This story is meant to be fairly wholesome, however…
*This story has LGBTQ characters in it, with several transgender characters.
*There’s implied gender transformation shenaniganry - as well as the consequences of these changes.

The Legend of Darumond (Part 4 - Finale)

Ariel looked at the shackles. She grabbed their arms to get a feel for them. It was strange; they looked like metal, but as she felt them, she didn’t sense material. It was more like… Words, given form. Bound, stuck, subservient, imprisoned. Try as they might, neither of them could escape this; the words were imprinted on their very spirits. Even if they concentrated and thought as hard as they could, these words were a part of them. On their own, they cannot overcome it.

She realized in that moment how this worked. She was free, so she could undo the bindings by sharing her own spirit with them. She let this flow into the shackles that bound them, and they began to crack. The chains to the portal disintegrated away, and before long, the shackles popped off with a couple of tings, falling to the ground.

Both of them rubbed their arms. It was an unfamiliar sensation, having nothing there after hundreds of years. But they both knew it. They could feel it, the world beyond calling them, welcoming them back to it, on their own terms now.

“So, Eternia and Emmaska, how about we go out there, together?” Eris asked.

They both smiled. They had been freed a couple of times in the past, to grant some wishes for mortals (under supervision from other genies), but for the most part, they’ve been inside the lamp for four centuries, give or take.

“It isn’t the Earth you know, mind you, it’s-“ Ariel began.

“The Hallow, we know,” they said in unison.

“Still, it will be nice to breathe air beyond our confines for the first time in centuries…” Emmaska sighed with relief.

“Indeed,” Eternia agreed with her.

All four of them dematerialized and headed for the portal. On the outside, the lamp shook and leapt around violently as it tried to process four genies being expelled at once. The portal under pressure, it fired them out like cannon shots. Eris was able to catch herself quickly and float gently out. Eternia and Emmaska flew a few feet, but they grabbed for each other and braced themselves, their shared willpower keeping them from going too far. Ariel wound up flying into a tree. She was in good shape, but the tree snapped in half.

“She really is that new, isn’t she?” Eternia asked.

“All of us were at some point…” Eris sighed as she floated over to pick Ariel off the ground.

Emmaska and Eternia held each other’s hands as they looked around, taking in the sights around them. The otherworldly yet familiar foliage, the sounds of the forest and the city nearby. They closed their eyes at the same time, breathing in deeply before exhaling contently.

They were free.

“Thank you, both of you!” they said in unison.

“You’re very welcome!” Ariel replied with a grin, loving the energy these two were giving off.

“It’s been a pleasure all these years, you two,” Eris said with a bow.

“So, what now?” Ariel asked.

They looked at each other. They had to admit, they had longed for this day for so long. And yet, the only thing they thought of doing when they were free was to get that first breath of air.

“You know, we hadn’t thought of that,” Eternia admitted.

Emmaska turned to her partner. “Umm, now that we’re out, I’m not so sure about… Returning to our home world right away.”

“Honestly, I don’t blame you. It’s going to be a very different world, and I’m not sure I’m ready for what we’ll see…” Eternia agreed.

“Well, why don’t you stay here, in the Hallow?” Ariel suggested, getting Eris to raise a brow. Eris wanted to see where this was going.

“I mean, if it scares you that much to return home, why not make a new one among the kitsunes? I imagine they’ll accept you. Heck, just earlier, I asked if I could stay, and they said I could if I wanted!”

They looked at each other. “You know, you might be onto something…” Emmaska said.

“We had discussed before about shedding our human forms at one point, thanks to our skin being such a driver in the world we came from, but we never knew where to take it, so we just stayed as our human selves…” Eternia explained.

“I hear the kitsunes come in all colors. We could really let ourselves shine as kitsune genies!”

“Well, there’s a city just over there! You could get to know them, and you could figure out how you want to look based off them!” Ariel suggested.

They looked at each other and smiled. “Ariel, I think we’ll take your suggestion! Thank you!” Emmaska replied gleefully.

They wrapped their arms around each other and started to walk towards the city…

“Wait!” Eris yelled as she grabbed their lamp and handed it to them. “You don’t want to forget this! While it’s no longer your prison, it still makes for a good home. And now that you’re free, you can shape the outside as you please! Heck, if you want it to look like a regular house on the outside, you can do that.”

They took it from Eris’s hands and bowed. With a final smile and wave, they headed into the kitsune city to begin their new life…

=== The gateway. ===

Ariel and Eris arrived at the portal spot they used to enter the Hallow. With their business done, it was time for the two of them to return home. By this point, the sky had turned a deep red, as the sun was setting.

Frua was there, surprisingly, talking with the guard. She was now wearing a more elegant dress, no doubt feeling more feminine than she was the other day. She noticed Ariel and smiled. “Hey there! it looks like you two are going home?”

“As much as I want to stay, I have to be there for my first holder in a couple of months. And I still have some things I need to learn and take care of before I’m ready,” Ariel admitted.

“That’s okay. Besides…” Frua walked up and gave Ariel a glowing ball. It was a ball of pure magic, Frua’s own kitsune signature. “I know genies can communicate with magic. Kitsunes have to learn this over many years, but I’ve had plenty of time to learn. We can stay in touch, even in different worlds!”

“Thanks, Frua! Maybe we can game together when we have some time!”

Frua smiled.

“Well, then, if you two are ready…” said the guard.

Ariel and Eris nodded. The guard swirled her hand, causing the portal to swirl in tandem, activating it. Eris stepped in first, dropping in like it was a pool of water. Ariel turned back, giving Frua a smile and a wave while taking in the sights of the Hallow one more time. She proceeded into the portal home.

After all, she had to be there for Heather. But she knew this wasn’t going to be the last time she would see the Hallow or Frua, either. She knew she would be back another day… For now, she had a job to get ready for.

THE END, FOR TODAY.

By Erica Chrisman (CrystalSeaDragon44)