THE SHADOWVERSE

Aftermath

Sam wept for what seemed an eternity. His cries were long and bitter, and from some trench deep within. In fact, the entire Shadowforce wept. For Irene. For Dustin. For Sonovan. Their lives had been turned upside down in the span of just a few minutes.

Finally, Sam began to ease out of his sobs. Replacing them was a burning rage. "I am going to destroy that God-forsaken ship right now!" He opened a portal and The Shadowforce jumped into it.

They landed inside the Titan, now in an utter state of collapse. In consequence of Titan's passing, no one knew what should be done. Solis had disappeared.

"Let me make that decision for you!" Sam screamed. The entire place fell prey to Sam's true potential. His power filled him, and he erupted into a fury of ice. Sam immersed the entire Navigation Department of the Titan in his icy rage. Every living thing froze. "Rose, I want you to destroy it."

"Gladly," she replied. She leapt into the air as Ryan smashed the floor in two. Upon her impact, the pure energy inside her surged into a wave of fire. It detonated with a blast so violent that it destroyed the electronic systems of the ship, and caused it to begin to fall out of the sky over the Gobi Desert.

Sam activated another portal to Megiddo, just as the ship approached the sands at terrifying speed.

In Megiddo, Sam picked up Dustin's suit, realizing his smell still pervaded it. He clung to it as if to a treasure—an item he had long searched for and finally obtained.

"Titan!" Sam howled. The long, drawn-out cry originated from deep within his very being. He lay there, on his knees, sobbing. Ryan, Rose, and Jane comforted him, yet to no avail. Johnny held his mother in his arms, hoping, in some miracle, she would awaken. But she never stirred, and he realized she was gone for good. He would never hear her voice again.

In the aftermath, Titan was correct: He had broken them. And in death, I have become something more than one being, Sam recollected, I have become an ideal.

Over the next several hours, news outlets and the Israeli Military arrived to survey the scene, but The Shadowforce had already vacated the battlefield. They left only the inactive remnants of Titan's Special Forces and the heap of ruins that was once Titan's flagship. The impact generated a sea of inferno in the Gobi Desert, swelling across the fragments of the Titan, burying them in sand and ash. The five war cruisers orbiting the Earth had exploded in space. In fact, their orders were to destroy everything in sight, but their warp drives were somehow hacked, resulting in catastrophic technological failure. The Shadowforce was perplexed as to what could have happened, for the ten million soldiers on the ships were completely annihilated. But they had no way of knowing, and were not meant to.

* * *

Sonovan found rest for his soul and redemption for every selfish action he had committed. Finally, at long last, he could rest. His destiny had arrived, and he had fulfilled it. For centuries, he had wondered if he could ever again be the hero—be who Oora and The Shadows expected him to be. If only Orslon, Venarian, and Zydok could see him now—their destiny fulfilled through him.

Titan, on the other hand, ended up back where he had started. The corrupt Ooris inside did not forsake him, though. Therefore, in the commencement of this new life, Titan resorted to peace and tranquility, the pure Energy leveling out his darkness. In essence, Titan had become the prime balance of the Ooris in conjunction with Sonovan's pure, good Ooris. Forever opposites, yet forever equals—destined to remain in the Shadowverse ad infinitum, in equilibrium. Dustin, too, was far from simply dead. His death, though he had been fearful of it, proved to birth something so much grander than he ever believed could exist. Now, his Ooris enabled him to reconstruct the Shadowverse in any way he desired. Oora aided him in the discovery of new areas, and showed him how to will the Ooris into his own world. The Shadowverse itself seemed to extend infinitely—it did.

Dustin created a planet with waves hundreds of feet tall. He conjured up a surfboard with the words 'Never Gone' pasted on the underside. Maybe death wasn't so bad after all. But, the Oora still had a destiny for him. Time would tell.

Titan and Sonovan had arrived in the dreamy Yeonlo Zone, which comprised ninety percent of the Shadowverse. Due to her being imbued with Ooris nearly a millennium ago, Aiko was also alive inside the Shadowverse. Sonovan could not believe his eyes and thought he must be dreaming when he saw her beautiful raven-colored hair. When she saw him, she ran. He did the same as they rushed to within inches.

"Sonovan!" Aiko exclaimed. "Is this really you? How?"

"My love? You are here? How?"

"Answer my question first!"

Sonovan did not answer her. Instead, he cupped her face in his hands. "Now I know that it was all worth it." And there, just as he had done a millennium prior, he kissed her.

Titan watched their encounter from afar. Aiko peeked past her husband and saw him. Though without any of his connections and armor, she still felt his presence there. That corrupt Energy was difficult to miss. "Titan?"

He stared at her. "Aiko."

"You do not know how glad I am to see you here."

"Glad?"

"Yes," Aiko retorted. "It is about time you got what you deserved. My life needed justice."

"I am sorry I killed you, but it was necessary."

Sonovan rolled his eyes. "Whatever you say, old enemy."

Titan eyed him in wonder. "How are you still not vengeful? What happened to you on Herook?"

Sonovan slapped his hand on Titan's dark shoulder and left it there. "Because I forced myself to forgive you. The anger would have destroyed me if I had not. Also, on Herook, I came to a conclusion. You would always be my nemesis—my opposite. I would always be yours."

"I see. You do realize it is not over, correct? Z will finish what we started. I am sure of it. And in that moment, you will know I was right."

"I believe in heroes."

"You mean heroes like me?" Dustin cut in. He ran over through the grass. Sonovan had summoned a planet similar to Herook, except, there was no sky. In its place, the multi-colored essence of the Oora, coupled with a space-like blackness, imitated a dreamscape sky.

"Ah, Dustin. This is a surprise, to be sure, but a welcome one!"

"What's up Sonovan? Oh, are you Aiko?"

"Hello, Dustin."

"Hello, ma'am."

Titan clenched his jaw at the sight of Dustin. "Well, well, well. If it wasn't for you . . . You took everything from me."

Titan turned and vanished. There was nothing for him there.

Dustin frowned. "Anyways, see you around, Sonovan."

"We shall meet again, my friend!" Sonovan shouted back, his voice resonating throughout the terrain.