Chapter 56: The Pleiades Watchtower
("Thinking of you, wherever you are. We pray for our sorrows to end, and hope that our hearts will blend. Now I will step forward to realize this wish. And who knows: starting a new journey may not be so hard, or maybe it has already begun. There are many worlds, but they share the same sky — one sky, one destiny.")
"K-Kairi..."
Sora woke up after having had a remnant dream of his time in the realm of darkness with Riku after the two had defeated Xemnas during the end of his second journey.
As he woke up, he looked around and could see that everyone is asleep. The only people he didn't notice was Subaru and Elsa, which caused him to be interested in finding out where are the two.
He got up and slowly moved outside of the carriage to where he found the two outside.
"I never expected you two to be talking alone."
"Master Sora!"
Subaru turned and went to give his master a hug, having been a bit worried yet out of nowhere Shaula got in between the two.
"Master! What are you doing?!"
"Who is-?"
"Shaula, calm do-"
"No! I will not! I'm so jealous! Give me a hu~ug!"
Shaula grabbed Subaru and just started to squeeze him to which Elsa and Sora had to help Subaru to get out of this. Shaula was able to hold on to Subaru tightly for a moment before both Elsa and Sora were able to help break the two up.
"Who is she?"
"She is Shaula, the apprentice to the Sage. Are you alright, dear Subaru?"
"Yeah Yeah, I'm fine...anyway, how are you holding up, Master Sora?"
"I'm alright...feel a bit weak but I should be fine."
"Hopefully, but for now it is best to get you up to speed."
"Right."
Sora agreed with this statement from Subaru and was quickly informed of all the events that happened while he was knocked out.
Sora was a bit surprise that Shaula mistakes Subaru for Flugel though other than that, he seemed to just care that everyone is safe.
They all wait until finally everyone else has rested before Shaula leads them up the stairs.
While walking, Subaru ponders on what to do with the misunderstanding that Shaula is having yet he was reassured by Emilia that things will be alright. Ram noticed this and quickly added in her opinion that they should keep their guard but, just in case.
"Jeez, you sure were quick to put it like that, Ram. You should really loosen up a little..."
"Had Sora-sama not intervened, there is a high chance we would be dead already."
"Mhm, I guess so."
Emilia nodded at this, agreeing that without Sora they would've died.
Subaru noticed this and could tell that Emilia and Ram have been getting along since Emilia responded in a more relaxed manner.
The group continued to walk up the stairs with the conversation being shifted to Sora asking Shaula,
"You are the only guardian to this tower?"
"Ah, that's meeeee for sure. For 400 years, every single day forever and eeeever guarding the midst of this sand, and each barren day I've spent would be something that would make both the one reciting it, and the one hearing it cry...!"
"Poor thing...tch"
"Emilia-tan, don't get affected by it. And you as well, don't go exchanging unnecessary feelings."
"So, would I be right in recognizing you as having bore the burden of working as a "Sage" for 400 years, as typically well-known, Shaula-sama?"
Julius had asked with Kishida having the same thought of mind after the two heard her answer to Sora's question. Having been aware that Shaula is not the sage, they wanted to confirm this from the one that is suppose to be the sage herself.
"You're making me blush, attaching stuff like "Sama". I'm not used to it, so you can address me without using any honorifics like normal. Using Shaula-sama...Dhehehe."
"Then, I shall correct myself. Surely the one that is typicially known as the "Sage" is you, Shaula?"
"Weell, I'm not so sure about that? Even if that's what's typically said, I don't ever leave the tower, so I don't know anything about rumors from the outside. It feels unexpectedly strange, doesn't it? Like I'mmmmm being called a "Sage."."
"If you aren't the "Sage", then it'd turn out that the legend of the "Sage" Shaula is a completely incorrect rumor? Is it possible that Flugel-sama did something regarding this?"
"I'm not aware of the rumors outside buuuut as far as I know, there's no acquaintance of mine named Shaula other than meeeeee. I was given this name from Master as well, so Master must've given it just to me...buuuut..."
Shaula's gaze was directed towards Subaru yet the boy was unaware of this since he has no memory of this. Kenichi and Naoko can both help vouch for Subaru, knowing that their boy couldn't have done this since he isn't over 400 years old.
The three Natsuki household members were a bit off by Shaula's assumption but then they started to think how Shaula was a name of a star, the star name that formed Scorpius, meaning "The Stinger".
This caused the three of them to think that this Flugel person must have liked the stars to be naming things behind stars from Earth. As the three were lost in their own thoughts, Shaula continued to speak,
"Since Master seems like he has no clue, Shaula is just myyy name of course. Master gave that name just to meeee...There's no need for any other Shaulas."
"I see. You seem to be really fond of that Master. ――Must've been a sinful guy, huh."
"Agreed, such a sinful guy."
Both Kishida and Julius spoke with the two looking at Subaru. The boy had noticed this and quickly started to defend himself.
"Quit looking at me when saying that! Those are false accusations. Innocence presumed."
""Guilty as proven"...That's what I think."
"Don't you take pride in being a lawful nation?!"
The group laugh a bit by this, seeing Subaru getting flustered by this. The group eventually learn that the floors have specific names and that there are some trials in the tower, one is to access the tower's library which catches Beatrice's attention.
Seeing that the library might contain some information about the Sage known as Flugel or even a way to fix the effects of Gluttony. Shaula took them to the third floor where they encountered the monolith.
"Shall we get started, Master Sora?"
"Yes."
The group had made the choice to allow the two keyblade wielders to take the lead in this trial, trusting their judgement. Sora and Subaru both at the same time touched the monolith which started the trial.
"――Touch the brightest of the hero destroyed by Shaula."
"――hk!?"
Subaru jerked his hand away from the Monolith in surprise when he heard that voice ring out so abruptly. Kishida assisted Subaru in getting up while saying,
"No need to be scared, Subaru. It's just a voice."
"Screw off, Kishida."
Kishida smiled at this, always enjoying the moments he gets to mess with his friend. As Subaru gets up, the group looks at them and notices that the trial of the Great Library Pleiades, third floor "Taygeta" had begun.
"Is this the trial you were talking about earlier?" Naoko asked Shaula to which she nodded.
"Looks like it right? I wanna see Master flaunt his forte!"
"Don't start saying stuff like a band would at a drinking party..."
Subaru said before just returning his attention to the trial, trying to figure it out alongside his master. The group noticed that there were more monoliths after Sora and Subaru had touched the first monolith.
Sora was curious and decides to touch one of the monoliths with keyblade in his other hand, in the case he needs to protect himself.
As he does this, a bright light shines the entire place, forcing everyone to cover their eyes for a moment before they were able to see that the monolith had disappeared.
"Huh? Where did the Monolith go?" Subaru asked.
"Hehehe, behind youuu Master."
"Behind me...?"
The group notices this and can see that the monolith had returned back to its original place, allowing the group to come to the conclusion that they didn't pass the trail. Subaru approached the original monolith and inspected it a bit before trying to touch the monolith once again.
"――Touch the brightest of the hero destroyed by Shaula."
The voice once again spoke, to which Subaru and his parents concluded that this is a retry on the trial. The group thought for a moment on how to solve the trial, with Naoko looking at Shaula to she if she can help them.
"Shaula-san, is it okay if you can tell us the hero who destroyed you."
"Weeeeell...I don't listen to anybody bu~ut you are the mother of master, soooo you can leave it to me. Remembering stuff like each of the names of the guys I've killed is second class work...For a first class individual like meeeee, I don't remember past the 100 mark."
Naoko nodded at Shaula, seeing that the guardian of the tower was able to be cooperative with her. As the group was thinking, Rem had thought about all the legendary heroes she had learned from the books she had been studying with both Ram and Emilia. This prompted her to ask,
"How about Reid? The first Sword Saint?"
"AIIIIIIIIEEEEEE!"
Shaula shrieked which caused her to accidently drop Meili, who was being carried by her during the start of the walk up the stairs.
As Meili was falling to the ground, Elsa's incredible speed allowed her to grab her sister in spirit just in the nick of time before she hit the ground. Subaru turned towards Shaula and attempted to calm her down.
"Hey! There is no need to be scared...I mean I don't know why you're acting like this but everything will be okay."
"P-please, none of you say such scary stuff. Master's friends are real mean. The absolute worst."
"Now hey, no need to go that far."
Subaru patted Shaula in the back with Rem contemplating if mentioning the first Sword Saint was a good idea.
"Is the first Sword Saint a scary person?" Sora asked, curious since he noticed how Shaula responded to the name. This was something that both Julius and Kishida noticed, causing Julius to respond to Sora's question first.
"Reinhard, Wilhalm-sama, and such are esteemed individuals worthy of the fore-father of the Astrea family. He definitely wasn't just skilled with the sword, but a man of character as well. Certainly, there are some parts sprinkled into the anecdotes that were left behind as rumors that indicate that he was rather strong-willed which don't overlap with Reinhard and the rest, but...If it's not like that, then wouldn't that'd mean the history of the Astrea family has been twisted till this current generation?"
"Not really, but when you unravel history and the viewpoint of prominent statesmen also changes, you'll find that Japanese History is sufficiently cruel too. If we compare it to that, then we can't really start speaking about definite here..." Subaru spoke which caught Julius' attention.
"Dear goodness, let's not delve into this sort of talk. It's alright. We can get a clarification to the story if we get her to talk as she's a living witness here. Come now, let's listen to her."
They all turned towards Shaula, seeing that she is the only one who can tell the truth regarding Reid, the first Sword Saint. Julius and Kishida both looked at each other before seeing that Kishida allowed the forgotten knight to ask the question first. Julius nodded and quickly he asked Shaula,
"Your impressions regarding the First "Sword Saint", Reid Astrea. Miss Shaula, I'd like you to tell us your candid impression of him."
"He was human garbage."
"...I'd like you to tell us your candid impression of him, Shaula-sama."
"Garbage."
"I'd like you to-"
"Okay you two, don't pretend like she didn't say anything!" Subaru said has he noticed what they were trying to do, especially Kishida for adding the honorifics. He pointed his finger at Shaula while continuing to say,
"Hey, listen up you two. The truth about the history you both wanted to know is right here. She's a living witness to it. Go on, tell me as many anecdotes about Reid Astrea as you like, of that magnanimous man of character skilled in the sword."
"...Those who hold exceptional talent end up having confidence in themselves, more or less. That shouldn't be chastised, rather, it should be something you take pride in. If you end up becoming the greatest swordsman recorded in history, even acting like such is, yeah, when you take into account how things were back then, it would be suitable――"
"Julius, this is the first time I've seen you so desperate."
Julius noticed this and quickly paused himself to calm down, not liking how he sounded. While he was taking a deep breath, Shaula continued to pour the "Truth of Reid Astrea" without an end in sight.
"Well, anyways, he was a nasty guy. His personality was like that of an unruly brat's in adult form, and he loved to bully the weak. Or I guess if we look at it from that garbage's point of view, almost all of his opponents were weak, so he'd be bullying the weak no matter who he fought against. He did that a lot to meeee too."
"But, he was able to keep doing that to you even though you're so strong? Ah, since it happened over 400 years ago, you must've still been small then too?"
"I'veeee been like this ever since I was born. So, between now and back then, I'veeeee not changed, however...That thing was just out of the ordinary. A total piece of shit. You should always keep that piece of shit in mind. Even if the bully forgets, the one bullied absolutely never will and that's a fact..."
"I'm not really surprised since there's a precedent in Reinhard, but it'd take quite a monster to knock you down a few pegs, and Reid Astrea's one too."
"He really was the worst. But I was able to get him to use both hands once every ten times we fought."
"...I see."
Subaru and a few others were a bit interested to hear how the great hero was nothing like Reinhard. Julius and Kishida were both annoyed to hear this, seeing how the hero they praised aside from Reinhard being portrayed has a human garbage.
"Well, we can put off asking about Reid. It's pretty pointless for us to ask if you didn't destroy him."
"――. ――――. I agree. There's other things we ought to priorities right now."
"Yes, let's move on."
"Didn't you two were wasting time doing just that right now?"
Kishida and Julius stood silent with Elsa and Meili enjoying this, intrigued to see the knights extremely annoyed at something that isn't them. After a moment, the group returned their focus on finding the answer to the trial's question. Subaru and Sora take a close inspection of the monoliths until something tells Subaru that there is something more to solve this trial.
"Beako! Come here for a sec."
Beatrice sprung up when she heard Subaru's voice that indicated he'd managed to find something, causing her to quickly rush over to him and saying,
"That face is Betty's favorite Subaru face, I suppose."
"Shouldn't all of them be your favorite?"
"This one especially, in fact."
Beatrice said that without any traces of embarrassment to her and Subaru stretched out his hand over to her as she stood in front of him. Beatrice took his hand and looked at him with her round blue eyes. Her eyes were asking, "What do you want me to do?" Thus, Subaru nodded, and said,
"It's quite simple. ――I'd like to jump a bit higher with Murak."
"...Don't tell me you're going to say "I've given up, so let's break the ceiling and go up that way", I suppose."
"Don't be so shocked. Of course not. I just want to look down on the Monoliths from above."
"Look down on the Monoliths..."
Behind him, Emilia turned around to look at the Monoliths and muttered that out. Sora was also curious by what Subaru was doing. He watched as Beatrice casted Murak, seeing a pale light purple wave faintly wrapping around Subaru's body following Beatrice incantation.
Subaru jumped high while holding Beatrice's hand, leaping up towards the top of the tall room with Sora joining in, having jumped higher than expected for a normal boy. Subaru, Beatrice, and Sora all looked down at the monoliths and noticed a pattern, one that Subaru was extremely familiar with.
"It's as I thought."
"Were you able to find what you were looking for, I suppose?"
"Of course. This place is the absolute worst."
Subaru, Beatrice, and Sora all three land back to the ground with Emilia and the others curious to know what the three saw.
"I know the name of the hero." Subaru said to the group.
"Onii-san figured it ou~t?"
"I solved it. Along with the line of thinking of this errant examiner, for now."
"That is impressive, my son."
"That's Master for you! You're makin' me feel all tingly! Oh how I yearned for this!"
"What is the hero?" Sora asked to which Subaru was ready to answer with conviction.
"The hero destroyed by Shaula, his name is Orion."
"Orion...?" Many of the group asked with only Naoko and Kenichi being the ones to eventually figure it out as well, having also studying some of the stars. Aside from Subaru's parents, the rest turned towards Shaula to confirm this only for her to say,
"Nopenopenope, I've no idea who that is. And even if for a sec we assume I did kill them, what sort of person who can't even make it all the way here gets called a hero, it's totally ridiculous. Soooo, I don't think I'm the one to blame here. How you may ask, well by this argument from theory! I'm suuuuper smart!"
"As you can see, this woman's not smart at all. At first, I'd suspected that she may have actually forgotten, but that's not the case. Reason being that the "Shaula" from this problem isn't this woman in the first place."
"I'mmm the only Shaula! I got this name from Master!"
"Even the name that your Master gave you came from someone else."
He prodded out his finger to the tip of the protesting Shaula's nose and pushed her away before she could get closer. Following that, Subaru walked over to the original Monolith and stood in front of it.
"Maybe once again... only Subaru knows the origins of Shaula's name?"
"It isn't just me who knows, though I suppose not everyone would know. ――The name of a star in my hometown is called "Shaula". The meaning of its name is the "Stinger", but if I had to specify which kind of stinger, then it'd be the "Scorpion's" stinger."
The group were interested to hear this with Kenichi asking his son if he can tell the legend of the hero Orion. Subaru nodded and allowed his father to explain.
"According to legend, the Hero Orion was stung by a scorpion which had been sent out to besiege him due to his boastfulness, and he ended up dying. After his death, he became a star. So, the scorpion that killed Orion also became a star due to its deed, and it's said that even now in the sky Orion lives in fear of the scorpion..."
"Now that you've explained things, this legend has a pretty depressing vibe to it too, in fact."
"Anyways, think of it as having constellations where stars are illustrated by the figures of animals and people and such. You can even think of them as an asterism. So, that's how it looks when you look down on the Monoliths from above." Subaru said, having taken control of the conversation once again.
"The original Monolith is right in the middle. Well, I just gotta keep my eye on Alnilam and if I keep following the shape of the constellation...If I keep following Orion, then..."
"Then?" Emilia said with a curious tone of voice.
"The phrasing 'The brightest' is a bit of a roguish expression. In actual fact, stars shine in various different ways, sometimes they're always bright, other times they shine brighter only every so often. Considering that there are two stars that fit the bill for the brightest in Orion..."
When viewed from above, the two stars that fit the bill were the right shoulder of Orion located in the upper left part, "Betelgeuse" and Orion's left knee located in the lower right part, "Rigel". "Rigel" was always invariably bright, whereas "Betelgeuse" was a variable star that sometimes shone brighter than Rigel.
"I guess I'll go for "Rigel"."
Subaru had bad memories of a name that was similar to "Betelguese". As Subaru touched the Monolith of "Rigel", the room was filled with a dazzling light. Both sound and landscape were left behind, everything was blown away before finally,
"Whoa."
The moment the light died down, Subaru and the others were left standing in a room made out of stone and where there were countless of bookshelves around. The group realized that they are in the library of the Pleiades Watchtower. Beatrice was the most interested in this, not having seen a large amount of books since her Forbidden library was burned down during the Sanctuary and Mansion incident.
"Amazing! Subaru, good-"
"The examiner's personality, is just too wicked!"
"Eeeeeh!? That's your first reaction!?"
Emilia was caught off guard by this, wanting to praise her boyfriend only for him to sound disappointed. The group all looked around and noticed the books had names on them with Sora noticing the books of Saix, Larxene, Marluxia, and Vanitas.
'What is this? Books of the fallen?'
Sora looked at the four books and decided to grab Vanitas' book, wanting to see the contents of the book only to notice that something was wrong with Subaru. He set the book of Vanitas aside and quickly went to check on him, wanting to know what he was reading.
"Typhon...like the one from the tea party?"
Sora was curious to see what Subaru was reading, quickly taking a peak at what the book said until all of a sudden he felt his soul having been send to the book. He alongside Subaru were seeing the memories of some girl that resembled the Witch of Pride, making the two understand that they really are seeing the memories of someone else. As they were looking at her life, they were all of a sudden kicked out with their souls taking a bit of damage from being forced out of the book.
"Aaaa-"
Both Sora and Subaru were breathing heavily has their souls were getting readjusted to their bodies after having been forced back into their bodies.
"Subaru! Sora! Are you two okay?"
"...Yeah Emilia-tan...I think I will be okay...Master Sora, are you okay?"
"Yeah...That was...weird..."
The two keyblade wielders were a bit unsure on what they just witness but they know one thing for sure, they saw the memories of Typhon.
"We should be careful with these books."
"Yes, we should."
Subaru put away the book of Typhon before checking on the others, noticing Julius being stuck the same way he and his master were. Sora and Subaru both attempted to do something yet Anastasia managed to do the exact same thing Emilia did to snap Julius back into reality. He was distraught from what he saw yet he managed to regain his composure.
"Are you alright, Julius?"
"Yes Sora...I should be alright."
"What did you saw?"
"Balleroy Temeglyph, someone who caused trouble to Ferris, Reinhard-san, and myself."
"Hmm. I did heard about him from Reinhard but not much of what happened." Kishida said, curious to know what truly happened since Julius was familiar with the name. This prompted Subaru to be curious and attempt to read the book.
"That's odd. Nothing happened." Subaru said confused to which caused Anastasia to give her theory on what's going on.
"I believe that those we are personality connected is the key to seeing the person's memories."
"Hmm...let's test out that theory."
Subaru went and search around until he came across the book of Minerva, causing him to open the book and find himself seeing the memories of the Witch of Wrath. Sora and the group noticed this and started to check on Subaru, with Emilia and Beatrice both worried for him. There was a few minutes before finally Subaru snapped back into reality, breathing heavily which worried the group.
"You alright, my son?" Kenichi asked.
"Yeah...that was heavy..."
"Were you able to find anything to help us figure out the tower?"
"No, not really Anastasia. Only very heavy memories."
"Hm."
Anastasia went into deep thinking, having a feeling that one of these books is the key to figuring out how to solve the tower and get to the Sage. She thought for a moment before saying that Shaula might be able to help them figure out what kind of person Flugel is in order to deal with the tower much easier. This caused Subaru to turn towards Shaula to call her over to them,
"Shaula! I've got something to ask. Come here."
"Master? Aye, aye-! Coming right away!"
Shaula had left her conversation with Meili and Elsa to go towards her master, happy to hear that he wants her attention. She closed in and jumped towards Subaru's chest, charging in for a hug.
"Ma―s―ter!"
"Nope."
"Ughyah―!"
With a nimble step, Subaru dodged the incoming glomp. However, as Shaula was still going, she dove face―first onto the floor, her arms splayed across. She quickly turned to shoot a glare at him.
"Uu―, Master is super mean."
"No, no, I didn't move away because it was you, but because you were gonna crash into me full force, so my reflexes kicked in."
"So you'll let me hug you if I come at you slowly!?"
"Eh? Don't wanna, though."
"Why not! What part of me is lacking! Even though I look this glamorous! Even though I'm this bitchy!"
"You're bitchy, huh... Then that's why."
Whining at the top of her voice, Shaura boo-ed at Subaru's cold attitude. While she pouted, the two assassin sisters came around from where she had jumped. Subaru looked at the two and was surprised that they were speaking with Shaula.
"What were you three talking about?"
"Nothing too new, just wanted to talk to Shaula-Onee-san."
"Yes, it seems Meili has taken a liking to Shaula."
Subaru noticed this and just simply nodded before turning his attention to Sora, wanting to know his input on the place.
"Well, seeing that this is the trials, we might need to start moving around if we need to find the sage."
"You are right but we should also have a group here."
Sora and Subaru both stood silent for a moment before concluding who is going to stay and search the library and who is going to look around in the other floor. They decided that Rem, Ram, Anastasia, Kenichi, Naoko and Meili to stay in the library while the rest go and deal with the other trials of the Pleiades watchtower. As they were looking at each other, Anastasia turned towards Shaula to say,
"Shaula-san, you're the watchman of the Watchtower...no, of the great library Pleiades, right?"
"Eee~xactly."
"I see. Then, according to my calculation...it's four, no, five floors?"
Shaula stood silent by this, not showing any reactions which only confirmed to Anastasia that despite the girly attitude Shaula had, she was hiding some secrets. Anastasia immediately asked what the five secrets Shaula was keeping. Shaula looked at Anastasia for a moment before finally responding,
"In the first place, I wasn't really hiding anything. I just didn't say anything because I wasn't asked. I want that on paper, please."
"Just spit everything out already."
"like, for example, if Master and everyone secretly tried to get out of the Tower, I'd have to kill everyone, no mercy."
"Hmm...I don't know if you can, Master Sora is much stronger than you."
"Yoo~ou are so cruel Master! Why are you calling him your master?!"
Shaula took the chance to inspect Sora, having the chance to see why her master is addressing someone else has his master. As she inspected, Subaru wanted to get back on topic.
"Aside from that, let's return to our conversation. So, would you actually kill us?"
"I wouldn't do it because I wanted to! We're just talking about what-ifs. In the first place, I can't even go against that order. I can't even kill you in the first place, Master. I'd get killed before that even happens and it'll be over with that, so the whole order's messed up..."
"If you're really that against it, why not just...unless...wait, you're not gonna say it's a contract, right?"
After learning about contracts from Beatrice and Emilia, he knows that this is a valid question to which Sora adds in by asking,
"Are you a spirit like Beatrice?"
"No way. Not gonna stand being compared to those fluff-ball things called spirits. I absolutely refuse...Everyone's eyes are looking pretty scary suddenly!"
"That's because 70% of everyone here is related to spirits!"
Subaru spoke since he was one out of three spirit users, the other two being Emilia and Julius. Kenichi and Naoko disliked how Shaula spoke since Beatrice is an artificial spirit with Beatrice herself looking even more annoyed at Shaula. Anastasia, being possessed by scarf Echidna, is also annoyed by Shaula's comment. The only ones unrelated to spirits is Elsa, Kishida, Meili, Rem, and Ram.
"Let's just leave that as it may...anyway, what are you then? If you're not a spirit, then I don't see why you'd so desperately keep up your contract."
"What are you saying, Subaru? Even if you are not a Spirit or a Spirit User, if you make a promise, you have to keep it. Promises are important. Now, repeat after me."
"No, wait, that was my bad just now. It was just a figure of speech and..."
"Promises are important. Three times."
"Promises are important. Promise are important. Promises are important."
Kenichi and Naoko both smiled when seeing this, happy to see Emilia leading Subaru in the right path, making the two happy that one day she will be a part of their family. Sora understood where Subaru was going with, yet his wording was completely off putting. Julius was slightly annoyed by this and quickly said,
"Right now, what is important is learning more about the orders Miss Shaula had received. It's a bad habit of yours to derail the conversation. Be aware of it."
"Like all of it's my fault...Fine! That was my bad, all of it was my bad! I'll admit it was my fault, so just leave it at that, damn yo-!"
Before Subaru could finished, he received a hit in the head by Sora's keyblade, causing Shaula to be slightly angered by this until she heard the reasoning.
"Subaru, don't use foul language."
"...Sorry..."
"Wow, that's totally a big outburst, but that's just expected of Master! I'll talk."
Shaula looked at the group and cleared her throat before starting to explain.
"I humbly present that, I will now speak of the orders I was given. First, I am to never let the challenger of the Great Library Pleiades get out."
"So we are trapped here?" Ram asked.
"It's alright! There's a proper way out! As long as you properly clear the Great Library's Trial, and reach the 1st Floor, there's no problem. It's all OK."
Shaula said as she gave a thumbs up to which everyone just looked with uncertainty. Shaula continued,
"By the way, if this condition is violated, then I'll turn into a cold―blooded killing machine pretty quick, so it'll invalidate my promise with Master. I'll get in the way."
"That's got a bigger priority than my promise, huh? Kinda hurts."
"Ooo―, to think I've managed to hurt Master, I must've gotten stronger~! This is clearly an evolution! The fruits of 400 years!"
"I'm joking!"
"Me too~!"
After indulging in the fast back and forth, Shaula raised a second finger and waved around her hand and spoke,
"Continuing, well, I'm getting tired of this, so I'll rush it. First, it's forbidden to leave without completing the Trial. Second, it's forbidden to break the rules of the Trial. Third, it's forbidden to disrespect the Library. Fourth, it's forbidden to try to destroy the Tower itself. Fifth, ah―, fifth was...Oh. There's no fifth."
Sora looked at Shaula with some suspicion, having noticed how she avoided speaking about the fifth rule. Although he noticed this, he wasn't going to dwell on it for now but it is something important. The group debate on what can the fifth rule be, considering that there are five floors so there should be a fifth rule. As they debated on this, Rem interject in the conversation to say,
"Should we start searching around? We might be able to find the fifth rule if we check the tower."
Everyone noticed what Rem said and nodded, agreeing that they should move around. Subaru and Sora's group with Shaula leading them, went to the next floor while Rem and her group searched around the library.
The group went to the next floor with Sora keeping an eye on Shaula, suspicious of her. Once the group arrived at the next floor, they noticed that the room shared the same design to the previous floor before Subaru was able to solve the trial. As they noticed this, Julius looks at the center and says,
"It's not a monolith, but――― A sword."
The group observed to see if there was any traps yet Sora and Subaru were both confident that nothing bad will happen.
"Subaru! Sora!"
"Don't worry, Emilia-tan, Master Sora and I will handle this."
"Just be careful."
Subaru nodded before the two keyblade wielders approached the sword, with Emilia worried for Subaru while Elsa secretly worried for Sora's sake. As the two went to the center of the room, Subaru tried to pull the sword from the ground on his own, yet he wasn't able to.
Sora tries on his own and couldn't do it has well, which catches the group's attention. Both Sora and Subaru looked at each other and nodded before they worked together to pull out the sword, combining the strength of two strong keyblade wielders. At the moment the two pulled the sword together, the entire group heard an echo,
"Gain his forgiveness, by hand of the Fool who has reached the Heavenly Sword."
"-tch!"
The voice was louder than expected, surprising both Subaru and Sora who heard the voice the loudest out of the group. As they were looking around, the group noticed a man with simple yet long red hair that flowed down his back.
He was quite tall, a full head above Subaru. He wore not armor, but a casual crimson robe that contributed nothing in protection. From his right side down to his arm, his chest lay exposed, and his waist was bound with a white sash.
His flaming red hair reached up to the middle of his back, and his left eye was covered by a shoddy black eye-patch. Finally, the right eye that remained uncovered, was a blue reflection of an unreachable sky.
The group was stunned by this except for Sora, Elsa, and Shaula. Sora and Elsa just saw the man has someone interesting with Sora noticing a slight resemblance to Garfiel while Elsa was more curious to see the man's bowels despite knowing that she won't ever get the chance.
"Hii..."
Shaula whispered to Subaru, breaking his concentration on the man.
"Hii...hiii..."
Shaula continued to speak with fear in her voice, showing that she is very scared of the man in front of them. This was something that caught Sora and Elsa's attention, both of them preparing in the case the man attacks them.
"Gain his forgiveness, by hand of the Fool who has reached the Heavenly Sword."
Despite the frightened Shaula in sight, the voice continued repeating whose words.
This was something that threw Sora and Elsa off since something doesn't seem right while Subaru could feel a similar presence as that of a Witch.
Subaru turned towards Emilia and helped her regain focus on what is going on.
"Gain his forgiveness, by hand of the Fool who has reached the Heavenly Sword."
The man continues to say this line over and over, causing Subaru to think of a plan to get at the very least Emilia and Beatrice out of there for their safety. Just has he was thinking this, he noticed that the voice came to a swift halt suddenly.
"Heavenly sword, fool...his forgiveness...o,ooh,oooh, oh―, oh―"
"Whu-what? What what, what's gonna happen?"
"Ah, ah, aaaaaaahh―!"
"Pigyiii!"
"Dowaal!?"
Everyone was screaming for a moment before Shaula went and jumped towards Subaru, catching him off guard. Due to her enormous strength, Subaru fell to the ground with Shaula screaming in fear.
"Hyaaaaa! Mastermastermaster heeeelp! I don't wannaa! Help meee!"
"W-what's with you for the past few minutes――"
"――Shut up already! My head's already killin' me as it is! Stop shoutin'!"
Shaula went quiet yet she was on the floor, overwhelmed with fear. The man looked around and observed the group, confused and very annoyed. He had his focus on Julius before speaking,
"Hell's up, you. And what's with this place? Ya fuckin' around here, you?"
"No, we are doing nothing of the sort. We too, are of a similarly confused standing. You appeared here all of a sudden―― We cannot help but be on guard, is what I would like to convey."
"Hell's up with you. Don't be talkin' weird, you. Don't ya be talkin' like my follower, you. Ya my follower? Ya ain't, right? Since ya ain't, don't be talkin' like him, making all this shit confusing."
The man's mood kept turning sour each time Julius spoke with an expected respectful yet careful tone.
Though it was becoming clearer that the man was human, whether conversation with him could be established, was an entirely different topic.
"―― pretty lookin', hot stuff, extremely hot stuff, runt, follower, injured follower, small fry...and interestin' boy"
"Unfortunately, I am not your follower."
"Yeah, neither am I."
Kishida and Julius both responded to what the man said.
" Kah! The way ya both talked, it's just how my follower talks. Stop copyin' it."
Kishida and Julius were both extremely annoyed by this, causing the two to grab their swords yet keep it in their sheaths, controlling their anger. The man looked around again before speaking directly to Subaru.
"Oi, you. Explain what's happenin' here, you. The hell'd ya do to me, you. Don't ya be hidin' stuff, you. Get to it, you."
"Appearing out of nowhere, acting like you're hot shit... What's up with that."
"Aahn?"
The man thrust his hand into the open part of his bare chest and scratched carelessly.
Subaru, who finally raised his body, squeezed out what words he could muster and spat them at the man.
He simply glared at Subaru with his right eye, who was lying on the floor.
"Hell's with ya. Why're you sleeping, you. Ain't that a real nice place, you. Getting that hot a woman to be ya meat bed, you. Switch up with me, you."
"Sadly, with respect to the person herself, I refuse..."
Somewhat stopping his shaking feet, Subaru stood. At the same time, he pried the clinging Shaula off. It was a careless act that made her fall to the floor face-first, but there was no time to consider that.
"Anh-, anh-, aahn? What, it's you. You doin that? Fucking 'round, you?"
"...the hell yous pulling that rude shit for, you."
"Subaru."
"Sorry Master Sora, but I have to defend myself."
"Yes, but there is no need to speak with such foul language."
"...okay, I'm sorry."
The man stood silent for a moment before noticing that Sora had the sword.
"Gotcha. ――So then, let's start."
"Start? Start what?" Sora asked with a confused facial expression.
"Zip it, you. Keepin on yappin over and over, already explained while I was sleep-talkin, didn't I? Pay attention to what I'm sayin, you."
"What do you mean?"
"Gain his forgiveness, by hand of the Fool who has reached the Heavenly Sword."
While this was going on, Subaru's eyes darted around, while Emilia repeatedly whispered the sentence, word for word, to herself. Slowly, the girl started de-petrifying.
Following Julius, Kishida, and Subaru, out came Emilia and Beatrice from the stillness of time, with Shaula still unconscious and both Sora and Elsa having not been effected by this.
"Kah! That beauty over there's different from this here small fry. If I'd been alive, I'd be bedding you tonight, you... Looking close, ya real sweet, you. What's with that face. Ya real damn frizzlin', you."
"Frizz―...?"
"Hey, you! You're the guy! You're the examiner here, right?"
From looking at Emilia, a lust awakened in his eyes. Putting himself between those two, Subaru stood and pointed at the man with Starlight in his hand. The man smiled like a shark at the statement.
"――No clue. Ain't interested in some title someone's put on themselves. I'm me, you's you. Nothin' more to it than that. Ya wanna talk with me proper? Get me to move even a step from here, you."
They were the words of a man standing defenselessly, calmly. As for why he had not laughed it off, it was the very condition that needed to be fulfilled to clear the trial. Thus, it was a task worthy of being called as such.
("――Gain his forgiveness, by hand of the Fool who has reached the Heavenly Sword.")
If the man who stood in front were to be this Fool who has reached the Heavenly Sword, then the method to get it was clear. What was left was to see if that method was indeed even possible.
"Knight of the Imperial Order of the Kingdom of Lugunica, Julius Juukulius."
Before the trial began, Julius offered his name as an act of courtesy with Kishida preparing to join in should Julius fail. In response, the man's one blue eye narrowed with excitement, and brought forth an unusual sword spirit.
"Ain't got no name worth givin' ya, just a mere Stick Swinger, I am."
Julius charged at the man with everything he had until all of a sudden a bunch of random soldier and shadow heartless appear all around the room.
"Heartless? Here?"
Sora questioned while pulling out his keyblade. Subaru and the others all got themselves ready for the fight ahead.
The man looked at the group and was confused at first, surprise that their attention is on the weird looking dark creatures yet he understood when a large group of them just went on to attack.
"Ah no ya don't!"
The Stick Swinger quickly punched one of the shadow heartless, destroying it with ease before turning his attention to one of the soldier heartless. He blocked the kick with ease, feeling annoyed by the weakling he is dealing with yet he smiled when he thought of a fun idea.
"Th's gonna be fun."
The Stick Swinger grabs the heartless' leg and quickly starts swinging it around, using the soldier heartless to hit away the other heartless with enough force to destroy them.
He does this for a bit before destroying the heartless by slamming it to the ground with incredible force. As he destroyed the soldier heartless, he looked at the others and observed the way they fought.
He can tell that Sora was very experienced since he didn't struggle at all and was easily taking down the heartless.
Julius was also fighting with quite the fighting style, especially when he is using his spirits though he noticed that he was not going all out.
Subaru was proving to be quiet a warrior though not has experience like Sora despite wielding the same weapon.
Kishida was more interesting out of the boys, noticing the handicap the warrior had. Beatrice doesn't seem to be a fighter, but her magic is interesting. Emilia is also a capable fighter, one that triggers his lustful side but not as much as Elsa.
The Bowel Hunter was very interesting to the Stick Swinger, especially her body figure though her fighting style was one he can enjoy.
As the group managed to defeat all the heartless in the room, all of a sudden a barrier appeared at the two exits of the room, blocking their path.
The group looked around until they looked up, seeing that there are two Trickmaster heartless appears from the roof.
"Da hell!"
"My My, isn't this interesting."
"Great, more of these random heartless."
Subaru, Elsa, and the Stick Swinger all three spoke before watching the two Trickmaster heartless charge at them. Sora took on one of them by himself, confident that he is strong enough to easily take it down.
Elsa and Julius both charged at the other Trickmaster heartless with Emilia and Beatrice providing them cover by firing a combination of purple icicles and ice icicles.
As Emilia and Beatrice's attack were able to push the Trickmaster back, Julius and Elsa with their combined strength were able to land a powerful hit on the heartless.
As Julius and Elsa looked at the heartless to see if their combined strength was enough to destroy it yet they saw that it wasn't enough to destroy it.
Subaru noticed this and quickly used his second form before joining in. With the help of Beatrice's Murak ability, he managed to jump high enough to use all of his strength to deliver the finishing blow.
The second Subaru took down the trickmaster, Sora had also managed to defeat his trickmaster at the same time with a bit of effort. The Stick Swinger was completely surprised by how strong these warriors are, leaving him interested to face each and everyone of them.
"Let's hope that is all of them."
"They should be, the barriers managed to have disappeared."
"Well then, shall we continue with the trial?"
"Yes, let's."
The group nodded and allowed Julius to go first since he was rudely interrupted by the heartless appearing. As Julius was preparing himself for a fight, the Stick Swinger smiled at the knight before saying,
"Ya better give it yer all. I don't wanna be disappointed."
"Don't you worry, I will beat you."
Has Julius got himself into his fighting stance to face the Stick Swinger yet, he felt like he needed to alert the Stick Swinger that he should use a sword himself.
"Shouldn't you have a sword before we start this?"
"Don't ya worry, I got me Chopsticks. These chopsticks will beat ya."
Julius was surprised to hear this and quickly charged at the examiner, ready to beat this trial yet to his surprise, he was easily beaten back by his opponent. Julius looked at his opponent with surprised while seeing the condescending smile the beast had.
"Is that all ya got? Pathetic."
"Hm. Don't underestimate the finest knight of the Imperial guard."
Julius got up and quickly charged at towards the Stick Swinger, refusing to lose in such a humiliating way yet the result ended the same.
The Stick Swinger deflected the attacks without any problems before swinging his left chopstick towards Julius' sword. With just one hit, it broke which caught everyone's attention.
"Wha-?!"
"Ya lost, ya loser."
Without a second thought, the Stick Swinger easily knocked Julius towards the group with one swing of his right chopstick. Sora, Subaru, and Emilia went to check on Julius while the Stick Swinger pointed his right chopstick towards Kishida,
"You. Get over here."
Kishida noticed this and quickly had his sword on his left hand while having his hook hand on his right side ready.
The Stick Swinger looked at Kishida with interest for the knight, having paid attention to his fight against the heartless.
As Kishida was preparing himself to face the Stick Swinger, the man pointed his left chopstick directly at the knight before asking,
"What is yer name?"
"Kishida Hisafumi, a proud knight. Mind if I know your name."
"The name's Reid."
"Wait...as in Reid Astrea?"
"Yeah, that's me name."
The group paused when they heard this, with both Julius and Kishida kneeling before the man calling himself Reid Astrea. The two knights never believed that they would meet an ancestor, one has famous as Reid. The man noticed this and was annoyed, causing him to say,
"Stop that! Get up already!"
The two knights got up with Julius stepping back, still recovering his lost against Reid while Kishida prepared to take the trial next. As he was getting ready for a fight, Reid was curious to know what happened to Kishida's hand.
"Th'hell happen to yer hand?"
"Someone calling themselves the Sin Archbishop of Gluttony and his pal, the Sin Archbishop of Greed, attacked my group. I was able to pull my ally out of the way but with their odd ability, I lost my right hand."
"That sucks fer ya but ya seem to be a capable warrior. Mind going all out? I wanna see yer full offense."
Kishida nodded and without a second thought he charged at Reid, swinging his sword first before using his hook. Reid blocked every single attack, seeing Kishida has unworthy when it comes down to strength and speed compared to his yet he was still very interested.
He could tell from the way he was swinging his sword that he wasn't left-handed and that his sword itself is weaker in since it would need to be used by weaker steel in order for Kishida to swing the weapon properly with just one hand.
As for the hook hand, he can tell that Kishida is mostly using that hand for defense purposes. After having figured this out, Reid proceeded to easily push the knight back with just one hit, sending him a few feet away. Kishida got on his feet and looked with conviction in his eyes yet before the fight can continue, Reid put away his chopsticks while saying,
"Put that damn sword away. We're gonna have some fun. If ye can land a single blow with yet fist and hook, ye pass."
"...okay."
Kishida set his sword down and quickly prepared himself for a fight, seeing that the conditions for him to pass the trial. Although the conditions are much easier, he knew deep down that things just got much tougher.
There was a silence in the room before the fight began with Kishida being in the offense. Kishida with his left hand and hook hand, started to swing at Reid to land a hit yet all of his attacks were easily being dodged by Reid.
The man was unimpressed by how sloppy the attacks were, yet he did commend the knight for managing to put up some kind of fight. Although he wasn't able to land a hit, he almost did in a few occasions with a couple of surprise kicks yet the last one he attempted, Reid caught it with his hand.
"Ya got som fuckin' nerves in trying th't trick again."
Kishida smiled at this before attempting to use his other leg to kick Reid's face, catching him off guard for a second before he was able to react. He deflected off the attack before sending the knight flying towards the group with a single blow to the chest. As Kishida landed near the group, he was knocked out by the attack he received from Reid.
"Ya got som' potential. Make sure ta tell him th't."
"We will."
Subaru responded has he quickly casted Cura on his friend to heal him from all wounds. Sora and Emilia both volunteered for the trial at the same time to which Reid looked at the two before speaking,
"Ladies first."
Sora nodded and allowed Emilia to go first, having his keyblade ready just in case he needs to go next. Emilia stepped near the man with a few ice sculpture figures standing side by side with her, catching Reid's attention.
"I want to ask one thing before we start."
"Aanh? Lemme hear, frizzlin."
"I'm Emilia. Just Emilia. I don't think I can win, even if I fight you. You're reeeeally strong. I can see that but we have to pass this trial. So please, give us a way to win."
"..."
"If we manage to land one hit on you, it's our win. Let's base our match on that...can't we?"
The man stood silent for a moment, processing what he heard. After a moment, he laughed for a bit which caught the group's attention.
"Real fine stuff ya made of, can't say I hate it, you. Showed lotsa guts, sayin' all that to someone like me. Biggist idiot I've seen since Trisha, you. I've taken a liking to ya."
"So, I've passed the trial?"
"I ain't gonna treat ya that much, you! But alright. Already showed off in front of a nice lady. Gotta keep it up. Gonna turn even in my grave if I step down here. I'll make it like ya want."
"I'll pass if..."
"Ya land one hit on me, but it's gotta be a proper hit. One th't gives me damage."
Emilia nodded and quickly started the trial by sending in her ice minions that are shaped like Subaru all jumping Reid.
The Stick Swinger noticed this and quickly reacted by dodging the large group attack before striking all of them down in one hit, showing just how strong he is even though his weapons are chopsticks. Emilia created a few more ice sculptures resembling Subaru to throw at Reid before joining them in an attack.
Reid noticed this and quickly took down each of the ice cultures before turning his attention towards Emilia. The half-elf noticed this and quickly used El Huma to push Reid back, hoping to land a hit on the man.
Reid noticed this and quickly jumped back while using his chopsticks to destroy each icicle send towards him. Emilia does this for a bit before charging directly towards him. Reid noticed this and quickly dodged Emilia's attack. Emilia noticed this and realized that she let herself wide open.
"Ya wide open."
Using the chopsticks at hand, he brushed over Emilia's twin peaks in a scooping motion.
"Wh――"
Emilia was dressed in her usual white outfit, where parts of her white and smooth skin were visible. The chopsticks streaked over her chest, making her abundant swelling jump about obscenely, which made the man's vile smile deepen. The man groaned in satisfaction at the results of his obscene act.
"Good, real good stuff. But don't be gettin' mad over somethin' so small..."
"Torya!"
"Goah――!?"
Her hands crossed together above-head, encased in gloves fashioned from ice, came down on the man's head, who was busy ogling her with a vile smile. The blow landed so hard that the ice shattered, the sound of its hard impact resonating. The man yelled in pain, then dropped to the floor with his head held, and began rolling around.
"Guoooooooh! It hurts daaamnit! Wh-what the hell were ya thinkin', you!? Usually, a woman's gonna hesitate if someone does that, but ya didn't even blink! Hell's with you!?"
"――? But, you just touched my body, right? Plus, you were completely off-guard."
"Don't fuck around! The hell's with your upbringing! The hell were ya parents doin'!"
Rubbing his beaten head, Reid sat on the ground with his legs crossed, shouting out his complaints. Emilia blinked in surprise at his shout, then touched the part of her chest where the chopsticks had brushed passed,
"...Did I, say something strange?"
"Oi! Do something about this frizzlin' beauty! Get her walking out or somethin'! Small fry! Ya supposed to be attendin' to her! Make somethin' of ya-self, do it proper! It hurts, goddamnit...!"
Reid turns that anger towards Subaru, having noticed how close the boy and Emilia were.
"I-I'm in no place to be taking this from you. That aside..."
"Aaahn!?"
Despite being overwhelmed, Subaru somewhat managed to talk back to the raging man. Once he managed to swallow his own anger at how the man stretched out an obscene hand towards Emilia, he pointed to him, and spoke.
"To hell with that, you got hit!"
"――――"
"Ah! It's true! I did it! I won!"
His mouth shut when Subaru pointed it out, and in exchange, Emilia started jumping up and down. And in accordance to her feelings, flowers of ice began blooming in her immediate surroundings, as if to celebrate her own victory. Reid had declared it himself, the condition was to land a single hit on him, which had been achieved. That fact was as clear as day to everyone, and unless the man made things harder, it would be accepted.
"Well, how about it?"
Sora said this since he does not fully trust the man. From all the exchanges they had, to expect sportsmanship from him was difficult. To invalidate his loss, declare the last trial as void, and rush them with everything he had, would not be too unlikely.
"Ayeー, no helpin' it. My word's my word. This kinda defeat'd make me a laughin' stock, lecher soul be damned, but I ain't got a choice."
"Y-you'll approve ...!?" Subaru asked.
"You, the hell ya thinkin' of me. If I ain't keepin' my word 'ere, all of my posin' cool's gonna get shot, you. Gonna flip everythin' I worked on over, you. Ain't gonna be able to take a step towards women no more, ya see."
"Yeah no, with the way you lost right now, your worth was already at rock bottom..."
"Shut it, small fry! Heck, ya ain't even a proper fish, ya just a tadpole. Don't be throwin' round weight, tadpole. Anyway, that frizzlin' beauty over there wins. Ya get a pass. That's the condition. No helpin' it."
Scratching his head violently as he admitted his defeat. While it had spiraled into a situation where it was hard to tell whether those actions were sportsmanlike or unbecoming, Subaru had no intention of prying further into those matters, not when the announcement had already been made. There was a moment of silence before Reid got back his normal attitude.
"――Well, who's gonna be next?"
"Eh?"
"There's 'round, thirteen people in this tower...Your girl's the only one to get past."
"――――"
"Well, who's up to get past me next?―― Tell me, you."
Reid pointed at Subaru, curious to know if the boy will face him yet his attention turned towards Sora when the Keyblade Master volunteered.
"I'll face you next."
"Hm."
Reid looked at Sora and could tell that the boy was a lot more powerful than he looked. He got his chopsticks ready yet before their match could start, Sora asked the Stick Swinger,
"For my fight, I want to defeat you."
"Ha! Ya think you can actually take me? Cocky bastard"
Sora got himself into his fighting position, catching Reid attention. Although he dislikes Sora's confidence, he is curious to see how strong the boy is. Reid got his sticks ready and commenced the trial of the second floor by charging at him.
"Let us see what ya got!"
Sora waited for a moment before deflecting all of Reid's powerful attacks, completely surprised by how strong and fast Reid is.
Sora paid close attention to the way Reid was fighting before finally taking on the offensive side when he saw an opening.
Reid noticed Sora's keyblade heading towards him swiftly, causing him to quickly try to break the weapon the same way he did to Julius' sword yet the moment he did this, the two clashed for a moment with equal strength.
'Th's kid ain't like th'others...Th's'll be very fun!'
Reid had a smile in his face, excited to be facing a worthy warrior for him.
Reid quickly gained some distance from Sora before getting into his serious fighting stance, wanting to show that he is ready to fight seriously.
Sora noticed this and smiled, feeling the same excitement he has when he is facing Reinhard. The two warriors waited for a moment before charging at each other, both of them excited to see how this battle went. As Sora and Reid were clashing weapons with Reid taking the advantage, the group watched has Sora showed how skilled he is.
"My My Sora Dear, you always impress me."
"Yup, that's Master Sora for you. Always proving to be the strongest of the group."
"He is very strong."
"He sure is, Emilia-tan...(One day I will reach that strength too.)"
Subaru smiled has all he can think about now is how strong he wants to get, especially when he is able to see how skilled of a fighter his master is. Julius and Kishida both managed to recover and managed to catch a bit of the fight, seeing just how outclassed they really are when they see Reid going all out.
"I can't say that I'm surprised, I realized that Reid-sama is way superior in strength but not by this much."
"You are right but what can you expect Kishida-san, it is the first Sword Saint we are talking about. One of three that fought off and sealed the Witch of Envy."
Kishida and Julius both looked at how skilled Reid is, causing Kishida to be more motivated to reach such crazy feats while Julius looked down in shame, feeling disappointed that his current skills were meaningless compared to Kishida.
He knows that the knight next to him is at a disadvantage yet somehow he was able to last longer than him. He turned his attention towards his shattered sword, causing him to mumble,
"If I bend my knee and lose my sword, what is left for me?"
Kishida noticed this even though Julius was whispering it, causing him for a second to feel bad before both their attentions were taken when they heard Reid say,
"Yer one hell of a fighter! Th'Best I've ever seen!"
"Thanks!"
Sora knew that this compliment was sincere since Reid shares a similar personality to Garfiel, making it slightly easy for the Keyblade Master to predict what is the first Sword Saint's next attack. As the fight got more and more intense, eventually Sora found the perfect moment to land a powerful blow.
He swung his keyblade fast enough to avoid being deflected by Reid's left chopstick, allowing his weapon to connect with the man's chest area. Once it connected, Sora put every bit of force into the hit, allowing him to send Reid flying across the room.
The group was shocked by this with Reid feeling pain in his chest and on his back the moment he lands on the floor on his back side.
"Fuck! Th't hurt!"
Reid slowly got himself up, seeing that Sora is still standing strong as if he wasn't using his full power. This got him annoyed since he doesn't like people hiding their real strength, making it seem like he isn't even worth fighting at full strength.
"Hey, you! Why're ya hidin' yer full power?! Do ya think I'm weak?!"
"What do you mean?"
"Don't play dumb! I know yer hidin' yer true power! Show me!"
Sora was completely confused by this at the moment before concluding that Reid could sense the power he can use with the keyblade. Sora looked at Kingdom Key and debated on whether he should show his strongest form or not.
As he was thinking this, he recalled the reason why he wanted to rely on his original keyblade. Sora stood silent for a moment before smiling, catching the attention of Reid.
"What're ya smiling for?"
"Just wanting to show you how my normal strength is my most powerful self. I have my friends by my side, those who are here and those who are far away. They give me the strength I need to push through. That is what gives me my strength."
"Tsk. What kinda power's th't?!"
"One that I have gained in winning this match."
Sora was confident that he won this fight, not wanting to continue a fight that could lead towards dangerous levels. Reid looked annoyed at Sora yet he nodded with respect, understanding that friendship is the motivation that gives the Keyblade Master his strength.
"Like hot stuff there, ya pass as well."
Subaru approached his master to high five him, always proud to see him being able to defeat such a skilled warrior. As he gives a high five, Sora turns towards the group to tell them that they should get moving to the next floor. Reid caught this and quickly said,
"Hold up! Only the kid and hot stuff can move on. Y'all still need to beat me."
"What do you mean?" Kishida asked.
"Only one's to continue'r th'ones who passed."
The group noticed this and quickly realized how difficult it'll be, considering that Reid is a lot stronger than they expected. The group talk to each other about this before deciding to return back to the library to inform the others.
This annoys Reid since he wanted to fight some more. Just as he was going to say something aggressive, Kishida turns towards him and asks,
"Mind if you train me for a bit?"
"Aaah?"
"You are the legendary Sword Saint, the one who helped the sage and the dragon seal the witch. I want to be a better knight, a better warrior to protect my friends and my kingdom, so I ask if you can train me."
"Ya wish to be train by me? Ha! Don't make me laugh."
"Hmm. Alright."
Kishida started to walk away which caused Reid to quickly backtrack until he realized that he was tricked. Since he reacted in a specific way, he basically showed that he wants to train the knight.
"You fuckin' prick. Ya got me to change my mind. I'm pretty impressed. Aight, I'll train ya."
Kishida smiled at this and quickly headed towards Reid's direction but before that, he turned towards Julius to know if he wants to join them. Julius contemplated this idea until he responded with,
"I have to go check on Anastasia-sama, I am here knight after all."
"Ya should return to yer lady, that's what a man would do. But yer still a loser."
"..."
Julius stood silent for a moment before just joining the group in heading back downstairs with Emilia carrying a knocked-out Shaula. As the group was leaving, Reid was curious on one thing.
"Why do ya really wanna get stronger?"
"Well...considering that I'm in a disadvantage, I need to get stronger."
"I see. Well know that this doesn't count as the trial. Got it?"
"Understood."
Kishida got his sword ready for battle with Reid getting his chopsticks prepared for combat, ready to see how far he can take his new apprentice.
As Kishida and Reid began their training, the group returned to the library to see Rem and her group all looking around at books. As this was going on, Subaru had noticed Patrasche and Frufoo there as well. He went to pet the two before turning towards Ram to let her know that Sora and Emilia completed the second floor's trial.
"As expected, Emilia-sama and Sora-sama showing more competence than you, Barusu."
"What?! I'm the one who solved this room's trial!"
"Yes, a very basic trial."
"Grr."
Subaru was annoyed by this yet he knew that he couldn't stay like this when he noticed this parents approaching him. As the entire group reunited, Elsa takes the moment to explain everything that had happened.
"It seems like we all have to beat that guy to go together to the next trial, correct?" Naoko asked.
"Yes. Emilia-sama and Sora Dear showed us that he has two weaknesses. Women and ego."
"Ego?"
"As in he is a bit cocky, dad."
Kenichi takes a moment to think on what Elsa and his son said, seeing that this opponent can be beaten though he would need to be smart when he takes on the second floor trial. As the group decides on what they should do next, they realize that they are a bit hungry.
Having packed food for days with the assistance of Petra and Frederica, Subaru and Sora go down to the very first floor to head towards the carriage containing the food with Kenichi, Elsa, Meili, and Naoko joining them to help the two boys carry all the food.
The group waited an hour before Sora and his group arrived with food. As they start setting up, Shaula wakes up with her stomach grumbling.
"Maaaa~ster! I'm hungry!"
"Seriously?"
Subaru was slightly annoyed by this which caused some of the group members to chuckle at this, finding it slightly funny. The group together set up the food with Meili and Elsa taking care of Shaula, wanting to learn more about her.
As the group set up the food, they all had their own meals with Naoko, Rem, and Ram overseeing this before eating themselves. During dinner, both Sora and Subaru managed to speak in private to discuss the plan.
"Since we are all going to rest up, I think this is a good opportunity for us to look around the library for clues. What do you think?"
"Why not invite Beatrice? She might be able to help us."
"True but I don't want something like what happened to us with Typhon's book to happen to her. Besides, you and I are capable of doing this on our own."
Sora crossed his arms and thought for a moment about this, trying to see if this really is a good idea.
They already know the dangers of finding a book of someone you are connected to yet they do need to find something that'll help the people of Pristella city, Julius' situation and Rem's memories.
These thoughts were enough to convince Sora that they should read the books once everyone has gone to sleep. Before they returned to the group, Subaru had something on his mind that he wanted to confirm.
"Master Sora, what do you remember of the tea party?"
"Huh?"
"Back in the Sanctuary...do you remember what happened there?"
Sora crosses his arms and closes his eyes to think deeply on what happened back in Echidna's world. He recalls that Satella had asked for his help and that in the dream world, Subaru was fighting him due to his suffering though he was missing some context. He knows that he was able to give Subaru a pep talk but he isn't sure what.
"I remember a few things such as the witches and your outburst, but I don't remember what we talked about."
Sora continued to ponder in it yet Subaru had quickly changed the subject to something else, knowing that it is extremely dangerous if his master found out about his Return by death ability. He quickly started to ask about the fight with Reid.
"Why didn't you show him that transformation you used on Elsa back in the loot house?"
"That...isn't something I should use lightly. If I had went all out, it could've caused a lot of damage, I also would pass out from all the energy that formchange takes out of me."
"Isn't there a way to deal with the stamina drain?"
"At the moment, no. But even if there was, I would still not do it."
"Wait, why not?" Subaru asked in a curious tone of voice.
"Because, that is not where my true strength lies. My friends are my power. You all are the reason I'm still standing up. You all and my friends from Destiny islands, Traverse Town, Hollow Bastion, and all the other worlds. You all keep me from giving up."
Subaru looked at his master and slowly started to understand something, the reason to keep on moving forward. Back in his hometown in japan, he had given up because he had no motivation yet ever since he came to this world, he had gained many reasons to keep on fighting.
Eventually he gained a reason to live and not just simply die to achieve a perfect future. With this in mind, he nods at what his master had said before the two waited until night time hit with almost everyone in the group having gone to sleep.
Subaru, Sora, and Beatrice all three volunteered to stay up and be on guard while the rest went to sleep. As the three were up, the two keyblade wielders waited until Beatrice had gone to sleep before they head towards the library on their own.
Little did the two know that Elsa had been watching from a distance, having just got up from a nightmare she was having only to see the two keyblade wielders heading off into the library.
"Sora dear...what are you and your apprentice up to?"
Sora and Subaru had both entered the library and quickly split up to look for a book that could help them in finding out how to beat the trials of the Watchtower or how to reverse the effects of Gluttony. As the two were searching around, Sora had found the book of Reid.
This caught him off guard since Reid was on the second floor, still training Kishida. As Sora takes a closer look of the book, Subaru had noticed the books of Saix, Luxord, and Vanitas.
"Hm. I wonder..."
Subaru looked at Vanitas' book before opening it, curious to know if it will even work. The second he looked at the contents of the book, he ended up being send into the book's memories. As he was all of a sudden he was sent to an unknown place; he looked around to notice that there are two people in a desert looking place.
He looked at the two and was confused for a moment since he doesn't see Vanitas around. All he noticed was Xehanort watching over a boy who also possesses the power of the keyblade.
A blonde spiky haired boy that wore a jacket that was reminiscent of the Yin and Yang symbol.
The collar of the jacket is red and pleated, underneath this he wears what appears to be a grey vest with a single button and several white, angular patterns on it. He also wears a third layer under this in the form of a plain, high-necked, black shirt.
He also has a chunk of dull green and blue armor on his midsection that appears to be under his vest, and another piece of armor on his left shoulder. This caught Subaru's attention yet what he also noticed was how there were heartless surrounding this boy.
"Please don't do this, Master. I'm not strong enough."
Subaru was taken aback from this, seeing just how cruel of a master the old man was, making him grateful for having Sora as his master. Subaru looks at Xehanort just as he starts to speak,
"No. It is because you trying to hold it in. Let the dark impulses waken in the put of your heart. Release them, here and now! Sharpen your fear into rage."
Subaru notices that more heartless started to appear, causing him to question on how Vanitas is connected to this. As this was in his mind, he heard Xehanort continue to speak,
"You must! If you do not let the storm within you run its course, it will wipe you from the face of the world, make no mistake! Do it. Embrace the darkness. Produce for your Master the X-blade!"
Just as Xehanort finishes saying this, the heartless start attacking blond boy yet he did nothing. Subaru's instinct was to run and help yet he knew that he couldn't, being forced to watch.
As he saw the heartless attack, everything went dark before seeing Xehanort approaching the boy's body. As he was close by, Xehanort looked at the boy with disappointment which angered Subaru.
"Really? You would rather die than use the power? Feckless neophyte."
Xehanort moves the boy's body with his foot, having him facing the sky.
"If I must...I will extract the darkness from within you myself."
Xehanort pulls out his keyblade and with both his hands he points the weapon towards the boy's before a dark beam fired.
The beam hits the blond boy in the chest, causing it to glow for a moment before a ball fired out of his heart.
As this happens, a darkness surrounds the ball until eventually it is revealed to show Vanitas.
'So this...is his origin?'
Subaru thought long and hard on this while watching the Organization member land on the ground while Subaru noticed the boy's eyes suddenly look dead. This definitely caughtSubaru's attention, feeling bad for him.
'Poor kid...I'm sorry for what that bastard did to you.'
As Subaru's mind was speaking towards the blond boy, Xehanort begins to speak to Vanitas.
"Empty creature from Ventus riven...to you, the name Vanitas shall be given."
"Yes, Master."
'Ventus...so that is the boy's name...'
The scene suddenly changed to a couple of training sessions between Vanitas and Xehanort, seeing how the power of darkness being used.
After a while, Vanitas observes Ventus and his two friends during their Mark of Mastery. This got Subaru's attention since he is seeing another version of the Mark of Mastery.
'Hm. This doesn't seem challenging, facing random balls compared to what Master Sora dealt with.'
As he notices the male with brown hair and the female with blue hair about to start their mark of mastery, Subaru noticed Xehanort tampering with the test which forced Ventus to join in and help.
Eventually the memories started to speed up in Subaru's mind, seeing more and more of Vanitas' memories until finally he was back in his world, the last thing was witnessing the battle between Xehanort, the boy named Terra, the girl named Aqua, Ventus, and Vanitas.
Having seen that Vanitas had lost against Ventus in the station of awakening and against Aqua in the outside world.