I figure everyone's given up on this fic, seeing as how it took me so long to update it. But eh, I've got nothing else to write so here's another chapter.

Waking up was disorienting. I didn't remember ever being in something soft, with warmth surrounding me. I remember being hit by the hellion, but that was it. That was all I remembered, and it really worried me. Sitting up, I felt my torso hurting and a hand pushed me back down. I wince as I lay back, and stare at the person who pushed me back down. Concern and worry was over Zaveid's face as he removed his hand from my shoulder.

"Shouldn't get up so quickly. You're not finished healing yet. Kain had to go get supplies to finish fixing your ribs."

"I'm fine. It's just a dull ache." I argue back, but Zaveid doesn't give me any leeway. I try to get up, he has me lay back down. I'm not used to laying in bed. Not anymore, anyway, and so I'm constantly trying to get back up. It's a cycle that doesn't exactly stop until Aevar comes into the room with the seraph from before. The two of them are carrying supplies, and Aevar deposits his on a chair carefully while the seraph sits next to me and puts his into a bag before putting his hands over me. A warmth filled my body, and the ache from my ribs slowly faded. I wondered how long I'd been out.

"It's weird to have people staring as a floating bundle of supplies… floats by." Aevar said, starting to sort through his supplies. "But he insisted. Shame you didn't come, Zaveid, I think there might've been a hellion or two around."

"Someone had to keep an eye on Mel," Zaveid shrugs, sitting down in the chair next to the bed. The seraph removed his hands and gestured for me to sit up, which I did. It was a really dull ache now, not as painful as before. Was seraphic healing this easy? They did bring Alisha back from near-death, after all. It was really strange, after all, and all I could really do was thank the seraph for his assistance. He waved it off like it was nothing and, as we went to leave after a bit, he followed.

"Um, I appreciate what you did but…"

"Please, Shepherd, make me your Sub Lord!" The seraph grabbed my hand. "I-I need to find her, I need to find Kiki!"

"Uh… help?" I look back at Zaveid and Aevar. "What's going on? I've been out for who-knows-how-long, I'm hungry and I'm being asked to make a seraph a Sub Lord. Zaveid, you're old enough, don't you know how to-"

"I haven't been a Prime Lord for as long as Lailah. Think I can think of somethin', though." Walking over to the seraph, he removed his hands from mine and put a hand on my shoulder briefly before letting it slide off. Witnessing it when Zaveid made the pact instead of Lailah was different. There were no flames. It was more like in-game, but that must've been because Zaveid didn't have the power of purification. When the pact was complete, the seraph disappeared for a moment before reappearing.

"My name is Kain. I thank you, Shepherd."

"I'm not exactly the Shepherd…." I turned to Kain, and tilted my head. "Why do you need the Shepherd, anyway?"

"Because Kiki's become a hellion, and I want to find her and save her."

I look to Zaveid, who looks back at me. Aevar walks over and puts a hand on my shoulder. It was then that I learned what they already knew. Why Kain had been fighting that hellion before we intervened. He was trying to purify it without the power of purification, to see if it was Kiki. Zaveid had killed it, using one of the bullets. I had wished I'd been awake then. We were one bullet down from saving Eizen. One bullet down. Even though it'd been a knee-jerk reaction in Zaveid's case, we were still one bullet down and that actually made the future for saving Eizen very bleak. I had to do it, I had to keep my promise to Edna. If I went back on my word, what good was I?

"So.. We're down one. Looks like we'll have to compensate for that by finding more Seraphim. And if we're going to help Sorey at the end, when he's fighting Heldalf..." I turn away from them, walking forward. "We'll have to undergo the trials. The first one is of fire, in Gododdin. So, that's another thing to add on our list." As well as saving Eizen, getting the power of the Shepherd and helping Sorey when the time came. It also came down to Mayvin, and if he was willing to help. If we could come across him sooner, we could probably secure his help for a later date. That was all we could do until we teamed up with Sorey later on down the road. For now, though, we had to do with what we had.

"Funnily enough, now that you mention it, we're in Gododdin right now." Zaveid pointed out. I blinked, before looking at the structures. We'd come out of the inn, so… damn, that'd mean we'd made it here while I was unconscious. I wonder how that feat had happened. But at least we were a bit ahead of Sorey and the others. If I could only get permission to undertake the trial of fire… Maybe if I tried helping out a bit around here, the leader would let me take the trial. Hopefully. Or else I'd have to sneak in and do it at night when no one was around. That… wasn't exactly shepherd-ly of me to think, but I wasn't a Shepherd. I had to get that power, too. If I was to help, I had to.

A week passed while we were in Gododdin. A week that I spent with the citizens helping out and showing that they could trust me. The leader had malevolence, as was expected, circulating on his back. But it didn't seem to be doing anything to him. I remembered the fake elixirs and shivered a little as I watched Kain and Aevar debate over the practicality of Kain's weapon, which was basically wind-embued coins. They were slightly like pendulums, except it was a small, thin wire on the coins instead of whip-like rope. Which was, honestly, awesome in my opinion but Kain saw it as more of a natural thing. How he got wind-embued coins, I have no idea but… hey, it was pretty cool how he used them in battle. We were basically the people who shooed off hellions if they got too close to town, so I got to see his battle style a lot. If I had to term his style, I'd say it was a bit like Baofu's. Except he pulled the coins back before they inevitably got lost during the battle. Which, in fact, we did a lot of. Battling, that is. And the hellions seemed content to attack whenever they pleased, which put a strain on us. At one point, Zaveid even got a bit pissed off and killed one of the hellions without using Siegfried. We weren't any closer to taking the trial, but I was slowly getting in Slenge's good graces by helping out, even if it was just helping with the making of the fake elixir and the townspeople. Soon, I could probably ask about the fire trial. If Sorey didn't beat me to it, that is. I don't exactly know how long it would take him to get to Gododdin, but in-game it took a bit due to having to go around because I didn't have Edna's map ability. I didn't have a seraph of the earth, so I couldn't use Giant's Strength to get in the back way… but that'd ruin the trust that the people had in me.

What it came down to, in the end, was how long it'd take to get permission to undertake the trial of fire. I had, of course, bought a sword in preparation for the trial but never used it. It was just sitting there on my bed whenever I went out on patrol. Which I did often, seeing as I traded off with Aevar. It was hard to get used to at first, but it came as second nature once we got used to it. My partner during these times was Kain, as Aevar had explained it would probably get suspicious if Zaveid was with me at all times with the other Zaveid roaming about. He was right, too, as not too long into the second week we were at Gododdin…

Well, this world's Zaveid ended up here. He was a bit battered up but otherwise he didn't even look half bad.

"So, Sheps ditched you?" That was the first words out of his mouth after I had dragged him into Gododdin to get patched up. I roll my eyes and probably didn't put the bandage on carefully as he yelps in pain. Sighing, I loosen the bandage up a bit and cut it off, pressing the end of the bandage onto the rest. "Hey, it was just a question!"

"More like his seraphim decided to be jerks," I respond with a murmur, knowing he can pick it up with the wind. "I was incapacitated the entire time we were in Marlind. I keep one thing from them for their own safety and they blow up on me. Sheesh."

"Sounds like it was rough." Testing to see if the bandages hold, Zaveid flops back onto the bed. I panicked a little. What if Aevar came back from patrol early? Kain could tell my distress and appeared beside me, before leaving the room. Watching him go, I hear the bed creak and look over to see a very interested Zaveid looking at me. "So, you're a shepherd too, huh?"

"Conditional. Just a vessel so they don't get corrupted by malevolence. Since my body can't handle it, I'm pretty much the only option they have. After all, Sorey can't have two seraphim of the same element..." Or maybe he could. Who knew? I sure didn't.

"You do know the trial of fire's here, right?"

"Yes."

"Then why would a 'conditional' shepherd be here?" Damn, he was good. Sighing, I walked to the window and opened it, leaning on the sill. "Seems to me like you're trying to cover your tracks so no one thinks twice about what you're doing. It's not my job to lecture someone on things like that, but you might want to be a bit truthful."

"If I'm fully truthful right now, everything could be torn apart. I have to wait until Sorey's ready. I may be doing things of my own volition, but in the end… him knowing there's another Shepherd out and about might make him slack off a little in his job." Sighing, I look over to him. "I intend on being truthful when the time's right. Not a moment before."

"So, when will Sheps be ready to hear it, then?"

"In Pendrago. When he loses someone close to him. That's all I'm saying about it." Looking back out the window, I wait for a moment. The bed creaks and a glance tells me Zaveid's laid down again… and was out like a light, according to the way his chest rose and fell. Hoping Kain had delivered the message, I stand straight and turn to head out when a voice catches me.

"Don't worry about me saying anything to Sorey. I know when to keep my mouth shut."

Later that same day, I reconvene with Kain, Zaveid and Aevar outside, and we basically talked about tonight's strategy. Instead of swapping out with Kain for a period of rest, Zaveid would be doing patrol with me as well. I have the patrol to the early morning, so I'd be resting until I was woken up. As we finally finished and Aevar headed off on patrol with Zaveid as Kain returned to residing within me, Sorey and Rose arrive here in Gododdin. I'd hoped to have the fire trial completed before they did, but…

"Melanie! Hey, are you alright?" As he headed towards me, Lailah, Mikleo, Edna and Dezel appeared. Rose was confused and walked up to Sorey once he stopped in front of me.

"Sorey, who is she?" Rose asks, confusion clear on her face.

"Oh, this is Melanie. I travelled with her for a bit until she left us at Marlind… like Alisha did. Though they were a bit apart time-wise," Sorey responded. I nod in confirmation. Not wanting to get another look from Lailah like I did at the inn that one time, I quickly excuse myself after an introductions and a bit of chat with Rose. Heading into the inn, I head to the room that we had rented until we finished the trial. This world's Zaveid was out like a light, and was curled up on his side, so all I did was sit in one of the chairs and doze off for a bit.

And woke to a pain in my chest like hot fire. Wincing, I grasp at my chest as I opened my eyes. So much for not being hurt. I guess not laying down was the worst thing to do. My ribs were still mending, so I had to be careful. Not that I'd been too careful, but the battles that I'd fought with hellions here weren't so bad that I needed to be cautious and careful about how I fought. It was like second nature, fighting and defending myself. Even Aevar is impressed. He said that I'm getting a lot better at fighting. There were days that I still trained with him, and Zaveid and Kain usually joined in so we had a pretty good training session each day we did have time to train.

The odd thing was that Edna was crouching in front of me. "She's awake now."

"Did you really have to poke her? It looked like it hurt..." Rose comments.

"I barely tapped her," was Edna's response. I look around and notice that the sleeping Zaveid was gone. Had he left while I was dozing? Probably did, as to not look suspicious taking a nap in a bed. After all, he never really went near human civilizations, right…? Besides when he went to Pendrago that one time.. which would happen later on in the future. The looks on everyone's faces looked a bit… different than I expected.

"Careful where you jab your umbrella. Some of us might have broken bones," I scold, rubbing where the pain was as if trying to get it to go away. "Or broken ribs."

"Oh dear!" Lailah looked upset. "Edna, be more careful!"

"It's not my fault she decided to get her ribs broken. And I didn't even know before." Edna opens her parasol, putting it over her shoulder as she stands up and turns away. "...Sorry."

That last part was a mutter that, if I hadn't been listening to her, I would've missed entirely. Sighing, I just wave my hand and set it back down.

"You don't have to pretend it doesn't hurt," Mikleo says.

"I don't get it. Why are you guys being so nice to me?" I ask, sitting upright, wincing as I did so. "I thought you all… y'know, hated me."

"It was a misunderstanding..." Lailah bowed her head. "When you left so suddenly, it seemed what we said had really hurt you. And we wanted to apologize, though… you didn't seem to give us that chance back in Pendrago."

"And there's a lot she's not telling you, right?" Dezel asked. He was leaning against the wall as usual, arms folded against his chest. At this point, I figured that they didn't know that Dezel was blind. I wasn't going to ruin that plot point.

"I have a lot of reasons for not saying the full story. There's a lot of things I need to do before I'm comfortable enough to tell any of you." I sigh, adjusting myself so that I didn't hurt that much. A warmth cascaded over me, and I looked over to see Lailah healing me. The pain soon turned into a dull ache like it had been for these past days. I smile in appreciation, but it turns forlorn as I remember the reason that I needed to keep everything a secret… as long as possible. Including the fact that I knew how it all would end- with Sorey killing Heldalf. "I'm not asking you to trust me. Just to wait. I know this contradicts with what I've said before, but I just need you to wait… I'll find you guys when I'm ready."

"Does this mean you're leaving?" Edna asks, turning back to face me. I shake my head.

"I still have something to do here. Aevar and I have been keeping this place safe from hellions, but there's malevolence. Not enough to incapacitate me, but I can feel it. I think this place needs a seraph to watch over it and purify it… return the blessing, so to speak." I shrug. That would buy me some time to do the trial while they're out and about getting the seraph back.

"Right. So we just need to restore the blessing. Will… you still be here when we return?" Sorey looks like a lost puppy when he looks at me, and I can't help but sigh. Damn my tender heart.

"Maybe. We'll see."

Waving goodbye as Sorey and the others leave to head out to find the seraph, I wait until they're well out of sight before I go to talk to Slenge after I pick up the sword from the inn. It's not too hard to find him, as he's either making the fake elixir or at his house resting. It's dangerous to make the elixir, I knew that, and yet I was helping him when I wasn't off doing other things. I did wonder why I wasn't succumbing to the effects of it.. then again, I wasn't from this world, so my body probably wasn't affected like it should be.

"Chief Slenge? It's me, Melanie. I wanted to ask something," I say as I enter the room he's in after knocking.

"Yes? What's the question, Melanie?" Slenge turns to me, having been looking out the window. I shut the door behind me and sigh. "Is something troubling you?"

"More or less. Um, see… I kind of… wanted to ask if you knew of the trial. That the… shepherd undertakes?"

"The trial of Igraine?" He looks bemused. "Melanie, are you insinuating that you're the Shepherd everyone's talking about?"

"He and I are… well, I don't think we could call each other friends right now. But we know each other. I'm a sort of… pseudo-shepherd? I mean, I have a Prime Lord and everything… just not as good as he is. If I was, then..."

"I understand. Follow me."

I blink, curious, and follow Slenge to the cave where we'd made the fake elixirs to where the trial of fire was… in the back. He'd lead me here on his own, and all I had to do was ask? How strange. "Now, since you're not a full shepherd, I don't expect you to complete it. So don't feel bad about leaving if it's too much."

"Right. And don't forget to send the other Shepherd here when it's time to."

"Of course not." With that, Slenge left. Aevar came walking up a few minutes after he left, with Zaveid right beside him. Kain appeared beside me, and the four of us opened the doors and stepped inside. Inside of the trial was hot as hell. They could make a hot spring by this place and become a tourist attraction, but they wouldn't want that. Either way, it was hot and I didn't like it. Zaveid didn't seem to like it much, either. Well, no one but Kain seemed to like the heat at all. It'd take me some time to actually figure this place out again, but I moved forward immediately with them trailing behind. We had barely any time to waste if Sorey was going to take the trial, too. It would have to be as fast as we could possibly make it.

"Roman numerals." I point out when we reach two stands. One was I and the other was II. "Kain, can you light them? Stand at the number when you do or else it'll automatically go out."

"Of course." Kain flicked his wrist and the first stand lit up. He did the same with the second stand, and the door opened. Once it did, we headed through it immediately. Finding the stands was our priority, even if it meant we went around in circles a few times. The center room was the one we had to fill with lava and transport to the end of the trial. At one point, we got extremely lost and had to retrace our steps until we made it to where we had meant to go.

It must've been hours since we first set foot in the place, now that I thought about it. All we'd done was fight hellions, run around, light stands in the proper order and try to get the lava flowing so we could finish the trial and get out before Sorey found us. This was so I didn't have to do them all and make Sorey wait for me. I wondered if I beat the trial, would Sorey have to go through the fight at the end or would they test him a different way? I had no way of knowing, and I didn't feel like finding out at all. I just wanted to get this done and out of the way, which was probably what I shouldn't have gone in thinking. As we wandered about, trying to finish the trial, it just seemed like we were going around in circles until Kain stopped and turned to his left before going in that direction instead, which prompted us to follow. I had to wonder, while we were doing all this wandering, how Zaveid had made Kain a sub lord. Was there some pact things I didn't know about that he did? Was he once a Prime Lord himself a long time ago? I seriously just keep coming up with questions that I don't have the answer to, and it's frustrating enough that, when we reach a stand, I end up kicking it before Kain lights it. And when he lit it, he had the most confused look on his face.

"You doin' alright?" Zaveid asks as we head for the center, having finally gotten the lava pouring and activating the center dias. "You seem a bit out of sorts."

"It's hot and my brain's fried."

"I hear ya. We'll be done soon." There was a wistful tone to his voice, like he was hoping the same thing. Hopefully everything would get done soon. Once we made it to the upper level, we headed through the door to the shrine of Musiphe, the Great Lord of Fire and one of the Five Lords. Kain stopped at the stone slab near the door.

"Place your hands at the four monument so that Musiphe's purifying power can be given. Seems like this is an easy-" Kain cut off as we heard a roar, and the domain of the hellion came crashing down… and me with it. Choking on the malevolence, I glance up to see a Salamander. So this was the hellion that Sorey and the others were supposed to fight. It jumped down from the shrine in the wall and onto the center. Kain, Aevar and Zaveid prepared to fight while I struggled to get to my feet. The monuments were key.

"G-guys… th-the domain… t-the.. monuments.. b-break it that way..." Here was where my resonance with the seraphim should've been cut off, but I could still perceive them. Aevar glanced back before nodding, and the Salamander went to attack me before a coin bounced off its head and returned to its owner. Kain and Zaveid played as decoys as Aevar ran, touching the monuments until the domain lifted and I was able to stand and join in the fight. The Salamander was tough and casted Pyrogenic Ring a lot, but in the end… well, with the four of us, we took it down.

"Alright. Time to send this hellion to hell." Zaveid starts to step forward when I grab his arm.

"He's not a hellion, you dummy." I release his arm. "I think this is the protector seraph of the Lord of Fire, Musiphe."

"You'd be correct." The not-hellion said. "The form you see before you is but a facade. I am Ekseo, the protector seraph of fire."

"The hellion thing was an act?" Kain looked confused. "You really had us. Was it for the trial?"

"Yes. I needed to verify that you were worthy of receiving the blessing." It sounded like he'd recited this many, many times. "And you've passed the trial of strength. I shall grant you the power of Musiphe, deity of fire amongst the Five Lords. Lift up your sword."

Giving a small nod, I unsheathe the sword I'd brought carefully and lift it up as asked. Soon, the sword was surrounded by flames. This trial… was one where I had to burn someone… I didn't know if I could go through with it. As Ekseo said, the flames would carve the Binding Brand.

"It is very simple. Choose either you or your fire seraph and, with these flames, char their face."

Looking at the sword, I lower it and grip it with both hands. Char Kain's face… or my own. I have to choose. Swallowing, I close my eyes and thought. I'm Sorey, yet I hate thinking of hurting someone else just to complete a trial. I would rather carry the burn on my face for eternity than even think of hurting Kain. With that in mind, I slowly bring the sword towards my face, feeling the heat grow ever closer. It was when the sword stopped that I open my eyes. Kain was in front of me, hands keeping the sword from getting any closer. I can smell the scent of burning flesh. It was overwhelming, and I cough.

"Kain, why-"

"You dumb idiot! I don't think he meant actually char your damn face!" Kain scolds.

"That's exactly what I-"

"Quiet!" Kain shot at Ekseo, who went quiet. "You could've chosen me. Why didn't you?"

"...I hate the notion of hurting people just to pass a trial. It feels like I'm betraying them. I don't like hurting people. I don't like upsetting people. It's just who I am, Kain," I respond, lowering my head. "If it means failing the trial, by all means, I'd raise the sword against myself. Because if I hurt you, what kind of person would I be?"

"A dummy."

Lowering the sword once Kain let go, he shook his hands and turned to face Ekseo. I could feel a new power brewing in my chest… or maybe that was an air bubble. Either way, Kain stepped back to my side.

"My true name is-"

"Sasei Rue!"

Armatizing with Kain was easy enough. In my hands were chakrams instead of the normal sword. How strange this was… Gripping the chakrams, I flung one towards Ekseo, re-initiating our fight. Fighting him with the Fire Armatization felt like hell, but Kain seemed to be having fun. At the end of the fight, after running about and getting whacked around some, Kain and I decided to try out this new power. Gripping the chakrams tight, I rushed in and, guided by Kain, did one downward slash, an upwards slash, two circular spinning slashes and two downwards slashes before a backflip, landing on my feet a few meters away.

"Dance beautifully and burn away! Crimson Conquest!" The two of us yelled together as the chakrams were engulfed in flames and thrown at Ekseo. It seemed he vanished afterwards and Kain and I de-armatized while I breathe a sigh of relief. Armatization still feels funky, but I know I'll get used to it sooner or later. Hopefully sooner.

"That was incredible!" Aevar says. "You two really showed him!"

"Yeah… I guess." I rub the back of my neck. Afterwards, after being treated to a full explanation by Ekseo, we leave the shrine and head back into Gododdin. It's night by the time we get there, and we're all exhausted. Kain and Zaveid decide to take a rest and reside within me while we head back to the inn. When we're there, I take a long bath and clean up before going to bed in just a big shirt and shorts that I'd gotten while I was here. Going to my room, I end up flopping on the bed and curling up, going straight to sleep afterwards.

It was going to be a long day tomorrow.

I didn't want to go fully over the trial of fire because damn it I got so lost during my playthrough that I went around in circles for ages before I finally finished it. At one point I wanted to throw my controller but that might've broken it.. and I don't have the money to replace it currently. But, hey, progress! And this is longer than I usually write. Forgive the walls of text.

Also, for armatization, I decided to go against the norm for weapons seeing as I didn't want to be a complete copycat of Sorey's. Anywho... this is finally done. Finally.