(Max)

"Boop-boop!"

"Max!" Gold exclaims, and me start running. "Stop that!"

"Never!"

Me keep running, leaving behind bewildered brothers and annoyed Gold. That be so much fun. Me brothers be learning how to be proper servants rather than slaves. Gold be passing by at the moment, so he saw Max boop brothers' noses.

Bad timing. He like ninja, able show up unexpectedly. Max not sure how he do that, me have greater Perception than him.

Hrm. Maybe Boss be giving him secret lessons? Yeah, that probably be it. Well, whatever. It be okay, so long as Gold not catch me. Max be far too fast for that to happen.

After escaping Gold, Max walk through town for bit. Today, we be going to Kaelmar, Max thinks. At least, that what Boss said during breakfast. It have been ten days since the battle and Boss's awesome Meteor-slam. The Adventurers spent last ten days cleaning things up, though we be staying in the City. Boss told us to, so that we finish recovering from training and fighting and not-dying.

Me not think Boss training, either. That be strange. He be gone a lot, though, even if he not be training. Max not sure what he be doing, just that he be not training.

As me walk, other beastborn on their break day find Max and ask to play Tag, so we start chasing each other through town. They like playing with me, but Max needs to keep careful, or me be too fast for them. Then that not be fun.

Boss taught me trick, though, so that me able to easily use me normal speed and not me System speed when running.

"Sorry!" Max exclaims after crashing into pot, breaking it. "Here!"

Me toss a few coins at the guy, then keep running. Max not It right now, but It be close!

Suddenly, Max crash into someone.

"Eek!" Max exclaims, looking up. "Sorry! Luca! Hi!"

Me stand up and wave to Luca, only to be tackled from behind by It.

"No!" Max wail. "Max It, now! Well, me got minute. How you be, Luca?"

"I'm fine," Luca answers as former It runs off. Me have to wait a minute before taking off again. "Lord Zack said he'll be at the West Gate in two hours if we're leaving with him."

"Okay!" Max say. "What you be doing?"

"I was looking for you," he answers. "Lord Zack said you were playing Tag with some of your friends."

"What you be doing, now you found me?" Me asks, and Luca scrunches up face in thought. Me think hard about words. "What be you going to do, now you found Max and told me?"

"Oh!" Luca exclaims. Okay, so he was be trying to figure out if me not clear. "I don't know. Maybe just walk around a bit."

He be hiding something. Something sad. Max can see it in Luca's eyes. But if he not want to share, then me not going to ask.

"Okay!" Me say. "Bye, Luca!"

Time be up, so me take off running again.

"Bye, Max," Max hear Luca say.

(Luca)

Max has been feeling a bit cooped-up, not being allowed to leave Maelnor. Lord Zack forbid us from doing so until the all-clear was given. Sir Nik gave it today, saying that we shouldn't encounter anything during the normal course of events which would pose to true of a threat to us. That means we can resume training.

But first, Lord Zack wishes to kill the Avatar of the Shadow of Life, then put his brother to rest. That makes me think about my own brother. I know he's put to rest, but anytime I start thinking about him and am alone, I feel really lonely and miss him a lot, and my thoughts just go to him.

So I put one foot in front of the other, focusing on that as I walk through Maelnor. It takes me a bit, but I arrive at Lord Zack's memorial forest. I walk through it, reaching the five markers. There's a new one, with the names of everyone who died in the battle for the valley beyond what he and Lord Normar could fix.

With a hop, I make it across the stream flowing through, and I approach my brother's marker. Lord Zack must have come by earlier, because there are flowers at all of them, and a ton at his brother's.

I open up my Inventory and pull out a basket of food, which I set in front of my brother's marker. Then I sit down and just stare at the marker. Why did he have to do something so stupid? Lord Zack warned us that he was training us at what we could handle. Why didn't I try harder to stop him? What would things be like now, if I'd stopped him?

Would he have continued to try, until he ultimately ended up dead, going in head-over and dying? Would our team be the same as it is now? Would he have stayed with Lord Zack because of me, or would he have eventually left us?

Sighing, I try to push those thoughts from my head. They always fill my head whenever I start thinking about this. It's hard to push those thoughts away. I know Lord Zack still blames himself for this, the large amount of flowers shows it. Most people would put maybe two or three. Or five. Lord Zack put, like, fifty. Same with the bigger markers. He put at least five times that for his brother's marker, it's practically covered in them.

It's weird, though. Usually, he grabs the same types of flowers, but I count at least eight different types of them.

Footsteps catch my attention, and I turn to find Sir Nik standing there, flowers in one hand.

"Herro," I say, then swallow the food I didn't know I was eating. "Hello."

"Hello, Luca," he gives me an amused look. "Came to visit the markers before heading to Kaelmar with Zack?"

I nod.

"A lot of us have come by," he approaches and places a few flowers at each marker, and twice as many at Bryce's.

Sir Nik sits beside me as I realize that Lord Zack wasn't the only one who put flowers down. Well, Lord Zack still blames himself.

"Today," Sir Nik says. "The brother of the person who saved us will finally be put to rest. The brother of the one who changed the tide of the war. Sometimes, I've wondered what Zack would be like, had Bryce not died."

I've wondered that, too. Lord Zack would be quite different. According to what I've heard, his mischief was at its peak when Bryce was around. The two of them combined had enough to fill the quota of ten Lord Zack's.

Our team might not have ever happened. Lord Zack might not have been as strict with our training. Without that, we wouldn't have become as powerful as we are. He tightly controlled our training, but at the same time, he optimized it. If Bryce were still here, still working with him, we might not have had that full optimization. My brother might not have died… or we might have never arrived for Lord Zack's team – may have been sent somewhere else in the Boundary entirely. I'd probably still be a frightened, timid little boy.

Well, maybe I still am that last part, but I'm ten. I haven't started my growing spurts yet. And if what Lord Zack said is true, I won't live long enough for that. The war ends within a year and when it does, we'll pass on to heaven, where we belong. Or hell, for those who earned that.

"What's he doing?" I ask.

"Zack?" Sir Nik asks, and I nod. "Talking with Kylie the last I checked. It seems he's had some vision that's told him that after the fight, he'll be out of commission for awhile. He didn't see why, but said that every time he tried seeing it with delays and higher Levels than he's at now, he always became out of commission for awhile. Normar said he'll accompany the five of you, just in case."

I nod, then rise. It's time to-crap. I ate all of the food meant as an offering for my brother. Oh, well. The basket and crumbs can work, right?

"I'm going to stay for a bit," Sir Nik tells me. "Enjoy the trip."

I nod, then leave. When I reach the West Gate, the rest of the team is already there. Lord Zack is resting on the grass, head resting on his hands, eyes closed as if sleeping.

At least, until I approach and poke him. Then, he opens an eye, gives a nod, and rises. He touches his tunic, and it disappears. He's wearing his armor, though. Lord Zack takes on his Eidolon Form as I strip off my cloak and tunic. I have a vest on underneath with spots on the back for my wings. I wanted a long-sleeve shirt, but Lord Zack insisted on no sleeves for some reason.

I manifest my Angelic Wings and grab Braden, while Lord Zack grabs Max and tucks him under an arm. Gavin is picked up by Lord Normar, who's wearing his usual outfit, but with a vest as well. His wings are out, too.

The three of us take off into the sky, and I follow Lord Zack. Lord Normar is flying beside him. Braden is heavy. Oof. But he's the lightest out of us, and with my Strength, it's really not that much of a problem. I'm just not used to carrying people, and not like this.

We fly over the Large Crater, which still has the Meteor at its center. Then, we fly over the damaged forest, then the healthy part of the forest. Then, we're flying over the Crater. Is it weird that I feel pity for the enemies of Lord Zack? They pretty much don't stand a chance when he goes all-out.

Even if he ends up incapacitated after.

Lord Zack lands, so Lord Normar and I do as well, setting our respective luggage down. Max plays with his hair for a moment as Gavin fixes his, and Braden's hair doesn't look at all bothered by the winds generated from our speed. Nor does Lord Normar's hair. Nor Lord Zack's.

I fix mine, then hurriedly follow Lord Zack. Lord Normar disappeared again, but he promised me he'd be nearby just in case of something.

We enter the ruins of the City of Kaelmar. Past the destroyed City Wall, taken out by Lord Zack's first-ever Meteor when his brother was killed and he nearly died. We pass by several ruined buildings, making for the center of the City. Is Lord Zack heading to the altar? I thought Fallen Adventurers stay in the general area of where they died?

I suppose when it's a brother of Lord Zack's, it's a bit different. I don't think his own corpse would stay in one spot.

"I'm going to the avatar," Lord Zack speaks up. "Though my brother's Fallen Adventurer form did move, but that was because of the hordes passing through."

Oh.

We reach the central plaza, where the altar is, and I see the Avatar of the Shadow of Life, Dark Knight version. I can also sense Lord Zack's rage, which spikes as soon as the armored figure comes into view. It looks like a person, but one who's completely covered in armor.

Suddenly, a sword appears in Lord Zack's hand. I've never seen it before. It's made of a dark grey metal with an orange sheen to it and a golden glow at its core. Its crosspiece is designed like wings curving upwards. There's an orange jewel in the pommel, which is shaped a bit like a claw. There's a knife in his hand, too, which matches the sword. Their sheathes are falling to the ground. He pulled those out and unsheathed them faster than I could see.

Before any of us can react, Lord Zack is attacking with the sword and knife, and it's clear he's in a blind rage. Normar told me that Lord Zack's rage had increased last time he saw this thing, during his rescue mission, but that he hadn't gone into a blind rage during it. That he'd acted calmly and rationally.

Is it different this time because he intends on killing the Avatar of the Shadow of Life?

I can't see the Avatar's Health, but Lord Zack's doing damage to its armor. As he attacks, he pierces its armor. He's not even using Skills. At least, not any I can see. Is Rage the only one active right now? Well, and Eidolon Form? The Avatar bleeds black blood, which looks kind of gross and disturbing.

This is worrying. He might be forcing the Avatar into a purely defensive mode, but he's lost himself to his rage over his brother's death. Is this the first time he's truly faced it? Or is something else going on?

The Avatar suddenly loses an arm, but it continues to fight, even as its black blood flows out of it. Its Skills, offensive and defensive alike, are rendered useless against Lord Zack. It loses a leg. Then its other arm. Then its other leg. It uses Skills still, spells flying from it towards Lord Zack.

Lord Zack simply slaps them aside with his arms or weapons, before finally beheading the Avatar. As soon as he does, the entire thing, missing limbs included, explodes in a shower of blackness, which then dissipates on the wind.

Lord Zack breathes heavily, even though I know he could have gone on for far longer. He really did lose himself. But why? He takes a few breaths with his eyes closed, then stiffens and turns his head to face the right.

We all look over in that direction. Approaching us is a Fallen Adventurer, formerly a boy around thirteen years old. He has straight, black hair and dull blue eyes. He's wearing armor similar to what Lord Zack wears, but definitely of a lower quality. Starting gear?

Our fearless leader is suddenly in front of him, pulling the Fallen Adventurer against him.

"RESURRECTION!" He cries out, and it sounds like he's crying.

That must be Bryce, and that's not going to work. He's too-long dead. He's not just a Fallen Adventurer, his soul's passed on to the afterlife.

"Resurrection!" Lord Zack cries out again.

"This is bad," Lord Normar appears beside me with a frown, and we all look at him.

"Resurrection!"

"Zack has to be the one to put Bryce's body to rest," Lord Normar tells us.

"RESURRECTION!"

"Or it will cause severe mental trauma in him," he continues.

"Resurrection!" Lord Zack sounds ready to completely break down at the repeated failure of his Skill.

"So I can't do anything," Lord Normar tells us.

"RESURRECTI-ON!" Lord Zack's voice breaks as he calls out that one, and Lord Normar sighs.

"Nik told me this might happen," Lord Normar says.

"I REJECT REALITY!" Zack's voice rings clear, and there's a sense of power in his words. "AND TRANSCEND THE FUCKING LIMITATIONS OF THIS FUCKING SKILL! RESURRECTION!"

Immediately, nine voices enter my head, and based on the jumps of the other four here, they heard it, too.

OH, SHIT!