Chapter 59: The Otaku Rests (And Plans the Long Road Home)
Morning came soft to the valley.
No shadows twisting in the corners. No pressure behind the eyes. Just sunlight filtering through the golden tree's leaves, turning everything the color of honey.
Meliodas woke on the steps of the central building, something warm pressed against his side. Rem. Her head was on his shoulder, her tail curled around his wrist, her ears twitching in sleep. She hadn't let go since the fight ended.
He didn't move.
Bud was a warm weight on his other side, curled into a tiny ball, glow dim, breathing slow. Still recovering.
Kaelen sat by the lake, legs crossed, eyes closed. The loop on his wrist glowed steady white. He looked peaceful for the first time since Meliodas had met him.
Edrin and Lira sat on a rock together. Not touching. But close. They were talking. Quiet words, barely audible, but words nonetheless.
Vex was gone.
Meliodas's eyes opened fully.
He scanned the valley. {Observation Haki} stretched.
There. Near the entrance. Vex stood at the edge of the sanctuary, the small crystal still in her hands, looking out at the foothills.
She wasn't leaving. Just... looking.
He relaxed.
Rem stirred. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing. Go back to sleep."
Her tail tightened around his wrist. "Don't tell me what to do."
She didn't open her eyes.
He almost smiled.
---
The sweetroll plate produced exactly one sweetroll that morning.
Meliodas split it six ways.
Rem got the largest piece. She didn't argue. She'd earned it.
Bud got his share and immediately demanded more.
'More?'
'Tomorrow.'
'Tomorrow is too far.'
'Tomorrow is a day away.'
'That's too far.'
Bud huffed and went back to sleep on Meliodas's shoulder.
Kaelen ate his piece slowly, savoring it. "Master, what happens now?"
Meliodas leaned against the steps. "Now we rest. Figure out our next move."
"Back to Southval?"
"Eventually. But first..." He looked at the sky. Normal sky. No cracks. "I need to find a way home."
Rem's ears perked up. "Home? You mean your home? Across the sea?"
"Something like that."
She was quiet for a moment. Then: "I'm coming."
Meliodas looked at her.
She met his eyes. "You're mine. Remember? And what's mine, I keep."
Kaelen smiled into his sweetroll.
Meliodas sighed. "It's not across the sea."
"Then where?"
He hesitated. How much to say? He settled on: "Far. Very far. Through places that don't exist on any map."
Rem's tail flicked. "So you need a way to travel through places that don't exist."
"That's one way to put it."
She nodded slowly. "Then we find one."
---
The Archmage found them before midday.
Not in person. A projection, shimmering above the lake. Her eyes were sharp, assessing, but there was something softer in her expression.
"You did it."
Meliodas stood. "Kaelen did it."
Kaelen flushed. "Master helped."
The Archmage's gaze swept over them. Rem, still close to Meliodas. Bud, curled on his shoulder. Edrin and Lira, sitting together. Vex, still at the valley's edge.
"The crack is sealed. The anchor is stable." She looked at Kaelen. "You've grown, child."
Kaelen straightened. "I had good teachers."
The Archmage almost smiled. Then her gaze returned to Meliodas.
"I felt what you did at the end. When you chose to win." Her voice was careful. "That is not magic I recognize."
Meliodas didn't explain. "It worked."
"Yes." She studied him for a long moment. "There are those who would want to study you, given what you've shown."
Rem's tail tightened around his wrist.
Meliodas kept his expression neutral. "I'm not interested in being studied."
"I know." The Archmage nodded slowly. "Which is why I'm going to help you instead."
---
The projection moved closer.
"Southval is safe. The cult is scattered. Lira's capture has given us names, locations, plans. We will deal with the remnants." She paused. "But you cannot stay here forever. You have... obligations elsewhere."
Meliodas's heart beat faster. "You know a way?"
"I know a place. A nexus, north of here, where the barriers between worlds are thin. The old ones called it the Crossroads. It's been dormant for centuries, but with the right key..."
She looked at Bud.
He opened one eye.
'Me?'
"Your light is old. Ancient. It resonates with places like the Crossroads." The Archmage met Meliodas's eyes. "If anyone can open a path home, it's him."
Bud sat up, suddenly alert.
'I can get us back?'
"With time. With practice. With the right conditions." The Archmage's voice softened. "It will not be immediate. But it is possible."
Meliodas exhaled.
Not today. Not tomorrow. But possible.
"That's more than I had."
---
The Archmage's projection faded with a promise to send a map.
The valley settled back into quiet.
Rem was still pressed against his side. "Crossroads. Sounds dramatic."
"Everything about this world is dramatic."
She snorted. "You're not wrong."
Kaelen approached, loop steady white. "Master, when you go... when you return home..." He hesitated. "May I come with you?"
Meliodas looked at him. "You have a kingdom to reclaim. A bloodline to rebuild."
Kaelen's jaw tightened. "I have nothing there. My father wants me dead. My people don't know I exist." He met Meliodas's eyes. "You showed me what I could become. Let me follow you."
Rem's tail flicked. "He's persistent."
"You're one to talk."
"I'm special."
Meliodas looked at Kaelen. At the young prince who had survived a cult, a crack, an ancient evil. Who had closed a breach with his own blood and will.
"You can come."
Kaelen's face lit up.
"But," Meliodas added, "you're training every day. Harder. No slacking."
"Yes, Master!"
Rem rolled her eyes. "Look what you started."
---
Edrin and Lira approached as the sun climbed higher.
Lira spoke first. "I'm going back."
Meliodas waited.
"The Archmage will want to question me. There's information I have that can help dismantle what's left of the cult." She looked at Edrin. "I have a lot to answer for."
Edrin didn't look away. "I'll go with her."
Lira blinked. "Edrin—"
"I'm not leaving you again." His voice was quiet. "Not after everything."
Something passed between them. Not forgiveness. Not yet. But something that might become it.
Meliodas nodded. "The Archmage will protect you both. If she doesn't, I'll come back."
Edrin almost smiled. "I believe you."
---
Vex came last.
She stood at the edge of the group, the small crystal still in her hands. She looked at Meliodas like she was trying to decide something.
"You could have killed me," she said.
"Yes."
"Why didn't you?"
Meliodas considered. "Because you were useful. Because you helped at the end. Because killing people doesn't fix anything."
She stared at him for a long moment.
Then she handed him the crystal.
"Take it. It's from the cult's stores. Might help with your... door problem."
Meliodas took it. It pulsed faintly in his palm.
Vex turned and walked toward Edrin and Lira without another word.
Rem watched her go. "She's interesting."
"She's dangerous."
"So are you."
He didn't argue.
---
They spent the rest of the day resting.
Rem dragged Meliodas to the lake and made him sit with her on the shore, her tail curled around his wrist, her head on his shoulder. She talked about her kingdom, her family, her sister Sheera. Meliodas listened.
Kaelen practiced with his sword, the loop steady white. Bud chased butterflies and demanded more sweetrolls.
Edrin and Lira sat on the rock, talking quietly. Their voices were low, but they were talking.
Vex sat apart, watching the sky.
The sun set. The golden tree glowed.
Meliodas opened the System.
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]
[QUEST COMPLETE: SHADOWS IN SOUTHVAL]
{The crack is sealed. The anchor is safe.}
Reward: 15 Hero Shards | 5 Destiny Shards
[HERO SHARDS: 30]
[DESTINY SHARDS: 46]
[BROKEN SHARDS: 12]
Not a fortune. But enough.
He closed the System.
Rem's voice came soft. "What are you thinking?"
'That we survived.'
He didn't say it aloud. He just leaned back against her and watched the stars.
Somewhere, impossibly far away, Earth was still turning.
He'd get back. Eventually.
Bud landed on his shoulder, tiny and warm.
'I want another sweetroll.'
'Tomorrow.'
'Tomorrow.'
---
[END OF CHAPTER 59]