A/N: You know when you start writing and you skip over a whole chunk of events? That's what happened here. It's been a good chunk of time since I updated this, having been playing Endwalker and doing Savage raids but- I finally got something down. Enjoy! ...Or not, your choice.
Hey, is everything alright? For the first time in a while, I heard Zaveid talking. So the pact had sent over and been kept during the reset. I'd feared the worst, in all honesty. That it hadn't stuck, that I would be left without my Oracle powers until I could find Zaveid again. The image of the scene was stuck in my mind, of seeing both Sorey and Rose dead.
But they were alive now.
Hey! I snapped out of it as Zaveid called a bit louder this time. Stop spacin' out. Somethin's goin' on with the curtains and the surroundings.
"You can't be seriou–" But I looked around. Dark flames of Malevolence. Flames that threatened the place. Because of the people with malevolence in their hearts that let it overtake them. Because of the hellion that went after Sorey, and ended up in the fire. Right, this meant that I had little choice in the matter. Getting through as the crowd started to disperse out of sheer fear. I saw Mikleo trying to put out the flames, and Sorey talking to Lailah about becoming the Shepherd.
One of the Slime hellions moved towards me. I took out a dagger and stabbed it almost immediately.
You can't purify it without Sorey becoming the Shepherd!
"He's going to. Then I can purify them without a problem." I said under my breath, kicking the slime away from me. The hellions were coming out in force, and I probably wasn't making things any better. Not that it really mattered.
"I offer myself to you as your vessel, and shall bear your burden!" I heard Sorey say, and looked over at the altar where the sword was kept. It was kind of like when Arthur Pendragon drew the sword from the stone and became king of England. I watched as Lailah put her hand on his, and a glyph travel downwards from his head. Showing that she had become his Prime Lord.
And he pulled the sword from the altar. At that moment, I felt the power of purification kick in. It was… familiar, light and not heavy like it'd been the first time around. I'd felt this lightness only once before, and that was when I'd offered myself as Zaveid's vessel. The slimes went forward, and the werewolf hellion went for Sorey. He went to intercept when I intercepted instead, knocking the werewolf hellion aside.
The slimes came next, and Sorey cut a couple of them in half while I cut down two myself. Lailah took care of the last ones with ease. The werewolf hellion was all that remained to be purified, and I took care of it quick by knocking it down. Leaving Sorey to purify the flame and make Alisha his first Squire.
But I had to talk to her first.
"Princess Diphda." I addressed her as the people started to file out. "You plan on travelling with Sorey from here on, do you not?"
"...Y-yes, as permitted.." Alisha seemed a bit shy, honestly. "I am a knight of Hyland, so my country would come first. But I would like to travel with Sorey until such a time that I'm needed by my people."
"...Do you need to be accepted so readily?" I asked. "Do you seek approval of those higher than you? Like Lady Maltran, or Sorey himself?"
"..." It seemed I'd hit the nail on the head. With a shake of my head, I turned away.
"Don't lose yourself to the malevolence, then." I walked off, leaving Alisha with more questions than answers. Keeping my cloak tight around me, I decided to leave Ladylake that same day. I'd need to find Kain, and see if he could share some insight and become a part of my team. I would… have to make sure Sorey would survive past the events of his demise. Past that point, past… it all.
As I headed for the entrance, a hand grabbed my shoulder. I turned around immediately to see the man from before– from both the clothing shop and the fight with Lunarre. I still didn't know who he was, but I remembered that he'd asked me who taught me how to fight while threatening me with his daggers.
Rokurou?! He's alive? came Zaveid's shocked voice from the back of my mind. Almost immediately, he appeared beside me and folded his arms against his chest. "I didn't know you were still alive and kicking."
"Didn't know you were, either. It's been about a thousand years, Zaveid!" Rokurou grinned. "This your partner?"
"Yup. She and I are Prime Lord and Oracle." Zaveid rubbed the back of his neck. "Kind of a long story."
"Thought I saw you wandering about near Rayfalke a couple days ago. Decided to become a Prime Lord instead, huh?" That made me and Zaveid look at each other before back at Rokurou. "What? Something I said?"
"Zaveid was near Rayfalke?" I asked.
"Yeah. 'Course, could've been my eyes playing tricks on me, but since Eizen's up there and you two have that promise." Rokurou made a handwaving gesture. "Figured you were going up there to try to kill him again."
"Guess that'll be our next stop then. Rayfalke."
It wasn't that difficult to get to Rayfalke. The bridge to Marlind was still up and running, which meant that it'd go down because of a hellion soon… That really wasn't the point though, as I headed for the mountain itself. Rokurou had decided to come with us, as he did want to see if his eyes had been playing tricks on him. Honestly, I didn't know what we'd find. A memory of my first meeting with Zaveid flashed through my mind, and I focused on one thing.
Siegfried. His gun. A gun that could sever the ties of malevolence. A tool I could use in my quest to bring back Eizen. He was still there, and I'd need to combine Zaveid's power of purification with Siegfried's bullets to free him.
Power of purification… Maotelus' voice echoed in the back of my mind. I gave a soft sigh and stared ahead. And there, I noticed him. Standing near the bridge, staring directly at me from an angle.
"...Kain?"
End Note: Alright so. This is kind of like New Game+ but the game glitched. Things are gonna get a bit difficult after the next chapter, and I look forward to writing it.