JUST ANOTHER DAY

By MargaritaDaemonelix

It's just another day in Elrios.

There's a lot to be done, and not a lot of time to do it. Elsword is busy training with various magicians, improving past incantations and writing new ones. His sister is still so far ahead of him that he can barely see her dust trail. But he'll get there someday. He's already one of the best knights in Elrios, and he's only eighteen. There will come a day when the people needed to be protected, and when that day comes, he doesn't want to be protected. No, he will stand for the people.

A splash of violet light interrupts his rune, but it only brings a smile to his face as Aisha twirls her staff beside him. Her eyes glimmer with excitement, like she's bringing good news, but it's only to check on him. It makes her happy just to be with him, to see him smile. She flips one of her curly tails over her shoulder, ready to duel him. After all, he may be able to conjure a black hole, but she can teleport, and that's better.

Rena is still busy at work, providing her calm healing magic to those who need it. Once, she might have been a warrior, but she's chosen to toss aside her iron-clad boots and connect back to her natural roots. The Velder Hospital is still home to many veterans of the demon invasion recovering from their injuries, and Rena know it's her job to stay in Elrios and help them.

Among the injured is Raven. He hangs onto his morals and his sanity by a thread, but ever since his admittance into the hospital, that thread has become a vivid tapestry. His sight clears up and his movements become smoother. No longer confined to his rage-filled arm, Raven is a free man, but at the end of the day, he'll still sit down to gather himself, take a breath and live.

Eve has moved out of Altera. She can't stay there-a queen wouldn't survive a day in such a desolate place, and gosh, people from Hamel are busy clearing it out. She lives in Hamel for now, as a royal guest of Prince Chung Seiker, who she goes hunting with once a week. Hamel's serene environment is perfect for her to just enjoy walks in the scenic temples that the city is known for. She doesn't really know it, but she's feeling what humans call "happiness".

Elsewhere in Hamel, Chung is training with his father to be even stronger. He doesn't even feel the weight of his Destroyer anymore, and his armor doesn't annoy him when he runs. Helputt is proud of his son, proud that the boy can defend the city, has defended the city. Yet Chung himself never gives up on his training, because just like Elsword, he knows that there will come a day when he will have to protect those he loves.

Elesis supervises her brother's training… Along with the magical training of about fifty new knights in Velder. They're calling the unit the Magic Knights, because under her tutelage, they use magic in every step they take on the battlefield. She's greatly feared, but also greatly loved by the citizens. Everywhere she goes, people ask her to bless them with her flames. It makes her flustered that she's being given such a great honour, but it warms her heart every time.

For her efforts in the war, Ara was given the Standard of Sander, the highest military award possible in the kingdom. She retreats to Fahrmann's Peak, where she opens a serene training dojo and welcomes all trainees, no matter what their age, gender, nationality or any other factor. Every new trainee reminds her of herself, and her struggles as a child to cope with reality. Showing her students a complex dance of spear work, she smiles, seeing them watch in awe and knowing that they'll be able to do it much better than her someday.

Add really doesn't have anything to do. He has no need of any more elaborate weapons, nor does anyone else need such weapons. No one even asks him about his Dynamos. So he starts crafting artisan toys and opens a small toy shop, called Mastermind Toys, in Elder. It kind of makes up for the childhood he lost, seeing all these happy children.

Forget the power she once held. Lu has become the graceful queen of the new demon empire, earning new knowledge and powers. A lady of the house of Abbadon, she reformed the entire demon state and became the first ruler of the new era. Every step she takes carries elegance and regal power. Her subjects are told first and foremost to be loyal, and so they trust in their queen and she trusts in them.

There are demons who try to strike out at Lu's new system, but Ciel ensures they don't pose any real threat. The demons see him as Lu's bodyguard in blue at first, but his kindness gets the better of him, and he becomes a man of the people, serving not only Lu but the demons that bow at her feet. Sometimes he even bakes cookies for them. Most of those are still reserved for Lu, though.

Before the war, if you told Rose she was going to be a captain someday, she would have laughed and smacked you playfully. But the war has done strange things. She's grown, as a woman, as a person, as a warrior. If you told Rose that she'd be wielding the OR-DX, a weapon only given to captains of the Heavy Barrels in Empyrean, she'd be in complete denial. She's proud of herself, but when she looks at her new friends, she's even more proud of them.

Ain smiles down at them from his place in Heaven. His journeys with them have ended for now, but now that his time in Elrios is over, he can't help but feel relieved to back by his lady Ishmael's side. Sometimes, when he misses his old friends, he slips back into his human form(with lady Ishmael's permission of course) and drops back to Earth. It breaks him to end his intervention, but he knows it's for the best.

So the Elgang live their lives, occasionally meeting one another, giving public speeches about all sorts of issues, solving crises in their various hometowns. It isn't a hard job, but all of them feel like something is missing: that thrill of adventure that their earlier journeys had given them. Life feels somewhat hollow, some days. And when it does, the gang gets back together to go on another journey, just for old time's sake.

It's just another day in Elrios.

It's just another day in Elrios.

From the camps of war-torn Feita, Elsword swings Conwell at a random glitter. The monsters are tough, but between their weapons and his, Elsword definitely has the upper hand. Every glitter he slices to pieces means another safe citizen, another building restored, another tree uncut. It's all he can do to keep the place he once called home safe, but the war doesn't look like it'll end anytime soon, and people are still dying.

Fighting alongside him is another person rejected by society for their choices to keep the people safe-Aisha. Her short stature is instantly boosted as she summons the bat god, Angkor, to assist her in battle. Even her once elegant staff is made in his image, her entire being dedicated to channeling his power. Everyone fears her, and only a select few people know that truly, she's only fighting to keep the people safe.

Beyond Feita, beyond Elrios itself, Rena slings her bow over her shoulders, only to draw her trusted Erendil and point it towards the demons. Behind her, waves of her fellow elves aim their bows at the enemy lines. When the last leader of the Night Savers was killed in a fiery blaze, the organization voted Rena to the top. Despite the few hours of sleep she gets each night, she keeps her head high up, refusing to shed her dignity at the hands of her enemies.

The situation in Velder is almost as bad as that in Feita. Raven commands remainder of the once-great Velder army in battle. Like Rena, he sleeps very little, and it shows-his eyes are sullen, and his once smooth hair is chopped off around his back. The Nasod arm is his only lifeline, but it hurts to use it anymore; it hurts to even clench his iron fist. He's losing it, but he knows that if he's going down, he's going down fighting.

Eve occupies the iron throne in Altera. Though the war has taken a toll on her country, she can't do anything as the dainty ruler of the Nasod empire. Once the day has ended, however, she slips out of her black dress, into her armor, and leaves the palace. No one can stop the queen from leaving, after all. She unleashes every last explosive she has before pulling out the blades from her back and slicing the demons to ribbons. It's not effective, and it's messy, but if she can kill just a thousand demons, she'll save her empire a few more lives.

Chung is in a similar predicament: working by day, merciless assassin by night. When Hamel fell, he had no choice but to seek refuge in nearby Altera. The Destroyer he once carried everywhere lies in his bedroom, locked. He fights with his Silver Shooters now-two silver pistols that he stores in his Guardian Stone. He's got to be light on his feet if he wants to save his home. His being slow was what killed his father. He won't make the same mistake again.

Ara is dealing with a whole other issue. Her brother spread chaos all over Sander, leaving destroyed villages and broken people in his wake. She knew she couldn't take him on alone, so she travels with Add, the two of them united to avenge the fallen. She's the queen of the Elrian underworld, the one who rides Berthe itself into battle(okay, so maybe that one was folklore), yet no matter how powerful she is, she can't catch her brother, and her parents won't rest in peace.

The people of Elrios are scared of the demons, but they're just as afraid of Add. The scientist, after experimenting with all sorts of technology, hooked his Dynamos to his mind. In an earth-shattering experiment, he blew up the town he was living in. He's on the run, as Ara's mysterious shadow partner. Only she and a few other people know his true identity, and are desperate enough for an ally to not let it slip.

Lu can feel her power growing with each coming day. Every bloody sweep of her claw, every soul she crushes in her talons. She doesn't care who she's fighting anymore; as long as she can have her fun, casualties on either side are not her problem. Little by little, she's restoring her original form, and maybe someday she'll return to her bloody glory.

Ciel can no longer feel emotion. He is a pawn in Lu's gloved hand, an empty shell of his past. Unlike his mistress, who craves the blood she bathes in, Ciel kills with no remorse or joy. He simply does it so Lu may recover her glory, because that was his goal from the beginning. If he should cease to exist for her pleasure, then so be it. He finds no purpose, only Lu's satisfaction.

Rose stands on a small cliff, overlooking the sea. Across the ocean lies her homeland, Empyrean, now barricaded away from her. Ever since the war against the demons began, Empyrean closed its borders, not even allowing Rose to escape home. There's too much to be done in Elrios, and she can't just defect-she'd be an outlaw, forever. At a time like this, there are people who need her bullets and blades. They need her to put the demon lords in chains-her chains-and send them to the deepest pits of hell. She'll fight to end this war, if only to go home and set her people free.

Blinded in the darkness, Ain feels trapped. He watched the El become corrupted and couldn't do anything as it slowly reached its influence over him. The voices in his head got louder and began to ask horrible questions, ones he didn't want to answer. Where is Lady Ishmael? Why has she left him alone to die? He can't die, but the bloody hell he's in isn't exactly living, either.

And seated on the throne of the demons is none other than Elesis. Once, she was a great leader of men. Now, she oversees their destruction. The human armies only fought to keep themselves alive. She needs more. She wants blood, and only the demons can give her that. So joining Ran in his conquest of Elrios was one of the most amazing things she's done. The one thing that bothers her is the day they face their younger siblings, for that day will come. Ran repeatedly avoids the question, but Elesis can't help thinking over it at night.

The demon invasion of Elrios only grows. And when Hell freezes over, there will be no team of heroes only to face it. Only a band of outlaws. Criminals. Rejects. Defected warriors. Weary leaders. Children shaken from their innocent dreams by the war marches. A group, a collection, but not a team. So they sharpen their weapons, say their prayers, and charge once more, in the memory of their stolen dreams and those of others.

It's just another day in Elrios.

It's just another day in Elrios.

Elsword is hard at work, training in Velder to become the best knight the world has ever known. He's coming close to his goal, but he's still so far from his sister. So he pours a little magic into his blade, grips the handle a little tighter, and charges at the dummy again. His days on the battlefield have ended for now, so his only satisfaction comes from his training.

From a window in the library, Aisha smiles as she watches him train. Her own dreams have come true, even if she didn't have to recover that blasted ring. As young as she is, she's the most respected mage in Elrios. She made friends-a lot of them-and she found a home that loves her as much as she loves it. Elrios may not need her magic now, but when the time comes, she knows she'll be on her feet.

Back in Ruben, helping rebuild the town is Rena. The elf doesn't set aside her bow often, but when it comes to welcoming nature back into a wonderful little town, she all but throws it away. She's the elves' representative, their ambassador even. It makes her happy that she can see all her friends. It makes her even happier that she gets to tease them wherever she goes.

Raven refuses to go back to Velder, despite the fact that his criminal records were cleared and he was made a knight for his role in saving the city. Instead, he lives in Altera, helping the Ponggos rebuild what he destroyed. He doesn't really know why he's there, but it just doesn't feel right leaving them alone with his sins.

Eve also resides in Altera, but her job is arguably harder than Raven's. Clearing out the Core and repairing it after her friends stomped in and gloriously destroyed just about everything useful isn't easy. She recalls the days of the ancient Nasods, when workers poured their strength into building this palace, and it gives her the will to keep going.

Across the ocean strait, Chung is hard at work trying to repair his old home. His dad convinces him to shed the armor, for once, and ditch the cannon. The Shadows and Glitters did a number on the infrastructure, and while he can handle wiring, architecture really isn't his thing. The old temples have lasted for millennia, and he swears he'll fortify them to stand for millennia more.

Elesis is often away, fighting foreign wars, but whenever she comes home to Velder, she's got all sorts of souvenirs and goodies and(Elsword's favourite) stories of the people she's met and fought. Every time she feels like giving up in a battle, she forces herself to remember her brother, and what she promised their mother-that she would watch him grow up. When he dashes to meet her as she walks in through the front door, sword still propped up on his shoulder, she smiles. And braces herself for the inevitable storm of questions that her brother is bound to have.

Ara has no home to go to, but at least she still has her brother. After his miraculous recovery, he's often tired and has to sit down, but at least he doesn't want to take over the world anymore. Ara trains her mind and soul even more, to become one with her inner fox. Eun is a free spirit now, but Ara has no regrets in letting the fox go and thanks her every day for the strength she lent her.

Once he cleans it out, Add moves into Wally's old lab in Elder. He still conducts experiments in time, of course, but he directs most of his research towards more plausible causes, like seeing his mother in the past again, if only for a moment. The event is a little emotional for him to handle alone, but the Elgang is there to support him. Through the pain, Add is happy that his mother can rest in peace, and that he's got someone to lean on.

Lu is finally free, free of the bonds that held her to the demon world. If anything, her new job isn't even really a job-she helps Ciel run a bakery in Lanox. Her hoodie is folded up and tucked away, replaced with a pale blue apron. She's still a glutton as always, but after seeing the generosity of humanity, she doesn't ever want to go back to the demons. She has so much to live for now. She won't ever throw it away.

Watching Lu defect from her homeland was the bravest thing Ciel ever witnessed, but if that's what makes her happy, he's happy too. Gradually, he watched her grow and become more human than ever. Her change in power changed him, too; it dyed his hair white and gave him sharper instincts. He now uses those instincts to make sure she doesn't steal too many cookies. After all, he's got to leave a few for his own inner demons.

Rose doesn't go home to Empyrean after all-Elrios is a wonderful place, and the princess wants to have trading connections with the abundant country. By day, she trains a small force of Valkyries in Atlas Station. By night, she works on her bullets and grenades, trying to perfect them for her girls. Occasionally, she allows herself a short break from the training, though. Everyone needs a break once in a while.

Travelling with the Elgang really broadened Ain's views. His duty is complete, but he remains in Elrios, spreading music and healing across the land. Lady Ishmael has blessed his new duty: to restore life to the destruction in the aftermath of the demon war. He doesn't really understand most human customs yet, but he's trying his best, and his friends are helping him, and of course, he has all the time in the world to learn.

At least once every month, the whole gang gathers at the guild house, and they remember the old days. Rena and Ciel cook a great meal, and Raven roasts a turkey. Add always pops up halfway through to steal a bite to eat. Chung tells them he's grown a few centimetres taller(they measure to make sure he's not bluffing). Eve shows them the new gadgets she's built. Ain sings them a new lied he's composed. Aisha pulls out a few new party tricks, and Elsword shows them all how much he can eat… Again.

Ara brings pictures of her little niece, and Rose has everyone in peals of laughter at her Valkyries' antics. Lu pitches in with cookies that she's baked, all by herself. If Elesis is there, she'll pass out candies and fabrics and things from far off lands, and tell stories of victory and defeat. After a hearty meal, they'll sit and reminisce of things that no one else knows, from the days of their adventures.

It's just another day in Elrios.

A/N: hi yes marg here to apologize for not having an update for Spectrum this week

the last chapter was my last reserve chapter and last week was the first into the new semester so i was really busy, plus i'm working on a huge collaborative multimedia writing piece with some of my friends, so i didn't get much time to work on Blink. I'm sorry.

the first universe is a bountiful one, in a perfect world after the demon war. The second one is the Inferno universe, the setting of Addiction. The third one is my personal favourite, the balance between life and death, or really a compilation of my favourite classes.

if i don't finish the next chapter by next week expect some of that Elsai assassin AU or a new file for Suspects

~MargaritaDaemonelix