Thanks to those that have taken a read of Chronicles of Eos. As I said, this will be the second story in the Chronicles series and connect to more of Roni's story in the first story.

Update: Since I figured that the first iteration was too dark, this'll follow a similar format to Chronicles of Eos. But it'll start off with tragedy and hopefully end with some semblances of hope.

As usual, all characters belong to their respective properties.

-miano53

Chronicle One: Sorrowful Beginnings

Arriving in the Callaegh Steps region, a dark-haired man dressed in black and grey ran past many plant workers and scientists trying to escape the catastrophe. He had heard the explosion all the way back in Longwythe Town, 20 miles from the underground complex, and texted his wife to see what was wrong. When he didn't get a text back and saw emergency alerts on the news, he rushed to the Baron Labs-Balouve Facility. There, he saw people running from the entrance.

There, he saw black smoke pouring out of the main entrance and various explosions from the hills above. The towers that jutted out from the landscape to provide the facility oxygen and release the trapped gases from below were on fire and emergency crews hadn't a clue what to do. Those that managed to make it out were covered in soot, burns, and cuts and were immediately treated by ambulances from Longwythe.

Looking around for any familiar faces, he sighed in relief as he spotted a red-haired youth in blue and white. She was one of the STEM students named Refia Kazus. The man rushed toward her and she yelled, "Dr. Callum! You're okay!"

"Where's my wife?" Dr. Callum asked.

Refia shook her head and said, "You can't go down there! There are flames and smoke everywhere. "

"Refia! Where's my wife?!" Dr. Callum shouted over the cacophony of panicked screams and shouts.

"I don't know. Last, I remember, she was in the crystal chamber and then the explosions happened and…" Refia explained.

Dr. Callum started to head for the entrance when he was stopped by one of the guards, his friend Carlo Amici. The bald man pulled him away, yelling, "Reggie, no! You can't go inside! That's the epicenter of the…!"

Another explosion rocked the foundations of the place and Dr. Callum shouted, "No! No!"

He tried to push past the man when Carlo yelled, pushing him away from the entrance, "Reggie! NO! If you go into, you'll end up just like her!"

"Let me through! I have to…!" Dr. Callum shouted, wanting to go in there and rescue his wife.

"You'll end up irradiated or fried to a crisp! Let the authorities handle it! They're better equipped than we are!" Carlo yelled, trying to keep his friend from certain death.

Dr. Callum relented, falling to his knees, and having his friend drag him away from the scene.

Two weeks later, September 13, 1733 ME, Imperial City of Insomnia…

A ring on his phone and Reginald Callum looked down at his desk, seeing that his friend, Carlo Amici was calling him. He was periodically getting updates from him during his time in Insomnia, with the scientist staying at a government-run housing complex. To keep his mind off his wife's demise, Dr. Callum went through her files, remotely accessing her computers to see exactly what she was working on at Balouve.

A buzz followed by another ring and Reginald picked up. The dark-haired answered and heard, "Reg, I gotta tell you…"

"What did you find?" Dr. Callum asked.

"I'm headed up to your place as I'm right outside. What I gotta say, I have to tell you in person," Carlo told him over the phone.

A click and Reginald got up from his desk in the darkened apartment. It, unlike his home in Sophiar, was sparse and had the basics. He was mainly there for his debrief of what happened on August 30th and he didn't plan on staying. The city itself was far too large and he just had too many bad memories of the place. Family legends said that the progeniture of his family had ruled Insomnia thousands of years ago, but…

"It can't be true…If it was, I'm sure we'd get treated differently," Reginald muttered, remembering the many stories his father had of their family's past.

It would also explain the hatred those in Insomnia had for the indigenous Lucians. And also certain…gifts Lucians had. And why the Gestahlian Empire was so interested in what Aure…

A knock at the door and Carlo came barreling after Reginald opened the door. He looked distraught and seemed not sure what to say. Impatient, as there had to be some more news, especially about his pregnant wife, Reginald said, "Speak, man!"

Carlo sighed, not sure if he should tell him everything. After the afflicted staff was transported to the capital city of Insomnia for treatment, the authorities found the total of dead at the Balouve Facility was around 315 and Dr. Callum's wife, Aure, was among them. She was in the epicenter of the blast, the crystal chamber, and was barely recognizable when the authorities discovered her remains. But what was even odder…or miraculous was that the infant she carried within her was still alive. But how could he tell his friend that? The whole event was incredible and he even had a hard time believing it.

"Carlo? Tell me. What did you find? I heard from Viktor about the deceased. Is…Is she among them?" Reginald asked.

Carlo nodded, still standing at the door. His friend led him inside and to a seat. Looking at the floor, the man couldn't look at him as he didn't want to describe how Aure was when they found her. And then the baby…it looked deformed beyond all recognition, being covered in those crystalline scales. He wondered if that was what protected it. Or if that was a result of being caught in the blast.

"Tell me. I can take it," Reginald told him.

Carlo did as he was asked and explained in detail what the authorities found. After nearly 30 minutes of explanations, Reginald got to his feet and wandered into the kitchen. The sound of plates clattering and silverware being put back in their places was heard and the bald man was worried for him.

A few tense moments later, Reginald returned with two cups. Carlo inwardly groaned, knowing what was inside said cups as the doctor had a habit that would warrant him going to a meeting. Aure told him that it was terrible and that his liver and other insides would suffer for it. He didn't seem to care anymore, downed one of the cups in one go, and said, "So…this is what happens when we 'mess with the natural order'…"

"This was an accident, nothing more," Carlo told him.

"We should've left that research well enough alone. My father warned me about men trying to be gods…" Reginald said, taking another sip.

"Lord Morris is somewhat senile, remember?" Carlo told him.

"He was still right. We were never to weaponize crystals or try to bend the laws of reality…And the disaster is that result…And my punishment is the loss of my wife and deformity of my child…" Reginald said, still not seeing sense.

Carlo wanted to shake him to make him come back to himself, as their work had nothing to do with "destroying the fabric or reality" or whatever those rebels were saying. Aure's work was to establish a dialogue with the sentient glowing rock that apparently had more personality than most people. And that little crystal that was in the basement of Balouve was that. Created by many decades of research into crystal formations and wanting to make their own in the event that the empire's natural reserves were exhausted, no one expected it to gain sentience, and…then the accident…

A call on his phone and there was an update on the infant's condition. He told Reginald, but the man was in his own world. With a sigh, he told Viktor, "I'm on my way."

Getting up, he said to Dr. Callum, "I'm going to go and see your son. When you're finally back to yourself, just head for St. Galuf's."

"What are we supposed to do?"

"We head for Pitioss Ruins. There, we find the statue your father saw."

"The statue of the Goddess holding the giant sword?"

"Yes, the same. According to Talcott, the statue is of a lost Astral from the time before the Astrals' War. Her name has been lost to the ages, like Garuda's, but that particular goddess is said to represent life in Eos."

"So, the opposite of Etro? Then we need to find her as soon as possible!"

"We could…but…"

"But what, Mom? If this can stop Dad from ending all of us, then we need to find that statue as soon as possible!"

"By the gods…" younger Carlo said, staring at the infant in the isolated NICU.

The tiny baby boy had on a small blue hat covering his head and several wires and tubes running through his body. Much of his skin was marred by what looked like burns and crystalline scales and a small diaper cover his lower regions. He was asleep, which was best after being in such an accident. The machines around him monitor his heart rate, oxygen levels, and even toxicity levels. The last machine was only used on crystals to see if their radiance was actually radiation. Why would they…?

One of the nurses, in hazmat gear, knocked on the window and held up a small whiteboard. She smiled from behind her mask and the signage on the board said, "It's a boy!"

"I know. You put a blue hat on him," Carlo said.

The nurse, reading his lips, looked disappointed and wrote, "Some cultures have blue as a color for girls, y'know!"

"Ah, so…he really did…"

Reginald had arrived, looking quite terrible. It was understandable that he would as he had lost his wife and gained a son that was struggling to survive all in the span of a few weeks. Just as he was about to ask, Carlo and Reginald saw one of the doctors walk toward them. They motioned for Reginald to come and speak with them and his reaction to the news had the man burst into tears.

Looking back at the small infant, Carlo muttered, "I'll help your father as much as I can. Gio, Magnolia, and I…we'll protect you two…like a shield…Huh…Wonder where that came from."

Later…

"So, those 'burns'…?" Carlo asked.

Reginald had left the hospital, headed for the Amici's home, and explained what the doctors had told him. The baby had absorbed much of the energy that came from the blast, crystallizing much of his skin and internal organs. Miraculously, his crystalline organs function like normal ones but gave off radiation akin to a small mako reactor. He also took in the energy from the atmosphere around him. Such power would be excellent for cleanup in reactor disasters. But the repercussions from pro-children advocates would be devastating to the empire…something that Viktor would think about, but completely ignore the fact.

"If I was to take him home…he would…he would only…" Reginald said.

"Make people sick and even potentially raise toxicity levels everywhere he goes?" Carlo asked.

Reginald nodded and Carlo's wife, the dark-haired, brown-eyed Magnolia Amici, said, "If he's anything like those that were 'empowered' by the crystals, then I'm sure he would be able to control such power as he grows older."

"If he does…The empire would most likely seek to kill him…or use him as a weapon…" Reginald told them.

"Then you should help him. Simple as that," Magnolia said.

Reginald shook his head, telling her that it wasn't so simple. That baby…he was…the reason…

"No, no, no. The baby isn't the reason why Aure died. The blast was. If anything, all he did was accidentally absorb and survive the blast. That's a miracle," Magnolia said, as if reading his mind.

"And did you choose a name for him yet? It's been three weeks," Carlo said, noting that Reginald hadn't revealed the infant's name.

"I don't…I don't even know if I should…He may not…" Reginald told them.

"Just name him already. It's kinda awkward just calling him 'the baby'. Seriously, that's not a name," Magnolia said.

Reginald looked down and said, "I-I have to think about it…"

One month later, October 13, Cape Caem…

"I will have to make modifications to the manor to accommodate the baby's condition, Father," Reginald said, speaking with an older man laying up in bed.

The old Lord Morris Callum, with similar features to his son, glowered and said, "See? This is what happens when one tried to harness the power of the Stars…Did you not learn anything from our ancestors?"

"This again? We didn't try to 'become gods'. We were trying to synthesize crystals to save on the natural resources we have here on the continent. The crystals' power isn't infinite and their reserves aren't inexhaustible. We didn't expect the crystal that was successfully synthesized to gain sentience," Reginald explained.

"But yet it did! And now our family's cursed even further! Now, we risk our world's demise!" Lord Morris shouted.

He then started coughing and sounded as if he was about to hack up a lung. After several moments, Lord Morris quieted down and said, "If you had heeded the legends and the words of the ancient Oracles, we wouldn't be in this predicament."

"Seriously, what have old legends and words from an eccentric family done for Eos? Nothing but keep us in the dark ages of ignorance," Reginald argued.

"And what has science done for us? Cause wars and rumors of wars and even the genocide of the Draconians!" Lord Morris retorted.

The two didn't see eye to eye at all and moments like that made Reginald want his father to be out of the picture. But…it was horrible to think that way as Lord Morris didn't start despising Reginald's career choice until after he found out that he wasn't going into medicine or "useful" sciences that fell in line with the teachings of the Cosmogony.

And after learning various things from college and gaining his doctoral degree, Reginald began despising the Cosmogony as he felt, they were responsible for religious wars, various plagues, and humanity's lack of progress. Aure would try to help the two find common ground. But she was gone and only left behind a child that most likely wouldn't make it to his first birthday. So, there was no way the two would get along.

"Did you at least name the boy?" Lord Morris asked.

Reginald shook his head, saying that it would be no point in doing so as the child had a high chance of dying. Lord Morris sighed and said, "You should at least name him, just for something to put on his grave if he goes before I do. You don't want to have your child with just the name 'Baby Callum' on the grave."

Looking away, he admitted that he couldn't think of one. His family always had an emphasis on naming, believing that a name would determine personality. Before he could say anything, Lord Morris said, "What about Nier?"

"Uh no," Reginald said.

"Neo? Nathan? Niles?" Lord Morris asked.

Reginald shook his head. The old man then asked, "Nero?"

"That name mean's 'black' in Middle Lucian…." Reginald said.

"Better than 'infant' or 'baby'…And the ancient meaning was 'strong' or 'powerful'," Lord Morris noted.

The name seemed to fit, given the predicament the child went through just to be born. Something told him that the name was okay and he agreed. His son would be named Nero Callum.

"Nero Luciano Callum. Good. Good. Hopefully, he'll pull out of this…despite being cursed," Lord Morris told him.

Sighing, the man said, "Our family's not cursed."

He then got up, not saying goodbye to his father and leaving the manor of Cape Caem.

October 15th, St. Galuf's Hospital…

"Wow, so little Nero's recovering in leaps and bounds…" Refia said.

The toxicity levels the child produce virtually vanished after six weeks and instead of terrible radiation, soft light was detected from the child. Assistants reported coming into work feeling terrible and leaving feeling energized just by being near the quarantined NICU. The nurses that helped him also reported illnesses vanishing among some in the hospital and even minor injuries disappearing.

Officials started investigating as they even reported illnesses and overall health being better for those that survived the accident. Almost as if being in the presence of Baby Callum was like being in the presence of a light crystal. Tiny Nero, sleeping without a care in the world, was in a small crib, with a few wires still on him.

Refia, among those that miraculously healed from the accident, looked at the boy and said, "You don't even know that you've saved a lot of lives. Like that explosion should've given all of us in the Longwythe region terrible toxicity. But we didn't. Almost as if you were looking out for us."

With a small whimper, the baby boy opened his light blue eyes to see the redhead. He could only see her red hair and light blue outfit and wondered who she was. Another whimper as he wanted to be cuddled. He was cold as the hospital was always cold and the nurses were changing him as he heard someone say that he needed to be in "proper attire".

"Dr. Callum does know that little Nero's just a month old, right?" one nurse asked as she changed the baby's diaper.

Refia nodded and said, "But he's still…in the noble class. So, I guess he doesn't want his son being nearly naked or something?"

"So, how are we supposed to keep the monitors on him?" another nurse asked, holding a blue and black onesie.

Refia shrugged and saw the baby give a small glower. He was over being cold and a final whimper came from him. Seconds later, the child cried loudly. He was tired, cold, hungry, and just over it. Why couldn't he stay in that warm place all those days ago? It was warm, he had food and he always heard someone talking to him. They sounded nice, not like that guy in those dark colors. He was mean.

"Oh, it's okay. It's okay. You're okay," a nurse said, picking up the crying baby.

A hiccup and the baby's attention were fixed on Refia. His glare lessened and she said, "Hopefully, Dr. Callum will realize that he's gonna have to be there for you."

"He did say something about making modifications to his home. So, you're going to be with us for a while longer, kid," the second nurse said.

Another glare and Refia heard, "And I'm sure he'll manage."

The ash-blonde Viktor Bartov had arrived and Refia internally shuddered. The man, one of the top scientists in the empire and one that worked with both Dr. Callums, gave a small smile and the nurse holding Nero asked, "Uh, what are you doing here, Viktor?"

"Sarah, I'm here to see about the boy. Our emperor was surprised to hear that an infant had survived such a terrible accident. And he's also surprised that his mere presence has caused so many medical 'miracles'. I was sent to investigate…" Viktor explained.

"I thought I was over that. And besides. Nero's fine and I doubt Dr. Callum would want you near his son for any experiments," Refia told him.

Viktor gave a haughty laugh, saying, "My dear, perish the thought. I wouldn't be the one that you should be worried about. I just came here out of curiosity. My attention, however, is on the other survivors. Knowing Reginald, he'll be the one doing the experiments."

"Neither of you should do such a thing. He's a small child, a tiny human, and no one should be experimented on like a lab rat," the second nurse said.

Sarah sighed and put Nero back in his crib. She then motioned to the second nurse, saying, "Luciana, the onesie."

"Oh, here ya go," Luciana said, handing it to her.

Refia glowered at Viktor and he said, "I'd watch for Reginald's actions, not mine. I assure you, he will be more obsessed with the crystal's power than I."

"Wait, what? Nero's not a…" Refia said, seeing the man leave abruptly.

And here's chapter one. Much darker than Chronicles of Eos as we're dealing with Roni's story and the oddities of evil Noctis from the previous series. And from ideas from videos demonstrating the Out of Bounds Glitch from FFXV, certain events will happen that will directly connect both stories.

Anywho, review?