Luke was bored.

Even more so than usual.

He should have been grateful to have returned from Eldrant alive, but that did not prevent his boredom. That was two years ago.

But now he saw the truth. Now he knew how Asch had lived, knew what he'd felt for seven long years in Daath, while a replica enjoyed the comforts of his wealth and family. Even though Luke knew it wasn't his fault, he wished that he could apologize to Asch now more than ever.

But Asch is dead. His mind was gone, but Luke could see his memories.

But no one else knew. He'd kept it a secret from everyone else so they would not pity Asch more than they did. Asch did not like to be pitied. If only he'd--

"Master Luke?" A maid's voice interrupted his thoughts from beyond the door to his small bedroom.

"Yeah?" He replied.

"Commandant Grants has arrived to visit you," The maid answered.

Though Luke knew it wasn't who he was thinking of, he still flinched at the name. That title would always make him think of the man he once idolized and respected. The man who then betrayed him by forcing Luke to destroy an entire city.

"Okay, thanks," Luke dismissed the maid and headed to the drawing room of his vast manor. The Commandant had been busy ever since her return from Eldrant; she either needed him for something or had urgent news. There was no way she had time for a visit born of a desire to see him, was there? She may have wanted to see him, but there was no time.

Luke stumbled away from his bed. He had been lying there for several hours, so his legs were stiff. Staggering to the door, he sighed, knowing this was his first time through it in several days. Ever since his return from Eldrant, Luke had fallen into a deep state of depression, for a reason known only to himself. The past weeks, days, and months had been the same for two years, and yet Luke felt not a hint of the loneliness or pain that infected his mind for those seven years... the first seven years of his life. That made nine out of ten years he'd never left his home, but now, it was different. Now, he was not being forced into isolation.

He desired it.

Luke reached the drawing room and he was greeted by a very excited Mieu, whom had insisted on staying with Luke at the manor despite having been invited to rejoin his cheagle tribe.

"Master! Master! Tear came to visit!" Mieu squeaked as he bounded out of Tear's arms to tackle his owner.

However, Luke ignored Mieu and approached Tear instead. The only one other than his parents or the maids that brought him his meals had seen for two years.

"How have you been?" He asked nervously.

"I've been doing fine, though I'm still running all over the place thanks to my promotion," She smiled sheepishly. "I... had to accept the promotion... it's the least I can do for him..."

"Yeah," Luke trailed off, vaguely recalling when his father told him of Tear's position as Commandant. "But anyway, did you come here for something? It's not often you have spare time for just a normal visit." Luke knew better than to try his luck for a normal conversation, at least not until they had a better opportunity to talk. He sensed the White Knights' stares at his unusual presence, and he felt uncomfortable speaking to Tear with half a dozen soldiers staring them down.

"Well, I received a letter from Guy requesting that I bring you and Natalia to Grand Chokmah to look at another fon machine he's made to replace the Planet Storm. Since I was in Belkend at the time and had the Albiore, I just came to pick you up on the way." Tear was never one to mince words.

"Oh, well, okay. Then let's head to the castle to pick up Natalia."

"You've just missed her," King Ingobert shook his head when asked about Natalia. "She's headed to Daath to speak to the Fon Master."

"Oh yeah, they assigned a new Fon Master. I guess Anise got her way, huh?" Luke chuckled.

"No, it's not Anise," The king replied. "Natalia mentioned her name was Cantabile. I heard that she only recently became a God-General, but Grand Maestro Tritheim and Teodoro must have had good reason to promote her to Fon Master so soon."

"I guess then we'll get to meet her in Daath, then," Luke pointed out the obvious, as usual. It's not that he didn't know and needed to confirm it, but if he didn't say something stupid every now and then, someone might suspect something...

"Well, then, if you'll excuse us, Your Majesty, we'll be heading out now," Tear said, disregarding Luke's comment even though she already knew the Fon Master.

"I'll see you when you return with my daughter and Luke, then. Have a safe trip."

As they left the castle, Luke and Tear were surprised to see a blue body hurl itself against their legs.

"You're not leaving me behind, Master!" Mieu commanded.

"Of course not, Mieu," Tear blushed. "It's always good to have you around."

The trip to Daath was long. Even more so than usual.

And Luke was bored.

Why? Why was he still here? Lorelei had reconstructed his body in the Planet Storm and returned him to Tataroo Valley.

That was two years ago.

But it wasn't his body. It was Asch's.

Had anyone noticed? He hoped not, but he didn't know why. He just had to hide it for some reason. They would find out sooner or later, somehow. It was hard enough understanding Asch, but still pretending that he was Luke and only Luke. It wouldn't be long before their separate memories blurred, Luke slipped, and everyone found out. Tear was good at finding things out--

"Luke! Wake up!"

Luke wasn't asleep, he was just too deep in thought to notice they'd arrived at Daath. He hadn't noticed Tear calling for him to hurry up earlier, and now he'd pay.

"Stop your daydreaming and hurry up!"

"Ah, sorry, Tear. I'm coming, I'm coming!" Luke stumbled from his seat near the cockpit of the Albiore and out the side hatch, groaning inwardly as he noted that Noelle had stopped at Daath Bay rather than going just a bit closer to the city and saving them a lot of walking.

The port was not a large town, and there were few ships docking, but those that were towered over the small bars and pubs that lined the docks. Tear stepped up their pace, slightly peeved at how oblivious Luke could be and the extra delay of traveling to Daath, coupled with the amount of walking they still had to do just to get into the city thanks to where Noelle chose to park the aircraft.

They passed through the port town quickly after paying the docking fee and headed for the path the lead to Fourth Monument Hill. The monsters they encountered only made the path seem longer, though Luke and Tear alone felt more than enough of a match for anything that barred their way.

Luke slowed to a placid stroll when they left the town. He wanted to enjoy the feeling of being outside for a while. Tear eventually followed suit, realizing there was no real hurry, and walked beside him.

"So what have you been doing these past two years. I was hoping to run into you somewhere, but you haven't been around."

"I've kind of... been home most of the time." Luke stretched the truth a little.

"Oh? Enjoying the life of a noble to its fullest?"

"What's that supposed to mean?!"

"Don't worry about it, Luke," Tear smiled at him. "I've missed you, you know."

"You could've come to visit me."

"Well, I was busy most of the time, and I tried a few times to come, but the guards stopped me saying that you were not feeling well and they wouldn't allow me to enter no matter what I told them."

"..."

"But now that I have an excuse, they let me in without any trouble."

"So have you heard from any of the others?"

"We've all been running around recently, but Guy seemed happy and very much at home in Grand Chokmah. Jade has been helping him with the fon machine under orders from Peony, as he hasn't been needed as a soldier recently. Anise has been bugging Grand Maestro Tritheim about becoming the Fon Master, but he won't even listen to her, she says. He allowed Cantabile to be the Fon Master instead."

"That's odd." Luke gazed off, deep in thought.

"Luke, watch out!" Tear called as a pack of wolves with crimson fur pounced at them from behind. Luke swung around and drew his sword in one smooth motion and defended Tear long enough for her to cast Holy Lance. The monsters backed off, growling in agony, but soon resumed their attack. Luke saw another form out of the corner of his eye when he turned to strike another beast that was heading for Tear.

"Tear! Behind you!" But his plea was too late, she was deep into Judgment, and he would not reach her in time. There was only one thing he could do, but it would give him away. Tear would keep it secret, wouldn't she? She'd done it before...

Luke had never tried out his newfound knowledge in practice yet, but he was confident he could pull it off. Two years ago, this never would've happened. He had to do it, if at least just this one time...

"O frigid blades pour forth! Icicle Rain!"

The beast approaching Tear from behind was skewered by deadly sharp needles made of the Fourth Fonon itself. It lay twitching on the ground, pinned in several places by the ice. Tear finished off her spell and obliterated the rest of the monsters easily.

But she'd seen what Luke had done.

"Are you all right?" Luke asked her.

"Yeah, but... Did you just...? Since when do you...?"

"Please, Tear, I had to. Don't tell anyone."

"Why? I think it's great that you've learned to do something other than hack away with your sword."

"It's a long story," Luke sighed, uninsulted. "If I tell you, not a word to anyone else."

"Um...okay..." Tear was a bit hesitant, as she knew Luke was going to tell her something very worrisome...

Luke and Tear walked into Daath in silence, the gravity of Luke's confession weighing on both.

"What's up with you two you? You look like you're about to cry!" A familiar voice hailed them from the cathedral.

Tear was the first to recover and returned the greeting.

"Oh, hi, Anise."

Luke snapped to his senses at Tear's voice, remembering what happened on the Albiore. For now, she seemed to have forgiven him. That, or she was just putting on a good face for Anise's sake.

"Hey, Anise, how's it going?" Luke's timely delayed reaction time was perfect; it was something Luke would do, wasn't it? He was a little slow...

"So, what's up? Does Luke miss his mommy or something?" Anise joked.

"I-I do not!" Luke fumed.

"A-anyway, Anise, have you seen Natalia anywhere?" Tear defended Luke by attempting to change the subject.

"I know you're just trying to save Luke, but I'll tell you anyway. She's still seeing Fon Master Cantabile, but they should be finished soon." Anise replied slyly. "That stupid purple-haired, one-eyed, prissy chick took my position as Fon Master!" she whined.

"Anise, don't say such things about the Fon Master!"

"Why did Tritheim promote her instead of you?" Luke wondered.

"He told me they needed someone a little more responsible to be the Fon Master." Anise glanced around and then whispered to Luke and Tear. "I think she's creepy."

"Anise! Stop saying things like that!" Tear reprimanded her.

"Guess what." Anise cut her off.

"Um, what is it, Anise?" Luke asked rather foolishly.

"I'm a God-General now," she boasted.

"Oh, Anise, that's great!" Tear praised her, forgetting Anise's earlier insults to the Fon Master. "You're the first to be reassigned, right? They won't let Dist back and the rest of the positions are still empty."

"Well, um, actually..." Anise looked down and scuffed her foot on the polished stone of the cathedral steps.

"So, what, now you get a cool name and a division of soldiers to order around?" Luke said in an effort to be funny.

"Yeah, but they call me..."

"Oh, my, I didn't expect you three to be here," Natalia exited the cathedral and joind the three friends, wasting no time to fuss at Luke."Well, Luke, long time no see. What's gotten into you, holing up your room for days on end! I can't believe you even came out to see Tear!"

Tear glanced uneasily at him. She hadn't known of Luke's strange behavior, how could she, now that she could rarely visit him herself. It had to be...

"I... um..." Luke mumbled.

"Natalia, leave Luke alone," Tear interjected sharply. "We came here to transport you to Grand Chokmah by Guy's request."

"Oh? What for?"

"It seems he's found another solution regarding the Planet Storm's weakening effect."

"Ah, yes, that's what I was just telling the Fon Master," Natalia explained. "It seems she received a letter and an invitation as well."

"So does that mean we have to take her there in the Albiore?" Luke interrupted.

"Well, yes, that is the general idea." Natalia replied, just the slightest bit annoyed.

Was it just him, or did everyone seem to get angry at him more often? Maybe he was trying too hard to act like himself...

Tear knew. She found out already. How long could he keep it from the others? If he met up with Jade, even for the smallest amount of time, it was all over. Jade would see straight through his false front. How he'd managed to avoid them for this long--

"Luke! Are you listening?!" Natalia was even angrier than before, and much more violent when she got to this point.

"Yeah, I'm listening," he lied.

"He sure is the bright one,"

All four turned to see a dark-haired woman standing just behind them. She boldly confronted their group.

"Fon Master, please," Natalia reprimanded her. "At least introduce yourself!"

"I beg your forgiveness," she gave Luke a menacing grin that was almost as terrifying as Jade's; not that she seemed like she was plotting something, just that you couldn't tell whether she was sincere or sarcastic. "I am Fon Master Cantabile. It is an honor to meet you."

"N-nice to meet you, too..." Luke stammered nervously.

"Well, shall we be heading off? I've finished my preparations," Cantabile swept past Luke and strolled down the stairs and off to the marketplace.

Mieu poked his head out of the item bag Luke always carried.

"Was that the new Fon Master?" he asked.

"Yes, Mieu, and I don't think introducing her to you will make her think any higher of me, so stay hidden." Luke muttered impatiently.

"Mieuuuuuuuuu" he complained before withdrawing once more.

"Luke, you need to snap out of this weird mood you've been in lately. You get angry at the smallest things." Natalia was quick to jump on any little thing Luke did that displeased her.

"Here, I'll hold you, Mieu." Tear offered as she snatched the item bag from Luke.

"Then he's your pet until we get back to Baticul."

"Come on, let's catch up to Cantabile! She's gone ahead!" Anise decided she'd had enough of their arguing and finally voiced her thoughts.

"Wait, since when did you decide to come?"

"Luke?..." Tear whispered. "You agreed to let her come."

He could not recall anything...

"What? Changed your mind? You want me to suffer in the company of all these boring old men, don't you?!"

"No, Anise! I have no problem with you coming!"

"Hehehe Good!" Anise latched her arms around Luke's chest for a second, then ran down the stairs.

"Come on! Let's get going!"

Tear and Luke followed the young God-General and Natalia back to the port.

"This is it?" Cantabile glanced around the Albiore expectantly.

"Hello," Noelle turned around in her seat at the head of the cockpit. "You're the Fon Master, correct?"

Cantabile ignored her greeting and instead examined the cockpit from top to bottom, missing not a single detail.

"Is there something wrong?"

Cantabile turned to Noelle and stared with her eerie golden eye.

"No."

Anise barged up the stairs that led to the cockpit.

"Hi Noelle! It's been forever!" Promptly taking her usual seat, she called back to the staircase. "Hurry up, you three! Noelle's ready to leave!"

Luke, Tear, and Natalia ascended the stairs and took their seats as well. Cantabile inched over to the window; this was her first time flying and she was curious, although she didn't let it show.

Noelle was about to warn Cantabile to sit when the Albiore took off, but she thought better of it.

"So, we're off to Grand Chokmah, then?" Noelle confirmed.

"Yes," Tear said absently. She had been worried about Luke since their trip to Daath, but Natalia's statements only made her worry more. She glanced up at Luke, who was staring off into space as he'd done several times since their departure from Baticul, and it was an unusual trait she'd never known him to have. Well, he'd done it once before, right after the incident at Akzeriuth, but never so solemnly. Before it had been an angry gaze of denial, but now it seemed more like... depression, almost.

Luke was bored.

No he wasn't.

He was troubled.

More so than usual.

He'd just realized something he should have long ago. He felt like a failure before because of his birth, but now...

He was no longer a replica.

Was that good or bad? How could it not be good? Replicas had no advantage over their originals, right?

Dreck.

...Huh? That wasn't his thought. Could it be--

"Asch?" Only when he noticed the silence of everyone's stares did he realize he was the one who'd said it.

"Asch? What about Asch?" Natalia asked sourly, her interest piqued.

"Luke...are you okay?... What are you talking about?..." Tear played dumb for the moment. She knew very well what he could be talking about...

"Aaahm..." Luke scrambled frantically to find an excuse, any excuse, just don't ask any more, Natalia, please...

"Luke? Tell me why you said 'Asch'," Natalia was growing impatient, not just any answer would satisfy her.

At a loss for words, Luke blurted the first lame explanation that came to mind.

"Um... My hair grew out... and now it's long... like... Asch's hair..." Luke ran his hand through his blood-red hair, though it was not his, and flung it to the side to back up his statement.

Natalia just gave him a curious look and agreed meekly.

"Yeah...I guess so..."

She was not satisfied, she was far from satisfied, only that much more frustrated with Luke.

Tear came to the rescue again by changing the subject.

"S-so, Fon Master, may we inquire as to how you fight?"

"What?" Natalia was very confused, but Luke caught on.

"Um, yeah, I'd love to know."

"Of course, I'll show you," Cantabile smirked.

She drew her sword from its sheath. It was a long blade, its makeup like that of a katana, but much wider and heavier, meant to be wielded with two hands instead of one. She handed it to Luke, who further noted that Cantabile happened to be a lefty, like he once was, but now he was ambidextrous, as Asch was right-handed. He noticed some writing etched down the blade. He slowly sounded out the words to himself that looked so similar to the normal ones he was used to, but why was it so hard to read?

"'The voice of the gods?'" He asked.

"That is my name," Cantabile responded.

Tear frowned. She had also been examining the blade. "Luke... you know Ancient Ispanian?"

"What?" Luke returned her glance. Of course Asch knew Ancient Ispanian.

"Of course, the sword is not my only practice, I can cast my fair share of fonic artes, too." Cantabile continued.

"That's a nice weapon," he remarked. "though it's odd that a sword as heavy as this one has only one blade." Luke extended the beautiful weapon hilt first to back to its owner, who gracefully slipped it into its sheath.

"The heavier the dull edge of the blade, the better it is for cleaving," Cantabile explained, then added with a grin, "Now let's see yours."

Luke would rather not have shown the Fon Master his own blade; she did not seem completely trustworthy, but he could not refuse her. Reluctantly, Luke unsheathed the Key of Lorelei he had been using since it was returned to him at Eldrant.

Cantabile made no dramatic suggestion that she might be interested, but Luke saw something glint in her eye, like she had finally found something she was looking for.

"So this is the Key of Lorelei," Cantabile accepted the blade from Luke's outstretched hand and ran her finger along the length of the weapon.

"Yes, but it will no longer function as the Key without the Grand Fonic Hymn."

"I see..." Cantabile was extremely fascinated with this news. "The Grand Fonic Hymn—the one that only Yulia and her descendants are said to have known."

"That is correct," Tear was growing suspicious as well.

"They why would one who cannot utilize the Key's full power still wield it?" Cantabile pressed. "How about a trade... My fine sword for your useless one?"

"Never," Luke said, snatching back his weapon defensively.

"Calm down, Luke," Tear warned him.

Luke met Cantabile's eye for a split second and had to force his gaze elsewhere. Its color, the color was so familiar, but he couldn't quite place it. Where had he seen that before?... Two years ago?... No, it couldn't be that, he'd never seen that anywhere else before, why should it show up now, it was a mere coincidence. It had to be.