The two giants stayed in the sky for a few more minutes before finally deciding that like comets, they had to streak back to the earth with fire and glory or risk being lost in the universe forever.
On the way back, after transforming to his usual self, Daneel felt like he was both dreading and looking forward to the final round of goodbyes that he would soon begin. Yet, he knew that it was now or never, so he gave the system a list of people that needed to be woken up.
The next thing to decide was the place where he would talk to them. The most obvious answer was the center, and he chose it, as nothing else came to mind.
Only, just as he was about to reach his destination, he received a message that made him pause.
"Come home, son."
It was from his father. His tone was melancholy, and right as he heard it, Daneel"s throat felt like it had been clogged up. This was the farewell he had been anxious about the most, and because it had come upon him so abruptly, it caught him off guard. Still, like a diligent son, he moved to obey his father without asking any questions.
"Home. As in…the Palace?"
His father hadn"t given any details, so he decided to check the most obvious location first. On reaching the Palace, though, he found it deserted, so hovering in the air, he wondered where else his parents might be waiting. It would have been the simplest thing to activate the G.o.dnet and locate them, but he was completely averse to the idea.
He got the answer a few moments later. He flew toward the city, and after a few seconds, he stood in the air above a metallic box. It was almost like a s.h.i.+pping container from back on earth, and even though it had been painted recently, it still looked as dilapidated as always.
He slowly floated down to the ground, and when he caught the handle of the door, he felt as if he had been transported back to that very first day when he had found himself in this body, and used the memories of the original inhabitant to reach home. He felt like a little kid again, and when he entered and found his mom and dad standing side-by-side, their hands entwined and their eyes swimming with tears, he ran forward and hugged them both.
For a few minutes, they were his entire world. Each and every moment he had spent with them played in his mind. When he reached the end of those strings of memories, he suddenly caught himself wis.h.i.+ng that he had spent more time with them… but what was done was done.
He stepped back only when he realized that as a normal human, his mom could not hold one position for long without feeling pain. As he stood in front of them, Mary Anivron raised her hand to caress her son"s face, and after closing her mouth with her other hand, she began to sob.
Robert Anivron laid his hand on his son"s shoulder. He looked proud, but also sad. He didn"t say anything, but his eyes spoke volumes. His other hand wrapped around his wife, consoling her, and taking support from him, she tried to recover.
Daneel could only stand there and stare at them both. They were the parents he had never had on Earth. Without them, he would never have become the man he was now… and for everything, he was grateful. They had given him love when he needed it most, after he had been separated from everything he had known. They were the anchor he had relied on to take root in this new world and new life, and now… he would have to leave them behind.
Mary found her voice after a few more seconds. Taking her hand off her mouth, she used it, too, to hold his face, and broke out into the worried speech of a caring mother.
"Take care of yourself, alright? Eat properly. Or absorb Energy, or whatever it is you do. Be kind. Be helpful. Be gentle. But don"t trust everyone! You"ve always been dutiful.. so just take time to relax, now and then. Don"t be too uptight. Don"t ignore the little things… enjoy them. Don"t-"
"Mary… He"ll be fine."
She looked like she was about to go on and on, so Robert interrupted her. The sobs came back, and unable to control himself, Daneel took a step forward and buried her in his arms again. His father patted her back, and together, the two of them comforted the bedrock of the Anivron household.
She recovered after a few more minutes. She pushed him a bit, and feeling this, he sighed and knew that it was time. It was one of the hardest things he had ever had to do to leave a place that was filled with so much love and serenity, but he did so. Mary went back to Robert, and the two of them once again leaned on each other.
"She said it all. I just have one thing to add: no matter what happens, we will always be proud of you."
The corners of Daneel"s lips rose as Robert"s words echoed in the room. He tried to keep his own tears at bay, as he had started to feel like a cry baby in these past few days… but they came anyway.
He nodded like a little kid being sent off to school, and after that, Robert turned to his side and hugged his wife for a long time. Daneel waited, and engraved the image in his mind. He could tell even now that this would be what he might recall first every time he thought of Angaria, so he memorized each and every detail possible.
After what felt like a long time, the two separated themselves and nodded to each other before turning to him.
"Do it."
Daneel struggled with the idea of taking one more hug, or talking to them for one more second… but he realized that if he gave in, he might never be able to do what was needed. So, he turned around to hide the grief on his face… and closed his eyes tightly when he heard them both fall.
Without taking a look back, he stepped out the door. By then, he knew that the system must have carried out all of his commands, so he reached the center to find all those who had touched his life in one way or another waiting for him.
They were all talking together, but they fell silent when he arrived. It looked like they had only just been made aware of the situation and what was going to happen, as some of them still looked to be in shock.
Daneel began this final round of goodbyes with the one who was standing nearest to him. Coincidentally, it was also someone who had helped him in the earliest part of his journey.
Elanev"s father, the Righteous Hawk, stood as rigidly as always. Daneel knew that the man had been awakened on his elder brother"s request, so he wasn"t surprised to find him here.
Walking up to the man, he shook his hand. In turn, the Righteous Hawk patted his shoulder and smiled. His meaning was clear; he was proud of his own foresight to see that there had been something special in Daneel.
Everyone knew the object of this meeting, so no words were spoken. Daneel merely nodded to the man, and moved on to the next one.
Then came the group of training masters from the Fists of Justice Training Hall. Prominent among them was the leader, his father"s friend, and when he reached this man, he was hugged tightly. Their eyes held the same pride he had seen in the Righteous Hawk"s.
After that, the Domination Corps was waiting for him. He shook the head or patted the shoulder of each and every man and woman who had trusted him so long ago, when he had had nothing, and when he was done, he was hardly able to stop himself from turning back and saying, "After I return, you will resume your journey to the peak."
They nodded, and a few smiles broke out here and there. The rest didn"t look dejected, either; they were confident in their G.o.dking, and in this confidence, Daneel took solace. He still needed to keep his promise to them, and he would definitely do so as soon as he came back.
They also made him remember Kellor. He wished that he could see the venerable old woodcutter one last time…but that reunion would have to wait.
Next, the elvish queens were waiting for him. He was overwhelmed, for a bit, when they both stepped forward and hugged him tightly. After recovering, he smiled and hugged them back. After he nodded to them and moved on, they hugged each other and stayed there, swaying softly to the wind.
Dalia and Helena were in each other"s arms, crying, when he reached them. They broke apart from him, but when Daneel patted Dalia"s head and said, "Wait for me. You still have a lot of life left to live, and I promise…you will get to enjoy every second of it," she immediately stopped the tears and nodded resolutely.
Helena beamed at her daughter, before smiling at Daneel. When he left them, he even heard Dalia consoling her mother, instead of the other way round.
Next came someone that no one else had been expecting to see here. Despite being gagged and bound, Ashah.e.l.l stood proud and strong.
"You did many horrible things, but they were all for an objective that you believed in. When I return, we will see about whether your driving force can be changed."
Clapping the man"s shoulder and seeing him smile, Daneel walked on.
His fellow scammers from the Sect of Hedon were waiting, next, keeping a healthy distance Ashah.e.l.l. Daneel actually laughed and embraced each of them, and when he was done, they lead a cheer, together, which made the others turn to them with confusion.
"Shameless Sect, forever!"
Then, the bodiless Champion was waiting for him, his body restored, and when Daneel reached him, he shouted, "I knew it all along!"
With a grin, Daneel nodded and briefly hugged the man.
After him, a being with many legs was happily dancing on the center, devoid of all thought about how others may think of her. She stopped when Daneel came to her.
"Skrr is ready for another long sleep! Skrr will be waiting, too! Will Skrr be able to find a mate after waking up?"
With a laugh, Daneel patted the Divine c.o.c.kroach"s head and said, "Definitely." He had forgotten that she was the one most used to slumber among them all, so she would have no problem, at all, with waiting.
He folded his hands behind his back and watched for a bit as she broke out dancing again, and he laughed again when she mistakenly barrelled into the Domination Corps.
Next, Lan, the shapes.h.i.+fter, smiled and shook his hand.
"I"ve heard from your master that G.o.dbeasts are present on the Mainland, too. When you return, I hope you will have more clues about how we can use our power."
Daneel simply nodded in response. In the vault inside Elysium, all the blood of G.o.dbeasts and even the common beasts of Angaria had been stored in case there were no beings like them anywhere else in the world, and after his return, he decided that he would let Lan study them to find what he was looking for.
The son of balance and the father of darkness stood together beside Lan. The Champion and Hero duo had small smiles on their faces when Daneel patted their backs and thanked them for everything, and they a.s.sured him that they would be waiting to do so much more after he came back.
Next, standing alone in front of the last group, was Erin. As soon as he neared, she smiled and said, "In all my years of studying time, never did I think that a vision into the future could be made useful in this manner. Truly, you are our savior. Thank you."
"No, thank you for deciding to serve Angaria when you were needed the most. Without you, it might all have been lost…and when I return, I will make sure that you, and your sect get your due."
Her smile broadened when she heard this. With a nod, he walked past her.
Finally, he reached those he was closest to. Ca.s.sandra, Aran, Luther, Percy, Arafell, Drakos, the bandit queen, the Emperor, and Jonah were all standing together. The four he would be traveling with were there, too, beside them, but he focused only on this group. Seeing them, tears began to swim in his eyes, again, but when they all joined their voices and shouted, he grinned.
He ran forward and took up the cheer. As his voice eclipsed all of theirs, he breathed in and cherished the feeling of their presence, knowing that this would be the last time he would be able to do so for a long, long time.
"Long live the Sovereigns of Angaria!"