Chester hefted his sword above the arch-fiend’s corpse and whooped “Haha, YES! We did it!”

“Well, we saved the world.” Clarissa shot an uncertain, concerned look at their revealed-to-be-homunculus friend, who was slumped to the side. “But… we couldn’t get back Coral’s memories, like we promised.”

“Well, yeah, because…” Chester trailed off.

“Because I don’t have any.” Coral stood up and dusted herself off, her expression… serene. No, vacant. “It’s fine. Memories are worthless, anyway. I’m GLAD I’m free of that, that nonsense. Nothing to weigh me down when I fade.”

“W-we might be able to-”

Coral shot Clarissa an impatient glare. “No. You can’t. You heard him - my ‘personality core’, the pseudo-soul which drives me, was made from his magic. With him dead, I’m dying. I can FEEL IT. Which is fine. It had to be done.”

Keith winced. He really wasn’t a rousing speeches, power-of-friendship kinda guy. But he could see Chester winding up to espouse the importance of memories (as if that would help her feel better!) and Clarissa pushing the idea of trying to save her regardless of how pointless they all knew that to be.

Some people were born to comfort others, but when they were about to make everything worse non-naturals had comforting thrust upon them.

So he stepped forward, blocking Clarissa’s attempted hug in what he HOPED was a subtle manner, and let his hood slide back so his face was illuminated by the guttering torches. Habitual scowling was so ground-in that he feared a smile would come out wrong, but he lightened his expression as best he could.

“Coral… maybe you’re right, and memories are worthless.”

Chester bristled and opened his mouth - and thankfully shut it when Keith glared, allowing him to continue “But what we did here - YOU did here - wasn’t. A thousand years from now, maybe none of us will be remembered… yet the course of history will be flowing thanks to us. And, you know…”

He faltered, unable to look Coral in the face, as he mumbled “You changed us, too. I mean, I spent my whole life resenting my inherited destiny. Wishing to be someone other than who my parents told me I had to be. But I never did anything about it. Whereas you…”

A grin broke his face, and for once he didn’t fight it. “You turned around and cussed out your old man THROUGH MIND CONTROL! Refused to be who he crafted you to be! And then you channelled his own power against him! At, what, two months old?? Damn, girl. Now every time I’m grumbling about being the Wilds Warden I’ll think about you, and how if you can pull that off I have NO excuse for not getting my life in order.”

“Yeah!” Chester had caught on, his fluster fading into heartfelt earnestness. “Crystal Castle wouldn’t still be standing if not for you! Not just now, but using your magic to drive off those zombie lobsters! Every time I walk those battlements I’ll be thinking about what a badass wizard you were. Every time I eat seafood, too!”

“Which will be often, now that the Roiling Fleet is restored.” Clarissa caught Coral’s hand and squeezed it - and the other girl returned her smile. “You’re going to be on the blessings list of every ship, you know. ‘Pseudo-soul’ or whatever, if there’s anything left of you I want it on our side.”

“It would be.” Coral said softly.

While it was hard to be sure, Keith wanted to believe that the tears currently in her eyes were very different to the ones soaking her front.

He hesitantly rested a hand on her shoulder. “I’m sure the mayor and all will have a big celebration planned, but… that can wait. If we don’t know how long you have…?”

Coral shook her head. Her expression was still serene, yet he could feel her trembling. He couldn’t imagine what she was going through right now. Grief, terror, bitterness… What could her friends say, to even begin to help?

All he had was “Then, um, should we get started on the list of things you wanted to do after the adventure ended? I get that you might not want to do some of them now, since it was about ‘making memories’, but…”

Chester nodded vigourously. “Yeah, however you’d like to spend… however much time you have… we’re here for you! We’ll try and make all your dreams happen!”

“Right!” Clarissa fist pumped, flushing with determination. “Whether that’s pieing Master Roquefort or just lying on a grassy hillside! No request is too big or too small or too petty! Just say the word!”

“I…” Coral’s expression crumpled and she yanked Clarissa into a tight hug. Chester joined in without a second’s thought. Keith barely had time to start awkwardly inching away before the other two nabbed him.

Ugh. Fine, whatever. He could waive his ‘FFS don’t touch me!’ policy this once. Grit his teeth, frantically wash all exposed skin later, whatever it took not to spoil this moment.

He whispered in Coral’s ear “I can’t believe how much change you made to the world in just two months. I’ll be thinking of you every day for the rest of my life. I wish we had more time together, but… please, know this - YOU MATTERED. So, so much.”