All hell broke loose after Arvis killed Sigurd. Meteors suddenly fell from the sky, first only a few, then increased as it went on. Hoping to find at least one survivor, Azel trembled, trying to dodge the meteors and escape as soon as possible. His eyes darted around the smoky plains.

He then saw a glimpse of someone; they seemed to be alive, though excessively injured. He almost instantly recognized him; he then dashed to him, "Lex!"

Lex turned to see him, "Oh, thank Naga, Azel, you are alive!"

"Oh, Lex! I'm so happy you're alive. Who knows if you were to die like that," Azel looked around, finding nobody.

"Yeah… Tailtiu is in Silesse, waiting for me. I wouldn't want to leave her behind like that." Lex said.

"Is there anyone alive?!"

"I don't see anyone else. Hopefully, more people made it out alive:"

They then saw someone running towards them. It was Dew, his clothes were burnt, but he did not look to be harmed, "Hey, we need to hurry! Take these return bands; all of the survivors escaped. I don't know where this will take you, but I can assure you that you will be safe!" Dew shouted. He then quickly activated the band he had on and teleported away.

Lex was given a return band when he was about to activate it, he got interrupted by Azel. "I must have a word with my brother. Please go with Tailtiu. I'll go back to you two when I'm done!" Azel exclaimed.

"Azel, that's dangerous. Are you sure about this? Come with me. You'll be safe."

"Sorry, Lex, but it's what I must do. I promise you, I will return unharmed!"

"Please do. Good luck out there, buddy. See you in Silesse!"

Lex then activated his band and vanished. Azel made his way to Belhalla, not paying much attention to his injuries.


Arvis ran back to Belhalla after he called off the Meteor spells. He did it. He finally did it. Now nobody could get in his way from making Grannvale a world of eternal peace. Now, he was the sole power of the country.

Then he remembered Azel was present as he slew Sigurd. A pang of guilt hit him, 'How could I have been so foolish?' He thought. Blinded by the desire for power, he forgot about his beloved brother. Perhaps he should've kept him in Belhalla when he had the chance.

Although now that Azel had no one to follow, maybe he could take him in and make him rule Velthomer now that he is the Emperor, he was still uncertain if he had survived or not. His heart was beating fast at the thought of him killing his brother. He then headed to his room. He needed to relax after the battle.

A few hours passed; Arvis was still stressed about his brother. He hadn't received any news about the survivors or the number of casualties. The only thing he knew was that Arvis successfully stopped Sigurd. Then a soldier entered his room, "Lord Arvis, someone wants to see you."

"Who is it?" Arvis asked, turning to the soldier.

"He claims to be your brother, Lord Azel."

Arvis sighed. His brother was alive, "Let him pass! I, too, need to see him!" He exclaimed.

"At once, Lord Arvis." The soldier said before leaving.

Arvis was glad to see Azel again finally, and yet despite that, the guilt he felt for having him witness what he had done struck him. Soon enough, Azel came into the room; Arvis was shocked upon seeing his brother's state. Burn marks everywhere, face covered in ash, he even looked to have trouble standing upright, he was heavily injured.

While he was delighted that Azel was still alive, the injuries made him utterly panicked, "Ah, Brother! I'm glad to see you here. I see you wanted to come back to me? Do not worry. I'll get some clerics to heal you at once!" Arvis said, concerned by his brother's condition.

"That's not why I'm here…" Azel grumbled, breaking eye contact with him.

"That's disappointing," He sighed, disheartened at Azel's direct response, "Then, what brings you here?"

"Why did you do this, Arvis?" Azel yelled at him before hunching over a little.

Arvis was silent, then asked more harshly, "Are you feeling alright, Azel? Your injuries seem to be severe."

"Don't avoid my question! Why did you have to betray and kill all my friends?!"

"It's complicated…" He said before getting cut off by Azel.

"Lex almost died! Tailtiu is waiting for him in Silesse. You're lucky he didn't die… if he were to have died, nobody would've been happy!" He yelled, "Not to mention you betrayed Lord Sigurd and killed him, and for what? Power?"

Arvis fell silent. It was hard to explain his reasoning behind it all.

"Why, brother? Why!?"

"It had to be done…"

"What do you mean by that!?

"I mean that it was the only way to gain full control of Grannvale! Sigurd was a threat to its peace!" Arvis yelled back at him.

"Lord Sigurd was not a traitor! Can you not understand that?!"

"Azel, can't you listen to reason? He started this war and killed so many!"

"No! You're the one who can't listen to reason! I'm through with you; goodbye, brother!" He then put the band that Dew gave him, onto his wrist, activated it, then disappeared out of the castle.

Arvis felt that same pang of guilt hit him; he could almost feel tears welling up in his eyes before he muttered, "I'm sorry…"


A few years had passed, and Arvis had almost forgotten about Azel; he had not heard a word from him since that day. The one thing that made him remember again was the sight of his son Julius. Julius bore the blood of Fjalar - albeit only minor - still showed a remarkable resemblance to both himself and his brother.

"Papa, you look sad," Julius said, sitting on Arvis's lap.

"I'm alright. I just remembered my brother. You act a lot like him."

"How was he like?"

"Despite my kindness towards him, he was very stubborn. He didn't want to be treated like a child. He also had a major crush on a cleric. Her name was Edain, if I recall correctly. So because of his devotion to her, he left Belhalla and went to Verdane to rescue her."

"What happened to him? He seems to be a good person!"

"I do not know...he left Belhalla, and I was told he went to Silesse with his friends. I plan to head there sometime soon. Hopefully, he's still there. I feel the need to apologize to him…"

"I want to go too! I want to meet him!" Julius smiled.

Arvis shook his head. "That is not a good idea. I'm afraid it could be dangerous for a little boy like you. I advise you to stay with your sister and mother."

"Okay!" Julius chirped.

With that, Arvis placed Julius down on the floor, and he ran off. He stayed there for a moment and watched his son run off happily. Then he sighed. He knew that his son's wish would never come true.


The next morning he ordered his soldiers to get his carriage ready to part to Silesse; he had a sinking feeling that something terrible had happened. Even if he commanded the soldiers not to go after Azel, he couldn't trust Manfroy and the Lopto Cult; they never listened to him.

When Arvis finally made it to Silesse, he ordered the carriage to stop at the nearest village. The villagers greeted him, but he was in a rush; his anxiety was spiking now. He just wanted to see his brother again.

He went through multiple villages all over the Kingdom; he could not find his brother anywhere. 'I should've kept him with me when I had the chance.'

About to give up, Arvis felt his heart race, terrified that Manfroy found and killed Azel before he could do anything about it. He walked through the final village, 'Surely the villagers would have some sort of information about what happened?' he knocked on the nearest house door, the door opened.

"Hello, what do you need?" A lavender-haired woman opened the door; she had an infant in her arms. Arvis recognized her. 'Tailtiu.' When she saw him, she quickly slammed the door.

Despite that, Arvis was relieved; he had found his brother at last. Or so he thought. Deciding to give up, he sighed. If Tailtiu was there, then surely Azel should be there too.

As he was about to leave, he heard a masculine voice, "If you are looking for Azel, he's not here anymore. He left a while ago." Lex said.

Arvis's relief quickly changed into anxiety once again, "D-Do, you know where he is?" he asked.

Lex shook his head, "I cannot tell you that, now leave this place and never come back!"

'Great. Just great. Azel is gone.' He thought he would be in Silesse for sure; it seemed he was wrong. He huffed and walked out of the village, and as he left and got back into his carriage, he thought of something - or rather, someone - who would have taken his dear brother away like that or just kept Azel away from him.

Manfroy.

Arvis never trusted Manfroy and his schemes; he did not even wish to be involved with their cult. He kept him around because he helped him kill all of the other dukes of Grannvale, and if Arvis were hesitant about keeping him with him, he would be exposed to bear the blood of Loptyr. And they both knew what would happen if the people of Grannvale were to know that.

"Take me back to Belhalla," Arvis told the driver, "And quickly too!"

The driver nodded, and the carriage swiftly took off. Arvis looked out the window. He needed to hurry to Belhalla; Manfroy had to be taken down before it was too late. He needed to ask him, 'Manfroy, what did you do to my brother?' He just had to.

Hours later, night had fallen, the driver and the horses needed a break, so he allowed them to rest while he stayed at an Inn. Going to Silesse was all for nothing, and who knows what would happen if Manfroy got his hands on his family.

The next afternoon Arvis arrived in Belhalla; he was utterly burnt out riding through the Yied Desert. Stepping into Belhalla, he was met with his two children, "Papa! Papa! You're back!" They both exclaimed.

Arvis felt himself relax when he saw that Julius and Julia were alive and well. Manfroy didn't lay his hands on them, but he still asked, "Are you two okay?"

"We're okay!" Julia said, "We were worried about you, papa,"

"Did you get to meet with our uncle?" Julius asked.

Arvis's heart dropped after hearing those words; he didn't want to worry his son, so instead, he lied, "Yes, I did!"

"Where is he now?"

"He stayed in Silesse."

"Aw, I wanted to meet him! But well, Papa, promise me you will take me with you next time you go!"

"I will, Julius, and maybe I'll take your sister along too, whenever that is,"

He really was telling himself and his children a lie, wasn't he? He knew it was impossible, but he still went with it and hoped that maybe he would find Azel again.

It was all Manfroy's doing, wasn't it? Every plan that Arvis had created had been Manfroy's suggestions, so he could have ended up killing his brother. Where was Manfroy anyway?

"Why don't you two go play in the garden? Papa is very tired,"

"Alright!" Julia said before she and Julius ran off.

Once they disappeared from Arvis's sight, he ran straight to Velthomer without any word. Manfroy had to be there. Once he reached the castle, he went inside and shouted, "Manfroy!"

Manfroy then appeared, "Ah, Arvis, so glad you returned," he said in a low, sarcastic voice. "Were you looking for me?"

Arvis went right to the matter. "What did you do to Azel?!"

Manfroy simply shook his head. "Azel left a long time ago. I would not know."

"You liar! You knew I adored Azel!"

"I can assure you that I do not know where your brother is."

That still was not helping. Arvis sighed angrily, then muttered, "Then why was he not in Silesse? Did he leave willingly?"

"That must be the case."

Arvis knew Manfroy couldn't be trusted. His answer was so blunt, he knew there was something he didn't want him to know. However, Arvis's fault was trusting him, so he needed to take a stand, but when he opened his mouth to speak, Manfroy had already warped away.


Four more years had passed, he hadn't heard a word from Azel, despite that he still kept Manfroy around; there was nothing else he could do. However, he heard from Manfroy that a rebellion against the empire had risen.

"Who is their leader?" Arvis asked.

"It appears to be led by your precious younger brother, Azel."

"So, he's okay!"

"But not for long; he must be taken down at once."

"Leave him alone! He wouldn't go too far with such a small force!"

"It matters not! Any threats to the empire must be eliminated!"

"No! As your Emperor, I will not let you eliminate him!"

Manfroy remained silent; Arvis knew he would take action, he wanted to protect Azel, no matter what, but he was powerless against Manfroy. He wasn't able to convince him, so in the end, he gave up.


Four more years had passed. And now it has been ten years since the Battle of Belhalla. Manfroy had ruined Arvis's life. The dark god had possessed Julius, and his family was torn apart. He hadn't heard news about that small rebellion that rose a few years ago led by Azel. He had lost everything; he could only hope that Julia was safe wherever she got warped to and that his brother had managed to escape safely.

Arvis kept asking about Azel, but Manfroy ignored him each time. He had been deceived and manipulated far too much by Manfroy. Arvis despised him. Why was he so foolish?

He kept trying to get answers out of Manfroy, but that day was different; Manfroy got tired of him asking about his Azel, so he decided to finally give him the answer he wanted for so long, "Come with me to Manster." He simply replied with an irritable voice.

Arvis was excited to get news on his brother finally, but at the same time, he was worried. 'Why, Manster? Is he alright? Is he safe?' These thoughts made him panic.

Before he knew it, they were warped away. To a dark place, with an eerie feeling they went through the pitch-black room, Arvis could only see Manfroy, he suddenly bumped into a statue of some sort, "A statue…?" He questioned, before he turned to Manfroy, "Where did you bring me, Manfroy?"

"Oh! It looks like you have found your brother!" Manfroy cackled. Then, he activated a torch staff, revealing four different statues placed in each corner of the room.

Arvis fell to the ground, then raised his head to look at the statue once more; it was definitely Azel. There was no denying it. Arvis utterly detested Manfroy at that moment. He was in tears, "Manfroy, Why did you do this. I told you not to, far too many times!" He shouted in anguish.

"Hahaha, it was not I who turned him into stone. It was Bishop Veld who did it."

It all fell apart; his entire life disappeared at that moment, 'Why was I so foolish?' All of his decisions leading up to this moment, he regretted them all. He let himself be manipulated by Manfroy and the Loptyr Cult. Looking down at the dark, cold floor, he whispered.

"Awake me from my nightmare."