"Non nobis solum nati sumus.
(Not for ourselves alone are we born.)"
Marcus Tullius Cicero
Clara could feel it in the air. There was a visible shift in control. The once clear sky had gone from a dull blue to a sunset red hiding the sun. It blazing hotter than it had days before. The air was filled with the pungent scent of decaying corpses and wildfires causing havoc in cities. The blood vines were slithering around like snakes. The Egg had rose above the ground, pulsating with energy. Clara could feel the voice of the Egg in her head having major mood swings. One moment, Clara was being congratulated for conquering Tommy's love, and the next she was being called a foolhardy pawn. Clara was subject to the devastation of the Egg in images that flashed through her head. Clara could only stand at stare at the Egg for the longest while. She wondered how she was supposed to stop the apocalypse.
sthguoht dnoces gnivah era uoy em llet t'noD
Clara couldn't block the Egg out. Clara couldn't stop the influx of horrible emotions that threatened the fragile compassion Clara had worked hard to cultivate. A ravaging heartache built from anger, despair, and helplessness clawed at her soul. The Dreamon's final curse upon the world when they were destroyed by the gods. She felt an eternal animosity that begged for vengeance. It was a curse that survived despite the host being obliterated to the point that their entire essence was gone from all the worlds. If Clara allowed herself to rest, that feeling would surely corrupt her. Clara would be stripped of her humanity by the emotions if she let it into her heart.
"Clara!" That was the reason Clara couldn't allow the sweltering heat to blow her away. Clara looked behind her to see Tommy covered in sweat as he fumbled over blood vines to reach Clara. His eyes were filled with an understanding that he didn't want to have. "What the hell are you doing here, Clara?"
Clara stepped down from the ledge she was standing on to reach Tommy. He grabbed onto her arms with a grip that stopped Clara from moving. She smiled sadly at Tommy. "I should have known you would come here. One must never underestimate Tommy Innit. Isn't that what you always said?" Clara gave a small laugh. "I'm glad you're here..."
"No. Fuck no. I am not letting you fucking do this," Tommy snapped with tears filling into his eyes. Clara placed a thumb underneath his cheek to wipe away the droplets. Tommy grabbed onto Clara's hand with a tight grip. Clara sighed as she allowed it.
"Do you remember the sword we made? When I was teaching you Enchantment, we place a unique spell on your sword. Do you remember it? I know you have the sword, Tommy. I entrusted it with you. If I know you, it became your prized possession, didn't it?" Clara said with that upset smile that she couldn't force to be more upbeat. She wanted to reassure Tommy, but Clara couldn't figure out how to make her face do the appropriate responses.
"Hell no. I am not giving you that fucking sword. I will not let you do this. Your plan is shit. We can come up with something better," Tommy said as he pushed Clara away with a steeled face of anger. He looked like a warrior setting out to protect his country. Clara reached for Tommy, and she left her arm hanging in the air when Tommy stumbled away from her hand.
"There is no other way, Tommy. If I am not killed in the same way the Dreamon is, there will be no end to this," Clara said. The creature she originated from was a creature of wickedness that was killed by a divine sword from the deity that had loved the Dreamon. That was probably why the curse was so powerful. It wasn't just a will to survive, it was a spell that was cast with the pain of a betrayal. Clara didn't understand betrayal that well. Tommy knew how horrible betrayal was. Clara didn't want to have to do this to Tommy for that reason, but Tommy was the person who loved Clara most.
"It is a prime-awful shit plan that deserves to be rejected by every person in the universe! I refuse to do it, Clara," Tommy snapped as he conjured the sword into his hand. Tommy hadn't given it a name yet, but there were two Enchantments on the sword. The first was an expected one. It had Unbreakable placed on it. That is the first one Tommy placed on the sword. The second was called Deum Homicida. It denoted a blade that could kill divine spirits. It was a special Enchantment that few people in history could perform. Tommy hadn't understood why Clara asked him to put that Enchantment on his sword. The original reason was for Tommy to kill Foolish, Hannah, and Karl. The new reason...
"Tommy, if you don't do kill me, this entire world will crumble. That is the curse the Dreamon. Everyone here will perish in horrible deaths. Every place will disappear. Everyone will remember this tragedy, but not the people caught in that sorrowful day. Everything that you have built and fought for will fall to ruin. The people that you have loved and cared for will die in despair," Clara promised Tommy.
The blonde grabbed onto Clara's shoulders. He was trembling, but his face was resolute. "Damn them all, then! I don't want to live in a world where you're fucking gone! Drag them all to Hell. Set the spirits of war and the four horseman on this goddamn Server! I'll sacrificed everything. Don't make me do this... don't leave me, Mom."
Clara choked on her breath. She stepped away from Tommy with tears falling down her cheeks as her smile softened into something that only a mother could show. "We both know you don't mean that, Tommy. You care about this place. You want to see this world thrive. I won't be leaving you. I'll be moving elsewhere. I know you'll find me... one day. For now, Tommy, we need to do this before death comes for us all."
"Why don't heroes ever get good endings?" Tommy whispered as he held the sword up. His hands were shaking badly, but the sword wasn't wobbling in the slightest. Clara took a deep breath as she opened her arms to Tommy. The blonde let out a heart wrenching sob as he plunged the sword through Clara's chest. She gasped in pain as she wrapped her arms around Tommy in a hug. Tommy sobbed into her shoulder as he held the hilt. Clara's gold ichor spilled onto Tommy's fingers. She carded her hand through Tommy's hair as she whispered false promises in his ears.
"I love you, son," Clara spoke the truth as her body began glitching out. In a second, she was gone. Tommy was holding a sword coated in ichor with a puff of smoke surrounded where Clara had once been. Tommy sobbed harder. He didn't notice that the clouds were blowing away. He didn't notice that the Egg was crumbling along with the vines. The sky filled with red flecks that dispersed into the heavens. Tommy rested his forehead against the dirt. He couldn't stop crying. Tommy felt his consciousness drift away. He wasn't breathing enough.
Tåkē čârę, mÿ šøń. Wè wįłł mėët ægāīñ
