EPILOGUE – SATURDAY, APRIL 15, 1995

I slowly open my eyes and yawn, stretching my entire body and feeling every muscle ache. I’m currently in my bed at the castle, a bit of sunlight hitting my face. Last thing I remember I was at New Vane with the mages. I think. Am I still living in my mind? I do feel a lot better, thankfully, even with all the aches and pains.

I sit up in my bed and crack my neck. I really hope that this is real.

Suddenly the door opens and Kyle enters with a cup of water in his hand.

“Hi?”

He drops the water and rushes to the bed, saying, “I left you for five minutes…”

“Okay?”

“You’ve been in a coma for two weeks!”

“What? That’s not…what happened?” I ask, unable to believe Kyle’s words.

“When Josh brought you back, he said that the mages told him that there would be a chance that you would never wake again but that Saturn had been dealt with. Celestria tried the best she could with you for days but in the end all we could do was wait.”

“Oops, sorry about that,” I say awkwardly. “Last thing I can remember is a bright light and mages staring at me.

Kyle then gives me a huge hug.

“Okay, you don’t need to make this awkward,” I say, a bit taken back by the hug but it feels good nonetheless. “What did I miss during my nap?”

“Right, so Vane has agreed to lend us their fighter mages to help battle Ozma whenever we need their assistance. They’re going to stay on Zerron though. We need to recruit and be ready for Ozma’s first attack. She knew you were there but she doesn’t know that Saturn has been taken care of. We don’t know why she didn’t come after you while you were in Vane but we think it’s because she doesn’t have the resources yet.”

“Okay, first off, breathe. Secondly, neat, we get to go hero hunting!” I smile.

“And training,” Kyle adds, clearly he’s excited that I’ve finally woken up. Each word that come out of his mouth are spoken on top of each other.

“What?”

“Whatever happened while you were there, you lost a lot of your power. We need to bring you back up to speed.”

“Great,” I say sarcastically.

Kyle stands and helps me to get to my feet, “Come on, we need to tell the others the great news.”



“She was here and you didn’t go after her?” Victoria cries out. “What are we waiting for?”

“Patience,” Ozma says.

“Why? She was practically at our doorstep and you just let her go? What’s the point?”

“I am the one in charge which means you follow my orders. You will stand down and track down those on the list.”

“I should just kill her myself,” Victoria mutters.

“Do I need to keep you here instead?” Ozma threatens.

“No, boss.”

“If you wish, I can just make you do your job.”

“I get it, no killing, stick with the plan,” a frustrated Victoria then makes her way out of Ozma’s office.

“As for you, continue to keep an eye on her,” Ozma turns her attention to a tall man sitting in the corner. “For all they know, they have the advantage.”

“Indeed,” he says.

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