Then, anger, desperation, and frustration all arrived together, and he cursed aloud even though the Sea swallowed his words.
"Fuck you, Church! When we thought that you would leave us alone, you decided to destroy us. I did so much to deal with you, but once more, you chose to go above and beyond. Why do you hate so much? Why can't you just let us live?"
The questions were futile, and even stupid, but he couldn't stop himself from asking them.
For the first time, all three of these emotions turned to hate.
"I didn't really decide on your fate until now…but I've made my decision. Even if I die in the process, I will grind you to dust. I will make sure that your name will be forgotten so completely that you will cease to exist even in history. You will cry end slap yourselves when you witness your destruction, and regret the decisions you made against me and my continent. I swear it!"
He poured all of his fury into his words. When he was finished, he felt a moment of relief… but then, all of the pain and exhaustion returned, and he saw that something was needed.
He racked his brain, looking, searching for one final scheme. He had already done this multiple times and created the one he was using now, but something more was needed.
'What else is there? What else can I do?'
For a few seconds, nothing came to him.
Then, it clicked once more, and he felt like kissing the Mother of all Godbeasts.
It was as if he had known, in the back of his mind, that he would be pushed even more. Or maybe everything that had happened so far had conditioned him to such a thing happening, as the plan came to him fully formed.
"System, control the minds of all the people. Make them pray to the Heavens for salvation…and make them offer their lives in return."
[Affirmative. Utilizing previously established connection.]
It was dangerous, but he had no choice.
To do what he had asked, the system would be disabling the spell that was making them act as conduits. But Daneel saw that it was necessary, so he grit his teeth and braced himself.
When it happened, it felt like the pressure above him had grown a hundred times. He felt the sensation of being crushed, and the few feet of distance was reduced to a few inches. In a moment, even that would disappear…but that was when he heard the sound of thunder.
He laughed, and the lightning struck.
Looking up, he saw the glow of the power of the Saints suddenly dim. The golden lightning was as thick as a city. It was hard to even imagine, so it took Daneel's breath away.
It wreaked havoc over the tumult of light that represented the Saints' attack. Wherever it passed, the power of the Saints would flee.
Below him, just like what had happened in the vision he had been presented by the Mother, the Angarians toppled to the floor and were absorbed by the land. Rejuvenated, the Will of the World acted one last time, just like it had when its people had beseeched it for aid when it had been a part of the Mainland…and it was glorious.
Seeing hints of success, Daneel left his physical body where it was. His consciousness traveled back to the clone made of air standing between the sovereigns, and as Galahad appeared in front of him, he said, "It's time."
Somewhere, off in the sky, he could hear a Basilisk screaming. He ignored it, knowing that it could not trespass when the might of the Saints was still present in the air.
With a grim nod, Galahad met Daneel's eyes for a moment. In the giant's gaze, Daneel saw the grief of witnessing history repeat, but in a moment, that grief turned to hope.
"Goodbye," he said, before turning into a copy of the golden lightning in the air above. His was the remnant power of his people, while in the sky, the power of the Angarians of today acted to follow the bidding of its creators.
The lightning engulfed the four of them. It separated them from their bodies, turning them into ephemeral balls of mist, and a moment later, it carried them into the heavens.
With the system's help, even though he was just a consciousness, Daneel caught one last sight of his home. The lightning that was carrying them fought through the power of the Saints, traveling to the void beyond which lay the Mainland, and below, only the Sea remained. It was beautiful, and exactly what he had seen in the prophecy. The shimmering surface of the Sea all around was spotless except for the dimming power of the Saints that would soon dissipate harmlessly, and after that, there would only be peace.
Daneel looked to his left, where he knew that Elysium would be waiting for him to return. With Angaria gone, this pocket of the Sea protected by the natural barrier of the land would cease to stay in its current location. It would drift, but as the system had already run simulations and created a formula with which its general location could be discerned, he was not afraid of losing Elysium. Only he would be able to find it, and when it was time, he would come back.
For now, Daneel averted his gaze. He looked up, where the void was coming closer and closer. As they neared it, a piece of good news reached his ears.
[Scenario 7B has been carried out. Host's body that contains host's magic and Fighter prowess has been saved from destruction. It shall be stored in Elysium, where it can be accessed at a later time if possible. Energy absorbed slowly by Elysium will be used to keep host's body in a state of stasis. Over time, Energy absorption might result in unforeseen growth in power.]
This was what he had discussed with Galahad. He had felt sad to see all the power he had struggled to obtain over all these years—much of which he hadn't even gotten an opportunity to use—go to waste, but now, it would be conserved and even nourished, waiting to be unleashed if he found a way to do so.
The void arrived all of a sudden.
"Good luck. We will be waiting."
With that, Galahad reached the edge…and threw them into the darkness.
He felt it enter his very being, and he knew that it was actually a precaution to let them retain their sanity while they traveled over a long distance. Yet, just as he was about to give himself over to it, the system spoke again.
[Will of the Mainland has been detected. Scanning. Warning! Multiple barriers of unpredicted protection methods have been detected! Activating precautions.
Precaution 1: Splitting locations of arrival to decrease chances of identification.
Precaution 2: Locking memories of consciousnesses to avoid traces of true origin being detected.
Precaution 3(exclusive to host): Setting in place method to unlock memories.
All precautions have been activated successfully.
Shutting down system to await the completion of awakening process set in place.]
Even as he heard its cold voice, he couldn't stop himself from remarking about the poetic way in which things had turned out.
The system had been the first thing he heard when he arrived at Angaria, and its voice was also going to be the last thing he would hear before his departure.
He felt the darkness overwhelm him before he could make sense of the message. Fighting against it, he recalled the images of all those he was leaving behind…and then, as it won, one last thought formed in his mind, and he held it close as his mind descended into the nothingness.
'Its the end…but also, the beginning. Mainland, shudder with fear…for here I come!'