Darksteel

Chapter 40; The end of things.

Asta waited, yet Adar continued to be still, his empty gaze void of their usual luster; they were simply dead... unseeing.

"No. NO!" he screamed, pounding on the prince's chest, "Adar, please! You can't leave us."

He felt Nico holding him, her body shaking with sobs. She had no doubt found out about Blue, though Asta did not know how. He longed to comfort her, yet all he could do was focus on the prince's lips stained with Asta's magic blood.

Perhaps the wounds were too deep, maybe the magic wouldn't work. Maybe... the prince would stay this way forever.

Asta sighed shakily and gently shut the prince's eyes, his heart feeling as though it were crumbling within his chest like old parchement; the boy hadn't wanted to die. He had been so full of life and now the grave would take him, trapping him in its cold arms forever, letting the world slowly forget him till he was but a distant memory in the minds of a few.

It simply was not fair.

Brushing the teares from his eyes, Asta was about to turn away from Adar's body when a subtle movement caught his eye.

No-- it could not be...

Not daring to hope, Asta looked closer and suddenly thought he saw the prince's chest rise and fall. Yes! There! A breath. Then, slowly, the colour began to return to Adar's skin until it was no longer grey and ashen, but rather a rich, warm copper like it had always been.

After that, it was as if life itself was flooding into the boy; his breathing came more regularly, and, after a moment, the prince's eyes fluttered open and he gapsed.

And in that moment, with his blood racing within him, Asta cried out; joy, excitement, and relief all flooding him at once. Almost at the same time, he, Jin, and Nico threw their arms around the prince and hugged him close.

Being the first to pull away, Asta grinned as Adar gently shoved Nico and Jin off him, smirked and said, "Easy now, I know I'm irrisistable, but I've just had a brush with the Beyond."

Nico only laughed and swatted at him playfully, wiping tears from her eyes with her free hand.

Sitting up, the prince gazed long and hard at Asta. "I suppose I own you my life then."

Shrugging, Asta replied, "It was only a little healing blood."

"Ah, yes, I'm surprised you got that down me-- I'm usually a picky eater." he then stretched like a cat, arcing his back ever so slightly. "I feel marvelous though. Except for my left hand-- it's the one I used to destroy to amulet-- I doubt it shall ever be the same again, but I'm alive at least."

They all got to their feet then. All except Asta, whose legs still wouldn't move.

A cold dread filled him then as he attempted to rise, his dead legs splayed before him, unmoving, and panic gripped him like a vice as the realization of his situation came upon him.

He might never be able to walk again.

Not seeming to be bothered by the matter in the slightest, Adar said nothing and simply scooped Asta up into his arms, muttering that he wished Jeremiah was here and why WASN'T he here?

Asta winced, knowing he would have to tell the boy sooner or later, but as for now, they had more important things to worry about.

Thus, he told Adar to carry him to where Bert stood with the Monsters, all of them looking relieved that they were still alive. 

Telling the prince to set him down, yet while still supporting him, Asta shook the Monster's hand and, then and there, humans and Monsters made a peace treaty for the first time in Tirus's history.

"We own you our lives," Bert said humbly, as all the other Monsters nodded in agreement, "And if ever you need us--"

"Call on you," Asta finished, smiling softly, "And you shall answer."

The Monster nodded, then with a quick bow, they retreated into the woods, disappearing amounst the shadows as though they had never been there in the first place.

Turning back to the Academy, Asta looked grimly upon all the boys who-- now having been broken from the spell upon the Headmaster's death-- were now milling about, wailing like lost souls as they gazed upon the destruction they had made.

"What now?" he heard Nico ask softly. 

Adar was the one who answered her; "Now, we bury the dead." 

                                ......................................

They had a funeral for the fallen warriors, burying them in proper graves-- even the Headmaster and Ivo. And though not many were sad for their demise, Smithy wept bitterly over his son and not even Wimbbleton could console him for several days after that.

Asta, in the meanwhile, stayed with Nico nearly every minute of every day as she mourned Blue-- sometimes even dragging himself into her bed and snuggling close to her when he found her crying late into the night. She was veiled in a cloud of sadness, no longer the happy, carefree girl Asta had once known.

Yet he still loved her. So very, very, much.

And, thankfully, she seemed to love him back, even accepting the fact that she would have to push Asta around in a wheeled chair for the rest of his life, his legs dead and useless.

Apparently, Ancient Magic could not fix everything. 

In truth, they were all changed in one way or another; weighed down by grief, tormented by the memories of Graduation and the battle.

 Asta himself felt that he was not the boy he had once been when he first came to the school a year ago. And even though he was now approaching his seventeenth birthday, he felt as though he had aged ten years. 

Yet, the only person who SEEMED unaffected was Adar--who put up a brave front-- although Asta would sometimes awake at night and find the prince staring out of their dorm window into the silent night air thinking quiet nothings till dawn arose.

Besides that, the school was in complete disarray as well, with no one knowing WHO was in charge and all just willing to accept what was left of the Iron Guild as their leaders. In the end, Adar and Asta appointed Smithy and Mr.Potter to be co-Headmasters, with Mr.Potter being the brains of the Academy and Smithy being in charge of discipline.

Asta was certain they would change things for the better, and he did not doubt that the boys of the Academy were happy with the desicion. Maybe now, Graduation would no longer exist-- except perhaps only in the nightmares of those who had gone through it--and Adalain Acedemy could return to the school it had been built to be. A school of adventure. A school of magic. A school of wonders.

And though this may have been the end of things, Asta knew that this was only the beginning of a new adventure...

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AUTHOR'S NOTE; WAIT! The story isn't quite over yet, but I hope you found these last few chapters intense and exciting. Anyway, there is only the epilogue (and a fun bonus chapter) to go... thank you all so much for reading this far, you are awesome!!

the_twilight_writer