Hi everyone! I'm sorry it took so long for this chapter to come out. Both my beta reader and I had a busy summer. But now I'm back and wow seven reviews?! You guys are awesome!
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Before I start the story here's a quick recap of what happened so far. If you remember then feel free to skip it.
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Ryner is a god of destruction that was banished and sent to live as a human.
Sion learns of a banished god that is mortal and decided to kill him to get his powers unaware that the god is Ryner. Ryner deices to keep it a secret from Ferris and Sion.
They travel to see an Oricle who will tell them where the banished god is. On the way they learn that others are after the banished god.
Alright then! On to the story!
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.Day 8 of the journey…
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Disclaimer: I do not own Legend of the Legendary Heroes
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"The entrance should be around here." Sion said as looked over the map once again. "We need to find an arch. It's the gateway to the oracle's cave."
"An arch in the middle of a forest, that sounds easy enough to find." Ryner said with his eyes closed and his hands behind his head as he lay lazily beneath the shade of a giant tree.
"Agreed." Ferris stated as she ate a piece of dango off of her seemingly never-ending supply of the delicacy. "You should be able to find it in no time." She added as she sat down next to Ryner.
"It would be easier if you help me." Sion growled, eyeing his two companions.
"Huh, oh, you're doing great Sion!" Ryner said, opening one eye to catch the look on Sion's face. "I doubt you really need our help."
"Ryner, would it really kill you to work?" Sion grumbled in annoyance. "I really could use your help…Oh." Ryner opened both eyes as he heard Sion stop mid-sentence and sat up.
"Did you find it?" He asked.
"Yeah I think so." Sion replied, putting away the map. Ryner and Ferris pulled themselves to their feet as the followed after Sion. They followed the dirt path for a little while before turning into the brush. A little while longer and in front of them was a tree that was pulled down to form an arch. Ferris seemed to be unconvinced as she 'hmmed' in thought. "It looks more like a broken tree." She said after studying the 'arch' some more.
"Look under it." Sion said as he pointed to a medium sized rock at the base of the arch that looked to have writing on it. Ferris walked over to it, crouched down, and read it aloud.
"To whoever wishes to enter the oracle's cave, leave a gift in the arch then enter."
"So we leave a gift? What kind of gift?" Ferris asked as she stood up and walked over to Sion who was reaching into his bag for something.
"Yes, to show respect to the oracle." Sion answered as he pulled out a beautiful amulet with two intertwined serpents on it.
"What's that?" Ferris asked, as she leaned in closer for a better look. Sion held it out in front of him to give her a better view.
"It's an old artifact of Roland." Sion replied as he carried it over to the arch and placed it directly under where the tree arched highest. He stepped back and waited in anticipation. Nothing happened.
"Isn't something supposed to happen?" Ferris asked once she realized nothing would happen anytime soon.
"The doorway to the oracle should open…" Sion said looking around the forest clearing. "Oh I see." He said in realization as he looked towards the sky. "The sun's setting…"
"Does that matter?" Ferris asked as she too turned towards the sky.
"Yeah, doorways like this only keep open during the day." Sion answered as he walked back towards the arch and placed the amulet back in his bag.
"How do you know that?" Ferris asked in skepticism.
"When you're a king, you tend to find out many things, some of them things you might not have wanted to know in the first place."
"So what do we do now?" Ferris asked.
"We set up camp here for the night. We'll be able to get through the gate in the morning." Sion said as he was met with silence. Feeling uncomfortable, he started to give his two companions jobs to do to set up their camp. "Right then, we better set up for the night. Ferris you set up the tents and I'll get fire wood. Ryner you go get water." Ferris nodded and quickly set to work as Sion did the same. But after they started their jobs, they both realized something. They never got an answer from Ryner. They looked over at Ryner, who was standing a few feet away from the arch, just staring at it.
"Ryner?" Ferris asked, walking over and putting her hand on his arm. Ryner turned towards her.
"Huh? Sorry did you say something?" He asked.
"Are you alright?" Sion asked worriedly as Ferris slowly retracted her hand from Ryner's arm. "You look really depressed." He added. He, and surely Ferris, knew that Ryner's eyes were emptier than usual.
"Oh." Ryner responded, dully blinking a few times. "Sorry, I'm fine." He said, giving a small and sad smile. "What were you saying?"
"The arch won't let us in until the morning." Ferris answered hesitantly, unsure of whether or not Ryner would even register what she was saying at this point. "We're setting up camp here tonight."
"Oh." Ryner said quietly towards the ground. At his poor response, Ferris unsheathed her sword and held it out at Ryner, where even the slightest movement backwards would impale him on the spot.
"Tell me what's wrong now." She growled. "I'm not putting up with this anymore."
"It's nothing, really…" Ryner replied, not worried in the slightest about the sword positioned at his back and instead trying to smile but failing. "How about this… I'll set up the camp by myself. You guys can just relax."
"Ryner, did you just volunteer to do work?" Sion asked, raising an eyebrow in suspicion, knowing Ryner would never willingly volunteer for something unless he got something out of it; mainly a nice long nap. "There's really something wrong here." He grumbled to himself.
"Look, guys, I'm alright." Ryner tried reassuring. "You've been stressing out a lot lately so I want to give you a break." Ferris and Sion exchanged looks, obviously unconvinced that that was the real reason. "Look, I'll explain things when the mission is over." Ryner said as he forced another smile on his face. "It'll make more sense then." Sion and Ferris exchanged another look, but this time of worry for their friend. Something was obviously wrong.
"Fine." Ferris finally agreed as she sat down under large tree and pulled out her delicious dango. "If you want to work, then do so." Ryner nodded and walked away to the tents. He started opening them and setting them up. By tomorrow, Ferris and Sion will stop thinking of him as their friend and instead see him as a dangerous banished god that needs to die. But until then, he wanted this last night he had with them to be pleasant. Truthfully, he didn't mind doing these last few chores. He will have plenty of sleep when he's dead.
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Ryner, Ferris, and Sion sat around the warm crackling fire, sharing stories from their past as they happily ate the dinner Ryner had cooked. The sun had already set completely and Sion and Ferris realized that Ryner seemed to be in a surprisingly good mood from what he was like before.
"You cheered up fast." Ferris noted. "Did you meet a woman in the forest while getting water as you convinced her to run away with you from her loving husband?"
"Where do you come up with this?" Ryner asked, shaking his head in disbelief.
"Ferris is right though, you do seem more cheerful." Sion commented.
"Yeah," Ryner agreed with a smile. After some awkward silence, Ryner thought it would be good to change the subject. "So, Sion, after you get this power, you can finally relax, right?"
"Once the power is mine, the real work begins." Sion answered seriously. "I would need to learn more about the new power I would get. I would still have to protect the country from invasions and maintain peace. Also, I'm sure I would have even more enemies with this power. I'll need to insure the safety of myself and those around me."
"You're hopeless." Ryner sighed. He was hoping Sion would relax more on this trip instead of thinking of what he was going to for his kingdom 24/7 no less.
"Perhaps I will call on you two again to help me with the powers." Sion smiled.
"I have too much to do to waste any more time on this ridiculous mission." Ferris answered. "The Dango Nation will not build its self."
"What about you Ryner?" Sion asked, turning to his brown haired friend.
"No way, when this is over, I'm sleeping." Ryner stated matter-of-factly.
"Even for the sake of peace?" Sion pushed.
"Don't try to make excuses." Ryner said, pointing a finger at him. "You're trying to make me one of your slaves! It won't work! I'm aware of your ways. Naps will prevail!" He accused as he moved his hands all over the place to provide examples for his point. Sion laughed and leaned back.
"It's getting late. We have a busy day tomorrow. Ryner, why don't you take the first shift?" He said with a slight smirk.
"What? Why me?" Ryner complained loudly.
"Well since you were so kind taking on the chores earlier, I figured you'd want first shift." Sion said with a shrug.
"Don't prey on my helpfulness. It was a one-time thing." Ryner proclaimed angrily.
"I'll take the second shift." Ferris yawned as she got up to go into her tent. "Night."
"I'll take the third shift then." Sion said perhaps a little too cheerfully as he got up to go into his own tent. "Night, Ryner."
"Are you two even listening?" Ryner exclaimed. The only thing he received as a response was the leaves flowing gracefully with the wind. Ryner waited a few minutes until he could hear them sleeping and then dropped any pretense of being happy. He pulled his legs in to his chest and stared dully at the slowly disappearing fire. The evening went by way to quickly for his liking. He was able to, for a little while; pretend it was like all the other times. Like tomorrow would never come and their friendship was going to last forever.
"What now?" He muttered sadly as he looked into the fire, watching how the flames flickered. It reminded him of himself in a way. The fire innocently swayed with the wind, giving off a heat that could warm the deepest depths of your soul. At the same time though, if left untended to, it could cause great destruction, destroying everything in its path with no mercy; like his powers
"How am I supposed to wait until morning? This is killing me. I just want to sleep." Ryner said as he looked over at the arch. It was like his death sentence. It stood there looming over them, just waiting for Sion to learn the truth. Minutes ticked by slowly. He had nothing to do other than to sit on the ground and wish that Ferris or Sion were awake to keep him company. That or just wish for a nice long nap.
"At least it's them right?" He whispered to the darkness of the night. "They deserve it." He muttered. Since he had nothing better to do, he thought about his life as a human. He thought of all the people he met. All of them who made an effort to befriend him. He thought of all the happy and sad memories he had made with his friends.
"I really don't want to die." He sighed. "I'm way to content here and now." When he had first become a human, he had no idea what happiness felt like. What it felt like to be around friends. What it was like to have another human reach out to him.
"I never knew it was going to be like this." He groaned.
"Never knew what?" Ferris said from behind him. Ryner jumped in surprise and quickly tried to put on his usual face.
"Nothing important." He said. "What are you doing up?"
"My watch is starting." She said suspiciously. "You looked really gloom just now."
"I'm just tired." He said, backing up into his tent. "Don't worry about it."
"Hey Ryner," Ferris started frustratingly. "Whatever's bugging you, fix it before we fight the banished god."
"Huh?" Ryner said, stopping in his tracks.
"If you don't get it together and you fight him like this, you'll lose." She said bluntly as she made a few gestures with her hands. "This battle is going to be hard as it is and if you can't keep your head in the game, it'll only make it harder…"
"Ferris are you worried about me?" Ryner muttered more to himself than Ferris, but Ferris heard it all the same. She looked away slightly before snapping,
"No, I just don't want you do die since you're the person who carries the dango packs."
Ryner wondered if it was just his imagination, but it looked like Ferris' checks were turning slightly red.
"I have this bad feeling." She said calmly. "That once this is all over, someone is going to be dead."
"The banished god isn't going to kill me." Ryner reassured her. "I promise you that." He said as he suddenly felt the impulse to take her hand. Usually he would ignore random impulses like this, but since he was going to die tomorrow, he thought it couldn't hurt to act on it. He slowly sat down again and took her hand. Upon feeling the warmth of a hand in her own, Ferris quickly snapped her head towards Ryner. Even if she hit him with her sword and called him a pervert it wouldn't matter how she felt now. By tomorrow, she'll hate him. She stared at Ryner for a few moments but didn't let go of his hand. He bent forward a little and put his other hand on her cheek.
"You don't need to worry about me. Just relax, everything will be fine." He reassured once again.
"You promise you won't die?" She whispered.
"I promise I won't die by the hands of the banished god." He told her. She searched his eyes for any sign of a lie or doubt. Upon finding none, she nodded.
"Alright then."
They sat there for a few moments, enjoying each other's company until Ryner suddenly pulled back his hand and stood up.
"Well, I'm off to bed!" He cried cheerily, walking back to his tent. He zipped the tent door closed before she could respond and dropped down on his blanket. He stared at the tent ceiling as he thought over what happened. He could still feel the warmth of Ferris' hand on his own. He knew it wouldn't last though. The longer he held her hand, the more he wanted to kiss her. She would have killed him if he had done that though. There was a big difference between holding hands and kissing. Truthfully he was amazed that she let him hold her hand in the first place. He suddenly felt a pain of regret. He would never get the chance to kiss her, ever. Tomorrow, she'd see him as the horrible banished god that he was and want to put an end to him. "Enough." He muttered to himself as he rolled over onto his side. "It's over. Just go to sleep." He closed his eyes and emptied his mind. After a few moments, he was fast asleep and off in dreamland.
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Alright I'll just leave it there. Next chapter they'll finally meet the oracle. Here's a responds to those awesome people who reviewed:
PsychJediPirate: Thank you!
Matsuri Sakata: More's coming. Thanks for reviewing
Yokaingle: Thank you!
Bomberdude17: Thanks! Sorry about the action scenes. Writing those are kind of a weak point. My beta helped flesh out the last chapter so it's better now.
xNightmaresx: Thanks. There's FerrisxRyner later in this chapter
CloudBloddbane: There going to find out soon. XD Thanks for the review
Guest: I'm glad you're enjoying the story.
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Thanks for reading and please review! It really makes my day.
