Chapter 1
The Start of a Trip
-Argentum Guild-
"And let that be your lesson Young Man!" Azurda raised his voice as he deduced nobody was there.
"Sorry Gramps" Apologized Rex for the 15th time at least he found some Gold and good materials to trade.
"Just listen to your elders someday I might not be able to help ,this old titan is not on his prime" After his scold ended , Rex went back and tossed the belt on his bed.
"Don't go around saying that Gramps , you might call some bad luck" The boy checked upon some materials he could find.
"Sorry Rex but that's the truth you need to accept fate as it is" He didn't mean to sound bad but it is a truth.
And a Grandfather who couldn't prepare his Grandson for time's inevitable judgement then has failed as one.
"Fate..Do you actually believe in those things?" Flinching a bit , Rex looked at the Belt.
" Yes , all of us are fated to do something on this life you should know that by now " His mind went back when he was 15..
When everything was simple.
"Alternative realities ; a Battle Royale inside a mirror world ; Heck! they even killed me once!." Making Gramps chuckle , he put another piece of crab to roast.
"The fire does wonders for my old bones" Keeping an eye out on the crab Rex could notice something.
"Gramps , Where is Woz?" The mysterious prophet was nowhere to be found...as usual.
"No idea , he appears and then vanish when he likes to" Woz was a mysterious person to Rex , he could call him a "Sort-of-Friend"? at least he worries for his well-being (If you exclude the whole "My Demon Lord" thing).
"We are getting closer Rex" The Argentum guild ship could be seen , many salvagers coming in and out as its a neutral territory for mercs and them.
"Let me start preparing all the good stuff" Without time to waste Rex finished his lunch and separated all the useful from the useless stuff , many years working with them taught him a thing or three of how to sell junk at high prices.
-Inside Argentum's Guild-
Rex hummed a song as he walked around the guild , money was send to Fonsett Village as usual and he kept some for updates for his equipment and food.
"Move it brat!" Exclaimed a tall guy with his group following him around making Rex fall.
"Hey! what the!..." Architect he was ready to argue as he raised his head looking to Mr.Muscles and friends.
"[These guys look totally like Bad Guys]" Remaining silent his thoughts were flying around demanding him to take action before everything went south
Many adventures taught him how to indentify potential allies and enemies , these guys totally raised the "So called allies ready to stab you".
"Sorry , my bad" Getting up and leaving as fast as he could , Rex needed to talk with Azurda.
"What a strange kid.." Said a Girl wearing a yellow jumpsuit next to her Mascot?.
"Let's proceed we can't waste time" Her ally , a mask wearing dude resumed his walk as for Mr.Muscles.
"[Those eyes could he...]" Snapping out of his thoughts Mr.Muscles approached Bana's office , no need of thinking in dead people.
He will have a nice talk with the Chaiman of this Guild.
Azurda was bored , waiting for Rex could be lonely sometimes.
"GRAMPPPS!" A sudden scream made him shiver , adjusting his look the Old Titan saw Rex running as fast as his "Casual" Salvager outfit could let him.
"Rex!? What happened my boy?!" His mind thought over a hundred of scenarios each one worse than the other.
Jumping to Azurda's back and ignoring his calls , Rex looked upon his small house checking everything inside it.
"REEX!" Azurda called one last time , making the salvagers around to avoid the place as soon as possible.
No one wanted to deal with an angry Titan.
"What happens for the Architect's sake?!" Calming down a bit , Rex came out of his home.
"Listen , Can we talk about this..privately?-" Azurda let a sigh go as he "Departed" from the Guild.
-Inside Bana's Office-
The Nopon was having the time of his life counting every coin of Gold on his desk.
"Call in every salvager you have , we need the best of the best" Demanded the masked guy.
"Call in every Salvager! Bana got it!" Not wanting to risk his potential new clients , he called every salvager.
But there was one missing...
"Where is Rex?!" Called he not looking his ticket to stardom around.
"He..departed 5 minutes ago , he was in a hurry.." Said one Salvager to Bana.
The Nopon tried not to scream and make a bad impression to his new clients , obviously his mind raced on thoughts.
[WHERE IS THAT LITTLE BRAT?! NOW OF ALL TIMES HE LEAVES?! NEXT TIME I SEE HIM I WILL SHOW HIM NOT TO MESS WITH BANA!]
"Oh there he is..." Bana's eyes shone looking at Rex walking around the port.
[FLLOOOOOSH]
Before anyone could even react Bana sprinted out of the room.
The young salvager thought about his conversation with Azurda...
"¡REEEEX! ¡MY FAVORITE SALVAGER!" Shouted Bana making Rex focus.
Oh , the boss is here..
"Oh Mr Bana , What can I do for you?" Cordially asking Bana had a smile from ear to ear.
"Rex! prepare your ears because I have the deal of your life!" Bana didn't waste time and dragged him to his office.
"A job? What's so big about it?" Entering the office Rex felt weird , all eyes on him.
"Meet our clients! these lovely people are requesting our services for an expedition! recover some materials of an old sunken ship!" Bana gave a totally happy tone introducing his clients or how Rex calls them..
[Mr.Edgelord , Mr.Muscles and Mrs.Catgirl and her Lion pet]
He knew their names thanks to Gramps but these nicknames fit them in a funny way , giving Bana his best "Are you Kidding me?" Face , the Nopon talked :
"They are an elite team! and need a small group coming from Lefteria! so Bana struck gold! Rex's a Lefterian and is my best salvager! truly a Best Match!" Bana congratulated himself , Rex gave a soft laugh not because of Bana..
"The Law of the Victory is set!"
"Ah! Rex likes this idea as well! great minds think alike!" The Nopon looked at his gold happily.
"So are you in? or do we need to call a real man?" The Catgirl was starting to get annoyed , this "Rex" guy doesn't know his fate if he agreeds.
About to protest , someone else talked
"I apologize for my ladies behaviour" The "Mascot" besides of Catgirl talked
In other context , he would be amazed but right now? No.
"Dromarch , What did I tell you about" Her Scold would have to wait , Mr.Muscles wanted attention.
"Drop it! , I do see your point" Keeping a serene attitude that gave Rex a bad feeling inside his pocket something was resonating..
"In any case , this should be enough to make sure" Drawing a sword , Mr.Muscles tried to strike Rex.
"OI! What are you playing at?!" Avoiding the slashes , he had a better look.
[Totally looks like a Bad Guy , even speaks like one!]
"Malos , enough! what good is it , beating up a Kid?" Catgirl tried to snap some sense into him
[Malos , HOLY ARCHITECT!]
-While Rex and Azurda "Departed" in a hurry-
"Rex , are you certain? are you sure?" Fear or insecurity domained Azurda's voice it increased when Rex nodded.
"In the name of Architect...Malos..is back."Murmuring his mind travelled back to the past.
Torna ; Sinking Titans ; Two Legends fighting against each other ; a Hero who failed.
"Who?" The boy unknown of all that Madness needed answers , the Titan had to...
He had to tell all he knows.
"Rex , I need you to take the job" He didn't want to..really , send your own family to what seems its a suicide mission.
What kind of monster does that?! If he could spare Rex of all what's going to come , he swears in the name of the Architect he would!.
"Wh-What? Gramps you can be serious!" Each negation felt worse for Azurda Mor Ardain's weapons could feel like soft flower petals compared to this.
"Rex , something bigger is coming and its your Fate as a Masked Rider to stop it , Malos is not someone who will play around" This was the start of a brief talk , each revelation made Rex's face to lost its color , its life.
"Rex?.." He couldn't help but feel like the worst scum on Alrest.
He just send his Grandson to fight a war in which he will probably die , stole his freedom and future for Alrest's sake.
"It-Its okay Gramps , let me gear up first" His voice lost all his cheerful energy , Azurda gulped.
Rex came out with a small bag giving a sad look to the Titan he called part of his small family.
"Be careful! If something happens to you I would never forgive myself!" Truth to be told , Rex gave Azurda a purpouse , those memories would be the best on his long life.
"Don't worry gramps I will!" His sad smile broke Azurda who left without a trace.
"[If my theory is right , then the only person who could stop him...it's Rex]" Fate could be cruel sometimes , no matter if you are a good or bad person.
Rex went back and confirmed his participation on this "Expedition".
"Nice , so the kid has pants for this gig" Malos unsheated his sword , the kid has guts he likes it.
"This is surely a lovely party! If all its set then you can go!" Bana was happy , actually he was the only one happy there.
"You have some Skill to avoid Kid , I will give you that" Malos and his Mask Wearing ally left.
Catgirl rolled her eyes before leaving , Dromarch did a bow before following Catgirl.
Aboarding the ship Rex couldn't help but feel ..
Fear ; Dread ; Despair.
Like something big was coming and he isn't ready for it , his point of "No-Return".
"Troubled my Demon Lord?" Appearing out of nowhere Woz stood by his side.
"HSSS!" Almost jumping from the scare Rex looked around if Woz was here his secret as being the Protector of Alrest and Mor Ardain's #1 Public Enemy "Masked/Kamen Rider" could be exposed!.
"Tch , no matter how many crisis I have faced before this sensation is not leaving" Rex grunted as Woz opened his book.
"My Demon Lord according to this book , this is the beginning of your journey" The emotion constantly rising scared him.
"I-Is that so?" Asking with a nervous smile he entered the Guild ship , he didn't bother to listen Woz's Speech .
He only wanted to get this done.
Night - Guild Ship
Night is still young , Alrest's true beauty could be seen during nightime.
Thus , he wandered over the ship finding small peace in the high part of it.
"Hello? Someone here?" A voice reached his ears.
" Oh , it's you..emm..."Catgirl appears! though Dromarch it's not with her.
But what could she possibly want?.
"I will let you know I have a name , it's Nia" Now she was no longer "Catgirl in a Jumpsuit" for Rex.
"Nia? that's a lovely name" A few seconds passed before he realized what he said.
"S-Shut up you bloody idiot!" A not-blushed Nia looked away , this guy had some nerve!.
B-But he really meant it?.
"You should go down there , they are having dinner." Recovering her posture Nia told Rex the obvious.
"Nah , I'm not hungry right now" His face tried to look anywhere else so he saw...
The World Tree , Mankind's lost paradise : Elysium.
"You really should eat something , we don't want you fainting in the middle of the job" Crossing her arms Nia made it clear , Rex let a teasing smile go around his face.
"What? Do I make you worry that much?" Her face burning red was totally cute for him.
Don't take him for a pervert! Corrine and Azurda raised a Good boy and part of the Salvager's code was against those who disrespect women!.
He just wants to be friendly ! that's all!.
"You brat!" Covering her face again she almost hits him , Who did he thing she was?! some kind of woman who falls for the first idiot she comes across?!.
Some minutes passed for Nia's wrath and blush total calm , it turns out..she's a good comrade.
"Why are you a salvager? You look so young compared to the others" Now those 2 were looking at the Cloud sea their little chat wasn't so little anymore.
Breaking the ice it's the hard part when you meet someone new.
"You know , the money" Nia looked at him with small disgust on her face.
"I see" Of course , most salvagers are there for the money.
"Not for selfish reasons , there's people who need it and all I know it's to salvage so..here I am" Rex sincered himself and Nia listened her perspective started to change.
"There's some charm on it , travelling and venturing into the unknown , discovering and preserving past history , for some maybe junk but for us its a treasure ,that's not something you see everyday" Giving his point of view to her all of it was his truth.
Except if we exclude an almost tiny factor but its irrelevant.
The Boy and Girl continued talking , knowing more of each other ; more she knew more she didn't want Rex to be involved in all of this.
He is just a kid , his whole life is ahead of him yet there he is , risking his life for something he doesn't really know.
"If its all there is to it then I will go back to my room , you get a snack and go to sleep" She couldn't take it anymore if this continues , her guilt will be worse.
"Good night Nia" That smile full of hope broke her.
"G-Good night Rex" Almost forgetting how to walk she left may the Architect forgive her for all her sins , always a coward leading everyone towards their demise.
Rex felt Guilty too...
"Better go grab a snack.." He needed to distract his mind right now.
????
Dry...Hot..
Rex awoke in the middle of..nowhere? , looking around it resemebled a Desert.
No trace of human ; animal or even vegetal life , just him and a dark orange sky that you couldn't tell if time was even passing.
He started to call for anyone yet no one answers.
He tries to look around if any life form is here yet no one appears.
He tries to use his powers yet he doesn't use the full extent , denies it.
"..."Another figure shows up , Rex looks at it.
"Uahhh!" He starts to run way as fast as his body allows him.
"..."The figure doesn't stop ; doesn't express any emotion only raises a hand and the world obeys its command.
"Tch!" Thousands of chains bind Rex , he starts to fight back boosting himself with the power of Kuuga.
Rex summons the Titan Sword and sends powerful shockwaves to the figure.
".."The figure doesn't flinch ; it doesn't even show some kind of damage.
"Grrr!" Running away again , Rex calls for help yet the World doesn't pick up his call.
"..." The Figure doesn't express any kind of emotion and makes the world dance around.
"GHRAAAAAAAGHHHG!" His scream triggered his Ziku Driver to appear yet he refuses to use it.
"..." Face to face the Figure reveals itself.
"AAAAAAAAAIYAAAAHH!" Rex refuses to see it , screams begging for someone to stop this nightmare.
The figure was about to speak..
"AAAAGH!" Rex awoke covered in sweat and shaking.
[Attention! We have arrived to our destination! All salvagers report to the main deck for further instructions.]
Without time to waste Rex took all the equipment he needed...even the Belt.
"Here we go then.." Still afraid of what's going to come , he left his room and followed other salvagers.
It's Showtime!.
A/N:
Hello! How are you doing? good wishes to anyone reading this.
Are you having fun reading this? I am having fun writting it (It's not perfect but with your help I can improve).
Stay safe! and stay tuned for more!.
