Sol's Shine and the Kingdom of Terra

Chapter 24 Wings Of A Phoenix

 Yvonne ran like her life depended on it, following Fenrir's trail. She couldn't tell just how long she was going for but took a sigh of relief when she eventually noticed the giant wolf. She heard several screams from up ahead and couldn't help but pick up the pace again. It was only until then that she saw that several humans and dwarves were being attacked by a force they couldn't catch. "What's going on?!" Yvonne asked. Cinder noticed Yvonne approaching and decided to catch her up. "Bileth is trying to fight everyone at once. With what she can do, we're having trouble finding the real her. The fight between the Kingdom of Fire and Terra is over. Most people should know the truth by now." Cinder explained.

Yvonne looked around to see both sides uniting together to try and take down one star demon. "Why haven't they killed her yet?" She asked. "Bileth isn't that easy to find. Even if we manage to find her, she isn't that easy to hit. Almost everyone left here is exhausted, wounded, or already dead." Cinder said to her. Yvonne could tell that it wasn't just any of the dwarven or human soldiers that were drained, but her closest allies as well.

"What happened to Daika, William, and Jordan?" Yvonne asked. "Amy tricked Jordan into killing William. Daika is still out there with Sköll and Jordan, looking for Amy." Going on with that simplified explanation, it was no wonder to Yvonne that Sol and Lilac looked the way they did. They were just devastated. Yvonne would lie to herself if she didn't feel hurt about it as well when she got to know the orc a little herself. Though it was painfully obvious that the one who was currently hurting more was Lilac, seeing the look on her face.

Drakiel decided to come between Yvonne and Cinder. "If there's anything I figured out about Bila, she would never choose to easily show herself in front of this many people, especially if they're her enemies." "Who are you?" Yvonne asked the dwarf. "Wielder of Ferocious Fenrir, Drakiel Creed at your service." "I'm Yvonne Ash. So what? Everyone is chasing after a fake?" "Correct." Drakiel answered Yvonne's question. "I know how I can locate the real one but..." Cinder paused for a moment which only worried Yvonne. "What is it? You know how we can beat her hun?"

Yvonne looked into Cinder's dark black eyes. Even though Cinder was incapable of crying, Yvonne could tell she was sad. "Cinder? You remember now don't you?" Yvonne asked her. Cinder tried to smile. "Yeah. I remember everything. About us. About our entire life. I have for quite some time now." "Why didn't you say anything?" "I was afraid. Ever since I was turned into a siren, I've essentially become immortal. Unless my head is destroyed, I'll never truly die." "Cinder, where are you going with this?" Yvonne stepped closer to Cinder. "I don't want to just be a head stuck to a machine for the rest of time. I can't stand watching you grow old and grey without me. You should know that it wasn't right for Khenari to bring me back. If what I'm about to do seems selfish to you, then I'm truly sorry." Cinder pulled out a stick of dynamite from a compartment on her body, the same one she retrieved from William.

"Wait!" Yvonne rummaged through her toolbelt to pull out a ring. "You can't leave b- because I want to-" Yvonne struggled to get her words out, but Cinder temporarily stopped to listen and prevented herself from flying off. "Cinder, will you please marry me? I can't stress this enough. I love you. I'm not ready to see you go. We can spend our entire lives together. I would have asked earlier before our trip to the Kingdom of Water but I was so wrapped up with these ideas-" "It's ok." Cinder had to cut Yvonne off after her speech was starting to speed up, showing her anxiety. Cinder took the ring from Yvonne's hands and carefully slipped it on her cold steel finger. Turning it like a screw, the ring was able to fit perfectly as if Yvonne had planned it to.

"Yes, I'll marry you." That was Cinder's answer to Yvonne before both of them closed their eyes and gave each other one last kiss. It was only after Cinder backed away from Yvonne that the inventor noticed that Cinder's wings were completely spread out and ready for flight again. With the stick of dynamite in her hand, Cinder was ready to move on. "I love you." Those were Cinder's final words to Yvonne before taking off. "Wait!" Yvonne cried out. Though too late as Yvonne's call was, Cinder soared above the battlefield, searching for Bila.

After Crystal was all bandaged up, she couldn't help but watch Cinder along with her brother and everyone else. "What is she doing?" Sol asked, pointing out the dangers of whatever Cinder's plan was, flying straight into the chaos. Only Yvonne understood what Cinder was planning to do. "You don't have to do this! We can figure something out!" Yvonne cried out and started to run out to her, knowing that she wouldn't be able to catch up.

When Cinder flew even higher, a thought occurred to her that Bileth could have hidden her real self from an aerial view. As insane as Bileth sounded, they weren't completely stupid. All Cinder had to do next was close her eyes and hone her focus on the right target, listening and waiting. She had to drown out many of the soldier's yelling and even Yvonne's cries. Opening them again, she figured out just exactly where Bileth was or where she was trying to escape. Cinder looked to the town of Barrow to see just the target she was after, Bila trying to escape right under their noses and into her own enemy's territory. The next step Cinder had to take was to dive straight for her, lighting up the dynamite she held along the way.

"What are you doing?! Go away!" Bila looked back at Cinder diving straight for her. Bila took out one of her knives in an attempt to stab Cinder who was coming for her. When Cinder grabbed a hold of her body, Bila tried to go for the kill only to realize too late that the body she was attempting to stab was all mechanical. Cinder placed the lit up dynamite in her mouth to grab a hold of Bila as tightly as she could and went straight up in the sky again. As much as Bila tried to struggle free, it was completely pointless now. "YOU IDIOT! WE'LL BOTH DIE!" Bila cried out, showing true fear that she hadn't felt ever since she was known as Bileth. But Cinder looked at her without any fear, accepting her fate. She used one arm to wrap all the way around Bila's waist to grab the dynamite from her mouth. "We both already died before. A second time won't hurt."

Bila could only look down, seeing both of their feet move past the clouds, the point of no return. "These are our final moments. Try to enjoy the view." Cinder smiled as the spark on the dynamite's string was about to cross the finish. All Bila could do now was cry, with her only regret being that she couldn't make any real friends. Everyone on the ground watched the two rise high in the sky. Yvonne could barely make out where they were. A few moments of pure silence was interrupted by a massive explosion above the clouds and in their atmosphere.

"CINDER!" Yvonne yelled into the sky. Everyone that was on the battlefield watched whatever remained of both Cinder and Bila fall to the ground. The explosion was great enough to push some clouds out of the way as if someone had punched a giant hole in the sky. Sol, Crystal, and Lilac could only watch from the ground, seeing the war between the Kingdom of Fire and Terra come to a complete stop at that moment.

And a sudden thought occurred to Sol as he watched another one of his friends perish. There was something that he should have done a long time ago. As soon as he knew Crystal was alright and that the war was finally over, Sol stared straight into the sword's blade, taking a good look in the reflection the metal would give him. He knew it was about time for him to have another chat with their goddess. Sol takes one edge of the blade with his bare hand and the sword begins to glow as bright as it could. He pressed his palm against the sword's edge as much as possible although the sword was never meant to harm the wielder. For what could be the last time, Sol began to pass out just to speak with Elgria again.