"I see," Rosewalt said, his voice steady and affirmative, yet threaded with a gentleness that hadn't been there before. "Let's give everything we have. Let this final attack be the last."
Midnight—Rusty, as he'd once been known—met his old comrade's gaze and nodded. "Let's go all out, Rosewalt. Let the victor emerge."
The words had barely left his mouth when the ground beneath them began to tremble. Dust and broken stone rose into the air as if pulled by invisible strings. Debris from across the shattered plaza—chunks of marble, splintered beams, shattered roof tiles—lifted and drifted toward Rusty, gathering above him in a slowly spiraling storm.
"Hey, Rosewalt," Rusty called, voice carrying over the rising wind, "let's make the stakes even higher. I'm betting my lifeforce on this one."
The swirling mass compressed with a groan of tortured stone and steel, folding in on itself until it took shape: taking the shape of an enormous teddy bear, grotesque and towering, its stitched seams glowing faintly with the energy Rusty had poured into it. The beast stood over fifty feet tall, its bulk spanning nearly the entire width of the ruined plaza.
"Rosewalt, I'm ready!" Rusty shouted from deep within the creature's chest. "Let's end this!"
Rosewalt drew his sword in a single fluid motion. "Hey, Rita," he murmured to the blade, a faint smile touching his lips. "Let's have some fun."
The teddy bear's left arm detached cleanly at the shoulder and crashed to the ground in a thunderous avalanche of rubble.
Rita hummed in his grip, eager.
"Let's show him we still got it," Rosewalt said softly. He raised the sword high above his head.
A brilliant red light sparked along the edge, flaring brighter and brighter until it became a searing glow. The blade began to lengthen, stretching skyward in a shimmering arc of crimson steel until it towered over rusty creation, dwarfing even the monstrous bear.
"Hey, Rusty," Rosewalt said, almost conversationally. "I'm already old. See you soon."
He swung.
The massive blade carved through the air in a single, perfect arc. Striking the teddy bear dead center, slicing it cleanly in two. The impact unleashed a shockwave that rippled outward, flattening what few structures still stood nearby and sending cracks racing through the streets beyond.
The bisected bear collapsed in a roaring cascade of debris.
And from the heart of that falling mountain of stone, a lone figure tumbled—limp, broken, falling helplessly toward the ground.
Rosewalt stepped forward and caught him gently, one arm cradling the body before it could strike the earth.
"You can finally rest," he whispered.
He lowered Rusty's body to the ground and laid him down with care, closing the sightless eyes.
"Yeah," a voice said quietly behind him. "I see you're done."
Rosewalt turned. Bachi approached through the settling dust, crimson faded from his eyes, expression unreadable.
"What about Tayo?" Rosewalt asked.
Bachi shrugged. "I don't know. I thought he'd have finished ages ago."
As if on cue, the petrified citizens across Godfall began to stir. Stone cracked and flaked away from skin; stiff limbs loosened. Confusion and panic swept through the streets like wildfire. People stumbled into one another, shouting questions no one could answer, staring at the devastation that surrounded them.
Far from the plaza, in a blackened crater that still radiated heat like an open furnace, Tayo lay on his back gazing up at the early dawn sky. Reminent stars glittered coldly above the haze of smoke.
"Wow," he muttered, lips cracking into a weary smile. "What a person."
He pushed himself up slowly, wincing.
"Hey!!! Tayo!" Bachi's voice echoed across the ruins.
"Bachi!!!" Tayo shouted back, struggling to his feet.
Bachi sprinting over, offering an arm. "It took you long enough."
"Neh, I've been asleep for a while," Tayo said, leaning heavily on his friend. "Before you came looking."
"I figured you might need help," Bachi replied lightly.
"Need your help? Ha. What a joke." Tayo's sarcasm was weak, but genuine.
Bachi glanced around the scorched chamber as he helped Tayo stand. "Wow, this place is hot. How the hell did you even sleep here?"
"Let's just say Im built different."
They both laughed—short, tired, but real—as they started walking, Tayo's arm slung over Bachi's shoulder.
"Let's head back to the inn," Bachi said. "Sango will be waiting."
They moved off together, hand in hand, without a care in the world leaving all that happened behind them .
Godfall quickly descended into chaos. Citizens poured into the streets, voices rising in fear and disbelief.
"What the hell happened here?" one man demanded.
"You're asking me?" another snapped. "All I remember is a bright flash, and then… nothing."
"We all saw the same thing," a woman said, clutching her child close. "No one remembers."
A hush fell as a lone figure climbed atop a fallen column at the edge of the plaza.
"Everyone," Captain Rosewalt called, voice carrying effortlessly over the crowd, "I have a few words to say."
All eyes turned to him—the man who had once been their protector, now standing amid unimaginable destruction, sword sheathed, face streaked with dust and blood.
The whole city held its breath.