Chapter 1 – Reborn

His head was pounding. Upon opening his eyes, he could see the red sky begin to dissipate. Memories were speeding through his head at a pace that made them unrecognizable. The grass at his back felt cool and refreshing, which made it such a trouble to get up. As he got to his feet, he began to look around. In the distance, he could see a woman lying on the ground. The figure began to take shape as he stumbled closer to her. His eyes were less groggy and he could finally see that she was a blond girl wearing a white dress.

"Elena!" he called out to her, as a sudden flow of memory returned to him. His life as a geohound, the tragedy of his brother, and his part in the Day of Darkness all found him in an instant. He had taken a job to protect this girl, from any and all harm. It seemed such a simple job, yet it took him on a journey through the world, bearing witness to things seen by no other. From the chaos, fighting gods and demons now seems somewhat commonplace now.

"Ry-u-do," the girl gasped, as it seems some life had finally sprung into her. She struggled to sit up and let out an odd moan upon completion.

"Elena, are you alright? I'm not really sure what is going on." Ryudo said with some honesty.

"Ughh, I feel like I just ate a whole bushel of kuko berries," the words came out, barely audible. Tilting her head down, and placing her hand on her forehead, in hope to somehow minimize its spinning. An extension of her bonnet fell down to cover most of her face. Releasing her hand from her forehead, she placed it firmly on the ground for support while looking up at Ryudo from where she sat. He had the body of young man, taller than most, with a solid build throughout. His clothes were tight, mostly blue, and served to allow easy movement of the arms and shoulders, yet still maintain some sort of protection. Bulky armor was never his style as he had always preferred speed and precision to overwhelming power. His eyes appeared somewhat hazy, leading her to believe that he may have woken in the same state as she.

"Hmph, my head still feels a bit, large," remarked Ryudo, while readjusting his headgear and scratching his hair brown spikey hair. "But more importantly, where are we? And how did we get here? Just what exactly happen-"

Footsteps could be heard from behind. He reached for the sword to his side, the granasaber, the divine sword that has the power to fight the gods, but found nothing there. Panic swept over him as arms went around his back and he fell to the ground.

"Ryudo!"

It was the cheerful sound of a woman's voice and all fear left him upon recognition of Millenia, the wings of Valmar. Her bright red hair was always the first attraction that eyes would gaze upon before taking in other features. This is quite a statement considering that this woman dresses in bright red with a short yellow skirt that leaves little to the imagination. He now realized that she had thrown her arms around him from behind just before they had fallen. "Oh Ryudo, I'm so glad I found you!" her words were as full of excitement as ever and the three stood up and began looking around.

It was Elena that spoke first. "Does anyone remember what happened?" She gave a perplexing look at the two beside her, "I can remember defeating Valmar, but after that, it's a bit fuzzy, and then, I woke up here." A sudden gleam filled her eyes. "We did it, we really stopped Valmar!" There was a certain joy in her voice.

"Must I always save you fools?" Millenia shouted, as she almost always does. "When Valmar died, the world around him was crumbling, and we were about to go with him. I used the last power of the Granasaber to get us back here." Her words trailed off near the end as she seemed calm. A fickle mood that can change at the slightest of circumstances was ever apparent in her now.

"And where exactly is here?" questioned Ryudo as she returned an irritated look.

"How the hell should I know!?" She was just as annoyed at the question as not being able to give him an answer, "I didn't exactly have time to aim. And you're welcome, by the way!" Millenia was getting a bit worked up, not that it takes very much to do so.

"Well, we do thank you for whatever you have done Millenia." Calm, elegant words flowing from Elena's mouth, "It's good to see that we are not harmed, and I hope that Roan and Tio are alright." The songstress looked down as if in deep thought, "With Valmar defeated, what should we do now?"

The question lingered in the air before Ryudo gave his response, "Well, since I'm beginning to think that Zera isn't going to pay me for this job, I should go back and look for some work," Ryudo grabs his head and appears a bit disappointed. "I've actually lost money on this job."

"Job!" Elena exclaims. "Ryudo you must not be serious! This was more than a job! You cannot be considering going back to being a Geohound!"

"I think that's a great idea," Millenia adds, as Elena sends a painful glare in her direction. A stare this sharp was something Millenia did not expected, especially from a sister of Granas, which silenced her for the moment.

"Well Elena, what do you expect? We do need money. I'm nearly broke, and I don't even have a sword!" Ryudo goes on, "And what do you mean, 'back to being a geohound?' I've never stopped being one!" He takes in a breath to calm down. "My only skill is with a sword, which means I'm good at killing monsters. Now let me explain something to you, princess, since the church has likely paid for everything you're whole life, killing monsters isn't a way to make a living unless you have people who are actually going to pay you to do it." His words slowed down before he continued with a level tone, "What, did you think that Monsters just drop gold after they're defeated? I doubt there is much money to be made from singing to a god that you know is dead."

Elena runs off into the wilderness, unsuccessful in her fight to hide her tears. "Wow, Ryudo, even I think that was cold," Millenia remarks. "So what do we do tonight?" she says in a playful tone, completely different from mere seconds ago.

"Well, I don't know," Ryudo lets out a long sigh. "I suppose we should camp here until she comes back." This time he forced out the simple words. "For now we should get some things ready for a fire and something to eat." It seems that things had changed little. The geohound's mind raced, "If only sometimes, I wish I could choose the right words." His words were more of a mumble, not loud enough for anyone but himself. He realized that he felt as if he wasn't even the one who spoke. For once, Skye, his faithful companion, was nowhere to be found. It seemed about time for him to be giving a lecture, but he has not seen him since the fight with Valmar. For a moment, Ryudo's expression had changed considerably.

It had been long enough for Millenia to notice. While traveling together, she has seen many looks on Ryudo's face. Most times, it was anger, most often as a result of some inconsiderate thing she had done, but this expression was something new. He seemed a bit shaken, if not even worried, and she then felt a strange feeling come over her. Was he this upset about Elena? She looked ready to speak but headed out towards the woods. Millenia would let the moment pass and find something they could eat, not only to impress Ryudo, but she has heard her stomach plead with her on more than one occasion.

She began to trail off into the woods. Well, it could be said that she frolicked, though Ryudo was not quite sure that people were even capable of such things. He sat outside in the fading light, alone. It seems to have been ages since he felt so free. No where to go, no one to fight, and even a sense of closure that he had not felt for ages. He lay back down on the grass, still as cool and inviting as it had been before, and simply stared at the sky.