Corrin felt good wearing the shard around his neck again. It was as though a part of him was missing, even though a part of him technically was.
"Good Gods!"
Lukas looked upon the long table of food. On it was bread, fruits, meat, vegetables, and more of the like. Corrin looked at all of the food.
"How did you even get this? It's snowing constantly out there. Where did the grain and crops come from?"
Omna sat down in a chair.
"Mary is the source, actually. Or, one of them."
The same girl that Corrin had met days earlier was sitting down in one of the chairs near Omna. She had bright blonde hair in a ponytail, a petite face, and eyes that seemed to dazzle in the candlelight. Her face was one that Corrin had yet to see up close and in this well of light.
She fixed a loose strand of hair, tucking it behind her ear before hearing her name in conversation.
"Mary, would you care to explain your Resonance?"
Mary looked from Omna to Corrin. Her face was slightly red from embarrassment.
"Of course!"
She clears her throat and raises her hand. When she does so, an orange ball begins to glow faintly in her hand.
"I can mimic the sun's heat. At a lower scale, of course. I can leave these 'sun orbs' anywhere I want. So I create a lot and put them in underground farms. Because of my Resonance, we survive."
Corrin nods his head. But Lukas speaks up.
"But wait a minute, I thought you all lived here for over a thousand years. How did your ancestors survive? She doesn't look a thousand years old in the slightest."
Omna shakes his head.
"She's not. But, as you may know, a Resonance is formed from a person's personality and experiences. So, if one person has a specific Resonance, and they have a child that's similar to them in personality, it's more likely that they'll have a similar Resonance. That's how it's been done for the past thousand years. Mary comes from a long line of people who have Resonances that heat things."
Corrin scratches the back of his head and sits down.
"You… were really prepared for that question…"
Mary giggles a bit. Omna nods his head.
"Yes, but now that that is out of the way, we can get down to more important business."
Everybody began to eat their food. Corrin hadn't felt full like this in a while. They explained what had happened in full detail while they ate. Soon, Omna explained the plan to them based on the information given.
"Corrin, Lukas, and Tutsoi. You three are stronger than anybody else your age. I've never heard of two sixteen-year-olds, Corrin and Lukas, and one seventeen-year-old, Tutsoi, holding their own against a grown man with a Resonance like what you all describe."
Omna takes and finishes a bite of food, letting what he said sink in deep.
"Unfortunately, I believe he was caught off guard. I don't think you'll be able to deal with him head-on as you all are now. Corrin and Tutsoi desperately need training with the shards."
Lukas cut in.
"Two? What do you mean by two?"
Corrin finishes a bite of food.
"Oh, right. I forgot that you weren't here earlier…"
Corrin raises his shard from around his neck.
Lukas stares at the shard in awe.
"Oh, wow…"
Lukas stares at it for a few moments.
"Which shard is that?"
Tutsoi answers.
"The Shard of Time. It's extraordinarily rare to see even one, and even rarer to use it. But to see two of them is nearly unbelievable."
Tutsoi seemed as cold as ever. Omna cleared his throat loudly so everybody turned to him.
"The plan, as I was stating before, will be to train Corrin and Tutsoi on how to use the shards. I personally don't know much about them, so the training will consist mostly of practice mastering their fundamentals. Lukas, you'll train as well. I'll release a public statement explaining that you were framed by a man who's being actively pursued. And you have my personal apology for everything that occurred."
Omna stands up, holding his stomach.
"Your training starts tomorrow morning. For the time being, please rest."
They all leave. Axel and Lukas head back to the room from before. Corrin stops Omna.
"Wait, why didn't you look for Lukas after you learned that he didn't hurt anybody?"
Omna sighed.
"We did. We sent a group of soldiers to look for him a day afterwards. But Lukas fended them off and kept running. Tutsoi could have stopped him, but that was a day after his sister's death. He was inconsolable. A week later, Lukas was completely gone. We only had a few confirmed run-ins with Lukas after that from patrols. Now, I have very important business to discuss with the council, Corrin. Please rest."
Corrin nodded. He caught up with Lukas and Axel on the way to their room.
Axel stopped in the middle of the corridor and grabbed Corrin's shirt from behind, stopping him.
"Go ahead, Lukas. I need a word with Corrin."
Lukas nodded and went on to the room. Axel turned to Corrin and gripped him on his shoulders. On either side of the corridor were shining suits or armor carrying pikes; Axel nearly toppled one over while struggling with Corrin.
"Okay, Corrin. Here's the plan: you're going to find where the Shard of Realms is. I last saw it with Tutsoi. It may be moved soon to a safer location, but judging by their allowing you to keep yours, I doubt it. You're going to steal the Shard of Realms and get me and you out of this realm."
Corrin was shocked. He pulled away from Axel.
"What? No! These people need our help, Axel. Can't you tell that there's clearly something deeper going on here? The man that Tutsoi and I fought was specifically targeting Lukas for a reason. He mentioned that he and his brother, Vesterii, want me and Lukas dead. That means that not only do they know that we have two parts of the same soul, but there must be some significance to me and Lukas. So I will not leave now, Axel. Nor will I betray these people."
Corrin turns and walks. Corrin grabs Corrin's shoulder as he walks.
"That is a direct order, Corrin. You must obey my orders as commander. You're part of the Vrebathian Imperial Army, an essential part. You will steal the Shard of Realms, and you will take us back to the Holy Realm."
Corrin pulled away from Axel.
"No. If I'm considered an 'imperial' now, then I'd rather not fight for Vrebathia at all. All I ever wanted was a foolish revenge."
Corrin walked away from Axel.
"Are you going AWOL, Corrin? That is punishable by death."
Corrin turned around, facing Axel's fury.
"What are you going to do? Kill me?"
Corrin walked back to the room. Corrin couldn't believe Axel. Would his grandfather have betrayed these people for the good of Vrebathia? He wouldn't think so.
His grandfather would never approve of Vrebathia becoming an Empire. It was never meant to be one.
Corrin walked in and sat himself down on the bed he had claimed earlier. He picked up the book labeled "The Cornimax" and again looked through it. He thought maybe learning more about the Cornimax would teach him something.
The Shard of Life, wielded by Lumi, the guardian over the Othari, gave her the ability to heal wounds and prolong life. The Shard of Life contains the very essence of life within it. The user may live forever so long as they give themselves the life residing within the shard, or prolong the life of anyone they wish. They can also heal wounds instantly, though there are no known cases of the regeneration of limbs. When they had first become guardians, Lumi exerted a large amount of power from the Shard of Life to make all the guardians live forever.
Corrin found it interesting, the Shard of Life could heal any wound. That would make anybody with even a hint of skill be able to hold their own against somebody much more powerful than themselves. He flipped a few pages to the right.
The Shard of Power, wielded by Rotix, the guardian over the Anees, gave her immense power. The Shard contains all the leftover power by The Holy Goddess before her passing in creating the guardians and the Cornimax. Not much is known as to what kind of power lies inside, only that the power is incredible, and was the only reason Rotix and Lumi won the War of the Gods against Katan and Mollou.
Corrin read through but exhaled sharply. He flipped to another chapter.
Chapter 7: The Cornimax's role in the War of the Gods
Corrin skimmed through most of the chapter, taking in only what was necessary.
…Fallis gave up the Shard of Time to Rotix and went into hiding soon after out of fear…
…Rotix and Lumi, with the Shards of Life, Time, and Power, fought against Katan and Mollou…
…Realizing that they were losing, Katan and Mollou forced millions of mortals from the races they controlled to fight alongside them…
…Rotix and Lumi soon did the same…
…Katan and Mollou, soon referred to as the 'Chaos-keepers', utilized the Shard of Realms to gain an advantage over Rotix and Lumi, who were soon referred to as the 'Peace-keepers'...
…The Peace-keepers, desperate to end the war after fighting for years, devised a plan for a last all-out assault…
…But the Chaos-keepers soon discovered their plan…
…Mollou perished in the following battle…
…Rotix sacrificed herself to imprison Katan within the Realm of Grief…
Corrin was going to read more, but the rest of the chapter was ripped out of the book. Corrin, already in a sour mood from Axel's orders, slammed the book down on his nightstand.
He thought about Katan. He was imprisoned in some 'Realm of Grief'. He pondered it for a few moments.
Did that mean he could escape?