Chapter 16 - Realisation

I was back. Back in the fold and back amongst my fellow comrades. I sat at the right hand side of Jaria at the head of the table for dinner, and I ate until I could hardly move. However, there was no mirth at the table, no talking. The mood was quiet. I was at a loss to explain the silence, but I didn't ask. I felt that it wasn't my place to ask just yet.

Once the food was cleared away, Jaria stood up at the end of the table. She looked majestic in her spiralling robe, which stretched to her feet and along the ground. However as I now knew, she was no typical old lady.

'Right. We have business to discuss. Today to our great relief Rylian awoke completely unharmed. This is a massive boost to our defence. However, I have learned something that will shake us to pieces. Kefka's forces are planning to attack us within the next five days.'

At this the entire table erupted into an atmosphere of shock and fear. Everyone looked at each other, murmuring, looking to their companions. This had been feared, but no one had expected such a bold move so soon. Then, it wasn't so surprising. Kefka had been known for his bold attacks before. But now that the attack was about to be bestowed upon our own forces. we were terrified. Jaria clapped her hands and the entire table fell silent. She commanded a respect that was incredible to me.

'We have two choices. Either we wait here and defend our realm, or.we attack Kefka head on and try to defeat him.'

Again the table erupted, except this time not in fear, but in pure horror.

'Attack Kefka?!'

'You're crazy Jaria!'

'There's no way!'

The shouts came thick and fast, and Jaria simply stood there. Suddenly she began to speak again over the criticism.

'Silence!'

The table fell quiet once again, but now there was a sense of doubt in Jaria. A sense of confusion.

'I would not suggest such an idea in any normal circumstances. If we were not in a position of power then there's no way we would even make an attempt. But I believe we can defeat him.'

At this she grabbed my arm and pulled me to my feet. I unsteadily got up under her forceful tug.

'Rylian can defeat Kefka. Of that I am now certain. Within the six weeks that he has been with us, he has now become the strongest fighter out of our entire force. He has become stronger than even me.'

At this I tried to protest, but I could see the look that Jaria was giving me. I resolved to keep quiet until she had finished her speech.

'Rylian's power is incomprehensible to us. We simply cannot fathom his abilities. His potential is infinite. And he can defeat Kefka, it's completely possible. Do you remember when Rylian flew Gilgamesh out of the village? Do you remember how he survived that explosion?'

The table nodded, and I noticed a few smiles in my direction. I looked down to the floor and grinned.

'With Rylian's power, he shouldn't have survived at all. Gilgamesh was still stronger than him, and by blowing himself up he should have turned the both of them into dust. But Rylian is alive. And the reason for this is that Rylian has a power inside of him that he cannot control. If he was to learn to control his strength.he would tear Kefka to pieces.'

At this I jumped in. It was me they were talking about after all.

'Jaria's absolutely right. I do have something. I had already resigned myself to death when Gilgamesh had me, and at that point my strength level must have multiplied by around five or six times. I had no problems whatsoever with surviving the blast.'

Jaria sat back down. I could see there was a glint in her eyes. Through all the pain, all the anguish.she was enjoying this challenge.

'So I believe we should take a vote. Do we stay and fight for the freedom of the world, or do we stay and most likely get slaughtered by a well- organised unit? We have the element of surprise on our side. And also.we have the entire Cyrain army by our side. King Kilbane will be fighting alongside us.'

At this there was excitement. I looked around me. By this time I had heard much of Kilbane. The leader of Cyrain, and a fearsome fighter by his own right. And now I was going to fight alongside him.

'So we'll take a vote. Who believes we should attack?'

At this the entire table unanimously put their hands in the air. There was a level of defiance and determination that couldn't be equalled within any other village.

'It's settled then. Tomorrow we move out on our offensive. We are all going to fight. If we can take Kefka out it's all over. If not then we'll die trying!'



'Hey, Jessie!' I shouted as she walked up to my position. I was acting as night watch. We didn't know when Kefka would be coming towards us.

'Rylian.' She answered. I looked out over the starlit skies. The world was an unfathomable place at times.

'You've been elected our leader. For the battle against Kefka.'

I looked at her and nodded lightly.

'Wow.I'm grateful. Thanks.'

She nodded back to me. We had a sense of communication that could have been perceived as awkwardness. It was nothing of the sort. There was just an underlying respect that I believe we had for each other.

'You do know that you could die.don't you Rylian?' she asked me quietly. I got the impression that she was slightly nervous. Her voice shook ever so softly under the power that she normally wielded within her speech.

'Yup, I know. But then we could all die. I have a reason to fight now. As long as there's a reason and I know what I'm doing is right then I have no reason to fear my own death. Don't you think so Jessie?'

She nodded, but there was hesitation within her.

'Jessie. are you scared.?'

She got up to her feet and glared at me. But I could see that it was simply a gut reaction. If anyone else had asked her such a thing she would probably have walked off. But we had something that we could trust in with each other, and as a result she sat back down by my side.

'I've seen Kefka before. His power is awesome by our own standards, it really is. I know why Jaria believes that you can destroy him. I myself believe you have that sort of power within you. But you won't be able to use that power in a burst like you did against Gilgamesh. You're going to have to work out how you can control it. Otherwise the chances of us winning are slim at best.'

'.Us winning.?' I asked. Jessie sighed and looked to the sky above her.

'I'm not going to lie to you Rylian. You're a massive part of our plans. After all, you are our strongest fighter. You're vital to our victory.'

It was a fearsome thought. Suddenly there was a voice below me, shouting my name. It was Jaria herself, and her cape lay on the floor below her.

'Rylian! Come down here!'

Jessie nodded at me, and took over the night watch. I jumped from the tree and landed softly on the ground below me, around five feet away from Jaria.

'Do you believe that you are stronger than I, Rylian?'

I looked at her and couldn't answer. I didn't believe it. Finally I replied.

'You were.way stronger than me when we fought Gilgamesh.'

'Maybe so, but aren't you stronger now? Aren't your muscles burning with your new energies?'

At this she was right. I was stronger. I felt it as soon as I woke up earlier that day.

'.I couldn't be stronger than you though. Not yet.'

She growled and got into a fighting stance. I was completely taken aback by her sudden change of attitude.

'Well, it's time to find out. Come at me as if you're trying to kill me! If you hold back.I'll have to kill you!'

'What?!' I yelled, and suddenly Jaria flew towards me at amazing speed. I was shocked, and half-heartedly I jumped into a rather weak defensive position. Jaria pushed her body forward quickly and her fists flew straight towards my body. I quickly blocked the sudden sharp moves with any part of my appendage that I could get in the way, and after only seconds of the onslaught I was forced to jump upwards to try and reorganise myself against the worthy opponent that I now faced.

"Goddamn it Jaria!" I roared as I threw a barrage of energy blasts towards where she was standing. However, her position had instantly changed, and I could see that she was well away from the blast area, to my left hand side on the ground below. I could feel her presence leap up behind me, and I quickly disappeared behind her and threw my fist out. She disappeared behind me using the same trick, and as I swung around to hit out at her she got below me and put all her strength into a massive uppercut that sent me reeling, flying upwards at great speed. I could feel her power level appearing above me, ready to strike out and send me to the ground below and I knew that I had to do something fast. My hands were pushed out to either side of my body, and I used my energy to hold me fast in the air. I kept my position and stopped almost twenty meters away from Jaria, who was now smiling. And then I realised that she was right. I was at least on her level now, if not stronger. My confidence now had a new lease of life, and with no hesitation I flew towards Jaria, my muscles burning with my own strength.