I am excited to present this new fic, which I've been working on for months.

Important Note: This story is placed in a modern setting AU and is composed of all the worlds from all the Tales Series. Many characters from other Tales games will be making a crossover into this story.

*Another thing I would recommend doing is read my other fic Childhood: Before the Summon first since it's the prologue that leads up to this story.

Disclaimer: I own nothing except for the story idea

Chapter 1: The Wielder of Light

Asbel let out a sigh. "Man, why does this have to be so hard?"

He felt like his brain was going to explode from looking at all the university options.

"Hm? What's got you so down?"

Asbel glanced over to see a tall, slightly tanned, blonde-haired man walk into the room. Guy Cecil had been with Asbel since arriving in Tethe'alla seven years ago. He's an old friend of Van's and had been given the task to watch over the younger boy as he traveled. Asbel enjoyed his company and the two became fast friends.

"Trying to find a university to apply to." Asbel groaned as he clicked through several different screens on his laptop.

"Well, whichever one you pick you're sure to be admitted as Van will write you a letter of recommendation. Do you have a major in mind?" Guy asked.

Asbel shook his head. "Not a clue."

It had been seven years since Asbel had left Luin. There were times when he missed his old home, but after traveling the world for five years, he found himself slowly getting over it. He was now living in a two-bedroom apartment in Altamira, Tethe'alla. Since he started traveling thanks to Van, he was able to study abroad as well, getting the necessary education. Not many people were able to have an opportunity like this and Asbel was grateful to Van for giving him this chance. Once he entered a junior level of academics, Asbel decided to stay in one place to finish his education.

Unlike students who attended schools regularly, Asbel studied one-on-one with professors all over the world, taught by the best. He was currently finishing up his last year of high school level education while studying to pass the exit exam. When he had time to take a break from studying, he found himself trying to figure out which university he would want to attend. Unfortunately, he didn't know where to start.

"You could apply to more than one university, you know." Guy said.

"Yeah, but that doesn't help if I don't even know what I want to study."

After his Junior level education, Asbel had taken the scholastic assessment test and due to all the tutoring he received was able to score relatively high.

"You're pretty smart, Guy. How come you never went to college?" Asbel asked.

Guy looked at him in surprise before he looked to the side with a serious expression. "Unlike you, I didn't have anyone to pay for my tuition."

Asbel realized his mistake before rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Oh, sorry…"

Guy was orphaned at a young age and had to get by on his own by working several different jobs. Even now, Guy works four to five different part time jobs and Asbel had to admit that some of them were a little strange.

"Nah, it's fine," Guy said, his usual smile returning to his face. "Besides, I'm pretty content with where I'm at right now."

"Really? You're okay with shoveling animal crap at the zoo and cleaning bathrooms for the rest of your life?" Asbel asked.

"Hey, at least I'm getting paid. You on the other hand have yet to earn a cent yourself." Guy shot back.

Asbel couldn't help but chuckle. It was true that he had never worked a day in his life before and the job market was getting more competitive each year. So it would be difficult to find a job without any prior experience.

"Gah! Why does this have to be so difficult?!" Asbel shouted before slamming his head on the table in frustration.

"Welcome to the real world," Guy chuckled as he patted his friend on the back. "You'll figure it all out eventually. Maybe you could ask your folks about it. I mean, I know you haven't spoken to them in a while but…"

"No," Asbel said immediately. "There's really no need to talk to them about this."

'They would only have one answer for me…'

Noticing the shift in the mood, Guy roughly ruffled Asbel's hair.

"H-Hey! Cut it out!"

"Why don't we head over to the dojo and have a spar? While we're at it, get some fresh air to clear that large head of yours." Guy offered with a grin.

"Don't you have work in a couple hours?" Asbel asked.

"I can spare a little time to hang out. Besides, my job is actually closer to the dojo than here."

A small smile crept onto Asbel's face before he let out a sigh. "Thanks."

The Albane Dojo was a local sword fighting school that originated in a small town not far from Altamira. It had been established by a renowned swordsman by the name of Miguel Albane hundreds of years ago. Despite the school only run for recreational purposes now, it still was a place where boys and girls of all ages could hang out and practice discipline.

Asbel had been going to the school since moving to Altamira after his travels. It was a great stress reliever and Asbel enjoyed his time at the dojo.

"Hah!" Asbel cried as he swung his wooden sword down on Guy.

"Too sloppy!" Guy said as he blocked the blow with a powerful strike from his own wooden sword.

Asbel stumbled a few steps back from the force. However, he quickly recovered and lunged back towards Guy once more.

The two matched several blows. Both clashed swords in the middle of the room, glaring at each other with determined gazes before breaking a part to put some distance between them. They both paused to catch their breath as sweat dripped down from their foreheads.

Someone clapping snapped the two out of their focus. Both glanced over to see the current head of the dojo applauding them with a content grin on his face.

"You both show remarkable swordsmanship considering you two have only been attending this school for two years. I'm rather impressed." Malik Caesars said.

"I can't take all the credit, sir. It's thanks to your great instruction that I was able to achieve such standards." Asbel said with a bow.

"I've actually trained in swordsmanship under another instructor before, so I'm actually familiar with the basics." Guy admitted.

Malik chuckled. "Heh, I had a feeling that was the case considering you seemed very comfortable with a sword when you first entered."

The comment caused Guy to rub the back of his head with a sheepish grin on his face.

"Guess I have to train more if I want to reach the same level as you." Asbel remarked as he tossed Guy a towel. He nodded a thanks and wiped the sweat from his face with it.

"Give yourself more credit, Asbel," Malik said. "You're also pretty skilled with a sword yourself. Have you taken any lessons prior to joining this school?"

Asbel shook his head. "No, but when I was a kid, I used to swing this wooden sword around from time-to-time. Though I think at the time I only did it to look cool."

Malik couldn't help but chuckle and patted Asbel on the shoulder. "You've got talent. Keep up the good work."

A smile spread across Asbel's face before he gave a grateful bow. "Thank you for the advice."

"You really are amazing, Guy," Rondoline, another student commented. She came over to Guy's side and smiled. "You have to show me some of your techniques some time."

A frightened yelp escaped from Guy's mouth before he frantically scrambled to the opposite side of the dojo. Rondoline erupted into laughter as Asbel let out a sigh. Guy suffers from gynophobia, which was a fear of physical contact with women. Whenever a girl would get even a foot near him, Guy would reflexively flinch or scamper away in fear.

"Boy, you need to have vigor and determination when facing a woman." Malik chided.

"It's not that simple!" Guy cried.

He glanced down at his watch before his eyes widened in surprise. "Shoot! My job starts in less than ten minutes!"

Guy quickly gathered his things and bolted over to the door. "Hey Asbel! Do you mind bringing my sword back to the apartment?"

"Yeah, no problem." Asbel answered as Guy called out a thanks over his shoulder before rushing out of the room.

"Hm? Where is he off to this time?" Rondoline asked.

"Oh? Interested are we?" Malik smirked.

Rondoline's smile didn't fade as she struck the man in the abdomen with her elbow. Malik let out a pained groan before clutching his stomach.

"He's got a job at the convenience store next to the gas station," Asbel said. He packed away his towel in his bag and slipped on his hooded sweatshirt.

"Thanks again for allowing us to use the dojo, Mr. Malik, sir."

"Please, for the umpteenth time, just call me Malik. Being called 'mister' and 'sir' makes me feel old."

Asbel chuckled as he slung the bag over his shoulder.

"Right, I'll see you guys later."

On top of one of the tall buildings, a boy with a jet-black scarf wrapped around his neck looked down over the city. He stepped onto the ledge and peered down at the busy streets below.

His ruby red eyes narrowed. 'They're all worthless…'

He jumped down roof-to-roof before coming to rest on the roof of a small store, hidden from view in the shadows.

As he scanned the crowds, he spotted a familiar face. His eyes shone surprise for a brief moment before a devilish grin spread across his face.

"Well, well, what do you know…"

As Asbel walked down the busy streets of Altamira, his thoughts wandered back to Luin.

'Has it really been seven years?' Asbel wondered.

So many things had changed. Traveling the world was better than he had imagined and he was able to learn a lot. His hairstyle had even changed. Instead of the bed head look he sported when he was a kid, he pulled it back with a hair band. It helped keep his bangs out of his face when he was practicing at the dojo along with his other work.

He wondered how his parents were doing. Despite having learned that they were only using them as a puppet to run the company, he still worried about them. Did they even care if he was gone?

Asbel plucked his hair band off his head and ran a hand through his hair. Remembering his parents was always a sour spot for the redhead.

He had tried to get into contact with Hubert by sending him letters. However, he never got a response. Hubert was always such a timid, shy boy and Asbel wondered if he was doing all right in Strahta.

A howl suddenly erupted not too far away, snapping Asbel out of his thoughts.

Asbel immediately froze. The image of the icy wolf suddenly came to mind, causing him to break out in cold sweat.

'No…There's no way that thing is here…' Asbel told himself. He swallowed the large lump in his throat as his body started to tremble uncontrollably.

The memory of the wolf attacking him and Cheria played clearly in his mind, showing him the results of his mistake over and over again.

He squeezed his hands together, desperately trying to calm himself.

'It's just a dog…it's just a dog…'

Without warning, a giant dog-like creature jumped out of the bushes and onto the pavement before him.

The monster had a thick black main with gray fur and glowing golden eyes. It wasn't as big as the ice wolf, but it was still bigger than the average dog, coming up to about Asbel's shoulder.

"W-What the hell is that?!" Asbel cried.

The creature snarled before it lunged at the young man.

Reacting quickly, Asbel turned around and ran as fast as he could. He heard the monster snarl behind him and gave chase.

Sweat beaded his forehead as he darted around a corner, desperately trying to give the monster the slip.

A gasp escaped from Asbel's mouth when he hit a dead end after running down an alley. He whirled around to see the monster had not lost his trail.

The monster let out a roar before launching itself at the boy.

Asbel quickly ducked out of the way, narrowly avoiding its claws. He dropped his bag to the ground and pulled out his wooden sword, pointing it at the monster.

The memory of the cave incident flashed through Asbel's mind, giving him deja vu. His body involuntarily froze, despite his mind yelling at him to run.

'Crap...not now!'

He desperately tried to move, but his body refused to listen. His legs felt heavy and his hands became damp with sweat.

Before he could react, the monster lunged forward and easily swatted the wooden weapon out of Asbel's hand.

The image of an unconscious Cheria came to mind, causing Asbel's eyes widened in horror. It was happening again.

"No…NO!" Asbel cried.

The creature let out a ferocious roar as it leapt towards Asbel once more with a killing intent in its eyes.

Asbel brought up his arms to shield himself as he awaited impact and squeezed his eyes shut.

'Somebody...anybody...I don't want to die like this!'

Suddenly, a burst of energy went coursing through his body. A brilliant flash of light erupted from Asbel's body, sending the monster flying backwards from the force.

Asbel hesitantly opened his eyes and was shocked to see the monster knocked down. He looked down at his hands bewildered, unsure of what happened. A strange warmth was coursing through his body, giving him strength.

'What did I…?'

The monster got back onto its feet and shook the shock from Asbel's attack away. It let out a fierce growl before it charged once more.

Asbel's hand suddenly started glowing. Before he could figure out what was happening, his body started to move on its own accord.

As the creature leapt towards him, Asbel came forward and struck the beast with his glowing hand. He then struck the monster several more times before he jumped high into the air.

Asbel let out a shout before coming back down and finishing the monster with one final downward slash.

The beast let out one last roar before collapsing in a heap, unmoving. The glowing faded away and everything was quiet. All Asbel could hear was his heavy breathing and his heart rapidly beating in his chest.

After the adrenaline rush had faded, Asbel's legs suddenly felt like jello and he stumbled back a few steps. Though the glowing had faded away, Asbel could still feel the power emanating from his hand.

"What…did I just do?" Asbel muttered to no one in particular.

"So you've finally activated them."

Asbel flinched upon hearing the voice. He whirled around to see who was talking to him but saw no one.

"W-Who said that?" Asbel said cautiously.

"Me!" the voice said again.

Looking around once more, Asbel still did not see who was speaking.

"Wha…show yourself!"

"I'm right…"

Asbel turned around and suddenly found himself face-to-face with a strange animal-like creature, hovering inches away from him. "…here!"

The creature that stood, er floated, in front of him looked like a white mammal-like being. It had two pointed ears that took up most of its head and large green eyes. There were two wing-like attachments on its rear and several brown marks all over its body.

The two stared at one another for a good fifteen seconds before Asbel fell backwards onto his rear from the shock.

"W-What in the world?!" Asbel cried.

"Now that's pretty rude to say to the one who has watched over you all these years." The creature pouted.

Asbel stared at the small animal-like creature in bewilderment.

"H-Huh…?"

xxxXX To be Continued XXxxx

Author's note: First chapter, done! Oh, I need suggestions on what Asbel's major should be. Hope you all enjoyed! Please review!