Prologue: The Oath & the Song

The red headed saviour glanced at the horizon. There, their enemies lay waiting for them to come. For the final battle that ends this war of darkness once and for all. She swallowed back all her fear, all her worrying, letting her passion to fight for the freedom of all. She took a quick glance back.

All her companions wait behind her, waiting for her usual shout to charge forth. With confidence, she stood mightily before them. She looked at each and every one of them deeply into their eyes. She spoke, "Ready for this, guys?"

An immediate yes was replied back from everyone. She gave a curt nod of understanding and turned towards their opponents. It was finally time to end this chasing game. But it also meant that the time for them to train beside each other, to fight with the others and to even just have a fun time together with the others were going to end.

She felt a warm trickle on her cheek.

"Elesis.. Are you… Crying..?"

"No I'm not…!" She snapped back before turning towards them, trying so hard to hold back her tears. "... This is going to be the last time we'll be together guys… So no bad memories, alright?"

A battle mage smiled, touched by her companion's deep care for the rest of them. "After this is over, we'll all party out at Kerrie's beach."

"Then let's all swear the Oath of Friendship." An abyss knight spoke up. "That we'll all be together. Now, whilst we are still alive. Later, after we've won the victory we deserve. And even after we're separated by death, we'll see the other in our next lives."

The savior took the first move, firmly placing her hand before her circle of friends like the leader she was. "To Oblivion, shall our bodies crumble into."

Next to her, an orange haired vanquisher patted her hand, smiling proudly, being a somewhat born follower. "To the next world, shall our souls float to."

The abyss knight took the next turn, after feeling a second of defeat from failing to get the turn after the knight. "It could be that we will be together once more."

Heterochromatic eyes stared at this. The geas sighed and followed after, wanting to get over this as soon as possible as she dryly commented, "Or we might not even encounter the other again."

The battle mage softly smiled to her leader and hummed gently. It was rare of them to do something as precious as this, despite its childishness. "Though, whatever memories we had made."

After she was done, something surprised them all as they saw a demonic thorny claw taking the top of the pile of hands. The dusk bringer merely grunted when all eyes of disbelief looked at him. "Never shall they, fade away without a single trace."

The arbiter then took his turn with reluctance, seeing as the rest were slightly hesitant to rest their palms on the massive claw. "Because gaze upon the past, shall we all."

Expected by all, the striker overtook the arbiter. He was the only one closest to the demon. Actually, he's the only one who's closest to a demon. "In our dreams of recollection, of remembrance."

A light shove down of the pile of hands was made by a red headed rama. He couldn't wait any longer for a better chance. "And with them, shall we be lead on to each other."

The nova chuckled as she reached out onto the rama's hand. She knew how important this was. "For it is the bond called friendship that we forged."

Seeing the pile of limbs together, the dark matriarch scoffed. She didn't really want to associate deeply with humans, but another glace over them made her think otherwise. She decided to lightly place her finger on the side of the heap. "That we now swear shall never be left broken."

Groaning as she saw that it was getting cramped, the starlet shoved her own petite hand on the mess. But being so close to her friends, she gleamed happily as they were the only ones who knew the real her. "But instead forever will we nurture it to blossom."

A usual light laughter from the prime knight as his gloved hand landed softly, nearest to the knight – his great granddaughter. Though he knew he always troubled her, he never fails to show how much he cares for her. "From this present we all reside in, living."

Once he saw he was the only one left, the advancer sighed. He knew not the real reason of this action, but his sword's nagging made him gave in to it all. Another sigh as he tapped his fingers on to the rest of them. "Until time itself has stopped its gentle breathing."

The red haired teen glanced over her watch. 7.30 am. She sighed as she looked up at the sky. How many times does this make where she had been late to school? She groaned to herself once more to the fact that she should have applied to a school closer to her home. Then again, she sighed, this school was the most closest. The train slowed down and the messy young adult next to her stood up.

His orange bangs flopped about as he got off the train. Though he didn't like the way they covered his eyes, he didn't really liked the barber either. Using his headphones that boomed loud music into his ears, he adjusted them onto his head and pushed back his hair, as if it was a headband. Whistling lightly of the song he was listening to, he passed by a smartly dressed man, a huge contrast to him.

The blue haired man groaned as he boarded the train, seeing it lightly congested by life. It just meant he missed his usual morning train by being late. He groaned once more as an aching headache tortured him. He regretted drinking more than enough beer the night before. Especially on a weekday's night. But it was customary to drink your fill up when you go to your high school reunions. He sighed once more, cursing his fate for trying his luck in a drinking match with an ex-classmate he didn't even knew existed.

She threw the wrench towards her tool box and leaned onto the wall, growling in irk as she felt the thumping pain in her head, her heterochromatic eyes glaring at it deathly. Oh why did she drink gallons of beer last night? Actually, why did she even attend the reunion party in the first place?! She didn't really know half the people there. Because she remembered she only associated with a few people back in high school.

She lightly pushed back the books into their respective shelves. As she picked up a blue coloured book, she noticed that it was of a book of mechanics. She smiled as it reminded her of an old friend. But a glance over her lilac wristwatch made her set down the book. It was nearly lunch, and it would be her turn to be on duty at the front desk. Leaving the trolley of books to be sorted out later, she headed towards the front, passing by an oddly dressed man.

He growled in anger after getting kicked out into the street by security. How was he supposed to know that the library didn't allow tearing of books?! Wasn't the place a sanctum of reference or something?! This was a free country for Hell's sake! He could take any bloody information he wanted. He sighed reluctantly, before he saw a familiar face. But he hesitated at the look of the fury in his companion's eyes.

The brunette trudged through the streets. Curses filled his mind, negativity in his head. There was no reason for him to keep his cool. Even after he took down an offender just in the alley, the anger in him refused to calm down. His badge was revoked. It was his ambitions that were shot down, his life's work all down the drain – his reason for existence! Gone just like that… All because of that bastard…

He sneezed before he rubbed his nose to rid himself of the tickle in his nose. Only the gods know why he was sneezing. The weather wasn't too cold and there was no way someone was talking about him at that very moment. His silver bangs hung over his face as he thought of the possibility that he had stayed up late the night before. The incident last night, the fight with that marksman, suddenly repeated itself in his mind.

The red head popped his head beside his older silver haired friend. Slightly worried of how much he had been sneezing. At first the red head thought of the chances of him being in a tight spot with his current relationships. Well, he thought – the man seemed like the aloof type who'd get misunderstood easily. Nevertheless, the teen red head smiled as he showed his friend a leaflet. A Comicon held in a couple of weeks' time.

She smiled to the people around her, passing brightly coloured leaflets to the passer-byers of the Comicon that she was involved with. Dressed in her gothic Lolita dress, the blonde woman was clearly geared up and ready for the event itself. But she knew that any event needed participants and thus, volunteered to promote the Comicon. Man, woman, geek, jock - she approached every single person whom passed her, giving them a sprinkle of her winning smile to capture their hearts.

After being approached by what she assumed as a 'cosplayer', she bluntly declined the offer to attend the convection. There was no reason for her to do so. It was a child's event and she was no child- she was made to grow up. But she took the leaflet of the convention anyways when she saw the headlines of a rising internet star finally coming out into the open to sing her first live performance. The woman hummed as she threw back her lilac hair, thinking of how she could make some time for the show.

She sighed again and again. It all happened so fast. She didn't plan on preforming and somehow, she was the main star of the event. The woman groaned once more, fingers digging deep into her pink hair in frustration. All she wanted was to move on from it all. Yet in one strike, everything else overwhelmed her to the point she was in a mess. It was only at times like this did she find a sort of peace in mind with the silent café manager in front of her to think what possibilities she could take.

He'd see so many of his late night customers ranting out to him like this. The girl in front of him was one of the regulars that he'd see every now and then. Her true story remained a blur but he could make out some bits. Unfortunately enough, all he could do was to provide these people a sense of motivation and a word of advice. Nothing more, nothing less. He forced a smile behind his grey bangs as she left the café, before he solemnly gazed into the blank air. Unaware of the next person who came this late into his café.

The scruffy black haired man groaned in disappointment. Unlike the previous customer, he was not greeted with a smile in the café. Instead, it was an emotionless stare. Then again, smiling was part of a café worker's job. And that blank gaze was something that he had grown to accustom to. Something that made him remember the days back then.

"Something's wrong, right? You don't usually come earlier than closing hours…."

The black haired man blinked at how the other had noticed it, despite it being such a useless information.

Well… Apparently it was used now so… Oh well.

"Hmm.. Well, take a guess."

"….. Oh….."

"Yeah… It's time."

The saviour groaned. After that near to life-threatening strike, she collapsed onto her knees, desperately grasping on to her swords to keep herself from falling into death. Her companions were still fighting on beside her, now wasn't the time for her to rest. She struggled to stand up on to her feet.

She then heard a soft hum into her ears. Unaware of where it came from, she panicked as she glanced to her left and right. No one was there to whisper in her ears. But she heard it. Looking at her friends, she noticed they were slightly hesitating as well. She assumed they could hear it as well.

'Savior of Bermessiah, your passionate flame blazing on,
Gaia's Vanquisher, defend all with your raging storms,
Abyss Knight, joust a path for us towards victory,
Beautiful La Geas, with secrets, uphold your beliefs,
Battle Mage of vast strength, show your might,
Destruction King Dusk Bringer, make them bow down,
Arbiter of Justice, pursue they who break your law.'

'Striker of unfathomable silence, protect us in the shadows,
Brave Rama, let your courageous spirit blow them away,
Nova of the Forest, with arrows of steel, conquer them,
Dark Matriarch of Doom, terrify they with a gravely death,
Rising Starlet, move their hearts with your graceful voice,
Advancer, charge forth to fulfil your true purpose,
Prime Knight, even in immortality guide them to greatness.'

It was a song of encouragement that seeped into her ears. Into everyone's ears. She roared with an ambition to win, forcing herself onto her feet and charging forward. The others were equally motivated, getting their individual strengths from within. She swung her swords to land the strike that may end it all, just as the rest with their own. The constant fighting. The never ending war. The continuous chasing.

'Let courage conquer the fears that tries to cease us,
Let strength overwhelm the hatred that consumes us,
Let justice rage upon the lawless that tortures us,
Let friendship overcome the difficulties that slows us,
Let hope lead a path through the ordeals that torments us,
Let light shine upon the darkness that dares to devour us,
Let love keep together the faith that is shared by us.'

Yet they failed to listen closely to the last part of the song as she screamed her signature skill.

'Because once more shall the balance be disrupted,
As evil shall soon climb back to its former glory,
Craving more than just the domination of Aernas,
And by then shall all of us be summoned together,
Crying out each of our names in its time of need,
Gathering us together to chase the immoral again,
For the Rebirth of Chaos will wage war against all.'

[A/N 2/16/2019]: Apparently the chapters have been messed up (thank you for emails to ask me to fix it ^^"). I don't know if I have plans to return to this story.