Well with the news of golden sun ds, my inspiration to finish this has been renewed. For once, I can confidently say, 'expect further chapters to come.'

Chapter 7: Search's End

Charon, one of the underworld beings that had been sealed alongside Alchemy, had finally been set free once more. An immortal deity that holds the power of death itself - one of the highest levels of psynergy unattainable by mortal hands. "The Wise One was a fool. It knew well what the release of the seal on Alchemy would imply," it said.

Felix and the others were shocked with fear as they gazed at the large figure before them. They had slain countless undeads before, overcome great dragons and giants, forged bonds with great summoned beasts and defeated majestic creatures of unfathomable strengths. However, this being that loomed before them was something far greater: it was a god from the underworld.

"You were sealed?" Felix inquired with great hesitation and felt a sweat drip down his cheek, "What do you mean?!" He had never once felt so powerless when facing down an enemy before. The difference between gods and mortals were as clear to him as it was to anyone else. Suddenly he felt a slight tug on his back and turned to see his sister clutching onto him.

"Felix? Do you think it's for real?" she asked.

Felix was certain that the chills and deathly aura that reeked from the ghastly entity before them was real. The horror he felt could not have stemmed from anything less than what the being claimed itself to be. He nodded without turning his gaze away from Charon's crimson red eyes, "Yes, Jenna. I can feel it."

Garet walked up next to the siblings a little confused, "Wait a minute, you can't be serious. You actually believe that this robed freak here is a god?"

"Can't you feel it?" Felix turned to reply, "this is not any normal psynergy that's swirling around him."

"I know that. It's a combination, right? It's...," Garet's voice trailed off as he was stumped, "Um…Mars and Venus?"

"It's a mixture of all four elements, Garet," Felix answered. "Nothing on Weyard other than the Wise One could possess psynergy like this. I don't know if this is a god or not, but it's definitely dangerous."

"What are we gonna do? This creepy thing gives me the chills" Jenna whispered to her brother as her gaze drifted over to Isaac who had apparently awakened and was struggling to stand on his feet. Before she could say anything else, Charon replies to Felix with a sinister laugh.

"Those bound so closely to death have no need for answers. Prepare yourselves, humans," Charon warned, "for Weyard shall slowly be consumed in hell's agony." With that said, he gazed at those standing before him and savored the fear and confusion that surrounded them before he vanished into the darkness. Briefly afterwards, the wind started to calm and the sky began to clear. The great darkness has disappeared and the bright rays once again shine upon the grass of the accursed land.

"What was that suppose to mean?" Jenna pondered.

"I don't know, Jenna," Felix replied, "I doubt even Kraden would know anything about this. He likely wouldn't have kept a catastrophe like this from us he had known"

"But we have to try," Garet suggested, "We can't just sit around here and let that thing do whatever it wants."

The others nodded in agreement. Quickly they ran over to where Isaac laid. Though they were terrified of what had just happened, all three were glad that their friend had been spared. The chaotic uncontrolled psynergy that once leaked from him was no more. Placing both hands on his forearm and her forehead to his, Jenna could feel the soft warm psynergy that Isaac naturally radiated.

"Isaac," she whispered with a huge sense of relief, "it's faint, but calm. I can feel it."

Garet and Felix sighed in relief as they looked over her shoulders knowing full well what she had meant. At the very least, they may at least be able to bring back their friend.

Though they still had many unanswered questions, there was nothing more they could have done at the moment.

"Shall we head back?" Garet asked clasping a hand to his knee and wiping off some sweat off his face. It had been a long and weary trip, especially at the pace they had been going at and the perils that befell them.

Felix took a moment before shaking his head, "We should set up camp and rest for the night here. We've not the strength to make another trip back tonight and Isaac is in no condition to move," he replied giving a glance over to Isaac. "Still, we do have to go back as soon as we can. If we're truly up against Charon, we'll have to gather together everyone as soon as we can.

"I wonder if this is one of the dangers of alchemy the Wise One warned us about," Garet added, "Couldn't he have warned us beforehand?"

"It doesn't matter," Felix replied. "It wouldn't have stopped me from releasing the seal either way. There's no point in regretting our decisions now. For now, we should just get some rest."

Felix turned to Isaac whose eyes were beginning to open. His skin was slighlyt pale, but he finally looked like he was alive again. His blue eyes that once glistened and told of unrivaled glory, courage, and prestige were now dyed in stress and weariness. When the first things he saw were Jenna's alizarin red eyes staring at him with worry and her hair gently swaying across her face. As he gaze back at her with a curious look of his own inches away, he thought back to the time when Agatio and Karst had beaten him senseless because of one fatal mistake on his part. It wasn't such a bad way to wake up - in the embracing warmth of a friend.

"Isaac," Jenna said with a smile and pressing her palms to his cheeks, "welcome back." It wasn't every day that Isaac gets to see this gentle side of her.

Isaac couldn't help but reply with a smile. Words however, were lost to him, for he knew he would have to leave them again.

Garet suddenly joined in with his usual energetic look and greeted his best friend with a laugh.

"Hey Isaac, how ya feeling?"

"I'm…alright," Isaac replied weakly as he struggled to his feet.

Jenna quickly draped his left arm over her shoulder to provide support, "Woah, Isaac, should you really be standing? Get some rest!"

"Thanks, Jenna" Isaac replied without turning to her, "I'm feeling a lot better." He looked over to where Felix stood eyeing him with a questioning glance.

Felix took a step forward and kept his ever stoic face, "Without any explanation, where do you plan to go off to? Do you really think I'm going to let you go, Isaac?" Slowly, he readies his hand to Sol Blade's hilt.

Jenna was taken by surprise, "Wait Felix! Don't!" she cried, "Isaac's back to his old self now. There's no need to fight anymore…right? Isaac?" she looked to him.

"…Sorry," Isaac replied, "but Felix is right…I have no plans to go back to Vale," he said through sad eyes.

Garet put his hand over Isaac's free shoulder, "What do you mean, Isaac? If you're going somewhere, I'm coming along to," he declared with unyielding trust.

"I just want to get away from all this," Isaac thought to himself and closed his eyes. "The urge to get away…these feelings of regret and solitude have nothing to do with Charon…just has Charon has nothing to do with me. Just as Weyard no longer has anything to do with me. Now, I can only find solace in combat…and in others' suffering…Why?

"I won't let you leave, Isaac," Felix said once more.

"You can't stop me, Felix."

Felix's eyes narrowed as he pondered where Isaac's confidence came from. He was so weak that he could barely stand anymore.

"…I don't really understand what happened, but ever since we unsealed Alchemy, I've felt…different."

"Different?"

"Yeah…I feel an incredible psynergy stirring inside me…almost as though it's trying to burst out. With it, I have no more need for these little trinkets," Isaac said as he dropped his beads to the floor, "…please return these to my mother…and tell her I'm fine." Isaac said as psynergy began to swirl around him. His body slowly began to dissipate when Jenna and Garet tried to hold him down to no avail.

"NOO!! Isaac!!" Jenna screamed desperately as Isaac's arms dispersed into tiny fragments of psynergy and rose into the sky.

"Let's not meet again," Isaac stated coldly.

Felix's eyes widened as he watched Isaac use a teleport spell without any medium to grant him such powers.
"H-how did you…"

It wasn't long before Isaac completely disappeared without a trace, leaving his friends behind in confusion. "Damn it, Isaac…we needed you, damn it!" Felix exclaimed through clenched teeth.

"I feel so liberated. No more will I lift a finger for this world. No longer shall I stand among heroes and lead them into some thoughtless future of peace and properity. It's not my job, damn it."

Though I had gain incredible powers from who-knows-where, I still don't have absolute control over them yet. "Just where the heck did I teleport to? It's freezing here! I feel so weak that I can't even more…damn it. If I pass out here like this, I'm not gonna make it…"

Isaac fell to his knees half buried in snow and began to feel ice filling up his lungs. "If only I knew some fire spells…"

Alright, no problem. I just need to find some food and shelter, right? I wonder if bears are edible…there's bound to be some wandering around here somewhere.

Isaac blindly clasped his hands towards his waist to make sure he still had Excalibur with him and sighed in relief. "Phew, at least I have something to fend off crazy beasts trying to eat me."

So what if Excalibur didn't listen to me before? I've been good lately and the big bad guy's left. There's no reason why we can't get along now. I'm sure of it! Confi-WOAH!!

Isaac had been so caught up in his thoughts he didn't even notice the ferocious bear that had approached him. Dodging a lethal swing of its massive paw by a hair's width, Isaac found himself barely able to move due to hunger and stress. The sudden moment had caused his sights to blur and his mind to sway.

Ugh...this isn't good. I didn't even notice THIS bear? It's huge! Ah whatever.

"It's time. Howl, Excalibur…ugh…" Isaac grunted and dropped his sword. "It's heavy…I don't have the strength for this anymore…" he thought, "This just isn't my day, is it?"

It wasn't before long that the bear stood before him and let out a powerful roar. It too knew the battle was over and that Isaac was to fall prey to it. Without much effort, it stood before Isaac who was on his knees and tore into his chest with one of its paws, causing Isaac to let out a painful scream, lifting his body into the air and flying backwards.

Quickly, the bear charged at Isaac ready with its fangs to rip his head off when it felt its entire body heat up. No more than an instant later had its body burst into flames. Yet, the bear's pain was brief, for no sooner had it realized the burning sensation had it been sliced down perfectly in half. Blood gushed out and dyed the snow beneath red. Without even a chance to let out a final roar, it simply became nothing more than a charred corpse.

Isaac safely landed, cushioned by the snow. He clutched his chest that had been punctured with holes from the bear's claws. Blood had been pouring out since and he was feeling faint. With what little psynergy could he muster in his state, he tried to heal his wounds as best he could, without turning his gaze away from the silhouette figure approaching him. The only thing he could see was the fiery eyes of the figure that saved his life, but it was enough to tell who the person was.

"…Who would've thought I'd find you here…Isaac," came a familiar voice.

"…Karst…"