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So this is where it ends.
Malos isn't sure he's heard those words correctly. "What?" The reply comes after a beat, some amount of disbelief in his voice. It was not where it ended. He'd promised Jin to take him to the Architect himself, to die in front of God as proof of the cruel world He created. The Architect wasn't here.
"… Nothing," Jin's answer comes after several beats of silence, still staring out at the entrance to this room. Since Malos found him, he hadn't been able to meet his eyes for longer than a second. "You go on ahead. I'll stay here," Jin tells Malos. He knows he'll agree. Jin has been in charge for nearly all of these five centuries. It isn't their promise, but he has faith that Malos won't doubt him.
Malos doubts him, but only briefly. He doesn't argue, just asks a question and begrudgingly accepts Jin's answer. He doesn't like it. He doesn't have to like it. Jin wanted to die, this is what he had been asking for. He leaves Jin there, and goes to meet the Architect alone. It stings when he's asked if he's angry at Jin, and infuriating when he's told that Jin will come back to him. Malos still moves on when he's told the Architect isn't long for the world, anyway.
Jin's eyes fall shut as he feels his body's ether begin to disperse. He takes a deep breath, letting it out slowly. It feels like relief, clear and clean, washing over him and eroding him away. And yet, Jin finds regret before he's completely gone. Had he done all he could for Malos? Hopefully Rex would do more for him. Jin killed Amalthus, the man who put Malos on this terrible path. He had to hope that would be enough, since he couldn't do more.
Jin's Core Crystal clatters against the floor, dark and red and marred by his time as a Flesh Eater. The group stands in hushed silence. Where Akhos and Patroka's Cores had been ground into dust and consumed by Amalthus, Jin's laid on the ground without so much as a chip in it. Nia glances to Rex, apprehensive, and he glances back. Ultimately, it's Nia who picks up his Core Crystal, staring at it for a long time.
"Do you think he'll remember, if we awaken him?" Rex finally asks.
Nia shakes her head. "I dunno. Probably not, right? It's... a little scary, knowing he'll still just go back into the cycle, isn't it?"
"There's no guarantee he'll ever be ready to resonate, either," Mythra points out after a moment. "Flesh Eaters aren't exactly sure things. With the way his Core was in Morytha, I don't know if he'd be stable without her heart... Rex, you should hold it."
"Huh? Why me?" Rex asks, looking to her. Nia looks, as well, ears lowering as if mildly offended.
Mythra rolls her eyes at his mistrust. "Just trust me, idiot. Foresight, remember? I think it's for the best," she answers. "Also, you are the Master Driver. If there's any chance for him to resonate again, he needs to be near someone who's presence encourages resonating. Nia, being a normal Blade is all he wanted. He never wanted... all of this. That would be ideal for him." Not for Lora, but she doesn't think Lora would have wanted all of this, either.
Still, Nia hesitantly puts Jin's Core Crystal in Rex's hand, and Rex puts it securely in his pouch. It was time to go on, then.
Mythra stops Rex outside of Artifice Aion's room. They're on a crunch for time, but more than Foresight, her gut tells her this is the right thing to do. "Rex, take out Jin's Core Crystal," she tells him.
"Are you mad? That feels like a terrible move, Mythra!" Zeke is the first one to exclaim. "What if Malos gets it and resonates with him?" he demands.
"That might be our only chance to end this and keep Rex's promise to Father," Mythra counters. "It's risky, but I'm... certain we'd all prefer things end before Malos takes control of Aion. I've told you what it does," she says, sounding irritated. "Rex?"
Rex glances between Mythra and Zeke, and then looks to Mòrag, wary of making the wrong decision. Finally, he takes Jin's Core Crystal out of his pouch to hold. "Are we giving it to him, Mythra?"
Mythra shakes her head. "No. Jin will decide that, I think. Flesh Eaters, they work differently than Blades in a lot of ways. Some get lucky. Some don't. That goes for their Cores, too. There's an equal chance that Jin will never be ready to resonate with again, as to him remembering everything when he resonates with someone. Given how powerful he was already, there's a good chance he might take the chance to stop Malos, himself, one way or another."
"This isn't Foresight?" Rex questions.
"Just a hunch. Things could go wrong. Don't treat this like a plan, because it isn't one. We will still kill him if we have to. If that includes Jin, too, we will strike him down," Mythra replies, voice firm. She looks to the rest of their party, and they nod in understanding, regardless of how insane they think the idea is.
And so, they approach Malos.
"Malos!" Rex shouts into the hangar as they approach, coming to a stop several feet from the Aegis. In the dim light of Aion's hangar, illuminated only by the glow of Aion's core and lines of light around the room, it's not hard for Rex to notice Jin's Core Crystal start to glow in his hand: a dim, flickering red.
"Just in time for the final act, boy! I've saved you the best seats in the house," Malos turns on his heel theatrically, though Malos visibly pauses when he sees the red glow of a Core Crystal in Rex's hand. "What is that," Malos says, the dramatic mirth in his voice leaving in an instant, leaving nothing in it's wake. It's deadpan.
Rex scowls. "I think you know what it is, Malos," Rex answers, holding it out to show him. Malos's jaw clenches, the muscles in his face twitching his mouth into a scowl of his own.
"I'll ask you nicely once, boy," Malos warns, very slowly. "Give that to me." The Core Crystal flickers more intensely in Rex's hand. "Resonate with that, and I will kill you to take it back."
"I don't want to resonate with it. It's not my job to fix your mess, Malos," Rex answers. "He wanted to die. I know what it's like, feeling like you can't fix it. But I promise you, you can—"
The entire hangar shakes violently as Malos throws a hand out to the side. "I can't fix anything!" Malos snaps. "That isn't what I was made for! I gave him what he wanted, didn't I? Now give me that Core!" the Aegis snarls, taking a step forward.
Rex doesn't falter, though he does curl his fingers back around the Core Crystal, on the off chance he and Mythra would have to leap out of the way of Malos grabbing for it. "No, you didn't!" Rex exclaims. "Nobody wants to die! They only see it as a way out, Malos! Jin was no different, I'm sure of it. You offered him the easiest path, and so he followed you. That's not the same thing. Surely you understand, neither of you wanted any of this!"
Malos visibly falters in response to Rex claiming he hadn't given Jin what he wanted, that Jin didn't want to die. He pieces himself back together fast. "You're wrong, brat," Malos sneers. "This is what I was made for! Jin had nothing to live for, why else would he follow me?"
"He had you to live for!" Rex shouts back, clearly getting frustrated. "We're talking in circles, Malos! You just don't want to believe me. Mythra...?" Rex looks to Mythra, who seems vaguely skeptical for a moment, before she nods. "Maybe he can explain it to you, then, Malos!" the Driver decides, holding the Core Crystal out in front of him.
"Don't you dare!" Malos snarls, launching himself at Rex as the Core starts to glow in his hand. Mythra is Pneuma in an instant, locking swords with Malos.
Pneuma shoves him back. "Malos, you must listen to what Jin has to say. Rex promised to protect you, he's only doing this for your sake!" The Aegis insists, mustering every ounce of strength to knock him backwards as the light behind her grows and takes shape into Jin.
She's glad he thought it was worth the risk of losing Malos to try to save him. Jin watches as Malos skids backward, sword clenched in his hand as if it were the only thing he had left. He watches as Malos, single-minded, focuses on rushing Pneuma again, sword raised for another uncharacteristically messy strike. Jin doesn't intervene, wondering if he'd made a mistake. Maybe Rex should have given Malos his Core Crystal. Jin knows that the man wouldn't have awakened him.
Pneuma counters him easily, and knocks him to the side when their swords lock again. Malos loses his footing and hits the ground, but gets back up anyway, a glint in his eye that makes Jin think he might be too far gone. He points his sword at Jin. "You! Why would you resonate with him? You didn't want to live, was that a lie?" Malos demands, lip curling in rage.
"Rex told me something that made me believe there was a way. I couldn't join him as I was, so I made the choice to kill the man that made all of us suffer. I hoped Rex would get through to you," Jin answers honestly, voice level. He speaks clearly, but not loudly.
"You didn't answer my question, Jin. I promised you that you could die," Malos sneers, watching as Jin approaches him. He keeps his sword outstretched, even when Jin stops in front of it. "Is this a request?" Malos asks, eyes narrowing.
Jin stares at him for a long moment. "Your hand is shaking. If I had followed you up where, would you have been able to keep your promise any more than I'd kept mine?"
Malos growls, gripping the handle of his sword harder. "This isn't about me, Jin. We already know I'm a piece of shit," he replies. His voice is lower, but there's still no shortage of seething rage in it. "If there was another way, don't you think we'd have found it?"
No one else can tell, but Malos is begging Jin to tell him he was right. Pleading with him that they'd done the right thing, followed the right path, that Jin was happy with what they'd done. Jin doesn't give him that. "We never looked," Jin replies. That pure, unadulterated rage floods Malos again, and he raises his sword to strike Jin.
The sword comes down, and Jin takes a breath. "I'm sorry, Malos," he tells him, gaze turning away from the man. The sword stops right before it digs into Jin's clavicle. Malos takes a heaving breath, shaking with every rise of his chest.
"You should be. You made me like this, Jin. You made me like this!" Malos snarls, hand shaking as he pulls his sword away.
"I didn't," Jin replies, gaze settling back on Malos. "Amalthus did. That man is dead now. You can—"
Malos grabs his collar and drags him closer. "I can't be anything but this! I'm a hideous monster, far beyond saving! All I've done is try to make you into one, too!" he snarls in Jin's face, shaking him once. "I'm putting an end to this. Help Rex. Prove to the world you can be the good guy, Paragon. Prove to her you aren't a lost cause," Malos shoves Jin hard, and Pneuma catches the Blade when he stumbles.
When Malos falls out of Aion, Jin drops his sword to catch him. Malos's arms come around Jin, gathering fabric along his middle back to cling as Jin lowers himself to the floor and Malos goes with him. "Pneuma," Jin calls, voice thick with emotion. He doesn't know the extent of the damage, but he knows it must be extensive.
"I'm the one dying, here," Malos grumbles in his arms, sounding pained. "Maybe I..." he trails off, feeling too stubborn to actually admit wrong. The suggestion was probably fine. Jin's arms cling tighter around him, and he hears Jin take in a sharp, unsteady breath at the mention of him dying.
"Pneuma, fix it," Jin demands, turning to face her where she stands behind him, a tightness to her brow.
She shakes her head. "I won't do that. I think you know why, Jin."
Jin's fingertips dig into the ridges of Malos's armor. "I'll be here. It's different!" Jin snaps at her.
"Wouldn't really be fair of you to demand that, Jin," Malos comments, taking a deep breath, pained. "I'm sorry, too. I don't regret any of it, but... maybe I wish we'd found a different path."
"Maybe if I'd been your Driver..." Rex starts, earning a scoff from Malos, who drops his head against Jin's shoulder.
"Save it, brat. There was never anyone else for me," Malos answers. The tree rumbles, shaking the ground beneath their feet. Malos doesn't seem concerned. "Pneuma, you might want to fuck off with your Driver before it gets bad," Malos comments.
"Malos..." Pneuma murmurs, though she knows there are alarms going off for a reason. "Jin, we should go," she prompts.
Jin clings harder to Malos, even as he sees the purple motes of light start to drift off of Malos's body. "I'm not going. I've lived long enough on borrowed time. He was the only reason I came back," Jin tells her, voice firm.
"Get the fuck out of here, Jin," Malos says, leaving no room for argument with his tone. Jin doesn't move, so Malos lets go of him, and forces himself out of Jin's arms, clutching his cracked Core Crystal. "Maybe you'll get lucky. Just get the fuck out of here. You can't get lucky if you stay and die," he grits out, feeling lightheaded.
Jin grabs Malos's shoulders to steady him when he wobbles, though it isn't more than a moment later that his hands phase through Malos's form as purple light takes place of his body, and fades into the air above them.
A cracked Core Crystal hits the ground where Malos knelt, and Jin stares, hands shaking.
Rex is the one who moves, grabbing the Core Crystal. He grabs one of Jin's hands, presses it into it, and then pulls him up. "He asked you to get out of here, so let's go," Rex demands. "He's followed you for your sake for this long. Trust him, for once." He's not sure if Malos will ever reawaken with a crack like that, but now wasn't the time to worry about it. "Pneuma, what's going on?" he asks.
Their friends gather around as the hangar shakes harder, and Pneuma pulls up a diagram to examine. Her face pales when she looks at it, and wave of concerned noises escape the party, but she has to make a decision.
Jin isn't the only one clinging onto a Core Crystal as they sit on Azurda, staring at the new world. While Rex sits at the back of the Titan, staring in awe at the endless ocean and sky, Jin sits near Azurda's shoulders and neck, staring at the green fur rather than anything else. Anything but the Core Crystal in his hand, and anything but the overwhelming prospect of a new world, so painfully distant from any of the homes he's ever loved.
"You've learned now that there is a way forward, yes?" Azurda asks Jin. "You will not make the mistakes of the past?"
Jin doesn't reply immediately. His thumb traces the crack in the Core Crystal, then runs along the smooth surface. He looks up, watches where Rex was standing, equally grieving. Or, maybe not. Rex still had his family, even if he didn't have Pyra or Mythra.
Jin has never been so lucky. Even if he could have gone to Addam or Minoth, Jin hadn't been particularly close with either of them. Addam would not have approved of what happened, nor would Minoth — Flesh Eater or not. Jin hadn't had anyone, either. Just his grief.
"You do have me, you know. I will not forgive you so easily, but in some way, I believe I do understand," Azurda continues slowly. "I will help you toward a new life, regardless, Jin."
"...I appreciate it, Azurda," Jin tells him, if only to get him to stop talking. He still doesn't answer Azurda's questions, but he can at least acknowledge that he isn't entirely alone. Not that he remembers the life Azurda knew him in.
Azurda hums, content with that answer for now, and continues to focus on his flying. Jin keeps watching Rex, and his found family. Addam's victory was nothing like this. Maybe Jin wasn't the only unlucky one, who lost everything dear to him despite how hard he worked. Maybe Jin wasn't the only one to never get what he wanted.
And yet, Addam still went on to ensure someone like Rex lived. What a joke.
Or, maybe it wasn't a joke at all, and Addam still got everything in the end. Rex was no reincarnation of the man, but Jin could only imagine this was what Addam wanted, too. Someone to pass the torch to. Jin blinks a couple times, dismissing the wetness in his eyes.
When Rex holds up Mythra's Core Crystal while it brightened into blinding light, everyone else is shocked. Jin isn't. Rex is the type to work hard and still get what he wants, in the end.
His thumb searches for the crack in Malos's Core Crystal in his hand, watching as Poppi rushes forward to leap into a hug between both Mythra and Pyra, and he pauses when he finds nothing but smooth crystal beneath the pad of his thumb.
Jin glances down to search for it, certain he hadn't flipped it in his hand, and stares at the glowing Core. Where it previously laid dark in his hand, it was now a brilliant purple, flickering as if deciding if it wanted to awaken yet. Jin feels his breath catch in his throat, and as Dark Ether starts to gather and swirl around it, nobody notices except for Pyra and Mythra. Pyra offers a kind smile, and Mythra smirks at him, plainly emoting the 'I told you so' sentiment.
When Malos finally takes form in front of him, a sob wrenches out of Jin's throat, and he drags Malos to sit so he can cling to him. If nobody had noticed before, they certainly had, now. "No fighting on my back, please," Azurda warns Mòrag and Brighid as they start to get to their feet.
Malos wraps his arms around Jin, too, more than happy to ignore everyone else and cling to him, instead.