Unmei Force Solitary Legends: Young Spirits

Chapter 7: Fall of Two Kingdoms

In Class Zero's classroom….

Class Zero filed into the classroom, after they had finished their recent expeditions into the wilds of Orience, this time un-aided as proof of their growth, as they were covered with slight tears and injuries from their fights against the native monsters, although most of the blood on them was that of the monsters, instead of their own lost blood.

Having recovered from his exhaustion and loss of magic from the previous battle, Kurasame was standing before the cadets, with Richard and his group standing beside him.

"Good, everyone is here." Kurasame remarked. "Due to our contributions on both fronts, we have been given further missions on the two fronts. Both involve capturing the enemy capitals. However, the first mission involves taking down the Azure Dragon in Concordia. The rest of the mission details will be left to you to read at your own time. Dismissed."

As Class Zero stood up, Richard stepped forward. "To all of you, especially those who fought on the Militesi front… You all have done Rubrum and all of the people here a great favour, by tipping the scales towards our favour. With luck, our actions might potentially be the ones to end the war. That means that you must take what comes after seriously. Train to your limits, and do not hesitate to ask for our help. We are your instructors and assistants after all, we all work towards the victory of this war." He stated. "With that… good luck to all of you, and well done."

Class Zero then left the room, as Kurasame walked towards Richard.

"...Spade, if I may speak with you. And with your comrades at the same time." Kurasame asked Richard.

"I'm listening, I don't have anywhere to go or anything to do at the time being." Richard responded back. "So, Kurasame. How did it feel to be wrenched from the jaws of death thanks to Heart's timely intervention? She was fairly relieved that you didn't perish… and believe it or not, Class Zero itself is warming up to you."

"That doesn't concern me." Kurasame answered back with a glare in his eyes, "Did you order Heart to save me?"

Flora looked towards Kurasame with a solemn look, while Richard was silent for a moment, before he then sighed.

"...No, Kurasame. That was by her choice and her choice alone." Richard answered back, and before Kurasame could interject, he continued. "And before you interrupt, Kurasame, I understand the implications of your duty to aid the Verboten Eidolon summoning. I wouldn't disrespect the importance or the spiritual meaning of doing so with no regrets, and how bitter it makes a person to be denied that purpose. However, think about this way, would you have not done the same, if you were in Heart's shoes? I would have, and that is my firm answer."

"Then at least explain to me this reason." Kurasame responded back. "You could have disrupted the summoning entirely, leaving the other sacrifices moot, and thousands more dead as a result of the interruption. Have you not considered that risk, in saving me?"

"You are right, the risk exists… But to us, that risk will never happen." Richard answered back. "You noticed it, didn't you? Instead of offering her own magic to the summoning itself, she used you as a conduit to pass the magic along, as her magic is channeled through you into the summoning, as if it was yours. There was no risk of rejection under that method. I tried it a few times before myself, and succeeded. Heart is a more knowledgeable master of magic than myself, this is nothing at all for her."

"And besides, what's so sad about being alive?" Chen retorted back. "Look, maybe you realised that you suck as a proper frontline soldier, just because you got crippled by some mega fight. That's why you're the class instructor, aren't you? You're the guy leading Class Zero around the place. Sure, you might come off as an asshole sometimes, and I'm still sour about you hanging us to dry about the assassination, but you still do your job well, and you got the class attached to you. If you just up and died, what would happen to the class? And Heart would be heart-broken, pun intended, if you just sucked yourself dry while she had to sit and watch it happen. She's idealistic, and so is Spade in his own way. Instead of wallowing about missing your chance to die honourably, how about you think about how you're going to handle the rest of this war? Perhaps when it's done, you might find a nice place to settle down, and enjoy the rest of your life."

Kurasame was left silent by Chen's words, before he then merely nodded his head.

"I see… So that's how you four think of me." Kurasame stated, before he then turned to leave. "Then I suppose that… I owe you gratitude for what you have done for my sake, putting me before yourselves."

"If we can, we'll try to protect our men." Gunter stated with a determined tone. "We may be powerful, but our power does not have the sole purpose of crushing enemies… it can save lives as well."

Kurasame then left, before Aria decided to walk to Chen.

"Wow, you really gave Mr. Cold and Stoic a real beating with those words, eh?" Aria smirked. "I knew that you would have given him a real dose of reality with some of those harsh words."

"Eh, I'm used to doing this kind of thing." Chen responded back, shrugging her arms. "Think I'm some little girl who can't handle herself, but I'm far more mature than I look."

"Alright, I've got an idiot to talk to." Richard remarked, before he headed out of the classroom, into the back garden, where Machina was. "Hey, Machina, we need to talk."

"Spade…" Machina remarked, as there was a sullen expression on his face. "I feel… so lost."

"How so?" Richard asked back, crossing his arms.

"Maybe… I was afraid. Yeah, maybe I was afraid of failing to protect her. Or… maybe I was afraid of losing her… or losing my memories of her." Machina explained, averting his eyes from Richard. "Yeah, maybe that was it… I was afraid of living life without her, afraid of living a lonely empty life without her… I think. Maybe I don't even know anymore."

"And because of that, you decided to shirk your responsibility." Richard answered back with a unamused tone, shaking his head. "You were afraid that you would have spent the last moments of your memory of Rem, watching die before you, and then be swept by the feeling of amnesia to make you forget about her, as another corpse on the battlefield. Machina, although I can understand how you feel, it does not change the fact that I'm disappointed in you."

Machina was about to argue, before Richard continued again. "You should have been there to help the two fronts, and yet the day that we would sortie, you have disappeared to Crystal knows where. Do you know that Rem concerns herself over you as well? The rest of Class Zero could care little about you, but at least stay and be by her side, if it is only for the sake of you and her only." He stated.

"It's not that simple… I-" Machina exclaimed with outrage.

"You underestimate our power and our oath to protect our charges, Class Zero or not." Richard interrupted with a stern look in his eyes. "I know from that one look in your eyes and your tone that you think me insufficient to keep Rem safe. And yet, despite the chaos on the two fronts, Class Zero came out with merely a few scratches, Rem in an even better condition. I do not ask you to blindly put faith in me and the Cardinal Suits, but you should trust more in us to keep Rem safe. I can tell you this, no force, political or otherwise can threaten us at all. If Rubrum itself were to ask for Rem's head… I would provide those who ordered it an 'important' lesson. So stop trying to antagonise all of us, when some of us are trying to help you by understanding you better. Am I clear, Machina Kunagiri?"

"...Yes." Machina answered back in a low tone.

"Good, all I hope is that you don't let what happened in the forests of Lorica affect you too much, I can easily tell that it has changed your attitude quite a lot." Richard stated, as he turned around. "And one more lesson for you, Machina: Be careful of how you obtain your power, especially when it stems from desire… Not all kinds of power are beneficial to you… some are merely chains to you."

Machina was silent, as Richard walked away.

On the day of Operation Endgame...

Class Zero and Richard's group were briefed inside of the Classroom, about Operation Endgame, a large-scale skirmish with the ultimate goal of capturing Rilochy to open a path to Mahamayuri, the Concordian Capital, to annex the kingdom, and allow them to focus their entire force on Militesi, the only other hostile faction.

The two groups made their way to the Rilochy Region, as they could see the skirmish underway, with the various aerial dragon-rider units of the Concordian Army attacking the Rubrum forces on multiple fronts, and the captial, Mahamayuri, looming over the distance behind a set of mountains.

"Right, I can see an atmosvern rampaging through our forces. That is best left to us. Class Zero, aid the advances of the Rubrum troops, and ensure that Shakara is captured. It is a major staging point for forces, and can help us gain momentum towards Rubrum." Richard ordered Class Zero.

"Got it." Ace stated, as the two groups split off, as Richard engaged the atmosvern, as Flora dragged it down to fighting range with a series of sprouting vines.

Richard wasted no time in unleashing an elemental barrage onto it, as the elemental spells wore down its scaled hide, damaging it, while Chen used her agility to leap atop the dragon, before she then gouged its head open, while Richard had its attention directed to him, and skewered its brain with her claws, as the mighty dragon fell to the ground dead.

"Alright, major problem solved." Chen remarked. "Should we check on Class Zero? Think we should be able to capture Shakara with them now."

"You ensure that the rest of the forces are advancing forward to capture domains to stage fronts against Rilochy. I'll back them up." Richard responded back, as the group split once again, as Richard used some flight to catch up to Class Zero, who was awaiting for the siege to break the perimeter defences of Shakara. As soon as they saw that the defence lines were shattered, Class Zero moved in, as Richard followed after them.

Class Zero clashed with the numerous tamed monsters in the streets of the Concordian city, as they fought various kinds of draconic creatures. With Richard's help, as he used magic to pelter the enemies from a distance, they managed to wipe out the monsters, and allow them access to the city plaza, where they noticed that the area was empty.

"The beasts protecting Shakara is taken care of… But…" Eight remarked.

Before any of Class Zero could speak, Nine reacted to something, as he thrust his spear forward, clashing with a long halberd which was pointed towards Cater, who let out a surprised cry. On the other end of the halberd, was a young man, dressed in grey robed armour, with silver metal plating, metal mask and helmet, with two long white plumes, one on each side.

"Tch, I knew it was too easy." Nine growled, as the assailant kicked off, before wielding his halberd to face them all. "So this is the big guy for this city then."

"That's Tonogiri…. Scion of Lady Celestia." Queen remarked. "If we are not careful, we might potentially end up being killed by him. He is worthy of his rank, having faced countless opposition and emerging victorious in most occasions."

Tonogiri then let out a war cry, before he then sprinted across the field, as Class Zero and Richard kept eyes on him, as they were forced to block or dodge his thrusts and leaping strikes, all while countering back with weapon and magic.

"Deploy the troops! Lord Tonogiri must be protected!" A dracoknight, dressed in the same equipment, but in yellow colours, called out, as his cohorts joined him on the field, assisting their commander.

"I can't lose this battle!" Tonogiri roared, before he then sped up his attacks, while also making them fiercier, as his attacks actually managed to deal considerable damage to any magical defence he struck, and his attacks left behind small gashes wherever he struck the cadets at.

Trey, Cater and King immediately used their ranged weapons to take down the Dracoknights, while Jack and Nine pincer-attacked Tonogiri, forcing the commander back, before they then landed a massive cross-strike that knocked him back. After a while, he immediately fell onto his knee, while trying to keep his spear up.

"Damn it… I've shamed the name of the Akatoki Royal Guard…" Tonogiri remarked. "...Finish me, I'm already done for."

"No, we won't." Richard answered back, stepping past the cadets. "...Tonogiri, you fought well, but this battle is over. You're in no state to continue fighting. But tell me, why do you ask for death, when your duty is to protect your mother and the country she serves?"

"As part of the Akatoki Royal Guard, it is my duty to follow the path laid forth by my warden." Tonogiri explained. "If it means that I join mother in death, so be it… Mother spoke highly of you, Spade. She knew that you would come to bring this kingdom down… and yet, she said that this would not truly be the end of Concordia…. Tell me, at the very least… Is that true?"

"...Yes it is." Richard nodded back. "As long as men loyal to the true Concordia, laid by the previous Queen, live still, Concordia will not die. We seek to destroy the Concordia that corrupted itself in joining with the Empire. We have no intention of performing mass slaughter of Concordians. This war will end with many lives spared, I assure you."

"Somehow… I can understand what mother saw in you." Tonogiri stated, before he then cast his halberd down. "...I humbly surrender into your hands, Spade of the Cardinal Suits and Class Zero."

"You sure that letting Tonogirl live is a good choice?" Sice asked Richard with a crease in her eyes. "We need to deflate the morale of Concordia with his defeat-"

"He is defeated already. Whether he is captured or executed, it changes little." Richard responded back firmly, looking Sice in the eyes directly. "I do not wish to spite Celestia by killing her only child… Rilochy awaits, and when it falls, we will be able to make a final strike to end Concordia's role in this war."

Richard then activated the comms. "Diamond, Club, Heart. How is the occupation of Rilochy?" He asked his team members through the comms.

"Had to deal with another freaking atmosvern, but we tore it down with the help of the troops." Chen responded back through the comms. "We're already inside Rilochy. By the time you make it there, we'll have finished the fight inside to capture the place. Damn lot of dragons here though…"

Class Zero and Richard immediately left the city of Shakara, as they headed towards Rilochy, regrouping with Chen, Gunter and Flora, as the city was being occupied by Rubrum forces.

"Hey, how's everyone so far? Any of you aching? Heart's here to fix you up." Chen remarked with a casual tone.

"We're fine." Ace answered back. "...Will the path to Mahamayuri be opened soon?"

At those words, the gates leading to the passage towards Mahamayuri swung open, revealing a large winding path towards the Concordian capital, suspended in the air. Chen merely smirked and gestured at the open gates.

The group immediately rushed onto the passage, slowly making their way to the capital, before they found themselves being attacked by swarms of dragons.

"Guess this is their last hurrah, huh…?" Jack remarked, as he managed to slay a diving dragon with a downward swing of his katana on its head.

"Everyone bundle up, we need to keep ourselves protected until we reach the capital!" Gunter ordered the cadets, as they did so, keeping a tight formation to fight off the encroaching dragons.

The group managed to fight their way to the capital's gates, as they remained there, looking up to it, and then back the way they came, as they could see that Rubrum forces were marching there on foot and by airship.

"Seems we paved the way for them." Seven stated. "Our mission should be done, since we managed to guide the troops to assault Mahamayuri."

"Indeed… but would it really defeat Concordia as they say…?" Cinque asked with some concern in her voice.

There was no response from the rest of the group, as they retreated past the advancing Rubrum troops, making their way back to Akademia to be de-briefed.

After a few days…

"...So Concordia surrendered a while ago, right?" Deuce asked Flora, as everyone was gathered in the classroom once again, as the day of their mission to conquer the Militesi Empire was today.

"It's odd… I do not know the reason why it would surrender so suddenly. Lady Celestia fought harshly against the Rubrum invaders at Mahamayuri, but the royalty declared a surrender…" Flora stated with creased eye-brows and a worried expression. "It doesn't seem to be based on sound logic. Perhaps they surrendered because they realised that this war was reaching a pointless conclusion…? Tonogiri held high regard in the military of Concordia, perhaps his words might have swayed for surrender…"

"Whatever the reason is, it seems that the war's end is fast approaching." Trey stated. "When this is all and done, perhaps we can finally be at peace on again."

Kurasame entered the room, as he faced the entire class of Class Zero, and Richard's group as well.

"New orders have been issued." Kurasame declared. "After having lost a considerable amount of their forces at Azurr, the capital of Ingram is open for invasion by our forces. We have made concentrated attacks on the Militesi capital, but the army stationed there is providing fierce resistance. Due to the fact that the counter-attack is resulting in heavy casualties for the dominion… Class Zero and Cardinal Suits are to be deployed by airship to Ingram."

"Ingram… How long has it been since we have last been there… All of what happened there…" Cinque remarked with a sad expression on her face.

"This time, we're not coming as guests, but as invaders. Not like it matters to them though,we weren't exactly seen in a good light, and we were still attacked because of a plot…" Jack sighed.

"And once again, Machina is absent." Queen remarked. "This raises suspicion about what is going on."

"Well, there's no time to dwell on that idiot." Chen scowled. "We're going to take this war to Militesi and make them pay for what they did to us back then."

The group immediately left the classroom, before heading towards the airship port, where they found themselves on another airship.

"Oh, how fortunate, it seems that we meet again." One of the crew-members remarked. "...I was a lucky survivor from the battle at Strait of Judecca. Really fortunate that you guys are with us, means that we're going to live to see the war's end."

"Don't worry,unlike the last one… you likely will not have to deal with a raging dragon this time." Richard spoke with some humour in his voice, which lightened the crew-member's mood.

Eventually, the air-ship began to take to the air, heading for the airspace above Ingram...

In the airspace above Ingram...

"We have arrived at the White Fortress two minutes ahead of ETA. Begin drop!" A comms officer declared, as the transport airships immediately adjusted their flying paths to head towards any stable surface to drop troops onto, the airship with Class Zero and Richard's group included.

"This is it, huh?" Nine stated. "Once we beat those Militesi bastards…. It will all be over, right?"

"Should be. I would love to wreck their command myself…" Chen remarked. "But this will suffice as a contribution to end the war."

As the airship lowered into the airspace of Ingram, as there was aerial combat everywhere to be seen, with Bahamuts engaging aerial Imperial MAs, and the ground was no better, with the Dominion legionaries clashing with Imperial soldiers, the airship was suddenly rocked by explosions nearby that barely avoided damaging the airship, the source of said explosions unknown to the group.

"Enemy magitek armor detected, it's Qator! Class Zero, engage at once!" The comms officer declared.

"Roger." Ace answered back.

"So this is it, what might be our last battle against him. He's not going to go down easily as he did last time…" Richard remarked.

"But we can beat him, your teachings have made us exponentially stronger." King responded back.

"That's true. Alright, let's end this once and for all!" Richard declared, as the airship immediately docked on the nearest safe airship pad, as the two groups quickly disembarked, while their airship retreated from the frontlines to avoid being targeted by the Militesi forces.

"Over there!" Cinque shouted, pointing at a fast-approaching object in the horizon, as it was Qator's MA, except it seemed to be customised and retrofitted as a improvement.

"Is this a reprisal as well? To think I'd run into you all so soon!" Qatar said through the speakers mounted on his unit.

"Remember how he fights, but do not discount the possibility of new tactics!" Gunter barked to Class Zero.

Qator immediately dashed around the heli-pad, firing bursts of vulcan-fire that the group was forced to dodge, before he then charged forward to strike the group with his arm, only for Gunter to block the mechanical limb with his spear, knocking him back slightly, but also giving Jack and Sice the change to launch a back-attack on the Militesi general, damaging the back armour.

"Huh, seems that we're winning this fight." Eight stated, listening to the flood of communications in the Rubrum comms network. "Enemy is taking heavy casualties, and we've got a major portion of Ingram under control."

"Then we need to deal the final blow in defeating the General, to force them to yield in defeat!" Queen remarked, as she immediately threw a Thundaga RF spell close-range onto Qator, immobilising him, as Ace sliced at the MA, while Richard and Chen did the same.

Qator grunted, before taking flight, distancing himself from the airship pad, before then launching a massive barrage of blaster shots and missiles, in an attempt to eradicate the group. However, the ranged members focused on shooting down the missiles, while Flora erected a Wall spell to protect the group, as the attack resulted with minimal effect to the group.

"Seems that this isn't going to be-" Qatar remarked, before he barely noticed a series of long-range Thundaga spells coming at him from all frontal directions, as he was hit by them without any time to evade them, leaving his MA sparking with damage.

"Did… Did we do it?" Deuce said, before Qator immediately retreated away.

"The battle is won. I will have to decline any invitations for a rematch." Queen stated.

"Wait, he's not retreating at all!" Sice remarked, as they saw the distant MA suddenly jerk towards the atmosphere. "What the hell is the bastard going to do!?"

Class Zero and Richard's group could only watch as Qator's MA quickly disappeared through the layer of clouds. Not too long after it did though, there was a mighty explosion that lit up most of the sky, and a loud thundering sound.

"...W-What was that!?" Jack exclaimed with horror. "All this time… he was carrying something like the Ultima Bomb!?"

"...I suppose that he didn't intend to let Militesi die rather than be conquered…" Richard stated, before he then raised a salute. "General Qator Bashtar… That one deed will earn you the respect of countless people, ally and enemy."

Class Zero then examined the whole capital from the airship pad, as they could see that the fighting was winding down, with victorious cries of Rubrum forces heard clearly.

"Seems that all of this has finally ended." Seven stated.

"...I wonder, what kind of lives will we lead once we return to Akademia…?" Cater pondered.

"Speaking of which, we should head back." Trey stated. "We have to celebrate our hard-earned victory."

The group immediately descended from the airship pad, passing by the Rubrum forces, until they reached the entrance to Ingram, where they summoned their Chocobos, to help them travel the distance back to Akademia… all except for Richard.

"...Spade? You're not coming with us?" Gunter asked Richard, noticing the somber expression on Richard's face.

"...I have something to deal with. You all can head to Akademia first. I'll be there sooner than you guys when I'm done." Richard responded back.

"...Can't we help you with this one? You've been helping us all of this war, and we couldn't do much to-" Cinque suggested.

"Absolutely not. This is something that only I can do. Trust me, it's better that you leave me to do it." Richard answered back with a harsh tone. "I know that you guys will be fine without me. After all, my friends are keeping you safe."

Flora looked towards Richard, as the look in her eyes made it seem that she was about to say something, although Richard's returning look made her decide against it, although there was worry on her face.

"...Alright, we trust you." Ace stated on behalf of the group.

"...Thank you, Ace." Richard bowed his head, before he then disappeared in a sukima.

"Alright, we should head back to Akademia… Who knows how long it will take until we reach Akademia by Chocobo." Chen stated, before she then pulled on the reins of her Chocobo, leading the group on the path back to Akademia.

At Akademia, inside the Sorcery Department…

Arecia was waiting on her chair, with the pipe in her head still smoking gently, as she stared into the empty room ahead of her, as if she was expecting something. She took a puff from her pipe, and let out a deep sigh.

Just when she finished exhaling that sigh, Richard appeared, stepping into the room through the sukima.

"So… I assume that this is the end of Orience's war then?" Arecia asked Richard.

"...It is. The three nines have been fulfilled." Richard declared with a solemn tone. "It is only a matter of time until Tempus Finis comes. And we both know who will be the ones to challenge it."

"Indeed." Arecia stated, her frown deepening.

"...Do you have them? The project that I have spent weeks, no, months creating." Richard asked Arecia. "My only hope to ensure that the desired outcome can be achieved… lies in the creation of these items."

Arecia did not hesitate to lead Richard into the backroom connected to the room they were previously in, as she found a small lock-box, and inputting the correct combination into it, the box opened to reveal a set of four pendants, all of them crimson-coloured quartz crystals, that seemed to have dark wisps of black flowing inside of it.

"To think that you would ask me to use my powers to create these. It is no easy task to manipulate the very essence of the Nox Suzaku to create these pendants." Arecia stated. "I do not understand why you would create these pendants to absorb all forms of Phantoma, even the rarest of kinds… What purpose do they serve in the battle to come?"

"To preserve life." Richard declared, as Arecia looked towards him. "You will see what they can do. If they cannot achieve their purpose… then I will supplement those purposes myself, even if it costs my life."

"You are fearless to declare that, knowing that wearing such a thing will weaken you severely, due to its passive absorption also leeching the inner phantoma of the wearer as well." Arecia remarked.

"I cannot afford to be scared… Not when Tempus Finis will render all actions final. Hesitation and worry will only hinder your choices when it arrives…" Richard answered back, as there was a hardened look in his eyes. "And for the future I seek, I will ensure that it will come to pass."

"...So, how do you intend to test this in a trial?" Arecia asked Riched.

"Overload me with all kinds of Phantoma. You are a god of this world, manifesting Phantoma is a menial task for you." Richard stated. "...If possible, I would ask that you make it Crimson Phantoma."

The mention of the Phantoma seemed to make Arecia shocked for a brief moment, before she then quickly shifted herself back to normal.

"...Do you know what you are asking for?" Arecia asked with a glare in her eyes.

"...I do. Like I said, I will spare no effort to ensure that the bright future I predicted will come, even at the cost of my life. I will endanger it as many times as it is necessary. I even carved a piece of my soul out just to lure Nox Suzaku to defeat it and collect its essence." Richard declared.

"...You are either unbelievably brave or idealistically foolish. Let us hope that it is not the latter. We will start testing those pendants of yours soon." Arecia remarked.

Richard nodded, as he began to recall on the day that he fought the Nox Suzaku alone, to achieve the next step in his plans...

Flashback at the time before the decisive battle on two fronts…

Richard immediately took to the air above Rubrum, using his natural flight to fly across the skies, as he zipped across the entire region looking for something, spending an hour or two locating it, when he finally did so.

'Found it…' Richard thought, as he saw that there was a murky blackness in the sky, that was moving around, as he could see the faint outline of a chaotic creature within it.

He then took a deep breath, as if preparing himself, clenching his fingers around the X-Stone, before entering the darkness, as all light disappeared from around him.

Despite being in near-total darkness, Richard did not falter, as he seemed to be accustomed to the darkness, moving around a guided path, until he reached the other side of the darkness, finding himself in a eldritch realm, filled with the yellow-red fog of ethereal material everywhere he can see.

He slowly moved down, before his feet landed on a solid surface, although it seemed like he was standing on thin air, with the transparency of the realm around him. Without delay, white misty silhouettes appeared, as they resembled the cadets of Class Zero, and even mockeries of Richard's group himself.

"Heh… I suppose that you really went at all stops to try and take me." Richard muttered to nothing in particular, before he then fought the waves of shades approaching, dodging and weaving through attacks, and using powerful spells to damage the shades and eventually defeat them.

Even when the standard Eidolons appeared, Richard did not falter, as he drove his blade right through a Ifrit Shade, and then firing off a massive fire spell to dispel the Shiva shade, while dodging the flying fists of a Golem shade, which he retaliated with a powerful wind spell that blew the ethereal constructs into pieces.

As soon as the enemies were cleared, Richard then waited for a few moments, as if expecting more enemies to come. After a while, he sheathed Divine Will, clasping Desidero in both of his hands.

"...Hope that this will work." Richard stated, before he then closed his eyes in preparation, before then driving the blade right through his chest, carefully slicing through only flesh and muscle, avoiding organs.

He writhed and growled in pain, as blood dripped from the wound, although he didn't pull the blade out, despite his instincts crying for him to do so, his vision dimming, as he felt the deathly cold overtake him. As he did, he noticed that the wound was beginning to leak Phantoma of its own, a pearly-white colour. He weakly smiled, before then finally pulling the blade out, staggering slightly from his self-inflicted injury.

As he did so, while managing to stay standing, he noticed that there was a large portal appearing before him, and out of it, was a deformed phoenix head, with large horns and a singular red eye, as it opened its beak to try and absorb Richard's phantoma.

"Nice try, but too bad your feast is cancelled!" Richard growled, before he then threw a pair of fire and ice spells, as they struck the creature's head, stunning it.

Richard then took the opportunity to create a sukima right in front of the head, before leaping through it, and landing a powerful strike that severely wounded it, causing dark phantoma to leak from its wound. He then sent another sukima towards the portal, as it expanded to the point that the edges of the sukima pressed against the edges of the creature's portal, forcing it open.

Enraged by the development, the head let out a shrilling screech, as countless shades appeared. Richard scoffed, before he then floated into the air, before then pulling out a spell-card.

"Declare Spell Card! Light Sign 'Shining Torrent'!" Richard declared, as a multitude of magic-circles appeared in the abyssal skies, before each one fired a rain of light orbs that exploded in contact with the enemy, destroying the army of shades, while burning the creature's head, as it screeched in agony.

By the time the spell-card attack had ended, the creature's head was severely wounded, as Richard leapt through the portal, finding himself facing the creature's entire body, as it was a orbiting mass of black feathered flesh, with countless heads pulsating and writhing inside of it, with large wings around it, connected to the top of the flesh dome. The flesh was constricted by red bindings shaped like an elliptical cage.

"Sorry, but you're going to need to pay a tithe for this demi-god!" Richard declared, before he then drew Divine Will again, placing himself with his blades on the side. "EIGHTFOLD LOTUS!"

Richard pulled the devastating attack onto the Nox Suzaku, as each attack caused great amounts of stored Phantoma to flood out of its wounds, and cut off a section of one of its wings. It then fell defeated, sinking into the abyss, while Richard caught the amputated portion of the creature's wing into a sukima, before then slowly leaving, while trying to stay conscious, with the current amount of blood he lost from prolonged bleeding.

As soon as he exited the realm, he slowly began to fall towards the ground, and then crashed onto the ground, hitting the ground in a roll, before finally stopping, hitting the ground back-first.

"Shit… That really smarted." Richard weakly stated. "Note to self… Don't be an idiot and strain yourself when you literally committed half-senpuku to draw out an eldritch demon bird... "

He then slowly reached out through one of his sukimas, and pulled out his healing potion, before drinking it slowly, his hand trembling and causing him to spill some of it on his face and the ground around it. As soon as he felt the effects kick in, he slowly sighed, and let the potion do its job in recovering his health, while keeping his senses alert for any monsters who would take the opportunity to kill him.

It took a while for Richard's body to heal to the point when Richard was in the condition to stand back up again, as he slowly did so, staggering across a few steps, and then kicking himself off the ground to float at a low altitude, heading back towards Akademia…

On the path to Akademia…

The group quickly reached one of the surrounding regions of Akademia, as they could see that they were bordering Rubrum territory, evident from the Rubrum flags hanging over several towns and bases along the road.

However, along their path, they noticed that the sky suddenly turned red with a loud rumble, frightening the cadets and the three members of Richard's group momentarily.

"W-What the hell was that!?" Nine exclaimed. "Am I seeing things right, or did the sky just turn red?"

"That's odd, I believe that this cannot be natural." Queen remarked.

Flora looked up to the skies, before she then was struck by a crushing sense of dread, reminiscent of the feeling she felt when Grunbeld's forces invaded the Great Spirit Forest, as her face paled.

"Heart… are you okay?" Cinque asked Flora. "You look so afraid… has something terrible happened?"

"...I fear that it's much worse… We must haste back to Akademia. We do not have much time before the crisis descends upon us!" Flora exclaimed with fear.

"...True, this does not bode well. We should tread carefully… Who knows what terrors await with this ominous change of weather." Gunter agreed.

Chen took one look at the red skies, as she growled, before spurring her Chocobo to go faster, as they made towards Akademia as quickly as they could. However, they didn't notice that Rem collapsed on her Chocobo, as if something triggered the illness within her, as Flora was the only one to notice.

"REM!" Flora cried, as the rest of Class Zero turned to see Rem's Chocobo run wild, as they moved to recover the unconscious cadet.

In Akaedemia…

Richard watched as the skies turned red, and listened as the starting cries of wary cadets and personnel could be faintly heard, as he took a puff from the pipe in his hand, and took a deep breath of the substance inside, and then exhaled it in smoke.

"...And so it begins." Richard answered back, before turning to Arecia, who was beside him. "...These innocent lives will be the first of the many to perish by the hands of Tempus Finis… Once again, Arecia Al-Rashia, the divine wheels of time turn at last… With each notch, hours of stolen time are carved out on the fabric of the aether… speeding to the final demise of this world, as it is foretold with the breaking of the first and most potent of seals… And with a voice of thunder…"

"We have arrived." A thunderous voice, overlapped with several male ones, was heard booming across the entire region, as panic took hold of the people around them.

"...The time has come at last. Our final act officially starts. Your role in this is done, for you have sowed the seeds of hope for a better end… This cycle will be the last of its kind, Arecia…" Richard declared, unfazed by the sudden chaos. "I have promised you that I would save Class Zero from their demise. They will not become l'Cie and die a meaningless death for a futile last stand. Just ensure that you make the right choice at the end…"

"I'll be watching how you write the last pages of this cycle from afar." Arecia declared, before she then left Richard alone.

"...Class Zero will not perish either, even if it is by the hand of the Rursan Arbiter." Richard stated to himself. "There have been far too many deaths in this world, and the saviours of this world is a price too great to pay for the end of the suffering. I will defy you, Gaia… or perish doing so. These lives you have toyed with… they will be wrenched from your hands in karmic justice."