They stare at me with blank faces, confused to why I'd say Hades' Clutch won't be able to free me from the curse we all have. Well, they don't have it any more.

"What does that mean?"

I try to move away from Luca and step out of the clutch's path. However, he grabs a hold of my arm, keeping me in place.

"Amora?" He sounds worried, and I avoid his eyes, afraid his emotion will shine through them.

I look up, watching the light from Hades' Clutch grow dimmer. Eventually, it stops shinning at all.

"What the hell." Nova walks closer to us. "Why wouldn't it work for you?"

She doesn't wait for me to answer. Instead, she pulls a table closer her—the table she previously wanted to use to reach the clutch—and climbs on top of it.

"What are you doing, Nova?" I ask.

She ignores me, stretching her hands high in the air until her fingers come in contact with the clutch.

Nova starts yanking on the item, having to jump a little off the table to do so and nearly tripling as I result of it.

"Nova?"

"Maybe it needs a little shake." She continues her mission to yank at the clutch. "Like a remote does when it won't change the channel even though you keep pressing every button."

"You can't make it work, Nova. It's not a remote."

"So what!" She turns to me, shocking me by her outburst. I think it even shocks her.

Nova turns away from me, choosing to focus on Hades' Clutch once again.

"You know something." Luca grabs my attention. "You never thought it wouldn't work on me, so why are you different?"

I step back, not allowing Luca to hold onto me this time. Running my hand through my hair, I try to think about how to explain this all to them.

"Did the lady in the cave say something to you before the test?" I ask.

I look up at Luca, remembering she whispered something to everyone. For me, she said I'd see what happen if I didn't crack. Maybe if she said the same thing to them, my assumptions are wrong.

"Witness the chaos to come, should you break apart," Luca says, glancing at Nova when she grunts.

"What did she say to you Nova?"

"Same thing." Nova has no interest in the conversation.

"It was different for you, wasn't it?" Luca tries to move closer to me, but I take a step back to keep the distance.

"She said the chaos would happen if I didn't break. Meaning I'd have to break to prevent it."

He looks confused, and even Nova pauses for a moment before reaching for the clutch again.

I take a deep breath, remembering every story Grandpa has told me.

"Some legends say it wasn't only evils put in Pandora's Box; that some of the gods slipped blessings into them and just like evils, blessings ended being stored in humans."

"It's just a story," Nova calls out, fighting back the tears I hear. I'm sure she doesn't even believe herself. Our journey proves that things are never really just stories.

"Going by what Edesere said, I might have a blessing in me." I look up, trying to avoid crying. "Hades' Clutch only extracts evils."

"It's one woman's words." Luca tries to dismiss it.

"And the clutch not working on me." I shake my head. "Can you explain that?"

A part of me feels selfish for feeling so broken, knowing the world can get a blessing from my death; likely one, considering the rest I went through, that will cure a disease.

Luca seems lost for words, but when he opens his mouth to reply, something behind me catches his attention.

I turn around, shocked to see the walls behind me starting to fade away. Behind it, I expected to see the rest of the house, but even that, too, is gone. It looks as if this is the only room left, and I'm sure it won't be soon enough.

I turn back to my friends, watching as Nova takes in the scene. Our eyes meet, and she turns away quickly, continuing to reach for the clutch.

"Get down, Nova." My voice is soft, showing just how defeated I feel. "Please."

She doesn't stop, and I start feeling angry; angry at the world for leaving me as a Vessel and angry at Nova for not accepting the situation. Even though I'm holding a blessing instead of a curse, feeling an emotion intensely will likely mean the end of me.

"Get down!" I walk to Nova, grabbing a hold of her waist and trying to pull her down. "Just stop, Nova!"

"Amora—" Luca tries to interrupt, but a glare from me stops him.

Nova tries to hit and kick me away but ends up losing her balance. She tumbles off of the table, but I catch her before she can fall to the floor.

She tries pulling away from me, but I hold onto her arms to keep her in place.

"Get off!" She says, struggling against me.

"It's done, Nova!" I shake her, thinking it might make her realise that there is nothing left to do for me.

It doesn't work, and Nova shoves me to the floor before trying to step on the table once again. Unfortunately for her, the table vanishes, making her foot touch the floor once again.

We look up, watching as the roof above us disappears, taking Hades' Clutch with it.

Luca walks over to me, helping me up as we look around us. More and more things start to disappear, basically leaving us with the floor to stand on.

My heart drops as I watch everything slip away from me. Although I knew it before, it hurts to see it go. I'm really leaving this place as a Vessel.

I let Luca hold me as a tear rolls down my face.

Maybe this all wouldn't be so bad if my time wasn't running out. I'm still cracking, because my body can't handle the blessing stored inside of me. If I remember correctly, Kwami said I'll only survive a couple of months if I don't get it out.

"We'll find a way, Amora," Luca whispers, but I can't believe him.

I don't want to hope just to get disappointed again, and unlike my mission to Hades' Clutch, I don't know where to start to find a tool to extract a blessing. It might not even exist.

"Hey," he turns my body to face him, "I won't let you stay like this."

"It doesn't make sense." Nova turns to me, looking at me through her eyes puffy, slightly red eyes. "We were supposed to travel."

"You still can."

"No," she sniffs, "not without you."

I break off from Luca and throw myself into Nova's arms. She hugs me tightly, and I do the same.

"I'd hate myself if I stopped you from doing that."

"Amo—"

"I don't want to hear it. You're going to travel," I pull back, "and you're going to visit me to tell me all about it. I expect presents, too."

She chuckles, and I'm happy to see a smile on her face.

Now, the floor starts to disappear, starting from the corners and making its way towards us. Luca takes a step closer to Nova and I, avoiding the fading floors.

"I expect gifts from you, too. One from each country." I nudge him, happy when I see him smirk.

He shakes his head, and my eyes widen. I'll find a way to shove the evil back inside of him if he doesn't send me books and clothes.

"I've never been a fan of travel."

I raise my eyebrows, remembering that travelling was the only thing he could come up with when I asked him about things he'd like to do.

There's no way he's giving that up for me. After being trapped in Fate's Cave for so long and likely being looked down on at any place he has been to before as a Vessel, I want him to see the rest of the world.

"That's weird," Nova says.

He laughs, but it dies down when the floor underneath us start to vanish. At first, I think we're floating on air, but when I look down, I see my feet start fading away.

I smile, realising that strange events are starting to shock me less. I just wonder where we'll end up next.

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