Hello everyone and welcome to yet another multi-chaptered fanfiction! The fandom I'm going to write in is Elsword, due to me recently obsessing over it (it's not doing wonders on my health). So a few things before we start: this story was born due to my frustrations of not having a healer class. I do know how game-breaking that would be (and how awful it'll be in PvP), but the pot life is real in this game. Another thing is that there are going to be two main OCs in this, and I can already hear the distress/loss of respect I'm going to get. Rest assured that after writing for a long time, I now know how to make a character and incorporate strengths, weaknesses, and a relatable personality. Well, at least I think I do. I'll let you be the judge of that. This is a retelling of the main plot in Elsword with small changes and surprises along the way, so do not expect exact dialogue from me. I repeat, do not expect the dialogue to be word for word like the game. I do not want to make another character just so I can watch all of the cutscenes. With that out of the way, read and review, or follow and favorite. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Elsword or any of its related works. The OCs, Rain and Rui, belong to me. Jobs are revealed later in the story. Rain will be classified as a healer, and Rui will be classified as a paper blader in the beginning of the story.

Chapter 1: The El Search Begins!

"Hey, come back with that!" a young, adolescent boy demands as he draws his sword. His fiery hair clashes with the vibrant green of the forest, and he moves like fire. Every dash towards the chuckling bandit only encourages the knight, who basks in the heat that is slowly blinding his sight. A hastily propped fence blocks his path, and the swordsman swings his weapon down to bring an end to its flimsy existence.

"Ha! As if that was enough to stop me!"

He continues to forge forward, eventually stopping when several masked bandits uncover their daggers and engage him.

"Mega Slash!"

With one mighty hit, his opponents fall. The boy flexes his fingers and smirks at his handiwork. "Are all bandits like this? They sure are weak," he muses. Running down the path yet again, he watches from the side as more bandits confront a grotesque wolf, who is standing on his hind legs.

"I must have the El! Give up already!" the beast gurgles, flinging the pathetic humans off his back. It then turns to the fiery boy, and its grip on the crystal tightens.

"Give it back!" His sword thrust approaches the wolf with dizzying speed, but it bounces off harmlessly. Enraged that this puny creature has the nerve to challenge it, the wolf howls, pushing the boy onto the ground.

Gritting his teeth, the knight stands onto his feet, breathing heavily through his nose. "In that case…!" A sudden light coats his body; the surge of energy courses through his body. Power exudes from his form, and the sword in his hand infuses it into itself.

"Mega Slash!" he cries again, bringing down the blade with even more force than before. His opponent growls, rumbling the trees witnessing their fight. It picks itself up, but the gash of its shoulder starts to color its blue skin with a sickly shade of black.

Roaring until the birds fled for their lives, pushing the knight onto the dirt floor yet again, the beast charges toward its attacker, and the boy grits his teeth, realizing he will not have enough time to dodge it.

"Chain Fireball!"

"Rail Stinger!"

Three fireballs and an arrow soar past the swordsman's head, and the wind generated from the attacks flattens his spiky hair. The wolf lets out another howl, this time one of pain, and backs away, eventually dashing into the forest with the stolen El.

Snapping out of his daze, the boy shouts, "Hey, come back with that!" Of course, the beast doesn't look back, and soon, the green glow of the El blends in with the forest.

"I'd say that's a job well done," a voice haughtily praises. Twirling her staff with professional skill, a purple-haired mage dressed in some sort of school uniform struts over to the fallen boy.

"I could have gotten that!" he whines. The girl has the guts to smirk, ignoring the courteous tradition of extending a hand to help him up.

"Really? From where I was standing, you were about to get shredded to pieces."

"Excuse me?! I don't need help from a flat-chest like you!"

At his retort, the girl flushes bright red, and the grip on her staff tightens slowly. The knight can see the steam burst out of her ears.

"What...did you just call me, huh?!" The mage lets out a wild shriek and drops her weapon on the boy's head.

"Now you've done it!"

"Apologize, you jerk!"

The air then changes. Shivers run across both of their backs as the heat of a thousand suns threatens to burn their heads. Both turn slowly to the source, finding the most terrifying creature they have ever met.

"Enough!" commands the elf, her authoritative voice echoes into the trees. Wildlife, both predator and prey, slowly back away from the group, eager to keep their lives.

"But Rena, he…"

"Rena, wait up! You know I'm a slow runner!"

The archer turns to the timid voice behind her and immediately tosses out her demon-like complexion. "Sorry Rain. We just couldn't let this guy get killed by that beast." Another girl, dressed with a simple flowing white dress adorned with a woven blue belt, approaches the group steadily, panting as soon as she is within hearing range. Her purple eyes gaze upon the fallen boy, and he catches them widen a fraction before softening up.

"Are you alright?" Rain asks. She kneels down to his level and places her hands in front of herself. "Hold still. This will only take a second," she instructs.

A nearly invisible blue circle draws itself underneath her. Small water particles orbit around the warrior, draining away his exhaustion and light wounds. As she heals him, the knight hears remnants of an unfamiliar song in an unfamiliar language. Her soft voice dances with the levitating water drops, the spectacle leaving the boy speechless.

When Rain completes her job with a satisfied huff, she helps the boy up to his feet.

"Rain, was it?" The cleric nods, still having the strange twinkle in her eyes. "Well, thank you. I'm-"

"Elsword Sieghart. Younger brother of Elesis Sieghart, leader of the Red Knights," came her immediate response.

The archer and the mage stares incredulously at the healer. Did she know him from before? Who is Elesis? Their eyes fall onto the knight, but he is also awestruck at her introduction.

"How do you know my name?" he warily questions. Rain blinks, seemingly in a trance, before stuttering out her excuse.

"O-oh! I don't know what came over me. This is the first time I have met you, I swear." Rain shifts uncomfortably at the attention. Never one for awkward silences, Rena pats Rain's shoulder.

"Maybe he's famous from where you're from," she lightly teases. The healer's face flushes indignantly, and starts to vehemently claim that this is their first meeting. The mage, smirk still plastered on her face, walks closer to the knight.

"Well, I'm Aisha, a world class mage from the south."

"Never heard of you," he quickly adds.

"Why you…!"

"Shove it, both of you. While you're busy insulting each other, the bandits got away with the El!" Separating the two with a hearty shove, the elf sighs in frustration.

Rain, who was momentarily forgotten, tugs on Rena's short sleeve. "Let's head back to Ruben. We have to tell Hagus about what happened!" She runs off, prompting the other adventurers to follow behind.

"Over here!" Rena shouts. Elsword spots Lowe staring off in the distance and quickly approaches the captain. "Lowe! Did Banthus just pass by?" Bewildered by his urgent tone, Lowe sluggishly answers his question. "Hmm...I was just watching Banthus, who looked very suspicious, but I lost him. Did something happen?"

Annoyed at his lazy response, Elsword grabs Lowe by the shoulders and shakes him vigorously. "We have no time for this! He ran off with the El Shard! We need to track him down quickly!"

"W-what?! This is huge...we have to get everyone in Ruben to search for him. Let's hurry!" With that, he runs off to spread the news. When he is out of earshot, Aisha says, "If it weren't for you, I would have caught him already."

"What did you say? I dare you to repeat that."

"I'll say it a million times! It's because-"

"Hey, don't make me stop you two again!" intervenes an annoyed Rena.

As they continue to bicker, Rain lets out a hearty laugh. "Why does this feel so familiar? It almost feels like home," she thinks, a sudden nostalgic feeling in her heart.

"Who are these people? Why do I feel like this?"

"Banthus is known to cause trouble, but I didn't think he'd go this far."

Rain, placing a finger on her tilting head, says, "Maybe the attention he's getting isn't enough for him." Her three comrades all sprout a comedic sweat drop.

"No, more like he's too well known and wants to flaunt it around," corrects Aisha.

"Either way," Lowe continues, "There are sightings of unknown bandits near Noah's lake. They might be Banthus's thieves. If we find them, we might learn something new."

...

"So, Rain. How did you meet Rena?" Aisha inquires. "I mean, I know I met the both of you while running into the forest, but you two were together when we met."

Rena begins to sweat. In truth, even she doesn't know how Rain entered her life. She just did.

Luckily, Rain is prepared. "The elven elder that watches over Rena's kind explained to me that I was given to him by a mysterious stranger. He told me how I was an orphan, found in his arms one day. The elder noticed how I have a natural affinity for healing, and he trained me personally until I was assigned to assist Rena in retrieving the El. Unfortunately, Rena wasn't there at the agreed location, so I had to search for her. That's when I met her and then you, Aisha."

She then eyes the strange package strapped to Rain's back. "So what are you carrying?" Rain tentatively reaches for her back, flinching away when her fingers lightly brushes against the cloth covering the parcel.

"I do not know. The elder told me to bring it with me and return it to someone. He didn't say who though."

"Maybe if we show it around town, then the owner will show up!"

"Yes, let's try that after we get...Hey, where did Elsword go?"

Elsword has already run off to slash a bandit, and the three girls stares at him with blank faces as the knight beat the unsuspecting bandit's face in. He comes back holding some sort of paper, and Aisha nonchalantly takes it out of his hands, casually walking towards Ruben Village.

"Hey, I got that myself! Give it back!"

"No way! If it's something important, I wouldn't trust you with it!"

"Like it's any safer in your hands!"

Rena is ready to explode again, urging Rain to stop being a passive watcher. "Rena, they fight like an old couple, don't you think?" Rain lightly suggests. Apparently, the bickering adventurers have impressive ears, for they both turn to yell at her.

"Like I'll be with her!"

"Like I'll be with him!"

"See, Rena, they even started talking in unison!"

"Lowe, we found this. It appears to be instructions to Banthus," Rain politely reports. The two most turbulent members of the group are surprisingly quiet, avoiding eye contact with each other.

"This means they've been planning to steal the El Shard for a while now. Let's meet with Hagus." Lowe gestures them to the bearded man. "Hagus, Hagus! It's an emergency!" Elsword exclaims. The older man huffs at his behavior and proceeds to scold him for his lack of respect for his elders.

"That's not important! Banthus ran off with the El Shard!"

Like Lowe, Hagus's attention shifts instantly, and he mutters a few incoherent phrases. "The El Shard is a symbol of the forest. We must get it back." Recalling a weird detail of the bandit leader, Rain unexpectedly speaks up.

"Hey, if I remember correctly, he had some sort of amulet on his neck."

"An amulet?" Hagus repeats. "I've heard rumors about Banthus having an amulet that control the Holy Beast…"

While interested in the device, Elsword shoves their musings away with his impatience. "We have no time for this! We have to track Banthus now!"

"I'll alert the townspeople to watch the entrance of the forest. Elsword, go to the El Tree and search for the bandits. Take care of the three ladies for me."

"You can leave it to me," Rena answers.

"Hey, now that I think about it, can Rain even fight?" Elsword blurts out as the group wanders in the forest that leads to the Tree of El. A swift smack from Aisha's staff soon follows after, sending Elsword to the ground.

"How rude! Rain is invaluable to us as a healer! Don't we have enough heavy hitters?"

"Maybe from Rena, but damage from you? Please, don't make me laugh!"

"Excuse me! We'll see who's talking after you taste my lightning bolt!"

Rain sighs, and Rena clasps her right hand. "It's okay if you can't attack. You just focus on keeping us alive, and we'll do the rest!"

The healer shakes her head. "I appreciate it, but I can handle myself." She looks up to see a mage firing a ghastly skull at the bickering duo, who are oblivious to the incoming attack.

"Elsword, Aisha!"

Wasting no time, her hand spontaneously creates two daggers. She throws them with graceful flicks of her wrist, and one of the daggers hits the projectile, while the other strikes the mage's body, killing it instantly.

"Phantom Shift!"

The two stop fighting when they hear Rain shout her move's name. They spy the corpse impaled by the dagger, and only one thought comes to their mind.

"Never piss off Rena or Rain...ever!"

"So your daggers…" Elsword starts.

"They are created by condensing water and mana together. Depending on the ratio of water and mana I use in creating them, different effects happen."

"So you can freely manipulate water?" Rena asks.

"Apparently...I can also create water using my own mana, but don't rely on it if we end up in a desert. It's very taxing on my body."

"Good to note," states Aisha. A loud bellow, almost like a pirate's laugh, echoes across the forest, and the El gang encounters Banthus at the base of the El Tree.

"Banthus! It's about time I bring back the El shard! Take this!"

"Rain, stay back!"

"O-okay!"

At Elsword's cry, the three adventurers charge, launching fireballs, arrows, and sword swings onto the bandit. Banthus ignores most of the fireballs, and the arrows bounces off his body as if he was wearing the toughest armor. Only Elsword seem to be pushing him back, but Banthus's focus is on someone else.

"Heh. Well, well...little girl. I knew you would show up eventually."

Rain flinches, the daggers in her hand letting out beads of water. "W-what do you want with me?"

"I want that thing behind your back, of course! The boss said it's something that'll give him infinite power. Now, give it to me, or suffer the consequences!"

Shoving aside the knight and knocking the mage onto the ground, Banthus sprints to Rain, who is frozen on the spot. With incredible speed, he brings his blade down onto the healer.

"Rain!" Her friends cry out.

The sound of weapons clashing catches Banthus off guard. He looks down to see his attack blocked by a small dagger. The healer's head is down, and her bangs hide her eyes in the shadows.

"Banthus…" Rain finally says. He staggers away from her, frightened over her personality change. "I see now...so this is the cowardly Banthus that Elsword told me about…" The familiarity hidden in the way she speaks Elsword's name shocks her comrades.

"Rain...what are you…" Rena trails off when she sees Rain's face.

She has the same features, but they are more battle-hardened, more tired.

"Damn it! Who are you?!" Banthus weakly spits out.

"My name is Rain, and I will not forgive you for trying to end my life." Multiple daggers spawn behind the healer, and the thief shakily backs away, still clutching the El Shard close to his body.

"N-no! My life can't end here! Phoru!"

A great white beast descends into front of the heroes, prompting Rain to grit her teeth. The daggers spawned behind her are still there, waiting to shear the flesh of the beast. The Phoru rushes towards the dagger-wielder with bulky steps, and Rain plants her feet into the ground.

"Steel Symphony!"

All Elsword can see is the wave of daggers piercing the giant Phoru. It roars as each dagger strikes a limb, a body part. While her attack deals visible damage, the Phoru is not down, and she retreats a few steps, readying another dagger.

"Don't just stand there, Elboy! Attack!" Aisha shouts, the force of her voice hitting Elsword as if she had slapped him.

"Don't call me that!" He retorts back, but his drive to argue with her is greatly diminished by the looming danger of Banthus's accomplice.

"No need, Aisha. I got this," corrects Rain.

She fires another steel symphony, inflicting enough damage to fell the beast with a satisfying thud. Twirling the spare dagger in her hand, the healer glances at the fallen corpse with distaste. A wave of dizziness catches her off guard, crawling up her body languidly. Her vision blurs.

"I didn't think I'd be this weak…" her voice fades to oblivion as her face kisses the dirt floor of the forest.

...

The world is burning.

The once beautiful green field is now scorched with the scars of war, anger, and despair. A boy, with desolate eyes the color of tainted sapphire, watches as the horizon summon a wave of demons. He glances at the masked man, neither blinking nor flinching when his golden eye settles onto his form.

"So, it's over, right?"

"Yes, it is."

The boy stands. His sword, what was once a proud gold is now a dull pyrite, rests loosely in his bandaged hand. Still not turning away from the army of demons, the boy asks, "So, what are you going to do now?"

"I should be asking you that question," the masked man shoots back.

The swordsman stays quiet. "If only you had another chance. If only there was some way to prevent that event which led to the world's end," the masked man taunts. The grip on his sword tightens, but he makes no other movements.

"What are you suggesting?"

"I know of a way: a way to rectify your mistakes. But it's up to you whether or not you want to take that chance."

"Tell me."

The masked man is probably smirking under his disguise. "I can recreate the world to its former self, back to when this all started. You'll be able to reunite with everyone and avoid making the same regrets you did here."

The survivor's eyes do not brighten.

"The cost?"

"Your memories. I need them as the template to create that world. In doing so, you may be able to save everyone, but this life will be forgotten forever. You must preserve your new world without the aid of foresight."

"So, in essence, you're going to create a dream?"

"You may call it that, but it's better than the reality you're facing now. You will die regardless whether or not you give up your memories. Isn't this better?"

Hesitation.

"Why are you helping me?"

"Are my actions confusing you? I merely wish to live through a world that has triumphed over the greatest threat of all."

"I don't believe that for a second. However, I'll do it."

"Very well. Hand me your sword. I promise that it will be returned to you."

Slowly, he places the blade into the stranger's hands. A pillar of light erupts from under the boy's feet, and the demons halts their march, howling and screeching at the object that's illuminating the darkness. The swordsman can feel his memories leave him, and instinctively, he clutches his head in an attempt to grab them back.

"Do not fight it, Rui. Soon, you'll be reunited with the one you love, the one whom you failed. I highly suggest not messing up a second time."

His quiet sobs escalate into a soul-shattering wail when a memory of his beloved's beautiful smile and soft voice slowly washes away from his sight. More and more treasured moments ripple away, and for the first time since her death, he could not control the stream of tears falling from his eyes.

"All I want...is to see her again."

The world shatters as the pillar disperses. The crackle of fire intensifies and burns away the last remnants of that forsaken world.

"And now...let Elrios be awakened once more!" bellows Glave, as his booming voice engulfs the universe.