Chapter 2: Shinsoo's Return

Hey guys! I'm back with another chapter, and I've gotta say that I'm getting really excited about writing this story! This chapter is a bit different because it's actually gonna take place in Maple World, set right after the events of Black Heaven. I'm planning on alternating the setting between Maple World and the other world each chapter because it's all going to fit together and make sense as the story gets toward the end. Basically, these chapters are gonna be flashbacks to everyone's life in Maple World, and they'll explain exactly how and why they ended up in the other world. Apart from that, please make sure to leave a review (I love getting feedback) and enjoy!

To be honest, I really didn't expect to be eating cake three hours ago. I was thinking something along the lines of "Gelimer succeeded in his plan to convert Maple World into a hive mind led by a former spirit of darkness through highly dangerous neurotoxins" but hey, I'm not complaining. The Alliance's conference room had been decorated with balloons and streamers, which Oz kept as part of her emergency-party-kit. We were all sitting at our tables and talking about how nice it was to still have consciousnesses that weren't controlled by Lotus, and life seemed pretty good. The guest of honor, of course, was that Adventurer who stopped Gelimer from launching the the Black Heaven bombings. Needless to say, it was a nice break for the Heroes not to be worshiped as paragons of virtue for once. Phantom was, obviously, entertaining the Empress with card tricks while Luminous grumbled to Aran about how low-life thieves had no business pestering royalty. Evan was being as subtle as a flying Balrog, sneaking glances at an oblivious Mercedes, while Mir attempted to steal everyone's cake. I was twirling my fork in my hands, hoping that the party would end soon, when suddenly a figure appeared in the sky. We all began to notice it as it came closer, its rather large wings flapping furiously.

"Neinheart, is that...?" Cygnus breathed.
"It can't be..." Neinheart whispered.

The whispers turned into murmurs, with everyone wondering the same thing: "Shinsoo?"

The winged creature nearly reached us, and now there was no mistaking the white feathers on his body or the gleaming blue gem on his forehead. Shinsoo landed roughly on the grass and groaned softly. His body was bruised and bleeding, and many of his feathers were ripped out from his skin.

"Shinsoo!" Cygnus cried, racing across to meet him.
"Cygnus..." Shinsoo groaned softly.
"What happened to you?" Cygnus asked him. "Are you hurt?"

She closed her eyes and put a hand on Shinsoo. A light glow emanated from her hand and spread through Shinsoo's body. The wounds and gashes slowly healed and disappeared. Shinsoo opened his eyes and looked faintly at the Empress. By now, the others had caught up to her and stared in awe and shock.

"Shinsoo," Cygnus said. "Are you all right?"
"I did not succeed in my quest." Shinsoo said softly. "I have failed you, Cygnus."
"Wait, what quest?" a young boy asked. "What's the big bird talking about?"

Internally suppressing the urge to groan, we turned to face a tanned boy with white spiked hair and a monkey perched on his shoulders. The self-proclaimed Cannoneer: king of all pirates, lord of primates, and an all-around annoyance. Luminous was the only person tolerant enough to indulge him. Of course, anyone who still hadn't killed themselves after being on the top of Phantom's 'list-of-people-to-bother' for over three hundred years would have to have had remarkable amounts of patience and self-restraint.

"When the Empress awakened her powers as the Transcendent of Life, Shinsoo left Ereve in order to find a way to suppress her powers so that she wouldn't become a danger to herself and others." he explained.
"So then he found a way to do that?" the Cannoneer asked.
"Haven't you been listening, boy?" Luminous snapped. "Shinsoo just said that he could not finish his quest. Even Phantom has better listening skills than you."
"What was that, Lumi?" Phantom asked with a smirk.
"Shut up, I'm not going to repeat myself." Luminous said. "And I'd like everyone to understand that I still loathe you."
"Love you too, Lumi." Phantom said cheekily.

"Get a room."

"Okay, you two can go screw each other later." Aran said, to general laughter. "Right now, I think we have a more important issue. What happened, Shinsoo?"

"As the Mage of Light just explained, I left nearly a year ago to find a means to tame Cygnus' uncontrolled power. I scoured both Maple World and Grandis, and my search took me to the Temple of Time. But I foolishly walked into a trap set by the Black Mage, where I was tortured and interrogated for nearly a century, confined within a time loop constructed by the Black Mage. His Commanders forced themselves into my mind, and discovered that Cygnus became the Transcendent of Life. Eventually, I managed to fight my way through the time prison, but my powers were greatly depleted. I made my way back to Ereve because it is crucial that I tell you: the Black Mage is coming for you, Cygnus. He seeks to take your powers for his own, just as he did with Rhinne over three centuries ago, and he will stop at nothing to do this."

"What?" Neinheart asked in shock. "But there must be something we can do! Our Empress' life is in danger!"
"Wake up, monocle-man! This is the Black Mage we're talking about!" the Cannoneer cried. "We don't stand a chance again someone that powerful!"
"I fear for your life, Empress." Claudine agreed. "The Black Mage won't just take your powers: he will destroy you."

Claudine didn't sound particularity fearful at all, contrary to what she said. It was probably because of the bad blood between the Resistance and the Cygnus Knights, or simply just due to a general dislike of the Empress, whose face grew fearful with each second.

"As hopeless as our situation seems, I believe that there is a way to ensure our victory." Shinsoo said. "Cygnus, you must complete your awakening, and inherit the full powers of a Transcendent. The World Tree, Alicia, was once the Transcendent of Life. She can teach you how to master your abilities. With your powers and the combined strength of our allies, we can succeed in destroying the Black Mage once and for all."

The general murmur silenced immediately. We were all overcome by blank shock.

"Am I hearing this right? Is Shinsoo actually encouraging Cygnus to resort to violence?"

"That's absurd." Luminous was the first to break the silence.

Immediately, a clamor arose from the throng, with everyone shouting and screaming their own opinion.

"SIIIIILEEENNCEEE!" Neinheart's voice rose above everyone else's. "Evidently, this is a matter of immediate discussion. On behalf of the Empress, I am calling an emergency meeting of the Knights of Cygnus in the conference room. The celebration is over. Representatives and ambassadors, please escort yourselves out."

"And who gave you the authority to dismiss any of us?" Claudine challenged.
"All subjects of the Empress remain subject to Ereveian law. As Chief Tactician, I speak on behalf of the Empress, and her word is dictum. And thus, I order all of you to leave immediately!" Neinheart thundered.
"So this is how it is?" Claudine asked. "You're just going to use some legal code to bully us into doing whatever you want?"
"I am acting in the best interest of Maple World, and right now, it is imperative that I set up an emergency meeting, which you all all obstructing. Please. Leave." he seethed.

"This isn't going to end well."

"You know, I thought that the Alliance would have made things different. I thought that maybe, just maybe, Ereve and the Resistance could've buried the hatchet and worked together. But I guess some things never change. All you're ever going to be is a monocle-wearing tyrant acting for a little girl who thinks she has any right to be a world leader."

"You will hold your tongue, wench!" Mihile cried, drawing his sword.

Immediately, Claudine pulled out her switchblade and assumed a defensive stance. The Cygnus Knights and the Resistance leaders all pulled out their weapons as well.

"Everyone, there's no need for violence!" Phantom cried out. "Let's keep calm and put the weapons down."
"For once, I agree with the thief." Luminous said. "We mustn't lose our heads."
"Indeed." Mercedes agreed. "We can work out a diplomatic solution so that we can resume focus on the problem at hand."

Slowly, everyone lowered their weapons. Phantom let out a soft sigh, stowing away the card that he had inconspicuously drawn out for a last-resort. Neinheart, though still looking murderous, clenched his jaw and thought for a moment.

"Very well. This meeting is now a matter for the Maple Alliance, not simply an Erevian affair." he consented. "However, no more than three representatives from each party may attend, so choose wisely who you wish to send."

He swished his cloak and headed toward the conference room with the other representatives.

"So, who wants to go for the boring meeting?" Phantom asked.
"This isn't a joke, Phantom." Luminous snapped. "And even you can't be so dense that you haven't noticed we're on the brink of a civil war."
"A civil war?" Evan asked, aghast. "But it can't be that serious, can it?"
"Yeah, I don't understand either." Aran said. "Don't Neinheart and Claudine always go at it? Why is it different this time?"

Luminous and Mercedes looked at each other for some time, each silently urging the other to answer. Finally, Mercedes sighed and accepted defeat in the staring match.

"What you have to understand, both of you, is that politics are some of the most dangerous things in Maple World. Each faction in the Alliance has a different goal, and they'll do whatever it takes to achieve it. For us, the only thing we care about is to stop the Black Mage. The Nova want military aid to defeat Magnus' army. The leaders of Victoria Island want recognition and offer their support to help Cygnus. But the two biggest factions in the Alliance are the Cygnus Knights and the Resistance, and therein lies the problem. The two already have a sticky history, when the Cygnus Knights withdrew their support and unwittingly allowed the Black Wings to take over Edelstein. The Resistance has harbored ill-will toward Cygnus and her knights ever since. And the other side has an even larger history as well: Maple World has been ruled by an Empress long before the Heroes or the Black Mage existed. Her rule has been legitimized over centuries only because she's taken the welfare of her people seriously, and those who serve the throne are completely loyal to her. In the eyes of Neinheart and the Knights, the Empress is the only one who has the authority to rule Maple World, and centuries of nobility and victories have only solidified their self-righteous beliefs. And one day, the Black Mage came along and nearly destroyed the world. Ereve disappeared from the world for nearly as long as we have, and it returned to a world divided and run in small districts, in the case of Victoria Island, and people sparsely scattered around the rest of the globe. Cygnus struggled for nearly a decade to regain her Empire's former glory, and it's not helping that her powers have diminished so much that she has to recognize a rebel insurgency group as a legitimate ally. Although Cygnus is a child, and most likely doesn't understand or believe in any of these prejudices, those who advise her and help make decisions do, and are embittered by this, so much that they'll do whatever it takes to regain their old status and prestige. That's why they're so keen to make alliances with us and otherworldly travelers: they want powerful, dignified allies who can help them on their way to power. But the Resistance isn't going to let them do any of this: if the Black Mage weren't such a serious problem, they would have rebelled and tried to overthrow the Empress. What Neinheart did today - call in the Empress' authority as law - is exactly what the Resistance despises. They see this as nothing less than what the Black Mage does. And if civil war does come, both sides are going to look to us for support."

Evan looked dazed and confused by this large explanation, while Aran attempted to process it all with her eyebrows furrowed in concentration. Luminous nodded in approval at Mercedes just as Phantom woke up theatrically, rubbing his eyes and yawning. Luminous punched Phantom's shoulder at this, and immediately winced in pain at contact with the thief's muscular biceps. Phantom laughed until Mercedes smacked the back of his head, throwing a scathing look at him.

"But then, if we have to choose sides," Evan said abruptly. "What are we going to do?"
"If such a time comes, we will remain neutral." Luminous said firmly. "We will not get involved in a conflict between the people we protect."
"But for now, we should decide who's going to attend the conference." Mercedes said. "Don't worry too much about it, Evan."

She smiled reassuringly at the Dragon Master, and turned to chastise Phantom (who had begun making faces behind Luminous' back), so that she couldn't see the faint blush that tinged Evan's cheeks.

"Mercedes and Evan... I support this. Very much."

"I think that Mercedes, Evan, and Phantom should go." I said.
"Phantom?" Luminous asked, shocked.
"Me?" Phantom cried, equally aghast.
"Mercedes should go for obvious reasons - she's the Queen of Elves, and is in good favor with both Cygnus and the Resistance. Evan should go because he needs to understand exactly how politics play out in the real world - and the sooner, the better. And Phantom needs to go, because as annoying as he can be, he's better than anyone of us here at diffusing hostile situations."

"Not to mention that he's had the most experience dealing with Empresses than the rest of us."

"As much as I'll regret it... I agree." Luminous said.
"As do I." Mercedes seconded.
"But I don't want to goooo." Phantom whined.

He winced in pain as Mercedes dragged him by the ear, with Evan and Mir snickering after them. I waited until they went inside before grinning and turning to Aran and Luminous.

"Well, now that that's taken care of - who wants to sneak in with me?" I asked.
"I'm in!" Aran cried immediately.
"S-sneak in? Shade, have you gone mad?" Luminous spluttered. "I knew that Phantom was a bad influence on you!"
"Relax, Lumi - it'll be fine." I reassured him. "Besides, this way, you'll be able to see if Phantom pays attention for yourself."
"Alright, fine." Luminous consented. "But we better not get caught."

Luminous' red eye glowed bright and he slammed his shining rod on the ground. Darkness enveloped our bodies, transforming us into shadows. We made our way into the conference room undetected. The meeting had already started, and Neinheart was animatedly giving a speech before the various representatives: Claudine, the Demon, and Xenon representing the Resistance; Kanna and Hayato of the Sengoku; the Cannoneer, Jett, and a Dual Blader for the Explorers; Kaiser and the Angelic Buster of the Nova; and Alpha, Beta, and Alicia for the Transcendents, along with the three Heroes.

"I can't hear anything." Aran whispered. "Let's get closer."

We went closer to the conference room until we were near the other Heroes.

"...but how long would it take Cygnus to become a full Transcendent?" Claudine asked.
"It's hard to say exactly." Alicia explained. "The awakening takes different amounts of time for different people. But generally, from what I've observed, a Transcendent's powers are activated through harsh exposure to the opposite of their sphere of domain."
"That's what the Nova said about Darmoor!" Kaiser exclaimed. "Fenelle told me that Gerald Darmoor became the Transcendent of Life when he woke up as the sole survivor of the High Flora genocide."
"Exactly. Darmoor awakened his powers through emotional upheaval from the destruction of his entire race. And I'm sure that Cygnus' awakening resulted from her shock and grief at Shinsoo's death."

"I don't like where this is going." Luminous whispered.
"Why?" I asked, surprised. "I thought you would've been the first person to support Cygnus' powers."
"But not if this is the price to pay for mastering them." Luminous said. "She's only a child, and such extreme exposure to death is especially dangerous. It's the breeding ground for darkness and negativity, and it's fatal when magnified by the scale of her powers."
"Fatal? You mean she'll die?" Aran asked.
"In a sense." he clarified.

Before Luminous could go on, Kanna stood up from her seat and gazed at Cygnus.

"And what should happen if this Black Mage were to be defeated?" she asked. "What will prevent you from becoming another tyrant like him?"
"You will show respect when you address the Empress!" Neinheart barked.
"That's a good question." Claudine said, ignoring the tactician. "Can Cygnus revoke her powers once she's activated them?"
"That's not how it works." Alicia frowned. "Once Cygnus becomes a Transcendent, she will gain immortality, and her power will remain with her unless they are stolen by another or removed by the Overseers."
"So then what will stop Cygnus from abusing her power like the Black Mage?" Claudine demanded. "She's barely has legitimacy as an Empress- "
"Silence!" Mihile yelled.
"There's no use denying it anymore!" Claudine cried. "Why do we even have a monarchy in this age? I'm sure her predecessor was even wors- "

But the rest of Claudine's speech was cut off by Phantom, who in an instant, had his fist clenched around her throat.

"Don't you dare claim to understand Aria." he seethed furiously at Claudine, whose face was slowly turning blue under his crushing grasp.
"Phantom, that's enough!" Mercedes cried.

Just as Mercedes got up to restrain him, Luminous stepped out of the shadows and shot a beam of light magic at Phantom, sending a sharp heat up the thief's fingers, forcing him to release the Resistance leader.

"What the hell, Luminous?" Aran snapped. "You just blew our cover!"
"What is this?" Neinheart cried. "Why are you three here? Did I not make myself clear when I said three representatives only?"
"With all due respect, Chief Tactician, but you have no authority to command any of us." Luminous said calmly.
"Are you deaf, man?" Neinheart thundered. "You are all subjects of Empress Cygnus, and-"
"Correct. We are subjects under the Empress - not you." Luminous said flatly. "So why don't you allow her to speak for herself?"

Neinheart's face turned red with anger, but as he opened his mouth to retort, Cygnus got up and silenced him with a motion.

"As the Empress of Maple World, I understand that I haven't been leading as well as I should have. I allowed myself to rely on advisers to help me make decisions, telling myself that I was but a child. But this cannot be anymore. If I'm ready to become a Transcendent, then why can't I become an Empress - with my own voice? Starting this day, I vow to uphold the wishes of my people through my own actions - not those that have been forced upon me without my input."

"She's certainly grown up in the last decade."

She continued, "I swear to take on the responsibility as both Empress and Transcendent, and I will do whatever it takes to defeat the Black Mage - for Maple World."

The room gave a standing ovation at her words, though the Resistance was far less energetic in their applause.

"With this, I call an end to the meeting. Thank you all for your attendance." she said serenely.

Quite suddenly, I felt myself stretch longer in a fraction of a second. My body transformed into a beam of light, which pulled me away from the conference room; in another instant, I reformed in a familiar room - the bridge of the Lumiere.

"What in Rhinne's name was that?" Aran asked.
"Teleportation." Luminous said. "It was the quickest way, because we have much to discus-"

His words were drowned by the sound of Mir throwing up all over the floor. Phantom let out a small squeak and covered his mouth with his hands, whimpering softly and widening his eyes. Luminous and Mercedes both rolled their eyes as the former waved his hand lazily to make the slightly-smoking puddle vanish.

"As I was saying," Luminous continued. "We need to discuss this these sudden events. I, personally, am very unsettled by the increasing animosity between the Resistance and the Empress."
"I agree." Mercedes said. "What bothers me most of all is Neinheart's behavior - it's quite unlike him to openly be hostile, even the Resistance."
"Maybe he's under mind control." Evan suggested. "You know, like some enhanced puppet-control that Francis does, except this time it actually alters his mind."
"That... quite possible." Luminous said. "We must definitely consider that the Black Mage's forces have penetrated Ereve."
"But why now?" Phantom asked. "The Black Mage doesn't need to control Neinheart - if he wanted to, he could wave his hand and blow him out of exist-aannceeee."

He faltered when he accidentally made eye contact with me. I smiled to reassure him, trying to hide the pang in my chest at his words.

"I agree." I said. "I don't think the Black Mage would be so subtle as to destabilize the Allian-"
"Of course! How could I not have seen this before?" Aran exclaimed.
"What?" we all asked.
"The Black Mage must've known that Cygnus would try to awaken her powers. Luminous, didn't you say that exposure to negative settings creates darkness?"
"Yes!" Luminous exclaimed. "That must be exactly what he's doing! He knows that he can't stop Cygnus while we have both Alicia and Zero. He wants us to destroy ourselves by allowing Cygnus to become a Transcendent. And with the darkness slowly building up from her surroundings, she would become twisted and corrupted."

"With Cygnus becoming dark, we'd stand no chance - even with the Transcendent of Time on our side. Unless..."

"Didn't the Black Mage create a future in the Temple of Time where Cygnus becomes corrupted?" Mercedes asked.
"But Rhinne told us that they were created with Dream Stones." Phantom said. "She can't actually turn dark like that, can she?"
"I'm afraid she can, Phantom." Mercedes said. "With such power as hers, it would be ridiculously easy to give in to dark temptation."
"I, of all people, ought to know." Luminous agreed. "It's taken me so long to master the darkness, and that's only from years of practicing light magic."

"...unless Luminous uses his Light powers to steer Cygnus away from darkness."
"What?" everyone asked.
"Did I just say that out loud?" I asked. "Sorry about that - I spent nearly a century talking to myself since everyone kept um... forgetting me."

There was an uncomfortable pause as everyone suddenly became quiet and looked down in guilt.

"It's fine, everyone. Really." I said. "None of this is your fault, and I don't blame any of you, I promise."

I gave a reassuring smile to them, ignoring the heartache I felt from the memories of loneliness and isolation.

"But anyways, I was thinking about Cygnus going dark. Luminous, you're the Transcendent of Light, right? You can use your powers to keep Cygnus from becoming evil!"
"...that could work." Mercedes said.
"No. It can't." Luminous whispered.

We looked in confusion at him. The mage's eyes were filled with shame, and he averted eye contact with any of us.

"Mr. Luminous... what's wrong?" Evan asked.
"I'm not the Transcendent of Light." Luminous said quietly. "I became corrupted with darkness, and even though I've mastered it, I cannot use my light magic as I could before the curse."
"But didn't Alicia say that a Transcendent awakens with exposure to their opposite?" Aran asked.
"I hoped for a time... that the Black Mage's taint would lead to my rebirth. But apparently, the Transcendent of Light's awakening is not as simple as the Transcendent of Life's. I've slowly come to accept that I'll never be whole again - that the darkness will always be there to snuff out whatever light remains in my life."

"Maybe there is a way." Phantom suddenly said. "Evan, do you still have Freud's old notes that Afrien gave you?"
"Yeah, why?" Evan asked.
"Freud showed me his research on the Seal Stones when we preparing the fight the Black Mage centuries ago. He discovered a special maple tree, and he used its leaves to create the Seal Stones that we used to seal the Black Mage in the Temple of Time. If we could find that tree, we could make our own Seal Stone and use its power to expel the darkness out of Luminous."
"Phantom... tha- that's brilliant!" Mercedes cried.
"It very well may work." Luminous agreed. "But we must swear to keep this to ourselves. We cannot let anyone know about the existence of this tree, even our own allies. The current state of things is extremely delicate, and we don't want to risk anyone abusing the power of the Seal Stones."
"Let's make an oath." I said. "Just like we did the last time. None of us are the same people we were when we fought the Black Mage all those centuries ago - it's time we changed our pact to reflect it."

We all put our hands together and gathered into a circle.

"I'm not the strong warrior everyone remembers me as. For Rhinne's sake, I don't remember who I used to be. But I swear that I'll do whatever it takes to get my memories back - even if I have to cleave the Black Mage in half with Maha to get them." Aran exclaimed.

"Mir and I have a lot to live up to. From the way everyone talks about them, Freud and Afrien were really strong and smart, and even though I sometimes feel that I can't live up to what they did, we're gonna do our best!" Evan said.

"I'm turned from the Queen of Elves to a ruler without anyone to rule. But even though my people are cursed by the Black Mage, I will honor my vow to protect this world from darkness." Mercedes pledged.

"I used to be a thief - a glamorous, attractive, handsome thief at that - but a thief nonetheless. And it all changed when I met her. When she was taken from me, I swore to get my revenge on the man who killed her. I let my revenge blind me, and I turned someone darker and violent than who I used to be. But I learned to let go of revenge, and I now pledge to uphold my promise to Aria - to make the world she believed in a reality." Phantom said.

"When I was tainted with the darkness, I understood, for the first time in my life, what it was to commit evil. It took everything away from me, and I felt powerless for sometime. But I managed to overcome the darkness, and I found my family in the process. And I swear to protect them no matter the cost." said Luminous.

Finally, I went last. "I spent the last three hundred years in dimension after dimension, trying to find somewhere I could fit in - where I wouldn't be forgotten. I didn't become a new person - I was cursed to spend the rest of my life apart from existence itself. Everywhere I try to fit in, I have to sacrifice my friends from somewhere else. And I don't think I can continue doing this after three centuries. But if there's a way to write myself back into the world, I'm going to find it - even if that means laying down my life in the process."

"And I swear, Black Mage, I will find you. And I'll make you pay for what you've done to us all."