yk the theory with scifi teleportation that the subject's consciousness isn't actually transferred? That what's actually happening is that the subject is being killed and replaced with an identical copy that is nevertheless disconnected from the 'original'?
I've decided, for the sake of my own personal comfort, that that's what happened to Valkyrie.
When she took a blast for Militsa, Valkyrie got her end.
Not a peaceful end. Not a satisfying end. About as far as one could get, in fact.
But how else was it going to be for The Valkyrie Cain?
Six weeks later, The Arbiter Cain re-emerged from beneath the grave. The Arbiter Cain saved the world. The Arbiter Cain proposed to Militsa, and the pair were happier than anyone ever.
Valkyrie Cain got to rest, though.
The Arbiter Cain, in her many iterations, will be alive until the stars collapse and a new universe emerges and she'll see that sight a million times over. The Arbiter Cain, in her many iterations, will see every empire, every war, every battle onwards to infinity.
Valkyrie Cain will get to rest.
Valkyrie Cain will not marry the love of her life.
Valkyrie Cain will not see her sister grow up.
Valkyrie Cain will not be present at her parents' funerals. Nor Skulduggery's. Nor Winter's. Nor Militsa's.
But if there is a single thing that Valkyrie Cain has always been denied, it's rest.
And Valkyrie Cain Will Rest.