Inside the Lighthouse's walls is what appears to be a reliquary.
Or perhaps something closer to a museum. All sorts of treasures grace every surface of the room within their magnificent displays, from crowns to weapons to paintings to statues to specimens. There are multiple terraced levels lined with decorative marble columnworks and handrails, and I get the sense that I could stay here for days and still only scratch the surface of the chamber's contents. And that's not counting the time it would take to comprehend what significance each piece has.
Graves struts past everything without so much as a glance, keeping her wasp wings tight so she doesn't knock anything over. I'm scared to break something, and I do the same. The two of us climb the stairs to the highest level, where a sizable altar sits waiting. Dozens of black wax candlesticks ignite on their own as we approach, twinkling their flickering light over the marble slab, which is decorated quite simply with a dark red velvet cover.
Resting upon the altar is an intimidatingly large sword of elegant design. It's much bigger than I am. It's much bigger than Graves too. It appears to be fit for a titan's hand, far too massive to be wielded by any draconid in humanoid form. Even if I were in my draconic form, I'm not entirely certain I could handle it.
Graves lays a hand on the metallic black scabbard. With a deep breath, she uses both hands to pull the hilt free to draw the blade outward some. From alongside her, I gasp with awe and wonder as I realize it's cast of dark, shadowy, semitransparent smoky quartz. With a deep breath, Graves admires the way the light cuts through the blade, and then abruptly sheathes it. With another touch of her hand, the sword disappears in a cloud of blank ink, which slowly clears to reveal that it has reduced in size, though it's still about as big as I am tall.
"Longevity," Umbra hisses, taking it in hand.
I don't know what to say. It's breathtakingly beautiful.
Here we are at last. We have the weapon to kill Aurora.
"Onward." Umbra heads for the door. "To the end."
The word escapes me before I can stop it. "Wait."
She halts in place with her back to me. A few painstakingly long seconds drag by. It's like I can hear the hourglass draining, grain by grain. Eventually, Graves turns around and returns to me, standing well within arms reach.
Through her, Umbra whispers, "Yes, Crimsy?"
I fumble for words, stuttering odd noises.
What am I doing? I should stay quiet. If I–
"What troubles you, my little rose?"
If I say anything, I will ruin everything.
"Are you afraid, my little rose?" She steps closer, holding Longevity in one hand as she embraces me in both arms. "I imagine. You've been through so much. And this is all so sudden. Please, take solace. This may be Graves' body, but I am occupying it for the moment. That is to say… I'm here, little one. I'm here."
I cling to her tight black clothing, still trembling.
"I have you." She kisses my head a few times. "I have you. I'm sorry we've yet to speak at length. Time is very much of the essence. But I've made you feel forgotten, haven't I? You have my deepest apologies. Part of my hurry was to get this ugly business over with, so you and I will have time, peace, and quiet to talk. But… That should not come at the expense of neglecting your needs. We have this moment. What do you wish to discuss with me, my love?"
I cling to Graves, or maybe Umbra, or maybe both. I can't keep this secret. It burns like fire in my veins. I have to tell her. But I have to tell her directly. Fortunately, she mentioned something else that's eating at me.
"Umbsy," I exhale with strain. "You… Haven't said anything. To me. I missed you. I missed you so fucking much. And now you're here, or Graves is, and we still haven't talked…"
"I know, my love." She scratches my head and brushes my hair with her claws, all while still holding me tight with her arms and tail. "Retrieving Longevity was my utmost imperative, and in my haste to find it, I neglected to address you properly. For that, I am sorry."
"No, no, no, it–It's okay. I'm slipstream on that part. It's just…" I set my horns on Graves' chest and sigh. "I missed you. That's all… Did you…"
"Hm? Did I miss you? With all of my fetid black heart." With a slow kiss, she lowers her voice to a murmur. "Dearly. Disastrously. Achingly. I yearned for you like my roses yearn for moonlight. Without you by my side, I was unbalanced. Sullen. Morose. Having you here with me, or close enough to it, is nothing short of all-encompassing relief."
Those words heal like magic.
But they open another lesion.
"Why?" I hide my face in her chest. "Why? Why did you let go of me? I didn't want you to do that. I was so scared and–and hurt, and confused… I didn't know. If what we had was over or if we were staying together or–or–or if you didn't want me anymore, I didn't know…"
"I'm sorry, Crimson," she whispers to me. "I'm sorry. If only there'd been more time to explain. I let you go with her because I wanted to give you the opportunity to either set the past in stone or to decide if you wished to be with her instead of me. I didn't want to impede on that decision, and I felt that I was interfering with your ability to make it."
Oh. I understand now. But it still hurts. "I said I'm yours. And you said the same. And you–you told me you would never abandon me. That you were keeping me. That you wouldn't throw me away or toss me aside. So why, Umbsy? Why did you let me go? Why did you do that to me? I didn't want you to. I never wanted you to. Don't… Don't let me go… Please…"
"I was scared." She kisses my horn, my head, my ear. "Scared to stand in your way. Scared that you might think I was trying to control you. Scared that my interference would break the friendship you were maintaining with her. And… As a divine being, I was scared that I was unintentionally exerting my power over you when it came to this. I thought it was best for you to allow you the freedom to choose. But now I understand… That all it did was hurt you. I never should have let you go. Doubly so without any sort of explanation. I am… so sorry, Crimson. I will never make this horrid mistake again."
Crying into Graves' black clothing, I hold onto her for dear life as everything that's been suffocating me since we were separated comes rushing out like blood from a pierced artery. I failed to realize just how much I'm hurting, but now it's impossible to avoid the brunt of it all. At the same time, her warmth, her comfort, and her words are rushing into the empty space the pain left behind, staunching the bleed and smothering me with her healing affections.
We're together again. That's all that matters.
"I forgive you." My tears fall and I hug tighter. "I forgive you. I'm so happy… you came back. Thank you for coming back to me. Please… I'm yours, Umbsy. Keep me…"
"You're mine, Crimsy. You belong to me. I'm keeping you. And I will never let go of you again. Ever. I'm so sorry I did. But it's over now. I'm here. And I'm restaking my claim over you."
She takes hold of my face and kisses me.
I flinch, taken by surprise, and happy to be.
With that, she whispers, "You. Are. Mine."
I'm still shaking. I think I might pass out.
Then she wipes my tears away with the back of a claw. "There, there, little rose. We're together once more. Or close enough to it, for the moment. Courtesy of my dear Graves."
"R–Right." I sniffle, biting my lip. "Thank you, Graves…"
"Mhm. I like kissing her, Umbra."
"Ah. As much as you like, Graves."
Well, now I'm blushing too.
How quickly my heart wends and wanes.
She kisses me again, or perhaps both of them do, the. Umbra hisses, "There was one other reason. The opportunity to infiltrate the Heavens presented itself to us both. I believed you would wish to seize upon it just the same as I. And so I acted quickly in order to do so. For us. For our vengeance and retribution."
"W–Well, yes, I… I did. I understood that part of it…" I catch my breath as she licks my neck. Hells, she just can't get enough. "Mmm. It seems it was a successful gambit…"
"It was. And there you have the whole of it. The brew and the barrel, as Zip would say." She kisses me deep, tasting my lips with a grin. Graves' tongue is black too. "Here we are, Crimsy. Longevity is secured. Our army is poised and prepared. All that remains is to do what must be done. And take hold of our vengeance at last."
"It ends today." I take a deep breath. "Kayus. Raiden. Lucien. Make sure nobody gets to them before me. I will end them myself."
"Graves will see to their capture."
"Yes. I will. They will be brought to you."
"Thank you. Both of you." I take a breath, silently vowing to tell Umbra what happened between Hilde and I right away. As soon as we're together in person. "Umbsy, it's time, right? This is it?"
"This is it, my love. It is time we end this."
My chest tightens. "When do we begin?"
"Ahh… My little rose. It has already begun."
The Heavens' sonorous bells herald the end of days.
The Fallen Queen and her Wretched have arrived.