A New Beginning

by KingRPG

What if somehow, Ludger manages to enter Rieze Maxia one year before his story takes place? Basically Ludger joins the original ToX cast in their adventures! But with Ludger entering the fray, the results will be different. Can Ludger change what will happen? Or will his appearence merely destroy what could have happened?

35. CHAPTER 35: REVELATION

A/N: Hey guys, I bring to you all the new update for this chapter! Nothing much to say now so let's get to responding to reviews! After that, I'll be off to watch the LoL world finals xD

Dimdy3019: Glad you enjoyed the chapter. And yeah, I'm aware of that but thanks for letting me know anyway

Jimbobob5536: A big smile on the previous chapter? Well I'm glad to make you happy through my writing, hehe
-Well it'd make sense for Maxwell to know, considering he's one of the Primordial spirits.
-Well Bisley/Elympios only made an appearance but won't be making much of a move just yet. Especially because the schism is still active

Gravenimage: He will, just not yet

F-ckthesystem125: A loop? What do you mean? Ludger isn't reborn in Rieze Maxia, he's still an Elympion. What Origin meant in the first chapter is that he's not the 'son' of Bisley, brother of Julius and everything. He is basically a 'new' Ludger Kresnik so while Ludger still thinks of Julius as a brother, he's not related to Julius at all in any way. So no, he doesn't have a mana lobe

Grayjack72: Well guess you'll find out what the revelation is in this chapter. But no, it's not Elle

Guest: Ah you've read both of my stories? I'm happy that you enjoyed both of them :D
-Yeah I loved alt. Milla too but she's gone in the game :( that's why I made a fan-fic that features her in both of my stories :)
-Planned schedule? I normally try to do it weekly, every Saturday. I try to anyway but I might be a little late sometimes :S

Demons Anarchy of Pride: Yup! Bisley now sees someone with the ultimate Chromatus! So yeah, from here on out, the ToX2 is not going to follow how the gmae played out. No even ToX will have some differences since Ludger already made so much difference (Cline, Jiao and Nachtigal alive, as you mentioned).
-Ah yeah, Presa is an interesting character. I admit, I felt little for her at first but after I read her full story in the website, only then did I see her character as a whole. I've already inserted some of her backstory into this story (such as her mentioning that Alvin betrayed her) and I hope I can explore more of the Chimeriad's past (looking to implement Jiao's story in as well with Elize's family).
-When in ToX2 did Alvin use that quote? I honestly can't remmeber . But I get whta you mean. Honestly Alvin is a really interesting character in the game
-Yeah Maxwell has to know about this, too much has happeend to for him to not know. And he is one of the primordial spirits along with Origin and Chronos. Now that he knows Ludger is here because he passed Origin's trial, a descendant of Milla Kresnik and the fact the schism was broken in the original timeline, there's just so much things happened when Maxwell was dead XD
-Well... Muzet isn't the easiest character to write on (for me anyway) because I'm not really sure how to write on. She likes to tease the characters and is rather flirty, so I'm struggling to try keep her in character and use words like how she would normally use :S
-Yup, you'll find out in this chapter what it is that the scouts reported to Nachtigal, Rowen & Cline. hehe

Shikyo no Kyoufu: Yeah, defintiely. I haven't played the PS1 Tales, but I've covered almost all from the PS2 and PS3. I haven't played ToV though I heard Yuri is really popular among the fans but I'm not sure about his power plotwise and gameplay wise and whether or not if he's a match to Ludger. But Ludger is definitely one of the strongest Tales characters ever, whether or not the bad ending is included.
-True, he's powerful and yet has so much bad luck xD being in debt and all

Jakezero: One of the best fanfics you have ever read? :O I... I'm touched! Thanks! I'm glad you found this story to be so appealing to you :D

Milonar: I... I'm sorry xD I basically update my story every Saturday (or at least I try to) so it's basically updated weekly :P
-Yup this chapter will show the conversation between F. Milla with Milla and Muzet with Ludger ;)
-Thanks!

Well that's it for responding to reviews! I hope you guys will enjoy this chapter and let me hear your thoughts. For now, I'm off to watch the LoL world finals :)

CHAPTER 35: REVELATION

Since Gaius gave the order to make camp and rest, Jiao took this opportunity to nurse his wounds. Wingul, Presa and Agria returned to Gaius's side after escorting Milla and her friends to their tent but Jiao was excused due to his injuries. So now, the leader of the Kitarl Clan was resting in his own private tent, tending to his wounds.

As Jiao inspected his injuries, his mind replayed to the event that transpired just a few hours ago. He still remembered how he felt when he made the resolve to stay behind and buy time for Gaius and the others to escape. But it wasn't just because of his sense of duty to his King. No, it was also to make sure Elize would be safe. However he never would have imagined Ludger to offer himself in Jiao's place. He wondered if he was the one who stayed behind at the marsh, would he have perished? And was Ludger still alive?

"Um… Jiao…?" A soft, voice spoke from the entrance of Jiao's tent.

Jiao looked up at the source of the voice and found Elize standing by the entrance of the tent, holding Teepo close to her chest.

"What is it, child? You should be resting." Jiao asked.

Elize approached Jiao and looked at the little injuries on Jiao's arm and body, "I… I just wanted to see if you're okay."

Teepo sprung himself free from Elize's hold and flew right to Jiao's face, "Elly's been worried sick about you, you know!"

"Teepo!"

Elize grabbed Teepo and pulled him back, admonishing the little doll while Jiao watched. Seeing Elize act like an innocent girl, Jiao couldn't help but feel a sense of nostalgia. This was almost the same scene when Elize was still young, probably around four or five years of age, playing with her toys while her parents and Jiao watched. Yes, that was a time when Elize still had a family… before they were brutally murdered!

Jiao realized that he was still alive because of Ludger and blurted out, "I'm only here because that man, Ludger, helped me. Is he your friend, child?"

Elize took some time to think of an answer, "I don't know… Jude and the others know him I've not been with him long enough to get to know him. Can he be considered a friend?"

"Hmm… but didn't he call out your name when you first met him in Kanbalar?" Jiao reminded. Elize remembered that. It made her wonder why this stranger knew her name. Jiao then continued, "If King Gaius is right, that Ludger is from the future, then he must be your friend then. It's why he knows your name. You shouldn't take your friends for granted child. They are… important to you."

Elize took some time to think about it but all this talk about Ludger coming from the future was rather complicated. She didn't know what she should believe.

Teepo voiced out Elize's frustrations, "All this is just way too complicated! My heart hurts…"

Jiao laughed before Elize and Teepo joined in, all three laughing together. After what happened at Fezebel Marsh, they needed this. Elize was just glad Jiao was alive and safe. If she ever saw Ludger again, which she had a feeling she would in the near future, she needed to thank him properly for saving Jiao.

Elize had another question pop up and asked, "Um… Jiao…?"

"What is it, child?"

"I… I was just wondering… if you and… um… well, Jude…" Elize was struggling to say but she couldn't finish her sentence.

Jiao looked confused and Teepo decided to blurt out what Elize wanted to say, "Elly wants to know if you and Jude are going to be friends now!"

"Teepo!"

Elize grabbed Teepo and covered its mouth. She turned to look at Jiao and saw the large man had his arms crossed on his chest, deep in thought. After a short moment, Jiao finally spoke.

"It's true that we have agreed to work together with Maxwell and her friends but I cannot say for sure that we are now friends." Jiao stated plainly. Elize deflated when she heard that and Jiao quickly added in, "But so long as his highness and Maxwell have a common enemy, we won't be fighting each other. And I think that's what you want most. Isn't that right, child?"

Elize nodded with a smile. She was glad that at least for the time being, Jiao and Jude weren't enemies.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"What… did you say?"

"I said, you're a human." Fractured Milla repeated clearly, "You're not the Lord of Spirits. No, you're not a Great Spirit or even a spirit at all. You're a regular human like the rest of us."

Milla was at a loss for words. Normally she would rebuff anyone who would accuse her of not being Maxwell but hearing this from her 'other' self, a version of her from a different dimension tell her that she wasn't the Lord of Spirits, she had to believe her. And despite that, she still tried to deny it.

"This… this can't be right." Milla said whilst shaking her head, "You must be mistaken. I… I'm Milla Maxwell, the Lord of Spirits." However when Milla saw the look in fractured Milla's eyes, she knew that fractured Milla was telling the truth.

To deal the killing blow, Sylph supported fractured Milla's story, "Lord Max – I mean… Milla, what she's saying is true. We've been lying to you all this time. Our mission… was to make you think you're Maxwell but the truth is, you're just a human. You're a human named Milla that just holds the name Maxwell."

"The real Maxwell ordered us to be by your side so and develop you into believing you are Maxwell itself." Efreet explained further, "But most importantly… our mission was to make sure you accomplished what Maxwell wanted you to do. What you were… made to do."

"What… I was… made to do…?" Milla muttered.

Fractured Milla took over again, "That's right. Efreet, Sylph, Gnome and Undine… the four Great Spirits were under orders from Maxwell to guide you. To make you think you're Maxwell."

"But… what was I meant to do?"

Fractured Milla shifted her posture, "Think about it, Milla. What was your mission? What did you need to do ever since you knew you were Maxwell?"

Milla started thinking back to when she was a child. When she finally accepted her role as Maxwell, what was her mission? She knew her mission was to protect both humans and spirits, but was there something more? She continued to explore through her memories, and then suddenly like a hammer falling to the floor, the answer hit her. It was when she was still a child, around six years old, when she played with two human children before she sensed the deaths of spirits: spyrix! She later destroyed the facility, which she later learned belonging to Exodus.

"Exodus… I needed to destroy Exodus… and destroy any existence of spyrix technology." Milla finally answered.

Fractured Milla nodded, "Yes. The real Maxwell was aware of a group of Elympions entering Rieze Maxia twenty years ago and when they started using spyrix, he wanted to remove them. However, Maxwell didn't want to endanger himself. After all, he was the one that created the schism and Exodus would be aiming to eliminate him because that would mean removing the schism. So Maxwell was in a dilemma. He couldn't expose himself to danger but he still need to get rid of Exodus. That's when he came up with… a plan."

Milla's eyes widened in realization, "…Me?"

Once more, fractured Milla nodded, "Yes. He created you from the elements but not as a spirit, but as a human baby. From the moment you – no, from the moment we were 'born' into this world, we were just bait for Exodus while Maxwell was safe in the spirit realm."

Efreet could sense fractured Milla's disdain from her tone and continued, "Maxwell then ordered four of us Great Spirits to take care of you in Maxwell's shrine outside Nia Khera. We also revealed ourselves to the villagers and informed them that Maxwell had taken physical form. That's why they worship you as Maxwell."

"Since you were created by Maxwell, you can still sense spirits even though you're a human." Sylph explained, "But while you were still too young, we normally left you at the shrine while us four Great Spirits went and attacked Exodus. That was a real bother to us. Once you were old enough, we travelled together."

Fractured Milla felt this was enough for Milla, "And that's the whole truth Milla. You and I… we're not a spirit but a human created by Maxwell to act as a decoy for Exodus. That's what we were made to do after all."

Milla's mind was blank. Her whole life, she always thought she was Maxwell, the Lord of Spirits. But now she learned it was all just a lie. She was a regular human, a being that was being used by the real Maxwell as a decoy to Exodus. And even if she didn't believe fractured Milla's story, the fact that the Great Spirit confirmed that it was the truth meant that it was all true. But it wasn't like she didn't believe fractured Milla. She could tell fractured Milla told the truth. They were the same person after all.

While Milla was still too shaken up by the truth to speak, Efreet and Sylph had a question they wanted an answer to regarding fractured Milla.

"There's something we'd like you to tell us, other Milla." Efreet said to fractured Milla.

Fractured Milla's eye twitched, "Call me 'other Milla' again and I'll give you a good beating to make sure you don't make that mistake again."

Sylph laughed, "You hear that, Efreet? She's gonna teach you a lesson!" Sylph looked at fractured Milla with admiration, "Gotta admit, you look like our Milla but the two of you are definitely different."

"I can say the same for you two." Fractured Milla retorted, "The Efreet and Sylph that I know are totally different. As a matter of fact, the 'Efreet' I knew is easy-going like you Sylph. And the 'Sylph' that I knew is always serious like Efreet here. It's like you guys switched personalities."

Efreet and Sylph looked at one another, imagining the other with their own personality. Efreet thought nothing of it but a cold shiver ran down Sylph's spine when he imagined Efreet speaking like him and speaking casually. Nope, Sylph did not want to imagine Efreet acting that way.

"So anyway, what did you want to ask me?" Fractured Milla reminded the two Great Spirits.

"We wanted to know… what happened in your world." Efreet asked.

Sylph added, "You told Milla at Orda Palace that you've been a human for a very long time. And you know us in your own dimension, so that means you were once Maxwell too. We just wanted to know… like, well… what happened to us in your world?"

Fractured Milla thought for a short while before she answered, "In my dimension, me and the Great Spirits destroyed Exodus. After their destruction, the Great Spirits told me the truth… just like what I just did with Milla. Then, they returned to Maxwell and I returned to the village as a… normal human."

Efreet wanted to ask more questions but Sylph stopped him. Sylph already sensed by fractured Milla's quick explanation that the event was still a sensitive issue. While fractured Milla may have moved on, it was best to not reopen old wounds. So Sylph and Efreet ended their questioning there.

Milla finally recovered somewhat, although she was still visible shaken by fractured Milla's revelation earlier. She still had to confirm and asked fractured Milla, "So… I really am… a human?"

"Yep. You and I… we're not spirits at all. We're just regular humans, just like Jude, Ludger, Alvin, Leia and Elize. That's all we are."

"And… you're fine with that?" Milla asked.

Fractured Milla shrugged, "There's nothing we can really do about it. We are who we are and there's no changing that."

"How… how did you adapt?" Milla asked again, "You couldn't have… accepted it so easily when you found out about this…"

Efreet saw fractured Milla's eyes grow dark but it returned to normal under a split-second. It was like he imagined it.

"It was hard at first but I slowly recovered." Fractured Milla said, going through her memories, "After the four Great Spirits left me, I… told the villagers everything. About Maxwell, Exodus, spyrix and my role in it all. It took a while for the villagers to swallow it all but after a few days, everything was fine. Some of them still even continued to worship me, saying that I was a direct servant to Maxwell. And those that didn't, they still respected and saw me as a fellow human. And being a human wasn't that bad. I picked up the hobby of cooking and the villagers were more than happy to try out my cooking."

Fractured Milla remembered how all the villagers gave her tips about cooking. From ingredients, recipes and style of cooking, she learned a lot from them. Later on, she would continue to hone her skills in cooking and it wasn't long before she became the best cook in the village. Everyone loved her cooking… except her sister, Muzet.

Fractured Milla was careful to not mention of her sister, mainly because the group in this timeline have not yet met her.

"So… the villagers helped you to… move on." Milla concluded.

Fractured Milla gave a nod, "They were a big help and cooking helped take my mind off of things. So don't worry. You have Jude, Leia and your friends to help you with this. Even the Great Spirits. Unlike the Great Spirits from my dimension, I can see Efreet and Sylph in this world have grown attached to you. I guess they have known you for a much longer time than mine did."

Efreet remained nonchalant by fractured Milla's comments although Sylph was trying to hide a blush. But fractured Milla was right. After watching over Milla for twenty years, they had grown attached to her and felt guilty for deceiving her after all this time. They felt a huge burden had lifted from their shoulders now that they finally told her the truth.

Fractured Milla again shifted her posture, "Milla, listen… I know it's hard to take in, so why don't we just rest for now. Get some sleep. I'm sure you're tired and thinking about this isn't good for you."

"I agree with her, Lord – I mean, Milla." Efreet felt he was going to need to get used to not calling Milla 'Lord Maxwell' anymore.

Milla accepted the suggestion and moved to lay down on one of the sleeping pads in their tent. She was mentally drained from the conversation with fractured Milla and needed to recover. Both Efreet and Sylph glanced one last time at fractured Milla before they dispelled their physical form, returning to Milla. And in just a matter of seconds, Milla was asleep.

Fractured Milla decided she should rest too. Soon enough, they would have to continue marching on towards Kanbalar through the harsh, cold environment of the Tulea Tundra. Everyone would need the rest before that.

As fractured Milla lay down on her sleeping pad, she replayed the whole conversation between her and Milla. She just wanted to make sure what she told Milla was everything and she didn't miss out on anything. And as she continued to recall what happened, her mind suddenly recall one, tiny little detail about the Milla she knew in the original timeline. The Milla that she never met.

Fractured Milla bolted up in realization, "Wait… in the original timeline, wasn't Milla… really a spirit? Jude and the others… they mentioned that she did something a year ago that made her turn into a spirit…" Fractured Milla turned to look at the sleeping Milla, "She's still a human but… what happened that she became a spirit later on? I… I'll need to ask Ludger. Maybe he knows something."

With that in mind, fractured Milla lay down again on the sleeping pad and closed her eyes. But she could not sleep. Not when she had no answers to this matter. Hopefully, Ludger knew something about this. After all, she never met Milla in the original timeline so maybe Ludger might have found out something about how Milla in the original timeline became the Lord of Spirits.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

A distance away from Fennmont in the Bernauer Highroad, King Nachtigal, Rowen and four Rashugal soldiers that specialized in scouting and recon continued towards their destination. Originally, the plan was only to have Nachtigal and the recon unit to investigate the matter but Rowen insisted that Nachtigal and the soldiers would require his help. Nachtigal at first refused but after Cline insisted that Rowen would prove vital in the success of this mission, the King relented.

"Our scouts reported that it should be around here." One of the Rashugal scouts said to Nachtigal and Rowen.

Rowen thanked the soldier, "Very good. Then it is best that we move discreetly from here on out."

"Discreetly?" Nachtigal remarked, disagreeing with Rowen's suggestion, "Ilbert, have you forgotten what those monsters did to our soldiers? We just need to find them and destroy them! They're vulnerable!"

"Nachtigal, I can understand your anger but you must not forget what they have done. They possess advanced weapons that slaughtered our comrades." Rowen reminded as he tried to reason with his friend, "And also, there are only six of us here. Our small number is meant for scouting purposes, nothing more. What we need to do when we find their ship is to obtain information. After that, we retreat."

Nachtigal growled in anger but he accepted Rowen's logic. They were only a scouting unit for now and he let his anger cloud his judgment. The best thing they could do now was to locate their target and gather whatever information they could about the unknown enemy.

The group moved on, pressing eastwards now in search of the Elympion ship. Rowen still remembered clearly what the Rashugal scouts reported back at Orda Palace. Basically, the scouts spotted one of the Elympion ships making a descent to land in the Bernauer Highroad. From the looks of it, the ship was damaged and needed repairs. The scouts quickly retreated back to Fennmont to report what they found before they were caught. So the whole point of Nachtigal and Rowen's recon mission was to find this Elympion ship and collect information.

The small recon unit continued searching through the Bernauer Highroad for almost an hour before they finally found what they were looking for. The Elympion ship. Rowen, Nachtigal and the other soldiers hid behind trees and rock for cover.

"That's one of the flying ships that attacked us." Rowen said, observing the structure of the ship, "Indeed, it appears to have been damaged."

Nachtigal looked around but saw no sign of any enemy soldiers, "If it's damaged, why isn't there anyone making repairs?"

Rowen started stroking his beard and closed his eyes, thinking of what their next move was. After a few seconds, he opened his eyes and gave out an order to one of the soldiers, "I want one of you to return to Fennmont and report to Lord Cline the location of the enemy ship. After that, Lord Cline will know what to do."

One of the scouts saluted Rowen and made his return trip back to Fennmont. The rest remained.

"What's our move, Ilbert?" Nachtigal asked with a grin. He already knew what Rowen's answer would be.

Ilbert drew his saber from its sheath, "We shall infiltrate the ship and find out who these… foreigners are."

With that decided, Nachtigal, Rowen and the three Rashugal scouts moved towards the Elympion ship.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Ludger waited patiently for Muzet to tell him what she wanted but the Great Spirit was taking her sweet time, simply staring at Ludger's face with an innocent smile. This had been going on for almost a minute and Ludger was beginning to feel a little awkward with the silence between them. And the way Muzet was staring at him was a little uncomfortable.

The reason why Muzet was so intrigued at checking Ludger out was because she saw what he did alone against the Elympion soldiers. For a human, he was definitely on another level and it caught her interest. As for Ludger, the one thing he noticed about Muzet was that her outfit was slightly different to the one in the original timeline.

Finally Ludger couldn't take the silence anymore, "Um… Muzet? You said you're going to tell me why you're here? And why Maxwell is alive?"

Muzet eyes brightened up, "Oh, I'm sorry. I don't usually get to see you humans up close so I just couldn't help but look at you."

Ludger chuckled nervously. 'Yup… she's a little different but she's the same weird Muzet I know.' Ludger thought.

Muzet placed one hand on her cheek and started her explanation, "Lord Maxwell is revived because the Great Spirit Origin reversed time. According to Maxwell, that was the wish you made and since Lord Maxwell was still alive during this time, he is brought back to life. After Lord Maxwell was revived, Origin and Chronos told Lord Maxwell everything that has happened in the original timeline, including you beating Origin's Trial. After all, Lord Maxwell is one of the three Primordial Spirits, so he needed to be informed about what has happened."

"So Maxwell knows about me then…" Ludger said softly but Muzet heard him.

"That's right. Lord Maxwell knows that you're the one that surpassed Origin's Trial and made the wish to reverse time." Muzet paused and flew closer to Ludger, giggling when Ludger grew uncomfortable at their close proximity, "And Lord Maxwell knows that you're a direct descendant of Milla Kresnik."

Ludger's eyes widened at that, "Maxwell… knows about that too?"

"Well, of course. I told you, didn't I? The Great Spirit Origin and Chronos told him everything. After that, Lord Maxwell told me everything and asked me to come greet you. Of course I came first to get rid of those nasty humans that broke the schism, but I'm here also because of Lord Maxwell. He wanted me to let you know what Origin and Chronos didn't tell you."

Ludger was a little suspicious, "Why would Maxwell help me?"

"I don't know. I'm just following Lord Maxwell's orders." Muzet then flew around Ludger, playfully poking Ludger's cheek, "You humans are so adorable with your soft and squishy skin. It just makes me want to squish you until you explode!"

Ludger took a step back, wary of Muzet's words, "So… you're here to kill me after all… because I know about the schism."

Muzet giggled, "I already told you that you're a special case. After all, you're the direct descendant of Milla Kresnik so Lord Maxwell made you an exception."

Ludger was still not sure whether he could trust Muzet. He remembered Jude and Elize from the original timeline mentioned that Muzet tried to kill them one year ago because they knew about the schism. While he considered Muzet a friend, she was still a wild card. He needed to… convince her that they were definitely allies.

So Ludger decided to test the waters to try and convince Muzet as an ally. "So… if Maxwell told you everything about what Origin and Chronos told him, that means you know I'm from the future, right?"

Muzet smiled innocently, "Lord Maxwell only told me enough to understand your situation. I do not care about the future because it doesn't concern me. My mission is to serve Lord Maxwell only."

Ludger's hopes were dashed about recruiting Muzet as an ally. Since Muzet didn't say anything more, Ludger guessed the conversation was done and looked around him. He didn't notice it before, but only now did he see the number of lives he had ended today. Around him were hundreds of Elympion soldiers painted across the muddy ground of Fezebel Marsh. There were also several Elympion ships scattered in different areas, the fires still dancing on the destroyed ships.

Ludger decided his next course of action was to regroup with Jude and Milla. He last saw them retreating with Gaius, moving towards the north. He concluded that they were most likely making a move for Kanbalar. At least he hoped so. He started walking in the north direction… and Muzet was following him, floating just behind him.

When Ludger realized Muzet was still following him, he stopped. "Muzet, why are you following me?"

Muzet giggled, "Well, Lord Maxwell ordered me to follow you. He wanted me to… keep tabs on you."

Ludger's eyes narrowed, "He doesn't trust me?"

"Oh my, is that what you think?" Muzet flew in front of Ludger, "Lord Maxwell is just concerned for you. After all, because of your wish, he is alive again."

Ludger sighed but then felt this was the best available option. He didn't know if Muzet was an ally at this point and it was better to keep her close where he can keep an eye on her.

"Fine… I guess you can follow me." Ludger resigned and continued walking.

Muzet flew next to Ludger, tapping his shoulder, "Actually I need a favor from you." Ludger turned around and she explained, "You see, I have drained a great amount of mana and I am greatly weakened. The mana produced by a human's mana lobe is the source of a spirit's power, so I'd appreciate it if you'd… tether with me and I can recover."

Before Ludger noticed it, Muzet had flown in close and latched onto Ludger's arm intimately. Instantly, Ludger remembered a conversation he had with Jude in the original timeline, regarding Muzet and her request to tether with Jude for mana. While Jude agreed to tether with Muzet to help her recover her power, he didn't know that sharing mana directly with a spirit was considered an intimate experience! With Muzet holding onto Ludger's arm and speaking in a sultry tone, Ludger knew what this was.

Ludger tried to pry his arm off from Muzet, "Um… M-Muzet? I… I…" He finally managed to separate from Muzet but the Great Spirit immediately tried to grab him again while he tried to think of an excuse. Finally, he thought of one, "I don't have a mana lobe!"

This seemed to grab Muzet's attention, stopping the spirit, "Oh?"

Ludger quickly continued with this, "Y-yeah! I'm sure you can tell, right? That I don't have any mana? So I can't tether with you because… well, I don't have a mana lobe."

Muzet had a knowing smile, "That isn't a problem, Ludger. I've been watching you, you know… when you were fighting those awful humans, you were using that power given by Chronos, weren't you? That power has mana so I just need you to use that power and I can tether with you then."

Ludger sweat dropped at that and had no counter to Muzet's reasoning. Muzet continued smiling, waiting for Ludger to make his move so she could direct-tether with him. With a sigh, Ludger took out his pocket watch and activated his level one Chromatus, his arms wrapped by the Chromatus armor. Muzet giggled and started extracted the mana found in Ludger's Chromatus.

Muzet moaned and felt rejuvenated, "Oh my… this is delicious. You're very generous, Ludger."

Ludger flushed in embarrassment, "Um… no problem, I guess?" Muzet continued to tether with Ludger, sighing a few times and even releasing some exotic moans from time to time, making Ludger feel rather awkward about the whole thing.

Muzet finally finished and sighed in bliss, "I hope we can do this again, Ludger…"

Ludger dispelled his level Chromatus and ignored Muzet's comment, "A-Anyway, let's try and find the others."

Muzet poked Ludger's cheek, giggling as she did so, "Your face is bright red. Like a juicy tomato! You humans are so weird."

Ludger started jogging towards the north to regroup with Milla while tolerating with Muzet's curiosity. To him, this was almost like the Muzet he knew from the original timeline. Except the Muzet in this timeline seemed to enjoy teasing Ludger a lot more than usual.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Meanwhile in the skies of Rieze Maxia, the Elympion fleet was regrouping. At the moment, there were only twenty or so Elympion ships at the rendezvous point and another five more were on the way. There was one ship that managed to deliver a message that they would be making an emergency landing to repair its ship but other than that, the ships were all accounted for.

Gilland and the rest of Exodus were in the command ship of the Elympion fleet, either resting or busy making sure the Lance of Kresnik was still functioning. Gilland was in the command room of the ship where the admiral of the Elympion fleet was receiving reports from the other ships about their damage report. From what Gilland could hear, apparently Ludger had destroyed nearly seventy percent of the Elympion forces alone.

"How did this happen?" The admiral cried out in exasperation, "How can one man almost destroy our entire fleet?" The admiral turned towards Gilland, "What are we going to do now? We definitely can't proceed with our numbers now!"

"Our numbers don't matter admiral." Gilland retorted with authority, causing even the admiral to feel lower than Gilland, "We'll continue with the 'Otherworld Reactor' plan."

"But our numbers…"

"It's fine!" Gilland said, walking out of the command room, "As long as we stay in the air, we're safe. They don't have any means of air transport like us."

Gilland walked out of the command room, his blood boiling at the thought of his plan becoming undone because of that man. Ludger Kresnik. He was ruining everything! But everything was fine now. Even with the Chromatus powers, Gilland doubt Ludger could actually fly or jump up to this altitude. No one could stop them now.

Gilland took another step and then suddenly, he was suddenly consumed by pain. The leader of Exodus collapsed on all fours, wheezing in pain and could not even move a muscle. The pain ended in just a few seconds though but to Gilland, it was the most painful experience he had ever endured. It was to the point he would have gladly ended his life. He slowly got back to his feet when his eyes spotted something on his left hand.

His left hand. They were black as ash.

"What… What is this?!" Gilland exclaimed in horror.

Unknown to him, Steiner was nearby and also saw Gilland's condition. "It's too late now." He whispered before walking away, "He's already becoming a catalyst…."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

On the outskirts of the Tulea Tundra, after a few hours since they stopped, Gaius finally gave the order to continue their march back to Kanbalar. The Auj Oule soldiers were refreshed and were quick with packing up the camp.

Jude and the others were thankful for the time to rest and helped with packing down their respective tent. When Jude saw Milla and fractured Milla come out of their tents, he instantly noticed something different about Milla.

She looked normal but somehow, he could sense there was something off about her as well. While Milla normally had this aura of confidence and leadership with her, Milla now seemed… confused and fragile. Of course it was only him that noticed this but Alvin, Leia and Elize seemed to not be aware of this. Jude wondered if it was just him. But he wasn't.

Fractured Milla also saw that Milla had still not yet recovered from discovering the truth of her identity. She couldn't blame her. After all, it was thanks to the villagers support in her dimension that she was able to accept her role and move on.

"This isn't good." Fractured Milla muttered regarding Milla's condition, "She needs time to accept this whole thing. And without anyone's support, she won't be the same."

So fractured Milla knew what her next move would be. She would need to somehow let Jude and the others know about Milla's 'identity'. That she was a human and not the Lord of Spirits she told everyone she was. Or hopefully, Ludger will somehow show up and tell her what the hell they should do.

While the Auj Oule soldiers were busy packing the camp and Gaius prepared to move northwards, they were unaware that above them, a few thousand feet above them, the Elympion fleet was soaring in the skies, making ample preparations for the 'Otherworld Reactor' plan.

Gaius and Jude's group needed to act fast. And for fractured Milla, she needed to help Milla become who she once was.

CHAPTER END