Chapter 368: Quetzalcoatl’s Sacrifice, Riven’s Promise

-----

"Your son...!" Ignias gasped, staring at him in disbelief. "You had one?! Oh no! Where is he?!"

"..." Riven sighed and shook his head, clenching his fists as the final memory disappeared. "I don’t know. I’ll have to search the soldiers’ minds or check the computers here, but I promise we’ll find him. Wherever they took him, we won’t leave him behind."

"...Thank you."

Quetzalcoatl was already completely gone, but before his spirit disappeared, he looked down at his ruined body one last time. There was no anger left in his eyes, only relief that someone had heard his final request. He then flew into his body, becoming a stream of green light that spread through every feather and scale covering it.

Slowly, every last bit of his power and energy rose into the sky above them. The lights gathered around one another, crystallizing into a beautiful green jewel crowned with many colors. Each color carried a different element, turning within the crystal-like tiny streams of fire, water, wind, and lightning... but at the end, settled on yellow and green, thunder and wind.

"I wish I could give you more..." Quetzalcoatl muttered, his voice weakening with every word. "Please... take... this...!"

His entire body began to compress within the crystal, turning into pure spirit power as the jewel took its final form. His feathers dissolved one after another, followed by his scales and enormous wings, until nothing remained outside the light. For a moment, the image of a feathered serpent appeared inside the jewel.

The crystal slowly descended into Riven’s hands, shocking him. It was warm, and a faint heartbeat inside pulsed with powerful divine spirit energy. He closed his fingers around Quetzalcoatl’s final gift, knowing that he now carried both the Esper’s remaining power and his last hope of saving Coatliztli.

"This jewel..." Riven muttered in silent awe. An immense amount of spirit power pulsed within his palms as he held the legendary relic. The jewel was still warm, and several colors moved beneath its green surface. Even after everything Quetzalcoatl had endured, the power he had left behind was overwhelming. "What is this? It’s not just a Spirit Core, is it?"

"A Spiritite?!" Ignias gasped in disbelief. Her eyes widened as she stared at the jewel, and for a moment, she could barely muster the words. "W-Wait...! Quetzalcoatl! If you had enough power to form this, why didn’t you just..."

"I cannot stay... for long..." Quetzalcoatl sighed. His fading figure flickered beside them, already breaking apart into smaller particles of light. "Please... human... You who... have compassion... please... save my friends... Take my power... everything within me... and save them..."

Quetzalcoatl slowly disappeared before Ignias could finish her question. The last parts of his body scattered into the air, leaving Riven and Ignias watching as the particles of light faded away one by one. His presence vanished with them, and only the Spiritite remained as proof that he had ever been there.

"I will," Riven promised, closing his fingers around the jewel, as hard as a diamond.

Riven studied the Spiritite again, still trying to understand what he had just witnessed. He could sense Quetzalcoatl’s power inside it, but there was something else as well. A faint trace of the Esper’s presence remained within the jewel, making it feel far different from any ordinary magical item or the core of a spirit.

He looked back at Ignias, hoping she could give him an answer.

"Ignias... what exactly is this?"

"..."

She stared at the Spiritite one last time before sighing, shaking her head. Her usual confidence was gone, replaced by an expression Riven rarely saw on her face. She clearly knew what it was, but explaining it seemed painful for her.

"It’s something many Espers would be horrified to see," she finally said. "This is a Spiritite, a crystal born from the sacrifice of an Esper."

"What?"

"When Espers die, our bodies disappear into spirit energy and fade away. Nothing physical is left behind... usually. You wouldn’t have been able to eat Quetzalcoatl and gain his power, Riven, even if he had allowed you to try."

"Oh..."

"However, Quetzalcoatl performed the ultimate act of sacrifice. He compressed and crystallized everything he was into this jewel, including his spirit, his magic power, and what remained of his life. That is why it contains so much energy. At the same time, though, it is also like the corpse of his true self. The Spiritite is all that remains of him now."

"..."

"Evil Dragons back in my world used to do this to Espers," Ignias continued, lowering her gaze. "They kidnapped their friends and family, then used them as hostages to force the Espers to sacrifice themselves and create Spiritite. Those Dragons consumed the jewels or placed them inside artifacts to gain immense power. Of course, I would never do something so awful. Espers aren’t items or objects to be used. They are people too, with families, fears, and lives of their own..."

"Yeah..."

Riven nodded. Now that he understood what the Spiritite was made from, the jewel felt different in his hands. Quetzalcoatl had willingly erased every remaining part of himself so his strength could be used to save his child and his friends.

Riven felt grateful for the power, but accepting it also made him uncomfortable. After all, itt was not a simple gift or reward, this jewel was the last piece of a father who had placed all his hope in him. Riven tightened his grip around the jewel and silently furrowed his eyebrows, renewing his resolve to find Coatliztli.

"I’ll make sure to hold on to this."

His Gluttony did not react to the jewel at all. It was not the same as eating the core of a ghost or spirit beast, and he felt no hunger coming from the power inside it. Instead, his Divine Spiritual Heart responded with a steady pulse of spiritual energy as he held the jewel, as if it recognized what Quetzalcoatl had become and the bond they could establish, somehow.

-----