Insaneiac: Welcome to the first chapter of tragedy. This, along with the next two chapters and most likely the one following them, will finalize the mysteries behind the Aeon Jewel, as well as direct the plot towards the end. Many of you were surprised by the act of Mithos/Lloyd directly attempting to draw Sheena out I saw, and that is the desired effect of course. However, for the time being, this is the epicenter climax for the Second Act of Faraway Promises. And due to the fact that the following chapters after these upcoming three or four will have next to no action in place of buildup for the final act, this is going to be loaded.

Disclaimer: I do not own Tales of Symphonia. The game is the property of Namco.


Chapter 5: Waters Ablaze, Part I


------ Mizuho – Chief's Home – Some Time Ago ------

"Granddad…you're awake…you're awake! You're really, really awake!" Sheena cried, nearly tackling the greatly aged chief of Mizuho, wrapping her arms around him in a gentle, warm and secure embrace. "You're finally awake…"

"Yes…yes I am my dear Sheena…" Igaguri replied, gently patting the back of the summoner's head as she seemingly hugged him tighter and tighter. He spared a glance away from the raven hue hair of his adopted granddaughter to the last person making his way from the room. Everyone else had left rather abruptly to allow the two their long deserved reunion. Everyone, that is, aside from a man garbed in red leather armor and bearing eyes that felt as pure and honorable as the teenager that had ensnared the old man's form in a bear hug.

"Wait." Igaguri called out, stopping the man in his tracks. Slowly, the red one turned around and locked eyes once more with the chief of Mizuho before allowing a heartfelt and sincere smile to fill in his face. "I somehow feel as though I owe my awakening and, by extension, my life to you as well, young man." Igaguri began, as Sheena pulled her head from the elder's chest and turned her head to face the swordsman. "Might I have your name?"

"Oh…heh." The man began, rubbing the back of his head. With a simple shrug and a bit of a goofy grin the man replied. "Lloyd. Lloyd Irving."

"Lloyd…I thank you. I owe you and Sheena a debt of gratitude that is as vast as the oceans of this world. You've given this old fool a chance to live again, and for that I am grateful." Igaguri spoke clearly, glancing down at Sheena warmly. He wasn't surprised in the slightest when he saw Sheena staring deeply into Lloyd's eyes, the rare tear streaming from the corner of each chocolate hued eye. However, what did surprise him is that just with the warmth of her eyes and the invisible yet invincible path of sight that connect the two pairs of brown eyes was a statement of gratitude and indebtedness that dwarfed his soundly.

'So…you've found your destiny, light, and heart all in one person, my precious Sheena. That is good…perhaps now you might truly enjoy the happiness of living the life that Kami-sama grants you, instead of fearing persecution or judgment for every past sin. Let your heart lead you Sheena, and let your head steer you on the path your heart reveals. And Lloyd…take good care of my granddaughter. Even if she is only my granddaughter by name, she is still precious to me. I will never betray her Lloyd, and I know you would ask of me that gratitude should the need ever arise. But for now, I can rejoice.'

"It was nothing, really. I just wanted to help Sheena feel better…and beside that, everyone helped." Lloyd replied modestly, cheeks fading to crimson from the praise he had received.

'Protect her well, as she will protect you just the same. And through whatever way I can…I will protect the both of you. I may very well be old, frail and soon to return to Kami-sama…but I still know what this emotion feels like, even as an observer.' "Modesty is a trait worth respecting in a warrior, but pride in his accomplishments is equally so. Do not be afraid to acknowledge some credit to yourself for doing what countless people among this village will never forget you for."

"Lloyd…thank you. I'll never forget this, I promise!" Sheena finally proclaimed, smiling widely and exuberantly at the fellow teenager. Sheena had to close her eyes though as she spoke true and as tightly as possible so that Lloyd would not see them and what was brewing within them.

"Really, it was nothing. It's what I do…I see people in trouble and I help. It's the first step to changing the world…being there to help your fellow person. Dwarven vow # 2: Never abandon someone in need."

------ Present Day Mizuho------

"Come on!" A random member of the Mizuhoan ninjas cried out while carrying a sickle in each hand, his voice not hampered or hindered from the heavy rainfall that encased them. Within moments of being notified by Orochi to do so, the townspeople had completely equipped themselves with both their battle garbs and weaponry and were truly prepared to commit to battle. Rumor had spread like wildfire that Lloyd Irving was inside as well, the notion of which acted like a faucet for the villagers. That knowledge alone strengthened resolves and poured liquid courage onto their beings, as though fighting along side Lloyd would make them invincible. The nighttime landscape of Mizuho was dotted from all sides by the light of lamps bright enough to bring mock daytime to the village, allowing them to see as clearly as possible within the village, though the heavy rainfall served to make an endless curtain of water.

"What's going on? Why has all the yelling stopped?" One man yelled, his sword drawn and prepared. He looked at his comrades slightly frantically as the fear of what the ceased screaming could possibly represent filled his heart.

"Who cares, on three, charge the house…we'll take whatever is in there soundly by storm." Another replied, spinning his staff expertly within his hands and putting it into the battle position before making his way to the bridge leading to the house. "1…2…"

The final number never came to the ninjas as a body was launched through the side of the house. All eyes whipped to the blue clad ninja that soared through the sky until he unceremoniously collided with a tree limb. A large crack sounded from the body as he hit the thick wood, the sound being his left arm's shoulder and elbow shattering from the impact. With an unintentional grunt, Orochi collapsed to the muddy ground in a heap, landing on the already broken left arm and further causing more agony, not that he could truly register any more. Orochi had blacked out from the initial impact of his body and the wall of the Chief's house. All eyes focused on Orochi for a good minute before a handful of the villages warriors knelt down beside the elite member of Mizuho's ninjas and began carrying him away so as to properly look at the wounds he had suffered from the incredibly out of no where attack. Suddenly, the rain seemed to become deathly quiet without relinquishing any of its strength.

"So, this is what the mundane folk who wallow in mud and water can do…" A clear and strong voice echoed out from the house. Almost every warrior there knew who it was just by his voice and not a man or woman among them could be brought to truly think it was possible. After all, this was Lloyd Irving, one of the most quintessential members in awaking Chief Igaguri from his ten year coma and, thanks to the unbeatable intelligence agency, the man that reunited worlds that the "hero" Mithos had split in two.

"Lloyd…is that-" One of the closer warriors spoke out, slowly stepping towards the house.

"This is how you leeches and filth repay the kindness of Martel? Through negligence and blasphemy? It is truly both pitiable and punishable in the eyes of Martel."

Suddenly, curiosity was finding itself replaced with anger-masked fear. "What are you blabbering about? Lloyd, what madness are you wallowing in?"

"Madness?" Lloyd spoke loudly, his voice booming amidst the village. This time, his voice sounded as though it were a fog, coming from every direction and encompassing everything. The way his voice curved in attitude was far more than enough to bring the fear of Heaven's ceaseless wrath itself down upon the warriors. Where once stood steadfast and readied ninjas were now filled in by uncertain and frightened men who had seemed far more afraid of dying than they had mere minutes ago. The rain continued to come down all around them, its eerie silence now being interpreted as an omen of dark foreboding.

"…You should address your lord proper fools. Martel may have very well created these worlds for your kind, and Lloyd might have very well sealed these worlds together for your kind…but to gaze upon those who still refuse to bow and worship those of true divinity is of the most pure insult." A pause filled the air as the rain seemed to fall harder, almost as if he had been waiting for it too. "Yet…you can redeem yourselves though…you can spare yourself from the might of true divinity…" Lloyd's voice continued, engulfing the village from every direction. "Tell us now…where is Sheena Fujibayashi. Speak that and you will be spared wrath."

"But…why do you need to know that Lloyd…she was traveling with you was she not?" Another spoke. It was the female guard that had been with Lloyd at the entrance, the one that had remained fairly silent. She had been unaware that Lloyd had begun to speak in plural when addressing himself. More so than that, even though it was Lloyd's voice, it felt twisted. His voice seemed to mix with that of a child's almost, yet all could tell it was Lloyd. There was no mistaking his voice nor his presence.

"That is not an answer." Lloyd spoke after a brief pause. From all around the entire town the air could be felt turning sharp, turning violent. "If you know not the answer, speak it so. Truth is much more respected than ignorance, even if it bares no information to our cause."

"But-"

"What happened to Chief Igaguri and Vice-Chief Tiga?" Another yelled, cutting off the one before him. Although it was a rough circle outside of the chief's house that the ninjas comprised, the one who had uttered last took several steps forwards and pointed both knives towards the house. "Or rather, have you killed them yet in your insanity Lloyd Irving?"

"Ah yes…Kano Isshin. Sheena's friend…Well, more like warm acquaintance we would assume. Tell Lloyd where she-"

"I did not give you quarter to ask that again Lloyd Irving! I have asked now, what has become of our Chief and Vice Chief?" Kano demanded, his eyes tightening in a desperate attempt to control the mind numbing fear that raged with squall-like fury within him. "Why have you treated Orochi as such, why have you deceived our guards…ANSWER ME IRVING!"

For a while after the fierce statements from Kano there was nothing. Not just in sound, but even in feeling and motion as well. All eyes were fixated either on the house that housed Lloyd Irving, or the one man strong enough to step forward.

"What man are you to talk to us like that?" Lloyd replied without a curve of any kind within his voice. "What level of creation do you believe yourself to be to try our patience?"

Despite his insides turning to ice, Kano refused to move back even an inch. "Lloyd, you still haven't answered me."

"So be it…your choice is made then, Kano. For this, we have no mercy or no kindness to spare to you, your people, or even your pathetic race. We killed them, both of them. Your filthy chief remained strong until the end, but oh…how Tiga screamed and begged!" Lloyd paused only to allow his ears to immerse themselves in the sounds of a people suffering. He could hear disbelief, rage, sorrow, sympathy, malice…all the prominent human emotions among others. "And now, you have invited tragedy to your village...may you all find forgiveness in Martel. You will find none from us." Lloyd cried one final time before all went still again.

Instinctively the warriors drew their weapons up, aside from the four that were tending to a nigh dead Orochi. They had long since left the scene to care for the wounded elite, although much against his very scarcely conscious protests. Despite his being lying on Death's door mat, Orochi was adamant and aggressive about defending his homeland. Everyone else began to say brief prayers to their respective deity before moving towards the house. Mizuho warriors were as much fighters as they were in the intelligence business, and one thing they had all long since learned was that even if the numbers benefited them by far, and even if they knew practically inside and out whom they were fighting, they should never truly hand themselves victory in their minds. Every battle is still only a battle until the enemy is dead or retreating. Until one of those come to pass, there is no such notion as victory or defeat. Among other things in Mizuho, that is what is drilled into the head of every boy and girl within mere weeks of their birth. Lloyd was, among many other things now in question, a warrior and a man who brought together two separate worlds. He, along with Sheena and the others, revived their long since comatose chief, and even sealed a pack with the mighty Volt who was long since believed to be without weakness nor any knowledge of defeat.

Then, all at once the air around them became angry. Eyes shifted from Kano, who was now standing just in front of the building with weapons drawn, and to the building in question. From every crack in the wood and every window on the structure erupted a bright and seemingly endless ray of light. The house itself slowly began to creak inwards in such a manner that a building would if a vortex was within it. Walls began to curve inwards while the roof seemed to suck inwards towards the floor. The ground around the house began to shake and quiver as a low hum began to fill the area around them all. All stood and stared at the sight in a mix of awestruck curiosity and a fear of the unknown. Kano, however, took one more step towards the house against all his wills and fears, when the sounds and light ceased to exist.

"Wha…" Kano began, before he watched the walls and roof of the house begin to return to normal. For a second, as that was all the time he had to, Kano believed that something was truly amiss. That was when the first plank of wood impaled him through the right side of his stomach and javelined itself and the ninja through the sky and into the tree that rested behind them all. Eyes would have turned towards the young man, had the house took any chance of that from the rest of them. The wood plank was only an early indication of what was to happen, as the house erupted outwards at massive strengths and speeds as an explosive sound equal to that of fifty simultaneous thunder strikes filled the sky and the village. No smoke or fire was seen from the center, yet still the house was exploded. Debris of the most jagged quality rained into the circle from all ninjas, and the sky soon filled with the sounds of agony and pain. One ninja managed to turn around only to take a spear like chunk of wood through the back of the kneecap, driving him into the ground. He began a scream when another plank found it fit to impale the ninja through the neck and into the ground. A pair to the farther left of the house screamed as dozens of smaller, arrow like pieces riddled into their respective bodies and exited out the other end. A man leapt out of the way of one smaller lance of wood only to feel another one taken him by the shoulder and drive him into the ground. Before he could scream, a massive chunk of wood cleaved his body in two, crushing bone, muscle and his heart as it split him in twain. Several had begun to run away only to be peppered and slain by arrow like planks of wood that seemingly fell from heaven. A single child stepped out at the wrong moment and was caught in the stomach with a lance like chunk of wood, the driving force of it enough to tear through his back and imbed his body into the earth beneath him. Screams of agony soon mixed with the sounds of debris crashing against the earth and rain slamming against the ground.

------ Iselia ------

Raine was left to tend to the now nearly motionless Sheena, who had since calmed herself after an initial outburst that shook everyone's body to their core. Even though three had departed to defend the village, there were more than enough to care for the distraught and broken ninja. Raine had allowed the others to go make preparations to join the group, allowing them to leave their traveling equipment in the room. Sheena had been offered a seat at the table, but preferred the floor as she wrapped herself into a tight little ball. At least, that was what she had been doing. Now, however, her eyes were firmly locked on the bag that Regal had brought in with him.

More so than all that, her eyes were firmly locked on wing pack that lay inside of the bag. Fast did the tears contain themselves once more when she found an unguarded wing pack, which in turn meant two things. She could get to Mizuho and she could save the village. Despite coming to the village as an outsider, despite being the sole cause of tragedy in the village, and despite the fact that the village had bartered her off as though she were no more than a bargain trade for an alliance with Meltokio, she loved her village. Now the opportunity to make up for the failure at Volt's tower had finally aroused itself, and the chance to try and confront Lloyd about his actions was right beside it. Sheena may be a woman, but she was also a summoner and a warrior. A Mizuhoan ninja as it were, and they would never run when their home was under attack. Wiping her eyes one last time, Sheena forced herself to her feet and walked to the bag. Her hand slipped into it and wrapped around the wing pack, tightening around it as she brought it out.

She was unsurprised when a hand wrapped around her wrist. "Drop it Sheena." A firm voice spoke with solidity.

"I can't do that Raine. I just can't."

"Yuan, Zelos and Colette are heading there already. Yuan said to keep you hear, and right now he's the best advantage we've got going Sheena. You have to understand." Raine replied, unnerved when she saw Sheena's head tilt and lock eyes with the half elf. They narrowed ever so determinedly into Raine's, distracting her long enough for the ninja to place a red card just in front of the healer's chest.

"No Raine…I don't. Mizuho needs me right now and frankly…so does Lloyd. I will not be sitting in a room crying when I can be out there helping."

"Lloyd's blind to the world Sheena…you can't go. Lloyd would never forgive me if I let you, even if he's not here right now."

"Well Raine, that's just it." Sheena started, her eyes darting down to the card that hovered just in front of Raine's chest. "PYRE SEAL!" Raine could do nothing as the energy erupted from the card, tossing her across the room and into a pillar within the house. She bounced soundly off the wooden pillar and landed on the ground with a thud, a long winded groan escaping her lips as her body connected with hardwood once more in only two seconds.

"No one said you had to let me…" Sheena finished, before dashing out of the door. Within moments Sheena had the Rheaird out in the square, and as she turned to look back she could see Regal just connecting eyes with her in the distance. Sheena leapt onto the flying machine just as Regal took off towards her, and took off into the air. By the time Regal had reached where Sheena had been, the young girl was off at the fastest she could go, leaving behind the village of Iselia and its villagers to save her own. As Regal stared up into the rainy skies at the girl as she flew off to be with her own, a cold fear washed over him. Turning to Genis who had just caught up with him, Regal gave him a grim shake of his head. He knew the only way Sheena would have gotten a wing pack and gotten out was either by her ninja grace, which he doubts she truly had in the state she was in, or by whatever for necessary.

"I'll check on your sister, you gather the remaining wing packs and Presea. We need to catch up with Sheena." Regal waited for a nod from Genis which never came. Instead, he stood in the rain in confusion, before shivering once. "Genis?"

"The mana of this world…" Genis began, wrapping his arms around himself in much the fashion a person who was engulfed by the freezing cold would before looking back at Regal with sorrow filled eyes. He stared for a moment before dropping to his knees on the ground and closing his eyes tightly. "It's crying…I can feel this world's mana weeping Regal…I've always felt changes in the mana, but that is obvious. We half-elves are attuned to the feelings of the planet. I could never feel it like this before…" Genis finished, blinking once before closing his eyes even tighter as he tried to fight the feeling off. Inside his eyelids, he could see two things clearly. Darkness and the back of a man in a flowing brown robe with long blonde hair that flowed as though it were in a strong wind. What Regal saw, however, was the young half-elf collapse suddenly and land on his side, his head splashing in a puddle. Dashing towards him, Regal picked the child off the muddy ground and dashed into Raine's house, his eyes never leaving Genis' frame as he did.

------ Mizuho ------

Several had safely taken up defense behind a tree, avoiding the deadly projectiles with the help of nature itself. A young member of this group turned to see his mother pinned to the wall of a nearby house, her right breast bearing a large spear of wood in it with her blood fast painting the newest part of her. The young one left the group of narrowly alive ninjas, screaming at the top of his lungs as he charged towards his mother. She turned her head to look at her son, her face pale from the blood loss and her eyes bloodshot from her screams of pain. She opened her mouth to protest to her kind when the final blow was struck; a long sharp skewer of debris struck her in the side of the head and shot straight through, the other end of her head and driving itself into the side of the house. Her body went rag doll just as the younger ninja reached her, collapsing from the run at the feet of her mother. Tears began to seep from his eyes, mixing and mingling with the rain and the blood that fell from above as he wept at the feet of his mother. A pair of men rushed to the warrior, stopping beside him as he screamed and yelled in his depression. One ninja went to comfort the lad whilst the other looked away from the woman that was pinned to the wall. He raised his head to look around, only to see more death and impaled warriors that were unlucky enough to still be alive. Kano was barely alive, his hands drenched in his blood as he continued to try and free himself from the wood that pinned his body to the wall.

Once more, the man's eyes swept the field that surrounded the house, the debris of death all rained down and leaving the rain to the sky once more. Bodies of former comrades and friends littered the field, some left mortally wounded but alive and forced to experience a long cold death. Screams of pain were replaced be sobs of pain and groans of the barely alive slipping into death or the now returned pitter patter of raindrops upon muddy and bloodied grounds. With great length, the man's eyes, along with the eyes of various survivors and stragglers, gazed towards where the house had once stood. In the center lay two bodies as stiff as stone. They were the corpses of Chief Igaguri and Vice Chief Tiga. Struggling, the eyes shifted towards the man standing in the center of former resting place of the house, and laid themselves upon a kneeling man garbed in brilliant white armor that emitted light from its very presence. Slowly, the man stood to full height, allowing four massive, white feathered wings to stretch out and wrap themselves around the figure to make an angelic cloak of angel feathers. He turned to face the male ninja intently, locking eyes with him.

"So, some of you all survived."

"…Lloyd?" The one man spoke in a much disgusted manner, pushing to his feet. "Lloyd…what are you doing? Why ar-"

"We are not Lloyd. For one such as yourself, you may address us as Lord Yggdrasill-Aurion. Nothing else." He spoke, brushing his brown and spiked hair backwards. Despite his being completely uncovered in the heavy rainfall, never did a drop touch his skin. Lloythos waited patiently as the ninjas gathered themselves back and stand up, the few survivors quickly gathering around him. Each had a weapon of any kind handy, and pointed towards the shining seraphim in fear.

"What do you want with Sheena!"

"What else. Sheena is to come with me…She needs to be with me…" Lloythos uttered through grinning lips. "After all, every King needs a queen, does he not?"

"If that be the case, then we'll NEVER give up the next chief to you! NEVER!" A man yelled. Turning back, Kano had finally been wrenched free and was being taken away to join the injured Orochi, leaving the small battalion of ninjas to fend for themselves. "What became of the honorable man that once stood as a benchmark for justice and honor? What happened to the warrior that believed in equality and truth…"

"He saw your truth…your ways and your lies and your hatred and your madness. Lloyd saw what humanity is through me, and now he sees as I do…he sees as we do."

"So…it is as that man had said, albeit cryptically…Lloyd has given you his soul, hasn't he Destroyer?" The man cried back, the other Mizuhoans growling. "Lloyd gave himself over to you Mithos."

Lloythos chuckled at this statement in much the way a child does, smiling sincerely at the ninja. "Mizuhoan Intelligence is the best of any world; I'm not surprised you found out about my personal being at the very least. However, you've still refrained from calling me by my proper name." Lloythos continued, the wings brushing back outwards as he laid a hand upon the hilt of two of the three swords as his face melted into that of vengeance and anger. "That being uttered, it's time for this village and its people to disappear from reality and history." The words were the last he uttered before disappearing himself. No one had a chance before the two swords pierced the flesh of the man that had spoken to Lloythos originally, each piercing a lung with ease. Lloythos withdrew the blades and kicked the man backwards, into the pair that stood behind him.

"Tachi!" One screamed, just in time to feel a blade imbed itself into the side of his head. Lloythos pulled the blade out as though he had stabbed it in, cutting deeper into the skull. Screaming once, the other man turned to Lloythos and stabbed at him with his sword. Spinning one of the velvet glowing blades leisurely, Lloyd deflected the stab before bringing the other blade down upon the wrist of the ninja. It left him completely awe struck how fast the angel had moved, to be able to completely disassemble his defense. However, that though was soon wiped away in blinding agony as the sword severed the hand from the arm. A mutilated scream of pain erupted from the ninja's covered mouth as he stumbled backwards and grabbed his dismembered arm with his only remaining hand.

"SMITE!" Lloythos yelled, as he stabbed the swords into the ground and unleashed a white light through his body and into the muddy floor. From beneath the screaming and thrashing ninja emitted a white circle of light that began to expand slowly, until it surrounded him. Finally, the screams of the earth echoed through the circle, distracting the warrior and causing him to look down at the large glowing circle he was standing above. First, the sound seemed to leave the world, and even though the man was still screaming, no sound was coming forth. Moments later a beam of brilliant white that was the size of the circle in diameter screamed into the sky, tearing away flesh and muscle and evaporating bone. As the light left the world, so did the ninja, leaving nothing standing.

"SERAPH WINGS!" Lloyd followed, as the wings on his back erupted into a cloud of dagger like blades that counted in the high hundreds. Slowly, the Seraphim pointed towards another group of ninjas that had become frozen in spot at the cruelty displayed by Lloyd, and fast found themselves being mercilessly torn to shreds and cut atwain by floating angelic blades. They managed to scream for mere moments before their voice boxes where shredded along with the rest of their bodies. After two long minutes of disembowelment, the daggers returned to Lloythos and became his wings again as his eyes rested upon the mutilated bodies that once were warriors. Looking around, Lloythos could see the stragglers running, and could here those that had opted to hide breathing heavily and crying.

"O Heaven, hear your one and only child…" Lloythos began, sheathing each sword and stretching his hands out. With several mighty flaps of his wings, Lloythos lifted into the sky, the rain curving around his angelic form. "Open your blessed ears and be attuned to the words of your most loyal creation…" Lloythos drew his hands above him as he stopped ascending upwards, resting high above the village, the smell of watery blood and the sounds of aftermath still reaching him. "Heed these requests for judgment upon these sinners and immoral beings." Above his hands, a pair of large silver spheres formed, prompting him to bring each to his side again. His words now turned to the survivors beneath him, as did his angered eyes. "Feel the wrath of divinity and the Goddess as your souls are damned to the hell you've crafted through ignorance and sin…" Without hesitation, Lloythos smashed these spheres together mightily, instantly causing the sky to change from night time and black to ominous velvet and glowing. Every eye now rested upon Lloythos as he floated above, thousands of silver spheres now surrounding him and dotting the air around him.

"OHCOME, GODDESS' WRATH AND HEAVEN'S VERDICT!" Lloythos began, grasping his hands together as he threw back his head and opened his eyes as wide as he could. "IMMACULATE JUDGMENT!"

All around Lloythos, the silver balls began to rapid fire lights of silver shine upon the village, each creating a small explosion that, on a small scale were equivalent to that of an eruption spell. However, Lloythos was raining down more than the skies were raining water, and the village was soon finding itself being torn asunder by the raindrops of heavenly destruction. Each impact brought forth another night shattering eruption as the attack continued. Trees were scattered like blades of grass in the wind, and houses were blown apart like card castles. Yet Lloythos' being had not moved in the slightest, nor a single sound had emitted from his mouth. Even his eyes were no longer upon his work of art, but instead gazing towards the direction of the Tower of Mana. A slow smile crossed his face as he swiped his hands through the air, ceasing the rain of Heaven's Fire.

Down below, the village was in tatters, bare standings of houses engulfed in hellfire and screams of trapped children and women filling the night sky. Trees were burnt to crisps and the waters of the village were gone as the land covered rivers without problem. Burn marks replaced grass and craters replaced gates and stands and chunks of houses. However, Lloythos never laid an eye upon his handiwork, instead his attention rested on the far off tower, a grin wrapped upon his face like a little child upon the celebration of his birth.

"Kratos…if you wanted to see me so, you didn't have to go to such grandiose preparations." Lloythos spoke slowly, before flying away from the ruins of Mizuho.


A/N: Among other things, this should give you a fairly good idea as to Lloythos Yggdrasill-Aurion's strengths and…well, his goals are revealed in much more detail in the following chapters. However, the other truly important thing to happen now is poor Genis and his sudden and inexplicable attunement to the world's mana. Well, believe me, this act is just in the middle and there is going to be much more…and as I am sure many are going to guess, the future holds a great change from a pair of characters.