Hearing her words, the mad priest dragged his shattered body toward the base of the sacred shrine, reaching up to clutch the high crucifix.
"Oh~ Father~ Pray, forgive the sins of Thy lambs... Thy children know not what they've done... L-Let me bear all their sins upon myself~!"
The unhinged old man cast his eyes upward toward the holy symbol, his trembling arms shaking the foundation of the shrine. The towering crucifix swayed precariously, as though the weight of his sins was far too monstrous to be pardoned. The skeletal remains of King Christopher slumped forward, its hollow eye sockets staring straight into Ismiah Sereza's eyes.
"When the angel falls from the glorious heavens above~!" the mad vicar screamed with fanatical ecstasy.
"WE SHALL ALL RISE UNTO THE HEAVENLY KINGDOMAAAAAAAH~!!!~" CRUSHED!
The massive emblem of the Church crashed downward, crushing Sereza beneath its weight alongside the royal throne of the King, as though his sins were far too heavy for any absolution.
In the aftermath, nothing remained save for the iron apple key, now bathed in dark, rose-crimson blood. Marilyn stepped forward and retrieved the key, tucking it away.
"Mary..."
Edward pushed open the castle doors, preparing to depart from this living hell.
The young man pulled the final vial of medicine from his pouch as he gazed down at the smoldering city below. Uncorking the stopper, Edward poured the liquid onto the cold stone floor, realizing that everything he had fought to achieve had been rendered utterly meaningless.
"The people are all dead. The homes burned to ash. Nothing remains... save for thee and me."
Marilyn wiped the dark crimson from her face before stepping toward the youth. "...Wherefore didst thou come to my aid in this place?"
"Because I had nothing left to lose... We must depart for the world outside." His voice turned icy cold as Marilyn's knees buckled beneath her.
"D-Dost thou yet behold me... as a human being?"
The young man reached down, supporting her feeble, frail frame. "Thou and I have both surrendered our faith in all things. There is nothing left for us to lose."
"My deepest gratitude unto thee." She reached out, offering the cross necklace to Edward.
The young man took the cross into his hand. "This necklace...?"
"I am no longer the Mary I once was, and I cannot fulfill the promise I made. Pray... guard it in my stead."
"Whither shalt thou go from this hour?" Edward asked softly.
"To my... beginning."
The two traveled through the smoldering ruins of the city toward the western horizon. The mysterious hind bounded across the familiar grassy knoll, guiding their path until they came upon a solitary apple tree still in full bloom—even as the surrounding fields behind them lay charred and scorched to ash.
"The apple tree..." Edward looked up at the massive trunk.
The hind lowered its head, sniffing the earth near the base of the tree as if pointing out the exact spot to the maiden. She rushed forward, clawing frantically at the soil with both hands. Seeing her plight, Edward retrieved a sturdy wooden branch, aiding her in breaking through the hardened earth.
The two poured their effort into unearthing the hidden secret. Presently, Edward's branch struck a hard, solid object deep within the ground.
CLACK!
"I have found something!" The single-armed youth wedged his foot against the branch, levering the object to the surface.
It was an old chest, adorned with carved script:
'ACCORDING TO THY DIVINE WILL.'
Marilyn dug deeper into the earth, yet found no skeletal remains of Fredoric anywhere beneath the soil.
"There are no bones... Which means Fredoric was never here from the very start."
The revelation settled into her mind, leaving only the mystery concealed within the chest itself.
The maiden held the iron key, inserting it into the lock with trembling hesitation. Edward offered a quiet nod, encouraging her to unveil the hidden truth.
The lid creaked slowly open, revealing two glowing orbs—one of radiant gold, the other of deep crimson.
The single-armed youth widened his eyes in sheer awe, for the light blazed as fiercely as miniature suns. Having unlocked the chest, she beheld two sacred stone fragments: the Golden Ember of Fate and the Crimson Gem of Infinity. As for the final piece, she knew full well where it resided.
"And I..." Marilyn whispered.
The moment all three stones drew near, their divine power burst forth into the world!
'Repeat after me,' the voice of Mira—the manifestation of the Ember of Fate—echoed from deep within her soul.
"Both feet step down into the gentle, warm stream... filled to the brim by the tears of the elder son... falling softly upon the radiant golden earth. Amidst the skies of this lonely wheat field, 'tis a place where none may find thee in this hour."
As the incantation echoed, the pure white moonlight was swallowed whole by dark shadows, framed by a ring of blazing fire encircling a black eclipse.
"Let me step along the path of Thy tears, I beseech Thee... and together we shall step into the sunlight once more. I am coming for Thee as I pledged... when that appointed hour at last arriveth!"
Marilyn chanted the ancient verse while Edward collapsed unconscious onto the ground, blinded by the golden light searing through his eyes. She closed her eyes tight, feeling the winds shift violently around her. Bright light pierced through her eyelids, as though the moon itself had been consumed by solar flames.
"IN BUT A SHORT WHILE! WE SHALL MEET AT LAST, FREDORIC!!" Mira's voice roared through Marilyn's spirit.
When she opened her eyes at last, Mary found herself sitting upright upon a desolate dune of red sand under the pale moonlight, surrounded by sharp, towering cacti. Beside her, Edward's unconscious body had rolled onto a strip of pitch-black asphalt road.
A pair of bright lights beamed in the far distance. Marilyn raised her hand, waving frantically for aid. Yet as the entity drew near, it unleashed a fierce, mechanical roar without a shred of mercy!
VROOM! VROOM~!~!~
A beast of iron and steel plates glared at them with intimidating, luminous eyes. Marilyn wrapped her arms tightly around Edward, fearing the monster might strike.
Yet from the iron machine stepped a mysterious man.
"Pray... help us! W-We are lost!" the maiden pleaded to the figure shrouded in shadow.
"Woah-woah, what have we here? What kind of backwoods hicks are you supposed to be~?"
As the greeting left his lips, the face beneath the shadows glowed with a luminescent green pattern, resembling the jagged fangs of a ferocious demon. Marilyn recoiled in absolute horror at the sight of that bizarre, unnatural tattoo.
"Welcome to America, bitches! Come have some fun here, I'm tellin' ya, it's gonna be one hell of a ride! WOO-HOO~!"
The maiden's eyes widened in sheer shock before a dark cloth was hurled over her face, plunging her world into absolute darkness.
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The raven steed and the figure beneath the skull mask came galloping back from the west, away from the burning city. Upon reaching the tree where he had taken his leave, he leaped down from the saddle, turning to face you directly.
"A tragic tale indeed, was it not? Yet it caught me not by surprise, for my duty in that place had already reached its end. In this life of ours, one can never foresee what tomorrow may bring. Should time permit, one ought to remain ever prepared. Though today I may walk as a humble man, once the sun sets, they might brand me a thief or a wretched vagabond."
The young man struck the shell of his skull mask.
CRACK!
The mask shattered, revealing once more the face of Hansel, the chronicler.
"So then, shall we turn the page to a new story?"
The young man leaned his head to the side, catching sight of a new ride—a low-rider motorcycle.
"My personal favorite," Hansel remarked, shifting his manner of speech to match the changing times. He fixed his gaze upon the endless strip of black asphalt stretching into the horizon.
"Welcome to the modern era. The real question is..." Hansel plucked a key hanging from the tree branch and straddled the leather seat of his machine. "...How do folk on this side differ from those over there? Who's to know unless you give it a run? Haha!"
VROOM!
He fired up the engine, letting it roar at full throttle. Hansel accelerated down the slope onto the asphalt road, casting a knowing smirk back toward you, the reader.
"See you at the end of the line, friend!"
The young man twisted the throttle, surging toward the east as a fleet of hot rods and motorcycles roared to life, following close behind him.
"WOO-HOO~~~~~~~~~~~~ YEE-HAW!!"
Every ride surged forward into the bright orange dawn of a brand-new day.