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Aziel
The burning village before me failed to dry my eyes.
Please. I desperately pleaded while running beside streets and buildings in flames.
"Ander!" I screamed out the ones I needed to protect, until my throat dried instead."Yuna!"
Please, be here. I need to find you.
My mind begged, just like it did in the village Telkorn, when I lost Calev.
You're not dead.
No. No, don't think that way.
It can't be happening again, it shouldn't be happening again. I told myself it wouldn't. It was my promise.
The world's wounded and injured survivors ran out of the smoke and ruin, of the ongoing attacks. They stared at me bewildered while I pushed forward and continued yelling for my family. The old town of Asher was turning into mere rubble, in a wretched familiarity. Tents for refugee camps burned down beside it.
Blurry vision was overfilled with hopeless thoughts I wanted to suppress. Black Knight was nowhere to be seen when I searched for him, too, along with Vexx and the others. The massive Unity and Drownei army had executed people on the spot with blades, before I could wince, childlishly freeze in shock, and turn away from the sights.
I was lucky enough that the rubble striked the troops who covered me. Running away from what was once a grand assembly remained my only option.
To the refugees that answered in fear as I passed by, they told me that my people were nowhere to be found.
"I'm sorry, miss. . ." Said the taller Dwellven woman bandaged on her arm, with a musket covered in ash. I had just explained to her their names and appearances."But you can't stay here with them. We have to get out with the rest!"
"But you don't understand." My voice shook as I wanted to run past him and the escapees approaching. "I need to f-find-"
"The woman's right, Korr." A limping Chronicle Order soldier, with his dusted armour of gold and darkened white, spoke through a helmet while evacuating civilians that followed next to him."Now get moving!"
Who did he think he was?
I opened my mouth, then closed it. I refused to move an inch, not even attempting to look back as a response, as he rushed by me with the crowd.
Of course, he knew nothing. None of them did. All they're required to do is serve. I knew this.
So I stepped towards the foggy and scorching destruction, preparing my rings for a brief immunity spell, until hearing gunshots and the bellowing of horses coming dangerously near.
Dozens of chariots charged out of the smoke, towards me and the groups safer behind.
My hands instinctively raised forwards, as the bright cyan aura from my spellcasters blinded quick, and without thinking I summoned a wave the size of a house towards them.
The Drownei on top of their steeds deflected with gusts of wind and fire. Even as the waters washed upon a burning tent in slow decay, its flames grew back, smaller but still rampant. Whatever magic they were using came from the Rube gemstone itself.
Before my knees could feel even weaker, I turned around and ran once more.
But not following the escapees this time. Instead, I sprinted towards the forests of Asher Mount; the only safe space that I hoped didn't meet the same fate.
Fate.
I thought, but I couldn't force a single laugh this time. Wiping the streams running down my face with a bleeding arm.
How funny it all is. What was the point, if destiny couldn't predict this?
But it's your fault. Not theirs.
You thought you were protecting them.
My legs finally collapsed. And the tears hurried down without my control. I knelt on the dirt ground, next to the looming trees containing nobody else near them. I was finally taken over, and my cries were loud, begging for release.
But now, no one was here.
I stayed silent with my head staring at the dirt path. For the first time, the pain and exhaustion almost felt numb, and my face remained emotionless. I should have listened to the fact I wasn't the only one who knew how to protect. But there was no point anymore. If I couldn't find them, I. . .
. . . I killed them.
My palms swept to cover my eyes, and the tears continued to pour down endlessly. The fact stayed as the only conclusion possible.
It's my fault. It's my fault. It's my fault.
It's. . .
Then I heard the voices muffled in the background. Far within the forests, a couple whispering noises of men and woman in particular sounded throughout. They were panicked, slowly heading away, as if they were trying to stay hastily hidden.
I pulled myself from the ground and gave my eyes another backhanded wipe. Maybe they were there, and alive. I've learned in my days of journeying to not give up hope so easily. Maybe this 'quest' wouldn't be so different. Just maybe, and I hoped that was enough to be true.
As I approached running past each tree, the figures became more apparent, some of them familiar.
At the forefront leading the group of Chronicle Order troops was the headmaster. The unhelmeted, scarred, sooted soldiers with limps surrounded him and some other person, as they all hurried.
". . . headmaster Chronisius." My tired voice croaked its loudest before they could fail to see me.
Thankfully, the white-haired leader noticed my presence and gestured his men to stop.
"Why, Aziel." His middle aged tone was more lower considering the situation. But despite that, his eyes widened, and his expression turned from deeply serious to a light smile. Like how it did whenever a quester or follower approached him.
"Glad to see you're here and well." The headmaster continued, while I glanced at each person's appearance in his current division. "We've managed to secure enough people to a nearby location. . . although would you know where Black Knight and Vexx are? I've sent search parties. . ."
I didn't hear the rest. Does that mean everyone I knew could've survived?
But in a soft response I answered. "No clue."
He nodded serious in response, and this was the first time I've seen him completely still after hearing one's disappearance, almost blank. Black Knight was an essential part for the quest to succeed, after all.
More than that, my stomach had dropped even more hearing the words come out. I'd hoped that his strong Drownei nature saved him somehow.
I barely could acknowledge the silence beneath the overcast trees, as we trailed behind the headmaster and his followers along the overgrown pathways.
But I noticed the strange human who followed beside me. He didn't wear armour like the rest of the group, but instead had a leather coat over a plain white vest. Cracked, crooked glasses rested on his ears and nose, over a brown, moderately sized beard. The scarred but formal man seemed about a decade older than me, with side-parted hair containing little streaks of silver the same colour as Konner's. . . or in other words Black Knight's.
"May I help you, Miss Korr?"
The blunt person spoke clear without a crack in his voice. And without looking away from what's ahead, too.
I cleared my throat lightly, somehow not expecting an appearance so out of the ordinary, and I focused forwards once more as we ran.
"Apologies." I said to match his direct tone. "I'm just curious to know who you are?"
Quietness filled the shady atmosphere again. The strange man glanced to Headmaster Chronisius for a brief second, as if checking with him on what to say. The leader in response gave a glance back and a nod while we collectively continued to move.
"The name's Doctor Nantrev." He answered, adjusting his spectacles. "I. . . work for the Chronicle Order as an essential practitioner for their projects."
"An expert on Gemstone magic, world renowned, may I add." The headmaster seemingly wished to elaborate about any potential thoughts.
"Though not necessarily to the public. At least his efforts are recognized by us for the good of our kind."
"Oh." I reacted confused."For what good?"
"Bettering humankind, specifically."
Doctor Nantrev gazed upon the distant light from the end of the forest, with no emotion, except for a hint of pride in his cause.
"However, I am not permitted to say much else for now, as my work is classified. Just know that we've discovered a breakthrough to solve world chaos."
I was about to open my mouth, but then pursed my lips.
Solve world chaos. Wasn't this quest supposed to be about that?
But my thoughts were distracted as we headed out of the forests, and were met by hundreds of people from different species of the order. Survivors were being rushed into dozens of large ships by the troops. They were lined up along the shorelines of sand and rock. Even the soldiers themselves were preparing already, supplying themselves with magic-infused weapons, and tending to the wounded. It appeared that everyone readied themselves for the another war.
The biggest vessel, with polished cracked wood and decorated with gold, belonged to the Goldwave Pirates from what I remembered.
Sure enough I saw them, as it floated around the center of all the anchored ships. Captain Aurel leaned upon their ship, carefully applying a white bandage over her tentacled head, as if not to ruin her appearance despite the torn linen clothing. Meon, the anglerfish driver, stood with a wooden crutch while limping and talking solemnly to Ryff, the buff veteran from the bar room who now had scars on his aged face.
He noticed me as we approached and nudged to the ones beside him. They all greeted me with little head bows and silent salutes, relieved to see someone they recognized alive. I split off for now from Headmaster Chronisius and Doctor Nantrev. Might as well greet the pirates back.
I was surprised to see even a fraction of everyone alive, to say less. Although most of us are used to shielding attacks like this with magic, this time it was different; more sudden and merciless.
And from the glimpses of the crowds that I saw, most of us didn't make it out living.
Only a select few richly wardrobed leaders from the assembly ordered about, guarded like the headmaster within their kind's soldiers. Even the Goldwave Pirates had most of their crew missing outside of the ones mentioned.
Meanwhile, the Marine cleaner Lare stayed close with strangely no injuries, except she stood gazing towards the seas with her arms huddled together. She was always silent, but now she looked more distant. Rubbing her scaled fingers against each other.
"Well," Ryff caught me worried too, speaking first before I would've. "Should've known the veterans wouldn't break so easily."
He tried to be light about the situation, but his face quickly returned to neutral.
"Are you all okay?" I asked.
"No." Captain Aurel immediately stated."I shall assist in preparing the ship and its supplies."
She promptly walked away, entering the ramp-door of the vessel without another word and confidently not meeting our eyes.
The familiar quietness echoed through our short conversation. Until Meon stammered before speaking as professionally as he could.
"Our mage, Erl, is missing. Along with the rest of our crew members."
Erl. The magic-user who trained Jade aboard the ship, I recalled and winced.
He was someone who supposedly used the power of the gods, like all spellcasters. If he wasn't able to make it, who else didn't?
They're dead, Aziel. I started to repeat to myself.
I wanted to walk far away from everything at this point. My mind spun ten times over from the thought. I had the sliver of hope that my family would be here, saved by the Chronicle Order. But even they couldn't save the innocent.
I began to slowly back up, about to cover my flooding eyes with my palms, until wrapped around the waist quietly by a certain girl's arms.
Jade had tears running down her face, embracing me tightly, then quickly letting go as if she was only caught in the moment of seeing me alive. Her Dwellven parents with ripped rich robes stood behind her with guards. The mother, Ruby, wept on her husband Seifer's dusted shoulder. The wizard girl couldn't meet my gaze in the slightest.
"Where's Thorne. . .?"
I asked, but then I needed to bind each part of my mouth together at once.
I shouldn't have said it, because I already could tell.
They didn't need to say anything either, and mourned in the quiet with the rest of us.
Thorne was dead.
So my mind completely blanked as minutes passed by, and I was frozen. I tried to swallow the streams flooding out of my eyelids, for a chance that my people were safe. I knew I couldn't live the same without them.
As the headmaster spoke his words to everyone on shore, I only caught moments in between his briefing. We would attack the capital of Kyronia, the island city of Kyrone, tomorrow at noon. Delivering vengeance by stealing their power and solving world peace once and for all.
'Fate for all.' I heard him say about our prophecy. Destiny would deliver us all, surely.
Yet his wasn't no ordinary quest of fate anymore. It was an endless cycle of death.
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End of Episode V