rcefully tried to kill him. Nothing was working, Jackyn could even see this, causing him to thrust a dagger in Aoba's direction, stabbing him right in the windpipe. Aoba just wouldn't die, pulling the chains from the holders to thrust them away like a whirlwind. His eyes gleamed as they focused to Excalibur.

"Your attempts against me are FUTILE! AHAHAHAHA!" Aoba reeled his head back to laugh, in almost an insane manner. He was starting to loose his mind, to this power he was bestowed with.

As he forced his way through the allies that made effort to strike him down, he did not falter, his sole attention on reaching his sword that laid before him. Ashewyn wasn't about to let him through however, reaching for Excalibur with the utmost determination. Light vividly glowed, blinding everyone as his hand touched it's bejeweled hilt. Moments passed as the light died down, to revealed Ashewyn rising up before Aoba with Excalibur in his grasp.

"...But HOW!?" Aoba demanded in complete shock, in the very moment Exclaiber's brand struck through his skull.

All eyes turned as silence engulfed the battlefield, witnessing Aoba's body hit the ground, with Excalibur pierced between his eyes. The ongoing struggle and all it's violence completely ceased in this moment, as the Grand Master fell in battle. Nye and Ashewyn stood together with their allies and friends amongst them, all facing the surrounding Templar.

"Your King is dead!" Ashewyn exclaimed, taking this leadership role, as he noticed Nye not stepping forth. "Surrender, or join him!" He commanded, taking hold of the Holy Sword, Excalibur.

The remaining generals and the rest of the Templar soldiers seemed lost, as if they were unsure what to do in this moment. Siegfried and the Lupis general stared along with the other Templar units, as they all began to slowly laying down their arms. Unable to continue this war without their King, the Templar were forced to surrender, in defeat to this ragtag group of fighters. Even the allies like Raz, and the felines that had fled the battlefield observed this at distance.

"The wind of change is blowing now... I think it's time the Templar dissolve their forces, and forfeit the right to control other races' freedoms. The disagreements of dead men should not weigh on our judgements as they have been." Nye stood higher, struggling to speak in front of all these people. It was clear she was anxious, but she had to speak her mind.

"No matter the shape or form, controlling the freedoms and lives of others shouldn't be any given race's privilege." Solitaire spoke up, before glancing to Zyron. "These bloody rules restricting who you're allowed to love? Why do things have be that way? It just doesn't make sense."

"Yeah. We're all different, but that does not mean that we shouldn't have the same freedoms as anyone else?" Miles spoke up, taking Minerva's hand as she dismounted Ember, beside him.

"Rhyme, Amygdala, Lupis, fiends, the various races that have been called 'Leashed', or even the Terra, Elves and Centaur. None should dominate any others just because some of us look different." Eclipse added, looking upon the gawking Templar.

"We're all people, and many of us have our own cultures. So, shouldn't our differences be celebrated?" Talis threw in her input as well.

"Pray tell. Wherefore must we square in thine manner? I beseech thee, is peace nay an option?" Sally pleaded, in her usual manner.

"These meaningless laws of imprisonment and slavery do nothing to help people." Shane spoke up, getting a nod of agreement from Jackyn.

The words of the united group allied with Nyghtmare and her friends weighed heavy with the Templar, forcing the war to end, and the new world order to be taken to heart. Peace treaties were discussed here on the very battle the Templar lost, that would help unify Desdemuna's people in ways that had not been considered for many a century....

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Epilogue: Brave New World

The Crusaders of Freedom managed to defeat the Templar Order; in spit of this the many cities and towns began to be flung into panic and disorder, after the Templar were forced to disband. This began the rise of potential new leaders and rulers, as Kingdoms were beginning to slowly rebuild from the ashes of the former sovereign power of the world. Many older technologies and beliefs were being discarded, and left abandoned as things were forced to evolve in unexpected ways. New places were being built, and changes in the laws were made, like inner-species relationships; but it would take time for people to accept these adjustments. This would undoubtedly cause new conflicts and possible wars, which lead to the Resistance being fully established to keep the peace. At last there was finally time to mourn the dead, but there was much yet to be done. Heath and Rocky brought together many from the War of Freedom, to stand together to become part of this. Ashewyn being able to wield the Holy Sword Excalibur was quickly sought out to join them, as were many of the others.

Nyghtmare had refused to join future wars, as well as declined becoming the Ghestro family ruler. When Raz reappeared with Koron's son, Anderz, it was decided that the fiend would raise the child to eventually take up the role. Along with the willing aid of Adam, who eagerly wanted to get closer with Raz after their past encounters in the war, they would become Anderz retainers, and raise the boy together to become the successor to the Ghestro family. Nye had refused this offer due to having only wished to regain freedoms of her race and the others, and so that she and Jackyn would be able to finally live without fear surrounding their union. She however did explain to Ashewyn every detail of what Pneuma had told her, including that they were siblings, before disappearing off out of contact from the others, with Jackyn and Nikolai. Miles chose to go his own way, to be with Minerva and live with the other feral Lugooz in their hidden feline village. The two eventually got together when Miles convinced Minerva to go with him to the festival town, and share their first kiss upon a tall tower over looking the mass excitement and celebration.

Solitaire and Zyron were able to finally be together without worry, deciding to get married before Solitaire would give birth to their son. Zyron decided to continue aiding the Resistance after this, eventually taking priority of becoming a priest. With Ashewyn joining the resistance, he and Eclipse began to spend a lot more time working together and he eventually opened up to her feelings for him, and they decided to start a family together. He always did have a fondness for her ears. The other amazon felines, like Morrigan decided to remain with the resistance, while Seiko and Ronan returned to the Amazon village with the young Naga child, Yvenne. Ronan, like Zyron, would also soon become a father. Shane did not plan to stick around either, he now had to care for Hitomi, in respect for his deceased friend, Hige. Talis and Nobou were able to become a family again, helping each other raise their hatchlings together, along with Talis' new lover, Djinn. Iiblus also joined the resistance, having been left without a purpose after the Cult of Ghestro was left leaderless.

With Knothole now empty, Nye and Jackyn decided to remain there and make it their own. The two arrived some time after the war and discussions had concluded, and Jackyn's prosthetic repaired. With the few who had remained here now gone, it was left barren, and complelty abandoned. Nikolai had followed them in as they looked around. It was somewhat melancholy how void this place was now, the small reaper looked around while watching Nye and Jackyn having brief moments of touching hands, before eventually sitting down to lean against each other. Nye rested her head to Jackyn's shoulder as they sat there talking, almost in a cuddling manner. Nikolai floated over to the bar, to hear a sound in the kitchen. Curiously he proceeded towards it to be met with the other fiend, Yandere, leaping into his arms to be spun around happily. Nye and Jackyn noticed this deciding to give the two fiends some time together, with Nye leading Jackyn upstairs by the hand. They reached the upper level, before proceeding into Nye's former room. She set down her Amygdala journal to the bed, before stepping closer to Jackyn.

She let her hands softly extend to his face, before briefly sharing a kiss, that was followed by a brief dialog between them."We'll always be together." Nye assured him, at the end of their exchange. They both seemed a bit hesitant, but decided to hold hands as they sifted closer. Their feet began to move in harmony along the floor as the two seemed to dance much like a combination of the Waltz and Argentine Tango. Their auras were visibly forming around them as they danced together, before their foreheads eventually met as the dance ended. There was a faint glow as their aura around began to elegantly spiral around them, merging together in the air as it found a corner of the room. As it spiraled together, the strands of their auras began to entwine together, forming into a slime-like webbing that spun into cocoon.

However, from the opposite forces; there were many, now former Templar, who survived the war. Kloud had died of illness before the war began, leaving Ayame without a father to her soon to be child she carried. Elliot remained by her side, to protect her and the child, and promised to do such even after his freedom was given. The other generals from the war were left without work, choosing to pursue new paths, that would later come into effect. Merric however, was still spurned from the death of his brother, as he had darker plans in mind with other mysterious individuals that opposed the new order.The sense of danger was clear, with these new sources of trouble appearing from seemingly no where to combat the Resistance fighters...

Fading to black there was a soft rumbling sound, buzzing like festering bees in complete darkness. The reverberating echos of a deep, yet distorted chuckle followed, as demonic red eyes of an unknown entity flashed open...

The End... or is it?