"I want the sword."

"I have far more experience in swordsmanship than you."

"Exactly why I should get the sword, and you should keep the sticks."

Upon approaching Iselia, Regal had offered to relinquish Kratos's sword. It was of no use to him, and so he'd no reason to keep it on his person. His suggestion, however, had merely sparked animosity between the two swordsmen of the group.

Kratos crossed his arms and glared at the Chosen. "I am a trained expert in swordsmanship, and I have held that status for four thousand years. You are simply not as skilled as I."

"But at least you can fight with those things," Zelos retorted, gesturing toward the wooden blades at Kratos's side. "I have no idea how to use chakrams. You, at least, have a chance to defend yourself. So I want the sword."

"For once in my life, I agree with Zelos," Genis grumbled. "I don't want him holding us back any more than he already has been."

"Can it, twerp," Zelos snapped, whipping around to face the kid. His own glare deepened upon realizing that he had to look up to see Genis's face.

"I believe Genis has a point," Regal agreed, removing the scabbard from one of the belts on his suit. "Zelos needs a way to protect himself. The chakrams are useless to one who knows nothing of their mechanics."

There came a triumphant whoop from Zelos and a disgruntled groan from Kratos, who rolled his eyes and said nothing more on the matter. At least, reasoned Kratos, he could use the twin swords effectively enough until he was able to buy a new sword in Triet. He hoped, however, that they would get to the town soon enough that he would not need to use Lloyd's wooden swords for long. They were dull and incapable of piercing flesh, and without constant use of his mana in his attacks, Kratos knew that he would do little more than produce a slight bruise on the flesh of the enemy. It would be a draining experience, but he nonetheless had the confidence that he could accomplish such a task, even in a body so lacking in strength and reflexes.

Kratos watched as Zelos swung the sword around, slicing through the air as he practiced fighting with his borrowed form. It seemed clumsy and untrained at first, but as the Chosen swung his new weapon around, the movements became more refined, as if Colette, herself, were a master swordsman, rather than her counterpart who had usurped her façade.

"Heh, it's a bit tough," Zelos panted, a few beads of sweat trickling down the youthful face that didn't belong to him. Golden hair stuck together through aid of the sweat, and the Chosen stopped briefly to regain his breath. "The little angel must not have worked out much before the Journey of Regeneration, huh?"

"She was trained in a more stationary style of combat than you were, Zelos," Raine reminded him, walking further into town. "Now, put the scabbard on. You will have time to train later, when we truly begin the journey."

"Eh, whatever, let's just get going," he breathed, fastening the sheath onto his hip and sliding the sword into it. "At any rate, I'm gonna feel this tomorrow."

Ignoring the complaints, Kratos turned to leave with Raine, entering the town at last. "The journey will begin tomorrow morning. We should rest now and regain our strength. We will need it in order to trek the sands of the Triet Desert."

"What about Marble?" Genis asked suddenly, drawing everyone's attention to the currently taller half-elf.

"Marble?" Regal repeated, confused. "That name seems familiar…"

"She was—Marble was my friend," Genis choked, refusing to meet anyone's eyes. "She was sent to the Iselia Ranch and—and I killed her."

"She was Chocolat's grandmother," Raine explained further, and both Zelos and Regal nodded in sudden understanding.

"Well, what about her?" Zelos waved his hand in a nonchalant gesture.

Genis was quiet for a time, and then he mumbled, "I think we could save her this time."

Kratos's eyes widened, and as he scanned the faces of the others around him, he saw that the same mild disbelief was equally present on all their faces. "Genis," Kratos reasoned, "it would be unwise to trifle with such a delicate balance."

"But we could save her!" Genis burst in a fit of unexpected emotion. "If we all went together, we could probably even take down the ranch, and we could rescue everyone! And—and we could prevent so many deaths."

"Or we could fail and cause a more severe destruction of Iselia," Raine countered, her words harsh and clipped as her eyes narrowed. "There are too many factors which you have failed to take into account. We are still unaware of the entire situation, and we do not have our full capabilities in these bodies. You are still unwilling to perform a simple healing spell, and yet you wish to put on the line the lives of all the people in Iselia!"

"I…" Genis breathed, head drooping as his resolution was drawn out of him, leaving him little more than a stammering child.

"You received your Exsphere from Marble, did you not?" Kratos inquired. The journey would be difficult without Exspheres enhancing the Sages' spells, he realized, and he knew that somehow, inevitably, their journey would lead them to the Iselia Ranch, if not only because of that reason.

"It was after Lloyd and I killed her," Genis confirmed with a nod. "I've always felt her warmth inside it, giving me the strength I needed to save the world. I think she would have been proud of the world we'd made…and I think, in some way, she was there with me, and she was happy that we'd defeated Yggdrasill and created a world where everyone could live freely."

"That's all very touching, but what does this have to do with anything?" Zelos demanded. Genis glared at him, disgusted at the man's insensitivity. Truly, Kratos was slightly put-off, as well, but he brushed the thought away and continued.

"We will all need Exspheres in order to finish our journey," Kratos explained. "In our current state, we will need all the help we can get."

"We can acquire an Exsphere from any Desian," Regal proposed. "It would certainly be much safer to single out a Desian than to risk the destruction of Iselia."

The logic Regal offered was sound, but there was a dull nagging in the back of Kratos's mind which compelled him to feel differently. There was something, a faint desire, that told him that the logic was amiss, that there was an element missing. Kratos was silent as he thought, searching through his mind to find the purpose for the nagging. It seemed that, for some reason, he wanted to save Marble, to rescue her from her unfortunate situation and even to destroy the ranch and all the Desians within. Thinking rationally, Kratos knew why they could not simply go to the ranch and risk Forcystus's wrath upon the village, but the nagging, which refused to listen to reason and which only spoke from emotion, demanded that he save the innocents within the Desians' clutches. As he teased the thought, it simply grew in magnitude in severity, calling for him to go against reason and experience and to act purely on instinct, and though he knew that the mere idea of such was a dangerous thing, he found that he could simply not refuse.

"We need to save Marble," Kratos blurted before he could even think to stop himself. Incredulous looks imposing on his self-consciousness, he had to look away in order to redeem himself.

"Kratos, what are you saying?" Raine asked, squinting up at him as if trying to peer into his thought processes. "You're changing your mind?"

"I…" he began, trailing off while trying to find the correct sequence of words. He wanted to rescind the unwanted blunder, but the nagging in his mind had grown far too great to ignore. Without conscious thought, he began to speak again. "If we rescue Marble, we will avoid strife with Chocolat, and perhaps we can evade the plethora of problems that she caused us previously."

"If Kratos agrees, then we should go save her!" Genis pleaded, desperation evident on his face. "If we have all five of us, it shouldn't be a problem to take down the Desians and get Marble out of the ranch!"

"Even if that's true," Raine began, "we would still be walking into the lion's den without a full grip on the reality of our current condition. It would be better to stay away from the Desians until we are fully prepared to go against them."

"We are fully prepared, Raine!" Genis cried. "We all have weapons, and we've literally saved the world. We can't just let Marble die!"

"We will need to take an Exsphere from a Desian if Genis is to become stronger," Regal reminded her. "Our journey would take us to the ranch no matter what. Genis's chosen path merely leads us into more peril."

"I'm fine with that," Zelos added with a shrug. "It's just a little detour before we begin the journey." The Chosen said the last word with uncertainty, and Kratos knew clearly where Zelos's priorities lay. He still did not actually want to go through with the angel transformation process, and he was willing to stall. An understandable reaction, Kratos reasoned.

Raine sighed deeply, placing a hand on her face in a gesture of obvious irritation. "You're all hopeless. I pray you all know what you're doing."

Kratos felt the sting on his back, as if the whip were connecting with his own flesh, rather than with the older man imprisoned in the Iselia Ranch. Through the barbed wire fencing that surrounded the grounds of the human ranch, the five could see every lash of the Desians' whips, every drop of blood that fell from the fresh wounds of the prisoners, every weakened muscle on their arms as they struggled to push heavy stone blocks through the courtyard for no purpose other than to continue the activation process of the parasitic gem. Looking at it made Kratos sick.

Genis rushed past them and toward a tiny inlet between the cliff and the barbed fencing that formed the boundaries of the ranch. He waved them over, and upon reaching the large bush that hid them from the Desians' menacing eyes, they all simultaneously noticed an elderly woman, worn and beaten, hunched over off to the side, as if trying to catch her breath.

"Marble!" Genis called quietly enough that the watchmen could not overhear and prevent the rendez-vous. The woman, Marble, looked over and saw the five, her wrinkled eyes becoming even more so as she squinted in confusion at the spectacle. But at last, she saw Raine, and, unaware of the circumstances, believed her to be her brother. Her eyes became kind and gentle as she smiled and made her way to the group.

"Genis," she started, a motherly warmth in her voice, "who are your friends?" The woman looked at Raine expectantly, awaiting her response.

Raine seemed unfazed by the sudden necessity to lie about her identity, and she took on the role with a certain grace that only she could muster. "They're my friends," she explained. "Kratos, Lloyd, Colette, and my sister, Raine."

Marble nodded in sage understanding. "It's a pleasure to meet all of you. Did you witness the oracle, too? Now, the world will be saved, and the Desians sealed. I pray that Martel guides the Chosen on her journey." The leaves of the bush that hid them rustled as Zelos shifted uncomfortably, looking with a fixed gaze into the human ranch at the other prisoners and the Desians.

"You have an Exsphere," Regal stated, "but there is no key crest on it."

"Exspheres are attached to all host bodies upon their arrival at the human ranches," Kratos explained quietly, and Regal's face became grim.

"Yes," Marble confirmed, "all of us here have these gems on us. What did you call them? Exspheres?"

Genis nodded. "Yeah, but they're dangerous without a key crest. We need to get you one as quickly as possible."

"Is that so?" Marble asked, looking down at the stone embedded into her hand. It glowed faintly, pulsing as it did so, as if it were feeding off her fear in that very moment. Kratos met an unsavory taste in his mouth as he remembered that it was, in fact, doing just that. Remembering all of the atrocities he had caused in his past, he narrowed his eyes at the parasite, an inextinguishable rage coloring his every thought.

From behind Marble came the hardened voice of a Desian foot soldier. "Where the hell did she go?"

"They've found out," Marble stated, eyes suddenly widening in fear. "You must go! Quickly!"

"No!" Genis cried, forgetting to keep his voice down in his moment of desperation. "We came to rescue you, so we're going to get you out of here!"

"What?" the woman questioned, brow drawing up in confusion.

"I can't just let you stay here," Genis spoke again, "not when we can do something about it."

Marble glanced behind her to see where the Desians were, and upon seeing that they had not yet rounded the corner that would give away her location, she turned back around to face the group. "It's far too dangerous."

In the distance, Kratos could hear shouts of various Desians. "Sir! Host Body F192 is unaccounted for!" What little time they had was quickly trickling away as more and more Desians gathered to search for Marble. Though they were safe now, soon, the Desians would find them, and they had to free her before it was too late.

"No, there is not enough time," Marble asserted, shaking her head frantically. "If the Desians find you, they will kill you, or worse, imprison you. You must think of your own well-being!"

"We still have time," Regal countered. "We can break through the wire and free you. It is unacceptable that you must endure the weight of the Desians' sins."

"Guys," Zelos nearly whispered, finally speaking for the first time since arriving at the ranch. With all attention on him, he gestured to the side, and worried eyes slid slowly to where Zelos had indicated. A couple of lower ranked Desians had emerged from inside the ranch to search for Marble, and they had unwittingly stumbled upon the group.

"Halt!" one of the soldiers called, drawing a sword. "Entering the grounds of this human ranch is in violation of the Non-Aggression Treaty with the town of Iselia! Identify yourselves!"

"We have no need to identify ourselves to mere Desians," Regal remarked coolly, his eyes narrowed dangerously and his head raised in a clear display of power. He got into a stance suitable for lunging at the enemies, and at his initiation, the others pulled out their weapons and readied themselves for a trifling fight.

"How dare you speak with such disrespect!" the companion of the first Desian shouted, and it was he who made the first move. In outrage, the soldier ran directly toward Regal, who calmly sidestepped the uncalculated swing that the Desian had performed. With the soldier off balance, he had an opening to create a distraction so that the Sages could begin casting.

Regal kicked the soldier to the ground, leaving Zelos and Kratos to distract the other Desian. Zelos charged forward first, running at the enemy and jumping into the air, a stream of mana swirling around him as he spun around, knocking the Desian to the ground. Kratos kept him there by releasing a burst of mana that flowed from the tips of his sword. The blue-tinted force hit the half-elf and shattered against his form, and the Desian convulsed at the evident pain.

As Zelos landed, he stumbled a bit but regained his footing enough to stab his sword into the body, creating a massive wound on the stomach and destroying what little life was left within it. "Well, that was easy," Zelos laughed humorlessly before turning to the other Desian.

"Stone Blast!" Raine shouted, and several rocks began to quiver under the feet of the remaining soldier. Though he tried to dodge, the stones shot up quickly, knocking him over with the strength of the spell. Raine smirked and began another spell with blue runes. Regal placed his foot on the belly of the Desian, crushing him with the weight of his boot. The second low-level spell was cast with a shout of "Aqua Edge!" and the soldier was engulfed by the powerful disks of water, drowning the man upon impact. To finish him off, Zelos slashed once across the Desian's neck.

"Unworthy enemies," Kratos huffed, looking at the mangled bodies of their enemies. "Genis, Raine," he called, reaching to the corpses and pulling the Exsphere off of each Desian in turn. "Your Exspheres." He tossed them at the two, who caught and equipped them. Kratos caught a small, grateful smile from the two as they did so, obviously relieved at their once again enhanced abilities. With that dilemma solved, he turned back to where they had been talking with Marble, only to find that the woman was no longer on the other side of the fencing.

"Well, well," came a voice from behind. Kratos stiffened, recognizing it immediately. "Looks like a band of inferior beings has infiltrated my ranch." Slowly, Kratos turned to face Forcystus, whose smug expression matched his lax pose and showed seemingly no concern for the five humans and half-elves who stood before him. Their hands fumbled for their weapons in preemptive preparation of the outcome of this confrontation.

"You!" Kratos growled, pointing the unimpressive wooden swords at the Cardinal.

"Me? Yes, I suppose I am," Forcystus, replied mockingly, raising an amused eyebrow. "Now, to discuss the problem at hand. What are you doing on my grounds, in contact with my property?" The half-elf gave them no time to respond, however, as he spotted the Exsphere on Kratos's hand, and his eyes widened. "You're—! It's the Angelus Project!"

Memories of Anna rushed Kratos, leaving his head spinning as he remembered his wife and the horrors of this very Exsphere. His eyes narrowed, and he glared silently at the Grand Cardinal.

"Get the Exsphere," Forcystus suddenly snapped, calling for low-ranked foot soldiers to act on his beckoning. A nearby Desian responded immediately, charging at Kratos. To hinder the spearwoman, Kratos sent out two waves of mana, one from each of the swords. He disliked such arduous long-ranged combat, but he had little choice until he was able to acquire a sword that would actually damage his foes. The woman staggered, allowing Kratos the time to run up to her and strike her with a mana-charged blow, knocking her onto her back.

"Incompetent worms," Forcystus muttered toward the disabled woman, disgust laced in every word. "I'll just need to take care of this myself, then." With that, he lifted his large arm cannon, pointing it directly at Kratos as it charged. The metal opened and revealed the barrel, and an orb of pure mana shot from it, hitting Kratos with enough force to knock him backward, but not so much as to fall over immediately. But he lost his footing on the precarious edge of the cliff, and soon, there was nothing under Kratos's feet. As he fell, he wondered how much it would hurt when he landed. With no warning, a loud crunch indicated that he had, indeed, landed, and it did, indeed, hurt like hell.

Kratos moved his arms, trying to get in a position where he could stand and rejoin the others. But every movement ached terribly, and he found it easier to simply lie on the ground, awaiting the hollow feeling that unconsciousness brought with it. His companions were competent fighters, he reasoned, and he had no way to recover from this injury. And so it was best that he wait for his companions to escape Forcystus and make their way to him.

He did not have to wait long for salvation. The meager hearing capabilities Lloyd possessed did not allow him to hear the footsteps until they were closer, but he recognized the frantic voices of his friends.

There is was again. 'Friends'. What had possessed him this time? They were mere companions, forced upon him by the nature of their condition, so then why—?

"Kratos!" Raine called, rousing him from his thoughts. He let his head loll to the side, blurred vision catching the outline of Raine's brother. "Genis, you need to heal him."

Kratos could not see their expressions through myriad swarming black dots in his eyes, but Genis's tone indicated that he was still nervous about healing. "But I…! How am I supposed to do that?"

"It's simple," Raine began, her voice becoming sharp and scholarly. "Focus your mana into a soothing light, and let it flow into the injuries."

There was a rustling next to him, and the bright orange cloak that rightfully belonged to Raine filled Kratos's vision. Kratos blinked rapidly to clear the dots from his eyes, and it alleviated his inability to see clearly, just in time to watch hands move slowly over his chest. Genis squeezed his eyes closed and concentrated. He could no longer feel the shifting of mana around him, but he saw Genis's efforts come to fruition as a faint ring of white runes appeared around him. A comforting warmth filled his entire body, mending the cracked bones and leaving him with renewed strength. He felt his weakness fade, replacing it with cleared vision and mind. He gasped at the sudden feeling of wellness, and he immediately sat up, knocking away Genis's hands. The half-elf fell back, landing on his butt with a surprised grunt.

"Thank you, Genis." Kratos stood and turned to offer a hand to Genis, brushing himself off with the other.

"I can't believe I actually did it," Genis mused, mesmerized by his own power.

Raine scoffed. "It's not difficult, especially for someone with the level of intelligence you have, Genis." Her brother looked down sheepishly, and for the first time, Kratos noticed that the three were alone in the clearing.

"Where are Zelos and Regal?" he asked, glancing around in attempts to find the aforementioned two.

"They stayed behind to hold off the Desians while we came to save you," Genis responded, turning back toward the path through the forest. "Let's get back to them!"

Kratos nodded and followed the Sages back into the forest. They didn't make it far into the forest, though. As they approached a hill, Zelos and Regal appeared on the horizon, their hair disheveled and their clothing dirtied. Genis ran ahead of them with Raine following closely behind.

"You found him?" Regal asked, breathing a light sigh of relief. "I'm glad there was no permanent damage."

"Genis healed me," Kratos explained smoothly. "Were you able to hold back Forcystus?"

"He left saying some crap about 'coming to get that Exsphere' or something." Zelos waved his hand and shrugged his shoulders. "Looks like you're a wanted man, Kratos."

"We weren't able to save Marble," Genis lamented suddenly, drawing everyone's attention to him. "She's still in the ranch, and Forcystus saw us, and we just made everything worse."

"We can save her later, when we return to the Iselia region," Raine comforted, placing a soothing hand on the small of Genis's back. "But now, we should return to the village. Regal, you may stay with us for the night, though I don't imagine you will need to sleep in your current state."

"Thank you, Raine," Regal nodded. "Kratos, I trust that you can return to Lloyd's home with no problem?"

"I have traversed this forest many times," Kratos acquiesced. "The night will fall soon, and you should all return to Iselia. We shall meet tomorrow for the beginning of the journey."

"Yeah, yeah, don't remind me," Zelos complained, and with a grimace, he turned and walked down the path that led out of the Iselia Forest and toward the village, the others quickly falling in step behind him.

"Kratos! Wake up!" The urgent voice roused Kratos from the deep sleep into which he had fallen immediately when returning to Lloyd's home. Disgruntled, he cracked an eye open, finding himself standing next to the bed. No, not himself; it was Regal. Shaking his mind free of clouded thought, he wondered why Regal was in the room.

The muffled, rhythmic sound of wind being pushed drew Kratos's attention to the translucent wings that were flapping behind Regal. He raised his eyebrows, confused about the entire scenario. He looked back at the familiar face, silently questioning Regal's presence.

"Iselia has fallen under attack by the Desians. We must hurry!" Regal exclaimed, and a wave of guilt swept through Kratos's body. It had been his impulsivity which had caused this. But he steeled his sudden resolve and pulled on the jacket which fit him snugly and the heavy boots.

"Please take me to Iselia." Kratos fastened onto his person the belt which held the twin swords, and together, they walked onto the balcony outside Lloyd's room. Regal fit his hand around Kratos's waist and took off without warning. This method of travel was certainly more effective than walking, but Kratos had his mind set on getting to the village as quickly as possible, and mentally urged Regal to fly more quickly. If there was something he could do to help, he would do it. He had caused this attack, and the knowledge of that plagued his mind and left him with a guilt, not unlike one he had known before, but still strong enough for him to feel its effects.

On the horizon, Kratos finally saw the outline of the tiny village, and Regal began to descend, the wings flapping more slowly as they fell through the air. They landed near the back of the town and froze at the sight. Flames licked every building, charring the wood as it spread, destroying everyone's home without mercy. With renewed conviction, Kratos ran down the dirt path toward the entrance and stumbled into a mob of both Desians and civilians. The heat from the buildings around them was intense, but Kratos ignored it all, instead remaining focused on the enemies that stood before him.

"What happened?" Kratos demanded to no one in particular, but his attention was soon drawn to the group of Desians that huddled together, guarding their leader.

"Lloyd Irving, the wanted criminal!" a Desian called, pointing directly at Kratos. "You have been found guilty of violating the non-aggression treaty between the human ranch and the town of Iselia!"

"And for such a despicable act—" the voice of Forcystus quieted the entire crowd as suddenly as he had spoken, "—we, the Desians, have brought retribution upon you and this town. Your crime is inexcusable, and therefore, you must be punished."

There was a rumbling the came from outside the town, and the Desians parted, revealing an Exbelua.

No, Kratos mourned to himself, his eyes locked on the grieving human, not again…

The Exbelua walked forward, its awkward movements causing it to sway. The clawed hands dragged along the ground, stirring the dirt and leaving marks on the path. It moved slowly, every jagged limp indicating the pain that the poor human was experiencing. It stopped a few feet from where Kratos and Regal stood, letting out a cry that caused the ground to rumble. Upon regaining his balance after the Exbelua's scream, Kratos realized that he was running out of time. If he did not act soon, the Exbelua's mind would lose itself, and it would begin blindly attacking. There would be no victor, and Kratos wept within his mind, apologizing over and over to Anna as he drew the twin swords. Beside him, Regal had also taken a fighting stance, but his eyes were glassy, as if he, too, were remembering a painful memory.

"Guys!" a female voice called, and Kratos dared look away from the Exbelua just enough to spot Genis, Raine, and Zelos running toward them. But Genis, upon seeing the Exbelua, stopped dead in his tracks, staring at the monstrous entity as it writhed in pain, digging its claws into the dirt, forcing the earth to feel the pain of the Exsphere. Genis began to shake, eyes wide as he stumbled to find a word, any word, to express himself. "M-Marble…!"

So, then, that was the punishment. Kratos swallowed and, this time apologizing to the kindly old woman, returned his focus to the Exbelua as Raine began to channel mana, forming it into magic. Zelos wasted no time rushing Marble, leaping into the air and knocking the Exbelua back with a ribbon of mana that swirled around him. While Marble stumbled, she did not fall, and she quickly recovered, growing angry as her mana continued to run wild, destroying her mind and causing her to lose control of her movements. Marble shambled forward menacingly, directly toward Kratos, who apologized once more before sending out a blast of mana at the Exbelua, hitting her leg and causing her to pause yet again, which gave Zelos the time he needed to draw mutated blood from the green, grotesque flesh. Marble instantly howled at the pain and curled in on herself, causing the ground to rumble again as her mana flowed out of her body, infecting the ground around her with a black hue. Zelos was caught in the attack, engulfed by the mana and knocked away. This broke Genis out of his stupor, and he rushed to Zelos's aid, healing him as quickly as he could.

Regal had taken up the task of distracting Marble, carefully not using his wings so as not to arouse suspicion. It hindered his mobility against the large form of the Exbelua, but it was not a problem for him, since Regal was more used to fighting without the aid of wings.

Kratos ran into the battle with a thrust to Marble's abdomen just as Raine shouted, "Wind Blade!" Marble was immobilized by the sphere of wind that encompassed her, and both Regal and Kratos jumped at the opportunity. Kratos pulled his mana into a concentrated form and let it coat each of the swords. They began glowing with the thick mana, and Kratos slashed into Marble, slicing her belly open. The coppery scent of blood filled the air and overwhelmed Kratos with its stench, but he followed through with his attack, thrashing with the other sword and marking an x on the flesh. Regal thrust his foot directly into the wound with an uneasy squelch. His boot pushed through to the other side of Marble's deteriorating body, and he pulled back out as Marble fell to the ground, defeated.

The mana that covered the swords dissipated, leaving Kratos drained and weary. Though he made every attempt to hide his weakness, he was certain that it was visible in his stature and expression.

Kratos's eyes shifted to where Regal stood over Marble's body, and he silently acknowledged his mourning, adding in his own memorandum to the aged woman. Genis, having healed Zelos, stood and made his way to Marble's body to share in her memory.

An elderly voice cut through their recollection. "What have you done?!" Kratos looked up to see the mayor of Iselia stomping toward him. "You've caused the destruction of Iselia!" Kratos looked around at the charred homes and the crowd of homeless citizens of the town.

"I apologize," Kratos responded, unsure of how to alleviate the situation with which he was faced. He looked at the mayor's bellicose mannerisms, at Forcystus's smug face, at Marble's torn and battered body.

"Simple words mean nothing!" the mayor shouted. "You have brought the Desians to Iselia, all of you!"

Genis stepped into the conversation. "We were just—!"

"Motives do not justify the end," the mayor interrupted, his words clipped and harsh.

In the near distance, the astounded voice of Forcystus rang out. "What the…?" Kratos turned in time to see that Marble had regained consciousness and was crawling toward the Cardinal, her body convulsing and glowing, as if she were going to explode. Forcystus's subordinates surrounded him, but Marble pushed through them with her throbbing claws, cutting down anyone who stood in her way. When she reached the half-elf, she dug her claws into his leg, dragging them slowly down his flesh. With a wailing cry of pain, Forcystus fell to the ground, and Marble climbed on top of him, her convulsions reaching a peak.

Her anguished crying began. "Ge…nis," she bellowed, "thank you…" And with her final words spoken, she burst, her mana releasing into the air and wounding the Grand Cardinal with the explosion. Her Exsphere flew into the air and landed with a soft plink on the ground near Genis. Shocked, the boy silently bent to scoop up the gem, and he cradled it as he continued to watch the scene before him.

"No! Lord Forcystus!" one Desian called out, and they reformed a protective barrier around him.

"Lloyd Irving," Forcystus grunted from within the circle of Desians. "You have not seen the last of me. So long as you carry the Angelus Project, you will always be pursued." A few soldiers took on the task of carrying their leader, and they slowly retreated from the village. Forcystus kept his eyes trained on Kratos until he could no longer see the other.

"This is all your fault!" the mayor shouted again, drawing the attention back to him. "And you!" The aging man rounded on Zelos, glaring at him with a malice that caused even Zelos to lose his nonchalance. "You were born to bring peace and prosperity to Sylvarant, and what did you do? You destroyed a town because of your selfish actions! What good as a Chosen are you?"

"Whoa, what?" Zelos retorted, at a loss for words.

"All you are is another failed Chosen," the mayor spat, turning up his nose at Zelos. "You are a danger to our village. You all are!"

"You're going to exile us," Genis stated, not as a question, but as a fact.

"Any and all interaction with the human ranch is forbidden under the non-aggression treaty," the mayor confirmed. "The Desians have marked you as their enemy, and so long as you are here, Iselia remains under threat from the Desians. So leave!"

"You can't do that!" Zelos shouted, but his words were lost on the man.

"With the rights vested in me as mayor of Iselia, I hereby banish Lloyd Irving, Raine and Genis Sage, Colette Brunel, and Kratos Aurion from this village. Do not return, ever." He glared at the five, hands on his hips as he leaned forward, telling them to leave in every way that he could manage.

"Let's go," Raine said, tugging on the orange robes Genis wore, and they turned to begin their long journey.

Yeah...so I have two tests and also an essay due next week, so I'm not going to update next week, much less write an entire chapter when I really need to be doing that essay. BTW guys, the homework part of college sucks ass. Thanks for being so understanding, though!

This chapter is really long, though? It's because of Marble. I was powering through it and forgot I still had a whole other scene to write, and adding that made it pretty long. Not as long as, say, most other great stories on this website, but it's super long for someone like me! Unfortunately, I'm very unhappy with this chapter, and I'm sorry if you're unsatisfied, as well. I didn't have the time or expertise to edit it in the way I needed it to be edited, and some of the parts seem really corny and forced. Sorry about that... Hopefully, the next chapter will make up for it!