Chapter 8
-BLANK-
The effect of the Exsphere had significantly slowed down, much to Kratos' relief. The Crest sadly didn't reverse any of them, however. At the very least, it stretched out the time of the gem claiming everything, to make Lloyd an emotionless Angel.
Oddly enough, there were no wings. Kratos had expected his son to develop translucent wings like himself. But there wasn't anything like that. Maybe that was a good thing, maybe that meant Lloyd wasn't completely affected.
With the Regeneration getting closer and closer, the Seraphim had to do more work on the surface. To his surprise, Mithos offered to train his son in his stead. Of course, Kratos did not like this idea. Then again, maybe was a good thing; Mithos most likely will not kill his son. If he was going to put effort in him, it would be a waste to just end it.
Finally, it was time. Only about a month left until the oracle would descend upon Iselia and mark the start of the Regeneration of the world.
Kratos realized he hadn't seen his son in quite some time; it had been several years. The boy was now a teen, even close to becoming an adult. His hair was still pretty much the same way; messy but stylish somehow. His height made him look younger than he actually was, absolutely not taking after his father in that regard. He was clad in rather typical Cruxis clothing, close to Kratos his own 'official' outfit, but red instead of blue. And the only belts he wore were those holding up his duel swords.
But those eyes.
While the teen stood next to Mithos, seemingly waiting for him in Walgaia, those were what caught the Seraphim's attention. They were void of light, empty and cold with a distant stare, having a red color instead of the hazel brown. No more smile, no more warm welcome. Nothing. He was just... blank.
Mithos grinned at the shock in his former mentor's eyes. "A pitiful Keycrest like that, did you really think it would do anything for him? That it would save your son?"
"What..."
"He is of Cruxis now." Like Lloyd was nothing more but property. "He will guide the Chosen on her journey. Everything is set up to go smoothly. And I am sure, you will be watching from a distance."
"This... This was all you. You've set this up. You knew this was going to happen." Kratos said it softly, clenching his fist for just a moment.
A cold chuckle came from Mithos. "It seems I have the both of you dancing at my strings."
"You think I am just going along with this?!"
A momentary flurry of emotions flared his mana, making his blue wings appear. He reached for the hilt for his sword, when Lloyd unexpectedly stepped in between them, drawing his twin swords. Crimson red, void eyes stared at him intently, unblinking.
"Now, now, Kratos. Don't be rash. You wouldn't hurt your own son now, would you?" Mithos said this with a twisted chuckle.
The image of that young boy shattered, literally burning in his mind. It only left Yggdrassill, the heavily disturbed leader of Cruxis. And how ever much Kratos would love to deny it, he had him cornered. Feverishly, he tried to think of something, anything. To get his son out of here, out of the web of this very deadly spider.
"I would just as easily remove it, you know." Mithos said coldly, eying the Exsphere of the teen in between them. "You know like no other what happens then. He is at my mercy, as he always has been. You will both do what you are told, follow the plan down to the very last seal. Then, finally, my sister will have her vessel. She will join us and we will be a family again."
The Cruxis leader said this dreamily, as he gazed into the distance. Kratos would have loved to punch him, square in that perfect pale face. But again, or even still, he could not do that. It would risk too much.
A deep sigh, before Kratos forced himself to calm down. There had to be a way, he just had to believe in that. The situation was dire, but not lost. Right?
"Would you bring him to the outskirts of Iselia, Kratos?"
"Very well."
No 'my lord', no bow. Mithos would forgive it, this once. He was so sure he was winning, it put him in a very forgiving mood. Kratos grabbed Lloyd by his arm and disappeared with him. He knew his every move will be watched so running was not an option.
The outskirts of Iselia mostly consisted of grass lands, hills, a forest and a house of Salvation further down the road. The Ranch stood on a cliff, standing out like a sore thumb.
Kratos turned his son towards him, looking him straight in the eyes. "Lloyd, can you hear me, are you there?"
All his son did, was blink once, staring at him blankly. Damn it! Kratos let go of him, dropping his arms to his sides.
"I swear... If it's the last thing I do, I will free you."
Lloyd tilted his head at this. No words, no expression in his face. That brilliant smile was gone. No more hugs, a cheery 'daddy' aimed his way, even the questions, he missed. Kratos took a deep breath.
"You know what to do, right?"
His son gave a single nod as an answer. He then just turned, towards the town and walked that way. Kratos watched him go, unfurling his wings and flying out of sight. He was wracking his brain, trying to come up with a solution.
The lone teen, openly armed with two swords, approached the town gate. The two men standing guard were hardly impressive; they were armed with pitch forks and wore helmets that seemed to be made out of tin buckets.
"Halt, stranger. You can't enter so heavily armed," one of the guards said, trying to block the teen's path.
Lloyd just ignored him, passing him by the side.
"H-hey, stop!"
At the same time, a blond girl came running, a young, silver haired boy following close behind.
"Colette, slow down, you're gonna..."
"Ah!" The girl tripped over her own feet, falling toward the ground.
"...fall." The silver hair waited for the 'thud', for her hitting the ground. It didn't come.
Colette felt a hand, holding on to her wrist, preventing her to fall face first. She was pulled up, back on her feet and let go. She had to look slightly up to meet this person's eyes.
There was a momentary shock of the empty look in those eyes, but Colette quickly recovered, smiling at the stranger.
"Thank you so much for catching me!"
"Colette, are you okay?" The silver haired boy came closer, eying this stranger, on his guard.
"Yup, thanks to this guy. Thanks again! Are you a traveler, what's your name?"
Colette kept her sweet smile, looking at the teen with glee. There was no answer, as he just stared blankly.
"Um, come on, Colette. We should go."
"Okay, Genis. See you later."
Happily, Colette waved, now following behind the elven boy. Lloyd blinked once, watching them go. He kept standing where he was, the guards not really sure what to do with him. But as long as he did nothing, they supposed he also would do no harm.
"...what to do?"
Hiadra caught the tail end of the conversation between the two town guards. He knew them as Mire and Fahl; this was a small town after all. With himself being the only shopkeeper, you were bound to know every face and name.
The two were eying a young man, with a rather unique hair style. It was brown and spiky, messy and stylish at the same time. Because of the bright colors he wore, his pale face stood out. But what really caught attention, were his eyes. There was an unnatural, red gleam about them, and it even seemed like there were no pupils.
"Is something the matter?" Hiadra asked the two men, after taking a look at this teen.
"Oh hey, Hiadra. It's just that we don't know what to do about this kid. He just walked straight into town without permission." Mire started.
"While he did prevent the Chose from falling, he has done nothing ever since. Just been standing here, not moving. For the whole day," said Fahl, nervously darting his eyes to the boy. "It's just weird."
"Oh, come now. He is just a kid. Maybe he is just lost. Have you tried talking to him?"
"Yeah, but he doesn't say a word," answered Mire.
Hiadra turned to the boy. "I'm sorry, my boy. We don't mean to be rude. We just aren't used to having strangers here. Are you lost, do you need something?"
The boy kept on staring ahead, seeming not hearing or even acknowledging him.
"Do you have a name? I am Hiadra."
He stepped closer, holding out his hand. Still nothing. No glances, movement or even blinking. It was getting weird indeed.
"Hey, if there is something you want to do, I can always use help at my small plantation." He pointed to his shop and home, which had the grapes right behind it. "You can make yourself useful."
Make yourself useful. The voice of Mithos Yggdrasil echoed in his mind. Earn their trust.
Lloyd nodded once, now looking at the man in front of him. Hiadra couldn't help but stumble back. Those eyes. They seemed empty, void of emotions, of life.
"Uh yes, you want to help out?" the shop keep asked.
Again, the teen nodded just once.
"Alright. You can come along. I will show you the ropes."
"Are you sure about this, Hiadra?"
"Yes, Fahl. I bet he is just shy or needs to occupy himself with something. We don't have that many able teens walking around, so the help is welcome."
The two guards nodded, watching him lead the boy toward the shop, clearly still on the fence about this all.
"I grow grapes here mostly for food. And for something stronger. These," he took hold of a grape, picking it with a quick tug, "are ripe. A deep, purple color and rather firm. That is how you can tell. Simple enough, right?"
The boy just nodded once. Hiadra picked up a basket and held it out to him.
"Gather them in here. I'll be doing some inventory and will check on you in a bit."
Saying nothing, the boy just got to work. He seemed to be very deliberate in his movements. Not a fast one for sure, Hiadra thought. Oh, well. We'll see how useful he can be. Hopefully, he'll loosen up.
Lloyd went on grape picking, doing exactly what he was told. The words 'be useful' continuing to echo in his mind.
"Oh, hey again." A young, female voice said cheery.
The girl known as Colette came from the other side of the fence that was protecting the plantation. A sweet smile on her face, she leaned her hands on the wood railing of the fence.
"Doing work, huh? That's great! I know Hiadra has been looking for help lately. Sadly, most here are either too young or not strong enough for the heavier work. But I'm sure you will be of great help!"
Colette smiled widely, even though it seemed the boy was still focused on his work, not paying attention to her.
"Colette, come on. Help us with dinner!" A male voice called out for her.
"Coming father! Well, I got to go. Good luck and don't forget to have fun. Bye, bye!" She waved and ran to her father, who was waiting further down the road.
For just a moment, Lloyd watched her go, before he continued his work. A while later, Hiadra came to check on him. He discovered a full basket and checked the grapes; they all seemed to be ripe. The boy just stood next to the basket, motionless.
"You got them all?" This surprised Hiadra, as he looked over the plantation. Sure enough, it seemed like all the ripe grapes were picked.
"Wow, good job kid. You've done more than enough. You wanna come in? Have some food and rest?"
The boy shook his head once.
"Uh, then what will you do? It's gonna be dark soon. I got a small inn; you can sleep here if you want."
Void eyes looked at him. No, it felt more like they were looking right through him.
"You're done for today, kid. Take a load off."
At these words, the boy just walked past him. He went back to the exact spot he stood before, taking the same position again.
Hiadra didn't know what to do, or what to think. Sure, this kid was helpful. But clearly something was wrong here. Then again, why refuse help?
The next day, the shop keep put the boy on plucking all the weeds. From what he had heard, the kid stood on the same spot the whole night. Was his mind this screwed up? Hiadra shook his head; all he could do was guess.
Mire entered his shop. "We need some help, Hiadra."
"Oh, has something happened?"
"In a way. Last night, some monsters were rummaging around to the east of town. It was just behind the Chosen's house, outside of the fence. Their antics made some trees fall over."
"Did anyone get hurt?"
"No, nothing like that. The only damage is the fence partially broke down. We need help removing the fallen trees and to fix the fence."
"I see. Alright, we will come with you."
"Huh, we?" Mire frowned confused.
"Hey boy! Come along. We have to help out somewhere."
Hiadra called out back. Sure enough, the teen came to him right away.
"Uh."
"You need a lot of hands, right? He can help out too. Let's go."
Mire slowly nodded, clearly uncomfortable. He went ahead of them, leading them to the back of the Chosen's house. Sure enough, a few trees behind the outline fence had fallen over. One had taken a part of the fence along with it.
A cart was set up, waiting for the load of wood. There were about ten men, among them Frank, the father of the Chosen. Hiadra walked up to him, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"Everything alright?"
"Yes, we are just fine. Thank you for coming to help."
"No problem."
"Alright. We'll have to chop up the trees if we want to be able to take them out of here. We remove the trees first and then we fix the fence, to secure the area." Mire explained to them all.
The men nodded, intending to pick up an axe and get to work. They all looked up at the sound of wood creaking. With their mouth agape, all of them watched how a relatively small teen age boy picked up a big tree trunk without any problem. He dragged it, seemingly planning to just take along the whole thing in one piece.
"What in the world?"
"How?"
"That's not even humanly possible."
The men mumbled among themselves. Hiadra needed a moment to recover from the shock.
"Uh... kid. We need to make blocks out of it, so we can use it for later."
At this, he just dropped it, an impressive 'thump' proving the trees real weight. Looks were exchanged, no one really knew how to really react to this.
"Hey everyone! Thought you'd all like a lovely cup of tea."
The young Chosen caught everyone's attention. She was carrying a tray full of slightly steaming mugs.
"Ah, Chosen. How nice of you. Thank you." Hiadra take one of the mugs.
"No, no, thank you all, for your hard work," she said with a smile. She went around, offering all the men tea, ending up at the youngest one. "You are helping to? Great! It's so heart-warming to see people coming together like this."
Colette held out the last cup for him, but the teen did not take it. She tilted her head.
"Oh, you don't like tea? No worries, I'll get it right next time. I won't keep you all any longer. Thank you."
Bowing to all the men, she waved after, going back inside the house.
"Alright. Let's get to some wood chopping. I trust you can do that?" Hiadra aimed his gaze at the teen.
Just one nod. At the very least, he wasn't a complainer. But with that show of strength, just what was he?
The next day, Hiadra found the teen at the exact same spot once again. No one seemed to dare push him, not after yesterday's showcase.
"Kid, I have to run an errand today, outside of town. I will be back by tomorrow. Just... I don't know, find something else to do."
The man honestly was at a loss with him. No reaction came, not even a nod. Hiadra just let it be. Life had to go on, so he headed off after saying a short goodbye to the guards. They eyed the teen as well, who remained motionless.
This lasted for about an hour, until the Chosen came by, like she did every morning, to ask for any news. Mire told her about the shop keep leaving, and shared his thoughts about the teen, feeling awkward about how he was acting.
"Oh. Then I know just the thing."
Colette walked over and took hold of the teen's right hand. "Come on, I will give you a proper tour of the town. Sounds nice, right?" She smiled as she gingerly pulled him along.
The guards were somewhat surprised at the fact the teen went along with this. Now at the very least, he would be occupied. Colette gave him the tour, guiding him around, stopping by every house, talking about the people who lived there and its history. The tour didn't take that long.
"Iselia is a small town, it is mostly quiet. Not much happens here. Most people that come here are curious about the oracle."
They stood in front of the north gate of the town. It gave a view of the sea ahead and in the distance, there was a temple on a hill, nestled against the rock wall. Her sky-blue eyes looked at that for a moment.
Shaking her head, Colette turned to the brown-haired teen next to her. "Guess that's everything. Sorry if it isn't that interesting. I do hope you stay here for a while. Not many people of my age come here. Of course, I don't want to keep you, if you have other plans. Oh, I'm sorry, I'm rambling."
The last bit, the girl mumbled more to herself, looking down at the ground. Her golden hair fell in front of her face.
"Uh, Colette, what are you doing?" The voice of Genis sounded from behind them.
"Oh, hehe. I just gave a grand tour." She put on a smile, turning around.
"Oookay." The young elf eyed the stranger. "Are you coming? Class is starting. My sister doesn't like it if you come in late."
"I know." Colette turned back to the teen. "Thank you for your time. I'll see you later. Bye now."
She went with Genis, waving as they walked to the school. The young elf frowned while looking up at her.
"Why are you hanging out with him?"
"Huh?"
"Come on, Colette. This is a small town. Everyone knows everything. What are you doing? He is a stranger."
"So? He saved me from a fall and he is working, helping out."
"We don't know his intentions, his motives or even his name. Can you trust someone like that?"
"You sound like your sister, Genis."
This made him stop dead in his tracks, looking down.
"I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean anything by it. You have to give people a chance. I just think he needs some time to warm up. That's all."
Genis looked up again, seeing her kind, sweet smile. All he could do he was nod. Not that long ago, he was in the same situation after all. And Colette was one of the few that accepted him right away, who didn't question him. She had a kind heart for sure. Hopefully, it won't end up being broken.
Small note: I made art for Lloyd's outfit ( deviantart asotte/art/Cruxis-842767335 ). It's not perfect or anything, just to give an idea.
