"Hmm. It seems to me that everything has changed... but I understand what you mean." Jade gave what was almost a chuckle, a fleeting reminder of his old sense of humor. "After all this time, here we are once again deciding the fate of the world... Perhaps our journey to save Auldrant was merely to prepare us for the real battle."

That was something to hold onto, at the end of everything. All the struggle and growth they had gone through on Auldrant -- it hadn't been completely meaningless. After all, their choices had brought them here, and the strength they had gained along the way would allow the universe to keep going. There was some satisfaction to be found in that.

Of course he would have preferred for the others to make it to the end as well... though on the other hand, maybe this was for the best. The gravity of what they had to do would have crushed Luke, and it was unlikely Guy or Natalia would have fared much better. It would be hard on Anise, too. Tear, however... In the end, Jade was glad she had been the one to stay with him through all this.