Achilles turned slowly to fully face them, and what he saw made him pause. The figure before him no longer resembled the frail, elderly woman as after her change to become a Thalassarian...she looked to be in her forties, holding herself with a quiet grace and serenity that only came from a life long-lived. It wasn't something one could fake. It was earned. It was wisdom carved into the soul!
Not many dared approach this high upon the Primal Neon Tower. The energies here leaked out in terrifying waves, and even the most powerful beings hesitated to enter its presence. Only Dr. Shaw, the Titan Dwarves, the Overseer, and a few others had ever stepped foot here.
But Granny Lila had come of her own will.
Just to meet the one responsible for everything that had happened to Neon?
Achilles gave a faint smile, shaking his head. He was ready to tell her she didn't need to thank him.
Granny Lila moved with the ease of wind through the tower, her cane barely tapping the vine-covered stone as blue energy flickered around her, dispersing into strands of gentle light like memories being released from the past.
Rose reached out to steady her and help her up, but the elder chuckled and waved her off. "Thank you, child. But there's still power in these bones, even more than ever..."
Her gaze turned to both of them.
Rose, radiant with an inner verdant glow, and Achilles, whose silence pressed against the world like gravity.
She faced Achilles fully, narrowing her eyes ever so slightly as if peering beneath the surface.
"You have those same heavy eyes."
Achilles blinked and titled his head with confusion.
The words weren't a question. They weren't praise. They were an unknown truth that did not entirely make sense.
"My son had those eyes," Granny Lila continued, voice gentle. "Always looking toward the horizon. Like he'd been born carrying a burden no one else could see. Always helping others… until he forgot to help himself."
Achilles said nothing.
But something in him buzzed quietly, invisibly.
The kindness in her tone. Her presence. It reminded him…
It reminded him of her.
"He always wanted to make sure the family was taken care of," Granny Lila said softly. "So he worked longer hours. Took more shifts than his body could handle. Slept three, maybe four hours a night. But every morning, he'd greet me with the brightest eyes, pretending everything was fine. Pretending he could carry it all alone."
She looked up at him with a sad smile.
"Your eyes remind me of his."
Achilles' hands tensed at his sides. His breath was steady, and yet trembling. His mind was already somewhere else.
A memory surged forth.
Not a Lineage Memory that was terrifying and grand, but something he held much closer to his heart.
A kitchen. Small. Warm. Wooden floors. His mother's voice in his ear as she patched up a scraped arm. Her palm on his cheek after he'd come home bloodied from standing up for someone else.
"You don't have to save everyone, my Little Achilles. But if you do… don't do it alone. Bring someone with you. Let someone hold your hand and back you up, that way…you win more fights!"
He had forgotten that moment.
He hadn't remembered it in years.
His vision blurred as the present pulled him back.
Granny Lila stepped close- so close that even Rose stayed respectfully still, eyes full of emotion.
The starlight painted both of them as Granny Lila placed her palm on his chest, right above his heart.
"I don't know you, not truly. So maybe I'm out of place and overstepping for saying this…"
Her voice dropped to a whisper.
"But like my son, you carry a lie. That you're alone. That only you can see the dangers. That only you can act. So you bear the fear. The burden. The hope. You convince yourself that if you fall, others will fall too."
She looked up into eyes too heavy for someone so young.
"That is a dangerous lie, child."
Rose stood quietly, her eyes shimmering.
She saw it too. The slight tremble in Achilles' shoulders.
"I've seen leaders like you," Granny Lila went on. "Good ones. Overseers of Neon who sacrificed themselves during the Leyline Fractures- one of whom died saving my son. All of them dreamed impossible dreams. All of them forgot one thing."
She turned gently and took Rose's hand, pulling her beside Achilles.
"You're not alone. And you don't have to carry this by yourself. I don't know how much of your burden you've shared with her, but be open with her. Entirely."
Achilles looked down.
And in that suspended moment, even the river of stars seemed to hush and quiet down as they listened to the words of this old woman they had never met before until now.
"I see it," Granny Lila whispered. "The way you look at each other. The power wrapped in gentleness."
Her voice remained soft, but resolute.
"In the chaos to come, with blood and fire pressing close… keep this."
She pointed at their joined hands.
"This love. This closeness. The strength you find when you carry each other."
She smiled and tapped her cane lightly.
"That will be your greatest pillar. Not your power. Not your armies. Not ancient bloodlines or evolution. This connection…that is your foundation."
Achilles trembled as he truly felt Rose's hand in his.
When he envisioned the future, he always imagined protecting her. Protecting the kingdom. Protecting everyone.
Why had he always forgotten that?
He looked at the woman who reminded him so much of his mother and the lesson she'd brought with her.
Granny Lila stepped back, her gaze lifting to the sky above the tower.
"I was given a second life when I dove into the Sacred Pool of Thalassara. Not younger. Not stronger. But more present. More aware of what I could still do."
She turned to them again.
"I can't fight. Not as far as I know, anyway. But I can still guide. And if there's one truth I know, it's this…"
"Even the strongest must be reminded that they're not alone."
The vines swayed gently around them. A soft starlight fell over the trio as if the very world were listening.
Achilles took a deep breath and nodded.
His hand remained in Rose's.
And when he looked at Granny Lila, his eyes were bright with something new.
"Thank you," he said quietly.
She nodded. "It's what mothers do. Even when they overstep some boundaries, my apologies for that."
"Build this world not only with strength, but with love. With connection. With trust. I didn't know exactly why I felt drawn to come here, but perhaps… it was just to tell you that."
She tilted her head, smiling once more.
"And if you need help, advice, or just someone to ramble at you, I'm here. I just wanted to thank you… and to make sure this world isn't consuming you."
Under the river of star light, Achilles remained.
Granny Lila looked on with a quiet smile.
"I'm glad you haven't been alone. I won't take more of your time. You two continue…"
She turned, preparing to float away, but Achilles raised a hand.
"You can stay. We're expecting more guests soon anyways."
She smiled again, eyes twinkling. "Oh? Then this old woman will ruin your privacy just a little longer. Tell me as we wait, just how did you raise Neon into the skies? And those landmasses around us… they're not other Colony Cities, are they?"
She walked forward with her cane and asked.
Achilles looked at Rose who began smiling.
She lifted her hand with sudden enthusiasm.
"I'll take this one, Granny Lila! There's an Ancient Technique called Runescripture…"
She began to explain, her sorrow of the many deaths she had seen recently momentarily forgotten in the joy of sharing knowledge.
And far above, from the skies and seas of Neon, the figure of Aliya, the former True Magitech Throne, approached. Her brother and a fleet of Magitech Frames behind her. The Colony Cities of the Magitech Dynasty were converging on Neon and joining as this task was done.
Soon, they would arrive at the Primal Neon Tower to mark the dissolution of the Magitech Colony Dynasty, and hopefully the rise of a new Dynasty.
Meanwhile, Achilles' Primordial Avatar had already set out toward the Colony Capital of the Thornveil Dynasty!