[Fourth Wall Finale] Day: Break

[thewatchers]

[Fourth Wall Finale] Day: Break
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Suneater falls like a star’s dark mirror, crashing to the Earth in a haze of icy blackness so hard it shakes the ground for miles- but it still falls.

As the first rays of light begin to dawn on the horizon, the massive dragon raises its’ head one last time, straining to open its’ jaws in one last, hungry attempt to devour the light… and collapses completely, breaking apart into smoke and dust.

When it dissipates, only a massive skeleton is left behind, bones as clean and dry as if they had been resting there for years.

And very, very softly, so faint it almost can’t be heard, every Candle living hears the voice of something very far away- not even remotely human, but so deeply, endlessly warm:

”Thank you.”

It isn’t a voice you’ve ever heard before… but something about it makes you instinctively look up, towards the rising Sun. Somehow, the light and the voice remind you of each other.

Though the final blow doesn’t instantly destroy the various zealots and opportunists that followed in the last Herald’s wake, Suneater’s death and the knowledge that Nightfall has been lost to them is an unrecoverable blow to the enemy’s morale, and the remaining foes are fairly simple for Daybreak’s forces to finish up- those that don’t simply flee or surrender outright.

When the last of the opposition is fled, dead, or safely in custody, and none of the scouts or Seers report any further traps or tricks in store, the word goes out. The Headmistress, leaning heavily on her sword to support herself in her exhaustion, lifts her hand and calls out the signal, which is taken up and passed along:

The battle is over.

Cassandra sinks gently, carefully to one knee and plants her own massive sword in the ground, a golden grave marker for everyone lost in the struggle to stop the night... and maybe even for Suneater as well, last and lost master of a wild, primal world long gone, twisted though it was by the end.

Under her steady digital guidance, the vast construct disassembles itself and once more resumes the form of the school as you’ve known it.

...And yes, all your belongings were stored safely during the fight. (You may return to your dorms to find some particularly fragile items covered in bubble wrap. It’s unclear whether this served a practical purpose or was just a discreet little joke on Cassandra’s part.)

It’s time to lay down your weapons, treat the wounded, bury the dead. The cleanup may well take years, and those lost to the last Herald of Night may never be returned to us- but the casualties were the tiniest fraction of what the world would have suffered if the battle had been lost, and those who survived have time now. You are no longer the generation born into a world on the brink of disaster, a world running out of time. You can recover, rest, and rebuild at your leisure.

The duty of Daybreak Academy is complete.

Your job is done.

But…

Well. You’ve learned a lot, haven’t you? Part of it was just how cruel and wicked the world can be… but part of it was how beautiful and wondrous it is, too.

Even though its’ duty is done, Daybreak Academy will remain, offering guidance and knowledge to anyone who asks for it- and beyond the Academy’s doors, there’s a whole new horizon out there. Earth and the Outlands are open and free for anyone willing to brave the journey. In the world that has not died, there are endless possibilities for you to explore and discover, to find joy and sorrow and everything that you never expected until you found it.

It’s a brand new day.

Comments

[stavros]

If it is cursed, I don't suppose an exorcism would work?

[arcadianvampire]

You could try one, if you wanted. Though I am unsure if it is actually cursed and more that it has a bad habit of following me around.

Just make sure not to exorcise the fish. I still like that one right where it is.

[stavros]

I still don't think it's all that bad, though.

[arcadianvampire]

I will grant that the work was clearly done by a talented artist, but at the same time, I am fairly confident it is the equivalent of a 1500s-era shitpost.

[Yes, he knows what shitposting is, he works with Jailbreak.]

[stavros]

What, like all that art of knights with snails?

[arcadianvampire]

Precisely that, and those were funny.

[He chuckled a bit, just thinking about it.]

This, less so. Can you imagine what Jailbreak will say when she sees it?

...Assuming she wasn't the one who found this damn thing.

[stavros]

I find it hard to predict Professor Jailbreak in the best of scenarios. Or understand her in most of them.

[arcadianvampire]

Don't bother trying to predict the largely unpredictable. She's as close to as a force of nature as any human I've ever seen. Like a wild wind, whipping through the world, devil may care. While she has some... I hesitate to call them 'rules,' more like... nebulously defined principles, your best bet is to expect her to do the funniest, most chaotically shameless thing you can imagine.

Really, the less you try to predict her and the more you accept that she is what she is, the easier it is to work with her.

[The voice of experience there, clearly, but it's all said quite fondly.]

[stavros]

I suppose so. It's nothing I've ever been used to, but perhaps I shouldn't try.