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The David breathed in, taking in everything for one last moment, then began. The key and dagger were inserted into a pedestal in front of him, with cords leading to the containers holding the two boys and the wings.

And in front of him stood an empty container. Waiting. But not for much longer.

The David turned the key, concentrating. The pedestal began to glow, and small bolts of electricity arched from the dagger toward the key. The other containers slowly started to shine as well, each piece working in unison as The David had intended.

There was a pull. The David could feel it in his soul, tugging, urging, full of energy. It grew stronger, radiating throughout the room. The central container almost seemed to be vibrating, sucking in the surrounding energy. An outline began to form. The David leaned forward, anxious in his anticipation, the sweat of concentration and exertion beginning to slide down his face.

Then it all paused. The pull simply stopped growing. The glow stayed the same. Nothing was changing, almost as if it was… waiting for something.

“It won’t work like this.”

The David whirled around to see the boy from before. The one with the power to stop him.

“You!” He prepared to kill the boy by any means necessary, but the boy interrupted him.

“Oh, none of that,” he muttered. “I’m not here to stop you, Mollin.”

Hearing his name was like a bullet to the heart, but he did his best to shake it off. “Then why are you here?” he demanded to know. “To taunt me? Erase me? Or… I promise, if you touch her in any way, I will find a way to hurt you.”

“Yes, I’m sure you would. But seeing as how the laws of this world prevent her from even coming, I doubt that will ever happen.”

“They… What?”

“There can only be three at a time, Mollin,” the boy said softly. “I count, and so do Belial and Karra. And we both know that once you do this, you’ll count too.”

Mollin fell to his knees, feeling defeated. Had he really come this far to fail? Was she really beyond his reach?

A single tear ran away from his eye.

“But,” said the boy, drawing Mollin’s gaze up, “it turns out I can fix this. In spite of your worst intentions, I’ve protected both Belial and Karra in your… project. Thing. He’s going home, but she will stay–for now. She has someone to see again. In the meantime…” He walked over to Mollin and kneeled in front of him, holding his gaze. “Do better for her. I don’t think either of her want us to have a father like this.” He gestured at the room filled with Mollin’s stolen prizes. “So do better.” The boy stood, then smiled. “And who knows? Maybe I’ll be telling your story sooner than you might think.”

There was a blinding flash. Mollin covered his eyes, and when he opened them, he found himself alone in the middle of an unfamiliar forest at night. He saw nothing and despair began to sink into his heart.

“Daddy?” a voice suddenly said in the darkness. It was her. His Jewel was finally back.

Mollin ran and hugged his little girl tightly. And he had no intention of letting her go.

 

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Fin finale. Let the reset begin, but this time… things have changed.

@kari-karast @e_elaine_soup5 @countryboy77 @trufflehunter