Author's note: Sorry for not being able to update steadily, have a lot of school stuff… anyway I'm going to end this fanfic in Chapter 12 and convert it into a book and hopefully get a publisher. Hope you guys are doing fine. And once again, I do not own the game, I only own some characters of this fanfic. Stay tuned for chapter 7 hopefully I'll make up for the late updates. Teehee~

-Tristi

Barren Cross Ch. 6
Into Another World

Shortly after we arrived at the castle basement, Geraint and Argenta came in. I gave the prophet to Sun and helped Geraint walk up to the center of the basement. He instructed me to bring the prophet to the center then he plunged his sword to the ground. The sword emitted a ray of light as well as the presence of a strong barrier surrounding us like the one which the Black dragon had made. In other words, Geraint made the basement into his own nest.

Geraint sat down and told me to lean into him as he whispered to my ears saying, "You have already seen what we do. Now you have the freedom to choose whether to help us secure the peace of this world from dragons, or to go out in the world and seek your own calling from God. Now is the time to choose my friend." I didn't know what to do, I felt like he was saying goodbye so I asked him what he would do. His reply to my question never left my heart, "If I were to be you my friend, I would go and find my own path. Not a path laid out for me." He then smiled at me and said "it looks like you have already made your choice. I will miss the times we spent together, but before you go I want you to have this." He gave me a scroll, "when my time has come, Argenta will come for this. Keep it safe. Now go." I held his hand one last time and left as Shian and the others walked in. I wept.

I tucked the scroll in my coat as we arrived at the beach. Jay and Xam were waiting by a hut. They waved at us as soon as they saw us coming; I tried to fake a smile but failed as I waved back. Jay was the most playful paladin I have ever met. He grabbed a ball and threw it to me with all of his might, and I got hit. I sat by the hut blocking the sun from my face while the others play around in the water.

Yuni sat beside me, shoulder to shoulder. I buried my face in my arms as I hugged my legs. She gave me a hug and stroked my head. "If you need a shoulder to cry on, I'm here." The thought of my friend nearing his end, blind, and the words spoken to me broke me into tears. Not long after, Sun and the others noticed me and Yuni from shore. They came at me with questions like "are you okay?" "Is something wrong?" "Do you need anything?" they were so humble and nice to me. They did everything they could in their ability to stop me from weeping. Then finally they succeeded by making me laugh so hard inside that I felt a smile crack on my face. "That's the only time I've seen you smile since yesterday." Yuni told me as she smiled at me. I shook my head, wiped my tears away, and gave out a smile that was difficult to produce.

By the end of the day, Jay's skin was bright red. Every time we touched him, he would let out a loud scream indicating his pain. We all teased him from time to time by pushing each other toward him until all of us had to go our separate ways. Such joy and time, definitely I would not forget these. I walked Yuni home first then accompanied sun to hers, but Sun had other plans. Sun wanted to go have a drink so I complied with her wish. Within an hour, she got herself drunk. I carried her to her home on my back with the smell of alcohol, sea water, and blood covering her. But there was one more scent that she held. The fragrance of lilies and freesias could be smelled from her. I turned around to catch her from almost falling; she fell asleep. I then carried her on my arms the rest of the way. And when we arrived at her home, an elf boy with the same skin tone as sun was inside her home. "What are you doing with my sister?" the boy asked. I told him what happened and lead me to her room where I laid her down on her bed. She whispered two words that upset me a little. "Dragon Cultists" she whispered.

I arrived at home with lady Lena, Irene, Tracy, Yuni, and Nunnally sitting down at the dining table while Mother was preparing supper. "Irene?" I asked to confirm her identity and it was her. She turned around and asked me these exact words. "Do I know you?" I was shocked at her response since I had just met her a week ago. Did I really change that much because of the seal? "Oh, Yahiro! Nice of you to join us. I love what you did to your hair, did it grow longer?" Lady Lena asked me so I took a look at the mirror. I took a lock of my hair and examined it. My hair was long, parts of it were would show lines of red, and my eyes stayed blood red. "T-that's Y-Yahiro?" Irene asked nervously as she stood up shaking. Yuni dragged me and put her arm around my neck while she took her other hand and messed up my hair. "Yup! This is Yahiro alright!" the same Yahiro that broke something of sentimental value to her.

There was an uncomfortable vibe for me when we sat down and ate. The thought of not being able to replace an item of such price for Irene intimidated me. "You can look through her memories and find out how she got her mirror and replace it." Tristitia whispered to me. I asked him how I could do it and he showed me through his memories. In order for me to look through someone's memories, a physical contact was necessary through our foreheads.

After supper I asked Irene if she could walk with me for a while, fortunately she accepted. As I looked into her memories, I found a lot of fascinating facts that I never thought she was connected with. Irene was an orphan. And when she was adopted by her mother, she grew to be a well-mannered and delightful girl which everyone admired. Her mother was a cultural coordinator, and she followed her footsteps. As looked deeper and deeper into her memories, I ran into the time when she was orphaned. Irene's house came on fire, and she was the only one who survived. Her foster mother rescued her and found her holding on to a mirror, the same mirror that I swiped from her hands and shattered.

After I had stopped peeking into her memories, I slowly separated my forehead from hers. Instead of being flustered, Irene looked me in the eyes with a worried look. She took a handkerchief from one of her pockets and wiped something on my face; tears. "Why are you crying?" She asked me, yet the only reply I could muster was shaking my head. I was saddened. I saddened by her history of pain, loss, sorrow. She's seen and experienced it all and it was still etched in her mind. Now she follows her stepmother's footsteps and took her place as the cultural coordinator.

As we walked back home, she tried to cheer me up by telling me funny stories about herself. It wasn't easy to make me smile now that I have changed, yet this girl was able to do it without struggle. Something was special about her but I couldn't point my finger on it.
"Did Tracy tell you?" she asked me.
"Tell me what?" I asked.
"She's going to be working with me beginning tomorrow." She replied with a smile.
"What do you mean by working with you?
"She wanted to work to help your mother for your finances, so Lady Lena introduced her to the Cultural Department in the Royal Court. So she got the job as a cultural coordinator's assistant."
"So that means she'll—"
"Correct! She'll be working as my assistant!"

She seemed so happy about it that it put a smile to my face. As soon as we reached town square, she began to hum a very familiar tune which had a happy yet sorrowful sound. I thought hard about it and looked through my memories to find the tune, but I couldn't find it. Whatever it was, it soothed my mind and calmed my soul.

The next morning, I woke up and found myself on the floor. Since Nunnally volunteered to give her bed up to make a room for Tracy to stay in, she'd been sleeping on my bed. Today started off cutesy when I found Nunnally and asleep with Sorrow in her arms as well. I came downstairs and found Yuni's bags packed. Since her training was far from complete, she was ordered to go to Lotus Marsh to finish it. After such a short reunion, we go on our separate paths once again. Just before she left, Yuni tied a charm on my left wrist with characters or another language inscribed on it. The letters seemed so familiar yet I don't remember what it meant. "It's an oriental language so mother may be able to translate it. I already know what it means so I won't tell you until we meet again." Yuni told me. She gave me a peck on my cheek and went on her way.

Not understanding what all of these meant, I went to mother immediately to have it translated. I asked her what it meant but all she did in reply was turn her back on me. "Since you two aren't related by blood by any means, I might approve of this." She whispered with a smirk on her face. I was still confused and curious about what it meant so I tried asking Tristitia about it. "I've been to the orient but I never learned their writing." That was his reply. I let out a sigh in failure of unveiling a message left for me.

Today was a normal day for me. Helping mother with the household, playing with Nunnally and Sorrow, and trying out the recipes I found in Tristitia's memories. I was actually having fun. Besides the fact that I was annoyed by how unfamiliar I look with my hair so I had mother and Nunnally help me fix it. "Aw, but long hair suits you perfectly brother." Nunnally explained to me, but nonetheless I wanted it fixed at the least. After two minutes of struggling, I finally gave up and let them do as they pleased with my hair. I do have to admit, I enjoyed it. After three whole ours of playing with my hair, Nunnally and mother decided that I looked my best in a way nobles tie their long hair and called it a "pony tail."

By the time evening came, Tracy came home and packed he bags. I asked her why she packed her bags then she suddenly jumped on me. "The royal court is having me stay on quarters with Irene, that way I won't have to bother you anymore." She said with an empty smile. She was sad of leaving us, this home, and this family. We had our last family supper before she left. Even if she only stayed here for a few days, I cannot deny the fact that we will miss her despite her past circumstances.

The next day, I went to the guild with Nunnally by my side. "Hey Blaze! JM wants to talk to you." One of the guild members told me. We then quickly made our way to JM's office, worried of what he had to say. The tension in my spine had been rising. He had us sit down in front of his desk. "Well if isn't 'Nanapoo!' how come you brought her here Blaze?" he asked me.

"Well, she wanted to come along with me today so I couldn't refuse. After all, she is my sister." I answered to him then he panicked.

"Wait! Does that mean… our precious Kyouko has lain with another man besides our charming Tristan!?" he exclaimed from the top of his lungs.

I placed my hand on my face because of how stupid his theory was, so I explained how Nunnally became my sister. Thankfully he calmed down.

"Back to business. There's been a personal request for you Blaze. It's from a priestess of darkness named Madeline. Your assistance is required in another realm." He proclaimed while he looked me in the eyes with all seriousness, "I've only seen you in action once, so I'm guessing you were still holding back in our little skirmish that night. Go and speak of this to no one."

With that I went home and got Lilith and a bag full of gems, food and clothing. A new journey and a new calamity is nigh.

No matter how many times I've tried to tell Nunnally to stay behind, she wouldn't listen. I'd hate to use my memory erasing ability on her so I just decided that I'm going to have to protect her. As we approached the portal to enter the garden of eternity, we were halted by a friend from the Divine Order. Brother Elijah, our guardian in Kaleon. He was surprised when he realized that it was me. He greeted me as he would greet brothers of the faith greet each other. We exchange greetings and have chatted. He told me bad news in our absence from Kaleon. After Yuni and I departed from the town, the bishop signed a decree of expulsion for me and Yuni, claiming that Yuni and I were Astral Coven spies. Soon after signing the papers, he left the town. Coincidentally, dragon cultists invaded Kaleon and reduced the town in to dust and ashes. Thankfully the town was evacuated. I was saddened from hearing the series of events. After our short reunion, we went ahead to the garden of eternity where I am to meet with priestess Madeline.

The priestess of darkness welcomed us as soon as we entered the garden. She introduced us to another priestess named Maya, who can transform into a dimensional doorman. Something was wrong with the dimensional portal in the garden of eternity. Humans were exiting out of the portal into our world. After they have crossed, a giant hand also came out of the dimension portal and grabbed the humans back into that dimension they were in. They spoke in a language we couldn't understand so they thought of calling a dragon to go in and try to fix the problem. Maya was to be our guide to and from dimensions. However when we have entered the dimension, we arrived at a different one. We were in a place where there were tall buildings made of rock and glass, and metallic carriages that moves without a horse or something to pull it with. People in weird attire and some revealing too much skin. Some of them were looking at a piece of stone as they walked around. A very complicated world they call… Earth.

Maya had never been to this dimension. So I took someone and read their memories. And according to what I have seen, we're in a country called America in a city called New Orleans. 26th of November, year two thousand and forty-seven. They spoke a language called English, it took me a while to grasp the concept of the language but I managed to learn it in a time span of twenty minutes. After I released the man from my grasp, he simply walked away like nothing ever happened. Tristitia informed me that I could give other people the knowledge I obtained using the same method as I read memories. He told me that I could also come up with different ways I can do the deed. Earth used the same date and time scale that we use in Altera so I easily identified what time it was. I asked Maya what we were looking for and her answer only raised questions for me. We're looking for a "lustre."

According to Maya, the lustre we're looking for was somewhat close in our vicinity. We walked around to look for it and even asked around if they're seen a lustre around. All of them responded with questions such as "are you crazy?" "What's a lustre?" "Are you a cosplayer?" questions that roused others' suspicion especially when they saw Lilith. Then all of a sudden, Nunnally decided to cross the road so I went after her. Within that split second that I caught up to her she almost got killed. A black car was coming right at her on the road. I caught her just at the right time. I shielded her as we got hit and rolled over the vehicle. Thankfully she was unharmed. I wiped the dust away from her silver hair then she cried. The priestess ran to us to see if we were alright and so did the driver. But to our surprise, the driver looked like me in every way except for our hair and attire. "Are you alright?" he asked as he panicked and took his phone out and dialed the numbers nine one one. He saw my head was bleeding and some of the people just stood there as the guy panicked. I stood up and helped Nunnally then wiped the dust off our clothing. The guy stood there surprised of our quick recovery. He told us to "take it easy" even if I insisted that we were fine. But I made a mistake. I told him all these things in our language so he didn't understand. He tried to reach for Nunnally so a reflex I had Lilith by his throat. I needed to take precaution with these people and not trust anyone so easily because for all I know, they might have been savages. "We're not savages." He told me. That caught my attention; I lowered Lilith and asked for his name. He called himself Tris.

When the ambulance arrived the paramedics quickly examined me and Nunnally as the police officers questioned Tris what happened. The paramedics were surprised that I survived that crash with just a scratch on my head; normally these people would die just by getting hit by one of these vehicles. They had these instruments to hear our hearts and checked me and my sister's for they could hear a humming sound inside of me and Nunnally besides our hearts. Nunnally's case was different. They didn't find a heartbeat in her, just the humming sound. The paramedics asked us for identification and our social security number but the only thing I could answer was our names. They immediately classified us as "illegal aliens." The police put two silver rings around my wrists tied together. They pulled me to a white and black vehicle, but when they tried to harm my sister, I was angered. I broke the two silver rings and kicked the officer to a wall. The other officer pulled out a yellow piece of plastic that spat out rope and attached to my clothing. The rope emitted electricity and shocked me so I pulled the ropes off of my clothes and cut it with Lilith. The people were in chaos, running away from the scene as far as possible. The two officers recovered and pointed guns at me. I emitted an aura around me and my sister. A shot was fired.

The paramedics drove away as fast as they could away. The bullet hit Maya who came between me and the officer who shot the gun. I sent an electric shock to both officers in the scene and knocked them out. I ran to Maya quickly and casted a healing spell on her wound, thankfully it didn't hit anything crucial. Tris walked closer to us so I pointed Lilith at him. "Do you plan on harming us too? Is this the way this world works? Are you o—"

"No." he replied and didn't let me finish, "I'm here to help, because I also need your help with things you seem to understand that I don't" he told me.

I doubted him; I wasn't sure what to do. So I cooperated with him and looked through his memories. And now, the doubts have been lifted. I erased the police officers' memories of the incident and went with Tris to his dwelling.

There was no way we could return to Altera for the meantime for Maya still laid out cold. Tris had me lay Maya on an empty bed. There was something odd about him. Something like the way I felt when I was with Argenta and Geraint, only a bit stronger. Just when I was about to ask him a question he already gave me an answer. Every other question that popped up in my head he answered in an instant. I came to the conclusion that she could read minds, and to my surprise I was right. We had a conversation in our thoughts alone, and it surprised me that he managed to draw out Tristitia as well. He's read every single detail of my life. I felt violated. I asked him how he does it but the answer I received was something I had not anticipated. He was explicitly different from other people. His friends avoided him, his parents feared him because of his ability so he was casted away and orphaned. He had the ability to read minds and manipulate them as well as produce fire with his hands. Soon after he was orphaned, he was adopted by "Christians." Only they accepted him into their family. From then on he lived his life constantly in a normal manner, trying to control his abilities. Now he has a little sister and has mastered his power with the best of his abilities. But now something new is troubling him. A new power.

I became very astonished of his problem. He was able to produce a very accurate copy of me. From the voice, eyes, stance, basically he was able to make a twin for me. However the imperfection was that he doesn't know how to control the ability itself, nor does the person he mad has any emotions. In time the copy dropped dead and faded into shimmering lights that he absorbs back into his body. I've never seen an ability like his before, even with the sorceresses in Saint's Haven. He made us tea for the meanwhile.

His father was a battlefield corpsman for the U.S. Navy overseas, while his mother was on a business trip in the west coast. I envied him for his father was still alive, but in some circumstances he and I were the same. We suddenly heard a thud from one of the rooms, so Tris and I rushed to that room. When I arrived at the room of which the sound came from, I found another source of his sorrow and burdens. His sister fell on the floor from her bed as she tried to reach for one of her stuffed animals on a shelf, she was crippled. She's been crippled since birth. The poor child never got to experience the joy of running around the streets nor get to walk on the sandy beach. "Heal her and remove the binds from her legs." Tristitia whispered to me so I tried it out. Tris laid his sister on her bed then I casted sacred healing on her legs. Instead of the healing being concentrated on Tris' sister, the spell spread through the whole household. Tris' sister smiled at me and told me that it was alright, that I tried my best. Tris was about to leave the room when she requested for me to help her stand. He quickly turned around and tears rolled down his eyes as she told him "Look brother! I'm standing!"

Joy filled the room as Tris' sister learned how to stand. He held his sister in his arms saying her name [Lizzy] and thanked God. I wanted to leave them in solitude for this moment but I felt a slight tug on my coat sleeve, it was his sister. She thanked me for what I have done, so I smiled at her and gave God the glory. By the next day, she began to learn how to walk. With Maya still asleep, we were still stuck in this dimension. But it didn't seem so bad. Nunnally and Lizzy were having a good time together. They spent most of their time sitting in front of a contraption called a computer, watching moving art they call anime. I was beginning to wonder if this world is more advanced than Altera or not. I told Tris I wanted to explore this world and see it for myself, but he told me that it was dangerous especially with me wearing attire from the "fifteenth century." Alas! This world is more advanced than ours.

Tomorrow, Tris is taking his sister to the doctors then pick us up with his car to buy us clothing of our own. For the meantime, we sat here idly as we waited for Maya to wake. Then a reminder hit me from yesterday's events. They checked our hearts and found a heartbeat in everyone with the exception of a humming noise on mine. However, they didn't find a heart beat in Nunnally, only a humming sound. How come they heard the same humming sound in mine while they heard a heartbeat? Is Nunnally not human? Does she have a lustre inside of her? Wait, did they check if it worked the same with everyone in the scene? I asked myself. I looked into my memories and the answer was no. The paramedics only took a look in mine, Nunnally's, Maya's, and themselves. But they didn't check Tris. He is my alternate self in a sense, so does that mean that he has the lustre we're looking for is in him? Does that mean that I have to kill him to get the lustre? He's been so nice. I don't want to have to kill him. No. I don't have to kill him, because it won't be him. I thought to myself. I was right in a sense. But in all candors, the truth was worse than anyone would anticipate.

Maya had finally awakened. However, her power was still at bay so we still could not return to Altera. I sighed. The next day came and I assisted Tris and Lizzy in getting to the hospital in order to see if there's anything else wrong with her legs. The doctor who was taking care of Lizzy was surprised to see her walking. She didn't even believe that it was Lizzy that was the one she was looking at. When he asked us how it was so, we told him that it was a miracle from God. She scoffed at us for telling her that. I was enraged by the remarks she gave against God. I wanted to kill her but God forbid. she asked us again how we got her to walk again, and so I had Tris close the door. I asked Tris if anybody else knew about his sister's condition and he said no. I then showed the doctor that I wasn't human. I even had to burst out my wings in order to prove it to her. Seeing what I am right now, I couldn't believe that I was once human. I had her silenced about what she witnessed in the room that we were in. I also told her to find a church and repent of all the wrongs she has done and said. Surprisingly she did. We went back home to pick up Maya and Nunnally to get some appropriate clothing in this world. Maya then transformed into her rabbit form and told us not to get her anything for she can simply put up this disguise. She looked like a stuffed animal and she was treated so by Nunnally and Lizzy. In the end, Tris bought all of the clothing that we got. While we skimmed through the clothing stores, I noticed a black denim vest with a detachable hood for sale. I was looking at it intently, asking myself if I should buy it. I wanted it but then Tris would be the one ending up paying. Reading my mind, Tris got the vest and bought it for me.

After a whole day of shopping, we finally got to wear the clothes of this world. I still didn't comprehend why Tris insisted on buying us formal wear. I wanted to repay Tris for his benevolence. He read my mind again and told me that I didn't need to repay him. Even though he refused, I stole the receipt from him and found a big number on it. "$1600!?" I looked in my bag for some kind of money but all I had was eighty pieces of gold coins and six exquisite diamonds. "How much is a diamond worth in this world?" I asked him.

"YOU HAVE A DIAMOND!?" he asked me.

"Yes. Six in fact."

"We're going to a professional!" he exclaimed.

He dragged us back to his car and drove us to a pawn shop. He had the shop owners confirm if what I had was indeed a diamond. A few moments later, the shop employees were rushing to phones. They started to call in other professionals to come in and see if the diamond was legitimate. By the time they arrived and checked it, a museum owner came in and wanted to buy the diamond for two full briefcases of money. It's amazing how fast these people can communicate. By the end of the deal, we came back to Tris' home with two billion dollars. I couldn't believe that they would pay that much for a simple piece of stone. Back in Altera one piece of diamond only cost eighty-six pieces of silver coins.

The first thing Tris did once we have returned to his dwelling was call his mother and informed her of what had happened to day. Not only that, but he also told her about Nunnally, Maya and I. He had so much joy on his face that I envied him. His father was on his way home to retire from being in the military. I yearned for my father. Finally I had my focus back to some questions as to why the paramedics didn't hear Nunnally's heart. I thought that Maya might have known something being a priestess of darkness and all, so I asked her if she could confirm if my sister was indeed human. I needed to know but I ended up regretting asking her. "You're so called sibling is not human… but she's no dragon either." Maya told me something more surprising about her, because it turned out Nunnally was going to become a special part of my life. I didn't want to confront Nunnally of this directly, so I began asking her simple questions and started a small talk. I planned out every single conversation route I could take to get to know how she was taken in by mother. Everything went smoothly until I asked her the main question I had in mind. "So how did mother take you in?" I asked her. She was more mature than I thought. I knew this for she carried a pained expression when I suddenly asked her. It was a sensitive matter and I pried into it. "I… don't remember… my very first memory of mother was my head lying on her lap while soaked in blood… other than that… I…" she tried to explain. A tear rolled down her cheek. Sadness occupied her eyes. Feeling guilty, I wiped her tears away and had her cry on my shoulder. "Say… can I cry on your shoulder whenever I need to?" she asked me as she cried continuously. I told her that I would always be here if she needed a shoulder to cry on. Then I looked in her memories.

Who am I? Where am I? I'm covered in something red, it stinks. I opened my eyes and saw a beautiful woman. My head was lying down on her lap. Water is coming out of my eyes and I can't stop it. The woman smiled at me and wiped away the water. She was kind and gentle with me. She took me to her home through the rocks, rubble, and a lot more red stuff underneath the debris, on the walls and this woman's armor and garments.

She washed me, gave me cloths, fed me, and gave me belonging and safety just like a mother would. Who is my mother? Do I have a mother? Is this woman my mother? Who is this woman? The more I thought about it the more I became uneasy. She had me sleep with her in her room even though there were more rooms than hers. In the middle of the night, she went out of bed and took a shirt from a wardrobe. It was her husband's. She then fell on her knees and mourned. Soft, weary cries came from her. So I went out of bed and gave her a comforting hug, trying to stop her from crying anymore. She told me I was somehow stronger than she was in emotional terms. She turned her frown into a smile. I couldn't wait any longer. "Do you know who I am?" I asked her, "Do you know who my mother is? Why are you treating me like your own child? Are you my mother?" I asked her all these questions. She had a surprised look on her face and asked me if I remember anything from my past, and I said no. She smiled at me and then patted my head and said "from now on, your name is Nunnally. You're now my daughter and I will love you as my own Nunnally." When we got back to bed, she sung a lullaby in a different language that I couldn't understand. But… it was still soothing.

More and more each day, I slowly became her daughter. One day she took me to a café and found me friends. Though the friends she found me were quite older than me. And when she noticed, she introduced me to a girl who was four years older than I was. Or so the woman told me. Her name was Kelly. She was very nice. And even at her age, she was still clumsy and playful. When the woman took us back home, a sorceress by the name Stella came to visit. The woman and the sorceress were having a conversation about the events a few days ago; the siege.

"I can't believe how fast you've recovered." The sorceress told her.

"Well… the pain and sorrow still lingers in my heart. The loss of my husband and the fact that I may not be able to see my children ever again pains me. However, I found someone to fill that emptiness in my heart." The woman replied then looked at me with eyes mixed with sorrow and joy.

"You adopted a new daughter?" The sorceress asked then let out a sigh, "well I can't blame you for your decisions. After all, you can't resist a cute face like that now can you?"

The sorceress knelt down to my height and pinched my cheeks hysterically. I tried to reach out to the woman. "M-mother!" I accidentally called her, but it seemed so natural. "P-pwease hewp mwee." I saw a joyful surprised look on the woman's face, and then she took me away from Stella. Both of them laughed as to how I ran behind her and hid from the sorceress, I hid my face in embarrassment. After the sorceress left, the woman explained how she had two other children besides me. For the rest of that night and to this day, I began to acknowledge her as my mother.

I didn't quite understand why Nunnally's memories didn't go further. Normally when I look into someone's memories I could go at any given time in their memory, even to the day they were born. Even with that kind of memory, I felt Nunnally's despair and emptiness that she felt back then; poor child. She cried herself to sleep on my arms. It was evening already so I had Maya sleep with her while I slept on the couch.

I had a dream… no, a trip inside Tristitia's memories. It was raining that day, the day they took the green dragon down. The previous green dragon was strong and valiant. And even though he was a child of the Tempest dragon and Tristitia's enemy, he treated Tristitia as a good friend. He knew Tristitia would one day have to kill him, but he showed no care. Tristitia was the only friend that he had. So when the day came when Geraint and Argenta came to seal his lustre, he asked Tristitia for one last request. "Forget me…" I asked Tristitia why they had to seal the lustre and why he couldn't just give the lustre up so they would leave him alone.

"Well my friend… in order for a dragon to live, it needs its lustre. In other words, a lustre is its source of life or a heart to humans."

"But wouldn't that mean that you-"

"Yes… in order to take his lustre, we would have to kill him."

I continued through his memory of the green dragon. In the end, Tristitia was the one to kill him. He had a chain pierce through the green dragon in its human form. Right before it died, Tristitia caught him in his arms and whispered his final words. "I'm glad… I got to know you…" then it faded into a bright light and produced its lustre. Tristitia gave the lustre to Geraint and told him to give it a proper sealing.

I had no idea he had a painful past other than being betrayed by his loved one. Now I understand why he was called the dragon of sorrows. Normal people would break into tears even mourn for a friend dying in your arms, but he took it and showed nmo remorse on his face. Just tears of blood slowly running down from his eyes. I felt pity for him, but at the same time I admired him. The first thing I did when I woke up was get dressed for our rendezvous with Tristi's mother at the airport. I looked like a butler for crying out loud. When I came out of the room, I went to go look for Tristi. I heard the television on so I went to the living room. He was watching the news where it reported and airline crash on a desert near Nevada. I sensed a lot of despair in the room. I then ran to Tris and shook his shoulders. I told him to get a hold of himself as he was crying. His mother was on the same flight as that airline and it showed that no one in that plane survived and the cause of the crash was unknown. I turned the television off and told him to calm down. In all honesty, I also needed to calm down.

I felt sorry for him that I let him cry on my shoulder. He kept on saying that he wanted to die, so I slapped him and gave him some sense. I lectured him about what could happen to his whole family if he died as well. And the one thing that got him to understand was if he was to die, his sister would be all alone and sad as well. He cried even more, I felt like I've been in this situation before. I took his sorrow away but I didn't take away his memories because I figured that would be too cruel. He then locked himself in his room after that. I told Nunnally to watch over Tris and his sister as I left to go outside for a moment. I was just walking around. I went into a restaurant to drown the sorrow I took with alcohol. Then the waitress asked me if I was alright so I looked her in the eyes to reply. I saw despair in her eyes as well even if she was smiling. I told her that her smile was empty and that I saw sorrow in her eyes. She had the look of amazement in my statement. She asked me for my name so I introduced myself as Blaze. She called herself Anne and invited me to talk once her work shift was done. Of course, I couldn't say no.

She took me to a park near the restaurant and the sky was already changing colours. I still don't know what her intentions were but I trusted her. When I decided to ask her what she wanted to talk about, her fake smile disappeared. She asked me how I knew she was giving a fake smile despite no one else was able to tell. The sadness in her eyes grew bigger. If I told her that I wasn't human, she would've just laughed at me, so I decided to tell her that I had the same look in my eyes almost my entire life. She then became curious of me and began to ask me questions about myself. When I asked her about hers, she somehow had the hint of hesitation in her voice. She was four years older than me, she lost her father when she was two years of age and her mother passed away two years ago because of cancer. So now, she works in this restaurant that helps her live alone. The only source of her joy is her friends and her lover. However, even her boyfriend was becoming another source of her pain. Speak of the devil. Her boyfriend showed up to take her home. But no matter how many times she refused, her boyfriend forcefully grabbed her hand and dragged her. I gave out a sigh and interfered by simply reminding him about her refusal. I saw anger in his eyes as he looked at me. He asked me what I was to her and introduced myself as just an acquaintance. I smelled alcohol on him, he was drunk. He said that if I was just an acquaintance that I shouldn't be interfering. I didn't want to just leave it like that. I reached for Lilith but then I remembered that I left her home. "Trying to pick a fight boy?" he asked me as he pulled out a knife. Anne Tried to stop him so I could run away but he simply pushed her down on the pavement. I got in a stance and knew that it won't end well.

Blood was running down my suit. He successfully stabbed me and his face was filled with delight. I was surprised at first but it went away. The pain already numbed. I took his hand with the knife still in me and gripped it real hard that I got him to let go and back off. I pulled the knife out and licked the blood off of it. Both of them looked at me in fear. I put the blade between two three of my fingers and broke it. I looked at my wound to check if it's already healed and it did. A mild aura emitted around me. Then Tristitia reminded me that they were just human. I was ashamed of myself for being succumbed to wrath. Then I apologized for showing such an unpleasant sight. Anne's boyfriend ran away and left her behind. I offered her a hand to stand, this time she hesitated to take my help. She was afraid. She mustered up the courage to take my hand and asked me if I was okay. But I didn't answer, instead I returned the question to her and she said yes. She had a scratch on her elbow and sprained her ankle. I had her sit down at a bench to take a look at her ankle.

"Are you a doctor?" she asked me.

"Kind of… I'm only seventeen years of age so I cannot take up a profession of that sort just yet." I replied to her as I was healing her ankle.

"You're only seventeen!?"

"Yes, is something the matter?"

"N-nothing. You just looked like you were in your early twenties that's all."

I didn't really get why she was asking me about my age.

She was surprised that the pain in her ankle suddenly disappeared and that her scratch on her elbow was completely healed. She asked me if I was some sort of magician or sorcerer of some sort, naturally I explained to her the difference between clerics and sorceresses. My tongue slipped when I told her about my first adventures with Yuni but she didn't say anything about it. She just smiled as I told her the story; it was as if she was starting to believe it even if she barely knows me. It was already night and the streets were dark. I asked her if she wanted to see another secret before I escort her home and she agreed. I only got to fly once and that was when I flew with Geraint to the Black Mountain Stronghold, so I don't know if I'll be able to fly alright. I brought my wings out. I loved the fact that it goes through my clothing. I reached my hand out for her to see if she will trust me and surprisingly she did. I carried her on my arms and flew. And just like Sun and Yuni with me, she held on as tight as possible. I asked her if she wanted to go somewhere before I take her to her home so she pointed to the direction of the pier. The scene was well lit by moonlight, such a beautiful sight. The silence completed the beauty of the scene but that silence was broken by a serious question that came from Anne. "What are you?"

Stricken and not knowing how to answer that question right off the bat gave another silence to fall on the scene. After finding something to say, I simply tried to smile at her and looked her in the eye and said, "You wouldn't want to know." Somehow that sentence got her to be saddened once again, but I didn't want her to know what I was. She walked up to me and reached for my head. She spoiled me by patting my head. She had a motherly aura on her. And without even realizing it, I completely succumbed to her hand that was running through my hair.

She was a persistent person. Even when I already took her home, she kept on bugging me about what I was. I consulted with Tristitia and he dictated that it doesn't matter if this person knew. She even invited me in for some coffee, so how could I refuse. Just like she said, she was indeed alone. With that I began calling her the "lonely lass on Earth." She punched me softly a couple of times for calling her that. She showed me a lot of things from books to even her personal drawings. However, her drawings seemed to have a familiar style of art. I kept thinking and thinking until I saw the answer in one of her drawings. "Hetalia," an anime that Nunnally and Lizzy adore so much. She thanked me for erasing one of her problems and smiled at me. Her smile was still empty but it had lightened up a bit. She looked at me in the eyes with eyes of wonder, getting closer and closer to my face. "What are you doing?" I asked her out of panic. Then quickly she backed off and stayed silent for a while, looking at the floor with her face bright red up to her ears. She showed me the way out as I was about to leave. I thanked her for her hospitality. "Oh! Before I leave." I told her and got her to look at me, "If you're still wondering what I am then let this be etched in your memory. I'm no human. Well not anymore at least. I am a creature which we call dragons."

I couldn't stop thinking about Anne's facial expression when I told her that I was a dragon. She held soft, happy yet terrified face. "Don't fall in…" Tristitia told me. His voice carried an assurance that I may get in trouble if I do. When I arrived back at Tris' house, I heard laughing and crying. I knocked on the door and was surprised for the one that opened the door was a face I never expected. She had a surprised look as well then she called Tris. "Wow! You weren't lying when you said there was someone that looked exactly like you." The woman said to Tris, "it's like you have a twin!" it was like a dream. Now I understood that this wasn't just another dimension, it was an alternate universe. I lost myself in thought of trying to grasp the situation and the woman in front of me. Unconsciously, I made a very big mistake of calling her something that she was not… "Mother?"

Surprised by what I said, both the woman and Tris froze. I was stupid of saying that. I wanted to try something out which was stooped of me. I laid my hand on the woman's forehead and focused. Miraculously, I got in her memories. I erased the thing I've said in her memory and the fact that I touched her. Unfortunately since I only tried this on her, I made a minor mistake of making her forget what she had done in the past week. Tris sighed and called me an idiot. I was certain that he read my mind. Without further ado, Tris' mother invited me in.

It's already been a week of no progress, and Tris' father is coming back in the ship and crew he served in. I let out a sigh of depression and boredom and Maya noticed. She asked me if I was alright and I simply told her that I was bored. She went ahead and told Tris so he came to me and asked me if I wanted to go around town and do something afterwards. Without hesitation, I agreed to whatever he had in store for the day. He asked his mother if he could take us to the World War Two museum and the mall and his mother gave him permission. So that morning, we embarked on a tour of New Orleans and the WWII museum.