Chapter 16

The Declaration

Eight Years Ago

The sea had always been calming. Like life itself, it moved back and forth, never in one place. It was always there, and always a comfort, but the way that it constantly stretched to the horizon was a promise of something greater.

Marcus found hope in that, and it was the reason he always took lunch on the shore when he could. Assuming other duties didn’t call him away, of course.

“I thought I’d find you here, Marcus. You’re predictable, if anything.” The man, now chief commander of the Guardian Corps, turned his body to Cynthia. His confidant. The one he trusted and loved above all others. Her platinum hair was lengthy, and she swept up its waist-length tresses to sit next to him on the beach. “Won’t pay the troops a visit?”

“Would it change a thing?” His solemn question led her to bow her head. In that action, she took notice of the books at his side, sheaves of paper sticking out of them with scribbles and maps. They were proof of a maddening obsession that no one knew, unless one counted Cynthia and his ex-squad mates.

“One way to look at it, Marcus. Though, perhaps if you talked with them more…”

“I’ve tried. Or I think I have, but it’s not enough,” Marcus admitted. He sighed, brushing the books aside to pull out one piece of paper. It had the most of his messy handwriting, to the point it was a page practically covered in near-illegible black ink. “I talk to them, encourage them, strive to live as a paragon of what a Guardian stands for, but none of them want to do anything.”

“Amelia and Roy stand by you.” He scoffed at the notion.

“They stand by the Corps.” Leaning back, Marcus held his paper to the sun. Tiny maps were drawn on it, marking locations of note, with the most interesting being that small island where his soul had awakened to all the ills of the world. No, he thought, I’d already known before then…

“Is that so bad a thing? The Corps has done its good.”

“I fear the Corps is a relic as it stands, and even I cannot change that, no matter how hard I try. I can’t control the will of those so determined to do as little as possible,” Marcus lamented. He tossed his paper down, and a breeze came along to carry it out towards the ocean. Cynthia reached her hand out to grab it, but missed, and he found he cared little. What was one little paper against the infinite possibilities? He sighed. “Cynthia…I want more.”

“That’s a selfish line of thought, sir. One we both agreed to never embrace. Or do you want to be another Victor Lacroix?” She was serious, reining him in as they sat there. He blew out, wisps of his hair caught by the same breeze that had stolen his paper.

“Not for me. For the world.”

“And how would you make that a reality?”

He didn’t know, and feared to search for the answer. His fingers knotted themselves with the grass, his feet kicking at the sand of the shore.

No…he couldn’t be afraid of alternate means. He couldn’t be scared to dive in and change things. Not with these voices, these souls, that tormented his mind. Only one thing held him back, stopped him from embracing that part of him that wanted more than watching the sea and dreaming of a better future beyond it.

“Cynthia, am I a good commander?” he asked. She looked at him, observing his eyes as they took in the glittering ocean. No answer was forthcoming, with only the surf lulling them. It took a moment, but she came close and turned his head to face her.

“Only ever the best, Marcus.”

“Then why have I done so little? Why has nothing changed?” he asked. Though he swore he would not, the pain he felt at all of this drew a tear from his eye. How he longed to end that suffering for the world. “The edge of the world, I can see it day by day, getting closer. I see everyone relying on the Corps for everything, while the very people I command try to lead lives of comfort for their ease. I’ve done nothing at the top, so how can I be a good commander!”

“Oh, Marcus…” She leaned forward, taking his lips with her own. He’d always known, deep down, of her love for him, but it was the first time she’d expressed it. “You are a wonderful commander, who has guided the world. You’re a pillar of strength to all who see you…but even here, you can’t make everyone believe the same as you.”

Another gust blew across them, Cynthia’s hair fluttering while the books between them flew open, scattering more papers on the air. Marcus looked down, trapping one of the few remaining sheets with his hand. On it were crude drawings of swords and bows and a staff. They were the pictures he’d seen in the mural, of world-altering weapons. His hand rubbed over it.

His voice came to her as a whisper. “What if there was a way?”

She drew back from him, and he expected to see her shrink from the madness he had offered to her. He expected to see that light of love and hope die within her irises. Part of him hoped she would reject it, guide him down a different path when he saw no other path left. Eight years of listening to souls and their selfish thoughts…it could only lead to one conclusion.

Cynthia stood, removing her spectacles while her feet walked towards the shoreline, each step leaving imprints upon the sand. Her back was to him, and her breath was one with the tide.

“How would you do it?”

Her question had been presented so softly, she may as well have not even asked it. No one was around them, despite the air being split by the sound of a skyship engine taking off from the hangar above. He did not move from his spot. The contents of the tomes and his papers were memorized.

“There are said to be seven Legendary Weapons, each with enough power to rend the world,” he said. His fingers folded together. He sounded insane, and he knew it, but the possibility was there. It offered more beyond this meager existence where nothing changed and the world slid towards its own demise in perpetuity. “I found one, but the others…elude me. If one could gather them, they could change the world.”

“That sounds like a myth for those cultists…the World Restoration Order, they call themselves,” she said. There was a dry humor in her voice, but the information was nevertheless helpful. “They spout the rhetoric of their goddess, and a new world. Frost Squad has done research on them, and we’ve considered infiltrating their ranks, to see if they’re a threat.”

“What if…we made them one?”

This time, Cynthia could no longer continue gazing away. She whipped around, facing him. Their eyes bored into each other, trying desperately to cling to this strange hope that had manifested. Was it the right path? Marcus didn’t know.

“Are you saying to take control of the Order?”

“Cynthia, my magic…no one else has it,” he said. His feet brought him up and over to the woman. She did not protest when he took her hands and held them between their chests. “What is that but some sort of sign? It’s Soul Magic, known to shape history, to have a connection with the Legendary Weapons. What if I’m meant to do this?”

“You have your duties here, Marcus. What of the Corps?”

He didn’t know. His mind was utterly split. His soul felt adrift on the waves of the world, not knowing in which direction it would be tossed. To what should he throw his support behind? The Corps? A brand-new world?

“What if…we used both?” he expressed, his body closer to hers. His face was almost touching Cynthia’s, begging her for permission. “If the Order seeks the goddess, seeks this new world, then I can become the head and guide them under that will. And I can lead the Corps.”

“Can you even imagine the concentration you would need to do that? The kind of planning and diligence it would take?” He was insistent, squeezing tight to her hands. Waiting around wasn’t an option anymore. She knew that, her eyes growing soft, as they always did in his presence. Cynthia freed one of her hands and used it to caress Marcus’s face. “Of course. That’s a silly thought. Only you could make such a sacrifice, and I would always be loyal to that goal.”

“We promised we would rise to the top and make things better, but it hasn’t been enough,” Marcus told her. His forehead nestled itself against hers, and once again, their lips met. He could feel Cynthia’s love, and the ardent wish for his desires to become reality. They were permission in their own right, and the flame of passion for his new ideal rose within him. “I will do whatever it takes…whatever it takes…”

After that day on the beach, Marcus had always wanted more, and the insatiable want clawed at him.

It drove him to the Order, where Cynthia pretended to infiltrate. Where he had arrived, donned in robes of black as the Reaper.

It drove him to study as a man possessed.

It drove him to recruit those trodden down by the world’s poison, taken in under the banner of belief in the goddess, or his own obsession for something more.

It drove him to realize the amount of energy he’d need to endure and hold within…the amount of souls he would need to see his ideal world come to pass.

It drove him to commit unspeakable sins in the name of peace.

But it would all be better in the end. All would be better.

Because he was making a new world, where there was no pain, or suffering. He had promised to make it as it should have been, the world and Corps both, because he was chosen to do so.

And over the years, Marcus Arrant’s soul broke, piece by little piece.

Present Day

White smoke was rising from Marcus’s body. His armor was falling off of him, rusted through and broken, crashing to the floor. Pieces of his skin looked like they were burning, the very action he’d just taken eating him from within and without. He was groaning, the effort of absorbing Crea’s soul proving to be a strain on him. The realm upon which they all stood was scorched, the once pristine whiteness of it gone gray. A rumble sounded out, causing Meredith to turn back from where she lay upon the floor.

The gates were falling, crashing to the ground. The uninhabited buildings were crumbling, sending a tremor through the unoccupied city. Rico reached up, pushing Meredith off of him as they stood and looked in Marcus’s direction.

He was in pain; she could tell. Marcus was shaking, even while the smoke surrounding his body came under his control. She felt a sudden want to cry. Not from failure at being unable to stop him, or what he was planning to do further. She wept for his broken soul, and everything he was willing to throw away to make this a reality.

Worse yet, he was smiling, the edges of his lips turned while his eyes pooled with tears.

Rico approached, his spear outstretched, ready to strike Marcus should he so much as twitch. The man saw him, turning his head as his eyes crinkled in. Meredith observed Marcus further.

“For the new world.”

Like a snap, Marcus disappeared, blinking entirely out of existence. Meredith wondered if he’d reappear behind them, but no such thing happened. He never returned, and the realm shook, sending her to her knees.

“That fool!” Rico cursed. He stowed his spear, offering a hand to Meredith and pulling her up. “He thinks to guide the world, but how can anyone do so in such madness?”

“You realize you tried the same thing.”

“I’d call the me of then just as much a fool,” Rico said, huffing at the presumption she was making. The space around them felt like it was burning. Like their world, the edges were closing in, dropping away and dismantling the realm. “Guidance isn’t about exerting your will…I shudder to think what kind of world a man who believes himself to be the only one in the right would create.”

“Well, we won’t be able to stop it here,” Meredith said. She retracted her blade, clipping it back on her belt. “I think it’s time we join the others, yeah?”

Rico was shocked at her courage and willingness to jump headfirst into what was to come. He chuckled. “What do we do about the world’s soul, Mera?”

“Like you said: we’ll figure it out when we get there. We can’t figure out a way to restore it if there’s nothing left of it in the first place.” This time, she was the one to take his hand. The Heavenly Realm was collapsing, almost nothing left but the throne and the space in which they stood. “Together.”

“Together…?” Rico asked. His gaze was far away, as if some great revelation had presented itself to him. The memories and thoughts of his family and friends could be seen playing on his mind until Meredith squeezed his hand and brought him back to reality. “Yes…Together.”

They squeezed their eyes shut, and Meredith remembered the feeling from before, of her soul feeding into theirs, of traveling through that tunnel to reach this place. Become a soul…Turn your body into one…just for a moment…Guide. Ride the flow.

Meredith’s body was slipping, becoming ethereal. In her hand, Rico was doing the same, and through his soul, she could see a clearer picture of where to land below. He was taking her by the hand and leading her, just as he had the Renegades. Softness and kindness were both in his soul, readable as they shared in the moment. The two who had always been on the same side in different ways turned their bodies into energy, and hurtled themselves through the corridor that had taken them hence.

It, too, was breaking apart. With the realm that it was attached to gone, there was nothing sustaining it. No more souls were traveling its length, leaving it a hollow representation of what Crea had once been. Her soul, now forcibly ripped from where it was, left the souls stagnant, nowhere to go, and nowhere to return to.

Rico kept them steady, nonetheless.

Instead, Meredith focused on keeping them intact on the way down, readying for their arrival back in their world, where Marcus and the others were waiting. Rico caused their souls to twist and turn with every bend of the pathway, and Meredith could see the light approaching, signaling their arrival. As it burst, she brought form to her soul, her body becoming solid and gravity exerting its force upon her.

Seconds after, her feet hit the ground, knees bending and sending a shock through her. Meredith grit her teeth, and checked on her side to make sure her wound hadn’t gotten worse. To her surprise, it was gone.

“Marcus!” The shout drew Meredith’s attention, and she wondered exactly how much time had passed, when she turned to face the Reaper. He was standing there, gnawing at his chest with his hands. The Legendary Weapons were almost lifeless husks, cluttered around him in a circle. The cry had come from Cynthia, and Meredith realized they were all there, every soul she had freed. “Did you…?”

Marcus looked up, grinning, and that maddened expression was reflected through all of his priests. All but Raymond shared in it, his own brow furrowed. “The power is mine.”

“And the goddess?” Caleb asked.

“No more. Nothing but a lie. I hold her power now.” Caleb registered surprise, but the shock soon gave way to more of his feral madness.

“Then I’ll follow you to the end, Your Worship. For a better world.”

“Sir, if you’re ready, we should be off.” Raymond speaking put Meredith back in action. She and Rico both ran for the Order, gathered around Marcus. He saw them, watched them; dared them to come after him. Dared them to try and stop him. He would be waiting.

“Goodbye.”

Another snap echoed. A bright light burst throughout the air, acting as a signal to any of his followers waiting above. The light wrapped up Marcus and his priests, and they were gone, the Legendary Weapons going with them.

“Mera…?” Emil’s pained groans alerted Meredith to the fact they weren’t alone. She looked wildly in the direction of the voice, finding her companions on the ground. Rico was the first to run for them.

“Lovelia! You’re not hurt, are you?”

“Rico…what…what happened?”

“The better question is…where are we?” Amelia was coughing out. She had pulled herself against a dilapidated stone wall. Meredith now realized she had no idea where they’d ended up, but she spun to take in the broken castle. In the sky above, there was a white symbol, looking just like Crea’s symbol, fading away under a night sky. Meredith reasoned why they’d ended up here: it was the closest to Crea’s seal.

“The ruins where the Order…made their home…Damn that stupid captain!” Emily shouted. She and Jay had their backs against one another, recovering. Those souls that had passed through clearly needed the moment to reorient themselves.

It was a moment they didn’t have.

“Mera…you…you freed us?” Vivian croaked. She was nearest to Meredith, huffing with every breath as she supported her attempt to stand. “I could…hear your voice…It gave my soul strength.”

“Yeah, well, preserve it, Viv. This isn’t done yet.” Vivian was confused, and Meredith paid little attention to her. She looked to Rico, the man offering a nod while he checked on all the others deposited there, from Bruce and Trent to the Guardians and Renegades who had all been deposited in the ruins. Sure that he would take care of them, Meredith walked a few steps away, pausing for but a moment. “I’m glad you’re okay, though. It was scary without you guys there.”

“But you made it through…” Vivian offered.

That, she had.

Finding encouragement in Vivian’s belief towards her perseverance, Meredith stepped out of the broken-down room of the grand castle. Right outside it was an empty field full of scattered skyship parts and stones, much of the island dropping into the choppy waters. By the time she’d taken another step forward, more of it was eroded away. She already feared the worst, and they were stuck on this island.

Needing a better view, Meredith looked to find a sturdier wall that allowed her to gain a foothold, climbing up it until she had a more aerial view. The field was getting smaller and smaller, with old tents that were ratted and torn by the elements falling into the bubbling sea. The roar of the falls was obvious, but Meredith was looking for something else that she soon found.

“Sal! Kenny! Get up! I need your mechanical expertise!” she shouted. No one refuted her orders or bothered to dismiss them. The pair of pilots from Tempest Squad just got up while Meredith jumped down to join them. She jerked her head, and jogged in the direction of what she’d seen, across the shortening plains to where a dead skyship sat. The hull was damaged in places, and it was practically ancient. The size wasn’t that large, either. “Think we can get this hunk of junk working?”

“Well, we won’t know unless we try,” Sal said. She wrinkled her nose and cracked her knuckles before charging into its hold. Kenny was right behind her.

Meredith figured it was best to leave them to their own devices, bustling past the engine room and to the bridge. It was a cramped space, enough to fit about ten of them throughout the ship. Power was still there, indicated by the flickering lights, though none of the buttons that Meredith pressed did anything. The ramp that led in jumped a little, but was otherwise stuck in place. More important were the screens, showcasing static. She poked her head out.

“All we need is for it to fly and reach everyone else.”

“Comms and flight system. Those’ll be no problem,” Sal said, her voice muffled. Her hands were working with the metal nearby, patching it up as Kenny examined the Flight Gem.

“The problem is more that there’s not enough power circulation…” he grunted. The grunt was soon lost behind a smile that showed through his beard. “Power is my specialty!”

“Leaving you to it. We gotta leave soon as it’s ready. You can fly this thing, right?” Sal and Meredith met eyes, and her brother’s old subordinate straightened, saluting to the girl.

“Just who do you take me for, captain?”

Meredith chuckled, slapping the wall with light force before she ran for the outside. To her gratitude, everyone was already gathering there, from the rest of Tempest Squad to Amelia, Vivian, Emil, the Corps’ remnants and all the Renegades. She stood before them, and all of their eyes swiveled on to her. “We can’t take all of you, and there’s not much of this island left.”

“We can swim,” one of the Guardians said, thumping his chest. “If there’s defending that needs to be done, go and do it.”

“What does need to be done, Childs?” It was Amelia asking now, the commander watching her with her hawkish glare. Meredith opened her mouth to answer as the skyship behind her flared to life with power. The tiny, inanimate soul inside the Flight Gem was shining. They were in business, something that Kenny shouted out.

“Marcus needs to be stopped, what else?” Meredith shot back, her lips thin, and her stature resolute. Amelia smirked at that.

“All I needed to hear. Tempest Squad, Lacroix, Baroné, Renegade, you’re on board with us!” Most of them obeyed right away. Rico was the only hesitant one, and only because he faced Lovelia, putting hands on her shoulders as he addressed their family.

“Do what you can to get everyone off this island, Lovelia. Do you understand?” She nodded, accepting of his wishes. He looked her over as Meredith turned away, and she just caught him pulling his sister in for a hug, his voice becoming a strained whisper. “No matter what, live on, Lovelia. The Renegades aren’t alone anymore. It’s all something bigger. So, live on with that message…for me.”

“Brother…?” Rico had already stepped away, proceeding slowly past Meredith as she stood at the way inside. He clapped her shoulder.

“Let’s go.” Meredith swallowed, wondering what was going through Rico’s head at the grimness with which he stepped. Lovelia was confused, but soon after took her leader’s words to heart, gathering the Renegades. Meredith faced the Guardians.

“You guys, too! Keep living, no matter what!”

“Yeah, Childs! Go get the son of a bitch!”

“Kick his ass!”

She felt buoyed by that, tapping the side and making her way back to the bridge. Soon as she stepped foot on it, cramped with everyone there, the skyship began to raise itself off the ground, Sal at the helm. Kenny was still nowhere to be seen, with Bruce and Trent leaving to aid him.

“So, Mera, what happened…wherever we were?” Vivian asked when the teen squeezed herself through. The screen still ached with static.

“Long story short: Marcus got exactly what he came for. It’s endgame now.”

“Let’s not forget what he might have caused in doing so,” Rico said, leaning over Meredith’s figure. “The end of the world.”

The skyship rattled and clanked, some pieces popping apart, but the vehicle retained its balance, rising ever higher in the sky. The whole world felt tilted from within that ancient skyship, with Sal putting all her faculties to use in keeping it upright and balanced. So focused was she, that it was Jay who made the first observation out the grimy bridge window.

“What the hell…?” he gasped. His body leaned far enough over Sal that she pushed him away, permitting Meredith to come close enough to look.

It was exactly what she expected, a fact confirmed by the screen when it lit up with a news report, still full of static, but functionally visible and audible.

“Reports are coming in from all over the world as the edges of continents have begun disappearing,” a female anchor reported. Shots of the devastation were made clear on screen, but Meredith merely watched from their own perch as it was reported on. “Following a massive crumbling where Corps Castle used to stand, witnesses and news helicopters have noted that the falls which surround our world have drawn closer. The alchemic settlement and the towns of Lumarina to the south and near Lacroix Manor up north have been evacuated. Lacardian researchers have begun estimating this sudden accelerated rate of ‘desertification’ and how long it will take to reach the Metrop-”

The feed shuddered, soon cutting out entirely. Amelia hung back. “Kenny, the feed!”

“Not us, commander!”

“Marcus…” Meredith breathed, coming out more as a growl that caused Emil to back up. “He still took the Weapons with him. Contact Brynn at the Gash!”

“You got it, captain!” Sal said, her voice rising instinctively. She flicked switches, turning knobs to find the right channel to contact who they wanted to reach. It flashed through many until, at last, Sal located the right one. The screen wavered, watery at first but soon growing in clarity until Brynn was on the screen. Her boys were behind her, looking panicked.

“Mera! It’s crazy over here!”

“Tell us what happened!” Meredith shouted, making sure she was heard over the absolutely horrible noise their engine was making. Down on the ground below, Meredith could see the spire of the castle they’d left, wobbling.

“The land was just split in two!” Theodore shouted behind his leader before Brynn could answer. He yelped, dragged off to man the cannons with Edgar the boisterous one. Brynn leaned forward.

“He’s right. We were watching the Gash when Marcus looked to appear and he just used those Weapons before we had a chance. The continent was sundered right down the middle and…you’d have to see it for yourself.” Meredith was pretty sure she had an idea of what it looked like below. Screeches were suddenly emitted from their speakers, forcing all those on the tiny skyship to cover their ears. Meredith chose not to, keeping an eye on Brynn as she turned around. “Man those cannons, boys! If they’re taken out, use your own magic!”

“Brynn, what’s down there?” Meredith wasn’t allowing any delay in getting the answers she needed. The pink-haired girl put her face back to the screen.

“It’s a giant mineshaft, stretching waaay down…and there are monsters coming from it.” Confirming what she said was a piercing roar on the air, and their skyship shook from the force. Jay fell forward, eyes wide at what he saw through the window.

“Is that a frickin’ dragon?!”

“Oi, disastrous duo, Jay, get on it. We don’t have defenses here!” Amelia ordered. Jay was shaken, but a push from Emily started moving him back into the halls of the skyship. “Things must be crazy down there.”

“They definitely are!”

“Conrad, is that you?” Meredith asked. She couldn’t see him, but his voice was coming through Brynn’s terminal.

“I took the liberty of contacting Lacardia. According to them, the magic cores are going wild,” Brynn informed her.

“They’re spewing out monsters left and right and playing havoc with anyone who shares their element. We barely managed to get to the air!” Conrad confirmed.

Meredith scowled.

She took a step back, reviewing all that had occurred. The world was dropping off its edge. Marcus had forged himself a path inside, no doubt using the knowledge from the mining facility he had plundered. Monsters were reacting to the instability of the world’s soul. The world truly was coming to an end as a result of Marcus’s actions, and no amount of his plan was going to stop that. There was only one thing they could do.

Meredith Childs breathed in.

“Mera?” It wasn’t just Vivian and Emil who were asking, but everyone on the bridge and the other side of their communications. Bated breath was in abundance, hanging on her commands and understanding of the situation.

“Brynn…contact all of our allies on your end. Make sure they can hear me,” she said. It only took the one request for Brynn to comply. She nodded to Gregory off-screen, and the man must have done something, because other voices came through before she silenced them.

“Your floor, Mera. Hm…Guardian Childs.”

Meredith found her body tightening. Everything had led to this moment. Every thrill of fear. Every battle. Every loss. Every struggle. Every choice she’d made and trial she’d taken. Her choice. Her will.

Meredith was ready.

“This is it, everyone! The final battle for the world against the Order!” she shouted, making sure everyone could hear. Her voice echoed back at her, reflecting her determination the whole world over. “Marcus plans to use the power of the goddess Crea to control the Great Soul that is our world. Having it his way, he’ll take your will from you, your very individuality! All so he can make a safer world where people don’t do stupid things to kill it. I get it. Really, I do.

“But he’s wrong!”

Those on the bridge and elsewhere were silent, allowing her to continue on, confidence growing with every word.

“I struggled for a while, seeing the old Corps choose themselves over their comrades or the populace. What that turned the world into. In some way, Marcus is right. We’ve failed in the past, and I understand that. We failed to make the world safe because we only thought about our own dreams and our own lives. So…it makes sense that he thinks by supplanting our conscious thoughts, decisions and wills with his own, he can heal the rift that humanity’s self-centeredness has caused. But look at what he’s doing along the way: taking people from us and tearing our world apart! We can’t let him do that! We have to stand together, not as just a singular body or soul, but as the sum of all our individual parts, with our own life experiences!”

Meredith stepped even closer, and decided to give her orders as a Guardian, prepared to fight. “We won’t let Marcus have his way just because he thinks he’s chosen to! Humanity might be flawed. We might be flawed. But it’s those weaknesses that make us stronger, because we’re not alone! Your will is yours! Your soul is yours! So, take fear in hand, stare it down, acknowledge it and join me! We’ll plunge into the abyss and remind Marcus of what it really means to take care of and protect this world! Together!

“The time for our final fight is now!”

Silence was what was left after her proclamation, until she heard the voice of Captain Clive, and then Conrad, and Brynn, and those who stood right at her side.

“To the end, Guardian Childs!”

Meredith grinned, and she stomped the floor, her voice rising to its highest volume.

“Guardian Corps, move out!”