Chapter XXVIII
A Sun Sets, A Sun Rises
The front gates of the palace of Acarienthia swung open, and the Acarian king stepped out, garbed in his full black battle armour. The two men guarding the palace bowed to him as he emerged, though he strode past them without so much as a glance. Zinoro descended the steps down into the city, his black cape billowing behind him in the wind. He marched with the look of a man about to commit a grave evil; a man on a path that could not be deterred.
"It can't be..."
From their hiding place behind one of the nearby ruined buildings, Brand, Wiosna, and Gordon watched with pale faces as Zinoro emerged from the palace. Wiosna's hand covered her mouth, her eyes wide in disbelief.
"Did Luca... fail?" Brand muttered. "No. No, it can't be..."
Gordon blinked a few times, taking in the reality of the situation. And then, he slowly cast his eyes down to the ground, defeated.
Zinoro stopped at the bottom of the steps, considering. Then, he shouted out to the empty streets, "Gordon?! I know you're out there! Come face me! Show yourself!"
A moment passed, and Gordon's expression was as empty as that of a statue. Brand and Wiosna turned to him.
"Gordon! At least have the honour to face me after what you've done!"
Gordon took a deep breath, and he began to walk out towards the streets. Brand moved after him, grabbing him by the arm and pulling him back. "What are you doing? He'll kill you!"
There was a look of resignation in Gordon's eyes. "I expected to die the moment I returned to this city. Whether Luca won or not, I never wanted to leave. Acaria is my home, and I will die here in it."
"It... it doesn't have to be that way," Wiosna pleaded.
"He won't leave until he's found me," Gordon said. "He knows I'm here, but not you two. So I'll go. You two stay here. Better he kill me, than all three of us."
Seeing that there was no possibility of talking him out of it, Brand slowly let go. Gordon turned away, and walked out to the streets.
Zinoro spotted him as he emerged. "There you are. Come here. I want to look you in the eyes."
One step at a time, Gordon made his way down the street, towards the man in black armour. A few long minutes passed, and Zinoro waited patiently. Finally, once Gordon stood before him, he slowly looked up and met Zinoro's gaze.
"You betrayed me, Gordon. You, the first acolyte I chose. The man who served with my father, and the sole survivor of the attack that took his life."
After a pause, Gordon said in a small voice, "I did."
"Tell me why."
"Because of what you have become," Gordon said, a hint of conviction in his voice. "There was a time, when first I returned from Sono, when I followed you with pride. But you went to that shrine, and you came back a different person. All the things you've done since then - you said they were justified - that you were doing them to save Acaria. But you're not. You're lost in your own madness. I don't know why you commit these atrocities anymore, and I don't think you do, either. You just continue because you have nothing left. Acaria is dead, and I would rather see her die in peace than be brought back under your rule."
Zinoro thought on this. "The Sonoians must pay for what they did to us."
"Your father's campaign against the Sonoians was not wrong," Gordon said. "And Zaow's retaliation to it was not wrong, either. Both sides did what was right at the time. The whole ordeal was just the sad, final chapter in Acaria's death."
"You can think that," Zinoro said. "But you're wrong. This is not the end. Acaria will live on for a thousand years more. I will take my army to Sono, and they will know what vengeance feels like. They will know that Acaria is not dead."
"With an army of dead men? Your message denies itself."
Zinoro glanced back at the palace. "Your champion is dead. I took his sword - the very sword that his father used to kill my own - and drove it through his chest. In the end, the only one who could have stopped me stood no chance. I see now that fate cannot be denied. It is my fate to destroy Sono the way they tried to destroy Acaria. And I suppose it was your fate to try to stop me."
Reaching across his back, Zinoro drew his great sword. The black manaflame surged across the blade, and Gordon could feel its overpowering presence from where he stood.
"You know I do not tolerate treachery," Zinoro said. He held his blade high in the air.
Gordon took a deep breath and closed his eyes, ready for the strike. Zinoro swung the blade.
It stopped a hair shy of Gordon's throat.
"I do have the potential to be merciful," Zinoro said. "You served me well, before you turned against me. So I will give you a promise. If I ever see you again... I will kill you."
The manaflame faded away, and Zinoro returned the sword to its sheath. Without another word to say to him, he marched past Gordon and away from the palace. He was on his way to the gates of the city, to the Grey Wasteland outside, where the giant warp circle, and his army of revenants, waited.
Gordon stood, still as a statue, until Zinoro was gone, and he let out a heavy breath that he had not known he was holding. He felt refreshed, in the way that only a man who had just avoided death could.
At the sound of footsteps, Gordon turned around to see Brand and Wiosna running to him.
"He's gone," Brand said. "Where is he going?"
"T'Saw," Gordon muttered. "He's going to war with that giant army of revenants outside."
"What did he say to you?" Wiosna asked him. Gordon knew what she wanted to know. And he dreaded saying it. But it had to be done.
"He said... he killed Luca."
Wiosna cast her eyes down, wearing a look of despair and restrained grief. Brand clenched his fists and his jaw. He glanced for a brief moment in the direction of the city's gate, where Zinoro had gone. But he did not go after the man who had killed his closest friend. Brand was not foolish enough to throw his life away.
"We can still save Emila," Brand reassured Wiosna. Glancing up at the entrance of the palace, one of the guards had noticed them, and was pointing them out to the other. "We can get Emila and race back to T'Saw. It will take him weeks to get that huge army to the city, whereas four people can travel quickly. If we get there first, we can warn them of what's coming."
Gordon nodded. Wiosna, after a moment, looked up and wiped her eyes. "You're right," she said. "We can still fight, can't we?"
Hearing the two palace guards coming down the stairs towards them, Wiosna drew her sword. "We'll start with these two." She took off at a run.
Brand watched her for a moment, then smirked. "Yeah, I think that'll make me feel better, too." He drew his scimitar, and followed after her.
He saw a soft, gentle light.
I'm dead.
There was a warmth flowing through him. He felt like he was floating.
Is this the life after life? Am I where we go when we vanish from the world?
He could hear the sound of a voice speaking to him. He had never heard the voice before, but there was a strange familiarity to it.
"Wake up."
Slowly, his eyelids opened.
Through blurred vision, he saw a strong light. It was so bright, it hurt his eyes to try and see through it. He felt comfortable; at peace. The pain in his chest was gone.
It dawned on his that he was not dead. The light in his eyes was the light of the setting sun, streaming in from the broken stain glass windows of the hall.
As his vision adjusted, he began to see that someone sat over him. The soft glow of healing magick came from a pair of hands placed over his wound. As the image sharpened, he saw black hair and green eyes.
"...Emila?"
Luca blinked. The healing magick faded; the wound in his chest was completely healed. Memories of the fight before came back to him. He remembered the confrontation with Zinoro, the difficult battle, and his horrible mistake at the moment when he should have won. And he remembered what Emila had done to save him, and t
he tragic consequences of that.
His vision returned to the girl in front of him. She was not Emila. Her hair was shorter, cut just before her shoulders. And she was younger, at least by a few years. But otherwise, the resemblance between the two was so uncanny that they couldn't have been anything but sisters.
The girl pointed away. "She's right there."
Luca turned his head. Indeed, Emila was lying nearby on the stone floor, her eyes closed. Her breathing was soft and steady. Though her dress was covered in red stains, the wound he had transferred to her was gone. She was alright.
He sighed in relief, and slowly sat up. The girl moved away from him, giving him space. He looked down at the breastplate he wore. It was dented and broken, and covered in his blood. Grimacing, he undid the straps and tossed the thing away. Through the hole in his shirt, he examined the spot where he had been stabbed. It was healed, completely and perfectly. There was no trace that he had even been wounded, aside from the blood.
He looked inward, searching for any trace of the second tether. There was none. Their 'deaths' must have broken it. Though Luca did feel his mana was restored, after being so drained from his fight with Zinoro. One good thing came from it, at least.
He looked back at the small girl who had healed him. "Who are you?"
She hesitated for a moment, then said, "My name is Eva. I'm Zinoro's sister."
Luca stared for at the girl for a moment, unable to believe what he'd just heard. Though he'd known the moment he'd laid eyes on the girl, to hear it out loud...
"So that's really her, then?" Eva asked, pointing to Emila. "That's really... my big sister?"
"It is."
"She's really alive..." Eva said, a smile forming. But just as quickly, the smile faded, replaced with a frown. "But Zinoro told me..."
"What did he tell you?"
"He told me everyone died in the attack. Mother, Father, and Emila, too." She looked sad, thinking back to that. "I know Father died. I saw it happen. I even tried to bring him back, but-"
The loud sound of the doors slamming open interrupted her. Three figures ran into the room, with drawn weapons. Luca immediately knew who they were. He climbed to his feet.
"Luca!" Wiosna exclaimed, running towards him. He grimaced as her arms wrapped around him in a tight embrace. "You're alive!"
Brand and Gordon joined them. "Zinoro said he'd killed you..." Brand said slowly.
Luca frowned. "That's because he did. But I got better. Thanks to Eva." He stepped out of Wiosna's hug and showed the others the girl who had saved him.
Brand looked at Eva for a moment, confused. He then looked to the unconscious form of Emila, and then back to the younger girl. His eyes grew wide. "What the...?"
"I still don't understand the situation," Luca said. "A lot of explanations are due. But first... I think more than anything... Emila deserves to woken up."
Ignoring everyone's confused glances, Luca went over to where Emila lay and sat down beside her. He began to shake her gently, and say her name, until her eyelids fluttered open.
"Wha...?" Sleepily, she blinked, and looked up at him. "Luca? What happened?"
He took her hand in his and squeezed gently. "It's alright. We're okay."
The realisation of what had happened came to Emila, and she looked fearful for a moment. "I'm so sorry. I was such a fool..."
"It's okay," he reassured her, squeezing her hand again. "There's something more important right now that you should see."
Emila gave him a confused look, as he helped her up to a sitting position, and moved away so she could see the others.
"Brand?" Emila muttered. "Wiosna?" She paused for a moment, not recognising Gordon, then her eyes fell on Eva. Her eyes grew wide, and her jaw dropped.
"By the light... It can't be..."
Eva smiled. "Em?"
Tears in her eyes, Emila all but shoved Luca aside as she climbed to her feet. She ran, throwing her arms around her little sister and holding her tight, as though she were about to disappear. But she did not; Emila's sister was returned to her, in flesh and blood.
Luca sat on the steps before the throne with Brand, Wiosna, and Gordon. Some distance away, Emila sat by one of the pillars with her Eva, the two talking excitedly. They each wore bright smiles. Luca felt at peace, seeing Emila so happy.
Luca had just finished catching Brand and Wiosna up with what had happened with Zinoro. Gordon might have been listening, but he was lost in his own thoughts; he would glance at the throne from time to time, frowning.
"You're a fool for leaving us behind," Brand told Luca.
"Perhaps I am," he said. "But I knew this was going to end in fighting. I didn't want you to get hurt."
"I know that," said Brand. "But still..."
"It's a miracle that I even survived," Luca muttered. He thought of Emila, and how the tether had backfired on them. He had omitted that part when he'd told them the story, as well as the reason why Emila has come to Acaria. "I have no idea how Eva managed to heal me. That wound was mortal... Emila couldn't do anything for it."
"Perhaps your connection had something to do with it?" Wiosna suggested.
"The tether is broken," Luca said. And it truly was; he felt not even the faintest trace of it anymore, and neither had Emila. "I was dead. There was no denying that. Zinoro wouldn't have gone if I hadn't been. Somehow... Emila's sister did the impossible."
They looked over at the two of them again. Eva was speaking excitedly about something, and Emila was listening, but the overjoyed smile of before had faded, replaced by a worried frown.
"Emila never spoke about her family," Brand said.
"To me, she did once," Luca said. "Her family entire family was killed in an Acarian attack that wiped out her home town. Not too different from what happened to me, actually. Everyone she knew died, including her mother, her father, and her sister... or so she thought. I don't know for sure... but it would seem Zinoro spared Eva in that attack, and has kept her here since."
"What could have possibly brought him to do something like that?"
Luca hesitated. He'd already told them too much - personal secrets Emila had entrusted to him. But the situation demanded they know. "Because Eva is Zinoro's half-sister."
"But that would mean..." Brand started, but as he put two-and-two together, he trailed off and his eyes grew wide. "Holy hell... That girl sure had secrets."
Wiosna glanced at the two sisters, and her eyes narrowed. "All this time, and she never said anything?"
"There's a lot of things she's kept to herself," Luca said, his eyes never leaving Emila. "She represses her pain, and being Zinoro's sister was the greatest source of suffering in her life. She lost everything that mattered to her, and it was her own brother that took it from her. The pain was too much for her... she tried to bury and forget it." Eva said something, and Emila laughed aloud. "Look at how happy she is now. I know what it feels like, to think you've lost your entire family, only to find that you still had a sibling left. After everything she's been through, she deserves this."
Still, there was something that bothered him. Luca leaned over and faced Gordon. "Did you know anything about this?"
Gordon sat up, and his eyes were filled with the memories of before. "I was there, when Zinoro attacked Sulin to bring his mother back to Acaria. I didn't see how the confrontation went, but I know he ended up killing her and imprisoning the two daughters she'd had in the years since then. I... managed to free the older daughter when Zinoro wasn't around, but he kept the younger daughter close at hand and I never got the same chance." He glanced again at the throne. "He always kept her away from us acolytes, and we never saw them together. I don't think Dreevius even knew she existed, actually. I always suspected he was training her as his successor."
Eva made a loud giggling sound, and Luca found himself doubting that theory. "But still, you never said anything about her?"
"It was never relevant," Gordon said. "If I had seen Emila, e
ven for a moment, I would have recognised her at once. But I never did, so how could I have known that the girl you were travelling with, out of the millions of maidens in Bacoria, would just happen to be the very one I freed that day? And I had forgotten the name of the older sister, though I knew there was something familiar about that name when you first said it to me... but even so, names are not unique."
Luca frowned, thinking about that. That day, when Gordon had been disguised as a Sonoian guard, and had escorted him to the Elder Hall; Emila had been right there, beside him, separated from Gordon by nothing more than the thin fabric of a tent wall. If she had stepped outside with him for a single moment, how different would things have turned out?
"It's a very small world, it seems," he said.
"Or perhaps it's something else," Brand suggested. "Perhaps there is some sort of hand, guiding our actions and putting the pieces in place for events to turn out a certain way. Perhaps that is how prophets make their uncertain predictions... by looking over those pieces and taking guesses at how things will turn out."
"If that was true, I could have killed him," Luca muttered in a bitter voice. "I would have the tools and the skills I needed to stop him. Instead, I could do almost nothing, even when I thought I had won, I was so far from victory. I survived through an unbelievable coincidence, and Zinoro just walked away."
Luca glanced over at the pool of his blood on the floor. Siora rested on the floor nearby, still stained with his blood. He hadn't picked the blade back up. He felt ashamed, as though he didn't have the right. He felt like his father would have been ashamed of his failure.
"We saw Zinoro outside," Wiosna said to him. "He was on his way to that army outside. He's taking them to T'Saw."
Luca frowned, as her words set in. "That means..."
It meant they had little time. They needed to warn the Sonoians.
He suddenly drew himself up from the steps, drawing surprised looks from the others. But before he could take even two steps, as though in response to his actions, a great flash of light shone through the shattered windows. Everyone grew quiet, as an overbearing sound like thunder filled the air. A few seconds passed, and the light faded.
"What was that?" Brand asked Luca, who wore a pale expression.
"Zinoro has gone to T'Saw."
"But I thought..."
"He needs the warp circles to travel, yes. But that's just to get there. The circle in the valley was used to bring them back after the battle was done. As long as he has access to one of those circles, he can send his army anywhere."
Brand and Wiosna exchanged glances.
"So that means he's already there..." Wiosna said in a low voice.
"Indeed," Luca replied. "Just like the surprise attack in the valley, and the attack against Allma Temple. They appear without warning. The revenants are already in the streets of T'Saw."
Luca could imagine the terrified looks of the people of T'Saw, who had been only a moment ago going about their daily lives in peace. They would not understand what was happening, or why, only that these faceless shadow men had appeared from nowhere and were killing them without discrimination. He clenched his fists in frustration, because he knew there was nothing he could do to stop it.
"Luca...?"
He looked up, and saw Emila standing before him. Her teenage sister stood behind her, looking confused.
"It's Zinoro, isn't it?"
Reluctantly, he told her, "He's gone to T'Saw."
As those implications hung in the air, Luca expected Emila to react the same as the others; with fear of what was happening in T'Saw, and the frustration of their powerlessness to stop it. Instead, a great rage filled her eyes, and she turned away from him and stared intently at the throne room door like she was about to run for it.
"That bastard... he's really going to kill all those people...!"
Little Eva stared at her sister, her confusion only growing.
Emila turned back to Luca. "We have to go! We have to stop him!"
"How?!" Luca demanded, his frustration birthing anger. "How could we possibly get back there in time? It would take us months to travel all the way back to T'Saw!"
"What about your teleportation magick?" Brand suggested. "Can it travel long distances?"
"I don't know," Luca said. "I know Zinoro can do it, but our techniques differ. My version seems to be focused on short range, while his is for long distances... But even if we could somehow get there, what could we do? I can't fight him, even when he was holding back!"
If Zinoro used the manaflame... nothing could stop him.
"We still have to try!" Emila shouted. "Selphie, Jared and Ash should be back in T'Saw by now. I know they'll fight Zinoro! Zaow - a man in his seventies - will don armour and go out to a battlefield to stop that monster! We can't just abandon them."
"Em, no!" Eva exclaimed. "Big brother is going to avenge our people! I told you this already! The Sonoians wiped out our people, and Zinoro has been preparing for years for this. Why would you want to save them?"
"Eva..." Emila said, her anger fading and being replaced with a conflicted look. "I know he's taken care of you, but-"
"He didn't just take care of me!" Eva protested. "He saved me that day! He's treated me so well! He's shown me poetry and sang for me! He's a good person, and he's doing what's best for our kingdom! The kingdom of Acaria!"
"You speak highly of the man who murdered your mother," Luca said.
"What...?" Eva looked at him incredulously and Emila gave him a half-shocked, half-angry look.
"What do you think happened to your mother and father?" he continued. "Zinoro killed them in the attack that destroyed your home."
"No, that's wrong," Eva insisted. "Zinoro saved me from that attack..."
"Luca, I wasn't going to tell her that yet," Emila said. "She's not ready..."
"You're a liar," Eva said, glaring at him. "I should have just let you die."
"We don't have time for this," Luca said. "Emila's right. Even if it's pointless, we have to try. I might be able to get us back to T'Saw using the circle outside."
Emila's words had swayed his apathy. Luca strode over to the pillar where he had been stabbed, and he bent down and picked up Siora. Like a handshake from an old friend, the blade felt right in his hand. He sheathed it, and turned back to the others. He'd sworn he would never lose the sword again, after the dragon had returned it to him. And he intended to keep that promise, whether he felt he deserved the sword or not.
"So it's really true, then?" Emila asked him as he returned. "You really can travel instantly with magick? I heard talk of it at the camp, just before I left, but I thought it was just a crazy rumour at the time."
"No, it's true," he told her. "But so far, I've only been able to warp to places I can see. Zinoro has a similar technique, but as I said, his is limited to the use of those large circles. We're going to go outside and see if I can do it too."
"Let's hope you can't," Eva muttered bitterly, sulking like a reprimanded child.
Though Eva continued to glare at him, she didn't argue further. Luca lead the way outside, with the other five following behind him. It took them nearly a half an hour to cross the empty city; far too long. Each minute that passed, Luca knew that more people were dying in T'Saw. Finally, they reached the city gates, and emerged to the giant warp circle carved into the plains outside.
"I don't know if this is going to work," Luca said. "I know that the spell will take me to any place I can see in my mind's eye, but I don't know if I can warp such a long distance. Perhaps the circle is meant to ease that burden. I don't know. We'll see." After a brief moment, he said, "Everyone clasp hands."
Everyone gathered in a small circle, taking each other's hands. Eva hesitated, glaring suspiciously at Luca, but she conceded, and moved between Emila and Brand.
Once everyone was in a circle, Luca closed his eyes and did his best to picture T'Saw. After a few moments, he began to grow frustrated that he couldn't form a dist
inctive enough image in his head.
"What's wrong?" Brand asked.
"I'm trying," Luca said. "I can't picture it clearly enough."
"Try something more specific," Wiosna suggested. "What do you remember the most clearly from when you were there?"
He thought about that. The Ivory Palace, without a doubt; specifically, the grand entrance hall.
"I think I got it," he said. "Things might be chaotic, so be ready."
"Got it," Brand said.
"I believe in you," Emila said encouragingly.
Closing his eyes again, he pictured the entrance hall of the Ivory Palace, and focused on warping there the same way he would do when travelling a short distance. After a moment of doubt, his mana surged, and he felt himself moving.
"Whoa! What the-?!"
Vision returned to Luca, and the first thing his eyes could make out was the shiny, marble floor of the Ivory Palace. He let out a sigh of relief that his magick had worked. The momentary dizziness was already fading, and he could see the others trying to keep their footing. The next thing Luca saw was a group of Sonoian soldiers panicking and pointing spears at them.
"Relax!" Brand said, throwing his hands up in the air. "We're with you guys!"
"I remember you," said a familiar voice. Luca looked over to see the captain of the guard, Gareth. "The princess' companions, who brought her from Allma Temple. And you are the one with that unique power that his majesty spoke of... which is how you have appeared here, from out of nowhere."
"That's right," Luca said. "We've come to help."
With a nod from Gareth, the group of Sonoian guards lowered their spears and took a few steps away. The captain looked over the others, and his eyes narrowed in suspicion as they passed over Gordon. "Tell me, then, why are you in the company of an Acarian?" Luca's eyes were drawn to the braided strand of hair over Gordon's ear.
"He's-"
"My name is Gordon, and I am one of Zinoro's five acolytes," Gordon interrupted. "I betrayed my king and helped Luca and his companions. Even now, I am working to stop that monster. You can imprison me, if you wish. If you choose not to, I promise I will aid you in any way that I can."
Gareth stared at Gordon for a moment, seemingly processing this information. Before he could say anything, there was the sound of a very loud explosion, and a brief flash. Everyone jumped. Luca looked to the palace windows for the first time, and he saw smoke.
Gareth grimaced. He turned to one of his men and said, "Get out there to the barricade. I need to know what's happening."
"Yes, sir." The young soldier ran to the palace doors and outside.
"While I have to say that a saboteur would not so carelessly reveal his identity," Gareth said to Gordon, "the fact remains that we are currently under attack by Acarians, and I cannot allow one access to the palace, no matter who vouches for him. I will have to have you arrested."
Luca nearly protested as the Sonoian guards went to Gordon and handcuffed him. But Gordon gave him a look that reminded him that there were more important things at the moment. Following his gaze, he saw Emila looking out the windows. Her eyes were filled with fear. He knew why. He knew what she was remembering.
He went to her side, and said, "Emila. I have to go out there. I have to fight."
She turned to him, with a worried look, "I knew you would say that. But please, Luca... reconsider this. What could you do out there? You can't stop him."
"I know," he told her. He pulled her close, and kissed her. "But I have to try nonetheless. I can't hide in here. I have to face him, even if there's nothing I can do to stop him."
Her lips trembled, but she held back tears.
"Before, I would ask you to stay where it was safe," he said to her. "Before, it was because I wanted to protect myself. And then, it was because I wanted to protect you. Now, I ask you to stay to protect someone else." They both looked over to Eva, who stood in the hall, eyes wide. "You got something back that will make you happy. Don't lose her again. Keep her safe."
He almost left, but she held his arm. "Luca... she's not the only thing that makes me happy. I... I..." The words caught in her throat, as tears ran down her cheeks.
He smiled. "I'll be okay. I'll come back when it's over. You can tell me then." It was a hollow promise, and they both knew it. But it was all he could say. He kissed her once more, and then he turned away from her, for what was likely the last time.
Luca went over to Gareth, who was busy talking with Brand and Wiosna. "What's the situation?" he asked.
"As I was telling your friends, the Acarians appeared out of nowhere, right inside the city walls," Gareth said. "We've set up barricades, and we're doing our best to fight them off, but they're advancing farther into the city every minute. We don't have enough men to fight them off. And then there's Zinoro himself... nothing we do has any effect on him. He counters every attack, whether it is soldiers, arrow fire, or magick."
"I see," Luca muttered. It was as bad as he'd thought. Needless to say, many people had to have died already. He pointed to Emila, who had gone to Eva's side. "Can you get those two somewhere safe?"
"There's an emergency shelter in the lower levels of the palace," Gareth said. He looked to one of his men, who nodded and went to Emila and Eva.
"Is that where Zaow and Selphie are?" Brand asked.
"I have not the right to say," said Gareth. "But they are safe, so long as we do not allow the Acarians to breach the walls of the palace."
"Brand, Wiosna," Luca said to his friends. "I need you two to help them barricade the palace. Fight the revenants when they show up. Do everything you can to hold them off."
"Where are you going?" Wiosna asked.
Luca looked out at the barricaded palace doors. "To the battlefield. I'm going after Zinoro."
"Luca, that's insane," Brand exclaimed. "You fought him once already. Don't-"
"I know what you're going to say!" he shouted. "Just trust me. I need you to stay here and help these people. Don't let the Acarians in, no matter what. If you came with me, you'd just be throwing your lives away."
Wiosna grew very quiet. Brand hesitated, then stepped close to Luca and clasped his hand in his own. "Good luck, my friend. Come back to us alive."
"I will try."
Luca appeared outside, to the sight of burning buildings and the sound of people screaming. Behind him, he saw wooden spikes set up on the spikes of the palace to stop the revenants from coming inside, and heavy wooden barricades on the doors. He knew that wouldn't hold them very long if they made it that far.
In the streets, groups of armoured Sonoian soldiers fought fiercely against the black-clad revenants. As steel met steel, he heard cries of, "For Sono! For King Zaow!". In contrast, their enemies were silent, advancing and killing without hesitation. Though the Sonoians fought boldly, each Acarian they struck down was replaced with three more, and they were gradually being forced back.
Luca was filled with an urgency to find Zinoro. He warped to the top of a high building, grabbing onto the frame of a large bell to keep from falling off. He looked over the streets of the city, searching for the distinctive figure of the Acarian king.
Finally, he spotted him, standing beside a large fountain in the town square. He was surrounded by his revenants, his arms crossed as they spread his mad destruction; kicking in doors, cutting down defenceless civilians, and setting buildings alight. Luca then saw someone running towards Zinoro; a lone Sonoian soldier. Some young man who thought he could be a hero and stop the Acarian king all on his own. Almost bored-like, Zinoro jumped out of the way of the young soldier's attack, then drew his claymore and swung. The kid was cut in half from the waist to the shoulder, the manaflame of Zinoro's sword slicing through his armour like it wasn't even there.
Luca felt his hands shaking. There was far too much of himself in that boy. He knew that he was going to die the same way, his attack completely futile. For a mad second, he considered warping b
ack to the palace.
He almost laughed.
Steadying himself, he focused on the stone tiles of the town square, and warped there.
Turning, Zinoro saw him. For a brief moment, there was a haunted look in his eyes.
"You...!"
The wind blew through the street, and rustled Luca's hair. Zinoro's sole eye narrowed, and the fear vanished.
"No... Luca," he muttered. He had mistaken Luca for someone else. "You survived? How? The wound you received was mortal."
"It was a good thing there was someone there in the palace who could heal mortal wounds then, wasn't it?" Luca called out to him across the street.
"Eva?" Zinoro muttered. "I told her to stay in her room..." More loudly, he said to Luca, "Did you bring her here?"
"Her and Emila both."
"Fool! You risk their lives!"
"What a very hypocritical thing of you to say," Luca said. "It doesn't matter anyway, I've had them taken somewhere safe."
Zinoro frowned. "Well, it is no matter. It is good that Emila survived as well. In fact, this actually makes my job easier. Once I have taken this city, I will not have to return to Acarienthia for them."
"You're not going to take this city!"
"Don't say such things. The prophecy was false. I... I cannot be stopped." There was a hint of regret in his voice. "I will destroy this city, and kill Zaow. It is inevitable. Son of Lodin, you should not have come back. I will not show you the mercy I showed last time."
The blade of Zinoro's claymore burst to live, the black flame covering it, and a powerful rush of mana filled the air.
Luca's heart began to pound. "This is it," he said softly to himself.
Zinoro drew closer, each step seeming to echo through Luca's ears. The black manaflame that flowed over his great sword radiated an overpowering presence of mana. Luca felt like the very air was trying to force him down.
He knew he had no chance. No ordinary blade could stop that. Without a Rixeor Fragment, Zinoro's sword would cut right through his and he would fall in a single strike. He knew Zinoro would kill him the moment he reached him. And this time, there really was no miracle to save him from death's grasp; no tether, no Eva. He really would die.
But he had to fight. Even if it was pointless. Even if there was nothing he could do to stop Zinoro. He still had to try. So many people were relying on him.
Ash, Selphie, Jared, Zaow, Wiosna, Brand, Gordon, Eva... and Emila. And countless others whose names he did not know, who at that very moment were hiding in their homes, terrified. So many lives that would be ended by the madman before him and his pointless desire for revenge.
He would give his life for them. In a heartbeat, he would. I cared about them all, far more than he cared about himself.
Luca held Siora tight. The sword felt hot in his hands, like it actually knew what was coming, and was as prepared as he was.
Zinoro was just before him. The manaflame was so intense. The sword was high in the air, about to bear down on him. That single strike would end his life. He knew it. He had to stop it.
He knew he couldn't. But he had to try. He needed to protect them. He needed to protect everyone!
Luca drew Siora from its sheath and held the sword up in a block he knew wouldn't work. He braced himself, as Zinoro's sword swung down towards him.
There was a loud clang, that sounded to Luca's ears like the ringing of a bell.
He looked up, and he saw Zinoro's blade, an unstoppable Rixeor Fragment of legend, stopped by his own sword.
Zinoro's expression betrayed his surprise. "What the-?"
And then it happened. Luca felt a massive surge of mana, flowing not from Zinoro, but from himself. The blade of his sword began to glow, and a white flame burst from within it, matching the black of Zinoro's.
His heart pounding, Luca pushed back on Zinoro, and the Acarian king actually stumbled backwards and nearly fell over. Luca could feel the energy of his sword, the same kind of force that had been threatening to overwhelm him mere moments ago, rising up and matching Zinoro's.
He knew what this meant. He didn't understand how it was possible, but he understood what it meant for sure.
"All this time..." he said to himself, looking down at the white flaming blade. "All this time... Siora... my father's sword..."
It would seem Lodin had kept one last secret.
"That isn't possible!" Zinoro shouted. For the first time, the Acarian king actually seemed afraid.
Luca remembered something. The words of a strange man he'd met in a town a few months ago.
The sleeping shard carried at your side. Know it not from a blade of steel. The sleeping shard will awaken at the time of it's choosing. And not a moment before.
You need a good reason...
...you must have a need for it...
Luca knew that Siora had finally accepted him. He swung the blade a few times through the empty air, and it felt weightless in his hands.
He turned his attention back to Zinoro. The Acarian king glared at him, holding his own flaming blade. Luca held up Siora, pointing the blade right at him.
"I was told you have the power of a god behind you. And you told me you fought with restraint before. Now, I want you to show me everything you've got. Because if you have anything less than the power of a god, then it will be lacking!"