The Aegis Awakens
/Chapter Twenty-two: Monado/
Despite being fully aware that he should have tried to talk to Malos, Rex was unable to bring himself to do it. Part of him was ashamed to realize that he had not even suspected that his own wounds were being replicated onto the Aegis. Staring down at his left hand, Rex wondered if Malos had known this would happen back when they first talked.
"Is everything alright, Rex?" Azurda asked from the Leftherian's helmet. The fifteen-year-old did not answer, his eyes still focused on his injured hand. "Rex!" The Titan called out as he flew out of the helmet and moved to flutter in place in front of Rex.
Eyes widening, Rex's eyes shot up to Azurda. "W-what?" He questioned before he seemed to realize that Azurda had probably asked him something. "Sorry, Gramps. I was lost in my thoughts…. What was your question?" Azurda watched the Leftherian's expression for a moment before repeating the question.
Rex nodded his head while speaking. "Yeah, I am. I just…feel horrible that I never realized Malos was getting hurt along with me…."
"Did Malos show any signs of being hurt?"
Thinking for a moment, Rex thought back to when they had fought Mòrag and Regan at Gormott. He recalled Malos' behavior as being strange, especially when the Aegis had seemed to be exhausted. Rex now thought about when he had been struck by one of the fiery whips and had looked at Malos afterward.
"Sort of." He paused, in thought. "I just thought he was tired from all the fighting." Rex had never seen Malos' injuries that day since his black plated armor would have hidden them. "Why didn't he tell me that he was hurt too, Gramps?" The Leftherian questioned as he looked down at his left hand again.
The Titan sighed, "I don't know, Rex. Why don't you ask him about it?" Azurda looked back at the sound of footsteps approaching them. Spotting Malos, Azurda watched as the Aegis stopped in place for a moment. The Titan gave the Blade a reassuring nod before flying over to where Tora and Poppi were currently talking near the inn.
Malos took a moment to consider his approach before he sighed and finally walked close enough to Rex to start a conversation. "Why…. Why didn't you tell me? If I had known, I would've-" Rex started before he was interrupted by the man.
"You would've done what, kid? Sharing injuries doesn't change the fact that worrying about me is pointless. Just worry about yourself."
The fifteen-year-old's eyes widened a little at Malos' sharp tone. Malos's, in turn, softened a little as he noticed Rex's hurt expression. Looking at the ground, the dark Blade felt a sudden urge to take back what he had said. It was what he truly believed; however, he realized that he might have been too harsh.
"Look, kid, I'm sorry. You shouldn't worry about me. I don't deserve it…."
Rex clearly did not hear the last part as he smiled a little. "I just would've been more careful if I knew you were getting hurt too. I mean, you must've had burns after we fought against Mòrag. How were you able to hide it so easily?"
The Aegis scoffed at the 'easily' part, crossing his arms over his chest. "It wasn't easy. I-" Malos cut himself off as he realized he had been about to tell Rex that Nia had known about the injuries. Giving a short sigh, Malos decided he should just say it. "I asked Nia to heal them for me."
"So, Nia knew then?"
Malos nodded as he uncrossed his arms and let them fall back by his sides. "She agreed not to tell you. Nia did keep trying to convince me to tell you, so she didn't want to keep it a secret." He did not mention Regan knowing as well, aware that might break the trust between Rex and her.
"I see," Rex responded before he was quiet for a moment. The Leftherian looked down at his hand again as he spoke, "You didn't want me to worry about you? What's so wrong about me caring about you? Aren't a Driver and Blade supposed to look after each other?"
Malos momentarily shut his eyes to withhold a sigh, his brow furrowed solemnly, before he spoke. "I killed a Titan, Rex. Because of me, so many people lost their lives and homes." The Aegis winced at the memory of him waking up and being told everything that had happened. Along with the things he told Rex, Malos knew many people from the Tornan Titan had lost loved ones.
"You didn't mean to, Malos," Rex reassured, and the Aegis looked down at him in response. Examining the Leftherian's expression for a moment, Malos found himself wanting to believe what the kid said. Malos had not meant to kill the Tornan Titan five centuries ago, as even though he had trouble recalling what had happened he knew that for sure.
"I didn't…. It doesn't change what happened, kid. It doesn't matter whether I meant to or not because it's still my fault. I shouldn't even exist," Malos admitted, not realizing he had said the last sentence loud enough for Rex to hear.
"Don't say that!" Malos stepped back in surprise at the Leftherian's sudden exclamation. "Why would you think that?" The fifteen-year-old questioned as he looked up at the dark Blade.
Malos felt a twinge in his core at the kid's question. "I told you why…. I killed a Titan." Looking down at the ground, Malos refrained from mentioning Hugo and Milton to Rex. He did not know if he would be able to keep his composure if he mentioned the two of them.
"You were trying to save everyone from Mythra, right? If anything, she's the one at fault."
The Aegis let out a sigh before answering, "She may have started it…but I dealt the fatal blow to the Tornan Titan."
Rex watched the man's expression for a moment before he responded, "Doesn't change the fact that you saved my life. I would've just been dead, and Regan would be too." The Blade knew it was true since Mythra had been about to kill Regan before he had awakened.
"Rex…."
The Leftherian watched the dark Blade's sad expression for a moment, wondering if even giving a response was a good idea. Rex did not want to upset Malos any further, and he wished that he knew what to say. Letting out a sigh, the fifteen-year-old made a decision. "How about this?" Rex held out a hand to Malos.
"What are you-"
Rex told the Blade to wait for a moment before he spoke, "How about we restart?" After looking between the boy's hand and face a few times, Malos found himself reaching out as well. Rex smiled as they shook hands, glad that the Blade seemed to have realized what he meant.
"I realize now that I hadn't taken into account how difficult this must have been for you. I can't say I have any way of understanding your situation, so I want to apologize if I've upset you," Rex told the man, realizing that Malos had been struggling more than he let on ever since he had been reawakened.
Malos did not respond for a moment, relieved that the Leftherian seemed to realize somewhat how he felt. Even though Rex was unaware of the full extent of just how Malos felt about himself, the fifteen-year-old making an effort to understand him made the Aegis feel a little better.
"It's alright, kid. I appreciate it."
When Rex responded with a bright smile, he was a little surprised as the dark Blade offered a smile back. It was not as cheerful as Rex's own smile; however, Malos' smile still indicated that was starting to feel more comfortable with the fifteen-year-old.
"Hand my weapon over, please?" The Leftherian looked up at Malos in confusion, but did as the dark Blade requested.
Gripping the handle of his Blade Weapon, Malos activated it. Rex watched as the Aegis did so, curious as to what he was doing. "I never actually told you what it's really called, did I?" Malos asked the boy, who shook his head in response. "It's actually a Monado. Aegis Monado if you prefer that," The dark Aegis explained.
"I see. It's not like any other Blade Weapon I've heard of, right?" Malos nodded his head before deactivating his Monado and handing it back to the Leftherian. "What's Mythra's weapon like? Is it anything like yours?" The questions about Mythra made Malos think about how strange it was that the blonde haired Aegis had not once summoned her weapon during their last encounter with her.
"It does resemble a sword even more closely than mine, except for it has light Ether igniting around the blade part of it. It's white, gold, and green which matches heavily with her own appearance," Malos explained while refraining from mentioning his thoughts on her lack of summoning her weapon.
"It sounds pretty cool looking actually. If only she wasn't such a jerk," Rex commented, and Malos chuckled a little at that. "What about Pyra? If it's anything like Mythra's weapon, do you think that it's red instead of white?" The dark Blade shrugged his shoulders, honestly having no clue.
"Pyra wasn't even in existence when we fought against Mythra back then, so unless she summons her weapon we won't know for sure," Malos explained, actually wondering the same thing himself. Outside of her different colored outfit, hair, and eyes, Pyra was very much still obviously Mythra in her face. It almost reminded him of Regan and Snow, who looked practically identical outside of the latter's paler skin and white hair.
"Yeah, I guess that's true," Rex responded, oblivious to the Blade's last thought.
"Are you just going to stand there?" Maddie was somewhat startled as Regan spoke to her. The Flesh Eater had left the training area temporarily, only for guilt to fill her heart and make her come back. Despite coming back to where Regan was sitting on the crate, Maddie was unable to find something to say.
"Regan, I'm so-"
The Elf quickly cut Maddie off and spoke, "Don't start by apologizing. How about telling me why first off?" As much as it seemed like a question, by Regan's tone it was obvious that it was more of a demand. Meeting Regan's currently fiery blue eyes with her own dull blue ones, Maddie realized just how much she had hurt the Elf by leaving.
"I just… wanted to find Drew. After what he did to Ant, I couldn't stand to stay in the castle while he was still out there." The explanation appeared to soften Regan's glare. However, there was still a hint of anger remaining.
"Did you actually find him?" The Elvuenian questioned as she stared up at Maddie.
Maddie looked down at the ground before answering, "No. It's been two decades, yet I found absolutely nothing. While Jin had said he would help, it was clear that he had other priorities in mind. Jin said he would help me find Drew. Mythra hated me from the moment I came there, and she didn't care about finding him at all. If it hadn't been for Jin, she would have most definitely killed me."
Taking in the information, Regan tried to bring herself to understand. If Maddie had only been gone a few years, the Elf might have been more inclined to be more forgiving. "That doesn't explain why you took over twenty years to come back." Regan crossed her arms over her chest as she narrowed her eyes at the Flesh Eater.
"I didn't want to just give up," Protested Maddie. "He killed Ant, and I just want him to be punished for it. I thought that Jin would want the same since he once considered her to be a friend…" She took in a shaky breath. "…Jin isn't the same, Regan."
The Elf, albeit not fully convinced, nodded her head before responding, "I could tell. For one, the core on his sword is red. He's a Flesh Eater now, right?" At Maddie's nod, Regan looked over at the other Flesh Eater's staff. Considering the red and blue of the crystal on the Blade weapon for a moment, Regan looked back at Maddie. "Why is it just red? Isn't it supposed to have some blue in it too?"
Maddie shrugged her shoulders before responding, "I have no idea."
The Elvuenian nodded her head before giving Maddie a look that indicated she was aware of the intentional topic change. "Where's Addy?" Maddie suddenly asked as she had yet to see the other female Elf. Her expression visibly deflating, Regan was quiet for a moment.
"Dead."
The Flesh Eater's eyes widened at the new information Regan had given her before she felt the overwhelming urge of guilt and sadness that the Elf had. "Drew?" That was all she asked, yet it was all she needed when Regan nodded. "She was his sister…. Why would he do that?" Maddie questioned.
Regan shook her head and answered, "He clearly didn't care about that. For about two months, we looked for any leads. When we got one, we were supposed to head out the next morning. Addy left in the middle of the night, and I had to follow her trail. I ended up becoming unconscious and being separated from Eva, so that's when I met Ethan… the other Elf you saw."
"I see."
Trying hard to resist the wet droplets threatening to fall from her eyes, Regan started speaking some more. "I did find Eva eventually, and Ethan said he would help us. After a couple of weeks, we got to this cabin out in the heavily forested east section of Elvuen… That's where I found Addy's body," Regan explained, the memory of that moment playing in her head.
"I'm sorry, Regan…. I never considered that you two would try to track him down on your own." Tears brimmed the corners of Maddie's eyes as she realized that she might have been able to prevent Addy's death if she had stayed. Regan watched Maddie's expression before the Elf's face softened.
"I get it, Mad…. I know how close you were to my mom, so I can't blame you for wanting to track Drew down. I just wish that you hadn't left me behind," Regan told the woman, resisting the urge to start yelling. The Elf was still very much angry, yet she knew that shouting at Maddie would not help.
"What about Welsh? I'm sure he would've come with you if-" Maddie cut herself off as she saw Regan's expression become somber. "He's gone too, isn't he?" The Flesh Eater questioned; however, she already knew the answer just by looking at the other woman's face. With her eyes watery, Regan simply nodded her head.
"How long?"
Regan wrapped her arms herself before she responded, "Two years…. He was ill for a couple weeks before his body gave up and he-" Maddie sat down next to the Elf before wrapping a hesitant arm around her shoulders. To the Flesh Eater's relief, Regan leaned into her side. "H-he just passed in his bed in the middle of the n-night…. I found him there when I w-went to check on him…."
The dirty-blonde haired woman could not bring herself to say anything back. She had only just found out about two of her close friends passing, and Maddie hated herself for not being there for Regan. Running her fingers through the Elvuenian's hair, Maddie felt the wave of guilt get even bigger.
"I… heard about Raymond's return," Maddie stated, which caused Regan's eyes to dart to look at the Flesh Eater's face. "How is he? I know he was held captive for a few years." The Elf sighed as the memory of finding Raymond played in her mind.
"He was locked up in a cell. T-there was a dungeon in this old building that was devoid of a-any guards in the northeast section of Elvuen…. Ethan and I m-managed to break the lock open to the cell and get Ray out of there," Regan explained, her voice shaky. "He has a l-lot of scars on his back and chest from where they tortured him. He's doing pretty well now since Rosalee and Riley have really had a good effect on him."
"Rosalee and Riley?" At Maddie's question, the Elf seemed to realize what she had said.
Regan smiled softly before answering, "My daughters. They're twins." The Flesh Eater's eyes widened at the information, wondering just how this had happened.
"How old are they?"
The Elf's smile became sad at the question. "Twenty," Regan responded, and she watched as a look of realization came over Maddie's face. The Elvuenian nodded her head before speaking, "Yeah, it's what you think."
"I…. That's not what I expected to hear, Regan," Maddie stated, and Regan only smiled in response.
Five hundred years since Malos had last seen Maddie, and she still looked about the same. Being a Blade, she did not age the same way that humans did. As a Flesh Eater, Maddie did not need to rely on her Driver anymore. The Aegis found himself wanting to ask the dirty-blonde what she had been up to, especially about why she would have ever willingly joined a terrorist group.
Before Malos was even able to find the Flesh Eater, she was already walking towards him. Looking up at him, Maddie focused her gaze on his Core Crystal. "What's that about, Malos? Why is half of your core missing?" The woman asked, her head turning to look at Rex, who was now speaking to Ethan next to the inn.
"He touched my Monado, which caused the two of us to be bonded as Driver and Blade…. Jin then stabbed Rex in the heart, so I gave him half of my Core Crystal in order to revive him," Malos explained, and he watched as Maddie's eyes widened in shock.
"Jin killed him?!"
Coldly, Malos simply nodded before answering, "Yeah. They didn't tell you about that?" Maddie placed a hand on her currently covered Core Crystal. Somewhat shakily, she nodded her head, looking to be horrified as she found out that Jin had murdered a child.
"I guess Jin knew I would have been pissed to find out he killed a kid." That definitely did not mean that Maddie was happy about all the other lives Jin had taken over the years; however, children were usually spared his sword. Perhaps his past with Lora as a kid as well as Mikhail and Milton was still reflected in him.
"Yeah," Malos responded, realizing himself that Jin would have to have experienced something horrible in order for him to think it was a good idea to join up with Mythra. "Why would you join up with Mythra? After everything we went through…?" The Aegis inquired as the Flesh Eater looked up at him.
Maddie messed with a strand of her hair before responding, "How much did Regan and Winter tell you?" The dark Blade felt a little annoyed at Maddie answering a question with a question. Crossing his arms over his chest, Malos went over the information he had received from the both of them.
"That Ant was killed. Winter mentioned someone named Drew, but I never asked for any more knowledge about him," Malos explained, and Maddie sighed before she decided that he should know more.
"Drew… was the one who killed Ant," Maddie explained, and Malos solemnly nodded his head as he realized that what he heard during the argument between Regan and Snow had been referring to that. "What are you thinking about?" The Flesh Eater asked as she noticed his expression become one of recognition.
"Snow mentioned something about warning Regan to not trust him. That Ant would be alive if she listened," Malos recalled, and Maddie narrowed her eyes a little at that.
"So Winter essentially blamed Regan for Ant's death?" Maddie questioned, and the Aegis nodded his head. The Flesh Eater bit down on her lip, knowing full well that Regan would have been very sensitive about that. Shortly before Maddie had left, the Elf had expressed to the other woman about how she blamed herself for what happened to her mother.
"That…. Nevermind." Changing her mind about asking more questions last second, Maddie decided to just give Malos her reasons. "Truthfully, I hoped that my once friendship with Jin would make him more inclined to help me. After Drew killed Ant, I arrived sometime later and he was gone. I couldn't bear just staying there, so I joined Torna…. Jin did promise to help; however, nothing on Drew has come up in the almost twenty-one years I've been with them."
"I'm surprised Mythra allowed that."
Maddie scoffed before responding, "Just barely. To my surprise, Jin's the one giving the orders. She actually listens to him. It's kind of strange." The Aegis nodded, aware of the urge to ask more questions about Mythra.
"I can't imagine living with her would be pleasant. How was it?"
"Since she can't stand me, Mythra and I frequently got into arguments. Mainly about how stupid I am to like humans and to want to protect them…. Our most recent argument occurred on our way to Uraya actually," Maddie explained, and the man raised an eyebrow at her.
"Was it just the same old argument?"
The dirty-blonde shook her head before answering, "She brought Regan's eye color up before implying that Ant had cheated on Julian… since blue eyes are practically unheard of among Elves." Malos had honestly never really thought about it, so he was surprised that Mythra would have questioned it.
"Julian had blue eyes, so it just makes sense that Regan would have the same," The Aegis commented, and Maddie laughed at that.
"Yeah. Mythra never met or even saw Julian, so she just assumed."
"Maybe she was just trying to piss you off?"
Maddie nodded her head in agreement before she responded, "Definitely. Pyra tried to mediate between the two of us at times; however, it didn't really help that much since the two of them share the same body." Malos' interest peaked at that, so he decided to ask about it.
"Why does Pyra even exist, Maddie?"
The question elicited a weighty sigh from Maddie. "She's essentially a cover-up for Mythra. With Pyra, Mythra was able to go to various different places without getting her true identity revealed. I have no idea when she was first created; however, a good guess would be shortly after the Aegis War. All I know for sure is that she already existed by the time I joined Torna, so I have gotten the chance to know her."
After nodding his head in response Malos asked, "What's Pyra like? I didn't really get a chance to see back on the ship."
The Flesh Eater responded, "She's actually an amazing cook… although I did still enjoy yours and Jin's more…." Maddie paused for a moment as the dark Aegis chuckled before she continued. "Pyra is definitely more empathetic, even if some of it does feel forced at times. Her kindness feels a little too good to be true, especially knowing that she's mainly meant to be a front for Mythra."
Considering what he had been told, Malos wondered what he should ask next. Before was able to pick a question, Ethan and Rex walking by them caught both his and Maddie's attention. The two of them were heading in the direction of the training area, with Ethan clutching a cup of steaming liquid in his hands.
"What's that about?" Maddie asked as the two of them got out of her line of sight. Malos merely shrugged in response to Maddie's question, instead opting to start walking and find out.
Heading to the training area, Malos watched as Ethan and Rex approached Regan. She was sitting on the crate, so he figured that her leg likely still hurt since she had not moved from that spot. She accepted the cup of steaming liquid before she took a hesitant sip. The female Elf visibly cringed as she did, so Malos assumed it was too hot or it tasted horrible.
"That's awful!" Regan exclaimed as she very obviously gagged.
After Malos had spoken with Maddie, he had been unable to really start a conversation with anyone else. While he had seen Regan being given something by Ethan and Rex to drink, he had refrained from speaking to them. The dark Aegis had left after a moment of watching the three people, so Malos had been left alone with his thoughts for the rest of the day.
When night had approached, the Aegis ended up being the last one to go into the inn. Everyone else was already asleep, so Malos took the empty bed next to Rex.
Part of him was looking forward to speaking to Snow again, especially since he still had lots of questions to ask her. Malos wondered if Regan would be there to talk to him as well since he had found himself enjoying talking with her. Shutting his eyes, the Aegis's consciousness gradually faded away from the reality around him and to a welcome dream.
"Hey," Snow greeted as he opened his eyes to look at her. Looking around, the man quickly realized that it was just the two of them. The ice Blade offered him a smile before explaining, "Regan wanted to speak with Ethan by herself today, so it's just us." Ignoring the slight twinge of disappointment in his core, Malos nodded.
"You want a tour of the castle? I mean, it's just a memory version of it, but I can still show you around." Malos nodded to Winter's question before the two of them walked closer to the castle entrance. "Give me a hand, please?" She asked, and Malos assisted her in pulling open the two large, wooden doors. "You probably could have done that on your own," Snow commented, and the dark Aegis smiled at that.
"True enough."
Offering him a smile back, Winter walked a little further into the castle. "This is the entrance hall, obviously, and there's not much to see here," Snow informed him as he looked around before she turned left and led him down an empty hallway before bringing him up a flight of stairs to another corridor. "This is where the royal bedrooms are situated." She pointed two fingers out toward opposite hallways.
There were eight doors in total, four on each side of the hallway. "Regan's is the second closest on the left, and Raymond's is the closest to us on the right," Snow explained before she looked towards the door on the right farthest from them. Letting out a shaky breath, Winter pointed to that door. "That was… Ant and Julian's room."
"What about the others?" Malos asked as he saw the solemn look on the ice Blade's face.
Winter shut her eyes for a moment, trying hard to prevent tears from falling. "The two rooms right next to Regan's are Rosalee's and Riley's rooms," She informed after reopening her eyes. Noticing Malos' confused expression, Winter quickly spoke, "I think it's better if you ask Regan about them. Anyway, the last door on the left was Welsh's."
The man nodded as he looked towards the last couple of rooms that she had yet to tell him about. "The two rooms just after Raymond's… the one closest to his was given to Ethan actually at Regan's request. The other is empty."
Winter gently urged Malos to follow her, nudging her head into the hallway before taking the first step inside. Malos followed her until they came upon its end, where two more branching halls stretched out on either side.
"Now, going right leads to the library. If you go left, you have the servants' quarters. Where would you like to go first?" Snow asked as she looked back at him. The dark Aegis shrugged before essentially telling Winter to pick for him. Letting out an amused huff in response, the ice Aegis turned right before leading him to the two small wooden doors. Unlike with the entrance doors, Winter opened the ones to the library by herself.
"No help this time?" Turning around, Winter pushed at his left shoulder at his question. "Sorry," Malos apologized. Instead of replying, she simply led him to one of the windows at the back of the room from where they entered. She pointed at something, so the dark Blade looked as well to see what she was trying to show him.
Malos spotted a familiar Elvuenian woman sitting on a bench in an area that seemed to be abundant with flowers. Next to her, sat the Elven man that Winter had spoken so horribly about. "Both of them are quite fond of the flower garden, so it's one of their preferred places to talk," The white haired woman told him before she left the window and went to the circular, wooden table right in front of it.
Sitting down in one of the four chairs at the table, she motioned for Malos to sit down across from her. The man did as she suggested before he asked, "Why do you hate him so much?" Winter grimaced at the question as she thought about the answer for a moment.
"That's a bit complicated…."
Malos raised an eyebrow before chuckling at her. "Really, Snow? I didn't think you'd give me the 'it's complicated' excuse," Her expression becoming one of annoyance just made him laugh a little bit more. "Ethan didn't seem that bad to me, and he appears to care about Regan. What did he do to make you hate him?"
With her arms now crossed over her chest, Winter responded, "Nothing."
His eyes widened a little as he wondered if the woman was really serious. "Nothing? C'mon, there has to be a reason. Was he a jerk to you or something?" The dark Blade questioned, and Winter shook her head.
"That's the problem. He's been nothing but good to Regan and me, and that's what I hate about him." Winter stated as she looked the other Aegis in the eye.
With a confused look on his face, Malos looked down at the table. "Why would that bother you? I don't-" The ice Blade quickly cut him off before he finished his sentence.
"Stop. I don't want to talk about this anymore, Malos." Sensing the growing tension, Malos nodded his head, deciding it best to drop the subject. Winter took a deep breath, then asked, "How's your relationship with Rex developing?" She folded her hands together on the table as he thought about an answer.
"Well, he knows that we share injuries now…. I'm kind of surprised at how much he seems to care about me," Malos explained as he thought back to the talk they had after the fight with Akhos. "He almost reminds me of-" This time, Malos was the one to cut himself off. He was reminded of how often Addam used to just help people with nothing but good intentions.
"I know what you mean. In the two years Regan has known him, Rex has proved his empathetic nature towards just about everyone," Winter responded as she knew full well who Malos was about to compare Rex to.
The dark Aegis was quiet before Winter asked, "Is there something else you want to ask me? Something that preferably won't tick me off."
Although slightly put off by her bluntness, Malos nodded his head before he questioned, "Why did you cut contact with me for five hundred years? You said before I left with Addam that you would still talk to me." Snow's expression filled with guilt at the question, and she did not answer at first.
"Look, I just didn't want-" Winter saw the man's expression shift to realization. "Malos, I-" Before she could attempt to reassure him, he shook his head.
"You hate me don't you, for what I did?" Shaking her head, she tried to tell him that was not the case. Before she could even say another word, he had left the memory space.
No longer did she have the strength to withhold the free flow of her tears. She buried her face in her hands, falling to her knees as her legs lost strength. And as her tears flowed, the castle dream around her wavered, threatening to leave her alone all over again.
The next morning, Regan stood outside the inn with her arms wrapped around herself. She had put her armor on when she had gotten up, so she had her leg brace to help her walk. While her leg still throbbed a little from the fight with Akhos the previous day, Regan knew she would be fine as long as she did not put too much strain on her right leg.
Looking around as she heard movement come from the entrance of the inn, she watched as Malos walked out. Considering his very much saddened expression, the Elf knew that what she had felt last night had really happened. When she felt the Aegis leave the memory space of Elvuen, she had wondered why he would have left so suddenly.
"Are you alright?" Regan asked, internally asking Winter what had happened. When the ice Aegis failed to respond, the Elvuenian wondered what had made Malos so upset. The dark Blade did not respond to her question at first, and she could see that he likely was lost in his thoughts. "Malos?" Stepping closer to him, Regan attempted to get his attention.
When she moved closer to him, this appeared to snap the Aegis out of his trance. He stepped back, appearing to be started by her presence. "What?" Malos questioned as he looked down at her, his steely gray eyes focusing on her face. Examining his expression for a moment, Regan silently attempted to decipher what had happened the previous night.
"Are you alright?" Regan asked again as she looked up at him.
"I'm fine," Malos said, and the Elf was taken aback at the lack of emotion in his voice. She could tell that he did not mean it, yet he was providing very little indication that he was willing to admit it.
"Something happened last night, didn't it?" Regan asked, even though she knew it was unlikely that he would tell her. Part of her wondered if she should have stayed to talk with Malos alongside Winter since she would have known for sure what had happened. Then again, she had wanted to give the two privacy to talk to each other alone.
Just like the Elvuenian had expected, Malos did not answer. Letting out a sigh, she realized that she would most certainly not get anything out of him. "Look, whatever happened last night, you don't have to talk about it…. I understand wanting to keep things to yourself. If you ever want to talk about it, and I mean if you really want to, I'd be willing to lend an ear," Regan told him before turning away from and starting to walk to the eating area.
"How's your leg?"
Turning back around to face Malos, the Elf smiled a little at his question. "Better than yesterday definitely. Thanks to the herbal tea and my leg brace, I can walk now. So I should be good for the journey to Fonsa Myma," Regan informed him before she recalled some information Winter had told her once. "Fonsa Myma is where you first woke up, right?" The location of his and Winter's awakenings was not coming to the Elf at the moment.
"Just above it actually. Olethro Ruins," He stated, a small smile forming as he remembered the moment he first saw the world.
"Ah. Well, it's been a long time since Winter told me about it," Regan admitted.
The mention of Winter made Malos' smile fall.
Uraya, Aegis War Era
"So, what do we do now?" Ant asked as she looked over at her newly awakened Blade. Despite being told that Mythra had been spotted in Uraya, she had yet to do anything significant enough that would reveal her current location. The Elf crossed her arms over her chest as she looked over at Addam.
"Mythra has been surprisingly quiet these past few days, so our best bet would be to track her down," Addam answered before looking towards the dark Aegis. "Do you have any way of finding her?" He asked while also stealing a glance at Winter. Malos shrugged as he looked out at the sky.
"We won't need to look very far," Malos informed them and the ice Aegis nodded her head in agreement.
"What?" Ant questioned before she started hearing a strange sound that she had never heard before. She was unable to figure out what it was when it was suddenly revealed to all of them.
A metallic being hovered in the air above them, and Addam and Ant both felt a sense of dread hit them. The thing almost resembled a person, with its four mechanical limbs somewhat similar to the arms and legs of a human. The main body of it was mostly white with gold in some places on the limbs and on the chest like space. In the center of the chest sat an emerald green Core Crystal, that was bigger than the cores you see on actual Blades. Multiple transparent, wing-like blades stuck out of the thing on each side.
"Why isn't it attacking?" Addam questioned as they all looked up at it, yet it just appeared to be observing them. The two humans knew exactly what it was since Almalthus had informed them about Mythra's Siren. "Mythra controls it, so why is it just hovering there?" He asked before Malos suddenly stepped a bit closer to it.
The reaction was near instantaneous as the Core Crystal on Mythra's Siren began to glow. A female Blade with golden-blonde hair floated out of the core before onto the ground in front of Malos. She stood up fully and observed the much taller Aegis standing in front of her. "Mythra," Addam called out as he recalled the description Almalthus had given of her.
Mythra turned to look at the man, letting out a small laugh as she did so. "So you're who my Driver gave the other Aegis cores to," The light Aegis stated as she looked over Addam. Considering the cloak, the golden-blonde was unable to find any distinguishing features.
"Not just him," Ant corrected as she stepped closer to gain Mythra's attention.
Looking at the Elf and then at Winter, Mythra laughed again. "Really? You expect to stand up against me? I'm sure you've seen what my Siren here is capable of already," Mythra bragged while placing a hand on her Core Crystal. She stated, "Then again, just using that gets a bit boring after a little while."
A white sword with a gold outline and center along with glowing green marks from the handle all the way to the center was now held in Mythra's hand. The green Core Crystal just above the golden handle indicated that it was definitely Mythra's Blade Weapon. "Siren is superior no doubt, so it makes things too easy," The female Blade admitted as she activated her sword, golden Ether now igniting around the blade part of it.
A second later her sword was striking against Malos' Monado.