CHAPTER FIVE: THE QUEST FOR CLUES I: A TALE OF TWINS AND SWORDS

Ryu was currently in the Class Of Deviants. Everyone else seemed excited and slightly downcast.

"Hey guys, how'd it go? You challenged the new teach didn't you?" Ryu asked them.

"That was the most fun I've had in ages" Buern laughed.

"But the new teach…" Nadia said.

"What about the new teach?" Ryu asked with a laugh.

"The new teach is…quite a monster. It was quite a one sided battle despite the fact that we took him on as a team" Zan, Nadia and Buern said.

"It appears Rai and Aurora didn't participate" Ryu said.

"You're one to talk! Where were you?!" Nadia seemed offended.

"Haha…sorry guys, I had other business to take care of. Will make it up to you sometime soon. So how did the battle go?" Ryu asked.

"For one thing, we learnt that stealth is totally useless against the new teach. He has these twin blades that seem to have peculiar abilities. One of them is as golden as the daylight and the other is as navy as night" Zan said. "He also seems to have the ability to completely shut off any power ups. I was instantly powered down from Dream Knight mode" Zan laughed.

"And it's a bit weird but I think he might also have a tail which boosts his agility and can be used for combat" Nadia said.

"And even with all of that I believe he still held back in his battle with us. He isn't completely showing us what he is capable of" Buern said.

Ryu laughed.

"He sounds like quite the monster" he said.

"But he's not all talk from what we experienced and Zan even gave him a nickname. From now on we're calling him 'The Deviant Prince Of Helios' seeing as he's from a city called Helios and is our teach" Buern said.

"He sounds friendly" Aurora said.

"He isn't that bad" Zan admitted.

"Hmm, so he has twin swords eh? That's a bit interesting" Ryu said. "I've decided. I'm going to pay the new teach a little visit" Ryu said.

"You going to fight him?" Zan asked.

"Nope, I'm just going to ask him a few questions" Ryu said and headed to a teleportation crystal.

Soon he was in the Tents of Endregen. He found Reis speaking with Raygaard.

"Hello Sir Raygaard" Ryu greeted while waving.

"Tell me you did not get an Honours Student involved in your nonsense" Raygaard said with a sigh.

"Nope, we're not here to fight. We've got two things to ask you. The first is access to the Passage Of The Galagan" Ryu said.

"Dangerous monsters, the Galagan, lurk there periodically. They are usually strays that wander there from the Hall Of The Galagan and depending on the path trod to get to the Entrance Of The Passage, a mechanism is triggered to let them in or lock them out of the Passage Of The Galagan" Raygaard warned.

"We certainly have no intentions of trespassing in the Hall Of The Galagan" Reis said.

"I'll station a Guard to the Passage leading there to ensure you don't. However I will grant you a chance to prove to me that you deserve access to the Passage Of The Galagan. It will be a test of resourcefulness. Make it to the Guard protecting the Entrance Of The Galagan without making fifteen missteps. If you do make fifteen missteps, a trap will trigger within the Passage Of The Galagan allowing the Galagan into the Passage and the Guard will deny you access. Make fourteen or less missteps and the trap will not trigger and the Guard will allow you to pass. There are many routes to the Entrance Of The Galagan Passage but there is only one route that doesn't trigger a trap and it's not something you can guess by trying enough times. If you have no knowledge of how to find this route, you will inevitably trigger a trap and be denied access to the Passage Of The Galagan" Raygaard explained.

Ryu and Reis nodded.

"Do you understand?" Raygaard asked.

"I've received your instructions as a 'lesson'" Ryu said. "Now we can review it whenever we want" Reis said.

"What is your next question?" Raygaard asked.

"You utilize Twin Swords don't you Master Raygaard?" Ryu asked.

Raygaard nodded.

"I'm an Endriginian. In my world, we have many elements that govern our way of living. The first is the 'Blade', the second is the 'Guardian Force' and the third is the 'Awakening'. The 'Blade' is a physical manifestation of the 'Guardian Force' and can be utilized for many purposes depending on the nature and affinities of the 'Guardian Force'. The 'Awakening' fuses the wills of the Endreginian and the 'Guardian Force' to which he or she is bonded to greatly enhance physical attributes. My Blades are a manifestation of the Silver Reaper who protects 'that which must not be severed'. An expression for all things precious and his name is Rikishin. Each Blade has unique properties and they complement each other well giving me a unique style of combat" Raygaard explained.

"I see…complementary blades. Thanks a lot Sir Raygaard" Ryu said.

Raygaard nodded.

"Let's get moving Reis" Ryu said.

Reis nodded and the two left.

Soon enough, Ryu and Reis stood before a teleportation crystal in Kolmnid Farms.

"Where are we going next?" Reis asked.

"We're off to see Zan. He may have clues guiding us on what to do next and he's surprisingly perceptive when it comes to things like this" Ryu said.

"Things like what?" Reis asked.

"Zan comes from a world that is a mixture of two great realms, the realms of Dreams and Reality. He originates from the realm of Dreams which is also a mixture of two subrealms, the subrealms Of Dreams and Nightmares. The world of Dreams is a world abundant in symbolism so Zan naturally understands things that are allegorical, symbolic or riddle like in nature" Ryu explained.

Ryu accessed the teleportation crystal and in the next instant, the duo found themselves in a large hall decorated with various weapons and armoury. It was a well-lighted room. As the two walked around, Reis observed numerous large seats.

"Each seat represents a single Dream Knight and this is the Hall Of Dream Knights" Ryu explained.

Suddenly, Reis paused in his tracks.

"Wait a sec…is that Ayumi Kirisawa?! Hey Ayumi!" Reis waved excitedly.

There was a girl in the direction Reis was waving with short brown hair and bangs that covered her forehead. The girl turned to face Reis and laughed.

"I'm not Ayumi. I'm her twin sister Ai Kirisawa" she said.

"Oops…sorry. Ayu doesn't talk much and she hardly ever discusses herself so I didn't even know she had a twin. But the two of you are really alike you know?" Reis said with a laugh.

"In terms of looks maybe but Ayu and I are very different in terms of everything else" Ai laughed.

"Hmm…twin swords…twin sisters…could it be?" Ryu wondered silently.

Suddenly, Zan walked up to them.

"I'm going to suppress the urge to ask what the heck you're doing here Honours Rep" Zan glared at Reis.

Reis laughed.

"I guess it can't be helped. We are after all from rival classes" Reis said.

"Damn straight!" Zan said with an unwavering glare.

"Cut it out Zan, I brought Reis here" Ryu said.

"You're already on my hit list Ryu! When you left us to our fates in our confrontation with the new Teach, you earned yourself a one way ticket into my hit list. I am glad to inform you that you just climbed my list with the stunt you're pulling now" Zan said.

Ryu laughed.

"I'm in trouble" he said with a nervous laugh.

"Tell me what we're doing here Ryu" Reis asked.

"We're looking for twins!" Ryu said with a straight face.

"If you brought me all this way just to get smartmouthed…" Reis shot Ryu a warning glare.

"Chill out bro! I'm talking mythical twin swords…for the most part" Ryu laughed.

The last bit he ensured was uttered almost silently.

"And why do you seek…these mythical twin swords?" Zan asked.

"It's to combat the darknesses of our homeworlds" Ryu suddenly assumed an uncharacteristically serious look.

"I see…this is related to the attack on the Farms. Well I can't help you with mythical twin swords however I do know a song which is a saga concerning twin elements" Zan said.

"Seriously?!" Ryu and Reis asked.

"I'm not joking if that is what you're so concerned about. It's sang thus;

Water and Fire, elements two,

Born from both, elements true,

Trapped in Darkness, Light will lose,

Together with Darkness, Light will fuse

Fire then will turn into Flame,

And reveal to Light, it's Holy Name,

Purified by Fire, the sun will rise,

And cleansed by Water, they'll reach the Skies

Water and Fire, two things,

These gave birth to Truth,

Truth was cloaked in Darkness,

Light and Darkness fused

Fire then greatly angered,

Told Light the Name God gave Him,

Fire then made Light attractive,

And Water washed them both,

Water washed Light and Fire,

And they flew to the Heavens"

Zan sang.

"What does it mean?" Reis asked once Zan was done singing.

"I am told it's a song about purification; purification by trials. These two elements, water and fire, represent a joyful and painful purification. You could consider them a purification by both Life and Death however, the mysteries surrounding this purification are hidden, like Truth cloaked in Darkness" Zan said.

"Twin swords, twin elements, twin sisters…hmm, I think I might know something concerning the matter of twin swords. Back in my homeworld, Twin Swords were needed to vanquish the darkness of my homeworld. The First Sword was bequeathed by a heroic predecessor to Rokkan, the one Tanya spoke about. He left to protect the Legacy remember? Well that Sword was named 'The Sword Of Rai'. The Second Sword was forged by me. It is called 'The Aurora Sabre'" Ryu explained.

"The Aurora Sabre?!" Reis exclaimed in surprise.

"Ironically, there are two students in our class that bear the name Rai and Aurora, you know that right Ryu?" Zan asked.

Ryu nodded with a smile.

"I can't speak for Rai but ironically in fact as Zan here so eloquently put it, I know a thing or two concerning Twin Blades from my homeworld. Those Twin Blades are royal heirlooms of a kingdom called Saggeese and each Blade was inherited by each of Saggeese's heirs. Surprisingly enough, these heirs are twins" Reis explained.

"Twin heirs…twin swords…" Ryu mused.

"When Zan sang his song concerning the saga of Twin Elements, it reminded me of a song from my homeworld. You know about it Ryu, you were the one who explained its significance to me" Reis said.

"You mean 'The Heart That Destroys Darkness' right?" Ryu asked.

"Yes, it is a song that speaks of paradoxes. Contradictory parts that also form part of a whole and it goes like this;

What is a heart or rather Who is the Heart?

So fragile that it can be rended apart

One part Strong, one part weak

Broken He appears, yet Wholeness He seeks

Origins and Endings, two contradictory ideals

But brothers they are and as one they feel

Strong and Weak

Broken and Whole

Add One more element

When these two become One

They beckon to Him, the Heart

For when Human meets Divine

He will be born

The Heart That Destroys Darkness

And His Name is Benedict"

Reis sang.

"The Heart represents Benedict; Ryu calls him Ryuujinn in his homeworld. Strong and Weak represent 'Man' and 'Woman', two parts of a whole through whose union the culture of the Ark can be carried on through generations on end. They also represent 'The King's Dawn'. Broken and Whole represent the kingdoms of Saggeese and Novatio from my homeworld who represent the 'Wisdom' and 'Light' of Ryugaeia respectively. Origins and Endings represent two Dragon Sovereigns from my homeworld, Alpha and Omega and finally, Human and Divine represent the Dragon Rangers as well as the Dragons, Drakengaärds and Dragon Rings which symbolize the covenant between both parties" Reis explained.

"Alpha and Omega?" Zan asked.

"You know something more concerning this subject don't you Zan?" Ryu asked.

"Yes I do, but I will not discuss it here and now. For now, you should investigate some more. When you return with your findings, I'll disclose what I know to you" Zan said.

Ryu and Reis nodded.

"You should also probably speak with Aurora and a certain myth maniac" Zan said

"You mean Josec Fenix right?" Reis said with a laugh.

"Yep" Zan said.

Reis and Ryu nodded and departed.