Tales of a Lost Sword Epilogue

Note to the MMOT/VuT Community
It’s been a beautiful five years, but everything must come to an end. I admit when I first started writing Tales of a Lost Phoneme way back in 2006 I had no idea that I would be here, finishing a second sequel, the last of a trilogy, in five years in 2011. I never thought this series would get this far or take this long to finish. But it has. And it feels very sweet, maybe a little bittersweet, to finish the series at last after five long years. I’ll always remember the five years I spent writing ToaLx.

Before I go on, I want to personally thank each and every person in the MMOTales/VuTales community who has followed ToaLx throughout the years. Whether you’ve read the series from start to finish, read only just one entry in the series, or even just took the time to read one chapter, I want to express my deepest appreciation to you. It’s unfortunate that not all of you are here with us at VuTales anymore, but I would like to personally thank each of you if I could. This series would not have been possible without your support, likes, and comments.

This is the epilogue to the series. The series is done. Completely, absolutely, totally, irrevocably done. Is this the last you’ll ever see of ToaLx? I don’t know. Maybe one day if I am very bored I will write some extra episodes not unlike the ones I did for ToaLW. There is also an exceptionally thoroughly-planned prequel that shall never, ever see the light of day unless I get blasphemously bored. For now, though, the door closes on the series, and you can consider it permanently closed.

And lastly. I would now like to officially announce my permanent retirement from the world of fanfiction, effective immediately. What does this mean for me next? I will still continue writing. But now, with ToaLx finished, I can finally take the opportunity to begin writing my own original fiction in full earnest once again. I will probably take a break (by the time you read this I will already be long into my break) from writing, and then, refreshed, you may look forward to new, original works from me. There will be new and bigger things, more exciting things, to look forward to when I come back from my break. You’re sorely mistaken if you think you’ve heard the last of me.

Once more, thank you for all your support for these past five years. It’s been a blast. And now, signing off for the last time under this name,

–AznRiceFan

Thunder roars in the sky. A powerful rumbling like an earthquake stops the battle between the Rift Army and the Fatal Knights as, despite themselves, all combatants within the cathedral-like hall turn to look out the high windows into the sky. The massive castle belonging to Grendel has begun to collapse, seemingly falling apart at the seams. An angry howl of pain reaches the ears of all those standing still below as they listen to Grendel’s last dying gasp.

Everyone immediately lowers their weapons as they listen to the unsettling noise. Amazingly, the Fatal Knights begin to place their weapons on the ground.

The Rift forces look around in bewilderment as they ponder this startling change. But Tau is the first to speak as he stands at the feet of the crumbled statue of Grendel, his Stormshear held weakly by his side. “Impossible…could it be that…?”

“What’s…going on?” Zack mutters, lowering his own staff as well.

Xavier peers around wonderingly at the motionless Knights. “This is our chance to finish this!” He dashes forward, his crossbow raised in the air.

“Stop!” A blast of lightning crashes into the ground feet from Xavier. He skids to a stop, watching stunned as Arai appears, holding Cynthia by his side. Recelo follows just behind, landing lightly upon the battle-scarred ground.

Those still standing look with astonishment as Arai sets Cynthia down. He turns to look at the shocked faces around him, an unreadable frown on his face. “Continuing this battle any further is pointless. Grendel has been defeated.”

A ringing silence falls upon the shocked and confused faces of those in the hall. Everyone stares uncertainly at each other for a moment. Tau is the first to break the silence. He raises his hands, and breaks into a round of applause that echoes throughout the massive cathedral-like hall.

One by one, the others break into applause and cheers as well, including those with the Rift Army.

The glittering sunlight falls upon the tranquil blue-gray stream, its waters running with a gentle tinkling as it cuts a path through the grassy meadow, surrounded by trees on both sides of the bank. White light reflects off the stream, seemingly brightening the clear, sunny day even further. Off in the distance stands the outlines of the Joukai Academy in Ellinia.

Plunging her pale feet into the cold surface of the water, Cynthia leans back, soaking in the gentle warmth of the sunlight on a peaceful day. She sits by herself alone at the edge of the bank, her bright orange hair falling back upon her arms as she gazes up at the spotless blue sky. With a smile on her soft face, she looks up into the warm sunlight, her green eyes glittering brightly in its magnificence.

‘Dear Kunai…’

Rising to her feet, Cynthia steps out of the river and back onto the dewy green grass. She sighs contentedly as she dries her feet with a towel, smiling warmly to herself.

‘Kunai. The world that you and Ryuu imagined has been realized at last. The world I live in today is a brand new one, different from the one you lived in and yet embodying all the ideals and virtues that you fought for. Instead of destroying our dimension, Arai used what was left of his power to reunite the two dimensions with the Sword of Nexon.

‘No words can explain how grateful we all are to you. Everyone in this world, whether they knew you or not, has you to thank for the priceless gift of hope you’ve given them. This world is still not perfect, but it is a lot better than the one you left. I hope you are doing well, Kunai, wherever you are…I know I am. Everyone else is as well. We’re all working hard to live life to the fullest, just like you wished…’

Cynthia turns around, where Zaram, Charm, and Dangle stand waiting for her at the edge of the forest. Bowing obsequiously, Zaram hands Cynthia a schoolbag. Bursting into a run and laughing, Cynthia grabs the bag and hurries off, towards the Joukai Academy.

From the window of Ryuu’s former office, Fayvard watches Cynthia enter the school grounds, a faint smile on his face. He turns back to his work behind the desk that once belonged to Ryuu, grumbling to himself at the stack of paperwork sitting in front of him.

Nearby, Sasha sits in a chair glaring at Fayvard. “Ryuu never complained about doing paperwork.”

“Well, he was always a weird kid,” Fayvard replies offhandedly, picking up a pen and glaring at the stack of papers in front of him uncertainly.

A young child stumbles into Sasha’s knees, surprising her momentarily. She looks down at the brightly grinning child, with his vivid red hair and bright green eyes. Smiling as she picks up the infant in her arms, Sasha speaks to him in a soft voice: “You look more and more like your father each day, Arai.”

Elsewhere in the academy, Ophelia looks up sneakily from her exam, watching her sister from afar. Mira is sitting hunched over her exam, rubbing her tired red eyes as she sits in front of a blank exam sheet. Ophelia breaks into the tiniest of smiles as she returns to her work.

“Five more minutes,” says a voice from the front of the room. Rill nervously paces back and forth, dressed in a crisp professor’s suit.

Silver turns away from the plainly-marked grave, her long silver hair uncharacteristically down. The bright red sky of the Rift World above has grown paler, as it shines with a bright pink light that permeates every feature of the world below.

“It’s a shame you didn’t live to see this new world…” she murmurs as she walks away, “but I hope the women in heaven are at least to your liking, Tide.”

A few battered veterans of the Rift Army gather around Silver, warm smiles on their faces as she approaches. Among them is Wake, who watches with his arms folded, a patch drawn over his blind eye.

Silver breaks into a genuine smile, showing her bright white teeth. “The war may be over, but we still have much to do to improve the lives of our fellow countrymen. Even though the world is at peace again, let us not be satisfied yet, until the lives of all Rift World citizens are improved!”

The men all burst into a loud chorus of applause and cheers voicing their approval. As Silver passes, Wake breaks into a smirk. “I guess I’ll have to put off my dream of becoming a teacher at the Joukai Academy for a while longer, eh, Silver?”

Silver merely returns his smile. “You’re your own person. You may do whatever you wish.”

The bright neon lights of Skylark City crisscross through the night sky, as a solitary figure dressed in a trench coat and hat makes his way through the crowd of people. Looking up with his gentle brown eyes, Zack smiles at a billboard advertising the latest new movie: ‘Apple the actor returns for his final act! Stories of a Misplaced Dagger!’

Passing by the door of a dingy-looking orphanage, Zack pauses outside it for a moment. Then, he reaches into his pocket and draws out an envelope filled with money. He slips it under the door. Walking briskly away, Zack quickly disappears into the night in a flash of blue light.

In a dark room with walls made of stone, Kai sits in a metal chair next to a bed, where a large figure lies sleeping peacefully. His usual mask lies forgotten on a table beside him, though his face is still obscured by the darkness of the room, with only a mat of spiky hair visible in the dim light.

He looks at the peaceful figure of Geronimo, who appears to be merely dozing off in the adjacent bed. Leaning towards Geronimo, Kai whispers into his ear. “The war is over, Geronimo. There is no more need to fear any more tragedies being created by Paradoxes and Anti-Paradoxes. I don’t even know if you can hear me, but the others have gone on a journey to rid the world of all the despair left over created by the Paradoxes and Anti-Paradoxes. Hopefully when you wake up, the world will truly be free forever of all such tragedies…”

“You bastards won’t stand a chance against me!” Recelo roars, drawing out his Doombringer. “Triplicate!” Three Doombringers go flying wildly through the air. In amazing formation, the three swords knock down an entire row of tomato plants. With ease, Recelo retrieves his swords, pulling the fallen tomato plants back with him as well.

“All right! We got a pretty good crop this time!” Recelo says, as his helpers rush in to extricate the tomatoes from the Doombringers and into a wooden wagon.

Off in the distance looms the shadow of Bigger Ben. Wiping sweat off his forehead with his arm, Recelo glares up at the blazing sun. “Careful with the tomatoes, guys,” he says, “these are going straight to the people who have the least, so we don’t want to lose even one tomato. Right, Midori?”

“Shut up!” Midori puffs, as she struggles to carry a crate loaded full with tomatoes. She dumps the load into the wagon. “Just because I happened to stop by on my journey of self-discovery doesn’t mean I’m working for you now!”

Locked in a cabinet filled with dust is a Stormshear, stained with dried blood, but dulled with disuse. Tau turns away from the front door of his modest home. Stomping into a nearby room, he bursts into a grin. “Hey, Alicia! The new video from MapleFlix just arrived! Wanna watch it?”

The sickly-looking brown-haired girl smiles from her bed in response, breaking into a wide smile as Tau pops the video into the television in her room. Turning back to his younger sister, Tau sits down next to her, only a peaceful smile lingering on his battle-worn face.

“Your Majesty, the preparations are ready.” Arai turns from his seat at a plain wooden table as the attendant quickly bows her way out of the room. He laughs gently to himself, his hawkish yellow eyes glittering playfully.

“Oh, please. Starting today, there is no more monarchy. You don’t have to address me as ‘Your Majesty’ anymore. From now on, I’m just ‘Arai.’”

Rising to his feet, Arai strides out of the room and into an adjacent one. The throne room of the Fatalists’ castle is now unrecognizable. The tapestries lining the wall have all been taken down, and the throne is nowhere to be found. In the middle of the room is now a massive, humming machine, churning out a great big vat of sweet-smelling gray smoke every few seconds. A conveyor belt feeds directly out of the machine, lined with an endless array of cookies and other sweet confectionaries.

“Abdicating my duty to the throne in order to do this was the best thing I’ve ever done. I was always more cut out to run a cookie factory than a kingdom anyway. As long as this peace remains…it’s all I’ll ever have to worry about from now on.”

Cynthia breaks into a wide grin as she reaches the front doors of the Joukai Academy. ‘Though I miss you, Kunai, I am doing the best I can in this new world. I know that is exactly what you would have wanted. There are still many more mysteries to explore in this world, and much more evil to still get rid of. But I can find the strength to confront all these things and more knowing what you have done, Kunai. What you have done for us is amazing…and knowing that, I realize that anything can be achieved with determination, and a never-ending desire for happiness. I think that’s the natural conclusion to any tale.’
—END EPILOGUE—

Somewhere far, far away, in the darkness of night, a train whistles mournfully. A bright white light blazes forth from it as it approaches the train station, its final destination. It chugs slowly to a stop and with a screech of metal, it comes to a halt in front of an empty station.

Several low clouds of mist hang low over the station. All is dark and silent as the passengers on the train exit. At last, among the many lost souls wandering off the train appears a single figure, a Dark Identity wrapped around his head as he gazes down the station with warm black eyes.

A gruff voice rings out through the cold air: “Welcome to the Underworld. I’ll be your guide this evening.”

Another figure steps into view from the shadows of the station. The first person widens his eyes at the sight. Kunai steps cautiously towards the second figure, as if fearful it might disappear. But as Kunai reaches the red-haired man with welcoming green eyes, he bursts into a tentative smile.

“Ryuu…!”

“Yeah, Kunai. Took you long enough. I’m pissed as hell you couldn’t do it without you winding up here, but you did well, Kunai. You did well…and now everything is finally over.”