Chapter 4

"Welcome back, my lord."

Botta's greeted him as Yuan stepped into their Renegade base. It seemed the man had been waiting for him.

Right, with all the madness that had ensued up there, he'd almost forgotten what mission the man had been sent on. And it looked like he'd come back empty handed.

"Thank you. Let us talk in my office." Better to just get this over with.

Nodding, Botta followed their leader, who went to sit behind his desk. He folded his hands to rest his head on them and looked at the man he held in high regard.

"You have not retrieved the Chosen." It was a statement, not a question.

Bowing his head, the black-haired man showed regret in his face as he looked back up from the apologetic gesture. "Something truly unexpected happened, sir."

Yuan made a gesture that said: 'go on'. After taking a deep breath, Botta did just that.

"We had confirmed the identity of the Chosen, but she was not alone. One of her companions was a young half elf. As for the other, he looked human in all but his incredible power. Sir, I have never seen a teen do something like that. He took down Vidarr."

Still shocked about the fact, the man shook his head. "I am rather certain it was his Exsphere that made it all possible. However, it has to be quite special if that is the case."

A frown was on Yuan's face as he listened to this report. It was rather hard to believe, but he did not doubt Botta for a moment. So, what was going on? Normal people did not wear Exspheres and besides that, all the ones that are given out on this side are a rather standard issue.

"This young man, can you describe him? Do you know his name?"

"His friends called him Lloyd. As for his looks, he had messy yet stylish brown hair. Eyes of almost the same color. He mostly wore red, peculiar clothing if you ask me."

Something was tugging at the back of Yuan's head. That name, it felt significant for some reason. But it was too far to reach.

Standing up, he walked his usual line from the desk to the opposite wall. This was his way to process things, to really think about everything. If the leader was doing this kind of pacing, all people around knew to just leave him alone. Botta did the very same, ready for any thoughts that would come up.

"If he's from Iselia, and has an Exsphere, the Ranch ought to know something about it."

"That is true." Botta nodded. "Do you need us the infiltrate, sir?"

Yuan stopped his stride, sweeping his long ponytail from one shoulder to the other. "No. I will go there and speak with Forcystus myself."

This was confusing, to say the least. It had the black-haired half-elf frowning. Normally, their leader would not directly involve himself with Desians. There was one exception to that rule: "Mithos gave you an order?"

"He did more than just that." Yuan stared ahead, narrowing his eyes at nothing else but the thought of the bizarre twist of plans. "Did you not wonder why Kratos did not show up at all? We prepared for it."

"It did strike me as odd, yes. What happened then?"

"Mithos decided last minute he'd be taking Kratos his place. He will be guiding the Chosen to the Tower personally."

Botta's dark eyes went wide. The bafflement and disbelieve were clear in them. How, why? Tons of questions riddled his mind, but his leader raised a hand to stop him from saying anything.

"Don't ask. We could not talk him out of it. Once his mind is set, it is as in stone: unmovable." It irritated Yuan to no end, that was for sure. "He keeps saying..." He bit his lip, balled his fist for just a moment. "This is the one."

The only one he'd open up to just a little bit, was this man. Botta had been with him for a while, his right hand and most trusted person. He knew all the ins and outs, something Yuan normally always kept to himself. Actions and loyalty, that was really all there was to it.

There was an understanding between the two of them: they would go through with the plan at any cost. Even if it would mean their own demise, at the very least, they'd save Martel too. At least, that was what they hoped to achieve.

"So, who is in charge up there? Of all the Angels?" Botta finally asked after a silence.

"Kratos of course. And I was put in charge of all the dealings of the surface. Including the Desians. How ironic."

Yuan crossed his arms, shaking his head. He never really approved of the methods the Desians maintained. The less he had to deal with them the better.

"I can put a lot of that on Pronyma still."

"Of course, sir, but we can also take advantage of this. With this, our infiltration is not a high priority, as we can get their plans firsthand."

"I know that, but also there is a greater risk for suspicion. They already know of us and thus are on their guard. We do not want to push them much further. Besides, they are not our first focus anymore. The Chosen is."

Nodding in understanding, Botta agreed. If Mithos is really that set on this girl being 'the one', all the more reason to stop this so-called revival.

"How do we go about it? Mithos will join and watch over the Chosen's every move. It will not be easy to come in between."

"No, it is nigh impossible." Yuan shook his head. Walking to his desk chair, he sat back down. Though it was hard to show his real age, he was showing a little more of it at the moment. He stared blankly ahead yet again, then tilted his head: something came to him. "The assassin. Any news on that front?"

"Setting to leave or has already left, sir. I haven't heard the latest news yet. Her destination is Ossa Trail, as her plan is to ambush them there."

In a tight space with poor footing. She did some research, that was a good sign. Be that as it may, no matter how experienced she might be, she could not hope to go up against Mithos. Essentially, they've sent her to her doom.

"Our chances are a little higher at Ranches." Renegades had infiltrated all of them at this point. "There is no knowing if they'd come close to them. Maybe with some chaos..." Muttering to himself more and more, Yuan stroked his chin.

"I have no doubt some Desians will plan on following behind the Chosen, to put on more pressure, sir."

"We have to grab any chance we can get. We will have to take losses, but there is no other way around it."

"Each and every member of the Renegades know the risks fully, sir. And they join our cause for mostly the same reason: they are sick of how people see us half-elves. The Desians need to be erased, by any means necessary."

Fair enough. It wasn't too far off from the true goal. If Martel would finally be laid to rest, all of the set up will no longer be needed. The Desians, the Angels, all of Cruxis. It will all be disbanded. As for what will happen to Mithos? No one could even guess. He'd surprised them before, and Yuan had no doubt he would do it again. He was bracing for that day when it finally comes. But by the Goddess, he will ensure it will happen.

The blue haired leader stood up yet again. This time it seemed to be with a little more resolve, a clear objective in mind.

"I will set for the Ranch. If you have any news of the assassin, let me know. All we can do for now, is keep our eyes and ears open. As for the Exspheres, we will keep taking them from the Desians. Even if it's just one, that is one human life saved."

Like most half-elves, Yuan did not like humans. However, he did not hate them so much to wish death upon them all. Both sides really needed to learn a simple fact: not all are bad or evil. If the people will ever accept that truth, would remain to be seen.

Botta bowed to his leader's words. The two told each other to take care and that was the end of their conversation. As he was the only one around that knew Yuan's full story, the blue-haired man had his wings appear.

For some reason, he could never help but marvel at the beautiful blue pair, positively glowing with mana in its purest form. To Botta, it showed tremendous raw power. Terrifying yet beautiful. It existed out of despair, of three that lost the one person that bound them all together.

The amount of pain, of loss. It was impossible to imagine. Their actions from then on changed the very foundation of the world. If there would have been a real Goddess watching over, she would have been very angry indeed.

Shaking out of this deep trail of thought, Botta told Yuan goodbye, after which the leader disappeared in rays of bright light. All they could do now was, ironically, pray.

"So Mithos, where do you come from?"

It was the first question Colette asked as they were leaving the house of Salvation behind them. Sparing a short look over his shoulder, there was a silence that first seemed like he would not answer the question.

"Does that really matter?" He finally said.

"It adds to the distrust you already bring by wearing such a concealing helmet."

"Raine!" Colette gasped at the professor's sharp remark.

Mithos stopped and turned around. There was a slight, sad smile on his face. "Trust me when I tell you, it is not pretty. I am sparing you the horrid sight that will haunt your mind."

After having said this, he turned back around and started walking again. Raine felt a stab of guilt and Colette had a mix of pity and sorrow.

"I'm sorry..." she told him softly.

"You have nothing to apologize for, Chosen one. Let us focus on the road ahead."

In other words, do not ask any further questions. Colette could understand it was painful. She was quick to accept anyone, but for her mentor's sake, she wanted to put her mind at ease.

Raine was quite the opposite; distrusting and very well guarded. The walls around her heart were set up high. It took the blond girl a long time for those to break down. And still she had the feeling the woman hadn't told her everything.

"How far is it to Triet?" Colette finally asked, looking over to the professor.

"Half a day, if we do not run into trouble."

"I will make sure that will be limited." Mithos promised, hand on the hilt of his sword.

"You mean, monsters?"

"Those are the least of our worries, Chosen one. Desians, other people..."

"I have warned you about that before, Colette. There are those that reject salvation."

"I just don't understand why." The girl folded her hands together in front of her chest.

"They have lost faith all together, dear. That is really all there is to it."

Mithos shook his head. "Blasphemy."

"Oh, you are a firm believer as well?" Colette could not contain her enthusiasm as she hurried to walk next to the man.

"But of course. Why else would I join you, Chosen one?"

Her eyes trailed off as he looked at her, thinking about his words. Strands of hair that fell loose, she tucked behind her ears quickly.

"I just figured you want to save the world."

"Well, there is that too." Mithos admitted. Again, he looked over his shoulder towards the professor. "And you do not have faith?"

"Frankly, I do not believe in Martel."

Even though Colette knew this fact, she could not help to gasp, mostly for her mentor to be saying it out loud. Not everyone would appreciate that, even if it were just the three of them.

"I believe in you, Colette."

Their eyes met. The blond girl could not help her smile. She did appreciate those words. "Thank you, Raine."

"Why do you not believe? You have been close with the Chosen, and likely been to the temple." Mithos still pressed on.

"I have." Raine nodded, finally deciding to join in properly and walking to the other side of the man. Still, she kept a clear distance. "How can one believe in a Goddess that sleeps while everyone suffers?"

This remark had them both quiet. Colette looked down at the grass under her boots as Mithos turned his head to seemingly look on ahead. It was hard to guess what the man was thinking because the helmet masked his emotions, almost expertly so.

"We are coming up to the desert." He finally said after a good ten minutes of silent walking.

Looking up, the Chosen marveled at the sight. It was almost like a valley set between ridges of mountains. The grass faded into the sand, she could not help herself kneeling down, picking up a hand full and letting it run through her fingers.

Mithos tilted his head at the way she acted. Raine took it upon herself to explain: "This is the first time she has seen sand. Colette has lived a very sheltered life."

Embarrassed, the girl quickly got to her feet. "Sorry, I couldn't help myself."

"It's understandable." Mithos nodded. "They wanted to protect you, to assure you'd be safe until the time you could go on your Journey."

"Yes, that is true. The only outings I had was towards the temple and to my best friend in the forest."

Talking about him, gave her a pang of guilt yet again. She hoped that Lloyd could forgive her, for leaving him like that.

"Try to focus on what is ahead, Colette." Raine tried to distract her from those feelings. She could just tell by the look on the girl's face.

"Prepare for the heat then." Mithos warned. "We are coming to the desert honestly at the wrong time; the midday is when it is at its hottest."

"I am aware, yet I do not think we should just wait it out. I suggest we aim for the Oases first, to clench our thirst." Which they would undoubtedly experience along the way.

The two nodded to Raine's suggestion, moving on to fully enter the desert. To say they were hit by a wall of heat, was an understatement. The sun was scorching high in the sky, creating ripples along the horizon. Tumbleweeds were carried along by the wind, which sadly did not give any cooling relieve whatsoever.

Colette was happy she was wearing white. And Raine was the type to hold her head high and press on. Still, with all the pressing heat, it would really get to you as you sweat so much and get tired out because of it. The sand did not make the walk easy too.

Despite all of that, Mithos marched on as if it did not affect him. He even fought monsters just as fiercely as he had done before.

Her marvel at the sword for hire was a little undermined when people showed up to attack, seemingly just set on robbing them. Colette wanted to resolve it peacefully by offering some food, but she was not heard.

"The conditions must be clouding their minds. Please stand back, dear." Raine told her, holding her staff at the ready.

"Don't kill them!"

The sword strikes fell hard and true, as the men fell in the sand, dust rising up with the impact. Mithos looked over to the Chosen.

"See it as a mercy towards them. They are trailing about in a desert, ready to attack innocent people and take their lives without a second thought. Consider other lives saved by taking these."

Not waiting for a reply, he gave them the finishing stab. Squealing, Colette looked away. She shed some tears as she prayed for the souls of the people, to reach Martel and rest in peace.

Though she did not quite agree with the way it was handled, Raine did see the logic of the man. She turned toward Colette and gave her a consoling hug. It will be a hard journey with all the things she will have to witness. How could you prepare a poor young girl for such a thing? The professor had tried, but it's one thing to say it and a whole other when you experience it.

Looking over at the two, Mithos allowed them a moment. From their position, the outlines of Triet were to be seen on the horizon.

"Are you able to keep going? It is not that far now."

Drying her last tears with her sleeves, Colette nodded. "Sorry..."

He tilted his head, wondering why this girl kept apologizing. But he let that be for now, deciding to focus on bringing them to the much-needed source of water.

"You don't seem to be struggling as much, Mithos." Raine remarked.

"I do have experience, that comes with this kind of occupation."

"Maybe, but that doesn't mean you don't have to drink water. Here." Colette offered the flask, giving the man a soft, sweet smile.

A little stunned by her generosity, the mercenary took it, giving a weak nod in thanks. He drank a couple of sips before he knew it, even when the Seraphim had no need for it. For some reason, he could just not say no to those blue eyes, and that kind face.

At the same time, it stung his heart, for it greatly reminded him of his sister. She was just as sweet and caring, always set to help others. To fight for those who were not able to do it themselves. It was strange how much they were alike.

There was a difference, however: in Martel's case, it almost felt motherly. Being his older sister and only family, that did kind of make sense. She felt responsible for the care of her little brother. She taught him a lot. Oh, how he missed her so.

"Everything alright, Mithos sir?" His vacant stare at her, kind of put Colette off, though she'd never admit that out.

"Ah yes, I apologize. And thank you." Showing a small smile, he handed her the flask back.

Before she could say anything else, he turned and started walking on ahead. The blond girl looked over at her mentor as they hurried to follow.

"Did I do or say anything wrong?" Colette asked softly.

Raine shook her head. "I do not believe you did. Just let him be."

"If you say so, professor."

After walking a little bit longer, they had to go over a final, great sand dune as the sun was slowly starting to set. Which was a small blessing, as the big dune was quite a chore to climb. At least, the heat was not as intense, but the two women still found themselves sweating as they reached the top.

What they saw beyond, took their breath away however, and not in a good way. Before them should have been the great desert oases of Triet. But it was not much more then rubble. Half broken walls, cloths of tents flying in the wind, and in the center a deep slope; the former oases, dried up to just a sad little puddle.

Colette gasped as she covered her mouth, staring with big blue eyes of all that was left of the place. "Wh-what happened here?" she stammered. "Was it attacked?"

Taking a couple of steps forward, Mithos surveyed the damage. After a few moments, he finally shook his head.

"This was not done by the hand of people. At least, not only that. This is a direct result of the surrounding getting too harsh to live in. Sandstorms, the intense heat. People most likely just abandoned the place."

Carefully walking down, the group of three walked through the remains slowly. It was hard to imagine this was once a great, well-known place. Colette could only imagine how it would have looked like coming to the beautiful oasis after having to go through the desert. She was hoping for smiling faces, food in abundance and of course an offer of the freshest water a dried-out throat could ever wish for.

Coming to a standstill in the middle of it all, right next to the pit that was once the oases, she could feel Mithos his eyes fixing on her.

"The world is dying, Chosen one. You now see it with your own eyes. If you do not hurry or if you fail... this is only the beginning."

The weight of those words hung heavy in the air, as well on the poor girl's shoulders. It was not really the first time she heard them, or at least in the same kind of context. She knew how important it all was. Still, she was not prepared for how bad it already was.

After she swallowed the lump in her throat, Colette spoke with surprising clearness and determination. "I know what I must do, and I will do anything in my power to not fail the people, nor the world."

Raine placed a hand on her shoulder, giving it a squeeze in support. They both knew what it meant, what it would take. The young girl was ready to give it. After all, what was one life compared to all the lives on this world?

Nodding in approval, Mithos then went down to the puddle of water that was left. He took the flask and made ready to fill it.

"Hold it right there." An old, female voice cracked.

Surprised, they all looked to the source: an elderly lady stood on the other side dressed up in what you would expect to see in this kind of hot weather. The long staff that served as her walking stick, she pointed at the mercenary.

"You do not have the right to take that."

"Oh, miss! We are so sorry."

Shaking out of her initial surprise, Colette hurried towards the woman, bowing to her in apology as she got close. The many wrinkles on the elder deepened as she eyed the young girl.

"Who are you? What brings you to this place? There is nothing left here. I am all that remains, to guard the oasis from greedy hands."

"It's drying up as we speak..." Mithos started to say, gaining a leering look.

"Uh, what my companion means to say, is that we were just very thirsty as we just traveled from the house of Salvation to get here. We had no idea that Triet was in this kind of state. Sorry."

It was a nervous habit for the girl, to apologize way too much. With a deep breath, Raine came to stand next to her.

"We did not mean to steal, miss. We are actually passing through. I take it you are native?"

"Of course, I am. I will remain here till the end!" The old woman did not specify if that would be hers, the town, or even the world's end. "Whatever madness would drive you through a scorching hot desert?"

"A-actually... we are looking for the seal of fire."

"Colette! Careful what you tell people." Raine told her quietly.

"Oh, you are the Chosen one, are you not? My, what an honor to still be able to experience this at my age."

Smiling an almost toothless smile, the elder stepped closer and reached out. To everyone's surprise, there was an apple gel in her boney hand.

"There is not much left, but this I can spare. Please, I insist you take it. I pray for you, oh Chosen one. I'd advise to go south-west; there is an old temple there, once dedicated towards Efreet. I do believe you will find what you are searching for there."

With hesitation, Colette took the apple gel gingerly. She looked at her with worry. "Are you sure it's alright, miss? We have some rations from the house. Maybe we could offer you some?"

The elder cackled at her words, waving the worry away. "Focus on what you must do, Chosen one. Do not worry about this old one. I'm as tough as the palm trees still around; I won't fall down easy."

It was true that despite the dry surroundings, the palm trees stood tall all the same, defiant to their downfall. In the blond girl's eyes, it showed there was still hope. Smiling to the woman, she bowed to her again.

"Thank you so much. You have been of great help."

"Be on your way now, this is the best time to travel; not too hot, and not getting too cold yet."

"Thank you, miss." Raine bowed her head.

Stepping out of the slope, Mithos could still feel her leering look. Choosing to ignore it, he said nothing as he began leading towards the south-west.

Both guards froze up at the sight of him. Yuan crossed his arms as he looked at them. They were practically shaking in their boots. Guess the reputation of the Seraphim was known and to be feared.

"Well, are you going to have me keep waiting?"

"S-sir?" One managed with a shaky voice.

"Go get your leader." Yuan sighed.

"Yes sir!" The other gave a salute and then hurried away, almost tripping over his own feet as he went.

Forcystus was in discussion with the captain, overseeing a projection of a map of the direct area. The captain pointed to a specific location in the forest close by.

"We believe his caretaker lives around these parts."

"So close by. How have we not seen or noticed anything before?" The leader contemplated, rubbing his chin.

Before an answer could come, someone stormed in. Forcystus looked very offended by the action of this guard.

"What is the meaning of this? How dare you barge in on a private meeting."

"Sir, I'm sorry sir! But... you will not believe who is standing at the gate."

A moment of silence, as the leader raised his brow. "Well? Out with it, man."

"Seraphim sir." It was stammered more then said.

Forcystus stood up right away at that. A Seraphim, here? That rarely happened. The last time was with Lord Yggdrasil, when this very Ranch was being set up years and years ago. Before he could really move, he was face to face with said Seraphim.

"I will get right to the point." Yuan said, not set to draw this out unnecessarily. "There seems to be a boy – a teen – in Iselia, with an Exsphere. Not inside your Ranch as all the others. Tell me why."

The Ranch leader blinked twice. He could not remember this man, but the transparent wings were a very telling trait, so there was no doubt there. Not wanting to test his patience, he nodded in understanding.

"His name is Lloyd Irving, my lord. We actually only found out about him yesterday."

Yuan narrowed his eyes. "How? He was right under your nose. At first, I thought you might have just let him go free. Which makes no sense either, so explain."

"All I know is the boy has the Angelus Project on him, the one Kvar lost and has been searching for many years. He is the project's offspring without a doubt. As for the father, we do not know who he was nor what's happened to him. Only that he had tried to remove the Exsphere and thus forced the transformation. He had no choice but to kill her."

The Seraphim did remember the rigorous change in Kratos in recent years. He eventually found out the man went and had a family, while he was on the surface setting everything up for the next Regeneration.

As for the details, Yuan never really bothered to dive deep into it. He did not like that his once friend just left to get his happy little family like that. And be so different because of it. So protective and passionate. The only other time he had seen the man like that was when he joined their group all those ages ago.

And never had he shown any interest in women, love or anything like that. Kratos was the type to focus on one job with terrifying vigor. It made the man very effective, he'd have to give him that. Yuan could not ridicule him for leaving Mithos' side, because he'd pretty much done the same thing, just without him knowing.

Still, it felt like betrayal, a stab to the back. The one thing, Yuan had wanted with Martel, was to have that happy family. Yet it was taken away from him. There was no comfort, as all of them were broken and they mostly had to focus on comforting the child that had terrifying, Godly power. Oh, how it went so very wrong indeed. Yuan had turned a blind eye for so long, and Kratos took his usual role, like the rooted tree he was.

Only to crawl in one day like a sad puppy. The man believed his family dead, the woman at the very least had died at his own hands; the blood on his hands proved that. It was very clear he thought the son was dead as well, even though everything was a blur after a certain point.

Yuan couldn't care less, so he did not really pay attention to the sob story. Still, he needed to be sure. "Do you have an image of this young man?"

It was asked after such a long silence, Forcystus almost jumped. Normally he wasn't this on edge, but he was facing an unfamiliar Seraphim. Who knew what he could do to him if he did or say something wrong?

"Yes, my lord. We have footage of him coming to this Ranch." Turning to the projector that was showing a map of the forest, he had it change to the image of Lloyd. As his focus was more on the Exsphere, it zoomed in on the gem.

"This was right before he jumped off the cliff. And somehow, he survived that. I went to the town, to see for myself. The sheer power, that came from that gem... It is the Angelus Project without a-"

"Give me a close up of his face." Yuan interrupted him impatiently, crossing his arms.

The order was of course not ignored. The projection was not very life-like, a direct effect of the technology struggling to keep working on this side. Still, as he stepped closer to have a good look, he could see it; familiar traits, matching up with the father.

"We've found where he lives: it's in the forest, in a cabin belonging to a dwarf."

A dwarf on the surface? That was a rarity on its own. It couldn't be Altessa; he had no way to cross worlds like them. Next to that...

"He was living right under your nose all this time?" Yuan asked sharp like a knife.

"So it seems, my lord. I have no excuse for this failure." The Ranch leader bowed his head. "We are planning on interrogating the dwarf on the matter."

"No, you will not. As you seem to fail at the simplest things, I will approach this dwarf myself."

A hit in the gut, but Forcystus really had no grounds to stand on. The last thing one should do was speak up against one of the four Seraphim, lest you'd wish yourself dead.

"As you wish, my lord."

"This Ranch was here for one reason only. You must realize it has no real further use."

"My lord, I must disagree. We have done a lot of research, created many valuable Exspheres. This Ranch has use beyond watching over the Chosen."

It was clear Forcystus would not allow his location to be removed just like that. Understandable really. If he hadn't had any fight in him, Yuan would have been very surprised; being a Desian leader was no easy position to get.

"We'll see what Lord Yggdrasil has to say." This was all the blue haired man would say to the matter. "I will take my leave now."

"Sir, what about your findings?"

Yuan raised a brow at this question. "Am I, your superior in every way, supposed to report back to you?"

Bowing his head, the leader quickly rephrased: "We need to plan our next move, my lord. That's all."

"Play your part in the world regeneration. That's the most important right now, all other things can be done at a later notice."

In other words, leave the Exsphere and child attached to it alone. Forcystus did not like it, but his hand was being forced. Besides, it was not his project in the first place. The only reason he was after it was that it would really help his position and he'd be able to knock that darned Pronyma of her throne.

Having said all he needed, Yuan turned around and left. Time to ask a man some questions, a dwarf of all things. This will be interesting indeed.