Chapter -86: Forward and Onward
The following day Sarajin got a late start due in part to the many hours he and Auris spent just sitting around and talking, either with his parents or by themselves in the privacy of his room.
She was a delight the whole time, lowering her guard to try and make a few jokes, even though her efforts were...mixed.
She insisted on helping Misty make the meals to get some experience in, adding in a little bit of that spice of love to Sarajin's dishes that offset the mistakes.
Auris kept her head up high. Yet when she was ready to leave with Sarajin, she hung her shoulders and huffed out a hefty sigh.
"Ooooh, that was nerve-wracking," She whispered as she walked alongside him. She then put her arms under her chest and looked out the side of her eyes with a flash of timid concern, "Perhaps...I should have been more concerned with sharpening my knife skills with Gabriel instead of my sword."
"Breakfast wasn't...that bad," Sarajin said, "Hey! I liked how you put lots of milk into the eggs and-"
Auris gleamed at him and muttered, "Let's strive to be more honest with each other, ok?"
"..." Sarajin rubbed the back of his head and grinned, "Uhhh, ok, fine. You...need to work on your cooking skills, Auris."
He got it out of the way and then immediately moved on to what he does best, cheering her up, "But hey, you'll get plenty of chances to try again! You're part of the family now."
Auris' eyes widened tenderly and she let out a gasp fleeing from her fluttering heart. She then laid a hand on her chest and they both stopped, Sarajin turning to face her.
Her expression was bordering on tears and she had a hard time looking straight ahead. With an easy breath she looked up at him and said, "J-Just like that, mmm? No need for marriage?"
"Gah...!" Sarajin pulled back with a crack in his voice then chuckled at himself, "I-I mean, oh yeah, we do need to have a wedding first. Whoops."
Auris smiled and waved her hand at him, "No need to rush."
She then closed her eyes and murmured to herself, "It has felt like so long since I've had a...family."
The two then continued to the edge of the city, where Sarajin gestured his hands out and asked, "Need a lift down?"
Auris flipped around and kept walking backwards until she was partway suspended over the edge. Her body began to tilt and she held her arms out, embracing the pull of gravity with a playful smile.
"How about you race me there?" She said, dropping before Sarajin could pull her back.
He then shook his head with a sigh and leaped off to dive after her.
He caught up to her mighty quick and tried to reach for her hand while laughing it up, "Won't this still hurt?!"
She swung her hand the other way and pressed down on the Aegis Dragoon Drive, "Then consider this part of your training!"
She then bolted hundreds of feet down in an instant, latching onto a wall of aura she made ahead of time, "Try and catch me before we reach the ground! And no time stops, right?"
Before Sarajin could sweep towards her she was off to another wall.
The two played around in the air. He came close multiple times, but she seemed to be deliberately waiting to move.
They wore their best smiles. She was giving him tender eyes.
But as expected from her upbringing, she wasn't going to hold back, and by the time they were nearing the ground it seemed Sarajin was going to fail.
Yet as Auris made her final jump, she found herself falling upon soft, fluffy land. Rather, it was a cloud, catching her unaware enough for Sarajin's fingertips to gently tap her on the shoulder.
She looked behind at him floating in the air with a kiddy smile as he proudly remarked, "Got you."
Auris lowered her hands with eyes shut and dispelled her Drive, "Clever."
She then hopped off onto the ground at the same time Sarajin landed, the two walking side-by-side for a bit with him nudging her in the arm.
She peeked out and then nudged him back, the two sharing a muffled laugh.
He then asked, "So what now?"
She got ahead and faced him directly, "I'll return to Sancturia. Set up a home for myself for the time being."
"So...You SURE it'll be ok?" Sarajin insisted with adamant concern.
"Yes, I'll be fine," Auris retorted with her iron sense of certainty, "Justek will be there, and Gabriel too. I feel a couple Sages may take my side, if pushed."
"Well, I'll come check up on you once I've done my rounds."
"Certainly." Auris said with a smile.
It was the lover's instinct to say farewell for now with a hug, but face-to-face contact meant they could only embrace part way around their torsos.
They then began their departure, though Auris stopped partway through to say, "Sarajin?"
They crossed looks, where Auris then rubbed her finger along her chin and raised her brow judgmentally.
Sarajin then rubbed his bristly chin and chuckled, "Not a good look?"
Auris smiled and shook her head slowly.
He then nodded and chuckled, using the remainder of his blade to shave his face on his flight to Canofloe.
There was a lot he had to address due to his absence, thanks to his parents catching him but right now the priority was letting Magmankey know he was back...Even if he had come home almost empty-handed.
The land was it's same old fiery self. And the Titans were basking up high in their little hot spring.
Right as Sarajin landed on the edge, Magmankey started up his usual attitude like their last conversation was yesterday, "Ooooo hue hue hue! Look who came crawling back!"
"Hey." Chillo Dillo added whilst melting away chin deep in the water.
Sarajin sat down and dipped his toes in the water, sending a jolt that melted away in moments, "Ooooh, I missed this feeling...!"
Magmankey stretched his arm out and started swatting at his feet, "Hey hey, no pleasure dipping until I hear some good news."
Sarajin pulled his legs away and the Titan cocked his head back, gasping after another downed bottle of sake left his mouth, "Soooo? How was space?"
"There was a lot of emptiness to get through, but the scenery? It was incredible..."
"Yeah yeah, and didja find any other worlds?"
"I landed on a few." Sarajin said with a tiny bit of smugness.
Magmankey raised a brow and chuckled, "Oh yeah? Prove it."
"I don't know how I-"
"Whaaaaa?" Magmankey slacked his jaw then brushed his hand out towards Chillo, "Da nerve of this guy, not thinkin' of grabbing us a souvenir?"
Chillo closed his eyes and grew these lush pink dots on her cheek, "I would have liked a pretty gemstone."
Magmankey then lunged his head back in Sarajin's direction and stiffened his hand.
Sarajin looked over at himself and then stared at his sheathe. He pulled out the remains of his sword and flung it over to Magmankey.
"This your sword?" He gazed at it with his eye popping out of his socket, then sniffed it.
"It got sliced through by an enemy I encountered on the last world I went to."
"Daaaamn, that's a clean cut. Must've been using a superheated blade."
"And they were using a power I never saw before," Sarajin gestured his hand out to mimic Vader's use of the Force, "It allowed them to move objects with their mind, and focus on crushing specific body parts."
"Never heard of it." Magmankey threw the half sword back with a shrug.
"They were also in command of these massive metal leviathans that rained destruction on an inhabited planet."
"Massive? How big we talking?" Magmankey stretched his hands apart to emphasize width and height.
"Way bigger than Pulsa Minoria." Sarajin said with a mild sense of dread in his voice.
"Pffft, that's all?" Magmankey slapped his knee and did his chipper monkey howling, "I could slice through a horde of those with one sword."
Sarajin gawked, only for Chillo to immediately chime in, "That he could."
"Wow..." Sarajin eyed the Titan with awe as they were picking magma out of their nose to flick into the hot spring.
Magmankey then leaned back with his hands behind his head and remarked, "Sounds like ya didn't find a solution to the Rot though. Bummer. Who coulda possibly seen that coming?"
"Well I did learn a couple of things." Sarajin said, trying to keep positive.
Magmankey cracked an eye open with bated interest as he explained, "There's elemental energy out on other worlds, manifesting in unfamiliar forms."
"Duh." The Titan chuckled.
"And there ARE other worlds that can house life," Sarajin stood up and crossed his hand in front of his chest, "I've made a deal with a higher power to help out some of those worlds, and in exchange they'll let me take back any knowledge I learn of to help our world."
"..." Magmankey went silent for a little bit, then craned his head back and murmured, "So you'll be heading out some more?"
"Hopefully."
"Well don't expect me to be bartering for any more breaks. You go back out there, you're leaving the battleground."
"I'm not too worried," Sarajin flashed a smile, "Apparently, while I was gone my mom and dad got my friends together to form a group that'll help out the planet. We even got a name, the Genesis Samurais."
"Oh yeah? So a few misfits plan on fighting against a whole ass war, eh?" Magmankey grinned, bearing his fangs, "Ha ha ha! Good luck."
Sarajin shivered a little, then smiled back and said, "Thanks, you too."
Magmankey's gaze flinched and he then gestured the back of his fingers out against Sarajin's chest, "Bah, off with ya already!"
Sarajin climbed up onto the edge and then looked across his shoulder, "Oh one last thing. Do you know what the 'Rot Horizon' is?"
Magmankey shook his head a lot and said, "Nope, can't say I have."
"Oh and kid? Our deal still holds up for a few more days. So enjoy the peace while ya still can."
"Thanks." Sarajin slowly nodded and then hopped off on his merry way.
Magmankey then leaned into the hot spring while Chillo stood up out of it, waddling on over to his buddy with a concerned look, "He didn't just say-"
"Yeah, and the smell on the hilt...It's them," The Titan's smile creased out all the way as they let out a wry chuckle, "Oooh hoo hoo, this game just got a whole heckuva lot more fun."
Sarajin was prepared to fly out of the region and head North. But one look at the village had him change course and make his way to the castle.
He dropped down right in front of the guards, who flinched and then brandished their swords to bar his path.
Sarajin raised his hands and calmly whispered, "I'm here to see Sir Valflame. Is he in?"
The guards eyed one another and then the left one said through great hesitation, "He is, but he has fallen ill."
"What? Wh-what happened?" Sarajin, now disheartened, stood his ground with urgency in his voice, "Please tell me!"
"We can only assume stress."
"Let me in, I want to talk to him." Sarajin pressed forward and the guards held firm in their stance.
"We cannot. He has forbade even his wives from being in his presence." The guard's voice was bordering on regret.
"...I understand." Sarajin bowed and then grit his teeth as he walked away.
He only moved until he was behind the nearest house, and then reached into his pocket to touch the Gaia Temporis.
"Haaaa." With a heavy sigh he froze time and then used this opportunity to sneak past the guards and enter the castle, where he resumed time and climbed his way up to Valflame's chambers on the top floor.
The man laid on a thin mattress surrounded by charcoal incense and warm bonfires. The scent of ash waned, as the man had been deprived of his armor.
"W-Who is there?" The man said, weakened by ache.
"Hey." Sarajin said softly.
"S-Sarajin...?" Valflame let out a couple coughs that dragged against his throat like sand did against rock, "You...shouldn't be here."
"I know." Sarajin approached the edge of his bed and kneeled down with a smile that pushed his will.
He had reddish skin and was sweating. His eyes glazed over, staring only towards the ceiling.
"I must look pathetic." He whispered.
"Sorry I wasn't here sooner." Sarajin replied with a bitter look of regret.
"No...this isn't your fault," Valflame paused for a cough, "Lords almighty...I am but a leader in name only at this point."
"Her...that one-eyed demon. We're all trapped to play her little game of hunter and prey. We're her bait. And if we object, we'll become the prey."
Sarajin's eyes narrowed, going from scorn to pity as Valflame continued to cough.
"I...felt a bit of hope when your mother sent that letter to me. Perhaps with more allies, our people could scare the demon off."
"But she snuffs out any signs of weakness. Burns away hope with the flame of destruction," Valflame's eyes began to water, "It's all hopeless, my boy. We're destined to drag our descendants down to Hell with this endless war."
Sarajin reached down to take his hand, sandwiching it between his own, "You can't give up on peace, Sir Valflame. If you do, then they've won."
"My friends and I will help protect this place, I promise. But I can't do it without you. I'm not strong enough yet."
Valflame stared deep into those light-filled eyes and sniffled, having more than a few cracks in his voice, "After all my efforts to spare you from caring about a poor fool like me..."
Sarajin patted his hand and then stepped aside momentarily to make up a glass of water, filling it with a little herbal remedy for coughs.
He then sat it down within the man's reach and told him, "This'll help you get better. So hang in there, please?"
He then silently made his way out of the castle. Valflame stared weakly at the water glass and then tried to raise his hand towards it...
Once Sarajin got out of Canofloe he made his way over to Aquamoria next, hoping that Valflame would get better soon.
He planned on saving some time by meeting up with Brine and Carmine at the same time. And fortunately for him as he landed in the village, he found them close to the sea, walking together.
He could thus ease up on the melancholy a little and approach them with a run and a smile, "Hey you two! I'm back!"
Brine sprung back while Carmine turned slowly and looked pleased to see him. The two then met up with him partway, Brine reaching out and grabbing his hand to give it a hearty shake.
"Ain't ya a sight for sore eyes, chum? How've ya been?"
"A little sore, but fine otherwise," Sarajin then gestured out between the two to remark, "So hey! My parents told me that your Tribes are working together now?"
"Yep!" Brine cheered with a meaty grin and his arms crossed.
"That's great!" Sarajin said, as cheery and merry as he was in his youth, "What brought this about?"
"Mutual benefits," Carmine remarked, "But more importantly, we were pushed towards cooperation after one of the Ten Sages tried and failed to turn us against each other."
"A Sage attacked?" Sarajin muttered in confusion.
"They introduced a subtle poison into the Aquamoria ecosystem through their palm trees," Carmine then waved his hand out and remarked, "On that note, the water flow in my home has been fixed as well."
"Oh," Sarajin uttered with a twinge of regret, "I never did get around to solving that myself. Sorry."
"It's water under the bridge." Carmine said with a smile, leading to a long pause where he glanced at Brine, who shook his head like he was ashamed to be next to him.
"Still needs work, mate." Brine whispered.
"That's not good though," Sarajin said, more focused on the topic at hand, "If the Sage can use poison, who knows when they'll strike next."
"Ividae is worried deeply about them too," Carmine remarked, "As this very same Sage traumatized them many years ago."
The vine hanging over his shoulder shriveled as it shivered. Sarajin reached out towards it and remarked, "We'll get this resolved as soon we can, Ividae."
He then pulled back briefly and looked at both his friends with a smile, "Oh and guys?"
"Yeah?" They said in unison, caught off-guard as Sarajin brought them in for a combined hug.
"Thanks SO MUCH for volunteering to help me unify the Tribes." He said, his voice gasping on the verge of happy tears.
Sarajin's squeeze pushed a smile onto Brine's face as he chuckled and said, "Well yer mom and dad did a pretty convincing job of it."
Once Sarajin let go Brine waved his hand out to say, "I ain't too happy working with that dirty miner, but ey, I've taken a lot from this world. Maybe I oughta try and give somethin' back, ya hear me?"
"Ezekiel? Ah, once you stop butting heads with him, I'm sure you'll get along." Sarajin remarked with certainty.
"Don't get yer hopes up, mate." Brine said coldly.
Following a dull silence, Carmine spoke up to announce, "I'll be heading off now to check on the condition of the palm trees. Don't be a stranger, Sarajin."
While Carmine turned and walked away Sarajin told him, "I won't! Take care, buddy!"
He then was ready to head off as well, "I'd like to stay and chat, but I want to cover every place before nightfall."
He patted Brine on the shoulder and smiled, "Want to share stories over grilled fish tomorrow night?"
"Uhhh, sure, chum." Brine said, biting his lower lip.
Before Sarajin could take flight though, Brine reached out and held down on his shoulder, "Wait wait wait! Can ya spare a few seconds, chum?"
Sarajin turned around looking wide-eyed with bewilderment, "What is it?"
He stared at the awkward look on his friend's face and wondered, "...Is this actually urgent?"
"Noooo, but..." Brine bit his teeth down hard and hissed as he reeled his head back. Then he flung it out and remarked, "Damn it, I've been holdin' this in for months now. I feel like a shark ready to give birth!"
Sarajin was so disarmed by such a visceral metaphor that he stumbled into saying, "O-Ok, what is it?"
Brine cuddled up close to Sarajin and pulled his head down next to his, all the while having a shifty gaze, "Remember that pretty dancing lady we used to watch together?"
Sarajin nodded.
"Weeell, I may have...had a few direct encounters with her."
Sarajin's eyes bulged and Brine bit his teeth down as he hastily remarked, "And we may be a couple now!"
"Brine!" Sarajin sprung back and Brine was defensively throwing his hands up to say, "I know, it's crazy! But she's very sweet, shy, and has this wonderful-"
"I'm happy for you." Sarajin's sudden, soft remark caused Brine to pause and lose his breath for a few seconds.
"...Come again?"
"What's her name?"
"T-Torren?" Brine was constantly blinking while Sarajin gave him all the support his big heart could muster.
"You'll have to introduce me to her sometime."
"S-Sure thing, mate, but uhhh, she only ever shows up at night," Brine rubbed the back of his head briefly while he remarked, "I wasn't expectin' ya to be so acceptin' immediately."
Sarajin had to pull back and think about that for a moment, leading to him cracking a grin, "I guess I'm in a loving mood right now."
"Now that ya mention it, ya do got a bit of that afterglow look in yer eyes," Following a few seconds to pause and think, Brine widened his eyes and gasped, "Noooo way...! Did ya and Auris...?"
"Yep! We confessed our love to each other."
"Oh my guppy!" Brine blurted out in blissful shock, "And then didja...You know?"
Sarajin's eyes went into a very piercing glare as he said in disgust, "Brine...!"
"Ack, sorry!" Brine said while stumbling back and then forward, patting his friend heartily on the shoulder a few times, "Ah I can't help it! I'm so happy for ya, mate! Ya two've been tighter than tangled seaweed since the day ya first met."
"I'm just glad she's finally feeling better," Sarajin said softly, "We still have to work some things out before we get married though."
"Well hey, when the time comes," Brine leaned in and thrust a thumb against his chest, "I'll be ya best man."
In the quietness that followed, Sarajin did not blink until he smiled and hastily turned away, "O-Ok, catch you later, Brine!"
He then took off and left him frozen in confusion.
As he flew off to his next destination he huffed out his anxiety over that awkwardness and focused on what would come next.
His parents weren't too forward on the details but apparently, an interesting person was now living with Ezekiel in Oreore.
And both of them had lived in Arc Hurricanos for a few months.
"I'll try not to bring it up right away."
He then began to dive into the ravine straight for where his friend took residence.
It was relieving to see that the people haven't lost their worker's heart over the past year.
He approached the front door and noticed that it had been replaced due to how smooth it looked. With a curious raise of the brow he rattled his knuckles against the door loudly and then shouted, "Ezekiel? Mrs. Gaia? Heeeeello?!"
"If yer lookin' for Ezekiel, he's outside of the ravine with that newcomer from Cryofloe." Spouted a random miner hauling metal ore at the bottom of the steps.
Sarajin turned around and the miner looked at him with brief surprise, "Oh hey, yer that Sarajin boy. Welcome back!"
Sarajin waved him off while wearing his curiosity blatantly on his face. He then rubbed his chin and muttered, "Cryofloe...?"
Nothing else to do now except follow his instincts to track Ezekiel down.
He suspected he was out past the eastern end, and upon making his way there he felt some tremors in the ground and a titanic puff of dirt and dust rising over the horizon.
He quickly flew over before the cloud could fully fade and landed at the edge of Oreore's coliseum pit. There he bent down and guarded his mouth from the remaining dust.
At the center of the arena he found Ezekiel sitting down with his back against a mature-looking icy lady with somewhat familiar garb.
Both of them were sweating and dirtied up and the arena around them was either cracked, covered in ice, or both at once.
They had their weapons down, the lady in possession of a black ice lance and two swords...
Sarajin narrowed his gaze and then started hopping his way down the tiers to get in closer, catching wind of the two's conversation.
The lady raised her head against his back and smiled full of vigor, blowing a few strands of hair out of her eyes, "Another round?"
Ezekiel panted and then forced a grin through his banged up teeth, "...Sure, just lemme catch my breath."
"We're going until I win." The lady then replied.
"Ha! Yer welcome to try," Ezekiel flexed his right arm her way, "I've been feelin' stronger with every battle."
The lady closed her eyes and hummed intently, "We'll see."
She picked up her swords and him his hammer, and as the two stood ready to fight, Sarajin landed at the edge of the arena.
"Hey!" He shouted, making Ezekiel break off his fierce expression to look at him, smiling with a mix of surprise and happiness.
"HEY!" He dropped his hammer and threw his arms up while marching towards his brother, "C'MERE AND GIVE ME A HUG!"
Sarajin walked over and Ezekiel scooped him up into his arms and squeezed tightly. As sweat and dirt seeped into his poncho, Sarajin grinned and said with some slight anguish in his voice, "I-I missed you too, Zeke!"
"Boy, yer sure feelin' a little brittle there, brother," Ezekiel put him down and pinched his arms, "Were ya keepin' healthy out there in space?"
Sarajin shook his head and smiled, "I think you've just gotten stronger."
Ezekiel patted him on the shoulder then gestured his thumb back, a little timid in his response "Well...I've had a good sparrin' partner."
Sarajin looked over at the lady standing there with crossed arms and a narrow, cold gaze aimed his way.
The two stared in silence with Ezekiel the mediary standing in their way. Ezekiel took a deep breath in and with a sigh, tried to lead Sarajin in closer to break the ice.
"Sarajin, I'm sure ya've been introduced." He hastily whispered.
Sarajin took the lead and made a passing glance at the lady's lance before commenting, "So it was you."
The lady was putting on airs as she remarked, "So. You returned."
"I didn't think I'd ever see you again, Cecilia." Sarajin said in a somewhat cautious tone.
Cecilia stiffly raised her brows and said, lacing her tone with bluntness, "Let us not dance around the topic, 'Elemental Overlord'. I'm sure you've been well-informed by now about my current standing with Cryofloe."
Sarajin slanted his brows and shook his head, "I only heard that you're living here now. What happened to the Arctic-"
"Dead," Cecilia slashed through his slow-paced inquiry with precision, "And in time, the same fate will befall that bastard Colrez."
Sarajin's body trembled. Her voice was not deprived of confidence in her given path, it was dripping with it, like venom.
He shook his head out of rejection instantly.
Cecilia then tensed up her arms and told him, "You have objections? Oh, I'm so surprised."
Sarajin found it difficult to try and get closer to her, "Look-"
Her eyes narrowed and her smile gained a hostile presence, "No, you look here. I am part of your...'Genesis Samurais', but I'm doing it to handle my own affairs. I won't be led by you. And I most certainly won't fall for your naivete."
Sarajin grit his teeth and told her softly, "You can't kill Colrez."
"Why not? Aren't we supposed to slay monsters?" She said, her inquiry punctured with an inability to back down.
Sarajin made a sharp turn towards Ezekiel and made a non-verbal gesture for help. The man simply shrugged and backed up, whispering with some reluctance, "Ya didn't get to see and hear the things I did. Sorry, brother, ya gotta work this through on yer own."
The sound of steel slashing air awoke him to the presence of Cecilia's hostility, as she had drawn her swords, ready for strike.
Ezekiel widened his eyes and remarked, "Oh come now, ain't that takin' it a little far?"
Cecilia focused on Sarajin in both actions and words, "There are a few people who have been swayed by your words. I, however, remain unconvinced..."
She then pointed one sword at his face and declared, "So show me...!"
She slid along the ice as quick as a whip with swords swung back behind her hips and him narrowed in her sights.
Sarajin pulled away as she crossed her blades. She would have taken his head right there, and it sent a shiver down his spine.
He slid a little while further and then reached for his hilt, only to pause at the weightless feel of his half-formed blade.
Nevertheless he drew it as she came at him with the speed and grace of a ballerina, slashing away a deadly dance of blades to keep him from fighting back.
His agility let him keep up. If it wasn't for that, if it wasn't for the fact she was worn down, this would be the end of him.
He parried her strikes until she had dragged him to the edge of the arena. He leaped back and suspended himself in mid-air, sweat dripping off the brow.
She stood and started advancing along the edge without a shred of fear, holding one sword over her shoulder and the other behind her legs.
Sarajin didn't want to make a move.
Her eyes narrowed, and with a scoff she pointed her sword out.
Sarajin felt a chill on his back and turned around right as icy spikes emerged from the wall. He used his sword as a shield and got knocked back towards the arena.
She jumped right under him and slashed, cutting part of his poncho as he flipped to get away.
When he landed she turned sideways and glared some more.
Sarajin shook his head and remarked, "My mom and dad let you stay at our home."
"And I'm thankful to them," Cecilia commented sincerely as she drew her sword back and then slashed out a wave of sharp ice, "But I owe you nothing!"
Sarajin cut the wave down the middle with fire and she was immediately behind the fog that emerged, eyes wide and locked-on to his nape.
He blocked one blade with his own then grabbed hold of her wrist to stop the other. She was ceaseless, pushing her feet forward to hit him in the ankles.
Once he was off-balance she moved straight into a jumping knee into his chin to knock him flat on his back. And while still in mid-air, she tried to stab him in the gut.
He rolled out of the way and got up, "I'm saying there's a way to resolve things without violence! My home is proof there's still peace worth fighting for!"
"And who is the enemy of peace but the man for whom the bells of war toll?" Cecilia skated over to Sarajin and continued to put him on edge with her flurry of precision slashes, "Words are merely stop-gaps for those who have lost all hope! They aren't sharp enough to slay the depravity of monsters!"
Sarajin's expression held back a lot of pressure as he tried to fight her with his heart, not his blade, "I don't like Colrez either, but if you kill him-"
"I'll be just as bad?" Cecilia said coldly, hitting Sarajin extra hard in the gut with the blunt edges of her blades to stagger him onto his knees.
"There are forces in this world that you cannot reason with," Cecilia slashed her swords down so that Sarajin may stare at his reflection on that which may execute him, "Is your solution for those kinds of people to bore them to death with your words? Can a world where everyone's dreams truly be possible, when one's dream tramples on the free will of his own people?"
She got in close and Sarajin raised his sword in defense only for her to swat it away and then raise the other sword high above her head.
"It's not about whether he deserves to die or not!" Sarajin shouted.
"Then what is it?!" Cecilia firmly held her sword and glared at him down, shifting briefly into a look of utter madness, "Do not play with me anymore, Sarajin Stratos!"
Sarajin held on strong and looked straight up into her eyes without flinching. Her body trembled, graced by his sincerity as he spoke, "Because this isn't about justice, or revenge."
"We're trying to return the world to the way it used to be. If we solve our problems with violence, then what does that prove to anyone?"
"Maybe..." Sarajin bit his teeth down and let out a heavy sigh, "It's impossible to get along with Colrez."
He looked back up into her eyes and shouted, "But I refuse to stoop to his level!"
Cecilia's grip on her sword shook, causing her lips to grimace subtly. She then stared him straight in the eyes and remarked, "He deserves death."
She slashed her sword straight down beside her hip, cutting across the floor to the edge with sheer power.
Sarajin held his ground until she turned and crossed her swords onto her back. She then extended her hand to call her lance back, upon which she looked over her shoulder with one last glare.
She then brushed her gaze out towards Ezekiel with a quick, tired comment of, "I'll see you back home..."
She then created an icy ramp to take her up and out of the arena.
Sarajin caught his breath and Ezekiel came over to help him up with an inquiry of, "You ok?"
Sarajin had his gaze off in the direction Cecilia went and muttered in a worried tone, "Will she be?"
"Just leave her to me now," Ezekiel patted him on the shoulder, "These troubles are just kinda part of the relationship."
Sarajin stared at him and Ezekiel pulled back with his hands up, "Oh...yeah...That just, sorta happened while you were gone."
Sarajin looked down and whispered, "Wow, everyone's been busy since I've been gone."
Ezekiel crossed his arms and told him, "Bah, let's not focus on me. How ya been, brother?"
"It was tough and lonely out there in space," Sarajin smiled, "But being back here has really helped me be grateful for the friends I have."
"And...speaking of relationships." Sarajin's smile continued to melt into his face as a light blush grew in his cheeks.
Ezekiel let out a high-pitched "Oh!" and then gasped, "Did it finally happen?"
"Mm hm!" Sarajin's smile wobbled from the sheer joy he felt in that moment.
"Ha! Well how's about that eh?" Ezekiel brushed his hand out against Sarajin's chest, "So who confessed first?"
"D-Does it matter?"
"Uhhh, no, not really but uhhh..." Ezekiel leaned in and whispered out of the corner of his mouth, "I kinda made a bet with Cecilia for a few pieces of silver and free weapon repairs for a year."
"Oh..." Sarajin nodded a few times then remarked, "Auris confessed to me."
Ezekiel pulled back hard and let out a grunt, "Dang...!"
He then bit his lower lip and called his hammer over to mask his hiss.
Sarajin smiled and then called his sword over, where one glance made him remember what he originally came here to do, "By the way, my sword...?"
Ezekiel looked it over and recoiled in disgust, "Euagh...! What the bloody heck happened 'ere?"
"I'll uhh, tell you on the way back."
"Ya, we need to get this repaired as soon as possible." Ezekiel tucked it away in a pocket on his vest and then patted his brother on the back.
"Shall we?"
"Yeah, and Ezekiel? After we're done with the sword, there's something else I want you to help me with real quick."
"Oh?" Ezekiel perked his eyes up curiously, then took on a more mischievous air, "Ooooh. Ya, I feel ya."
Thus, the two rose out of the arena, and began the slow walk back to Oreore so they could catch up on the time they missed out on.
The day had just begun, and there was still a lot of ground Sarajin still had to cover...
Next Time: Tomorrow's Dawn