Clash of the Elements Part 0: The Winds of Days Past

by mewmaster93

2000 years ago, there was a hero of renown called the Elemental Overlord. Many have spoken of his daring feats and accomplishments, but his past has remained unknown...Until now. Hidden within three journals left behind by his wife are the details of his journey from young boy to the hero of legend. Venture to Genestasia, to uncover the many truths hidden in the distant past...

177. Final Chapter Part 4

"I recall the first time I met the Dark King. Or rather, the memories of the 'I' that lived up until that point did."

"I knew there was nothing good about him, nothing to salvage from darkness as deep as his."

"Sarajin tried. And tried. And tried some more."

"And because of that, the Dark King's resistance was strengthened…Until he took everything from me."

"I had every right to hate the man I loved for giving that monster every chance imaginable."

"But it's not his fault that his kindness was pushed away. It was all…HIM."

"My hatred had been built, layers upon layers, with no person or thing to take it out on."

"But this journey was not about me. No. Never was."

"I was forced to the side as a bystander that would chronicle my husband's last memories."

"I stood, but I may as well have been crippled. I had my sword, but now in these hands it had the splintered texture of wood."

"And above all else, these eyes of mine were open, but beheld only visions of black and red."

"Hatred…? No, I was…scared."

"For what certainty was there to be had when you were losing everything you ever cared for…?"

Chapter 0.8: To You, Who I Leave Behind

In the very center of the desert already traveled, Yen Sid had taken precautions to create an executioner's ground out of nearby ruins.

Inside lay the Dark King, still bound in an abundance of chains, guarded by seven sentinels of light.

The chains had grown in number since their last encounter, with the Dark King showing visible signs of tear to his physical form.

The others, save for Sarajin and Auris, were left behind elsewhere for the night to rest and relax, with solemn promises that tomorrow would be the most turbulent day of them all.

With heavy pants the Dark King lifted his head to greet his guests with sinister, gravelly laughter.

"I am bound here, but the heaviest chains are on your neck now, aren't they…Sarajin Stratos?"

Yen Sid drew his blade towards the Dark King's face, and he laughed again.

"You scare me no longer, wizard," He said with hefty, sweating pants before turning his glare straight towards Sarajin, "After all…my execution is being entrusted to someone who will never swing."

Sarajin held his composure while staring back at him, the man laughing in pristine, cocky glee.

He then inched his gaze in Auris' direction while commenting, "Is it satisfactory to see me on my knees? Do you feel triumph pulsating in your heart?"

"You've lost. Spectacularly. While I am only inconvenienced."

He then stared at Sarajin once more with fervor, "Gaze upon me, Sarajin Stratos! At the man who took everything from you!"

"I've heard the whispers of 'God' as I wait. How you shall be stripped from flesh and bone and your soul be caged in silver!"

"Never again shall your tongue taste the splendor of a good meal! Nor shall you be tickled by the wind you were born into!"

"Every night you will quiver restlessly gazing upon the stars, stained black with my essence!"

"You seek to humiliate me in this pose, but every roar I defy you with shall echo in the hearts of those who desire what I am!"

"And when those echoes of desire beat back into my being I will RISE…and deliver judgment upon this pitiful, inferior realm of creation!"

"And when I do…" The Dark King narrowed his eyes and chuckled slowly, "I will welcome you, 'Elemental Overlord', because we are not complete without each other."

Yen Sid then turned to his company as though none of those words had transpired, bequeathing the hilt of his sword towards Sarajin.

"When this sword has cut off his head, it will separate the Heart from the body. Here, it shall be buried deep beneath the sands, never to utter another scream."

The Dark King growled, and then became patient.

Sarajin took the blade into his grasp and found it felt lighter than air. There was a heavy responsibility when it came to holding this power.

Using it as a tool of execution felt like…a betrayal of its intended reason for existing.

But he gripped it with respect and poised it over the Dark King's body.

Even the faintest sign of hesitation got the Dark King riled up as he shook the ruins with his laugh.

"He'll never kill me. Because even after I have taken so much from him, he knows he needs me!"

"Ours is a symbiotic relationship, never to be broken by the gods, nor time itself!"

Yen Sid tucked his hands into his sleeves and remained sturdy against the darkness' lashing tongue, "Take a deep breath Sarajin, and let your heart be your guiding key."

"That's right, Sarajin! Sacrifice every last bit of freedom you have earned to these servants of falsehoods!" Roared the Dark King.

"You think these creatures own creation? You have all been deceived! So carve me open, cut me down to darkness itself! So long as even one eye of mine remains open to the truth, I HAVE THE RIGHT TO REIGN MY SUPERIORITY OVER THE BLIND!"

Sarajin began to raise the sword pure of heart over his head, eliciting an inferno of gleeful satisfaction from the Dark King's face.

"Yes, show me your hatred…! Show me-!"

He was taken aback with a gasp as Sarajin hesitated to swing the blade, the emotions flashed from his eyes bearing no heat nor cold.

Instead, it gave off what the Dark King never wished to receive.

"Are you…pitying me?" The Dark King's bravado crumbled and his rage truly lashed out from his constraints, "Are you pitying me…SARAJIN STRATOS?!"

Sarajin's mouth remained silent, his arms as stiff as boards.

"How dare you…" The Dark King started out subdued, before his eyes widened in full and he screamed, "How much more must I rob from you before you strike at me with hate in your heart?!"

"WHY WILL YOU NOT SHOW ME WHAT YOU TRULY ARE IN-"

"RAAAHH!" Auris grabbed hold of the sword and cleaved off Solomon's head in a single stroke.

Then the sentinels raised their own swords and dove into Solomon's unraveling darkness, burying him far, far beneath the ruins.

The last thing he imprinted in their minds was the echoes of his laughter.

Auris fell to her knees and stretched the blade back into Yen Sid's possession before tightening her fists and punching the ground.

"I felt no relief to see him gone. His words had rooted themselves in my mind."

"So even had he died, a part of him would still live on inside of me."

"I was revulsed, and in Sarajin's efforts to console me I swung my fist at him."

"There were no words exchanged between us as we departed these ruins and left them to be buried back in the sand."

"Yen Sid left for now, and stated that the next step was between us and 'God', who would greet us upon returning to the rest of our group."

"I took the Dark King's words to heart about my husband's final fate, and braced myself to have the hard truth confirmed…"

The other Genesis Samurais were gathered around a campfire in a secluded part of a grassy plain, surrounded by the towering pipes.

The younger kids were all settling down for the night, the adults were taking turns standing guard.

Upon Sarajin and Auris' return, Darnia was the first to approach and whisper, "Is it finally over?"

Sarajin paused, then slowly bobbed his head.

Darnia closed his eyes and sighed, before returning to the campfire log to sit.

Ezekiel held his fingers together between his legs and hung towards the fire, his shoulders as heavy as boulders.

"...So what now?" He wondered, the joy of this adventure proving insufficient in fighting off the finality of this moment.

"We wait for God." Sarajin said.

"Haaaaa. A'right." Ezekiel stretched back and tried to distract himself by stargazing.

They all sat around and joined him. Some stars fell from the sky like twinkling crystals, going as far as to release a glittery sound.

Auris bent her knees up against the bottom of her chest and went silent.

"The sky was like a painting of the heavens."

"Did my father used to look at it the same way? I wondered…"

"We were far away from our home, but I felt that if I reached out…I could touch the exact star that warmed the place we belonged."

"This world truly was peaceful. And it was starting to make me lower my guard towards any worries regarding this idea."

Without a presence to speak of, God appeared before the group as suddenly as the wind.

"Have you accomplished everything you wanted, Sarajin Stratos?"

Sarajin flinched and then gestured towards his allies, "Well? Are you all satisfied with how the temples turned out?"

A few nods and neutral shrugs later and Sarajin faced God with their answer, "We're good. We still need to find a place for the Light Wellspring though."

"Yen Sid is currently in talks with the guardians of this world, the Star Spirits, to locate and build a place to hide it."

"So that's why he left…" Sarajin muttered.

God gestured his ethereal hand out from his cloak and remarked, "There's only one thing left for you to do. You need to create a final temple. The location doesn't matter. How you go about it is your business."

"But it shall be the place where your soul is put to rest, until the day when your successor can collect all seven stones and open the way to it."

"I see…" Sarajin hummed, "And once my soul's inside of them, they'll be the Elemental Overlord?"

"That is correct," God then lowered his hand and remarked, "Don't worry, we'll be masking this temple in particular with concealment magic so no one shall notice nor be able to enter it without the seven stones."

Sarajin didn't say anything else about the topic, leaving God to say, "If you still need time to think it over…"

Sarajin looked at him and said, "Yeah. But before you go, can I ask one question?"

God remarked, "I suppose."

"Why did you choose THIS planet in particular? Was it really only because it was a perfect fit?"

God paused and craned his head back, his appearance lacking its otherworldly luster as he whispered, "This world holds a special place in my heart."

It was an oddly…human answer, for one so divine.

Sarajin nodded in appreciation and gave him his word, "I'll have the temple ready by tomorrow. Trust me."

"I look forward to seeing what you come up with." Said God as he vanished into the ether.

Sarajin then turned to his close friends and family and nudged at the kids. The other adults knew to wake them up for what was coming next.

Sarajin then leaned towards the fire with a stiff, unsure posture.

"...Last chance for all of you to go back home."

As the rest went silent to take a second chance and rethink, Darnia pointed out, "There's something you still haven't told us."

Sarajin rested his hands under his chin and had half a smile of certainty, "I know of a way that we can still stay together."

Ezekiel and Darnia were taken aback.

"You're not pulling our legs, brother?"

Sarajin nodded sincerely, then reached for the Gaia Temporis.

Clutching it with faith in his heart, he presented it to the others and said, "Some of you may not know, but this gives me the power to control time."

"I never felt comfortable abusing it for my own ends but…Something inside of me feels like it will be happy to help us out now."

Auris tensed up with a biting shiver in her chest.

Sarajin looked at his friends, "My plan is to use the Gaia Temporis to freeze you all in time in the final temple. Your bodies won't age, or get weak."

"Then, I'll use my remaining energy from the Wellsprings to create a leyline from your bodies to the temple entrance. When the successor comes through with the stones, it will cause a resonance that will wake you up."

"So that's why you saved those fragments." Cecilia commented.

Sarajin nodded, then put the stone away.

Pitori then raised his hand and asked upon Sarajin's gesture, "The first part sounds good, but what if we don't wake up?"

Sarajin smiled, "Well then I'll have the successor wake you up."

Tina cheered, "That's great! We'll all get to be together!"

"Ahem…well. About that." Sarajin turned to his wife and her reclusive stature pit the rest of the group at unease.

"Do you want me to tell them?" Sarsjin whispered.

Auris dug her fingertips into her sleeves and then turned to her friends with shaky eyes, "I…will be returning to Sancturia when this is over."

There were a few hints of surprise but for the most part the reactions were subdued.

"Sure. I get it. But…do ya even know how long you'll be waiting?" Ezekiel wondered, his concern coming through where it counted, "Could be a very long time alone…"

"I wouldn't know. I…have yet to look."

Any joy this adventure had given them was taken away by this despairing quiet, filled only by the crackling fire.

Cecilia then raised her voice, "Sarajin!"

Making him jolt in her direction as she laid into him verbally, "Do something about this!"

"I-I can't. She made her choice…" He said with little resistance.

Cecilia hung her head and muttered, "Maybe my respect was premature…"

"Do not worry about me Cecilia. I will be ok." Auris said with a brave face.

"It was the minimum I could do to deflate the tension, even as a betrayal of my own feelings."

"We got one last night of rest, and then started the final day fresh."

"Sarajin took us all to an unsuspecting and ancient woodland in the middle of nowhere. No one lived here. There was little in the way of mushrooms or pipes."

"It had a mythical feeling to it, helped by the fog on the ground."

"For all the importance it would hold to us, Sarajin chose to keep this simple and comfortable, tailor making every floor to suit his allies."

"The Gaias insisted on having an entire floor to themselves, naturally."

"At the end, the temple more-or-less resembled the pyramid in Sancturia, a place that held fond memories to us both…"

"A few flourishes on the outside, and we were done with preparations."

"...This was truly the end. I was never allowed to take even a single step back no matter how much my heart yearned for it."

"Everyone started to settle into their chambers. Sarajin did not say farewell with finality, but simply as though they would wake up as neighbors the next morning."

"Then the two of us made our way to the top alone at his insistence."

"This chamber was empty, save for a glass orb brought to us behind our backs. Yen Sid showed courtesy in letting us have our privacy."

"...I couldn't bear it any longer. This was far too much strain for any soul to suffer."

"ENOUGH!" Auris shouted from the top of her lungs.

They both stopped in the middle of the room as the echoes of her distress were allowed to fade out.

Sarajin looked at her, shaken, as she threw her fists by her side and broke down bitterly, "I thought I could play along. Keep this going…! But this is insane! It's not RIGHT!"

She stepped towards the man she loved with one hand on her chest and the other flung out, "You belong to me…To US!"

She took a couple steps closer, daring to assert her feelings in a way she knew would hurt them both.

But if there was any way to pull some doubt from his nonchalance towards this whole matter then maybe, just maybe…she could try.

She froze up, surrendering partially to the fate she had been dealt.

"Hic…!" She hung her head and bawled her eyes out, "You shouldn't have to fight anymore…! You've earned this peace…!"

Sarajin cast a forlorn glance to the side and murmured, "Have I really…? I'll be honest, I've had my doubts…"

Auris flung her head up and gasped, "Of course you have!"

"Think of who is with us! They aren't here because they have to, but because they want to!"

"You've affected so many lives for the better. You faced adversity and always tried to wear a smile as you did…!"

"You…ended a million year conflict. Not by fighting, or killing, but by showing the world that we could still be kind to others to solve our problems."

She held her hands over her chest and was fighting back her tears every word, "You…pried open the bars over my heart and showed me that I COULD care about people beyond my borders. That I could cherish life…that I could…fall in love."

"I don't want to fill this eternity with grief and loneliness. I want to capture every moment we can have together, bottle it up inside of me, and never let go…!"

"You gave me the strength to hold so tightly onto what I love…" She squeezed her hands against her throbbing heart and with her face flushed pink and eyes sparkling with tears she gasped out in pain, "To see you give up now…breaks my heart to pieces!"

But when she looked up, she saw tears had long since been running down his cheeks, forcing out another gasp.

Throughout it all, Sarajin smiled and shivered, a devoted husband, his heart bundled tight with joy.

"You don't know how much I wanted to hear you say that…" He whispered, cleansing the tears from his face before reaching out to put his soft hands upon her shoulders.

"There was never going to be an easy way to get you through this. And I've probably done a horrible job trying."

"N-No, that's not…Sarajin, I-"

"Listen Auris…" He spoke softly, "I never would have gotten this far if it wasn't for all of you. But there's never going to be any greater light in my life than the one that shines from your smile."

"The stars? They can't compare to you."

"Whenever I've been lost, you always guided me back. You…and Bunny."

Auris bit her lower lip and gasped, as Sarajin faintly closed his eyes and murmured, "I…don't remember why that name is so important to me. But…I can't thank them enough."

"...Sarajin, she…" The back of Auris' throat became parched from the sheer hesitation she forced upon herself.

But damning herself and her reluctance for the last time, she forced the truth out, "She was the most important person in your life. And I…stole that role away from her."

She winced her eyes shut and squeezed her fists while feeling his grip slipping away.

But all that amounted to was him reaching for the Gaia Temporis and staring at it. With a smile and nothing more, he put it back into his pocket.

Then he shook his head at Auris, "Just because she was my most important person, doesn't mean we were meant to be together."

"I feel like…one way or another, we were meant to be together, Auris."

He gave his head a slight tilt and smiled, "Haven't I ever told you how much you inspired me?"

"I didn't get this determination to carry on entirely on my own. Your glistening presence captivated me, and showed me that I could be stronger if I tried."

"The two of us together? We complete our world."

"..." Auris hung her head and cursed her eyes under her breath, "I admit to being a fraud, have done nothing but led you astray…And yet, you would still call me your wife?"

Sarajin reaffirmed his grip on her shoulders and gently coerced her into looking into his eyes, "We're not saying goodbye. Our paths are just diverging for a bit."

"I WILL find my way back to you, through Hell or Heaven alike, I SWEAR it."

"You're still in the prime of your youth still…tied to a mortal clock. The first century won't feel so rough. A few loved ones will die around you. A few descendants will outgrow you."

"Then you'll pass a few more centuries. A relative will share the same face as someone from your past. The line begins to blur…"

"Millenia pass, you will start to grow apathetic. Pain will be as dull as the taste of water. You will want something to make you feel again."

"You will laugh and laugh as civilizations rise and turn to dust around you but you still stand in their ashes."

"You will suffocate as you become a stranger to a society that no longer resembles humanity, it left you behind eons ago…"

"Gasping for air, never sane…until you CHOOSE to be."

"Yesssssss. Become so insane that you wrap back around to being sane. It's a beautiful moment of clarity amidst the dreadful crawl of eternity…"

The parasite's words echoed in Auris' head until she pinched her arm to bring them to silence.

"No…" She whispered to motivate herself into looking him in the eyes once more and say, "I will hold you to that promise, Sarajin Stratos…"

"I will wait a thousand lifetimes if I must, until the day you…and all our friends…are returned to me."

Sarajin grinned, "And I'll make sure to fill your heart with a thousand times as many good memories when I do."

The temptation returned once more to take what she wanted from his lips.

His romanticized, mature manner of speak was tearing down every last one of her defenses leaving her a murderer born of love in the making.

"DAD!" Screamed their shared scion from the stairs, as he hustled to climb to the top, only to trip and fall onto the ground.

"Z-Zeno…?" Sarajin sputtered, "What's…wrong…?"

Zeno pulled himself up and hurriedly shouted, "Why can't I be the one to succeed you?!"

Finally, the true reason for his earlier reclusiveness came out in full force, and left Sarajin stunned speechless.

"I'm ready! I-I can be a great hero just like you! You don't have to go away…Please…"

Sarajin gently closed his eyes and took a deep breath of relief in, "You've shown a lot of courage lately, son, more than a kid your age should have had to."

"But I didn't choose you because you're not ready. I think you'd do great. However, I want you to become your own hero, and walk away from my shadow."

"If you could do me a favor though? When you meet my successor later down the road, give him some of your courage, and treat him right, ok?"

Zeno flew off the ground towards him with tears in his ears, struggling to reach out, "Dad, no…! I still need you!"

Before he got very far, he fell unconscious to a gentle chop on the neck from behind, courtesy of Darnia.

Zeno fell limp and Darnia picked him up over his shoulder. Without a word, he nodded to his son and daughter in law and returned down the stairs.

Auris gripped her right arm with discomfort, "We're putting too high of expectations in the minds of our friends and family."

"What if there isn't someone who can take your place?"

Sarajin put his faith in her immediately, "If anyone can find them, it's you, Auris."

That gentle push soothed her aching soul and caused her to close her eyes gracefully and focus on what she desired.

Through the weaving flow of many timelines, her gaze pointed towards a single outcome out of infinite possibilities.

The right person was staring straight back at her. They were a little shy, had black hair, but their eyes flashed with humbleness and kindness the likes of which she'd only seen once before.

Her eyes thrust open wet with tears, giving her husband a sincere smile as she laid her hands over her fluttering chest, "T-There is one…"

Sarajin raised his brows with curiosity, "What's their name?"

"Joseph Whiter. He'll be a most worthy candidate. And he'll appear before you in two-thousand years time."

"Two-thousand years? Well, I guess that's a long enough nap, heh heh!" The innocent way he took this news made Auris chuckle in return.

And in turn, made her vulnerable to Sarajin gently placing his lips upon hers.

Her heart became fraught with shock as the Anti-Genesis Theorem flared up on her skin, interrupting the serene warmth he let flow through her blood.

She pushed away and gasped in desperate shock, "D-Don't…what are you doing?!"

Sarajin whispered, "Giving my wife what she's always wanted."

He then pressed his lips against her again and though she wept with a whimper she slowly learned to close her tearful eyes and embrace the moment.

She wrapped her arms around his back and pressed him in closer, killing him softly with her mere skin contact.

His skin melted against her and he never lost courage.

They were too busy enjoying what they never got to have.

Their bodies were hot and passionate.

"I could have asked for anything. But all I wanted…was for this one moment to last forever."

Sarajin would soon pull away, his body deteriorating with violent looking scars melting into his flesh. But he never let his smile succumb, and that hopeful attitude let his body heal the wounds over time.

Auris let herself be silent as the wizard's footsteps marched behind her.

"Are you ready?" He remarked with patience.

Sarajin nodded, his voice choking as he replied, "Y-Yeah…"

Yen Sid thus drew his sword towards Sarajin's heart and fired a single thread of light, gently pushing Sarajin's radiant soul out of his body and towards the orb.

With his last vestiges of strength, Sarajin reached into his pocket and handed Auris the Gaia Temporis.

Then his body fell on its side the moment his soul filled the orb with light.

She fell to her knees and started to laugh and cry with joy, embracing the Gaia Temporis between arms and chest.

"Don't fret, sis! I'll be here keepin' an eye on everyone." Said the youthful voice of her younger sister.

"Two-thousand years will be more than enough time for me to get stronger too! So if that successor flubs it in any way, I'll be able to keep Sarajin's soul safe!"

"Alright, I'm counting on you, Temporis." Auris whispered, tucking the stone into her sleeve for now.

She then rose and faced Yen Sid, who now carried the Light Wellspring in his hand, "There are still a few affairs we need to put in order."

"...Right," Auris solemnly nodded, wiping the tears off her rosy cheeks, "I'll leave that in your care. Let me handle things here."

"Once he was gone, I used my sister's power to freeze this temple in time until it was ready."

"Then I began working on a series of murals and tablets to prepare for the successor."

"I fabricated a legend about a war between the Elemental Overlord and Dark King to stress the urgency of needing a successor to the hero that would find this tablet one day."

"From what I could gather, technology on this planet would advance well enough that said hero would be able to warp directly to the successor's location, so I provided them with coordinates to make it easier."

"I then picked up my husband's hollow body and chose to carry it back with me to be preserved in Sancturia, hoping and praying that someday…He could be brought back to it."

"For as much I mourned his parting, I began the long march of two-thousand years with my head held high. For the future was in good hands."

Auris began to venture out of the newly founded Origin Temple wearing a hooded cloak with her husband's body in a glass coffin on her back.

She then felt a peculiar stir in the air, like time and space being warped.

And from this warp, appeared a boy even younger than her own son…with brown hair, and the unmistakable presence of her husband's soul inside of him.

"Until that exact moment…when you appeared before me."

Next Time: Loyal to a Selfish Heart