(A/N): …Yeeeeahhhh, it's been awhile, hasn't it? Well, in all honesty, a number of things caused this to be delayed, but I think the main reason that I haven't worked on this in a while is because due to technical issues, the entire file for this chapter was deleted, and now I had to start over from scratch, and that kind of dis-motivated me. Don't worry, I haven't abandoned this project, if I do, I'd announce it.

Now without any further ado, here's what you've all been waiting for: Symphonic Abyss Chapter &!

Tales of the Abyss and Tales of Symphonia belong to Namco-Bandai.

Afterwards, the six of us walked a few feet until we reached a three-way fork in the temple, with two different routes leading down two different hallways, while the third route in the middle lead upstairs.

"Well, where to next?" Genis asked.

I looked at Colette, "Colette, you know this place better than the rest of us combined. Where do we have to go?"

Colette looked down at her feet, "Well, um, I'm sorry. The temple seems… different than usual. I'm a bit unsure right now."

"I guess that means we'll just have to walk around this place and find out." I said with a shrug.

"I sense monsters around. Stay on your guard, everyone." Kratos said unexpectedly. Seriously, how the hell can he even tell there were monsters around?

"Heh, no worries. We can handle a few easy monsters." Lloyd then said confidently.

"Wait. Lloyd, you are self taught in swordplay, correct?" Kratos asked Lloyd.

"Yeah. Why?" Lloyd asked back. Kratos said nothing as he walked towards Lloyd and handed him a book. Lloyd looked down at the book, "What is this thing?"

"If you want to become a swordsman, then at least learn the basics." Kratos said with a mildly harsh tone. He then walked ahead a little, probably to see where the best way to go next was.

"Hmph! He thinks he knows everything, does he?!" Lloyd huffed.

I flinched when he said this. It reminded me back when I was still a spoiled brat and was a complete jerk to everyone.

(Begin Flashback)

"My, my, Luke. You're rather confident in yourself. Did your master teach you nothing but brute force?"

"Whatever. Who cares about this stuff anyway? Besides, Master Van never taught me this stuff because I don't NEED it!"

"Ugh, idiot."

(End flashback)

I decided to play mentor to Lloyd, "Lloyd, you should probably listen to him and read that. And don't ever say something like that again! That kind of attitude will get you killed." I said, "Trust me, I know from experience. Well, except for the dying part."

Lloyd looked ready to speak up, but Raine then said, "Luke's right, Lloyd. You will never become a master in anything unless you put your mind to it. It would also do well if you applied that same kind of mindset to your schoolwork." I saw Lloyd flinch at that last part. From what I've gathered, Lloyd isn't the sharpest knife in the drawer. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Genis grin.

"Now, Colette," Raine said as she turned to Colette, "Do you have an idea of where we should start looking?"

"Hmm, well," Colette then perked up, as if remembering something. I could see a candle lighting up over her head, "Oh right! We need to get the Sorcerer's Ring from an altar in the temple, then use it to open a door leading to where the Oracle's room is!"

"Wait, Sorcerer's Ring?!" I thought. "I'll ask Lorelei about it later."

"Okay, so where's the altar, then?" Genis piped up.

Colette looked down at her feet, "Um… sorry. I forgot."

Raine then smiled a creepy smile, "Then I guess we'll have to go look for it, then."

"Ah, really? What a pain." Lloyd sighed.

With that, we went down the right pathway, eventually reaching to a staircase that underground. Going down the staircase, we found ourselves on a strange glass platform suspended in the air. Looking down, the ground below us was covered in a faint mist. There were some large square holes in the platform, for some reason. I could see that some parts of the ground were deeper than others, and that the deeper parts looked deep enough that you would have a hard time getting out if you were by yourself.

"Hey, what that over there?" I heard Lloyd asked. Turning around, I saw everyone else walking towards the northern part of the platform. Following them, I saw an altar that was on the same level as the glass we were standing on, but the altar had a stairway leading down from the floor below us. On the altar, I could see a small, bright light floating a few inches of the altar itself.

"AMAZING!" Raine suddenly shouted, "So that's the Sorcerer's Ring?! We must simply get a closer look at it!" I stood there, looking at her in surprise. Lloyd was doing the same thing as I, but Genis just face-palmed and sighed. I couldn't tell what Kratos was thinking.

Then I realized something: Colette wasn't there! But before I could speak up, I heard the girl's voice: "Look, what's this thing?" We all turned around and saw Colette pointing at a golen, which thankfully had its back turned to her.

"Colette!" I shouted.

"Look out!" Kratos shouted as he dashed at the golem, drawing his sword. Lloyd and I quickly followed suit, while Genis and Raine got their weapons out.

"Sonic Thrust!" Kratos shouted as he stabbed at the golem.

"Demon Fang!" Lloyd called out as he released his shockwave.

"Slag Assault!" I shouted, striking the ground at the golem's feet, knocking it over.

"I'll finish this!" Genis called out, before bouncing the ball on his kendama: "Take this! Fireball!" He shouted as two fireballs launched towards the golem.

The golem was dead before it even knew what hit it. But instead of being destroyed, it simply turned into…

"Whoah! It transformed into a block!" Colette yelped in surprised.

"Fascinating…" Raine began.

…a large block, with handles indented into its sides.

"Right, it's now a stone." I deadpanned, "So what do we do with it, build a bridge or something?" I asked sarcastically. But as I finished that sentence, (as if in answer to my question) Colette tripped face-first into the block, sending it careening through one of the holes in the platform. The block then filled up on the deep gaps in the lower floor, creating a makeshift bridge. Everyone except Lloyd and Colette then saw what we were supposed to do.

"Hey, I get it." Genis smiled.

"I see." Kratos said stoically.

"Well, that answers that question." I shrugged.

"So that's how we're supposed to solve this." Raine said, putting her hand to her chin.

"What? What do we do?" Lloyd asked impatiently.

"Patience, Lloyd." Raine assured Lloyd, "Now, if my hypothesis is correct- Ah! There it is!" At that moment, another golem looking exactly like the one we had just… killed(?) appeared out of nowhere.

"Woah! There's another one!" I said in surprise.

"Oh, now I get it!" Lloyd said as he hit his fist into an outstretched palm. The plan was to defeat a golem, then use its block form to construct a path to the altar. Rinse and repeat.

"Let's get moving!" I said with a grin. Within a few minutes, we had defeated a few more golems without any problems and soon made our way to the altar that housed the Sorcerer's Ring. When we got to the start of the stairway that led up to the altar, though, Raine suddenly darted ahead, screaming in joy.

"Hey, Raine!" I called after her.

"Don't even bother, Luke. It'll probably be for your own good." Genis said to me.

"What do you mean? Is she always like this around temples?" Lloyd asked.

"*Sigh*, I'll explain later." Genis said to both of us. We then followed Raine up to the altar. When we got up there, we saw Raine darting around the area around the altar, shouting some words occasionally.

"GLORIOUS! MAGNIFICANT! The architecture! The material! The design! It's shape, its smell! It's all amazing!" At this, Raine plopped down on the floor and began RUBBING HER FACE AGAINST IT! Yeah, in all honesty, I was completely scared out of my mind. Now I knew how Guy felt around women.

"Um… Professor?" Colette asked. Raine immediately jumped to her feet and went up to Colette in a flash.

"Colette! Perfect timing! Would you be so kind as to procure the Sorcerer's Ring for us? It appears to have a special security mechanism that protects it from being picked up by anyone except the Chosen. It's marvelous! The fact that they were able to…" I blocked out Raine's rambling and asked Colette:

"So can you get the Ring for us?"

"I'll try." She said with a nod.

Walking past the still-rambling Raine, Colette went up to the altar and just grabbed the Sorcerer's Ring, and walked back. When she got back, Colette held out the Ring for all of us to see. All of us gazed at it, until Lloyd asked: "Wow, Colette! Can I try it?"

Before Colette could even speak, Kratos spoke up: "You would really trust a valuable holy artifact crucial to saving the world to him? What if he loses it? What if he breaks it?" He said as he stared down at Colette. I kind of agreed with him; I wouldn't have given something like a Sorcerer's Ring away to anybody. However, this got Lloyd riled up.

"Hey! I'm not a little kid, you know! It can handle it!" Lloyd said, crossing his arms.

"Its fine, Mr. Kratos. Here, Lloyd." Colette then gave the Sorcerer's Ring to Lloyd, who immediately put it on his right ring finger.

"Cool! How does it work?" Lloyd asked excitedly.

"Um… sorry, I don't really know." Colette answered with an uneasy smile.

"What? Didn't the priests here teach you?" I responded in surprise.

"Well, I do remember something about…" Colette paused as she tried to think, "…charging up your inner mana into the ring and firing out a burst of condensed mana, but I'm really not too sure about what that means." She then looked at Raine, who seemed to be calming down a little bit, "Do you know anything about doing something like that, Professor?"

"Well…" Raine began, but then we heard a startled yelp coming some Lloyd turning towards him, we all saw Lloyd dancing around like he had to go to the bathroom, but not really, because Lloyd had somehow set his boots on fire (1). Kratos face-palmed, Genis laughed, Colette gasped, Raine squeed in excitement, and I called out to him in worry.

"Woah, Lloyd! Are you alright?" I cried out, concerned for him.

"Lloyd! How did you get that to work?!" Rained asked excitedly.

"Come on, guys! Put the fire out already!" Lloyd shouted frantically.

After Genis put Lloyd's boots out using some water magic, and Raine smacking him upside the head for being so careless, we all agreed to let Lloyd keep the Sorcerer's Ring for the rest of the time we were in Martel Temple, since he was the only one who knew how to really use it. Afterwards, we made our way back towards the main entrance.

Skit: Ruin Mode

Luke (Confused): So Genis, is Raine always like how she was down there around temples?

Genis (Embarrassed): Not only in temples. Any type of old buildings, be it ruins, temples, heck, even entire cities! If it's in ruins, Raine will go into Ruin Mode. *Sigh* Man, and I REALLY didn't want you guys to see her like this. It's so embarrassing!

Luke (Confused): Will she calm down when we leave the temple?

Genis: Yeah, she usually does. Though I'm not too sure Sis would be all to keen on that idea.

Luke (Thinking, in mind): Man, even Guy wasn't this bad with Fon technology. At least he had the decency to calm down and explain everything to us normally.

End Skit

As we got to the main entrance, we then made our way down the middle pathway, where a huge door blocked by an electrical force field stood in our way.

"Lloyd, will you do the honors?" I asked.

"Sure thing!" Lloyd said as he fired a fireball at the force field. As soon as the fireball connected with the force field, the force field disappeared and the door automatically opened. With an excited comment from Raine on how marvelous this mechanism was (And I did have to agree with her there), we went through the doorway and saw a bright blue circle at the end of a short hallway.

"So do we go through there?" I asked.

"Well, there's no real other place to go." Genis put in.

"Excuse me, Luke. I would like to investigate that." Raine asked. I got out of her way, and Raine then proceeded to walk on the circle, and instantly disappeared.

"Raine!" Genis called out in shock, and tried to follow after her. I grabbed the collar of Genis' shirt and said, "Don't worry; she was just teleported to another place in this temple. Unless whoever built this thing decided to be a jerk, we should end up in the same area as Raine did." I reassured Genis.

"He's right." Kratos agreed with me. "Let's not waste any more time. Let's go."

We then walked on the teleporter and in an instant, we were in a room that felt like it was higher above the floor we were just on. Thankfully, Raine was just before us, unhurt. After that 'reuniting', we began to look around at the circular room we were in.

"This appears to be the top floor." Kratos observed.

"Yes. This is the altar. The Oracle should be here." Colette responded. We all then looked to where Colette was. She was standing in front of an altar. The altar's top was glowing orange, like a flame. There was a small, shining orange orb in the middle of the altar.

"So that shining thing in the middle must be the Cruxis Crystal." Lloyd observed.

"That's right. According to my grandmother, I was born holding it in my hand. That's what signified that I was the Chosen." Colette informed us.

"Great. More things to ask Lorelei later." I thought.

"I'm right here, you know (2)." Lorelei chimed in.

"Woah! Look at that light?" Genis said in awe.

"Incredible!" Raine voiced her opinion.

Looking up, I saw a bright light coming down from the blue domed ceiling. A yellow orb floated down from the light, and soon transformed in bright flash into an angel! The angel wore green robes of all shades, white boots with a greenish tint, and a green hat with gold linings was atop his blonde hair. In all honesty, he wouldn't have looked all that out of place in Daath, except for a pair of white, feathery wings coming out of his back.

Opening his blue eyes, the angel stared down at us, as if sizing us up.

"What, what is that?!" Lloyd said in shock.

"It looks like an angel. Wow…" I said in awe. I'd never in my entire life had thought I'd ever seen an angel! I thought they were just myth!

"So, is this Colette's actual father?" Raine asked. I glanced over at her, then Colette in shock.

"Real… father?" I repeated.

Colette then walked up to the angel and looked at him. Then, the angel began to speak.

"I… am Remiel, an angel of Cruxis. I have been sent to guide Colette, daughter of the mana lineage, on her journey to heaven as the seventh chosen." Remiel then floated downwards to the altar, while the Cruxis Crystal floated up to him until it reached his heart area. "The time has come to awaken the Goddess Martel from her slumber at the center of the earth, and purify the world of Sylvarant."

"Awaken the Goddess Martel. This is just like the legend, huh Raine?" Genis asked his sister.

"Indeed." Raine smiled.

The Cruxis Crytal then began to slowly float towards Colette, who held out her palms in order to catch it. She really didn't have to, as the crystal just floated at her chest area. Then, in a flash of light, a red gem in a golden crest appeared at Colette's chest like a pendant.

"From this day onwards, Colette is the Chosen of Regeneration." Remiel continued, "Cruxis has now blessed this event, and shall now bestow upon the world The Tower of Salvation." When he said this, a felt a gigantic earthquake began to shake the temple.

"W-woah! What's going on?!" I asked as I tripped in the quake.

"The Tower of Salvation has been summoned to Sylvarant!" I heard Colette call out. And with that the rumbling suddenly stopped.

Then I heard Lloyd call out: "Hey guys look!" The five of us scrambled to the nearby window Lloyd was standing at. Outside, I gasped. An impossibly tall tower had appeared out of thin air! It's reach seemed to reach out to the edge of the planet!

"Colette," Remiel called out. We all then made our way back to the altar, where Remiel continued, "Unlock the seals that protect the Tower of Salvation and climb its stairs into heaven. Then the world will be saved."

"And I can get back home." I thought happily.

"…"

"I humbly accept this asked that has been asked of me." Colette said with a bow.

"Very well. We of Cruxis shall lend you our strength little by little as you unlock the seals of the world." Remiel said very pleased, "Once you have been fully reformed as an angel, and have climbed to the peak of the Tower of Salvation, this corrupted world shall once again be regenerated."

"…"

"I swear upon my life that I will regenerate this world." Colette responded.

"Good. First, you shall head south, to Seal of Fire. Offer your prayers at the altar there and you shall be granted more powers of Cruxis."

"Of course, Lord Remiel." Cruxis said solemnly. As Remiel began to float back up, Colette suddenly called him back. "Oh! Please, wait!" Remiel didn't answer, and continued to rise, "I have a question I need to ask of you. Are you… my real father?" Colette asked hopefully.

"First, you will head to the Seal of Fire. Understood? I will see you again there, my beloved daughter." Remiel said.

"Wha- wait! Father…" But Remiel just continued to rise, but before he left for good, we said his final words: "Do not worry, Colette. I shall see you again at the Seal of Fire." And with that, Remiel disappeared by fading away until he was gone.

Standing there in shock, I had to have Lloyd snap me out of my trance when he said, "Hey Luke, are you okay?"

Recovering from my surprise, I answered: "Yeah, I'm fine. It's just… wow. Seeing an angel is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I'm amazed that I was able to see one." I said truthfully. "Boy, I'm sure Natalia would be so jealous to…" I then felt a sting of pain, remembering about my old friends. I shook it off before saying: "But yeah. This is the start of a whole adventure. I wonder what we'll have to face next."

"Yeah." Lloyd agreed. Lloyd then walked away to go talk to Genis and Colette. Kratos then spoke up:

"The Chosen has received the Oracle. We're done here."

"Oh, right…" Colette said, looking down.

"I'll go on ahead. Luke, stay here with the Chosen" Kratos said. I nodded before he walked onto the teleporter and vanished in an instant.I then turned to Colette.

"Colette, do you want to go? Or do you want to stay here a bit more?" I asked nicely.

"It's okay, let's go home." Colette then turned to Lloyd and Genis, "Thank you, both of you. Can you guys meet me at my house later?"

"Yeah." Lloyd said.

"No problem." Genis agreed.

I then looked at Raine, "Raine, are you coming with us?"

Raine looked at me before answering: "I apologize, Luke, but I'll stay here for a while. I need to check how the wounded priests are doing."

"You just want to study the temple more, don't you?" Genis muttered. Raine awarded him with a smack upside the head.

"Genis, human life to me is more important than some ruins. That is not only an insult to me, it is also an insult to the priests wounded or killed when the Desians attacked the temple. Don't ever let me hear you say something like that again." Raine said harshly. She then turned to me, "Luke, don't worry about me. I should be back before nightfall."

"Alright. Let's go, guys." I said while walking towards the teleporter.

And with that, Lloyd, Colette, Genis, and I made our way back to Iselia. While we were walking back to Iselia, Lorelei sounded in my mind.

"Luke, I'm beginning to have some doubts about Cruxis."

"Hm? What do you mean? You were the one to even suggest that we ask Cruxis if we could return to our world. Why the sudden change of motives?"

"I'm not sure. For one thing, there aren't any records of exactly what happened when the Chosen becomes an angel. Not only that, but Remiel gave off an odd vibe about himself, as if he had secondary motives."

"Well, I'm not giving up now! I'm still going through with this until the very end!"

"I never said anything about giving up right now. What I'm saying is that I'm a bit suspicious about The Organization of Cruxis now."

"Okaaaay." And with that conversation done with, the four of us continued to Iselia.

(A/N): And there's Chapter 7! Man, was this a dozy to write! Oh well, I actually like this one better than what I had originally before all my files were deleted. Oh well, hope you enjoyed this!

1) I got this idea from another ToS fanfic I read, but unfortunately I don't remember the title. If you do, please, let me know!

2) In all honesty, I mainly put this in as an in-joke considering that Lorelei almost never speaks in these chapters, so it's easy to forget about him/her/it. Henceforth, this line