Wednesday, March 26, 2008

i'll wait... wait


till that day


when you'll like


me

1:53 AM

Monday, March 10, 2008

Walking down the streets, I heard only the swish of leaves beneath me, in the cool autumn night. Surprisingly, this autumn was colder than Iceland, which was saying something, since this was in the middle of a series of rocky mountains. Striding down a narrow alley formed by two rows of tepees, I glanced briefly at my wrist. The steel armband shone, and as I continued on my path, I sensed movement behind me.

Walking down the streets, I heard only the swish of leaves beneath me, in the cool autumn night. Surprisingly, this autumn was colder than Iceland, which was saying something, since this was in the middle of a series of rocky mountains. Striding down a narrow alley formed by two rows of tepees, I glanced briefly at my wrist. The steel armband shone, and as I continued on my path, I sensed movement behind me.Not breaking from my stride, I slowly drew my spear, which was pure black in color. The people following behind me didn't increase nor decrease in speed. I increased my speed marginally, and the people tracking me followed suit. Tiring of the game, I stopped and felt the people remain fifty meters behind me. Gently, I raised the spear vertically and whispered two words, so soft that they were covered by the whistling of the wind, even to me.

A purple dragon formed from air, and coiled around me. Opening its mouth, it let out a muted roar. Immediately, my pursuers gripped their ears and fell to the ground, injured and unable to move. Golden wings appeared out of my back, and I turned towards my enemies. To my surprise, they were mere weaklings, holding a blunt dagger, apparently attracted by my wristband.

Turning to leave, I was held down by a strong pressure to my body. The shocking force of it rooted my to the spot, and I could not help but choke. From the shadows, a fully dressed ninja walked out. His dagger was sharp, and he wasn't hesitating to kill me. Pointing it at me, he held his arm parallel to the ground and vanished. I wasn't prepared for what happened next. He vanished and appeared, leaving both of my arms with holes in them.

"Boomerang Step..." I mused, my Dark Fairfrozen touching the ground. I was trained to withstand this kind of attack, but I'd just sacrificed a third of my stamina using Dragon Roar. Raising his arm, the Shadower threw the dagger straight at me. It shot through my right shoulder blade, cleaving it cleanly in two. As I fell backwards, I saw, all around me, the night life, the nocturnal animals scuttling about their business, oblivious to my suffering.

The sky was more illuminated than I'd ever seen. The Aurora rippled over it, casting a greenish hue on the Milky Way. Far above me, the lodgings of Dances with Balrog shone, the torches on the door illuminating the rocky prairie around me in flaming red. Tilting my head slightly, I saw the blue of the sea, just behind a sharp drop from the rocks. The clashing of red, green and blue made me calmer. I was going to die, and vanish, to be one with Nature. The world slowly turned black, imprinting the waves of colors in my eyes.

There was a sound of thunder.

Chapter 1: A Sound of Thunder
My eyes flew open. I was lying on something soft, and as I prodded it, I realized that it was spongy, but wet. My first thought was that I was lying at the bottom of the sea, on a giant sponge, but I had no difficulties breathing. Gingerly, I pushed myself off the ground and looked around. Sunlight filtered through a misty cover, slightly illuminating the clouds below me. Turning to the right, I saw a sign in Greek. My eyebrows furrowed as I tried my best to translate the sign.

"It says 'Welcome to Orbis' on the sign," a gentle voice said from beside me.

Whipping around, I came face to face with what I thought was an angel. Her appearance was like one, at least: She was wearing a White Requirre, and her staff was white in color. Compared to the black equipment I used, we were contrasting elements, clashing entities. She didn't seem to think that way though, and said, "What're we standing here for?" in a friendly way, and walked towards the sign.

Before I could move, I heard a growl behind me. Turning, I found a bunch of black cats growling. They lowered their heads and red lightning began to spark around the horns. Raising her staff, the girl held her right arm out and said one word, casting the magic that any would run from.

"Genesis."

Beams of light appeared from mid-air and smashed with amazing force into the ground. Where they hit the mob, the cats shrieked and disappeared. When the carnage was finished, all that was left was a few sacks of money and a few tails. Lowering her staff, the girl reached out her left hand, and everything vanished; her bag shimmered.

Turning around, she smiled at me, and I looked at her curiously. Smiling wasn't an expression one held after killing a bunch of monsters... I felt odd. She seemed familiar, somehow... Where had I seen someone as cheerful as that? Ignoring the feeling for the moment, I ran after her. This was the fourth time I'd been in Orbis. The first two times was when I had to go to El Nath and back for the third job advancement, and the other two when I went to Leafre to help out Chief Tatamo.

I'd never taken the time to appreciate Orbis before, and seeing my expression, the girl opened her mouth to begin speaking, but before she could, I interrupted her. "What's your name?"

"Lacus..." she replied, somewhat uncertainly.

That name struck a chord in my mind, but I was not sure why. I had met her before... my thoughts were interrupted by her as she began explaining the etymology and history of Orbis. Apparently, Orbis meant "circle", and the floating clouds were kept up by special rocks mined from a desert. The manufacturer was unknown, but it was said to be a city that even the Archangels couldn't penetrate, protected by technology yet unknown to anyone. After her explanation, we walked in silence up the hill. For some reason, I was following her, and she wasn't in the least bit opposing.

"By the way, what am I doing here?"
"You were the... um... recipient of a Shadower attack. I was in the area, so I healed you and brought you here. I had to set you down because I had to get some stuff out of the way."
"You... flew?"
"Yeah. Every mage can."

AN: In case you haven't noticed, the lack of technology sets this in the past, about the 16th century. Supposedly, the advent of technology crippled some abilities. Readers of His Dark Materials can compare this to the daemons vanishing.

"Oh. So... you carried me... here?"
"Yeah. Your Dark Fairfrozen broke though. I patched it up the best I could." Blushing, she took out the Dark Fairfrozen. Save for a small crack, I couldn't detect any differences. I took it and admired the handiwork on it. She was an all rounded person, really...

Suddenly, I was aware of a slight tinge to my cheeks. Grinning slightly, I thanked her and sheathed the spear in my hip sheath. Turning towards her, I said, "By the way, my name is..."

"Kira. Kira Yamato." She interrupted.
"How did you...?"
"Know?"
"Er... yeah."
"By making eye contact with any person or object, I can find out their names and date of birth."
"Really?"
"One of the advantages of being an angel.

"So I was right... she was an angel... I thought. Shaking my head, I berated myself for getting emotions into the work. Before I could say anything, the sun began setting, and in fifteen minutes, the entire town was bathed in moonlight. Walking on the silent streets, I saw the inhabitants of the town fly by, their wings emitting pale light, just enough to shine a little ahead and act as a warning for those behind. The stars in the sky began glittering, and as I walked, I noticed the Great Dipper, part of the constellation of Ursa Major, the Great Bear.

From regaining consciousness till now, I had never thought of anything but the present, and now, two thoughts suggested themselves heavily to my mind: that of how I was going to return to Victoria Island, and where I was going to stay for the night. Catching my eye, Lacus replied, "We're going to my house. I'm sure that my family would willingly give up a place for you to stay. As for how you're going to get back, we'll plan tomorrow, okay?

"Her smile was so convincing that I could not help but agree with the plan. As we walked, I began to notice a sudden thunderstorm happening beneath me. The ground was trembling, albeit too slightly for anyone who was not feeling for it to notice. Passing by a shop, I was arrested by movement in a shop. The shop owner was changing the date on a poster, and when he was done, I was left staring at the date.

It said clearly, 14th February 1558.
"16th Century!" I exclaimed.
"Yeah. Didn't you know?"
"But you said you saved me..."
"Yes.""But I was in the twenty-first century... wasn't I?"
"No. I found you in Perion." She looked at me oddly.

The clock above me chimed twelve midnight. To my surprise, there wasn't a ship departing, the ship that left every fifteen minutes. Come to think about it, I didn't even notice a station. Before I could make head or tail of what was going on, thunder echoed. The same resonation I had heard just when I'd fainted. Taking three steps forward, I looked around. Orbis was filled with streetlights and bustling with hundreds of people. Pink hearts decorated the sky, and there was a loud horn as the ship prepared to leave the station.

Walking silently through town, I thought about what was happening. Walking past the archives, I saw a sign saying that it was open 24 hours for a week. Stopping in front of it, I deliberated for a minute before opening the doors and walking in. Heading straight for the name archives, I looked at the name-list of residents from 1558. Flipping to the ledger named "Angels", I was prepared for a long search, but one look rendered that useless.

At the top of the page was the name "Lacus Clyne."

Chapter 2: Lacus Clyne
I knew, from my obsolete knowledge, that angels were regarded highly during that time, and there would be legends and biographies of them. A small number was beside the name, and I guessed that it was the vault number. Putting the book neatly where it belonged, I walked towards a steel door. It required identification of job, but when I stuck the Dark Fairfrozen in, it was thrown out. Jumping, I retrieved it and tucked it neatly in its sheath. Rolling my eyes at the rejection of modified weapons, I took out a regular Fairfrozen and jabbed it into the slot. The door slowly swung open, and I walked in.

Running to the end, I saw the number X20, and began searching backwards. The vaults were arranged in order from 1 to 19, and each of them had a letter before and after it. The higher the number and letter after it, the higher the rank was. The letter before, X, was the letter designating angels. X20 was reserved for the Archangel... I wondered who it was. Chanted the numbers under my breath I walked, checking the numbers. 19F, 19E, 19D, 19C, 19B... There it was. Opening the door of Vault X19A, I was greeted by a blast of frigid air. Apparently, the vault masters had mastered the art of freezing the parchments, preserving instead of destroying them.

AN: Yes, I completely know the meaning of X19A.

Shutting the door behind me, I carefully picked up a parchment and started reading. It was, surprisingly, a document saying that she was under trial for aiding pirates. Confused, I read and read, and by the time I was done, a clock on the wall read 6 A.M. According to the parchments, Lacus had been a prominent angel, but met someone who she stuck to, and eventually helped when he got into trouble as a pirate. The name of the boy wasn't written, though...

Walking slowly, I began to understand what was happening. I had somehow traveled through time, meaning that if I tried, I could repeat that feat. Concentrating, I took a deep breath and started walking back and forth. Twenty minutes later, I was leaning against the glass wall of the vault. Panting, I wondered why I was bothering. Why did I want to go back? I remembered her face, her wings... I thought about the only person I'd ever been close to. Reaching inside the Battle Road I wore, I pulled out a small pendant. Opening it, I saw the picture of her... she looked so like Lacus, and yet so different. That picture and the armor was the only memory I had of her; she had given them to me just before she vanished from the face of this earth.

I noticed that my fists were clenched, and tears were rolling down my face as my heart spasmed painfully. I remembered every crossing in our lives. We had been students in the Warrior Academy, but she had advanced faster than me. Halfway through our studies, she had been blamed for a crime, and the evidence all pointed towards her. When she asked me whether I believed her, I couldn't answer properly, and she left to prove herself innocent. The only things she had left behind were that pendant and the armor she'd given me on my advancement.

Just then, the sound of thunder roared again, but not as strongly as before. I appeared in the middle of the town square. The floor was covered with planks and formed bridges over the clouds. Looking into one of the shops, I saw a sign that said, "14th February 1558". I was back. I ran eagerly towards the hill, and scaling a wall, suddenly realized that I didn't know where her house was. I was going back down Orbis Hill when someone covered my eyes from behind. Grinning slightly, I pulled her hands off and turned around to find Lacus grinning at me.

Laughing, I apologized for my sudden disappearance six hours ago. To my surprise, she didn't mind, and instead led me to her home. The size of the house was impressive, and I could only stand there, dumbfounded. The adults seemed pleased with me, and the children were friendly. One of the people about my age wanted to duel with me, and when I accepted, they led me to a training area they had built. They stood outside and locked the door, and the duel began.

Chapter 3: Surprise! Duel with an Expert
Intending to surprise the boys, I held the Dark Fairfrozen vertically and casted a Dragon Roar. Once again, the purple dragon coiled around me, but the boy didn't seem in the least bit surprised. The moment the roar ended, he stepped up, held his Serpent's Tongue and slashed towards me. The Final Attack caught me by surprise, and managed to push me back slightly. Gripping the Dark Fairfrozen tightly, I stabbed towards him thrice, and all three times, he evaded. This was becoming tiring. Slamming the spear down, I created a shock-wave that shook the panels.

"Spear Buster and Dragon Fury... I've seen that before, but never experienced it in person."

Jumping, he slammed the spear down, and created a shock-wave equal to mine. Just who was this person? What was his ability? What allowed him... to copy? Jumping off the ground, I was surprised by the Dragon Roar. Landing, I found myself unable to move, and was easily taken down by the Spear Buster. By the time he was done, my body was slashed all over, and I was absolutely unable to retaliate in any way. Then, my opponent started to truly surprise me.

"Berserker."

His legs began glowing, and golden sparks covered his armor. He immediately said, "Hyper Body. Iron Will. Power Guard. Threaten. Holy Charge."

A mess of colors erupted around his body, and the only remaining traces were the sparks of Berserker and the golden glow that surrounded the spear. Slamming it straight down, he said one word, the one skill that was capable of utterly destroying monsters.

"Sanctuary."

The giant spear hit the ground with a power that I'd never felt before. There was a resonation, and a will about it, that made the damage quite shocking. Throwing the Dark Fairfrozen upwards, I took out a shield and blocked the wave, and to my utter shock, the shield split into four, and the shock-wave was only barely deterred. Jumping quickly, I flipped up a wall and launched off it, and grabbed the spear. Pointing it straight down, I casted another Dragon Roar, the third in the battle, reducing my stamina to 7%.

Landing, I knew that if I got another graze, I would faint. This was becoming a battle for my life. What I had underestimated as a young man around my age was actually a Dark Paladin, a morph between the elemental Page and strong Dark Knight. I was a mere Dragon Knight; how was I going to fight evenly, much less say win?

"This is a skill that I have mastered, and am willing to teach you, but on one condition."
"Yes?" My voice was shaking with expectation.
"You must not use this unless your life is in danger," Dances with Balrog said.
"Understood, master."
"Then let's begin. This skill is one that will increment your power dramatically, but at the expense of half of your remaining stamina."

Raising out my right arm, I said, "Final Berserker."

A glow emanated around my arm, and I felt drained. Any one below 5% of their stamina would usually faint, to prevent body strain, but I persisted on. My whole body was now glowing, and it reminded me of Super Saiyan Mode, but that didn't exist in the 16th Century... did it? I gave a mock punch, and an energy blast shot out. The person began to look interested, and gripping his weapon tightly, formally introduced himself.

"I'm Tim, 15. I'm a Paladin."
"I'm Kira. Same age as you, but a Dragon Knight." I blushed slightly.
"What's there to be embarrassed about?"
"That a lousy person like me dared to challenge you."
"If I remember correctly, I was the one that challenged you."
"Then I underestimated you."
"Maybe." He grinned, and added, "I note that you're barely at 4% stamina. Sure you wanna continue fighting?"
"Yes."

I threw a punch at him, but he merely pulled out a soul shield and absorbed it. "Blocking is useful..." he said, and added, "Rush." Charging at me, he stabbed the Serpent's Tongue forward, which reminded me, oddly, of a snake preparing to strike. Reaching within range of me, he said, "Million Stab." The spear began jabbing so quickly that it looked like it was spinning. Neatly dodging all the stabs, I used Spear Buster, managing to land three hits that drained his stamina by 40%.

Rapidly calculating, I observed, "You managed to use Berserker at full stamina, but it cost you 10% stamina. Meaning... you're at half stamina now."
"Interesting insight."

Again, he jumped, but this time, he drew four daggers from his pocket and threw them. Dodging, I was caught by surprise when he appeared behind me and said, "Million Stab." Landing neatly, he watched as I fell. To his astonishment, I pushed myself up and gripped my left arm. The light fabric over my chest tore, and revealed the glowing steel pendant.

Chapter 4: Silver Pendant
Tim was bemused, and stared at the pendant. Lacus was blushing, but I didn't care. Eventually, she turned her sight away from me and scurried off. A boy outside was grinning at her expression, and walked in, apologizing. "I think she likes you." Holding one hand over my arm, he said "Heal" and my wounds repaired themselves. Leaving the training area, I walked into the living room and sat down on the comfortable sofa, folding my top and putting it on the sofa. Looking around, I noticed that this house was beautiful, and was made of marble. The walls were pure white, and looking around, I realized that the entire congregation was made of students and masters of Holy Magic, with the only exception being Tim.

"Actually, I'm not part of the family. Nor is that guy who healed you," Tim said, when I pointed that out.
"Yep," he interrupted, "I'm not. By the way, my name is Julian."

We walked out, into the setting sun. Lacus was following some distance away, and Julian surprised us by casting a Teleport of astonishing distance. Lacus wasn't fazed, replying by Teleporting an equal distance, taking his place beside me. Smiling slightly, I sat down on a ledge, watching the setting sun traveling below the horizon. Julian sat down on the other side of Tim and started telling of the story of the three of them. By the time he was done, the sun had nearly set and the last of the sun cast a beautiful carpet of red on the ground.

"So... when you found Lacus, she had amnesia, so you named her after an identification card she held?" I queried.
"Yes."

My heart began throbbing. Could it be possible? But she didn't have any sign of being able to time travel, and so... it couldn't possibly be her... could it? They were looking at the pendant on my bare chest with interest, and so, I told them the story behind it.

"I first met her in the Warrior Academy. We were just 12 at that time, but she was strong, and we became friends quickly. By the time we'd reached the 2nd job advancement, we had already helped each other through hard, often life-threatening situations. We had become best friends, and trained with each other everyday. One day, a crime had been committed. The library had been destroyed, and it had left traces, traces of the spear I had modified for her. She had depended on me to trust her, but the evidence was overwhelming... she had felt betrayed, and left me two things before she left... the first was this pendant and the second was the armor I was wearing. Until now... she never used her real name... and I don't even know it."

Loosening my necklace, I handed it to Lacus. When she opened it, her mouth fell open. She stared at the picture for a long time, and she finally asked, "Who's... this?" Not waiting for an answer, she closed the pendant and lay down, staring at the stars twinkling above. The others all lay down, and after deliberating, I excused myself. The sound of thunder echoed again, and I was once again in the 21st Century. Running, I reached the archives and ran to the vault that contained the student record for Warriors.

Flipping to the ledger two years ago, I looked around and found my name. Above mine was the name and picture of the girl that had been my best friend and crush. Until then, my arm was supporting my weight of the table, and my hand was covering her name. Shaking, I slowly removed it.

"Lacus Clyne".

Chapter 5: Lacus Clyne
AN: Repeat of chapter 2 title.

Teleporting back to the past, I arrived just as Julian was preparing to leave. Seeing me back, he promptly sat down and waited for me to speak. Wordlessly, I took out a pile of notes and handed them to him. Lighting his hand up, he slowly read it through. When he was done, he looked shocked, and yet he was smiling slightly.

"Well, Lacus gets a chance now, doesn't she?"
"What do you mean?" Lacus asked, her blush evident in the moonlight.
"Yeah, what do you mean?" Tim asked in a curious tone.

Julian leaned over and whispered what he'd read into Tim's ear, and when he finished, Tim was grinning as well. Both of them stood up and turned in the direction of Lacus' house. "We'll get going first... we may come back later..." Tim said. Whispering in my ear, he completed the sentence, "Lovebirds."

"What?" I was nonplussed, but they merely waved and continued walking.
All that time, Lacus' hand was lighted and she was reading the papers, and now, she looked at me with an odd expression. "I'm... this Lacus? The girl you were talking about?"

"I... I... think so..." Trailing off, I looked pointedly out towards the expanse of the Cloud Park.

She remained silent for one minute, and said, "I need your help."
"With?"
"Regaining my memory."
"How do I help?"
"I need a strong memory. Something that you are sure I will remember."

Running from the Wild Boars, Lacus had sprained her ankle. Helping her up, I led her to a field of spikes and jumped in. The portal led us to a platform inaccessible by any other way. Opening a small chair, she sat down gently and leaned back, looking at the beautiful night sky. Opening the Relaxer myself, I sat down beside her and talked about that day's training session. Unsurprisingly, she wasn't interested in that, and she merely looked at me.

Heart beating, I slowly leaned over, and gave her a small hug. Both of us were blushing under that silver moonlight, and it was a perfect scene, one that lasted for... hours, it seemed.

"Well?"
Lacus looked at me expectantly.Turning around, I faced her. I was merely inches away from her... reaching out, I hugged her close to me, and said, "I love you." Her expression was stunned, and yet carried a certain strength about it. Everything was quiet, save for her gentle breathing, which sounded in my ear rhythmically. After ten minutes, I gently pushed her away from me, and noticed that she was limp, her eyes shut. I felt a bit let down, but couldn't help smiling slightly. Lowering her body, I lay her down on the soft cloud. Lying down myself, I watched the progress of the stars as they spun in a circle around the North Star. Feeling myself getting droopy, I shut my eyes, listening to the rustle of the wind brushing against the wooden structures.

Tim's PoV
The midnight breeze was cooling. I stood in front of Lacus' house, on top of Orbis Hill. Behind me, faeries were flying around Orbis, the light of their flapping wings casting pale shadows on the hill, splashing in front of me. The wind whistled, rustling the trees around me. Walking ahead, I reached a slope. Lighting my staff, I raised it high, and saw two figures at the bottom, lying down, evidently sleeping.

Turning on the spot, I vanished and appeared in a different Orbis, lighted up by electric lights.

Lacus' PoV
I woke up to find myself sleeping on a patch of clouds, my face buried in Kira's chest. Blushing, I moved backwards, only to feel Kira's strong arms wrapped around me. Gently, I nuzzled him and he looked down sleepily. When he saw me, he looked startled, and immediately embarrassed, blushing and trying his best not to have noticed. Grinning, I removed his arms from around me, pushing myself up.

In the distance, the darkness of night was vanishing. Walking to the end of the clouds, I sat down and looked over the sea. In the far distance was Victoria Island, the rocky outcrops of Perion and the tall trees that made up Ellinia visible. Far below, I could see the base of Orbis Tower, and the port of El Nath. A ship was leaving the port for Victoria's Lith Harbor, and in the middle, a cargo ship was sailing lazily, leaving small, barely visible trails.

I sat down beside Lacus and felt her small hand holding mine. It was soft and small, which all the more accentuated her petiteness. I couldn't believe that those were the hands of a former Crusaderess, but it didn't make a difference now. I wondered what would happen if someone fell down from here into the water. It would probably cushion the fall, but a twenty story tower... I didn't think anyone could survive.

Suddenly, Lacus was gesticulating wildly at the sea, and when I looked where she was pointing, I didn't see anything but a ripple. Apparently, she could see more than I could, as she looked worried. The ripple began to get wider and faster in speed, forming small waves that rocked the ship in the middle of the ocean. It began to veer wildly as a shadow morphed into sight below the water, increasing in size.

Out of the blue, a ship with black sails rose out of the sea. On its mast was the Jolly Roger.

Chapter 6: The Jolly Roger
The ship sailed like a demon, traveling at a speed of about forty knots, a speed impossible without mechanical help, but there they were, speeding on the sea like a hurricane was pushing it. Drawing parallel to the cargo ship, the pirate ship let off three cannonballs, and the cargo spilled out onto the sea, floating because of the wood. Immediately, they unloaded lifeboats and threw down an extra, pushing it towards the people flailing about in the sea. They took all of five minutes to loot the cargo, and then the ship vanished back into the watery depths.

Lacus had been watching all of this silently, tears forming in her eyes. Noticing that I was looking at her, she bit her lower lip, trying to hold it in, but gave in, and started sobbing. Holding her to my chest, I felt the tears flow down my chest, and stroked her hair, making her calm down slightly. When she had recovered, she said that she remembered seeing the pirates before, seven years ago. They had taken care of her when she was shipwrecked, and they weren't like all the legends of pirates. There had been one particular pirate that had been especially kind to her, and she would never forget them, the crew that had been so kind.

Before she could break out from her reverie, there was a loud roaring sound, and Tim appeared, his expression fearful. Panting slightly, he said, "This is bad. I dunno what's happening, but we had better run. The Trading Company is catching up to us, for some reason... we need to get away, to somewhere that is safe, away from them."

I couldn't make head or tail of what was going on. The only thing I could make out of that was that Tim was a time traveler as well. He groaned at our bewildered looks, and dragged both of us up, running down the slope. Contrary to her expression, Lacus spoke quite calmly. "I think there's an easier way." Turning around, she walked to the end and jumped off. Gasping, both of us ran to look down, and to our surprise, she was uninjured, and smiling up.

Looking at each other, Tim and I jumped over the side, and as I free fell, I felt the adrenaline rush, the familiar feeling of excitement. Turning in midair, I saw the side of Orbis Tower flashing by, and I kept falling. Ten seconds later, I braced myself as I crashed onto the water below. Kicking once, I surfaced and was glad I'd not been wearing armor. With a sudden shock, I realized that I had left the armor behind. Heart dropping, I swam slowly towards Lacus.

Tim's PoV
Standing on the sea, I swam towards the snowy banks of El Nath. I thought through what Lacus had said earlier on; It wasn't possible that Lacus had been associating with pirates at eight; she was from the 21st century, and at that time, there were no pirates sailing openly on the sea. Why had she said she did? And she had spoken with such conviction.

The water was becoming icier as I approached El Nath. There were the signs of crystallized barnacles on the bottom of the sea, and soon, there was a small underwater field of ice that made progress easier. As I walked, I felt a sense of unbalance, and from the expression on the others' faces, I could tell that they felt the same way. Suddenly, the ice gave way, and getting dragged down into the water, I began to feel a sense of darkness... a sense of euphoria.

Omniscient Narrator
Under the surface of the sea, three figures floated, and the chain in Lacus' hands glowed, letting off a gigantic pulse of water that created big waves. The pirate ship that had just sunken for not long rocked, causing the crew to tumble slightly. The captain looked out, and saw the glow far off, near the port of El Nath. He thought he knew what that chain was, and risking everything, he set sail for the port.

Chapter 7: The Chain of Destiny
Waking up, I felt myself on slippery boards, rolling slightly as the floor shook and the entire sky swirled. Pushing myself up gingerly, I saw that I was on the deck of a ship, and on the mast was a flag with the skull and crossbones. Immediately, I jumped up and drew my Dark Fairfrozen, looking around. From the bridge, a person with a jovial but thin face came out, grinning and asking me to relax. Watching me grip my weapon tighter, he reminded me that he had saved my life, and I stowed away my weapon, raising out my hand.

"I believe thanks are in order," I said, shaking his hand.
"No problem..." he trailed off as I pushed back his sleeve. Beneath it, the letter "P" was tattooed ornately.
"Pirate?"
"Yes, as you obviously can tell."
"Have you met her before?" I asked, pointing towards Lacus. Studying her for a while, he finally answered to the negative. That threw things into more of a mess; I thought for ages as I leaned on the bars. Thoughts whirled in my mind; I was the only silent human on board. All the others were scurrying about like rats, working on the ship, securing the sails; Tim and Lacus were chatting silently in the cabin. The sky started turning darker as the sun traveled towards the west. The ship had been sailing towards the south-east for five hours, and now, we were drawing even with the El Nath mountains. Slowly, it made its way into the small river that flowed there, and approached the town of Mu Lung. Reaching out, I gently touched the icebergs that were so near to the hull.

Turning around, I walked towards the stern and looked at the setting sun. It grazed the tops of the mountains, making the snow blaze as they crystallized in the iciness of the night. I was desperate, desperate to understand what was going on, what was going to happen. In anger, I shouted into the night, and was surprised by a small gasp from behind me. Turning, I saw Lacus wincing, and I hurriedly apologized. Looking at her attire, I blushed. Her dress was pure white in color, and contrasting against the darkness of the night, it seemed to glow. Her facial features were thrown into stark focus by the moonlight above, making her gaze softer. She was, in all ways, perfect... but I had more things on my mind than that.

"Lacus... the necklace... what's its true power?"
"Her memory... there's something wrong with it," Tim cut in.
"What?"
"It's been modified by some force. I don't know what's happening, but maybe you might be able to."
"How?"
"Time."I gasped.
"Do you know what the consequences of meddling with Time are?"
"Yes. I'm perfectly aware of the repercussions."
"Then..."
"I'd go if it were me. But I can't."
"And why is that?" To me, it seemed as if he were trying to snake out of helping. He sighed.
"I am the Keeper of Time. I am not allowed to disturb its natural flow."
"WHAT!"
"Yes. Throughout history, there have been five Keepers, for Time, Space, Life, Death and the Gate."
"The Gate?"
"The Gatekeeper protects the gate to everything. Beyond the Gate lies the source of everything."
"Okay. And now... I must leave?"
"Yes. It's essential. She's the key to everything."
"Right."

Looking at Lacus, I prayed and started concentrating. The sound of thunder, and nothingness. Seconds later, I appeared on the top of one of El Nath's highest mountains. The water below was crisp and blue. In the distance, a small island floated, covered with straw huts. Beyond it was another one, barren. Far away, a large continent floated, covered with tall trees everywhere save for a rocky plain at the furthest end. This was odd. It seemed as if...

"Oh my..." I had traveled further back, before the four legendary Masters founded Victoria Island, before Omega Sector, before Ludus Lake, before everything. Korean Folk Town had just been founded, and it would be a few hundred years before Eos was built. I concentrated on the future, but it escaped me. Trying again and again, I began to feel chilled to the bone. When I fainted, the necklace let out a pulse that shook the snow.

Chapter 8: Athena Pierce
I woke up on a comfortable bed. Pressing down on it, I was surprised to find that it wasn't eiderdown, but straw. The room was spartan, and made entirely of straws; they had only one window, but from my position, I couldn't see out. Pushing myself up, I looked out the window; it was dark. Moonlight shone down on the garden, and there were faint sounds outside the house. Walking out, I was surprised to see a meeting directly outside the door. Stumbling, I tripped backwards over the threshold, and landed flat on the floor of the house. Embarrassed, I climbed up, and the leader adjourned the meeting. She was young, and appeared strong. A bow was slung over her back, but there were no arrows.

Before I could deliberate on this point, she introduced herself. "I'm Athena Pierce." I let out an audible gasp. She was the Bowman's job Master and one of the four founders of Victoria Island. Motioning me to sit down, she took a seat opposite me and started explaining where this was, and why I was here.

"So this is Korean Folk Town, and you found me along with...?"
"Grendel."
"Then the others..."
"Hunting. Wait. How did you know about the others?"
"Erm..."

I was saved from answering by Grendel, who walked in at that moment. From my distance, I could feel his strong magical aura, but he looked odd without his gnarled staff, the crystal ball, his beard, his slouch... everything was different about him. It was hard to imagine that one day, he would discover the methods of immortality and continue to pass on his knowledge to his students. Currently, he was young and healthy, and it was hard not to find him a good companion. He was arrested in his movement when he entered the room, and asked sharply who I was.

"Kira... Yamato...."
"What's that?" he asked, not dropping his sharp tone.
"This necklace? It's a present from my friend."

Walking over to it, he held out his hand. As I handed him the necklace, I felt a sense of superiority and arrogance emanating from me. Even though I didn't much like it, it was hard to deny that even though he was around the same age as me, he already held great power, much more so than mine. After Grendel examined the necklace for ten minutes, he looked up at me with admiration, a look that unbalanced me.

"What? Why are you looking at me like that?"
"This necklace... It's amazing!"
"In what way?"
"Firstly, it grants the holder travel through Time. Secondly, if the owner or former owner were to be in mortal danger, this necklace would let off a pulse, attracting anyone who happened to be nearby. Thirdly, this is the key... the key to the Pirates' Lair."
"The Pirates' Lair?"
"In it holds all the treasure that it can hold, and the secrets of the pirates' success throughout the years... this is amazing. It's totally amazing!"

Before I could make a further comment, the necklace let out a pulse, and at the same time, my heart gave a wrench. There was blackness, and then I was in the middle of Korean Folk Town. Grabbing a small ship that was docked, I paddled like a bat out of Hell. In the far distance, cannons rang, cutting through the silence. Ahead of me, two ships were firing on each other, and fire erupted in a flaming lasso around the ships. The symbol of the Royal Navy was on one of them, and the skull and crossbones on the other. Suddenly, there was a sound of whizzing arrows.

Three dark figures appeared in midair, above and in front of me, facing the Navy ship. Purple dragons flowed around the first one, while Athena Pierce used a bow to fire a continuous stream of green dragon heads. Grendel was firing multi-colored bolts; there were thousands of throwing stars flying towards the ship, but no figure was in sight. Suddenly, a light voice said, "Gah, throwing stars in Dark Sight sure is tiring." A puff, and he was visible. Ten stars flew out at once from his hands, which weren't protected by gloves. For that matter, there wasn't even a claw on his hands.

"What are you doing here?"
"Ever since Grendel met this kid with a necklace that was the key to the Pirates' Lair, he's become a pirate, and made all of us follow it."
"Yeah, you really didn't want all the gold, Roy." Grendel commented with sarcasm.
"Quit quarreling and heal me, Grendel. I've been Roaring for the past ten minutes."
"Yes, Kon-san."

These were the four great job masters? They appeared to be nothing but precocious squabbling teenagers...

"Hey child! We didn't come here for nothing, you know? Go look for her!"
"Right!" I didn't want to know how they found out I was looking for her... probably one of Grendel's abilities... Running across the water, I was surprised that I could float. The necklace was pulsing more strongly than ever; she had to be somewhere nearby! In desperation, I dove under the water, which proved to be my undoing. The icy liquid splashed against my eyes, rendering me blind. Losing all sense of direction, I smacked against a steel hull and let out a silent scream, causing water to pour into my windpipe.

Chapter 9: Lacus' Subconscious
I woke up to find myself lying on a soft bed, facing Lacus. She was just a few inches away from me... Holding her gently, I thought about everything that had happened. Days had flashed by just like that; she had her memories messed up. What was happening to her? What was happening to the world? The natural order was collapsing, everything was messed up. What were the Keepers doing? They were supposed to govern the four areas of life... I noted interestedly that love wasn't one of them.

The necklace let out a small glow, enough to attract my attention. Before I could react, the light engulfed me, putting me in a small garden with a pagoda in the center. Cautiously, I tiptoed towards the pagoda doors. I was unarmed and defenseless, and it wouldn't do good to get into a fight. The door seemed to be well oiled, and when I got in, I was faced with a young girl and a bunch of pirates.

"What...?" My reactions weren't fast enough to avoid what happened next. A flash and a bullet lodged itself in my arm. There was a smell of sizzling flesh, and I shouted in alarm when it exploded, inflaming my entire arm and causing a giant hole. Cursing, I ran to the right, away from the pirates and behind a pillar. Gunslingers... Cursing again, I disengaged the remaining pieces of lead and left the dark corner. Rolling and running proved to be effective, and when I reached the staircase, they disappeared. I wondered why the hell I was risking my life for this...

The second level featured another series of pirates, this time without a staircase at the end. Raising my Dark Fairfrozen, I was preparing to cast a Dragon Roar when a hand stopped me. "I don't think that's a good idea." Grendel's Thunderbolt crackled as it flew down from the sky, cutting the pirates slightly. There was a shimmer, and they vanished, flashing as they teleported around the room. With apparent ease, Grendel casted Fire Arrows all over the room, destroying much of the flashes, but a particularly quick one evaded him.

Again, that quick flash. Again and again, he teleported around the room, and this time, he let off a gunshot that nearly impaled Grendel. Dodging quickly, he charged a large bolt of energy and fired it, but still, it missed, and this time, the pagoda shook slightly. Ignoring Grendel's advice, I casted Dragon Roar, but no purple dragon nor ensuing roar came out. I felt giddy. In returning to the past, I'd changed events; I'd made the four brethren stay behind, and they didn't find Victoria to spread their teachings... therefore... every single person's powers were gone, and I was the cause of it.

Concentrating, I tried to teleport back in time, but it only left me weaker, and I leaned against a pillar. I regretted having taken that necklace. I regretted doubting Lacus. I regretted everything I'd ever done. What was the point of making two good friends and falling in love with one if I had to die for it? Slowly, the world turned black; Every second was torture.

As I hit the ground, my world turned black. Everything was back in its natural order, the way life should be. What an irony. Before full unconsciousness set in, someone shook me, and my eyes snapped open, my body rejecting the fact that my mind had not shut down. My whole body felt like it was tearing apart with strain, and I wanted to lie on the ground forever. Grendel was gone, and so was the flashing pirate. All that was left was a long ladder in the middle of the room.Holding my head gingerly, I climbed up the long ladder and reached the top. The room was gigantic, almost as big as the ballroom, which was extravagant compared to the sole thing it held: a floating crystal in the center. Tentatively, I took a few steps towards it. I was now in reach of the crystal, but when I reached out my hand for it, I felt a magical barrier around it. By now, after around half an hour in this place, I had my suspicions of what the place actually was. Taking off my necklace, I put it to the barrier, and it crashed. Gently, I removed the crystal. It vibrated slightly, and then shattered. The entire structure started shaking, and I wondered if I did anything wrong.

It vanished entirely, leaving me in total darkness. Two seconds later, I was standing on the deck of a navy ship, shaking slightly from the cold. My wrists were cuffed together, and for a moment, I couldn't catch head or tail of what was happening. Lacus looked blankly back at me, and I started to get angrier.

Chapter 10: The Purpose of the Chain of Destiny
Before I could react, the captain pointed me out and asked me to leave with him; the rest were moved into the prison. Dragging me into the cabin, he bound me to a chair and started his interrogation.

"Where did you get that pendant?"
"Dunno." I answered somewhat sullenly, and he gave me a slap.
"Don't lie. This is the property of the Navy."
"No, it's not."
"Do you know what this is?"
"No.""This is the key to the Dimension Gate. You do know what that is right?"
"No."
"Stop lying!" Another slap.
"I really don't know."
"This is the key to the power which controls life. The key to restoring balance. The key to get rid of pirates forever."
"Then?"
"There is a soul within this thing. The soul is the true key. The possessor of that soul has to be killed to unlock it."
"Then?"
"Do you know whose soul it is?"
"No."
"The girl in your team. Lacus Clyne."
My eyes flamed.
"No one threatens her and gets away with it."
"There is nothing you can do about it. Bring her in!"

She was dragged in, and her eyes made me feel even angrier. It had a submissive look, and to see it was tortuous. As the dagger got closer to her, I got progressively angrier, and the ropes started smoldering. In his pleasure in the torture, he'd missed all of that, and was shocked when, in a large lasso of flames, the ropes burned up and I stood up. His movements were arrested, and his eyes were locked on the Pendant of Destiny, which was glowing, contrasting against my black robes.

"Dragon Roar."

A dragon of the purest black coiled around me and let off a loud roar that shattered the dagger and the cabin furniture. The captain was immobile, totally stunned by its force. Taking the chance, I got Lacus out of the way safely, then released another Roar and ran. The Navy would be after me; that I was sure of. It was a matter of how much head-start I got, and I was determined to have as much as possible. Jumping, I was surprised by a hand to my shoulder. There was a compressing darkness, and we were on solid ground in the middle of El Nath, along with the whole pirate crew. Tim panted slightly, apparently having expended great effort in teleporting the whole crew through space.

"Thank God he taught me some tricks..."
"Who?"
"Keeper of Space..." he said, rolling his eyes.
"Am I supposed to know?"
"Well..." he mused slightly.
"No."
"That's the point."
"No, it's not. It's how we run."
"Is that how we do things now? Run? With no purpose in mind?"

Ignoring me, he twirled his hands and caused a shimmer to spread, freezing time everywhere around us. All movement stopped. The trees ceased to wave around, bending in an absurd position; the cool winds stopped blowing, the small crest of soft snow frozen in time. In the presence of such magic, the pendant glowed, and Tim grabbed it from my neck. Opening a portal, he pushed Lacus and I in, following behind. We landed on a path, the floor made of glittering black crystal. Walking in slightly, we were faced with a gigantic robotic like creature, except it was rectangular, more sideways than tall. In its left hand was a blue saber that threatened to chop down at any time.

The Gatekeeper.

"Defeat this."
"What?!" I exclaimed.

Tim remained silent and pushed me forwards. Uncertainly, I stabbed thrice at it, but every single hit of the Spear Buster was blocked. Again and again, every hit of mine was parried. Soon, the Gatekeeper seemed to tire of the game and slammed his giant weapon again and again, causing shockwaves to emanate throughout the room. It was all I could do to block them with my spear, but it left me totally open, and I wasn't surprised when two cuts appeared on my arms. My grip around the Fairfrozen slackened a little, and giving up, I unleashed Final Berserker.

For the second time in my life, I used it in a battle, and this time, my body was not so forgiving. Dragging myself, I chopped up the Gatekeeper in twenty seconds. Collapsing, I lay prostrate at Tim's feet, but he didn't look forgiving in the least bit. Picking me up by my collar, he pushed me into the gate. At the end was a pathway, with a room at the end. In it was a man which was looking into a cauldron, a cauldron which was bubbling with green liquid.

"The Cauldron of Life." He proclaimed calmly, not turning. I remained silent as well.
"Master?"
"Very well. This is what will happen. Your memories will be wiped and stored in this pendant. When you turn sixteen, you will have your memories returned. Before then, you MUST achieve mastery of every single class and at least learn every skill. Then, we can begin battle."
"Battle?"
"You haven't told him?" The Gate Keeper looked accusatory. Tim bowed slightly, and began to speak, but was cut across.
"Never mind. I'll tell him myself. What happened quite some time ago was that this girl here was spirited back in time as an experiment. An experiment that went quite wrong, and sealed part of her soul, her true soul, into this pendant. As a result, her memory was cleaned out, and she began to construct false ones in her desperateness to get a past. The head of the lab was angry at the experiment results having escaped him, and mobilized his forces to find you. That was the assassination attempt on you; luckily, he failed due to this pendant. You managed to control, to an extent, time traveling, but messed it up when you traveled too far back. And now, there is only one way to repay that.""By doing things all over again."
"Are you ready?"
"I have only one request."
"Yes?"
"Can we... Lacus and I... still remain friends?" Tim allowed himself to grin slightly, and even the Gate Keeper smiled slightly. Before he could answer, Julian tripped into the room and shouted, "They're here!" Nodding his agreement to my request, Tim held the pendant tightly and started chanting a string of magical words. Light erupted all around me, and coalesced into a crystal of pure blue. That was the last thing I saw.

Chapter 11
My legs pumped as I the crimson colored track flashed under me. Behind me, the straggling figures struggled as they tried to catch up, but I merely smiled slightly. As I rounded the final bend, the crowd cheered loudly, but that was all wiped out. To me, the only thing that existed was the finishing line, less than a hundred meters away. Fifty, then twenty, then ten, and finally, I broke the thin line that was stretched out, marking the end of the race.

Discontented, my competitors tried to trip me, but I merely sidestepped them, causing them to fall unceremoniously onto the ground. Walking over to the stands, I poured the entire bottle of water into my mouth, and some of the girls opposite me made faces of disgust. Rolling my eyes, I opened another bottle. I'd like to see them try to run four kilometers without needing water in the least bit. Suddenly, there was a gigantic shout in the corner as a fight broke out below, between some of my classmates and a big bunch of hoodlums. Probably some Warriors looking for trouble... I rolled my eyes again. Walking over, I waved my wand and disabled all the warriors, leaving them kneeling on the floor.

Before my classmates could start taunting them, I motioned them away from the prone figures before releasing the bonds. As expected, the warriors pointed their axes at me, but I merely held up my wand threateningly and they ran off with their tails between their legs.

An hour later, I sat in the Ellinia Magical Institution, or what we called the "Magic School", acting like nothing was the matter. In fact, I'd thrown many of my classmates off guard with the disabling charm, seeing as they were a year older than me. Apparently, they had forgotten that they owed me for saving their sorry asses, as they advanced on me, taunting me and calling me a small twelve-year-old. Actually, what they said was true, and I therefore acted like I didn't hear them. Keeping them in suspense, I smiled slightly when I saw the teacher coming around the bend. Calculating the time perfectly, I raised my wand just as the casted their charms, leaving me bloody and standing at my seat.

The teacher gasped at my injuries, but I merely Healed them as if nothing was the matter. This unbalanced my seniors thoroughly; for my age, being in a class a year older than myself was enough, not to say I could manage skills a job advancement above mine. Huffily, they walked back to their seats, contented for the time being. To everyone's surprise, the teacher pointed me out and informed the whole class that I was transferring out to another class. Not surprisingly, they didn't look like they cared, merely giving non-committal applauses until they realized that I was transferring up a grade again. Silently, I groaned.

Not long after, I was in another class, being introduced by my teachers. My hopes that they were more mature than my previous class was immediately shattered; the moment the teacher walked out of the class, everyone started casting paper balls all over the class. Rolling my eyes for the third time in the day, I casted a magical barrier over myself and took out a large tome from my deceptively small bag. Opening it, I heard a couple of paper projectiles strike against my barrier, and rolled my eyes yet again. This was by no means a record; there had been a day where I rolled my eyes so much that they hurt by the end of the day.

Flipping to the hundredth page, I took out a fresh sheet of paper and scribbled the equation on it. Closing the book, I shut my eyes and started thinking. Even though Energy Bolt was considered a weak skill, it required just the right strength, among other factors, to cast. Most wizards and even mages casted it just by flicking their wands, ignoring how hard or softly they did so, therefore only achieving 80% of the true power. Writing the magical composition of Energy Bolt below the equation, I set out balancing all four expressions.

I was so absorbed in my work that I didn't notice three things: Firstly, my class was standing up; Secondly, my shield had been dispelled and thirdly, that the teacher had been looking over my shoulder from the time I'd written the equation of Energy Bolt. I was therefore very much shocked when he commented, "Not bad!" Standing up hurriedly, I apologized for my insolence, but he merely waved it off and strode to the front of the class. After the proper formalities, he wrote the very same equations that I'd written not long ago on the board, asking the students to solve it. Listening to the resulting groans, I smiled and continued to work.

Halfway through the period, I realized that there were many interested figures peeking over my solved solution. A voice whispered in my ear, asking whether I could lend him the paper; I nodded curtly. The teacher was surprised that his normally noncommittal class had managed to solve the solution, but he merely shrugged and walked out, again, after the proper formalities. Immediately, everyone shuffled out of the class at such a loud volume that I was sure Grendel could hear. Apparently, he thought so too, as the loud noise suddenly disappeared, replaced by shuffling. Interestedly, I peeked around the corner and saw Grendel himself, looking very much angry at the noise they were making. Determined not to be dragged into the quarrel, I walked off in the opposite direction, heading for the library.

Sensing figures looking at me, I cast a charm over myself, causing me to turn invisible. I was sure Grendel could see right through the charm, but he didn't give chase, nor did he lift it. Arriving at the Library unmolested, I heaved a sigh of relief and dispelled the charm. Walking over to my favorite window-side seat, I took out Grendel's Encyclopedia of Theory and worked on the 101st page.

"Oh, so you're on one hundred and one now?" A voice piped out from behind me.
"Yeah. Teacher just made us solve one hundred in class." I said, grinning slightly as I turned. The figure behind me smiled slightly as well, and sat down.
"So, how's the genius doing?"
"Shove off," I retaliated, giving her a friendly nudge.
She replied in an equally friendly tone, "You don't wanna do that! I'm the only friend you got, remember?"
"Right..." I trailed off as I looked back at the book.
"Meanie!"
"What?"
"Don't ignore me!"
"Fine, fine," I replied, closing the book and looking at her. Before I could speak, I realized that two of my present classmates looking at me from the opposite table. Gripping my wand tightly, I was surprised by their friendly tone.

"Hi! I'm Tim here, and that's Julian," he said, pointing at the boy beside him.

AN: Yeah, repetitive word use. Not many words for "surprised", though.

"Anyway, what job are you going to be?" He asked the question without flair.
"Cleric, most probably!"
"A noble job choice. You know, we could train together. After all, I'm an Ice Lightning..."
"...And I'm a Fire Poison." Julian finished off.
"Lacus here's going to be a Cleric as well!"
"No one asked you to answer," she countered, pushing me gently. "Though you're right."
"Oh! Gotta run now, extra classes. See ya tomorrow then!"

Chapter 12
I was walking in the grounds, watching the beginners taking the magician test, to determine whether their intelligence and temperament was right for the magician class. Reading their answers, I tried my best not to roll my eyes and risk them hurting again; their answers flatly contradicted the correct ones. Turning, I strode away from the school, heading into the forests, hoping I could see some monsters which I could soundly massacre. Shutting my eyes, I sensed the mana flow within me, trying to stabilize it as the blood-lust slowly waned off. The slime attack took me by surprise; hundreds of them jumped on me as I slashed everywhere, daggers of magic slicing through the soft cytoplasmic creatures. For every one that fell, two replaced it, and finally, I gave up trying to fight them using orthodox methods. Trying to see as best as I could through the mess, I judged that no one was there.

Raising my wand, I held in in the style of a bow, and pulled back on an invisible bowstring. An ethereal arrow appeared, and when I released the white bowstring, the arrow shot out, impaling six of the Slimes at once. Again and again, I shot at them, and soon, I began to sense their number diminishing. I was going to finish the rest off when blue bolts shot everywhere, destroying the entire population. Apparently, I'd judged wrongly on the lack of presence of people; a band of magicians appeared from behind the trees. An open confrontation ensued, ending in five seconds with all of them kneeling. Picking up all the money, I walked off towards the town. Just before I entered, I told them, "Those stuff can be sold for money, you know?" Dispelling the charm, I quickly walked back to my dormitory. That night, I reflected on what had happened. I'd made two friends, which was great, but I'd also had to unleash Holy Arrow in order to defeat a bunch of Slimes. Strangely, my attacks had been quite weak lately, decreasing in power to the point where the magic couldn't even burn a tree branch.

I've gotta learn more magic... even though Grendel forbade it...

Igniting my wand, I turned the pages of Grendel's other encyclopedia; the one that dealt with practicals instead of theory. As always, I flipped to the foreword, taking in the words; in particular, the line that went "No matter how much of theory one knows, they must be applied in skills. Without these, a master of theory would be forever as weak as a person who knows no theory." Flipping to the first section, I skimmed through the contents. Standard skills, all of them... Energy Bolt, Magic Claw, Magic Guard... trying my best not to yawn, I flipped to the next section. Fire Magic Basics. Fire Arrow, in particular, looked powerful... but most Fire Wizards had to go through purgatory to completely master this skill. Ice Basics; Thunderbolt and Cold Beam both looked powerful as well, as did Meditation, which Clerics weren't blessed enough to have. Noting the pun, I smiled slightly.

Writing the skills down on paper, I flipped to the next section. Advanced Fire Magic, Advanced Ice Magic, Advanced Holy Magic... these were 3rd job skills, and I probably couldn't master them anyway. The first "book" ended, and I went on to the second. From here on, these skills weren't part of the normal requirements to job advance, but would prove essential if used properly. Binding Charm, Rope Charm, Door Locking, Door Unlocking... These were basic skills, and I was already proficient in using them, at least when my attacks weren't erratic. Looking out of the window, I saw Lacus walking alone in the grounds; she seemed to be crying, though her gait was steady. Wincing slightly, I deliberated on whether to follow or not. Deciding against it, I turned and waved my wand. A blue lasso strung out, tying itself on a metal pole, but before it could solidify, it vanished.

I groaned. A walk would probably do some good anyway.

Chapter 13
I buttoned up against the wind. Although the magician robes made for easier movement in battle, they were utterly useless against the forces of Gaea. I walked as quickly as possible for someone clad in a jacket, but I'd only managed to get to the Ellinia gates in five minutes. Ahead, a lone figure was sitting on the ground, her legs pulled up and her face buried in them. As I walked closer, I heard the unmistakable noise of sobbing, and for a moment wondered what to do. With as much tact and stealth as I could, I sat down beside her and waited for the rocking to subside.

After five minutes, when the crying seemed to be nowhere near its end, I decided to act instead of sitting there passively. Putting an arm around her shoulders, I turned her and patted her back with the other. She merely buried her head in my chest, and to my surprise, her skin was colder than a block of ice. "Incandesco..." I whispered, and my wand ignited in white, dancing flames. I felt her growing warmer, and I dispelled the charm. Up till then, I hadn't realized how cold it was, but the moment the charm dispelled, the chill set in, freezing me to the bones.

Looking at Lacus shivering beside me, I felt a great sense of pity, and yet confusion. Deciding to ignore the latter for now, I unbuttoned my jacket and took it off, draping it over her. Slightly surprised, she looked up, but I merely nodded slightly and she looked at me with a thankful expression. Strangely, I felt contented to be cold, just for that expression of hers. The church bells struck midnight as the final clouds vanished from in front of the moon, casting shafts of light everywhere, light so dim that it only served to make the place look misty.

The peace was broken by a shout of "Intruders!" from the town itself. Shocked, Lacus' sobbing subsided, replaced by a blank stare at the town. From afar, sounds of flapping wings came, interrupted by loud roars. Bolts of magic flew over our heads as I forced Lacus down to the ground. The town was under siege from a band of Crimson Balrogs.

The first of the gigantic beasts flew over the crest of the canopy, heading right for the town itself. Below us, the entrance from Henesys already had twenty of them, with thousands behind. What, the whole species of Crimson's are attacking us? Far away, smoke came out from the tepees in Perion, the inhabitants oblivious to our plight. Grendel the Really Old was waving towards us, and pulling Lacus along, we made it into the town just as the Dark Lightning from the alpha Balrog crashed down into the ground. The branch virtually withered and died, crumbling and dropping to the ground far below. The only escape route had just been destroyed; we were alone, against a mob of monsters laying siege on the most ancient town in Victoria. Thousands of magicians and wizards scrambled in their rush to get to Victoria Station; the beginners were being herded by mages. Blue flashes erupted as the Wizards teleported away, most of them my classmates."

Cowards, the lot of them. I still remember the Magician Pledge, on how we'd defend the town if it were in danger."
Turning I saw Julian behind me. Igniting his staff in fire, he pulled back on the flaming bowstring and released it, striking a Balrog in his head. Shimmering, it vanished, leaving behind a pile of money and a golden scroll.

"10% Staff Magic Attack?" Julian observed, wrapping it around his weapon. The weapon glowed, and the scroll vanished, leaving behind a visible trace of gold. "Succeeded.""You seem to have the best luck with scrolls, Julian," Tim complained jokingly. Waving his staff in a circular motion, he created an electric shield around himself, and bolts of blue electricity struck down everywhere, destroying a whole mob of Balrogs.

From behind us, a voice called out softly, "Quantum Explosion." A gigantic gold shield formed, runes appearing around its circumference. When it was finished, the mage waved her staff, causing a gigantic explosion that destroyed one whole wave of Balrogs at once. "Name's Ifria. Bishop," she said, introducing herself so briefly that one doubted her linguistic abilities; but it appeared that she, like me, had memorized Grendel's Encyclopedia and applied the skills much better than I did.

"Deflagratio." Flames flashed and stuck themselves to all the Balrogs, and I watched with awe and horror, that one could posses such power. Apparently, "such power" wasn't enough; the Balrogs appeared faster than ever. I felt compelled to do something, but couldn't, and as such, I could only stand there, watching the others fight. My feeling of desperation was augmented when Tim received a slash to his right arm.

"Adligo!" I shouted, pointing my wand towards a particularly big bunch of Balrogs. To Tim and Julian's surprise, ropes flew out and bound the Balrogs together, rendering them unable to fly. In anger, the Balrogs casted a combined attack, forming a gigantic ball crackling with dark magic.

There was a collective shout of "Magic Guard!" by the mages congregated. Lacus was stunned; the bolt was about to hit her when I pushed her to the ground, casting Invincible on the way. Standing up, I faced the mass of freed Balrogs with anger. "You've messed with me for the last time in your lives." Raising my wand, I held it out and focused all my remaining mana into it.

"Aquilus Lumen." Black light shot from the wand, enveloping the Balrogs; there were thousands of loud roars as the remaining thousands were eviscerated. Grendel was looking at me with a calculating expression and said, "Kira. I want to meet you in my office. In ten minutes."

Chapter 14
The little moonlight passing through the solitary window didn't do much to alleviate my moods, the frigid wind still blowing throughout the room. The bed beneath me wasn't at all soft, but at least it was better than sleeping on the stone floor. Turning to the right, I faced the wall, looking out through the window. At the base of the bed was a small study table, the two big tomes above it, looking forlorn in the darkness.

I pondered over the words of Grendel. Contrary to his angry expression when he asked to see me, he seemed very worried over something. The mood had been oppressive, and the large collection of books inside the Library didn't interest me at all, for once. Feeling pressurized to do something didn't make my mood any better than it was now, at rock bottom. Flicking my wand, I unlocked the window and jumped out, locking it with another flick. Running on air wasn't exactly my sport, but I had no choice; there was no way to attract less attention.

Far below, I could see the mages working hard to repair the branch that had been ravaged by the Crimson attack. Earth and Water magic were being put into action together, as were Repairing and Growth charms. I felt bad; if I had responded faster, the giant branch wouldn't have been destroyed and the mages could turn their minds to more important work. The most hardworking was Ifria, who was shouting "Aqualis Fluctus!" over and over again, splashing waves of water over the rapidly growing branch. Tim and Julian weren't bad as well, beads of perspiration rolling down their faces and neck as they rapidly casted Ice Beam and Fire Arrow, creating water waves.

Watching them, I felt that they had worked too hard already, and decided to help out. Holding out my weapon, I held it out straight and said, "God of the Sea, great Poseidon, lend me your powers! Aqua Fulgio!" A gigantic beam of water shot out from it, enveloping the whole branch in water, the excess splashing all the way down, spraying the entire Ellinia grounds in moisture. The grass grew rapidly, as did the plants that were hit. Shaking my head, I racked my brains for a spell that wouldn't splash everywhere. Behind me, Ifria raised her Kage, pointing it out and said, "Aqualis Claustrum." A gigantic bubble of water wrapped around the branch, the water rejuvenating the branch quickly. As the branch grew, the bubble grew as well, in order to prevent it from bursting. Turning, I nodded to her, conceding defeat. Merely smiling, she returned to her spell.

Jumping across the rapidly closing gap, I ran towards the tallest tree in Ellinia. Contrary to popular belief, it wasn't Ellinia itself, but at the most northern point of the forest, bordering Perion, there was a gigantic tree, in which the monsters of the Magician Job Advancement resided. Heading straight for that door, I presented my letter to the Instructor standing outside, who beckoned for me to follow. Heading into the cave, I was startled by its interior's brightness, but wasn't too surprised by it to notice the presence of dark magic beneath me.

"Below are demons created by me, through the art of Animation. The source of their power is the Dark Orb that lies within them; I require forty for you to pass the Advancement Test. Do not worry; your souls have been protected by magic. Should you fail in your task and faint, you will be automatically teleported back to town, without any harm being done to you. Are you ready?"

Nodding casually, I headed down the rope and looked around. The layout was pretty simple; there were many levels, each one holding a Curse Eye and Horny Mushroom. Unlike the regular ones, the Curse Eyes were weaker, and the Mushrooms stronger. Moderation indeed... I rolled my eyes. According to Grendel, I was allowed to do anything I wanted, so long as I didn't destroy the cave. Holding up the Metal Wand, I whispered a prayer, and casted "Terra Fragosus."

Immediately, the layers of tree platforms collapsed, cracking over the monsters' tough skins and landing in a big pile at the bottom, resembling shattered armor. Below me, the monsters looked mad, but couldn't do anything from that far, as they had no magic. Facing my bare left palm downwards, I said, "Aquilus Lumen". A black glow, and the beams of black light shone down, destroying the mob in one move. Having launched the move twice in a row in one night, I collapsed from lack of energy.

Shaking my head, I teleported to the ground, counting the black orbs quickly. There were over a hundred, and I was, for once, impressed. This was a rare occurrence; the only other person who had ever made a mark on me was Grendel, the current magician Lord. When he came, he looked like any other, but his mastery of magic was immediately visible. Levitating the boy's body, I created a portal straight to Grendel's office, slinging a Proof of Hero around his neck before pushing him into it.

Grendel
I had been heading to the repair site to adjust some things, but before I could do so, Kira appeared through a portal, sliding to a stop at my feet. The Proof of Hero explained everything; holding his hands, I whispered an incantation, and his body glowed. Dropping a small book beside him, I walked out.

When I came to, I found myself on a soft sofa, looking at a high roof. Recognizing the familiar material of it, I jumped off the sofa, glancing around, taking in everything. This was the Library of Grendel. Even though I'd been in here not long ago, I didn't take the surroundings in then. On the ground, laid neatly, was a book that looked old. When I opened it, I saw the heading "Basic Holy Magic". To my surprise, the book was quite thick, but only the first few pages were filled; the rest was blank... Before I had time to ponder this strange book of Grendel's, a siren blasted out. Looking out the window, I saw thousands of mages rushing into a large portal, Grendel trying to maintain its stability as large mana fluctuations flowed around it. Tracking the mana flow, I felt it extend all the way to Perion; Turning in that direction, I gasped.

The whole of the rocky mountains making up Perion was on fire.

Chapter 15
Mentally kicking myself for not noticing the fire earlier, I jumped out the window, shutting my eyes against the wind and imagined a bouncy platform beneath me. Mana began glowing, and soon, I was skating around on a cloud, enjoying the thrill and adrenaline of sky-diving. Finishing up my fair share of fun, I crouched, putting my whole weight on the cloud, and it began rapidly sinking.

Suddenly, I heard a shriek beneath me, and looking down, I saw Ifria beneath me. Jumping off the cloud, I grinned at her frightened expression, but recovered quickly. Running along the path, I heard thudding noises, signifying that there were people chasing after me. Knowing who it was, I didn't bother turning around, instead giving Grendel a nod and smile, holding out the Cleric manual. Responding with a curt nod, he returned to maintaining the barrier. Running through, I stumbled over a pebble on the ground. Gasping, I froze.

Ahead of me, a gigantic Balrog hovered, unlike all the others. One of its claws appeared to be missing, but I couldn't care about that, distracted by the surroundings. All over the area, bodies were strewn, thousands of mages mercilessly slaughtered by the monster. Looking around frantically, I saw many of my former classmates; although we hadn't been friends, we had made acquaintances, and watching some of them slowly dying, I retched, looking angrily up at the Crimson. Merely looking back at me, it brought the other claw out and revealed... Lacus!

"I demand your blood, in exchange for her life."
"Just my..."
"Don't... give it to him..." a struggling voice said. Whirling around, I saw Julian lying on the ground, next to an immobile Tim. Gasping, I took three steps backwards, crashing into Ifria.
"Do you want them to live, or not!" Ifria shouted, tears in her eyes. Her hands were held out, healing both of the wizards at once. Ignoring her over-reaction, I apologized, and returned to the task at hand. Raising up my wand, I prepared for the worst. I was going to fight, knowing that I couldn't use any more damaging moves. "Magic... what the hell!" Someone had jumped into my field of vision, and I backed off, just in time. She had drawn a gigantic sword, and pointing it straight at the Balrog, she looked up with fury in her eyes.

"Combo." A bluish aura had surrounded her and her Devil's Sunrise. Jumping, she charged straight for the Balrog in mid-air, slashing straight down. An orb appeared, circling around the circumference of the blue shield that had appeared. At the same time, one fifth of the blade glowed a bright blue. Again, and again, and again, till four orbs had surrounded it. All this time, there had been extra mana from Power Strike building up around her, and now, she released it all in one attack.

"Final Attack." A chop, and the claw holding Lacus snapped off cleanly, dropping towards ground. Catching her, I lay her down and watched with fascination as the Crusaderess channeled the power from Combo into her sword. All the orbs and the shield disappeared, mana flowing rapidly, the sword glowing blue. "Coma." The giant eye that appeared stared at the Balrog, the stare appearing to burn it as it shrieked and vanished. Turning, she addressed me for the first time.

"I'm Jessica. I need you to heal Dances with Balrog."
"Wha-?"
"At the top of the mountain!"Non-plussed, I looked at Ifria, who groaned and said, "I'll heal him. Tend to these two." Turning, she ran up the slope. Holding out my wand, I said "Heal" over and over again, their wounds healing quickly. Feeling my mana drain out, I knew that there was another method that was faster. Flipping through the book Grendel gave me, I found a new line of text, illuminated in gold.

"Reverto ad sanitas." A glow surrounded the two wizards, and to my relief, they began to heal, the magic self-sustaining. Letting my arms drop, I ran over to tend to Lacus.

Chapter 16
The floor of the tepee was surprisingly soft, compared to the rocky ground of Perion. I collapsed on it, groaning. This was the first time I'd to tend to so many people; it turned out that the mages weren't dead. The Balrog had been powerful enough to kill them, all right, but they had guarded just in time, faking death so that they wouldn't get attacked. Looking around, I noticed that the room was spartan, typical of warriors. There wasn't even a bed or matress; just a block of wood.

I felt bored. There wasn't a single book here, unlike-

"What the hell!" I shouted, as Jessica charged into the tent. I couldn't blame her, though; this tent was hers. Her red hair was matted by the rain, her ponytail dripping, fringe sticking to her forehead; her blue eyes darted around, looking for her target. Locking on to me, she said shortly, "Dances with Balrog wants to see you. Now!" Her tone became sharper.

Running quickly down the slope, I ran into the tree, which promptly warped me to the top of the mountain, below the potion vendor. Scaling the slope, I chanced a look down and immediately returned my view up, thankful that I'd researched on Perion. Reaching the Warrior's Guild House, I knocked and tried to push the stone door open. It wouldn't budge. Groaning, I stepped backwards and prepared to open it with a spell, but Jessica cut ahead of me and pushed the double doors open using one hand, with apparent ease.

Dances with Balrog was lying down, slightly wincing as he raised himself up. It was a miracle he was fine; the Balrog had been a Lord, which was impossible to take down by oneself, even for a Job Master. Had it not been for the intervention of the mages, Dances would have been mutilated by that attack. Considering that, he'd got off pretty well... must be the defense...

"Kira?" Dances was looking at me curiously. I must have zoned out.
"Sorry, Dan-"
"Call me Kon."

"Okay, but that is very informal..."
"Doesn't matter. I've just received an urgent message from Grendel. It appears that he wants you to the the Warrior Job Advancement."
"What?"
"Yes. Now, you don't need to prove your strength. What I want is this. I require you to be able to use your wand as a sharp weapon."

I began to panic. Grendel had told me of the need to master every class in order to restore balance, but to turn a wand into a sword was... Reaching into my pocket, I pulled out a book. Flipping to the second tab, I saw the second page filled. In the curvy text of Grendel was inscribed "Gladius Mutato".

"Gladius Mutato!" The wand lengthened, forming a blade, while a golden hilt grew beneath it; the original weight was maintained, making it possible for me to wield.
"Very well." Raising his hand, he whispered a few words and I felt a warmness around me. The image of a golden angel appeared above me, and three runic symbols glowed.
Dances with Balrog... I mean Kon... passed me a thick book. The cover was strangely blank.
"For you, the advancement will not be linear. As long as you master every skill per tab, come and look for me. That will be all."

Chapter 17, 18

Lacus' PoV
I woke up on the soft ground. The leather that the tepee was made of allowed some light to pass through, bathing the whole tent in a soft, muted red glow. To my surprise, Kira, Tim and Julian were gone, leaving me the only person left in the tent. Stretching, I walked out of the tent, taking in the beautiful sunrise. Perion was the highest point in Victoria, and as such, was the closest to the sunrise. The rocky outcrop was bathed in swathes of red, the sun a glowing incandescent ball hovering just above the trees of Ellinia. I felt gentle exhilaration as I looked down to the valley below, leading all the way to the World Tree. Sitting down, I wished someone was with me to share this sunrise, this beautiful miracle of Nature.

Slowly, the sun rose far into the sky, changing the dawn breeze into a sweltering morning. Walking down, I wondered where everyone was; it was unlike Kira to disappear without saying a single word. Deciding to walk towards Ellinia, I was surprised by the commotion behind the wooden door that led to... goodness knew where. Opening it, I shouted as a brown boar charged towards me. Leveling my wand, I prepared to slay it, but there was a red slash, and it groaned, collapsing. Kira was smiling slightly, and turned around, saying, "Looks like you've found us."

Walking straight into a bunch of spikes, Kira disappeared, and shouted from above, "Jump in!" Doing as he said, I was surprised to find myself uninjured, and at a platform otherwise inaccessible. Pulling out a chair, he sat down and motioned for me to do the same. He then filled me in on what had happened while I was asleep; apparently, they had been training here since three a.m.. Waving at me, he walked forwards, jumping nimbly off the platform. When I tried to do the same, I was faced with an impenetrable barrier. Climbing off a rope, I jumped off and glared at Kira, who sheepishly apologized. I couldn't help but laugh at his expression, whereupon he blushed furiously.

All of a sudden, the field was overrun by Jr. Boogies, casting curses everywhere. Kira groaned, and shouted, "This is the second time!" Tim apologized, electrifying six Boogies.

Rolling my eyes, I jumped out of the way of a Seal, raising my wand and stared casting, "Aquilus-"
Julian shouted, "Oi! You're supposed to be training your skills!"
"Fine!" I countered. "Gladius Mutato! Power Strike!" To my astonishment, I barely managed to slash the ear of the Boogie, which let out a sharp scream and Sealed me. "Oh shi-" I rolled to the side and tried to remember what I'd read in the Warrior's Manual.

Power Strike and Slash Blast is related by their style. Both are powerful strikes to the armor of the opponent, with the difference being that Power Strike concentrates the attack onto one point, while Slash Blast spreads the attack over a small area.

Slashing quickly forward, I struck the Boogie right in the center of its head, piercing the armor. Blood squirted all over the place, and I shouted. "Do warriors have to face this kind of stuff while training!" There was a snide reply to the affirmative, followed by a shout of "Dragon Roar!" The ground shook, and caused all of the monsters in the area to fall to the ground, stunned. "What-
"

The Dragon Knight looked powerful; he was wearing a Dark Babuta, and the usual garb for level 80 Dragon Knights. In his hands was a Fairfrozen made of Dark Crystals, which certainly did not exist in shops; in fact, I didn't even know they could be made. "I'm Alex."

"I'm Kira."
"Hey! Aren't you the one who-"
"Who... what?"
"Killed off all the Balrogs in Ellinia with one magic attack?"
"I think so."
Alex smiled. "Well, whatcha doing here? And why and how can you use a sword?"
"Well, I'm training, and this is actually a wand. Transformed, anyway."
"Training?"
"Erm, it's like this..." I explained the situation to him, and he seemed to take it all in, and believe it.

"So, Dances with Balrog made you a Warrior, in addition to a Cleric?"
"Yeah."
"Wow! That's... cool!"
"Thanks. You wanna train together?"
"Okay..." He looked uncertain. After all, I was fifty levels below him, and couldn't possibly expect to find an equal training ground. He was, however, cool about it, correcting my techniques here and there. By the end of the day, I was tired out, but he looked prepared to continue fighting for another ten hours. I watched with fascination as he launched attack after attack, taking pieces of the Land of Wild Boar out with them. After a while, I groaned and asked him, "Hey, Alex. Do Warriors usually have this much stamina?" The only reply was, "You'd be surprised."

Groaning, I collapsed onto the ground, looking up at the starry skies above. Using my wand, I traced the movement of stars through the night sky. There was a soft sound of grass being pressed down, and turning, I saw Lacus lying down beside me.

Running from the Wild Boars, Lacus had sprained her ankle. Helping her up, I led her to a field of spikes and jumped in. The portal led us to a platform inaccessible by any other way. Opening a small chair, she sat down gently and leaned back, looking at the beautiful night sky. Opening the Relaxer myself, I sat down beside her and talked about that day's training session. Unsurprisingly, she wasn't interested in that, and she merely looked at me.

Heart beating, I slowly leaned over, and gave her a small hug. Both of us were blushing under that silver moonlight, and it was a perfect scene, one that lasted for... hours, it seemed.

Shaking my head, I wondered where that vision had come from. Before I could react, a Balrog of pure white appeared, slashing towards Alex. The sudden attack had taken him by surprise, and he could only hold his arm in an attempt to stop the blood from flowing. Geist Balrog... a blue shield erupted around it, and a small symbol appeared above its head, two wands crossed.

"This... Balrog... has activated his magic shield. While in it... it cannot be... hit... by magic..." Alex said, groaning.
"Right."
Stepping over to him, I began to Heal his injuries, but he merely pushed me off, saying, "Kill it... quickly. If you leave it for too long, its power will increase..."

"Gladius Mutato!"

Before the wand had finished transforming, the Geist Balrog disappeared and unleashed a magic attack from nowhere, which Lacus had blocked in time. Fully alert now, I faced it and leveled the weapon. A slash; this time, Lacus was hit, and now, there were two people with injuries that were nearly fatal. I was angered; I didn't know why, but I had to take revenge. "Cuspis Mutato!"

The sword thinned out, the hilt disappearing; it transformed into a spear, a ten-foot long spear. Pointing it straight at the Balrog, I started casting my buffs. "Spear Booster. Hyper Body." I felt an increase in stamina, and when I healed, I felt stronger. "Spear Buster." A dragon's head appeared at the head of the spear, and when I stabbed towards the Balrog, it crashed straight into its armor, cracking it. The next two hits severely injured it. The excess mana was flowing all around me, dissipating into the environment. Harnessing it, I forced it into my weapon and said, "Final Attack." The resulting attack caused the Balrog to scream in pain and writhe around, collapsing.

"Final... Attack? Spear Buster?" Alex was shocked. "Those are skills only Dragon Knights have!"
Turning, I held out both hands and said, "Reverto ad Sanitas." The entire area returned to normal, and Alex and Lacus' wounds healed quickly. That night, I took the second job advancement test for Warriors, and aced it. When asked to decide my path, I deliberated for a moment, then said, "Spearman."

"Very well. Athena has requested that you meet her; you'd better do so tomorrow."
"I will, master. Thank you for all the help."
"No problem."Turning, I sensed the Warrior Lord sigh, but decided to ignore it. For now.

Chapter 19
It was still dark out when I reached the peak of Henesys. The small hill was silent, the moonlight shining over it, illuminating the prominent arch of Mushroom Park. Within its gates, rabbit scurried around, determined to find food before the sun rose and the children stampeded through it, heading for the only tall structure in the area. Phasing myself through the cold metal, I stepped gently on the grass, determined not to bother the small nocturnal creatures scavenging. The wind blew gently in eddies, rejuvenating me as I walked through the small park. Standing in front of the tall building, I admired it's architectural value. Although built layer upon layer, the building stood, and as rickety as it was, it still looked beautiful, in my opinion.

Pushing the door gently, I walked into the central hall. The wooden floor was polished, reflecting the light onto the plaques on the walls. The door at the far end was ajar, letting a wavering light pass through, shimmering on the ground. Knocking thrice, I was greeted by a "Come in" from a tired voice. Walking through, I faced Athena and bowed, a respect I supposed should be paid to a former Amazon leader. Looking down at me, she looked as if scrutinizing a plate of food, and then said, "Spare the formality." Bowing again, I waited for her to speak. On cue, she began, "You should know what I asked you to come here for. You have to master the four jobs-"

"Grendel had already explained to me." I said helpfully.Athena heaved a sigh of relief.
"Very well. Now, I need you to prove to me that you have what it takes."
Holding out my staff, I said, "Arcus Mutato."

Looking down at the twelve year old boy, I was both surprised and amused; surprised that he could possess such powers, amused that he had to be the one. After all, there were many more who were older than him, and who possessed his powers. But it was destiny, after all; the gods had dictated that such a thing would happen. I wondered if he knew the full extent of his situation, and how it would end up; I decided not to tell him. After all, to do so was to interfere with Destiny, and to do so was dangerous; the various Keeper's fates had proven that. There was little time left, and yet so much more to do. Currently, the Keepers were all gone, a result of time warping; Time and Space were messed up, portals and doors appearing everywhere; Life and Death was out of order, people dying early and living too long. For the world's sake, I hoped that would not happen to the young boy in front of me.

I watched him intently. He had turned, and was now facing the archery targets I used to train my personal students. He was at the longest indoor range, about eight hundred meters far. I wondered if he could actually shoot that far.

Shutting my eyes, I imagined mana gathering around the bow, in the shape of an arrow. It took shape, but shimmered for a moment, then vanished. Exhaling, I took another try. Again, an arrow appeared, but this time, I swiftly released it, and said softly, "Soul Arrow." Athena appeared surprised, but I grimly smiled. These few days of training had done me some good; mentally and physically fortified, I prepared to use the skill that would definitely shock Athena.

"Strafe." Four blue arrows shot out, impaling four targets at once. Excess mana was dissipating rapidly, and I knew I only had one chance. Gathering all the remaining mana from the quadruple arrows, I forced them around my bow, taking the shape of an extremely sharp arrow, almost like a kunai, like the Steelies that Assassins used. Releasing the arrow, I managed to shatter all the targets and the wall in one, setting fire on the ground.

"Final Attack."

I let out an involuntary gasp. The Final Attack that the child had just demonstrated was the true one, and not the ones that most students used. The one that was mostly used only gave half times more damage than the person's attack, regardless of the power of the original attack; this one produced an attack double of the original attack's power, therefore making it much stronger. The precious few who had mastered this attack were mostly dead; there were a few exceptions to this law; and those people had their arms scarred or injured from the results of the sharp mana formed slicing their arms. And yet here he was, a young boy with his arms still healthy and unscarred, and who had used Final Attack with a third job skill.

He pulled back on the bowstring again. This time, two pale arrows shot out, two arrows of pure silver. "Double Shot spliced with Iron Arrow..." I mused audibly. "I'll take you as a student." Better that than leaving his talents to waste, even though in the end... He looked happy at the news, but I merely raised my hands and said one line of words, ancient text from so long ago...

I stepped out of the academy, feeling elated. The sun was still far below the horizon, which gave me plenty of time to get back. Being a Bowman was an accomplishment, if I could say so myself, but I had to get rid of this ego, though. Pride was what drove many Bow Masters to failure; I was determined not to follow in their stride. Facing the slimes in the Hunting Ground, I shot them down one by one, bathing in my new power. I could finally take down these which had hurt me so many times before. Holding the bowstring tightly, I pulled it back as far as it could go, and released it. The blue bolt that shot out crashed into the Green Mushroom that had suddenly spawned, killing it in one.

"Yeah! Arrow Blow..." I trailed off. The Hunter on the platform above me shot an arrow with a bomb attached to it, causing a smokescreen that rendered the enemies blind. Taking the chance, he let off a stream of Double Shots, the red arrows flying into the mist. Amazingly, he struck down the monsters within with surprising accuracy; when the effects of the Arrow Bomb dispelled, all that was left were a few golden coins and Green Mushroom caps. Picking them up, I continued on my way.

Soon, I met up with a young guy, probably around my age, shooting arrows all over the place. The attacks sniped all the monsters around him in one, and I couldn't help but gasp. Running over to him before he could leave, I was surprised by a blue flash. He disappeared and materialized somewhere else. How could a bowman use Teleport...?

"Hey!" I called after him. "I just wanted to ask if..."
Before I could finish, he turned around uncertainly. Looking straight at me, he uncertainly asked, "Who are you?"
"I'm Ivan."

"I'm... Kira."

"Hi! I just wanted to ask... if you could train me?"
"Train you?" he laughed, but not in a jeering tone. "I'm lower leveled than you!"
"Actually, we're the same, but you have Magician skills..."
"Well, actually, I'm not supposed to use them until I get to Hunter, see."
"Oh. So we can still train together, right?" I asked, hopefully.
"If you don't mind training with someone that has a lower accuracy than you!"
"Nope, I don't mind," I shot back, laughing. In that short span of a minute, I'd made a new friend.

"Ow!" I shouted, as the arrow from Final Attack misfired and scratched my arm. The burn irritated my flash, turning my skin red. Cursing, I rolled away from the Green Mushroom spawn, right into... "Oh s-!" The Horny Mushrooms spiked me in three spots, as I leapt up, muttered an apology and Healed myself. Ivan heaved a sigh of relief as the Heal relieved his wounds and stress. The sun was invisible from inside this dark tree, the platforms casting eerie shadows over the walls. From the corner of the tree, Ivan muttered, "I think I should go out before I go insane."

Agreeing, I stepped out of the cave to find five figures standing in front of me, the one in front with an angry expression on her face. "Sorry, Lacus-" I was cut off by a sudden hug, and she said, slightly muffled, "We were so worried!"

"We?" Tim asked, in a demanding tone.
Releasing me, Lacus said jokingly, "Fine then. I was, at the very least, you heartless people!"
"That's just about right!" Tim countered, laughing. "Well, we have to go training then! Let's go!"

Walking into the cave, he was stunned, as was I. The entire cave was now littered with coins and mushroom caps, with a girl standing in the middle of the sea of gold. In her hands was a mace of pure gold. A Paladin.

Chapter 20
"Oi!" I shouted after Ivan, as he scurried off.
"What's his problem..." I muttered, watching his back recede. "Anyway, your name is..."
"Alexis," the Paladin answered, somewhat embarrassedly.
"My name is Kira."
"Hi," she continued, her face still tinged slightly, a slight blush on her cheeks visible.
"You're a Paladin, aren't you?"
"Yeah!" she said, smiling; apparently, talking about her class made her proud of it.
"Well... it's like this..."

I yawned. Kira had talked about everything that had happened and Grendel had said to him for three times already; once to me and Jul, once to Alex and once to Ivan. By now, I was already familiar with the story; stepping up, I walked into the cave and launched a Thunderbolt, looting the items from an indignant magician. Apologizing, I dropped a bag of money on the ground and walked back up, crashing right into Ifria. Blushing, she said a quick "sorry" and darted past me.

Raising one eyebrow, I teleported upwards, nearly crashing into Ivan, who was not only panting rapidly, but looking as if his face had an oxygen overdose. Entirely red, he looked as if he'd run a ten kilometer marathon without stopping. He was eavesdropping on Alexis' and Kira's conversation, but his concentration was mostly on Alexis, which was so obvious. Pointing that fact out, I saw Ivan's face turn an even deeper shade of red, which I thought wasn't possible. Rolling my eyes, I walked slowly back to Ellinia, to restock and get new equipment. Twelve-year-olds... I rolled my eyes again.

The sunset was beautiful; even more so when watched with friends. Never in my life did I have so many friends surround me, although I had only twelve years to brag about. Really, though, I never had true friends; only passing companions, easily forgotten. The eight of us sat under the leafy canopy of Ellinia; Alex had gone to complete a task for his team. Ivan had finally managed to garner enough courage to appear from behind the tree. His facial color had faded some, and yet was still visible. Many times, I saw Julian looking at him and then smirking across to Tim; every time that happened, I couldn't help but smile.

The blazing incandescent ball slowly sank below the horizon, encasing Ellinia in red. The attack came by surprise. The flaming ball that came from the Jr. Balrog's mouth would have been indistinguishable from the sun, had it not been for the intervention of Ifria. The Mana Deflection shone red as the magic attack got deflected, grazing a tree. Arming ourselves, we were confronted by the entire Balrog family just as the last buff was casted. Jr Balrogs, Crimson Balrogs, Balrog Lords, Geist Balrogs were all present in thousands, overrunning the outskirts of the jungle; we were the final line of defense.

"Ivan..." I said, calmly.
"Yes?"
"I need you to go to Perion and get Alex."
"Okay," he replied, backing slightly and detouring through the dark trees.

Turning, I raised my staff. Pointing it straight, I said, "Aquilus Lumen." The black beam of light crashed into the ranks of Balrogs, barely getting rid of a few hundred; to them, it was but a small scratch on a diamond. They kept advancing, and it was all we could do to keep them back, while reinforcements were being prepared. "Arcus Mutato!" The bow that formed glowed golden for a moment, and the string tied itself in, stringing itself through the holes in the limbs. Raising it, I said, "Hawk. Strafe. Inferno." The resounding whizz of the arrows nearly deafened me, the flame feeding off the oxygen generated by the trees. Another wave of Balrogs were wiped out. Praying, I launched skill after skill, always adding "Final Attack" behind each. Even after half an hour, the Balrog mass didn't look like decreasing, and I groaned.

, there was a shadow, then golden flashes as the Balrogs were wiped out left, right and center by the unknown person. His Boomerang Step's speed was further accentuated by a really high mastery of Haste and Booster, making him appear nothing more than a blur. Suddenly, he stopped, and his face was thrown into stark focus. A boy about as old as I was tossed his dagger in the air and neatly flipped, sheathing it and drawing a claw at the same time. Holding it straight up, he muttered a few words and a star of pure blue appeared above him. "Soul Javelin."

Flash Jumping backwards, he shot a volley of stars that struck down an entire row of Balrogs. Groaning at the throwing stars' weak damage, he returned the claw back to its sheath, barely dodging the attacks in time. The Balrogs were sentient. Before I could further reflect on that, he was grazed by another attack, blood spewing out all over the ground.

Cursing, I jumped up thrice quickly, fishing around in my hip holster. Taking out a small plastic syringe, I pulled the safety out, tossing it down. Five, four, three, two, one... Boom. "Smoke Shell!" The usually harmless smokecentre that came out changed composition due to the spell, creating a smoke screen that shielded me from all the Balrogs, but still allowed me to see through, clearly. I knew it would only last for one minute; I had to take that chance. Instead of attacking, I threw out a handful of capsules; they landed on the ground and stuck there. Sensing that the mist was dissipating fast, I leapt backwards and casted Chakra. My stamina healed quickly, while I knelt down on the ground, forming a seal with my hands and said, "Ninja Ambush." The capsules exploded, causing thousands of ninjas to spread out among the ranks of creatures, slicing them left and right and center.

From my height, I could see the Tauros beginning to march, summoned by the Balrogs. Each Lord could summon up to a hundred at once, to a limit of a thousand. There were thousands of Balrog Lords left... Cursing again, I daringly landed in front of a Lord, casting Assassinate. Three slashes, and it was now flightless, roaring angrily. There was a green aura surrounding it, and every time it tried to move, it flinched from the effect of my poisoned dagger. Assassinate. A dead Balrog. Assassinate. A dead Balrog. Assassinate. Assassinate.

Again and again, the young boy slashed at the Balrogs, massacring them with move after move, not fearing, and not batting a single eyelid at the numerous injuries on his body. Every second, he gained one more blood stain, and yet he was still fighting as efficiently as ever. We were looking at one another. This one person could equate all of us in power? Determined to prove him wrong, I raised my staff and whispered a magical incantation. Pure energy flowed into my staff, illuminating it.

"Pius Lumen."

I hadn't used this spell before; I nearly blew the area up when I lost concentration. The effects created by the spell was a spectacle; the Holy Magic that crashed down everywhere was pure white, and angels flew around, casting their magic on the Balrogs that had dared invade the town that they were bred in; after all, the first faeries of Orbis came from Ellinia. The whole congregation of the Balrogs were subjected to all the magic of the heavens ever since its creation. Although damaged heavily, most of them were far from dead, and furthermore, very angry. A slash nearly took Alexis down; if it had not been for Ivan's Arrow Blow exploding the magic, she would have been dead. As it was, she looked pale at the close shave, and thanked him.

I leaped over the fallen tree, following the archer. His Arrow Blow had saved the Paladin from a fatal blow; that, in itself, was amazing. By all rights, a normal arrow by someone his level would have been sliced through, only barely deterring the speed of the claw attacks. Panting, it appeared that he had expended a lot of energy shooting that arrow. Silently, I waited as he tried to regain the stamina he'd lost. Sensing a change in the flow of mana, I shut my eyes and concentrated. Someone appeared to be absorbing all the mana in the air. Looking at Ivan, I understood, and yet feared. He's gonna overload himself by absorbing that much mana...

Before I could stop him, I started to feel drained. He was even absorbing the mana out of me...

"Inferno Bomb."
The flames set the trees ablaze, burning all the fire. There was a smoldering warning beneath
me that gave me a second's warning before the entire branch burnt up, crashing into the dense jungle below. Flexing my arms, I held the spear tight and prepared to join in the attack, but was stopped by a strong barrier.
"Final Attack."

The attack that followed was truly amazing, blowing most of the remaining Balrogs up. Before he could collapse, I used Rush, supporting his weight on my right shoulder. With my left arm, I propped the Dark Fairfrozen up, and casted a Roar. Purple mana started to gather into the shape of a dragon, coiling around me before roaring loudly, stunning the remaining Tauromacis' and Spears. A Sanctuary and Coma promptly took them down.

"Well, apparently, just the three warriors are enough to take down that big bunch of bulls!" Everyone laughed, with the exception of...

Chapter 21
I woke up to find myself in a circular wooden room, lying on a pretty soft bed. Pushing myself up, I looked to the left and saw the only window in the room, which was open, letting the soft morning breeze spread through the room. To my right, there was a small cabinet, with two bows lying beside it. One of them was my old bow, while the other one was a nicely polished Dark Ryden. There was a white note next to it, in stark contrast to the black bow limbs. On it was two lines:

"I'm Seaph, the Shadower you saw earlier. I don't have time to talk to you; I have a mission to attend to. When you have time, look for me in Kerning, okay? These weapons are for you guys. Bye then."

Ransacking the cabinet, I found eight weapons in it. There was a Dark Dragon Claymore, a Dark Dragon Flame, a Dark Dragon Faltizan, and five Dark Staves. The Staves were weapons that increased all elemental attacks by 100%; they were, in effect, a combination of all the elemental Staves. Laying them on the bed, I admired the shine it gave off. Suddenly, a voice spoke from behind me.

"Is that mine?" I asked the figure, who had his back faced towards me. Whirling around, he'd have crashed into me if not for the fact that I had fast reflexes, trained by the many years that I'd been a Warrior. "Relax, relax, I'm Alexis!" I said, grinning at Ivan. The bowman was blushing, and I looked at him with curiosity. Taking the initiative, I picked up the Dark Dragon Flame. As expected, it was too heavy, and I had to seal it up in order to be able to put it in my bag. After doing so, I looked back at Ivan, who was crooning over the Dark Ryden. Apparently, the Balrog fight had leveled him to the point where he could advance to Hunter. Yawning, he stretched, and promptly fell over an outstretched leg.

I was blushing, and glared at the girl before me. Her crossbow was tucked neatly in the quiver she slung over her back, and in it were a few thousand arrows, sealed. I recognized her from class; she was talented, and could create many skills just by mixing the first and second job ones. Although at my age, she was already a high-leveled Crossbowman, and was slated to take the third job advancement next year. Ignoring me, she turned to Alexis and shook her hand, introducing herself.

"Hi! I'm Reika!"
Uncertainly, Alexis replied, "I'm Alexis. Do I know you?"
Cheerfully, Reika replied to the negative, and said, "I'm Ivan's friend."
"Really?" I snarled, facing her.
"Hey, why are you all red-faced? It's just a stumble, right?"

Alexis laughed, and I blushed again. Why can't I help myself? I just have to resist...
"There's no need to," Reika said, sweetly.
"Wha-?"
"Her eyes were locked on mine, and now, I understood. The theory of Gaea stated that all things are interconnected, and if one knew how to manipulate the connection, they could do anything. Apparently, Reika had managed to harvest the connection and was therefore able to read minds with just eye contact. Before she could turn around and whisper what she'd seen to Alexis, I accosted her and practically dragged the weight out of the room. In the corridor, I surveyed her and requested that she stop spoiling my day. To my surprise, she was quite hurt, and left without a word.

I called out after the retreating figure. "Reika... Reika!" She didn't answer, look back, or even break her stride. I've lost a friend due to stupidity... Turning, I trekked back to the hospital room and lay down on the bed, facing down. The echo of silence was immense, and I just lay there, absently stroking the Dark Ryden. There were sounds of footsteps leaving the room, and when I woke up, I saw the back of Alexis, growing smaller as she walked further from me. Great... I resumed burying my head in the pillow.

"Dragon Roar." The witches in the area fell quickly, mob after mob, leaving Frogs everywhere. Walking around, I hooked them with a pole, refusing to touch that icky stuff. After all, these were frogs that had been experimented on, and who knew what would happen if I touched them. A particularly large mob was congregated near the exit, and I wondered why. Walking closer, I spotted a female Crossbowman, using her weapon to flail around. Once in a while, the whole bunch was knocked back, leaving her enough time to recast her buffs. It wouldn't take long for her to fall, though...

"Dark Sacrifice." A black dragon appeared, and a circle of thorns surrounded it; the resulting attack blew up the brooms that the witches flew on, and slashing them, so that they didn't have any way to retaliate. All of them fell towards the far ground below, the shrieking getting softer. "Are you okay?" The girl nodded, and turned to leave, and I didn't try to stop her. After all... As expected, she fell after barely ten steps, and I carried her to a cave, which was created by hollowing a tree. Setting her down on the ground, I pulled out a bottle of what looked like ointment, and said, softly, "This is gonna hurt, but it'll heal your wounds quickly, okay?" Without waiting for an answer, I daubed some on my hands, and applied them to the wounds. The shriek that followed echoed through the entire tree, ringing painfully in my ears.

After a minute, I capped the ointment and put them back into my backpack, and I set it down on the floor, against a wall. Sitting down beside the girl, I introduced myself. "Hey! I'm Alex, and I'm 14 this year."
"I'm Reika. 12." The tone in which she answered was musical... Hah, if my friends heard me think this, there would be no end to this. Lying down, I observed the non-existent ceiling. The canopy shielded much of the light, leaving this cave dim. Suddenly, there was a shout, and hundreds of Maladies appeared in the far distance, flying straight for the cave. Striding over, I slammed the door just as they were about to enter, and loud thudding ensued, along with the splintering of broomsticks. Looking up, I judged that they wouldn't be able to pass the magical barrier that covered the roof. Satisfied, I returned to the side of Reika.

Chapter 22
"So... Ivan asked you to leave him alone?"
"Yeah," Reika said, wiping the tears off her face.
"See, it's like this," I said, pulling her hands away. Her tear stained face was beautiful... "Ivan gets temperamental sometimes, so forgive him. And he's very, very much in love with Alexis, and so..."
"Yeah, I know that."
"You do?"
"I can read minds..."
Oh shi-
"Don't worry, I didn't read yours," she said, smiling slightly at my expression. Relaxing slightly, I said, "Why don't you do this: I have a Blue Kismet here, so you could try giving it to him and... I dunno? Apologize?"
"Me? It's not..."
"I know it's not your fault..." I said, patiently, "but guys like to hear apologies. You understand, don't you?"
"Yeah," Reika replied quietly.


I wandered the endless prairies of Perion aimlessly. The sun was halfway on its descent, meaning that it was around four in the afternoon. Heading towards the sun, I only realized that I was in Kerning when I bumped into a very unhappy gang. Angrily, they pushed me backwards, and started taunting me, ripping off the bandages that Ifria had so kindly help me tie. Coolly, I let them nudge me, till I saw the Assassin that they had tied to a pole and slashed terribly.

Angered, I drew my Dark Angelic Betrayal, and they drew...

"Field Dagger. Very interesting. Pickpocket. Boomerang Step."

Everything around me disappeared, leaving the gang leader at the center of vision. Running forwards quickly, I felt my entire body teleport behind the target and back, leaving two large slashes on his arms. Howling in pain, he called for his entire gang to beat me up. Shutting my eyes, I visualized the mesos that had fallen out of the leader's pockets exploding. There was a white flash, and the entire clique was on the ground, groaning in pain. Body parts were strewn all over, but I decided to ignore those. Freeing the female Assassin from the pole, I carried her all the way to Lith Harbor.

I woke up to find myself on a bed, in what I recognized as a hospital ward. The room was whitewashed, and made of tiles. The sea breeze blew in from the open window at head height, and made me feel cooler. Far away, I could see a small island, its beaches glimmering in the sunset. Turning, I was shocked to find Seaph looking down at me, and smiling slightly. "You're awake, Karen."

"Thanks for saving me there... If it had been any other thief, they wouldn't have done what you did. I'd probably be in a warehouse, nak-"
"Don't think about that kind of stuff. What matters is that you're okay, and still alive."
"Yeah."

Never in my life had I seen Seaph with emotions; it was really quite touching. Looking at his expression, I wanted to laugh... and yet there was a certain friendliness, his demeanor... I felt... I was starting... to like the guy who had been my best friend. And yet, with every friendship, there was a twist. If the love were reciprocated, it would be an advantage; if it were not, then the friendship would most probably end. I was now faced with a dilemma.

"Seaph?"
"Yeah?" he asked, not having broken his gaze.
Steeling my nerves, I decided to give it a try. "I..."

"Panic." The severely weakened monsters collapsed under this attack, the remaining poison in the air dissipating. Uncorking another Antidote made from Frogs, I gulped it all down. Making a face, Julian asked, "How do you drink that?"

"There are far worse things to drink than this," I assured him.
"Like what?" He asked, firing a Fire Arrow at the Rexton.
"Dragon's Blood."
"You have to drink... Dragon's Blood!"
"Yeah, increases attack, you know?" I retorted, unleashing a Shout. The soul tiger stunned the monsters, buying the Fire Mage the time to cast a Poison Myst. The greenish smoke damaged the yellow colored dinosaurs every seconds, causing the little creatures riding them to jump. When their health was reduced to one, I let off another Shout, leaving behind a few bags of coins.

"This has gone on for four hours, Jess. Can we just go and rest!" Julian groaned, stretching.
Grinning, I walked towards the canyon ahead, admiring the sunset. The rays cast a brilliant red glow over the ice, shimmering and casting shadows that flowed over the walls like waves. Jumping in, I landed nimbly on a platform, and I continued to jump down. The cloud that Julian was riding on took ages to land.

"Do you need to use that thing?" I asked, slaying a Dark Wyvern."You're a Warrior; I am not," he retorted, blowing up the dragon and walking on. The path split into two, and I chose the path on the right. Soon, though, I realized that it was longer than the other one; you couldn't see the bottom from here. Suddenly, Julian exclaimed, "This is so cute!" Prodding the small creature that looked like it had just hatched, he was repaid with a sharp bite. Shouting, he blew the egg up in a fireball, and it revealed its true form. The egg was actually part of its armor, and the grass was a saddle. Beneath it was a giant rock.

"Nest Golem, huh!" Julian sneered, and used an Explosion, which killed it, but awakened hundreds of others. "I think we're in a predicament..." he said, casting Poison Myst. "You created this mess! Combo! Shout!" The Nest Golems all flinched, and I took the chance to slash one. Four Power Strikes later, I had maxed the charge. "Coma!" The entire population was stunned, and their health were reduced to nearly nothing; however, their armor was now so strong that they couldn't be penetrated. Groaning, I waited for the poison to make its effect. Two of them died; two Sparta's dropped out from them. Smiling, I picked them up. "Prepare to get owned."

"Combo." A blue shield surrounded both swords. The power of both swords achieved what one could not. The quick attacks weakened the armors, and within seconds, the Nest Golems' rocks had started to crumble. "Coma." Both swords glowed, and the resounding roar caused the entire canyon to shake. When the dust cleared, Julian was lying on the ground, shielding his head from the flying rubble. "Final... Attack." The Skelegons and Skelosaurus that had suddenly emerged were taken by surprise, and the bones that made them up crumbled into dust, peppering the ground.

"Final Attack with a third job wide area skill!" Julian was stunned.
"Dances with Balrog taught me that."

"Sanctuary."
The light that came out shone through the night, illuminating the forests of Ellinia. The attack was swiftly followed by my Dragon Roar, which killed the witches on broomsticks. Ivan, who was wearing the Blue-lined Kismet that Reika had given him, shot off an Arrow Bomb that blew up the witch behind me. "Thanks," I said, jumping over and stabbing quickly, thrice, into the Malady behind Ivan. Swiftly turning, I slammed my spear into the ground, and the Dragon Fury knocked-back all the Maladies, which were then shot off their broom by the large amount of "Double Blows". Shoulda expected this... 12 year olds...

After some time, I inexplicably realized that it was only Reika and I left; Ivan and Alexis had disappeared. Walking around, I was surprised to hear murmurings from behind a tree. Interestingly, when I tried to get around the tree, an invisible shield blocked my way. "Paladins..." Touching the shield, I concentrated on the mana flow within it, and smashed my Dark Fairfrozen straight into it. As expected, the entire length, around five hundred meters, shimmered, and vanished. Peeking around it, I gasped.

Ivan and Alexis were embracing, and their faces were pressed to each others'.

Yawning, I stretched. Ifria was casting Quantum Explosion again and again, and I couldn't help but yawn. Smiling, she stopped casting and sat down beside me, on the cold ice of Dragon's Canyon. Night had fallen, and the ice was slowly darkening, giving it a black shade. Jumping up, Ifria asked, "Tim?"
"Yeah?"
"We should set up camp, you know?"
"Where?"
"Below the Dangerous Nest."
"Where's the Dangerous Nest?" I asked, quizzically.
"The PLACE is called 'Below the Dangerous Nest', Tim," Ifria groaned.
"Okay, not everyone is gifted with your intelligence, you know?"
"Is that a compliment?" Under the moonlight, I could see Ifria blushing.
"I should think so," I retorted, laughing. Ifria looked let down, though. Why?

"Tim? I... like-" she was suddenly cut off by a "hey there!" from Julian.
That night, as I lay down in my sleeping bag, I wondered what Ifria was trying to say.

"So, you saw Ivan and Alexis making out behind the tree?" Reika asked, interestedly.
"What!" Ivan interjected, virtually shouting in despair. "I did not!"
"You did~" I said, taunting him.
"It was only... kissing...."
"Right. Actually, you looked like you were eating her face!" I shouted back, laughing. Ivan lapsed into silence, his indignant look replaced by blushing. "You like... Reika, anyway..." he said silently, but enough to let the whole room hear. Alexis shot up.
"You do?"
"No, I do not," I replied, in what I hoped was a convincing tone.
"Really?" It was Ivan's turn to taunt me. I didn't want to tell the truth, but not lie either. When that occurred, the safest place was the grey area between truth and lies. Silence. Taking that silence to be 'evidence', Ivan and Alexis smirked. "We'll leave you alone, lovebirds!" they said, as they walked out. Probably an excuse for them to continue kissing. Rolling my eyes, I lay down and faced the cavern wall, uncomfortably aware of eyes staring at me, and the pressure that was on my heart. Losing control, I turned towards Reika, who was, as I expected, looking at me. In that moonlight, her white, flowing hair was... beautiful.

"Reika, I don't know how to tell you this... but..."
"Yeah, Alex?"
Painfully aware of the two-year age gap we had, I looked into her eyes. "I love you."

3:20 AM

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