Xanthy placed her hands on the tree's bark. Her skin felt the dark brown surface with brittle parts breaking away with each brush of her fingers. There was no wind but the leaves rustled as if in anger.

The Sovereign smiled. The Heiress prodded the chained girl with her rapier. Xanthy shivered and recoiled. Deep inside, the Heiress' heart tumbled with joy at having the girl develop fear for her. Just how things should be. "Go on," the Heiress jerked her chin to the tree's direction. "Tie the Arbotro's core to your legacy and surrender it to me."

"No, to me," the Sovereign stepped and grasped Xanthy's arm. "Xanthy, entrust it to me."

The Heiress clicked her tongue. "Xyris," she addressed the Sovereign in her real name. It had been a while since the Heiress saw that livid look on her rival's reddening face. "I am the one who took over. She'll only follow me."

The Sovereign's eyes widened. Then, they burned with anger. "Alani," she rasped. "Don't you dare—"

"Oh, I dare," the Heiress snickered. She prodded Xanthy's arm with her rapier again. The tip of the blade sank into Xanthy's skin but the girl didn't flinch. Rightly so as the Heiress didn't give Xanthy the permission to feel pain. Not while she has a job to do.

The Heiress faced the Sovereign again. "We both know who's playing with who," she spread her arms. "Seems like I win."

"You vile—"

"I thought we're past name-calling already?" The Heiress clicked her tongue and wagged a finger at the Sovereign's face. It was always a delight to push people to the edge and watch them make a show of themselves. Indeed, the Sovereign's face was as red as her painted lips. The Heiress's lips curled upwards in a vicious smile. "Really, Xyris," she cooed. "It's been a thousand years already."

"Give her to me," the Sovereign snarled.

The Heiress hummed as if in caution. "If you attack me, I might lose my hold on Xanthy," she said, tilting her head at the Sovereign. "We both know what this girl is capable of doing once we let go of her."

The Sovereign narrowed her eyes. "So, that's it? I ended up being used by you?"

"Have you only realized it now?" The Heiress put a hand on her hip. "Don't think I have forgiven you for what you did just because you helped me in this war with your...strange artillery."

The Sovereign scoffed. "I refuse to admit defeat," she crossed her arms like a petulant child. "I won't forgive you either for what happened to Beizhen," the mention of the name turned the air notches colder. The Sovereign's magic crackled to the surface. "You killed him."

"He died for you," the Heiress' eyes hardened. "That's the same thing."

The Sovereign clenched her fists. Her magic built up, more and more.

"What are you even trying to do?" The Heiress said as she turned and kicked Xanthy at the back of her leg. The girl sprawled forward. "You've lost. There's nothing you can do aside from watching me attain victory."

"I could kill you right here," the Sovereign drew a small dagger concealed at the folds of her skirts.

"Isn't running away from your failed oath not enough?" the Heiress asked. "Do you need to reap more punishment by killing me?"

The Sovereign snorted. "Is that why you didn't kill me all these years?" When the Heiress didn't reply, the Sovereign licked her teeth. "How noble of you. After all the years going down the path we took, are you still thinking of reducing your sentence?"

The Heiress clicked her tongue. "You're still my friend, Xyris," she looked up at the swaying leaves of the Arbotro. "We are all we have left."

The Sovereign knitted her eyebrows then threw her head back and laughed. Her laughter rang in the air and didn't seem to belong there. "You," the Sovereign wheezed, wiping at her eyes. "You need to get that sentiment out of your head. There are no friends between us."

"Besides," the Sovereign straightened. "Weren't you planning to betray me just minutes ago?"

The Heiress returned the Sovereign's amusement. "Yes," she said, her ancient Cardinic accent creeping out of her tone. "About time."

They both turned to Xanthy whose light emanating from her fingers didn't resemble that of legacies being melded.

What's going on?

Xanthy had her hand pressed on the wrinkled surface of the Arbotro's bark. Her form wasn't hers but her mind was active, thanks to the Arbotro's presence shielding a small space of her consciousness.

She tried not to show it but witnessing the Sovereign kill Nelnifa without batting an eyelash shook her. Everything she stood and lived for was violated by that gruesome fact. This had to stop, no matter the cost.

As the Heiress and the Sovereign exchanged their tirades against each other, Xanthy worked on wriggling out of the Heiress's influence without being noticed. Slowly, Xanthy pushed past the foreign force clouding her vision and gripping her muscles and veins.

Do you remember your promise? Xanthy asked the presence resonating in her mind and in the tree in front of her. The Arbotro was silent. Xanthy could only hope that the Tree was listening. Now is the time to fulfill it.

Do you know how it ends for you? the Arbotro's voice was nothing but a brush of wind against Xanthy's skin.

Of course, Xanthy knew how this was going to go.

All her life, Xanthy was only about surviving. She was focused on making it to the next day. Towards tomorrow. Life was bigger than that. It's protecting what she loved and making sure they survive towards tomorrow too.

Xanthy had run from her duty thinking she could live apart from it. But now, it became clear that to be herself was her duty. The Virtakios and the soul. They were all but one. Neither could be separated from one another like what her parents did to her and Ravalee.

Sometimes, the calling that has been given to them would require everything. Most of the time, it's against one's will. Many people would run from it only to be surprised at the end when they fell into the pit they dug themselves. Some would turn and face it to get surprising results.

The duty given to Xanthy was hard and arduous. She would face it fully this time and the result wouldn't be as surprising as expected. She knew where the road would end for her. The Virtakios started this war and she must end it.

Unlike the Heiress and the Sovereign, Xanthy was done running and letting the people she loved get hurt. That's what Xanthy has been missing out on since the beginning. Life wasn't just about surviving. It's about giving people hope to continue living their lives. The power she has been given must be used to make the world a better place.

Destiny may have dictated the start of her story but it's up to her to dictate how it ends. This choice she was about to make would be the end of many things. For the first time, even if her path would be coming to an end, she was at peace.

This was something she must do and it's something she alone could do. Consider it as payment for all the sacrifices made for her sake. Jarvik. Anahel. Rhys. Marthiaq. Airene. Airlene. Ravalee. Nelnifa. Along with countless other souls Xanthy haven't met but were affected by this war. She couldn't apologize to them with words. This was the only way to go. Rutoria showed her that in that cold room.

Xanthy fought against the Heiress's control over her neck and turned to the two women behind her. "I'm going to grant your wishes," she smiled at the shocked expressions coloring their faces. "And more."

The Sovereign's mouth opened but no words came out. The Heiress' face turned grim upon the sudden realization. Xanthy didn't stop the single tear which slipped from her eye and fell to the ground. She extended her will to the Arbotro and said as firmly as she could, Show me your heart.

Like an unrelenting wave, wild, untainted magic slammed into Xanthy. The Arbotro quaked as the trunk split open, hissing as it emitted fog that tasted like blood. The last thing Xanthy heard were her friends' breathless gasps of awe and fear. Xanthy raised her heart to the Arbotro and did her best to hold her smile. Take care of my friends for me.

Xanthy stepped back and gripped the Sovereign and the Heiress's wrists. The women fought against her hold. She used her remaining strength to hold on. "Let's go," Xanthy said.

She lunged into the open trunk, into the bottomless unknown beyond.

Magic tore at her very being, dissolving every part of her. Pain ripped her soul to shreds. Her screams were flushed out of existence even before they formed in her throat. Bright light stole Xanthy's vision from her. The heat set her skin ablaze. As she fell, pressure built up in her chest and exploded. She shattered into a thousand shards. The shards then crumbled to dust as a gentle breeze blew and carried the remnants of her soul into a dark, cold void.

The war was over. The Heiress and the Sovereign were no more.

The Virtakios's sacrifice was done.