Chapter 62 - Delusions of Insignificance
8.17.1206 - Thursday
Rean stared up to look at the red sky that he'd grown so accustomed to. There wasn't much else for him to look at besides the sky. He was alone, sitting on top of a hill surrounded by a never ending dark field, with ash constantly raining down on him, and a dead tree behind him.
Rean was alone, with only his thoughts to keep him company.
It was torture.
Rean couldn't even see the sky all that well thanks to a mysterious black mask that had attached itself to his face when he had woken up in the dark field for the first time.
If isolation weren't enough of a punishment for what he had done inside the Grahl, Rean occasionally heard people yelling in the distance. Calling out a name he didn't even recognize.
Luckily the yelling had become more infrequent over time. Although in their place, a single voice had begun calling out to him. One which he could only describe as full of malice.
Duvalie stood outside of Rean's holding cell, weapons at the ready in case he managed to regain enough control of his body to escape in his feral state. She was covering for his usual guard, who had gone out to check up on one of the other prisoners who was being held captive outside of the Black Workshop.
"Thanks for covering for me. How's Rean holding up?" Crow greeted as he made his way towards Duvalie.
"Same as ever. The witch's familiar that somehow managed to sneak inside Valimar when the Chancellor teleported over here has proven to be quite useful with all of those spells keeping Schwarzer contained." Duvalie explained.
"Heh, and people say black cats bring bad luck." Crow quipped.
"Enough of your jests. I've got other things that I'd rather be doing right now instead of being on guard duty in your place." Duvalie complained.
"Sorry, just trying to lighten the mood. Seriously, I appreciate you agreeing to look after Rean while I paid someone a visit." Crow replied.
"How's Herschel's condition by the way? Not to pry, but Georg and Rossweisse really did a number on her outside of the Grahl." Duvalie asked.
"Towa's… fine, for the most part. Her right hand is still healing after Gelica- no, Rossweisse, fractured it. She's also still asleep, no doubt probably dreaming about better times. Before things headed south." Crow revealed while thinking about his and Georg's separate betrayals.
"I see, I pray Aidios allows for her to recover peacefully." Duvalie replied before walking away from Crow.
Instead of leaving the Black Workshop immediately to continue her training like she originally intended, Duvalie made her way back to Crow so that she could question him on something she had been wondering about him ever since he regained his memories back at the Grahl.
"Tell me, why exactly are you still here? After what happened inside the Grahl, I would've expected you to run away with your regained freedom from the Gnomes' control." Duvalie asked.
"I owe the guy in this cell too much interest to just up and leave them here by themselves. Not just the interest though, after what Ordine and I did… it's only fair that I'm here in case he ever breaks loose. Maybe then we'll finally be even." Crow explained while remembering what Alberich made him do while in control of his body and Ordine.
Admittedly, Crow did fear that Alberich would take control again. But with what was going to happen soon, he had some solace in knowing that it would be against their best interest to potentially harm a Divine Knight and its Awakener right before the main show could begin.
"You're lucky the Chancellor and Black Alberich are letting you walk around freely around the Black Workshop after you've leaked information to Rossweisse's father about his daughter's disappearance." Duvalie commented.
"They already know that I'm a dead man walking with the Rivalries hanging over my head. Probably don't see enough value being lost whatever it is I do. I can't escape my fate. After all, I'm already two years late." Crow noted as he placed his hand on his chest, right over the spot he had been stabbed in back during the Civil War.
"Oh, that's right…" Duvalie said to herself as she recalled reading about what happened inside the Infernal castle.
"What about you? Any reason you're bumming around here instead of training on some remote mountain range with your knight buddies? You fall for Rean or something? If so, I'd recommend backing off now if you know what's good for you." Crow asked.
"I don't have to explain myself to you!" Duvalie shouted as she crossed her arms and pouted.
"Let me guess, you're curious about what to do in the event of obtaining any form of freedom from the Lance Maiden. Thinking about running away?" Crow continued.
"I would never do something so cowardly!" Duvalie argued.
"Maybe running away isn't the right word. Do you want to strike out and do what you deem is right after the Lance Maiden's involvement with the Great Twilight?" Crow clarified.
Before the two could continue their conversation, they heard a loud explosion happen from deeper inside the Black Workshop.
Crow immediately opened the door to Rean's cell to check on him and Celine, only to discover that the two had somehow escaped the cell.
"Damn it, they must've escaped through a vent!" Crow yelled as he pulled out his twin guns.
"We better stop Schwarzer before he does anything he might regret once he's back in the right state of mind!" Duvalie shouted as she pulled out her sword and shield.
The two quickly formed a combat link and made their way deeper inside the Black Workshop, following the trail of destruction left behind by Rean.
"Kill…" Rean muttered as he slashed through all of the Oz units and other robots sent his way to prevent him from escaping.
"He's still not himself, his body must be on autopilot or something." Celine thought to herself, now in her human form.
Rean's consciousness was still buried deep inside his head, right now his body acted on instincts. It craved nothing more to make Osborne pay for everything that had occurred inside the Grahl.
"Please! Get a hold of yourself, Rean!" Celine begged as she followed Rean deeper into the Black Workshop.
Suddenly, Celine was able to sense Emma nearby thanks to their link as witch and familiar. Along with the other members of Class VII, old and new. Likely teleporting in to rescue Rean. She even sensed the presence of Alfin, Elise, and Towa. They were more faint compared to the others, but still strong enough to be able to connect to Rean. She also noticed a link forming between herself and Rean, along with two other people she couldn't fully identify at that moment.
Celine quickly noticed that Rean was beginning to touch his head, concluding that something must be going on inside his thick skull.
"They're here!" Celine shouted.
"RELINQUISH IT TO ME… IT BELONGS TO ME… HIS HEART…" Ishmelga commanded.
Rean struggled to ignore them, each time they spoke he felt himself getting closer to losing what little mental strength he had left.
"Instructor R-!" an energetic voice yelled.
"Listen to us, Instructor R-!" a stoic voice shouted.
"This isn't you, Instructor R-!" a mischievous voice pleaded.
"You better not quit now, S-!" a brash voice threatened.
"Please come back to us, Instructor R-" a youthful voice begged.
Soon many more voices began to fill Rean's head, causing him to grab his head in pain as Ishmelga tried to nullify them.
Rean wasn't even sure who those people were calling out to. They were saying someone's name, yet he didn't know who it was.
"PAY THEM NO MIND… ACCEPT YOUR FATE… ACCEPT ME…" Ishmelga ordered.
"My fate…?" Rean repeated as a crack appeared on his mask.
For the first time since waking up there, Rean was finally able to speak.
"SILENCE!" Ishmelga shouted.
Before Rean knew it, his scenery changed. He was now standing by himself in the middle of an endless black void.
"I was so excited to be able to spend more time with Allie after the Summer Festival, but then you failed to protect either of us. Now Allie will never be able to have a proper family." Millium's voice informed Rean.
Suddenly Rean found himself back at the Grahl, sitting inside Valimar. Just in time to watch the Black Holy Beast kill Millium before his eyes once again.
"Heh... Yay... I... did it... Right?" Millium said as she died cradled in Valimar's hands.
"How could you let this happen!?" Juna shouted.
"I thought you were Millium's friend!? How could you let her die!?" Kurt questioned.
"You can't even fight a beast by yourself? I see your abilities are as shallow as your title." Musse commented.
"Millium!" Altina sobbed as she watched Millium fade away.
"I-I…" Rean tried to respond, but he couldn't find the words.
"What did you do!? Other than letting one of our own die!" Jusis angrily shouted.
"M-Millium…" Rean thought to himself as he struggled to hold back his emotions.
"YOU FAILED TO PROTECT HER AND PROCEEDED TO LOSE YOURSELF IN THE AFTERMATH… SHE WOULD STILL BE ALIVE… BE WITH HER FAMILY AND FRIENDS… IF IT WERE NOT FOR YOUR OWN WEAKNESS…" Ishmelga taunted Rean.
"We shouldn't be surprised, this isn't the first time that we've lost someone because of him. After all, Crow's died because of him too." Elliot commented.
"Crow…" Rean said to himself as his scenery changed back to the black void.
"Even after everything, I was looking forward to reuniting with Towa, Gelica, and George. Just like how you had promised them, before you went back on your word and let me die." Crow's voice informed Rean.
Rean quickly found himself back inside the Infernal Castle. Surrounded by his friends while he held a dying Crow in his arms.
"Hey, now... what's with the long faces? You're all going to be in for some... tough times ahead... I can't go any farther now... but you can... so keep going forward..." Crow commented as he bled out.
"Don't move!" Emma cautioned as she, Celine, and Vita tried healing Crow with their magic.
"Guess I should've had someone else watch my back…" Crow lamented as it became clear that the Hexen Clan's magic wouldn't be enough to save him.
"Why couldn't Testa-Rossa have aimed for the more inexperienced Divine Pilot!?" Alisa questioned.
"Just when we were all finally reunited." Gaius noted.
"I-I…" Rean tried to speak before Crow stood up.
"Crow!" the rest of Proto Class VII yelled as they entered the depths of the Infernal Castle.
Rean watched as Crow used the last of strength to limp over to Angelica, Towa, and George, falling before the three of them caught him right before he hit the ground.
"Towa... Gelica... George... Thank you... for being the best friends a guy like me...
could ask for... S-Sorry, but... looks like you'll have to celebrate... in Ymir without me…" Crow said as he died in the arms of his true friends.
"You liar! You promised us that you'd bring Crow back to the academy! Why give us that hope when you knew that you were only capable of not living up to your word!" Towa shouted as she turned to look at Rean while she and her friends cried over Crow's corpse.
"THANKS TO YOU, THE AZURE AWAKENER IS NOTHING MORE THAN ONE OF THE GNOMES' PUPPETS NOW… WHILE WELL INTENTIONED… YOU ONLY BRING DESPAIR TO THOSE WHO FOOLISHLY DECIDE TO HAVE FAITH IN YOU… IF NOT FOR YOUR INEXPERIENCE… HE WOULD HAVE REUNITED WITH HIS FRIENDS…" Ishmelga taunted Rean once again.
"Hmph. You make it sound as if he hasn't always been like this. A failure, a disappointment, someone who only brings misfortune for those unlucky to get too close to him." Osborne commented as he stepped out from the shadows, followed by Rufus, Claire, and Lechter.
"LOOK INSIDE YOURSELF… IT IS TRUE… NO ONE IS SAFE AROUND YOU…" Ishmelga informed Rean as his scenery changed once more.
Rean wasn't sure where he was now. All he saw was a large house on the outskirts of what looked like Heimdallr burning down. The house looked familiar, but he couldn't figure out why. Before he could put any more thought into it however, he noticed a woman kneeling down in front of the house, holding what looked like a young child in her arms.
From what Rean could see, the woman had the same shade of black hair as him, along with the child in her arms.
Unsure of what to do, Rean approached the woman to see if he could help.
"Ma'am, what happened? Are you okay? Is your child okay?" Rean asked as he put a hand on the woman's shoulder.
"You really want to know…? You… You happened!" the woman yelled as she turned around, revealing her injuries alongside the child's.
The child had a piece of wood lodged into their chest, surrounded by blood. It was clear by their empty eyes that there was no life left inside them. Rean couldn't help but put his hand over his chest in response, as he felt a sharp pain in his heart as he looked at the lifeless child. Meanwhile the woman was covered in bullet wounds and blood from head to toe. It was clear that what had occurred there earlier was no accident.
Rean tried to look at the woman's face, but when his eyes moved up from the child in her arms, he discovered that the woman had no face. He didn't know who the woman was.
"This is your fault! It should've been you who had stayed dead!" the faceless woman continued shouting.
Instead of feeling guilt and pain like with Millium and Crow, Rean was just confused. He knew that he should feel bad, but without being able to remember who the woman and the child in front of him were, it just didn't leave as much of an impact.
"PATHETIC… DEATH IS SO COMMONPLACE IN YOUR LIFE THAT YOU WOULD FORGET SUCH A VITAL PERSON IN YOUR LIFE…" Ishmelga taunted Rean again.
Rean turned around to face Ishmelga, now back in the black void, alone.
"NO ONE IS SAFE… ONCE THEY COME IN CONTACT WITH YOU…" Ishmelga continued.
Suddenly Rean felt himself getting pulled down into Gehenna by multiple people's hands. Below him he saw what looked like Celdic's former market manager Otto, the soldiers that were killed during the Imperial Liberation Front's attack on Garrelia Fortress and the watchtower in Nord, Victor, Toval, Olivert, and the staff onboard the Courageous when Black Alberich activated the bombs that Georg had hid, and even Grianos flew up and began pecking at his eyes to try and make him fall over.
Rean tried to shake them off, but more dead would just grab onto him and make him sink even more. He was beginning to lose what remaining hope he had left. After all, everyone that was pulling him down were people who died under his watch. They would still be alive if not for him.
"Maybe in a twisted way, this is Aidios' will. I suppose my time has come…" Rean said to himself as he gave up and let the many hands pull him down.
"I think not. I would know, I asked her to look after you." a cold voice commented.
Rean looked up, and from beyond the black void he saw a man's hand coming down from the heavens reaching out to him. Instinctively, Rean lifted his arm and took their hand.
It was cold, as if their hand was made up of only blood and iron. Yet, there was a warmth to it, one that felt almost nostalgic.
As he got closer to the light, Rean closed his eyes as he was lifted away from the pit of despair he was ready to let himself sink into. He could hear Ishmelga's voice becoming quieter, a peace he hadn't had for a while.
Upon opening his eyes, Rean found himself sitting on the hill once again. The sky was still red and the dark field still seemed endless.
However thanks to his sixth sense, Rean was able to feel that something was slightly different now.
As Rean turned around to see what had changed, he noticed that someone else was now sitting next to him on top of the hill.
It was a woman wearing a fairly simple black dress. While her face was covered by a veil, her long hair could be seen. It was the same shade of black as his.
"I see that you're finally waking up." the woman greeted.
Despite not knowing who she was, her voice was warm, inviting, and even nostalgic.
"What do you mean?" Rean asked.
"Open your ears and listen. Your friends, they're calling out to you… Rean." the woman instructed.
"Rean! Please, come back!" multiple voices shouted as Rean was engulfed by a faint blue light.
Rean quickly began to hear the voices again, this time without disruption from Ishmelga. He was finally able to recognize that they had been calling out his name this entire time.
"E-Everyone…" Rean responded as his mask began to crack even more.
"Heehee. It's wonderful seeing all of the bonds you've made since the last time I saw you." the woman commented as she took off her veil.
Rean froze as he stared at the woman's face, his brain slowly realizing just who she was. Suddenly the red sky changed into a bright blue sky, the tree behind them began to bloom as if it were spring time, the ash that had been raining down transformed into petals coming from the tree, and the dark field was overtaken by white grass.
"What's with the long face, Rean?" Kasia noted as she reached out her hand and began to pat Rean's head like she used to do.
"Y-You're…" Rean replied before the woman interrupted him.
"It was nice being able to see you again after so long, Rean. You've certainly grown up to be a fine gentleman." Kasia continued before standing up and putting her veil back on.
"No, wait! Please, there's so much I want to talk with you about!" Rean responded as he quickly got up.
"Please Rean, give your father my regards… Make things right." Kasia requested before turning around and walking further up the hill.
"M-Mother!" Rean shouted as he reached out to Kasia, his mask finally shattering into fragments to reveal tears going down his face.
Rean watched as Kasia faded away before his very eyes.
Rean stayed silent as he found himself back inside the black void. He watched as a crystal materialized in front of him, floating close to his scar.
"Why…? I can't… undo what I've done…" Rean lamented as he thought about everything that had occurred at the Grahl.
"That's what I was talking about! It's not just your burden to bear!" Juna scolded Rean as she and the rest of New Class VII appeared before him.
"You didn't do it on purpose, right? Something forced you into it." Fie pointed out as she and the rest of Old Class VII appeared too.
"When you lost control, you took on all of our anger and sadness with your own." Laura added on.
"That's the power of the curse- the one that's been eating away at Erebonia." Emma explained.
"Sure, there are some things that can't be undone." Ash commented.
"But instead of dwelling on the past, we can all think of a way forward, together!" Alisa suggested.
"I… don't…" Rean responded before his friends interrupted him.
"But to do that, we need our instructor back!" Kurt pointed out.
"First, remember who you are! Regain control of yourself!" Machias advised.
"No matter what hold the curse may have on you…" Musse noted.
"We all know you can overcome it!" Elliot commented.
"Yup. And we're not the only ones offering you our strength." Sara revealed.
"Every connection you've ever made will be another feather in the wings that will set you free!" Gaius explained.
"Now, it's high time you return!" Jusis suggested.
"We're waiting for you. All of us!" Altina begged.
"That… That's right…" Rean said to himself as Class VII disappeared.
"Hehe. About time you got this sorted out." Crow commented.
"Hmph. I suppose I am glad to see you regain your humanity." Duvalie admitted.
"Finally, I was worried that you'd stay in that monstrous state forever." Celine noted.
"Huh… Wait…" Rean responded as he saw Crow, Duvalie, and Celine briefly appear in front of him before disappearing.
"Oh thank Aidios, you're safe…" Elise commented as she and Alfin appeared before Rean.
"Elise? Alfin? But how?" Rean questioned.
"This must be because of our links. I'm so relieved you're okay… We were so worried…" Alfin concluded.
"Good luck, Rean. All of you. Together, you can get through anything." Elise assured Rean before she and Alfin disappeared.
"How did they reach me… from so far away?" Rean questioned.
Suddenly, a lone figure appeared before Rean. Unlike the others however, they weren't facing him. Of course, he knew exactly who it was.
"T-Towa…?" Rean whispered.
"I'm so happy to see you… Rean!" Towa replied before turning around to face Rean, revealing tears going down her face.
"I'm so sorry-" Rean tried to say before Towa interrupted him.
"Please Rean, not right now. What happened a month ago doesn't matter. Being able to sense you, to know that you're okay, is all I need to wake up and give it my all too." Towa informed Rean as she began to slowly fade away.
"Wait T-Towa, where are you!?" Rean begged as he tried to reach out to her.
"Promise me Rean, that whenever you get the chance… you'll look up at the night sky… I promise that I'll be looking too…" Towa requested.
"Towa… I… I will!" Rean replied as Towa disappeared.
Rean soon began to feel the links he had formed with everyone giving him the energy he needed.
"Everyone… Wait… Has a whole month really gone by?" Rean thought to himself.
"Haha, sure has! And it's time to rise and shine, sleepyhead! Millium answered.
"You found yourself in a similar situation two years ago. Curious how cyclical fate can be." Valimar noted.
"Valimar… a-and… Millium!" Rean responded as he saw Millium and Valimar appear before him.
"Heehee. I'm really glad I got to see you again. Well, even if I am just some kinda echo from the past…" Millium admitted.
"As am I. My thought processing core has been lost. Nevertheless, I am here to pledge my aid to you once more." Valimar revealed.
"Ohh! Me, too! I wanna help out, so you better make good use of me! I feel kinda bad for the Holy Beast, but if swinging me around will protect everyone, that's what you gotta do!" Millium added on.
"Millium… Valimar… Thank you. Haha… Sorry I'm such a mess." Rean replied as he felt his links with Millium and Valimar still being as strong as the others.
"You sure are! But it's time for you to wake up!" Millium advised.
"Remember who you are. Remember your bonds with your friends." Valimar instructed before he and Millium disappeared.
"That's right… I am… the son of Baron Schwarzer and a disciple of the Eight Leaves One Blade school. I graduated from Thors Military Academy and became an instructor at the branch campus. Together with my friends and students, I pledged to dispel the dark shadows hanging over Erebonia. I'm Rean Schwarzer of Class VII." Rean declared as he was engulfed by a bright light coming from the crystal floating in front of him.
New Class VII watched as Rean stopped attacking them and sheathed his tachi.
"It's about time." Celine commented as she watched on from the sidelines.
Juna was left speechless as their instructor seemed to have finally returned to his normal self.
"Are you really…" Kurt tried to ask as he struggled to find the words.
"Yeah…" Rean answered as he opened his eyes.
Class VII stood silently as they processed the return of their instructor, along with his new look. His black hair had transformed into white hair, while his lilac eyes changed to crimson.
"Doesn't look like my hair's going to change back, but other than that. I'm back. Juna, Kurt, Altina, Ash, and Musse. Thank you, everyone." Rean informed them.
Author's Note
I hope you all enjoyed this new chapter, thank you all for reading!
This chapter was inspired by Cold Steel IV's opening of all things, that scene of Rean sitting on the hill with his mask made me wonder what if Ishmelga tried manipulating Rean to get him to give into the curse. With that field being a sort of prison for him.
If you're wondering if the Kasia and "blood and iron hand" that pulled Rean out of Ishmelga's clutches were the real versions or just manifestations of Rean's locked away childhood memories, I'll just leave it up to your interpretations. With how Rean doesn't really remember Kasia, I concluded that she was someone who Rean couldn't have a proper distorted memory of like Crow and Millium. Since, well, he doesn't really remember her.
With Cold Steel IV's Prologue, Chapter 1, and Fragments now taken care of, expect Rean and Towa to reunite soon!
Special thanks to ZetianWu for beta-reading this chapter!
