier. He puts his hand out and sure enough it meets an invisible wall. This has never happened before.
He looks down and notices another anomaly. Because of his curse, whenever he came to the River of Souls, his body would be shining gold, radiating like a sun in this dark dreadful environment. But this time his body was the same dull blue hue as all the other souls around him.
Mydei intakes a shape breath because this could only mean one thing. He tries to recall his last moments before waking up. It has never been a pleasant experience trying to remember how he died but he needed to know. And then it all came to him and hit him like he just got run over by a herd of scared dromases.
He remembers when he was last here, in his shining gold form. Castorice's voice echoed telling him that Okhema needed him. He remembers arriving at the Dawncloud in the middle of a battle. He remembers telling Phainon to go ahead as he will take care of things there, buying them time to escape. He remembers fighting Flame Reaver. He remembers Flame Reaver stabbing him in the tenth thoracic vertebra. He remembers thinking of Phainon in those last moments. And then he remembers waking up here.
The undying Mydeimos is finally dead.
He wondered if Flame Reaver somehow knew about his only weakness or if he just got lucky and hit him at that one spot that could kill him. Mydei turns back around and looks ahead towards the final road that lays before him. There is nothing he can do about what happened and how it happened. It’s not as if any of it can be changed.
At that moment, only one thought crossed his mind: Phainon . He wears a sad smile and whispers into the winds, “I guess it's all up to you now. Become the dawn, Deliverer.”
Mydei then takes a step forward towards his final destination.
He slowly walks through the ruins. For once he is in no hurry. After all, this will be the last time he will ever get to see this view, even if it is the sight of a broken fortress of the past. He allows his mind to wander and try to imagine the view it once was.
He takes the same path that he did once before not too long ago with Castorice and Caleus. The memory of that day always comes with a tightness around his heart when he remembers how it was then Castorice forever left for the nether world. But today, it also brings a flutter of anticipation. Maybe, just maybe, he will get the chance to see her. Even if it’s for one last time, his greedy heart will take it all.
He finally arrives at the location where he bid farewell to Castorice. An area that was supposed to be enclosed by a dome, now lays in rubble. It’s exactly how he remembers seeing it. However this time there is a single shimmering doorway in the middle of the room.
Mydei is not the one for the ceremony but this moment had a sense of finality to it. So he closed his eyes and pictures a beautiful face with sky blue eyes, donning a most gorgeous smile. He imagines his laugh. Mydei’s lips turn up into a gentle smile as his mind conjures up the image that has been engraved deep into his heart. He then opens his eyes and walks through the door.
“See you tomorrow, Phainon of Aedes Elysiae.”
As soon as he crosses the threshold, the view shifts. He finds himself standing on a narrow path in the most beautiful field of shining pink and blue flowers, as far as the eye can see. He takes a step forward and looks to a fantastical sight of a shattered dripping moon. The whole view looks like a scene from a fairy tale.
Mydei walks down the winding path as he keeps looking around. He takes his time. It’s not like he is in any rush. It seems he has all the time and yet not enough time. He notices the subtle difference in the colour of flower petals. He sees purple butterflies fluttering by. For a moment, a lost child in his heart awakens, wishing to walk among the flowers and chasing the butterflies. But he decides against it, shaking the thought away.
He strolls until he notices someone sitting by the flower. He stops, immediately recognizing her. Castorice was on her knees, tending to the plants. She looks like she was blending into them, becoming one with the flowers.
Mydei slowly walks up to her. She seems so lost in thought that she didn’t even notice him approaching her. Mydei clears his throat in hopes to not startle her by letting his presence known but fails miserably.
Castorice suddenly freezes, whips her head around and stares wide eyed at Mydei. A mare moments later she stands up in a panic. “What? Lord Mydei? How?”
Mydei looks at her solemnly.
Castorice shakes her head as if to try rid of a supposed hallucination before her. “You– Why are you here? You were fighting the Flame Reaver. I couldn’t hold him for longer.” Mist starts to gather at the edge of her eyes as she continues, “When my powers dissipated he blocked me out. I couldn’t reach him again. But– But you were still fighting him. And even if he was able to… you still shouldn’t be here.”
Mydei takes a step forward. “Cas—“
But Castorice continues to spiral, “No! You can’t be here. Why are you here?” She screams in desperation.
“Cast—“
“Wait! Maybe I can send you back. Yes! Like how I did with Caelus. I can do it again.”
“CASTORICE!”
She stops her rambling and looks at him.
Mydei, wearing a sad smile, just shakes his head.
Castorice immediately lets out a heart wrenching sob and hides her face in the palm of her hands.
Mydei heart shatters. He has never seen her cry like this before. She dealt with death her whole life. She has said many farewells before. So, for her to grieve for him, it makes him feel like he has just committed a grave sin. And right now, all he cares about is comforting her.
Acting on instinct, Mydei quickly closes the gap between them. He gently reaches for her wrist. Castorice flinches from the unexpected touch. Mydei immediately takes a step back and calls her name instead in a much softer tone.
She wipes her tears and looks up. Before her, Mydei stands only a few steps away donning a gentle smile for her. His arms beside him, slightly lifted in a silent invite.
Castorice takes a broken breath and runs directly into him. She wraps her arm around him tightly as if she is afraid that he might disappear. Because of all she knows, he actually might disappear for forever. She rests her face on his shoulder. In that safe cocoon she allows herself to cry.
Mydei let out a warm, wet laugh. He finally lets a silent tear escape as she is engulfed in his arms. He hugs her like he is trying to convey all the love and care he held for her in this heart for all these years. To deliver her what he always wished he could but never achieved.
“It makes me so happy to finally give you a hug, Cas.” Mydei finally whispers fondly.
Castorice cries even louder and eventually chokes out, “As much I …d–dreamt of… this, I–I wish …it hadn't come so soon.”
Mydei gently pats the back of her head.
“They all left so soon. One by one… Aglaea, Cipher. Even Tri–Trinnon. I couldn’t stop any of it.” Her breath hitches. “And now… now you will leave too.”
Hearing that Mydei feels something heavy settle in his heart as he tightens his hold around Castorice. He holds her close as she weeps her heart out on his shoulder.