Prologue

After he died, I was filled with unbelievable rage and grief. His death was the catilyst to my miserable attempt at trying to become a man I wasn't, and probably never will be. So it had only made me more bitter, that Capell had immediately taken Lord Sigmund's place, literally had become Sigmund, whereas, I was pushed off to the wayside. That's how I had seen it then, anyways.

What stung most was not so much that the others had approved of Capell's leadership more than my own, but that I knew, deep down, that Lord Sigmund had chosen Capell as his confidant and favored successor of the title 'The Liberator' instead of me. To look at Capell's face after that, a face that resembled his so much, it was excruciating. So I had brooded, stewed in my fury, my pain and self pity. I am still ashamed of my behavior up to this very day.

I will never be sure if the Lunar Rain was wholly responsible for my transformation into that... monster, or if my mental state, at the time, had contributed to it at all. I shudder whenever I recall the incident in Kolton. I can hardly bring myself to show my face there. Last month, on a trip to Kolton Palace, I had shrunk away from any unnecessary outdoor activities and remained in a depressed, irritated, state that I couldn't seem to shake until hours after we had left the chilly city. How couldn't I? Going to the place where all one's mistakes had collided into a single horrible disaster probably wouldn't be anyone's choice thing to do. But going to play politician at aforementioned place had to be my own personal hell, comprised of boredom, depression and regret.

The leaders of their countries, as well as their advisers, had convened in Kolton to determine the borders between the nations, which had grown somewhat blurred due to the turmoil the chains had caused, but also, to negotiate the preservation of Capell and Lord Sigmund's homeland, the nation of Casandra. Since most of us were friends and former comrades; Aya, Emir of Fayel, Eugene, Emperor of Halgita, and myself, King of Burgusstadt, delegations went rather smoothly. Except with the new King of Kolton; a man named Jeris who saw no reason to leave Casandra alone and kept bringing the damned issue up for delegation. I had almost snapped more than once at that meeting, usually when the pompous little shit openned his mouth.

The place had reminded me, not only of my transformation, but also of Capell. Kolton was the birthplace of our brief but strong friendship. Remembering just how short it was darkens my mood further.

For some reason, the fact that I hadn't seen him die with my own eyes lead me to believe that there was some small sliver of hope for his survival and return. But I have stopped waiting for him. One of the few things that was worse than losing my hero, I have learned, was losing my best friend. Capell was a hero, that's for certain. But he was more a friend to me, more... flawed, more human, than I had ever seen Lord Sigmund act.

But Capell is dead.

My friend is dead, and I am coming to fully accept that. However, from my correspondence with Aya, it seems she is not giving up hope yet, she had said in one of her letters that she still looks over her shoulder 'expecting to see his stupid, big, fat head there.' I know what that's like. The first few weeks after Veros was defeated I had been unable to accept that Capell was gone. Hell, She had seen how I handled accepting Lord Sigmund's death.

All of us have lost. I have become good friends with the bizarre Kolton native, Kristofer, who still watches over his beloved Seraphina and surprisingly, no longer flirts with anyone. I have had a few pleasant conversations with Komachi, who still grieves for the loss of her friend, Touma, in her own quiet way. I still visit Rico and Rucha, who had lost their father and no matter how strong they seem, they really are just kids, ones who will now grow up with a memory instead of a real dad. Vic, who had lost a brother to his own Lunaglyph, is now my assistant. I keep tabs on Balbagan who lost a friend in Sigmund and Capell as well as his wife and child to The Order. Dominica, who I have just learned had unrequited feelings for the late Emir, Aya's father. Kiriya, now my most entrusted advisor, lost a friend and mentor in Savio.

Kiriya.

I hadn't realized the new addition in Capell's troup until after I had woken from the short bout of unconsciousness that had followed my defeat. After all was resolved with Capell, I had been making my way back to my room, in high spirits, when I literally bumped into someone; someone fair and clever, clad in green with long blonde hair that looked as soft as corn silk. Do you know what his first words to me were?

"Finally awake but might as well still be unconscious with how oblivious you are."

I had laughed. I don't think that was the reaction he was going for. His disgruntled face was even funnier so I laughed more. I'm sure I didn't make the best first impression on him. But oh well, he tolerates me now. Like I tolerate his stupid hat, and I could do without his usual frown as well. But his snark and the way his dark brown eyes flash when he's excited, intrigued or angry is something I have grown accustomed to and extremely, almost unsettlingly, fond of.

It was strange and embarrassing for me, at first, to realize that I liked a man in any way different than a comrade, friend, or brother. Much more, a man five years my senior! Aya had teased me when I had confided in her about it, saying things like"I always thought you paid too much attention to Lord Sigmund for it to be completely innocent." Alright, my relationship with Sigmund wasn't like that at all, it was pure and simple hero-worship. Who wouldn't be a little fanatic about Lord Sigmund? He was a great man who did many fantastic things!

But anyway, throughout the time we have worked together, whether to fight or to rule, my attraction to Kiriya has grown into more. My crush on him is nearly impossible sometimes to cover up. Each time he comes around I can't even look at him or else I start to stutter and resemble a human tomato. I don't think he knows about it yet, and I prefer to keep it that way until I, as Dominica put it, 'grow some balls' to tell him about my feelings. Right, like she has the right to tell me that with her romantic history.

AN: Alright! This is SinGrin! I'm kind of nrvous and that's why there's an exclamation mark after every sentence I type! Yay! So what do you guys think? I'm going to continue writing anyways but I just wanted to hear your thoughts. By the way, if you haven't played Infinite Undiscovery, I highly recommend it. It's a freefighting JRPG made by Square Enix for the XBOX360 (weird right?)