Important.
This is not quite the end just yet. There are other endings to explore, as well as two planned spin-offs - possibly more.
There is more explaining at the end of this epilogue.
With that said... We've finally reached it. A happy ending.
Enjoy.
...
Sunlight spilled through the curtains as the blankets on the bed moved, a young boy sitting up and rubbing his eyes with a quiet yawn.
Quietly he slipped out from underneath the covers, stretching out his arms with a soft, yet satisfying pop. The smell of eggs and bacon wafted through the cracks of his bedroom door, his eyes resting on his clean clothes set on his dresser.
The boy slipped into his healer robes and grabbed his staff and katana from where they leaned near the door, the last bits of sleep finally fading as his hand sifted through his blonde hair, untangling the messy strands. Flattening the bed head with some water, he made his way through the hall and down the stairs, into the kitchen where breakfast waited.
His mother looked up from the stove, the eggs sizzling on the pan as she smiled warmly at him.
"Good morning, Rosebud. Sleep well?"
His sister snorted at the table. "Rosebud..."
"Shut up, Ruby," the boy growled. Ruby stuck her tongue out at him.
"You first, butt-face."
The blonde boy gave her hair a tug as he passed by her, Ruby letting out a shrill yelp.
"Ow, Yin!"
"Sorry. My hand slipped," Yin snickered. He sat down in front of his plate, picking up his fork. But before his egg could reach his mouth, he paused, lowering his food. "... Why are you in the corner, dad?"
His father was facing the wall with his hands folded behind his back. His mother turned to him, her smile innocent. "Oh, go ahead Tai. Tell him what you did."
Tai let out a sob. "I drank the milk from the carton, so you hit me with the wooden spoon and made me face the wall for thirty minutes..."
"That's right. You talked by the way, so the time starts over."
"But you told me to speak, Summer!"
"Want to stand there for forty-five minutes?"
Tai didn't respond, choosing to just keep his mouth shut. Yin and Ruby finished eating before sliding their plates into the sink, making their way for the door.
"Bye, mom!" Ruby shouted.
"Be safe!" Summer shouted after them "Yin, protect your sister!"
They stepped into the busy streets, the market bustling as usual. The town of Faralda was always busy even this early. Shoppers were everywhere in this market town. Ruby stretched her arms with a slight groan, adjusting her skirt. "I don't need protecting, Yin. I'm a big girl."
"You cried last week because a spider was in your room."
"Shut up, no I didn't."
They argued as they walked to their next door neighbor's house, where a girl was chatting with... A cat? There was another girl next to her, a monoeye.
"George, I'm tellin' ya mate, she isn't worth piss."
The cat meowed sadly, hanging his head. The girl scoffed, scratching him behind the ears.
"I know you thought she was the one, but you thought wrong. There's plenty o' fish in the sea, mate! You'll find someone! You're the toughest cat in the neighborhood! And you know I got your back!"
The cat meowed again, seeming a bit happier. George walked away a bit more confidently, his tail swishing behind him. Yin and Ruby approached, the blonde calling out to her.
"What are you doing, Vao?"
Vao looked up, grinning his signature grin. "Oh, I was just giving George a pep talk is all."
Yin groaned. "How can you even talk to animals, anyway?"
"I dunno."
This is Vao Branwen, Yin and Ruby's older brother. Despite his feminine appearances, he was a boy. With no way of telling his true identity, staring at him for too long confused most of the other boys in their class. And the monoeye next to him was one of his best friends, Mono Chroma. She was nearly always at his house, mostly due to being homeless. Yin and Ruby tried not to look at Mono; she scared them. Her power made her very unpopular in the entire town - she was able to control time itself. Vao was pretty much the only one who didn't care very much. The fact that she wore a traditional maid uniform didn't help her popularity.
Though Yin believed that was because the femboy was too stupid to realize how dangerous Mono could be if she wanted. Hell, Vao was nine years old and still couldn't read. Even still, the monoeye initiated conversation.
"Good morning," she greeted politely. "I suppose it is time we start making our way to school."
"Ew, school," Vao muttered.
"Just get up," Ruby groaned. "Where's Yang? She's always late."
"She said she wanted to walk to school by herself," Mono answered. Neither Ruby nor Yin had the guts to tell her that the reason Yang walked to school on her own was likely because Mono was there. Vao sighed, standing up.
"Fine, fine. We're stopping to grab the other two, then?"
Yin nodded, pointing to Vao's next door neighbor. "Ain't that Verde waiting for us?"
They followed his finger. A little witch was sitting on the front steps, a wide-brimmed pointed hat shielding her eyes from the bright sun, named Verde Forest. Mono frowned.
"... Forgive me, but she looks rather busy," she lied. "Perchance she can walk to school on her own."
Vao was already walking to Verde, waving his arms happily. The witch looked up, her cheeks dusted pink.
Unlike Yin and Ruby, Verde hadn't always lived in Faralda. She had moved next door when they were five with her mother and her father. Yin wasn't certain about all the details, but as of now Verde lived with only her mother. Apparently Raven and their uncle, Qrow, had beaten the hell out of her father and threw him in prison.
Verde herself was a quiet girl. Well-mannered, and had the best grades in every class except for physical education. Needless to say, she was a genius compared to everyone else.
"Vao, good morning," Verde greeted. She looked to the window, her mother giving her a thumbs up from inside. Verde nodded, looking back at the femboy. "I-it always makes me happy to see you."
Mono looked like she wanted to throw something at Verde. Luckily, Vao was slower than watching paint dry.
"Aw, cheers! It makes me happy knowing I make my friends happy!"
"F... F-friends," Verde muttered. She didn't seem very happy.
Standing up, she joined them as they walked to school. Not long after, they spotted another one of their friends. This girl was a lot taller than them, however.
Her name was Sasha Steel, an elf who had moved in from Aldia two years ago. Out of the entire school, she wasn't just the tallest in their grade, but the strongest in the school, with Vao coming in second place. The tanned tomboy looked up, her hands in her pockets. She flashed a grin when she saw them, jerking her head.
"Hey! Mornin'!"
"Morning, Sasha," Yin called back. The elf took her place walking on the opposite side of the healer from Ruby, the six children chatting about their night. Apparently Verde had gone over to Vao's house to help him study. He failed. Yin and Ruby had been hanging out with Sasha until it had been time to go home. And Mono? As depressing as it was, someone destroyed the box she slept in, so her night was spent looking for a new one.
The gates of the school stood before them after around half an hour of walking. Standing at the gate greeting students as they passed was one of their teachers, a poltergeist named Harold. The transparent figure smiled as they approached.
"Good morning!"
"Morning, Professor Harold," Yin mumbled.
Harold was their mathematics teacher. His wife, Rinys, was their home economics teacher. She wasn't around right now - she was likely getting ready for class. Passing their teacher, they walked onto school grounds.
Their school was fairly large. It wasn't an ordinary school, either. Along with teaching basic necessities such as mathematics and reading, it also served as a preparatory academy for adventurers. That was why Yin and his friends had weapons.
"Yin!"
The healer looked up at the sound of the voice, a tiny girl landing on his shoulder. She tugged on his earlobe angrily.
"You kept me waiting!"
"Sorry, Jasper..."
Jasper Primary was one of Yin's friends. She was a fairy, like her sisters. Who weren't very far off. Tourmaline was blonde and acted as a middle ground for Jasper's ego and Sapphire, their sister, who was even less intelligent than Vao. But Sapphire had an excuse; she was intellectually disabled. And not the type that made you smart in certain topics. She just didn't understand a whole lot.
"Vao-"
"Please step away, fairy," Mono growled. Tourmaline shot her a glare, sticking her tongue out. Mono and Tourmaline didn't get along very well. As Verde tried to diffuse the situation and stop a fight that Mono would always win, Sapphire was hugging Vao happily.
"Oh! Hi, guys!"
Yin looked down from his conversation with Jasper, smiling down at the shorter girl with green hair. "Hey, Hekue."
Hekue was a dryad, one of the only ones in town. Unlike the other students, she didn't live with her parents. She lived in a tree just outside of town. A vegan girl, she was also the president of the band club, and an aspiring adventurer like them.
"I not stupid! You not smart than me!"
"You can barely even speak human!"
They stopped to see a harpy arguing with a goblin. Those two were their friends as well. The harpy with the blue feathers was Poppy, another one of Yin and Vao's best friends. She wasn't very bright either; her grades were just slightly better than Vao's. Pock was the goblin, and from what Yin knew she was nobility. Even still, she had a hard time speaking the human language. Walking over, they broke up the fight before it could start, before the guards got involved due to Vao egging on a fight.
Otherwise, it would end with Vao burning something down and he'd get arrested by Tim and Chuck Burgundy, the two guards that often patrolled the school grounds when they weren't guarding the gates.
Yin sighed, scratching the back of his head worriedly. Jasper looked up from where she sat on his shoulder. "What's wrong with you?" She asked curiously.
"Just... Feels like someone is missing," Yin replied. "Not that I'm upset about it. She scares me."
His friends stared at him, their jaws hanging open. Yin raised an eyebrow. "... What?"
Slowly he turned around, his face giving way to utter terror when he saw the eight eyes and mouthful of fangs smiling down at him.
"Yin!" The arachne cried out. As if she were lifting a feather she wrapped him in a hug, his feet kicking wildly in the air as he screamed for help. "Oh, I was waiting all night! I thought you were sick, so I was about to go to your house and climb through your window again! But then I smelled you!"
"YOU WERE GOING TO WHAT!?"
Mono chuckled. "Fufufu... What is so strange about that? I do it all the time."
Vao scratched his head. "Come to think of it, I think someone's doing the same to me. My window is always open when I wake up..."
For fuck's sake, Vao.
Yin looked to his friends for help, but every single one of them held their hands up and stepped back. None of them wanted to pick a fight with this particular student.
Her name was Saril, a black widow arachne - that is to say, she was venomous. Not in personality, but in the literal sense. She had a reputation for not being... All there, up there. Or as Yang once put it, it was like the lights were on but no one was home. It didn't help that her fingernails were capable of cutting through stone like melted butter. Ruby muttered under her breath.
"And I'm scared of spiders, right Yin?"
Saril scuttled forward, squinting at them until she managed to find Vao. "Vao, Vao! How much for Yin?"
"VAO, DON'T YOU DARE!"
"Ten copper."
Yin glared at him angrily. "AM I ONLY WORTH TEN COPPER TO YOU!?"
Vao hummed, nodding his head. "Yeah, you're right. Five copper."
"VAO!?"
Saril eagerly fished her hand through the pockets of her blazer, which the school forced her to wear since clothes that fit arachne like her weren't very common, handing Vao the money. The idiot scratched his head. "Uh... Two, six, one, three..."
"That is five," Verde confirmed.
"Oh, thanks."
Saril squeezed Yin again, threatening to pop his back in ways he didn't think possible. "Ooh, I bought Yin! I bought Yin! Now you're mine, Yin!"
Yin wanted to go home. To hell with school. It felt like forever before Saril finally dropped him on the ground, her hand squeezing his arm as she joined them. The healer wiped at his eyes, looking at Vao with a mix of grief and fury.
"... Why are you like this?"
Vao laughed. "Nyahaha! Mum taught me how to do business the Branwen Family way!"
"That's because your family is a bunch of criminals!"
"You talkin' pony and trap about me mum!?"
"Yeah!"
They shoved each other as they walked, the group of friends letting out their own chuckles as they made their way to class. With the exception of the expressionless Verde, of course. Eventually, Yin looked up at the sky, flashing a smile.
"... May the Goddess grant us a good day."
Vao groaned, rolling his eyes. "Can you save the preachin' for church, mate?"
Yin narrowed his eyes. "You never go anyway. And besides, my miracles come from my devotion to the Goddess. And you know how much you need a healer, given you're reckless."
"I'm not reckless- oh, hey! It's Cardin!"
Yin followed his gaze, spotting their ginger friend. Vao nudged his shoulder. "'Ey... Let's mug 'em."
"Vao, that's our friend!"
"Yeah, yeah! Let's mug 'em!"
And there goes another argument.
There lives were peaceful, not a single one even thinking for a moment that their lives could have been hellish. They had no memory of the trials and hardships they had once faced. No memory of the horrors they had once seen. But with it, they also had no memory of a dear friend who sacrificed everything she cared about for their happy ending, knowing that she'd never see the people she loved again. That she'd never again have adventures with them. Never again laugh with them. And despite all of this, she still gave it up for them.
High in the sky, beyond space and time, she watched over them. Just as every time she looked down at them, she could taste the sour, yet sweet taste, like a lemon. A bittersweet taste. Her lips curled into a small smile, a sparkling tear trickling down her cheek as the Goddess Salem turned her body, looking back at them.
"... I'll always remember you," she whispered.
"Goodbye, guys... I love you..."
The End...
...
A special thanks to my readers, who stayed with me on this long, five year adventure. From the first story in 2019, five years ago, you stayed until this moment.
For that, I'm grateful. I loved writing stories for people to read. I loved reading your comments, seeing how you felt throughout the story. In my darkest moments, knowing you guys were there was the light at the end of a long and dark tunnel.
As mentioned above, this is not the end just yet. There are other endings to explore, as well as spin-offs of certain endings, spin-offs that introduce new characters, new adventures. Spin-offs that feature different characters as the protagonists.
As of now, there are two planned. A spin-off featuring Sapphire as the protagonist.
And one featuring Violet, Midori, and Pip.
There are still other endings, too. Please keep an eye out for them.
And once again, thank you.