(The chapter opens with Shiro, Siegbert, Kana, Kanaya, Shigure, and Lyci leading the group towards the palace of Valla. Shigure is lagging a bit behind and seems to be lost in thought.)
Shiro: Shigure, are you alright? You don't seem to be paying attention.
Kana: I noticed that too. If something is bothering you, we would be happy to listen to you talk about it.
Shigure: That's kind of you to offer, Kana. I appreciate it.
Siegbert: So... What's on your mind?
Shigure: I've been thinking about what will happen after all of this is over.
Kanaya: Life will go back to normal... Well, sort of. As normal as it can be after all of this.
Lyci: I think he means the energy release caused by the unnatural death of a god.
Shigure: Exactly. Thalone is a reincarnation of Anankos, and if we kill him, something could happen. We have no choice other than to take him out, but it does make me wonder what magical impacts it will have on the rest of the world.
Shiro: Do you think it will be good or bad? I don't think I can deal with any other negative outcomes after all of this crap.
Siegbert: A lot has happened rather quickly, so I can't blame you for thinking that way.
Shigure: I don't know for sure. It's all been unexpected and unique. No two reactions have ever been the same, and I don't think this one will follow the same rules as the previous times this has happened either.
Kana: In other words, you don't know what we'll be dealing with...
Shigure: I'm afraid not. After all, there isn't any real way to predict what will happen when Thalone dies. The energy release always has different impacts on the world, and I doubt this one will follow those rules.
Kanaya: Plus, he seems to be super powerful. If he can summon all of these creepy invisible soldiers, he has to have a lot of magic at his disposal.
Lyci: Only time will tell how this turns out then... As worrying as that is, at least it gives us more time to think about how we're actually going to pull this whole thing off. We're marching off to kill a god.
Kana: I want things to go back to how they were before all of this... I miss the peace of our old lives before the war started...
Kanaya: It feels weird to call it a war.
Shiro: There weren't any signs of a fight breaking out beforehand, so it hardly had any buildup.
Siegbert: Conflict was likely brewing in the head of our enemy for quite some time before he lashed out. There was rising tension, but we didn't see it since we never went to Valla.
Shigure: Now, it's impossible to ignore. He's using an entire nation's population to invade other countries, and you can't shrug that off.
Lyci: Shigure, look! There are some of the people from that population you mentioned!
Shigure: You're right... We should get ready to fight them off.
Kana: Another day, another fight...
Kanaya: This is getting so tiring.
Shigure: Lyci, go rally the troops. It's time to get down to business.
Lyci: Understood, Shigure!
Siegbert: Again they come for us...
Shiro: Let's show them what we're made of!
(The battle begins. It takes place just outside the central area of Valla where the capital city is located. Small destroyed huts are scattered around, and the enemy consists solely of invisible soldiers.)
(After the battle, Shigure stands with Lyci, Kana, Kanaya, Shiro, and Siegbert once again.)
Lyci: I'm glad that's been taken care of.
Kana: I'm getting tired of all this constant fighting... I just want it to end already...
Kanaya: You aren't the only one, believe me.
Lyci: Shigure, you look lost in thoughts again.
Shigure: I suppose I am... I'm thinking about what will happen when we beat Thalone again. The possibilities are endless.
Shiro: Throw out some guesses then.
Siegbert: I wouldn't mind something that would take us back to the way things were before.
Shigure: That is a possibility...
Kana: What is?
Kanaya: Come on, don't hold out on us!
Lyci: I want to hear about it too!
Shigure: Of course. Perhaps there is a way for things to go back to how they were before all of this started... Granted, this is only an idea, and the chances of this happening are slim. However, there is something I noticed in the past with the releases of godly power.
Lyci: Is there really a pattern?
Shigure: Perhaps there is... When Anankos died initially, his power kept all of his people when Valla eventually fell. That might have been a way of fulfilling his final desires to ensure that he was avenged.
Lyci: Final desires...?
Shigure: When power was granted to my mother's amulet, perhaps it was because her mother wanted the pendant to keep her safe. It would have fueled her desire for her daughter to be defended.
Kana: I get it! Their power does whatever they want it to in their last moments.
Shigure: That's what I suspect is the case. When the reincarnation of Akiri passed away, her power went towards her child, allowing them to defend themselves using their new draconic form. That would fulfill her desires of her child remaining safe.
Kanaya: If that's the case, we might be able to guess what will happen when Thalone dies based on what he would want.
Lyci: This might be reliable... In the timeline where Hoshido won the war, his power created me. He must have wanted somebody to take up the mantle to do what he couldn't, though that didn't exactly work out the way he had planned.
Shigure: It all goes back to what they would have wanted just before their souls passed on from this life and into the next. I have a prediction as to what will happen when Thalone is defeated, though it is important to note that this is only a guess. I have no evidence to back it up.
Shiro: In case you hadn't already noticed, there are holes in a lot of what we're planning to do. Just tell us.
Shigure: Well, he might want to go back in time to a better time when his plans could have been fulfilled. That could revert us back to before all of this started.
Siegbert: Does that mean our parents would come back?
Shigure: As a matter of fact, yes. However, if this does happen, chances are that Thalone would be erased from existence completely. He wouldn't be able to heal his wounds before sending the world back in time, so when the shift was complete, he would be dead permanently.
Kana: So... We'll go back to the time before all of this happened? Everything will go back to how it was before?
Shigure: If this comes to pass, the chances are greater than you would expect.
Kanaya: I'm so glad to hear all of that...!
Shigure: All we need to do is erase him from existence... From there, we'll have to see how it goes.
Lyci: That sounds like a plan to me!
Shiro: I'm with Lyci on this one. We should wait and see what happens. I hope it winds up going in our favor.
Siegbert: Only time will tell how it unfolds.
Shigure: Until then, we should keep moving. We don't want to be ambushed again while we're standing around here.
(The others agree, and the group starts to walk towards the capital of Valla once again.)
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My city is going on lockdown for the next month which means lots of fun updates huh
-Digital