Sorry for being so late on this chapter. Classes started again and I am force to used a animation program that I hate with a unfamiliar computer. I also became the owner of a 12 weeks old beagle. She is so sweet, but she is a handful since we are trying to house train her.

Anyway, thanks again to oursolemnhour49 for proof reading this chapter and thanks for the reviews over the past weeks. Now, onward to the chapter.

Chapter 21: Research

Nearly two days had passed since Kratos and Anna arrived in Sybak. In that time, however, Kratos rarely left the inn. He only left Anna's side to provide food and to buy her some clothes. Even then, Kratos did not step out without hiding his features behind a cloak and heavily suppressing his mana. Thankfully, hiding his mana was fairly easy given that he was still weak.

He was able to secure a boat of a type on the first day they arrived. Having to cross the sea in a small cargo ship was not the most ideal way to travel, but there was little choice. It was too dangerous to take public transportation. Especially with both himself and Anna being less than in the best of shape.

He was steadily recovering, while Anna was still very sick. Her fever had spiked the day they arrived, and Kratos had spent the better part of twelve hours trying to get it under control. Although her fever was lessening, it still had not broken. Kratos doubted that it would as long as the exsphere was draining her life.

"You look worried," Anna's voice broke through his thoughts.

Kratos sighed. "I was just thinking."

"I have seen that look too many times not to know what it is," Anna said. She looked at her hand, which was no longer covered by a cloth. The exsphere was now a bright purple with a hint of blue. The skin around the exsphere was red and inflamed, which deformed her entire hand.

"It has gotten much worse," Anna lamented. "I don't have much time left."

"We will get you the help you need. You just have to conserve your strength until then." Kratos said firmly.

Anna put her hand down. "In either case, I'm bored."

Kratos was taken off-guard by the change of tone.

"I have been in this bed for days and there is nothing to do," Anna said. "Isn't there something I can do while we wait for a transport?"

Kratos closed his eyes in thought. There was not much in Sybak except the university, and it was too dangerous to go there. He then remembered that Sybak was still world-renowned for its library.

"There is a library in the city," Kratos said. "I can go out and get you some books to read."

Anna's eyes lit up at the thought. "Oh thank you. I thought I would die of boredom."

"Do you have any preferences?" Kratos asked.

"Any book about blacksmithing would be nice." Anna said. "Although, a book about weapon making would be the best idea."

Kratos raised an eyebrow at her last sentence, but said nothing. He grabbed a hat that he used to cover his face. He also decided it was best not to wear his armor. It drew too much attention, although it now left him even more open. His only real means of protection was Anna's dagger. It was not much, but it was better than nothing.

The library was fairly empty, since it was still school hours. That gave him plenty of time to search at his leisure. He was able to find some nice book choices for Anna, but he then got distracted as he looked into the older section of the library. He saw several old books that dated back several centuries.

He casually picked up some of them, and was surprised to see that some dated right back to the Kharlan War. One even went into detail about Mithos and how one of his 'companions' had gotten Crystallus Inofficium.

Kratos wondered briefly how the author knew so much, but once he flipped the book to the cover he got his answer. He recognized the author's name as a member of the old Silver Ghosts. His interest peaked, Kratos scanned through the book for a while longer, and read about how Mithos made a pact with all the summon spirits to end the Kharlan War, how Mithos was there at the signing of the treating on the Holy Land of Kharlan, and how it all came too late since the tree withered.

Despite all the details, there were several key things missing. There was no mention of Zilveren, Malachite, or the Silver Ghosts as a whole. Mithos' companions were never named, and even stranger, there were references towards the Goddess Martel and the other legends that Mithos had added. How could a member of the Silver Ghosts get such key details wrong or completely omitted?

Kratos looked at the back to check the date and saw it was published over seventy years after the events of their quest. Which meant that it was possible that this person was influenced when Cruxis rose to power; the organization might have affected their memory. He had seen the effects of false memories before, but this was the first time he had ever seen it in writing.

In either case, the truth might never have been known. Given how twisted history had become, he shouldn't have been surprised that even people who were there would become confused and lost. Kratos put the book down and continued his scan.

He came upon books that talked about the summon spirits themselves. It was still an interesting read, although he saw nothing that he didn't already know. That all changed, however, when he came across a chapter in a book that talked about item pacts.

Kratos' eyes widened as he read each word carefully. The chapter went into detail about how item pacts did not work in the same as physical pacts with the spirits. Although item pacts were unbreakable once made, they could be negated with the right enchantment. They also could be changed or altered if the item was merged with another weapon.

He became annoyed, however, when the chapter did not say what enchantments could negate an item pact. All it said was that these enchantments were in charms or jewelry. It was frustrating to finally have a clue to how to break Mithos' hold on the Eternal Sword when he could not use it. He needed more information.

"The elves," Kratos whispered in realization. The elves knew more about the spirits than anyone in either world. They would know what charm could be forged to allow anyone to wield the Eternal Sword. It would appear that fate was finally on their side. He just hoped this lead turned out to be true.

He picked up the book; along with the ones he got for Anna, and had them checked out. Thankfully, the librarian did not look too closely to see how old his card was.

Before he returned to the inn, he thought it was time to finally go to the weapon shop. He had been avoiding it since he was sure that would be the first place they would look for him since his weapon had been destroyed. He was starting to feel foolish for leaving his Flamberge on Derris-Kharlan. However, it was too late to cry about it now.

The shop had some good wares, but none of them was as good as the sword he had once had. With the amount of fighting he would be doing in the future, none of these swords would last long. In the end, he bought a modest short sword. It was shorter than his previous sword, but the steel was the strongest of the bunch. It was also lighter, which would allow him to attack faster.

Once he was done in the weapon shop he returned to inn, and was surprised to see that Anna was still awake.

"Bout time you got back. I didn't know it took so long to get a couple of books," Anna said.

Kratos casually put the books on the nearby coffee table. "I wanted to make sure that I got books that you would like," That was partly true. He did not want to reveal yet what he had learned. He didn't want to get Anna's hope up if this turned out to be nothing.

"We will stay until nightfall, but then we have to leave," Kratos said. "We have lingered too long in this town."

Anna sighed. "Too bad I didn't get the chance to see anything."

"I promise we will return here once you are well," Kratos said in a softer tone than normal.

"Do you have all the supplies we will need?" Anna asked.

Kratos nodded. "It should be enough to last you. If we run out, we can always fish."

Anna grimaced. "Not a fan of fish."

"Given who we have chasing us, you don't have much choice," Kratos stated.

Anna sighed. "I know, but it still sucks."

The day passed peacefully as the sun slowly fell in the distance. Kratos packed their stuff as they prepared to move. Anna was still unsteady on her feet, but she was much better than before. There was color in her cheeks again and her fever was fairly low now.

The clothes she was wearing were also more fitting for long travel: a long-sleeved green shirt, and long brown leather boots with pants to match. Her current color palette would allow her to blend in more when they were on the open field. It would also provide more protection than the dress she was wearing. Kratos actually found her more tomboyish look rather cute.

Anna seemed to have noticed, as she smiled mischievously. "What's the matter? Are you speechless by my aura of beauty?"

Kratos quickly broke his eyes away from her. "We should be leaving. Do you have everything?"

Anna giggled when she saw the slight blush on Kratos' face, but decided not to torment him further on the subject. "I'm ready to go anytime you're ready."

Kratos grabbed the heavy supply bag and they were off into the night. The city was nearly empty, except for some college students who had too much to drink at the local bar. Once they were out of town, Noishe almost immediately greeted them.

"Looks like you have read my mind," Kratos said with a half-smile.

"Whine, whine, whine?" Noishe asked.

"I have the boat here," Kratos said as he patted one of his pockets.

"Hard to believe that a boat can fit into a small case," Anna said as she shook his head. "Just amazing."

"Although advances in technology has been greatly slowed, they have been some strides," Kratos said. "The capsule format has only been around for one-hundred years. Even Cruxis does not fully use this technology."

"Bark, whine," Noishe said.

Kratos nodded. "You are right, we must head for the shore."

The walk was smoother since everyone was well rested. To conserve her strength, however, Anna still had to ride Noishe. She managed to stay awake until they reached the sandy beach.

It was a cool night and the moon hung lazily over the ocean. Its light gave a surreal peaceful look to the black waters.

"The moon is so pretty tonight," Anna said in awe. "What's the name of the moon here?"

Kratos put down his bag and reached for the ship capsule. "Sylvarant."

Anna's eyes widened. "Sylvarant, that's the name of the moon?"

"Yes," Kratos said as he prepared everything.

Anna began to giggle lightly. "So the moon here is named after my world and my world named its moon after this world."

"I don't know how it came to pass, but that is what happened," Kratos said.

Anna closed her eyes. "So, when these worlds were one, there were two moons. I would love to have seen that. I bet it would be twice as beautiful."

Truthfully, Kratos would have loved to see that again too. The worlds were never meant to be divided this way. He pushed his thoughts aside and threw the EC into the water. With a puff of smoke a large cargo ship appeared.

Anna grasped in shock when she saw that. "Amazing, it's bigger than I thought." Then she rubbed her chin. "How does it move? Do we use coal?"

Kratos' head shot up when he heard the question. "Coal?"

"Oh, then it uses steam then," Anna said. "I heard Palmacosta was experimenting with steam engines, but I guess they already have it in this world."

Kratos felt like a fool. He had forgotten that Sylvarant was still using primitive technology for energy. But he didn't know they had fallen so far behind that they were using coal and just now experimenting with steam.

"It's using something more complicated," Kratos settled on.

"Oh," Anna said with a hint of embarrassment.

"There is no need to be ashamed. The Desians has been halting your advancements," Kratos assured her.

Anna sighed. "Still, it is just embarrassing how far behind everyone Sylvarant is," she said.

"Better technology is not always better," Kratos said, remembering the destruction that magitechnology had brought to the world.

When Kratos got all their supplies loaded, he helped Anna into the ship. It was surprising roomy and moonlit came through the small windows. Kratos then closed the hatch and steered the ship away from the beach. It took him some time to get used to the controls. He had never driven a ship before in his life. Kratos got the hang of it after an hour and they slowly began to move forward. Thankfully, the waves were in his favor and they made good timing sailing across the sea.

Not liking the enclosed space of the ship, Anna opened the hatch to feel the night's air against her skin. Noishe also joined her as they looked at the stars.

"Even the stars are different here," Anna said.

"Whine, bark," Noishe said.

Anna smiled sadly. "It's just everything is just so different. Even though it is not gleaming, I really do miss my world. Even though I no longer have anywhere to go there."

Noishe nuzzled against her skin in an effort to comfort her.

"I can't imagine what it must be like for Kratos, who remembers the worlds whole," Anna continued.

"Bark," Noishe stated.

Anna laughed. "It seems the more I stay around you, the more I can understand you. Given everything that has happened, I no longer find that strange."

"Bark, bark," Noishe said.

The night dissipated as the sun rose in the distance. Anna and Noishe had fallen asleep some time before sunrise, leaving Kratos to stay on alert. Their progress had somewhat stalled since the wave turned, but Kratos worked the best he could. Nonetheless it would be even longer now before they reached the shore.

Yuan growled in frustration as he slumped heavily into his chair. He had been searching the area for the better part of three days and found no sign of Kratos or that woman. He didn't really believe that they managed to cross the Tethe'alla Bridge until he heard reports that a strange animal had gotten past the soldiers. The description definitely fit the profile of Noishe. He had somehow managed to carry Kratos and another person nearly five miles to the bridge and cross it with armed guards chasing him. It was impressive, but annoying all at the same time.

He had lost almost an entire day searching the wrong continent and now he had lost their trail. He had been all over Sybak and found nothing. He thought there was an off-chance of them being in Ozette, though knowing the village's contempt of half-elves made him hesitant in coming there. However, there was no sign of them.

Normally, he would run like hell out of the small town, but was too tired to really care at the moment. Even with a Cruxis Crystal, he needed to rest every now and then. Especially after flying all day and night.

"Want another round?" the bartender asked. Thanks to Yuan's cloak, no one seemed to notice he was a half-elf. Either that, or the bartender didn't care as long as he was paid. When it came to alcohol, everyone was equal.

"Give me another gin," Yuan requested. His glass was quickly filled.

"You may want to head home soon," the bartender said. "You've been here almost all day."

Yuan sighed as he took a drink. "I'm in no hurry."

He knew Kratos couldn't still be in the area. Even as weak as he was, Kratos would remain on the move. He would just have to figure out where Kratos would go for haven.

Yuan tapped his finger against the wooden chair. It was a possibility that they could be heading towards the hidden ninja village, Mizuho and used their spy network to reach Heimdall safely. However, he shot down that idea as soon as it entered his head. The people of Mizuho were nomads and only made a settlement in this area a couple of years ago. Kratos would not have known that since he had not kept up with news that didn't concern Cruxis.

Gaoracchia Forest was a nice hiding place, and the legends that surrounded it would keep most people out, and the high trees would make it impossible for him to find them from the air. But dangerous monsters also lived there, and Kratos would not be able to handle them in his current condition.

There was also one key fact that Yuan was skipping. Kratos actually wanted to challenge Cruxis and the only way to do that was to gain control of the Eternal Sword. Since Kratos was a pure human, there was no way he could ever use the Eternal Sword. Which meant that Kratos would be searching for information to support his cause. The only place in the area with that kind of information was Sybak, but he would be foolish to stay there too long.

Yuan took another swing of his drink. Another place that Kratos could hide and gained the information he needed was from Heimdall itself. It was perfect. The elves would never allow Cruxis near it, and Mithos would never dare attack it. Even though it was on the other side of the world, he knew that would do little to stop them. Not to mention, he lost any chance he had to head them off.

Also, Yuan was in no mood to search two large areas for them, he was stuck. Which meant that the Angelus Project had slipped out of his hands again. At least Mithos would take some pressure off of him and he could concentrate on gaining the Angelus Project without catching Cruxis' eye.

Yuan's mind immediately went back to Mizuho. The ninja of that village were free agents and held no loyalty to anyone. They also had the best spy network in either world, even when compared to Cruxis. If anyone could track and run down Kratos, they could.

He quickly finished his drink and left a generous tip for the bartender. Yuan practically ran out the door and failed to see where he was going. In his rush, he accidentally ran into a young girl.

"I am sorry, miss," Yuan said quickly. The last thing he needed was this child to cause alarm. Then again, why was this girl out so late?

The girl stood up slowly and dusted her dress. She then looked blankly at Yuan. She had pink hair and a dark purple dress that was almost black. She looked to be no more than twelve years old, but she was carrying an ax that would have challenged a grown man.

"It's okay," the girl said in a voice that sounded like a robot.

Yuan's eyes widened when he saw her eyes. They looked exactly the same as Spiritua's after she had lost her soul. This child no doubt had Cruxis Inofficium. He looked down at her chest and saw she had an exsphere, but it had a key crest. At least, it looked like a key crest.

"I must be going now," the girl said in a dead tone as she began to walk to the outskirts of the village.

"I see you met Presea," the bartender said as he stepped outside.

Yuan turned to look at him. "Presea?"

"She was one of the daughters of a local lumberjack here," the bartender said. "That was until he got sick and died, and her sister left for work in the city."

"That doesn't explain what happen to her," Yuan said.

"I don't know the whole story, but she went to some shady dealer that came here a couple months ago to get an exsphere," the bartender explained. "Don't know what happened, but it not only screwed her mind, but it completely stopped her growth."

"She stopped growing!" Yuan exclaimed in surprise.

The bartender shook his head. "Hasn't grown an inch."

Yuan had never heard of that. He knew Cruxis Inofficium greatly suppressed emotions, but he never heard of it completely halting someone's growth. Whatever she had was no ordinary exsphere. How could a dealer get his hands on an exsphere like that? Something told him that this was something he should investigate.

"It's best you stay away from girl," the bartender said. "She's a cursed creature, no different than those half-elves."

Yuan stopped himself from flinching at those words. "I will keep that in mind." He then walked away from the tavern, and when he was far enough away, he transported himself back to Derris-Kharlan to give his report.

The plot thickens. Yeah, I know I am really pushing the time frame for Presea to its limits, but I think it really fits in with the overall story. I hope you don't mind this bit of creative license, although Presea could had possibly been mess up at this time.

Until next time.