MJC: Okay, so this is really short, and very rushed. I apologize, but do not worry. Since it's Summer, I'll be bored enough to write more, and hopefully better. I'm not gonna bother with inserting Elsword characters in A.N.s anymore.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything whose mascot/main character has red hair.

Chapter Twenty-Three:
Ran's Beginnings.

Third PoV

The sun was setting. It was red.

This, of course, is quite obvious, as the sunset is usually a reddish color. However, that evening it stood out more so than usual.

It was a warm red, though that also was not unusual. It was beautiful, though. Not only because it was, well, a sunset, but also because it reminded Aren of someone.

"Aren, we need to head back before the sun sets completely!" Ara called from a few feet away. "You don't want to keep you-know-who waiting, do you~?" She sang teasingly.

"Right, right." Aren shuddered to think what would happen if he were late. So the two siblings went on there way. You see, they were traveling Alchemists, basically. They went around the continent sellings concoctions of various purposes.

Of all the places Aren had visited, he had one singular favorite, and that was the small town of Silva. This was due to the obvious reason of the love of his life living there.

That 'love of his life' had the temper of a hundred combined demonic dragons. Basically, you didn't want to upset her. Ever.

So, after the two boarded the cart, and the mule was successfully satisfied by his grass chewing, they were officially off.

It took no longer than several hours to get to Silva. After dropping Ara off at a market place, the cart came to a second halt, and off Aren hopped. Immediately he was engulfed by a crushingly touching hug.

"Miss me?" He questioned with a smile.

"Shut up." The red headed girl replied. From the house she had emerged from, and peeking out from behind the door was a tiny boy. He had a scrutinizing look on his face.

"Oh, Aren, that's my little brother. C'mere Els!" She called and out scurried the small boy. From up close, the boy appeared to be bigger than he had at first. Maybe thirteen.

"Els, this is Aren, he's gonna stay with us for awhile." With a scowl, the boy sized an awkardly smiling Aren up.

"Alright," Els finally replied quite begrudgingly before returning to the house. Aren raised his eyebrows at Elsa before she spoke.

"He's a good kid. Anyways, I have to go on patrol, you just get comfortable." Soon after, Elesis left. Hours later she came back, and the she, Aren, and Elsword had a dinner which he prepared.

Ara had went on to the next town and hour or so earlier, saying that she qould return for Aren eventually.

Days past, and the three lived on enjoyably. Well, until a certain day when Elesis had to go on a short mission. She didn't come back.

Days later, Aren and Els were informed that Elsa's entire team had disappeared while on the mission. The informant had given them Elsa's ribbon(which she used to keep her hair up). It was the only evidence found.

And thus the mourning began. It started off as a flood of fire, burning inside Aren from the inside. He thought the feeling would never go away.

He locked himself away into both his room and his mind. That was when the whispers started up. They promised him happiness. They promised him power. They promised him all that he desired.

Yet, he didn't give in. Perhaps it was Elesis' memory, or maybe it was the sadness he saw on Els' face. It contorted the boy's face in great anger and the agony of being alone.

After a day or two of that, Ara returned. Smiling brightly and cheerful as always. When she saw the sad looks and darkened atmosphere, she immediately began to remedy it.

First, she made delicious meals to get the two boys to speak over lunch or dinner. Then she began to take them out places(threatening them with terrible words if they refused). To a tavern, the market, or just a walk around town, it did not matter where she took them.

Then, one day, when she had coaxed the two out to the spot where Aren had watched that sunset only a week ago, it went awry.

It was a sheer cliff, you see, that they stood on. Grassy plains stretched out both behind and below them. The horizon was impossibly far, making the sky seem as vast as life itself.

It was exactly the same as a week ago, but it was noon. So, as Ara lay down a quilt for a picnic, a great shadow fell over the trio.

In another moment, as the three all looked to the source, a great three headed dragon emerged from where the cliff faced. It roared, sending dragon spittle everywhere.

Ara screamed; Els gasped. In an agonizingly slow sequence, the terrible scene unfolded before Aren. The whispers shrieked through his consciousness as the dragon roared once again.

Flaming raindrops the size of boulders began pelting the ground. Ice frosted over the ground, grabbing at anything it could.

The impact of one caused Els to fall to the ground. An ice chunk hit his head, and his eyelids fell.

In moments, such excruciatingly slow moments, Ara's quilt was frozen over, and nipping at her leg. Another boulder raindrop fell nearby, completely encasing her with terror frozen(literally) on her face.

Those whispers were really getting to him.

I'll give you power. Power to kill that dragon; power to free your sister. Power. Power. Power. Power. Power. Power.

And it went on, and on, and on, and on.

"Fine!" He cried, collapsing in submission.

But it wasn't Aren.

The most noticeable difference was his hair. It had transformed from a dark obsidian, to a moonlight silver, with two twisting horns protruding from the sides. Next most noticeable was his expression. His previous grief engulfed features had changed into a stony scowl.

Lastly, his eyes were almost cat like, and the irises a ruby color. With a 'tch' and a flick of the wrist, a great phantom sword appeared and impaled the dragon in midair. It cried out deafeningly, but did not fall.

With another swing, the phantasmal sword swiped off a singular head. Down it fell, to the bottom of the cliff. Two more swings, and the dragon's body fell, fell, fell, landing with a tremor by it's heads.

Not-Aren managed to free Ara. Soon, Els awoke.

Neither Aren, nor Ara, were to be seen.

Weeks later, Els could not remember what happened that day. He could tell it was important, but was not sure why.

"Oh well."

Ran narrowed his eyes. Aren's memories were becoming more vivid. This was bad. They were too distracting. Those emotions that were not his were arising once again.

Reality snapped into focus as he landed his first hit. The butt of another phantasmal sword made contact with the little witch's temple several feet away. He, for whatever reason, wanted her alive. Perhaps she would prove useful.

Growling, Elsword charged. The smoky black sword clanged against Els.

"I'm going to kill you." He hissed through clenched teeth. Ran felt anticipation welling up inside of him. Perhaps this fight would be more interesting than he had first thought.

MJC: I apologize for taking eons upon eons to update! I hope you enjoyed the chapter, nevertheless.

Toodle-loodles,

~My-Joyful-Chaos