A World With/Out Home

Chapter 39: The world at the end of the street. (Part 2)

Kyle spun to look at him, "You're here as well? Whoa, dude you look old."

Arvel laughed, "Well that's a given... after all it's being 400 years."

Edgar and Sephie who had been watching from the floor stood up and tentatively came closer. Sephie squeezed Arvel's cheeks, "This isn't an illusion from the Sleeping God right?"

"No, and ow," he winced but coped with her vigorous pinch.

Karen dismissed her sword and fell to her knees. Estile who was still holding the Sleeping God rushed to support her as well.

"Are you okay?" she asked. "It's good that I came before you used that thing properly or you'd be dead."

"Estile?" Karen huffed tiredly. "No... you're Estile but-."

"I died and came back," she admitted. "Arvel is telling the truth. It's been 400 years since you went to ki-, handle your business." She decided to change her words in case the Sleeping God could still hear them despite its current state.

"You died?" Karen almost couldn't believe what she was saying, after all Estile was incredibly hard to kill and for her to die meant something very big happened. "Then... we failed...."

The four who entered to slay the Sleeping God stood shocked. Their bodies were near broken and their weapons barely functioned. After all their efforts to know it was for naught hurt more than they could describe.

Sephie stepped forward and shook her head, "400 years? That can't be possible. We've only been here for not even a minute! I-I she paled, the children- are they?"

"Arvel do we have time to explain?" Estile asked.

He turned the question to her, "I'm piggy backing off your inheritance here. You'll know better than me."

Again Karen's eyes widened, "Estile you-."

"Yeah," she laughed awkwardly. "Arvel and I are basically dead at this point. Once we leave here we'll go back to the cosmos."

"No!" it was Edgar that called. "No one else was meant to die. We won't let you die! Kyle you agree with me don't you?"

"Of course I do," he answered but sighing grit his teeth. "But is there anything we can do?"

Arvel smiled warmly. He hadn't seen them in so long but they hadn't changed and more importantly, they were as caring as they had always been.

"This is going to be brief so please listen," and so Arvel began a very much condensed story of what happened to the world after the four of them disappeared. Estile watched in silence as the waves of emotion crossed their expressions. For them the impact was more than hers. She had her life as Kyle to ease in the realisation but to them, their failure was fresh.

"Then if we kill the Sleeping God, everything will return to normal?" Edgar asked shaken.

Estile held the God in her arms protectively, "Maybe, but I don't think that's the way we should go."

"Are you sure?" Karen asked. "If we let it live then this could all happen again."

Sephie frowned, "How could you say that Karen. I was for killing it before but it's a child!"

Kyle however kept a level face, "Our job is to protect the world and we failed once already. That God brings with it power we can't predict. Even that Phil guy or whatever you called him almost destroyed everything Arvel managed to save. Estile I trust you but how can we control a God?"

"We're not controlling it," Estile answered bluntly. "To be honest I'm not sure what to do. But I know this. The world we loved, was a world that this God was a part of. A world that this God loved just as much as we did. The other races were as much as part of our world as we were." A thud echoed in Estile's chest causing her to wince.

"Estile!" Karen immediately came to her side. "What's wrong?"

"Looks like our time's up here," she said laboured as the energy that had been keeping her body together began to fade. "Arvel quickly hold on to me."

"Right," he stood at her side and held her shoulders protectively. "We're in this together.

"Wait!" Kyle called. "What do we do? What about the God?"

"Umm," Estile's mental functions were already burdened by her collapsing body. She looked to her friends and smiled. "I guess I'll take it with me."

"What?" The four looked at her more shocked than confused.

Sephie tried to reach them only for something to repel her hand, "You can't! We don't know what will happen if you bring that God with you when you disappear. You might never come back!"

Karen slammed her hand against the strange ward that separated them, "Damn it Estile let it go!"

"Sorry, not this time," she smiled again. "When you get out and see Lav, tell her I love her and that I promise to see everyone again."

"Tell her yourself damn it!" Kyle as well tried to reach them but like the others couldn't.

Edgar was the only one who remained somewhat composed. He breathed out a tired laugh knowing he couldn't do a thing to stop them, "Just go already. We'll make sure there's a world for you to come back to."

"Thank you," Arvel's lips split into a peaceful smile as he held both Estile and the Sleeping God's now crumbling bodies. His own followed suit. The words of the four no longer reached him and as the light faded a pleasant sensation of peace drifted into his soul, a sensation he had not felt in a very long time.