This is a possible continuation of Orokid's "The one you love" and thus strongly recommend you read that first. This is my first fanfic (I would like to thank Orokid for that) and any comments are appreciated. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did (Chapter two is in the oven :D)
Why was life so cruel?
He wondered every time his thoughts happened to drift by his ex-wife and former friend. He felt he had no place in the very world he helped save. All the struggles, all the battles he had been through, the whole world even, held no meaning if he had to exist in it without her by his side. Why did they have to snuff out even the tiniest bit of light in his otherwise bitter and turbulent life. Just when he thought the pain was over, just when he thought he built something with his own hands, a place he felt he belonged, it all came crumbling down like a house of cards...
"Never build castles on sand" she said
"Don't let the wind blow your mind" she said
"Love is like fire and deep as the sea"
Nobody told me that it would hurt me...
"What the HELL do you mean they eloped?" Felix asked while an absolutely horrified Sheba put both hands on her mouth as if to prevent a demon from coming out. Felix's stern expression had transformed to a mixture of surprise and anger. As everyone knew, he loved his sister above everything, perhaps even Sheba, thus was easy to fathom why he was utterly furious at her for her recklessness.
"I never thought she would go that far."
Sheba's voice revealed more guilt than sympathy and that is what caused Isaac to glare at her before saying his piece...
"I highly doubt that... as it is you she confided with all her troubles on the matter..."
Sheba was stunned. Could it be that the Venus Adept had overheard them that night? As words eluded her she tried to peer into his mind despite having promised not to.
"Don't even try that on me!" he said. Having experienced Ivan's Mind Read it was a piece of cake for him to notice Sheba's psyenergetic aura.
His eyes were cold, so unusually cold. How could the gentle-hearted Isaac they all knew become like that in just over a month. More importantly why didn't anyone notice? Was everyone too busy to help him, to understand him, to comfort him? Was really fate so cruel to repay kindness with betrayal? The realization hurt her more than anything. The poor thing didn't deserve to be played with like that.
"I'm sorry...but...I...I didn't..."
"Is that true Sheba?" Felix's rage had reached it's peak. He wasn't particularly fond of Jenna being married to Isaac, despite him being a childhood friend and not to mention, a kind young man, a hero and the only one worthy to be called a rival. But to elope? To abandon everything, her husband, him and their parents, whom until recently thought dead... all for what? Garret? Her escaping with that buffoon made it all the more painful.
"Yes..." The blonde girl replied. "Jenna and I discussed a lot about this..."
"And you all played this charade behind my back... "
"We...I...didn't want to lie like this to you...but.."
"I know...Jenna is like a sister to you." His words, devoid of emotion as they were, made Sheba wish he blamed her. After all...she was, at least partly, responsible.
"What are you going to do?. Because, If all you want to do is sitting here hopeless, I will bring my sister and that bastard back...dead or alive."
"You needn't do a thing Felix. I'll go after them..." Isaac's eyes kept staring at the void while he addressed Sheba.
"Do you know where they went?"
Sheba hesitated for a moment, then decided to be fair with him...for once...
"Imil...they said that they would go and hide there while they decided what to do."
"Then there is no time...we have to start packing. They are at least a week ahead." Said Felix already holding the doorknob.
"There is plenty of time and I will go alone..." Isaac had gotten up and the shape he was in was to be pitied. He had lost a lot of weight and he barely had the strength to walk. His hands were shaking, probably from the large amounts of liquor he gulped down every night at the tavern. His bloodshot eyes gave away the sleepless days and nights of the last weeks and Sheba thought that she saw some gray hair among his dim-colored blonde hair.
"You are in no shape to travel!" The Jupiter adept said fearfully.
Isaac paid no mind as he put tremendous effort in climbing the stairs to his...and once...Jenna's room. Felix and Sheba followed him, firstly to make sure that he didn't trip and hurt himself, but also due to curiosity.
He entered the room and let out a pained sigh as his gaze fell on the bed which he and his wife shared. He walked to his side and knelt on the floor while knocking on some seemingly loose boards. He lifted a couple of them to unveil his treasure. His Sol Blade, a wedding gift from Felix still shining like it was used yesterday, the Teleport Lapis, given to him by Ivan and a small bottle filled with Hermes's Water from Mercury Lighthouse. Without a second thought he opened the bottle and gulped down the healing water. Immediately the effect took place, gradually restoring his strained body. He opened the closet where he kept his clothes and armor.
"If I'm going to get changed I need to be left alone" The blonde man said without ever looking at the confused couple at the doorstep which then decided that it would be harmless for him to be left alone and went down to the kitchen.
He undressed tossing his liquor stained clothes on the bed not caring about the mess. It's understandable, he had more important things to worry about. As he stood naked, he gazed at his reflection in the mirror. He was only 22 but he had the battle-scarred body of a seasoned warrior..."All for her" he thought. That's right! He had started the whole quest mostly out of his desire to save her...the salvation Weyard was merely a coincidence. No matter! It was all in the past now and he had to pull the curtains, finally bringing an end in this farce of a life. He firstly put on a clean pair of pants and slipped on his Mythril shirt. He wore his Hyper boots and picked up his Valkyrie armor, grazed by the claws of a certain three headed dragon. While tying his armor he thought how odd it felt to be preparing like this when he had almost forgotten the warrior within him. For the first time in what seemed to him like ages he felt strong and confident. It was a welcomed change as he would need every ounce of courage to perform what he had in mind. He was almost done...he put on his Mythril helm and slipped on his riot gloves. After he tied the Sol blade's scabbard on his belt and wore his yellow scarf he grabbed the teleport lapis and went down.
Sheba and Felix's jaws dropped in awe as they found hard to believe their own eyes. Before them stood not the Isaac they left behind changing, but an Isaac they had years to see. Yes, this was the Isaac that stood at the top of Mars Lighthouse, the Isaac who defied the wise one, the one ready to sacrifice everything for Weyard, the one who helped save the world.
"Long time no see." Said Felix still not believing his eyes. But his joy was short-lived for when the Hero of Vale removed his helm he was the same broken man Jenna had left behind.
"Yes...I...suppose." Said the blonde man as he turned to the door. "Soon… everything will be as they should be..."
"What do you mean?" Sheba began to worry and for a good reason for she felt this would be the last she saw of him.
"I'm going now…"
"To Imil?" Asked Felix
"No...at least not right away..."
Felix looked puzzled
"I'm heading to the ruins of Sol Sanctum. My last journey began there, it's only fitting that this one does too." he said and opened the door. Just for a moment he turned around, with a mockery of a smile on his lips. "Goodbye" was the last word they heard from him.
"Goodbye...not farewell...not see you...nor I'll be back...but goodbye." Sheba felt a knot in her throat while her vision became blurry...He was leaving for good...but what was he thinking. What in Sol's name was he planning to do?
"Felix I'm scared..." she whimpered as tears run down her cheeks.
"It will be alright." he said while wrapping his arms around her in a soft tender embrace... "He won't do anything foolish...He'd better be."
Together with me you grew up my love
Together we gazed at the stars above
Someday you fled to uncharted seas
You and my friend brought me down on my knees
down on my knees
down on my knees
The blonde Venus Adept dragged his steps to the place of all origins, the Sol Sanctum. The chamber that once housed the key to the greatest power in Weyard, which in time, partly, became his own, lay now in ruins along with the rest of Old Vale. That was the place where he grew up, the place where he met her, the place where he lost her for the first time...Memories began to wash over him like a wave, memories soaked within the land itself. He remembered how they played together with Felix and...Garet. He still couldn't bring himself to despise the red-haired Mars Adept he was, after all, like a brother to him. Why would he do that? Did he love her that bad to stab his best friend in the back? He had both his parents, his siblings, Kay and Aaron, he was the grandson of the mayor, always to be kept safe and happy...but nothing was enough for him now, was it? No! He had to snatch Jenna away from him as well...He sighed for he knew that Jenna wasn't "taken" from him and he wasn't going to lie to himself about that. She left him on her own volition..."I love you too" she said to him. What about her? What did he ever do to her, to receive that kind of treatment? They both left, without a word...like thieves, they disappeared into the night. He felt what's left of his broken heart tearing apart even worse than before, but he cherished the pain...as long as he ached, he remained sane. He kept his wits about him this way and it was addictive. As his thoughts cleared more, he began to realize that he would never be the same. He could neither trust nor care for others like he used to...But that was in the past...soon answers would be given...that, or these questions would not matter anymore. By Sol, he was going to put an end to this. He closed his eyes as he held the Teleport Lapis and brought the image of Imil in his mind before he whispered [Teleport] and said goodbye to Vale.
"Never build castles on sand" she said
"Don't let the wind blow your mind" she said
"Love is like fire and deep as the sea"
Somebody told me that it would hurt me...
By the fireplace, sat the two Mars Adepts and Mia...The atmosphere was heavy, even heavier than the cold air whistling outside. Finally Mia broke the crystal silence.
"How could you? How could you both? To poor Isaac, and to leave with not so much of a well deserved explanation!"
Mia couldn't leave them out in the cold but was disgusted after hearing what had happened. It was rare for Mia to get angry but when she did...Sol forbid if you were the cause of it. Was is even possible for Isaac to have such a star crossed fate? Being betrayed by the wife and friend he loved the most? Jenna and Garet hung their heads in shame as befitted two adulterers. Mia would have kept letting them have it, before sending them straight back to New Vale, but a knock on the door cut her off at that.
Jenna and Garet's heart's skipped a beat...Could it be?
Isaac reached Imil late an night. His muscles had forgotten how cold it can get in the northern part of the continent, even in spring. He was finally there and he would act like a man to the end. Snow crunched under his boots and he could feel like he would collapse any moment now...NOT YET...his heart, his soul, his mind, his whole being shouted at him NOT TO GIVE UP. Not until he sees their faces. One more step, two...three.. he was finally standing in front of Imil Sanctum's door, ready to perform the hardest thing he had to do in his entire life. He took one deep breath and knocked...
Mia was ready to open the door when Jenna let out cry.
"Don't Mia. Don't open the door"
"Why? What are you afraid of?" the Mercury Adept found Jenna's paranoia quite irritating. "This is a sanctum and I am a healer. That could be an injured or sick person in need of help." she continued her scolding even as she got up and walked to the door..."You know, you are welcomed here (grabs the doorknob) but this is no time... (the door slid open slowly)... for childi... (door fully open)
Mia cut off her sentence and let out a gasp of sheer terror, firstly because the blonde man standing at her doorstep was none other than Isaac, but mostly because, dear Sol, the one who stood before her was a mere shadow of what he used to be. By Mercury, what had happened to him? The young man was fully clad in armor, the very same he wore during their last stand against the Doom Dragon. He stood proud and dignified as they all remembered...but his face...his face revealed the toll his wife's actions had taken on him. His deep blue eyes had been reduced to a pale shade of cyan, his cheeks had been sucked in, giving away the loss of weight the armor hid. His skin was ashen and gray hair appeared here and there among his once bright blonde hair. Garet was speechless as to how the man before them still stood, even bearing the extra weight of his armor... It seemed to him as if Isaac were a dead king ready to be buried with his weapons, as befitted a true warrior and though Isaac definitely wasn't a king, he was a warrior with no equal. Jenna was on the brink of tears seeing what misery her selfishness had brought to the man who loved her that much. Mia stood in awe noticing how calm Isaac seemed...at least, given the circumstances.
"Good evening Mia, It's been a long time." Isaac greeted her with a calm, gentle voice
"Hello Isaac it is...nice...to see you." she replied, still shivering in shock
"I see Jenna and Garet are here...May I...come in?"
Mia felt the sorrow in his voice, as he struggled to maintain his tone and keep his emotions at bay.
"Yes come in" She smiled while raised her hands to his right arm, helping him in.
"Pardon me!" He said. "...but your pity is not needed and is most offensive"
Had they heard right? Had Isaac spoken to Mia like that?. The cerulean haired girl was taken by surprise. Isaac had never talked to her like that...In fact he'd NEVER talked to ANYONE like that...
Turning to the Mars Adepts, Isaac continued... "I came here to tie the loose ends."
Jenna started to fear for her and Garet's life...no, that wasn't Isaac talking...It couldn't be...could it?
The blonde man then noticed Jenna's wedding ring...not on her finger but hung on a chain around her heck.
[Catch]
The next moment the wedding ring was on his right hand. Then he removed his, placing them both on his left hand. They were a pair of matching golden rings, his was engraved with flaming patterns and her wife's, adorned with vines. He weighted them in his palms and frowned at the weight of the bond they stood for, as well as the memories they carried. He took them on his right palm and the strangest thing happened. The metal began to change...from gold to silver...silver to bronze...and then from bronze to lead. He threw them both in the fireplace, watching them melt with a pained expression on his face, as if a part of him had been swallowed by the flames.
"Was... that... alchemy?" Mia saw it but couldn't believe her eyes...How could Isaac?,,, And then she remembered how a piece of the Golden Sun was sealed inside him by the Wise One after the lighting of Mars Lighthouse...but when did he?...
Her thoughts were distracted by the Venus Adept's voice, loud, clear and formal.
"With this, as of this day forward, I renounce my vows... you are no longer bound to me nor I to you."
Jenna felt as though she was stabbed in the heart by a hundred knives...Isaac, had just divorced her and in the most shameful of ways...
Garet awaited, as is was his turn to take the hit...He had divorced Jenna, but how was he going to break ties with him?
"Garet, I once thought of you as a brother thus I gave you my sword, the Gaia Blade, a token of our bond. I'm here to reclaim it, along with any intention of friendship towards you."
It was the red-haired man's turn to feel the cold rejection in Isaac's words...But he deserved it and he was going to take it like a man.
Garet reached to his left, picked up the sword that leaned against the wall and passed it to Isaac. The blonde man unsheathed the blade and held it as he would a child. Then, he dropped the sword on the floor with a disgusted expression, written on his face. It was, as if his friend's betrayal had tainted the sword, which had saved his life so many times, beyond repair. He then drew his sword and hammered it down on the other, shattering it to small pieces.
"As of this day, you are a stranger to me, Garet. We have no obligation to each other, all bonds broken, all debts repaid."
Garet couldn't help but give in to tears, just as Mia and Jenna had already done.
"My job here, is done. I will leave now, for I feel I've overstayed my welcome." He said while averting his eyes, but Jenna saw the wet marks on the wooden floor.
"Where are you going?" The fiery red-haired girl, struggled to finish the sentence between sobs...
But Isaac was ever-unyielding...
"I'm afraid, my love, this is none of your concern anymore." and he opened the door.
The cold wind barging in made their tears all the more unbearable. As he walked outside he felt it wouldn't be fair to leave her in the dark as she had done, so with his usual calm and gentle voice, he explained..."I have fulfilled my duty to the Wise One, I have taken my weight off of you, and "him"... so now...(he sighed)... I can finally return...where I belong."
Jenna sighed out of relief...that man was the Isaac she knew and loved.
"Are you going home?"
His answer shattered her heart, just as she had shattered his...
"No I'm not planing to return home...I've already said my goodbyes to Vale"
"Goodbyes?" Her eyes widened. "What do you…"
"This is the last you will be seeing me...this is...my final act of petty revenge" Tears running through his bloodshot eyes.
"No, you are not going to do anything like that, you just want to scare me...to pay me back" She was at her wits' end...
"Think what you will... It makes little difference to me." His voice as cold as the Imilian wind the moment he walked out, turned around and unsheathed his blade.
"Isaac! DON'T!" Mia screamed while running outside.
Don't do it man!" Garet, still crying like a child, sounded more like begging that asking.
Jenna, decided that she would have the last say in this. "Isaac! Put the sword down." She was screaming with all her heart while the pointed a dagger at her own throat. For a moment, she reminded him the stubborn red-haired tomboy he fell in love with... but she continued... "If you take your life now, you will be responsible for two more deaths."
Two more deaths! It was Isaac's turn to snap...
"You...you...you WHORE. You bear HIS child? For how long? Ever since we were still married? Why? What did I do to deserve your spite? Do you want me alive just to torment me? Do you hate me that much? ANSWER ME, YOU CURSED WOMAN!
"BECAUSE IT IS YOURS! You self-righteous BASTARD. When I realized I was pregnant with your child I felt happy because I realized I loved you...more than I've ever loved another man. Garret and I knew that we made a mistake...I thought, you would forgive us...that you would forgive...me... but he knew you better than I did. He knew you would think the child is his and that's why, out of fear of your reaction, he took me and ran...
"You almost had me there...But do you honestly think that I would believe any more of your LIES? Isaac was maddened with sorrow, anger and confusion. His voice swelled with bile and bitterness... "How do I know it is not his, after all the times you shared his bed with him...HUH?
"Because we never slept together man" Garet was trying to explain in between sobs and coughs "She and I never got that far...because...because of you. Please, don't do it. It's my fault...I pushed her...she loved you, Isaac…she still does! Don't punish her for my mistake...don't punish yourself...You renounced us but we still love you...Jenna loves her husband and I love my brother"
"You have some nerve to call me that after what you've done, especially, when I heard her say she loved you too...from her own lips at that...But I admit that you were right in one thing, Garet..." Along with his tone, Isaac, lowered his sword, causing the Mars Adept to let out a sigh of relief...but in vain, as he placed the point of his sword on his chest.
"…I don't believe you at all!" He then turned to Jenna. "I'll keep my end of the bargain...till death do us part my love."
Jenna screamed. "ISAAC, NOOOOOOO!" but it was too late as Isaac had driven the blade through his heart, all the way to the hilt.
"Never build castles on sand" she said
"Don't let the wind blow your mind" she said
"Love is like fire and deep as the sea"
Mother you told me that it would hurt me...
Mia couldn't help but stand there mortified and helpless as Isaac lay on his side, still impaled upon his own sword, painting the snow around him crimson, with his own blood.
"Isaac..." She muttered.
Jenna had given in fully to her grief and fell on her knees beside him. She drove the sword out of him, hands trembling, and tossed it aside. She was still screaming and crying while she placed Isaac on his back, while gently holding his head with one hand and trying to stop the bleeding with the other...vainly...
"NOOOO! ISAAC, DON'T DIE...PLEASE DON'T DIE…don't leave me alone...I LOVE YOU ISAAC! PLEASE, DON'T DIE!..." she screamed at the top of her lungs, but the deed was done...
Isaac gathered whatever little strength remained in him to lift his hand and place it oh her cheek, while he whispered, his final words...
"I will always... love...you...Jenna." he said and drew his last breath...
Jenna lost her grip on reality, her heart, her mind, her soul, her eyes all emptied at the same time...she was alone...at the dawn of their lives together, her Golden Sun had set...
Together with me you grew up my love
Together we gazed at the stars above
Someday you fled to uncharted seas
You and my friend brought me down on my knees
down on my knees
down on my knees