I Became A Zompirewolf

756  Epilogue n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

Ten years later, New Livania.

Ashton was on his usual stroll around the city, meeting familiar faces and some unfamiliar ones. It took a while for the scars left from their battle with Kro'Han to heal, but a decade later, everything seemed to have fallen into place.

"Everything seems so peaceful now," he mumbled, fidgeting with his reconstructed arm.

Ten years' worth of battles had scarred his body thoroughly, but none of the injuries came close to that night ten years ago. Ashton shook his head to forget about the hurt and continued on his way.

On his way to the city centre, he came across the Orion recruitment centre and smiled. Their alliance with the Orion Empire was going as strong as ever. The Emperor had even invited Ashton and his allies to his wedding with Verina a couple of years ago, where they were given honours and hailed as the galaxy's protected. While Ashton was hesitant to accept the honour as he wasn't the one who killed Kro'Han, he did so on Astaroth's behalf. Ibis and Linea were also in attendance, and Ashton ensured that everyone knew who the real hero of the battle was before handing the award to Linea, who got teary-eyed as she was reminded of Astaroth's sacrifice.

As for the Xyrans, Ibis led them and abolished the council for their crimes. It wasn't easy to overthrow the council, but with the help of the influence Ibis held over the commoners and Ashton's backing, no one dared to stand in her way.

However, it wasn't like Astaroth's death had no effect on Ibis. Ashton still remembered the day Ibis and Linea arrived on Earth. They were smiling and looking for Astaroth until Ashton gave them the news of Astaroth's sacrifice. Ibis hit Ashton on the chest countless times as he held her in his arms while she cried her eyes out. His death had a profound effect on those who knew him. Had it not been for Lucifer's support, Ashton didn't think Ibis or Linea would have made it past their grief. However, Ibis showed her strong character, and after mourning, she went straight to work. With Ashton and the mercenary tower as the middleman, the Orions and Xyrans formed an alliance called the Celestials, led by Ashton. The group's goal was to hunt down the remaining sympathisers of Kro'Han's ideologies and other Precursors who could be hiding in the galaxy and dealing with them. Linea was also a part of the group and had been trained by Ashton and Mazton together. Linea was talented, very talented. In Mazton's words, she was like a goddess of war, and her standing was reflected in the codename bestowed upon her: Freya.

As Ashton reached the city centre, the cheerful noise of children and others brought him back to the present. In the place where Ashton's holographic statue once stood was a war memorial honouring those who lost their lives during the battle with Kro'Han. The memorial also served as Astaroth's symbolic resting place. While nothing of Astaroth's remained, it would have been highly improper if he wasn't somehow given a place to rest. As the sun dipped, Ashton placed a can of beer before Astaroth's tombstone, which read, *A hero who gave everyone the happiness they longed for, at the cost of his own.* Ashton read the line and sat next to Stone, watching everyone's happy faces as they celebrated Glory Day when Astaroth defeated Kro'Han a decade ago. "I owe you for all of this," Ashton sighed before smiling. "From this happiness to my children, it's because of you that I can enjoy this peace."

Ashton didn't remember much about Astaroth's funeral, probably because he was heavily medicated. But he remembered that not a single eye was dry that day. Astaroth was right about everything but one thing. He was wrong when he said no one would forgive him for his actions. But maybe it was his way of convincing himself to do what he did. Unfortunately, Ashton would never know what was happening inside his brother's head back then. "Daddy!" Ashton lifted his head to see his beautiful children running towards him, along with Anna. Ashton smiled and lifted them in his arms as they hugged him. "We were waiting for you!" As Anna joined the family hug, Asta, Ashton's and Anna's son, exclaimed.

"Yes!" Ruth, their daughter, chimed in. "We wanted to light the fireworks!"

"Is that so?" Ashton smiled after kissing all three of them on their foreheads. "Why don't you go play with others for a while longer? I'll join you in a second!"

"Alright!" the two exclaimed and rushed to play.

Once they got busy, Anna kissed her husband and caressed his cheeks. "You good?"

"Never been better," Ashton replied, wrapping his arms around her. "Where's mom?"

"She left for Vania to prepare for Irina's marriage," Anna commented. "I'm happy she finally found someone." "Happy? I'm worried about the sucker she's about to marry. May the god give him strength."

Hearing his words, Anna playfully smacked Ashton's shoulder before leaning her head on it.

"Finally, everything worked out, huh?"

"Well, there's still a few things here and there to take care of, but for now, yeah..."

Just then, Mazton, the current mercenary tower master, walked up to Ashton with a solemn expression.

"Ahem, I hope I'm not disturbing you two?" he asked.

"You most certainly are," Ashton rolled his eyes, but Anna's glare made him backtrack his statement. "Ahem, yes, what is it?"

"He's here." Mazton didn't say who was there or anything, but Ashton knew exactly whom Mazton was referring to. Without wasting a moment, Ashton headed towards his palace. Gripping the doorknob, he pushed it open, revealing a scene that caught him off guard.

Standing near the centre of the room was a man with a bionic arm like he had seen before in one of his dreams. But the peculiar mark on the man's forehead – a vertical third eye nestled between the conventional pair drew Ashton's attention even more.

The man, catching sight of Ashton, turned around with a cheerful expression. "Well, hello there!"

"The one above all?"

The man's laughter filled the room. "Yeah, that's me. But I prefer to go by my name, Arnold. Now then, why don't you take a seat? We have much to discuss."

***

Ashton will return for more adventures in *The Rise Of A Porter: Primordial Conquest*

THE END!

Well, there you have it, folks! I know the ending is rushed, and as much as I didn't want to do it, my declining health fucked my plans (as usual).

And to make up for it, I'll be publishing some side stories which you'll hopefully like. And yeah, that's it. I don't have much to say other than what I already did in the previous chapter. 

So... Yeah. But if I'm being honest, I'll miss writing more of Zompirewolf for a while. Hopefully, Chimaera's Conquest will fill the void before I start writing TRoAP: Primordial Conquest.