A world at war.

Machines roaring for oil, humans struggling for peace. Willfully, they fought, and bravely, they subdued. They obeyed, but, there's no bravery in slavery, you say? In their eyes, Bravery is accepting, rebelling is foolish, they were the brave, because they've always been the blind slaves.

Freedom was at the horizon, but could they even comprehend what it meant? Would they give their life to obtain it? All the mystery of the world was unfolding, that was the time to sit back and..watch.

Always looking above her shoulder twice. Danger was at the corner, Merit danced through the wind of the night, swiftly like a leaf she flowed within the darkness, taking a look or two every minute at the apocalypse sky glowing with the flag of liberty. Underneath every shadow, Merit stayed low, observing the silent eyes of children in each window as they locked up their eyes on the airship and the occasional flood of flags that they were eager to pick up from the streets in spite of their obvious fear, but that fear was only because they felt the unusual behavior of their parenrs and loved ones, other than that, those young children saw no danger in the situation surrounding them, perhaps, their ignorance saved them.

"Ross lost it.." Merit said, bowing down below a window and taking out Mechi who she lost the batteries for, Menda had warned her of operating him as he's Ross' tracking device to keep an eye on Merit, but Merit had something else on mind.

"I can lure him out, probably make him take me back in, anything just to see him." She said, her tears were like stones frozen deep in her depth, she dared to swallow her tears to assure herself if this results in death, hopefully, it won't be hers.

"Come on, L, come on..!" She muttered, putting the batteries into Mechi and making sure he was all set.

"M-mast-er a-nd sl-ave." Mechi stuttered gibberish words as Merit silenced him, waiting for him to process his data.

"Too long. Merit. Too long." He whispered, sensing the danger around them, Merit nodded, and smiled at him with a heavy heart, because somewhere inside her, she knew that her best friend was fading away just as the rest of the world around her.

"Things have changed, L. We need to find Ross, is there a way for you to locate him?" She said, stepping deeper into the shadows to avoid the flashing of the airship that, surprisingly, hovered peacefully with no resistance against it.

"I can. But, for what reason?" He said, Merit tightened her grib on him, "Because we need to talk." She said. "Merit." Mechi replied, "I don't obey your orders." He said, "Ross is master, you are secondary, I'm programmed to never do what you ask to do right now."

"Is that so?"

"I'm afraid so, young one."

"Mechi. I'll ask got a simple question. All I need is a clear answer, okay?"

"Fine."

Merit's mind was boiling, she had her hands all over Mechi, tightly straining her old friend into her rough injured hand.

"Ross is Mechi, Ross speaks through Mechi, isn't that so, Ross?"

Merit and Mechi starred at each other for seconds as long as years as her heart bounded loudly into her insides, she had untangled a spider's web she had crawled into unknowingly for almost six years.

"True." It said.

"Hello, Ross."

The chaos caused by the Lightmen was causing madness among the residents. It was not known to them that these 'old men' were indeed young ones that have been mutilated till they became unrecognizable by their own kin. Everyone watched through the holes, windows, beneath doors and through the eyeglasses. They were watching these broken machines waddling like drunken men, crying for an instant like children and growling like the devil. They'd clash with each other for seconds then turn away in fear, soon, the watchers realized how fragile and weak those men were. How they were afraid of their own selves, and shortly after, their fury was settling, and their light was dimming, it looked like they've, at last, reached home.

The never ending night was approaching a definite end.

As Merit walked on her tiptoes, the night wind grew stronger yet not strong enough to overshadow the sudden sound of doors being unlocked and several slow and smooth clean steps.

The people of Ilusia got to decide what's their next move, and curiosity took the best of them. Out of each door and corner, Merit could see the silent observants gazing at the sky and others reaching to the ground, picking the flags with no words, no comments, just touching it and starring in silence.

Merit swallowed her breath as she looked at the growing numbers of the observants. She went on quickly to her destination, the broken neon lights on the building made her sure she had reached Ross. It was his sacred residence, the one he chose to stay in celebrating certain events, Merit wasn't sure if he'd be inside, but taking a look at the only lit room in the fifth storey, she became certain Ross was upstairs.

While the crowds stood shell-shocked, Merit slipped into the -surprisingly- empty building, no guards, no sign of life, just the broken faltering light of the hallway leading her upstairs.

Step by step the young lady felt her heart legs leaving her behind while her heart was fighting to stay away. She saw the future and a part of her was sure of what its going to be. How she hated her predictions and their strong hold of her actions, she feared the play her mind kept repeating which made her legs slow down, the faltering light resounded with her beating heart, but there was no going back.

She had reached the fifth floor, by its end was the door of Ross' apartment were the door was wide opened, inviting her in.

It was strange, how a rebellion leader felt so safe to be inside the chaos all alone watching from his window as his plan goes in action, was he brave? Or was he luring Merit in?

Through the hallway, Merit's muddy boats clicked alerting whoever was inside of her presence, Merit's will dragged her resisting body into the apartment as her eyes caught Ross right away.

Ross stood in front of the window observing the chaos he had made. He was oblivious as he thought he had started the revolution that would save the world he knew. Ross could smell the burning breath of Ilusia through his window as the smoke begins to rise from the core of the city, from his back, he could sense the racing heartbeats of Merit who are familiar to his ears.

"Didn't take much, you're quick and usual, Meredith." Ross said calmly, showing no malice or surprise towards Merit's visit.

"You surely do leave lots of footprints behind you, old Ross." Merit said, she approached Ross who sat down on his wheelchair but still didn't look at Merit's eyes, Merit could only think he was afraid.

"Yes, yes, I do. I always do. Mind me, I'm old. But shouldn't we celebrate this fantastic event, soldier? Fellow rebel?" Ross said, he was drawing Merit in for what seemed to be a hole. Ross was aware of everything.

"I'm no rebel or soldier, neither are you." Merit intimidated Ross as she drew a chair and allowed herself to sit behind Ross' desk.

"I get it now, Forger must have made a mistake.."

"The greatest mistake he had ever done was trusting all of you."

"Bold of you to say that" Ross laughed, "But I couldn't care less." He continued.

"Look at that huge metal bird raining down freedom on all those fools, or should I say, weaklings?" Ross said, looking at the sky with a smug look on his face.

"I'm surprised that you, Ross, would think that." Merit said with obvious angry temper, she can feel how Ross has become someone who's ignorant of the real world, so full of his unrealistic ideologies.

"I've climbed my way here with my claws stuck deep into the machines core. Step by step I made sure that the higher I go the weaker the machine becomes, and by the time I'm at the top, the machine is dead, and my plan worked. "I'm at the top, so high above everything, I can see what you can never see, Merit. I can see the truth that you grew blind to, such a pity" he continued.

"The truth is, you failed everyone around you, the truth is, you've killed a human mountain to stand on, that's the truth you never saw, I'm scared of what you've become" Merit said, strongly chaining her tears deep into her eyes, scared to show her weakness to Ross.

"Oh, yes, yes, I've done my fair share of evil, but it was a necessary evil, I've used children, stole them from the streets, lured them with food and brainwashed them to believe in our cause, that, I can never deny. But I never regretted it, never."

"How can you be so cruel, Ross? Remember what you always wished for? It was peace, the peace you wanted for your wife and Andres, how could you betray your own morals?"

"Morals?!" Ross laughed, belittling every word Merit said, "Morals means nothing in this world, keep them if you want, but you won't survive a day after the revolution"

"So you admit it, this revolution brings nothing but chaos, can't you listen to yourself?"

Ross grew tired and bored with this conversation, he sat straight but something seemed unusual about his stance, his hand was near his pocket, and Merit couldn't tell what was inside his pocket.

"Nothing you say affects me, kid." Ross muttered, Merit sighed but didn't give up.

"How long have you been spying on me?" She said, eyeing Ross in disgust. Merit slowly lost whatever was good inside of her towards him, and the young lady cannot hide how feels anymore.

"Oh, about that. Long enough to know about your betrayel." Ross said. Still keep his hand in his pocket making Merit take the right precautions.

"My betrayal? I wasn't the one snitching you off to The Black hats neither was I the one leaving you behind in a child slaughterhouse for nearly five years." Merit grew aggressive and stood up facing Ross in a mighty tone not knowing how dangerous Ross' reaction can be.

"I don't want to hear anything, I've heard enough. Your visit is just a waste of time for both of us." Ross said.

"You think I'm leaving you just fly away from you wreckage you've left behind?!" Merit shouted at Ross while he rested on his wheelchair.

"No, that's not my plan." Ross said, "I'm not flying anywhere, actually." He continued.

"Oh, surprisingly, you're staying on the middle ground, are you afraid of the outside world, Ross?" Merit said, leaning forward towards Ross while in front of her was another airship flashing its annoying white light at the the residents who's numbers were growing every second, the revolution was indeed winning, and those airships will finally break the rules and fly to the virgin lands that not even a word about them has been ever documented or written.

"No, Merit. I'm afraid of something else, something you wouldn't ever understand."

"And what's that, old man?"

"I'm afraid of you, I'm afraid of what you'll become, and I'm afraid that I'll never to stop what's happening from happening." Ross said, his eyes grew teary as he stared at her golden eyes in pain, Merit started to feel uncomfortable and confused about Ross' sudden change in behavior, but before she can turn back, Ross had held her with his gun a blank point, leaving her at the mercy of his finger.

"W-what are you doing?!" Merit trembled, and as a child, she cried to Ross, hoping he still has some mercy inside of him. And she still couldn't understand what was he speaking of.

"I've seen the past and the future, I know what Jen has been telling you. He sent you here to stop me from exiting Ilusia, but its too late, his plane failed, once the airships leave, the way he wanted things to end will take a dramatic end he never prepared for, and another slight change in the scenario he wrote will go in motion, see? I'm prepared too, Merit." Ross stuck the gun deep into Merit's Forehead as her tears fell into his lap, her eyes were begging him to stop but her tongue knew no begging yet she felt her life fading away, and although she realizes how trivial this life she's holding on too, she felt the need to cling to its thin thread in hope of finishing one goal in her short life before she joins the rest of the fallen she grew scared of ever joining, she hoped Jen would listen to her cries and somehow turn back time but realizing how she ran out of cards she stood still with nothing but her aching mind and burning heart that stung deep with betrayal once again.

She was unable to comprehend the length of Ross' knowledge about the situation, and unable to understand anything he said, how could he know about Jen's plan while she, his pawn, knew nothing.

"Ross. Listen to me, this is not how things are supposed to be, we can fix this, there's still time." Merit cried to Ross while she was still held captive by his gun.

"No, you LISTEN to me, MERIT. Jen is jealous of me because I took control! We had the same goal, but he knew about me reaching to his place, he knew that I can achieve the impossible and join him, and he couldn't believe that I, ROSSLAND, can do what he failed to do for decades. He took a step back and I took a step forward, locking him from ever reaching us again. And that ate him from the inside. And somehow he reached you, but I didn't back down, today, Ilusia witnesses the impossible, today, Ilusia learns the truth."

"What t-truth..?" Merit said, looking deep into the cold eyes of Ross who she can see a bit of fear inside of his deadly mind.

"Redemption day, Merit, The day you've done everything to hold back, but you still failed, you are a devil, but a devil unaware of her evil is nothing but a sleeping fool who will be erased of the portrait by her own ignorance, goodbye, little one."

It took second for Ross to achieve the impossible that Merit didn't predict. While she anticipated the bullet to enter her brain and settle down its electric fire, Ross pointed at his head and pulled the trigger, showering Merit with his blood and brain while she was centimeters away from him. She screamed as loud as she can as she stumbled back and fell to the ground, hitting her head onto the table behind her and losing consciousness while Ross' dead body leaned on the window behind him, giving his back to the revolution he was eager to witness, and dying hours away from witnessing the greatest show on earth.

Is she the devil or the Christ?