The Bird and the Garden 3: The Final Adventure

Chapter 78: Cruelty of the Gods, Part Three

But at this point, she didn't care what happened to her body. She wanted, no, she needed to save her friends.

She staggered forward, her knees wobbling. Shub-Niggurath stared for a moment, her eyes blinking at different intervals. The Celestial used her magic to support herself, panting hard. She could feel the Souls of her friends inside the God. It was her one source of motivation to keep standing, to keep her sword from falling from her hands.

A flash of Shub-Niggurath's humanoid form flashed before her eyes - the horned woman wearing an ear-to-ear toothy smile with her tongue lolling out, followed by a deep laugh that made her bones tremble. It was enough to startle Salem back to life.

The Celestial blinked, staring up at the unstoppable, immortal behemoth before her, realization settling in.

She couldn't beat Shub-Niggurath. This wasn't a fight she would win. This God was a true immortal; it wasn't the pseudo-immortality that the Blood had, where the only thing capable of killing it had been either Light, Dark, or Celestial magic. Neither of those things affected this enemy. Salem wasn't a God - she was only a demigod, still mortal.

Yet again, she could feel herself losing hope. Only this time, it was diminishing into no hope at all. She didn't want to die alone. She thought of her friends, the friends she couldn't save. She took a step back, her lip beginning to quiver. In the end, she had failed.

She thought about Yin. If he was here, he'd be able to offer her support, healing her wounds in the case that Shub-Niggurath did anything dangerous. She wished Verde were here too; Verde was far more intelligent than any of them. She'd be able to formulate some kind of strategy, placing them in advantageous positions. She wished Sasha were here. The tall tomboy had the strength to back them up, and a smile that could brighten entire worlds. If Vao was here, he'd say something stupid that would raise her spirits.

If Mono were here, she'd feel more secure knowing she had an ally who could control time itself, along with being physically the strongest, and having a strong enough mind to resist eldritch influence. If Jasper were here, the fairy would boast, pumping them up. If Sapphire were here, her laughter would make this a lot easier on her mind, her preciousness giving even more incentive to fight. The same went for Midori, who was still just a child; she had a whole life ahead of her.

Would she see them again if Shub-Niggurath claimed her Soul? Would she ever see them again? She didn't want to die alone. She didn't want to die at all. She had grown to love adventuring with her friends. She had even grown to hope they could continue exploring Twist if the Timeline was reset. A world of adventure, with excitement and fortune to be made at every corner, filled with many races that had been fun to meet.

But she felt she'd never get to experience that again. If only her friends had been there with her. They still wouldn't stand a chance, but at least they'd be together. She tearfully closed her bleeding eyes, her lip beginning to quiver, her weapon slowly drooping to her side. She was on the verge of giving up.

THUMP!

Salem cried out when something heavy landed on top of her, crushing her into the floor. She could hear several groans, the Celestial lifting her head to meet the scarlet eyes of a living doll.

"Kyahaha! Hi, Salem!"

The Celestial jumped to her feet, staring at her friends in utter shock. Vao's headless body sat up, Verde placing his dazed head back on the stump of his neck. Mono was helping Sasha and Midori to their feet, Yin leaning against his katana with a cigarette hanging from his lips. Jasper was lying on his shoulder, her eyes spinning dizzily in her tiny head.