A/N: This is deticated to Zaboomafuu, for getting the 50th review on Into The Dark! And also a big thanks to WillowWhip, because if I didn't have her demanding I finish I think I never would have completed this plot line :3 It's a bit different from my average genre, I hope you don't mind~ Written in first person, from Arme's perspective (cuz I wanted to get some experience with it =D) And inspired by the song 'The Riddle Solver Who Can't Solve Riddles', by Len Kagamine~ I wouldn't reccomend listening to it until you're done the story, unless you want some hints on the plot o-o
Disclaimer: DON'T OWN ANYTHING IN THIS STORY EXCEPT THE PLOT! Why do you make me say that every time? ;_;
Oneshot: Silence
When I look back, I have to wonder... Was anything you ever said sincere?
It was raining that day. It had been for weeks prior to that day, as well. It had been our only hope that when we had finally finished with our mission, with defeating the dark queen, that it would end. Yet there we stood, the witch at our feet, and rain falling down to fill the skies around us.
"Nnhh... What... What have I done?" I looked back to the ground along with the rest of my comrades to see a silver haired boy. He was bleeding badly, major wounds to his entire body that I, even as I stood there watching, wasn't sure anyone could survive. They were wounds made by the weapons of myself and those around me, but as I looked at him had a regret for inflicting them, even though it had been necessary at the time. Large eyes of a pale blue stared up despairingly at us and without thinking I fell to the ground next to him, casting a cure over the largest of gashes. Eyes flitted to me for a second, but as soon as they were there they moved back to the leader of our group. Elesis was watching with a frown, making no mention of what had happened, yet also not stopping me from saving the boy's life.
"What did I do?" He demanded again, more desperately than the first time. I bit my lip, looking around. It was true that he was injured, but several of my own comrades were as well. I could see blonde hair swirling onto the ground as Lire lay there quietly, a deep slice in her side that lacked blood, the rain having washed it away. Ryan hung over her, her hand held tightly in his. He was glaring at me uncertainly, though I already knew why; the blades that had made the wound belonged to the silver haired boy I was currently healing. I had made certain she wasn't in a critical condition before leaving her side, but my heart still ached to see any of my friends in pain. Such thoughts made it difficult to continue flowing my magic into the heal, but I did anyway. We didn't know enough about him to let him die. Finally, Elesis let out a sigh.
"You... Does the name Kaze'Aze ring any bells?" At once the azure-eyed boy's face went pale, his eyes growing large.
"The witch that destroyed my home town...? What does she have to do with this?" He murmured finally, eyes still locked on Elesis. Ronan stepped forth, his body and clothes covered in small rips.
"We believe you were possessed... It wouldn't be the first time we've come across someone who was." The knight let the words across carefully, always the one to feel sympathy for those controlled by Kaze'Aze. The words seemed to have a large impact on the boy as he looked around, observing the large, circular room we were in. I traced his eyes as they fell on the fallen bodies of innocent people, all supporting wounds similar to the female elf's. His mouth hung open for a second, and his next words came out in a dry whisper.
"That means... I did all this?" His head fell down, silver hair draping down to cover his eyes. I reached out for his arm, but my hand stopped short. We may not have known enough about him to let him die, but we also didn't know enough about him to know wether or not he was still possessed. My eyes flitted over to the large, dead, beast-like monster lying on the ground. She looked deceased enough, but... My attention was brought back to the conversation when Elesis spoke again.
"What's your name?" She asked quietly, receiving another glance from the blue eyed boy.
"My name... It's Lass." He answered slowly, looking at them uncertainly. Elesis turned to Ronan, and they shared a glance for a second before turning back to Lass.
"Lass... We're the Grand Chase. We've been fighting against Kaze'Aze for the last two years, to protect the people of Kanavan, Serdin and beyond. Even though she's defeated, there will still be a long way until the world has recovered from her terror. We could always use help..." The boy's eyes lit up again, hope shining at Ronan's words.
"You mean... You're giving me a chance to atone for all the lives I've taken? Even though... I've hurt so many... You have no gurantee I can be a good person." Elesis frowned, eyes flaring as she looked down at him.
"Don't demean yourself. Everyone can be a good person, given the right circumstances. Are you coming with us, or not?" After a moment's hesitance, Lass nodded his head.
"I... I want to help." He finally said, looking up with determination. Elesis grinned.
"Better! Now let's go, I don't think I can sleep in this place." She added the last part with a grimace, looking at her surroundings with distain. Ronan nodded in agreement.
"We'll leave as soon as Arme finishes up with healing him." I nodded at the unspoken instructions, spreading the heal over his entire body. In this way I got to the smaller cuts as well, leaving for a better looking cure. All the small things would be completely healed up, only the larger cuts staying visible. When I finished I stood up, reaching down to offer him my hand as I looked over to where the others were standing. He took it somewhat hesitantly, looking up at me with worry. I felt guilt again as I noticed a particularily large gash that hadn't been able to be fully healed, remembering with a particular clarity inflicting it with my lamp. I tried to ignore it, looking back at his clear blue eyes as he stood next to me. It was the first time I had seen them fully, and I couldn't help but stare. It wouldn't have been an understatement to say I was captivated by them, the hints of darker blue shining through and burning into my violet orbs. To prevent myself being further dragged into the alluring colour I pulled my eyes away, releasing his hand.
"Elesis was right...Don't be too hard on yourself." I finally said, walking slowly over to the rest of the group. Hearing a bitter chuckle, I glanced back at him.
"Too hard? For what I've done, I don't think there's anything I can do that would be worse than what I deserve." Even though he said those words, his face gave way to a different message.
Back then, was I the only one that saw that terribly cruel smile?
We're setting up a tent here, guys! Lire needs some proper sleep!" Elesis called about one hour later. We had used the time to get a fair distance away from the large spiralling castle, seemingly more wrecked than it had been when we had first encountered it. Ryan nodded in agreement with the statement, looking with concern at the elven female on his back. Her head lay on his shoulder, long, blood stained hair falling down around her. The group stopped moving, Ronan going off to find firewood as Jin rummaged around in his bag. He finally pulled out all the pieces for a tent, the only one we kept in case of emergencies such as this. I paced back and forth, feeling strangely hyper as the others put up the tent. Several blankets were set up inside when it was made, and Lire was placed inside. Elesis offered to help her change, the rain soaking her and leaving a possiblity for her to become sick. Ronan returned with the wood shortly after, setting it in a neat pile in front of the tent. I went over to set it on fire, conuring a flame that couldn't be put out by the rain. When was finished I went to sit with the others, the rain falling down on us and the fire not doing much to keep us warm. There wasn't much we could do about it, though, and most of us had been trained for weather just like this. There wasn't much space left on the log they were sitting on, and I was just about to take the last seat when I realized the newest member wasn't there. I searched the campsite quickly, and finally spotted him leaning up against a tree, watching the rest of us. The branches hung low, the shadows making him nearly invisible if it weren't for his contrasting white hair.
"Hey..." My feet padded on the ground softly as I made my way over to him, finally bringing me to stand next to him. I flushed as I noticed our actual height distance, looking down at my feet as rain poured down on my hair. I gasped as my arm was grabbed, and I was pulled against Lass' side. My blush doubled as I looked curiously up at him, but his gaze wasn't on me.
"It's drier under here." He said absentmindedly, causing me to note with surprise the lack of rain on the thief. We stood there in awkward silence for a moment, side by side under the protection of the tree. That was until Elesis came back out of the tent, sending us all a tired glance.
"Does anyone feel like hunting for food today?" She asked quietly. There was silence on our behalf, and it was obvious that the continued rain was dampening everyone's spirits. I looked over at the others, watching until Ronan stood up with a sigh.
"I guess I'll go. Coming with me?" The end question was towards Elesis. She nodded after a second, turning to me.
"Can you watch Lire? I know you said her condition was fine, but... I don't know, she looked a bit pale..." Her voice trailed off as she grabbed her spear from next to her bag, where she had left it.
"Yeah, I'll do that now. I'm also going to bring the bags into the tent, we don't want them getting soaked if we can help it." Elesis nodded, waving at the rest of us.
"If you can, get some rest! We should head back to the castle as fast as possible, we need to report to the queen! I'd send a letter, but in this weather it's pointless..." She sighed, catching up with the indigo knight. Jin stood up as soon as they were out of view, walking over to where Lass and I were standing.
"I think I'm going to take a quick nap here, is that alright with you two?" He asked, a smirk on his face. I was confused for a second, then remembered with a flush how close I was to the blue eyed boy.
"Y-yes, that's perfectly fine!" I exclaimed, quickly moving out of the protection of the tree and into the downpour.
"I-I'm going to check on L-lire now!" I said, gesturing to the tent. Both of the males stared at me, but neither commented as I nearly ran away, grabbing the bags before I entered the small dry area. After I set the bags down in the corner I turned curiously to Lire, a frown forming on my face. She certainly paler than I had expected, her breaths more shallow than I would have liked. I kneeled down next to her carefully, moving over the blanket to see the wound. I bit my lip, seeing the blood that seeped into the side of her pajama shirt. Lifting the edge of the shirt up so I could see the wound, I sighed at the injury. It looked much worse than it had when it was being constantly cleaned by the rain, and blood was drying around the edges. It was also bleeding much more than it should have been...
"That... Looks bad." I turned in shock to see Lass next to me, eyes locked on the cut. I opened my mouth to complain about being surprised, but then closed it again. I needed help at that point, and I had no reason to be picky about who gave it.
"Lass... In one of the bags over there is a stack of bowls. Could you pull one out and fill it with rain water, please?" I requested, hovering my hand over the wound again. It still wasn't a lethal injury, but it would heal much faster with the assistance. The white haired boy nodded, not fully standing as he made his way over to the bags. I was nearly finished with my healing job by the time he had managed to find the bowl, and he left with it without another word. I watched him leave, eyes lingering on the opening of the tent for a moment before turning back to the elf. I leaned over to press my ear to Lire's chest for a second, counting the beats. After a minute I sat up, the frown on my face growing.
"One hundred twenty seven beats..." Her heart was going nearly two times the average speed. It had been a bit difficult to count due to the rain pounding down so loudly, but even so I knew my number couldn't be that off. I could tell it now, even though I couldn't hear the beats. Her chest was thumping shallowly in sporadic patterns, causing me to wince at the discomforting issue. If anything, her heart should have been going slower than usual... Another thought hitting me, my face paled as my hand pressed over the wound again. Lass came back in time to watch me close my eyes, doing the best I could to search through the blood for any foriegn substances. The spell had originally been for finding poisons in food, but it had to do in the circumstances. Another minute had passed before I was satisfied there had been no poison on the blades that I had missed, and I turned to accept the bowl from the thief. He sat down warily next to me as I pulled a cloth from my pocket, using it to clean the wound. Lire winced at the action, and I sighed.
"Will... She be all right?" Lass murmured. I blinked, looking over at him and nodding.
"She should be fine by tomorrow." I replied, hoping to assuage some of the guilt that was apparent on his face again. It didn't seem to work, Lass simply looking away from me. Before I could think my actions through the hand that wasn't cleaning Lire's wound was resting on his, my gaze directed towards him to see the shock that appeared on his face.
"Hey, we've been through worse... It wasn't your fault, so don't worry about it." He finally turned his head back to face me, rolling his eyes.
"Really? I fail to see anyone else who inflicted wounds on all of you. And really, how much worse does it get?" He responded harshly, his eyes to the ground. I took a deep breath before continuing.
"That wasn't you... And it got much worse. Lass, I've died before." The white haired boy looked at me bewilderedly.
"You died? That's not really something you can say in the past tense, Arme." I shrugged, somewhat surprised he hadn't brushed my hand off yet.
"It was in the Temple of Fire on our way here, actually. About one month ago the basilisk lodged his fang into my chest. It pierced my heart, so it was pretty obvious even without poisons being pumped directly into me that I wasn't going to make it. Ryan used ressurection, and fortunately for me it worked, so... Here I am, healthy as can be." I gestured to myself lazily, watching the confusion that took over Lass' face.
"Ryan can revive the dead?" I nodded lightly.
"There's roughly a five minute period after death where he can bring them back. Even if the skill is casted, it has about a fifty percent chance to work, so... We try not to rely on it too often." The thief thought for a second, looking back at me. He observed me curiously for a minute before speaking.
"I see... Arme... Did I hurt you in the battle? I've seen everyone else's wounds, but I can't seem to find any on you." He stated, watching me. I blinked back, eyes widening as my hand subconciously made it's way to my thigh. His blue eyes followed, and I sighed, knowing it would be far too obvious if I lied about the injury.
"It wasn't that bad, Lass. I just wasn't paying attention for a second, and a kunai brushed my skin. The mana in me naturally heals wounds faster than usual, so it doesn't matter. It'll be healed in a little while anyway." His eyes widened, and he leaned forward.
"Let me see." At once my face lit up, and I leaned away from his questioning gaze.
"N-no way!" I stuttered, hand pressing down on the material of my skirt above the injury.
"Arme, let me see it." I gulped, not accustomed to the serious tone in his voice. The look in his eyes matched, staring me down uncomfortably until I felt the need to look away.
"I..." Without bothering to continue the sentence, I pulled the skirt's fabric up just enough that the cut was visible. He frowned as he looked at it for a second, and before he could make a comment I covered it up again.
"See? It's not very deep at all." I explained, looking down. Lass sighed and stood up, picking up the water bowl. I watched as he went outside again, and my attentions were brought again to the sick elf. Her breathing was still erratic, her face contorted in an expression of mild pain. I felt her forehead, yet it proved to be of no help at all. She was of an average temperature, nothing to even indicate she had been outside in the rain. The only thing, over all, that seemed bad was her heart and the ammount of blood coming from the wound. It was confusing, and I sat down thinking for several minutes until the thief re-entered the tent. I glanced at him when he handed me the water bowl, returning to the place he had been previously sitting.
"You need to clean your cut... If it's not washed it could get worse, right?" He questioned. I blinked, then nodded. It wasn't terribly bad, but it could get infected even so... He had already seen the cut anyway, so I didn't bother to ask him to leave as I began washing away blood and dirt on the wound. It stung more than I would have expected it to, and I winced as I finished cleaning it. Quickly rinsing the cloth out in the small bowl, I was surprised to see Lass staring at me.
"Do you feel any better?" I looked at him curiously for a second and shook my head.
"Lass, it didn't really hurt in the first place." He continued staring, and we stayed that way until I heard footsteps outside, hardly noticeable through the sound of the beating rain. Lass grabbed to bowl again, making his way to the opening. After he stepped outside I looked back to Lire. I gasped as I realized her entire side was dyed red, and it was spreading. Checking the wound again, I wasn't surprised to see it bleeding again... As quickly as I could I grabbed one of the bags, looking inside. To my disdain it wasn't the bag with medical supplies in it, but at that point I was too frantic to be picky. It was fortunately my own bag, so I grabbed the first skirt I could find and ripped it into strips. In that way I was able to make a makeshift gauze, and I could only help it would slow the bleeding. The next step would have been my spell book, but for the life of me I couldn't think of any spells that would help. Cursing, I watched as Lire's eyebrows furrowed, her grimace deepening. Why? I was certain when I finished treating her in battle that her wound was perfectly fine! She should already be awake by now... I looked down at the palms of my hands, heart skipping a beat uncomfortably at the pink stain of Lire's blood on them. For a moment I felt utterly helpless, biting my lip and squeezing my eyes in an attempt to hold back the oncoming tears. It was pretty natural for me to cry in stressful situations, but I couldn't help the determination not to cry in front of Lass on his very first day. After all, I couldn't imagine it being very encouraging to see someone else break out in tears.
"Arme? Are you okay?" I opened my eyes to see Lass, balancing three bowls as he looked at me. I hastily rubbed my eyes, looking back at him in what I hoped to be a cheerful expression.
"Huh? Yeah, I'm fine!" His expression suggested he didn't quite believe me, but he didn't say anything. Instead he handed me one of the bowls, placing one of the others next to Lire and keeping the last for himself. I looked at it, and back to him.
"What is it?" The thief shrugged.
"Some kind of something or other fished up from the lake. Ronan and Elesis actually got back a while ago, It was pretty much ready when I went out." I was in no position to complain, as hungry as I was finally beginning to realize I was. Before I could eat, however, I looked over at Lire uncertainly. Lass followed my gaze, and moved over to pick up Lire's bowl instead of his own.
"I'll feed her, you just eat." I began to protest, but stopped short when I saw Lire actually sucessfully eat a spoonful. Whether it was concious or not, eating the food would be good for her... And my own bowl was beginning to look too tempting for me to offer to feed Lire in his place. With a resigned nod I began eating, the food surprisingly warm. It tasted amazing, though that could have been attributed to the fact that I couldn't remember eating at all that day, and fighting in the rain was never a favoured activity. It was when I was finished about half the bowl, however, that my head began to hurt. Pausing to press a palm to my temple for a second, I tried to focus as I took another spoonful. Lass was looking at me worriedly, momentarily stopping feeding Lire.
"Arme...?"
"I-I'm fine! I think I just need... Some rest..." The soup was beginning to look less appealing as I tried to stand up, stopped only by the white haired male's hand on my wrist.
"I agree that rest is probably good, but you should finish eating first. Having food in your system helps with healing." I blearily nodded, kneeling back down again. He was right... After another few spoonfuls I could hardly focus, my head throbbing. The spoon dropped out of my hand, and I made no attempt to pick it back up. All I could see were two orbs of bright azure as they came closer, lowering to my level.
"Arme, what-" I couldn't hear the rest of his sentence, my body falling forward and onto him as both of my hands flew to the sides of my head, trying to quell the terrible ache. It didn't subside in the least, causing the tears I had tried to bar back to fall, landing on the front of Lass' shirt as a hand rested on my back. Everything appeared to slow down several times, and whatever Lass was trying to say was completely lost to me. My eyes were paralyzed open, yet everything in my vision was too blurry to see. All I could really make out was the softness of the fabric, and soon the all-consuming headache had lured me to sleep.
"Nnhh..." The pounding in my head seemed to have ceased as I awoke, surprised at the circle of chasers around me in the tent, the room barely enough for all of us. The only two I couldn't see were Ryan and Lass, though even so I was fairly certain they were nearby. All their faces were tearstreaked and surprised, even Elesis. Frowning at the uncharacteristic behaviour, I sat up as well as I could.
"Why are you all crying? I'm perfectly fine..." Elesis looked away from me, the blue knight next to her holding her hand tightly. That only served to frighten me even more; Elesis detested showing affection in any form of a public setting. I looked at Jin, the only one to meet my gaze. Even his eyes seemed glazed over by tears, face in an unreadable expression.
"What happened?" I asked again, softly. He opened his mouth, then closed it again as a fresh wave of tears began to spill. A terror began to fill me as the possibilities started to fill my head, the most prominant standing out. I tried to block it out, but it came back to latch to my heart. It can't be... Not that, no way... My body shaking, I turned to our leader yet again, desperate for any sort of explanation.
"Please, Elesis... Tell me it's not..." Stifling her tears, Elesis turned to me and put into words the thought I had been dreading most.
"Lire is dead." She was brief about it, not bothering to try to cover at all. It didn't matter that she didn't; it was probably easier like that anyway. As it was my arms wrapped around my legs, proectively pulling them up to my chest to press my head to my knees as sobs began to wrack my body. Lire! N-no... I can't... She was... My mind couldn't come up with words to describe my emotions, simply crashing into a spiral of painful memories as I thought about the elven female. B-but I was so certain... I know she was fine! I was even beginning to doubt that, though I could clearly remember healing her wounds to the right amount to keep her alive. It doesn't matter what you thought you did. She's dead now, and you're never, ever going to see her again. Who's fault is it? Your own. The thought nearly caused me to choke, pulling my hands to press on my chest and try to relieve some of the building pressure. Memories fell apart like cracking stones, crashing down around me until I felt I could no longer sit. Nothing can be more painful than this... I wish I had never woken up... Just let me sleep forever.
"Why did this have to happen? We finally defeated that damn witch just to have her take one of us with her?" I could hear the pain seeping through Elesis' voice, only adding to my own burden. My knees fell away from my chest, resting at my sides as my body fell forward. Before I could hit the ground I fell against something, and I could feel arms wrapping around me. I didn't bother opening my eyes, my first course of action to struggle as hard as I could. Leave me alone! I don't want your comfort!I just wanted to be isolated from the others, and to be allowed to wallow in my misery. It certainly wouldn't get me anywhere, but it seemed the only thing to do to relieve my heart of the pain I felt.
There was only one thought that stopped my struggles, causing me to fall lifelessly into the embrace. Where's Ryan? Does he... Does he know already? I knew my pain was terrible, but I also wasn't delerious enough to believe I was the one who had it the worst. Trying to compose myself was a meaningless effort, and I quickly gave up on it, the warmth surrounding me making it that much easier to cry. I wasn't sure how long I stayed there for, crying my eyes out with my fellow chasers. The loss of Lire didn't seem any less as my tears dried out, leaving me hiccuping quietly as I tried to pick myself up off the ground. My amethyst eyes opened up slowly, and I realized I had just been crying on Lass. I didn't feel like I had enough emotions in me to feel embarrased, and all I really wanted to do was be out of the rest of their presence.
I couldn't voice the words to ask how long ago she had died, or wether or not she had been buried. All I had the strength to do was move past the white haired boy and outside, where the rain was still falling down heavily. I didn't even try to move into shelter, looking up to allow it to fall down on my face. For the first time in weeks I appreciated the rain, giving the impression that the sky was grieving along with the rest of us. In my mind it should have; there was no one I could think of more deserving to have the entire world know of her death, and I felt as though perhaps the rest of the world might be able to feel some of our misery. Raindrops poured down my cheeks, mimicing the tears I had run out of. How, I wondered at that moment, would I ever be able to move on from that point? I didn't know, and didn't want to know. Soon footsteps were heard, and I saw a flash of red next to me.
"Arme, you're going to get sick..." I didn't bother to look at Jin, following his instructions without a word. Everyone was looking at us when we returned, Elesis looking down at the ground.
"We need to get going... To get Lire's body to the Elven Forest." She murmured. I wanted to argue that we shouldn't leave the spot, but I held my tongue as I looked at the logical aspect of it. The constant rain would cause her... Corpse... To deteriorate faster, which meant we needed to get to the forest as soon as possible. I could cast a preservation spell normally saved for foods, but even that wouldn't be able to protect her for too long. I looked around at the rest of them, thinking over Elesis' idea.
"I'll get ready, so let's leave as soon as possible. Where's Ryan?" Ronan looked at me for a second, and then looked back outside.
"We don't know... He left a few hours ago. After Lire died, we weren't sure if you would make it... It was too much. I don't think he went too far, though." I nodded, moving back outside. It wouldn't be extremely difficult to find him, the spell I had learned about a week made specifically for purposes such as this. Within a few seconds I was able to sense his energy, much closer than I would have thought. It was only a few minutes into the forest when I found him, curled up against the trunk of a tree. I reached out for his arm gingerly, almost afraid to touch him.
"Ryan, we need to get going. If we don't, Lire's body... Won't last long enough to bring it to the forest." The elf's eyes opened slowly, staring at me with a cold glance.
"I don't want to move." He didn't say anthing else, and I sighed before tugging on his arm.
"You may not want to, but this is for Lire. She... Won't you even do this for her? I'm certain she wouldn't... Want to have to stay out in a place like this for the rest of eternity." Ryan's mouth opened as he stood up, but nothing came out. The cold look in his eyes had been replaced with one that looked like he was about ready to attack me, and I flinched back in fear.
"You... I would do anthing for Lire." He finally let out, though he didn't seem as though he was going to follow me. I took a step in the direction of the rest of the chasers, but the druid made no attempt to follow. Turning back to him, I paused. We stood in silence for a second, until another person entered the area. My eyes widened when I noticed Lass standing next to me, eyes on Ryan.
"Elesis asked me to come see what was going on... Are you coming?" Ryan was shaking, eyes burning into the silver haired boy. I wanted to say something that would help calm the rage that seemed to be taking over him, but knew there wasn't much I could say. After all, being around Lass and I couldn't have been helping him much, I was surprised he hadn't already made a move to attack either of us without thinking. In his eyes... We were the person who inflicted the final blow on Lire, and the person who didn't heal her well enough.
I turned around silently, heading back to the others. If Ryan came back, it wouldn't be by my words. Lass didn't follow, and I ended up leaving the two behind as I made my way back to the rainy clearing. Elesis turned to me as I re-entered, quite clearly shocked at the lack of Ryan and Lass following me. I didn't look back at her, instead grabbing my bag off the ground. I went to stand with the others, all congregated to the side and under a tree. My heart nearly stopped when I saw Lire's motionless body held by Jin, who seemed to have somehow gotten over the shock of holding her. I walked over quietly, hovering my hand to cast the preservation spell. There wasn't much else we could do for her at the moment... More footsteps were heard, and I turned to see Ryan and Lass entering. Neither seemed particularily happy, but at the very least Ryan didn't seem as though he was ready to kill me. The two rejoined us quickly, and it wasn't long before the druid had scooped Lire from Jin's arms. He held her tightly, and I felt anguish wave over me as I watched him, his face held in an expression of misery.
"Okay, let's get going." Elesis' voice rang out over us all, but it lacked it's regular volume and enthusiasm. I hadn't expected much different... We began at a fairly slow pace, picking up speed as we moved on. I would have complained under any other circumstance, even though the years of running had set me up for trips like this, where we had to move quickly. Even I knew this was no situation for it, and no word of protest passed my lips.
One week passed slowly, and I was aware many of us were reaching our physical limits. We were nearly at Partusay's Sea, and we had been stopping for the minimal ammount of time possible each night. I was easily loosing my senses, and it seemed the only ones able to function fully were Elesis, Ryan, and Lass. Elesis due to her sheer determination, Ryan his need to take care of Lire's body, and Lass... I really didn't know why he didn't seem to be affected by the long days and short nights, but I supposed it could have been attributed to his being possessed. Maybe he's like... A super-person or something now? I was overly tired, and such nonsensical thoughts happened to come by me often when I was.
Perhaps it was my way of defending myself from the only other thing there was to think about; Lire. As it was, for being in the rain her body had been fairly well preserved. Ryan hadn't ceased carrying her since we had began, though most of us had offered to take her at least once. He seemed to have lost all emotions, only seeming impatient when we stopped for food or sleep. I wasn't quite sure why he was so hyper to get back; yes, we could put Lire to rest, but... What next? The glue that had been holding us together, the somehow invisible belief all of us would come out of this unscathed... It was gone. The question that now seemed to linger over us all felt imminent: Who will be the next? Our true purpose was over, and I really wasn't certain we would be able to handle living near each other with the memory of Lire hanging nearby. My thoughts were disturbed by a tug on my arm, and I turned to see Lass pulling me forward a few steps to where Elesis had stopped. Over the past week I had gotten closer to the thief, still trying to make way through my grief to make a connection with him. He had just joined... For this to happen so shortly after, and by a wound inflicted by his own weapon... If I were him, I knew I would feel like I was the reason that everyone had changed. We hadn't been very lively the night we had met him, but anything had to be better than the way we were now...
"Guys, we're almost at Partusay's Sea. It's just past this part of the forest..." She paused for a second to surpress a yawn, and I noted Elesis was beginning to succumb to the lack of sleep as well.
"The boat we used to sail here should be pretty close by, once we get out of here we'll split up and try to find it." I nodded, rubbing my eyes as I stood back up from where I had crouched down. I sighed, praying we were walking the rest of the way out of the forest. No one else seemed to be anywhere near running, so I began to walk. Even so, my legs felt weak underneath me. Looking around, I noted the expressions of everyone. Ronan seemed worried, watching Elesis out of the corner of his eye. The said redhead was a whirlwind of emotions, changing in her eyes so often it was difficult to read even one.
My eyes moved to Ryan, and it was hardly necessary to see his face to know how he was feeling. Depression rolled off him in waves, coupled with the annoyance that we weren't moving faster. He had changed so much over the last week... I could hardly remember how cheerful he had been before Lire's death. Jin... Jin just looked sad. I felt pity for him; he hadn't been travelling with us long before this had happened either. I remembered with a start that he had been looking for a girl called Amy, whom he had known from the silverknights. She was somewhere in the Xenia continent... I wondered briefly if he would still go to look for her, even after we arrived back at the castle. Finally my gaze landed on Lass. I paused for a second, watching him carefully. He noticed, but that was a given; he didn't make any motion of caring that I was staring at him intensely. After a few minutes I gave up. The thief either had no emotions or was extremely good at hiding them, and I was personally opting towards the latter. My own expression... I couldn't begin to think of what it looked like. I had been told several times before that my expressions were easy to read, so I supposed it didn't matter how much I tried to cover them up. I trudged along silently, the edge of the forest right infront of me. I sped up for the last few steps, and was almost surprised when rain started falling down heavily on me.
Looking up in to the sky at the angry, grey storm clouds, I slowly remembered the continuous rainfall. We had been in dense forests over the last week, the trees acting as an almost perfect barrier to the water. There was still a pounding sound on the treetops, but over a week one learned to ignore the background sounds. I now stopped to let it all in, the rain almost soothing. I had never really liked rain, but lately... It seemed so comforting. Even though it was a painful reminder of Lire's death, it made me feel like the world was weeping for her along with us. I just stood there letting the rain fall down on me until the others came, Elesis the next out of the forest followed closely by all the others. It was at that point I decided I should probably be more aware of my surroundings, and I finally looked around.
We were in a fairly small plane of grass, overly green and flourishing from the constant rain. But... I frowned at a rather worrying sound; that of loudly rushing water. We appeared to be near the top of a cliff overlooking Partusay's Sea... I hesitantly stepped forward, walking until I reached the edge. Peering over, my frown deepened. I had been right about our location; about a fifty foot drop to the water existed from that point. It was also extremely concerning. I remembered that exact cliff from when we had come to Ellia, staring at it with concern as Ryan had joked about climbing it. My eyebrows furrowed; it had been at least a seventy foot drop then... That would explain the sound of water, coming from the swirling against the rocks that were most likely just below the surface of the water now. Footsteps approached, and I turned to see Elesis approaching. Ronan wasn't far behind, walking just slowly enough that he wouldn't be on Elesis' heels. It was obvious he was concerned, especially considering Elesis' lack of ablilty to swim.
"The water is really rough, Elesis. I'm not sure we should be going out there in a boat..." I reported, leaning over the edge again and shivering. I, for one, didn't want to fall into the dark waters, where I was certain several monsters were lurking. I was pretty certain the redheaded knight felt the same way, judging by how she bit her lip as she glared over the edge of the cliff.
"What should we do?" I looked back up at her, worry taking over my thoughts. There was no way we could just wait for the weather to mellow out and the water to calm down, but at the same time I knew there was no way we could get across like this. She let out a sigh, looking to Ronan.
"Your dragon?" Ronan shook his head sadly, keeping his eyes on her.
"He won't fly in the rain either..." He murmured, looking to the others.
"My gorgos is the same story." I added miserably, before I could be asked. Elesis sighed again, taking a step closer to the edge to peer over one more time. She looked at Ryan and Jin before placing a hand on her chin, appearing deep in concentration.
"Alright. I'm thinking the best way to go is around. At the shore below the Ellia continent the body of water is thinner, and there's a bridge a good sixty feet above the normal water level. It should bring us out somewhere in the mountains behind trial tower... It'll take a bit longer than going across partusay's sea, but it's the fastest way I can think of in this damn rain." She looked to Ronan for confirmation, and recieved a nod. Quite suddenly, sounds began getting louder. The rumbling of the water escalated, and I could feel a light tremble in the ground below me.
Chkkk.. Crack-
My eyes widened as the next events took place; the wet, unsturdy rock falling out from under Elesis' feet, and a scream louder than I think I'd ever heard from the knight.
"ELESIS!" It was of no surprise that these words came from Ronan, rushing forward as I watched petrifiedly.
"WAIT! STOP, RONAN!" That was Ryan, though I couldn't see him from where I was. My eyes were locked on the still crumbling cliff, and the body of the spell knight as he dove after the redhead. There was a large splash, followed by another. Both shook me badly, and my whole body was quivering from fear.
"Arme, get out of there!" That was... I wasn't sure who. It didn't matter, my legs frozen beneath me gave me no chance to do so as I looked down into the spiralling depths of the water.
"ARME!" Before the last of the ground could crumble beneath me I was yanked up, my body lifted out of the way seconds before the entire point of the cliff could collapse. My eyes squeezed shut, heart beating at an overly rapid rate. When my eyes opened however, I was certain I felt my heart ice over.
"P-Put me down!" I yelled, louder than needed. My request was heeded, but it didn't do much. As soon as I was released I dropped to the ground, burying my head in my hands. If I had looked around I would have seen Lire's body placed down on the grass as Ryan was being held back by Jin, stopping him from trying to go help the knights. I would have seen Ryan's face, in an impression of absolute anger and sadness. I would have seen Jin's face, tears streaming down as he tried pointlessly to calm the druid. I didn't look up though; I couldn't. To look up would mean I would also have to see the merciless smirk adorning the face of the thief hovering above me. I would also have to admit to the kunai that I had seen split the ground, fallen down to join the knights as they were swirled around helplessly in the dark, cold, water.
My eyes flew open as soon as conciousness returned to me and I sat up, unable to remember when I had lost it. I was on something rather comfortable, and I looked down to see blankets in a pile underneath me, a white one lying on top of me. Searching around, I quickly came to the realization that I was in the tent. I was in there because... My body gave a slight tremor as I remembered Elesis going over the edge, Ronan following after without a second's hesitation. Then... The shine of the blade as it had pierced the ground. Shutting my eyes tightly, I tried to vanquish away the thought. It... I was tired. It wasn't a kunai, it wasn't a kunai, it wasn't a... Then, without warning, a smirk flashed into my mind. My hands clenched the sheets tightly, my knuckles turning white.
"If you keep thinking that hard, you're going to hurt yourself." My eyes flew open as I heard a voice, even though I hadn't heard anyone enter. Remembering a second too late the only one with footfalls silent enough to accomplish such a feat, I found myself face to face with the white haired thief. He was looking at me with a neutural expression, and for a second I started to believe everything I had experienced earlier was just a dream. This hope was wiped out quickly, the glint in his baby blue eyes making me shiver as he took several steps and ended up kneeling next to the makeshift bed. I found myself unable to move my gaze as he watched me, fear beginning to come out.
"You know." Lass stated calmly, observing my reaction. My eyes had widened even more, and I didn't dare say a word. I felt utterly helpless under his gaze, and I released the bed sheets in favour of wrapping my arms around my waist protectively. He tilted his head, a cold smirk growing on his face as he looked at me.
"Why didn't you tell anyone? You had the perfect chance, and I know you were able to speak. For all you know, you could be next." Tears began falling from my eyes as I looked down, finally released from the hold of his stare.
"I-" I could see him frown through my half-lidded eyes, looking down at me.
"So, you're going to be the death of your friends as well?" he questioned, toying with a strand of my hair. At this my eyes widened, face paling as my heart skipped a beat.
"I... N-no... Please..." My chin was grabbed roughly, forcing me to look into his eyes again. I let out a quiet wimper under the heavy glare, watching as he came closer.
"I don't grant wishes, girl. What I suppose I do have to do, however, is treat you for staying silent." Another smirk began to pull onto his face, and it wasn't difficult to figure out his plan. Even so, I didn't make any move to stop him as Lass leaned forward in the slightest, claiming my lips without resistance. I instinctively tried to pull back, but the hand that had been playing with my hair earlier was holding me tightly in place. My hands moved from my waist with the intention of prying his hand off my chin, but they ended up resting pointlessly on his wrist as I sat there resignedly. I was beginning to get light headed when he let me go, and I couldn't move at all as he pulled back, staring with wide eyes as he looked at me thoughtfully.
"Hmm..." I waited for him to finish the thought, but he never did. Lass simply turned and left, leaving me to stare after him, still shaking badly. Tears fell from my eyes silently as I tried to move, managing to stand up several minutes later. I numbly folded up the blankets, clearing the necessary items out of the tent before exiting. Ryan was standing outside a fair distance away, Lire's body curled onto his chest. He turned to look at me, and his expression quickly changed to confusion. I realized why easily; I must have looked like a ghost. I certainly felt like one, a lack of emotions other than fear echoing inside me. I felt hollow, unable to even bring up the loss of Elesis and Ronan.
"Arme... What happened? Are you... All right?" I turned to see Jin at my right, looking at me with an expression of confusion matching Ryan's. So, you're going to be the death of your friends as well? I opened my mouth, willing something to come out; nothing did. I closed my mouth as I blinked slowly, looking back and forth between the two of them. What are you doing? I had no answer for myself; not a single one as I continued walking, eyes falling to the ground.
"Nothing. I'm fine." I could feel their eyes on me as I exited the cover of the forest, entering the grassy plane. It was still raining... I turned back to the others, looking immediately for Ryan. He hadn't moved since I had passed him, and I approached quickly. Hand resting over Lire to re-form the preservation spell, I turned to Jin.
"Can you pack up the tent?" He nodded slowly, and I was certain he was surprised by the lack of emotions in my voice. I was the only one left of the original chase... The thought somehow made things more difficult, like all of the responsibility had been put on me. I didn't voice any of these emotions, instead looking down at Lire sadly.
"We need to get to the Knight Master and Elven Forest as quickly as possible... I'm pretty sure Elesis had the right path." Ryan nodded, brushing a strand of the girl's blonde hair back. Jin, who was nearly done collapsing the tent, also nodded. We knew Elesis and Ronan were dead... We also knew that there was no time to grieve, and no chance of finding their bodies. He packed up quickly, coming to join the us. We only had to wait a second before the thief was there as well, looking monotonously at the us. I did my best to keep my face void of emotion, turning back to where the cliff was. Leading the way, I walked into the grassy clearing and to the right. We would have to keep walking to make it to the border... I had fortunately forgotten most of my fatigue, my motions seeming natural as I began to take up a light run. The rest of the group followed suit, and we continued on quietly.
"Arme, we need to stop... I don't think I can run any more..." I nodded at the request, coming from Jin. We had been running for four days, and there hadn't been much going on. We had just been moving ahead, stopping for minimal time, and eating even less than we had in the previous week. I wasn't very cut out for being a leader; that much I could say easily. Elesis, while she hadn't been the most eloquent, had been much more adept at it... I let out a sigh as we slowed down, hands being pulled into fists. I couldn't even do the basic thing; telling the others who killed Elesis and Ronan. It wasn't like I hadn't had the opprotunity; In fact, it seemed like Lass was going out of his way to give me them. Like some kind of game... And I couldn't do anything. It felt easily like I was under a spell... Something holding me back from saying the words. I glanced over to the thief again, and recieved a calm, emotionless expression. Naturally... I bit my lip, looking around. The rain was pouring harder than it had previously, and there was hardly any shelter to be found. Not that I had to worry about that... Some how the thief had taken to dragging me somewhere dry, no matter how much I struggled. I had finally given up on the third day, allowing myself to be dragged away and put somewhere drier. It wasn't as though it was something bad, it was... I could feel a blind fear whenever he was anywhere alone with me. It wasn't like I could get away... I might as well have been a doll. I lit a fire as usual before looking around at the others.
"All right... Who's hunting today?" Lass lifted his hand as usual, and I was surprised to see Ryan follow suit.
"I've been so useless lately..." He muttered quietly, walking over to Jin. I was almost surprised when he laid her in the fighter's arms, turning back to Lass.
"Let's go." The thief nodded, turning around to look at me once before leaving, the druid following. My eyes widening, my heart filled with dread as I reached out futily to the orange haired boy as he left the clearing. Jin looked at me confusedly, and back to the place the other two had left. His eyes then fell to the elven girl, and he came to sit down next to me.
"We need to go back soon... So much is going on... I need to get to Xenia. Amy... She might need me." He practically whispered the girl's name, a far off look even as he gazed at the female in his arms. I nodded quietly, looking over at him.
"You're going to go... Alone?" He nodded.
"Amy might be counting on me, you know? I can't let anything stop me." My eyes closed quietly as I listened to him, beginning to ramble on. Times like this... I could almost imagine everyone was around again, laughing and smiling. I could pretend that we had defeated Kaze'Aze without any casualties, and that Jin wouldn't be alone on his mission. Maybe Lass would be there, but not... I could pretend it was everyone's happy ending. Why couldn't it have turned out like that? Tears began to stream again, and I felt misery take over. I thought I was done with all this crying... I looked towards the direction they had left again, shuddering. I could feel something happening... I knew quite obviously what it was, as well... I brought my knees up to my chest, resting my forehead on them. Maybe I could just pretend none of this was really happening...
"Arme...?" I blinked, rubbing my eyes as I looked around. Jin was sitting next to me, a worried expression on his face.
"You fell asleep..." I sighed, looking around again. Lass was back, watching me from a fair distance away. I didn't bother to ask the question bubbling up in me, I knew the answer already. There was no trace of orange anywhere, and Lass looked like he had already been back for a while. The food was already cooked, a warm pot of whatever-it-was prepared and over the fire. The silver haired boy had a bowl held out to me, and I accepted it without a sound. A glance was exchanged between the thief and the shisa, and finally Jin stood up.
"Arme... Ryan isn't coming back." He finally let out, head down. My own raised in interest.
"Wait- Not coming back? Where is he?" He almost made it sound like...
"He wanted to go on ahead to get preparations for Lire's funeral..." The red haired boy announced miserably, looking back up at me. I had paused, turning to look at Lass. There's no way... I didn't dare ask. Why did you tell me this, Jin? Just to get my hopes up? I closed my eyes, letting out a sigh.
"Well... We'll continue on in the morning. Get some rest..." I muttered, stirring my soup slowly. Eventually I managed to eat it, Lass waiting patiently as Jin seemed to already be asleep. Placing the bowl next to the pot, I stood for only a moment before I was picked up. I couldn't care to pay attention to where we were going, sitting there numbly.
"What really happened to Ryan...?" I murmured quietly. The thief stopped for a second, looking down at me with a smirk.
"Whatever are you talking about?" I didn't press any further. If I was trying to deny reality, why make it harder? We would reach the bridge the next day, anyways...
The next day I woke up to a much different scene than I had expected, Lass no where nearby. I frowned in confusion, noticing my location under a tree somewhere. I didn't remember being put there, and more importantly couldn't remember how I'd gotten there. I sat with my legs on either side of me as I wondered what exactly I should do, when I heard a loud, metallic collision. My eyes opened wider, my body shaking. That was the sound of... Metal and something... My heart raced. There's only one thing that could be... Forcing myself to stand, I began running desperately toward the sound of the noise. It had to be... I looked around as I continued running, praying I was going in the right direction. More clanks were heard, and I followed until I reached a large log, and the knocked over pot of the previous night. My face was nearly white as I continued on, finally finding what I was looking for. About thirty feet ahead of me stood Jin and Lass, engaged in a battle. The shisa was the first to see me, though I was certain Lass already knew I was there. I had been pretty noisy coming over.
"Arme! Get over here!" My eyes widened as Jin yelled out, avoiding another blow from the thief, who was now supporting the same grin he had a few days ago. My lamp... My body neemed numb as I took a few hesitant steps forward, eyes on the two. Jin's eyes were darting back and forth between myself and the fight, clearly wondering why I hadn't joined in yet. I remembered slowly that I had left the lamp back at the camp, though it didn't matter in the end. I could hardly stand; my legs giving out underneath me as I quickly tried to summarize the battle. It was fairly obvious without that; Jin was the only one sporting many injuries. I need to get to Xenia. Amy... She might need me.
"STOP IT!" My desperate call fell on deaf ears, the battle not slowing in the least. The two exchanged several more blows, and I began crying. Watching the fight was scary; knowing I was supposed to be a part of it was worse. Lass was clearly higher in skill than Jin; than myself as well. There was no way to win...
"PLEASE! STOP!" My voice didn't reach Lass, not even receiving a glance from him. Jin spared a second to look at me, distracting himself from the battle. I watched petrifiedly as the thief easily landed a kick on his back, keeping a heel on the shisa's back as he fell to the ground with a loud crack. Jin attempted to push up from the ground, to no avail.
"Don't let yourself get distracted." The white haired boy whispered these words cruelly as he pulled a kunai from his pocket, spiralling it once on his finger before flinging it at the fighter's back. His struggles ceased, and Jin fell lifelessly, as though a rag doll. Amy might be counting on me, you know? I can't let anything stop me.
"No... No... No..." I began whispering the word over and over again, fear exploding inside me as Lass glanced over at me. Stepping on the kunai to drive it further into the lifeless body of the shisa, he turned quietly to stare at me. Even though he took his time in slow, even strides, it didn't take long for him to reach my location, kneeling down infront of me. My head fell to the ground, afraid to make eye contact with the thief. It appeared, however, that I didn't have a choice in the matter. My chin was yanked up as it had been a few days prior, forcing me to look into cold, blue eyes. There wasn't the slightest hint of the warmth they had held the first time I had met him, though they still seemed to hold some kind of a lure.
"I thought I told you I don't grant wishes." He murmured quietly, "So you needn't have yelled. Unless, of course, your goal was to get him killed." He added the last part thoughtfully, causing me to whimper.
"No... I never wanted that to happen..." My voice came out raw, the concequence of having cried too much.
"Really? You could have fooled me. You knew it the moment I killed Elesis and Ronan... Your suspicions probably began when the blonde elf died." My eyes widened.
"L... Lire as well?" I gasped, looking at him soundlessly. The thief rolled his eyes.
"Of course. I'm a terribly good liar, I'm not surprised you didn't notice right away. You weren't wrong about pronouncing her fine in the middle of battle." He paused for a second to pull out another kunai, holding it out infront of me.
"Do you know what this is? A kunai, laced with the slightest traces of atropine. Virtually undetectable, all it really does in small quantities is speed up your heart rate. Since you and her were the only long distances, you were the only ones that were hit with them." I blinked, confused for a second.
"Lire... And myself?" He nodded.
"You didn't notice the increased heart rate due to all of the running you did so it didn't really matter. Since the girl's heart was going faster than usual, she was obviously bleeding more than usual..."
"But that couldn't have killed her!" I said, somewhat curious beneath all the fear. Lass nodded.
"It wasn't that. It was actually the water you used to heal the wound, and the soup."
"But I had both of those..." Lass looked at me with a sigh.
"You don't remember me emptying out the water bowl both before and after you used it? There was the antidote in that, as well as your food. I put poison in hers. Your body reacted pretty violently there for a bit, I was almost certain I had given you the poison instead." He explained. Thinking back, I could remember... Why didn't I think to question that? Another idea seemed to have hit him, and I winced back as he smirked.
"And thanks for the tip on Ryan's revival. Without that he might have been able to save her, but with that fact it was easy to wait ten minutes after she was actually dead to call them. Ryan was the next to go, once we had gotten to a good enough location." I felt the little hope I had for the elf draining, and he seemed to notice it.
"You actually thought he would go on ahead and leave the blondie over there with you? There was an extremely low chance of that... In any event, we fought once we were deep in the forest. I'll leave it to you to figure out who won. As for Jin... There was no point in waiting. We would have reached Bermesiah today, and I'm personally much more comfortable in Ellia." My heart sped up, stomach twisting and turning as I was given the details to the deaths of my friends.
"And now, on to more important matters. What to do with you...?" My hand shook as I reached out to place it over his, pulling the kunai to my bared throat. Lass watched with traces of amusement on his face, yet he said nothing.
"Just kill me, please... You've already taken everything from me." I begged quietly, surprised at the strength with which he pulled back the metallic weapon.
"Haven't I already told you I don't grant wishes? Several times?" He questioned, placing the kunai back in it's holder, "Though that does give me an idea." He glanced at me for a second before pulling a vial out of his pocket, the colour of which was a pale blue.
"Never think you're at rock bottom, Arme. There's always something else to loose." He murmured these words quietly, taking a small sip of the liquid. I watched inquisitively, not at all expecting him to suddenly force his lips against my own. I let out an invoulentary gasp, and was greeted by the strange liquid being transferred into my mouth. My senses felt numb as the liquid fell down my throat, regardless to my wants. I was hardly able to comprehend my own dire need for air, making my head spin badly. By the time he let me go I had no objections to falling on his chest, eyes falling shut drowsily as my tears ceased.
"What...?" I felt a hand rest on my back, and another lifting up my legs. I could dimly feel being picked up, but anything past that was voided out.
"I've returned."
"And you brought one back, Lass? How useless."
"Not as useless as you might think. I can think of several times the magician of the Grand Chase was said to have destroyed the plan, such as with Elena..."
"Hmm... And what do you propose I do with this... Girl?"
"Do you really need to ask? I'm afraid guarding the castle alone has gotten terribly boring as of late..."
"You, of all people, are honestly requesting a partner?"
"You might say that."
"How interesting... Fine. I will grant this one request of yours, Lass. I hope you don't come to regret it. Even posessed, most will retain their personality, so she won't just be a lifeless doll."
"That's what I'm counting on."
The Grand Chase had been destroyed; news spread like wildfire across Bermesiah. Word spread to the Knight Master, eventually, and she requested troupes be sent to find their bodies. The first to be found were Lire and Jin, both on the border of the Ellia continent. After much searching, Ryan was found in a forest nearby. Elesis and Ronan were a bit more of chance; their bodies had both surfaced up in seperate villages. They had been reunited with the others for the largest funeral Bermesiah had ever seen, all of the warriors buried next to one another. There was only one body, in the end, that hadn't been recovered. Several ideas went around about her death; perhaps she had suffered the same fate as Elesis and Ronan, yet hadn't been lucky enough to surface? Perhaps she had been eaten by monsters or animals? Theories were passed around and around, but in the end only one thing was certain: the body of Arme was missing. Slowly, years went by. People began to forget, and the Grand Chase was lost among many other attempts to defeat the dark queen.
Though some times, rather rarely, a rumour came around. One of two warriors, a thief and a magician. They stood guard over the castle of Kaze'Aze eternally, easily destroying all of those who tried to pass. On bright nights, when the moon shone down and encompassed Ellia, it was said that their silhouettes could be seen against the castle, always together.
A/N: DONE! FINALLY! =D This took... A lot of time O_o P.S. Atropine, while an actual drug, I'm not perfectly certain those are the effects~ Ah well x3 Was anything confusing? It's 2:30, so I wouldn't doubt that I left something out ;_;
-Utsuro