CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: THE ACADEMY’S COUNTEROFFENSIVE PART II: THE ENTRUSTED LEGACY PART I: KOLMNID’S HEIRLOOMS

Ryu stared at Tristran for a while and then he spoke.

"I'm not so naïve I'd believe anything you say" he said.

"It doesn't matter now does it Ryuujinn. You will soon discover whether anything I'm about to say is true or not so I might as well begin with something you're quite familiar with. The purpose behind the establishment of the Academy. It is quite amazing that you'd actually establish this Academy at the centre of the cosmos where you yourself dwell" Tristran said.

"I doubt you came all this way to congratulate me" Ryu said seriously.

"As you very well know Ryuujinn, a time is soon to come when all the worlds will converge and form a space of spaces allowing the malignant forces of the various worlds imprisoned within the Great Gate to break free. Sensing the danger to all the worlds, you had the Academy's Director with whom you had already constructed the Academy send out invitations to certain special people from all the worlds. You grafted various aspects of their worlds together to form this Great Educational Complex. What I don't understand though is how you who know everything could have allowed us in" Tristran said.

"I don't have to tell you anything Tristran" Ryu said.

"Another thing I don't understand is why you'd choose to enrol yourself as a student instead of acting as Director of the Academy yourself" Tristran said. "Funnier still is the fact that you could have prevented the attack on Kolmnid Farms but didn't. What are you playing at Ryuujinn?" Tristran asked.

"Like I said Tristran…I don't have to tell you anything" Ryu said as his eyes flared temporarily.

There was an intense clash of wills between the two.

"When do you intend to tell them Ryu…your students?" Ryu recalled Master Hiruko's question.

"What do you mean Master Hiruko?" Ryu recalled his own question.

"You established this Academy along with the Academy's Director by piecing together fragments of various worlds of the students that inhabit this Academy but its design is not as haphazard as you'd like everyone to believe. It after all reflects Dragon Zone, the Sacred Ground from which the Dragons derive their strength and it is also designed after the Temple in the Light Ryu where you trained with Rokkan, my brother and myself. The principle behind its design thus is that the ones that train within it form parts of a whole" Ryu recalled Master Hiruko's words.

"So you knew about that Master Hiruko" Ryu recalled his own words.

"Don't underestimate my knowledge and experience Ryu. I was the one after all who trained you" Ryu recalled Master Hiruko's words.

"A Sword must be wielded,

A Sword must be made,

For Light to triumph

And the evil to fade

When the fateful Day comes

And all seems late

A Hero will appear

As the Final Saint

Two special swords are needed to vanquish Tristran. One has already been created and the other is yet to be created. Now one of you must create a special Sword infused with all of your positive feelings. Such a Sword might be able to rival Tristran's fate techniques. The first Sword, the Sword Of Rai was entrusted to Rokkan. The second Sword, the Aurora Sabre, was forged by you. It may finally be time to piece the fragments together. To bring everyone to the realization of how their paths connect" Ryu recalled Master Hiruko's words.

"You may be right Master Hiruko" Ryu recalled his reply.

"Regardless, with Tristran on the prowl, you might need to make your move soon Ryu" he recalled Master Hiruko's suggestion.

"First things first, I need to find Reis Dragonhaärt. It is as you said, he is co-protector of Ryuujinn's legacy" Ryu recalled his reply.

"Do you really not intend to act? Well then I suppose I'll let you in on a secret. Unfortunately for you, you won't find those two students of yours in class. My own students are working to separate yours, to prevent them from gathering around you and Reis Dragonhaärt, the two co-protectors of your legacy" Tristran challenged.

Ryu's eyes slowly assumed the likeness of the dragon and at the same time, they glowed with the colours of the Rainbow.

"It's time to move" Ryu thought to himself.

A clone of Ryu awakened in Dream Knight Jurisdiction.

"Good thing I created a clone of myself before going to get Reis. It's time to make my move" Ryu said as he created another clone. "Go and meet up with Reis and Zan" Ryu instructed the clone.

The clone headed off. Ryu created another clone.

"Ayumi's headed off to confront Zanfar. It's dangerous alone. Zanfar's got the entire Sanctum Of Decadent Wyverns backing him up. Intercept her and inform her to standby and await further instructions" Ryu instructed the second clone.

The second clone headed off.

"Now it's time to head off to see the Academy's Director" Ryu said and headed off to a teleportation crystal.

In the next instant, he found himself in the Academy Director's office.

"The items I entrusted into your care, are they ready?" Ryu asked.

"Of course, I guard those items personally. If you're requesting them, then it's finally time, isn't it?" the Academy Director asked as he placed a case and a sealed scroll in front of Ryu.

Ryu opened the case. Within it was a sword that glowed with all the colours of the Rainbow. Ryu let his fingers run over the sword.

"It's been a while old partner" Ryu said with a nostalgic smile.

The sword responded by glowing brightly.

Ryu assumed a serious expression.

"You intend to battle Tristran?" the Academy's Director asked.

"Yes I do, just not in a way he'd expect. I'll seal away two thirds of this sword's power for now" Ryu said and formed a seal.

Then he touched the Aurora Sabre. It lost its glow and assumed a dull metallic colour. Ryu picked up the sealed scroll and placed it in his garments. Then he carried the case that contained the Aurora Sabre and strapped it unto his shoulder.

"When the time is right, activate the special functionality I asked you to encode into the students' crystal keys" Ryu said.

"The 'Protocol Excalibur'? I'll be sure to remember that" the Academy Director said with a smile.

Ryu headed to the teleportation crystal. He accessed it and selected the location 'Ranger's Guild'. In an instant, he was teleported to the Temple within the Guild. He met Aurora.

"Hey Ryu! Where's Reis? What have you guys been up to? I mean you called the meeting to discuss our homeworld's heirlooms right?" Aurora asked.

"Reis is headed to the Class Of Honours right now. Zan should be headed to the Class Of Deviants. Knowing how diligent Reis is though, you might eventually find him in the Class Of Deviants" Ryu said.

Aurora headed off to find Reis. Ryu walked out of the Temple. He raised his crystal key.

"I normally wouldn't use this functionality but I've got no choice" Ryu scrolled through his crystal key's functionalities.

"Here it is, 'Protocol Twelve Gates'. With this functionality, instead of simply observing the events occurring in the worlds connected to the Academy, I can journey to the worlds and directly influence events. However, I cannot afford to do anything that would alter the course of their homeworld's history. I am certain Tristran has already begun to move events there in order to avert his destruction. If I step into Ryugaeia now, the Tristran aboard this Ark will immediately become aware of my presence and begin to alter events elsewhere. I'll need to limit my power to throw off Tristran's ability to sense my presence and I'll need an alter ego to throw off his suspicions" Ryu thought as his hair slowly turned gold.

"Good, I should be just about as strong as I was shortly after training in the Temple Of Light in the Light Ryu" Ryu thought as a huge gate appeared before him.

Ryu took one last look at the Academy.

"Hang on for just a while longer everyone" Ryu muttered silently and stepped into the Gate.