So I have returned. How long it has been. Of course you must have no idea what I'm talking about. I suppose I will have to elaborate.
Things have become much more complicated since I last spoke to you. I will have to explain from the beginning.
After I found myself stranded, I headed for the magical kingdom, Zeal, in hopes of meeting the prophet. I had hoped he could answer my questions. Little did I know what would await me there...
I wandered in the frozen wasteland, searching but losing my strength and resolve. I lost track of time, and my location. At some point I collapsed, and lost consciousness. I awoke later to find myself alive. It seems I have the devils luck. However, by now I had all but given up hope on ever finding my way home. It seemed that one problem simply lead to another.
The people who had saved me were a group of Zeal researchers. They had left the floating kingdom to study on the surface, and had found me. They brought me to Zeal, where I rested and recuperated. Once I was well enough, I decided to go to Zeal Palace, to see the prophet. During my travel there, I was exposed to the beauty and magic of the Kingdom of Zeal. One could almost call it heaven. Naturally though, as with a rose, there are thorns...
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I arrived at Zeal Palace, and after waiting for an hour, was granted an audience with the Queen. She was an imposing figure, dressed in the wealth and majesty of Zeal. However, I had little time to regard the throne room, as I was attacked by Zeal soldiers! It seems the prophet had foretold of my coming, and had warned the queen that one was coming, who would "bring great misfortune, on his shoulders. He would, in an instant, end Zeal's great history."
I was captured and sent to the Ocean Palace, a place deep under the sea. I later learned that this place was used for imprisoning people, basically anyone who questioned or insulted the queen, and for powering the kingdom. I was held here for three days, until disaster struck. As people scrambled, and fled, one of the guards was humane enough to release me. I learned that the Ocean Palace would collapse. From what I learned from the guard, it seemed that a magical item, a sword, had been found, and had been used to empower the core of the ocean palace. However, something had gone wrong, and the sword caused an explosion. I concluded that it must the holy sword, the Masamune! I had found it!
I knew that it would be my only chance for defeating Mars, so I headed to the center of the ocean palace, in a mad attempt to retrieve it. I arrived to find what seemed to be a tempest raging at the center. The Masamune lay on the ground, seemingly undamaged. As I went for it, I heard a cry that nearly shattered my mind. A horrible, unearthly screech. Such a thing I had never heard, or ever thought possible. At the center of the tempest, was something that made the shock of the cry seem like nothing. A huge monster, like a spiked turtle. It had the look of a weapon, and nothing else. A living creature designed for corruption and death. It must have spoken to me, by some means, for I understood it's intent. It had laid dormant in the earth, waiting until it had matured, and was able to emerge and devour the earth. Now it was ready. The sword had triggered its awakening. Now was the end of our world.
At such a time, one has only one thought in mind. To fight this overwhelming destructive force. To stand up for our right to live, and continue to exist. I took up the Masamune, but a terrible feeling went through me. It felt like darkness, sweeping through my body, killing any hesitation, or fear that I might have had. At that point, time seemed to stop. I beheld the vision of Mars, the god of war. He glared at me, staring straight into my soul. I could hear him as he spoke to me.
"You may now make a choice. You who have cut my earthly body, and imprisoned me within this holy sword. This weapon is now me. I am now this weapon. Do reject me, or accept the power I will give you? My power is absolute, unlike your feeble mortality. My power will never leave you. Do you accept?"
At that point, all rationality left my mind. All I could think of was destroying the monster before me. I answered yes.
A mighty force swept through me. I could feel the awesome power, the force at my disposal. I clenched the sword, and flew to the demon, sword spinning through the air. It let out a terrible cry, and blasted at me with its dark evil energy. I deflected it off, with the sword, and bounded up into the air. Everything seemed to move in slow motion as I came down upon the creature, who would destroy everything. It was as though I myself was not in my body, but was watching from afar. The immense creature turned upwards, to meet my attack, and we clashed.
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As I lay bleeding, the sword slowly fell from my hand. I had lost. Now the world would end. I had failed everyone. I surrendered to death, and lay back to die. It was then that it happened.
Everything around me stopped. The creature frozen, the fires still, and the water falling, in mid air, halted. I felt myself float up off the ground, hovering, as everything became dark. Then, I realized. I realized that time had stopped. I just rested, not aging, not even existing, with the holy sword Masamune floating in front of me.
I rested for years, centuries, not moving, not even thinking, nothing changing. Time had stopped. Then, with one instinct I opened my long closed eyes. I reached out and grasped the Masamune, and it shattered in a brilliant flash of light. All that was left was the raw energy, the power of Mars. The physical form of the sword was gone. Then I heard the voice.
"It is I. My power can never leave you. I am absolute. You now have a purpose, and I shall use you to further my ideals."
"No." I replied. "I will not be your tool."
"You have already agreed. As I said, 'My power is absolute, unlike your feeble mortality. My power will never leave you'."
I then realized. I was a fool to understand the meaning of those words. But at the time, I had had no choice. Now I would have to live with the consequences of my foolish actions.
"You will not die. You are mine. You shall exist, until I have need of you. You are my weapon," said Mars. Then, the soul in front of me vanished, joined with my body. I could now feel him within me, in my soul.
"I will take on a new physical form, now that the Masamune is gone." Said Mars. Then, the ring I had received from Squall began to glow. Afterwards, the eye of the lion was a small red gem. In it I could see all that Mars was, his evil and his power. Then, I returned to the world, as easily as I had left it. In front of me loomed the monster, which I have named Lavos, still frozen in time. Nothing had changed. That was when I made my decision.
I had given my freedom to Mars, had lost my soul for his power, so I could stop this monster. I would become powerful enough, then I would return here to defeat Lavos once and for all. That is my one and only purpose now. Then my life will end, and Mars shall die with me. I was, to say the least, surprised to receive your message. It meant that I was not in the present as I had thought, but the past. The story of your sword, the MasterMune, indicated this to me. I am sorry, but in freezing time and preventing the creation of the Masamune, I may have sent the true power of your MasterMune to the darkness of time, never to exist. How you could retrieve it, I do not know. I am worried, though, that my freezing time here might have affected other things in the present as well.
I was able to return to the present, using the Lion Ring, which opened a gate to the present. It seems Mars has many useful powers, which he seems to be granting to me as he sees fit. I shall let him believe I am at his control, until I can end it all. Now, I can return to the past, frozen in time, with the ring. I have also learned that I can use the ring to form a blade of energy, glowing red with Mars' evil power. I have named this the Mars Blade. It can take any shape of blade, long or short.
I shall alert you both to my progress, so until we meet again.