"Hmph. After I chased them here and there I still haven't found the anything...Oh, I should probably ask about that Sanctum..." Geis pondered to himself while venturing the woods. He went into the village and asked some questions regarding the Sanctum, but there he found no answers. He also asked if anyone has seen any glowing pixies around and they said no. After a while, he noticed something off, the three homunculi were not anywhere to be heard of lately. He went into the Rhedan Village, where he was met with cautious stares and then he went into the Chief's household. Then he went to the Chief and Olha, who was standing both protectively and cautiously beside her father. There he figured he'd get some answers.
"Hey. Can I ask you something?" Geis asked.
"Yes? What is it you want to know?" The Chief asked him, getting up from his chair.
"I want to know about that Sanctum beyond the Ruins of Amnesia. After I ventured into the Ruins I came across a sanctuary...Oh, it had the statue of a...Goddess..." Geis's voice trailed off as he crossed his arms and pondered. "What connection exactly, does that have to the Ark?" He asked. Olha frowned and stepped closer to her father.
"I do not know." Chief Ord said plainly.
"What do you mean you don't know? You're the Chief, how can you not know about something like that?" Geis asked.
"I do not know what you are talking about. I do not know of this Ark and what connection it has to the sanctuary." Chief Ord stated.
"Don't play dumb...You're the chief – there's no way you wouldn't know!" Geis said, starting to lose his patience.
"I do not know what I do not know. Besides, what interest does an Erisian like you have in a place like that? It's a place where the souls of the Rheda gather. I will not have its peace disturbed by an outsider." Chief Ord said.
"Hmph. Outsider eh? I'm more than just an outsider..." Geis muttered to himself. Just then Adol stepped into the household and Olha noticed him.
"My, Sir Adol!" She said in surprise and ran towards him. Adol walked forward fast enough to dodge a hug from her. Then Geis turned toward him and frowned, his eyes showing more irritation.
"Hmph. Looks like you've got business of your own. Fine, I'll leave for now...Oh, Chief...Have you seen any pixies around?" Geis asked and the Chief shook his head. "Just as I thought..." He walked toward the exit and he stopped in front of Adol.
"I don't see those brats around...You'd better be extra careful..." Geis muttered to Adol who smiled. Then he went out of the village. "You know what? I think I better check that place again...just to be sure..." He muttered to himself as he walked out the village. Geis ventured into the passageway and walked into the Ruins, where he ventured even deeper to get to the Sanctuary. Nearing the Sanctuary he heard three familiar voices echo throughout the Ruins, saying something about the Ark. Geis began to run the fastest he could until eventually, he saw the light of the Ruins. Once there he rushed towards the place where he put up his talismans, only to be met with Adol standing in front and three people on the ground.
"Damn! What the hell!?" He said in shock, then he noticed his talismans on the ground.
"Hahahahaha! Soooo STUPID!" Geis heard three familiar voices yell and then saw the three homunculi fly towards him and Adol. He gritted his teeth at the sight of them, and glared.
"Bastard sprites...!" He said, his eyes showing sheer anger.
"TOO BAADD! You got here waaaayyy to late!" Jue taunted.
"I must admit. Those talismans were a stroke of genius but in the end, they were not enough. Now, the seal of the Great Vortex has been undone." Sera taunted.
"Ahahahaha. We welcome you to this new world! Now everyone, we bid you a fond farewell!" Xisa laughed as they flew off.
"J-Just a second! Dammit! All for nothing!" Geis yelled in frustration, then he noticed Adol and stormed towards him. "Red-haired bastard! What the hell were you just watching for!? And you took of the talismans I spent such a so much time putting up! Well, not really..." He yelled at Adol, his voice becoming a mutter towards the end.
"Do not blame Adol...It was those three idiots over there...Like you, he arrived here just now..." Geis heard the old man on the ground say to him. He looked down to see that man who he questioned once before.
"DAMMIT! I went through all this trouble and I STILL haven't found the final seal!?" Geis yelled to himself.
"Geis was it? I assume those wicked beings were homunculi...Little ones with special powers..." Raba asked.
"Guess you know all about them...They have the same powers as the Emelas swords...The thing is...They're just the beginning...Now that they've shown up, things don't look good for Canaan. Better brace yourselves." Geis stated as he walked out, disappointed and angry. He ventured out the Ruins and began to question the people of the town if they knew any other hidden places in the island. This, of course, disappointed him even more, as he received no word of any. Then he saw in the horizon, thousands of Romun ships headed for the island and he sighed and cursed to himself.
"Fine, you know what? If I can't find the final seal, I'll do what I can...I'll get him back..." Geis muttered to himself as the ships lowered their gates, thousands of Romun soldiers coming out and marching towards the village. He saw no sign of Ernst anywhere and cursed to himself, running towards the village. When he got there, he was too late and Chief Ord was unconscious.
"DAMMIT!" He cursed to himself and sat down, gritting his teeth and trying to stay calm. "Okay, okay...It's gonna be okay just calm down..." Geis muttered to himself and got up, shaking his anger off and then heading for the Romun ships back at the town. On the way, he spotted a tall man with long black hair escorted by some Romun bodyguards, even though Geis was sure he didn't need any bodyguards. He turned towards Geis and was left speechless and stunned for a while. His expression mixed with relief, shock, and happiness, and his eyes wide and mouth agape.
"YOU LITTLE FUCK!" Geis yelled at the man, who stared at him with wide eyes. He then took out his halberd and charged at the man, who began to walk towards him, his eyes still wide. Geis slashed at him and he caught the halberd by the shaft and easily yanked it away from Geis, disarming him. Geis then, threw his fist at the man, who caught it and pulled him into a tight hug. He struggled to get free but the man wouldn't budge, and only hugged him tighter. Soon enough Geis became too worn out to struggle anymore and just gave up, his face becoming very red.
"AAHHHH..." Geis groaned in frustration, his words muffled because of the man's raven black hair. "You haven't changed one bit..." He said.
"Yeah...Neither did you...You still smell the same..." Ernst mumbled still hugging Geis, and not caring about the Romun soldiers who were giving him weird looks. "I'm so happy he didn't commit suicide...Oh thank god...Oh thank god..." Ernst thought to himself while holding back tears and his lips trembling.
"That's creepy." Geis said, his words becoming even more muffled as Ernst pressed him harder to his head.
"You got tall." Ernst said, smiling a soft smile. The Romuns became confused when they saw Ernst's expression change, they never saw him like that.
"So did you. You got really strong too...I can't even move..." Geis said, his voice still muffled because of Ernst's hair. "What?...your hair smells like...Hahaha..." Geis giggled as he sniffed Ernst's hair. It smelled like strawberries.
"Yes I use strawberry shampoo. Don't comment, it keeps my hair silken, soft, and shiny." Ernst jokingly said and laughed with Geis. Now the Romuns were extremely confused by this. They never saw Ernst laugh like that, the only laugh he'd make was the one that said you're doomed, and he'd laugh like that often to their enemies.
"Ahahahaha! My brother: Going into the battlefield and looking fabulous since the day he was born." Geis laughed and unknowingly threw his arms around Ernst and hugged him tighter. Now they were getting snickers from the soldiers as they stayed like that for a good twenty minutes or so. Geis's face turned a very bright red when he felt Ernst's lips on his forehead. At the sight of this, the Romun soldiers lost it, and couldn't stop laughing. Then, some of their prisoners escaped, said prisoners were with Quval. The soldiers ran after the prisoners and did not return.
"Hey...You're sure this won't affect your image?" Geis asked Ernst, who was still hugging him tightly.
"Ahaha. Not at all, if someone knows who I am, or even my name, they know that if they so much as state a joke about me in front of my face, I'll have their heads in my tea and their bodies as decoration for my room." Ernst plainly said and Geis raised an eyebrow.
"That's...gruesome." Geis stated, little bit shocked.
"Haha and you said I haven't changed one bit..." Ernst said snuggling into Geis's neck, a gesture which made him turn very red again. "I'm so happy Geis...I'm so happy you still think of me as your brother..." He said, his eyes becoming soft and his expression actually becoming peaceful.
"Well...What else would you be...?" Geis asked, biting his lip as he felt Ernst's hand move towards his back, pulling him closer. Then finally, Ernst gently broke the hug.
"I have to go now Geis..." He said, his tone becoming serious and his expression changing to a stoic one. "Don't try to follow me."
"W-Wait just a second! HEY!" Geis shouted and before he knew it, Ernst ran and disappeared from his sight. Geis got his halberd and ran towards the direction Ernst went, only to be led to the dock where the Romun ships were.
"Dammit! That bastard...Who does he think he is, just hugging me like that after he made me go through all of this, then leaving me alone again?!" Geis angrily muttered to himself as he snuck into the Romun ships and searched for his brother. Then he remembered something, his brother was usually on the Tres Mares, so he checked there. After a while of fighting off Romun soldiers he finally got to the bottom of the ship, where he saw Agares next to a giant frog, Olha, Adol, and some girl he assumed was a pirate. He easily knocked the soldiers unconscious in one hit and then stormed to Agares.
"Hey buddy, so where is he?" Geis asked and grabbed Agares by the collar of his shirt.
"H-He?" Agares asked, frightened. Adol, Terra, and Olha looked at him with both shocked and astonished expressions.
"That bastard Ernst, serving as the commander! Where is he on this ship!?" Geis asked again.
"H-He went with some troops to go hunting for the remaining sub-humans...I don't know what he's thinking, but he took the little girl with ivory skin..." Agares said and Geis frowned and looked away.
"W-What? Why did he take her?" Olha said, a tone of worry evident in her voice.
"Dammit...He's up to something..." Geis muttered to himself as he pondered on what Ernst could have been doing.
"C-Come on! I told you everything I know! Just please let me go! I'll give you all the gold you want!" Agares begged.
"Shut your fat mouth...I don't need you anymore..." Geis said as he kicked Agares in the face, knocking him unconscious. "You just sleep there with everyone else." Geis hissed and walked away but before he could, he heard two annoying voices behind him.
"Who do you think you are, showing up outta nowhere like that?!" Terra asked.
"Isha. Where was she taken?" Olha asked.
"Look I don't have time for long explanations. Those damn Romun soldiers are looking for us even as we speak...Christin, take the girls and get the hell out of here!" Geis told them and walked out the room.
What crawled up his pants?" Terra asked as she tried to grab Adol's arm but he moved forward just in time to miss it.
"Probably his brother..." Adol thought to himself and smiled at the thought. Then he signalled to them to follow him.
Outside the Ship
"Dammit brother...Where are you!? What does he want with Isha? She's just a little girl..." Geis thought to himself, evading a spear and running past the guards who were trying to attack him. Soon enough he reached the forest and lost the guards, giving him time to think.
"Okay Geis...think...think...Where could he have gone? He's definitely not in the village, he already captured everyone there, I'm sure...but...Where is a place connected to that Ark...the Sanctuary...THE SANCTUARY!" Geis said to himself as he realized and headed for the Zemeth Sanctuary. Once there, he was surprised to find a muscular blue haired man and a pirate fighting his brother.
"Get out of here you two! I'll handle this!" Geis said to the two people and they ran out the Sanctuary. Ernst laughed maniacally as crushed a piece of Alma's body with his foot and then turned toward him, his eyes glowing a faint red. The three homunculi were nothing short of pissed to see Geis there.
"Geis? What are you doing here?" Ernst asked, looking displeased. His eyes stopped glowing and he frowned. "How many times have you disobeyed me like that?" He asked, holding Alma's head in his hand. He looked at her with a soft smile in his face.
"Oh dear Goddess...What will happen to your people now? Or do you not care? Up there, where the Gods are..." Ernst said, looking into the eyes of the statue head in his hands. He then crushed the head with his hands and smiled a feral smile, his expression changing from tranquil and soft to utter feral and maniacal. "HAHAHAHAHA! BEHOLD! THE ARK OF NAPISHTIM!"" He laughed maniacally, as the whole Island shook. Geis looked at him and readied his halberd.
"Damn you! You really are going to try to control that thing aren't you!?" Geis yelled as he ran towards him. The three fairies were about to attack, when Ernst gestured for them to stop. They frowned and retracted their weapons, and then stood back. Ernst readied Almarion and smiled, standing like a king, the beautiful streams of light shined down at him like he was being praised by the Gods.
"Geis...Let's see how much you've improved...Show me, my dearest brother...Show me your strength..." Ernst said in a gentle voice as he ran his hand on Almarion's blade, making her blade and his eyes glow a faint purple. Then he charged at Geis and slashed at the air, Almarion sending waves of cutting energy as if there were multiple swords slashing at Geis. He got out a talisman and threw it in the air, saying an incantation and making the attacks bounce off. Ernst finally got close enough to slash at Geis, an attack which he evaded and then countered. Ernst ducked and dodged Geis's foot and then swung Almarion upwards, slightly cutting Geis's stomach. Geis only blocked or evaded Ernst's attacks, reluctant to attack Ernst.
"Brother! Don't do this!" Geis yelled and then Ernst stopped. His eyes grew wide and then he began to tremble, clutching his head and screaming as he fell to the floor. Almarion withdrew and disappeared. His mind began to wander back to that day, their faces and their blood flashed through his head.
"Lord Ernst!" The three homunculi flew to his side and then glowed a bright light. Geis shielded his face and when he looked back, they were gone. Even Isha was gone too.
"DAMMIT! That...What the hell!?" Geis yelled to himself as he stormed out of the Sanctuary. He got out of the Ruins and then out to the forest, where he saw the Ark of Napishtim in the distance. Geis looked at it with a mix of horror and astonishment.
"I can't believe it...He actually did it..." Geis muttered to himself as he looked awe at the rising black tower in the not too distant shore.