Burning Embers Part II: Conspiracy [Arc 6-10]

Arc 9 Epilogue

What now?

He sat on his knees, his head bowed down towards the floor as the last of his screams echoed throughout the caves. As they faded, they seemed to be mocking him, a distorted reflection of his pain, ever present but ultimately out of reach. In the end, he was alone and surrounded by only ash and flame and an eternal silence.

What now?

He knew what had happened. The stress of the trials and picking up the spear had forced a personality shift as his alter ego took control. Only for a few seconds...but it was enough for that darker side of his to hand Kotori over. No...not the darker side. Him. It was him. No matter how he tried to spin it, no matter how he tried to justify it in his mind, he knew that it was his fault that Kotori was now in the hands of someone so repulsive.

The truth was that she was only here because of him. It was her devotion to him that had led to her teleporting with him to the mountains, that had led to her being forced to defend him in his despair, that had led to her almost dying in the snow, that had led to her being taken now. All of this was his fault. His failure. Without thinking, he slammed his fist into the ground besides the darkened spear that he had gone through so much to obtain. He slammed his fist into it again and again and again, the rock cracking and breaking under his enhanced strength, all while his skin remained unblemished, the repeated impacts not doing any damage.

What now?

The question wouldn't stop repeating itself in his mind. What now? What to do now? The spear was his, but Kotori was lost. How could he possibly face the others after this? They would undoubtedly lose their trust in him entirely; not that it was strong to begin with. Findaris stared at the weapon in his hand. It had lost the majestic look it had when he had first laid eyes upon it. Instead, now it was pitch black with red highlights, looking more a weapon of terror and evil than a weapon for the so-called "warrior of light". Leaning against the wall, he sighed.

What now?

He couldn't just stay here. Could he rush Wrath's fortress alone in a bid to save Kotori? No, that was suicide, and he didn't even know for sure that was where she was. For all he knew, Clement had his own base, and he had taken her there. Undoubtedly, not for anything pleasant. She would be punished. Tortured until her spirit broke and she vowed to serve them again. Findaris was sure of it; that's how they operated. Meanwhile, he could do absolutely nothing about it.

What was even left for him? He had never stopped to ask himself this question before; after his revenge was complete, what would he do? All he felt right now was an emptiness. The objective to retrieve the spear was complete. But now what? Even with it, there was a limit to what he could do. Much like the ice dragon's powers, the spear too devoured his very body and soul from use, so he was on a timer. However, this was not something he could do without allies. For that purpose, he had assembled this guild, but if he told them now that he had given away one of their own as ransom, would they follow him? He had no doubt that most of them wouldn't, and would instead look to another reliable leader; Kuri.

With his allies lost to him, how would he even achieve his goals? He didn't care what happened after, but right now, it looked like it was impossible to even get there in the first place. All his carefully constructed plans ended up in nothing. Punching the wall again, he screamed internally at the other Findaris, the one who said he had done it for "the sake of our goals". Where was he now?

No answer.

Say something, you bastard!

Again, no answer. Slumping back down against the wall, he stared at the ceiling in despair. Now what? They had been gone for a while; he didn't even know what had happened with the guild members, or where they were. The nature of the spell Vector had casted was such that they could be anywhere, scattered. How would he even find them? And if he did, even if he lied to them about what happened, he was sure at least Vector and Kuri would see through it.