Crystalla

The bonfire in the middle of the street crackled away, as everyone took a break before heading into the city proper. Roisin and Ruby leaned against Atlas, resting their eyes, as Syl and Keegan played cards between themselves.

Mizu was sketching the landscape of the city in an artist's pad, as Lotte kept her company.

"I never knew you were an artist" Lotte smiled, as she spoke softly and quietly.

"I picked it up over the years, I've always liked to capture moments in time, photographs are fine, but they don't often represent the actual feeling of the moment" Mizu explained.

"I've often thought about getting into something creative... but I don't think I'd be very good at it" Lotte sighed.

"I think you'd do just fine" Mizu smiled. "Not to mention, you fix and maintain engines and anti-matter cores, I think that is far more impressive than a drawing" She shrugged, with a smile.

"But no one will look at a core and think of who maintained it" Lotte shrugged.

"I guess, I think it's pretty neat though" Mizu nodded. "Once this is over, come by Inchaya, and I'll help you learn how to draw, or maybe even write!" She added.

"Thank you" Lotte grinned as she looked around the camp, Ariel and Ashe were looking at one of the old fallen buildings.

"What do you think this place was?" Ashe asked Ariel.

"It's hard to tell, it's in such a state" Ariel pondered, as she moved a couple of bricks, to reveal an old dusty sign. Ariel lifted the sign and put it on the old broken counter top that sat in the middle of the ruins, she then brushed away the dust.

'Merryway's Tavern'

"A tavern?" Ashe asked, as she looked around.

"I guess it does make sense, with where it is located" Ariel nodded as she looked around. "Travellers would have come through that large gate, and the first stop would be a tavern" She chuckled.

"So many people must have come and gone through here, so many memories lost to time" Ashe sighed.

"When this is over, I guess we could start and archaeological dig here, to make sure the people who once lived here will be remembered" Ariel smiled.

"That sounds like a good idea" Ashe nodded. In the middle of the street, Arwyn looked around at the various people, he had kept to himself throughout this journey, having rarely ventured outside of the lands of the Imperium and the lands of Raryst, he found it hard to talk with everyone else.

"Are you okay?" Logan asked. Arwyn turned to Logan and frowned.

"I..." Arwyn began. "Ever since I came back to life, back in the ruins of Imperista..." He tried to articulate how he felt, but the words wouldn't come.

"I think I understand" Logan nodded. "It's like, you feel as if you are on borrowed time, like this isn't permanent, right?" He asked.

"Yeah" Arwyn nodded. "It feels like once we reach that Academy, our time will be up... and I feel like I wasted what little time I had" He sighed.

"I mean, it doesn't have to be the end" Logan smiled.

"You heard what the others said, it's possible we will fade into nothingness" Arwyn frowned.

"It is possible" Logan shrugged. "It's also possible we will be fine, that we will be able to live out our lives, and this is just the start. Either way, what we are doing, is for the good of the world" He explained.

"I hadn't thought about it like that..." Arwyn pondered.

As time passed, the fire crackled until it burned itself out. Everyone gathered themselves and began the final walk to Lumina Academy.