Chapter 37- The Secret of Blades
After a few hours of rest, Poppi woke the others. Frank was surprised when he found Mythra beside him, but didn't mind, especially since she didn't hit him with anything when she woke up. Jin then made everyone a light meal before they began discussing their next move.
"We should keep heading for the World Tree," Frank advised. "Let's just hope that the others are heading there too."
"Hoping is all we can do," Mythra said solemnly. "If anything, we should wait for them at the base of the Tree."
"Our only way forward is up that fallen bridge," Jin added while pointing northward, towards said bridge. "No doubt more monsters will be lurking ahead. We should remain alert for any signs of danger."
"Agreed," Brighid said. "Let's move."
The group made their way up the collapsed bridge, finding themselves on an elevated street with a tunnel. They then went into the tunnel but hid behind some debris when they saw a horde of monsters blocking the way.
"Crap. There's too many of them," Frank said. "We'll have to find another route."
"There isn't one," Mythra replied. "We'll have to make do."
"Then what are we waiting for?" Zeke said simply before drawing his sword and approached the monsters.
The monsters noticed the Blade Eater, prompting the others to join him.
"Guess we've got no choice," Jin said as he and Frank drew their weapons. "Let's wipe them out!"
"Yeah," Frank added.
The monsters charged at the party, who met them head-on. Frank, Jin, and Zeke were in the front, drawing all the attention. Mythra stayed by her Driver, protecting him with a defensive barrier and her Foresight.
Frank then decided to test out his Master Driver abilities and said, "Brighid, lend me your power!"
"It will be my pleasure!" the Fire Blade replied.
The Aegis Sword was then replaced by twin whipswords. One monster tried attacking the Master Driver, but he parried it with his new swords.
"Hellfire!" Frank shouted. His swords ignited with blue flames before the Driver extended the whips. He then swung the whips at the monsters, scorching them with fire before returning them to swords.
"Nice," Jin commented as finished off three monsters with a barrage of icicles.
Frank then returned to using the Aegis Sword before he and Mythra finished off the rest of the monsters with Hadron Impact.
"I didn't even know monsters like that existed," Frank said as they sheathed their weapons.
"Nothing like Alrest, for sure," Azurda said grimly. "They have a rotten knack of healing themselves…"
"Almost like Blades," Brighid mused.
"Yeah," Jin agreed. "Maybe they're leftovers of the culture that created us. This is the Architect's world. I guess nothing should come as a surprise."
Frank looked around. "Maybe, but it's still shocking just how similar this place is to Earth's cities. If this really is where the Architect came from, I wonder what he's like."
"I didn't get to meet him," Mythra replied. "I mean, I have fragments of memories, blurred images… That's why I want to meet him."
"Well you're not going to get any answers from this place," Zeke said. "It's a heap of smashed-up crap. Just look… there are places that look melted by a warhead or something. All that's buried here is the hubris of mankind. If the Architect was born here, then he must be as flawed as any other."
"Did you forget that you used to be human, Father?" Frank asked.
Zeke eyed his son and said, "I left that behind long ago, Frank. You'll never understand it."
Jin looked out the tunnel and gasped. "Guys, look!" the Ice Blade exclaimed.
Everyone turned and saw the corpse of a large dragon-like Titan outside the tunnel.
"It can't be!" Mythra said in shock.
Frank looked at his partner, confused. "Mythra, do you know that Titan?"
"We both do," Jin said grimly. "It's Torna!"
The others were filled with disbelief.
"Torna? Wasn't it destroyed in the Aegis War?" the Master Driver questioned.
Mythra slowly nodded. "Yes. I accidently destroyed it during the final battle against Malos. I unleashed a part of my true power, but I couldn't control it. My attacks ended up destroying the Titan's core, causing it to sink beneath the Cloud Sea."
Frank noticed the guilt in the Aegis's eyes, prompting him to take her hand and give it a gentle squeeze, much to Mythra's surprise. "It's not your fault what happened five hundred years ago. I'll make sure that it doesn't happen again. I'll help you carry all the fear you have."
Mythra cracked a light smile. "Thanks Frank. To be honest, during the final moments of that battle with Malos, I also saw broken visions of you too. You becoming my Driver, our first battle against Torna, and you awakening as my true Driver. I couldn't make sense of it at the time, but now I feel like you were meant to be my Driver."
"Really?" Frank said.
"I think so too," Jin added. "The night before we left to confront Malos five hundred years ago, I told Mythra that I felt that her true affinity was in the future, not in the current time. And I was right, you were able to connect with Mythra in a way that Addam never could. You can control the true power of the Aegis."
"Wow. Neat."
"Anyway," Mythra said. "We're wasting time just standing here. Let's keep moving." She began walking out of the tunnel, towards the dead Titan, while also pulling Frank along. Surprisingly, the Aegis Driver didn't protest at all.
The other Blades looked amused as they followed their comrades. Zeke, on the other hand, maintained a passive expression.
"Looks like those two have gotten closer than ever," Brighid said with a smirk.
"Indeed," Jin agreed. "I've never seen Frank willingly let Mythra lead him around before. The rest of this trip will be very interesting."
The rest of the group hurried after the duo, not wanting to be left behind.
Meanwhile
The Monoceros was diving deep into the Cloud Sea. Malos and the other Torna members were at the helm with Mikhail piloting the ship, while Akhos and Patroka ran status updates on the vessel's state. The Monoceros groaned and shook as it felt the increasing pressure of the Cloud Sea's depths.
"Come on," Mikhail said desperately. "Just hang in there."
"Mikhail!" Patroka exclaimed as she got various alerts. "This is bad! The Mononceros can't handle this much pressure!"
The Blade Eater gritted his teeth in frustration. "Akhos! How deep are we?"
"28,000 peds," Akhos answered grimly. "We're nearly at the limit now!"
"We have to keep going!" Malos declared. "We need to rescue Zeke! Just a little further and we'll be out of the Cloud Sea!"
Soon the Monoceros stopped shaking as it exited the Cloud Sea. The Torna members looked in awe as they saw the Land of Morytha.
"We're out!" Mikhail cheered.
"Incredible," Akhos said as he gazed upon the ruined city. "The Land of Morytha. It looks a lot like Earth, only in a more apocalyptic setting."
"It's nothing to shout about," Malos passed off. "Just a bunch of ruins. A testament to their hubris."
Mikhail turned and faced the Aegis. "Are you saying humans lived here?"
The Aegis nodded. "Alrest will suffer the same fate," Malos continued.
"So that's why Zeke wants to…" Akhos said.
"Is it really justified?" Mikhail said as he piloted the ship above the city.
"What are you saying?" Patroka asked.
"I know why Zeke wants to destroy everything, but 'everything' can't mean everything, can it?"
"You're not there yet," Malos answered as he placed a hand on the Blade Eater's shoulder. "It's okay. You'll understand soon enough. Let's cross that bridge when we come to it, huh?"
Mikhail didn't respond.
Back to the others
Frank and the others crossed a make-shift bridge and entered the dead Titan through a large hole. The area was scorched and ruined. There were also large fossilized eggs scattered around.
"This place is completely trashed," Frank said as he looked around.
"Traces of the Aegises' battle, I reckon," Azurda answered. "This is all that remains of the Tornan Titan's matrix."
"Indeed," Jin said. "Even in old Torna, only a few people knew about this place."
Frank stopped moving, prompting the others to stop too. "A matrix? Are you saying this is a womb?"
"Take a closer look at those eggs," the Titan said.
The group examined the eggs and saw that some were broken, revealing strange-looking dead Blades inside them.
"Those Blades look almost like Titans," Poppi said in shock.
"These are Blades that perished in the process of becoming Titans," Jin explained. "Titans grow Core Crystals in their bodies. We've seen this before in Leftheria where we helped a sick Titan. You see, Blades aren't truly immortal. They are born from Titans, and when their fire burns out, they return to the Titan that bore them. Eventually, the Blades that return transform into Titans themselves."
"Is that really true?" Brighid asked.
Mythra lowered her head in guilt, something her Driver noticed.
"Mythra?" Frank asked in concern.
"Yes," the Aegis said slowly. "It's true."
"The new Titan has no memory of its life as a Blade," Zeke took over. "Just like returning to a core." He gazed upon the dead Blades with sorrow. "These poor souls. They died along with their mother, sharing her fate."
"I myself was born here 1,300 years ago," Azurda added. "But I wonder… how did you ever find out about this, Zeke?"
"I learned this truth… from Malos," Zeke answered.
"I'm not surprised he knew," Mythra said nonchalantly. "Malos is an Aegis, after all."
Frank eyed the blonde Aegis in disbelief. "You knew about this, Mythra?"
Mythra's face immediately filled with regret. "I did. I'm sorry I never told you before."
"To be fair," Frank replied. "I never really asked about it, so its understandable why you didn't mention it."
The group made their way through the womb before entering a circular room with a mural. The mural showed how life spawned from the Titans, eventually becoming humans.
"I remember reading about this in my journal, but I still have trouble believing it," Brighid said before reading aloud, "Blades are born from crystals, and Titans from Blades. The Titans, in turn, nutures life…"
"Who then give birth to more Core Crystals," Frank finished.
"Right," Mythra said. "That's the life cycle of a Blade."
"It is the way the Architect ordained for the world," Jin added.
"Old Torna worshipped this cycle," Mythra continued. "They revered the Titans. Feared them. It was the sacred foundation of Torna. A nation where humans and Blades lived in harmony."
Suddenly Jin clutched his forehead as he felt his head hurting.
"Jin! Are you okay?" Frank asked in concern.
Slowly, the Paragon of Torna nodded as he lowered his hand. "Yes. I just remembered about what happened to Torna after the Aegis War."
The rest of the group were confused.
"Hold on," Brighid said. "I thought Mythra destroyed Torna during her battle with Malos."
"Mythra did kill the Titan," Jin explained. "But the nation survived on a Titan called Spessia. Survivors flocked together to support themselves and things were peaceful, for a time. It was around then that Addam decided to seal us away in order to help Mythra and Pyra in the future. The plan was to seal us in separate locations in order to ensure that we wouldn't be found by the wrong people. The first to be sealed was Mythra, then Brighid. Pandoria, Dromarch, and Kasandra were volunteered by their Drivers soon after. Lora, Haze and I were planning on our sealing when we were suddenly attacked by Indol, under Amalthus's command."
"What?!" Frank exclaimed in shock. Mythra had the same reaction.
"A nation endures through its people," Jin explained. "As I said earlier, even though Mythra destroyed the Tornan homeland, Torna lived on through its citizens. But Amalthus… he was the one who really destroyed Torna."
"But why would he do that?" Mythra asked.
Jin looked the Aegis in the eyes. "He attacked in order to eliminate you, Mythra. He was afraid of your power, the power of the Aegises. The remnants of Torna were annihilated in the attempt. However, he didn't know about Addam's plan to seal ourselves away, so in a way, his attack was in vain. Lora, Haze and I were trying to flee to safety, but Lora was badly injured during our escape. Her wounds were too severe for even Haze to heal. We only had a short amount of time before Lora died and we would return to our cores.
"We had two pods for me and Haze, but we only had enough time to seal only one of us. Haze… she volunteered for me to be sealed away and went to buy us some more time. Lora then made me promise something, that I would help the Aegis and her new Driver with all my might, and to not try to get revenge against Amalthus. She then used the last of her strength to seal me away and sent my pod far away from Spessia. The next thing I knew, I was awoken by Klaus, and he sent me to Leftheria to find you, Frank."
The Master Driver's filled with grief. "How awful."
"Maybe we shouldn't have left," Mythra said in a regretful tone. "I never knew."
"There's nothing you could've done," Jin replied. "Besides, I think you were just one of his targets. Amalthus must have known about the life cycle of Blades, and that Torna was the only other nation aware of it. It's possible that he viewed it as a threat, so he chose to wipe out any records of it from history and blamed Torna's destruction on you. He attacked to wipe out the unborn Titans, limiting the land in Alrest forever."
"Amalthus doesn't seek to save the world," Zeke spoke up. "His real desire for Elysium is to claim the Architect's power. Amalthus wants to use it to wipe out Blades and Titans."
"So that's why he was taking care of Frank and Mythra," Azurda said. "Mythra's the key to Elysium… without her or Malos, there's no way to open the way to Elysium."
"Even so," Frank said before glaring daggers at his father. "You're just the same as Amalthus! You're planning on destroying the world too. You and your Torna have killed Drivers, soldiers, Haze… lots of innocent people. You said it yourself that you plan on killing the Architect!"
"I did say that," the Blade Eater mused.
Frank then relaxed. "To be honest, I'm not so sure. I can't bring myself to believe that's what you're really trying to do."
Zeke looked confused. "What are you talking about? Haven't we…?"
"I could tell when we were fighting," Frank interrupted. "I saw it in your eyes. The sadness. It was the look of someone wanting to die. Someone with no other way out. I remember seeing that look in Mythra's eyes when we first met."
Mythra was surprised. "You noticed that?"
Frank nodded. "We're partners. Of course I'd notice if you were feeling sad about something."
Zeke gritted his teeth. "You don't know what you're talking about," he retorted. "Keep your stupid comments to yourself. Make no mistake, we will kill the Architect, and end this world. And we will destroy all the humans who lived in his mercy."
The Master Driver looked somewhat disappointed. "So be it," Frank said firmly. "Just know that we'll…" Whatever he was going to say next was interrupted as the ground began shaking fiercely.
Suddenly a giant black-skinned monster appeared, slowly approaching the group. It had three arms and two legs, although it held itself up with only two of its arms. Blue ether lines were shown around its body, along with Core Crystals.
"What the heck is that?!" Frank exclaimed as they all got into fighting stances.
"As I thought," Jin said. "These things aren't really alive. They're autonomous cybernetic organisms. Once their central control is gone, they're programmed to act on their own. And unfortunately for us, they choose to destroy anything living."
"Testaments to human hubris," Zeke mused. "Now do you see?" Suddenly he fell to his knees in pain. "Not… now!"
"Crap," Frank said. "Mythra, we need Siren!"
"It's no use!" Mythra replied. "The Cloud Sea is interfering. I can't give it commands."
"Well this just gets better by the second," Jin said as he and Frank drew their swords. "I sense that this creature is stronger than any of the other monsters we fought here. I don't know if we can beat it on our own…"
The monster prepared to attack when suddenly it was struck by blue lightning, stopping it.
"Lightning?" Frank said. "Can it be?"
The group turned around and saw Jason and the other Drivers and Blades behind them.
"Frank! Mythra! Everyone!" the Thunderbolt exclaimed. "Are you all alright?"
"Father?!" Meg shouted in disbelief as she saw the Blade Eater by her brother. "Why are you guys with him?!"
"We'll explain later!" Frank said. "We have to deal with this thing first."
"Understood," Ethan said as the two groups rejoined. A strange metal shield then replaced his saber. "I've been working on this weapon for a while. Now's a good time as any to give it a field test."
"Just try not to blow us up," Poppi chided.
"That was one time! Jeez!"
"Focus, you two!" Mythra shouted with authority.
"Sorry!" Ethan and Poppi exclaimed in slight fear before joining the fight.
Ethan managed to demonstrate his new Drill Shield's usefulness by shooting bombs from it and using the drill, which appeared in the center of the shield, to get the monster's attention. It was also surprisingly sturdy, with it being able to take multiple heavy attacks and get only a single scratch.
Meg then tossed her whipswords to Brighid, who subsequently unleashed Heat Haze, injuring the monster with blue flames. Sonum and Dromarch then followed it up with Aqua Wave. Mythra then switched to Pyra, prompting Frank to toss her the Aegis Sword.
"Blazing End!" the red-haired Aegis shouted. Pyra began the Art by doing a horizontal slash against the monster's chest before throwing the Aegis Sword at it. The sword cut into the monster as it spun before returning to Pyra, who then reverted back to Mythra. She then returned the Aegis Sword to Frank as a red orb began orbiting the monster.
"Zero Blade!" Jin exclaimed. The Paragon of Torna unleashed a series of slashes on the monster's side, making deep gashes that drew blood. He then fired a barrage of icicles into the wounds, causing the monster to howl in pain.
Ethan switched to his saber and tossed it to Poppi, who subsequently used Noponic Axion to injure the monster even more before returning the weapon to her Driver. Ethan then went back to using the Drill Shield.
"Now it's our turn!" Mika declared as he handed Kasandra his shield hammer. The Dark Blade finished the Blade Combo with Secret Desire, consuming the monster in a dark explosion. When the dust cleared, however, the monster was still standing. It also had a purple orb orbiting it.
"No way," Jason said in disbelief. "How is it still standing after that?"
Frank gritted his teeth in frustration. "Mythra! Time to go all out!"
"I hear you!" Mythra switched to her ascended form, prompting the Aegis Sword to change as well.
The monster then began attacking the Master Driver, but Frank easily parried its attacks with his sword.
"Finish it off, Mythra!" Frank declared before tossing the Aegis Sword to his partner.
"With pleasure. Radiance Flare!" Mythra slashed at the monster multiple times at light speed. The attacks were too much for the monster to handle, causing it to fall limply to the ground, dead.
The other Drivers were in awe at what they saw.
"Incredible," Jason said as they sheathed their weapons. "With that kind of power at our disposal, we can't lose."
Mythra gave her sword back to her Driver and returned to normal, which changed the sword too. "Pretty much," the Aegis said confidently.
They spent the next few minutes explaining what happened after they all separated. Zeke had recovered enough to stand, prompting the others to begin moving out to plan their next move. Mythra then noticed that Frank was not among them. Instead, she saw that he was kneeling beside the monster.
"It can't be," the Master Driver said in shock.
"Something wrong?" Mythra asked in concern.
Frank nearly jumped as he saw Mythra right behind him. He then stood up and faced her, while hiding something behind his back.
"Uh, it's nothing," Frank passed off. "Don't worry about it."
"Uh huh." The Aegis eyed her Driver in suspicion. "Spill it. What's gotten you so worked up?"
"W-what makes you think that?"
"I'm your Blade and your partner! Our bond goes both ways! You think I wouldn't know if you were distressed about something? Now tell me what's wrong before I make you!"
Frank flinched in fear, knowing full well that Mythra would follow through on that threat. He hesitantly showed her an ID badge with a picture of a woman that was in his right hand.
Mythra gasped in shock. "Where did you get this?"
"From that… thing," Frank answered as he pointed at the monster's corpse. "I don't know how… but it used to be a human."
"What?! That doesn't make any sense." A realization then dawned on the Aegis. "Wait… does that mean the monsters we fought here in Morytha were humans too? And if so, what could've happened to make them like this?"
"I don't know," Frank admitted. "This place just has more questions than answers."
"Frank! Mythra!" Meg cried out. "Hurry up or you'll be left behind!"
"We're coming!" the Aegis Driver responded. "Hold on!"
As they walked to rejoin the others, Mythra noticed that Frank still looked distressed. "Do you want to tell the others about it?" she asked.
Frank shrugged. "Maybe later. This isn't really the time for it."
"Alright."
The duo then rejoined the other party members, where they then explained their intentions.
"You want to climb all the way up the World Tree?" Ethan asked. "That sounds exhausting."
Poppi gave her Driver a disapproved look. "You haven't even tried climbing it yet," she scolded. "Besides, do you see any alternatives?"
"Besides," Mythra said. "That last battle against Malos freed Ophion from his control. It's also no longer sustaining the Great Void. Climbing the World Tree may be our only option."
Meg then eyed her brother. "Frank, I can see why you allowed our father to accompany you, but I advise that you don't let your guard down."
Zeke scoffed. "You're still the same as ever, Meg."
"I don't need your praise or your pity, Father," Meg scolded bitterly. "When this crisis is over, I'm taking you in. If you resist, we'll kill you. Brighid and I."
"Yes," the Flame Blade said.
"Meg!" Frank exclaimed before being stopped by Jin.
Suddenly the Monoceros appeared above the group.
"No way!" Nia said in disbelief. "They came for Zeke!"
Meanwhile on the Monoceros
Malos and the others saw Zeke standing with Frank and the others.
"Finally, we found Zeke," Akhos said. "But what's he doing with them?"
"Weird," Patroka said. "Let's ask questions later. After we finally smashed them!"
Suddenly Akhos received a transmission. "What? Are you sure? W-well, okay."
"Was that Zeke?" Mikhail asked.
Akhos nodded. "Yes. He said to not attack."
"What?!" Patroka exclaimed. "But now's the perfect chance!" She then readied the Monoceros's weapons and prepared to fire on the Drivers and Blades.
"I told you not to attack!" Zeke suddenly shouted at the top of his lungs, creating a shockwave that shook the area, even the Monoceros, stopping Patroka from firing.
Malos chuckled in amusement. "I have no idea why he said that, but he must have his reasons," the Aegis said. "You can't be too predictable. Right, Mik?"
"Sounds like a plan," the Blade Eater agreed. "I've never seen this side of Zeke before. Maybe its his parental instincts kicking back in."
"It's possible," Malos said. "Anyway, let's retrieve Zeke and start climbing the World Tree!"
Back to the others
The party watched as the Monoceros lowered its weapons and descended enough to allow Zeke to jump on.
"Father," Frank said as he watched the ship ascend towards the Cloud Sea.
"Those jerks!" Mika shouted in outrage. "Couldn't they at least give us a ride?! They've got a huge advantage with that ship!"
"Then we must hurry before they cover too much ground," Jin replied.
"Let's go!" Frank exclaimed before leading the others towards the World Tree.
When they arrived at the base of the World Tree, they were surprised to find an entrance to a futuristic tower.
"What the hell is this place?!" Nia said as they went inside.
"I'll be honest," Jason admitted. "I didn't expect the inside of the World Tree to look like this."
Mika then noticed a strange blue light. "Hey, what's this?" the Chaosbringer asked curiously as he approached the light.
"Uh, Mika," Frank said in warning. "I don't think that's a good idea."
Unfortunately, Mika didn't listen and touched the light, causing a large blue portal to appear and began to suck the party in.
"Why did you touch it?!" Sonum shouted as they struggled to resist the portal's pull.
"Sorry!" was all Mika could say before they were sucked in.