Sinner System

"Wow, guess the Final Dungeon really left a mark, huh? Quite literally," Remarked Jaden, stretching his arms up as he looked around.

"Yeah, we were all unconscious at the end, so we didn’t see it disappear. Huh...when it disappeared, did we just fall from way up? Each floor was about fifty meters tall, which means the structure was around four hundred meters tall. Did we fall four hundred meters after the Dungeon crumbled?" Wondered Cleo in bemusement.

"No, I don’t think so. You would’ve still been petrified, so if we fell from that high up, your body almost definitely would have shattered to pieces," Pointed out Aria thoughtfully.

"True. And considering how severely injured I was, a fall like that probably would’ve killed me too. I was sorta conscious, but I was entirely focused on maintaining my telekinesis around my throat to help me breathe, and also to stem the bleeding around that spot, not to mention the rest of my injuries. A strong impact would’ve broken my concentration for sure," Added Jaden with a wry smile.

"Then, maybe we were just warped or floated down to the ground when the Dungeon disappeared," I suggested uncertainly.

"Yeah, that seems like the most likely explanation," Chimed in Ciel.

Today’s the 11th of March, 2171, and a couple of days ago, the HUC finally approved our request to revisit the site of the Final Dungeon, to pay our respects to the members of our team that didn’t survive.

It was the middle of the day, a little past 12 PM, and we were planning on spending the afternoon here, with a picnic lunch. After discussing it, we decided that it’d be more fitting to pay our respects with a more positive, upbeat vibe than a somber, depressing one.

The residents of Sanctuary Alpha are set to fly back in a couple of weeks, after some remaining renovations are completed. The five of us were flown here a short while ago, Jaden on his own while the rest of us traveled together from Sanctuary Theta, and once we all landed, we were escorted to the site of the Final Dungeon.

The Dungeon had left a deep, square crater in the middle of the Sanctuary, and we were near the center of the crater. About a week ago, the unstable energy around this site disappeared from the HUC’s detection devices, so it’s safe to visit now. I hope.

Eh, it should be fine. The lingering distortion was theoretically harmless weeks ago, the HUC just decided to wait till it fully disappeared to be on the safe side. So, yeah, at the risk of jinxing us, there shouldn’t be anything to worry about here.

"Alright, let’s get set up, shall we?" Suggested Jaden eagerly.

"I’m on it," I replied with a smile, before taking out a large picnic blanket out of Treasury and setting it down.

I then opened a couple of the other slots, taking out a bunch of food and snacks. Aria, Ciel and Cleo helped me set everything out, as Jaden opened a backpack.

"Here, I got these too. This vodka was Iseul’s favorite, also got Aarav’s go-to snack, these spicy chips. Next, these caramel crisps, I heard that Jin was obsessed with them. And finally, honey-frosted churros, Beatriz’s brother told me she absolutely loved these," Remarked Jaden, taking the items out of his backpack and setting them down.

"That’s really thoughtful of you," Smiled Aria appreciably.

"Well, I just figured it’s the least I could do, since we’re doing this to honor them," Replied Jaden wistfully.

"Guess we had the same idea. I brought these, white chocolate bomb brownie bites. They’re little brownie squares with white chocolate in the middle. Rex generally didn’t have any real favorite foods, he wasn’t particularly picky...but whenever he had any days off, he always got himself these to have while stoned," Remarked Ciel, taking out a box and setting it down.

"Looks like we’ve got one hell of a spread. Let’s enjoy ourselves to the fullest, guys. This is where we won our final battle, where we secured our future. So, let’s celebrate our victory, we’ll make sure the others know that their sacrifices weren’t in vain. After all, none of us would be here right now if it wasn’t for them," I smiled, as I took a seat, along with the others.

"Sounds good to me, let’s party so loud that they’ll be sure to hear us from the afterlife, or wherever they are," Nodded Jaden in agreement.

"Yeah, no objections here," Responded Ciel, before adding as she glanced at the food Aria and I had brought, "This smells incredible, by the way, my mouth’s watering already. Where was this when we hung out at your place last time?"

"Oh, we cooked all of this ourselves, since it’s a special occasion and all," Aria informed her.

"Wow, cool, didn’t know you guys could cook," Grinned Jaden.

"We’ve cooked for each other before, and as it turned out, we aren’t half-bad at it. But we’ll let you guys be the judge of that," I chimed in with a laugh.

"Well, if it tastes as good as it smells, we’re in for a treat," Replied Cleo eagerly.

This is nice. It wasn’t that long ago that I’d have had trouble imagining being so at ease. But right now, I feel so relaxed and carefree.

We fought so hard for what felt like it would be an eternity, a seemingly never-ending battle. And then it began to get progressively harder, from a battle of attrition to a fight for survival, a fight against impending doom and extinction.

But in the end, we survived, we fought and won. This sense of peace, we earned it, all of us. And now that we’ve had some time to let it sink in, I think it’s about time we make the most of it.

"Alright, guys, what do you say we get this party started? Let’s dig in," I suggested with a smile.