Someone's suffering

The panther Faunite ran.

He did not stop running, for he knew that stopping would mean death.

His dark form darted through the forest like a shadow, and the heavy rain perfectly masked his noises.

But he knew that his pursuers were closing in, so he kept running.

Despite the failure of their escape plan. Despite the injuries from the recent battle. Despite the pain of his ally’s sacrifice, he ran as fast as he could.

He would not let every setback keep him from his goal.

He just needed to reach that man as soon as possible.

The shining beacon of hope that everyone—even a minion of the Demon Lord like him—could rely on for salvation and redemption.

And as he ran, he finally felt relief, as he sensed an unmistakable, radiant presence up ahead.

Gathering all of his remaining strength on his battered legs, he launched himself toward the light with destructive force, blowing away the pursuers who were just inches behind him.

He passed through a transparent golden dome and landed inside, rolling across the ground a few times.

“There you are. Glad you could make it.”

The panther Faunite looked up at the source of the voice.

A simple blue scarf was wrapped around his neck, draped on his back and over the silver chestplate he wore. It was the only armor on his body, along with a pair of iron bracers. He stood in the middle of the dome, calmly resting the tip of his blade on the ground, like an unyielding warden standing guard as the ultimate bastion against evil.

The man known as the “Sword Hero.”

“Thank you for saving me…”

The faunite, who would later be known as the Hunter Hero, passed out from exhaustion.

The Sword Hero looked at him over his shoulder and smiled, sensing no ill intent and a spark of determination from the man.

Without warning, massive explosions struck the dome, shattering it into a million pieces. Amidst the cloud of smoke and dust, dozens of the Demon Lord’s warriors rushed in to eliminate the traitor and the Hero. With their superior numbers and skill, even a man like him stood no chance.

Or so they thought.

With a single slash of a gleaming white blade, the dust cloud around them—and even the rain falling from the sky—was dispersed. For a brief moment, it gave everyone a clear view of their surroundings, as the Demon Lord’s warriors aimed their weapons at the man standing tall before them.

They never had a chance to realize what truly happened next. All they saw in their last moment was a single streak of light sweeping through them, before everyone and everything around the Sword Hero was cut down by the overwhelming force of justice.

He was the Sword Hero, Cassius Verelien Halverston.

…

The tall, solemn statue of the Hunter Hero watched over the city, bow aimed toward the night sky, illuminated by moonlight. Beneath the statue, three people were sitting on a couch, facing a large, rectangular, magical screen. It turned transparent and a small blue disk emerged, shooting toward Solenne.

“And that was the story of the Ranger Hero, as told by him and the Sword Hero, and reconstructed from my memories. What do you guys think?”

She turned to Naoya and Ori, both of them moved to tears by what they had just watched. They wiped the tears from their eyes as they stood up and turned around, saluting the statue behind them. They sat back down and composd themselves.

“That entire thing was absolute cinema,” Naoya commented.

“I think you should show that to everyone. I stopped eating halfway because I was so focused on it,” Ori said, grabbing a sweet pastry from the special container she had packed earlier.

“Yeah, like a movie. Why hasn’t this world invented film yet anyway?”

“Now that you mention it, why do we not have cinemas yet?” Solenne replied. “We could easily build them, and it would open up a whole new world of arts… Yeah, I’m bringing that up to the Royal Court after this trip.”

The screen in front of them disappeared, and Solenne leaned back as Ori’s food container floated toward her.

“So, where’s our next stop?” she asked Naoya.

He was lost in his thoughts for a while before replying.

“I came here to understand the Demon Lord’s goals, which I know now. So next, I wanna learn how he got this power… and I think I know the place.”

He pulled out the map from Willow and opened it. It was blank for now.

“Based on my… the Demon Lord’s memories, the place is called Merrowind’s Keep. The resting place of an ancient mage. That’s where he got the special flame in his chest, and it was supposed to be sealing something… but I don’t remember. I just know that whatever it was, it eventually escaped into the world and joined the Demon Lord’s empire.”

The map’s layout shifted, revealing a large mountain at the edge of an island, located at the southernmost point of the continent. Solenne and Ori studied the map’s contents.

“That looks really far from here. And it’s going to be very dangerous. There isn’t really anything on the surface of the mountain; everything interesting is inside.”

“Yeah, I remember that. So I guess we can rest here for a bit and prepare.” He put the map away and sank into the couch.

“Man, I can’t stop thinking about what we just watched. I didn’t even know his life was that tragic,” he comments, looking up at the statue above him. “He got enslaved by the Demon Lord, pretended to be loyal for a while to get closer, then betrayed him to escape with his friends.”

“And you didn’t even suspect him?” Ori asked.

Naoya thought for a while. “No… no, I don’t think the Demon Lord did. He was surprised, yeah. But not worried at all. That just makes the Hero more badass, I think.”

“Speaking of badass, the Sword Hero was so cool at the end too,” the fairy commented.

“Oh, right! He got rid of everything around him with a single slash. He didn’t even sweat… Man, I wish I could meet him, but Willow said he went off on his own journey after the Demon Lord’s defeat.”

A smile suddenly formed on Solenne’s face.

“Let’s go to Merrowind’s Keep now, then.” She stood up.

“What? Why? Can’t we just do that tomorrow?” Naoya asked.

“You wanted to meet the Sword Hero, right? Then you’re in luck, because the Sword Hero is at Merrowind’s Keep.”

Naoya and Ori’s eyes widened.

“He’s WHAT?”

…

Meanwhile, in the distant kingdom of Valebryn…

Astrea walked into the Aetheryn Order’s headquarters, still bustling with activity so late into the night. The front desk was being swamped by calls, dozens of letters zipped through the air to their recipients, and exhausted staff with dark circles under their eyes floated through the halls with coffee in hand. A common sight that had started recently.

Ever since the incident in Jaruna, along with the spread of the news that both the Demon Lord and Lady had reappeared, Valebryn and other kingdoms around the world had started fortifying their cities and preparing their armies. World leaders had recently gathered in the nearby nation of Fortesson and put out a global bounty on all members of Noctis Vindex, including their suspected leader, Hisora Syl Revndal.

As part of Valebryn’s fortification—and especially since Hisora had specifically threatened Valebryn—the Order had begun dispatching patrols around the kingdom around the clock and started an all-out hunt for Noctis operatives in the city. The headquarters had not known rest since then. All of its staff were working nonstop, and even Knights like Astrea were not excluded, which was the reason for her arrival: to meet up with her unit to start their patrol.

She was deep in thought as she walked the halls, still processing the fact that one of her friends was actually the person she had hated the most.

Dark memories of the past, long buried to protect herself, resurfaced.

She remembered their first encounter: a strange guy in the forest, watching them from afar, accompanied by a swarm of wisps. His first unfamiliar words, and his bright curiosity.

But at the same time, she also remembered their actual first encounter.

Astrea—before she even got that name—sat in a dark room, with only a sliver of moonlight slipping through a small window. Enough for her to recognize the dozen other people in the room with her, leaving little space to move around or even lie down.

All of them, including Astrea, looked exactly alike. Young girls with long dark hair and a golden-brown streak near their left temple, all wearing the same simple blue dress.

The door to the room opened, and a young man stood at the entrance.

From the darkness, they could only recognize one thing about him: the bright sapphire flame that burned on his chest.

“Aw! I’m sorry. My bad.” Astrea bowed to the Knight she had accidentally bumped into, caught up in her thoughts while walking. She paid more attention to her surroundings on the way to the lifts, and once inside, with nothing better to do, the quiet ride in the cabin brought up more memories of the past.

She remembered the time they fought together in the forest. A moment of camaraderie with her friends, as well as the first display of his magical talents, where he created a miniature sun that allowed them to defeat a dangerous monster, turning it into ashes.

But along with this memory, another one emerged. The true first time that he had displayed his magical talents.

After being brought out of the dark room with five others, they were taken into a large open room. An entire wall waas filled with books, and several unfamiliar tools and equipment were scattered around, including a large table in the middle. Aside from the man, there were a few other people in the room, wearing glass orbs on their heads that hid their faces.

Astrea and the other girls were contained in a transparent, rectangular barrier, giving each other anxious looks as they were separated.

“Alright, let’s run a durability test on this batch.”

The man snapped his fingers, and without warning, Astrea and the other girls were engulfed in flames, unable to escape from the transparent box surrounding them.

After a while, the flames went out, and four of them remained unscathed, though it did not mean they felt no pain. The last one, however, was burnt to a crisp and immediately disposed of by the people wearing glass domes.

After the fire, they were subjected to more “durability tests,” each one just as bad or worse, until only two of them were left.

The lift cabin’s doors opened, and Astrea snapped out of her recollection as she headed to Captain Bellan’s office.

“I’m here. Sorry I’m late.”

Her teammates were already there as she entered the room.

“Fantastic. Let’s start the briefing now so we can begin our shift,” Captain Bellan announced as he stood up from his chair.

“Yes, sir.” All three of them responded as they lined up in front of their Captain.

He proceeded to explain their patrol route for the night, as well as other objectives. Astrea listened at first, but slowly found her mind sinking back into a sea of memories.

How the man effortlessly snuffed out their rebellion.

His wife carrying out her own experiments.

And every final moment she shared with the other girls who shared her appearance. The other ones who could have also become “Astrea.”

“Astrea, are you alright?” Captain Bellan asked.

She raised her head and found her teammates staring at her, concern written all over their faces.

She fixed her beret and stood at attention, once again burying those memories in the depths.

“Yes, sir. I’m quite alright. Let’s continue.”