CHAPTER NINETEEN: THE ACADEMY’S COUNTEROFFENSIVE PART IV: THE ENTRUSTED LEGACY PART III: THE BIRTH OF RYUGAEIA’S HEIRLOOMS PART II: THE DRAGONHEART AND THE TWIN SAGGEESIAN SABRES

King, Sol, Stella and Ryu arrived in the camp. King stared around in amazement. Then he stared at Ryu.

"What is it King?" Sol asked.

"Most of the people in this camp especially those tending to the injured and the ones teaching in the schools, their presences are unlike anything I've ever felt in Ryugaeia. They are in fact quite similar to you" King said as he pointed to Ryu.

Ryu stared at King intently and noticed waves of green energy rising from the earth and flowing all around King.

Ryu smiled.

"You're pretty special yourself" Ryu said. "He appears to share a special bond with the planet of Ryugaeia itself. I believe that is the reason he can detect life forms that are alien to the planet" Ryu thought silently. "However he appears to be currently unaware of that bond. If the planet of Ryugaeia is sharing its strength with him even without his conscious knowledge, then he must be a very trustworthy person. He'd have to be, after all he is Reis' ancestor and the one who finally defeats Armageddon bringing an end to the Dräkan War" Ryu thought silently.

"You still haven't told us your name" Stella questioned Ryu.

"Pardon my lack of manners. You can simply call me Origin" Ryu said.

"That's a pretty weird name, just like the name King" Sol said and punched King on the shoulder.

"Says the one who was named after the Sun" King stared at Sol from the corner of his eyes.

"Hey Origin, who were those three boys that attacked the Dark Dragon Army? They seemed to know you. Are they friends of yours?" Stella asked.

"Something like that" Ryu laughed.

"Up until now, no one has been able to penetrate the scales of the Dark Dragon Army. It's one of the reasons we haven't dared to fight them for a millennium. The only humans currently fighting the Dark Dragon Army is a resistance from Novatio called the Rangers" Stella explained.

"But your crash decimated them and those three boys took them out. If they can, then we Ryugaeians stand a fighting chance right?" Sol asked.

"Well, those boys are kinda special" Ryu said.

"We can do it with a little help from you. I'm certain of it!" Sol said with determination.

"Actually, I sort of have weapons that would be effective against the Dark Dragon Army but even if I gave them to you now, you wouldn't be able to use them" Ryu said.

"Why not?!" Stella complained.

"That's because your only focus is on defeating them" Ryu said.

"I don't get it" Sol said.

"Fine, let's make a bet. If you can forge a sword that will not crumble after taking a hit from my blade, I'll give you the weapons I spoke of" Ryu said.

"Heh! You're asking for it Origin. I don't know what planet you're from but here on Ryugaeia, Stella and I are the greatest swordsmiths you'll ever find!" Sol challenged.

He and Stella unsheathed their blades. Their blades sparkled brightly in the sun. Ryu opened his case and removed a dull looking sword.

"That's your weapon? That's pretty pathetic" Sol teased.

"Appearance isn't everything Sol. Sometimes, the true value of an object lies beneath the surface" Ryu said as he suddenly appeared in front of Sol and Stella and swung his blade.

Their blades collapsed to the ground in perfect halves.

"N-No way! That sword doesn't even appear to have been skillfully crafted!" Stella complained.

King stared at the blade in Ryu's hand and noticed a wave of rainbow like aura emanating from the blade.

"If you can make a blade that will not break after taking a hit from mine, I'll give you the weapons I promised" Ryu said.

"Sol, let's do this! I don't agree with most of your decisions but my pride as a swordsmith will not allow me to admit defeat!" Stella declared.

From then on, Sol and Stella began working on weapons that could withstand ahit from Ryu's blade but when the time to test the weapons came, they crumbled after taking a single hit. This went on for a year.

"This is hopeless Sol! It's just like our battle against Armageddon. All our weapons crumble after taking a single hit from Origin's blade and none of our weapons can penetrate Armageddon's scales" Stella complained.

King watched the desperation of his friends. Over the past year, he had been wandering from school to school within the camp hoping to find clues that would aid his friends. On this particular day, he ran into Molten.

"I've been watching you King. You've been wandering about the camp throughout the past year and you've been secretly observing your friends as well" Molten said.

"They need help. At this rate they'll never forge a weapon capable of withstanding a hit from Origin's blade" King said.

"No, they won't if they go about things the way they've been doing and if you Ryugaeians don't change the way you've been going about things, you'll never defeat Armageddon either" Molten said.

"Origin said even if he gave us the weapons to fight against the Dark Dragon Army, we wouldn't be able to use them. He also said it was because our only focus is on defeating the Dark Dragon Army. Is fighting them really wrong after all?" King asked.

"Fighting them isn't the problem. It's how you've been going about it that is. Armageddon is the embodiment of evil itself. You can't fight him off with more negativity" Molten explained.

"I see" King realized what Molten was getting at.

"If Sol and Stella can find something more important to them than fighting Armageddon, a path will open up for Ryugaeia. I see you've also acquainted yourself with a number of my comrades" Molten said.

King nodded.

"You appear to possess a special bond with the planet Ryugaeia. Haven't you ever thought of fighting off the Dark Dragons with that power?" Molten asked.

"If there's a way to defeat Armageddon with my power then I will. I don't want my children to carry the burden Sol, Stella and I have and they don't want that either. Until a path to Armageddon's defeat opens up, I am just content with ensuring that Sol and Stella are safe" King said.

"An intriguing answer" Molten said. "In some ways he's just like Ryu. He possesses great power but refuses to allow it to consume him. Perhaps a path to Armageddon's defeat will soon open up after all" Molten thought silently.

King returned to Sol and Stella.

"I think we should just return to Saggeese. I was against coming to Novatio from the very beginning" Stella complained.

"There's no need to argue, Sol, Stella. I understand your feelings. Even I sometimes wonder whether it was right of us to come to Novatio or not but I doubt defeating Armageddon was our only purpose for coming here" King said.

"Perhaps we should pool our skills together and create a blade strong enough to protect our home" Sol suggested.

Stella nodded. She looked like she was on the verge of tears. Sol and Stella headed to Sol's forge.

"Okay Stella, I'll work on enhancing our Sword's strength and penetration power" Sol said with determination.

"Then I'll work on enhancing its resistance to attacks. If this sword is going to protect Saggeese, then we should give it our all, it should be our finest work yet" Stella said with determination.

Ryu approached them.

"Then why don't you do it with these. I too want to help you in whatever way I can, especially after seeing your determination to protect your homeland" Ryu said as he handed Sol a bright golden ore and Stella a sparkling dark metallic ore.

"B-But why? We haven't even been able to withstand a hit from your blade yet" Stella wondered.

"You are very optimistic Sol. You have a great influence over people and you're always there to cheer your sister and your friends on. You are like this Sol Mithril Ore" Ryu said.

"Hey, it's got my name" Sol noted.

"And you Stella are slightly pessimistic. You do not agree with most of your brother's decisions but are quite overprotective of your comrades and your brother and will support them even if you do not completely agree with them. You are like this Stellar Mithril Ore" Ryu said.

Sol and Stella received their respective ores.

"However, irrespective of your individual differences, the true power of these ores can only be unleashed when they fuse" Ryu said.

Sol and Stella began to work on their Sword. Over the period of two years, they refined their blade and created a single powerful Sword, then they split the single sword into two swords.

"We'll name these the Twin Saggeesian Sabres after our homeland and ourselves and from now on, this shall be our family's crest" Stella said as she showed Sol a woven fabric displaying Twin Swords.

"I haven't yet given you your gift King" Ryu said.

"What?" King stared at Ryu in surprise.

Ryu handed King a sealed scroll. King opened the scroll and beheld the images of a princess leading an army, a boy with a heart who overlapped the image of a dragon and a tremendous ship weathering a dangerous storm.

"What does it mean?" King asked.

"You share a special bond with the planet Ryugaiea. The planet shares its strength with you. In a sense it could be said that you and the planet are one and the same entity. I hope you will recognize the significance of this in time. And so that you can protect Sol and Stella and their bloodline, here, I'll give you my own blade" Ryu said as he handed King the Sword in his case.

Molten approached King.

"It's time King. We've decided to infuse into you, the combined essence of all the Dragons" Molten said.

"Well then, my task in this world is finished. Molten, I leave the rest to you" Ryu said.

"You focus on dealing with Tristran and protecting the Academy" Molten said.

"Goodbye King, Sol, Stella" Ryu said as he walked away.

King opened the case containing Ryu's Sword. He stared at the Sword, then noticed an object concealed beneath it. King raised the Sword and found a ring with the markings of a dragon engraved on it. He wore the ring. The ring's power slowly flowed into him and his hair turned silver. His eyes also took on an emerald glow.

"Until we meet again Origin" King said.

Sol and Stella waved.