"Riley, just stop!"
"...Mother?"
"Enough, Riley. Just… stop it."
And for the first time in a very long time, Riley found himself just like the rest of the people standing below him—completely frozen. He wasn't surprised that everything around him just suddenly changed in an instant, no.
What he was surprised about was suddenly seeing Diana floating right in front of him, appearing out of nowhere. Suffice it to say, Riley didn't really feel any threat coming from the dragons, but now that Diana suddenly replaced them, he felt like he needed to very slowly descend back to the ground.
But of course, Riley didn't do it and instead just stretched his hand to touch Diana's face.
"Are you really here, Mother?" Riley then started brushing Diana's cheek, caressing, pinching, and pulling to see if it was real. And true enough, she was there.
And while Riley was busy messing with her face, Diana just stared at him; her eyes, slowly turning moist as her eyebrows furrowed.
"You… found us. Mother?" Riley tilted his head to the side as he finally let go of Diana's face, "We should be in a place that is very far away, a completely different dimension. Completely inaccessible by normal means. How were you able to find us, Mother?"
"..." Diana's eyes fluttered shut; her lips parting in a deep exhale as if all she wanted to say was contained within the sigh that escaped them. The meaning of her sigh, however, Riley was not capable of understanding at all.
"Aerith, Mother found us!" Instead, Riley just turned to look at Aerith, only to find her standing alone on the ground. Lilly, Lilly's husband, Roan, Bert, and his son were nowhere to be found.
"Oh…?" Riley then finally started to scan his surroundings, only to find that they were now standing on a large rock. He looked at the sky, to find that there was none at all; instead, he finally realized why the darkness was so familiar to him—it was the expanse of space. And the land they were standing on? An asteroid…
…floating amidst the countless other lifeless stones and dust in the darkness, almost reminding Riley where he truly belonged.
"You didn't find us…" Riley then whispered as he looked to the side, "...The plaque—I suppose it finally teleported and brought us back."
"No, dear…" Diana once again sighed; this time looking Riley in the eyes, "It's…
…not real."
"Hm?" Riley tilted his head to the side, "What do you mean, Mother?"
"You know what I mean, Riley… You know what I mean," Diana once again closed her eyes. And this time, the sadness that had been wanting to burst forth from them could no longer be contained; the tears, going down a trail on her cheeks that already seemed to have existed for a long time,
"The dragons, the adventures… they're not real."
"Of course, they are, Mother," Riley blinked, "How could they not be when I was just on their planet moments ago?"
"..."
"Wait," Riley's eyebrows started to furrow as he very slowly floated away from Diana, "How do you know about the dragons, Mother? Are you perhaps involved with the P'lopi?"
"I know because you have told me before. They're not real."
"..." Riley looked to the side as several thoughts started to race in his mind. But after a few seconds, he let out a small but very deep sigh and shook his head, "They seem real enough for me, Mother. The P'lopi, I believe they are planning something behind the shadows."
"How? How would you know they're planning something?" Diana wiped the tears on her face as she took in a deep breath, "You made it up, Riley."
"..." Riley blinked as he heard Diana's words, "Are you saying that I have lost my mind, Mother?"
"..."
"I don't believe so, Mother," Riley shook his head, "The way the supervirus scattered, and everything that was happening seemed too real to not be real. You suddenly being here is what does not seem real."
"..."
Diana once again kept her silence as she just looked at Riley. Riley, on the other hand, placed his hand on his chin as he let himself think of different other possibilities. But after a few seconds, he just shrugged and turned around before flying back to Aerith.
"Well, real or not, since we're back, we can continue traveling again, Aerith," Riley nodded as he stood in front of Aerith, "We just need to find another ship, and I can fulfill my promise to take you away."
"..." Aerith did not really say anything; just nodding her head as her feet slowly left the ground.
"Which direction do you want to go this time, Aerith?" Riley also started to float again as he asked, "We're already in the Unknown, so maybe we should try to—"
"Riley, stop and listen."
Before they could leave the asteroid, however, Diana suddenly appeared behind Aerith and grabbed her hand—not letting her fly away.
"What are you doing, Mother?"
"Where do you think you were, Riley?" Diana did not let go of Aerith's arm as she once again looked Riley in the eyes, "What world were you in earlier?"
"It's called Arlusia, Mother."
"...Arlusia," Diana breathed out, "That is the name of the world of the anime you keep on watching again and again, Riley."
"..." Riley squinted his eyes, before grabbing Aerith's other hand, "Let's go, Aerith. We still need to find a ship if we want to continue our—"
"Riley!"
And almost as if a beast unleashed, Diana let out a roar that shattered the asteroid beneath her feet, "I know you know, dear… you know. Just stop this, please—everyone's getting tired."
"Let go of Aerith, Mother."
"Riley…"
"We are going, Mother."
"...Riley."
"Hm?"
"Let her rest."
"...What are you saying, Mother?" Riley blinked a couple of times as he tightened his grip on Aerith's hand, "I don't understand, Mother. Why are you saying that?"
"Please let Aerith rest," Diana pulled closer to Aerith, before very slowly and gently touching and covering her face…and closing her eyes,
"It's time to let her rest eternally. Please, Riley… for both your sakes…
…it's time to let her go."
