Another update is here! Major Memories Town Event spoilers here, but I promise there would be none for the next one! Enjoy!

Rune Factory – Wishes, Dreams, and Memories

Chapter 5 – Memories

The hazel-haired Earthmate let out a yawn as he opened the door into the castle. The entire main room of the castle was dark from the darkness of the night in Selphia. Just as he passed the path leading to the dragon room next door, Lest heard some voices that made him stop on his tracks. Lest took a peek behind a nearby pillar and found some familiar faces within the huge room.

There were four people along with the child ghost standing in the room, gathering around the big platform in the middle of the room. The lanterns in the corners of the room shed some light into the room along with some faint light from the stars in the sky.

"We're prepared for the possible consequences," The tallest of the group, Leon, spoke up before stepping away a bit from the group, "We'll go through it, even if it's not what she wants," Leon turned back to the group and closed his feather fan, "There's a lot I wish to say to her, but I can't tell her if she's not here."

The shortest girl in the group nodded and flashed her usual smile, "I think Venti's gonna be happy to come back here. But if she isn't…" Amber's smile turned into a frown for a bit, but soon returned to her face, "I still think it's only right that she comes back. This is her home after all."

The man with light blue hair looked around at his companions, "For me, I still can't accept the way things are. But I don't have any logical reason behind it or anything," Dylas turned away from the group, "I'm gonna make things the way I can accept."

The ghost turned to her friend, "So what will you do, milady?"

Dolce turned to Pico and paused for a moment before turning away from her ghost best friend, "You know the answer to that question."

Leon nodded and smiled, "Excellent, now let's get down to business," The smile on his face turned into a serious look as he looked at his fellow Guardians, "How can we bring Ventuswill home?"

There was silence in the huge room as the Guardians were thinking through the things they had found separately. Unknown to the five of them, the hazel-haired Earthmate had stepped into the room.

"Can I join in?" Lest's call had surprised the people in the room as they had turned to the direction where he was, "I mean, I want Venti to come home. I have stuff to say to her too," Amber and Pico stepped aside as Lest walked closer towards the big platform, "I want her to come home to this town, to us. I want to believe Venti wanted to stay with us, even when she said she never wanted this."

Leon saw the determination on the Earthmate's eyes and let out a smile before turning away and reopening his fan, "So it seems like we're going to have to find out for certain, one way or another."

Dylas nodded and let out a small smile, "I don't think asking her straight out will get us an answer. She's not like that."

"But she can be awfully easy to read," Amber added.

"True. What she thinks shows on her face quickly," Dolce added with a nod.

"Well, Lest? Will you help us too?" Pico asked the Earthmate, getting a confident nod as the answer.

"Excellent, now let's organize what all of us know," Leon along with the other Guardians turned to Dylas, "How was the gate to the Forest of Beginnings?"

"It's close to Leon Karnak, just like Amber said. The question is, how to open it," Dylas replied.

"We're gonna need the determination to open it," Amber added, "I heard it's something like… proof of being able to change the world."

"We were just going to go talk to Arthur to see what he knows," Dylas continued, "What about you and Barrett?"

"He doesn't know how he made that Homing Ring before," Leon replied before letting out a disappointed sigh, "So right now there's no way, aside from us attempting to make one ourselves, somehow."

Dolce added with a frown, "I'll do what research I can into other ways, but I don't have any leads at the moment," Her frown turned into a serious look, "Though I have heard that there's a spell Earthmates might know for getting to the forest."

The female Guardian's statement caught the attention of the others in the room, "What does that mean?"

"It seems there may be a way to resurrect her body by fusing runes into her new vessel," Pico replied.

"Though that's only a rumor we heard," Dolce added before shaking her head, "It's not certain."

"So that leaves us with two options, the ring or the spell," Leon summed up the whole discussion, "We have no leads for the ring, but what about the spell?"

The group turned to Lest, who noticed the sudden stares, "It's the Omni Gate spell, right?" The name of the spell seemed to be familiar to the Guardians as they had surprised looks on their faces, "If the Homing Ring isn't possible, let's try-"

"No!" Amber cut off Lest's statement angrily, getting the Earthmate's attention, "That would be bad!"

"She's right!" Lest turned to Dolce, who was also looking angrily at him, "You already tried that spell before going to the tower and it failed!"

Lest lowered his head and curled his hands into fists, "I know," Lest looked back up with a determined look on his face, "but that doesn't mean it won't work this time."

"Heck, you got lucky last time, but what if…" Dylas looked at Lest angrily, but his anger slowly faded into sadness, "No… I can't let you do it."

"No, none of us do," Lest turned to Dolce, and then Amber and Pico, who had shown some concerns towards him.

"They're right," The hazel-haired Earthmate turned to Leon, "We can't let anything happen to you. If we did, how are we supposed to face Venti or the other townsfolk?"

"Exactly. Please don't ever think of trying that again," Pico added, making Lest uncurl his fists and let them drop to his sides.

Lest took a deep breath, while his determination hadn't left his eyes, "No, I'm not giving up," Lest looked at the surprised Guardians, "Even if people call me crazy and selfish, I'm still going to do it! I'm going to bring Venti back, no matter what!"

The room went dead silent for a moment, until Dolce's annoyed sigh broke the silence, "Looks like there's no stopping you and your crazy actions."

"Huh?" Lest turned to the female Guardian, whose annoyed look had softened into a smile.

"It's very much like you," Lest's eyes turned to Leon, "If you're going to try it, I guess it's safer to try it with us than doing it somewhere in secret."

It was Pico's turn to let out a sigh but also smiled at him, "What are we going to do with you?"

"Guys…" Lest returned the smile with confidence, which left Dylas and Amber in uncertainty.

"I'm still worried…" Amber's concern was still visible on her face, "I can't stop you if you really wanna do it."

"Hey," Lest turned in response to Dylas' calling, "If… if there's a hint of things going wrong, I'll go and stop you, okay?"

"Okay," Lest nodded confidently in response, washing off the gloomy atmosphere from the room. Lest turned to Leon who was standing across him, "I'm ready."

"Good," Leon closed his feather fan and walked towards Lest's side as Lest walked to the middle of the platform.

The Guardians along with Pico lined up in front of the big platform with their backs facing the door heading to the town square. Lest stood in the middle of the platform, but still had his back turned to the Guardians. The five were looking at Lest while feeling confident, although their worries about anything that might go wrong hadn't faded.

Some fidgety movement caught Dolce's attention before she turned to the shorter female Guardian, "What is it, Amber?"

"Um… I was just wondering…" Amber spoke up, "How Venti must've felt when she, y'know… erased our memories. She must have a lot of things to say, but had to hold them in so she could erase our memories."

Dylas let out a sad sigh, "She did that for us."

Amber nodded in reply, "I know…"

Dolce heard the conversation and let out a sad sigh and held her hands together before noticing a tug on her dress. Pico was holding on to her dress, slightly pulling it as she looked up to her sad friend while trying to make her feel better with a smile. The Guardian didn't say anything, only a small smile in response before she turned her attention back to the Earthmate standing in front of them.

"We'll just have to apologize when she comes home. All of us," Leon added, getting a nod from the other Guardians.

"All right, Lest, if you please!" Pico told Lest, getting a nod in return.

Lest turned to face the Guardians with a determined and confident smile, "Right!"

-First Person POV-

I scan the room, looking at the Guardians standing in front of me. I can see that they believe that I can, so I mustn't fail. I can't let them down. I might not be able to cast this spell and bring Leon back then, but I believe that it'll be different this time. I just know it'll work this time. After all, I've improved a lot more since then and I know a lot about Venti to help me while casting this spell.

I take a deep breath and close my eyes while trying to gather some rune energy. Once I feel ready, I open my eyes and spread my arms out, "Omni Gate!"

A sphere of light formed in front of me and more rune energy started flowing into my body. I can see the sphere of light growing bigger and bigger as more rune energy flow into my body. The whole room started shaking from the overflowing rune energy in the room, but the strong structure of the castle building should be able to hold until I'm done.

As more and more rune energy flow into my body, the sphere of light is getting bigger and bigger. I look at the sphere confidently, knowing that I can still control this much rune energy without failing. I suddenly feel my confidence going away when I notice something wrong. I feel that something isn't right and that kind of feeling is familiar to me.

I feel my body temperature is rising quickly while the rune energy is flowing uncontrollably. The sphere of light grows bigger a lot quicker and the huge amount of rune energy keeps on flowing. The sphere grows until it is bigger that the platform, only to have it shrunk down and disappear completely. The shaking becomes more violent, enough to make the Guardians start worrying.

"Lest!?" I hear Dylas and Dolce calling out my name.

The rune energy within my body becomes more violent, making me slowly lose my consciousness. I can't control it anymore. The sudden rush of energy is still too much for me to handle and I release the rune energy that has gathered, only to have it explode in front of me. I feel my body hitting the floor and my vision going blurry. I see faint red and black blur as I fall, before I finally lose my consciousness.

It is all pitch-black again. Yeah, so I did the spell again and yet failed one more time. Maybe I should've listened to them… But… what about Venti? How are we going to save her now? I… want to see her… I want to spend more days talking and bickering with Venti again… With my first friend, who is one of the Native Dragons…

I see a bright flash, and everything suddenly turns white. I try to look around, but I can't feel anything. No, I can't even see my body… Is this it? The Forest of Beginnings? Is this my time? But I feel like it's not the same forest that I've been before. No, this doesn't even feel like the forest at all.

"Can you hear me?"

Huh? Was that Venti's voice just now?

"… What, you're asleep?"

There's a short pause. Is that you Venti?

"… I guess this is for the best."

The white surrounding fades and I see the view of the dragon room. But the only Guardian I see is Amber and… Venti?

"Amber…" Venti looks down on Amber, who seems to be a little injured and sleeping on the floor. She puts her head down, trying to take a closer look, before she smiles brightly, "It is you, Amber! You still live! Thank the stars!"

Venti goes back to her usual position, but that smile of hers never leaves her face, "Oh, how long has it been, Amber?" Venti lets out a sad sigh, "I remember it all so fondly…"

Venti lowers her head once more, "Come, smile for me like you used to. Smile, smile!" Venti looks at the sleeping Amber expectantly, but quiet snoring is the only response she gets, "Amber…?"

Venti's smile turns into a frown as she lifts her head and her voice turns into a whisper, "I want to see you smile again, but… should you remember me, it would only make you sad. That might lead you to think about wild plans to 'rescue' me again."

Venti shakes her head slowly, pain showing on her face, "I won't have that," Venti spreads out her giant wings, which almost cover the whole room, "So I'll seal away your memories, just your memories of me."

Venti looks up at the sky and closes her eyes, "So please, smile for me, Amber. Brightly. Innocently. Just like you used to. That will be enough for me."

Venti lowers her giant wings and lets out a soft roar, engulfing the room with bright light. Once the light dissipates, Venti has got back to her usual position on the platform and a single tear drops from her face, "… Goodbye, Amber. I will not forget you. I will not forget flying with you across the cloudless skies."

The image of the dragon room fades into white and I hear Venti's voice echoing in my head.

"… I will never forget."

The image of the dragon comes back once more, but with the sleeping Dylas lying in front of Venti. She looks at Dylas and snorts in an annoyed tone, "Well, aren't you sleeping like the proverbial baby?"

Venti gently lowers her right wing and pokes Dylas on the side of his face, "And what an adorable baby face you have, too, for all that you are a grump when you are awake. Are you certain you couldn't do something about that?"

A sad sigh comes out from Venti's mouth, followed by a whisper, "Not that you are the sort who would listen."

"Earthmates and Guardians, you are all such a selfish lot. You insist on going about and doing me favors without telling me. You have no idea, do you? You cannot know what it feels like to be the one left behind," Venti looks at the sky sadly, "You could never understand how heavy that guilt can be."

There's a short pause before Venti has her wings spread out and lowered, "I never knew myself. I had no idea it could be this hard to be left behind without a single word…"

Venti lets out another soft roar, followed by more bright light. Once the light disappears, Venti looks at Dylas sadly, "Goodbye, Dylas. You who call my name," Another tear slides down from her face, "I remember your brusque voice. How could I forget it?"

The scene fades back once more, and I hear more of Venti's thoughts.

"… I would never forget it."

The image of the dragon room fades back with Pico and Dolce in the room. Dolce is lying there on the floor while Pico is clutching to Venti's scales, although she looks a lot weaker than before.

"Is Dolly all right?!" Pico keeps on clutching to Venti, even on her weakened condition.

Hiding all the weakness state of hers, Venti gives Pico a nod, "Of course, but there's one thing I must do."

Turning away from Pico, who has released her hands from Venti, Venti turns to look at Dolce, 'Dolce, there are many things I wish to tell you. But I have been asked to watch over you only, nothing more.'

Venti looks at her in exhaustion, 'Besides… It seems I'm closing in on the last of my strength,' Venti looks up at the sky and spreads her wings, 'So… I'm afraid I…'

Venti lets out a soft, weaker roar, followed by bright light. Pico immediately runs to Dolce's side, frantically searching her for any other signs of injury while Venti watches over the both of them, 'I must say goodbye, Dolce. Be happy, because that is all your parents ever wanted of you. Even should the rest of the world forget, I will always remember.'

Venti looks like she is about to fall from her lack of strength, but she lowers her wings enough to support her massive body, 'So please… Please, Dolce. Be happy.'

Another tear slides down from her face before the whole scene fades back into white.

"Forget me."

The image of the dragon room comes back, with Leon standing in front of Venti.

"It seems the Earthmate stayed behind in order to save my life," Leon tells Venti while fanning himself with his feather fan.

There's a short pause before Venti lets out a sigh, "I see. Now, there are many things I wish to tell you, but they will have to wait."

Leon looks at Venti with a small smile, "You're off to the rescue?"

Venti spreads out her wings, "Of course."

Leon lets out an amused smile, "You are, as always, an amusing god."

"Silence, you," Venti gives Leon a glare for a moment, until her face softens and she lowers her wings, "I am simply fed up, nothing more."

"Oh?" Leon raises one of his brows.

"Yes. I'm sick of everyone leaving me behind to go off on their selfish missions to save me," Venti responds.

There's a short pause before Leon speaks up, "Then hear one thing before you fly off."

"What?" Venti looks at Leon in confusion.

"The Earthmate who saved me told me to tell you this…" Leon replies.

"Thank you for being my friend. It was fun," I feel myself saying the same thing as Leon tells Venti about my message back then.

Venti looks at Leon in surprise, but pain can also be seen from her face as she continues listening in to Leon's comments, "That Earthmate was rather entertaining. Calling Ventuswill, one of the Four Native Dragons, a personal 'friend'."

Venti lets out a soft growl, "That fool…!"

"So is that 'fool' the one you chose for your current priest?" Leon asks, getting an annoyed sigh in response.

"I abolished that irksome position centuries ago," Leon responds with a laugh, "Even had I not, who would choose someone so selfish and headstrong as their priest?"

"Then what is this person to you if not your priest?" Leon asks.

"I would say… much like you, I suppose," Venti replies getting a surprised look on Leon's face, "Like all of you who became my Guardians. You are all simply my friends."

"Venti…" Leon looks speechless as he looks at Venti spreading her wings once more.

"My thanks, Leon. It's only by the efforts of you and the other Guardians that I am alive today. Not only that…" Venti pushes herself up and flaps her wings as she takes off before the scenes fades once more.

"I am no longer alone!"

The scene fades back into white, and back to the dragon room. I see myself standing in front of Venti, who is slowly turning transparent. It's the memory of the day when Venti left all of us.

"Hey, Venti…?" I ask, looking up at my dragon friend, "Don't leave us."

Venti doesn't respond to me.

"Please, Venti. Don't go away."

There's no response as well, but I hear her voice in my head.

"…No."

"It is time we parted," Venti finally replies.

I see that Venti's body is starting to disappear, "Wait! Don't go!" I run in panic and try grabbing her anywhere I can reach, but I can only feel like touching empty air.

"Goodbye, Lest…" More of her body started disappearing until I can't see her anymore.

"Were it my decision, I would not go. But I must."

"VENTI!" I call out into the empty room.

"I was truly happy to have known you. Thanks to you, I could love another human being again… If, one day, our paths may cross once more…" Venti's voice echoes in the room.

"…No… I do not wish to go…"

"Then nothing would please me more than spending everyday bickering and joking with you again… Thank you, Lest… My last, best friend…" I look around the room, still looking around the room for Venti to come back.

"I do not wish to be alone anymore. I do not wish to be left all by myself. I cannot stand it!"

-Third Person POV-

The four Guardians along with Pico and Lest were still in the dragon room. The explosion caused by the rune energy didn't do too much damage, but it was enough to knock Lest unconscious. The hazel-haired Earthmate had his head on Dolce's lap while the others watched over him worriedly until his fingers suddenly started twitching.

"Dolly!" Pico shook her human friend's arm, "Lest is waking up!"

"O-Oh!" As Lest started moving his body around slowly, Dolce helped him sit up next to her, "Are you okay, Lest?"

"Uh…" Lest looked around and saw the worried looks on the Guardians' faces. With the help from Dolce and Dylas, Lest managed to get up on his feet, "Sorry… everyone…"

Lest spaced out for a bit, recollecting the images which had been shown to him when he was out cold. Dylas noticed him spacing out and gave him a pat on the shoulder, "What's wrong?"

"I had a… dream. About Venti," The worried looks turned into surprised looks on the others in the room, "It was when she had to erase all of your memories… and when she was disappearing, herself…"

Lest told the Guardians about the dreams he had about their dragon best friend, and how she never wanted to be alone. It was the answer that they had wanted to find about Venti, the fact that she had never wanted to leave them in the first place.

"It wasn't just me," A single tear slid down from Lest's face, "It… it wasn't just me…!"

"Yeah," More tears fell from Amber's face before she ran over to Lest and hugged him, letting herself cry on Lest's chest.

Dolce turned away from the others, feeling like crying herself, "How stupid can you be? Of course it wasn't just you. Even I…"

"Dolly…" Pico hugged her crying friend, before she wept herself.

The male Guardians watched the gloomy scene, but their pride had kept themselves from crying in front of the others despite how much they wanted to.

Minutes later, the room went silent after some cries and sniffles. Amber let go of Lest before she quietly left the room with some of her tears still remained in the corners of her eyes. Dolce was the next one to leave, with Pico trailing behind her quietly. Dylas and Leon finally left and Lest was the only one left in the room.

He might have failed again, but he knew that they wouldn't just give up after knowing what their lost friend had felt all that time. After a few moments of silence, Lest let out a sigh and left the room, heading towards the town.

EDIT: No updates on tumblr from this chapter until the government decides to unblock it in my country.