A new chapter that didn't take five years this time, yay! I will try to update once a week. Tuesday will be the earliest, while Thursday will be the latest, hopefully.

Now, onward to the story.


Chapter 39: Awful Truth


After waiting a few minutes, Raine was fully dressed in a Desian's uniform. Unlike the other Ranches, the uniforms here were black and blue.

"Wow, professor," Lloyd said in awe. "You really do look like a Desian."

Genis had to keep himself from flinching.

"Now we just have to be chained," Kratos said. He reached into his pack and pulled out several handcuff. "Put these on."

Lloyd didn't even want to know why Kratos was carrying them.

Raine went to work chaining everyone up by their wrists.

"How are were supposed to take these off anyway?" Genis asked.

"They break with a firm tug," Kratos informed as his wrists were chained together. "So be careful not to pull on them before we are out of sight."

Noishe began to whine as he looked over the group.

"What's wrong, boy?" Lloyd asked. "You've been uneasy for a while now."

Noishe whined louder.

Lloyd gave a comforting smile. "Don't worry, we'll be fine. If anything happens, we have Kratos, remember."

Noishe shook his head.

"Let's go," Raine said once everything was ready.

They marched up to the main gate, which was guarded by several Desians.

"Halt!" one of the guards yelled as he approached the group.

"We've done it!" Raine exclaimed in mocked happiness.

The Desian gave Raine a confused look. "Done what?"

"We've found the wanted criminal, Lloyd Irving!" Raine informed.

Lloyd was surprised for a moment. He had completely forgotten that he was 'wanted' by the Desians.

The Desian's face lit up. "What, good work! And you've even caught him alive!" He looked Lloyd over like he was some piece of meat.

Lloyd had to fight the urge to break his face in.

"I want to turn him over to the Five Grand Cardinals immediately," Raine continued.

"Who are the others with him?" another Desian asked.

"Fools who thought they could protect him," Raine answered without missing a beat. "I thought they should be punished as well."

The Desian laughed. "Good thinking. All stupid humans need to learn their place." He turned around to face the other guards. "Open the gate!"

A loud click was heard and the tall steel gates slowly opened before them.

Lloyd could feel his heart speed up and his mouth go dry as he watched the gates opened. It was horrifying that for most people this was one of the last sight of freedom that they would ever see and nothing but agony lay ahead. It was like the gates of hell itself had opened.

He honestly though he was going to have a panic attack as he felt himself being pushed inside and into the large field where the prisoners working came into view. The cracked of the whip filled his ears as the sounds of suffering and pain hit him. The smell was even more intense and Lloyd felt himself becoming physically sick.

Behind him, he could hear Colette's sobs over all the noise. For someone as gentle and kind as Colette, this must be especially hard for her. As the Chosen, this was the embodiment of all the evils that she had to purged from the world by becoming an angel.

Lloyd felt himself becoming angry again at how Colette was forced to carry such a heavy weight by herself. The added fact that she was losing her humanity made everything even more unfair.

He was knocked out of his thoughts when they finally reached the main entrance of the Ranch and were allowed inside by the other guards. They kept walking until they were able to duck into what seemed to be some kind of utility closet.

"I can't believe that worked," Genis said as he pulled off his handcuffs. He looked paled, showing that he too was affected by the long walk.

"Getting into a Ranch is easy," Kratos replied. "The biggest difficult is escaping."

Lloyd rubbed his head. "Where do we even begin?"

"We need to find the main control room," Raine said. "From there, I should be able to access a map of the Ranch."

Lloyd nodded. "That's better than nothing."

"Sneaking through will be tricky," Raine said as she put her hand on her chin. "We must be careful to stay out of the sight of their cameras. Otherwise, we will run into the same trap as the Palmacosta Ranch."

Without a word, Kratos led the group as they left the closet. He knew this Ranch better than any other and was easily able to avoid all the security traps. Even if his actions seemed too suspicious to the others, he was beyond caring. His primary concern was to leave the Ranch without Kvar finding them.

As they moved, Raine noticed several conveyor belts built throughout the Ranch. She saw something similar at Magnius' Ranch, but thought nothing of it at the time.

They walked until they finally reached the control room. The room was big with several computes and a large glass window on one side of the room.

Everyone, saved for Kratos, was left speechless as they approached the window. The entire room they were looking in was filled with conveyor belts that were carrying cylinder steel boxes. Kratos knew all too well what they were looking at it.

"It looks like this is an exsphere manufacturing plant," Raine remarked offhandedly.

Ms. Sages was far too observant. "So it would seem," Kratos said.

Lloyd looked around in awe. "These are all exspheres, incredible!"

Kratos almost shook his head. Lloyd would not be saying that if he only knew how exspheres were made.

Genis shook his head. "I never knew the Desians could produce so many of them."

"I wonder if Sheena's here?" Colette suddenly asked in concern.

"Hard to say," Raine said. "The Ranch is not on alert, but given her abilities she could very well snuck here."

Colette lowered her head. "I hope she's alright."

Raine decided she stared long enough out the window and made her way to the main computer console. They needed to move fast before they were discovered.

Kratos went to join her, before he heard a loud commotion coming towards them. He wondered briefly if that girl has allowed herself to be discovered.

Colette also began to look around in confusion. "I hear voices coming from the next room."

Kratos glanced at Colette from the side of his eyes. Her angel's senses were quickly reaching their peak.

Genis frowned. "I don't hear anything."

Lloyd, knowing about Colette's increase senses, put his hand on his swords. "Be careful anyway."

The door ahead of them suddenly burst opened and several Desians came running into the room.

Kratos quickly realized that they were Renegades since Botta was with them. By the look on his face, he was not expecting to see them. Apparently, the Renegades were still raiding Kvar's Ranch regularly since he had by far the most advance exspheres.

"You!?" Botta exclaimed in surprise.

"You are the Desians we ran into in the Triet Desert!" Lloyd growled as he took out his swords.

One of the Renegades chuckled. "They still think we're Desians."

"Sir, this is the perfect chance!" the second Renegade said as he looked between Lloyd and Colette.

"Are you looking for a fight?" Kratos asked as he loosened his sword from his sheath.

Botta shook his head. "Kratos is with them. We'll retreat for now."

Lloyd looked between the two men. "You know each other?"

"I suppose, if you mean the fact that we ran into them at Iselia and Triet," Kratos answered in a deadpan voice.

The answer annoyed Lloyd since he knew that wasn't the entire truth. They acted too familiar to have only met twice.

"I think it would be in both our interests for us not to fight here," Botta stated.

"Do what you will," Kratos said in a bored tone.

Botta glanced at Lloyd. "Although, it was foolish to bring him here."

"What do you mean?" Lloyd asked with some heat.

Instead of answering, Botta and his men ran passed them and exited through the door they came through.

Before Lloyd could go after them, the other door in front of them opened again. Several Desian mages rushed into the room and quickly surrounded them.

"Dammit," Lloyd cussed.

"Looks like Lord Kvar was right," one of the mages said. "They did indeed come here. How foolish."

Kratos' eyes widened. Was this a trap?

Behind the Desians, Kvar made his grand entrance. He looked exactly as Kratos remembered him, with that permeant smug smirk on his face.

"Well, this is a surprise. You arrived here sooner than I expected," Kvar said casually. "I thought after you discovered Luin you would take a day to rest and collect yourselves, but instead you rush right over here. I guess I should have expected as much from you inferior beings."

"Who are you?" Lloyd demanded.

Kvar stared at Lloyd for a moment. "I see, so you don't remember me. Nonetheless, it is very rude to barge into my Ranch and demand my name."

Lloyd blinked at the comment. Did this guy know him? Then again, he did seem eerily familiar. He tried to recall where he could have seen him, but nothing came to mind.

"Wow Lloyd, isn't this usually the other way around?" Genis asked in a snide tone.

Lloyd's face immediately turned red as he turned to face Genis. "Genis, this is not the time!"

"He's Kvar, one of the Five Desian Grand Cardinals," Kratos answered for Kvar, never taking his eyes off of him. Ever nerve in his body wanted to cut this monster to shreds.

Kvar chuckled. "Kratos, good to see you again. How's the family?"

Kratos growled in response.

Raine was a little unnerved at Kratos' behavior. His usual cold and detached demeanor had all but disappeared.

Lloyd was equally anger at Kvar for mocking Kratos over his lost family.

Kvar paid no attention to all the hateful glares as he looked at Lloyd's right hand. "That exsphere is without a doubt the product of my Angelus Project. It's just as Forcystus said." He started to approach Lloyd.

"Stay back!" Kratos demanded. His voice caused everyone to look at him in shock.

Kvar smirked. "After so long, you are both within my grasp again."

Lloyd felt a cold chill down his spin.

Colette heard enough and threw her chakram at Kvar, who easily evaded it. Kratos used the distraction to attempt to stab the Grand Cardinal. Kvar was on guard and blocked the attack with his staff.

"Just as brutal as ever, Lord Kratos," Kvar mocked, but he was only loud enough for Kratos to hear.

"I will tear you a part," Kratos hissed.

"If you couldn't do it on that day, what makes you think you can do it now?" Kvar asked as he knocked Kratos aside with a lightning volt.

While Kvar and Kratos fought, the mages in the room attempted to subdue Lloyd and the others. Before they could cast any spells, however, Lloyd quickly ran in and stabbed one of them. The other two managed to cast very basic wind and fire spells that Lloyd easily dodged.

"Is that all you got?" Genis mockingly asked as he completed his own spell. He took out the remaining two mages easily with Spread.

Kvar sneered at his fallen men. "How pathetic."

"Run!" Kratos ordered once he disengaged from Kvar.

They all wasted no time running out of the room with Kratos shortly behind them. He kept Kvar from immediately following them by casting Eruption.

Kvar avoided the spell as he waited for the lava to recede. "Foolish, inferior beings. None of them will escape."

Outside the room, Lloyd and the others kept running until they reached a dead end near one of the conveyor belts.

"I think we've lost him," Lloyd huffed.

"He will find us," Kratos said. "We need to escape before Kvar brings stronger reinforcement."

Colette shook her head. "What about the people of Luin? We can't just leave them here."

Kratos sighed. "Chosen, the attack on Luin was a trap laid by Kvar to lure us here. He must have known after what happened with Magnius that we would come if he raided one of the nearby cities."

Raine rubbed her chin. "Yes, but he seemed strangely uninterested in Colette. He seems to only want Lloyd and his exsphere."

"But why Lloyd?" Genis asked. "I thought the only thing of value that he had to the Desians was his exsphere."

"Obviously, that is not completely the case," Kratos answered carefully. He had to make sure not to reveal too much.

"Wh…what is this?!" Lloyd suddenly stuttered in shock, getting everyone's attention.

"What is it?" Genis asked.

Lloyd pointed to one of the conveyor belts and saw a line of people being taking through a glass tube. They all looked so scared and confused as they passed through some type of machine. When they reached the other side, only steal cylinder boxes came through.

Kratos was not sure how to answer his son. Should he tell him the truth?

"This is where the exspheres are removed from the host bodies," Kvar revealed as he approached the group with several more Desians behind him. These new ones had a different aura than the last group.

Lloyd turned to look at him. "What?"

Raine paled as the full affect of his words hit her. "Do you mean that exspheres are made from human bodies?"

"Not exactly, exspheres are dormant at first," Kvar explained in a bored tone. "They extract nourishment from humans to grow and awaken. Human Ranches are exsphere manufacturing plants."

Lloyd's eyes widen in horror. "You...you can't be serious!?"

Kvar chuckled at his expression. "I'm very serious. Why else would we spend our time raising and taking care of these inferior beings?"

Raine lowered her head. It all made sense. That was why the people of the Ranch worked endlessly without doing anything important.

"That...that's terrible!" Genis exclaimed in horror. "How can you do that to another person?"

Kvar looked down his nose at Genis. "Terrible? Terrible is what you've done. Stealing and using exspheres that we've invested so much time and care into creating."

"You bastard!" Lloyd yelled.

The Desians behind Kvar moved forward and quickly surrounded the group.

"Lloyd, your exsphere was to be an offering to Lord Yggdrasill," Kvar continued. "It's time you gave it back."

Raine's eyes narrowed. "Yggdrasill, I suppose that's the name of your leader."

Kvar just chuckled in response.

Kratos glared at Kvar.

He knew Kvar was lying. He could tell by his demeanor that he had no intentions in giving the Angelus Project to Mithos. He was saying that because he was here. What was he up to? Has Kvar finally gone rogue?

"Again, what's so special about my exsphere?" Lloyd asked in annoyance as he looked over the Desians blocking their exit.

Kvar said nothing for several seconds as he considered answering him. He then got a sadistic expression on his face. The look of dark delight unnerved Kratos. "That is the result of years of time-consuming research. I can finally reclaim what was stolen by that filthy female host body."

Kratos paled. He was going to tell Lloyd and there was nothing he could do to stop him.

"What are you talking about? The female host body?" Lloyd asked before the realization hit him. "You're not talking about..."

Kvar smirk became even wider. "You don't know anything, do you? That exsphere was cultured on host body A012, human name, Anna, your mother. She took it and escaped from this facility. Of course, she paid for her crime with her life."

Lloyd's body began to tremble with rage. "You...you killed my..."

"Now, now, don't blame me," Kvar replied coolly as he glanced at Kratos. "I'm not the one that killed Anna. Your father did."

"Liar!" Lloyd screamed. He could feel his exsphere pulse.

Kvar saw the reaction and smiled even more. Just as he had hoped for. "Please, when her key crest-less exsphere was removed, the host body turned into a monster and your father killed her." He smirked. "Pathetic, don't you think?"

Kratos also began to shake in anger, but he managed to hide it better than Lloyd. How dare he mocked Anna's memory. "Do not speak ill of the dead."

Kvar shrugged. "Who cares, they were both just a couple of filthy humans. Worthless maggots."

"Don't you ever talk about my parents like that!" Lloyd screamed as he charged Kvar.

"Lloyd, stop!" Kratos warned too late.

Lloyd attempted to gut Kvar, but he was easily stopped by Kvar's staff.

"Hmmm, is this all of the power that you have awaken?" Kvar asked in disappointment. "I thought after going on the Chosen's journey you would be further along. You're of no use to me like this."

"What are you talking about?" Lloyd demanded as he tried to muscle through Kvar's defense. He didn't move an inch.

"It would seem I will have to push you much, much further," Kvar said. He pushed Lloyd aside and hit him with a lightning spell, throwing Lloyd back.

"Lloyd, are you alright?" Colette asked as she helped her friend up.

"Take care of the Chosen's group, but leave that boy and the Chosen alive," Kvar ordered.

Raine looked around worriedly. "Looks like we have to fight our way through."

Kratos was ready. He could tell by the Desians' mana that they were part of Kvar's new ECHOES project. They were stronger than the batch that chased after Anna and him, but that hardly mattered. He was not going to let any of them touch Lloyd.

Before the Desians could attack, a puff of smoke blinded everyone for a moment. Sheena then emerged from the smoke field.

"Sheena!" Colette exclaimed in surprise.

"I'll handle this," Sheena said as she held up a single card.

Kvar looked mildly amused. "So the inferior being from Luin is still alive. You humans really are cockroaches."

Sheena paid him no mind as she stared down at her card. "I'm gonna use the last one, Grandpa."

She held up the card and a Guardian appeared before the group. The Guardian lit up for a second and the entire Chosen group vanished before the Desian's eyes.

"They've disappeared!" one of the Desians exclaimed in shock.

"They couldn't have gone far," another Desian said. "After..."

"Hold that order," Kratos said, stopping the Desian in mid-sentence.

The Desian looked at Kvar in surprise. "Sir?"

"We can find them any time by following the Chosen's signature trail," Kvar stated. "Besides, I'm more than certain that those stupid inferior beings will return here on their own free will in time. The Chosen is too softhearted to let those 'poor humans' from Luin suffer."

Some of the Desians chuckled.

Kvar turned to leave and the captain of the ECHOES unit followed shortly behind him.

"Not to question you, my lord, but I've noticed that you let them escape," the captain observed once they were far enough from the other men.

Kvar side-eyed his captain. "Very good. Your senses have improved."

The captain nodded. "I'm just wonder why given all the time you spent looking for not only the Angelus Project, but also the Angelus."

"The Angelus Project is important, but I can't retrieved it until the Angelus is fully awaken," Kvar informed. "From what I have seen, only a small amount of its power has been access. That is not enough for my plans."

"Do you think the Angelus will become that much stronger in such a short amount of time?" the captain asked.

"Not really, which is why I must prepare for Plan B," Kvar said before a smirk appeared on his face. "However, the added stress of learning about his dear mother will go a long way to pushing him to his breaking point. When he returns, I will be one step closer to finally taken over Cruxis."

The captain began to laugh. "Indeed, sir."


Before Lloyd knew what had happened, the smoked cleared around him and the fresh air of the outside world hit him. He looked around in confusion as he realized that they were back outside the Ranch.

"What...what happened?" Genis asked.

"I used my last Guardian," Sheena stated with a note of sadness. "I used its power to do a teleport spell. Once done, the Guardian dies."

"Sheena, thank you," Colette said, touched by her sacrifice.

Sheena turned her head in blushed. "It was nothing. I owed you guys after all."

"I wish you didn't take us out," Lloyd growled.

Kratos could feel the anger pulsing out of Lloyd's mana. "We had no choice. We were outnumber and even with my strength, we would had been quickly overwhelmed."

Lloyd said nothing as he kicked a nearby rock. He knew Kratos was right, but that still didn't relieve his rage. That bastard killed his mother.

"What do we do now?" Sheena asked.

"We need to move away from the Ranch," Kratos advised. "They will be looking for us."

Raine looked at the sun. "It will be night by the time we reach Luin."

"That is the only safe shelter within this area," Kratos said. "Even though Luin is in ruins, it is better than camping in the opened field."

Sheena nodded. "I have to agree."

"Then, we better move," Raine said.

After rejoining with Noishe, they began the long trek back to the ruined city. During the journey, no one bothered to talk, not even Colette. They were all trapped within their own chain of thought as they went over recent events. Specifically, the origins of their exspheres.

Kratos knew this would eventually happened if they kept attacking the Desians. He just wished that it wasn't Kvar who told them. He knew that man told Lloyd those things just to upset him and he had succeeded. He knew confronting Kvar was a bad idea. Now, he had to pick up the pieces.

Kratos felt several spikes of mana rushing from Lloyd's exsphere as his son silently walked behind him. Lloyd was already upset about the Chosen and he could only imagine what this added amount of stress would do to him. He couldn't have Lloyd fall apart on him now. He was needed for the day he could no longer be here.

It was past nightfall when they returned to the broken town. Sheena and Genis gathered debris to use as firewood while Kratos made a cold dinner for everyone. Lloyd, for once, had turned down his meal completely. Instead, he chose to sulk near the water fountain as the fire was lit the area.

"I can't believe exspheres are made from human lives," Sheena said, breaking the uncomfortable silence.

Genis looked down somberly at his own exsphere. He now understood why he felt Marble's warmth within the stone. "This is Marble's life..."

Lloyd glanced at his exsphere and a look of contempt flashed across his face.

Did his dad know about this? Did Dirk know that this devil sphere contained the life of his mother? He must have known since he said himself that exspheres were Dwarven's technology.

How could he keep such a secret from him? First, he lied about how his mom died, now this. All this time, all his strength and power came from the life of his mom!

Lloyd's face twisted in even more rage as he remembered something Dirk told him a long time ago.

"Exspheres are not bad by nature. Only the people who use them makes them good or bad," Dirk had told him.

What a lie!

How could something that feeds off the lives of others be anything but pure evil? How could dad justify such evils? He wished he'd never taking this cursed stone.

Lloyd stood up and gave a loud growl. "This...thing!" He removed the exsphere from his hand and was ready to toss it into the lake. He didn't care about the surge of pain that raced through his body as he removed the stone. He didn't want anything more to do with this.

"Lloyd, wait!" Colette exclaimed as she rushed to grab his hand.

Noishe gave a loud whimper at seeing his master's pain.

Lloyd was still shaking as he looked at his old friend.

"What will you accomplish by taking that off? It's not just an exsphere, it's also your mother's life, remember?" Colette said gently.

"But these things make a mockery of human life," Lloyd growled.

Why wouldn't Colette let him get rid of it? She, as the Chosen, should understand better than anyone the value of human life.

Kratos steadily walked over to Lloyd. "But we would have lost long ago had we not had them."

"Don't you think I know that!?" Lloyd yelled in frustration.

He knew for a long time that he needed his exsphere to protect the things he held dear. He knew that since the day of the duel. He maybe strong without it, but he needed its power to fight people like the Desians.

Although he acknowledged that truth, it did not make the situation any less sickening.

"Do you really?" Kratos challenged, breaking Lloyd's thoughts. "If you throw away that exsphere now, do you think you can finish this journey?"

Lloyd knew that Kratos wanted him to say his thoughts out loud. To fully accept the truth. "Without these things, we're just a bunch of weak humans. We can fight because we have these….. I know that. But...exspheres exist as a result of taking someone's life!"

"And those people did not become victims because they wanted to, but I doubt they would want to be thrown away after being turned into exspheres," Kratos stated harshly.

"Dammit, why did Kratos have to be right on this?" Lloyd thought in anger.

Colette looked between the two men before putting her hands together. "My opinion may not matter much because I don't use an exsphere, but I believe the Desians will defeat us if we throw away our exspheres now. And if that happens, more people will lose their lives to these stones. I don't want that to happen. I don't want this journey to be meaningless."

Kratos nodded, pleased with the Chosen's maturity on the subject. "We can throw away our exspheres at any time. But right now, we must carry the weight of the hopes and dreams of those victims and fight for their sake, as well as our own. Didn't you say you weren't going to hesitate anymore?"

Lloyd glared at Kratos as he felt his anger boiled over again. How can Kratos be so casual about this? Even if he was right, he could at least pretend to have some compassion for the victims of these stones. These were not just some power source to him anymore. The fact that Kratos dared throw his own words back on him just enraged him even more.

"People are sinful creatures," Raine mused mostly to herself as she stared at her own exsphere. It was strange that unlike Lloyd and Genis, she had no clue whose life she was carrying. As guarded as she was, a complete stranger was now aiding her. "Life survives at the cost of another. Then we must continue to bear the burden of our sins for as long as we continue to live."

"Life survives at the cost of another," Sheena whispered to herself. "I don't know how to say this, but I don't think there's a way to justify the lives sacrificed to make exspheres."

"I just can't," Lloyd said as shoved his exsphere into his pocket. As much as he hated the stone, he lost the heart to throw it away. "I know you're right, but...but right now…. Let me think by myself for a while, okay?" He began to walk off.

"Lloyd," Colette whispered as she attempted to follow after him.

"Let him be alone, Colette," Raine said. "Although Lloyd tries to hide it, he's very sensitive about these type of things. To learn that he wore his own mother's life on his hand would be too much for anyone."

Genis nodded. "I know how he feels. To think that Marble has been with me this entire time and I never knew. I…don't know how I should feel about it. I want to honor Marble's life and defeat the Desians, but…I don't want to make a mockery of her life either."

"In a case like this, there is no right or wrong answer," Raine stated in a matter-of-fact voice. "We must find our own answer."

Kratos kept staring in the direction that Lloyd left. He knew that Lloyd needed to be alone to sort through his thoughts, but they simply did not have the time for him to soul search. Lloyd had to find his own answer now before he became a liability to them.

After everything had settled down and most of the group was asleep, Kratos moved a way from the group to talk to Lloyd. He kept his senses opened, however, to make sure that no one attempted to sneak up on them during the night.

Thankfully, he found that Lloyd hadn't walked too far from camp. He stood at the ruins of one of the bridges and stared blankly into the clear water.

"Mom...did you suffer...when this thing took your life?" Lloyd asked the water. "Will you forgive me…for using this?"

Kratos could not help but find it ironic that Lloyd was speaking to his mom through her hometown and he didn't even know it.

"How would you feel?" Kratos asked Lloyd as he walked towards the boy.

He knew from before that taking a harsh, realistic approach would not get through to Lloyd. He had to approached this from a gentler angle. To get Lloyd to move on, he had to put a little bit of himself out there.

"What?" Lloyd asked as he turned to face the older man.

"If you lost your life to an exsphere, what would you want done with yourself?" Kratos repeated the question.

Lloyd looked down at his hands with though. "I..."

"If it were me, I would want to be useful to someone with the will to break this tragic cycle," Kratos said as he stood by Lloyd's side. "Then...perhaps I could atone for some of my sins."

The statement confused Lloyd. "Your sins? Like what?"

"That's not important," Kratos said. "What is important is your decision about the exspheres."

"Exspheres..." Lloyd repeated more to himself.

"As the Professor said, there is no right or wrong answer," Kratos continued. "You have to make the moral decision that is right by you. You must understand, however, that you cannot protect the Chosen if you chose to continue without your exsphere. You would do better returning home."

Lloyd said nothing for a moment before he sighed. "There is one thing I do realized. I'm certain that my mother must have wanted to live longer than she did."

Kratos nodded as he too stared into the water. "I am certain she would."

Thinking of Anna's last moments nearly put tears to his eyes, but he urged them away. There was no point mourning the past.

"Therefore, I'm going to live...for myself, and for my mom too," Lloyd said as he pulled the exsphere out of his pocket. He felt the energy run through the stone easing both his pain mentally and physically. Why did his body start to hurt just by him removing his exsphere any way? Was that normal?

"In other words, you're going to fight," Kratos summarized as he looked over Lloyd.

"Yeah, and I'm going to break this cycle," Lloyd said in determination as he placed the exsphere back on his hand. For some reason, he felt whole again. "For the sake of preventing anymore victims like Marble and my mom, I'm going to help Colette on her journey to regenerate the world."

Kratos almost wanted to laugh since the Chosen's death would just create another victim in this endless cycle. But Lloyd hardly needed to know about that. Sometimes, it was best to live in ignorance.

"We should return to camp and rest," Kratos advised. "We have much to do tomorrow."

Lloyd nodded as he followed the older man back to camp. For his mom's sake, along with all the other victims of the exspheres, he would fight to the end. It was the least he could do to honor their sacrifice.


And done. Lloyd and the others finally learned the truth about exspheres and Kvar makes his move.

JRZTT1246, Trigunskitty, and EvanderAdvent, thank you so much for your reviews and coming back after this story laid abandoned for nearly half a decade. Hopefully, there will be no more long breaks.

Until next chapter.