"You're...leaving?"

Sadeena nodded. "Dante and I have grown...rather close, so I've decided that I want to do whatever I can to help him find his way home."

"Hey, if it makes ya feel any better," said Dante, "I didn't really want her to leave you at first, kid. But...I mean, with everything that's happened, I think maybe you won't need Sadeena watching you like a hawk."

Raphtalia smiled wistfully. "O-Okay...I'll miss you, Sadeena."

Sadeena gently took Raphtalia into her arms. "Take care of New Hyrule for me, okay?"

The Devil Hunter and the priestess turned away from Lighthaven Village and set off on their journey, hand in hand. All the while, the villagers and the Knights of New Hyrule bade them a warm farewell.


"And you didn't report the attacks, why?" Aris eyed Ren.

Keel answered for him, "They were mostly the weaker ones, so it wasn't much of a problem. They just seemed like they were scouting or something and were unlucky enough to run into us."

"There was something off about those guys, though," Kairi pointed out. "They were holding a merchant hostage. A lot of merchants, in fact. I think they were going to execute them."

"But why would they kidnap and execute merchants?" said Cloud.

"I mean, New Hyrule exports a lot of exotic goods," S'yne mentioned. "Maybe it has something to do with that."

Indeed, New Hyrulean trade had been taking off like a rocket, especially thanks to Loretta's recent introduction of crops from Old Hyrule. That had been what made New Hyrule's regional economy flourish, which in turn helped the economy of Melromarc as a whole. Because of that economical rise, perhaps the Yiga had begun to target merchants in order to send Melromarc into eventual economic turmoil.

"We'll have to make sure they don't do that," Aris concluded.

"But how?" asked Ost.


"He's in here?"

Riku nodded. "I caught him red-handed while he was trying to make off with some stuff from the farms."

Aris swung open the door to find a beaten-up Yiga Footsoldier tied to a chair. The grunt's mask had been fragmented, leaving the bottom half of his face exposed. Aris could see that he was young, not even twenty years old. From the Footsoldier's terrified shuddering and barely audible pleas for mercy, Aris deduced that this Footsoldier had likely been abducted and forced into the Yiga's ranks.

At least, that's what he hoped was the case, for the Footsoldier's sake.

"What should we do with him?" asked Riku.

"We'll take him to Tabantha Acres," said Aris. "I'll explain the rest once we're there. Untie him, but make sure he doesn't try anything. If he does..." Aris leaned closer to Riku, "...lethal force."

Riku nodded.


"L-Listen, I-I'm begging you!" the terrified Footsoldier sobbed. "I-I never wanted to work for th-them! I swear! They...They threatened t-to-!"

Aris shushed him sternly. "I get what you're trying to say. You're not getting killed unless you give me a reason to kill you."

"Then...Then just let me go home!" the ex-Footsoldier begged. "I-I-I promise! I'll...I'll be on the straight and narrow from now on! I'll live a n-normal life, I swear!"

"You can have a normal life here," said Aris. "Besides, there's plenty in this for you. Under...certain conditions, you'll be allowed to level up and eventually class up at your leisure."

The Footsoldier was at a very low level, not even at level fifteen.

"Another thing," said Aris. "Well, actually, what were you going to say earlier? About the Yiga. What did they threaten to do?"

"They...They said they'd...that they'd...they'd kill my family..." the Footsoldier replied.

"Have they?"

The Footsoldier shook his head. "As...As far as I know, they're still...still alive."

"Well, you'll be allowed to make supervised trips to visit them," said Aris. "And you're free to send any cash you make to them. I'll send them some dough, too. For their troubles with the Yiga."

"Th-Thank you..." said the Footsoldier.

"Just playing good cop," Aris replied. "Now, go put on some clean clothes and head out into the wheat fields. And lose the mask."


BGM: Accumula Town - Pokémon Black/White


"Whoa, those ones are so cool!"

The boy, whose name was apparently Ruftmila, had been allowed to visit the Pokémon Pastures. He was currently gawking at a small herd of Ponyta. One of them took notice of him and separated from the herd, trotting its way towards Ruftmila.

"Hey, I think this one likes you, Ruft," Motoyasu noticed. "You can pet it, but be careful around its mane."

"Yeah, I can see why." Ruftmila (or Ruft, as most people called him) began stroking the Ponyta's face and neck, taking care to avoid its blazing mane. The Ponyta sighed in euphoria. "You said Pokémon can be trained to battle?"

Motoyasu nodded. "From what Aris and Loretta told me, they're quite common in a certain other world, and in that world, assembling a team of six Pokémon and pitting your team against another person's team is actually an official sport."

"What if a Pokémon doesn't want to compete?" asked Ruft.

"Well, it depends on the trainer, but the nicer ones tend to respect their Pokémon," Motoyasu replied. "And, to be fair, a lot of Pokémon love battling. Oh, and another thing: the Pokémon almost never actually die during a battle. I don't think there's been a recorded case of that happening. Instead, they kinda just pass out, and if that happens, you can treat their wounds either on your own or by taking them to a place called a Pokémon Center."

"I think I heard Aris is trying to hire professional healers from across Melromarc and the rest of the world to work in a chain of Pokémon Centers he's trying to establish across New Hyrule," Ren added. "And that might mean the act of catching, training, and battling Pokémon will become a widespread pastime for almost everywhere in the world."

"Do all people have Pokémon for battle?" asked Ruft.

"I mean, a lot do, I imagine," said Ren. "But, I don't doubt that some might keep Pokémon to help them with their existing job, or even just as a pet. I think that alchemist - Rat, if I remember right - has an Eevee."

"Hey, Ruft," said Motoyasu. "How would you like a Pokémon of your own?"

Ruft gasped. "Really? I can keep one?"

"Sure!" Motoyasu gave the boy a warm smile. "Which one do you want? Or, actually, if you want, you can take up to six."

"I think I'll stick with just one for now," said Ruft. "How about that Ponyta from earlier?"

As if on cue, the same Ponyta that had befriended Ruft came running, happily whinnying as it bounded in circles around him.

"Guess it really likes you," Ren remarked.

"So you're taking this Ponyta, then?" asked Motoyasu.

Ruft nodded. "I'll take good care of it!"

"Then she's all yours!"

Ruft cheered, affectionately nuzzling his new Ponyta. "Thank you so much!"

"You wanna give her a name?" Ren suggested.

"I would," said Ruft, "but I don't know what I would name her."

"I know one!" said Motoyasu. "In my world's ancient history, a particular group worshiped a bunch of gods, and one of them was a horse goddess named Epona. Maybe that's what you could name your Ponyta."

"I like the sound of it!" said Ruft. He turned to his fiery equine companion. "Alright, girl, I'll call you Epona now."

Epona whinnied with excitement, clearly loving her new moniker.


End BGM


"Kid, it's done!"

Aris turned to see Erhard and Loretta emerging from the latter's laboratory. They carried various pieces of a set of armor with them.

"Your sister and I worked real hard on this," said the balding blacksmith. "I tell ya, she's a mechanical genius."

"How else would she have built my prosthesis when we weren't even ten years old?" Aris laughed. "Anyway, what all can the armor do?"

"It can do pretty much everything your usual armor can," said Loretta, "but the stats on this stuff are better in every way. It'll also enhance your proficiency with your prosthesis and the Cloak of Shadows."

"Sounds good," said Aris. "I'll go put it on."

"No need," said Loretta, holding out the chest plate towards him. "Here, just touch it with your prosthesis."

Aris reached out and placed his right hand on the armor. The armor dissolved into glowing particles of blue energy, which collectively wrapped themselves around Aris's chest. In a flash of blue, Aris's usual armor was gone, replaced by a surprisingly lightweight Sheikah tech chest plate. He quickly did the same for the rest of the armor.

"Are you sure about this?" asked Aris. "It feels a little too lightweight."

"Just trust us on this," said Erhard. "You'll be fine, kid. Besides, you barely take any direct hits as is."

"Good point."


BGM: Have a Short Rest - Persona 5


"Why not just use the hot springs in Q'ten Lo?"

Raphtalia sighed. "I know it's my birthplace, but I just can't relax there."

"Ah, right," said Aris. "Heavenly Empress."

"Hey, is that new armor?" asked Raphtalia.

"Oh, yeah!" Aris replied. "Lorie and Erhard made it for me. I like the look."

"I like it, too," said Raphtalia.

The couple had teleported to Cal Mira so they could find a hot spring there and relax after a hard day's work. They'd taken Motoyasu, Ren, and Itsuki with them in the hopes that the springs could expedite their recovery processes. Of course, Aris and Raphtalia booked themselves a bath separate from the one the other three would be using.

Raphtalia exhaled blissfully. "Now this is something I could get used to."

"Mhm," said Aris. "Nothing beats a nice hot soak after a hard day of reconstruction and Pokémon training."

"Hey, random question," said Raphtalia. "I know you would probably let your hair down in a hot spring, but I noticed you had it down even before we teleported out of New Hyrule."

"Oh, it's nothing too major," said Aris. "Just experimenting with a new look. I normally tie up my hair because I always thought it would get in my way during combat, but I went out and did some monster slaying earlier today with my hair down, and I didn't see much of a difference. Felt a little unusual on the back of my neck, but that's it."

"Ah." Raphtalia averted her eyes. "Um...I-I like how it looks. Your hair, I mean."

"O-Oh," Aris stuttered, his elongated ears shining with crimson. "I'm...I'm glad."

"I...When I was little - when my parents would tell me stories about the Shield Hero - I always imagined the Shield Hero with beautiful long hair flowing in the wind," said Raphtalia. "I never really knew why, and...well, I still don't."

"Do I live up to your childhood fantasies?" Aris asked teasingly.

"No." Raphtalia kissed him on the cheek. "You go beyond."

"Plus Ultra!" Aris cheered.

Raphtalia laughed. "What was that?"

Aris shrugged. "Dunno, just something Loretta said the other day."

"Maybe you should tell people to not call you the Shield Hero," Raphtalia mused, "since you can use so much more than that."

"But what would they call me?" asked Aris.

"Well, you've been to all sorts of worlds, right?" said Raphtalia. "How about something like the Hero of Words?"

"I mean, Lorie and I aren't the only veteran world-hoppers in the group," Aris pointed out. "Sora, Riku, and Kairi do it almost for a living, and I think Sora's been to even more worlds than me, especially if you take into account how many people are apparently connected to him. His heart, anyway."

"What do you mean?"

"I was talking with Riku the other day," said Aris. "He told me about Sora. Apparently, there's a lot of hearts that are connected to his. There's this guy he mentioned - Roxas, I believe - who was created when Sora's heart was taken and transformed into a Heartless."

"Sora became a Heartless?" Raphtalia said, surprised.

"For all of, like, five minutes," Aris replied with amusement. "Kairi found his Heartless and brought him back to normal with the light from her heart."

"But, if Sora's heart transformed into a Heartless," said Raphtalia, "how could Roxas have been created? He wouldn't have had a heart."

"He didn't," replied Aris. "He was initially a being called a Nobody. When a particularly strong heart becomes a Heartless, an empty husk is left behind. That husk is a Nobody. The strongest Nobodies actually behave and appear human. Such was the case with Roxas and several other Nobodies who formed Organization XIII."

"The Organization," said Raphtalia. "Didn't Sora say Xigbar was a member of some organization?"

Aris nodded. "And if I recall correctly, Xigbar was actually recompleted, meaning he had a heart of his own. But he formed a pact with someone called Xehanort - more specifically, Xehanort's younger self from the past - and became kind of a half-Nobody, since he carried a piece of Xehanort's heart."

"I think Sora mentioned a Xehanort," said Raphtalia. "He was defeated by Sora and his friends, right?"

"That's what Riku and Kairi told me," Aris replied.

"What about Roxas?" asked Raphtalia. "What happened to him?"

"Well, unlike the other Nobodies in the Organization," said Aris, "Roxas could actually feel emotion. That was because he had another heart inside of him - the heart of a young man named Ventus. Eventually, though, Roxas grew a heart of his own, some time after Ven's heart returned to Sora's body. Ven's heart later returned to its rightful body."

"Who's Ventus?" asked Raphtalia. "And why was his heart inside of Sora?"

"That...is a long story," answered Aris. "You might wanna ask Sora about that. Though...believe it or not, Roxas and Ven aren't the only people whose hearts are connected to Sora's. There's also this girl named Xion, who was apparently created from an amalgamation of Sora's memories and eventually developed her own heart. Her story's pretty long, too."

"Sora has a lot of people who are a part of him," said Raphtalia. "So many hearts are connected to his..."

"In a way..." Aris gently held Raphtalia's hand, "...our hearts are connected, too. Maybe not physically, but you, me, all of our friends...we're all a part of each other's hearts."

Raphtalia smiled. "Well, you definitely hold a very special place in mine."

The two shared a gentle kiss.

"Hey, we should probably check in with Motoyasu, Ren, and Itsuki," Raphtalia suggested.

"Ah, right." Aris leaned closer to a nearby wall. "Oi, guys! How're y'all doing in there?"

"Great!" Itsuki replied. "I think the last bits of my curse were lifted!"

"Mine, too!" added Ren. "Man, hot springs work wonders."


BGM: Wicked Plan - Persona 5


"Thanks for coming," Aris said as Motoyasu, Ren, and Itsuki entered his little cottage fresh out of the Cal Mira hot springs. Aris had wanted to have a meeting with his fellow Cardinal Heroes. "I assume you all are feeling better?"

"So much better," replied Itsuki. "Thanks for getting us to come along."

"No worries," said Aris. "Anyway, I wanted us to kind of exchange some information. Like, any new skills and power-up methods and stuff we've acquired recently."

"Right," said Ren. "After all, we're going to have to fight the Phoenix soon."

"Yep," Aris confirmed. "All three of you have been able to use the power-up, right?"

The other three all voiced their affirmations.

"Rishia's been training me in using Life Force," Itsuki mentioned. "Is that similar to that...green stuff you sometimes use?"

Aris shook his head. "That's different. What I use is called Soul Energy."

"Wouldn't they be the same thing?" asked Motoyasu.

"There's a difference," said Aris, "but I don't entirely know what it is. Maybe Life Force is, like, one's vitality or something. But we're getting off topic. I want you guys to see if you can learn Way of the Dragon Vein."

Motoyasu cocked his head. "What's that?"

"Talk to Wyndia," replied Aris. "Tell her if you can borrow Gaelion for a bit. He should be able to fill you in from there."

"Got it."

"Way of the Dragon Vein is Liberation-class magic, if I remember correctly," said Aris. "It'll be important for you guys to learn something that strong before the Phoenix awakens."

"We'll get it done as soon as we can," said Ren. "So, on a different note, I have this."

Ren changed his sword, replacing his usual blade with one that looked rather peculiar.

"You made a sword out of string?" asked Itsuki.

"I don't know how I got this," Ren replied, "but it's called 'Camaraderie Blade.' It has a skill called 'Ally Growth Adjustment - small.'"

"So you just...randomly unlocked it?" asked Motoyasu.

Ren nodded. "If you look at it through the lens of a video game, maybe it has to do with the trust you have in your allies."

"That could be it," Motoyasu agreed.

"Hey, try putting some of Eclair's hair in that," Aris joked. "Maybe it'll upgrade or something."

"I get the feeling she wouldn't exactly be a fan of that," Ren replied nervously.

"Since we're on the topic of new weapons," said Motoyasu, "I got this from Sadeena before she and Dante left." He changed his spear. "It's called 'Water Dragon's Harpoon' and it gave me a skill called Brionac."


"So, to summarize," said Aris, "I'll cast support magic on everyone right before the frontal assault, and then we all start laying in. I might be able to recover magic energy by eating Cohol Fruit so I can keep laying on support magic throughout the fight."

"I still don't know how the hell you can eat those," said Ren. "Just smelling them makes my head spin."

"Maybe Aris just has some kind of special ability that allows him to nullify the effects," Itsuki suggested.

"Well, it's not too out of the question," Motoyasu replied. "I mean, he did have all sorts of powers long before coming here."

"I did," said Aris, "but none of them allowed me to resist intoxication. Trust me, I tried."

"Oh." Itsuki's face fell a little. "I guess I was talking about something else entirely, then."

"What do you mean?" asked Aris.

"Okay," said Itsuki. "You know how me, Ren, and Motoyasu all came from different versions of Japan, right? Well, in my Japan, it was discovered that a large number of people had strange...quirks, I guess you could call them. That was about twenty-five years ago."

"Interesting," said Aris. "Ren, you said your Japan is really different from Itsuki's, but does yours have those...quirks?"

"Nope," replied Ren. "Though everything is pretty technologically advanced."

"I see." Aris pondered for a moment. "Anyway, back to you, Itsuki. How are those quirks handled?"

"Well, some schools have curriculums entirely dedicated to teaching students how to manage those abilities," Itsuki replied. "There's at least one in every district, though most have more than that. The quirks are divided into ranks. S rank is the highest, and goes down to A rank, which goes down to B, C, D, E, and F brings up the bottom."

"So...everyone could use some sort of quirk?" asked Ren.

Itsuki shook his head. "A majority of people can't. I happened to have one myself, actually. I have very abnormal precision, which I simply call Accuracy. It's only an E rank ability, though."

"That explains your aim with that bow," Motoyasu remarked. "You probably coulda joined the military and become, like, a top sniper."

"Eh, soldier life isn't really my thing," said Itsuki. "I always wanted to go to law school. But, anyway, the reason my ability is ranked so low is because there's another ability called Unfailing Accuracy, which always guarantees that whenever you shoot a gun or bow, you'll always hit your target. Even if you're facing the completely opposite direction. There's a few baseball players who have it, but it's heavily regulated in the big leagues."

"Well," said Aris, "it's been fun, but I think it's time we turn in for the night. Well, I mean, I'm going to. Don't know about you guys."

"Ren and I still have to give the Pokémon their dinner," said Motoyasu.

"I'm gonna go to bed, too," said Itsuki.

"Well, goodnight, gentlemen."


Mostly filler in this chapter, I guess.

For future reference: Aris's new armor is based on the Prototype Ancient Armor from Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity.