"The skyship is finally fixed!"
The mechanic Floch wiped the sweat from his forehead, took a satisfying gulp of ice-cold malt beer, then planted his hands on his hips and admired his handiwork.
The skyship Apocalyptic Mourning Bell was docked at the Twin Towers shipyard. Its usually sealed hatch now stood open, revealing rows of instruments glowing within.
"Thank you!"
EeDechi eagerly dashed aboard, poking and prodding at everything she saw. After Barrett paid Floch, he followed her inside.
There were six seats in total, two of them for pilots. However, the skyship contained the Empire of the Eight Greed Kings' astral navigation charts and was capable of automatic navigation. It could fly directly to the legendary place where the World's Will resided.
Floch sighed wistfully. "What an incredible skyship. I'd love to go adventuring with you, but unfortunately, I'm not young anymore."
"Come on, mister. As long as you're young at heart, you'll never truly be old," Franco encouraged him. "If you want to come, you can ask our captain. She's really nice!"
"No, thanks!" Floch waved him off. "You're heading somewhere dangerous, aren't you? I'm too old for that sort of thing. I don't have the guts anymore. Besides, I've got a wife and kids to support. Farewell! Good luck!"
EeDechi, Barrett, Franco, Cheeko, Kilua, and Gray the lich all took their seats.
"World's Will! Here we come!"
EeDechi flipped the metal engine switch and pressed the start button on the control panel.
With the grinding of mechanical gears, the hatch slowly sealed shut. Energy flowed from the power core into the arcane engine, and runes lit up one after another across the inner walls of the ship.
Bzzzz—
The entire skyship trembled faintly. Crystal indicators for the system check lit up in sequence. At last, the final green light shone brightly.
The system check was complete!
A cold mechanical voice rang out, carrying a message from the Empire of the Eight Greed Kings across six hundred years of time.
"Sixty-Ninth Legion Aviation Brigade shuttle Apocalyptic Mourning Bell: system check complete. Energy reserves at eighty-five percent. Automatic flight mode engaged. Navigation destination: Heaven. All soldiers, fasten your seat belts. Preparing for departure! For the glory of the Empire!"
BOOM!
The skyship shot into the air. Blazing blue flames erupted from its rear engines as it streaked toward the heavens.
Air howled past the hull. The tremendous thrust drove the vessel relentlessly upward, faster and faster.
EeDechi and the others crowded against the windows and stared outside.
Above them stretched an endless sea of white clouds.
The skyship tore through the cloud layer. In the blink of an eye, the sea of clouds was beneath their feet.
Beyond it lay the dark, fathomless heights of the sky.
Still the ship surged upward, plunging headlong into the heights.
The light gradually dimmed.
Soon, even the highest reaches of the sky lay beneath them.
Above them stretched a boundless field of stars.
With no clouds to obscure them, every star glittered brilliantly, together weaving a vast curtain of shining beads.
The skyship raced toward the stars without slackening its ascent.
Darkness stretched endlessly in every direction.
Yet the stars drew closer and closer.
EeDechi, Barrett, Franco, Cheeko, Kilua, and Gray all squeezed around the windows, holding their breath as they stared at the breathtaking sight.
The skyship leapt into the immense web of stars!
It was as if they had flown into an ocean of starlight. Every star dazzled like a flawless jewel, gleaming with brilliant light.
And within every single star slept a soul.
The stars drifted beside the skyship, so close they seemed almost within reach.
Still the ship climbed on.
Before long, it had left even that ocean of stars far beneath them.
Endless darkness.
Absolute silence.
Upward.
Still upward.
On and on, without end...
No one knew how much time had passed.
Then the skyship finally began to slow.
EeDechi pressed herself against the front window and looked above them.
There was land overhead.
An endless expanse of dark, lightless land.
"Land?!" Barrett craned his neck and stared outside in amazement.
"So this is the world's end," Franco murmured.
The divine realm.
Heaven.
The far shore...
The world's end.
The place of finality.
Suddenly, the skyship began to shake.
Then it rotated a full hundred and eighty degrees, like a turtle flipping itself over.
"Ow!"
The passengers were caught completely off guard. They lost their balance and went tumbling over one another inside the cabin.
Once the ship had finished turning, its underside faced the land above.
Then it slowly descended and landed upon that ancient ground.
The hatch opened.
EeDechi and the others stepped outside, only to be hit at once by the thick stench of blood.
They looked around.
The land stretched endlessly in every direction, with no edge in sight.
Across this silent wasteland lay broken swords, shattered crossbows, smashed armor, cracked cannons, ruined ships, dim and lifeless staffs, and countless corpses and skeletons.
It was an ancient battlefield.
The dead soldiers wore peaceful expressions.
The insignia of the Empire of the Eight Greed Kings was still clearly visible on their bodies. The breaks in their swords looked fresh, and even the blood still gave off a sharp metallic stench.
It was as though they had died only moments ago—as though that terrible battle had only just ended and the bodies had barely grown cold.
Barrett pulled out his pocket watch.
The hands had stopped moving.
"There's no time here," Franco said. "Nothing ever changes. That's why the bodies haven't decayed and the weapons haven't rusted."
It was clear that the Eight Greed Kings had once thrown the full strength of their empire into a battle against the World's Will on this very ground.
But who had won?
Which side had prevailed?
Had all of the Eight Greed Kings died here?
EeDechi climbed onto a mound of corpses, cupped her hands around her mouth, and shouted,
"WORLD'S WILL! COME OUT AND FIGHT ME ONE-ON-ONE!"
After yelling, she turned to Barrett and the others.
"When the World's Will shows up, get on the skyship and run. Go as far away as you can. Don't worry about me!"
"We can help you." Barrett tightened his grip on his sword and scanned their surroundings for anything suspicious.
"No. I can't let you get caught up in this." EeDechi's expression hardened with determination. "Don't worry. I can handle it myself! Besides, if you're all here, I won't be able to fight at my best."
"Don't try to act tough." Barrett gave her a bitter smile. "We've traveled countless miles and crossed every kind of hardship with you to get here. We didn't come all this way just to let you fight alone."
"Mm." EeDechi answered softly. "When we find the World's Will, just stay clear of the fight."
The group searched the surrounding area.
Unfortunately, nearly an hour passed without so much as a trace of the World's Will.
There were only endless broken swords and corpses.
There was no sign of the Eight Greed Kings either.
Neither they nor the World's Will could be found, as though they had simply vanished into thin air.
"The World's Will chickened out!" EeDechi snarled.
Franco raised his staff and used magic to amplify his voice.
"WORLD'S WILL, YOU USELESS PIECE OF TRASH! IF YOU'VE GOT ANY GUTS, COME OUT HERE! QUIT HIDING YOUR HEAD IN YOUR SHELL, YOU PATHETIC TURTLE! I DON'T CARE IF YOU'RE A MAN OR A WOMAN—I'M SLEEPING WITH YOU TODAY ONE WAY OR ANOTHER!"
When he finished, Barrett leaned toward the staff and shouted,
"WORLD'S WILL! YOU CALL YOURSELF THE CREATOR?! IF YOU'VE GOT THE GUTS, SEND A COUPLE OF DRAGONS TO BITE US! YOU'RE PATHETIC! EVEN A GOBLIN CHILD HAS MORE COURAGE THAN YOU! WHAT'S WRONG? DID THE EIGHT GREED KINGS SCARE YOU THAT BADLY?"
Cheeko hopped onto Franco's shoulder, raised her head like a tiny tiger, and angrily roared into the staff.
"MEOW! MEOW MEOW! MEOW MEOW MEOW! MEOW!"
Gray the lich hurried over as well. "WORLD'S WILL! I'M NOT WITH THESE PEOPLE! THEY KIDNAPPED ME! I HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO INTENTION OF OFFENDING YOU! PLEASE—"
"Shut up!"
Barrett booted him away.
Their thunderous voices rolled across the land in every direction before fading into the endless silence.
Like ripples spreading across still water, they gradually vanished.
There was no response.
The group grew somewhat discouraged and decided to make camp where they were and figure out their next move.
Barrett returned to his old adventuring trade: treasure hunting, looting corpses, and opening chests.
This was the ancient battlefield where the Eight Greed Kings had fought the World's Will. Naturally, plenty of good stuff had been left behind.
Cheeko and Franco joined him in digging for treasure.
Meanwhile, EeDechi forced Gray back into the Aetherial Secret Coffer so he could continue researching how to remove Death's Kiss.
Kilua wandered around picking up broken odds and ends left behind by the Eight Greed Kings' army, looking just like the playful child she usually was.
EeDechi didn't bother stopping her.
After all, their group were the only ones still moving in this place. There seemed to be nothing around that could threaten them.