This, perhaps, was the apocalypse.
But what was coming would come sooner or later.
More than once, he had learned from Aivier and the Jailer about the beginning of that Calamity's descent. He also understood how powerful and impossible to resist it was. Even the Painter could not last long before it.
And Lynn knew very well that those Nightmare Demons had been waiting all along, too.
Waiting for their master.
For the moment he briefly awoke within his dream.
Clang-
Lynn sheathed his blade, forcing the dense Sinfire inside. Coil after coil of chains bound the scabbard, sealing the power that had accumulated over ten years within the blade.
He had repaired the Night Demon Blade, and over those ten years, Lynn had also made it a vessel for Sinfire.
Back on Blue Star.
He had once deeply admired the wandering heroes of old tales.
Ten years spent honing a sword.
To draw it only in the face of injustice.
He knew he might never become one of the heroes in those stories, never achieve their freedom and unrestrained spirit. But responsibility was the one thing he had never dared forget.
Lynn opened his eyes, and the red light in them slowly faded.
Hum-
He reached into the endless void. Like dawn cutting through the darkness, the Trident crossed the boundless expanse and flew into his hand.
"You should go back."
"You've done everything you could to hone your skills. For these past ten-odd years, you've entrusted all the responsibilities you should have shouldered to others. Your growth is plain to see, but whether that growth will let you give the people you care about an answer is something that depends entirely on you."
"Whether you can make it through depends on you, too."
The words that figure had