Summary: Yes or no. Such simple words yet they hold so much power. For Zelos, they will determine his destiny.
"Oh Chosen One, you are so funny!" a young teenage girl said hugging me around my middle, obviously drunk. She looked as if she was about eighteen years old, probably too young for me, a twenty year old man, to have as a girlfriend. But hey, she's here for the same reason as I, to have a good time. Isn't that what a bar is all about?
"Now, now, my darling little hunny, let's not get carried away," I said wrapping my arm around her, causing her to giggle drunkenly as she leaned onto my shoulder.
"Damn you, Zelos Wilder! How in the world are you able to be so lucky!" a man beside me who had one…or five…too many glasses of alcohol. "Why don't you help me get a girl and I'll buy you a couple of drinks, huh?"
"I'm not too sure. I have so many other duties to attend to I may not have time… Being the Chosen of Mana can be a tiring task," I said raising my glass in the air jokingly…sort of.
The bartender in front of me let out a hearty laugh and slapped me on the shoulder. "Yeah, I would have a hard time too if I was rich, powerful, and had all the women in the world at my feet, begen' to take me home at night!"
"You got it," I said taking another gulp of beer. "Next round's on me!" I yelled to the entire bar. A deafening roar of celebration spread throughout the bar. Within seconds, six waiters were running out of the back room with trays of jugs, bottles, and anything else that could hold alcohol of some sort. I looked out the window, wondering if I should remain here for a little while longer before heading back. Hey? Why not? It's not like I have anybody to go home to. Sure, Sebastian was there, but he was a butler. If I didn't pay him, he would be gone in a heartbeat.
I flashed my trademark wink and smile at the hoards of people who were standing outside the window, hoping that the Chosen had decided to come that night like I did a week ago. The front row of girls started to turn red and giggle, while the smallest of the group flat out fainted by my pure sexiness. Many men that also crowded around the large window sent me thumbs up signs in good health, which I responded with by raising my glass in the air in salute.
While still laughing, I continued to scan the swarm until I got to the very left, where my eyes seemed to freeze in place. A woman dressed in rags watched me from the window, but unlike any of the other women that stood there, she was not smiling, waving or anything. She just stood there with her arms wrapped around a bundle of rags, staring. After a moment, I noticed the bundle begin to move, almost in a squirming nature. Seeing that I was confused, the woman slid off some of the rags to reveal what it held. It was a small child, probably no older than a year old. Though I was far away from the window, I could tell that the baby was shivering, finally beginning to cry for being out in the cold. The woman looked at me with pleading eyes, asking me silently to save her. For a moment, all I knew were the baby and its mother. I almost stood up, but I was yanked back to my seat by the bartender who gave me a jolly smile.
"I propose a toast!" he yelled, jumping up on top of a table so everybody could see. "To the Chosen of Mana! May he live a happy and prosperous life! As if he didn't already have one," he said as a chorus of laughter rang through the room. "To the Chosen!" he yelled rising up his cup.
"To the Chosen!" the whole bar echoed back to the man.
The fools. They had no idea how my life should be. I am the Chosen, my job should be to serve them, not the other way around. But who is the real fool here? Them, or me? I relish the attention. I soak it up like a sponge. I want to feel as though I matter, as though I'm loved. Yet it isn't Zelos Wilder they love. The Chosen is who they love, the high aristocrat who is second in power to only the King himself. Who cares about Zelos Wilder? Only the Chosen matters…
I looked down at my cup that had been placed in front of me. Despite the various smudges that covered it, I could still see my face in the glass. Yet it was contorted, hard to see, and ugly. I could almost swear that I was looking in a mirror for the first time, at what my life was truly like, and what it had been filled with. Fights, betrayal, pain, death… When I looked back to the window where the woman had been standing, she was gone.
"To the Chosen," I said sadly, taking a small sip from the glass.
I walked through the doors into my mansion, trying my best not to think of the woman that had been outside the bar. Halfway home, I had preformed a spell to get rid of most of the alcohol in my body. My body was fine, but that still didn't make me feel any better.
"Master Zelos, I bid you good evening. Or should I say good morning?" Sebastian said as I walked into my house. I stole a glance at the large grandfather clock that I hardly really paid attention to those days. It showed that it was well past two o' clock already. Guess I had been out longer than I had thought.
"Ah, you know me Sebastian. The ladies just won't let me go without me giving each of them a goodnight kiss," I said putting on a fake smile that seemed to show up on its own nowadays. When you've been through as much politics and lies as I have, you tend to learn how to become a really good actor. "So…how's it going?"
"Everything is running smoothly, I finished yesterdays chores at about ten o' clock, and now I am getting a head start on today's," he said giving me a slight bow.
"Ah, get some rest for a little while. Or at least relax. That's an order," I said before he could argue. He gave me another small bow to show that he understood.
Fully satisfied, I began to go head for the stairs, yet stopped as my eyes found themselves gazing at the painting that was on my wall. It wasn't a really skillfully drawn picture, yet there was no denying the woman's beauty that was in it. An image of a snowman flashed through my mind, and soon after a woman bleeding on the snow white ground. I tore my eyes away from it and continued to climb the stairs to my room before any more of those horrible memories could fill into my head…
I opened the door to my room and closed it softly with my eyes to the ground. When I looked up…well let's just say that I was surprised. In my room was a woman with greenish hair and sharp piercing eyes. The thing that startled me the most about her was that she had wings. Not real ones or anything, but golden and mechanical, which only added to her frightening appearance.
I took a step back and cursed silently that I didn't have my sword with me. "Alright, I've had a lot of woman 'accidentally' wander into my bedroom, but for some reason, I don't think you want the same thing they did," I said as I began collecting mana for a magic attack.
"Relax Chosen, I have no intention of fighting or even harming you," the woman said in a relaxed, almost business like voice. "I would just like to talk."
"Alright…then would you like to stay for some milk and cookies?" I asked sarcastically, still gathering mana. She looked at me sourly before she reverted back to her previously cool state.
"I've been sent here by my master to strike a deal with you Chosen, one that you'd be a fool to decline."
"Sorry, but my mother had always told me not to make deals with women with motorized wings," I said in a smug manner.
"I'm surprised that you still remember your mother. How long has it been? Fourteen years?" she asked with a wicked smile. My arm dropped and my magic attack diminished. Ouch…
"Who are you and what do you want?" I asked as my hand went into a fist at my side.
"My name is Pronyma, and as I said, I'm here to strike a deal with you on the behalf of my master. Do you know a girl by the name Sheena Fujibayashi?" she asked turning toward the window at the night sky.
Me? Forget Sheena? I guess this woman doesn't know me as well as I thought.
"Yeah, she's from Mizuho and was sent to assassinate Sylvarant's Chosen of Mana." It was a month after she left that I actually found out that she had been sent to Sylvarant. When I did find out, let's just keep it with I was pretty pissed off. "Is she okay, was she killed?"
"No, she is just fine, for the moment at least. Miss Fujibayashi was… unsuccessful in her assassination attempts, and is no longer capable of killing the Chosen," the woman said, as if trying to find out how to place her words.
"You know, if you want to make a deal with someone, it's usually a wise decision to tell them the whole truth," I said stiffly.
"Please Chosen, all will be revealed to you if you agree with my standards," Pronyma said. "Well, Sylvarant's Chosen and her group have decided to come to Tethe'alla and…"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Wait a second. We were told that Sylvarant didn't know about Tethe'alla," I interrupted. "How did they figure it out?"
"Later Chosen. Well, my master has use of Sylvarant's Chosen of Mana, and there's no doubt that the government would kill Sylvarant's Chosen without a second thought. We need you to save her if it comes to that. She could quite possibly be traveling all over Tethe'alla, so we need someone we can count on to protect her."
"You said that the Chosen was traveling in a group, why don't you ask one of them to protect her for you?" I asked leaning back on the wall.
"The Chosen's group and my master don't particularly see eye to eye, so that is why we are asking you," she said shrugging.
"Hey, timeout. You've been talking about your 'master' for quite some time now. Just who the hell is this guy?" I asked.
"Would you like to meet him?" she asked me. I raised my eyebrow and the next thing I knew, I had left my mansion. Instead, I was now in a large room with a long table in it. On the other side of the table was a tall man with wings also. Yet this time they were actual wings that seemed to be a part of his body, although they seemed to be made more of light than flesh. They were huge and pink, yet despite their color, he still seemed to have a powerful aura around him that made me take a step back. His hair was about as long as mine, but more strait and blonde. His blue eyes seemed to not have any emotion in them at all, freezing my blood to ice.
"Lord Yggdrasill, I have brought you Tethe'alla's Chosen as you requested," Pronyma said next to me.
"Ah, so we finally meet the Great Zelos Wilder. Allow me properly introduce myself. I am Yggdrasill, leader of Cruxis," the man said, not taking his eyes off me the whole time.
"Hey, Cruxis is the holy organization that aids Martel. Are you telling me that you work for the Goddess?" I said with a gaping mouth.
"I suppose you could say that I work for Martel. But let me assure you, I am the true leader of Cruxis. I trust that Pronyma has given you the details of our predicament?" he asked flying closer me and the woman beside me.
"Well, everything except the part where it helps me," I said trying not to act frightened. Not that I was of course…
"Ah yes, I guess that would be of use. Tell me Zelos, would you like to be a normal person?" he asked me.
I couldn't help but laugh. Me? Normal?
"I'm the Chosen of Mana, why would I ever want to be normal. I have money, power, and if I might add, every woman I could ever hope for!"
"And isn't a shame that while one man can have all these things, he still cannot be happy?" he asked smirking. I stood there in utter disbelief. How did he know?
"Zelos, please, listen to what I have to say. If you agree with my standards we both win. I trust you know what the regeneration ritual is truly about. If I get Sylvarant's Chosen of Mana, Tethe'alla is saved from its Mana depletion, which will in turn save all people in Tethe'alla. Not only that, but you will be able to abandon your responsibilities as a Chosen. Yes Zelos, I can make it so that no one needs to be a Chosen of Mana. You will be able to do what you want, when you want, how you want," he said approaching (flying toward?) me and stopping a couple yards away from me.
I had to admit, this all seemed too good to be true. I quickly pinched myself, just to make sure that all of this was really happening. But there had to be a catch…
"Ah, I'm not to sure," I said cleaning my ear, acting as if I didn't care.
"Then why don't I offer you something else. Let's shift the conversation toward your sister, Seles," he said. I whipped my head around to face him. He smiled, glad that he had finally gotten my attention. "Such a sad girl, losing her mother, her father, and is sick half the time she wakes up in the morning. I have been watching you for quite some time Zelos, I know how you think and what you feel, even when you attempt to hide it. I know you care for your little sister. I have the ability to cure her so that she doesn't need to be at that abbey. She can be just as free as you can. She'll finally love you. It's everything that you've ever wanted. All you have to do is side with me."
I could hardly believe that all of this was actually happening. He's promising me all this stuff that's just damn near impossible, but what if he really does have the power to do it?
"Tethe'alla will forever be in prosperity. Every single living creature that lives in your world will be saved for all eternity. Come now, do it for Seles, do it for Tethe'alla," Yggdrasill said beckoned me. "Here's your chance for that fun, easy life that you've always wanted…"
Every single living creature? The woman and her baby that stood outside the pub flashed in my mind. I could save everybody… Seles, the Royal Family, even that Pope that hates my guts. All I had to do was say yes…then all I've ever wanted will come true. Just one… simple…word…