[Papa! Please! Anybody, help!]
[I’m trying, baby girl. Papa’s trying as hard as he can…,] Tortallio_ said in an attempt to comfort the projection of his daughter, despite knowing she can’t hear him.
[Hmmm, is it just me or is this storm actually getting wilder?,] Shockheel teased.
[Shut it!]
At this moment in time, Tortallio_ had yet to answer Shockheel’s question about not being able to make peace with his death, by forcibly trying to do so in the moment.
What this actually entailed involved Tortallio_ to sit across from the spiritual projection of his daughter, and attempt to meditate while being surrounded by the raging storm in his core.
He didn’t have to have the storm surrounding him while he did this, but he figured it would help him visualize his own inner turmoil to see if it worked.
So far…nothing happened.
Tried as he might to calm his heart, to “make peace” with his death as Shockheel asked, nothing seemed to work. If anything, the longer he stared at the storm and his little girl, the more and more turbulent the former became…and the more and more distressed the latter became as well.
Time may have been moving at a snail’s pace in the inner parts of his being, but even Tortallio_ understood that he didn’t have an eternity to address the turbulence in his [Core], or at least, what remained of it.
Frustrated by this fact, he decided to finally ask for some guidance.
[Shockheel!,] Tortallio_ roared while still trying to meditate, [why am I unable to to find peace? Why can’t I save my little girl?!]
At this question, Shockheel let out an audible sigh. As if the answer was something incredibly obvious this whole time.
[Little girl, little girl…tell me, how old is Terra? How long has it been since you found her in the wreckage of my old home?]
[Huh? What are you on about? Terra’s been by my side since over two…hundred…huh…]
At that moment, Tortallio_ realized and remembered something.
Something that caused the storm that was surrounding them to slow down by a noticeable margin.
[This…this is my fault. Isn’t it?]
[The whirling storm that harangues your daughter?,] Shockheel asked.
[The fact that my daughter is nothing more than a mewling little girl in here,] Tortallio_ answered while staring at the curled up form of his daughter.
Correction, the curled up form of how he saw his daughter.
[I’m afraid of letting her go…aren’t I?,] Tortallio_ asked. The moment this question left his lips, the storm finally stopped…but the crying child remained.
As he continued to stare, Shockheel decided to go up to his side. There was no reason for this, since their conversation was through the power of the mind, but it helped Tortallio_ to process his thoughts a bit better.
Especially when it comes to emotional matters like this.
[Did you know that mortals have this shared idea that a parent will always see their offspring as children, regardless of their age? To most, this is simply a statement of sentiment and emotion, nothing more than that. To us kaijin, creatures made of emotion and desires…it’s a bit more literal, isn’t it?]
[It…is.]
Tortallio_ had been by Terra’s side every step of the way.
…
[Bububu…]
[There, there. Daddy’s here.]
…
He was there to change her diapers and feed her her bottles when she was a baby. It was a short time, but it was a time that housed his brightest memories. Even in his failing days, he remembered her little laugh.
…
[A…B…C…uh…]
[D, minnow. The next letter is “D”.]
[D…D! E…F…]
…
He was there to teach her how to speak, spell and walk when she was just a toddler. Terra was such an energetic little girl, that Tortallio_ couldn’t help but to pray in those moments that she stayed this way all the way to adulthood.
That said, he did also hope she would be able to rein this energy as she grew older.
…
[What did I say about chumming the waters?! Do you want to get eaten by Glowing Ember Sharks? Because that’s how you get eaten by Glowing Ember Shark!]
[But papa-!]
[Go to your room!]
[NYEH!]
…
He was there for every tantrum, every emotional outburst and every moment she couldn’t handle the emotions that her tiny developing body was feeling. Evidently, regular mortal children weren’t as prone to literal explosive outbursts as those with Kaijin blood.
And as one would expect, it was worse with teenagers.
…
[But Papa, I love him!]
[He is too old for you and is an Imperial, the answer is no!]
[I HATE YOU!]
BOOM!
…
Evidently, her teenage years were rough but also the moment Tortallio_ couldn’t help but to see Terra as a little girl still, despite being old enough to marry.
Additionally, the emotional intensity of teenagers has a synergetic effect with [Chaos], leading to a lot more instances of collateral damage.
But despite all that, she was still his little girl.
Even as an adult, she was still his little girl.
…
[Did you remember to pack extra healing potions?]
[Yes, papa. I did.]
[Locator talismans?]
[Yes, papa.]
[What about extra storage rings?]
[Papa…]
[Did you remember to pack an emergency teleport scroll?]
[Papa, I know that you’re worried but don’t be. I’m a grown woman now and an Aether Lord. There’s not many people in the world that can lay a finger on me. You don’t have to worry so much.]
[Of course I have to worry,] Tortallion retorted with a smile. [I’m your father. As far as I’m concerned, you’re still my baby girl.]
[Papa…]
…
In most people, such an exchange would normally be played off as banter between parent and child. But in the case of Tortallion, it was a bit more literal.
In his eyes, despite all of their centuries together, despite all the breakthroughs she had achieved, he still saw Terra as a child.
A weak, mewling thing that needed his help.
Always.
Did he think like this because of sentiment gone wild?
Maybe.
Did he see her as a child, because it gave him the [Duty] he needed to keep going and maintain his sanity after all these years?
Who could say?
But it was because of this sentiment, this inability to see Terra as the grown woman she was today, that Tortallion was unable to to fully leverage the strength of his final farewell.
A small part of him still believed that Terra was still going to need him, that it was impossible for him to die fighting.
After all, what kind of father would he be if he died and left his daughter all alone in the world?
How could his daughter survive all on her own this world?
But alas, that was a question that had long been answered.
His daughter was grown and didn’t need him as much anymore.
As he came to this conclusion, the crying little girl version of Terra had disappeared from Tortallion’s vision, alongside the now-still storm. In their place was now a fully grown Terra, who looked dazed and confused and a serene background.
[Well then, it appears that you have finally come to accept your final regret, old friend,] Shockheel observed while stretching and disappearing at the same time.[I’ll leave you to have your final words. Peace out.]
[You don’t want to stick around to exchange words with your daughter?]
[There’s nothing I can say that you won’t be able to convey. Adios.]
It took Terra a couple seconds to get her bearings, and in that time, Shockheel fully disappeared.
This gave father and daughter time to say goodbye.
For real this time.
[Papa? Papa!]
[Hello my darling minnow.]
Once Terra’s focus was back she embraced her father for the last time.
The hug lasted for a good while to them, but in reality, only less than a microsecond had passed.
Most would kill for an opportunity like this, but alas, not many get to say goodbye.
[Papa, I’m here to help! I know you said not to because this was your duty but-]
[Terra, I am so proud of you.]
[Eh?]
[I don’t think I said this enough, but you have been the greatest thing to have ever happened to me. If it hadn’t been for you, I would’ve broken down a long, long time ago.]
[I..oh, well…I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for you too, so…]
[But now, you’re all grown up and you don’t need me as much anymore,] Tortallion continued with a sigh. [I’m not going to lie, it’s strange seeing you all grown up.]
[Papa?]
[Just know that I’m proud of you, and this…I do for your future. Good-bye.]
[Papa? Papa!]
But alas, that was all that could be said, before Terra found herself being pulled out of Tortallion’s mind…
________________________________________
GROOOOOAAAA!
On the final portion of his shell, the carving of an electric eel appeared and supercharged Tortallion’s entire being with energy.
At the same time, a stunned, crying Terra found herself floating midair with her palm facing forward. Her hand still felt the texture of her father’s shell on her palm
“Good bye…Papa.”
