Fantasy [Private] El Stories

[Phant0m]

Phantom gave a sad look to Komodo before looking to both Aragorn and Octavia. "We start our search for the others at the area around Feita. THEY shouldn't be too far from that location considering there might be wounded survivors and how wounded the others were from that battle," The priest said.

A natural born leader, Xiopetec teased.

Phantom grunted and he rolled his neck. He Pat his back to make sure that his staff was secured there and he gave Aragorn a deadpanned look. "Phanny...really? But anyway," He turned to Octavia, "Are you opposed to giving me a ride?"

Late

 

[Late]

Xavier
​

Xavier was in an empty hallway on what it seems to be that he was in a large castle. The man beside him sighed happily and went to stand in front of Xavier with a happy smile. His smile was rather...beautiful.

“I’m so excited for your training to start, Xavier! Ishmael and I practically were very interested in you for the past years! We were so patient to finally have you join our little group...well kingdom if I should say. Seriously, you’ll be training to the very core of your soul,” the man rambled off, Xavier still not knowing who he is. Yet the way he talked...it wasn’t annoying at the slightest bit.

“You...never gave me your name,” Xavier said to him.

“Oh my name.” The smile on his fade away for moment and there was uncertainty on his face. “You can call me...Eosfóros.” That was really a weird name, causing Xavier to give a confused stare yet Eosfóros return back his smile and patted his shoulder. “Ishmael put me in charge of your training but you’ll have others to help you out- oh speak of the devil, here she comes!”

Eosfóros had to move out of the way so Xavier can see Ishmael walking down the hall along with her followers. Why everyone is beautiful here? There was just a stunning aura around the goddess and Xavier felt bad for not being in his best shape in front of her. He doesn’t remember when he last took a bath, he probably smelled like ashes.

When Ishmael stand in front of them, Eosfóros forcefully made Xavier to kneel down in front of her. The man kneeled as well yet it was only for a couple of seconds. He got back on his feet and helped Xavier back up.

“There you go, your first lesson! Kneel down in front of your goddess,” Eosfóros chirped as Xavier slowly nodded his head.

“Welcome Xavier to your new home for the next couple of years. You will be experiencing a lot of changes here and I can’t say that it’ll be easy,” Ishmael said to him.

“Its a challenge I’m willing to take,” Xavier said to her.

“I hope you understand how Komodo can’t come along with you, it may ...complicate your progress.”

“I...understand, I’m sure the results in the end will be worth it. ...Though I do have a question, if you don’t mind me asking,” Xavier said carefully.

“Go on.”

Xavier hesitated for a moment, realized all eyes were on him. He wasn’t sure if it was even best to ask at this moment but it worries him. “Perkisas, he gone quiet and”

“And you worry for the beast,” Ishmael finished for him. Xavier stayed quiet yet nodded his head. “It’s temporary but I casted a seal upon him when you accept my offer. It’s like...hibernation for him, he’ll be sleeping for awhile. Why I do this? Perkisas is a selfish beast, he would only want to achieve his own desires and goals. He’ll be in the way for your training here and sometimes the fire needs to be put out. Its only temporary, so don’t need to worry too much about it.”

“But the fire...well my magic itself feels a bit smaller...”

“Like I said before, you’ll be experiencing a lot of changes here. You won’t be the same person as before but for sure, you’ll be stronger than before. Please don’t worry too much about it,” Ishmael said.

“...alright, thank you,” Xavier said, nodding his head.

“We need to discard your bag here by the way, you’ll be starting fresh here so it’s best to not cling onto things,” Eosfóros said to Xavier, poking the bag of his. “Of course, keep anything valuable like the books. Knowledge is power.”

Xavier nodded his head and took off his bag. He took a moment to look through and paused for a moment when he took out Ash’s hat.

“That’s...” Ishmael’s words trailed off, almost surprised that Xavier was carrying that with him.

“Ash’s hat...I forgot I had this on me,” Xavier said as he held it in his hands. “There is something strange about this hat...I don’t know what it is as I really don’t understand too much about it but from what I know, Ash isn’t part of this world.” He paused for a moment and slowly held out the hat for Ishmael. “I wish to thank you by giving this to you. I’m sure I’ll express more of my gratitude as my training goes...but take this as a thank you gift for taking interesting in me.”

Silence settled in as Eosfóros had a surprise gaze on the hat. Ishmael hid her surprise with a kind smile, accepting the gift. She took the hat from him and studied it carefully and gave it to one of her servants.

“I am pleased for the gift. You’re right about the hat being strange, they seem to be holding powerful properties that can be in good use in our hands. We’ll have a look into it, you might get something special in return if we managed to break through,” Ishmael said to Xavier. “Yet because of that, I have a gift for you as well. Xavier, Eosfóros, follow me.” Ishmael dismisses her servants and lead the way for the other two to follow.

Eosfóros took Xavier’s bag as he was supposed to dispose of it and Xavier nearly stopped him because of the flower he had on it. Yet he let him carry it and followed Ishmael to a chamber that seems to be off limits from the amount of guards that were there. They let them through, opening the large doors to reveal a room.

It was a dark room but Xavier can hear something large moving around. Eosfóros stepped in the room to pull a lever close by, the room was slowly lighting up to reveal what it holds.

Xavier couldn’t believe his eyes to see another dragon. It was large too, almost matching the size of Perkisas himself! Yet it was contained with cuffs and chains, it’s snout completely closed and it can only move so little. The chains restricted the dragon from standing up so it was laying down with it’s eyes closed. It was a very unfamiliar beast, having many scales popping out and large horns pointing towards the sky. The scales were black and a soft blue color and from the looks of it...the dragons appears to be young.

“Ain’t he interesting, we call him Pryor,” Eosfóros said to Xavier with an excited tone.

The dragon shifted as if it realized the doors were open. A low growl erupted from the beast, electricity were bouncing off as his eyes glowed blue. He stared intensely at the goddess and Eosfóros yet settled on Xavier. It made an attempt to lunge yet the chains kept him in place, causing more electricity to erupt from his many scales.

“I-I dont understand, how you find this dragon?” Xavier asked, taking a step back.

“He was but an egg. Eosfóros was first to find him when traveling through Elrios and brought him here. When the egg hatched, he was easy to dealt with but as he gotten larger, he became difficult for us. Reason why he is in chains. We believe Pryor here may be the missing link to the other extinct dragons who held different abilities. He can absorb energy from thin air and release it out. Such like electricity. This is my gift to you Xavier, he’ll be your new pet to handle. He doesn’t have the same intelligence as the other dragons, it is believed his egg was corrupted from the El explosion which also delayed him from hatching. So he is an animal that needs to be controlled,” Ishmael said to Xavier. “Of course, you need to be strong to handle his own strength.”

Xavier continued to stare at Pryor, the dragon’s gaze was only full of bloodlust. He’ll be difficult to train for certain, especially at his size. “I’m...thankful to know of his existence now,” Xavier said. Eosfóros turned off the light, in which caused the dragon to suddenly go to sleep. Xavier had questions about the room but they left before he can get a word out.

“As you know, Eosfóros will be in charge of your training sessions and keeping a close eye on you. He’ll show you to your living quarters so you can wash up and change your clothes for today’s training. Letting you know ahead of time, time moves faster here than Elrios. So you won’t be missing much action from the war. In fact, we hope to have you ready to fight in the end,” Ishmael said. “I’ll meet with you later today. Eosfóros.”

The white haired man perked up when his name was called and knew what to do. “Follow me Xavier, let’s freshen you up for the day!” Eosfóros put a hand on his shoulder, giving him a gentle squeeze in which made Xavier somewhat uncomfortable. Already Ishmael was leaving them be and Eosfóros led him to a different direction.

Finally, Eosfóros name clicked for him.

It was Lucifer.

 

[Fume]

[Day 3]

Today was Dust's last day of his leave, which he didn't mind. The lack of action was affecting him a little, mostly due to him being in dangerous situations all the time, even the sparing with the Uno hounds was a hassle, though pleasant for him to release steam.

They all fell down after a couple of rounds, he admits that he was struck a few times, but not even the most powerful move on their arsenal was enough to knock him out. After all, the more damage he sustains, the harder he fights with renewed strength, faster and deadlier.

He heard today that Chloe was stopping by to gather a few supplies for her army, a chance came and he was gonna take it, mainly to remove the power seal on him. Only a demon commander had the rank to release others of their seals, though the catch was that Dust didn't had clearance to unseal himself, which irritated him greatly.

It didn't took long to find the dark elf, but the way she did a double take on him made him raise an eyebrow.

"What are you looking at?" He questioned her while approaching.

"Nothing... I'm just surprised to see you alive. Didn't you took the beating of a life time?" She replied back while looking at the list. She still needed to gather more barricades and those new cannons.

"Not a human, it was against a foolish god! Why doesn't anybody believe me!" He irritatingly responded back. He took a deep breath and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Not gonna let that slide. I need a favor from you... Make that two favors." He announced to her. She was the least bit interested.

"Whatever you're planning, not gonna help you." She replied back while checking off the list some of the supplies. He then hovered on her face a small pendant.

"It's not for free, you know." He responded back. She looked at him, then back at the stone. Grabbing it and putting it on her pocket she continued to check things out.

"I'm listening."

"One of the favors is for me to head to Velder with you. We need to get that El crystal that they have with them and the priestess at the same time." He said while looking at the crates, feigning interest.

"I can help you in, but the priestess is already on Scar's hands. That's over our jurisdiction." She replied to him, making him bang against the crate angrily.

"That bastard... Bet he's just toying with Lanox, making the ideal place to resurrect that dead god." He had venom dripping down on his words. It slightly unnerved her how he acted, yet remained calm.

"So, what's that other favor? I'm a busy woman, you know." She commented while checking another list done, before looking at the new cannons being loaded.

"I need my power seal removed. Against that guy, I was handicapped, just making enough damage to knock him around."

"That's gonna cost you big time. How will you repay me?" She asked with a bored look.

"Daemon Licorice." He responded, making her snap her head with surprise.

"DEAL!" She couldn't feign her want to taste the beverage again. It was the most delicious and powerful alcohol in the demon realm and only a handful of people could drink it, the rich and the higher ups.

"Release my seal now and head towards the Shadow Leaf pub. Tell them that you're there to claim my favor and ask them of the licorice." He instructed while she immediately put her hand on his armored chest.

"By my right and by his honor, he has served our order long enough and demonstrated loyal to our cause. With my words, I vow that he shall not be restricted anymore of his full potential. No longer a slave, no longer a worker, no longer a scoundrel, but a soldier till the end. With his spilled blood, countless battles and scars shows his prowess as a warrior and a tactician. With his unwavering will, nothing is out of his reach. Now be free to battle, comrade!" She spoke the sacred oath that Dust once had to bear and with a flick, blue chains around his body shattered into millions of pieces.

No longer did he felt heavy, no longer did he felt held back. His sealed halved power was now open for him to use as he pleased.

"You earned that bottle. Once you finish doing your work, have fun drinking it." He said before leaving, not noticing that she was now doing her work with double the speed and enthusiasm to get it done.

As he walked by, his armor changed once more. His gauntlets now had spikes outwards that were more used to guard and his helmets horns were longer and sharper. His metal boots were clawed and sometimes moved as he thought about it, almost as if it was a part of his body that he could manage. Now it was small enough for him to wear clothes on top of it without compromising the armor, even though from far it looked like he wasn't wearing it.

"My, my. Having a stroll around, demon commander?" Ran asked with a pleasing expression. Dust didn't mind him and continued.

"Just so you know, you're moving today. Apparently there's resistance on Velder, I'd like you to aid Chloe." He announced.

"I'm still on my day off, so go ask someone more interested on the job." He replied back while walking away.

"Since when did you think you could refuse me?" He asked while hovering his hand, glowing an eerie blue towards him. He smirked as it made Dust stop.

It burned, but at the same time it wasn't as effective like before. He still had control over his body. Letting his right chain fall down for a bit, he turned abruptly to the right and hit Ran on his side before sending him towards the stone wall. His smirk was gone while noticing that the chain was bladed and a small but deep cut was carved.

"Don't think that you can order me around like a slave, you possessing demon." He coldly replied with spite on his tone. The demon commander was surprised and with a hint of fear.

"I-Is he acting like a rebel? M-Maybe it's just a stage... Better not push my luck for now." He mentally took note, standing up and leaving while cauterizing the wound with his flames.

*Clink*

"I'm tired of him acting like he owns me. As if I'm his slave. It was time for him to know where he stands." He replied to Samael, while walking down the street before noticing that he arrived at the pub on his own. "Might as well have a drink from real alcohol."

As he entered a couple of demons were in a drinking contest with some succubus, incubus and with others. They all keep cheering while having downing their drinks down their throats, having a glitter yell in victory while the others had a hard time finishing their 8th serving.

The mob yelled right after to the winner while Dust slipped by their range and sat down quietly.

"Give a drink, strong with ice." He informed the bartender while giving him the money.

"Coming right up." He replied getting a glass and pouring ale into it before gathering some ice and dropping on the liquid. "Enjoy." He said in a nonchalant way before keeping his eye on the context.

He took a gulp at it before putting it down and taking some small snacks that was apart for others.

"Damn, that tastes way better than that crap at Altera." He mumbled to himself while taking two more gulps and setting it down.

Chloe appeared not too soon and came onto the counter next to Dust.

"Give me a Daemon Licorice, this guy here owns me!" She pointed to him, while the people on the contest stopped their drinking and the mob looked at her with wide eyes.

"You cashed your bottle for her? Now I feel sorry for you, bud." The bartender lamented while going backdoor to get the bottle.

"Shut up, you old coot! I still have two more of those to ask!" He yelled back at him while taking another gulp, but stopped midway as the crowd looked tense. "What are you guys looking at? Don't stop the drinking contest! Next guy to win, I'm buying their drink!"

The instance that was heard they resumed their entertainment on who had the iron liver to win the match.

"You shouldn't have wasted this bottle on a dark elf!"

"I am a dark elf!" He responded back.

"I don't care! These are hard to make and to waste it on somebody else is just stupid!"

"I do what I want with my stuff, now serve her the drink." He responded while the employer filled the cup and handed it to Chloe. She took a swing at it and her serious composure was thrown out the window.

"Fuaaaaaaah! Now this is THE drink!" She replied looking a bit red with just a bit of it. "You don't know, how stupid you are to waste one of these, but I'm not complaining!"

"Yeah, yeah. Just don't drink the whole bottle, you still have your duties, remember?"

"Relax! It's your last day on leave and my only day to be here before returning to that hellhole with the stupid humans. Their persistent bugs, but nothing beats our forces and our tactical advantage!" She took another gulp and finished her drink. "Give me another one!" It was filled again.

"Hmm... I'll keep it steady. Don't want to put myself in high bars." He replied finishing his drink. "Refill."

"Aha ha ha! I win, you maggots!" The glitter from before yells while the others are already wobbly from drinking so much. "Hey, commander Dust, you owe me a drink!"

"Refill his, too." The bartender gathered the cup and filled it before giving it to the glitter.

"Thanks, a million! Come on, lads! One more round!" They cheered while another round started.

"That isn't going to end well..." He commented while drinking from his glass.

"When do these things end well?" The demon replied back, which he had a point.

"You're drinking so slooooow~ Come on, share a drink with me, pretty boy!" Chloe slapped his back with joy behind her voice.

"By the el woman, you've already drank half of it! And it's a big bottle we're talking here!" He exclaimed to her.

"What are you, afraaaaaid~?" She slurred her words, the drink was considered the most powerful one.

"You're drunk." He informed her.

"You're sexy..!" She replied back.

"And this is why I don't go drinking with you." He pointed out while finishing a few more drinks while she sang a few songs to herself and sipping her new drink.

Time passed rather quickly, with Chloe still standing even though only a quarter of the bottle still stood tall.

"I'll be taking her with me. Can't have Ran or the other generals to see her like this." He put an arm around his shoulder and grabbed the rest of the bottle with him.

"I'm telling you, Dust! If Ran wasn't there, I would be under your leadership in a heartbeat, but then mister big shot just had to threaten me and kill a few of my pals. The other commanders aren't to talk about, but they don't worth as much as youuuu..."

"Yeah, yeah. That's just the booze talking, come on. I'm taking you to your place." He hoisted her up and walked with her through the streets.

"You're such a kind person, Dust... Makes a girl think why such a great guy like you ever came here to begin with?" She asked to him while they passed a few houses.

"It wasn't by choice, Chloe. Some things are out of our hands and we have to accept that." He replied back before taking a sip from the drink. "Damn, that's strong."

"But I don't see you like the kind of guy to just let that set in. You're more like a guy to fight fate, the kind of guy I like."

"To fight fate, you need to take your time and power. I've had enough of time, but I still lack the power to fight it. Also, why don't you be quiet for a bit? The alcohol went up to your head, you're not speaking things through."

"Noo... I wanna tell you and the others so many things!" She whined as he opened her room quarters.

"Say them when you have reason on your head again." He advised her while she sprawled herself on her bed before looking at him in a alluring way.

"You're right... Why don't you sleep here for tonig-"

"Don't even finish that. Not interested to bed a drunken girl, specially if she's a person I work with." He replied but as he did, she already fell asleep. "For the love of Samael..." He grabbed her bed sheets and covered her up.

He took a big sip from the drink and left the rest on her night stand for her to drink. He left, thinking that whatever happens there it was on her account not his.

*Clink*

"Don't you dare speak of that! I do it with whoever I feel like it! I just haven't found the right one, that's all."

*Clank*

"Can you shut up already with that, you snake."

 

[MementoDei]

Lento​

One of the dragons had gone towards Bethma, judging by the direction it went flying. He would've asked the black dragon who remained, but the dragon's stare made him reconsider. Just how many people around him knew about his nature already? Yullr hadn't mentioned anything yet, but Allegro had asked him about Lara's whereabouts. He answered a half-truth: she had gone back to her dimension four days ago. He always answered that he had no idea why she disappeared, even to the dragon who had once asked him. Lento had the feeling the ancient dragon doubted a little his word. The blacksmith couldn't bring himself to confess the hurt expression on the monster's face, nor that he had even seen it.

Duty still called, he had to help the villagers cut some wood and set some traps before the sunset. His mind was busy and it kept him from dwelling too much on the revelations he experienced days ago. Although the forest spirits never stopped whispering to him that he was only a "tolerated" guest.

Even nature itself knew that he was an anomaly that wondered in between worlds. Yet, he had to carry on, live against the current and accomplish what he had set his mind after seeing that sea of destruction: creating a world of peace.

 

[Heavengiver]

"I-I think that's enough. Were you entertained, little light?"

The ball of light performs a small loop, signaling that it was impressed by her dance. The singer bows, a practiced gesture that she effortlessly carries out. She didn't know how long she's been twirling around in this small dimension, but now she wanted to go out and resume her quest. Rain wonders if anyone actually worried about her. She approaches the walls again and knocks them repeatedly, an insistent pounding that clearly told of her intentions.

"Oblivio, can I come out now?"

K KizayaTaishuro

 

[Late]

Aragorn and Octavia
​

Octavia nodded at Phantom and she bends over so Phantom can climb on top of her. "Don't worry, I am a bit more gentle than Aragorn," she said to him. Once Phantom got on, they took off. They left further away from Altera, the island slowly disappearing from their view as they got lower down from the floating island.

They head back to Feita like Phantom said, landing back to the soil of the earth. Yet as they look around, there was barely anything. Just a large crater of a missing village. Both Aragorn and Octavia gave each other worried looks, starting to search around as they continue to carry Komodo and Phantom. There literally wasn't much to see, almost as if life was completely erased from existence in this area. Not even a trace of survivors either, which worried the dragons as they began to feel uneasy.

"We can't lose hope...their scent is there but faint," Octavia mumbled out.

"Yeah, but it doesn't lead to anywhere," Aragorn grumbled after putting down Komodo. Komodo stretched around, still in distress that his trainer left him but he did his best to remain calm and stayed close to the dragons. What can they exactly do?

Phant0m

Cornelius and Aisha
​

Strangely, Cornelius had taken a liking to the mage. Not because she was smart, but she is always determined to finish her work for the sake of others. He watched her walking back and forth with books in which he had no idea where they came from. It somewhat scared him, magic always scared him. Though Aisha has been working hard along with Allegro to help the Feita's blacksmith to talk. It was interesting, Cornelius has no idea how they were going to do it but he observes closely to see what the two are capable of.

It has been at least three days since Cornelius sent out Athena to do him a favor. He feels like he should worry about the dragon, as she may have complications with traveling on her two wings. Yet she is stronger than she looks. Besides that, the Feita people were slowly getting used to him. Some will greet him whenever passing by, he received a handful of "good mornings" too. Today was an interesting one, a child dared to walk up to him. Of course, Cornelius knows the child was deathly afraid to do so, probably a bet the children were doing.

"Young one, what is your name?" Cornelius asked the child, peering down at him with his eye.

"C-Cedric!"

"Well, aren't you a brave one, Cedric. It's good to have the courage and face your fears, you'll surely become a strong man." Cornelius watched how the child's eyes seem to brighten up at his words. "Go on and help your family, Cedric, they'll definitely need your strength to get through today's work. Along with your friends, if they too want to become strong like you."

The child gave him a shy smile but he did what he was told, running back to his friends and going off to see what their families need help with. Aisha saw this when taking a quick break from her studies and couldn't help to smile at the interaction. It seems to lighten up the mood a bit from the hard work that was done around here. Cornelius didn't feel embarrassed at all for it either, still holding that serious gaze with his single eye and kept looking up in the sky as if expecting for his friends to return. Truthfully he was a bit anxious yet he didn't let it show in the slightest bit.

​

 

[Phant0m]

"Octavia is right," Phantom said as he looked around, his tongue subconsciously tasting the air, "We can't give up. If their scents are still here, they can't be far and Feita's destruction was recent enough."

A reckless little God had done this. Dumbass, Xiopetec hissed.

"Feita had a lot of villagers...they evacuated and probably shouldn't be too far..."

Then Phantom spoke again, his voice a tone higher than usual with a more feminine purr to it, "I suggest we move to nearby areas...my child, you know this area better than I due to your travels."

Phantom hummed in his normal tone, scratching at his left eye. He looked south and frowned. "Elder is over that way and that's the closest place I can think of. They could be there, or at least we might head in the right direction. Worse case scenario we gather more supplies and continue searching. What do you guys think?"

"That was a positive note to end on in order to ask that question."

"Hey I'm thinking ahead! As a healer I need to make sure no one starves or is malnourished!"

"And as a priest you have yet to do a ritual for me."

"Excuse me that I'm in the middle of a war. Can't really squeeze in time to dedicate to a ritual. Now can I just focus on finding Cornelius and the others?"

"Go ahead."

"Thanks I will," Phantom huffed.

Phantom ran a hand through his hair, his tongue tasting the air again before he sighed. He looked to Komodo. "Is Komodo gonna do alright?"

Late

 

[Late]

"Yeah, he'll follow along," Aragorn grunted as Komodo seem to hold a steady stare, hiding up any mix emotions. "Though that is not the main issue here. There's a desert we have to fly through, and I'm not sure how Octavia can handle the sun's heat. It's been years since we really flew around Elrios so our sense of direction isn't so good. I hope yours is good, Phanny."

Octavia only held a nervous look on her face at the thought of flying through the dry land. It only brought her bad memories from last time when she wandered off too far from home. Yet she slowly nods her head, believing that she can handle this. "I'll be alright, we won't stay there long anyway."

Without wasting another minute, they took off once again and head towards the desert. It was a clear sky, not a single cloud in the air and the sun doing its job to heat up the environment. For Aragorn, it was a bliss and Komodo rather enjoy the warmth of the sun. As for Octavia however, she had trouble to even keep up as Aragorn and Komodo were ahead. It's usually two days worth of traveling through Bethma's desert on foot, so with the dragons' speed to should take a lot lesser than that. Yet with Octavia being the slow flyer through the land, it'll be difficult to keep pushing forward together. She even tried to cool herself off by decreasing her body temperature with her own magic yet she didn't push it further as Phantom may get hurt during the process. Right when she was considering to land, the dragons perked up to hear a roar further ahead. Aragorn flew ahead to get a better view of the land before them and smiled when he caught a scent of Athena.

"Over here!" Aragorn shouted at the group and began to fly towards the scent. The other two dragons quickly followed after him, getting closer to the sandy land. It wasn't long that they see Athena standing among with other lizardmen who look prepared for a travel.

The dragons landed, Aragorn first to run up to Athena to greet her as Octavia was slowly following after. Athena looks very pleased to see that the two young dragons were alive, bumping heads with Aragorn who didn't hold back his own force.

"Haha! You're alive!" Aragorn said with happiness in his tone, Octavia finally caught up to nudge Athena in a greeting.

"Where's the other humans and Cornelius?" Octavia asked her, panting slightly.

"They're safe. We were saved by a woman whose name is Lara and she brought us in a safe area where the people of Feita can rebuild what they lost," Athena explained to them.

"And who are these guys...?" Aragorn asked as he stares at the lizardmen who was standing by Athena.

"Recruits, they're going help the humans in this war, and don't worry, there are many more of them than these lot. I was planning to return back to the new camp with the tribe's leader with me, along with few of his guards," Athena said and shifted her head aside to show the chief on her back to them.

He was a lizardman of course, have close resembles of Berauk yet was leaner than the previous chief, as well young. The chief merely gave them a small wave of greetings. The two guards were with them as well, the same ones who encountered Athena in the first place. One was a typical lizardman with black and orange scales as the other one was a saurus guardian, having a bulkier frame compare to the two.

"The chief wanted to talk to Cornelius about plans. It's good timing that you showed up..." Athena paused as she noticed Komodo chirped at her in greeting. She gazed at the group, slowly expressing her confusion. "Xavier? What happened to Xavier?"

Phant0m

 

[KizayaTaishuro]

He could hear the insistent knock from inside the pocket dimension. It wasn't in any order so he figured she was awake and wanting exit. He opened the entrance of the pocket dimension to let her out, although he was still guilty of putting her in a dimension where many corpses had been inside in.

Heavengiver

 

[Phant0m]

"A servant of Ishmael picked him up earlier," Phantom answered. He was grinning as he watched the dragons' reunion but that grin faded, "So Xavier is gonna be gone for a while, but he'll be back once he's done with his training for the goddess."

Xiopetec grumbled, making Phantom grumble in that feminine voice of his.

"So while he's gone, you have me," The priest said as he shifted a bit on Octavia's back. The reality of how little he knew of the dragons had finally struck him. He didn't know their personalities that well (though Phantom thinks Aragorn is a bit of an ass who can't figure out a more creative nickname than Phanny), or what they ate, or how to get their food. And what about Komodo? He's probably struggling with the separation, and Phantom doesn't know how to help. HOW IS HE GOING TO TAKE CARE OF KOMODO? XAVIER'S GOING TO KILL HIM IF HE MESSES UP.

Breathe.

He can't. The priest's stare zeroed in Athena's nostril, and his breathing sounded a bit labored. His chest felt tight as butterflies flew a storm in his stomach.

WhatamIgonnadowhatamIgonnado

Calm. Down.

A sudden wave of an emotion washed over Phantom, and he stilled. He was still staring wide-eyed at Athena's nostril, but at least his breathing was back to normal and nothing felt like it was going to burst out of his stomach.

Despite the wide-eyed stare, Phantom's lips quirked into a half, sympathetic smile. "Ah. It's seems my child has had a bit of a...panic episode. It must have finally set in that Xavier has left," Xiopetec told the dragons, making Phantom's high tone give a sultry chuckle. It looked strange because it seemed that only she held control of Phantom's lips and voice speaking with an easy smile while the rest of Phantom's body didn't match with Xiopetec's mood. "This one was almost as bad as when he's about to fly...but I suppose that's getting a bit better. He didn't feel nauseous this time. It'll pass momentarily, so in the meanwhile I'll chime in."

Late

 

[MementoDei]

Elesis​

The Red Knights had barely claimed back a small part of their homeland when a terrible news came through their door and almost destroyed their morale.

"Feita what?! Are you certain of this information, soldier?"
"I swear it on my Honour as a Knight from the Velder Centurion Guard. I was sent to scout the area days after a priestess' apprentice got the revelation from Ishmael and I can confirm that the village has disappeared from the map. I fear there may be no survivors."
"..."
Elesis clenched her fist and some flames began to spark from it. It was bad, it didn't bode well for their resistance. If gods' servants and demons were against them, how could they hope to win? Yet Elesis preferred to die fighting than to live a live of servitude for whoever got the upper hand in that ultimate conflict. For now, she was powerless, yet fighting with all she could. The Commander of the Red Knights sighed and the flames in her hand calmed down, much to Penensio's relief. His commander's fiery temper was something he had got tired of trying to control every time. Elesis had changed after they came back to Elder to find Wally's head roll on the floor of a public place where him and other nobles who were by his side had been executed. Elesis had enraged at the rebels, but that only stained their reputation, even when people like Lenphad mentioned that Lara Tureen was a better leader that what Elesis could ever hope to be. Elesis didn't know how to react and feeling her position as leader shattered by a veteran and a whole town wasn't something she had been accustomed to. She passed the rest of their trip in silence, then asked Penensio who was Lara as their float was passing by, facing the old Resiam.

As her right arm, he felt obliged to tell her.

Lara Tureen was a subject of controversy among the knights. She had been part of many military operations whose focus was peace-keeping. Before joining the knights, she had been a member of the Resiam Knights, a Knight order disbanded by Hamel's kingdom long ago. In her time with the Red Knights, she was known to deeply care for her companions and was the one who mourned them the most. Her optimism tarnished and her cunning intelligence was slowly overtaken by the rawness of her emotions, leaving her exposed to obvious traps. Her recklessness gave her so many war wounds that Penensio had no choice but to kick her out because of her physical condition. She accepted Penensio's decision and went back to Resiam as a blacksmith, making an amazing recovery, despite being forced to walk with a cane until she had died during Resiam's Massacre. Some regarded her as a martyr, as a fallen idol, but her tale, to Penensio's eyes, was nothing but an undeserved tragedy over a hopeful mind. A tale that had marked her downfall so clearly to anyone around her, but that she refused to hear, deafened and blinded by her hurt emotions.

Since then, Elesis' temper had decreased. Penensio hoped that she had seen a part of her own flaws through the lost memories of the past. In the end, even if humans couldn't control their present or their future, they could always take the past as a source of strength and wisdom to guide them towards victory.

"I think I know why you're here, soldier. What is your name?"
"My name is Alfonso Alrida, ma'am. Lieutenant of the 5th division."
"Commander Sieghart, are you-"
His tone was slightly worried to the decision Elesis might take, but his commander silenced him with a simple gesture of her hand. She got up and asked the soldier to stop saluting her and be at ease. The soldier did so and Elesis looked at him in the eye to say with a calm voice Penensio had rarely heard from her:

"Lieutenant Alrida, I'm glad the Guard counts on brave men like you. Travelling from Velder to here by such dreadful times. Both of our orders must stay strong and support each other while they can."
The eyes of the lieutenant brightened, but before he could answer, Elesis continued.
"However, we can't fight in multiple fronts at the same time. The enemies we face this time are too powerful and too many to deal with even with our full power. Go back to where Vanessa needs you the most, Lieutenant Alrida. The peace of your continent depends on it."
The man looked down with some regret, but looked once again to face both Penensio and Elesis and took his leave as dignified as if he was a captain.
"Good job, Elesis. That's a good way to tell him the truth of this cruel world. I'm impressed."
The Commander looked at a small and old picture. The smiling brown-haired elf was next to a black-haired lieutenant wearing the old uniform of the knights, her father and a much younger Penensio. Her brother was in the middle of the picture, smiling brightly, unlike the serious figure she had always seen of him. The unreachable and cold big brother she briefly knew. Those four people around her father had been the first division commanders of the Knights. Behind all five was a small building that would grow to be the Sieghart's mansion and the head quarters of the Red Knights.
"Penensio... I really thought of sending a small group of our forces for a moment. I wish to help the people that need it the most but..."
She took the photo and stared at it with some nostalgia. "that would be dishonouring their memory, wouldn't it? They all gave their life for this town. Sometimes, even heroes need to be selfish..."
"Elesis, you're not being selfish. You're taking the right steps towards becoming a wonderful leader. It is the path to greatness that is the hardest to take, the harshest path out of all of them. Not everyone has the courage to take it."
Penensio smiled sadly at the picture "Lara had the charisma, the optimism, but not the emotional strength to take so many losses. But who could even blame her for it? She was nothing more but a kid put into war. Just like Elsword and Elesis. Elkashu, was this what you wanted for your children? Was this what you wanted for the world?"

 

[NinthSomnus9029]

Cai Er
Cai Er had never seen a city underground like this, the amount of ponggo was huge. "As you would expect from an unknown race." Cai Er thought to herself. When she reached the blacksmith shop, she looked around at the different works of his.

"Taken an interest, pong?" A young ponggo said. Cai Er smiled, "Yes I am interested. I wanted to know if I could speak with Agatha." Cai Er said.

Agatha chuckled, "That's me the one and only!" He pounded his chest with pride.

Cai Er then remembered the people here aren't human.

"Oh...um...I was wondering if you could fix this?" Cai Er handed him her shoulder guard. Agatha. He inspected the cracked guard, "No problem, I'll make it looking new in no time!" He said as he ran into the back of the shop, Cai Er chuckled a little.

As Cai Er exited the shop, she noticed someone familiar in the distance. "Ain? Ain! Heyy!" She waved her hand at the boy, catching his attention. Ain looked at her confused till he realized who it was.

"Cai Er, what are you doing here?" Ain asked, Cai Er noticed that his hair was different, as well as his clothing choice.

Ash

He struggled to maintain his defenses against Athenas constant barrage of light spears.

"I told you, you must be tatical of how you handle this situation!" Athena yelled firing off spears behind Ash, ducking his head Ash avoided the barrage. His been at this for hours with small breaks in between each lesson.

"You better show me something! Or you'll never find that girl Rain again!" Athena said. With the mention of her name Ash avoided the next attack without looking. He stood up straight.

"How do you know of her?..." Ash asked.

"We shared a body and mind boy, I may have told her about your interest in that girl~" Ares said teasingly. Ash rolled his eyes digging his sword into the ground. "Your not wrong but...I think I've been forgotten." Ash said, as he rolled his shoulder. Athena sat down and became to wipe off her blade. "Cronos sensed a linger of her here in Altera but she vanished all of a sudden in the Foundry. He also mentioned that something clouded his tracking when he first looked for her based on your memory." Athena said. Shivers ran down Ash’s spine knowing that Athena, Cronos and Ares can see his thoughts. "For once leave my memories alone." He said. Athena and Ares both broke into laughter as his comment.


After break Ash returned to training, thanks to Ares sparking old memories, Ash began to give it his all to beat Athena and master the power of titanium.

With 7 hours in the Astral Plain, Ash tried to get faster, and faster as Athena increased the work load. When he was free Ares helped him regain more of his power he lost when he was sealed away.

Night had arrived in the real world, the astral plain was already into the afternoon of the second day. Ash was panting heavily. "Ares, what's wrong with him? You've told me he was a fast learner." Athena said, Ares looked at Ash. Something isn't right, he's always had high compatibility with us both in this world and the last but...He isn't the same...It's like he forgot who he was."Ares said. Athena stepped forward. "It doesn't matter anymore, if he lost himself this whole plan isn't going to work anymore, his body has healed. Send him back, I can't look at this." Athena said. Before Ash knew Ares placed his hand on Ash's head, his mind returning t o his body. When Ash awoke his senses spiked as he released his armored state. Adel was shocked by Ash, who finally got up after 2 days. "Y-you're awake, pong." Adel said. Ash nodded his head as he jumped off the table. He removed his coat then shirt, exposing the nasod arm. Adel looked at it with much shock, "Y-you also possess, such an arm.." he said, Ash groaned in pain as the nasodic arm that held the Henir shard he placed in their began to spread up the arm, before returning back to the blue light. "W-what is happening to me?..." Ash wondered, the Henir power that leaked out worried him.

After a bit he put his shirt back on. "I must thank you for helping me. If there's anything you need, I'll try and help the best I can." Ash said.

Adel, shook his head, "No need...you seemed to be in a lot of pain because of that arm." Adel said, pointing at Ash's nasodic arm that had returned to normal. Ash covered up the arm as he put his hat on. "It was a choice.." Ash said, but did he really have to do this to himself?..he wondered.

​

 

[Late]

The dragons shared a confused gaze at Phantom's posture and his voice. He was really a strange one for sure. Athena only frowned at the news she heard. Truly if it wasn't for Xavier, they wouldn't have been able to be out of the demon's reach or help the people all around. She felt a pang of guilt for not expressing her own thanks to the boy, yet Octavia has hopeful eyes for Xavier. He'll have to return back to them whenever he is free to do so.

"Hm, its best we leave now. The lizardmen here will be organizing around this landscape with traps so if the demon army started to step on their soil, they'll be slowed down. Only if they ever reached this far," Athena said to the group. "I doubt there is an army waiting to move in ever since the explosion of Feita. Obviously, you bunch checked Feita before coming here so that puts me to ease that the tribe won't be attacked."

"I'm guessing there are other things going on deeper in the war," Aragorn mumbled.

"I'll lead the way."

The dragons took off again, this time with Athena and the trio of lizardmen. Octavia got her chance of a quick rest and she did her best to keep up once again. Yet after knowing Cornelius and the other Feita people were safe, it gave her confidence to keep pushing forward. Time flew as they made their way past Bethma village and flying above Elder village. For certain they were easily spotted by the townspeople, Athena's scales couldn't blind out Aragorn's and Octavia's appearances. Yet maybe it was time for the other townspeople to know that the dragons are existing in their world.

After passing by Elder, it only took several minutes to reach their destination of the new Feita camp. They landed nearby a lake, allowing the passengers to hop off of them so they can just walk towards the camp. Yet Octavia took the time to drink from the waters as she needs to refreshen herself. Athena led the others to the entrance of the camp, letting out a low growl to signal out for Cornelius that she was back. The black dragon raised his head after hearing the growl, having an audience of children who seem to be hearing a story from the beast. After seeing that the others returned back safe and sound, he turns back to the small crowd.

"I apologize, I believe I will finish this story in another day, run off back to your parents," Cornelius said to the group of young ones. He earned a couple of groans and small okays but they did what they were told, leaving Cornelius to greet the others. "Welcome back," Cornelius greeted them, leaning back in slight surprise when Aragorn and Octavia expressed their happiness through headbutts that he was alright. "I suppose our disappearance frighten you two..."

"You know it was the first time we separated ourselves from you two. Longest three days of my life," Aragorn grumbled.

"We found a safe home for Ivy, I think she'll be just fine, like the old days," Octavia said to the black dragon.

"Good, good," Cornelius said, pleased with the news. Athena beckoned towards the lizardmen who walked up to greet Cornelius. It made him even more pleased that his plan was going well. Though after spotting Komodo on his own and Phantom along with him, he slightly narrowed his eyes. "Xavier?"

"Ah...well...he's gone," Aragorn slowly started to say as he wasn't sure what was the right way to put it. Cornelius misunderstood for a moment, getting right onto his feet and his nostrils flared. "No, no! Not dead gone!" Aragorn said in alarm.

"Xavier was called to train with Ishmael's army. He left with a man to her world, we don't know when he is coming back but I know for certain he'll return," Octavia said quickly as Cornelius was narrowing his eyes.

He paused for a moment, looking at each of the dragons before him. For once, Cornelius looks a bit troubled with the news, as if he didn't believe it. Slowly his gaze began to relax, shaking his head as if in regret. "I see...Ishmael...may we wish him well on his path under the goddess' light. For now, let's focus back on our own task." Cornelius looks away from them to search for the mage. Yet there she was, listening to what happened to Xavier. There was only slight disappointment on her face yet it was wiped away when Cornelius was looking at her. "Ms. Landar, mind fetching Lento for me? Allegro too, if you can."

Aisha nodded and went off to search for the men. She didn't understand her own disappointment, as she doesn't know too much about Xavier. Yet it couldn't be helped to compare him from someone from the past. She mentally smacked herself for thinking about it and focused on trying to get Lento and Allegro. So far, she found Allegro still working on his part of the job they both were working together to have Lento talk again. Yet it almost looks like he was going to have a breakthrough with what he was working on, so Aisha let him focus on that and went ahead to search for Lento. She found him returning back with fresh, cut wood.

"Lento, the dragons returned back from their travels," she said to the man, gesturing back to the waiting beasts.

MementoDei Phant0m

 

[MementoDei]

Lento​

He looked at Aisha attentively and was able to discern the words "back" and "dragons". He made a sign for her to wait until he carried the wood back to the camp and then followed her. He was impressed to see so many majestic beasts in front of him that he almost didn't see the priest next to them.
Lento nodded at Cornelius and spoke with his hoarse voice:
"You... are all the...ramaning dragons, I believe. Pleased...to meet you. I gan't hear your voices, nor...speak a lot. If you don't mind...writing down what you...deed or wish... I'll manage to follow...what you say."
He looked up at the dragons and heard the forest spirits even louder than before. He wasn't an elf, so they couldn't help him understand, but they sure let him know that the dragons sensed his nature vaguely. He trusted Cornelius, so this time, he wasn't afraid of what the dragons could perceive about him.
Late Phant0m

 

[Heavengiver]

"So, made any progress on Unification?"

Raven sits down next to Add as he observes the various notes on Add's monitor. His Nasod arm has started to act up more frequently, and with Rain out of the picture, the only person with knowledge on what to do is the tracer. He certainly isn't tolerate of Add's attitude with the singer, but ever since he had been scolded by his brother, Add has been oddly distant.

"Huh? Yeah, I guess. We have a lot of parts to work with now, but it's still not easy to figure all of this out. Plus, we need to take into account that weird crystal inside Oblivio. Why are you here?"

"I need you to look at my arm for a bit. The overheating is getting worse and worse."

"Overheating? What kind of system did you put in this?"

The weapon taker spends a bit of time explaining how he had tweaked his arm with the help of Rain. Add inspects their handiwork and finds himself a bit impressed.

"Maybe that wishy-washy woman does know her stuff. I didn't expect that from someone like her."

"To be honest, me too. She doesn't seem like the type to dwell in Nasods."

"Sorry, but when I have the last known Nasod on Elrios, a Nasod hybrid, and a Nasod researcher in the same party, you tend to pick up on things."

They both gasps when a bright silhouette flashes next to Oblivio. With a twirl, the light disperses, revealing a siren with a cheeky smirk. "H-How the hell are you here?!"

"Rain!" Rena dashes up to Rain and envelops her in a hug. The blue-haired woman chuckled softly and returns the gesture. "You might want to ask Oblivio about that, Add. But how dare he place me in something like that! I was taking a nice nap."

Her pout draws a chuckle from Rena. Rain turns her attention to Raven, finally noticing that he's reworking his arm again.

"Maybe a little help?" Raven asks in a joking tone. The siren nods and takes a spot next to Add. They then spend most of the evening improving his Nasod arm. During this time, something inside Rain tingles faintly, like a locked cage starting to shake in rebellion.

K KizayaTaishuro MementoDei

 

[MementoDei]

Lara​

She ended her last scouting routine and decided to come back. There was no reason to fear an attack, after dealing with some pesky nasod scouts, she came back with the rest with their remains. They were intact, if was as if Lara had simply turned them off. However, once she approached the team more, some traces of burns were visible on the small robots. She had visibly overloaded their systems, somehow.

Lara looked at surprise at the blue-haired Rain. Her appearance was different, but her voice was exactly the same as the one she had when they had spoken for the first time in Bethma.

"Ah, you...must be Rain! You've changed since the last time we saw each other, good to see you again."

She bowed a little to be polite and got down to her work. She knew that only certain memory chips found in surveillance Nasods were very valuable in the black market. She had brought back seven scouts. If necessary, she'd ask Add to see if they were in good shape when she got the first out. Technology wasn't her forte, but she knew that other parts of the Nasods would sell for a good price. She carefully put a continuous ray of mana on the tip of her finger and began to open the first scout to get the materials out. The high-pitched sound of the concentrated ray distracted Add from his careful study of Raven's arm.

"...What the hell are you doing, Laser Beam?"
Lara stopped her ray of mana and looked at the Tracer. "I'm looking for the El transmitter chip. I only need one to sell it."
"If you fried every Nasod you brought back, you may say goodbye to your money. Fried chips aren't worth anything."
"Ah. Well, that's unfortunate. Is there anything valuable that may have survived a high concentration of mana particles?"
"Their cameras and heat sensors could still work...wait, mana particles? How did you even managed to fry them with that? Their systems should be able to handle-"
"Thank you, Add. You may continue helping Raven now."
"Tch."
Add continued to work on Raven's arm and mumbled something along the lines of Lara being a dangerous mage. Rena overheard that and told him that it was good to have such powerful allies. Lara nodded in agreement and began to extract the cameras with a quieter ray of mana.

Heavengiver K KizayaTaishuro

 

[Late]

The dragons glanced at each other as Lento talked to them. They obviously understand what the man was trying to say but they detect that he is different compare to other humans. Yet Cornelius slowly nodded his head and look at Aisha.

“Mind writing for him?” Cornelius asked the mage.

Aisha was a step ahead of him, having a hardcover book to write ontop of with sheets of paper. Even an ink pen, ready to write whatever she needs to. Athena eventually beckoned the lizardmen to step forward. The chief went ahead to give Lento a greeting, his two guards doing the same.

“Saying this ahead of time, Chief Jabberwock is a mute,” Athena said to them.

“But it’s not a problem for us, we were trained to understand him as well the rest of our tribe. I’ll translate,” one of the lizardman said, stepping forward. “Whenever you’re ready, chief.”

The chief nodded his head, and started to communicate with his hands. The soldier watched his movements, nodding his head and started to translate:

“First to start off, I am sorry to hear that your people were forcefully moved from your land. I am as well sorry to hear that you lost precious lives. The great dragon hear came to our land, asking for help from us. Our tribe has been trying to fix our bonds with the humans ever since Kayak cost us our trust with the humans, we only want peace among our kind and land. After hearing about the ongoing war against the demons, it brought us to our attention that if the war continues on, it won’t be long that they’ll step onto our soil. So I wish to help, I believe we can help everyone to get back on their feet and not lose hope. We will be stronger together rather than single individuals in this war.”

Aisha handed the paper to Lento after she was finish writing down, surprised that the dragons made an effort to bring another species to help their cause. Chief Jabberwock wasn’t wrong though, it’ll won’t be long that the demons will continuously be pushing forward and they seriously need to be ready if that time ever comes.

MementoDei Phant0m

 

[Phant0m]

On the flight to the camp, Phantom managed to compose himself again. He blinked and took a deep breath.

Thanks, Xiopetec.

The priest felt himself give a low chuckle. It was no problem, my dear child. I'm glad to see that you're feeling better again.

Wait.. Phantom put a hand to his mouth. Xiopetec, explain.

Explain what, my child?

Whatever just happened. How were you able-

To chuckle just now? I have more of a presence in your mind, remember? Of course, I can assume partial control of your body if I have more control in your mind. You never questioned my meaning when the deal was made and that is your fault. Your shock and anger are meaningless, it's not my fault you failed to clarify.

Phantom gave a low hiss and he shook his head. An argument with his goddess won't help his mood, and he focused on the flight.

Once the dragons landed, Phantom climbed off and he stood beside the dragons and looked around at the camp. The nomad never stayed in one village too long, and Phantom had never paid for a room in an inn. Camping on the outskirts of towns was easy to arrange and dismantle, and the priest never was familiar with the concept of "home." As he looked at all of the survivors, moving about getting houses built so they could have a more permanent area sleep, while others had settled with tents. Though they worked with vigour to rebuild, Phantom couldn't help but sense the melancholy these people were feeling as some stared at their tents with a longing expression. Longing to go back to the home they lost.

Phantom turned to Lento as he spoke and he folded his arms across his chest and stayed quiet.

He's supposed to be dead, Xiopetec hissed.

"Some people don't keep the balance in mind, Xiopetec," Phantom muttered. He shifted when he felt eyes staring at him. "He's doing these people good, so get over the fact that he's a Lost Soul."

Phantom felt his goddess bristle at that and his left eye started to throb in pain. The priest grunted and he placed a hand over his eye. He noticed a couple of the children staring at him and he yanked his hood up to shield the strange markings that they were gawking at, but his unusual priest attire was only making him a bit more conspicuous, and with hood up he was sticking out like a sore thumb. He turned to Aisha. "Where's the infirmary?" He asked.

Late MementoDei

 

[MementoDei]

Lento​

He glanced at Aisha's paper and understood why the lizardman was moving his hands like that without moving his lips.
"That sign language is useful, but Allegro looks like he's making lots of progress, so I probably won't need a similar language."
Once he finished reading, he nodded and made a sign to Aisha to pass him a pen to reply. The mage complied and he began to write his reply:

"The fact that you came all the way here from your native tribe is very noble of you and I can't and won't judge you for who you were before. When danger knocks on the door, we all must unite, despite our differences, to face it. I have lost my village once so you can count on me to help you in this war so no one has to lose their home ever again."

"Yet, the last time I fought against the demons, it was a close call. I must get stronger and harness these powers on my own if I want to respect my word as a knight."
"Have you thought about the cost for unlocking your power, Lost Soul? You might lose if you follow that path. Just like she did."

He ignored the forest spirit's voice that echoed in his mind and passed the paper with his reply to Aisha, without letting his anger appear on his face. He didn't like to be reminded of Lara by anyone. His link with the monster were undeniable, but he was different from her. He wasn't hungry for power, nor for revenge. Although, in the back of his mind, laid a small hatred for Ash. Lento hoped they wouldn't face each other ever again.

Late Phant0m

 

[Heavengiver]

"S-Soul Priestess?!?!"

What happened while she was gone? To that matter, how long was she in that pocket dimension?!

"L-Lara! What a coincidence to meet you here." She pretends to lean over to glance at Raven's arm a bit closer (and causing the weapon taker to raise an eyebrow). "How long has it been, Raven?" Rain whispers.

"Three days," he quietly answers back.

Three days?! The groan from her mouth escapes before she can stop it, but to hide her true frustrations, she glares at a spot on Raven's Nasod arm, as if it's the cause of her distress. "Just as I thought. The overheating will sap away your health, but it seems like you still have some time before we need to upgrade it. How is it functionally though? Any errors or unusual backlashes?"

He informs her that nothing other than the overheating is causing him problems. The siren, now finished with her inspection, looks around her surroundings and discovers that they're in the foundry.

"You know, I've been meaning to ask, but how do you know how to adjust my arm?"

"Let's just say that I know someone who's like you. He's someone close to me, and I've learned a few things in my journey with him and other people who study Nasods."

The vague story only made Raven more interested in her, but Rain is already picking herself up and heading over to Rena.

"Rena, if we're not up to something, mind if we go train for a bit?"

"Yes, of course! Lead the way!"

MementoDei

 

[Late]

Aisha received back the reply and read it for them. The reply earned a small smile from the chief and he nodded his head, as if in agreement.

“Good, now I think you five are deserving for a rest,” Cornelius said as he looked at the group that returned back to them.

“I know I do...” Octavia mumbled softly.

The black dragon nodded his head. “Right. I suppose we can all discuss further about plans with the men we have here along with the chief and his guards here. It couldn’t hurt to ask for neighboring towns for extra hands too. I’ll be surprised if the news of Feita haven’t spread far yet,” Cornelius said. “Once we are prepared here, we can probably plan to head back south. There are likely other villages that need saving.”

Aisha had to ask back for the pen quickly and wrote down what Cornelius said. Afterwards, she hand the paper to Lento. She perked up when the priest asked her for the infirmary, slightly concerned.

“Infirmary is the large tent down there,” Aisha replied to Phantom, pointing towards the direction. There was a large tent from the distance that Phantom can see. “Is there something wrong..?”

MementoDei Phant0m

 

[Phant0m]

Phantom looked to where Aisha pointed and then he hissed when the pain in his eye increased. "Nothing's wrong...just my eye has been bothering me and I just need something for the pain," He gritted out.

Can you fucking STOP?

How about you get over it? Xiopetec retaliated in a curt tone.

"Oh very mature of you, Xiopetec. For a goddess, you can be such a chi-AUGH!" Phantom stomped his foot and stormed to the tent. "THIS ISN'T HELPING."

"Oh, what gave you that impression?" Xiopetec snapped in Phantom's higher voice, "I can see that this arrangement isn't working out. I'm actually surprised, you're very devoted to me, I expected-"

"Just because I'm devoted doesn't mean I'll go with whatever happens to me!" Phantom threw open the tent flap, released his eye, and made his way to pile of medical supplies, "You didn't exactly give me a warning how this was going to go down and now we're both dealing with the consequences."

"You're overreacting! This is no different than when we communicated through thought!"

"Except now you can use me to talk and move around a bit, and some other things that I have yet to discover. Kinda glazed over that major detail," The priest searched through a box and grabbed a gauze pad and a roll of bandages, "Where is that pain salve?"

"It's not any different than you complying with my requests if I wanted you to do something for me."

"It is!"

"No, it isn't. You don't understand how a goddess works, my child. I know there isn't any difference, and you're just being dramatic."

"Found it," Phantom muttered as he let his hood fall back and grabbed a small glass container full of a dark blue salve. He twisted it open and applied a generous amount on to the gauze pad before sealing the container again. The priest then closed his left eye and placed the pad over it, and slowly wrapping the bandage around his head. "Do you want to start warning me about something?"

"You'll have a bit more of a sting when you fight, my child. Other than that, this is the most I can do with our current arrangement."

"Good."

Phantom tied off the bandage and he sighed when the cool salve took the edge off of the throbbing. He pulled his hood back on and he looked to some of the wounded, who were giving him strange looks. The priest sighed and he walked out of the tent and wandered the camp, assisting the survivors with carrying wood and rebuilding.

Late MementoDei

 

[Fume]

Velder - Inside the palace

"Alright, you lot! I want you all to hoist the El shard of Earth onto the carriage and then put it on the Earth Altar on the suburbs. This is the only way to make sure the land becomes stable, so get it on the double!" Dust ordered his squad as they replied with vigor in their voices.

Slowly and carefully, they tried to put the shard, but due to the size and weight it creaked and it threatened to break.

"Sir, this is too much! We need to upgrade the carriage to support the weight!"

"How long will that take?" He questioned while feeling a bit disappointed that he didn't brought a more sturdy one.

"It'll take a few weeks if we think about the resources, the transportation and the money spent on the workers, sir!" The glitter responded.

"We can't bring a more sturdier carriage instead of upgrading it?"

"We could, however due to our carpenters overtime working and the many carriages being the same model as this one, upgrading it would take the least amount of time, or would you rather wait for 3 months to stabilize our land? We can wait for it, sir."

"No, no... Our land comes first. Order someone to bring the supplies to upgrade it. How are the farmlands doing? Any progress thanks to that El shard?"

"See for yourself, commander! Look!" He took out of his bag a potato, not contaminated. "This was after putting the El shard, all impurities are gone! Of course the range is short, only going for 100 meters, but hey! It's getting bigger every 3 days! We'll finally be able to eat proper meals in a few weeks worth if this continues!" The soldier couldn't contain their joy, it had been far too long since they could feast on proper ingredients.

"Good. At least the sacrifice made to getting it wasn't in vain." Dust replied while continuing to walking, the soldiers joy faltered hearing of the comrades that died in order to get it. One of the soldiers was his childhood friend.

"This war... Is it really necessary? We already had many cards to play against the humans. Hostages, land... Why couldn't we do things more peacefully?" The soldier asked to him. The commander stopped and signaled him to join him at the window.

"Because, we don't have a say against the higher ups. If we do, we're just signing our death and those that don't, suffer less if they just ride along with them. This is how our community works right now, through violence and through betrayal." He looked down and saw a couple of people tied to a post with their heads hanging low, they know they forfeited their lives when they entered the castle to rescue their comrades.

"To show power, to show respect, to decide the lives of others, to snuffle out the will to continue and to incentive the foul to rise and commit the atrocities that they had been planning for so long. Our higher ups can do all of these things without bating an eyelid. That's what they do to make an example for the next batch to try and defy them. They cheat, they betray, they kill and they take what isn't theirs. That's our commanders nowadays." With those last words, the prisoners were executed with a volley of arrows hitting their bodies.

"How horrible..." The soldiers commented, feeling depressed on how his commander was right, but then he caught something weird. Why would his commander, a person that is in league with the others say such things? "Sir, why are you telling this to me?"

"No particular reason. Maybe for you to open your eyes on how we continue with our daily lives, or maybe to make your point be strengthen. I too think that this war isn't necessary, we don't need our friends and family to die, we don't need our comrades blood be shed for no other reason than to battle. If anything, it's unfair that we have to do these things for people that don't care about us whatsoever. So I understand how you feel, soldier." His words made the glitter happy, that from all the commanders, he was the only one that thought the same way as the other soldiers.

"However, we need this war to make the lives on our side to be better. The El shards that they have can make a big difference on our side, if we have them just for a while we can improve our world, but I wouldn't keep them with us for long." This made the soldier look at him surprised. "These shards aren't ours and they don't belong to us. After we have them for a few months at least, if things go the way they are suppose to, then I'll personally give them back to the humans."

"But sir! That's treason!" The soldier replied back to him. "If you do that, then the whole demon realm will try to kill you for that! You'll be branded as a traitor for the rest of your life!"

"How long have we been together, Edgar?" He asked him without looking.

"For three decades, sir..."

"Then you know well that I don't want our current life style to keep going. Ever since you joined my side, I was honest with all of you. I forgave you when you made a mistake and looked at the side when all of you needed to see your families, even if it was forbidden to do so. My way of doing things is much more humane than the other commanders, because they don't think the well being of others like I do. That's a fault that no demon commander should have, but it's precisely that fault that makes me so much different than others.

I think of the well being of the demons, I think what's best for others, what I can do to take the heavy load of their shoulders and push them to live another day thinking that it'll be alright the next time. But in order to do that, I need help from allies. I need them to take our world by surprise, to change for the better. We don't need to kill without reason, we need to talk with others, just like Luciela did when she was our leader."

Saying their fallen queen was prohibited around the demon realm, the punishment was death on the spot by their commander. But Dust was under her wing and always looked to the side every time a soldier brought another to kill him off for their offense. Instead of binding to that law, he demolished it once he was in the higher ranks, letting the demons talk of their leader without worry, reminiscing how every thing was better then.

"Sir..." Edgar looked below on how those days were peaceful.

"That's why, we need to take action while we still have the chance to." The glitter looked at him, his eyes still held the will to continue. "Edgar while alone I can't do nothing, I'll need someone on my ranks to recruit other demons for a cause of mine."

"A cause?" The soldier thought in surprise.

"We're going to abolish the other commanders and take our world back to our hands. A revolution for the people." The word revolution was enough reason to deem him as a traitor, but if it meant for the best interests for their people, for his fallen friends and family, then it was enough reason to join Dust's revolution.

"I understand, sir. I'll see if I can have more people to support us." The glitter saluted and went his way towards the carriage, for once in his life, he was motivated to the new change, one better for everyone, even if they were deemed traitors to their world.

Through the window, he saw the ends of the capital and the many tents that took in human refugees. Perhaps it was time to scout the enemy for himself.

 

[MementoDei]

Lento and Yullr​

He watched the priest go to the infirmary and hoped that he wasn't badly wounded. Once he saw him with a bandage covering his left eye and carrying wood, the blacksmith continued his work to help the construction of the windmills. Yullr watched the blacksmith work and looked at his men, all of them were tending to the ill, helping the villagers to hunt or patrolling the town. It was a rare sight, but he knew that it wouldn't last for more. They had to find a way to contact Ash, maybe he was leading Hamel's troops in combat. The elf commander had tried multiple times already. but his old leader seemed to always be out of reach.
"Is it because our disappearance? Let's contact that demon girl, maybe she knows where Ash is."
Yullr reestablished the link that tied him to Cai Er, but it seemed like she was unaware of his call and was talking with Ain. She simply mentioned the names of two gods: Ares and Athena. They were getting a lot of help from them. The gods even saved them from a Nephilim attack back in Feita. That last statement made the elf anger and he couldn't help to punch a nearby trunk. Ash hadn't even thought of looking for his old allies, he didn't remember the promise of fighting together to push back Cloe's faction from Velder. Ash simply sought for the best allies and ditched those who became useless along the way without remorse. Yullr took a deep breath and calmed himself down. He had only eighteen men left, it was too little to continue their rebellion, maybe Ash's treason was for the best.

"The corpse is looking at you, child of the southern forests."
Yullr turned around to see Lento look at him, visibly worried by his attitude. The elf asked the spirits to help him communicate with him and, after some seconds, he could heat the Lost Soul's voice in his mind.
"You received bad news from Ash, I suppose."

"...You could say that. It would've been better if I stopped trying to contact him. It's a lost cause, but now my men are safe and that's what matters the most to me."

"The demons are advancing, Yullr. We might be safe for now, but they'll surely come back. The lizardmen tribe came earlier today to become our allies. I agreed to unite myself to them, but you and your men are independent from my control. What you want to do from now on is your choice."

"Lento Asini, my forces may be independent from your own, but our combat and our trust is now with you. We'll help you with all we can."

"You have my thanks, Yullr Mirawynn. When the time comes, I swear my forces will protect yours and we shall stand as one."
They shook hands and gave themselves a brotherly hug with a pat in the back.
Late Phant0m

****
Elesis​

"Fire Wall!" The commander stopped the shadow monsters' advance on her men. Many had been wounded by their poison. They had to fall back, but that would mean to let the demons take control over the headquarters they had fought to protect. The remaining survivors of Hamel were hidden there. A sign of weakness here meant the slaughter of those civilians. She had to buy some time for the military fleet to get there.
"Shit! At this rate, I won't be able to protect them all..."
"Commander Elesis Sieghart, Let's push them back."
"Penensio?! What are you doing? Those demons will burst through my magic at any second! Fall back with the rest!"
"Luna blade."
An explosive blue blade fell over the demon forces, killing some and interrupting the attacks of those who remained. Penensio held his weapon firmly and walked with a fierce determination. A merman jumped out to knock him back, but the sub-commander put his sword as a defence to block the attack and used the lost momentum of his opponent to his advantage, pushing the strange sea creature back. Elesis was exhausted and her mana was regenerating slowly, but she couldn't let her right arm be injured against the hundred sea demons that he faced. The look on his eyes was as piercing as his blade, his eyes analyzed his opponents' movements and pushed them back as much as he could. He found himself quickly surrounded and he let out his breath as the demons pressed on their attack. Blood was spilled, but a blinding light surged at the centre of the demon rampage.
"STORM BLADE!"

Hundreds of magical blades spun around Penensio and tore the demons to shreds in a blink of an eye. More enemies were ahead, Penensio was already wounded and was standing with some difficulty, using his blade as a cane. He looked at her like her brother did when they sparred together. Penensio was waiting for her to step up her power, for the sake of the town, for the sake of the Red Knights, for her own sake. Elesis nodded and, despite feeling her lungs on fire, and her fire burn weakly, she dashed to the rest of the demons, feeling the fire of her hands reignite as she roared a battle cry. She was once again in the middle of the battlefield, burning the demons with the fire that covered her blade and that she could also make appear from her hands. Some spears and water magic slowed her down, but her combat dance didn't stop her attack on the demon forces. She felt her mana finally regenerate and she looked forwards. Penensio was doing a good job at simply slowing down and doing enough damage to the demons from a safe distance, he waited for her to come through. Penensio stopped after glancing at her and she continued to run and leapt towards the sky. The demons looked confused and the fire over her blade grew. She looked at her enemies and, once she felt the fire overflow from her control, she let it free with a powerful yell:

"SWORD....FIRE!"
The demons could no longer dodge the powerful attack coming their way and, in an instant, they were burnt to ashes. Elesis fell over the ground again and the ground around her began to spin. Her vision got blurry and, for a second, she thought that her brother was in front of her, smiling with satisfaction as he came towards her to keep her from falling over the ground and hit her head.
"Elesis...! Get a..."
"I fought well, didn't I...brother? I followed your last lesson. Elsword, tell me...will you come back to see me again? I'll be wai...ting..."

*****
Lara​

Her days along the rest of the group passed by silently, she talked to them only when it concerned fighting and refused to answer Add's questions. For all the Tracer knew, she was only a mage that decided to help them and that the cost of her magic was blood. Once she sold the cameras and some heat detectors on the black market, she came back with a glove over her left hand, the one that bled. She made it with valuable materials so her blood would be absorbed and converted to a magical shield she could use in combat to block some projectiles or to use as a hidden blade to slice the enemies heads off. Rena and Rain trained together and the Soul Priestess often watched them, just to cure her boredom when she wasn't called to prepare the meals for the crew.

Since she had found Rain again, she noticed that the siren was nervous around her, and considering that she came from another dimension, it didn't surprise her. Maybe she had known her when she was a mere puppet under Henir's or Ishmael's control. It didn't matter, as long as the siren kept her fear to herself and didn't hurt her, Lara wouldn't dwell on what Rain could know about her. The Soul Priestess stepped out to see Rain and Rena train past dusk. She called out to them, but they continued fighting.

"How irritating... One or two times, that's ok, but five times already? My patience doesn't last this long!"
Lara walked towards the two and summoned a dense mana sphere to separate both of them. "Ab...Æterno."
Rena's arrow is swallowed by her sphere and disintegrates slowly, just like Rain's water daggers. They both look at her in surprise and Lara smiles with a frown, indicating her annoyance and speaks with a calm voice:
"I'm glad you take your training this seriously, but I've passed also a great deal of my time getting hold of something to cook for tonight's dinner. Would you mind coming to eat before my hand slips and I put you in that mana sphere you just saw?"
Heavengiver

 

[NinthSomnus9029]

Cai Er

Cai Er and Ain sat down by the entrance to the village.

"So father is currently in Altera too huh." Ain said. Cai Er had explained to Ain how she and Ash arrived in altera, but she left out the part that he had yet to wake.

Cai Er looked towards the fields with pipes running though them. "Mhm, I plan to find a job here till things die down in Velder." Cai Er said. Ain nodded his head in agreement. "Fathers old allies passed through here, I don't know if they remain but while I followed the dragon boy I met a few of them. Well not personally." Ain said. Cai Er titled her head a little. "But you werent born yet when father fought at their side. So how did you recognize them?" Cai Er asked, Ain took a brief moment.

"As a child I would toy with mother's mirror. I've followed Rain and Rena for a short while but then lost interest and decided to return to studying elemental magic under father." Ain said.

Cai Er backed up a little. "No...that's just weird brother...too weird, you need to get out more." Cai Er said. Her comment hit Ain hard as he turned pale for a second.

After a few hours, Cai Er and Ain parted ways. She went over to the blacksmith shop, Agatha had finished fixing her shoulder guard, the smithing had impressed Cai Er.

"That was a well crafted piece, better than anything I've seen. I can see why it's important to you, pong." Agatha said, Cai Er nodded her head. "It was a present from my father." Cai Er said. During her training with Ash she took an interest in smithing from him. A smiled formed on Cai Er's face as she stared at the shoulder guard.

Cai Er 12 years old: Ash's World.

I remember when I was young, how much I loved to jump up through the branches of Ash's favorite tree.

"Cai Er, watch your step, those branches are getting worn out you know." Father said as he slammed a hammer against the hot iron.


"Don't worry Father! I've been practicing staying light on my feet you know!" I said, I remember that feeling of running up the branches and how scared the squirrels would get.


"Hmph, cocky girl." Father would say. Little did the soldiers know back then that my father Ash was the one who made there weapons, pots and sliverwear.

When I travelled with him to deliver the fresh supply of swords, spears, pots, pans, buckets, and more. The smiles the soldiers and villagers had on their faces was all father ever wanted. He seemed happy when they where happy.

So, one day after a long training session I asked him why was he always happy after he handed out his works.

"When your hardwork brings smiles to the faces of the few you know your doing something right. Those smiles assure me that I'm on the right path." He would say.

That's when I asked him if he could show me how to be a blacksmith. I wanted to feel this emotion he talked so much about.

That's when my training as a began as a smith. For almost 18 months we did physical training in the morning, school in the afternoon and smithing all evening i had turned 13 when father really started to show me advance skills of a blacksmith. When the time came for me to present my works I remember feeling a bit scared.

Will they like it?

Are they up to the standards Father put?

Multiple questions ran through my head. When we arrived Ash got down on one knee before me, he would pat my head and tell me how everything will go smoothly. He always had confidence in everything he did since I met him.

When the villagers arrived, I would see them pick up the sliver I made adding my own design to them. Many would place it back down but soon mothers took interest in them.

"Ash-sama, I would like to take 2 of these, it seems my little girls have taken a liking ti the flowers added on the handles." A woman said, her daughters holding one spoon in each hand pointing out the swurling flowers I had added. "Your daughters have a good eye, those where made by Cai Er, she came up with the idea of flowers around the handle." Ash said, I nodded my head to her, she looked at me with a soft smile, "You have a wonderful imagination, I've never seen roses like these on sliverwear!" She said, "T-thank you ma'am.." I said, still red from all the talk about the spoons.

The feelings that rushed into me that day, sparked a new light. It made me want to make more creations, put smiles on their faces.

Later after we finished giving out all we had, Ash would pull me on the carriage. "Father..I wanna keep learning how to be a blacksmith." I said.

Their was a brief pause, "You do have a talent for it, well nowadays I believe you have a talent for everything.." Ash said. I puffed out my chest proudly, "I'm just hard working father! So..what's your answer?" I asked him

He would take very long pauses when giving me responses. After a good minute he stood the carriage and turned his head towards me. "Alright, but now you'll be helping me with larger projects okay?" He said, the emotions that flowed into me formed a big smile on my face, "Yes!" I responded.

When we returnrd home that night father asked me to wait in the living room. After a few minutes he returned with a box wrapped in a red sheet. "To congratulate you on your first seccessful purchases, I made this for you." He said. He placed the box in front of me.

I swallowed my saliva, The excitement on what could be in the box was getting to me.

"Originally, this was going to be your birthday gift but, this situation seems more fitting."

I unwrapped the silk cloth, when I opened the box, what laid inside was a shoulder guard, the midnight black shined when the light hit against it. I ran my fingers along the golden patterns running all along it. "So cool looking...." I said, immediately I tried it on. The shape of it fit perfectly. "It has a circuit running through it that'll allow it to adjust to your body size as you grow." Ash said as he pointed out his usual mark that he places on all his works. I gave him a grand smile. "Thank you father!"

Present
"How much do I owe you. Agatha?" Cai Er asked. Agatha pulled out his pen and paper.

"Hmm, 190 ED, it's a small discount, pong." He said. Cai Er pulled out 20 silver Ed Coins.

"Thank you once again Agatha!" Cai Er said as she ran out the store after putting on the arm guard.

Cai Er ventured around the village curiously. The atmosphere was lively for a village underground.

"I wonder if Master is feeling better." Cai Er said.
"Oh I'll get him something to eat!" Cai Er thought.
​

Heavengiver MementoDei