Huge chunks of gold formulated in the air around me, and I realized that they were parts of armor. I felt myself go higher into the air. Something began to happen to my body. It was different than Chaos transformation, though I wasn't sure how. It was more of a tingling feeling, like when your foot falls asleep from being sat on for too long, but it was strangely comfortable.

As the transformation proceeded, I actually felt open wounds seal themselves back together, and cracked ribs quickly mend themselves. It was one of the weirdest things I ever experienced, but it was amazing when it was over. It was like Merlina had never even managed to land the first hit. I felt up to par and then some. It was incredible. It was as if I'd been holding my breath for an eternity, and now I was finally allowed to release it.

Just as I began to wonder if those chunks of armor had changed their minds and decided to just float there, the lowermost pieces came towards me and locked around my legs. I nearly jumped in surprise; they were almost as fast as me! Following it came the lower body plate – which I knew would also hit between the legs – and that time I did jump, but for an entirely different reason. It wasn't as jolting as I'd anticipated, though. The armor seemed to know what it was doing. Good thing.

Good thing.

In anticipation for the next addition, I lifted my arms out to my sides. The response was fast; before I knew it the arm pieces had locked in place. Then two golden, hollow quills snapped onto my back, as if they'd been molded to fit my own, along with the breastplate. Lastly: the helmet, magically extending itself to compensate for the spikes.

The handle of Caliburn was still in my hand, and as I looked down at it, I realized I wasn't the only one with my wounds healed. A perfect, sharp blade was formulating where Caliburn's old blade had been before, and the pair of eyes on the handle looked up at me, very much alive.

Now it was his turn.

I thrust the sword out in front of me, and as I had willed, something amazing took place: like the vibrant explosion of a supernova, a huge flash enveloped the blade and transformed it. When I was no longer blinded by the brightness, I looked down.

Excalibur had been born.

"Whoa…" I breathed, and for the first time, I felt I understood the significance of holding a sacred sword. It was gold, huge, and unbreakable… and one of the coolest things I would ever witness.

"That's the greatest of the sacred swords," said the Lady of the Lake, her voice like faint background music compared to everything that was taking place. I'd already figured that one out.

I was in a trance of awe, and it wasn't until the light faded away that I turned my attention back towards my foe. Looking her straight in the eyes, I got myself focused, smiled, and said, "Let's do this!"

Suddenly, the area we were in disappeared, and we were in some sort of open space. It looked like a distorted sky, and I realized Merlina had used her powers to give us battle space. If she was intimidated, I couldn't tell. Her glare was cold, unforgiving, as she said, "You would never understand… nor could you understand. That's why I must do what I must do. I am finished with you."

"I've had about enough of you, too," I retorted, rising up to meet her. But again, I had sensed that dark confidence in her words. She was not quitting. I suddenly got the feeling I hadn't seen everything yet; she still had more up her sleeve.

After everything that had happened in the last twenty minutes, I was sick of her dealing the attacks. I sped forward, the air blowing out of my foot armor mysteriously supporting me, and reinforced my grip on Excalibur. It was my turn!

She responded with equal impatience, launching forward several magic orbs. I'd counted on that; a smart foe always had at least one long-distance attack in addition to close ones. I'd seen plenty of the close ones – a little too much for my liking – but the orbs were new.

They rushed towards me, looking extremely shocking – literally. I swept past them, slashing away the more intruding ones with Excalibur, and continued gaining on Merlina.

It was impossible to tell whether or not she was coming towards me at the same time. With the environment around us nothing but a dark vortex, there was nothing to compare her to. Either way, it all happened a lot faster than I expected it to; in a matter of seconds, we were within fifty feet of each other. I blasted forward at full speed in an attempt to strike… but I didn't go anywhere.

That shield again.

My first urge was to hack away at the thing and destroy it once and for all, but I had tried that several times already and wound up virtually pulverized. Why repeat past mistakes? Then again, I was stronger now. Maybe I could break through this time…

Something came towards me. One, two, three… four orbs. I glided to the left, letting them zip past me. I realized as they did that they had pushed through the shield to reach me.

If she kept doing that, she would break her own defenses without even realizing it. Though I was anxious to attack, I told myself to wait; it would be worth it in just a few seconds…

More orbs burst through the shield, and moments later, it shattered like glass. I gave myself a mental pat on the back for being patient and bolted at her before she had a chance to fix her mistake.

Now there was nothing between us… except that huge, club-like weapon that she seemed to love so much.

Not this time!

As she swung it at me, I rushed forward to meet it. It occurred to me sometime in that three-second journey that I had no idea if my plan would even work. But I didn't care.

I slammed Excalibur out in front of me as hard as I could. The two weapons collided with eardrum-shattering impact. Neither weapon claimed dominance; both were powerful enough to stop the other's blow but not powerful enough to plow through it.

As we held each other's weapons back, she made use of the moment of mutual safety to speak. "You're very cocky when you think you're winning," she said snidely. "I doubt you're like that when you're losing. None of them are."

In a vain effort to stall her long enough to get my response out, I drew on the power within me and pushed harder, matching the tension behind her bludgeon as it pressed against mine. "Feel free to… make that judgment yourself. You… already saw me in the losing position."

I decided not to listen to whatever she was going to say next, if she had planned to say anything. This wasn't a battle of words! I withdrew without deliberation and, seeing the opening I'd been looking for, went for the monstrosity's center.

The feeling of plunging something sharp into something vulnerable was immensely satisfying after an eternity of hitting that rock-solid barrier. I yanked the sword back out and thrust it down again, piercing and slashing fast and forcefully. I held nothing back. What I was hitting, I didn't know; but it was completely unguarded and vulnerable, which meant it was good enough for me.

Merlina pulled herself away, and in a flash I was by myself again. For a split second, Excalibur sliced through nothing but atmosphere, but my mind figured it out and reacted fast. I blasted forward, trying to catch up to her before she could put her shield back up. I just barely succeeded.

She continued to back away from me, not letting me leave her sight. I knew she was trying to get far enough away to block me out again.

At least, I thought I knew. So when she sped at me, swinging all those oversized limbs like they were whips, I was more than a little surprised.

My reflexes were undeniably quick, but with sorceress-level magic on her side, she was able to manipulate the movement of those limbs the split-second she saw me try to dodge. They stretched out and followed me as I jerked away, like magnets. I couldn't get away.

They closed in on me fast. I stayed cool and did what I could think of in the moment: stopped and focused on the energy within, harnessing defensive power.

The assault was way easier to take than I'd expected it to be. My armor hardly even suffered, much less me! As soon as it was over, I headed towards her as fast as I could. I reached her before she even had a chance to draw her limbs back in. She was completely open.

I dove for points of attachment, slicing areas where appendages were connected to the body. That would slow down some of her attacks. I stopped at one area and swung Excalibur back and forth viciously.

There was a flash of light, and suddenly I went flying backwards, flipping over through the air repeatedly. I steadied myself, but by the time I was all sorted out again, she had conjured her shield. I tried, but I couldn't get through it.

"Your selfishness will bring this world to an end. Is that what you wish!?" Merlina demanded. I almost laughed. I was selfish? She was one to talk.

"Nah, it's not gonna end," I told her. "My stories only end when I stop running! Besides… I don't mind being the bad guy once in a while."

She grunted loudly in frustration, and dozens of magic spheres came at me from all sides. I was going too fast to stop and back away from them. Trapped again! I tried to evade, weaving in and out. I'd done that kind of thing before, so I figured it'd work. I almost made it, but I couldn't get out of the way fast enough to avoid the last one. It hit my armor and kept plowing, pushing it into my stomach, forcing me backwards. It was unexpectedly harsh compared to the last attack, but then, I'd been prepared for that one.

Since the Chaos Emeralds had spoiled me so much in the past, it actually surprised me to realize I was still capable of feeling discomfort in this form. For some unimaginable reason, though, the idea of being a little bit vulnerable appealed to me. Being completely invincible took away the challenge and made the outcome predictable. I guess I didn't want that.

Merlina proceeded to say something after that, and I found myself wishing she would just shut up and fight. She was too much bark and not enough bite. I listened anyway, but worked my way towards her, staying aware of any move she might have decided to make. I couldn't get distracted.

"You receive hits with dignity and resilience," Merlina acknowledged, "and you try to make sure every hit of your own counts. You're a very experienced fighter, aren't you, oh Knight of the Wind?" The first part of that statement gave my ego a major boost – though I'd flatly deny any smugness if anyone ever tried to get me to admit it – but there was mockery in her voice as she continued on to say my unofficial title, and I didn't like it.

"Yeah, I'm experienced," I told her, equally as mocking. "Why, did you think you were the first megalomaniacal god who had the honor of fighting me?" I waited a beat, and her silence was enough to be her answer. I grinned at her. "Oh, you must feel so disappointed now."

Screw caution – I pulled Excalibur above my head and swung at that shield with everything I had. Then I did it again. And again. Merlina was already preparing to do something, but I didn't care. I hacked and slashed like the world depended on it… because it did.

Just as the shield shattered like glass, something struck me in the head. It hit hard enough to knock my armor against my temple. I recoiled. I was stunned for only an instant; the dizziness went away thanks to my power. But it was still a not-so-gentle reminder that I wasn't invincible. I probably should have paid heed to that reminder, but I didn't.

I recovered and sped at Merlina for what I hoped to be the last time. Beside me, Caliburn – or Excalibur, I should say – spoke for the first time since his revival.

"Don't be so reckless, fool!"

I grinned. It was good to have him back.

The monster's core was straight ahead. She raised its weapon high, winding it up, putting a huge gap between it and me. That meant she'd be able to put more speed and strength behind it than before – far more speed and strength. And that was in addition to her seemingly infinite magic abilities.

I realized two things simultaneously in that moment. One: she had used the sacred swords to transform just as I had, and so she had just as much potential as I did. Just because I was powered up didn't mean I had an advantage. It wasn't like Chaos energy, where positive outweighed negative. It was fire against fire.

Two: she was done playing with me. She had tried to get me to understand. She had tried to make me crack under the pressure. She had failed in both respects. Now she was resorting to something she hadn't been quite selfish enough to do a few minutes ago. It was necessary now in her eyes. The next blow would be meant to kill.

Time suddenly seemed to slow down as the thing came towards me. I had about a fourth of a second to decide: I could run away and let her put her shield back up – an almost guaranteed escape. Or I could dash forward as the weapon descended upon me, and hope like hell I could get past it and finish her off.

The first option would not only allow her to defend herself, but it would give her time to strategize. The second option – if I could make it – would end this for good either way. I would lose or she would lose.

I didn't even need that fourth of a second since I already knew what I was going to do.

So did Caliburn. "Move with haste!" He shouted, but I was already accelerating.

It was as if Shahra, that genie from a while ago, had suddenly appeared and caused Time Break. That was how slow everything seemed. In reality, though, nothing was slower – my mind was just processing it faster. Adrenaline.

I was almost there… almost there! A few hundred feet away, at worst. But so was she. If I could go just a tiny bit faster, her strike would miss, and I would make it to her core…

There was a loud bang as I exploded through the sound barrier. I felt like I'd blasted through a wall of steel and made it out the other side unscratched. The sheer speed just burned… but in a fantastic, relieving way. I was going to get there… right in the nick of time, I was going to get there…

I actually screamed as I tore past Merlina's attack, missing it by only feet. Almost simultaneously, I raised my comrade above me with both hands and thrust it into the Underworld god. There was such an immense amount of force behind the stab that my hands followed the sword right into its center. I withdrew and plunged again and again and again, until the thing was completely disabled.

Finally, I backed up, watched the thing fall in defeat for a second, and launched myself at it one last time, holding Caliburn straight out in front of me. We drove through it and ripped out the other side.

I whirred around in midair just in time to hear her scream.

"AGGGGHHH! But… I… aaaaggghhh!!" Her cry pierced the wind as she fell, and her supernatural conjuration literally fell apart. It was over… for her.

Though shaken from the close call, I still had plenty of strength to raise my free hand and give her an extremely cocky thumbs-up.

I couldn't remember the last time I felt as triumphant as I did right then. It was really over. We had done it.

Moments later, when the light blue sky began to peek through the haunting vortex surrounding us, it seemed foreign, like I'd never even seen it before. The last time I'd seen something beautiful was before I had gone into the castle. After that, everything had had a sense of despair and… austerity.

What good would a world like that be?

"Our sacred energy is beginning to diminish," Caliburn informed me, interrupting my inner cogitations. "I highly advise that you get back down to earth… in more ways than one," he added.

"Yeah, yeah." I let myself drop gradually, directing some of my concentration on maintaining my state of power. He had a point: landing a fall from this height probably wouldn't be the most enjoyable experience in the world. It would be pretty embarrassing to get killed by the ground after all the cooler ways I could've died today.

"Your hand is shaking."

I groaned under my breath, but it was more out of reluctance than irritation. "If it bugs you, I can drop you," I said, smirking just a little.

To my surprise, Caliburn chuckled. I didn't know if it was a with-you or at-you sort of laugh, but since it was Caliburn, I assumed the latter.

"Adrenaline can do that to you," I said quickly, defending myself before he spat out a remark.

"So can fear, knave."

"Hey, I thought we were past all that knave stuff."

"If you are going to act like a knave, then I will treat you as such. A true knight would not try to deny the…"

"Caliburn?"

"Yes?"

"Close your smart mouth. Just this one time."

He was silent – though smugly so – until we descended to the ground. I would never admit it to him, but I probably had been shaking for more than one reason. Even though I lived such a dynamic life, it wasn't very often I saw quite as much as I had today, and it'd taken its toll. But hey, it was just another day, right?

I wondered briefly if Merlina's magic could restore the sacred swords' power. If so, I knew I'd have to fight her again. It would be a repeat of everything that had happened in the past hour.

I was ready.

The darkness cleared completely, leaving a cloudless blue sky behind. Upon reaching the ground, I quickly discovered that Merlina had no intentions of trying again.

She was sitting on her knees in the grass, head dipped, looking more miserable and broken than I'd ever seen her. Again, I felt bad for her, despite everything. It was a harsh feeling to have your dreams crushed. But the world as she wanted it to be would never have worked.

I was a distance away from her, so she hadn't seen me yet. I proceeded towards her slowly, peacefully. She didn't look up until I was almost there. I saw that she was surprised. She had not expected me to approach so unthreateningly; not after what she had done to me.

"Merlina…" I said gently, smiling at her. "Every world has its end." Tears formed in her eyes, and the bright sunlight on her face made them prominent. Although she was upset, she was making eye contact with me and actually listening, now that she realized she had lost. Through the despair, there was also an ounce of shame – something I hadn't known if I would ever see there.

I smiled, leaned down, and picked a flower that looked like the one she'd had before. "I know that's kind of sad," I sympathized, holding it out to her, "but… that's why we gotta live life to the fullest in the time we have. At least… that's what I figure."

Merlina held the flower I'd given her like a child would hold it, looking at it with interest. Then, as she drew it to her nose to inhale its sweet aroma, I swore I saw a hint of a smile on her face.

She realized the beauty it held, and now… now I guessed she just wanted to enjoy it while it would last, since that was the best she could get.

Only a few days ago, she had asked… "Why do flowers bloom, knowing they are destined to wither?" As I reminisced, I realized I wouldn't have been able to answer her, even if I'd had the opportunity. It was like asking a person why they bothered living when they were destined to die eventually.

And that flower would wither… but that was what made it worth looking at. If that flower were to last forever, it would be taken for granted. Soon, it would have no purpose at all; it would be so familiar that its magnificence no longer mattered.

I wondered if Merlina truly understood that now.

The rest of the knights would show up in a few minutes, I knew. I sat down on the grass, deciding to just relax until then; to breathe in the air that was still crisp and fresh, to look up at the sky that was still blue. I didn't worry about the problem of getting back to my own world. That was such a trivial issue compared to everything else that had just been overcome. Besides, if Merlina couldn't send me back, I would find my own way… just like nature found its own way and like this world would find its own way.

A few feet away, a flower petal rebelliously pulled away from its plant, drifting freely through the wind. It was unconcerned about what it was leaving behind and unconcerned about any past difficulties. It didn't know where it was going and it didn't care. All that mattered was the present. As I watched it grow infinitesimally smaller, I smiled, just living in the moment.

Everything was perfect.

Take a look inside your heart;

What once seemed impossible

Today is not.

So many ways that you can try to forget…

So many ways, you'll find, wake up to regret…

Some day, one day, we'll say 'live life,' I know.

Hold on, hold tight, don't let go…

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A/N: I have to say, I don't think I have EVER enjoyed writing a single story or chapter of a story more than I enjoyed this, and that is really saying something. I had a fantastic time doing this, and I'm very proud of it. I hope everyone else liked it as much as I did.

I put an insane amount of effort and a ridiculous number of hours into this, and I watched the game's cutscenes several times just to make sure everything was accurate. If you find any major inconsistencies (aside from the parts I added) or just something that just doesn't seem right to you, it would be appreciated if you let me know.

Thanks for reading my interpretation of SatBK's ending. I would love if you reviewed and told me what you thought of it.

~DC