End of EC Book 4, Chapter 50 - New Beginnings

A/N: Short chapter. Epilogues coming soon--5 epilogues in total, and maybe more short stories placed in there when I feel like writing them. Thanks to everyone who's stayed for the journey so far! It means a lot to have you all here with me.

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Fortunately, it wasn't long before the Guildmaster showed up, Max by her side and Xothok... pretending to be aloof in the distance? Sev eyed him curiously, wondering what was up with him.

"Guessing you guys have a plan?" Alyssa asked. "And I'm guessing you're going to need our help."

"Would be nice," Sev said, grinning at her. "Even with help it's going to take a while."

"You'd be surprised how good we've gotten at logistics," Alyssa said. "Especially with Xothok here finding us the best path. Speaking of which: is that boat for what I think it's for?"

"We're evacuating this universe," Sev confirmed. "We can't fix Obreve. This universe is... it died a long time ago, and we can't keep bringing it back. We have to move on." He glanced around and gestured around them. "We've saved the people. It'll have to be enough."

Alyssa nodded, approving. "I would've done the same," she said. "Though I don't think it's going to be quite so easy for a lot of people."

"Easy for you, though?" Sev raised an eyebrow at her. Alyssa shrugged and smiled.

"The Guild is my home," she said. "It's the home I built for myself. And it's coming with us, isn't it?"

Sev glanced back to Derivan, Vex, and Misa. "Yeah," he said, smiling. "I think I feel the same way."

—

Everything was ready.

Getting everyone onto the boat had been... a process. Without the use of skills and magic, it probably would have taken them weeks. With those things, and with the help of a little bit of divine magic, it 'only' took them a couple of days.

Sev was exhausted at the end of it all, but he was happy. The ship supported a few farms, important cultural artifacts and touchstones that they'd been asked to recreate, museums, a village or two.

It was a really big ship.

There was also a train. On the ship. Mostly because it was so big it had required one to get around in a timely manner.

"Do your thing, Derivan," Sev said, and Derivan stepped forward.

—

Derivan eyed the ship's console with some wariness. It was a glowing orb attached to the ship—suspiciously similar to the Grand Anchors Sev had built before. It even gave him the same feeling. He wouldn't have been surprised if it was one, albeit one that Sev hadn't personally built.

Or maybe he had been the one to build it in the reality he'd Shifted this from.

Derivan placed his hand on the orb and focused.

He didn't know what kind of universe he wanted. But that was, according to Sev, the whole point—everyone else did have some kind of idea on the way the universe needed to work, and their biases would make them find a universe best suited for them. Derivan had a true and vested interest in all forms of life, and he wanted...

He knew what he wanted, actually.

He wanted a world where he could keep exploring and adventuring with his friends. A world where everyone here could thrive.

The orb beneath his gauntlet grew warm, responding to that desire, and he felt it set a target.

"Done," he said.

He was smiling. He wasn't sure why. A part of him thought it was maybe because he caught a glimpse of where they were going, though the memory was so immense it came and went in a fraction of a second. Still, it made a sort of warm contentment bloom in his chest.

What a pleasant feeling.

—

Even with a destination selected, the journey wasn't easy. The Void wasn't as empty as it could've been—there were other universes here that had been consumed. There were dead stars and empty libraries. They picked up what stragglers they could, but in the end, they needed Xothok's help to navigate their way through the Void. Derivan had given them the direction—Xothok and his crew would handle the navigation.

"Raise the damn sails already!" Xothok called out.

"Fuck you!" Byrrhon responed, giving Xothok a rude gesture—but he went to raise the sails anyway. Xothok grinned at him.

Whatever those adventurers had done, it had brought back the old Byrrhon. Not the one that lived a life as a cruel and callous bandit, nor the one that had lived a life as a [Navigator]. This Byrrhon had both sets of memories, and he was... a lot more calm. He had a sense of perspective he didn't have before.

Xothok was just glad he had his best friend back, and didn't need to have Byrrhon's blood on his hands.

—

"Finally, some solid fucking ground!"

Misa seemed... very pleased with herself for someone that had literally just thrown herself off the ship and onto solid land.

"We did it, guys," she said with a broad grin. "We made it. Whole new universe. One we don't have to worry about decaying."

"Well," Sev said awkwardly. "All universes decay. We'll probably still have to figure something out. It's not like we can keep running from the Void forever."

"But we have time," Misa argued. "Billions of years! And so much to explore, and time for our Grand Anchors to grow, and ourselves to grow with it..."

"Are you planning to live for billions of years?" Sev raised an eyebrow at her. Misa just grinned at him.

"I mean, I am," Vex said, perfectly serious.

"We have a whole universe to explore," she said. "You think a billion years is enough?"

"That depends, I suppose," Sev said, smiling a slight smile. "Hope you brought us somewhere interesting, Derivan."

Derivna considered the remark.

"I believe I have made a good choice," he said after a moment. "But there is only one way to find out, yes?"

His hand wrapped around Vex's, and the lizardkin smiled up at him happily. Vex spoke next. "I can't wait to explore this one with you guys," he said. "I wonder if there's new magic here! And if the Grand Anchors are going to behave any differently. Oh, and I should do some research to see if this universe has its own unique forms of power..."

Derivan laughed, pulling Vex close. "We will have plenty of time for this," he said. His voice took on a slightly teasing note. "But I suspect the Guildmaster will want us to help unload the people from the ship."

"We could disappear," Vex said mischievously. "Just for a while. We can come back and help after. But I kinda want to have an adventure with you guys. We'll be the first ones to explore this place!"

"We should be responsible..." Sev said, glancing back up at the ship—but his lips twitched. He was tempted.

This was, of course, the moment Max popped up. "You guys have done plenty already," she said iwth a grin. "Go! Explore. I'll cover for you."

Sev laughed. "You really know when to show up, don't you?" he asked the receptionist. She grinned at him.

"It's my job!" she said cheerfully. "Seriously, though, it's fine. We'll handle it. Go check things out and tell us if anything dangerous is out there. Have fun! And one more thing."

"Yes?" Sev raised an eyebrow.

"Thank you." Max grinned at all of them. "Seriously. Lots of people are gonna be pissed that our old world is gone, so I want to get this in before any of them get it in their heads to come give you shit. Also, call me if they show up, I'll kick their ass."

The four of them couldn't help but laugh at that.

"Well, how about it, guys?" Sev said once the laughter had died down a bit. "You heard her.

"Let's kick things off with a new adventure."