Mad Hatter's Guide to Clearing The Game
Chapter 171: Ch169. Memory of a goodbye

Chapter 171: Ch169. Memory of a goodbye

"The aftermath looked nothing like I had imagined..." Mara began.

***

There was no dramatic cliff, no crashing waves, no howling wind. Just a stillness, a silence that accompanied the trio through quiet breaths and unspoken thoughts.

The remnants of the dungeon underneath them still pulsed, as if the dungeon itself was a gargantuan creature that needed more than just a few hits to die.

Miles sat on a low stone, the egg resting in his lap. Mara stood nearby, as good as new after Miles had given her a cup of the ethereal tea that came from his [Ether Teapot], but her face was still grim, and she was still silent as she looked up at the domed ceiling of the ruined cathedral.

Sarissa remained standing. She hadn’t spoken since they returned to the surface, even after being healed by Miles’ magic tea, and she hadn’t let go of her sword either, dented and cracked as it was, desperately needing the soothing rest that awaited it in her inventory.

Then, her voice broke the silence.

"I’m not going back with you."

Mara blinked. Miles looked up.

"What?" He said, as if she had just said the world was flat.

Sarissa didn’t turn to look at them. Her eyes were locked on the door to the outside, like something was waiting for her and she was not ready to face it.

"I’m not going back to the city." She repeated. "Not yet. Maybe not for a long time."

A pause fell like a stone between them.

"Why?" Mara asked softly, but her tone had an edge, like she already knew the answer.

Sarissa inhaled through her nose, steady and slow, and exhaled as if bracing against a weight she had been carrying long enough.

"Because I can’t sit in that city and pretend everything’s the same." She said. "Because nothing is the same anymore, and I..."

She looked at Miles, and for the first time, there was a glint of acknowledgement in her eyes, before she added.

"... I need to get stronger."

Her expression was calm, but not cold. Resolved.

"And because after what we just faced... I realized that there are some things that I must accept. Whether I like it or not."

Miles stood, slowly, the egg still cradled to his chest.

"You don’t have to do it alone." He said. "You don’t have to disappear."

"I’m not disappearing." She said. "I’m moving forward. Just not in the same direction as you two right now."

Mara crossed her arms, her eyes scanning Sarissa with that silent precision of someone who had seen too many people walk away and not come back.

"You sure?" she asked, already knowing the answer.

"I am." Sarissa nodded.

There was another pause, and then Miles added, his voice tight.

"Where will you go?"

She hesitated, and then, she closed her eyes.

The sword in her hands began reshaping itself, and after a moment, Cheshire was before them. The cat stretched, blinked a few times, and yawned.

His body was full of cuts and bruises, some of it had even lost its fur.

"Oof..." Cheshire shook his head. "Thanks, my dear. It feels like I haven’t stretched for a lifetime..."

Miles looked at the cat, and his lips curled up ever so slightly in a faint smile.

Mara’s eyes widened as she gave a few steps back.

"What the-" She started, but Sarissa interrupted her.

"Long story, but I’ll have to tell you when I come back."

"So, you’re going to Wonderland, then?" Miles’ smile vanished, but there was no trace of anger or anything alike in his voice.

"Not yet." Sarissa retorted. "When we were inside the dungeon, something severed our connection, and I wasn’t able to speak to him. I still don’t know what it was, but I need to find out, and something tells me that, if I want to, I gotta get stronger. Much, much stronger."

Cheshire simply curled around her boot, closing its eyes and falling into a deep slumber, looking too weak to even keep talking riddles and ironies like he usually did.

"And if We’re going to do this together, he’s going to need all the rest he can get."

She took Cheshire in her arms with all the care in the world, and placed him in Miles’, but before he could say anything, she shot.

"Do you remember that place you mentioned? The Horizon?"

"You want to go there?" He asked, quieter now.

"I want to see her." Sarissa nodded once.

He looked at her for a long time. Not just looking, seeing her. Not the paladin who could cut monsters in half, not the girl who’d withstood death more times than a human mind could endure, but Sarissa. The person, the one who bled and grieved, and still had something left to find.

"I can get you there." He said at last. "It’s easy, actually. But when you get there, you’ll be on your own, and this won’t be easy."

"I’m not asking for easy." Sarissa said with determination in her eyes. "Just your help."

A beat passed, then Miles nodded.

"Okay."

Mara let out a breath, long and slow, rubbing at her temple.

"You’re even more stubborn than Miles..." She muttered.

"Takes one to know one." Sarissa gave her a small smile.

The three of them stood in the dim light, the sun almost setting in the horizon, and for a long moment, no one moved. They didn’t need to. There was no ceremony to this kind of goodbye, no long speech, just the ache of what wouldn’t be the same again.

Mara stepped forward first, pulling Sarissa into a hug that was more armor than comfort.

A warrior’s goodbye.

"You take care of yourself!" She said into Sarissa’s shoulder. "Or I’ll find you and drag your ass back myself."

"I will." Sarissa murmured.

Miles didn’t move to hug her. Instead, he stepped close, holding out his hand.

She looked at it, then at him.

And took it.

They didn’t say anything. They didn’t need to.

After a moment, she let go.

Miles summoned the [Horizon’s Key], and motioned it as if placing it into a lock, turning it around. Immediately, a silvery rift that bled shades of red, black, and blue formed in front of them, and he looked at Sarissa.

"Just cross this threshold, and you’ll be there. I won’t guarantee that you’ll land anywhere safe, though."

She nodded, and before he or Mara could say anything else, she stepped through.

***

"And neither of us tried to stop her."

"What happened to Miles?" Jake stammered, shifting from one foot to the other.

"Miles?" Mara chuckled. "Well... He was something else..."