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Author’s notes: It’s off to find the Dark Lord! The wonderful Dark Lord of Slayers! Umm…okay. ^_^; oops. Let’s see…this title’s original (as original as it gets) and I’m proud! Okay, I admit hyperness once again, but I’m actually getting some work done! Wow! Okay, onward!
Thunder crashed, lightening flashed, and hurricane style winds tore through Wolf Pack Island as rain came down in sheets. The peaceful, if a tiny bit overcast afternoon had soon turned into an all out storm, and Lina was beginning to get a little worried. After all, can they really leave tomorrow if the weather’s like this?
She hated sleepless nights. "Sorry," She muttered. "Can’t save the world, the wind’s blowing too hard."
In her room, Filia was tossing restlessly on her bed, trying to sleep. The thunderstorm wasn’t helping her insomnia any and she finally got up and wrapped her cloak around her. Getting up, she went to sit by the window, where she could observe the storm in silence, watching the drops splatter against the window panes and slide down, distorting whatever view of the outside that she might have been able to see.
Gourry was snoring loudly in his room, his body used to the commands of his brain. He had been trained to get rest whenever he can, no matter the noise or disturbance. His dreams were bright, an advantage of a man without regrets.
Crying softly, Amelia buried her face in her pillow, fighting the memories of another stormy night, so long ago. One night in which she had lost everything, gained one small thing, and learned how to grow up.
Smoke wafted up to the ceiling in the room lighted with only candles. Xellas idly sipped her wine, staring off into space. Feeling her domain tremble under the onslaught of the tempest, yet not really bothered by it. Xelana, as a wolf, sat at her feet, watching the storm with golden eyes, her tail swishing quietly on the ground as the rest of her held perfectly still.
Feeling the wind pushing at her, the rain beating down on her, Zira remained standing without moving. She searched the sky, as if for an answer, but only found darkness streaked with light. Only found the chill of the wind and rain, and the remembrance of humanity with them.
Inside darkness, a pair of purple eyes gleamed. It was only the beginning. The beginning of the end.
Morning broke bright and clear on Wolf Pack Island. Lina dragged herself out of bed, splashing some water on her face before going down to breakfast. Gourry joined her in the dining room, and Amelia came down soon afterwards, looking tired.
"Didn’t anyone sleep well at all?" Lina asked when Filia finally came in, looking exhausted. The Dragon made a half-hearted attempt to growl, then just sat down and poured herself some tea.
"No." Amelia replied. "The storm was too loud."
"Do you have gales like this often?"
Xellas shrugged. "Once in awhile. Island weather tends to be unstable."
"Oh." Lina accepted the explanation. Zira came in and sat down, looking pretty much as she always had. "Anyone seen Xelloss?"
Filia debated speaking up when a familiar figure darkened the doorway.
"Someone called?" Xelloss said with his normal smile, just a hint of shadows shading his eyes.
"There you are." Lina said, waving her fork at him. "We’re all ready to go, then."
"All right," Gourry nodded. "Let’s get this show on the road."
Soon after breakfast, they departed. Xellas even saw them off, waving from the large entrance. She seemed almost small in the distance. Soon, though, she was out of sight and Xelloss lead them to another one of the exits off the island. "This should take us really close to Sailloon." He told them. Lina eyed the small clearing suspiciously.
"How do you get these things to work?" She asked, not quite trusting of things she didn’t understand. Xelloss shook a finger at her.
"That is a secret."
The group trudged along. Amelia could almost feel the air snapping with tension as they walked. Lina was edgy, and although Gourry seemed relaxed, she could tell that the sorceress’s tension was affecting him. Filia kept giving Xelloss odd looks, and Xelloss, contrary to his usual actions, was ignoring her. Amelia knew she wasn’t one to talk. Every step registered a mental echo of pain deep inside her, and she knew it could only get worse.
"Are we almost there?" Filia asked finally, after a long interval of silence. Lina shrugged.
"It’s a fairly big city now, so I don’t think we can miss it." She joked weakly. Amelia smiled a little.
"I think we’re going the right way, Lina-san."
"That’s good."
The sun made its way in the sky as they trekked on. Amelia looked around, already beset with familiar landscapes. At last, they reached New Sailloon.
"Just in time for lunch!" Lina cheered, shaking off her gloom. Amelia was keeping her emotions under tight rein, and she was afraid that the younger girl will snap any moment. Hopefully, a distraction will take everyone’s minds off the weight of what they have to do.
"Lead on, fearless leader." Zira said without much enthusiasm, but Lina took it to heart and barged right in. The city wasn’t particularly large, but it was bustling with life. Lina selected a restaurant at random and they went in.
Soon, all were seated and either stuffing their faces or sipping some sort of beverage sedately. Xelloss remained silent, and Filia, for once, was also silent. Amelia seemed to brighten a bit and ate a healthy helping for lunch, although it wasn’t much compared to Lina and Gourry’s. Zira merely drank tea and watched the proceedings with a bemused expression.
Soon, though, the flurry of eating passed and Lina settled down with a mug of coffee. "So, now that we are in Sailloon, where are we headed next? Xelloss? Zira?"
Xelloss sipped from his cup, eyes closed. "Well, I left Ruby Eye-sama with someone trustworthy here, a while ago."
"Fellow demon?"
The Priest-General shook his head. "Human. Rather famous, I think. Have any of you ever heard of Rezo Akahoushi?"
Lina choked on her drink. "The Red Priest? Rezo!?"
"I guess that means a yes." He noted. Gourry slapped her on the back as she caught her breath.
"Who’s Rezo, Lina?"
Lina coughed. "He’s a famous priest, blind from birth. It’s rumored that he’s lived a thousand years and as powerful as any dragon or demon."
"Three hundred." Xelloss corrected. "And Rezo is fairly powerful, though I wouldn’t know about him facing down an army or anything."
"He’s someone trustworthy?"
Xelloss shrugged. "He had some… personal stake in things. If our esteemed friend hasn’t moved in the past hundred years, I suspect we should be able to find him at his villa, around the edge of this town."
"All right!" the sorceress cheered. "Wow, can you believe we actually have a destination in mind?" Lina laughed happily. Xelloss pouted.
"Are you making fun of me?" He asked and she stuck her tongue out at him.
Filia set her cup down. "So Rezo has the piece of Shabrinigdo?" she directed the question quietly at Xelloss. She almost didn’t hear his hushed answer.
"He’d better."
"Play with me, big brother?"
"No."
The little boy clutched the colorful ball to his chest forlornly. "Pretty please?"
His older brother brushed a shock of dark purple bangs from his face. "No. Don’t bother me, I’m busy." Was the frosty reply.
The little one broke into tears, but his brother continued to ignore him. "You’re mean!" he declared, running off.
The older brother watched as the little one ran off, guilt flashing in his eyes for a split second before being replaced by cold malice. Shaking his head, he allowed his hair to fall forward, covering half of his face. Turning with smooth grace, he strode into the large house, disappearing into the study and shutting the heavy doors behind him.
The click of the lock sounded with eerie finality.
The young man walked forward with dignity and arrogance far beyond his years or experience. Reaching up, he removed something from a top shelf. Catches clicked as he undid them, opening a long, polished wooden case. With familiarity, he lifted out the content of the box.
The large, blood red orb reflected the light like a blade covered with liquid of life. He hefted the two-pronged staff tipped with the ruby, feeling a smile spreading across his face.
The pieces are falling into place.
"We’ve been walking forever!" Lina complained, stomping her feet. "This is annoying, just how far does he live anyway?"
"We’re almost there, Lina."
"You’ve been saying that!" She whined. "It’s getting hot! Can’t we stop for some water or something?"
"Lina, you’re whining." Zira told her. "Stop it, it’s annoying."
"But~!"
Filia peered down the road, hoping she could see something. But some brilliant person had decided the roads would be so much prettier when flanked on both sides with leafy trees, and try as she might, not a thing could be seen.
Lina huffed, "Well, of course. Just blame it on me." She took an angry step forward, continuing her ranting. "Don’t whine, Lina." She mimicked. "It’s annoying. How come no one ever say that to-ow!"
Lina, ball and boy went flying as the former crashed in the latter. Amelia and Gourry blinked a couple of times before their brains digested and understood enough of the information to allow reaction.
"Lina, you okay?" Gourry asked as Amelia hurried forward.
"I’m fine…Thanks, Amelia, but you’d better check that boy."
The boy in question was sitting up, his fine clothing dirtied with grass and dirt. He rubbed his head and promptly broke into tears.
"Hey, hey…" Lina stuttered, flustered by the crying. "Don’t do that…Um, I’m sorry, okay?" Amelia quickly gathered the boy, who couldn’t have been more than five, into her arms to sooth him.
"It’s okay, now…shh…"
The tears soon subsided until he only sniffled occasionally. "Sorry." He said.
"There now. It’s okay." Amelia said with a smile. "Does it hurt anywhere? What were you doing, running around like that?"
He sniffled. "Big brother being mean to me."
"Big brother?"
"He won’t play with me." The little boy declared. "He used to be real nice and play with me all the time but now he’s all mean!"
"Your brother…Do you live around here?" Filia asked, bending down to the boy’s level. He nodded.
"Over there." He pointed and Lina had a nagging suspicious that Fate just meddled again. The direction that they were heading towards in the first place. "Won’t you come and play with me?"
"What’s your name, kiddo?"
"Sato. Sato Greywers."
"Let me get this straight, Sato-chan," Lina said. "You live with your grandfather and your brother?"
"Mm-hmm!" Sato replied enthusiastically. Faced with the prospect of having a whole bunch of people to play with him had brightened the boy considerably. "Grandpa’s rarely home, though. He’s always out helping people. Hey, here we are!"
Massive sweatdrops all around.
"That…that’s your house?" Gourry gaped.
"House might be too weak a word." Zira observed.
Sato nodded, giving everyone curious glances. "What’s the matter?"
"He must be loaded…" Lina muttered, staring at the huge mansion. She was used to the giant scale that the Dragons build in, but while the Dragons stuck with simplicity in their blueprints, someone had definitely decided to scrap simplicity when building this edifice.
"Somebody remodeled." Xelloss commented, eyeing the elaborate carvings and statues that dotted the lawn, not to mention the ornamental decorations on the roof and walls.
"Come on in!" Sato cheered, running to the door. With some effort, he pulled them apart, an amazing feat considering the comparative masses of the two. "Grandpa says to be nice to people."
Amelia was the least surprised out of all of them, besides Xelloss and Zira. "Well, thank you very much, Sato-kun." Lina jumped when she was prodded, then took the lead and followed the little boy in.
The interior was even more impressive than the exterior, as Lina and company found out. A large marble staircase wound up to a second floor that also had stairs leading up to third and fourth floors. Rich, thick carpets covered the floors, which were also made out of marble. Paintings framed in gold decorated the walls along with tapestry and thick decorative curtains. Sato grinned happily as they all came in.
"This is my house." He said proudly. Then frowned cutely in thought. "Wait, it’s grandpa’s house, actually. But I live here."
Lina exchanged a long look with Xelloss, and he nodded. "Sato-chan, listen." She said, bending so she could talk to him without him craning his neck to look up at her. "What’s your grandpa’s name?"
"Grandpa?" The boy frowned. "Not sure…"
"Does he wear a red robe and have hair that stick out like this?" Xelloss demonstrated, much to Sato’s delight.
"That’s grandpa!" he clapped.
"Then we’re in the right house." Filia murmured. Lina nodded and returned her attention to Sato, who was happily engaged by Xelloss’s antics.
"Sato-chan? We were looking for your grandpa, do you know when he’ll be home?" She asked insistently.
Footsteps echoed in the large house and Sato looked up.
"Sato, who are these people?" a cold voice asked. A young man of about sixteen or seventeen came down the stairs, looking at Lina’s group suspiciously. He had dark purple hair that fell over half of his face, and the one eye that was visible was a dark blue-gray. His whole person extruded cold malice, from his icy eyes to his all gray outfit. Sato’s lower lip began to tremble.
"They’re nice people, brother." He said fearfully.
His brother was at the foot of the stairs now, striding towards them purposefully. "You invited strangers inside? Didn’t I tell you not to do that?" The look of suspicion deepened as he stopped by his younger brother.
"Excuse me," Lina began. "We were looking for Rezo Akahoushi…"
"Grandfather’s not home." The youth informed them icily. "Please come back later."
"Grandpa says to be nice." Sato insisted in a small voice.
Xelloss raised an eyebrow. "We can come back later." He said calmly.
"We just wanted to make sure Sato-kun got back here safely." Amelia added.
"You’ve all done a very good job, I’m sure." Sato’s brother said with forced politeness. "Now, if you’ll please excuse us…"
Lina took the hint. "We’ll be leaving now." She said politely, barely keeping her irritation at his rudeness in check.
"Perhaps we’ll see each other again later."
She nodded. "Believe it." She muttered under her breath as she turned to leave.
"Ami-chan?" Sato whispered.
Amelia smiled encouragingly at him. "We’ll see you later, Sato-kun."
Zira, who had been standing in the background with her arms crossed, suddenly spoke up quietly. "There’s someone at the door."
The large doors opened right after her timely announcement, and a masculine voice called out, "Zelgadis, Sato, I’m home."
"Grandpa!" Sato said happily, rushing forward. The man in the red robe held his arms out to the small boy and picked him up.
"Have you been good, Sato?" Suddenly, he became aware of the strangers in his parlor. Lina could see that his eyes were closed, not in a smile like Xelloss’s, but the closed eyes of a blind man. "Who do we have here? Many honorable guests, I see, if you’ll please excuse the pun." He joked.
Xelloss took a step forward. "Hello, Rezo."
Silence.
Rezo slowly turned so that he faced Xelloss, even though his eyes were shut. "I know that voice." He said softly. "Why, honorable guests indeed. I was wondering where you went, Xelloss Metallium."
"Here and there. We have a lot of catching up to do."
Rezo shook his head. "Later, later. Where are my manners? Zelgadis, would you please tell Eris to set extra places at the table? Everyone, please forgive my rudeness."
Lina smiled, a tad smugly, but she was careful to not extrude too much of her satisfaction. The youth named Zelgadis seemed to have something against them, and she had the feeling that they would not want him as an enemy. "Thank you very much." She said sincerely.
"Ami-chan gets to stay?" Sato asked.
"Ami-chan and all her friends will stay." Rezo agreed. Zelgadis fixed them all with a cold stare before walking away. Filia frowned, silently wondering what his problem was.
Two figures met in the darkened hallway, both halting.
"You’re going to talk to Rezo, I presume?" Zira asked. Xelloss nodded.
"And you’d better give Lina the news." He replied dryly. "I’m sure she’d be overjoyed to hear it."
"Right." Zira muttered. Catching Xelloss’s arm before he could push past her, she warned. "Don’t kill him."
"I know. I just can’t believe that he was so stupid." Xelloss took a deep breath. "Never mind. It’ll work out, somehow."
"Do what you can, leave the rest to fate."
A sarcastic chuckle escaped him. Somehow, that didn’t strike him as being particularly reassuring. "Fate, huh?"
That thought continued to run through his head as he headed towards what he remembered as Rezo’s study. Sure enough, the Red Priest was there, playing checkers with Sato. Xelloss let himself in, shutting the door behind him. Smiling to Sato, who looked up, he walked across to the two, making enough noise so the blind priest could definitely heard his approach.
"Sato, Grandpa has to talk with Mr. Xelloss." Rezo told his grandson quietly. "Why don’t you go see if Ami-chan wants a tour and show her around?"
"Ami-chan!" Sato jumped up. "Okay!"
"Cute." Xelloss noted as the boy scampered out, turning his attention back to the Red priest, he asked, "May I sit down?"
Rezo nodded, turned and began to rummage around for something as Xelloss settled himself in a sofa. "aha." He said, holding up a polished wooden box. "Before we start, I’d like to return this to you." He said as he opened the box and took the contents to the purple haired mazoku.
Xelloss remained perfectly expressionless as the ruby-tipped staff returned to his hand, not that Rezo could have seen anything anyway. The demon hefted the staff, then placed it against his chair. "Thank you."
"You wanted to talk to me?"
"Yes."
Rezo sat himself down and smiled. "Fire away."
"When did it happen?"
Silence.
Xelloss raised an eyebrow as the blind man searched for words. "Well? Don’t tell me it was an accident, Rezo. You do not do something like that by accident."
"I had to." Rezo whispered. Xelloss shot him a glare, and Rezo shook his head. "The people of New Sailloon are very paranoid about anything that might upset their neutrality, ever since what happened ten years ago. I couldn’t stop them…"
"Couldn’t you have hidden it somewhere? Anywhere?" Xelloss took a deep breath, standing up so he could pace around the room. It was either that or some other, more noisy way of venting frustration, and he didn’t think that would be appropriate here. "Normally, I wouldn’t give a damn…but we need him. Did you know that, Rezo?"
"It was either that, or lose that piece of Ruby Eye forever." The Red Priest protested. "I had no choice."
Xelloss turned on him. "So you seal him in your own grandson?! Lei Magus and Shabrinigdo, inside an innocent?"
"I had no choice." Rezo repeated quietly, firmly.
The demon took another deep breath, willing himself to stand absolutely still. "Fine. What is done is done. I suppose we should concern ourselves with other things now, how to undo the damage, mainly. When did you do the transfer?"
"About a year ago." Rezo replied. "Zelgadis seemed fine at first…it was a very gradual change."
Xelloss thought about it for a while. "Can you feel anything from him? Ruby Eye’s power?"
Rezo shook his head. "The power is still Sealed, enforced by the very first seal that was created by Cepheed. The spirit of Lei Magus and the awareness of Ruby Eye resided within Zelgadis, but the power is still latent."
"Which would explain why you don’t have the Dragons breathing down your back, since they can’t sense him like I can." Xelloss noted. "But you’ve created a fine dilemma for us. I’ve been told that Zelgadis is destined to stand with the humans in this next Demon Dragon war. He can’t do that if he carries a piece of Shabranigdo-sama with him, can he?"
"Neutrality would seem impossible."
There was a knock at the door, and Xelloss frowned just a little.
"Grandfather…" Zelgadis stopped upon entering, his eyes meeting Xelloss’s. "Never mind, I’ll come back later if you’re busy."
"No, wait, Zelgadis."
Xelloss smiled with his eyes open, not an entirely pleasant sight. "Won’t you come in? There’s much to discuss, and it’s only fair that you’re present since it’s about you."
The youth smiled haughtily, but nodded and closed the door behind him.
"What took you so long, Xelloss?"
Uncomfortably, Lina shifted in her seat, taking a small sip out of her porcelain cup. Zira sat across from her, sedately drinking her tea without a worry.
"Zira?" The red head finally said, "You wanted to talk to me?"
Zira nodded. "Everything’s coming along pretty well, don’t you think?"
Lina shrugged. "As well as could be expected. I suspect Xelloss already knows where Shabranigdo is, and that he’s doing something behind our backs. Well, my back, at least." Zira chuckled.
"Perceptive." She observed.
"What did you want to talk to me about? Was that it?" Lina asked. Zira waved a hand absently.
"Something important…I really should stop beating around the bush," She murmured, much to Lina’s confusion. "Very well, Lina. I’m going to tell you a story and then ask you a question. Then I want you to think very carefully before you answer, all right?"
Lina bit into a biscuit. "Doesn’t sound too hard, compared to what I’ve been doing." She said, putting on the appearance of being casual.
"Have you ever played the game called chess?"
Lina blinked. "Yes, a few times. Why?"
"How many gods do you know of?"
Now she was really confused, since the questions had no logical sequence. However, she had a nagging suspicion... "Huh? Well, I know of Cepheed and Shabranigdo…and the Lord of Nightmares. What does that have anything to do with-"
"Please, just listen." Zira paused. "What do you think would happen if there was a conflict between the gods, and they fight it out amongst themselves here on this earth?"
Brow furrowing, Lina finally said, "The whole world would be destroyed."
"That’s right. That was also part of the reason why L-sama agreed to not interfere in this world’s affairs directly. The first battle that took place between Cepheed and Shabranigdo had almost destroyed this world She created, and as a result, the gods had to promise Her to gain supremacy another way."
"What do you mean, another way?" Lina asked, ruby eyes wide.
"They were no longer allowed to have direct confrontations, Lina, except in the last battle." Before Lina could interrupt with a question, Zira fixed her eyes on the sorceress. "Yes, it’s going to be soon, and yes, it will take place during the next Dragon Demon war. But before this battle takes place, neither side can make any moves, and hence the thousand years of relative peace after the War of the Monster’s fall."
"I thought that was because the Demons were all Sealed…"
"They were." Zira smiled. "The Dragons would like to think so, and they made sure the humans believed it. In fact, you can say that the thousand years was how long it took to set everything up and send it into motion."
Lina swallowed. All that sounded a little too calculated for her taste, which leaned towards having faith in blind luck, more often than not. "Zira…you make it sound as if everything was planned, from the very beginning. As if you can already tell what the end will be."
The older woman gave her a mildly amused look, shaking her head. "That’s what chaos is, Lina. Everything has a definite beginning, a definite end, but infinite ways to go from point a to point b. I know what happened before, and I am almost sure what will happen in the end, but there was no way for me to predict which way the situation will go, or what you or any others will do. We all have a goal to accomplish, but we’re all going about it in different ways." She took a drink from her cup. "But I digress. That wasn’t precisely what I wanted to tell you, although I hope you will find the information helpful. As I was saying, the gods are not allowed to do battle until the end, and so they must fight in other ways. Some of these other ways include the distribution of power among their followers. I’m sure you know that Cepheed’s Knight, your sister, and Filia, have the ability to tap into Cepheed’s power, just as Xellas or Phibrizo can tap Shabranigdo’s. This tactic did not violate the terms of the agreement, and it effectively transferred the fight onto a more earthly plane. It also made some key players very important."
"Key players, huh?" Lina’s red eyes narrowed. "Would we happen to be some of these key players?"
"The gods are maneuvering," Zira agreed. "They’re playing a game, and you are the pieces. It’s very much like a game of chess, if you want some form of comparison. It’s a game won not by sheer force, since both sides are balanced, light against dark, but with strategy and design."
"And what does that have to do with me?"
Zira sighed at her guarded expression. "There is a third player, if you will. The conflict between the Light and Dark are taking place in the presence of humans, the elements of chaos. The humans are on both sides, supporting neither, and that is why they are important."
"Oh, and why is that?"
"Dragons and Demons represent the opposite sides of the balance. Humans are the balance. With that fact in mind, Lina, it becomes very important to have a guardian for humanity."
The sorceress eyed the woman sitting across from her. "Okay, this is going to sound really old, but what do you mean? You’re trying to tell me something with all this, Zira, so stop being vague and tell me now."
"I am that guardian, if you will. A long, long time ago, L-sama asked me to be Her knight." She paused, smiling wryly at Lina’s semi-shocked expression. "You do seem a little surprised."
"I…" Lina closed her mouth and shrugged. "Well, I had very faint suspicions before, but I kind of forgot about them for awhile when everything happened…You weren’t exactly obvious about it." She defended herself when Zira shot her another amused look.
"That’s not the point, Lina. The point is that things are going to come to a head soon, and I’m not going to be the one in charge of things."
"Okay, you’re being vague and beating around the bush again." Lina said, a little nervously.
"We come now to the question that I want you to think about very carefully, Lina. Do you think you’re ready to hear it?"
Lina raised an eyebrow. Somehow, she had the feeling that it wasn’t going to be anything that she’s going to like. But she took a deep breath and gathered her appearance of confidence around her. "Of course." She said with more confidence than she felt.
"I choose you as the next Knight of Chaos. Do you accept this position?"
Silence.
Lina opened her mouth, then closed it. Then opened it again, her brain finally organized enough to coordinate her mouth and vocal cords at the same time. "What??"
"You heard me, Lina." Zira smiled. "You don’t have to answer immediately. After all, this is a big surprise. I want you to know, though, that you have the full power of making this decision. I will not force you or trick you into anything."
"But…the Knight of Chaos…that’s…" Lina shook her head. "Okay, the Knight of Cepheed is granted power from Cepheed, right? And she works His will in this world. If I’m the Knight of L-sama, then that would mean I have her power and have to work Her will??" She shook her head confusedly. "I …I don’t want that. I mean, the power sounds nice and all, but…"
"Like I said, you don’t have to answer now. And I know you’re not sure. Tell me when your mind is made up, with no doubt left in it whatsoever. Tell me then, and only then." Zira finished her cup and stood up. "Please consider this carefully, Lina."
The sorceress watched as the Knight faded out, leaving her alone in the room. She continued to sit there, staring at the cup in front of her, still a little dazed.
She knew about Knights. Well, that was because her sister was one. But…but…
"Free choice, huh?" She whispered.
"Phillip-san? Are you awake?"
The youth jumped and immediately began to blush furiously. "I’m sorry!" he blurted out. The kindly priest merely smiled and patted his shoulder.
"No need to apologize."
Phillip smiled nervously as the two continued to walk, a task only slightly hindered by the late afternoon walking traffic on the streets of Sairaag. He listened with one ear open to what his mentor was saying while keeping an eye out for things that he could trip over in order to steer clear of those objects. It was terribly embarrassing to be so clumsy…
Something black caught the edge of his vision and he half-turned his head, expecting some new stranger in town.
The man in black armor looked surprised for a second when their eyes met, spring green against ice blue, then quickly regained his composure and smiled. Phillip shuddered, for it was a smile too sinister for the almost childish face. Somehow, those ice blue eyes seemed familiar…
"Phillip!"
He jumped again. "I’m sorry! It’s just that-"
"What could possibly be so interesting as to have you mesmerized?"
Phillip looked back. "It was a man in-" he stopped when all that met his eyes was the empty place by the corner. "Wh-where did he go?"
"Have you been getting enough sleep lately, Phillip?"
The young man gulped. "Yes, sir. I’m sorry, sir."
Still, those eyes…
Filia sat under the shade, watching Amelia play with Sato. Well, watching, and thinking, a little. She found the silence very companionable as she tried to sort out a few things.
Something was up with the one named Zelgadis, that much was certain. She could almost be positive that he contained the piece of Shabranigdo that they had come for, although she couldn’t detect any of the Dark Lord’s power inside the youth. What she couldn’t figure out was why the god would be inside a human if he was supposedly Sealed so long ago. It didn’t make sense, since His presence in a human usually meant resurrection.
Sato and Rezo seemed normal enough, although Rezo unsettled her also, for one reason or another. Amelia’s been acting strange, although she put up a very good semblance of normalcy. Filia resolved to ask Lina about it later.
Xelloss…now that was another mystery. She still couldn’t figure out what was the meaning of their conversation inside that cave just a day and a half ago. All her memories and gut feelings were sending her all sorts of messages that she just couldn’t make out. And he had been uncommonly quiet ever since then, and he practically stopped all his teasing, much to her surprise. And nervousness.
Filia sighed. "No one is acting normal." She muttered.
Then again, why would anyone act normal when the circumstances are so strange? She smiled a little at that, waving when Sato noticed her smiling and enthusiastically called out to her.
"Normal, huh?" She whispered.