The next week passes quickly. In six short days, the town raises a statue, glittering and golden in front of the council building. Standing fifty feet tall, it depicts a woman with long hair in a dress, holding a potion bottle in one hand and a mortar and pestle in the other. Mercy Warren's gentle eyes gaze ever toward the rising sun.

Elder Azeen is stripped of her title and her land and locked away. Not in a cell, no. Instead, the village elects to place a platform within the statue, making a small room of the last fifteen feet. Carved into every corner of the 'room' is the face of Mercy Warren, a constant reminder of Azeen's vanity and the person she tried to destroy. Of course for the sake of being humane, she's provided with food and water once a day via a pulley system so she can never look another person in the eye again, allowed to live with the monster she became for the rest of her life.

Amadeo sits outside the Ravenwood house, watching the gleam of the statue even as night begins to fall.

"It's amazing, isn't it?" Ruby settles into a chair beside him.

"What's that?"

"All that you've done. I remember this mousy little boy, a hard working young man but not the type to go charging off into danger. You've changed since you left."

"I've seen the world outside our little village. It's big, and it can be scary, but there's a beauty to it if you look hard enough. I've met people who feared their pasts, people who look to the future, people who laughed and cried and smiled as bright as the sun."

"Your companions aren't half bad themselves. I see a strength you present together. A bond you never would have made a year ago."

"We had an encounter the first day we met. It shifted how I thought about people from the outside world. Anna looks to the future, Hope worries over her past, and Tyrion's only concern is the present. I thought we were just a temporary party, but that day...We made a promise to each other in a little inn, we four wandering hearts, never parting until the end of our pact."

Ruby laughs. "Reminds me of a song I heard once. You'll continue on traveling, then?"

"It's an addiction; seeing what the world has to show me, what power I can acquire. And I think they need me in a way."

"Is that really how you feel?" Ruby folds her arms.

"What do you mean?" The wizard looks across at his mother, who raises an eyebrow.

"You can't hide anything from me. You may not want to admit it, but I know your heart, the look in your eyes. I had the same look once."

"...What in the world are you on about?"

"You're the smartest man in the room, my son, but Mother always knows best." She leans forward, taking his hands and squeezing them softly. "You'll get there, dear. Just take it slow and wait until you're ready."

Ruby stands, leaning down to kiss the wizard's forehead before going inside. "Cocoa, anyone?" He hears her call out to those gathered before the door closes. Chocolate eyes gaze upon golden shine as the last bits of light fade over the horizon. The chill of the wind gives him a shiver, accompanied by the soft creak of the chair next to him as the breeze picks up.

"It's a bit gaudy." His eyes turn to see the spirit of Mercy Warren relaxing in the chair Ruby previously occupied, her face now no longer grotesque or tear stained.

"Perhaps. But I like it."

"At least there's that, then...You really came through." The ghost watches the moon rise, smiling softly.

"I admit, I wasn't quite sure we'd be able to win. She wasn't going down if she could help it."

"Perhaps not. It may not be an execution, but it's close enough. She'll spend the rest of her life thinking how she could have done better, ever reminded of how foolish she was..."

"Why did you keep it from her? You seem to have been just as vain, making a remedy for aging that works so well." Amadeo sits back, folding his arms.

"I was. I'm not going to deny that. But I never killed someone to satisfy my own sins...You solved my cipher, then?"

"I admit, it was tricky. Got caught on the combination of 2nd Age Elvish and modern Draconian. That was clever. But your notes all used the same script written in Dwarvish runes. I'm surprised she didn't see it before."

"She wasn't a great apprentice. She had little patience and took no care with her ingredients. I might have let her in on the secret if she was more careful with her product and her patients...What did you do with my formula?"

Amadeo sits back, looking toward the spirit. "I burned it. No one else needs to know about something that creates so much strife...So what now? I can't imagine you've got anything else to do here."

"No, I don't. I'll be passing on soon." She sighs, looking down at herself. "My hold is loosening by the second. But before I go, I just want to say-" She stands, and Amadeo sees now that Mercy's legs are gone from the knees down, the rest of her disappearing at a steady rate.

The spirit clasps her hands on the wizard's face, her bright smile startling him for a second even before he considers her cold touch. Her eyes like crystalline water gaze long into his chocolate hues, and he considers pulling away from the awkward stare before chilled lips press to his own. So shocked is he by this turn of events that even when she leans back to study his face, Amadeo remains stuck in place as though paralyzed.

"-Thank you, Amadeo Ravenwood. How I wish you'd been there back then, or I here now. I think you and I could have done well together."

"M-maybe." He shakes his head. "But your time is gone. Mine is just beginning. So go. Find your way to Elysium, Mercy Warren, and may you never know pain again."

The spirit lowers her head, sighing. "You're no fun, young man. But that's fine." She takes a breath, closing her eyes as her form dissipates entirely. "I'll be waiting to see what you accomplish next."

The breath she took in is released, and Amadeo watches the fog begin to lessen, gradually fading away as Mercy Warren's influence passes into the realms beyond. He bows his head, eyes closed tightly. "I know I don't pray as much as I probably should, Dawnmother. But please, forgive the pain she caused; she was a soul lost and alone...Please forgive her." The howl of wolves in the distance draws his attention, and the wizard sighs. Opening the door, his eyes fall on those gathered.

Soren sits with Tyrion, the two of them swapping stories of adventures over smoking pipes.

Ruby and Kira are chatting about the changes coming and how already, the soil seems to be doing better.

A sleeping Anna leans on Hope as they sit on the bed, the devilkin sipping from her cup quietly. When Amadeo steps in, she turns her gaze upon him. For a brief moment, they lock eyes before she gives him a smile, patting the spot on her other side.

He crosses the room in silence, sitting beside her as she hands him a cup of cocoa, which he sips carefully, enjoying the warmth of it.

"You alright?" She asks, and he nods softly. "Yeah. Things are gonna start getting back to normal around here...Is it weird that this somehow feels like a bittersweet ending?"

"No, I don't think so. Bad guy got caught, justice was served, everyone's safe and sound. Ondra's kids decided to move here and help put their dad's past behind him. And I think we all learned something important through all of this."

"What did you learn then?" His eyes linger on hers, dropping down to her nose, her cheeks, then further down before he looks away.

"Not much new about people; they're greedy and can sometimes be worse than actual monsters. But the biggest takeaway I've had was a lesson I got from a stranger."

"And what would that be?"

"That nobody's ever ready for the feelings they get about people. You don't get to pick how you feel. It's just a thing that happens. So when the time comes that you find someone you care about, you should tell them. Because life is short, and it might be too late by the time you decide to do it."

"So who is it you're getting feelings for?" His tone shifts, and Hope detects a mix of curiosity and... apprehension?

"Well..." She gazes over the wizard's face. Plain, but not without its charms. The scar gives him character, the shaggy hair suits a man who has worked the field most of his life. His eyes fall on her again, and she turns away this time. "That's something I'm still working on."

"Ah. I see. We'll, I hope it works out, whoever they are." He squeezes her hand softly, and she gives a soft nod.

"Y-yeah...I think that's my cue to go to bed." Hope nudges Anna, standing and walking her to the room behind the kitchen. She looks back at the wizard one last time and sighs before continuing into the bedroom.

Amadeo watches them go, looking down at the floor and planting a palm forcefully to his forehead. "You moron."