16Once upon a time, there existed a giant tree that was the source of all mana. A war, however, caused this tree to wither away, and a hero's life was sacrificed in order to take its place. Grieving over the loss, the goddess disappeared unto the heavens. The goddess left the angels with this edict:
"You must wake me for if I should sleep, the world shall be destroyed."
The angels bore the Chosen One, who headed towards the tower that reached up unto the heavens. And that marked the beginning of the regeneration of the world.
However, not everything is as it seems. The Hero, who was once favored by the Summon Spirit of the Great Kharlan Tree, betrayed his trust and sealed him away in the body of a parentless child to prevent further disruptions. The Desians continued to ravish the lands of both Sylvarant and T'ethe A'lla.
And now, many years later, will one group of misfits and idealists finally bring salvation to the world.
"Mithos, how could you!"
"Lord Ratatosk!"
A bright light and a small thud of a glass-like ball hitting the floor filled the room. Kratos picked up the orb, eyeing it curiously.
"Are you sure this is okay?"
Mithos nodded, face void of expression. "I will do anything to get my sister back. Anything."
A few hundred years later
Tenebrae has finally picked up Ratatosk's scent, and was able to reach the Cruxis Angel's headquarters where he met with Yuan. The man seemed surprised to find the Centurion, but quickly shook his head. If they are both here, then that meant their goals were be the same.
"Hello, Tenebrae. It's...nice…to see you again."
"Yes. It has been quite a while."
The two stared at each other some more before nodding their heads in acknowledgement, running off to find the red orb.
A siren blared as red lights flashed. Mithos' eyes narrowed.
"What's going on?"
One of his commanders approached him, panicked.
"Intruders! A man and a strange canine creature. We believe they are from the Renegade, Lord Mithos!"
"Yuan…! What do they want?"
Another man, this time a low ranking officer raced inside his room, breathing heavily.
"The core…" he took a breath, "the core has been taken!"
"What?!"
"By the time we got there, all the guards have been incapacitated and the core disappeared."
Mithos seethed.
"Damn it, Yuan!"
"What should we do?"
Mithos sighed, "Let him go. The man has a Rheiard, and now a Centurion. It'll be too late to catch up to him at this rate. Although this does set my plans back…No matter, I'll have to work with what I have. Hmph. I was right to absorb some of Ratatosk's power into the Tower of Slavation. Haha! You may have one this time, Yuan, but I still have the upper hand. No one will get in my way. I won't allow it." Mithos turned to the commander. "Prepare the next chosen."
The man saluted.
"Understood."
"Now…What will you do now, Yuan?"
Yuan safely parked the Rheiard in the garage of his airship base just as the rest of his subordinates came in on their own Rheiards. Tenebrae cradled his master's core in his tail, content to have it safe in his arms. Yuan stared at the Centurion with his own look of content before turning to his subordinates.
"The mission was a success, everyone! Great work." He then walked to a private room, where a few more of his subordinates worked. "Is it done yet?"
"Yes, all we need is the core and we can get started."
"Good. I thank you for all the help you've been."
"Oh no. I'm just doing my job, sir."
Yuan nodded and left the room to retire to his quarters. Tenebrae in tow.
"What is this thing you were discussing?"
"A device to hopefully reawaken Ratatosk from his core state. If we are going to defeat Mithos, we would need his strength."
Tenebrae nodded in understanding, joining the blue-haired man in his rest.
"Damn it. We were so close this time..."
Yuan was about to turn off the machine until Tenebrae cried out. Ratatosk's core was glowing. Albeit it was weak, but it was still glowing.
"Lord Ratatosk! Are you feeling alright?"
The core's glow pulsed, as if it was speaking.
"Hmm...as I thought this is no simple matter...But we also can't leave you in a core state..."
The core pulsed again.
"That...That might just work."
Yuan cut in, "What? What is he saying?"
"Lord Ratatosk is still weak. He can't hold on for long. However, leaving him in a core state is too dangerous, we never know when the Cruxis will return."
"And what's the plan?"
Tenbrae smirked, "He's going to throw the scent off of himself entirely. Lord Ratatosk will live as a human, and completely seal off his memories as a summon spirit."
Yuan's eyes widened.
"Is...Is that even possible?"
"But of course. All spirits have a human form. We just don't use it often."
"I...see."
The core glowed brightly, and in its place was a young boy, laying unconscious. Yuan gently picked up the child, turning to the wise Centurion.
"I'll take him to someplace safe. I'm assuming you will be watching him?"
Tenebrae merely gave a knowing smile.
"But of course."
And with that, the two left the base, to find a suitable home for the summon spirit-turned-child.
Okay, apologies. I uploaded a chapter that was actually unfinished. I didn't realize that until i was looking through the next chapter. Anyway, this is the actual one. Thank you for reading!