Fronts

by Mirai Akina

When a mishap during Dimension Witch's quest to learn Fate Space causes their healer, Erbluhen Emotion, to swap bodies with another Ain of another dimension, they both struggle to adapt to their new bodies. As they search for a way to switch back, they learn more about the world they were transported to, as well as the people who they travel with. Secret Santa gift to En!

Classes (World 1):

Elsword: Lord Knight

Aisha: Dimension Witch

Rena: Grand Archer

Raven: Veteran Commander

Eve: Code Empress

Chung: Tactical Trooper

Ara: Asura

Add: Lunatic Psyker

Elesis: Grand Master

Lu/Ciel: Noblesse/ Royal Guard

Ain: Erbluhen Emotion

Classes (World 2):

Elsword: Rune Slayer

Aisha: Elemental Master

Rena: Wind Sneaker

Raven: Reckless Fist

Eve: Code Nemesis

Chung: Deadly Chaser

Ara: Sakra Devanam

Add: Mastermind

Elesis: Blazing Heart

Lu/Ciel: Chiliarch/ Dreadlord

Ain: Arme Thaumaturgy

Aisha did not expect such a disaster to happen.

She was only supposed to search for several El shards that were the key to unlocking her "ultimate skill" as she calls it. The rest of the Elgang, in obligation, have offered their strength to help her, but since Glave has effectively banned them from interfering, she had dragged their healer and their leader, albeit a bit reluctantly, with her. The conditions were that Elsword would only protect her and Ain would only heal while she obliterated the monsters until she had found the El shards and mastered the spell. A few hoards in, the Dimension Witch finds what she's looking for and immediately starts to test her new ultimate on her unfortunate victims.

The first few times went moderately well, but it lacked the power to truly rend her foes useless. The fifth time she casts it though…

"Fate Space!"

Ain sets up a barrier to decrease the effects of her gravity-bending spell as rehearsed, with Elsword gritting his teeth at the bright lights surrounding the mage.

"Agh! I'm going to go blind at this rate!" he complains, shielding his eyes. The emissary chuckles at the knight's discomfort, even though he himself is looking behind his shoulder. "It seems like Aisha has almost mastered the spell, so hang in there."

"Why does she always have to drag me around? I feel like a guinea pig with the way she constantly tests her new skills on me."

"That's because you are, Elsword."

"You weren't supposed to answer that, Ain."

"Don't you think the reason she uses you is that you're the most durable person in the party?"

"Oh please! There's Raven and Eve and Ciel she can ask instead."

"Yes, of course she can. Why don't you tell her that then?"

The lord knight freezes up, and Ain feels his prodding finally breaking down the wall surrounding the stubborn blockhead's mind. Elsword catches that all-knowing smirk on Ain's face and simply scoffs to dissuade the healer.

"I mean I would, but I don't want anyone else in our group to have to go through this."

"Please, Elsword, drop the whole 'chivalry' act and just admit it already." Both men can feel the compression of the dome that they're in suddenly shift from crushing them to lifting them up into the air. A dazzling show of lasers descends onto the battlefield, decimating the hoard of demons surrounding them.

"Argh! The light, it burns!"

"...!" Ain senses that something's wrong. He feels lighter than usual as if he's reaching up to the sky. His head suddenly pulses with intense pain, and the last thing he sees is the shower of shooting stars heading straight towards his body.

…

"...in! ...in! Ain!"

Someone's shaking him. The senses at his fingertips report that he's touching clear marble. The rapid pounding of his head continues to beat him into submission, leaving him unable to open his eyes for several minutes. Eventually, when the pain lessens to a dull thud in the back of his head, he opens his eyes slowly…

And almost screamed.

"Ain…? You okay? You look-!"

"E-Elsword...what happened to your hair?!"

…

"E-Excuse me?!" Both the knight and the mage cringe at the harsh screech of the grand archer. Rena's eyes catch fire, and she strings her bow, two arrows aimed directly at her terrified teammates.

"Rena, wait! Calm down! Put the bow down!" Raven commands, watching as Chung and Ara struggle to contain the elf's anger, though their way of trying to calm her down is by waving their hands frantically. The rest of the party don't know if it's to block her view of Elsword and Aisha, or if it's just a panicked reaction.

"Elsword! You were supposed to protect not just Aisha, but Ain too! And Aisha! How can you lose control of your spell?!" Rena screeches, the deadly aura that rivals the darkness of the demons spiraling out of control. The knight snaps back, "I couldn't do anything! Do you think I can fight against gravity?!"

Aisha also shouts at the elf but in a more apologetic way. "I didn't mean to! There weren't any problems when I cast it the first few times!" Neither of their excuses appeases the archer, and her fingers start to slip, so close to releasing her arrows. The two of them clutch each other, shaking their heads in fear.

"Shut up. You guys are way too loud."

The party turns to the flight of stairs that hides the intruder to their conversation. Elsword thinks that it was Add who said that, but when the knight sees the white-haired boy next to Eve, a hostile sneer on his face, the redhead furrows his eyebrows at the voice. A familiar person steps before them, but the first thing that sparks a red flag is the neon blue eyes glaring back at them.

Those eyes widen a fraction before falling back to an apathetic stare. Rena rushes up to him, dropping her strung bow.

"You shouldn't be up. You've been hit with a powerful spell, and you need your rest."

"I'm not so weak as to get knocked out by a mere spell," Ain bites back. Eve, not happy about the way he speaks to the worried elf, retorts back with the same cold tone, "Rena is worried for your wellbeing, and this is how you respond? I did not take you for being an insensitive person, Ain."

"Your concern is wasted on me."

"W-What happened to you, Ain?" Ara sputters out. The emissary merely peeks at her with a cold glare before turning back to Rena. It is enough for her to feel the chills.

The tension starts to build between the members of the El Party. Before it can erupt with malicious anger, Elsword gathers the rest of the group and shoves them up the stairs to one of the rooms they rented. A moment of silence lapses before a storm of confusion and anger consumes them all.

"Aisha, what did you do to Ain?!"

"I don't know!"

"Why are his eyes bright blue?! Didn't he have green eyes?!"

"And what's with that horrible attitude?! Ain is always cheerful and playful!"

"Everyone, stop!" Raven cuts them off with another harsh command. "We need to assess the situation. It's clear that there's something wrong with Ain, but we don't know what exactly that is. In the meantime, we need to determine if he's well enough to fight."

The rest of the party nods. Finally set on a goal, they walk out of the room and down the stairs...only to find Ain glaring bitterly at them. Around him is a cluster of red Eids.

"Can someone explain to me why the hell I'm creating...these things instead of my spears?"

…

"I think Ain's lost his mind."

Elsword shakes his head as their supposably cold teammate marvel at Add's long ponytail. The scientist is having trouble shaking him off, and the other members of the party aren't doing much better at getting Ain away from Add's pristine white jacket.

"Elsword, what do you suppose we do?" questions Eve. The queen of destruction is as calm and calculated as ever, but there is an unfamiliar glint in her eyes as she observes Ain, someone who she's known as even colder and withdrawn than she, zip from member to member, raving about their "changed" looks.

The Rune Slayer can see that madness is already taking hold of his teammates. "We need to restrain him and then figure out something. That explosion at the water temple must have done a huge number on his head."

"So if we hit him again with the same amount of force, he'll revert back to normal? Very well. Let me handle this!"

"Wait, no! Eve, STOP!"

…

"So in short, you're from another El Search Party in another dimension, and the last thing you remember is a giant explosion at the water temple?" Aisha reads back her notes to Ain, who merely nods slowly. The Dimension Witch groans, knowing that she's the source of the problem.

"I don't think I have the power to swap people's souls, much less ones from other worlds, but that's the only thing that can explain this."

The goddess's emissary scans the party, bright blue eyes sucking in the worry from every person in the lobby.

Aisha puts on her best defiant face and proclaims, "I will fix this! All I have to do is recreate the same mishap as before and send Ain back!"

Immediately, the group erupts with a resounding, "NO!"

"Well, do any of you have any better ideas?!" the mage retorts back. They don't speak up this time. Ain, or Arme as he wants to be called to distinguish himself from their Ain, continues his blank gaze at the rather boisterous party.

"How can the Ain of this world tolerate such...tiring personalities? Despite having the same goal, they couldn't be more different than the El Search party that I know."

"Calm down, all of you," Arme speaks up, silencing the panicking bunch of adventurers. "While I understand your concerns, I think that is the best course of action. The sooner I switch back, the sooner I can continue my mission."

Elsword and the others weren't convinced. Arme can feel the waves of emotions in the tiny lobby, invading his blood and filling him with a foreign hostile chill. He shakily raises his hands and watches as they tremble. He wills them to stop, anything to halt that unfamiliar tide from consuming him.

Eve can see that Arme is struggling with their Ain's power. Before anyone can notice, the Nasod grabs his hand and drags him out of the inn.

…

"I'm so sorry about my teammates, Ai-, I mean Eru," Aisha stutters, slipping on his name. The healer only laughs softly and responds, "No, it's alright. They were only trying to help." He accepts the potion she gives him and chugs it down with a hearty gulf.

"Still, even though you and our Ain are the same person, you have vastly different powers and personalities." The Elemental Master looks away, as if embarrassed. Eru chuckles once again. Despite the drastic situation he's in, he relishes in the little things that reminded him of his friends, his family.

"Is my behavior making you uncomfortable, Aisha?"

The mage is quick to deny that. "W-What? N-No, of course not! It's just...it's different. Ain usually doesn't give a rat's ass about us other than if it interferes with our quest." He senses a bit of frustration in her voice.

"Sometimes, I wonder why he bothers to travel with us. He has more than enough power to do everything on his own."

For Eru, the answer is obvious, but for this El Search Party, it seems that they've been harboring this thought for a long time. Aisha's voice has softened to the point of sobbing, and the weak cracks in her words as she admits this tells of an inner struggle that the others either hide better than she does...or are refusing to confront.

And so, being the emotional anchor that he is, Eru walks up to Aisha and embraces her. He hears a gasp. Her body tenses, but Eru merely holds her gently and waits until she relaxes.

"I don't know why I'm saying these things to you. You probably don't care, and it's really none of your business, but it's just…there's something about you that makes it easy to say things like that."

This isn't the first time Eru has heard that. The blue-haired man flashes another gentle smile as if he understands what she's saying.

"I can't say for your Ain, but for me, it's because I owe Elsword and the others a lot. They made me who I am today. Thanks to them, I was able to see humanity's potential to do good even with all of their imperfect qualities."

The mage pulls away with a tight frown, and Eru realizes that their Ain didn't have the same epiphany as he did.

…

"Take deep breaths. Don't fight the tide of emotions building up inside of you. It'll only cause you more pain," Eve instructs. Arme, surprisingly, listens to what she says, slowly letting the trembling of his hands die down. In amazement, he takes note of how his body slowly absorbs the influx of emotions and turns it into energy. His fingers pop out a single blue Eid almost spontaneously.

"You seem well versed in this," Arme points out, observing his fingers as they produce more blue Eids.

"I assisted Ain in his training. He was like that too when he first started out."

Knowing that his counterpart of this world has developed emotions disturbs Arme a bit. He has no use for such unpredictable attributes and has viewed them as trivial in the grand scheme of things. So to learn that in this dimension, Ain actually uses them as weapons…

"Technically, that's not quite right."

Arme gives a confused glare at the empress, but her eyes remain impassive as she continues. "You were talking out loud. This power comes from the combination of the El energy mixing in with his power gifted from the Goddess. It is only amplified by the emotions he feels and from those around him. I remember something that he said to me one night when he was becoming frustrated by the strength of our enemies."

"The more I think about it, the more I believe that the reason why my powers are linked to my emotions is because that is what the goddess intended when she created me. My choices, my path...ultimately it is mine to choose on my own. She gave me a bit of her power, sure, but it's there for me to mold into my own thing. Something to call my own."

Arme keeps a thin frown on his face as she recalls the memory. The bitter smile on her face surprises him though, as his Eve tends to keep a straight expression regardless of what his party does.

For some reason, it irks him. This isn't right. This can't be a dimension that exists in tangent with his.

"Weak. Your Ain is weak."

Eve raises an eyebrow. Arme glares back with icy blue orbs.

"Everything about this is wrong. He's been led astray by the humans. And you guys...you are all too...too..."

He struggles to find the words that can illustrate his frustration, his denial. The Queen of the Nasods, with an unfamiliar twinkle in her eyes, only asks him a question as a response.

"If that's true, then why are you in the El Search Party in your world? Despite having great power bestowed to you by the Goddess, why do you still attach yourself to humans?"

…

The next day, Eru and Eve, their weapons specialist, find themselves in a pickle. The carefree healer is struggling to understand the powers of his counterpart, but even with Eve's guidance, he fails to produce anything other than the tiny spears he had started out with.

And so, they had to drag Chung into the picture. Though, to be honest, he looks like he's trying valiantly to hide his curiosity. Ara overhears their conversation and butts in herself, her knowledge with spears the only reason why she is able to stick around.

"Ain never lets us touch his projections, so I will not let up this chance to study them!" Chung says with an eager smile. Eve huffs and chides him, "Can you be any more obvious? I swear you need to act more your age. You're like Elsword when he meets new people."

"Come on, Eve. Aren't you curious too?"

"I admit that I am, but that doesn't matter. What's important is that we need to help him figure out how to use this power so that he is able to assist us in battle."

Eru lightly cringes at the dismissive tone she adopts when talking about her own desires. It is starting to become a disturbing trend among the members of this El Search Party. Ara must have thought the same thing, for she timidly says, "W-Well, I think it's good that Chung's motivated to help. Nothing like good ol' curiosity to make things faster, right?"

Chung nods with her, and Eve merely turns away, slightly flustered. Eru laughs, attracting the weird looks of his temporary teammates.

"I'm glad that all of you are willing to use your time to help me. Now, the main problem I have is that…"

They spend hours experimenting with different ideas that would help Eru manifest something resembling their Ain's standard loadout. Eve and Ara attempt to draw out the designs of the spears from memory, while Chung tests out his hypotheses on the structure of the weapons. In the end, the results are less than satisfactory.

"I'm starting to believe that these projections are just too complicated for me to replicate," Eru groans out. The rest of the group reluctantly agrees. They have added two more members to help out, Add and Rena, halfway through their experimentations.

"Tch...this guy's magic is unnecessarily complex," Add spits out, taking another swig of water. Rena is peering rather intently at Eru's blue-green eyes, prompting the healer to ask, "Is there something wrong, Rena?"

The Wind Sneaker leans back into her chair with a pensive stare. "I'm just trying to remember back when Ain first started to change his fighting style. I'm sure you recall how you had a mixture of different techniques when you first joined the party."

"Yes, that's right."

"Well...around the time that he began to focus on projections...something about his personality changed."

The other members, having joined the party fairly late, all tilt their heads at this new piece of information.

"You mean he was different when you first met him?" Ara questions.

"Yes, he was more willing to help. Wait, that's not exactly right. He was...more tolerant of Elsword's eagerness to help. I don't exactly know what caused the change, but it definitely happened early on in our journey."

Eru's carefree demeanor evaporates when Rena brings up that time. The time of heavy doubt for his mission, the time where he can feel himself slowly sink into an icy lake of distrust and...resignation.

"It was Wally," he says, the grim tone of his voice foreign even to Eru's own ears.

"Wally?" the elf reluctantly echoes back.

"Yes, him. After learning of his connection with Banthus, my spirit began to question why the Goddess would choose to protect this world. Humans are weak, willing to backstab each other for their own selfish needs! That's what had circulated my mind as I continued to travel with Elsword and the others. Even when it was clear that we were going to be used, Elsword still dove headfirst with a trusting smile and little hesitation. And at first, I couldn't understand it. I couldn't comprehend why we should have to put up with these other humans. My obsession with my mission began to consume me."

As he talks, the group grows increasingly uncomfortable. Ara has taken to fiddling with her spear. Rena twirls the end of her long ponytail. Chung averts his gaze. Only Add and Eve seems indifferent to his words.

"But then, something clicked inside of me. Naturally, when I don't understand something, I try my hardest to come up with an explanation. And with that mindset, I began to notice things about them, tiny details that I would have missed otherwise. These small quirks help my friends develop and grow stronger. Despite having vastly different personalities, they all fought for the same goal with the same amount of determination.

When I realized this, I felt emotions blooming within me, and I had transformed into a human, into one of them."

The room was silent for several minutes. Eventually, the elf speaks up bitterly, "I envy your Rena, Eru."

"As do I," Chung adds in. He swings his cannon over his shoulders and leaves the workshop. Ara calls out to him feebly, dashing out to chase him.

Eve wisely doesn't choose to say anything. Add, on the other hand, lifts Eru up by the collar, a nasty glare darkening the manic purple of his eyes.

"Put him down, Add. He did nothing wrong," Rena chides, but it sounds like she's struggling to adopt her motherly attitude that she used to have. The Mastermind drops Eru back into his seat and leaves with exaggerated steps. The Wind Sneaker sighs and turns back to the healer.

"I'm sorry about that, Eru."

"I-It's no problem at all."

"Eru, are you alright?"

No. No, he isn't. Even with the anger hanging around in the air, Eru can't feel any of it. This body that he's trapped in feels so cold, almost to the point of numbness. His heart doesn't stir or twist in grief when they left the room.

Eru understands what this Ain has become, and if he had his own heart, it would break for him.

…

"Arme, heal!"

"Arme, set up the healing area here!"

"Arme, hurry up! I can't take any more of its attacks!"

The aqua-eyed emissary feels himself twitch at the incessant requests of his teammates. With more effort than he would like to use, Arme lets forth a dome of yellow energy. Being the fifth time he has done this within the past hour or so, the motions become clockwork. He watches with unhinged disgust as the party huddles together in the warm light.

Despite Arme's lack of training with Eru's powers, he insisted that they continue on their mission. What he didn't account for was that they are actually ahead of where his original party is. The team's training for their ultimate skills was actually in preparation...for facing the demon general, Scar.

His bafflement when he realized what the next step in their mission was had sent the entire El Search Party in a panic. Nearly everyone insisted that they return Arme back to his dimension first, but with no idea on how to do that and his ever-growing annoyance for his well-being, they ultimately relent.

Now, though, Arme is starting to regret his own persistence. The way that the party fights is starting to wear down on his stamina, which is ludicrous because he's known to endure a lot more than this.

A loud screech snaps him back into the action. One of the twin demon generals, a female, is screaming in agony as Lu places her large claw on her face, slowly crushing her skull. The male demon is already dead, his body peppered with an incredible amount of bullets. Ciel stands by his master's side and waits for her next command. Satisfied with their work, the demon queen drops Jin's lifeless body into the lava.

The two doesn't spare Arme a single glance, as if they're purposely ignoring his presence. Lu and Ciel rejoin the rest of the party, making sure to stay far away from him. Arme can see the scraps of demon blood trickling down the sleeves on Lu's arm and the heavy bruise that Ciel is currently trying to hide on his stomach. On an impulse not of his own free will, Arme closes the distance between them and summons yet another healing field. The two stare on in wonder as the light patches up their respective wounds. Arme's breath comes out in heavy, drawn-out puffs, and before he can register it, he's crumbling to the ground in exhaustion.

…

Eru can tell that he did something wrong.

No one can make direct eye contact with him. When Eru asks about what their objectives are, he is only given the generic answer of "slaying demons." Elsword and Elesis have been gone for a full day now.

By the second day of this, he can't take it anymore. He wakes up when the sun barely rises and leaves the fancy inn they are staying in, heading towards the desert plains for a walk. He can see the wind-powered airship, Sandtilus, flying towards Sander, and Eru realizes that today must have been the day that they plan to take down Behemoth...and Karis.

Up ahead, Elsword and Elesis are running up to him.

"Eru, I see that you're up early," the Blazing Heart greets with a tired but cocky smile.

"Yes...is the reason why you guys were gone because…"

"Uh huh," Elsword butts in, "we decided to go ahead and tell the chief that he can send the airship over now. Oh, speaking of, we should tell you what exactly happened-!"

"No need. I've already done this before," Eru blurts out. The two redheads exchange a surprised look.

"You mean you defeated the Behemoth in your world?" Elesis questions incredulously.

"Yes...and Karis."

"That's amazing! If you and your friends can do it, then so can we!" Elsword exclaims. Elesis punches her brother lightly, chuckling when he opens his mouth to whine.

"Well, we should wake everyone else up. We'll see you in a few hours." The Sieghart siblings stroll past him, continuing some argument that Eru can't focus on, no matter how hard he tries.

Clutching his fist so hard that he breaks the skin, Eru glances up at the sky, covered by the massive airship, and bites his lips. The pain never comes, even after Eru applies more pressure with his teeth, and the healer is left just as numb as he did when he first awoke in this body.

He can't even cry or show his frustration about his whole situation. It's becoming harder and harder to talk about his own feelings, to hear his own thoughts. With a sharp turn on his heels, he sprints back to Sander.

He chases after the tiny speck of hope that he felt, the only trace of emotions he had experienced since switching bodies with Arme, when he saw Santilus soar through the blue skies. The key to returning back to his dimension is near.

…

Arme hasn't woke up for a full day.

The rest of the party is distraught. Besides going out to gather materials for stronger gear, the gang has been sulking in Lanox, waiting for their pseudo-healer to recover.

"You know, all of this has me thinking. Have...we been pushing Ain too far?" Aisha speaks up. Everyone else in the room all stare at the magical girl.

"You mean Arme or…?"

"No, the Ain that we know," the mage says, correcting Chung.

"We do rely on him to keep us energized," the archer points out. Add crosses his arms, mumbling, "Hmpt, I don't think that we are. And even if we did, he essentially asked for it. I don't ever hear him complain about anything really."

"That's true. He's the definition of carefree," Ara chimes in. By now, several frowns have started to spread to the adventurers' faces.

"But no one can be that easygoing. Even my brother has matured ever since he got involved in this war against the demons."

Elsword awkwardly rubs his head, not sure how to take his sister's comment about him. He clears his throat and joins the conversation. "Has he opened up to any of you about his personal problems? Anything at all?" The silence is enough to answer that question for him, but at the same time, a startling revelation is beginning to take root.

"We do rely on him too much. On everything, from the battlefield to the troubles of our hearts."

…

"Eru, are you sure about this?" Eve asks him again. The party has already entered the belly of the beast and are well on their way to tracking down Karis and Behemoth's heart. Eru struggles to keep up with their pace, considering that his role has shifted from healer to another attacker.

"Y-Yes, Eve. I'll be fine."

"I'm sure that I don't have to warn you again about what could happen to you."

He grimly nods. "Yes, I'm well aware. If I abuse this power too much, there's a possibility that I will lose my human side. It doesn't help that I'm getting more powerful as I use it."

"So the process is already starting."

"I'm trying not to think about it."

Eve takes a moment to think about her next words. She jumps up and summons a ring of spears that falls with her, piercing through the wings of several incubi. Eru draws back his arms and forms a projection of a large spear, waiting for the right moment when the incubus drops down to his height…

"Brocken Phantasm!"

It must have been a miraculous calculation because the moment he releases the arrow-like spear, a line of demons falls into its path, and his godly projectile impales them all into the wall.

"You know, I kind of understand why Ain chose the path that he did."

"His path?"

"Yes...the path of endless power. Only seeking to grow stronger and stronger for the sake of his mission. It's the same for me, but his power came at a price."

"He doesn't see it like that though."

"That's correct. Regardless, Elsword and the others have accepted his choice, even if it breaks their hearts to do so. We all try to adjust as best we could. You coming here has really brought painful thoughts to the surface of everyone's mind."

Eru tilts his head down. "I'm sorry."

"It is not your fault. Now come on, let's join the others."

When the healer looks up and sees Elsword waving at them, urging them to hurry up, he levitates himself over quickly, the Nasod queen not far behind him.

"So what's the plan, Eru?" Raven questions.

A flash of blue flickers in his green eyes. "Here's what we have to do."

…

Arme groans as the heaviness of his body keeps him planted to his bed. A hand is reaching underneath to cradle his back. It helps him sit up against the pillow, and Arme almost finds himself saying his thanks to the mystery person.

"You've driven yourself to exhaustion. Take your time."

That deep voice definitely belongs to Raven. Arme finally finds the strength to open his eyes, his vision focusing on the table next to his bed. The Veteran Commander hands him a glass of water. He accepts it warily, merely holding onto the cup. His mouth opens to speak, but Raven interjects before any of his words can come out.

"Whatever backhanded comment you're about to say can go shove itself into a demon's ass. You should have been more aware of your own limits, especially when using a power you're not familiar with."

Was...he getting lectured? He expected such a thing from Rena or Aisha, and the rather crude language Raven uses only manages to stun him further.

"I'll keep that in mind," Arme meekly replies back. It was the only thing he can say. "How long have I been out?"

"Two days. We don't know why you have been knocked out for so long."

Two days? Who knows what could have happened in that time? Has the demon general already summoned the demon god into this world? Pushing himself off the bed, Arme scans himself quickly, frantically needing to get back to stopping the demons.

"I know what you're thinking. The others have already gone to confront Scar. I volunteered to stay behind in case you wake up before they come back."

"They're going to fight him without their full party?! Without their healer?! Are they crazy?! With the way they fight, they won't even reach the fire priestess!"

Raven's eyebrows perk up at the unusual outburst, but he says nothing about it. "Yesterday, they trained themselves to not rely on your heals as much. It seems that they realize what a burden it is to constantly support them the way our Ain has been. Even though he has never complained or said anything, the strain has always been there."

Arme can say nothing. Raven picks up his blade and walks past him, stretching his shoulders as he heads out the door.

"It seems that you all aren't just a bunch of ignorant, foolhardy idiots."

Raven doesn't turn back, but a faint smile crosses his face. "Is that so? You're getting softer, Arme."

"It's only because of this body's bothersome attunement to human emotions."

"Of course it is. Now, let's go. We have a demon general to stop."

…

"Alright, everyone! The last blow! Put everything into it!" Eru commands. The air grows heavy with the stench of magic as every member musters up the power to unleash their most powerful skills.

Their vision is shortly blinded by a storm of rainbow colors. Karis screams as her core is assaulted relentlessly. Eru almost loses his footing as the room sways. Behemoth is certainly feeling the explosions inside of itself. Not wanting to let his teammates do all of the work, Eru summons forth several runes that spawns a giant ethereal spear. He grabs the projection and thrusts it into the bud-like core. A burst of raw energy engulfs the cavern, blindly him yet again.

"Aisha, teleport us out now!"

The Elemental Master promptly raises her staff and, fueled by the power of an El Shard, transports the party out of Behemoth's belly. As they move, however, Eru feels his soul separating from his body. It's finally happening. He can finally return-!

He never got the chance to say goodbye to the others as he blacks out once more.

…

Every part of Arme's body burns.

Catching up to the others isn't the part that tired him out. In fact, it was a brief walk past all of the demon corpses that the party has left behind. They found the fire priestess passed out on a platform along with the earth priestess. The blonde woman only gives them a passing nod before motioning to a portal that would teleport them to the final battlefield.

"That's Aisha's work," Arme identifies.

The two men step through and are immediately greeted with a blast of demonic energy. It sparks a fever pitch inside of Arme, and now he's once again struggling to calm himself enough to stay focused on the fight.

"W-What is this ridiculous power? If the general is this powerful, then I don't want to think about what would happen when the demon god descends."

"Arme! Raven!" calls out the elf. As if expecting them, Scar unleashes a wave of energy from his sword towards the two. The Veteran Commander dodges to the side, while Arme jumps up and levitates on a platform created from one of his projections.

"Everyone! This is it! Let's show him the results of our training!" Chung commands, although Arme isn't sure if he's talking to him or to the demon general.

Chaos soon erupts. The heat from Elsword's massive sword swings is amplified by the massive arrow Rena fires at Scar's head. A rain of shells bombards the demon's back as Eve takes this window of time to summon her most powerful bodyguard. A flock of crows descends just as a giant red sword pins Scar to the ground. An explosion of purple and white light ensues, and his vision quickly turns white. He can sense himself floating up to the darkening sky, his senses shutting down. An echo of the battle cry howled by everyone else is the last thing he can register before the blinding white light morphs into pitch darkness.

…

"Why do I feel so sore? I feel awfully drained…"

"He's waking up guys!"

"Shh! We don't want to overwhelm him!"

"Do you think it's Arme still or…?"

Eru can hear familiar voices around him, but his eyes stubbornly refuse to open. It takes several attempts to squeeze his eyelids before he can finally see a ring of people around his bed.

"Ain! You're back!" Rena cries out excitedly. The rest of the party all turn their worried gazes at the marvelous green eyes that belong to their healer. A collective gasp of awe releases from their muted breaths.

Eru registers the frilly dress that the elf is wearing, the regal gown that Aisha has helped Eve create, the knightly armor adorning the redheads' bodies. He's actually back! He came back to them!

Tears flow freely down his cheeks. The emotions that he longed to feel again consumes him whole. A loud wail erupts from his mouth as the party embraces him with happy smiles and ecstatic laughter.

…

Arme wakes up feeling cold.

At first, he thinks that he had passed on and that he is back in the Goddess's domain. But if that's the case, why is he laying down?

His ethereal blue eyes open to the sight of a dark room. No one is standing around the bed, waiting for him. He pulls the covers off and does a quick scan of his body. Light blue hair, long white pants, the horn-like back accessory. The cold rivers of power that permeates his entire being.

Yes, he has returned.

He walks out of the room and down the stairs, where he finds his El Search Party gathered around a table with a map in front of them. Several makeshift figurines are on the sheet of paper.

"Oh Ain, welcome back!" Elsword greets with a cheeky smile. The rest of the party stops their heated discussion to face the emotionless emissary.

"...Thank you, Elsword." Has this tension between him and the group always been here? How hasn't he noticed until now? He can't feel anymore, but that doesn't mean that the tinier details go unnoticed. The way Ara shifts awkwardly away. The way Eve gives him a guarded, but well-meaning nod.

"We're discussing the next mission that we have. We want to send a small group into the burned forest and investigate the surroundings," Chung informs Arme, scooting over to give him a spot on the floor.

"Burned forest…? Are we in Lanox?"

"Yes...you recognize where we are?"

Arme merely gives a nod, not wanting to elaborate further. Lu, while waving around a lollipop, informs him of their meeting with the fire priestess. For a split second, the memory of the betrayer flashes through his mind, and he slams a hand down onto the table, catching the attention of everyone in the room.

"Everyone, I need you to listen to me. The fire priestess cannot be trusted."

Seeing that the group wants to protest, he prepares a cold gaze that quickly shuts down any objections they have. When Rena asks why, he makes sure that no one else can eavesdrop on their conversation.

"She is working with the demons."

"Why would a priestess side with the demons? She of all people should know what's at stakes," Aisha immediately retorts back.

With all of the chaos that has happened in the other dimension, Arme never got the chance to ask about her motive. Personally, he doesn't think that any reason she spills out will justify her betrayal.

"I do not know the reason, but...you have to believe me."

His teammates have a wary gaze that they struggle to hide from his blue orbs. An air of nervousness hangs over them as if they're expecting someone to ambush them now.

"Okay, understood. We will keep a close eye on her," Elsword finally says. The rest of the party gives him an incredulous stare. Even Arme expresses his own shock with a sudden jerk of his shoulders.

"Elsword..."

"Don't worry, Ain! Your instincts haven't proven themselves wrong yet! And I know that you wouldn't say anything unnecessary."

A quiet gasp of disbelief is forcibly pushed out of Arme's throat. Giving in, Aisha crosses her arms and solemnly agrees, adding in that they should keep their distance with the fire priestess. To this, however, Arme shakes his head.

"No, we do nothing. We let ourselves fall into her trap."

This time, the party can't resist the outraged cry that escapes them.

"Listen to me. We don't know much about her motives or of our surroundings. Our goal in this city is unknown, other than a lead about burning landscapes and a giant demon. I propose that we should let her lead us around. Her mission is to ultimately lure us to the heart of the demon's base and feed us to the masses. Even if she betrays us, she will give us what we want."

Add smirks, finally catching on to the plan. "So we make her think that she has the advantage when really, we're using her."

"That's correct. And when she decides to show her true colors, she can't possibly stand up to all of us."

Ara nervously sweats at the deviousness of his plan. Raven lets out a hearty laugh as he says to Arme, "This sounds like something a human would think up."

Before, just the mention of being compared to a human would have him glower at them with a glare as icy as a full-blown blizzard.

So when Arme only lets a fraction of his lips curve up in response, his teammates came close to questioning his sanity...and theirs.

…

"Are you sure we have everything? Do you have enough potions?" Eru frantically digs through each person's bag, making sure that the party is well prepared for what's ahead.

"Ain, don't worry about it. We triple checked everything," Elsword says as the group chuckles. The healer lets a small pout form on his face.

"I feel like I haven't done anything recently. You guys seem to have everything under control."

Raven places his Nasod arm onto Eru's shoulder. "That's because we want you to take it easy for the next few days. You've just come back, and we want you to recover your strength."

"I'm fine really!"

"Please Ain," Ara pleads, clasping both of his hands. Ciel takes that moment to take Eru's bag, while Aisha and Lu pushes him into the center of the group.

"Since it's going to take a while to get to the Distant Ruins, how about you tell us about that other dimension you got transported to?"

"T-There's really nothing that interesting…"

"Did you encounter another Aisha? What was she like?"

"Yeah, did you meet our counterparts?! Come on, tell us!"

Eru shakes his head and smiles. He will never get used to their enthusiasm.

"Okay, okay, calm down everyone. One question at a time."

…

The door to Arme's room creaks open slowly. The emissary doesn't turn from the window to see who the visitor is. A weighty silence hangs over the two as they wait for someone to break the silence.

"Good evening, Ain. Are you doing alright?"

Arme swiftly turns his gaze to the door. "You."

"Yes, me. I see that you've cooped yourself up in your room again." Lu's bodyguard twirls a dagger in his hand, channeling his anxiousness into them.

Nothing about Arme's expression changes. "I'm merely adjusting myself back into this world."

"Understandable."

A lengthy pause. Arme has returned his gaze to the scorched plains outside the window.

"Should I assume that you're too occupied to tell me to scram?"

"...I've met another El Search Party in that other world. They were the same people, and yet they're not."

Ciel raises one eyebrow but doesn't open his mouth to interrupt. The last thing he wants is to ruin this once-of-a-lifetime chance of being in Ain's presence without being insulted or sneered at.

"They had different personalities. Different connections with each other. They were also immune to my stinging words. One of them even had the nerve to scold me."

He faces Ciel again. His cyan eyes are as blank as ever, but there's something else tainting his indifferent posture.

"And yet, even as annoying as they are, they were able to bring up a question even I struggle to find the answer to. Why exactly am I still here, dealing with the affairs of humans? Why am I relying on their strength to complete my mission? The answers to these questions elude me, and I do not know what to do."

Ciel can feel the shock running through his body. Is Ain...opening up to someone? And to him, a servant to a creature that Ain clearly despises? Arme probably senses that he probably won't get an answer, for his gaze is drawn away yet again.

"I cannot answer those questions for you, Ain," Ciel finally says. "But I do know that if you continue to lend your strength to Elsword and the others, they will come to you."

Ciel leans against the door, gazing at the angel with a smirk. "The others want to know that, too. They've done a good job of hiding it from you, but after you swapped bodies with Eru, the other Ain, it's hard for them to shove it back down, their true feelings about you. They want to get to know you better as a person. They wish to include you in their lives. And you are the only thing preventing them from doing so."

"I'm afraid that their hopes will be quickly dashed. There is nothing about me that will interest them."

Ciel's smirk grows. He extends a hand out to the emissary as if he's handing out an invitation from the devil.

"You can start by telling us what happened in that other world."

Arme regards the hand stretched out to him with as much wonder as his stoic face can express. He places a gloved hand over the open palm...and lets himself be dragged away from his dark room.