It felt strangely warm. It was like a hot summer day right around noon. Birds squawked nearby hiding in the shade of trees and over head a bright orange sun towered over scattered white clouds. A healthy blue background finished the sky off perfectly. Maybe it was Heaven.
Then there was a very unhealthy creek as Alain moved his head to the side. Something had either dislodged or just cracked back into place. Sitting up with a jolt he held the shoulder with his opposite hand and moaned out loud. The pain subsided soon after with surprising ease.
The bright sun no longer obscured his view so he was able to try and get his bearings. He seemed to be in a grass field littered with flowers and sections of white marble not dissimilar to the walls of Delkfutt's Tower. Everything seemed to blend perfectly together even in areas where walls had collapsed. It was far to warm for the part of the world he was in and the air was heavy with magical essence.
I'm…not dead…so this can't be…where am I?
He got up and turned around. Managing to just lean backwards in time, his foot felt nothing but air. The land stopped right behind where he lay and broke off into empty sky. It could not be possible, but he seemed to be on some kind of floating island. Taking another look around at the pink birds fluttering between trees, the flower beds, and beautiful sky he realized what word would describe it all; paradise.
Had Eald'narche achieved his goals? If the gates had been opened then maybe everyone inside the tower had been sucked through. It may have brought them to paradise leaving Vana'diel behind to be destroyed by some unholy evil. Had they tried so hard just to fail? Had he wasted too much time pursuing Rost and left his friends to fight and lose alone?
There was only silence around. No answers would happily leap out at him if he just stood there looking down into the sky. Turning, he walked up the rough indentations surrounded by grass and flowers. The path became more visible at the top and opened into a large white marble gate. In the distance was a tower that looked like Delkfutt's Tower, yet seemed ancient. Moss grew all around its deepest crevices and had a stranglehold on its peak.
Directly inside the white marble gate before him were two rows of chambers. Inside were shimmering blue lights with arcane dolls standing on each. Though the dolls did not seem to be active, the essence in the air suggested they were simply waiting some kind of trigger for activation – like walking through the gate. It seemed like a defence set up to guard the main tower. Not wanting to risk his luck without a weapon, Alain took a second path leading down to the right to see where it would lead instead.
Beyond another path he found a lower garden filled with floating arcane pots. These things fed on magic and were attracted to it. As long as he did not cast any of his spells they would not even acknowledge his presence. A lower walkway connected to this garden and into what seemed to be a door.
As he approached the door, Alain knew something was strange. The door began to faze out as he was nearing, eventually disappearing altogether. Stretching out a finger, he waved it around where the door had been. It felt different, like it had been affected by magic. Taking a deep breath he took a large step through the tingling barrier and found himself safely on the other side.
He entered the white marbled structure via the east entrance.
-
Catherine had awoken inside a building. At first she had simply assumed it was the same room inside the tower, but it soon became apparent she was no longer inside Delkfutt's Tower. What worried her more was where Rost and Alain had vanished too and if they were both alright. Her ability had probably saved their lives, but without further treatment from White Magic serious wounds would not heal.
The way out of wherever she was seemed to be an inactive huge sliding door that had not been used for a long time. Moss crept along the ground around it and huge wooden roots burst through sections of the floor. There was also a very strange feeling in the air that made her light headed and fatigued.
Since the way out was barred that left only one other route if she wanted to try and find her friends. Catherine walked deeper into the artificial lit passage, almost certain that sounds were coming from not so far away. It sounded like metal clashing with something that was growling in pain. A series of small explosions followed, forcing her to break into a run.
Three thin passages along (which were filled with the sliced and diced corpses of arcane monsters) Catherine found the source of the sounds that had echoed all the way to the barred entrance. In a chamber filled with thick black smoke at one end a figure covered in the same shade stood with a katana by his side.
"Shadow!" she called out.
He turned and darted towards her, pulling the single handed katana up across his chest. Reaching her, he sliced by the side of her head and caught something flying towards her. As the katana met with whatever had been attempting to attack her from the side it made a horrible liquid squashing sound as it was severed. Looking to the ground she saw a bloodied tentacle having a fit of spasms as the rest of it retracted along the ground into the black smoke.
Shadow lowered his hand after slicing the tentacle, and then twisted to face the smoke and almost fell into her as he seemed to lose all power over his body. He was breathing rapidly. She was just about able to hold him up and soon after he pulled away. Looking down at her robes she saw they had been stained with more blood.
"White Mage, this is no place for you," Shadow muttered through his mask. "Retreat from this place, find another route around if your friend are deeper inside this palace."
A loud growl came from the dissipating smoke as more tentacles swung wildly in the air dispersing what remained. There was some huge repugnant creature lurking there watching with two large beady yellow eyes. Such a creature was unlike anything she had ever seen before.
"What is this monster?"
"The Blue Mage, Vessel."
Somehow the female assassin had been completely distorted into a beast. It had grown to three times the size of a Hume and seemed almost aquatic. It seemed to have difficulty breathing the rich magical air and spewed bubbles into the air as it prepared its next attack. This was what happened to a Blue Mage that had let it become a slave to the abilities and magic it mastered. This was the contorted form of someone who had lost control. Shadow reiterated that she should leave from the way she had come to avoid any dangers.
"The front door cannot be opened…there is no other way for me to go."
"Then wait for an opening and attempt to get by the creature while I distract it."
"I can support you from here! Has it done something to you? You seem injured."
The Ninja shook his head without facing her and moved his other hand. She had not noticed that he only used one small katana instead of two, or that his right hand had stayed perfectly stuck to his side throughout his movements. As he moved it away a damp red patch seeping through the black garb became obvious. She ran to him and attempted to place her hands over the wound to apply magic, but he resisted.
"Let me heal it!"
He lifted his garb. Though the injured area bled red, the skin around it was as black as night. It had been killed off. Some sort of viral infection or plague was spreading rapidly from a cut along his chest. It had already reached his underarm which explained why he could barely move that side. Worryingly, it seemed to have spread past one lung as well, which explained his breathlessness.
"Whatever curse this monster has placed on me has already spread too far. Your magic cannot help me. It seems that I will be the assassin's final victim."
"…Don't say that…maybe…maybe I can…"
"You seem in no condition to perform magic regardless of what you say. Could you have used Benediction? If you had the chance…would you really have preferred to save me with it than whoever you actually used it on?"
She was silent.
"I will do my best to create an opening for you. Run when I say."
She could not accept that. A White Mage could not let someone sacrifice themselves. Life had to be preserved. He turned to look at her and seemed to understand what she was thinking. He took a step closer while the creature spat and murmured behind. Without looking towards the beast he tossed his katana backwards. It struck into the mass of pink and red flesh causing the disfigured Vessel to scream out in a mixture of anger and pain.
"Do not dwell on this. There is someone else you must care for. I am just a mercenary without a real name. No one will miss me and no one will remember me. Now then, are you prepared?"
"Can you show me your face?"
"…Why would you ask such a thing?"
"If I see your face…I won't forget you."
Reaching up to his mask, Shadow pulled it from his face.
"I promise…I won't forget you."
She placed the haste spell on him and watched his figure vanish.
-
Shadow darted forwards, avoiding two lashes from striking tentacles as he went. From his chest plate he pulled three darts and tossed them forwards as he side stepped a third attack, striking more hits on the former Blue Mage. The attention of the deformed creature was now fully on him.
"Run Catherine, run now!"
He threw two more darts at smaller tentacles that fired towards the White Mage, pinning them to the far wall above her head as she passed under safely. The creature seemed drawn to her and began to turn. Reaching into behind his breast plate once more he found that he had used up his supply of throwing weapons. Instead, he took two hooks attached to thin ropes and threw them forwards, taking a hit to his already paralyzed arm as a result. The hooks circled around more tentacles aimed for Catherine and were able to hold them back long enough for her to get away.
Letting go of the ropes in time to avoid further hits he felt the power of the haste spell leave him far earlier than it should have – a result of whatever curse had been placed upon him. Coming to a stop he was thrown against the far wall as a tentacle pierced his lower leg and upper shoulder on his wounded side. The wounds drew blood instantly and the skin around felt like it was on fire as it turned black. It spread across the areas of contact quicker than before.
They'll come a time when you have to decide on how you want to die. It's the way of the Ninja to choose. Just as Samurai's have a code of honour so do we. Will you die in battle? Will you die protecting something? Will you die trying to carry out a mission? It is for you and you alone to decide. If you falter, if you pause, then your enemy will decide it for you. And there is no honour in that.
"I will die carrying out my missi- no…I will die protecting someone!"
With his good arm he tugged the wriggling spear tipped tentacle from his leg and rushed forwards, letting the one in his shoulder tear free. He fell and rolled across the ground to avoid further attacks in the only way his weakening body would allow. As he got to his feet he tossed an exploding tag towards an incoming limb that blew up in a fountain of pink flesh as he passed. As he reached the body of the deformed creature he was skewered twice more, but had reached his goal.
Through bloodied teeth he spoke, "I will not be your last victim, Blue Mage Vessel. You will be mine! Mijin Gakure!"
-
A deafening explosion blew down the hall, knocking Catherine over in the process. She placed her hands over her ears and stayed on the floor until the shaking and noise stopped. Tiny bits of crust and decaying stone dropped onto the floor around her from the less than stable ceiling. Slowly but surely she got back onto her feet and looked back the way she had came.
Something terrible had happened back there, but she already knew that. Shadow had already been dead when she first set eyes on him in that room. Her strongest Viruna or Cursna would do nothing for such a potent ailment.
…But if I had been able to use Benediction again…
That thought shot around her mind and tugged at her heart. She had read about White Mages that were so strong in resolve, so powerful, that they could use the extremely dangerous technique multiple times without fail. Those people were considered legend by most, but she knew otherwise. Such powerful White Mages had been taken into the ranks of the Hydra Corps during the first war and had been lost in it, leaving behind none as strong as them. Because of her lacking magical abilities someone had died.
A tear slid down her face as she looked back down the now silent passage. She thought back to the Ninja's final words to her, and thought about how guilty she felt inside. Then she realized that at the very end, when he told her to run, he had used her name, and then she broke down once more.
-
Nokum-Akkum's head hurt. He did not like that one bit. His brain was supposed to think for him, not try to escape and bash the inside of his skull. Grumbling to himself he opened his eyes and immediately squealed with fright at seeing another Tarutaru's face inches above his. He rolled to the side and that just made his headache worse. Renene crawled along the floor after him and pushed him back onto the ground.
"Silly Big Bro, you can'taru move so soon after being hurty-wurty!"
He waved his hand at her in an attempt to make her go away but that just made her more forceful at not letting him move. Then he felt something sniffing and licking the top of his head and was surrounded by a pale blue glow. Carbuncle was just behind him doing something that he did not like. He tried to shove the Tarutaru off his shoulders but for some reason seemed to have no strength despite being a mighty Warrior. Something strange must have happened.
"Let Mr Carbuncle heal you!"
He huffed and sat still while the scary creature seemed to heal his body. Renene's strict side had worried him as well. She was not a nice Tarutaru at all. In the background somewhere in the room he did not recognise he was sure he heard talking between people. An attempt to sit up to see who was talking resulted in being pushed onto the ground again.
"Renene, sweetie, I think Nokum-Akkum is able to stand up now. Maybe you should get off him?" a familiar voice cooed.
"Well…alrightaru. But if Big Bro feels ill say so!"
She would not let him hop to his feet until he agreed to her terms. She really was a scary person.
The room they were in was a small alcove or some kind with a smashed marble gate on the north wall. In front of it were Gerdinus, Hanaa, Lion, Zeid, and Aldo. They were speaking about searching for the Zilart who escaped when they were all moved from the Stellar Fulcrum. Lion, Zeid, and Aldo said they would clear a path. Nokum-Akkum protested but Gerdinus silenced him and explained that they were still too fatigued to fight at full strength so it was better that way.
"I see your logic!" he exclaimed. "Thataru way we are the ones to fightaru Eald'Narche!"
"Well…I didn't mean it…never mind," the Galka Paladin sighed. "We will wait here for a spell and then follow those three. In the meantime we should try to get in contact with Catherine."
"I'm worried about Cathy…" he confessed.
"Don't worry, Nookie-Ookkie," Hanaa said and placed her chapeau on his head. "There was a huge explosion just a little while ago. Someone is around here fighting and it can only be someone from inside Delkfutt's Tower, right? Right. So who else could it be? That Zilart kid is already deeper inside this place."
With that they all sat in a circle in the centre of the room and rested. It was boring and time seemed to slow down for the impatient Tarutaru. There was fighting to be had elsewhere in wherever they were and he wanted to be there. Still, his headache made it hard to concentrate and despite receiving healing he still had a few bruises from the last battle.
Ten minutes went by before Gerdinus decided to share a concern with the rest of them. It was about what the three that had gone on ahead were up to. Nokum-Akkum was confused, but would never admit it. And so he sat in silence while Hanaa did the questioning.
He explained that when he awoke after the blinding light he was alone. It seemed they had all been scattered (though Nokum-Akkum could remember nothing like that). And he had explored the area ahead unwittingly while trying to find them. There was a door with five seals that he could not open. Gerdinus then explained that he had not paid attention to the markings at the time, but now with having time to think about it had guessed what could lie beyond the door.
"Well, you mean the way we need to go to get to Eald'Narche, right?" Hanaa asked. "Oh, so you think Zeid and the others are just going to get stuck at that door too and come back?"
"No, that is not it…" the Paladin said with a sigh. "The markings on the door…perhaps some language of the Zilart… I would guess it represented the five sins personified by the Arc Angels."
"So you mean you think that's where they came from? Where the Zilart brought them from after the Shadowlord died? But if the door isn't open then… you think they are walking into a trap…don't you?"
Nokum-Akkum was confused so still said nothing.
"A trap set for us, the Six Champions. Perhaps the door is triggered only by six people being present…or just more than one? Or maybe this old Galka has taken too many blows to the head and is worrying for no reason or seeing traps where there are none…but what else could those five seals mean?"
Hanaa stood up and declared that to be safe they should hurry after Zeid, Lion, and Aldo just in case he was right. It was at that point Nokum-Akkum immediately joined the conversation and agreed whole heartedly. Renene disproved of his eagerness to fight and tweaked his ear, much to his annoyance. Taking back her hat, Hanaa sat it on her head and headed for the door with the rest of them in hot pursuit.
As the group ran down the passage outside the small alcove with Carbuncle by their side Nokum-Akkum was sure he heard someone calling out to them. Skidding to a halt he felt his chest then fell flat on his face as Renene ran into his back. From his chest armour his communication pearl rolled out onto the floor. Hanaa and Gerdinus turned and looked at the glowing pearl, and were astonished to hear someone talking very quietly.
"Please…someone…anyone…don't be dead as well…is anyone there?"
Recognising the distressed voice coming from the pearl Nokum-Akkum scrambled free from the other Tarutaru but did not make it in time as Hanaa picked it up and spoke in it.
The Mithra brought the pearl to her mouth, "Cathy…is that you?"
"Hanaa! Thank the Goddess you are safe! Is…is Gerdinus and Nokum-Akkum…?"
"Yeah they are herrre with me now, Zeid and the others are safe as well. What happened? You sound like something's wrong. Wherrre are you?"
What followed were a few subdued sobs that she clearly did not want to travel across the communication pearls. They all exchanged worried glances but listened closely as she spoke again in a quiet upset voice.
"I…Shadow, he, I couldn't…" there was a pause. "I need to find you all… How can I get to you? Please, I can't fight and there are arcane monsters nearby."
Gerdinus took the pearl and instructed her to find a teleportation pad on whatever floor she was on. He explained that they all seemed to lead to a random room of the same floor and that they would find her as soon as she appeared. An almost inaudible reply of agreement was followed by a long silence as Catherine attempted to find a teleport in the area she found herself in. Nokum-Akkum crossed his fingers and toes and stared at the floor.
"Okay, I see a teleport…I'm standing on it now…"
The pearl crackled and hissed as she teleported. A few seconds later she explained that she was in some sort of small alcove. Nokum-Akkums relief was dashed as it was pointed out to him that there were lots of alcoves and not just the one they had been resting in. Although they wanted to catch up to Zeid and the others, considering Catherine sounded so distressed they had to prioritise finding her and began checking the corridors of passages.
In passing by one with a sealed door Nokum-Akkum lazily looked as he went by. A few seconds later he stopped with shock and hopped backwards to peer through the hexagonal shaped openings in the doorway. Inside he saw Catherine crouched in the corner. She looked up and saw him but said nothing. He called the others over and one slash of Gerdinus' new weapon easily destroyed the door. As they entered the room Catherine slowly got up and then almost limped towards Hanaa (who entered first) and fell into her arms in tears.
"Cathy…what happened?" she struggled to ask.
"Please don'taru cry Cathy!" he begged and hugged her leg.
"Shadow is dead! I couldn't do anything…I couldn't help him…look…look at me."
Her White Robes were stained in numerous places with large blotches of red blood. One side was completely coated, as if she had been laying in some. She continued to sob and none of them could console her.
-
Eventually Catherine had calmed down enough to compose herself and was now silently following them towards the door that Gerdinus had found. Hanaa hated seeing her like that, even if they did not always get on. She was like a broken version of how she had been. It was like her heart was no longer there. Shadow's death could not have been the only thing that happened. She hated herself for thinking that, but he was hardly a friend to them. There had to be something else.
It got her thinking about Alain. Was there some way he had found his way to the tower? Maybe he had and had gotten himself into some trouble they did not know about while fighting the Archduke. Whatever it was, it had made Catherine doubt her faith and her abilities as a White Mage.
"We are here."
Before them was an open doorway like a few they had gone through already. Hanaa questioned how he knew since all the corridors looked the same to her and he pointed at the roof. There was a marking above the door. It was not five seals like the door design, but a strange rune shape of some kind. She doubted any of them had any idea what it meant, but it was something all the other doors did not have.
"…That means Purgatory…" Catherine whispered from behind them. "The place that the Arc Angels are summoned from by whoever controls them…"
Drawing their weapons, they rushed in.
The room inside was circular with a pit of black and purple liquid surrounding the outside. The area in the centre was heavily battle scared. There was a mixture of blood and crystal fragments all over the place accompanying numerous slashes and cuts. There were no bodies however. They moved forwards with caution, fearing that the Arc Angels had disposed of the others and were lurking in the darkness once more.
"These shards…there are so many," Gerdinus mused. "Could they have… could they have defeated the Arc Angels?"
"No way!" Nokum-Akkum cried, then as guilt came over him in the form of Renene's angry expression he apologised.
On the far side of the room was another open doorway. They headed into it with the hopes of seeing Zeid, Lion, and Aldo safe and sound.
-
Alain had grown to dislike teleports. They never seemed to work right unless someone is actually casting a magic spell. The useless ancient technology used by the Zilart seemed to do nothing but malfunction. Never the less he had reached a dead end on all other routes he had taken and his presence was known to quite a few arcane Weapons. The portal was the only way to go.
Stepping onto it he felt dizzy and sick as his body was displaced and moved somewhere else inside the aging palace. On arrival he half expected to end up back outside or in a locked room. To his surprise he was in a small alcove without a door. Outside was a passageway of similar rooms, all of which seemed to be empty. There were no creatures either.
This would be so much easier if I knew where everyone was…or if they were even alright… I don't have any choice but to push on I suppose…even if it is just me. Probably better that way.
-
"Please tell me how you managed to defeat my Arc Angels."
Eald'Narche turned to face his uninvited guests. He was surprised not to see any of the Six Champions. Instead he found himself looking upon but three insects insignificant to his plans.
"Eald'Narche!" The Galka Dark Knight cried. "This ends now! We won't allow you to carry out your plans!"
"Oh won't you?" he replied with an amused smirk. "Zeid, Lion, and Aldo, was it? I don't know how you managed to destroy the Arc Angels and find the Celestial Nexus, but you should not even consider me to be on the same level as those pawns. I would imagine the Dawn Maidens helped you, would that be about right? I know they have given…gifts to those insufferable champions, but I had not realized you too had received something."
"Enough talk!" the Hume shouted. "I will have my vengeance for Verena!"
The arrogant Zilart Prince laughed in their faces from the console he had been attending too. He still had time before the crystal would be fully powered from the energies brought forth from Delkfutt's Tower. It would be an excellent way to spend the time instead of waiting.
"So be it. Before I open the gates and reach paradise I will mark the way with your blood. I will grant you a glimpse at the difference between my dearly departed younger brother and I. Face a true Zilart! Come forth, Exoplates!"
Zeid charged forwards, "Soul Eater!"
"Zanetsuken!" Aldo roared.
"Assassin's Charge!" Lion cried.
