Epilogue: The Tides of War

Aesis leaned against the wall next to a window in his small office, as he gazed out at the setting sun. The orange glow set a calm hue against the horizon as he took a look at the Pronteran city that was sprawled out in front of him. Dark times will arrive again, and he wondered if the weathered walls of Prontera could stand against the might of darkness once again.

" Being melancholic again, are you? Perhaps if you talk to me enough, you wouldn't be depressed. Heck, I think I am getting depressed, you know. The only person I get to talk to isn't talking to me at all. Come on, I think I'm going insane," Hades, Aesis personal sentient dual broadswords, spoke to him, its eye opening and turning around to look at Aesis.

" Ah well, it is depressing to think I need to comfort myself with a sword," Aesis replied, chuckling.

" This is no laughing matter, Aesis. I know how you feel. You and I, we are connected after all. The Death Knight will rise again," Hades spoke. " Fighting him is another matter, but more importantly…"

" That's enough, Hades. We had this conversation for long enough," Aesis cut him short. " The human heart does not forgive easily. If it were so simple, a lot of the worlds problems would be solved by now. So, I will not hear another word from you again, no matter how sound they may be."

There was a sharp rap on his door, before someone spoke with a muffled voice from behind the door. " Commander, there are two people who wish to see you. They are…"

" Yes, bring them in, I was expecting them," Aesis replied, before turning to Hades and speaking in a whisper " Not a word from you, alright? We'll discuss things later." Hades merely blinked his eyes, before closing them shut.

The voice stopped at once, and the person who spoke to him ran off, the footsteps echoing away from the room, before a pair of footsteps returned to take its place. The door opened up, and two female figures came in. " Ah, Vermillion, back from your holiday, are you? Well, you will need to stay permanently now, since we are going to have some trouble in our hands."

" Hey, it wasn't a holiday, and if you dock off the days I'm allowed to take them, there is going to be hell to pay," Vermillion snarled, cracking her knuckles.

" Still as feisty as ever…good, some things never change, and they should honestly stay that way," Aeris replied before turning to Semilia, who looked tired and worn out, trying her best to catch her breath. " Well, my good elf, what can I do for you today?"

" …There is something important I need to tell you, Commander. I have refrained from telling this to you before, possibly due to my elven pride, but I cannot hold back any longer. I just pray that you will listen to me and accept whatever I say as fact," Semilia replied.

" …You drive a hard bargain. On what grounds should I believe you?" Aesis replied, chuckling slightly.

" This is no laughing matter!" Semilia replied, sounding slightly vexed.

" Ha ha ha, indeed, it isn't," Aesis replied, walking towards one of his cabinets. Opening one of the doors, he knelt down and retrieved a book, before holding it up high. It was a green, leather bound tome, with odd sigils written on it. Vermillion had been in the elven library long enough to recognize elvish signs. " …I think it will save us a lot of trouble explaining to one another if I just show you this."

Semilia's face suddenly when livid. " …What…what is the meaning of this?!" she demanded.

" Meaning? I think the meaning is obvious. You know what's happening, I know what's happening, and we like to keep it that way. This book explains all there is to know…" Aesis replied, walking up to Semilia and handing her the book. " I borrowed it recently, but the librarian wasn't there, so I took the liberty to look for it. Truth to be told, if I knew the existence of this book any sooner, all this mess could have been avoided, but I guess it is too late now."

" Yo, Aesis, did you enter the elf city?" Vermillion asked.

" As a matter of fact, yes I did, not that I didn't know what really happened to it. After all, some of us do know what happened to your city, Princess. I do offer my condolences," Aesis replied, before waving his hand to a bottle of spirits. " My, do I have bad manners. Do you wish to have something to drink?"

" …No…" Semilia replied, looking down on the floor.

" The book has told me everything I need to know, and I shall take action from there. I thank you for your help, Princess, although I would like to ask what you intend to do now," Aesis asked, walking up towards the wall and leaning on it. Vermillion noticed Aesis had a habit on leaning on everything, not that he lacked a backbone or anything.

" …My hunt is not over," Semilia replied firmly.

" And so it is not. Tell me when you do find him," Aesis replied.

" …Wait, just what is going on here? I thought there was some emergency that was supposed to go on here, but what are you guys talking about? I didn't understand anything from that conversation, at all!" Vermillion declared.

" There is nothing you need to understand. What you need to understand is that your superior officers are a bit pissed you went missing, and would like you to return to your post, now," Aesis answered.

" But…"

" Now," Aesis replied with a finality in his words.

Vermillion's shoulders slumped, before she trotted out of the room, while Semilia followed her closely. Aesis watched them leave, and until long after he could not hear their footsteps echoing on the stone floor outside did he suddenly speak up.

" So, how long do you plan on hiding, Krayken?" Aesis asked.

Upon being prompted, Krayken suddenly bounded into the room from the window, landing on the floor without a sound. The assassin looked around, surveying his surroundings, before looking directly at Aesis.

" Bah, like a shadow, and persistent like one, I would like to add," Hades spoke up. " So, where have you been?"

" I've been asking Krayken to run some errands," Aesis replied, before turning to Krayken. " So, are they ready?"

" I believe so, but we would need…"

" I know, I know, don't remind me," Aesis replied, cutting Krayken short, before walking towards the window, looking at the last moments of light in the sky fade away to give way to night. " We still have a long way to go, but we will make it eventually." With that, he fell silent as he watched the sun set in the distance.

Writer's note: Well, there you have it, the epilogue for this current arc. Guess this wraps it up, for now.

Thanks for reading, do wait for the sequel, which I would hopefully start soon.