Flipped Time of a Sad Life, Was: Chaos in a World of Difference

[Vane Dayrose]

Flipped Time of a Sad Life

Prologue: Prelude to Sorrow

The sun rose up on the horizon simultaneously with Roy Zephyr’s tired eyelids. The sky seemed to meld with the land as the horizon blended them with the orange flare of the sun. It was a very hot day at Helios Castle, but more importantly, it was Roy’s birthday. Unfortunately, it would not be a good one…

“Ugh, another bad dream,” Roy whined softly; he was really beginning to worry that he would never be able to sleep peacefully. As he rubbed his eyes and stood up, the door behind him creaked open and a woman walked in.

“Roy Zephyr, King Adams wants to see you,” she mumbled, as if annoyed. Her eyes weren't fully open and she seemed to be disgusted by Roy. His brown hair was going off in every direction and his green eyes were caked with crust from sleeping. What seemed to bother her the most, though, was that he was only in his green linen underwear and nothing else.

“M-me? Why would his majesty want to see… me?” Roy asked in a surprised voice. The woman had nothing more to say; she shrugged and gave him a dirty look as she walked out of the room.

“Why do people always act like that around me...?”

Roy quickly got dressed and exited his second floor room. The old wooden stairs of the inn creaked as he ran down them; even though he was very light, he always felt that he would go through them. Once he got to the bottom, he tipped the innkeeper and made his way past the bar and out the door. The main square of Helios Castle was crammed with many people going about their business. It made Roy red with envy every time he saw someone with a bright smile walk by. He continued through the spacious innards of Helios Castle until he reached the main gate, where a guard held up his hand.

“Halt, child, what business have you in the castle?” the guard asked.

“The king has summoned me for a conference, I think…” Roy replied. The guard eyed Roy suspiciously.

“Hmm, I find it hard to believe that his majesty would summon a pathetic little kid like you, but it can’t be helped. If that is the truth you may pass,” the guard said as he stepped out of Roy’s way. Roy nodded and walked into the majestic manor.

“Hmm… I have nothing to hide, and what threat am I to King Adams?” Roy thought. He was angry with the guard for being like everybody else. “I just don’t understand why people treat me so unfairly, and he didn’t have to call me a pathetic little kid…” Despite his annoyance, Roy had not been so excited in quite a while. The royal manor was such a wonderful place, that Roy wished he could live there. A regal red carpet led all the way to the king’s conference chamber, and there were many beautiful paintings lining the walls. Walking through slowly, as to hold in the beauty of the building, he finally reached the door.

As the door opened, Roy could see that the room was even more magnificent than the rest of the manor; there was an ornamented stone fireplace, and two large bookshelves on each side of a chair in the center where the king sat. A black carpet made of bear hide in the center of the room broke the monotony of the stone floor pattern.

King Michael Adams was a very burly man with a closely shaved beard. He wore heavy crusader armor emblazoned with his large Adam’s family crest. On his back was a regal white cape that flowed down to the floor. His hair was long and curly and it was just long enough to reach his shoulders. Roy was in total awe, staring at a man that had earned the respect of a god.

“Y-you wanted to see me your majesty,” Roy blurted out, while bowing down as neatly as he could.

“Rise my friend, you need not bow to me,” King Adams said, gently. “I have awaited your arrival, Roy.”

“It is an honor my lord; I never thought that I would be allowed in here,” Roy stated, trying not to be annoying.

“Roy, I have called you here to tell you that your father was found a few weeks ago outside the castle walls. He was terribly wounded, so I told my son’s wife, Angel, to fix him up in exchange for his services. Surprisingly, he agreed, but on one condition: you were not to know that he was here until he said you could know,” King Adams explained. Roy’s eyes widened up. “Yesterday, I sent him on a mission to take one of Sentus Maroulis’s supply bases east of the castle. He told me to call you in today and tell you that he was here, in case he did not return, but do not worry about him. You and I Both know that he is not the type of man who will be defeated on such an easy mission.

“…Why didn’t he tell me he was here before he left?” Roy questioned, feeling adrenaline rushing through his whole body.

“He said he didn’t want you to see him in the defeated condition he was in, so he told me tell you he was here. Oh, and one other thing, happy birthday,” King Adams spoke in a calm voice that seemed to soothe Roy’s worry a little bit, but unfortunately, he wasn’t very assured.

“I have to go!” Roy yelled somewhat loudly, already halfway down the hallway. King Adams was a little shaken by Roy’s rash actions, but he understood. By the time the king had got up to go find Luce, Roy was already off running in the desert. Bad memories of his father’s abusive behavior filled his mind. “No!” he yelled as loud as he could. ”He is my father; no matter what he has done… I cannot abandon him!” The desert sun blazed upon Roy’s hot leather clothing, but not even the desert could stop him now. It was the first time that he was ever so determined; it actually surprised him.

Up ahead screams and clashing metal could be heard. The large Land Pirate supply base loomed on the horizon. Smoke rose up from the inside, as the base was set ablaze.

“This is a good sign,” Roy uttered to himself. He was about ready to collapse, but he continued running; the sight of the disaster drove him to run even faster. Within minutes, he saw his father standing outside of the walls. Zarrox donned his white Buffalo Viking armor and his great sword, Zephyr, was in its sheath. He was exactly the same as Roy remembered him: A huge man with a hard face and long slicked-back hair. He stood at 6”5’ and his muscles required a larger size of armor. He looked like a devil as he stood in front of the flaming compound.

“Father!” Roy yelled as he jumped into his father’s arms. The moment was short, but it seemed to last forever to Roy.

“R-Roy? Did Michael tell you to come here?” Zarrox asked, surprised to see Roy come so far to see him.

“Yes, King Michael told me everything, and I just had to come and see for myself,” Roy explained, happy to be there with the only man left in his family.

“Hey! Zephyr, come and take this place like a man,” a voice from behind hissed. Zarrox let Roy onto the ground and drew his sword in the enemy’s direction.

“You shall perish for calling me out you rat!” Zarrox spat. The Land Pirate smirked and ran at Zarrox; Zarrox charged as well. Roy watched helplessly as old memories filled his head. The swords banged simultaneously with the swords of his mind; he was beginning to feel it very hard now. Zarrox was getting the upper hand in the battle, as he was able to sever the enemy’s left arm. The general screamed, and more bloodshed flashed in Roy’s mind. He fell on his knees and began to scream uncontrollably.

“Roy…?” Zarrox mouthed, turning around, and kneeling down to the spastic figure that was his son. “What is wro-,“ his voice was cut short as a sword plunged through his heart. The enemy general laughed in triumph as he watched Zarrox Zephyr fall. The blood of his father splashed all over Roy; the images stopped.

“Now you go as well,” the Land Pirate general laughed, but his celebration was cut short, as an arrow struck his head. Roy took a few breaths and waited a few seconds to get back into reality. His father’s limp body was in now his arms.

“No…” he began to sob. Throughout the chaos of the battle one boy lay in the middle, holding his dead father. He could no longer control it; soon enough his face was flooded with rivulets of tears. The body slowly fell to the ground, and so did Roy. To him, his crying even drowned out the noises of battle around him; he was in total loss and nobody even noticed. Time seemed to fade away with reality as he passed out from exhaustion. A passing soldier carried him back to the castle.

The next morning when he awoke was the hardest hit he had ever taken…

[Vane Dayrose]

Chapter 1: Silronian Paradox

Roy sat on the edge of his bed; his face was still stained with the tears of the day before. It already looked to be noon, and the sun was high up in the sky. Roy could hear the bustle of the people down on the streets below.

“Today is going to be dad’s funeral for sure… They never seem to wait for war heroes’ funerals,” Roy mumbled to himself. Pain swelled up inside his chest, and it even began to physically hurt. Getting up, Roy pulled his pants up and started to step forward. “I guess I should go see the king…” He walked out of the room slowly, glancing back at the bright outside scenery. The steps creaked as usual, and the old floorboards sounded like they were going to snap. Opening the door, Roy’s mind began to fill up with the images of the night before. A tear streaked his face.

Outside, the morning light made him squint, the castle seemed to be illuminated. He continued walking to the king’s manor when, Luce, captain of the royal guard stopped him. Luce was the true definition of stalwart. He stood in front of the gate in full armor in 95-degree weather, with his cape on and everything. Luce wore the grand armor that was only given to the leader of King Adams’s 4 Grand Generals. He was a tall man with long blond hair that was slicked backwards, but his helmet always caused it to go back and up, so his hair was never normal looking. He had blue eyes and a short blond beard that went from ear to ear. He was not the person Roy wanted to have to deal with.

“Be gone, child, the king has no time for you,” he growled angrily.

“I have no time for this, I have to talk to the king,” Roy complained.

“Only if you feel like trying to get passed me,” Luce said

“Ugh! My father is Zarrox Zephyr! Now do you know who I am? Now please let me pass,” Roy begged, his eyes filling up again.

“… You are Roy? This isn’t quite what I expected… I have no reason not to believe you, though, so I suppose you can go in. The king said that he has something for you,” Luce shrugged.

Roy nodded without another word and ran into the estate.

“Tch… Why’s Zarrox’s kid such a bitch?” Luce asked himself as he watched Roy run through the hallway.

The front hall passed by much quicker this time; Roy had no time to look at the paintings this time. The door of the meeting room slammed open, but the king was not there. In his place was a robed man with a glowing red sword. His back was turned, but Roy could slightly see that he had green hands.

“Wh-who are you?” Roy asked unsurely.

“None of your business, you worthless child, now leave,” the man barked, in a very threatening tone. Roy was very frightened, but he noticed something: his father’s blade lay in a puddle of blood on the floor. Roy ignored the man, and ran to it, to see the whole magnificent blade. With much care he picked it up. “Foolish mortal, I told you to leave when you had the chance,” the man’s voice heightened. Roy looked up and saw the demented face of a reptilian demon. He couldn’t even bring himself to scream; he turned his head quickly and ran out of the door without looking back. The guards that had just returned from a lunch break tried to grab him, but the demon flew out in chase, killing the guards along the way with his red sword.

“Luce can help me,” Roy hoped. The dark figure was closing in; it seemed as if it was going to envelope him in darkness. The light of outside became visible, and Luce with it. “Luce!” Roy shouted desperately. The guard captain turned around just in time to save Roy from a terrible head strike.

“ I shall destroy all those who oppose me,” the cloaked figure hissed like a snake. Luce was not thinking and he ran up to strike the demon, but to no avail. His spear bounced off of an invisible force field and he was thrown back like a rag doll.

“Where is… the king?” Roy asked, terrified.

“He is dead, do not worry about him. When you entered the palace, I killed everyone,” it said, looking around at the desolate streets. Roy was shaking violently by now.

“H-how did you kill everyone so quickly if you were in there?” Roy asked, now he was almost on his knees.

“I am capable, that is all. I suppose you can join them,” it said with a laugh. Roy struggle to his feet and began to run as fast as he could, but a huge blast of dark magic hit him in the back. He was paralyzed. It felt as if every bone in his body was broken; crying in pain was all he could do to try and relieve it. The demonic figure was coming ever closer. Roy struggled to look up and saw nothing but darkness and heard only a demonic laugh. The creature was getting ready to kill him, but out of nowhere, Luce jumped up and stuck forth with his spear.

“I suppose your freaky ass needs to go back to where you came from!” Luce screamed in anger. The creature’s blood was spraying everywhere… but it was green. Luce gasped and pulled his spear out; the stab wound instantly filled itself back up. “Hell!” Luce shouted as he moved back to dodge a stream of fire that shot from the demon’s hand.

“What is that, Luce?” Roy cried, hiding behind a nearby rock in the castle courtyard.

“I have no idea… Some sort of demon?” Luce guessed, just as confused as Roy was.

“Fools, I am no demon. My name is Count Christof!” it declared in a proud voice.

“Christof… Count Christof? Impossible! That is the god of Bimalon; he would never do this!” Luce shouted in disbelief.

“Fool” Christof said as he shot forward and plunged his red sword through Luce’s chest. He hit the ground, completely pale and lifeless. He quickly abandoned Luce’s body and turned to Roy. He laughed as he walked over to the sobbing child behind the rock. “My true intentions shall be fulfilled,” he said maliciously. “But enough of my rambling, I shall now put an end to you.” Christof raised his weapon high; he was ready to strike the pitiful mortal that lay before him.

“Please no!” Roy pleaded, but it was too late. The strike fell for what seemed a lifetime to Roy. His fear of death and hatred for his own life flashed through his mind. Christof’s red eyes pierced his very soul and he began to feel that his very existence was no longer necessary or possible.

CLANG! The blade fell back at Christof’s side.

“What the hell just happened?” He roared angrily. An uncomfortable silence filled the air…

BOOM! A huge eruption of black energy lifted Roy up into the sky. The spiral continued up into the clouds. Christof looked up with an extremely angry face and began to fly up in pursuit of the boy. Roy felt extreme pain as his broken body flailed around in the spiraling, vertical chaos. Christof rose to the level where Roy was and continued moving up at a steady pace that made it look to Roy like he was suspended in air.

“Damn child!” Christof shouted as he moved in to strike at the boy, but a glowing white figure moved in and intercepted the strike. Roy’s pain began to fade as the dark energy began to pale and become light; it felt as though he were being healed. Meanwhile, the white figure savagely clashed with Christof.

“You won’t touch this child,” the figure uttered calmly in what seemed like two different voices. Christof was really pissed now, as he erupted in a golden flame and materialized another weapon. He and the white figure horizontally spiraled into each other and clashed midair, each wielding two weapons with extremely potent auras. Roy had his eyes fixed in amazement at the battle before him, when the spiral came to a halt and launched him into the air.

“Ahhh!” He screamed as he felt solid ground beneath him. He had stopped ascending. Christof and the other entity flew up under Roy and broke through what looked like a colossal ring of glass in midair. The trauma caused Roy to jump to his feet and look out in front of him. They were above the clouds, suspended on some sort of invisible aerial platform. All that could be seen above the clouds was the runes on the platform that outlined the limits of it. “Please let this be another dream,” Roy prayed as he fell on his knees and closed his eyes.

“That’s it!” Roy heard as Christof’s voice. He looked up again to see Christof with his arm out. The white figure was standing next to Roy with its arm out in front of Roy’s face.

“This is for your own good, forgive me kid,” it whispered into Roy’s ear as his hand slammed into Roy’s head.

All was black.

***

The sounds of a forest filled Roy’s head as he came back into consciousness. Opening his eyes slowly, he saw the figure of a boy standing before him.

“Are you well?” the strange boy asked with a worried expression on his face. Roy looked at him and weakly nodded. As Roy opened his eyes more, he could see that the boy had long blond hair and his face was soft, like an elf. A bow and quiver were strapped to his back and two golden scimitars in sheaths hung on each side of his waist.

“Wh-who are you, and where are… we?” Roy asked, trying to remember what happened.

“I am Garidah Slaser, captain archer of King Michael’s court, and we are in Hendro Forest,” he said. Roy looked confused, but his pain was gone and he was alive, so he felt he should trust Garidah.

“So… That is what happened to captain Slaser’s son,” Roy thought. Captain Slaser’s son had gone missing several months earlier. “So this is the same Hendro Forest where our allies live?” Roy asked curiously.

“I knew you would ask that. No, this is Hendro in a different dimension, a dimension that the monster that almost killed you created,” Garidah said.

“So… this is a totally different dimension?” Roy gasped.

“I must find the king, but I can’t seem to sense where he is” Garidah murmured worriedly.

“I am sorry to inform you… but his majesty is dead, killed by Christof” Roy explained sadly. Garidah’s face lit up like a lantern.

“Damn… I was hoping that wasn’t the case, that must mean that the thing is coming back here now,” Garidah spat. A cold wind blew behind them and the chirp of a bird could be heard. He grunted and turned around to the rustling in the bushes. “Stand still, child,” he said. He pulled out a golden bow from his back, and loaded six arrows in his fingers. Roy watched in amazement, he could not have been older than sixteen, yet he was able to do that. More rustling in the bushes triggered the release of the six arrows. The sneaks’ screams lapsed on top of each other as six bodies rolled out of the bushes.

“Dark Bimalonian spies!” Garidah spat. Come, child, we must get back to Hendro Fortress. Garidah picked Roy up by his arm and threw him on his back. Roy could see that the Dark Bimalonians looked almost identical to the Bimalonians of his dimension. They were tall, human-like creatures with feathers on their faces and large, majestic wings on their upper backs. The only difference here was that they were black in color.

“Hang on! Unless you can defend yourself!” Garidah yelled.

“Preferably not!” Roy shouted, embarrassed by his cowardly actions. Dark Bimalonians jumped out from behind all of the trees and swarmed Garidah and Roy. With a quick spin, twelve arrows flew from all sides of Garidah and the enemies fell. The run continued and more Dark Bimalonians were coming. Roy heard the cling of metal and looked down to see Garidah unsheathing two golden scimitars. He was spinning in a flurry as mangled Bimalonians fell on all sides. More came; Garidah sheathed one sword and pulled out his bow. He was wielding a sword in one hand, and firing his bow with the other and his mouth. Arrows were just appearing in the bow, so it must have been magic.

“H-how do you do that,” Roy asked, holding on to Garidah’s back tightly.

“No time to answer now, just jump off, ok? I am pretty sure you can run,” Garidah smirked. Roy nodded uneasily and jumped off into his own steady sprint. The surrounding forest seemed to be swallowing them as they moved deeper towards its heart. Enemy carcasses lay behind them in a long path. Bimalonians were coming from every direction; they were gaining on the two boys. Roy had never killed an enemy before, but he was ready just in case he had to. It was very difficult to maneuver through the gnarled branches of the ancient trees; many of the enemies were tripping at this point.

A large wooden fortress was visible ahead, but Roy could see that it was under attack as well.

“Damn, I guess that there is no more point in running, either way we will have to fight,” Garidah said as he stopped to fight. Roy halted as well, and reluctantly lifted his father’s great sword.

“Ha ha ha, look at this overzealous child, he is a mere worm who thinks that he can defend himself,” a nearby enemy laughed. Roy said nothing; he decided to let his blade do the talking for once in his life. He raised Zephyr into a pathetic stance and attempted to strike a nearby Bimalonian, but it parried the blow and lightly sliced his arm.

“Ahhh, that hurts!” Roy screamed, but he could not allow himself to cower to the laughing Bimalonian. Though tears filled his eyes as his hope dwindled, he stood up and was ready to try again. Garidah saw that the child’s skills were not even enough to kill off one enemy, so began to fight his way over to defend him.

“You! Go back to the fortress now, go hide in there!” Garidah yelled. Roy looked at him for a second, nodded, and ran towards the wooden fortress. A few nearby Bimalonians tried to chase him, but Garidah slew them with elemental arrows before they could start to pursue Roy. Roy looked back to see that the coast was clear and ran through an opening in the wooden stronghold. Once inside, he hid behind a barrel.

“I really wish that I were stronger,” he said to himself, looking at the open wound on his arm. The dripping blood triggered memories of the day before, and he began to weep.

Meanwhile, Garidah was being pushed back as the Bimalonians kept on coming.

“Dammit, Christof must be back already, or else the Dark Bimalonians would have given up long ago,” Garidah said as he strung and fired another six arrows. The army guarding the base was finally gaining the upper hand and they were pushing the Bimalonian forces out of the vicinity of the base. The battle was nearly won.

“Retreat!!!” the enemy commander yelled. At that command, the entire Dark Bimalon army halted and began to retreat.

“Halt men! There is no need to chase them!” Garidah yelled as he saw his army trying to chase the Bimalonians. At his command, they halted and began to walk back towards the fort. “Thank Adsam that they have left, I was beginning to worry,” Garidah thought to himself as he began to walk back into the fortress. Farther into the fort, Roy stood.

“I guess you guys did it, no thanks to me,” Roy mumbled regretfully.

“It is ok, child. I do not want to push you beyond what you can do for now, so do as you please,” Garidah uttered softly. “Now find any room that you like, and go rest now,” he said. Roy nodded thankfully, and ran around the small compound until he found a nice room. It was very comfortable for him, and it was easy to drift off to sleep.

[Vane Dayrose]

Chapter 2: A Spark of Hope

In his sleep, Roy was having a terrible dream; memories of his past were seeping through. He was once again back at that fateful day: his first sight of his father’s cruelty.

“Dad no!” Roy yelled, but it was too late; his father’s sword came down on the castle lord. Roy hid behind a column, watching as his father stabbed his dear friend that he had brought along with him, apparently for this reason. The six-year old child continued watching from the pillar. His father grabbed his friend’s limp body and ran him out screaming.

“People, I have just captured the man who murdered our lord!” Zarrox yelled. People from all over ran to the spot. At this great outrage, Zarrox decapitated his bleeding friend. The people all knew Zarrox for who he was, but the guards had no idea of his treacherous ways.

“This is an outrage! Zarrox must have killed the lord and framed that man,” someone shouted out.

“There is no way that Zarrox would do something so noble,” another screamed.

“In the case of the lord’s death, I am in charge!” Zarrox barked. Though the people did not trust him, the guards did, and Zarrox was soon leading a huge parade of soldiers back to his manor. Roy secretly had been following them, wondering why Zarrox had just left him there at the lord’s manor. When Roy finally arrived at the house and Zarrox and the guards were all inside, Roy spotted a large troop of peasants coming up to the manor with torches.

“Dad! The peasants!” Roy yelled as he burst through the front door. Zarrox jerked his head back and looked out of the window to see the peasants showering his home with torches. The small army of guards quickly ran out of the back door. Zarrox of course ran back, picked up Roy, and then escaped out of the outer gate with his army. The outer strongholds of the city would be a perfect place for them to hide. After escaping the city, Zarrox met up with his friend, Inkao. Inkao was determined to pay the citizens back, so he told Zarrox that he was going back in. Zarrox granted him permission, but he also told him to make Roy watch, for he did not think that Roy was strong enough to fight until he saw some bloodshed.

Roy tried to protest, but Inkao easily dragged him off. When they entered the square, Inkao tied Roy to a pole.

“You should watch this, because if you do not, I will do what Zarrox told me to do; you won’t like that,” hissed Inkao. Roy was scared to death of his father, but he did not want to watch. He struggled to escape, but to no avail. Inkao calmly walked into the crowd of people, and he did something that Roy would never forget. The people all turned towards the man, and in what seemed like the blink of an eye, the 400 people fell to the ground; each person in at least ten different pieces. The blood stained the beautiful town square of Gloriano, which was once one of the capitals of the Golden Eagle Army.

This was the beginning of Roy’s mental issues. The men and women that were once the people that he used to pass on the street everyday were now all over the street. Inkao looked back at the child and untied him. Roy did not want to be near Inkao anymore, and he ran as fast as he could back to the camp.

“Ahhh!” Roy screamed as he was jolted awake; he was covered in sweat. Garidah ran into the room with his bow loaded with an arrow.

“What’s wrong?” he asked alarmingly. Roy looked at him; his golden armor was lit brilliantly by the morning light.

“Umm, I’m sorry to have worried you… but I was just having a bad dream” Roy said. Garidah lowered his bow and walked over to the frail looking child on the bed.

“It is going to be ok, we will be fine child” Garidah said, trying to reassure him. “Umm, I was also thinking that it would be convenient if you told me your name” he suggested with a slight smile.

“Oh! I’m terribly sorry that I didn’t introduce myself before, I’m Roy, son of Zarrox Zephyr,” he said. Garidah looked very surprised at his answer.

“Zarrox’s son, I never even knew he had a son, Garidah said.

“It is unfortunate, but he is dead too,” Roy said sadly. Garidah said no more; he inched over to Roy and put his arm around him.

“I’m sorry that you have to go through this Roy,” Garidah said after a few seconds. “Just know, I am here to take care of you now.”

“Wh-why do you care so much about me?” Roy asked.

“Anybody sent here by Adsam is for me to take care of,” the archer captain replied. Roy was very confused.

“What god?” he asked.

“Cihlae Adsam, the newest addition to the universal council,” Garidah answered. “He is the one who saved you and brought you here.”

“I kind of get it now. He was that white figure that battled Christof” Roy figured.

“Well, that’s amazing that you saw him. Normally he wouldn’t personally save somebody. You are very lucky. Anyway… I should go out scouting now, do you want to come?” Garidah asked.

“That’s ok, I feel like exploring this place,” Roy replied with a smile. Garidah grinned back, but it seemed somewhat grim. Roy watched as his only friend got up and began to walk away, but on his way out, he threw back a bag of gold.

“Use that well,” he said. Roy wanted to thank him, but he was gone too fast. As he got up, Roy picked up the wallet and walked out into the bustling town. The buildings were all made of wood planks, and the road was just a trail of hay. Carriages were roaming around everywhere with peasants in them.

“Peasants, they shouldn’t be allowed to ride carriages,” Roy said angrily, for in his old home, peasants could never afford such things. Zarrox had always taught him that peasants were poor fools who could be expended and should not live well. Roy began walking around, and seeing how big the stronghold really was. Around the corner, there was a big lane of pubs and smithies. He decided to stop into one of the small shops. The wooden door creaked open to reveal a large supply of anything Roy could ever ask for. The shelves on his left and right were stocked with breads, meats, liquids, vegetables, and all types of fruits. The shelves in front of him were stocked with many traditional dishes that were already made.

“Whoa, this is heaven!” Roy exclaimed. In about ten minutes, he was up to his neck with food, and he had used all of the money he was given. “Garidah is going to love the meal we will be having!” he thought happily. He exited the store after buying enough food to make a large dinner, and he made his way back through the town and up into his room again. Garidah stood next to the bed.

“Roy, I have been waiting for you,” he said with a little bit more happiness in his voice than earlier.

“I brought us food,” Roy smiled, very happy with himself. Garidah looked very happy with what Roy had used the money to buy.

“How unselfish of you to buy us food,” Garidah said. Roy smiled and put down the food on the table.

“So, how was your scouting?” Roy asked. Garidah lit up like a light.

“It was our best mission yet! We found where Christof is hiding his army!” He exclaimed. “They are all in a Guardian Tower in the center of the mountains, but this tower is very unique. There is a castle at the bottom to keep us out of the tower,” Garidah said.

“Who is in the what where?” Roy asked, very confused.

“It’s a large tower in the center of a castle, to sum it up in a nutshell,” Garidah replied. Roy shook his head as if he understood, which for once he actually did understand a little.

“Well, we are going to evacuate this settlement and move to the city of Terlinan, it is the only other place in this world that isn’t under that monster’s control,” Garidah explained. Roy regretfully agreed with no fight, but he really liked it where he was. He would have tried to object if he had not respected Garidah so much. He knew that his friend was doing what was best for everyone. The archer boy walked out into the town and beckoned Roy to follow him. They strolled through the town and into a large building with a balcony. Inside, it was only a staircase that led up to the veranda. They walked out onto the balcony and the guards down below began ringing bells.

“What is that for?” Roy asked.

“So people know that I require their attention. I am the closest thing that these people have to a leader,” Garidah answered. Within minutes, the whole town had assembled in front of the balcony.

“I see…” Roy gasped as he looked down to see all of the people that looked up at Garidah for guidance.

“My people! We are going to immediately evacuate to the city of Terlinan. It is no longer safe to remain here! This stronghold is far too close to Count Christof’s main stronghold. Please take only what you can carry, we need no extra burden. We will have no problem leaving you here if you refuse to come along! When you are all packed, line up at the main gate and we shall depart! That is all, and I have no time for questions or complaints!” He finished, dismissing the shocked people of the town with a wave of his hand.

“That was a little umm… unfair, wasn’t it?” Roy asked. Garidah looked at him with a sad face.

“It is unfortunate that it has to be this way, but I told them what they needed to know for their own good,” Garidah explained.

“You are a very good leader, I wish I had a strong, commanding voice like you. Nobody would ever take me seriously as a leader,” Roy sighed.

“Well, I find that your first step to being what you want to be should be to stop putting yourself down. Now we should go to the main gate, since neither of us have anything we need to bring,” Garidah said as he began to walk away. Roy was about to mention the food, but he saw that Garidah had already grabbed it. They exited the large building and awaited the citizens at the front gate of the compound. After about an hour the people had all gathered; the march began. The forest was dark, even in the daytime, and they had to be careful of poisonous animals and such. As they trudged through the swampy woods, it began to get even darker and more humid. They were about halfway through. Suddenly, a storm of arrows shot out from all sides hitting the peasants and a couple of guards, but Garidah’s archers were too skilled to let themselves be hit.

“Peasants down! Archers fire!” Garidah yelled as a volley from his own men shot out into the bushes, leaving the bloody Bimalonian bodies to drop out, thus giving away their position. The archer Bimalonians dropped their bows, pulled out swords, and began to charge the large band of people. Garidah’s archers pulled out their two scimitars each and began killing the Bimalonians themselves, and the guards of the town began fighting as well. Roy attempted to draw Zephyr. He pulled it up in his sloppy stance to make himself look like he was helping, but he ended up hiding on the ground with the peasants. Garidah did a back flip over the bushes and let five arrows fire into the heads of five enemies. The Bimalonian ambush was working quite well; if he had been expecting it, Garidah would have had everyone safe.

“Everyone, continued moving on the ground… Damn it, they are not going to stop coming until we either die or we get to the city!” Garidah yelled. “Everyone do what you must to make it to the city!” The people immediately began to crouch and run forward through the huge battle that surrounded them. Roy was one of the people in the fray. The only thing he really cared about at the time was Garidah’s safety, but he knew that Garidah could defend himself. The second-in-command of the archers did a quick spin and released twenty arrows into a surrounding party of enemies. The creatures continued coming up against the panicking people. The forest was ending now, and a large plain could be seen. In the very far distance a city loomed.

There appeared to be no Bimalonians on the plain so everyone stood up and began to run to the huge city that lay before them. Garidah and his men stayed behind to fend off the horde. The large field seemed endless in all directions; the only limit was the forest that was getting farther away as they ran. After a few more minutes of chase, the Bimalonians discontinued the pursuit. The people stopped running and let Garidah and his archers catch up again.

“We have done it! Welcome to the city of Terlinan!” Garidah cheered with pride in his voice. The huge stone city dominated the small band of survivors as they passed through the gate. There was hope after all.

[Vane Dayrose]

Chapter 3: A Greater Power

The huge, white, stone walls loomed over the small band of people, and they seemed more than welcoming. The guards stepped aside to let Garidah and everyone else pass. The center of the large city was big enough to hold an army. Rich looking houses crowded the streets, and hordes of people roamed about.

“Garidah, how did a city like this escape the destruction that has reached everything else?” Roy asked. Garidah looked at him and smiled.

“Because the defenses are so tight here. Christof himself never came, he only sent Bimalonians,” Garidah answered. Roy was so scared in this new world, and he knew nothing of it. He even tried to question reality numerous times since he was warped there. The unfamiliar land was very unsettling. Though unlike before, he was now in a place that slightly resembled Helios Castle. The guards wore white armor, and the buildings were built with similar architecture. Roy just assumed that it was this way because it was once under King Adams’s rule too.

The small band of people quickly split up once they were safely within the walls. Terlinan seemed to be so safe, that Roy did not have to worry as much as usual. The two boys wandered through the humongous city for a few hours, taking into consideration the amount of guards that congested the city. It would take a massive army of Bimalonians to take over the city, especially with Garidah there.

“We should probably go to an inn and get a place to sleep,” Garidah suggested. Roy had no reason to disagree; he needed a rest from the walking anyway. As they walked, he began to realize that he had never seen a warrior as capable as Garidah, omitting Luce and Zhanindo Onian of course. Garidah still carried the food that Roy had bought, somehow. After the battle Roy expected him to have dropped it. They passed through a small square of shops and smithies, and they found an inn right next to a large stairway that led to the walls. This was convenient for Garidah, since he could shoot from the walls if they were under attack. The innkeeper was very amiable and he gave them a free room, because Garidah was almost like a king of the free parts of the realm. He was the leader of all the people in a way, not even the ruler of Terlinan would deny a command from Garidah.

The two walked into their room, it was the nicest one that was available. A beautiful armoire stood in the corner of the room, and a large wooden bed in the middle. The rest of the room was made of stone, like every other building in Terlinan. A large window with white curtains was on Roy’s side of the bed.

“We should be getting some rest now, especially after that long hike,” Garidah said as he jumped onto the bed.

“Great idea, it is getting a little late too, and we need to be up early,” Roy replied. Garidah did not know why Roy wanted to wake up early, but he said nothing about it. Roy looked up at the cold ceiling as he lay down to sleep, and within minutes, he drifted off into dream.

Everything was peaceful for a while, he heard nothing as sleep dragged him further and further from reality, when all of a sudden…

BOOM! A large stone broke through the roof of the inn and crushed the armoire. Roy jumped out of the bed, and looked over to see Garidah’s side of the bed empty. He must have left at the first sign of attack.

“Oh Adsam, why me?” Roy yelled as he grabbed Zephyr and ran outside. Bimalonian sentries roamed all over the place, and the city guards were killed all over the walls and streets. He looked to his left to see Garidah and his archers making a last stand at the top of the stairs. Roy could not allow Garidah to perish, not after all he had done for him. Without knowing what he was doing, Roy ran straight into the heart of the Bimalonians and began cutting through them. They were surprised, but they immediately recovered from the confusion and began to strike at Roy.

“Roy!” Garidah yelled, from the top of the stairs. He jumped off the wall straight into the middle of the fray down below. Roy was holding his own, surprisingly, and the enemies began to cower. Garidah landed in there just in time to save Roy, they went back to back and fought on each side. More Bimalonians flooded into the massive rush to meet Garidah’s archers and the wall guards. The battle was not going well. Each side had a seemingly endless supply of warriors, but it was not so. The city guards were very short of the number of Bimalonians. Garidah was not doing very well, many strokes had passed through his skin; he was becoming a bloody mess. If Roy were not there, he would have been able to use techniques that could save himself.

“Roy! Go over to where my archers are, I need room to do my techniques!” Garidah shouted. Roy tried to break away from the fray, but he did not want to leave Garidah alone. He considered Garidah’s words in his head a few times before he allowed himself to go. He knew that he would be more of a burden than a help. Once Roy was out of the way, Garidah strung his bow and spun in a circle, releasing arrows into at least 20 of the Bimalonians. He continued spinning and releasing more arrows, at that rate, the Bimalonians were gone quickly. He was safe, now, but he needed to aid the others. Roy looked to his left to see Garidah returning to fight with his archers. The Bimalonians were still great in number, but they were beginning to retreat. The arrows stopped flying, and the guards let off the pursuit. Within seconds the city square was empty of Bimalonians.

“Garidah, can we still stay here?” Roy asked. Garidah put his hand on Roy’s head.

“Of course, the city has not fallen yet. Trust me, we will not be leaving until there is no city left,” Garidah assured, trying to smile. They had driven out the Bimalonians, but a dark presence still loomed over the area. A large dark cloud hung over the city, but it ended exactly where the city ended. It was like a reflection of the city in the sky, but in the form of a black cloud. Garidah knew that some evil was involved there. The sky continually grew darker, and purple electricity began to form.

“Roy, something is wrong,” Garidah said worriedly. Roy looked up, just in time to see a purple lightning bolt strike the ground right in front of them. He jumped as a gust of smoke and dust shot up at the wall. Once the smoke cleared, a figure slowly appeared. It was a man holding a guitar.

“Hello good people of Terlinan, I am Jiro Royal,” the man bowed with a friendly smile.

“Who?” Roy asked, confused. The man made a slight chuckle.

“I am a friend, do not worry, I am here to aid you with the destruction of Count Christof,” Jiro said. Garidah looked at him strangely.

“Count Christof? You mean the creature that resides in that horrid tower. How do you know about him?” Garidah asked.

“Everyone knows about him, I just never really showed myself around here before, so it may seem as if I don’t come from here. I am a god, and I can help liberate you of his rule,” Jiro said gently.

“ So, you are a god. Why have I never heard of you in legends,” Garidah said.

“Well, there are no legends about me. If you want proof, I can summon Christof right here and take him out. All it will take is for you to help me with something,” Jiro explained.

“Well, it all depends on what you want, but I want you to tell me something first,” Garidah offered. Jiro nodded. “Why do I have to do the favor for you? If you are such a god, I am sure you can do anything that I can.”

“Well… I am not really alive right now. Christof killed me a long time ago, but I have begun to regenerate. You are one of the only people that can do this for me in this age. All I need is for you to shoot me with a dark elemental arrow, which will revive me fully,” Jiro explained.

“Well…” Garidah’s voice faded. Roy’s vision seemed to go away and he could no longer hear anything. He was lost in a black void.

“What’s happening to me?” He tried to shout, but he couldn’t hear his own voice, so he didn’t even know if he said it. It seemed like he was falling through a pit and the feeling would not go away. He heard rustling and thumping noises coming from the abyss, and before he knew it, he was back on the wall of Terlinan staring at Garidah.

“What happened…?” He whimpered, but Garidah seemed to ignore him. It seemed as if he had not been conscious for a long time.

“Okay, Jiro, I will do it if you truly can help us,” Garidah sighed as he strung an arrow on his bow. Roy looked at him as if he wanted to say something, but he couldn’t bring his mouth to move.

In a black flash, the large cloud above them dissipated, and the man began to become younger looking. His arms swelled up with muscles and he had a smile on his face. He winked, and then turned around began to chant some strange things. A large, swirling void of dark energy opened up in front of him.

“Christof will be pulled through that,” Jiro explained. Roy looked at Garidah with an uneasy look. Garidah looked back at him. They both knew that this could not be so easy.
As the minutes passed, the portal began to hiss. Roy squinted to try and see what was happening, and to his surprise, a figure shot out of it and slammed into the wall.

“Argh… what is going on?” the figure mumbled. Roy looked down with Garidah to see that it was indeed Christof, but there was a major quirk. This Christof was wearing white Bimalonian armor.

“Hell! That isn’t the evil Christof, that is his good half!” Garidah shouted.

“I knew that Jiro wasn’t to be trusted!” Roy yelled. Christof flew up to the wall and landed next to Roy and Garidah.

“Well, I don’t know how Librus Royal got revived… but I can take care of it now, kids,” Christof assured.

“Lord Librus! That is the dark brother of Wolf Royal. He lied to us… There is no way that I revived him!” Garidah shouted as he fell to his knees. Roy rushed to his side and helped him up.

“It is my turn now!” Librus yelled back at Christof as his skin burned away and his body began to bulge out. The guitar fell to the ground as two large blades released from his wrists. Christof took a look back at Roy and Garidah and flew straight to Librus. They fought hard in the air, and the ground began to shake. Roy and Garidah were confused beyond recognition, and they had no idea what was happening. Librus was cutting Christof into pieces, but the pieces immediately regenerated, and Christof struck back even harder. Librus was getting pounded.

“If this is all you’ve got, then you are finished!” Librus yelled as his body began to bulge violently. His two blades flowed down past his feet. His hair grew down to his feet and a black cloud shrouded it. The long, flowing whips that were now down to his waist revealed themselves to be flexible blades. He truly did look like a demon god.

“This is not new to me,” Christof uttered calmly, but he was actually worried. Librus laughed as a cloud enveloped him. A black fog covered the area, and three projections of the dark god appeared.

“You didn’t feel this last time!” He yelled as his arms became charged with black energy. Christof threw his arm up to block whatever was coming, but that would never be enough. Three immense beams of pure darkness shot from the hands of the Christof. Christof held the blasts off for a second, but he was blown away in the huge explosion. Everything within sight was enveloped in shadow magic. Seconds later the fog began to clear, leaving a large crater that spanned from the horizon into part of the city. Roy looked out in front of him to see that where Garidah last stood, there was the edge of the crater.

“No! Garidah!” Roy yelled as he ran forward to look into the massive hole. Librus flew down in front of the boy and put his hand out to catch him.

“That archer boy revived my power, I would not allow him to die like that,” Librus said, assuring Roy. “But he will die better!” he shouted, as he pushed Roy to the floor.

“I can’t believe you!” Roy yelled with his last ounce of breath. Librus smiled and winked at Roy. The boy cowered on the floor as the dark god swiped his blades straight through him. Garidah’s archers tried to fire, but they were swiped before they could string an arrow. As the bodies hit the floor, Librus returned to his cloud.

[Vane Dayrose]

Chapter 4: Tampering With A God

“Ahhh!” Roy shouted. Sweat ran down his face and Garidah sat up next to him, alert.

“What the hell is wrong, Roy?” Garidah yelled. Roy looked at him thankfully; the whole thing was a dream.

“I was just having a dream, I am really sorry,” Roy explained. Garidah looked at him and made a slight smile.

“Well, at least you woke me up when I wanted to wake up,” Garidah said, trying to act positive. Roy smiled back weakly and stood up. There was no sun out, but it wasn’t too early. A dark cloud hung over the large city like an eclipse. Roy watched as Garidah walked out of the room, oblivious to the potential doom looming over their heads. Roy grabbed up Zephyr and ran out after Garidah, he had to warn him about the dream.

“Garidah!” Roy yelled, as he chased after him. The archer captain stopped and turned to face Roy.

“What is it?” Garidah asked, inquisitively. Roy looked up, at the black cloud and back down at Garidah.

“I had a dream last night, and I think you should know what it was. I feel it might be an omen…” Roy said, unsure. Garidah just nodded and motioned him to go on.

“I woke up and we were in a battle with an army of Bimalonians, and we were losing badly. I ran out and started fighting alongside you, but I was using skills that I do not have. After that we drove off the Bimalonians, but a dark cloud like the one above came over us and a dark god came down. He tricked us into trusting him by saying that his name was Jiro and hat he would help us kill Christof, and Christof appeared. The thing was, it was the good half of Christof. I think the god’s name was Librus. He killed Christof, and then he murdered us,” Roy rushed, struggling slightly to remember the dream. Garidah looked at Roy seriously, and he looked like he was thinking.

“Have you ever heard of Lord Librus before?” Garidah asked.

“No, I have never heard of him before,” Roy answered. Garidah made a worried face, and took a deep breath.

“It must be something, people don’t just have dreams about that stuff. Librus was a god of legends; your dream must mean something if you have never heard of Librus before. Thank you for telling me about this, it was a good decision,” Garidah sighed, trying to take in the information. Roy nodded and started to walk again. They continued out through the stone square and into a large building that had a sign that said: Arena.

“If you had good skills in your dream, that must mean something as well. We are going to train for a while,” Garidah explained. Roy almost jumped with excitement. He had wanted to learn how to fight since he had realized how useless he was. The building was just like the rest on the inside: cold stone on all sides and people walking everywhere.

“Isn’t this a building for the soldiers, why are so many people here?” Roy asked.

“Not only soldiers, everyone here is required to know how to defend themselves. Desperate times call for desperate measures,” Garidah mumbled. They walked through a few doors and they made their way into a circular arena.

“Okay! You must learn to be offensive first. That will be easier to teach right now. All you have to do is strike me. I will not even strike back, just block. Roy reluctantly nodded and drew Zephyr. Garidah beckoned to him to strike. He raised Zephyr and began taking random strikes at Garidah, but Garidah easily deflected them all with his two swords. He continually struck at the archer, but he didn’t even come close to landing a blow. Garidah was making aggravated faces, and Roy did not know why.

“Stop! For the love of Adsam stop!” Garidah yelled. “It is not that you are doing badly, but what you are doing is not something that will make you stand out. Also, not many enemies use two swords, so training with a person using them is not going to help so much. I should have realized that. Just know that I would rather you not be a mediocrity, it would be easier for you to survive if you become outstanding.”

“What will I do then?” Roy asked. Garidah looked around and it looked as though he were in deep thought.

“Due to our circumstances, this is how it has to be… I suggest training against people who are fluent with all sorts of weapons. Of course, this will mean that you may have to spend all day training… every day,” Garidah blurted, trying to take a breath. Roy had a despairing look on his face, but he had to do what was necessary. Hours continued passing, and Roy learned more and more. The hours became days, peaceful days even. Battle seemed to be far away on the horizon. It had already been seven days since they had arrived in Terlinan, but it only seemed like one.

It was the dawn of the eighth day, and it was happening. Just like in the dream, a Bimalonian army was outside the gates. They were already breaking through the barricade of castle guards. Garidah had been expecting the attack every morning, so he had woken up in time to rally troops. In the dream, it was too late for the troops to retaliate. The Bimalonian army was not having the momentum that they needed, and the cloud up above was pitch black.

“Garidah!” Roy yelled up at the archer on the wall. Garidah looked down and beckoned him to come up with him. Roy checked his side to make sure Zephyr was with him, and quickly ran up the stairs to meet Garidah.

“Thanks to your warning we were able to rally before they arrived, so they haven’t even got inside the castle yet!” Garidah screamed over the loud noises around them. Roy was happy that his warning had helped, but he still was smart enough to take the situation seriously. Garidah strung six arrows that lit up with light, and released them into the large army of Bimalonians. A golden ring of light shot out of the Bimalonians that were hit and shredded the enemies around them.

“You are so amazing captain!” his second-in-command complimented. Garidah did not show it, but he thanked him in his mind. The Bimalonian army was beginning to collapse, and they were starting to retreat.

“Follow them men!” Garidah yelled

“Tell them to pull back,” Roy protested

“We don’t need to lose any more men than we have to!” Roy yelled, but Garidah continued shouting to pursue the retreating Bimalonians.

“We have allowed this for far too long, I cannot allow the enemy to picture us as cowards. They will stay out of our way, or face destiny!” Garidah yelled with determination in his voice. Roy disagreed with what Garidah was doing, and he was sick of being ignored, but Garidah knew what he was doing much more than Roy did. A few more seconds passed, and the castle emptied out, but Roy had just remembered something.

“The cloud!” Roy shouted, looking up at the already forming plasma bolts. Garidah had not forgotten, though. He had planned for it, just in case.

“That is why I emptied the castle, I didn’t feel that the people needed to die if that is how it has to be,” Garidah explained.

“That is not how it has to be! Just do not shoot him with a dark elemental arrow,” Roy shouted over the loud sounds of the storming cloud. Garidah nodded, even though he would not shoot him with the arrow anyway. It was beginning now. A dark figure began to form in the cloud above; it was taking the form of a man. Plasma bolts struck the ground outside the city, and the man began to get closer.

“Librus!” Garidah shouted. The man made a surprised look.

“H-how did you know that?” Librus asked in surprise. Garidah pulled up his bow and strung a concealed light arrow. It was really a light arrow, but it looked like a dark arrow. Librus made a slight chuckle.

“You apparently know my intentions then, don’t you?” he asked, once again surprised.

“What are you doing?” Roy shouted, but Garidah gave him a wink, which shut him up.

“If you are really here to help us fight Christof, I will accept your help. Oh great god!” Garidah mocked. Librus noticed the mockery in his voice, but it was too late. The dark arrow released and it struck Librus directly in the face. Once the arrow was burrowed deep in the god’s face the dark aura of the arrow disappeared, revealing that it was a light arrow.

“Argh!” Librus yelled, as his face began to crack and fall apart. His body began to shrivel and he dropped his guitar.

“You trickster!” He yelled, as his whole body exploded in a fiery eruption in the sky. It was a magnificent sight for all those who were watching on the ground. The smoke filled everybody’s sight; it smelled like burnt rubber. The plasma clouds began striking rapidly at the city walls, but the disoriented cloud was missing every strike. The warriors that were chasing the Bimalonians were in the forest watching the large disaster up above.

“You did it!” Roy yelled as he threw his arm around his friend. Garidah did not feel too special, for all he had to do was shoot a dark arrow. Librus was basically dead anyway, considering what Christof had done to him before.

“Yes, but now there are very few in the universe that can challenge Christof,” Garidah huffed. Roy was glad about Librus’s destruction, because he remembered Librus being even stronger than Christof in the dream.

“Let’s just wait for that cloud of dust and smoke to disappear, I do not think that the air down there is healthy to breathe yet,” Garidah laughed. Roy chuckled, and turned around to see the army returning to the castle.

“Very few of our people died!” He exclaimed. Garidah smiled, and turned back around to see the smoke in the sky parting.

“What the hell is that?” Garidah shouted, pointing into the sky. Roy looked up as well, and a figure loomed up in the smoke.

It was the evil Christof!

[Vane Dayrose]

Chapter 5: A Living Legend

“It appears that Librus had survived my other half’s previous assault…” Christof whispered to himself, anger lingered in his voice. The men below watched as a Christof slowly came down from the sky. Regular lightning began to strike around the sky, but the plasma was gone. “I would have killed you all off a long time ago, but you are the only ones left,” his anger fading into amusement. “I consider you as toys, and I can play rough until my toys break. Unfortunately, my toys break, and then it is no fun anymore.” Roy had not quite understood why the free parts of the dimension had not been taken over yet, but he started to get it now.

“Your prize for defeating, not reviving Librus will be a few more days of gentle play,” Christof laughed. Garidah wanted to say something, but he felt he should count his blessings and shut his mouth. The dark creature in the sky made one last laugh, and then he disappeared without a trace. The city warriors had all returned by now, and they were beginning to clean up the bodies. Only the people on the walls knew that Christof had appeared. Garidah and Roy were done, so they decided to go back to the inn.

“I have to go get some more sleep,” Garidah said. Roy nodded; he wanted to sleep as well. They trudged down the bloodstained steps, and sauntered into the inn. The innkeeper was not there; he must have been out fighting with the others.

“I think that I saw the innkeeper return to the castle, so do not worry about him,” Garidah said as they walked into the room. He had sensed Roy’s worry.

“G-G-Garidah!” Roy shouted and pointed towards the ancient armoire. There was a man.

“Who the hell are you?” Garidah asked as he drew his two swords.

“I am not an enemy, fear not,” the mysterious man stated, bowing. Roy and Garidah remained suspicious, but they lowered their weapons slightly. The man walked out from the shadows, revealing himself to be completely cloaked. His face was clean shaved, and it had a slight gentleness in it. His long, brown cloak partially covered a set of green armor. In his hand he held a golden staff, which had a magical aura about it. “I am Braiden Dayrose,” The man said. The two boys jumped in amazement, for a legend stood before them.

“Are you really Braiden Knight?” Garidah asked, his mouth wide open. Braiden nodded, and sat down on the bed. Roy and Garidah sat down next to him. He seemed to emit an aura of pure power.

“I am here because I believe that I can challenge the might of Count Christof,” Braiden explained, enthusiasm filled his voice. Roy smiled, out of the legends he knew, Braiden was second to only the Master of Power.

“How do you plan to challenge the god of gods?” Roy asked. Braiden looked at him as if he were thinking about what to say.

“Heh, I have more power now than I did in the ancient legends,” Braiden replied with a slight grin. Garidah felt that he had heard enough, they possibly had a chance to fight back now.

“This is the first good news in a while, now if you would excuse us,” Garidah said. Braiden nodded and stood up. “Hey, tell the innkeeper to give you a free room, courtesy of Garidah Slaser,” Garidah said.

“Oh oh! And Roy Zephyr!” Roy shouted. Braiden smiled and nodded as he walked out of the room.

“Do you really trust that he is the Braiden of legends, the first pupil of Vane Dayrose?” Roy asked. Garidah took a quick glance at Roy and made a steady nod. Roy could tell that Garidah was tired, and he did not intend to stop his friend from getting his well-deserved sleep.

“What an eventful day, I just hope we don’t wake up and it was all another dream,” Garidah laughed as he slammed down into the bed.

“Heh, good night, Garidah,” Roy said as he also mashed his head into a pillow. He was hoping that he would have another dream like the other one, anything helpful, but he did not get what he wanted. As Roy drifted off into sleep, he began to hear screaming, familiar screams. He opened his eyes to the sight of Zarrox on horseback murdering a young woman.

“Father!” Roy shouted, but Zarrox did not respond. It was another memory… A flashback of the first time he had ever been physically abused by his father. Roy stood, helplessly watching, as the younger version of himself was crying to Zarrox to stop.

“You have no input here, what have I told you about speaking out of line?” Zarrox screamed as he untied the sheath to Zephyr. Roy watched as Zarrox slammed his seven-year-old self with the sheath. The frail young boy fell off the back of the horse and lay still on the ground.

“Maybe that will teach you, you little disgrace!” Zarrox yelled. “Somebody put him on your horse and bring him back to camp! It is no good to keep him here if he is unconscious,” he yelled at the group of people that followed him. The town that they were in, Roy remembered it. It was the Golden Eagle Army’s first capital city, the city of Mendow. It was strange, though. He had never seen what Zarrox had done after he had been knocked out.

“I should probably watch closely…” Roy thought to himself, holding back tears.

The city was beautiful, the architecture was something that any other king would envy, and it was a huge settlement. The unfortunate fact that bodies lined the streets made it seem less amazing, but Roy knew how it would have been, and wished that Zarrox had left it alone.

“Now, burn it all!” Zarrox yelled as five catapults launched large, flaming balls of straw into the center of the town. “No army can match us!” A river of ambition flowed right out of his lungs. Roy’s eyes began to blur, and he began to feel dizzy.

“What is going on?” He asked himself, but he did not even hear himself talk. The dream was ending. His sight slowly faded, and the last thing he saw was Zarrox charging into the flaming square, then darkness.

* * *

“Roy!” Garidah shouted. “Wake up!” He was becoming impatient.

“I’m sorry!” Roy apologized as he shot up from the bed. He did not know that he was such a deep sleeper.

“It is fine, but we have to meet with Braiden, he said that he can take us to Christof and destroy him!” Garidah explained. He was very excited about meeting the legend, and even more excited that they had a chance of victory now.

“Where do we meet him?” Roy asked, curious as to the circumstances of the meeting.

“Apparently someplace out near the mountains for some reason…” Garidah said, confusion lingered in his voice. Roy had seen the mountains before, but it they loomed on the edge of the surrounding forests.

“That seems far, doesn’t it?” Roy grumbled. Garidah nodded, and walked over to the armoire. He opened it and pulled out his bow, quiver, and two swords.

“Let’s go,” Garidah shouted. Roy yawned and got out of bed. He equipped himself appropriately and zoomed out after Garidah. The streets were desolate. The battle had not made its way into the city, but it was still enough to give everybody a good scare. The two boys each made their way to the old stables, they were totally dilapidated and they smelled like dung.

“Oh, I want this horse!” Roy yelled as he saw a beautiful black horse that instantly trotted up to him.

“Yeah, take whichever horse fits you,” Garidah said as he mounted a great white steed. Roy’s horse had no problem with him trying to mount, but when he finally got on, the horse could sense the boy’s inexperience.

“Ok, so… How do I get it to move?” Roy asked with a bright grin. Garidah looked at him and shook his head despairingly.

“You know what, just ride with me. It would be considerably safer,” Garidah said.

“I like this horse though,” Roy complained.

“Oh fine you little bitch, we can us that horse,” Garidah said jokingly. Roy smiled and moved back to let Garidah get on. He jumped on and pulled the reigns. “Haaaa!” He yelled, and the horse shot off. Roy liked the wind flying through his hair; it was a feeling he only experienced with Zarrox in the past. Unfortunately, it was not nearly as pleasant with Zarrox.

“We have to hurry because I doubt somebody like Braiden would want to wait for us for too long,” Garidah said. Roy agreed, but he had no reason to express it verbally. The beautiful Terlinan Field filled Roy’s view as they made it out of the city gates. They rode all the way to the forest without any issues, but it would not last too long.

“Hold still!” Garidah shouted right as they jumped over a small stream and rode into the forest. A few seconds in, Garidah did a back flip off of the horse and shot two arrows into the bushes on both sides. Four Bimalonians fell, dead. Roy looked back to see Bimalonians following him. He was praying that the horse would continue running, or else he would be finished. Garidah was running after them, shooting every Bimalonian in sight. Roy looked back and was amazed to see Garidah running faster than the horse.

“Roy, move forward!” Garidah shouted as he made a high jump aimed at the horse. Roy moved up just enough to allow Garidah a safe place to mount. The archer landed right next to the horse and leapt on swiftly. He continued firing at the pursuers behind them as they moved.

“We will be there soon!” Garidah yelled forward as Roy struggled to control the horse. A few more minutes of chaos proceeded, but the Bimalonians were finished. Most had been shot, and the rest were tired out.

“You did it!” Roy shouted. Garidah struggled to make a smile, but it was not completely visible. Sweat cascaded down his face, and he was frustrated. “Hey! There he is!” Garidah looked forward and saw Braiden standing at a pass that led to the mountains. The horse was pulled to an abrupt stop right in front of Braiden.

“Welcome my friends, now we can get this over with,” Braiden said confidently.

[Heaven's Enforcer]

Roy's life is very...unfortunate...

[Vane Dayrose]

Chapter 6: Treacherous Path

“Well, first I should tell you why I brought you here,” Braiden said as he began to pace around. The two boys listened intently. “Beyond this large stone is a pathway that leads directly to Count Christof’s tower. I have a small house there so that we will have a place to rest. We must leave immediately.

“What?” Garidah and Roy shouted.

“We don’t even have supplies,” Garidah protested.

“I do, and I have even more at my shack. Christof isn’t going to give us another day, we have to finish him off today,” Braiden explained, completely serious.

“Garidah… We have no choice. Besides, this could be our only chance!” Roy said, trying to comfort his friend.

“I know… Well then what are we waiting for?” Garidah shouted. Roy jumped back at the sudden outburst. Braiden and Roy smiled.

“Well then let’s get this started!” Braiden yelled as he materialized his golden staff. “Wash away your doubts, because this will truly show you that I am Braiden Dayrose!” The boys watched with mouths wide-open as the staff extended to double length. Braiden let out a battle cry as he launched himself half a football field into the air. The staff in his hand twirled around and slammed into the gigantic rock that blocked the pass. The two boys ran into the trees as the rock exploded, launching stone in every direction.

“Wow!” Roy cried as Braiden landed. Roy and Garidah both knew now that this truly was Braiden Dayrose.

“The path is open now... I am sure that the Bimalonians know that we are here now, though, so we should hurry,” Braiden said telepathically to the two as he landed in his battle stance. His right arm held his staff behind his back in a slant with his left arm out in front of him. Roy and Garidah grabbed their weapons as well. “Now!” Braiden yelled as he ran into the foggy pass. Minutes passed, scenes passed, creatures passed, as they walked on the obscure looking trail.

“They come already, I can smell them,” Garidah whispered to Braiden as he strung an arrow. Braiden stopped and waited, as did Roy. A low screeching noise began to sound in the distance and grow ever closer.

“SHIT! We have to get the hell out of here now!” Braiden shouted as he grabbed the two confused boys and ran behind a nearby bush.

“What is i-,” Roy was cut off as Braiden covered his mouth with his hand.

“The Nothing… The most soulless creature in all existence…”

“What? How do you know that it is specifically that,” Garidah asked?

The screeching came closer.

“This thing has been hunting me and Vane ever since… we defeated Rein that day,” Braiden shuddered. It is a creature that only exists as Rein’s hatred for us. It in fact does not exist at all, it just is.”

“That makes no sen-,” Roy was cut off again.

The screeching stopped. Roy could see a dark figure standing in the clearing before them. The fog became thicker as it slowly glided towards them. None of the three could see it any longer.

“Should have known when I saw that fog… This is unavoidable,” Braiden whined as he slammed his fist into his forehead.

“What do we do?” Garidah asked, feeling as though the thing were right behind him, but not seeing it.

“Only thing we can do... HRAH!” yelled the Prodigy of Till as he extended his staff directly above Garidah’s head. A loud scream sounded as the fog parted to show the staff impaling a hooded figure into the rock behind.

“Argh!” Roy and Garidah simultaneously screamed as they fell to the ground in tears.

“Damn, it’s getting to them,” Braiden cursed as he stepped forward to defend them. “This thing itself neither lives nor exists, it is just the emotion of one who does exist. Which means it manipulates emotion to render its opponent defenseless. The more dark emotion you have the worse it is.”

Roy’s heart felt as if it had exploded as all of the worst moments of his life began to flash through his mind. Unimaginable physical and mental pain seized his very heart and soul and grinded them. Garidah was squirming around in pain, but his was only a fraction of Roy’s pain. Blood poured from their noses and eyes as they were swallowed by sheering agony. It was impossible not to scream; even Luce Grooja would have cried.

“I feel bad that it does not affect me, but I can make up for that by getting it away from you two,” Braiden thought as he took off up the mountain slope. The dark figure let out a hiss and immediately glided after him. Roy and Garidah’s pain slowly subsided.

“…Why did it only affect us?” Garidah questioned nobody as he wiped blood, seat, and tears off of his face. Roy did the same, but he fell still after. Garidah went over to him to find that he had passed out. Whether from blood loss or sheer trauma, he did not know.

Meanwhile, Braiden stood on the summit of the lowest mountain. It snowed mercilessly upon him and the fog was too thick to see anything. The Nothing could be directly in front of him and all he could tell from would be breath. The screeching came into earshot once again.

“Good, it took the bait,” Braiden sighed as he readied himself. “If I had told them that this thing was more powerful than Rein himself, they might have lost the will to struggle… Hell, maybe I have. Ironic that the creation is always stronger than the creator, no matter the means of creation. Unfortunately, this thing wasn’t meant to exist, it was an accident. Heh, I’m talking to myself, I must be nervous.”

He was cut off as a shadow of a hand grasped itself around his throat and pulled him forward. He choked and dropped his weapon in surprise. The pressure on his neck caused him to lose vision, and he could only hear a loud hissing. With massive effort, he slammed his leg into his captor and struggled free. He hit the ground and his vision came back to reveal The Nothing hovering inches from him. There were no eyes, only four fangs and hideous tongue that stuck out, dripping hot, black acid on the ground beside Braiden. It had breath, but no smell; it had no skin, yet it had texture; it had no body, but it had a shape. The young legend stared face to face with the most cold-blooded demon in all of Silronia.

“Bad place to die…” He sighed as he awaited his death. Struggling was no longer an option as the fear began to take hold. He had no hope left.

“Off him now!” Garidah’s voice came from the distance. A light arrow was strung on his bow, illuminating the area so that they all could see for the first time. The apex they were on was massive. Alas, there was nothing on it at all to hide behind or shield themselves with.

The creature paid no heed.

“Fine, take it the hard way, then,” the archer boy shouted as he released the light arrow directly into The Nothing’s cloaked figure. The creature let out a high-pitched scream as it fell to the ground and dissipated into the snow.

“Wonderful job! Now let’s get out of here before it comes back,” Braiden said, already standing next to Garidah. “Where’s Roy?”

“Down there, I figured it would be safe to leave him since you said that thing is only after you.”

“You fool! The Nothing is not our only concern; there are Bimalonians down there.”

“Fuck…” Garidah cursed; he had totally forgotten about any other enemies. “I’ll go get him, you try and hold that thing off,” Garidah yelled as he took off down the slope.

“Good, now let’s see if we can find out where you’re hiding.”

With his cat-like reflexes and horse-like speeds, Garidah made his way back to the bottom in no time. He landed in a tree right above where Roy’s body was situated. Two Bimalonians were on their way over to examine the loud noise they had heard when Braiden opened the pass.

“Cake,” Garidah grinned as he let two arrows into their heads and dropped down to grab Roy.

“It’s ok… I can walk on my own…” Roy struggled to say as he let go of Garidah and stood up.

“No, you are coming with me now,” Garidah ordered as he threw Roy on his back and began to sprint up the slope again. The familiar scenes of the mountain filled his view as he climbed up for the third time. Within a minute the summit was in view.

“Great timing, now help me!” Braiden shouted as he fended off The Nothing. The dark demon was slowly pushing him back with each passing second. They were near the edge!

“Hold on!” Garidah yelled back as he strung and fired three arrows. To everyone’s surprise, the demon flung off of Braiden and knocked away the arrows mid-flight. Roy screamed and dove ran far to the left as he began to feel the emotion stirring up again with each inch The Nothing moved. Garidah couldn’t do anything but watch as the creature wrapped its jointless arm around him like a snake and began to squeeze.

Braiden dashed forward to rescue Garidah, but a shadow came out of The Nothing’s back and pinned him to the ground.

“Get off of them!” a familiar voice came as a spear flew through the air and into the face of The Nothing. The demon hissed and flew back into the sky, holding its face.

Roy, Garidah, and Braiden all grinned at the same time to see a friendly face.

“Hope I wasn’t too late,” Luce smirked as he helped Garidah up.

“Luce! How did you get here?” Roy shouted as he ran over to the guard captain.

“Cihlae brought me here, and I am assuming he did the same with you,” Luce responded.

“But I saw Christof kill you…” Roy said, trying to remember what happened.

“The body shell technique. Upon contact, he made a duplicate of my body and transferred my soul to it, so he only killed an empty body. Then he sent me here to help you guys. Lo and behold help is what you need.”

Though a bright moment, they all turned their attention to the shadow in the sky. The Nothing rapidly began to grow, its body suspended in air. Braiden knew what was happening, and he gave a quick glance at each of his friends. The cloak was off… the real battle was about to begin.

[Heaven's Enforcer]

He has terrible luck

[Vane Dayrose]

Yep, next chapter will be up soon.

[Heaven's Enforcer]

Pfft, hurry