A firefighter hands me a cup of coffee. There's a heavy blanket covering my shoulders, helping me stay warm. In the distance, a large cloud of dust is rising up.
The complex we were in was under a four-story building, which also collapsed. Surprisingly, everything seemed to happen very slowly at first, so I believe everyone managed to make it out alive. I wonder if Matt had anything to do with it.
I bring a hand to the area of my chest he pierced with his sword. There's no trace left of the wound. Despite being under my brother's influence, he used the same trick on us as he did on the adventurers in the arena. He truly is unpredictable.
I take a sip of coffee. The warmth in my chest helps me feel a bit calmer. The last few days have been rather hectic. After getting my brand removed by Matt, I had to prepare things for our plan. Then, Hugo told my brother everything, and it all fell apart. I was certain I was going to be re-branded, but Jacob ordered my execution instead. It's only because Matt found some kind of loophole in his power that I'm still alive.
And now... I'm a bit lost. According to official records, I died almost fifteen years ago. My brother is almost certainly gone, and with how isolated I've been my whole life, I have no one to turn towards. I never completed my formal education, so leaving my life as an Assassin behind to get an ordinary job seems out of the question, but every battle going forward will remind me of the screams of those I tortured and killed at the behest of Jacob. I don't think I can stay an adventurer.
Jeremy approaches and sits next to me. He went somewhere to remove his armor, and is now wearing his bloodstained casual clothes.
"Do you think it's over?"
"I do. My brother set up the spells that caused the building to collapse so they'd go off upon his death. I don't know how Matt did it, but he somehow managed where so many have failed before."
"Speaking of, I haven't seen him anywhere. Do you think he's okay?"
"No idea. We'll have to wait either for him to come back out or for his body to be found. At his level, there's a good chance he survived a building collapsing on him though."
"You're right. He might be immobilized under all that rubble, but he's probably still alive. They just need to find him before he suffocates."
"Weird question, but do you think he needs air to survive?"
"Uh? Obviously! He's still just human, even if he has some unusual powers."
I laugh a bit before responding:
"You're right, but I can't help but feel like he'd survive without oxygen, one way or another."
That gets a smile out of Jeremy. He takes a sip of his own coffee, and we go back to watching as rescue teams run around and bring heavy machinery to the collapsed building to start digging.
Eventually, someone familiar approaches. He looks a lot older than last time I saw him, but there's no doubt that this is Yanaro. His hair started greying, and he has a beard now. He's also wearing an expensive-looking suit that makes him look a lot more serious than his adventurer's armor did back in the day.
"Marian! I figured your brother would have wanted to keep you alive, but I'm still glad to see you're doing fine."
"Did you get some kind of important job since we last met? I don't think I've ever seen you with an outfit like that before."
"As a matter of fact, I did. I am now the Director of the NAA."
I whistle before saying:
"While I was officially dead and being mind-controlled by my brother, you really moved up in the world."
"I really wish I could have helped you earlier, but the Architect had the strange ability to turn enemies into allies. Thanks to the anonymous message you sent us a few days ago, we finally got confirmation on how his power worked, but we decided not to intervene until Matt was done with his own attempt at taking him down."
"So you not only guessed that the message was from me, but you also knew that Matt was currently fighting my brother?"
"For the message, I simply guessed based on the clues we got from keeping an eye on Matt, but I see that I was right. And yes, we knew that the Architect had taken an interest in Matt, and we believed that he would fight back, so we decided not to interfere to ensure we wouldn't accidentally make the Architect wary or cause some kind of backfire. It was hard to convince the rest of the NAA to go hands-off on this case, but..."
He turns towards the cloud of dust that we can still see from here.
"... I believe that my gamble has paid off."
I smile and take another sip of coffee.
"It would appear so. After almost fifteen years, it's finally over."
"You don't seem too sad to have lost your brother."
"Jacob died when he put on that mask and started calling himself 'The Architect'. I've mourned him a decade ago already. He even ordered my execution today. Whoever that was, it wasn't the brother I grew up with and loved anymore. So you're right, I'm not sad. I'm only glad that another source of evil met its end."
He nods gently, a compassionate smile on his lips.
Many people died. Many people found themselves forced to obey the orders of a madman, and I've myself now spent most of my life unable to properly take decisions for myself. We're undoubtedly scarred by this experience, but we have a chance to walk forward.
I take a deep breath and look up to the starry sky. I'm worried about tomorrow, but I feel like a huge weight has been lifted from my shoulders. For the first time of my life, I can relax.
