A/N: I got introduced to a site that promotes better writing habits, so uh. Awesome! New chapter earlier than expected, wonder if this'll keep up? Also, I tried to properly translate Aevar's True Name, and botched it. So let's just pretend I didn't.
Topaz belongs to a friend of mine, and Grimm belongs to another friend of mine. They are borrowed for this fic with permission.
The two of them just stood there, staring at one another, while I wondered exactly how this would end. Would Zero get her way, or would Zaveid say no to the whole deal? It was really concerning, and so I merely walked over to Rokurou and took a seat beside him before removing the mask and letting my head rest on the table. Really, now. I had to wonder why she was so overly cheerful and forward like that. Like she just wanted it and would get it no matter what. For most people, that would be a red flag. For me, though? That was just how Seraphim were. They were human, in a manner, except immortal and not actually all human.
"You walk in here and start makin' demands like that? What the hell do you think you're trying to prove?" Zaveid's voice was low and dangerous. Zero, however, was unconcerned by this fact.
"I'm trying to be a Sub Lord. You guys can't just go around with three Seraphim. You need a fourth, regardless of element. And, it just so happens that I'm a jack of all trades. Fire, Water, Earth and Wind, I've got you covered." She smiled at Zaveid, who just narrowed his eyes at her before looking to me. Instead of saying anything, I just raised my hand in a thumbs-up. I had no reason as to why I shouldn't accept her on the team, though I did hope that there wouldn't be any arguments forming after this. Sometimes people just didn't get along. That was a fact of life, though I wondered if everything would end up going the way that it was supposed to after this. The fact that Maotelus allowed enough people to keep their memories of me while everything changed about the world I'd once knew was kind of concerning.
Maybe he thought I needed more help than I already had? Who knew at this point. There was no way of contacting him anymore. He was gone, fallen back into the malevolence because of his bond with Heldalf. Raising my head up, I looked at the two of them. "Sub Lord application has been approved. You can go ahead and make her a Sub Lord."
"So does that mean I get to choose my own artifact? If so, I call dibs on the bow and arrow!" Zero exclaimed.
"Fine, fine. Let's get this over with." Zaveid closed his eyes, as did Zero. And thus, it began.
"O ye born of the Sacred Currents of Peace. Here let our pact be forged, that my unquavering incandescence be of thy purification. Shouldst thou accept this burden, recite aloud your name."
"Fethmus Lkwi." Immediately, Zero disappeared and I could feel the same warmth in my chest as I did before. She only took a second to reappear and look from me to Zaveid. "See, that wasn't so hard! Anyway, think we could get going? I got everything we needed, and then some. Grimm is probably getting antsy, too. You sure know how to pick people that have resonance, Arvald."
"Trait o'mine. Ryda, get Topaz and make sure Grimm stays put. We're gonna be headin' to Marlind to deliver some supplies we got from those merchants from a couple days ago." Arvald got out of his chair, heading to the door. "An' Rokurou, best keep close to the Oracle. Ain't no tellin' what could happen, an' yer recovered enough to do so."
"Sure." Rokurou got up out of his seat as well. It was just me, Zaveid, Zero, Rokurou and Aevar now. With a small sigh, Aevar stood up and walked over to Zaveid.
"The Squire's pact. Should we initiate it now?" He asked.
"I don't know the old language, so... Zaveid, I'm going to have to defer to you for a true name." I looked ot him and then at Aevar. "Because I never did learn it..."
Not being from this world, there was no way I could have learned the Ancient Tongue. This also meant that I was kind of useless in creating True Names for others. We stood there for a bit, seemingly trying to figure out how to get a True Name for Aevar. It didn't seem like we would get one for a few moments before I finally thought of something. Despite everything that happened last time, he'd basically been a steadfast friend. One I could trust. Even after he'd left, it seemed like that was something that remained the same.
"What about Steadfast Aevar? What's the translation for that?" I asked Zaveid.
"Kisuytaks Apau," came his reply. "That's what it would translate to. Not that I'm an expert. Eizen would be the one to ask on that."
It's correct. Eizen spoke up. Don't let him fool you, he knows more than he lets on.
"Cool. So, let's start the Squire's Pact, then. I've got the True Name, and I've got the Squire to do it!" I put my mask back on before walking over to both Zaveid and Aevar. This was probably something that Zaveid had done before, given the fact Eizen knew he'd been a Prime Lord before all of this. I briefly wondered what had happened to the old Shepherd he'd been Prime Lord to, but decided to keep that to myself instead of asking. I didn't want to dredge up bad memories.
"Workin' me to death today, aren'tcha?" Zaveid said, a smile in his voice and on his face as he took both mine and Aevar's hands. "Once I complete this incantation, give Aevar the true name we decided on."
"Okay." I nodded. The Squire's pact was abridged this time, to get us on the road faster. After giving Aevar the True Name I'd decided for him, Zaveid and Zero disappeared to reside within me and Rokurou, Aevar and I left the room to head out where Arvald and the others were waiting. The moon was a bit higher, giving me the idea that it was almost midnight and that we'd been in there for quite some time. We would need to head to Marlind as soon as possible, and hopefully help out in making the malevolence vanish once the Lord of the Land was instated and the land purified. The epidemic would cease at that point, and people would be able to recover and return to life as it was before. At least, I hoped so.
With Arvald, Ryda and Topaz was a young man. He had long, fluffy black hair that was tied in a ponytail over his left shoulder, pale skin, purple eyes and wore a gray overcoat with purple lapels and cuffs, a black button-up shirt with a belt over it and a charm with an unfamiliar insignia on a chain on the belt, white pants and grey mid-calf boots with black soles. He looked over to us when we walked out, before returning his attention to Arvald.
"And that's the report. People aren't taking one step into Marlind because they're afraid of catching the illness spreading through there." He said.
"There was a young boy that went in there earlier," Topaz pointed out. A young boy? That was probably Sorey. I suppose this meant that I'd yet again get embroiled in the war between the two countries, and this time actually be able to help instead of be an entire hindrance. I didn't want to deal with having to explain how I'd gotten Eizen from a dragon to a normal Seraph. Or the fact that I had a Reaper's Curse. I wondered briefly if I would ever have to explain it to them, but figured I'd never have to if I never brought it up. That made things easier on me. Sorey didn't need to know... did he? If I explained anything, I'd have to rely on Eizen's knowledge of it instead of fumbling my way through 'it made everything more difficult than it should've been'.
"Guessin' that's the boy that got told to take the medicine across." Arvald looked over in the general direction of Marlind. "We should be off. Got everythin' set, Ryda?"
"You know it, Boss." She pat the bag on her hip, before looking to me. "An' what 'bout you, Rani? Got everythin'? Pact settled?"
"Everything's done on my end, so we should be going. Otherwise, we may end up getting there a bit too late." If we got there too late, Alisha would be taken hostage to force Sorey into the Hyland side of the war instead of leaving him neutral like he should be. It also meant that I would have to find a way there before the sun rose. Once it did, the malevolence would be gone and Marlind would be okay again. I needed to see what was going on myself in the reset's version of Marlind. The last time, it'd just been like the game. But this time? I honestly didn't know.
Without much fanfare, we started heading off towards Marlind. The moon was full, shining and bright. But there was anxiety bubbling in my chest. For what, I didn't know. I hoped that it was nothing, but I couldn't shake the feeling that something was going wrong at this exact moment.