The Lost Civilization: DLC

by dashboardgecko

A collection of one-shots and mini-stories based off MH fanfiction 'The Lost Civilization,' written to sate my thirst to write! Let's see what sort of adventures and antics the heroes, villains, and side characters of TLC get up to after the main story as we wait for MH4 and the sequel to The Lost Civilization!

22. After Life - Part 5, Memories

After Life – Part 5

Memories

Disclaimer: Monster Hunter is copyright Capcom. All of the characters in this story are mine, unless noted otherwise.

Edited by: Hoenn Master96 and Thomas A. Hawk

This one-shot is NOT CANON with The Lost Civilization

---

ALIVE!

The sudden shout ripped into Levin's skull, as if the voices of countless people were pounding into his brain from out of nowhere. The momentary silence he'd had vanished, and again he found himself caught up in a wave of feelings and emotions, none of them his own as the core tossed him around. He found himself crying out desperately. He'd been so close, so painfully close, and now…

He could feel something tugging at him again, but this time with such force that he had no choice to be yanked along with it. The visions around him started to vanish, however, far faster than they had before, and before Levin knew what was going on, there were only a few of them remaining. He could feel the familiar voice he'd heard earlier calling out, but now it felt farther away. Another voice, one Levin didn't recognize, was dominant now, pulling him in closer and closer. Soon, all he could hear was the unfamiliar voice, and the visions pushing into his skull became remarkably similar; in the back of his mind, Levin guessed that, perhaps, both belonged to one soul within the core.

But it wasn't Levin's name that the voice he heard was calling out for; the voice was calling out for York.

---

Suddenly, Levin was back in his body. With a gasp of shock, he realized that he was alive again! He was out of the… the wherever he'd been!

As feeling swelled back into his body, though, he also realized that he was lying on his back, leaning against the base of a large tree. It was night time, and a waning moon hung over him in the sky. Sitting up, he expected his muscles to be aching from… sleeping under the tree? But he actually felt really good, no aches or bruises. Even his dark limbs didn't seem to be bothering him that much and he could see the gemstone pulsing gently.

Looking down at his arms made him jolt in shock however, as he found himself looking at grey cloth rather than Gold Rathian scales. His golden armor had vanished, and now he seemed to be wearing dark, grey-colored robes. The clothing was bound tightly around him, with a pair of solid leather bracers wrapping around the wrists. Twisting his torso, the… 'armor', he supposed it was, really felt flexible, though he had to admit that it didn't feel very sturdy, especially compared to his Golden Lune mail. At least he still had his switch axe strapped to his back, and he could feel the familiar weight of his item pouch around his waist.

But where had he gotten this outfit, and when had he put it on? Where was his Golden Lune armor? And where was he?

Pushing himself to his feet, he could see he was in a forest, or rather, right at the edge of one. Not far away, the foliage opened up, and just beyond he could make out a timber wall stretching along the edge of the tree line. He didn't really remember entering a forest. Actually, he didn't remember much at all of the last few hours. He'd been home preparing for a hunt, but after that… Something about a tree? And another hunter in white armor? And… something about the Alatreon and a Rathian? Or had it been a Rathalos? It was like he'd just woken up from a dream as the memory of it slipped through his fingers…

First things first, he needed to find out where he was. At least there was a village nearby; he'd be able to ask for directions there. Hopefully a guard would be on the walls this late at night to let him in. He began making his way through the trees towards the village at a brisk jog, and as he neared the walls, the sky started to grow brighter from the far side. It had to be approaching dawn for the sky to glow in such a deep red like that.

Off to the left, he could see a narrow gate which led into the village, though for some reason there didn't seem to be a path of any sort which led to the entryway. That was rather odd; how were people supposed to come and go without a road? Maybe this was just a side entrance or something… However, as Levin got close, he realized that the gate was actually open. No guards manned the walls, and there didn't seem to be any watch either; the gate was completely undefended. What were the town guard trying to do, leaving themselves open to attack like this? It was just asking for Jaggis or worse to sneak in…

As Levin stepped through the gate, however, his eyes widened in horror at what lay beyond: the light hadn't been the rising sun, but was the glow of flames.

"What the- What the hell happened?!"

Nearly the whole village was ablaze! Fires danced from almost every building and roof, burning everything within. The stink of cinders and burned flesh filled the air as smoke billowed upwards, darkening the sky and blotting out the moon and stars. How the hell had he managed to miss that the entire village had been ablaze? And where was everyone? Why wasn't anyone trying to put out the flames? How had the city managed to become completely covered in fire without anyone noticing or trying to put the blaze out? A monster attack? A Rathalos maybe?

Levin began to search around, trying to find any survivors that might still be saved. But every door and window he looked through had nothing but corpses behind them, half-burned or dead from smoke inhalation. The entire village must have been caught completely off guard, or perhaps attacked, to have thoroughly killed so many people…

Behind his horror at the deaths of so many, Levin couldn't help but find this place odd. Man, woman, and child alike, nearly every body he'd found which wasn't completely scorched was wearing robes like the ones he'd woken up wearing, except theirs were colored completely black, and not from ash either. Near the center of town he could see a long structure with an elaborate dragon's head carved out of wood adorning the entry, and Levin couldn't help but feel that it had been designed to look like the Alatreon's head. Something tugged at the back of his mind… something about a cult? Where had he heard that…

As he worked his way through the narrow streets, he suddenly heard panicked shouting over the roar of the flames. Someone was still alive in this inferno! Levin dashed forward, trying to follow the voice, and as he made his way closer to the center of town, he spotted a young man sprinting down the street. The boy made a beeline for one of the houses that had just caught fire and pushed his way through the front door in a panic.

What caught Levin off guard, however, was the young man's clothing; while every other person in the village had been wearing black robes, the boy he'd just seen had been wearing some that had been dyed white. And there was something about the boy… He'd caught a glimpse of the young man's face, and it was oddly familiar, but he just couldn't place it. It was like looking at a child who greatly resembled their parent: familiar, but far too young. And the white clothing… he'd met someone wearing a similar outfit before, and recently… hadn't he?

But now wasn't the time for considering fashion. Levin darted after the young man as more panicked shouting came from inside. He seemed to be looking for someone, and though Levin didn't know who he was or what this village was supposed to be, he wasn't just going to let someone burn to death! As Levin reached the door though, there was a twisted splintering sound as the roof near the back of the house suddenly dipped partially. From within the house, there was a scream of pain and a desperate shouting from two different voices, and Levin cursed, rushing into the house.

---

York burst through the front door of the house as the roof began to burn. Heat already filled the room as seared holes began to appear in the ceiling over him, spreading across the shingles and biting into the wooden rafters. Smoke swelled upwards, covering the ceiling with grey haze as the flames continued to spread.

"Zeal! Zeal, come on! We gotta go! Now!" The young man immediately dashed towards the back of the house, where his best friend Zeal lay in his cot, asleep and unaware of the blaze consuming the village.

Zeal abruptly jolted upright at the shout, looking around in drowsy confusion. His long black hair hung down over his face, forcing him to brush it aside as he blinked his golden eyes sleepily. "York? What are you-"

There was a sickening snapping sound, and York froze in horror. Zeal blinked in surprise, still bleary-eyed as he looked up and his eyes grew wide in shock. The flames had completely devoured a sizable amount of his roof, filling the air with smoke, but both young men could see that the flames had blackened and charred the supports of one of the rafters. With a spray of cinders, one of the crossbeams splintered apart, plummeting down and crashing right on top of Zeal.

The black-haired young man screamed in pain as the heavy beam smashed into him, slamming him back down onto his cot. Flames jumped from the burning wood, catching his robes and burning through them, searing the flesh beneath as the young man howled in agony.

"No!" York screamed, dashing forward to try and help his friend. He slammed against the beam, trying to lift the rafter off of Zeal while avoiding the flames, but it was no use. The beam was just too heavy for him to move alone, and the flames were slowly enveloping the timber. York cursed violently as he struggled to move the rafter, slamming his shoulder repeatedly into the wood. "Zeal, I can't… I can't lift it!"

Under the beam, Zeal pushed hopelessly against the base of the burning frame, but the impact had badly wounded him, and the burns that were slowly searing his flesh were only weakening him more. Gasping for air though the smoke and cinders, the black-haired young man slumped back into his cot, looking up miserably at York.

"Wh… why, York? Why didn't you… say you were…?"

"Zeal, I couldn't!" York gasped, pushing desperately against the rafter. Over the roar of the flames, he could hear the rest of the structure groaning as the flames ate through the wood. The unburned sections of the roof were starting to sag as well, with the crossbeam now gone. "There wasn't any time! Come on, you gotta push! We need to get this thing off of you!"

"You… you burned the village?" Zeal wheezed, staring up at York in horror as the pain sent him into borderline delirium. "You burned my house?"

"No! That's not-"

"Hey! Hey kid, are you okay?"

York jolted in shock, spinning around to face the door while reaching for the hand axe at his belt. He hadn't even heard anyone coming over the roar of the flames! A man wearing cultist robes shoved his way into the house, his eye darting around the room for a moment before landing on York. The young man gritted his teeth, preparing for the attack that was sure to come.

But York hesitated for a moment as the man strode towards him, upon realizing that he didn't recognize the man. Crez was not a large village; though York hadn't spoken to everyone in town, he could certainly recognize all of the villagers, and he'd never seen this man before in his life. He was several inches taller than York, with shaggy brown hair and green eyes… or rather, 'eye'. His most notable feature was a large cloth eyepatch which covered most of the right side of the man's face, looking as though it hid a large burn wound. York certainly would've remembered someone with such a prominent injury if they'd ever met before.

There were a couple other oddities as well. Nearly everyone in the village wore clothing that was dyed black, yet this man's clothing was a dull grey. Alteos had just gotten on York's case about the coloration of his own robes earlier that day. The man also bore a large, bulky weapon over his back, a hunter's weapon York realized. York wasn't too familiar with hunters, and the members of the Brilliant Darkness were encouraged to stick to smaller, more nimble weapons. Both his dress color and weapon were too unique and strange for this man not to have stood out like a beacon in Crez. York certainly didn't know him. But then who was he? Was he just a secret member, one whose existence Alteos kept close to the chest?

York braced himself for an attack from the man, but before he could do anything, there was a groan from above, and a large crack tore across the roof as the building began to collapse. York's eyes widened in horror as he realized that the roof right over Zeal was bowing even further inwards. With a groan and a crunch, the roof caved in, a wave of burning debris plummeting down towards the black-haired young man, and York knew there was nothing he could do to stop it.

But there was a flash of motion from the side, and the man in grey robes rushed past him, swinging his weapon out from its sheath. There was a blast of steam and sparks of dark energy as the mechanisms within the blade worked, sliding a long edge around the tip of the weapon and transforming the weapon into a thick blade. The man rushed over to Zeal's side, swinging his weapon up over him and bracing himself.

The man grunted in pain under the barrage of fiery debris. Several chunks of burning wood and shingling made it past the broad side of the blade, striking the man in the shoulders and legs, leaving char marks across his grey clothing and making him hiss from the heat. But as the debris began to settle and the collapsing ceased, York realized that very little of the shrapnel had managed to fall onto Zeal at all.

"Agh! Dammit, this weapon is not made for defense!" the man cursed, shoving back against the debris and sending the clutter toppling to the floor. With a wheeze of exhaustion, the man swung his blade around, sliding it back into its sheath.

"Who are you?" York snapped, and the man looked at him curiously. "Where did you come from? And why are you helping me?"

"Honestly, I'm not sure how I got here," the man replied. "I was hoping to get directions when I spotted this village, but everything was on fire when I got here. Then I saw you running into this house, and…" The man paused and stared at York for a moment, however, an uncertain expression on his face. "You… you're York, aren't you?"

"Yeah, I am," York replied, letting his hand slide towards the axe on his belt again. "How do you know that, though?"

The hunter opened his mouth to reply, but frowned in confusion a moment later. "You know, I don't… I don't know…"

York narrowed his eyes in distrust at the man, but a pained cough from Zeal pulled his attention back to his friend, still trapped under the beam, and he rushed to Zeal's side, trying to get him out from under it. The man darted forward as well, grabbing hold of the burning beam and pulling against it. However, a moment later he hissed in pain, pulling back and rubbing his left hand in pain. His grey gloves and sleeves had caught fire, and the man grunted in frustration, quickly pulling off the glove and tearing away the sleeve over his left arm, though for some reason he allowed the glove and sleeve on the right to remain. The man paused for a moment, flexing his right hand thoughtfully, before reaching forward and grabbing hold of the beam once more, but only swinging his right arm under the end.

With a grunt, the man began to strain himself, pulling against the beam. There was a low creaking sound, and the rafter slowly began to move. York gasped excitedly, rushing forward to pull Zeal out when he had the chance, but he realized that the hunter's right sleeve was starting to burn. Flames from the beam had jumped to the grey cloth, and were slowly burning up the man's sleeves, but he had yet to notice, or perhaps he was fighting through the pain.

York reached out to warn him, but as he did so, the tearing in the sleeve fell away, and the young man's eyes widened in shock. Underneath the sleeves wasn't flesh, but an arm made of some dark substance that seemed completely unaffected by the heat of the fire. He'd seen similar material in the Crez forges, but nothing molded into the shape of an arm. But right in the center of the wrist was something else, a glowing blue gemstone that York had seen before; he'd seen its exact like in Alteos' possession! What was this hunter doing with something like that?

However, York turned his attention away from the strange arm as the rafter began to move. The hunter's strength proved great enough to move the beam, and the rubble began to shift. Zeal's pained wheezing began to subside as the rafter was lifted off of him, and as soon as the timber was high enough, York grabbed hold of his friend and pulled him out from under it.

"Zeal!" York cried in desperation, moving to check his friend over for the worst of injuries, but before he could, there was a twisted groaning, and more of the roof began to give way above them. York quickly grabbed hold of Zeal's body, slinging his friend over his shoulder and rushing out of the hut before the structure could collapse on them.

The hunter was close behind them as York dashed out of the house, covering his head as debris fell from above. Almost the moment that the two of them existed the building, there was a twisted crunching, and Zeal's house collapsed. The whole building fell inward on itself, a pillar of fire and sparks rising up from the center. York sighed in relief, glancing at the remains of the hut before returning his attention to Zeal. His friend was unconscious, and his body was badly burned, but he was still breathing for now.

Far behind them, there was a dull groaning and splintering sound. York looked up just in time to witness the cracking of one of the carved heads on the central longhouse as it burned through, breaking free and plummeting to the earth. A few moments later, the rest of the building fell apart, crumbling in on itself.

"Good riddance," York muttered to himself.

A groan of pain and some coughing turned York's attention back to the hunter who'd helped him. The man stumbled away from the burning building as he caught his breath, leaning against an unburned post that was wedged into the ground nearby. Would the hunter be willing to help him get out of Crez and to a nearby town? York didn't know how far it was to the closest village, or at least the nearest one that would be able to treat Zeal. He still didn't know how far he could trust the man, but the hunter had helped him and Zeal without hesitation, despite the circumstances…

However, a moment later he saw the hunter stumble and fall… no, he didn't fall, he was pulled down. There had been a gap between two burning buildings, and from within the flickering shadows cast by the flames, several hands had reached out and grabbed hold of him, dragging him into the alley and out of sight. Cursing, York dragged Zeal towards the alley, searching for the man who'd helped them, but the hunter was gone! He'd only been there a moment ago, and the alley was a dead end! Where the hell had he been taken by whoever had grabbed him?

York was about to step into the alley, but Zeal began to cough fitfully, and York looked worriedly at his friend. He needed to get Zeal to help, or at the very least needed to see to his immediate injuries. York spared a glance back into the alley for a moment, before regretfully turning away. He hoped the hunter was alright, but York needed to save Zeal. With that, York turned and ran, dragging Zeal away from the burning wreckage of the village and towards the forest.

It took a few minutes for York to drag Zeal out of the village, but the entire way his friend's coughing was growing worse and worse. They were only a few dozen yards outside the walls of the village when York had to stop; he needed to treat Zeal immediately, or his wounds were sure to overwhelm him, and York wouldn't allow that to happen after all they'd been through. Making sure that nobody was around, York carried Zeal off the path and into a small hollow, hidden from sight.

Setting Zeal gently on the ground, York began to sift through a pouch at his belt. He didn't really have many medical supplies with him, but there were enough that he might be able to ease Zeal's pain, and at least cover the burns so they wouldn't be agitated. A sigh from his friend made York look up, he realized that Zeal's eyes had cracked open. His friend looked around for a few moments in confusion, apparently surprised to find himself out of the fire.

"Thank gods, you're awake! Gotta admit, I was worried there for a moment," York said with a laugh. "I thought I wouldn't be able to save you."

Zeal blinked in surprise at the words, looking through the trees towards the burning village. The orange glow of the flames could be seen even through the trees, and the smell of smoke wafted through the foliage. Zeal nodded slightly, then smiled at York… it wasn't a look of thankfulness or relief, however, but one of sadness and regret.

"Sorry, York, but you didn't."

"What? What do you-"

Before York's eyes, Zeal began to change. His face grew older, more rugged and worn. His body changed as well, growing taller, stronger, and more toned. Wounds bloomed red on his body, however, immediately scarring over the next moment. His clothing shifted as well, changing from the dark black robes of the Brilliant Darkness to a black set of armor, battered and worn from battle. York staggered back in shock and disbelief as Zeal pushed himself to his feet and stretched a little.

Then, for a moment, a glowing azure stone seemed to grow from the man's chest, and black scales crawled across Zeal's flesh, covering every inch of his body. But as quickly as they'd come, they were gone, as the gemstone in the hunter's chest fractured, shattering into a hundred tiny pieces, the shards falling to the ground. However, even as the dark scales fell from Zeal's body, the gem-shaped hole in the man's chest remained, an open, gaping wound on the man's body. Beyond it was a thin gap that went straight through Zeal, thin and precise… like a blade wound.

Zeal smirked wryly though, raising a hand and pressing a couple fingers into the gap. When he removed them, the tips were covered in blood. "That's rather morbid, don't you think?"

"I don't… I don't understand!" York gasped, staring in horror at the injury. "How did… what happened to-"

But York winced as his head began to throb painfully. In a moment, all his memories came swelling back, from when Zeal had been buried under debris when Crez had burned to the ground, to his life as a hunter running from his past, until the Brilliant Darkness cult had been reborn. There was a biting pain across his body as well, and he realized that he was older. In a flash, all the wounds he'd gathered over the years lit up and scarred over. His vision in his right eye blurred and suddenly went dark, and York reached up in shock, only for his fingers to press against the cloth of his eyepatch. He looked down at himself, and no longer was he wearing his white Brilliant Darkness robes, but his regular armor again. The familiar feel of his bracers were back around his wrists, and the weight of his dual swords once again hung snuggly from his back. He remembered everything… all the way up to the point when the Alatreon had possessed Zeal's body, and York had been forced to run his friend through, shattering the Azure Dragongem, the core of the Alatreon's power.

"No… no, you… It can't be. You're right here!" York gasped, but Zeal shook his head.

"Sorry, York, but… I'm dead. Have been for a while now, actually, and you know it. You remember," Zeal said solemnly, tapping the side of his head. He raised his hand to his chest, patting his fingers over the wound in the center. "This here's proof positive of it."

"But I just saved you! We got away! You're not-" York groaning, wincing as his head began to throb. He'd saved Zeal from burning to death! But at the same time, he remembered failing to do so, and watching his friend get buried under burning debris! "Wait a minute… What is this? What the hell is going on?!"

"Hmm… for your first question, I suppose that the easiest way to explain things is to say that this…" Zeal motioned around the area with his hand, before raising his palm to the wound on his chest. As the hand brushed over the hole, the injury vanished, as though it had never been there at all. "This is all an illusion. Or I guess it would be more accurate to call it a memory. Do you remember where you are, York? You're inside the core of human souls right now."

For a moment, York was confused, but his memories slowly formed, and he remembered everything that had happened since arriving in the realm of the dead.

"That's right… we were caught by the core, weren't we? Levin and I were… Levin! That's who that was earlier! He pulled the beam off of you! But… if this is the past, why was he the same age as he was before? Shouldn't he have been younger too, or-"

"York! Hey!" Zeal said quickly, snapping his fingers and pulling York back to the present. "This is an illusion, remember? Things don't really need to make complete sense. Besides, the core… tweaked things a little, in order to help things along."

"Right… right, okay. But does that mean… am I dead? Like, for real this time? We're in the core, aren't we? Doesn't that mean that…"

"No, you're not dead," Zeal told him. "Not officially, at least."

"What a relief. Guess I'm still in the running for the 'hardest man to kill alive' award then… But how am I actually alive in the core?"

"It's… hard to explain. The core's managed to pull your soul out of your body and into itself. However, as long as your body's still alive, it still has some pull on your soul. Once we go over a few things, the core will release its hold on your soul, and you can return to your body."

"What do you mean 'go over a few things'?" York protested. "I'm not dead! Why can't the core just let me go?"

"It would if it could!" Zeal replied, raising his hands defensively. "But the whole thing's on tracks now. If you want to return to your body, you're going to have to ride this out. I promise it won't take long, we just… we need to talk about a few things, and then you can leave, okay?"

York was quiet for a moment before nodding. "Yeah… Yeah okay. Sorry about that, it's just that I've been placed in a lot of situations where it's easy to assume I'm dead in the last day or two. Not to mention I'm technically speaking with a dead man. Things like this make you question your sanity."

"That's understandable," Zeal said with a small smile. "Meeting the Alatreon, being told you're in the underworld, being sucked into the human soul core… You've had a rough day. I can't really help you deal with those other things, but I can do what the core sent me here to do. Come with me; we have a lot to talk about."

With that, the Nargacuga-armored man pushed himself to his feet before walking back in the direction of the village. York followed uncertainly, his head still spinning in confusion. The black-armored hunter walked slowly back to Crez, the village still burning in the night. As they approached, however, another glow appeared on the horizon, and a moment later the sun crested, rising into the sky. York realized that the sun was moving at a shocking pace, however, and as he and Zeal entered the main gate of the city, the time jumped almost immediately from dawn to mid-morning. Looking around, York saw that Crez had changed as well. The fire had burnt out by now, and all that remained of the village were cinders and the skeletons of houses. Off in the distance, York could see the remains of the longhouse, the support columns rising up from the earth like a giant's ribcage, painted black from the flames.

Zeal pressed on in silence, leading York back through the debris. Finally he stopped, standing directly in front of the remains of his old house, staring intently at the ruins. York stared at it in silence as well. It hurt to look at; he remembered his failure to pull Zeal free from the wreckage. He hadn't been strong enough…

"There was nothing you could have done," Zeal suddenly said, breaking the silence as though he could read York's mind.

"No! I could've… There must have been something I could've done to-"

"Not on your own. You weren't able to move the beam, and I got trapped under the collapsing building. The only reason you could save me this time was because of the help you had from that other hunter. And that… that is the whole point of all this."

York shook his head. "The whole point of what?"

Zeal glanced at York and grinned a little, before motioning around him. "Of this: this vision of the past. It was to make something very clear to you: that you can't do everything on your own. You can't shoulder all the hardships and burdens, not like you try to do. Sometimes you need help, and you're a little too stubborn to accept it when it's offered sometimes. No offense."

York frowned, crossing his arms. "I think that's a little bit harsh, don't you think?"

Zeal raised an eyebrow and tilted his head, as though listening for something, and York blinked in surprise when the sound of his own voice filled the air.

"You didn't have to come with me, you know. I'm the only one the Guild needed for this job, so I was planning to do this job alone."

"Ha, and Rose wouldn't have any of that, now would she?" a second voice, Hugh's, asked. "Neither would I for that matter. It's not a bad thing to ask your friends for help, York. Probably didn't even consider asking for help either, did you? I know how you can get, running into trouble trying to shoulder everything yourself."

"Yeah, yeah… I got an earful enough from Rose before I left."

Zeal smirked as the conversation ended. "Seems like I'm not the only one who thinks you try and carry too much of the load yourself, York. You weren't really heeding your friend's advice there at the end, were you?"

"But is that really a bad thing?" York argued. "Is it really bad to be able to do things yourself? Is it really that bad to want to keep your friends and loved ones safe?"

"No, of course not," Zeal replied. "But there are limits. There's a fine line between worrying for the safety of your loved ones, and coddling them. Your friends aren't made of glass, York. They won't shatter to pieces if you're not there to carry the weight. Sometimes it may feel like you're carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders, but I guarantee you that it's nothing that someone else hasn't gone through before. And you're not made of steel, either. Maybe the burdens you bear will be heavier than the others', but carry too much weight by yourself, and you'll collapse just as easily as the next person."

"But they shouldn't have to bear the burdens that I have!" York retorted. "I can deal with things myself."

Zeal grunted at the words, a disbelieving sound. "Just like you 'dealt' with Crez by yourself?"

"I did deal with Crez!" York snapped. "The village was destroyed! And it had to be done!"

The black-armored man looked poignantly around the ruins, staring intently at the house in front of them. "That it did. You won't hear any arguments from me about that. But York, why did it have to be done only by you? You were just a boy. An entire village of trained killers, raised from birth for murder and death, and you placed it upon yourself to kill every last one of them. The fact that you actually managed it is a testament to your luck, but not much else."

"But I told you my plans! I didn't exactly expect to get attacked in my house that night! The others found out about the plan, and I had to get it going before they could stop us!"

"Yes, you told me your plans. And sure, there's more context to the situation than you trying to do everything on your own, but even those things were out of your control. You did decide to burn the place before getting me, even if it was a split-second decision. And perhaps, because you didn't ask for help, there were consequences. Alteos managed to survive the blaze, and my own house caught fire while I slept. I was left burned and near-dead, with the belief that I had been betrayed by the only person I considered a friend. Then that thought was twisted and distorted into something even more evil, and… well, you remember how that all turned out."

Zeal turned, staring intently at York, and the dual blade wielder couldn't help but let his gaze linger on the burn wounds that covered Zeal's body. "Maybe things would've been different if you'd woken me up first and asked me to help you. Maybe Alteos would have died that day. Maybe we would have been able to take him down together, stopping the Brilliant Darkness cold that night. Maybe if you'd chosen to rely on me, rather than trying to shoulder everything yourself, things would have been… different."

York was silent, returning his gaze to the remains of Zeal's house. Zeal himself was silent for a while, allowing York to keep to his thoughts.

"You're right…" York finally sighed. "I hate to admit it, but you're right. I know the others aren't weak, but… I always just felt like I was stronger, since I had been through so much more. And I thought that using all the strength I had to protect the ones important to me was… well, honoring your memory. I didn't want to lose another friend like I thought I had you. The fact that you technically died by my hand… Well, I never really forgive myself for not finding a way to protect you too. When I look back and think about everyone who's lost their life at the edge of my blade, I feel like I have to make it up for that sin. I want to protect everyone that I can so that I can at least feel like I'm paying the dead their due, in a way. Guess I've been a bit paranoid about it all, trying to keep my friends on the safe side of the line like that…"

Zeal nodded in acceptance of the admission. "Good to see you're willing to admit to your faults. Some people take a lot longer than that to accept their failings. Now, admittedly, all those 'maybes' I threw at you earlier might not have been entirely fair of me. Fate usually isn't so black and white, and it's rarely kind. Maybe if you'd woken me up, things would have taken a turn for the worst. Maybe something bad would have happened, and we both would have died, and the Alatreon would've conquered the world. Maybe, maybe, maybe… But wishing that you'd done things differently is a pointless struggle. The past can't be changed, but it can certainly be learned from."

"What am I supposed to learn from this?" York muttered. "That I shouldn't try and do everything myself, to rely on my friends more often, and be willing to ask for their help? I get that much, but I'm carrying a lot of this 'weight', Zeal. Being a hunter is one thing, and running a workshop is another, but fatherhood on top of both? I'd take a vacation if I could, but I can't afford to slip up! One wrong move, and then everything will come crumbling down…"

Zeal grinned at him though. "No."

"No? Care to explain what you mean by that?"

"If you fail, that doesn't mean that everything you've been trying to control will fall in on itself. That's what I'm trying to teach you here. Whether you're aware of it or not, your friends and family are already helping you with your burdens. Or at least they're trying to. If the weight becomes too much for you, and you do end up falling apart, they'll still be there, holding up the weight you once were. Maybe it'll be a little heavier for them, and they'll struggle, and they'll worry whether they can carry the weight themselves, but like I told you, they're not made of glass. Things won't just fall apart if you're not there. Maybe things will bend and crack, but your friends won't fall so easily. They'll bear the burdens until you've gotten yourself back together, and are ready to bear the weight again."

York stared at the ground for a long time before responding. "And what if when I… fall apart, it's a little more… permanent, and I can't put myself back together?"

"Then they'll carry the weight for the rest of their lives," Zeal shrugged. "That's the way it is. But that's the real trick to it, too. You need to learn when you're trying to carry too much, and balance the load between yourself and those around you. Let your friends and family support you; that's what they're for. And just as they support you, support them in kind. Make sure they're not carrying more weight than they can bear either."

"So… give and take. Take some of the weight off the people you care for, but don't be too stubborn to give some back if they want to help."

"You got it. And they do want to help, don't forget that. Of course, saying you'll do something and putting it into practice are two different things. I suppose we'll find out soon enough though, won't we? If you show up here in the core again within a few years, properly dead, I'll start to wonder if maybe you kept up your bad habits and overburdened yourself. On the bright side, if that happens I'll have more company here in Crez."

York blinked in surprise at the words, looking around again at the destruction around them. "You live here? I mean… well, you stay here?"

"I do," Zeal replied. "The souls within the core are able to make… let's call them 'havens'. Safe places where they can spend eternity once they've come to peace with their lives and mistakes. They create a place for themselves to call home here within the core, a realm of their own to live peacefully. And this is the one that I've chosen."

"You… you've made Crez your haven?" York asked, looking around. "Of all the places in the world, you picked Crez? All this fire and death? Not to insult your choice, but you deserve better than this…"

Zeal gave a warm laugh, shaking his head and patting York on the shoulder. "That's the thing, York. You don't see the same thing I do. This is a place for the dead, not the living, and after five years here, there's a lot that I've learned from the souls I've spoken to. There are so many worlds out there, so many different people and places that have existed. And every one of those worlds, even ours, had endless possibilities. My haven only looks like this because this is how you remember it, and it's how you needed to see it in order to understand what I wanted to teach you. However, while you see Crez as it used to be…"

Zeal waved his hand around him, and York gasped. In a moment, the world around them shifted. The village of Crez changed as the fires faded and the smoke cleared from the air, revealing the brilliant blue sky above them. The buildings rose up from the burned husks, pulling themselves back together as the charred trees and foliage sprouted up and bloomed, vibrant and green around the village. The corpses that littered the earth vanished, and new people appeared like spectres in the streets, coalescing into corporeal forms.

But it was different. The people of the city were smiling happily, and talking with each other in cheerful voices while wearing colorful clothing. The walls were hung with vibrant banners and elaborate signs. Wagons and travelers strode through the streets, looking around excitedly at what the shops and vendors had to offer. Children were dashing through the stalls, playing games and laughing. This wasn't the same Crez that York had been raised and trained in; it was not a ruthless village that trained killers, but a warm and inviting home that York had never known.

"…I see a Crez that could have been," Zeal finished. "I see the Crez that would have existed if not for the Alatreon or the Brilliant Darkness cult."

York looked back at his friend, realizing that the man had changed just as much as Crez around him had. His body was the same, retaining its old shape and scars, but his eyes and expression no longer bore the strained, weary expression it had before. It was softer and gentler now, a contented smile on his face. He was even wearing olive green civilian clothing,

"Eh? What do you think?" Zeal laughed, motioning to himself. "Gotta say, I look pretty slick in casual clothes. Could've been a real lady-killer - murder joke, by the way - in another life… though you've been busy yourself in the world of the living, you sly dog. The core has let me see your memories. You should be proud that you were able to find some happiness in your wife and son. That's something I'm a bit jealous of, though I can't help but feel glad knowing that you finally managed to escape this cycle of hatred we've been stuck in for so long. You lost a lot in life, sure, but now you can look forward to what's ahead without fear. Not many people get a chance like that before they arrive here.

"But that's the best part about the core, York. You have a chance to create peace for yourself, something that'll bring you happiness for eternity. I made this, a Crez full of kindness rather than cruelty, basing it on what I'd seen in the lives of other people. It's mostly the same as any other peaceful village… though I took a few liberties of my own."

Looking around, York realized that he recognized a few people around him. Most were people he recognized from his youth in Crez, living happy lives. There were others as well, members of the cult he'd killed five years ago, those people whose faces he'd only seen as he killed them, or seen lined up on the floor in the aftermath. And there were people he knew and cared about as well; York froze in shock when he saw his own father, Virgil, stride by, walking alongside York's mentor, Felix. York reached out to them, but his hand phased through them as though they were nothing; they were just specters, York realized. Off in the distance, he could see others, visions of people he'd known and loved, as well as people he knew had died during the attack on the Brilliant Darkness' hideout.

"Figured it out yet?" Zeal asked, and he smirked at York's blank look. "My haven isn't just what I imagine Crez to have been if the Brilliant Darkness had never existed. It's also sort of… a safe place. While a lot of the people here are cultists, leading lives they otherwise wouldn't have without the Alatreon around, there are even more here that were hurt or killed because of the Brilliant Darkness' actions. Everyone who ever suffered because of the Alatreon and its cult are here, living their lives happily, away from the torment that the cult caused them. That's how I've designed my haven."

York stared around in awe, realizing the full extent of the world Zeal had made. It was so strange looking at it, seeing people he'd known as ruthless killers speaking calmly with those that had suffered due to the cult.

"Alteos is here, too, you know," Zeal told him, motioning around vaguely with a hand. "Somewhere in the core. I think he wanted a chance to speak with you, but I figured you wouldn't really want to talk to him, all things considered."

"I don't know about that," York growled. "I have a few choice things I'd like to say to him if I had the chance."

"Oh, I'm sure. I had my own opportunity to give him a piece of my mind when I first arrived here. But I think you'll find that he's not the same person you remember him as. You'll get the chance one day, I'm sure, but I'm afraid we just don't have the time for that right now."

"I'm looking forward to it. I think I'd like to talk with my father first though…"

"Well, don't be in too much of a hurry. You're supposed to be dead to be here after all. You and that Levin guy are just special exceptions." Zeal paused, frowning and tilting his head slightly, as though hearing something. Then he shook his head. "Speaking of which, I wish I could send you back to the world of the living, York, but I'm afraid that's not within my power, or within the power of the human core. I guess, even if the core did have that power, it wouldn't let you go anyway. They have something they need you to do."

"Wait, what? If this ghost thing is asking me for favors now-"

Before York could finish speaking, however, the world around him seemed to grow darker. Below him, the shadows between the cracks in the cobblestone began to grow, spreading out in an inky blackness that seemed to absorb the light around it. York's eyes darted around in horror, and he immediately moved to jump out of the way, but before he could, spectral arms leapt out of the darkness, grabbing his boots and legs and holding him down. York flailed about wildly, trying to pull himself free of the ghostly hands and swinging his fists down at them, but none of his blows seemed to land, phasing through the appendages.

Then he began to sink. The darkness below him rippled like water, and York felt his feet sinking into the ground, being pulled lower and lower like he was being dragged into mud. Try as he might, he couldn't free himself from the grip of the spectral hands. As he sank, even more of them began to reach up from the shadows, grabbing hold of his torso and arms, and there seemed like there was nothing he could do to fight against them.

"Damn it… damn it, let go of me! Zeal, what is this?! You've got to-"

As York looked up at Zeal however, the man hadn't moved, and had a sad smile on his face. "Sorry York, this is how it works. Those hands will take you where you need to go. I can't interfere, and besides… I have to stay here."

"Wait! I-"

"Your time will come, York," Zeal told him. "You have to be dead to be a part of the core, remember? And you've still got life in you yet." The Nargacuga-armored hunter smirked. "Figure things out for yourself a little while longer, alright? I expect you to show me some really great things when your soul arrives here.

"And remember: don't try and shoulder everything yourself! You won't always be able to carry the load without a helping hand. You've got good friends to rely on; don't be too stubborn to do so. Trust me when I say that your experiences will be a lot more fun to recount if your friends are telling them alongside you." Zeal gave York a sad smile. "As someone who was essentially by himself through life, it's a lonely way to arrive, not having anyone to share it all with."

"But I…" York gasped as the hands dragged him lower into the darkness. He was up to his chest now, but Zeal merely smiled and nodded.

"Goodbye for now, York. And good luck."

With that, there was a powerful pull, and York was dragged into the darkness, the world around him swirling into nothingness.

---

York groaned as his vision swam and light filtered down from above. What had happened? The last thing he remembered was dozens of wraith-like hands appearing from out of nowhere and grabbing hold of him. Then there was darkness, and now…

There was an irritating humming and clicking sound coming from above him, and as his vision cleared, he looked up to spot a lamp of some kind. But it was strange; it wasn't lit by a candle or oil, and it wasn't a glowing crystal… at least, not a type that he'd ever seen before. It was like a glass orb with flickering white light aimed down at the ground, and it looked like it was screwed into the wall, too. But why was it humming? It almost sounded like it was using electricity… but that seemed highly inefficient for a single lamp.

York groaned again as he pushed himself up to his feet and looked around. It appeared to be late evening, and he was in an alley of some kind, dirty and full of garbage and empty boxes. He grimaced a bit at the smell of the place; at least the ghostly hands that had dragged him into the darkness hadn't seen fit to drop him into one of the trash cans or dumpsters that lined the walls. Glancing left and right, he could see that there were streets on either end of the alley, both with numerous people walking past. There were other things too… strange objects that passed by on each side with low rumbling, and every now and then he could hear aggravating high-pitched honking sounds echoing through the alley.

As York dusted himself off, he realized that he wasn't wearing his armor. His clothing had been replaced by a white, hooded jacket made of cotton, as well as a long, brown leather coat over that which hung to his knees. His pants were made from some sturdy blue-colored material, and on his feet were a pair of strangely-crafted boots. For a moment he was worried that his weapons were missing, but reaching back he found that his swords were still there, though their sheaths were hidden underneath a backpack that hung over his shoulder. His wrist blades were still there as well, covered up by the sleeves of his coat.

But where had his armor gone? These clothes hardly provided any protection at all, and even the leather coat couldn't have been much thicker than Bullfango hide. However, he did find that the white jacket had a very strange fastener which proved surprisingly strong, with two metal lines of 'teeth' and a slider that made a very satisfying zipping sound as York tugged it up and down.

There was no sense in just standing around trying to understand fashion, York figured. He needed to find Levin… maybe he would know where they were. They'd just been in Crez, after all, so maybe this place…

Wait, Crez? Crez was gone, burned to the ground years ago. Why would he have been in Crez? And how had he gotten to this place again? There was something about… shadowy hands and darkness… He'd been talking to Zeal… but no, Zeal was dead too. But he vaguely remembered doing so, so why…? York suddenly felt very dizzy… He couldn't seem to remember certain things…

He needed to find Levin. He knew that much. Levin was here somewhere, and York needed to try and help him to… do something.

Shaking his head, York jogged over towards the street at the nearest end of the alley. He needed to get his bearings and find out where he was. It was close to night, so he might have trouble finding his way around, but the street ahead seemed brightly lit. Cautiously, he stepped out of the alley and looked around, his eyes widening in shock.

It was a city, the likes of which York had never seen! He'd been to Loc Lac many times, and the size and height of the Loc Lac Tower had always impressed him. But here, wherever here was, there were dozens, maybe hundreds of towers made of mortar and steel rising just as tall, stretching off in each direction along the strange stone road. What kind of place was he in where such great structures could be built in such great number? There were countless machines too, driving in lines back and forth down the roads. Poles carried wires in the air above him, and all around him there were lanterns and signs glowing with the hum of electricity.

Was this… was this Levin's world? Bright lights, machines, tall towers… The switch axe user had said he was from a world different than York's, but York had never imagined the difference to be this extreme! Just standing around wasn't going to get him anywhere though. He needed to find Levin… wherever the switch axe user was in this huge city. York spotted a woman with a wide hat walking nearby, and reached forward cautiously.

"Hey, do you mind telling me where I am?" he asked, but the woman merely sidestepped him, walking directly past him without even looking at him. "…Okay, just brush me off, whatever."

He stepped back suddenly as someone nearly walked right into him, even though he was standing still. "Hey, watch where you're going!" York snapped, but the man harrumphed, muttering something under his breath which certainly sounded insulting. The man moved to shove past him, but York growled, stepping intently in front of him. "Now listen, jackass, you can't just-"

But York's words cut off as he looked down at the man. He realized that the man in front of him seemed… incomplete. Looking around, the rest of the people were very much the same. Their clothes were smooth, made of cloths and fibers that York had never known, some similar to the clothes he wore now, but their faces were undefined, as hazy and uncertain as if York had tried to make them out in a dark alley at midnight. It was as though they were specters, lingering visions of nothing corporeal. Cautiously, York reached out to one of them, what appeared to be a woman wearing a business dress, but though there was some slight pressure as he touched her shoulder, her body phased through his fingers as she pressed on, not even turning to look his way.

"What the hell is with this place?" York muttered, pulling away back towards the edge of the sidewalk. "Nothing makes any sense at all… And what is that irritating honking noise?! Sounds like a dying Quru-"

A shrill blaring sounded in front of him as two of the machines in the road squealed to a halt, nearly running into each other. The spectral shapes within began shouting angrily at each other, slamming their fists down onto something within the machines, producing some awful honking sound. More of the sounds began to echo from behind them as the machines behind them were forced to a halt as well, creating a cacophony of blaring noise in the street. York winced in pain at the sound.

"Gah! Damn it! And here I thought Gigginox screeches were bad!" Muttering curses of frustration to himself, York turned and walked in the opposite direction, eager to get away from the clamor.

What kind of place was this? And how had he gotten here? York frowned in confusion. He'd known… he'd had a reason for being here. He'd known it only a moment ago, he was certain of it, but now he just couldn't remember. He'd been doing some work for the Guild… They'd needed him to retrieve something for them… Hugh had been there, and so had a golden-armored hunter… Who was that? He didn't know any hunters that wore gold armor, did he? There was a name… he knew it; it was right on the tip of his tongue. Was it Levi? Lenny? Leon? It started with an 'L'.

He needed to figure out where he was, and why he was here. That came first. These specters that walked the streets didn't seem to be real, and if they had minds of their own, his actions didn't seem to concern them. And something, he couldn't tell what, seemed to be calling him to the south. There was a long alleyway there, leading towards the next street over. That seemed to be the best direction to go; even with the specters hardly noticing him, he still felt like he stood out since there didn't seem to be anyone carrying weapons, or at least none that he could see. Besides, he didn't really feel comfortable walking these busy streets, with all those rumbling machines driving nearby. He could climb up to the rooftops, he supposed, but the buildings were ridiculously tall; it'd be faster keeping to the roads.

As he made his way through the alley, he glanced up. The sky seemed so far away with these buildings towering up on either side of him. And yet, he couldn't shake the feeling that the sky had gotten quite a bit darker in the last few moments; it had been twilight when he'd arrived in this city, but now, looking up, it seemed well past nightfall, and clouds were passing overhead. No, wait… those didn't look so much like clouds, as much as they looked like smoke…

Five feet from where the alley ended, York was suddenly thrown back as a massive explosion erupted across the street in front of him. The hunter was smashed against the side of one of the dumpsters from the force of the blast as a wave of fire rushed into the alley, swelling up the walls before vanishing into the sky above. York groaned in pain, but pushed himself upright and shielded his face as the intense blaze began to die down.

Finally the heat dwindled enough for him to see forward again, and it seemed that some massive blast had ripped apart the street. York hesitated, looking back in the direction he'd come from, but found that the explosion had caused the buildings behind him to collapse, creating a wall of rubble and mortar that blocked his path. The walls on either side of him were bare as well, leaving nothing for him to climb up, and from the sounds of things, these buildings were falling apart as well…

Over the roaring of the flames, York suddenly heard voices, though they were distant, and he could barely make them out over the sounds of destruction. The voices sounded fearful as well, close to panic… and then suddenly there were screams of horror. York cursed and dashed out into the street before stopping in shock.

The entire city was in flames! What had just happened? Everything had been fine thirty seconds ago, but now, everywhere York looked, buildings were collapsed, roads were destroyed, and the bodies of hundreds… thousands of people lay scattered around, charred or ripped apart! It was as though there had been a war! This kind of damage couldn't have been done with one single explosion… this would've been the work of hours or days! What was going on?

His answer came from the skies. High above him, a powerful, screeching roar shook the unbroken windows in their panes. York's eyes darted skyward as a massive black shape slid through the trails of smoke, before gliding into the open air. That shape, those black scales, those massive twisted horns…

"The Alatreon?! You've got to be kidding me, again?!"

Electricity danced across the creature's horns as the beast soared over him, and a bolt of lightning dropped from the sky, crashing into one of the nearby buildings. The bolt seemed drawn to a metal rod that rose up from the top of the structure, but if the rod was meant to stop the damage from the lightning, it failed. The energy the Alatreon had called down was far too much, and the bolt tore straight through the center of the structure. Fire erupted from within the building, and a moment later, every window on it shattered as the whole structure blew up from the inside, sending a cascade of metal and mortar crashing to the street below. The building groaned for a few moments, trying to keep from collapsing, but it quickly gave out and fell in on itself.

York cursed at the devastation, watching as the Alatreon soared through the air, roaring in delight as more bolts of lightning fell from the sky, devastating other buildings as quickly as the first had fallen. It wasn't just lightning the creature used though; fireballs reduced structures to cinders just as easily as lightning did, and huge spears of ice could be seen blasting holes in the taller buildings and tearing them in half.

Out of the corner of his eyes, York spotted movement. From within the darkness of a path leading underground, a group of four people scurried up onto the street, rushing across the road towards a small side street. A father, mother, and two sons by the looks of it… But York paused in confusion. The oldest son looked… familiar, like a haunting memory tugging at his mind. York had seen him somewhere before, hadn't he? There was something off about his appearance, but still…

The sound of beating wings pulled York's attention upwards as the Alatreon swept through the sky high above him. The elder dragon seemed to be contentedly observing the damage it had wrought, its horns flickering with electric energy as occasional lightning bolts dropped from the sky to annihilate other buildings. Then the dragon's gaze shifted, and York realized the creature was focusing on something. He cursed to himself in realization: the family! The Alatreon had spotted them! With a screech, the elder dragon twisted in the air and dove, plummeting towards the earth as the family scrambled to cover the last few dozen yards to relative safety. They'd never make it!

York immediately drew his swords, before reaching inwards and focusing to active his aura. But as the seconds passed, York realized with horror that the power wasn't responding! Try as he might, the aura simply wasn't heeding his call! What was going on? He couldn't even feel the faintest trace, as though it had never existed! This shouldn't be possible!

The dual blade wielder cursed venomously, his eyes darting back towards the Alatreon. It was nearly upon the family! With a shout, the hunter shot forward, desperate to get to the four of them before it was too late.

---

Levin cried out in horror as a something crashed into the ground behind him, shaking the earth and throwing him off his feet. He slammed into the ground several yards later, covering his head fearfully as a rain of debris fell upon him. He didn't want to open his eyes at all, fearful of what he would see; he had heard the screeching of the… the thing that had been attacking the city, but he was too terrified to open his eyes to find out whether the creature had finally come for him and his family.

At the thought of his family though, he forced his eyes open, searching around desperately for them. His mother, father, and brother had been with him! Were they alright? Were they alive? He spotted them nearby, his father pushing himself to his feet and helping his mother and brother back to theirs. That was a relief.

But a low growling made Levin freeze in terror. The sound was dangerously loud and frightfully close, and Levin turned slowly to face it. Only a few feet away from him, several shining black pillars had sprouted from ground. It took a moment for Levin to realize that there were talons at the bases of the pillars, sleek black claws that looked as though they could tear through steel with ease. Looking closer, Levin could see that the talons were coating in a thin film, a dark fluid that looked very much like blood…

Fearfully, Levin looked upwards, following the creature's legs up to its torso and chest, then up the long neck to the beast's head. He found the creature's red and yellow eyes glaring down at him, and its fangs were bared in what Levin could only imagine to be a cruel smile. Levin felt his blood run cold under the gaze, though perhaps the feeling was exacerbated by the frigid mist that gusted through the creature's fangs and down onto Levin with each breath it took. A moment later, a wave of heat washed over him as the white mist shifted to flames, and Levin could only look on in horror as the beast's jaw opened, and a bright red glow began to well up in the back of its maw.

"Levin, no!"

Levin's head twisted around at the sound of his mother's voice. His family was back to their feet, and looking on at him in worried horror. However, a venomous hiss called Levin's attention back to the black-scaled creature. Turning around, Levin realized that the beast was no longer looking at him, but had rather focused its gaze on his family. The beast growled darkly for a moment, before it paused and glanced down at Levin. The look that the beast gave Levin then was something the young man could only call 'contemplative', before the beast's eyes snapped back to his family. Fire grew in the creature's mouth, and it tilted its head forward. Levin's eyes widened in horror.

"No!" he screamed, reaching a hand towards the beast, but knowing already that he could do nothing.

"Not on my watch, dragon!"

In his horror, Levin barely registered the shout, coming from a voice he'd never heard before; his focus was almost entirely on the flames that were about to blaze from the black beast's mouth. But he managed to catch sight of a flash of motion that rushed under the creature's legs, and there was a clash of steel and a spray of sparks as something struck against the beast's leg. The attack didn't seem to harm the creature at all, but it just barely made the beast stagger. It didn't stop the fireball that roared from the monster's mouth, however, and Levin twisted around to watch the blazing orb rocket through the air. Thankfully, the creature's aim had been thrown off just enough that the fireball missed its target, sailing over the heads of his family and detonating at the base of a nearby building.

Levin felt a wave of relief watch over him as his family looked up in surprise, their faces stunned that they were still alive. A howl of frustration tore from the beast's maw, Levin quickly turned to figure out what had struck the creature before it had attacked. The monster's eyes were darting around, trying to catch sight of something moving quickly between its feet, stamping its talons onto the ground trying to crush it. With a howl of frustration, the creature leapt back, sending a powerful gust of wind outwards as it flew itself several dozen yards across the earth.

Levin covered his face as the gust sent a wave of dust and debris spraying over him, and as the wind began to die away, he looked up again and found himself looking at a man he'd never seen before. He was wearing a worn brown longcoat over a white jacket. He had brown hair, and stubble sprouting from his chin which appeared to be on the way to a full beard. A thin scar crossed his left cheek under a clear blue eye, and his right eye was covered with an eyepatch.

And he had swords. He was actually holding swords, one in each hand. Who the hell carried swords around these days? Had the city been attacked during a renaissance fair? They were thin blades, and oddly colored too, one of the blades a bright blue while the other had an aquamarine tint.

"You alright, kid?" the man asked, looking down at him. Levin nodded awkwardly, pushing himself back to his feet. "At least you can stand. Listen, you need to get your family out of here. I'll keep it distracted so you can-"

The man paused mid-sentence however, his eye narrowing curiously on Levin. He seemed confused for a moment. "Hold on, are you… Levin?"

"Yeah, I… wait, how do you know who I am?"

"That's easy. It's because you're… I… I actually don't know-"

The man's words were cut short a moment later, however, when a powerful screech ripped through the air, shattering windows and sending shards of glass clattering down to the concrete. Both of their attentions snapped back to the dragon as the creature howled at them. Electricity jumped across its horns, and suddenly the world flashed white as a bolt of lightning dropped from the sky, punching into the ground not three yards in front of Levin and the man with the swords. Levin cried out as the blast threw him backwards, sending him slamming down onto his back with a grunt and coughing in pain as he struggled upright.

Looking up, he realized that the man he'd been standing next to earlier was gone. Levin looked around quickly, spotting the man nearby; the sword wielder had been thrown into the wall of a building, before he'd dropped to the ground. Sparks of electricity were jumping across his body as well, and he was groaning as he struggled back to his feet. However, white mist appeared in the monster's mouth, and a jet of it snapped out towards the man. He tried to move out of the way, and though he managed to avoid being hit full-force by the frigid air, the haze swept across the ground under him, catching his feet and freezing them to the ground. The dragon hissed victoriously as the man was frozen in place, cursing as he swung his sword down into the ice, trying to break it away.

Fire welled up in the dragon's throat for a moment as it prepared to launch flames at the man, but instead the monster seemed to pause, returning its attention to Levin for a moment before its eyes darted behind him toward where his family remained huddled. Levin's mother was crying out to him, while his father attempted to pull her away and keep her from running towards him. His brother Noah was trying to help, though his eyes were looking helplessly at Levin. None of them seemed to realize that the creature's attention had turned on them once more. The dragon growled low, and fire grew in its maw once more.

Levin looked hopelessly towards the man with the swords, but he was still trying to break himself out of the ice that wrapped around his ankles. The man looked up then, however, realizing what was going on and searching around for some way to help.

"Levin! The sword! Throw the sword!" the one-eyed man called, pointing at the ground nearby him.

Levin blinked in confusion, uncertain what the man meant, before looking down. One of the man's swords, the shorter, wider aquamarine blade, lay on the ground next to him. It must have been dropped by the man when the lightning had struck. Reaching down, Levin quickly grabbed the weapon by the hilt, finding it heavier than he'd thought and holding it awkwardly before looking over towards the black-scaled creature. The beast's maw was open wide as flames built up in the creature's gullet, and Levin shouted in horror, taking a couple steps forward before hurling the sword through the air.

The blade spun through the air and nearly missed the creature, but glanced just under the beast's eye. The scales of the dragon deflected the edge of the sword easily, sending the weapon clattering to the ground, but having come so close to such a weak point on the creature's body, the black beast flinched. With a hiss and a twist of the creature's head, the monster turned away for a fraction of a second, at the exact moment that the fireball blazed from the dragon's maw. The fiery orb roared through the air, searing only a couple yards over his family's head before crashing into the wall of a nearby building and erupting into flames. A cascade of brick and mortar tumbled to the earth from the blast zone, and a low groaning echoed across the street before the structural integrity gave out and the whole building collapsed in on itself.

It had worked! He'd managed to save his family! Deep within, Levin could feel some incalculable relief wash through him.

"Go! Get them out of here! I can handle it from here!" the man called out. Levin turned and spotted him lunging over the rubble, grabbing the fallen sword from the earth and rushing to attack the dragon. The black creature screeched in anger at the interruption, and dark red and black lightning danced across its body down from its horns as it turned to meet the man.

As quickly as he could, Levin dashed over to where his family crouched, huddled close to the ground, and urged them towards a nearby alleyway. The three of them didn't need any further encouragement, and quickly began running over to the path between the buildings. Levin ran just as quickly as they did, fearful that the beast would be on them again, and desperate to get away before it could kill him and his family.

His family made it into the alley several steps ahead of him, and before he followed them in, Levin spared a glance back at the man that was fighting against the dragon. He couldn't imagine how anyone would be brave enough… or stupid enough to go up against something like that, even for the sake of saving other people's lives.

As he looked back, however, he saw something strange. The dragon had pressed the strange man towards another alley on the far side of the street, bolts of lightning crashing down around him, both normal and the dark kind. When the man slid back towards the shadows of the alley though, several hands seemed to reach out from the darkness, grabbing hold of his coat and arms and pulling him backwards. The man struggled for barely a moment, but the hands were too many, and in a moment the man with the swords had been dragged into the alley, vanishing from sight. The dragon howled angrily, pressing towards the darkness and crashing its horns into the edges of the building in chase.

Levin didn't know what happened. He hoped the man was alright, as well as whoever had pulled him into the darkness was safe as well. But right now he had other concerns; he and his family had to get away before the dragon remembered them. Turning around, the four of them continued to hurry through the alley as the monster behind them began screeching in rage, the force of its howls making unbroken windows shiver in their panes. Levin only spared one more glance back before he and his family reached the far end of the alley, turning a corner onto a main street…

Levin jolted to a halt, looking around in surprise. The world had suddenly grown quieter, more subdued, and the city around him seemed to have changed. The flames burning in the buildings around him had died down, reduced to cinders. The sounds of devastation and mayhem had vanished as well, leaving only the sound of the wind and the groaning of the weaker buildings. The sky above him was no longer filled with ash and smoke, but had cleared over, and the faintest traces of morning were starting to light up the horizon. The city around him was still destroyed, still a ruin of its former self, but now it was as though time had passed, maybe a couple days.

"What the… what's going on?" he asked fearfully. After everything that had happened today, he didn't think he could take much more of this! He quickly rushed forward, grabbing hold of his father's arm. "Hey! Are you guys seeing this? I think something weird's happening again…"

"Alright, I think that's enough for now."

Levin looked up as his mother spoke to him, confused at the words, but as he opened his mouth to reply, his grip on his father's arm vanished. Turning his head sharply, he realized that his father had completely disappeared, and as he searched around, the man was nowhere to be seen!

"What… No! Dad! Where did he- Mom! Noah! I can't find-" But as Levin turned towards his brother, the younger man suddenly vanished, shimmering for a moment before disappearing completely. "No! Noah! Where… Where did they go? I don't… I thought we-!"

"Please calm down, Levin." Levin's eyes darted back to his mother, fearful that she would disappear as well, but she was still there, and didn't seem to be bothered by the disappearance of Levin's father or brother.

"What do you mean, 'calm down'? Dad and Noah are gone!"

"Don't worry, Levin. They're in a safe place." His mother had a strange look on her face. Levin would have thought she'd be in just as much of a panic as he was, but rather, she seemed content and pleased, and was looking at Levin's face with a loving smile. "It's really been quite some time, hasn't it dear?"

"Huh? What do you-"

Levin froze, however, as memories began to swell back into his mind. He gasped as everything that happened to him in the last few years suddenly burst back to life in his mind: waking up from the Lost crystal, going to Boma Village, becoming a hunter, meeting Ellie… and eventually finding the Alatreon and slaying the beast. As the images entered his head, half the world seemed to grow dark. Levin winced, blinking repeatedly, but the light didn't return, and he felt the pull of cloth covering the right side of his face. He raised his right hand to touch it against his face, he recoiled at the sight of a twisted black mass with a glowing azure stone in place of the limb. For a moment, there was searing pain along the right side of his body, and the clinking of metal as golden metallic plating appeared over his body.

Despite the changes to his body, Levin found himself gasping in horror as the last memories flowed into his mind, those of his family, and their deaths at the power of the Alatreon. Levin looked up again in shock at the woman in front of him, his mother Lauren, as though seeing her for the first time. She was an inch or two shorter than him, with medium-length greying brown hair and gentle brown eyes. Her clothes were simple, a green sweater and some pants, though tattered due to their encounter with the Alatreon. Upon seeing the recognition in his eyes, however, she smiled warmly at him.

"Mom?" Levin choked out.

The woman nodded gently at the words. "Yes, Levin dear. I'm glad to see you haven't forgotten me."

Levin stared at her blankly for a moment before he gave a dry, strained laugh at the words. "How… how could I ever… I couldn't…"

Levin felt a warm wetness sliding down his left cheek, and without another word he rushed forward, wrapping his arms around his mother and hugging her tightly. She wrapped her arms around him a moment later, returning the affection as she patted his back gently.

"There, there, Levin. I've missed you too. Could you relax a little though, dear? Your armor's pinching into me a bit."

"Oh! Sorry, I didn't mean to…" Levin replied quickly, pulling away a step. "I just… Are you… Are you really alive? No, you can't be alive. I remember seeing you and dad and Noah were killed when…"

Levin paused as the memories of his time in the underworld came filtering back a moment later, from his appearance in the water, all the way up to his encounter with the human core. "No… no, this is the human core! Wait, does that mean that I-"

"Died?" Lauren finished as Levin's sentence sputtered to a fearful halt. "No dear, you're not dead. You're sort of… in between life and death right now. It's hard to explain, but you don't really need to worry. You'll be back in your body soon enough, and back on the road to getting out of here and back to Eleanor."

"Yeah, the faster I can get out of here, the better… Wait, you know about Ellie? I haven't even told you… Um. I, uh, got married, by the way. And we have our first child on the way."

Lauren smiled and nodded. "Oh, I know dear. The core absorbed your memories up until now when your soul was pulled into it, so I know about her. I haven't looked at everything, but I know a lot of what's happened to you since I last saw you, including your marriage to Eleanor. I'm a little disappointed that you were too busy wallowing in self-pity to propose to her, but thankfully she had you figured out well enough to take matters into her own hands instead. You're a lucky man to have her, Levin."

"Yeah, I really am," Levin chuckled sheepishly. His mother grinned before giving him a sly smile.

"And before you ask, I kept my eyes off certain… personal moments between the two of you. There are some things a mother doesn't need to see, and some things a son wouldn't want her to see anyway."

It took a moment for Levin to understand what she was getting at, before his face grew flush with embarrassment. Lauren laughed at his expression as he sputtered out a reply. "Urk… Um, that's a relief I guess."

"Really? A relief? Interesting word choice. What have you been doing to that girl to be so relieved about?"

"That's-! I didn't mean… I never, um…"

His mother laughed again over his struggling to explain himself, and patted his shoulder gently. "I'm just teasing you dear. I wouldn't pry into things like that. Those personal moments of yours will stay personal… until the day one of your children comes into your room in the middle of the night and asks what you're doing. That's something you'll want to watch out for in the future, by the way, and I speak from experience."

"Oh… Um, was that… me?"

"You and Noah both, though his was a few years after yours, of course. You'd think James and I would've learned to lock the door after the first time."

"Can we talk about something else?" Levin sighed uncomfortably, and Lauren chuckled a little bit.

"I suppose we can. I was just trying to keep things casual. Besides, I suppose seeing you again reignited my maternal instinct, and I can't help but want to give you advice, especially since you have a child on the way. But yes, let's move on. We have a lot to talk about."

"Right… Um, what is this place?" Levin asked, looking around. "I know this already happened in the past, but… Wait, now that I think about it, was that York earlier? What was he doing here? If we're from different worlds, then he couldn't possibly have been there when the Alatreon attacked…"

"Not to mention that, even if he was from our world, he wouldn't have even been alive back then," Lauren added, glancing around. The woman motioned for Levin to follow her, walking back the way they'd come from. "But no, it's not real, if that's what you're asking. It's all just an illusion that was made by the core, using your own memories to rebuild it."

Levin frowned uncertainly as they made their way out of the alley. It looked as though quite a bit of time had passed since they'd managed to escape the Alatreon, even though it had only been a few minutes. The fires had faded and snuffed out, leaving only the rubble and remains of the buildings around them. The sky was no longer filled with smoke, and a bright blue sky filled the air over the dull grey skeletons of high-rises and skyscrapers. Looking around, Levin realized that there were no bodies either, no charred remains of those that had died during the Alatreon's attack.

"What about Dad?" he asked nervously. "And Noah? Are they…"

"Oh, they're around. They're just not… here, not in this illusion. James wanted to be here along with me, as did Noah, but I suppose there's some issue with that, and the core narrowed it down to just one of us. They were both a bit heartbroken… but they both agreed that it should be me that should talk to you. Maybe I just have a gentler touch… comes with being a mother, I suppose. Also, I doubt you would have really appreciated speaking with Noah; any wisdom he would've tried to impart might have been clouded by your view of yourself as being the 'big brother', even if he's been in the core for a long, long time. I was sad to find out that neither of them would be able to join me, but I was excited for the chance to talk with my boy… even for only a short time."

"I don't understand," Levin admitted. "Why… if I was brought into the core, why would I be shown this? What's the point of showing me the day that you, dad, and Noah… where you three died?"

"To teach you something."

Levin blinked in confusion at the simple answer. "To teach me what?"

"A lesson in living," Lauren replied. "The point of the core is to provide comfort and self-reflection to the deceased, to help those that died cope with the choices they made in life and show them what they couldn't quite understand about themselves. However, you and that York fellow are still alive, as opposed to the rest of the souls in the core. The process to help a person come to terms with their life can take quite some time, so the core has adjusted itself so you only need to come to terms with one particular facet of your life, and quickly. That's why it sent you to help York with his lesson, then sent him to help with yours."

"My lesson… What lesson?"

"That you shouldn't blame yourself for things that are out of your control."

"What do you mean?"

Lauren hummed to herself for a moment, before looking intently at Levin. "Could you have done more to keep us alive when the Alatreon attacked us, Levin? Could you have saved the lives of me, your father, and your brother?"

Levin froze at the words, a cold feeling welling up in his heart. He found his gaze dropping, staring fearfully at the ground between his feet. "There must have been… something I could do. There must have been some way… Like earlier, I threw that sword and kept it from hitting you with the fireball. I could have done something like that to-"

"And Loc Lac," his mother suddenly said, cutting him off. "Whose fault was it that the creature attacked?"

Levin's heart sank as the stared at the ground. "Mine."

Lauren was quiet for a moment before replying. "Wrong on both accounts, dear."

"What? But because I-"

"Because you weren't capable enough, your family died. Because of your antagonism with the Alatreon, Loc Lac was attacked. I understand why you think things like that, Levin, but that doesn't make them true. It wasn't your fault that the Alatreon attacked Loc Lac! It wasn't your fault we died! There was nothing you could have done to stop either of those things from happening, and even if there was, you shouldn't feel guilt over such things. You cling too tightly to the past, and you're too desperate to seek forgiveness for things that aren't your fault, latching onto crimes you never committed."

"But the Alatreon's attack was my fault! All those people died because of me!" Levin argued. "And there must have been something I could do to save all!"

"I understand where you're coming from, Levin. Certainly things may have been different had you acted differently, but you're not being completely fair to yourself either. Let's look at it this way, Levin: in your life, there was a man named Filcher. I'm sure you remember him."

"Yeah," Levin nodded, recalling the powerful man. "Hard to forget a guy like that…"

"It would be, wouldn't it? But you know of his past, and the decisions he made over the course of his life: the Wyvernian called the Veggie Elder predicted that he would overcome the 'greatest challenge a hunter had ever known', and his search for that challenge led him down the path of crime and immorality."

"I know the story," Levin replied. He'd heard the tale from the man himself, and picked up even more from things that Marshall had told him. "He tried to hunt the Alatreon, and got in trouble with the Guild. Then he went rogue, and eventually joined up with Moloch in Malefica… But what's that got to do with me?"

"Let me ask you something, Levin," Lauren said, looking intently at him. "Was Filcher responsible for the crimes he committed? All the people he killed and kidnapped, all the laws he broke in his search for this 'challenge' he so desperately desired?"

Levin frowned in confusion, uncertain what his mother was trying to get at. "Well… yes. He was responsible for what he did, so he should be held accountable."

"Really?" Lauren asked, raising an eyebrow. "And what about the Wyvernian? Do you think it was the Veggie Elder's fault that Filcher did what he did? He was the one that told Filcher of the 'great challenge' that he would overcome, and that inspired Filcher to make the decisions and commit the crimes he did. Could some blame of Filcher's actions be given to him?"

Levin paused thoughtfully. "The Veggie Elder's a bastard," he muttered. "But I don't really think that he can really take the blame for what Filcher did. He gave one of his damn predictions, but he didn't tell Filcher that he needed to become a criminal to accomplish his goals; his predictions are too vague for that kind of thing. I don't care for that Wyvernian bastard myself or his damn 'prophecies'… but even if his actions were what led to Filcher's choices, Filcher was the one that decided that going against the law was how to achieve his 'destiny' or whatever. It'd be his fault, not the Veggie… not…"

Levin's words petered to a halt as realization dawned on him, and Lauren gave a pleased smile. "That's right. Though the Veggie Elder's prediction may have led to Filcher making the choices he did, the blame for Filcher's actions lay on Filcher's shoulders alone. The Veggie Elder probably didn't know that his words would lead the man down a life of crime, and while I can't truly speak for him, I doubt he would have told Filcher what he did if he knew the consequences of his actions.

"The same applies to you and the Alatreon: it was the Alatreon's own cruel nature that led it to destroy Loc Lac as it did. Though your actions may have been a part of what encouraged the dragon to attack the city, that doesn't lay the blame entirely on your shoulders. Even then your actions were influenced by the Alatreon itself, both by the madness that its crystals placed within you and its personal desire to make you its plaything. The dragon antagonized you from the start, intentionally targeting you and compelling you to challenge it, but once you decided you didn't want to play its game, it was aggravated into attacking the city. Answer me this, Levin: did you know that your actions would lead to the Alatreon attacking Loc Lac?"

"No… I didn't think it would go that far. I knew it attacked small villages, which is horrible enough, but Loc Lac itself…"

"And if you had known that the Alatreon would attack Loc Lac as it did, would you have tried to stop it? Would you have tried to find some way to pull its attention away from the city? If you had found a way to spare people's lives, would you have tried to do it?"

"Of course I would have!"

His mother smiled at him. "There you have it. Though you may have played a part in the Alatreon's attack on Loc Lac, it was the Alatreon that made the decision to kill and destroy, and you did everything you could to prevent that. Which now brings me to your other issue: your sense of guilt over the deaths of myself, your father, and your brother."

"But there must have been something I could have done to-"

"Stop that, Levin. If you shouldn't blame yourself for the Alatreon's attack on Loc Lac, then there's even less reason for you to blame yourself for our deaths. You weren't a hunter back then, dear. You weren't even that athletic. I don't think I need to tell you what kind of damage the dragon wrought on the cities and armies of our time. Nothing they threw at it did a thing to it, so what could you hope to do, especially back then? I don't know if you wish you could have done something like earlier, when you were able to make the Alatreon flinch just enough to save us, but something like that would've relied more on chance than anything else, and wouldn't have been affected by your intent or skill. You need to stop thinking so seriously about it if you're going to be able to move on.

"It's not that you shouldn't remember us, Levin. I'm happy that you think of us fondly, but you shouldn't feel as if you are to blame because of some belief that you 'didn't do enough to save us'. It was never your fault that we died. It was never an issue about whether you were strong enough or brave enough to stand up against the Alatreon when it attacked us. It was never about whether there was some way for you to save us through some stroke of luck or split-second plan. You're spending so much time dwelling on our deaths that you're failing to focus on something more important."

"What's that?"

"The fact that you lived. Yes we died, but you didn't! You have a chance to live your life in happiness, but you spend so much time focusing on our deaths, and imagined failures and crimes you committed. It's fine if you're sad, Levin, but let our deaths be a reminder for you to live your life to the fullest, not something to hold you back."

With a sigh, Lauren turned away, walking over to a chunk of rubble and sitting down on it. Levin didn't follow though, staring at the ground and letting the words sink in. After a while, Lauren spoke again. "Do you understand, Levin? Do you see what I'm trying to tell you?"

Levin didn't reply immediately, but a few moments later, he nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, I think I get it."

"Alright, let me hear it," Lauren said, looking at Levin expectantly.

"I shouldn't… I shouldn't believe that everything's my fault," Levin said slowly. "I should accept that some things are out of my control. I shouldn't be so hard on myself for my failures, and when I do fail, I should try to make things better. I should… I should remember the past, but try to learn from it, rather than let it chain me down. And I should focus on the good things that I have in the world, and be free to make my own happiness rather than feeling I don't deserve it."

As he finished speaking, Levin's mother smiled gently. "Very good, Levin. It seems like you've managed to understand it all." Lauren pushed herself back to her feet, walking over to him. "Of course, I realize that just saying those things doesn't really mean you've learned your lesson. I can't really stop you from keeping up your negative mindset once you've left the core… but I hope you take my lessons and keep them in your heart from now on. It's for your own sake, you know, so you can live a happy life."

"I'll try my best to," Levin replied.

"I hope so, dear. You always were a stubborn boy, and I was worried you might not be picking all this up properly. You've been looking a bit dazed ever since you got here, you know."

Levin gave a short laugh and shook his head. "Ha, sorry. I guess this is sort of hitting me a little hard. It's been almost nine years since I last saw you, and then you sort of… appear out of nowhere and start giving me life advice. It's a little weird for me."

"Ha! Never doubt the power of maternal guidance, Levin. It's something that transcends death, apparently," Lauren chuckled. "But nine years? Hmm… I suppose it's felt that way to you, hasn't it Levin? Only about eight or nine years. But I've been here for a much longer than that, dear. For as long as you were in that crystal, James, Noah, and I have been here, waiting for you to appear."

Lauren chuckled to herself. "Those blue crystals really threw us all for a loop, I'll tell you that much, Levin. Here we were expecting you to appear in the core… well, we feared you might arrive in a few days, a few years if you were lucky, or maybe seventy years if things went very well for you. The world was rather tumultuous at the time. Imagine our surprise when a full century passed, and you were nowhere to be seen! Then two centuries, then five, then a millennia! I eventually stopped counting the years waiting for you, wondering just what was going on! It wasn't until about… oh, two thousand years ago that we learned about the crystals and what they did. Well, that was a weight off our chests, knowing that you were alive, just… sleeping away the years. And now here you are finally, and shock of all shocks, you're not even dead yet! Not that I'm not grateful you're still alive, of course, but… well, it's just rather surprising."

Levin nodded dumbly. Of course more time would've passed for them that it felt like for him. But he glanced around, a sad expression on his face. "And you… all this time, you've spent it all here? In the place where you…"

"Died?" Lauren finished. "Oh, no, dear, not at all. This is just a memory, Levin, a lingering haunting in your life. Here in the soul core, we spirits try to bring comfort to those that arrive… as I have to you, here in your most terrible memory. That's why you're here in this realm of death and devastation, Levin: all for the sake of teaching you not to blame yourself when life is hard and fate is cruel.

"As for me though, Levin… no, once a soul has spoken with those that they need to, once they have found the peace or understanding they yearn for, they make a place of their own," Lauren explained. She waved her hand, and the world around them suddenly shimmered. "Most create… havens for themselves as they wait for people they love to appear; imaginary worlds, carefree sanctuaries where they can spend their afterlives in a place that brings them peace. Sometimes it's an old memory, a cherished moment in their lives that they've clung to their whole lives. Often it's a place where they can fulfil the regrets they had while living, a place they create where they imagine what could have been or should have been."

The destruction around them faded, and the world flattened out somewhat. Levin suddenly found himself in the middle of a field, swaying grasslands surrounding them on all sides and stretching as far as the eye could see, and he frowned in confusion.

"I don't… Is this your… your haven? I thought it would be… different, I guess. I don't really understand. Shouldn't it be…"

"Something more comfortable? More welcoming, more familiar?" Lauren chuckled. "Oh, it used to be. Don't worry, for the last several thousand years, I've been with James and Noah in a haven of our own making, waiting for you to arrive. We've been providing what advice we could to others that came to the core, and listening to the stories of countless other humans that came before and after us… It was all very nice and comfortable, and hardly felt like all the time it actually was."

She gave him a warm smile, and the world around them slowly began to shift and shrink down. "But all that changed the moment you arrived here, Levin. You're not… really here, thankfully, but your memories thus far have still been shared with the core, and we've seen what life is like through your eyes… well, eye. Like I said, dear, most people create their own havens, where life is painted in a picture of their own design; but there are others… others who find happiness not in what could have been, but what is."

Levin winced as wooden walls suddenly sprang up, and the grasslands vanished from sight as a small room was created around them. Furniture, books, wall hangings, and other knickknacks popped into existence, and a wide stone fireplace pushed through the wall before igniting and filling the room with warm light. Levin recognized where he was immediately: it was his and Ellie's home in Perir Town. They were in the living room, where old sentimental possessions gathered up over the years surrounded him, and letters from friends littered the top of a nearby side table. Out a small window, he could see the overlooking view of the growing town and the mountains in the distance.

A soft laugh sounded from in front of him, and as he looked down at the couch that was pushed against the far wall, his eye widened in surprise when he realized that he was looking at himself! He was there, out of his armor and in casual clothes, laying lengthways across the cushions with Ellie resting on top of him. His wife was clearly showing her pregnancy, a pronounced bulge in her belly as the two lay there, talking quietly to each other. Levin saw his hands trailing across Ellie's abdomen, and every once in a while, there would be a small shiver from within as the unborn baby kicked, and his eye would widen as a deliriously happy grin would cross his face, while Ellie chuckled in amusement at his expression.

This was a memory, Levin realized, one of his own. He remembered this night; it couldn't have been more than a couple weeks ago, when he wasn't out hunting and Ellie's work wasn't calling for her. He recalled how… peaceful and happy he'd been. He recalled how it felt as though he hadn't a single care in the world in that moment, and all that mattered to him was right there in that room.

"A familiar sight, isn't it?" Lauren asked him, a small, contented smile on her face. "I borrowed this from your memories, though there were any number of similar scenes like this I could have chosen from." Levin stared numbly at the scene before him, remembering how happy he'd been at that moment. Lauren put a gentle hand on his shoulder. "This is my new haven, Levin."

Levin turned to her in surprise, but his mother continued to gaze happily on the scene before her. "I suppose it might seem strange to you. This isn't some… perfect world, some paradise I've created where we all could have lived happily together; I'm not here, and neither are James or Noah. The you in this memory has gone through so much over the years. You've suffered for your choices, and the choices of others; you've sacrificed much, and been willing to sacrifice even more than that.

"But look, Levin! Really look. Despite everything you've gone through, despite all you've lost and everything you've suffered, here in this place you've found peace and joy, and you've created a happy life for yourself. Here in this moment, the past doesn't matter and you don't feel any guilt or regrets about what's happened before. In this memory, all that matters to you is that you're alive and happy, and sharing all of that with your wonderful wife Eleanor and your child that will be born soon."

Lauren looked up at him again. "That's why this is my haven, dear. This happiness you have in this moment? It's not imaginary. It's not some whimsical picture I've concocted for myself. It's real. You've found your happiness, Levin, and that all a mother really wants for her children. And with your happiness, dear, you've brought me happiness, knowing that you've found peace for yourself in the world, despite everything that's happened."

Levin stood in silence, trying to find the words to say. But before he could say a thing, the shadows around them seemed to grow longer. The door behind him suddenly opened, and Levin's eyes widened in horror as several spectral hands reached out from the darkness, grabbing hold of him and pulling him backwards before he could even try to dodge. He turned quickly towards his mother, but Lauren didn't seem surprise or frightened at the sight of what was happening, and was merely looking on sadly.

"I'm sorry, dear, but it looks as though we're out of time. It seems as though the core has decided that it's time to put you and York back into your bodies. It's going to send you back now."

"What? No!" Levin cried. "Not yet! I'm not... There's still so much I-"

His mother shook her head, however. "I'm sorry, Levin, but you can't stop this. If you stay too much longer, it may be impossible for you to ever leave. You have Ellie to return to, and a child on the way. They need you, dear. You can't stay."

"But I… I finally get to see you again. I never thought I'd…"

Lauren smiled sadly at him. "Don't worry, Levin. We'll see each other again one day. Death isn't a final goodbye, just a temporary parting. I've waited thousands of years to see you again; I can wait a few more decades. The next time we meet, I want you to be able to tell me of the wonderful life you've had with your wife. And I want you to be able to tell me about my grandchildren, and whatever exploits they've gotten up to." As shadows began to cloak Levin's vision, his mother leaned forward, kissing him on the forehead. "Goodbye Levin. I love you. Good luck… until we meet again."

Then the spectral hands fully pulled Levin into darkness, and he blacked out.

---

York gasped painfully as his senses abruptly jolted back to life. Light flared into his eye as he sucked in air, clutching his arms as frigid cold seeped through his body. But something slid from his cheek, and the feeling began to fade. Warmth returned to his body, and his eye began to readjust to the light around him. York winced in agony for a moment, however, as his right eye seared in pain; the old scars and wounds his body flared as though they were fresh and new for a moment, but slowly began to dull again as he gained his bearings.

His memories were distorted and unfocused as well, slowly reorganizing back to how they should be. The core had shuffled around his memories while he'd been… inside of it, forcing him to forget and remember information and goals at its own whims, making him forget most of his life when he was reliving Crez, before giving it all back. Trying to sort through his own memories and everything he'd seen during his time in the core was very disorienting as all the jumbled pieces tried to form back together.

The first thing he saw was the human core, staggering back away from them and clutching its head. The core was letting out a bemoaned sound, very nearly a wail to itself. Its appearance had been indistinct before, but now it seemed even more so, and York couldn't even make out any clear expressions or appearances on its face or body. It was as though the core had become only a human-shaped haze, hard to make out.

Next to him, Levin had dropped to a knee, and seemed to be suffering from their return to their bodies like he was. The switch axe user was clutching the right side of his face painfully, and York wondered if the same phantom pains that had wracked his body were doing the same to Levin as well. The other hunter had told him that the most of the right side of his body had been burned in an explosion, and his arms were Dark Metal prosthetics… York wondered what it felt like having those types of injuries flaring to life again, even for a moment.

"You okay?" York asked, though his own voice sounded wearier and frailer than he'd wanted it to.

"Not exactly…" Levin groaned. His hand dropped from his eye and lowered towards his shoulder, likely where the Dark Metal connected to flesh. York could see the dragongem glowing brightly under the gauntlets, and the fingers on his hand were twitching as the switch axe user clenched them into a fist.

York returned his gaze to the human core. The being had slunk back even further away from them, pulling itself back into the darkness of the nook from which it had come. Now the core had a hand pressed against the walls of its hovel, holding itself steady as another hand pressed against its skull. As the core looked up again, its eyes met with York's, and for a few moments its appearance flickered between people he'd known. He saw Zeal again. He saw his father Virgil, and Felix, and even Alteos. He saw a few others as well, including a couple people he didn't even recognize. He saw several men and women whose expressions were angry or disdainful towards him, maybe old enemies or people he'd killed.

As Levin recovered, struggling back to his feet, the core's gaze shifted towards him, and the being's form began to shift again. York recognized the first few; the man, woman, and child from Levin's past, most likely his family. There were others too, a couple hunters, some older folks, and several men and women that glared at Levin with intense hatred of their own, several of them wearing a crimson red armor. Then the core's gaze returned to the ground, and once again the being's form shifted into an indecipherable appearance, a bland, featureless profile taking dominance once more.

"We… we are sorry," the core suddenly said in its cacophonic voice. Its gaze remained firmly on the ground, keeping from meeting eyes with York and Levin. "We thought… we believed you both to be dead. We believed you both to have passed beyond the veil of the living. But we were wrong… and we have brought you pain through our actions. The dead should not interfere with the well-being of the living."

The two hunters were quiet as the core finished speaking, unsure how to respond as the being began muttering regretfully to itself. Both of them were still coming to terms with what had happened to them, and were trying to sort out everything they'd just been through. Every once in a while, the core would glance guiltily at them, but its eyes would quickly return to the ground as it slowly shuffled its way back towards the hollow it had come from.

Levin was the first to speak. "Wait," he said, and the core stopped, though it kept its eyes on the ground. "Can you try to make it up to us?"

The core wrung its hands uncertainly for a moment before replying. "How… how would we make up for our mistake? There is little we can offer you as we are."

"Can you tell us how to get out of here?" Levin asked. "Can you tell us a way to get back home? To our own worlds?"

"That's right," York said. "The Alatreon said that another human besides us might have been here before. Is there anyone in there that knows how to get back to the land of the living? I mean, no offense, but this isn't exactly the homeliest of vacation spots…"

The core was silent for a minute or two, pondering the request. York noticed that the core's appearance began to shift again, jumping between about half a dozen individuals that kept repeating over and over. York wondered if they were the souls of the humans that had managed to find themselves here in the realm of the dead. A few moments later, the core's appearance became vague again.

"There is a way," the being told them. "We have searched our memory, and there is only one way to return that we are aware of. There is great danger in this path, however…"

"If it's the only way out, then we really don't have a choice either way, do we?" York asked, and the core nodded silently.

"Very well. Your conversation with the Alatreon earlier was not far off the mark," the core explained. "Near the top of the tree is a great glowing light. It is a large gemstone of radiant hue. If you can find a path up to it, all you need do is touch the stone and you will be returned to the land of the living."

"That's it?" Levin asked. "That's a lot easier than I thought it would be."

"Accomplishing this feat will be no easy task," the core snapped. "We cannot guess what other cores may lie in wait between here and there, and a being more fearful than the Rath core you met earlier may block your path forward. And even should fortune shine upon you and lead you up the tree without encountering any other cores, there is certain to be one in waiting near the gemstone, on guard there and waiting to stop you from touching the stone. It is a foul creature, and deadly…"

"You know what kind of monster it is?" York asked, surprised. "What is it? Is it something we've fought before?"

But the core shook its head. "It is no being you have ever seen, nor will you ever seen its like again. You must beware this beast… Beware the Alone."

"The… Alone? Is that what it's called?" Levin asked, glancing curiously at York, though the dual blade wielder could only shrug in confusion.

"I've never heard of anything with that name before." As York returned his gaze to the core to ask for more information, however, the being suddenly clutched its head painfully. With a staggering gait, the core turned, and began stumbling towards the darkness of its alcove once. "Hey! Hey, hold on! Where are you going? We need more information!"

"We can tell you no more…" the core gasped. "We are held back… we can aid you no more."

"But what is the Alone?" York called after the core. "Can you at least tell us that?"

"Beasts!" the being hissed back. "Abominations of all that is pure and natural! They are solitary, and without a core! But they are fearful, and powerful! They will devour you if they can, hateful and envious of the core which awaits you!"

"Wait, wait, what do you mean by 'they'?" Levin asked. "Are there more than one of these Alone things? You have to give us more information than that!" .

But the core shook its head as it climbed back into its hollow, its voice growing faint as it pulled itself into the darkness. "I can offer no more. Now leave us, or risk being pulled within the core. Go, climb, and seek your escape from this place. Goodbye, both of you… until you join with us at the end."

Then the core vanished into the darkness, disappearing from sight. York looked worriedly at Levin, seeing the switch axe user frowning in concern. Neither of them knew what to make of the human core's warning to them; they'd learned of a way out of this place, but now they knew that they had no choice but to challenge another of the cores that dwelled in this realm.

"We should get out of here," York muttered. "We'll find a different place to rest and recover… I don't really feel comfortable here after all of that."

"Yeah… me either…" Levin said quietly.

Without another word, the two hunters made their way out of the small hollow, continuing up the path towards the top of the tree. Neither man could resist glancing back the way they'd come, worried that they might see the core again, but uncertain what they'd do if they did. The two of them continued walking for the better part of an hour, pushing through their weariness as they pressed on. The lingering aches and tiredness from their encounter with the Rath core, as well as their near-constant climbing, were wearing them both down, but the hunters refused to stop. Not yet.

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York, Zeal, Hugh, and Rose belong to Thomas A. Hawk

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Author's Note: Please Review! Sorry for the late release! My internet dropped out on Thursday, and I only now got it back up.

Okay, finally we reach the chapter where The Five People You Meet in Heaven really started to inspire me. Most of the story was built around this chapter, and expounded on from there. This was a rather interesting chapter to write, and went through a lot of iterations before becoming what it is, with no small amount of help from Hawk. Also, it occurred to me as the chapter neared its completion that I was basically making this section into Rafiki's speech to Simba from the Lion King… partly.

It's also kind of come to my attention that this story might be the first real piece of 'fanfiction' I've ever written, in a way. While TLC and these DLC chapters certainly fit the bill, at the same time they could be considered as not-quite-there. Most of the characters are mine, most of the locations are mine, the events and history are mine; the only things I've used that aren't mine is the setting and monsters and Loc Lac (and people's submitted OCs, of course). Using Hawk's characters and story and writing them into a tale of my own may technically have pushed me into the proper realm of full-on fanfiction, where I take another person's ideas and characters and mix them with my own ideas. Interesting, no?

This chapter here looks like it'll be released the day after 4U comes out. I figure this is a fine enough time for me to post my friend code information for those who haven't added me already! My FC is 4828-4851-4244! Remember, you have to send me your friend code as well for the two of us to be accepted as friends!

I might as well say it, but the last chapter might be a little late. 4U is out now… I don't think I really need to explain much further. I'll try, but… 4U.

Finally, I was looking up monster sizes for reference a while ago, and I noted that Felynes are 116 cm tall. Now, that didn't exactly register at first, since I'm American and think in imperial units, but right then it finally clicked: that's more than a meter tall. I did a unit conversion and I realized that 116 cm is 3'9"! A Felyne would stand taller than my belly button! That's way bigger than I pictured in my head! I guess I always pictured them at about 2'6", about halfway up my thighs or something. I suppose it makes sense though: you'd need to be pretty big to fight monsters and survive, and there are those Felynes that can fling hunters in 4U, so that would require at least a bit of size to do. Still, that requires some pretty heavy mental calculations on my part, especially if I'm going to try and include more Felynes in the sequel to TLC. I'm not sure if I really did Cait justice in Underground; I don't think something that big could perch on someone's shoulder or head so easily.

Playing: Bastion, Final Fantasy III, MH3U, Mario Kart 8, Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (AARGH! Finally going back to finish this like I always meant to!), Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds, Pathfinder, Hyrule Warriors, Pokemon X, Pokemon Alpha Sapphire, Super Smash Bros. WiiU
Listening: Yeasayer, Switchfoot, Pet Shop Boys, REM, AC/DC, Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Animal Collective, Keane, Mystery Skulls, Cold, The Thrilling Adventure Hour Podcast, The Friendzone
Reading: Jojo's Bizarre Adventure by Hirohika Araki, The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom, Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari by Aneko Yusagi, Spellcross by Stefan Martello, The Silent Kingdom by Freedan the Eternal, Aura Knights and Faber et Filia by Hoenn Master 96, The Master Corps and Frontier Lineage by Thomas A. Hawk, Jormungand by Takahashi Keitarou, Boku no Hero Academia by Horikoshi Kouhei, Girl Genius by Phil and Kaja Foglio, Stand Still Stay Silent by Minna Sundberg
Watching: GenerikB livestreams, MH4G livestreams, Patema Inverted (GREAT MOVIE, HOLY CRAP), Yogscast Jingle Jam livestreams