Rising Shadow: A Fanfic by Gyppy
Summary: The Dark Lord Nebilim is spreading the fog of death through the land; a swordsman by the name of Abyssion goes out to find out how to stop this miasma, and also to avenge the death of his parents.
Along the way, he stumbles upon the Eternal Swordsman, Lloyd, and his group, and they work together to help defeat Nebilim and restore peace and tranquility to the land.
Author's Note: This is in an Author's Universe, which means that the storyline has nothing to do with the storyline of the game. There may be a bit of out-of-characterness, and lastly, this is a crossover fic (the concept of miasma is from Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles). There may be a few Original Characters, which are characters the author came up with to put in the fanfic.
Also, there will be some hints at pairings in this fic (sometimes a little more than hints ;) ): the most notable will be LloydxColette, and there'll also be sprinklings of ZelosxSheena, GenisxPresea and, later on, maybe a little KratosxRaine. I won't spoil the rest for you.
There'll be plenty of game spoilers in this fic, however, it is in an Author's Universe, so much of the spoiler content will have to do with relations and such.
Thank you for the review(s).
Disclaimer: I do not own Tales of Symphonia, Namco, Final Fantasy or Squaresoft/Square-Enix. All I own is this storyline, this story and my pathetic, writer's-block-afflicted mind.
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Chapter 12: The Fifth Seal: The Earth Renders
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The group headed off to the area of the Temple of Earth; they camped outside the temple for the night, and then proceeded into Nebilim's temple. The temple was unbearably dark, lit only by the faint, flickering light of a few lone torches.
There was a single, lone corridor leading to the seal room; it seemed to take forever just to pass through the corridor, and the occasional attack by a few bats didn't help. By the time they reached the seal, Lloyd was already tired of traveling.
They arrived at the seal after a long, hard wait; the altar was surrounded by a solid pillar of rock, and somewhere within they could hear the cries of the Fafnir. All at once the fault beneath the temple activated, and a massive earthquake rocked the temple, breaking the rock and scattering it asunder.
There, floating above the altar, was the Fafnir, encased in its crystal sphere. It, like the other Devil's Arms, seemed to be searching for someone...
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All at once, the group was overcome by a deep voice.
You bear the mark of the seraphim, the voice said. You, humans and half-elves, may fight me.
Another earthquake occurred, and a single sphere of earth rose from the altar and exploded in a flash of blinding light. Before the group now stood three creatures... three terrifying, malignant creatures that they hoped never to see again.
The first monster, apparently the leader, resembled Ktugach in shape and size. However, its body was the color of the earth around them, and its crest of spikes was stained with red, perhaps from blood. It bore wings of fire, much like the Ktugachdon at the first seal.
The second monster bore a close resemblance to a wolf; its sleek, canine shape, equipped with menacing teeth, hovered slightly above the ground on crystalline wings of ice. Its body was also the color of earth, and it bore a crest of blades, which swept back, and traced across its back, ending at the base of its tail.
The third monster, the smallest of the three, bore a close resemblance to a horse; its sturdy, muscular body was equipped with two long wings like those of Iubaris, except composed of what appeared to be golden lightning. It bore a horn like a unicorn, but this one seemed rather symbolic of the Nebilim sword itself; it bore the same color and shape. The creature's body was the color of sand, and its body was streaked with darker stripes that resembled bolts of lightning.
"I see you have come to the seal," the first said, in its roaring voice. "My name is Kyracheon."
"I desire no less than a fight," the second said, its voice lighter but still deep and intimidating. "My name is Siberion."
"This temple shall be stained with the blood of seraphim," the third said, its voice seemingly feminine. "My name... is Tyrueon."
"We are the guardians of the Seal of Nebilim," the three said in unison. "We are the Reona!"
"Pretty impressive names," Zelos said. "They seem almost unpronounceable. But thankfully for you, we're gonna wipe you clear off the history of Symphonia... and we're gonna stop this treacherous plague that is taking this land by force."
"We will stop you," Abyssion said confidently, drawing his sword. "If it takes us the sacrifice of our very lives, we shall destroy you and break this seal!"
"Go ahead and try," the one named Tyrueon said arrogantly. "We'll wipe you out together."
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Tyrueon had taken up her position in one corner of the room; Kyracheon and Siberion approached from the other side, stalking the group silently.
Unfortunately for the two Reona, Zelos heard them perfectly with his angel senses. He turned and unleashed a Double Demon Fang, which caused both to flinch.
Abyssion decided to attack Tyrueon; he started off by launching a Fire Ball attack, then Demon Fang. As Tyrueon lunged forward to attack him, he dodged to the side, and struck her with a Demonic Circle before jumping back and launching Demonic Chaos at Tyrueon.
Lloyd nimbly dodged the attacks of Siberion, everything from his Freeze Lancer to his Absolute. The Eternal Swordsman, using a special boost from his wings, used Rising Falcon, followed by Sonic Sword Rain, and finally Hurricane Thrust.
Colette headed for Kyracheon, dodging a rain of spikes and using Ray Thrust to flinch the opponent. Then, she floated up on her wings and performed Para Ball, followed almost immediately by Stardust Cross, which sent Kyracheon flying into the other side of the room. The Reona slammed into the wall, but soon recovered and launched a massive stream of fire breath at Colette, which she easily dodged.
All the while, Presea stood in the center of the battlefield, her eyes closed in concentration as she summoned forth angelic power.
"Divine forces, destroy this evil foe with thy purifying light! Judgment!"
The battlefield was overtaken by the powerful raining beams of judgment as everyone stared in shock at the axwoman. Usually she avoided using spells of any sort if possible, and if she did, they were usually to enhance the statistics of her allies.
Once her eyes settled on her target, Kyracheon, Presea lunged forward, her wings spread. She performed the attack Eternal Damnation, striking the ground powerfully with her ax once and then leaping into the air, doing a somersault in midair, and bringing the weapon down with even more force, sending the earth flying in all directions. Kyracheon flinched for a brief moment, but then pounced on his prey, knocking Presea back.
It was then that Kratos realized Raine was in trouble.
The largely ignored Tyrueon had taken the chance to assault the healer, firing off relentless Lightning Strike attacks. Raine could do nothing but stand and watch as the bolts took over, and she was stunned repeatedly.
I can't let her die, the Cruxis seraph said as he rushed forward. If I let her die... my hopes will be betrayed.
Kratos rushed forward, using his wings to give him an added boost of speed. As soon as he reached Raine, he stood before her and performed Guardian, fending off a Lightning Strike. Then, he rushed forward and performed Light Spear Cannon, using a spiral cut to float the opponent and then firing a beam of light at it.
Kyracheon decided to do something entirely unexpected. Summoning forth his angelic power, he called forth a spell that was rare among angels.
"Retribution!"
The light of chaos floated out over the group, striking them down with various afflictions. Raine was unable to move, paralyzed by an unknown force; Kratos, who had been fending off Tyrueon mere seconds ago, was poisoned, and failing fast.
Raine knew what to do. Spreading her angelic wings, she called forth the power of the angels for the first time ever.
"Sacred light, cast thyself upon these corrupted allies and restore their true form! Angelic Purification!"
A brilliant light shone upon the field, illuminating the faces of all those on the battlefield. It resembled the spell Revitalize, but much brighter, and with a pure, almost crystalline white light, which sparkled and danced with the brilliance of angelic power. The invisible rainbows fell upon the others of the group, restoring their true form, and lastly, the light fell upon Raine, which healed her of her ailments.
Almost immediately, Raine launched into a new spell.
"Keeper of Life, I call upon thy power to return health to these companions! Silver Wind!"
The battlefield filled with a larger rendition of Healing Wind, sparkling with beautiful silver light and shining like a star in the darkness of the temple. The others felt their strength returning, and once the spell had faded, everyone had returned to their former condition.
"We're not done yet," Kyracheon said, a smirk crossing his face. "As a matter of fact, we've only just begun."
Then, the spikes of Kyracheon, the blades of Siberion, and the horn of Tyrueon started glowing with a brilliant red light. The three beams combined in the center of the room, slowly sinking into the ground.
"I suppose this is their version of a Unison Attack," Zelos muttered. "Well, I guess now would be the time to kiss our sorry asses goodbye."
"Not quite yet," Raine said calmly. "If we can pull through this one, they're toast."
All at once, the three Reona started uttering words in a peculiar language. The flaming red beams converged at the center of the room, and started spreading out beneath the group.
"I think it would be wise to take to the air," Kratos said. "It looks like they're preparing a more powerful attack than usual."
Suddenly, the temple began to shake to its very core. The earth beneath the group began to crack, just as they took to the air.
"Flames of hell... come forth and destroy this weak foe! VOLCANO!"
The earth suddenly erupted in a massive display of earthen fireworks. Lava flew everywhere, rising slowly out of the hole in the ground as well as being forcefully ejected. The fiery inferno raged for quite a period of time before the volcano sank back into the earth, all traces of its appearance gone.
The attacking group fell to the ground, which was still hot to the touch. Almost half the party had been knocked out, with Abyssion being the only one who had been spared from harm. He floated above the battlefield, calmly whispering words of power.
A dark aura surrounded the seraph as he prepared to fight fire-with-fire.
"I summon forth the power of the shadows, the darkness which resides in all our hearts, to devastate these foes and rend them asunder! Dark Judgment!"
Abyssion loosed a spell closely resembling Judgment; however, instead of beams of light, these were beams of shadow. The darkness rained down on the Reona, forcing the remaining strength out of them and, as the incantation had stated, tore them apart. Indeed, the very sight was difficult to behold; once the beams had faded and the battlefield became light again, the cavern was partially coated with blood, and there was also blood leaking onto the floor from what remained of the Reona's bodies.
Raine, who happened to still be awake, used Life Bottles to restore the rest of the group to health. There, they headed towards the seal, watching the Fafnir's power be unleashed and the seal breaking.
The Fafnir was selected by Zelos, who stowed it away for later use.
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Author's Note: If you'll notice, the only blood in the entire game was the scene with Presea and Regal in Welgaia just before the final battle. And that didn't even look like blood. I decided to make things a little more realistic... when things are basically taken by massive hands and torn to pieces, you'd expect them to bleed at least a little if they were formerly living, right?
Also, don't turn down Dark Judgment just because it's a dark-based spell. It's like Shadow... dark element but still working for good. And I know the angel abilities Raine used were cheesy... Silver Wind is admittedly a name taken from a Pokemon game (I don't own Pokemon or Nintendo and I never claimed to), since I have terrible creativity when it comes to names.
Volcano's about the closest to a U.Attack you're going to get in this fic. I don't particularly like describing them, heh.
As a little side note, don't expect very many Kraine hints in this fic. Kraine hints will probably be in sidestories based in this timeline.