Rei sat up and stared out the window of the Archnemisis. What a dream, he thought. I dreamt that I had destroyed Arcadia…
He ran a hand through his blue-black hair and got out of bed. Sometimes I wonder exactly why I was born like this…with all this dark power…
"Ah, well," he said to himself. "That's the way life works, I guess, even if it is unfair and messed up…"
"Hey Vyse!" the lookout called from the balcony of the meeting room on Crescent Isle. "There's a ship coming this way…it looks kinda scary…"
Vyse looked toward Daccat's Island and saw what the lookout was talking about. It was a big ship with fire designs and a dragon painted on it. When it got to Crescent Isle, a man walked out. Vyse could see the anger in the man's eyes. He looks kinda familiar, he thought. He reminds me of someone…
"So, you're Vyse," the man said. "And you saved the world."
"That I did," Vyse answered smugly.
"And in the process of saving the world, you just so happened to kill my brother," the man growled.
Vyse raised an eyebrow. "I don't know what you're talking about," he said.
"Oh, really?" the man said furiously. "Does the name Ramirez ring a bell?"
Vyse's eyes widened. THAT'S why he looks so familiar! "No way…" he said in disbelief.
The man drew his sword, which was made of black metal and glowing blue crystal.
"Oh no you don't!" a voice rang out.
The man turned around to see everyone else who lived on the island, each holding a weapon of some sort.
"You'll have to kill us before we let you hurt Vyse," one of them said.
The man smiled. "That can be arranged," he said.
"Stop!" someone yelled from the back of the crowd. Gilder stepped up.
"Leine," Gilder said softly.
"Gilder," Leine said, his voice full of hatred.
Everyone stayed quiet for a while. Vyse and the crowd were a little confused, and Leine and Gilder were staring each other down.
"If you ignore everything else I say," Gilder said, finally breaking the silence, "then at least listen to this: Ramirez was going to possibly destroy everything in existence. We had no choice but to kill him."
"I don't care about the world," Leine said. "All I care about is myself and the people I love. Ramirez was the only family I had, the only person who I had ever gotten close to, and you had to kill him…"
Suddenly, the tavern burst into flames. Thankfully, no one was inside. Leine glared at Vyse. "Let that serve as a warning to you," he said. "The next time we meet, one of us will die. And it won't be me." He turned around and got back on his ship.
"Well," Vyse said. "that was unnerving."