Things you need to know before reading this chapter:

- Character thinking; Character reading

Disclaimer: I don't own Tales of Symphonia and Tales of the Abyss


Chapter 8: Getting Deeper into the Plot

Kratos stood on a hill located near the center of the continent Padamiya overlooking the city of Daath.

I had been to all the major cities in Auldrant and except for some of the more amazing facts about this planet and the political state of the nations here, I cannot find anything related to Derris Kharlan's strange behaviour.

After spending months looking up the technology offered in this world, Kratos found that not even the technology of flying was developed yet, much less one that involved venturing out into space or changing the course of a whole planet.

It also seems that there isn't any danger lurking around in Derris Kharlan, so I presume I could rule out this as being an invasion.

It was nearly one and a half month, in Auldrant's calendar system, which was about thirteen weeks, since he left Derris Kharlan. The angels reported to him the happenings in Derris Kharlan, which wasn't much, each and everyday he spent on Auldrant.

If the Score has already predicted my presence, then most likely Derris Kharlan is also written in it. I am not in favour of finding out what precisely about Derris Kharlan is written in the Score through a random scorer, so the only option will be for me to check if there is any records archiving all the prophecies written in the Score.

Kratos decided that he will sneak into the Daathic Cathedral and Oracle Headquarters during the dead of night, when fewer people will be around. Noting that the sun only just started to set, he decided to rest and wait for the time to enter the city.

Although he did not need to eat and sleep, and that he had a much larger reserve of energy in his body than normal human, all courtesy to the Cruxis Crystal, he still had to rest about once every week to replenish his energy, or twice per week in the most ideal case.

After looking for a suitable place to set up camp, he set up a fire to fend off wandering animals and monsters and sat down on the ground. He closed his eyes and relaxed his body and went into a semi-conscious state, a state that allowed him to replenish his energy at a very fast rate.

It was about five hours later, when most of the light in Daath could be seen extinguished from his current location, that Kratos got up from his sitting position, put out the fire and started descending the hill.

While he was making his way to Daath, his thought drifted back to the forbidden research he had read about back in Grand Chokmah.

When he first read about the technology of replicating matters, be it living beings or dead objects, he actually thought that this technology was quite useful, that was if you omitted the occasional side effects it caused on the subject being replicated and that the artificially produced living being had their own souls and other defects.

It was also very true that if the means of replicating living being was given to the wrong people, chaos would be ensued. He could see from the papers describing the Fomicry research alone the possibilities that could be made if people were to use it for reviving the dead, though it would still be fruitless considering how the replica had their own souls. At this thought, he couldn't help but think of his former student that had fallen from a hero to a tyrant all because of the wish to resurrect his dead sister.

I wonder what would happen to Sylvarant and Tethe'alla if Mithos got wind of this research. It would make reviving Martel so much easier, and Mithos had Martel's soul trapped in the Cruxis Crystal already. It would just be a matter of transferring the soul in the Cruxis Crystal into the replica. If that's the case, then we wouldn't have to fuse Martel's soul with the Great Seed of the Kharlan Tree, making it possible to resurrect Martel without causing the Great Seed to disappear, thus ending the world. Though there is also the problem of another soul already existed in the replica the moment she was created. Mithos would care less considering what he did to the Chosens of Regeneration. It would have also caused less bloodshed and sacrifice.

Realizing what he was thinking about, Kratos shook his head to clear his thoughts.

Since when did I start thinking about the what-ifs. I guess I really am too old, or maybe life on Derris Kharlan without anyone intelligent to talk to had taken a far greater impact on me than I think. Besides, the dead should never be resurrected, it is against the nature and will only cause chaos. I should know well enough what the thought of reviving a dead person would do to people.

He sighed and continued his way to the Daath.

As he passed the bridge leading to Daath, he remembered that there was another piece of information he had been curious about when he first read about this planet that still eluded him.

If I couldn't find anything about Derris Kharlan in Daath, and if there is no information about this second layer I learned of before coming to Auldrant, then I will have no choice but to go back to Derris Kharlan and look for another way to get to this second layer and pray that I would be able to find out what I need to know there.


Standing on the rooftop of a building near the cathedral, Kratos, with his enhanced eyesight that allowed him to see clearly even in the dead of night, saw that there were four Oracle Knights patrolling around and two more guarding the entrance. He knew from his last time in Daath that the soldiers would be relieved of their duties by other soldiers every fifteen minutes.

He could easily knock out the two guarding the entrance and even the four patrolling around if needed, but they would learn of the presence of an intruder after fifteen minutes or so and that would defeat the purpose of stealth, he also wanted to avoid unnecessary bloodshed.

Maybe I could use the trick I used to get into the castle of Baticul.

The castle of Baticul was very well guarded, and unlike the abandoned factory, even the sewer that he believed would lead to the interior of the castle was guarded. That left Kratos with no choice but to use his mana wings to take off to the sky above to look for an alternative route to enter the castle.

Looking up at the sky, he saw that thick clouds were approaching from the east and the moon would be obscured by them in about half an hour. Without the illumination of the moon, it would be difficult, bordering impossible, for the guards to notice him even if they were to look up.

Not wanting to waste more mana than necessary mindlessly flying around, he scanned over the upper part of the cathedral, looking for air vents or similar places for him to break into the cathedral. He searched for about a minute and found a large enough air vent near the top of the cathedral.

He waited another forty minutes and when he was sure it was so dark that even his blue mana wings wouldn't be noticeable to normal human eyesight, he called out his wings and took off to the sky and headed straight to the air vent.

Once he reached the air vent, with his angelic strength, he easily took off the ventilation blinds and slipped into the air duct. He put the blinds back to its original position and after making sure that the blinds wouldn't bulge even if there were strong gusts, he started climbing further into the air duct.

As he climbed through the duct, he picked up voices talking, snoring and footsteps. He could see some people chatting, some sleeping in their rooms and soldiers patrolling the corridors when he looked down from some of the ventilation blinds.

After several minutes, he reached an intersection and carefully chose the direction where less noise came from to avoid being noticed by people that were still awake. After several more minutes, he reached a room where no one was inside, he then removed the blinds and dropped into the room.

Taking in his surrounding, Kratos noticed that he was in a storeroom. He listened for footsteps outside and stepped out of the room when he found none near his current position.

Now to look for a way to get to their archive. He thought as he glanced around the corridor he was in.

During his last stay in Daath, he had listened to gossips here and there and knew that the archive of the Order of Lorelei was located underground.

First I will have to look for a way to get to the lower floors. He closed his eyes and concentrated on his hearing to try to pick up footsteps either ascending or descending.

He found what he was looking for a few seconds later and started towards the direction where footsteps descending could be heard.

It took Kratos nearly an hour's time to finally get to the lowest level of the Daathic Cathedral and located the archive, all the while hiding from the Oracle Knights patrolling around the Cathedral.

He came out of his hiding spot behind a statue in the corridor and entered the archive after he made sure that the patrolling soldier left and no one was in the vicinity. Once he entered the archive, he felt a strange presence coming from the back of the room and went to check on it.

So there is a secret passage behind this bookshelf? Kratos mused as he stood before a bookshelf at the back of the room and noticed that the strange presence coming from behind the bookshelf.

Feeling around the bookshelf and those adjacent to it, Kratos found a hidden ledge in the form of a book and pulled on it.

The bookshelf moved revealed a set of staircase leading further down. Deciding that he could trace his way back and read the records in the archive later, he started to descend the hidden staircase.

Finally, after half an hour or so walking along the darkened pathway, Kratos saw light at the end of the tunnel. Upon exiting the tunnel, he found himself on the edge of a walkway in a very large cavern. He saw that the air here was slightly distorted and when he looked down he found that he was inside a volcano and the distorted air was due to the heat.

If my guess is correct, then I am currently in Mt. Zaleho. I wonder what is so valuable that the Order of Lorelei hide in a volcano. The technology here also doesn't match the technology in the rest of this world. Is this the technology from the Dawn Age? Kratos thought as he walked on the seemingly translucent pathway that spiralled down to the heart of the volcano.

As he neared the bottom of the volcano, the strange presence he felt grew stronger and he saw a large piece of blue stone sitting on the platform connecting to the end of the pathway.

He knelt down beside the stone and started to investigate it. As soon as his hand touched the stone, the stone glowed a neon blue and he felt a strange power entering his body from the stone to him and quickly withdrew his hand.

A feeling of warmth started spreading in his body, which he thought was strange, considering his inability to feel temperature. However, despite not even remembering what warm felt like, he knew that what he was feeling was warmth.

The feeling was gone a moment later and the glow on the stone faded, returning it to its original blue colour. After making sure that nothing strange other than the feeling of warmth happened to him, he looked at the stone again and was surprised when he saw words etched on the stone where there was none when he previously looked at it.

ND 2000

In Kimlasca shall be born the scion of Lorelei's power. He will be a boy of royal blood with red hair. He shall be called "The Light of the Sacred Flame" and he will lead Kimlasca-Lanvaldear to new prosperity.

The Score? Is this the sixth fonstone? How come I can read from it? Although thoroughly confused at his ability to read the Score, Kratos decided to read the rest of the Score and think about this new found power later.

ND 2002

The One who would Seize Glory shall destroy the island upon which he was born, a land by the name of Hod. War shall thereafter persist between Kimlasca and Malkuth for a full cycle of the seasons.

So it is true that the destruction of Hod is also predicted by the Score. He suddenly felt disgusted at the Order of Lorelei, even more so than before, that they didn't do anything to stop the destruction of a whole island full of people even thoughthey knew of it beforehand.

Wait, didn't I see the name "the One who would Seize Glory" in the scorer's diary back in the bandits' lair? Deciding to worry about it later, he continued reading the Score.

ND 2018

The young scion of Lorelei's power shall bring his people to the miner's city. There, the youth will turn power to calamity and be as a weapon to Kimlasca, destroying himself and the city. Thereafter, the land of Rugnica will be enveloped in war, and Malkuth shall-

He stopped reading as he heard footsteps approaching and hid himself behind a large boulder.

Several minutes later a brown haired man stood next to the blue stone.

"There is no need to hide, please come out, Kratos Aurion, the Dawn of Strength, the one who is from a far away place." The man called out after a moment of silence.

"Who are you?" Kratos replied after another moments of silence passed.

"I am Fon Master Evenos of the Order of Lorelei."

At the man's answer, Kratos grimaced as he concluded that the Score yet again precisely predicted his current predicament. He placed his hand on the hilt of his sword and slowly came out of his hiding place and saw a brown haired elderly man giving him a grandfatherly smile.

The man was dressed in a blue robe and wore a necklace that bore the symbol of the Order of Lorelei. Held in his right hand was a golden staff and the end of it was also shaped in the symbol of the Order. The man looked to be in his early fifties, if not for the streaks of grey and white that could be seen amidst his brow hair giving away his old age.

"Greetings." Evenos said.

"..."

"Not a very talkative person, are you?"

"..." Kratos just continued staring at the man in front of him.

"I see that you have read the Score and are aware of the coming war between Kimlasca and Malkuth."

"Is there a reason you placed the fragment of the fonstone with the information of the war here?"

"I have only done what is required of me." Evenos answered.

The Score... shouldn't have asked such an obvious question. Kratos thought as he resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the mans' reply.

"Then why did I, someone not of this planet, gained the ability to read the Score?"

"That will be explained in due time. Don't you have other questions about the Score you want to ask me?"

Realising he wouldn't get his answer soon, Kratos proceeded to ask Evenos another question that had been on his mind ever since he read about the war written in the Score.

"Are you going to let the war break out, or even encourage it, to fulfill the Score?"

"I cannot answer you that."

"What do you mean by that? Do you realise how many lives will be lost, how many people will become homeless and the damage it will cause to this world if the war were to start?" The glare Kratos had on the man intensified as he questioned, his voice so cold that despite the heat of the volcano, Evenos shivered at his icy tone.

"Yes, I do understand how grave the damage it causes this world and the people in it is. However, there is nothing that can be done, at least not by me." He calmly replied after regaining his composure.

Kratos remained silent as he caught on to the hidden meaning behind his words and decided to let the Fon Master explain.

Seeing that Kratos was not going to say anything soon, Evenos continued, "I know that you are not of this planet. I am glad to see that you care for Auldrant and the people in it even though you just arrived here. I am also glad to hear that you aren't very supportive of the Score, though that is to be expected considering you have never heard of it before you came here."

He paused and took in Kratos' reaction. However, all he saw was an expressionless man standing before him.

Slightly disappointed at the unfazed look on the red headed man, Evenos continued, "You probably think that the people in this world are all living a caged life because of the Score. I admit that the Score is like a chain that binds the people on this planet. Although the meeting between the two of us here may have been written in the Score, the reason I came here is not to fulfil it. I have one request to make of you, please hear me out."

Kratos remained expressionless, not wanting the other man to know what he was thinking about. After several minutes of contemplation, he finally nodded at Evenos, signalling the man to state his request.

"I gather you have heard about the seventh and final fonstone that was missing and how some of the higher-ups in the Order of Lorelei, especially Grand Maestro Mohs, are desperately searching for it."

"Yes, I have heard the rumour that the sixth fonstone only predicted up to ND 2018, which is a mere thirteen years from now."

"However, the truth is that the seventh fonstone have only been missing recently, since the Hod War."

Realisation dawned on Kratos. "The seventh fonstone was in Hod, and not even Mohs has a high enough position to know about it, so that means you, the Fon Master, alone hold this information."

"To be exact, it is the Fon Master and the Highest Watcher. I will come to the part about the Watchers later." Evenos said as he noticed Kratos' questioning look at hearing the word 'Watcher'.

"There is a reason that only the Fon Master, the Highest Watcher and those guarding it know of the seventh fonstone. The knowledge written on it will only cause panic if it were to be read to the public."

"I take it that contrary to popular belief, the Score written in the last fonstone foretold a terrible future."

Evenos nodded at Kratos' deduction and continued, "That is correct. When Yulia chanted the prophecy and learned of the calamity that will befall this world, she decided that the location of the seventh fonstone, the stone where the Score of the end of Auldrant is written, will remain hidden. Only the Highest Watcher and the Fon Master know the location of the final fonstone and the descendants of Yulia are to guard over it."

"Are you saying that the lost of the seventh fonstone along with Hod is also written in the Score?"

"Yes and no, it is because Yulia had foreseen the destruction of Hod that she decided to place the fonstone there, so that it could be forever lost to the world."

"You are saying that despite being the creator of the fonstone, what Yulia really wanted was for the people to not rely on the Score, maybe even to use it to help prevent the tragedies written there. The reason that she created the fonstone was that without the guidance of the Score, people living in the era of the Dawn Age would war against each other until they caused grave damage to the world, even destroying the whole world. However, people started depending on the Score more and more and it is too late for them to live a life separated from the Score now." Kratos drawled as he remembered the records on the Fonic War about two thousand years ago.

"I see you have done some research on the history of this planet. Yes, that was the original purpose of the Score. The sad thing is that Yulia also predicted how dependent people will be on the Score, but apart from praying that someone in the future will be able to break the world from the hold of the Score, there was nothing she could do. Later, with the help of Lorelei, the Aggregate Sentience of the Seventh Fonon, the Fonon of Sound, who had a pact with Yulia, she made a plan to have the world walk a different path from the Score. A plan that could only be started now, when the chosen ones of Lorelei are gathered."

"The Light of the Sacred Flame and the One who would Seize Glory." Kratos said, recalling the names he just read from the Score.

"Also the Remnant of the Sacred Flame and the Dawn of Strength." Evenos added.

"Excuse me?" Kratos asked and blinked, surprised at Evenos' words.

Seeing the look of surprise on the stoic man, Evenos smiled.

"I need you to accompany me to Aramis Spring and from there, we will go to Yulia City, the Watchers' Home, where all will be explained."

Kratos then snapped out of his stupor and regained his composure as he noticed the look of mirth on the face of the elderly Fon Master.

"I take it that this Yulia City is in the lower layer of Auldrant, considering that it isn't in any of the maps."

"Yes, you really have done your homework on this world." And with that, Evenos turned around and started walking towards the exit of the volcano.


Author's Note:

Is there any description about Fon Master Evenos in the manga, anime and game of TOA? I couldn't find any and that's why I gave him my own description... If there is indeed official description about him, then sorry about giving him a new appearance and making him OOC...

And about the Highest Watcher, I can't seem to find any title for Teodoro except for the Mayor of Yulia City, so I give him that title. If he has another official title, you can let me know and I will change it.

Thanks RedHerring1412 for your review! I am glad you find this story interesting. And yeah, about Jade, I agree that he improved as the game progress, but not before the game. This story started 13 years before the game events, so it's only normal that he acts like a emotionless and very prideful bastard.

Uploaded on 3 July 2012. Edited on 4 April 2013.