Chapter 18: Epilogue: Requiem

Dawn was on the horizon.

All the citizens on Isla del Sol looked to the sky, seeing the Ithavoll building glow a bright blue and red.

It was time.

The Festival of Resurrection had begun. Soon the Creator would arrive and welcome the rebirth of the world.

The Ithavoll building, much like all the other buildings on the isle, was equipped with a large propulsion system that allowed it to be launched. Many of the buildings were designed as anti-air craft weaponry, but in the case of the main headquarters for the Laguna, the Ithavoll building contained the relic that the Creator would inhibit.

As the building ascended the sky like a rocket, the citizens fervently prayed for the arrival of Jubileus.

"Thank god. There's still time…" Jeanne mumbled.

She maneuvered the motorcycle towards the rocket.

The red witch had survived the missiles by using Bayonetta's gem. The gem protected its fellow Umbra Witch and restored her addled mind that was corrupted by the sage. Now it was time for Jeanne to save her friend.

The red witch killed all the angels in the way and used her powers to attach herself to the rising rocket.

"The Left Eye, our treasured Left Eye, will never fall into the hands of another! It is the pride of the Umbra Witches!" Jeanne shouted while cutting down enemies.

She would not allow Cereza to continue on this path. It was her duty as the clan head to save the clumsy girl and more importantly, she was Jeanne's dearest friend.

When Bayonetta returned Cereza everything was changed.

That frightened and weak girl Jeanne knew from before, was no more. Instead Cereza became a fierce fighter that the red witch respected and would follow through hell.

Funny, how differently their lives changed in this reality from Bayonetta meddling with the past. Before, Cereza was a scared mouse that trembled around Jeanne and did whatever the red witch commanded. The sadistic side of the red witch loved being in control of something for once, even if it meant she was tormenting another person.

Sadly, that was the kind of person Jeanne was before Bayonetta changed the past.

The red witch dispatched angel after angel. The forces of light were determined to see the dark smothered out.

"I won't be stopped!" Jeanne pumped more magic into the bike and veered off onto another falling piece of the rocket to avoid colliding with the stampede of angels. She activated Witch Time to ride over the falling pieces and make it back to the main body.

Nothing was going to stop her.

Cereza was the only person who looked past her status as the heir apparent for the Elder and treated Jeanne as a she truly was, an arrogant brat. The little girl never held her tongue and never pampered the red witch. She was the rudest and most pretentious person in the clan and Jeanne loved it. It was refreshing to be around someone so blatantly rebellious to the laws. It made the red witch feel like an actual person and not some lifeless doll.

Cereza's actions in their childhood shaped Jeanne into the adult she is now. Thankfully, with the little girl's change in spirit the red witch became a better person this time around.

"It's my turn to save you now!" Jeanne declared, standing up on the motorcycle and jumping off to land on a floating sculpture.

Her internal clock was running on overtime to keep the red witch moving as fast as she was. Jeanne had never used Witch Time to this extent before, but there was no way for her to catch up without pushing herself.

Once she landed on the main body of the sculpture Jeanne heard the pathetic sage's voice.

"Ahh…Jeanne. You've provided me with the one and only, authentic Left Eye. Merely seeing it must stir jealousy within you. Your body must yearn to feel a new universe form around it."

Balder was encased in blue water further along the statue.

His words angered her.

Jeanne had long ago given up the hope of ever acquiring the Left Eye after Cereza defeated her in combat.

"I have no intention of gazing upon the Left Eye. I am here to reclaim my Umbran sister." Jeanne ran even faster after the blasted old man used the Right Eye to destroy an entire planet. The fragments of the planet fell like bullets.

Who the fuck would blow up an entire planet to kill someone?!

Jeanne made it onto the goddess statue, using her winding hair as a path. She was so close now. Just one more jump and the red witch would be by Cereza.

"You will go no further."

A sharp pain hit her in the chest. Jeanne fell onto the goddess state's head and looked up to see Cerezo.

Just like his father the man was glowing in all his Lumen glory, with peacock feathers extended all around him and robes glowing gold and blue. His bow was nocked with a crackling arrow of electricity.

Cerezo's magic was monstrously strong.

Jeanne could still feel the crackling pain in her chest from the last shot. It felt like being hit by a strike of lightning.

"Cerezo, why are you standing in my way?! You of all people should be fighting to save your sister!" The red witch stood up and pulled her guns out.

This was a fight she wasn't going win. This would be nothing like the scuffles Cerezo and she got into before. Any fight Jeanne started with him was rigged in her favor. She hated that Balder ordered the bastard to hold back on her, but if it weren't for that order Jeanne would be standing here.

Despite the odds Jeanne had to get past him, Cereza's life depended on it.

"I don't need to save my sister from this, I need to save her from herself. She's become someone I don't recognize or understand...she turned her back on us…on us! Her only family in this world…and Sigyn is no better. I don't understand anything right now! Cereza…no Bayonetta, she's damaged the chains of time." During Cerezo's maniac rant his magic became more and more erratic.

Cerezo held his head in pain. It seemed Bayonetta wasn't the only person who needed help. The other twin had clearly lost himself to the memory overflow. The warp in his mind was beginning to destroy him from the inside. Rather than accepting the memories and assimilating them, Cerezo was rejecting them, and in essence he was rejecting himself.

The discordance was driving him mad.

The Prodigy Sage: Cerezo

Dance the Waltz

"I never thought I'd be playing hero for you, but if I don't save you, I'll never hear the end of it from your sister." Jeanne hissed, rushing forward to swing the guns at him, unleashing a wave of Wicked Weave punches as well. The punches were cut in half from Cerezo splitting his bow in two, making a pair of twin blades that could cut through anything.

Not wanting to lose ground, Jeanne rushed him again, kicking and punching at him while summoning Wicked Weaves. Cerezo for his part wasn't doing much other than batting away the attacks like they were annoying flies.

Right when the red witch thought she'd finally had him she shot a round of bullets at his head, only for the sage to catch the bullets using Light Speed and fling them back at her with electricity.

The bullets hit her in the stomach and she fell back. Cerezo's blade was now aiming for her head. Jeanne narrowly avoided it by activating Witch Time.

They were both moving extremely fast around the goddess statue, attacking one another with no remorse. Jumping on her hands, the red witch dodged an arrow and fired a barrage of rounds at Cerezo. The rounds were all quickly deflected by his blades cutting the bullets in half before they could reach him. Cerezo then twirled his reformed bow around and pressed forward.

Jeanne jumped backwards and combined her two guns to make a shotgun. She fired a round, pushing more magic into it in order to make it explode on impact. The bullet hit its intended target, but a rain of peacock feathers descended upon her. All of the feathers detonated, sending shockwaves of electricity throughout her body.

Jeanne was really getting tired of being shocked.

She slammed into the head of the goddess and remained there, paralyzed from the brutal attack.

"It's over now, Jeanne. Just stop fighting, stop trying to prove that you can defeat me. You are a relic of past traditions that our clans believed in. I, however, am the product of a new age. I embody both the light and dark and you will never surpass me." Cerezo gloated.

He stood above her with thousands of glowing arrows floating behind him.

It was over for Jeanne. she failed to defeat him.

Cerezo raised his hand to make the arrows fly.

"The time has come for Jubileus to return!" Father's booming voice stopped Cerezo from dealing the finishing blow to Jeanne. "At last, the Trinity of Realities will know their real ruler, and time will begin anew!"

Father's voice was causing Cerezo's headache to return. Memories that weren't real were invading his mind.

This had to stop.

These new memories were fake. He refused to accept them.

Cerezo had already lived a lifetime, he didn't need another version of his childhood overriding his original memories.

These new memories weren't real.

Cereza had always been afraid of everything and depended on him to protect her. She was sealed away by Jeanne and lost for five-hundred years. This was the truth. Those memories were real.

"Cereza! Wake up!" Jeanne yelled.

Cerezo saw the red witch leaning over the cage Bayonetta resided in. Jeanne must have recovered while he was distracted from battling the memories.

He was still in too pain to stop her. The battle had taken much out of him and his mind was in complete disarray.

The new memories kept replaying like an old record.

Cereza was brave and didn't need him to protect her. She wasn't sealed and ended up fighting alongside Jeanne to defend the Umbra clan. She disappeared after that and Cerezo never saw her.

This was the new truth trying to ingrain itself in his mind...Cerezo would not allow it.

"Are you insane?! Light and Dark, unless both eyes remain the universe will lose its balance and face another armageddon!"

Jeanne was trying to take Cereza again!

Cerezo had to stop her. He stood and shakily flew over to them. Father tried to stop Jeanne as well by repeatedly firing magic shots of energy at her, but she didn't budge.

"Then this thing should have slept for eternity!" Jeanne cursed. "Now you must wake up, Cereza! Cereza, damn you! Open your eyes!"

By the time the sage reached them Jeanne had already pulled his sister out of the eye.

"Jeanne?"

"Cereza, you aren't the person I sealed away five-hundred years ago. You have the strength to overcome this and fight. Finish this!"

Cerezo was forced to cover my eyes. The goddess statue radiated pure energy.

Jubileus was awakening!

He left Cereza to Jeanne and flew to his father. The man was struggling to keep the eye open.

"My, oh my…no one can control Jubileus now. Its power is too intense…light, dark, human. All the strife, all the struggle…the Trinity of Realities wrapped up in a vortex of creation!" Father was speaking nonsense.

Cerezo reached inside to grab the man's shoulders. He could have cried from the fierce burning he experienced from the liquid of the eye.

It felt as if his very soul was being burned by Jubileus!

The sage ignored the scorching pain, pulling on his father's shoulder only to be met with resistance.

"No, my son! You must let go! Without me, Jubileus will surely go out of control and you will not stand a chance." His tragic pleas were matched by the desperate terror in Cerezo's eyes.

"I'm not leaving you, you're my father! You can't leave me again..." Cerezo vehemently protested.

Tears poured out of his eyes and fell onto Father's face.

If this were any normal situation Cerezo would be mortified that he was crying so much. A grown man like him has no reason to constantly cry.

The two of them struggled to overpower the other.

"My dear, sweet son, you will always be my most beloved treasure. Even more precious than the treasured Right Eye of the Lumen Sages and that is why I cannot allow you to perish." Father's soft expression hardened. "Sigyn take him!"

Father attacked him with the same magic shot he used on Jeanne. The blast forced Cerezo to let go and fall into a pair of small arms that lifted him away from the eye.

As he floated, the sage reached out for his father's.

"Cerezo, my child you must stop Jubileus from laying ruin to the Trinity of Realities!" Father shouted, futilely fought to keep the eye open.

"Daddy!" Cerezo howled right as Jubileus killed his father in the literal blink of an eye.

Dea Jubileus

The final Dance

"Rest, my friend. I'm off to get that black cat." Bayonetta had finally awakened.

At the moment Jubileus was curled up in the sky, resting before she laid waste to everything. The witch wasted no time and charged after the enemy.

If she couldn't defeat this deity than the whole set of realities would be destroyed.

Bayonetta dodged the large hand that slammed down into the ground. Before Jubilees could lift her fist the witch sliced the hand with her blade. The attack didn't do much other than annoy the deity.

Jubileus lifted her hand and flicked Bayonetta off to the side. While the action was reminiscent of flicking a fly, for the recipient it was more like being hit by moving truck. The witch was sent flying and crashed into the glass of the barrier.

"This is going to be a real challenge." Bayonetta shakily stood up, adjusting her hair.

One of Jubileus's ribbons zipped towards her. It was too fast to be deflected.

The ribbon veered off course by a glowing arrow hitting it dead center on the ribbon. The ribbon turned to stone from the attack. The Goddess screeched, curling into a ball and gathering large amounts of magic.

"Cereza!"

Bayonetta was enveloped in a ball of golden light just as Jubileus uncurled herself and let out an earthshattering wail. The noise was so strong that shockwaves of red light filtered through the battfield. The shield protecting the witch shattered into glass shards and she was reunited with her brother and Aunt.

"You're both here, I honestly wasn't expecting you to come Cerezo…after…"

"I wasn't going to help you at first. After all, this is Jubileus, but then Father asked me stop this chaos. I don't understand the sudden change, but I won't refuse his last wish." Cerezo didn't talk any further, he rushed forward into the lava prison Jubileus had created.

Cerezo was going to do everything in his power to stop her, for Balder's sake.

"Cereza, ignore him for now. We must put aside all differences and focus on this task alone. The three of us may stand a chance of defeating Jubileus since Balder chose to remain inside the main body to stop it from going completely out of control." Sigyn stated hurriedly.

"Right, let's end this."

The women raced after Cerezo.

Sigyn ran to the left to attack the ribbon-face attached to the ground. She avoided flaming fireballs and pools of lava shooting out at her by transforming into a beautiful, gold fox with chains attached to its collar. In her beast form the female sage jumped from ledge to ledge until she finally reached the ribbon.

Once at the destination, the beast swung its claws at the ribbon. The action was followed the Lumen version of Wicked Weave digging into the ribbon. The face attached to the ribbons was torn off and only shreds of skin from the face remained on the ribbon.

The ribbon turned to stone.

The twins followed their Aunt's lead and demolished two more of Jubileus's ribbons. In response the deity summoned a ball of hot, red energy and threw it into the lava prison. The attack destroyed the the area.

The twins combined their powers to stop time.

With time frozen, the three of them made it to the head of Jubileus, raining down a flurry of arrows, bullets, and claws on her face until the goddess collapsed from the attacks.

"Now's our chance!" Cerezo charged his bow and let millions of mini electric arrows fly towards the comatose Jubileus.

The attack cracked parts of Jubileus's face. She used a ribbon to grab the three and throw them onto a frozen stone floor she created.

Faced with the same predicament the three split off to destroy more of the ribbons in the winter wonderland. The challenge ended in the same fashion after Sigyn used her chains to tear off a piece of Jubileus's headpiece.

This time the group was transported to a thunder storm. They all had to dodge strikes of lighting except for Cerezo, who absorbed the lighting and used it to power his bow. When he fired his arrows they ricocheted off the falling raindrops and caused shockwaves that damaged the ribbons.

Bayonetta tried to avoid any form of lighting since she was using the water around her to form spears to launch at the ribbons. With a path cleared the witch jumped from rock to rock until she got close enough to land a vicious swing on the deity's face. The hit was strong enough to punch a hole through one of the cracks Cerezo had made earlier.

Once the group returned back to the red sphere they were all covered in a blue, shinning light. When the light receded all three were turned into their younger selves.

"What's going on?! Mummy, Daddy!" Bayonetta shouted before spewing out profanities as she ran away from the floating-faces that tried to kill her.

Her black and gold nightgown was making it hard for the witch to run and making sure she didn't drop Cheshire was a big priority.

Wait. Why did she care about a stuffed animal when her life was in danger?!

Bayonetta was confused.

"Sissy, This way!" Cerezo grabbed her, running towards another floating-face and then dodging at the last second so the enemies crashed into each other.

The collision put the two faces out of comission.

Cerezo fixed his glasses and looked for something in the pockets of his white and blue nightgown. There had to be something in there he could use to fight.

"You bad boys, you never attack a lady!" Sigyn cried, kicking another floating-face and letting her white and purple gown fly up, exposing her bloomers.

Wow, her aunt was such a spitfire!

The floating-face went flying, crashing into a ribbon.

"Oh, that looks fun!" The twins shouted.

They joined Sigyn in a game of kickball with the floating-faces. Jubileus screeched after losing another ribbon and filled the room with more blue light.

The three children were returned to their adult bodies.

"That...was strange." The twins complained in sync. They shared a look of amusement.

The moment was interrupted by Jubileus shooting mini cosmos-attacks down at them. The giant deity was starting to crumble from all their attacks.

The enemy had entered into an all-out attack mode.

"Cereza, it's time to finish this!"

"Right you are, little brother!"

Together, the twins summoned weaves of hair. White mixed with black. Giant waves of magic erupted from them. The weaves of hair took form outside of the sphere Jubileus created. Queen Sheba of Inferno took emerged.

Together, the twins gave her the order. "Destroy Jubileus!"

Queen Sheba raised her fist to her mouth in response, kissing her knuckles in preparation. The queen rotated her back in a long arch and swung her fist forward. The force of the punch sent the soul of the Great Jubileus spiraling towards the flaming, solar energy of the sun.

The sun turned the goddess to dust.

Finished with the battle, the twins sat down on the statue of Jubileus, beyond exhausted.

"I can't believe we actually managed to defeat her. This goes beyond insane." Cerezo pushed his hair out the way and smoothed it back with a peacock feather.

"Well, of course we managed it. You and I are a force to be reckoned with, little brother." Bayonetta patted him rougly on the back.

Cerezo just scowled in response to being referred to as the younger twin. She knew he hated it when she did that. Sigyn stood behind them, silently watching.

"Unbelievable! You managed to stop this abomination and it's still going to destroy the world!" That prissy voice shocked the hell out of Bayonetta.

Jeanne landed on the falling statue right next to the twins.

"Jeanne!" The twins shouted, one twin was relieved and one was annoyed.

"How the fuck did you survive when I saw you falling into space?!" Cerezo fiercely glared at Jeanne.

It seemed he still hated her guts. Even with the new memories the two were still at odds.

"Well for your information Sage, I was saved by my trusty motorcycle. But it took me some time to get all the way over here." Jeanne glared back just as savagely.

They were like cats and dogs.

"What're you doing here, Ruby-blonde?" Bayonetta interjected before they could come to blows.

"Come now, you're one of a kind. If you die here, who is going to save the world? I'll send you home, even if it kills me." She replied. "Cerezo, on the other hand, I don't give a shit about."

"I feel the same way towards you." He hissed.

Let's finish this so I don't have to look upon you anymore." Jeanne sneered and broke her glaring contest with Cerezo.

"There's no need for anymore suicidal talk. I'm sure we can manage something like this without dying." Sigyn stepped forward, attempting to be the peacemaker between the group, but Cerezo removed her hand from his shoulder.

It appeared he was angry with her too. Boy was her brother on roll with his shit-list.

"She's right. We're all going home together!" Bayonetta firmly announced. "Jeanne we're both one of a kind! Now, my little brother and Aunt on the other hand are a different story. They're both average." Her teasing tone infuriated Cerezo while Sigyn just sighed.

"Maybe this average man should have let you face Jubileus all on your own." Cerezo crossed his arms.

"Now, now, little brother no need to get hostile. I'm only teasing." She tapped him on the nose and winked at Jeanne.

"Those are the eyes I've been waiting to see." Jeanne winked back.

They all jumped off the statue as its hands tried to smash them. Together they all began dismantling the rest of the statue before it could reach the earth.

"Okay, this is getting ridiculous! How do you keep surviving all this!? I bet you're trying to sneak up on me right now…aren't you Bayonetta!?" Luka spoke to the air.

He was waiting.

Bayonetta had to come back to him. She'd fought countless battles, but stood victorious for them all. He refused to believe that she could actually die.

Luka had too much that he wanted to say to her now...

Down here in the remains of Isla del Sol the rest of the population waited to see what would happen. Everyone could see the shinning lights in the sky, but no one knew what any of it meant.

Luka looked around, seeing different expressions of terror, hope, joy, and sadness. He didn't know which category described him.

His brain was going haywire. All that ran through his mind were memories of that sweet fragrance Bayonetta carried.

Luka had to see her again.

A few days later...

"No rest for the wicked, but at least she's at peace-back in the box she came from. And I guess I'm gonna have to find a new racket to line my pockets. No bonus for Old Enzo this time. As fuckin' usual…" Enzo leaned over the coffin, smoking a cigarette.

Bayonetta's coworkers had gathered to pay their respects to the witch. Luka had stumbled upon them by chance after tracking down a lead on mourning services provided by a busty nun.

"You know how it works with Witches, Enzo. They make a deal with the devil and when they die the devil gets his due. Ya get sucked down into hell wandering around scared shitless for eternity. Kinda comes with the territory." Rodin paid little attention to what was going on.

"Why you tellin' me this?! Is that not why we're standing here, praying for her soul to rest in peace!? I better not be out here catchin' a fucking cold if these prayers don't mean nothing!" Enzo continued yelling until Rodin smashed him into his side.

The smaller ma sputtered from being crushed and having his cigarette stolen.

"It's nice to think your prayers are worth a damn, isn't it? You made a killing exploiting her. Hell, you never know, she might get lonely and come back to haunt your ass!" The bigger man teased, chuckling as Enzo tried to get his cigarette back.

After taking a nice, long draft Rodin puffed out the smoke in Enzo's face, watching the annoying sleaze choke.

"Haunt me!?" Hell can keep her then!" Enzo stopped talking as Luka finally finished preparing the wreath and brought it forward.

"I said I'd never give up chasing you…I just never thought the chase would end like this..." He put the bundle of flowers down on the coffin. "Rosemary. You said it was a demon repellent, it might help you on the road ahead…" Luka blew a kiss towards the grave in goodbye.

The things he wanted to say to her...would have to remain unsaid.

The sound of a gentle hymm made Luka pause. The song sounded familar...

The nun smirked as the graveyard was filled with light. Enzo hid behind a cackling Rodin.

"Hey…hey! Wait a second!? What the hell are they coming down here to get her for!?" The sleaze panicked.

"Of course they'd come for the prize they've been seeking all along." The nun put away her bible.

Faintly, Luka could see something descended from the sky. Were angels coming?!

"Holy shit! You're…" He was cut off the nun jumping on him and using his body as a springboard.

She went through a portal and disappeared from view.

"This looks ridiculous on me!" The nun threw off her apparel to reveal herself as Jeanne in disguise. "I swear this the last time I cosplay."

While he could only see outlines, Luka imagined the crazy blonde was killing angels.

"Did you hear that!? That's you cue!" Rodin slammed his fists on the coffin while a trembling Enzo held onto his legs for dear life like a terrified child.

"Will you hurry up!? Don't tell me you fell asleep in that again!" Jeanne stopped her massacre to call out to the coffin.

"Hey! What the …you gotta fuckin' be kidding me…you telling' me she's…" Enzo was forced onto the ground after the lid of the coffin fell right on Rodin's head.

The impact didn't seem to phase Rodin at all. what the hell was he made of?!

"Un-be-fucking-lievable!" Enzo screamed.

A black figure dramatically emerged from the coffin.

"Morning! What's with shoving me into this filthy old casket!? And next time, some air holes would be nice. Fewer worms, ideally…" Bayonetta complained in all her cocky glory.

The flowers flying around presented a pretty picture to Luka and he blatantly stared for longer than he should.

She survived!

Bayonetta winked at him, no doubt prepared to tease, but Jeanne curtly interrupted. "Save the chit-chat for later. We've got work to do."

Bayonetta faded from view as she joined the battle, but the dancing flowers told a story of battling witches. Luka watched the whole thing in wonder.

Those kids exposing him to the trinities opened his eyes to a new world.

"Extra Ingenue?" Luka adjusted his scarf and tugged on his jacket as he sauntered over to Bayonetta as she exited the portal.

"It has a bit of Rosemary. In the language of flowers, rosemary equates to remembrance…suits me now doesn't it?" She toyed with one of the flowers he'd brought for her.

Before Luka could have a heartfelt conversation with her, the witch sprung away.

Goddamm it!

"Let's dance, boys!" Bayonetta put the flower in her hair, pulling her guns back out for another fight.

Luka's days would never be boring with the mysterious witch in his life.

Now that she had regained her memories the sky was the limit for Bayonetta. Luka had all the time in the world to tell how he felt and more importantly to apologize for all the ugly feelings he'd dumped on her for years.

Yeah, Luka had plenty of time.

"Sola, my dear, are you awake?" Cerezo entered the hospital room his wife was in.

He'd cleaned himself up and put on an expensive grey suit with a dark blue scarf. His hair was neatly pushed back and his glasses had been replaced with a new silver pair that resembled wings.

Cerezo had done his best to put himself back together these last few days after he received a phone call from his wife. He didn't want Sola to see how internally distraught he still was.

He had to do better...

Sola looked beautiful with her copper hair thrown into a messy side braid and fringe falling into her face. She was beautiful in a way only new mothers could be as she cradled their tiny daughter.

Cerezo set down the box of toys for his daughter. Roses and chocolates were also inside for his wife. One particular toy he placed on top of all the other presents. It was his precious Mr. Rabbit, hopefully his daughter would take to the stuffed toy as he had.

Cereza had returned it to him before she left...

"Cerezo, come and see her…she's so beautiful, like a little rose." Sheappeared exhausted from giving birth, but her warm smile expressed how pleased she was.

"Oh, is that chocolate? I would love some..and maybe some milk." Sola's expression went from pleasantly tired to excited in a blink.

"Of course, I'll retrieve you some later. Why don't I hold her and you can start on the chocolate." He was eager to hold his only daughter.

Sola gently handed over the baby Cerezo and he gave her the box of chocolate. His little girl had a chubby little face with freckles and copper hair. She looked an awful lot like her mother, but when she opened her eyes Cerezo saw his blue eyes staring back.

He smiled, genuinely happy. This little creature was his new light in this dark world. All he needed to do was gather his two other boys and Cerezo's little family would be complete.

Or at least semi-complete. The sage's life would never again feel the same without his father.

"She is, Freya. Our little angel." Cerezo whispered, allowing the little bundle to hold onto one of his fingers.

Judging by her grip and appearance, Freya was a healthy baby. He'd been worried when Sola explained that she had baby prematurely. Freya still had another two months to go, but she seemed fine.

Sola didn't look that bad either, medically speaking. She was a little frail right now, but she would recover in time.

"Freya? Why that name? You couldn't decide on one before."

"Because it was the name Father suggested, love…" Cerezo stopped pacing around to sit next to his wife. "I have much to tell you Sola, but it can wait until we return home."

Thinking too much about him was leading Cerezo back to an all-consuming grief.

Sensing his change in emotion, Sola put the leftover chocolate on the table and leaned on her husband's shoulder as he softly began singing to Freya.

"Fill my heart with song. Let me sing, forever more. You are all I long for. All I worship and adore. In other words, please be true, in other words I love you."

Cerezo would pull himself together...in time.

"Ma'am, may I see your ticket, please?"

"Yes, here you go." Sigyn handed the attendant her tickets.

She was leaving Vigrid. She was leaving her home.

"Alright, you may enter the train. I hope you enjoy your ride."

Sigyn thanked the woman and entered the train. The only way to leave out of Vigrid was through the trains. She would have preferred to fly, but that was out of the question right now. The healer didn't know exactly where she was going in the first place, Sigyn just knew she had to leave, for her nephew's sake.

Thinking about their last encounter brought her to tears.

"I want you to leave. I never want to see your face ever again. If you are not gone by the end of this night, I will have the Affinities drag your corpse into Inferno." Cerezo sat at his father's desk with the chair turned towards the wall, refusing to look at her.

With the death of Balder, Cerezo became the new head of the Ithavoll company. He owned and controlled all of Isla del Sol and Vigrid by extension.

His words were as soft as silk, but as cold as ice.

"Cerezo, you can't mean that. I'm your Aunt! Everything I did was for us, for our safety…" Sigyn's tearful plea was violently interrupted.

"I DON'T GIVE A FUCK ABOUT YOUR REASONS! My father is dead! And everything we planned is ruined…just go. Get out!" Cerezo still hadn't faced Sigyn, but a barrage of golden arrows were pointing at her.

"He was my brother too…" Sigyn existed the study in a broken heap of silent tears.

"He will understand in time...at least I hope he will." Sigyn pulled her coat closer to herself and leaned against the window, watching her hometown of Vigrid fade into the distance.

Elsewhere, a man with snow-white hair dropped the cards he was holding. The man was in his shop about to do a tarot reading for another lovesick girl wanting to know her future.

A flood of memories entered his mind.

He looked into the glass ball on the table. His ice blue eyes were shinning with malice and the diamond birth mark on his forehead was glowing a faint blue.

He had awakened. It was time for him to claim his place as the ruler of this world. First he would need his queen at his side.

The man exited out of his shop, ignoring the screaming girl. He was going to find his other half and new wife.