I promised I'd post this in December, so here it is! Think of it as an early Christmas present.

Chapter One: It's Kind of a Long Story…

The wood of the balcony creaked as Lloyd shifted his weight, a concerned look on his face. He wasn't worried about the old wood giving way, though. After all, this house had stood sturdily for over seventeen years. Rather, his concern was centered on the fact that after everything they'd accomplished, he was still going to lose his dad.

It wasn't fair. Kratos shouldn't have to leave the planet. He'd worked so hard to help Lloyd and the others overthrow Mithos; it didn't seem right that he wouldn't get to stick around to enjoy the fruits of his labour. Lloyd had had this argument with him already, though. In fact, he'd be willing to bet they'd had it upwards of ten times. No, by now Lloyd was resigned to this fate. But that didn't mean he had to like it.

The hinges creaked as the door leading to the balcony opened. "Are you still awake?" Kratos asked. "We need to get up quite early tomorrow morning."

"I know," Lloyd said, staring out at the familiar view. "I'm just thinking."

He heard footsteps approach and then Kratos appeared next to him, leaning on the same rough wooden railing. "You know I have to leave."

"Yeah," Lloyd grumbled, not deigning to look at him.

"It's for the good of the planet," Kratos said. "It has nothing to do with you."

"I know. We've talked about this."

Kratos sighed. "I know it doesn't seem fair. But now that the worlds have been re-joined and Cruxis overthrown, there is no place for me in this world. This was the future that you chose."

"And I don't regret it," Lloyd said, finally turning to look at his father. But now it was Kratos' turn to ignore him, his eyes locked on the horizon. Lloyd turned his head to follow his gaze. "The world is at peace now. We're no longer fighting over mana and people no longer live in fear of the Desians. I'm glad we did what we did, even if it does mean you have to leave." He sighed, resting his elbows on the railing. "Although… I can't help but wonder what might have happened if we had done things differently. After all, if it weren't for Marble, Genis and I would never have gone on the journey in the first place. I wonder how the worlds would have worked out then…"

"I'd imagine it would have worked out like a normal Journey of Regeneration. Colette would have been sacrificed and Sylvarant would be flourishing now. I think it's safe to say that in preparing for this journey, I had not thought to calculate someone like you into the run-of-the-mill journey. But I suppose a little shuffle in expectations can be welcome after four thousand years."

Lloyd ran his fingers over the railing, feeling the rough and bumpy texture through his gloves. "You talk like you go on Journeys of Regeneration all the time."

"I have gone on a great many of them," Kratos said. "Not every single one, of course. Yuan accompanied the Chosen sometimes, and sometimes it wasn't deemed necessary to send a protector."

"Do you remember any of the other Chosens?"

"Hm…" Kratos frowned slightly. "It's been four thousand years, Lloyd, I'm afraid it's difficult to… hm… I remember one. The first one I met. Yes, that one sticks out in my memory quite clearly."

"The first one?" Lloyd looked up at his father's face, which was still furrowed in concentration. "Which Chosen was that?"

"It was Spiritua," Kratos said. "Sylvarant's first Chosen of Mana. Things were different back then. It was the first one, so Mithos was still figuring out how he wanted to do things. That may be why I remember it so clearly – it wasn't the exact same protocol as every other journey."

"Really?" Lloyd asked. "Like what?"

Kratos finally turned his head to Lloyd. "Well, for one thing, she didn't know she was the Chosen until the day I arrived."

Lloyd's mouth hung open for a second. "What, really?"

Kratos nodded. "And she didn't receive nearly as much praise from civilians we encountered, due to the fact that in those days, Martelism was not the dominant religion of Sylvarant. It gained the strength it has today in part due to Spiritua's Journey."

"What was Spiritua like?" Lloyd asked next. "I always kind of pictured her as being a lot like Colette."

Kratos frowned. "Hm…. She was a very nice girl. I suppose she was similar to Colette in some ways… they had similar convictions and morals. But in other ways, she was very different."

"Tell me more," Lloyd said. "I want to know all about this journey.

Kratos smirked slightly. "Lloyd, it's rather a long story."

"That's ok," Lloyd said with a grin. An idea had crept into his mind, and though he hardly dared to hope that it would work, he decided to go for it. "I want to hear it. The whole thing."

"We don't have time-"

"We're travelling to the Tower tomorrow, right? You can tell it on the way." And maybe, just maybe, he won't have time to have finished by the time they reach the Tower. And if he's half-way through the story, well, he could hardly leave Lloyd with a cliff-hanger for the rest of his life, right? Maybe Lloyd could get Kratos to stick around by convincing him to finish the story….

Kratos sighed. Maybe he felt guilty about leaving Lloyd behind, maybe he actually enjoyed the idea of telling his son one last story before they had to part forever, but for whatever reason, he gave in. "Alright. I'll tell you the story. I should warn you that there a many parts of it that I was not a personal witness to. The details were given to me at a point in time afterwards. Therefore, I cannot guarantee all the details are accurate, but I have reason to believe the teller was speaking the truth."

"Why?" Lloyd asked. "What did this guy do to make you trust him?"

"Because I knew him well," Kratos said. "And he had no reason to lie. Besides, the details he gave me matched up perfectly with what I did know."

Lloyd nodded sagely. "Ah, ok, I get it."

"Very well. I suppose I should begin. The story begins nearly four thousand years ago… it was almost one hundred years after the end of the Kharlan War. Sylvarant was not the same place that you know now. Martelism was barely off the ground and regarded as a cult by the majority of the population, and most people had been told stories by their grandparents about the mysterious country of Tethe'alla that vanished in one night. At the time, Sylvarant was under the boot of the Desians, but they still remembered the fallen Balacruf dynasty. More people prayed that an heir to the Balacruf throne would appear to defeat the Desians than a Chosen of Mana.

"And for me, it began in Welgaia…"

Kratos knocked on the door. When there was no answer for almost five minutes, he pounded on it once more, hard enough to almost hurt his fist. "Yuan!" he shouted at the closed metal door. "Stop playing with you silly toys and get out here! Mithos wants to see us!"

Kratos crossed his arms, glaring daggers into the door. After three minutes, he shouted, "For Origin's sake, Yuan! If you're not out here in one minute, I'll-"

"I'm coming!" Yuan's voice was still far away from the door, but at least now Kratos knew he had actually heard him. A minute later, the door slid open and Yuan rubbed his eyes. "What's the rush? Mithos said he didn't want to meet with us until ten."

"It is ten," Kratos said. "Ten thirty, to be precise. When you didn't show up, Mithos sent me to fetch you."

Yuan dropped his hands and his eyes widened. He looked exhausted and his ponytail was a mess, but he put his shoes on as fast as possible and then followed Kratos into the hall.

"You've never been a morning person," Kratos said, "but I've never known you to oversleep like that."

"I didn't oversleep," Yuan mumbled, yawning into his hand. "I accidently pulled an all-nighter working out the bugs in that computer system I'm working on."

Kratos rolled his eyes. "Always fooling around with those toys of yours."

"They're not toys," Yuan said, pouting. "It's called a computer. You should see the things it can do. Mithos already got them installed in the ranches."

Kratos shook his head with a small smile. "What happened to you, Yuan? You've gone from a soldier to a nerd."

Yuan shrugged. "We haven't had a fight in almost a century. I suppose I just figured it was time to put my mastery of electricity to more productive uses than warfare."

"I just hope Mithos understands how important it was for you, considering you are now almost forty-five minutes late."

Yuan frowned as they turned the corner. The room the meeting was in was through a door at the end of the hall, which Yuan was eyeing with a bit of trepidation. "I don't like this. I shouldn't be worried about what Mithos thinks. He's just a little kid. He's almost my brother-in-law."

"Everything is different now."

"You can say that again," Yuan grumbled. "Ever since he fashioned himself that new body, he's been flying around like he owns the place… always was a bit of an obnoxious brat, but now he's just taking it too far."

"Quiet," Kratos said when they reached the door. "We can discuss this later."

The door opened to reveal Mithos in his Yggdrasill form, resting his chin on his hand as he tapped a pen on the table. "Yuan. Nice of you to show up."

Yuan grinned sheepishly. "Heh, sorry about that Mithos. I was this close," he held up his thumb and forefinger to demonstrate just how close, "to making a breakthrough with my computer."

Mithos sat up straight. "I expect more punctuality from you in the future, Yuan. This organization has no room for slackers."

Kratos could see the war raging on Yuan's face as he sought to keep his expression neutral and subdue the glower. "Of course, Mithos," Yuan said through a forced grin. "I do apologize."

Mithos waved his hand. "Take a seat, you two. We've got important things to talk about."

Kratos pulled up a chair across the table from Mithos, while Yuan sat next to him. "So," Kratos said, folding his hands on the table, "what is it that you wanted to tell us?"

"Well," Mithos said, "I have decided that it's time to carry out the first Regeneration."

Yuan and Kratos stared at Mithos for a few seconds. Kratos kept his face stony, while Yuan looked confused.

"Now?" Yuan asked. "I thought we were going to wait another generation?"

"I was going to," Mithos said, "but then I decided that I think this girl might be able to do it. I thought we were getting close with her brother, but then when she came along… she's perfect. I just know she'll be able to become Martel's vessel, and I don't know if I want to chance waiting for her child or grandchild with the hope that they'll be even better."

Kratos nodded slowly. "And you think the girl is ready to carry out the Regeneration now? Isn't she still just a child?"

Mithos looked down at the paper on his desk. "She just turned fifteen. I think she can handle it, though of course we won't send her alone."

"Will we be sending an entourage of angels, then?" Yuan asked.

"In a way," Mithos said. "But just one."

Mithos turned his eyes to Kratos and smiled. Kratos had a sinking feeling he knew where this was going. "Oh, no," Kratos said. "No. You are not going to send me."

"This is your next assignment, Kratos," Mithos said. "It just may be your most important one yet."

"No," Kratos said. "I'm a soldier, not a babysitter. Besides, I'm not good with kids."

Yuan shrugged. "I don't know, you seemed to put up with Mithos well enough." He snapped his mouth shut and lost the coy smile as both Mithos and Kratos gave him death glares. "Or… you know… not that that's a good example… because Mithos was always so mature, of course…"

Mithos stared at Yuan for a few more seconds before turning his gaze back to Kratos. "These are you orders, Kratos. You are to escort the Chosen to the four seals and aid her in defeating the monsters. Don't do all the work, of course, because she can't release the mana if she doesn't even participate in the fight."

Kratos groaned inwardly and hung his head slightly. "Very well. I understand."

"I'm putting my faith in you, Kratos," Mithos said. "Do not disappoint me. You can leave this afternoon."

"Really, it's only fair," Yuan said a couple of hours later as they walked down the hall to the warp. "After all, I went to the last Chosen."

Kratos snorted. "These situations hardly compare. All you did was inform the Tethe'allan Chosen of her identity before sending her off to spread the religion. You were home in time for dinner."

"Well, it's not like I don't have an assignment, too."

"I don't understand, Yuan. Why does Mithos keep giving you the easier tasks? You're the one who was sleeping with his beloved sister. By all rights he should hate you."

Yuan gave him a deadpan glare, then said, "I'll do the next one, ok?" They reached the warp that would send Kratos down to the altar of the Tower. Yuan passed Kratos his bag and said, "this will be a piece of cake; you'll see. You'll be back before you know it."

"I sure hope so," Kratos said.

"And Kratos…" Yuan hesitated, then smiled grimly. "Be careful. It's a dangerous world, after all."

Kratos returned the dark smile. "Weren't we supposed to have saved it already?"

He heard the chirp of a bird, and looked up just as a small white and green bird landed on his shoulder. "Well, looks like you won't have to worry about me, Yuan. It would appear Noishe is coming along to protect me." The bird, which was about the size of canary, twittered in agreement.

Kratos stepped onto the warp –

"-Wait, Noishe was a canary?"

Kratos paused, then turned his head. He'd been staring out at the dark forest as he talked, and now turned to face Lloyd's surprised expression. "Yes. I thought you were aware that Noishe, as a Protozoan, has gone through many forms over the years?"

"Well, yeah," Lloyd said, looking over at the roof of the little stable where Noishe was currently sleeping. "But I always thought his bird form would be more like… you know, a great big eagle or something."

"I apologize for breaking the truth to you. Now, do you want me to continue or would you like to interrupt again?'

Lloyd looked down at the floorboards. "Er, no, sorry. Go on."

"As I was saying, I took the warp down to the main altar of the Tower of Salvation."

Kratos looked around the eerie space of the Tower and slung his brown leather bag over his shoulder. The Tower was quite large, and it felt odd being the only living thing in this entire vast space. He hurried across the altar to the next warp so he could move on from this weirdness.

After just a few minutes, he emerged outside on the steps of the Tower. The Tower wasn't visible, of course. It felt kind of strange to emerge from a building that vanished the moment the door closed behind him. He looked up to the sun; it was just barely past noon. If he pulled out his wings, he'd probably be able to reach his destination by nightfall. Maybe once the girl got wings they could just fly between seals to expedite the process.

In any case, he pulled out his wings and took off. He flew north, letting himself enjoy the few pleasures he could get out of this hassle of a mission. He'd been up in Welgaia for so long he'd almost forgotten how good the wind racing through his hair felt. Noishe seemed to enjoy the freedom of the open skies even more than he did, and flew in circles around him. Kratos was almost sad when he saw orange light of the dying sun glimmering on the surface of Lake Sinoa.

Kratos landed outside of Luin, then took a bridge into town, Noishe now perched on his shoulder. It was a bustling little village, and at this time of night the docks were crowded with fishing boats coming in with the day's haul. As he passed these docks, Kratos cursed the heightened senses that came with being an angel. The overwhelming stench of raw fish had been quite hard enough to handle as a human.

He soon found himself in front of the Church of Martel. It was a small building off the beaten track, and looked nearly deserted at this time of night. No one walking by gave it any notice at all, and if it weren't for the sign out front he wouldn't have known it was a church at all.

It was certainly an old building, Kratos thought as he walked through the front door. The door was so old its hinges cried out for release and Kratos was almost afraid he'd accidently rip the damn thing right out of its frame. The main room was filled with a few rows of benches and a wooden podium at the front, behind which was a wooden statue of an angel. It had once been painted, but over the years the paint had chipped away to almost nothing.

Kratos' footsteps echoed in the empty room as he looked around. There had probably been a service this morning, but he didn't know if there were even any priests in the building at this time of night.

He got his answer when a door in the back opened and a short man poked his head out. "Hello? I'm sorry, sir, all the other priests have gone home for the night. We would be more than happy to speak to you about Martel tomorrow, though."

Kratos quickly covered the distance to the man and stood before him. The top of the man's head barely reached Kratos' shoulders. "I'm not searching for salvation," Kratos said. "I'm looking for a girl."

The man stared up at him and crinkled his eyebrows, his eyes darting between Kratos' face and the little bird on his shoulder. "A girl? For, er, what purposes? We do, actually, consider ourselves a holy establishment. You may want to head down to the docks to find the, ahem, 'seamstresses'…"

Kratos sighed and buried his face in his hand for a moment. "No, you don't understand. I'm looking for a specific girl. A child."

The man's face paled and his eyebrows shot up as if in an effort to catch up with his receding hairline. "I – I see. I'm sorry, sir, but I cannot in good faith direct you to where you may find that."

"No!" Kratos' stomach clenched uncomfortably for a moment as his mind considered the implications of the man's misunderstanding. "You don't understand. My name is Kratos Aurion. I am an emissary from Cruxis, and I am here to announce the identity of the Chosen One."

The man's eye's went wide with shock once more, but rather than being mixed with horror, this time it was joined by awe. "The Ch-Chosen?"

"Yes," Kratos said, glad to finally be understood. "Now tell me: is there a girl by the name of Spiritua Praetor in your congregation?"

The man blinked. "Spirit? Why, yes, but surely she couldn't be the Chosen?"

"In fact she is. Can you arrange a meeting for me with her?"

"Of course, my lord! She will be here tomorrow morning for the weekly service. If you like, you can see her afterwards."

Kratos nodded. "Yes, thank you. Now, can I ask if there is a room available for me to spend the night?"

The man's head bobbed up and down. "Yes, yes, of course, my lord! Just follow me and I'll show you to our guest room…"

Behind the main room of worship were a few offices and spare rooms. The next morning, Kratos sat at a table in one of these offices, waiting for his meeting with Spiritua. The service was just ending now, so she should be here soon. When she did arrive, he'd have the task of explaining to a fifteen year old girl that it was her duty to the world to sacrifice herself.

Kratos crossed his arms and leaned back in the chair. He had no idea what kind of person Spiritua was or if she'd be at all willing to go through with this. How would he have reacted if he'd been given this news at fifteen? He tried to think back, but already his teenage years were nothing but a vague memory. What would he do if she wasn't willing to go along with it? Would he have to kidnap the poor kid and forcefully drag her from seal to seal? Ugh, and Mithos had said this was supposed to be an easy job.

There was a knock at the door, and then it slowly opened a cracked. "Sir?" said a young voice hardly above a whisper. "Y-you wished to meet me?"

Kratos quickly sat up straight. "I'm assuming you are Miss Praetor?"

The door opened wider, admitting a girl who looked younger than her supposed fifteen years. Maybe it was because Kratos had been in Welgaia for too long and misremembered how teenagers looked, or maybe it was the way she stood with her feet close together, clutching her arms and staring at him with wide blue eyes that made her look like a small child afraid of being reprimanded. She nodded once.

Kratos gestured to the empty seat across from him and said, "Please, take a seat."

Spiritua carefully closed the door and walked over to the chair. When she was seated, she twirled her long brown hair around her fingers and kept her eyes on the table. Noishe, perched on the other side of the table, cocked his head to the side and peered at her with his beady black eyes.

"Before I begin," Kratos said as he eyed the girl, trying to judge her character, "I should assure you that you aren't in trouble. Did any of the priests tell you what this meeting was about?"

Spiritua raised her eyes to meet his as she shook her head.

"Then I suppose I should begin explaining. Are you familiar with this verse? 'Once upon a time, there was a giant tree that was the source of all mana…'"

Spiritua nodded slowly as confusion crossed her face. "I know it."

"Tell me, Spiritua, do you notice any problems with it?"

Her confusion grew deeper and she gave him a questioning look.

"Perhaps," Kratos said, "that the angels have not yet born the Chosen One?"

"He's coming soon," Spiritua said softly, her confusion replaced with conviction. She seemed to have come to conclusion that perhaps Kratos were here to test her faith.

"Don't you think it's time," he asked, "for the angels to bear the Chosen?"

"That… would be nice," she said, watching him closely. "The angels will come when the time is right."

Kratos nodded, then stood up and closed his eyes for a second. His wings slid out of his back, casting glittering blue light on Spiritua's stunned face. "My name is Kratos Aurion. I am an angel of Cruxis, sent forth to guide the Chosen on her journey."

Spiritua's eyes widened and her mouth hung open slightly.

"On your journey."

Her jaw dropped even farther but no words came to her.

"You are the Chosen One, Spiritua."

She finally reacted, by shaking her head. "No," she said in a voice barely above a whisper. "This is… a mistake."

"I assure you that it isn't. You must accept your destiny, Spiritua. You will regenerate Sylvarant and save it from destruction." He pulled his wings in and sat down again. "Do you understand?"

Spiritua was ashen-faced as she stared at the table. Her hands were trembling. "…Yes. O-of course… I humbly accept this honour. What… what must I do?" She raised her head and gave him a questioning look.

"In order to regenerate the world," Kratos said, "you must break four seals around the world. After your break all four seals, you will proceed to the Tower of Salvation, whereupon…" he stared at her. She was a child, really. Small and nervous and not even confident in herself as a Chosen. He had no idea if she was up to knowing the truth about her fate, and it would be better not to risk it. "…whereupon you will become an angel in full, and the world will be saved."

"I understand."

"I will accompany you on this journey. I will protect you from the dangers you may face on the road and aid you in breaking the seals. You have nothing to fear."

"When… when must I leave?"

"Tomorrow," Kratos said. "There is no reason to stick around while the world is still decaying. After we leave here today, we must go to the old church outside of town where you will officially accept your task and be given your Cruxis Crystal. Are you ready to go?"

She nodded, and Kratos stood up. "Follow me." He strode quickly across the room, pausing at the door to wait for Spiritua and her smaller steps to catch up with him. He hesitated, wondering if maybe he was rushing. She had, after all, just received quite the shock, so maybe it would be better to give her some time to fully accept her new role and come to terms with her responsibility. But then he thought about having to spend a week or so waiting around in Luin with the smell of fish. He just wanted to get this job done as fast as possible; Spiritua could handle a bit of rushing.

As they walked down the aisle of the main room, Kratos overheard the whispers of the priests as they watched the pair. The word 'Chosen' fluttered about the room, never in a voice above a whisper, but managing to reach every priest in the building nonetheless. Kratos looked down at Spiritua and could tell that she heard the whispering, too. She tried to keep her expression neutral, but the way her eyes kept darting to the priests as she frowned gave away her discomfort.

Spiritua seemed relieved when the left the church and started walking down the street. In the bustle of villagers going about their lives, no one stopped to stare at her. After all, outside the church, no one knew she was anything other than just another girl.

Curiously, Spiritua didn't seem to want to talk to Kratos about her new role as the Chosen. This surprised Kratos, since he'd figured she'd be full of questions and desperate for answers about her role and requirements. But Spiritua seemed content at staring at the ground and followed wordlessly behind him.

In fact, he didn't get a reaction of any sort from her until they reached the bridge on the edge of town. They were about to cross when a new voice shouted, "Oi! Spirit!"

Both of them turned to see a young man hurrying towards them, a cross look on his face. Kratos sighed, wondering what distraction was charging towards them now.

"It's getting pretty late."

"Huh?" Lloyd looked up at the moon, which had fully risen now and was high in the sky. He'd been listening with such rapture he had hardly even noticed the passage of time.

"You should go to bed," Kratos said. "We have to get up early tomorrow."

"But wait! What about the story? What happens with Spiritua? Who was that guy at the end?"

"That person was someone who seemed to make it his personal goal to make my life complicated for the next few months. Now go to bed; I'll continue the story tomorrow once we hit the road."

"But – but Dad! Come on, keep going! Please?"

Kratos hesitated, and Lloyd waited with bated breath to see if dropping the 'Dad' word would convince Kratos to be more charitable.

"You need to get some sleep, Lloyd. Go on."

Damn, the word had backfired and only succeeded in reminding Kratos that as his father, it was his responsibility to make sure his kid got some sleep.

"Fine," Lloyd grumbled, slumping his shoulders and turning to the door. When he reached the doorway, he looked back to say, "But you'd better continue with the story tomorrow!"

Kratos nodded. "I'll tell you as we walk tomorrow."

"Alright. Goodnight, Dad."

"Goodnight, Lloyd."

The door closed and Lloyd was embraced by the warmth of his room after the cool night air outside. As he settled into bed, ideas for keeping Kratos around ran through his head. He hoped this story about Spiritua was good and long, because so far it was his best bet at keeping Kratos on the planet for as long as possible.