Chapter 200: Will of The Dead.
[Resentment has reached Level 65!]
[Demon Flesh / Demon Bones / Demonic Musculature(synced) have reached Level 68!]
[Hellfire Heart has reached Level 70!]
Evel twitched and heaved. I smeared her burning golden-gray brain matter under my hooves, but she somehow still breathed. I wasn’t even sure if my Grandpa yet lived, but this bitch got to survive having her brain crushed and scattered across the sand!? If left alone, then she really might still recover somehow.
That would never happen. Not while I remained. Her every chance existed only for me to snuff out. If I needed to burn every single cell of her body, then I would. No matter how long it might take. I would never allow her a chance to rise again!
“AAAAAAAAARRRGGGGH!” I sank Devilcalibur into her guts, and tormented what was left of her mortal shell.
[Demon Tail has reached Level 69!]
[Demon Brain has reached Level 70!]
[Demon Wings has reached Level 69!]
“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!” Arx also screamed as he sank his frontal claws into Evel’s broken body. “I HATE YOU! I’LL ALWAYS HATE YOU! YOU TOOK EVERYTHING AWAY FROM US! Our life, our dignity, everything! How does it feel to be that one that’s taken!? How does it feel to fucking die?! How does it feel to be the one helpless!? Powerless! Because THIS! This is what you’ve done to my people! It’s not even close! You get to die so easily! You got to live free! They didn’t get that! We never got that! Your death will still mean more torment for all of us! WHY!? Why why why!? Why do you get to have it all when we get none!? Why do you still curse us when you die! Why do we have to be your slaves!? I never even got to meet my queen! I was just sent here on a ship as a fucking egg!!”
[Regen Heart has reached Level 70!]
[Blood Heart has reached Level 71!]
[Rapid Combat Nervous System has reached Level 68!]
Our blades continued to sink into her. The spikes were carved and ripped out. Her everything spilled out, and I yanked those organs out, only to discard them like trash. I drank of her golden bloodsap and found it wanting, for it was hardly compatible with my blood eater. Even the Angel’s Demise got the taste of angel blood they’d long craved, as their claws were finally able to sink into those already ruined and exposed insides.
[Blood Eater has reached Level 68!]
[Curse Heart has reached Level 72!]
Moonwash, for all her diminutive frame, pulled Grandpa off the angel’s spikes to lay him out on the ground and try her hardest to preserve his life.
It was then that I realized… I should’ve been doing that from the start.
“Fuck! FUCK!” I sheathed Devilcalibur and rushed to my grandfather's side. My Resentment went to sleep, and I only felt worse. I used the blood magic I’d just regained to heal the many nasty holes scattered around Grandpa’s massive body.
“What’s going on!? Will he live?!!” I could only shout.
“Not if I do not use life mana,” Moonwash answered as she kept on shining a bright healing light at him.
“Then do it!” Why wasn’t she already!?
“Haell…” Grandpa suddenly rasped, and my eyes snapped towards him. His own eyes had opened, but they were glassy and empty as they stared at the clear blue skies.
“Grandpa! Hang on! Moonwash!”
“No,” he answered in a soft but firm tone before my girlfriend could respond.
“No… what?!” I asked, frantic. His life was further slipping as the seconds ticked by. There was a gaping hole in his chest, and that needed to be fixed now!
“No. Don’t heal me.”
“WHAT!? Why?! We have life magic! That’s what it’s for!”
“No it’s not. It’s to fix up anything permanent.”
“Which is exactly what this is!” I gestured at the hole in his fucking chest.
“Haell…” he coughed a great amount of blood, and I only felt more panicked at how slow he was talking! “We talked about this. This is my final fight. I did… well.”
“You did! That’s why you should live! You still can!”
“No… I don’t need to live for… what? One month more? Two? Elfrafim and Arx needs it more. If you have any leftover, then maybe you can regrow Berry’s hands. That’d be… nice.”
“But they’ll live. We can always get more life mana for their permanent wounds! I’ll look for it!”
“No, Haell. I’m satisfied,” he emphasized. “I don’t want to be a half-dead husk, preserved in your blood coffins.”
“But… But…!”
“It’s my choice,” he said clearly, “isn’t it?”
“What do you want me to do, Haell?” Moonwash spoke before the silence could stretch. “I agree with Golex’s assessment. This is the end for him.”
My head snapped towards her… but I thought better of lashing out. I understood that Moonwash wasn’t actually apathetic to Grandpa’s fate. She just sounded that way. But she felt, just as much as anyone.
“He’s right. It is his choice,” I finally said, before turning away from her and returning all my focus to these few and precious final moments. Now I felt horrible for spending so much of it on a stupid argument. But I didn’t make the mistake of apologizing now. I would not waste more time than I already had. “Thank you, Grandpa. You were awesome. That was an amazing final battle, and I’ll make sure that no one ever forgets it.”
He chuckled softly, but strangely with the same power he always had. “That’s good to hear! We were the ultimate duo… and everyone helped too.”
I heard a mournful wail, and it came from Arx. His people could not cry any tears, but no one would question the agony that he felt today.
“GOLEX! Can’t you just take it! Take the life magic! You’re one of my best friends! I DON’T WANT YOU TO DIE!”
Tears welled up in my eyes, and now I was crying too! The great well of negativity inside of me grew larger, but became almost indistinct from each other. I just felt bad, but I could no longer tell in what way.
“I’ll miss you too, Golex,” Moonwash said blandly. “Even if it’s just for a month, it might be worth it. It’s just some life mana.”
Elfrafim hopped over with her severed leg in hand. “We have more in the Grandest Forest. I can definitely get some more.” She knelt beside Golex and smiled through her own tears. “I’ll be fine, even if you take all the life mana.” Her other broken leg had already been healed by Moonwash with it.
Grandpa laughed, loud and hard. It only forced more blood out of his remaining wounds, but the dying man didn’t care. “Just knowing that you care this much is enough! It’s truly been a fun end, guys. Really. I didn’t think… I didn’t think I’d ever find a party again.” Big drops of tears began to fall from his eyes as they regained focus for likely the final time. “It’s been so long. It’s been so great. Just between us, since it’s the end. I like you all a lot more than the last party I had.”
I finally got myself under some control, though the tears still flowed. “Of course you do.” I chuckled, choked, and sobbed. “We’re awesome.”
“We are, we are!” he continued to be so jolly and happy, as if his death was the greatest joke ever. No, no. Don’t think like that. It’s better that he dies happy. So much better. “If I have one regret…” he trailed off, and the rest of us all leaned forward in interest. “It’s that we never had a name!”
“Oh yeah… a party name like your adventurers…” Elfrafim pondered. “That’s good! Yeah! Let’s come up with one now!”
“I’d suggest Angelslayers,” Grandpa continued, “but Granuel took it already! That cheeky brat!!”
I stared at him, as my mind suddenly worked on overdrive to come up with something in this final moment.
“Angelkillers!”
“Angel Smashers!”
“The Desecrators!”
“Divine Heretics!”
“Undivine Heretics?”
“The Demons.”
“That’s just Haell!”
“Blasphemers!”
“The Blasphemy.”
“Cursed Adventurers!”
“Hell Raisers!”
“Hell Riders.”
“Hellbringers!”
“Abyss Hunters.”
“Abyssal Adventure!”
“The End of All Days.”
“Apocalypse.”
Time seemed to stretch for one eternal moment as all five of us blurted out the first suggestions that came to mind. I treasured every second, every laugh, and every retort we made. It was like we’d somehow all forgotten about Grandpa’s looming death, just so we could share one final round of banter. It was beautiful, and I wished this moment could last forever.
“Adventure Friends,” Arx finally made a suggestion that resonated with all of us, and the illusion was so cruelly and beautifully shattered. “Because we are not just the killers of an angel. That’s how it started, maybe. And I’m very glad we did it. But we also hung out. We had fun. We were true genuine friends. And that has nothing to do with the angels. They don’t define us. At least.. I don’t want them to.”
I looked at him, and then at everyone else. It wasn’t perfect, it was even cringe, but I liked his reasoning. It was the best we could possibly get in such short notice.
I nodded my agreement.
“I like it!” Elfrafim cheered.
“We can work with that,” Moonwash too gave her approval.
“An Adventure Friend,” Grandpa mused, almost absentmindedly, but his whispered voice was enough to immediately draw all of our attention. “So I was an Adventure Friend. Thank you… my friends.”
“GRANDPA!” I hesitated to hug his broken body, but went for it since this was the end anyway. “I love you, Grandpa! You were the best!”
“I love you too, Haell. But I should be the one saying that! You’re the best, and you’ll only get better from here!” He smiled serenely as everyone went in for that final hug. “Remember what I taught you. You were almost as good as me at the end there.”
“I won…” I protested.
“Not in pure swordplay. And I die undefeated!”
“We never had a rematch!” I countered. “But sure... Yeah. Okay.” I smiled broadly as snot dripped out my nose. “My grandpa was unbeatable!”
“I was! Hahaha!” He turned, just a little. “Moonwash. Keep making stuff. Keep creating stuff. Do what you want. It’s worked out so far. For all of us, really! I wish I’d done it sooner.”
“I will,” Moonwash answered simply, and tightened her grip on the big man. Big gushing tears began to roll down her face, and Grandpa smiled reassuringly.
“I’m glad,” he nodded. “Elfrafim!” He paused. “Keep having your fun! I don’t really know what else to say!” The dying man could only laugh.
“No, no! That’s good! I’ll have even more fun just because you said so!”
“Good to hear!” He smiled and turned to the last of us. “Arx… you have so many troubles. I wish you… the best, in killing all the angels you want. In freeing your queen. In freeing the inhex. Everything. I wish I could’ve been there to help and fight by your side.”
“You’ve helped plenty.” His mandibles clasped Grandpa’s hand firmly. “Thank you, Golex. Thank you! I’ll remember your words forever!”
“Okay. I’m happy… that you feel that way.” Grandpa allowed the large inhex man to cry on his shoulder, but he had to break the loud silence after only a few seconds, for his time was running out. “Also… Can you look after this lot and make sure they don’t get into too much trouble? I have to ask you, when you already have so many problems, because they’re all idiots!”
“Oi! You’re one of those idiots!” I retorted.
“And I’m dying aren’t I!?”
“Ah…” I just pouted, instead of saying anything else.
“They’re a handful, but I will,” Arx agreed with a flex of his mandibles. “I’ll do my best!”
Grandpa’s smile broadened at that, and his arms rose for the last time to envelop us all in one big embrace.
“Thank you. I love you. I love you all.”
~~~
Grandpa had long stilled before we finally let go. Our cries and wails still echoed across the black and chaotic beach as we set him down as gently as we could. We didn’t say a single word for a while longer, as we processed the grief that we’d known was coming from the start.
Finally, I stood up and wiped the tears and snot from my face. I looked around me, and saw a whole crowd of Angel’s Demise surrounding us. I could see in the distance that the bulk of them were all marching towards the greater territories of Edengar, now that Evel was no longer alive to stop the strongest of them.
One particular cursetacean was over the level of 80, and it was staring right at me. And it wasn’t the only one, for a good number of them were just standing here, idling.
That was weird.
There were more angels and Angelorians for them to kill out there. Now was the time to attack, for Edengar had literally just lost one of its guardian angels. So whyever would they be wasting time just standing around here for no particular reason!?
I steeled myself for another fight, but I didn’t feel like that was what’s happening. They’d waited for too long, and my strength had already recovered. I wasn’t afraid.
The strongest of the so-called Angel’s Demise then walked forward, when it was us who’d proven to be the demise of an angel. They’d never actually been successful in killing a single one ever. This hero-ranked one they’d sent forward might’ve actually been able to make a difference, but it was woefully absent in the earlier fight. If their reinforcements had just come on time, then maybe Grandpa…
I took a deep settling breath and loosened my grip on Devilcalibur. I stared at the massive Angel’s Demise, and it stared back at me. Minutes passed like that, until the creature finally lowered its head and bowed.
Huh? What now? I was just about to wonder what the gesture really meant, when its kin immediately followed suit and showed their respect. I just knew that was indeed what they meant to convey, for I could feel it in the greater magic around us. That strange pressure had been building and building ever since our battle with the angel started, and now it finally came to a head.
Like a dragon awakened from an eternity of slumber.
A curse I could not grasp touched my ever-elusive soul.
“AAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!”
Power surged into me. The ocean surged into all of us, as the cursed sand below us disintegrated layer by layer. The Angel’s Demise previously fixated on us fell over dead as the end of their lives only fueled the growing torrent of magic around us.
“Shit!” Arx cursed, but I held him still.
“No! No… Well, I could be very wrong and maybe you should leave, but this feels very familiar. Like when Pandemonium was born and I last evolved!”
Arx processed my rapid words, and I let him go. He made his decision, and stayed.
[You have obtained a new Soul Feat: Legacy of Cursifix!]
[Legacy of Cursifix - By a measure of Cursifix’s lingering will, a small part of the dead dragon’s lingering power has been granted to you. Your vengeance-related effects are significantly empowered.]
[Curse of Cursifix - You gain a connection to Cursifix’s final curse. You can get a vague feel for the location and intentions of the Angel’s Demise. You may suggest a course of action to the Angel’s Demise. The Angel’s Demise are unlikely to ever attack you. Their vengeance magic is unlikely to ever activate against you.]
~~~
“Holy shit, I just got a soul feat!” Elfrafim cheered again once we’d walked out of the water and back to shore. Moonwash had carried her along the way on account of her legs or lack thereof, while I had to support Arx. “It’s called Legacy of Cursifix.”
I raised a brow as I hauled more of our loot out of the water, after we’d carefully brought ashore Grandpa’s corpse. A great wave of the Angel’s Demise rushed all around us, and I faintly sensed their unified will as they took their individual actions.
I didn’t share the specifics of my Soul Feats anymore. Not even with them, only with Moonwash. But in this case it might be fine. I could make one exception.
“Legacy of Cursifix? That’s the same as what I got! But isn’t that kinda shit for you? You can’t use any subset of curse magic, let alone something like vengeance!”
“Huh? What are you talking about? Legacy of Cursifix will allow me to add an uncontrolled curse to any magic I cast apparently!” She swung her staff, and a blade of wind shot out towards the ocean water. She swung it again and again, until finally a faint black outline became visible. “I don’t think it’s that strong. A cursed staff would be stronger. But I like it! It’s my first soul feat!”
Her enthusiasm died once she glanced back at Grandpa.
“I want to examine it,” Moonwash chimed from beside her, where she was reattaching the elf’s leg. “What kind of curse is cast? There’s a lot to choose from. If it’s totally random, and can choose from all available options, then it might be helpful to uncover more curses, because there are surely a lot more we haven’t seen.”
I too glanced at Grandpa’s happy and peaceful expression in death, before I chose to jump into the conversation with sad enthusiasm. “I’m interested too! Curses are my thing! Maybe that’s why I got 2 soul feats. Did you guys only get the one?”
“Yes,” Moonwash confirmed. “Did you get more?”
“Two in total,” I did not elaborate here.
“Not fair!” Elfrafim complained.
“Maybe it’s a question of compatibility. Or maybe it’s because Haell has a lot of Soul Feats already, that it makes it easier to get more. That’s one of my theories,” Moonwash explained. “My soul feat is also called the ‘Legacy of Cursifix,’ but it again does something completely different. It empowers my rituals that make use of curse magic. It’s another different effect despite sharing the same name. How come? Arx, did you get anything?”
“Yeah. Legacy of Cursifix as well. Except mine will bring fear to the Angels and the Angelorians whenever I’m present. And the effect will apparently be stronger the more inhexes there are around me?”
“That’s interesting. I wonder what Golex would’ve gotten if he survived.” The rest of us went quiet after Moonwash said that. She finished healing Elfrafim’s legs, and then our friend ran and flipped around to confirm that everything was in order.
“Thanks!”
“You’re welcome.” My girlfriend then got to work on healing what permanent damage remained to Arx’s internals. Evel’s spikes had gored him the most, for he’d just slammed into and even wrestled with the angel.
“What do we do now?” Arx asked after a while, once things had finally calmed down. “Should we run? People will be coming.”
I scoffed to shake off the sadness that nearly stunned me. I gestured at the great tide of Angel’s Demise that were now marching out of the shoreline, and straight inland where the cities of Edengar resided. The cursetaceans had only grown more numerous, while the Angel that’d once kept them at bay now laid dead at my hooves.
“Okay, yeah. I guess they’re not coming.” He looked at where they might be going. “So many people will die. The ones who enslaved and abused us inhex…!” He gritted his mandibles, but then released them in a tired huff. “We’ll be the first ones sent out to counter their charge.”
“And that’s their doing. Not yours.”
“I know that,” he snapped. “I’m just sad about it.”
My eyes narrowed at him, but then I nodded. “Yeah. My bad.”
“It’s fine. I’m supposed to look after you lot, aren’t I?”
I paused for a second, then looked at my dead grandfather who had entrusted him with that. “Yeah. You are.”
I clapped my hands to get everyone’s attention. “Now what do we do?”
“Go home,” Moonwash immediately answered.
“Alright,” I agreed. “But who do we take first? Because it’s still limited how much I can take each trip.”
“Oh yeah… That’s true,” Elfrafim nodded.
I recalled something. My mind worked. I pulled from my memory core all the strategy meetings I’d sat in over the years. All the arguments and analysis they’d made. “It might be better for you to try and hide while I’m away anyway. It won’t be a problem even if they send an army, but what if Adamo passes through here? They don’t actually know for sure that Evel is dead. They won’t want to believe it. Someone will check. We need to hide out first, before I go ferrying you guys back…”
“What if I ice and bury Golex’s body, along with all our loot, and then the rest of us can go home in one trip?” Moonwash suggested. “You can already teleport Arx, if with some injuries. I and Elfrafim are very small in comparison, so it shouldn’t be impossible to bring us along on that trip. We can take a few cuts.”
“Hmmm.” I considered that. The problem was where they would take those cuts, because the space turbulence might go deeper than intended… but then they could just take some helmets. As long as their brains were protected, then it should be fine. Anything else could be healed up, because we still had some… of our life mana… left. “Okay!” I forcibly shouted. “Let’s go with that.”
The decision made, we quickly went to work as the tide of Angel’s Demise parted before us. Moonwash hastily finished butchering the dead cursetaceans with mine and Elfrafim’s help. We left the Level 80 one alone, because we planned to take it home whole. Arx began the digging work while we did, and the hole in the ground had gotten pretty deep by the time we went to help. Its walls were hardened by Moonwash, else the sand would’ve just collapsed. We expanded it into a whole cavern once we’d agreed that the hole was deep enough. Grandpa’s body was dropped carefully, followed by the rest of our loot being tossed down the hole in a hurry. We then sealed our cave, and collapsed the tunnels above, so that the sand, both cursed and not, may collapse back in on itself and conceal our little hidey hole.
“There’s no need to check,” Arx informed us. “I can feel the Angel’s Demise marching up there now that we’re gone. They would flatten and then mess up the sand again in a cycle, hiding all traces.”
“Yeah. They’re there alright,” I looked up and sensed their anger resonate with mine. It was a pathetic attempt at trying to influence my thoughts, my decisions! I swiftly crushed the intrusion as my glare intensified further.
I took a deep breath and realized that this was just a natural consequence of feeling the raw emotions of another. I could even close myself off to it, which I immediately did, for my existence was already unpleasant enough.
Elfrafim went up to check anyway, despite our reassurances. She then ‘swam’ through the sand by herself, before entering through the one hole below our cavern.
“Yep! It’s all good! I dumped all the mounds of sand we made down into the hole. There’s nothing else to find up there.”
And so finally, with nothing else of pressing concern, the four of us piled atop each other in one big heap, before I then engaged the teleport.
We were back home, but one did not return.
~~~
The cursed air of Pandemonium was solemn today, almost peaceful. A deep sadness could be with every brush of dark grass, or the rustling of the gnarled trees. I sat quietly, and stared at all the people I knew and loved gathered in one place. They came here for Grandpa, who was in a simple coffin right by the gaping abyss in the center of Pandemonium’s courtyard. Mom and Dad were here, the latter speaking at the front about his late father. Moonwash, Elfrafim, and Arx sat at the same table as me, for we were what’s left of the Adventure Friends party. My old Harvesters party were also present, then their families, Mom and Dad’s own Piss Hunters, the original Demon Aspires, and more.
Many had come to Grandpa’s funeral. It was so few, for a man who had lived so long, and had been so well-known.
That was fine. I wanted this event to be genuine. Even here, in my city, there were countless sycophants who wanted to attend for one political reason or another. They mocked us and our dead. Not a single one of them was allowed entry to our home.
“My dad knew his end was coming,” Dad continued to speak in front of the solemn crowd. “So he prepared a gift for the people he loved the most. These are items he’d once used, once owned, whose history might go back for entire centuries. And now he wants us to inherit his life’s work, and his life’s joy.”
“I shall accept the first of these,” Dad’s voice broke when he received a small box of assorted trinkets from Mom. He read the rest of his notes with tears in his eyes. “These are the only things I have that you might like, Rallem. If not, then consider it a good souvenir, or just place it somewhere around the manor. Whatever you do, whatever you decide, you have my full support. You are free.”
Dad took a minute to gather himself, and then looked to me. I gulped at the attention, and my insides twisted in affront.
Dad smiled. “The next one is for you, Haell.” Mom brought out a cart that had Grandpa’s greatsword and ruined armor within. “I know you have your own, Haell. I doubt you’ll use these. But I want you to have my best gear anyway. I know you’ll appreciate what they’ve been through. You’ll display them all proper over the greatest hall in Pandemonium, and personally tell my story to all visitors! And if you ever get the chance to integrate them into your Devilcalibur, or some other piece of gear, then feel free. In fact, I’ll be the most honored!”
Our area got so much more crowded when I proudly placed the cart right beside us.
“That last one is sort of a gift for you too, Moonwash, I’m sure. But here’s a rock that I found. Toss it. Toss it, come on! Toss! Throw! Yeet!” Dad had his face in his hands, as he chuckled and sobbed while reading through that.
My girlfriend did exactly as asked of her, and the rock went sailing. She hurriedly went after it, and then dashed back to our table while she rapidly passed it between her hands.
“It has time magic.” She stared intently at her every toss of the rock. “This rock has time magic, or something like it. It made the throw I did with it faster. It’s the first time I’ve seen this element. I think it did increase the overall force it impacted that wall, so that’s one theory answered. No one can even confirm the element’s existence until now. Where did Golex find this? What happened–”
“Sorry for not giving this to you sooner.” Dad continued to read through Grandpa’s will. “I almost forgot I had it. It’s just a rock, after all. Why are you so happy about it? That’s weird. Feel free to toss it away! No one will even notice.”
“I will not,” Moonwash stated, and I could almost hear the indignance in her tone.
“But you just did,” Dad smirked as he read the last of Grandpa’s message to her.
The gift-giving continued. Mom received some of his jewelry. Elfrafim got his booze. Granuel got money from places long gone. Arx got most of his books. Berry got pillows and instruments. Angerly got old badges from the lost kingdom of Eladia. Everyone Grandpa personally knew got something, no matter how small or mundane.
Some of these things were stuff he’d only bought in recent years, or even specifically just to give as a gift today. I knew that Grandpa had lost most of his things on the journey from Latarus to here to rescue me, else he would’ve had much more valuable stuff to give away.
“And for the rest of you,” Dad addressed the rest of the crowd after all the personalized gifts had been distributed. “I made tunics.”
Contrary to his words, everyone received a shirt. Each one was unique, and I got a T-Shirt that said Best Grandpa Ever with his face on it, which I immediately wore. My mark of The Beast covered some of it, but enough was visible for the idea to get across. Elfrafim then slipped on a shirt that said “ELF ARROW!” which featured her being launched by Grandpa into an imposing wall. Moonwash wore one that said “I made all the shirts,” with Grandpa’s even more massive grin right next to her expressionless face. Arx got a cape that just showed all five of us heroically killing a horde of angels.
The future that never was.
More people began to change behind the partitions Pandemonium had swiftly erected. The guests got the generic but still very cool renditions of Grandpa’s many heroic battles, though those were mostly against uncomplicated monsters. But in many of them, either I, or Arx, Elfrafim, or Moonwash could be seen.
He was fucking dead, but he’d still planned out this funeral so well. I felt lighter already.
~~~
Berry, Elfrafim, and another of their partners played soft and melancholic music as Grandpa’s coffin finally began to be lowered into the pit of Pandemonium. Gramps had opted to go for the traditions of his birthland, rather than the more normal burials of Edengar or Angelore. The late Eladia Kingdom used to bury people underneath their own homes, so that they may serve as the foundation for a new generation to grow, and that was how Grandpa wished to be buried at the very end of it all.
I cried the last of my tears, as he descended all the way to the very bottom of where Pandemonium’s body had reached. He could’ve been buried even deeper, into the earth beneath, so that he wouldn’t be… digested by Pandemonium, eventually, but that was actually precisely what he wanted. He wanted to become a part of the foundation of our shared home, and this was only a more surefire way of achieving that goal.
Grandpa had once heard stories of cities that could never be toppled because of the generations that served as their foundation. Whether that was ever true or not, he wished for it to be true for Pandemonium. So that it may continue to protect and care for us, as it did him at his weakest.
This was Grandpa Golex Zharignan’s true final gift, to his closest friend.