{Month: Sunflare}
{Date: 1/7}
{Time: Evening}
The sixth sun began to rise over the horizon, the sky becoming a beautiful mix of orange and gold, a few stars twinkling with a silver radiance. With Natsume's and Ronin's lead, we had safely made it to the front gates of North Sylvannia, large water towers looming over the grand city.
I got off Blanche's back, holding onto her leash and began guilding her alongside me. The two elven guards recognized me nearly immediately, bowing with respect and allowing my army through into the city of North Sylvannia, Ránheim.
"Welcome Lunia Army to Ránheim, my new home. Common soldiers can stay at the western base, elite soldiers stay at the eastern base, and of course Warlords, Royal Guards, Retainers alike can stay at the citadel," Natsume said, looking back at me, noticing my curious gaze.
"Hey, Leo!~ What's that?" Izumi asked, pointing at an avian beast soaring along the skies of Ránheim.
Leo looked up at the sky, his gaze landing on the creature above with a knowing gaze. "That is an Ocean Gullican, native to North Sylvannia and mainly known for their natural ability to produce rainfall with just a flap of their wings."
"There are other Gullican species like the Lava Gullican native in Phlogi in the Seven Suns Union. Each Affinity has a Gullican, they are pretty common beasts," Leo finished, matching Izumi's footsteps, their hands occasionally brushing against one another.
"Wow..~ I want one..." Izumi gasped in awe of Leo's knowledge, a soft blush forming on her cheeks.
I looked at Izumi and Leo with a small smile on my face before looking up ahead and noticed we stopped at the main plaza area. "Why have we stopped?"
Natsume crossed her arms and turned around, meeting my gaze with a calm expression. "I'd like you all to get a bit accustomed to the surroundings granted you'll be in Sylvannia for a while. After all, North Wadataka is now an enemy to Lunia and Sylvannia."
Jin hummed softly at Natsume's statement, closing his eyes and letting out a soft exhale. "I'm sure you know why she's attacking?"
"I do, Lord Jin. She wants revenge, but you know as well as I do that her way of revenge will destroy Cynthia should she awaken even one of those kitsune. Divine Beasts are nearly impossible to control," Natsume answered, letting out a soft exhale and couldn't bare to meet his gaze.
Ren glanced between Jin, his Master, and Natsume, his Mentor, sensing unresolved tension between the two, his heart bearing the reason but his spirit not yet strong enough to speak it. He let out a soft exhale and walked off, grabbing Hayate by his wrist and pulling him along.
"W-Whoa! Hey, I have two feet of my own bro!" Hayate exclaimed, stumbling forward as he followed Ren into the shopping district.
Leo and Izumi without watched as Ren and Hayate left the plaza, their curiosity getting the better of them and pushing them to follow behind. Mira went went the squad to fill the Guardian role, her curiosity also getting the better.
"Now she's too old to be this nosey,"
I bit my lip gently, taking a soft breath and exhaling through my nose at Risa's slick comment, using every ounce of will to not smile. 'Shut...up. Your modern lingo doesn't work here idiot...'
"Pssh, doesn't defeat the fact that she's a grown woman, pushing 55—"
I pinched myself to quiet Risa's voice, my face as stoic as can be to prevent even a grin from spreading across my lips. Even I sometimes forget that Risa comes from a distant future, and her teenage years are different from mine. Languages are different...yet, I understood it all perfectly.
Natsume sighed softly as she watched Ren walk off with the others, hoping they would get a chance to speak after the years of being apart. She turned around to make her way toward the citadel, her mind weighing heavy from the past. "If you need me—"
"Hold it," Victoria spoke up, stepping forward with her hands placed upon her twin katanas. "We still have something to settle before I and Your Highness decides to work alongside North Sylvannia..."
Natsume paused in her steps at Victoria's challenging tone, Ronin looking back in confusion at the same time. Natsume turned around to face Victoria, meeting her steeled gaze with a collected expression. "Lady Victoria of Uphelia... Solaris's Betrayer, I assumed our qualms were settled in South Wadataka two years ago."
"Tch...When you flaked out a win against me and claimed the strongest Advisor in Cynthia? Your Black Star Techniques won't work against my Shangri-La Demon Techniques! Azura and Lotus are awakened, my mother and aunt want a rematch!" Victoria challenged, unsheathing both blades and pointing Azura at Natsume.
Jin crossed his arms as he watched both Victoria and Natsume, letting out an amused hum. "A Reminisce of the past. An amusing rematch to say the least."
"I'll allow it, it's one of the reasons we came here to begin with. To allow Victoria to destroy Natsume in battle and prove my Advisor stands above all others in Lunia who dare claim dominance over my right hand," I laughed, crossing my arms then turned away from the scene.
"But not now, I am quite famished from destroying foxes and Mikos, and I need food. I am still annoyed from earlier, so Victoria! Your challenge shall wait, you can't fight on an empty stomach," I said with queenly authority before marching off to the food district.
Victoria flourished her swords before sheathing them, hurrying to fall into step at my side. "As you wish, Your Highness. But, I don't need food and water opposed to normal humans."
"Yes, yes. I know, but I do and I know you'll be barking at me for not sharing, so might as well kill two birds with one stone," I chuckled softly, letting out a soft hum as the delicious scent of fresh food entered my nose.
Jin couldn't contain his chuckle as he watched me walk off, slipping his hands into his pocket. "Though a Ruthless Queen, she's still a woman after all."
Natsume glanced at Jin with a sinister side eye, looking him up and down with pure judgement. "It's nice to know you enjoy looking at other women, Lord Jin. I thought you claimed you only had eyes for me.."
Jin cleared his throat gently, closing his eyes and turning to face Natsume and Ronin, noticing their judgemental gazes. He rose his eyebrow at Ronin, wondering who he was. "You weren't even there when I proposed, why are you judging?"
Natsume scoffed and rolled her eyes at Jin, walking off to the citadel with Ronin at her side. Ronin looked back at Jin, shaking his head with judgement. Jin rolled his eyes, watching the two walk off before disappearing into the plaza himself.
--------------------------------------
{Time: Evening}
Ren sat alone outside at an outdoor courtyard, looking up at the first golden moon to rise above the stars, the sky becoming a dark hue as the night began to rest. Alone in his own thoughts, he began to reminisce about his days when Natsume and Jin were as one, his mind filled with static when moments of the Kagosaki massacre appeared.
He lowered his head with a deep, nostalgia and bittersweet high, closing his eyes to think to himself for a moment. As he began to lose himself with his own questions, he felt an arm drape over him with energy and comfort.
"Yo, Ren! You drag us all the way here to this cafe and not even enjoy the sights with us? We're in a new city, with lots of beautiful elves around and..." Hayate began, reaching into his satchel and pulling out a shiny sapphire bracelet.
"... Amazing enchanted jewelry! This is a Fountaine Sapphire Bracelet, it gives me access to the Water Affinity alongside my Wind Affinity! Isn't this cool?" Hayate grinned, his tanuki tail wagging with beaming excitement.
Ren chuckled softly at Hayate, gently pushing his face away from his and looked off into the distance. "Sorry, I was just thinking... It's been years since we've last seen Natsume and seeing her again brought back memories. Back when she and Lord Jin were..."
"Engaged...yeah. I know and I still think about when she taught me that Storm Star Technique! Super Flying Dancing Orbital Bomb, or Arashi Sekai for short," Hayate said, glancing down at Ren with a smile.
"Yeah...she was a great mentor. I don't mean to bring you all down with my brooding. I just needed some time to think. Where are the others?" Ren asked, getting up from his seat and glancing around for Leo and the others.
"They decided to head up to the citadel since it was getting pretty late. I wanted to come find you and Lord Jin before heading up there. Speaking of Lord Jin, where is he?" Hayate asked, using his wind energy to boost himself onto the top of the cafe building.
Ren searched around the food district as well from the ground, his first instincts telling to check the alleyways. Having no luck from either end, they decided to roam the streets together to hunt for Jin.
Reaching a jewelry shop, Hayate pointed at a few shiny items he wanted, but Ren ignored his wishes and dragged him down the street with him, Hayate letting out a light groan as he was getting pulled along. As they reached the end of the district, reaching the park area, they noticed me and Victoria talking with someone in the distance.
"Hey, that's Lord Jin!" Hayate pointed out, preparing to hurry to gather his lord.
Ren quickly stopped him by grabbing his arm, noticing I was smiling during my conversation with Jin. "Wait...They seem to be having a good conversation.."
Hayate looked at Ren with confusion, turning his attention back to me and Jin. He decided to use the wind currents to listen on our conversation to hear what we were saying.
"So what I'm hearing is if Victoria wins and defeats Natsume in a duel, you'll offer your hand in marriage to me? Why? It's definitely not for my Kingdom..." I questioned, leaning back along the bench and crossed one leg over the other, looking Jin up and down.
"It's only fair. You'll have the ultimate protection with my Kingdom, plus I could have my Retainers teach you the ways of Karma and the Black Stars. Also, no one can deny your beauty," Jin said his voice smooth like a calm river stream and filled with confidence, his gaze never breaking from mine.
"Mmm...I dunno. He's no Aaron, but from what I've seen we could really use any guaranteed support we can,"
'What..? No Aaron, girl. No one is worried about your boyfriend. Besides...Jin's kinda hot, and we've been with him for some time now,' I replied to Risa mentally, my eyes scanning Jin's appearance.
"Rain check it. No way am I letting you dive head first into marriage! You're still my age!"
'I'm literally 19, that's legal marriage age in Arcania sweetheart. But fine, I'll sleep on it,' I replied mentally, closing my eyes with a soft exhale and crossed my arms.
"Alright, I'll consider it when it happens. I still have plans beyond others understandings and I can't let anything, not even marriage, slow me down," I replied firmly, opening my eyes to meet Jin's calm expression.
Jin nodded and hummed softly, crossing his arms with an understanding expression. "I understand, Lady Stella. Should you make up your mind, you'll know how to find me."
"Yeah," I said, watching Jin walk away and smiled at him.
Victoria glanced at me with slight confusion, crossing her arms with quiet judgement. "Lord Jin of all men in Cynthia?"
"Ugh, what? Sovereign forbid a woman wants a chase from time to time...besides, when you defeat Natsume and claim strongest, we will have access to two of the strongest forms of energy within Cynthia. It's a win for us," I said, standing up from the bench.
"I suppose. However, I feel there are better options than Wadataka. Aurora or even Maanga are great choices," Victoria said, standing up as well and glanced over at me.
I giggled softly at her comment and glanced at her as well, reaching toward her and gently squeezing her shoulder. "I know you're right, but right now...I'm playing the long game. The plan is still to destroy Zhang Li at the end of the day and I will use everything at my disposal..."
Victoria nodded, standing firm at my declaration with a shared vision. "You're right, Your Highness. Let us push toward the citadel now. I'm sure we've held them up for long enough."
I nodded in agreement, putting my best foot forward as I made my way toward the citadel. Victoria followed at my side, going over the best strategies to defeat Natsume in her duel. I listened to her plans with open ears, even gifting her one of my mother's accessories that granted her access to the Light Affinity.
"With that anklet, you'll be able to move at near light speed levels, plus gain access to the Light Affinity. I'm sure you have some knowledge upon that affinity taken you're from Uphelia," I said, lowering the skirt of my battle dress and slipping on my heel.
"Yeah, I am a Solar Demon at the end of the day. My Natual Affinities are Light and Fire, but I rarely use those elements since they remind me of my father. But, for you Stella... I'll use the power you gifted me through Queen Isolde," Victoria said, looking down at the anklet sparkling upon her ankle, a soft smile forming on her lips.
I smiled at Victoria then turned my gaze toward the gates ahead and noticing the elven guards protecting the citadel. I summoned Nox and loaded it with Wind Bullets, humming softly. "I say we give Queen Sophia, a warm and shining welcome. After all, we are on a conquest."
Victoria tapped the tip of her boots against the ground, light energy twinkling around her body, accompanied by spiraling winds and calm streams of water surrounding her. "Hm, taking over the Ránheim Citadel... Let's do it. Mama and Aunt Lotus are itching for a proper battle..."
"Then let's go. Onward, me and you, Lady Victoria. Together, we conquer North Sylvannia," I commanded, positioning myself for a clean shot on the guards before firing two bullets in one shot, both bullets hitting the guards and blowing them through the gates.
Immediately upon the attack, the alarms began to sound and warn the defense troops of our invasion. The guards within the citadel began escorting everyone inside the castle, making sure everyone went unharmed.
Natsume hurried to the balcony, scouting the area and noticed a blur of light taking down the Royal Guards with relative ease. Ronin squeaked at the incredible speeds, his own eyes unable to perceive the raw speeds.
In Natsume's peripheral, a flash of light gleamed from the night, her instincts forcing her body down immediately. "Ronin, get down!"
Ronin heeded Natsume's call immediately, diving to the ground and covered his head as six wind bullets crashed into the walls, the following burst of wind shattering the surroundings windows. He slowly rose up, his tail raised at high alert as he scanned the area.
Natsume rose up as well, placing her hand upon her Earth Katana and looked out into the distance once again. 'Is this an invasion from those Rogue Elves? Who could be attacking at this hour, while the Water Elves are at their strongest?'
In the midst of her thoughts, my figure blinked in front of her, a wild smirk plastered upon my lips. Natsume gasped in shock, her body unable to react in time before my hand palmed her face. I bellowed as I threw her toward the broken glass door, charging after her at high speeds.
Natsume rolled backwards and recovered onto her feet, swiftly dodging my aggressive slices then countered with a disorienting roundhouse kick, causing me to stagger lightly. I recovered with my hand upon my head, chuckling softly and looked up at Natsume, my eyes flashing a dark orange hue.
"You have no chance against my true might. My ENA is unrivaled, unparalleled to the likes lower specimen like you," I laughed as earth energy began to surround my body, the dark orange energy surging around my body.
Natsume grunted softly as she noticed I shifted my affinity to the exact blade she planned to wield, her body hesitating for the first time in ages. 'Did she noticed the seal on my hilt..? No I haven't even awaked its power...Earth counters all of my elements. How does she have this..?'
"What's wrong? Didn't think Lunia had the Mages to teach me about the Art of Gaia? We all know Earth is a counter to Water and Wind, only being beaten by the wrath of the flames. It's only natural I choose the element that stops even rivers from flowing," I taunted, getting into my battle stance with a determined smirk.
Natsume grunted softly, glancing back as she heard Victoria's entry into the castle. 'At this rate, Queen Sophia won't make it fast enough. We have to gather the other retainers...'
"Out of the way, Ms. Natsume! Triple Focus Strike!" An energetic voice yelled from behind Natsume, a young girl with fiery blue hair storming past Natsume with a large panda attire.
The girl launched three devastating blows my way, all which I parried with ease then launched a powerful counter at her core. The girl smirked and awakened her fiery energy, burning away my Earth Energy with ease and weakening my blow. She grunted heavily as my attack landed, sending her crashing backwards.
The young woman rebounded off one hand, launching fireballs at me from down the hall. I stepped forward with a smirk on my face, my eyes flashing gold and dark energy began cloaking my body, my aura blocking the fireballs and absorbing them.
"Such young talent wasted in a reactive kingdom...allow me to show you true strength!" I challenged, dashing toward the girl and swapped Nox for Nyx and slashing down with regal authority.
"Saya, move out the way!" A second voice called out, pushing the fiery girl out the way before parrying my attack with her rapier to knock me off balance.
Quickly catching my footing, I began clashing with the young priestess with long snow blue hair, entering an elegant dance of blades with the ice princess. Parrying her next attack, I enhancing my Darkness into Abyss, swarming her with a barrage of dark forces upon her body.
I sliced through her, a delayed slash striking her and bringing her down upon one knee. I flourished my blade, looking back at Natsume and met her gaze. "Is that all you had for me? Two rookies?"
Saya grunted softly as she pushed herself off the ground, her gray eyes flashing red as her will became ignited at the sound of me calling her a rookie. "I am not a rookie! I am Saya Rochelle, Wielder of the Ignis Star and wielder of Senju's might, the Yiang Panda!"
I glanced at Saya with my hand upon my hip, letting out a soft laugh and turned to give her my full attention. "Tenacious aren't we? Well, let's see how a mere Rook deals with the might of a Queen."
Saya grunted as she sensed my essence, noticing how distorted it was, unable to tell if it was good or evil. She shook her head, regain her focus then charged at me with a powerful strike, but I cleanly evaded her attack then shoved her back.
Saya grit her teeth, dashing toward me again with a flurry of powerful strikes, each of them meeting the air compared to my graceful speed. She feinted her next attack, but I saw through it, catching her fist then chuckled lightly.
"It's my turn to attack, Rookie..~" I taunted, delivering a clean heatbutt to her skull, dazing her with my Earth Infused blow.
Saya grunted with deep pain as she held her forehead then huffed heavily as I struck her with a gut blow, causing her to fall to her knees. 'So...strong...'
I caught her by her hair and rose her back up, letting out a soft exhale. "You make this too easy...it's almost like you're all stalling..."
Saya panted heavily and chuckled with slight exhaustion, freeing herself from my grasp then pushed me to the side. "I was..!"
"Holy Star Technique: Kito Vhati!" The long hair girl bellowed from across the corridor, pointing her rapier toward me and releasing a powerful beam of ethereal ice toward me.
I braced myself for impact, groaning loudly as the force of her Black Star Technique sent me flying, my body crashing through the window toward the courtyard. Victoria quickly sensed my presence, arriving at my location and catching me at light speeds.
"Damn, Miyuna! You nearly blew my head off!" Saya barked, pointing an accusatory finger at her best friend.
"You should've been behind me then," Miyuna sighed, looking at her rapier and watching as the ethereal aura faded away from her blade.
Natsume watched the two girls with an impressed gaze, a relieved smile forming on her lips. 'I'm glad Queen Sophia picked up these two...massive potential together as a duo...'