Arcturius dumbly looked towards the corridor where his young lookalike ran off towards, still trying to make sense of whatever the child was shouting at him. Zombie? What was even a 'zombie'?
Arcturius shook his head.
'No use in thinking about something I know nothing about.' He reasoned as he stepped out of the hole, he was in.
Once he was out, he turned around to inspect whatever he was in previously. It looked like a larger version of one of those shrines in his old orphanage. The hole was shaped in an arc and it seemed like wherever he stood inside was a space for a life-sized statue or idol. Rechecking the inside of the hole, several pieces of debris and rubble of varying sizes and shapes were scattered on the floor, like something was cracked and broken.
'I wonder what was really supposed to be in here.' Arcturius mused as he picked up a random piece with his right hand and held it to his one good eye.
Upon closer inspection, he noticed that the piece had some detailed carving on it. It was slightly difficult to tell because it was just a small piece of what was probably a whole, but if he were to guess, this was supposed to be an iris of a person.
'I wonder who you could have been.' Arcturius asked himself, becoming very curious of who could have had a statue or an effigy where he woke up in.
Arcturius paced a few steps backwards, trying to see if there was something else of importance on the shrine. With a full view of the shrine, he saw the words inscribed on the arch:
"HERE LIES ARCTURIUS – THE FIRST ARC AND THE ARC OF TRIUMPH"
'Arcturius? Could it be me? If so, what does the First Arc and Arc of Triumph even mean?' Arcturius now craved for the answers even more, slightly regretting not running after that child from before to get them.
Arcturius checked to the right of his supposed shrine and saw another one right beside it. He approached it slowly, trying to make out the words written on the arch:
"HERE LIES MERYL CADIA-ARC – WIFE OF ARCTURIUS AND LADY OF ARCADIA"
"Meryl." Arcturius spoke the name with a longing softness.
Meryl Cadia. Arcturius remembered her as a woman with a strong character. She was direct with people and what she wanted, never backing down out of fear or reluctance. Arcturius fondly recalled how she confronted him about her affections for him and how that eventually brought them together in marriage. She was a source of strength and fortitude in the times where even he himself could not find his own.
Arcturius changed his gaze from the shrine's arch and looked towards the stone effigy inside. Even in the dim light provided by the torches, he immediately recognized his wife. He could see the detail given to her flowing hair, capturing how it seemed to be soft to the touch. He could see rare softness in her eyes, and he almost thought he saw the beautiful emeralds of their color.
'The stone carver must have been a master.' Arcturius thought, slowly becoming lost in the effigy's eyes as he moved closer to touch its cheek.
When his fingers finally touched the effigy's surface and he felt the coolness of the stone, sorrow suddenly took root in his heart. He realized this was not his wife. This was an effigy. No matter how soft its hair looked, it would still be stone and not the silk-like hair his wife had. No matter how perfect its eyes are carved, it lacked the life and richness of her emerald irises. No matter how masterful this imitation was, it was cold as opposed to her warmth. This was only her effigy. This was her tomb. Meryl was dead.
Arcturius stood stoically in front of Meryl's effigy, his only hand still touching her cheek. Only his tears, trailing down his cheeks and dropping unto the dusty catacomb floor, betrayed his attempt to stay strong.
"I'm sorry, Meryl. I was blinded the first love I felt for Salem to see that I was not a good husband to you. Know that I truly did love you then, that I love you now, and that I will love you even beyond my end. I hope that wherever you are, you enjoy a peaceful rest." Arcturius spoke in a voice that was soft but filled with desperate love, trying to reach someone that was not there.
As he continued to mourn his wife silently, Arcturius could feel his Soul becoming powered by his grief. He felt it expanding out of his physical body and seemingly reaching aimlessly outwards. Arcturius thought to ignore it in favor of mourning his wife but then felt that something was reaching back to his Soul.
He wiped the tears off his face and focused on the feeling and realized that it felt similar to his own Soul, only significantly more minute. Arcturius closed his eyes, trying to give his entire concentration in attempt to reach out towards the source with his Soul. As his Soul held unto the energy, Arcturius moved his body to follow until he stood right in front of the source. He reached out his hand to touch whatever the source was and felt the familiar coolness of his wife's effigy. Arcturius opened his eyes and saw he was touching another statue of someone he could not recognize but was familiar.
Arcturius stepped back from the effigy and looked towards its shrine's arch, reading the inscribed words:
"HERE LIES SALERNA ARC – DAUGHTER OF ARCTURIUS AND QUEEN OF ARCADIA"
"Salerna." Arcturius voiced out in slight surprise as his gaze quickly returned to the effigy of his daughter.
Arcturius always knew his daughter would grow up beautiful, so he was thankful for this chance to see exactly that. Salerna had naturally long, brown hair like her mother, he remembered, but she would always demand it be cut short since it would get in the way in training. It seemed like she never stopped cutting it from the looks of the shoulder-length hair that was made for the effigy. He could see the same determination in the effigy's eyes as Salerna's had when she was a child and in the training grounds. How those blue eyes would scan him, trying to see anything she could take advantage of.
Arcturius willed his Soul to envelop the lingering Soul from his daughter's tomb. When it did, he felt a familial warmth fill him. He could feel a flurry of emotions embed themselves into him. Not just his own but of his own daughter. He could feel her sorrow, her anger, her melancholy. But more than that, he could feel her love and happiness, especially the ones that felt very familiar to him, outshining the rest.
'She had a daughter.' Arcturius realized, his own heart filling with joy and love for a granddaughter he never saw.
Arcturius refocused his attention towards his daughter's effigy and gave it a bittersweet smile. While he mourned her death, he celebrated her apparently happy and fulfilled life.
"I'm sorry, Salerna. I was not a good father to you when I left you and died. I left you and your mother alone because of my foolishness. You may not be able to forgive me for my sins, but that is fine. I'm just happy you lived a happy life and that you held on to a piece of me with you." Arcturius said to the effigy, tears falling from his eyes and a smile on his face.
"Who are you?" A strong voice suddenly demanded from Arcturius's right side, breaking him out of his mourning. Arcturius turned his entire body towards the voice and saw a middle-aged blonde man in armor. He was in a defensive stance, holding up a heater shield and armed with a sword Arcturius recognized as his own.
"Crocea Mors." Arcturius instinctively called out its name, slightly relieved at seeing something familiar that was truly real.
However, what Arcturius uttered seemed to have made the man before him tense up more, with the man's grip on Crocea Mors tightening and his eyes narrowing some more.
"Who are you? And how do you know that name?" The man demanded again, this time with more force and edge in his voice. Thinking that he had no reason to lie to the man and that he was probably somewhere his family was as well, Arcturius forced his emotions to calm and opted to tell the truth.
"I am Arcturius. Knight of the Empire and Lord Consort of Cadia." Arcturius introduced himself with a respectful bow of his head, retaining the manners of an Imperial noble and knight. Unfortunately, it seemed that the truth was not satisfactory for the man.
"Do you think I am a fool? Just because you were found in the founder's tomb by my son, you think you can make us believe you are him?" The man aggressively said, taking a firm step forward.
In response, Arcturius took one step back and dropped to a defensive stance. One-handed and one-eyed, Arcturius was still confident enough that he could hold his own.
"I do not lie. I may not know the exact circumstance of my appearance, but I tell the truth that I am Arcturius of Cadia." Arcturius attempted again, hoping that the man would realize he was telling the truth.
Another step forward. The man did not.
Arcturius resigned himself to the inevitable battle against the man, keeping himself alert to whatever move the man might make.
Just before Arcturius considered making the first move however, the sound of small feet running grew louder and louder from the corridor behind the man. The man seemed to have heard it too as he also broke his concentration for a moment to check behind him. As they both did, the very same child from before came out of the corner and ran in front of the man, placing himself between Arcturius and the armed man.
"Jaune! What are you doing?! Get behind me!?" The man ordered authoritatively, but Arcturius could also hear a tinge of concern betray the man's composure.
"No Dad! He's not a bad guy! I don't know if he's a zombie but he's not a bad zombie also!" The child – Jaune – responded to the man who was apparently his father, spreading his arms in to protect Arcturius behind him.
As the father and son confronted each other, Arcturius felt the same feeling from before with his Soul, only this time, it was reaching out towards the child. It felt much more potent that the one from his daughter's tomb, and Arcturius was naturally drawn towards it.
He willed his Soul to reach out towards Jaune, to touch the child's own Soul. Arcturius was surprised to find out that Jaune's Soul was dormant, given that what he felt from him was strong. Fortunately for Arcturius, a dormant Soul could still be touched by another with a bit more effort.
The moment his Soul touched Jaune's, Arcturius felt a rush of energy and power surge through him. It was unlike what he felt with the Soul fragment in his daughter's tomb. With his daughter, he felt emotions of memories. With Jaune, Arcturius felt pure… Magic.
"Dad!? What's happening!?" Arcturius heard the scared question of Jaune and saw the child glowing with energy.
Jaune's father tried to approach his son but was forced to raise his shield to defend himself. Arcturius realized that aside from the glow, the energy also lashed out of the child, only avoiding Arcturius but striking violently against everything else.
Suddenly, Arcturius felt compelled to speak.
"Countless generations live in you, with me being the First. Our Strength is yours. Our Wisdom yours. Our Duty, yours. And through you, we are immortalized. Through you, we are realized. Jaune…Arc"
Immediately after uttering the last word, Arcturius felt all the power and energy inside him disappear quickly, causing him to drop to his knees. His head was swimming, and his vision was dimming. The last thing he saw was the subsiding glow of Jaune and the calming of the violent energy around the child.
Then, he dropped to the ground, unconscious.
