Sound of cracking ice was heard. Giant shards of ice fell on the ground, and the hole finally closed.


    Dramia, falling at high speed, her sister in her arms, tried to recover in midair.


    She was unsuccessful until the very last moment.


    Right before touching the ground, she created a burst of air toward the ground to stop her momentum.


    She avoided crashing and instead rolled multiple times on the ground, protecting Drania in the process.


    When they finally stopped rolling, she released her grip around her sister.


    "Sis! Why did you do that? Are you alright."


    Dramia laughed.


    "Do I look alright to you?"


    Her nose was bleeding, and she had multiple cuts on her arms and legs. Drania had less cuts thanks to her sister.


    "Don''t act like Orion! Tell me! Are you alright?!"


    Drania was about to burst in tears.


    "I''m fine. Nothing''s broken."


    She finally let a sigh out, eased by Dramia''s words.


    "Never do that again. Why did you protect me?"


    Dramia remained sprawled on the ground, a smile on her face.


    "Stop smiling! Ah! Your nose won''t stop bleeding!"


    ''I just felt like it. Seems like history repeats itself constantly.''


    -


    *BOOOOM*


    "SIS! NOAH IS-"


    "FUC-!"


    -


    The memory of her hugging her sister in the same way reappeared from the depth of her mind.


    A memory of a distant past.


    "Finally! It stopped blinding."


    Drania let out a sigh of relief. With that, Dramia finally brought herself to stand up.


    With difficulty, she managed to stand. She wobbled for a second, before Drania grabbed her arm and helped her sister to stand.


    "Thank you."


    "..."


    The sisters finally looked in front of them, then all around.


    There was nothing. Only a large crater.


    "We''ve not been here since that day... This is the remaining shard of his existence."


    Dramia stared at the dome that surrounded them. The place was lighted as if it was daytime, but the sky was dark with many stars.


    A very mystical place the inside of the dome was.


    "Let''s go."


    The two began to walk toward the center of the large crater they were in.


    They walked past layers of dirt caused by an explosion, getting closer from the center.


    "Sis, look."


    Drania pointed at two shadows on the ground, a reminder of the past.


    "Yes, that''s where we were at that moment."


    The shape of two beings was painted on the ground. The hugging shadows of the sisters was burned on the ground from the heat of the blast.


    "Right before we were thrown violently toward the mountains. If not for Tiohr-nam catching us, we would have died."


    "Sometimes I wish we died that day."


    Dramia looked at her sister, but she couldn''t see her face. Her green hair was unusually hiding her face.


    In silence, they walked past the shadows of the past, and continued walking toward the center.


    A kilometer separated the center from their shadows. They still had some walking to do.


    Each step was heavier than the other. Their feelings were fighting inside them, and their throat was dry.


    With three thousand years of regrets, they stepped on the last layer, the center.


    "Ashes... is... that..."


    Tears began to drip from Drania''s face. Her mind shattered.


    They both dropped on their knees. After all this time, the reality they tried so hard to escape finally caught back to them. Even if they came here from their own decision, the fact was that they weren''t prepared enough.


    "Only ashes remains of him..."


    Dramia looked at the dark dome, full of stars.


    "Dramia! We couldn''t even bury him!"


    Drania shouted, her face planted on the dusty ground.


    "I KNOW!"


    They began to release everything sealed inside their heart. The grief they shared was impossible to stop.


    One crying face down, the other crying face up.


    They still vividly remembered Noah standing on that very spot moment''s before everything turned sour.


    "Was it worth it?! Was it worth it to live while he stayed here?! ALONE?"


    "OF COURSE IT WAS!"


    Drania grabbed her sister''s shoulders, and they both looked in each other''s eyes.


    "WHAT DO YOU MEAN!"


    "CALM DOWN!"


    This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    "NO! YOU CALM DOWN!"


    -


    "Again you two? Can''t you try and agree for once?"


    "We can''t, we are twins!"


    "Yes. She just doesn''t understand."


    "God damn, I never knew twins were this painful to deal with."


    "What?!/What?"


    "Now you agree? Haha."


    -


    "I''m sorry Drania."


    "Yes, me too."


    They hugged each other.


    "I knew this would be too hard to deal with. Sis, I can''t. I really can''t do this. I can''t let him go."


    Drania glanced at the ashes spread around the center.


    "We have to. He is gone. We have to accept it."


    The tears only fell on the ground, as the sisters stared at the ashes. They needed some time to collect themselves again.


    Their mind broken, shattered, or even destroyed, they had to stand up again. They came here for one reason, to find solace, and have a new beginning.


    After a long moment of silence, they stood up. They wiped the tears, before Drania walked further away.


    She used her earth element to dig a hole.


    "Sis, help me."


    Dramia silently used one of her element. She rarely used them, but now was one of those times.


    Wind began to flow from her fingers. It gently floated downward, and moved toward the ashes. With great control, Dramia moved the ashes in the hole her sister had created.


    "Thank you."


    She kept silently moving the ashes. It took less than five minutes to pack the ashes into the hole. Drania covered the ashes with the dirt she dug out, creating a grave.


    Branches were littering the area, so Drania grabbed a few of them, and managed to craft a plaque with the name ''NOAH'' on it.


    "I''m sorry, we never managed to come see you until now."


    Drania sat in front of the grave.


    "We have to remember everything. By doing that, we will finally be able to move on."


    Dramia kept standing, but walked closer to the grave.


    "It was the fight against the Miasma right?"


    ~


    "That face! I just want to step on it and remove it from my sight!"


    The Miasma, Remnant of Corruption, a mass of purple sludge, had taken physical form in front of Noah. Its red eyes and its deranged smile showing all of it''s sharp teeth was sickening.


    "If it wasn''t for you, I wouldn''t be standing here. Only because you exist, I got mixed up in this mess."


    Noah, the Last Hero, was standing a few meters away from the Miasma, annoyance showing on his face. He was tall, and had short hair colored white and black. He was currently thirty five.


    He had a particular style, wearing a red shirt with long sleeves, and white pants, with brown boots. Multiple straps were attached at his sides, holding pouches, and multiple belts were around his left thigh.


    Behind him, five spheres floated. In his hands, a peculiar sword was firmly grasped. It had no special features, it looked like a low quality weapon.


    "Eh! Why should I care? You''ve killed my army of hard working corrupted, you can''t complain if I come after your life personally, right?"


    They were standing in a forest. The mountains were far on Noah''s left, and on the right side to the Miasma. Dramia and Drania were standing far away, their back toward the mountain.


    "I don''t understand, the Remnants are all supposed to have a purpose. Why are you like this? You are the only one."


    The Miasma began to express a disgusted expression. It even began to gag.


    "Those pieces of shit, you dare to compare me to them? I am in every way super-"


    *slice* *thump*


    The arm he was using to exaggerate its words fell on the ground.


    "Shut that mouth. I do not tolerate that vulgarity, even less if directed at my friends."


    Noah entered pure anger. The sword crumbled to dust in his hands.


    If his stare could kill, the Miasma would be pierced all over.


    The Miasma looked at its arm on the ground, and then at the gushing liquid that the dismemberment caused.


    "You know, that doesn''t hurt as much as I expected. Are you actually weak?"


    Noah placed a hand inside one of the pouch, taking out a small piece of iron.


    "Me? Weak?"


    *slice*


    "Huh?"


    The Miasma had no time to process what happened. All it saw was a new sword forming in the man''s hand, and a flash of light.


    It''s vision then began to split, as the new sword once again crumbled in Noah''s hand.


    "No no no. What do you take me for? Seriously?"


    The sludge it was formed with slowly covered his body, repairing the damage it had taken.


    "I wouldn''t be a Remnant if I could die this easily."


    "You and your petty tricks."


    "Yes, yes. My petty tricks, like this one?"


    The Miasma stepped on the ground and a spike emerged from the sludge left behind.


    The spike pierced Noah''s chest.


    "Ha, that''s a great look you have!"


    "Yes, those petty tricks. You like making me repeat myself."


    The spike vanished, Noah unscathed.


    "Now I don''t understand. What did you do?"


    "As if I would explain, dumbass."


    He destroyed the spike with lightning. It was simple.


    Noah was about to grab another piece of iron from his pouch.


    "Well, if it''s like that, I''ll just have to kill those little girls over th-"


    A beam of darkness erased everything in a straight line, Miasma included.


    "That sentence, let me help you to never finish it."


    A wild smile on his face, and a really dark look in his eyes, Noah attacked the Miasma with a powerful attack.


    A second later, purple smoke began to gather in front of him.


    "You destroyed my body, you fuck!"


    "Good. You look better like that."


    Having lost his physical form, the Miasma was left with an alternate form. It could still attack Noah, which was the reason he was still on guard.


    "You know what, I''m done with you. I thought you would be a real pain to deal with, but not really. After that, I''ll fina- URGH!"


    Noah grabbed his chest in pain. The five sphere behind him vanished one by one.


    ''I knew it, I should have avoided destroying its body. That was my mistake.''


    "Too late. I''ve corrupted your internal magic system. Now, you will be unable to use any of that."


    It laughed sadistically at Noah''s state.


    ''Dramia, Drania, I''m sorry. I guess that''s how it ends?''


    Noah was hurting. It''s body was beginning to be corrupted, and he slowly began to lose control over his actions and thoughts.


    ''No! I can still try this! In any case, I''m dead even if I don''t go for it.''


    "Hehe-Hahaha-"


    "Shut up."


    Noah, using the least amount of magic possible, managed to grab the smoke form of the Miasma. He grabbed its head and stayed like this.


    "You''re coming with me. There definitely is a ticket for you in hell!"


    "FUSION MAGIC!"


    His hair returned to its original color, light brown. The light and dark element began to turn rapidly above Noah''s head, before friction began to cause them to melt together.


    "WHAT ARE YOU DOING YOU MADMAN?! LET ME GO!"


    The Miasma knew. What was happening was impossible to stop, and it wanted to get away immediately.


    "As if I''ll let you go. I have the strongest grip in this world."


    "NOOOOOOOO!"


    Miasma began to struggle, but it couldn''t do anything.


    The two elements merged together, forming a perfect sphere of matter above him. There was no name to this element, because it was brand new to the world, but, it was completely unstable.


    Noah turned, his gaze directed to the two girls he protected until now.


    "I''m sorry."


    The perfect sphere began to change form. It wildly deformed, and broke.


    A blinding light covered Noah and the Miasma together. The forest was instantly razed.


    The sisters received the blunt of the shockwave and injuries from the heat.


    Then they were pushed high in the air, toward a tree that grew in the mountain. The second after the explosion, two objects precious to Noah arrived in the hands of the sisters.


    The earth split, separating this part of the continent from the mainland. The dark dome, starting from the center of the blast began to expand, the anomaly formed around, and space warped, sealing the area from the continent.


    The last thing they saw was...


    ~


    "His smile."


    "Yes, he smiled at us."


    They both agreed. After a moment of silence, Drania spoke.


    "So, what Orion tried to create?"


    "Yes, I think it was the same element. Why did we miss such an important detail?"


    Dramia was lost in thought.


    "The blast Orion created when he released his half-merged new element was weaker than Noah''s blast. Look at the state of this place."


    Drania looked around once again. There was absolutely nothing, only a five kilometers wide crater. Destroyed trees, pulverized rocks, and dust. This was all that was left.


    "Yes, it can''t be compared. But it was clearly similar. That pressure he released when he fused them made me tense up instantly at that time."


    "The stars that appeared after the explosion were similar to this place too, even though we couldn''t know about it before entering the dome. Now I''m sure this was the same process."


    She stood up.


    "What do we do? Tell Orion to never try it again?"


    Dramia shook her head.


    "We let him try. I have a feeling he will create it. Compared to Noah, it isn''t a last stand strategy."


    Her sister smiled, and nodded.


    "You''re right."


    They turned to the grave.


    "Noah, we''re leaving. We have to help Orion who ended up taking over your mantle."


    "Yes, please watch over him. I''m sure you would have liked him a lot."


    They expressed their last words together.


    "Bye. Rest well."


    ~


    "I haven''t thought about it, but... how do we get out?"


    Drania sent a blank stare at her sister.


    "What? I can''t think about everything, alright?!"


    They were standing at the edge of the crater. The dome was right in front of them.


    She tried tapping, pushing, punching. There was no reaction.


    *Bzzt*


    "Hey, did you hear?"


    "Yes, what is this sound?"


    *Bzt* *Bzzzzt*


    "It''s getting stronger. It''s coming from over there!"


    Drania pointed further to their left.


    *BZZZZZZZT* *CRASH*


    The dome broke, a laser ripping the top of the dome off.


    "What was that?!"


    "I don''t care, let''s get out!"


    The sisters flapped their wings, and flew high above the dome.


    "Sis... What is it this time?"


    "Don''t move."


    They stopped immediately.


    A dark, massive shadow was looming over them, watching their every moves with it''s yellow eyes.


    "I''m really going to die."


    Drania said with sweat pouring from her cheeks. But what she expected never happened.


    "Who said I was going to kill you?"


    The being approached it''s head near the terrified girls.