A/N: Welcome to Rise of Decay! This is my very first published story on FictionPress (and now SparkaTale!), so I hope that this is worthy of being on this site. The main character shares the same name as myself, but only because he is my avatar and this is his story. Please, review this story as I am always looking for advice in addition to just reading other stories here. I hope you all enjoy this first chapter of a potentially new experience!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"…'sometimes everything you do will lead to a single, inescapable fate'. Such is this where I, a powerful and intimidating warlord with nothing but the gods to stop me, am reduced to nothing more than a cold, monotonous, insidious existence. I would wish to tell you more about myself, but the truth is… I am currently dead…"

As I read this to myself, sitting at my map table in the rear-most tent of Mero Village, I realized there was more to this excerpt than I could understand. Looking up from the notes once more, I turned to the brewing table on my left to fix a strong beverage to help me stay alert and awake. While creating my solution, I again took in the careful detail put in to making this room more fitting to my tastes. The table in the center boasted a large map of the now known region of Zylo where we live with its central capital, The Republic of Endisst, marked by a red flag stuck to the map. On my left is the weapons rack where dozens of glinting, sharpened, and freshly hewed blades rested. Among them were my two favorite swords, Heart and Soul, both exotically designed and magically enchanted through my careful use. I sometimes wonder if they both have become sentient, as I sometimes hear voices when I'm in battle with them, apart from the usual slaughter and death. Moving on from that, I look to my right to see a sleeping form in a chair sprawled all over the center table, no doubt exhausted from its assigned duties.

Outside seemed busy as ever with all of the village's mercenary inhabitants no doubt preparing for another battle for some lord or king. I took one last look at the sleeping form sprawled over the map and thought if I should wake it. Deciding to leave it alone, I walked around to the left of the table to leave through the tent's entrance when I detected some mumbling coming from the table. I stopped and promptly stepped back towards the source and listened intently,

"Why won't you accept it…" it began with a desperate voice, "Why can't I be friends with you? I've known you for a long time, but still I am nothing more than a bodyguard…"

I couldn't piece any of this together so I kept listening.

"Drake...you've known me for the longest time, and yet… you don't know that I'm… I'm…"

At that moment, I felt a searing pain through my chest as I looked down at the spear which pierced through me. Strangely, I felt no pain as it plunged itself deeper into me, but once I saw my sleeping guard's tears streaming down the face, waves of self-pity, anguish, and misery hit me as I slowly fell to the floor, blood pooling around me, awaiting my final passage to the afterlife…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So many questions flooded through my mind as I fell, weightless and effortlessly into the dark abyss.

Who was my killer? What was my bodyguard talking about? What did I do to make him cry like that? How the hell did this happen?!

Okay, that last one may have been a little out of line, but you're probably wondering aren't you, little voice in my head? Well, I might as well give you my story in brief so as not to bore you…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I was born to a pair of human pit fighters literally in the pit. Well maybe not literally, but you get the idea. Anyways my parents both loved to fight, especially each other, whether physically, verbally, or mentally. I grew up surrounded by constant combat as I watched often; brave souls sacrifice their bodies in the pit, yet rise again after a defeat to fight once more. The metal bars which kept me at a distance shook with anticipation at every fight and even more so when my parents fought. Together they were a powerful duo that toppled all challengers, but their most redeeming quality of which I inherited was their absolute sense of honor. Never would they strike at an unarmed or weakened opponent, giving the challenger a chance to catch their second chance at victory. It continued this way for many years, watching my parents, eventually learning how to fight, and even making my name in the pit. At the age of 15, I had grown into a seasoned fighter and surprisingly claim a place as the third best fighter in the pit after my parents, and I could not have been more overjoyed.

However, as I learned, all things must come full circle so due to some shadowy workings my parent's greatest match would also have become their last. New unknown weapons were given to their opponents that had ensured a crushing victory against my parents. Even so, my mother and father fought valiantly to the last man, until they lost and as per the rules of the pit, executed. That is the clearest memory I have of my childhood, just those events playing over and over in a loop. I couldn't begin to remember my parents' names nor their features as all that pride I had for them just couldn't let me feel the long-forgotten grief.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So there you have it, my childhood as brief as it can get.

But you haven't told me of what happened afterwards, how you got to Mero first…

"I was getting to that in a minute. First I need to think." I told the voice.

I look about myself again, but this time I jump in sharp alarm.

"Everything is gone!!" I shouted as loud as my lungs would allow.

My clothes, my weapons, my papers, my food… all of my personal possessions seemed to be missing or even non-existent as I frantically searched my person. This went on for about… 5 minutes I guess. Then it hit me, what need would the dead have for such earthly trinkets anyway? Its seemed like the most sensible reason, so I took slow, deep breaths as I regained my composure once more.

Finally you calmed down and figured it out rationally. I'm starting to feel like you'll be more trouble than you're worth, but orders are orders…

It was that voice again but this time louder, almost right in front of me; if I could see anyway. "Who are you anyway and how can you even manipulate distance here?"

Simple, it's my world; I run it… as for my identity, well we'll discuss that later. Right now, I'd worry about where you're headed, because you're almost there.

"How can you tell?"

Time passes differently in this place: instead of running indefinitely, time here will only pass through storytelling, as in, the more interesting your story, the quicker time will pass.

"Okay… so I just have to tell another story?"

Exactly

"Fine then, no point in just floating here forever…"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A/N: The chapters will either be long or short, depending on how much interest I can gather from those that review, so please do so. If you wish to message me about this or anything in general, please do not hesitate. Oh, and feel free to let you imagination run wild about who gets paired with who in this story... ;)

2: A Story, if You Please

A/N: Here is chapter 2 of Rise of Decay. Though I have not yet read any reviews at this point, I decided to upload this anyway since I had it hanging around collecting dust on my hard drive. As always, let your imagination roam on pairings and please read and review as much as you can!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

10 minutes or so later…

No stories had been told yet as I was just floating there, concentrating and pondering intensely about the next story to tell.

Once I was fed up with waiting I decided to ask, "Um, hello? What kind of story did you want? You haven't told me and I haven't moved yet…"

Anything you want to reveal is fine by me, although after watching that… *ahem* "show" you put on when you died; I'd like to know more about who that sleeping person was.

"Oh him? You want to know about him? He's not really all that interesting to say the least…"

Well tell me anyway.

"…You didn't give me a chance to finish. He's not very interesting and yet I would not have anyone else by my side."

Also, since we still have some time left, tell me a bit about your early life if possible.

I contemplated this for… who knows how long, haunted by the prospect of re-living all of that pain and explosive rage.

"Fine, but I will leave some parts out, if you want me to stay calm." I said with the fire in my voice clear.

Oh yes, of course. We would not want that, especially at the place you're going to.

"Good, we've reached an understanding then."

Well? Go ahead, start already!

I took a few slow, collected breaths and began unfolding my story to this stranger.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"That guy you were referring to is Char, whom I met on my travels across the Meridian Sea."

He was sword-for-hire then, and a mean one at that. The first time I had seen him was at the town of Silos, in the bustling, crowded marketplace, where he crushed a man's neck just for touching him. No delay, no warning, no pity, one second he was still and the next, *crack* and there was a dead body on the ground. I was only 21 then, fresh out of the pit and traveling, and still I could sense this aura of pure hatred emanating from him.

His physical features were average at best, if not a little on the light side, and he carried this huge shield on his back that I've never seen before. Hmm… the best way to describe it would be… if someone were to cut off a dragon's hide, reinforce that with stone, and then stick arrowheads into it. My first thought was 'Damn, that's scary looking shield', but guess what? I was looking for a bodyguard and who do you think drew the short stick?

I'm going to guess… Char did

"No no, of course it wasn't Char. He couldn't possibly be the one…unless you interrupt me!!" I was starting to fume at this being's idiotic ways.

I'm sorry; I'll keep quiet this time. Please continue your story.

Good, now as I was saying, yes, Char is the one I chose. However, our 'meeting' so to speak, was… unconventional at most. I walked towards him past all the vendors on both sides, he looked to be alone, just idly leaning against a wall, save for a cute-looking girl standing next to him, but who was I to judge? I mean she was a real looker, don't get me wrong, but something told me not to bother her or-

But you did anyway, right?!

"Hey, smartass I don't believe you're the one telling the story. And what did I say about interruptions!" I was practically yelling at this point.

The being let out a sigh, which seemed to come from behind me. A part of me questioned how exactly this was accomplished.

Fine, I'll let you finish… I could only glare at this comment.

…And I'll keep quiet until you are at the end of the trip…

Smiling with satisfaction, I continued to recount the tale. So, where was I again…? Oh right, meeting Char; that was one of the hardest conversations I've ever had. I walked up to Char, only to be intercepted by his female escort. Thoughts came to my mind quickly as she approached:

Hmm... cute, but not exactly my type. I should probably try to ignore her and get straight to business... but ignoring her is like asking the gods to fall in love with humans, heh, clearly impossible. That crimson hair barely below her shoulders, that loosely form-fitting mauve dress that just accentuates her beautiful figure, and those eyes... gods those eyes... I could just stare at them forever.

I realize in complete shock that while I was fantasizing, my body moved itself in front of those eyes that I dreaded with such caution. I instinctively hasten my breathing, but only enough so that it is barely noticeable. She seems to notice my breaths, but I try my best to stay calm while she takes the initiative after a long pause of staring at each other.

"Hi there, you look a bit out-of-place here… and judging from that little gaze, we're searching for some danger, aren't we?"

Her advance is subtle, but clear to which I respond with all the composure I could muster.

"I'm looking for a fun time, but nothing you might be able to handle. I've been told that a certain 'escort' is available for hire in this town, would you know anything about that?"

Subtle answers for subtle questions, that gets me somewhere at least.

"Hmm…I couldn't say no to you, but if you are that determined, I'll help you on your search. You won't have to go far, just come here and I'll show you where your 'escort' is."

It worked well enough; too bad I couldn't read her at all due to my skewed thoughts. I stepped forward, only to have my arm held in a vice-grip of an embrace from her as she led me ahead to the one called Char, leaning back against a wall watching the exchange. As I got closer, however, I could not help but contain my already growing sense of fear and dread.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I couldn't see much past Char's full plated helmet, but based on its design and condition, I'll bet Char's seen plenty of battles: dents, burns, paint peeling off, and a ragged-looking crest to top it off. What really interested me was the full coverage on the eyes and mouth; usually, one would fore-go those minor details when they have that huge shield at their side. Arms crossed, Char still looked as imposing as when I first spotted him. His heavy chest plate had an odd design: curved in, converging to a single point in the center, almost looking like turned blades, ready to cut anyone who got close. I couldn't be sure, but I thought I had seen the faded gray armor glow a faint white.

"I would appreciate it if you would not stare at that which you do not understand. This armor is older than you or me and twice as swift for blood. Now, I'm sure you have an 'enlightening' introduction to convince me to serve you."

I didn't admit it, but he was right I did come up with some excuse to convince him. I thought to come clean at this point considering he saw right through me, or it could have been that this girl stuck to my arm was sending him messages.

"Clingy vixen" I mumbled rather audibly. I was frustrated now from both Char's demeanor and her tight grip.

I suddenly felt her let go, and as I turned to look at her she had a pained expression on her face, as if she understood what I meant, but wondered if I really hated her. It seemed that I brought up some unpleasant feelings in her since she started to speak in a pained voice.

"I apologize if I offended you sir, but I... really wanted... to..." before she could finish, her tears had already come streaming down her face as she looked at her feet, sniffling before softly sobbing.

I felt pained to see this girl in her misery. She tried to hard to talk to me, but all I could focus on was my mission and in turn, I brought up something hurtful within her. So, I acted on my first impulses and walked over to her, gently lifting her head, and pulling her into a warm, passionate embrace like I would never let her go.

As she settled down, I whispered soothingly into her ear. "I didn't mean to offend you; I am just in a hurry. I am sorry if I hurt you but if you would like, come with me later and I will make it up to you. I promise to help you however I can…"

Her eyes took on a brilliant sheen as they lit with an amorous fire once more. Something felt different about them though as I stared at her shining eyes, feeling there to be a stronger, deeper emotion than what I could perceive. She smiled at me in a way that would have made my heart stop, but I have long grown past these emotions.

"Ahem" Char interrupted my from my thoughts with a tinge of annoyance in his voice.

"I've decided to join you, based on that…display I just saw, on one condition however"

Char shifted his shield, readying himself to use it as I did the same in response, reaching for the throwing daggers hidden in my gauntlets.

"And what would that be?" I knew that I was headed for a fight, but it made me nervous thinking about what capabilities Char possessed; that shield surely the most deadly.

"Get through my shield and hit me with one of those daggers. If you can get at least one past my defenses, then consider this a permanent contract… at least until I get bored with you."

His shield was lifted from his back and held it at his left side as he adopted a fighter's stance with his other hand; fist raised, ready for quick movements and attacks, able to move freely to grab or block.

"You're on" I accepted, as the girl next to me suddenly disappeared in the crowd that started to gather around us.

As quickly and calmly as I could, I counted the number of throwing knives I had with me.

3…6…9…15 total, gotta make these count.

That was what I told myself, but at that moment, I had no idea the true capabilities of my opponent before me. Grabbing three, I aimed for Char's right arm, head, and left leg as the best spots to strike knowing there was no way that anyone could cover all three points at the same time. The knives in my right hand gleaned in the afternoon sun, as I reared my hand back to-

"Anytime now, it's been well over a few minutes. Everyone's pretty much moved on already. Come on, I would've ended this in a minute, but I wanted to see how long you'd actually take. Guess I really should've gone with my first idea." Char mocked my hesitation in a bored way.

He probably said this to taunt me, but I had to admit he was right: everyone did move on. All those dozen or so people had gone back to their daily activities, leaving only about three or four spectators remaining, including that girl I promised to help.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A/N: Well, that was anti-climactic, yes? Be patient, that girl is obviously more than meets the eye, and Char is no different. Everyone has a secret that they hide, and if you remember from chapter 1, there is a hint that Char has some...problems. Please read and review and keep checking back for chapter 3!

3: The Call of Calderon

A/N: For those of you who were uninformed, this used to be 2 chapters, but seeing as how they both had the same plot-lines, I decided to merge them and re-update the story accordingly. But for those of you who not read this chapter before, this is where the journey begins, where the purpose of death at the start really shows. So without further ado and delay, let us see where our protagonist has ended up and if he can do anything about it. Let imagination have freedom!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Okay, okay, I know you said "no interruptions", but this is important: We're here already.

"Wow that was fast. Did we really get here just now?"

Yep, all that storytelling really put us ahead of schedule. Was there anything you wanted to know before I leave your head?

"Yeah, just one question: Where exactly is my destination? I mean, I already know the idea of Seculas and Calderon, but there must be more to it than that."

You are correct that there is more to Seculas and Calderon than simply that, but that information I cannot reveal. As for your destination, you have arrived at the Ninth Circle of Calderon, or "The Zone of Extinction" as we locally call it. Few are ever called here within the millennia, but those that are called are usually implemented to aid in the coming Cleansing upon the mortal plane. If you have any more questions, speak to the one called Zet'Therr. You'll know him when you see him… and then the voice went silent.

I knew there was no more talking to the voice, so I started to look at my surroundings. I was standing at the edge of a cliff, facing out towards the horizon, the view becoming all too imposing. As far as I could see, there was a large river of lava (which I assumed to be the River Scyros or the 'Drowned Sorrows') where the souls of the recently deceased are said to travel towards their judgments. Countless hours of private study in my life have taught me most of what is known of this hellish wasteland: the souls of the forgotten, murderers, soldiers, nobles, and innocents all come here because of some grievance they made against the Establishments, the ruling religious groups that exist solely to spread influence for their gods. I never cared much for such trivial nonsense so in every opportunity, I chose to turn them away and ignore their callings. For this reason, I am probably here in Calderon, forced to bide my time while they continue to desolate the lands above with their cheap talk. I turn away from the river to find my contact when I realized that I had nothing to go on to look for him aside from 'knowing him when I see him'.

"Great, just great. Now I'm stuck just wandering this forsaken landscape looking for someone who will either kill me (again) or make me an offer that I (literally) can't refuse. *sigh* Where do I start now..."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Just then as I was pondering my situation, two hands burst forth from the molten river and grasped at the stony bank towards me. Based on their movements, they seemed generally frantic and panicked, struggling to find something to pull their host above the lava. I watched the hands for about 30 seconds in amusement before walking towards the hands to help the poor soul. The river, though made of molten spirit, only affected living humans, so there was no danger in helping this poor creature. The hands seem to steady at my touch allowing me to pull the host out with ease. What emerged from the river was not a person at all, but a scorched skeleton. Looking about the bones unnerved me, and soon my mind was focused on its harrowing appearance. It looked like a human skeleton, but it was charred black with bits of rock stuck to it, melded to its structure, and what really unnerved me were its garments: it wore the clothes of a noble, but these two were blackened and torn, having seen at least a decade of constant use.

"Crackle, crack, whistle, snap..."

It made fast and erratic movements, which only served to further induce panic within me as it started walking away from the river, towards me.

"Um, n-n-no, thank you, I-I-I don't need a reward, I'm just looking for someone"

I look back and forth for something, anything to help me escape from this creature.

"Crack, creak, crack?"

It turned its head in a questioning way, as if curious about my task.

I take this momentary pause to gather up my courage and blindly ask this...thing for help. After a long disturbing silence which involved the bony figure staring at me clearing my throat, I begin,

"Do you, by any chance, know of someone named Zet'Therr? I was told to find him somewhere here, but... well... you know how it ended up" I said with underlying fear.

Standing still was all I could do to stop myself from throwing the skeleton back into the river and running off in random directions.

"Crack, scratch, scratch...pop!" It seemed to understand my question and had come up with an answer.

"Creak, creak, snap, snap, snap, crack" It started to move off in a direction and gestured for me to follow.

"Okay..." I was mildly surprised by this development, but I had no choice but to follow it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

For about three hours, we walked in silence without any sound between us save for the occasional creaking and crackling of the bony entity that is leading me. We passed by the same burning landscape for the entire period which was exactly as the holy texts described the realm: dark obsidian forming the ground we walked with some isolated pools of molten lava that housed the deadliest of fire spirits known to the gods, all the while I bristled in slight fear while my "companion" continued on without any signs of stopping. While we walked by one of the fire pits, I observed a particularly odd fire demon emerge from it, peculiar in form as it was shaped like a woman almost divine in beauty. Its cosmetic details were a truly glorious sight to behold: fiery-red hair with the occasional "white-hot spots", a daring bustier of hardened magma, and her eyes, those blood-red eyes...

"Wait a minute... where have I seen those before? There's something familiar about those eyes, but what?"

As I looked away for but a moment, the demoness had already retreated back into her pit.

"Hmm... now I'm very interested in this place. At least for the time being..." I thought aloud while thinking over the event that had just transpired.

After that meeting, we walked until we reached our destination.

"Crack, creak, crack, crack, pop!"

The skeleton stopped abruptly to look back at me. It then proceeded to point forward with a bony finger that was barely hanging on its hand.

"What? I don't see anything. Where exactly are you pointing?"

I truly could not see anything that the finger bone was pointing to, all that was in its direction was more of the dull blackened grounds of Calderon. Then I noticed it or rather, noticed him. He was of tall stature with an aristocratic air about him and some minuscule hint of danger that repelled those of weak will. His white hair screamed with the presence around it, as if enjoying and embracing such a horrific fate. The man seemed in his 30s and he wore an aristocrat's garb consisting of a cream shirt, a charcoal-gray vest, and a brilliant red suit jacket with matching pants. Never before had I seen such an impressive nobleman with such grace and presence that I would feel at all times uneasy and weighted down. I slowly approached the man with the intent of finding my contact, but it was difficult for I feared for my life as well.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"You're late! You're so freaking late! Do you have any idea the trouble I've gone through while waiting for you?! I can't believe that I'm supposed to help you of all the wretched souls on this plane. It was hard enough waiting for you to die but as soon as you do, you get lost! If you've payed attention to any of your surroundings, it would have only taken you a half-hour at most! Ugh, out of all my clients, I must say that I despise your kind the most..."

As he continues to rant, I glance at the skeleton that led me here asking for some form of help with this agitated gentleman. It was trying to no avail to block out the angry man's voice while slowly moving to hide behind me.

"I knew I should have dumped you back in the river." I thought as I glared with fierce, pointed anger at the hiding figure leaving me to endure the brunt of this angry man's verbal attack.

"And another thing: do you have any clue how important this meeting is?! The gods themselves have descended to be present here, and we couldn't start at all without you! So, if you're done staring about blankly like the majority of your idiotic race, we must be off with haste."

If this man was not Zet'Therr, then I don't know who is. Damn that fool voice in my head for not being specific about this man! 'Know him when I see him', yes I understand completely now.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We started to walk ahead, the skeleton still cowering behind me and clenching rather tightly to my shoulders. Zet'Therr had regained his composure and now walked with that aristocratic presence once more. He stared adamantly ahead at some unseen destination and said nothing for about 5 minutes of walking.

"Excuse me, Zet'Therr, but-"

"Call me Zet, please" He interjected in a contemptuous voice.

"Zet, where exactly is this meeting being held? I don't see anything around us at all"

"Typical question of new human souls, you know so much about this place, yet do nothing to act upon that knowledge. Very well, I shall show you where the meeting hall is"

With that the conversation ended we stopped, Zet looking calmer than before and concentrating immensely.

"Demons of the devouring plains, the poignant inferno, the lonely frost, and the ravaging storm: hear my voice and obey my command. Let my will become your master and rain destruction upon the world in my name, so that all may once again be reset and balanced anew. Allow me to take the reins and ride off with the bounty that I hold in my hands, knowing that there is nothing in life that holds me. Show me that which I have seen and make it true to this plane, break the laws of the physical realm and show me creation at its purest form... from nothing!"

As Zet shouted those last two words, the ground shook with a powerful tremor as bits of rock broke apart and lava began to spill out of the pools. Then, the ground in front of us split open into a deep fissure that slowly grew in size and depth. I could do nothing but cower in absolute terror as I held fast to the skeleton behind me who was doing the same; we wished so ardently that we were somewhere, anywhere else but here at this very moment. As the tremors started to subside, a massive world portal opened up above the massive fissure and a building was being brought through the spatial tear. It came slowly at first, hesitant and unsure without much confidence in its ability to bring such a great evil structure safely through. As soon as the structure's base made it through the warped space, the portal seemingly lost all doubts and hesitated no longer as the structure began to advance its arrival at an increasingly steady pace.

As with every thing in my life since I had been sent here, the overwhelming dread I was feeling at that point felt heavy, so much so that I suspected the gods orchestrating this just to spite me, probably more so in vengeance for my refusal to worship them as fervently as the Establishments and all those that follow them do. I just never saw the point of worshiping these gods if they were born great, without any flaws whatsoever as well. I am aware of the gods and acknowledge them so, but I have always been doubtful of their true histories and their power they have in the world. I would rather pray to a divine human who was known in truth than a god whose life we can only speculate. Now it seems that my beliefs are wavering and my resolve on the gods diminishing. This event is probably a regular occurrence in this realm, but to see it for the first time, I would have believed right then that Zet'Therr was a god himself. I was broken out of my reverie when the skeleton next to me gently shook my shoulders and pointed ahead at the building staring down at us. Zet had already gone inside for the meeting as soon as I noticed that he had disappeared from our group.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A/N: An unexpected development? I think not, but then again I'm no M. Night. *Whispers, whisper* "Oh crap, really?! I can't mention real-life names in the notes?!" *Whisper, whisper* "Well, this is bad, I hope this isn't taken down for that. I worked so hard on this story, and for it to be struck down when I finally get recognition... appalling!" Before I resume my discussion with my (imaginary) story assistant, I must thank you, the reader for being with me so far in this alternative tale. Zet'Therr is not such a demon (in personality) so much as a snobby noble, so it seems Calderon is not as ruthless and malevolent as the holy texts describe. Don't worry, we'll get to see more of the realm's human side because the next chapter... (wait for it)... is in Zet's POV, yes, Zet. He's not such a bad guy per say, he just takes his job seriously. Also, please follow if you forgot about my announcement (I think in Chapter 2 it was) about how often I will upload new chapters. If there is anything I may improve upon or you just want to talk, drop me a message and I will try to answer back as soon as possible, most likely within the same day or the next day I receive it.

4: I Hate Working Here

A/N: Here's the (former) chapter 5, now re-uploaded as Chapter 4. For those of you new to the story in general, please look back at the A/N at the beginning of Chapter 3 (go ahead, just click back, I'll wait). Anyways, this chapter is from Zet's POV so that we will gain insight about why he's such a jerk all the time. Trust me, he's actually a nice guy... once you get to know him, but I'll leave that up to you to decide. Also, it seems our hero (the main one) is not as serious as he may seem, though I wouldn't blame him for being scared when he's just suddenly summoned to the lowest depths of Hell. *Whisper, whisper* "What? Oh no, I did it again, didn't I?! This is just asking for the story to be taken down... wait I have an idea!" All elements of this story are purely fictional, any similarities to Real-Life are purely coincidental. *(-_-")* "Don't give me that look" Always let the imagination flow...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(Zet'Therr POV)

"I can't...work...anymore. I hate this job, I hate this client, I might even go far enough to say that I hate this realm. Is there nothing here that can go my way, just once?" I said with a particularly melancholy voice.

I am really depressed after meeting my client for the first time. He is truly everything that his file said he would be and so much more. This person may be the most difficult client that I have ever had to deal with since I started working here. In the time of 2 millennia, I have dealt with nothing so impulsive, disgusting, or idiotic before. I am supposed to be a prince of discipline and work, not some lackey to a complete moron. Between the two idiots I have to deal with, I don't know who is worse. On one side, a human who is far too young and naïve to understand the complex inner workings unfolding in front of him and on the other is a child in a man's body who doesn't know anything aside from games and sleep.

*Sigh* "I really need a vacation, somewhere orderly and soothing, perhaps the astral zone if it wasn't so expensive to get tickets... why did I ever agree to do this job with a stupid boss, and stupid client for some stupid mission against some stupid people..."

I continued this rant all the way to the drinking fountain in the break room down the hallway. As I passed through, other divinities were hard at work assembling various miracles and misfortunes to meet the quota of this particularly nasty assignment. They seemed to blend in with the magma-stone interiors with speed as they darted in and out of several magic performance rooms to gather and complete the rituals necessary to improve our chances of success. One particular room which I favored remained unused however, yet it was exactly in the center of the entire work region. Strange that no one would use it though since it had the largest spell circle and a near-limitless supply of ingredients to be used in even the most forbidden universal spells. I stopped to gaze at it in deep thought.

"Excuse me, sir" Came a weary voice.

There is someone behind me.

"Yes, what is it? I am quite pressed at the moment and if it has anything to do with that idiotic client we have-"

I stopped speaking as I fully turned to see the origin of that voice that called to me.

The owner of that voice was Everis, my closest friend since we were but children too innocent to realize the pains of the world. It seems she has kept a small part of that innocence, however.

"Ah, my apologies dear. But you really should stop calling me 'sir' all the time, I am your Zeta first before anything else" I stated simply.

"I'll try my best, Zeta, but this is important. The council wants to see the client immediately! He entered the building, but now it seems that he's gotten lost in the fire pits. I don't know what to do, Zeta, I've got all this work and I really want to help him, but you already hate him and I really hate to ask you but..." She stared at her feet and said nothing more, as if expecting a harsh retort from me.

"Evey... Have I ever told you how much you mean to me? How much it pains me to see that face in tears when all I want is for it to be happy? You're right, I don't like the human, not one bit. But that doesn't mean I won't do my job any differently than before, and trust me, it never bothers me when you ask for something" As I finished my statement, I pulled Evey in close and wrapped my arms around her gently, feeling her warm up to my embrace and fall into my form.

"Zeta, about that last part-" She began in a small whisper.

"That's what friends do, is it not? We have only each other in these times of need" I said with a small smile on my face as we separated.

"...Right... friends..."

And with that, she shuffled away with her head hung low towards the bunch of ingredients in her arms.

"Strange girl, always thinking she is causing me trouble when she talks to me during work."

I slowly began my walk to the fire pits to find (and probably save) the human.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The building layout made getting to the fire pits a sort of trial. With the current layout as it has been for centuries, from the entrance doors there is a straight hallway to that leads to the main atrium adorned with twin staircases leading to the 2nd level and a third spiral staircase in the center which lead to the 3rd floor. On the left and right are pathways that led to the standard pits and elemental pits, respectively. Both living wings are fully equipped with a culinary creation and transmutation field, an eternal fire, a grand crystal screen for observation, a lounge with bar for relaxation, a sauna for regaining magical equilibrium, and a (not-so hidden) eternity room. The two wings are almost identical, except for the elementals, who are able to generate "scenarios" in their eternity room. The second level of the building houses the main offices, the break room, the beast pens and the elemental bonding zones. There are four distinct areas to get access to, yet the two hallways on the second level only lead to one area each. For those who are not familiar with the immense spatial magic present in the building, depending on which staircase is used to reach the second floor, the hallway opposite of the one closest to the staircase used will warp and shift to now lead to the other area in the set. For example, if the human were to have used the right stairs, the closest hallway to him would have led to the beast pens, while the opposite hall would lead to the elemental bonding zones. Conversely, I usually use the left stairs, ending at the hallway to the offices with the break room located right across the floor in the opposite hallway. Luckily, the human did not wander to the second floor at all (or, even the third floor, thank gods) and simply walked to the 1st floor right wing, where the elemental pits were found.

"However, this still presents a problem that I must resolve immediately..." I thought about this dilemma with a slight uneasiness.

"Human, you had better be ready for a fate worse than anything you can think of in your pitiful life!" I shouted to no one in particular, but all of my hate was now directed towards this human so that nothing could stop me from completing my task.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Where is he? I've looked everywhere I could look!"

I was particularly irritated by the human's persistence in hiding. Since I had found him in the room of a fire demon, a particularly noble one at that, nothing short of overwhelming force is able to bring him back in time for the meeting. What he did in that room was unforgivable: sitting casually in a chair, just conversing with the demoness and…seducing her with his speech, it's all shameful.

"Does he not know that I am responsible for his actions while he is in this building? To have it leaked that my client was charming a powerful fire elemental into a relationship outside of the bonding zones... I could lose my entire residency here along with my job. I would have to say farewell to Evey and leave promptly for the human world like those other rejects who could not find a job in this realm or those delinquents who like to spend their time on worship and... consuming humans" I finally said with a shudder.

I did not like to think about that last part, mostly because humans taste terrible in my opinion. "Okay human, come out now! I will allow you the chance to expose yourself before me if you want to stop my magic from seeking out your soul to be bound at my hands! Consider this offer carefully, as you must be aware at this point of the sheer power of my magics."

I announced my purpose keenly with the clear intent of unleashing my spells at their grandest strengths.

"To the spirits who elude me and the wisps that embrace me, lend me your everlasting vision of the deathly essence. Render unto me your knowledge of life without restriction, without fear, without judgment, without pain. Show me he who believes that one can escape death and shackle them to the will that binds you. Hang his soul so that he may never speak ill of the reaper no further, and bring his husk to those that would sooner seek it. Expose that creature for what he is really worth..."

(I pause to give the human one last chance)

"...nothing!" I bellow to the elementals present in the room.

Almost instantly, the elementals rise and rush to where the human was last seen. Within only 30 shifts (A/N: A 'shift' is a second), the human is brought to my feet, cowering in utter fear of my wrath. I took this moment to give my formal introduction to him while reviewing his file.

"My name is Zet'Therr Etz Malevo, 3rd Prince of Discipline of Calderon's 9th Circle. You are Drake Kanto, 28 years old, human. Hair color: black, eye color: chestnut-brown, height: 6 feet, weight: 175 lbs. You were born a fighter, from the tragic love those before you. You yourself became what they were, but never understood their true forms. And what's this? A child? With another fighter no less, you never stop disgusting me, human. What was that woman's name again...?"

"Vallia, her name was Vallia and you'll do well to remember that and never spit on her name, you filthy demon!" The human responded with a fury that I had not seen before.

"Ah, seems I've hit a soft spot. No matter, I will consider your outburst about her. You've become a bit less disgusting in my eyes, human, you should be happy. Hmm... it seems you have a great circle of friends mourning you back in the human world. I wonder why they would do so. Then there is the matter of your weapons, Heart and Soul, what to do with them I am now pondering..."

"Give them back now, or I'll take them back myself!" The human once again carried his voice with such precise audacity.

"As much as I would love to comply to your request, we are running late to the meeting. We should have been present at the 30th strike of the 24th stroke, but no matter we are only late by about... 4 strokes (A/N: A 'stroke' is an hour, and a 'strike' is a minute)." I concluded calmly. At the end of my analysis, I signaled the elementals to bring the human along with me as we started walking back to the lobby to ascend the spiral staircase.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A/N: I must say, I'm impressed with how the updates have gone and how much popularity this story has garnered. It's always so satisfying when one's work is enjoyed by others (both figuratively, sexually, or literally... you decide). So, from this chapter, Zet's not a total meanie as we were all led to believe, he's just very... conflicted at the moment. Also, what do you think about Evey? She's got her goals straightened out in more ways than one. The next chapter will go back to our hero's POV so, expect a bit a fear, some friendships and a lot of 'I didn't mean to turn you on'. "And as always, I will see you... in the next chapter, bye-bye!" *Whisper, whisper (-_-")* "What? I couldn't think of something that wasn't cheesy or overused." *Concerned whisper* "Yeah, I know that line has been associated greatly with another person, but I'm just trying to prove that it doesn't belong to anyone. Jeez, some people just can't take a joke..." But really, I only apologize for taking away from the seriousness of it all, not for using the quotes. Bring it on, fanatics!

5: The Council Awaits

A/N: Here it is, chapter 5! This one was an interesting one to make as you'll read, since it gives us some more backstory on our hero. 40~50 views on this story is good for what I've made so far, but it's not about views for me, I like to post these here to find some interest in my work. Anyways, thanks to all those who read up to this point and for those who are new to my work, always let imagination flow free...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This is it, the beginning of the end for me and everything I have ever known. As the elementals dragged me up the spiral stairs with Zet at the head of the pack, I thought back to our exchange that ended not 10 strikes ago.

"You were born a fighter, from the tragic love of those before you. You yourself became what they were, but never understood their true forms. And what's this? A child? With another fighter no less, you never cease to disgust me, human. What was that woman's name again...?"

"Vallia, her name was Vallia and you'll do well to remember that and never spit on her name, you filthy demon!"

I remember shouting with such hatred and passion when I heard my beloved's name being ill-spoken. I thought I had lived past these emotions, but it still seemed that they rang true even in death.

Vallia my love, if this is goodbye, I would beg for the chance to see you and our son again, one last time. Oh, the things I would surrender if I could have that wish and give my love to you again... but it is not so. It is never so that our happiness shall be untouched by the forces around us. I ended this trail of thought with a bitter pain in my heart.

By this time, Zet and I sat outside the giant twin doors that led to the council room, though there was a sign by the door that read 'Spatial Distortion Testing' with a small switch underneath that read 'Divinities' and a warning: 'Without a guardian magus, one will simply be ripped from existence should he/she enter this room. Please follow all rules when accompanied.' As soon as I looked at Zet, he glanced at me with a look of pride, presumably at my growing fear of the powerful magics that live behind these doors and the even more intimidating beings present here today. I take a rather soundly gulp and silently plead with Zet to let me go back to where I was before this whole incident. He responded with a glare that could have easily tore me into oblivion. With some regret, I recalled what had happened to me before Zet started hunting and subduing me...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Well what should I do now? This place isn't exactly the most...welcoming place"

I pleaded with the skeleton in hopes that it might be able to offer helpful advice.

"Crack, crack, crack, pop, scrape, whistle"

"Why do you always fail me when I need you most?" I said with wry humor.

"Whistle, creak" It started to turn back the way we had come, apparently in shame.

"Oh, now don't be like that. I just have a lot on my mind about all this, and it's still trying to register in some rational part of me. It's not that you annoy me or anything, on the contrary I'm glad that I met you or else I'd be doing this alone. Thank you guiding me through this world and for giving me a friend when I really needed one. I'm worried when I think about what will happen next though, I mean the end of the world? Seriously? If I was told that I would die to help bring about the end of days, I would have killed the messenger on the spot, but I guess I would've just been doing what any other sane person would do. Anyways, if it's not too much to ask, I would like you to stay by my side from now on or at least until this whole ordeal ends."

The skeleton stood frozen after hearing out my request, almost as if contemplating an answer. I start to move towards the daunting doors of the meeting hall.

"Whistle, crack" The skeleton grabbed my arm and made a nodding motion with its head.

"Good, I'm pleased you accepted my offer... Now that I think about it, did you ever have a name? Something everyone called you?" I curiously added.

After all this traveling, it never once crossed my mind to ask this being its name, if it has one.

"Snap, creak, pop"

That seems like a 'yes' and it quickly went about to try to write a name in the air with a bony finger.

"Hmm, let's see... first letter: an 'Ş', okay. Second letter: that's an 'Ŷ', then third letter is: 'N' followed by a 'Đ', and last letter... 'Ā', and that's it?"

With a nod, the skeleton drew that name again and confirmed my guesses.

"So, Synda... that's a very nice name. Were you a soldier before you died by any chance?"

"Creak?"

Again, Synda cocked his head to the side in a questioning way.

"A soldier, you know, those people who fight for a certain power? You must have been, based on those clothes you are wearing; there is no chance you were anything less than noble class as a mortal"

"Whistle, creak, creak"

Synda nodded once again, and showed me some motions consistent with swinging a sword and proceeded to walk as if marching.

"Good that you remember some of your training, I wouldn't want to be caught alone if I ever get into a fight here" I added with relief.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We then walked towards the set of doors leading into the meeting hall. Soon enough, overwhelming anxiety and fear overtook me though we entered without incident. Inside, there was only a narrow, sleek hallway of volcanic rock at the end of which a faint glow came. Looking around, all that was here was a wooden board with pieces of paper stuck on it taking up space on the right wall. The paper was protected by a screen of transparency magic, making it difficult to reach without directly breaking the screen. A map of the building is among these randomly placed sheets with the words 'You Are Here' marked above a red spot near the area where the entrance would be. Various points of interest are marked here but the one called the 'Elemental Pits' intrigued me.

"Maybe, just maybe I might be able to continue where I left off..." I mused silently, much to Synda's confusion next to me.

"We're going to the elemental pits" Was all I said before walking at brisk pace down the hallway towards the main foyer with Synda frantically following behind.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A/N: A short chapter compare to the last, but a chapter nonetheless. I have so much in mind for Synda and Vallia in this story, but before that, we must finish the flashback. Now, Drake may come off as flirty, but he's truly faithful to Vallia, if the monologue is anything to go on. Synda will be a surprising element here, so be ready for anything that I do to it!

*Whisper, whisper*

"Huh? I'm doing the evil laugh again? Funny, I thought I did it better than that"

*(-_-")*

"What? I'm obviously good, but I can embrace the bad also. Don't always be so one-sided about these things..."

*Disappointed whisper*

"Uh-huh, and your point? I'm just saying there is an equal amount of opportunity for evil as there is for good, so your argument is invalid"

Yet another look into my thoughts. So, please leave a review or follow this if you would like to see more, though I will be posting regularly as always. Thank you for being with me thus far, even if I am just a newbie at this, I'm glad to have the chance to prove myself!

*Whisper, whisper (-_-")*

"Well, yeah, I have been watching a lot of anime over the past months, so why not say that?"

6: A New Friend, An Old Flame

A/N: Terribly sorry for the late update, but recent affairs have become rather bothersome as of late. I have not had ample time to work on this piece, so forgive me for the lateness. This chapter introduces who our hero has been looking for since he arrived at the meeting hall, but it seems there are more forces at work here. Again, please excuse the delay and unnecessary anxiety that I have caused and allow imagination to flow forth.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I'm sure I've seen you somewhere before, but it just can't be true. Have you ever gone to the mortal plane?"

I was even more curious now that I can get a closer look at her as I thought back to 10 strikes ago. Ever since Synda and I entered the elemental pits, I garnered a few odd looks from the various creatures though I felt no fear or worry at all since nothing was as terrifying as Zet's magic. I had looked around carefully for those fiery eyes that belonged to that fire demoness that I met on the long trek before meeting Zet, but somehow she eluded all of my search attempts for nearly a half-stroke.

The lounge that was the elemental pits was quite lavish, even by this world's standards; there were large, softly cushioned lounge chairs made of a soft, earthen metal and small yet ornate tables that housed several beverages as the demons chatted and enjoyed one another's company. The odd earthen metal was truly so: it looked like marble, but much more ivory in color and upon just scraping it by mistake, I felt like I had touched a cloud from the heavens of Seculas. I had briefly read in the holy texts that there is only one material that humans cannot harvest called "Divinium", known only in legend and only to be used by the artisan god, Masonus. This must have been it, for it is said that the reason only humans cannot harness the material is because it is only available to those between true life and final death, essentially spirits and wisps.

"Crack, creak"

"Hmm...what? What is it?"

"Scrape, pop, whistle"

Synda broke me out of my reverie, pointing to something on the other side of the room, past all the lounging creatures to a small door near the end of the pits, surrounded by odd purple flames.

Wait a strike... purple flames? It doesn't look so much purple as mauve... where have I seen that color before though...

Watching the flames had triggered a rush of thoughts in my mind. Synda shook me by the shoulder and nudged me to go there. With some reluctance, we walked through the pits to the door. On the way to the door, we met a robed demon who smelled of corpses and had a blackened shovel strapped to his back. I was never more envious of Synda for not having a nose after the crude-smelling man passed by.

"That is so vile. I hope he's really just a gravedigger and not a torturer of some kind."

"Crack, crack, crack, crack" Synda seemed to shake lightly with his hand on his mouth as if laughing at my joke.

As Synda tried to calm himself down, we walked towards the door and knocked on it. A small, shy voice came from the other side.

"Y-yes? Who...is it? Please...just...leave me alone..."

"I'm sorry to disturb you, but I need help finding someone."

"H-hold on, I'll open the door."

The door slowly opened with hesitation, but as soon as I caught a glimpse of the shy resident, it quickly slammed shut and locked.

"I apologize for being rude, but please go away."

"I cannot, for you are the one I seek. Please allow me a moment to speak with you, then I shall be on my way."

"But if I open this door and let you in, I just wouldn't be able to contain myself. You may be in danger."

"It will only take a strike, please let me speak to you for I have not been able to until now."

I stepped back to watch the door with Synda in silence. With a barely audible sigh escaping the door, it opened fully with a slow grace revealing to me exactly who I was expecting: the fire demoness from before. As I walked inside at her invitation, Synda signaled to me that he would stay outside to stand guard. The demoness led me to a small room, like the lounge in the pits, but smaller and more comfortable in scale. We took seats opposite from each other and began to speak to each other about many broad topics.

"Thank you for taking the time to speak to me, miss...?" I began with a casual approach.

"Kayra, but please no need to call me anything formal."

She began to relax as she sensed my willingness to make this as painless as possible.

"Okay, Kayra, do you know much of this world? There is just so much present here that it confuses me to no end." I spoke truthfully as I am still but a whelp compared to the immense knowledge of this realm's residents.

"What would you like to know?"

"Firstly, I want to know about the 'cleansing' of the living world." I couldn't show my given purpose yet, especially to a stranger.

"Ah, the cleansing... it is a sad affair, but very much necessary to continue life in that world. The gods and devils were the first to create this action, both sides agreeing that the living world cannot be left alone without intervention. The cleansing itself is a turning back of time in the living realm, allowing both god and devil alike to freely shape and form the world anew, striving to make it stronger than the last time. But, time cannot be stopped let alone be turned back, so the only other way to make it seem so is... killing all living things in the world."

Kayra began to tear up at this last statement, but carried on still.

"Without the cleansing, the world is doomed to self-destruction and limitless corruption. If the cleansing is not done, wars will run rampant, religion twisted and perverted, the people miserable and dying above all. I am upset that we have to also kill the few good in the world, but killing the many evils is supposed to outweigh that price. However, no matter how many times I tell myself, I just can't help but shed tears for those who would give their lives to restoring the world the divinities gave them..."

At this point, tears were freely falling from Kayra's face and before long, she softly began to sob, looking down. I felt like wanting to comfort her, but what could I do? She is made of fire so I could not touch her, lest I risk serious burns and she seems in a very unstable emotional state that could end up in either anger or sorrow. My thoughts were in conflict as I tried to decide on my next actions.

I want to hold her and reassure her, but do I really want to die for good this time? But, seeing her like this makes me think about that girl I met when I found Char, and I swore to myself not to let that happen again. Ah... I can't die again, there's no way because I'm already dead now. Forget it, I can't let her go on like this!

"...Huh?" Kayra looked upon me with surprise, then relief as she warmly returned my embrace.

I held her tight to me, any caution in my mind gone as I focused only on the woman before me. She felt warm, not at all burning my body but the way her body felt to me was almost... human. We stayed there, just holding each other, hoping that there would be nothing to break this calm, peaceful silence that we have now. She mumbled something into my form but it was too muffled to understand, so without any thoughts, I simply bent my head down to her shoulder and spoke words of comfort directly to her in a most piercing way.

"You need not cry alone any longer, Kayra, for I shall strive to be by your side when you start to despair. This 'cleansing' is wrong indeed, to lose everyone you care about, everyone you used to care about, everyone you would have grown to care about...it is a terrible thing to experience. I hope that you too do not partake in this terrible ordeal...the world is such a beautiful place despite all its flaws."

"...I must be dreaming...I never thought that I'd see you again, Drake. I can't stop my tears now, I'm just so happy that it's really you."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A/N: Someone who knows of our hero has finally arrived! But it seems unlikely that a single demon would only know him, so there must be another reason for such joy on her part. Find out in the next chapter, which I will post soon in keeping up with my scheduled update times.

7: The Past is Painful, The Future Forsaken

A/N: A week...a whole week has passed since my last update...I am getting slow with this story. I'm trying my best to meet deadlines, but recently my life has become more...hectic. Now then, predicting my lateness, I'll now be updating weekly instead of every few days. I know that this seems like laziness, but really, I find this better to fit my schedules. Thank you, and enjoy this next chapter of the fantasy tale with a free imagination!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"...I can't say I recognize you, could you remind me of how I know you?"

"Mmm...huh? Oh yes, you obviously cannot know who I am in this form."

With those words, we slowly broke apart from each other and my eyes widened as Kayra surrounded herself with purple flames not unlike those I had seen outside her home. The flames licked at her form, jealous of her beauty then as if softened covered her completely in protection and love. I held my eyes shut at the otherworldly magic, startled at this development. As soon as I heard the flames no longer, I was reluctant to open my eyes, so I kept them closed.

"Really now, you can't remember me if your eyes are closed. Please let me help you."

Kayra's voice sounded...confident, dramatically changed from when I first spoke to her. I felt hands move away my own and my vision adjusted as I fully took in the form of the woman before me. She looked exactly like the young woman I had met when I recruited Char all those years ago.

But it couldn't be her, there's just no possible chance that it is, she was completely human while I had known her, and this person I see with my own eyes is anything but human. Even so, there's no mistake that there is a resemblance between the two. She has the same piercing blue eyes that I lose myself in, that fire-crimson hair that I had grown to admire, and the same form-fitting mauve dress that just asked for attention.

I could not keep my thoughts under control, and in my moment of instability, I already started to speak.

"You...you're...not her, you just can't be but how do you look so much like her? This must be an illusion, I thought I would never see you again."

"I thought about the very things you are thinking of now, as soon I had seen you traveling across the realm. You really haven't changed since we met, my love. My feelings have not changed since that fateful day."

"That was only once and you know it. I still love Vallia most of all. What's happened to you since I died? And how long has it been since I died? Are you really that same girl who helped me when I met Char? I cannot-"

"Calm down, love. I will explain everything to you. I am that same girl you knew when you came looking for Char, the same one who loved and still loves you to this day."

Her face was beset with a deep red blush, almost matching her hair color. I was uncomfortable with this display, but I stayed silent and allowed her to continue.

"You need only make yourself comfortable while I recount the tale of past events. Firstly, my love, you have been dead for almost 2 years. Two long years it has been since that day...if only we had been more careful, we could have-"

"Don't blame yourself, Kay, in our line of work even I could to get killed and more so than others."

"But I still think we failed you, even if you were ready for it. Do you remember what happened on that day, when you died?"

"I only remember being stabbed through the back while watching Char sleep in a chair."

"Yes, I remember that part clearly as the defining moment of that day. I was right outside your tent when it happened...it was on that day that I would ask something very important of you, but as soon as I had the courage to reach for your tent flap, Remus ran out clutching a bloody spear. I panicked and ran inside, hoping that the worst had not come to pass for you, but I was too late. Char was already holding you still, trying desperately to keep you alive with all his might. I tried so hard to keep my tears in but they just didn't stop...I felt so helpless that my one true love was dying and I could do nothing but watch him leave the world."

Kayra started to cry once again, causing me to hesitate and slowly come closer to her. However, she gently shook her head and gathered herself before continuing to retell the story.

"Char was in an even deeper despair than I was; he cried, shouted, and pound your chest in vain to try to keep you awake. I called for everyone outside to organize a search for Remus and to tell all of our contacts that Remus had defected. We were just about ready to set off, but Vox stepped forth and canceled the order. I screamed and cursed at him for not wanting to avenge you, but he cut me off with just a single sentence,

'We should never let our emotions get the better of us, especially after all we've been through with him'.

I...could not protest any more, realizing that he spoke with just as much grief as Char and I felt at that moment. After that we abandoned that contract we had taken and the entire village disbanded, with everyone leaving due to homesickness, reassignment, or just being tired of a mercenary's life. Everyone was gone except for us, your team. Vox, Char, myself, Faust, Mira, and Var...we still couldn't really accept that you died; you were our leader, and we failed you when you trusted us with your life as you did with ours.

And still silence fell between us, Kayra looking down at her lap and myself trying to support her by sending waves of emotion to her.

"...I'm sorry, I can't go on anymore, it's too much for me to relive..."

I marveled at how strong Kay had become over the years despite everything that has happened to her. To lose one's true love just when all seemed well in the realms...I fell into the same sorrows when I lost Vallia. Thinking back on it, I tried to put myself back into that place of self-inflicted grief.

"No! You can't, I'm not ready for this!"

"It doesn't matter if you are ready or not, I have to do this! There is no other way!"

"But what about us? What about all that time we've spent together?!"

"Don't you realize by now that all of it was meaningless? It was never meant to change anything except for making this a lot less painful!"

"No...I don't want to die, not now and not here! We had such a bright future together. How could you ignore what could have been and become a slave to those emotions?"

"Stop! This ends now..."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A/N: This is a very tragic part of the tale that we have reached, and so it will have many empathic moments in it. Drake has lived a hurtful existence before his mercenary career, being born as a gladiator and watching his parents' deaths, but still his stride is not slowed. Please remember that I will now post weekly and be patient for my next chapter.

8: Meet the Gods

A/N: And here we are, Chapter 8! So much has happened this past week, but none of that matters here. So instead, I won't say too much and just let you guys and girls jump right into this continuation of Kayra's and Drake's reunion. Please read and review, it is really what pays me in this job. (-_-")

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Love? Lover...hello?" Kayra's voice rang in.

"Eh? Hmm...what?" I was shaken out of my thoughts slowly.

"You were staring at me for well over 10 strokes now, not that I mind it, but you looked deep in thought. Was it Vallia?"

"...Yes..." I could never bring myself to lie to Kayra, no matter what the situation warranted.

"You did what you thought was best, given both of your conditions. I don't think she hates you for it at all, especially since your son was born."

Yes, that's right. My son was what brought us closer than ever, yet he had to die along with her for me to be given this chance to change the world we knew.

"Knock, knock, knock, creak"

Kayra and I both turned our heads to the door to find Synda shaking nervously towards us while pointing outside. This must have meant imminent danger for Kayra, in a burst of purple flames, reverted back to her elemental form as heavy footsteps were heard approaching the ajar door. A sight most terrifying was at the fully opened door as Zet stood there where Synda (now trembling behind me) once stood. He merely looked at the scene in brief surprise, then intense anger as I noticed why his emotions shifted so quickly: it looked like I was having a tryst with an elemental. Slowly I stood up and approached Zet, holding my hands in front of me and calmly motioning them in a calming way. He shook slightly at first, then began to lose his tension ever so slowly. I needed to get out of this place as quickly as possible so with one last glance back at Kayra, I planted a heavy fist into Zet's abdomen and ran with all the speed I could muster.

"Ugh...you, you, worthless insect! I will make your journey as painful as possible for as long as I have you!" Zet's voice echoed throughout the lounge as I sped past.

"Creak, creak, snap, pop!" Came the sounds of Synda, still firmly hanging on to my form as I ran.

"Oh right, I forgot that you were holding my shoulders when I started running." I flatly said as I slowed my pace.

Looking around, it seemed that I was back in the main lobby much to the dismay of a demon girl carrying a large stack of alchemy ingredients. Without a second glance, I ran once more, looking for another route away from the pursuing Zet while giving the girl a quick regard. My haste led me to a supply closet filled with black and red hooded robes and a hint of magic surrounding the peculiar room. Instinctively, I donned one of the robes in hopes that I may deceive Zet by posing as one of the workers here and hopefully blend in long enough to escape from my fate. I briefly considered giving one to Synda, but I then a thought came to me, which I voiced to Synda,

"Do you mind acting as an undead slave? It will only be for as long as we need to fool Zet, I assure you. After that, I will repay the favor when you ask it" I asked sincerely.

"Crack! Pop, pop, snap!" Synda's response was nothing short of enthusiastic.

"Okay then, it's decided. Follow my lead and try not to act out of character" I stated, intending on putting on a fierce façade.

With all the preparations done, we headed back to the lobby to shadow some workers and avoid an angry Zet.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"...nothing!" I heard as a bellow erupted through the halls and shook the building.

I had just passed by Zet and sent him back to the Pits in the hopes of not raising any suspicion upon myself. Synda and I were very well-adjusted to our roles and acted no different than the rushing devils milling about on this day. In regards to some looks given to Synda, I explained this sight with a very simple and well-rehearsed sentence,

"I am conducting research on the undead. It is nothing to be alarmed about."

Each time, it became more and more easier to say to the point where it was spoken even before a question was asked. We charted our way to the second floor carefully, stalking back to the now empty main lobby and started to walk towards the entrance. However as we took another step, two dark forms took hold of me and shrouded me in shadow causing me to feel nauseous. When I awoke to reality, I was kneeling in front of Zet and from there, we exchanged a few remarks and walked to meet the council which brings us to the present, where I am now awaiting my judgment and eventual destiny as chosen by the gods of this world.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Let's go, the Council has given us entrance" Zet said in a grave tone.

"...Fine" Was all I could say at this point.

The doors opened with an immaculate light and soon we were rushed inside, the doors shutting as soon as they opened. The sight before us was nothing short of absolute power: 10 divine beings seated in 2 semi-circular rows of thrones, the second row raised slightly higher than the first. Among the gods and devils present, I recognized only the most famous ones: Lumina the goddess of light, Aeris the goddess of wind, Absys the god of water, Stonos the god of earth, and Necron the god of darkness. These were the ones who kept the world in balance and they were now seated in the raised row in the room. The five other divines in the room were either ones I did not know of or one whose title I could not think of.

"Now then, let us finally begin the meeting to which we have all gathered here."

Necron was the first to speak and take control of this moment with a powerful voice of authority.

"We must not be so hasty, Necron, there is plenty of time still for pleasantries" came from Lumina's soothing voice.

"But as we speak, things are changing and unraveling without our supervision" rang in Stonos with an anxious tone.

"No matter, for things always change whether we are present, my brother" responded Absys, uncaring for the ever-changing world.

"It is still our duty to protect our interests, no matter what the circumstances" arose Aeris' timid voice, almost on the verge of concern for all the lives about to be destroyed by the cleansing.

"Enough dabble, we are all here for a reason and our guest here is at the center of it all. He must know his destiny as it was decided. Lord Necron, you have our attention." Zet said, determined to take mental notes on the meeting.

The god of darkness was about to speak, but then the lesser gods started a verbal argument now. Though it sounded little more than pointless squabble, it seemed to relate to the topic at hand.

"...the humans must die, they hardly give worthy sacrifices..."

"So what? It's not like we need them anyways, we're immortal!"

"...champions, oh what I would do for a handsome champion to keep me company..."

I gulped silently at comment.

"...we should be readying ourselves for war! Who knows when the humans will discover our realm! I say we ask Masonus to make us some arms! Ow!"

I saw Necron give the troublemaker a quick clap to the head with a silent rage.

"This is gonna be a long meeting..." Zet groaned in a hushed voice that only I could hear.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A/N: I assume most of you thought the gods in this story were going to be all-powerful, destructive douches who abuse their powers. Nope, that is half-true. Some gods are perfectly willing to mess with humans, but only out of boredom and just plain spite for humanity. However, no powers besides shape-shifting and manipulation must be used unless the offender wants to experience the wrath of the greater gods. Most gods are indifferent to humans and so, leave them be while dealing with their own godly duties. This meeting has so much potential that I can't wait to get right into it! Poor Zet and Necron though, they both value order above everything, yet this meeting will be anything but. Anyways, thanks again for reading this story so far, despite it coming from my unknown (and possibly deranged) mind. Remember to read and review and let imagination go wild!

9: The Reason & Forever-Honored

A/N: I am killing in this story right now! I already have 2, (yes 2) chapters queued up for this story, so I am well-ahead of the deadlines...for now. On another important note, I have published a second story on this site, Lovely School, A Light Romance, for those of you that want something new from the good 'ole fantasy tales. Right now, I only have one chapter up, but I will update along with this story just the same. Basically, it is an high school anime-styled story. (Yeah I know, not that original but hey, I like it.) So, back to this story you are all so eager to get into...this is where things heat up for our hero and right during the meeting so there is obviously no better time than this. Oh and be warned, I strained my the rating on my story here, so there will be (*snickers*) blurred lines about what this story is rated. Please remember to review, or PM, or follow/favorite this story and let me know if there is anything that could be improved. The imagination flows on once again!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"The first matter to discuss is our guest here. His role will be crucial in our plans, so we should tell him about his part." Necron stated while giving me a steady stare.

I was now ready to hear the reason for why I am here, in this devilish realm. However, as I stepped forward for more clarity before the gods spoke, I saw Synda standing next to me and doing the same. I made a confused face and signaled the seated gods of my plight.

"Ah, isn't that your pet project, Necron? I am surprised its condition is so good, despite being under Moro's...care." Lumina spoke in a relieved voice.

One of the lesser gods gave Lumina death-filled glare, but she did not seem to care.

"She's hardier than most of her kind, despite having died. Come forth, Lady Syndalia" beckoned Necron as Synda stepped towards the god's throne.

Lady?! Wait a stroke! Synda was a girl this whole time?! How could I have mistaken it? Then again I never did ask her if she was a woman or a man...

Behind me, Zet gave a look of complete disgust and prayed the other gods did not hear my thoughts. Unfortunately, they did.

"Hahaha! What a fool this human is! He can't possibly a champion! Hahaha!" one of the lesser gods joked, holding his sides as he stood up.

"Silence, Pragmatis!" the dark god said as he smacked the lesser god once again in the head.

"Ouch! Fine, I'll shut up." the lesser god said as he settled back into his seat.

"Now, then. Syndalia, I chose you and saved your soul for a reason: to serve our guest here in any way possible, and to help him on his quest. Have you any objections to this now that you have spent time with him?" Necron asked.

"Scrape, creak, crack" came some sounds as Synda shook her head.

"Very well. I hope that you both have a wonderful future together." were the last words by Necron before a vast stream of light descended upon Synda, coating her in an unknown magic.

I tried to shut my eyes instinctively, but Zet put a hand on my shoulder and said,

"Don't close yourself off to this. This is what your world is now: magic and godly power. There is nothing more beautiful and awe-inspiring than bringing someone back to life, yet you want to ignore that. I'll tell you again, get used to this if you ever want to stay sane again."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Zet's words cut deeply and I understood what he meant, so I held my eyes open at the sight at the center of the room. Synda's skeleton appeared to be healing itself, regaining its white luster and the losing the ashen stench of lava as smooth light skin started to form over the bones. Her clothes became whole again, their former beauty exposed to the world once again. What was once the torn black remains of noble attire became a new set of blue armor bearing the symbol of an unknown rule that I was not familiar with. Synda's armor was not like that of a trained army soldier: it only had one shoulder piece on her right side and it did not cover her belly at all, only providing coverage on her chest up to her shoulders and her arms had separate armor pieces to support smooth movements. Aside from those open areas, Synda's armor included a full set of leg armor and a small green cloak. I could only watch in awe as this once-forgotten soul is made alive again, as if she had never died in the first place. Once the ritual was completed, she spoke in a soft, firm voice to the collective in front of us.

"Thank you, my graces for giving me this chance to make things right. I will follow my charge to our end, no matter what may try to stop us."

She turned around to face me and in that moment, stunning me to my very core with her beauty, I collapsed to my knees. Quickly, Synda rushed to me and helped me up, but I refused to look at her directly; she was just too beautiful. Synda seemed to catch my discretion and asked me,

"Master, why do you not look upon me? Have I done something to upset you? Please, tell me and I will change myself" her concerned voice echoed.

"I don't want you to change yourself. You're perfect the way you are now, but that's why I can't look at you: you are just...too beautiful to look at." I spoke in a hushed whisper for only Synda to hear.

"...Master, you flatter me and I really like that, but we can't begin to work together unless you can look at me without any hesitation. Please, raise your head" Synda said quietly, a hint of longing in her voice.

Slowly, I raised my head to look at her and immediately I was shocked to the core of my being. She had very passionate and distinguished features that added to her beauty: golden blond hair, calm forest-green eyes, a young gentle face, and light modest lips. I could do nothing but stare, dumbstruck by her compassion and concern. Synda seemed to flush slightly but it was hardly noticeable as she turned to face the gods among us.

"Splendid, absolutely splendid. It seems you chose the right person to aid our soon-to-be champion" Lumina finally said.

"Yes, indeed he is most worthy of the title, but it is ultimately up to Aeris", Necron said as he turned to his fellow goddess, "What do you think of this man? What can you see through his motions?"

Aeris sat still for a few moments before saying three simple words: "He is perfect".

The lesser gods soon broke out into debate over the greater goddess' decision. Pragmatis, the one who was always hit by Necron spoke first:

"No way am I gonna work with a human! Their race is one of the most vile ones we made and they are a huge reason why we're doing this in the first place! If this 'thing' is the best the humans have to offer, then I say we pick again!"

Though he seemed like an idiot since the start of the meeting, he made a good case. Having lived my life in combat, I have seen some of the worst humans imaginable, but also some of the best, a fact that he left out. Yet, this one issue sparked a great debate among the lesser gods that caught the greater gods' attention.

"Pragmatis is right, out of all the races we helped make, the humans were given the most potential and look at what they've done: they have collectively made every other race despise them or at least look upon them with contempt."

"True, but did you forget that it was our decision to let them create their own destiny? To leave them unsupervised and untouched? I say that this is our own fault for letting our own ambitions take control of our decisions. Yes, our little experiment has failed and we are facing near-destruction because of it. If we had made the humans a little more compassionate towards the other races, there would be no need for cleansing after all."

I listened intently at that last statement and looked to the owner of the voice. It was an elderly looking god, who wore a white cloak and a distant gaze. His piercing-gray eyes looked upon for a passing moment, then he sat back to watch the rest of the debate.

"Ponser has a point, we knew that leaving a race untouched could produce dire consequences, but we did it anyway. Now, the humans expanded in ways we never thought of and now they are set upon genocide of all the other races. Who knows how long before they decide to come into our domain? How do we know that they haven't found our weakness yet? Ugh!"

Stonos and Absys quickly struck the speaking lesser god, knocking him unconscious before he could say anything revealing. As I turned to look at Synda, I saw her in a broken state. She was shaking, either from anger or sadness, probably both as subtle tears streamed down her cheeks while she strained to keep her eyes shut, desperate to steady her composure. Gently placing my hand on her shoulder, she looked at me with fear and longing in her eyes. Nodding, I moved my arm around her shoulders and we walked out of the room. As we sat down on a stone bench just outside the room, Synda began leaning closer to me and stared at my face as I held her steady. This continued for a long while, like we were both trying to get used to one another.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Master, do you think that killing is right?"

"Is this because of what that god said?"

"Y-yes. I...died because of what humans did. I'm sure you won't do that, but you must look at me with hatred, seeing as I am an...elf"

"I don't think killing is right in any way. No matter what place you find yourself in, there is no reason to take away everything another has known in life before then. There is no prize for cutting short everything that a person could have experienced later in life had it been spared even for another day. I couldn't hate you for what you were born as nor could I hate you for who you are. The person next to me is not an elf or my bodyguard but simply Syndalia, a beautiful woman whom I cherish. I want to stop this whole cleansing not just to save the other races, but also to save the humans from the worst enemy of all: themselves. If you need anything or you just want to talk to me, don't hold your breath and seek me out. I will try my best to help you, my friend."

"Master...no, my Master...I want you to be my forever-honored." Synda finally said after a long pause. As she said it, she visibly blushed and tried not to directly look at me.

"Synda, what is a forever-honored and why me?"

"A forever-honored is the highest place of respect known to elven knights, reserved only for those who we would sacrifice everything for so that the knight will forever stay at the master's side. It is also a title given to great heroes of elven folklore, signifying a great person both in body and spirit. In this age, we knights still follow the code to choose and protect our forever-honored, but each knight now has the choice to make their own meaning of the title."

"What was yours before you died?"

"I vowed that my forever-honored would be one who could treat me as an equal, someone who would see past my knightly duties and be willing to spend time with me and help me when I needed it. I wanted someone who was not just another fighter, but a leader who inspires by example and works hard to bring people to his side. However, as I was with you this whole time, my definition's changed a little." Synda blushed an even deeper red than before, looking down as she started to shake slightly in her armor.

"What changed about it?"

"This." Was all she said before she grabbed my shirt and pulled me forward into a passionate, lust-filled kiss.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A/N: Holy shite...there a phrase to say in these moments, oh yeah. "Well, that escalated quickly" Now that I am done quoting real-life, how many of you were surprised at that little reveal in the beginning? And of course humans are monsters, we usually act like jerks to everyone not like us, so there's no mistake there. But Synda and Drake? Hmm...I smell a set-up...or maybe it really is something Synda feels for him. Oh well, more fuel for the fire I guess. I strongly request that those of you who read this to review this chapter to help me figure out if I portrayed Synda's reaction correctly and if I set the mood well between the two. The next chapter will build a little more on the moment these two shared as well as a quick look into our hero's attitude towards other women. Thank you for making it this far with me despite my shortcomings. Once again, a reminder to please take a peek at my second story which is up right now (you non-followers, you). If you would like to talk to me, remember my mailbox is always open (and empty, it seems).

10: Heartfelt Pain

A/N: Nothing has changed much except for the varying amounts of work I have. Keep reading, and remember to review! Also, Lovely School chapter 3 is up along with this! Imagination must always flow forth! I have a poll up on this story, please visit my profile and vote for more character appearances!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

What is happening?! Why am I doing this?! Vallia, my love, I am sorry. I could never fulfill my promise to be faithful to you and our family. Nothing can measure the shame that I am feeling at this moment of weakness; to be fond of this woman kissing me now, I have failed you, my love. I couldn't protect our family and now, years after I made that vow on that day, I'm breaking it as if it meant nothing...

In that impossibly small moment, I swore that I heard Vallia speaking to me in mind.

"Why do you think that, my prince? The years we spent together were the best in my life, and when our son was born, I felt complete knowing that I finally had a family I could call my own. I have been at peace knowing that I would one day die since I met you, especially since our little boy came into the world. Please my prince, don't forget about what we shared but let yourself move past it and look for another who can complete you as you have for me..."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As soon as Vallia finished her message to me, Synda and I broke our kiss slowly and reluctantly. I still saw waves of longing and lust in Synda's face, but it only served to make her all the more attractive. We shared a held gaze that felt like an eternity, both of us still recovering from the impacting kiss. My face was burning from the kiss and I was likely set in the deepest blush possible at that moment and there was no doubt that Synda was feeling the same. She was the first to break the silence.

"That felt...right, like it was meant for us. Could we do...more of that...in the future?"

"I...don't know, Synda. I am feeling confused and ashamed at myself now. It was not your doing, but my past creeping up on me again. I'm sorry, Synda. I really like you, but forgive me if I cannot be as passionate as you. I want you in my life, but I need to settle my past first..."

"I...understand, Master. I will try to wait until you can show the same feelings for me as I do for you. But, can I...tell you something, Master?"

"What is it, Synda?"

However, before Synda could say another word, Zet appeared in the doorway next to our bench with a fierce glare on his face.

"Grr...You insignificant, lecherous, idiotic, infinitely-low, self-serving, too-dumb-to-live, single-minded, cowardly motherf-"

"Oh! So this is where you both were... and up to no good, are we?" came a mischievous voice.

Cutting off Zet was a man in a dirty brown jacket and a jovial expression. He looked like he was a cheery man who had no cares in the world. As he smiled and let his mind wander, I looked behind him at Zet, who was giving him a venomous glare, and asked who this man was.

"You know him. He's the one who spoke to you when you were coming here. He is my boss, the god of decay: Moro." He answered.

It was at that point that Moro decided to rejoin reality.

"Moro, god of decay, at your service my friends! I wondered when you would arrive, but it seems that I too have had difficulties focusing on our goals." He said with a smile.

"Sir, you've been asleep since the meeting started..." Zet countered.

"No I wasn't. I was merely...thinking about how we would best approach this cleansing issue."

"Sir, that was 300 years ago, when we had another meeting, which you also fell asleep in."

"Well I barely got any sleep the night before, so I just couldn't hold it together."

Zet groaned audibly and I shared in his plight. I loathed this god even before this moment, when he was only an odd voice in my head. Synda stayed silent next to me, unmoved by the display unfolding in front of us. I attempted to break the growing tension in the air and bring everyone back to the meeting.

"Shall we go back to the meeting? They can't go on if we are out here, correct?"

"Yes, the meeting has been delayed long enough. We have only gotten through half of the meeting, so we must be present for the other half as well." Zet declared with subtle enthusiasm.

"Eh, I guess I'll go back, but I'm still feeling really sleepy. I need to stop terrorizing the world before the 22nd stroke..." Moro drowsily said.

"Master, can you wait for a moment? I must speak to you in private." Synda whispered.

I waved Zet and Moro off as they reentered the meeting before turning to face Synda.

"What is it now, Synda? There are important matters being discussed about the future and-"

"I have something important too!" She shouted, making me flinch with surprise.

She looked at me with a sad expression, tears in her eyes.

"I...overheard you talking with that demon we were looking for. Is it true, master? Is it true that you love her? Are you both really lovers?" Synda choked out.

She started to cry now, tears rushing down her cheeks as she continued to look at me in agony. I felt a sharp pain in my chest, just like what I felt when I died after seeing Char, but again it was not physical. It was emotional, and it hurt more than any spear could ever hurt. Not thinking anymore, I wrapped my arms around Synda and embraced her. She cried into my chest and I held her tightly, and we both stayed there, just like that for who knows how long. Then Synda moved away from my chest, but stayed close and we kissed like it was the last one we would ever share.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A/N: Oh boy, things are getting steamy here...but we've finally met the namesake of this whole story, the god of decay. Warning, the next chapter will be VERY suggestive, but nothing explicit. I suggest you try to read it for the content, not just the (almost) sex. And please read and review my other story, Lovely School, along with this story. Thanks again for all your support! Remember to vote on the poll if you want to change-up the story a bit and see more characters around!

11: Synda's Courage

A/N: I've got nothing to say at this point, except that I jabbed at the T-Rating limit here, so keep that in mind. Let imagination break free!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I love you, my Master, with all my heart." Was the first thing Synda said when we finally broke apart.

"Synda, I am very fond of you and I want you by my side, yet I cannot move forward with this. I'm sorry for hurting you." I bitterly responded.

"It is okay, Master. I said I would wait for the day when you can listen to your heart and I plan to honor that promise. So please, don't blame yourself for something I've wanted to do."

"...Synda, can I ask you something?"

"Anything, my master."

"Why did you fall in love with me? There must have been someone else in your life that you fell for, so why is it me now? I am a broken man and a weak leader. I can't possibly be your forever-honored, when I cannot even protect those I cared for." I bitterly spat.

Synda shook her head and reassured me, "You are the one I love because you are everything I've only dreamed about. No one I met in life treated me like an equal. I was always placed in a higher calling due to my duty as a knight. Everyone I knew never saw me as a woman, but just another sword ready to be used in battle. I once knew another man who did see past my duties, but once he saw who I was as a woman, he left me saying that I would never be a good wife to anyone..." She painfully said.

Synda started crying again and held me tightly, burying her face into my chest. I held her close as well, my arms wrapped around her small, but firm body. As she cried, she continued to speak,

"Everything changed with you, though. I remember flowing down the molten river, peacefully awaiting my departure from everything, when I felt like someone was telling me to pull myself out, so I did and there you were, my savior. At first, I thought you were just another man who would run from me, especially after seeing my state, but you stayed with me and talked to me as if I was no different from any other person. I took it upon myself to help you in repayment for rescuing me, but once we made it to Zet'Therr and the meeting hall, you surprised me again. Instead of going in right away, you actually tried to make conversation with me, calling me your 'friend' and inviting me to come with you. At that point, I decided that you could be someone I would want to serve. And yet, when you put me on lookout while you spoke with that demon, I couldn't help but feel like you were about to leave me alone. I heard her call you 'lover' and it hurt me deeply, like a burning wound that never went away. Even still, I hardened my heart long enough to warn you about Zet'Therr and then you ran, taking me with you. As you ran, I thought about what it would be like serving you, but then I realized I didn't want that. I realized that I wanted you to love me after seeing who I really was..."

Synda paused and took this chance to give me a quick peck on the lips before continuing.

"I got my chance when the dark god brought back my form and mended my wounds. I saw the look of surprise on you and I was wishing so much that you were growing fond of me. Then you called me 'beautiful' and shook me to the core, so much that I had to do everything I could to stop myself from kissing you on the spot. I cried after hearing the lower gods talking about the cleansing, and when they spoke of genocide, I remembered everything surrounding my death. I remembered my village being slaughtered, humans killing everyone, and...and...their commander trying to violate me."

Synda's tears were still flowing, but she seemed even more broken than ever before. I wanted to protect her forever, but all I could do was kiss her fervently and hold her with passion. Her shoulders dropped slightly as she relaxed and squeezed my form tightly to her. We enjoyed the warmth of our embrace for a long while until Synda spoke again.

"You saved me in so many ways since I died and gave me so many new experiences. That is why when I finally got the courage to kiss you, I felt like the happiest girl in the realms knowing that I've gotten you to look at me as more than just a friend. I love you for that and I will always love you, my Master!" Synda finished as she came at me again for another lustful kiss, this time knocking me on my back with her burning passion.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Synda..."

"Please Master, let me do this. I want to feel more than just a kiss from you. I want to feel special to you, more special than that demon..." Synda seductively whispered as she began to tug at my shirt.

"Synda, no. I can't let you do this. You are so much better than this, you know you are special to me, but I cannot let you do this to yourself. Think about how this will affect our relationship if we are not ready. Think about how I feel in this: I had family once, and I don't want to live another tragedy, not yet." I refused, trying hard to keep my focus.

"I know how much they mean to you, I heard what you said to that demon after all. But I won't give up on you, not at all Master. So remember that I'll always love you, no matter what and I'll always be waiting for you to come into my arms instead of me into yours." Synda answered with another kiss, her modest chest pressing hard against my own.

I felt it hard to resist such temptation, but I thought back to my life with Vallia, and held fast to my loyalty to her. Synda must have sensed my plight and slowly with reluctance, sat up and let me do the same. She looked at me with a sense of personal shame and sadness before speaking.

"...I apologize, Master. I did something that upset you so that I may indulge in my own desires. Please forgive me for my actions and punish me however you wish. I just love you so much that I can't contain myself around you, so please punish me, let me know where you draw the line between us." Synda requested with mixed feelings in her voice.

"I will punish you, but I must ask you first: Where is your death-wound?" I asked in a grave tone.

Synda then stripped away her chest plate and shoulder pad, leaving her only in her cloth shirt, and then she exposed the top of her chest to me. I instinctively leaned back from her, but she held me close and pointed to a light pink scar on her left upper chest.

"This is what ended my life when they destroyed my village. The humans captured me and gave me to their commander as a trophy. Before he could do anything to me, I took my knife out and...made this. It was painful, but it was a fate better than any that would befall me at that moment." Synda explained, watching me with a pained expression.

I gently placed a hand over the scar, earning a small gasp from Synda and thought about how she must have felt, to be so strong yet not strong enough to save her home. She was willing to die than compromise her purity and she watched as they tore her home apart with no chance to save it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Synda, you've shown me your death-wound and...I have no words to say about it. But now, I feel it is fair that I show you mine, so that you might see how I died as well." I told her as I started to take off my shirt.

Synda's eyes grew wide as she look upon my figure with intent, like a cat ready to pounce on its prey. However, I gave her a stern glare and she relented, allowing me to focus her attention on the spear wound through my torso. She gaped at the 4 inch white pink line that traveled from my chest to my waist and ran her fingers along it, proving that it had healed well in my time here.

"I died in worry for one of my comrades, without ever knowing who killed me. I let my guard down, believing that everyone could be trusted, but it seems I was wrong. Yet now, I know my killer's name and I won't stop until he suffers for ruining everything we stood for and all the people he betrayed." I angrily said, my fists shaking with tension.

"Master, it is okay, we both died for our own causes and at that time, there was nothing either of us could do to save ourselves. But now that we are here, in the eternal fire, we have been given a second chance to make everything right and protect each other so that we don't lose ourselves again." Synda whispered soothingly.

I pulled Synda closer to me and embraced her again, thanking her for her kind words. She started to let out a quiet moan as she pressed her self into my bare upper body, grabbing at my back and tracing her finger along the lines of my muscles causing me to moan as well. She whispered into my ear in a lusting voice,

"The way you touched my scar was making me crazy, Master. Please let that be my punishment; it was almost torturous to feel your gentle touch on my chest."

"Oh, I don't think so, the real punishment will begin tonight...in my quarters." I said in a voice dripping with mischief.

This brought Synda into a deep blush before she fainted soon after.

"Well, that's...unfortunate. I was only kidding after all. She really needs to know that I meant what I said about refusing that." I said to no one in particular before spying her discarded armor.

"Now let's see, how does this go on..."

I began to put her armor back on as best I could, given my limited knowledge of elven equipment.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Somehow, through luck, I managed to successfully put Synda's armor back on her as she awoke. She gave me a look of pure malice, having heard what I said shortly after she fainted, and gave me a small punch in the stomach. I let out a grunt, but then I felt her kissing me again, tears in her eyes telling me to never joke about something like that again. I broke away before it got too passionate, causing her to look sad, but accepting of the work that must be done. I motioned for us to rejoin the council; we've already taken up too much time from the meeting. Synda nodded and followed me as we both entered the magical doorway. Everything went black for a time after we entered, seeing only darkness as we held each other close, not wanting to lose ourselves to this terrifying place.

"Master, what is happening? Where is the meeting? What is this place?"

"I am just as blind to this as you are, Synda...wait, 'Without a guardian magus, one will simply be ripped from existence!', oh no...we are about to enter oblivion. I'm sorry, Synda, I should have remembered the warning on the door. This is all my fault." I simply said, resigning to my fate.

"As long as I am with you, Master, I am satisfied. I wanted to live longer than this, but if I am to die in the arms of my love, then I will happily die." Synda sadly said before falling into my arms, resting her head against my chest.

We both were ready for our true death together in this bleak, unfeeling world and it came; not with a candle, but a blinding light.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A/N: Again, nothing I really have to say here. This story is getting too intense to truly comment on, unless you (the readers) can, then please let us know in the reviews.

12: A New Problem Arises

A/N: It would be so easy to continue on with Drake and Synda, but that would leave a huge plot with the meeting. So, since Zet was present for the latter half of the meeting, this chapter will be dedicated to his point of view and how large the consequences really are for the two lovebirds' actions. Without further ado, I present to you chapter 12 of Rise of Decay.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(Zet POV)

I watched as the gods started to finish the meeting as swiftly as possible. After I had reentered the room with Lord Moro, the other lords and ladies seemed to have gotten organized. The lesser nobles no longer argued with each other and the greater nobles were calmly chatting about idle happenings in the human world. I was relieved at this most welcome change to the chaos that came when our client was present. As I stood before the nobility once again, I noticed Lord Moro laughing quietly to himself and although I had grown used to his antics, it felt like this was not just another elaborate joke.

“What are you laughing at this time? Nothing even remotely funny has happened yet.” I told him, annoyed at his overly casual attitude.

“Oh nothing at all, it's just that those two lovebirds are taking an awfully long time out there. You do know that neither of them is a strong mage, right?” He asked in a rather mischievous tone.

“Yes...” I did not know where he was leading this conversation, but I stayed cautious.

“Well, did you happen to read the sign right outside the door? The one that said something about being with a guardian magus?”

My jaw dropped in realization at the mistake that I had made and I yelled as loud as I could, startling everyone in the room.

“You mean to tell me that they ignored the warning!? They know nothing of magic and yet they still tried to enter!!? What am I supposed to do now?! This is the worst thing that's ever happened to this job!! How are you still laughing at this?! This is a matter of failure at this point!!” I shouted directly at Moro, who never lost his joyful smile even once since I started to scream.

“Relax, they are probably fine, they are heroes and everyone knows that heroes can't die.”

“Have you been reading human texts again?”

“Maybe, but that's not the point. You see, I did not want them to be 'ripped from existence', so I just changed the magic a little to send them into my domain. They're perfectly fine where they are.” He assured me as if this whole thing was not critical to everything we worked for.

With that said, he produced a small pocket watch and peered into its face. A look of anxiety quickly overcame his normally joyous nature. At that moment, I knew that something went wrong, something that could affect everything we ever created.

“Oh dear...it seems I didn't watch them closely enough. The humans must have noticed the disturbance and completed the circuit. Now we've got a whole mess of problems on our hands...”

Moro trembled ever so slight as he told me about his mistake.

“What sort of problems?” I asked while desperately resisting the urge to strangle my idiotic boss.

“Well, we kind of need to tell the rest of the council about this...” He sweetly said.

“...Fine...” I grudgingly answered while clenching my fists with bone-shattering force.

Just as the council was about to disperse, Moro took the floor and addressed his concerns to the council.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“You what?!” Necron shouted, astonished that such a thing occurred.

“Do you have any idea how much this changes everything?!” Stonos added, apparently having a mental breakdown.

“There is nothing that can counteract this! Why did you even think about doing that?!” Absys roared, furious at this unforeseen outcome.

“This is a problem, indeed. How will we ever be able to fix this and still carry out our plans?” Lumina calmly pondered, though still visibly shaken by this new obstacle.

“I think it'll be okay.”

Everyone stopped their rants and froze for a short second before turning to the goddess who made that last comment. It was Lady Aeris, as free-spirited as ever and always thinking about the overall progress. Her file is filled with controversial incidents but in each one, she was always able to predict whether the plan would succeed. The file also mentions her free use of divine miracles, giving them away to needy humans and desperate warmongers. She certainly does not see people as friend or foe, merely slow or fast. I watched her as she prepared to explain herself for agreeing even to this terrible ordeal.

“They did not read the sign and that is troublesome, but then again, we did not need them at all for the rest of the meeting. Moro's world is only accessible by ancient magics, and even then every human who has gone to it was forever lost. When I said that this one human was 'perfect', I meant it; there was a certain potential in him. I saw his life and his methods, and knew we chose the right soul. He is always focused on moving forward and finishing his tasks, no matter how odd his ways may be. His origin is not even that of a normal human, but something more...something like us. That's why I'm confident about his success in the human world. If he has something that links us to him, then we have no need to concern ourselves with him any longer. I know that some part of him thinks like us, trying to do what's best for those around him.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Not another sound was made in the room save for the steady ticking of the clock that hung overhead. Even the normally rowdy lesser gods were shocked at their superior's appalling speech. Necron, usually the one to command the conversation, was left speechless, his jaw hanging slack by gravity. Then, on pure instinct alone, he lifted a heavy hand and let it fall squarely on Aeris' head, waking everyone in the room, before placing a vice-grip on her collar. Shaking himself back into focus, he boomed so that everyone could hear him,

“This meeting of the council is now adjourned!”

The divinities in the room quickly disappeared, exiting the room in otherworldly manners belonging to their realms. Those that lived in Seculas, the greater nobles, left in a beam of light, while those with a domain in Calderon, the lesser nobles, faded into shadows, surrounded by flames. The only ones left in the room were myself and Moro, who seemed to have perked up considerably after Aeris' misguided speech.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“So, wanna go to the human world and wreak havoc?” He sweetly asked me, earning a slight twitch from me.

“Do you have any idea how much more work we have to do? We don't even know where they ended up; if they are not dead, then they are lost somewhere in some alternate world that we know nothing about. I've even read reports of a distant place where everyone tends to be struck by wooden arrows (A/N: I'm not at all advertising my second story here). Are you even listening to me?” I passively asked, knowing that going at his pace was the best option now.

“Hmm...yeah, getting hit by arrows all the time is rather annoying, but let's go to the human world anyway.”

“You never let things go, do you? Fine, I'll go with you, but only to make sure you don't use your powers, however limited they may be.”

“Yay! I'll go pack right away. I plan for us to stay at least 2 weeks there.” Moro happily chirped as he ran out of the room.

“This isn't a vacation. We're supposed to be working, but you obviously can't be left alone.” I absently said in the empty room.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A/N: Don't you just love Moro? No? Well you should, because he is the powerful (not powerful) god of decay and an avatar for the playful side of my personality. Of course he would want to vacation in the human world, but keep in mind that he is not all-play and certainly not an idiot. The next chapter will be a long one, so be prepared and keep reading on!

13: Returning Memories

A/N: Update time yet again! I know, it's not even been a week since my last update, but I'm feeling REALLY good about this story, so good that I'm giving you all a triple update! That's right 3 new chapters to read! The double seemed to have a positive effect, so I thought 'why not a triple?'. As always, please R/R and lemme know your feedback on this new view into Drake's memories and free imagination!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Huh? Where are we?"

I opened my eyes to the sounds of birds and wind and noticed that I was not imagining it. The birds were sitting atop gravestones, not like the death-touched creatures I would have expected in Calderon, but alive and vibrant with color. I looked around further and spotted a few cows and many more graves. I couldn't help but feel a certain calm overtaking me as a warm gentle breeze blew through the air. My thoughts slowly went to my experiences in the human world, thinking back to my life after Vallia died...I was 20 years old when I last visited the capital city of Endisst.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(Flashback)

"Please state your name and your business here in the Republic."

"Drake Kanto, only here to find some work and a place to stay the night, if you know of any."

"Hmm, report to the palace and they can point you in the right direction. Next!"

I look back to the long trail of carriages and caravans lined up, all hoping to be inside the gates of this kingdom. The great kingdom of Endisst, known by everyone on our continent of Zylo as the capital and leading power of all. Though it is the strongest military power in our world, it is not without culture and arts, as well as a reputation of being the most generous kingdom in the lands. I enter through the gates of the hallowed city, eager to find somewhere to rest and nurse the wounds on my mind. I can't let go of it yet, my wife's death.

I promise Vallia, I'll find those bastards and drag them all the way to dungeons myself. I won't quit on you until I know you can rest easy...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My thoughts are so focused on revenge for Vallia that I do not notice when I knock someone down. The sudden shock shakes me out of my reverie.

"Ah!"

"Sorry, in a bit of a hurry." I say as I look upon the grounded person.

It was a little girl, no older than 5 years old, dressed like a maid oddly enough.

"As I said, I'm in a hurry, so please let us forget that this ever happened." I roughly said as I extended my hand to her and raised an eyebrow.

"Thanks mister, you're a really nice guy. Can I ask you a question?"

"Make it quick."

"Why do you have two swords? And why do look so sad?"

"Child, I thought you only wanted to ask one question. Which one do you want to know about?"

"Um...can't I ask about both?"

I let out a ragged breath in irritation at this little girl's persistence as I answered,

"Fine, but I'll only say it once so listen well. I have two swords because I am a very dangerous man and if you want to why I look sad, ask your parents about what love is."

"My parents aren't here anymore, but I can ask my older sister. Will you come with me?"

"Child, do you have the slightest idea of how busy I am now? I have no wish to go on an idiotic errand with you to find someone unless it has to do with the palace."

"Oh but I am going to the palace! And I'm sure my sister is there too! Come on, then let's go!" She chirps cheerfully, grabbing my hand and leading me on the path to the massive central palace.

"Somehow I feel like this was a horrible decision..."

"Hm? You say something, mister?"

"I was just saying that you are a very cute little girl."

"Aww...thanks, mister!" She gleefully says before she turning to give me a hug, much to my discomfort.

"Enough! The palace. Now."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Not another word is spoken between us as we continue our walk to the city center, the girl humming blissfully to herself while holding my hand with a firm grip. We passed by several rows of houses, marketplaces with various foods on display, children playing in the roads, and even a few militia on patrol. As we near the central hub of the city away from the seedy outer ring of lower classes, I start to see groups of knights training with each other, studying the motions of colleagues, reading about past events, and even playing instruments along the road. I even notice groups of wise men in white robes, discussing the philosophies of the current age. More and more horse-drawn carriages are present, nobles everywhere I could see and all with that look of false friendship and approval. I grunt in disgust and continue to look on at this girl leading me by the hand. She seems no less innocent in all of this than my son.

Child, you really do have no idea of what happens around you...I would have liked you to meet my Little Saber. Vallia, why you chose that to call him that I'll never understand and even worse was that he liked it. Still, even for a boy no less than 4 years old, we knew he was going to a great fighter, eh Val? If only you could see me now, being led around by this little girl...it could have been our own little boy doing this for me, happily laughing and smiling a wide grin as we just had fun...

"Hey mister, why are you crying?"

"Eh? I-I'm not crying, it's j-just really d-dusty a-around h-here" I lie as I sniffle, hoping this girl will let it go.

"But this place is usually really sparkly and shiny, so there's no way it gets that dirty. Maybe I'll have to ask my sister to get them to clean better. Okay, we're almost there so let's race!" She squeaked before dashing ahead on the road.

I call out to her before doing the same,

"Wait! It's not safe to go alone! Stay near the guards!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I arrive at the palace quickly, letting the girl win the 'race' by about a foot and earning a squeal from her. She gives the palace guards a warm smile and that lifts their spirits somewhat before they ask,

"What is your business here?"

"We're here to see my sister! And I wanted to introduce this nice man to everyone!"

"What is your sister's name?"

"Sharon; she's the youngest maid here, besides me."

"Ah, her! I know your sister, she's the one with the nice rack right?" One of the guards asks before his partner lightly whacks him on the shaft of his spear. The little girl is completely innocent of everything that the guard said, oblivious to the obvious insult about her sister.

"Rack? I don't think we have a spice rack, but we do have a book rack!"

The more strict of the guards decides to carry on the conversation in his partner's stead.

"I believe we know who your sister is. She is in the servants' quarters now, so you may only go there for now. You are free to enter, except you." He says, giving me a pointed stare.

I return the look with equal intensity, before stating,

"I am here to make an inquiry about somewhere to stay the night, nothing more."

"...You may enter, but we'll be watching you carefully. And submit your weapons to us if you wish to speak to the royal family."

"Thank you...I keep that in mind if I need enlightenment." I bark to the guard with a look of anger.

The guards step aside to let us pass, the little girl going in first and as I take another step, the guards block me with their spears, prompting me to swiftly slice through the shafts with my sword, Heart. I am internally grateful to have been blessed with such an inheritance from my father before he died. Heart cuts smoothly through any material and has a very light weight, as the guards stare in disbelief at their cleanly cut weapons and back away in fear. I am not in the mood for amusing the bored palace guards, so I swiftly rejoin the young maid to find the servants' quarters. The little girl is quick: walking at a brisk pace down branching hallways that seem too similar to one another. Soon after the short walk, we find the servants' quarters and the little girl's older sister.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Big sister, big sister! I'm back! I brought a friend too!"

"Welcome back, Riley! It's good to see you're safe. And who might this be?" Sharon asks, giving me a curious look.

"He's a very nice man, but he looks sad so I brought him here so he could help you explain something to me." Riley says, a slight hum in her voice.

"What did you want to ask me about?"

"What is love?"

Sharon is taken aback with shock and anxiety spread across her face. She glances at me and then snaps back to her curious sister.

"...Well Riley, love is this...feeling you get, when you...want to be with someone all the time. You never want to see that person sad...or alone. You get knots in your chest that just hurt when you are away from that person, yet...at the same time you get them even when you're around that special person. It's so overpowering that you would do anything for that person, just to feel whole again. It's hard to understand what love really is, but one day you'll find out for yourself."

"It's okay big sister, I get it. If that's what love is, then I love you a whole bunch!" Riley exclaims.

"I love you too Riley." Sharon tells her, while giving me a pitied look.

"So, big sister, can you tell me why Mister looks so sad?"

"I have a name and it's not Mister." I say as I firmly interrupt.

"What is it then, Mister?"

"...I don't need to tell you, you won't be seeing me after this anyway."

"Aww, but I want to know! What if we do see you again? We have to know what to call you..." She looks at me with hopeful eyes and speaks in a soft voice.

"...Fine, but know it well since I will not repeat myself: Drake Kanto."

"Dr-ake K-an-to...that's a weird name." Riley commented, giving me a warm smile.

"It's my name and I intend to use it, no matter what anyone thinks of it."

"Thank you for taking care of my sister, noble knight." Sharon praises.

"I have no need for such trivial titles, you may call me Drake." I strongly tell her.

"Very well, Drake, you have helped us nonetheless and for that I am grateful. Please, if there anything we may do for you, just ask."

"I must speak to the royal family." I state, my purpose clear.

"You're lucky to have us with you. Our family is well-acquainted with the king and his family. We can take you to see them now, if that's what you want."

"Let us go then."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After we stroll through the winding halls again, we reach the large doors of the throne room. Four guards stand watch over the entrance, ready for any threats that the royals may face in their lives. Stealing a glance, I notice they are all unarmed and wear minimal protection, only the clothes of nobility is seen on their backs. I disregard this fact and stop in front of the four to wait for an audience with the royals. Sharon gives me an amused look and whispers,

"You don't need to wait around while my sister and I are here, just go on through. They won't ask any questions: they know us well enough to disregard us completely." She finishes with a subtle wink to me.

"You could have told me sooner..." I snarl in a soft voice for only her to hear.

"Please remove your weapons and turn them over to us. The king values the safety of his family greatly, so please follow our orders until you are ready to enter." One of the guards cuts in, a stern gaze fixing upon me.

"My weapons stay with me, no one touches them." I answer in a low voice, preparing myself with my fists raised.

"Very well sir, it seems we will have to forcibly relieve you of your weapons. Please do not move around too dangerously so that the royal family is not alerted. I am sorry for what we are to do, but you leave us no choice." The guard says, his purpose clear.

It all starts in a blur. As soon as the guard is finished speaking, he hops back only to vanish in a show of unnatural speed and appears behind me. I turn to throw a heavy fist into his face, but he dodges my attack, countering with a light jab at my shoulder. I lift my knee up to catch him off-guard, but he steps away from me and vanishes again. Then I feel a sharp pain in my left leg as it buckles, lowering me momentarily. I return to my stance and launch a volley of punches as soon as I turn back to face him. Every punch I throw feels sluggish, either being redirected or dodged completely, it didn't matter since I could not hit him even once. I draw upon my rising anger and frustration, bottling it all into my next punch, launching my arm through the air with the precise force of a spear hoping that it would finally hit this speeding opponent. I make contact and smile, pleased that my effort is not pointless, but when I look up at the guard, he still wears the same calm expression he had since we started our fight. He points to where my strike connects, revealing that he merely caught my wild punch with ease. I try to land another kick after pulling my hand back, but he stops me and points to the other guards present. The look on my face spells absolute defeat and shame. One guard has Heart, my sword. One has Soul, my defensive blade. The third has my throwing daggers, and somehow my sack of money that I had brought with me. It seems I am but a novice compared to these four, even if I only fought with one of them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A/N: Whew, now isn't that refreshing? Of course, I'll be back to updating in regular time, so don't beg me for another double or triple (just ask very nicely with a review or a PM). Also, I have a question to ask of you, my readers: Do you think I should add another villain into this tale or another hero? Thank you all for keeping up with this story of mine, even if it seems somewhat long to read. Patience is a virtue, since you'll never know what may happen in the next chapter, so stay tuned!

14: A Contract With Royalty

A/N: Here we are again, a chapter set in the past! Just how much does Drake like to fight? Not much, is the correct answer. He just got easily frustrated, and he was only 20 at this time, so you can't expect him to be so mature yet. Anyway, on to the meeting with the royal family!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Stop it! That's enough, both of you! There's no need for this fighting now!" Sharon shouts before we can continue our brawl.

"I do not wish harm on you either sir, so please yield to to us and you may enter to see the king and his family. I promise you that your weapons will be returned to you."

"Fine, but I want them stored in the room belonging to these girls here." I say as I gesture to Sharon and Riley.

"Of course, it shall be done immediately. You may proceed." The guard complies, bowing slightly before he signals the other guards to call upon some passing servants.

The doors to the throne room open and we step inside, myself feeling particularly tired after the short dispute with the guards. I look ahead at the thrones and the seated rulers, taking in each face for future reference. First is King Garner Alestar, a former hero to the kingdom who is said to have slain divinities at least 10 years. Next is Queen Anastasia, a princess from a distant land whom Garner met in his travels as a hero. Lastly is the pair of prince and princess, twins Lania and Lorio, hopeful and longing to hold a spot in the elite guard. Off to the side is a man with white hair who I do not recognize, wearing a bright red suit and a dark gray vest underneath (A/N: Any guesses who this is?). I shrug him off as a lesser noble, and focus my attention to the king, kneeling in front of him as the girls do so. He looks us over and smiles before speaking in a pleasant voice,

"Welcome my friends, it is good to see you again! Sharon, Riley, I take it you both are doing well for yourselves?"

"It's all thanks to you, sir. My sister and I are grateful that you kept us around, even when our parents passed away."

"Your parents were close friends with us, and I'd treat you two like my own children if you were not so insistent on being independent from me." pleads Anastasia, a certain fondness present in her tone.

"Sorry, madam, but I don't think we would have grown to be the responsible girls we are now had we accepted your kind offer."

"Hmm, I suppose you are correct. You both have become very dependable and beautiful during your time spent working here. I know your parents would be proud to have brought up such wonderful girls. Now, I expected to only see you two, but it seems you have a friend with you." The king announces, giving me a warm grin. I bow slightly before standing up to give the king my purpose for coming here.

"Noble king, I am here to humbly request-"

"There's no need for such formal speech around me, please tell me directly."

"I'm looking for some work and temporary housing, if you can offer some."

"What is it that you do for work? I can offer housing, but I must know your work before I can hire you for anything."

"Mercenary."

"Ah, looking to take on a contract? I can give you a job now, if you'll accept it. Housing will be included with the contract I'm about to give you."

"What is the job?"

"I want you to take care of these two beside you. By that, I mean protect them, care for them, help them with their duties, whatever they may need of you. You will be paid of course, in the sum of 10 gold ingots."

The girls look between me and the king in disbelief, silently wishing that I would refuse the king's offer. I give them a look of mischief before facing the king again.

"I'll take it."

"Excellent. You can start right away, now if that is all you needed, you may leave now." The king calmly addresses.

"Wait just a strike here! I want to have this guy too!"

Everyone stops in their tracks and looks to the source of the outburst. It is Prince Lorio looking displeased with this turn of events. His sister is in the same state, though she opts to stay quiet and lets her brother speak for the both of them.

"This isn't fair, dad. How come these girls get to have a bodyguard? Lania and I have asked you for a while now and once a good one shows up, you give him to those two?" He barks, giving Sharon and Riley a venomous glare. The king snapped at his children, berating them for their selective arrogance,

"Lorio, you and Lania have both been training for a spot in the guard, but that does not mean you will get it without hardship. The elite guards should be able to defend themselves against all threats, yet now you ask me for a bodyguard? Shame upon you both, you want protection when you claimed you can offer it yourselves. These girls are not as trained as both of you, so it's only fitting that they are given a bodyguard. Unless you want me to reconsider my decision to let you try enlisting in the guard, respect my decision and train harder so you two won't ever need a bodyguard."

"...My apologies, father, I have not been truthful of my combat skills. I'll train harder with Lania and prove to you that we can make it into the guard. Please give us another chance."

I hold an awkward look on my face and turn to face Sharon, who buries her face in her hands, embarrassed by my acceptance of the contract. After a few moments of silence, she looks up at the king and asks for our leave,

"Sir, may we leave now? You seem to be more occupied with your children, so if you will, please let us get back to our work."

"Of course Sharon, please take care of this man. I know the antics that little Riley can be wrapped up in, so make sure he stays with her always."

"Yes sir, you won't be disappointed." Sharon agrees before briskly exiting the throne room with Riley in tow. I turn to follow but I collide with the bodies of the twins, who order me to follow them outside. While walking to the servants' quarters, I try to strike up a conversation with them,

"Why do you insist on leading me to my quarters?"

"We don't. We simply want to study you." Lania answers, stirring up an uneasy feeling in my stomach.

"We only want to see what you can really do, that's all." Lorio translates to me, trying to calm my growing caution.

"You both heard about what I do. I think I've made it clear enough with your father." I flatly say, a sneer coming on my face.

"That's not what we meant, idiot. We want to fight you." Lorio finishes, his intentions now exposed to me.

"You want to die that badly?"

"It's a fight, not a battle. No death, only harm." Lania cuts in sending a shiver through my body.

"...Okay, I'll fight. Wooden weapons only and no ranks of power. Everyone is equal in a fight." I warn them.

They smile at each other and then at me, pleased that they have found a sparring partner. Then, an interesting thing happens; they both begin to speak in sync with each other, finishing each other's sentences and even thinking about the same things to say.

"Thank you, mercenary, we expect to face you tonight in the practice fields. Come alone if you can. You may bring the girls if the contract permits it."

I nod my head and stalk off to the servants' quarters.

"What's wrong, Drake? You seem distracted." Sharon asks me while I eat dinner with her and Riley.

"It's nothing to worry about." I lie hoping she would drop the subject.

"Though you say 'it's nothing', it really is something, isn't it? You should tell us what's bothering you if we're going to be living together for a while." Sharon gives me a concerned look while Riley watches with interest.

"I've been asked to duel tonight."

"Who would be stupid enough to ask you for a duel and why would you ever accept it? Didn't you realize your obligation to us?"

"The king's children asked me, so I couldn't refuse." I blankly state as my face visibly darkens.

"It's okay Sharon, he can duel them. I just know he will win." Riley says in confidence for me.

"Are you sure, Riley? We've never seen him fight before; those swords might just be for show-"

"We'll be using wooden practice swords, so I won't need my weapons." I cut her off.

"Oh, that's good then. Good luck on your fight, Drake." Sharon murmurs as she cleans up the table of dinner before moving to the sink. Her face is considerably saddened compared to this afternoon's bright and hopeful expressions.

"If you want, you two can come watch. Don't make too much noise since this an unofficial fight."

I feel arms wrap around my leg and look down to see Riley staring back at me with renewed energy. I lift her up and bring her into a warm hug in our shared excitement. Sharon looks at me with a small smile, relieved that I won't be leaving them so soon.

"Yay! I get to watch Dr-ake fight! I bet he won't get a scratch on him." Riley squealed.

"As long as you are near us, we'll always feel protected. Thank you, Drake." Sharon added.

"It's nothing I haven't done before. Shall we go now, then?"

"Hold on, let me give you something for good luck."

Sharon then produces a small necklace from her pocket and handed it to me. I take in its features and the detailed work that has been put into it: the chain is made of a bright ivory color but much softer to the touch, and the medallion which hung from the chain was breathtakingly beautiful. It showed the scene of a knight, shield in hand, defending his family behind him from the terrible flames of a dragon. His family is not fearful at all but encouraging of the knight as they stand in defiance of the dragon's power and look on with strength to support the knight's valiant efforts. I admire the medallion with a feeling of absolute peace and happiness; it reminds me of what my family was like. As Sharon puts the necklace on me, I notice her expression: she is smiling but only in courtesy. That smile on her face is forced like many others I've seen before, only hers is defiant, almost angry. Then I realize why she should be, no she has a right to be angry with me: I am not welcome here. The peaceful, wonderful life that she may have led with Riley, that can no longer be since the king assigned me as a bodyguard and since she is but a lowly castle maid, she couldn't possibly ask the king to reconsider this contract. I know what it is like to have no control over one's life and even more what it is like to have your calm daily life snatched away from you, never to be given back. After the duel, I vow to speak with the king about abandoning my contract and confronting Sharon directly about her displeasure.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The practice fields are well-kept and of a grand scale. Ten straw targets are lined up for archers to practice their shots, 20 individual wooden dummies are randomly scattered between the targets and throughout the field itself to simulate a battlefield, and several small arenas are present for dueling. We walk to our closest arena and wait for the twins to arrive. I begin the process of practicing my sword technique when I hear the clinking of metal and footsteps approaching the arena. I look over to see the twins clad in light silvery armor, different colors distinguishing them. A colored shoulder pad on the right shoulder is all that set them apart, since the rest of their armor is laid out in the same style: a chest plate that left the waist uncovered, a small form-fitting set of leg armor with knee-pads, and arm braces that only covered the forearms. The colors of their shoulder pads bring a question to my mind, as well as some possible thoughts on their personalities,

Lorio is wearing green while Lania is adorned with purple...odd colors for twins, but maybe they match the person wearing them. Lorio's green could mean a number of things, but I've known green to symbolize thoughtfulness, peace, comfort, and kindness. The purple from Lania represents curiosity, wealth, pride, and intelligence. Maybe these two are not such mirror images after all.

"Which one of you will begin our fight?" I announce to them.

"I will." Lorio calls back, handing me a wooden sword as he holds his own.

"Brother, do not give him even a chance to win. I want to see his pure expression when he loses." Lania says aloud to Lorio, who nods in return.

"I do not intend to lose to you nor your sister, but you may attack me however you wish." I call to them, confident in my own skills.

"I'll gladly make you taste the ground when I win!"

Lorio screams as he rushes at me with a speed that I've never seen. It was fast, but not even close to the blur that guard produced in taking my weapons; I could see Lorio's movements easily compared to that guard's. I readied myself into a defensive stance and awaited his onslaught of blows.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A/N: Oh...another fight scene? Things are always getting heated up around our hero, and finally we meet a girl that hates him, and for a good reason too! Don't worry though, she's only a lowly maid, nothing too worrysome (I hope). Now please, wait until the next chapter is ready or if you really want me speed it up, drop a review. I'm now currently open to review requests for your stories, so don't hesitate to ask. You'll find that I am quite honest and a lot of fun on the review boards! :)

15: A Night to Remember

A/N: Remember how I said that I loved to poke at the T-rating limits? Well, it seems that I may break the rating and cross over into M-rating in the next chapter or so, but until then, it all starts with this. Good luck and allow you imagination to overtake you, freely.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Mmm...Master...”

“Huh?” I was shaken out of my memories by Synda's voice.

I looked down to find Synda clung to me, her arms wrapped around my waist and her head snuggled into my chest. She seemed to be dreaming about me but what I was doing to her was unknown to me, not that I would ever want to find out. I gave Synda a gentle shake and waited for her response. Slowly she opened her eyes and the first thing she saw was my face which prompted her to reach up and bring me into another deep, wild kiss. We broke apart after a while to catch our breath and looked around at our surroundings.

“Where are we, Master?”

“I'm not sure but this place feels familiar, like I've been here when I was once alive...”, I thought hard to myself, trying to remember any places I've been to that looked like this. Then I found it, buried deep within the core of my memories.

“Vallia...” was all I could say, bringing back all of those painful thoughts back to the front of my mind.

“Master? What does your wife have to do with this place?”

“This is...where I buried her...” I choked out as tears welled up in my eyes, blinding me under a watery screen.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I didn't care that those awful tears came back again. To be back here, in the living world and at Vallia's grave site, I was happy and sorrowed at the same time. I'd always wanted to come back here before I died just to see her one last time, and yet I never wanted to come here ever again unless I wanted to bring back those painful memories of her and our Little Saber. If only Vallia had lived back during that time, I wouldn't be so conflicted as I am now nor would I nearly be as broken. My breathing hastened and I started to feel a cold sweat overtake me the more I gaze upon that one tombstone that read: Vallia Kanto, Wife, Mother, Fighter, Princess. I noticed that the hastily chiseled 'Princess' that I'd left when I first buried her still remained, a sign to everyone that she was my princess and I was her prince. I cried loudly and pounded the dirt on her grave, desperately wishing to the gods to know why they could not save her and why I had to live. I remained that way for over a half-stroke, contained in my misery, until I felt Synda place her hand on my shoulder and look at me with understanding eyes. She lost everything she had ever known and I could easily tell that she was still in pain when she thought about it. I just sat there, on my knees, looking up at Synda and wondering how she managed to stay so strong for all these years after watching everything she knew be destroyed. I felt the strength she tried to pour into me, supporting me through this time of sorrow and helping me to look on to a new future. I gave my good-byes to Vallia and stood up, holding Synda in a grateful embrace.

“Thank you, Syndalia, for everything. Thank you for helping me during this time, for being so strong despite the pain you've felt, for wanting to be my knight when the gods gave you the choice. I can't express how grateful I am to have such a wonderful friend in the short time we've known each other. Vallia would have loved to meet you, my knight.”

“Master, I'm honored that you would praise me for such things and yet I have done nothing for you at all. I felt so helpless watching you throw yourself into your own personal suffering, it was like myself when I first saw my village consumed by the fires. I knew exactly how painful it is to go through all those emotions again, and I couldn't let the one I love go through that. Just as I am always your knight, I will always be your friend, Master, so don't ever think that you are alone in your misery, as I have felt such pain as well.”

“Syndalia...” was all I could respond with as I pulled her softly into a kiss, a gentle and warm one that shared both of our emotions between us, like there was no secret that one kept from the other.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In just 10 strikes, we readied ourselves to face the living world again, blind to all that may have change in our absence. The graveyard we stood in was one I knew by name: Terra Umbrārum, as the locals called it, which translated to 'Land of the Shadows'. Fortunately it was early in the evening as we exited the mass of graves, so we still had plenty of light for us to travel by. Walking along the path leading away from the cemetery, we came upon a sign that pointed to a village called 'Evernight' and followed it, hoping the town had an open inn. A short walk later, the town gates were standing tall above us, just over our heads. It looked like a simple little village: no guards or iron gates as far as I could see, a dirt path making up the main road, and the smell of delicious drink was blowing through the air. I took a deep whiff of the alcohol in the air and flinched at how powerful it was. It felt nostalgic to me as I walked towards the source, but I was very confused as to the identity of it. The walk was a short one, especially since there was a road just off the left of the gate upon entering.

This smell...it's not just alcohol, but something else. What was that smell? I feel like it's very familiar to me, but I just can't remember! It's definitely stronger than most alcohol I've tasted, but what is it? Wait...I know what it is! It's-

As I was turning around to tell Synda about my discovery about this odd alcohol, she disappeared from my side. It didn't take long for me to find her again since I heard her voice, or rather her shouting from the nearby inn. I never thought of Synda as the drinking type, but obviously I was wrong seeing as how I now had to drag her outside before she does something reckless. However, something about this inn stopped my stride: the sign was in the likeness of a fanged human that I've never seen before. Blood dripped from its mouth like a cannibal and it wore a surprisingly regal outfit despite its murderous-looking habits. I shrugged off the fear as I pushed open the doors to the inn and stepped inside. The interior was not much more calming than the sign: it was scattered arrangement of wooden tables and chairs with all the patrons either drunk or about to be, Synda the worst of them all since she was apparently heading the table closest to all the drinks.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Hey Mashter! What're you *hic* doing here?” Synda slurred slightly as soon as she saw me.

“Synda...what the hell have you been doing?” I asked bluntly, shocked that I'd find this behavior from Synda and how well she was handling her speech.

“Haha, he shaid 'Hell'! Well Mashter, I got tired of waiting. Waiting for you!!! You never liked me, did you? You only liked that other girl Kay, right? Thash why I *hic* wanna q-q-quitch!” Synda was almost screaming now with tears starting to form in her eyes. Everyone else in the bar was too drunk to pay attention to us.

“Come on, Synda, I need to talk to you in private.” I sternly told her, holding out my hand.

“Oh, now you wanna play! Fine, I want all of *hic* you then!” She slurred once more, falling onto my back when she tried to take my hand.

Sighing, I took some stairs up to the second floor and brought her to an empty room where I set her on the bed. Pulling up a chair next to the bed, I watched as Synda would switch back and forth from being giddy about spending the night with me to terrified of the fact that I might not love her. I reached to pull the covers over her but she stopped me, pulling me by the arm until our bodies almost touched. I was grateful that Synda still had her armor on or else this would have been a much more awkward situation.

“Please hold me, my Forever...” Synda softly said with pleading eyes.

Remaining silent, I slowly lied down in the bed next to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders and keeping her close. There was no chance I could take advantage of her like this no matter how much she trusted me; it didn't feel right to do this to her. As I was thinking of the consequences for doing this, Synda quickly got up and stripped away all of her armor until she wore nothing but a very revealing laced-white bra and panties. I gawked at her with my mouth open as she rejoined me in the bed and slipped the covers over us. My body twitched by itself not because I've never experienced this, but because it was Synda, whom I have a responsibility for just as she has for me. It didn't last very long though, as Synda stared greedily at my shirt or rather at my chest and showed me her intentions.

“This comes off. Now.” She growled as she all but ripped my shirt apart, taking in every curve of my bare chest.

“S-Syndalia, stop this. This isn't you. You're drunk, don't let it control you!” I quietly pleaded as she started to trace her fingers along that same familiar scar on my body.

“Mmm...but it's not the alcohol. This is the real me, the one who would do anything and everything to you, my Forever.” She purred into my ear.

Once she started pressing her breasts against me, I lost my control. It was in an instant that Synda knew what had just happened within me, not hesitating to act upon it.

“Oh...you're getting excited too, aren't you? Don't worry, I plan to make this as pleasurable as possible. You should be lucky to have this chance with me; we elves don't usually share our urges with other races, even though we're much better lovers. If it's you, my forever, I wouldn't mind giving up my purity so please let me enjoy this...” She whispered as her hand was expectantly rubbing my pants, determined to coax my beast out of hiding.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A/N: So steamy and so close to a lemon I can actually taste it! (It's so sour!) Should there be a lemon in the next chapter or should I introduce a heavy mood killer? I'll let you, the readers decide that in the reviews or my mailbox. But be warned, once you get thirsty, you'll always want more! Thanks again for the reads; I honestly thought this story wouldn't be that popular, but you say otherwise! Stay active, readers and remember to review or PM if you want the lemon or not!