I have edited one scene in this times... so I hope that in the end, it came out fine... Well, please enjoy this fun chapter!
Disclaimer: I do not own Tales of Phantasia, Tales of Phantasia: Narikiri Dungeon, or Tales of Symphonia. They are all owned by Namco.
--Narikiri Boy--
"Where would Shadow be?" I ask my companions.
"Probably at the top..."
"Here we have the entrance hall. To our left is the dungeon where the Heroes got transported to if they did not possess a Derris-Emblem. Here, you'll need to hold on to these for the duration of the tour..." The tour guide hands us each small, round emblems. "Ahead are rooms that might have once been filled with treasure and monsters. Now we'll go on to the left..." We follow the lady down the dark path to the left, which leads to a set of stairs.
"Hey, who votes we ditch this tour?" Arche mutters. She sounds kinda strange, and I hear her sniffle... We all raise our hands to her question. "All right then... on my spell... Stone Blast!" she says it quiet enough so our tour guide can't hear, and stones fall off in the distance.
"Ah, I should go see what that is!" Kyetia says. "W-wait here!" She runs over to where the spell landed and we make a run for it. There's a passage behind a wall on the left, so we take that, which leads to a sign. It's talking about a secret passage...
"This way," Lynn says and she leads us right back out to where we escaped the guide. I don't see the woman anymore... she must be looking for us. Lynn touches the wall that we hid behind, and her hands go through it. Whoa...! She walks through, and one by one we each follow her. On the other side, there are stairs leading upwards. On the third floor, there's a door leading straight ahead and one to our right. The one ahead of us is locked, so we head to the right. We follow the path around, looking in the doors we pass. The second door leads us up to the next floor.
I guess it's a good thing this is a museum... there's a sign here that's talking about switches, but we just take the first right and head up to the fifth floor with no problems. We'll be at the top pretty quickly like this!
As we walk on the fifth floor, Lynn notices a secret passage on our right, which we take. It leads us around to the next set of stairs. This must have been hard to get through when we were going to fight Dhaos...
The sixth floor has two doors, and we head through the one on the right first. There's nothing in this room, so we exit and head to the left. Arche's falling behind a little... Hey, is it just me, or does she look pale...? "Arche, are you okay?"
"Huh? Yeah, I'm fine!" she answers with a small sniffle. She's not getting sick, is she...?
"Let's take a left here," Mint suggests at the fork in the road. We follow this path around, and ahead we see more stairs up.
The next floor has stairs right away, leading us up and around in the opposite direction. We climb up, only to find more stairs... and more... This seems to be a maze, except with only one path... We keep marching up the stairs and along long paths that lead to even more stairs. When's the end of this thing...?
Ah, here it is! It spits us out in a large, white room with many columns. Standing in the middle of it are Klarth and Curt, and I notice Shadow disappear into one of Klarth's rings. No...! He has nine of them now! ...That must be a lot of talking in his mind...
"Acid Rain!" Mint yells as she holds up her staff. Dark rain hails over our enemies, not hurting them, but... well, I guess it does something to them...
"Welcome," Klarth says. "We only have one more left..."
"I won't let you get Aska!" I yell as I pull an arrow out of my quiver and notch it on my bow. The others prepare for the fight as well.
"What can you do about it?" the summoner asks. "You're powerless... you can't do anything to stop us."
"Klarth..." I remember what the person in the tree said. People will die... "Three of us are going to die if you continue doing this! Are you all right with that?!"
"I know," he answers calmly. "And I know who they are, too."
"Let me guess: me, Cless, and Arche."
Arche lets out a small gasp from behind me.
"Good job, you got two out of three right." What?! Only two out of three?! I know I'm one... so which one of them is it not?! And who is it that's going to die instead...?! Not Suzu, which means it must be... Mint and Cless...!
"Hey, don't play games with them. We have to hurry and find Aska!" Curt comments impatiently as he twirls his large hammer.
Someone coughs lightly behind me.
"While we're here, we should take Cless, Mint, and Arche with us, don't you think?" Klarth asks his companion. Wait, Cless, Mint, and Arche?! But they hadn't shown much interest in taking Arche before...!
"Fine. Then let's hurry!" Curt lifts up his hammer and electricity charges through it, shooting at us.
"Barrier!" Mint yells as she steps in front of us, guarding us from the volt. Klarth is charging up a summon, and Curt steps in front of him.
"Flare Blitz!" Suzu yells as she throws three fiery shurikens at Curt. The shurikens hit, but he doesn't even wince from the attack. I shoot an arrow at him as Suzu charges in. This guy has amazing stamina! He acts like the arrows lodged in his skin are small thorns and the cuts from Suzu's blade only paper cuts...
"I summon thee... Come, Shadow!" Klarth yells and the room suddenly gets darker. I can't see anything! Ow—it feels like the darkness is bashing me from all over! The area grows light again as I stagger backwards.
"Nurse!" Mint yells and I see the small angels come to heal us. Feeling refreshed, I pull out another arrow.
"Gale Shot!" Multiple arrows shoot at Curt, hitting the giant. He only smirks and swings down at Suzu, who jumps back just in time—the hammer smashes through the ground, sending rocks flying through the air. Two can play at that game! I run forward and jump in the air, aiming an arrow down at the ground. "Sonic Bash!" I release and the arrow charges at the ground; upon contact, rocks explode around Curt, some hitting the summoner behind him.
"Tempest!" Arche's spell explodes into three tornados, slashing violently at our enemies. Klarth holds his head as if it's hurting...
"C-Curt... let's retreat..." he mutters. Curt scowls, but he initiates the teleportation spell and they disappear in a blue light. We still have to stop them before they reach Aska...!
There's a spot of darkness hanging in the middle of the room. We all walk over to it, and the darkness separates and goes into us.
What's this new skill? This feels even newer than the others... Piercing Line...
"Dhaos! You can't get away this time!" Cless yells—we're in a room with a transparent floor, showing outer space and the two moons... Now all six of us are together, standing across from a tall man... He has long, curly blonde hair and sapphire eyes with a red head band. His face is pale and slender, covered on the outside by a black cloth that also covers his neck. His tight shirt is that black material covered in strange, smooth yellow lines that curve in an odd pattern. It continues all the way down to his shoes, covering his feet. He wears a large, flowy red cloak—or is it a cape?—over all of his clothes with the same odd pattern. Under that is another, thicker cloak, this one black with the yellow patterns. The black cloak ends in many yellow strands around his feet. On his wrists are large silver bracelets, and his bare fingers are even more pale than his face. So this man is Dhaos...
Dhaos laughs. "I must admit, I'm impressed that you made it this far. I'll honor you by referring to you as 'Heroes of Legend' from now on," the man says sarcastically.
"Shut your trap!" I combat. "I'm going to make you regret everything you've done!"
"Wait!"
"Mint, stay back!" Klarth tries to stop the healer, but she steps forward anyway.
"What? Isn't it a little late to be begging for your life?" questions our enemy.
"I want to ask you something," the woman says calmly. "You said you had no reason to fight us, before. Can you explain what you meant?"
Dhaos pauses, startled by this question. "...None of you had anything to do with the development of magitech."
"What's wrong with magitech?"
"Magitech drains the power of mana! I must slaughter all humans who use magitech."
"Why?!" demands the Swordsman of Space-Time. "Why would you go so far as to destroy the world just to do that?!"
"What, do you want to protect the environment or something?" Klarth asks seriously, though I detect a small hint of sarcasm in his voice.
The man laughs more. "Hahaha... You think I'm trying to protect the environment? Do I look like a tree-hugger to you? I need the power of mana for my own purposes, and that's all there is to it!"
"So you want to use the power of mana to conquer the world?!" I demand.
"Hahaha, I could hardly care less about who rules this planet. I'm here on a mission to bring back the Mana Seed! And you won't stop me!"
Mana Seed... that disappeared after we stopped Dhaos, didn't it?! But why... I don't understand...
"Mana Seed?" I ask in the memory.
"I don't care... what your mission is. You treat people like insects, and you'll pay the price for your cruelty!" Cless yells as he draws his sword.
"Say what you will! I hope you're ready!" Dhaos charges in to attack us and the scene fades out...
When it returns, it seems to be after the fight... Dhaos is laying on the ground, and all of us are standing in front of him in a line, Mint in the back. "Is he finally gone?" Cress asks.
Dhaos begins laughing and we jump back in surprise. "I said you wouldn't stop me! For my people, who have been waiting for my return so long... You'll never stop me!" Dhaos holds his hands up and the room disappears—we're floating in space?!
"The floor?!"
"Bwahahahahahahaaa! This'll be more fun without obstacles! Time to unleash all my power on you! Derris-Kharlan, my mother world! Release my power!"
Derris-Kharlan... so he must be an angel like Kratos and the others... As Dhaos begins transforming into something, the scene fades again. When it returns, we seem to have wounded Dhaos again...
"How do you like that?!"
"Grrr... No! I won't give up!" the stubborn man yells. "I can't give up! Not until... I have the Mana Seed! Oh, my gods! Gods of Derris-Kharlan... my mother world! Give me power! Give me power!" A light flashes around him and his clothes change to a pure white outfit. On his back are a pair of slender green wings of light...
"What the?!"
"Look out! There's something strange going on..." Klarth warns us, and Dhaos unleashes some of his power. I can feel it... I can feel it flowing through my body...! Raw energy...
"How is he doing that?!" I demand.
"Where does he get all of that magical energy?!" asks Arche.
"I beg of you... The prayers of my people... I... I can still fight!"
The scene fades yet again, and when it comes back, Dhaos is laying on his back. Cless walks up to him. "Is it really over this time...?"
Dhaos stirs a little and Cless shuffles back, holding his sword up in defense. "It's not over yet!" the swordsman exclaims.
"Wait, there's something strange going on with him!" Mint says as she rests a gentle hand on Cless' arm.
"Grr... I... I am close to death..." murmurs the evil man. "Nothing can stop that now... Before I die... Please listen... What was this fight... about in the first place?"
"Wha'?!"
The surrounding area fades yet again and I return to the white room, to the present time... Dhaos was from Derris-Kharlan... I don't fully understand. What was he trying to accomplish? What did he need the Mana Seed for?
"Arche-chan!" Mint yells and my attention snaps over to the witch, who's coughing violently.
"I-I'm fine..." she claims, but her coughs show her lie. I rush over to her and put my hand on her forehead. It's hot...!
"Arche, you're sick! We need to get you in bed!"
"I..."
"Suzu, can you warp us out of here?" I ask the ninja.
"...Very well. Shadow Storm!" We're soon back in Arlee, and I grab Arche's hand and drag her off to the inn. Inside, I immediately ask for a room for her and usher her in once the man behind the counter hands me the keys. The rest of the girls and Noishe follow behind me as I lead the witch over to a bed.
"Okay, okay! You're hurting me!" the girl complains before coughing again. I let her go and she takes her hair down so it's flowing around her body. She lies down in the bed and pulls the covers over herself. Mint walks over to the bed and begins concentrating on a spell.
"I'll take care of Arche... you should go see Mel and Dio."
"But—"
"Don't worry, we'll be fine," Mint assures me. "Go see what they wanted."
Fine... I start to reluctantly leave the inn with Suzu, but something catches my eye. Klarth's hat... it's still attached to the pack. He hasn't said anything about losing it this whole time... and he has hat hair. I walk over to Noishe and take the hat off of the pack for the first time since Klarth lost it. With it in my hands, I follow Suzu to the clothing shop. Inside, Mel and Dio are waiting for us, clothes in their hands.
"Chester-san, Suzu-san! Welcome back! Here you go!" Dio holds the clothes he made up to me, and Mel hands hers to Suzu.
"Hurry up and change."
I notice someone hiding behind the counter... Rhea?! What's she doing here?! "Rhea!"
She stares up at me. "Eh heh heh... Hi guys! How are you doing?"
"How'd you get here?!"
"I came to visit my friends, Mel and Dio," Rhea explains. "Eh? Where's Arche-chan?"
"She's sick in the inn... I'm sure she'd like it if you paid a visit."
"I'll go do that, then," Rhea answers as she starts to head out. I hold a hand out in front of her to halt her.
"Wait. I have something to ask you first..." I take a deep breath. I need to get this out... "Are you really Rhea?"
"Ah! You know?!" Dio jumps forward, his face full of astonishment.
"Now they know because you told them, Dio," Mel scolds her brother.
Rhea smiles sadly at me. "I'm... sorry... Rhea was almost dead when I met her... there was nothing I could do for her... But when I'm done helping you, I'll give Arche-chan a proper goodbye in Rhea's place..."
"Who are you?"
"My name is Norn. I am a goddess of Derris-Kharlan."
Derris-Kharlan?! Norn?!
"Please get changed... this is an important trial you must overcome if you want to save the lives of your friends," Norn says. "If you'll excuse me, I need to visit Rhea's friend..." She brushes past my arm and walks out the door, letting the cold air in. A trial... I take the clothes Dio's handing me, and Suzu takes her clothes. The siblings lead us to the back and show each of us where we can change.
I don't understand... what are these clothes supposed to do? I hold them up—they look exactly like the clothes Dio's wearing, only larger, to fit me... Well, I guess I might as well see what this is about... I change into the clothes. Just as I'm about to leave the room, I notice Klarth's hat... Klarth, the traitor... I'll leave it here for now.
Suzu and I walk out of our changing rooms at about the same time. She's dressed up like Mel, with the head band and everything. I don't feel any different... We walk out into the main room of the clothing shop.
"Hey, Dio, I don't understand what this is about..."
"Why don't you take a walk around the town?" suggests Mel.
"Yeah, there's a lot to see if you open your eyes!" agrees her brother. Keh, that's not a real answer... Suzu and I exchange confused glances and, with a shrug, we head out into the snow.
I don't understand what we're supposed to be looking for, though... and why we had to change into these clothes...
Hey, the man standing there... it's Dr. Lester! I stop Suzu and point.
"Father!" a familiar voice screams and Klarth runs over to the older man, not even noticing us.
"Ah, Klarth... Have you come to talk about research?"
"On that again?!" Klarth's voice shakes with rage. "Research... that's all you ever do! What about your family?! What about the people important to you?! Are we nothing?!"
"You're a Hero of Space-Time, aren't you?" Dr. Lester points out calmly.
"You're the worst father ever... You can't even cherish the people around you..." Klarth's grip tightens on his book and he swings it at the man. Dr. Lester pulls out a dagger and stabs the book, then swings at Klarth.
"Wait! Don't fight—" As I yell, the snow vanishes and I see a small room in the castle... Klarth and Milard are sitting here, Klarth staring at his notes...
"Milard," the researcher suddenly says. "Do you think I'm... too caught up in my research?"
"What do you mean?"
"I... don't want to be like my father. He's so caught up in his research that he doesn't have time for anyone... I hate that man, but... I'm worried that I'll become like him..."
Milard grabs Klarth's hand and caresses it. "You're not like that, Klarth... you care about the people around you. You love your friends... You know how I know that? Every day you come back here and tell me about your experience with your students, a bright gleam in your eyes. You care about them, don't you?"
"Yes..."
The scene fades back to the city of Arlee, where the two men are still fighting. What was that...? Mine and Suzu's shadows come up out of the ground, making black forms of both of us. What the...?!
"Love and hate... they're a lot alike," my shadow notes. "They're both strong feelings... One cannot love without hating, or hate without loving. But what are those without parents supposed to emulate?" The men fade into the snow. What's going on...? Is this the work of these clothes...?
"Chester, over there!" Suzu points, and I follow her finger to find Meryl Adnade standing outside of the inn. We run over to her, but she acts as if she doesn't see us...
"Mint... please be safe on your journey..." the woman whispers as she holds her hands up as if to pray. "I wish I could talk to you, that you could know who I am..."
"Why does she hide from her own daughter?" questions Suzu's shadow. "Is she that ashamed? If people can't admit to their own faults, they shouldn't slow others down."
Meryl also disappears and we silently walk into the inn. In the lobby, we see Cless and Mint... Wait, Cless is awake?! But how...?!
"Mint, it's okay... we'll find a way through this, I promise. Just try your best, and I will, too..." Cless pulls the healer into a hug.
"I know, Cless... I'll try, for Arche-chan and everyone else..." Cless lets go. "I will do my best to heal everyone."
"Keh. She's needed by many people, but how can she understand them? She doesn't even know what it's like to be unloved..." my shadow points out. This is strange... our shadows...
We journey further into the inn, where Arche rests with Rhea by her bedside. Well, Rhea's body... but Norn's spirit.
"Where's Chester?" Arche asks her friend.
"He's taking a walk around town."
"With Lynn?"
"No."
"Good... I hate Lynn," the sick girl mutters as she stares at the wall.
"Why? She's a nice girl..."
"You don't understand... Chester would rather it if I'm not around. He just wants to be with her... You don't know what it's like to be rejected, Rhea!"
Arche... does she... Why do I feel so nervous...?
"Do you love him?"
"What does it matter? He's happy with Lynn... I'm not wanted."
"The sorrow in her heart is great," Suzu's shadow speaks up. "Rejection is painful, so it'd be better not to get attached to anyone." Is that true...?
"Arche..." Rhea mutters, and they fade out. Suzu and I leave the inn unnoticed. We're back out in the snow now... Cless and Klarth are out here.
"Klarth-san... how can I face Chester? It's because of me that he lost his memory..."
"He's your best friend, isn't he? You can't do anything about the past, but you can keep helping him in the future. I've... hurt him greatly as well... and all the others."
"What can we do if we only hurt our friends...?"
"What's the point of living if you only hurt those around you?" my shadow speaks up. "They understand that they've hurt their friends, but they can't figure out what to do about it. How can anyone atone for such a sin?" They fade in to the dark snow. What Klarth was saying...? He regrets... hurting me? Then what is he up to...?
I glance around the dark city and notice Auoun heading into the bar. I tug Suzu's sleeve and we follow him. He sits down and orders a beer.
"I've been left behind again..." mutters the young man. "It's always the same—I come with friends—the person who's supposed to be my best friend, in fact—but then they leave me behind... am I really that insignificant to them? Don't they notice me...?"
"What's the point of friends if they don't even care about you?" Suzu's shadow questions. "Is there really such a thing as a true friend, one who will never leave you out? Or do they all only need you while you're convenient?" A true friend...
Auoun fades out and I notice Lynn sitting at another table. Lynn...
"I don't want to be alone any longer... I know I have Auoun, Curt, and Kal, but... it'll never be the same as it once was. We lost that long ago... Sometimes I must wonder—what's worse, to die or to be alone? I think being alone... I've always been alone—no one could ever fully understand me... But I won't be alone anymore... right, Chester...?"
"Loneliness is hard, especially when you look at a past of happiness," my shadow comments. "Maybe it'd be better not to remember, to separate from people before it's too late." To not remember... but I want to remember my past...
Lynn fades out and we walk back out into the snow, where I see Fenrir and Norn standing in an alleyway. Suzu and I walk over to them, our shadows trailing behind us like people.
"Just what are you up to?" Fenrir demands. "What are you doing to them?! If you hurt Chester..."
"What about you? Just what are you scheming? I didn't think you'd bother taking interest in a human boy like Chester," Norn combats. Wha?!
"Me?! You're blaming me for scheming?! You're the selfish one who's trying to use him and Suzu for your own purposes!"
"No... I'm simply bringing out their strengths."
Fenrir throws her head back and laughs—an eerie laugh coming from a wolf. "You have, have you? Sorry, but I've already been handling that. I've been helping them get back their powers! Don't you dare do anything to Chester...!"
"They both show concern," Suzu's shadow comments, "but what is it they really want? Are they just using others for their own purposes?"
"Drown it out," whispers the real Suzu. "This is the evil in our hearts... This is the doubts and fears that we've been feeling, our mistrusting sides. Drown it out!"
The evil in our hearts? That's what we have to face...? But why? Why us...?
I know why. "Look inside your heart for the answers. Don't you still trust your friends...?" That's a good question... who do I trust...? I close my eyes and try to look inside for the answer.
I trust Lynn and Suzu and Arche... Mint and Cless... Ami... and...
I trust Klarth. I... I've been doubting all of my friends this whole time, marking everything they do as 'evil'... but was that really my own evil labeling them? The shadows are saying something, but I can't hear them... I won't listen anymore! My friends... "You must be wary of Fenrir, or she'll tear you away from your friends... Treasure your friends—you still have them..."
"Suzu!" My bow forms from light in my hands, an arrow already notched. "We can still save our friends, right? Are you with me?!" I aim the arrow at my dark side.
"...Yeah!" Suzu's dagger appears in her right hand, and she prepares to fight. Our shadows mimic us, aiming their own weapons at us. I won't lose...
"Giga!"
"Hell Rush!"
We each attack our shadows, who fight back. A black arrow hits my shoulder and I stumble back, but I pull out another arrow and keep going. I can't lose!
"Gale Shot!"
"Flare Blitz!"
A few arrows lodge into my legs and I fall to my knees. Another arrow forms in my bow as I draw the string back. I can't scum to the evil inside myself any longer!
"Piercing Line!" I release and the arrow shots clean through my shadow; it disintegrates.
"Omega Storm!" Suzu cuts widely, destroying her own shadow. We both stand there, breathing hard, and wounded from our fight. Is it over...?
"Good job," a voice congratulates from behind us; I turn around to find Norn standing there. "Good and evil are two parts of the same, and you cannot live without both," she speaks up. In front of her, I see our shadows forming again. No...! "You must accept the evil in your hearts and learn to deal with it—if you don't, you will forever scum to it. Tell me, do you now know who you can trust?"
"...Yeah! I trust my friends... I'm going to find out the true reason Klarth turned against us!"
"...Same," agrees the ninja. "Maybe... maybe learning to trust people, and deal with people instead of shoving them away... maybe that's what it takes to become an adult..."
"We can't keep going like this... How are we to tell who's immoral? What do we know? I can't justify everything by blaming others... I have to rise above that."
Norn smiles. "I see you really do understand... I'll give you a present, then. Would you like to talk to Klarth?"
Eh?! "Yes!" we both shout out. Norn holds up a painting of the castle, and we seem to enter it...
We're definitely inside the castle now. Everything's dark and it's all made of stone... I glance around, looking for the teacher. All that we saw minutes ago was probably an illusion... but I'm about to be able to talk to the real Klarth now, right...?
Suzu grabs my arm and pulls back; I follow her behind a set of statues as the sound of footsteps hit my ears.
"You know, they really could learn to sing..." Huh? That sounds like Klarth... what on Aselia is he talking about?!
"Look, let's just both agree that summon spirits can't sing, and don't you dare try that again! I think I've already made my warning clear." The two people come into view: Klarth and Auoun. They're friends, aren't they? But they're not talking like friends...
"Aww, come on, you should see yourself as privileged!"
"Drop it now, Klarth!"
"Fine, fine... You're no fun, Odin..." Wait, Odin?! Klarth stops walking, but continues talking; "I still don't understand why you're still using me. Why not send all those knights you have? I've lost my worth against them, and you always complain about how 'annoying' you claim I am."
"You're right, we have to change this... maybe it's time they know the truth," Auoun—no, Odin?—says as he stops and turns to face Klarth.
"N... no!" the summoner exclaims, fear on his face. "Don't you dare...!"
"What? Aren't you the one who's been trying to tell them the truth this whole time?"
"I want them to find out on my terms, not yours!"
"It doesn't matter whose terms it's on; the results will be the same. Anyway, I'm going to see Thor... I suggest you don't try anything... stupid."
"What can I try? You have all of my summons." Klarth stands there as Odin starts to walk away. "Oh, and Odin? You still owe me my hat." Odin ignores him and leaves the hall. Klarth stares down at the floor. "You're wrong, Odin... It does matter. If only I could talk to them..."
I take this moment to step out into the light, Suzu right behind me. Klarth stares at us as if we're ghosts. "C-Chester! Suzu!"
"H-hey..." I wave. This is awkward... I don't know what to say...
"Sensei... what's going on?"
"I was about to ask you that. What are you doing here? And what's with those clothes? And... you're not trying to attack me...?"
"W-we were just in a trial and..." Something seems different... he's not trying to fight us. In fact, he sounds more like his old self, before he turned traitor on us...
Klarth holds a hand up to stop me. "It's too dangerous to talk out here; follow me, quickly and quietly." He quickly starts walking away, and we follow him. He enters the second room on the right and allows us to enter; he closes and locks the door behind him, leaving us in complete darkness until he flips the light switch. This room looks to be a storage room... The summoner lets out a sigh before turning around, leaning on the door with a grin on his face. "You're lucky, Chester... You're traveling with a party full of beautiful young women..."
"You sound like a perverted old man," Suzu comments; that breaks my tension and I laugh.
"...I was about to say 'instead of a complete idiot and a coward that I can't get rid of.'"
"You only travel with Curt, though..." I point out.
"No I don't. Odin—I mean, Auoun—is also around."
"Huh? I don't understand, but... Klarth, I trust you, so please tell us what's going on... Why are you attacking us if..." ...if you care about us...
"I see... so you trust me now. Thank you..." the man mumbles. He closes his eyes a minute, thinking. He opens them again; "Sit down." We do so. "What I'm going to tell you will probably be hard to believe... but it's the truth. I'm... not the one who's been attacking you. Odin is."
"But the summons...! And your hat...!"
"Yes, it's been my body... I've had to watch inside my own head as Odin fought you. The spirits couldn't talk, or they would've warned you when being summoned..."
"Sensei, why didn't you tell us sooner? Like after Treantwood..." Suzu questions.
"I honestly had no clue about what happened in Treantwood... Odin made sure I wouldn't remember it; I guess you could say that I was asleep at the time. He took the Diamond Ring so that Origin couldn't tell me, either..."
"So this whole time, you've been on our side...?" Now I feel kinda bad about shooting him...
"Yes, though I wish I could've told you... I tried to tell you in the Tower of the Zodiac, when I regained control for a minute. My summon spirits and I have also tried to distract Odin for you on multiple occasions," he explains with a twinkle in his eye.
"Is that what the singing was about...?"
"That was from a while ago, back in the cave at Lone Valley. We did some karaoke and gave Odin a headache."
I can't help but grin. "That bad?"
"All except Sylph were. Well, I couldn't hear Origin because he didn't want to sing, but... Anyway, while you're here, we should make a plan for what to do now. There's only one more summon..."
"Aska. Do you know where he is?" I ask the summoner.
"Aska travels... he likes flying around. Getting to him won't be easy... He's carrying your powers with him. Once I get him as a summon, he'll leave your powers wherever we are at the time... but you need to find him before then."
"Arche..." I mutter. "Arche could find him, but... she's sick..."
"We're not leaving until tomorrow anyway. Though we're setting out pretty early..." Klarth thinks. "Chester, Suzu, it'd be best if you searched for Aska tonight. Search where it's brightest... After that, I need you to do me a favor."
"What is it?"
"Free Milard and Ami from Fenrir's grasp."
What...? "But Fenrir's helping us! She's good!"
"No she isn't. She's tricking you, Chester... she's a goddess of trickery and deception. She put herself where she is now so she could control us using Milard and Ami. If you don't free them, I can't fight back..."
Fenrir's... tricked me...? Is he sure? What should I believe...?
...I trust Klarth. I believe him! "...All right..."
"We don't have much of a chance against a goddess," the ninja points out. "We'll need to get her away somehow..."
"Leave that to me," I say. "I don't know what she wants with my power yet... but I bet I'll be able to meet up with her. I can distract her while you and the others go to rescue Ami and Milard."
"It's too dangerous. If you're alone, Fenrir could easily kill you," argues the summoner. "Fenrir wants to kill you... I don't know why, but you've caught her attention."
That's right...! "Klarth, do you know who the other people they want to kill are?!"
"Yeah. Arche and me."
"You?! But why you?!"
"Well, it's..."
"Chester..." Suzu speaks up. "You're starting to disappear!"
I stare at the ninja, whose arms are see-through now. "You are, too!"
"You must not have much time left here. Let me finish, then. Once you get Aska, head to the city of Thor—it's north of Venezia. Use the space-time machine there to travel to Derris-Kharlan, at the Giant Kharlan Tree in the present time. That's where Martel is... we'll have the final showdown there! I'll be waiting to know if Milard's safe."
"All right. Just wait a little longer, Klarth..." I say.
"One more thing! If we have to fight again... don't hesitate to attack me."
"W-we can't do that! We can't just attack you after this..."
"That's exactly what Odin thinks... but you have to. I don't want to hurt any of you any more... so don't let me summon anything, all right?"
"Sensei... I understand."
"Well I don't! You don't want to hurt us, but you're asking us to hurt you?!"
"It's time we turned the tide around on them, right?" Klarth points out with a mischievous grin. "I'd love to see Odin's face when you attack me after knowing the truth... See you later, Chester, Suzu!" As he says that, the castle and Klarth both disappear. I notice him wave at us right before he vanishes. Klarth, you idiot...! You can't just ask us to attack you after that... that's not fair!
Now we're back in Arlee... "How was it?" Norn asks. "I have one more thing to show you..." She holds up a painting of a sword, and we're back in the castle. This is that room...! The one Cless attacked me in... And I see myself here, being held by knights, and Cless... this is the dream that Fenrir showed me, isn't it...?
My past self yelps in pain as electricity shoots down his body.
"No, Chester!" Cless yells. I've heard that before... "Stop! Demon Fang!" He draws his sword along the ground and creates a blast that hits one of the knights holding me.
"C-Cless... don't be an idiot..."
"This is supposed to be a knight trial...? To kill someone important to us...?! I won't let you get away with such a disgusting thing any longer!" the angry swordsman yells.
"You don't have a choice," says Curt. "Auoun!"
I didn't notice Lynn's other brother in the shadows before... He begins concentrating as mana flows around him. What's going on?! This wasn't in what Fenrir showed me...! And—ah! There's Fenrir—she's standing next to Auoun! Or... Odin...
Odin seems to fall asleep as Cless grabs his head. "W-what's... going... on...?!"
"You see, Cless Alvein, you're important to us, so we can't let you just do whatever you want," explains Curt. "Luckily for us, Auoun is capable of controlling anyone's body."
What?! Now I get it... now I understand! Cless didn't really attack me... Neither him nor Klarth ever did, but they both blame themselves... That's why Cless never denied it when I yelled at him and chastised him for attacking me... Cless... He's probably the best person in the world, and yet...
The scene now looks exactly like Fenrir showed me, with Cless attacking and me running around. She left out that part... she left out that part at the beginning on purpose... She didn't want me to know the truth; instead, she led me to believe that Cless was evil and to blame him more... Now that I see it, the truth is painful, like a knife cutting through my chest. Why was I so blind before...? I'm the one... who's been hurting my friends... not Cless and Klarth...
Cless' sword charges through my stomach in the memory, while the real Suzu and I stand off to the side, watching. Cless blinks—he seems to be regaining consciousness. "C-Chester... CHESTER!" He pulls his sword out and throws it on the floor as my past self falls. Cless kneels down beside me. "No, Chester! I..."
"Heh, good morning, Cless... I'm glad you're back..."
"You need a healer, fast!" He turns to the knights. "H-help! Someone needs to get a healer! He'll die!"
"That's the point, remember?" Curt says coldly.
"No... No! He won't... He can't..."
"Hey Cless..."
"Chester, I'm sorry... this is my fault..."
"Don't be stupid... You always blame yourself... But Cless, do me a favor... protect Ami for me..."
"Wait, Chester! That's your job... you're her brother!"
The scene fades out and we're back in Arlee; Norn's no where to be seen. So that's what really happened...
"I had no idea..." Suzu mutters.
"I only saw part of it before, so I didn't realize Cless was possessed..." I sigh.
"We can't dwell on it right now. Let's hurry; we have a job to do," the sparrow says. She sounds as serious as always, but...
"Yeah! We'll save both Aselia and Derris-Kharlan, one step at a time! Let's change back into our normal clothes." We hurry to the clothing shop, where Mel and Dio are waiting.
"Welcome back. How was your trip?"
"Did you see a lot of things?"
We walk straight past them without a word and into our changing rooms. I change back into my archer outfit. I don't know why, but I feel a lot better now... I can see those dark thoughts as they rise up and push them down with good thoughts and feelings. Klarth... we finally know the truth about you... I'll free you from Odin's grasp! I put his hat on my head. I never realized how wide this brim is! So this is what Klarth sees...
I meet Suzu back out in the main area of the clothing store.
"I take it you won?" Mel inquires.
"Against our dark selves, you mean? Yeah..."
"Heh heh, we had to go through that trial, too, once!"
"Yes. Good and evil... love and hate... It's a fine line, but now I try to see everything in a good light, and I try to value everything in this world..."
"We made this clothing shop to help others who may be having difficulties like that," Dio explains. "The clothes you wore gave you a harder trial than we'd give normal people... but you needed it."
"Feel free to keep the clothes."
I grin. "Thanks... Mel, Dio. I'll be sure to come back!"
"Yes, thank you..."
"Never forget your faith in your friends," orders the boy. "Take care!"
"Bye!"
We wave back at them as we exit, the clothes they gave us in hand.
Chester gained the title of Narikiri Boy. It is a costume title given to the one who underwent Dio's trial.
Suzu gained the title of Narikiri Girl. It is a costume title given to the one who underwent Mel's trial.
Cless gained the title of Pure Heart. He is the best of men... he blames himself before others and looks at everything with a good outlook.
Klarth gained the title of Free Spirit. His body may not be free, but his mind is.
Klarth's Traitor title was thrown out.
Chester learned Piercing Line.
Arche learned Eruption.
Suzu learned Secret Thief.
Cless learned Chaos Blade.
Mint learned Silence.
Klarth can now summon Shadow.