Hello! It's Piccolo Sky again. Time for another installment in my ongoing epic.

Before we begin this time around, I need to give you warning. This part of the story is only partially complete. I'm still writing it. Hence, I may have to be a little less liberal about the updates. I'd like to make this stretch so that they can come out fairly regularly.

That said, enjoy.


THE SERVANT


THE WYVERN BATTLES


One Thousand Years Later

In the time of great prosperity and peace, of great advancement and promise, and power descending to all remaining races in the world...the espers suffered the first event that marked their inevitable decline.

No one would have suspected that, four thousand, one hundred and fifty years after the end of Crusader, when the Age of the Espers had begun, that at the point in time in which the race was arguably at its strongest would signal the beginning. But such was the way of civilizations. Only when they reached their zenith did they hit their decline. And such was an apex of time.

Men and espers had lived in a great period of peace for centuries. In the past thousand years, there had been conflicts and wars. Occassionally, a true threat would arise that would threaten to ruin the life of the world. Yet the espers no longer needed to respond to such threats. Humanity triumphed over each one themselves. Each time a foe had arisen, it had been struck down by the few upstanding people of humanity who came forward and fought back. And each time, the forces of darkness had eventually failed and the calm of the world was restored. This played itself out time and time again throughout history, but always in the end humanity had triumphed. And so the world remained at peace.

Humanity truly began to develop now. The race continued to grow in strength and power as time wore on. What had started as a few specialty skills and barbaric civilizations had become something new. Now, the various peoples had moved and branched out. New kinds of warriors outside of the basic bludgeoning barbarians emerged. Warriors like ninjas began to arrive and became the staple for some kingdoms. Others formed classes that didn't use swords just as clubs, but turned them into deadlier weapons. They called themselves samurai. Then there were races that focused on cultivating their own strength and power, and learned advanced battle techniques and skills for close combat. They made their own bodies weapons as they struggled to develop their spiritual sides and grow more in tune with the way of things. They were the monks. Some humans cloistered themselves away and devoted themselves to learning. Others set up in towns and formed guilds. However, combat was only one feature. Many were beginning to study how to combine elements together. Others specialized in replicating large structures that had existed in earlier time, and how to build new ones. Others devoted themselves to art and music, so that soon humanity began to have another culture outside of survival. A new culture emerged in which humanity tried to increase its own faculties and to create new works in the world. And in doing so, they were reaching new levels of power.

The elvish race had finally died out. They had been doing so for centuries, but those that had not already interbred with humans until their bloodline ran out. There were still some races that had the blood of elves in them, but they were few and far between, and their race was weak. Dwarves still remained, although they had reached the point where they left the surface all together. Now, they formed their own civilization deep under the world, where through working and tunneling through the magma interior they had managed to carve out a whole separate underground realm. There, they flourished, and continued to develop their own technologies, thereby avoiding dying out as the elves had. Even though the Age of Chaos had never come to be, however, selective breeding of the horse races and extrapolation of the wild horse races had led to a genetic bottleneck. The result meant that when an especially lethal disease swept the species, they all fell victim to it. Horses, as the first species that faced the consequences of human involvement, had gone extinct. With that, it seemed that the ability for fast transport and cavalry was dead. But that was before humans had learned how to harness an esper offshoot race: the chocobo. By this time, the line of the original Chocobo had grown more animalistic and simple, but they were still kindly disposed to humans and consented to serve them. They became the new mount of choice for the world, and soon it was not unusual for the human race to ride great birds instead of other mammals.

In addition, what had started as mere mages of black, red, and white were now full wizards. The original white and black wizard had recalled all that they had learned, even after the timeline had changed. They led to a new range of magical innovation, and caused people to learn and develop more powers than ever thought possible. Entirely new spells were devised...and some became so powerful that they were deemed almost unnatural, or even deadly. The greatest of those, Meteor and Ultima, were so strong that they bore the chance of killing the caster. And they bore so much power that even espers were shocked at them, and weaker ones could potentially be destroyed by them alone. Even old and strong espers like Odin were unable to master their full range. He himself spent one hundred years training how to cast Meteor. At the present time, the two spells were so powerful and overwhelming that no human alive could cast them without destroying themselves. And so, for the moment, they existed outside of the realm of human knowledge and possibility. Nevertheless, it didn't change the fact that humanity was learning and developing a whole new range of magical powers, ones that placed them above even the espers in terms of power. And so...it was little surprise that a new race soon emerged.

Espers still represented the ultimate in power. They had full control over their abilities, and their magical strength was natural rather than forced. While some espers began to grow uneasy about humanity and how strong they were becoming, most were calm about it and actually happy to see an old race to which they bore such affection grow in power and strength. And as the humans went about performing mighty deeds and casting out evil from the world, some of them even desired to assist in this. They were bored of their old way of living isolated in Terratopolis, and sought to go out and mingle in human affairs and in the world. Furthermore, a new breed of wizard resulted when the last of the elvish race began to interbreed with wizard humans. Following centuries of their isolation and development, the new wizard came forth...the Summoner.

Summoners were a powerful and mysterious race. Due to their elvish blood, they stayed close to nature and concerned themselves with natural things. They cared little for technological development, but rather sought to be closer to the planet. They dwelled in the wildest places in the world, making friends with the birds and the fish and whatever roamed within the forests. They followed the ways of the seasons and lived out a mostly pastoral life, free of disruption and involvement. Nevertheless, many took up the cause of good and evil alike throughout time. And they did bear magical powers far stronger than those of any normal mage or wizard. Their strongest power, however, was tied directly to the espers. These powerful individuals were actually hooked up mentally with the great beasts. In this current age, they interacted frequently with them. Rather than being myths and monsters, the espers became the closest friends of the Summoners. They now were the only human race that the espers frequently interacted and conversed with. But they were also the closest friends of the espers, more so than any other race or species. They formed special bonds with them through time, bonds that were united not only externally but internally, uniting flesh and spirit as well as hands, and creating a great union between the two that facilitated the great powers of the Summoners.

Though Summoners were eternally friends of the espers, and all of the great creatures treated these humans as friends and even espers themselves, a Summoner only obtained the power of an esper through a special ritual. An esper, quite essentially, would challenge the Summoner to a battle. Under the rules of engagement, a Summoner could bring any friends into the combat, provided that they were true friends and that the esper allowed it. They would then battle. If the Summoner succeeded in defeating the opposing esper, than the esper must submit to the beck and call of the Summoner. The two would then unite themselves to one another, in a process in which both of them exchanged a bit of their own life force, thereby uniting them to one another. This bond facilitated the spell. From then on in, whenever the Summoner wished the esper to come and fight for him or her, she would call on that bond to open a gateway between the place of battle and the esper itself. The esper would then appear and fight on behalf of the Summoner. However, such was a highly dangerous business. The bond that had formed between the two, the Summoner and esper, could not be broken lightly. While the bond was in effect...in other words, while the esper was summoned to fight...both of their lives were tied to one another. If the Summoner died, the esper would die as well, and that was a strong possibility because the Summoner, while bringing forth the esper, was helpless to do anything but cast. As for the esper, if it died while in battle, the Summoner too would die from the breaking of the bond. For this reason, not only did espers usually shield their Summoners on arrival, they also usually used the moment of surprise just to cast one attack, and then flee, easing the bond between the two again. For an esper to risk standing and fighting it out was dangerous for both parties.

If that wasn't enough, the stronger the esper, the longer it took for the call spell to bring him or her forth. Furthermore, some Summoners could actually force an esper to come forth in which a bond hadn't been made. But such was extremely dangerous to the Summoner, lasted only seconds, and left both helpless for a while. As such, it was a dangerous business, but still had given great power to one set of members of humanity.

The world was divided into individual kingdoms at this time. Each one was divided, but was also balanced against one another. As such, there was no fear of war at this time or of great conflict. For once there was no turmoil to fear in a time in history. The world had changed from the past age. In ancient times, one great kingdom of men had ruled under the banner of Odin, and the Four Crystals were scattered around the world. However, times had changed since then. The race of the Lufenians had revealed themselves at last, and had departed after exposing their true natures, seeming to leave the Planet all together. The elvish races had failed, and the other races of the world too had seemed to pass into obscurity and legend, even to the espers. Mankind was now the ruler of their own individual age. And they were the keepers of this world and its power. To that end, the Four Crystals had gradually found their ways into the hands of men.

The Earth Crystal was eventually exhumed from its earthly prison and taken to the surface. Once there, anywhere it touched it made fertile and alive. Even the dankest wasteland became a fruitful paradise, and the area was blessed with plenty. It had found its way onto the opposite side of a rainshadow currently, and it turned the area from desert into a vegetative miracle, sending the human kingdom nearby into a period of peace. The Fire Crystal was removed from Mt. Gulg ages ago, for fear it would one day create another eruption. It was placed in the center of another kingdom. It turned the surrounding world into desert, but it also supplied the energy and power both to sustain the people's way of life, but also to empassion and drive the heroic members of their race. The Water Crystal surfaced when the mermaid race dwindled, to be kept in the safekeeping of the human race. To that end, the great wizards of the world took it and bore it away to Mysidia, not so much to use or to harness its life-giving powers, but to keep it from those who would consider it mere jewelry. In the ages that followed, Mysidia endured and its people prospered under the Crystal. Finally, the Wind Crystal was taken to the north, to a land of monks and discipline, where noble men kept it safe and reaped the benefits of its power in always having a favorable wind when at sea. No one power had all Crystals, and so they too were balanced against each other, so that they could not be used against one another.

But the Lord Bahamut had deemed this too little. He greatly feared that one day the Crystals would turn to darkness in the hands of men, and their powers would be corrupted. To that end, each of the Four Crystals was fractured, and broken into two. Using all of their power, the espers separated the two natures of each Crystal in doing so, allowing one to burn with the light of peace and prosperity, while the other fell into darkness and shadow. In doing so, the Four Crystals became Eight, four of them light, and the other four dark. These "Dark Crystals" were handed to the dwarf lords under the earth, and they were buried deep within their vaults and strongholds so that none might ever obtain their power, or risk evoking an evil from them. With the Eight Crystals established, and the two worlds balanced, peace reigned throughout the world, and all was well.

Small wonder no one suspected the doom about to befall them.


"Lord Bahamut, you will be in human form today as well?"

Bahamut didn't respond right away. He looked himself over in the looking glass. He still couldn't quite get used to his human body. It looked too...unnatural. He had tried to work on it, but the power within him made it too much. One could still tell that either a powerful man or a different being stood there. Of course, wearing smooth, shimmering, long purple regal robes around himself did little to help. It only made him more conspicuous. No human could possibly wear such things, for they were beyond the skill of any man to make, too perfect. And so, he sighed and brushed back a strand of his perfect white-blonde hair, and adjusted the white trim around his garments.

"I prefer to stay in this form nowadays, Khan." Bahamut calmly replied, making some last adjustments. "I prefer to keep my true form concealed. It keeps me from revealing too much of myself, and makes me more inconspicuous around potential foes."

He heard a loud sigh from behind him at this. "What foes, master?" A half-grumble went out. "There hasn't been a danger to this world since Odin destroyed the Temple of Chaos."

"What about that incident with the Emperor of Palamecia? And the-"

"Oh, the humans handled both of those. We espers don't even need to meddle in things anymore. Even the Summoners don't need us."

"Well, this is something entirely different." Bahamut simply stated, giving a sigh to himself. There was one more piece to his ensemble, and after fifty lifetimes he still disliked this part of it. As Lord of All Espers, he was required to be crowned. And as he turned to his right, he saw it. A great purple crown matched his robes. It was a dark purple and regal like the rest of his attire, and was more of a band that fit around his head. But resting on top of it were seven great spires, one for each of the original espers: Bahamut, Odin, Ogopogo, Leviathan, Starlet, Phoenix...and Wyvern.

Wyvern...

Bahamut felt a part of his heart falter at that, but he ignored it. He had to. Something had befallen his brother at this point. He didn't know what after four thousand years, but that was the only explanation. Why else was he gone? Why else had they not seen or heard from him in so long? After all this time, Bahamut would have thought he had forgotten him. But he hadn't. His memory was still fresh...as was the memory of how they had parted. In all this time, he still had not gotten the chance to say he was sorry. Leviathan told him to let it go. Later injuries must have kicked in and finished him. Or he had trapped himself and died somehow. But he was gone, and not coming back. Yet Bahamut could not let him go. He knew somehow he was still out there. But if so...then why wasn't he back? At any rate, he shook this off. He couldn't worry about it. He had to think of now.

"I wish to talk to this Kluya and ask why he has come here." Bahamut explained. "And I don't want him to know the full measure of my strength before I do..."

It was now a thousand years since Bahamut had realized that this planet was not alone in the universe. However, the people who had come to his planet were unwelcomed guests. The Terrans had arrived seeking conquest, and meant to take over this world and use it for their own ends. They had been driven off, yes, but not before nearly causing a terrible future to occur. And not before promising that they would return. To this day, none had come back. But Bahamut was ever vigilant about them, and he eagerly awaited the day they would attempt to return. On the day, he would destroy them once and for all.

However, a new premonition had come. The Terrans may have been gone...but something else had arrived. About one hundred years ago, the planet had obtained a second satellite. A second moon had arrived into its orbit, and had begun to encircle the planet opposite the original moon. Bahamut had been apprehensive to this, as had Leviathan. The great serpent immediately researched it, and discovered to his surprise that creatures were on it. This aroused the suspicion of all espers, and they feared that some devilry would come from this. Much of the rest of the world feared the same. However...nothing came. The moon drew no closer nor farther away, and it stretched forth no danger to the planet. Because of this...the humans eventually dismissed it. The primitive astrologists of the time said it was merely a drifting satellite that had somehow got caught in the orbit of the planet, and that now it had become a second moon for the world. The espers were not so sure, and kept a watchful eye on it, but did no more.

Then, only a few months ago, Leviathan noticed a change. A great blue shape emerged from the moon, and sailed straight to the planet to rendezvous at Mysidia. He immediately dispatched himself along with one hundred espers to see what this was, and stave off any possible attack. On arrival, Mysidians had already come forth as well, and caution was needed to not interfere with humanity. Bahamut was not there, and did not know what had transpired. But Leviathan gave a good report. Apparently, the great blue shape was some sort of grand airship, beyond the technology even of the Terrans. On board had been a strange creature. He had appeared humanoid, save for a great arched eyebrow across his forehead. However, he was incredibly well versed in the powers of magic. To Leviathan's astonishment, he excelled in both white and black spells, deemed impossible for any human. He could even perform the powerful spell Meteor without straining. His body was old, much older than any human, and he was wiser even than they. However, and Leviathan accented this, he probed the man's mind clearly, and saw that he bore no evil intentions. As a matter of fact, the man prostrated himself before the espers and greeted them warmly.

He explained that he was another alien race, one that had an unpronouncable name but Leviathan dubbed the "Lunarians". They had never heard of Terra or its people. They themselves were homeless entities, and claimed that they had once been neighbors with this world, long ago in the First Age of the Planet. However, their planet was destroyed, and they converted their own moon into a gigantic craft designed to fly through space in order to escape. Then they sought to flee to the Blue Planet, which was what they designated the world of the espers. Yet on arrival, they saw that humanity was far too underdeveloped compared to them, and they feared that their presence would eventually lead to the eradication of the species or them using their knowledge for war. So they set themselves adrift and waited for a time in which they could arrive on the world. At this, naturally, Leviathan asked if they were planning on conquering, to which the Lunarian, Kluya, claimed that they didn't. They merely wanted to "move in" onto the world, if the inhabitants would let them. The moon had returned to this world for a "checkup" to see how humanity had progressed. Kluya's brother, FuSoYa, waited aboard the moon and guarded the rest of the survivors, who were in a state of suspended animation, while Kluya investigated. However, Kluya had reached a different conclusion. He wanted to try and "push" the people of this world a bit forward. He wanted to bring them technologies and achievements that would enable them to advance quicker. He saw only altruism in this rather than selfish motives, and wanted to help regardless of the danger it could mean. To this end, he asked if the great powers of the world, the espers, would allow it, and awaited their answer.

Bahamut didn't know what to respond at the moment. For now, he wanted to meet this Kluya and see what kind of man he was. He didn't trust aliens anymore. He would never trust them again after what Garland had attempted. He would probe him to find out if he truly meant what he said. And even if he was proved to be honest, that was no guarantee that he would allow them to live on this world, much less let Kluya teach any technology to the native inhabitants. But for now, he would simply meet this person and assess the danger he might represent. After that he would decide. And he wouldn't let this one visitor dominate him either. This was supposed to be a momentous occasion. It was the time for the espers' mating as well as a meeting of the world's powers, and he would preside over it.

"Sir, I understand perfectly your desire to wish to hide your true nature." Noonian calmly addressed in her smooth voice. "But...I guess Khan and myself don't see why we have to do the same."

As Bahamut set the spire on his head, he cracked a smile and turned. Sure enough, right behind him, blushing and frowning, were his two attendants...now in the bodies of a little boy and girl. They were dressed quite nicely by human standards in linens and silk, but they didn't seem to care. They only hated that they were no longer in their monstrous forms. Khan looked in disgust at his now-five-fingered, skin covered hands, and Noonian kept playing with the tails that her now-red hair had turned into. Both of them looked positively unhappy, and Bahamut almost had to laugh at them.

"Well, I keep my entourage in the same form as me." Bahamut simply answered, trying not to smile. "And it looks bad on me if I am to be a man, and I have two great wyrms at my side as my attendents."

The two merely grumbled in response.

Bahamut wasn't miffed. He merely gave a chuckle in response, and then walked forward to the two of them and gestured forward. "Come on. We will be expected soon."

His attendants sighed and then turned to walk with their master. Soon, they left Bahamut's room and entered the halls of Terratopolis.


Times had changed in the dwelling of the espers. Much of it now had been redone by the latest espers, who planked the stone halls and walls to make it look like a real town. Personally, Bahamut thought it made the place look darker, because it had blotted out some of the windows. But espers had taken to human tastes. Many of them had built small homes for themselves where they slept in human-like beds and even had tea time. Some had begun to set up stores to act as merchants. More began to take to wearing clothes, and, to a bit of Bahamut's disapproval, some covered themselves up so that one would not realize that they were merely humanoid and not human. That just seemed silly to him, that they should regard the humans as something to be worried about in that sense. But overall, it was a great place to be. Espers filled the halls of Terratopolis now. It eventually became so full that they expanded down into the underground, and just last week Leviathan had finished crafting a giant tunnel through a magma-filled cave that led to the Underground world. Unfortunately, it was surrounded by lava save for a small tributary that scarcely any could fit through, and those that would would be drowned. Leviathan, however, could use this to go all the way up to the surface world, and there play in the oceans...and cultivate his reputation as being a mythical sea monster. Anyway, with that new entrance, some espers wanted to blockade the above ground entrance so that Terratopolis would once again be a mountain. Bahamut didn't approve of that either, for it would truly seal them into a dark world at that time. However...they could build new entrances, and set up an artificial sun. And the humans were advancing so much it was only a matter of time now before they built devices that would lead them into their world, so perhaps it was for the best.

Bahamut enjoyed seeing the espers fill the halls and walk through them. He enjoyed seeing the children play and his people prosper. However, he rarely saw such sights now. Many espers now regarded him as something mythic, considering how long he had been alive. Most of them stood to one side and bowed when the halls were filled, and did not resume their normal activities until he had passed. That robbed a bit from the experience. And there were no people out today either. Only a few of the stationed guard espers were about, dressed in royal attire and armed for potential threats and battle. As Bahamut passed through the mostly empty halls, they merely stood erect and saluted him. He grimaced and waved to them as he went, and made his way for the main assembly room.

As Bahamut passed along, he gradually hear more echoes coming up the chamber. He smiled to hear it. The others were assembled, and soon he would get to see his kindred gathered together again. He drew closer to this as he continued to wind through the halls. On the walls, flowers and garlands were hung, decorating the chambers and filling them with signs of gaity and celebration. The guards grew thicker, and clicked into position to salute them as they continued. Some of the few remaining windows in the place began to shine sunlight over Bahamut, bathing him in sunlight. Bahamut smiled at this as he continued. It wasn't just his source of power. He enjoyed the feeling of the sun.

Finally, he came to the exit. Ahead of him, framed in a tunnel entrance, was the exit to the gathering outside. A blue curtain was stretched across it, separating it from the outdoors. Several other guards were gathered in front of it, as well as someone else. Hearing Bahamut arrive, the additional member turned to the side, giving Bahamut a smile to see her. Nowadays, his immediate family so rarely got together. Yet he was glad for any moments that they could. He and Starlet came right up to each other and met before the curtain.

"You're late again." His sister reminded him. She was dressed in all of her regal glory as well now. A spectacular golden circlet rested on her head, studded with diamonds. A long gown that shimmered like stars covered her human-like body, and she looked more glorious than the greatest of all queens. Her face was washed and shone with a glowing aura, and all of her features gleamed like jewels. Her face was eternally pleasant, and she gave him a soft smile as he arrived. "You know we won't start without our king."

Bahamut merely snorted in reply, as Starlet reached up and began to adjust his collar. "Maybe next time, I'll have Leviathan handle it. He seems to do this easier than me anyway."

Starlet merely smiled in response and finished. "He's finishing introducing you. You better not disappoint."

"What's to worry about? People just bow before me whenver I try to say anything to them."

Starlet looked up and heard something, then turned back to him. "That's your cue. Go on."

Bahamut nodded, and as his sister stood aside he took in a deep breath. He clenched and released his fists one more time, and then stepped forward. His two attendants quickly stood to one side as they approached the door frame, and pulled the curtain aside as he walked forward. Soon, he felt the rays of the sun pour down on him, and after adjusting a moment he walked out and into the light.

Bahamut stepped out onto a balcony in the mountainside, looking down over the people far below assembled in the great clearing of Terratopolis. Banners hung down around him, glorifying the King of All Espers, and trumpets and musicians sounded as he came out. Flanking him on either side were high espers of incredible power and rank. Included among them, in human form, was Chancellor Leviathan, Keeper of the Mountain Ogopogo, and King Odin. But other high espers included Tritoch, Ifrit, and Shiva, flanking him on either side. More espers were gathered below and stood at attention before their king. Before them the rest of the espers were assembled within a large crowd. Included were various groups of the civilized monsters of the world, such as chocobos and moogles. A few other representatives from other races and peoples were also there. In one place, the Lunarian Kluya waited in the crowd with the rest of the multitude. In another, two Cetra stood together and applauded the king as he arrived. However, there were no more large human groups. Most of them didn't believe in them anymore, and some didn't wish to draw too much attention to themselves anyway. For the most part, humans were allowed to operate seperately, as were the dwarves. This was a gathering reserved for very few non-espers and magical creatures. Still, they filled the entire area. There was a great crowd here indeed, and a very diverse group.

Bahamut waved to the people as he stood out on the balcony, and moved forward until he reached the railing. Once there, he paused and gestured to the people for a moment. Many bowed down to him as he appeared, while others merely nodded in respect or gave their admiration. The music continued to play, and Bahamut continued to pause as he stood there. At last, however, Bahamut gestured that he wished to continue. On doing so, the music trailed off. The people began to rise, and the applause and cheer quieted. Soon, everything was silent again, and the crowd had returned to being attentive once more.

To this, Bahamut gave a nod. "Welcome, dear friends, to the 83rd Esper Gathering."


"But master...are you sure that you should be doing this?"

"I mean...no one has ever tried..."

"Perhaps we should make a better plan first..."

"...Are you questioning my authority?"

"Oh no...no! No, of course not!"

"Then shut up."

The two attendants went silent at this, and dared not say anything else as they continued to walk forward.

The three passed through the great halls of Terratopolis. It was dark down here, and empty. All of the remaining espers had already gone in to the ampitheater in the center. It was toward this that the three of them now marched. No one hindered them or even noticed that they arrived. They saw neither high nor hair of any other creatures until they finally reached the last hall. Once there, the attendants, one a great lizard, the other a flying creature, hesitated and swallowed for a moment. However...their master passed on without hesitation. As he passed...they felt a strong, cold wind rush by them. Their skin crawled as the energy of the creature radiated off on to them. It was terrifying...more power than they had ever conceived or witnessed. It struck them deep in their souls, and made their hearts turn to ice. They couldn't pause. They had to keep moving, and so they did. They followed their master straight to the opening.

At the end of this hall, a short staircase led outside. The sunlight was pouring in, and as the three drew closer they saw people standing outside with their backs to them. More and more were revealed as they closed in. There were also two guards standing at this doorway. They turned and looked to the three as they approached. They didn't move to stop them, but they did face them and waited for them to reach them. As they came in contact, they addressed them.

"Welcome, fellow espers. Lord Bahamut had begun his address, so I am afraid you will have to-"

That was the last word they got out before the third person placed a hand on either one and gave a light push. Immediately, the two were flung violently into the nearby wall, with so much power and force that their bodies smashed straight through it. Both were thrown into craters, and the entire wall collapsed on top of either of them. The two attendants froze and recoiled in fear for a moment, shocked at this event. But their master kept walking, now reaching the stairs and beginning to ascend them.

However, they had alerted the two next guards further up the stairs: powerful espers. They turned, and they saw this individual and his approach. Immediately they turned around and made to intercept him. One reached first and struck at him with a clawed fist. The individual shrugged it off easily, and then flung the esper over his head behind him. He sailed down the entire length of the hallway in a blink of an eye before being smashed into the wall in the same way the other two had been. The other hesitated at that, beginning to regard the new arrival with fear, and that was all that he needed. The individual reached forward, seized his arm, and broke it with one clench of his fists. The esper cried out in pain, as he reached out with his other hand and did the same to his opposite leg. The esper cried out further in agony, grasping its appendages as they began to bleed from underneath. The arrival, however, merely kicked this esper out of the way like garbage and continued.

Within a few moments more...he was entering up into the light.


Bahamut was cut off in mid-speech. One moment, he was acting plainly...when the next second it hit him like a flood. The power was so great it nearly made him swoon. Abruptly, he fell back, and raised a hand to his head as if dizzy. On seeing this, the espers in the crowd reacted with surprise. Leviathan noticed this, and quickly reached over and supported him. But as for Bahamut, he merely continued to marvel at what had done this...

An aura had struck him...one that waited until now to present itself. But now that it had come...Bahamut had a hard time thinking of anything else. It overrid the rest of his senses. It commanded his other faculties. It was, in one word, strong. Far stronger than any other energy signature he had ever encountered... Hades was a wimp compared to this. Chaos was nothing. Even Griever...was far, far inferior. All of them combined would not be enough. But it was more than that too. For the first time in over four thousand years, Bahamut felt the unusual sensation of true, mortal fear for himself...because this signature was stronger even than him. For over four thousand years he had stood untested and unmatched in true strength. Even the horrors of the old world had to rely on cunning and tricks to be able to surpass him, for in terms of true strength they were nothing compared to him. But that was not so now. This thing...this power...was mightier than he...and the power of it was so strong that it overwhelmed him as a blast of steam overwhelms a dizzy person.

But there was worse...far worse.

This aura...was evil.

Within it...Bahamut felt something that chilled him to his very heart. A feeling of hatred...pure, inadulterated malice...the likes of which perhaps none alive had ever felt, was within this aura. It governed everything about it and was dripping from every inch of power that it had. It made its spirit blaze like fire, and threaten to consume all that drew too close. It had long since killed all other emotions and natures, sacrificing it all to the flames of an all-consuming anger and rage. Even if this thing hadn't such power, Bahamut would have feared it for simply the amount of anger it had. He didn't think that so much hate could exist in one person. But combined with the power to do terrible things with such hatred, this was truly a fearsome creature.

But despite that all...Bahamut sensed something else.

He sensed something familiar.

Something he had longed to feel for thousands of years.

"...Lord Bahamut." A deathly cold voice sounded, hushing all murmurs to silence and commanding the attention of everyone.

The crowd, as one, turned and looked to the source of the disturbance. Some invisible force seemed to part them in the middle, so that a path was opened right from Bahamut's balcony all the way down through the square to the very back, where in the frame of one of the cave entrances a human stood. On either side of the man were two great creatures. One was a long lizard-like being of the Basilisk order, creatures that could turn their victims to stone just by looking at them. Opposite was one of the Drake order, reptilian creatures that could effortlessly glide in the air. They both drew to either side, and showed themselves to be the attendants of this human. Bahamut didn't look at them long, for they weren't the source of any real power. Instead, he looked to the man in the center.

He was very pale, almost as if he had never seen the sun. He was dressed in clothing that was robe-like, such as Bahamut's, but was blood red and black. His hair was long and slicked back, and was blacker than a grave at midnight. It seemed to almost draw in the light from around it, for the man bore a dark aura around him. Those who were near could sense it radiating off of them, and felt it numb their skin and make their flesh crawl. They pulled back from the man as he stood there, regarding him with fear and anxiety. Then there were his eyes. They were a burning red color, not like blood or crimson. They looked like red flames, echoing the passion of the hatred that Bahamut could sense from the person. It didn't take Bahamut long to realize that this was no man. It was an esper in human form.

It didn't take him long either to recognize just who it was. Even in another body, there was no mistaking it. The eyes didn't lie. They had that same confident expression, that same mischievous glare...even though they had been vilified by what was centuries of anger. He had that same air around him. His scent was still the same. The way he carried himself was the same. And at once...Bahamut found himself struck dumb. The celebration was immediately a million miles from his mind. So was Kluya, the moon, his family, his attendants, and anything else. He cared nothing for them, just about who he saw now. And at the same time, memories thought to be long forgotten after a veritable eternity of time returned. His feelings of fear and apprehension to the anger of this new arrival was replaced with his heart breaking in longing and joy the likes of which he had never felt. His emotions betrayed his senses, so that rather than guard himself against potential danger he opened himself up to happiness and love. Slowly, barely loud enough for those nearby to hear, let alone everyone else, he announced the visitor.

"...Wyvern..."


To be continued...