Next chapter is here and thanks again to all my suppose viewers since the site is still broken. On the bright side, this chapter marks this story reaching over 350k words. Wow, and we're still not close to done.

Now, to the story.

Chapter 67: Reflections

There was a long silence that fell upon the group with everything finally calming down. That was until a flash of light hit their eyes and the temple started to shake.

Lloyd looked around in confusion. "What's happening!?"

From Derris-Kharlan, Mithos felt it. He nearly fall over in pain and grabbed his chest as he attempted to catch his breath.

Kratos felt his former student's distress and appeared in the throne room. "Lord Yggdrasill, what has happened?"

Mithos took several deep breaths. "The link...the link that I shared with Volt has been severed."

This got Kratos' attention. "Sheena. She must have formed the vow to power the Rheairds."

"This...was unexpected," Mithos spoke softly. "The mana link between Sylvarant and Tethe'alla has also been broken. The lower worlds themselves are feeling it."

Kratos folded his arms. "It must be because Sheena already has a pact with Undine. Since Volt is her opposite, the link between them was severed."

"What are the chances that they would make a pact with the opposing summon spirit?" Mithos mused as he rubbed his chin.

"What does it mean?" Kratos asked.

Mithos shrugged. "I honestly don't know. This has never happen before."

"Then, I will have the computer here run the necessary tests. Just in case," Kratos answered.

Mithos looked at him in interest. "Just in case what?"

"Just in case they make anymore pacts in their foolishness to save the two worlds," Kratos stated.

"They would be so foolish," Mithos said. "Very well, do what needs to be done."

Kratos bowed. "As you wish." He vanished from the throne room.

"I may have to put my plans into action sooner than I expected," Mithos mused.

As Lloyd's group was trying to figure out what just happened, Undine appeared before them. She floated next to Volt.

"A link between the two worlds has been severed," she stated.

"..." Volt said.

"Wait. I'll translate. The two opposing forces of mana were severed just now?" Raine asked.

"What does it mean for the mana flow to be severed?" Regal asked for everyone.

"Mana flows from the world in which the summon spirits sleep to the world in which the summon spirits are awake. This is the first time the summon spirits have been awakened in both worlds at the same time. Because of this, the mana connecting the two worlds has been eliminated," Undine explained.

Lloyd rubbed his head. "Does that mean that Sylvarant and Tethe'alla have stopped competing for each other's mana?"

"..." Volt answered.

"I do not know. The only thing certain is that the flow of mana between the worlds has been severed," Raine translated.

"Yes. Eventually the worlds shall separate," Undine said.

Genis gasped. "You mean the two worlds will split apart?"

"That's perfect! Then they'll stop competing for each other's mana!" Zelos exclaimed in excitement.

Although, he doubted it would be that easy. Still, this group went further than he ever expected. Maybe they did have a chance.

Raine put her hand on her chin. "There are five seals in Sylvarant. And since there wasn't a summon spirit at the fifth seal, we should be able to sever all of the mana if we awaken the summon spirits that correspond to the other four seals. …Maybe."

"So if we awaken Tethe'alla's summon spirits, we'll save Sylvarant without having Tethe'alla go into decline, right?" Lloyd asked, lost in all the explanation.

"At the least, the mana connecting the worlds will disappear and the two worlds will separate," Undine stated.

With that, both Volt and Undine disappeared.

"I see. So the seals serve as a link between the two worlds," Raine said in awe.

Presea turned towards Sheena. "We owe it all to you, Sheena…and Corrine as well."

Sheena was confused by the statement. "Huh?"

"Because the two of you risked your lives to form the pact with Volt, we now know what the seals do," Presea explained further.

Lloyd smiled. "That's right. It's thanks to both of you."

Sheena lowered her head and felt where she had tucked away Corrine's bell in her gi. "Corrine…thank you…"

The group slowly made they way out of the temple, both exhausted mentally and physically. While they succeeded in gaining Volt's power, it came at a huge cost. It was sobering to realized that one of their friends were lost to them forever.

Lloyd glanced at Sheena, at a lost to what to say. It was odd that they were so much alike, yet so different now. When he faced Kvar in what felt like a lifetime ago, no one was lost. They through some miracle managed to beat the Grand Cardinal without losing anyone.

No…..it wasn't a miracle. They managed to beat Kvar without anyone dying because of Kratos. As bitter as it was to admit, that man was the reason he could confront Kvar and avenged his mom without any long-term negative consequences. If Kratos was here, he was certain that they could have subdued Volt without any lost of life.

Instead, the group only had him and he wasn't Kratos. He wasn't able to protect Sheena like Kratos did for him. Because of his weakness, Corrine was dead.

Lloyd gritted his teeth. Dammit, if only he was stronger. Then maybe…..

"It wasn't your fault," a voice cut through Lloyd's negative thoughts.

Lloyd looked up to see Regal walking next to him. "What?"

"You blame yourself for the lost of Corrine because you couldn't protect Sheena," Regal said as if reading his thoughts.

Lloyd stared at him in shock. "How did you know?"

"I know what guilt looks like," Regal answered in a somewhat far away voice. "You did everything you could. Nothing more could have been asked and in the end, we prevailed. Corrine's sacrifice was not in vain."

Lloyd ran his hand through his hair. "It's just…..when something like this happened before we managed to pull through with no losses. And looking back….it was only because Kratos was with us."

"That man who betrayed you," Regal stated.

Lloyd looked at the older man in surprised.

"Professor Raine told me," Regal answered the unspoken question. "She told me how Kratos used and deceived you to get to the Chosen."

Lloyd felt his old anger returned, but quickly pushed it down. "I hate what he did… Just thinking about it makes my blood boil. But….the fact remains that Kratos saved us countless times, even if his reasons were self-serving. Heck, I wouldn't even be half as strong as I am now if it wasn't for him."

"And you resent him for it," Regal surmised.

"I resent not being as powerful as him," Lloyd stated bitterly. "That I can't carry everyone like he did."

Regal shook his head. "You should not have to carry everyone, Lloyd."

"But…" Lloyd started to argue.

"Lloyd, while you were made to grow-up much too fast, you're still just a teen who isn't even in their physical prime," Regal interrupted. "There is no way you can be ask to carry an entire team. And you don't have to. We are here to support one another. You don't need to be Kratos."

Lloyd sighed. "You make it sound so easy."

Regal chuckled lightly. "It is always easier to give advice than to take it."

Lloyd smiled. "Yeah….. Thanks Regal."

"As for Kratos, while what he did is unforgivable, you should not resent the lessons that he taught you," Regal advised. "They have obviously serve you well and we will need your strength even more in the future."

Lloyd patted one of his swords. "Yeah, I hate it, but you're right. But, I'm still going to make him pay for what he did. One of these days, I will surpass Kratos."

"I am sure that you will," Regal replied with absolute confidence.

Despite his words, however, Regal couldn't help thinking how unfair they were being to Lloyd. This boy was barely becoming an adult, yet they asked so much of him. He was burdened by not only being task to save two worlds, but to the lead a group of strangers. And this was after he suffered the mental trauma of betrayal from one he called his mentor.

At the same time, he knew that no one else could lead them.

While he was still young, inexperience, and somewhat naive, Lloyd had an inner charm that made him a natural leader along with an unwavering idealistic view of the world. He barely knew Lloyd himself, yet he felt compelled to follow this young man and believed that he could end this twisted system that Cruxis created.

In comparison; Professor Raine was wise beyond her years with near endless knowledge unlike anything he has ever seen, but she was cold and cynical. She lacked the inner drive to bring change since she fundamentally believed that the world was unchangeable.

While the Chosen tried to hide it, he was sharp, observant, and probably knew what was going on more than any of them. He was almost certain that Zelos knew who he was despite only meeting the guy once. And while he was a natural leader who could charm almost anyone, he was also fickle and had the same cynicism that weighted down Raine. Also doesn't help that about half the group barely tolerated or trusted him.

Sheena had leadership qualities, but lacked the self-confident. That and she lacked any real way to control Zelos.

Genis and Presea were literally children. They didn't have the mental capacity to lead despite being among the most powerful in the group. Especially Presea who was still shellshocked from what happened to her.

As for himself; he was new to the group and didn't have their trust, nor build-up enough chemistry with anyone. And even if he did, he couldn't lead them. He had too much blood on his hands. Who would want to follow a murderer?

So, as much as he pained him, it could only be Lloyd. He could only pray that the young man wasn't crushed by the heavy burden that they forced upon him. That they, no matter how small or insignificant, could help lighting his load.

While Regal was brooding, Zelos was all but skipping alongside the group. "Alright! It's finally time to pay a visit to the Rheairds!"

Genis glared at him. "Don't you have any decency at all? At a time like this, when Sheena is depressed."

Zelos barely spared a glance at the young mage. "What are you talking about? There's no point in worrying about stuff that is already over."

Now it was Presea's turn to be upset. "How can you talk like that?" While her own emotions were still stunted, even she understood the gravity of what has happened. One of their comrades were literally killed before their eyes.

Regal also came out of his musings to glare at Zelos. "Sheena's sadness is deep and painful." Really, as fickle as the Chosen was, he couldn't be that insensitive. He was far too observant for that. So why was he making light of such a tragic situation?

Genis had enough of Zelos' attitude and began to walk faster to get away from him. "Please, Zelos, just be quiet for a while."

Zelos sighed as Regal and Presea also moved away from. "Okay, okay." He paused for several seconds. "If everyone around here is walking on eggshells like that, she's just going to get more depressed, idiots." Seriously, this group really loved being depressed. It was just like the first day he was with them.

Lloyd overheard Zelos' statement and it confirmed what he suspected for some time. Zelos wasn't trying to be an insensitive jerk or a flake with his seemingly carefree attitude. He was actually trying to cheer everyone up and bring a sense of normalcy in his own way.

He suddenly remembered Zelos' words about how he couldn't mope since he was the leader and his mood would affect everyone. He saw it for himself in the way Sheena acted towards him. Despite still fearing lightning, he forced that fear away to support Sheena in her moment of need.

Lloyd sighed to himself as he also realized that he was once again having a pity party for himself. Sheena was the one suffering and he somehow made it all about him. He wouldn't…..couldn't do that anymore. He couldn't be that little boy who lived in Kratos' shadow. His friends needed him to be more than that….. Colette needed him to be more than that.

From the corner of his eye, Zelos saw Lloyd stand up straighter and his eyes became focused. He couldn't helped but smile to himself. At least one of them listened to him.

Once they were near the exit, they could see Orochi up ahead. The blue gi ninja rushed towards them.

"I guess you succeeded in forming the pact with Volt," Orochi said as he stopped in front of the group. He looked over their battled forms and smiled. "Congratulations, Sheena! We knew you could do it."

Sheena blushed. "Orochi, thank you."

Orochi frowned when he saw how forlorn Sheena was. "What's wrong? Should you not be happy that you finally conquered Volt?"

Sheena shook her head. "I am very happy, but our victory came at a grave cost." She reached into her gi and took out Corrine's bell.

Orochi knew what must have happened and lowered his head. "I'm so sorry, Sheena. I knew how closed you were to him."

Sheena remained silent as she put the bell back in her gi.

"Then, we must honor his sacrifice," Orochi said. "On the whereabouts of the Rheairds, the signal from Sheena's guardian was detected under the sea, southeast of here. A fjord-like area covered in ice is located there. That must be the entrance to the Renegades' base."

Raine was both surprised and horrified by the news. "If it's underwater, does that mean we'll have to dive into the sea?"

Orochi shook his head. "Don't worry about that. I'll go on ahead and make preparations. You guys join me later on." As soon as he said that, he walked out of the temple.

Lloyd nodded as fire returned in his eyes. "Okay, let's get going!"

"Yes. To rescue Colette as well," Presea said.

"Yeah. I hope Colette is alright," Zelos said with an unusual amount of concern.

He was honestly worried that Rodyle would kill Colette once he realized that she was worthless to him if what Kratos said was true. Not to mention killing her would be one major spite towards Yggdrasill.

Once the group was finally out of the temple, they made their way towards the dock to used the EC.

"According to Orochi's information, the Renegades' base should be located right around here," Sheena said as she looked over the map.

"That is at least half a day's journey from here," Regal remarked.

Raine groaned. "Another half a day on that boat."

Genis patted his sister on the back. "Just hang in there a little longer, Raine."

"I'm also looking forward to having my own Rheaird so I don't have to be crowded with sweaty guys anymore," Zelos said.

Genis narrowed his eyes. "Who are you calling sweaty?"

"While it maybe still early, we should return to Mizuho to rest" Regal advised. "We have already used much of our strength to beat Volt."

Raine nodded. "Sound advice. If we're going to confront the Renegades, we must be in top condition. Especially if we run into Yuan."

Genis lowered his eyes. "Yeah, that Yuan guy is an angel of Cruxis. If he's even half as strong as Kratos, we may not be able to beat him even if we're in top shape."

"We'll cross that bridge when we get there," Lloyd said. "With any luck, we may not even run into Yuan. I mean, it isn't like the Renegades know we're coming."

"True…." Genis said slowly.

"Even if that's true, we must be careful," Presea warned.

Lloyd looked towards Sheena. "Is that okay with you?"

"That would be the best course of action," Sheena said as she closed the map and put it back into her bag. She started to lingered behind the group as she fully took in all that has happened.

"Are you okay?" Lloyd asked, once everyone was ahead of them.

"Yeah..." Sheena replied softly.

Lloyd gave a small, but somewhat sad smile. "Thanks. We owe it all to you and Corrine."

Sheena looked down in shame. "I have to apologize to Corrine."

This took Lloyd by surprised. "Why?"

Sheena didn't talk for several seconds. "Because I told him that he wasn't strong enough to help, but it seems what wasn't strong enough was my courage. It was terrible of me to say what I said to him."

Lloyd closed his eyes in thought for a moment. "Pray to Corrine's bell."

This took Sheena completely by surprised. "What?"

"Colette's always saying, to pray is to talk to the goddess inside yourself. If you pray to the bell, maybe it will reach Corrine," Lloyd explained.

Sheena stared at Lloyd. "But you don't believe in the Goddess Martel."

"I don't," Lloyd said bluntly. "But….I do believe that when we pray, someone must be listening, especially if we pray into something special to us. I'm certain if you pray into the bell, Corrine will hear you. Whatever he is." He gently touched his exsphere. "Like….how I know my mom hears me when I pray."

Sheena stared at Lloyd in wonder. How could a boy who could be so feather-headed one moment say something so wise and insightful the next?

As she pondered this, she reached into her gi and pulled out Corrine's bell. She held it gently in both of her hands, put it closed to her heart, and closed her eyes. "Thank you, and...I'm sorry."

Zelos watched the entire scene from the side of his eye and couldn't help but smile. That Lloyd really knew what to say at times. But, as much fun as this was to watch, it was time for him to give his report.

"Hey, I need to take a restroom break. I'll catch up with you guys," Zelos said.

Before anyone could answer him, he walked into a nearby wooded area. He looked around to make sure he wasn't followed. To his eternal luck, Lloyd and his group remained as trusting as ever. They didn't seem at all bothered by his absent.

With a mere thought, he sent a mental message to Yuan. It didn't take too long before the Renegade leader appeared before him.

"This better be important for you to call me," Yuan said.

"Well, hello to you too," Zelos mocked.

Yuan narrowed his eyes. "Don't get smart with me."

"Relax, I have some good news for you," Zelos said in his usual easygoing manner. "Lloyd and the others will be coming to the Renegades' base tomorrow."

This got Yuan's attention. "How do they know where our base is? That should be impossible even if they have Mizuho helping them."

Zelos smirked at him. "Sheena placed a guardian on one of your precious Rheairds."

Yuan sneered at himself. "I see, how careless I was." He quickly regained his composer. "But, it worked out to our advantage. Lloyd and the Chosen will come straight to us."

Zelos raised an eyebrow. "I guess you didn't get the memo."

Yuan stared at him.

"Colette was kidnapped by Rodyle," Zelos informed.

There was a slight pause. "I see. So you allowed Rodyle to take the Chosen."

Zelos rolled his eyes. "I didn't allow Rodyle to do anything. Besides, you're the ones who lost control of the guy and now he's plotting conspiracies with the Pope."

"Well, it doesn't matter," Yuan replied in a dismissive tone. "If Rodyle kills the Chosen, that would be one less thing for me to worry about."

Zelos' eye twitched, but he said nothing.

"While taking the Chosen would have been a nice bonus, the real prize is Lloyd," Yuan continued. "Once we have him, Kratos will bend to my will."

"And what of the others once you have Lloyd?" Zelos asked.

Yuan smirked in amusement. "Is that concern I hear?"

"Sheesh, you sound like Pronyma," Zelos mocked. "I'm only asking because I need them to clear my name. Not to mention added protection. The Pope has Papal Knights chasing me across the world."

"The politics of this world hardly concerns me," Yuan stated bluntly. "But if it means anything, we are only interested in Lloyd. If the others behaved themselves, they can go free."

Zelos chuckled. "We both know that's not going to happen. From the little time I've spent with this group of misfits, they will die to protect Lloyd."

"Then they will die," Yuan answered coldly. "We are too close to finally ending Cruxis to allow them to interfere."

"All I asked is that you only kill them as a last resort," Zelos said.

Yuan folded his arms. "This sounds more than a simple request to clear your name." There was another long pause. "Very well. We will do everything in our power not to kill them. But if they resist, I will not hesitate." With that, he teleported way.

Zelos stood in place as he stared at where Yuan stood.

For a moment, a pang of guilt hit him. While Yuan was the least horrible of the people he worked for, he still felt dirty for ratting on Lloyd and the others. After Lloyd gave his grand speech to Tiga and Corrine's sacrifice, he didn't feel good about what he did.

There was also the amount of trust Lloyd put on him, despite doing absolutely nothing to earn it. If anything, he did everything in his power to make himself as unpleasant as possible. Him continuing to betray Lloyd's trust felt like he was kicking a puppy. Especially since the group was still hurting over Kratos.

At the same time, if Lloyd and the others were defeated and captured by the Renegades, then they never had what it took to defeat Cruxis. The cold hard facts of the matter were, this group had less that a one percent chance of doing anything of note. While it was nice to side with the group who wanted to save everyone, such a thing just wasn't realistic.

If he wanted to assure that he and Tethe'alla made it out of this mess alive, then he had to play the game, and hope that maybe the Renegades and Cruxis wiped each other out.

"Hey, how long does it take for you to pee!?" the voice of Genius yelled in the distance. "We've been waiting for over ten minutes!"

Zelos growled to himself. "Yeah, yeah, I'm coming!" he shouted as he left the woods.

Once Zelos rejoined the group, they boarded the EC and made the short trip back to Mizuho. Thankfully for the exhausted group, everything was relatively peaceful with few monster attacks.

By the time the reached the hidden village, it was only mid-afternoon, but everyone was more than ready to call it a day. However, they were surprised to see Tiga at the entrance of the village to greet them.

"I have heard the news," Tiga said with a smile that was filled with both pride and sadness. "Congratulation on making your pact with Volt. Chief Igaguri would be proud." He paused. "And….I am dearly sorry for the lost of Corrine."

Sheena bowered. "Thank you vice-chief."

"Much have been sacrificed for this moment. We can only hope the pain was worth it," Tiga said.

Lloyd stepped forward. "You have my word that it will. I will do everything I can to make sure no one else needs to be sacrificed."

Tiga chuckled. "Still the idealist. Regardless, you must be exhausted. Please rest for as long as you need." With that, he walked off back towards the main house.

They took Tiga's advice and retired for the rest of the day in the guest house. Regal made sure to fix everyone a high-energy dinner so they could regain their strength faster. The food tasted even better than usual with Presea especially taking note that it tasted familiar. Regal said it was something he learned from a dear partner.

After dinner was done, Sheena and Lloyd went outside to stargaze.

"Sheena, Mizuho used to work for the Renegades, right?" Lloyd asked while staring at the crescent moon. "Don't you know anything about the base we're going to?

Sheena shook her head. "While the Renegades were long time clients of ours, they were also very secretive much like us. We worked on a need to know basics."

Lloyd sighed. "Too bad. Any information would be good right now. So far, we only know what Yuan told us."

"Since this is the flourishing world, I would assume that the Renegades' base will be far more well armed than the one in Sylvarant," Sheena surmised. "So, we must be ready for anything."

Lloyd was quiet for a moment. "I just wish we could trust Yuan. I mean, we both want the same thing. We both want to stop Cruxis."

"But our methods are completely different," Sheena stated. "The Renegades are willing to sacrifice anyone and anything to beat Cruxis, including the world of Sylvarant. If I had succeeded in killing Colette, then Sylvarant would have been beyond saving."

"That's true…." Lloyd muttered. "It's just….it feels like we're fighting blind. It's one thing to say we want to save both worlds, but we haven't a clue on how to do it."

"But we did get a clue today," Sheena insisted. "If I can make pacts with the summon spirits in both worlds, then the worlds could be separated."

Lloyd hummed. "I guess that is something. But, it isn't much."

"It's all we have for now. But for the moment, we should concentrate on saving Colette," Sheena advised.

"Yeah, you're right," Lloyd said as he looked back at the night's sky. "I hope she's okay out there. I hate to think what Rodyle is doing to her."

"Me too." She stood up and patted Lloyd on the shoulder. "Get some sleep. Tomorrow, we're going to be facing a foe that's almost as bad as a summon spirit."

Lloyd stood up and allowed Sheena to walk him inside the guest house before she went to her own home.

The group was up early the next day and Lloyd did his daily training alongside Sheena. They both got a surprised when Regal came into the fields to join them.

"If you do not mind, I wish to train with you two," Regal requested.

"I didn't know that you trained," Lloyd mused. Then again, he didn't know the man long and it would explain why he was so freakishly strong. That kind of strength didn't come naturally unless you were an angel.

"I used to train everyday before my sentencing. It has been many years since I have worked my body," Raine said.

Lloyd was left speechless. Was Regal saying that he was rusty? If he was, he must have been Kratos' level at his peak.

"I had planned to never fight again once Vharley was brought to justice, but given all that has happened, I must get my body back in shape," Regal continued.

"...Were you ever out of shape?" Sheena wondered out loud, obviously just as surprised as Lloyd.

"Well, you're more than welcome to join us," Lloyd finally said once he found his voice. "If we can help each other to become stronger, the better we all be."

For the next hour, Lloyd sparred with Regal and Sheena. To Lloyd's surprised, he was actually able to hold his own decently against Regal. Yeah, his kicks were so powerful that blocking them felt like he was going to snap his arms in half, but Regal's fatal flaw was his speed.

Oh, he was very fast. Faster than he had any right to be for his size and built, but Lloyd was faster. Staying ahead of Regal really came down to using hit-and-run tactics since when Regal did tag him it required a heal to mend the damage.

"That's enough for today," Regal said. "We cannot afford to get too carry away since we will be leaving soon. That and breakfast should be ready."

Lloyd put his swords up. "Yeah. We're going to be doing a lot of fighting once we reach the Renegades' base."

Sheena was breathing fairly hard and was a little embarrassed at how Lloyd and Regal seemed physically fine despite all the heavy fighting they were doing. She really needed to pick up the pace, or she would be left behind.

They began the short walk back to the guest house.

"Lloyd's power has increased even more," Regal noted when he was sure Lloyd wasn't listening to him.

"You think so?" Sheena asked.

Regal nodded. "In just the short time that I've known him, his reflexes and strength has increased. Even compared to when we fought the Sword Dancer, he is much better."

Sheena was silence for a moment. "Yeah, I noticed that too. Believe it or not, me and Lloyd used to be about equal. Then, steadily, he began to leave me behind. I'm not even sure when it happened. I guess it was all Kratos' doing."

"Seems so…." Regal muttered.

While he had no doubt Kratos pushed Lloyd to new heights, that wouldn't explain the rate of his current growth. It was like his strength was gradually evolving by the day. He wondered if Lloyd's strange exsphere had anything to do with it.

Before Regal could pondered longer, a loud explosion caught their ears. They looked up to see smoke coming from the guest house.

"Was there an attack?" Regal asked, getting on guard.

Sheena shook her head. "It's coming from the kitchen."

"Oh no, was it Raine's turn to cook?" Lloyd asked in horror as they ran towards the house.

When they got inside, they saw Genis trying to put out a fire with one of his water spells.

"What happened? Was it Raine?" Sheena asked. What was she trying to do, cook dynamite?

Raine glared at her. "Really, my cooking isn't that bad."

"It was Presea," Genis informed as he finally put out the last of the flames.

Lloyd, Regal, and Sheena turned to Presea in shock, who had her head down.

"I…..I'm sorry," Presea whispered. "I wanted to cook for everyone to help make up for all the trouble I caused."

Zelos sighed as he rubbed his head. "Unfortunately, our little rosebud can't cook. Although, she is just a little kid."

Presea shook her head. "I used to be able to make good meals. But…."

"You went many years being unable to taste or enjoy food," Regal said on comfort. "There is nothing to be ashamed of."

"Yeah, Regal's right," Genis said with a smile. "I'm sure you will get back into the swing of things in time. Until then, leave the cooking to me!" He proudly put his hand to his chest.

"...Thank you…." Presea whispered, still ashamed about what happen.

"If you like, I can help by giving you cooking tips," Regal offered. "At least until you regain your bearings."

Presea looked toward the older man. "I would like that."

Lloyd sighed. "I guess we will be leaving later than expected."

He couldn't say he minded too much. While Presea may nearly blown the house up, it was still preferable over whatever experiment Raine would had subjective them to if she cooked.

Not much happened since this was a transition chapter, but Lloyd's crew needed a moment to reflect on what happened. It also give me the chance to dive into Regal a little since he's still new and needed the development.

Until next time, take care.