Artificial 7: Genesis Requiem

EPILOG:

Narration:

After the final war with humanity,
Rufus makes the news the next day, declaring Terra Woods,
the terrorist dead,
and tells the news to play the clip of Heaven's Roar.
The clip plays and shows Seth being taken out of the fight for nearly an hour before getting up and fighting Goro. Rufus rallies humanity under the banner that humanity can fight back against the Demons,
to which they chanted and praised Rufus and his new Exorcist for "winning" against the Demons.
Meanwhile,
in Mexico.
Shimura and Himiko were prepping for a soldier funeral for all the lives that were lost,
defending Terra.

Shimura called everyone close with Terra to his office,
which was small,
had a carpet floor,
two bookshelves,
and a desk with an old computer from the late 80s,
early 90s.
Shimura read Terra's will to everyone, and he addressed everyone,
saying he knew he didn't have much time left,
and he wanted to leave the Exorcist,
but life on the battlefield was all he knew and all he had.

For Lydia,
he left her his guitar that he'd always play for her and his handgun that the Exorcist required him to wear.
For Lilith,
he had Shimura get with his blacksmith to forge a replica of his soul in sword form.
She got two variants,
one double-edged version and one single straight blade version with the knight cross guard.
For Seth,
he left behind the same thing.

Two copies of his sword,
and told Lilith and Seth that he always noticed they would look at his soul/sword and knew how much they liked it, so this is the closest thing he could get to giving it to them.
For Zoey,
he left behind his most treasured weapon.
AJ's sword.
The blade had several dents and nicks in it from so much usage but otherwise was in great condition.

For Natalie,
he gives her his consoles and handheld games,
plus the physical copy of each game,
and told her to enjoy as they always played games together anytime he was over.
For Selena,
he gave her the latest book in the series she was reading,
saying he knew she always wanted it but never had the time to get it,
and he also added that he got it autographed by the author, too.
For the twins,
he gives Chase his brass knuckle collection.

For Sora,
he gives her his headset as she always loves listening to music.
Once everyone received their inheritance,
he moved on to Ventus's will,
and Ventus left behind a note,
saying how he treasured everyone and the time they all spent together.
He also added that after the Genesis fiasco,
he came to grips with how much time he had left and lived life with no regrets.

He loves everyone,
including Yuzuhara,
the twins, Selena,
Alexander,
and his squad,
Reed, especially,
but above everyone else,
Cynthia was the love of his life,
and he talked about how much fun they had in the short time they knew each other.
He knew of her pregnancy before he was abducted,
and all the money in his account goes to her and their baby.
Ventus also left behind his consoles and video games to Cynthia and their 9 year old baby,
then he stated that he found it funny how he always claimed Terra as his brother,
as they were tight like that,
but now they were brother in laws and how their first borns were now first cousins.

He added in a haha after that and left the note with a goodbye,
and may they see each other in the afterlife,
if there is one.
The 2nd day after the final war with humanity,
everyone dressed up for the funeral,
and just like the mood,
it was pouring down rain.
Everyone was iffy about going through with it,
but Shimura wanted everyone to be laid to rest in the ground.
The Shinto priest and the Baptist  preacher said a little something for everyone,
and the Exorcist flag was given to Lilith and Lydia for being the closest things to wives Terra got.

The caskets were lowered,
and Shimura and Himiko went to each casket to say a couple of words about each soldier and how they were like a sibling to Himiko,
or another son or daughter to Shimura. Even the Lught Tribe,
Flame Tribe,
Nekomata Tribe,
and Niel showed up for the funerals and paid their respects.
Seth, Lilith, Lydia,
Zoey,
and Yuzuhara cried their eyes out and leaned on each other for support as they hugged and sobbed.
Natalie was sad and confused about everything and held Selena's hand despite being her size,
if not a bit shorter.

"Momma. Why did so many strangers risk their lives for Uncle Terra, and what did Uncle Terra do to deserve an army chasing after him?"
Selena comforts Natlie by tightening her grip just slightly and letting Natalie rest her head on her shoulder.
"I don't know, honey, but he was special, I guess, so he was hunted by bad people."
Selena replied in a soothing mothering tone.
Natalie hugs Selena and cries into her shoulder while Pope Rekture and Kenneth watch on as in this moment, mankind and Demons alike,
stood as one.
United by their new Demon King,
and Shimura,
but also united by wanting to protect their new homeland.

This is the dawn of a new era,
and all it took was a handful of people willing to do the right thing.
Life is never an easy path,
as it's so much easier to cave into our 7 deadly desires than to stand up and do what is right.
The screen fades to black,
and this chapter of the Artificial Crew comes to an end.

THE END
___________________________________________(Author's Notes)

And that's another wrap, people!
As promised,
you asked,
I listened!
You wanted the Exorcist arc divided into parts.
Well,
here's the conclusion!
Part one is very short in comparison to part two,
but it's what you wanted,
so here it is!
Next Arc,
tune in as we explore the multiverse! Just 3 more books until we're done with Phase 1 of Artificial as we have multiple more phases to tell!

I'll be taking a break as I've been working on this book since October of last year,
if not before then.
I think I started pitching ideas to my friends around the summer of last year, if not around August to September?
Idk,
but it's done anyway.
So a year and some change.
As for complaints about the book.
Don't worry,
I hear you.
Next book,
I will back pettle slightly before going into the next arc just to explain some stuff that didn't get explained or added in.

As always,
special shout out to the Uncrowned Otaku on YouTube,
go visit his channel and drop a like,
a share,
and a subscribe for me as none of this would have happened without him and you cheering me on.
Special shout out to my best friend Mikey for making Selena and helping me write the fight scenes between her and Seth and her in general.
As for Selena and Seth's criticism.
I already told you what Selena's creator said regarding this criticism,
and it is stressing him out as he hears you,
but also, he has her set up a certain way, and he can't just give you what you want.

As the mediator,
we've discussed ways for you all to get what you're asking for while also not compromising our character.
So sit tight and wait for the next installment as Seth and Selena will progress in the relationship department. Just be patient.
As always,
have a good day/week,
and I'll catch you in the next book!
Bye!