Tales of Xalthia
Chapter 27: Black Fighter
Tsuki and the others made their way through the forest in order to reach the cottage that the surviving knights from the civilian outpost were taking refuge in. Evidence of knights going through the forest trail could be seen along the dirt path and remains of several monsters that had been cut down. The knights sent out by Raiku not only had the home field advantage, but they also had the lead over them. They weren't sure how many squads of knights were sent out but they counted at least four which ranged from 4-6 knights for each squad. Unfortunately, when they reached a small clearing, they were met with more than just corpses of monsters.
When they entered into the small clearing, there were the bodies of four knights. All of them were battered and beaten down with significant physical injuries. Based on a preliminary observation, they suffered through multiple broken bones and other internal injuries. One knight had their left arm bent completely backwards. Two of them had some of the teeth literally knocked out of their mouths. The fourth knight was lying face down on the ground with a pretty severe injury to the back of his head from a blunt object. Based on how warm their bodies were and how fresh the blood was, this had to happen recently. Something else seemed odd about this whole scenario as well.
Ramza finished examining the bodies of the four knights and recognized some of them when he saw the knights leave the city. The fact that these were recent, it would have been expected if the smell of fresh blood didn't attract other nearby monsters. Compared to the knights, the monster corpses that were strewn around appeared to be older with some of them already starting to rot and decay. Despite that, there was no evidence that monsters had been attracted to the scent. "Something is very wrong here" he said.
Elle nodded as he spoke. She also picked up on what Ramza was feeling. There was a low-hanging evil and a palpable sense of dread that lingered in the forest air. It gave enough of a presence that the animals of the forest were keeping their distance. This was evident by the unnatural stillness and quiet nature of the forest. Being of Elven origin who used to make her home within big, expansive forests like these, it was easy for her to read the trees and the overall forest environment. "You're right. It's almost as if the forest itself is holding it's breath. Without a doubt, there's an evil presence somewhere in these woods" she said. It makes her uneasy because they had no idea where this evil presence was or where it could potentially strike from. If they're dealing with the threat of Arcanum, then that makes it even worse.
Tsuki looked around the area. The fact that the animals and even the local monster population were keeping their distance was alarming. "Allie, can you sense anything?" he asked.
Allie took a few steps forward and closed her eyes for a moment. Her body started to glow faintly as she used the Aer around them to see what's around them. "There's definitely a powerful energy here. It would explain the abnormal monster behavior around here" she said.
Tsuki folded his arms as he watched her closely. "Can you see in which direction it's coming from?" he asked.
Allie shook her head before turning around and walked back over to them. "No. There's something blocking my senses. It's just like what happened in Eresseas" she said.
Lynette could still feel the Mana within her so, at the very least, their Artes aren't blocked like before. "Let's hope it stays that way. It won't end well if our Artes are blocked and we end up getting into a fight" she said. She's never felt so powerless during the events in Eresseas.
Elle shook her head a bit. "We can probably safely assume that they're unable to utilize that barrier they used against us. Such a technique isn't something that one can do on a whim. It requires a lot of energy" she said. It wasn't just that; the Anti-Arte Field should have been long lost to the tests of time. How they were able to bring back something like that was still a mystery. "It still doesn't change the fact though that we're up against someone with potentially considerable power" she said.
Cheria thought to herself for a moment. They were told that the surviving knights were being hunted down by a single individual with black hair, a fighter's vest with ripped sleeves and a pair of tonfa. It made her wonder who this person was. Given the fact that they had very little information to go off on, there wasn't much they could do in terms of strategizing what they're going to do when they come face-to-face with this individual. "All we know is that whoever this individual is, they're a martial artist like Ruko" she said.
Ruko scratched the back of his head a bit. Ever since they brought up the fact that this person used tonfa as their weapon of choice, he's had a bit of a nostalgic look on his face. "It reminds me of a time when I still studied under Master Brae. It was me and three others that were being trained by him. One of his pupils used tonfa and despite his young age, he was extremely skilled. He was a little naïve but he had a good heart. He was a pretty shy kid so we never got a chance to talk much" he said. He experienced some rough times while studying martial arts but they were some of his fondest and wouldn't change that for anything.
Lynette tilted her head a bit, looking over towards Ruko. "Does he still practice in martial arts?" she asked.
Ruko shook his head as he shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. It's been about 5 years since I parted ways with Master Brae. There was nothing left for him to teach me and urged me to set my sights out to new horizons" he said. He leaned his head back, feeling a slight breeze blow across his face as he looked to the sky in nostalgic thought.
Nagi could tell by the content, happy look on his face. His former master and disciples were always in his thoughts. It made her feel a bit fuzzy inside. "Where are they now? Do you still keep in touch with them?" she asked.
Ruko let out a soft sigh as he closed his eyes. "Unfortunately, Master Brae was the type of person to travel a lot. New environments and different settings can offer a wide range of training opportunities so we were always constantly moving. Last time I saw them was the day we parted ways. I watched them set out to sea until I could no longer see their boat on the horizon" he said. He was a bit sad that they ended up going separate ways. He had always known that was always going to happen. He just didn't expect it to happen so suddenly. He had only been under his tutelage for about 2 years. "I don't know where they're at now or what they're doing" he said.
Melphi looked around the area to figure out which way they should go. Using her heightened Dragonkin senses, she was able sense some disturbances further towards the west. "Let's walk and talk. We'll have to come back to retrieve the bodies later. Lingering around here won't get us any closer to Shuko" she said.
They decided to move along through the forest, leaving the clearing and the bodies of knights and monsters behind them. They pushed on through a different forest path as they pushed on through the brush. As they made their way deeper into the forest, the path in front of them started to become less visible. It appears that a fight had broken our or something as several tree branches had been cut down and surrounding bushes were crushed and scorched. Thankfully, there were no signs of anymore bodies but there was a bit of a blood trail. It was all mostly dried up so it had to have been from one of the survivors from the outpost.
Wanting to break up the awkward silence as they walked, Lynette was curious about something they were just talking about. "So, about this Master Brae…what was he like?" she asked.
Ruko had some fond memories of his former master. Granted, not all of his memories were exactly good ones. There were some bad ones he'd rather not remember, particularly the ones where it involved some of the more intense and extreme training sessions. "Master Brae was almost like a strict father figure. He always pushed us to our limits and beyond. Some of his training, in the eyes of many martial artists, has been deemed excessive and almost downright suicidal. Many who wished to be taught under him quickly backed out because of the intensity" he said. When he first became one of his disciples, he didn't expect such a harsh and brutal training regime. He thought about backing out like many others before him but stuck with it.
Ramza recognized something about his words. There were tales of an eccentric and, at times, radical monk that traveled to every corner of the world, searching for the perfect disciple. This monk used to be known across the world for his skills in martial arts. However, as he got older, the more his skills started to wane. Because of this, he made it his mission to find someone who had the right set of traits. Many up-and-coming martial artists and even other well-established ones tried to be that person but all fell short due to the intense, rigorous training. "Brae…as in Nezusuke Tenebrae?" he asked.
Ruko nodded at him. It wasn't that much of a surprise that someone like Ramza would know of him, or at least heard of him. His time as a mercenary allows him to hear all kinds of stories from all over. "The very same" he said. He glanced down at his right hand as he made it into a fist. "You see, I was an orphan from a young age. My family lived in a small, remote area near a river and waterfall. One night, our house was raided by bandits and my parents were killed. I was too scared to move and would have likely met the same fate until Master Brae appeared and fought off the bandits" he said. He had a few flashbacks appear through his head. It was the time when he was saved from the bandits. He was still a small boy who was ignorant to the ways of the world. Around him was broken furniture and the bodies of his dead parents. Standing in front of him was Nezusuke Tenebrae. At the time, he was a healthy, middle-aged man with short, black hair. He had his hand extended out to him with a warm smile. "He saved me but my parents had already been killed. He gave them a proper burial and made an oath to their graves. To this day, I'm not sure what oath he made but he ended up taking me in. When I turned 13, I became his first disciple and for the next two years, I studied under him. He was both like a father to me and my master in martial arts" he said. It was nostalgic for him to think about the past. Nezusuke was the person to help him when he was at his lowest and gave him a second chance at life.
Tsuki tilted his head a bit. "Based on the timeline, you would have been around 15 years old when you parted ways with him. I take it that it wasn't too long later when Alba came into the picture" he said.
Ruko nodded some more. As they continued to walk through the forest, he stepped over a small tree branch that had been knocked over. "The Commander was a good friend of Master Brae. He was more than willing take me in while him and the other disciples went out to new areas" he said.
Lynette had heard Ruko talk about some of the training he had to endure. At first, she was a little worried about who this person was that taught him martial arts. After hearing a bit more about his former master, she was able to paint a better picture of him. "I was worried at first but now I kind of want to meet him some day" she said.
Ruko chuckled a bit, scratching the back of his head. "Yeah…maybe one day, we'll run into him. There's a lot of catching up for us to do, after all" he said.
They continued on through the forest trail for another 20 minutes. Much like their previous trek, there wasn't much change in the environment. Monsters still, for the most part, kept their distance but there were a few that forced them into a fight now and then. There was one significant change in the air though as they continued along the path. The smell of fresh blood became much stronger. The surrounding area started to show significantly more damage. It only got worse the deeper they traveled. It started make everyone nervous and anxious. Just by the strong smell of blood, they expected to see a grizzly scene. After about another 10 minutes, their fears came true.
They stepped out into a much larger clearing. In the center of the clearing was a fairly large house made of wood and cobblestone covered in moss, flowers and vines. By design, it was a lovely little forest cottage. It had a second story to it and was big enough to fit a good amount of people. Given the remote location, it made for a quiet and peaceful little place to live or escape to for a while. However, that wasn't the scene that they should be seeing. Instead of a tranquil forest escape, what they were seeing was the sight of a bloodbath. The house they were seeing was practically destroyed. Most of the windows were completely shattered and there was a pretty good sized hole in the side of the house with fragments of furniture strewn out from the hole. The roof has partially caved in from destroyed supports and what appears to be remains of a fire.
To go along with the wrecked cottage, there were numerous bodies of dead knights scattered around the clearing. Based on the smell, this was all done recently. There were still some smoke coming off the burnt wood and other debris nearby. Whatever happened here occurred not too long ago. Unfortunately, they didn't have any other clues to go off on so for the time being, they were stuck.
Ramza let out a heavy sigh with a dejected look on his face as he held his hand up to his forehead. "Damn it all…" he said. He recognized more of the knights as some of them that left Esseand. A few of them were pretty young too. Some of the bodies were mangled and scorched while a few were almost non-recognizable.
They checked the bodies to see if anyone was alive but they were all dead. They counted about 10 knights scattered around the clearing. Much like with the last few knights they encountered, they all sustained severe blunt force injuries. Some had injuries that pierced their bodies as well. They couldn't do much for them but the least they could do was line the bodies up and use nearby sheets that had been scattered around and torn cloth to cover the bodies and faces of the dead knights.
Lynette felt a sickly feeling in the pit of her stomach. Even though they were already dead, it pains her that there was nothing that they could do. "Why did this have to happen…?" she asked. It was starting to dawn on her that they were no longer in the peaceful settings of Cayhill.
Ramza was silent for a few moments before answering her. "That's how things have been around here. Senseless bloodshed and unnecessary violence. It only gets worse the closer you get to the border town" he said.
Ruko wiped his hands off with a nearby cloth. The brutality behind their injuries were pretty evident. Someone wanted them dead and made sure they accomplished that. They didn't hold back one bit. It was a gruesome scene. "To have so much hate that you'd literally bash someone's skull into mush…it's enough to send a chill down one's spine" he said.
Tsuki took a few steps into the blown out house and looked around. The inside was completely trashed as expected. There were also a few additional bodies of knights that he could see sitting up against a nearby wall but by the looks of their injuries and signs first aid being applied, they had been dead for a while. "Looks like we've got a few of the survivors as well…or, at least, they used to be" he said.
Allie stepped into the house and looked around the trashed room. As she did, she felt a sudden headache come on which caused her to put her hand up to her forehead with a pained expression. She could hear a faint high-pitched ringing sound. "Ugh…the Aer here is…twisted…." she said. It seems that she was the only one that could hear this high-pitched sound as no one else was affected by it. It ended up making her stumble back a bit and tripped over a piece of broken wood.
Cheria walked up behind Allie and gently grabbed onto her shoulders just in time as she stumbled back and tripped. "Whoa, easy there. Are you okay?" she asked. This was the second time where she's expressed intense feelings of pain.
Allie could hear the high-pitched ringing sound for another minute or two before it finally went away. She was still left with a splitting headache, however. "Y-yeah…thank you" she said.
Nagi walked in behind them, feeling a cold chill run down her spine. "You're right. There's something…malevolent in the air. It's faint and lingering but I can definitely feel it" she said. She didn't like this feeling; it reminded her of when she was held captive by Draxus. "It's an all-too familiar feeling that I would rather forget…" she said.
Lynette approached Tsuki and tugged at his sleeve with an anxious look on her face. "Hey Tsuki…doesn't this remind you of something…?" she asked.
Tsuki nodded at her. They felt a similar feeling when Eresseas fell under siege but that feeling couldn't compare to an earlier experience they both went through. "It does. I'm getting serious Prophet Castle vibes here" he said. He looked around the dimly lit room and saw large bloodstains splattered across the room and few bodies.
Ramza soon joined them inside of the house. While he's only heard the story of what took place when the two of them stormed the decrepit castle, it was easy to tell how much of an impact it had on the both of them. They both try to conceal it but he could make out the uneasiness and unnerving looks in their eyes. "At the very least, there doesn't appear to be any Draxus activity in the immediate area. We can breathe a little bit easier knowing that" he said.
Elle shrugged her shoulder as she stood in the gaping hole of the house, leaning back against the broken wall. "Can we, though? We still have no idea who it is we're dealing with" she asked.
Ruko nodded in agreement with Elle. "I agree. I'll check out around the clearing to see if I can find anything else" he said. He then turned and walked back into the clearing to survey the surrounding area. After seeing some of the bodies and the injuries that were inflicted on them, something's been bothering him and making him uneasy. He has a gut feeling of what's possibly happening but is struggling to comprehend it.
Lynette has noticed that Ruko has been acting strangely ever since they found the initial bodies back at the last clearing. "What's his deal…?" she asked.
Tsuki shook his head. "It wouldn't surprise me if he's feeling a bit anxious. Can't blame him after seeing all of this bloodshed and the brutality in these killings" he said. It was, without a doubt, unsettling. The way these knights were killed were savage and vicious. There was no mercy spared on them, even towards those that were already injured and unarmed as some didn't even get a chance to draw their weapons. "Let's search the house. Maybe they left some sort of clue of where they went from here" he said.
They split up around the house and proceeded to search every room and sifted through all of the debris to see if there was any evidence left behind. They found a few more bodies buried under the debris in a separate room. All of them appeared to be the bodies of the survivors as they all had injuries that were already attended to on top of new injuries.
As Cheria searched around what appeared to be the master bedroom of the house, she came across a leather bag and a small chest. She opened the chest and saw various bottles containing different liquids and crushed herbs. In the leather bag, there were medicinal tools such as a pestle and mortar to crush herbs and other things. It was clear who these belonged to. "Guys! I think I found Shuko's medicine supplies!" she shouted.
Elle walked into the room when Cheria called out to them. She examined them and they were indeed supplies and tools that an herbalist would use. "No self-respecting herbalist would dare leave their supplies behind intentionally" she said.
Cheria looked over towards Elle as they both drew the same conclusion. "Unless he was forced to. Maybe he left behind some sort of clue" she said.
As she rummaged through Shuko's belongings, Lynette was walking around the second floor. There were two rooms and a single bathroom. The bathroom was untouched and the two rooms were completely trashed. Bloodied bandages were left lying on the floor and the drawers of every dresser were hanging open as if someone pilfered whatever was inside of them. Thankfully, she didn't encounter anymore bodies which made her breathe a sigh of relief. She was about to head back downstairs when she heard the sounds of wood creaking faintly above her. She tilted her head a bit and thought it was her imagination until she heard it again. She took a closer look around the second floor and as she ran her hands across the walls in the main hallway, she found a depression in the wall. Upon close examination, she noticed that what she was feeling wasn't part of the wall but a hidden doorway. She found the handle to the door and slid it open, revealing a staircase leading up to an attic space.
Lynette could feel anxiety well up inside of her as she started to get nervous. She heard two separate noises coming from above her and they sounded like footsteps that were too heavy to be an animal. She took the staff off her back and held it close to her as the staff and her eyes both started to glow, readying herself in case she had to defend herself. She slowly made her way up into the dark attic space. There were no lights in the attic at all. The only thing she could see was what was being illuminated by the glowing coming from her staff. She made up into the attic and looked around. She couldn't see much. She was able to make out a number of crates and boxes up in the attic as she tried to light up the space. As she carefully searched around the attic, a dark figure could be seen creeping up behind her in the darkness.
Meanwhile, Tsuki and the others reconvened by the gaping hole in the wall. Aside from the medicine supplies, they didn't find anything else around the house. Cheria told Tsuki and the others about what they found while searching. With not finding anything that could point them in any direction, they were hoping that there was something in Shuko's stuff.
Cheria was holding onto a flower. However, it wasn't any ordinary flower. Normally, this flower was used in various medicines and for it to retain it's full effects, it needed to be stored in special containers. "We found this among the supplies" she said.
Nagi looked at the flower and tilted her head a bit. She was confused on why they were pointing out this specific flower. "It's a pretty flower but…what about it?" she asked.
Tsuki immediately recognized the flower. It was starting to wither but there was no denying what kind of flower he was seeing. "That's not just any flower. It's a Moonlight Flower" he said.
Ramza heard about Moonlight Flowers before. They were very sought after by many herbalists and clerics and can only be gathered during specific times with a very short window of opportunity. "They can only be gathered during a full moon. Since a full moon happens once every month, they're collected in batches and kept in special containers so that they don't lose their potency" he said.
Elle nodded her head as she held out a small cylinder-shaped container that seemed to be what should have been holding the flower. "Exactly. No herbalist or cleric would just leave these flowers out when they tend to be a rare commodity. Especially since we just had a full moon the other day" she said. She reached into the leather bag and pulled out four more containers and all of them still had a Moonlight Flower sealed inside of them as they glowed a soft, brilliant light.
Tsuki remembered Raiku saying that he left for the outpost right around the same time as the full moon. "Now, it makes sense. He didn't take a trip to the outpost; he took trip to stock up on Moonlight Flowers. He must of used this house as a place of rest and got caught up in the flow of events when the outpost survivors came here" he said.
Cheria nodded in agreement. "Yes, that seems to be the most probable case. Which means, if the survivors came under attack here and needed an escape…" she said.
Elle had also came to the same conclusion as she did. "Then, there's a good chance that Shuko led them there, seeing as he had a lay of the land" she said.
Tsuki looked over towards Ramza. The Moonlight Flower was their only possible lead of where to go from here. "Ramza, where do-" he said.
Just then, he was interrupted by a girl's scream followed by the sounds of a blast of energy being fired out very close by which caused the entire house to shake. They all recognized the scream immediately and were put on full alert.
Tsuki heard the scream and sprung into action right away. "Lyn!?" he shouted.
They all rushed up to the second floor and saw a cloud of dust and smoke coming out of the hidden doorway that Lynette had opened leading up into the attic. Sunlight now filled the once dark attic as the blast of energy they heard being fired off punched a hole through the roof. They worked their way through the dust cloud and eventually found Lynette on one side of the attic. They rushed over to her to make sure she was okay.
Tsuki ran over to her side and got down onto one knee to examine her and make sure she was okay. "Lyn! You okay!?" he asked.
Lynette had fallen down on her butt from being knocked back by her own attack. Her staff was down on the floor next to her. She coughed from the smoke and dust in the air. "I-I'm fine…I think" she said.
Ramza felt like he was about to have a heart attack from her sudden screams and the shockwave of her attack. "What happened?" he asked.
Lynette shook her head a bit to clear her head and took a few deep breaths before pointing over towards the other end of the attic. "Over there, there's someone!" she said.
The group stood beside Lynette and grabbed hold of their weapons in anticipation of being attacked. However, when the smoke and dust cleared from the room, what they were seeing wasn't the sight of a vicious enemy out for blood. Instead, there were four knights on the opposite end of the attic. Three of them appeared to be badly injured while the fourth one was still in relatively good shape with a few scrapes and bruises. More importantly, they were all alive.
Two of the knights appeared to have older injuries that seems to have already been treated and were in the process of healing while the third injured knight had new, fresh injuries that were quickly bandaged up rather sloppy with little care. It was clear that they were in a rush to patch their injuries up. The fourth knight was a bit older than the other three as he appeared like someone in their mid-50s. It would seem that the dark figure that had approached Lynette from behind was this knight as the others were too injured to move around.
Lynette quickly realized her mistake and rushed over to the knights to provide them with some much needed healing as she apologized profusely for suddenly attacking them. Thankfully, her attack completely missed them and they weren't injured. It would seem that when Lynette entered into the attic, the older knight was just as much in the dark as she was and assumed her to be an enemy. However, when he got closer to her, he was able to make out that it wasn't the case. So, when he tried to reach out to her, this ended up frightening her as she was already on edge which caused her to lash out in a sudden panic.
After about 20 minutes have passed, she finished healing the injured knights and used the fresh bandages from the second floor, as well as a few supplies from Shuko's belongings to properly treat and bandage their lingering injuries. They all started to feel better almost immediately after treatment but weren't going to be in any condition to fight for a good while. One of the knights had a broken wrist while another had a few broken ribs after a closer examination.
Lynette took one of the clean rags that were in Shuko's belongings and wiped it across her forehead, letting out a sigh of relief. "Whew, that should hold you up for a while" she said.
The older knight, who had bandages wrapped around his upper right arm and neck, bowed to her. "Thank you so much. We're all forever in your debt for this…and I'm sorry for startling you earlier" he said.
Lynette scratched the back of her head, letting out a nervous laugh and sweat. "I'm sorry too. I almost made things worse by attacking you" she said. She returned the bow to him.
Melphi was a little disturbed by all the carnage that they've been seeing. Even by her standards as a Dragonkin, it would be classified as inhumane. "What can you tell us about your attacker?" she asked.
The older knight recognized Melphi right away as Dragonkin which put him on edge. "You're…Dragonkin? Why…?" he asked.
Ramza shook his head and patted the knight on the shoulder. "It's okay. She's with us. She won't bite. Hopefully" he said, glancing back at her.
Melphi shot a few glares over at Ramza on his comment. "Oh, I can do more than bite…" she said.
Ramza ignored her response as he checked over the knights one last time before digging into them for information. "Can you tell us what happened?" he asked.
The older knight looked over at Ramza who, much like everyone else, recognized him right away. "It's a damn good thing you came back when you did, General. My squad and several others were sent out to provide assistance to the survivors of the outpost. When we entered the forest, we encountered a suspicious man carrying a pair of tonfa. We tried to approach him but then he suddenly attacked us. He killed three knights before disappearing into the brush, leaving behind this…creature" he said. He had never seen such an entity before. It resembled a human but it was clearly not. It had characteristics of an undead but didn't look or act like one. The most notable thing about it was how tough it was. No matter what they did or how they injured it, it still kept getting back up. It was also abnormally strong so it gave them a hard time. "We ended up dividing squads up; half of us would lure this entity away to figure out how to deal with it while the rest of us continued towards the survivors" he said.
Tsuki looked over at the others as they all gave each other the same look. "So, Arcanum is involved, just as we feared" he said.
Ramza had a feeling it would come to this. "What then?" he asked.
The older knight glanced over to the three others that sat up along the wall. "When we arrived here, that herbalist named Shuko had already tended to the injuries of the survivors. Unfortunately, by the time we arrived, a few of them had already succumbed to their injuries. We were in the process of getting the rest ready to leave when that man appeared again. Two squads tried to face him but half of them were wiped out like it was child's play" he said. It was a total massacre. It was like their weapons had no effect on this person. They did manage to injure the man a little bit but he was unfazed by it. He truly thought they were dealing with a demon disguised as a human with the way he moved and killed. "I was ordered to take the remaining survivors into this hidden attic space and to wait for the rest of our troops to meet back up with us after dealing with that entity while the rest lead the man away" he said.
Ramza nodded as the knight explained what has happened. "How long ago was this?" he asked.
To the older knight, it felt like it was an eternity and waiting for the rest of the troops felt even longer. In reality, it wasn't that long ago. "I'd say about…40 minutes before you all arrived" he said.
Tsuki was concerned about Shuko. Since he wasn't hidden with the rest of the knights, then that meant only one thing. "What about Shuko? Where is he?" he asked.
The older knight looked over towards Tsuki. "Many of our knights are unfamiliar with this forest. He offered to lead them away from here so that we, at the very least, could make it back alive. He led them deeper into the forest towards the northwest" he said. He wasn't sure what they had planned but their diversion ended up working in the end as the man ended up giving chase to them after they left.
Ramza rubbed his chin a bit in thought. "The northwest…that sounds about right. It's the closest point of exit to get out of the forest. It's also near the area where Moonlight Flowers grow" he said. He didn't know the fully layout of the forest but he had a good picture of it in his head. "I believe I may know where they went" he said.
The older knight took a step forward towards them. They were the only ones that he could count on to save them. "Please, help them! I fear that they split off from the group while knowing they won't be making it back. I can't let them be slaughtered like cattle…!" he said. Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain in his side which made him grab onto it and kneel down.
Lynette shook her head and slowly made the knight sit back down before applying a bit more healing as he had agitated his injuries a little bit, causing one of them to re-open. "Easy there. While you're lightly injured, you shouldn't be moving around like that" she said.
Elle tapped her chest with her hand. "You can leave things to us. We have business with Shuko so we would have helped out even without being asked to" she said. She was also getting more curious about this man that they've been talking about. She wanted to know who it was that they were dealing with and what their goals were. If this were something by Caius, then it's a be unorthodox to target a seemingly random group of knights.
The older knight looked at them and nodded. "Thank you. I don't know who you all are, but I can sense that you're all fairly strong. Good luck out there…and be careful" he said.
Ramza patted the knight on his shoulder before heading back over towards the stairwell leading out of the attic space. "Stay hidden here, just in case. We'll be back, hopefully with the others. If the other knights show up, tell them that they are not allowed to proceed further and are ordered to wait here" he said. There was no sense in putting them in harm's way when it'll just lead to pointless deaths. The smartest thing to do now was for them to wait on standby.
The older knight saluted Ramza as he walked off and gave his orders. "Yes sir!" he said.
With that, the group made their way down the attic stairwell and closed the hidden door behind them so that they can remain hidden. They soon headed back downstairs and out through the gaping hole in the wall. They now knew where to go with Ramza have a general sense of where they might be heading towards. However, once they stepped out into the open field, all of them suddenly realized something. It's been roughly about 40 minutes since they arrived at the cottageand a certain someone hasn't reported back yet.
Lynette immediately grew concerned when she realized this, given his previous behavior. "Uhh…guys? Where's Ruko?" she asked.
Nagi tilted her head a bit. She had almost forgotten about him. "That's right; didn't he say he was going to check out things around the clearing?" she asked.
Tsuki felt something was wrong. Ruko was nowhere to be seen. "Oh no..." he said.
Almost on cue, a loud, distant explosion could be heard which caused the ground to shake a bit. It was a bit muffled because of how far away it seemed but with how quiet the forest was, it was hard to miss it.
Cheria looked around to figure out where it came from. "You don't think…?" she asked, stopping her question halfway. They all knew where the sudden explosion came from.
Allie nodded and pointed towards the northwest. "I sense a twisted surge of Aer coming from the northwest…along with Ruko's. They appear to be at odds with each other" she said.
Tsuki had a feeling about this. It was almost a bit too expected, given the vibes that they were getting. "Damn that Ruko! He must have went on ahead!" he said.
Nagi didn't understand how Ruko could get ahead of them. He wasn't around when they were told the general direction of where to go. "But how!?" she asked.
Lynette decided to speak out about what she's been concerned about. "Ever since we saw the initial bodies, Ruko has been acting really weird. Then, he told us the story about his former master and disciples…" she said.
Ramza folded his arms and fell into a bit of thought. "So, you think he might know something about this" he said.
Tsuki shook his head and took a few steps towards the northwest where the distant explosion came from. "It doesn't matter. Right now, we need to get moving and fast!" he said.
They were all in agreement and rushed over back towards the tree line. They entered back into the thick of the forest and barreled their way through the brush as they headed northwest. Time then jumps back to when Ruko separated from the group while the others investigated the house. He had spent the first few minutes by himself walking around the entire perimeter of the clearing but didn't find anything too suspicious. There wasn't another defined path through the brush, just what appeared to be monster trails. From the looks of things, this was as far as you could possibly go without going off on your own to explore.
This was around the time when he heard Cheria's voice shout out from within the house, mentioning something about a bag. He was about to rejoin the others when something stopped him dead in his tracks. He noticed a strange marking etched into one of the tree trunk. It was a marking that resembled a war lion. To many, it wouldn't mean anything but for Ruko, it clearly meant something significant. Almost as if he was being guided by some unseen force, he stepped into the forest from the northwest and took a few steps back into the brush. He soon found the same mark etched into another tree not too far in from the last. Again and again, he would find the same mark etched into trees as he made he way through the brush. He followed the markings as if they were guiding him to somewhere.
After about 20 minutes, the markings seemed to come to an end. Despite that, he continued along in the same direction like he was being compelled to continued. A few minutes later, he soon came to an opening through the trees. He could start to smell the salt in the air from the ocean. He found himself on the edge of another clearing that ended up along a cliff with a very tall tree stretching high up in the air. The clearing had a fantastic view of the ocean that stretched far and wide all the way up to the horizon and beyond.
That wasn't the only thing he saw in the clearing though. He saw the bodies of a few more knights scattered around, their blood staining the grass that they laid on. There was an older individual with a short, grey beard in regular clothing guarded by a single knight holding a two-handed broadsword. Standing in front of them was a man a little younger than Ruko with black hair, dark, ripped clothing with ripped sleeves wielding a pair of bloodied tonfa. It would seem that he has found what was left of the knights, the person they were looking for and the person who was responsible for all of this.
He decided to hang back to watch what happens. In the meantime, the two of them started to fight each other. Despite being outclassed, the knight was able to hold his own pretty well. After watching all of his fellow knights fall at the hands of this person, it seems he was able to gain some understanding of the person's fighting style. It appeared that the individual was having some trouble dealing with him. For a time, it looked like they were both fighting on equal grounds. This all was about to change, however.
After a few minutes of fighting at a stalemate, the individual decided bring an end to the fighting. He took a fighting stance where he pulled his right arm back and extended his left one out a bit with it rotated around, angling his tonfa upwards. His right leg was extended out while his left was held back in place. It was a stance that Ruko recognized immediately. The knight held out his broadsword in a defensive stance, preparing himself for what was about to come.
There was a brief silence that filled the air. Then, in a flash, the individual shot forward with incredible speed, leaving a dust trail behind him. In an instant, the man appeared in front of the knight as he swung his right arm out along with the tonfa he was holding. Instinctively, the knight ended up blocking the attack as he was caught off-guard by the individual's incredible speed. However, that attack was immediately followed up with another strike. The individual swung his left arm forward and upwards and slammed the tip of the tonfa up against the blade with force which causes him to through his arms up, breaking his guard and throwing him off-balance. The individual still wasn't done; with the knight thrown off his guard, he swept his left foot against the ground and across the knight's feet, causing him to fall down onto the ground on his side. With one final strike, the individual brought his right arm down in a sharp, thrusting motion. The knight quickly reacted by attempting to block the strike again but when the tonfa clashed with the blade of his broadsword, the blade shattered. If he hadn't blocked the strike, he would have been hit in the chest which would of probably killed him with the intensity behind the attack.
To the knight, this all seemed to happen in the blink of an eye. He didn't know what just happened and was lucky to have blocked the second strike. For Ruko, however, he saw every action that was taken. He had a look of total disbelief on his face. It seemed like he was struggling to accept something. As he was trying to come to terms with what he just saw, he noticed that the individual was about to deal the killing blow. With the knight no longer having a weapon to defend himself, there was nothing he could do. He stood over the knight and pulled his right arm back once more as he readied another downwards strike.
Before the individual could strike though, Ruko decided that he needed to take action. If he didn't, the knight and the older individual were going to be killed. The steel gauntlets around his arms along with the plating around his legs and eyes started to glow red. He ran out into the clearing and leapt forward a bit, pulling his right arm back and slamming it hard against the ground, releasing a blast of energy at the individual which ran across the ground. The individual took notice of the sudden attack and shifted his focus towards the oncoming blast of energy, pulling both of his tonfa up to act as a shield as he blocked the attack which ended up pushing him back a bit towards the giant tree.
All attention was soon shifted over to Ruko as he stood back up and approached them. The individual dropped his arms down to his sides and gazed over at him with an evil grin on his face. The two of them said nothing to each other for a solid minute or two as tensions between them seemed to rise for some reason.
Eventually, the silence was broken by the individual as he started to chuckle a bit. "Finally. I've been waiting for this day to come for a long time. To think that we'd meet like this…" he said. He stretched his left arm out towards Ruko and made a tight fist.
Ruko didn't want to believe who he was seeing. He was totally unrecognizable from what he last remembered. "…Just who are you?" he asked.
The individual chuckled a bit more before taking the same stance from before. "Forgotten me, have you? Allow me to remind you…" he said.
Ruko glared at the individual before taking a similar stance. He extended his left arm out with his right arm lowered a bit and rotated around so that the palm of his hand was facing up. He had his thumbs and the adjacent two fingers curled outwards to resemble something like claws as he had put his right leg forward. Aside a few differences, his stance resembled the stance the individual took. The pair glared at each other in silence for a bit more before the individual rushed at him with incredible speed.
He stood his ground as he got closer to him. Much like with the knight, the individual swung his tonfa around and Ruko blocked it with his left steel gauntlet. The rest of the clash, however, would play out differently. Upon blocking the attack, Ruko swung his right arm downwards, slamming the steel gauntlet against the oncoming second strike and deflecting it. Ruko then took a step forward with his right leg, sweeping it around and striking the steel plating around his leg against the individual's third strike, blocking it and stopping him from knocking him off his feet. In quick retaliation, Ruko took his right arm and quickly lunged it forward, slamming the palm of his hand against the individual's stomach and releasing a sonic blast which blew him back a few feet, breaking his attack.
It was with this clash of fists and steel that he was forced to accept what he was seeing and it left a bitter taste in his mouth. "I didn't want to believe it. I wanted to think what I was seeing was just a crazy coincidence. But your fluid movements and that stance you took…there are too many similarities to discredit" he said. There was no denying who this person was. He gritted his teeth as if he didn't want to verbally acknowledge it. "Al…what the hell happened to you?" he asked.
The individual chuckled some more with a satisfied look on his face. "I've evolved, Ruko. To a higher plane that Master searched for" he said.
Ruko threw his right arm to the side, shaking his head. "You lie! What Master searched for wasn't a "higher plane" but to make sure his knowledge and wisdom doesn't die! I know what you've obtained and this isn't the answer!" he shouted. He couldn't believe just how far he has fallen from grace. His whole personality has taken a complete 180 degree turn. The person he was seeing now was no longer the shy boy who excelled at martial arts.
The individual scoffed at Ruko, slamming his knuckles together before taking a different offensive stance. "The power I've obtained has shown me new heights. A new perspective!" he said.
The individual lunged at Ruko once more and swung his tonfa around from different angles. Ruko countered all of his strikes with his steel gauntlets by blocking or deflecting them. Ruko knew that while he studied under Master Brae the longest, he wasn't his greatest pupil. The person standing before him was the better student. He was child prodigy who was a master when it came to martial arts. He even gave the Master difficulty whenever they sparred despite his young age. He had always been a little envious of his skills but he admired him as well. Seeing someone like him fallen from grace was more painful than usual and difficult to accept.
The two of them clashed with each other for a good while. The individual managed to get in a few strikes against Ruko which caused some injury but nothing serious. Meanwhile, Ruko had some difficulty breaking past his defenses. In all the times the two of them used to spar with each other, he's only managed to beat him once or twice. With every fight, he gradually improved his skills. He never stopped learning from his mistakes and continuously improved on his fighting style. Now that he has added the influence of Arcanum, he made himself into a fighting class of his own. The power behind his strikes were powerful and his defenses were tough. He left no openings for himself which made the fight between them a little be one-sided. Ruko was being pushed back on the defensive and couldn't much in, edgewise.
The individual soon put some distance between him and Ruko as he started to channel Mana into his tonfa, making them glow and resonate a strong violet color. Ruko could feel the intensity of his next attack and knew that he wasn't going to be able to take it head-on. All he could do was bolster his defenses and brace himself. Moments later, he lunged at Ruko once more with incredible speed. When he was within arm's reach, he swung his left tonfa at him which Ruko ended up deflecting with his steel gauntlet. However, that attack was just a feint. With him slightly distracted, he swung his right tonfa at him which held all of his charged Mana. Ruko ended up blocking it with his steel gauntlet but on impact, it caused a mild explosion which rocked the forest.
The explosion ended up blasting him back and crashing against the ground and up against a nearby boulder. Ruko was down on one knee with drops of blood hitting the ground underneath him. He was bleeding from his left arm and the side of his head as blood trailed down his skin. He shook off the pain though and stood back up. Moments later, his body started to glow as he started to take several deep breaths as he focused on the individual. Soon, he shot towards him with incredible speed, angling his left shoulder at him for a shoulder charge. The individual took a defensive stance and blocked the shoulder charge, stopping Ruko in his tracks. He smirked at Ruko for a brief moment before Ruko jabbed his right fist forward at a low angle, slamming it against his stomach, releasing a stronger sonic blast from before which blasted him back. The individual's feet dug into the ground to stop himself a few feet away from him. Because of the force behind his attack accompanied by the sonic blast, the individual ended up coughing up a bit of blood. Despite his injuries, Ruko was still raring to go as he tapped the tips of his steel gauntlets together before taking another stance. The individual had a wide grin on his face followed by a chuckle before he did the same.
The two of them continued to fight on equal ground for the next 20 minutes or so. As they fought each other, both of them had looks of nostalgia and, strangely enough, enjoyment. Each time they clashed, it was like time around them reversed to years past. A younger version of Ruko in his early teens sparring against a young boy with light brown, short hair tied back in a knot. The boy looked quite feeble and frail but had the vigor of an athlete. Ruko looked like a kid in his prime, ready to show off to his younger peers and set an example. Off to the side was a middle-aged man with white hair, wearing a karate Gi that looked a bit weathered and torn.
Several moments from the past seemed to play in conjunction with their fight in the present. They were both doing similar moves they used back then and making the same mistakes in their respective forms. The only difference was that they weren't doing just a sparring match but a fight to the death. Making that comparison shattered this moment in an instant as the two of them fight with ferocity and clear intents of inflicting harm. They were both fighting on equal grounds for a while until Ruko was starting to lose ground from being worn down. Noticing that Ruko was becoming exhausted, the individual use this to his advantage.
The two of them charged at each other for another clash. Only this time, the individual used his tonfa to block and deflect both of Ruko's attacks which knocked him off-balance a bit. The individual charged more of his Mana into his right tonfa once more and rushed at him again. Before Ruko could regain his balance and retaliate, he quickly swung the tonfa around and slammed it against Ruko's chest, releasing a blast of energy and causing a minor outward explosion compared to before. The explosion tore through most of Ruko's remaining armor as he was blasted back. Ruko slammed his right gauntlet into the ground to stop himself before dropping down onto one knee once again.
At this point, Ruko was exhausted. He was bleeding pretty heavily, most of his armor was all but destroyed and was short of breath. He could feel his strength slipping as he bled out. Meanwhile, the individual looked like he hasn't even broken a sweat. He had some minor scrapes and injuries but none of that seemed to faze him in the slightest. In fact, he had a twisted look on his face as if he were enjoying this. This look was accompanied by a cynical laughter.
Ruko couldn't believe how strong he was. He used to always give him trouble back in the past but he was fighting as if he were a completely different person. He wasn't sure how much of that strength was simply his natural ability or aided by the effects of Arcanum. "Agh…I see the child prodigy hasn't lost some of his touch…" he said with a pained expression.
The individual approached Ruko and stretched out his left arm towards him, pointing his tonfa at him as he kneeled down on one knee. "I've continued to improve my skill over the years, pushing myself to new, never before seen heights. Meanwhile, your skills have become stagnant. Living the peaceful life has dulled your abilities" he said. He wasn't satisfied with this outcome. He wanted to thoroughly beat Ruko down to a bloody pulp while he was at his best. The Ruko that stood before him was weak. Practically a shell of his former self. "This isn't it. I expected more from you. I'm disappointed" he said.
Ruko had no excuses. It was a fact that over the past few years since parting ways with Master Brae, while he hasn't completely shirked in his training, he didn't do it as much as he used to. It came to the point where his growth had come at a standstill. "Sorry to disappoint, but I don't have your seemingly innate talents in martial arts. Master taught me all he could while he saw great potential in you" he said.
The individual chuckled, pulling his arm back and opening them up to his sides as he felt a surge of power well up inside of him. "And that's where you went wrong. You never sought to improve your skills. You were simply satisfied with what the Master taught. I'm not the same person I was back then. I craved more power and I've obtained it" he said, making two tight fists.
Ruko could feel the twisted nature behind his energy. His Mana was definitely infused with Arcanum although he didn't know just how much. "You fool! That's not even your own natural talent! You're relying on a power that shouldn't be messed with!" he shouted.
The individual had a wide, twisted grin on his face. Feeling all of that raw, unbridled power within him was intoxicating. "Power is power, no matter how it's obtained. So long as it helps me bring down my enemies, I'll reach into the deepest parts of Hell, if I have to!" he said.
Ruko shook his head, gritting his teeth. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. He was talking like a man drunk on power. Hearing him say those words caused some flashbacks to the simpler times when he used to improve himself in a more honest way. "No, this isn't the way. Master would never condone something like this! Genuine power is what's obtained through one's own efforts. It's not something that's simply given to you out of 'freewill' or 'charity'! You've deluded yourself, Al!" he shouted.
The individual scoffed at his comment. He didn't care what his thoughts were on the matter one bit. "The Albert you all knew has been long dead. From his ashes rise a better, stronger person. No longer are these the days of the weak and meager Albert. I am Draven of the Tenebris Knights and we serve Caius to bring darkness to the world" he said. He chuckled a bit more before putting on a more serious look as he looked down at Ruko. "It's unfortunate but you're the last thing tying me down to the past. Once you're gone, my rebirth will officially be complete" he said. He then charged Mana back through his right tonfa as he pulled his arm back. The only difference this time was that the he was redirecting enough of his Arcanum-infused Mana into the tonfa that the ensuing explosion would leave more than just burn marks. "Feel free to give Master my regards" he said.
Ruko's eyes widened a bit. He had been suspecting up to this point on what's happened with Master Brae since they should have been together. If he has fallen this far from grace, then Master Brae would have done something about it. "Al…you didn't…" he said.
The individual didn't respond to him. He simply glared down at Ruko in silence. The pure hatred and evil in his eyes was all he needed to know. The question was why and when it happened. He was at a loss for words when the individual soon swung down at Ruko with full intentions on killing him with this next strike. However, that wasn't about to happen. As he swung down, a light blue barrier formed all around Ruko. Not having time to react, the tonfa slammed into the barrier. The blast from the strike was then redirected by the barrier back at him which blew him back and crashing into the ground by the cliffside. Moments later, he heard a familiar female's voice call out to him from the trees. He looked over into the direction of the voice and saw Tsuki and the others rushing out of the trees and approached.
Tsuki and Ramza put themselves in front of Ruko with their weapons drawn. Tsuki looked back at Ruko and saw how badly hurt he was. "Ruko, you okay!?" he asked.
Ruko looked up at Tsuki and was glad that they finally made it. With the various explosions from their fight, he had wondered when they would show up. "Beaten to a pulp but I think I'll live" he said.
Lynette entered through the barrier and kneeled down beside him as she immediately started to apply Healing Artes on him. "You reckless idiot! Don't just wander off on your own like that!" he scolded him. It was clear how much she was worried about him. She would have expected a stunt like this from Tsuki but the fact that it was Ruko was a different story.
Cheria stood next to the both of them with her bow drawn and an arrow attached to the string. "We're a team, aren't we? Rely on us if something is bothering you" she said.
Elle and Nagi stood behind Ruko. Elle examined the individual closely, feeling the intensity behind his twisted energy. He was fully immersed in Arcanum what was most terrifying was that he was seemingly in full control of it. "Who is this person?" she asked.
Ruko could feel his pain slowly go away as Lynette healed him. "His name is Albert Roarke. He's the young boy that I had mentioned earlier" he said.
Nagi tilted her head, looking towards the individual as he slowly got back up onto his feet. "You mean, one of your former Master's disciples? What happened to him?" she asked.
Ruko shook his head. He's changed drastically compared to who he used to be and can't even speculate what could of happened to make him like this. "Your guess is as good as mine. All I can say is that is isn't the same person. Calls himself Draven now and mentioned something called the Tenebris Knights" he said.
Allie could feel the suffocating darkness swirling around him. It was palpable and had some of the strongest feelings she's felt yet. There was only one person that she got a worse feeling from and that was Caius himself who seemed to be at the source of everything. Sensing all of that negative energy caused her to have a few images flash quickly through her mind. These images seemed to be of her and a group of others fighting against a terrible evil. The images flashed through her mind pretty quickly so she wasn't able to discern what they were exactly. "This feeling…I know it from somewhere. Almost as if I've experienced it before, a long time ago…" she said. It was a familiar yet terrifying feeling and it gave her a sense of dread. She had one final image flash through her head and this time, it was a pretty clear image. It was of herself lying on the ground in a pool of blood, severely wounded with seemingly the same group of people from the previous images. They were all huddled surrounding her as two of the individuals stood in front of everyone as if they were protecting them while two others were trying to heal her injuries. She could hear the voices of these people call out to her but she wasn't able to make out what they were saying.
No one seemed to notice Allie's strange reaction as they were all focused on the person standing before them. Tsuki stared down the man as Ruko told them what he knew. "Tenebris Knights? Who are they?" he asked. He's never heard of the term before.
Ramza shook his head. He's spent some time in Menorion while doing mercenary work but he's never heard of anything called the Tenebris Knights. "Must be a recently formed order of knights. If you're going to run a legion of knights, you're going to want to have an elite squad at the head" he said.
Cheria wasn't all that surprised that Caius would have his own elite squad of knights serving under him. As a king, it would make sense. "So, basically the dark equivalent of the Royal Eight" she said.
Melphi
The individual formerly known as Albert who now calls himself Draven looked at Tsuki and the others as they came to provide Ruko with reinforcements. "So, the rest of the group has finally arrived. Excellent, I was getting tired of playing chase" he said.
Tsuki pointed his sword at him, extending it out in front of him. "Let me guess, an associate of Caius?" he asked.
Draven chuckled a bit. "Smart boy. Yes, I serve under His Majesty, King Caius and I've come under orders to abduct the runaway princess" he said, glancing over at Cheria. While she was his main objective, he had other things he wanted to accomplish to kill multiple birds with one stone. "When I heard that Ruko was part of her little entourage, it gave me the chance to break the shackles that bind me to my past and garner favor for bringing the princess back…" he said. His eyes then shifted over to Tsuki which had a narrowed, evil look to them. "It also gave me the opportunity to deal with you. You inflicted a serious injury on His Majesty which left a nasty scar. You need to pay for that and the time to collect has arrived" he said. He remembered Caius telling him to get rid of Tsuki first before the others as he would prove to be the biggest obstacle to overcome. There were too many unknown factors about him that made him far more than just an ordinary knight.
Tsuki's memory was a bit fuzzy from that time but he remembered Allie mentioning that he suddenly became engulfed in this incredible, unfathomable power that left a serious injury on Caius and practically destroyed the non-commercial port of Basilwell. What he could remember from that time was how deep that power ran inside him. It was a surge of power he had never felt before and it felt invigorating. According to the spirit-like man who calls himself Cliff that he's had a few interactions with subconsciously, he had no control over it and was almost like an enraged beast.
Draven saw the look on Tsuki's face as he tried to recount the events that took place on that day before hitting his tonfa up against each other. "Yes, in order to achieve my mission, you first must be dealt with. You're a loose cannon with an unknown variable which makes you a threat to His Majesty's plans. For that, you need to die" he said. He then took another offensive stance and by the looks of it, it's the same stance that he first used against Ruko and the older knight.
Ruko looked up at Tsuki as it seemed that both of them were preparing to fight. "Watch out for his Quad Viper Stance. It's a personal favorite of his. It's a 4-consecutive strike stance meant to quickly disarm and incapacitate or even kill" he said. The stance that he did to counter it was made by him specifically for that purpose. The stance he initially used was called the Viper Eater and it was created by him. It's only purpose is to counter the Quad Viper and not much else so it's a rather niche stance that only he knows.
Tsuki prepared himself for a fight against Draven but then all of a sudden, he heard a familiar male's voice speak to him through his mind. At the same time, it was as if time around him came to a halt. "Watch yourself. The opponent you're about to face isn't your ordinary foe" the voice said.
He felt his consciousness being pulled from him and before he knew it, he found himself back within the strange dimension of space called the Celestial Bridge. His astral form was floating in an space with highly-concentrated Mana and visible Aer swirling around around him. Normally, such a place would be lethal but he was perfectly fine. The space also appeared to be a bit different compared to the last time he found himself here. Hovering in front of him was the spirit form of Cliff Steele. Much like with the space around him, his form had also changed. He now had a striking appearance to that of Melphi.
Tsuki examined the new form of Cliff and wasn't sure who he was seeing at first but it was a little hard to rule him out as anyone else, given the circumstances. "You're...a Dragonkin?" he asked.
Cliff nodded at him. Compared to before, he now had what appeared to be horns and the tail of a dragon. He also had a far stronger presence than before as he was now more 'complete'. "That is correct. It's been an age and a half but I've finally re-awakened. What you've seen of me so far were incomplete forms of myself. However, now that you've grown stronger, so too has your power which allows us to grow in the process" he said.
This was now the third time he's been in the Celestial Bridge. Tsuki has learned how to communicate with Cliff but certain conditions needed to be met in order to make a connection. He has yet to figure out a way to reach this strange dimension on his own. Each time he's found himself here, he was always 'called' to it. He hasn't been in this space or even seen the form of Cliff since waking up in the Sandpearl after his fight with Caius.
Tsuki folded his arms and tilted his head. After all this time, he still has no answer to his long awaited question. "My power, huh? Even after going through all the effort to teach me how to use it, you still haven't answered my question. You're trying to teach me how to use a power I don't even have a base understanding of" he said. He was getting a little annoyed now at this point. He could be tampering with something he shouldn't be messing with just like with Arcanum.
Cliff nodded to himself as he rubbed his chin. "I suppose now that you've gotten stronger and I've re-awakened, it's time I explain things to you. However, now isn't exactly the best time for a lecture, wouldn't you agree? If you wish to walk away from this fight with your life intact, you'll have to trust me on what's about to come next" he said.
Tsuki didn't understand what he meant. However, through the few times he's been able to communicate with him, he was able to surmise that he had a good character to him. "What do you mean?" he asked.
Cliff let out a soft sigh as he shook his head. "What you're about to face is on a level similar to Caius. With the way you are now, I'm afraid that you won't stand much of a chance" he said. While his skills have improved, he was still far outclassed to that dark power people refer to as Arcanum.
Tsuki already knew that what they were dealing with was beyond his capabilities. Even though they know how to kill them, they still struggle against those strange entities that spawn. "Then what do we do? We can't just run away after coming this far!" he said.
Cliff soon tapped his chest lightly and gave him a confident grin. "That's why I have a plan. However, whether it succeeds or not depends on how efficient your own training has become" he said.
Tsuki tilted his head with a hint of confusion on his face. "What does the plain entail, exactly?" he asked.
Cliff held his right hand out as his arm started generate red sparks of electricity. "Up until now, you've been tapping into my power and using it mixed with your own. We're going to take things a step further now. It's your only shot if you wish to fight against Draven in his current elevated state but, like I said, there's a possibility that it might fail" he said.
Tsuki was willing to try anything if it meant accomplishing his task and that was making sure Shuko is brought back to safety. "You're not giving me much of a choice, are you? So, what do I have to do?" he asked.
Cliff proceeded to instruct Tsuki on what needs to be done in order to get out of his current predicament with everyone alive. Naturally, Tsuki didn't understand anything that he told him but was reassured that Cliff would handle the complicated stuff. All he was simply told to do was to open himself up to "release his soul". Thankfully, Cliff was able to instruct him on how to do that. It was basically giving himself an out-of-body experience, in a spiritual sense like how what happens when he's "called" to the Celestial Bridge. After being told exactly what's about to happen, he found himself standing back in reality as time seemed to flow once again as if nothing had happened.
Tsuki returned to reality as Ruko explained what the Quad Viper Stance was. Whatever is about to happen, however, he had a strange confidence that everything will be alright. "Don't worry. I think I may have a way to break it before it starts" he said.
Ruko tilted his head at him. He didn't understand what he meant by that. He's never seen the Quad Viper Stance before and because of how fast Draven was, it was very easy for people to misread his movements. "How do you plan on doing that?" he asked. Even if he knew a similar counter to his own Viper Eater, the timing he would need to counter needed to be precise.
Tsuki glared at Draven, tightening his grip on the Caliburn. "By sheer brute force" he said. He then closed his eyes and went into what seemed like a meditative state as he took a series of deep breaths. After about a minute of this, he was enveloped by a strong, familiar power. It had the same presence as when he fought against Caius and Mike. Only this time, it seemed much stronger.
Everyone noticed the immediate shift in the air around Tsuki and could feel the power emanating from him as if he just opened a door to a strange power. All of a sudden, a powerful shockwave shot out from his feet that covered a wide area, causing the ground to shake a bit. This made them all take a few steps back from him as a precaution after watching his fight with Mike. They knew that whatever this power he had was, it wasn't something that they'd want to be caught in the middle of. Little did his companions know, Tsuki has been in frequent contact with Cliff through subconscious communication and multiple spiritual experiences. Every night since leaving Basilwell, when everyone was fast asleep, he would sneak out somewhere to do some mental and spiritual training.
Allie could feel something else behind all of that power that Tsuki was generating. She felt a strong sense of familiarity and nostalgia. Despite being connected to him in more ways than one, she had been unaware of Tsuki's activities and was as much in the dark about this strange power of his as everyone else. She couldn't explain why but she knew what this presence was and it pulled at her heart. "This feeling…Cliff…?" he quietly asked herself. It was the first name to pop up in her head and she didn't understand why but she knew it.
Draven noticed more than just a shift in the Aer in and around Tsuki. He didn't know what to make of what was happening but all of a sudden, the person he was about to fight was no longer Tsuki. Instead, he felt a different presence entirely. Not a shred of Tsuki's seemed to remain. "You…just who are you…?" he asked.
What Draven was feeling was also felt among the others. While they shared the same appearance of Tsuki, the significant differences in his presence and the surrounding Aer were too great. They all knew that this wasn't just an average power-up or energy boost. The person standing before them soon took the Caliburn and stabbed it down into the ground next to him and then held out his right arm as sparks of red electricity channeled across the length of his arm. Once his arm was fully extended out, a ball of red energy formed in front of the palm of his hand. This ball would then suddenly change shape as it formed into the shape of a double-bladed axe. The axe itself appeared to be made entirely out of energy as it glowed a dark red color. What made this an even more mind-blowing sight was that this person was able to take hold of this energy-formed axe and wield it in his hands as if it were a physical weapon.
Mana-infused energy has no physical form. It was impossible for anyone to grab hold of formless energy unless they were a spirit or used something that has Mana infused within it such as a sword with Mana channeled into it. What they're seeing this person do solidified the fact that whoever this person is was, indeed, no longer Tsuki. All everyone could do was simply stand their in bewilderment and they tried to analyze what was happening.
The person standing before them rest the energized axe against his shoulders and stared down Draven. Tsuki's azure blue eyes turned blood red and in the center of his eyes was a symbol of a snake-like wyvern and brimmed with raw power. Even though what they were seeing was Tsuki's own body, he looked and felt like an entirely different person. For Allie, she no longer felt Tsuki was there, both in body and soul. It was like someone else's soul entered into his body and switched places.
Then, after a few tense, anxiety-filled minutes, the person using Tsuki's body finally spoke. "Connection established. Soul Transfer, complete. Mana and Aer levels synchronized and stable. Sigil Protocols, activated" he said in a deep voice. Even the sound of his voice had no trace of Tsuki in it.
Melphi stared at Tsuki with a stunned look on her face. She couldn't believe what she was both sensing and feeling. It made no sense to her. "Impossible...! This raw, unbridled power. The overwhelming aura. This presence feels ancient but it's unmistakably Dragonkin! And this power...it resembles that of what's been recorded in ancient Dragonkin legend! The power of the Lost King...could it be...?" she asked herself.
It was in that moment that Shana's words played through her head. "Because the boy just might be the new Sigil Bearer" Shana's voice said.
Melphi was well aware of the legend and history behind what she referred to as the Sigil Bearer. She didn't believe her initially but now, her beliefs have been completely flipped their head. It was undeniable now after feeling power that resembles that of the Lost King. "The Mark of the Sigil...so, the legends are true, after all" she said to herself. She didn't ever think that she would live to witness the birth of the new Sigil Bearer. This was truly a sight to behold. Almost as if compelled to by instinct, she ended up kneeling down in respect to Tsuki.
They were now in the presence of an entirely different person. They had no idea how to react or what to say about these turn of events. Even Draven was left dumbfounded and stunned. Tsuki, or whoever this was, was ready and raring to go for a fight. All they could do was simply wait in anticipation for one of them to make the first move. They didn't know what to possibly expect but the one thing that they did know is that they were about to witness history being made in a way no one would have expected.
To be continued…