【Story】True Ending Chapter 3

Ch. 3　When Truth is Unveiled

Part 1

“The Maternal Instinct”

Ingrid: Hang on! Why am I counted?
Sister: Hey, don’t be shy. You’ll belong to my brother sooner or later, so you’re part of our family too!
Ingrid: I…I…I’ve told you already! We are not in a relationship!
Tawil: …Haha…You guys have won me over.
Tawil smiled as she was watching their interactions—Her thin lips formed a little curve, and she smiled just like an ordinary person. The seemingly simple expression, however, moved Enoch and Sister deeply. Their tightened nerves were soothed.
Sister: Woah—! Mother!
Enoch: …Boohoo…Thank goodness…Mother is still here…
Tawil: Sigh…Oh my, both of you are crying like a kid…
Sister broke into loud sobs and Enoch cried as well. Feeling rather helpless, Tawil touched the earlobes of Sister and Enoch and rubbed them tenderly.
Tawil used to do so whenever Enoch and Sister were frustrated, frightened or worried. The two would soon calm down when Tawil did it.
It was meant to be a warm and loving scene, but she soon detected the madness behind the ephemeral serenity. Shades of sorrow covered her beautiful face.
Tawil: “Alas…It can’t be suppressed any longer…He…is waking up…”
Tawil sank into thoughts with her eyes shut. When she opened her eyes again, they were filled with resolution. She held Sister’s broken hand and manoeuvred her power. Under shimmering golden lights, Sister’s right hand recovered in an instant.
Sister: Wow! My wounds are all gone, and they don’t hurt anymore! Mother, you’re so cool! I don’t have to be afraid of getting injured now—Ouch! It hurts…
Tawil: Don’t be so happy yet, I can’t take care of you forever…
Sister: What—
Tawil: And you.
Ingrid: Huh? How would I—Ugh!
Tawil stood in front of Ingrid and tapped on her forehead. Scorched, Ingrid receded reflexively and looked at Tawil in astonishment.
Ingrid: You…What are you…
Tawil: Now you won’t be controlled by it anymore…Please protect Enoch and Sister…for me.
Enoch: Mother, why are you—
Some eerie noise sent from above interrupted Enoch. It sounded like a horrid curse and the cry of a newborn. An earthquake hit them before Enoch could make sense of the noise.
When everyone could hardly balance themselves, Tawil came to Enoch rather effortlessly. She covered the scar on Enoch’s chest with both of her hands. Radiant golden lights shimmered and illuminated the entire space.
Enoch: Hmm!
Enoch: “Something…is flowing into my body…Energy…It’s the energy from the creative origin…The energy from mother…”
Giving all of her power to Enoch, Tawil was so drained that she couldn’t even support herself and fell onto the ground. Enoch wanted to help, but he was wrapped up by a golden sphere and taken away, which protected him from the crumbling stones and metallic boards. The golden sphere also offered protection for Sister and Ingrid.
Sister: Mother! Let us out!
Tawil: …This place will be corroded very soon, you can’t stay here…
Just as Tawil had predicted, a strong stench filled the air instantly as pieces of flesh climbed onto the metallic walls. They developed extended limbs that were made of human organs and eventually reached Tawil. Witnessing everything, Enoch knocked on the transparent wall of the golden sphere.
Enoch: Darn it! It’s unbreakable…Mother! Run away!
Tawil: No…I can’t abandon him…I have to save him…from the despair of thousands of years…Allow me to say some selfish things…
More tentacles and flesh was smothering Tawil. Out of instinct, they engulfed Tawil madly and violently. Before long, only half of Tawil’s face remained. Before she was completely devoured, she murmured as if she was praying.
Tawil: Create miracles for me, for us…Enoch…Set us free.
Enoch: No…Don’t!
Enoch’s frantic cry couldn’t stop the tragedy from happening. Tawil was swallowed by the flesh lumps, while the golden sphere carrying Enoch and others left the place and returned to where they had encountered the ferocious beast.
The golden sphere blew up as soon as it landed, setting Enoch, Ingrid and Sister free. The three, however, was shocked by what they saw—
The blast had created a hole on the ceiling, from which they could see the azure sky. But now, the beautiful cloudless sky was filled with multiple shades of eerie colors, in which the massive shadows of other planets appeared. Visibly, the planets were approaching.
Sister: It…It must be a joke…
Ingrid: It’s real. The disorder of the elements has caused chaos in our world and also endangered the planets who have lost their balance. Presumably, these planets will fall onto this continent soon.
Sister: What! If this goes on, we, no! Everything on Continent Tarones will be obliterated!
Enoch: I won’t allow this to happen…Let’s find Pompeii, only he can release Monesis!
Enoch: “Mother…I will create the miracle!”

Part 2

“Agents Assembled”

To stop the calamity, Enoch, his sister and Ingrid came to the entrance of the Pilgrimage in the Mech City underground.
The members of Magic Agency have all arrived, even Zana, Behemoth and Bahamut who had gone missing before were all here, right beside Pompeii the machina. Everyone came forward as they saw Enoch and Ingrid.
Dagda: Principal, why are you so late! If you could arrive earlier, Mephibo wouldn’t have been…Darn it!
Enoch: Huh? What happened?
Qingxia: Sigh…let me explain to you.
Afterwards, Enoch and the others learnt from Qingxia that Mephibo was killed by the infiltrated demons before he made an ambush. However, somehow Enoch had a strange feeling, as if the same scene had happened before.
Enoch: No, Mephibo is not dead…
Dagda: What are you talking about?
Enoch: I…
Enoch: “It’s hard to explain. But I have a feeling, no, I believe that Mephibo is still alive. I just can’t explain…”
Enoch: Now solving this imminent danger is our top priority. Pompeii, release the seal. This is the only option we have.
Pompeii: You…very well then.
Convinced by Enoch’s determination, Pompeii stepped on the stage and placed his hand on the metal wall, his body emitting beams of gentle, crimson light. Phoom! The beams grew stronger and illuminated the Pilgrimage. A cornucopia of elements were dancing in the air.
Pompeii: The Great Monesis, all creatures are vital and lively in your embrace. We are all your children, who shall eventually become one. You have granted us lives, and we live in your glory…
Pompeii poured forth his prayers devoutly as he folded his hands on the kinetic core in his chest. A shimmering stone which was spinning round and round gradually became visible. The metal walls of the Pilgrimage started to shrink, and the hidden part of the gigantic puff of light was finally unveiled.
Enoch: “This scene again…Then…something bad will happen…”
Overwhelmed by the scene, everyone held their breath as they fixed their eyes on Monesis. Enoch and Ingrid, who still remained fully rational, were the only exceptions. A hint of uneasiness flickered across her eyes, and she soon caught sight of the purple shadow that stuck out behind Monesis.
Ingrid: Pompeii, watch out!
Enoch: “Here it is! This time I must stop it…”
Pompeii: Urgh!
But the purple shadow reached Pompeii faster than Enoch. It jumped over Monesis and trailed Pompeii like the vines of a tree. Pompeii struggled, but the shadow was simply immovable. Worse still, tentacles emerged out of the shadow, one of them grabbed on the soulstone in Pompeii’s kinetic core.
Enoch: Pompeii—!

Part 3

“The Slumbering Enemy”

Crack! Pompeii’s soulstone, along with the iridescent power inside, were shattered and engulfed by the purple shadow almost instantly.
???: 
The shadow let out a roar which was imperceivable for humans. It expanded rapidly and generated more limbs. It became so great in size that it eclipsed the brightness of Monesis and dominated the scene.
The enlarging shadow grew into a matter of abysmal blackness, its thin slices eventually formed a three-dimensional sphere. It looked like a solid but it could flow as freely as liquid. The noise it made resembled the sound of the movement of a wet, fleshy object. The sounds invaded Enoch’s ears from all directions.
Enoch: “Ugh…! It feels like someone is touching my bones and stirring my brain…I’m still not used to this after several times…”
From the sphere stretched out countless tentacles. They went by the centre of the Pilgrimage and reached the Enochian Tower.
Enoch might not be able to see it from underground, but anyone who looked down from the sky would have noticed that the walls of the Enochian Tower were covered with vein-like violet tentacles.
Hong Ai: Hmm…Something was excreted by that strange thing!
The dark sphere rotated, dripping thick inky liquid down onto the floor which eventually condensed into huge oval eggs. As the eggs cracked open, the species possessed by the tentacles were exposed.
Enoch: It’s…Shamash!
Enoch: “Wait…it seems different from before…Is it because I’ve chosen a different path?”
Sister: Oops, a strong enemy indeed. Just leave her to me, the cutest sister in the universe!
Ingrid: Hold on, don’t defeat her. You need to focus on destroying the nucleus instead!
Sister: Alright, alright, I know. Just take down everything.
Enoch’s sister took the lead to confront Shamash. Worried, Enoch and Ingrid immediately caught up to face this strong enemy ahead…