With the sun at its highest, many of the farmers around the terrace farm were beginning to take their break under the relaxing shade of the nearby treeline. Kaeli was one of them that just finished planting the last row of rice in the paddies and was now heading towards a nearby tree to rest under.
"Phew…"
She let out a relieved sigh as she took the large straw hat off her head. She was drenched in sweat, mud and dirt, but somehow she felt strangely at peace with herself.
Looking down at her own hands she noticed how her nails were stuffed with dirt under them. She then proceeded to pick up a piece of fallen branch and use it to clean underneath her nails.
"Hard work, isn't it?"
A male voice came from beside her which prompted her to tilt her head and glance towards who was speaking to her. A few meters away from her was a man clad in a black robe, wearing wooden sandals and armed with a black sheathed blade on his hip. She recognized him at first glance.
"Sir Miyamoto."
She was about to bow down but he extended an open right palm signaling it wasn't necessary.
"Just Miyamoto is fine." He smiled as he approached with his left hand resting on top of his blade's hilt. "Were you able to get accustomed to life here in Nara?"
"A bit." She answered as she finished cleaning her nails and tossed the stick to the side. Her eyes veered off to the terrace below her as she held a quiet smile on her face. "It's certainly more work than teaching magic in Arcadia, but I find it strangely peaceful."
"Peaceful eh…?" He smiled as his eyes followed hers to the people working below. He felt a tinge of sadness seeing his former people struggle to feed themselves. "Considering what they had to go through, I suppose that's not too far off from the truth."
He walked to the tree opposite of Kaeli and sat down, putting his curved blade on top of his lap.
"What about you, Miyamoto? Have you gotten used to the city?"
"Hmph, it's vastly different from when I ruled. But as long as my people are happy with their lives, I couldn't ask for more."
"Spoken like a true king."
Kaeli leaned her head against the trunk of the tree and slowly closed her eyes. The gentle sea breeze mixed with the earthly scent of mud made her mind feel at ease. She already knew that it would take quite a lot of time in order for Phoebe to see her with eye to eye, but just knowing that her sister no longer resented her was like taking a lifetime of pain and suffering off her shoulders.
It was strange. She thought absolute power could solve everything, but it was that very power that estranged her from her sister.
In a weird turn of events, she had to work together with the person she was tasked to eliminate and at the end of all, Leona protected her from Robert despite being former enemies.
'Haha… fate is such a fickle thing.' She opened her eyes and gazed upon the horizon. The sun tinted waves crashed against the rocky shore. The freshly planted rice swaying along the breeze made her feel refreshed. 'Thank you, Leona. For showing me the way.'
"King…" Miyamoto muttered softly as his eyes trailed to the fields below. Kaeli didn't hear him, he never meant for her to hear it in the first place. "Thinking back, I wasn't a good one. If I was a better king, then this might have never happened."
The blade across his lap felt heavy. Yoshitsune, his last friend and foe, was given the form of a deadly weapon. A king's last gambit to secure victory and yet despite all his power as ruler of a mighty kingdom, it served only to delay the inevitable.
Right now he knew if it was necessary, he could split a death angel in one swing of his sword. But no amount of violence would ever bring his loved one back. No amount of strength could undo the past that he was incapable to prevent. However, despite all his failures, his son still lived—burning with purpose and passion far beyond his own. Despite his regrets, he felt a sense of pride when it came to him.
'Leonard… if your mother could see you now… I'm sure she'd be proud as well.'
He gripped the scabbard of his sword tightly before standing up.
"If you excuse me now, Kaeli. I shall be heading to the city."
"Ah, take care, Miyamoto."
"You too."
With quiet footsteps, the swordmaster made his way to the city gates. The guards bowed upon seeing him, to which he responded in kind, yet, no words were exchanged. It wasn't needed. While he felt responsible for the current state the city found itself in, no one seemed to blame him. Perhaps they had forgotten the reason or they didn't even know him in the first place.
'This is for the best…'
He kept walking through the busy streets—observing the people that passed by him. They were hard at work, some carried baskets of goods, others held tools or materials for the newly made farming terrace in the edge of the city, the town was bustling with life. A far cry from the time when he returned from a destroyed Narian capital.
He had a bittersweet faint smile on his face as he walked amongst the crowd. From far away he noticed a familiar trio walking together. Leona, Krieg, and Robert. They seemed engrossed in chatter which made the swordsman instinctively tighten the otherwise loose grip on the hilt of his blade.
"My son…"
His silver hair, sharp crimson red eyes, tall and muscular build made him stand out from the rest of the crowd. He was a far cry from his father's appearance, yet there was no doubt he had inherited his love for the blade.
Upon noticing him, Robert pointed to the swordsmaster before making his way into the shop with a smug smile on his face. As the sage left, both Leona and Krieg started making their way to the swordsman—who is usually composed—was now finding himself swallowing hard as he moved both of his arms into the sleeves in order to hide his restless hands.
Leona was the first to greet him with a modest bow.
"It's good to see you again. Miyamoto."
"Hm." He answered in kind with a bow. "I'm glad to see you well, Leona." He then turned his gaze upwards to meet his son. "You too, Krieg."
The knight remained with his usual stoic look on his face as he answered.
"Yeah… it's good to see you, father."
Their distance was understandable. From either perspective, they never really met until just a few weeks ago. If anything, it would've been strange if they were to suddenly act like father and son.
Leona chuckled to herself as she stepped forward between them and asked while glancing at both sides.
"Shall we talk for a while out here? We'll have to go in later so I want to admire as much of the city as I can."
Miyamoto closed his eyes momentarily as he pivoted his body to face the street—he had a smirk on his face as if he saw through her intentions.
"Of course."
The tactician faced the same direction as the swordmaster with Krieg doing the same. The townsfolk walking around seemed cheerful. A good sign for any city and an even better sign for its ruler.
Leona turned slightly to her left as she asked.
"Was it difficult being a king?"
There was a brief pause where the only sounds were the idle chatter and footsteps around them. Miyamoto wasn't sure how to answer that question.
"I… wasn't a very good king. Not when it mattered the most." He lifted his head to the blue sky. "But if you asked me this same question a few years ago, I would've said no." He then turned his gaze to her. "I had my retainers, my troops, my people and my wife. At that point I believed to be the happiest man in this entire world."
She turned to meet his gaze as she asked again.
"Do you have any regrets?"
Once again he remained quiet for a brief moment before slowly turning to face the street.
"Only one." He closed his eyes as a bitter sensation started to form in his mouth. "My powerlessness to save my wife. Had I been stronger—she would've still been here."
"Strength… huh?"
Krieg muttered to himself. He started to remember his aunt's words.
"Remember well, Krieg. Our true strength, be it of a dragon's or man's, comes from our heart. Stay true to yourself and you'll muster enough power to overcome even impossible odds."
He clenched his right hand into a tight fist.
"Father." Krieg's firm voice made the swordmaster look at him with widened eyes. Although the knight didn't look at him, he spoke from the heart. "I will not commit the same mistakes as you. Rest easy."
There was a brief moment of silence as only the sound footsteps and chatter of the people echoed around them. After a while, Miyamoto turned to face the street once again and smiled quietly.
"That is reassuring, my son."
Leona saw both men face the same direction with embarrassment clear in their faces and couldn't help but laugh.
"You two are truly father and son." She straightened her back and walked forward before turning around to face both of them. "Shall we head inside? I'm sure we left the others waiting."
They both looked at her in unison before agreeing in a modest nod. But before they could even set foot inside, the sliding door opened with Robert smiling at them. Leona frowned her brows upon seeing his face.
"What are you up to now?"
"I thought, maybe you'd like to try your hand with a mock battle, now that you and Krieg trained some more."
The tactician raised an eyebrow, but proceeded to turn her gaze at Krieg, who flashed a confident smile on his face as he nodded. Deep down she was also curious how a mock battle would play out now that they had time to train themselves. That being said, they never fought together after that one bout they had against Setsuna and Miyamoto.
Leona turned her gaze at Robert and nodded firmly.
"We'll do it."
"Great. Climb back to the training grounds." He turned around with a smile on his face. "I'll go gather the others."
The way he said 'gather' made the tactician frown, but she decided not to argue since doing so with him would be a waste of time. She looked at Krieg with a smile on her face.
"How about we race to the top?"
"Eh?"
"Come on, Krieg." She started to walk towards the gate before breaking in a light jog. "It'll be just like old times."
"Ah, Leona, wait!"
As they started to run together, Miyamoto stared at their backs with a quiet smile on his face. Seeing his friend show such a genuine expression made Robert instinctively chuckle. The swordmaster cleared his throat before glancing at him with a raised eyebrow.
"What amuses you, Robert?"
"Nothing. I'm just surprised." He turned around and entered the shop before asking him. "Want to grab a bite before the bout?"
"Hah. You'll be the one paying this time."
"Sure, sure."
Both men entered the establishment for one last meal together.
Meanwhile, Leona was running through the trail leading up to the top of the mountain with Krieg right on her tail.
"You have improved a lot, Leona!"
He shouted.
"Haha! I'm not the sheltered girl I once was!" The wind brushing against her face, her shoulder length blonde hair riding the breeze, the sense of freedom, it all felt nostalgic and deeply fulfilling for her. "You'll have to run a lot more to catch up to me!"
Looking at her back made him feel emotional for a moment. The little girl that he once protected became a fine magician, one that would live not just as queen, but a legend.
He clenched his hands into tight fists as he smiled before shouting.
"Oh, you're on!"
Although Leona cheated the starting line, Krieg was rapidly catching up to her. Not only his larger build made each of his steps count as two of hers, but all the muscles in his body worked like a well-oiled machine. He could feel every single fiber of his being working together to achieve what he wanted, which at the time, was to win that silly competition.
In one step, he could feel the power stem from his lower body—it was as if his muscles knew instinctively what it needed to do to accomplish it. His soles pounded at the ground through the soles of his boots and it propelled him forward so strongly that the ground beneath his feet cracked.
Leona could feel the air change behind her and as she looked over her shoulder, Krieg was almost beside her. Though her eyes were wide in surprise, she wasn't about to just let it happen. She brandished her staff forward and unleashed a blast of ice that froze a large part of the path in a thin blue sheet.
In one fluid motion, she jumped on the ice and the momentum kept her going for a while until she started to lose speed. Krieg thought he would need to catch her, but to his surprise, she pointed her staff behind her and shouted.
"Blast!"
A powerful gust of wind exploded at the tip of her staff, launching her at an incredible speed through the ice. That made the knight smile as both of his legs tightened for the next steps.
Leona glanced behind her with a mischievous smirk that made her feel a bit bad at her core.
'It was low of me to use ice magic…'
Though those thoughts would instantly shatter as soon as she heard the ice crack behind her. Krieg's steps were so powerful that not only did it smash the ice beneath his feet, but also made sure that each stride wouldn't lose momentum from the slippery ground.
A sense of excitement filled Leona as she turned forward and started to cast even more ice against the ground to create a surface that she could glide through easily.
Both were locked in their competition that even as the top of the hill approached, neither gave up trying to be the first.
Leona's ice sheet suddenly came to a halt as the angled ground flattened—her momentum sending her flying through the air as a result. Krieg uttered in surprise.
"Woah!"
She was about to unleash a powerful blast of wind to soften her descent but Krieg caught her before spinning a few times to slow down, before coming to an eventual stop.
"Haha! Thank you, Krieg." She smiled as her feet gently touched the ground. "I guess neither of us won."
"But I have to say, Leona…" Upon closer inspection, the knight could see she wasn't too tired despite running most of the way. "Your stamina has improved a lot."
"Right back at you. You ran through all that ice and didn't even break a sweat."
"I'm a knight, I'm supposed to be physically fit."
"I think you're the only knight capable of doing that."
"You two actually came running all the way up here?"
An unfamiliar female voice came from somewhere to their side. Both turned to face whoever was talking to them and they noticed it was a tall winged woman.
Her windswept flaming red hair swayed with the breeze while her sky blue eyes looked at them with a sense of longing. She wore a long white robe with golden details, platinum tassets poked from the sides of her clothes while her muscular legs were bared into the wind, platinum anklets broke the white from the robe before hitting her bare feet.
Leona recognized her. Isabel Wolph. While their encounter was brief, she was introduced to the tactician thanks to Robert's connection to the witch. Leona took a step forward and offered a slight bow before greeting her.
"It's good to see you again, Lady Isabel."
"Oh? You remembered my name!" The winged woman flashed a bright smile as her wings fluttered happily around her. "It is good to see you in good health, Leona."
Upon bowing, her wings spread slightly in order to follow her gesture. It felt both regal and intimidating.
Krieg on the other hand, was on edge. He knew the woman before her was angelfolk but deep down he couldn't shake off the feeling of dealing with a death angel, thanks to her wings and imposing stature.
"Ah, I don't believe you've met Krieg." Leona stepped to the side and motioned with an open palm towards him. "He's my knight."
He stepped forward and bowed respectfully.
"A pleasure to meet you, Lady Isabel. My name is Krieg Louvre, Leona's personal knight."
"Oh my, an Arcadian knight." The towering woman approached him with curiosity. "I heard how the first Queen of your kingdom was also a knight blessed by my sister."
Leona raised an eyebrow as she uttered in confusion.
"Sister?"
"Ah, yes. I suppose you wouldn't know. Eleonora, the one your people revere as a goddess. She is technically my younger sister."
"Hah?!"
"Eh, why are you so surprised?" Isabel was equally amused as she was shocked. "We angelfolk are actually quite powerful, you know."
"Too powerful." A familiar male voice came from behind Leona, who upon turning around, saw Robert with a frowned expression on his face. "That being said, your 'sister' has taken a turn for the worse."
Isabel shook her hand in front of her face while averting her gaze.
"Hey now, gossiping is bad."
"Says the witch." Robert looked at Leona, who was still trying to process the information she had just heard. The sage sighed. "You don't know how gods come to be, do you, Leona?"
"How am I supposed to know?! I thought gods were beings beyond our world."
"Well… faith is power. To believe in something is to acknowledge its existence." He seemed disinterested in the topic as his eyes began to glaze. "I'll lend you a book for you to read later."
"To believe in something is to acknowledge its existence… huh…" Leona brought her hand over her mouth as she pondered the idea. "Does that mean anyone can become a god?"
"Uh… yes, technically speaking." He answered while walking towards Isabel and once he was beside her, he motioned her to kneel down since she was twice his height. Once she had her ear low enough, he whispered. "Don't go putting ideas in her head."
"Sorry, sorry, I just couldn't help myself." She whispered back with a faint smile on her face. "I was taken aback by her knight, that is all."
"Just… keep it brief, yeah?"
Upon seeing her nod, Robert went back to Leona and Krieg to talk to them. Isabel remained distant while taking yet another good look at the knight's profile. The way he stood, the stoic expression, even the blade at his hip, it all made the angel reminisce about the past with a quiet smile on her face.
"What is with all this ice?!"
Setsuna's shout could be heard in the distance as Miyamoto, herself and Yuna were climbing up the hill.
"Sorry, it's my fault." Leona scratched the side of her face with her index finger while holding Avalon. "I was racing Krieg to see who would get here faster, but we tied."
"Well… I'm more surprised at the amount of ice…" Setsuna said as she was tiptoeing around the broken shards that were starting to melt. "How did you manage to make such an absurd amount of it?"
"Oh that…" Leona's eyes trailed up to the tip of her staff. Avalon's prismatic orb shone with a soothing glow as if it was communicating with her. "It's thanks to my partner."
"Partner huh?" Setsuna looked at the staff she carried with a nostalgic smile before turning back to the tactician. "Finally found your answer, I take it?"
"Mmm."
Leona nodded.
"Woah! What is with all this ice?"
Yuna's voice came from the hill as she came up running from the path below. Leona and Krieg exchange brief glances as they both chuckled.
"I guess they really are sisters."
"Yeah."
But, the young shrine maiden wasn't alone. To everybody else's surprise, Kaeli also managed to climb up the steep hill while carrying her sister on her back.
"Kaeli, you didn't need to-"
"I… have to… be able… to!"
She was clenching her teeth while also panting harshly in order to make sure she could muster all strength in her body. Despite having been working on the fields for almost a month, she was still nowhere near her young sister's level of stamina.
"Kaeli!" Setsuna came rushing to her side the moment she noticed Phoebe on her back. "Goddess, what were you thinking?!"
"A test… of my… stamina…!"
The older high elf fell face first into the grass. With Setsuna's aid, Phoebe stood off her sister and was then assigned to stand beside Yuna as the older shrine maiden took care of an exhausted Kaeli.
Watching it all unfold from the side, made Leona smile while Krieg held a quiet yet caring gaze towards the high elf.
From further back, Isabel had the intention to go help them, but Robert stopped her and shook his head.
"I know you want to heal her exhaustion, but I need her to go through this."
"Still ever the pragmatic one, aren't you?"
"It wouldn't be me otherwise."
After giving everyone enough time to settle down, the sage then finally decided to step forward and announce the bout.
"Now, since everyone is here, we should start getting ready." He looked at both Setsuna and Miyamoto first. "If you please."
Both of them nodded before walking away from Leona and Krieg, who stood together with quiet resolve. Robert approached them with a faint smirk on his face.
"Now, I will urge you two to go all out. Holding nothing back because I will be keeping watch." He snapped his fingers and a rift opened in the air as a platinum shield dropped from it. "Here, Krieg. Your aunt asked me to give you this."
The knight received a kite shield the size of his arm. The wider top side had three distinct protrusions like horns that could serve to catch blades while the bottom narrowed before eventually becoming a spike. The shield itself seemed to be made out of one entire plate of platinum, but unlike the normal metal, it was extremely rigid on the outside while the tailored inside had a strange sensation of warmth.
"This…" Simply wearing it on his left arm made him realize that the shield wasn't made from just any material. "Did you make this?"
"Yep." Robert had a smug look on his face. "She gave me one of her scales and told me to tailor a shield for your needs." He pointed to the inside where he had four pinkish leather straps. "You can hold it vertically or horizontally depending if you want to use it as a weapon and don't worry about those straps, they are made with her sinew as well so it shouldn't wear as easily."
Leona narrowed her eyes at him which prompted the sage to lift both hands in his defense as he explained.
"I wasn't the one who procured the materials, alright? She gave them to me."
"But then…" Krieg looked him in the eyes. His glare was of a true warrior. "This means, they will also go all out, isn't that right?"
"Of course. No battle yields results unless both sides give their all. But fret not, I won't allow any fatal injuries to land." He started to walk away while finishing his sentence. "That being said, do expect harm to come your way."
"Understood."
Krieg spoke as he turned to Leona, who to his surprise, didn't seem at all fazed. In fact, her gaze was sharp and focused as she brought Avalon near her face and touched its shaft with her forehead.
"Please, lend me your strength once more."
She uttered quietly. Seeing that made the knight wear a confident gaze that reflected upon his own blade as he pulled Arondight out of her sheath. The gleaming platinum blade hummed as Krieg grip tightened around her handle.
On the other side of the training grounds, Setsuna adjusted her shrine maiden clothes before glancing briefly at Miyamoto, who was in the process of unsheathing his own sword. The blade was black as the night, devoid of any life.
"Are you ready?"
She asked while making the final adjustments to her staff.
"More than ever."
Yoshitsune felt heavy in his hands, but the swordmaster knew this was for the greater good. If his son was ever to surpass him, it would need to be now.
'Hizuki…' He thought while looking at the knight ready with his sword and shield across the field. 'Our son has grown into a fine knight.'
Robert stood on the side of the training grounds with Isabel beside him while Kaeli, Phoebe and Yuna stayed behind them.
The sage raised his hand up to the sky.
"Ready yourselves…!" Time felt like it stopped. Beads of sweat started to form on every combatant's forehead as they eyed each other trying to glean whatever they could from their opponent. The air tasted like sulfur, their saliva, bitter. But everything else ceased to matter once Robert brought his arm down. "Start!"