"I win!" Aisha cried as she teleported back into the village.

"You dirty cheater!" Elsword complained as he ran into the village.

"Well, you had an early start, so it's fair," Aisha shot back. I lingered behind them, unwilling to admit that I had held back on purpose so I could keep an eye on them.

"Guys," I interrupted after their argument had gone on for a bit. "We have to report to Hagus."

"Oh- right!" Elsword exclaimed, running to the chief's office. "Hagus! We found who was causing trouble in the ruins! They were a group of Phorus!"

"Phorus?" Hagus questioned as he stepped outside the door. "Those docile creatures are causing trouble in the ruins?"

"Docile? They didn't look like it at all," Aisha growled.

"There was a Phoru called William leading all of the others," Elsword added. "I've smacked some sense into him and made him promise to never do it again."

"Great, now they won't be able to cause any more trouble," Hagus smiled. "But what are we going to do about Banthus…" He paused as he looked at the three of us. "You all should go to sleep. You've had quite the day, fighting bandits and Phorus."

"Right," Aisha agreed, yawning. She headed towards the direction of the training center before pausing. "Rena? Aren't you coming?"

"I'll catch up," I answered. "There's still a few things I have to take care of."

"Suit yourself," Elsword yawned. Aisha slapped him with her staff.

"Don't you think you should care a little?" she hissed.

"So what? She said she'll be coming along soon. And why do you keep hitting me? That hurts!"

"That doesn't excuse your behavior! And I keep hitting you so you can shut up!"

The two walked onward, bickering until they were out of earshot. I turned to Hagus, opening my mouth before he interrupted me.

"You're wondering about the ruins, yes?"

"How did you know that?" The words burst out of my mouth before I could take them back. I cleared my throat before continuing. "Yes, I was. I could detect faint traces of El energy there, but since we were in the middle of a battle, I thought it best to wait until I had returned to the village."

"You're a smart elf," Hagus remarked. "Speaking of which, those ruins are ancient Elven ruins. I presume you felt a sense of familiarity?"

"That's right. It really does explain a lot of things," I added. I bowed to him. "Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions."

"You needn't thank me at all," Hagus responded. "Now, shouldn't you go get some sleep? It might be another long day tomorrow, what with Banthus on the loose."

"I've got a few more things I want to do," I answered. "You shouldn't worry about me, I know that I'll need rest for tomorrow."

"If you say so, miss."

"Oh no, call me Rena," I said as I turned away. "The least I can do is tell you my name after all your hospitality."

"Very well then, Rena," Hagus smiled. "Take care on your journeys."


I walked around the town for a little bit before finally settling on the shore of Noah's Lake. The dark of the night was illuminated by the occasional glow of the El tree. I smiled. Even with the El Shard stolen, it seemed as though there was still a little bit of El left in the air. The Elder's words echoed back to me.

"The power of the El is fading."

"Elder, what would you say about me now?" I wondered out loud. "You said that I was the only one suited for this mission, but I can't help but wonder... what if you were wrong?" I sighed to myself, staring down at the clear blue water, now reflecting a deep cobalt. "I failed to protect the El from the bandits... I failed to retrieve the El from the bandits... Am I not strong enough?" I silently watched the calm waters, rippling every time a stray fairy guardian or a Phoru walked through it's cool, clear surface.

I knew what some of the people from my village would've said.

"You shouldn't worry so much, Rena! You're so strong, I'm sure you'll be able to fulfill any mission that the Elder gives you."

If only that were true, I whispered in my head. If I can't prevent the El's power from crumbling to dust... then what will happen to the people in my village? What will happen to you?

My frown deepened. Our lives depended on the El. If it truly was to disappear... I didn't want to think about the rest.

"Can't sleep?" I heard a voice behind me. I whipped around as fast as I could.

But no one was there.

I must have imagined it, I thought as I blinked to confirm the emptiness. I could have sworn it sounded exactly like her... But she wouldn't be here. There was no way she could be here. I was on my own now. I had to succeed, for them.

A yawn forced its way out of my throat, interrupting my grim thoughts. I smiled to myself as I got up and headed back to the training center.


"I hope you all got a good night's sleep, 'cause we've got a problem," Lowe informed us. We were seated around the table, nibbling on our toast. I shot up in surprise once I heard the news.

"William's causing trouble again? I'm pretty sure I already dealt with him."

"It's not him, dummy!" Aisha huffed, hitting me with her staff. I glared angrily at her, knowing that I couldn't protest in case Rena got mad at me. "We're looking for five artifacts, right? Some of the other Phorus must have run off with the stolen relics since I didn't see any in the pile of items that William had."

"Oh, that reminds me," Rena cut in. "I did see a few Phorus wandering around Noah's Lake. Perhaps we can start our search there?"

"Right!" I decided. "C'mon, we're going to Noah's Lake!" I dashed into the hallway and headed my way out. The thudding of footsteps behind me confirmed that the others were following.

While running through the village, I skid to a stop at the sight of Ann, the village's local shopkeeper, blocking my way.

"I heard that Phorus are still causing trouble in the ruins!" she exclaimed, still clutching tightly to a feather duster. "Those ruins are a big part of the village's tourism! We have to protect it!"

"Already on it, feisty lady..." I muttered.

"Sh! Quiet!" Aisha hissed.

"We're on our way to find the Phorus who stole the relics right now, ma'am," Rena stepped in.

"Please hurry! We don't know when Banthus might show up again to cause trouble, after all!" She continued to watch us as we stepped past her and ran onward. Shortly after, we saw the bright waters of the lake before us.

"Where to find those sneaky little runts..." I thought out loud.

"This way!" Rena called, leaping over the water and onto one of the small islands. I followed her, opting to splash through the water instead of jumping over. I heard a hiss from Aisha as she (somehow?) levitated herself across.

"Did you have to splash through like that?" she huffed as she landed next to me. "You got my clothes wet!"

"They'll dry off eventually!" I countered. "Besides, you didn't even get that wet!"

"Children." Rena's warning tone abruptly quieted the both of us. I carefully walked past her so I could see if there were any Phorus around. To my surprise, there were quite a few, walking around in plain sight.

"You'd think that if they stole ancient relics they'd be a little more inconspicuous," Aisha remarked.

"True," Rena agreed, lifting her bow and firing at one of the Phorus. The arrow hit it square in the foot. "How about Aisha and I take on these four Phorus while you go look for a fifth?" she asked me.

"Why do you guys get to take on more?" I complained. "And quit ordering me around like a little kid!"

"Why don't you just do it?" Aisha snapped back at me. We both glared at each other for a second before Rena clapped her hands together.

"Aisha, could you go take care of the two over there? I'll ask this Phoru to hand over the relics that they're holding. In case they aren't, just ask them to tell you which Phoru has the relic."

"Got it."

I sighed as I turned around and delved further into the various bushes.

"Heeere, little Phoru," I grumbled. As if by magic, a Phoru popped in front of me.

"Gotcha!" I yelled, hitting it on the head with my sword. "Hand over the relic you stole!"

"I-I don't have any!" the Phoru stammered.

"Stop playing innocent and give it up!" I raised my sword. "Or do you want to get hit again?"

"Eeeeee! Alright! Alright! Here it is, so take it!" It hastily pulled out a small, pale yellow artifact before scurrying away.

Well, that was easier than I thought. I walked over to the relic and picked it up. Since they're so cowardly I bet the others have already found the stolen relics.

Sure enough, when I walked back to them, they were each holding two of the stolen relics.

"That sure was easy," Aisha remarked.

"No kidding," I said as I walked back to the village.

"You better be careful not drop that!" Aisha yelled at me.

"What makes you think that I'll drop it!" I snapped. "I'm not that stupid!" I rolled my eyes as she continued lecturing me about the importance of being careful- not that I would understand at all- until Ann came up and interrupted us.

"You've found the relics? Thank you so much!" she exclaimed. "The ruins are a village treasure. I would hate to see it fall to ruin."

"I thought they were already in ruin? That's why they're called ruins," I whispered to myself. Aisha glared at me, the look in her eyes obviously telling me to "cut it out".

"No problem," Rena answered, again taking up the lead. "We wouldn't want bandits to cause trouble for you or any of the villagers, after all." She glanced around. "Where's Lowe?"

"He left a little while ago," Ann replied. "Shortly after you guys left, he suddenly rushed out of camp."

"That's strange," I said out loud. "It's not like him to run off like that. Actually- wait. It is." Aisha sighed and gave me an "are you serious" look.

"I suppose we should wait in front of the training center?" Rena thought out loud. "It's not like there's much else to do."

"We can always train more," I suggested.

"Do you ever think of anything else other than getting stronger?"

"Of course I do!"

"Yeah? Like what?"

"Like I would tell you!" I snapped at her. "Why should I be forced to tell you everything that I think?"

"I highly doubt you even think of anything else other than getting stronger!"

"What was that?!"

"GUYS!" Rena screamed. "Honestly, all you two do is argue!" she sighed, a hand to her head. "Get it together! I've already told you before, but since we're going to be fighting together we should at least get along!"

"Speaking of fighting," Aisha interrupted, pointing behind Rena. Lowe was hurrying back, looking slightly singed for some strange reason.

"Sorry to leave so suddenly," he said as he came up to us. "We received news that Banthus was heading towards Elder so I attempted to intercept him."

"Well? Did you catch him?" I asked.

Lowe shook his head. "The fastest way to get to Elder is through the White Mist Swamp. However, once I arrived the Ancient Phoru attacked and I lost him."

"Tch, so you couldn't do it after all?" I groaned. Next to me Aisha merely frowned disappointingly and shook her head.

"S-shut up!" Lowe snapped.

"Ah... I'm sorry on their behalf," Rena sighed, a sympathetic look on her face.

"Anyways!" Lowe continued. "We can't really treat it badly because it's a holy beast. There's a myth that the Ancient Phoru within White Mist Swamp is actually created by the El Shard to protect itself from harm."

"It was made by the power of the El?" I gasped.

"Considering our situation... it looks as though the Ancient Phoru is going rogue because the El Shard was stolen," Rena guessed.

"Holy beast or not..." Lowe began. "If it keeps getting in our way we'll have no choice."

"No!" Ann exclaimed, apparently overhearing our conversation. "The Ancient Phoru has been protecting this forest for a very long time! The ones at fault are the bandits who stole the El Shard!"

"Like she says... you'll have to do it without harming it too much. Can I count on you?"

"Of course!" I answered.

"We've already defeated every other enemy, so it shouldn't be a problem," Aisha added.

"Right then, we should start packing," Rena decided, clapping her hands together. "After all, who knows what sort of trouble we might encounter once we arrive in Elder."


So much planning to do, especially at endgame... owo

Yeelimso: Yes, they will most definitely be meeting XD As for what I'm going to do for Lanox... I have absolutely no idea! /shrugs/ I'm not going to be moving on to the Elysion arc if that's what you were wondering (partially because that story arc isn't even finished/released yet...)