Chapter 2: Blue Rose Under a Snowy Sky

Hi Guys, here with another chapter! And I have some information:

First off, I've changed some things. I reread the original and decided to bring back the OC x Wendy Pairing, Altan now thirteen going on fourteen instead of sixteen(I updated last chapter as such). To be honest I kinda missed it, and while wanting to try something completely new, I decided to stick with the old.

Secondly, He won't be joining Cait Shelter this time around, but I do plan on him and Wendy having interactions before the Oracion Seis Arc.

Third, yes, he still has his special Life/Death Power, but it's vastly different and more powerful than what I had planned in the original story line.

Fourth, the reason I changed the story was because Zenith/Altan wasn't more…complex as I had hoped. Think about it, his mother was killed before his eyes, on the run for a couple years, and yes he still learned under Zeref before the men left him one day, then abducted by his pursuers before being borderline tortured for a week before miraculously escaping, then being on the run for six month before getting to where he is now, so I wanted him to be a bit more timid and soft spoken, but still become a kind and hopefully cheerful individual in the future.

So, enough of my ranting and on with the chapter!

Manners of Speech:

"Fairy Tail!" - Normal Sentence

"Fire Dragon's Roar!" - Magic Spells/Extreme Yelling

'I could use some cake.' - Thoughts

'Don't go destroying everything.' - Telepathy

"Do Fairies have tails…?" - Past/Flashback

'We're here, we're alway here." - ?

Altan had traveled for two days with help of Bellerophon and now found himself in the new land.

It was a far cry from what Inferis was. The land was beautiful and the air filled with peace and comfort, or that's how he thinks it feels at least compared to what he went through during his time in Inferis.

He had never seen a more beautiful land before, the ground rich with luscious greenery instead of the red dirt and dead trees that cascaded Inferis' landscape.

It was then he saw a clearing full of flowers, and knew he found the perfect place to land. He guided his glowing pegasus down to the ground and it landed gently on the meadow, doing a small trot before fully stopping.

Altan got off the Pegasus' back as it turned and looked at him, both staring the other right in the eyes.

Altan then placed his forehead against it, eyes closed as he whispered, "Thank you…" the horse closed its eyes as it gave a small whine before it started to disperse in twinkling lights.

Once it was gone, Altan took a deep breath, and gave a dreamy sigh.

So this is what it felt like to be free after months on the run? It felt like a dream come true to him he hadn't think would come true. And maybe now, he could live a peaceful life.

He took his backpack and sword off and promptly fell on his back, flower petals picking up from his body falling to the ground. Altan looked at the blue sky, and just watched the clouds sail by overhead with a soft gaze.

He could get use to this…

But as he laid their, he began to think about thing. What was he supposed to do now exactly? He was able to travel the world, meet new people, and hone his power.

He's been on the run for too long, he needs to build back his magic and strength back to even greater than before if he wants to be able to keep himself out of trouble, or get captured again for that matter.

He gave a small sigh as he sat up and looked at his hands. 'Now's a better time than any to start I guess.'

He stood back up and got into a stance, his face becoming serious. His fists both then became coated in black and white magic energy, and at the sight of his fists coated in magic in a manner similar to flames, he smirked.

'Still got it.' He then punched the air repeatedly, not stopping for a second as he practiced his movement, ensuring he wasn't rusty around the edges. 'My Combat skills seem to be okay for now, but I'll work on them more later.'

He dismissed the twilight energy around his fists as he assumed a different stance. Both arms out and both legs spread. Then white energy converged in his right hand, while black energy converged in his left.

He then took in a sharp breath as he shot both arms out forwards and exclaimed, "Spiraled Helix!" two beams of black and white magic energy shot out for the palms of his hands as they spiraled around one another, forming a giant beam of energy.

The beam sailed harmlessly into the sky before fading out into nothing.

Altan wasn't winded from the energy output of the attack, and was mildly surprise at the fact since in the past six months he hadn't really done anything remotely related to using magic unless need be.

His sights then turned toward Fragmented Star, and decided to practise with his newly acquired blade. He stuck out an arm, and the sword levitated off the ground before the blade shot out of its scabbard and the hilt into his awaiting grasp.

Despite how heavy it was, it sat nicely in his grasp.

He then slashed the air, followed up by another, and another, and before he knew it, he was dishing out swings left and right. But, he knew it wouldn't be enough yet.

He needed some help.

Knowing what he had to do, he looked up to the sky and asked. "Can I get some help?" Then, a small stream of glittered descended from above, and surrounded him. At that moment did images of sword techniques coming to his head, and he gave a faint smile.

He then began to practice with his blade once more, this time mimicking the moves he had seen mentally. After about thirty minutes of practising his sword techniques.

He was panting slightly, small beads of sweat brimming his forehead, but felt satisfied with his practice.

He called the Scabbard to hand as he sheathed his sword. 'Alright, my Magic seems to be okay, but needs to be refined, and if I keep practicing with my sword, I'll be able to hold my own in about a months time.'

But then his stomach growled and sighed.

He was just about out of food, save for a loaf of bread, and needed to eat something and hopefully soon. It's not like something he could kill then cook is going to just walk out of the forest, now is there?

Suddenly, he heard the sound of heavy footsteps behind him, and he quickly turned around and came face to face with a brute of a beast with green fur and an ugly face. It gave a menacing chuckle at the sight of the youth.

"Me kill little boy." it said.

Altan simply blinked upon seeing it, not at all bothered by his menacing words or appearance and ultimately shrugged mentally. 'Well, wasn't expecting this, but hey, I'll take what I can get.'

He then proceeded to unsheath Fragmented Star once more at the blade glowed alongside his silver irises as he stared down the beast with a calm expression, and the beast was now more than a little bit afraid of the person before them.

"Time to put the practice to good use." and with that, Altan lunged forwards.

-FT-

About a few hours later, Altan had a fire going, devouring meat while another large portion was roasting over a flame.

The beast was rather easy to kill to be honest, and while the meat wasn't all that good, nor wasn't all that bad, but he didn't mind, more than glad to have something to eat at the least, and finished his piece of food rather quickly, showing how hungry he was.

With his hunger satisfied, and now with food to last him for the next day or so, he wanted to see more of this new land he found himself in.

So, grabbing his pack, he took out one of his few shirt and tore it in half, using both sides of it to wrap around the large pieces of meat he had before placing them back in the pack, then slung it over his shoulders as he fixed Fragmented Star on his hip.

"Bellerophon!" The Pegasus reappeared once more, giving a mighty cry as it trotted up to it's summoner's side. Altan then jumped onto the Pegasus' back as he grabbed the golden reigns, and the horse took off into the forest.

Altan decided not to fly, and instead wanted to travel on land this time around, and knew if he had walked he wouldn't get very far. He was once again so thankful for developing this spell to craft the ancient beast, and he was going to milk it for all that it was worth.

Altan looked up before him, a look of utter confusion written all over his face.

He had been traveling for a couple hours now and had made a good amount of distance in the allotted time frame, but now, he found himself staring at the most peculiar sight he had ever seen before.

A mountain range, bathed in snow and ice laid before him, as if it had always been there, making him look on in utter confusion.

He then looked behind him, to see the lively green of the forest he had just left from, then looked back at the snowy mountains. Back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. This went on for a couple minutes before he ultimately asked.

"...how is one side snowy while the other is a lively forest!?" At that moment he decided nature was the oddest thing to ever exist, because it sure as heck doesn't make any sense to him right now.

But, he couldn't help but find himself more than a little bit curious about the mountain range, and see if there was anything it had to offer.

"Alright, let's take to the sky to traverse better." the Pegasus gave a cry before it fanned out its wings before it trotted and took off into the air as they entered the cold. Altan gave a shiver, but was glad he was wearing a long sleeve shirt right now, otherwise he would be worse off.

But, little did he know, he wasn't the only one traversing the mountains.

-FT-

"Alright boys, that Sacred Rose and the Eternal Ice will be ours!"

"Dun!"

"You said it, Hiroshi!"

Currently, three Treasure Hunters were seen standing in the blistering cold blizzard that raged on on a mountain ledge. One was a teenager with black hair up in four peculiar spikes, followed by another with longer hair a lighter color that reached to his shoulders, and finally, the last had a rather large head, quite literally, with a large nose and beady eyes.

"With those treasures in our possession, we'll be top notch treasure hunters for sure." the black haired teen known as Hiroshi, exclaimed proudly, pumping a fist to the air.

"Dun!" the large teen, Rala, exclaimed, copying his leader's movement. The last of their group would have done the same, but couldn't help but ask a vital question.

"Um, how to we exactly find the Rose and Ice?" the two turned and gave him blank looks, having completely forgot about that tidbit.

Hiroshi turned and looked at the mountain range, with a look of determination. "Despite our lack of tools to help us, we'll find the two items no matter what, right Rala, Drake?!" the two other teens nods.

"Dun! Dun!"

"Right!"

"Now, let's go!" the trio were about to march on…

But the side of mountain that they stood on gave way and causing them to fall, rolling down the side of the mountains before becoming one giant ball of snow and rolled on to who knows where.

-FT-

Altan was halfway through flying over the mountain Range, before he heard voices in his head once again.

'The Rose…" One began, and confusing the poor youth, who could only look up in confusion.

"A rose? What rose?" he asked.

'There's not enough time to waste," another added, 'If you don't make haste, it will wilt, and Ice Eternal will fade from another eternal solitude."

Now if he was confused before, he was now, even more so. A Rose, Ice Eternal, and Solitude? But, if the voices were right, which they always were, then he had to find this rose, before something bad happened to it.

"How will I find this rose?"

'Look towards the light that shines through the storm."

'Keep pressing on, you'll find it soon enough."

Altan nods his face becomes one of determination. "Alright, giddy up Pegasus!" The winged horse construct of light gave a cry as it body glowed and the two took off in a streak of light through the sky.

If the voices were correct, he had to hurry, for time was off the essence.

-FT-

It took a few minutes, but Altan finally learned what the voices meant by a the light.

Through the blizzard, a single ray of sunlight shined down to the ground below, untouched by the snow or winds, of which seemingly circled around it in a elegant manner.

Upon seeing the ray of sunlight, Altan slowed his stead down to where they were flying around the beam of light and further towards the ground.

And that's when he saw it.

A Blue Rose growing out of the ground, untouched by snow or ice, basking in the sun's radiance. It was truly an awe inspiring sight to behold, especially seeing the climate that surrounded it, and yet, it still somehow managed to thrive in the harshness around it.

Altan landed and dismounted his construct as it faded once more in a shimmer of lights. The teen slowly approached the rose and studied it, marveling at its beauty.

'I don't know how you managed to survive, but it must be a miracle.' he slowly went to caress the flower's petal with his left hand, only for something completely unexpected to happen.

The thorned vines of the rose reached out and wrapped themselves around Altan's arm, taking the teen off guard, and causing him to fall flat on his rear. "What the-!?" but, to his surprise, the thorns didn't hurt him, infact, they didn't peirce his skin whatsoever.

The Rose let it's place on the ground as it finished off by perching itself on the back of his hand.

And that's when the thorns stuck themselves into his skin.

He gave a cry of pain at feeling hundreds of thorns peirce his flesh, stream of blood dripping from the intrusion the thorns made into his body. He could feel his body become slightly drained of magic, but not much, and it was at a steady rate.

'The Rose lives." a voice said.

'But it won't last long on your magic and blood." another adds. 'Six Hour shall it last, before it wilts and dies."

'Hurry, to the top of the tallest mountain at the heart of the Range, where Rose and Ice will finally become one." another finishes.

Despite the pain he felt, Altan gave a nod, frowning slightly. Damn, if he knew this would happen to him, he would have just left the rose where it was. Why is it things like this happens to him? He also saw the ray of sunlight fade away as the storm now raged on everywhere.

But then, he heard a sound of muffled screaming. He looked around for the source of the screaming, and found a giant snowball hurtling right towards him!

He instinctively jumped out of the way right as it flew by him before hitting one of the Evergreens with a thud, and causing it to break apart. It was at that moment did Altan see three bodies emerge from the pile of snow that once made the giant snow ball.

"Oh man, what a rush!" the spiky-haired man said.

"You said it."

"Dun!"

The youth looked at the older teens weirdly, wondering how they survived that experience. But then to his growing discomfort, the three took notice of him.

"Who's the runt?" the long haired one asked.

They looked over the boy, before their eyes fell on the vines attached to his arm, primarily the rose that clung to the back of his left hand.

"THE ROSE/DUN!" they all exclaimed, making Altan flinch back wards from their raised voices.

The spiky-haired guy groaned. "Showed up by a brat."

Altan managed to regain his composure somewhat and asked, "U-um, who are you guys?"

The three regained some amount of poise before looking at the teen, and rather heatedly as the long-haired man sneered. "Why of course, we're a treasure hunter guild."

"Sylph Labyrinth." The spiky-haired one said.

"Dun." The large teen on the far left commented.

Altan blinked a few times as a moment of silence passed, but no one said anything. The trio then spoke again, in the same order as before.

"We're a treasure hunter guild."

"Sylph Labyrinth."

"Dun."

The boy frowned, "I, uh, heard you the first time around. But, I've never heard of you guys, so, sorry." the three teens face faulted into the snow before standing back up.

"What are you, an idiot!?" the spiky-haired male shouted. Altan just shook his head, pushing his glasses back up on his face.

"No, I'm new to this country actually." the trio blinked, not expecting to hear that. But that didn't deter their anger at him having one of the treasure they sought for.

"No matter," the long haired guy began, "you have something we want."

"That's right, the Sacred Rose!"

"Dun!"

Altan eyes widened momentarily before he lifted up his left arm and looked at Rose on the back of his hand. It had a name, and was famous? He gave a soft hum, wondering if he could get more information from these guys.

"Can you tell me more?" the three treasure hunters blinked owlishly.

"You mean you don't know!?" the Spiky-haired man exclaimed.

"Dun!?" the large guy adds.

"Look kid, that rose is said to be a gift from the Gods, being allowed to grow in such a harsh environment, and many were after it's beauty and magic power! It's a priceless artifact worth a fortune!"

Altan's eyes widened once again. 'Interesting…'

"Yeah!" the spiky-haired guy continued. "It's also said it has a symbiotic relationship with the Eternal Ice just Northwest of here!" Altan looked at them with a deadpanned expression.

'Wow, these guys are idiots for telling me that,' he thought. He then gave a small cough as he looked at them. "Um, okay, look, I have to get this rose to the Eternal Ice before it wilts, so better luck next time…" Altan was about to leave the trio, but they weren't having it.

"Oh no you don't/Dun!" the three took out their weapons, ranging from a sniper gun, to a Hammer that looked like a fist, and a sword.

Altan groaned. He didn't want to deal with this when he needed to get the rose to the top of the tallest mountain, and these guys were in his way.

With a small sigh he gripped Fragmented Star's scabbard with his left hand and the grip with his right as he drew the sword, the gemstone blade gleaming beautifully. Upon seeing it the Treasure Hunter's were taken aback, but all three of them grinned.

"What a nice sword you got there!" the spiky-haired guy commented. "Maybe after we're done with you and take the rose back, we'll also take the sword as well, right Drake, Rala?"

"Couldn't have said it better my self Hiroshi." the long haired guy named Drake answered.

"Dun!"

Altan's eyes narrowed as his sword's blade began to glow. "Shine my Stars!" the blade shined brilliantly as it broke apart into hundreds of star pieces, much to the three treasure hunter's shock. "Now fly!" he swung the empty hilt as the stream of stars bent to his will, and slammed into the three, and sent them flying back.

Altan, using this moment to his advantage, ran away from the trio and headed Northwest, which was ironically the opposite way from the trio he had just took down.

After he was gone, the three Treasure hunters picked themselves up from the snow, only to see the younger teen as well as their prize was gone.

"Oh snap!" Hoshi exclaimed, "He bailed out on us!"

"Dun!"

"We have to find him before he makes off with our Sacred Rose!" Drake adds. Luckily for them, the boy's wounds were dripping with blood, and he left trail behind in his wake. "He's heading Northwest by the looks of it." then suddenly, his and the other's eyes widened in realisation in where he was going.

"THE ETERNAL ICE!/DUN!"

-FT-

Altan had been walking through the blizzard for about an hour and a half, all the while wearing a blank and somewhat tired expression.

He had felt that using Bellerophon was becoming unnecessary, and the storm had picked up a bit since he had come to attain the Blue Rose, so he could be knocked out of the sky. His arm was still dripping blood, but not as badly as before.

He couldn't help but think about the irony of the situation though, he had just got himself out of one situation and now into another. It seemed fate wouldn't allow him to rest as of yet, and it annoyed him. When would he truly be able to sit down and actually get some quality rest.

Rest…

He hasn't actually had true rest in the past…he honestly doesn't know how long actually. Maybe it all started the night his mother was killed, and forced to go on the run for a week, barely eating or drinking anything.

But, he was saved by his mentor…Zeref.

The man took him under his wing, raising him, and taught him to use magic, and Altan was always thankful for him. But, when he had turned twelve, the man had vanished one day, leaving him with nothing but the clothes on his back and food that lasted for a few days.

He's thankful the man also showed him how to hunt and gather his own food, otherwise he'd been dead for sure.

But, a mere month after Zeref had left him, Inferis somehow found him and captured him, dragging him back to their country for their plans.

But in that week when he was captured, the pale horse, Karito, played with him, touched him in places he didn't want to be, and hurt him just because he felt like it…

He took calming breathes.

No, he was free of Inferis now, and hopefully forever if he's lucky enough.

It was another hour of thinking and walking before he finally reached his destination. And how did he know one might ask? Well, the voices in his head confirmed it for him of course.

'We are here." Altan stopped and looked up.

The mountain was huge, no doubt about that, and it easily loomed over that other mountains with great ease, the peak barely visible due to the clouds covering the top of it.

'Less than four hours remain till the Rose wilts and dies, and the Eternal Ice fades from solitude."

Speaking of the said rose, Altan looked at it, and saw it was looking a bit wilted already, but still retained its great beauty, and knew he had to make haste.

'Climb the mountain, and have no fear, for Rose and Ice will guide you along the way."

With a nod Altan approached the mountain side and took steady breathes. It wouldn't be the first time he's climbed something, but not on this scale to be honest, but he wasn't going to give up.

He began to scale the mountain side, going fast as he did, but ensuring that he was careful in what he did.

He wish he could fly without the use of Bellerophon to be honest, knowing the task would be much easier if he could, and made plans on learning how to in the future at some point, if he didn't forget that is.

As he climbed, he had many close calls, rocks giving out when he grabbed them or the rivets give out from beneath his feet. But, he held firm and pressed on, remembering the task he was given, and he's be damned if he failed it.

But then, a rock under his grasp gave way, and was about to fall back and plummet to certain doom, but the Rose around his wrist created and extended it's vines, grasping onto the mountain side, and keeping him from falling back.

Altan had to calm himself down as he looked on in surprise at the Rose's actions as he steadied himself onto the ledge. 'It's official, this rose isn't natural at all…doesn it have some form of sentience?'

It wasn't unheard of for objects to have wills on their own, especially those of magical origin, take his mentor's living magic for example. But, it was extremely rare for such objects to just pop up at random, and were seen as works of the Gods themselves.

And it hit him.

The Rose was trying to reach something, or possibly someone! So if his hunch was correct, it had something to do with this so called Eternal Ice on the mountain, and planned on finding out.

As he got higher, the air was getting thinner, and found it harder to breath, but stayed strong, the cold still sending chills down his spine, and his glasses covered in snow and ice. But then, the voices came to him once more.

'Look yonder, to thy left!" Altan's attention diverted to his left, and saw an opening in the mountain side. 'Through there, make haste!"

Altan moved to his left on the mountain side, and was thankful when he finally reached the opening, feeling far more comfortable in standing on solid ground once again.

'Ice Eternal await's it's friend, and only an hour remains." Altan looked down at the rose and saw it looked worse than last he saw it, and frowned. He had to hurry, and fast!

He held up an arm as a ball of light forms, giving him light through the cave as he ran through the tunnels.

Before long, he came to a large cavern within the tunnel, and instantly was he in awe.

Ice was seen all around him, on the floor, the walls, and icicles on the ceiling. But what drew his attention most was the glittering jagged mass of ice that stood on the opposite end of the small cavern.

Altan willed the ball of light into the air as it shined brighter, illuminating the entire area as it sparkled like jewels. He approached the jagged mass of glittering ice and looked at it, basking in it's radiance and majesty.

'The Rose, place it on he Ice Eternal." Altan gave a slight nod to the voice and rose his left hand to touch the ice…

"Hold it right there!" Altan froze as his body jerked upon hearing the familiar voice.

He turned and came face to face with the three Treasure Hunters, and frowned at the sight of them. "So, you followed me up here?" the three just grinned.

"Yes indeed kid," Drake confirmed. "That bloody trail you left helped out quite a bit." Rala nods in agreement.

"Dun!" Hiroshi than stepped forwards as he held an arm out, a dark look on his face.

"Now, be a good little guy and hand over the Rose and Ice, and we'll let you go." Altan's frowned deepened and knew he was in for a fight, and it wasn't helping the voices in his head were nagging at him to touch the ice mass behind him.

'Touch the Ice!"

'Touch it!"

'Hurry!"

'Do it!"

'Ice and Rose must become one Eternal!"

The rest were annoying, but the last part stood out to him. What did it mean be 'become one'? He looked at the trio of treasure hunters and the Ice behind him, and knew what he had to do at that moment.

"I'm sorry about this guys…" before they could react, Altan touched the Ice mass with his left hand, and that's when it happened.

The Rose Sprouted vies and unwrapped itself from his arm, causing the wounds inflicted from the thorns earlier to start bleeding out again, making the teen a bit woozy from blood loss. The Vines wrapped around the Ice Mass, spanning the entire structure as the Rose became rejuvenated with life and began to sparkle beautifully.

Altan was surprised at the sudden turn of events, while the Treasure Hunter's were left gaping at the sight.

"What the hell did you just do!?" Drake exclaimed.

"Who cares! Let's take him down and get both of our treasure as well as that sword at his hip!" Hiroshi exclaimed.

"Dun! Dun! Dun!" Rala adds.

Altan's eyes narrowed as he rose both arms and brought them together. He wouldn't allow those three to get his hands on the Rose or Ice.

Black and White Magical Energy surrounded his hands as he exclaimed, "Twilight Beam!" a thin beam of black and white energy shot out towards the trio, forcing them to evade as they cursed.

"Shit, the kid's a mage!?"

"Dun!?"

Altan looked between the three and studied them. The big guy and the spiky-haired ones were melee fighters if their weapons were any indication, while the other guy was more a a ranged fighter, his gun being an obvious stand point.

He needed to take them down quickly.

It was then, the Ice flashed behind him, glowing a brilliant rainbow aura that blinded the four as the light seeped out the entire cave from the sheer magnitude of light that was expelled.

When the light show finally faded, it revealed a sight that stunned all of them silent.

Surrounding them and scattered all across the cavern were thorned vines made of ice with rose blossoms made of the same substance in full blooms. But what stood out most was the item that stood where the Giant Mass of Ice and Rose once sat.

A sword was stuck in the ground, surrounded by ice. It was a light blue color that shimmered in light. And at the cross Guard was a familiar rose forever encased in ice, eternally one with the sword. And not to far on the ground was a scabbard the same color as the sword and a rose imprint on it.

"A Sword/Dun!?" The treasure Hunters exclaimed.

Altan, meanwhile, looked on in utter abashment at the sight of the blade, and realised. 'So that's what they meant when they said 'become one'!'

They composed themselves as they got back to business as Hiroshi declared. "Well since the Ice and Rose and now one item, we'll be taking that sword with us!" Altan wasn't having it.

"Oh no you don't." He quickly rushed over and grabbed the blade, bulling it out of the ground. It was heavy, similar in weight to Fragmented Star, but it was perfect none the less. He pointed the blade at them with a cold expression.

"Dun! Dun!" Rala cried out.

"Yeah, we know he has the blade, we can see that." Hiroshi spat.

Drake shook his head. "Get ahold of yourselves, what can a half-pint like him do-"

"Recreation Shine!" a beam of light struck the long haired man and sent him sailing, and knocking him unconscious. The other two turned to see Altan with his left arm extended and all five fingers out, each one of them smoking.

And if one paid closer attention, they could see the wounds inflicted by the thorns were all healed up.

He knew he couldn't take any chances, after all he went through, he won't let these guys just come and take the blade away from him.

He brandished the sword and pointed it at them, a cold expression on his face.

The two conscious treasure Hunters took a weary step back from the sight of the one who knocked out their sniper with ease.

"Damn it," Hiroshi exclaimed. "Screw this, we're going those swords!" He took out his sword and charged at the younger teen, who was ready for his awaiting battle.

Their two blades met with a clang as they came to a standstill. Hiroshi was surprised at seeing at how the youth was able to easily match his strength. The youth then broke it by pushing the treasure hunter off of him and slashing him in the abdomen and sending him skidding back.

"Dun!" Altan turned to see Rala jump, hammer raised, and about to strike. But, due to the Hunter's incompetence at exclaiming himself, the mage jumped out of the way in time. "Dun?"

Altan crossed his free arm over his body as a dark magic aura encased it. "Black Wave!" He swiped his arm out, sending an arc of dark magic at Rala, who wasn't fast enough to dodge and was hit with the full force of the attack, and knocking him out.

"Oh no, Rala!" Hiroshi exclaimed. He turned towards the youth with an angered expression. "Alright little brat, I've had enough of you!" He brandished his sword and pulled the lever on it. "Super Stab!" he thrusted the blade out as it thrusted a great distance towards Altan.

The said mage rose the blue sword and diverted the thrust to his right, causing the blade tip to embed itself in the wall.

Hiroshi's sword shortened back to its normal size as he gritted his teeth. He was about to do it again, but Altan had other plans in mind. He rose his left hand as a ball of black and purple energy formed before throwing it at him. "Dark Burst!"

The ball of darkness made impact and explode, sending the treasure hunting sword user to be sent skidding back along the icy ground, right up to his two unconscious teammates. Rala and Drake soon gained some consciousness, but both were surprised to see their leader taken down.

"This isn't over brat!" Drake exclaimed. "Those swords of yours will be ours one way or another!" Altan rolled his eyes and gave a tired sight.

'Use the Sword." a voice told him. 'Stabbed the sword into the ground and say the words, Bloom Eternal Rose, and the rest will be taken care of." Altan hummed before nodding.

He grabbed the hilt with both hands and rose the sword into the air, before slamming the blade tip into the ground. "Now Bloom, Eternal Rose!" a primal icy blue magic seal burst to life beneath Altan as ice jutted out the ground as it headed towards the trio of Treasure hunters, who could only look on in shock as they found themselves frozen up to their heads by the ice. And to add icing to the cake, thorned vines of ice wrapped around them as rose petals burst into bloom, and they all began to feel incredible weak and tired.

"Wh-wha…?" Hiroshi tried to begin.

Altan, meanwhile, felt energy flow into him, making him feel more awake and energized than before. Huh, so the sword helps steal the energy from others while also immobilizing them in ice…neat.

Altan stood up as he pulled the sword out of the ground and approached the three treasure hunters. "Sorry guys, but this sword is now and alway will be mine, got it?" the three Hunters began to rant at him and curse at him, but Altan simply ignored their words.

"Alright, I guess I'll have to do this then."

-FT-

"What do you think you're doing/Dun!?" Currently, the group of three Treasure Hunters were dangling from below Altan's Pegasus, the aid mage holding onto a vine of ice. The sky was clear as the blizzard had finally stopped, revealing the starry sky above.

The had left the Cavern a short while ago and were now over a more open space between the forest and the snowy mountain range.

"Sorry guys, but this is where we part ways." Altan told them. "And don't worry, the snow should break your fall along with ice you guys are in. So…"

"No no wait!"

Altan released the vine, and the three plummeted to the earth below.

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH/DDDDUUUUUUUUNNNNN!"

Once they were out of the sight, the boy gave a sigh of relief. 'One headache taken care of.' He steered Bellerophon back towards the mountain range to cover more distance and get far away from those troublesome Treasure Hunters.

But, he could help but look at his new weapon, now sheathed in its scabbard. So that's what the voices meant, Ice and Rose together forever as one, but to think, they would form a sword of all things.

Well, just goes to show how odd nature can truly be sometimes, but at least he has a name for it now.

"The Eternal Rose Sword." he muttered. Suddenly, an aurora burst into life above in the starry sky, surprising the youth who was enthralled by its beauty. "Oh wow…" he muttered, but, then smiled.

While he wanted to rest, he didn't mind this new change in his life, and who knows, he might meet some interesting things along the way as well.

But for now, he was just going to enjoy the light show as he flew off into the unknown.

Alright, we get a first look at the Sylph Labyrinth Treasure Hunters, who we won't see a gain till much later in the story, and now Altan has the Eternal Rose Sword, a divine sword made purely of ice.

Next Chapter, Altan has his first run in with the Balam Alliance when doing his first 'job' for a town who have been seeing strange things going on as of late, but that's enough spoilers.

Update will come possibly later this month or next month, remember to Follow, Favorite, and Review, and until next chapter.

Next Time...

Chapter 3: A Sinister Alliance