A profound silence followed as Alex and Victoria stood within the desolated divine kingdom of the Jester, a land that was now covered in black crystals.
There was a howling in the wind, a potent smell of death that couldn’t possibly be mistaken for anything else.
Alex took a deep breath as he closed his eyes and snapped.
As black and white light sought to engulf him, he swiftly undid the Ability, his expression relaxing as he remarked. "Space is accessible again."
"Should we leave?" Victoria asked, her tone subdued.
Alex shook his head, taking a moment to rethink what he had in mind to ensure it wasn’t born out of foolishness before replying. "Not yet. Come with me."
It would seem, in the meantime, second-guessing one’s thoughts would be for the best.
With that in mind, Alex took steady and cautious steps forward, prepared to snap or wield Excalibur, depending on the situation they came across.
Victoria followed closely behind, still maintaining the connection that she had created between them long before they entered the Unending Carnival.
As they walked, it didn’t take long before they came across the bodies of those who had been within the kingdom.
Their bodies had been crystallized, though not before being fried by the explosion... It was a painful death.
Alex trembled as he thought that he might have suffered the same fate with Victoria feeling the same.
But these people were unfamiliar to the duo and so, they kept walking.
Soon, they came across their first familiar face in the form of the Fixer.
An unfortunate end for an illustrious individual with much to give.
Alex pursed his lips, his expression somewhat regretful.
The Fixer would have made a wonderful ally, putting aside his devotion to the Goddess.
His skill set and his knowledge... They were invaluable.
Unfortunately, he had lost his life and there was no getting it back.
Taking a deep breath, Alex and Victoria continued on their way before discovering two more familiar faces in the form of Harlequin and Cybele.
Both had also lost their lives in the explosion orchestrated by the Jester.
Disregarding them as he saw no reason to feel regret for their death, Alex and Victoria kept moving forward until they arrived at the center of the kingdom, and therein lay two colossal corpses.
One was of the Jester, an enigmatic figure representing anarchy and foolishness and the other was the Hexad, a being that Alex couldn’t claim to fully understand.
As he stared at these two deities, he wondered if he would be able to defend himself should any of them come after him and the answer was a resounding no.
In truth, he felt incredibly small at that moment.
He had gotten himself involved in a battle concerning gods only to gain the stark realization that he was insignificant, that his presence wouldn’t and couldn’t change anything.
In his quest for the Branches, Alex understood that just like today, he would be pulled into such terrifying conflicts.
He owed it to himself and to his mission to quickly grow his strength... to increase his significance; else, he was bound to fail, and he did not wish for everything he’d done to be in vain.
Taking a deep breath, he took a step forward only for Victoria to grab his arm.
"What are you doing?"
"Don’t worry," Alex said as he took her hand off his arm. "I’m thinking straight."
After saying that, he trudged forward, moving towards the empty piece of crystallized earth that existed between the corpses of the Jester and the Hexad.
Once he arrived at his destination, he thrust out his sword and in a subdued tone, breathed out. "Excalibur."
The blade shimmered, and the runes on its body came alive, after which it began to absorb some of the Divine essence flowing from the corpses.
Alex stood still, his gaze fixated on the blade as he made a promise to himself.
Until he had grown his strength, he would not leave Henos, and with that decision came a thought, and that thought blossomed into an idea.
Alex’s eyes lit up like light bulbs as he remarked. "So that’s how it is."
Elena found herself in a dark space with nothing in it, leaving her scared.
Just as she began to panic, she felt someone grab onto her and a moment later, she heard a voice.
It was a familiar voice... It was a friendly voice.
"... Elena, can you hear me?"
Elena strained for a bit before recalling the owner of the voice.
It was a dragon lady who went by the name Ana... and they were part of a team.
"Ana, is that you?" She asked in a hoarse tone.
"Yeah, it’s me. Are you alright?" Ana asked in a relieved tone.
It seemed she had been worried.
Elena felt warm inside at the thought. "Yeah, I think so."
"But where am I, Ana?... Why can’t I see you?... Why is this place so dark?"
"Elena, what are you talking about?... You are still on the submarine with me and Ulysses. Just open your eyes."
"Oh... my apologies." Elena felt dumb as she thought she had been trapped in some dark abyss.
In any case, she opened her eyes, and then... nothing.
Everything was still dark.
Then, she heard a gasp, followed by Ana’s trembling voice. "Elena, your eyes..."
"What’s wrong, Ana?... What’s wrong with my eyes?"
"... I don’t know. It’s discolored. Can you see me?"
"... How many fingers am I holding up?"
"You are pulling my legs, right?... I’m actually trapped in some dark space, right?"
"No... Elena, I think... you are blind."
Elena went still and silence presided over the duo.
"I’m sorry," Ana said after several seconds of silence.
Elena closed her eyes and letting out a deep breath, inquired. "What about Ulysses?"
"... Just tell me. I want to know that it wasn’t in vain." Elena said in a pleading tone.
Ana hesitated before ultimately replying. "I succeeded. Ulysses is whole again. His mind is fragile right now, but with time, he would recover and regain himself."
"... Then that’s good," Elena muttered. "That’s very good."