"Zelgadis." Her voice caused him to halt before the red curtain. "You might not want to see that one."
"Why?" He blinked, his curiosity piqued.
"What lies behind that gate could very well shatter your mind." Her eyes bore into his soul. "And, depending on how much of your inner self you acknowledge, may break your heart."
"My heart?" A cold lump situated itself firmly in the back of his throat. He felt it double in size when she nodded gravely.
"If you choose to see, I cannot garantee that you will come out whole." She pointed to the lavender frame. "That one will reveal the fate of the world. But the red onee connects to you on a more personal level."
Cautiously, Zelgadis pressed his hand to the scarlet panel.
In the Reality which Zelgadis was familiar with, three people were credited with the destruction of a piece of Shabranigdo. Here there were two, of which only one survived.
Zelgadis stared numbly at the monument to Lina Inverse, who's extensive injuries and over exhertion killed her mere moments after defeating the Dark Lord.
He remembered the fateful battle well, but couldn't recall having made such a difference as life or death to the red head. Had his astral magics done so much damage to weaken Shabranigdo? Had his intervention between Lina and Rezo really ben important? Could it possibly be that without him, Lina didn't have the confidence she needed to use the Giga Slave when she had?
No, it couldn't be, he thought darkly. More like without me, there was one less target to hit. He did, after all, remember the pain from that lava creature's flame breath as it seared his stone skin.
His eyes were halfway closed as he reaced out to the dying bush that surrounded her sarcophagus. At least he could make her grave look nice. Magic flowed from his fingertips, gently bringing the plant back to life. Blood red roses budded and bloomed, each one a perfect image of delicacy. The thorny flowers reached up and embraced the stone coffin, and about where the center of her chest would be, a single cerulean rose appeared.
"Lina..." Her name was on his lips. Seeing Amelia and Gourry had been bad enough, at least they responded. But for Lina Inverse to be dead ... it filled his heart with a bitter sense of betrayal.
"Damn it all, why?" He cried. "Couldn't I be selfish without ruining your lives too?" He recieved no answere except for the stillness.
"You never needed me!" He continued to rant, pacing before the coffin. "I was a liability, at best! I never did anything for you, I always had my own reasons! Why did you keep me around? You knew I used you!" Something soft grazed his cheek, and he turned to find a rose petal skewered by his metallic tresses. He closed his eyes tightly, willing the pain away, hoping that wen he opened them, the grave would be gone.
It wasn't.
"Answer me!" He roared, smashing his fist through a nearby tree. "Please, Lina... why do I have to live so that you can?"
Again there was no reply.
"I don't want to live." His voice came out strangled and hollow. "But I can't willingly allow this, knowing my action will kill you too. I can't do that to you, Lina."
He staggered backwards as a flare of violet blinded him momentarily. Upon regaining sight, he realized he must have entered the world view. He could no longer see Lina's sarcophagus. Now he stood in the middle of a burnt out field, the once rich eart stained with blood. Shocked, he reached out onto the astral planes, seeking some trace of the planet's energy, but found nothing. No shamanist elemental spell would work here. A sick, twisted knot in his stomach made him nauseous. He was very tempted to just keel over and vomit, but he reminded himself of how much he hated the taste of bile.
"What happened to this place?" He wondered aloud, already knowing the answer. Without him, there was no Lina. Without Lina, there was no one to fight all the Mazoku, Men, and L-sama remembers what else.
"I couldn't have made such a difference!" Tears streamed freely down his face. "No one needs me!"
"Zelgadis." She pulled him out and back into the void. "It's time. You've witnessed the fate of the world had you never been born. What is you decision?"
At first, Zelgadis did not reply. His keen mind was calculating every aspect of the situation, filtering in a ll the factors he had seen.
"Zelgadis?" She asked again, this time getting an answer.
"Send me back." He sighed heavily. "I cannot condemn innocent people by my own selfishness." She nodded, apparently please by his choice, but unknowing of the much darker plans forming behind his glacial eyes...