Insaneiac: Let's get this going. This is a big chapter folks. Lots of talking, lots of emotional shocks, and more importantly, lots of revelation. It's been put off far enough. Chapter four of Act two, and possibly the most important chapter I've teased you all about. The Aeon Jewel revealed, the truths stated…and then tragedy. Enjoy.
Disclaimer: I do not own Tales of Symphonia, NAMCO does. Sorry.
Chapter 4: The Almighty Aeon Jewel
The world was fully cast in the shadow of night as endlessly cascading blankets of rain the descended upon the fair land for the heavens above, each drop adding to the bountiful amount the preceded it. For many of the denizens of the world Symphonia, they would sneer in distaste at such weather, labeling it as ugly and disgusting. Such was not the case for the only noticeable person within the distance as he trudged through the downpour nearly leisurely, a thick cloak covering the entire being. None too far ahead of him lay the gates to the hidden village of water itself, Mizuho. A slow smile curved across the figure's face as he beheld the two ninjas standing at firm guard just outside of the gate, each drop of rain serving both to keep the awake and attuned to the nature around them. The ninjas and warriors of Mizuho were easily the third most fear inducing and dangerous gift that the village provided, with the second being the ideals and separate religion it taught and lived rigorously by, and the very first being a young woman of nineteen by the name of Sheena Fujibayashi.
Or, in much simpler terms, his one great weakness and only true threat. Ever so briefly, the man lifted his head long enough for a few strands of blonde hair and a pair of crisp and clear cerulean eyes to glint amidst the thick drops of water before both became shades of chocolate-like brown. Both ninjas standing guard turned their heads towards the newcomer, a hand within their cloaks and reaching for either their wakizashis or for their equally as deadly cards. Either way, both would be nothing more than a minor annoyance, yet they would inevitably ruin the true purpose of this meeting.
"Identify yourself at once." The ever so slightly taller guard spoke. Surprisingly, the voice was that of a female, clearly something the figure had not suspected in the first place. However, it meant even less then what it might have before hand. A pair of hands reached to the hood of his cloak and pulled back to reveal a charming and sincere face with a pair of courageous brown eyes and a head of now dampening brown hair. Both guards withdrew their hands from their cloaks and bowed, with the same woman clasping her hands together upon returning to a full stance.
"I am deeply sorry Lloyd; I was completely unaware that it was you." She spoke, nodding as Lloyd drew the hood back over his head. "What brings you to Mizuho at this point in time?"
"I was hoping to speak with Chief Igaguri… I have something very important I want to ask him." Lloyd spoke, his words soft and heartfelt. "I know it's late but…"
"For you Lloyd I am truly sure that Chief Igaguri would not mind at all."
A smile filled on Lloyd's face from beneath the hood, though this was a smile that lacked any of the emotion his words had carried. This was a smile that dealt the exact opposite feeling and emotion. It was dark and gave the notion of sinister things to come. But neither guard could see it as they turned around. The taller female guard began to walk forward, Lloyd following her closely while the second guard fell in line behind Lloyd and led the way.
"Truly wonderful." Lloyd spoke as he gazed ahead, looking for the village lights to come into view.
------ The Village of Iselia------
"Okay, I don't really know about everyone else…but dammit, I want some freaking answers here!" Zelos demanded, slamming his hands down on the large table that rested within the center room of Raine's house. The table had enough room for the people Raine had deemed of highest importance. That list composed of herself, Zelos, Colette, Regal, Genis, Presea, and of course a horridly distraught, nigh catatonic Sheena. Rubbing her forehead in dismay, she looked to Zelos and grimaced, her eyes delivering the firm message of 'shut the hell up loudmouth and wait'. Needless to say, the former chosen took the hint rather exceptionally and sat back down.
"Raine, what the hell is going on? First Kratos gives us some story about Lloyd needing us, and then he's trying to kill his best friend? And what is this about Lloyd turning into Mithos….Raine…just what the hell is going on!" Genis shot, roughly scratching the back of his head. He never noticed Raine's head dipping in response to his inquiries, believing that she could duck his questions and avoid explaining an already difficult situation. Yuan had opted to get certain things ready before unveiling the truth, hoping that it would ease the process a little more. "And why is this Lloyd's fault?" Raine's head shot up in a fury at Genis with a look on her eyes that a pair of beams could have shot out from.
"…why is it Lloyd's fault…" Sheena mumbled quietly. Raine slowly her head to glance at the summoner worriedly and became slightly distraught that she had still retained her original choice of seating. She sat straight up, hands folded neatly on her lap with her head hung off her shoulders and pointed directly down at her hands. Her eyes were fixated on the ground as though it were Lloyd himself. When she had spoken that time, which was the first time anyone in the room had heard her speak in a long time, Raine could sense no emotion on the surface of it. However, just by the feeling and aura she emitted from her being one could sense a deeper sense of anguish and sorrow. After all, what do you do when the person closest to you turns into the very same person that toyed and violated with your mind. Doing something Raine rarely ever did, she turned her glance to Regal, locking eyes with the Duke in a desperate attempt to garner some support while she waited for Yuan.
"I don't understand…how is it that Lloyd could become Mithos? Neither is similar in race, age, appearance or any of the most qualifying traits that would be necessary to commit such a change." Presea spoke analytically. Presea paused right after her blurb, tilting her head and closing her eyes to partake upon a moment of deep thought, Presea sighed animatedly and turned to Genis. "I do not understand this at all. How is it possible that Lloyd Irving could become Mithos Yggdrasill? Is this very simply a change in name?"
"Presea, for the time being, please keep your thoughts on the matter private." Regal spoke authoritatively, shifting his head just enough to glance at Presea. Then he shifted his head to the one person in the room that everyone truly felt like avoiding. Colette. Colette had taken what Raine had proclaimed to heart, and was hell bent on burning a hole the size of one of the blonde angel's chakrams into the healer. The icy cold gaze that resonated within her eyes was something no one had ever quite seen before, both malicious and honest in the aura it conveyed. Not a person in the room truly felt that Colette was in the wrong for doing what she was doing, not even Raine's own brother. Aside from the only other person the room hated more, Raine was truly alone amidst her friends. Regal paused to look at Colette concernedly before turning his head back to Raine's and shaking woefully.
"…why…" Sheena whispered. By standards, the whisper was as silent as a drop of water in a desert, but everyone in the room heard it far clearer than anything else that day.
'Me and my big mouth…I thought the child was supposed to take after the adult, not the other way around. I'm the smart one, I'm supposed to be able to distinguish between the right times and wrong times to speak. Lloyd's fault…what the hell was I thinking.' Raine critiqued, her hand rubbing the back of her head slowly. Despite the fact that she was being either subjected to the sounds of Sheena falling apart piece by piece, Genis and Zelos' thousands of questions, and the glare of death from Colette, Raine knew she needed to keep a solid face. She wanted to break down just as much as the others did, but she had to keep strong in respects to the rest of the people. They needed a pillar they could rely on for the time being, and Lloyd had left heft shoes to fill in that sense. That being said, she almost forgot her mental creed of emotional indifference and nearly leapt for joy when she saw Yuan walk back into the room, holding an odd machine that seemed to be hooked up to his arm, a long cord attached firmly to his now empty keycrest.
The machine looked like something accustomed to a lamp, with four make shift arms at the top of a large round base holding. In the arms was his Cruxis crystal, and at the point in-between the base of the machine and the arms was the cord attached the keycrest. On each side, sticking diagonally outwards was two long metal rods. To be honest, the thing that Yuan had either scrounged up or haphazardly pieced together (or very likely it was both aforementioned choices) looked like it could explode with one wrong action.
"Alright then…" Yuan mumbled sitting down at the empty seat near the end of the table, and resting the machine on the table. He could already feel a pair of nigh demonic gazes resting upon him, as both Colette and Sheena shifted their attention to the half-elf. "…pleasant. First things first…this machine is, thanks to a fair bit of frankensteining handiwork on my part, capable of displaying certain images that I had thought to keep with me at all times, so that you can all better understand what I am about to say. Before anyone imposes, I've fine tuned it enough so that it stays out of all my personal pictures and to keep strictly to what you people need to see." Yuan spoke, albeit a little dryly. Everyone could tell though that this was not the same brash and confident Yuan from before.
"How about you tell us just what in Martel's name is going on!" Zelos nearly yelled, his left hand closing tightly on the arm of his chair. "What is this about Lloyd turning into Mithos? Is this what Sheena meant by Lloyd being gone, Is this why Sheena was emotional, is this why Kratos tried to kill you…just what have you gone and done this time half-elf?" The former chosen continued ruthlessly with his eyes locked firmly upon the form of Yuan. Yuan's eyes narrowed ever so briefly whilst Genis' became like ice, frosty enough to push Zelos down into his seat and shut him up. Genis briefly tossed a glance to Raine, worried about his sister even though he wasn't truly brave enough to stand on her side. Despite the lack of tears or anything, brotherly intuition told him that his sister was in bad spirits. Even if Genis thought she was in the wrong, the Gods themselves best help the person the made this personal.
"Alright then Zelos, have it your way…Lloyd Irving no longer exists, so to speak." He hadn't even needed to pause himself to feel the attitude shift from confused and afraid to completely hostile. "And despite what Raine had said and assumed, I can assure you all that much of this is my fault."
"What…but how? What did you do to Lloyd?" Genis shouted accusingly. "What did you do to my best friend?"
"I could put it many different ways but, frankly, I've stopped caring about retaining any sense of pride in the matter. I had offered Lloyd the chance to…discover and acknowledge feelings that he had been attempting to state. He accepted my offer and I, in turned, gave him a potent hallucinogenic and put him into a very deep sleep." Yuan started, sighing once. "And because of that, I awakened feelings within Lloyd that, in turn, woke up Mithos."
"But…how did Mithos get inside of him? I thought he was destroyed along with his Cruxis crystal." Regal spoke, rubbing his chin.
"Simple. Those fragments flowed into Lloyd's exsphere." Raine interjected, spurring old memories within the group. "His Cruxis crystal fragments all combined with Lloyd's exsphere. In turn, this transmitted his remaining essence and soul into Lloyd. Because Lloyd had a keycrest on, Mithos could stay himself while growing power within Lloyd's being. At least, I think that is it. To be truly honest, this is all theory."
"But…then wouldn't that in turn allow fragments of the blame to rest upon us?" Presea spoke analytically, clearly saying the thing no one else in that room had wanted to hear. Everyone's head lowered as the consideration resonated within, slowly chopping away at the anger they had directed towards Raine or Yuan. Even Colette had felt her eyes soften slightly, though more in a notion of shame than anything else.
"It's worse that just Mithos." Yuan interrupted. "In fact, we could have all considered us lucky if this was just a case of Mithos forcing his will upon Lloyd. Unfortunately, that is not the case." A long sigh escaped the blue haired half-elf's lips as he glanced across the room and locked eyes with a part of the wall. What he had to say next would be nearly impossible for the people in the room to stay stoic over, and for his own good he sought to avoid noticing any of the expressions.
"What…what could be worse than Mithos taking over Lloyd…TAKING OVER FREAKING LLOYD!" Zelos yelled at the top of his lungs, once more slamming his hand on the table. "And besides, if that is all it is, all we need to do is go to him and remind him who he is. Even if Mithos is there, once he-"
"Shut up Zelos, you damned fool." Yuan shouted impatiently and then ignoring the swordsman's glare of death. "That's impossible now. It's impossible because Lloyd isn't unwilling in this." The words were so simple and so to the point, yet not a single person acted the way Yuan thought they would. Needless, he tossed away the need to note reactions and continued. "Mithos isn't forcing himself upon Lloyd as it stands. Lloyd is willingly and whole heartedly allowing Mithos to take control…" Yuan glanced up slowly, turning his head to Colette, then Zelos, then the rest of the people before landing on Sheena. His attempt to remain unaware of Lloyd's friend's emotional reaction was useless now. He needed to make sure the person got the point.
"Lloyd Irving discovered two emotions within that dream…and acknowledged them both. And as far as I can assume, they were the two most honest and powerful emotions a soul can become attuned to. They were hatred in its purest and rawest form, and love in its truest and most untarnished radiance." He paused as he watched Sheena's head slowly lift from its hanging position and face Yuan's. He could care less about the horrified looks within the faces of the rest of them, or the confusion that ran rampant amidst the younger members. He was too busy staring into the eyes of a woman who had already faced far too much depression and chaos. And she was truly about to face so much more.
"To the best of my knowledge…the love he experienced was for you Sheena…" He could see her eyes soften and lighten up considerably as the words left his mouth, causing him even more distress. He knew she already knew, but he hadn't a doubt that the knowledge of such a feeling would ever fail to warm her heart.
"And the people he hates are the rest of you…for killing her in front of Lloyd without a shred of mercy."
And all at once, the pandemonium hit. Every pair of eyes in the room shot to Yuan with deathly combinations of anger, fear and confusion. He could hear the trembling of mouths and the shattered formations of curses and arguments brewing within the mouths of the people around him. Even Raine, who had not been aware of it at all, was in a state of horror and shock. The only person that was different from the rest was Colette, who had proceeded to capture Yuan's attention by slowly raising a hand and pointing at Sheena, the limb and digit trembling as fiercely as he lips.
"You…mean…Lloyd…" Colette struggled, dropped the hand to her side before looking at Yuan. This time, there was not a shred of anger in her eyes, only a terrible sense of confusion that had engulfed her whole. "Lloyd…he has to have known it was a dream right…RIGHT? DOESN'T HE!" Yuan remained silent as the young girl's screams overtook the rest of the panic. Lowering his head, Yuan sat down upon his chair and waited. "You mean…Lloyd…"
"What he means, Colette…" Sheena finally commenced as her voice maintained eerily calm and collected disposition that greatly contradicted the way she presented herself at the time. "…is that he believes I'm dead and that you killed me. Lloyd didn't lose himself to Mithos…he turned to Mithos to exact vengeance upon you all…" The words had been more like knives, digging into and through the last emotional barriers of the people within the room. Zelos seemed to fall into a state of shock, almost looking as though nothing registered with him at all, whilst Genis replied other wise. Despite his small frame, he had no problems flinging the chair he had been sitting on across the room before storming off to a secluded area of the room.
"Lloyd…hates us?" Presea spoke. It wasn't confusion in any sense, it was disbelief. It was as though the notion was completely unreasonable.
"Yes…and it gets worse." Yuan finally spoke anew, drawing all the attention back onto himself. "Mithos is in complete control of Lloyd…and nearly has all the powers of a God…"
------ Chief Igaguri's House ------
A pair of short raps sounded upon the door of Igaguri's hovel in the act to see if the elder was awake. When a firm "enter" followed shortly after the knock, the lead female guard opened the door up and gave way for Lloyd to enter into the room before being followed by the guards. Sparing a moment before introductions, Lloyd withdrew the hood from his cloak and gave his head a quick shake before running a hand through his head and whipping away any leftover water within his hair. With this ritual completed, Lloyd turned his head to face Chief Igaguri, allowing a smile to slip onto his lips. The Chief spent a short handful of moments staring at the swordsman before turning his attention to the guards.
"…Please leave us." Igaguri demanded, looking to the female guard. "Leave us and do not enter." A nod of confirmation was all he saw before she shut the door behind her and left Chief Igaguri in the same room as the cloaked Lloyd Irving.
"Chief, it's been fa-"
"I may be very old in this day and age, invader, but I am no fool by any cause." Igaguri stated firmly, eyes narrowed sharply as he beheld the swordsman. "Whoever you are, you are not Lloyd Irving. You may be in his body, but you are far from him." Lloyd's smile, if anything, widened at this statement.
"Heh, old man, perhaps you've just grown a tad bit senile." Lloyd responded, albeit in a tone befitting of a devil. "It's me, Lloyd. Who else would I be?"
"A wolf in a sheep's skin." The old chief replied just a firmly, hand gripping tightly on his staff. Choosing not to continue wasting time, Igaguri drove the end of his staff into the ground once to create a powerful stamp before continuing. "Reveal yourself now, and state why you've come to my village."
"You know, old man…you truly should respect your elders. They've had far more time to experience this ludicrous world and a far vaster amount of wisdom." Lloyd spoke slowly, his eyes shifting back to the blue that had become natural to him, and his hair became slack and dirty blonde. He had shifted from the shape of Lloyd to the immaculate combination of an adult Lloyd and Yggdrasill. As he stood back to full height, he towered by nearly a head and a half over the old chief, a demonic smile bearing an angel's radiance worn upon his face. Despite the change in appearance, the chief of Mizuho was far from scared. He looked as stoic and commanding as ever.
"Why aren't you bowing, old man." Llythos mocked, staring malevolently down at Igaguri.
"Because you are no God, nor are you deserving of such honor. What do you want, demon spawn?"
"Sheena. Where is she?" Llythos demanded, his wings slowly slipping out from his cloak as he took off the cloth, revealing his fully armored and benevolent figure. His very revealing filled the room with light before it faded away and left the room to the candles once more. "Where is your granddaughter?"
"Then you best leave now. I shall tell nothing to a demon such as you." Igaguri stated solidly, his voice never displaying fear or horror in any way. He still looked as though he was in perfect control, still felt as though he was in complete power over himself.
"I had thought as much…but you seem to give yourself far too much credit. After all, you should know the name of Symphonia's true God." Llythos stated, kneeling down to gaze at eye level with the old man. "My name is Lord Yggdrasill-Aurion, the new God of this world. And if you think I need you alive to bring that foolish little child to me, you are far more imprudent and pathetic than you let on." With that, Llythos' left hand snaked towards the old man's neck and gripped it tightly. Despite the intentions within his eyes, Llythos gladly wore a smile that seemed to exude a sense of mock kindness. "You can still beg forgiveness…"
"And you can try all you want. If you think you can tame Lloyd's spirit, than you are the truly foolish one." A loud slam sounded from behind the two men, prompting Llythos to slowly rise to his feet, dragging the old chief up with him. Raising his arm up as high as he could, Llythos slowly twisted his head around to face Tiga, the head and body shifting from Llythos to Lloyd. The transformation seemed to have an even deeper effect on the man than when he had come in to see Chief Igaguri's neck within the grasp of an unidentified angel of all things. The swordsman's smile seemed to grow in strength as he beheld Tiga stuttering, allowing a long and razor sharp glare to pierce into the vice-chief's soul.
"Any final words for your dearly departed chief?" Lloyd taunted, watching the words and voice snap Tiga back to full attention. Before he could even mutter the beginning to his rebuttal, Lloyd's hand shifted sharply to the right side, as though it were a cannonball loosed from the cannon. A disgusting snapping sound filled the room with ease, not to mention the ears of Tiga, signifying the end of Chief Igaguri. As he watched the single most honorable person he had ever known snap the neck of the single most powerful figure he had ever served, Tiga felt tears seep to his eyes. With no more than a grunt, Lloyd released the neck of Chief Igaguri and allowed him to fall limp to the ground. Even as the chief tumbled to the ground, his eyes still open and still bearing the strength and flawless bravery he represented, Tiga could tell he was gone. He was simply gone in a blink of the eye, done in by the man that had managed to move his heart and soul with his gentle but unbreakable moral foundations
"Lloyd…what have you…" Tiga sputtered out before dropping to his knees. His right hand began to extend towards the deceased frame of Igaguri as though he truly did not believe the man to be dead. However, that emotional need for confirmation was shattered, along with the vice-chief's elbow, as Lloyd's foot came crashing down maliciously onto the limb. An ear-splitting scream of wonderful suffering erupted from the vice-chief's lips, loading the empty room with an exquisite melody of horrid pain. As the first scream died down, Tiga let another horrid cry of agony erupt from his mouth as a second wave of pain washed over his entire being, both physically and mentally. As his second scream wined to a halt, he forced down a possible third scream and shifted his head from the utterly destroyed appendage to that of Lloyd's joyous and happy face.
With great length in time, Lloyd withdrew one of the two Eternia blades and held it to the throat of the incapacitated vice chief. "Now, why don't you do me a favor and tell me where Sheena is, before I become a little less gracious with your well being…"
------ Iselia ------
"Wait, how the hell can this be worse? Lloyd wields the Eternal sword, and is considered the damned savior of the worlds. Mithos is in complete control of that power…how the hell can this get worse?" Zelos exclaimed and repeated himself as he stood a near heartbeat from ripping out his hair in frustration. "None of this makes sense...Didn't Mithos ask to be destroyed in the end? I thought he wanted to die while remaining at least a part of himself."
"Obviously Zelos, Mithos lied." Genis replied as he went to reclaim his chair from the place he had decided to hurl it. Taking a deep breath before sitting, Genis went back to becoming a part of the group at the table. "Dammit…I asked Lloyd to do it for him…I thought he'd finally stop…I'm supposed to be the smart one, so why did I ask him to do something so stupid!"
"As much as you might believe, Genis, that this is your fault or anyone's fault here." Raine spoke; sighing slowly as the news once again resonated within her. "Mithos must have played on Lloyd's emotions or something to that extent…how else would he achieve this."
"Okay, enough!" Zelos yelled, silencing both of the Sage family members. Whipping his head to the oddly silent Yuan, Zelos continued with the same degree of gusto he had been carrying since the announcement. "You said Mithos is now nearly as powerful as a God…What in the name of all that is holy does that mean?"
"Well…"
"And no damned sugar coated crap this time!" Zelos continued, gripping the table angrily. Zelos was a truly hard man to enrage, but when he got to the point where he was angry, little could stow his rage.
Fine, have it your way…As it stands, the person you know as Lloyd is gone. He no longer exists, at least not at a level we can reach." Yuan took a deep breath as he began to try and piece together what he exactly wanted to say, ignoring the mix of still curious glances and vicious glares. "What Lloyd saw was something no man should ever have to see happen, at least to what I can understand by theories and his broken ramblings. However I know this. Lloyd does not exist now…Mithos does." Another pause, this time accompanied by a grimace and mumblings as the former Renegade leader wrapped a hand around each metal bar and unleashed a light and constant stream of electricity into the machine, causing the Cruxis crystal to began to glow. "And, as I had also stated before…Mithos is now the nearest thing to a God this planet has ever seen." The final statement was as ruthlessly silencing, not unlike the notion of Lloyd becoming Mithos had been, enrapturing the entire room in a disturbed calm and drawing forth awestruck murmurs that fast began to fill the house.
"But what do you mean?" Colette asked astonished. The group was awestruck when the machine activated to its fullest level. A greenish three dimensional image of a crystal flickered on and off before activating fully, the colors clearing up and revealing a nearly pitch black crystal on one side, and a pure white crystal on the other side.
"These are the two parts to the prototype of an exsphere of immense power called an Aeon Jewel. To my understanding, this is what truly inspired Mithos to create exspheres in the very first place. An Aeon Jewel is a stone that, when fully activated…" Yuan paused, arranging his thoughts before continuing. "…would dwarf the power of the entire world's exspheres combined." A set of murmurs and worried whispers passed amidst the people before Yuan continued. "This was discovered just after the worlds were split. We discovered it from a rogue message delivered to us by what we could only assume was an advanced civilization. We later learned the name of this civilization to be Thor."
"Thor?" Genis spoke nigh instantaneously. Yuan had not expected anyone of the people within the room to know as to what he was speaking about, and this was simply based on the fact that all his knowledge of the city rested in broken transmission sent from the civilization when Mithos originally split the world atwain and from legends that he had compiled from various studies. However, they all seemed to resolve around the existence of the Aeon Jewel, among other things.
"Yes, Thor. From what I've learned of the place, it is a sunken metropolis that had progressed to a level of civilization where it had far exceeded any other source of technology on this planet, even that of Derris-Kharlan. According to the transmission we had intercepted at Welgaia, the people of Thor were in the midst of an experiment to try and develop a way of becoming Godly. They called these experimental artifacts "Godstones". To the point and rightfully so. These stones give the wearer incalculable power and nigh immortality upon awakening. Even in a state of half slumber, these prototype stones gave the wearer near God-like qualities. But none of the prototypes were truly complete."
"What do you mean…complete?" Colette muttered as the last visible shreds of anger gave way for total curiosity.
"These "Thorians" created Godstones by fusing together the crystallized essences of the most powerful emotions. Like I said before, True Love and Pure Hate. To do this, they would leave a globe like construct in the hands of thousands of men and women within their city." Yuan continued, the machine swapping from the two different stones to a hollow and nearly transparent globe. "When a person in possession of a globe became fully attuned to one of the emotions, the globe will kill them and seal their life force and the emotion within it, crystallizing it. When a stone of true love and pure hate are collected, they are fused together to form a dormant Godstone. Then, this stone is attached to a person who is in a state of incredibly deep sleep. When the person dreaming finds and acknowledges either his/her's true love or pure hate, the stone awakens fully. However, they could never attain true love, only love."
"What's the difference? Love is love…right?"
"Zelos…love is what everyone tosses around and swears over. Love is a useless sentiment that is thrown about like money. True love, however, is boundless and raw. When two people truly love one another, they would do anything for the other. They would die for one another, they would suffer endlessly, the list goes one. That is what makes that emotion so incredibly powerful." Yuan explained, before focusing his power into the machine again and changing the image within the projection to that of a deep velvet jewel with a conflicting inner core of white and black. "This is a true Godstone…or as Mithos had called it, an Aeon Jewel. And, as I found out the hard way…his true task with exspheres was the same as the Thorians. He wasn't stripping humans of emotions; he was trying to uncover true love and pure hate. Obviously, he found both."
"So…in that case, why did Mithos continue with the plot of the Chosens and world regeneration?"
"It took close to four thousand years for the two halves of an Aeon Jewel to be cultivated Genis. Obviously he had a plan that he could focus on instead, just in case his attempt to become a God failed." Yuan stated very matter-of-factly. "In-" Yuan was very succinctly cut off when a loud boom sounded from behind Sheena. The group turned to face the point of origin of the noise to see the floating ball of condensed electricity known as Volt hovering behind Sheena. The aforementioned summoner took one long look at the summon spirit before she felt a wave of words wash into her being. It took her all of fifteen seconds to understand what the spirit was saying before Sheena bolted out of both her state of catatonic-like mood and her chair. Very quickly, all attention to Yuan's explanation had faded from the room, and instead attached itself to Sheena.
"What…" Sheena forced out, her voice squeaking as she spoke. Another bounty of words flushed through her mind before the spirit faded away, leaving the room empty. "…no…God…no…please no…" Sheena began to whimper as her hands rested on the sides of her head, the digits entangling themselves in her hair. Zelos and Raine had begun to move towards the suddenly animated ninja before she turned for the worse "No…NO!" She screamed as loud as she could, stumbling backwards until she hit the wall. Recuperating from her moment of hesitation, Raine scooted over to Sheena worriedly.
"Sheena? What's wr-" Raine began before the young girl interpolated.
"It's Lloyd…He's in Mizuho…" Her words were broken and failing her, choked back sobs slipping out as she said each word slowly. The opening statement brought everyone to their feet just in time for them to watch Sheena collapse to her knees. Raine rushed to Sheena's side just in time to feel the Sheena's face press into the fabric of her clothing, her arms wrapping around Raine's as she began to sob heavily. Raine knelt down beside Sheena, careful not to accidentally break the needing embrace Sheena had created, rubbing the back of the child's head. Struggling viciously, Sheena began to force back the sobs, though they still seemed to sneak through her defenses.
"Lloyd…Mithos…whoever he is now…" Sheena continued, her body trembling viciously. Despite the want to help their friend, all everyone else could do was watch with frenzied concern as Sheena unloaded. They watched as she struggled to force the next words out, fighting harder than se ever did before. "He…killed…Grandpa." She finally managed to speak just as she felt her defenses crumble anew. "He…KILLED MY GRANDPA!" Sheena hollered at the top of her lungs into the room prior to breaking down completely.
Surprisingly enough, not a sound escaped a member's mouth within the room. Yuan's head lowered in shame as he listened to the frantic and unconquerable sobs of the teenager. Slowly turning his head to Zelos and Colette, Yuan sighed softly and deathly quiet before breaking the respectful veil of silent with a brash whisper.
"You two, let's go." Yuan didn't bother for a response before turning to Regal, whose eyes had managed to snake their way from the bitterly weeping Sheena to the attentive Yuan's. "Make certain Sheena does not leave Iselia."
"Why…should she not be with her people, so should she choose?"
"If you do allow her to leave, she'll die. Mithos is trying to call her out, to eliminate the only obstacle he might ever face. If we want to get Lloyd back, we need to keep her alive." With that, Yuan dashed out of the house and into the night colored Iselia, his wings sprouting out of his back before taking to the air. Hesitating only momentarily, Zelos and Colette soon burst from the house in very much the same fashion before taking to the air and catching up with Yuan. In their wake they left a confused and, even more so, concerned Genis, Presea and Regal, a comforting Raine and a completely broken Sheena, sobbing over the fact that the man she loved had just eradicated the only family she had ever known and every truly had.
------ Mizuho ------
It took a very short while for the hideous screams of pain to begin anew and attract a large audience of concerned villagers, the most of which kept their distance out of a combination of fear and uncertainty. It was not until Orochi pushed through the middle of the crowd that everyone began to come to attention.
"What are you fools doing? Take hold of your weapons and follow me, our chief is in trouble!" Orochi demanded with authority radiating from his being. Despite it being twilight, lanterns were lit everywhere and allowed for a much more standard amount of visibility. Turning on his heels as the people around the house began to retreat in hopes of gaining their weapons, Orochi continued towards the house with the intent to solve whatever was going on. When the screams stopped coming from the house, Orochi jumped from caution to action, fearing for the safety of the Chief and Vice-Chief. Using the secret entrance as opposed to the front door, Orochi withdrew his wakizashi and a pair of kunais before he froze in place. Before him and his eyes was a scene that the elite ninja considered completely unreal and unbelievably demonic.
Standing in front of him was a man he had come to respect as an equal in so far as battle and honor was concerned. The red swordsmen of recent lore himself, Lloyd Irving. In his left hand he firmly held the throat of Vice-Chief Tiga, visibly squeezing it ruthlessly. In his right hand he held the hilt of the blade that had found its way into the chest of the aforementioned vice chief. Just to the rear of Lloyd was the lifeless frame of Chief Igaguri, his neck clearly snapped yet his eyes conceding no fear or defeat. The seasoned warrior had seen many ungodly travesties in his life and was truly no stranger to death and murder, but this was something that engulfed him wholly with indescribable horror. The weapons dropped from his hands and clanged heavily on the floor beneath him as his brain tried to process just what he was seeing. Leisurely, Lloyd's head twisted from the dead face of Tiga to the petrified eyes of Orochi and greeted them with a sinister and entirely satisfied smile that radiated the feeling of evil.
"Orochi, my friend…" Lloyd began just prior to his hand relinquishing his grip on the neck of Tiga. Without moving his head away, Lloyd's left hand whipped up to the hair atop of Tiga's head, holding it as the sword disconnected the neck from the rest of the body in a single, water-like motion. With a light toss, the head landed with a thud just in front of Orochi, stopping in just such a way that the dismembered head was glaring up to him with his horror filled eyes still wide open. Slowly raising his head up to face Lloyd, the swordsman raised his blade and pointed it to the neck of Orochi, the smile fluttering away for a much less joyous face.
"…Tell me where Sheena is NOW or I'll start wiping each and every one of you non-believer scum from the face of my world."
A/N: And so begins the major event of Act 2. Many things will happen in this, and I can almost one hundred percent guarantee that none of it will be happy. By the end of the next few chapters, two characters will more than like be changed forever. Till then, peace.
