With newcomers in the guild, Kiryll is starting to feel a bit more like a veteran now. With his status as both a Wielder and a member of a guild, he will find the answers to his own past…
…or something like that.
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"Here's your room." Chat turned to him. "I hope you don't mind the emptiness of it."
"I don't mind." He answered. "I like it. Besides, I like the window next to my bed."
"That won't help when jealous guild members want to crash into your room." Chat folded her arms. "You sure about this location?"
"I can move the bed whenever I need to, right?" Kiryll smiled. "I'll be fine."
With a strange stare, Chat shrugged and left the young man where he was. He waited for her to leave, and then clicked on the little lamp on the table. Closing the curtain on the window, he proceeded to walk toward the mirror hanging a few feet away from the door.
"Herons…" He murmured.
Everything that he learned that day started to flood back into his mind. The fact that they have powers that exceed even the half-elves. People who hunt them for their daily pay. And the fact that their only weakness is their Cruxis Crystal, that is bonded onto their chest. Or in Luke's case, if not bonded, will provide devastating effects. According to what Jade had told them, herons are the only ones who can safely use Persona without endangering their lives.
If what Jade said was true, then…that would mean that…
He looked at the door to make sure that no one would come in, and then slowly unbuttoned his collared shirt. Once it was unbuttoned to a certain account, he moved the cross necklace out of the way, and smiled.
It was his Cruxis Crystal, shining a brilliant white light.
------
His sleep was peaceful.
Before he got dressed, he made sure that his Cruxis Crystal was there. There it sat, untouched. Smiling, he got his clothes and quickly buttoned his shirt, hiding his life force behind it. Throwing on the necklace, he opened the door, ready to start the day.
"Hey, Kiryll!"
He jumped. He didn't know that Arche knew where he was going to stay. After viewing a grinning Stahn and Kyle, he started to wonder just who the heck revealed his location.
"Uh…hi." He rubbed the back of his head, holding back his shock. "What's up?"
"We wanted to see what mission you were gonna get!" Kyle grinned. "Nanalay and Reala already left on a mission, so I was stuck with you guys."
"Stuck?! You should be grateful!" Stahn bonked the top of his head. "Where the heck would you be without your big brother watching over you?"
"Um…looking for you on a guild ship?"
"Ooh, got you there." Arche laughed.
Stahn rolled his eyes as Kiryll shook his head. Leave it to him to find out that little tidbit. He turned and headed toward the mission room, hearing the others dashing as quickly as they could to catch up.
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"Hello, you guys." Chat grinned. "You're ready for a mission now?"
"Anything new?" Kiryll leaned on the desk.
"Hm…well, not really." Chat skimmed the missions. "Take a look."
Kiryll stepped forward and skimmed the mission board as the other three waited patiently a few feet away. After a few skims, he saw something that caught his eye. The pause tempted Kyle and Arche to sneak up and look.
"Huh…" Kyle leaned in. "Interesting."
"What is it?" Stahn asked.
"It looks like a scanning mission. A monster outburst just off the edges of the Dynasty Ruins in Sylvarant." Kiryll blinked.
"Sylvarant…" Arche looked up. "Hey, I came from Sylvarant! I know where this place is!"
"Really? What is it?" Kyle blinked.
"It's a temple that the Sylvarant kingdom built over 400 years ago!" Arche stated. "Supposedly, it was built because it was where the bloodline started. It used to be a house before it got pillaged by some thieves. At least, that's what I heard."
"Weird rumors." Stahn rubbed the back of his head. "Couldn't they just say something easier, like they wanted to worship some god or entity?"
"It can't always be that easy, Stahn." Kiryll turned to him. "It's 400 years ago. Reasons were never really simple."
"True…" Stahn chuckled. "It's always the case."
"Don't complain." Kyle grinned. "This mission sounds easy, monster extermination!"
"Don't sound too cocky. It's an old place." Stahn tried to sound smart. "Those monsters will be very hard to handle."
"We'll be fine." Kiryll smiled, unconsciously rubbing his Cruxis Crystal hiding in his shirt. "Arche, do you know where the ruins are?"
"No prob!" She flipped her hand into the air. "Leave it to me!"
------
"THIS is the Dynasty Ruins?" Stahn darted his head around.
"Looks more like an underground evil lair." Kyle looked around. "With the dripping water and everything."
"That's the beauty of this place!" Arche twirled around. "Look at the dim blue lights! The architecture! They don't make buildings like this before!"
Kiryll ignored them for a while as he wandered around the small area that seemed peaceful at the moment. He had to agree with Arche: the place really did look beautiful. It looked like an evil lair, like what Kyle said, but it had more of a presence mirroring Atlantis. There were streams of water coming through doors, and the floor seemed to have glowing panels. For some reason, his Cruxis Crystal began to glow underneath his shirt, which he had to quickly hide. Especially when Arche tackled him.
"You think this place is beautiful, right?" She chirped.
"Uh…yeah, it really is." He looked up. "Looks like a palace to me."
"OK, screw what you JUST said." Stahn laughed. "Who in their right minds would want a palace UNDERGROUND?"
"You'd be surprised." Arche jumped off. "This is actually one of the palaces the Sylvarant Dynasty lived in."
"Who the heck wanted to live in this?! It's freakin' cold!" Kyle shivered.
"Mole people?" Kiryll joked.
Arche smacked them both upside the head, much to Stahn's delight. Suddenly, they heard a roar from inside the ruins. Turning around, they saw three lightbulb-looking creatures running toward them.
"The heck are those?!" Kyle jumped back.
"Sea Monks!" Arche jumped on her broom. "They aren't that hard! Kiryll, you can handle this!"
He didn't have to answer. Kyle watched in awe as he lifted his hand and a spiraling tarot card appeared out of nowhere. He shattered it, and a pixie with spiked hair flew from his body.
"High Pixie! Mazio!"
With a wave of her hands, lightning roared out nowhere, and thundered onto the Sea Monks. They crumbled without another word. The High Pixie faded back into Kiryll, who barely noticed that she was fading into his Cruxis Crystal.
So…that's where they go.
"That was totally awesome, man!" Kyle jumped to him. "What the heck WAS that?! I never saw anything like that before!"
"It's my Persona." He answered with a smile. "I really don't know much about it either, though."
"But that was SO AWESOME!" Kyle gawked. "What's the secret?!"
"He doesn't have one." Stahn laughed. "Apparently, only herons can get them."
"Huh? But Kiryll's human."
Kiryll didn't know if he wanted to correct him or not. But it was already too later. Arche had ran deeper into the caverns, and she was waving for the others to join her.
------
Each pathway led deeper into the Dynasty Ruins. It was shocking how set up and beautiful it was, despite the fact that it had been abandoned for hundreds of years. Of course, no one was paying attention, attuned only toward their goal.
"These routes are LONG." Kyle sighed. "How many monsters did we slash down already?"
"1,293." Arche sighed. "Not counting the little incident you had with the Sea Hogs."
"Oh shut up already!" Stahn grumbled. "I didn't mean that! Besides, Kiryll saved my hide, right?"
"Like he did the other 1,292 times." Kyle laughed.
"…shut up."
"Speaking of which…" Arche turned to her companion. "Kiryll, are you alright?"
"Huh?" He looked up.
"You look a little pale." Arche gestured to his face. "You need rest?"
"N-no. I'm fine." He smiled. "Just a little dizzy, but I'm OK."
"Is it because we stepped in that whirlpool?" Kyle shook his head. "Again, all Stahn's fault."
"Oh shut up!"
As the two brothers began arguing, Kiryll sulked against the wall and stared at the cold ceiling. He did feel tired, and his body had started to ache a little. At first, he thought it was the stress from the fighting, nothing a couple of potions couldn't solve. But he drank at least ten potions a half-hour ago, and he still felt like he was a wreak. In fact, he felt much worse. He closed his eyes and remembered what Jade had said about his power.
"Summoning Persona is like ripping your soul out of your body and using its mana for a specific purpose."
Did Jade mean exactly that? Am I…?
"YO! KIR!" Stahn called. "We're moving! You OK to walk?"
"Y-yeah, I'm fine! I'm coming."
------
The walk through the caverns was getting harder on Kiryll. He depended more on his scythe than anything else, and tried to use the magic spells that Arche had been using. It had been helping with the pain, but it was steadily getting worse. After a few feet, they reached an odd clearing, where they saw a young woman and a young man talking in front of glowing Cruxis Crystals, two monsters on the ground next to them. Kiryll felt his own crystal throb. They both turned around, and Arche scoffed.
"Oh great. It just HAD to be you, huh?" She growled.
"Well, if it isn't Archie!" The girl laughed. "Fallen into some low hands, working in a guild."
"Well, whatever low I'M in, it's sure as hell higher than you!"
"Don't try to argue your way out of THIS, Archie." The girl grinned. "I have a power that spans even the both of us. You can't harm me now!"
"Oh great. Catfight." Stahn sighed. "Just what we needed."
"You!" The young man growled. "Don't you DARE insult the beautiful Alice!"
"The WHO?" Arche laughed. "Oh please. The only thing cute about her is the barrette on her head, which is totally FAKE."
"You really don't know who you're dealing with." The girl smiled.
Kiryll stared at the two monsters beside the strange duo. He quickly identified them to be a Nixie and a Fafnu, two creatures that weren't normally living in a cave such as this. They both looked heavily wounded as well. One of the Cruxis Crystals behind the duo pulsed, and the two monsters rose up and charged at them. The young man grinned as he pulled out a huge broadsword and slashed them toward Kyle. Stahn pulled him out of the way as they crashed into the wall.
"Who the hell ARE these guys?!" He asked.
"They're Alice and Decus, sadists in the Vanguard." Arche folded her arms. "The whole group wants to overthrow the kingdom of Tethe'alla and revive the Kingdom of Sylvarant."
"Well, Arche, think about it! Our land is in constant turmoil! That's all we can do, right?" Alice grinned.
"Wait…how'd you know her?" Kyle blinked.
"It's…a bond between the species." She answered hesitantly. "She's a half-elf…and a Cruxis Hunter."
Kiryll darted his head toward the both of them, and noticed that they had smug grins on their faces, looking directly at the white-haired young man. He grimaced. They knew his secret.
"Cruxis Hunters…it explains the Cruxis Crystals…" He said. "But I thought only their chosen herons can use them."
"You don't know us at all, do you?" Decus laughed. "But then again…I guess you can say that you're next on the list."
"You're hunting Kiryll??!!" Stahn rubbed the back of his head. "W-won't that mean…?"
"And such power." Alice laughed. "Your Cruxis Crystal will be perfect for our goals."
With a snap of her fingers and a wave of her baton, three large Tortoises came out of nowhere and fell behind Alice. She jumped onto the back of one of them and grinned, while Kiryll bit his lip.
She's a Contractor…dammit. He turned to the others, who nodded at him. OK…let's do this.
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You'll learn about Contractors at the next chapter. Don't worry too much about it. And wow, it's an update!
