A purple ball of plasma exploded just as he dived to the side, rolling away as the attack impacted onto the floor, denting it and blowing a plume of dirt in every direction. Wolf took no time to dust himself off as he immediately dashed forward, more balls of explosive energy trailing his steps. Parts of the battleground were eradicated, and shrapnel was blown at every direction in high speeds, threatening to cut into him if he even so much as hesitated in his sprint. His god arc grew heavier in his hands as exhaustion started to seep in, wearing his legs down and forcing him to breathe more air into his lungs.

Arda Nova seemed to smirk at him as he avoided the never ending barrage of bullets.

"Give up," It was that voice again, the voice of Johannes von Shicksal, yet the director's words rang with a metallic tone like it was mixed into a machine's speaker instead of an actual human throat, "Even if you defeat me, Nova cannot be stopped."

"I told you to shut up!" Wolf grit his teeth, turning sharply and tucking himself close to the ground just as a ball of white-hot plasma came inches from blowing his head off, yet only succeeded in flying inches overhead. Its heat was scorching, however, and Wolf had to ignore the sudden dryness of his eyes as he ran at Nova, god arc in preparation to cut.

Blue eyes glowed with the power of oracle cell, dangerously shining with a golden sheen that seemed almost demonic. Raising a hand, Arda Nova silently commanded its gigantic counterpart, Adra Nova to comply and blast a pink sphere of energy at the approaching blonde. Wolf swung his god arc in a wide arc, and the resulting explosion showered the view of him in a cloud of dust. Nova waited patiently for the dust to clear when the leader of the first unit broke his cover, leaping at the man-made aragami. His god arc glinted, and it was swung down, ready to hack into Arda Nova's head.

It never connected.

Faster than what its large body would hint, the large defender, Adra Nova backhanded the blonde's airborne form, sending the lone boy sailing straight into a wall where an indentation formed to the shape of his back. Wolf fell to his knees before falling face down on the floor, his god arc suddenly too heavy to lift, and his head spinning from the sudden attack that very nearly crushed his limbs and him into a fine paste.

Spots lined his vision, and his body felt like it had taken an electric energy ball straight into his chest - and he knew exactly how that felt like. A warm, coppery liquid suddenly filled his mouth, and the blonde coughed once when the fluid started to block his throat, prompting the blood to splatter the floor. His hand gripped weakly around the hilt of his weapon, and he forced his body to comply, gloved fists clenching when the sharp pains of his joints screamed at him to stay down. Something wet trickled down his brow, and he lapped at it, only to taste the same coppery liquid already in his mouth. He was bleeding from a concussion.

A shaky smile graced his features. Finally, a time when he actually had an excuse to be delirious.

Drops of his crimson lifeblood dripped unto the cold, metal floor of Aegis. Wolf counted three form small pools of red before he was able to stand with his aching back leaning on the wall he had imprinted himself upon. Ruffling through his pocket, the blonde grabbed a handful of pills and greedily devoured the sick tasting aid, the boost in oracle cells derived from his devouring of them already helping regenerate the damaged bones and ripped sinew of his body. Arda Nova watched calmly, not even a scratch on its white and purple skin, and not a hint of worry on its haughty smirk.

Eyes burning, the young soldier spit out a glob of red tinted saliva before charging once more at the Devouring Apocalypse.

XxXxX

Saya Arashi woke up to a view of the grandeur.

He was always hurting himself,

A haze drifted over her eyes, and she had to fight the urge to close her eyes and lay back down to the clutched of a fitful slumber. She deserved it, didn't she? Her body had been battered by battles fought against beasts of horrifying power, her eyes haunted with the sight of watching another human lose their light, watched the fragile flame fickle out of life from a friend's eyes, even her parents' own. She deserved rest, she deserved to lay rest for all that she had sacrificed, dreaming in a perfect world with a perfect life with a perfect family and a perfect way of life.

But every time she closed her eyes, fear gripped her with its cold fingers, wrenching at her heart and waking her from any rightly earned rest. Her dreams were more often nightmares, her life was brimming with anxiety, and her only family would soon die.

Cold reality slapped her awake, and Saya Arashi suddenly saw the visage of grandeur, the visage of heaven, fade through her fingers like water through a net, empty of anything, only leaving the bitter emptiness for her to cradle.

But...maybe that was why he could hide it so well. Pain had become something normal to him.

Something cold was unconsciously clutched in her fist, yet her focus was instead directed at the strange room she found herself in. Cold, bare and lacking any of the pictures she treasured.

Dread settled into her gut.

If that was the reason...then I'm also to blame.

Brother was always that person I admired, the person who I always looked up to. Every kid has a person like that, right? A person they always think would be with them, either a parent, a friend or a stranger you've heard stories about. You always have someone who you think's invincible.

Maybe in that admiration...I forgot that he felt just as much as I did.

Maybe in that illusion, I forgot to look at the cracks instead of the pieces.

Maybe...maybe...maybe...

Nii-chan...

I'm so sorry.

"Where is he?!" Saya all but screamed. Her face twisted into a snarl as she ran straight out into the corridor where her unit awaited, faces grim, and gazes unwilling to meet hers.

"Saya..." Kota raised a hand to placate her, but the seething glare that seemed so rare on her usually smiling face erased the notion that he could do anything in this situation.

"Where is he?!" Saya demanded again, but not one of them answered.

"Calm down," Soma said, levelly.

Convinced that she couldn't get anything out of them, the girl dashed for the nearest door. Soma stopped her however, grabbing her wrists and pulling her back. Saya flailed, kicked and punched, but Soma was hurt with injuries far worse than what her small fists could inflict, and his grip was too strong for her to break free from. Desperation seeped into her system, and she pulled one arm close enough to bite the taller male's wrist. Soma, perhaps in surprise or perhaps in genuine pain, yelped, and she took that chance to throw her over her hip, anger accentuating her already increased strength to a degree that Soma went flying to the other side of the room.

Kota and Alisa tackled her as she tried to make another break for it, yet Saya had better experience in hand-to-hand combat thanks to her brother's tutelage.

Kota hooked an arm around her right, yet that attempt failed when Saya used that to pull him in close enough to knee his gut. Kota crumpled and Saya used his back as a spring, jumping easily over Alisa and Sakuya without so much as a second glance. She ran out, her pink hair flying behind her.

A wolf necklace dangled from the strap reverently held in her closed fist.

She ran, and ran, and ran and ran.

Paths winded, corridors melted, and she vaguely wondered why she was even running, but for reasons she couldn't make sense of, her legs refused to stop. Her sprint didn't ease, even as her lungs burned with strain, and her knees started to beg for rest.

No, that wasn't right. She knew why she was running. She knew why she wouldn't stop. She still hoped for a chance that she'd somehow stagger unto a door - a door that would lead to an exit from this world where she would soon feel the loss of another person she loved. Reality was a cruel creation, allowing you to build your own world where the facts would be what you chose it to be, yet soon, it would topple that illusion like a child's building block tower. It would force you to face your deepest fears, your most terrible denials, and in the end, would leave you a broken mess.

Finally, after running for what felt like hours, her legs weakened, Saya falling to the ground when she found her feet grew limp, and scratching her hands unto the metal floor.

Sweat trickled down her brow, and her breaths came out as quick gasps like she'd been submersed in a swimming pool for a good few minutes. Her right hand curled around the necklace from her brother, a necklace she remembered giving him all those years ago.

"Damn it,"

BANG

Her fist dented the floor.

BANG

It hollowed further.

BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG

Her hand hurt, yet the pain from which her tears sprouted was not derived from one injury of such simplicity.

"GODDAMN IT!"

What had they done to deserve this? Her home burning, her world ending, and now her brother dying. Just how much could life take before she was just left a hollow husk? Before she was instead a walking corpse, stolen of her will to live as a thief would steal in the cover of the night? Was this the fate that always followed them? Sacrifice yourself, then sacrifice some more. She screamed, and screamed from the loss of everything - her soul, her heart, and the people she cherished.

Was this how it would be? Give, give, then give some more?

What was the point in living if there was nothing to live for?

BANG BANG BANG

Her fist raised once more, and she was sure one of her fingers was dislocated. Saya didn't care. She just became numb to the pain, unfeeling as her blood trickled down from her battered hands, staining the spot where she'd taken her frustrations out of. Before she could dent it more, however, a hand reached out and gripped her arm. Saya turned with a scathing glare, yet her gaze softened at the sight of the person her brother had cherished just as much as her.

"Kanon-chan..."

XxXxX

"You fight for nothing!"

A whip impacted onto his back, biting into his skin and ripping the flesh beneath it. Wolf bit back a scream, barely able to shove down the pain and leap away just as another appendage missed him by millimeters and dug a finger deep trench into the steel grating of Aegis. His breaths came out in short intervals, heaving and gasping for air as fatigue started to nestle deeper, weighing his movements with manacles put in place by human limitations. A trickle of sweat ran down his cheek, the new-type wiping it away with the back of his hand as he stared down the seemingly smirking man-made aragami in front of him. Arda Nova's tentacle - the one that cut his back - was shimmering with a dark crimson liquid. Blood traced down the slender limb's form, and just before it hit the elbow, Arda Nova licked it away, teasingly.

Wolf didn't give himself time to think of the eroticism of the act, and lunged once more, his god arc flashing towards the female humanoid. Adra Nova moved its gigantic arms, blocking his blade easily with its thick gauntlet covered fists, while the impact numbed the gods eater's hands, and he had to curse at the frailty of a human's limbs just before he had to jump back when another gigantic fist plowed into where he was standing. Wolf's god arc was already switching forms when his feet touched the ground, and it took no less than a second to have the aragami duo face down the barrel of a massive minigun. He spammed his bullets, showering the aragami with a rain of sub-zero ice.

Adra Nova batted one away, then another, then another before finally, it was blindsided by the remaining shots. An ice bullet embedded itself into Adra Nova's chest before exploding in an outbreak of frost, opening the window for its companions to embrace their target with deadly force. Wolf's trigger finger did not let up until his reserves ran dry;consequently, the aragami was covered by the thick fog that arose from the onslaught.

Arda Nova broke first from the foliage, leaping high into the air and breaking past the smoke before nosediving at him. Wolf dodged to the right before dashing right in to bludgeon the female on its skull. Arda Nova's head snapped back from the impact of steel, and the blow must have been strong enough to disorient it as it fell to the floor, feeling like a ten wheeler had rammed straight into its cranium. Wolf moved to continue an assault, but the sudden movement from the corner of his eye warned him just in time for him to bring up his shield. Adra Nova's fist was covered with a thick layer of oracle induced ice, and the brute made use of this. It threw a massive haymaker at his face, and Wolf's shield nearly broke as the ice shattered upon its steel frame. It held, leaving Wolf no more worse for wear, yet the brute strength was more than enough to propel him back to the other side of the battleground.

He flew threw the air for moments of weightlessness before gravity took effect and pulled him down again, the momentum still enough to keep him skidding back for meters before he was finally able to dig his heel in.

"You could have had salvation!" Johannes told him, "You could have had a world free of this shadow! Free of the pain of losing your loved ones! Do you know how much was sacrificed to give all of you a chance to a true future?! Do you know what I've sacrificed?!"

Arda Nova charged at him, its humanoid form morphing into an arachnid exo-skeleton to allow greater mobility. It brought two of its fore claws up, making to pierce his chest cavity. Wolf formed his shield again, grunting with effort as he was suddenly face-to-face with Nova's avatar, vaguely aware that a piece of metal was the only thing stopping it from ripping him apart, limb from limb.

"I gave my resolve!" Wolf's feet skid back, bit by bit as the overpowering strength of the deceptively lithe aragami pushed him back, "I gave my love!" His back hit the wall, " I gave my son!" He was forced to a knee, his arms straining to hold the god arc steady, "I gave everything! Why can you not understand that?!"

"I UNDERSTAND!"

Johannes must have been startled by his outburst because the pressure on his arms lightened just enough for him to push off the aragami. Arda Nova drew back, yet before Wolf could cut into its flesh, it floated away, coming to a stop next to Adra Nova.

"You lost Aisha to this goal! A goal both of you created so that everyone could have a chance at happiness!"

His legs burned, his arms felt like someone had put his muscles through a shredder, and there were injuries on his person he didn't even want to think about. Even so, the blonde reared his sword and charged. Adra Nova fired a condensed ball of plasma at him, and he jumped over it and let it pass under without so much as a secondary glance. It flew forward even without an imminent target and collided with one of the pillars of Aegis, blowing a chunk away to bits and pieces of metal. Wolf brought his blade into a wide arc, and steel finally shredded into the aragami's flesh like a hot knife through half-melted butter. Blood exploded like a geyser from the wound, and Arda Nova screamed shrilly, even as Adra Nova then advanced to give its counterpart time to recover.

"This was her dream! You and Aisha created this, and it cost her life pursuing this! Because of that, you cling to the Ark Project knowing this is Aisha's last will, and that's why you can't bring yourself to give up!" Wolf's god arc met in a thunderous shower of sparks with the armored fist of Adra Nova, blue eyes ablaze with a light, "Because you don't want her death to be meaningless!"

"Aisha was the person that was always by your side! When even you didn't think you could do anything, she believed in you! When you lost her, you needed to do something so no one would forget her! You wanted to do something so that you wouldn't forget her! All of this - the Ark Project," Blue eyes flashed gold, "Everything is for the person you loved!"

"Why I fight isn't any different!" Wolf growled, an animalistic noise that erupted from the back of his throat as his pure blue eyes now shined gold with a lurking power. His body felt lighter as the fatigue seemed to seep away, and a sense of new found vigor struck him like a life giving lightning bolt.

"Hey, man!" Kota smiled easily at him, "What's up?"

"I want to always remember them! I want to always see them, laugh with them, cry with them, to live with them! I want to see their life with my own eyes, I want to meet the person they'll marry, I want to see their first kids, I want to see their story as they write it!"

"I wanted to thank you," Alisa mumbled, "For being my friend."

"Don't lag behind," Soma smirked at him, "You've got some big shoes to fill."

"I want to live! Live with them, and make a life out of this world! But I don't want to sacrifice anything!"

"Always trying to take other people's problems," Sakuya gave him a dry smile, "You're more like Lindow than you think."

"Nii-chaaaan!" Saya laughed just before she wrapped her arms around him

"I won't give them up! Not for anything!"

You're a real bother, spikes - Wolf...thank you - I had a feeling - Real intuitive - Man, she's scary - You think Hibari will like this one? - Don't worry so much, Wolf - Whoops, sorry about that, Wolf - Alright! You look fantastic! - Ha! You should have seen the look on your face - Hey...friends? - Lend me some money? Heh, just kidding - Don't give me that lip, you brat - It makes me wonder...if we even have a choice - Comfy, there, Wolfy? - Nii-chan...will I see you again?

"Hey," Kanon smiled, "stay with me, alright?"

"I fight because I want to see them all!"

"YOU LOST YOUR CHANCE!" Johannes screamed, "Your happiness will disappear with those ships! The Ark Project was the only thing able to bring you what you desire!"

"The outcome isn't going to be determined by that! I won't let it!" Parry, slash, roll, stab - his body was automatic in its movements, possessing him more than he possessed it, yet the words spilling out of him couldn't have been any more determined, any more recognized. His doubts faded as his will was emblazoned by memories of people he cherished. Suddenly, his arms weren't so tired anymore, and his body felt light as a feather. It was a feeling that overshadowed burst mode, like he'd been given the wake up jolt of a lifetime.

Wolf was alive, and that was all he needed to be to fight for his ideals.

In Aegis, two ideals clashed - shaped for the sake of others, yet formed by two so different individuals, and both formed for the reason of two separate people. Such difference in beliefs had opened conflict of tremendous scale, and had taken the lives of many before them with even more to lose placed down the line. Whatever the outcome, this fight wasn't just for the few thousands in the Arks - this fight was what would determine the true meaning of 'right' and 'wrong' - of 'life' and 'death'. Conflicting desires would clash but which one would forge the path?

Humanity was so fickle in their views...but at the same time, that was what caused them to become what they were. Because their determination was something not even the gods could comprehend.

Everything came down to this.

XxXxX

Big brothers never lie...

"He's always making me worry."

Saya couldn't help but agree.

A single, frail hand was placed on the glass as if wishing to pass through it. Saya was silent as she stared at the blue giant below, a world she had called home. Because that was what it was. It was broken, it was chaotic, and it was tainted, but in the end, it was always her home.

A small voice told her, reminding her, 'Not anymore.'

Her world was ending, falling to the way for a madman...no, Johannes was many things, but he was not a madman. He truly saw the Ark Project as something that could save the world, and, strangely, Saya couldn't help but acknowledge that. A world without aragami, where people could live peacefully. A world where she could laugh with her friends and not have to look over her shoulder for anything that was about to pounce on her. It sounded so...perfect.

But she couldn't condone something that would cost the lives of thousands of innocent people.

Her brother was down there, wasn't he? Fighting for reasons she herself couldn't understand. It was, in a way, foolish, she admitted. Fighting an apocalyptic world ending monster for people you didn't know while the people you actually did know got into a ship and left the planet.

Her brother tricked her.

He tricked all of them and taken away their choice...but she wasn't angry. She couldn't bring herself to be angry because some part of her believed he was doing what he always did.

Protecting his family.

"You know," Kanon began, looking sadly at the Earth through the glass pane, "when Wolf first came to the Den...he and I hated each others guts."

She paused momentarily with a far away gaze. Something about it seemed haunted - sad, remorseful, yet happy. "We got into a lot of fights...usually for small to no reasons. He'd come to the clinic with an injury, and I'd mock him. I would go to the cafeteria and he'd try to steal my rations...little stuff that annoyed me at the time."

"I don't know when that annoyance started to turn into whatever we had at the time. Maybe it was because he always kept coming back, and I eventually got used to him...whatever the reason, we started to get along...Your brother is persistent when he wants to be, y'know?"

"...Wolf is someone who would rather get hurt by himself."

Her brother was someone who didn't want others to suffer. Her brother was someone who, in a way, didn't know how to be selfish. Her brother was someone who would rather take the weight of the sky than let someone he loved go through any pain. It was why he'd gotten strong - because he wanted the power to protect them.

"Stupid..." Saya muttered, "Doesn't he...doesn't he know that I wanna protect him too?"

"I don't want to lose him! Doesn't he know that if he leaves, it'll hurt even more? He's my brother! He's my goddamn brother, and he still doesn't want me to be with him! Does he think I can just pretend I never knew him?! I don't want to forget him, but I don't want to look back on all the times I've laughed with him and cry knowing I'll never have time like that again! I would rather die with him than abandon him!"

Kanon slapped her.

For a moment, the pain was dulled by the shock. For a moment, the sorrowful look that had settled unto Kanon's features had turned into disappointment. For a moment, the only thing she could hear was the echo of her stinging skin.

A moment passed.

"Don't you dare say that." She growled, "If you died, then he would lose more. He would lose a reason to keep on fighting. What he did was for you, and you think you can just throw that away?!"

"He wants you to live, Saya! He wants you to keep on living, even without him! It'll hurt, but that's the truth of it! Do you really want to throw that away?! Do you really want to spit on what Wolf wished for you to have?!"

"And where does that leave me?!" Saya screamed, "Crying over another grave?! Crying over his goddamn body?! Going over the memories and the pictures while I can't even stop sobbing?! He wants me to live in this hell alone?!"

"You're not alone!"

Saya stiffened.

"Do you think others won't be sad? Do you think he wasn't someone we loved as well? If you cry over his grave, we'll be crying with you! If you cry over his body, we'll help you bury him! If you're going over memories, we'll be with you, laughing and sobbing along! You're not alone, Saya!" Kanon grabbed her shoulders, "Your brother made sure you wouldn't be alone!"

"I love him, Saya...just as much as you do. He was the person I...that we would've given our lives for. I wanted to spend my life with him...that moron actually got me to love him...so don't you dare say you would rather die than live! Live and struggle because if I had to bury you, I wouldn't be able to face him when we meet again!"

"Nii-chan...was...I don't..." Her wall cracked, "Ah...aaah...AAAAAAAAAAHHHHH! ONII-CHAAAN!"

When the tears came, she didn't stop them, and yet still used her hands to try to wipe away the river that threatened to fall. Kanon embraced the younger girl, yet the tears fell just as well on her own delicate features. Saya had never felt this much pain before; the pain of helplessness, the pain of knowing you couldn't do anything for someone you loved was something that could break the most durable of all. So she didn't stop crying. Brother always said tears made everything better...

And big brothers never lied.

XxXxX

A grim chuckle escaped his lips.

His hands let go of the weapon clutched within them, the god arc rattling as it fell to the floor with a heavy crash. Something warm trickled down his left arm, and he vaguely connected it as blood from the deep wound in his shoulder where one of Arda Nova's tentacles had succeeded in drilling into his flesh. His other hand reached up, trying to stifle the blood flow before it he lost too much. It wouldn't do to fail in his goal when he'd come so close because his body wimped out and fell to the ground in a puddle of its own life.

Arda Nova, torn into massive pieces, remained motionless. Both of the aragami did not move, laying on the ground without so much as a twitch to signify that it was still alive.

One thing left to do.

Shio was released, free falling from a height that would've killed an ordinary girl. But it was of no consequence even if she were a normal girl. Wolf caught her in his grasp, the blonde ignoring the sharp pain that screamed at him to stay down. His body was hurting everywhere, and there was no doubt there wasn't a fatal wound with all the ones he had suffered.

Shio was cold, unusually so. Before, whenever Wolf had felt her, her skin was warmer than regular humans. It was surreal to feel her touch so clammy, and he had to ignore his heart as it crawled into his throat. He crouched down, still holding her and brushed the bangs away from her delicate face, quiet and peaceful as the times she would fall asleep after a big meal.

She wasn't breathing.

"Plan B, then."

Aegis was shaking now, and it wasn't a surprise earthquake, that he could tell. Nova's gemstone grew eerily yellow as if warning him to run away before the bomb of the millennium dropped and exploded onto the spot he was standing on. He ignored the tremors, and placed his hand into Shio's.

"Let this work," He grit his teeth, "Let this bat-shit crazy plan work."

His armlet started to leak a dark aura.

Everything faded to white.

XxXxX

"You're here..."

Was he? Everything felt so warm...so...right. It was too peaceful for it to be anything but a dream. It couldn't be real, could it?

"Wolf? Woo~lf? Are you awake?"

His lips parted, yet his eyes remained shut. He didn't want to wake up from this dream...it was all too peaceful. Still...that voice was familiar...

"Shi...o?"

"Wake up! Come on! I'm hungry!"

His eyes snapped open.

His sight was met with white, leaving nothing else to be seen. Like a camera flash though, the light faded, allowing him to see the tree he was under. His fingers curled around something small and moist, morning grass, and he could smell the scent of honey tinted wind as a breeze flew past, playfully tickling his nape and bringing along the fresh scent of summer to his nose. the tree, one he recognized as a Narra, swayed its branches to the whispers of the breeze like it wished for nothing more than to dance with the wind. Patches of sunlight shined from under the shade, and Wolf was oddly relaxed in the unknown environment.

No...this place wasn't unknown.

He had lived here...this was his home...the one before the aragami, and the tree he was under...this was the same one he and Saya would always lay under when they were kids - the one on top of the hill overlooking the town...the same one he watched burn to the ground.

How was this...?

"Woo~lf!" A pair of gold eyes came face to face with him, "I'm hungry!"

"Shio..."

...that's right...the resonance. He was planning to use the resonance to shut down Nova...but why was he here?

"So you are Wolf..."

Who was that?!

With the presence of an unknown, Wolf threw off his peaceful daze, snapping up to the sight of a woman.

"Mom?"

It couldn't be mistaken. Her hair, with locks so long that they reached her knees, was shockingly pink - a trait received by his little sister. His mother was also wearing the white dress he remembered her by, clean, smooth and as pure as her skin. All of her features were the same as he could still recall, yet he clearly knew that his own mother was dead and gone. He had watched her die with his own eyes, so who-?!

Gold eyes...

His mother's eyes were supposed to be blue.

"Nova."

Nova smiled, "Hello, my child."

Shio was smiling, completely oblivious to the gravity of the situation. She knelt next to Wolf, still in the white and green dress they had gone through the trouble of making just for her, and the aragami girl pulled on his sleeve, "Wo~lf, where's Soma? Have you seen the others?"

"...they're..." Wolf stopped.

Were they alright? Were they still in the Ark? Did they somehow get off in the last minute and were on their way to Aegis? He hoped not. What he had in mind wasn't exactly full proof. All of them were in danger if that were to happen. Doubt started to seep in now, and Wolf reminded himself he would have to trust his comrades to respect his wishes even if he took away their choice on the matter.

"...they're fine, Shio. All of 'em are safe."

"Okaa~y!"

Wolf returned his gaze to Nova, "...What is this place?"

His mother - Nova, once again smiled warmly. It was strange to see his mother's face again, in front of him, and not a dream or a figment of his imagination. But he reminded himself this wasn't his mother - this wasn't the woman who had smiled gently whenever he had come home, dirty from all the time he'd spent playing. She wasn't the same one who had nurtured Saya and him. She wasn't the same woman who'd smelled of lavender and of honey. She wasn't the one who's laughter made him smile, the one who's embrace warmed him in a way that no one but a loving parent could create.

She wasn't his mother, no matter how much he wanted to believe it.

"You could call it your mindscape," Nova began, "It is the world you have created. For most humans, this is a representation of their psyche, and a place where they hold their memories. For others, like you, it is that as well as a metaphysical realm for which you use to accept incredible amounts of strain."

"A coping mechanism?"

"Mmmm..." Nova nodded, "In a way, yes. But it is also a world which you created. You would be nothing short of a diety here, if it weren't for me and my Shio sharing this space."

Shio got up and started to chase a butterfly, watching it with a childlike curiosity. She had probably never seen one before, now that he thought about it.

"...the resonance...brought us here."

"Yes...resonance. You resonated with my cells using my little Shio as a catalyst. It was certainly a surprise that you were able to think of that. I never thought I'd ever be able to hold a conversation with a human. Wolf Arashi...my son."

"I'm not your son." He bit back.

"Oh? But you became my son the moment you placed on that wristband, child. You became my offspring. Human, aragami - whatever you wish to call yourself, you will always be my son."

Wolf didn't argue further, it was true, after all, and he needed to continue rather than daunt on a meaningless statement.

"I'm not here to talk about that..."

"Yes. We are connected here. I can sense your emotions, chaotic tides as they are now."

"...then you already know my question."

"Mmm..." Nova turned away, watching the town as the wind suddenly grew silent, "You wish to stop the Apocalypse."

"You're the calamity...the means to an end. I want you to give me your word that you will never harm humanity, and I want you to keep it."

"Making demands, already?" Nova chuckled, "You're more of a child than you think."

Wolf smirked, "Maybe."

...

"You realize that even if I do stop...even if I do go back to my slumber...that in the end, humanity will still fall." Nova turned to him, "I want you to tell me. Why do you want me to do so? All you shall do is to add sand to the hourglass of time, and even then, those grains will run swift."

"Of course I know that," Wolf began, "there's no such thing as forever. Everything will end. Life and death, there can't be one without the other. I know that one day, humans will be wiped out...but..."

Kanon, Saya, Alisa, Soma, Sakuya, Kota...all of them were people he would give his life for. All of them were people who weren't pure, who weren't innocent, and knew that sometimes life only gave you lemons so it could rub them into your scars. Family would give way to darkness, friends would give into greed, and sometimes, love would fall to might. In this place, justice was made by those who were stronger. Good and evil were brands placed by those who held power, whether for the right or wrong, and that reality was a truth that would lead to nihilism.

"Do you really expect me to lay down and let it be?" Wolf clenched his hands, "Live and struggle. Do everything to live...if not for yourself, then for the people you love."

"...Your mother's words?"

Wolf nodded, "It's what she always told me...before she..."

...

"Is that why you fight, then? You wish to live for the sake of others?"

"Of course not."

"Hm?"

"I don't want to die. I don't want to lose my life before I have to. I want to see my sister, to spend more time with Kanon. I want to see my friends as they grow up, and I want to help rebuild the world so that no one will have to go through the pain of seeing someone they love die in front of their eyes. Pain like that will never go away. You never really stop being able to love a person...eventually, you just learn to live without them by your side. I don't want Kanon or Saya to feel that...I don't want them to think of me and feel nothing but emptiness when they do. I want so many things...I'm like a child..."

"But that just means I have my reasons to fight. I'll die here...I know that...but if I can't do anything, then I'll make damn sure that they can keep living."

...

Nova...was chuckling? She was actually chuckling before speaking in a low mutter, "You truly are as I expected."

"Huh?"

Standing, Nova walked to his position on the ground. She knelt next to him, wrapping her slender arms around his neck in an embrace that felt as comforting as he remembered his mother's. He stiffened at the contact, and Nova whispered, softly, almost mistakable for a soft wind had her breath not been warm,

"I'm proud...to have you as my son."

XxXxX

When Wolf woke up, the world was singing.

Wind whispered into his ears, whistling a melody that held an intristic beauty. Water crashed into the shores of Aegis, creating a mild disturbance from the quiet lyrics of the wind, yet still leaving the peace to the land, as if trying to set the lullaby that would enslave the world into slumber. His hair brushed past his eyes, and he noted that his normally bright strands looked pale in the moonlight - the power in Aegis had long been cut off by the fight before, and had left nothing but the ghostly light that came from the moon to illuminate the crevices.

Nova pulsed.

Strands of energy - the web that overshadowed Aegis - began to move, encompassing the sudden surge of oracle cells that was pushed into their frame. Energy ran through the anchors, the strange net now emitting a golden power that ran inside of it.

Winds grew into gales, and the ocean grew angrier as Aegis began to sink, forced down by the will of Nova. Strand upon strand began to cover the dome, trapping it within a cocoon of its own making.

Wolf couldn't move anymore. His limbs were lead, and his brain was already too tired to form any panic. Even if it wasn't, he had long ago accepted what would happen if he went through this plan, and his inevitable death were one the conditions he had made his peace with.

Oh take a look in the mirror, you look so sad
It's so cold like that winter market we used to go
I don't cry anymore but I feel so hurt

His mother always sang this song to him. It was his lullaby, his memory, but now it would be the song played at his funeral. Wolf chuckled. He was strangely fine with that.

So I don't need you too close to me
You don't hear me, so you said
I don't know why thing have changed since yesterday

I'm Alisa Illienchina Amiella. I look forward to working with you - Ugh...my training did not include this - Why are you...helping me? - I...er...thank you.

This could be love again
All I need is you
Come back, I'm waiting anytime the heavy rains come

Welcome to this godawful workplace - I'm Soma...not that you need to remember that - I won't let that S.O.B father of mine use her like a tool - Heh...come to think of it, I jabbed my sword at you the first time we met as well.

Still I miss days with you
I can't look into your face
Oh Feeling blue and looking back again
Please come back to me

Hey, you a recruit, too? - I'm Kota Fujiki. Nice ta meet ya! - You're quiet, ya know? Not in a bad way! - Hey...we're friends, aren't we? - I've got your back!

So I don't need you too close to me
You don't hear me, so you said
I don't know why thing have changed since yesterday

I'm Sakuya. Sakuya tachibana - Are you alright...Leader~? - You're a lot like him... - You'll do great. I know you will - Remember, the best gods eaters...tend to die young - Work hard.

This could be love again
All I need is you
Come back, I'm waiting anytime the heavy rains come

Nii-chaan! - I'm thankful...I got to see you again, nii-chan - I want to stay by your side! - Hey...can you promise me...we'll always be together?

Still I miss days with you
I can't look into your face
Oh Feeling blue and looking back again
Please come back to me

Eep! I-I'm sorry! - My n-name's K-Kanon Daiba. N-nice to meet you, Wolf - You're hurt...erm...s-stay here - Don't scare me like that, you idiot! - Wolf...thanks... - I trust you...hey, s-stop smiling like that! - I love you - I won't leave you...I'll never leave you.

To stay with you always
You're the world to me
And dreaming on
So you can take my sword for you
Oh How do you feel so fine
You are the world to me
And dream on
You stole my heart so long ago
Oh I release my soul
So you feel my song

"Wolf?"

"Hm?"

"..."

"What is it?"

"Stay with me."

"Huh?"

"Stay with me...never leave my side. Okay?"

"...Yeah...that sounds nice."

"Hehe...you idiot..."

I love you

And done! I may or may not upload an epilogue.

Okay, to tell you the truth, this is something of an experiment. I have absolutely no idea how to write a death scene, and I do require experience in that particular subject because, well, awesome people tend to die in awesome stories.

Since this is my first ever death scene, tell me what you think.

Korny? Sappy? Poetic? Awful?

Wow, I just can't use a goddamn compliment on my own work...that's low self-esteem, ladies and gentlemen.

Seriously though, review!

Song used is Release My Soul - Guilty Crown