The Wild

Lloyd paused to catch his breath. "The only problem… with finding a flying city… is that it's flying," he said, winded. "Yup. We've been looking for a while now, haven't we?" "Yeah." He stood with his hands on his knees for a few minutes longer. "Are you ready to go again?" asked Colette. "Yeah, I just… wait. I can see lights coming from over there. Maybe there are people. We can ask them 'Hey, have you seen any large, floating cities around here?'" Colette giggled. "But seriously, we should check it out. If that's okay with you, I mean." "Sure, it's fine." "Okay then, come on."

As they drew closer and closer to the mysterious lights, they discovered it was not people, but torches placed around an ominous temple that the glow emanated from. Colette clung to Lloyd's arm as they slowly walked up the dark stone steps that lead to the entrance. She was near the point of tears when she uttered, "Lloyd, I don't like this place! Please don't make me go in there!" "Shh, don't worry. You can stay here; I'll go in alone," he told her. "No, Lloyd, don't go!" she pleaded, but he shook her off. "I can't explain it Colette, but I feel like I have to do this." He squeezed her hand. "Promise you'll wait for me?" All she could do was merely nod. With that, he turned and passed through the threshold into…nothing.

Lloyd was completely alone. Colette, the temple; they were gone. It was a void bereft of any light or sound. A dense, gauzy mist entangled his feet. He tried to walk ahead, but he wasn't sure whether he had actually moved forward or not. Slowly, a figure materialized amidst the fog.

"Genis! I've been looking for you!" called Lloyd. "No you haven't," he replied coldly. "What?" "I hate you. I hate all humans." "But you're my friend!" "Why would you be friends with a half-elf?" Genis smiled mockingly. "You never really could come to terms with me, a non-human, being so much smarter than you. It really pisses you off, doesn't it?" Lloyd was shocked. "What do you mean?" "Exactly what I said." "Wait… something isn't right…" His fingertips strayed to his sword belt, only to feel empty air. Looking down, he discovered he was unarmed.

"Lloyd!"

His head snapped up at the familiar scolding tone. "Raine? Why're you here? And what's up with Genis?" However, Genis was nowhere to be found. "Pay attention! I asked you to recite all of the emperors of the Balacrul Dynasty in order of the time period in which they reigned." Lloyd shifted uncomfortably. "Um, well… There was that one guy who um… you know… reigned… during that one time… Yeah…"

"Predictable," Raine said, disgusted. "Lloyd, you always were my worst student. I can't believe you. I'm extremely disappointed."

Lloyd closed his eyes and tried to concentrate. What exactly is going on here? he thought. He slowly opened his eyes. Instead of Raine, now standing before him was…

Himself. "Who are you really!" he demanded. The other Lloyd smirked. "That should have been obvious. I am you. I am all of the dark feelings locked deep within your heart. The anger, the hate… they are me. And I am you."

"No! You are not me!"

"Ah, but I am. Can you deny what you saw was absolutely truthful? Don't lie to yourself."

"You may be me, but I… am not you!" Lloyd's hands curled into fists, clenching something. The twin blades struck lethal blows to the reflection, and it shattered. Lloyd looked down in amazement at the swords he now held in his hands. They were made of the blackest ebony, yet shone with a silvery fire. A strange voice echoed inside his head.

"I am Nyx, the spirit of death."

"A summon spirit?"

"No, for I cannot be summoned. Whenever you create light, a shadow is born. Where there is life, death must follow. You have defeated the darkness in your own heart. Now, you may wield Erebus, the blades of death, and travel into death itself. Death is part of the natural flow of life; do not fear it. Yet do not become arrogant. Nature does not take kindly to those who defy her laws."

"What do you mean? Wait, come back! Nyx!" Lloyd closed his eyes as his mind became fuzzier and fuzzier. Suddenly his eyes snapped open and he gasped, like he had been holding his breath for too long.

He found he was lying on the floor of the temple. Looking around, he saw Colette sitting on the ground, facing away from him. Her body shuddered as she sobbed. "Co… Colette? What's wrong?" he asked softly. She turned around swiftly, her tear-stained eyes full of shock and amazement. "Lloyd!" she cried, and flung her arms around him. He held her gently as she continued to weep.

"B-but, y-you were d-dead, Lloyd, I s-saw you!" she finally choked out. "What?" She wiped her eyes with trembling hands. "You walked through the doorway, but I didn't dare follow you. Then you just collapsed. I checked to see if you were breathing, but you weren't! You didn't have a heartbeat, either! I was so scared… so scared that I had lost you…" She started to cry again. He held her closer as he said, "I'm here now. It's okay. Colette, I swear to you, I will never leave you all alone… I swear…"

"Lloyd…" she whispered. "What, Colette?" But she had already fallen asleep in his arms.

Dirk's House

Kratos awoke to find Dirk's house silent. He eased himself up into a sitting position and stretched. "You just don't know when to die, do ya'?" asked Dirk sarcastically from the doorway. "There is a difference between knowing and doing," Kratos replied tiredly. He sighed. "…Where are Lloyd and Colette?" Dirk's face grew serious. "They left about four days ago to find Raine, so she could heal you. Although," he studied Kratos' body, "you don't look like you need it." Kratos slowly unwound the bloodstained bandage wrapped around his arm. Previously there had been a large tear in the flesh; now all that remained was a jagged pink scar amongst pale new skin. "How long have I been asleep?" he asked Dirk. "Four, maybe five days. I was beginning to think you wouldn't wake up." "I very well might have not," Kratos stated quietly.

"What do you mean?"

"As soon as I knew my body was in a safe place, it shut itself down. All of my mana was completely focused on healing my injuries. However, it put my body in a comatose-like state. I am lucky to be awake even now." "Where do you learn such a skill?" asked Dirk in amazement. "Unfortunately, from experience. Being an angel also has something to do with it."

Kratos slowly stood, testing his legs. At first they trembled slightly, but they quickly steadied. His pulled on his shirt and boots, and strapped on his sword belt. It was very light, as he had not possessed a sword for the past year. Dirk watched him silently, and followed him out the door. Kratos stopped in front of Anna's grave. He reached out and gently caressed the headstone. "Anna…" he murmured, "I still remember that day. Every waking moment of my life it haunts me still…"

His hand clasped the hilt of his sword. Before drawing it out of the ground, he paused and said, "Dirk… I apologize. You have raised him as I could not, and yet again I am leaving him. I'm… such a pathetic father; a pathetic man. He must hate me for it." A single glistening tear fell to the dust at his feet. With one swift, fluid motion, he pulled his sword from the earth and sheathed it. "Take care of yourself. Farewell." Then he turned and walked away. He felt no need for long goodbyes either.

The Wild

Kratos sat down on a fallen tree trunk, panting. "I know I should have healed longer, but there's no time. I must defeat her before she goes after Lloyd…" He held his head in his hands as his breathing returned to normal.

Suddenly, a scream pierced the silence. He quickly stood, tense and alert. Drawing his sword, he headed towards the source of the unexpected outburst.

The young woman awoke to find herself bound to a tree. She ached all over her body, and her head felt as if it were split in two.

"So you've finally woken up, have you? My sleeping venom does have some… undesired side effects." She looked up to see a thing that appeared fairly human examining her with a pale yellow stare. But its eyes betrayed it; they burned with ravenous hunger and greed for life it could not have. "I would have killed you immediately, but I was curious as to what you are. You smell quite unlike anything I have ever come across before. So, I brought you here. But I have become impatient to find out what your blood tastes like. I'm afraid I can't bear to wait any longer. Good-bye."

She tried to struggle, but to no avail. It slowly drew forward, and grabbed her chin. Forcing her head to the side, it buried its teeth into her neck. Crying out in pain, she was helpless against the creature.

Suddenly, she felt it go limp against her shoulder. It disintegrated, revealing the gleaming sword that had killed the creature, along with its wielder. The toxin of the creature's sharp fangs began to take its toll, and the world spun out of control around her. Feeling her bonds being cut, she gave into unconsciousness. As she toppled forward, strong arms were there to catch her.

"Are you awake yet?" The girl's eyelids fluttered open. She gasped as the previous day's events came back in a rush. Her hand quickly reached up to feel her neck where that thing had bitten her. She was surprised to find it almost completely healed.

"You were lucky the poison didn't spread immediately. Death would have been slow and merciless," said the somber man sitting next to her.

"So you--" She blushed. "I'm so sorry you had to see me like that… I passed out, didn't I?" He nodded. "Yes. If I hadn't known healing arts, death would have been inevitable."

She hid behind her choppy black hair, covering her crimson eyes. It hung over her bare shoulders, as she was wearing a sleeveless vest. Black sleeves came up to the middle of her upper arms, held in place by buckles. Tall boots stopped right below her knees, and her shorts and tall socks made her appear a bit younger than she truly was. The most remarkable things about the girl were the cat ears that peeked out of her hair and the tail that swayed against the ground.

"What is your name?" he asked her. "Please call me Gwin." She held out her hand. "Kratos Aurion," he replied, and shook it. Her eyes grew wide. "One of the four Seraphim of Cruxis?" Kratos shook his head and smiled sadly. "When Yggdrasil died, so did Cruxis. Now, I stand alone." "I would have assumed you called him Mithos." "The boy I knew as Mithos has not existed for a long while." He looked at her suspiciously. "How would you know this?"

"I am, or was, a member of Cruxis. See?" She closed her eyes, and her body was enveloped with glowing light. Shimmering wings appeared at her back, red as blood. She put them away again. "I'm not a 'lifeless being' because I've always had these wings," she said quietly.

"Would you mind if I asked you a question?" she asked timidly.

"Probably not."

"Why did you join Cruxis?"

"For me, it was not a matter of joining." He looked up at the sky. "I was there, at the beginning."

"Please, tell me about it," she begged.

"Never once have I told anyone my entire story truthfully," he replied.

"I don't mind if it's a lie," she replied shyly. He sighed.

"It began over four thousand years ago…"

Ah, I forgot to mention, I don't own Tales of Symphonia. Namco does (I think). The only characters I own in 'Revelations' are Gwin, Nyx, and the swords Erebus... at least that's all for this chapter... I'll have more. Oh, and if I don' t get a part of the storyline right, for whatever reason, tell me and I'll fix it.