Chapter 15: Aureola

The final battle was at hand. The group had successfully fought their way through an army of Nergal's morphs and had slain Limstella, his strongest morph. Now, they were at the entrance to the Dragon's Gate, ready to fight Nergal and put an end to a long, enduring adventure.

The archsage Athos, whom Lucius saw as an ultimate hero who fought next to St Elimine herself, had distributed the legendary weapons Durandal, Armads and the Sol Katti to the three lords. Armed and ready to battle, Lucius took one last look at the group he had travelled with.

Everybody around him looked ready to fight, armed to the teeth with every weapon that they needed. They were hyping morale up between them all, giving everybody a strong future to keep their hope in. The atmosphere was buzzing and exciting.

Looking around, he turned back to Raven, who had been stood by his side the entire time.

"This really is it" Lucius said quietly. "Once this is over, if we survive, then we all go our separate ways…"

"What are you going to do, Lucius?" Raven asked. Lucius had been crafting a plan out throughout the entire journey, one that he had kept himself. In the buzz of the final moments before the great battle, he felt ready to share his life's plans with his best friend.

"I'm going to open an orphanage in Elimine" he revealed.

"An orphanage?" Raven asked. "…Ah, I understand. I can see where you got that from, hm?"

"Being an orphan is a terrible way to live a childhood" Lucius said nobly. "I have always devoted my life to aiding those in need, and I feel out of all of us, orphans are the ones who need the most help. Children without parents, without guardians who can teach them they joys and the beauty of the world, to show them discipline and to show them the love and nurture they need to become great men and women in the world…orphans are the least fortunate of us all. I want to be that figure to those who have to live without it. I want…I want to make them happy, to keep them safe from harm and to…well…give them the love and attention they need in life as children"

Raven gave a slow, understanding nod.

"That's a very noble cause" he said. "…I might just continue being a mercenary"

"Lord Raymond, I have no objections to that as such, but…" Lucius started. But they had had this conversation many times before, and Raven silenced him with a smile and a wave of his hand. Lucius would always object to Raven fighting for the side with the most money.

"I know you're not a fan of my plan, but…" Raven started. "…this journey's taught me a lot. It's taught me about loss and I've gleaned a lot from you. About chasing a noble cause…Lucius, did your father fight for a noble cause?" he asked. Lucius fell quiet for a few seconds, considering what he knew of his father's life before he answered.

"I suppose he did it for me" his reply was.

"Then I shall too" Raven revealed. "I'll only put myself up for hire if the actions I'm doing are for a good cause. I won't fight for warmongers, money tossing brutes and barons. I'll only fight for the well being of a certain person, or group, or village or anything! Fighting bandits…or those who cause terror. That's what I'll dedicate my sword arm to fighting towards. A brighter future"

"Raymond…I'm proud of you" Lucius said warmly. "Whatever happens, please survive this fight"

"Will do" Raven replied, readying his sword. "And you too"

"I will, Raymond"

Lucius turned around and from the corner of his eye, he spotted Florina and Huey. She was preparing her steed for the final battle, talking to her and preparing her armor. She didn't notice Lucius looking at him as she looked at her lance, breathing a deep breath and nodding her head. She then turned and her eyes were caught on Lucius from the distance. Their eyes lingered about each other as the noise around them slowly filtered into a quiet background sound. His heart swelled to see her, even though they had spoken very little between each other since their kiss in Ostia. Nobody else knew about what happened, or at least Lucius thought that was the case. He didn't know what Florina did in her spare time.

He was about to move to tell her about the orphanage he planned to set up, and hope to hear what she had in mind after the battle. But as he set to walk towards her, a voice spoke out to him.

"You are Father Lucius, are you not?"

The voice was old and wise, one reminiscent of the Santa actors that would appear every Christmas at the orphanage that Lucius grew up in. Turning around, he came face to face with one of Eight Heroes themselves: Athos.

"A-Archsage Athos!" Lucius stammered, turning his head quickly. Florina had vanished.

"Ah…your face…you must be him" Athos said with a smile ever so bright, even if it was hidden beneath a gigantic grey beard.

"M-My face, Archsage?" Lucius asked. Athos gave a slow nod.

"You have the gentlest face, my boy" he said, closing his eyes and letting a little chuckle escape. "I can sense your power from a distance, Lucius…I may call you that?" he asked. Lucius felt honored enough to be speaking with Athos, let alone be called by his first name!

"Wh-why thank you" Lucius stammered.

"Lucius, I must ask you something" Athos said, his face slowly becoming serious as he spoke. As old as he was, his voice had an undaunted power in it. His energy was radiant, even after a thousand years. "You are a worshipper of St Elimine, aren't you?"

"I-I am, yes" Lucius answered quickly.

"I fought alongside St Elimine in the Scouring" Athos noted. "Such a powerful, noble bishop. You know of the weapon that she used, the sacred tome of light, Aureola?" he asked.

"Y-yes, the Aureola" Lucius said quickly. "It's the most powerful light tome that has ever existed. Its power is supposed to bring down even the strongest of dragons, and the light it produces can eliminate any darkness, no matter how deep" he explained.

"Very good" Athos praised. "You clearly know the responsibility it would take to handle it, no?"

"A lot…ah!" Lucius gasped. He rapidly figured out where Athos was going with his conversation. "N-no…y-you don't have it with you now, do you?"

Athos released another warming smile before producing a large, weathered tome from his robes. Lucius found himself unable to breathe at the sight of the tome he had produced. The cover of the tome was indecipherable and the pages were an ancient yellow color. Athos held it out in front of him for Lucius to behold. He couldn't believe that he was looking at the very weapon that St Elimine herself, the priestess that Lucius worshipped daily, used in the Scouring.

"This is the Aureola, Lucius" Athos revealed. "I have spoken with the young Eliwood about whether he deemed you trustworthy to use this tome. Please, lay your hand on it and we will see"

Lucius felt his heart beating rapidly as he raised his hand. In all the years he had lived and would live after, he would have never imagined, not in his wildest dreams, not even in the dreams where he would see himself as a glorified hero, that he would ever be able to set his eyes upon the Aureola. And here it was, with its withered cover and the many pages within. Trembling, he placed his hand upon St Elimine's tome.

There was a silence. Lucius couldn't feel anything upon touching the book expect the almost sandy texture of the cover, like dust to his fingers. Athos closed his eyes and started to grunt quietly in thought. Slowly, a light started to envelop around the two of them, one that Lucius could only feel pulsing inside of his body. He wasn't sure what to make of the sensation, but after a short pause, the aura vanished and Athos opened his eyes.

"Lucius…" he said quietly. "…The spirit of St Elimine has spoken to me. You have been deemed…worthy" he revealed.

There was no more joy to be felt. Lucius had already exhausted all of his happiness in being able to see the tome for himself. He was already happy. But now, upon learning his new role in the battle, he felt a strong sense of responsibility. A strong sense of heritage and

"Worthy Lucius, are you ready to undertake the responsibility that has been offered to you? To take this tome and confront Nergal with it, to shatter his veil of darkness and allow the lords to deal the final strike?"

Everybody in the group was watching as Lucius stared at the tome. Tense, silent, daunting seconds passed as Lucius slowly looked up to Athos, a small frown on his eyelids, fraught with what he had to face.

"…I am" he said.