Hello there! Welcome to another fantastical story in the life of Luin, Lloyd and co. This chapter is not as long as the others but I felt it good to stop there. Also for future reference I shant be going into detail for every dungeon they go into, I'll probably just put the highlights somewhere in there. Anyway that's not important right now. Well, let me not keep you. Chapter 3 awaits, Happy Reading!
(I totally forgot about this lol) Disclaimer:Sadly, I do not own Tales of Symphonia. Luin and his silly antics are all that belongs to me :)
Legacy of Luin
Chapter 3: Father
The group entered the rather large temple and descended aging steps to a circular area in the center of the party stopped to look around at the temple. The walls were a sickly green and if one listened closely enough, you could hear the growl of the monsters lying in wait for their prey. Lloyd was the first to speak,
"Woah. So this is what the temple looks like on the inside." Genis turned to Colette,
"Say Colette, you've been in here a lot right? Is it always like this?" Genis asked inquiring about the odd lack of lighting and the unusual amount of monsters.
"Yes I have but...something's different about the temple somehow. There weren't any monsters in the temple last time." Colette responded looking at the temple's infrastructure.
Lloyd turned to them, "It doesn't matter, I'm sure we can handle a handful of ghosts and zombies. C'mon let's go!" Lloyd said excitedly.
Before Lloyd could take a step, Kratos put a hand on his shoulder,
"Lloyd, did you teach yourself swordsmanship?"
Lloyd brushed Kratos hand off his shoulder before he answered, "Well, my brother taught me how to use the sword and my techniques but he's usually gone so I have to practice by myself or with Genis. Why do you ask?"
Kratos looked at Lloyd before saying, "Just seeing if I can trust you not to poke someone's eye at least you know the basics." Before Lloyd could protest, Kratos turned and looked deeper into the temple, "I sense the presense of monsters so be on your guard."
The others tensed before moving to a set of steps opposite the entrance of the temple. Lloyd grumbled as he followed along, "Just cause' he's better at me doesn't mean he can insult me like that."
They saw that the door leading further up into the temple was blocked by some kind of energy. Colette made a puzzled face before saying,
"Hmm…that wasn't here last time."
Kratos stared at the force field,
"It must have been put there as part of the trial. Let's look around, perhaps we'll find something to help us get through this door."
So the party turned and took the stairs to the left. They traversed through the temple, battling various monsters until they reached a set of stairs leading deeper below the temple. Once down the stairs, they saw that they were on a giant blue platform that had square holes placed in various spots on the floor. They walked onto the platform and looked across the bottomless gap to see a floating object that looked like a floating…ring?
As they stared at the floating object, Colette turned and walked to something that attracted her attention, it looked like a giant rock…thing.
"Hey guys, look what I found!" She said excitedly as the others turned. Kratos eyes widened before he yelled,
"Get back you fool!"
With that he charged the rock golem and blocked what looked like to be a painful punch to Colette's tiny frame. Lloyd and Genis charged the golem as well. Genis launched some Fireballs at the monster while Lloyd, Kratos and Colette unleashed waves of attacks on the golem. Eventually the golem released a groan and folded on itself, becoming…a big square rock. The party stared at the rock,
"It turned into a…rock?" Colette said, obviously confused.
"Well technically, it was a rock to begin with, now it's just a big block. Wonder why it does that?" As Lloyd asked this question Colette tripped and conveniently pushed the rock into one of the square holes in the platform. The rock fell into a slot below where it now created a path for Lloyd and the others. As this happened Genis and Kratos both cried,
"Ah I see."
"I get it now."
Lloyd looked at the two before asking,
"Get what?"
Genis looked at his friend before looking around,
"Don't worry another one should appear any mo-there it is." Right on cue another golem phased into existence a couple of feet away from them. "Now all we have to do is defeat it and drop it down another hole."
Lloyd looked at Colette who just shrugged before he and the rest of the party attacked the unsuspecting golem, poor monster didn't have a chance. They defeated golem after golem, dropping the leftover blocks into many different holes before eventually they completed the path they were searching for. The group ran up the stairs and saw that it was indeed a floating ring. Genis gasped when he saw this,
"I can't believe it. It's the sorcerrers's ring!" Genis said enthusiastically.
When he noted Kratos' raised eyebrow he went on to explain, "The sorcerrer's ring is an ancient artifact of the Church of Martel."
Kratos then nodded his head in understanding before stating,
"With this, I'm sure we'll be able to deal with most traps now."
Lloyd then reached over and grabbed the ring, practically jumping up and down,
"Oh I wanna try it!"
And before anyone could voice protest he slipped the ring on his middle finger. He looked at it,
"It's kinda warm."
Kratos shook his head, Colette giggled and Genis merely sighed. Lloyd turned to the others,
"Well let's get going."
The group retraced their steps to the front of the temple where they first encountered the force field. Lloyd pointed the ring at the force field expecting…something. He tried putting his hand in different positions and even muttered an 'open says me!' but nothing worked. When nothing happened he turned to the others,
"Hey, umm, How does this thing work anyway?"
"You just have to focus some of your mana into the ring and something should happen." Genis said logically.
"Are you sure?" Lloyd asked. Genis shook his head,
"No, but do you have a better idea?" He asked skeptically.
Lloyd nodded and once again pointed the ring at the force field however this time he focused his mana into the ring. Luin had taught him about mana control and how important it was to know how to store it and channel it. Suddenly a small burst of fire shot out of the ring and hit the force field. The force field instantly disappeared and the door it was guarding opened and behind it lied a purple portal on the ground. Lloyd beamed and turned to Genis,
"Hey it worked!"
"Duh. Why wouldn't it work." Genis replied with a smirk. Lloyd's eye's narrowed,
"You knew how to work it the whole time didn't you?" Lloyd asked. Genis eyes widened as he feigned innocence,
"Lloyd, I would never do something like that." Genis chuckled and Colette giggled. Lloyd turned and muttered,
"Asshole."
Lloyd was the first through the portal, the others followed and looked around at the room. The room was dome-shaped and there were a couple of windows showing a beautiful view that stretched for miles. On the walls were drawings of thorns weaving around one another and making their way to the ceiling. What held their attention the most was the strange purple alter in the center of the room, on which lied a small red orb that glowed brightly. Lloyd looked at the small orb in wonder before asking,
"So, is that the Cruxis Crystal?"
"Yep, they say I was clutching it when I was born." Colette responded.
Before anyone could comment, there was a sound from above and the others looked up and gasped. In the ceiling there was a circle about as wide as the alter below, it resembled calm waters until a glowing yellow orb slipped through the ceiling and the water image become rippled. The glowing orb descened until it floated about 12ft off the ground. There was a bright flash and when Lloyd looked there was a figure. He was floating in the air, the pure white wings on his back keeping him afloat. The man had blonde hair and blue eyes. He wore the same clothings of the priests except his colors were white, tael and green. He stared at the assembled group of humans for a moment. Then he spoke,
"My name is Remial. I am an angel of judgement. I have appeared before you to guide Colette on her journey to heaven as the seventh Chosen of Mana." His voice was calm and arrogant. Remial lowered himself a little before speaking again,
"The time has come to awaken the Goddess Martel, who sleeps at the center of the world."
Genis could hardly believe it, it was just like the legends Raine had taught them. Remial lifted his hand and the Cruxis Crystal began to float, it then moved towards Colette where it attached itself to the front of her neck. When it touched her skin, the jewel began to glow brighter and brighter. When the glow died, Colette had a necklace with the Cruxis Crystal embedded in the middle. Colette, with her hands together in a praying form, looked up to Remial. Remial then continued,
"From this moment on, Colette is officially the Chosen of Regeneration. Cruxis blesses this event and in celebration of this grand occasion, bestows upon Sylvarant the Tower of Salvation."
As the words left Remial's mouth, Lloyd and the others turned towards the windows and looked at the behomoth tower. The gray tower stretched on and on, seemingly neverending. It even seems to pierce the heavens. Lloyd stared in amazement before whispering,
"So this is the Tower of Salvation."
Genis was also in a state of shock. However it didn't take long for him to break into a smile,
"Now the world will be saved!"
Remial looked at the humans nonplused before speaking again,
"Colette, Chosen of Regeneration. Your duty is to unlock the seals that guard the Tower of Salvation and climb the stairway to heaven"
Colette bowed her head before saying,
"I humbly accept this task."
Remial nodded his head and continued,
"We of Cruxis will grant you the power of the angels with every seal you unlock. When you are reborn as an angel, this dying world shall be saved."
"Thank you. I swear on my life that I wll regenerate the world." Colette then whispered to herself, "No matter the cost."
Remial smiled on the inside as his angel senses heard the Chosen,
"Good, good. Now head South to the Seal of Fire. We shall meet there again."
With his job done Remial began to ascend back to the heavens, however before he could get far away Colette cried out,
"Wait! Please wait!"
Remial stopped and stared at the girl,
"I have to know, are you…are you truly my fa-" Before she could finish Remial interrupted her,
"First head to the Seal of Fire, we will meet there. My beloved daughter, Colette." Remial smirked at his cleverness, on the inside of course. It'd be a little disturbing for an angel to break into random evil smirks.
"Fa-Father! It's really you." Colette exclaimed, practically on the verge of tears.
"We'll meet again at the next seal, Colette, my daughter." With that Remial turned into a glowing ball and with an unknown burst of speed, flew up and away.
Colette put her hand to her chest and joyous tears fell from her eyes,
"I can't believe it's him. My real…father." She smiled and Genis came up to her and patted her on the back before saying,
"Well…congratulations Colette. Your officially the Chosen of Regeneration."
Lloyd chuckled and walked up to Colette, he put a hand on her shoulder,
"How do you feel?"
Colette dried her tears and smiled at her best friends,
"I'm fine, I was just surprised. I finally know the truth about my father." Colette said.
As they spoke to one another, none of them noticed the enigmatic Kratos, with his arms crossed across his chest. His unwavering gaze that never left the young brunette. None of them could possibly know the inner turmoil in his chest, the silent anxiety eating away at him. His son, believed to have been dead for 17 years and yet...there he was.
Laughing. Breathing. Living.
Well there ya go. Hope you liked it. Next chapter will be a prelude to the Iselia attack :D :D. Can't wait to write it. Till next time!
