Light began breaking through the black clouds in the sky. Everyone turned to look at it.
"What is that?" a woman said.
"That's... that's the prophecy," another woman said.
Seeing Luccos come outside, everyone rushed toward him. Nain was holding him up.
"Your Majesty, what happened to you?" people started asking.
"Miruth did this to him," Nain said.
Luccos looked up at the light.
"The prophecy..."
Jhed and Shine came outside too.
"Blood..." a woman said.
"Isn't that the one the guards took away?"
"You're alive."
People were overjoyed seeing them alive. Only women stood gathered there — the men were all still at work, some in the fields, some in the gold mines. None of them knew yet that they were free.
"Listen, everyone — Miruth is dead. Jhed and I killed him together. You're all free now. Spread the word." Shine said this, holding up Miruth's severed head for everyone to see.
"What... are we really free?" an old woman said.
Her eyes filled with tears.
"We're free," a woman said.
"We don't have to be anyone's slaves anymore."
The crowd buzzed with the same words passing from person to person, tears of joy streaming down every face. Everyone looked overjoyed — like people feeling real happiness for the first time in a very long time.
"But how. How did they manage to defeat him. Miruth was so powerful." Luccos muttered to himself.
"My dear people, go now — spread the news to everyone," Luccos said. He was feeling steadier now.
Everyone gathered there scattered through the city to spread the word.
Joy filled the air everywhere.
"What's all that noise?" Linea said, opening her door.
"What's going on out there? Why is everyone so happy?" Linea asked a passing woman.
"We don't have to be slaves to anyone anymore. We're free. Miruth is dead." The woman said this and hurried off.
"Are we really free? Loane, are you listening — we're free. Your dream came true today." She pressed a hand to her mouth, tears starting to fall.
Mendriya and Emilie came up behind her.
"Mom, what happened, why are you crying?" Mendriya had grown thin — as if she hadn't eaten properly in days — and Linea looked just as worn down.
Linea pulled both of them into a tight embrace.
"Mendriya, Emilie — we're free. Miruth is dead."
"What?" Emilie said.
"My brother and father didn't die for nothing," Mendriya said.
They believed Jhed had died. But he was alive — they had no idea that he was the one who'd helped kill Miruth.
The three of them jumped with joy.
Elsewhere, some women went to tell the people working the gold mines, others went to the fields. Soon the entire city knew they were free. Joy spread everywhere. People dropped their work and rushed home to be with their families.
Shine walked up to Luccos.
"So you're the king here. Your Majesty, we're the ones who killed him — so, our reward?" Shine said. Jhed walked over too.
"You'll have it, absolutely. Come to the royal court tomorrow — the entire city will honor you both, and you'll receive your reward then," Luccos said.
"I still can't believe that coward actually stood up to him," Nain muttered to herself.
"Shine, you can drop that head now," Jhed said.
"Oh right, I forgot I was even holding it." Shine tossed Miruth's head to the ground.
Just then, a voice rang out from the light.