Life. It was something so fragile, something so easily taken from a person. It was fleeting, like a candles fire. Warm while it lasts, cold whilst it ends. Life had always been fascinating to me, because there were people who would give one million pounds to extend your life by one minute, then there were those all too willing to just throw it away.

My life was something that I never... felt especially attached to. It wasn't like I was suicidal, it wasn't like I hated living. But, it was just so... tiring. Every day when I rose, I would struggle to find the will to get back up. I had next to nothing that made me unique. I wasn't smart, athletic, a smooth talker, and I wasn't even a people person. I had a few friends, because I could never truly be alone, but they felt more like something I had there just because than people I felt close with.

But, I still got up anyway, I still went to class anyway. I still lived anyway.

But, I never found much value in my life. No satisfaction or purpose, because how could I be satisfied with nothing? No parents, siblings, girlfriends, or even true friends.

I had video game though, for whatever that was worth. I'd save up whatever money I could to buy anything amongst the abundance of series which I loved. More than anything though, I loved Xenoblade Chronicles. It was fun, great story telling, and it even taught me some life lessons as silly as that sounded.

Learn from the past, protect the present, look to the future. That would be my moto. It was cheesy, corny, and a little lame. But, it was something to keep me going. That was enough to get me out of bed in the morning.

It wasn't much, but it was enough. That would have been my life.

The 'would' being the key word there. I was meant to be dead, so why was I still alive?

I wasn't anywhere, but at the same time everything was so familiar to me. The world was silent, and thoughts slipped through my mind like water, but something was happening to me.

My back burned, and I probably would have been hopping around in pain if I could, yet I could do nothing but silently endure the pain as my skin felt like it was being carved through with a knife.

Eventually though, the pain stopped, and I was once again left with nothing but the void to comfort me.

The more time I spent alone, the more my mind began to cloud, and the more my thoughts began to fade away. My mind tore itself apart, desparately trying to keep itself together as bit by bit, piece by piece. My mind was flooded with light as the world came back to me.

"-ulk. Shulk. Shulk!"

Opening your eyes and noticing that you were being shaken down by a bulky looking auburn haired guy wasn't a feeling which Shulk could say that he was familiar with. Though, now that he thought about it, he seemed extremely familiar for some reason. Like if he thought hard enough... Reyn. His name was Reyn, they were best friends, and they were going to avenge Fio-

Wait. Shulk was his name now? No. That couldn't be right. Shulk was a videogame character, so why-

"The hell were you doing man?! You can't just randomly pass out like that on me, I mean we just left the colony and you're already- hey, are you even listening to me?!"

Memories were passing through Shulks head at insane speeds, as though someone were trying to recklessly jam an entire decades worth of memories into his skull and staple it down so that they stayed put. It was a very unsettling, yet interesting, experience to say the very least and everything else was blocked out as the feeling of his new body became increasingly more natural the more memories rushed through his skull.

His sense of self was finally restored when a slap, not especially hard but it still stung, struck his cheek and the world resumed. This time the change was permanent. Shulk was breathing heavily as he suddenly spoke, more out of instinct than anything else." Sorry Reyn, I guess with everything that's happened..." Though he trailed off because he didn't know what to say, he just hoped that Reyn would back off and leave him some space to sort his head out and think that he just didn't want to say more.

Fortunately it worked.

Reyn gave a look of sympathy." Yeah. I guess the past day has been tough on us all. Maybe- maybe we should just head back. If you're really in that sort of shape then-"

"NO!" Shulk's sudden outburst clearly caught Reyn off-guard. It that he was usually a very loud person, but he absolutely could not afford to just throw away the plot like that. His mind might be fuzzy, but the idea of giving up was something that repulsed him inside. As though all different sides of him hated the idea of just throwing in the towel and walking home just a few minutes after they left. It was unacceptable.

But, realising how that must have sounded to his friend, he quickly explained." It's nothing to worry about. I just- I was just shocked for a little that's all. But, I'm done with that. Please believe me when I say that I'm fine, and like hell are we stopping when we just started. So, we'll keep going like we were. Okay?"

Reyn gave him a sceptical look for a moment." Are you sure mate? Cos if you aren't-"

"I am. Better than ever actually." Cutting him off immediately Shulk responded honestly as he brushed Reyn off and easily stood back up.

He wasn't even lying when he said that. Whilst, yes, he had just passed out and should logically be weak, he wasn't being held down by that. In fact, for some odd reason, he felt as though he could run a marathon and still have energy to spare. Maybe it was the whole new body thing, but he-

He felt his mind freeze as he came to a realisation about what exactly was going on and his mind finally fully pieced itself together. He was in Xenoblade Chronicles 1, he was in the body of Shulk-

And he was carrying the Monado on his back.

Opening his eyes Rex was only able to say one thing about his surroundings. That it was beautiful. As far as the eye could see just grass and some trees in the distance were all he was met with. The air was pleasant and the sky was a magnificent blue, staring down at his hands though, he couldn't help but feel as though something were wrong. As though his body was wrong.

He was- he was- his name was Rex. But, this wasn't his body, or at least it wasn't meant to be, but if he really was here then that means.

Rex felt a deep sense of relief wash over him as his mind adjusted. Alright, so he was in Xenoblade Chronicles 2. He was Rex, the main character, and he was in... Elysium? That can't be right, that would mean-

Subconsciously, he drew a hand to his chest, feeling the area under the cloth and immediately withdrawing as he felt a hole in his chest. It was an admittedly terrifying feeling to just have a sword shaped hole where your heart is meant to be, but steadying out his breath and trying to rationalise the situation... yielded absolutely zero results.

Honestly? This situation can't really be treated rationally. So, instead of panicking and freaking out, Rex decided to just walk forward and accept the situation.

Rex. It was weird to think that was his name now, though it felt strangely natural. More than it should have.

Looking around the area he could see why people would consider this place paradise. There wasn't anything particularly unique looking in this place, simply grass and lush fields that go on as far as the eye could see. Elysium probably is paradise to people who live on the backs of creatures who are all slowly dying. But, alas, this place was just a façade, and reality was often more disappointing than fiction. Elysium was nothing but a dried up wasteland void of life, well except the Architect. But, going there himself would save the world from dying, so why shouldn't he go anyway?

He spotted a red haired woman standing below a tree as the sound of a bell ringing in the distance became known for me and he decided to greet her, ignoring how a woman could look so attractive, even just from the back." Hey, excuse me! Where exactly is this place miss?!" He knew exactly where this was, but he couldn't break character.

"Such a mournful sound. It hasn't stopped. Not... not in all these years."

He frowned when he heard the melancholy which her voice carried, but continued walking up to stand next to her anyway." You mean the bells? What is this place?"

In response Pyra sighed, her breath carrying some weight to it, as though she was tired." Elysium. Humanity used to live in harmony with their creator apparently. But, not anymore. It was also where... we were both born."

When he rose to stand next to Pyra, he managed to spot a few houses and a church in the distance, where those bells were coming from. The sound was apparently the aching of her heart, and just hearing it he could see why. He had no idea how a bell ringing could be sad, but it truly was.

He hummed slightly, his eyes widened as he admired the view, before turning to face the Aegis right besides him, and the games truly couldn't do justice to how stunning she really looked. The smile on her face was gentle and warm, her radiant red and orange eyes seemed to have a fire lit inside them, and her lips were a perfect supple pink that almost blended in with the rest of her skin. She was almost intimidatingly attractive.

So, taking his attention away from her face, he noticed the glowing green crystal at the top of her chest seemed to react to his close proximity, glistening radiantly as he just stated the obvious." You're that Blade from the ship, the one those Torna guys were after."

She just responded with a nod, he felt some petty annoyance that he had to look up to meet her eyes, not a lot, but just enough to be noticeable." My name is Pyra, any you're Rex. Right?"

He nodded to her, trying to adjust to the situation he was in now. But, weirdly, he wasn't as bothered by it as he probably should have been. In fact, he felt coherent enough to have some fun." Okay... you're not an angel are you?"

Apparently Pyra wasn't used to being praised like that. The red headed Blade stammered slightly as she just asked." What? W-why would you think that?"

Shrugging as though it were obvious, he just said." Well you certainly look like an angel, plus I'm definitely gone. Most people do tend to die when they've been stabbed though the heart." Adding that last bit made him feel really unsettled, but it was the truth of the matter, he was indeed dead right now." So, is this the afterlife?"

Those last words were enough to make Pyra lose whatever embarrassment she was feeling in favour of looking solemn." If you really wanted to then you could call this the afterlife. But... would you live again, if you were given the chance, Rex?"

"Yes." He answered immediately." I don't really want to stay dead, but how exactly am I meant to get my life back? I mean, it's not as though you can resurrect me or something crazy like that." He sat into a lying position under the shade, closing his eyes so that he could get one final piece of rest before he probably got thrown into a life or death situation.

"I could. But, I do have a condition. If I really did revive you, could you take me to Elysium?" He opened his eyes when he heard those words, looking up at Pyra as he began to stand up again.

He responded with a stare around." Isn't this Elysium." He knew that it wasn't really, but he couldn't exactly let her know he knew that.

Pyra responded with a shake of her head." No. This is all just an illusion of Elysium. A memory of what once was, and possibly what it is now. The real Elysium lies at the top of the World Tree, which rises from the centre of Alrest. If I revived you, would you fulfil my request?"

Her eyes burned with intensity, so much so that he had to avert them as he stated." Going to Elysium has always been my dream, if you can really help me get there then what do I have to lose? I can't exactly get more dead now can I? So, if you really revived me... then yeah, I'd totally take you to Elysium!"

The bold statement brought a smile to Pyra's face, she responded gratefully." Thank you, Rex. In order to revive you, I will give up half of my lifeforce. You will become my Driver. The Driver of the Aegis. Are you sure that's what you want?"

Giving her a slightly sad look he just said." Maybe this choice will be the harder one, but I'd much prefer this to just dying. Like I said, dropping lower than being dead just isn't possible. Besides, I think being a Driver would be cool."

She nodded in acceptance, satisfied with my answer and revealed her shining emerald Core Crystal for all of the world to see." Thank you, Rex. Now, place your hand on my chest."

Raising an eyebrow, he couldn't resist saying with a teasing tone." You're not even gonna buy me dinner first?"

Pyra blushed furiously." No! That's- just touch my Core Crystal, nothing more." She calmed down, but did give him a little stink eye for his taste in jokes.

But, jokes aside, he knew that what he was about to do would change his fate forever. So, instead of joking any longer, he steeled himself and lifted up his hand to slowly reach for Pyra's core.

Pyra herself closed her eyes, intently focused as her Core Crystal swelled and burst with energy, and in just a moment the entire area was engulfed in a light that swallowed him and Pyra whole, along with the entire illusion around them.

Inside the deepest depths of the old ship which once held the Aegis layed the dead body of a young man in salvagers gear. A pool of blood underneath him that was still flowing from when he was recently murdered. However, defying all logic and reason that followed being a corpse, his hand twitched strongly as an indication that he was very much alive.

Green sparks began to cloud the air, multiply around his form, surrounding him and empowering him with renewed life.

He moved in an unnatural and grotesque manner, as though he were a puppet rather than a human as a green light enveloped the young boy's entire body with his chest having a particularly powerful glow of pure emerald, as opposed to the white and green wisps which surrounded the rest of his form.

The young man's years flew him by as he grew taller and exited his teenage years, both his eyes and control over his body returning with energy to spare as the glow faded and revealed, not a boy, but an adult man with a striking resemblance to the boy's appearance.

However, in his hand, a cross shaped green Core Crystal suddenly formed that burst into the shape of a red sword which the young man instinctually threw to the side, causing the blade to ignite and unfold, a mix of orange and green flames forming the sword's edge.

Finally, as Rex's eyes regained their focus, he let out a heavy breath as the air returned to his lungs, his freezing cold body being heated by the flames of his own sword. But, when his eyes met the blade he was wielding, he couldn't help but feel a burst of determination fill his chest.

He smiled, not yet noticing that he wasn't a teenager anymore, and held up his sword, the emerald core on the hilt shining with power.

He felt invincible in that moment. Weirdly, for some reason, the fire building up wasn't burning him at all.