Fantasy [Private] El Stories

[Heavengiver]

The festival went by like a blur. Before Rain knew it, she's once again in Henir's Time and Space, staring at her more elegant counterpart.

"Thank you, Glave, for giving me this chance to talk to Rain again. I did miss her terribly." Glave appears next to the healer, visibly distraught. "That's the last time I make a world like that. That turned out to be more boring than I thought. Not to mention that Ishmael is catching on to what's happening to your world. I'm essentially fighting a two-way war now, which mean I don't have the time to play around anymore."

Rain, the siren, glances at them confused. "Wait, I thought you were able to make Ishmael an observer to her world." She didn't dare call that dimension hers anymore. She had accepted that it was not for her, but if that goddess is going to harm her friends...

"Ishmael is still an observer, but I'm afraid Henir is not. The Order had just invaded her world with Hennon as the lead, since they found out that there's a weird anomaly in your former dimension. It didn't take long for them to figure out that another world had been created. Because of that, Ishmael is starting to draw her attention to her world."

"T-They don't know it's you who created it right?"

"Sooner or later, they will. And when that happens, I'm afraid Ishamel and Henir will be barking up my door. I have created dimensions before out of boredom, but Rain's dimension is a special case, since it was to fulfill your beloved's wish. Even though I still consider it an experiment, it's my most important experiment, one that might change the way how the laws of this world works."

"I never figured this out, but why do you like Rui so much? Your interest in me is understandable, but Rui hasn't done anything extraordinary. Why involve him in your experiment?"

"That's because he was the last person standing. He defeated Ain at his full power, who was backed by one of Ishmael's most powerful weapon. Sure, many Ains have been created across time and space, but again, your dimension is peculiar. Never before had there been a catalyst, and never before had there been someone born without the ability to attune with the El, period. You and Rui both possess that ability, which is why I'm interested in you both. I offered him a choice, and he accepted."

Both Rains look at each other uneasily. It looks like their fight is only going to get harder. The siren does not dare tell her counterpart what she had set her mind to do, ashamed that she had forgotten her most important wish. Two hands clasps her own, and she looks up to see the healer gives her a reassuring smile.

"Rain, do what you have to do. I will protect my world, for everyone, for Glave, and for you."

The siren is shocked by her resolve. All throughout her journey, it was she who was the confident one, the one giving her advice on how to proceed. Since when did Rain become so...mature? And then, it hit her. It's because Rain is the future. She's the one destined to see the bright light at the end of the road, the one who's giving that light. The siren's strength lies in the past, but once the future overtakes the past, what use is she? She is trapped in the past, and once she finds her wish...she will have to disappear, like she's supposed to.

"Please take care of everyone, and be careful. Ishmael is not a sympathetic person."

"I know. I'll never forget."

A portal opens up behind the healer. She turns towards it, but not before giving one more glance behind her back. "I never thought I'll get to sing with you like that. You're so much better than me."

"You'll pass me soon, Rain. Be happy, and make sure to keep Rui in line for me."

"I'll try my best. Farewell, Rain. Rest in peace soon, okay?"

"I will."

And with a final nod, Rain runs into the portal, disappearing from the siren's eyes forever. Her enigmatic purple and blue eyes cannot produce the tears that she wants to create, so instead, Rain glances at Glave, waiting for his next words.

"This is going to be a long fight. I'll send you back to where you came from, but I suggest you prepare yourself."

Rain raises her eyebrow in confusion, but before she can mutter a single word, the world turns upside down. She finds herself in a vast desert with no one in sight. Panicking, she paces back and forth, studying the area. "Where am I? How do I get out of here? Glave, honestly...you could of just placed me with Oblivio and the others."

MementoDei

 

[MementoDei]

Lento​

His last show had come to a wonderful conclusion, the crowd was big and people of all ages were impressed and happy to see his simple, yet amazing tricks. It all suddenly began to end, as his vision turned black, for a moment, he thought he had fainted, but once he opened his eyes again, he was in a tent where Allegro was watching over him. Lento let out a soft grunt and slowly opened his eyes.

"Ah, thank Ishmael you finally woke up!"
Lento touched his chest to make sure his amulet was around his neck, but he didn't find it. Allegro understood what he was looking for and passed him what allowed him to speak. The blacksmith put it on and sat down on the sleeping bag where he laid down.
"What happened?"
"You fell asleep, or...rather you just were unconscious for a day."
"Did Phantom come see me? Or did you take care of me all day?"

Allegro suddenly went quiet and hesitated to give him an answer. Lento insisted for him to be honest and finally Allegro agreed to spit it out in a whisper.
"Phantom was also found unconscious and so was Aisha. But...unlike the other two, you had no pulse, Lento. Everyone thought you had died."
Lento sighed.
"Listen to me, Allegro. While I was gone in Feita, I found a power that could keep me alive even if my heart stopped. I will use this power to do fight as much as I can."
"Are you...a Lost Soul?"

Lento lowered his gaze and told Allegro that Lara had been considered a Lost Soul, but that it wasn't the case. Lost Souls were vengeful spirits that only existed in legends. Feita's blacksmith felt that something was out of place in Lara's world and he took his leave, making sure no one would see him open a portal towards her world.

Once inside, he found the blue-haired girl Lara had saved, walking around, visibly confused to where she was. The priestess' memories overflowed through his mind and his purple eyes turned blue. He looked around to see a statue of white marble laying on the sand. Rain turned her attention towards him and the statue and he smiled weakly before kneeling down to see Lara's shell with some droplets of water over its face.

"He's back in her empire..."

Heavengiver

*****
Elesis​

She drank a little too much that last night and had begged Darhan to not leave her alone. This only amused the elf as he began to treat her like she was his child, a game which Lara also took part into. Elesis didn't mind during that moment and her sleep came faster than she ever imagined. She had fun with those two elves, but when she woke up, she was in an alley in Velder. She wasn't sure how she had fallen asleep in the middle of a mission, but she realized that she wasn't too far away from the Centurion Guard's Headquarters.

"Better prepare yourselves, demons. This marks the day where we will strike back."

 

[Late]

Aisha
​

It warmed up her heart to see that the people of Velder were very happy with the festival as all the performances was done. She was happy to wrap things up with the performance and heading off to bed as she was exhausted from work.

The time she woke up, Aisha was in a sleeping back. Confused, she slowly rose from the ground to sit up and rub her eyes. She was in a tent from the looks of it and flinched when someone walked in. It was one of the lizardmen’s healer who seem to be carrying different potions and ingredients on him, as he was going to perform a spell. He looked surprised to see Aisha sitting up and briefly put down his items to check on her.

“You awake,” the lizardman said in surprise, checking on her forehead for any signs of difference temperature.

“What happened to me...?” Aisha asked.

“You and others passed out. Unconscious for a day. Lento woke up already, I check on Phantom soon. As well dragons.”

“The dragons too?” Aisha was a bit surprised to hear that.

“Yes. It was very strange. You seem to be fine. How do you feel?”

“I feel...alright. As if nothing happened to me,” Aisha mumbled. She felt like something did but nothing was coming up for her. The lizardman nodded his head slowly and helped Aisha to stand up.

They checked on the dragons to see if they stirred from their sleep. The group was close together yet they began to move around as the two magic users approached them. Aragorn and Athena had a confused stare on their face, having to get up and stretch out their wings. Komodo yawned out as he hopped off one of them. Cornelius took awhile to wake up yet no one was too worried about it.

The dragons were told about what happened to them, and they were surprised. Yet as there was no answers about how it happened, they decided it was probably best to leave it behind. They were a day behind of heading to Velder. Immediately they want to get back to moving forward in which Aisha has no issues with.

MementoDei Phant0m

 

[Phant0m]

Phantom was able to laugh freely with his companion's in the crowd, and he idly scratched Xiopetec's head when she decided that she was no longer angry at her handler.

Then everything started to fade to black, and panic took ahold of the priest in a vice-like grip. And he heard a female voice calling out to him.

Phantom.... Phantom....Phantom! Wake up! She called.

The priest woke up with a start and closed his eyes. Where was he? Oh yeah...on his way to Velder because they were caught in a war. That realization didn't help with the nausea crawling up his throat. The priest then turned on his side and groaned.

You're awake! Phantom I was so worried! You were completely cut off from me...I couldn't hear your thoughts or feel your presence...you were just gone...and it felt really lonely for the past day in your body, Xiopetec rambled on to her beloved follower.

"Xiopetec please...I don't need word vomit right now when I think I'm about to vomit," Phantom whined.

She hummed. This must have been the work of another god if you're getting this kind of reac-

"Please. I...just want some peace and quiet for a few seconds. I just woke up... I'm pretty disoriented...and just, I need to be grounded for a bit."

He glanced about his surroundings. He was in a tent, and on a mat with a blanket on top of him. That was the most he could see without moving his head (thanks to a certain goddess keeping his left eye bandages), and frankly moving wouldn't be great at the moment. Then he sighed and curled in on himself a bit. Why did he feel like he wanted to cry?

"Where's my staff?" He finally asked.

In this tent somewhere, don't worry....feeling a little bit better now?

"No."

He heard someone enter the tent and the priest lifted his head to see a lizardman walk in.

"Ah. Everyone woke now," He said as he put his supplies down, "But you don't look good. What's wrong?"

"Just a little groggy," Phantom weakly chuckled as he forced a smile. The disoriented feeling grew as he sat up and he looked around to see his staff laying beside the entrance where the lizardman put his stuff down. "Can you give me my staff please?"

The lizardman nodded and gave the priest his staff.

Child I wouldn't stand up just yet, Xiopetec warned.

Phantom ignored her. "Are the other unconscious people ok?"

"Yes. Dragons, Aisha, and Lento all awake now. All fine. You only one who is sick. Rest."

"I'll be fine. How long were we out?"

"A day. Behind on schedule to get to Velder. But you need not worry, we need you to feel better."

Phantom used his staff as a crutch to help him get up, and he put his weight on the staff when he felt the world tilt. He wasn't going to show how unsteady he felt, and besides Phantom experienced this spell before. With Henir's energy. But this time around it wasn't as intense, so he figured it will pass faster. "I'm. Fine. We need to catch up to Velder before this time we lost bites us all in the ass in this war." He walked around the lizardman and exited the tent.

You know, I find it very hypocritical that you care so much about taking care of others but you don't take care of yourself, Xiopetec huffed and Phantom felt her concern enwrap him. "This is going to bite you in the ass Phantom, and it's going to be your own fault if you can't fight in the war."

"It'll pass. It's not so bad this time."

"What has gotten into you? You're feeling like a jumbled mess!"

"I don't know!" Phantom snapped, clenching a fist. "Xiopetec I don't know what's going on! I just want to move on! If that's too much to ask, I want you to leave me alone because I'm not fucking sitting down to twiddle my thumbs and stew in this cluster fuck of my internal state right now!" He glared at a human soldier who was staring at him with his jaw dropped as the priest yelled. "Can I help you?"

The poor soldier squeaked and sped away from the seething Phantom leaning like a drunk man on his staff. Phantom scoffed and looked to see that the dragons were alright and moving about. Then he noticed Aisha staring at him on her way to find Lento, and he scowled. She heard his outburst most likely.

Late MementoDei

 

[NinthSomnus9029]

Somewhere Outside North of Velder Kingdom.
"Waah!" a young man said as he landed on his back. When he looked around he had stumbled upon a part of the old Debrian ruins that had yet to be explored, "Oi! Are you okay Jack?!" someone from the Velder knight's yelled. Jack looked up, "I'm fine! I just seemed to have stumbled upon unexplored parts of the Debrian's old kingdom!" He said as he explored the area. The knight that yelled earlier was telling him to wait as he found a way down, but the young lad didn't listen.

The deeper he went in, the darker it was getting but he didn't worry as he had a el crystal that he could pour his mana into to brighten up the area. That wasn't the case, when Jack reached a certain part of the ruins the floor began to shine with a dim blue light. "W-whoa..." He said, it wasn't strange for many of the Debrian Kingdoms to have such lighting but the color of this one wasn't the usual white holy glow he had seen in other parts of the ruin.

"What was done here?..." He wondered, noticing lots of parts and tools laying around, then from the corner of his eye. Then Jack spotted a frosted over capsule. The lights led to this very specific capsule. His curiosity took over, walking towards it, he stared at the monitor beside the pod that was labeled with the Green letters that read. "Status: Standby." What did this mean he wondered.

With no time to waste thinking, Jack placed his hand on the monitor, gently pressing on the green "Standby." Immediately the option changed to "Activate" as the capsule shined brighter and with a loud blow of wind pressure the capsule slowly opened with a body free falling out but catching itself before it flopped.

Alec

Alec looked towards the being before him as his processors were running their maintenance checks, "Status changed from Standby to Active...Order listings. One order found, protect Eve." Alec said. Jack was amazed by what stood before him. "A-a human?..No..A nasod! But what is it doing here? Unless it's an original made by the Debrian's themselves!" He said as he examined Alec, who was looking around the room when a particular part caught Alec's sensors. He walked towards the wall that had a slight opening.

Using brute force he pried the wall open. Behind the removed panel laid equipment that Alec recognized instantly from the blueprints that Adrian implemented into Alecs memory core. "Fenris..Skofnung.." He said looking at the nasodic armor and blade that were placed nicely, he ran his hands along the nasod battle suit, before he picked it up and started to put it on. At that moment, Jack who was looking around turned to Alec, "Oh? Are these nasod relics?" He said as he looked closely at the blade. Alec finished putting on the nasod battle suit and turned to face Jack, "Relics? What are Relics?" Alec asked, Jack rubbed his chin, "They are objects, like that sword and armor that have survived years and years later, they have historical value too." Jack said, Alec titled his head, "Historical?" Alec asked, Jack looked at Alec with a bit of surprise. "Oi don't tell me he's actually an idiot, aren't ancient nasods very informative?" He thought as he watched Alec look around the room, examining certain objects with interest. "Ah, he really does not know anything.."
​

 

[Late]

Aisha
​

Aisha was curious where Lento went. They say that he was awake but she couldn't find him anywhere. It won't be long that they'll start moving forward to Velder. Before she could check with the other soldiers, she heard Phantom's outburst and turn her head to look at the man who was leaning onto his staff. The mage gave him a concerned look, unsure what was wrong with him. She went ahead to walk over to him, hoping she can help the man out.

"Something wrong, Phantom?" Aisha asked him carefully, noticing that he looked rather upset for some reason. "Do you need more time to rest...?"

Phant0m

 

[Late]

Xavier
​

"I think you're finally ready to head back to Elrios..."

Xavier was kneeling down in front of Ishmael as Eosforos was standing beside her, having a pleased look on his face. The dragon tamer felt a light tap on his shoulder in which he rose back up to his feet and kept a steady stare on Ishmael.

"You trained hard and long, Xavier. Now it is finally time to truly put you to a test of true loyalty," Ishmael said to him, nodding her head lightly. "We are going to send you back to Elrios, the Velder village that is currently pushing back the demon army. Of course, you already know how that is going for them."

"They definitely won't hold out for much longer, yet there is an army coming from Feita to help them out," Xavier said, understanding the situation.

"That's right. For your test, you're going to go down and push out the demons for good and retrieve back what was once our gift for the humans. The el shard of the earth. You will be taking all the orders from Eosforos as he wishes to go down with you to be sure you'll get the job done. As well to protect you from harm," Ishmael explained to him. "I assume that you're ready to move out? If that is the case, Eosforos, you can start up the portal back to Elrios." Eosforos nodded his head and went ahead to do so.

Xavier nodded his head, having no objections to his tasks. "Is that all, my lady?" He asked, wanting to be sure that his goddess wasn't missing anything else for him to do.

"Well...that's most of it. There is a little thing I wish for you to do but only when it is right. The dragons on Elrios been there long and did their best to protect the El. Yet as the El is unstable, who knows when they will suddenly turn against the humans out of nature. So when the time is right, or whenever Eosforos gives the word, you need to kill the dragons..." Ishmael said and paused for a moment to see if she can detect anything from Xavier's eyes. There was no shift of emotions, no change of heart. She had to lean forward for a better look into his eyes to be sure there were no signs of hesitation to her tasks. "I need you to kill the dragons. Are we clear?" She asked, making sure Xavier understand her well.

"Crystal."

Xavier's response was firm, showing no signs of sadness, anger, or unwillingness. Ishmael smiled as she can tell his heart lies with the El, having full confidence in Xavier that he will get things done for them. She nodded her head and let Xavier leave. Eosforos was waiting for him and had a pleasing smirk on his face as there was a portal formed for them to go through. Both were ready to leave, Eosforos with his sword as Xavier was already wearing his gauntlets and his staff minimized on him. Eosforos let Xavier step through the portal and he turns to Ishmael, his smirk widen slightly.

"May the El restore back its former glory," Eosforos said to her, bowing in front of her as Ishmael smiled with a nod of her head. He finally turned and walk through the portal. Seconds later, the portal closed up.

 

[Heavengiver]

The desert was vast, for sure. Rain can tell that this is a sea of sand, endless even to the edges of the horizon. She turns around and finds a seemingly familiar face.

"L-Lento? What are you doing here?" She dashes up to him, but once she did, she finds that the Lento that is standing before her is different from the one she knows. He smiles sadly at her before kneeling down to a marble statue of someone oh so familiar.

"I-Is that Lara...? No. No! Lara! Lara, you idiot! What have you done...?"

Rain collapses next to Lento, gripping the sand under her feet. Like always, the tears won't fall, and she curses that she can't feel the relief of it flowing down her cheeks. She's not supposed to mourn. She's the one supposed to be mourned, but at this moment, the siren wants nothing more than to cry.

"Didn't you say you had something to do? Why...? Why?"

She beats the sand, whimpering loudly. Her hands didn't dare touch the statue, for she fears that it will crumble under her touch. "No...and just when we finally got to know each other..."

MementoDei

 

[Phant0m]

Phantom stared at Aisha for a moment, silent. Then he waved away her concern. "I'll be fine. We're already behind long enough. The sooner we get to Velder, the better," He said in a bitter tone.

What is wrong with you? Xiopetec hissed.

The priest's shoulders began to shake and he wiped at his eye. Then he touched the bandages and he growled, tugging at them. "I want these damn things off!"

Phantom! Calm down! Your eye still-fine. If it'll help blow off this steam then go ahead.

A fuscheia glow underneath the bandages helped to loosen them enough for Phantom to be able to pull them off and throw them to the ground. His newly exposed left eye was glowing a fierce fuscheia, almost looking pink, as he glared at the bandages before that eye reverted to a neon yellow color. His pupil was now a vertical slit, serpentine in nature, and with tears flowing freely down his cheeks.

"I...I just...need a hug I guess," The priest said in a small, awkward voice, hunching his shoulders like a small child.

Oh...my child... Phantom felt his goddess's energy give him a ghost hug, but his frame still trembled a bit. It wasn't sufficient.

Late

 

[MementoDei]

Lento​

"Rain...I'm here, but this is the last time we'll see each other. You see this hole in my shell? Most of my soul was in here." Lento pointed at a small hole in the statue's chest, where her heart would be. His voice was closer to Lara's and although he was conscious of everything he was saying, he felt that Lara's last fragments of consciousness were the ones taking control over his actions. Seeing Rain collapse like that made him reluctant on breaking Lara's weak control and he decided to let her say her last words to the Siren.

"You ask me why I died, and I died in order to save you, Rain. I've told you what I think of life, you were given a second chance, so live for your dreams, whatever they are."

Lento got closer to the siren and put a hand over her shoulder.

"I had someone to save and I...did save him from his regrets. That's more than enough for me to go in peace. If you have loved someone, maybe you understand what I mean."

Lento hugged Rain and remained silent while Rain was breaking down. After some minutes of silence, he spoke again:

"Rain...A small part of my soul still lives within Lento's body, but I'm afraid it will erode as he becomes stronger. Still, Rain, please listen to me. I know this will maybe be too selfish for me to ask, but I'd like to make it back to Resiam, push back the ocean that swallowed it and...let it be my grave. Could you...grant this small selfish wish?"

Lento's blue orbs looked at Rain with Lara's kindness and he smiled vaguely. Lento thought to himself that, even if Rain refused, he'd do it for her. She needed a proper burial, after all.

Heavengiver

 

[Heavengiver]

She raises her eyes when she hears fragments of Lara's voice. Her enigmatic orbs glances at Lento, and the change in his eyes matches with the more feminine voice coming out of his mouth. She couldn't speak, fearful that if she did, Lara would fade away. He embraced her as Lara continues to talk, and Rain didn't think that she would be comforted by Lento of all people.

"Very well. I can do that for you. It's not like I haven't drained Resiam before. I only hope that the demons are cleared out by the time we get there."

Lento widens his eyes at her off-hand comment about draining Resiam. She releases a light chuckle and pulls away from his embrace. "I'm glad then that you're finally resting in peace, though I wish you saved someone else other than me."

"I do have someone that I loved, but he's now the foundation for a new world. I cannot see him anymore."

Raising to her feet, Rain glances at the statue of her savior. She thought that they both were very similar, but the truth couldn't be farther from it. Lara was so much stronger than her.

"Lento, I'm traveling with a few of my allies, and I cannot join you until I tell them the situation. Is there a place that you want me to meet you before we head over to Hamel? And can you maybe help me get out of here too?"

MementoDei

 

[MementoDei]

Lento​

His eyes returned to their purple colour and he nodded at Rain's question. He touched his amulet and began to speak through it with his normal voice.

"My troops are headed to Velder to push the demons there. I know it's quite the distance from where you were before, but through this world, travelling is easier. If you want to convince your allies to come with us, it'll be great. Unless you still have things to do in Altera."

Lento opened a portal towards Altera's outskirts to let Rain return to where she was before according to Lara's memories.

Heavengiver

*****
Elesis​

Once she crossed the gates of the Centurion Guard's headquarters, Vanessa came running towards her and widened her eyes, she couldn't believe it.

"Commander Elesis? H-How...I heard that the port was overtaken by dark elves."
"Hamel's marine has dark elves at their service. The situation is still dire in Hamel, so I came here alone, Vanessa. We'll wait for Lento's and Jabberwock's forces to take back what those demons took away from us."

The Guard's leader nodded and invited the Knight's leader to the War Room to discuss the best strategy for the days left before Lento's scheduled arrival.

*****
Darhan ​

"He has returned to his senses, tell our goddess, quick!" a servant said next to him. Darhan's vision was still blurry and he had to look for a few seconds around him to realize where he was. He was back in Ishmael's world and Lara had died in that dark world. That last thought made him clench his fists, but he still remembered her last words. He had to keep a promise to her, she had gone in peace because he had saved her. He had finally managed to protect her from her demons and that cooled down his anger.

"You have returned, Durahan. How are you feeling?" Ishmael said.

Darhan glanced at the white haired goddess and sat down on the bed he was laying on. "It feels a little strange to hear that name now, goddess Ishmael."

The goddess let out a sigh and closed her eyes. She looked as composed as ever. "I see, you recovered your memories. Did you encounter the Soul Priestess too?"

Ishmael's voice became colder and Darhan frowned at her hateful gaze. "Yes, it was someone I knew. And...she's no more. Which means Henir's plans need to evolve somehow. We need to prepare ourselves."

"Did you kill her?"

"She was already agonizing when I saw her. She's gone in peace."

"Out of pity, huh? Not as an enemy....*sigh* well, as long as that anomaly isn't around, I can't complain."
Darhan tilted his head and clenched his fists. He could hardly tolerate the tone Ishmael was taking. "You know our past, don't you? How do expect me to end her life in cold blood after I recovered my memories? It's impossible, Ishmael."

"Durahan, you'll have to learn that this war will need you to forget your emotions if you want to protect the life in Elrios. It's what she'd want, wouldn't it? Larian sacrificed a lot for it, even when she was under Henir's curse. Your training will begin tomorrow, get as much rest as you can for now."

 

[Late]

Aisha
​

It felt awkward but Aisha felt bad for the man. She wasn’t sure what he was going through, thinking it was probably from the stress about the war. The mage walked up to him and gently pats his back.

“Im guessing you’re stressing about the war? Well, it’s okay to feel upset or angry about it,” Aisha mumbled. “I feel furious about it, I really do. We lost a lot of good people because of it...of course, this why we have to do something about it. So we don’t have to lose any one else.” Aisha smiled at him. “Or If that’s not the case, I don’t hearing on whatever is in your mind.”

Phant0m

 

[Phant0m]

Phantom closed his eyes as he relaxed a little bit into the embrace, and he sniffled as the tears continued to flow. "I-I guess that's it. A delayed emotional response, I guess." He gave a half-hearted snicker, and he hid his face in Aisha's shoulder. "I was caught up in this war-well, I just decided to be a part of this war-and never had a moment to...just breathe and forget it? Being unconscious definitely forces someone to take a break from everything," He gave a muffled chuckle at this,"Then to wake up and have everything just...punch you in the face. My emotions are in shock. On top of the emotional shock, feeling like shit doesn't help. It's the perfect recipe for a hot mess. I haven't felt like this since my first death in my career of being a healer."

Late

 

[Late]

Aisha
​

Aisha only smiled and listen to what the healer was saying, patting his back so he can feel better. She knows how it feels, this was probably the third time she went unconscious during the war. It is definitely upsetting to wake up back to reality. As much she wanted Phantom to have some time to calm down, she noticed that the soldiers were starting to move around. Probably because now that everyone is awake and active, they can start continuing on their march.

"Come on, wipe those tears and get yourself ready. We need to catch up the time we have lost here," Aisha said to Phantom. "You can cry about it when the war is done and over with."

Phant0m

 

[Fume]

"Man, that thing was something." He said aloud as he casually walked beside his sister with Ren's canteen in hand, lightly taking a sip of the beverage. On his other hand, a meat dish nearly done, most likely the halal that he wanted..

"You're disgusting..." She said while looking away from him.

"Not my fault that I need food." He replied before throwing away the dish and giving Ren his canteen back. "Thanks mate, that hit the spot. Here, your halal, don't ask how I was able to balance two dishes on one hand, I'm even surprised at that."

"You're just..!" It looked like Rena was about to scold again, but before she could, they were encapsulated in two different dice. "Uh... Dust? What's happening? Where are we?" She asked a little concerned and tried to grab him, but she only felt the wall.

"God damn it, Glave..." He cursed the man that was casually walking in front of them.

"Had fun, pal?" He asked him in a nonchalant way to him.

"To be honest, for once, I was free from those horrible thoughts. But, that wasn't real. That connection with Rena... How I acted so... That isn't how things truly are. That was an illusion, wasn't it?" He replied back to the masked man.

"The town was an illusion, yes. A world fabricated of yours truly. However, I can't fabricate something like human connections, which means those were partially made by me and the rest was your own doing. Be glad, you won't be able to relax like that for a long time." He responded to him while hovering his dice on his hand.

"You mean to say, that everything we saw there was a lie!? No! It can't be one! It can't-.."

"It can and it is." Dust interrupted her. "This thing was just something that he made out of boredom. Nothing more. Now we're going back where we were before as if nothing ever happened."

"I don't want too..." She mumbled to herself before saying it louder. "I don't want to believe that what we had there was fake! I don't want to be separated from you again! Just come with me, Dust!" She tried to push the wall to grab his, but it was pointless.

"Believe it or not, that's up to you, but we can't be together. I have things to do and so do you. I have my responsibilities as a demon commander of the demon realm and you have friends to take care of and to grow stronger. Until I'm done on my side, we can't be together." He explained to her, giving her a small sense of comfort that they'd be together, just not now.

"Promise me!" She yelled at him. "Promise me that we'll be together again! I won't take no for an answer!"

"...I'm bad at keeping promises." He responded to her, making her shake for a second. "But, I'll try." That last line gave her some confidence back before Glave snapped his fingers.

"Oh, I'm sorry to warn you now Dust, but I can't find a stable place to drop you off. Oh well, the sky is good enough."

"Wait, what!? You fuckeeeeer!" His voice trailed as he fell down on the portal that appeared below him.

"See you later, forest elf." He told to Rena before dropping her where she last stood with Raven.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
​

At Velder, everything was fine. It was a nice time for people to relax for a bit, forgetting the war against the demons, even if it was for a second.

"uuuuuUUUUUUUUUUUUUKER! Ooof!" Out of nowhere, someone fell from the sky and crash landed on a soldiers tent.

The refugees didn't know how to respond as the person groaned in place while looking up.

"God damn it... Glave..." It was good while it lasted for them.

Heavengiver

 

[Phant0m]

Phantom laughed and he wiped at his face, wincing when he touched his newly uncovered eye. "Yeah," He agreed. That's if I survive the war, that bitter thought made Phantom internally wince.

I'll do everything in my power to protect you, my child. Don't worry, Xiopetec assured her follower as her ghost embrace only strengthened a bit.

"I'm going to feed Komodo before this show actually goes on the road," The priest announced and he took a couple of brisk steps away from Aisha before stopping. He turned around and gave a small smile, "Thanks for listening, Aisha." Then he almost sprinted to the cart that carried food provisions to snatch a piece of meat and he made his way to the dragons. HIs left eye looked like it was stuck staring in one place, and the priest was winking to keep it moist.

"What the fuck did you do to my eye, Xiopetec?" He groaned as he rubbed the eye.

"Technically, that is my eye. It's part of the deal we made."

"Next time we make a deal I'll be sure to ask for the terms and conditions."

Xiopetec chuckled and Phantom felt a ghost hand caress his cheek. "My dear child, you amuse me."

"So you need more presence in my head, you speak through me, and you can take partial control of my body. Now you claimed my eye...wait, well that has always been your eye I guess. You marked it when I officially became your priest."

The goddess only hummed in his head as he went through the works of feeding Komodo, making some small talk with the other dragons (and biting his tongue when Aragorn still calls Phantom "Phanny") before the others started to continue their march to Velder. Phantom walked behind the dragons, glancing about to see if Lento was walking amongst them yet.

Late MementoDei

 

[Late]

Komodo
​

After a month of traveling around with Xavier around, Komodo did his best to try being friendly with the humans. Not to mention he is growing as well, able to have his head to reach above any other human's head. Komodo was still small compared to the other three dragons but if he keeps on staying healthy and eating well enough, he might as well reach to Athena's size.

When Phantom walked up to him to feed him, he refrains from growling at the healer and just took the meat off his hands. Cornelius commented how Komodo still have long ways to go to trust others besides Xavier yet truthfully Komodo may not need to be dependant on humans as he is getting bigger and stronger. He is even trying to hunt for his own which isn't so hard to do in the first place.

Despite all this, Komodo wishes to at least hear how Xavier is doing. Or at least to know that he is fine and that he misses the dragons. He remembers about being unconscious and feeling Xavier's hands petting his head and massaging his wings. Yet it was probably only a dream and it left the dragon mopey.

Komodo stayed close to Cornelius as everyone was set to move out. He had a dull stare on his face yet after several minutes his head perks up slightly when catching a strange scent. It was new and different from the past days. As well familiar. The other dragons seem to notice this and became wary on the road ahead yet Komodo was very curious about what it was. For certain it wasn't a demon's scent. The dull mood of Komodo seems to be fading away as he inches away from the group of dragons. He heard them calling back but Komodo ignores them as he wants to find the main source.

Phant0m

Xavier
​

"From our last report, the army's march was put on hold for a couple of days but I'm sure they'll start moving. We're at the right spot to meet them up anyways."

Xavier watches Eosforos pacing back in forth, the angel looking a bit impatient but the pacing seems to help him to calm him down. All Xavier was doing was sitting on the floor, trying to meditate until the army shows up. It felt strange for him to be back in Elrios as if he got here for the first time when really he was just gone for a very long time. Time was very different between the heaven world and the material world. Nothing probably changed drastically ever since he left.

He took a glance behind him to see that Velder wasn't too far to reach. They already handle any demons around this area so they were safe for now and it wouldn't be too difficult to push through the entrance. Dust of ice coated around the area he was sitting and there were a few dead demon bodies laying around. There was probably a few more dead bodies further up but Xavier doesn't care too much as long they aren't breathing.

The man closes his eyes so he can focus for a moment, ignoring the steps that Eosforos was repeating taking and simply focus to search for any El's energy. It was very little around where they are, probably nothing at all but Xavier knows they were to retrieve back nature's energy that's in Velder. Yet after minutes of sitting around, his tail raised up slightly as Xavier sensed an energy coming to them. A dragon's one to be exact.

"Eosforos, a dragon is approaching," Xavier said, breaking the silence and he got up to his feet.

"I guess they noticed our presence here. Remember what Ishmael said about those dragons. Just be on guard and listen to my word on when it's good to execute them," Eosforos said with a small grin. Xavier only nods his head and turn his attention to a dragon what was heading towards their toward.

It was at a distance and the dragon stopped for a moment to raise its head and observe the two. Xavier stared at the dragon, observing how the dragon had a tense stare on them but it seems to be melting away slowly. Eosforos besides him only sighed and they waited for whatever comes next for them.

 

[Phant0m]

Phantom just walked amongst the dragons, humming a bit to himself softly as they marched. The priest was glad that Komodo didn't growl at him, and he felt a small weight come off of his chest. That's one less thing to stress out about, and Phantom was glad that Komodo was getting a little more comfortable around him.

Xiopetec made her priest violently hiss, and Phantom had to compose himself and act like he didn't just spontaneously hiss into the empty atmosphere. He also noticed the dragons becoming a bit more wary as they marched.

"Xiopetec?" Phantom questioned in a quiet voice.

I sense one of Ishmael's bitches...an angel, The goddess snapped and she made Phantom give another low hiss. If he had the tail of a rattlesnake, the priest was sure that his goddess would have him shaking that thing like no tomorrow.

A warning. Xiopetec was giving a warning.

Phantom felt his tongue flick out, and his left eye focused in on the road ahead.

And that angel isn't alone.

"We're not gonna throw the first punch. So if you can hold back a bit on your hissing and shit, I would appreciate it. If they decide to start a fight, then you can have a field day, alright?"

Xiopetec grumbled, but Phantom felt his body relax a bit and he pulled his hood up and adjusted it so that his left eye was covered a bit. The priest wouldn't put it past an angel of Ishmael to be able to see a strange priest with a weird eye and put two and two together.

Then Phantom unstrapped his staff from his back and made it casually look like his walking stick. That way if a fight were to break out, the priest would be prepared.

Late

 

[Heavengiver]

"Thank you, Lento. I'll see you then."

Rain heads out the portal created by him into the Nasod-infested fields of Altera Plains. She looks around, trying to look for her comrades. Hopefully, she can find them soon...

Meanwhile, Rena feels herself holding onto something. Clothing...and an open chest? She squints as she adjusts to the light and finds that she's clinging to an equally confused Raven.

"Ahaha...sorry, Raven."

"It's fine, Rena. Are you okay?"

"Yeah. Do you remember how we got here?"

"No, my memories are a bit hazy."

"Rena! Raven!"

They hear the siren calling out to them. They hear a popping sound erupt in their ear, and Oblivio and Add collapse next to them, with their leader sitting over his brother. "What the hell?!" he says, talking into the dirt.

Oblivio catches Rain's unusually sad demeanor and asks her what's wrong. She drops the bad news (at least bad for everyone except Add) about Lara's death.

"Lara and her...successor, Lento, had asked me to help with her funeral rites. I must go to Hamel as soon as possible, but I was wondering if you would like to come with me."

Rena seemed physically distraught, and Raven embraces her, patting her back in order to comfort her. "Tureen...no..."

K KizayaTaishuro MementoDei

 

[KizayaTaishuro]

He felt like something was off. Ever since they were unceremoniously dropped into this place. That voice was getting louder and louder, and he could feel warmth leaving his own body. The group appeared to be calling for him, but then ceased their voices. They appeared to be walking further and further away, but he didn't appear to have cared. What was he feeling? He wasn't feeling anything, it was...it was scary, what was happening?!

A gut-wrenching feeling appeared to be in effect because he couldn't stop the tears from falling. He...wasn't going to die, no, that wasn't the point of all of this. He was being forgotten and that should've been scarier, but ...now he couldn't feel like he should care. He was disappearing.

And he disappeared from existence, from all dimensions and timelines. It was as if he was never meant to exist from the start, and disappear he did.

Heavengiver

 

[Late]

Aisha watches how Komodo runs off in a hurry, confused on what was exactly down on this road. Cornelius mumbled to Aragorn to follow after the smaller dragon in which the red dragon did so. She has no idea what was going on and the army seem to be affected by this as they were starting to slow down and taking a few steps forward with confusion. It came to a point where Cornelius asked the group to halt their march for now.

Ahead of them was Aragorn with Komodo who seem to be staring at something before them. Both weren’t moving at all so Cornelius had to step forward to ask.

“Aragorn, what do you see up ahead?” Cornelius asked, frowning as the mage next to him was interested to know.

Aragorn looked back at Cornelius with a mix of confusion and happiness as Komodo suddenly ran off to greet whoever was up ahead. “I....It’s that angel who took Xavier with him...and I think this is Xavier himself. He looks so different but his scent is familiar...” As Aragorn talked, his concern was growing in his voice and the red dragon realized Komodo ran off to greet. “Komodo wait-“

The sound of a sword unsheathing alarmed Cornelius so the dragon ran ahead to see what was going on. Aisha quickly followed after as she was worried what might of happened to Komodo. Both reach where Aragorn stands and see two individuals ahead of them. One had his sword out to point at Komodo, stopping the dragon from taking any further steps. Komodo almost looked offended and annoyed that a sword was raised at him and he looked at the man next to the angel. Yet the man only glared at the dragon, already taken a few steps back.

“Sorry if I am making bad first impressions of myself, but my instincts took over here,” the angel said to the other dragons, giving them a smile as he still had his sword out. “The big red one is right though. Xavier has return back to your good hands and been blessed throughly by Ishmael. Though I wish to warn you, he is not the same man as before.”

The dragons gave a cautious looks at Xavier, almost as if they were unsure to say. He is completely different than before. Not even the fiery type of boy they once knew. Xavier’s icey glare on Komodo finally got through the poor dragon and he took steps back away from them. Aragorn growled slightly as Cornelius only seem to frown the longer he stares.

Aisha wasn’t so certain how to feel about this but there was a strange aura around the two. She felt a bit disappointed and almost felt like she lost something important. It was a strange feeling.

“We mean you no harm,” the angel said, putting away his sword after Komodo backed up. “My name is Eosfóros, a gifted angel from above. Ishmael wishes me to have Xavier return back to the war after his training was done and have me to fight along with him in this army of yours. I hope there’s room for two more allies, yes?” Eosfóros asked, comfortably resting his arm on Xavier’s shoulder as he waited for a reply.

It wasn’t the dragons place to say anything whether they should allow two more allies or not. Well, it mostly felt weird to make a decision without the leader. As the dragons look hesitant, Eosfóros grinned in amusement. Xavier doesn’t seem to care and ignored the stare that Komodo was giving. Cornelius eventually turn towards the army, letting out a small sigh.

“Lento? Where’s Lento?” Cornelius asked them, staring at each of the soldiers. “Jabberwock, I think you should get into this but having Lento around will be good as well.”

Jabberwock perked up when he was called and beckoned his translator to follow him as the lizardman made his way to the dragons. Meanwhile, the soldiers were looking around for their leader, unsure where he exactly went off to.

MementoDei Phant0m

 

[Heavengiver]

What was happening? The moment Oblivio opened his mouth, his form flickered. Add instantly started to grab for his brother, but his fingers passed through his form. "W-What's going on? Oblivio, NO! COME BACK!" The remaining sparkles of his body scatters at his palm, and Add stands there with an outstretched hand.

"Oh my El...Oblivio! Where did he go?!"

Rain and Raven are the only ones looking on with almost an indifferent gaze. Raven seems more distraught than Rain is, but the siren walks over to the scientist, at first reaching out, but she then retracts her hand.

"Is it Henir? Did Henir take Oblivio away?"

Rain finally frowns. "I don't know."

She turns to the other two party members. "Since we don't have a leader anymore, you guys don't have a goal anymore. I suggest that you hide somewhere safe until this war is over."

"Wait! I want to go with you! We have nothing else, after all."

Raven nods to agree, but the siren slightly glares at them. "I can't cover for all of us if we encounter demons, especially if we encounter your brother, Rena. Besides, I have something to do after I bury Lara, and I do not have the time to train you or Add."

Suddenly, the siren finds herself lifted, staring at the furious sneer of Add. "Why the hell are you so calm? Are you saying we should abandon Oblivio to Henir?!"

"It's not that I don't want to save him. It's just that he doesn't exist anymore. I can tell."

"Bullshit! I refuse to believe that!"

"You are always like this: denying everything and trying to get something unobtainable! And when you finally have it, you go insane!"

With an annoyed tsk, Add lets go of Rain and walks off. "Where are you going?" Raven asks in a bitter tone.

"Who knows?"

Rena opens her mouth to call him back, but Rain sighs and shakes her head. "Let him go. There's nothing more we can do."

She summons a dagger in each hand, testing the weight of them by tossing them carelessly into the air. "Please, go back to Altera and live your life in peace. Live for the sake of your promises." Rain then runs off, off to get to Hamel through any means possible, even breaking through the demon ranks if necessary.

Raven pats Rena's shoulder and points her to the direction of Altera. "Let's go, Rena. Let's trust Rain for now."

"I trust her. I just don't want her to be alone again."

"Again?"

"I'll tell you on the way back. Just to warn you though, it's not a happy story."

MementoDei

 

[MementoDei]

Lento​

He watched Rain go and opened a portal of his own to get back to where the rest were. He looked down and closed his eyes as the morning sun blinded him for a minute. Once the slight pain was gone, he opened them to see Yullr. The elf was startled to see him get out of the world Larian had been able to open.

"Something happened to Larian, I assume." the elf said.

Lento nodded and Yullr informed him that they had been looking for him. Apparently, an angel and Xavier had returned. Lento didn't know who Xavier was, but Yullr explained that it was the dragon tamer Phantom had talked about. Once they both made it towards the rest of the group, Lento was taken off by the aura of the two newcomers. They had both strong connections with Ishmael, but the war wouldn't let him choose his allies freely until much later, he knew it. Lara's memories weren't very useful to say beforehand if he could trust the angel, nor Xavier.

Jabberwock and the dragons watched the elf and the Lost Soul get towards there and Lento began to introduce himself.

"Hello, both of you. I am Lento Asini, one of the leaders of these troops. Who are you?"

Yullr introduced himself and acknowledged that he was the last of the leaders. Something had changed for Lento, he rarely invited him directly to participate in any military operations that didn't require scouting.

Phant0m Heavengiver Late

*****
Elesis
​

"They're still not here, this will be troublesome." The leader of the Red Knights said. Their resistance was barely holding in place; her last hope was that there wouldn't be any more delays.

"Elesis!" Vanessa said as she opened the door of Elesis' chambers. "The demon forces are advancing towards the residential area 4. We need to push them back now or they'll slaughter everyone."

Elesis took her sword and followed Vanessa through the busy corridors of the Centurion Guard's headquarters.

"How many men do we have to lead this mission?"

"Around forty. Mostly new recruits."

Elesis clicked her tongue. The situation didn't look good for them, but they couldn't do nothing when the demons were pressing on their attack. The moment to strike back was now; Lento's forces would probably come too late otherwise. She couldn't let another failure taint her conscience.

The fire of the battle raged on as multiple civilians were evacuated; some soldiers fell, but the power of the commander of the Red Knights was their motivation to keep going until the demon forces retreated.

Elesis was standing, but relying heavily on her sword to so so. She let out a cry of victory and the remaining twenty soldiers lifted their swords for her.

Fume

 

[Phant0m]

Phantom's body is rigid as he listened to the exchange, especially since Eosfóros was quick to draw the sword and both of them had very strong auras that radiated Ishmael's energy. It was giving him a killer headache, and Xiopetec wasn't helping.

No harm my ass. He was one of them that killed...he killed...

Phantom wiped at his left eye. Xiopetec, he's being peaceful right now. Fi-

Give me one good reason on why I shouldn't, Phantom! Phantom flinched at her tone. He's killed everyone that I've held dear! My children! All for that despicable goddess! Xiopetec forced her priest to stare at Xavier. Look at what she's done to him, Phantom. Can you seriously tell me that that's the Xavier you've traveled with? That you promised to?

The priest's heart lurched as he stared at Xavier, seeing his now cold demeanor...everything about him changed. He knew that Ishmael would change him...but this was not the extent that he was expecting. It was like he didn't even recognize Komodo, the dragon he practically raised.

This is what Ishmael does to her followers...if they have the unfortunate experience of capturing her attention. Anyone that can be useful to her, she wants. A real goddess wouldn't submit her followers, or anyone who has pledged their allegiance to her, to manipulation so cruel that they're never the same. Ishmael takes everything....she took everything from me...and that-that-Demon right there was on the front lines on the hunt. He enjoyed watching my children perish...laughed at their fear...smiled as he gave them false promises...they took my domain away from me...they almost killed me. For what? Ishmael wanted all the power to be hers. But I want my revenge. My children...their lives...were worth so much more...more than being lost all because of greed.

Phantom dried his left eye and tightened his grip on to his staff. Oh it was so tempting to just activate his scythe and let Xiopetec have a field day with Eosfóros. He gave a low hiss as he felt Xiopetec's cold grief burn with encouragement. The corner of his lip twitched into a brief, crooked smirk. Before Phantom shook his head.

Am I safe? Since that cur was so involved with hunting you down-

If he makes any move against you...I'm not losing you. Never.

He's all yours when the war is over. When our plate isn't full, I'll gladly let you do whatever you want to him. And Ishmael. Right now, you need to give me some space so I'm not going to end up doing something that'll get us both killed.

Phantom felt Xiopetec's fierce emotions recede, and he was able to relax a little bit. He noticed that Xiopetec didn't give him a definite yes or no to his question, but it didn't matter. She always had his back and helped him when he needed it. Besides, he's dealt with devoted Ishmael followers before, and he can handle playing a little game with them. Especially Eosfóros, his smile had Phantom's skin crawling and sent a chill down his spine. The priest held his head high, almost sauntering over to draw a bit more attention to his foreign priest garb as he walked over to the little meeting of leaders, putting his hand on Lento's shoulder. "Lento, I think we had enough time wasted as is. May I suggest that this discussion wait until we catch up on our march? Or to have this discussion while we're marching?" Phantom suggested in a polite tone, ignoring the angel as his gaze grazed over to where Eosfóros was leaning on Xavier. The priest grit his teeth before he looked to Lento.

Late MementoDei