Darkness.
A place of no light, no sound, no life.
Only fleeting thoughts flowed in the transient stream of sentience, teetering on the edge of existence and nonexistence.
'So I lost… huh?'
Stefan could feel nothing any longer. It felt like he no longer had a body.
It was only a matter of time before his mind was gone too.
'I guess this is the end.'
In one's last moments, they tend to remember their regrets while going over their life.n--1n
That wasn't the case for Stefan.
He didn't seem to have any regrets or care for the life he once led. He had lost despite giving it his all.
The smile he received right before he lost his sight, and the final words he got to hear right after his demise.
Those were the things that clung to his mind.
'I was able to choose a path for myself, right until the very end. That alone makes me happy…'
He wasn't even upset that he lost, or that he ended up being weaker or less intelligent than his adversary.
He didn't care that he couldn't fulfill his mission.
'I did what I wanted to do.'
To Stefan, that was his catharsis.
He went down on his own terms—a free man.
'Ciel, Legris… I guess the rest is up to you now.'
Now that he was consumed by the Hollow, he would pretty much cease to exist.
He wasn't going to see the fruition of Legris' desires, or the fulfillment of Ciel's wish.
But this too was fine.
'Still…'
Stefan didn't know why he was having this thought. Perhaps it was due to this being the final strands of sentience he would have before being nonexistent.
'… I really want you two to lose. Lose to Jared, Maria, and the rest of my friends…'
Memories of Ivan, Kuzon, Ana, Edward, and everyone else began to overlap in his head.
'I wonder what kind of face I'm making right now…' Stefan's thoughts began to fade as he gave his final whisper of reason.
'… It's probably a smile.'
As soon as his mind echoed those words out, the final aspects of Stefan were devoured by his own Magic, and the anomaly it was all trapped in collapsed on itself.
This implosion caused the Hollow to eat itself out of existence, finally ending everything.
… Including Stefan.
"Looks like it's finally over." Lewis mumbled as he stared at the empty space in front of him.
He had waited till the very end to see if his opponent would pull out any unexpected card.
Thankfully, he did not.
'If he did, that would be bad. Despite my excess Aether reserve, I barely have anything left.' His thoughts trailed.
Without a considerable amount of energy, he could not draw a substantial amount from around him to handle the kind of threat Stefan would be if he avoided being devoured by the Hollow.
Fortunately, things did not get to that extent.
'To think my first Magic Battle would be with someone like that. I was so nervous.'
If it hadn't been for the additional information that Jane had imprinted into him, and the quality of the body he got from her, he would have lost for sure.
'Just how many years have passed since my death? How much has Magic improved since then? This is all so crazy.'
He cast his gaze to the universe that surrounded him, and his grin wouldn't stop growing.
'There's so much to explore!'
*********
[Meanwhile]
"This is a waste of time."
Kuzon, who was still gripping Ciel very harshly, began to speak with urgency.
"We just have to destroy the Cocoon. Afterwards, we can worry about everything else."
It sounded cold hearted, but considering how they couldn't do anything at the given moment, it was best to simply focus on what they could accomplish.
"Once we leave this place, I'm sure the Constellations will take us to our home world and we can defend it." Kuzon added.
"We can even employ Time Magic to—"
"Time won't work when dealing with Stefan's Hollow. You're all—!"
"Shut up! No one asked you." Kuzon gripped Ciel so hard that no voice could be squeezed out of her lips any longer.
It was an incredibly tense moment, one where the group had to make a choice.
"Kuzon is right. As much as I hate to admit it, we need to focus on the task at hand and leave afterwards."
Ana's words surprised a majority of the people who were present.
Her friends and family were still in her homeworld, yet she agreed with Kuzon's placement of priorities.
"I also agree." Serah said, her brows creased together.
As a Grand Mage, she had sworn to defend the Kingdom no matter what.
That meant she was meant to abandon all else to protect their home world.
However…
"What's happening right now is bigger than all of us. We need to act fast."
It was a bitter pill to swallow, but this was what needed to be done.
"Very well."
"Y-you're right…"
"Let's hurry!"
One after the other, the team voiced out words of agreement.
The nature of their mission remained unchanged.
"Everyone else should stay back. Be as close to the portal as possible. Serah, Edward and I will destroy the Cocoon."
As the strongest and fastest, they still took it upon themselves to deal the final blow.
This way, escaping would be much easier since it wouldn't be everyone rushing to the portal at the same time.
"In addition to our speed, use your Magic to pull us towards you so we can escape this place as soon as possible." Kuzon added.
"Understood!" Ana and the rest of her allies responded.
With that settled, the supporting group took their place a mere inch short of the portal's absorbing field, while the trio charged up their energy.
"The time is now. Pour all your energy into this."
No one could mess up now.
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Thanks for reading, everyone!
If they succeed, all of reality is saved! Let's all root for the team!
