The two walk through the city. The city lights slowly turn on as the sun sets. People begin returning to their homes, well, excluding the ones whose homes were caught in the battle.

  They pass through numerous districts and crowds, many of which are talking about the Ascension and crazy cultists.

  While they walk, Agami tries his best not think about the carnage he saw earlier. The face. The screams. Vanquishing. Even a slight thought is enough to risk Agami spiralling.

  As they approach the outskirts of the Phanasma, Stella breaks the ongoing silence. “Sooo, are you going to tell me what's on your mind?”

  “What are you talking about?” Agami asks.

  “You've been silent this entire time. Something really big must have happened while I was gone.”

  “Don't worry about it.”

  Stella pouts, unhappy about Agami's secrecy, “Mean~ I can tell something is eating at you. Did that weird, shiny dude say something? Or are you thinking of the corpses in the casino?”

  Hitting her mark, Agami turns to her in surprise. “How did you know about the corpses?”

  “Well, I had to go the same way you did to reach the stairs, you know.”

  “Right, makes sense.” Agami shakes his head to get the image out of his head. “But that isn't the entirety of it.”

  “There's more?”

  “Yeah...”

  Before Stella can ask another question, her phone rings. They stop as she digs through her bag and finds it.

  “Yo yo, Melanie! What's up?” Stella greets upon answering the phone. “Yep, I'm alright, just taking in the city now that the cultists are dead. Oh, Agami? Yeah, he’s with me…what's that? No, I don't have something like that.” She quickly looks up at the sky. “Yeah, it is pretty late. I'm not sure when we are getting back. Fine, we'll come back. Promise. I'm not lying. Okay, bye-bye, catch you later.” She cuts the call and puts the phone back in her bag.

  “You can go back without me,” Agami tells her. “I don't really want to head back right now.”

  “Yep, me neither. Let's go on.”

  Agami returns a confused look. Deciding not to question it, he shrugs and continues.

  “So, back on topic, what else happened?” Stella asks as they pass a sign saying ‘Leaving Phanasma.’

  Seeing she is not going to drop the subject, Agami sighs, “Well… that shiny guy turned out to be Baltro.”

  Stella gasps as her eyes widen, "The leader of the cultists! The Navigator guy?!” Agami nods. “What did he say? What did he want? Did you guys fight? Was it epic?”

  “There wasn't any fight, just talking. He mainly spoke about his actions and the whole Ascension. He said he regrets his part in everything and– that he refuses to fight anymore.” He remembers Arcadius fading away before him. “He erased himself in front of me.”

  “Oh,” she responds disappointingly. Stella becomes quiet. They walk next to the road for a few minutes before she continues, “That's weird though. You got everything you wanted, and then you kill yourself after? I feel like something is missing from the story.”

  “Does it matter? He's gone, and the Ascenders are finished.”

  “Fine~ keep your secrets,” Stella says.

  After an hour, they arrive at the cemetery where Agami was resurrected. He walks up to the gate and pushes it– it is locked tightly.

  “A graveyard? Did you want to visit someone?” Stella asks as she walks toward the gate.

  “Sort of, but looks like we will need to come back tomorrow.” Agami turns but stops halfway. “No, we are not coming back tomorrow. Step back, Stella.”

  A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  “Okay?” Stella says as she follows his instructions.

  Although he is already exhausted, he takes a fighting stance, planning to punch the gate open.

  He recenters his mind and focuses on drawing Soulpower to his armament; its vents open in response. His right arm suddenly shoots forward with a burst of Soulpower, leaving his arm. His punch lands on the keyhole, and the gates swing open upon impact, shaking loudly as they slam against the concrete.

  “That's one way to get in,” Stella chuckles.

  “Yeah, I don't want to let this opportunity slip through my hands.” Agami dusts off his clothes and enters. Stella follows closely behind.

  The last time Agami was here, it was when he was resurrected. It feels like it was so long ago. In the moonlight, it feels much gloomier. Many would have been happy to be resurrected, but for him, he just felt lost.

  “If I'm correct, I saw this the last time I was here,” Agami thinks out loud, retracing his steps. Besides him and Stella, no one is here, and those who have died long ago. The two don't speak as Agami searches for his grave; only the sound of rustling leaves and crickets fills the air.

  “This is it,” Agami says as he arrives at a mausoleum. It seems that the orderlies are investigating it due to the yellow tape wrapped around the building– the broken door is still in place.

  “Whoa? Wonder what happened here,” Stella exclaims. “Did you know them?”

  “In a way, yes, but I'm still figuring out a lot about them.” Agami lifts the tape and opens the door. Before he can enter, Stella grabs his shoulder.

  “Wait, wait. We need a flashlight!” She searches her bag for a few seconds before pulling out a somewhat heavy flashlight.

  Agami's eyebrows furrow when she shines it in front of him. “Thanks…? Why do you–”

  “Adventure essentials!” She proudly responds.

  “Right…thanks,” he returns to the stairs.

  The wooden stairs creak as they walk down slowly. Upon reaching the bottom, they enter the main chamber, with Agami's broken coffin at the end.

  It feels surreal being back here. Knowing at one moment he was dead, and now he is alive. He slowly walks toward it and touches the broken sides.

  It would be nice to return to it.

  “Agami?” Stella asks, interrupting his silence.

  “Yes?”

  “Are you–” she pauses for a moment and crouches down, reading what's left of the inscription. “Agami St…mur… Stolmar? Stalmir?”

  “Stilmur.”

  “Agami Stilmur? Is that you?” She stands and turns to him. “I thought your last name was Yamamoto?”

  “It technically is,” Agami answers, his eyes still fixed on the destroyed coffin.

  “So this is where you were brought back to life?” Stella asks, to Agami's surprise.

  “How did you know about my resurrection?” He asks.

  Stella returns to the coffin and answers, “When we were climbing up the stairs. You told me about being brought back to life. I was confused, but seeing this, it all makes sense.”

  He vaguely remembers mentioning it, but at the moment, he wasn't himself. “Huh.”

  “I do listen, you know~” she says, leaning against a wall.

  Agami scoffs and stares at the coffin. He feels the plaque on the front with his left hand, wiping off the dust. His hand feels the indents of the words.

  “So is this like some sort of goodbye or something?” Stella says as she shines the flashlight all over the room.

  “Not really.”

  “Finding clues for the person who killed you?”

  “Wha– n-no, nothing like that. Besides, I didn't have enemies.”

  “Then why are we here?”

  Agami closes his eyes for a few seconds, taking a deep breath.

  “I thought this place would be the best place for me to get some understanding? I felt like I would find something here.”

  “I don't really get it, but if it's what you want…”

  He continues to feel the plaque, hoping something would come to mind. He doesn't understand why, but he feels he needs to come back here.

  It was strangely comforting being in this tomb. The noise from everything is left outside. No benefactors. No Slayers. No expectations.

  Huh?

  His fingers feel more words on the plaque than he expects.

  “Hey, Stella. Shine the flashlight over here,” Agami instructs.

  “Find something?” She shines the flashlight in front of him, revealing the heavy dust covering it.

  Agami begins wiping away until the words on it are legible:

  ‘Here Lies Agami Stilmur.

  May His Death Bring The Peace We Deserve.’

  “Whoa,” Stella says as she crouches next to him. “Are you sure no one wanted to kill you?”

  Agami continues to stare at the words.

  The peace we deserve?