"Then that settles it," said Lira promptly. She stood up, patting Tia's shoulder before turning to the others.

It was very evident by now that she did not have long in this world before her construct form faded. Flecks of glowing red magical energy were starting to swirl off of her, like she was made of sand blowing away slowly but surely in a gentle breeze.

It was eerily beautiful, in a sense, her fading was with the gleaming sparkles of red glittering in the night, hovering in dancing arcs above her head and reaching high into the sky. 

"Thou taketh thy leave now?" asked Asala with a certain degree of saddened disappointment. Her pale, slender fingers clutched at a sand tablet tucked to her side. 

"Aye, was a fine time to hear of your tales," agreed Old Thane. 

Vilga did not speak but sat cross legged with her eyes focused intently on Lira – sign that she was attentive but not talkative as usual.

Sheela was in the same seated position, but her expression was one that was a little more wistful, perhaps still a little disappointed that the dragon would not grant her the help she wanted.

Mason and Mercer were still moping around and quiet in the corner. Li would have to ask them why a little later. 

"I had perhaps an hour of time left, but I have heard enough and talked enough. I am not the greatest conversationalist, so I would have felt rather awkward mulling about while fading away," said Lira. "At the least, I have filled in your tablet about the rest of mine adventures. I shall hope that when my true self descends upon this world, she will have many more tales to speak of from many more worlds."

"I shall look forward to it," said Asala with a short bow of her head, her yellow eyes gleaming with curiosity at the mention of other worlds. 

Lira nodded to Asala and then addressed the others. 

"I do not have that many profound final last words in mind," said Lira with a shrug. "I have never been an eloquent speaker. All I can say now is to reiterate that you have the potential to make strong ripples in fate. But take care that these ripples are neutral – they measure only the size of your influence. 

It may be that you will twist fate for the worse. Hopefully-," she continued, giving Sheela a glance. "It will be for the better. Now then-,"

Lira stood up tall and looked to the sky. The crimson flecks breaking apart from her body began to crumble apart in higher volume, rapidly, until there was huge pillar of red light shining from above her, reaching like a tall candlelight into the sky with flickers of both light and warmth.

Her body began to break apart at the extremities, her hands and legs fading away first. 

"I suppose this is goodbye. For now. Til' I see you all next." Lira smiled, her fangs baring. "I look forward to where fate takes you all." 

"Oh, right!" said Tia. She clutched at the ruby around her neck and said, "Thank you! Papa always says to thank people for gifts."

"Oh, darling, you are only holding onto that for me," said Lira. "No need to thank me. I should be thanking you. I know you wish to see my father and the dragons of Torr Valeris one day, and hopefully, I will be there to guide you through the lands.

If not, make sure to place all your trust and love in your father. He is a better being than most atop that peak."

Tia nodded, and Lira finally began to truly break apart, her torso shattering into a burst of energy particles, her face breaking apart like glass, shards of it flying above into the sky. 

Nobody else said a vocal goodbye to Lira, not because they did not want to, but because they were watching in awe. The shower of swirling red energy that rose up from Lira had formed a canvas upon which flickering, hazy and red tinted images flashed.

A rapid snapshot story of her memories. At first, they flickered slowly, like a picture book turning, and then, showing her in Torr Valeris, showing her fighting, training, showing her wounded – all images Li and Tia were familiar with.

Then the pages began to turn faster and faster as the vast years of her life unfolded to the point that the mortal eye would have been hard pressed to perceive much of anything.

But Li could. He could see her reaching into the dimensional rift with a blue robed lich by her side.

He could see her flying through the vastness of space, the thrusters in her armor jetting out streaks of red, magical fire that formed comet-like tails. He could see her on a desolate, smoking world with the lich beside her, pointing this way and that, guiding her and telling her of the world's end. 

He could see her on another world, one with life in it, one very much like his own with humans and towering cityscapes and yet without the choking black smog that dominated his past life. A world of modern and human civilization that had not yet reached the stage of self-destructiveness that characterized his own. 

On this world, he saw her defend herself against both humans that shot blasts of magic- magic he did not recognize – at her alongside arrays of gunfire. 

Then another world. 

A desolate world once more, massive fissures lining it surface while volcanic eruptions boomed in the distance, signaling an unstable core that would doom the world to destruction soon. The lich was there again, putting a skeletal finger to his sharp, bony chin as he weaved blue lines through the air, searching, finding something. 

They were too late to save the world, but there was still something they could salvage. 

They did find that they were looking for.  He saw her travel deep underground, into the depths of the planet itself, into a cavern of light he could not recognize, and at this point, the memories became hazy., blurry. 

But here, he could still see her her reach out to find the Prometheas.

And here, her memories ended, the interference breaking them up with a distortion that made them nigh unrecognizable, and also likely because of her memories spanning too much time for her cloned copy to further process.

And yet, there was still one more thing he saw. He saw in that light the outline of a crossbow he thought he recognized.