A/N: Here's the next chapter. Thank you to all of the readers and a special thanks to TwilightXGoddess for giving this story a favorite.
Enjoy,
Orangepotato and Emil Lime
Chapter written by Emil Lime
Kratos Aurion: Chosen Project (Tethe'alla), Status-Incomplete
He hadn't heard them coming, the heavy footfall being masked by the barrage of spells and roars that filled every corner of the altar room. Kratos had only noticed them when his eyes caught sight of them as he twisted around to check on the location of the siblings.
Standing from wall to wall of the entrance, desians cloaked in grey and black smirked under their helmets as they beamed at the Chosen and her brother, the two standing wide-eyed before the slaughter.
"Damn it," Kratos ducked down, narrowly missing being swept across the room by the monster's mighty paw, "Move!"
It was like watching everything in slow motion, Ilene coming to life as the words exited his mouth. She grabbed Holtz' wrist, tugging him right as the first wave of desians rushed forward, swords drawn.
There was a massive clang, metal ringing as it hit the stone floor beneath. Kratos let the words leave his lips as the mana formed as his fingertips, "Thunder Blade!" Massive amounts of lightning mana circled above the desians, the entirety of it collapsing on top of them in the shape of a sword, bolts of electricity shooting out from where it hit the ground.
They let out several screams as Kratos' attention was turned back to the monster before him. It was growling at him, launching a massive claw towards him as he jumped back. "Eruption!" Light blasted through the air as the lava spewed forth, splashing onto the guardian who wailed out.
He took his opening, running towards the Chosen and her brother, stopping beside them just as the light of the spell dimmed and everything receded into darkness. Even with his advanced senses, the darkness created by the summoned spirit was too dense, making it impossible for anyone to see.
For Kratos, that was an advantage. The half-elves couldn't see them, leaving Kratos' better than average hearing as the key to their success. He could hear the desians scramble their words, trying to find some way of seeing each other.
"Chosen," it was barely above a whisper, the mercenary leaning close to Ilene's ear to speak into it. She gave a jolt, the warmth of his breath an intense temperature difference inside the icy room. "We must defeat the guardian first. When it is dead, you can perform the oracle." There was a nod there, her curls brushing against Kratos' nose.
He could hear the beast growl, smelling them out. He listened as the two beside him turned towards the monster as well, Holtz muttering out, "What the hell are we going to do about fluffy?"
He wasn't even going to ask why they were suddenly naming the guardians, "Holtz, you and I will take it out quickly. Chosen, head towards the altar once the light has illuminated it. When that happens, the desians will come after you so be ready to defend yourself." There was a shuffle of clothing and the auburn hoped it was a nod.
His grip on his sword tightened, palm coming to rest on the blade. Mana began to swirl through it, a small glimmer of light appearing around him. The desians' voices echoed into the silent chamber, "There they are!"
"Get them!"
"Indignation!" The entire room was attacked by light, white heat fluttering to every corner, destroying all shadows. Holtz charged forward as the swirling electricity surrounded the monster, burning its flesh and instantly electrocuting several desians who'd moved to close. Pulling back his bow string, he launched several arrows.
"Star Stroke!" A flurry of arrow heads exited his bow, each one landing in the beast's hide. It let out a hideous roar, stumbling back before turning and swinging its tail towards the teen. Bracing himself, he was hit, sending him across the room.
"Holtz!" The Chosen shouted. She was about to head towards him when her brother called to her, making her stop in her tracks.
"Don't sis! Get to the altar! Gramps and I can handle the pussy-cat!"
The light died away, fading into black. Kratos, summoning up his strength, pushed himself further, he threw out another indignation, the light coming back to life in an instant. He could see the desians were on their way to the altar, Ilene's sword at the ready.
Holtz had gotten up, too, running towards the monster with his arrow pulled back, "No more mister nice guy, kitty!" Mana gathered at the tip of the arrow, launching forward and striking the creature in the forehead just as the spell finished its course and filtered back into black.
The consuming sound of footsteps flooding the altar didn't stop Kratos from roaring out, "Now, Chosen, activate the altar!" He could hear her hands come together, the light from the crystal beginning to flood the area.
Everyone recoiled back, blinded for a mere second as she began to pray the words she'd been taught as a small child, "Oh Goddess Martel, Great Protector and Nurturer of the Earth…Grant Me thy Strength…" Instantly, the altar flashed awake, a white, pure light piercing the darkness, feathers fluttering down all around them.
Kratos turned, seeing the desian's head man growling, teeth bare and fists clenched. "No, this wasn't supposed to happen."
"Holtz!" The awe-struck brother shook his head, looking at Kratos before giving a nod. The two began attacking the desians, the clash of metal on metal filling the chamber as Ilene listened to the words of the angel.
Dropping down, Kratos kicked the desian's legs from under him. Falling to the ground, the mercenary's sword found its way to the enemy's throat, slicing it. Blood sprayed everywhere as more came towards him, weapons raised.
Sweeping his sword across, the decapitated them before kicking one of their bodies back, knocking over a couple of the advancing men.
Charging a spell quickly, mana left his fingertips as more huddled close, "Grave!" Several spikes rose from the ground, impaling the desians who gurgled a little before dying. Stabbing his sword through another man beyond the spell, he could feel the weight begin to set onto him. He'd used too much magic, even his immortal body beginning to become stressed.
It was slight, but he was breathing harder than he usually did when he fought.
Was he that out of shape? Had it been so long since he'd had a real challenge that now, upon facing one, he wasn't as ready as he thought he'd be?
The clatter of swords crashing together caught Kratos' attention. He span around, seeing Holtz push an enemy back before slashing him across the gut. As crimson stained the teen, he glared back at the mercenary. "What's the matter, old man? You're old bones getting tired? Need to sit this one out?" He grinned from ear to ear, similar to a child who'd just gotten a rather large piece of candy, before turning back to what he was doing. Stabbing another desian, Holtz moved into the mess again, leaving Kratos' vision.
The man huffed softly to himself. It was the first time Holtz had actually managed to insult the auburn. No, not with his 'witty' words but instead by killing someone Kratos had managed to let get inside of his parameter. Getting his mind back on track, he decided he'd think about this new found weakness later. For now, he needed to take out the remaining desians as the Chosen finished talking to Archer.
Taking several more swings, Kratos watched as the angelic figure made its way back up, wings carrying him away and with him, the light.
Now or never.
Pulling every last bit of mana into his palm, he summoned forth the only spell he could think of that could cut through the plastered stone walls of the chamber, "Air Thrust!" Green blades danced across the entrance, stone wall being cut into pieces before falling to the ground, revealing the pathway. Several desians were sliced as well, harsh screams of agony coming to his ears. He wasted no time with them, however. Releasing another Air Thrust, the remaining guards at the doorway were sliced to ribbons, the head commander running into the darkness to avoid the hoard of vicious blades.
"Chosen, Holtz!" The two came running to him, the light given off by the spell just barely enough to see with. When they reached the mercenary, he grabbed hold of both of their arms, pulling them forward and racing threw the gaping entrance, careful not to trip on the riddled pieces of half-elf that littered the area.
It didn't take long for the overwhelming darkness to engulf them, Kratos' sense of direction failing him since he wasn't sure which way he was currently heading. Using his ears, he listened for the echoing of their footsteps bouncing off the walls to direct himself. Taking a sharp turn, Ilene let out a small scream as their new course was taken.
Behind them, the shouts and calls of desians, anger in their words as they stormed forward, footsteps alive in such a dark place. It only made it easier for the auburn to 'see', however.
Taking another turn and then another, they entered what Kratos could only guess was the open hall, several floor open above them. The echoing took longer to reach him, the reverb sounding more distant than it previously had. Pulling them down a long passage way, they entered a thin space. Stumbling over the first couple stairs, he and the siblings made their way up it before coming to a rest at the base of the second set. Squeezing the two behind the stairs, into makeshift hiding, he put himself there last, weapon drawn.
It felt like hours that they were squished there, silence coming and going with the sound of desian footfall. They were just as blind as their prey, making the search difficult. None, however, ever entered the staircase room, most likely due to the fact that it was hidden away, doors tucked behind walls and darkness. None the less, the mercenary wouldn't dare move from this position until he was sure they'd given up.
After another long while passed and silence remained their companion, he shifted a little, listening closer. "I think they've gone." His whisper sounded like he'd just shouted his words to them, making him flinch.
This room makes far too much noise…
"You think so?" Ilene's voice also echoed harshly.
Giving a nod, but remembering they couldn't see that, he spoke, "Yes, so it would seem. However…" Listening again, he shifted his head a little, as if trying to receive satellite signal, "That doesn't mean they aren't waiting outside for us."
Holtz let out a long sigh, "Then how the hell are we going to get out of here?"
The mercenary was thinking the exact same thing. No doubt, with all of the trouble the desians had gone through of trekking deep into the temple, they would opt to stay outside for a while, seeing if they could wait them out.
At least from Kratos' military experience, that's what he would do.
Moving out of the squished space, he stretched before speaking, "You two wait here. I'll go check things out."
"How are you going to see, gramps? If I can't see in here with my young eyes, you sure as hell won't see with your old ones." Ignoring Holtz comment, he started walking, hand placed on the cool stone as he guided his way up the remaining stairs. There was a huff from the angry brother and a small giggle from the Chosen before Kratos exited the area and walked into the open top floor.
Continuing to grope the walls, he eventually found the entrance, where he quitted his footing and listened intently. Outside, he could tell it was daybreak, the sound of birds whistling their pleasant good mornings came to him. There were, however, other sounds. Scuffing feet, tired sighs, and exasperated moans.
It was as he'd feared. The desians were waiting for them to waltz out unexpectedly. This desian Cardinal had obviously grossly misjudged Kratos' attention to detail. That didn't matter, though, as Kratos now had bigger issues.
He was only aware of one entrance into the temple and that one was currently occupied. Without being able to see them, he had no idea if they were within his league of taking out, especially when every limb ached from his overuse of casting.
Sighing inwardly, he scolded himself for not being as prepared as he should have been. Turning around, he figured they'd have to think of something clever to get out. Something that was easier said than done.
When he reached the two teens again, both had been as quiet as could be and he inwardly puzzled if Holtz had somehow died while he was away. Of course, the first voice to greet him was that of the red haired teenager, "So, find anything out, old man?"
"They're guarding the exit, as I assumed."
"So how are we getting out of here?" Ilene moved out of the corner she'd been inhabiting for forever, dusting off her travel dress and coat. Holtz followed suit, standing and, from the sound of his clothes, crossing his arms. "Is there any other route?"
Another route. He wasn't sure there was one but from what he'd learned during schooling and his countless years of reading materials that'd been gathered in the Kharlan library, he'd learned that temples such as this were usually built with special exits, ones used in case of collapse. However, those old exit shafts hadn't been used in eons and the chances of them still being usable was slim.
This building had been standing long before the ancient Kharlan Wars of nearly 3000 years ago. He wasn't sure if even the foundation was safe to tread upon.
"There might be other pathways, built long ago in case of collapse."
Holtz most likely shot him a look, "Other pathways? Where did you read that, gramps? Or were you around when they built this Martel-forsaken place?"
Ilene gave a shushing noise to her brother before speaking, "Then let's try to find them. We don't know how long those desians will be there and I'm not going to postpone this journey to wait them out."
"Then take my hand, Chosen, and then take your brothers." Once their chain had been made, they began walking through the darkness, each step they took being tentative in case it plummeted into darkness. Each kept their free hand on the wall, searching for anything that would turn onto another pathway, breaking free from their normal walking.
Upon reaching the open space below, Kratos broke free and began searching the walls. He could hear the other two do the same, Ilene being the first to exclaim, "I think I found something." He listened as her voice disappeared a little, sound being eaten up by the enclosed space she'd just stepped into. "It seems to be some kind of thin walkway. I wonder if it leads outside."
Kratos, making his way towards her soft voice carefully, reached the wall and fumbled before finding what she was talking about. "So it would see. Holtz, come on."
"I'm coming, I'm coming. Keep your Depends on, will you?" The sound of heavy footfall, the redhead brother running, came to Kratos' ears and instantly he knew something was off. From the sounds of it, Holtz had managed to make his way up a walkway, broken edges surrounding it. Dashing out as well, Kratos reached Holtz location just as it happened.
There was a sudden slide, the gravel and stone giving way, Holtz along with it. He barely had time to let out a scream as the auburn reached and grabbed hold of his arm. The force slammed Kratos to the ground but he continued to dig his fingers into the brother's arm tightly. Using all of the strength he could muster, Kratos yanked Holtz up, pulling him onto the platform before leaning back, sucking in a deep breath.
He could hear Holtz panting, fear evident in the way is body was shaking. "Shit…"
"Are you two okay?" Ilene called from her spot, though she was smart enough not to come running to their aide. Kratos was grateful for that. Standing up, pulling Holtz to his feet as well, the two made their way to the Chosen, slipping into the thin hallway and heading into the darkness it held.
It wasn't long, however, before the scent of clean air came to them, Ilene speaking up at that, "Finally, the outside world. I hope I don't go blind upon seeing the sun." There was a grin in her words.
"Don't you dare go blind, sis. I don't want to have to deal with two handicaps on this journey."
"Don't you mean three? You have an affinity with trying to fall from high places," she teased, the previous incident as well as the one from the mountains coming back to Kratos' mind. Maybe next time he wouldn't save the ungrateful brat. Of course, that would probably devastate Ilene and prolong this journey far more than it needed to be.
Sighing to himself, he continued walking without a word, the two teens making conversation as they went.
It was mid-afternoon when they finally got outside, the glaring sun causing them all to shade their eyes. Kratos, walking past the two who'd paused at the entrance, reoriented himself, looking around as best he could to locate just where this had landed them on the map.
The smell of the coast was near them, the cool breeze brushing against their skin carrying sea salt. Looking behind them, he could see the mountain that housed the temple of darkness and he figured they'd come out from the rear.
"We're close to the town of Alta Reel, we should head there and take a ship out tomorrow morning…" He paused, waiting for some kind of response from either of the two. When nothing came, he looked back at them, "What did the angel say about our next location?"
"Go to were the winter never become spring, a land that is cased in ice that lies far to the north-east."
Holtz scratched his head, "where the hell is that?"
"Most definitely Flanoir." Kratos got a frown from Holtz but ignored it yet again. Looking to the Chosen, she nodded. Starting forward, he didn't want to waste time. If they hurried, they could be there before nightfall. Meaning that the morning would come and they'd be on the open sea. Inwardly, the mercenary was excited. He liked the sea, always had. There was something all-powerful about the raging waters, claiming and saving whom they choose.
His musing were interrupted when Ilene dropped to her knees, pain stricken across her face. "Sis!" Holtz bent down, holding her in his arms, "Sis, what's wrong?" He looked her up and down, grey eyes filled with concern.
Kratos knew exactly what was going on, though he wasn't sure how much to reveal given the angel, Archer, might not have mentioned the pain that came with the trials. Bending down instead, he looked her over. "It looks like she'll have to be carried. Let's get her to a doctor in town."
For the first time on the journey, Holtz didn't snap any comebacks or witty responses to Kratos. Instead, he worked to pick Ilene up, making her as comfortable as possible on his back, before walking forwards, Kratos at his side.
They made it to the town by nightfall, just as Kratos had hoped. Holtz wasted no time locating an Inn, desperately ringing the small bell on the desk to get service. When the older gentlemen came, he offered them a room for the night, Kratos quickly paying the fee and heading to the room. They got Ilene situated, covering her with a warm blanket and laying a cool rag on the top of her head. Holtz wouldn't leave her side, sitting at the edge of her bed, all the while holding her hand in his.
"Will she be okay?"
"We'll have to wait and see. I'll locate a doctor in the morning…" The angelic transformation would be over by then, he knew, but it wasn't like he could tell Holtz that. They would take her to the doctor who would inform them that she was perfectly fine. Most likely they'd tell her she'd pushed herself to hard or that she was over exerted from the fighting. None of that was true, though, but Holtz didn't know that.
Stepping towards the door, Holtz shot him a glare, "Where are you going?"
"Too scout the town. I want to make sure there are no desians here." With that, he left, heading into the lobby before entering the town, feet guiding him to the ocean. There, he could clear his head and let his mind ease away his troubles. Since he couldn't actually sleep, he'd meditate instead.
Standing on the low wooden docks, he sat at the very end of one, sucking in a deep breath. It calmed him instantly, eating away the growing stress in his muscles. Relaxing a little, he only tensed when he noticed another presence behind him. He didn't turn around, already knowing who it was.
"So you've finally come, Yuan."
"Yggdrasill is furious." Yuan's non-chalant voice smoothed over Kratos' ears. Making his way beside the auburn, though continuing to stand, he looked down at the mercenary who currently sat in a cross legged position with his palms facing up upon his knees. Wine colored eyes gazed back at the bluenette, who let out a sigh, "Do you have any idea why the desians attacked?"
Kratos knew that once the angel, Archer, saw the chaos that was ensuing in the shrine room, he'd report instantly to Lord Yggdrasill. As Kratos had hoped, the angry leader sent Yuan to speak to Kratos, to get to the bottom of this newly found development.
Looking away from Yuan, he focused on the ocean in front of him, "All I know is that an unidentifiable amount of desian Cardinals are starting an uprising."
"Unidentifiable? What's that supposed to mean?"
Shaking his head, he continued to gaze at the open blue, "The source I received this information from wouldn't tell me how many of them have turned sour. At this moment, I know of two."
Yuan looked shaken by that number and Kratos honestly couldn't blame him. If two had become infected, it was very possible that others would soon defect. Taking a deep breath through his nose, he asked, "Well this is far worse than we feared…"
"That it is."
There was a pause, Yuan letting out a long breath before speaking again, "Which ones?"
There was no hesitation in his voice as he spoke the names, "Huey and Vyra."
Yuan whistled, taking another deep breath before sighing it out. He was clearly stressed, no doubt getting the full grunt of Yggdrasill's anger at the situation. Looking at his friend, he muttered, "So the Cardinals near the Earth and Darkness Temple."
With a nod, Kratos stood up before placing a hand on his hilt. His eyes scanned the horizon, the reflection of the moon highlighting the waves with silver lining. The two didn't say anything for a long while, both staring at nothing in particular before Yuan spoke again, "I'll let him know. You're sure this isn't the work of the Renegades?"
"Yes." He'd worked with desians, trained them, helped the Cardinals execute strict discipline to keep them in line. He'd been among these men and Kratos was 100% certain this was not the work of the Renegades. Also, he'd seen Huey, the blonde man holding back a snarl when the battle had started turning against him.
"Alright," Yuan turned around, stepping off the dock before turning back, "This isn't good. You know what's next, right?" Kratos only nodded, making the blue haired half-elf scowl, "You be careful, Kratos. Don't trust anyone except yourself. We have no idea how far this infection has spread. You're in danger no matter where you go."
With that foreboding warning, the half-elf's lavender wings sprang from his back. Flapping them a couple of times, he moved skyward, disappearing into the darkness of the night sky.
Kratos walked back into town, the issues weighing heavily on his mind. Everything that had happened on this journey was so far from normal, it was bothering the mercenary. There really was no one he could trust other than himself. Anyone else could be working for the desians. His best bet was to do as he always did, keep his distance.
Reaching the Inn, he entered the room only to see Holtz had collapsed beside his sister, both fast asleep and far away from the threats of this world.