Tales of a Dreamer: The Beads of Light

Chapter: I~IV The Lost City of Kilstien
Battle Number: 2
Battle Type: Player V.S. Enemy Party
Objectives: Rout the enemy!
Atmosphere: Fog of War (Moving will allow you to see more of the battlefield. Ranged attacks that target the enemy party have a 75% chance of missing. Ranged attacks on visible enemies have a 25% chance of missing. Adjacent cell attacks have a 0% chance of missing).
Soundtrack: Confusion

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) A
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) B
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) C
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) D
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (I) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) E
( ) ( ) ( ) (M) ( ) ( ) (S) (S) ( ) ( ) ( ) F
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (H) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) G
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (R) ( ) ( ) ( ) H
( ) ( ) ( ) (p) ( ) ( ) (A) (p) ( ) ( ) ( ) I
-1---2---3---4---5---6---7---8---9--10--11

~Calculation Phase IV~

Rai's Immobilize is cured! (Hikari)

Sasori takes 8 DMG! Weakness! (Sekai)

Sasori is Burned!

Sasori evades Immobilize! (Melody)

Sasori takes 32 DMG! (Mia)

Sasori takes 8 DMG! Resist! (Amaya)

Sasori is Immobilized!

Sasori takes 20 DMG! (Rai)

~Boss Phase IV~

Sasori hissed and snarled at her attackers, not particularly liking being attacked. Who would, really? The giant spider turned it's giant head towards the one who had done the most damage, but she was too far away. The next one that had dealt much damage to her wasn't too far away, so the spider turned towards her. With an almighty lurch, the spider hacked up a huge glob of bile and spat it at Rai. As soon as the substance touched her skin, it began to burn and eat away at her flesh.

Sasori uses Venom Spitter on Rai! 18 Atk DMG! High Chance of Severe Poison!

Rai evades Severe Poison! (How the hell...?)

Sasori takes 19 DMG from Burn!

Hikari (Dreamer) *Sleepwalker*
HP: 30/30
MP: 41/55
ATK: 0
DEF: 7
INT: 16
SPR: 9
Move: 2
All Trigger Command: Bring Forth Light! - Place both hands on Hikari's staff and offer her mana. The mana is directly transfered to her staff's ability to light up the area. Brightens the Battlefield for 4 turns. Enemies are Blind for 1 turn. Requires all Player Characters to pull off this trigger command.
Trigger Command: Shine Your Light On Me! - Ask for Hikari's assistance in lighting your area up more. Hikari will increase your sight range by 1 cell for the rest of the battle.

Sekai (Fighter) *1/2 MP Cost*
HP: 60/60
MP: 21/30
ATK: 14
DEF: 10
INT: 0
SPR: 7
Move: 4

Melody (Empath) *Innate Control*
HP: 35/35
MP: 40/55
Atk: 1
Def: 9
Int: 17
Spr: 11
Movement: 2

Mia (Havocmaker) *Quick*
HP: 55/55
MP: 4/50
Atk: 16
Def: 9
Int: 2
Spr: 7
Movement: 4

Amaya (Cold Guardian) *Mental Immunity*
HP: 20/20
MP: 25/55
ATK: 10
DEF: 7
INT: 15
SPR: 10
Move: 2

Rai (Noble Knight) *Damage -10%*
HP: 59/65
MP: 4/20
ATK: 17
DEF: 10
INT: 1
SPR: 6
MOVE: 3
Trigger Command: Look Up! - Crane your neck to the ceiling and find a spider. =D

Sasori (Arachnid King) *20% Resist Magic**Burned -2-**Immobilized -2-*
HP: 73/160
MP: 129/155
Atk: 14
Def: 14
Int: 10
Spr: 13
Move: 4
Trigger Command: Drop Down On Them!

(p) - Natural Stone Pillar (Cannot be moved)(Scenery)

Note: Black -( )- cells cannot be seen. Every Player Character can see only adjacent cells. Hikari's Staff increases her range by one cell. There may be abilities that your characters can use to increase their sight range temporarily. ENEMIES CAN SEE THROUGH BLACK CELLS!

NOTE!!!: THERE MAY BE MORE THAN ONE ENEMY IN THE DARKNESS! USE HIKARI'S TRIGGER COMMAND AT YOUR OWN RISK!

~Player Phase V~

Hikari attacks Sasori! 16 Int DMG!

Hikari waved her staff through the air, gathering magical energy in the air and focusing it on a single point in front of her. With another sweep of her staff, she sent the blast toward the giant spider, slamming it with the magic. The spider took the blow, but didn't seem to pay it any mind. Hikari would have to try harder to do any damage to it at all.

Sekai uses Flaming Kick on Sasori! 19 Atk Fire DMG! 2 hits!

Sekai bent down low to the ground, then shot herself up like a spring, flying high into the air. Sekai flipped around, brining one of her heels around in an arch before falling back to the ground at high speeds. Sekai drove her heel down with more power and ferocity until she was able to slam it down on the arachnid's large head, crushing it and the ground. Sekai used the same foot to push back off of the spider and land on her feet.

Chapter: I~IV The Lost City of Kilstien
Battle Number: 2
Battle Type: Player V.S. Enemy Party
Objectives: Rout the enemy!
Atmosphere: Fog of War (Moving will allow you to see more of the battlefield. Ranged attacks that target the enemy party have a 75% chance of missing. Ranged attacks on visible enemies have a 25% chance of missing. Adjacent cell attacks have a 0% chance of missing).
Soundtrack: Confusion

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) A
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) B
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) C
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) D
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (I) ( ) ( ) ( ) E
( ) ( ) ( ) (M) ( ) ( ) (S) (S) ( ) ( ) ( ) F
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (H) ( ) (R) ( ) ( ) ( ) G
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) H
( ) ( ) ( ) (p) ( ) ( ) (A) (p) ( ) ( ) ( ) I
-1---2---3---4---5---6---7---8---9--10--11

~Calculation Phase V~

Sasori takes 1 DMG! (Hikari)

Sasori takes 18 DMG! Weakness!! (Sekai)

Sasori takes 2 DMG! Resist! (Melody)

Sasori takes 6 DMG! (Mia)

Sasori takes 3 DMG! (Rai)

~Boss Phase V~

The giant spider was still burning, and had to deal with yet more flame from the girl with the least amount of clothing on. Sasori turned around and hissed at Sekai, hacking up more bile and shooting it directly at the girl.

Sasori uses Venom Spitter on Sekai! 16 Atk DMG! Chance of Severe Poison!

Sasori takes 19 DMG from Burn!

Hikari (Dreamer) *Sleepwalker*
HP: 30/30
MP: 41/55
ATK: 0
DEF: 7
INT: 16
SPR: 9
Move: 2
All Trigger Command: Bring Forth Light! - Place both hands on Hikari's staff and offer her mana. The mana is directly transfered to her staff's ability to light up the area. Brightens the Battlefield for 4 turns. Enemies are Blind for 1 turn. Requires all Player Characters to pull off this trigger command.
Trigger Command: Shine Your Light On Me! - Ask for Hikari's assistance in lighting your area up more. Hikari will increase your sight range by 1 cell for the rest of the battle.

Sekai (Fighter) *1/2 MP Cost*
HP: 60/60
MP: 16/30
ATK: 14
DEF: 10
INT: 0
SPR: 7
Move: 4

Melody (Empath) *Innate Control*
HP: 35/35
MP: 40/55
Atk: 1
Def: 9
Int: 17
Spr: 11
Movement: 2

Mia (Havocmaker) *Quick*
HP: 55/55
MP: 4/50
Atk: 16
Def: 9
Int: 2
Spr: 7
Movement: 4

Amaya (Cold Guardian) *Mental Immunity*
HP: 20/20
MP: 25/55
ATK: 10
DEF: 7
INT: 15
SPR: 10
Move: 2

Rai (Noble Knight) *Damage -10%*
HP: 59/65
MP: 4/20
ATK: 17
DEF: 10
INT: 1
SPR: 6
MOVE: 3
Trigger Command: Look Up! - Crane your neck to the ceiling and find a spider. =D

Sasori (Arachnid King) *20% Resist Magic* *Burned -1-* *Immobilized -1-* *Critical*
HP: 22/160
MP: 113/155
Atk: 14
Def: 14
Int: 10
Spr: 13
Move: 4
Trigger Command: Drop Down On Them!

(p) - Natural Stone Pillar (Cannot be moved)(Scenery)

Note: Black -( )- cells cannot be seen. Every Player Character can see only adjacent cells. Hikari's Staff increases her range by one cell. There may be abilities that your characters can use to increase their sight range temporarily. ENEMIES CAN SEE THROUGH BLACK CELLS!

NOTE!!!: THERE MAY BE MORE THAN ONE ENEMY IN THE DARKNESS! USE HIKARI'S TRIGGER COMMAND AT YOUR OWN RISK!

~Player Phase VI~

Sekai uses Flaming Kick on Sasori! 19 Atk Fire DMG! 2 hits!

Chapter: I~IV The Lost City of Kilstien
Battle Number: 2
Battle Type: Player V.S. Enemy Party
Objectives: Rout the enemy!
Atmosphere: Fog of War (Moving will allow you to see more of the battlefield. Ranged attacks that target the enemy party have a 75% chance of missing. Ranged attacks on visible enemies have a 25% chance of missing. Adjacent cell attacks have a 0% chance of missing).
Soundtrack: Confusion

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) A
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) B
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) C
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) D
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (I) ( ) ( ) ( ) E
( ) ( ) ( ) (M) ( ) ( ) (S) (S) ( ) ( ) ( ) F
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (H) ( ) (R) ( ) ( ) ( ) G
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) H
( ) ( ) ( ) (p) ( ) ( ) (A) (p) ( ) ( ) ( ) I
-1---2---3---4---5---6---7---8---9--10--11

~Calculation Phase V~

Sasori takes 18 DMG! Weakness!! (Sekai)

Sasori takes 2 DMG! Resist! (Melody)

Sasori takes 6 DMG! (Mia)

Sasori takes 3 DMG! (Rai)

Sasori KO!

The Final Boss has been defeated!

Objective Cleared!


CHAPTER COMPLETED!!!!!


It's about fucking time too...

Rewards:

Experience:
+10 - Final Boss KO
+2 - Completed before Player Phase X
+2 - No Player Character KO
+2 - No item usage
+2 - No Final Judgments used
+10 - Chapter Completed

Total: 28 Exp.

Hikari: Level 9
Progress: 22/24----50/24
Hikari...LEVEL UP!
1 Skill Point Obtained!
3 Stat Points Obtained!
...JOB PROMOTION!
2 Specialized Skill Points Obtained!
3 Stat Points Obtained!
Level: 10
Progress: 26/36

Sekai: Level 9
Progress: 22/24----50/24
Sekai...LEVEL UP!
1 Skill Point Obtained!
3 Stat Points Obtained!
...JOB PROMOTION!
2 Specialized Skill Points Obtained!
3 Stat Points Obtained!
Level: 10
Progress: 26/36

Melody: Level 10
Progress: 5/36----33/36

Mia: Level 10
Progress: 5/36----33/36

Amaya: Level 10
Progress: 5/36----33/36

Rai: Level 9
Progress: 17/24----45/24
Rai...LEVEL UP!
1 Skill Point Obtained!
3 Stat Points Obtained!
...JOB PROMOTION!
2 Specialized Skill Points Obtained!
1 Stat Point Obtained!
Rai: Level 10
Progress: 21/36

Items Found:

Spider Silk (x3)

Tarantula Venom (x1)

Eyes of Truth (x1)

Gold Found: 500

Update your profiles accordingly. Xeno, you can send me stuff for Rai if you wish to do so.

Another post is coming once everything in the CP thread is updated.

Hikari watched as the spider fell to the ground, it's spirit destroyed by the party. She let out a sigh of relief, glad that the battle was over now. She raised her staff and sent her own mana into the orb at the top, flooding the cave with light so that the party could see. Various numbers of spiders scattered across the cavern, hiding from the overwhelming light and the loss of their king.

"Well," said Sekai, sighing a bit. "That was exciting."

"It doesn't matter anymore, it's dead," Hikari replied, nodding at the decaying spider. "We ought to move on, before anything else comes after us for revenge."

"Right, I'll take the lead now."

Hikari and Sekai moved forward, making sure that the others were following them. The next passage was wider than the one they had come out of, but not by much. Not only that, but it was also getting brighter as they continued to move forward. The light soon changed colors too, filling the area with a bluish light, giving everything a slight tint of blue, while erasing red and yellow tinting. Hikari looked down at her hand at one point, and was slightly surprised to see that her hand was now a light blue color. She knew it was a trick of the eyes, but it still felt weird.

Hikari's beads, however, did not change in the slightest. They remained the same purple color as ever, giving them an out-of-place look. Hikari took note of this, just as the walls around them began to change. They became more like stone rather than dirt and gravel. Soon enough, the party found themselves at the source of the light.

They entered a large, circular room that extended skyward for what seemed like miles. The walls around them gave off a brighter blue light than what they had seen before, and Hikari finally recognized what was going on.

"I understand now," Hikari said, moving to touch the wall. "The Beads of Light were fashioned from this material. The legend passed down by my family, the royal family, says that in order for the light to penetrate the darkness, they must be filled with a pure magic that comes from these very same walls. We have to be in the Temple of Light."

Soundtrack: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XZkLmomNgA&feature=related

"In the Temple of Light," Hikari recited, her eyes focused upward with her arms spread wide. "There exists a holy light that penetrates through the darkness. Look down at your feet, you will see that there is nowhere that the light cannot reach. Even shadows of a person do not exist in this place. The creatures of the shadow cannot come near this area, for fear of being destroyed by the holy light this place constantly emits. It it said that when the end of shadow comes, the holy light will spread throughout the land and erase the evil completely, and the land will come to an era of love and peace that will never again be disturbed by the fabrics of time or space."

Hikari looked down, relaxing her arms at her sides. She took a deep breath, and sighed. "The only problem is, the Beads of Light have lost their magical power. I wanted to come here in hopes of restoring them, but I don't know what to do from here."

Melody trundled along after everyone else. Mia seemed to be sticking to the rear, so the woman walked a bit ahead of her. She cared for the young girl, but she was getting stronger. Mia could handle herself in the case of a surprise attack. However, as they continued along and the light became more powerful, an overwhelming sense of peace washed over her; nothing would attack them here. Or better yet, nothing could attack them here.

"My, what beautiful light," she commented when they came to a stop. The empath listened to Hikari's explanation and became slightly distraught. She was about to speak up, but was surprised when Mia came forward.

"What are we to do then? There must be some procedure. Something," she stated, looking around. The light of the place was making her feel uncomfortable, but she huffed and ignored it. They had pressing matters to attend to. "Here we are in the place that holds the power to vanquish shadows, yet we don't know how to power up this ultimate weapon: the Beads of Light."

"Mia, patience is a virtue," Melody said softly with a smile and reached out to pat Mia on the head only to get her hand smacked. Melody withdrew it quickly and let rest at her side. "Hikari, you seem so well-versed in the lore of the Beads of Light, though as a member of the royal family, it's only natural. Are you sure you have no clue about what to do next?"

Mia turned her back to the others. "I guess we were being a bit optimistic, hoping that light would just flood into the Beads and power them up now, were we?" she spoke flatly and sighed.

"Well, that would be great, but they don't seem to be reacting at the moment...but there are so many possibilities. Do we place them somewhere? Perform some sort of ritual? Recite an incantation?" she shook her head, hopeless.

Hikari bit her bottom lip slightly, considering what Melody was suggesting. She was grateful that everyone was trying to help, but at the moment, Hikari still didn't know what to do. It was Sekai who then spoke up, much to Hikari's surprise.

"Hikari, don't you remember what our mother used to sing to us before she died?" Sekai asked, a small, hardly-noticeable smile forming on her lips. The memory of their mother flashed before her eyes for a moment, but disappeared just as quickly as it came. "I remember it was her who sang a melody of some sort. It was in a different language, and I didn't understand a single word she said. But even so, the song felt...tranquil."

"I know what you're thinking, Sekai," Hikari replied, looking down slightly. "But it was an ancient song of healing and restoration, not an incantation. They seem to be the same, but they aren't. Incantations are for magic, while the song was magic."

Now Hikari turned back to Melody, who was throwing out suggestions before. "Everyone in my family knows about the Beads of Light. But I was taught more by our mother," Hikari pointed to Sekai briefly, showing who she included in her statement. "But other than the story of the great sage who was the creator of the Beads of Light, as well as the one to banish the shadows back to their realm, I don't know much of anything."

Melody frowned. This didn't seem all that great. Had they truly come all this way for nothing? No. She wouldn't be content with leaving with no results. She set the gears of her mind into motion, thinking thoroughly on what they could possibly do. Her suggestions had been feasible, but it didn't appear as if there were any true incantation to be used or special spot to place the Beads of Light. Usually temples like these had altars and the like, but it seemed that it wasn't the case. They would have remain at a loss until some idea formed in their minds.

"This has happened before," Mia stated so suddenly that it caused Melody to jump, breaking her train of thoughts. Mia seemed to notice, but didn't really care.

"Mia, you scared me there," Melody said and laughed uneasily, a bit shaken. "What do you mean?"

"The shadows. They have been around before. This isn't new. The sage. The one from the past. He admonished the darkness..." here she paused and looked downcast for a slight moment before turning her gaze upwards. "He used the Beads of Light. So...how did he managed to fill the Beads with power? Is it not true that he may have faced a situation similar to our own all of those years ago?"

Melody scratched her head before straightening the hair she had tangled up with her hand. "I...suppose that's true, Mia, dear," she said and tilted her head. "It really wouldn't make sense for the Beads of Light to have always possessed their power; someone had to fill them with power before...like we're trying to do now, right?" It made sense, but would it really get them anywhere. Was the method of filling the Beads with power even passed down in the legend? Surely there had to be some hint there somewhere. The sage had to have done it...but how?

"There is..." Hikari started, but soon stopped herself, taking a glance at Sekai. She had remembered a different legend about the Beads of Light, but if that one were true, there would be no hope of restoring the beads at all. "A second legend," Hikari stopped again, not exactly willing to continue on with this story. "About the Beads of Light. When the sage came to separate the Light and the Shadow, he prayed at the top of the temple to the Goddess of Light, Celestria. In this story, Celestria gave the sage all of her powers and took the form of what we now call the Beads of Light."

"And what if that's true?" Sekai asked, "Can't we just preform some sort of ritual to bring Celestria's powers back? Isn't there something we can do?"

"The only one who can revive a god is another god," Hikari replied, shaking her head. "If that second legend is true, and the first is not, then we don't have any hope of restoring the beads. If the first one is true, then there is a way, I just don't know it."

Sekai opened her mouth to retort, but hesitated, and instead sat down on the floor and folded her arms over her chest with her legs crossed over each other. She had sunken into a deep layer of thought, something that was uncommon for one such as herself. Hikari made no extra comment, however, and addressed Rai, who had spoken up.

"I remember the song, but..." Hikari frowned, "Like I said before, the song itself is a magic of regeneration and healing, not an incantation of awakening. It wouldn't fit in either account. That and..." Hikari's face turned pink, "It's embarrassing to sing in front of so many people...besides, the first legend requires an incantation and the second requires a god. The differences between the song mother used to sing and an incantation are vitally different."

"Isn't this a tower?" Sekai asked, her voice a low mumble, as if she wasn't so sure of herself. "Shouldn't there be a top level?"

Hikari nodded, "The Altar of Light, Stairway to the Heavens, God's Temple. That place has different names and different legends corresponding to each of those names." Hikari grimaced, "But each one has different requirements for the 'door' to open." Hikari pointed to a large, rounded door on the other side of the room. "I suppose that's what they mean."

"Stop." Mia held her hand up. "Sorazorashii might still be here. We only met her not too long ago." She let her words drift into the air. They were...strange in terms of the emotion they carried. She looked over at Melody who was closing her eyes trying to sense something. That was odd. Mia decided not to say anything else. She just decided to ruminate for the moment.

"Well, Mia, darling," Melody spoke up suddenly, her voice tinted in whimsy. "Even if Miss Sora were still here, we'd have no idea how to find out if that were true or not." Sorazorashii was a strange one, even for a deity. Melody had tried sensing for any trace of her emotions, but she had just gained the powers of an empath. Besides, a goddess surely would be more difficult to find.

"And now you know why nothing else came out of my mouth," Mia snapped at the older woman angrily. She rolled her eyes and continued to think. Wasted words.

Hikari looked around the spacious floor of the tower. The only thing that could be identified was the large doors. She sighed and began to walk over to them. "I don't think any god or goddess is going to help us. And since there's no sign or hint of any kind in the legends, we may have to open this door."

"Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait!" Sekai said quickly, grabbing Hikari's dress and pulling her back. "How long will it take to open that door?"

"I don't know...a year, maybe?" Hikari suggested, looking down at the floor. "The requirements for this door is to activate all of the powers of the Elemental Temples."

"And how exactly do we do that?" Sekai asked.

"...I have to light them with magic from..." Hikari stopped, looking down at the Beads of Light hanging around her neck. "The Beads of Light."

"So there is, without a doubt, a way to restore the beads to their original form," Sekai concluded. Hikari looked strangely at her sister, confused as to where she had gotten this idea. Sekai gave her an exasperated look and placed a hand on her hip. "Seriously, Hikari. You really aren't good at puzzles like these. There is no god or goddess that can help us, the door won't open without the power of the Beads of Light, so there must be a way for a human to restore the Beads to their original form. Think! I know you've done nothing but read legend books for 17 years, so use that knowledge to solve this riddle!"

Hikari paused, contemplating Sekai's words. They were compelling, and Hikari felt like believing that Sekai was right. Hikari took off the Beads of Light, and threw them onto the ground. Hikari sat down in front of the beads cross-legged. Hikari then took out a small chest that she had obtained from Sigma when the party had defeated him. It was adorned with a solid gold frame and exactly four rubies sat on top of the lid of the chest. Hikari breathed out, placing both of her hands together, folding her fingers together, as if she were praying.

"I remembered something," Hikari said, closing her eyes and beginning to focus. "I remember reading a legend from one of the books in the castle about the legend of Celestria. According to the legend, Celestria sealed her own powers not only into the Beads of Light, but also into a gold-encrusted chest. The chest has the power to restore the Beads of Light to their original form, but cannot be opened unless the true heir of the Sage of Light says an ancient incantation for revealing the truth." Hikari took in a deep breath and laid her hands on the chest. "Here goes nothing..." Hikari opened her mouth and began to chant slowly in an odd language, her pronunciation carefully done. A single mistake would mess up her entire incantation.

With the final word, the entire room echoed with a clicking sound, like a door that unlocked. Hikari's hands moved off to the side of the chest and lifted the lid open. She had expected a burst of light when she opened it, but there was no light coming from inside the chest at all. Surprised, Hikari threw open the lid and revealed the contents.

A single bead lay on the purple pillow beneath it. It was a beautiful, iridescent blue color. Hikari reached in and picked the bead up, holding it up at eye level. "A Bead of Light...?" Hikari seemed confused at this point. "This isn't what the legend said it was...not even close."

"Well, you know legends," Sekai said, "They tend to fudge the truth. The reader simply needs to identify the truth beneath the lies is all."

"You make it sound easy," Hikari said, frowning.

"So what do we do now?"

"Well, I can try this." Hikari picked up the beads that lay on the ground. They gave off a faint, purple glow, unlike the iridescent blue bead, which gave off a brighter glow. Hikari placed the blue bead onto the other beads, as if trying to press them together. The purple beads suddenly shifted, and one of the purple beads fell out, and the blue bead soon took it's place. The other purple beads immediately reacted to the change and lit up, the blue color rapidly spreading throughout the chain until the entire thing shone with the same iridescent blue color.

"Looks like it worked," Sekai commented, looking fairly unimpressed. Hikari stood up and turned to the group.

"There's only one way to find out, but I'd prefer not to find any shadow creatures," Hikari replied.

"What now?" Sekai asked, "Now that the Beads of Light have been restored, how shall we go about eliminating the shadows?"

"I want to talk with an Elemental Sage," Hikari answered quickly, a plan seemed to have already formed in her mind long ago. "I need to confirm something with them. I think we need to light the Elemental Temples, but I'm not entirely sure, so a sage of one of those temples has to know something."

"Alright!" Sekai shouted, pumping her fist in the air, "We're going on a sage-hunt!"

"This is wonderful!" Melody stated, eyeing the newly restored Beads of Light with pleasure. They were quite beautiful now that they glowed with the power that could vanquish the darkness. Who knew that a charged Bead of Light was in existence? In any case, they had come to do what they needed to do.

Mia took a step back as she noticed the beads being restored and covered one eye with her hand. Why is the resonance affecting me? It hurts..., she thought, shaking off the strange feeling that was creeping up and down her spine. She was useless if she couldn't fight, so she removed her hand and stood up straight.

Turning around, Melody gave Mia a concerned glance. "Is everything all right, Mia?" she asked gently and took a few steps towards the young girl.

"Get any closer and I'll impale you," Mia stated harshly, gripping the hilt of her katana tightly. "If we're going to look for some sage, we should probably hop to it. The forces of darkness....they're not going to wait for us to accomplish whatever goals we set for ourselves. To do so would be to doom themselves."

Melody collapsed in her rather comfy bed at the inn in Jesu City. Well, it was comfier than anything she had slept on in a while. Her feet were aching and she looked down at them miserably. She was in need of at least a little rest and now she had it. They had a new goal set now. A smile made its way onto her face as she thought about how close they were to ridding the world of shadows. It was a fantastic thought. Of course, there was another goal in her mind that she knew she wouldn't be able to accomplish for a while, probably not until this journey was over. It had been keeping her rather occupied, so she hadn't had the chance to search like she thought she would.

"You sure are moody," Mia spoke up from the other bed in the room. She was sitting there, eyes closed, holding her katana with one hand on the hilt and the other with the blade resting on it. "First you're all smiling and now you're frowning. Choose an emotion and stick with it."

Melody hadn't realized that she was frowning. "Oh, Mia dear. Are you worried about me?"

"I'm ashamed of myself for saying anything because I knew the half-wit response I was going to get before doing so," she replied harshly and didn't speak another word.

The empath stifled a laugh. That girl was far too serious. It was probably a consequence of having to grow up on her own without any parents. And it seems there's nothing I can do to change that. I'm hopeless..., she thought sadly, trying to stop herself from crying.

A guard stood outside the Jesu City walls, overlooking the plains beyond the city limits. A cold breeze shook him, his steel armor absorbing the cold and biting at his bare flesh. He shivered. The guard turned his back on the outside of the city and looked inside. The entire city was illuminated with a dim, yellow glow. It was a beautiful sight, but he couldn't stay focused on the city for so long, he had a job to do. With a heavy sigh, the guard turned back to face the plains beyond.

A faint, jingle of a bell sounded in the still, cold air. The guard froze to the spot, his hand on the hilt of his sword. The bell sound had startled him, so he stood motionless, rooted to the spot. After awhile, he slowly began to let go of the hilt of his sword. Was it his imagination? Perhaps these night shifts really weren't for him.

Suddenly, another bell rang throughout the night. The guard immediately spun around on the spot and drew his sword, examining his surroundings. It had been a bit louder this time, with a sort of higher pitch than the bells they rang to alert the city of an enemy attack. The bell sound was foreign to him.

"Who goes there?" The guard called out, looking around, searching for any sign of a being, whether it be human or beast. The bell sounded again, as if to respond to his question.

A tall man suddenly appeared, walking through the darkness of the night, his entire body cloaked in black robes, blending in with the darkness around him. He had a large hood covering most of his face, so he couldn't be identified. A small, round bell hung from the blood-red rope around his cloak. The man set his feet at shoulder-width, stopping in his tracks, causing the bell to ring again.

"Did you not hear me, strange one? Who goes there?" The guard asked again, more forcefully this time, pointing his sword at the man.

The man's shoulders seemed to buckle, as if he were chuckling, but he made no sound. Finally, with a voice like silver, the man spoke, "Is it so strange for a traveler to go towards the light for shelter from the darkness?"

"Strange for a...what?" The guard scowled, irritated at the strange man's question. "Don't pull that crap with me! What 'traveler' doesn't carry around light with them during the night?! For all I know, you could be with those creatures of shadow the sage warned us about!"

"Sage...?" The man seemed to have only caught onto that part of the guard's words, which only made the guard more irritated. This strange 'traveler' seemed to be a bit too calm for someone who had spent so much time lurking around outside during the night. "Ah, you must mean that woman," the man continued, the hood of his cloak moving with his head as he tilted it to the side. "You must not have heard, so I'll tell you something interesting," the man said.

"I don't want to hear it! Turn back around this instant, or I'll run you through with this sword!" The guard shouted, brandishing his sword at the man.

"Sword?" The man asked. He raised one of his arms, beginning to reveal his hand, a finger pointing at the guard. "What sword? You aren't holding anything."

"What do you-OI!" The guard shouted in shock, just now noticing that his sword had suddenly disappeared. Not only that, but his hand had also disappeared. The guard stared in horror at his bare wrist, then the pain came. He roared in agony, falling to his knees, clutching his wrist with his other hand. He continued to moan with pain and fell to the ground, the pain unbearable for him.

"Don't worry," the strange man said, "I, Azonia, shall make sure my final attack is painless." And with that said, the sound of steel cleaving flesh resounded in the night, and the guard's head rolled away from his body. The shrieking had stopped as quickly as the head was detached from it's neck.

The man kicked the head with his boot, sending it flying into the Forgotten Lake, where it caused a loud splash and simply floated away. The man who had called himself Azonia sighed. "If only you had just listened to me and let me go, you would have lived," he said. Azonia took a second look down at the corpse of the guard for a second, then stepped over it and passed through the gates. The security here was lax, he would be able to infiltrate as far as he wanted to without any help. But he had a mission now, he would kill the lord of the land at some other point.

Azonia put down his hood, revealing his face. It was covered with deep scars and terrible burn marks. He was completely bald, no facial hair or eyebrows, even the top of his head was void of hair. His scarlet eyes were full of life, though, life and lust for power. He had several piercings in his ears with golden loops through them. The man took out a knife from somewhere in his cloak and pointed it at his head. With one swift motion, he made a deep laceration into the top of his scalp, drawing a nastily large flow of blood from it. "And that's number 9,999. Just one more to go."

Soundtrack: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JI0jAW7s0YY&feature=related

Sekai was already running out the door by the time Rai had awoken. With tightened gloved and a determined expression, Sekai ran through the streets towards the entrance of the city. It didn't take long for her to get there, but whatever had caused the guard to die had already vanished. Was it a shadow creature? No, they couldn't win against a guard, not like this. Sekai knelt down next to the guard for a moment, examining his wounds. This was done by someone with a sword, and from her knowledge, shadows can't hold swords. Sekai stood back up and ran back into the city. She had to find the murderer before someone else was killed.

Suddenly, a high pitched scream shook the very air of the city. It was a woman's scream, and it was close. Sekai heard laughing as well, from a male voice. The laugh was sinister, and put a sickening feeling in Sekai's chest. sekai licked her lips, tasting something sour. Sekai was suddenly aware of her surroundings, an automatic reflex. On either side of the cobblestone streets, houses were precariously set apart, leaving a small alleyway in between them. The street lamps flickered on and off, plunging the world into darkness only to bring forth light once again.

Sekai turned around the corner only to quickly jump to the side as a round object suddenly flew past her. Sekai's head snapped over towards the source. A tall man in a dark cloak stood, holding up a large, thin sword in his left hand. The headless body of a woman fell to her knees, then slammed into the ground, where it joined with the body of a headless man. Blood was everywhere. Sekai didn't dare to see what had almost hit her, she was already shaking with primitive fear, glaring at the man. This was probably the same person who had killed the guard from the gates. If he wasn't stopped, then there would be a massacre.

"Still no one with enough strength to make my 10,000 kill?" The man growled, wiping his sword with a strange object, getting the blood off of it. Once done wiping the blood off, he threw the object to the ground. It was a small doll. Sekai could already feel her blood starting to boil as she stared down at the doll.

Sekai took a step forward, being as quiet as she could. If she could reach him without being noticed, Sekai may be able to crack his neck and put an end to all of this before anyone else could get hurt.

"Are you my next opponent?" The tall man asked, turning around to face Sekai, a grin on his face. Sekai grimaced, still glaring at the man. Sekai spread and bent her knees, putting herself together into a fighting pose. "A woman?" The man seemed to be confused now, as if he were expecting something other than Sekai. "I heard footsteps, but they certainly weren't womanly!" the man was laughing now, his chest stuck out and his head held high. Blood ran down the side of his skull and into his clothing, but he didn't seem to care.

"Sorry to disappoint you," Sekai snapped, still glaring at the man.

"Fine, I, Azonia, shall take you on. What is your name? I would like to know the name of the person who will become my 10,000th kill." Azonia asked, brandishing his sword at Sekai.

"Sekai Kizuna is my name," Sekai said, "but I'm not the one who is going to die here!" Sekai lunged at Azonia with incredible speeds, catching him off guard. She kicked his sword hand in order to push it away, then grasped onto his shoulders with both hands, flipping over him. She tightened her grip and, as she landed, threw the large man over her own head and into the fountain in the center. Azonia crashed into the fountain and landed in the water, becoming soaked. He quickly regained his composure, however, and before Sekai could launch a follow-up attack, he had lunged at her, sword in hand.

Sekai ducked and weaved around the man and flipped, using her hands to give herself momentum as her heel crashed down onto Azonia's back, forcing him to the ground. Sekai jumped off of him, straight up into the air. She grabbed both of her feet while in the air and pulled them up towards the center of her body, leaving her knees bare. Sekai then plummeted back to the earth and crashed right into Azonia's chest with a massive amount of force.

As soon as the dust from the crash blew away, Sekai was revealed, clutching her knees, which were covered and leaking blood. Her attack had missed, Azonia had gotten up just before the attack. Sekai cursed, rolling away from the crash area and attempting to stand up. She barely managed to stand on her trembling knees, which racked her with a piercing pain.

Azonia stood on the other side of the crash site, seemingly unharmed. He showed no signs of any pain. Azonia brushed off some dust from his cloak, almost nonchalantly. "So," he said, "is that it?" Sekai hissed at him in response, shooting him nothing but hateful looks. Azonia laughed, "Then this is good-bye, number 10,000." Azonia began to make his way towards Sekai, calmly walking with his sword ready to strike.

Sekai took a step back. Her legs suddenly screamed with protest, pain rattling throughout her entire body. Sekai's knees buckled and she hit the ground, breathing heavily. Sekai could hardly move, and Azonia was approaching slowly.