Xylek: Due to Tiger having a bruised liver, I shall be taking over this story.
Tiger: Don't be too harsh on him; at least he's updating faster than I would.
Chapter 7: Fragments of the Past
Efreet sat on a chair with a slight grin on his face. Or, what would have been a grin if half of his face wasn't swollen and marred by Celsius' foot mark.
"I can't believe that you peeked on us in the shower," she said with disgust as the rest of the group worked their way downstairs to see what the commotion was.
"Great, another Zelos," commented Genis with an exaggerated roll of his eyes.
"Silence, mortal, for you haven't even hit puberty yet," remarked the red-haired spirit, "And I would prefer if you didn't compare me to that idiot. He has no skill."
"Enough!" Raine shouted before Zelos could think of a rebuttal, "We'll address our issues with Zelos and Efreet later. For now, I feel that we need some information on who we're up against. So far, we only know that both Xylek and Xegros are extremely powerful, but we have no idea what they plan to do. They have the combined power of three summon spirits, in addition to their own strength. Celsius, would you happen to know anything about them that would be of use to us?"
"I don't know much, but I can provide you with what I do know," she said. "For starters, both of them fought in the Great Kharlan War."
"Like Mithos?" asked Lloyd, "Xylek mentioned something about an annoying half-elf, so maybe they fought?"
"Most likely," remarked Celsius. "Mithos used the Eternal Sword to seal both Xylek and Xegros away, as they were causing problems with the 'new world' he created to end the war. Xegros supposedly came from a village that was wiped out in a battle fairly early in the war. He was rather young at the time, so it probably made him resent both sides. He tried to incite revolutions in both Sylvarant and Tethe'alla, eventually becoming a wanted criminal in both countries. They needed to get rid of him so they placed a large bounty on his head. He was an exceptional fighter though, so many bounty hunters died trying to capture him."
"How do you know this?" inquired Raine. "This seems quite detailed for a summon spirit to know."
"Simple. I helped fight in the war. Did you forget who held the pact before Sheena?"
"Mithos…" added the summoner.
"Yes, and there was another even before him, and it is by that summoner that Xylek possesses his armor and sword, and the same applies to Xegros. They formed pacts with us spirits to borrow our power to help fight in the war."
"Well, what about Xylek?" Zelos asked. "That guy seemed weird."
Celsius said, "Xylek was a former general in the country of Tethe'alla. He commanded the armored knights' division of the army. Something happened, though, that made him decide to quit. Tethe'alla didn't want to lose him, so they threatened him in an attempt to make him change his mind. He refused to stay, and then massacred the entire armored knights' division of the infantry and escaped. He was later accused of being a spy for the enemy, so a bounty was placed on his head as well. Assassins were hired to kill him so he couldn't help the enemy, and while on the run, he met both the summoner and Xegros. They stayed together, and tried to end the war their own way. Mithos ended up forcing the other summoner to annul her pacts so that he could forge the Eternal Sword with our power. After that, I don't know what happened to them and I doubt Efreet would know anything else either."
"Wait, what was the other summoner's name?" asked Genis, wondering if there was anything about her in the records of the war that could give them more information.
"Ah, her name was-" Celsius was cut off as Orochi appeared via a cloud of smoke in the middle of the room.
"Sheena, we've spotted a swordsman in black and blue armor like you described in your letter," he exclaimed, "He was spotted not too long ago outside of Mizuho. Alone."
"That can only be Xylek. If he's alone, we can take him out now!" added Lloyd. "I'm sure if we combine our powers we can beat him, and then we can find Xegros and stop whatever it is he's planning."
"Orochi, see if our scouts can find Xegros, Xylek might be only a diversion."
"I agree," added Efreet. "Xegros wasn't the most stable of individuals before he was sealed away in solitude for almost 4000 years. He's probably planning some sort of revenge for everything that happened in the war. If Xylek is out of the picture, it'll make dealing with him much easier."
"Alright, then; we'll head over to Mizuho immediately," stated Raine.
Orochi added, "I've already informed Regal and Presea, so they'll meet you there. I was unable to locate Collette, so she won't be helping, unfortunately."
"That's okay, she's not much for violence, and I think Efreet and Celsius are going to be very mad when we confront him," Lloyd said
"That's an understatement," Efreet said, pounding his fist into his palm, more than ready for revenge.
After a brief stop at the weapon store to buy weapons for the summon sprits, the heroes set out for Mizuho where they were joined by Regal and Presea, who they explained everything to.
"So, this person stole Celsius' power?" inquired Regal, "Interesting. Getting it back won't be easy."
"He also has half of Shadow's power, which makes him even more dangerous," commented Presea.
"We were able to beat the summon spirits before, so this shouldn't be that hard. We're much stronger than what we were the first time, so it'll be-" Lloyd was saying before he was interrupted.
"Fool!" exclaimed Efreet. "Those were merely tests of strength. We held back. Xylek and Xegros have no such inclinations, so it will be much harder. Don't underestimate them."
"I feel that since he's by himself, we can still take him," added Celsius. "It won't be easy, but we can win." After her previous battle against Xegros, she knew defeating these foes wouldn't be easy, especially since she only had a fraction of her normal power. Still, with the help of these mortals, she thought they at least stood a chance.
The heroes moved out into the forests around Mizuho, following Celsius who could sense the location of her stolen power. They came to a clearing, and to their surprise, they saw the ebon-clad knight kneeling in the middle, with his sword stabbed into the ground. His head was bent, and he showed no sign that he was even aware of their presence.
"What's he doing?" asked Zelos.
"I'm not sure," answered Celsius.
"Mourning," stated Xylek as he rose and turned to face them.
"Good morning to you too," Lloyd responded back.
"Not that kind of morning you idiot," Sheena said.
"Mourning who?" asked Genis, shocked to hear his foe expressing such a sentimental emotion.
"Someone who is no longer here," the armor-clad figure cryptically answered, "and I also suppose the loss of the Heroes of Regeneration, too." He grabbed his sword out of the ground. "Come at me."