Villain Retirement

The very air itself became solid, with the stares of Diana and Queen Adel being the center of it all. The other one was smiling, while the other carried within her face a rage that caused her brows to quiver.

"You even dare come back here?"

"I see the only thing that grew for you after a thousand years is the length of your hair—a perfect representation of Theran, as expected of the Queen."

Diana's tone was not mocking at all, but the way she moved and bowed with a smile on her face showed her intention enough—and for someone like the Queen who was versed in addressing her people, she knew exactly what Diana's gesture meant.

"Shut your mouth," Queen Adel breathed out; a pulse of air, blasting through the air around her, lightly clearing the sky as she no longer held any of her strength back,

"What do you hope in doing this, Caitlain? I know you're not aiming for freedom, you are not a fool like my daughter."

"On the contrary, your daughter is wiser than both of us combined when we were her age. A little too kind and naive, though. But as for what I want from this, hmm…" Diana placed her hand on her chin as she hummed; her body, freely moving in the air as she was not floating upside down,

"...You're right that I don't care about setting anyone free—all of us are trapped in bigger and bigger cages, after all. What I do care about is change."

"Why!? What is there to change!?" Queen Adel raised her voice, "I don't understand, Caitlain—are we not already perfect the way we are!? The animals outside should be thanking us that we don't meddle with them; they are scared of us, and some abhor us. I don't know the reason as to why our people should be subjected to that!"

"..." Aerith, who was listening to their conversation, could not help but squint her eyes from her mother's sudden change in tone. It… was so different in the way she talked to her.

"These poor people have this grandiose opinion of a world they know nothing about!" Queen Adel then pointed at the crowd,

"You want them to live in a world where their neighbors would scatter like flies as soon as they see them? They will be even more trapped there than here. At least in here, both us and the anima—and the people out there are safe from each other…

…We are not meant to be in the skies, we are meant to be here—Home."

"..." The crowd watching from the ground once again all looked at each other; some of them, nodding their heads.

"Please…" Queen Adel looked each of the people below her in the eyes, "...Do not abandon your home."

"..." Even Aerith, who had already steeled herself with what she was about to do, could not help but stutter with her breaths. But after a few seconds, she shook her head and sighed—most of the people in the crowd had not even felt what it was like to travel in space, for a species that could freely breathe in the expanse of space, it just… felt wrong.

They are not meant to be stuck here.

"You truly are making a lot of sense, Queen Adel. I respect that you are really into your own bullshit." And with Queen Adel's soulful speech, Diana only covered her mouth to giggle.

"Bull… what?" Queen Adel's eye started to twitch, "I will never lie to my people."

"Oh?" Diana smiled before her voice became quieter,

"Then tell them Theran is dying."

"..." Queen Adel stared at Diana's eyes for a few seconds, before she covered her mouth and started to chuckle, "Theran is the strongest celestial body in the Universe, Caitlain."

"That is why it is dying."

"Right…" Queen Adel let out a long and deep breath as the muscles in her arms started snapping in the air, "

I forgot that talking to you is useless, Caitlain—you think your word is the only word that is true."

"On the contrary, Your Highness. The only way you could stop is to convince me to stop—you won't be able to any other way."

"Please, you spent most of your time out there mingling with the weak."

"On the contrary, I met the strongest people I met out there. The one wreaking havoc up there right now is from the outside."

The two were completely different.

Queen Adel exuded a violent elegance, wrapped in a dangerous air of luxury.

Diana exuded a calm simplicity… eerily simple that one could not help but fear what was hiding inside.

"…"

The two once again stared at each other; their hair, the only thing moving for seconds.

"!!!"

And then, without even any warning—the air behind the two distorted as they disappeared for an entire second. Only showing themselves again when Adel's fist collided with Diana's palm.

And then it stayed like that for another second, almost as if the universe did not yet know what to do. But soon, a silent crack whistled in the air; the very space between the atoms in the middle of Adel's fist and Diana's palm, snapping apart as it tore existence itself.

And the shockwave that came with that… devastating. The skies above them cleared, tearing the planet's exosphere and showed New Theran without any filter.

The ground that was meters below their feet, completely blown away; the trees surrounding the glade, stripped away.

The themarians that were watching them were all crouched on the crumbling ground—digging their hands through the violent waves so they would not be blown away with the rest of the glade.

"Should… we help the Queen?"

"Wait, did you hear what the other woman said? Theran is dying?"

"...Do you think that's true?"

"..." Aerith heard it too, loud and clear. Theran is dying? Why was she not made aware of that by Diana if it was true? But then again, Diana is a woman that is riddled with a billion secrets… and also a billion lies.

But then again—perhaps that was the very reason Diana had been preparing New Theran for thousands of years? If so… then this changes everything.

"People!" And before the thoughts of the crowd could turn into loud whispers, Hera, who suddenly disappeared when the fighting began, once again started raising her voice,

"If you wish to leave Theran, now is the chance!"

"What… if the Queen's men are waiting for us out there!?"

"No," Aerith joined and stood beside Hera, "Mother likes to do everything herself. But people, if you want to stay, you could. Remember, no one is forcing any of this on you. Mother is right when she said that Theran is your home—you have lived your entire lives here—but I can promise you this…

…New Theran will gladly also welcome you home."

"..."

"Now I know you heard that Theran is dying. I do not know if that's true, there are no signs of it happening and the chance that Caitlain was lying is high. But if you wish to…"

Aerith closed her eyes as she sucked in a deep breath—knowing she is going to regret the next words that will be coming out of her mouth,

"If it is true… then I will find a way to bring the older generation with us."