Chapter 81: The past friendship
Over four hundred years ago:
Two people in dark robes appear from a corridor of darkness in the middle of a forest, one unfamiliar to them.
"Where are we?" The slightly shorter one of the two asked as he was a bit curious what the other was planning. The other person looked at their ally for a moment before looking around the forest, having an interested facial expression hidden under his hood.
This unknown person started to walk forward as he looked around with interest. The other unknown person was just surprised that his companion just ignored him. This one turned towards the corridor of darkness, noticing that it closed.
As this happened, the unknown person turned back towards his companion and quickly went to catch up with them while shouting,
"Wait up, Master!"
The Master noticed what his companion had said, prompting him to respond with,
"Well slowpoke, you should hurry up. There's so much to explore." As the Master said this, he started to run, prompting his apprentice to at first be caught off guard before following the master while shouting,
"Hey! Don't leave me behind!"
As the apprentice started to catch up, the master looked around the forest with deep interest, impressed by the discover they have found. The apprentice catches up and prepares to question the master more only for the master to start speaking:
"Do you know where we are?"
"...not really. That's what I've been wanting to know."
"Well...we are lost."
"What?!" The apprentice said in shock as his expression was one of concern. The master laughed when he saw this expression.
"Hahaha...I'm just messing with you." The apprentice sighed when he heard this, seeing that the master was up to his childish tricks once again. The master took a moment to let the laughter in him out before properly answering the question he had asked his apprentice, "We are in a very special world."
"Special? As in like a new world?" The apprentice asked, figuring that this world is just new unlike the others they had explored. The master shook their head as they responded to the question.
"Not quite. You are right that it's a new world but it's nothing like the other you and the others have seen."
"How so?" The apprentice was curious on what the master was meaning by this world being nothing like the others. The master could sense that the apprentice was curious to learn more. Before the master started explaining, he sensed a strong presence nearby.
"Pausing on this conversation for a moment..." As the master said this, they started to follow the strong presence with No Name Keyblade being summoned.
The apprentice stood silent for a moment, a bit caught off guard that the master would just pull out a keyblade when there isn't any danger he can sense nearby.
The apprentice would eventually follow their master towards the direction of the strong presence.
The two walked cautiously towards the strong presence the master was sensing, they eventually spotted a woman with long white hair and black attire.
Master and Apprentice observed as this woman entered a house near a village, causing the two to be curious what the woman's up to.
The apprentice prepares to run towards the house only for the master to grab the apprentice's arm while saying,
"Hold your horses there. Going in like that would give off the wrong impression, don't you think? Also, we still need to keep the world order even if this world is not in the realm of reality."
"Understood Master, I'm sorry..." The apprentice apologized, seeing that he was acting to rash only to suddenly pause. "Wait...not in the realm of reality?"
"I'll explain it later, for now we watch."
The apprentice nodded at the master's words as they observed for a couple of minutes before noticing the woman leaving the house with a young man. This caused the two to be curious on what the woman was up to, prompting them to follow for a bit.
As they were following with caution, the apprentice accidently trips to the ground which causes enough noise to catch the woman and the young man's attention.
"Hm? Who's there?" The young man spoke as he sounded completely on the defensive while the woman looked at the master and apprentice's direction. The master paused for a moment before turning towards their apprentice.
"Man, you really wouldn't make it as a ninja with all the noise you are making."
"...my bad..."
The apprentice said as they were getting up.
The master shakes his head in disappointment before appearing to the woman and the young man.
The young man was still on the defensive while the woman looked with a curious facial expression.
As the master and apprentice were approaching the two, they felt a sudden odd feeling.
'Hm? Well this isn't right.' The Master had an odd sensation though it wasn't anything threatening to him.
The apprentice though felt a strong wave of nausea, making him feel like throwing up. Despite this feeling, he had a strong will to keep his composure in check.
The woman noticed this which caused her interest to increase even more than before.
"...who are you two? What's with the weapon you're holding?"
The master looked at the keyblade he was holding for a moment before turning back at the two people of the world.
"I could ask you as the same question. You have a very strange power, lady."
"Strange?" The woman questioned with an interested tone of voice, having a feeling that she might gain some new knowledge by the two unknown people in front of her.
The apprentice approached the young man, viewing him as someone to befriend.
"What's your name?"
"...Roswaal. Roswaal A Mathers"
"Ah, interesting name. Mine's Luxu. Nice to meet you."
Roswaal looked at the person calling themselves Luxu, not trusting this person at first since he's hiding his identity from him and from the woman that saved his life. Luxu put his hand out, wanting to make a good expression to someone from a new world.
Roswaal wanting to look good in front of the woman next to them, prompting him to shake Luxu's hand. As this happened, the master approached the woman as he asked,
"And mind if I ask, who are you? You have this odd presence..."
The woman looked with a blank facial expression before responding in a calm and polite manner,
"I'm an evil witch, one who still shows kindness, at least occasionally. And who might you be?"
"You could say that I'm a master among masters."
The master responded confidently, wanting to keep things vague. This interested the evil witch, wanting to learn more of this person and of the other one as well.
'How very interesting.'
"Goa!"
"Fira!"
Luxu and Roswaal shouted as they shot two different variations of the same ability towards each other. As their attacks connected, they cancelled themselves out, prompting the two to charge at each other.
Luxu using the No Name keyblade swung once Roswaal was within range yet the magician was able to dodge the attack. Once he avoided the attack, he tried to land a kick on Luxu's stomach area only for the keyblade wielder to quickly teleport the keyblade from his right hand to his left in order to block it.
"Too close!"
"..."
Roswaal was a little annoyed by this sudden defense, yet he was still confident that he could win the fight. He flew a few feet away from Luxu as he prepared to use three-fold magic; Luxu was impressed by this.
'I see, so he's finally able to pull that off.'
Luxu smiled underneath his hood has he prepared to block Roswaal's attacks. The magician smiled as he threw his attack at his opponent, confident that it'll get him the win.
As the attack was closing in on Luxu's position, he smiled underneath his hood in confidence as he pointed the No Name keyblade at the fireballs headed towards him. As he did this, the tip of the keyblade started to glow. While the keyblade started doing this, Luxu whispered,
"Blizzard."
A powerful surge of energy was created before that energy made itself into ice. This ice was strong enough to blow away Roswaal's attack while also managing to reach the magician's position.
"What?"
The magician moved his arms up to try and block the attack. As he felt an intense cold on both his shoulders, he quickly summoned some fire out in order to feel warmth once again before throwing it towards Luxu's direction. The keyblade wielder smiled as he easily deflected away the attack with a simple hit from the back of his hand.
"Is that really the best you have, Ros?
"Heh, don't think this battle is over just yet."
He moved his hands to create mana once again, showing that he was holding back his true strength by unleashing six-fold magic.
"Wow...that's actually impressive."
"Yes. I appreciate the compliment."
'I've worked this hard for the sake of my teacher!'
As Roswaal thought this, he threw his six-fold magic towards the keyblade wielder, prompting him to quickly attempt to counter the attack similar to before. He pointed the keyblade towards the six-fold magic making its way towards him before firing another Blizzard attack.
Unlike last time though, the fire based attack managed to push through the cold. Luxu was shocked to see this and tried to block the attack yet two fireballs landed on his chest area, causing an explosion.
This caused the keyblade wielder to be sent flying onto the lake. As he crashed into the water, Roswaal flew towards the ground as he confidently said,
"It seems like I win this time."
As the magician was confident in taking the win in this training session, Luxu jumped out of the water with electricity circulating around the No Name keyblade. Roswaal figured that this fight was going to take longer than expected, prompting him to prepare himself for whatever his opponent was going to throw at him.
The keyblade wielder started to throw lightning at Roswaal, prompting Roswaal to respond to this by not only dodging the attack but attempting to get closer to his opponent.
"Thundera!"
As Luxu shouted this while pointing the keyblade towards the sky, a strong lightning bolt makes its way towards Roswaal's position with incredibly speed. The magician noticed this and just barely managed to dodge the attack.
This gave Luxu an opening to strike at his opponent, just before he could land a blow, Roswaal was able to just barely dodge this attack while also attempting to land a punch of his very own.
As this punch was able to connect to the top of Luxu's head, the keyblade wielder also managed to land a blow of his own to the magician.
Roswaal felt a strong hit to the side of him. This attack was strong enough to send him flying into the lake as well, causing his entire uniform to be completely soaked.
"That's what you get for getting my entire coat wet!"
A few bubbles were appearing from the water before Roswaal emerge with some anger in his face, hating that his favorite attire is just soaked.
"Alright then...allow me to repay you for messing with my favorite attire."
Roswaal started to create a powerful mana with both his hands together, prompting Luxu to point his keyblade at the magician. As he does this, the keyblade began to create a small circle of energy.
"Get ready to lose!"
Both Roswaal and Luxu spoke in unison, each of them confident that their attack will get them the win. Just as they were about to send their attack at the other, a voice spoke out to the two,
"I wouldn't do that if I were you. I don't want anything getting destroyed in this little skirmish."
Roswaal and Luxu both turned towards the voice to see that it was Echidna, the Witch of Greed. With her was a child with pale cream blonde hair is worn long and tied into frilly vertical drill-shaped twin tails known as Beatrice.
"Teacher!" Roswaal was happy to see his beloved teacher, changing his attitude from a confident magician in a middle of a battle into one of an eager student ready to learn from their master.
Luxu couldn't help but see a bit of himself and the other foretellers to the Master of Masters when they are on his presence. He lowered his keyblade as he started to approach the Witch of Greed while thinking back on one of the things his master had told him.
("When darkness strikes at dawn and the lifeboat departs, this world will have fulfilled its purpose. If that happens, you have to see it through to the end, and take a corridor to a new world as fast as you can.")
Luxu looks down with agony, having followed the orders of his master to the letter, feeling extreme guilt.
As he felt guilt, he looked up towards Echidna's direction, feeling somewhat good that the witch can't see his face at the moment since it's hidden underneath his hood.
Echidna looked at the two with a serious facial expression, prompting Luxu to say,
"Sorry about that, I guess we were having a bit of fun and didn't realize that we were about to cause a mess."
"Yes teacher, please forgive us."
Roswaal bowed his head towards his teacher, catching Echidna's attention. Luxu had a small smile when seeing this, finding it amusing before waiting for Echinda's reaction or response. The Witch of Greed looked at the two before shaking her head.
"My goodness. You two can be a handful."
"Hehehe."
Roswaal continued to bow while Luxu chuckled a bit by the comment the Witch of Greed had said. Echidna just shake her head again before smiling at the two. She turned her attention towards the keyblade wielder.
"How long do you plan to stay this time, Luxu?"
"Unsure...but probably a few more days."
"Well you are welcome to stay as long as you need. If it helps your stay, you can always talk about that weapon of yours to pass the time." Echidna spoke calmly, still very curious of the weapon. Luxu noticed this which prompted him to quickly respond with,
"Nice try Echidna but I'm still not telling you anything."
"Hm. You know, eventually I will convince you."
"Ha, we will see. But aside from that, I do appreciate you letting me stay." Luxu spoke with a respectful tone. Echidna only smiled at the keyblade wielder while Roswaal asked his friend,
"Do you require new clothing while your coat dries up?"
"Yeah...cause it's your fault."
"You also ruined my attire." Roswaal remarked. This caused Luxu to laugh a bit before responding,
"You started it."
The two felt ready to continue their training session. Echidna couldn't help but enjoy this, finding her apprentice and the keyblade wielder's friendly rivalry rather interesting.
'Seems like Roswaal as found a friend indeed, someone who can relate to him. Hm. How very interesting.'
Echidna had noticed that although her apprentice was eager to be around her, she has noted that he enjoys hanging out with Luxu.
Despite the two not hanging out as much due to the Master of Masters having Luxu only come to her place from brief time to time, since he's recent arrival, their friendly rivalry had progressed.
Roswaal looked at Beatrice, having noticed her next to Echidna.
"Hello Betty, how are you doing?"
"Okay, I suppose." Beatrice spoke with a serious and blank tone, something Roswaal noticed.
"So cold. Are you sure you're okay?" Roswaal feign being hurt by Beatrice's attitude which annoyed her.
"Yes, in fact!"
"Now Beatrice, that's no way to act. I had thought Guese taught you better...perhaps I should calm him—"
"No No, I'll behave! Please don't call him."
As Beatrice said this with concern, Luxu and Roswaal laughed since they always find this side of Beatrice quite entertaining and fun. Echidna just smiled at her before turning her attention back at Luxu and Roswaal.
"You two should get change." She suggested, not wanting her apprentice or her guest to get sick. The two nodded and went to their respective rooms to change into different attires.
Roswaal managed to have a spare of his favorite attire all the while Luxu changed out into more comfortable clothing given to him by the Witch of Greed herself. As he was in new attire, he looked at his coat, the same one his master would also wear. Looking at the coat brought back more memories of his conversation with his master.
("Haven't I told you? There's no way for us to win against the darkness. That's why we needed to use the time we had to get all those Keyblade wielders...ready to pass the torch to the next generation. This world exists to nurture the Dandelions, our little seeds of light, so they can be sown into the future, where they CAN stop the darkness. Then, the sun will finally set on this duskless dawn...And our plan will have succeeded at last.")
("...I'll get started then.")
'...a plan that sacrifices so many innocent lives...just to beat darkness once and for all...'
Luxu was completely conflicted by such things. He does believe his master that they can defeat darkness with the plan he had laid out...the only issue he really takes is that it requires innocent people to die for this sake.
'If only there was a way for all of us to have survived...damn that darkness.'
Having watched all of his comrades get killed in a war all thanks to the entity known as Darkness, he holds a very strong hatred towards Darkness. He moved his right hand forward as he prepared to summon No Name until he heard a knock on the door.
"Luxu, you done changing?"
"Hm?" Luxu heard the voice, noticing that it was Roswaal. "I'll be out in a moment."
As Luxu said this, he looked around in hopes of finding mask of sorts or something that could conceal his face, wishing it to remain hidden. As he looked and looked, he eventually found some bandages he can use. He quickly wrapped them around his facial areas, leaving only his hair sticking out and his eyes visible.
'...can't do much about that but I'm fine with the rest.'
Once satisfied with the look, he opens the door. Roswaal was waiting though the moment he turned to greet his friend and rival, he saw that he was covering his face.
"...okay."
"What?"
"...nothing, I didn't expect your hair to be that color." Roswaal spoke with an interested tone. This caused Luxu to question that comment.
"What does that supposed to mean?"
"Oh nothing. Come on, let's not keep the others waiting."
Roswaal turned around and led the way, leaving Luxu a tad bit annoyed before following his rival down the hallway. During this walk, Roswaal started speaking in a more serious yet concern voice,
"Are you okay, Luxu?"
"Hm? Yes. Why do you ask?" Luxu questioned, curious on what brought on this concern from the magician in training. Roswaal observed the way Luxu was speaking, wanting to see if he can detect if he's telling the truth or hiding his actual feelings. After a moment, he closed his eyes while continuing to walk before responding to Luxu's question.
"Ever since your latest arrival, you seem a bit distressed."
"How so?" Luxu was curious, hoping that his friend doesn't realize that at the moment he's under extreme stress, especially after watching so many people die. Roswaal responded,
"You usually seem quiet when speaking at times and also very enthusiastic in talking about your friends but since you got here this time, you have been silent about them. Did something happen? Did you got in some fight?"
'Sort of...'
Luxu thought this as he went back in thinking about how his conversation with Ava went.
("Us over the world? There's no way!")
('It's the truth...' Luxu thought to himself as he could see that Ava was in disbelief by what he told her.)
("Luxu...you're just making your own use of the Master's intentions." Ava pulls out here keyblade as she continues. "There's no way the Master would want something like that!")
Luxu remembered this conversation and what happened afterward, watching Ava going for an attack as he protects himself. He takes a deep breath before responding to Roswaal's question with,
"They all got into an argument...things should be better by now."
Luxu said this with a blank tone of voice, trying to keep things to himself. Roswaal picked up on it, feeling that he's telling the truth but not the full truth.
This response prompted Roswaal to remain silent, feeling that the subject might be something he can't fully help with.
After a few minutes of walking around in silence, they arrive to a living room of sorts where Beatrice and another girl were siting, chatting.
"Hm? Oh. It's you two."
"Good to see you too, Betty." Roswaal spoke in a gentleman like manner. He turned towards the other girl, having noticed her presence. "Ryuzu, it's good to see you."
"Good to see you too, Roswaal-sama."
Ryuzu bowed as she said this. After she did this, she turned her attention towards Luxu, leaving her silent and slightly nervous since she wasn't sure who this was. Beatrice immediately was able to tell that its Luxu. She just gave him a disgusted look before making a comment on his look,
"Why do you look so disgusting, I suppose?"
"It doesn't look that bad." Luxu reclaimed, defending his choice to wear bandages over his face. Beatrice raised an eyebrow before shaking her head with disappointment. Ryuzu remained silent since she didn't know what to say.
Luxu stood silent for a brief moment before turning his attention towards the exit of the building. As he attempted to leave, Roswaal looked at him with concern.
"Aren't you going to join us?"
"I will...I just need some space. At least for a moment."
"...okay."
Roswaal would want to chase after his friend yet he understood that he wanted some space. Beatrice had also noticed this along with Ryuzu. Ryuzu wanted to check up on Luxu yet she was stopped by Beatrice.
"No. Leave him be."
"Oh. I'm sorry, I just—"
"It's okay Ryuzu, he just needs some time on his own." Roswaal said as he wanted to reassure the pink haired girl.
"Oh. Did something happen, Roswaal-sama?" Ryuzu asked curiously with a hint of concern. Roswaal kept a confident facial expression yet deep down, he was deeply concern for his friend's sake. He turned towards the direction his friend had gone off to while responding to Ryuzu's question,
"Not sure but for now let's just give him some space."
"Okay."
Ryuzu looked at the direction Luxu went with concern before returning to her seat. Roswaal also looked with concern, but he knew that there isn't much they can do right now.
Luxu stepped outside as he looked up at the sky, thinking back of what happened at the end of the Keyblade War. He witnessed so many innocent keyblade wielders perish all because of the Master of Masters's plan. The five union leaders, his friends, had turned on each other and being slain in the war.
("Is it really necessary for the Unions to betray each other? Is the War the only way?")
("It is. I used the passage in the Book about the traitor...to plant doubt inside all of you for darkness to feed on. For them to take the bait, we all need to harbor true, real emotions. And when emotions grow and clash, they'll get stronger, and eventually the seven shadows will try to take over our hearts.")
"Something on your mind?"
"Hm?"
Luxu looked at the voice, noticing that it was Echidna.
"Oh...um...yeah."
"You know, you could talk about what's troubling you?" She said in a kind tone, something unnatural for an 'evil witch' in Luxu's perspective.
"It's fine. It isn't anything big." The keyblade wielder spoke in a calm manner, wanting to get Echidna to not know more yet the Witch of Greed was able to see through this lie.
"Sometimes I always wonder, why do people lie to themselves when they are not in the right state of mind?" Witch of Greed spoke in a more curious tone. This caught Luxu's attention.
"What do you mean?"
"It's easy to lie to people about how one truly feels but in order to do something like that, you must also believe that lie yourself. If you aren't certain of what you are lying, people will see through you."
"..." Luxu was silent when he heard this, understanding the advice the Witch of Greed was giving him. As he was taking into consideration what Echidna had told him, this eventually caused him to have a question. A question he asked the Witch of Greed,
"Are you always lying about what you are feeling then?"
"Hm." Echidna had a blank facial expression, not having expect a question like that though her curiosity prompted a response:
"That's a very interesting question."
As Echidna said this, Luxu figured that he should rephrase his question into something he's more curious on.
"Let me ask this, what would you do to accomplish a goal you want?"
"A goal I want?" Echidna re-asked the question before pondering on said question for a moment. It only took her a few seconds before responding with,
"For the sake of knowledge, wisdom, I'll do anything."
"For...knowledge? Aren't you extremely intelligent?"
"Just because I'm intelligent doesn't mean I can't learn more. There's so many things I probably don't know...such as what that weapon of yours."
"I'm still not telling you, Echidna-sama." Luxu said respectively yet a bit assertive, wanting to make it clear to the Witch of Greed that the information he knows specifically won't be said. Echidna couldn't help but feel her curiosity burning even more each time she gets turned down to more information that she isn't aware of.
Before she could try to convince Luxu to spill more about the weapon he wields or the place he came from, the keyblade wielder had a change of tone when he asked:
"Is the box safe?"
"Oh. Yes. I made sure to keep it safe exactly as you instructed."
"You didn't look inside, right?" Luxu asked in a slightly sinister tone. Echidna noted the switch of tone, prompting her more powerful aura to start coming out.
"Now Now, we are acquaintances. I wouldn't be shameless to open the box after you told me the that it's important for the box to stay closed. Threatening a witch is not wise."
As she finished speaking, Luxu felt the effects of Echidna's powerful aura. This helped snap him from the serious tone he was in, prompting him to start apologizing.
"Sorry...it's just that I wanted to make sure you wouldn't open the box."
"As I told you, I wouldn't be so rude to open a box that's important to you. Though I would like to know what's in the box." Echidna spoke in a friendly manner, managing to lower her dangerous aura. Luxu chuckled as he saw just how curious the Witch of Greed was in regards to his master's weapon, the box, and the place he came from. He looked up at the sky as he began to speak in a calm and friendly gesture,
"Still can't tell you, Echidna-sama."
Echidna figured this would've been the answer to her question, seeing how defensive the boy in front of her gets when involving the box.
"Oh well. I'll find out someday." As Echidna said this, her and the keyblade wielder could hear Beatrice's voice getting loud.
"Hm. I wonder what's going on in there?" Luxu questioned, finding it a bit curious on what's caused Beatrice to get all worked up.
"Well, let's go find out."
Once Echidna finished her sentence, she opened the door in a calm manner which caught Roswaal, Ryuzu, and Beatrice's attention.
"Oh."
"Teacher!" Roswaal spoke once again as an eager student, causing Luxu to smile, always finding that side of Roswaal amusing.
"All three of you are here?" Echidna asked, finding it somewhat rare to see Roswaal, Beatrice, and Ryuzu in the same room together. "How nice! Have you been getting along and not fighting?"
"But of course!" Roswaal spoke first with confidence.
"Naturally, I suppose!" Beatrice spoke with an overconfident tone.
Ryuzu giggled. All these responses caused Echidna to say with a smile on her face:
"My goodness. It looks like you're still a handful and even more so as a group."
Ryuzu stayed smiling at Echidna while Beatrice and Roswaal looked at the Witch of Greed with a surprised facial expression.
Luxu was also a bit surprised by this though he noticed Roswaal and Beatrice turn towards each other, Beatrice having a pout facial expression while Roswaal had a confident smile.
Seeing this made Luxu smile underneath the bandages that covered his face but at the same time he felt sadness.
He had always been with his master, never having a chance to be with Ira, Aced, Invi, Gula, and Ava. He wished he got a chance to speak with them, hangout with them, to not be the outcast of the group.
These thoughts would eventually be thrown out when he looks back at Roswaal, Beatrice, and Ryuzu, having found a place for himself despite the fact that he will eventually leave them in order to start the mission given to him by the Master of Masters. He gave a smile before turning towards Echidna to ask her,
"Could you give me a mask?"
"Of course."
She turns towards the door and leaves the building with Luxu following her, having also asked in secret if he could see the box as well.
As the two were walking towards the Witch of Greed's house, the keyblade wielder couldn't help but look around at the forest.
He hadn't taken the time to enjoy the peaceful forest all this time.
'It's really beautiful out here...'
("What do you think of the surroundings, my apprentice?" The Master of Masters asked, curious to know what his apprentice thought of the new environment they found themselves in.)
("Well...it's just a place full of trees, no?" Luxu spoke out, having no expression other than uncertainty since he isn't sure what his master wants him to answer with.)
("Well duh, of course that's obvious to anyone paying attention. Even Darkness would see that they are in a forest. Anyway, what I was asking was what do you think of the forest around us?")
("My thoughts?" Luxu questioned.)
("Of course.")
("Hm...well, I guess it looks nice." Luxu was uncertain on what to say since he didn't really view the forest as anything but a forest. The Master of Masters couldn't help but just shake his head with disappointment.)
("Man, you can kill the mood here. Then again, I haven't taught you and the others on enjoying yourselves.")
("Enjoying...ourselves?" Luxu tilted his head.)
("Sometimes you just have to enjoy the surroundings. You might find something beautiful.")
'...I guess I finally understand what you mean now, Master.'
Luxu understood now that he needs to relax and enjoy the surroundings while also observing where he is. After a few minutes of silence, the two arrived to Echidna's place where she turns towards a separate direction to the house while saying,
"The black box is hidden a few feet away from the house. It's buried to assure that nobody finds it."
"Okay. Thanks."
"Just wait out here for a moment."
As Echidna said this, she opened the door and went inside on her own while Luxu walked a few feet towards the direction the Witch of Greed pointed before started to dig a bit for the box. After a couple of minutes, he had found it and quickly inspected to make sure that Echidna or anybody else hadn't opened it.
'I know she said she hadn't opened the box but I just want to make sure with my own eyes.'
As he inspected the black box multiple times, he saw that it hadn't been opened though he didn't like the idea of something important being buried in dirt.
'Man, I can imagine how furious master would be if he found out the box had been buried beneath dirt considering how important and vital this thing is.'
With these thoughts in mind, he prepared to return it back on the ground until he suddenly felt a powerful aura a couple of miles away from his location. Unlike Echidna's aura, this one felt more melancholy than Echidna's aura.
'What's…no, who's causing this aura?'
As he started to ask himself this question, he could see that Echidna was leaving her house with a much serious facial expression, as if something serious was going on.
"Echidna-sama, is something wrong?" The keyblade wielder asked in a concerned tone of voice. Echidna paused for a moment before responding in a serious manner,
"He's has arrived."
"Who" Luxu questioned, being concern by this possible threat. Echidna paused for a moment before responding with,
"I'll explain more inside. You might want to take that box inside as well. We don't want him destroying it in the process."
Luxu took note of what was told to him, prompting him to drag the box towards the inside of the house, his concerned expression having shifted to one of seriousness.
Once inside with the box, he set the black box next to the table where he sat down in one of the chairs along with Echidna.
"I've already alerted Beatrice to bring everyone."
"Who is the person you mentioned that's arrived?"
"...he's the reason this place was created. The Sanctuary."
"The Sanctuary?" Luxu tilted his head, a bit curious on the name. Before he could get more information, the door opened to see that it was Roswaal and Ryuzu.
"Ros."
"Luxu."
The two acknowledge each other for a moment before the magician in training turned towards his teacher.
"I have confirmation. It's definitely him."
"I see." Echidna said as she thought carefully on the next move. Luxu wanted to know more of the threat only for Roswaal to suddenly say,
"We should flee this place immediately. If he comes here, then our plan will most assuredly fail, and it would be impossible to start over."
"Start over? Wait, hold on!" Luxu spoke as he was completely lost in the conversation. He slammed his hand on the desk to get the attention of the Witch of Greed and her disciple. "I've been here for about a week now, I think I deserve to know what's going on. Who is this threat that's causing Ros to panic and what is the plan you both have been working hard in?"
Roswaal and Echidna looked at each other for a moment, both being silent for a brief moment before the Witch of Greed nodded. Roswaal nodded back at his teacher before turning towards his friend to explain the situation thoroghly.
"We don't have a lot of time but the purpose of the Sanctuary is to keep threats out. Currently we have a threat known as the Warlock of Melancholy."
"...okay, how can I help?" Luxu said as he wants to assist in anyway he can. Roswaal noticed his friend's desire to assist them. He turned towards Echidna while answering his friend's question with,
"There's not much we can do...except for being teacher's shield."
"Shield?" Luxu questioned. Roswaal focused his conversation on Echidna.
"There's no time for hesitation! Though I cannot be of any use to you yet, if you ask me to be your shield, then I will gladly do so. But there must be countermeasures in place."
"..." Echidna was silent for a few seconds before responding to what Roswaal was saying to her, "It isn't as if there's nothing we can do. The plans for the Sanctuary are ready to an extent."
"..." Roswaal looked shocked while remaining silent.
"Construction of the theory is complete." Echidna continued.
"Then shouldn't we—"
"It's not enough. We're still without the core necessary for generating the barrier. And without that component, it simply won't function."
"So all the work we've done will be..." Roswaal was beginning to get frustrated. Before he continued to speak, Luxu turned towards Echidna to ask,
"You are missing a core, right? Is there anything I can do to help make this core happen?"
"Sadly no. I don't know your od enough to see if you would be a good fit for the core or if your weapon could be used as a core."
"...what kind of core is this?" Luxu whispered to himself, a bit unsure on what type of core was Echidna looking for. Ryuzu was silent during the conversation before having the guts to speak out, wanting to help,
"Um, regarding this core you don't have yet...isn't there something I could do to be of use?"
"Ryuzu." Roswaal spoke with concern.
"I know. I've heard about it already. The only one of us who meets the requirements to be the core for Echidna-sama is me."
"Did Beatrice tell you that?" Echidna asked with a serious tone while remaining a bit curious.
"Yes." Ryuzu spoke confidently while also nodding at Echidna. Luxu was confused by this yet he remained silent, listening in on the conversation.
"It is true. There's a rather strong probability that you could function as the barrier's core, but that would only be after your mana the land adapted more to one another."
'Mana?...adapting between land and person? After this, I'll have to ask Echidna-sama to teach me more of this world.'
As this was on Luxu's mind, Ryuzu tilted her head while asking,
"So you're saying I can't do it right now?"
"We're dealing with an unusual barrier. We spend years gathering those with mixed human and demi-human blood on a scale large enough to activate it. You're the last push needed for its completion. However..."
Roswaal paused as he hesitated to continue his sentence. Luxu was at first uncertain until he realized what his friend was going to say.
'No...No, that means—'
He paused himself as he remembered something his master and him had discussed.
("You can't do this!" Luxu protested "The sacrifice is too great!")
("I told you...not to let sentiment cloud your judgment." Master of Masters spoke with a serious and strict tone. "It's a tragedy when darkness takes over someone's heart. I know that all too well...because I've seen those that I care about, my closest allies, drown in darkness.")
("..." Luxu stood silent.)
("This isn't some heroic tale about the battle between light and darkness. It's about honoring the dignity of those with hearts. Besides, I'm not planning on sacrificing anyone. I have a safety plan.")
Luxu wanted to argue against the plan, not wanting to risk anybody's safety. Before he could reject this idea for Ryuzu's sake, Ryuzu spoke in a calm manner:
"I understand. Still, I'm sure you both have a way to make it work, right?"
Roswaal and Echidna were surprised by this question while Luxu stood silent. Ryuzu continued to speak,
"I wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for you. And I've been so happy to live without being ostracized or looked down upon. If I can repay you for the time I've had to live this way, I'm more than happy to do so. It would give my life meaning."
Luxu was left silent by this, seeing someone willing to sacrifice their life for the sake of a plan, making him rethink of the conversation with his master.
("I told you...not to let sentiment cloud your judgement.")
("This isn't some heroic tale about the battle between light and darkness. It's about honoring the dignity of those with hearts.")
While this played on Luxu's mind, Roswaal turned towards his teacher while saying,
"Teacher!"
Echidna remained still for a moment before turning towards Ryuzu.
"We'll use your od as the catalyst needed to create the Sanctuary's core. That should greatly shorten the expected timeline of the process and allow the barrier to function."
"Then the sanctuary will be saved?"
"That would make it possible to drive away the current threat."
"Wait, that doesn't answer the question." Luxu protested, catching everyone's attention. "Will the Sanctuary be saved?"
Roswaal looked at his rival with a serious facial expression, not liking what the keyblade wielder was insinuating.
"Are you calling teacher a liar?!"
"I just want to make sure that this...plan of yours will save this place."
As Roswaal and Luxu were staring each other down, creating a bit of hostile aura around the room, Echidna spoke.
"Roswaal, stand down."
"...yes teacher." Roswaal turned around as he nodded at his teacher, respecting the order given to him. As this caused the tension to lower, she turned her attention towards the keyblade wielder.
"I understand your concerns but you must that it will work."
"Then how long would it take to get started?" Ryuzu added in, wanting to know how long will the process be.
"We'll do so right away." Echidna immediately responded as she turned her attention back at Ryuzu. "I could have Beatrice prepare the location where the core will be placed. After that, all I would need is enough time to construct the spell."
"I'm assuming that will be my job, correct?" Roswaal said as he had his eyes closed. After a few seconds, he looked at his teacher with determination. "I'll buy you that time. You can depend on me."
"And...I can help as well."
Ryuzu, Roswaal, and Echidna all turned towards Luxu, noticing that he had pulled out No Name Keyblade.
"I know I don't have much stakes here...but you guys gave me a place after what happened with..." He paused himself as he almost allowed his emotions to reveal the events of the Keyblade War. As he managed to check himself, he continued to speak with confidence, "I'll put my abilities and my strength to aid you, Ros, in buying time."
Roswaal smiled with confidence, feeling that their combine strength could hold back the looming threat than if he was going at it on his own. He nodded at Luxu, showing his appreciation to the keyblade wielder. Luxu nodded back before turning towards Ryuzu, being reminded of the words his master had told him.
("This isn't some heroic tale about the battle between light and darkness. It's about honoring the dignity of those with hearts.")
He looked down with sadness as he remembered all those that had fallen in the keyblade war. The innocent keyblade wielders from daybreak town and the four foretellers, his friends.
"I'm sorry, Ryuzu. If there was a way, I could prevent you from being this...core and find some other way for everyone to make it out alive..."
"No, think nothing of it. They've given me so much, Luxu-sama. If anything, I'm grateful. I'm also grateful for you too. Even if our time was brief, you have been so kind to me. You treated me as an equal. There's no need to feel sad."
Luxu thought back to their previous conversations, always finding someway to speak with Ryuzu as if she was a close friend. As the keyblade wielder was left silent, Roswaal took the chance to speak with Ryuzu.
"I'm so sorry, Ryuzu. I wish my strength was enough to protect our teacher."
"There's no need, Roswaal-sama. I have no reason to resent you in the slightest."
Roswaal looked down with guilt before turning his attention back to Echidna.
"We shall leave at once. Please have the barrier prepared, and call Beatrice here as soon as possible."
"...Should we consider leaving her in the dark about this?"
Luxu drew parallels with this question to something the master of masters had started doing, keeping everyone in the dark in regards to his master plan that will defeat Darkness for good. Roswaal was silent for a few seconds before responding with,
"No. If we don't involve Beatrice in everything, she'll most assuredly despise the both of us forever...Although, that might well be the outcome either way."
Roswaal looked down once again with guilt, knowing full well how Beatrice will feel once she realizes what's going to happen. Echidna took a moment before responding to Roswaal's response.
"Right. I'll consider your advice."
There was silence in the room before Roswaal turned towards Luxu, alerting him that they must leave now.
As they started to make their way towards the exit of the cabin, Roswaal patted Ryuzu's shoulder before heading towards the exit door.
Luxu stopped as he looked at Ryuzu with a serious look.
("It's easy to lie to people about how one truly feels but in order to do something like that, you must also believe that lie yourself. If you aren't certain of what you are lying, people will see through you.")
He continued to look at her with a serious face despite majority of it being covered by the bandages before giving a fake smile, somehow managing to inspire hope to the girl.
"Everything will be fine."
"..."
He patted her head before joining Roswaal outside of the cabin, feeling oddly satisfied that he lied about what he was feeling to someone. Though in this case, he didn't want her seeing his guilt.
"Before we confront him, are you sure you want to join me on this mission?" Roswaal asked, wanting to make sure that Luxu is fine going into what is a suicide mission. Luxu paused for a second before smiling underneath the bandages.
"I've seen death...I'll be fine."
"If you say so."
Roswaal had noted something Luxu said to Ryuzu and now with the response he got, he can tell that his friend had experience a death. Perhaps the other of Luxu's friends had been killed or died through other means, regardless he has some understanding now as to why Luxu had guilt.
"...don't worry, Luxu. I won't die."
"...huh?"
The keyblade wielder was taken aback by this at first before smiling with confidence.
"Well, we are rivals and friends. When we work together, nobody can stop us."
Roswaal A Mathers smiled at this, liking this side of his friend. The two turned towards the direction of the threat before starting their walk. As they were approaching the enemy, Luxu took this time to think deeply in the Master of Masters plan.
("Haven't I told you? There's no way for us to win against the darkness. That's why we needed to use the time we had to get all those Keyblade wielders...ready to pass the torch to the next generation. This world exists to nurture the Dandelions, our little seeds of light, so they can be sown into the future, where they CAN stop the darkness. Then, the sun will finally set on this duskless dawn. And our plan will have succeeded at last.")
("This is war—between people and something entirely different. You can't afford to get sentimental; you need to be pragmatic. I chose this fate for you because I believed you could bear it. Now, listen. There are thirteen darknesses. Of those thirteen, we'll trap the most powerful seven inside the hearts of each of us. We'll all go our separate ways and destroy the darkness wherever we end up. That's the true purpose of the Keyblade War.")
("As for the remaining six, five will feed on the Union leaders, and the last one will be trapped in this world.")
'I still can't accept that there's so much sacrifice on this plan...so many of those keyblade wielders died for the sake of destroying the darkness, at least five of them.'
Luxu continued to review these thoughts until the same melancholy aura was strong enough that it interrupted his thoughts. He looked up and saw a young man around his twenties with a tall body and slender frame, long messy charred-brown hair tied into a braid while wearing a jesster like attire, half purple and half white.
'So this is the threat known as the Warlock of Melancholy.'
As Luxu thought this, Roswaal was at first taken aback from the powerful aura he was feeling as the threat stopped walking once he noticed two obstacles. Luxu would also be taken aback but only for a brief moment before regaining his composure.
"Mooove out of the way."
The Warlock spoke, catching Roswaal and Luxu off guard.
"It's kind of rude to just tell us to move without even knowing our names."
"..." The Warlock of Melancholy remained silent. All it did was just watch with a blank facial expression. This action prompted Luxu to immediately get in front of Roswaal to block a sudden attack.
"Impressive. You saaaw my attack. Annoying. Depression."
"I thank my master for training me for such things." Luxu spoke with confidence. Roswaal was unsure what was going on yet he appreciated his friend's protection.
"Tell me, who are you exactly and why are you here?" Luxu asked as he pointed the No Name Keyblade at his opponent. The opponent remained silent, having found Luxu's weapon a bit interesting.
"What kind of weapon that is? It's not heeer doing."
"Even if I could reveal that information, I won't."
"...Rude." The opponent started to attack fiercely, creating some kind of force field on Luxu's direction. He swiftly pushed Roswaal with his back in order to have the magician out of the opponent's rage of attack. As Luxu did this, he felt a sudden force of gravity pull him down onto the ground with immense force.
'What the?!'
"Pathetic." He felt a sudden part of his back get hit with force, causing some injury on him.
'Augh! What the hell was this attack?!'
The keyblade wielder tried to get up yet his body felt extremely heavy all of a sudden.
'What the hell is he?!'
Roswaal quickly started to use six fold magic against their shared opponent, wanting to help his friend. As he throws his attacks, the warlock of melancholy turns towards Roswaal's position unfazed before moving his hand towards the magician's location.
As he prepared his counterattack, Luxu managed to barely move his hand holding no name keyblade towards the threat. As it was pointing towards his opponent, he casted a spell.
"Take...th-this! Graviga!"
A dark like ball appeared on top of melancholy, preparing to crush him. The Warlock of Melancholy looked up and sensed this attack, leaving him open for Roswaal to land his very own attacks only for the threat to move his right hand towards the magician and easily destroy the attack without even moving.
While canceling Roswaal's attack, he swiftly canceled out Luxu's attack as well.
This gave the keyblade wielder a chance to stand right back up with his entire body in pain. Not wanting this to be a distraction, he pulled out a potion to use on himself. This temporarily healed his injuries, allowing him to continue the fight against the threat. Roswaal walked by his side to check on him.
"Are you alright?"
"Yeah...this guy as some kind of gravity ability. Doesn't seem like his attacks have any range with his attacks."
"...that's good to know."
With this information, Roswaal started to think of some plan to take on the Warlock of Melancholy. The Warlock of Melancholy looked at the two with a blank look while saying to them,
"You two are annoooying. Dismal. Rude. Irritating. Move aside if you wish to live. Last waaarning."
Roswaal and Luxu both took note on what was being said by the Warlock of Melancholy. They looked at each other for a moment before looking back at the Warlock. Luxu pointed his master's keyblade at the threat while Roswaal pointed his right hand towards him with a fireball being created.
"I, Roswaal A Mathers, for the sake of teacher, I won't let you pass." Roswaal spoke out with pride, ready to sacrifice his life for the sake of Echidna.
"I'm here to stop you as well. Not for the sake of Echidna but because I won't abandon my friend!"
As Luxu said this, he was the first to charge in at the Warlock of Melancholy. Roswaal was surprised by this but for a second before preparing to attack from a distance, having Luxu attack in close range while he attacks from long range.
The Warlock looked at Luxu as he was closing in on him, he started to attack his opponent by trying to increase the gravity of Luxu's location. The keyblade wielder had noticed this and was swiftly able to avoid the attack, understanding that if he even gets caught by this attack, he'll be done for.
'If gravity attacks are his abilities, I'll have to use a counter to this.'
He waited until he was close to the warlock in order to cast a spell that is the opposite effect of Graviga. After dodging a few attacks from the warlock, he got close enough in order to cast his magic attack.
"Zero Gravira!"
The Warlock of Melancholy looked at Luxu's attack with a blank facial expression though he had a slight intrigued look, curious to know what attack was being thrown at him since he's never heard that kind of attack before.
He noticed Luxu's weapon glowing for a brief moment before the ground had suddenly shown a circle of darkness surrounding underneath the keyblade wielder before moving outward.
The warlock increased the gravity around him which prompted Luxu to jump back as he felt threatened when his body was feeling slightly heavy suddenly.
As he did this, the warlock felt the effects of Luxu's attack, feeling the exact opposite of what the keyblade wielder was feeling. He started to float all of a sudden with an odd barrier covering his body.
"What's this?"
"Ros! Now's your chance!" Luxu shouted as he managed to gain some distance from Melancholy and his attack. Roswaal heard this which prompted him to start throwing everything he had at the warlock.
"Al Goa!"
As Roswaal was doing this, Luxu also joined in by added a bit of ice magic into the mix.
"Blizzaga!"
With their combined power, they broke the barrier containing the warlock of melancholy and landed a hit on him.
Roswaal smiled at this, seeing that their combined strength will be enough to protect not only his teacher but Beatrice and those in the Sanctuary.
Luxu also felt this sentiment though he keeps his guard up, knowing full well that this probably won't beat the Warlock of Melancholy that easily.
The two stayed on their guards as they prepared for whatever their opponent was going to throw at them. There was a moment of silence until suddenly the ground completely broke with the two feeling an overwhelming amount of force pushing them to the ground.
"What the—?!"
The two felt their bodies being crushed underneath the weight of the increased gravity from the warlock's attack.
"Are you done?" The warlock of melancholy spoke as he had an odd aura glowing around his body while looking slightly mad at the two. Roswaal and Luxu both struggled to get up, feeling their bones being crushed by the sheer force of Melancholy's ability.
As the magician continued to struggle, Luxu was barely able to get himself back up, having dealt with strain like this before.
'If...I had my coat...maybe this...wouldn't have happened...'
Luxu thought this since he knows the coat him and the Master of Masters can protect them from such attacks.
'Even so...I have to rely on my strength alone...'
Once he was back on his feet, he pointed the No Name keyblade towards the warlock's direction. As he did this, he began to shout,
"I won't lose! As a student of the Master of Masters...I won't fall here!"
"...you stiill standing? Unimpressive. Sad. Lame."
Before Luxu could do anything, he felt a couple of blows on his body, a few on the chest area, a couple on his left leg and three on his right arm where he was holding the No Name Keyblade.
This pain was almost enough to knock him out yet his desire to accomplish his master's plan was strong enough to keep him from not collapsing to the ground. Roswaal saw that his friend was taking immense damage, prompting him to use every remaining strength to lift his right arm.
'I have to help him...I won't let anybody die...!'
Once he had his hand up towards the warlock's direction, he used all of his remaining strength to fire another Al Goa.
As the fireball was able to go towards Melancholy's location, this distracted the threat long enough for Luxu to cast Cure on himself, feeling his body nearly destroyed.
Once healing himself, he swiftly went to heal his friend, using up all of his current magic before returning focus on Melancholy.
"Ros, do you have an idea on how to take this guy down?"
"I have something...but you will need to land a physical hit on him with that weapon of yours."
Luxu looked at the keyblade for a few seconds before returning to his fighting stance.
"I think I should be able to do such a simple task."
As the keyblade wielder said this, he once again charged at their shared opponent for the third time, this time being more prepared on what the Warlock of Melancholy can do.
The Warlock looked at the two with a little more emotion on his facial expression, showing more anger as he has to continue dealing with obstacles leading him to his target.
He attempted to once again create a powerful gravity force around the area to completely break Luxu and Roswaal's bones yet Luxu managed to create a barrier to protect him from such things while the magician managed to be out of the attack range.
This impressed the warlock, seeing that these two together do provide some kind of defense yet he is also aware that they are barely holding on.
"You are doing your very best. You can't defeat me but you are trying."
"You say that but don't get mad when we beat you!"
Luxu closed the gap between himself and the Warlock once again after having finished his sentence. Once he was close, he did not hesitate to swing the keyblade with all the force he can muster.
The moment it was about to connect with the Warlock, the aura around him tried to stop the attack yet Luxu with his hidden strength was able to break down the aura barrier.
With this broken, the keyblade was able to connect with the warlock's stomach area, managing to land a blow on him. The Warlock of Melancholy hasn't felt physical pain in so long that feeling this had surprised him at first, managing to ignore the pain and the fact that he was sent flying two miles away from Luxu.
As this happened, Roswaal used six fold magic to once again try to land some serious damage on Melancholy, seeing this as the best chance to push their shared opponent back long enough for the barrier to activate.
As his attack connects, a huge explosion was create once again on the Warlock of Melancholy. Not wanting to take another risk like last time, Luxu points his keyblade towards the direction their opponent is before creating a ball of light.
'I'm putting all of my faith into this attack...I won't be taken down here. Like the master told me...'
("Anyway, about your role. You need to pass down that keyblade to your apprentice and then him to his so that my eye can see the future.")
("So the Book of Prophecies...")
("Bingo!" The Master of Masters spoke loudly at first as he pointed at his apprentice. He continued to speak in a calm voice at first, "The fact that it exists is proof of your success. That means you've trained a worthy apprentice, pass down that handsome Keyblade, and fulfilled your role.")
'I'm destined to survive, I'm destined to complete the Master's plan...I'm the one who will help destroy darkness!'
He fired this ball of light towards the Warlock of Melancholy, feeling confident that this will defeat the threat. Once the ball of light connected, the entire area was ingulfed with a bright light, blinding both Roswaal and Luxu for a brief moment before everything returned to normal.
"What...just happened?" Roswaal was shocked by this attack, seeing that his friend and rival was holding something back from him...then again, he also has a few trump cards of his own that could work against Luxu.
The two kept their guards up as they waited for their opponent to make another move. As they waited, Luxu felt Melancholy's aura increase to an absurd amount, making him aware that they weren't facing him at his true strength.
Before he could try to send another attack, he immediately realized that the Warlock of Melancholy was about to attack once again. He turned towards Roswaal and immediately shoved him.
"Watch out!"
"—!"
Roswaal was left shocked as he watched his friend shove him out of the way of the warlock's attack.
Luxu was unfortunate that he received the hit, with his face being the first to take damage before his right side receiving a massive blow.
Roswaal watched as his friend took the blow and with his bandages that once covered his face being destroyed.
As Luxu landed on his back, completely injured from Melancholy's attack. This enraged him since his friend had saved him twice in this fight, the first at the beginning and the second time right now.
This fueled him to look at their shared opponent with fire in his eyes. He turned towards the Warlock of Melancholy with hatred. Before he could say something, the warlock spoke out first.
"It's useless to try anymore, you know. Your friend is hurt. You should save him. Give up. There's nothing wrong in giving up. You boooth tried your best. The fact that you both triied so hard is good, right?"
"Nonsense! If I don't stop you here, I would fail teacher! You won't get through, Hector, Devil of Melancholy!"
"..."
Hector moved his right hand towards Roswaal before closing his palm, attempting to attack the magician with his ability. Roswaal was able to dodge the attack barely thanks to having timed the number of seconds before Hector's attack connects. The Warlock of Melancholy was annoyed by this for a second, yet he kept his composure blank. Roswaal looked at Luxu for a second, worried for him.
As he turned to look, he could see that he was knocked out from the looks of it with the top of his forehead bleeding. He turned back towards Hector's direction before creating his six fold magic once again, this time putting all of his mana in this attack. Once his attack was ready, he did not hesitate to throw everything he had.
"For the sake of teacher! For the sake of Betty! For the sake of Ryuzu! And for the sake of Luxu! You won't win, Devil of Melancholy!"
Roswaal gave it his all only for his attacks to easily get nullified with Hector closing his hand just as the attacks were about to reach him. As Hector did this, he began to attack Roswaal with aggression. While Roswaal was taking more than a beatdown, Luxu was barely able to be conscious.
'...I'm still...alive...of course...I am...I c-can't...lose here...M-Master...give me strength...'
The Master of Masters, Ira, Aced, Invi, Gula, and Ava popped onto his mind, each one of them giving him strength along with Roswaal, Beatrice, Ryuzu, and oddly enough Echidna as well. All of these people in his mind allowed him to gain some internal strength to keep fighting.
He slowly got up with newfound strength. Hector noticed this, prompting him to stop breaking anymore of Roswaal's bones, allowing the magician to fall to the ground in immense pain.
Luxu saw this and did not hesitate to use the remaining potion on his arsenal to temporarily heal his friend. Once he did this, he looked at his opponent with a serious look while blood was covering the right side of his face.
Hector didn't make a facial expression to seeing Luxu back up despite how harsh his attacks that landed on him were.
"Well done. Very well done. You are still alive. You are stiiill standing. That is impressive. Why do you fight? You aren't like him. You don't look from around here."
"..." Luxu remained silent. He continued to look at Hector with a serious look, not caring much on what his opponent was saying or asking him. He got himself into his fighting stance before suddenly disappearing from sight.
Hector was surprised for a brief moment only to return back into his depressed look. He increased the aura around him, allowing a strong defense from any attacks Luxu could do to him.
He waited around until he looked up to see the keyblade wielder swiftly charging towards him with keyblade ready to attack. Hector looked up and immediately started to increase the weight around him, preparing to finish Luxu off since he views him as an immediate threat to his goal.
As Hector prepared himself, Luxu swung his master's keyblade with all of his strength towards the Warlock of Melancholy, no longer holding back any of his strength.
As the keyblade connected with the barrier that Hector created with his power, the two looked at each other with Hector seemingly looking unfazed while Luxu looked like he was struggling in breaking this powerful barrier.
While Luxu was going all out with everyone he knows and cares about as his motive to win, Hector tilted his head as some of Luxu's blood landed on his face.
"I reeally hate this. It really gets me down. Me doing twisted stuff like this is really the worst. It's dismal. It's lame. It's disheartening. It's dreary. It's withering. It's the worst. Worst of the worst of the worst—so depressing. Especially to a fighter like you."
"...!" Luxu didn't respond as the strength he was using suddenly increased, managing to start breaking the gravity around him. This interested the Warlock of Melancholy since he hadn't seen someone strong like the keyblade wielder.
He would attack Luxu now since this is the best chance to knock him out of his way to reach his target yet he was curious if the keyblade wielder could break the barrier around him.
He waited for a minute, hoping that this opponent with his newfound strength could actually break his barrier yet nothing was going on.
"Depression. Disappointment. Pathetic."
Before Hector could do something to end Luxu's attack, Roswaal managed to create one final fireball with his remaining mana to assist his friend.
"This better work...Al...Goaaaa!"
This last fireball caught Hector's attention though he wasn't worried by the attack, he was just interested to see the magician back on his feet somehow despite how he brutalized him with his authority. He allowed the fireball to hit the gravity barrier around him, seeing that it wouldn't really do anything.
Though the moment it connected, Luxu suddenly managed to break the gravity barrier. Hector swiftly looked up to see that Luxu closed the gap between the two, managing to land a hit on the top of his head.
This was a strong hit, almost causing the warlock of melancholy to be knocked out. He looked up with his aura once again flaring up, finding the keyblade wielder quite the obstacle.
He prepared to attack only to receive another hit by the weapon he was holding. Although this hit wasn't the same as the other one, he wasn't too fazed by it. He closed his hand which caused Luxu to receive a strong hit to his chest side, causing him to be sent flying towards Roswaal's direction.
The magician was about to catch his friend only to see Luxu suddenly move himself in a way that allows him to land on his feet. Once he was on the ground still standing, he did not hesitate to charge at the Warlock once again, determined to win.
Roswaal noticed just how determined his friend was in wanting to beat Hector, prompting him to also have that same determination. He joined his friend in closing in on Hector, preparing to use some martial arts he had learn in the case he ran out of mana during a fight.
As the two were closing in, Hector prepared to end this fight once and for all, seeing that killing the two will be needed if he wants to reach his target. Just as he was about to attack, he suddenly stopped as he saw someone new join in on the battle. Roswaal and Luxu were getting closer only to stop when a voice spoke out to them:
"You two did your best. I advise you to stand down now."
Roswaal and Luxu stopped on their tracks as they turned towards their back side to see that Echidna was there.
"Teacher..."
"...Echidna-sama..."
Both Luxu and Roswaal were a bit surprised to see the Witch of Greed there with them. She stood silent as she approached the two, getting in front of them.
"Teacher, you shouldn't be here! You aren't safe!"
"I know but I can't allow either of you to die."
As she gets in front of them, Hector lowers his aura for a moment. As he lowered his guard, he began to speak:
"...You came just in time. Your apprentice and the one with the odd key weapon slowed me down, greatly delaying me as a result, you see. Thanks to that, not a single thing has gone according to schedule. It dampens my mood. Really, it does."
"That style of speech...you have not changed at all. You're exactly the same as you were when we parted ways." Echidna spoke in a calm manner. This caught Hector's attention.
"Your manner of talking is the same as always, too. How did you end up with such an uncute way of speaking, I wonder? Even though you were so cute back then..."
Echidna was unfazed by this though she remained her gaze on the lamenting Hector, Roswaal was filled with rage by what was being said about his teacher.
"How dare you speak such a way about teacher?! Teacher always speaks in a cute manner!"
"..." Luxu couldn't help but slightly face palm to himself, finding it slightly embarrassing.
Echidna did appreciate her apprentice defending her though she didn't really care what Hector had to say about her.
The Witch of Greed and the Warlock of Melancholy were preparing for their inevitable fight only for Roswaal and Luxu to get in between the two.
"Hm?"
"Allow us to protect you, teacher."
Luxu remained silent though nodding at what Roswaal said, agreeing with him.
Echidna was momentarily surprised though a small smile did appear as she appreciated the two for wanting to protect her.
She once again got in front of the two while speaking in a kind manner,
"You two should rest. I can handle it from here."
As Echidna said this, her aura started to increase with Hector's aura also increase. Roswaal and Luxu took a step back when they felt this incredible two auras.
This allowed Luxu to snap out of his determination as he saw the beginning of the fight between Echidna and Hector.
This amazed him since the fight between the two was much greater than expected.
The clash of two powerhouses like a Witch and Warlock was enough to remind him of when his master had challenged Echidna to a quick skirmish.
("I'm curious, why do you want a fight?")
("Let's just say I'm curious to test my own strength.")
("...well, that weapon of yours does catch my interest...I'll humor you.")
He remembered just how fast and intense a dual between the Witch of Greed and the Master of Masters turned into.
'I can see...why master tested Echidna-sama's strength...'
With all of his strength finally gone, Luxu collapsed to the ground. This caught Roswaal's attention, prompting him to worry for his friend's sake.
"Luxu!"
"Get him out of here."
Echidna said as she continued to fight off Hector, wanting to keep her guest out of harm's way.
Roswaal was conflicted since he wouldn't just leave Luxu to be hurt but he wouldn't abandon his teacher.
Before he could even choose what to do, his body suddenly collapsed to the ground.
"Wha—?!"
Roswaal was unsure on what was going on since he felt fine a second ago and now he was in agonizing pain. Unbeknownst to him, the potion Luxu gave him was only temporary and now its effects have worn off.
As the two remained on the ground, helpless, Luxu with the last bit of consciousness looked on as Echidna and Hector clashed. This would be the last time he ever saw the Witch of Greed.
Luxu woke up in an unknown location, noticing that it was too fancy to be the sanctuary. At first, he was confused.
'What happened?...Oh yeah, the fight.'
Luxu moved his hand up as he summoned No Name Keyblade, remembering the feeling he had when battling the Warlock of Melancholy.
'That guy was strong...I honestly hope that everything went alright in the end.'
He felt hopeful, knowing that Echidna was strong and with Roswaal by her side, he was filled with hope. Although this did felt nice, this hopeful feeling turned into worry as soon as he thought about the black box. This prompted him to get up from his bed and to look around for it.
"Where is it?!"
Just as he got up, he looked around the room to see that his black coat was on of the black box. This helped calm him down for a brief moment, seeing that the important object he was entrusted by the Master of Masters was safe and sound.
Although it was okay, he was worried that someone might've opened the box. He slowly got out of the bed he was on and was preparing to check on the box only to hear a voice behind him speak.
"You don't have to worry...nobody has opened the box. I made sure of that."
"...?"
Luxu turned around and realized that Roswaal was there.
'How didn't I notice him?'
The keyblade wielder was surprised by this though what had him concern was the way he looked, seeing that he was not only depressed but also looked broken.
"What happened?"
"...Ryuzu did it. We activated the barrier and pushed away the target."
"That's good...is it not?" Luxu questioned, figuring that there's something more to the story.
"...yes...we succeeded in our goal..."
"...where's Beatrice? I know she isn't taking this situation well."
"She's...at the Forbidden library."
"Forbidden library?" Luxu tilted his head, finding this place interesting. He continued, "Okay...where's Echidna-sama?"
"..."
"..."
Luxu realized that something's wrong. The moment the Witch of Greed's name was used, Roswaal's expressions went blank. This made him think that it's possible Hector might've done something to her.
"Wait, did Hector—?"
"No. I probably should explain."
Roswaal immediately told Luxu everything that happened after the events of Hector's visit.
Explaining how the barrier was able to push back the threat and how Beatrice was now in charge of the forbidden library while her and himself receiving a copy of the tome of wisdom.
"Tome of wisdom...?"
"Think of it like a book that can tell the future."
"Oh, similar to the book of prophecies."
"Book of Prophecies?" Roswaal questioned as he never heard the name of the book. Luxu paused before realizing that he accidently slipped up. He mentally face palmed to himself before turning towards the box.
Roswaal could see that Luxu wasn't supposed to mention about this 'book of prophecies', prompting him to finally ask his friend,
"What's on the box?"
"...I can't say."
"Teacher made sure to protect the box when you were out. I made sure it wasn't opened when I was protecting the box. The least you can do is to tell me what's in the box."
Luxu remained silent, understanding where Roswaal was coming from yet refused to reveal the answer.
"I promised my master I would keep it safe and keep it locked no matter what. I think you can understand that much at least."
The magician remained in his blank facial expression while deep down understanding his friend's reasoning though this prompted him to ask a different question.
"Then at the very least what's the importance of the box?"
"..." Luxu looked at the box for a moment, thinking back to his master. Although the plan required sacrifice to defeat darkness, he now had a better understanding on why that's necessary.
("This isn't some heroic tale about the battle between light and darkness. It's about honoring the dignity of those with hearts.")
He got out of his bed as he started to grab his coat. Roswaal got up from his seat as he was unsure what Luxu was up to.
"Luxu?"
"...I have to thank you, Ros. You, Beatrice, Ryuzu, and Echidna-sama helped me understand just how important my role is."
"What do you mean?" The magician questioned, unsure on what his friend was talking about. Luxu put on the coat and once again covered his face, not caring that Roswaal had seen how he looks at this point. He grabs the box and creates a corridor of darkness, causing Roswaal to ask,
"Where are you going?"
"...I need to fulfill my role. Something entrusted to me by my master. I hope you can understand that, Ros."
"Will you ever return?" Roswaal questioned, wanting to make sure that he would see his friend once again. Luxu paused for a moment before turning towards his friend.
"I'll make one more visit...but in the case I don't, I just have one last thing to tell you."
"What is that?" Roswaal questioned, a bit curious on what could it be his friend would like to tell him.
Luxu stood still for a second before pulling down his hood that was covering his face, revealing it fully to his friend without injury while smiling at him.
"May your heart be your guiding key."
Roswaal wasn't sure how to take this line all the while Luxu turned back towards the corridor of darkness and began to leave the world. As he along with the black box left the world, Roswaal looked at the table nearby, seeing his tome of wisdom book.
He didn't fully understand what the phrase Luxu told him meant but he concluded one thing from it.
"I'll make sure to reunite with Echidna-sama, teacher. No matter what, I'll make sure to accomplish this goal. That is my will."
Roswaal grabbed his tome of wisdom and began to outside of the room, deciding to make his way towards the forbidden library.
Author's note:
So it has been a bit since I posted on either story. It's been a slow month but I will have something for the other stories posted some time in August. As for this story, I did took some liberty on a few things.
1. Considering that the fight will be between Xigbar/Luxu and Roswaal L Mathers, why not go back to their old friendship.
2. Why didn't Ryuzu let Subaru know about these things back in Arc 4? Well, it wasn't something he would really find important since the main focus was how to beat Roswaal and the true purpose of Sanctuary.
3. Could Luxu beat Hector if Echidna hadn't interfered? Well he was finally taking the fight seriously after seeing how dangerous the Warlock of Melancholy was. So 50-50 since Hector also realized just how dangerous a serious Luxu is. I'll leave it up to you, viewer.
4. Why go into a flashback during the war part of this arc? I feel like I needed a small break from it.
Well, hopefully that you all enjoyed the chapter.