The first part of our journey is unsuccessful to say the least. We haven't yet managed to keep any sort of Hero Relic in our hands. The thing that happened a week ago with the dragon appearing out of the ground still has me rattled. Hero Relics must be dangerous to cause so much destruction.

Right now, Ryner, Ferris, and I are spending some time at an Inn in Nelpha. We're staying there to plot our next move. I can't say we have any sort of plan as of yet. We are basically just lounging around and following Ryner's example as far as laziness goes.

That ends, though, at the appearance of Ferris' little sister. Her name is Iris. She alerts us to her presence by pummeling Ryner. For such a little girl, she sure has one heck of a right hook.

Apparently, she came here to give us dango and a message from Sion. It's just as apparent that Iris lost the message that she was supposed to deliver. From what she is able to recall, though, the message was about the dragon that we had encountered a week previously. We assume that we're being sent to fight it. Ryner, Ferris, and I quickly pack up and head out to fight the dragon.

We find our way to the forests of Nelpha where we believe the dragon will be. We wander about pretty aimlessly. Ryner is the first one to notice bodies of slain people in the trees above us. Neither of us scented the place like we should've. Unlike most battlegrounds, there doesn't seem to be any blood.

As we investigate further, we come to a clearing. Two peach-haired people are standing there. I recognize them as the ones we ran into earlier. The man is Sui and the girl is Kuu. We approach them. "Hey, what are you doing here?" Ryner asks them.

"Oh, we came to catch a glimpse of the rumored dragon, of course," Kuu answers.

"It's strange, there being no signs of blood…" Ryner starts. Ferris interrupts him by putting her hand on his arm.

"Perhaps you know what happened here?" Ferris inquires. Sui smirks at us.

I step forward. "You murdered them, didn't you? You murdered anyone who saw the dragon," I accuse.

"Well, we couldn't let them go blabbing of the discovery, could we? We had to kill off the rabble, which I'm sorry to say, includes the three of you," Sui responds.

"We'll see. Get ready," Ferris counters while wielding her sword higher.

Kuu is the first opponent to move. She uses her scythe to make an icy wall to form in front of us. Ferris uses her sword to careen herself over it. Ryner opts to blast a hole in the ice wall. Both Ryner and I use magic to gain speed and close the distance between us and them.

Sui uses his own country's magic against us. In response, both Ryner and I steal his magic and aim our own incantation against him. Sui is surprised to say the least. Namely because we revealed our powers as Alpha Stigma bearers. He calls off his spell a bit too late seeing as we've already stolen the magic.

Ryner, Ferris, and I lengthen the distance between us and the assailants. Kuu brandishes her scythe towards us. Sui just smiles. "It seems to me that we underestimated you. Two Alpha Stigma bearers, right in front of us. How sweet. However, I have one thing you don't. That relic you abandoned? Let me show you how it's used." Sui takes the dagger that Ryner had left and stabs his left arm with it. His arm turns into the head of a dragon. The dragon head breathes fire, which covers the surrounding landscape.

"Amazing, isn't it? It's a pity you couldn't figure it out. However, I'm afraid you won't get the chance. We can't let you live," Sui smirks at us.

"You won't likely kill us. What I Seek is Thunder: Izuchi!" Ryner sends the incantation directly at Sui.

Sui rolls his eyes. "Oh, please…" He pulls a comb from his hair and uses it to counteract the magic. "The Elemio comb nullifies any magic it encounters." Sui explains.

"Another one…great…" Ferris groans.

"Well, what now?" Ryner asks.

"I don't know. Run?" I suggest sarcastically. Left with no other choice, the three of us try to make a break for it.

"Run if you must, you won't get far…" Sui sneers at us. He throws something up in the air that I hadn't ever seen before. "Resonate!" He shouts.

Suddenly, Ryner's Alpha Stigma, as well as my own, start to activate. My eyes are burning. I'm sure Ryner is going through the same thing judging by how he's pretty much paralyzed on his knees. "Ferris, run…get as far as you can…don't look back…I can't…aagh…can't control myself…I'm a monster…I'll…I'll kill you…" Ryner warns Ferris.

My eyes are doing much the same thing. Unlike what happened when I was a child, I'm not able to stop my eyes from taking me in. I soon find myself lost deep in the throes of madness.

When Ryner loses control, his power is so great that he lifts himself high into the air. His magic rains down on Sui and Kuu. They're far outmatched and flee before they can get themselves killed.

My power isn't as great. Ferris is able to close my eyes right away. Despite the strain, I manage to stay conscious. I'm the one who manages to help Ferris snap Ryner out of the madness.

Ryner is pretty broken up about almost killing Ferris and I. This is one of the few times I've ever seen him cry. He's usually so strong, and lazy, but mostly strong.

Ferris and I don't even mention what just transpired and instead suggest be stop for dango and tea. Come to think of it, I am getting hungry. With that in mind, the three of us head off to take a much needed dango break.