It was a cool night, very different from the first evening Caedus had crawled from the Rift and been greeted with the sight of the night sky. It was Spring now, even though Winter seemed to still have its clutches deep in the town.

But, for as much as Caedus admired everything Earth seemed to offer, he was never deterred from the fact that he had somewhere else to be.

Earth was not his home, and no matter how long he spent here he could not consider it such. He had aspirations to return home, to a world he had described as solitary and synthetic, floating in space on its own course.

He stood in a clearing in the forest, eyes fixated on a very distant glowing light. Perhaps it was something most humans might have missed, something so small and unimportant that it never crossed their eyes to examine it.

But he knew it.

He felt it, in his heart, with swelling pride and hope.

Home.

Close enough that he could see it.

And he had more than just a location—he had the means to get there.

He was alone tonight, and had already said what goodbyes he could manage. He had made no secret that he felt a stirring in his chest, that something was calling him. That he knew he would leave soon. He had been vague, but something about him always seemed shrouded in mysteries. He was as honest as he could afford to be, and it had paid off.

He had survived for this long. He could even say that he had friends.

People he would miss.

There was a pang in his heart, a sadness at the thought of leaving, but he had been so overwhelmed with homesickness that anything else felt like little more than a fleeting emotion. He was fixated on his return, desperate for it.

Eager to know that his people were alive.

He clung to the faith that he was not alone in this universe, and that his people must have survived and prospered. He was counting on it, not just for peace of mind and soul, but for the revenge he had promised here on Earth.

The Negaverse had existed for far too long, and it was time someone did something about them.

He had the resources at home. He knew he did.

He knew, in his heart, that his people had survived, and they would help him.

Chaos would plague this planet no more.

They just needed to wait a little longer for him to fulfill his promise.

In the bags at his side, he had many charged crystals—energy donated by those who fought against the Chaos in their attempts to help him, and maybe even to help themselves. He had been preparing for this moment for so long that his hands trembled when he began to pull out the crystals.

At first, there wasn’t anything particularly special about them, but once he removed them from the bag they began to glow faintly. He scooped them out in handfuls, but gravity did not seem to affect them; they floated eerily in front of him.

Once his bags were empty, the wall of floating crystals began to swirl slowly, aligning themselves in a very visible circle. The faster they spun, the brighter they glowed, and a strange energy began to swell.

From within the spinning circles, a light began to spark, and spread. It stretched from the air nearest to the circles and spiraled inwards, like water flowing down a drain.

Within seconds, his portal was created.

He stared at it in awe, as if he couldn’t believe it was real. And yet, when he reached his hand to touch the pearly white portal, his fingers slipped through.

A lump formed in his throat and his chest pounded erratically.

Home, a voice said in his head. It repeated, again, and again—louder, and more frantic.

Home, right in front of him. So close he could touch it.

Home, after so long.

His portal was sustained, but it would not last forever. He had enough energy here for a one way trip.

If his world was dead, he was condemning himself.

But if it was alive…

Hope stirred in his heart still.

It had to be.

The Negaverse had to pay.

Justice would be served, and this world would be saved, no matter the cost.

Caedus drew his hand back and raised each of them to pull his hood down. He stood tall, proud, and squared his shoulders.

At his full height, he walked through the portal.

It flickered, only once, when he stepped through, and crackled out of existence.

The crystals, lifeless, shattered to dust and fell to the ground below.

Far away, an unimportant little light in the sky sparkled just a bit brighter.