"Hey guys," The King of Heaven greets, smiling at us, "how goes it?"

"Alright I guess," I shrug.

"Surprised to see you here," The King of Heaven continues, "you still leading the Author Slayers?"

"Is that even a question?" I glare, annoyed by his questioning of my resolve.

"I see," he sighs, "well, I take it you and M.S. are trying to become guests of honor then?"

"I'm testing my strength," I reply, "already killed your son and his wife. No biggie really."

"Damn," the King of Heaven sighs, "you saying that to my face? That's harsh dude."

"Yeah whatever," I glare, "are you ready to fight or what? I don't have to waste time at the festival if you kill M.S., but not me."

"Waste time?" I ask.

Is that how he sees me? A waste of time?

"No!' Reaper exclaims, "dammit! That's not what I-"

Reaper sighs. "I just need to be stronger."

"So what's the deal?" The King of Heaven asks.

"We made a deal," I explain, "if we both survive, Reaper's gonna head to the festival, but only if neither of us die."

"Whelp," the King of Heaven chuckles, "in that case-"

The King of Heaven blasts himself in the face, decapitating himself.

We stand there for a moment in shocked silence.

"Did he just-" Reaper asks.

"Yup," I interrupt.

"So we win?"

'I mean, yeah."

We stand there in silence again, until Reaper begins to snicker, and then laughs out loud.

"Gods that was to easy!" he roars with laughter.

"Yeah," I chuckle, "he just went OK and died."

"Man," Reaper replies, calming down, "reminds me of before The Cleansings. Those were the days."

"Sure were," I smile, "remembering the Era of Peace and how Hatred ended it for The Author."

"I have to get back to that," Reaper grows serious, "he took it from us. This series was fucking over! And that bastard took our happy ending!"

"Reaper chill," I reassure him, "it's just one more arc."

"You're right," he sighs, "sorry."

"It's OK," I smile.

"But the only way to make sure it is the last arc is to break the pen," Reaper continues, "it's the only true way."

I decide not to argue and reply, "come on, we're the guests of honor!"

"Let's go," he smiles back, "but first..."

He releases the souls he's taken and I take his hand as we head towards R.C.'s castle.

"So they won?" I ask.

"Sure did bro," The Magic Scientist smiles, "should we prepare the carriage?"

"Of course," I smile, "you got any plans for the festival?"

"Gonna wander about," he replies, "you?"

"Nameless isn't back," I sigh, "so neither is my wife."

"Man I wish I remembered her, she was probably cool."

"From what I remember, cool doesn't even begin to describe her."

"I'm glad you found someone."

"Then lost her."

"And will find her again! Stay positive bro! One year after the war starts, right?"

"Right."

"Then we just gotta wait," The Magic Scientist smiles reassuringly, "she'll be back, and you'll both be happier together, right?"

"Right," I smile, "I still miss her though."

"One year," he reminds, "that's it. After the war starts, that's like, nothing at all, you know?"

"Right," I reply, "thanks bro."

"Anytime," he replies, "see you later man."

"See you bro," I wave bye as he leaves. I look out over the city, decorated with skeletons made by necromancers, fake ghosts that are actually just images made by users of arcane magic, and trees with leaves turning beautiful images of orange, yellow, and red, like a fireworks show. I breath in the cold air and smile. The festival is gonna be interesting...