Ladylake hadn't changed one bit.

As I pulled my cloak a bit tighter around myself, I glanced about the place. They were preparing for the festival, as they had been when I first arrived here with the Sparrowfeathers. And people were talking about it a lot. A new Shepherd was to appear at this festival, and the supplies were coming via the Sparrowfeathers. Which meant... that I'd be meeting Sorey and Mikleo if I kept this up. So, instead of going down the pathway, I ducked down an alleyway and headed for the clothing store. Remembering how Rose had taken me there after coming to the city, I was lucky enough to come across it.

And, opening the door, I did the most cliché thing ever. I ran into someone. Instead of falling over, though, the two of us remained standing.

"Sorry 'bout that." The person in front of me said. I looked up at him. He was unfamiliar, with black hair that was wild and spiky, covering his right eye and... well, was pretty long and tied back into a ponytail. His only visible eye was a sunset orange colour, it seemed. His outfit consisted of a long-sleeved dark blue shirt with a short-sleeved orange and red loose cloth coat that extended to the middle of his thighs, with the right side not being worn properly. A couple of black belts held the coat in place and his pants were loose and white. The funny thing about this whole ensemble was that he was wearing socks and sandals.

But the weirdest thing was that he had two weapons. A set of daggers on the back of his belt, and a huge sword on his back.

"...No, it's fine." I stepped aside. "I didn't know you were coming out of there. It's my fault." I looked away from him as best as I could, hoping to end this exchange and get some clothes that weren't Rose's. Just wearing them made me feel horrible. I intended to get something done with my hair, too, so the similarities ended with our faces.

"Alright." And the strange man left without much of a word after that, leaving me to head inside and start looking for new clothes. I knew that the clothes I wore before were upstairs, so I would avoid choosing them for familiarity. Instead, after picking up the bracelet, I checked around the downstairs for what I needed.

And then I saw it.

In Tales games, they usually had costumes made specifically for the game and a collection of outfits that were worn by past Tales characters as DLC. Tales of Zestiria had a set of costumes for Sorey, Rose and Alisha from God Eater 2. Sorey's was Julius, and Rose and Alisha's was Nana. And what do you think I found there?

The same two outfits, hanging up on display. Walking over to it, I then looked over to the woman. I remembered Rose called her Maria. She was gorgeous, honestly. Honey-coloured hair, green eyes and wore a simple yet elegant-looking short dress and stockings. I waved a hand to get her attention, and she looked up from her book.

"I'd like to buy this one." I pointed to Nana Kozuki's outfit. "How much?"

"It's a display model but... no one's been interested in it." Maria closed her book after bookmarking where she was in it and stood up, walking over to me. "How does 100 gald sound for the set? It's pretty worthless just sitting up here."

I gave a small nod. Thinking about it, the downstairs the last time I was here had all the weapons while the upstairs had clothes. It seemed as if things had slightly changed. But right now wasn't the time for that random train of thought. Pulling out Rose's- no, my gald purse- I opened it up and counted out 100 gald before handing it over.

"What about this bracelet?" I held it out too.

"...Just take it." Maria looked away. "Is that all you need?"

"Yes, thank you."

After helping me get the outfit down and pointing me towards the changing rooms, I went into one and started to change clothes. It took a bit of work and a little bit of freaking out internally to notice that it wasn't just Rose's hair that changed to get the outfit on.. but once it was on, I strapped the daggers I had on the belt and added the bags to it. It seemed they were easily detachable from the original belt, so it was an easy transfer. After putting away the other clothes and making sure everything was on right, I put the cloak on and headed out.

The next place was a place that could do someone's hair. It took me a bit of looking and asking around to find it. It was run by a burly-looking man who looked like he'd rather be crushing boulders with his bare hands than doing such delicate work... but appearances really didn't matter. Once in there, I specified what I wanted.

Choppy, wild, spiky. It didn't matter how much length I lost, I just didn't want to look like this. And he could do whatever he wanted with my bangs. With that, I ended up having my hair washed, combed and then he started to cut and style my hair. I kept my eyes closed the entire time, not wanting to see the process or the hair falling to the floor. Just had to wait it out. When I heard him say he was done, I opened my eyes to see exactly what I'd asked for.

It was nothing like Rose's old hairstyle. Thanking the man and paying for the services rendered, I left the shop after putting the cloak in my bag. As I walked, I heard a dog barking and immediately turned to run. I hadn't warned Mikleo or Sorey of this fact this time, so it was up to me. Following the sound, I immediately came across Lunarre and the dog. Running up to the dog, I nudged it gently with my foot to get it to run away. Pulling out my daggers, I held them at the ready in the same stance that Arvald had taught me when we were travelling together.

Zaveid had called it the Rangetsu Style when we fought... it felt like ages ago since he said that, too.

"And the prey comes running." Lunarre said with a maniacal laugh. "Did you enjoy the gift that you were left?"

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

"The Shepherd and Boss!"

"...Wait, are you telling me-"

It made no sense. How did Lunarre kill Sorey and Rose? Or was it Heldalf that actually did it and Lunarre was just saying it to get me riled up? I shook my head, preparing to fight when someone landed in front of me. I backed up just slightly, daggers held at the ready. The familiar outfit and wild hair tipped me off on who this was-

It was the man who'd I bumped into earlier!

"I'd take a hike, if I were you." He said, pulling out a couple of daggers. "And I'm not going to ask twice."

Lunarre growled, before getting ready to fight again. It only took about thirteen seconds for it to be over, as the man utterly overwhelmed him. Putting my daggers back in their holsters, I had to wonder if this was really real. The style and flow was about the same as my own, except mine was a lot rougher since I didn't train that long. His was elegant, but brutal in its execution. A clear line between master of the craft and rookie at the craft.

It honestly didn't take long for the man to look back at me once Lunarre had run off. Where was Sorey and Mikleo? Did they get caught up by Alisha...? Was Alisha still corrupted by malevolence or was it just Maltran this time around?

"...Who taught you how to fight like that?" Was his question. His own daggers were still unsheathed, as if threatening me. However, I stared back at him and frowned. Who had taught me to fight like that?

…..It'd been Arvald who'd taught me, but he wouldn't remember. Not after everything had been reset. In fact, the last time... He hadn't been here. But then again, I hadn't gone the same route Sorey and Mikleo did so-

"The dog's safe!" I heard Sorey call out. I glanced behind me to see them running up. The dog was sitting there, scratching their ear before they decided to walk away. No longer wary, it seemed. The messy-haired man put his daggers away as they approached, and I went to leave. Funnily enough, he let me go without much hassle. I knew I'd be talking to him later and telling him where I'd learned how to fight.

After all, the style wasn't that common. At all.

I had to see, however, if I could feel any malevolence from Alisha or Maltran. It was still on my mind on how Alisha had wanted to prove she was better than Rose. Was it because she felt she'd been replaced by her? From memory, her and Rose seemed to kind of be friends in a way. Heading up, I noticed Rose and one of the Sparrowfeathers. Damn it, it looked like I couldn't get out of meeting with them...

But then I just kind of darted past without really thinking about it, hearing a shocked "Hey!" from Rose that made my heart squeeze and tears start to form in my eyes. I wiped them away immediately and went to go find the way back to the entrance. I'd go see the festival, see if I could sense any form of malevolence... and then start on my way to finding Kain. I needed to, I had to find him. He was the only other Seraph I could think of that would help.

When I reached the stairs to the place the festival was being held, I noticed the crowd. So they weren't being let in yet? Or was it overflowing? I had to slightly push my way to the front and through the crowd... into the building itself. And I felt a stabbing pain in my head when I glanced at the place where Alisha and Maltran stood. There were thin, dark tendrils coming from Maltran for a brief moment before they disappeared. It made me wonder- had Maltran corrupted Alisha while she was away from Sorey? It made no sense.

And then, I saw her.

Laying in front of the sword was...

Lailah.