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The mountaintops of Purvama were as treacherous as any other place in Ivalice, with the added threat of the fact that being further up in the clouds offered much less oxygen into the lungs for climbers in waiting. Berniere had not planned to do any mountaineering upon the floating continent, but now was as good a time as always standing before three well-armed girls of preteen age somewhat trembling of the ordeal awaiting them. The skies were piercingly thin as they could barely see the top, even without the clouds which now skimmed beneath the continent. "A-a-are you sure this is it?" asked Belle. "Positive kupo," said Berniere. "Mount Ferneas is the one place where the Somnanti herb grows best, particularly in midsummer." "H-how do you know?" "I studied on it whilst we were at the clinic, now come on children donbe so frightened, you are heroes in training kupo!" "Y-yeah!" cried Lu. "We're not afraid, we have to, we gotta do this fer Mrs. Imrie!" "Right!" shouted Blum. "This is whut we've been trainin' for, we can't call it quits!" "Now that's what I like to hear kupo!" The moogle knight firmly patted upon their shoulders, seeing the forced smiles upon all three faces of mog, nu-mou and viera all trying their utmost best, but ultimately he knew that they were frightened. He had wanted to do this alone, but the girls insisted and knowing their tenacity in having come this far, there would be no stopping them whatsoever after this. He also had to admire the fact the girls were now dressed in much better armour than he had last seen them in, wearing pint-sized leather outfits underneath their usual outfits as they began their ascent. Berniere brought out a rope and tied it around all of their waists making certain that they would keep together, the four of them having outdone themselves with climbing gear that the moogle knight bought for them. Pitons, hooks, more rope than necessary but it was always good to be prepared especially concerning the lives of young children. He also had brought along enchanted mask guards that fed oxygen through strands of magicite, woven into the fabric like a breathing mask for higher altitudes. The knight went first climbing up as he urged the children to follow behind him. At first the rush of oxygen that was fed into them gave them a wild-eyed excitement but the adult stressed them to keep calm like true warriors as they began scaling upwards. In truth the mountain was not particularly gruelling to climb up thanks to its craggy features and large jutting outpoints. But that did little to soothe Berniere's spirit as he stressed: "Now keep close together kupo, and if any one of you feel as if you are slipping, you tell me okay?!" "Okay!" cried all three. "How far we gotta climb?" asked Blum. "Anywhere above ninety metres is where the Somnanti tends to grow. Now remember, be careful kupo."

Even for the knight the first dozen metres were an effort, his fingers smaller than a hume's and able to wedge into the cracks as he hoisted himself up further. The wind was light thankfully and did not even to buff them from the cliff, but the children had a more difficult time simply pulling themselves up. Every metre they climbed felt like three as they heaved further upwards, the adult moogle planting pitons straight into the cracks of the cliff to help them climb further up. Despite all their training with James several months back, they felt as if they had hit their true limit around thirty metres up as they weakly dug their fingers in best they could, the moogle knight looking down upon them fearfully asking: "Are you alright kupo?" "I can't do iiiiiiiiiit!" cried Belle. "Yes you can, you are a warrior!" "I'M JUST A BARD!" "A bard is a warrior in their own right, you have a strong heart and a good voice, you can do this!" "Come on Belle!" shouted Lu. "We can't let Mrs. Imrie down this is our chance to be big heroes!" "NnnnnnNNNEEEEEEEEEHHHhhhhhh...nnnhnnnnhhhh..." He allowed them to rest briefly against the cliff face before continuing the ascent, upwards they went, the skies of Purvama turning thinner as Berniere breathed though his mask harshly feeling little effect of the oxygen deprivation. Neither were the three students who had plenty enough problems with their own exhaustion, pushing themselves harder. Lu was the strongest out of all of them, gritting her teeth almost screaming internally with the effort she made as she pulled herself violently up onto another rocky outcrop. Blum had some difficulty but enough strength and agility to plant her feet solidly against the right footing. Belle took it the hardest being neither swift nor particularly strong and always lagging behind doing her best not to whine. But they could hear her efforts painful as they were to the point that around the forty-fifth metre of their ascent, Blum felt the tugging of the rope at her back indicating her friend was dragging behind. Berniere almost did not hear her for he suddenly felt a pulsating twitch within his brain as something terrifying swept over him. His body shook with fear staring upwards, a looming terror come upon him as the screams of children filled his ears, tightening his grip to whitened knuckles, a tightness in the chest he had felt very rarely in his life...but knew precisely what it was. "MISTER BERNIERE!" "Y-YES KUPO?!" "BELLE'S GETTIN' REALLY EXHAUSTED, WE SHOULD TURN BACK!" "NO!" cried Belle. "I...I-I CAN DO IT, I'LL BE FINE!" "YER DRAGGIN' BEHIND!" "I SAID I CAN DO IT! I...I'm not...nnngh..." "I know you wanna help but...we...we could-" "If you wanna leave her behind," said Lu, "then that's NOT gonna happen!" "I-I WAS NOT, I WOULDN'T-" "THEN WHAT BLUM!?"

During this argument, Berniere unfurled a hook with rope and swung it towards a jagged precipice far to the upper-left of where they stood, against the wall of rock as Blum explained herself. "I-i-i jus' wanted to rest a bit, Belle's gotta-" "I'M NOT WEAK!" shouted Belle. "I WANNA HELP, I KNOW I CAN'T FIGHT LIKE YOU BUT I'M NOT GONNA-" "I KNOW YER NOT, LISTEN TO ME! We're not givin' up, we just gotta...take it more slowly r-right? Mister Berniere whut do you think?!" "Brace yourself, kupo." "Huh?!" Berniere had latched his hook by a perfect swing wrapped round the edge of rock as he tugged it firmly towards himself, looking down at the other three. "We have to climb over to that rock, we have to go diagonal for this so the moment I move, you must follow me quickly." "B-b-but-" "DO NOT ARGUE, JUST DO WHAT I SAY!" "What's wrong?!" asked Lu. "JUST TRUST ME NOW-" "LOOK OUT!" That was his signal, the moogle launching himself off the cliff face with all three children torn away from the wall following him as the rope remained taut around their waists. Screaming with sudden fear in unison they found themselves hanging onto thin air by a thread, shrieking panicked as the shadow of something came roaring down the cliff face crushing against where they once had been. The boulder crackled and broke into smaller segments larger than a moogle as the booming sound of the rock faded past them on their right. Pendulant with fright the girls shook with shaking breaths and a pump of adrenaline that allowed them to climb earnestly upon the rope, desperately grappling for the rock precipice it had attached to. A brief respite as it revealed itself to be a larger shelf nestling into the rockface allowing them relief from exhaustion, sitting down within the shade as Berniere sighed deeply laying back. "Wh-what...what happened?" asked Belle. "Th-there...there wuz...a boulder," panted Lu. "C-could have...could have-" "It did not, kupo." The adult moogle looked sternly towards them as they took this moment to catch their breath back. "It could have, but it did not." "But...b-but how did you-that came outta nowhere!" "I was prepared." "But, you didn't even SEE it," added Blum, "an' it came so fast I-" "I. Was prepared. Alright children?" "A-alright...wow...yer...amazing." Lu allowed herself to worship him for a moment with adulating eyes of deep gratitude and thankfulness, trying not to squee at her hero who simply chuckled tiredly and rubbed her head. "Please don't do that, kupo." "S-sorry." "I know you admire me but...we are here for a mission, not to become a tour guide." "R-right...got it, mister Berniere s-sir." "Just, Berniere will do. We shall rest here a little bit before climbing up further." Allowing themselves a moment of respite, a good thirty minutes before standing up once more Blum had noted a higher crevice with a slightly tricky shot, requesting Berniere's permission to try and hookshot it. Pulling out an arrow from her quiver, she tied the rope around it and fired from her bow, cracking straight into the crevice perfectly, tugging it to make sure it stuck in. "Impressive kupo," said the moogle adult, "I did not realise you were an archer." "Mister James taught me," replied Blum, "I think it's good!" "Okay I will go first to test it, be ready."

The ascent from then on became much easier when they more began to pace themselves, scratching their fingers into the temptatious jagged walls of Mt. Ferneas. The air started to turn thin as their breathing barely changed, but the pressure and sharp cold winds started hurting their chests more often, ragged breaths as the girls winced clinging onto the cliff-face. Berniere kept an eye on them constantly with the occasional tug of the rope, but for the most part it was an uneventful yet fearsome climb upwards. The girls became more terrified the higher they went, fingers turning white against the rock. It was perhaps another hour, after resting once again on another precipice the four had to squeeze themselves together onto for space, before they managed to reach the higher altitudes. A good ninety-one metres up from where they started from, they dared not look down for fear of vertigo overcoming them. A large plateau, not the top of the mountain itself, but a very wide area that allowed plenty of flora to grow in a small grassy field that almost felt too relaxing to be safe in. The grass was wonderfully cool underneath their throbbing feet, arching from the climb as relief swept over them, but Berniere softly began to undo the ropes from around their waists as Belle asked desperately: "Is this it?!" "Yes kupo," replied Berniere, "I am certain the Somnanti grows here, they say to look for a grassy plateau ninety metres or above Purvaman level." "Dontcha mean sea level?" said Lu. "Well...sea level is currently seventeen-thousand feet below us, Lu." "Oh...o-o-oh...right, forgot." "THERE!" Blum jumped forwards pointing towards a perfect little clump of flowering blossoms, almost resembling that of dandelion stalks coloured a puffy soft pink. They were not individual stalks but rather a single fuzzy ball on each stem that reminded the girls of cherry peach, the viera rushing forwards excitably before Berniere grabbed her by the scruff of her neck. "NO!" "Wh-whut are you-" "There is something here, kupo." "Wha-naw there isn't!" "There is...I felt it." "Mister Berniere, there ain't nothing here!" "LISTEN! You must stick together and prepare yourselves, this place is not safe for a reason." "Well let's just grab it and go!" cried Lu. "We gotta get back to Mrs. Imrie soon as possibl-" "GET DOWN!" Slapping all three of them down to the ground, the girls shrieked from the sudden surprise but felt nothing come upon then. A minute or two passed, still nothing as Blum looked up nervously around her before looking frustrated at the clear sky and smooth grass all around them. "...I don' see anythi-" A roaring gust of wind soared screeching past their heads. A monster's cry far more piercing than that of the strike of wind across the mountain plateau, the grass whistling with fear before its master of the skies. A dragon of greyish features at least nine feet tall, two wings to replace its front arms with two smaller wings sprouting from its long reptile neck flapping individually and thick deadly claws from its legs underneath. Its eyes had been covered by some sort of blindfold strapped down over its snout, which ended in a tall hooked nose like a bat. "D-D-DRAGON!" cried Blum. "IT'S A WYVERN YOU DUMMY!" shouted Lu. "I DON' CARE WHUT IT IS IT'S A MONSTER AN' IT'S HUGE!" "PREPARE YOURSELF KUPO!" Berniere brought out his sword ready to fight as the monster croaked a curious snarl towards them, flapping its wings steadily to remain aloft before the intruders which gave it a cloak of light mist around its body. Steam pulsated from its back, an odd number of vented holes running down its spine and neck as it shrieked with menace as Belle panicked: "Wh-wh-what do we do?!" "Bring yourselves together and do not leave my side, whatever happens you MUST stay close, we all fight together!" "What IS it?!" "An aeronite. It must have escaped from the Lhusu Mines, normally they live underground but this one must have found a nice place." "How we gonna fight it?!" asked Blum. "Belle, do you know how to quicken our steps kupo?" "A-ah huh?!" nodded the bard gently. "Good, sing that to us, give us a nice quickstep, Blum, you are the only one who can fight at long range so try to bring it down a bit, aim for the wings." "Got it!" said the archer. "Lu...stand by me kupo. You and me, we are knights, we will work best together." "A-a-alright."

The younger mog knight stood by her idol, waiting for the first attack as the nu-mou bard began to sing a song of cheer wavering in her throat, fear slightly distorting her voice but slowly she began to strengthen. The wyvern did not approve of this and cried with fury before charging towards the four of them. "PROTECT THE BARD! LU, FOLLOW MY BLADE!" The older knight commanded them as Blum fired an arrow straight towards the monster's wings trying to send it off-course, but missed and ended up piercing the neck barely by an inch of its thick skin. Both Lu and Berniere stood readying themselves to strike, roaring together before slicing at the smaller wings when it bent low to attack. The assault by two small knights was enough to deter it, stopping the aeronite in its tracks as it flapped backwards to swipe viciously with its clawed feet. Berniere guarded against the slashing feet and pushed Lu back safely, receiving a scratch across his forehead that bled neatly. The monster flapped down with a mighty burst of steam from its back pushing it down to the grass plateau which crumbled slightly, crackling beneath its claws. The moogle rushed forth soon as it touched down slashing across the gut, piercing halfway into the solid armour as it screeched before slapping Berniere away with its powerful wings. Lu jumped over him and screamed with potent fury driving her sword into the wound that he made, tearing it open slightly more as it screeched in pain trying to fly away upwards. The young moogle panicked and tried to pull her sword out but found it dug in too deep, hanging on for dear life as she cried towards the ground. Blum made her shot, aiming two arrows at the same time towards its slower-flapping wings with a streaking shot that tore into the left one as it began to descend shrieking with pain. Once it was low enough it tried to swoop down upon the three, just in time for Belle to complete her song as her voice grew strength, pealing at the top of her range an enlightening piece that brought power to their feet. Berniere felt lighter than ever, hopping quickly towards the creature as he striked it head-on with an almost-headbutting motion. Driving the sword straight into its eye, the aeronite spun screaming as he twisted the blade further in. Trapped inside its hidden socket, the thin sword of the moogle knight destroyed its left eye as it flapped violently fast towards the ground giving time for Lu to pull out her sword and stand back on two feet. Blum fired towards the right wing to try and ground it, but it was flapping so fast she kept missing it and she dared not try to lasso it with the rope knowing its full strength. The wyvern managed to shake Berniere off before it began to show its true power, shuddering an icy cold breath as the moogle cried: "RUN, UNDERNEATH KUPO!"

Grabbing the children by their hands he rushed forwards straight under the wyvern as it poured forth a violent Blizzaga spell, crying from its throat a crystalline fury that swept straight across the plateau. Ice shattered with brilliant white crystals encasing the grass itself, moist dewdrops forever imprisoned solid as the ice grew to the size of a hume before crackling to a thousand diamond splinters. The clan had kept well away from its range on the opposite side as Berniere ordered: "Belle, grab those herbs but do it carefully." "O-okay!" "Blum, quickly throw a rope over to that rock." "Wh-why?!" "JUST DO IT KUPO!" Without another word she swung out her rope and lasso'd it nicely around a steady stalagmite nestled against the mountaincliff that rose above them, whilst Belle quickly gathered up as much of the Somnanti herbs as she could, carefully extracting it from the cold fertile soil. As soon as they were done, Berniere began tying up the rope once again between their waists as the monster finished its icy breath, before it spun round violently fast with wings aflutter in the air causing a sudden whirlwind upon itself. Screeching with mastery over the very air itself, the gusts of steam pulsated from its neck and back causing a powerful blast of Aeroga to come tearing across their bodies. Howling winds clawed at their armour, ripping the grass partially from their very roots as the girls screamed sharply against the storm that robbed their voices, lost in the maelstrom. Berniere let the rope tighten around all of them, well-secured and unable to be lost from the mountaintop as they held on blindly until the monster was done screeching its mistral. Berniere wasted no time and slice off the rope, cutting them free from the rock but also cutting the rope between him and Blum only causing the clan to be split up into two pairs. The viera archer with her nu-mou bard, and the two moogles stuck together. "Wh-what are you doing?!" cried Lu. "Just trust me," he said, "dodge left when I tell you to! Belle, sing your song of power and charge us up, Blum, when I tell you to fire, shoot straight for the holes in its neck where the steam is coming from." "Wha-" "NOW KUPO!" Both knights hopped gracefully to the left as a burning storm washed over where they had been, vomited up from the monster's lungs as a foul black mist of purple aura cloistering around the rock behind them. The rock began to deteriorate slightly, partially-acidic substances trying to devour from the aeronite's poison breath forced up from its stomach before the two moogles rushed forwards in unison. In the midst of all this, Belle made a thumping beat with her foot and shakily began a song amidst the sound and fury of battle, boosting up their strength. She still did not understand how she had this ability but it worked clearly as Blum beside her felt a sudden surge of strength through her muscles, her eyes focused potently with determination waiting for her signal. As both Lu and Berniere charged forwards the song reached their ears, pulsating in their arms as swords turned straight, twisted by the hand slightly to catch the light in such a way as to partially blind the aeronite before their brutal offensive. Striking upwards at the bottom of its neck, their swords sliced perfectly straight towards its chin cracking it high upwards with Berniere roaring: "BLUM, FIRE!" "EAT THIS!"

Straight-firing her shot, the first arrow she planted perfectly straight into one of three holes inside its neck, locked firmly within as the hole sucked in hard struggling to breathe through its blockage. Pulsating like the ventricle of a heart, the monster croaked and squawked with frustration as Blum fired her next shot then a third, plugging one side of the neck entirely before it finally turned towards the archer. She tried to fire a fourth shot, but the aeronite charged with a sudden swooping strike, clawing at her face and knocking the bow from her hands. Blum screamed as her cheek was clawed deep, tearing through her skin as blood poured down her arm crying harder before the dragon swiped at them both with its wings. Belle found herself being thrown towards the cliff's edge, shrieking for help as she stumbled and rolled hard on the ground being caught up by the rope, but Blum fell further away than her and found herself almost dangling off the ledge. "H-HELP, HELP ME I'M SLIPPING!" "BLUM HOLD ON!" In a desperate move without thinking the bard grabbed out her hand towards Blum but did not think to realise that she lacked the strength to pul her back in as she found herself slowly dragged downwards, pulling towards the edge. She tried to hold on but her grip was weak, and the rope pulled her closer towards the edge as the viera dangled over thin air with ninety-one metres to fall. "BEEEEEEEEEELLE!" "I'M TRYING, JUST...PLEASE, HOLD ON!" She tried her best, but could do nothing to strengthen herself, even with her song of power from previous she lacked the muscle to pull her friend back up and it almost looked as if both would fall together. But from the side there came hope, a moogle's hands grasped tightly around the rope to pull Blum straight back up as Berniere dug his feet into the dirt, groaning as Lu helped out in turn. Once the archer was back on both feet, panting shakily with frightful relief, they turned back towards the wyvern whose neck was now torn with bloodied streaks and choking violently with steam buildup inside of it. Even more strange was the fact the monster had more problems keeping its own feet on the ground rather than anything else, the lack of steam pressure pushing it down making its incredibly light body float upwards as it struggled hard. Flapping furiously to keep itself down low, there came the perfect chance for the team to strike as both Lu and Berniere charged forwards with swords crossed together. Striking to the very heart of the beast, they swung in unison before lancing their blades to cross straight inside beneath the wyvern's skin tearing inside its flesh. The monster screamed gasping harsh pains throughout its body spasming violently as it tried to launch itself away from them feeling itself turn weak. Blood spewed from its belly slathering upon both moogle's heads as they shut their eyes tight, as the dragon uplifted itself off from the twin blades gasping to fly upwards. Fading away into the skies above it soon disappeared from their vision, leaving only its blood behind thinly on the grass now stained. "We...we did it?" asked Blum cautiously. "D-did...did we just-" whispered Lu, "fight that...thing?" "You did, kupo."

Berniere smiled down at the three children with a proud pat on Lu's shoulder. "You've done well Cupid Mark Crusaders, hmhmhaha...but we are not done yet." "H-huh?!" "Keep your ropes tied about you. Belle, Blum, stand there. Lu, come here with me kupo." "Wh-why?!" He said nothing but gave a stern look indicating she should not ask questions as she shuffled her way over towards him. Panting a deep sigh of relief thinking the battle was now over, Belle began to play nurse as she healed Blum's wounds, her face scarred rather unsightly with a nasty gash on the left cheek, wincing sharply upon being touched. "O-OW THAT'S SORE!" "S-sorry!" "S'okay...thanks. Um...mister Berniere, why are we standin' here? Did we win? We got the herbs an' everythin'!" "True," said the moogle knight, "but we still have to make our way off this mountaintop." "Well...let's just climb back down then-NNNGH!" "No...there is another way." The adult said this peering towards the sky coldly as he sheathed his blade in preparation, grabbing Lu by the shoulder firmly to stand beside him. The wind stopped flowing briefly over the grass for but a moment as if holding its breath. No one moved an inch before the great shadow came upon them. The wyvern had fallen from the greatest height upon them with one suicidal strike, screaming its vengeance before breaking its skull ruthlessly upon the grass plateau to shatter the very ground underneath as if an earthquake had come through. The girls screamed with fright as Berniere held tightly onto the young moogle, seeing the ground crumbling violently from the hard impact of the aeronite's self-inflicted death cracking its spinal column. Its head caved in with one final shriek, blood pouring across its body now compressed into itself causing the spine to snap ruthlessly in half, bone and bristle flying across the grass before bleeding deep into the earth. The steam it had left inside its body pulsated out into one chaotic implosion that bent the ground beneath until the final breaking point of the earth when the very ground itself split in half towards an infinitely dark abyss. The four watched in sheer horror as the mountain swallowed them, down into the deep below their own feet. Berniere did not scream, but instead he only prayed to whatever god was now watching him. Or rather, one whose thoughts would never leave him, no matter how much he wished he could forget.

---

On the night before James and Berniere departed for their separate missions, the moon hung clear as day above the floating continent of Purvama as a bishop walked through its streets searching for his brother. The latest in his series of pub crawls in his "sszhcouting for localesszh to sszhwindle from", the monk had disappeared somewhere into the lower quarters as Fayne tried to remember what was the name of the pub he said he would meet him at. He wished Baldwin had wrote it down but he appeared to be in such a hurry to get there that he had not left a simple note. "If I find another hume wrapped round hisszh arm I ssszhwear to godssszh...what wasszh it already, the Wolf and Mu? The Wu and Wyvern? Agh, I'll remember it when I sszhee it." The cobblestones were oddly bumpy on his false foot, hobbling gently and being thankful most people were not out wandering amidst, and when he did meet anyone they were oddly respectful. One of the benefits of being a bishop was that he could instil a religious sense of guilt into almost anyone he could see by a disapproving look, warding people away from a potential crime by their own sense of humility. It worked more often than he would think as his staff clacked on the stone streets, making his third pass around the same block of taverns hoping to hear Baldwin's voice. "S-S-STOP IT!" A woman's voice cried out from the streets near him as he turned fast almost unbalancing himself off his foot with a simple stagger. He thought he heard someone strangely familiar as he cautiously approached towards the south end. "Please, p-please I'm sorry, I never meant to, I-i didn't plan this!" "That...Dahlia?" Fayne began to hobble quietly, stepping forth to see it was indeed his own friend simply cowering against the wall. He dared not approach until seeing who her assailant was which revealed itself to be another nu-mou in mage clothing. A dark purple robe over her brown fur except for two white streaks crossing over each eyelid. Her staff was a traditional oaken warp, twisted into a heavy club with a blue jewel fit snugly into the top of it, as she loomed over Dahlia by a good few inches. "I told you, if anything else, you NEVER come see me again." "I didn't mean to!" cried Dahlia. "I-i just, I'm here with my friends, w-we're just here on a mission I had no idea about-" "Friends? Where are they?" "I-i...I don't know!" "Pathetic. You don't even deserve imaginary friends after what you did." "IT WASN'T MY FAULT JEANE!" "Tell that to your parents. Or maybe...I should." The one known as Jeane grinned cruelly as the white mage pushed herself up against the wall when she approached, the two almost touching noses as Orosco looked away fearfully flinching. "P-p-please...don't." "You really think you have any right to tell ME what to do Dahlia?" "I-i...I'm begging you." "You begged me plenty enough before, I think your allowance is up. All I asked..." She slammed her fist into the wall beside Dahlia's head, tears down her cheeks. "The ONE thing I asked you to do is to never come find me again...and look where you are...you just can't stay away from me, can you?" "I didn't...I didn't know you'd be here!" "Are you that fucking stupid?" Her fist flew across Dahlia's face striking her in the cheek as she yelped, her greyish fur bruising underneath. "I always follow wherever the cards may lead me, you KNOW that." "Pleaaaaase...Jeane s-stop it..." "Or what?"

Jeane grabbed her by the throat firmly, not choking but enough to prove that she could. "What can YOU do to me you little bitch? I let you walk away, I let you go ruin your own life without me having to do it for you after what you did." "Y-y-you didn't let me walk y-you threw me out!" "You owe me everything, everything I did for you to keep you safe and THIS is how you repay me?! I thought you would be happy with me, I saved you from that worthless backwater village and they would have gladly been much worse upon you...do you know why I'm not afraid of you, even after your sin?" "N-n-n...no, I-" "Because you're weak. You cannot even control it enough to threaten me, you committed one fluke and so you paid with blood...HIS blood, they hounded after you calling you a traitorous bitch and here I thought I could pity you, help you...when all I see before me is a constant dead weight." Proving her point she hurled Dahlia to the ground as her bifocals flew from her face, trying to crawl away until the staff's blunt end stomped down upon her right ear fiercely, the black stone piercing glinting in the moonlight as she screamed with agony. "AAAAAAAH!" "You still wear that stupid thing? Even after all you've done for it?" "J-JEAAANE, STOP IT PLEAAAASE!" "Why? Because you don't deserve this?! You KNOW what you did, you come here to mock me knowing I'd be in this tournament after you RUINED the last one for me!" "IT WASN'T MY FAULT, Y-YOU JUST-" "I just WHAT!?" "......please...I'll leave...I'll leave, I'm...I'm sorry, I never wanted to come here, b-but my friends-" "NO ONE wants you Dahlia, I wanted you before and you could not even give me peace, you ruined my life, you are worth NOTHING to anyone! I should have left you to die back in that village to pay for what you've DONE!" "A-AAAAAAAH! PLEAAASE! I'M SO-ORRRYYYYYY!" The staff twisted slightly turning her ear a little too harshly into the dirt as she sobbed begging her to stop, tears streaking from her eyes blinking until a light came shining out from the darkness. A white pulse of purity that blasted Jeane straight into the stomach, forcing her back with a heaving groan at the sudden gutblow of magic. "WH-...what the?!" "...get...away from her." Stepping forwards from the darkness was the bishop, staff resonating with the light of Faram's holy will. Before he even said anything else, he bent down to offer a hand to Dahlia as she carefully got up, putting her bifocals back on and nursing her bruised ear before she hugged him tightly, shivering as he wrapped an arm around her safely as the dark-cloaked nu-mou snarled at them. "Hm. So the rumours were true, you did show your face around here." "Jeane Gillesszhpie," murmured Fayne. "I remember you. I did not care for you." "The feeling is mutual, lizard." "Have you run out of children to bully, that you now attack your own kin?" "This has nothing to do with you Smithee. Leave now." "No one...hurts my friend with impunity." "Friend? Hmhmhmhm...ohhhh good, now you have the burden." "Burden?" "You don't even know what she is capable of, or what she COULD be capable of if she wasn't such an inferior little cunt. You claim to be some grand battler against the Dark and you can't even see what sin has been committed underneath your own very eyes within her." "Get away from her NOW!"

He readied himself with another spell just in case, the light shining up before him luminous upon the street, but Jeanne did not even move simply tapping her staff promptly on the cobblestones smiling. "You will not even take a warning?" "YOU are a vile harlot and I will not let your wordsszh creep into my ear for I know they are POISSZHON!" "Well...if that's the case," said Jeanne, "then you and me will face each other on the battlefield. The finale, or semi-finals rather are up next. I hope the first few rounds haven't exhausted your deck." "I am more than ready to fight you in my domain." "Hmm...we'll see who's the real snake...lizard. I just hope she doesn't ruin you in turn like she did me." Jeane walked away no worse for wear as her cloak swept behind her, leaving Dahlia shaking on the edge of tears as Fayne subdued the spell from his staff. The streets were empty still and for a moment they felt as if they were the only ones left within the city. "Are you alright?" "Th-th...th-thank you..." "Forgive me for not acting earlier I...Holy-tends to...need moments to charge up." "You...you came, that's all that matters." "How do you know Jeane?" "We...sh-she...we're old friends." The bishop raised his eyebrow with alacrity. "Friend? If that...is-how a friend would treat you, I would hate to know your enemy." "B-but...she is. She just wanted what was best for me." "By asszhaulting you?! Harming you openly in public, what kind of friend would do that!?" "Y-you don't know! You don't know what...wh-what she used to be like." "I know very well what Jeane isszh like Dahlia, I fought with her sszheveral timesszh in previousszh tournamentsszh and I have alwaysszh known her to be a vile loathsszhome bitch. You have nothing to give to her." "I...I-i owe her a lot of things." "Like what?" The nu-mou turned silent as she looked away fearfully, gasping hot tears back into her throat. "I-i...I cannot say...f-forgive me Fayne." "A ghost...of your passzht?" "Yes...that's all I'll say." "Dahlia. You can trusszht me. I am your friend, I-...isszh thisszh...why you hate Triple Triad sszho much?" She nodded shamefully as he pulled her closer, healing with a spell of Cura from his hand to wash over her face soothingly, a soft cool sensation like leaves of morning dew melting into her bruises. "Forgive me. I never knew, I...if I had known that you knew Jeane Gillesszhpie I would never have talked on it with you." "You wouldn't have known...I didn't want to come to Bhujerba, I knew...about the tournament, that she would be here but w-we were all going that way." "Why did you not-" "I DIDN'T WANT TO REMEMBER!" she screamed with tears flowing still. "I DON'T WANT TO...remember all the pain she...gave me, she blamed me for everything, she helped me, she helped me escape from an awful village an' all I did was ruin her chances of being the champion, she came home an' she lost the big tournament an' she beat me for it!" "What?!" "It wasn't my fault, but she took it out on me! Sh-she beat me and locked me in my room sh-she never did that to me but then sh-she...she changed...she couldn't..." A light came on in Fayne's head thinking back as he gazed upon the stars saying: "I remember that...four yearsszh ago, the Grand Tournament. Sszhe losszht with a bad medium deck." "She...I don't know why she lost, sh-she said that...all the people in the tournament were amateurs, she could beat them with an easier deck...b-but she...I know what she did, she sold her better cards because she-...she wanted more money, she blamed it on me b-because she had to pay for me BUT I HAD A JOB, I WAS PAYING MY WAY TOO, IT WASN'T MY FAULT FAYNE! Sh-she was greedy, she wanted more money sh-sh-she...a-a-a-ah!" Dahlia broke down once more weeping into Fayne's chest as he pulled her close, rocking her gently. "That isszh no reasszhon for her to blame you...you are not to blame Dahlia...sszhe isszh a vile woman, I will not have her hurt you, or hold dominion over you thinking that anything isszh your fault." "Sh-sh-she...saved my life...I owe everything to her...I didn't mean to ruin her-" "You did NOT ruin her, sszhe ruined hersszhelf!" "I'm sorry." Her tears stopped flowing but her voice suddenly went to a deep fugue before she looked up. "I...I ruin everything. I...ruined her, I blame myself...for what happened to you. I...should never have-I should have let myself go with them sooner before-" "No."

Fayne pulled her away to stare at her features with a solemn cold look, eyes sharply piercing into her soul. "Don't ever repeat that to me again." "What?" "I do not blame you. They tortured me, not you, I will NOT have their torture continue even after their death by watching you hurt your...self, with guilt. You are not to blame Dahlia." "But I-" "NO! Stop. Blaming. Yourself. We knew that when we joined with our clan that we would not guarantee remaining unharmed throughout all of...this." "Our...clan?" "For the time being...possibly." "Are you...um...a-are you two still going to...leave because of-" "I would rather not debate on the matter when dealing with...certain pain. For now I am with you, though if I am...honest, I would not leave if I could...but Baldwin-" "Why do you have to follow him? Why not HE just leave and you-" "I will NOT leave my brother for whatever reasszhon!" demanded Fayne. "I would never leave him, the only thing we have in thisszh world are each other Dahlia, I will not leave my brother!" "I-i'm sorry, I'm sorry I-...I'm so stupid...I knew not to come here and I did, I should never have joined you I shouldn't...I shouldn't be with anyone I don't deserve friends like you." "Dahlia." He brought a hand underneath her cheek and smiled warmly. "You are the mosszht intelligent, kindesszht persszhon I have ever known, even moresszho in our group. Do not sszhay sszhuch thingsszh...I...I know that you and my brother have problemsszh but-" "I-i...I should have realised he wanted me...that way." "He sszhould have been more honesszht, he'sszh a bloody idiot, don't take my brother asszh intelligent." "R-really?" "My brother can think fasszhter than half the besszhtiary of my deck, but he isszh...mosszht definitely not the brightesszht of our group." She tried to smile but her emotions failed her, bitterly chewing the inside of her cheeks turning stressful as the bishop gently walked with her. "I will not...ask about you and Jeane...I-respect your right. But...I will never let anyone tell you that you are worthlesszh, not to any of my friendsszh." "...thank you. And...th-thank you for...not being angry with me." "I have no right to be angry at you even if I wanted to. If anything I have more anger towardsszh my brother than you." "Hmhm...I...suppose so. Can I...ask something?" "You may." "Why is...where did Baldwin hear such...things about...those like James?" A bitter look swept over Fayne as he turned away partly with shame. He rolled his jaw slightly as if forming to articulate before awkwardly sighing to compose his answer. "I...do not know. I...do not sszhare hisszh opinion." "Then why not confront him?" "I do not want to causszhe all thisszh again, not after Jamesszh and him have managed to repair their friendsszhip a lot more after our time on the sszhip." "Really? Did they...agree on something?" "Indeed, and I am glad that they are trying sszho I will not confront them for fear of that topic rearing itsszh ugly head." "That's...good." As much as Dahlia saw that Fayne did not want to go against his brother, she could not help but bring about her biggest fear of him. "It's just that you...your brother is causing such rifts within this group we were all getting along so well!" "I know," replied the cleric. "I-i know that, pleasszhe don't...do not be angry with him, he isszh not malisszhiousszh. He isszh jusszht...an idiot." "Hmhm...i-if you say so. You almost like you're his carer." "Hah! I practically am, consszhidering he isszh currently in pub number five on hisszh latesszht bar crawl." "Really?!" "Come, let'sszh go find him and I'll buy you whatever you wisszh to help you forget thisszh night." "A-alright....hehehee, thank you Fayne." The two headed off with lighter spirits towards the nearest tavern to try and nurse her wounds with some fresh alcohol, seeing the night was still young having more than enough time to forget on what happened. Dahlia hugged Fayne closer who decided to look at least proud and handsome as a fine gentleman escorting his friend along the streets, hoping that Baldwin did not have ideas. And if he ever did, he would have another Dispel ready for him to ruin his drunken night.

---

Somewhere beneath the continent of Purvama, on the very same day that Berniere was currently scaling Mt. Ferneas, two scaled creatures stood staring before a grand ornately-carved ruin. A whitish-grey marble set of two doors at least four times taller than them, with four pillars on either side now laying in ruins, yet the door was well-preserved sunk into the caveside with the sky still seen from behind. The docked ship next to the entrance waited peacefully for the return of its captain Kruz, who said simply: "The Cradle of Scions. Here lies a union between two scions, light an' darkness both representin' the element of Soul. One brief unfortunate union which resulted in sumthin' that lies within...the Song of Souls." The door itself showed that there were two symbols clasped eternally within light and darkness itself, a convalescent energy softly glowing from its grooved lines as FG turned slowly towards Kruz, currently not wearing his captain's cloak. "Aaaand someone asked you to get this?" "Yep, someone pretty special." "Who exactly?" "That information I cannot say." "Sooo what do I do?" "Just follow my lead...an' follow yer heart. Seriously I can't prepare you fer what comes next James, you just have to trust yer instincts. I know you'll get through this." "...why are you being so secretive all of a sudden?" "Look I don' make the rules here, it's some spooky temple so just go with it." "Alright. You really couldn't have brought more people to this?" "I need YOU, James. I need one other person, the contractor specified that you needed TWO people fer this. An' I trust you the most." "Alright, this some kinda co-op thing? How do we open it?" "This." The kremling dug into a satchel that he wore at the base of his tail, a tailbag as it were for small items as he brought out a strange monochrome-looking crystal, glinting black and white. He stepped forwards raising it up towards the centre of the door, the light shining from it in such a way it pulsated from within as the door slowly reacted. Twice the symbols glowed, black and white before opening, a mighty turn of gears from within pulling the doors back into the wall groaning with eternal effort. It was as if they had awakened a dragon from a thousand years' sleep, a musty air pulsing like the breath of gods from within. "Let's go." Kruz walked in first without hesitation as the raptor followed him, the door remaining open for the time being until it sensed the presence of its crystal "key" passing through. Once they were past fully over the threshold, the groaning ancients closed it once more, trapping them into darkness for but a brief instant. Then they saw the central hall, a perfectly square room large enough to house an audience, almost like that of a colosseum with seated steps facing towards a single podium. On the podium was a book kept eternally open upon two pages. Much to James' surprise, the entire thing was in English as he walked up to it. Kruz looked at it just as amazed gasping with a sense of disturbance upon him asking: "Wh-...why is...why is it in my language?" "Huh?!" "I...this is my language, the Kremling language." "English is your language?" "What?! No, that's not what it's called." "This is English man right here." "I dunno what yer talkin' about, that's not English." "But how is i-" "Wait wait wait, this is some kinda test right? Some kinda magic thing it knows what language we speak so just go with it." "...um...ooookay, you wanna read it or shall I?" "You try...mister translator." James rolled his eyes and began to read the first line.

"What's wrong?" asked Kruz. "I...that's what it says," replied FG. "Um...what DOES it say to you?" "Huh?" "You didn't tell me what it said." "What, yes I did!" "No you didn't, you just stood there mouthing the words, come on I'm not stupid!" "No I didn't, I read the fucking thing!" "Do it again then." "Okay you know what YOU read it, let's hear it from you." "Alright fine." Kruz began to read the first line.

"Well?" asked FG. "Wh-what?!" said Kruz. "You did the same thing you just accused me of doing!" "Wha-no I didn't!" "Oh sure, just stand there mouthing like a dumb shit, or you trying to be all quiet and not disturb the ancient realm?" "I read out those words, I swear to gods I did." "Well I did too!" "...try readin' the first line at least." James again tried to read the first line, but this time more slowly.

"I heard nothing," said Kruz. "Wha-bullshit, I said it!" "Wait, wait...there's gotta be a trick places like these always got some trick to them, let's both read it at the same time." "Fiiiiine." Both of them stood together and began reading the book carefully side by side. "Once upon an age, there were two scions who stood in the court of Souls. Igeyorhm the Martyr and Shemhazai the Whisperer. Both lived in the same existence of the same room but not in the same moment, yet they both lived a different life. Bound by space yet separated by time, the Martyr's court was filled with peace and solitude for the souls of the good and charitable, whilst the Whisperer's court laid rampant with blood and debauchery amongst the unkind and selfish. One day, a soul came forth whose heart was both pure and good, yet corrupted by evil. Both Igeyorhm and Shemhazai saw him exist, but they had never known the other existed until that moment as the soul fluctuated between the heavenly foyer and the hellish bastion. The soul was too kind to the point that it sickened Shemhazai, whilst Igeyorhm could not live to see one so steeped in blood to stain his court. An unholy union was then made between them, but only once would they ever commit. To rend apart the very soul in half to become two, and so a song they composed would bring down this unchained spirit. A most grave incalculable suffering for his hypocrisy of existence. " The two stared at each other awkwardly as they heard each other perfectly, slightly confused as they saw the podium sink into the ground along with its book. Rumbling as stone grinded against the floor, the book disappeared into a large perfectly square hole revealing the exact same room they were now in, except being viewed from one of the side walls. James saw himself peering in, as well as all his movements copied, but without Kruz standing by him turning rather paranoid by the minute. "Um...Kruz, I can't see-...Kruz? K-kruz?" But there was no Kruz. From the moment he looked up he was now completely alone without a trace. Yet footprints still remained in the dirt where his friend had once stood heading nowhere else from the spot beside him. "K-kruz don't fuck with me now come on, this is serious! Kruz?! KRUZ! ...shit...did that book do this, what was it...both live in the same room but not the same time? Alright, just...weird magic shit okay um...what now, book?" Having an idea, he stuck his hand into the square hole trying to guess where the other side of it was coming from. Looking around the room he saw nothing of the sort, no hand appearing from the walls but he reasoned possibly that it was fake and, realising the hole was big enough to jump into, he saw no other way forwards before he jumped his way in. Darkness overwhelmed him the moment he passed through, and soon he felt himself land safely upon a dirt-sodden floor of a pitch-black cavern.

Reaching out carefully, his arms pressed against both sides of the wall slowly making his way forwards guided by the turning passage. No sound was made, no creatures skittered about within this place, long abandoned by both man and god as his tail cautiously swished back and forth, nervous to not speak for fear of silence being his only guardian against what lied within. His thoughts began to run frought with anxiety, hurrying questions as he picked up the pace unconsciously rushing forwards, wanting to escape as if running from the sound of his own voice. Where did he go?! Did I do this right, oh please tell me I did not fuck this up, he can't have gone away from me, he can't...I can't lose him like this, not now, not while I still have this...no, just, stop you're thinking too hard you're here now, you just have to do this and we can head off to Lea Monde once we're done with all this. ...should I tell him about...Him? I mean, he is my closest friend I know he loves me at...least as his closest friend but would he be alright with it? Can I really tell him about what I had to do, what I...I mean, a land like Ivalice surely after being here long enough he knows that demons can exist right? Right? I fought ghosts back on the island, so did he but...why am I so terrified of him knowing about it, I thought...I thought this would be easy, I...no...you've thought a lot of things...none of which have come true. Just...just accept it.

Exiting the tunnel was a different person altogether, standing in the frame of a polished marble wall that mirrored his existence, brown scales glinting from some unseen light source. Kruz sighed despondently, looking all around him hoping to find James elsewhere, but there was nothing of the sort. He looked upon a vast columned hall of fourteen colossal pillars, with seven on either side, a half-ruined carpet long-forgotten by the ages past strolling right between them towards one final pillar, standing at the very end of the hall towards a flight of steps. The floor was also in a checkerboard pattern, white then black constantly as the kremling walked forwards alongside the left of the great hall, deciding not to walk on the carpet before noticing that the pillars were not exactly symmetrical of each other. Each pillar he passed, the other one opposite filled the space between, making them almost diagonal of each other. Were Kruz more of a picky person this would have bothered him as he stepped forth towards the end of the hallway, talking to himself aloud as he passed the second pillar with the sudden fear of being alone unexpectedly. "I hope James is alright, he never came past here right?" He passed the fourth pillar. "I mean I never saw him go down that hole, so there musta been just us." He passed the sixth pillar. "This wuz the right thing to do, right? I mean I don't wanna just-" "-leave him on his own like this." James passed the seventh pillar. "I mean okay I do owe him that favour after all he's been through but..." He passed the ninth pillar. "I hope this place doesn't...spirit one of us away for a sacrifice or-" "-sumthin' bad like that." Kruz passed the tenth pillar. "But wuz it really right of me to ask him to get involved in my business??" He passed the twelfth pillar. "I wouldn't have to do this if it had all gone the way I wanted but-" "-I got no choice. After everything he's gone through just for me..." James passed the thirteenth pillar. "I know I got problems, but that doesn't mean I can't help him, after all-"

"-he's my friend. I just want what's best for him." Both stood leaning on opposite sides of the fifteenth pillar saying this almost in unison, standing directly before a flight of steps leading up towards a grand throne of some sort. A giant yet surprisingly ordinary stone seat raising above them at around fifteen feet tall with no decorations or fine adornments upon the scion's seat, rough-hewn by a perfect ninety-degree angle with a solid backrest. A red cloth covered the headrest. No gilded patterning, no soft velour, just a simple red cloth standing out from the rest of the room.

"This must be part two." "The hell is this, some kind of...that does not look a comfy chair." "Considering there's nuthin' else in the room-" "I might as well take it."

Both walked forwards almost within perfect line of each other up the steps not knowing the other's existence. Upon pulling the cloth however, Kruz doing so before James, he found he could not lift it. Tugging at it hard, it seemed as if it had been permanently trapped against the cold stone seat. James tried almost after Kruz stopped doing so, finding the same thing happen to him. No matter how hard he tugged the red cloth would not move even an inch. James kept trying however wanting to force the fabric from the seat, and it was only until Kruz had his hands back on it that the cloth fully submitted before tearing off the throne seat only to flourish towards the pillar now behind them. Wrapping itself magically around the stone column, the two looked back towards the royal seat seeing a mirror strangely shaped, perfectly bending inwards to almost resemble a pillar's shape, like some form of optical illusion. Naturally it perfectly showed the pillar behind them now adorned by its red cloth.

"That is one weird-ass mirror." "Looks like one of those things with the two faces." "Huh...yanno it kinda reminds me of that illusion thing." "What if...I mean I can't see anything from the front but-" "-if I look this way...maybe..."

Both Kruz and James climbed upon the stone seat, standing upon the armrests as they stared from opposite sides of the mirror with their heads pressed nearly against the cold stone headrest. From the reflection's point of their angle, they saw not the pillar but instead their other friend standing upon a certain tile far apart from the pillars, about three steps directly from the opposite wall.

"James?!" "Kruz?!"

They rushed over towards the exact tile, knowing they did not see anyone apart from within the mirror but hoping that some clue was left of their existence. The tile looked no different from any other part of the flooring, and there was no unique symbol to mark it separate as Kruz stood on the black tile to the far right, whilst James stood on the white tile to the far left.

"I know I saw him here but...what does this mean?" "Are we really in the same room but just...not exactly?" "If we are...James must be standin'...okay...the book said-" "-that two people exist in the same room but not the same time." "Meanin' that if we are in the same place, he's also seen-" "-the mirror so that means HE is over there...what if-" "-I could mark sumthin' here? But it has to be sumthin' we both-" "-saw...wait...the mirror...that means..."

Both turned towards the cloth wrapped around the pillar still. An idea struck upon them as they both grabbed at the red cloth, pulling it down from its moorings before they brought out their weapons. But despite their sharpness of cutlass and scissors the cloth would not break, nor even sever by an inch of its thread as if trying to cut stale bread. Seeing no other plan, they both decided to just take the cloth itself and drag each end towards the exact tile the other would be stood upon. They had not realised the other had done the same until looking back towards the opposite wall.

"Hey! That-" "I knew it! He is here, he musta done the same as me!" "All we gotta do is walk on the cloth."

Two souls passed between each other, walking along the red cloth as if bound by it, passing through without acknowledging the other's presence not even able to feel the other's passing. Had they been more aware of this it would have become an altogether more frightening experience, but the moment both stood upon the exact tiles as the mirror had shown them, something began to happen. A trembling of stone creaking against its foundations, the stone seat slowly coming apart in two with mirror included, perfectly carved down through the middle. Even more strangely, the pillar itself that stood before the throne had also split in half along with the red cloth which tore in half neatly. The red carpet followed suit, then the floor, then the entire room as if an earthquake had run through all of a sudden. Both raptor and kremling panicked sharply, looking towards the other side of the hall fearful for their unseen friend as stone crumbled and cracked upon the marble floor. Soon it finally stopped, and so they saw the mirror seat open outwards to reveal a door inbetween, the armrests falling slowly towards each other to create a bridge over the gap chasming throughout the centre of the hall. The wall behind the throne was nothing but a deep darkened path, but there was a light at the end of it, small and flickering but a light nonetheless. James moved forwards as did Kruz softly, cautious for any more unsettling provocations of the earth. As they stepped forwards in unison, sharing the same space and yet not in the same existence, they found after a long tenebrous walk the final room of the sanctum. A markedly much different room, the entire wall was lined up with cubular constructs unevenly placed, some poking out much farther than the rest of the wall did. The entire room had a strange colour to it, not exactly bright yet not exactly dark as if a flickering light had been trapped in stasis between both light and darkness. Their eyes constantly began trying to adjust to what level of light there was, but it was impossible to do so, headaches starting to grow inside their heads as they saw in the very central point of the square-shaped room a resplendent-looking golden chest, carved ornately in such a way that one half of it shone bright, whilst the other glimmered darkly. The bright part of it had a white radiant male centaur with a humble bow and arrow, whilst the dark side of it had a slithery-looking female of cloven-hooved legs and her arms replaced by skull-shaped pistols.

"What IS this place?" "Fuck that lady thing looks creepy." "I mean I get the theme of this already but...hmm." "Let's not open this yet, treasure like this is not gonna be unguarded."

Approaching the chest cautiously, they looked all over it finding not to have any lock on it, nor any means of preventing entry as they cautiously tapped on its surface. No alarm, no spikes, no presence of any demon entity. At least until they tried to actually open it after finding no traps elsewhere inside the room, a voice suddenly crying out:

"INFIDEL OF- -THE SOUL GUARDIAN." "Wh-what the-" "SH-SHIT I KNEW IT!" "YOU DENY MY EXISTENCE- -AND SO SHALL I DENY YOU EXISTENCE." "WHO ARE YOU?!" "WHERE'S KRUZ?!" "I AM THE ONE WHO DEFIES YOUR- -DOCTRINE, THROUGH YOUR LAWS OF THIS WORLD." "Look, I need this artifact, I'm sorry fer bustin' in but-" "I didn't mean to cause any trouble just lemme take this thing an-" "WITH BLOODIED SOUL, AND HEART SO PURE- -I HAVE BECOME THE SCHISM OF SOULS." "ALL I WANT IS THE ARTIFACT! YOU ARE NOT-" "-GONNA STOP ME FROM LEAVING!" "IF IT IS DESIRE YOU SO SEEK...THEN I- -SHALL BRING YOU THAT WHICH IS JUST REWARD." Screaming forth from the chest itself, Kruz stumbled back with sheer fright as the dark centaur ornament vomited a fluid of darkness, almost ethereal like a thousand dust motes coalescing before him. A howling gale formed itself into a human shape, standing a clear ten feet tall with only one right arm, holding the shape of a terrifying blood-drenched sword. Whitish blood dripped deftly from its blade a good five feet long, its head featureless without any expression before it shrieked once more, flying towards Kruz, sword raised high in a mighty swing as he dodgerolled underneath.

James tore a mighty gust of wind from his claws as he rocketed upwards, dodging the carving sweep of the holy blade shining gracefully at five feet long. The creature shifted through the air towards him showing open wounds of a battle long past, dripping black profusely down its white-mottled front as it screamed whirling in mid-air, dancing with sword spinning around itself to try and catch James inside of it. The raptor striked once against the blade spinning briefly in turn before shooting his fireblast promptly from his fist, striking into the open black wound.

The monster fell back, landing upon the floor in front of Kruz with an earth-trembling crumble that began to crack the very foundations slightly. The kremling rushed forwards as the Schism's sword flew above his head, sliding underneath expertly before a springing leap as he roared with an upwards slash straight through the very sternum of its half-soul. Recoiling slightly with pain, the monster barely flinched before slamming its head straight into Kruz cracking him back down to the floor, the captain shifting his body in but an instant to handspring firmly onto the floor and backflip smoothly into position.

The raptor shook his head throbbing with a dull bleeding pain from the side of it, sighing shakily as the sword striked down upon him before he countered back, scraping the sheer edge of his scissors against it. A battle of strength began as James dug his heels into the floor, screaming with fury as he tried to force the blade upwards before he deflected it right above his head. The white sword lunged forwards in its shape as James burned up his scissors purely by raging fire, a storm of wind wrapped within to cause a violent force as he tore straight into the creature's arm, cleaving from its wrist to the bicep.

Screaming with pained fury, the Schism swung its blade viciously in a multiple strike, swinging left and right once before a downwards strike upon Kruz's head as he dodged sideways into a combat roll. But the monster had other powers as white blood shot out from its blade like lightning straight towards him, riddling him with screaming shocks of a thunderous power. Kruz screeched with agony as his body turned hot, legs twitching into spasms before he fell panting heavily, his heart racing from the shock as his eyes pulsated deeply. He struggled to stand up, sword at the ready. "Khhheh...th-that all you got? I faced worse than you." "YOUR DARKNESS SMOULDERS BENEATH THAT SMILE." "Really? Cuz I ain't laughin'!" "I HAVE SEEN YOUR BRETHREN, AND HIS TAINTED WORDS." "I DON'T FUCKING CARE, I'M DONE WITH YOU YOU FREAK!"

James dove for the creature's pale legs as he burned his scissors brilliantly alight, spinning forwards into a small tornado strike as he carved deeply upon the legs. The monstrous Schism shrieked and felt the tearing cut through its legs finally break, succumbing more to its wounds as black poured effluent from its knees stumbling to stay alert. With its sword raised high it sent down lightning upon FG who dodged quickly away from the area it struck, black thunder hammering down upon the room which broke further along its walls trembling.

Kruz felt the monster was turning weak as he prepared himself for his last attack, white essence bleeding from its many wounds caused by his blade as the Scism's sword cracked down upon his head before he rolled to the right. Instantly leaping out of the half-roll, he striked his knee forwards to slam into the beast before gaining purchase inside a wound, driving his knee into an open cavity before stabbing right in. Roars of pain echoed across the room and reverberated back to him deafeningly, blurring the kremling's vision as he leapt up towards the head. "SAY GOODNIGHT!" "FUCK YOU!"

At the same time both swords had cleaved into the same throat of the beast, driven deep into its neck before they scraped upwards trying to slice apart its head finding nothing could break through. Pulling their blades out they plunged straight into the eye, Kruz in the left and James in the right as they screamed together. In that moment, the Schism began chanting an unholy passage, words flowing through existence as the world began to change. Black and white pulsated violently, as the room suddenly began to lose its sense of placement with the walls blindingly now monochrome as if nothing else existed, but solid emptiness of either light or darkness. The left of the room was sheer dark, whilst the right of the room was solid light which gave the most terrifying advantage to the Schism of Souls. Where it stood now in the very center between, it appeared almost invisible except for its many wounds and dripping swords, two halves now rejoined with twin blades hungering for battle. Standing before the monster now fully joined together, both raptor and kremling saw each other for the first time since entering the ruin, a smile briefly on each other's face before they saw the beast lunge forwards. The only clue they had to where it stood was by its occasional swing of the blade too far in the other direction, revealing white sword on black background or at least by the subtle drops of blood that each sword had dripped.

The two fighters stood ground together as the monster spun forth in a double striking motion, whirling death they could only briefly see as black faded from white and white faded from black. The sight of it was headache-inducing but they shook themselves clear and dodged the moment they saw one blade sweep forwards, alternating its height low then high before coming down in one final overhead strike to cleave them in twain. Splitting up briefly to evade the attack, the raptor and kremling rushed together to strike at the Schism's legs sending it down on its knees, but the swords raised high brought violent shots of lightning upon the battlefield. Forced to back away, the brief thunder protected the beast long enough to help it recover up staggering slightly, both swords swiping out fully towards both sides aiming for the reptiles' heads. James guarded against with his tetra-shield forming instantly to deflect the sword, whilst Kruz leaned backwards with legs forward and hands splayed on either side of him. In mid-pose he spun himself low as the kremling regained his balance, jumping upwards into a graceful ballet leap to land upon the white side of the monster's bicep flawlessly. Shanking his cutlass straight into the form of its muscle, he dug deep until his sword was halfway in before the creature could react from the pain shrieking as Kruz leapt down holding the sword handle. Carving the entire arm open, black flowed pouring like fireflies burning upon a funeral pyre, dripping upon the floor into a semi-gaseous state as it screamed clutching its arm. In that moment, the most of the monster revealed itself by one black arm wrapped around its right giving James perfect opportunity to come flying towards the side of its head. Summoning a pure gale around himself, he went spinning across the air forming his right hand into a potent green-glimmer metallic cannon, pulsating viciously with all his nanostrength feverishly burning itself into it. In midair he fired, a blast of plasma with solid heat tearing into the monster's neck brutally like lava poured onto an open wound, screaming with violent agony as the room started to fluctuate.

With echoing howls of anguish, the Schism found itself being torn apart by its wounds too great to bear with as its entire existence fell into an endless chasm. The room itself was now falling apart, darkness and light fracturing insanely with its warping colours before ceasing to exist, back to the normal cubic ruin of before as the shadowed Schism clutched at itself with screams throughout the place. As the walls began falling bit by bit, Kruz and James stood waiting for their next move before the monster could speak again.

"THE SONG...IS NOT...YOUR SALVATION...IT IS...BUT SIMPLY A DETERRENT OF ONE'S OWN DESTINY." "I don't care," said Kruz firmly, "piss off, I ain't dyin' here cuz it's a waste of my time." "HOW LONG...CAN YOUR DEAL WITH DEATH...SUSTAIN YOU?" "SHUT UP!" roared FG. "Give us the damn soul stuff already!" "DO YOU KNOW...WHY YOU CAME HERE?" "Because friends help each other, that's why!" "NO. YOU...ARE MORE ALIKE THAN YOU WOULD EVER WISH TO BE...TAKE THAT SONG, AND SUFFER YOUR LONGFUL EXISTENCE...WHICHEVER ONE OF YOU DESERVES IT MORE." In its final words formed from its crippled throat, the soulful creature faded into the air flittering across the wind unseen, dust motes of faded darkness flowing upwards to leave the chest behind in the centre of the ruined room. Further breaking apart, the walls crumbled still as Kruz rushed forwards along with FG before opening it together, grabbing the artifact within which appeared to be a scroll wrapped beautifully in gold binding. "THAT'S IT?!" cried FG. "SURE IS NOW COME ON!" roared Kruz. "PLACE IS GOIN' DOWN AN' I AIN'T GONNA SH-SHIT-" "AAAAAAAAAAAAGH!" Both without warning fell into the deep underneath abyss, swallowed whole by the crackling earth underneath the chest they had opened as the yawning darkness encompassed them. But not for long until they hit solid earth in the form of a landslide-ridden area upon a dirty slope, rolling down with scroll in hand as Kruz stopped himself halfway. Plunging foot into the earthen slope he put the scroll safely into his satchel before James bowled into him from behind as the two fell into a minecart that had been left behind in the underground. The area appeared to be a small labyrinth of corridors deep underneath supported by firm struts of wood and metal, a long metal railway clacketing underneath their heels as the minecart rolled on forwards heftily without stopping, the raptor standing up next to Kruz. "Wh-where the fuck are we?!" "Some old mineshaft," said Kruz, "we might as well ride this out!" "Mineshaft!? Wait, are we...god dammit, what is it with you and minecarts?!" "What?!" "We were on this shit before back on the island, now we're doing this again!?" "Hey I didn't wanna ride in it, YOU slammed into me so we just gotta deal with it, I-...woah."

The constant turning of the tracks lead them straight towards an open chasm as they rolled out of one hallway straight towards a bending track put on high supports far below. The rumbling sounds faded only to be replaced by the unsteadily nerve-wrenching clackety-clack of the steep rails undulating softly, with no means to control their speed other than by a humble brake lever sitting at the front of the cart. Dipping downwards before rising up like a seabird daring to scalp the rocks, the rickety cart sent their teeth on edge as they held on tight whilst leaning by instinct against the turns it made. Winding left and right, they kept the minecart steady and so far saw that the track was still complete and not dilapidated, hoping for the best as they rolled through the first chasm before a sudden downhill plunge. The two screamed by instinct hanging onto each other tightly, the downwards slope of an endless corridor of damp lanterns and creaking wooden hull struts giving less encouragement as it began to level out. Then came a violent bend towards the left, and soon they saw two passages before them. One of them had been blocked by debris and they were heading straight for it. "KRUZ!" "I'M ON IT!" The kremling stood forwards and readied his pistol, aiming towards the track shift lever that was in the middle of the junction. The first shot only slightly pushed it which made them panic before he fired another bullet hard enough to send the lever back, changing the lay of the tracks as they veered off towards the safer route. Relief flowed through them for just a brief instant before seeing another large chasm with dark depths deep beneath. "What if it leads to a dead end?" panicked FG. "Well it's at least somewhere other than here, ain't no gettin' offa this train we're on James!" "I DIDN'T WANT TO BE ON THE TRAIN!" "WELL I DIDN'T WANT THIS EITHER, IF I DIDN'T HAVE TO DO THIS I WOULDN'T HAVE BROUGHT YOU, SO LET'S JUST-F-FUUUUCK!" "JESUS CHRIST!" An explosion come forth ahead of them amidst the constant rumbling as the ceiling began to fall, devastating the track ahead with its winding circuit spiralling downwards viciously amidst falling rocks and constant speed. Bursting from the ceiling amidst a shower of rocks from one sloped entrance, the sight of a dragon falling through with grey wings greeted them torn and bloodied before falling into the abyss. The wyvern plunged with its four wings shredded by velocity, but soon there came even more screams coming from above them. Four souls crying out before falling into the minecart with sudden weight, a viera, two moogles and a nu-mou from out of nowhere staring up at FG. "...m-mister James?!" "WH-WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING HERE?!?!" "We fell!" cried Lu getting up. "We were fightin' a dragon-" "Wyvern," corrected Belle. "WHATEVER, a-an' then it just went WHAM into the mountain then it broke the ground under us! Whut's goin' on!?" "YOU'RE IN A GODDAMN MINECART AND THE WHOLE PLACE IS COLLAPSING!" "ENOUGH SHOUTING KUPO!" cried Berniere. "JUST HOPE THIS LEADS TO AN EXIT!" "WHO THE HELL ARE YOU ANYWAY?!" roared Kruz. James rolled his eyes and stood between them hastily. "Kruz, Berniere, Berniere, Kruz now let's just focus on the damn ride and not get killed by rocks alright?!" "Alright...SHIT!" Rattling up towards a descending slope, Kruz noticed in the far-off distance by a few hundred yards a large gap in the tracks made by falling debris, the others noticing it as the children began to panic. "WH-WHUDDA WE DO!?" cried Blum. "I GOT AN IDEA!" replied FG. "JUST HANG ON!" "WHUT?!" "JUST TRUST ME!"

Riding down towards the broken track, Kruz struggled to breathe whilst the children did their utmost best to keep calm in the face of certain death. Berniere remained oddly silent at the back holding tightly onto the sides watching to see what FG would do before the raptor pushed out both hands and summoned the most powerful gust of wind, a storming tornado on both sides. Fuming towards a howling gale, the air pressure tightened considerably all around them as James guided the wind by his hands towards the wheels of the minecart. It was exhausting enough to keep sending his nanopower out constantly to keep the wind pressure up, but it was another thing entirely to refocus it down onto the bottom of the cart and force the wind downwards. Screaming as his face turned red with pulsating energy, he shot forth a cannon blast of air with pure nanostrength as they vaulted straight over the gap. The sudden uplift sent their stomachs hurling slightly, with Blum vomiting over the side out of desperation and nerves wincing with a harsh face. For the most part the rest of the track managed itself, winding violently back and forth as they made certain not to have it fall by leaning always to the inside of the track. The chasm soon faded long behind them but there now came an even greater threat. The falling debris that had come crumbling down the cavern walls was now finding its way straight inside the passage they were now in, as a giant mass of boulders began to form themselves into a rock-filled avalanche. "OH COME OOOOON!" cried Belle. "I HOPE WE STAY AT THIS SPEED KUPO!" demanded Berniere. "OR ELSE WE ARE NEVER COMING OUT OF THIS ALIVE!" "LEAVE THAT TO ME!" James moved to the back of the cart and brought out another maelstrom from his fists, slamming out a furious typhoon as he used every bit of energy he could, his arms twitching with exhaustion as he propelled them forwards at a ruthless pace. Whirling spirals of screaming gales behind them, the six minecart passengers panicked even more despite their speed picking up, the devastating debris doing its utmost hardest to keep up with them as the track dithered to and fro between neverchanging halls. The speed was insane to the point their eyes watered, brutally constant as they bleared their vision towards the horizon soon seeing the light of hope, joy so brief that they almost forgot the impending danger they were still in. The light turned brighter, and they knew truly that it was an exit, before Kruz turned shouting: "JAMES STOP WE MADE IT!" "WHAT!?" "CUT THE AERO CRAP WE MADE IT!" "QUICK PULL THE LEVER!" Kruz quickly pulled onto the brakes as the light swept over them bringing them towards the outside as they saw streaking past them the skies of the world beyond their vision. Blue and white so clear that it almost blinded them harshly, the kremling scraping the brakes against the wheel as James ceased his aerial assault waiting for the right moment. "EVERYONE JUMP!"

Leaping from the minecart as soon as they found safety, the six managed to escape onto solid dry earth untouched by greenery at the old exit of a mineshaft. It was only moments later that it became permanently disabled in the wake of the aftermath, belching a spurious cloud of dust as the living earthquake vomited its last traces of rock debris, completely filling up the passage entrance. The minecart had rolled off softly towards the very end of the track reaching its natural stop, a good day's hard work well-earned as all six of them stood up breathless. James could barely speak, clearly exhausted beyond limits as he collapsed slowly onto the harsh warm earth panting. Blum, Lu and Belle were heaving to the point of tears, shaky legs and quivering cheeks whilst Kruz and Berniere looked the best composed sighing gladly. The moogle however looked still concerned, wide-eyed as if stricken by a realisation that wasn't all-too welcoming. A brief whisper on the wind turned him paranoid glancing quickly from all around him as his breaths turned sharply, licking his lips as a quivering came from his fingertips. "Well, that wuzn't so bad." Kruz stood by him chuckling off the brief escapade. "Wuz sure lucky of you to drop in on us right at that exact point, seriously, you got some luck of the devil there, I didn't even know there were mines that region of Purvama." "Yes," murmured Berniere, "luck is...something to do with it, kupo." "Khheh...you uh, you a friend of James aren't you?" "Yes...somewhat." "...ooookay, I think we're all rather exhausted so-" "Yes, kupo...f-forgive me I-...thank you, for your help." "My pleasure. Let me just send a-" "Signal flare, yes, for your ship which will come from the southeast." The kremling looked at him suspiciously. "Yeaaaah uh...good guess." "W-well um...h-how else are you going to signal a ship?" "Khheheh, fair point alright everyone stand back." Loading a cartridge specialised for this purpose, he replaced his ordinary ammo with some phosphorous-encased shells purposefully fitted for his pistol. With one shot he fired up into the air sending out a potent red signal, a screaming hot light that pulsated into an explosion that blinked sweetly upon the air for miles away. It would not be long before they got picked up by the Broken Petal as they sat down upon the rocky earth jutting out from the floating continent. James fell asleep completely beyond his limits, Berniere sat by himself staring into the ground as if he tried to burn a hole through it whilst the Cupid Mark Crusaders simply talked gently amongst themselves overwhelmed with the affair they had been through. Kruz stood waiting as he put a hand into his satchel, feeling along the Song of Souls that laid within smiling with relief. "Thank you...I hope that this makes things easier now fer when the time comes."