AN: I couldn't get this idea out of my head, so maybe I can put it on paper. I'm going to do things my way, pretty much ignoring how most of the scenes were set up in canon, and I'm playing a big divergence somewhere after Fouquet but before the love potion incident. If you want a story that follows the storyline of the original, then you've come to the wrong place.

Also, I really am not too familiar with a lot of aspects of FoZ canon, as I've only seen a few episodes and never read the light novels. I don't have time to do either right now, so I'm just going to play it fast and loose and see what happens.

IMPORTANT: Hopefully I caught you attention as this will explain what Illusion can do for those of you confused. I am going of the assumption that he is a Raven class Assassin, with some special skills to boost his strength. Personally I think that the Abyss Walker is the strongest of the Assassin classes, but Illusion does use Shinobi abilities during fights. He's also more into the darkness than the flames of rage, so Raven it is.

Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon Nest or Familiar of Zero, obviously.

If you don't deal with your demons, they will deal with you, and it's gonna hurt - Nikki Sixx.

It was over, finally. I won, he lost, and now I was free. We were free. Lunaria and I. Just the two of us. Of course, I had thought it was over before, but this time I was certain. Why was I so certain? It could have been the fact that my hook blades had stabbed straight through his chest. It could have been that he had his hands on my shoulders to hold himself up. It could have been how his body started to morph into wispy shadows that dispersed quickly.

But it was probably the look on his face. Instead of anger, disgust, superiority, or even nothing, his face clearly showed sadness, disappointment, and... was that shame? I retracted my hooks and his body jerked before he collapsed onto me, still holding himself using my shoulders. He started shaking, and while it could have been from pain, it was more likely from trying to contain the laughter that burst from him soon after.

"Ha ha ha, so this is it, huh? This is the end? Ha ha ha, can't say I saw that coming, put down by the meat suit! Ha ha ha, saying it out loud just makes it funnier! Ha ha ha!"

I wasn't sure how to respond, so I just froze up hoping that he would vanish soon. But since when do things go my way? He just kept laughing, holding on to me like I was the only thing keeping him up (oh, right, I was), until soon his mad laughter died down and turned into sobs. Quiet, slow sobs. Sobs that rocked his whole body.

"You know, she played us like fools. Life after life, version after version, we all fall for her tricks and give her exactly what she wants. Even after all that I did for her, you have me beat for being the biggest sucker out of all of us. After all you get to keep her now... for however long it lasts, anyways. I give it a month before she tires of you as well and starts the process all over."

Why did he saying things I had no response too? This wasn't how it was supposed to be. Why couldn't it be like normal? He would insult me, call for her, demand my body, we'd fight and I'd win, and then he would whisper some empty threats before disappearing. What was with these new emotions all of a sudden?

"You know how many people I killed for her? I used to keep a goblin around to count for me. He was the smartest goblin ever, and a funny little guy too, but I killed him as well after he lost count. She's tried to escape me before, you know, but I was always the best. Fastest, strongest, and the most ruthless. I let nothing stop me from getting her back. I killed five different versions of us before you came along. Somehow, somehow, I could not overcome you. Why is that, do you think? No, it doesn't matter what you think. I know why. You're the first that held me inside. You must have somehow absorbed my knowledge and powers. Without a body of my own, it took some of my strength to maintain this physical form, weakening me, all the while strengthening you."

"There's more to it than that," I said. Finally, something I could respond to, "You let darkness and wrath consume you. You failed to realize that light and dark are two sides of the same coin, that they must be in balance. Your reliance on the darkness opened yourself up to attacks of light. Anger too, must be tempered and controlled. A raging inferno is just as likely to burn the sorceress who cast it as her enemies. True strength is achieved through peace. That's why I had to end you, not because of her."

"Pah, don't give me that taoist bullshit. You don't have any wisdom for me. Don't forget, I'm the future you... from the past. I've already seen how this goes down. The one before me was even more mad than me. He just wanted to see the world burn. That was the first time I killed, and she consoled me afterwards. She said that it gets easier, that I need to overcome my weakness, that death is as much a part of life as anything else. It was her who made me like this. I was her tool her killing dog on a leash. I guess she grew bored of killing and so looked for a new tool. She should stop coming after us, all we know is how to kill. It's all we're good at. You, me, and all the rest."

"You lie. She would do no such thing. I am more than just a tool to her. And I can do plenty apart from killing. While that maybe all the darkness is good for, the light is much more versatile.

"Don't kid yourself, we're assassins, killing is our trade, death is all we know. You can delude yourself with your precious light all you want, but it won't change a thing. Let me give you some advice. Whatever you do, don't trust anything she says. We always forget that she has been playing this game much longer than any of us, she knows what to do to make us tick, she knows what to say to make us follow, and she knows that we would kill for her without question. I know all this, and yet she could still manipulate me. She's a master at this, and now that you have defeated me for the last time, you've sealed your own have no chance to escape. Your only options is to entertain her for as long as possible."

His body shook violently in my arms, for I was now holding him close so I could hear his feeble whispers. A few racking coughs escaped from his lips, and a dark, viscous liquid splattered on the ground below us. Most of him was gone, all that remained was his upper torso, arms, and head. When his coughing fit subsided, he looked me in the eye. "Good luck, kid, you'll need it," were his last words before he finally vanished fully. Nothing was left behind as evidence of his existence but for words still ringing in my ears and the look in his eyes that I would never forget.

"Ren."

I turned, and standing there, surrounded by rays of light from the sun setting beyond her was Lunaria. The one I fought and killed for, the one Illusion had fought and killed for, the one for whom countless Ren's in the past had fought and killed. Despite what I had told Illusion, I knew that I was just the latest in a long string of people that she manipulated for some reason or another. I knew that she was likely to discard me at any moment only for the next me to take my place. And I knew that by killing Illusion I doomed myself to this faith. Yet, I didn't really care as long as I got to be with her.

"I love you."

She smiled gently and took my hands in hers, gently pulling me along as she walked backwards, leading me back towards Lotus Marsh, "I know. Now come on, let's get out of this swamp and to a beach. We can get ice cream on the way."

This truly was the worst day of my life. Sure, I had been through some tough times, my life wasn't all fun and games, which is understandable seeing as how I had a general famous for her strictness and discipline for a mother, and a father who didn't know how to show his affection properly. A passionate sister with strong views and no time to spend with family, and another sister too sick to leave her room often enough to reveal her kindness didn't really help with all the issues at home.

And yet, I'd rather be home than anywhere else, because at least there I can hide away, and no one would come to look until they remembered I existed. Seeing as how I'm so small and pathetic, that would take a long time. But here, at the Academy, I'm obligated to go to every class, or someone will come for me and find me, and then it would just get worse. Then my 'classmates' would have even more to tease me about, and the 'teachers' wouldn't stop them. Not only would I be a Zero, but also a shirker, and there is nothing worse than a noble who neglects their duties.

All nobles truly have is responsibility and magic. The greater your magic, the more attention would be drawn to you, the more responsibility would be placed on you, the more riches would reach you. A Duke, for example, has a greater responsibility than a Count or Baron, but also more lands and money. Since I didn't have magic, I had do make sure to be as responsible as possible.

That's why, even though every spell I attempt ends up in an explosion, I am still the best student at the Academy on paper. I take my responsibility very seriously, and so study, and study, and study. Every spare moment is spent in the library or in my room conducting private research and attempting some smaller scale spells. Sure, I never really succeeded with any of the spells I tried, but I still came up with several that I think others could use. Eleonore and Cattleya didn't get all of the brains. I just had no one to share them with. Nobody would trust and spell I came up with. They would all expect it to blow up in their face.

There was only one chance to redeem myself, and that was the Familiar Summoning Ceremony. A mage's familiar was directly linked to the mage's affinity and power level. A Water Mage, for example, would summon something aquatic, which apparently no one thought about because what happens if a fish gets summoned and it dies because there was no water around. There were some exceptions, or so it seemed to me, because there is no way that a simple mouse could represent Headmaster Osmond, a Square-Class Air Mage.

Everyone else had already stepped up and summoned their familiar. Some summoned normal or relatively normal creatures, like Montmorency's toad of Guiche's giant mole. Others separated themselves from the rest of the rabble with summons like Kirche's salamander, or Tabitha's Founder-be-damned dragon! There weren't many students who summoned very eye-catching familiars, but the dragon more than made up for it in my opinion. It was large, much too large to possibly be a baby, and proved that Tabitha was a very powerful mage. Of course, it also made it all the harder on me to summon something that could possibly live up to the bar.

While it would help with my standing if I summoned something as good, and I could make Kirche eat her words, I didn't dare get my hopes up. In fact, I would have been happy if I managed to summon anything at all. As long as something was summoned, then it would be confirmed that I have magic, and one day I could maybe live up to my mother's expectations. There was nothing to it but to give it a shot. And if worst comes to worst... well, I didn't even bother to think about that scenario.

"My servant that existed somewhere in this vast universe, my divine, beautiful, wise, powerful servant, heed my call, I wish from very bottom of my heart and add to my guidance and appear!"

What happened next was predictable. I didn't even need to look behind me to know that money had been passed from hand to hand.

It was an explosion.

And to everyone else, this was normal.

But not to me.

After so long, I was intimately familiar with my explosions. And that explosion...

It wasn't mine.