Hello, Sanishou here. I have made some major adjustments to this story, I took several parts that were too condensed and expanded them a bit. I apologize for the long wait, as Life has gotten in the way. But I am back now and working hard to get this updated and re-posted. Chapter 4 is in the works as well.
"Blah" - Talking
'Blah' - thinking
Disclaimer: I do not own Kratos (sadly lol) or anything to do with Tales of Symphonia. Just the plot of this story.
Let the Story begin!
The sound of hurried footsteps echoes through the empty hallway of one of the buildings of Welgaia, as a young woman makes her way toward the closed doors at the hallway's end. She is Krystina Ukishira, a Seraph, or Seraphim, one of the high Angels. There are four other Seraphs, well almost four; one has not yet completed his angel transformation. Krystina, however, was not made a Seraph, she was born one. She pushes open one of the double doors, revealing a bed on which an auburn haired man lays. She hurries to his side, sitting on the edge of the bed,
"Kratos.." she says softly, brushing hair out of his eyes. The man cries out softly, his soft reddish brown eyes flicking open as he grimaces in pain. The angel transformation is painful, but Kratos is handling it badly, and she's worried the Aionis he'd ingested has something to do with it as well as his human body.
"Tina.." he whispers, grasping her hand in his trembling one. She frowns as his body lifts off the bed with a spasm of pain, and he cries out. She tries her best to comfort him and help get him to relax as much as possible. She pulls his trembling frame into her arms, and he burrows his nose into the crook of her neck, looking for comfort from the pain tearing through his body. They are very close friends, have been for almost a decade, since Kratos was eighteen, and she was at the age of seventeen. She had escaped to the worlds, wanting to get away from the confines her life as a Seraph brought, and she met Kratos and his three companions, Yuan Ka-Fai, and also an interesting pair of siblings, Mithos and Martel Yggdrasill. Kratos is human, and the other three are all half-elves, well they were before their transformations.
"Tiny? How is he?" a voice asks, and Krys looks up, seeing Yuan in the doorway. She lets a scowl grace her lips at their old nickname for her, then she frowns again,
"Not well, it's going very rough for him." Yuan sighs, wincing as Kratos cries out as a new spasm of pain wracks his body. Krys frowns, green eyes full of worry. Yuan settles in a chair near the window, deciding to stay a while. Krys begins to softly chant, a spell circle forming around her feet, as she closes her eyes to concentrate, using an angel healing spell she created to try and soothe the pain tormenting Kratos. His angel transformation is also happening all at once, not in parts as it'd done for the others.
A few hours later, Kratos is sleeping fitfully, and Yuan and Krys are talking quietly, Mithos had recently stopped in to check on Kratos as well. Suddenly, Kratos' body bucks off her lap, as a pained cry escapes his lips, his eyes clenched tightly. Krys maneuvers Kratos in her arms so there is nothing obstructing his back. She and Yuan can tell by the way his body is arching with each of the painful spasms that his wings will soon emerge. Kratos' back soon arches yet again, as a soft glow surrounds Kratos, and translucent, sapphire blue wings burst from his back, fluttering lightly as if a breeze was touching them.
"Kratos, look." Krys says softly, and the auburn haired man lifts his head weakly, looking over his shoulder, gasping at the sight of his wings. Krys and Yuan smile a bit, and Krys again uses her healing spell to soothe some of the pain, and then Kratos soon passes out due to the total sheer exhaustion his body has suffered due to the transformation. Yuan and Krys make sure he's fine in bed, and then they head from the room to tell Mithos and Martel.
"Mithos, his transformation is now complete; he passed out from total body exhaustion in mere seconds after his wings emerged." Krys says softly, and Mithos nods.
A few days later, finds Kratos fully rested and adjusting well, and the five Seraphs are getting ready to head to one of the training rooms, all of them agreeing to help Kratos adjust to his new wings. Kratos comes up behind Krys as they wait for Mithos to activate the warp pad, watching her as she stretches, and then she releases her wings, a colored in a mix of deep purples and blues and hints of green, she had never shown them to him before. His eyes widen some, and then he smiles,
"Pretty.." he says, and she startles, then blushes. She opens and closes them a couple of times, stretching them, and watching as Mithos, Martel and Yuan release their wings as well. She smiles at Kratos.
"Your turn." And he nods, chuckling a little as he releases his sapphire wings, opening up and closing them a few times as Krys did. Mithos activates the warp panel that leads to the room they'll be training in, and they step on the pad one by one, disappearing. They arrive in the wide open training room, which almost looks like a space outside, and Yuan sets down the bag he was carrying, having brought some weapons with him. Martel, being mainly a healer, settles down on the grass to watch, while Mithos pairs with Kratos, and Krys pairs with Yuan, Martel agreeing she will 'referee' their sparring matches. They always tend to spar together a bit to warm up for their training.
"Come on Sensei!" Mithos calls happily as he takes off into the air, Krys and Yuan smirk a bit, watching Kratos stretch his wings, and then lift into the air after his student, they notice that he remembers the pointers they gave him about flying and is managing to stay on a very straight course, getting the hang of it fairly quickly.
"Wow, you're good Sensei!" Mithos cheers, watching him fly around a moment, and then he draws his sword, waiting for Kratos to get ready. Krys also draws her sword, facing Yuan and waiting for him to summon his Swallow blade. She smiles as he does, and they race toward each other, weapons clashing. Kratos watches Mithos a moment, and then student and teacher meet in a clash of swords, Martel watching intently. Mithos grins, beating his wings strongly to keep in the air steadily, parrying Kratos' sword with growing skill, the mercenary has been teaching him the ways of the sword for a little while now. Krys sometimes helps too, but she and Yuan are also often sparring themselves as well.
"Ha! I've got you now! Crimson Gale!" Krystina cries, firing an arrow surrounded in a red glow toward Yuan. He smirks and dodges it, and a fiery wind surrounds the arrow as it impacts on the ground where he had been standing.
"Impressive, Krys. Is that one new?" Kratos asks, and Krys blushes and nods, noting that he's waiting for Mithos who's having a sprained wrist healed by Martel.
"I've been working on it a little while now." She says, putting her bow over her shoulder as she smirks, leaning against Yuan's arm a bit. He smirks too and pokes her in the side.
"Aiiee!" she yelps in surprise, then smirks, tackling him onto the grass. She laughs as the young blond soon runs over, pouncing on Yuan as well, starting to playfully wrestle with him. Krys laughs and steps back, standing with Kratos as they watch the two horsing around. Martel's eyes shine with laughter too as she watches her brother and fiancé tussling on the grass, both of them laughing.
"Alright you two, time to get back at it." Krys says with a smirk, trying not to giggle at the pouts the two half-elves are giving her. Martel laughs too, shaking her head in amusement at them, and they soon get up, Yuan giving Martel a kiss, then they come back over to where Krys and Kratos are. Krys smiles too, she knows how in love Martel and Yuan are, and how happy the two are together. When Mithos and Yuan return, the four Seraphs take to the air again, continuing their spar.
By the afternoon, Kratos has nearly perfected flying and flying and fighting together, and quite enjoys it as well. They're currently on their way back to the castle, wanting to settle down and relax after the day, and also talking about a trip down to the worlds to spend a day just out in the fresh air and relaxing, the five of them spending the day together.
A few days later the friends have decided to make their trip, and Martel and Krys are out in the kitchen packing a picnic. Seraphs don't really need to eat, but it is nice from time to time in moderation. They pack a few of each of the guys' favorite snacks and drinks, and Krys laughs as Martel grins and stashes a tomato in with Kratos' sandwiches. Martel smirks,
"Should be good when he finds that." And Krys laughs and nods, knowing their friend's abhorrence to the round, red fruits. They finish and head out into one of the halls, calling for the guys to join them, Krys carrying the basket. She startles as someone takes it from her, and then smiles when she sees it's Kratos.
"Thank you." She says softly, and he nods and smiles, offering her his arm as they make their way to the Tower's warp area. Mithos programs their destination, and they head on down to the surface. They decide to head through a forest, wanting to just relax and to enjoy some of the scenery. They head northward somewhat, just enjoying each other's company, while Yuan cracks the odd jokes, his arm wrapped around Martel's waist. The two of them are engaged to soon be married and are a very happy couple. Mithos has said never would Martel find a better man than Yuan.
After walking a couple hours or more, they settle down for a break, the two women both kneel down and start unpacking the picnic after Kratos and Yuan spread out the blanket for them on the grass. The five of them settle down, though Mithos soon gets up to explore the area some as the others watch. There's much more to explore out here than there is in Welgaia. Martel rests back against Yuan, closing her eyes a bit as she enjoys the warmth of the sun and the soft breeze that's blowing through. Krys finds herself resting against Kratos as well, his arm around her waist as he leans his cheek against her head. Martel catches them and smiles, making both of them blush. Martel laughs, she has often teased them both of liking each other, which always makes them blush each and every time. Mithos soon comes back, and they smile when they see he has an armful of apples and peaches he had found.
"They look delicious, Mithos." Martel says with a smile, ruffling his blond hair. He smiles too and sits down with them, gently tumbling the fruit onto the blanket. He settles down beside Martel, leaning into her other side and biting into an apple. She smiles and wraps her other arm around him. They stay there on the blanket for a while, talking and snacking. And Martel laughs as Kratos reaches for his sandwiches and pulls out the tomato. He pulls a face and tosses the red fruit away, making the others laugh as well as he grumbles.
"It IS just a fruit, you know." Krys says with a smirk, and Kratos gives her a pout, which she giggles at and ruffles his auburn spikes. He soon smirks too, relaxing again and biting into an egg salad sandwich. She smiles too, settling back as well.
Yuan soon spots something as he gazes into the trees, and he gets up, telling them he'll be right back, and heads into the trees for a moment, saying he wants to do something, Martel's lips curve into a smile as she watches him go, knowing he's always up to one thing or another. A smile on her own lips, Krys watches him walk to a patch of wildflowers he had spotted a little bit into the trees. Kratos soon lays back on the blanket, hands behind his head, and Mithos begins to nod off a bit against his sister as well, and Krys and Martel continue to talk a bit.
Not long after, Martel now laying beside Mithos, both siblings asleep, and Krys settled on the blanket beside Kratos, watching the clouds beside the dozing Seraph, Yuan still off in the tree line getting flowers, when suddenly the air is filled with shouting. The four Seraphs bolt up quick, hands moving to their weapons as they glance around, looking for the source. Martel also glances around nervously for Yuan, as he isn't back yet. Krys, Kratos and Mithos focus on the Mana signatures they feel coming closer, finding them faint, meaning humans, and several of them too. They surround the four Seraphs in a large circle, Yuan now running toward them from the woods, a bouquet of flowers still clutched in one hand. Kratos and Krys both draw their swords, and Mithos moves closer to Martel, wanting to protect his sister. Yuan keeps running, his eyes on Martel, but some of the humans block him, cutting him off. Mithos, Yuan and Kratos now begin to argue with some of them, when suddenly all hell breaks loose.
One man lets loose what sounds like a war cry, and then an arrow whizzes through the air, and as they watch in shock, it pierces Martel's heart, and she collapses to the grass. Mithos yells out in anger, which brings Yuan out of his daze, and he drops beside Martel, the flowers all scattering on the ground as they drop from his hand, and lifting her into his arms as surprisingly in the eyes of an angel, tears start down his cheeks.
The offender emerges from the trees, and they recognize him as the man who wanted to control the world's mana before Mithos had split apart both worlds with the Eternal Sword weeks ago. He soon vanishes, having been chased by Mithos and Kratos, Krys trying to protect Yuan and Martel. Kratos and Mithos soon return, and they hurry to get Martel to Welgaia to get her the care she needs, but sadly, by the time they arrive, it's become too late, and Martel fades away in Yuan's arms. Mithos and Yuan are devastated. Kratos goes to oversee preparations for her funeral, and Krys kneels down with Mithos and Yuan, gently wrapping an arm around each of the two distraught half-elves. They both turn into her shoulders, their emotions overpowering them as they sob for Martel. Krys chews her lip, her heart breaking for her friends, as well as for Martel too, a dear friend to them all. She stays with them, comforting them as best as she can, though tears escape her own eyes as well.
Kratos soon returns, and he and Krys lead Mithos and Yuan to her room, deciding that in the circumstances, they want to stay together, taking comfort from each other's presence. Mithos settles beside Kratos, leaning his head against his teacher's arm as he sniffles, and Yuan curls up at Krys' side, his head on her shoulder, her arm around him and rubbing his side comfortingly. He sighs sadly, looking down at his hands. They stay together like that for the next few days, any of them only leaving to take care of needs, then returning right after, until the day of her service, as they arrive in Welgaia's great hall, angels bearing a beautiful casket that holds Martel, looking as if she's merely sleeping. Krys wraps an arm around Yuan as he lets out a quiet sob, and Kratos lays a hand on Mithos' shoulder, giving him encouragement, and then he goes up to speak. They all take turns to speak for Martel, saying their goodbyes to her, the angels all bowing in respect as her casket is carried out afterwards. Mithos leads the angels bearing it to a room where rests the great seed of the Kharlan tree, which rests in dormancy. He sits on the floor, gazing up at the seed as Martel's casket is brought to rest beneath it.
"I'm worried about Mithos." Krys says softly as she and Kratos lead Yuan back to her room, and Kratos nods.
"I know, I am as well." He says, sighing a bit as they settle on the bed, Yuan sniffling as he curls back up beside Krys. Kratos settles at her other side, letting his head rest down onto her shoulder. She wraps her other arm around him, rubbing his side a bit.
A few days later, Mithos has barely come out of the great seed room where both it and Martel's body rest, and little do they know he's been thinking, a lot. Overcome with grief, and his determination to find a way to someday bring her back, he's decided that the best thing there is to do, is to fuse her to the Great Seed to preserve her, and to set up a type of 'Chosen of Mana' system, to prepare a new vessel for her soul to reside in, that way he would be able to revive her and have her back. Kratos, Yuan and Krys though are wary of his plan, Yuan just wants to lay her to rest and work through his grief, not wanting to cause or risk any unnecessary grief or pain to himself or others.
As the days pass, Mithos becomes more and more obsessed, and Kratos, Yuan, and Krys are all becoming increasingly wary of him. Yuan is actually almost avoiding him, as it hurts him a great deal to think of Martel not allowed her eternal rest. Kratos and Krys try to be there for both their friends, but feel torn. They do their best to be there for Yuan, but are nearly waking around on eggshells now around Mithos, as the tiniest things seem to set him off. Kratos and Krys have also been getting closer as well, supporting each other through this hard time as well as trying to be there for their friends as best they can.
Mithos though, seems to be getting jealous of how much time Kratos and Krys spend together, whether it's just alone or with Yuan. They're almost inseparably close friends, and now Mithos is becoming almost afraid that Krys will take Kratos away from him. He often comes up to one or the other and gives them tasks, often ones that last for days or more down on one of the worlds, trying to keep them apart, but it seems that no matter how much he tries, they always end up back together again once one or the other returns from said tasks.
Around two months after Martel's death, Mithos, consumed by his grief over Martel, and his hatred and jealousy of the close friendship between Kratos and Krystina, soon summons the woman Seraph to his chamber one day. She tells Kratos and Yuan she'll be back soon, and sets down her book, they had been reading in the library. Krys is nervous as she heads from the large library, but she heads to Mithos' inner castle of Vinheim anyway, trying to ignore all her nagging apprehensions about going, and also wondering if there is anything that she can do to help her friends get through the tough times. When she comes into the room she had been summoned to, the doors are suddenly shut and sealed behind her, and she turns, eyes narrowed in confusion.
"Mithos? What is going on, what are you doing?" she asks, and the blond stands from his chair, walking closer to her, his large, pale pink and purple tinged wings fluttering behind him as he stops in front of her, his green eyes narrowing a bit as he says,
"Krystina. Kratos has become too close to you, I cannot allow this to continue as I refuse to lose another." She gasps, her eyes widening as he moves backwards, starting to charge up a spell, and she goes to defend herself, when suddenly Mithos holds out his hand, and sends a huge burst of white light in her direction. Too stunned to move out of it's path, it impacts, and she collapses to the floor, an empty expression on her pale features, green eyes closed. Mithos lifts her up, and he disappears deeper into his castle, Vinheim, and into a large room. He lays her on the plain white bed, she's placed a bit on her side and a bit on her back, then he seals up her wings inside her with a spell, and then he places a powerful sealing spell around her and the bed, walking back to the doorway. He watches her for a moment, and then shuts the large doors, and places another sealing spell on them after he locks them, and then he leaves. Kratos and Yuan are still in the library when he finds them later, and wearing a sad expression, he says,
"I'm afraid I just received word, Krystina has abandoned us all, she cannot be found anywhere within Welgaia or Derris-Kharlan, and as she left she was heard to have said that she wishes us to fall." Kratos pales and drops the book he was reading, his hands trembling, and Yuan's emerald eyes widen.
"Impossible." He says, shocked, but Kratos is silent, trying to process what he heard.
'she wouldn't do that, she wouldn't abandon us, abandon me..' he sighs quietly, letting in a silent breath, placing his book on the table, then walking out of the library, heading to his room as he feels tears sting his eyes, unable to understand why she would up and leave. With Mithos spending so much time in the seed room with Martel, she had become his and Yuan's pillar, their strength in their time of despair, and now it's gone, she's gone, and it hurts him more than he had ever thought it would have. Yuan frowns at Mithos, and soon gets up to head after his auburn haired friend, wanting to make sure he's okay. Mithos watches him go, shaking his head a bit, and then soon returns to the seed room.
Over the next several weeks, things become worse. Yuan sinks into worse depression, as does Kratos, not having their strength and comfort any more, and not only that, both men are becoming numb, robotic, almost unfeeling, as if their humanity is slowly disappearing as the days go by. Mithos is becoming the same as well, but his obsession with reviving Martel is becoming worse, and more and more of a possession. It seems to be creating an alternate and rather sadistic and violent personality within Mithos, who Kratos and Yuan have now dubbed "Yggdrasill" in secret. They've seen him harshly punish angels for even small mistakes, and have now taken to avoiding their friend, who now calls himself their leader, not wanting to be harshly punished as well.
The two Seraphs have become even more uneasy and almost afraid of how the once gentle Mithos has become so obsessed. They never thought he would become this desperate to have his sister back, that he would go to such lengths to do so, and to create even a new race, which he believes will rid the worlds of discrimination. Not realizing, or maybe not even noticing that he's twisted his sisters final wish for a world free of hatred and discrimination.
Also, they continue to search secretly for Krystina, refusing to believe she would willingly abandon them, and not even giving any thought of the fact she may still be on Derris-Kharlan at all even occurring to them.
Mithos soon brings together an organization he calls Cruxis, declaring himself the leader of it, intent, obsessed even on creating a perfect vessel to be the new host to hold Martel's soul. Not even considering the fact that it might not work, too bent on reviving her.
As the first years start to get underway, Yggdrasill expands Cruxis into a rather huge and powerful organization, headed by the 'Church of Martel' and he also finishes the final details this chosen project needs. Setting it up that selective people will be married to create specific children or "Chosens" in an attempt to create a perfect match to Martel's mana signature.
In both worlds the system begins, the Church of Martel arranging precise marriages to create perfect hosts, who will embark on a special Journey of Restoration, ending at the Tower of Salvation, where the host will become an angel, and then that Vessel will be brought to Derris-Kharlan to have Martel's soul placed inside if the match is perfect, and if not the vessel is merely disposed of on Mithos' wishes. Kratos is instructed into continuing his former work as a traveling Mercenary, to aid each Chosen on his or her journey to the tower, and then finally in to Derris-Kharlan, escorted there by Kratos.
Unfortunately for Mithos, Chosen after Chosen, whether they're from either Sylvarant or Tethe'alla, continue to fail, bearing not even a close enough mana signature to Martel, each fails one by one to become the perfect vessel, and that angers Yggdrasill more and more with each of them that fails and is disposed of. While unknown to him, his once closest friends begin to pull away from him, while continuing their search for their lost friend, Krystina.
Well there it is, I hope it's way better than before. Please review and tell me what you think of it?
Sani.