DISCLAMER: I don't own any of the series described in this story, everything belongs to their respective creators.

Prologue 3: Trials of the woods part 2

Aleister found himself walking for a while, having already finished eating the apple and… feeling a lot healthier now, "That apple did look special, so maybe that's why." He thought to himself.

He then reached another division on the path, with three different paths this time, two of them had grey flowers, and one had black.

"So, the right path is blocked off, and I have to go down the path with black flowers to open it." He thought to himself, then he walked into the only path available, then found himself in a closed off field, there, he saw three levers and a stone slab with writing on it, "He who stands at a crossroads looks out to the only two paths Left to him, hoping that, in the end, he makes the Right choice." Was what he read.

He looked towards the levers and pondered what to do, "Okay, that writing was obviously a clue to the right answer, as for what it is…" he pondered it for a bit, "The obvious answer would be left the right, but that bit in the beginning makes me wonder… wait, would that be it?".

He came to a conclusion, so, he first pulled the middle lever first, then the left one and then the right one.

And after he pulled the right one, a strong gust of wind came into the area, and after a little while, it ended, "Guess that must have triggered something." He thought to himself, so he went back into the previous area and saw that the two other paths with grey flowers were now instead white and yellow.

"Looks like I got it right." He thought, "I could just follow the right path and be done with it, but first and foremost? Loot!" he then went along the path of yellow flowers and found himself in a field with a single chest at the end of the area, "Just one?" he thought, "Well, that's kind of a bummer, still thought, might as well take it." He went and opened the chest and found more hacksilver and mira, then he went back and went along the right path.

He then found himself in an area with four paths, most of them had grey flowers, but one had red flowers in it.

"Four, huh? I'm going to guess that the red path is going to lead to a fight." He thought, "But it's not like I have any better ideas, so might as well go with it." So, he went along the only path available.

He found himself in a clearing, then, more of those zombie-like creatures appeared from the ground, but Aleister was able to put them down no problem.

Then, another gust of wind was felt, and when he went back to the crossroads, there was a path with black flowers, so he went along it, this time, he found himself in an area with five levers this time, and another stone slab with writing, "This time, he found himself standing in-between four directions, he looked to his Far Right, but then wondered about the two in the middle, from Left to Right he wondered which way to go and where they would Lead him to." Was written on it.

"Hmm… so, I think it would be the middle first, then the far right, then just left to right from there?" he thought to himself, "But… that last bit makes me wonder, 'where they would Lead him'…", so, this time, he pulled the middle lever first, then the far right one, then the middle left, then the middle right and finally the far left.

And again, a gust of wind was felt, and when he found himself back on the path, the other two directions had white and yellow flowers respectively, so naturally, he went along the path of yellow flowers, and in the clearing, he found two chests this time, he opened one to find some tear balms and EP charges 1, and the other with hacksilver, then he went back to the crossroads and went along the path with white flowers.

He went along the path, only this time, instead of more paths, he saw another elevator with a switch on it, "Guess this means I'm at the other side." He thought, so he got on the elevator and flipped the switch, the he began to rise until he got to the top.

As he got off the elevator, he looked back towards the forest maze and the other side from where he got in, "That took a little while." He thought, "Still, looks like I'm doing a good job so far." He then opened the doors and continued on.

As he went into the next area, he found himself in a large room, there were still vegetation in the walls, but it looked like it was receding a little, and the stone was less grey and a little whiter, and when he looked up, he saw the exit to the room was right above him.

Aleister continued onwards for a bit until… "So, you've made it this far." The voice was once again heard, "It seems like there is more to you than expected.".

"Heh, what can I say, I'm always on to beat the odds." Said Aleister, "Still though, I can see how important this place was back in the day, what with all of the challenges in here. You said this place was made to test up and coming gods and to see if they were ready to lead, but how long has that been?".

"Far too long." Said the voice, sounding a bit sad, "Much of the past has been forgotten, and those that do know of it are too scared of the possibility of change for this world.".

"I guess I can understand that." Said Aleister, "Better to worship a goddess that may not even exist then to even think about the possibility that there are other possibly even stronger gods out there that are in hiding.".

"And it's all because of that damn religion." He said with spite in his voice.

"Indeed." Said the voice, "But enough about that for now, for I believe that it is time for you to face a much stronger opponent.".

"Is that so? Well, bring it on then, I'm ready for anything.". said Aleister, and as he said that, the doors behind him closed and bars sealed it.

And just then, a giant creature fell from the ceiling, this creature was mostly covered in fur and had blank eyes, it also had two big horns extending from his head, but the most daunting thing about it was the fact that it was holding a battle-axe that was about as big as it was.

"A Minotaur, huh?" said Aleister, "Well, this ought to be interesting. Bring it on, you disgusting beast!".

The Minotaur responded by roaring at Aleister, then, in lowered itself to all fours and then charged at him with the intent to impale him with its horns. But Aleister was prepared, he got into position and when the Minotaur reached him, he grabbed it by the horns, and while it did push him back a little, Aleister was able to spot it dead in its tracks. Then with all of his might, Aleister lifted the minotaur by the horns and threw him aside.

He then took out his weapons and went to work on it, stabbing it as it tried to get up in areas, he thought were sensitive, and it seemed to work to an extent, as the minotaur was reeling in pain. Then it got up and swung its axe at Aleister, but he was able to block it with his shield and suffered no damage, only thing that happened was that he was pushed back a little, the minotaur then lifted its axe upwards to da an overhead slam, but luckily Aleister dodged sideways and, seeing his opportunity, charged and implanted his spear into its stomach, which covered him in blood, he then took it out and kicked it away, then he jumped up and jammed his spear into its upper body part before taking it out and jumping away.

By this point, the minotaur was beyond angry, so it began to swing its axe at random in the hope that it would hit him, but Aleister simply parried or sidestepped its attacks. It then did a spin attack, to which Aleister rolled backwards, then the minotaur jumped upwards with its axe in both hands with the intent to slam the axe into Aleister, but as it was about to do it, he was able to roll to the side, then, in quick response, Aleister ran, then jumped up and slammed his shield into the minotaur's arms, causing it to let go of the axe. He then threw his spear into its right shoulder and then his shield right into its face, causing it to stumble and fall on its back. Then, to finish it off, Aleister grabbed onto the minotaur's axe and lifted it up with little effort, then, as it got up, he said: "This is how you split something in haft!", then he jumped high up and, with all of his might, slammed and dug the giant axe right into the minotaur's skull. Blood began to rain out from its head as the creature screeched out in pain, then it fell limp as the life left it and it dissolved to ash and cinders.

Aleister took a moment to catch his breath, then he went to grab his weapons then proceeded to the best part: Taking a look at the spoils of a great fallen enemy. He grabbed the hacksilver that fell from it, a few pieces of unfamiliar steel, a few other materials, and most importantly, the two horns of the defeated minotaur. He grabbed it all and stashed it away in his backpack.

"It seems like that was of no trouble to you." Said the voice once again.

"Yup, it was no problem." Said Aleister, "Still though, how did you hide something that big on the ceiling?".

"That is a secret." Said the voice, "Still, I must admit, for someone so young, you managed did very well to have come all this way all by yourself.".

"Hehe, thanks." Said Aleister.

"One might even say that that alone deserves a reward or two." Said the voice, and just after he said that, two pedestals arose from the ground on the left side of the room.

Aleister went to take a closer look, and saw that on the left pedestal there were two vambraces on it, both of them were made of old, but strong steel and they also had bronze markings adorned on them. Overall? While they were most definitely old, the craftsmanship was superb and was made to last.

"One could say that you are in desperate need for proper armor." Said the voice, "And while these pieces are old, I'm sure that they'll do you good in the coming battles."

And so, with no reason to argue, Aleister put on the vambraces that, surprisingly, were a good fit on him, then he went to check that other pedestal, to which he found… a ring.

The ring looked somewhat fancy, while the outside layer was made of stone, the inside layer was made of pure gold, and had engravings.

"Huh… I'll admit, this ring does look nice." Said Aleister, "But since I'm not really someone who's into jewelry, do you really think that this is-".

Then all of a sudden, he was hit with a headache, he held his head with both hands in pain, "Ugh! What is…" he said, then…

May this weapon strike true; may it be wielded with wisdom; may it be put down when its job is done.

He heard another voice… no, more like an echo. His headache then quickly dissipated, as Aleister soon realized that he had heard those words in the past.

"That… that was the blessing my mom told me in the story… the one that the dwarf Brok gave the…!" then, the realization hit him, "Wait, THAT ring?... Is actually…?".

"…Why don't you see it for yourself?" said the voice.

And with that, Aleister went and picked up the ring and put it in his ring finger in his right hand and, with a simple thought, summoned a spear onto his hand.

The spear was made of gold and had multiple engravings from the top of the handle, all the way to the bottom, the bladed part of the weapon was made of steel and was very prominent and, upon inspection, say that it was still sharp, and of note, there was a red cloth hanging from the upper end of the spear.

Aleister gave it a closer look and say that the mark of the Huldra brothers was still on the spear, and it actually glowed for a bit, as if in recognition of its new owner.

"The Draupnir spear, huh?" said Aleister as he admired the weapon, "I heard that this thing was lost to time. So how did it find its way here?".

"It is true that, after his passing, the spear was put away, never to be seen again." Said the voice, "But the fact that it found its place here is a mystery even to myself".

"Wait, you didn't put it here?" asked Aleister.

"No, I don't believe that anyone put it here." Said the voice, "But since it has found its way onto your hands, maybe you were meant to find it.".

"Meant to, huh?" said Aleister, and as he said that, a set of stairs emerged from the ground and went all the way to the upper platform, showing him the way forward, "Well, whatever the answer is, I'll be sure to put it to good use in the battles ahead." And so, he climbed the stairs and went through the doors.

As he walked through, he found himself in an odd place, there were platforms over a seemingly endless pit, he also noticed that there were poles with ropes on the top.

"So, I have to get across while hanging for my life?" said Aleister, "Sure, no problem for me!".

So, he climbed onto the rope in the center of the room he was in and shimmied across the rope until he reached the next platform, then, he noticed that there were two other ropes in different directions, both seemingly leading to the same direction, but he noticed that one lead to a dead-end, but listening to his sense of curiosity, he went for the left rope and crossed, then, after getting across, he noticed that there was a handle on the floor, so, he lifted it all the way to reveal a passage, he went inside to find a room with two big chests, he opened the first to find a few bars of relatively low-quality steel, some hacksilver and mira. Then he opened the second one to find tear balms, a few bits of leather and more hacksilver, then, he went back the way he came and crossed to the right path, then, as he got there, he noticed that, while there were a pole in either side, there was no rope attached for him to cross, he did see that the pole on his side had rope attached, with a bit more to spare, then, remembering something he heard, he summoned a spear, attached the other end of the rope to it, and threw it to the pole on the other side, then he climbed on a crossed it, reaching the other side of the room, and so, he opened the doors and continued onwards.

As he got into the next room, he noticed that it was more of the same as the last one, but this time, there were also elevated platforms, and some were so high that climbing the rope up would be next to impossible by himself. He also noticed a rotating lever in the middle of the room, to which he assumed was to control the elevation of the platforms.

"Looks a little bit more complicated." Said Aleister, "But I'm sure it will be no problem for me.".

Aleister looked at the locations and height of the platforms, and realized what he had to do, he rotated the lever to a point as to were the platforms were about even in position, so he could shimmy across the rope. So, he climbed a latter on the left platform, crossed the rope to the right side, then he summoned a spear to descend the rope leading down to the other side.

In this next part, there was still a lever in the middle of the room, only this time there were five platforms, two on each end of the wall, and one in the middle, which lead to the exit.

Aleister rotated the lever and noticed that each of the platforms ascended and descendent differently, but the one in the middle descended more then he expected, which meant that he couldn't get across, but instead of pulling the lever again, he decided to climb up one of the platforms that was elevated on the left side, he then grabbed the rope, attached a spear to it and threw it to the pole on the other side of the room, then he descended down from the rope, returning to ground level, he went and rotated the lever again, changing the altitude of the platforms, then he climbed the right side, crossed the rope leading forward, threw a spear with rope to the other pole, then crossed it, then, once again, he grabbed some rope and attached it to a spear and threw it upwards to a pole on the middle platform, then, he went back, rotated the lever so that all of the platforms were in the right position, then he climbed the left platform, descended to the right, crossed forward, crossed again to the left, descended over to the middle, then crossed to the other side, then he opened the doors and went onwards.

This time, he found himself in a small room, and from the looks of it, it was special, the vegetation was pretty much nonexistent here, and this had shown that there were murals which depicted ancient history, from a time before the Septian calendar, long ago in the past.

"Well, now this is interesting." Said Aleister, then he took out his camera and started taking pictures of the murals, and when he was about finished…

"So, you have an interest in ancient history?" asked the voice.

"Something like that." Said Aleister, "I'd just like to know how we got to this point, I mean, past the dark ages, nobody knows or even want to know what things were like back then.".

"Over time, everything is forgotten." Said the voice, "Even the people that made it possible for us all to be where we are today.".

"Yeah, that's a real shame, let me tell you." Said Aleister, "Hopefully when I show some archeologists these photos, it will reignite some interest in this place.".

"Hehe he. I believe that that won't be necessary." Said the voice, which confused Aleister, "I'm pretty sure that an interest in these ruins shall be re-emerged very soon.".

"What do you mean by that?" asked Aleister.

"It will all be clear in time." Said the voice, "But onto another matter, I've notice that aside from your strength and combat prowess, you don't necessarily use any sort of magical abilities.".

"Yeah, you noticed huh?" said Aleister, "Honestly? I've yet to develop any abilities of my own yet, though that could always change with time. As for magic? I don't really have anyone who could teach me how to do it, my parents died before they could, and because apparently real magic isn't really a thing in the outside world, I can't learn anything.".

"Well, we can't have the next generation be left lacking, now, can we?" said the voice, then, in the middle of the room, the floor began to rise little by little until the center was a little way higher, like an altar, then, a mystical light began to shine down from the ceiling, "Why don't you step up here and see if we can't do anything about awakening some of your powers?".

Feeling very tempted, Aleister walked up the stairs and stepped onto the altar, "Power comes in many forms, some in brute strength, others in the control of the elements…" said the voice, then, Aleister began to float off the ground, and he looked at his hands as they began to glow and he felt something begin to awaken in him, "But you posses something far greater than that. You posses the power… Of a God.".

Then, something began to take hold of Aleister as he looked into the light, and his eyes then turned into a bright yellow.

Then he saw that he was in a blue ethereal void, but what caught his attention the most was… himself. A figure that looked just like him was in front of him, almost as if he's looking into a mirror, then…

"Take this power, Aleister… And use it to defeat your enemies…" the voice said, and as he said that, the figure summoned a bolt of lightning into his hand and, with all of his might, threw it at his direction as his vision faded to white.

As his vision returned, he saw the ceiling with the fading light as his feet returned to the ground, Aleister looked at his hands, wondering just what has happened. Then, the altar began to descend back into the floor, and as it completely descended, the way forward reveled itself to him.

"Now go, there is still one more test you must complete." Said the voice, but Aleister was more interested on this new power he had gained, so, to test it, he held out his left hand, thought about the lightning bolt in his hand, focused, and… A bolt of lightning appeared in his hand.

"Whoa!" he yelled in surprise, then the bolt disappeared from his hand, this time, he calmly focused and summoned the bolt again, he continued to summon and dismiss on both hands until he was satisfied, "Now this is awesome! I can use actual magic now! Just like in those RPGs I play…" then a thought hit him, "But… if its anything like those games, then I probably won't be able to do it much until I run out of juice… oh well, no use getting bummed out about it now." and so, he continued onwards.

This next room was simple, there were bigger murals surrounding the place with a lot of lore and depictions, and also some tapestries on the walls.

"Pretty interesting place here." Said Aleister, "But what exactly is this final-".

Just then, this huge creature fell from the ceiling, this thing was a hulking beast made of muscle and was only wearing a loincloth around its waist, another thing of note was that this creature only had one eye.

"A Cyclops huh?" said Aleister, "Well then, I doubt that this will be a problem." He then summoned Draupnir and prepared for battle as the Cyclops roared at him.

The Cyclops began to run towards him and slammed both of its fists into the ground, but Aleister rolled backwards and as he got up did an upwards slash with the spear, creating a gust of violent wind, which caused it to stumble. He then started to throw spears into the Cyclops, then after throwing an eight one, he slammed the pommel into the ground, which caused the spears to detonate, which caused it to fall on its back. Aleister then ran towards it and jammed another spear into it, he then proceeded to do a combo of stabs and slashes, ending with him stabbing it and absorbing its element.

Aleister looked at what he siphoned and saw that it was… water? "Water huh? Well, I guess that's to be expected." He thought, but dismissed it as the creature got up, he then charged a spear drill, right into the cyclops face, then he slammed the pommel of the spear with a lot more force, causing a bigger explosion of wind and a torrent of water, then, almost as if by trance, he proceeded to do a Mountain Splitter attack, creating multiple waves of wind, even managing to time a few just right, and ending with a large, sweeping wave and sending all of them into the cyclops.

"Wait, what did I just do?!" he thought, then he looked into the runic gem slot and saw that it was empty, "I was able to do that without the attack gem? How did-" his train of thought was interrupted as the cyclops tried to shoulder charge him, to which he rolled to the side to dodge, "Well, I can think about it later, besides, either the move was ingrained into the weapon's memory, or I did that attack as a craft. Either way, time to finish this!".

Aleister then charged right into the cyclops right leg and jammed a spear into it, it tried to do a backhand attack, but he sidestepped and jammed another one onto its left leg. He then ran towards the front of it and slammed the spear onto the ground, which caused the cyclops to lose strength of it legs and fell onto its knees, Aleister took this opportunity and impaled a spear right into its eye, it then screamed in pain and as he did a Draupnir's Wail and slammed the spear into the ground, the creature's head exploded, then the rest of its body fell onto the ground.

Aleister then proceeded to spin a spear with both hands, then he held it with his right hand and slammed it onto the ground as he pumped his left arm, signifying his victory.

"Ahh Yeah!" he yelled so loud that the room echoed, "Looks like all that training and preparation paid off after all.".

"It seems so." Said the voice, "No one has come here in a long time, and the first challenger in so long has succeeded. Verry well done, young one.".

"Heh, thanks." Said Aleister.

"With someone like you around… yes, perhaps it is time." Said the voice.

"Time… for what?" asked Aleister.

"It wouldn't do me well to spoil the surprise, now would it?" said the voice, "For come into the next room, there is something important you must do.".

Then, the exit to the room opened itself, so Aleister, without really thinking about it, walked into the room.

Inside, it was a circular room with a pedestal in the middle, he went to take a closer look and saw that the base was made of black glass.

"Put your hand there." Said the voice, "It is about time this place re-awaken…".

"Huh, I've read enough comics to know where this sort of thing is going…" Aleister thought to himself, "But who am I to ignore the call to adventure? Besides, this might just be the start to something big." And so, with a big smile, he put his right hand into the glass, and for a moment he felt something, then the glass changed color to green and…

All of the sudden, the whole place began to shake, he looked up to see that the ceiling was opening, then the room he was in began to rise up like an elevator…


We cut back to Estelle and Joshua as they are returning home after passing their exam and a… not so successful first job.

"Hey, Joshua…" said Estelle, "Hmm?" said Joshua.

"… Do you think… I'm really cut out to be a bracer?" she asked.

"… Well, you seem to have inherited your father's skill with a staff…" said Joshua, "And your nosy personality doesn't let you ignore someone in distress…".

"Really? You think so…?" asked Estelle.

"Sure, but why are you asking? Are you still thinking about what happened back at the Tower?" asked Joshua.

"Yeah…" said Estelle, "Because of my carelessness, Luke almost got caught in the middle of a dangerous situation. If Dad hadn't come when he did, he could have been seriously injured."

"I guess I'm just worried about whether or not I'll be able to stay on top of things in the future…".

"… That kind of talk doesn't sound like the Estelle I know." Said Joshua, "Huh…?" said Estelle.

"If we fail today, then all that's left to do is take back our losses tomorrow, right?" said Joshua, "Overthinking and worrying about things that haven't happened yet is definitely not like you.".

"Isn't being a bracer what you've always dreamed of? How can you expect to succeed if you let something like what happened today discourage you?".

"Joshua… … You're right… This isn't like me at all!" said Estelle.

"I don't think a serious expression really suits your face either." Said Joshua, "You laughing like a ditz is far more natural for you.".

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?!" said Estelle, "You're gonna see my 'angry expression' if you keep that up…".

"Ha ha…okay. I admit that last comment was pushing things a bit." Said Joshua.

"I'll overlook it this time… And… thanks for cheering me up." Said Estelle, "I don't know about you, but I'm sooo ready to go home and eat. My stomach just started growling like a bear.".

"(Maybe 'glutton' is closer to the mark than 'ditz'…" Joshua thought.

The two of them started to walk back to their house, when all of the sudden, the ground started the shake.

"W-w-who! What's happening?!" yelled Estelle.

"An earthquake?!" said Joshua.

The two of them struggled to remain on their feet, then, they heard something loud, they looked at the direction of the noise and saw…

(OST- Sheikah Tower Appearance Breath of the Wild)

…A Temple emerging from the ground in the area of the Mistwald. It rose high into the sky, even surpassing the height of the Esmelas Tower, then it stopped and stood there, as if waiting for something…

Estelle and Joshua just looked towards its direction in awe and confusion, wondering just what that thing was.

"W-w-what is that?!" Asked Estelle in shock, "That thing just rose from the ground all of the sudden and…".

"I don't know either." Said Joshua, "I remember hearing that there were some ruins deep in the woods, but also that it was something small. I also don't understand how or why it rose like that all of the sudden.".

"Well, whatever the reason I think it might be for the best if we head there to investigate." Said Estelle, "You with me Joshua?".

"Of course!" he said, and so the two of them started running towards the newly- risen, monument.

"Some first day this turned out to be, huh?" said Estelle, "Indeed." Said Joshua.


Again, we cut to Aleister as we see the elevator he was in reach the top floor, as it stopped, he noticed that there were windows here and saw that the sun was setting, he noticed another set of stairs and climbed up to find himself in what appeared to be an observatory, there were multiple measuring tools here, and, most importantly, saw a huge telescope aimed at the sky, curious, he decided to look into the telescope and saw multiple stars and constellations in the sky, even though the sun was still out.

"Whoooa, this is awesome!" said Aleister as he looked into the telescope, curious, he decided to turn it towards the Grancel region, and was overjoyed to see that he could, "This is really cool, I can see the capital and even the castle from here! I wonder what else I can see?".

"Having fun?" said the voice, which caught Aleister by surprise as he stopped looking into the telescope.

"Hehe… sure am!" said Aleister, "You can never find anything this accurate in Liberl, not that I doubt that the field of astrology isn't a thing, but I could bet some scientists would love to have a look at this.".

"Indeed, they would." Said the voice, "So, what exactly is this place? It obviously serves more then just being an ancient nature preserve." Asked Aleister.

"Honestly? I do not remember…" said the voice, "It has been so long that my memory has begun to fade, all I know is that it is important, and that one day, it and the other temples will play an important role in this world's future.".

"That important, huh...?" said Aleister, then he realized something, "Wait, you said 'it and the other temples', you're telling me that there are more?".

"One for each region of this kingdom." Said the voice.

"All of them?!" said Aleister, "Dang, and now that you said that, I have to go see them all! ..." but then he realized something, "But wait a minute, there's no way dad would just let me travel around the kingdom all by myself. And besides, ever since coming to Liberl, I haven't set foot outside Rolent in years, so I wouldn't know where to even start.".

"My only option would be to ask Estelle or Joshua to take me around the kingdom, but if those two have passed their test, then they'll be too busy. And besides, I'm pretty sure that they haven't been outside Rolent either… UGH! What am I going to do?!".

"I wouldn't worry to much about it if I were you." Said the voice, "What do you mean?" asked Aleister.

"Let's just say that I've seen a bit into the future." said the voice, "I can't tell you much, but what I can tell you is that something big is going to go down in that kingdom, and those two will play an important role in what's to happened.".

"Estelle and Joshua? And something big is going to happened?" asked Aleister, then he started thinking, "Well, if it will take them all around the kingdom, then I suppose I could tag along for the ride. Besides, I'm sure that they wouldn't mind the help of a Demi-God… even if they don't figure that fact out.".

"You really care about them, don't you?" asked the voice.

"Well… yeah, they've been there for me when I needed someone the most. Sure, Estelle was a bit annoying at times, and it took a while to get close to Joshua, but either way, if something big is going to happened with the two of them, I want to be there to protect them.".

"So, it would seem… (Sigh)". said the voice, "Everything alright with you?" asked Aleister.

"Its nothing, just thinking about my own family, and just how dysfunctional we were." Said the voice, "Always fighting, always squabbling about something… and how we treated those beneath us as toys. Looking back on it now, I realise just how horrible we were as people. It's no wonder the mortals forgot about us.".

"'Mortals'?" asked Aleister, "Just who are you anyway? What's your name?".

"My name… is Nike. I am… I was the Goddess of Victory." Said the voice, now revealed as Nike, "They used to pray to me for…. Well, obviously, victory, whether it was in war or friendly competitions.".

"And I know what you're wondering. How did I survive your ancestor's wraith? I wish I could say that I had a genius plan, but honestly? I just ran away after I learned he brought back the titans.".

"Well, considering what happened after that event… I'd say that you've made the right call." Said Aleister.

"Do you hate me now? Knowing who I am?" asked Nike.

"(Sigh) Look, that was a long, LONG time ago." Said Aleister, "You're obviously not the same person you were back then, so I don't think there's any reason to hold it against you, besides, you've never done anything to me personally, so I don't have any reason to hate you.".

"…Thank you." Said Nike, "Well, now that that's over, it might be a good idea for you to get out of here.", "Why's that?" asked Aleister, "Look into the telescope and look into the direction of the town." Said Nike.

Aleister did just that and looked at the town and… saw that pretty much the entire town was looking and the temple, and some were even panicking, "(Uh oh)" he thought, "Now look at the checkpoints between the regions." Said Nike, and when Aleister did that, he saw that… while the soldiers of both places were panicking as well, they were also sending squadrons to investigate, "(Oh crap!)" he thought, "Now look at the entrance of the woods" Nike said, and when he did that… He saw Estelle, Joshua and Cassius looking at the place, "(Ah shit!)" he thought.

"If those three find me here, I'll be in a boatload of trouble!" he said, "And if the guard find me… well, I don't even want to imagine what will happened! I got to get out of here!".

"Then luckily for you, I know a shortcut that leads right back to your house." Said Nike, "For now, come back to the previous room and inspect the pile of wood and rocks.".

He did just that and ran back to the other room and spotted the pile of debris, then, when he got closer, he realized something, "Hang on, wasn't there something like this on our back yard?" he said.

"Hold out your hand." Said Nike, and so he did, then something materialized in his hand, it was a blue round crystal with a white center, and it was glowing.

"This is… a realm travel stone?" said Aleister, "Yeah, this will definitely help me to get out of here undetected." He then held the stone to the pile of debris, and it all formed together to form a door. And after thinking about the place, he wanted to go to, the rocks fell and just the door remained.

"Well, I guess this is it then." He said, then he looked back towards the room, "Take care of yourself Nike, I'll be sure to come back soon to see you again.".

"Take care, young one, and I'll hold you to it." Said Nike, and so, Aleister opened the door and walked in.


Then, he saw himself in the Realm Between Realms, and the path that was laid out, "This is pretty interesting…" he said. He walked along the path for some time until the portal leading out reveled itself to him, then he walked through it…


…And found himself in the backyard of his house.

"Now this is what I call fast travel." He said, then he walked into the house with the intent to take a bath and rest on his bed, until he realized… "It would be really weird why I, someone who's had an interest in that place, wouldn't be going there to see what's all the ruckus about.".

"Guess I better put all of my gear away, hide these vambraces and loot in my room, and probably put on some deodorant to hide the smell.".

And so, he did just that, and headed to the woods.


Aleister ran all of the way to the entrance to the Mistwald, were he saw the rest of his family, "Hey guys, what's going on here?" he asked.

"What's going… Did you not feel that earthquake?!" asked Estelle. "What earthquake?" asked Aleister, playing dumb.

"You seriously didn't feel it?" asked Estelle, "If so, what are you…?" asked Joshua.

"I'm obviously here because a giant tower just appeared all of the sudden." Said Aleister, "But seriously, what is that thing?".

"That's the question of the hour, isn't it?" said Cassius, "If I remember right, wasn't there some sort of ruin in theses woods?".

"Yeah, RUINS! There wasn't anything this grandiose there! I would know." Said Aleister.

"Considering that all of that seemed to simply emerge from the ground, it's no wonder you didn't find anything." Said Joshua.

"Go! go! Go!" They heard people shouting, and when they looked, they saw guards coming their direction.

"Group A! Head into the woods and investigate the strange building!" said one of the soldiers who looked more higher in command, "Yes Sir!" said some of the grunts, and they headed inside, "Group B! Form a perimeter, do not let anyone or anything get in or out!" he said, and the rest of the soldiers blockaded the entrance.

He then noticed the four of them and approached them, "Who are you? Do you know what's going on?" he asked the four of them.

"Were bracers, and we don't know what is going on." Cassius immediately took charge of the situation, "We felt the tremor and saw that building emerge from the ground, so we came to investigate.".

"Oh, very well then." Said the officer, "But not to worry, the army has this place covered. We'll contact the Guild if we need extra assistance, but for now I suggest that the four of you return to your homes and stay there for the rest of the day." And so, he took off.

"Guess they have this place under control then." Said Aleister, "Best not to get on their bad side, c'mon, let's go home.".

"(Sigh) Well, I suppose there isn't anything we can do at the moment anyway." Said Estelle, and so, they all started heading home.

"Sooooo… How did the exam go? Did you pass? Or not? I'm leaning towards not.".

"Sheesh! Have a little faith in me!" yelled Estelle, "Well thankfully it was something that Estelle could handle with relative ease. It was the rest of the day that was an experience." Said Joshua.

"Oh really? Do tell! I want to know." Said Aleister in excitement.

"It all started when we met up with Schera and…" and so Joshua continued on, with the extra input from Estelle.

Cassius remained mostly silent during the trip back, what with the mysterious temple that appeared, and the oddly intricate gold ring in Aleister's finger…


Hey everyone, back with another one, and OOOHHH BOOOY was this a long one, I'm really sorry for the wait, its just that I've been hit with the opportunity for a permanent job in the coming week, just got to pass an exam and I'll be set for life!

And for you nerds who think of this as a game, here's a cookie for you:

([MP Magic Points] Unlike other characters, Aleister has access to his own personal pool of magic to which he can spend to perform powerful magical abilities.

These attacks focus on the weaker defence stats of enemies, making them viable against any foe.

While there is no current way of manually replenishing MP, it will naturally replenish over time. And the maximum amount and regeneration will increase as Aleister levels up.)

What did you think of the chapter? I know that it was mostly the GOW stuff that was covered here, but from here on, it will be mostly Trails in the Sky being covered until we hit the next big dungeon of the story.

Did you like the combat so far? Hope it was entertaining for all of you.

Also, thanks for the reviews, its nice to see that people are liking this story.

Anyway, see you next time.