Tradition

A chilly evening. The first star is already shining brightly in the sky. A group of three warriors is running towards the highest point of the castle through the stone-built staircase. They reach 23rd floor.

“We’re finally here!” A girl with red hair, dressed up as a princess in a royal pink dress with a bow on her back, shouts loudly.

An older man with grey hair looks around: “No, Stella, this is not it.” He has a brown robe and is holding a wooden cane with a snail-like swirl at the top end of it.

“Figures, he isn’t here.” A young white haired boy with a determined look in his eyes smirks. He is carrying a black sword and a rather massive red cape with white fur at the end over his traditional bandit outfit.

Suddenly, a rain of arrows shoots from behind them as they all barely manage to dodge it. “Stella, Treevor, are you alright?!” He looks back at his comrades.

“Who the hell are you?! I thought we defeated all of his Generals!” Chris falls back to regroup with Stella and Treevor, each facing one direction so that they are covered from all sides.

“Wait, where are those arrows that were just fired?” Stella looks around but the arrows are nowhere to be found. “Don’t tell me-… it can’t be!”

“Took you long enough to realize, big sister.” A woman that looks almost identical to Stella appears out of thin air. She wears black royal dress and has golden hair. She is holding a bow but there are no arrows on her.

“N-Nova…? But we all thought you were dead!” Stella starts shaking.

“Don’t talk to me so casually!” She aims her bow at Stella and an arrow is formed from a smoke. Another person, the Executioner, appears from the dark and stands up next to Nova. His head is covered with a cloth.

Treevor laughs maniacally: “Wahahahah!! I hope that at least you two will be a challenge for us!”

Stella breathes in and breaths out: “I always felt like you were alive. But why are you standing on his side?”

“I have no obligation to answer that question.” Nova tries to suppress the emotions.

“Let’s give them hell-“ Chris is suddenly cut out by Treevor.

“No. You go ahead.”

Chris understands that he needs to leave this battle to his friends. He nods with his head and with a big smile on his face, he rushes forward, right past the two enemies. The Executioner tries to stop him but Nova grabs his hand.

“Don’t do this. It’s their battle.”

Chris leaves the 23rd floor.

“Do you think he’s gonna be alright?”

“Wahahah, did you forget who he is, Stella? Today, he will fulfill his destiny. He will bring the legendary JSXF lights for the people around the world.”

Treevor and Stella both smirk at each other and then start rushing towards their enemies, much to Nova’s and Executioner’s shock.

Chris finally gets at the very top of the tower. Once he lays his eyes on certain something, he goes pale.

“Don’t tell me…!”

“You’re late, Chris.” A dark haired young man wearing black suit of armor takes out an elegant-looking white sword that is wrapped up in an old piece of cloth. The sword was lying under a massive coniferous tree.

“I can’t believe you were able to summon it from the Tree of Wishes. The Snow Eater sword should have belonged to me, what magic did you use to deceive it, Thomas?!”

“Chris, you know very well that the Snow Eater is immune to any type of magic, trickery or other means of getting it by force. What you’re witnessing is a birth of the real chosen one who will fulfill the prophecy!”

“The legendary JSXF lights will never accept you! You’re not pure hearted enough!”

“I will make you eat those words. I can see you obtained the Eternal Black Fire sword and the Red Joy Cloak. Too bad that both items are inferior to my Snow Eater.”

Chris frowns but as he touches his red cloak, he starts smiling.

“You know what? Thanks for reminding me that my journey was worth it. But now I will end you, claim the Snow Eater for myself and bring the lights upon this world!

“Come, Chris!!” He assumes a battle stance.

“Thomaaaaaaaaaas!!!” Chris rushes towards Thomas and tries to cut his head off with his Eternal Black Fire sword. Thomas easily fends off his attack by using the Snow Eater sword.

A legendary battle has started. The two warriors who have been standing on the opposite sides of their own beliefs now fighting for their ideals. Like a chessboard, the two exchange black and white attacks. Sparks illuminate their faces every time their blades make a contact.

“Snow Calamity!” Thomas calls out a powerful attack by swinging his sword above his head. Snowflakes start falling down from heavens rapidly. As he moves his sword to pinpoint his enemy, the snowflakes create a tornado and attack Chris.

“Eternal Flame!” Chris ‘draws’ an infinity symbol in the air with his sword and a powerful flame attack busts from the edge of his blade, piercing through the snow tornado, melting the snow. The flame accidentally sets some branches of the Tree of Wishes on fire but only the tips of the branches are set alight, the fire is unable to spread further.

“The Tree knows it cannot submit to any destruction. Winter Slash!” Thomas swings the white sword and it creates a chilling slashing attack travelling through the air. It slashes Chris’ chest. His skin is cut and the freezing slash leaves a burn.

“Aaagh!” Chris falls on his knee. “I’ll never give up. I am the one who’s gonna make the whole world joyful, I won’t let anybody be threatened by your sick ideals!!”

“Killing off the ones with tainted hearts is not a sick ideal!”

“Who are you to judge who should die?! Your heart is also tainted! You’re gonna die as well!”

“So be it! For the greater good!”

Chris and Thomas rush at each other with their swords. The wind makes Chris’ red cloak to come undone as it flies in the air. The sound of a snowstorm, burning fire and clashing blades is heard.

The sky is full of stars now and it got darker. Back on the 23rd floor, Nova and Stella are both pierced with arrows through their hearts. The Executioner lies lifeless on the floor. Treevor heads upstairs but one of his legs is missing, his face is covered in blood and he is panting heavily, leaning on his swirly cane.

As he finally manages to climb all the way up, his face is struck with disbelief.

“I knew it… the prophecy never stated that there is only a single person to be the ‘Chosen One’. None of their predecessors were able to do this because there was always one winner of the duel. But in the end …”

Treevor loses balance and falls on the ground. He lifts his head up and sees the branches on the Tree of Wishes burning with the Eternal Flames. The ground is covered in snow and gentle snowflakes keep falling down. Lifeless bodies of Chris and Thomas are laying under the Tree. The Red Joy Cloak is hung on Black Eternal Fire sword, with Snow Eater being stuck in the ground. There are four lights circling around the Tree, flying rapidly above the scenery. The lights descend on the ground and change into shadowy human-looking characters.

“J… S… X… F…” Treevor says faintly as he closes his eyes and passes away.

The first shadow’s head is illuminated by the Tree and his long straight brown hair is visible from behind. “The two young men laid their lives in order to create us. I, Jesus, shall make this a world they dreamed of.”

The second shadow wears a red uniform with a white fur at the end. He takes the Red Joy Cloak and puts it on. “For the people to feel joy and finally enter peaceful era, both of them had to die. I, Santa, shall bring that era.”

The third shadow with a thick white beard laughs. “Ho-ho-ho. I am Father X. We were given the greatest gift of them all. The gift of life under this shining Tree.”

The last shadow, with a chilling breeze constantly swirling around their blue uniform, bows down to the dead bodies. “You didn’t just make history. You have created something more powerful. And that’s… a tradition. I, Frost, declare this day, 24th of December, as the day of the joy, the day that will celebrate the fallen warriors Chris and Thomas… the people will call it…”

“Christmas!” The four men declare at the same time as they turn back to lights which each disperse to the one corner of the world.

Tradition: THE END