Chapter 8 : The Successor

"Well, that's something I hadn't seen in years, an Echo Drop. Didn't know they still worked after all this time." Edna stated.

Sorey and the others had just barely missed Arthur along with Merlin and the girl known as Gwen. They had been so close to catching up with them and learning why Arthur left the way he did.

He had a feeling that Mikleo was probably all over the place with his nerves right now, probably confused with what he should do next. His silence was all they had to know to understand that.

"You might want to go talk to Mikleo over there." Zaveid signalled to Sorey.

"Yeah, I know." Sorey nodded.

"Mother Henleo needs a talk down, if anyone can do that, it would be you." Edna twirled her umbrella in her hands as she spoke.

"Edna, please go easy on him." Lailah gently scolded.

Sorey approached Mikleo and placed a reassuring hand over his shoulder. "Hey, you okay?"

Mikleo sighed. "Do you want me to lie or be honest?"

"Feeling that bad huh? I know I'm probably the worst person to be telling you this, since I've been absent this whole time, but I think Arthur will do okay, even if we're not with him." Sorey started.

"...I know. I guess, I just refused to accept it this whole time, even though deep down I knew that one day, I would need to let him go to live his own life, like how Gramps did the same for you. Even though he calls me by Uncle, I always considered Arthur more than that, he became like a son to me in a way. I wonder if he feels the same?"

"You really need to ask yourself that? Of course he does. He should have heard how he gushed about you when I first met him in this place, in fact I think he talked about you the most out of everyone. He really does love you. Even I can see that." Sorey grinned.

"...Really? He went into that much detail about me?" Mikleo looked surprised at this.

"Yeah, when Arthur was telling me about everything that happened while I was sleeping, he talked about you the most. I think you guys did a great job raising Arthur, he'll be a great Shepherd, I just know it." Sorey nodded.

It was Mikleo's turn to grin. "Well, considering he managed to survive Edna's 'training', he should be able to handle anything that gets thrown his way."

"What was that Meebo? I dare you to repeat those words." Edna's hearing picked up on that and gave Mikleo a glare that embodies death itself, if looks could kill that is.

"Sorey. thank you. I loathe to admit this, but maybe Edna and Zaveid were right, maybe it's time to let him find his own path to follow, even if I'm not there to guide him anymore."

"That's the spirit." Sorey encouraged.

"However," Mikleo poked Sorey's chest. "If we so happen to bump into him by pure chance, don't think for a second I won't waste that opportunity to check up on him. And so help me if that Light Seraph pulls another deus ex machina like he did just now, or if he lets anything happen to Arthur, anything at all, fighting the new Lord of Calamity will be the least of his worries."

"..."

"Wow, that's dark." Zaveid sweat dropped.

Edna sighed. "He was so close too reaching a new level of maturity too."

"Well...it's a start at least." Lailah tried to think positive, although she was a little worried for her old teacher if Mikleo did carry out that threat.

"Okay, maybe that's going a bit overboard, Mikleo." Sorey laughed sheepishly. "Now that I think about it. What am I going to tell Lord Maotelus? He asked me to go find Merlin, but we have no idea just where they could be now. What was that small thing they used to teleport away with anyway?"

"That was an Echo Drop, they're very rare, but incredibly useful. It can allow one to safely travel through the river of the Earthpulse itself, transferring its user to anywhere in the world within minutes." Lailah explained.

"The Earthpulse...? Didn't Gramps mention that at one point to us?" Sorey recalled.

"Yeah, although he didn't go into much detail about it." Mikleo answered.

"The Earthpulse is what stops our world from literally falling into chaos." Edna explained in a matter of factly tone.

"What she means is that the Earthpulse acts like a balancing scale between all the various elements that make up our world. I'm talking about the main four, Fire, Water, Earth and Wind. The other four, Light, Dark, Plant and Thunder are secondary but just as bound and important to the Earthpulse as the main four are." Zaveid added.

"If the Earthpulse was to go out of balance, say from a large influx of Malevolence, it can cause natural disasters to occur and other anomalies, like diseases, earthquakes, tornados, never-ending thunderstorms and rain, very much things that we have seen in our journey back when Heldalf was still the current Lord of Calamity." Lailah continued.

"So that's what caused all the disasters during the Age of Chaos. If nothing bad has happened since Sorey became Lord Maotelus's vessel, does that mean the Earthpulse is back to normal?"

"Yes, it should be." Lailah nodded.

"For how long though? If I was a Lord of Calamity, the first thing I would do is shift the balance again." Edna dampened the positive thought.

"What do you think Sorey?" Mikleo asked, but when they got no answer, Mikleo turned around to see what Sorey was doing. "Sorey?"

"Aw man, this room is amazing! I've never seen so many old records and relics from the Asgardian Era in one place before! There's even stuff pre-dating the Asgard Era! Mikleo! You've got to see this!" Sorey was starry-eyed as he was in awe of the sight of the room they were in, now that it has sunk in.

"It took him this long to realize we were in the Archive Room?" Edna asked in a deadpan tone.

Mikleo couldn't help but give a hopeless smile. "Some things never change at all."

Sorey and Mikleo carefully went through the various ancient texts, records and old relics from bygone eras in hopes of finding anything that could prove useful to them about either Mordred or about where these soul fragments of his could be hidden.

Lailah, Edna and Zaveid were also helping, although they weren't being as slow as Sorey and Mikleo was with every peice they found. It was no surprise really, Sorey and Mikleo had always been the 'nerds' of the group, so this place was probably heaven on earth for them.

"Got to say, this is a pretty big collection of ancient stuff, you've even got stuff back from pre-Asgard here. I'm surprised this room hasn't been picked clean by looters." Zaveid whistled.

"Master Merlin was a firm believer of preserving the true history of our world. So he designed this room to be hidden from any thieves who would defile the temple and steal the relics. I remember that any records and Eartern Historia that was created during the Asgard Era were being stored here too for safe-keeping." Lailah told the Wind Seraph.

"Huh, that's some foresight."

"So in other words, he was a hoarder." Edna bluntly stated.

"Well...hording is a bit strong of a word, Edna..." Laliah laughed sheepishly.

Meanwhile on Sorey and Mikleo's side.

"I wish I could translate a lot of these old scriptures, but a majority of the old records are written or carved in an older form of Seraphic lettering, pre-dating the Asgard Era's language, the tablets and scrolls must have been what they used to record events before Earthern Historia was invented." Mikleo sighed in defeat, although he could translate Asgardian language into today's language, his knowledge was limited, and it would probably take another thousand years to even learn a new hundred words in Ancient Asgardian. However, the lettering used in these scrolls and stone tablets were from an age pre-dating the Asgard Era.

"Huh...What's this?" Sorey picked up what looked like an old ragged peice of fabric.

"Oh, that's must have been a banner from the time when Lord Innominat was the Seraph King." Lailah answered.

"Lord Innominat? Oh yeah, Astorius's throne also had the same emblem of that guy in one of the rooms." Sorey recalled.

"Indeed. I never knew the Seraph in person, I had not been born as Seraph when he was in power. Master Merlin and Lord Maotelus knew him very well though."

"So what was he like?" Sorey smiled.

"Well...let me think. According to Master Merlin, he said that Lord Innominat was a very kind and pure-hearted king who only wanted the best for both Seraphim and Humans, he had been the one to first create the idea of the 'Shepherd'."

"Ah, so that's where the Legend of the Shepherd first originated from." Mikleo clicked.

"He saw the Shepherd as a bridge between the two races that would help foster an age of co-existence, which as you know was the Era of Asgard." Lailah nodded.

"This was a pretty long time ago, but I think I've heard that Lord Innominat was popular with the Seraph Lords of Fayrule, but not in Glenwood." Zaveid recalled a past conversation with someone that he couldn't remember, probably a random Seraph or something.

"Really? Why didn't they like him?" Sorey frowned, Lord Innominat seemed like a pretty nice guy, why didn't the Glenwood Seraph Lords like him?

"These were different Lords at the time, mind you, not the ones that are in charge now." Zaveid corrected.

"So chances are they were bigoted jerks." Edna bluntly added.

"I do know not myself, from what Master Merlin had told me, that they were at odds with Lord Innominat over humans. Lord Innominat was said to have been very fond of humans and the Seraph Lords might have seen that as a weakness."

"So basically, bigoted jerks." Edna repeated.

"Lord Innominat named Lord Maotelus as his Successor should anything happen to the Seraph King. A few months later, Lord Innominat just vanished, no one knew what happened to him. However, since Lord Maotelus was named his Successor by him, he was made the next Seraph King, and Lord Innominat's memory eventually faded from everyone, except for Master Merlin, Lord Maotelus and certain other Seraphim." Lailah finished.

"So that explains how Maotelus came into power then. Wonder why Innominat chose him over any other Seraph?"

"Hmmm...I can't say. Master Merlin never said anything about it. He did say though that Fayrule's Four Seraph Lords didn't favour Lord Maotelus, they felt that he betrayed Lord Innominat, but both Master Merlin and I do not think that it's true. Either way, it caused the isolation of Fayrule, which as you know have never reopened their borders again until very recently."

"Lord Maotelus didn't come across as someone who would betray. I think they must have been mistaken." Sorey didn't believe that was true.

"Either that or they were fighting with the Four Seraph Lords of Glenwood and Maotelus didn't do enough to quell the in-fighting." Zaveid shrugged.

"I guess we will never truly know. Maybe they have new Seraph Lords in Fayrule now, so with luck, we'll be able to start over again." Lailah held her hands together.

"I'd like think that too. It's been six thousand years since the fall of the Asgard Era, right? I'm sure they're willing to work with the Seraph Lords of Glenwood now." Sorey nodded.

"...Sorey, I feel like I should mention something very important. Something that I realized since you had returned. In a way, Mikleo should hear about this too. Don't worry, this doesn't go against my oath, but...I did keep it a secret since I didn't want to hurt the both of you. Even Master Merlin saw it but didn't say anything either." Lailah sighed deeply before speaking.

"Hm?"

"What do you mean by that?"

"You see, Sorey-" As Lailah was about to confess to something, a bright light flashed into the room, following by what liked a chibi human-like with, long platinum blonde hair, big golden eyes, white Seraphic robes and circlet with a light symbol set at the centre of the being's circlet, falling unceremonious to the hard stone floor with a thud after coming out of the said flash of light. "Ow. I'm never going get used to surfing the Earthpulse no matter how many times I use it." He then looked up to find five people staring at him.

"Sorry about the sudden entrance, the Earthpulse's been acting a little wacky recently. Uhh...So...Hi."

"...Lailah, what the hell is this?" Mikleo pointed at the small looking sprite.

"That's a Mana Sprite, isn't it?" Zaveid questioned.

"Indeed. No doubt about it, I haven't seen one of them in millennia. Aren't they so cute?" Lailah nodded.

"A Mana Sprite?" Sorey repeated.

"That's what I am! We're kinda like the Normins for Seraphim, but there's only eight of us and one for each element, and we're only for the exclusive use for the Seraph Lord of our element." The sprite proudly proclaimed, puffing his chest out lightly.

"...Normins are cuter..." Edna muttered quietly to herself, using her umbrella to hide her face.

"So essentially, your sole purpose is to be a servant to the Seraph Lord that you belong to?" Mikleo tried to summarize.

"We're also Messengers that go between the Seraph Lords, but you seem to have the right idea." The Sprite nodded. "It's considered a crime among Seraphim to try and use a Seraph Lord's Mana Sprite without permission from the Seraph Lord, so don't even try to think about using me like a Normin."

"I wasn't thinking that." Mikleo scowled.

"Why is a Mana Sprite here then? Shouldn't you be your Seraph Lord?"

"Oh, that's right! Let me introduce myself, my name is Rem. I'm the Mana Sprite that is devoted to the current Seraph Lord of Light, Lady Luxeria. She sent me to find a Shepherd. Are you a Shepherd, sir? Please, we really need your help, please help us!"

"Whoa whoa, start from the beginning, what's going on? You said that this Lady Luxeria is the Seraph Lord of Light, that means she's from Fayrule right?" Mikleo attempted to calm down the Mana Sprite.

"Why would a Seraph Lord of Fayrule send her Mana Sprite all the way out to Glenwood? Must be pretty important if they're willing to forget what happened in the past." Zaveid questioned.

"Fayrule...Fayrule's in big trouble! You see...it's been going on for a few decades now, there's an unknown source of malevolence seeping into Fayrule's land and it's causing the leylines that connects to the Earthpulse to go out of control. Natural Disasters, incurable diseases, what's worse, there's even been sightings of Primals showing up!" Rem explained.

"Wait, did you say Primals?!" Lailah gasped.

"I'm going to regret asking this, what's a Primal?" Mikleo asked.

"They're the Earthpulse's natural defence system, guess you could say they're living elemental weapons born from the Earthpulse to be more accurate." Zaveid started.

"Basically, they make even a Dragon look like a tiny lizard in power and comparison." Edna bluntly stated in her own words.

"It's like they say, Primals are rarely summoned from the Earthpulse unless it feels seriously threatened. They are eight of them, one for each element just like the Seraph Lords, however, unlike the Seraphim, they are raw power, they do not have a will of their own, they only obey the will of the Earthpulse from whence they were born from." Lailah explained in finer detail.

"You said they were only summoned if the Earthpulse is threatened enough to take action?"

"People have forgotten, but the Earthpulse is the lifeblood of this world, billions of souls, both Seraphim and human-alike, flow in that river, it is there where the cycle of rebirth begins and ends." Rem nodded.

"Whoa...so the Earthpulse is basically a living river of life." Sorey was awed by this fact.

"So there is no heaven? That's...a little disappointing." Mikleo guessed.

"That's not true. It's where all souls are born and where they return when it's their time to come back, so in a way, it's like reuniting with people that you lost, and it's pure tranquillity and peace, so I guess you could call that heaven." Rem argued.

"What if they are already reborn?" Mikleo countered.

"Well...okay, you got me there. However, not all souls get reborn instantly, there's a period of time that a soul needs to be cleansed of their lives before they can return to the world to begin their new life." Rem pouted, but then added.

"That explains why anyone who gets reborn doesn't remember their life before." Sorey realized.

"Exactly, I know it's sounds morbid, but think of it as a necessary evil for some people." Rem told them.

"True...there's Heldalf, I bet he would rather forget everything that happened and start anew." Sorey agreed with that, after all, while he could never forgive Heldalf for the things he committed, he was a victim as well and suffered greatly for it. He was pretty sure Heldalf would probably be happier that he would one day be reborn again as a new person, to start with a clean slate.

"Ya can't argue there. There's just some things you'd wish you can forget." Zaveid tipped Dezel's old hat.

"Let's get back to topic people, this is a pretty serious crisis. If the Earthpulse felt threatened enough to call it's Primals to the surface, that means some idiot is doing something stupid to cause it. If we don't stop whatever this idiot is doing, this entire world is going to be destroyed before Mordred can do it." Edna reeled them back in with the main topic.

"Mordred?" Rem looked confused before crying in horror. "You mean the Lord of Calamity, Mordred?! Oh no! You mean he's broken free?!"

"Well done, Edna. You've placed the Mana Sprite into pure shock.

"Calm down, don't worry, Mordred hasn't escape Master Merlin's seal yet. If he had, Master Merlin would have had his original body back." Lailah reassured.

"What happened was that our dear Maotelus did a very moronic thing and released one of Mordred's soul fragments into the open. Chances are he's probably possessing someone's body for the time being." Edna rolled her eyes.

"Huh? Why would Lord Maotelus do that? He was suppose to be guarding it for eternity." Rem tilted her head.

"Wow, the Seraph Lords of Fayrule really were left in the dark of what's been happening in Glenwood." Zaveid whistled.

"It's...a little complicated, Rem." Sorey laughed nervously. "Anyway, do you know why this is happening to Fayrule? The whole continent is suppose to be one giant pureland, isn't it?" Sorey changed the subject slightly.

"Uh huh," Rem nodded. "We don't know, even Lady Luxeria is trying her best to find the source of the rising malevolence. She fears that this malevolence is being generated on purpose by someone, until recently, the effects it's been having on Fayrule had been small isolated incidents. Now, it's really gotten out of control, for the past forty years, Fayrule had gone from the peace it had for countless millennia into an era of Chaos."

"So now Fayrule is suffering an era of Chaos of their own. Just like Glenwood." Lailah clasped her hands tightly.

"The people of Fayrule, both Seraphim and Humans are frightened, the Seraph Lords are doing everything in their power to quell the malevolence, but they won't be able to hold it back forever, even they have their limits."

"That's why Lady Luxeria tasked me to find a Shepherd from Glenwood. Since we never suffered anything like this before, we never had a need for Shepherds since the Era of Asgard."

"Fayrule don't have Shepherds of their own?" Sorey looked surprised by this.

"Of course not, the Seraphim's presence in Fayrule is far stronger there than it is in Glenwood, which means there's no room for Malevolence to naturally generate if the Seraphim have a stronger hold over the land. So there's no need for Shepherds." Edna stated as if it was an obvious thing.

"So the only way Malevolence could be generated in such a place if it was done artificially and in large quantities too." Zaveid added.

"Surely there's some mention of their existence or Asgardian ruins to show they did exist."

"Oh yes, the Legend of the Shepherd does exist in Fayrule. It is how your friends said it though, until now, Fayrule didn't need a Shepherd since we never had need of one, at least not since the end of the Asgard Era."

"But now you need one?" Mikleo raised an eyebrow.

"I know. Lady Luxeria and the other three Seraph Lords of Fayrule is aware of the past grudge between the former Eight Seraph Lords of Fayrule and Glenwood that prevailed even after the fall of the Era of Asgard. The Shepherd though is a neutral party that can go between such things. We need a Shepherd more than ever now. Please...help us." Rem begged Sorey, bowing respectfully.

"...You had me at the 'are you a Shepherd' part." Sorey softly smiled and petted the small Mana Sprite's head.

"Really...? Then...you'll help us?" Rem asked with a look of renewed hope.

"Sorey, you sure about this? You've just come out of being in a deep sleep and you want to go back to being a Shepherd?" Mikleo asked.

"I can't just stand by and let this continue to happen to Fayrule, what kind of Shepherd I'd be if I helped to purify Glenwood but not Fayrule?"

"Heh, should have known, given who I am talking to." Mikleo teased with a mischievous smirk.

"I agree with Sorey. Fayrule deserves a Shepherd just as much Glenwood does. Besides, the fact that someone is generating this much malevolence through artifical means at such a fast pace concerns me, especially if it invoked the Primals to be summoned to the surface." Lailah chose to stand by Sorey's decision.

"...Do we have to? Fighting Lord of Calamities is one thing, but fighting a Primal? Are you just asking to die?" Edna complained.

"Edna..."

"Fine, we'll go save Fayrule from it's own stupid mistakes. If we end up coming across a Primal though, you're on your own." Edna finally caved in, in her own 'Edna' style way. Of course she wouldn't actually ditch them if they did come across a Primal, but she strongly would advise to not try and fight one, that's just suicidal.

"Who knows? Maybe we'll bump heads with Arthur too, since I'm sure their journey will end up taking them there too." Zaveid simply replied.

"Lord Shepherd, you're the greatest ever! Thank you so much!" Rem beamed for joy. "We can take the old road through Myst Forest that exists north of Elysia's borders, that's the only place that physically connects the two continents by land."

"Myst Forest? That's where..." Mikleo could never forget that place since that was where he found Arthur. That feels so long ago now.

"That's where you picked up Arthur, right Mik-boy?" Zaveid spoke aloud the thoughts that the Water Seraph had been thinking about. He must have been thinking on the same lines too.

"You found Arthur in Myst Forest, Mikleo?" Sorey raised an eyebrow at this, curious of this little bit of information.

"I'll explain on the way there, Sorey, but yeah, I found Arthur within the area. So maybe Arthur originally came from Fayrule?" Mikleo wondered.

"It's hard to say, so long as that protective seal over him remains, we'll never know anything about Arthur's origins." Lailah shook her head.

"Does it even matter? Arthur is Arthur, that will never change." Mikleo crossed his arms.

Lailah didn't say anything, but had an understanding motherly smile.

"Uhhh...Who's Arthur? Is he another Shepherd?" Rem asked.

"Yup, who knows? Maybe we'll see him on the way there." Sorey beamed.

Meanwhile in an old meeting hall, within the old halls of the Astorius Shrine that survived the aftermath of Shepherd Sorey's fight with Heldalf. Lord Maotelus took on his human form, which he took the appearance of a middle-aged man with a short beard, white and gold seraphic robes that had long sleeves that fell right down to the ground and made his body seem formless. He had a elegantly rune carved circlet around his head with the symbol of eight elements carved at the centre of the circlet.

"Maotelus, what were you thinking?! I understand your need to find a Successor as the Seraph King of the Eight Seraph Lords, but this is going too far!" A male Seraph, who appeared the same age as the late Lord Zenrus, his short length hair and beard a mixture of red and white. His crimson red eyes looked alive despite his appearance in age.

He wore red Seraphic robes with silver linings and fire-aspect patterns sown into the fabric.

"I am aware of that, Lord Musiphe. I will accept the consequences that will come from this choice. However, you must understand that I cannot remain as the Seraph King any longer, I am no longer worthy of this title. I had put this world in great danger by succumbing to Malevolence, had I remained as a Hellion, no living thing would have survive. The risk is too great to allow this to happen a second time." Maotelus shook his head.

"I understand that, but the problem I have is that you decided this without even consulting your Successor about this. What's worse, you started the boy's transformation from human to Seraph without even telling him, even after he awakened." Musiphe argued.

"While I do not agree with what Maotelus did, I have to agree with him on his choice for a Successor though. Shepherd Sorey has proven was able to overcome his trials and his heart remained pure and strong. Mordred's proxy or not, that Lord of Calamity, Heldalf could have succeeded if the boy had been weak. Thankfully, that never came to pass." Lady Eumacia was a beautiful mocha-skinned Seraph with flaxen hair tied up in what looked like rings that fell over her shoulders. Her eyes a vivid topaz shade and wore a golden toga with brown sandals, giving her an exotic look.

Next to her was Lady Hyanoa, a Seraph woman of equal beauty, but had a more elegant look. Her emerald hair flowed like a river down to her waist with luminous green eyes complimenting her shade of hair. Her green Seraphic robes were long and flowing, with wind-aspected patterns woven within the fabric. She had what looked like a tribal crown with two wings attached to the sides resting on top of her head.

"Amenoch, is there something troubling you?" Hyanoa turned to the Seraph Lord of Water who seemed deep in thought about something.

True to his element, he had blue and white seraphic robes with water-aspected patterns decorating it. He had long light blue hair that had to be tied into a loose ponytail given how it almost fell to the ground itself. His eyes remained shut, yet his sense of sight was not hindered by this at all. He wore a circlet very similar to that of another certain Water Seraph, except the centre, there was the shape of teardrop jewel hanging from it.

"Maotelus, is there another reason why you choose Shepherd Sorey besides the obvious reasons? It almost seems like you've noticed something that the others have not yet." Amenoch asked their leader.

"So...you've also realized it, have you not, Lord Amenoch?" Maotelus gave Amenoch a soft smile.

"It is only an assumption, I will not claim anymore than that." Amenoch cryptically stated.

"Either way, Maotelus, you cannot be excused for this, the boy will still need to go through the 'Trials of the Old Gods', no matter how pressed we are for time."

"Will Shepherd Sorey even accept this? He had been thrown into this so suddenly and he does not even know of your decision yet." Hyanoa clasped her hands together.

"I'm afraid we will have to discuss how to break this news to Shepherd Sorey later. Right now, we have more important matters, such as the original Lord of Calamity, Mordred. My servant, Undine, had told me that she had recently come in contact with the Light Mana Sprite, Rem." Amenoch turned their attentions to matters that he deemed were more important.

"But...Rem serves the Seraph Lord of Light in Fayrule, correct?" Hyanoa asked.

"I thought the Fayrule Seraph Lords still held a grudge against our predecessors for what happened with Lord Innominat's disappearance. Why would one of their Mana Sprites be here?" Musiphe reminded them of the event that caused the Eight Seraph Lords to be split apart.

"According to Undine, from her run in with Rem, it would seem things in Fayrule has taken a dark turn. Apparently there is an unknown source of malevolence that it slowly but surely rotting away Fayrule from the inside, allowing the same disasters and tragic events of the Era of Chaos to occur. There had also been sightings of Primals, I'm very sure you all know that when Primals are involved, you know things have gotten very bad to summon them to the surface."

"What?! How...how could we have not noticed this for this long?" Maotelus rose up from his chair with horror written on his face.

"Our relationship with our Fayrulian kin had been strained since the Era of Asgard, so it is likely neither side has made the effort to rebuild the trust that was lost. However, there are new Seraph Lords governing the four elements on their side, from what Undine told me, perhaps Rem's arrival is a sign that now is the time to make amends, however, it could also be that Rem is here to find a Shepherd."

"Shepherd Sorey's halfway to being Seraph now, isn't he? Doesn't he no longer count?" Eumacia asked.

"No, I knew Shepherd Sorey would still be needed, so I did not fully complete the transformation, although I am sure his fellow Seraphs have probably noticed the small changes that had happened." Maotelus told them.

"Lord Amenoch, you said that there are new Lords now, just who are these Seraphs?"

"If I recall what Undine had reported to me, Lady Luxeria is the new Seraph Lord of Light, Lord Yoru, the Seraph of Darkness, Lord Rai, the Seraph Lord of Thunder and Lady Nym, the Seraph Lord of Plants."

"Hmmm, these are names I am not familar with. They must be young Seraphs." Musiphe stated.

"Regardless if they are inexperienced or not, it is clear that they are under-going a crisis, they are not prepared for. In the very least, I can do one final act as Seraph King before my Successor takes over, Glenwood for now is at peace, but if we do not address the problem within Fayrule, it will spread to our land once again. We cannot let Fayrule suffer for our past mistakes."

"At last, something we can agree on, Maotelus." Musiphe grinned.

"I'm in favour of helping Fayrule. Shepherd Sorey can be our eyes and ears while we help to narrow down the source of this outbreak of Malevolence. You have a link with him, right? So that'll come in handy." Eumacia nodded.

"I am also in favour of this. That grudge should have died out along with our predecessors. If Lady Luxeria had made the effort to reach out to us by sending Rem, it is only right that we answer that call." Hyanoa also vouched in favour of Maotelus' decision.

"I do agree that this source must found and eliminate before Fayrule's pureland becomes more tainted, the more the land deteriorates, the more the balance is shifted. That means more likely chance of the Primals to be called to take action to restore balance."

"Restore balance? You mean destroy the people of Fayrule?!"

"If it comes to that, yes. The Earthpulse will act in order to protect the world and restore the balance that's been shifted to one side to drastically, think of it like a knee-jerk reaction. The most likely culprit is most likely the humans of Fayrule, thus, if you remove them, the threat is eliminated. Of course, the Earthpulse only thinks on impulse, morality itself is a grey area." Amenoch told them.

"All the more reason to take action to prevent the chance of Primals ever being used. Both Seraphim and Humans alike living in Fayrule will be endangered or worse killed if even one of them is used, even if it's in self-defence." Musiphe shook his head.

"I agree. I know this better than anyone now." Maotelus smiled sadly. "Either way, we need to destroy this source so that the Earthpulse can equalize its balance and call back its Primals."

"Before we dismiss this meeting, I propose another idea that aligns with Maotelus's decision to choose Shepherd Sorey as his successor." Amenoch faced his fellow Lords along with his King.

"Oh?"

"If Maotelus is choosing a new successor, why not allow a whole new beginning with a new set of Seraph Lords to aid the new Seraph King? And I already know the right Seraph in mind to be my Successor."

Finally! This chapter is done. x.x

Wouldn't believe how many times writer's block struck me and how many times I had to redo this chapter. Didn't think this chapter would be so tough to work through. I hope that this chapter turned out okay for everyone. =3

Also wanted to note that even though TOZ and the new game TOB (Tales of Beserira) are based in the same universe, in this fan fic, they are not connected. So don't worry, nothing will be spoiled (the game's only just come out of Japan this month anyway). There will be no timeline connection between these two games.

Okay, just wanted to get that out of the way in case people asked why I haven't any mentioned any past events that TOB might have revealed (since TOB is essentially the prequel to TOZ =P). Because in this fan fic, there will be no continuity between the two games. =3

We cool? Cool. =3

Anyways, til next chapter then, happy reading everyone, Moogle Empress out!

Moogle: Kupo!