Author's Notes: Why did I wait until two days before this chapter is due to start writing it? Oh yeah, because I work best when I'm under pressure and there's stakes involved. Yes, I feel it's obligatory to mention, when a huge battle happens, the fact that I still struggle with battle scenes and anything action-oriented. Yes, the way the battle ends may seem familiar to some of you out there.

I am aware it seems kinda lame that Ike was injured last chapter but, let's face it, it took a WHOLE group of Daein soldiers to take on Ike. The fact he's alive kinda speaks volumes on levels of borderline unrealistically OP. But hey, it's my story. If I want to make Ike unreasonably OP, then… I'll live with those consequences later.

… besides, I think if Ike was in this free-for-all instead of Elincia and he DIDN'T win, everyone would have my head chopped off and put on a pike and someone else would have to finish the story (even though in-story, Noah has said he defeated Ike in a spar, which proves Rolf was right and Boyd was wrong… speed beats strength). I couldn't figure out another way to have a convenient way for him not to participate in this battle, to be honest, so we have Ike being critically injured by a whole onslaught of Daein soldiers. I'm kinda curious now if any of you have any alternate ideas on how Ike could be written out of this free-for-all. I doubt he'd morally object to it. I'm always open to alternate ideas and interpretations!

Believe it or not, but writing male characters has always been a terrible Achilles heel of mine. Even when I started writing, back in 2004, and started role-playing with friends, the running gag was that if someone needed a female character, I had one to spare. I think, by the time I stopped in 2007 or so, eventually I ended up with, like, three male non-villain characters and almost thirty female characters by the end of the role-plays… not to mention every villain (but one) was female. Maybe it's because I grew up on games like Final Fantasy 7 and 8, Chrono Trigger, Earthbound, etc., but male characters just never appealed to me. I never could empathize with the "I must fight for my honor" like Frog or Cloud's apathetic "whatever" attitude or Lloyd Irving's generic shonen dumbassery trait that seems to have been passed on to every action anime protagonist (outside of Midoriya, thank god).

… to be honest, I dreaded coming back to this POV, because I found this story so much easier to write as Micaiah and Elincia and all the female characters (although, Matthew was surprisingly a treat to write, but I chalk that up to the fact Matthew's personality is basically me now).

… and hey, whoa, okay, the Kirito comparison is fair and somewhat warranted, but ouch… a strike right in the gut, ahaha. Speaking of Sword Art Online, I'm SO glad for the recent arc that was going on (with the exception of the last few episodes). It was so nice to explore Alice, who's become one of my favorite anime characters of all time (and was my phone background for a while before it went back to Lucina). It was nice to see some honest world building. It was nice to see characters developing without a certain character's influence on them. Honestly, I kinda wish the show stayed that way for a while longer. The fact it seems to be going back to its status quo is… a breath of familiarity, but also sad. I'm torn on it… and I'm hesitant on looking forward to its return whenever it comes back.

Not gonna lie, I never really saw any of these female characters in this story as thirsty for John (except Jill and, to a lesser degree, Elincia… and maybe one can make a case for Micaiah), but after giving it some thought, I can definitely see it playing out like that. Believe it or not, a lot of the interactions with females in the story are reflections of the level of familiarity and connection I have with female friends I have in person. Some of the interactions in the story are, actually, just altered normal conversations I've had with said female friends over instant messenger or text. I actually purposefully avoided a meaningful relationship in this story for the reason I always felt shipping and relationships and the like detract from the actual story at hand, but I guess my weeb-ish nature is subconsciously poking through.

Well, I mean, one could say "Jill was a meaningful relationship" except for the fact it wasn't really explored too much in-story (a lot of their relationship was off-screen) and I had planned for her death since… roughly about the time I posted Chapter 7 or so (basically the moment I decided they would date was also the moment I decided "what would be the most tragic way to end that relationship?" which was also roughly the time period "the voice" started morphing into "Jay"). It was always meant to end tragically. Karla was something I did for the hell of it. Elincia wasn't even planned and it ended the same way it started. Unplanned and rather abruptly.

Oddly enough, also, it's funny, because for many years a lot of people thought I was dating the friend I based Elincia upon, although there's a snowball's chance in hell of that actually happening. I'm not ruining a good friendship just for temporary exclusivity rights to someone's deeper levels of trust. I like the friend circles I have now and the dynamics I have now…

Chapter 156:

The Unequivocal Fate of a Paradox

The Original POV:

I would not begin to attribute such an important value upon myself normally, but considering in my absence there has been absolutely no resolution in this war between the two nations, I begin to wonder if perhaps I really do have an influence on these people I once considered game characters. These were people. They were allies. They were friends. They all were once allies and friends.

I am the darkness. I have said that many times to Elincia and Micaiah. I take that which is conflicting and perverse and make it a part of me in order for those who shine to avoid such potential issues and shine ever brighter. We are two halves of the same coin, after all. Now, despite Crimea and Daein being enemies with each other even to this very moment, they both would unite against me should they see me again. I had warned them that I would destroy them should they stray, and I made my point very clear… I am currently their enemy. I side with neither, but I choose to walk my path along the road of truth. If I must fight against everyone I once loved and cared for, so be it. Let them unite against me as their common enemy and find unity with each other through a sense of mutual purpose.

Queen Elincia stood nearby, as regal and as beautiful as she has always been, with a set and determined look on her face. She was fighting for the fate of her nation. I really cannot fault her for the situation we are in. After all, she is only fighting for the good of her people. She did not want this battle, but given the circumstances that were presented before her, she had no other choice but to fight. She was aligned to Crimea and to her people and she could not forsake them. I feel if circumstances were different, she would have wanted a peaceful solution, much like General Micaiah wanted. Much like I am striving for now.

General Micaiah stood before me, fallen and disgraced, as a former general of Daein. She understood what I wanted from this world and tried to execute it, but she lacked the strength and the charisma to win both sides over. She never was a part of Crimea, always seen as the voice and face of Daein and a hero of the Daein revolution. She would never have won over the hearts of the Crimeans the way Queen Elincia would have. They might have worked together, as shown by the mutual protest, but it was not good enough. Yet, what puzzles me most was the other variable in this equation.

General Selena. My teacher. My mentor. My friend… why are you doing this? I understand Micaiah's weakness and Elincia's hesitation, but for what reason do you have to go into this battle? Why are you fighting this fight? You are the leader of the soldiers, and yet you betray them by entering this conflict?

I can only think of one reason why… confirming my suspicion of what has been going on and vindicating my choice to not return right away. I needed to detangle myself from being too strongly obligated to one side and I still stand by my choice in that decision.

King Pelleas… I pity you. Your life has been one of needing acceptance and, now that you have it from an overbearing and overprotective mother, you have found yourself struggling to retain your own identity under her over-bearing persona. You have been given an impossible choice and are now bearing the burden of your ignorance and blind trust. I can only assume you were tricked, but that does not excuse the fate and danger you had put your nation into. I suppose if you had better advisors than a head general and a Spymaster General who bickered with each other for the better part of Daein's young life, this could have been avoided.

King Geoffrey… why? You and I talked about heroes and their roles. I looked up to you in a way. I respected you. Even after everything with Elincia, I never held it against you. Why do you choose now to betray my expectations? You know the content of my character, yet you push this war forward under the motivation of that baseless accusation. I had my suspicions, but yet I had my suspicions with King Pelleas as well.

I have been operating under the assumption that one of them was being manipulated because whoever initiated the pact was vengeful. It only just now occurred to me that perhaps someone more cunning than evil has been manipulating both sides. If I take that into consideration, then it becomes ever the more imperative that I win this battle. Micaiah, I apologize, but I cannot trust you to succeed. I am your ally here, but at the same time I am your enemy. I have to take it a step further than you, because that is what is necessary. King Pelleas and King Geoffrey are pushing forward, trusting nobody but themselves with potentially devastating secrets. Perhaps Pelleas had told Selena. That is my only assumption. But why keep it secret for so long? Why not tell anyone? That's just foolish.

… I suppose I am no different. After all, I am the biggest hypocrite of them all. I had all these friends who were by my side and willing to stand for me and speak of my character, and yet I chose to run away. The supposed paragon of objectivity lost his cool and dumped oil into the canyon. Instead of finding a peaceful solution, I took matters into my own hands and trusted only myself. I took extreme measures in frustration at my inability to get things done as fast as I would have liked. Those lives are on my hands. Every single one of them…

I will not regret what I have done. Those who disobeyed Count Bastian's orders and pursued into the canyon, driven by blind hatred and racism have no place in a world full of peace and love that Tellius can and should one day enjoy. I should have calmly assessed the situation I was in when I was framed and investigated instead of freaking out. I should have spent more resources trying to understand who would have done such a thing. My research and my journey away from Daein has not revealed that, but I have learned enough to know that I needed to return. Before these two lands destroyed each other, they needed something that would unify them. That would be me.

So, bring what is left of your hatred and disgust forward. Let me destroy it and purify you both. I welcome the challenge.

"Very well. On behalf of Queen Elincia, General Selena, General Micaiah, and General John… let this battle commence!"

I finished the chant for the spell that I put into storage and drew my sonic sword and my rune sword. I got into a stance, new as it may seem to those around me, but a second-nature to me after training with the Black Knight while I was conscious and he was there, practicing my new forms when he wasn't, and training mentally with Callie when I was asleep.

I looked over to Elincia to see she had a sword and shield—when did she change from trying to dual-wield like me—and was in a stance that was reminiscent of my older, more frantic hack-and-slash style.

I looked over to Micaiah and felt something absorb into her, as if she finished a chant for an extremely high level light spell and stored it away. That must have been Aureola. That might be a pain to deal with if she releases it on me.

I finally looked at Selena to see that she wasn't even on horseback. Something is definitely different with her.

"Finally! I can reach you! The prodigal asshole returns."

Hello, Jay. Can you hold off, because I am a little busy right now.

"You've been gone for this long, the only thing we knew was that you were alive after we did that grand adventure in your mind, and now that you're back, this is what you choose to do!?"

Jay, I appreciate your concern, but—

"But nothing! Damn it, this world has gone to hell while you've been gone, and there is nothing you can do now that can fix it. You are just one person."

I know what I have to do to help set this right.

"Do you now? Do you see what has been going on? The world is falling to hell in a handbasket and you think you can just walk right in, waltz around, and set things right?"

Have faith in me, Jay. Just have faith in me. I will find a way.

"… John. I… trust you. I know damn well I shouldn't, especially after what happened in the valley and what happened in your mind, but I can't help but to trust you. I think it's because I still love you."

I know.

"Really, Solo?"

Jay, you're dating future me. Of course your feelings haven't gone away. But, from what I understand, you aren't my Jill and I'm not your John. Trust me and let me do what I have to do to preserve this time loop. Let me ensure that the Jill that died here and became the next iteration of Jay will also have a Noah to stand by her side and hold her in her times of sadness.

"… it's shit like that which remind me why I fell for you in the first place. Go get 'em, tiger… for her sake."

Thanks.

I slid back to reality to see the other three were looking at me curiously.

"Lady Jay, I presume?" Elincia asked.

"Yes."

"She gave me some words of encouragement as well," Elincia said.

"I as well," Micaiah said.

"… and a few for me, too," Selena added.

"I really have no intention of wanting to hurt any of you, since I've always just wanted peace, but… you know how the saying goes," I said.

"Actually, John, we really don't know the saying. Need I remind you of your origin?" Elincia remarked. I sighed.

"It is always darkest just before dawn," I quipped as I pumped dark magic into both of my blades, causing the sonic sword to glow an almost forest green, while clouds of black rampaged around inside the rune sword, tainting and amplifying the offensive power of my forward sword.

I saw Micaiah conjure a ball of light and threw it at Elincia. That was the beginning of this battle for supremacy. Elincia conjured a form fitting armor of thunder, much like my armor of fire, and absorbed the blow, before rushing forward. She swung Amiti at Micaiah, but stopped short as a fireball from Selena got in between the both of them.

Wow, that was a huge fireball that Selena just casually flicked. I hesitated for a second as I realized that I have never known Selena's true battle potential. She has always fought by my side as a powerful spellcaster and I have always relied on her to always have our backs. In any of our spars, we have never gone all out. I just realized that I knew almost nothing of her actual battle potential…

How much has she held back on me? I saw the two of them pause and look at Selena as well.

"Selena, that… was a huge fireball that you just conjured and flicked like it was nothing," I said. She frowned at me for a second.

"General John, former Spymaster General of Daein, how little you seem to know of your former mentor. I was the premiere soldier in the old Daein. I was a mage general and a magic-using Four Rider in a nation that cultivated and encouraged boorish, brutish physical units and their loud bravado and sword swinging. My magical prowess in power and control was impressive enough to change the mind of King Ashnard himself into replacing General Lanvega, one of the fiercest lance-wielders in all of Daein, with a mage such as myself. I fought my way through the ranks with powerful fire magic and a sharp mind that always exploited every situation I was ever in, like the chess matches we used to have. The fact you know so little about me is… disappointingly sad, to say the least," she said. "Come. Show your teacher what you have learned in your time away."

"I know so little of you, because I considered you a friend, Selena. I would not investigate a friend the way I would investigate my targets. Perhaps it is that weakness of sentimentality that has put us all in this situation in the first place. I would like to still believe that there is a reason to trust you, Selena, despite the fact I cannot understand why you are going down this road. I gave each of you three the benefit of the doubt and this is where it has led us," I said after a small pause. "A fight for the fate of our nations in a four-person battle royale. I left you all unchecked in my investigations of this world and my information gathering precisely because I had so much trust in each of you. Right now, I wonder how much of that trust was actually misplaced."

As I readied my swords and faced Selena, a blast of light flew between us. I turned to see Micaiah readying another light ball. Before I could charge her, a thunderbolt struck me in the shoulder, knocking me back a step and giving me a dull tingling sensation. I turned to Elincia and saw her preparing another thunderbolt. I charged at her, taking a glance at Micaiah to see that Selena was engaged with her.

"My lord John, I…" Elincia began.

"You are fighting for your nation. I don't agree with your method, Elincia, but I cannot fault you for your action," I said simply as I swung at her. She looked at me with a shocked expression.

"We are in mixed company," she said as she blocked my swing with her shield before executing a counter blow.

"In a fierce battle, there is only you and your opponent. I show you the respect you deserve as a fighter by tuning everything and everyone else out. You've grown into that person. You deserve that honor and respect that I am giving you," I said. She smiled slightly to herself at my acknowledgment before she nodded in reply. She stepped back and shot a thunderbolt at me.

It was truly a battle that was testing everything I had, a dual-wielder battling a traditional sword and shield combination. I wonder if Carin had been teaching her a bit on her combat. It would not surprise me if Patrick was trying to help her out, after all. He's just as vested in the success of this continent as I am and we both knew Crimea, specifically Ike and Elincia, were probably paramount to Radiant Dawn's plotline. We kept repeating our pattern of combat over and over, faster and faster, as we attempted to out-maneuver each other. I swung my rune sword, she blocked with her shield. She swung in a counterattack, and I would switch my stance to parry with my sonic sword, before executing a thrust as a follow-up. She would nimbly sidestep the thrust, taking a step back to properly space us apart before launching a thunderbolt at me. My armor of fire would absorb the blow and launch a fireball back at her, which her armor of thunder would block. I would then press forward, switching stances again to bring my rune sword from off hand to forward, and thrust again, repeating the battle cycle we were embroiled in. Every repetition, we moved faster and faster as our dance became more and more engaging, while never losing the grace and elegance in our technique.

Slash, slash, dodge, slash… I watched her and saw her face furrowed in concentration. This was not the same girl that I sparred with all that time ago. This was not the scared girl I was in a relationship with hiding behind her masks while I did my best to bring out her true nature. This was a completely different Elincia. This was who I wanted her to become. This was who she was meant to be. This… was someone who took everything I taught her and strove to step out from my shadow. I see her using thunder magic, even though fire magic was naturally her strongest. I see her using a sword and shield, despite her constant insistence she learned to dual-wield.

… and I would respect that effort for her to discover herself by giving her everything I had. I quickly changed stances as I took a few steps back, settling in a more defensive position.

"You would invite an attack from me with what little defenses you have?" she asked.

"You presume to believe I fight the same as I did before," I replied. She raised her sword and charged at me. I quickly flitted out of sight and appeared in a spot right in front of her. Before she could react, I rammed into her with my shoulder, causing her to stumble back a few steps. I took a step forward, taking advantage of the space I created and the momentum behind me and swung with both swords as hard as I could. Both collided with the armor she was wearing, and she stumbled a few steps backward as I saw two nice dents in her armor. Before I could further push my advantage, she held out her hand and fired two quick thunderbolts from it, impacting my shield and halting my forward movement.

Wait… she can shoot thunderbolts without casting them or doing the necessary hand movement through her sword hand? Are her thunderbolts like my fireballs and fire shield? How much training has she done? Using my assassin training, I flitted backward a few feet. Better to give proper space and take a more nuanced, guarded approach.

"You presume to think I am the same person as well," she said as she got into a defensive stance. I began a chant for a spell and started charging at her. She raised her shield, ready to block whatever I threw, but it never came. As focused as I was at my charge at her, I failed to notice a huge light spell slam into my side, and threw me into the ground. I quickly got back up to see Selena and Micaiah were throwing a whole barrage of spells at each other, not even caring most were missing or caring about defending themselves. Micaiah looked worse for the wear, though. I hope she can hang in there. She's the only other one here I'd like to see win. Just hold on a bit longer, Micaiah…

"Critical mistake."

I heard Elincia's voice behind me. Before I could react, I felt the impact of a spell on my back. My armor of fire shattered under the power of the spell. Immediately, my entire body felt as if I was being poked by millions of needles all at once. Every single nerve was crying out in desperation and pain as my vision blacked out. The feeling lasted only for a moment, but I felt myself collapse on the ground on my face from how much damage I took from that one singular powerful spell. That had to be one of the arcthunder spells, if not a spell from the rexbolt tome.

I trained up my resistance and yet I was still hurt this much? I shakily started to get up when I felt a bolt of thunder strike me. Where was my fire shield? Why can't I access my magic? Did my magical system temporarily short circuit?

"John, please… forgive me. I must win… for Crimea's sake," I heard her say. I coughed roughly as I kept trying to get up, only to be knocked down again by another thunderbolt. Was this really how I was going to lose? Was I going to fall short on my quest because Elincia's will to protect her nation was stronger than my will to see my goals through?

"Let me help."

Callie, not yet. It's too early…

"Then you fell too early. Are you really this powerless without me?"

… no. No, I am not. Let… let me prove to you that I can do this.

I rolled over onto my back and saw Elincia standing over me, her eyes teared up. She was holding her hand out, prepared to launch another thunderbolt if I tried to get up again.

"Surrender," she said quietly.

"I cannot," I replied as I tried to get up again. I was met with a thunderbolt striking me directly in the chest, sending shockwaves through my body. I collapsed once again on the ground, but I felt something stirring within. Oh, it's about time…

"Please… this hurts me more than it should to be doing to this to you," she said in a pleading tone.

"Elincia… I cannot… I cannot give up on my goal," I said. I concentrated for a second and quickly started to get up again. I saw her fire another thunderbolt, but this time the fire shield came out. Oh good, my magical system un-fried itself. Quickly, I got away and created some distance between us, as I attempted to re-think my battle strategy.

That's when we felt it. We both turned our heads to see Micaiah was the first to use one of the Big Three spells. I saw her radiating with a brilliant blast of light emanating from her whole body as she stared at all three of us.

"Aureola!"

It was only a matter of time before someone brought out the big gun. It was war and it was a foregone conclusion someone brought out the nuclear blast of magic in desperation. No sooner had she did that did I see both Elincia and Selena do a particular set of motions as they both stepped away from Miciaah. The spell didn't require the hand motions and could be cast with a single word, but the hand motions helped reduce magical consumption. I watched their motions almost in a weird synchronization as I began the motions for my own apocalyptic spell while backing off. Looks like we're all breaking out the big spells now.

"Prominence!" I heard Selena and Elincia cry out. Two very powerful blasts of anima magic flew out from the both of them and met in the middle of the battlefield as Micaiah's spell reached the middle, causing the three of them to fight in a struggle for power.

"Apocalypse!" I cried out, letting out my own spell into the fray. I felt my dark magic reserves take a big hit as the dark spell flew to the middle of the battlefield. I could hear the crowd yelling and crying out in shock and awe as our cataclysmically powerful spells flashed across the battlefield. I could feel the resolve of every person's spell on this battlefield. That's when it hit me. Micaiah was at a disadvantage here. Elincia can fight with her sword and shield after her magic reserves were depleted. Selena's a master of control, so she's hardly using as much magic as we are for far more successful results. I still had my anima magic, my light magic, some dark magic, and I could still fight with my swords.

All of a sudden, I heard what sounded like a weird ripping sound before the four spells refused to fight against each other anymore. A huge explosion came from the middle of the four spells as the energy from the magic detonated under the extreme pressure. I felt myself flying backward through the air before slamming against the magical barrier erected to protect the crowd from getting hit from our battle. I felt a few somethings crack and realized this was disturbingly like when Selena blasted me in the arena and forced me to retire early so many years ago.

I felt myself land on the ground and pulled out an elixir. Taking a deep drink from it, I felt its magic course through my body and repair any and all damage I had taken. I quickly stoppered it and put it back in the pouch before I got up off the ground and looked around. As the dust settled, I saw Selena standing as if she had hardly taken any damage. Micaiah was looking pretty bad. Elincia was standing, her armor dented all over, but she seemed ready to continue. Micaiah, please, hang in there…

It occurred to me that Elincia's armor definitely was an upgrade over her orange dress. I paused for a second, letting that brief moment of nostalgia wash over me, before I refocused on the battlefield. Custom made armor that allowed her to move as she needed on the battlefield, while not hindering her movements for her staff work or her sword work. It was on par with Selena's outfit that I was wearing… my battlemage's outfit that she gave me. I saw a few dents on my chestplate and realized that I was definitely taking more damage than I realized.

I saw Elincia stare at me and charge at me as fast as she could, pushing for what she hoped would be an opening. There would be no such luck as I blocked her strike. I needed to work fast. I kicked her in the chest as hard as I could, knowing full well that armor would absorb most of the blow. Still, it did its job in pushing her back and putting space between us. As she regained her balance, I dashed forward and tackled her. She might be trained for sword and shield combat and mage combat, but I doubt she's prepared to grapple and fight with her hands if needed.

She didn't react in time and we both landed on the ground. She landed on her back with an almighty clashing sound and I landed on top of her. Quickly, I raised my sword to land a finishing blow when I paused. This was Elincia. This was the queen of a land that I wanted to protect so many years ago. As much as I needed to win, I can't execute killing blows. I hesitated for a second, thinking how I wanted to progress. My train of thought didn't go any further as I felt myself blasted off her by a thunderbolt. I landed on the ground, tingling in pain as I got off the ground. I looked over to see Elincia had gotten up as well.

"Your hesitation is your weakness, John. Your heart cost you your victory there. You're… still you, despite all you've said and done. You're still you," she said quietly.

"Would you have preferred I killed you there?" I asked.

"Of course the answer is no. Still, you're fighting for your dream and your goal and you… put it aside out of concern for my well-being, despite the fact we're fighting each other," she said.

"… I will overcome my obstacles and conquer my demons in my way, not any other way," I replied. "How can I claim to fight for peace if I kill needlessly?"

"I... respect that," she replied. I nodded and dashed forward, thrusting with both blades. I saw her move to block with her shield, but she was far too slow. Both blows struck true on her shoulder. The tips of both blades hit in a small solitary weak spot of a joint that allowed her to move her arms freely. The blows pierced through the armor and I felt my swords pierce flesh and stop at bone. I cringed slightly as I heard her cry out in terrible pain as she dropped Amiti. I quickly pulled my swords out, regretting what I had done, and saw flecks of blood fly out with my blades. She quickly gripped her shoulder with her other hand as her injured arm hung limply at her side. I saw a stream of red start to flow out from the hole I had punctured in her armor and I felt a wave of guilt cross over me. Hesitating only for a brief moment, I swung my blades yet again, two powerful blows to her abdomen, leaving huge dents in her armor and throwing her to the side. She stumbled a few steps before she lost her balance and fell to the ground in a crumpled pile. The only movement from her was her still holding on to the injury I had inflicted on her. Her body was injured to the point she couldn't fight any further and her spirit was broken… she was done for in this fight. I observed her shallow, ragged breathing and the tears in her eyes from struggling to endure the pain of her injury. Still, until this battle was over, I couldn't do anything about it. Giving her my elixir would only mean I would have to fight her again and hurt her yet again…

I'm sorry, Elincia. I'm… so sorry. Please… please forgive me.

Still, her slow reaction time puzzled me. She should have been able to block my blow. She wasn't that fatigued, as far as I could tell. It was almost as if…

A fireball came flying at me and I managed to barely dodge it last second. I looked over to see Micaiah was crumpled in an unconscious pile, her outfit mostly destroyed and her body covered in nasty burns, multiple bruises, and numerous scrapes. Selena was staring at me with her arms crossed, seemingly mostly uninjured, watching me with not even the barest hint of emotion crossing her face. It was almost as if she purposefully shut off her heart to push forward in this battle. This was the general that we never truly knew; this was the kind of person who rode her ambition to the top of the Daein military hierarchy so many years ago.

"Were you waiting for us to finish?" I asked.

"It seemed dishonorable to intrude upon your battle," she replied as she flicked a huge fireball into existence.

"Selena, I… don't want to hurt you," I said as I took a step forward.

"Hurt me? Such arrogance. Such hubris. Do you have that much confidence in your abilities? Do you think I am easily conquered, going down without a fight? Do you truly think that much of yourself or that little of me?" she asked. "I am General Selena of the Four Riders, one of the most powerful mages in all of Daein. I was once your teacher. I know your magical style and techniques because I gave them to you, worked with you, and helped you hone and refine every part of your magical ability. You may have the talent to hold the positions you once had, but don't think talent and genius alone will get you past me. Hard work has its own value and its own merit, General John. There is so much on the line here and I will bring the full force of my ability to ensure my victory. I have to win… for Daein's sake."

"Selena, I'm not the child I once was. I came prepared for this battle. You did as well, judging from the fact your lack of injuries was more due to your preparation and less an indictment on Micaiah's ability," I said.

"Correct. I notice you brought an elixir in as well. One lesson you finally learned," she replied. "A lesson these two learned the hard way."

I nodded and sheathed both of my swords on my back. I conjured a blue fireball and watched her closely. Her fireball may have been a regular one, but it was twice the size of my blue one. We both threw our spells at the same time. I watched as my fireball and hers were almost at a stalemate. I guess this wasn't going to be nearly as simple as I hoped. As the fireballs clashed in midair, I threw a thunderbolt at her, only for a fire shield to flare up and block the attack. In response, Selena launched a volley of smaller fireballs at me. I quickly put up a wind shield and blocked most of them, thanking Ashera that I worked on my wind magic while I was away.

I charged her with the wind shield up as I drew both swords. Immediately, an armor of fire and a shield of fire flared up. I slashed as hard as I could with both swords, adding dark magic to the sonic sword and thunder magic to the rune sword. Both swords hit the shield of fire and shattered the shield. Magical blasts of imbued elements flew out from the blades, but seemed to do absolutely nothing to her fire armor. Selena quickly chanted for a high powered fire spell and I quickly took a step back. A wall of fire burst out from the ground right where I was standing. I recoiled slightly as I felt the intense heat from the flames evaporate any sweat I had.

Quickly, I cast a blizzard spell in an effort to cool down the battlefield, but the spell was met quickly with a meteor. The two long-ranged spells collided in mid-air and sent a storm of rain spraying all over the battlefield, drenching the both of us. I charged forward once again, swords in hand, and swung at her. This time, though, I didn't manage to make it as the wall of fire flared up again right under me. Quick as a flash, a wind shield conjured around me, protecting me from the brunt of the attack, but I was launched a few feet into the air and spinning wildly. I lost grip of both of my swords and felt them flying out of my hands. After a few seconds, I fell back to the ground with a dull thud, landing on my shoulder.

Before I could get up and orient myself, I felt my automatic defensive fire shield flare up and felt a huge spell collide with it. I looked up to see Selena was letting out a stream of electricity from her hand and was attempting to overpower my shield. I got up on one knee, fighting back against the powerful stream of magic, as I watched her walk toward me taking meaningful step after meaningful step. I grunted slightly as I conjured a shield of light around me to conserve my anima magic, which was running low.

"How? How are you still fighting?" I asked. "My anima is nearly gone! You cast so many huge spells!"

"Have you forgotten the lesson I kept impressing upon you? Huge magical reserves mean nothing if you're sloppy with your spellcasting. Refined control and methodical technique can make a little go very far," she replied sternly. "Just as muscle means nothing with a sword if you know no sword techniques. Swinging as hard as you can without true direction and aim will only wear you down."

"You know I have control over my magic," I said.

"You're still green. A novice. I've been casting spells longer than you've been alive and have lived through so many skirmishes and battles that it makes your history seem insignificant in comparison," she said. "Life is, after all, the best of teachers. I wonder if it has been as good of a teacher to you as it was to me."

I grunted in frustration as I felt my light shield beginning to flicker. I quickly started casting an incantation as fast as I could, doing the motions as quickly as I could without sacrificing the proper motions or making sloppy movements. Just hold on a little longer, light shield. Just a bit longer…

It's ready.

"Shadow of the Fireflies!" I cried out, feeling the last of my dark energy leave my body. Selena's eyes grew wide as she took a step back. I felt that ever familiar purple tinge cover my vision and remembered the effects of this spell. Not wasting any time to see if my attack was going to hit or not, I began the motions for another spell.

"Just a reminder you have no more dark magic and no more light magic. You will have to go on with anima alone," Callie said.

Thank you for the reminder.

I looked up to watch Selena dodge the fireflies as I finished the incantation and motion for the next spell. She was shooting down every one of the fireflies with what looked like narrow red beams of fire. With strikes of precision and accuracy, she attempted to not simply shield from the attack and conserve her overall magic. As the last few fireflies flew at her, I cast my spell.

"Prominence!"

I felt almost all of my anima magic fly out with this spell. This was it. This was the end. She looked at me and, for the first time, I saw what seemed like fear in her eyes. She quickly eliminated the final few fireflies as she cast a shield and armor of fire around her. The powerful anima spell made contact with her and I saw her dig into the ground and push back.

"Flamethrower!" she cried out. I quickly stepped back as I saw her launch a flamethrower at the legendary spell from Forblaze. The two spells were fighting each other, almost at a stalemate, but as the power behind prominence faded, her flamethrower started pushing my spell back. I took a second to admire the sheer amount of strength she had behind her spells. A simple flamethrower spell was holding its own against a spell that was lost to legend until recently. Selena… I… I respect you.

I grit my teeth and let the moment pass. Now was not the time to praise my opponent. Not wanting to take a chance, I willed the last of my anima magic to come forth.

"Flamethrower!" I called out as well, mimicking her action. I watched her flamethrower break my prominence spell and collide with my flamethrower, creating a powerful struggle in the middle of the battlefield. An old nostalgic memory of my teenaged years watching Dragonball came to mind and I couldn't help but feel like this reminded me of one those beam battles. I felt myself beginning to waver and struggle.

Selena… for someone who always claimed you never had the magic to go far… who claimed you never had the magic to cast prominence… you took everything you said you couldn't do and you did it. You make it your own. You owned it. You owned your weaknesses until they were weaknesses no more. You had lesser magic than the rest of us, so you honed your control to perfection so that no magic was ever wasted. You only could cast one type of magic, so you ensured your specialty could overcome our adaptability.

… and now here I am, facing the woman who taught me how to fight. The person who taught me how to live. The person who showed me how to be a general, how to fight for what was right, and to always strive to live for my ideals and my goals. This was a struggle, not just of our abilities, but of our wills themselves. She truly believed what she was doing was for the good of Daein, and who was I to disagree? I was not her.

But what I knew is what I was doing was for the good of this continent… of all of Tellius. I needed to take control of everything myself to snip the puppet strings that manipulated these nations. I needed to make sure everyone was safe and secure before we went forth. Selena, I respect and believe in you… but I believe in myself more… and I believe I need to win.

I felt a magical surge from her end, and I found myself struggling just to not let her spell overwhelm me. A sense of dread washed over me as I realized what she was doing and where this second wind was coming from.

"Please, Selena, stop. You'll die," I cried out. "Your life isn't worth throwing away! That's your life energy you're tapping into!"

"My life is to my nation and to my people! If I have to give it here, then so be it," she replied firmly.

"Selena, please! No… I don't want to be responsible for your death! I don't…"

"This is what we signed up for, John. This is who we are. Soldiers to our last breath, protecting those whom we're supposed to protect with our very lives! This is what each and every one of us are here for. To give our lives to protect those who cannot or do not fight for themselves!" she replied.

"Selena, please, stop! Stop! I can't… I can't watch you die like this."

I hesitated for the briefest of moments and closed my eyes, trying to concentrate and think. If I kept this up, she would die trying to overcome me. If I stopped, I would forsake the world and what I came here to accomplish to save her life. Was her life worth more than the world? Was anyone's life worth more than the world we've come to know, love, and cherish…?

I felt a sudden weakness coming from her end and opened my eyes. I looked to see Elincia standing up behind Selena, her face contorted in pain but her good arm raised and crackling with energy. A stream of lightning flew from her hand and struck Selena in a continuous stream, causing her to lose her concentration on her flamethrower. I quickly took advantage and pushed with everything I had. The surge of power allowed my flamethrower to overpower hers. I watched as her flamethrower fade into nothing under the sheer volume of power I was putting into my attack. With no more resistance, my spell struck true to its target, who managed to put up her fire armor in time. The power of the blow launched her back into Elincia, catapulting the both of them into the wall of the arena in a sickening, yet dull thud. The two of them landed on the ground, unconscious.

"You did it… and without my help. Impressive," Callie said.

"John, I… I can't believe what I just watched."

Put… your faith… in me. I will succeed. I… I promise.

A stunned silence surrounded me as I fell to one knee in weakness and fatigue. I had nothing left. No more magic… and barely even the energy to stay conscious. I willed myself to look at Bastian, my vision beginning to blur.

"Ladies and gentlemen… I believe we have our… champion. The winner of this four-part free for all is General John of… of…" he said before realizing, he didn't know how to title me.

"I am… General John… of Tellius," I said with the last of my energy, slipping into the sweet oblivion of unconsciousness.