Chapter 14: Unforseen problems

Elisa drifted in and out; she remembers seeing the Emperor of Kraianth, and then trying to kill him before getting kicked really hard. Her mind would calm itself eventually. Her hand hurt, though. When Elisa lifted it to see why, she found the divine relic sitting in her palm...Now what.

"Now, you can wield my Ego." Elisa sat upright abruptly. Whoever spoke to her just then wasn't the Grandmaster, as he stood a few feet away from her, and she was alone. A ghost? "No, you idiot, I am the Divine deity that was sealed away by that damn human; you are now my host, congratulations." The Ego sounded rather...dull. "You try being trapped in a stone for the past 30 years, ALONE!" Elisa flinched as it yelled in her mind, "Sorry," It apologized, "But if you didn't want my Ego, why else had you picked me up? I was assimilating my Ego with your body this entire time, which is actually perfect for my Ego." Elisa wanted this thing gone. Edward and Allia join Emperor Julius up on the ledge, "It seems the circumstances have changed, hand over the girl and we'll leave," the emperor holds out his hand to Theo. He seemed to be weighing his options before coming to a conclusion.

He lets out a heavy sigh, "I'm afraid I can't. You'll just have to go home empty-handed," The Grandmaster recalls his longsword using his gravity Ego, though she wasn't 100% how he had done that. But that's besides the point; if nothing were done to stop them, then one of them would die here. "Hey, uh, quick question: How many of the Ancient dungeons has humanity cleared? Two, three?" None of them, now shut up. I need to figure out how to get out of this alive. The Ego went silent, good. Perhaps she could surrender to Emperor Julius, but the Grandmaster won't let the Ego go, haaaa, this is annoying. "ZERO!?" The Ego suddenly yelled, making Elisa flinch, "HOW HAS IT BEEN 1,000 YEARS SINCE THE CREATION OF THE ANCIENT DUNGEON AND YET NOT ONE HAS BEEN CLEARED!?" Its yelling persisted. Why, what's so important about clearing another dungeon?

"BECAUSE, if the four Ancient Dungeons aren't cleared, then you might as well kiss this world goodbye."

"HUH?" The sudden news of the end of the world prompted Elisa to shout out loud, getting everyone's attention, "Uh, the Ego is just now telling me that if we don't clear the four Ancient dungeons, then the world's going to end." Elisa relayed what she just heard to everyone else, but hey, at least they stopped fighting. "Are you sure he said four?" Theo asked, she paused, and fortunately, the Ego picked up on this. "Yes, I said four."

"Yes, he said four, why?" Theo looked even more upset than she was,

"We know the location of two, the third we only know of in name, and until now, a fourth Ancient dungeon was something nobody knew of." Emperor Julius stepped in. That does make things more complex; they could clear two, but they'd have to find the other two. "That's not all, the monsters inside an Ancient Dungeon are around the level of Reverend, with the boss being an Ancient monster. As things stand, we'd have to get the Four Emperors to work together if we ever want to clear one Ancient Dungeon." Theo explained that as he dismissed his blade, Emperor Julius let out a chuckle.

"Oh come on, the Emperors aren't the only people who can beat an Ancient Dungeon, we're both more than capable of beating one on our own," Elisa didn't doubt this, at least not for the Grandmaster; she isn't sure about the other guy. Julius takes a step back, "Very well, you can have the divine Ego, considering the news we just received, I think it's best we all head home and get to planning, the world is at stake after all." Julius turned and walked away. Allias' eyes met Elisa. "Wait," she called out, prompting Allia to stop. "Let's head back," Elisa said, pointing her thumb behind her, the way back to the cavernous dungeon, and to everyone else. Allia stood there, staring at her. Edward had stopped just a few feet away, but Julius was gone. She glances back at her friend, who simply nods and walks off. Allia jumps down and joins Elisa, "Won't you just tell them I'm Kraianth?" She asked, smacking Elisa's back a little too hard. "I won't, and they won't know unless you take off that cloak," Allia grinned as she threw her arm around Elisa's neck, pulling her down as they walked. Along the way, Allia revealed the functionality of an Ervis cloak. By pouring a little bit of Elsia's Varlant energy into it, the design changed from a cloak to a light blue coat, making it impossible to tell that it's an Ervis. Everyone had been waiting for them near the entrance. Ferno would've yelled at them had the Grandmaster not been there; he seemed to have been in a bad mood for whatever reason, and it scared the others(Elisa included), so Ferno didn't ask any questions, not now at least. For now, they were heading back.

"WHAT!?" Fernos reaction to learning of Elsia's third Ego. When they got back, he had dragged her to the dual grounds, where Gramps was, and she was able to escape Fernos' fury once again. She explained the whole situation, from Allia and her friend, to the sudden appearance of the Grandmaster, the divine Ego, the Verant, and Emperor Julius. She had purposefully left out the part where Allia was with Kraianth, but she kept in Edward; this way, it would seem as if Allia was tricked by her friend. Gramps merely chuckled. She would be in a more cheerful mode, too, if not for that doomsday threat they received. "Well, that is serious. I suppose you'll have to explain all this to the Emperors at the upcoming summit," Gramps said casually. "Huh?" She and Ferno were both in confusion, "Well, the divine relic is stuck with you, better get used to it."

The next few days were a lot calmer. There was still a week left till her break ended, so she had some time to sleep in. During her Dual Ego class, she attempted to use E'iers Ego unsuccessfully. Though she hadn't told the other two about it, as she had a plan. Over the next few days, she practiced calling upon her new Ego until she felt she was ready, and then challenged Lucas to a spar. "Seriously? You go off once with the grandmaster, and now you think you can beat me?" He scoffed at the mere idea of losing to her. Gramps authorized the match and joined Sylia on the bench, offering her a cup of tea, which she accepted. Lucas drew his rapier, while Elisa drew Irakami. She fought without relying on her Ego too much, falling back on her sword skills. But even then, it still wasn't enough to compete with Lucas,

"I told you, this isn't gonna go any differently. Why don't you try using that other sword-" Lucas was going on about something, but Elisa sheathed Irakami, smirking. She held her hand out and spoke. "Open Gilded Vault, Eclipsed guilotine, I summon." To everyone's surprise, a set of doors appears off to Elisa's side, from them a glaive emerges. Honestly speaking, Elisa had no idea what she just summoned. E'iers Ego gave her access to a vault of weapons she can call upon at will, as long as she knows the name. E'ier had given her this name after asking him what one of the strongest weapons was. Lucas stared in disbelief; even he could tell that this power was the work of an Ego. Or maybe it was because the Grandmaster was here again, "You seriously have to stop doing this." He gripped Eclipsed Guilotine tightly, though he was smiling. Tch, she was this close to wielding a divine weapon. "Aside from Elisa testing her new Ego, what brings you down here today, sir?" Gramps asked.

Theo let go of the glaive as it drifted back into the vault; it had been well over five days since she had last seen him. "I came to give her this," He said, handing her what looked to be a weapon. It was in a black silk bag, and when she opened it, there was a beautiful broadsword. It was nearly pitch black, if not for the random swirls of red all over the entire sword. "Not being able to wield Irokomi is only going to hinder your strength going forward; you won't have to worry about that. I suggest you learn how to store weapons within your Ego; this way, you can keep it with you at all times." Elisa pulled off Irokomi and set in her new sword. "Thank you," he waved as he walked off. "HOW did you get a third Ego!?" Right, she had forgotten about the fight. To answer his question, she simply holds up her hand with the relic. "Tch, you got lucky with that." The two would bicker about her new Ego. They would only stop when Sylia approached Elisa, Axe in hand. She seemed a lot more... enthusiastic than normal.

"Fight me,"

"HUH? No way, my match is still going, you need to-" Sylia stared him down into giving up, "tch, yeah, whatever you can go," He grumbled as he walked to the side, where Gramps offered him a fresh cup of tea, which he took reluctantly. Elisa summoned the vault doors, a coin pops out, Sylia had the look of confusion, but also wondered if Elisa was going to weaponize the coin. Which obviously wasn't the case, she flips the coin, and when it lands in her palm, it vanishes. A new weapon emerges from the vault, this time a normal-looking longsword. Well, not really normal, all the weapons in the vault were collected by E'ier himself, so they're bound to be good. The dark gold blade was decently heavy in her hands; if she swung it right, she could wield it with one hand for a very short amount of time. "Let's go," Elisa gripped the longsword with both hands. Sylia swung first. The two weapons clashed hard; Elisa could feel it in her arms. Elisa leaps back as vines burst from the ground. She was able to parry one but not the other. The fight would go on for a while, this being the longest Elisa has ever lasted against Sylia, but in the end, it would be Sylia's 51st win.

//KRAIANTH//

{Thursday, 1:45 am}

[Edward]

It had been a few days now since the encounter with the Grandmaster and the divine relic, as well as the news of the world's end. He kept playing back what had happened that day in his head, from the fight with the Verant to being rendered completely useless by one glance of the Grandmaster. To think his grasp over his Ego was this complete. But the one thing that bothered him more was the girl he was with. Why had she rushed at the Emperor like that? It wasn't odd for people to target the Emperor of Kraianth; they were considered a terrorist organization by most, but her anger felt more personal than those who had tried before her. Well, whatever the reason mattered not to him; all he had to do was stop her the next time.

It was late, but Emperor Julius had called him to his office, and here he was. Normally, he would've been accompanied by Allia, but she had gone back to the academy to keep her cover up. He oddly missed her bickering. When he reached the Emperor's office, he knocked on the door and waited. "Come in," A voice from inside called, though it wasn't the Emperor; he still recognized it and let himself in. The Emperor's office was large, large enough to hold a small lounge area near a fireplace, a mini bar, and at the very back, his actual office desk. Emperor Julius stood staring out the window; his weapon lay on top of his desk. Edward suddenly felt nervous and very out of place. "Why's he here?" A voice called out from the couch near the fire, his head resting on the backrest, staring at Edward. Patriarch Daier (Dai-yer), one of the four Archs of Kraianth. They were all here. Patriarch Daier was seated on the couch, and Patriarch Lu'kor was standing near the fireplace. Matriarch Astar was seated at the bar, taking sips from her glass, while Matriarch Astra stood near Emperor Julius, her hands clamped behind her back; "He's here, because he was the only other person present when the girl declared the world would end," Emperor Julius spoke calmly, glancing back at Patriarch Daier, who merely put his hands up in a surrender. "Alright, let's begin the meeting now that everyone is here," Emperor Julius called, taking a seat at his desk. Four rulers of the four districts in Kraianth. Edward stood in the presence of the Emperor's top.

"We shall now discuss the topic of the Ancient Dungeons, as well as the future of Kraianth."

When the meeting ended, Emperor Julius told Edward to hold back. The others didn't pay much attention to it, aside from Matriarch Astra, who glanced from Emperor Julius to Edward before leaving. Of the four, she was most loyal to him. There are rumours that Allia told him about, but none of them hold any credibility, so he pays them no mind. "You seem to still be lingering on that day," The Emperor suddenly spoke, startling Edward out of his thoughts. "...Sometimes I do find myself going back to that day, yes." The Emperor turned to look at him, not with disdain, but understanding. "I take it you have something else bothering you as well, something you'd like me to clarify?" Edward stood, unsure how to answer, "Specifically about that girl back in the dungeon." Right, her.

"...Of all the attacks pointed against you, hers felt more...personal? I apologize if I'm intruding with this question, but do you know her?" Emperor Julius leaned back in his chair as it turned slightly, allowing him to glance out the window, turning his attention back to Edward before he answered. "Long ago, the Ky'urai Clan was massacred," Edward had read the report. The entire Clan was wiped out in one night. "The man who had done it framed Kraianth, framed me. That girl is the last living member of the Ky'urai Clan." Edward stood there in disbelief, wondering who could have the strength to wipe out the Ky'urai clan and frame Kraianth. "Why didn't you tell her?" They obviously hadn't done it,

"Because I may know who had done it, but he's not someone who can be easily taken out. If I had sent that girl on the right path for her revenge, she would have surely died. Plus, she has more use to me alive than dead, of course, when the time comes, I plan on telling her. I'm not so heartless as to rob a child of her chance to get the man who killed her parents," He said, smiling. "Now, if that's all, you may leave." Edward bowed before turning to leave, closing the door behind him as he went.