SSSHHHSS….

The two boys exited the gate.

Kaizen’s eyes adjusted and he was confused by their surroundings. The entire area was enveloped in a faint white haze. The ground appeared to be very brittle and the earth was gray. He took a step forward and tried to peer past the blur. As if on cue, the haze began to recede to reveal a magnificent cliffside.

“Are we on a mountain?” He thought to himself.

The view was one of the most beautiful things Kaizen had ever seen. The rays of the sun shone brightly downwards as if to say hello. Not to mention, as he looked below them, there was nothing but clouds for miles. 

“Incredible, how high are we?” He mumbled to himself in awe.

However, when he turned to face Archamed, he came face to face with something equally as spectacular. Behind Archamed stood a colossal stone door. It towered an impressive eighty feet above them. The door was so massive it almost felt like it challenged anyone who stood before it.

Kaizen walked towards the door and looked upwards. It was etched between two gigantic rock walls that were equally as tall as itself. It was made completely of smooth, dark brown stone. He placed his hand on it and noted the extremely smooth texture. It had no decorations or symbols except for an engraved circle at the middle of the base that met Kaizen at about chest height. The circle was evenly indented across the two halves of the door. He turned back and looked at Archamed who had been looking out into the distance for some time.

“Where is this place?” Kaizen inquired.

Archamed turned and looked at him. Then he walked forward, approaching the door.

“Welcome to Promise End.” 

Archamed stood in front of the circle engraved in the door. He then clasped his hands together and closed his eyes. Several seconds passed before Kaizen decided to break the silence.

“Soooo…” he interrupted, “I know I declared I’d help you on this mission and all, but… I probably should have asked what the mission was first.”

Archamed’s eyes shot open and his irises lightly glowed orange. He pulled back his arm and punched the center of the engraved circle with such force the rushing air pushed back Kaizen’s hair.

Nothing occurred.

Suddenly, the door began to creak and make cracking noises. The two halves rumbled away from each other, slowly revealing the other side. The two ends completely receded into the mountain’s stone creating a giant doorway.

“Amazing,” Kaizen commented. He began to walk forward when he was stopped by Archamed holding up his hand.

“Shoes,” he stated plainly. He was confused until he looked down and realized Archamed’s shoes were off.

“O-Ok.”

On the other side lay an open courtyard of some kind. The floor was well decked out with brick pathways that networked the area. Kaizen looked around and noticed shattered vases, withered flowers and broken flower pots. What were once gold trimmings hung from the broken archways as faded strands. The place obviously used to be somewhere of great prestige in the past. 

In the center of the area, the pathway circled a large golden structure. It protruded out of the ground awkwardly, as if it didn’t belong. The rising chamber and top cover implied something precious was sealed away inside.

“You said you would answer any question I had. So what are we doing here?” Kaizen asked.

Archamed walked over to the golden structure. He then reached inside his jacket and removed something.

Kaizen’s face changed.

“That’s…That’s my book!”

Surely enough, he held the black leatherback book that La had taken from Kaizen back at the academy.

“This ‘book’ was put together by one of the greatest Saints of all time, Kenta Lonestar. This ‘book’ is what several of our enemies hope to get their hands on and what multiple people are risking their lives for .And this ‘book’ was entrusted with his wife, Mary Lonestar…not you.”

Kaizen chose not to be insulted by his words and instead pressed his point.

“Why is it so important?”

Archamed grabs the ends of the cylinder cover and slides it open. Kaizen approached and looked down. The structure was revealed to be a well of some kind. Inside lay a beautiful translucent liquid that was settled in a low, golden shimmer.

He reached over to touch the ‘water’. Archamed quickly grabbed his hand and stared at him seriously.

“Don’t. Unless you want to lose your entire hand.” 

Kaizen gulped.

“To answer you… this ‘book’ is one of the Quartext. It is one in a set of four.” Archamed told him while he held the book over the pool.

“Once all four texts are retrieved, the Saints will have access to our most important resource.” 

His eyes narrowed slightly.

“And, it will loosen the grasp of the Hold.”

He dropped the book.

“Wait!” Kaizen yelled.

Sploosh!

The book began to sink down the well. Tiny bubbles surrounded the text as it sank. Then, something strange occurred. The cover of the book began to dissolve. It dissolved quickly and to the point that pages came apart and the several dozen of them sank separately. 

“My book…that was the last thing I had of her.” Kai said sadly looking over into the liquid. He looked up at Arch.

“Why?”

“The liquid in this well is another creation of Kenta Lonestar. It will immediately dissolve any material that comes in contact with it except for the material of this well and the pages of the Quartext.”

Kaizen’s head turned back to the well as he watched the liquid level slowly decrease. He took a step back in amazement.

He remained quiet for a time. One by one, everything connected to Kaizen’s past was slowly being stripped away or rewritten. He loathed his former life for how stagnant it was, but now he realized he never understood anything about who he was or what surrounded him. 

Archamed covered the well and walked over to Kaizen who was now sitting on the ground. Kaizen looked up at him and began to speak.

“So, you guys are actually… the legendary Saints.”

Archamed sighed.

“That’s like the 20th time you asked that. Yes we are. Also drop the legendary…we’re just the Saints.”

“Sorry, it’s just…the one story she told about all of you has been with me for all these years. Now here you are standing before me.”

He began to get up from the ground.

“Not to mention…you guys have…powers?”

“Something like that.” Archamed responded coldly.

Kaizen paused for a moment then eventually sighed. He leaned his head back as he acknowledged that was as much as he would get to know at this point.

“Oh, and, where are the others? I wanted to thank them for saving me from the bull creature.” Kaizen asked, his head snapping back to facing Archamed.

“They have gone to complete their end of the mission. As should we…Come on, let’s leave.”

Kaizen got off the ground and dusted off his pants. 

“I’m coming, I’m coming.” He stated in an annoyed tone.

__________________________________________________________

Pink Shell Academy

Several policemen as well as barricades restrict civilians and reporters from entering the school grounds. A crowd of people yell begging for answers about the attack and multiple cameras snap and flash. 

Ding Ding.

A strange figure flows through the crowd and somehow, it manages to walk right past the police undetected.

The figure eventually enters the classroom where the attack initially occurred. 

“Aever,” The figure states in a cryptic voice.

Suddenly, purple holographic lights rise up from the rubble in the room. The lights slowly stretch and shift as they shape themselves into holograms of desks, chairs and even students. After only a few seconds, the purple light had recreated a full still frame from the attack on the school. 

“Dra.”

The lights shift rearranging the scene.

“Psto.”

The lights freeze once more, creating a new frame. This time, the figure sees La in a standoff against the bull creature as well as Mina and Kaizen fleeing through the classroom back door.

They walk over to the door and stand over Kaizen’s terrified face.

“Oh?  Heh Heh…Well Isn’t that interesting?”