CHAPTER FIFTEEN: THE QUEST FOR CLUES PART XI: A TALE OF TWINS AND SWORDS PART III: THE LIGHTNING BLADE AND THE BLADE OF THE DAWN

As Ryu, Reis and Zan sat in Tanya's Tent conversing with her, an inhabitant of Kolmnid Farms walked in.

"Ryu…" he said as he stretched out a note. "…it's from Michael".

Ryu received the note and read it. He had a serious look on his face.

"Is anything the matter Ryu?" Reis asked.

"It's from Michael. He wants us to meet him in the Temple Of Light immediately. Apparently, he's sent notices to the members of the Classes Of both Deviants and Honours. He's also gathered some ninja from Kolmnid Farms that know quite a bit about the Sword Of Rai and the Aurora Sabre" Ryu said.

"Then I suppose we should head to the Temple Of Light. Thanks for all the help Tanya" Reis said with a smile.

"I'm coming with you guys. If Michael sent notices to Class Deviants and Honours, then many of my comrades from Kolmnid will be there" Tanya said.

"No objections from my end" Zan said.

Roughly about an hour later they found themselves in the Temple Of Light. Inside the Temple were Josec, Harry and Buern, a girl from Rai's Sanctuary, Aurora, Rai, Andrea, Ayumi, Atlanta, Ken, Michael and Nadia as well as various ninja from Kolmnid Farms. It wasn't a large gathering. Michael called Ryu, Reis and Zan aside before the meeting commenced.

"Why have you called for us and what's the reason behind this gathering? Your message sounded urgent" Ryu said.

"Hey Ryu, there have been complaints about a certain stranger with Shekan's semblance lurking around the Farms periodically. Whatever it is you intend to do, you might need to hurry it up. If Rokkan went off to protect the Legacy, he would most likely be in 'you know where'" Michael said.

"Yeah, I know. Thanks for the advice though" Ryu said.

"You know where?" Reis asked.

"Don't worry about it for now Reis. I'm sure you'll eventually discover the location we're talking of" Ryu said. "However, if Tristran is still lurking about the farms, then we know one thing for certain…that he still has no idea of what the Legacy is or where it's hidden. If he did, he would not still be searching for it" Ryu said.

"I gathered everyone I believed had some connection to the Sword Of Rai and the Aurora Sabre and I gathered some of our comrades who participated in the final battle against Tristran back in Kolmnid" Michael said seriously.

Moments later, they were all seated with the others. Michael stated the purpose of the gathering which was to discuss the Sword Of Rai and the Aurora Sabre and share any ideas that may be connected to the two swords.

"This is the Sacred Temple Of Light in the Light Ryu, home to the Light Ninja" one of the ninja said.

"Concerning the Sword Of Rai, you recall its origins don't you Ryu? It was rumoured to have been forged by Gaiden shortly after he mastered Lightning Element Jutsu. He was rumoured to have forged it out of a lightning bolt he cut with his jutsu. It was also instrumental to the defeat of Tristran in the past" Tanya said.

"Shortly after defeating Shekan, Gaiden entrusted the Sword Of Rai to the Eternal Brothers in the Light Ryu but when he did this is still unclear. After all some of the legends say he disappeared after confronting Shekan, others say, he battled the Dragon Of Destiny and was turned into stone. We do know however that he battled both Shekan and the Dragon Of Destiny and also appeared to Ryu when Ryu died entrusting Ryu with the secret to the location of the Sword Of Rai" Nadia said.

"The Sword Of Rai was said to be found at the point 'where light changes its path'" Ryu said.

"This location was the Labyrinth Of Reflection in the Light Ryu" Tanya reminded them.

"Both Ryu and Rokkan had to confront the Trials Of The Labyrinth Of Reflection by confronting the Raisol. Gaiden placed a certain protective jutsu on the Sword Of Rai such that if anyone with darkness in their hearts attempted to claim it, they would be overwhelmed by the Raisol, a monstrous phantasm generated by the resonance between the darkness in their hearts and the protective jutsu Gaiden placed on the Sword. However, if someone who cleansed the darkness in their hearts tried to claim the Sword, it would reveal its true form" a second ninja said.

"They both had to confront the trials in the Labyrinth Of Reflection to be deemed worthy to wield the Sword Of Rai, Gaiden's heirloom" a third ninja said.

"In case you were wondering, the Sword Of Rai is no longer in this Temple, Rokkan now wields it. He was chosen by Gaiden as his successor" a fourth ninja said.

"The Sword Of Rai is one of Two Legendary Blades needed to stop the darkness of our homeworld. The Second Blade was forged by Ryu with elements and items presented by members of each of the Seven Ryu from our homeworld. Most of the items were presented by the Human Saints Of Each Ryu, one item was presented by Master Hiruko, one of the two Eternal Brothers that inhabit this Temple and a third item was presented by Melody, Dragon Saint and Queen Of The Sound Ryu which is concealed within five layers of illusion" a fifth ninja said.

"During the final battle between the Human, Dragon Saints and all Seven Ryu against the Dark Ryu and Tristran, a bit of Ryu's soul was absorbed into the Aurora Sabre giving the Aurora Sabre a life of its own and transforming it into a huge protective dome to shield the earth from Tristran's Flames Of Indignation. Since then, the Aurora Sabre takes on a life of its own in each of the Seven Great Realms to combat the various forms of evil taken by the 'Darkness Of The Worlds'" a sixth ninja said.

"Hmm…I'm beginning to see why Michael sent for us" the girl from Rai's Sanctuary said.

"What do you mean?" Ryu asked.

"My name's Aera and I'm Andrea's friend. Andrea and Rai are really close…well, that was until they both lost a portion of their memories specifically memories of each other" Aera said.

"Y-You mean, the one I've been searching for all this while is…Rai?" Andrea seemed surprised.

Aera nodded.

"And Rai is an Undying from our homeworld. He is the son of the Undying King, Raijinn and the Undying Queen whose domain is Fortitude, her name's Forta. Rai's mom was once a human shepherdess who was treated as an outcast because of her poverty and a theft she had nothing to do with. At the moment of her death, she was granted a choice by the Undying Of Love, a choice over the fates of those who treated her as an outcast. It's said that a sword and a staff materialized before her. She could choose a sword to destroy them or a staff to protect them. She chose the staff and protected her village from an assault by the Daemon King's armies. From then on, she was transformed into an Undying and became Raijinn's bride or so the Chronicles Of Forta say" Aera narrated. "Rai was also eventually bound beneath an altar with five chains by the Undying because the Daemon provoked him and he would have descended to our world to decimate them risking being transformed into a Daemon himself. You can see from Rai's Sanctuary that when the Daemon invaded Ferren and Andrea shed tears upon the altar, her tears gave Rai the strength to shatter four of the chains binding him to the altar. The fifth chain however bound Rai's heart to Andrea's. Rai is also the Undying whose domain is Lightning" Aera explained.

Rai and Andrea exchanged nervous glances.

"Reis…back in Ryugaeia, your dad…Sir Jinrai was also known as…the Lightning Blade. He protected Jared and I from the many attempts Galigaos made at assassinating us. I don't think it's a mere coincidence that the heirlooms of the Royal Family Of Saggeese are Twin Blades" Aurora said.

"And I may not have mentioned it but during the final battle against Armageddon back in our homeworld, I saw Ryu's battle against Tristran. It was while Armageddon bombarded us with the Fires Of Indignation that caused us to experience our painful memories. It was because I saw Ryu's Aurora Sabre transform into a protective dome to shield the people that I knew I had to reach out to my people" Aurora said.

"I see, it may not just be the Aurora Sabre that manifests in the Seven Great Realms to fight off the forms of evil taken on by the Darkness Of The Worlds. The Sword Of Rai may possess similar abilities" Reis reasoned.

"Darak did say that when a swordsman learns to trust his sword, his sword takes on a life of its own" Aurora pointed out.

"What about the Kommeno Syndesmo?" Ayumi asked.

"What's that?" Nadia asked.

"Actually, I believe Reis gave me that sword…after he became Arälpheisl" Ayumi said.

"It's weird how the time flow in this Ark works. Galigaos hasn't been expelled from the Ark yet we are already sharing details about Armageddon's defeat" Aurora laughed.

"I know right?" Reis laughed.

"You were saying something about the Kommeno Syndesmo" Zan asked.

"Yeah, Reis gave it to me. I was supposed to channel my feelings into it and pierce you through the heart with it if you were ever consumed by Zanfar. The Sword was rumoured to possess the ability to separate bonded forces of a polar opposite nature" Ayumi said.

"Ayumi in turn entrusted the Sword to the Three Elders Of The Phoenix Clan back in our homeworld. My dad studied the properties of this Sword and developed a Limit Break called 'The Light's Wound'. With this technique, he marked Innovain to prevent him from completely falling prey to Souryu's influence. Channelling positive emotions into the mark or wound was said to widen it until eventually negativity is torn apart" Josec explained.

"Thanks Master Ayu" Buern said gratefully.

"Why are you thanking me and why are you calling me 'Master'? I haven't yet done any of those things" Ayumi said with a wink.

"Judging from the name your dad gave to his Limit Break technique, I'm willing to bet that the Kommeno Syndesmo is a manifestation of the Aurora Sabre" Ryu said.