A world of pitch black. Compared to Estile's world it could be said to be the opposite of hers but standing together with Arvel, she knew the difference between them. The world she stood now truly made hers seem insignificant. The expanding darkness was blank but somehow seemed vibrant, as if in any moment it would burst open and unleash the colours of a brand new world onto them.
"It's been a long time since I've felt so small," Arvel commented uneasily.
"It really puts everything into perspective doesn't it?" Estile chuckled. "This is the power of a true God."
Arvel gazed at the endless darkness with nothing to guide them, "But where do we go from here?"
Estile looked at him with a smirk, "Just like the usual Arvel. We go wherever we're needed."
"And where is that exactly?" he eyed her arms folded.
"I don't know but I think we'll be called soon." Not even a few seconds after did the world react around them. The world moved, the only indication of which the turbulence formed in their own bodies. With no light or shadow to witness from, the endless dark rotated and shifted in unperceivable ways until finally and suddenly the sparks of life appeared. A bedroom in the middle of it all with no walls or ceiling. The room was quite large for a bedroom but compared to the grand space around it, the furniture and setting within seemed empty. Estile and Arvel stood outside of it, able to witness the frozen world within.
An elegant bed with draping pulled back curtains marked its centre piece. The floor a gentle carpet and against what should have been a wall, several cupboards and a desk. The truth of it however was chaos. The carpet was scorched and gouged, the bed missing a large chunk, paper filled with childish drawing and gibberish flung into the air, wooden fragments frozen mid-flight and most importantly, the five figures locked in combat.
Four were incredibly familiar. Each of their faces marred by an intense desperate determination. To them the fate of world truly was upon their shoulders. The grey haired Edgar, his axe like blade held in defence as he protected the women beside him. Sephie with her orange hair sprayed back, one hand supporting Edgar and the other pointed forwards, a spear of light forming at her finger tips. Kyle with his neat brown hair, his orthodox style of fighting had him at the front shield in hand, his sword shattered mid swing as he swung it towards their enemy. Then there was Karen, her blazing red hair alight. She stood opposite of Kyle both hands on a flaming sword of incredible power. It was her inheritance, all her magic combined in one seemingly simple weapon and its target the final being in the room, the Sleeping God. The strange creature stood at the height of an adult, its arms lanky and hands twice the size as a normal man. Eyes of pitch black and with spiralling hair to match. Its mouth was open and screaming towards them. The power of its voice capable to rend steel and shatter their defences as each of the Ever-Garden were being pushed to the limits of their bodies.
"Something isn't right," Estile commented as she gazed into the room from the outside together with Arvel.
"I agree," he nodded and frowned. "I know it's the Sleeping God but why would they attack a child like that?"
"A child?" Estile focused her gaze but could only see the strange creature.
"Ah," Arvel realised and touching Estile's shoulder shared his vision with hers.
In an instant the form of the creature shifted to something much smaller. Its body was similar with arms a little too long and hands too big for its proportions. Its eyes were large, like round opals of black and its hair like before was a frazzled dark mess that splayed all around. The smaller size however changed the story entirely. The terrifying expression of anger it had shown at the intruders was now the terrified countenance of a child. She was screaming for help, clutching onto a small wooden doll as out of nowhere four intruders aimed for her life.
"An illusion..., but why?" Estile eyes were wide and confused.
"Because she's scared," Arvel answered. "Remember when you were little and that wild dog chased you? In the end you stood your ground, you pretended to be something bigger than you were."
"I did that to protect Marisha, there was nowhere left to run." Estile understood, "And for the Sleeping God that was the same."
She took a step forward, on the borders of the carpeted floor that separated the darkness. A sudden pang lit up her mind. Days spent drawing, wishing and lonely in a sealed circular chamber. Then a light, a world and in it, life. That magical place where things happened, that place which was infinitely better, but to be there, to live there, it could only be a dream and to first dream, you needed to sleep.
"Estile?" Arvel quickly reached out for her as she suddenly swayed. "Are you crying?"
Estile straightened herself and wiped her cheek to find it wet, "I guess I am...."
"What do we do?" Arvel asked as he gazed into the frozen room. "We came here to end the Sleeping God, to break the fog and the demons forever. I can't kill a child Estile, no matter how old they really may be."
"Yeah neither can I," Estile sighed. The old her might have, but the her now couldn't fathom it. "So I guess there's only one thing we can do."
"What?"
"Save it," she smiled and without waiting for Arvel's agreement crossed the threshold of the room. Time came spiralling back into order. The frozen world ticked back into shape and as Estile made her way to the small God's side, so did the chaos return. At first it was slow but bit by bit the fragments of the world began to reassemble. By the time Estile stood by the Sleeping God the movements of their body were perceivable and so was the heat of Karen's blade. Even for her it would be hard to stop that weapon of power, so instead she stood between it and its target, her arms spread protectively as the illusion was dispelled.
"Estile-!" Arvel's voice caught her the same time as the rush collapsed towards them. The bout of movement became utter chaos. Estile winced as the God's scream awoke, the force of it crushing into her back which she refused to budge. Karen whose sole intention to end everything had been interrupted by the sudden appearance of her friend, and the God she was aiming for to suddenly become much smaller. Her swing instead went wide and released a tremendous arc of flame out to the abyss. Kyle who was the same halted his shattered sword and instead had to raise his shield protecting Estile from Sephie's spear of light. Edgar fell back to the floor, taking Sephie with him.
In an instant it ended. The Sleeping God full of fear gazed up with its large black eyes. Estile turned her head and smiled, "It's okay. I'm here." As if unable to cope any longer the childlike God, relieved and tired, sat where it was and began to cry.
"Shhh there there, you're alright," Estile gently cradled the strange being as everyone else in the room, with the exception of Arvel, stared incredibly confused. "I've got you. Rest and sleep, you must be tired."
Filled with comfort, the Sleeping God obeyed. It wasn't just the assault of the four members of the Ever-Garden but the 400 years of a twisted world born from its nightmares and to top it all off, a mislead man who tried to make its powers his. For the God, like its namesake, sleeping was easy.
"What is going on?" Kyle stepped forward only to be hushed back. He asked again, quietly, "Estile why are you here?"
"We're here to bring things to an end," Arvel said from behind him.
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.