"Winner, and promoted to the rank of Khaos, Summoner Flaga!" Announced the ever-present voice of the arena announcer.
At last, I sighed to myself. The badge on my left shoulder glowed brightly, the runes changing from 'Eukleia' to 'Khaos'. I rubbed the trinket lovingly, 'Oh the work it took to get you' I whispered. I looked up to my team, they've stuck by me through thick and thin. No group in my mind could have achieved what we just did.
Magress, the silent knight, nods at me as we meet gazes, or so I would like to think. He never takes off his helm so I would just have to assume. He was, and still is, the leader of the squad I built when I was still a 'Rookie'. Next to him was the equally silent Lira. The half-demon was looking at her blade, though I admit I would too. It really is fascinating how the ethereal flames spew out endlessly from her sword. In front of her was Zephyr. The guardian was twirling his lance around, the exact reason I do not know, but I noticed he always did it after a tough fight, especially when it ends in victory. The hulking mass behind me stirs, signaling the execution of SGX's standby mode. I look up to it endearingly. "Thanks a lot crab, you did well today," I say as I attempted a very awkward pat on the machine's leg closest to me. The beeping noises and the sudden release of steam, I can only guess, is his way of reciprocating the grateful gesture. Looking around, I notice that we are one member short. Our murder mistress had disappeared
The sound of jingling metal forces me to turn around, only to be tackled by a purple blur.
"We did it!" The bladed bundle squeals.
Kikuri's outburst were so frequent that everyone in the team expected them after every victory. Of course, she did those too when we lost, and they were a welcome distraction to the disappointment of losing, but today was not such day. The elation from the victory has not worn off the slightest, and even the most silent of us breathed a nice hearty laugh at our achievement.
"Yeah, we did," I smiled as I gave her a pat on her head. She answers me with a giggle. In this position, you wouldn't even think of her as a murderous, blood-thirsty instrument of death.
"Ahem," an irritated cough breaks the sweet scene.
'Dammit Lugina, why do you always ruin the mood' I thought to myself.
"That was a good match Lugina," I say as I stood up, brushing the dust off my pants.
"Psh, whatever, be glad I was going easy on your sorry ass." He scoffs. Clearly the way he panicked as I destroyed the team he was so proud of unit by unit was an indication of him 'going easy' on me.
I keep those thoughts to myself though.
"Haha…Yeah…Thanks Lugina…Haha," I chuckle awkwardly, not knowing another way to respond to his statement.
"Che, out of the way twerp," grumbles Lugina as he pushes me out of his way, heading to the competitor's locker rooms. Having the same idea, I follow suit, my team following closely behind.
The competitor's locker rooms were on each side of the arena, one for each challenger. It had a few tables containing some snacks and drinks and a few chairs. There was also a screen planted near the door, showing you when the next match was starting and who were going against each other on said match. Overall, it was a pretty bland room.
Or at least, that was what it was when I left for my match.
The faded white walls were now covered in streamers of various colors, the far wall had a bright yellow banner with the words 'congratulations' in a glaring red font, and the screen that showed match timings now flashed my name in the same, hard-to-miss color scheme. I look around, surprised at the sudden transformation. Distracted by the change, I did not notice the poppers aimed directly at me
POP!
"Congratulations Flaga."
"..Congrats…"
"CONGRATULATIONS MY FLAGA!"
I was assaulted with a furious barrage of glitter and paper cuttings. The sources of which were my companions; Karl, Seria, and the Goddess Tilith.
Karl and Tilith greet me with smile, the Goddess's much wider than the blue-haired warrior's. Seria's face, however, can be described as a cross between annoyance and resignation. In other words, her usual expression.
The only one left of my original 5 companions at this point is Kikuri. The others already headed off to the residential barracks and SGX was left in the arena in its standby mode, waiting for the Engineers and other caretakers to come and get it. The kimono-clad girl has long dematerialized her blades and was now staring at awe at the colorful transformation the room has gone through. A competitor's squad was also required to wait in the locker rooms along with their Summoner unless they are too big or too mentally or physically unstable to do so. As such, she was no stranger to how dull the room looked before. Her eyes scanning the room, her gaze stops when she notices the table, laden with food. She let go of her grip on my left arm, stuck there ever since we left for the locker rooms, and broke off into a run, her target obvious – Food.
Kikuri paid no heed to Karl, Seria, Tilith, nor me as she mercilessly attacked the buffet table. With two overflowing plates in hand, she settled on the sofa, a ravenous glint in her eyes. Wait, when did she take out her wings? And why have the blades turned to forks? Peeling my stare at the strange sight, I focus on my friends.
"Hey Tilith, what do you mean by 'my'?" Seria asks, a sour look on her face.
"Tee-hee, didn't you know? Flaga is mine! Ever since that trip to the Eternal Gardens! He confessed his everlasting love to me there! ~" Tilith happily chirps.
"You brought him to the Eternal Gardens?!" Seria shouts, her incredulous look from before increasing in its intensity.
"Oh wow, you really are lucky Flaga," Karl nods his head, his hand on his chin on a contemplative look.
Ignoring Seria and Karl's surprise and awe respectively, I ponder on what Tilith said.
Her statement confused me. What did she mean by that?
'Wait, when did I…Oh Gods…'
Realization dawned on me.
Memories of the time spent in the Eternal Gardens rise to the surface.
My eyes widen.
She must have misunderstood what I said back then!
Flashback
Flaga and Tilith set out to investigate a cave in Agni rumored to be a vault containing a relic of great age, said to have been a weapon used by the Gods during their war against each other known as "The Reclaiming". No one knows for sure what the war was about but scholars speculate that it referred to a series of battles fought by every God and Goddess in the pantheon to see who gets the highest seat of power.
Tilith was of no help as she was a recently incarnated Goddess and the war happened a few millennia before she was born. Only the 4 fallen Gods and Lucius, the leader of the Gods, were the only ones who knew of or even remember the events during that tumultuous era. Needless to say, scholars and even adventurers did not dare ask or at the very least approach said beings just for this piece of information.
As the pair explored the cave and all the mysterious runes that patterned its walls, a horrific roar echoed throughout the cave, originating from deep within.
A Duelmex had apparently made this cave its home.
With fierce eyes, it scanned the cave for the intruders. Spotting them, it started spinning the enormous chakram on its back. Meaning only one thing, it was going to attack
With a piercing bellow, numerous spell circles appear, their glow intensifying as the creature charged up its attack.
"Shit! Tilith, get down!" Flaga shouted, panic rising in his voice.
"Eh?!" Tilith, caught unaware and unable to react, froze at the sight of the incoming attack.
"Damn it all!" With a burst of speed aided by magic, Flaga flew to TIlith's side and pushed her down. His body shielding hers from the coming onslaught.
With another ear-piercing roar, the creature released its attack. Beams of burning energy tore through the air, peppering the cave's walls with multiple craters.
The Duelmex's attack only lasted a few seconds but the devastation it caused was massive. The runes the pair were investigating had all been annihilated and loose rocks fell from the cave's roof.
Seemingly satisfied with the destruction it caused, the Duelmex spread its wings, the wind dislodging even more loose debris from the roof, and flew out of the cave, presumably on its way to find another home.
With the dying gusts of wind signaling the dragon's departure, Tilith opened her eyes and peeked from Flaga's shoulders.
"Hey! It's gone! Its fine now Flaga," she says as she moved to stand up.
Only to find out she couldn't.
Flaga's limp body was preventing her from doing so
"Flaga? Hey. Hey answer me! Flaga!" Tilith panics as she lifted him off herself, the smell of burnt flesh flooding her nostrils. Eyes widening, she looks to her companion. His travelling cloak was in tatters and the exposed skin on his back was blackened, burnt by the Duelmex's barrage. His right leg was also bent at an unnatural angle. His breathing was slow, signifying his state of unconsciousness.
"Oh no. Flaga! Flaga please wake up! Flaga!" Tilith cried as she did her best to lay Flaga in a safe position. It was proving to be a hard chore, as most of his body was injured and she did not know enough about first aid or even the human physiology to even attempt to place Flaga's body in a more comfortable position. She did not even dare to reset the broken leg, fearing her inexperience might injure him any further.
She clutched her head, looking down on the broken adventurer's body. "What do I do…what do I do…what do I do…" She utters. Closing her eyes and letting tears fall, she wept for good while. "I need to heal his body quickly, but this much damage won't be enough for my magic alone," Tilith says, still sobbing. "I need to bring him somewhere safe."
Then a thought came to her, an image of such place forming in her mind. "The Eternal Gardens!" Her eyes widening once more. "But, it's forbidden for humans to go there, much less a Goddess bringing one in," she states, a forlorn look on her face. Looking at her battered companion once more, her eyes hardened, a look of determination now on her face. "Flaga isn't just a human, he's my companion! He needs this!"
Tilith stands up and dusts herself off, an incantation akin to a song flowing from her divine lips summons a spell circle that shrouds both her and the fallen summoner. With the last verse of her song done, she points to the sky and exclaims, "HORTIS AETERNAM!"
And with a beam of light, Tilith and Flaga disappeared in a flash of light, headed to where Tilith hopes to be the best chance of saving her beloved companion.