Fan Fiction ❯ The Last Sunrise ❯ Epilogue

*Epilogue*

AND NOW HE STOOD ALONE, THE LAST SURVIVOR OF THE HEROES OF GUARDIA. He gazed out of the window almost absently, half wondering how he had gotten back to his room. The trip out of the caverns was a blur, and all he knew was that he had gotten back to the palace only to find Porre flags flying. All of the soldiers, maids, cooks, and butlers had either been killed or captured, the chancellor was dead, as was most of the counsel and the judge. Chrono was the only living person left in the castle-the Porre soldiers had all withdrawn. He didn't exactly count himself with the living though… He was as dead as Lucca, Marle, or any of the others. He was just a living corpse, whose soul had been destroyed by one tragedy after the next… The fun, carefree, boyish Chrono was dead, and all that remained alive was his hate. He turned to the dresser, and saw that the picture of his friends that he had always had there had fallen off. The frame had shattered. He looked down at the picture, at them all smiling and laughing… His eyes wandered from the picture to the full-length mirror. It was somehow still intact, and he moved to stand in it. He remembered just hours ago he had stood there so proudly in his new armor… Marle beside him… He had really thought that he could stop the attack. Now he stood before it alone, his armor battered and destroyed. He had even lost his helmet. Now he only had one eye, one arm, and his sword to combat Lynx with. His magic had never returned, so he couldn't lean on Luminare. He laid the picture down on the ground in front of the mirror and the sat back down again, waiting…

He didn't wait much longer.

He sensed Lynx coming, felt chills race up and down his spine. He turned to the door, holding his blade in his good hand. He waited, hearing the heavy footfalls outside of the door. They stopped, and the door creaked open. He saw the dark form of Lynx framed in the doorway. Chrono glared at his enemy. The two studied each other intently, each with a cold stare. Chrono had degenerated to the point where he was just as cold as Lynx. Revenge was all he wanted now. He had nothing more.

"Let's see who Time favors, Lynx." Chrono growled coldly.

Lynx smiled, and drew his sickle, gesturing to Chrono to begin. "So you are finally a man…"

Chrono gripped the blade tightly in his left hand.

"Not a man, just a shell… A shell covering nothing but bitter hatred. The man who was Chrono died when you killed his family. I am nothing but his shadow."

"Very well then, shadow…" Lynx sneered. "We will see if it is you or I who will live on into the future."

Chrono was sick of talking, and he leapt at Lynx, bringing his blade up with all of his strength. Lynx parried with his sickle, and tried to counter, but Chrono flipped up, landing on the bed. He then leapt down on Lynx, performing his slash attack. The shockwave knocked Lynx back a bit, obviously the night's fights had tired him out a bit, but Chrono was much more tired. Lynx saw this, and he leapt up, kicking Chrono off of the bed. Chrono flew across the room, slamming into the mirror. It broke into a billion pieces, cutting him all over. Chrono howled in pain, coughing up blood. His ruined armor had done nothing to stop the sharp glass. Lynx laughed, bringing his sickle up. It sparked with electricity and dark energy.

"Then Time has chosen me!!!" He exclaimed, bringing it down on Chrono's chest.

Lynx's sickle cut down onto it like a billion knives and four tons of hot metal at the same time. It cut through Chrono's armor as if it were made of butter. The blow spread out over his skin, burning into his chest cavity. Electricity shot through his armor, burning his skin, and causing him immense pain. Chrono screamed, tensing up. The electricity caused him to arch up, actually putting more pressure on the initial wound. The sickle cut into his chest deeper, and the electricity increased. He howled more, but that howl became a gurgle as blood surged up his throat. His cerulean eyes widened, paled, and emptied as he slowly stopped screaming. He collapsed onto the sickle weakly. Lynx pulled it out of him. Chrono coughed, and spoke weakly.

"Marle… Everyone… … …I'll see you… …soon…" He coughed again, and Lynx sighed.

"Now… It can truly begin." He said, turning on heel. He exited, leaving Chrono to die alone.

Chrono weakly reached through the glass for the picture that he had left there earlier. He found it, and weakly picked it up. He had to hold it close to his face, because he couldn't see well anymore. He looked at all of them… Only five years before… Only five years before… When they had traded their future for their own.

"…everyone…" He whispered weakly, his eyes feeling heavy. "…I tried… I really… tried… to be a… …good king…" He coughed, and lost his grip on the picture. It fell into the glass again, but he hadn't the strength to recover it. He looked up weakly. The pain was gone now… Everything was quiet and serene for him… But he continued to whisper. "It… all depends… … …on that… boy from the future… …he said that… …he'd save… … …the future… …that we… gave so much for… …so no one worry… …I'm sure… …he'll do just… …fine… … … …" Chrono felt sleepy, and suddenly it became absolutely silent. He looked up weakly with his failing vision and saw the sun rise over the window sill… He managed a smile at that rising sun, and his crystal eyes closed for the last time. He exhaled once, and then he lay still.

Inside he felt himself freed from his pain. He soared above everything, to a brilliant light before him. And in that light, he saw his friends, children, his mother… And his father. And for the first time in days, he felt at peace, and he watched the sun rise over Earth that day, one final time. Only this time, he was not alone.

*The journey was not over then.

Many years later, the young boy from the future,

Serge, and a mysterious ally named "RUNE" defeated Lynx,

Avenging the fallen people of Guardia.

The story continues in "A New Dawn", the Chrono Cross stories.*

I hope you enjoy it! ^^