Chapter -52: Unmovable Will

All throughout the land of Genestasia, people hear the roar of the earth beneath their feet.

All throughout the land the ground rumbles like the bellies of its hardest workers, full of jolly laughter.

There's a reason they're targeted the most outta all the Tribes, cause their lands are rich with positive vibes and a grandiose sense of culture and camaraderie.

It was the snare that turned the dull hearted Cecilia Frost to their side.

It is the coveted jewel that drives Colrez' ambitions to be an everlasting thorn in their side.

And it was the place of awakening for two rebels to the status quo of the world: Saracen Stratos…and Ezekiel Gaia, the son of a legacy of sacrifice.

See, these aspects of Oreore weren't earned without sweat, blood, and a little tears.

Since the rocks first shook beneath their feet, these toiling workers have faced their patron Titan's trial for the right to keep their way of life sustained.

Legends have risen from the trials upon spires of monolithic stone and been toppled just as hard, crushed under failure: Topologia "Grindstone" Gaia, Tyhorn the Ironless, Yhorm the Excelsius…and Johnathan Gaia.

These are the names and faces that have been etched into stone monuments on the outskirts of town.

These are the names that are passed down and remembered by future generations, inspiring harder work and greater familial bonds.

This…is the burden Ezekiel Gaia carries on his shoulders. Try as he might to choose his own path, he does not pave the road, and his steps have only brought him closer to the inevitable.

Every man, woman, child and titanic beast could feel the ground shifting beneath their feet. The growing magnitudes the count down to the decisive day.

Ten years. On the spot.

Not enough time for the workers to finish mourning the great man they lost. Silent tears were shed as the general pace of the workers began to slow.

Ezekiel tried to remain positive and keep everyone's spirits high. His wife Cecilia supported him by giving them a rallying cry.

They had all the time in the world to prepare for this day. Their son was still away in Pulsa Minoria. Cecilia tried to insist he visit him one last time just in case, and Ezekiel pushed back out of a sense of stubbornness for his grudge and not wanting his boy to feel pressured to take after him…

But he was almost ready to change his mind when…

"O-R-E-O-R-E! T-H-E T-I-M-E H-A-S C-O-M-E!"

The ravine shivered.

They had prepared but the moment of truth still came too soon.

"P-U-T Y-O-U-R C-H-A-M-P-I-O-N B-E-F-O-R-E M-E!"

Ezekiel had been working, just like always. When the bellow of the Titan rocked the foundations of his world he still kept hammering away at the steel lode, ignoring the sympathetic gazes on his back.

His pace slowed down, his shoulders sagged. Hard to believe he was just a few old bones away from feeling like his pop…

He turned to face his fellow men with a smile and lashed his hands out like he was in a festival, "C'mon now gentlemen! I ain't about ta crumble to a hard-headed worm!"

Nothing could beat him down faster than seeing his mum and wife waiting for him at the front of the gathered crowd.

His mum bit her lower lip tight and growled. She was getting up in her years but those wrinkles were as hard as the fissures in the ground. Damn, was she angry…and sad.

"Not you too, boy…no. Not. You. Too," She walked up and dug her hand into his chest, holding him back, "Let me be the one ta go."

"Don't be daft, mum," Ezekiel barked, "Yer gettin' up in yer years, ya'd be run over."

He beat his fist against his solid pecs and smiled, "This body's been forged in plenty of battles. I'll be fine!"

His mum grabbed his wrist and squeezed until the bone cracked. Her eyes were trembling, she was tired. Age, stress, this wasn't what she needed now.

She threw her hand off and then said "Ya knock some sense into 'im" to pass the baton to Cecilia before walking off.

Cecilia's arms were crossed and her glare fierce. Ezekiel had no chance to test her patience, and his smile was passing to be replaced by a sense of anxiety over his face.

"Don't try it." He warned, spoken with a gasp to let it all loose.

She swung her hand up to grab his other wrist and held it tight until the muscles felt as tense as steel in her grip. Her stare continued to narrow until she aimed it his way.

A smirk propped up on the side of his mouth and she let go, snapping at him with a quick, judicious statement of, "There has to be a reason you're insisting on doing this. It's not like the ravine is starving for materials."

Ezekiel took a quick glance back and sure enough they'd only carved out half the ore they could get. He looked back at his wife and his skin looked a little sickly green, "It'd be a wiser strategy to turn tail and run…"

"That's what you had me believe…" Cecilia stated, her disappointment measured in the loss of fondness in her voice.

"I want to avoid my fate, ain't the same as running from duty. I'm still loyal to my people." Ezekiel replied.

He started the long march towards his duty but only made two steps into the dust before Cecilia slid her foot in the way. She then stared at the side of his face, her eyes more pronounced with wetness as she grit her teeth and told him, "If you can't be honest with me at this point, then don't bother coming back."

He let out a muted sigh and then faced her, putting his hands on her shoulders for temporary support because looking her in the eyes left him with a weak and shameful feeling in his knees.

"It's about revenge." He uttered coldly.

Her attention leaned more towards supportive and with a short nod she mumbled, "OK."

"AND…" Ezekiel mustered up courage in his shaky heart and laid it bare, "About sendin' a message to our their Titan."

"I'm gonna crush his spawn into such fine gravel that it ain't ever gonna want to force another trial on us again."

"Are you strong enough?" She asked.

"I got you, my boy, me mum, and aaaaaall of my home as my strength. I'm ready."

"...I'm sure Johnathan thought the same way." Cecilia winced at her own comment and was forced to face the damaged look on her husband's face.

With a withered nod, he turned away and didn't let go until the very last finger had to slide off, "Yeah…"

Cecilia's eyes then watered and with a ferocious expression she took one thunderous step forward and shouted, "Ezekiel Gaia!"

He paused and her roar was the sole force that could rumble his heart, "You do not have my permission to die! Remember that!"

Ezekiel smiled with a "Heh!" and as he turned to sweep his hammer off the ground and onto his shoulder, a tear could be seen rolling down his cheek.

"I'm gonna return! Just ya watch!" He swore not just to her, but every soul with a working eye in the village.

These footsteps were some of the densest, heaviest he'd ever taken since the day his old man died.

Matter of fact he started flashing back to that day, feeling himself adrift in a sea of fog white while following his dad out the ravine.

He swallowed deep and made his way out the mammoth metal gates of his home into unprotected lands. Soon it'd just be him and the spawn of his lord, in a clash that would rock the foundation of his home.

Failure was never a choice. It was time to make a point. Prove his worth as a man.

The gates slammed shut, any spectators would have to accept a view from the tops of the ravine. His audience was filling up, his family at the front of the pack.

One last look back. His wife's words burning in his mind.

Ezekiel took a deep breath, grit his teeth, and faced forward ready for the long march to the battlefield.

He didn't get to go too far out with his dad back then. He remembered what he told him though.

"If ya want ta show the world ya believe in something boy, spread your legs! Take yer stance! And don't be afraid to laugh!"

Words to live by.

Words to die by.

Hesitation was rolling up his legs as he was losing the sight of his home behind him. His gaze strayed South, thinking of his own boy.

He'd spent so much time being the fun kinda father he had forgotten to be the other kind. So many lessons that coulda been passed down from child to child…

"Is it too late…?" He muttered under his breath.

Yes. But only if he died. Which he wouldn't.

He suddenly stopped and felt he was where he needed to be. Solid ground, his feet secured. He grabbed his tool of the trade in both hands and twisted until the wood grains shaved away at his skin.

Take a stance. Prove your beliefs…

All he had to do now was grit his teeth and wait…

The ground trembled and rapidly became more discordant as a hulking mass of grinding stone flesh came tearing through raw stone.

Any Rot Walker in its path was mulched against its hide and fangs, and would take weeks to pull back together.

This Tremorlord was of a different breed than the last one. It had a sharper hide, a slightly rounder body, and an extra row of fangs at the front.

Ezekiel's whole body trembled with goosebumps as he set himself up for its charge, "That's a big one..."

He had been prepared to face the last kind of Tremorlord, not this one. It was time for doubt. No...it was time to FIGHT.

He swallowed that one dripping bit of hesitation at the back of his throat and then swung his hammer back, revving it up with a fierce tremor from his hands.

That beastly worm was coming in hot and the wind wrapping around its body was igniting its hide with crimson.

Two red-hot hearts ready to collide. No more time to consider second thoughts.

Ezekiel's eyes and body shivered and with a solid grasp over his strength he brought the hammer down. The air shook for miles out as a series of enlarging fractures pursued the worm. They continued to widen and in turn, the ground came apart to form a massive fissure, capable of capturing even a creature as stubborn and massive as a Tremorlord.

But this wouldn't be enough. He remembered his dad trying the same move with his bare fists and the worm tunneled up towards him.

Ezekiel then flicked his hammer back and cracked his knuckles before slamming his palms at the base of the fissure.

"C'mon...!" He forced his elemental energy through miles of stone and took deep, laboring breaths as all that his power came in contact with turned into solid diamond. That...would still not be enough.

The Tremorlord's hide was made of the toughest materials bundled together into one package, and all those spikes were merely grinding against the walls and ripping up a flurry of sparks as the beast roared and then powered its way up towards him.

"Ha...haa..." Ezekiel started sweating profusely as he pulled himself up and then slammed his hands together, fully concentrated on closing the fissure and sandwiching the Tremorlord between it.

Thousands of tons of pressure with one of the world's toughest minerals was being applied against the beast as the top of its mouth peaked at the top of the fissure. It began hissing with a loud, gravelly snarl and was in indescribable pain.

And so was he. As blood started dripping from his nose he bit his teeth down and hissed back, "That's right ya ugly worm, I'M HERE! And this whole mess of yers ends today!"

It WAS taking damage, it WAS slowing down. This is all he had to believe to keep the pressure going strong.

The sides of the fissure were beginning to crack at a faster rate than the beast's hide. It began spewing up rocky chunks of stomach acid but all of them missed him.

He held his breath against the rancid smell of the beast's insides but was constantly interrupted by his own gasps. He pushed his feet forward and stared that beast down, remembering that day ten years on the spot...

His dad stared his beast down with a heart full of courage and an unwavering stature that made him monolithic in the eyes of his people.

But back then Ezekiel had seen the weakness slipping through. His father was losing ground and the stone beneath his feet was trying to make him topple early.

He continued to stand and smash the Tremorlord into mush but he was going to die. He was going to die. He was going to die.

Ezekiel heard his youthful echoes of pain fail to reach his own heart just like it failed to reach his father.

He had run out to be by his father's side against his mother's tearful wishes.

And as he felt those younger, inexperienced footsteps run towards their destination in his mind he realized...He was still standing with those very same feet.

"What was I thinking...?" He began to tell himself.

"I didn't come 'ere with a plan...I'm just doin' the same thing my pop did but stronger."

He had the presence of his people's gazes pushing him at his back, the support of his wife and mother, and even the dreams of his brother and best friend Sarajin to think about but all that wasn't gonna be enough because he had come onto this battlefield with a half-cooked plan of attack and not even strength to see it through to the end.

The sorrow of years back was making this struggle more difficult to see through to the end. He made it to his father through the tribulations of the breaking ground, but with the Tremorlord's struggles came unstable footholds and he would soon be unable to go any further.

He yelled out for his pop until his throat was hoarse and all his pop did was turn back and smile, blood cresting his lips after rolling down from his nose.

Ezekiel remembered utter silence following that point on and only now chose to recall what his dad was saying to him...

His Tremorlord had enough wiggle room to start lashing around and smashing down the walls that confined it. All of Ezekiel's hard work, reduced to rubble in an instant.

And as his body recoiled, he lost all sense of sound as his eyes turned as pale as the salt mines of yore.

He lingered on the shot of the Tremorlord breaking free and his dad still holding his stance.

With nothing but pure guts and grit his pop smirked and let out a chuckle, but it was clear that it was painful.

"Boy!" Still he roared in defiance, being the best damn father he could to the bitter end, "After today…yer only gonna see my face engraved into the stone…"

"SO, ENGRAVE THESE WORDS INTO YOUR SOUL…!"

He grabbed his fist and squeezed it tight, wringing the raw marrow right out.

"A MAN'S TOUGHEST MUSCLE…IS HIS HEART! BUT IF IT AIN'T BEATIN' WITH LOVE, THEN IT AIN'T STRONG AT ALL!"

"SO WHEN YA FIND YER BACK AGAINST THE WALL…LET YER HEART ROOOOOOAR LIKE THE EARTH BENEATH YER FEET."

All he was back then was a wuss who didn't have the heart in him to tell his pop he loved him…And now he's repeating the same damn thing for his son.

Ezekiel gnashed his teeth together and planted his feet in the ground, the final moments of his father shaking him to the core.

That mighty old man had reeled his fist back and faced the beast down with everything he has left, "TELL YER OL' GIANT OF A FATHER TO LISTEN WELL…! THIS IS THE STRENGTH OF ALL OREOREIANS!"

"MY FINAL PUNCH…MAGNITUDE TWENTY…!"

And just like that, his father vanished into vapor, saving his people, his family, one final time…

From afar, Cecilia held her Lance with an antsy grip and prepared to dash for it. Leanne held her back, shouting through her tears, "No! If an outsider interferes it'll mean the death of ya too!"

She was ready to go anyways, only holding back because Lianne wasn't just holding her back, but herself as well.

"My baby boy will return to us…I know it!" She cried desperately.

Cecilia looked back down and while Ezekiel was prepared to make his stand, she noticed a figure running towards the battleground.

"Who is that?!" She wondered aloud.

All the onlookers could make out from them was a slab of emerald on their back.

Ezekiel stood there with the worm eclipsing his last glimpse of the sunlight. It was prepared to dive and would drag him down, down to the deepest depths…

He squeezed his right fist tight and his whole body began to vibrate uncontrollably. Mustering up one final breath of courage he stared the beast down and began to murmur, "Sorry son…Sorry Cecilia…and most importantly….Sorry brother."

A towering, broad shouldered man ran in front of him and his blaze of glory. Before he had fully stopped he was pulling a scarab shaped shield off his back to drop down in front of him.

Ezekiel was stunned into silence as this voiceless man arched his sturdy brows and fell on one knee alone to face the Tremorlord.

The bottom of the worm's maw smashed into the shield and the whole thing just stopped on the spot.

All that immense force buckled against the man's knees and with just one word, he pushed the shield back into the beast, "Crumble."

The Tremorlord shook at such a heated intensity that its image began splitting like a dispelling mirage. With one last, fatalistic shriek, the worm was reduced to dust from mouth to tail.

And before the beast could fully fade. Before Ezekiel has a chance to catch his breath and comprehend…that same man turned around, shield on his back, face as stiff as steel, and extended his hand towards him.

The man's stature was burned into words in Ezekiel's memories, and with a cautionary confusion he began to mutter, "Yer…"

The ground shook violently and the man spun around to greet four more Tremorlords rising from the depths to surround him.

And from their maps echoed the vicious disappointment of the Titan, "Y-O-U S-T-A-N-D W-I-T-H N-E-R-V-E-S O-F I-R-O-N, A-U-R-I-A-N."

"P-L-E-A-S-E…L-A-U-G-H W-I-T-H D-E-F-I-A-N-C-E. T-H-E G-R-O-U-N-D A-B-S-O-R-B-S A-L-L M-A-N-N-E-R-S O-F F-O-O-L-E-R-Y."

The man proceeded to bend one knee and cross his arm before his chest, "I offer an appeal, Lord Tremorterra."

"A-N A-P-P-E-A-L? H-O-W Q-U-A-I-N-T. P-R-O-C-E-E-D."

"I am this man's shield." The man spoke firmly.

"A-N-D?"

"I propose victory was still his."

"A-N I-N-T-E-R-E-S-T-I-N-G T-U-R-N O-F O-P-I-N-I-O-N. S-O Y-O-U A-L-L-Y Y-O-U-R-S-E-L-F W-I-T-H M-Y P-E-O-P-L-E?"

The man nodded, "That is correct."

"W-H-Y S-H-O-U-L-D Y-O-U B-E B-E-L-I-E-V-E-D? Y-O-U, W-H-O H-A-V-E L-O-S-T Y-O-U-R W-A-Y."

"I am resolute. You...are astray."

The Titan's laughter filled the sky with thunderous joy, "G-R-O-U-N-D-L-E-S-S W-O-R-D-S. S-L-I-N-G T-H-Y A-C-C-U-S-A-T-I-O-N-S, B-U-T I-T I-S Y-O-U W-H-O H-A-S F-O-R-G-O-T-T-E-N T-H-E W-O-R-D-S."

The man paused and hunched over with his eyes closed, whispering in a deep, respectful tone, "Under thy Crimson Wings, I Kneel."

A few seconds later, he continued, "For a Brighter World, I surrender..."

Then paused some more, "Let Thy Soul Be Tender."

"I am...but One of Man."

The Titan bellowed out a gasp, "T-H-E P-L-E-D-G-E O-F B-E-G-I-N-N-I-N-G-S...!"

Then with a deeper chuckle he began to relent on his venomous tone, "Y-O-U B-E-A-R T-H-E W-O-R-D-S B-U-T D-O Y-O-U T-H-E W-E-I-G-H-T?"

The man stood tall and stared up into the beast's maw, "I choose to die for my cause."

"H-A H-A...! Y-O-U C-A-N...B-U-T N-O-T T-O-D-A-Y. I A-M...C-O-N-T-E-N-T W-I-T-H Y-O-U-R A-P-P-E-A-L."

"O-N-C-E M-O-R-E T-H-E G-A-I-A L-I-N-E H-A-S E-A-R-N-E-D M-Y G-I-F-T. S-H-O-U-L-D Y-O-U F-A-I-L Y-O-U-R C-O-N-V-I-C-T-I-O-N, A-U-R-I-A-N, I W-I-L-L T-A-K-E D-O-U-B-L-E O-F W-H-A-T I-S O-W-E-D F-R-O-M Y-O-U-R P-E-O-P-L-E."

"I won't disappoint." The man uttered.

"P-R-O-V-E I-T T-H-E-N...!" The Tremorlords submerged back into the ground and their father left behind a final message, "F-O-R N-O-W...S-L-U-M-B-E-R. U-N-T-I-L T-H-E N-E-X-T D-E-C-A-D-E'S P-A-S-S-I-N-G..."

The man then rested his shoulders and turned to face Ezekiel once more, his hand extended as though nothing had interrupted him.

"Can you walk?"

Ezekiel looked at his gesture and, still high off the stress of nearly dying, started to crack down with laughter, "Ha ha ha...! Y'know what...? Don't think I can."

The man thus approached him and offered his shoulder for support, "Hold your head high. Your father smiles."

Ezekiel's eyes briefly widened as he let himself fall against the man's body and be carried back towards the ravine.

There were no words exchanged between them. He was simply out of guts and tired of trying to think.

The people of Oreore bore witness to the return of their legend, but were too mixed with confusion at the other man's presence to give Ezekiel the hero's welcome.

Cecilia's gaze darted towards the stranger and without hesitation she jumped and slid down the front of the ravine to meet them at the gate, holding her hand tight around her lance while a fierce expression was pointed at the man.

The man stopped and Ezekiel was starting to catch his breath back enough to stand.

Cecilia did all the talking, adamant to be hostile towards this stranger, though none of it was unwarranted from her perspective, "I KNOW who you are."

And Ezekiel expressed similar familiarity, "I-I know it too, but let's not be hasty...!"

Cecilia was stuck between relief and frustration and had to pace herself to avoid being overwhelmed by either, "I'm so glad you survived...! But I'm not about to pay a blood debt to Stonestein of the Ten Sages!"

Right around then Lianne landed beside her with her expression immediately landing on utter shock, "O-One of the Ten Sages...?!"

There were gasps of words trying to form, a mother's anger that was kept at bay by hair strands. She was full of tears at the sight of her boy still standing that what won out was her overall sense of relief.

"Ya saved my boy..." The tears rolled down her wrinkled cheeks, "T-Tell me it's a good man I can give my thanks to."

Stonestein stood his ground with an unchanged expression of stoicism, then began to close his eyes to remark, "I sense a discussion is in order."

Cecilia slowly loosened her grip on her lance and muttered, "I agree. And we'll start once you've returned Ezekiel to us."

Stonestein looked to Ezekiel and with a brief nod, nudged him to rejoin his family. Ezekiel took a couple steps to stay between them and then gestured his hands to try and work out a less tense atmosphere, "Why don't we go back home and talk this out?"

"Invite him in...?!" Cecilia shouted in disbelief.

Ezekiel looked her deep in the eyes and nodded. She was looking into the eyes of a man who faced death and lived. His judgment wasn't compromised...

So for now, she was willing to give the Sage the benefit of the doubt and withdrew her hand from her lance entirely, but also paid lip service to the leadership of these lands, "What do you want to do, Lianne?"

Lianne nodded back, "Let 'em in."

Stonestein crossed his arms and gave a tiny smile, "Thank you."

They opened the gates and guided the man back home. Countless people observed with growing interest at the stranger's seeming importance.

Eventually everyone made it back home and Ezekiel fell into a slump on the couch while Stonestein got Lianne's permission to take a seat as well. Cecilia stood at the ready closer to the Sage than anyone else. She had already figured out the range of his arm's reach, but with the rest of his capabilities under examination she had to be on guard at all times.

Ezekiel rubbed the side of his head, fighting off the last vestiges of fatigue, then while gesturing his hand out he started off the conversation, "Guess this is as good a place to start as any..."

"Thank ya for savin' my life." He said in a soft, melancholic tone.

Stonestein smiled back, "I am...honored by your grace."

Ezekiel then raised a brow and wondered, "But I gotta wonder...why'd ya do it?"

Stonestein's expression stiffened as the thought on everyone's mind came to life, "Why'd one of the Ten Sages risk their life to save mine?"

And with the patience of the crawling turtle, the man responded, "To redeem my inability to save Johnathan."

Ezekiel and Lianne's hearts grew faint, the boy wondering aloud, "Y-Y'knew my pop...?"

Stonestein furrowed his brows and shook his head, "I did not."

He then paused to take a deep breath, "But I respected what he stood for."

"I knew he was marching towards death."

"But the day's arrival blindsided me."

Stonestein looked Ezekiel directly in the eyes and bowed his head, "I do not ask forgiveness."

"Your father died because I failed."

It was a tough pill to swallow at first for Johnathan's closest relatives. Ezekiel bit his teeth, thinking back to that day and what could have been different.

But he's had more than enough years to digest the impact of what his father's death meant to so many lives that hearing the severe guilt of this stranger made him believe only one thing...

"After how ya saved my life, I know ya woulda saved his had ya managed to be there...I ain't gonna blame ya."

Cecilia then interjected with a blunt remark towards the Sage, "But you understand our apprehension, right?"

Stonestein closed his eyes and his nod felt full of regret, "I roam, weighed by a tarnished title."

"Don't fish for sympathy, you're part of the reason why it is tainted." Cecilia added, forcing the man's eyes open with more hardened confusion than anything else.

"What do you mean?"

Ezekiel sighed and then rubbed the back of his head, "Surely word got around to ya about the murder attempt in Pulsa Minoria a while back?"

Stonestein faced forward and nodded, a little disheartened to remember, "I am...familiar."

Cecilia was wanting to sling accusations but was more than trained enough to build-up to the decisive blow, "All our evidence from that day pointed to a Sage that is controlling the others by taking advantage of their closeness to Borealis Aurora."

Stonestein paused to plant his fingertips together, making his hands into a bowl shape over his lap. He then hung his head forward and muttered, "Lilith..."

Ezekiel and Cecilia were stunned into silence, while the Sage opened his eyes and remarked, "Your criteria. It could only mean two."

"I have had my suspicions..."

"Then you've done a poor job acting on them." Cecilia pointed out.

"Perhaps," Stonestein admitted, "But these are only assumptions, anyways."

Cecilia's eyes narrowed.

"Her 'loyalty' is rooted deep," Stonestein took a deep breath to carefully think things through, "Decisive evidence is the only cure."

"To what?" Ezekiel wondered.

"Her grasp entangles Lord Borealis' heart." He said with a voice rippling with loyalty.

Cecilia then stepped in to declare, "Let us put aside this trail of thought for the moment. Even...if we had a reason to take your word at face value, you're STILL loyal to Borealis Aurora."

"That's true," Ezekiel mentioned, "Far as I see it, having someone else leading some of the Sages doesn't change the amount of enemies we're fighting."

Stonestein looked between them and remarked, "This is true."

"So you admit to being our enemy?" Cecilia interjected.

The Sage lingered on a long pause before answering, "I am loyal to Lord Borealis."

"...And I am loyal to this world."

He then pointed his gaze at Ezekiel, "I propose a question, Ezekiel Gaia."

"To you, and you alone." He tossed a quick, sharp gaze at Cecilia.

Ezekiel brushed his hand out and muttered, "Alright...ask away."

"Why are you...'right'? And us 'wrong'?"

Stonestein propped his fingers under his chin and muttered aloud, "Sancturia is guarded. Its people at peace."

"Lord Borealis' way has proof of success."

"Here, the fallen cry from hallowed ground."

"Here, steel is forged to avenge."

"Has Sarajin Stratos satisfied you?"

"Was Johnathan Gaia's sacrifice worth him?"

"Hrrmm..." Ezekiel was tired, stiff, and these difficult to hear words won't making him feel much better. But he steadied himself upright and looked at the Sage with a flicker of fire in his heart and told him, "Ya wanna know the honest truth?"

"Maybe I ain't satisfied..."

"Oh?" Stonestein was surprised, Cecilia moreso.

Ezekiel arched his brows and rolled his wrist around, "We're still fighting. Still tryin' ta do our best ta survive. The world ain't improvin' fast enough. Hell, I almost died today cause I got too caught up thinkin' we'd have a decent shot of changin' the world and thus the fate of my people."

"There's been times I've wanted to TEAR into my brother for how slow it's going..."

"...But every day," Ezekiel pointed back at the sky to the north, "Every day, he wakes up and makes an effort to TRY to make this world a better place. I ain't loyal to his cause cause he said a few words ta change my mind. He MADE me take a closer look at myself through his sheer grit to keep going and realize I was a bloody fool too ready to chase fleeting glory."

Stonestein laid his hands on his lap and wondered, "The Genesis Samurais, as you call yourselves."

"You are not even unified."

"Yeah, we ain't a very ironclad bunch are we?" Ezekiel said with a slight humored vibe to his gestures, "Maybe we're a buncha hard-heads who ain't ever gonna all see eye-to-eye, but at least we're united under a common goal."

He then made a brutish gesture towards the Sage, "And as far as yer lot's shown me, that's way more than I can say for you."

"Maybe yer Lord Borealis is givin' peace, but it's as fragile as glass."

There was a long pause given for the Sage to absorb this information, and in doing so all present watched as the man smirked with satisfaction.

"I'll admit...I underestimated you."

He then bowed his head and closed his eyes, "Everything you said is true."

"Victory is yours...Ezekiel Gaia."

Ezekiel fluttered his eyes and hovered his hand around before sinking back into his seat, unsure of what this meant.

Stonestein leaned in and crossed an arm before his chest, "I am descended from the Scarab Clan."

"Through generations, we have pursued the truth."

"The Origin Point of the Rot Horizon."

Ezekiel paused and then widened his eyes in shock, "T-The Rot...?!"

"Horizon...?" Cecilia murmured.

"It caused the world's decay." Stonestein explained.

"If discovered how, it may be reversed."

Cecilia had her suspicions, "How could it be reversed when all the Titans failed to stop it?"

"I do not know." Stonestein admitted.

"Then why do you believe it?"

"Because the proof still exists."

Stonestein closed his eyes and leaned back into his seat, reducing his voice to a whisper, "Half the page of an ancient book."

"It has been passed down through millenia."

"Every descendant, expected to make a copy."

"What for?" Ezekiel wondered.

"To preserve it. If it's lost..."

"Ah, I get ya," Ezekiel rubbed the back of his head and muttered aloud, "But only half a page? Now, I ain't ever read a 'book' in my life but that don't sound like much."

"Vague images. A cryptic, undeciphered passage..."

"Only one word could be read: 'Rot'."

"So that's why..." Cecilia remarked, before resuming her cautious ways, "Assuming, of course, your mystical page exists."

Stonestein glanced her way and then went dead silent.

Ezekiel gestured at her and whispered, "Not like he could just present the page to us on command."

"It's the crux of his entire argument that we should believe he's on our side."

Stonestein opened his eyes with a glare and made his stance firm, "I won't relent. This is too important."

Ezekiel leaned in and spoke softly, "This is more than just some overprotectiveness...Something's got ya spooked."

"..." Stonestein resumed his whisper, "Our books have been lost or burnt."

"Our lineage suspects...the past still lives."

If that wasn't enough to scare Cecilia into stuttering, nothing else would, "W-What the hell...?"

Ezekiel added on to that, "The past lives? L-Like...there's a being out there from the Day of the Rot?"

Stonestein nodded, "They seek to kill the past."

"The page...could be the last link."

After letting the two soak it in he continued, "I have combed ruins, history books."

"Searching for the tome this page completes."

"And nothing so far?"

"Not even a hint."

Cecilia then remarked, "Wouldn't it make sense for the figure of the past to have destroyed the book?"

"Then why chase the page?" Stonestein proposed.

Cecilia nodded, "So there are a few bits of evidence that the book exists..."

"But in good condition after this time?" Ezekiel was the one having doubts, "Can't imagine those thin sheets have a long life."

"I will confirm with my own eyes." Stonestein had long since accepted his fate.

"If this is fruitless, so be it."

"Hrrrmmm...Can't say I fully understand what's going on 'ere, but I still know one thing..." Ezekiel gestured his hand, "Ya saved my life."

"If ya think this book holds the key ta fixin' the world, then let us help ya find it."

Stonestein looked on with a forlorn glance, "I am not owed your kindness."

"I simply acted out my duty."

"Well, then we aren't so different, you and I." Ezekiel perceived.

He extended his hand and smiled, "Whaddya say? Partners?"

Stonestein looked at his hand, then hovered his gaze towards Cecilia, who let off a scoff and remarked with some of her cautiousness melting off, "WHY are you including me without my approval, Ezekiel?"

Ezekiel grinned awkwardly and his wife proceeded to face the Sage to tell him, "We're not dropping the matter of the bad seed in your ranks. You need to do something about this 'Lilith'. Either expose her treachery to Borealis Aurora, or flush her out into the open so WE can handle her."

Stonestein nodded, "I will find evidence, and stop her."

"I am Lord Borealis' loyal shield."

Cecilia raised a brow and mumbled, "At least you're honest."

The Sage then faced Ezekiel once more and told him, "Fine. I shall accept your aid."

The two firmly shook hands and with a tiny smile, Stonestein admitted, "For a better world."

"For our future generations."

Cecilia then decided to slide in past Ezekiel and sit next to him, bridging her hands under her chin and remarking, "I think the first move we should make is to take a moment to determine who our allies and enemies are."

Ezekiel looked at her and nodded, "True, especially regarding the Ten Sages."

Stonestein closed his eyes and wondered, "How shall our suspicions match, I wonder?"

Lianne finally broke her long silence to contribute something to their affairs, "I suppose I oughta make sum grub..."

She then wandered off, feeling relief and pride at what her boy had managed to accomplish. She gave silent thanks to Sarajin, and more profound tears were shed for her love, thanking him for raising such a great man...

On that day, the world started to feel just a little bit brighter...

Next Time: Cry Freedom