Jack sighed when there was a soft knock at the door. He was hunched over his desk, reading over reports and several personal requests that'd been sent in. He'd gotten a request from Ursula to fight her newest golem—which Jack hated. He'd loved it as a 16 year old human, newly made sergeant by Chief Elwen. But as Chief Dragonheart, it was mostly a bother. Her golems were always so weak, and Jack was about ready to pass the request off to someone else, like Elwen had to him in the last life.
The knock was soft and quick, so it couldn't have been Gerald—which meant it probably wasn't important.
"Come in," he called, practically tossing a paper to the side and watching it flutter to the floor.
The door creaked open. A tiny face framed with pink hair poked in, smiling brightly. It was Alicia, his youngest sergeant. When she seemed to hesitate, he beckoned her in. She silently stepped in, closing the door behind her.
"What is it?" Jack asked. She smiled at him.
"I've been trying to speak to you for six days!" she said. Jack stared at her for a moment. He did remember Daniel mentioning that Alicia was looking for him on the day of the trainee selection trials. Something about a person wanting to meet him. "You were holed up, and since you've come out, you've been busy left and right! I haven't been able to catch you."
"Sorry about that," Jack said, trying to gently toss another paper to the side but accidentally throwing it too hard. It fluttered to the floor. Alicia watched it fall, and Jack stared at it on the floor. Oops.
"Well, anyway," she chuckled. "What I've been wanting to tell you is that a close friend of mine wants to meet you. She has something she'd like to ask of you."
"She can't come up here with you? It'd save us both a lot of trouble." Jack tried not to sound annoyed. He wasn't all for running around in town seeking random people out. "Or, they could put in a request for me. I'm sure I'd see it eventually." He gestured toward the pile of requests filed specially for him.
"No, she can't come to Vancoor. That's why she sent me to talk to you in her place. And she didn't want to file a request because she was worried you would take too long to see it, or not see it at all. And I think maybe she was right." She laughed and looked at the papers on the floor.
"Well, who is it? What do they want?"
"I can't say! And I'm not entirely sure what they want," she replied. Jack sighed at her.
"Sounds a bit suspicious, Alicia."
"I promise, it's not."
"I've been ambushed plenty in my lifetime by unnamed people asking me to meet them for undisclosed requests."
Alicia was looking a little disheartened. "Chief, she's a very good friend of mine. She won't tell me what she wants from you, but I promise it's nothing bad. Can't you take my word for it? She's been waiting a long time to see you. I'd hate to have to go back to her with bad news."
"You can't even give me her name?"
Alicia was looking more disheartened by the minute. "Chief. I'll go with you to meet her."
Jack leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. He closed his eyes for a moment, to think. Who could possibly be looking to meet him? He knew everyone in Radiata, but he didn't know who would be friends with Alicia and looking to meet him—especially not if Alicia couldn't say the person's name.
"At least tell me where I'd need to go to meet this person?"
"She wants to meet you in the Path of the Spider. That's where she's been living."
Jack shivered. "I'll think about it."
Alicia's face brightened. "Thanks, Chief! I'll let her know that you're thinking about it. I'm sure she'll be happy."
Jack nodded to her. With a huge smile on her face, Alicia turned and left the room, leaving him to dwell over all of his annoying papers in solitude. He looked up at the ceiling and stared at it, trying harder to think of who could be asking to see him that would send Alicia in their place. He supposed history wasn't repeating itself exactly, because the only person who should have been living in the sewers was Tony. But now there was a random woman living down there? Jack couldn't fathom a woman living down there. Big hairy disgusting Tony, sure. But a woman? Maybe he'd thrown off the repeating cycle more than he originally thought.
He looked back down at the requests. They were almost all duel requests. A lot of them were unnamed, with no meeting times and asking for him to be alone. He knew better than to fall for those. He reached for the first one he saw and tore it up, tossing the pieces of paper onto the floor. Then he stared down at them and realized…he was going to have to pick them up.
He was bored, and so picked up Ursula's request for him to duel her golem. It was put in that morning, and getting to about the time she'd be expecting him. Deciding he had nothing better to do, Jack decided he'd go to meet her. Why not? Glancing over the rest of the papers, he saw one was Gerald's report on his mission from three days before. Jack choked at the fact it'd taken him three days to see the report. He read it over quickly; blah, it was successful, no problems or injuries, blah. He grabbed the next paper, which was another phony duel request. He tossed it on the floor, and then picked up Ursula's request. Folding it up and wedging it beneath one of his armor plates for safe keeping, he stood from his chair and left the room.
Headed down to the lobby, he glanced over at Thanos, who was shuffling through papers of his own. He heard him coming and looked up at him.
"Headed out, chief?" he asked. Jack nodded.
"Another request from Ursula to duel one of her golems," Jack confirmed. "I shouldn't be long."
Thanos nodded, waving him off as he stared for the door. He left Vancoor and turned right to head toward the bridge. Ursula would be waiting as usual at the Echidna gate in Blue Town. Blue Town was one of Jack's favorite places in Radiata City, but it wasn't really a short walk. He went along the road, passing people and nodding to some—while completely ignoring others. He went into White Town, where he went down the single road, before turning onto the Path of Insanity and Fanaticism. He wound his way through Blue Town, past Vareth until he finally arrived at the Echidna gate. Surely enough, he saw Ursula waiting on the bridge. She saw him approaching and waved excitedly at him.
"Hi, chief!" she exclaimed. "Thanks for coming today!"
"I hope this golem is better than the other 98," Jack said.
"Oh, it will be! I'm sure of it!" she exclaimed. "Wanna go right now? Why waste time?"
"Sure, bring her out," Jack agreed, turning toward the bridge wall where he knew that Melissa the golem would drop. Within moments, the massive, grotesque golem dropped from above, staring at Jack with its nonexistent eyes menacingly.
"Don't hold back, chief!" Ursula said. "Melissa, attack!"
Jack held up his Ancient Axe, not even feeling a pinch of intimidation as the golem stepped over the bridge's side to meet him in battle. The golems she made couldn't beat him as an inexperienced 16 year old human using the Brionac spear and wearing the Wind Garb in the last life—there was definitely no way they could defeat him now, in the Valiant Mail with the Ancient Axe. He was hundreds of years old, extremely experienced, and infused with the power of the gold dragon Quasar.
He almost felt bored when Melissa stepped toward him.
He raised his axe and sliced at Melissa's legs with a low strike. Melissa toppled to the ground with a huge crash. While she was down, Jack attacked with a skull bash, aiming right for her head. With barely any effort, Melissa's head cracked open. Her body froze, and her head began to bellow smoke. Ursula rushed over.
"Dammit!" she cried. "I knew I should have added the bomb feature!"
Jack planted his axe's handle into the stone ground of the bridge, resting his arm on the inside of its C shape.
"Don't worry, chief, these are minimal damages! I'll have her fixed in maybe a week or two, and you can fight her again! I'll add the features I scrapped! She'll be better."
"I hope so," he said, putting his axe away.
"I wonder what kind of armor I could put on her that could withstand that axe of yours. Can you give me some tips?" Ursula said, turning and looking at him longingly. Jack thought on it; he was several hundred years old and had never come across any kind of armor that could resist the Ancient Axe. It was a legendary axe designed to kill dragons. He'd since learned it could kill beings much greater than that.
"Sorry, Ursula, I don't know if there's anything that strong," Jack replied honestly. "I've had this axe a long time, and I've never found anything my axe couldn't destroy. You'll have to keep trying."
Ursula sighed, visibly disheartened. "At this rate, I'll never beat you. I've gone through nearly 100 golems and none of them could defeat you, or even scratch your armor. And none of them lasted for more than a minute."
Feeling bad for her, Jack started thinking. "Maybe I could send someone else in my guild to fight your next one," he suggested. "You should start smaller. I'll pick someone less experienced, with regular armor and weaponry. You can work your way up to fighting me again. I'd rather your golems fight my lower-ranked warriors. I kind of feel bad always destroying them so quickly."
"Starting lower and working up would make sense." She still looked down.
"I'll send someone who I think is a better match for your golem next time. Let me know when you've got her fixed up. You can submit the request to me as usual. I'll pick someone new."
She looked up at him and offered him a sad smile. "Thanks, chief."
"I can talk to Ray about it, also. Weren't you negotiating to receive more funding based on your battles with me?"
Ursula's face lit up. "Really? Yeah, I was going to get more funding from Vareth if my golems could beat you."
"Well, I'll drop by the president's office and talk to him about it."
"Thank you, chief!" she cried. "I'll fix Melissa right up and show you that I can make a worthwhile golem!"
"Well I hope so. Good luck fixing her up." Jack turned and went to head back into town. Instead of turning down Insanity and Fanaticism, he kept going straight toward the front of Vareth. He figured he had nothing else to do, so might as well stop by Vareth and talk to them about Ursula's funding. He opened the front door of the institute and stepped inside. Roche glanced up from the front desk, expecting to see some young student—and looking visibly shocked to see Jack instead. She stared at him with her big swirly glasses as he walked up to the desk.
"Is the president available right now? I'd like to speak with him about something."
She was dazed by him, and seemed briefly unable to answer. She was staring at his armor in utter awe, looking amazed and extremely impressed by it. She seemed overall flustered that he was there.
"Hello?" Jack asked, trying to bring her back to reality. She jumped a bit, shaking her head.
"Y-yes, hello!" she said, adjusting her glasses.
"Did you hear me?"
"I'm sorry? What was your question?"
"Is the president available right now?" Jack asked again.
"The who? Oh! President Ross! Uh, uh…" She fumbled around for a few moments. "Y-yes! I think he's free at the moment! You can go ahead and head right on up, if you like! I'll let him know you're on your way. You can get up through either the Star or Moon Tower! The doors are in the cafeteria, through the door on the right over there to the left! Uh, I mean, the door on the right over there, on the left side of the"—
"Yes, thank you, I know what you mean," Jack interrupted before Roche could go off on a long spurt of confused rambling. She smiled and giggled nervously at him as he turned to the side and went toward the cafeteria door. It shot open with a hiss of air as he neared; inside the cafeteria, he went to the nearest door into the Moon Tower. Stepping through the next door, he rode the escalator slowly up to the president's office.
At the top of the stairs, the owl Ray C. Ross was perched on the chair behind his desk. Upon seeing Jack, he hooted and flapped his wings before finally settling down.
"Hell-o-o!" he hooted.
"Hello," Jack greeted back.
"Chief Dragonheart of Theater Vancoor! It's been a while since we've seen one another! I'm rather surprised to see you here, and in person! What brings you here today?"
"I just dueled Ursula's newest golem," Jack said. The owl nodded.
"Defeated again, was she?" He shook his head, ruffling his feathers. "Her golems are far from impressive."
"Well, that's why I'm here," he quickly said. "She was going to get more funding if her golem could defeat me, wasn't she? I'd like to negotiate that."
"Oh? How so?"
"Well, I'm hardly a match for her golems. I don't think it's fair to have the bar raised so high. It's impossible. Why do you have such a hard goal set for her?"
"It was her idea," he hooted.
"Well, I was talking to her. Rather than duel her golems personally, I'm going to send other warriors from my guild from now on, who are less experienced and more appropriately equipped to duel them. I'm too tough an opponent. So, I'd like to know if I could talk you into a new deal about her funding."
"And what's that? That we provide funding if she defeats your weaker warriors?"
"Yes. I'm far too strong for her golems. The goals she's striving for should be more realistic. Will you still give her funding if she can defeat someone else? She can work her way up to fighting me again after she's had more time to work on Melissa."
Ray took a moment to fluff his feathers, thinking about it. "Well, that's certainly a more reasonable goal. But understand…she was looking to get a massive raise in funding by defeating you. I offered a huge sum of dagols, because it was reasonable for the goal she set. If I agree to award her funding for defeating weaker opponents, then the funding will be less than originally promised."
"I'm sure there won't be a problem with that."
"Well then absolutely, I can accept your terms! I'm glad you've come to negotiate it, also. It's very considerate of you. I'll ask for her to visit sometime so we can discuss the new deal. I'm sure she'll appreciate it immensely."
"Thank you for hearing me out."
"Of course! Anything for the legendary Dragonheart."
Jack smiled. "I'll be leaving, then. Have a nice day, president."
"You too, chief."
Jack turned and stepped onto the escalator to ride it back down into the Moon Tower. Once he reached the bottom, he went into the cafeteria, and out into the lobby of the institute. Of course, Roche was still at her desk, and looked at him again with a stricken look in her eyes. Jack nodded to her and went straight for the door. He heard her let out a long sigh, and quickened his pace. He opened and door and left the building, stepping out into Blue Town and taking a deep breath. What a creepy girl.
He began to make his way through town back toward the Yellow Town. He cast a glance toward the Echidna gate, where Ursula was kneeling beside the fallen, still-smoking Melissa, working diligently on her broken head. Jack turned onto Insanity and Fanaticism, walking in a daze. He wondered if Elwen in the previous life thought that Ursula's golems were a waste of time and annoying to fight. Maybe that's why she sent Jack in her stead for the 100th golem. But he didn't recall Elwen negotiating with Vareth on Ursula's behalf—he remembered Ursula sadly mumbling about how she wouldn't be getting her promised funding, because she 'lost to someone weaker than the chief.'
He realized that even though he was distant from everyone and very bored by a lot of things, he was still a very different person from Elwen. More considerate at some times, and colder at others.
He still wondered where Elwen was in this new cycle. She wouldn't have ceased to exist; he couldn't stress to himself enough that he hadn't taken her spot in life, he'd only taken her job. Every once in a while he'd become paranoid that she was dead because he'd taken her place as Chief…but that didn't make any sense. He tried to think of where Elwen could possibly be in the new life, trying to recall her schedule from the previous cycle. He remembered most of the day, she would be underground in the sewers—
Jack gasped for air and nearly tripped.
He took off running through the White Town, headed right for Yellow Town. He ran down the Path of Swords and Wisdom, over the bridge, and to the staircase leading to Vancoor's back door. He bounded up the steps two at a time, bursting through the door into the 2nd floor hallway. He went to the second door into the Triton Squad Locker Room, where Alicia was admiring the flowers Dennis had collected for her.
"Alicia?" he asked. She jumped when he burst into the room.
"Hi, Chief. What's wrong?"
He took a few seconds to try and regain his composure. "Alicia. This person who wants to meet me. Is her name Elwen?"
Alicia's eyes widened, and she just stared at Jack for a few long moments. "Um…yes, it is. But how do you know that? How did you find out?"
He took a deep breath, a bit winded from running through the White and Yellow Towns. "You can tell her I'll meet her."
Alicia's face lit up like it did that morning. "Really? She'll be so excited!"
"I'll meet her tomorrow," he said. "Let her know tonight. I'll go down there with you tomorrow in the morning. Will that be all right?"
"Yes! Thank you, Chief!"
Jack nodded to her and left the locker room, closing the door behind him. He took another deep breath, and went for the stairs. Going down to the lobby, he walked over to Thanos, who gave him a half-smile.
"Welcome back, Chief! How was the duel with the Vareth golem?"
"Stupidly easy, as usual," Jack replied, pulling out the folded up written request from underneath his armor plate. "I'll be picking people to send in my place from now on as solo missions. Anyone who I give the mission to will get the pay instead of me. Speaking of which, split the pay between the Hecton and Septimo squads. They can stock up on items or buy some books or something."
"You sure you want to give any to the Hecton Squad?" Thanos cleared his throat.
Jack chuckled. "Make sure you give the money to Daniel, not Jarvis. I don't want him using the money for his bar tab again. This is squad money, not personal money."
"Sure thing, boss," Thanos said. Jack nodded to him and handed him the written request to file away. "Also, this was just delivered from the castle. It looks like another request from the knights." He handed Jack a sealed envelope which was undoubtedly one of Larks' requests. He went back toward the stairs, and made his way all the way up to the Chief's room. Before sitting down at his desk, he took a moment to kneel down and pick up all of the papers he'd tossed away that morning. He crumpled them all up and tossed them into the nearby trashcan. Then finally he sat at the desk, taking a deep breath.
To take his mind off of Elwen, he reached for the new letter from Larks, carefully unsealing it and pulling out the letter. It was a request for aid in another Rank D escort mission. He wrote out his reply on blank parchment, signed it, and then sealed it. He'd give this new mission to the Hecton Squad; surely this was something they could handle without a problem. It'd been a while since he'd given them a squad mission. Surely Jarvis' bar tab was starting to get high again, and Jack doubted he was taking worthwhile solo missions from Thanos. He'd give his written reply to Thanos next time he went downstairs. Thanos would mail it in for him.
Now without anything to distract himself, he sat back in his chair and thought about Elwen. So, she was living in the Path of the Spider in this life. He remembered vaguely that there was a room down there she frequented in the last life, along with Alicia. The Charnel. Perhaps that's where she was living. He wondered what she looked like. Would he finally get to see her face?
And what in the world did she even want from him?
(Late that Night)
Jack made his way up into Vancoor Square, headed for the fountain. It was undoubtedly his favorite place to spend the night. His distorted sense of time often saw days and nights where he was sleepless, and it was feeling like it was going to be one of those nights.
Caesar was there as usual, head bowed toward the fountain. He was standing completely still and silent. Jack walked up and sat on the fountain's edge near him, quietly listening to the water. His favorite sound; so relaxing.
Without opening his eyes, Caesar, noticing Jack's presence, said, "You've seemed a bit less conflicted the past few days. Have you been thinking on your dilemma?"
Actually, exactly the opposite. Jack had barely thought about it at all.
"Well," he began, not entirely sure what to say. "I've been avoiding it. I haven't really thought about it…at all."
"You should not avoid your problems," Caesar warned. "If this choice you must make is as great and influential as you made it seem, it hardly seems like something you should avoid."
Jack sighed. Caesar was right. But he was honestly still completely unsure where he stood regarding the impending human versus nonhuman war that was going to erupt, and regarding whether he should follow Aphelion's footsteps or follow the cosmic order. "I know, Caesar."
"I am always here for you if you need guidance. I respect your privacy, but you can trust me."
"Thank you, Caesar."
"What is bothering you tonight? I feel it is something different."
That was true. "Well, tomorrow I'm going to meet someone who I used to idolize when I was young. I haven't seen them in a very long time. I don't know what to expect."
"An old friend? Or perhaps a rival."
"A leader, actually. She was the one who set me on my path to lead the guild, really. She is an amazing warrior. Well, she was. I don't know what she is now."
"I am sure she remains the person you remember."
"I somehow doubt that, Caesar." Jack chuckled. "It's been a long time."
Caesar just smiled. "Have faith in your friends."
"I always will."
They sat there in silence for a while, both listening to the fountain. Finally, Caesar turned; he nodded to Jack, who nodded back, and then started off to head home. Jack watched him leave the square, before diverting his attention back to the fountain. He listened to its sound, and tried to count the ripples on the water's surface. People came and went through the square, looking at him—but everyone who passed through on their regular schedules was used to seeing him there, since he was a frequent visitor. It was another place, along with Vancoor, where Jack was used to being seen and so could be there without being too much of a spectacle or object of interest. He figured that was another reason why he was so comfortable there.
Surely enough, his sense of time twisted around until finally, after what felt like a very short amount of time, the sun had risen quite high in the sky. He stood from the fountain to look at the sun.
He turned and left Vancoor Square, following the path back to Vancoor. He went in, and was happy to see that Alicia was waiting in the lobby.
"Hi, Chief! Good morning!" she said cheerfully.
"Good morning."
"Were you at the fountain all night again? You sure do love it there."
"I really do. Is she ready to meet me?"
"Yes, she is! And she's very excited. Shall we go?" Alicia turned and went toward the stairs leading to the basement. Jack could already feel dread creeping over him—not because he was meeting Elwen, but because he had to go into the sewers. He hated that place.
He followed Alicia down the stairs to the second floor basement, then into the cells. In the fifth cell, they took the ladder down into the Path of the Spider. Jack's least favorite place in the entire world; in all his life, it was the one place he'd never memorized. He avoided it like the plague. Because literally, he was worried he might catch one down there.
But Alicia knew exactly where she was going. She walked along in the darkness. Jack felt queasy the longer they were there; the sound of running water filled the sewer; despite being Jack's favorite ambient noises, it was making him feel sick. He glanced at the water, which was filled with gunk and a thick sludge, with the occasionally lump of trash. Some parts of the walkway were blocked, and the two had to step into the water to pass it. Jack grabbed his red cape, holding it up high so it wouldn't drag through the water and get stained with the sewage. He held it close, not feeling like letting it get ruined. He also glanced down at his armor occasionally; he loved his legendary armor dearly, and was looking to see if the disgusting water was soiling his armor's lovely chartreuse sheen. It didn't look like it, but Jack was still paranoid. He'd be scrubbing it as soon as he was back above ground.
He followed Alicia faithfully, trusting her not to mislead him. He paid very little attention to the path they were taking. He doubted he could find his way back to the ladder in a reasonable time if Alicia decided to bolt and ditch him. He shivered when a storm of bubbles splashed some of the water up onto the path.
Alicia quickly struck down a mud fighter that charged at them from the water. The sludge-covered skeleton fell back into the water in pieces, and Alicia sheathed her sword with a sigh. Jack didn't even need to draw his axe, thankfully—he wasn't looking to stain it with sewage. He did quite love its shimmer.
"I really, really hate it down here," he made sure to point out.
"I do, too," Alicia agreed. "It's quite disgusting. We're almost there."
He continued to follow her through the sewers until finally, they reached a large crack in the wall that was well-lit from within, casting a ray of light out into the darkness.
"This is it," Alicia told him. "Elwen is inside!"
She stepped through the crack, and Jack followed.
Jack looked around the Charnel; it was just as strange as he was able to vaguely remember it from the previous life. Weirdly ceremonial, almost creepy, and lit with candles.
But standing before the altar was a very familiar silhouette, and Jack was breathless for an instant. It really was Elwen, clad in her Ancient Mail with the shimmering Avcoor in hand. She was standing there, back straight; her armor was the same, and just as Jack remembered, her face was still concealed by the unique helmet.
"Hello, Dragonheart," she said, her voice ringing through her own helmet to create the recognizable echoing effect Jack had known so well during his time as a human. "My name is Elwen."
"Yes, I know," Jack couldn't help but say.
"I've been training down here in the Path of the Spider for a long time, all in preparation for this day."
"This day?" Jack asked curiously. "What are you talking about?"
"I followed my beloved Alfred many years ago. When he died, he told me I was meant to lead the warriors of the human race—Theater Vancoor. But when I went to form the guild, I found it already formed, and sitting at the top was none other than you, legendary Dragonheart. They say you have golden eyes, and never age."
"The rumors even make it down here to the sewers? I'm impressed," Jack mumbled.
"I am the rightful leader of the warriors."
Jack's heart dropped. He had a feeling he knew where this was going.
"It is a mission left to me by my beloved. And so, Dragonheart, that is why I've called you here today."
"To kill me?" Jack demanded.
"No," she replied quickly. "Of course not. I want to challenge you. For the right to lead Vancoor. I wish to face you in a fair duel."
Jack stared for a moment, utterly shocked by what was happening. "You're challenging me for my position?"
"Yes. Do you accept, Dragonheart?"
Jack turned to glare at Alicia, who was standing off to the side looking small. She clearly had no idea what Elwen had planned. Jack was frustrated, but could bring himself to be mad at her. He turned back to face Elwen with a sigh. "Elwen. I don't want to fight you."
"I don't care if you want to. I am challenging your leadership. I am the rightful leader of Vancoor. Face me!"
Jack swallowed hard. She was right. She was the rightful leader of the guild. She was the one who was meant to be Chief. But he had taken that from her in this life. He mentally slapped himself for not even considering that one days he might appear and try to take her rightful place.
"…Fine. I'll face you in a duel. What will you do if I win?" More like when he won. She couldn't defeat him. He'd beat her fair and square with much weaker armor and weaponry as a human. There was no way he could lose now.
"If you win," she began, "You can keep your place as Chief. I only ask that if you do win, you allow me to challenge you again in the future, after I've trained more. But I am confident in my skills now. I will defeat you."
"Very well. If you win, I'll give Vancoor to you. If I win, you'll leave me alone until you've trained more."
Elwen nodded, assuming her fighting stance and raising the Avcoor toward Jack. Jack pulled out his axe and readied himself as well. He saw her helmet move slightly as she locked her gaze onto his axe. Surely it was unlike anything she'd ever seen. He wasn't surprised.
"Your axe looks quite strong. But I am here to claim my rightful place. I will defeat you, legendary Dragonheart. Feel the sting of the legendary Avcoor!"
She let out a battle cry and lunged toward Jack. Jack raised his axe to block her attack. He saw Alicia jump away from the two, and run around the edge of the Charnel to standing by Alfred's altar. Jack blocked a second attack from Elwen, whose blows were powerful just as he remembered.
He swung his axe in a low strike, knocking Elwen off her feet. But in a flash, she was back up, rushing him again. He tried to attack, but she was faster with her one-handed sword than he was with his heavy axe. She jumped out of the way and attacked him from the side. He felt the full strike of her Avcoor against his side, but his Valiant Mail protected him from any harm, and she jumped back in surprise at the ineffectiveness of her attack. He glanced down at his armor; there wasn't even a scratch on it. He was actually rather surprised. He figured it any weapon in the world could scratch his armor, it would be the Avcoor. But he was wrong.
He looked at Elwen with a new sense of confidence. This was really an uneven match.
"Not even a scratch?!" Elwen boomed, clearly disturbed by the ineffectiveness of her legendary Avcoor.
"I'm Chief for a reason," Jack replied.
"Having good armor doesn't make you a good Chief!" Elwen cried, lunging for him again. Jack blocked her, and then swung for her abdomen. One of the spikes on the edge of his axe left a deep scratch across her breastplate, which she stared down in awe at. While she was distracted, Jack rushed in for another attack. The force of his swing tore off the right shoulder from her armor, knocking her back into the wall of the Charnel while her broken armor piece fell into the water. She ran a distance away, taking a few moments to regain control of herself. She tried once more to run in and strike him. Her speed again beat Jack's axe; she was able to hit him again, this time more straight on and in closer proximity. Jack felt the force of the Avcoor's bright blade trying to rip open his armor. Sparks exploding from the contact, showering them both. Jack was barely blown back by the attack—but he was stunned briefly by the deafening sound of the sword against his breastplate.
Elwen was equally affected; she stumbled back, stunned by the overwhelming sound. The both stood there for a moment; Alicia was behind them, covering her ears. After recovering, Jack looked down again. His armor was undamaged.
But the Avcoor's translucent, fiery blade looked to be chipped, just along the edge.
Elwen was staring at it in horror; even Jack was looking at it in awe.
"Impossible!" Elwen yelled. She looked at Jack. "That armor is unreal! It's impossible! The Avcoor is the strongest weapon in the world!"
"Actually"—Jack brandished the Ancient Axe—"this is."
Elwen let out a scream as she charged Jack in a last-ditch effort, visibly disheartened by the failure of her holy sword. Jack rushed forward to meet her. She swung the Avcoor, and Jack swung the Ancient Axe; they clashed together. Jack, worried that the Avcoor would break upon contact, angled his axe just slightly. With a crash, the Avcoor was blown from Elwen's hand, flying off to the side toward the altar where Alicia gasped in shock. Elwen stared after in in complete horror. Jack jumped forward and struck Elwen one final time, straight to the chest. Her armor was punctured, but Jack was very careful not to actually harm her. She was blown back by the sheer force of the blow, landing in a pool of water with a resonating grunt. Alicia rushed over to her, kneeling beside her in a panic. It was all over her face—she was looking for blood, having assumed Jack's spiked axe had stabbed her.
But Elwen was unharmed—just shaken. She stared up at Jack, who walked up to her. Alicia tried to lean over her to protect her, sobbing, but Jack had no intention of hurting either of them. He lowered his axe to his side, staring down at Elwen. "I won."
Elwen was briefly at a loss for words. She looked at the Avcoor, thrown across the Charnel, and then down at her punctured armor, which had never before been scratched by an enemy's weapon. She looked back up to Jack. "Unbelievable. This…is unbelievable. Your armor…and axe. Are not from this world. It's impossible."
She was actually right. The axe was from the Dragon Lair Cave, and the armor was from the distant Distortion Corridor. Both were otherworldly places. But Jack never knew how powerful they were until that moment; the fact the armor was unscratched by the Avcoor had even Jack at a loss for words.
"I've lost," Elwen stated. "I will keep my word. I will not challenge you again until I have grown stronger. But please, when I feel I am ready, will you meet me again in battle?"
"Of course," Jack said, almost smiling sympathetically. "You know, I actually know who you are. I always used to idolize you."
He didn't need to see Elwen's face to know she was surprised. Even Alicia looked surprised—almost confused.
"I always wanted to know what your face looked like. I take it you still won't show me, even now."
Elwen took a moment to reply. "I cannot. I wear this armor for the sake of my beloved Alfred. I must never remove it in the presence of other people."
"Will you show me your face…if I show you mine?"
Alicia gasped. No one had seen Jack's face in 16 years. The only people to see it were the previous Deputy Chief, Wight, and the doctor who cared for him when he was struck with pain. And before then, no one had seen his face. He'd never shown it to anyone, always keeping it concealed with the helm of his Valiant Mail. Everyone knew this. No one in the guild, or all of Radiata, had ever seen his face.
Elwen was silent. She looked at the shocked Alicia, obviously being made aware of the offer being extended to her. But still, she shook her head. "I'm sorry, Dragonheart, I cannot. Maybe in the future, but not today."
Alicia grabbed onto her arm. "Elwen! No one has ever seen the Chief's face. You can't turn him down…"
"I'm sorry, Alicia. Not today."
Jack sighed with disappointment. He promised himself, before he died, he'd see Elwen's face. Even if that meant yanking off her helmet against her will. "Well, my offer will still stand. I will remove my helm if you remove yours."
"I understand. Maybe…someday." Elwen struggled to sit up. Alicia took her hand and helped her to stand. She looked down at her armor once again. "I will need to get this fixed…"
"I'll pay for the repairs," Jack offered. Elwen looked ready to protest. "Trust me, I have more money than I know what to do with. It's the least I can do."
She seemed to accept that. "Tell me, Dragonheart. Are the rumors about you true?"
"Not all of them."
"But some of them are."
Jack nodded. "I'll leave it up to you to decide which ones."
She grunted at him. "I am very impressed by your skills. Armor and weapon aside, you are very powerful. An extremely worthy opponent. I will continue to train until I can defeat you."
"You might not even need to defeat me," Jack said. He sensed confusion from the two women. "Maybe someday soon, I'll give Vancoor to you." He knew someday soon he'd need to leave regardless if he wanted to or not. Might as well leave the guild in good hands. Who would be better to replace him than Elwen?
"Chief, you're…?" Alicia trailed off.
"…I can't stay with Vancoor much longer," Jack said sadly. Alicia looked struck with all kinds of emotions. "Someone will have to take my place. I'd leave it to Gerald, but…Elwen would probably be a better choice. But please keep all of this a secret for now, Alicia." Elwen nodded.
"Yes. This should stay between us."
Alicia nodded.
Elwen sighed. "Even if you feel you should leave soon, I would still like to duel you. I shall seek out more opponents to grow stronger. I think I will need to move even further south to find them. Perhaps blood orcs should be my next target."
Jack hated blood orcs. "They will always be worthy opponents. They're quite strong."
Jack remembered the face of the blood orcs. Galvados, the blood orc leader, had been a close ally of his in the previous life—but he was the only blood orc Jack ever looked at with anything less than a searing hatred. It was because of a blood orc that Ridley's fate as the future vessel was sealed. Of course, Jack had taken her place, but it was all because of a blood orc.
And in that moment, Jack froze where he stood.
He tried to speak to the women, but found he barely had any voice to speak with. Finally after several tries, and a few moments of the women questioning if he was okay, he managed to ask, "What time is it?"
"It should be just after noon," Alicia said. She walked over to Jack, reaching out to him as though she feared his health had gone awry. Was that why he was claiming he would need to leave Vancoor? Failing health? Jack could see the thoughts and worries practically plastered on Alicia's nose.
But failing health was the furthest from his problems. His heart was trembling, fluttering uncontrollably, and he felt sweat break out on his forehead beneath his helm. His hands were shaking. "Alicia, please take me out of here. Back to Vancoor. Now."
Struck by worry, Alicia started for the door. "I'll be back, Elwen."
"I will be here," she said. "It was an honor facing you, Dragonheart. I look forward to meeting you in battle again."
But Jack didn't hear her. He didn't see her. He was right on Alicia's toes, following her closely. He needed her to lead him out. Out of the sewer, and back above ground. "Please, Alicia. Faster!"
Alicia broke into a run through the sewer, drawing her sword and striking down the sludgy enemies that sprung out from the water in their way. They ran through the pathways, in and out of the water. Jack didn't care for his cape getting dirty, and didn't care about the water seeping into his boots. He was watching Alicia's back, following her blindly through the sewer. In what felt like ages to him, they finally reached the ladder leading back up into Vancoor's basement. Alicia stepped aside to let Jack go first. Using as much strength as he could muster, Jack ascended the ladder as fast as he could, skipping some bars. He jumped up into the cell, throwing the iron door open and bolting for the door. He bounded up the staircases to the ground floor, leaving a confused and worried Alicia in the dust.
Gerald was in the lobby, and tried calling out for him. But Jack was blind to him. He shoved him out of the way as he ran for the front door, unaware of anyone around him. Gerald was calling after him, and even followed him for a bit, but stopped when Alicia ran upstairs, claiming Jack was suddenly struck and was panicking about something.
But Jack didn't hear.
He ran through Yellow Town, through White Town, through Blue Town. He flew through the Echidna gate, running as fast as his armor would allow him into the Tria region. He followed the path to the fork in the road and turned north, running straight for the Nowem region. His breath was nonexistent to him—he wasn't focusing on it. He plowed through all of the enemies that stood in his way. He was blind to everything.
The only thing staining his vision was blood. Blood, tears, and dust.
And in the center of it all…the face of a blood orc.
And the vivid memory of Ridley lying in the dirt.
Dying.
