The faces of the Century Corps members in the throne room are in a mess of confusion, shock and anger
Lilac: Who…who is that there?
Acantha: That’s Falconer, he was a member of the guild while I was there.
Lilac: So that is a former champion of the guild
Centus: It is odd to see him like this, to say the least
Acantha: To see him as an avatar of this malice is perverted and heretical
Falconer: Heh, like you have a right to talk
Nest: SHUT UP, you can’t say anything, how could you…work with that aspect of Malice it killed your friends, tried to kill me
Falconer: I’m sorry, I’m so so so-
Malice: SHUT UP YOU INSOLENT MONGREL. YOU SERVE ME, YOU DON’T GET TO FEEL SORRY
Falconer: It’s making me do terrible things, It’ making me it’s pawn
Nest: How…how did this happen
Larkin: We want answers damn it
Malice: This weak minded fool found the pool of darkness I left behind when the first Buzzard was defeated and that vessel was destroyed. The aether reversion reverted me into the first host’s form, with the poor human body of the previous host being torn to shreds.
Falconer: Malice, he-
Malice: Shut up, let me tell your sad pathetic story
Falconer: Yes…
Malice: He investigated it with his old friend, and well they both started succumbing to my darkness, to my power. She wanted to fight back against it, but Falconer’s little puny mind was so weak, my previous incarnation had broken his will. Broken his spirit, in the back of his mind he would have done anything to feel alive again. So I used it, I wrought out the space in his hollow mind so I could fly again, and the dust of his friend followed suit.
Falconer: Please, don’t make me re-
The gooey energy of Malice manifests a sword and then stabs it into Falconer.
Malice: My puppet, my sweet little puppet. Don’t you know better than to resist me
Someone else begins laughing
Rahihi: Hehe, hehe
Uruo: What are you doing?
Rahihi: I thought I had really seen it all, through all my rulings of the valley. My own son turned against me for crying out loud, and yet, to see a man so broken, so defeated. It almost fills my heart with joy
Malice: Oh, joy?
The dark shadow of malice moves over to Rahihi, skewering him with a dark blade through the chest
Rahihi: Hahahaha, ahahahahaha
Rahihi continued to laugh at Falconer, at Malice, as Malice slowly killed him in it’s shadowy form, turning him into another mindless hollow as his body dissolved.
Uruo: Well, I can’t say he could have ended another way
Uruo freezes the newly made hollow and shatters it
Nest: I recall something you once said Falconer
Nest remembers back to her first battle with Falconer
Memory of Falconer: We deserve a form of peace, don’t we?
Nest remembers that time he saved her, all that time ago.
Memory of Nest: Thanks for saving me, but we gotta go
The Soul Falcon that Nest had with her begins loudly cawing at the now paralyzed Falconer
Falconer: Stop it, I know I’m weak, I know I failed. I left the guild just so I could be at peace and then really got twisted into darkness. I know I’m a coward
Nest remembers the falcon circling over her
Malice: That falcon always looked so tasty, reuniting your soul Falconer, it could do us so much good
Falconer: WE ARE NOT U-
Malice stabs Falconer again
Malice: I’d find another host, but none are as beautifully hollow as you Falconer. Too scared to uphold the convictions to those you care about.
Falconer: I should have never wandered into the pool, sought out the truth
Malice: They say ignorance is bliss Falconer
Boone remembers the faces of their family, the pain they felt, Boone sees it on Falconer’s face
Boone: I get it, Falconer. You aren’t a monster, you’re a victim, just like everyone else here.
Olivia: It’s the ability to twist and pervert is what’s truly evil
Malice: I am hate personified, of course all of my servants are victims in some ways, I must cause hate, to keep myself strong
Nest: Falconer…
Falconer: I’m sorry Nest, I’m-
Nest: I’m going to free you from this creature, this isn’t the fate you deserve.
Malice: Ohoho, someone’s real brave now aren’t they, guess I’ll just have to massacre this entire valley before your eyes Nest, so you see that you were never really all that brave
Nest: I wasn’t brave, I was terrified of you, but I’m not sacred anymore
Malice tries to move with a Darkness Blade, but Nest parries the attack and breaks the very Malice itself
Malice: How…did you do that
Centus: She’s stronger than you ever thought
Falconer: Heh, that’s the Nest I remember, strong willed, unafraid to fight. Standing right next to me when we destroyed you, Buzzard
Malice: I’m done with this
As Malice goes to reform the Buzzard, Olivia remembers something
Olivia: Take this
Olivia drops the Dark Mirror in front of The reforming Buzzard, it still being part of her arsenal.
Malice: No…you wouldn’t
Falconer: Oh…
Boone: I like the way you think
Aiden covers the mirror in reticles
Olivia: Guild order, obliterate that mirror
Lilac: Aye aye captain
All 13 other members of the Guild present in the Throne Room send attacks towards the Dark MIrror. Nest sends a bird made of soul energy towards it, Olivia sends an attack of light, Ba-Bayost fires a volley of arrows, Centus slashes it with their sword, Yoni throws a punch at it, Lilac slashes it with their sword, Boone fires a volley of bullets into it, Hoard uses dragonfire on it, a hand emerges from Mygin’s hand to crush the mirror, Kutok fires a powerful attack aurora into it, Oseci throws one of his axes into it, Uruo throws an Ice Seal onto it and Larkin just charges at it. Every single attack combined completely shattered every single shard of the mirror, to the point where there is nothing left of it, freeing every single piece of tainted darkness trapped inside.
Larkin: We smashed that thing into dust!
Malice: NO, N-
The tainted and rotten darkness rushes to join Malice, severely weakening and harming it
Malice: AAAAAAARGGHHHHHH
Malice continues to scream in pain
Falconer: Yes!! You’ve weakened it, now-
Malice: SHUT UP FALCONER, YOU ARE MY PUPPET, WE LIVE TOGETHER, WE DIE TOGETHER, DON’T YOU THINK ABOUT GETTING YOUR WILL BACK NOW
Falconer: Des-
Malice: ENOUGH
Olivia: That’s right that’s enough
Olivia shines a bright light into Malice, amplifying the powerful weakening darkness that has infiltrated Malice
Nest: We’re getting you out of there Falconer
Malice: No. You. Won’t
Malice wraps around Falconer again and transforms back into The Buzzard
The Buzzard: I’m going to destroy the Soul Tree still this changes nothing
The Buzzard flies out of the hole in the roof
Lilac: Well this is a predicament
At this moment, a blast of fire widens the hole in the roof, Hoard’s Dragon from earlier and some birds made of Soul Energy arrive.
Hoard: My friend!!
Nest: My friends
The Soul Falcon on Nest’s shoulder caws at the Dragon and the Birds
Nest: The Falcon was part of Falconer, he helped me in the past, don’t worry Falcon, I’ll save your friend from his fate
The Soul Falcon looks at Nest again, and nestles against her neck
Lilac: Then let’s go and save the day
With help from the birds, the Century Corps gets on top of the dragon who is on top of the roof. There, they see the Buzzard on top of the Soul Tree.
Boone: There it is
Mygin: How do we get it back over here?
Suddenly, a shield materializes around The Buzzard, one made of Soul Energy. The source is a shield generators also on the roof
Larkin: What the?
Uruo: Did Rahihi set that up?
The figure from earlier steps forward
Pandora: Hah, try again
Centus: You…
Pandora: The longer that Buzzard is around, the more Soul Energy I can remove from the valley to my base. It served my best interests, so I built it as a contingency
Nest: Clearly you see that it winning will only make the Earth you care about suffer
Pandora: That doesn’t matter right now
As The Buzzard begins attacking the Soul Tree, a blaze of fire begins radiating off of the tree. It pushes it back
Mygin: It’s back
The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
Pandora: What’s back
Lilac: Oh we are so back
The shielded Buzzard is pushed off of the tree by a familiar shape, the Phoenix of Soulight Valley has risen again.
Nest: Hadane…you’re back
Mygin: Her purpose has been realized, she has been reborn as a Phoenix
The Phoenix and Buzzard begin fighting in the sky
Olivia: We need to bring that shield down
Pandora: You need to get past me first!
Centus: Stand aside Pandora, I will complete history’s first murder to save this valley.
Resume Mission: Fight For The Future
Fight against Pandora
When Pandora is at 80%, the Phoenix launches a large blast of fire at The Buzzard who is unscathed by the attack due to the shield
The Buzzard: Oh, look how puny you are
The Buzzard continues attacking the Phoenix, who is holding her own but is outmatched
Centus: I should not be surprised that Pandora would support evil instead of good at the end of it
Pandora: It’s funny how decry me as a fundamentally evil entity yet you committed the first sin
Centus: It was with the best of intentions
Olivia: I think we’ve had enough of the past, right now we’re fighting for the future
Pandora: My ideal future is for it to be like the past
Centus: That’s not what I want
Pandora: Oh poor Centus, you don’t want to be immortal and live in Earth’s perfect paradise.
Centus: There’s more to that and you know it
Resume against Pandora
When Pandora is at 60%, a clashing wave of fire and malice wash over the air
Nest: Don’t worry Hadane, we’re coming
Pandora: She can’t hear you from down here
Lilac: Listen Pandora, why don’t you just stand down and let us destroy this device?
Pandora: How about, no
Centus: Pandora never listens to reason
Resume against Pandora
When Pandora is at 40%, the crackle of fire and darkness reverberates across the sky
Olivia: How do we expedite this?
Nest: Hadane is strong, in her current form she can hold off the Buzzard for long enough
Pandora: I hope you can hold on long enough to defeat me
Centus: We don’t actually need to beat you, we just need you to get scared and run off, like you always did
Mygin: You’re saying Pandora hasn’t learned anything even though they’re as old as you are
Centus: Precisely Mygin
Resume against Pandora
When Pandora is at 20%, more fire and darkness lights up the sky
Boone: Alright, how long can our fiery friend go without getting a hit in before she goes down
Nest: She is strong, just a little bit longer now until she can hit back
Pandora: I’m almost done
Centus: Her self-preservation instinct is about to kick in
Resume against Pandora
When Pandora is defeated, they stagger back
Pandora: Good showing, unfortunately, that’s all the time I have for today
Pandora escapes off the roof down back into the Throne Room. Leaving the shield generator generating a shield of soul energy around the Buzzard exposed.
Aiden: I’ve got this
Aiden places reticles on the generator
Ba-Bayost: Let’s destroy it like we did the mirror, we’re about to help you friend
Nest: Let’s do this
The Century Corps attack in unison, destroying the generator and releasing all the soul energy from it and breaking The Buzzard’s shield
The Buzzard: What, where did it go?
The Buzzard is enveloped in flames by The Phoenix.
Nest: Go Hadane!
Boone: Kick its ass
As the Soul Energy flows, it darts dancing around Nest, beckoning her to absorb it, the Soul Falcon beckons her too
Nest: For me?
The Soul Falcon screeches at her
Hoard: This is how you become closer to your natural friends
The Soul Falcon chirps at her
Boone: Embrace this power Nest
Lilac: It’s time for you to embrace a new purpose, a new form if you will
Nest: I think I shall
The Soul Energy envelopes Nest and she grows wings of Soul Energy, truly becoming a Totem of Birds. The Soul Falcon also envelopes her, adding to Nest’s bird-like form.
As The Phoenix and The Buzzard continue fighting Nest prepares to take off
Larkin: Look at you
Nest: I think this is my true form, who I’m meant to be, I need wings, I need to fly
Boone: Take to the sky Nest, join your friend in this fight
Nest: Boone, I’ll avenge your family for you
Boone: Heh, do me proud Nest
Centus: Make us all proud
Nest: I will
As The Buzzard tries to land a powerful blow on The Phoenix, Nest flies up and grabs onto him, feeling the tainted, rotten darkness.
The Buzzard: Oh, you possess the will to stand up to me
Nest: I will, I’ll stand up to you, I’ll free Falconer from you
Nest (True Form) is the only member of your party
Fight against The Buzzard
When The Buzzard is at 90%
The Buzzard: Look how far you’ve come the adorable little girl who was terrified of me, now fighting me alone
Nest: I fought you before, Falconer was with me, he’s with me again
Aiden sends a reticle onto The Buzzard from the roof of the fortress
The Buzzard: What?
Ba-Bayost: Nest, you can’t hear me, but here’s my best shot
Ba-Bayost fires an arrow at reticle, dealing serious damage to The Buzzard
Nest: Even when I’m up here in the air, fighting you, I’m never truly alone
Nest looks at The Phoenix, who is helping her fight against The Buzzard
Resume against The Buzzard
When he is at 80%
The Buzzard: Do you think you really stand a chance against a creature of Darkness such as myself all by your lonesome.
Nest: I’ve done it before, twice, you can’t scare me anymore, you can’t make me doubt myself
Aiden sends another reticle onto The Buzzard from The Roof, as a magic projectile from Mygin’s tome deals damage to The Buzzard. Reeling from this attack, The Phoenix lands another blow on The Buzzard.
Nest: And again, I’m not alone, I never need to be
Resume against The Buzzard
When he is at 70%
Nest: My friend I fought against you with is in you, so it’s a good thing I kept making friends
The Phoenix looks at Nest with intent.
The Buzzard: What good are your friends against my primordial, piercing darkness. Nothing
Nest: I think I disagree
Another reticle from Aiden lands on The Buzzard. Kutok sends a powerful aurora beam at The Buzzard from the roof.
Nest: Our unity makes us stronger
Resume against The Buzzard
When he is at 60%
The Buzzard: You really think, such cheap tricks will defeat me, I will, make myself stronger
The Buzzard does a powerful wave attack that expels all the rotten darkness in it that the mirror sent into him, as hollows back down to the roof where the rest of The Century Corps is.
Nest: Let’s have our allies take point, Hadane
As Nest and The Phoenix keep clashing with The Buzzard in the sky, The Century Corps on the roof see the Rotten Darkness Hollows materialize.
Olivia: Let’s get this darkness here reduced to nothing
Centus: We need to help out Nest so she can get back to kicking ass.
Lilac: Affirmative
Larkin: Let’s help our friend
Hoard: Our feathery friend
Centus, Hoard, Lilac and Larkin join the party
Defeat the Rotten Darkness Hollows
When they are defeated, the Rotten Darkness flows back into The Buzzard severely weakening him
The Buzzard: AAAAAHAH AAARRRRGGH
The Buzzard screams from the pain again, splitting him open again to reveal Falconer covered in Malice
Falconer: Keep. Hurting. Us.
Nest: I’ll get you out of there my friend
Malice: You will fail
The Phoenix knocks The Buzzard down onto the Soul Tree
Hoard: We can help her directly!
One of Hoard’s dragons show up
Centus: Smart thinking
Boone: Heh, get your tickets to the show
Centus, Lilac and Larkin get on Hoard’s dragon and fly up to the top of the Soul Tree, where The Buzzard has landed
Nest: Oh hey, you’re joining us here?
Centus: You had to knock him down, of course we’ll be there for the fight if we can
Lilac: It’s our purpose
Larkin: And you’re embracing yours
Malice: You’ll all die, YOU’LL ALL DIE
Hoard: I’ll help you from the air
The Phoenix then flies towards Nest, seeing the energy
Nest: I think we’re not done just yet
Hoard leaves the party, Nest (True Form) joins the party
Malice: You’ll die, I’ll kill you all
Resume against The Buzzard on the Soul Tree with the new party
When he gets to 50%
Malice: I’M TIRED OF THIS
Falconer: Keep going!
Malice: NO
Malice prepares to unleash a huge wave of Darkness
Centus: Everyone duck
Larkin: Aye aye
The wave of darkness erupts from Malice, which crashes into the Phoenix hurting it
Nest: Wait, I’ll save you too
Nest dives off the tree after the falling Phoenix and ends up with it’s energy circling around her
Nest: What?
She hears the faint voice of Hadane
Hadane: Let me join you, we’ll be stronger together
Nest: Hadane…you and me
Hadane: Yes, we’ll be stronger together
The Phoenix energy flows into Nest, setting her ablaze, giving her a temporary new form, with her soaring up
Malice: Hah, your friend gave into despair after I hurt her friend
Falconer: No, Nest is stronger than that
Centus: She’ll be back here
Larkin: Count on it
Lilac: I believe in her
Nest flies back up to the top of the Soul Tree, ablaze, she seems brighter than a thousand suns, the energy of the Phoenix burning bright with energy in her own soul
Nest: Surprise everyone
Lilac: It’s not really a surprise Nest
Malice: What…is that
Nest: It’s warmth, something you won’t know because of your hollow emptiness
Larkin: I see you’re now a burning blazing entity
Nest: The Phoenix leant her energy to me, so we could be stronger together
Nest (Phoenix Form) joins your party
Malice: That’s an impossibility
Falconer: I thought we were supposed to be stronger together Malice, that’s what the idea of The Buzzard is
Malice: Shut up you mongrel, The Buzzard makes ME stronger, not you
Larkin: That’s a pretty backwards way of thinking
Nest: It’s ok, we’ll show the Malice our true inner strength
Resume against The Buzzard
When The Buzzard is at 40%
Falconer: I was wrong for ever being part of this, forever a failure succumbing to this. Malice makes victims of us by praying on our fears, making us empty. I should have remained full of life, full of vitality.
Nest: It’s okay Falconer, the four of us fighting against Malice here and everyone who fought today are filled by each other
Larkin: I mean seriously, what would I be without you guys
Malice: That’s weak, you’re weak
Centus: You don’t even have control over your own vessel, that’s pretty weak now is it
Another one of Aiden’s reticles focus onto The Buzzard, which a thorny projectile from Oiyrr hits
Oiyrr: I may be down there and not up there, but I can help from this range
Centus: See how we’re better together
Resume against The Buzzard
When The Buzzard is at 30%
Falconer: I was empty because I had forgotten what true camaraderie was like, I had forgotten what it meant to be a member of the Century Corps.
Malice: Like the simple act of being in a silly guild could ever fill your heart
Nest: I think that’s being proven wrong right before your eye
Hoard’s dragons fire upon Malice, weakening it some more
Lilac: We’re all together, the valley was made better because of my Century Corps. Like it or not, we’re stronger together
Another one of Aiden’s reticles is placed upon The Buzzard, which Yoni and Oseci do a joint attack of Luck and Wilt to hit, making the rotten darkness in The Buzzard hurt even more
Malice: AAAAAARGHHHH
Aiden: Keep kicking ass, I’ll be there to help everyone else do the same
Oseci: Take that darkness
Yoni: You’ve got this
Resume against The Buzzard
When The Buzzard is at 20%
Falconer: Keep fighting against Malice, set me free, destroy The Buzzard forever
Malice: I WILL NEVER BE DESTROYED. AS LONG AS HATE LIVES IN THE HEARTS OF MAN, I WILL ALWAYS SURVIVE.
Nest: You sure scream like someone who screams like they’re afraid of death
Larkin: The pleaded whining makes me take Malice less seriously, all it wants to do is have us give up, so we press on.
Lilac: We’re nonstop
Centus: In all my years, there are few fights worth fighting to the extent where I’d come back from death to keep fighting it, but the Century Corps is the only fight I’d do that for
Another reticle Aiden locks onto The Buzzard again, which Olivia firing a piercing beam of light at it
Olivia: Keep shining on
Resume against The Buzzard
When The Buzzard is at 10%
Nest: About the hate thing, while hate is a primordial emotion, we can learn to let it go and cast you out. No holding onto resentment so it can fester into you, Malice
Malice: You don’t get it, some people want to do evil, they love evil
Falconer: All unfortunate victims of their circumstance, when The Century Corps makes the world a better place, they won’t need to resign themselves to that life
Lilac: We’re going to make this valley a better place, instead of the wasteland you wanted Malice
Another Aiden reticle locks onto The Buzzard, and a flurry of attacks from the Unit Reserve hit The Buzzard, stunning it in glorious fashion
Iehn: Keep on fighting
While The Buzzard is stunned, Lilac, Nest, Centus and Larkin get some good hits on The Buzzard before they get knocked off
Nest: We’re all stronger than our petty urges, maybe not alone, but together
Larkin: It gives me the strength to keep going
Lilac: The strength to fight
Centus: The strength to what’s right
Nest: If that’s weakness, you’d be winning, but you aren’t
Resume against The Buzzard
When The Buzzard is defeated, Falconer tries to separate itself from Malice, but Malice tries to restrict him again.
Malice: Losing here, doesn’t even matter, I’ll just fly away, get stronger, rise another day
Falconer: No, don’t let us escape
Nest: I won’t
The Buzzard tries to flee, but before it can get far, a shot rings throughout its body, destroying one of its wings. The shot is from Boone
Boone: You won’t get away from us
The Buzzard tumbles down towards the ground and Nest dives after it
Falconer: Destroy us Nest! Save Me!
Malice: NO, YOU ARE PART OF ME
Falconer: Give me the peace I deserve
Nest: Falconer, thank you
Falconer: No Nest, thank you
Nest: Goodbye Falconer
Falconer: I’ll tell Hyane, all about you
Nest lets the energy of the Phoenix flow through her and she unleashes a blast of fire that destroys Malice and Falconer both, destroying The Buzzard in a blaze of fire, burning every last part of him, every last particle of darkness. The Blaze that destroys The Buzzard is brighter than the sun.
Nest: Hadane?
The Phoenix energy that surrounds her begins to depart, as Nest falls towards the ground, but she is saved by Hoard
Hoard: Good thing I got you, Bird Friend
Nest: Thank you, Dragon Friend
Nest and Hoard go back up the Soul Tree, to pick up Centus, Larkin and Lilac
Nest: We did it guys
Centus: I saw it, say that Malice is gone
Nest: It has been reduced to nothing by the flames
Larkin: As it should be
Lilac: Our valley is safe again, let’s fly back
Lilac, Larkin and Centus get on the Dragon and fly back with Nest and Hoard to the roof, where the rest of the Century Corps, including the Unit Resreve and OIyrr now are
Boone: I saw the destruction of that being, it was brighter than the sun itself and made me feel like a dark shadow has passed over me
Mygin: We have sent another evil back to the history books and added another triumph, the next of many, into our own tapestry
Olivia: The light shall shine upon the valley again
Ba-Bayost: We really showed that evil what’s up
Aiden: Hell yeah
Uruo: The future that was stolen from this valley and its people will be restored to it, now instead of being hollow shells, they are free to find their own purpose
Oiyrr: The Soul Tree is safe, and that’s what I care about
Oseci: We are wardens, wardens for the innocent and against evil
Yoni: You didn’t just need luck, since we all had each other
Kutok: And we found our way here, together
Iehn: All of us
Tranjoh: Yeah, now let’s go back to camp
Lilac: I approve of this order
All of the victorious Century Corps forces head back to the Century Corps base camp to party for celebrating the defeat of evil. As they left, Hoard’s dragons began burning Rahihi’s fortress to the ground, making sure nothing was left when the smoke cleared.
The very next day, Nest went out to the Soul Tree with Boone to see it again, in all it’s beauty, free from the destructive influence of Malice or the blighted constructs of Rahihi and his forces
Boone: I’m glad we lived to see another day
Nest: Me too, it sure is beautiful
The Soul Falcon emerges from Nest again
Nest: I think that maybe, Falconer is happy wherever he is now and that his falcon being with me is an example of the friends I make always being with me
Boone: That’s a great way to picture it, like a living shadow of their memory following you around
A smaller Phoenix emerges from Nest, nuzzling against her neck
Nest: Hey, it’s back
Boone: This is your other friend?
Nest: The Hadane who was a person, is gone as well, but this Hadane will be with me always.
Boone: And I’m your friend too, I’ll be with you whenever you need me too
Nest: Thank you Boone, promise you’ll find a new purpose
Boone: I have a new purpose, with the Century Corps
Nest and Boone look at the Soul Tree together, admiring its majesty
Inside The Soul Tree
Falconer sees himself in the Soul Tree, joined with all the other souls of the valley
Falconer: Where am I?
Another figure appears before him
Hadane: Hello Falconer
Falconer: Who are you?
Hadane: My name is Hadane, Nest brought you up a few times
Falconer: Nest, she really is something special
Hadane: We should talk, we have all the time in the world
Falconer: That sounds fun, tell me all about her, tell me what I missed
Falconer and Hadane walk off together into the depths of the Soul Tree, to continue their discussion in that sort-of Afterlife they both are in
