"Really? No regrets at all? You don't regret killing all those innocent city dwellers? Not even a bit?"

" Who said they were innocent? One guy said I could kill his wife and children if I let him live. Another shot his girlfriend in order to please me or something. Innocence doesn't exist in this solar system."

"Indeed. It never did" The light in the sky was beginning to go as the sun began dimming and contacting the horizon's edge. The entire sky was a blazing clear orange colour, and the first bright stars were beginning to appear.

" Well. Looks like my time is up." He put his helmet back on, and through some miracle managed to stand up. " Do I look ready for what comes next?"

Switch stood up in succession and stayed besides Aries. S: "If you're asking me wether you look ready for death or not, you already look dead"

Aries chuckled, painfully, and walked along the edge of the cliff. " I suppose this is how it ends.... Finally." And with that, his heart stopped, and he fell of the cliff and plummeted to the ground.

Switch watched Aries as he fell over the cliff edge, but he didn't even flinch as he plummeted to the ground. He just looked distantly onwards into the blazing horizon, with nothing but pity in his eyes. Walking over to the cliff edge, Switch reached over to his left arm and removed the bond he was wearing. The bond was unlike any other, and its design and markings bore striking resemblance to that of hive constructs. It had been given to him by Garuud, and its purpose had been to allow Switch to effectively channel the light while still a dark guardian. But now that he was cleansed, he wouldn't need that ability anymore. Switch took the arcane bond in his hand and tossed it over the cliff edge, watching as it descended through the air and quickly shrank from vision into nothing, becoming entirely swallowed by the dark of the young night sky and the deep black of the valley. Taking in deep breaths of the cold clear air, he sighed. "... All ends are beginnings..." Switch waked away from the cliff edge and back to where Aries had been sitting down prior. The specific area still had a few puddles of blood remaining, slowly draining into the soil. Switch knelt down and picked up a small blood-stained shard of Aries' armour from the ground, and although he could still feel the lingering taint of darkness shrouding it, he felt oddly drawn to the shard rather than repulsed. He placed it in a pocket and summoned his sparrow, preparing to leave for the camp.

At the camp, the Guardians were celebrating their victory, and toasting to the dead. James, Lakir, and Lake were just outside of the camp, sitting on a small outcrop of rocks. They each had a drink in their hand.

Switch arrived back at the camp to be met with the bustling sound of cheering and the clinking of glasses. He hoped off his sparrow and walked over to James, Lake and Lakir after spotting them in the distance. He remained stone silent.

They were all silent. After a while, Lake broke the silence. L," So what now?"

"Huh. I assume you all felt it then..."

They all nodded.

"I'm not sure what happens now. I guess things go back to normal. They city will rebuild; deceased minds will become new ghosts; and new guardians will be found. This battles becomes a thing is the past: the Battle of Oasis Valley"

J," I think I've had my share of battles for too long..."