[What-if] What if Martel was Lloyd's mother? What if he was born a few years before the Kharlan War? What if Lloyd unintentionally became the next Chosen? Tales of Symphonia "what-if", partially follows the game/manga/OVA. [AU]
Ah, chapter four. I tried pulling an all-nighter for this. Coming home from work after 12am and staying up til 4am typing. Yeah, I try. Oh yeah, don't worry about Lloydie boy. I would never kill off my favorite character prematurely. Wait, yes I would, in some cruel way. But, not this story. Somehow, listening to The Sacred Blacksmith OST helped with this chapter. Luke Ainsworth… -squeals like the fangirl she is- …I mean, enjoy this chapter. Review responses are at the bottom as before.
-x-x-x-
The Goddess's Son of Mana
Chapter 4: The Chosen is His Son
-x-x-x-
"Eternal Sword! Hear my call!"
A golden light appeared, and within it, a magical sword of ethereal appeal materialized. "Master of the Pact… What is your desire?" A voice spoke.
"I want to separate the kingdoms of Sylvarant and Tethe'alla and make them into two different worlds; one opposite of each other. I wan to stop magitechnology from consuming mana from the Great Kharlan Tree."
"If this is done, it will consume a vast amount of mana from your body as well as sever the ties of mana left in the worlds that had balanced. One world shall prosper with the preserve of mana left and the other in decline. One world shall wither while the other in abundance. The Great Kharlan Tree will have need of the Great Seed to restore mana into the world. Is this what you want?"
"Yes it is. Do it now, Eternal Sword!"
A small silence until the sword began to glow again. "Very well, Master of the Pact."
Finally, the warring of the kingdoms of Sylvarant and Tethe'alla ended, having lasted longer than anyone expected. It had been at least three, long cruel years that seemed to last forever, unending death and destruction. Mithos and his two companions, Yuan and Kratos, finally found time in which to split the kingdoms apart, forming into two different worlds, and opposite of each other. Eventually, one world would suffer mana depletion and the other would prosper. But, it didn't matter now. It had been done, and it caused many tremors and suffering upon human life. Regardless, it would get better over time, with healing and life. Now that the worlds have severed, the young half-elf approached the seed of the Kharlan Tree, which was expected to be planted and thus, both worlds could have enough mana.
But no.
Mithos sadly pushed his sister's Exsphere into the Great Seed, her soul visually appearing, but unresponsive. He watched as her lifeless form remained in a deep slumber, almost peaceful in an eerie way.
"…Mithos? What are you doing? The seed needs to be planted." Yuan told the young half-elf.
"…"
"…Mithos." Yuan persisted. "Answer me."
"I can't plant the seed right now." The boy answered. His voice was full of hurt and anger. His sister's death and his nephew's disappearance still weighed heavily on his heart. He couldn't let them go, more importantly; he couldn't let his sister's death go. It plagued him the moment her body vaporized three years passed. It pained him every waking moment. It angered him every second he took breath. Not only this, it crushed the life out of Kratos, whom had not said a word after the war ended. He looked like he had died that very moment. His wife, dead, his son, gone, and it was three years he had to push his personal thoughts aside to pave the way for a new beginning.
Yuan glanced at the auburn haired swordsman. His friend was a waking zombie, a man whose soul had been stolen from him, his heart had been pierced by a spear, and his emotions, locked away. The blue-haired man hated seeing his friend this way, but there wasn't anything he could do. But… "Mithos, what do you mean?"
"I'm going to use it…to revive my sister."
"What?!" Yuan snapped, unbelieving.
"I'm going to revive my sister!" The boy repeated, eying the older half-elf. "She died trying to protect Lloyd! I'm going to revive her, and then, we'll revive Lloyd! We'll be together again, just the five of us!"
If anything could strike pain at Kratos, Mithos' words did. He actually moved; he turned his dead gaze upon his student. Revive his wife and child? And with the Great Seed's mana? Would that be possible? Even if it was, Kratos was sure the both of them wouldn't want that. But something in the back of his mind believed Lloyd was still alive, somewhere out there. Martel told him she sent him far away, so there was a chance, a possibility he was alive. "Mithos, that's…! You made a promise to Origin." Yuan dragged on, angering the boy even more.
"I know I did, but I can't lose my sister! She's my only family!"
"What about Kratos and I? We're family!"
"Yes, but…not as close as my sister and I. You don't understand, Yuan! You just don't!"
"Yes I do! I loved her, Mithos!"
"…What?"
"At a time, I did love Martel. But, she loved Kratos more, and I respected that. I'm as hurt as the both of you are. She was our friend, our companion, someone we loved in different ways. Don't tell me I don't understand, Mithos."
A brief pause and silence rode over them. The blond stared at the man with blue hair, eyes wide with disbelief. Kratos had narrowed his gaze upon Yuan as well, although he knew about his friend's crush ride with his wife before they were engaged and married. He hadn't purposely stolen Martel from Yuan; she and the man just simply got along very well and to the point where they confessed their feelings. Eventually, after time, they wanted to start a family. That was it; any young couple's dream was to have a family of their own. They had it for four years, and then everything went down hill. The Kharlan War destroyed his family, destroyed his life. It took his heart and ripped it apart. The absurdity of Mithos' claim to revive his sister sparked an interest in Kratos' unaccepted reality of what happened to his wife and child. He was in a state of denial and depression, and would want nothing more than to be in the embrace of his two loves again.
"So now I ask, why are you going to do this, Mithos Yggdrasil?" Yuan crossed his arms, his emerald eyes falling upon the half-elf child.
"I want my sister back! I'll do anything to have her back!" The boy shouted.
"Mithos, listen to yourself…It's irrational."
"I don't care!"
More silence.
"I…am going to side with Mithos on this." Kratos began, earning a gasp from Yuan and a startled expression from Mithos. Was this guy for real? Who was this guy and what had he done to Kratos? The real swordsman wouldn't have even dreamed of doing something so stupid and disrespectful of the dead. Yuan narrowed his eyes on Kratos before finally getting it, having studied the man a little more. He was in the stage of depression and denial. He was denying the fact his wife and son were gone, and depressed about their disappearance. In any event, he wasn't thinking clearly.
"Kratos, are you serious? You and Mithos are not thinking this clearly."
"We are reviving Martel." Mithos stated firmly. "Yuan, if you don't want to help us, then fine. But I won't stop until I have my sister back. She will need a new body."
"And how will you do that?"
"It's simple; we create one. I will create something better for my sister."
Yuan sighed. While he disliked the idea of bringing the dead back, he couldn't let his friends do this on their own. He would simply have to go through this, however long it would take. Deep down, he did want to see Martel alive again after her life had been taken prematurely. With her revival, she could easily locate Lloyd and they would find him. In the meantime, they would have to search individually. That brought something to the half-elf man's attention; yes! They could search for Lloyd now that the worlds have been severed! As Mithos and Kratos, along with Noise were leaving, Yuan stopped them.
"Wait. Before you two do anything you'll regret, let's try to look for Lloyd."
"…" Kratos dotted, but internally agreed. Perhaps they would find his son and then perhaps, they could find a way to bring Martel to life. It was simple and seemed easy.
-x-x-x-
The four had searched everywhere in every city, town and location on both worlds for the lost child. He was nowhere to be found, and even Mithos couldn't sense the presence of his sister's mana anywhere on the continents. If Lloyd had been encased in a solidified cocoon of his mother's mana, then it would have been easily detected! So, why was this becoming such a chore? This infuriated Mithos, internally angered and worried Kratos, and upset Yuan. One particular spot, however, Noishe led them to each time they searched for the toddler. It was in a large, forested area near the village of oracles, Iselia. The three tried looking around, each time, in case they missed a huge mana signature or something golden and visible. They even had Noishe dig around, but all they found was nothing. Nothing!
"Kratos, Noishe keeps leading us here every time but we still find and sense nothing." Yuan told the auburn, who growled lightly.
"I know, Yuan, but Noishe knows the boy's scent. He has to be around here somewhere!" Kratos nearly shouted.
Mithos shook his head. "We were here for his first birthday. Perhaps he found the boy's old scent…"
Yuan face-palmed. "That must be it. Noishe followed Lloyd's scent to here, where we had his first birthday. No wonder…"
The three sadly looked down, sighing. All except Kratos; he kept his eyes upon the ground, even as Mithos and Yuan began leaving. No. His son had to be around here somewhere! There's no way Noishe could be wrong. Even if the boy's old scent was here, that didn't mean his new scent could be floating around. The protozoan was keen on finding the child from anywhere. No, there had to be somewhere else in this forest that they may have missed. A rock, a tree, anything! With every panicking thought that burned into his head, Kratos' heartbeat accelerated. "No…Lloyd is here. Somewhere. We…we have to keep looking…!"
"…It's over, Kratos." Mithos finally admitted. He was giving up on his nephew. "…If we revive my sister, she will help us revive Lloyd. We will bring him back, too. Then we can all be together."
"…"
"Come on Kratos. There's…more work for us to do now."
It took five minutes and all the energy he had for the auburn to truly respond and leave his spot. He cursed himself ever since that day; how could he just give up on his son after Martel told him to take care of him!? What kind of father was he? A horrible one, at that! But, the more he thought about it, the more he came to realize it. Lloyd was gone, and that would conclude to his eventual death. The child, should he have survived, would not make it out alive. Thoughts plagued the human angel's mind; wild, carnivorous animals tearing the boy up, eating at his flesh once they attacked, and mauling him. Kratos closed his eyes and tried to wipe those horrid thoughts away. How could he think of that? Was he getting weak? No, it was the father in him that was beginning to worry; a deep worry that could never be replaced, no matter what.
"…Lloyd, I'm sorry, please forgive your foolish father…"
-x-x-x-
One Hundred Years Later
-x-x-x-
Mithos was serious about the revival of his sister, that he formed a "colony" on Derris-Kharlan, where elves originally came from. He formed the Cruxis and the Cruxis Crystals, which were enhanced forms of the Exsphere. In a way, he, Yuan and Kratos had one long before these "new" ones were invented. It transformed them into angels, beings with wings made of mana that echoed the person's true heart. Mithos manipulated many people to serve as angels, going so far as to brainwash them. The crystals transformed them into beings with no emotions, which differed from Kratos and Yuan. Mithos then labeled them the Four Seraphim, including Martel, even if she was no longer alive physically. The deranged half-elf then forced the entire seal of Origin upon Kratos; this kept the pact of Origin shut tight and would allow him to use the Eternal Sword as much as he wanted. He had broken the pacts of the Summon Spirits; he moved the Great Seed onto Derris-Kharlan with him.
That was not apart of the vows he made.
The process of reviving Martel included the founding of the Church of Martel, which had been scattered about throughout both Sylvarant and Tethe'alla as well as Houses of Salvation. Now, the only thing left was to find a suitable body for his sister. In order to do this, Mithos had to find someone with a mana signature of or close to his sister's, which would be enough for the person's body to contain her soul within them. However, the body must be empty of the former's soul, to become a vessel. In which case, the person will have to die spiritually in order to have their body used for the purpose of reviving Martel. If it succeeded, Mithos would personally shape the body into something more suitable.
Of course, to perfect this plan, Mithos had himself, Yuan and Kratos twist the truth, the story of the war, what they did and strived for to reach this point. They made another legend based upon the truth. The story of the Chosen soon began to spread like wildfire across both worlds, and in this, Mithos would pinpoint the next child of mana, whose signature was closest to Martel's and they would be born with an Exsphere—or rather a Cruxis Crystal—in their hands. This would mark them as the Chosen, as each passage explains "a Chosen is born with an Exsphere". It was simple. In order for the person's body to be perfected into a vessel, they would have to undergo trials to strengthen the Cruxis Crystal in order to quicken the angel transformation. The body would lose their ability to eat, sleep, feel, talk, and then finally, have to give up their soul and memories, in order to be perfected, and in a twist, would "regenerate the world's mana" due to "Desians using up so much mana". The Tower of Salvation was built betwixt both worlds as the "final seal".
To create more Cruxis Crystals, Mithos needed to gather living beings and process them off their bodies. The most suitable candidates were humans. While Kratos was disturbed at first, he eventually stopped worrying about it. After all, it was for sacrifices like so that he wished to see his wife again. He would do anything to get her back; even this, and even submit to Mithos' wild exclaim to create an Age of Lifeless Beings.
Stories of many Chosens soon filled story books and fairy tales, however many failed time and time again. Either they were killed by monsters or Desians killed them. In the end, the Chosens weren't fully protected, and those Desians, which were nothing but half-elves, needed to learn that he wanted them to "give the Chosens a hard time" than to kill them. Eventually, it worked out in the end, and soon, human ranches were constructed to process Expsheres. It was the torturing of human beings gathered together in one facility, beating helpless humans down, making them work and overwork, and any means of torture. In a way, it was Mithos' way of vengeance for the discrimination he and his sister suffered, not just for the Exspheres. Human ranches only existed in the one world where they suffered extreme discrimination in when the world wasn't split; Sylvarant.
Ranches weren't in Tethe'alla, despite the kingdom-of-old's claim they lied. It didn't matter, however. They would get theirs some way or another.
Mithos then used his Cruxis Crystal to transform himself into an older version of his own self, to "appear more menacing and have authority" over his underlings. Regardless of being apart of the Four Seraphim, the half-elf even commanded Yuan and Kratos to escort Chosens from either side, when their time came, in order to give his sister the perfect body. Once, it had almost worked, but his sister's soul rejected the vessel. Enraged at the failure, Mithos killed the failure and demanded another be bred with arranged marriages of course. He had to find the perfect one, no matter what.
-x-x-x-
Three Thousand Years Later
-x-x-x-
Nothing was working.
Every Chosen up to this point have either failed to reach it to the Tower or Martel's soul would reject the body. It didn't make sense to Mithos; he carefully bred for each Chosen, keeping them all female of course. He chose which parent should marry due to the mana signatures they possessed and that the outcome of their children would possess the one he needed to suit his sister's soul. But they had gone all wrong; either the parents were killed by disease or some other misfortune would occur, such as the Chosen being killed when they were born and began their journey. It was infuriating; he had been doing this for so long, but it was becoming painfully exhausting. Not just for him, but for his two friends, who slaved themselves at the wit of his command to guard the Chosens on their journeys. Each time they went, they gained experience and practically knew the worlds like the back of their hands. Eventually, the journeys bored them, and Yuan began losing his faith.
Was all of this necessary?
No, it wasn't.
The blue-haired half-elf was getting tired of this constant, never ending vicious cycle. He could also see it in Kratos' eyes, but the man, who had looked like he had been dead for eons, didn't even budge. It was as if his emotions were hardened into the ice he created. There was no more laughter, joy or anything in his friend anymore. He would rarely get angry and if he did, it would most likely be a sensitive topic. The human angel appeared even more dead the more he went on these Chosen journeys. He sacrificed life after life to see his wife alive again. It was terrible enough he abandoned the search for Lloyd those many, many sorrowful years ago and even though the boy was half-angel, there was no chance he would be alive now. He would have likely died due to old age or from being killed by something out there.
Yuan scowled; there was nothing more he wanted to do with this plan any longer. He needed an outlet, some way to get out of Cruxis and thwart Mithos' plans. He knew exactly how he could do it, too.
Secretly, the blue-haired half-elf began searching for other half-elves that existed in both Tethe'alla and Sylvarant, explaining the situation of Cruxis to them, but however, explaining to them that they could combat against it; by stopping the Chosen's path when they started, it would frustrate Yggdrasil. Of course, this meant he had to work as a double agent, but nonetheless, he had to try. The group of half-elves worked together in secrecy, stopping the Chosens when they came around, usually by killing them. The small group didn't stop there. Even with the death of the original half-elves that began with Yuan, they were replaced by members of the growing, breeding family, their stories passed on from generation to generation to help their Lord Yuan in succeeding in his goals. Most of the time, they failed but then, the Chosen would either fail at the last seal or Martel's soul rejected them. Either way, if it stopped them from reviving Martel and stopping Mithos' absurd plans, it was good enough for him.
All he had to do was play the cards correctly and hope to never be found out…
-x-x-x-
A Thousand Years Pass
-x-x-x-
Sylvarant was in danger of its mana depletion. It was loosing its balance of mana it used to have with Tethe'alla; it was a battle of mana survival, and the other side was winning. Another Chosen had been bred specifically for this, but it was sixteen years too early and it had not been born just yet. In fact, two Chosens were being bred at the same time, rather than having one at a time like he used to have them. Yggdrasil was growing impatient now.
"Sister… This time, I will not fail you." Mithos, as Yggdrasil, began talking to the Great Seed, looking up at it. "I promise."
His time was interrupted by an angel drone, who floated in mindlessly. "Milord." Yggdrasil turned to face the near-emotionless angel, not really in the mood but answered it anyway. "What findings did you bring about the newest Chosens?"
"They are near complete matches, sir." The angel drone answered. "However…there is a matter at hand."
"And what might that be?"
"Sir, there is a reading in Sylvarant that there is another with a match of the mana signature of your desires." Yggdrasil rose his attention up to this information. There was another, not bred by his arranged marriages that carried a mana signature was very close to, no, exactly like his sister's? Who was this person? The only one who could possibly be a match to his sister's signature was dead—!
Wait.
He recalled the memory of his sister encasing the child in a solidified cocoon of her mana. She sent the child far away. He was deemed dead, but now, there could be a chance this might be him! This could be Lloyd! His nephew was alive?! Without revealing his excited emotions, he glanced at the angel. "Where is this presence residing in?"
"It is located in the forest near Iselia."
Yggdrasil growled. They had checked there several times and no sign of Lloyd's or Martel's mana had been found. Noishe even led them to that blasted forest many times over, but they believed that crazy protozoan just smelled out Lloyd's old scent. Now, it made sense. Noishe had been right all along. Lloyd had just been hidden from them as a security measure by his mother's mana. It all made sense now, and with his deranged mind, he schemed up the perfect plan. With a twisted grin, he narrowed his green eyes upon the angel drone. "What damage will it do should I remove the Chosen of Sylvarant onto another being?"
"No damage will be done, as long as there is not a Cruxis Crystal present within the child's hands during growth within the womb." The angel replied.
"And last I checked, I hadn't given one to the Chosen of Sylvarant either. Heheh, perfect. This is absolutely perfect. Abandon the Chosen of Sylvarant and reschedule a new one."
"Sir, it will be done. What should the name of the new Chosen be?"
Grinning to himself, but knew it had to be done, he said, "Lloyd Aurion." He watched the angel nod and began making notes. "Do not let Kratos or Yuan see this. They must never know." And I'll make sure they don't know.
"Yes my lord."
"Good, now go."
The angel left and was soon replaced by the audience of a half-elf with white-silver hair, black eyes with red pupils. He bowed as he entered the chambers of his master. Yggdrasil raised an eyebrow at the half-elf, but figured he was here to report something of his human ranch. "Kvar, what brings you here?" The tall blond said, almost with a scowl.
"My lord, I bring wonderful news. The experiment of the Angelus Project from subject A012 was completed. I have come to present it to you, as a gift, my lord, to you." Kvar, as he was called, said with a grin plastered to his face. He presented the small, blue gem—which was an Exsphere—to Yggdrasil. "It is everything of a Cruxis Crystal at its base power, for now. It will grow to become a Cruxis Crystal but even better than the ones you use, my lord. You will be very pleased at how fast anyone becomes an angel with this—"
"This can enhance the angel transformation faster?" Yggdrasil interrupted, however Kvar nodded.
"Indeed my lord."
"Good. I have use for it."
Kvar smiled. "I have made it for you, Lord Yggdrasil."
"I'm glad you did, Kvar. I will give it to someone else who will be worthwhile to have it."
This shocked the half-elf man. Why would his lord give it to someone else when he spent many years on perfecting the ultimate Cruxis Crystal for him? That didn't make any sense! Kvar held in his scowl and anger, wanting to press this matter as much as he could. "S-sir, how-however do you mean?"
"I will be giving it to my long lost nephew."
"P-Pardon?!"
The blond-haired seraph glared in Kvar's way, making the man shudder. "I said I'm giving it to my nephew!" He snapped, then lightly calmed down. "He is a half-angel, and I have plans for him." Yggdrasil twisted the blue gem in his hands, observant and grinning to himself. It was a foul plan, something he would have never agreed on, but when it came to his sister's revival, he'd do anything. Even use his nephew as a tool. He would force his nephew to become the very vessel of his mother, the one who he sought out for so long in his separation, most likely. He would also use Kratos in this journey; it would be unlikely that Lloyd would recognize his father…if he grew up and out of his coma, of course. Yes, Kratos, his son would be the new Chosen. After a dangerous chuckle from Yggdrasil, he summoned an angel drone flew in, responding.
"Yes, Lord Yggdrasil?"
"Deliver this to the mana signature of Martel in the Iselia Forest." He gave the angel the Angelus Project. "I have need of another Chosen, and that one is sleep. He shall wake up soon enough."
"Yes milord."
When the angel and the Exsphere was gone, Yggdrasil turned to Kvar, who looked very angry. He had no more use for the half-elf, well, except to make him more expsheres and to punish those filthy humans. "Kvar, you are dismissed." The blond told him, turning around. The white-blond half-elf growled lowly under his breath but kept his mouth silent and exited the chambers. When he was far away enough, he narrowed his eyes. "IseliaForest, hm? I can't let a brat have MY precious Exsphere I worked so hard on. I suppose I'll be…on vacation through the woods…Heheh…"
-x-x-x-
Sylvarant was blanketed into the darkness of night, with a full moon peaking around many clouds. Aforementioned clouds were dark and a chilling breeze passed over. It was evident a storm would be coming. In the thicket of the Iselian forest, a crack of glass could be heard, echoing. Something had dropped upon it and now, the glass was breaking apart. After three minutes of chipping away noises, the enter thing shattered. After that, a soft, low, whimpering cry echoed throughout the dark woods. More shuffles here and there, and walking out of what seemed to be a ditch, was a little boy. He had light brown hair, which darkened at some points and had a tint of red in it as well. His eyes were a mix of pale gold and brown, also having a red tint to them. He was dressed in a white, long-sleeve shirt, however, it had aged blood upon it that would most likely never wash out. He had one dark blue shorts, his bare legs visible, and he only had one shoe on. His socks were tattered but nonetheless, still intact. He was the whimpering case that made the forest eerie and echoes his every shudder. The cold wind blew every tree, making the leaves rustle loudly, further giving the child the more reason to be scared for his life.
"…M…Mommy?" He cried out, looking around. "Daddy?" He couldn't remember a thing, except voices. He only heard voices of the ones he thought he remembered. Their faces that went with them were all blurry, foggy and clouded. But he remembered someone singing to him and it was nice. It was in a language he thought he knew but at the same time, didn't know. He also didn't know why he was holding onto a blue stone, either, but it felt very reassuring. He looked around, wondering. "Wh…Where am I? My head hurts…"
"Hey! You kid! What are you doing here!?" Someone shouted. The boy gasped, remaining frozen in his spot. The person that shouted at him was a man in red, wearing armor and held a whip. He scowled as he got closer to the child, narrowing his eyes through his helmet. "Kid! Don't you know you're in violation of the non-aggression treaty we have with Iselia?!"
"Wh-what?" The boy wondered, scared. "I… I… I j-just…I—"
"Hmph! Who cares!? You stupid human child! You'll learn your place!" The Desian growled, cracking his whip. "You'll just be in the ranch like the rest of them!"
"R-ranch? What is that?"
"Don't play dumb with me kid!" The Desian raged, cracking his whip at the boy. The brunet fell to his knees, wailing loudly.
"Waaaah! Aaaaah! Mommy! Mommy help me!"
"Your mom can't save your ass now, brat!" The child was grabbed by his shirt forcefully. He tried to scramble free, but couldn't do anything, but cry. His crying was so loud, it made the Desian growl even lower. "Shut up, kid! Or I'll have to whip some sense into you! It's your own damn fault for interfering! Now I have to report to Lord Forcystus!"
"Waaaaaah! I want my mommy and daddy!"
"Shut UP!"
This only fueled the child's rampant crying. Having heard enough, the Desian tossed the boy to the ground, making him cry even more. Ugh! What a crybaby! "That's it! I'm gonna—"
"You're going to do what?" A snarling, deep voice said, stopping the Desian. He spun around, looking up to a man with short, aquamarine hair, green eyes, an eye-patch over his left eye and having a cannon of sorts over his left arm. The Desian stood at attention, saluting the man before him.
"L-Lord Forcystus. I…I was about to silence this child and then throw him into the ranch—"
"Have you no sense? You cannot simply spare a half-elf child?" The man named Forcystus scowled. The Desian's eyes widened under his helmet as he turned back to the wailing child. This boy was a half-elf? But his ears were round and he looked like a human! Noticing the Desian's expression, the aquamarine-haired half-elf began, "It may be diluted but he is of half-elf descent. Leave him as he is."
"But sir…"
"Now!" The man snapped.
Obeying quickly, the Desian was gone, having gone through the ranch's opened gate. When he was out of sight, Forcystus walked up to the crying child, kneeling next to him to have a closer look. Indeed, this child had elven blood in him, but it was hidden so well, he nearly thought he was just a human. Another human he would rather see suffer in his ranch. It was obvious to the man that the boy had been abandoned by his parents, either because they didn't want him or they had been killed. Sighing, Forcystus nudged the child, making him stop wailing for a few seconds, calming to sniffles. The boy seemingly recognized something kindred in the man before him; he had…he couldn't put his finger on it, but it was definitely something he thought he remembered feeling. Power?
"Are you lost, kid?" Forcystus asked in a quiet tone. The boy nodded his head, about to submit to tears again when the half-elf held up his hand. "Uh. Not another peep of tears." The child resorted to sniffling however, which Forcystus knew he could handle for the time being.
"Listen, you can't come with me, but you need to be with the village. You're a human after all."
"H-huh?"
"I'm sparing you, kid. And it looks like I have to." The man saw the shining, blue gem in the boy's hand. He knew what that meant and he knew what that meant for the village across the forest. Another Chosen…This kid's parents abandoned him possibly for that. I can't blame them, but damn! The elder half-elf sighed, rising to his feet. He couldn't leave this boy here; he would rather be killed than abandoning a fellow half-elf to meet his demise. The boy was about to cry again but was stopped by Forcystus' hand again. "Get up, kid. You're going to a new home now."
"Huh? W-why? I…I want my mommy and dadd—"
"They're not coming back for you, kid. And, you have something important to do for the world when you get older."
"…I…do?"
"That's right. Now come on before I leave you here." Forcystus began leaving, however, not before summoning another Desian. This new man in red reported quickly, letting the half-elf man remove the cannon from his arm, and removed the eye patch from over his left eye. After telling the Desian to put those into his chambers, he motioned for the child to follow him, who eagerly did so. After all, this man saved his life and was being nice to him, somewhat. The boy near him carefully held the blue stone in his hands, afraid it would break if he clumsily dropped it.
"…Um… Th-thank you for…helping me, mister." The boy said finally after what appeared to be five minutes of silence and sniffling.
"Don't worry about it, kid."
"Why?"
"Because I said so."
"Why?"
"…Kid…Cut it out." Forcystus scowled lightly, but hid it well under his breath. The boy silenced, looking down again. After a moment, and nearing the forest's exit, the man asked, "What's your name, boy?" The brunet sorrowfully looked ahead, frowning. What was his name again? He had forgotten or maybe he never had one. Think, think! What was his name? He closed his eyes tightly, trying to remember, but it was all foggy and clouded. But, something was there, and he barely grasped it with straws.
"…Lloyd." He mumbled sadly.
"Hm, I see."
They continued to walk on through the night, eventually coming upon the village of oracles. Somewhere, deep down, Lloyd felt he knew this place. But, from where? Before he could question himself, Forcystus shouted into the sleeping village, "Come out you worthless human scum! I am the Grand Cardinal Lord Forcystus!" This attracted the startling attention from many awake men in their houses. One in particular was a young man in his early twenties with blond hair, together with his wife. When the villagers, sans the children were situated towards the front gate of the village, they all gasped. There was a Desian! "A…A Desian!" A woman cried.
"Shut up." Forcystus growled, silencing them all. Lloyd trembled in fear, and saw the people. They were just as scared as he was! "You people have forged a treaty with me, in the place that I do not harm your stupid village of you human roaches. However, a human boy here," He pushed Lloyd forward, "had been found near my ranch." The villagers gasped, all in fear and worry. They didn't know this child, so why were they being blamed for this? They had done their part! They left the human ranch alone!
"Th…this boy doesn't even belong here!" a man with black hair, the mayor, snapped. "H…He's an outsider! He's not one of us! Believe us, we've kept our word."
"Hush!" The Grand Cardinal snapped as well, forcing the man into silence. "I will overlook this matter if this boy stays here. I believe…he will be of merit to you all." With that, he shoved the toddler towards them. In this, Lloyd's blue gem fell out of his hands, rolling a few inches away from him. The boy gasped, hurrying towards it and picked it up. This made the villagers stunned in shock; this outsider boy with an Expshere in his hands. Could it be…?
"…Is…Is he the next Chosen?" The mayor wondered. They all believed the Chosen would be born in their village, but here he was, this child that didn't belong anywhere. What were they to do?
"If you value your pathetic lives, you will keep this boy." Forcystus warned, narrowing his eyes. "If any mistreatment is found towards him, I'll personally burn this village down to ashes!" With this, the half-elf Grand Cardinal left the village's gate, leaving Lloyd there all to himself with a bunch of strangers. His brownish eyes met with each one of theirs, getting scared. He wanted to curl up and cry, but was approached by the man with blond hair. Lloyd looked up to him as he knelt down.
"Now…then…Let's get you inside somewhere safe." The man said, smiling. "What's your name, hm?"
"L…Lloyd." The boy repeated.
"Okay then, Lloyd, I'm Frank." The blond said, nervously wondering if the half-elf man would come back. He seemed very defensive of this human child. Was it because he was the Chosen? Well in any case, his sparring of the child brought them joy. "Let's get you cleaned up, Lloyd. You can sleep at our house." With this, Frank and his heavily pregnant wife left to their house, leaving the mayor and the other villagers confused. Soon, the others dispersed into their own houses, being afraid of the half-elf's threat. The mayor trailed lightly to his house, grumbling.
At the distance, however, Kvar saw everything. Forcystus got to the child before he did. Damn that Forcystus! …But I suppose I'll have to do as Lord Yggdrasil wishes…for now. The white-haired half-elf left the area with a teleporting warp of mana, leaving the Iselians alone. He would get his Angelus Project back, even if it meant defying his master and killing that boy later on.
Galdr: Toldja I wouldn't let Lloyd die! XD He was just in a coma for several thousands of years. Man, I'm so tired. Spent from 1am to 5am typing over 6,000 words. Ah well, it was worth it. And I'm sure I misspelled Forcystus' name, too.
Review replies for Chapter three!
Marina Ka-Fai: Yes, poor everyone. D: I actually cried a little when I was typing that. It may have been the sad music influencing the emotion, though. Anyway, thanks for the review/comment.
TosLover5 (Guest): Thank-you for the review! I'm sorry the ending was sad for you but fear not, this chapter has Lloyd in it. XD He's not gone.
Kenta Diamond: Ah, thank-you for the compliment and your review. :D I'm sorry I made your relive Martel's death. It got me sad too, but it had to be done. ):
Thank-you all for the story faves and adds! It really helps fuel my drive to keep flushing out chapters from nowhere! Review if you like!