Tartarusios trembled as the ancient vessel slowly rose above Atlantis. The colossal ship groaned like a dying god waking from an endless sleep, the massive rings beneath the city turning with deafening force. Ancient engines deep inside it ignited one after another and streams of pale golden energy surged across its surface, lighting up the endless carvings and Sacrosian markings etched into its hull. Whole districts of Atlantis collapsed as it rose. Stone towers shattered, ancient bridges snapped, and millions of tons of dust and debris poured down into the abyss beneath the floating city.
And above it all, the battle went on — though it had become something more than a battle. It was hell itself. The crimson skies of Tartarus were unrecognizable. Endless storms spiraled through the heavens while gravitational distortions bent whole sections of the atmosphere inward. Black anti-matter flames consumed the horizon, and hurricane winds tore apart what remained of Atlantis.
At the center of it all stood Almesis. The skeletal ruler had abandoned all restraint. Its broken horn still leaked dark energy from the wound Altopereh had dealt it, and yet the injury only seemed to make it more violent; infinite pressure poured from its body in endless waves, crushing sections of the city every time it moved, every step it took warping reality itself, while black gravitational ruptures formed around its gigantic outstretched wings. Then it roared, and the sound alone shattered dozens of the floating structures around Tartarusios.
Far below, Gaisen crashed through a mountain-sized ruin and tumbled across the broken remains of Atlantis before slamming into the side of a gigantic tower, wind erupting around its battered body as it tried to stand again. It was losing — slowly, and painfully. Its once-majestic wings were torn in several places, deep fractures ran along its scales, and dark blood spilled from the wounds Almesis's claws had carved into its torso. Even the storms around it had weakened.
Altopereh still fought relentlessly, lunging across the skies with savage fury, its black plasma blades crashing against Almesis's skeletal limbs again and again while lasers burst from its body and micro-singularity rounds detonated across the battlefield like tiny collapsing stars. But even Altopereh couldn't fully overpower Almesis.
Inside Tartarusios, Lea watched through the massive viewing glass, and for the first time since Youri had met her, she looked afraid — not for herself, but for Gaisen. Her hand slowly tightened. Then suddenly she turned and ran for the exit of the control chamber.
Youri saw it at once. "Lea!"
She didn't stop. The ship's alarms echoed around them as the ancient vessel went on climbing into the crimson sky and the floor shook beneath every impact outside.
"Lea, where are you going?"
She answered without slowing. "I have to help Gaisen!" Her voice shook. "I can't let him be swallowed here!"
Youri followed her through the massive corridors of Tartarusios. The ship felt endless inside, its towering halls stretching in every direction, lined with ancient pillars and glowing Sacrosian symbols, dust drifting through the air as old mechanisms woke around them after countless ages of silence. And yet, in spite of the chaos, Lea moved with certainty, as though she had walked those halls before, and that thought made Youri uneasy.
The farther they went, the more violent the tremors became. Outside, Almesis unleashed another devastating shockwave that rocked the whole vessel; the walls groaned and parts of the ceiling fell in. At last they reached the outer deck. The massive doors opened slowly, and violent wind burst in at once.
The crimson sky stretched endlessly before them, and the battle beyond looked apocalyptic. Gaisen roared as it drove a colossal tornado straight into Almesis's chest. The ruler of infinity barely staggered before it struck back, seizing the storm itself and crushing it apart with sheer gravitational force. The tornado imploded, and Gaisen was flung violently backward. Altopereh intercepted once more, its anti-matter blades carving black scars through the heavens as it met Almesis head-on with an impact that split the clouds across the whole horizon. And even then, Almesis smiled, as though none of it truly threatened it.
Lea stepped closer to the edge of the deck with the wind whipping violently around her dark cloak, and then she turned slowly toward Youri. For a moment neither of them spoke. The crimson light lit half her mask, and the other half stayed hidden in shadow. Then at last she said quietly, "I'm sorry, Youri." He frowned. "But you are not my Youri."
The words struck him strangely. Not my Youri. "What are you talking about?"
She lowered her head slightly. "At least… not yet."
He stared at her in confusion. Another explosion shook Tartarusios violently, but neither of them moved.
"You have to get out of here," Lea went on softly, "and I will make sure you do."
He took a step forward. "What are you planning?"
She ignored the question. Instead she stepped closer to him. "You have to promise me something." The wind grew stronger. Her hood fluttered violently behind her as Youri looked straight at her. Her voice became quieter, more fragile. "No matter what happens, don't ever live a life chained by something." His eyes narrowed slightly. "Despite what you think, she taught you that." The way she said she made his chest tighten. "You know it better than anyone."
Outside, Gaisen screamed as Almesis slammed it through several ancient towers. Altopereh roared in fury and charged again. But on the deck of Tartarusios, the world suddenly felt silent. And then Lea whispered the words that froze him completely. "She doesn't love you." His eyes widened slightly. "She pitied you." The wind roared louder. "And that's why you suffered." She stepped closer still, and her voice trembled. "So promise me. When you get back — no matter what — live free." Her hand reached slowly toward his chest. "And let her go."
The wind exploded across the deck at that exact moment. Her hood was torn violently away, and silver hair streamed out into the crimson sky. Youri froze, and his breathing stopped. Not just silver — that exact shade. Those exact eyes. Then the wooden mask broke loose at last and flew away into the storm, and beneath it was Leonora. Not someone like her. Not someone close. Leonora. Her tear-filled obsidian eyes looked straight into his.
And suddenly everything stopped. Youri couldn't hear the battle anymore, couldn't hear Tartarusios, couldn't hear Altopereh. The world vanished, and only she remained. Leonora smiled weakly through her tears — a broken smile, the kind someone makes when they accepted something painful long ago — and then she stepped backward.
His eyes went wide. "Wait—"
But she was already falling, her body vanishing past the edge of the deck as the endless winds swallowed her whole.
"Leonora!"
Youri ran forward at once — and stopped himself at the edge. Below him stretched the endless chaos of Atlantis — storms, fire, gravity ruptures, anti-matter explosions — and somewhere beneath all of it, she was gone.
He stood there without moving while the wind roared endlessly across the deck and whipped his dark hair beneath the crimson sky. His face was completely still: no anger, no scream, no tears. Only silence — the same silence that came before worlds collapsed, before wars began, before lives ended. Below the deck, Almesis unleashed another catastrophic roar, Gaisen fell again, Altopereh charged once more, and Atlantis went on falling apart. But on top of Tartarusios, Youri Kronos simply stood staring at the empty space where Leonora had stood. And for the first time since entering Tartarus, he truly looked alone.