Heaven Door | The Finale of the Dragon Children Trilogy.

10 | Countdown To Doomsday

"Alright, so.. hang on. You're tellin' me that the old king, Julius, somehow managed to survive his battle with Ethel?" Euryale looked at Akuji. "Yes! That's what Stella said! And that countdown, if it reaches 0, it decimates all of our souls!" She pointed toward the 70 hours in the sky. "And, not to be over-confident, but if we die.." Sol nodded. "All hope in winning the war is lost." Euryale took steps around the void. "So, what, you're saying we need to find Julius and tell him to end this?" Akuji nodded. "Precisely." Sol looked at the Heaven Doors. "Right. First, we need to wait for the others to get out." Euryale clenched his fist, and mumbled to himself. "If they get out.." Akuji flipped through the pages of the book. "It has to be here somewhere.." Euryale placed his hand on her shoulder. "Akuji, what are you doing?" She didn't look up from the book. "I'm gonna find the whereabouts of Julius." Euryale placed both of his hands on the book. "In that case, just hand the book to me." Akuji tightened her grip on the book. "No." Euryale raised one eyebrow. "What? Why not?" She growled. "Just.. no." Euryale sighed. "Alright, just gimme the book and--" She shoved him away. "NO!" Euryale stumbled over. "Woah, Akuji, what's gotten into you?!" Her eyes filled with tears. "I am sick of being looked down upon! I am part of the Holy Stones, too!" She flipped through the pages more aggressively. "I am powerful. I am strong! I can do this by myself!" Sol looked at her, worried. "Akuji.. what's wrong?" Her lips shook. "I.. I stayed behind when they went into the Doors. I did nothing useful in the war. I was brainwashed into leading Hell, and Beelzebub, and the rest of the Devils. I was the Overlord. Do you think it's nice?! Knowing all that stuff.. and not doing anything to make up for it?!" Euryale fixed his glasses. "Akuji.. none of us look down on you." She turned her head to face him. "But you do! You do! You all do! You all talk about how I'm the weakest Holy Stone. About how I contribute nothing to us.. Euryale, I HAD TO KILL YOU!" Euryale froze. "When you betrayed us, when you joined Ahriman, I had to fight you! You told me I was useless. You told me everyone hated me!" He stuttered. "Akuji.. t-that's not true. That wasn't me!" She scoffed. "Oh, but it was. That's why, I will do this on my own. I can do it. I'm not useless." Her right eye turned dark. "I will find Julius. And I will destroy him." Sol looked into her eyes. "W--.. What is that?" Her eye slowly faded back to its normal colour. "What's what?.." He pointed toward her right eye. "Your eye.. it turned fully black. Like, no pupil, no whites, just black." She raised her hand, and covered her eye with it. "Oh, it's.. it's nothing." Euryale walked up to her. "Akuji.. if something has been happening recently, you need to tell us." She frowned. "I said it's nothing." Euryale nodded, silent. It took him a few seconds to speak again. "Y'know.. I never thought you were useless. I actually.. signed a paper the other day, before this war began. If I die, or, when I die.. the Library goes to you. Full ownership." She looked at him. "... Oh. Uhm.." She looked down. "Well, this is awkward then." Euryale smiled, as he wrapped his arm around her.

Lilith stepped into a fiery wasteland. The hot winds blew her white hair into the wind, her white lashes staying in place. "So.. this is Flora's afterlife?" She looked up at what seemed to be a large, crashed, and broken spacecraft. She took slow steps in what felt like warm sand, beneath her feet. The world rumbled a slight bit. As soon as this happened, she felt a strange feeling behind her. She slowly turned her head, facing toward a dark void, coming toward her. "Shit.." Her footsteps sped up, as she walked around the spacecraft. She reached the corner of one of the ends, hearing two voices around it. Her back was placed against the wall, as she listened in to the conversation. "You are useless." A man spoke to the girl in front of him. "I understand, Father." The man growled. "No, you don't. You need to SHUT YOUR MOUTH!" He raised his fist, and swung down, knocking the girl into the sand. "Guh!" Her body lay flat. "You are nothing but a TOOL!" Lilith poked her head out of the corner, to see who the two people were. The girl in the sand was obviously Flora. But that man.. "I know, Father. I am simply a weapon for you." The man cackled. "Indeed." He pulled out of his pocket, a lighter. The click of the lighter igniting was heard throughout the wasteland. "Simetra will win.. you understand, don't you?" Simetra smirked. Flora looked down. "I know." He grabbed her by her hair, and raised her head up. "Ow!" She groaned. "You deserve this pain. This torture. You failed my mission. Everything that's ever gone wrong in my life was your fault, Flora. You.." He looked into her tear-filled eyes. "You are my life's biggest disappointment." He swung her by her hair, and threw her into the ground. "You are a weak, snivelling, pussy." His footsteps were menacing. "Not once have I felt a small ounce of love for you. Not once was I proud of you. I wish.. you never fuckin' existed." Flora accepted her fate, laying still in the sand. "I understand, Father." He crouched down. "What are you?" She spoke, quietly. "A weak, snivelling pussy. A useless tool. A disappointment. A mistake." He smirked. "Indeed." Lilith teared up at this sight. Flora felt like the worst girl ever. She had no right to live. No right to survive. Nothing she had done, ever, was right. That is all her mind knew. This world was her consciousness giving her what she thought she deserved. Simetra lit the lighter, once more. "You will burn." Lilith jumped out of the corner. "Stop it!" Simetra paused. He turned around, and looked at Lilith. "Who are you?.." She frowned. "You.. are a monster." Flora stayed silent. She was practically knocked out, lying down like a doll. Simetra cracked his finger, summoning the Crimson Beast above him. "You wanna see a real monster? Oh, I'll show you one." Lilith was surrounded by a godly power. It's okay, she thought to herself. He's just a vision. A fake Simetra, chained to the afterlife. The dark void was slowly gaining ground behind them.