title: A Fire They Can't Put Out
summary: In the middle of the battle against Magnus, Kyle speaks to the former Kaiser about his deepest fear - losing himself to the identity of the Nova's Guardian Warrior.
an: For Moonlight Blade21, who requested a story with Kyle and his predecessor interacting. Because there really should have been more in canon (NEXON).
an2: head canon.
an3: this would have been posted later but honestly, with the shooting in Paris and the protests (gone wrong) in Korea, I don't think I'll be able to read over this again for a while.
William Faulkner once said, "Don't bother just to be better than your contemporaries or predecessors. Try to be better than yourself."
Heliseum had been grand and magnificent in the stories fondly recalled by veterans and former residents of the former capital, and beautiful in paintings of the city in books scavenged from the mass exodus. Gleaming white and solid in the light shone down from the many moons of their world, tall buildings majestic and high to represent the glory the Nova had reached.
In the castle, and more specifically in the throne room Magnus had taken for himself, it was a devastated mess. The gracefully arching ceiling had been shattered by a cackling maniac in the first five minutes of battle, and the floor was crushed rubble, almost no trace of the thick white marble majestically laid out left amongst the dust covered craters.
Magnus swung the former Kaiser's sword towards the ceiling, and Kyle had to clumsily dive into a slide as yet another magical storm of meteors hurled down from the sky, glowing in malicious shades of violet, azure and jade.
From the corner of his eyes, he caught the sight of a barrier, deceptively beautiful in its petal-shaped form but far tougher than any iron bastion erupting around Angelic Buster like a divine flower, blossoming to protect her. It narrowly managed to mitigate the worst of the damage, but the petals shattered into sparkling light, and the idol's knees nearly buckled before she jumped away from the destructive beam Magnus fired towards her. The dust flying everywhere in the air concealed her whereabouts.
"Angelic Buster!" he shouted when he barely managed to avoid the latest volley of sparkling meteors. While he was glad to have her as his ally in this particular battle, he also would have greatly preferred it if the idol was somewhere safer, away from the carnage Magnus was carelessly releasing.
"I'm fine, Kaiser!" she shouted from somewhere. He learned her location a few seconds later when roaring light shaped like fierce dragons burst out of nowhere and struck at the black figure of the tyrant.
But even the sounds of a magic-induced meteor storm raining down devastating destruction around them, or the screeching of the dragon spirits summoned by Angelic Buster couldn't drown out that horrible noise Magnus called laughter.
"Is this all you have?" the tyrant called, jeering as his sword continued raining down destruction with every swing. "Is this all the Nova has? Some girl in a dress and a boy playing at being a man?"
The forces of the Maple Alliance had accepted their request for aid. The Nova had skills and magic foreign to the Maple World, and had been able to strike a deal. Edea and the higher-ups of the military had been the ones to lay out the contracts and papers in the complicated, many-meaning words of political talk, but Kyle knew that it essentially came down to 'you scratch our back, we'll scratch yours'.
After all, there was no point in not joining forces – their problems were mutual. Divided, they would be conquered, but together, they stood a far better chance.
The three guardians had been dealt with by other members of the Alliance, but the Nova had specifically requested that Magnus be left for the Kaiser to face, and after a heated protest, Angelic Buster as well. The idea was that Kaiserium would recognize the soul of its master, and be less likely to strike against its rightful wielder at the hand of a traitorous tyrant.
That, and everyone in Pantheon wanted to see or hear about Magnus falling at the hands of the Nova's two strongest heroes.
The Maple World's people didn't have a problem with it. Most of them didn't even know Magnus in person, and the few that did were happy to leave him to the Nova to be handled.
Except right now, it was the other way around – Magnus was the one handling them. He was batting them around like a sadistic hunter preying with his prey, and it was all they could do to negate his attacks. Kaiserium didn't seem to be doing much recognizing of the constantly reincarnating soul of the Kaiser right now – its every swing could easily be fatal if Kyle didn't block or dodge them.
He was forcing them on the defensive. Every move they made was in response to his, and all the strategy lessons he had learned as a knight and as the Kaiser told him that this was bad, to just give the enemy the initiative.
But there was no way of snatching it away from him.
Magnus swung his blade down on his head, and Kyle just barely managed to lift his own sword to stop its rapid, deadly descent. His ears rang painfully at the clang, and his arms shook viciously from the burden of the weight, but he held.
Until Magnus kicked his abdomen, throwing him off his balance and making him fall to the ground.
Right where a meteor fell.
The impact of the violet meteor was the last thing he heard, saw, and felt before he blacked out.
Kyle opened his eyes to see the outside of Heliseum. The spectre forces were facing down the members of the Alliance, both from Pantheon and Maple World, and it looked like the Alliance was winning, albeit with a lot of effort on their part.
"Am I dead?" he wondered out loud.
"No."
He whirled around, and saw that like him, the former Kaiser floated in the air high above the battle going on below.
He looked down at his transparent state. "You sure about that? I feel dead."
His predecessor cracked a smile. "Trust me."
Kyle shrugged. The man was probably the expert on being dead – far more of one than Kyle was. "Then can I go back? Magnus is still fighting -" he stopped speaking, as the blood rushed out of his face in horror. "Angelic Buster! She's on her own!"
"Stop." The other Nova raised his armoured hand. "Your body is recovering from the blow that knocked you out. You are the Kaiser, but even you require time to be healed."
"But Angelic Buster-" Kyle began protesting.
"Will be fine. She has the blessings of an ancient, powerful being. She could easily hold her own against the might of a Kaiser, and even Magnus, if she is able to properly channel her spirit's power."
Kyle had no idea what his predecessor was going on about, but he was still tense with concern.
"And speaking of being able to properly channel one's spirit power," the former Kaiser said. "What's wrong, Kyle?"
"Huh?"
The former Kaiser's eyes weren't condemning or accusing, but at the same time, they were hard. Clearly, he wasn't happy. "You're holding back your true potential and power. At this rate, Magnus really will overpower the two of you and move onto the rest of the Alliance. Is that what you want?"
"I – no! Of course not! I'm not holding back anything! I'm giving it everything I got!"
His predecessor shook his head. "Wrong," he said. "Your fears, your worries, are clouding your eyes and chaining down your potential. What is it that weighs down your heart?"
Kyle tensed. His fears? "I'm not holding back," he insisted. "It's – it's just Magnus. He beat you, he fought for the Black Mage, he's – he's got the support of Darmoor. How am I supposed to compete with that? He's too strong, and then there's me, and I – I've got to be the weakest Kaiser that's ever existed, and I've got all of the Nova – and the Maple Alliance – riding on me."
None of the Nova ever said that to his face, of course, because they all respected the station of the Kaiser, but he was sure that the older priests thought it, deep in their wise and experienced minds. He knew they had seen the former Kaiser, or, in some cases, the Kaisers, and could very easily compare his progress to the ones that had come before.
And he was against the most powerful foes the Nova had ever seen. The race of dragon warriors couldn't have had worse odds than this.
"It has never been the purpose of the current Kaiser to be better than his or her predecessors," the former Kaiser said.
Now that sounded like the biggest load of shit he'd heard in a while, and he was counting the noise of Magnus laughing. "Oh really? Do you mind just telling that to everyone who keeps saying I should work hard to reach your level?" he said bitterly.
"Kyle," the former Kaiser said sternly, and Kyle very nearly hung his head like a student scolded by his teacher. He didn't, but it came close. There was just something in the timber of his predecessor's voice that made him instinctively want to not make the man disappointed in him.
"Kyle." This time, the warrior's tone was softer. "What are we to you?"
We? Kyle assumed he meant the former Kaisers and not the Nova. "You're my predecessors," he said slowly. "Guardians of the Nova that came before me."
"And?" he prompted.
There was more to it? This felt like a trick question, the kind that had an answer so simple it made him feel stupid to realize it. "The former Kaisers?" he said, ending in an inquiring tone.
"And what is the Kaiser?"
This felt like it was going in complicated circles. Resisting the urge to rub his temple, Kyle recalled the lessons Fennel and the others had given him about the history of the Nova. "The Guardian of the Nova, the greatest warrior of us all."
"Can anyone be the Kaiser?"
Of course not. If that had been the case, then perhaps Belderoth would have never left. He'd have probably stayed, becoming the Kaiser himself.
"No," Kyle answered simply.
The former Kaiser waited, but when he didn't continue to talk, prompted him a little more. "What makes a Kaiser?"
He sighed wearily. "You're born into it. Reborn into it, I guess."
The taller Nova looked at him. From their height differences and the downward angle of his eyes and face, it should have been the former Kaiser looking down upon him, and yet something made it so that he appeared to be gazing upon a fellow peer with the respect to match. "And, with that in mind, Kyle, what are we to you?"
"You're my predecessors." But that answer hadn't satisfied his predecessor the first time, so Kyle supposed he should expand. "The Kaisers before me. Me in a different life."
"Kyle." The former Kaiser's eyes were gentle. Old, tired, but gentle. There was hope in him, even past the weariness. "We are you."
Kyle gave him a look that said he didn't buy or understand it.
"You disassociate your identity from us in fear of losing yourself, in fear that the ancient legacy will wipe away everything that remains of the 'Kyle' you have known yourself to be and leave only the 'Kaiser' behind."
"Isn't that true?" Kyle asked. "No one knows your name amongst the Nova in Pantheon. It's always 'the former Kaiser this' and 'the former Kaiser that'. No one will remember my name – they'll just recall me as a Kaiser that fought with the Maple Alliance and against the Black Mage. Maybe the Kaiser that lost, and screwed everything up for the Nova," he added, hinting that he really should get back.
The former Kaiser ignored the hint about the pressing time and issue of Magnus. "And that is what you fear, what has been holding you back all this time."
Kyle exhaled a shaky breath. "So it's my fault," he said simply. "I shouldn't have tried to shut you guys off. And because of that we're going to be in trouble."
When Kyle saw his predecessor's set jaw, the frustration he'd been feeling ever since he found out he was the Kaiser and almost every part of his life changed, probably irrevocably, burst out. "But I don't want to lose myself!"
The other man didn't speak, and Kyle plunged on. "I lost Belderoth as a friend because I became Kaiser. He's a traitor now, and there's no way anyone's going to forgive him if – if – he ever has a change of heart. Tear's all alone, with none of her friends to be with her. She keeps a brave face but she doesn't like being alone, she never has. Kyle was supposed to be there for them. Kyle was good for them! Kyle got along with Belderoth during spars and small missions! Kyle remembered funny jokes and brought back pretty, interesting stones for Tear so he could make her smile and laugh! What good is the Kaiser if he just takes over Kyle and leaves a hole where his life was? Why is that fair for Kyle, to be replaced by the Kaiser? Why should he let the Kaiser do that to him?!"
All throughout his rant, the former Kaiser didn't say a word or flinch or give any reaction. He just stood silently, listening to the waves of frustration that burst out of him, letting Kyle vent.
When he finished, panting, the former Kaiser reached out and –
Kyle stared, wide-eyed, as he patted his head.
"If you continue down this path, ostracizing us, you will lose yourself," he said softly. "Kyle, while it is true that the rest of the world will see you as the Kaiser, you must always remember to see yourself as who you are. We, your past selves, will always remember who you are. When the world forgets you, it will not matter – to us, you will never just be the Kaiser.
"You will be Kyle, one of us, but also yourself. Kyle is good for us, as well."
Kyle ducked his head, shame flooding his face with red. When he put it like that, it all seemed so obvious, so easy.
"Kyle, we are you. When you tried to cut yourself into two, you blocked yourself from reaching the legacy that you have built up over the centuries, leaving you poor from the inheritance you rightfully deserve. Let us help you." The former Kaiser put his hand on his shoulder, and it didn't feel like heavy responsibility, or like a burden.
Rather, it felt warm and encouraging. Uplifting, even.
"Let us fight with you."
Kyle put his own hand above the armoured one of his predecessor – his past self – and clenched it tightly. "Will you be there?" he asked, referring to not just the previous Kaiser, but all those that had come before to become a part of a continuous, Ouroborous-like cycle that fiercely protected the Nova. He felt childish for even seeking their presence, but at the same time, he didn't, like it was completely natural.
"Of course," the former Kaiser said simply.
He took a deep breath, and for the first time in a very long time, felt at ease. There was a big battle still ahead of him, and many more to come after in this war waged against the forces of destruction threatening the Nova and the worlds, but his heart felt relieved, and much lighter than it had for a long time. "Thank you."
"Always. And one more thing. Perhaps, from now, you should call me by my name, Kyle," he said gently. "My name is Maximus."
Kyle gave him a thumbs-up, something he had picked up during his time working with the Alliance. "Got it, Maximus," he said, and a part of him flared up in warmth. His past incarnation feeling joy at hearing and being called the name once more, perhaps?
"Good luck, Kyle," Maximus said. "And remember – we are always with you."
Behind Maximus, figures of warriors decked in resplendent red armour began to appear. Grinning men, smiling women – all Kaisers that had come before him.
No, he had to stop thinking like they were strangers. They were, perhaps, the people closest to him. They were him.
He looked at them, searching to meet their eyes. Some were taller than others, and their number was large, but he met all of their eyes. Behind the different shape and colours, he saw something familiar in their depths, something he saw in his own eyes when he looked upon a mirror.
"Right," he said. "Thank you."
The world turned bright.
When he came to, he heard the sound of Magnus laughing. Definitely not the nicest wakeup call he'd heard, but he really didn't have much to complain about.
"Is this all you've got, little girl?" the tyrant called jeeringly.
"It's enough to take you down! Eskalade, now!" Angelic Buster shouted back defiantly, and a burst of pink and purple-shaded orbs of light flew from her soul shooter towards the black-armoured Nova, thrumming with almost deceptive destructive power –
Only for Magnus to deflect them with a two-handed swing of his blade. "Pathetic," he said with a sneer, and then had to abruptly jump out of the way to avoid being struck by the roaring likeness of a rushing dragon's head large enough to swallow him in its translucent, fanged mouth.
"Say that to his face," Angelic Buster retorted, sassy as could be. "Please."
Magnus drifted down. "Not so bad," he said grudgingly, before the corners of his mouth tilted upwards in a wicked, cruel smirk. "Better than that Kaiser boy of yours, for sure. Outlasted by a girl playing hero in a pink dress – the Kaiser's name has really fallen through the mud with him, hasn't it?"
With an outraged screech, Angelic Buster dove towards him without a thought or regard towards her own safety. Magnus swung his blade, and too late Angelic Buster realized the danger she was in –
Until Kyle hit the Kaiserium with enough force to divert the blow and throw Magnus off his balance, allowing Angelic Buster come to a safe stop.
"Oh, you're still alive," Magnus commented, sounding bored.
Kyle didn't let his words incense him. "I am. You failed to kill me again."
It might have been nothing but his imagination, but for a moment his voice was deeper, and his words not entirely his own. In fact, it sounded suspiciously similar to the voice of Maximus.
Magnus apparently thought similarly, because he looked slightly taken aback for a moment. Then, a leer spread across his gaunt face, and he chuckled harshly. "I'll fix that soon enough-" he interrupted himself with a curse and jumped back at the glowing pink orbs Angelic Buster fired. The deceptively pretty coloured lights tore apart the space previously occupied by the tyrant, energy devouring each other in its destructive force.
"You're getting really annoying," he spat, and then swung his sword in a glowing arc. The meteors falling from above doubled in speed, and Angelic Buster was forced to direct most of her offensive power overhead to cancel out the deadly projectiles from killing them both.
Leaving him to handle the tyrant, who was readying himself for another physical bout after pulling out another burst of meteor rain. Gritting his teeth, Kyle took a moment to adjust his grip on his sword and dodge the oncoming volley of meteors that Angelic Buster's retaliating shots didn't neutralize in time. It wouldn't do, not after coming back from that last trip to the spirit dimension of things and coming to a settled state of mind only to be knocked out again. He ran in a zigzag pattern, avoiding the ground where shadows were cast, and each step took him a little closer to the cackling tyrant.
Then, he charged where Magnus was with a shout. The sword hummed in his hand, and his body went through a series of parries, blows and slashes to break the meteors around him. His heart thrummed, and his nerves were alight with awareness. Every cell within his body, from his optics to his muscles to his skin to his bones, was tense and ready to release maximum potential.
His very self, his very soul was remembering the countless generations of battles before. Each war, each battle, each swing of the sword, every experience carved upon his continuously returning soul – all to protect the Nova.
In this state, he wasn't just Kyle, or another Kaiser. He was the Kaiser, incarnated as Kyle, and he was the Guardian of the Nova.
He was judgement, upon the traitor of the Nova, upon the tyrant that had enslaved Heliseum, upon the despicable being that had sold his soul for power.
"Magnus!" he roared, and with him shouted the voices of Kaisers past. Men and women who were born and died for the sake of the Nova, the dedicated warriors of the fiercest hearts and unwavering loyalty, the brave ones that bore the heavy responsibility without complaint but instead with love, the ones that never gave up and always came back.
They were all within him – they were him, and he was them. They were one, yet many.
And they could do this.
He rushed Magnus, his wings spread wide and surrounded by winds of spirits past. In his arms were the strengths of his past incarnations, and in his heart the dragon's blood of generations of the Nova's best.
The tyrant's face, for once, bore no shit-eating grin. The smirk had been replaced with uncertainty, worry – and fear.
Kyle – Kaiser – swung down his blade upon the traitor, and the force that had been building with each of his slashes exploded, filling the ruined chamber with a devastatingly bright light.
"So," Edea said, and both Angelic Buster and Kyle, on their backs on small cots in a tent set aside for medical treatment, fought not to cringe at the irritation hiding behind the composed mask of the Nova Tactician. They wouldn't be able to defend themselves properly if the Tactician decided to smite them with her magic, and she looked annoyed enough to pull that out on their heads right now. "Magnus escaped."
The last attack had done some serious damage, but Magnus had been conscious enough to pull the roof down around them. Had it not been for Angelic Buster, Kyle would have been a Kaiser pancake, because he had been too tired to dodge the hurtling chunks of white marble raining down around his head.
While Angelic Buster had been busy saving him, though, the tyrant had slipped away.
"At least we liberated Heliseum?" Angelic Buster offered, voice pitched high in fear.
Edea sighed, cutting the killing intent she radiated, and they both felt their mortal fear levels decrease slightly. "Yes, there is that," she said. "I suppose I should be happy that the Nova are once again in Heliseum."
From her that was a pretty happy statement. Despite the pain in every part of his body, Kyle grinned. Heliseum was theirs again.
"Of course," Edea said, not letting them enjoy their moment of victory. "This is not the end. Darmoor and Magnus are still at large, and now we must uphold our part of the deal and aid the Maple Alliance with," she glanced down at the report in her hand. "The new problem of Root Abyss. The Maple World's Transcendent of Life is said to have been unrooted, which should make our problems easier if we free her from her confines. And, judging from your performances today, we are clearly in need of extra training."
Angelic Buster groaned. So did Kyle. They both got the stink-eye from Edea for that vocal expression of their true feelings.
"You have three days to heal from your injuries before your new training regiments will start," she informed them icily, and stood from her seat next to their cots to leave. She stopped right at the exit of the medical tent. "I'm glad you two are safe," she said, not facing them, before she stepped through the entrance flap to leave.
Angelic Buster shifted her head to grin at him widely. "Looks like we did it," she said with a thumbs up.
Kyle grinned back. "We did," he said, and he meant all of his past selves as well when he said it.