Huff

Huff

Huff

Rey was tired.

So tired.

Fighting the dragon.

Fighting the undead.

Fighting alone.

By himself.

No one to rely on.

No one he can rely on.

He was tired.

So very tired.

Valora and Penny should have gotten to safety by now.

They should be okay.

Seven . . .

Seven will live.

Seven will definitely live.

He'll make sure of it.

And Leon . . .

He misses him.

He misses him so much.

He wants to see him.

Maybe . . . hopefully, he'll see Leon on the other side.

Soon.

Very soon.

Rey takes a deep breath.

The undead army awaits him, and the Monarch of Death stands behind them, proud and tall upon his throne.

Rey is alone. No one has his back. No one he can depend on. His chest feels hollow and empty. The darkness that once swirled within him seems to have taken everything. It took even his anger and sadness. All that lingered was a deep loneliness.

Now, the only thing that he looked forward to was seeing Leon on the other side. If he was there. He hopes he's there. He really hopes so.

Maybe Evelyn is waiting for him there too.

And his family; they must be over there too.

If everyone is there, what is he still doing here?

Rey tightens his grip on Everlasting Light and takes a step forward.

Forbidden magic.

To use one's life as power instead of mana.

It was the ultimate force of power.

One that you would use if you were willing to die in the end.

That was Rey's last plan.

So he swings his sword, the lights trailing behind it. He cuts down his enemies as he charges after the Monarch of Death. 

Just one more attack.

One more strike.

And it'll end everything.

He gathers his energy, his life force, and aims at the dragon.

DOOM.

The ground starts to shake, cracking beneath his feet. The wind catches speed and spins like a whirlwind. A bright aura surrounds his body, and he glows like a light in the dark. His enemies either fall back or are dispersed into nothingness. And the Monarch prepares itself for the attack, finally excited for some fun.

Rey takes a deep breath, composes himself, and gets ready to dash forward.

"Hey!" a voice yells in the distance.

A familiar voice and a familiar figure.

It catches his attention.

It stands there, silently staring at him from a distance.

Rey stares, dumbstruck, for a second.

His eyes tremble so subtly, and he almost drops his sword.

But then he breaks into a smile.

All his thoughts.

All his pain.

His loneliness.

It disappeared in the wind as if it were never there to begin with.

Rey turns back to the dragon.

This time, he was determined to win.

His eyes are sharper.

His grip is stronger.

He has the resolve to live.

He reverts back to his mana, no longer using his life force.

When he strikes forward, the dragon is pushed back with overwhelming power.

"Finally!" the dragon laughs enthusiastically, "We're finally getting somewhere!"

---A While Ago With Valora & Penny---

"What do you think you're doing?!" Valora yells as she struggles in Penny's arms.

"Saving us," Penny replies calmly but sternly.

"Saving us," Valora scoffs and rolls her eyes, "What about Seven?! What about Rey?! He can't fight them all alone!"

Penny gives Valora a skeptical stare, "You didn't actually think we could win, right?"

"Of course we-"

"-From the moment Rey stepped in to help us, we already lost,"

Valora's eyes shook. She knew what Penny said was right. They were supposed to distract the army and the strays in order for Rey to solely focus on his battle with the dragon. That battle was the deciding factor for the outcome of the war. Valora and Penny just had to hold it out until Rey won, but instead, they ended up needing protection from him.

Giving up on struggling to be released, she muttered, "We could have still tried,"

Penny gave a long sigh, "We may have won every battle since meeting Rey, but we both know that we're nowhere near as strong as he is. The best thing we could do is get out of his way,"

Reluctantly, Valora nodded.

Penny may not care for such things as battles and strength, but Valora was different. From the moment she met Rey, she wanted to fight alongside him. Wanted to be his equal. And even considered herself as a rival despite being a healer. But time and time again, Valora is reminded of the difference between her and Rey. It wasn't like she and Penny were weak in the first place, it was just that Rey was stronger. Way stronger. The vast difference in strength was clear in anyone's eyes.

They continued flying their way back to the village where they had left Seven.

"Do you think he will win?" Valora asked.

Penny shrugged her shoulders, not giving a definite answer.

For a while now, they've seen the subtle changes in Rey. Like how he would stand just a little longer in danger's way, like he was debating whether or not he still wanted to live. Or how he was more reckless when fighting, always littered with injuries big and small. Or like how he'll stop everyone from traveling further just to lay beside Leon and sleep.

It was almost as if they were dragging along two dead bodies instead of one.

One that was dying, and the other already long dead.

Seven was always there to yell at Rey, though. Yell at him to wake up, to don't stop fighting, that his ten years weren't up yet. That Leon would come back soon. That Leon still cared. That Leon . . . whatever Leon was supposed to do or be.

Valora and Penny didn't particularly like Leon. Leon does absolutely nothing to contribute to the team, after all. He's either drawing, sleeping, or staring off into space. If not that, then he's crying and screaming. Plus, that first interaction they had with Leon was not a very good impression. Moreover, he was human. And not just a regular human, but a cursed one. The difficulty of trying to get around and hide him was at a level that they still haven't passed yet. In all, Leon was just a pain in the neck and would be best left behind.

Seven would argue otherwise.

He did try explaining to them that Leon was someone absolutely necessary to the team, specifically to Rey. However, it was difficult to make them understand if they never witnessed Rey destroying an entire city, a kingdom, in less than a day just because of separation anxiety. Seven would then try to convince them by telling them the story of the Swordsmaster that Rey once told him about. But, with no evidence, that too was hard to believe in. Especially when looking at Leon's state.

And Rey, he never once bothered to tell them anything about Leon. 

When they do ask though, it's either hard to believe in or it's nothing at all.

Leon ended up being a complete stranger to them.

STAB!

Penny groaned in pain. A sudden stick pierced her wing.

"Penny!" Valora exclaimed.

Whoosh!

Another stick flew by, nicking Valora by the ear.

"Penny, land!"

With much difficulty, Penny was able to safely land on the ground. Her wing was bloodied, with a stick protruding out of it. Penny ripped the stick out, and Valora immediately went to healing.

Rustle.

"Who's there?!" Valora yelled.

Penny summoned fire into her palms, awaiting the incoming danger.

Step.

Step.

Step.

A figure was seen, cast in the shadows of the trees. It stood there for a second, as if waiting for something to happen. Then it walked forward steadily.

"4 Hours," an unfamiliar voice spoke in the quiet of the forest.

"12 minutes," the steps grew closer.

"29 seconds," the figure was lit under the shine of the moonlight.

"That's how long Seven has left to live,"

Valora and Penny dropped their hands, mouths agape, and eyes wide. They couldn't utter a single word, too surprised and shocked at who they were seeing before them.

"At least, that's what I've been counting," Leon sighed and glanced at the sky, "It's also when the sun will start rising,"

Penny was the first to contain herself and asked skeptically, "Leon? Is that you?"

Leon nodded and continued speaking, "You failed at your job,"

This time, it was Valora who came to her senses, "Don't act like you know everything-"

"-Turn around, we're going back to Rey,"

Valora and Penny were dumbstruck once again. Their minds not working correctly.

Valora shook her head as if trying to come back to her senses, "You can't just show up and tell us what to do-"

"-Rey is going to die," Leon interrupted again.

"There's no use going back," Penny muttered as she flapped her wings, testing to see if they were okay, "We can't help him, we'll just get in his way,"

Valora huffed, "Actually, why're you even here? No, wait, are you even Leon? There's no way Leon would be here right now-"

"-I don't have time for this,"

Instantly, Valora and Penny found themselves flying in the air and choking on their collars. They couldn't even fight back as Leon was moving at a considerably high speed.

---Present---

Leon, Valora, and Penny stood in the far distance, watching as Rey fought the dragon.

"W-what? How?" Penny stutters as Valora can only stare in shock and awe at Rey's pure strength.

"Sheer will power," Leon answers, "You guys have failed to light a flame in him, no wonder he was going to die,"

"Light a flame? What are you talking about?" Penny asked.

"You wouldn't get it," Leon says as he walks forward, "Let's go, he needs help,"

Valora and Penny tilt their heads, confused about why Rey would need help. Especially now that they witnessed his sudden revival. Actually, rather than that, they were even more confused about why Leon was here in the first place. Wasn't he just a dead body not too long ago? It was easier to believe that this was a ghost than Leon himself.

Seeing Leon walk further away, they quickly went to catch up with him.

"What do you mean he needs help?" Penny asked, "He told us to get out of his way,"

Leon picked up an abandoned sword from one of the undead soldiers and said, "Even if Rey could defeat the dragon now, we can't let him fight alone. We're moral support, so we're gonna fight some small fry,"

"Do you even know how to fight?" Valora pointed.

"Of course I do," Leon swung his sword a couple times, getting used to the feeling, "It's in my character settings, after all,"

"You're what?"

"Let's go,"

Leon dashed forward, leaving Valora and Penny in the dust.

He swung his sword, slashing the enemies before him. His bones may creak with every strike, and his muscles may spasm with every move, but he flew through the battlefield as if it were where he belonged. The enemies fell one by one, but they weren't dead. The undead won't die with just a regular sword.

Leon turned towards the sky. He raised his arm and yelled, "Rey!"

Rey hesitated for just a second, but nonetheless, he reached into his inventory and pulled out a sword. He threw it to Leon, who caught it in the air. This sword was one of Leon's twenty-seven swords. One of which was used to specifically kill the undead. Or, as 'Leon' preferred to say, put their souls to rest.

The blade was made from the bones of an ancient god, and the hilt from a branch of an eternal tree. Welded in the hilt was a black stone that shines when the undead are near. Together, the sword purifies the souls of the dead and lets them continue their next cycle of life. This sword specifically and only harms the undead or the unrested souls.

The sword was left in the rubbish of one of the ruins that they had raided before. Rey found it by chance and gave it to Leon since he saw no use in using it himself.

It was a convenient sword at a convenient time. In fact, this was the second time that Leon had ever even touched this sword. 

Leon danced through the crowd, striking down all his enemies. He was graceful yet ruthless at the same time. He was a weightless bird, gliding through the battlefield. There was not a single wasted strike or breath. Every movement aimed to kill. To win. His enemies perished by the numbers.

Valora and Penny watched, amazed, remembering all those things that Seven had told them before. It was all true. Leon was a Swordsmaster. He was strong. He was valiant. He deserved to stand by Rey's side.

"Hey!" Leon yelled from afar, "Stop staring and help!"