If you think a lot about it, Colette is going through a lot in the journey. Lloyd will find out this chapter what it means to become an angel as well. Please enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Tales of Symphonia.


The monsters in the area of Asgard were a lot less aggressive now that the fake Summon Spirit of Wind was defeated. It was kind of weird that the monsters had been so aggressive for weeks. It was like they had sensed the awakening of the monster. For the group it was a breath taker. They didn't need two people on the night's guard anymore and that meant a lot more rest. For Dean the days and nights passed really quickly. In the morning was the training with Kratos and Lloyd. During the travelling he often discussed magic with the Professor, Genis and Kratos. After dinner he had about an hour of improving his magic before he either went to sleep and took the night's guard. During the times that he had to guard during the night he would talk with Colette all through the night. They would talk about his ideas of creating his own defensive spells and they would talk about their time in Iselia. It made Dean miss his parents.

"Have your memories returned?" Colette asked out of the blue. They had been silent for a while and it was almost time for Dean to wake Lloyd to take over the night's guard.

"My memories?" Dean thought aloud. "No… Nothing has returned. My lost memories haven't been on my mind lately."

"Wasn't it a great part of your reasons to go on this journey?"

"Yes, it was, but things have changed. Helping you on this journey is more important to me now. Defeating the Desians has become my personal goal. I know what they do to the people in those ranches now. Every time I hear or think about the word Desian I feel some much hate, fear and anger boiling up inside of me. It makes me want to kill every last one of them." Dean looked at Colette. He had been absorbed in his own thoughts again. Colette looked strange at him. She almost looked afraid… "I'm sorry. Did I scare you?"

"To be honest. Yes, you scare. Only a little bit. I can feel the hate every time I look in your eyes if we talk about the Desians. I know they did horrible things to you and I can't ask you to forgive them, but that look in your eyes makes me feel uneasy."

"I'm sorry Colette. It was never my intention to scare you. I want to protect you. Although it feels like I'm sending you to closer to your grave every time you unleash a seal."

"I'm not going to die." Colette let out a fake giggle. "I'm just turning into an angel."

"If losing your appetite, not sleeping anymore and who knows what else is in your store for you means to become an angel, I never want to become an angel myself." Colette looked down after Dean had said that. "I'm sorry. It seems I'm the one who needs to apologise all the time this night."

"No, that's okay."

"No, it's not okay Colette, but to be honest with you… I just don't know any other way. I know you're suffering, but if we stop with the journey of Salvation Sylvarant, this world itself will die. Defeating the Desians wouldn't be enough. The mana is slowly fading away and with that the life energy of every living creature on this world. I want to help you. I want to protect you, but I don't know any other way."

"There is no other way Dean… I'm glad you care so much about me, but I care about the world and everyone in it too. If going through these hardships means saving you and the others, then I'm okay with this."

"You're strong Colette…" Dean yawned. "Time for me to get some rest."

"Then I'll pretend that I'm asleep again. Goodnight Dean."

"Thanks Colette, I'll wake Lloyd up now." Dean then worried that someone had heard him talk with Colette. They had been whispering it first, but they were talking out loud at the end. Dean looked around him and saw that everyone, even Kratos, was fast asleep. Travelling still was hard and they would walk all day every day they were travelling. It took a while before Lloyd would wake up. Dean stayed awake for a while to make sure the boy wouldn't fall asleep again. After Lloyd was fully awake Dean went to sleep and left Lloyd alone. They had encountered no more monsters during the night lately, so they should be alright even if someone would fall asleep. Besides, Colette was always awake so she could wake the others if it really was necessary.

The following day they got to the House of Salvation. It had taken them one week. The journey to the Balacruf Museum would take them a bit longer. They rested for the night at the House of Salvation and stocked a bit on provision, but the merchant that was around the House of Salvation didn't have much food. They either had to go hunting or had to be even more careful with their provision on the way to the Seal of Wind and back. Right before they left they encountered another traveller. They told him that they would get short on provisions soon.

"Mmm… Maybe you can go to Lake Umacy then. It is a day travelling from here. The lake has clean water and it is a perfect place for hunting. There are also a lot of eatable plants near that area. Also legend has it that an unicorn lives in the area. It seems the unicorn will appear before a pure maiden. They say that sometimes, the visage of the unicorn appears on the surface of Lake Umacy." The traveller told the group.

"It seems worthwhile to go to this lake." Raine said.

"So it would seem." Kratos answered. That settled it. They would go to this lake.

"Thanks for the information." Lloyd said to the traveller.

"No problem. Us travellers have got to help each other. Where are you heading?"

"We're heading for Balacruf Museum." The professor answered.

"Are you sure you want to go there. The museum is closed."

"Still, we have to go there. Thanks for the information." Dean said to the man. It was still their motto not to reveal that they were the Chosen's group. There still was an assassin after them after all. People would tell where they were heading to the wrong persons if everyone knew who they were. They had to be careful.

Like the traveller had said it took them one day to reach the lake. They set up camp a bit before entering the area. The lake was located in a forest. They would fall prey to monsters if they rested too near to the area of the lake. Instead of training Kratos, Lloyd and Dean hunted and gathered food in the forest that morning. They had to fight of quite a few monsters, but some of the monsters were eatable. Meat came from monsters and even some monsters carried herbs or fruit. It had always been like that. After hunting the warriors headed back to the group. They prepared the food they gathered in a way that it would stay fresh for some time. Most of the food wouldn't last for more than three days, so they had enough provision for the coming three days, but had to be careful with the rest of their provision from then on. After this the group headed towards the lake. Colette had insisted that she wanted to see the unicorn, even though it probably wouldn't be at the lake. When they first came in sight of the lake they marvelled of the beauty of the nature around this area. The lake was quite grand and it held beautiful trees and flowers around the area. The lake was pure blue and the water felt nice and cool. The group drank some of its water. Dean had never known water could taste so much different in another area. After relaxing for a bit the group was ready to leave again.

"Look at that!" Lloyd suddenly said. He pointed at a point in the water. There was something in the water. It was a unicorn. The unicorn seemed trapped in the water. There were a lot of broken trees piled up on the unicorn and that trapped the creature. It still seemed alive though and not wounded, but it was simply trapped.

"It's beautiful…" Colette simply said as she stared at the creature.

"It's a unicorn! Raine, it's a unicorn!" Genis shouted at his sister, clearly excited.

"Yes, but why is it…" The professor answered seeing the problem.

"It's like a prison of water. It's trapped under these trees. Unfortunately, there's nothing we can do about it." Kratos said.

"Then, we can't go see him…" Colette said disappointed. She had wanted to see the unicorn so much. Now it seemed so close, but they still couldn't reach him.

"Can't you do something with your magic Genis?" Lloyd asked the elf boy.

"Do what? My magic is not strong enough to free the unicorn. We could probably do something if we somehow borrowed the power of a Summon Spirit, but I'm not a summoner." Genis responded.

"The art of summoning was lost long ago. The knowledge is still available, but like magic someone must be gifted with the art of summoning. There's no way we'll be able to do that…" The professor explained.

"Then hopefully the unicorn will get free in time…" Dean said.

"All we do is pray." Colette said that and prayed for a little while.

"Let's go guys. There is nothing we can do." Lloyd said after a while. The group left the forest and once again headed towards the Seal of Wind.

The journey towards the Seal of Wind took a bit longer than one and a half week. The monsters in the area weren't matched for the strength of the group and their great teamwork. Sometimes they were ambushed by thieves who were after their Gald and provisions. In the other areas they had encountered some thieves, but in the area around Asgard there seemed to roam around a lot more of these thieves and murderers. Nobody of the group liked to take the life of any other human, half-elf or elf, but in situations like that it was kill or be killed. These encounters left a bad taste after they had defeated the thieves. Most of the time going after the leader of the group was enough, but one time the thieves had been desperate and they had to kill every member.

"Why can't we live in peace?" Lloyd asked after they had encountered another group of thieves and had defeated them. "I mean the Desians are bad enough. Why must we fight each other like this?"

"I know it is not fair, but these are harsh times. Some people only know how to steal and kill. It is their way of survival." The professor answered.

"Even after the salvation those kind of people will keep on existing. There are always rich and poor people. People who can't afford food beg and steal food. A child that loses its parents to disease at a young age with no one to look after often starts with stealing food and as he grows up he might become a murderer as well. Like Raine said, they are trying to survive in their own way." Kratos said.

"I hope after the salvation people will stop doing this and live together in peace." Colette said.

"That is a beautiful wish, but it could be that wish will never be fulfilled." Kratos answered to that.

"Let's go on. Talking about this doesn't make me feel any better." Dean said. They all agreed with him. Nobody said something for the rest of the travelling that day. Because of the recent encounters with a lot more thieves they decided to go back on two people standing guard in the night. Kratos and Dean were taking the first guard.

"Sometimes I wonder whether it makes a difference." Kratos said suddenly out of nowhere.

"What are you talking about? If what makes a difference?" Dean asked back.

"This Journey of Regeneration. Even if we regenerate this world now after some time the seal will weaken, the Desians will return, mana will fade away from Sylvarant once more and another Journey of Regeneration will begin…"

"If you look at it like that, then yeah, it seems like it doesn't make a difference. If there was a way how to change this system, where the Journey of Regeneration wasn't necessary and the Desians could be kept away, I would love to find it and make it happen."

"It is a strange system, isn't it? It feels like a cycle that has no end."

"Not only that, but many things don't make sense. The journey of Regeneration is a journey to seal the Desians and to make sure that mana return to Sylvarant. Without the Desians there will be no more oppression and with the mana restoring the land itself will grow stronger and the people will start to flourish. There are some things that doesn't make sense though. Iselia has a non-agression treaty with the Human Ranch in order to protect the Chosen One, right?"

"That is correct. That way the Chosen is out of danger of the Desians."

"Why would the Desians want that?" Dean asked Kratos.

"I don't know what you are getting at…"

"The Journey of Regeneration is to seal the Desians and restore mana. After the world regeneration the Desians will disappear, like some kind of evil. Why would the Desians choose not to attack the Chosen? If the Chosen is dead, they won't be sealed. It is true that they will fade away with the rest of the world if the Chosen fails, but why wouldn't they instead help the Chosen achieve World Regeneration if that is the case?"

"I've never looked at it like that."

"That's the problem, nobody has. They all assume that the Desians are evil, have to be stopped and that the world regeneration will save them all."

"You don't agree with them?"

"Oh, I hate the Desians more than anyone in this world. After what they did to me… I feel like I want to kill them all, so they won't be able to do such things to anybody else." Dean paused a bit to calm himself down. "That's not what I'm trying to get at. I've seen that Desians are half-elves, I saw that with my own eyes. I felt the torture and saw the torture they did to others, but I never saw the reason why they all did that. They all hated humans, you could see that in their eyes. It just doesn't make sense. Why would they do that? I feel like I'm missing something. I was part of some kind of experiment and I know they talked to me what it was for, but I can't remember."

"You were in a horrible state back then. You seemed more dead than alive."

"Yeah… Don't want to go back to that state again. I think I'd rather kill myself than go back to that life."

"…" There was a moment of silence. Painful memories started to haunt the mind of Dean again. Dean wanted to resume talking so that his mind would go something else than the past he wanted to leave behind.

"Well Kratos, you've seen much of the world as a mercenary. Do you have some kind of answer?"

"No. I don't. I know that this journey of regeneration makes in a way no difference, but I don't have any answers to the questions I ask myself and that you asked." Dean got the feeling that Kratos wasn't telling the truth, but he couldn't read the man again. In a way distant, neutral and mysterious. The man said he was doing it for the money, but he put a lot of effort into his actions as you would consider the reward he would get. He also helped Lloyd and Dean improve with their swordsmanship. If he truly was only in for the money he wouldn't have done that. The man didn't explain his actions and Dean wondered if they would ever find out the motives of the mercenary.

"Well, whether it makes sense or not, all we can do is continue with this Journey of Regeneration. There is too much at stake to just question the meaning of this journey and stop. I hate to say this, but as far as we know there is no other way." Dean concluded.

"So you'll stop looking for an answer?" Kratos asked another question. He really wanted Dean to think about this.

"I'll search for an answer. I'll look for clues during this journey and also after the journey. I just don't know where to search. All I can do is look around the world. Is that the reason you became a mercenary? To search the world looking for an answer to your question."

"Perhaps. Excuse me, I have questioned you too much. Let's wake Lloyd and Raine, they have the next guard." The man avoided the question. Dean was aware of this. Getting a hold on the man seemed impossible. Dean helped wake up Lloyd as the boy kept on sleeping even after shaking him. That Lloyd sure could sleep through everything. Dean went to sleep after waking Raine up. The questions Kratos asked him kept him awake, but he fell asleep eventually. The next morning he had trouble getting up for practice. Kratos didn't seem sleepy even though he slept only a few hours just like Dean had. Lloyd was awake for now, but would get it rough during the travelling.

The next day the group arrived at the Balacruf Museum.

"It took us long enough to get here." Lloyd said exhausted. This place was a tourist spot alright. There were several people here looking at the museum from the outside. Some of them said it was a waste to get here since they couldn't enter the building anyway. After talking with a few people the group headed towards the entrance.

"Climb the central stairway and offer the map at the altar." Raine said. The elf woman had another glow in her eyes. She couldn't wait to explore the museum. It sometimes seemed she was more interested in the ruins than in the journey itself.

"Yes, Professor." Colette answered. The group approached an altar. When they got closer the altar opens up like some kind of insertion slot.

"It seems to be responding to the Map of Balacruf." Raine said after observing what had happened. "Here Colette. Put the map on the altar." The Professor handed the Map of Balacruf to Colette. The blond girl put the map on the altar. From out of nowhere an oracle stone appeared in front the altar.

"It's an oracle stone!" Genis said excited.

"Just like we thought. This is a seal." Lloyd said.

"Okay then, I'm going to put my hand on it…" Colette said as she put her hand on the oracle stone. The sealed door into the museum opened.

"Let's hurry up and get this over with." Lloyd said.

"Longing for bed already Lloyd?" Dean teased the boy in red.

"Shut it! These Seals get on my nerves, that's all."

"Yeah right."

"Be quiet you two." Raine said, making the two of them stop. The group headed inside. It was pretty dark inside the building. There was some strange kind of sound, like wind brushing over several things. There were also other weird noises that seemed to be in some kind of pattern. The presence of monsters could be felt inside the museum.

"Oh! This is pretty cool! I feel like an explorer!" Lloyd said excited.

"…You always start out enthusiastic." Kratos commented on the reaction of Lloyd.

"Not so sleepy anymore Lloyd?" Genis asked his best friend noticing the change in his behaviour.

"Just leave him alone. He doesn't know what he wants." Dean joked around again. Lloyd choose to ignore the two. The group then explored the museum. There was treasure in this dungeon again. Most of the treasure contained useful accessories that would help them during battles. The noises that appeared in a pattern were traps. In the beginning they noticed a piece of the ground that was made out of metal. Lloyd wasn't paying attention and was joyfully running around, feeling like an explorer.

"Lloyd, look out!" Dean shouted to the boy in red, aware of the danger. He quickly cast a wind spell that pushed Lloyd back. The boy was pushed hard to the ground. Some of the group had to avoid him as he was pushed back.

"Ow. Dean! What the hell?!" Lloyd shouted angry at Dean.

"Lloyd calm down." Raine said. "Do you see that metal on the ground?"

"Observe." Dean said and then walked towards the metal carefully and then jumped up and slammed his feet with force on the ground on purpose near the metal on the ground. Spikes rose up from the metal and Dean landed. Dean then walked slowly over the metal. Nothing happened now.

"It seems to respond to vibrations on the ground. If you had kept on running those spikes would have killed you on the spot Lloyd. That's why I pushed you back so forcefully. I'm sorry I did it with such force." Dean explained. Lloyd's face was pale.

"I'm sorry for shouting at you Dean. Thanks!" Lloyd said.

"You would have done the same for me if you would have noticed."

"It would be wise to stick together and walk around this dungeon carefully. Who knows what other kind of traps awaits us?" Kratos said. Everybody agreed with him. All throughout the dungeon there were slabs with writing on the wall on it, but they couldn't read it as it was too dark in the museum. There were torches nearby that they could lid with the Sorcerer's Ring, but they were out the moment they were lid. On the spot of the torch they could feel a strong wind. The wind was coming from some point on the wall. For now the group decided to let this be, keeping in mind that this was probably part of a puzzle, but until they would figure out the purpose they left the slabs with writing on it be. There was more traps to be avoided in the dungeon. This dungeon was truly life threatening on itself. The monsters were scary as well. Skeletons with swords whose bones needed to be crashed for it to stop moving, green spheres that were floating in the air that would launch wind spells at the group, half human, half bird like creature that unleashed wind attacks, Stone Gargoyles that could fly and carried spears around which had to be defeated by magic unless they wanted to destroy their own weapons, giant spiders which could turn you to stone and weird stone things that they just took out with magic from a distance. Nobody liked this dungeon. The group found a device that could change the Sorcerer's Ring. They activated the device.

"Hmm? The Sorcerer's Ring is acting weird." Lloyd said as he was testing the Sorcerer's Ring out.

"I guess it makes wind." Genis explained.

"I wonder what you use it for?" Colette asked out loud. With that the group proceeded into another room. In this room there were five pinwheels which all had a different colour. At the end of the room there was a huge stone door which couldn't be opened.

"I guess we can make the pinwheels turn with the Sorcerer's Ring." Dean said. Lloyd then let the pinwheels turn in an random order, but nothing happened. "Mmm… That's weird. Maybe we should let the pinwheels turn in a certain order?"

"How do we know which order?" Genis asked.

"Maybe those texts on the walls could help us?" Dean answered. "They seemed to be part of the puzzle of this dungeon."

"We can't read them though and those torches are blown out the whole time." Genis said.

"Mmm… I saw some holes in the ground and also some blocks. Maybe if we push those blocks in the holes the wind will stop. Then we will need to decipher the writings on the walls to unravel the sequence in which we will make the pinwheels move." Raine then said. "It sounds like a plan. Let's go."

"Can't we just try different combinations until the door opens?" Lloyd suggested irritated. He didn't like this dungeon at all.

"That would take too much time." Kratos responded.

"And the whole stopping the wind and deciphering the texts wouldn't?" Lloyd responded.

"Well, you can stay behind and try all kinds of random combinations. We're going to solve the puzzle." Genis said in response.

"Let's go guys." Dean said, wanting to solve the puzzle.

"Wait up!" Lloyd said as he noticed the others were really leaving. As Raine had said they first had to push the blocks in the ground. That stopped the wind coming from the walls. They had the go all around the museum doing this, dodging the lethal traps. After that they read the texts. Some were historical information. The rest however…

'The world is a giant. The ruby left hand is the throne of gods. The emerald right hand is the power of gods. The pearl white left leg is the calm earth. The topaz right leg is the rich earth. And its lapis lazuli body is the blue wind princess.'

'That which the blue wind princess protects. Heads from the throne of gods and across the rich earth, stands upon the calm earth and gazes up at the power of gods.'

'That which is offered to the throne of gods, from the power of gods, makes the rich earth as the calm earth and arrives at the blue wind princess. This be as if traveling the giant's body in the manner of a clock's hand.'

'The holy seal that extols the king, flows from the throne of the gods to the rich earth, travels from the power of gods to the calm earth and when the blue wind princes is born in the centre of the world, the holy seal shall also be complete.'

"I don't get it…" Lloyd said after reading the texts.

"Me neither…" Colette admitted as well.

"Professor, you took notes right?" Dean asked and Raine nodded. "Let me see… Okay. So the part about the world is a giant… The ruby left hand and the throne of gods are synonyms. If somewhere in another text the throne of gods is mentioned, it means that we should do something with the rube left hand. The ruby left hand is probably the red pinwheel in the room with the five pinwheels. This is probably the case with the rest as well."

"I see. Good thinking Dean." Raine answered.

"But there are three texts that reveals these kinds of words. Which one will open up the stone door?" Genis asked.

"Probably the one that mentions the holy seal. I think the seal represents the closed stone door. What the other two do… I don't know. We could try, but it could also be a trap." Dean said.

"I don't really followed what you guys were talking about, but now we know the order of the pinwheels right?" Asked Lloyd. The rest of the group except for Colette sighed.

"Yes, we know the order." Genis answered.

"Alright, let's go then." Lloyd wanted to run away again, but then remembered what happened last time and started walking again.

"Is raised by a dwarf causing this?" Dean asked for fun.

"Lloyd is just Lloyd, let's leave it at that." Genis answered.

So the group headed for the room with all the pinwheels again.

"Okay Lloyd, flip the pinwheels as I tell you." The professor said. "First the red one, now the yellow one, then the white one, the green one and finally the blue one." Lloyd did as the professor instructed and the stone door opened.

"Okay. We guessed right. Let's assume the rest of the combinations are traps and head up the stairs. The seal is probably up there." Raine said.

"Are we all ready?" Dean asked and he looked around. The group seemed ready. "Then let's go." As they had guessed the seal was in the next room. They were now on top of the building it seems.

"We're finally at the altar… I'm sick of dungeons." Lloyd said as they arrived.

"…You have no patience." Kratos answered. The walked towards the altar.

"Wait. I sense… incredible mana." Genis said. Dean felt it too. A powerful monster would appear any time now.

"Okay. We all know what to do. We've been here before many times. Let's defeat this monster!" Dean said to encourage the group. The monster had a light blue and dark blue body. It was a bird like monster. It had yellow with green wings, a sharp beak and sharp claws at its feet. It could do powerful wind magic. It was floating in the air by the use of magic. Kratos attacked it at the front, Lloyd and Dean at the sides. Colette, Genis and Raine were preparing their magic. With the monster pinned down with three warriors attacking it, it didn't stand a chance.

"Okay guys, we're ready to fire our magic at it!" Genis shouted to the close range warriors. They jumped back as the three magicians unleashed their magic on the monsters. It got hit really hard, but it still wasn't defeated after that. Dean unleashed a Lightning spell to do it some more damage, but it didn't do much. The monster suddenly leapt forward and Kratos was bashed away.

"Lloyd, let's do it!" Dean shouted to Lloyd. The two us them got into position. "Cross Trust!" Both of them unleashed a Sonic Trust at the same time, attacking in a cross and finishing off the monster. Raine was already healing Kratos, but it seemed he was alright. As everybody put away their weapons the voice of Remiel could be heard.

"Chosen of Regeneration… You have done well in reaching this far. Now, offer your prayers at the altar."

"Yes!" Colette replied and approached the seal. "Oh Goddess Martel, great protector and nurturer of the earth, grant me thy strength." Colette prayed. Colette revealed her wings and flies up to midair. A light from the sky came down on the place of the seal and the angel Remiel appeared at the scene.

"This is the third seal. You have done well reaching this far, Chosen One… Colette." The angel said with his commanding voice. The words were gentle, but the tone of the angel was commanding.

"Thank you." Colette replied.

"Receive this blessing, the gift of angelic power from Cruxis."

"Y-yes, Father. Thank you." A light from the sky landed on Colette as she received more angelic powers.

"The next seal lies far northwest, in a place that gazes upon the centre of the world. Offer your prayers at the altar in that distant land."

"I shall do as you say. …Lord Remiel." Colette sounded unsure the whole time she was talking to the angel Remiel. She was also unsure how to call him. Her father or Lord Remiel. She seemed to do both.

"I will be waiting for you at the next seal, Colette… my daughter." Remiel flew up again and disappeared into the heavens again. "The end of your journey is close. Hurry and become a true angel. Do not disappoint me…" The voice of Remiel resonated once more. With that the angel was gone again. Colette descended to the floor and put her angel wings away.

"A true angel…" Colette said softly. Dean could hear a hint of fear in her voice.

"What is it?" Lloyd asked.

"Ah… nothing. I was just thinking when I become a true angel, it'll be amazing." Colette lied. Dean could clearly see that the blond girl was lying, but the rest of the group didn't notice. Dean knew what the angel transformation did to her. He wondered until when that the others would notice as well. What part of her humanity would she lose now?

"I wonder how many seals there are?" Genis asked.

"That, we don't know…" Raine said.

"I hope not to many…" Dean muttered.

"At any rate, all we can do is keep going." Kratos said.

The group descended the stairs, avoided the traps and went towards the exit. Nearby the exit they suddenly heard a female voice.

"Stop!" A young woman jumped down from somewhere. She had black hair tied in a ponytail with a pink ribbon. She seemed to wear a black bodysuit with over it light purple leg protectors, a vest and arm protectors. Her bra was visible though. Around her waist there was big pink cloth which ended in a huge ribbon at her back. The clothes looked like something that didn't belong in this world. She was holding cards in her hands. Kratos had told Dean that those cards were enchanted and could do some serious damage. Her eyes were cold and hard, like an assassin.

"That voice…" Lloyd said.

"Oh, no…" Genis said as he realised whose the voice belonged.

"This day has finally come. This ancient ruin shall be your graveyard…" The assassin threatened. Colette was afraid of the woman and she approached her.

"Oh, you're here, too!" Colette just said happily.

"S…stay back! Don't move! Don't touch anything!" The assassin said, apparently afraid of Colette.

"Now that we've finally become friends, why do we have to fight?" the blond girl asked the assassin.

"Since when are we?" The young woman asked out loud and coughed to clear her voice. "I have no intention of befriending you! Prepare yourselves!" She threw one of her cards on the ground which summoned a creature. The creature were hovering in the air. It didn't have legs, just blue torn rags of clothing it seemed. It had the head of a bird, long arms with sharp claws. On the back was a card with a wheel with all kinds of signs on it. At the back of the wheel there was a weird looking red mask.

"Colette, get to the back!" Dean shouted. "Lloyd, Kratos, take on the assassin. Make sure she doesn't get close to Colette. Genis, take on that guardian with me. Focus on the card on the back, I think that's its weakness. Professor, assist Lloyd and Kratos and heal everybody. Colette, stay in the back and help us with your angelic powers." Dean shouted orders to everyone as the assassin and the guardian monster were getting closer. Dean faced the guardian monster. The guardian's attacks were fast and Dean had trouble evading them.

"Dean! That guardian is of the element lightning, your lightning attacks won't have any effect on it." Raine shouted towards Dean as she had analysed the monster with her magic lens. Dean didn't have any time to respond. He got the message. He now focused on the guardian. He could hear words of pain coming from Lloyd. The assassin was no pushover, that was for sure. These two opponents were much tougher than the monster of the seal. Dean sliced off one of the arms of the guardian with one of his attacks, but the arm just grew back on from nowhere. The guardian now was pushing him back. There was still no magic assistance from Genis. It seemed the elf boy had troubles of his own. Dean had no choice. He wasn't going to win like this. He had to take a risk. He was already worn out from the rest of the day, with avoiding the traps, solving the puzzle of the dungeon, fighting the monsters and defeating the monster of the seal. He had said to the professor that he wouldn't use this technique anymore, but this monster couldn't be defeated any other way. He fused his body with the element of wind and put a basic barrier support spell on him to protect his body from himself, from what he was about to do.

"Holy Song!" Colette shouted from a distance. A gentle pink light flowed through the area and faded away. Dean could feel that this magic made him stronger. With this enchantment and the wind magic he had fused unto his body he suddenly was much faster and stronger. He now easily dodged the attacks of the guardian, circled it around so it faced its back. He slashed the wheel away to reveal the card that was on its back. Dean jumped up and unleashed several attacks on the card. The guardian screamed in pain and faded away as the card turned to pieces of paper. Dean stopped the flow of magic to his body. The barrier magic stayed for a while, as it was a temporary spell that cost only a small portion mana. Once cast the barrier spell would increase the defence for a small period of time on the one the spell was used on. The professor had taught Dean this spell. It was also the spell Dean was basing his new spells on he was busy creating. Dean faced the rest of the group. Kratos and Lloyd were pushing the assassin to the back. She jumped back.

"Argh! Why… Why can't I win?" the young woman asked out loud.

"Goodness and love will always win!" Genis said.

"Genis, please don't bring up that stupid Dwarven Vow!" Lloyd said to his best friend. Dwarven Vows were some kind of rules that the dwarf Dirk lived by. In Dean's eyes those rules were common sense, but some of the vows were kind of cheesy. Like this one.

"Goodness?! What do you mean, goodness?! If you're good, I'm good as well!"

"Not you, too! Everyone, stop saying corny things!" Lloyd said somehow embarrassed by the turn of events.

"What do you know?! When you regenerate the world, my country will be destroyed! I won't let that happen… I swear!" The assassin said. Now that was a strange thing to say.

"Wait. What are you talking about? If I regenerate the world, everyone will be saved… right?" Colette asked the question that was everybody's lips.

"This world will be saved!" The assassin said and ran away.

"Stop! Who are you?! So you're no alone?!"

"What did she mean this world? Is Sylvarant then not the only world? What did she mean?" Dean now asked out loud.

"That girl… is she…" Kratos then said.

"Do you know her?" Genis asked the mercenary.

"…No. Let's get out of here. We didn't do her much damage, she might come back at us." Kratos said and walked away. Dean didn't believe the purple warrior. He was hiding something. He had finally said something that revealed he knew more than he let out. The group followed Kratos. Outside Colette collapsed again, but Lloyd caught her.

"Colette!" the boy in red said.

"It's the Angel Toxicosis again. Let's hurry and let her rest." Raine said.

"Are you okay?" Lloyd asked. The Chosen sighed.

"I'm sorry to trouble everybody again…" Colette started to apologise again.

"Don't worry about that, but" Lloyd somehow tripped while holding Colette and fell to the ground. "Ow…" The boy let out.

"What are you doing Lloyd?" Genis shouted angrily at Lloyd. "Are you okay Colette." The girl seemed puzzled for a while.

"What's wrong Colette?" Dean asked the girl. The effect of the angel transformation was already taking place and Colette had noticed it.

"What's wrong? Did it hurt? did you hurt yourself?" Genis asked worried about the girl.

"No. I'm fine. Hehe…" There was a fake giggle again. "I just blanked out for a moment." Lloyd got up again and looked both confused and worried. The group set up camp once again. When nobody was near Dean approached Colette.

"Colette…" Dean whispered to the blond Chosen. The girl got closer to Dean. "The effect of the third seal. What is it? You've already noticed, haven't you?" The girl looked down and then looked Dean in the eyes. She nodded.

"I don't feel… Pain…" The girl whispered back. Dean grabbed the hand of the girl. "No, it's not only that… I can't feel your hand right now."

"What? What do you mean you can't feel my hand?"

"I see that you're holding my hand, but I can't feel you toughing me. Touch, warmth, cold, pain… Those senses are gone." Dean looked in the girl eyes. She was telling the truth.

"That's… horrible. To lose your senses of touch, warmth and cold. Pain you can miss, but those things. You will never feel a touch anymore, no more hugs…" Dean said to her. "No more kisses from your future boyfriend." He whispered to himself. He could feel tears welling up in his eyes, but he pushed them away.

"Dean… It's okay… It's part of the angel transformation." Colette just said back.

"It's not okay Colette, but we can't stop, can we?" Dean asked the girl. She didn't respond. There was no other way. Colette would continue to suffer and would continue to lose something of herself, something that means to be human, lose one of her senses.

"It's not all bad Dean. My eyes have gotten better and I can hear much better now. My spell helped you against that guardian today, didn't it?"

"Yeah, you're right. But if this continues… What will be left of you when this journey is over?"

"Dean?! Can you help with gathering wood for the fire?" Raine asked from afar.

"Yes, I'll be right there." Dean shouted back. "I'm here for you Colette, don't you forget that." Dean said to the blond girl. He then left for looking for firewood. He hadn't noticed that the other hand of the girl was still bleeding. Dean already noticed that we wasn't getting much sleep. He offered to be the first night watch. The rest didn't mind. Lloyd said that he wanted to be on the night watch as well. This was the first time Lloyd had offered that. Normally he would go to sleep as one of the first. It was because he had to wake up early for practice every day. He was probably worried about Colette, but everybody was worried about her. Genis cooked dinner that night. It wasn't much, because they needed the provisions for the way back.

"What that assassin said still bothers me." Raine said loud. This was her way of saying she wanted to start a conversation about it.

"You mean that she said that this world would be saved. I wonder what that was about as well…" Dean said. The professor had clearly been thinking about other things than he had.

"Yes… She also wears strange clothes. It seems like…" The professor didn't finish her sentence.

"Yes… It seems like she's from another world." Dean finished the sentence.

"You think so too Dean?" The professor asked surprised.

"The clothes that she wears. Those are of a quality and in a form I've never seen before. The clothes of our group is a bit out of the ordinary if you look at the other people, but in each village and town you see different clothes. Our clothes are different from the other villages and town in the area yes, but her clothes were unique. That's one point. She said that after the world regeneration only this world will be saved, so she's basically telling us she's not from this world. That's point two. For the last point I would like to point out her way of fighting. I haven't even heard of fighting with cards and summoning monsters, because that is what she did. Fighting with weapons, whether they be swords, shields, axes, spears, rods, kendama's, chakrams or something else I can believe, but fighting with cards. Summoning monsters… That is not something of this world."

"That is some proof that indicates that she's not of this world…" The professor replied.

"But that's all we have indeed. We will have to ask her the next time we meet. If she's not willing to talk, then that's the end."

"You don't want to force the information out of her?"

"After what I've been through the thought of torture makes me sick. I'd rather give somehow a quick painless death than torture them."

"I'm sorry, I hadn't thought of that."

"It's okay. I really want to know as well Professor, but there are some things I just won't do."

"Well, I'm going to bed. Good luck with the guard."

"Thanks. Good night Professor. I'll be watching over all of you." Dean prepared for another long night. Lloyd was talking with Colette and the rest was getting ready for sleep. After a few minutes Lloyd walked towards Dean.

"Hey Dean, can you make some tea for me and Colette? I heard from her she has trouble sleeping, so maybe some tea will help." Lloyd said.

"Sure. I think I have the right herbs for some nice tea. Shall I make you some tea that will help you stay awake?" Dean asked back. The boy in red was constantly looking at Colette and didn't seem to pay any attention to the question of Dean.

"Yeah. Sure." Lloyd reacted absentminded. Dean asked Lloyd to gather some water in a pan, so he could boil it. Then he picked the right herbs he would need for making the tea. He would make tea for himself, Lloyd and Colette. He picked one of his favourite teas that would help Lloyd and him stay awake that night. Lloyd was acting strange, but he seemed concerned. Colette was out of sight. She was probably waiting for Lloyd somewhere. Brewing the tea took a bit and after it was done Dean divided the tea in three separate cups. He handed two of the cups to Lloyd, who went to the place where Colette was after saying thanks. Dean knew it wasn't nice, but curiosity took over him and he decided to eardrop on Lloyd and Colette. Stalking Lloyd without letting him know that Dean was following him wasn't a big deal. The boy wasn't really on guard most of the time and because of his concern his guard was fully dropped.

"What is it Lloyd?" Colette asked the boy in red. Dean couldn't see the two of them, but he could hear them. He faced the camp where the others were sleeping so he could keep guard as well.

"I thought it'd be nice for us to talk just by ourselves." Lloyd answered.

"Sure."

"Here, it's hot tea." Lloyd gave the cup to Colette. The blond girl put her arms on the hot cup of tea. Normally, it would burn someone, but she wasn't feeling a thing. Lloyd noticed this too.

"Thanks." The Chosen answered.

"Hot, isn't it?" Lloyd asked.

"Yeah. Really hot."

"It's actually iced coffee." Lloyd then said.

"What?" Colette answered in confusion.

"I had Genis make it cold. He was still awake." Lloyd answered.

"Oh, hehe, yeah, of course it's cold." Colette decided to go along with the words of Lloyd.

"I lied. It's actually hot." Lloyd confessed to the blond girl. Colette dropped the cup of tea in surprise. She realised that Lloyd found out. "I knew it. How long have you been like this?! You can't feel anything at all, can you?" Lloyd kept pushing Colette to confess.

"That's not true…" Colette didn't want to confess. Lloyd got angry at her.

"You're lying! When you fell earlier, you already couldn't feel anything, could you?!"

"W…well, uh…but…uh…" Colette didn't know how to react anymore. She was still faking that everything was alright.

"You were bleeding like crazy, but you didn't even flinch when I squeezed your hand!" Lloyd kept going on. Colette gave a big sigh.

"I guess the secret's out." Was all she said.

"You haven't been eating lately either."

"I eat! Hehe…" Colette tried to force a smile on her face, but every stranger could see right through that smile.

"Barely. You even started eating things you don't like. And that's not all. Have you been sleeping?"

"Of course. Hehe… see. My eyes aren't red or anything." Colette did her fake giggle again.

"Stop lying to me! You always do that fake giggle when you lie."

"Th…that's not true…" Dean couldn't stand the bickering anymore. He decided to intervene before Lloyd got too mad and Colette too desperate, not knowing how to react or what to say.

"That's enough you two!" Dean said with a loud voice and walked towards Lloyd and Colette so that they could see him.

"What? Dean? You were listening?" Lloyd asked.

"Sorry for betraying your trust, but yes." Dean answered Lloyd. He then looked at Colette and said with a gentle voice. "Come on Colette. Just say it to him already. He already knows." The girl sighed again.

"Alright. It's true Lloyd. I can't feel anything anymore." Colette finally confessed.

"…What's happening to you?" Was all Lloyd asked the girl.

"I don't know." Colette said. She then looked Lloyd in the eye. "I don't know, but things first got strange when I released the Fire Seal. I suddenly didn't want to eat anything anymore. Even when I did, it didn't have any taste."

"No taste?" Lloyd asked in wonder.

"I can't hold anything down when I force myself… so, I haven't been eating. I never get hungry." The blond girl continued talking.

"That's… That's…" Lloyd stammered.

"Then when I released the next seal, I stopped getting sleepy. I close my eyes, but I just can't sleep. I haven't slept at all since then. Dean kept me company during the times he was on guard duty, but the rest of the nights were really lonely. Then with this seal, I stopped feeling anything."

"Why didn't you say anything?!" Lloyd almost shouted, both angry and concerned. "And you Dean, you already knew. Don't you guys trust me?"

"It's not like that Lloyd." Dean answered in a calm voice. "I found out yes and I've been trying to support Colette in secret ever since, but when I found out Colette made me promise not to tell anyone else. She didn't want to trouble anyone with her suffering."

"Besides, I think this is what it means to become an angel. So I shouldn't let it get to me." Colette added.

"This is what it means to become an angel? Not eating anymore, not sleeping anymore, not feeling anything anymore?!"

"But my eyes have actually gotten better. I can see really far away now. And my hearing too. I can hear even the faintest sounds really well. I can hear them so well that… it's kind of painful sometimes." Dean hadn't heard this before. There were some improvements when becoming an angel, but they didn't add up against the downsides of the transformation. Dean tried to be calm and cool during this whole time, but inside he was worried sick about Colette. Lloyd embraced Colette in order to comfort her. This stung in Dean's heart for a bit.

"I'm sorry… I didn't realise what was going on at all. I'm sorry." Lloyd apologised. Tears were flowing down his face. Learning this really hurt him and made him as worried about Colette as Dean did.

"Please don't tell the others." Colette pleaded.

"Why?! Dean knows, I know. What difference does it make if the rest knows?"

"I just don't know anyone to worry. If everybody knew, would they be able to play with me without worrying? Would Alice be able to do that if she knew or Genis. Even if there is so much suffering around us, I want us to enjoy it to the fullest." Lloyd didn't know what to say anymore. Dean was silent too. He already promised the girl he would keep silent. It would bother Colette now that Lloyd knew as well, but now Lloyd and Dean could support Colette together. Colette was their childhood friend after all. "I'm sorry, Lloyd. Even though you're crying for me and I'm happy. So happy that I want to cry… but I can't anymore. I'm sorry…" Lloyd embraced Colette a bit tighter. Dean decided to leave the two of them alone and headed back to the camp. He left sight of the camp for some time now, but luckily there was no monsters about where he returned. After a few minutes Colette and Lloyd returned. Lloyd was looking down and Colette was now the one who was looking concerned at Lloyd. Lloyd sat down at the fire. Dean saw that they almost didn't have any more wood, so he got up to gather it.

"Dean…" Lloyd said to him. Dean stopped.

"I'm sorry for not telling you Lloyd, but I promised Colette." Dean said before Lloyd could continue.

"I know… You don't break your promises. You never did. Thanks for looking out for Colette."

"It's what you would have done. Let's support her together now." Dean looked at Lloyd and handed out his hand. Lloyd shook his hand to follow up with Dean's determination.

"Yeah. Let's do our best."

"We will. Now I will gather some wood. Keep Colette company will you?" After gathering the wood the three childhood friends talked about the time they spent in the village and brought up good memories. They made sure to talk softly so they wouldn't wake anyone up. Time flew by while they were talking. There were no monsters that ambushed them that night. They woke up Kratos and Raine when it was time for them to take over the night's guard. Colette made sure to pretend to sleep before the two adults were woken up. Dean and Lloyd fell immediately to sleep. It was hard for both of them to wake up when Kratos woke them up for morning practice.


And that's how Lloyd found out the secret Colette had been keeping from everyone, except for OC Dean of course. The Seal of Wind is down and Colette can't feel anything any more. That has to be a nightmare. Although... I really love food and if food had no taste at all anymore, I would have lost an important part of my life.

Please look forward to the next chapter!