Vayne: So, good news. Im all done with college and ive been getting back into Elsword to get my mojo back. Now since I didn't even know about this, I will be updating some of the character classes to their 3rd jobs. Ones that don't have them will be transcended. Thank you!

Elsword: Infinity Sword. (transcend)

Chung: Tactical Trooper. (transcend)

Rena: Night Watcher (transcend)

Raven: Blade Master – Furious Blade

Eve: Code Empress – Code: Esencia

Aisha: Void Princess – Oz Sorcerer

Elesis: Grand Master – Empire Sword

Ara: Yama Raja – Brahman Samraat

Add: Mastermind - Dominator

Lu/Ciel: Noblesse – Innocent

Chapter Eleven: Walk Through the Soul

The hot Bethma sun battered down on wooden bridge and stone floor. The gang walked along, headed for the spirit trail. Their merry band stuck out like a sore thumb among the lizardman tribe and visiting tourists yet they paid it no mind.

"Wonder what this walk denotes…" Add mumbled to himself but Elsword heard him.

"What do you mean Add?" Elsword asked in innocent curiosity. That procced everyone else to notice he had said something.

"Well, as is clear the Lizardmen are a primitive, tribal people. They also have experience with magic." Add's face scrunched up at the word, Aisha rolled her eyes, "So while I doubt they would induce a magical spirit journey to random people, it must be some manner of natural phenomena."

"You mean like drugging?" Rena asked.

"Yes. Humans aren't the sole beings to use plants for a high. One example is horned sheep to the far north."

"Oh I read about those guys." Aisha piped up, "They scrape off a breed of moss and eat it to get high. Sometimes they get mad though and hurt unlucky hikers."

"Indeed. But some flora can induce this through scent." Add continued to rub his chin, "I had no knowledge of a plant species like that in these wastes however…I must remember to take a sample."

"But…wouldn't the tribe get mad for taking the flowers?" Elsword asked, they did seem important. Add just smiled.

"Not like that Elsword. My drones can copy the biology of the flower for me to replicate in my lab. It's about as harmful to the plant as a soft breeze is."

"Well as long as you don't steal any." Lu said.

"Ah, that must be it up ahead." Raven drew the groups attention forward, to a pair of shamans sitting outside a cave entrance. The male sat smoking from an engraved pipe, a silk kilt and necklace woven from bird feather. The female, possibly his wife, stood over him watching for visitors. She noticed them once they changed their path slightly to head straight towards them.

"Hi! We're here to see the spirit trail?" Chung greeted.

"Ah, wonderful!" She said.

"Don't forget." The male said between puffs. She glared at him as he chuckled.

"As I was about to say." He nudged him with her foot, "You will enter the trail in groups of two. Preferably those in a…romantic relationship."

"Well, guess we'll go first." Rena smiled, wrapping an arm around Raven's.

"Wonderful. There is a waiting period of five minutes between entrances. No real guidelines, simply follow the lights and don't take anything from the cavern."

"Will do." Raven replied, and headed in with his partner. As the minutes ticked by the others worked out who would go with who; Elsword sat quietly to the side. Next Lu and Ciel, followed by Eve and Aisha, and Add went in by himself after explaining he had no significant other.

"Elsword?" Her head shot up from her knees, having dozed off. Chung stood behind her, a hand on her shoulder, "Didn't you want to go on the trail?"

"O-Oh! R-Right." She blushed as Chung helped her up.

"Go on, the guide says we should go last for some reason."

"No I'm saying it's not a good idea to go." She said, clearly trying to explain something. Chung took Elsword's hand and led her to the cave. He smiled. Her heard began to thump.

"Enjoy the walk." The female shaman smiled before turning back to the hot headed warrior.

"Thank you." She said softly as she walked with Chung into the dark cave. After a few beats they saw light up ahead. Elsword also saw she had latched onto Chung's arm in the dark and meekly looked up at his face. He looked onward as if nothing was wrong, so Elsword kept his arm in hers.

"Got cooler all of a sudden." Chung said, making small talk.

"D-Did it?" Elsword looked around at the glowing rocks lining the walls. Her face felt like she had just sat in a boiling bath.

"A little." The prince laughed a bit. The rocks were arranged in some places and natural in others.

"Hey, what's that?" Elsword pointed to the wall where the crystals had been arranged to form a picture of a lizardman holding two stones, one focused with orange shards, the other with a dark green that was near black. They walked over.

"Hey, there's an inscription." Chung looked down, "Hah, good thing I read some of Aisha's foreign language books."

"What does it say?" Elsword asked, slowly and unwillingly letting him go. She placed a hand on her heart. Why am I feeling so woosy?

"Hmm…seems an older dialect. Let's see…" Chung ran his finger across the words, mouthing to himself. After he was finished he stood up and backed up, "From what I can put together, it looks like part of a story. The first lizardman shaman who found two powerful El shards, and 'From his teachings all shamans learn.'"

"So…the first lizardman?" Elsword asked.

"Something like that. Let's keep on going, maybe there's more of the story."

"Okay." Elsword stepped after him, "Um…c-could I hold your arm?"

"Huh? Sure." Chung seemed a bit confused, but since she did lose her memory perhaps being in a gloomy cave was a bit scary. She held his arm again and they walked onward. Hardly a minute passed before another picture appeared, each of the crystals portrayed before, but the green one surrounded by an even darker set like an aura. Chung leaned down with Elsword still clutching to him, "From one came life, warmth, and passion. From the other, came forbidden practice, death, and despair." Chung looked up with a look of calm realization.

"Chung?"

"Oh, sorry, you don't remember. When you guys first came to Bethma you had to help the residents with a nasty Shaman called Kayak. He was raising the dead, and was going to resurrect a dragon but you guys stopped him. I'm thinking his magic was developed from this bad El Shard it mentions."

"Oh, I'm glad he was stopped."

"Me too. Though not as much as when you guys' saved my life." They started off.

"We did?"

"Yeah, my home, Hamel, was besieged by demons. They even managed to overpower my father, who taught me to fight, and turned him to their side." Chung paused as Elsword gasped, "No no, he's fine now. But I had to fight him when it all began. Obviously he was better than me and I was badly wounded. I escaped, and ran into you and the others. You took me in and got me out of hamel, leaving it to the Red Knights. Elesis is their captain, did you know that?"

"No, I didn't."

"Hah, well she did technically resign but they all still see her as their true commander. Anyways, after you helped me get stronger alongside you we went back to Hamel and stopped the invasion and free my father from the demon's grasp. Demons swarmed the chamber and he leapt into battle without fear so we could escape. I wanted to stay, but he told me I had to get stronger."

"He sounds like an incredible man…" She said.

"Yeah, he fought them all off single handed and is alive and well ruling with my mother, Queen Delilah. Oh, and if they ever ask us to come visit they prefer we speak on a first name basis."

"Okay." Elsword saw another picture, "Hey another one."

"Okay…" Chung leaned down to read as Elsword looked at the creation. It showed the first Lizardman shaman throwing the corrupt shard into a prism of many colors. Chung stood up, "This one's pretty clear. 'Unwilling to share this foul creation, the great shaman cast it unto a prison of the elements, locking it away forever.'"

"But…Kayak found it didn't he? Was it destroyed?"

"Well, I'm sure the colors are just symbolic, and he did have crystals embedded in his staff when you guys stopped him. So, I'm pretty sure it was either destroyed or given to Cha-Cha-Buch for safekeeping. He helped you guys track down Kayak."

"Ah, well, hopefully nothing happens."

"Yeah. Let's go." Chung felt it wasn't needed to move on to grim topics. They continued and exited the cave. But it seemed the walk wasn't over yet. They stood in an oasis, pure white flowers coating the ground.

"Wow…" Elsword walked forward, "It's so pretty…"

"Yeah, must be nearing the end I guess." Chung looked back as Elsword was leaning against a tree suddenly, "Elsword?! Are you okay?!" He ran over.

"Y-Yeah…" she breathed, "Just…a bit…sleepy…" Her eyes began to close, and she suddenly fell asleep.

"H-Hey!" Chung blushed as she fell into him. With nothing else to do he sat down, resting her head on his lap as he didn't want to wake her up. If it went for too long he'd call Eve. There wasn't any reception but everyone had a special device, mainly to call Ophelia or Oberon for help with things but could call Eve in an emergency. He sighed, "Nothing to do but wait for her to wake up."

"Where am i?" Elsword awoke to the pouring rain. Thunder crackled in the sky as she got to her feet, coat soaking with rain.

"Teeheehee~." She head a laugh and looked up to see a whisk of hair around the corner.

"Hey! Wait!" She called out and gave chase. Sprinting through the alley she felt she was getting closer but every time she turned a corner she saw a leg run past the next. She ran for minutes, her lungs burning, legs aching, and finally came to a dead end, "Damn it, where'd they go?"

"Don't you know?" She spun around to see a young girl standing there in nothing but a small white dress, head bend down.

"Know what?" Elsword walked closer.

"Don't you know?" As the garbed woman reached her the girl looked up, sending a chill down Elsword's spine as she looked herself dead in the eyes. Rain, no, tears trickled down her cheeks, "You already know. So why don't you know?" From her feet up, she began to disappear.

"Wait!" She tried to grab her but touched nothing. She was frantic as her young self slowly vanished, "What do I need to know?!"

"You already know…" She said again, "Why don't you know…?"

She vanished, and all was darkness.