Chapter 1: A Kingdom Built on Lies

The kingdom of Aurelia was finally starting to bloom, both influentially and economically. A comfortable era of peace and prosperity, the result of Ten’s long standing promise with his two childhood friends Kal and Zena. They had vowed to end the chaos and tyranny of the warring tribes which had destroyed their homes and took the lives of their loved ones. A goal which had propelled them on a long and difficult adventure full of trials and tribulations. Molding them into a party of immense reputation.

Kal was known as an invincible fortress, whose skills allowed him to protect his party members and deflect any attack thrown at him. Out of everyone in Elysion, Kal was one of the few who could stand up to Ten’s prowess.

Next was Zena, who was known as an arcane tempest. Her absolute mastery over magical spells earned her the title of the strongest woman of Elysion. Able to manipulate the very elements of nature and support her allies with powerful spells. Like Kal, Zena too was one of the very few who could take on Ten in a fight.

Finally there was Ten himself. Known as the most powerful hero, he carried with him a flaming sword that could cut through steel. Blessed with divine protection from the Goddesses of the land, his combat potential was unrivaled. Combined with his burning passion for a peaceful future, no opponent was too difficult for him to best.

One day, Kal and Zena burst into Ten’s royal chamber with an urgent message to be relayed.

“Ten!” Zena shouted.

“What is it? What’s going on?” Ten asked calmly.

“We just received a message from Eldenvale,” Kal replied.

“There’s been sightings of a strange beast that’s been causing a huge commotion. The town of Eldenvale is in a state of emergency right now.” Zena added.

“Strange beast…” Ten murmured intriguingly.

“We were told that it’s heading straight for this palace. Even the Royal Knights in the area were no match.” Kal replied with a concerned tone.

“Interesting… Things have been so peaceful these last couple of years that it seemed too good to be true. Perhaps this may be a surprise attack from the Cendralis Empire. I will go and check it out.” Ten responded as he descended from his giant throne.

“Hold on, let me and Kal handle this situation,” Zena interjected.

Ten stopped in his footsteps.

“Zena’s right, let's not be hasty now. You’re the King of Aurelia after all. If you fall then the whole Kingdom will quickly follow.”

Ten made an irritated looking face. Almost feeling as if his two friends were doubting his capabilities. Yet, he understood that being calm and remaining patient was the most logical move in this situation. Ten gave it a moment of thought and then decided.

“Fine… But if you don’t return by sundown, I’ll go and investigate for myself. Take the Radiant Vanguard with you. I’m certain that should be enough to take care of things.”

Kal smirked at Ten. “Of course… just who do you think we are.”

With that, Kal and Zena, along with the Radiant Vanguard, set off towards the town of Eldenvale on the outskirts of the Aurelian Kingdom. Ten quickly began fortifying the walls of the capital and mobilizing his troops to prepare for a worse case scenario. The citizens were informed of the news from Eldenvale and rumors began to sift its way through the townsfolk.

Ten was now alone in his royal chambers, grinning as he swung his legendary sword around. It had been too long since he faced a daunting challenge. The excitement from his old days of adventure were returning. A new challenge to conquer. Another opportunity to prove yet again why he was coined the most powerful hero of Elysion.

But as the day went on, Ten began to grow more and more impatient. What was taking Kal and Zena so long? He went around asking the royal guards if they had received any updates on the incident, but there was nothing. He returned back to his chambers and continued to pace back and forth restlessly. The sun was beginning to set. His curiosity could not be sated. Perhaps he really should go and check for himself.

All of a sudden, the large doors of his chambers bursted open. There stood three adventurers he had never seen before. One of them covered their face with a wolf’s mask. They were trembling in fear.

“W-We have urgent news to report to you!” Proclaimed one of the three adventurers.

“You need to evacuate now!” Another chimed in.

“She’s here…” The one with the wolf mask spoke eerily.

“What’s going on? Where is Kal and Zen-”

A sudden flash of bright white light engulfed Ten’s vision, followed by an ear shattering explosion. Ten was completely caught by surprise as he tried to regain his footing amongst the debris and smoke.

“WHAT THE HELL’S GOING ON?!” Ten shouted.

As the smoke began to subside, he no longer found himself in the comfortable chambers of his palace. It was now a dark and cold room looming with metallic walls and the buzzing of unfamiliar machinery. The world he once knew was slowly dissipating before his very eyes. And standing before him, was a mysterious entity he had never seen before.

A jolting pain made it difficult for Ten to move his body. He had taken a severe hit earlier, which had sent him spiraling across the room.

Thankfully he was still alive, as he frantically finished piecing together any semblance of a cohesive narrative to this situation. But his fear and trembling only continued to plague his sound judgement.

He sinks further into despair when he takes a look at his limbs. They looked like bloody pale twigs, devoid of any muscle or girth.

What was going on? Was this an attack from the Cendralis Empire? An illusion? Why did he feel so weak and powerless? Why did he look like this? And what about Kal and Zena? What happened to them?

His mind buzzed with infinite questions, but no answers.

“Kal… Zena…” Ten called their names out with a weak gasp.

“Ten…” a familiar voice responded with a grunt.

It was Kal’s voice.

Ten slowly turned his vision to a nearby corner of the room. There was an individual on the ground surrounded by broken glass. But this individual looked nothing like his best friend. Its limbs were extremely thin, and its features were pale and sunken, like a malnourished slave. No, more like an undead zombie. This was not Kal. This was not the invincible fortress of Elysion. It couldn’t be.

“Who are you?” Ten weakly responded.

“Kal… I’m Kal.” The moving corpse replied.

Ten’s eyes widened in disbelief. He didn’t want to believe it. But he knew the voice all too well. The voice he had once made a promise to. The voice he had shared countless journey’s with. 

It was Kal.

“W-what’s going on? What happened to you and Zena in Eldenvale?” Ten asked frantically.

“Eldenvale… that thing…”

Kal tried to push himself off of the cold floor.

“It happened in a matter of seconds… there was a loud explosion…” 

No luck. Kal was as clueless as Ten was.

“What about Zena?” He pressed.

“Zena…” Kal murmured.

After some moment of thought, Kal looked Ten directly in the eyes.

“Who… is Zena?”

Ten couldn’t believe it.

“This is no time for jokes Kal. Zena. Our best friend. The third member of our party! She went with you to Eldenvale! Don’t you remember?!” Ten’s voice began to rise as his stomach churned with unease.

Kal had a blank look on his face, completely confused by his friend’s ramblings. Unable to respond.

All of a sudden another loud explosion sent a powerful shockwave jolting Ten and Kal by surprise. It came from the direction of the mechanical entity. It was now engaged in a fierce battle with the other three he had previously mistaken for distressed adventurers. Although Ten wanted to keep pressing Kal about Zena, his eyes had become glued to the combat spectacle that was unraveling before them. Movements and abilities that were foreign to the world of Elysion.

Colorful sparks were crackling back and forth like that of an experienced blacksmith forging a legendary sword. The blue skinned girl was lunging at the lone entity with her metallic blade while the wolf masked man was supporting her with some sort of barrier spell. The other girl was scrambling around the room firing blasts of piercing lights from her compact device like that of a sentry.

But the lone entity continued to dance around the attacks, dodging their advances with a graceful ease. Laughing maniacally, as if to downplay their combined efforts entirely.

Ten and Kal had begrudgingly realized it by now. They were completely out of their league here.

As the battle intensified, Ten began capturing clearer glimpses of what exactly was going on. The lone entity was a girl who had parts of her limbs fused with some metallic technology. She had a magical ability to control what looked like powerful gusts of wind. The sword on the blue-ish girl was a blade made from light. It glowed with an intense aura leaving behind mesmerizing after images following its trajectory.

After a couple more exchanges, the fight seemed to be dying down. The lone girl had been chipping away at the blue girl's defenses. She had finally collapsed to the ground in exhaustion as the lone girl slowly approached her vulnerable prey.

“Pathetic. I was hoping for a more engaging fight from you AA idiots. Don’t you know who I am?!” She remarked.

The fallen girl looked up at her predator, her eyes filled with a fiery determination. The other two were frozen with fear.

“This wasn’t the intel we got…” Said the man in the wolf mask.

“This was supposed to be an easy extraction..” The other girl replied.

“Just who the hell are you…” The fallen girl asked in a low tone.

“I am Katrina. My orders fall under the direct compliance of the Six Sentiments. For I am a glorious mercenary of Anger!” She valiantly boasted.

“Anger… One of the most powerful Sentiments under BANE’S militant guard.” The fallen girl utters to herself as her eyes begin to widen.

“That’s right! Be thankful that you have an audience with someone of my caliber before you all perish! Behold, witness the glorious powers that our Father has bestowed upon us!!” She proclaimed with a religious fervor.

Her machine-like limbs began whirling and glowing with an intense power. A vortex of wind suddenly wrapped itself around her arm as she charged up a powerful attack that began to shake the room.

In a bright flash of light, a loud explosion erupted followed by large plumes of smoke obscuring Ten and Kal’s view. After some time, the smoke faded away and Katrina was now making her way towards the other two. Ready to finish things once and for all.

The wolf masked man jolted into a defensive stance and the girl by his side readied her compact weapon. Her hands were quivering ever so slightly.

“This would have never happened if you criminals knew your place. This laboratory is BANE property. Any trespassers are to be quickly disposed of,” Katrina growled.

“Dreya!” The wolf man shouted.

All of a sudden, the air suddenly distorted and out came Dreya, the blue skinned girl.

“I thought I-” Katrina tries to dodge but Dreya’s sword manages to completely sear off her mechanical arm. The same one which she had used for her previous attack. It’s revealed that the wolf man had summoned a barrier imitating the look of Dreya just moments before the impact. Giving the illusion of contact.

Blood, sparks and shrapnel exploded out of Katrina’s left arm. She screamed out in a fit of rage while preparing for a counter attack, but a jolt of light pierced her abdomen, electrocuting and stunning her completely. It was the other girl’s weapon.

With Katrina incapacitated, the wolf man puts his hands up like that of a mage casting a spell. A glowing barrier of light engulfs Dreya’s leg as she spun her whole body around for a devastating kick. But Katrina was able to recover and prepare for a parry. What she didn’t know was that Dreya had the ability to create portals.

Displacing her attack, Dreya manages to connect her foot straight through the jaw of Katrina and send her spiraling right next to Ten and Kal.

After the smoke cleared, Ten’s eyes began to widen with fear and disgust. The face of Katrina was completely smashed in with blood soaked metallic bits scattered in a mangled mess. She no longer resembled a human. It was more like that of a skeleton knight.

Ten and Kal were paralyzed with a fear they had not felt in ages.

Dreya began walking towards them and Katrina. Her slow footsteps echoing throughout the sinister metal room.

She stopped just meters away from the impact before slowly turning her glowing eyes towards them. Then she spoke.

“Know your place tads… you’re making it harder by interfering with our operations.”

It was still an unfamiliar language, but Ten felt a sense of anger and hostility in the words.

“Relax Dreya… They just got ripped out of their protocols, look at how scared they are.” The other girl approached from behind.

“They have no idea what’s even going on.” She continued as she stashed her compact weapon away.

“See?” She put her hands up and smiled as if to say they meant no harm.

“I’m tired of that laid back attitude of yours Ikara… This idiot over here could hav-”

“Calm down both of you…” The wolf man’s voice boomed.

The two girls quickly seized their bickering with each other. It seemed as if the man was the leader of the group.

“It’s my first time seeing two conscious tads in one lab,” said the wolf man.

He spread his arms out wide as if to welcome Ten and Kal to this strange new reality. All of a sudden, he began speaking in Aurelian’s native tongue.

“Welcome to the nation of Axel. My name is Wolf and we are Humanistics’ fourth branch, one of the five factions of the Axis of Associations. We are here today to put a stop to BANE’s unethical experimentation and bring justice to this corrupted society. You two have been in a long hypnosis because of BANE and now you have awakened. Worry not, we are here to save you.”

Axel? Axis of Associations? BANE? Hypnosis? How was the man even speaking in their native tongue to begin with? Ten’s mind was buzzing with questions that demanded answers. All he could muster was one word.

“W-why…”

Why was all of this happening?

“Why…” Wolf repeated as if to search for a suitable answer that Ten could swallow.

After a long pause, it seemed he had arrived at a suitable response.

“Well-”

“Don’t listen to these demons. Everything they say are lies.” a voice growled from behind them.

It was the mangled corpse of Katrina. Her sinister red eyes pierced from the shadows of the dark room. The three quickly jolted their heads in surprise but she quickly dissolved into thin air.

They glanced back at the impact where the mangled corpse had lain before. The body was nowhere to be found.

“Damn it! I didn’t even noti-”

Wolf is sent flying across the room, taking a direct hit from a powerful gust of wind.

“Captain!” Screamed Ikara.

The ground began shaking uncontrollably and a roar louder than that of a magical beast began to pierce Ten’s ears. The world around him began to dissolve once again, but this time it was different. The floor, the walls, the ceiling. Everything around him began to tear apart.