Not all endings are happy.

*Akitaka || From his hands flew a beam like no other. It closed in on his targets in a blink of an eye and in the next, had consumed them, carving a path as far as the eye could see. It was empowered not just by him, but by all of his friends that stood by his side. Kaiyo, Farron, and Oltrin. Each added their own power into the attack, each amplifying it by a hundred fold. It was an attack that dominated all others, launched with the intent of ending the fight..

And it did.

In the midst of his attack, the two people who he fought tooth and nail to save spoke to him. Somehow, their voices reached him despite the roar of power that they all emitted, speaking just a few words.

From Dazen: Thank you.
From Naline: I love you.

Long after the attack had ended and two of the most important people in his life had been killed, Akitaka was still sobbing, on his knees and crying out to the heavens above. In the end, he hadn't been able to keep his promise. In the end, he hadn't been able to save those closest to him.

They had just secured the future for the billions of people around the world. Though injured and without those closest to him at his side, for a lack of better words, they had just saved the world..
So why did he feel so shitty?

He didn't know how long he sat there, nor did he care. He didn't miss much, the memories of their interaction lost upon him. All he could remember was Oltrin and Kaiyo attempting to comfort him and when that failed, he remembered the former passing him something - a small torch that helped illuminate some of the darkness that encased him.

Naline's shard.
Though sporting a long crack down it's center, it glowed with a faint indigo light. Even after it's host had been destroyed, it refused to die. He looked upon it with conflicting emotions, but held tight onto it, nonetheless. A smile was given toward Oltrin, but considering how long the two had known each other, he'd be able to tell.

It wasn't near as bright as it used to be.
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Gathered before him at the foot of the temple were thousands of Northerners. Each one rustled about in excitement, speaking to the few samurai that littered the masses at random. Word had gotten out that their leader had return and a few short hours later, a call to gather had gone out. The last time such a thing had happened, it had been to announced that though he refused to accept the title as King, he'd act as their protector and leader, guiding them from ruin in hopes of leading them to an age of prosperity and peace.

He had made good on that promise and now, excited to hear what was next, they waited.

But inside the temple, Akitaka stood in silence, numb to the excitement felt outside. A few feet behind him, Yoshihide stood in silence, tapping his foot with a frown on his face.

"You don't have to do this," he said. "If I'm not happy with it, then they'll be heartbroken, Akitaka-san. They need you. The North needs you."

Though faint, a smile formed upon his face. Turning to face him, Akitaka gave a brief shake of his head.

"Too much has happened.. and as resilient as I can be, I can't come back from this. They don't need someone like that leading them."

"But..-" He cut him off before he could continue, giving another smalls shake of his head. A few seconds later and he was stepping forward, slowly moving to exit the temple.

"Come.. Let's give them the good news."

The hushed voices quickly rose into a defeaning roar as Akitaka exited the temple, followed closely behind by Yoshihide. His smile, albeit just a bit, widened in the face of the cheers that he recieved. Never in his life had he recieved so grand a welcome, and in the face of it, he couldn't help but laugh. But eventually, he lifted his hand, requesting silence. It took a few seconds, but eventually, they all quieted down, looking toward him in anticipation.

When he spoke, his voice boomed across the land, it's volume amplified by a small use of ki.

"People of the North! Though I'm sure you've already heard, today, I stand before you to confirm the rumors! The Great Walls of the West have been broken and the Pinnacle, reached!"

Again, the roar of the crowd rushed to meet him. It was amazing, it was defeaning..!
It broke his heart. It just made what he had to say even harder than before.

"With the aid of New Olympus, even at the cost of their kingdom, we were able to reach the Pinnacle of all and secure it. The Earth shall remain as is and our futures shall be secured. We'll continue to guard it down to last man and in doing so, we assure that evil shall never get their hands on it!"

More cheering, but it quickly died down as he raised his hand, a frown suddenly replacing his smile.

"But I tell you that this final fight was not without it's sacrifices. We lost many good people.. Many good friends.."

He closed his eyes, taking a shaky breath. He had to remain strong, if only for a few minutes longer. So he opened his eyes again and looked upon the crowd, contuinging.

".. So it's on that statement and with a heavy heart that I've decided to step down as your leader."

Almost immediately after his announcement, shouts of shock, despair, and disapproval rose to meet him. He met them all with a hardened heart and a frown still on his face. As much as their love and support was appreciated, he wouldn't let it sway his decision.

He had made up his mind a long time ago.

"I leave you all in the hands of Yoshihide-san and with one last request.."
"I ask that you continue to prosper and hold strong, regardless of what comes your way and when the time is right, aid the Son of The Storm when he seeks to retake Olympus. It was through his aid that we have experienced peace as long as we have and I ask you to return the favor. Please."

He looked toward Yoshihide, who upon catching his eyes, nodded. It made him feel a bit better about his decision, knowing that he left it in the hands of the greatest samurai of the new era.

Once more, he turned back to look at the crowd of people, all of them crying out for him. It was a sight that would've easily driven him to tears in the past, but now? All he did was smile and bow, speaking just four more words.

"Thank you for everything."

He was off after that, leaping into the sky and taking flight, shooting upward above the clouds. There, he started heading further North. He didn't know how long he flew, nor did he really care. But at some point, day had turned to night and in place of the sun, billions of stars showed themselves in the skies above.

It was a sight that often comforted him in the past and truth be told, it did then. It made him feel more at peace with what he was about to do.

After what appeared to be hours of flying, Akitaka landed just outside of a small path. The moment that he landed, he started following it, taking him up what appeared to be a small mountain. He lost track of how long he had walked, but eventually, he reached his destination.

A clearing covered in a perfect sheet a snow, trees surrounding all but one side of it, opening up to the Northern lands below. In that opening laid a view of the North in all it's greatness, with the city that they had built nothing more than a glow in the distance, still able to be seen from hundreds of miles away.

But as beautiful as it was, it wasn't the view that he had come there for.
It was the tombstone, laid out just before that opening, standing tall in the moonlight. Akitaka sat before that grave and after a few moments, pulled forth a shard from his jacket, indigo in color and giving a light pulse.

Naline's shard.

He stared at it in silence for a few moments, examining it's surface. But after a few moments, he leaned forward, inserting it onto a slot in the tombstone before him. Nothing special happened when he did - it was just a way from him to look at it without having to hold it in his hands.

He looked toward her shard and after a few moments, he turned his gaze skyward, focusing on the stars, no, the heavens above. In his lap rested her journal, turned to the last entry.

"A lot has happened since I last saw you, Nal.. It's been a week, but for some reason, it feels as though it's been a lifetime.. Before, when you had first disappeared, it was easier than this. Back then, even when I was worried about you, I knew that you were fine. Somehow, I knew in my heart that you weren't gone.."

"I guess that's why it's a lot harder now though, huh?"

He trailed off, silence filling the avoid. How long he was silent, he didn't know, but eventually, he continued.

"I messed up a lot. Not a day goes by where I don't think about what I could've done different. I can't help but think that if I had just tried harder.. If I had just been a little more stubborn about you running off, I'd have been able to save you in the end.."

He closed his eyes, but it did little to stop the tears from flowing. They carved a path through his cold skin and dropped to his legs below. He cried, and though it wasn't as fearsome as the sobbing he did in the past, it was still enough to make his body shake and his heart ache.

"I couldn't keep my promise, Nal.."

Hours passed by after that, filled either with silence or the occasional sound of his crying. Creatures of the night occasionally pushed forward to watch the man seated within the clearing, but all eventually ran off, leaving him to deal with his emotions by himself.

But eventually, his crying stop and though his face was stained by tears, a saddened smile formed upon his face. He looked down at the journal in his lap, reading over it's last entry just one more time.

"Two children does sound nice.. I hope they'd take after you instead of me. You always was the better of us two, and if our kids were even half as amazing as you were, they'd take the world by storm just like you did."

"The North does have a different way of wedding, but you'd have liked it. It's a cute tradition."

His eyes came upon the last paragraph and his smile faltered. Slowly, he closed the book and soon after that, his eyes followed it in it's example, bowing his head.

"The future we might've had.. It was amazing, Nal.. It was perfect.. It was everything that you deserved after all that you've been through.."
".. I'm sorry I couldn't give it to you though.."

He drifted off into silence and after a few more hours, he fell completely still. How long he sat there was a mystery until eventually, the sun started to peak over the horizon, covering the North in it's warm embrace. It steadily extended itself until eventually, it covered the clearing that Akitaka sat in, illuminating the shard and the few animals that pushed forward to examine him.

He didn't move, nor did he breath, head still bowed as if he were in the midst of a prayer. Out as far as he was, the chances of anybody ever finding him were next to none. To the people of the North and even those of New Olympus, he had all but disappeared, leaving no trace of where he had gone.

But in reality? He had passed, a smile on his face, and just four words on his lips:

"I love you too."

Thus ended the chapter of Akitaka, the Fearsome Fighter of The North.*