The Age of New Zodiacs

The next day I was awoken by Leona licking my cheek in her lion form. I groaned and looked at her then she turned human. Her clothes appeared on her person as she turned human and she looked at Menom who was waiting for me. I sat up and he held up some new clothing for me. It was a very unique style. I stood up and walked towards him.

"What's up with this style of clothing?" I asked.

"Weshina is the south eastern part of Eshea. Clothing like this is normal, plus it suits you more than that old commander outfit." Menom said. "Anyway we are meeting Head Priest Meldrian and his daughter, Kyria. Kyria is one of the Order of Justice who's been looking for you. We best not keep them waiting."

I nodded and took the clothes and went to get ready for the day. There was a bath at the back of the shrine and I took off my clothes then got in the water. I looked at the sky and held my hand up in the air and looked at the Z on the back of my hand.

"The Order of Justice...what could they be? Why are they looking for me..?" I asked myself. "I guess I'll get my answers whenever we meet the Head Priest.."

In a few minutes I finished my bath and got out the water. I put on my new clothing and tied the large yellow lace around my waist then noticed an accessory with a red orb. I felt a powerful magical energy from the orb. I clipped it on my person and walked to the front. Menom and Crea looked at me. Menom nodded and began walking off. I followed him and Leona became visible and followed us.

"The Zodiacs...An interesting concept. The Guardians of the Human Realm. Now that the Underworld is gone...the Human Realm has been blessed with the sight of peace." Menom said.

"The Underworld is gone..?" I looked at him. "How? The entire Realm is destroyed?"

"A woman by the name of Arcane destroyed the Underworld by erasing it...She destroyed the entire Realm. No one knows how she did it or about her whereabouts, but we know after the Underworld was destroyed the Hell Borns have all vanquished." Menom said.

"I see...There isn't anything to worry about then..so why do I feel like danger still lingers..?" I asked.

"Because it still does. The Human Realm is safe but the other Realms are not. The Unknown Order and the Dark Zodiacs are still a thing. Luckily for us, we don't have to deal with the Unknown Order. The Nightmare Assembly will handle them, it is our job to handle the Dark Zodiacs." Menom answered.

"Us..?" I tilted my head.

"Yes. Us. I am a Zodiac Knight as well, but not your usual knight." Menom looked at me. "I am the Knight of Crea. She is a Chinese Zodiac, Dragon. I am an Earth Dragon, the Gold Dragon. Chinese Zodiacs work different from your Astrology Zodiac. There are five elements to Chinese Zodiac: Metal, Fire, Water, Earth, and Wood."

"Wood and Earth are the same thing right?" I rose an eyebrow.

"There are slight differences to it. You see I am an Earth Element User. I control Earth based particles such as sand, clay, crystal, metal, glass, and magma. Geokinetics...Wood Manipulation mainly deals with Plant Manipulation. They have Chlorokinetic Abilities..Wood is the main element taken from Plant Manipulation and they have Xylokinetics." Menom explained.

"I see, there is so much that I don't know about the Elements.." I said.

We made it to the location and I looked around. The place felt Holy, but Demons could easily come here without worrying about being scorched by the light. We walked into the Cathedral and I saw Rushina, Mikoko, Shizaki, Yui, Suzumi, and Kufka. I walked towards them and Shizaki stood up and smiled.

"Yufumi! I'm glad you're okay!" Shizaki hugged me and looked at me, noticing my eyepatch. "Your eye.."

"It's fine, just a small recoil.." I said.

"More like permanent damage...now you're just like the Ancient Hero who could barely use his left eye unless he activated the Yaoke." Menom said.

"M-Mmph.." I looked away.

"Now that Yufumi has entered I'd like you all to have a seat." Mildred said and we all took our seats. "Today is a momentous occasion for all of us. For the first time in history, we are able to branch out from the Human Realm and finally complete Nymphira's Wish, The True Unification of the Realms. I tried to ask Aihara to join the cause, but she doesn't want to be involved with this because of old history. Nevermind that, we have a target..The Dark Zodiacs. They run mindlessly and free in the different distant Realms...Mindlessly corrupting those with their dark power. We must take them down and free the realms of their dark grasp." Meldrian looked at all of us.

Rushina smiled and crossed one leg over the other and the Horse Symbol shined on her hand. Kanna had her hands behind her back and the Aries symbol shined on her cheek. Yui closed her eyes and the Libra Symbol shined on her shoulder. I looked at the girl sitting next to Head Priest Meldrian. She was Kyria and the Tiger Symbol shined on her hand. Not only was she a Chinese Zodiac, she was also the famous Dawn Rider I saw a poster of in the shrine.

"Kyria...Famous for being the youngest True Hero since the Ancient Hero. Her abilities exceeds all others and she has a special link with her Zodiac, Hū. She's reached Level 4 already." Menom said.

"Level 4..? How many levels are there?" I asked.

"15. The fact that she's level four already must've means she was born with the power of a Zodiac." Menom said.

"Yufumi, I have good word from you. You were the one who defeated Trickster and saved our realm from a total nightmare...I would like you to join the Order of Justice." Meldrian nodded.

"Ah...I didn't defeat him. Yui got the final blow actually.." I said.

Yui opened her eyes and looked back at me. I looked at her. She gave a small smile and turned back to the front. I nodded and stood up.

"But I'll be honored to join the cause. As the Leo Zodiac Knight, it is my duty to complete Nymphira's Wish." I said.

"Good...please step forward with your Zodiac Weapon." Meldrian looked at me.

I looked at my hand and took a deep breath and summoned my sword. I walked towards Meldrian and held my sword up. He held his hand out and my sword began to glow. I watched as the blade transformed into the Awakened Version of the original blade. The hilt of the sword looked different as it matched the color scheme of my outfit. I held the handle and looked at the sword. Leona, who was invisible at the time, looked at the sword.

"Never have I ever seen a sword like this..? It's almost like this is how the sword was meant to look all those years ago.." Leona said.

"Thank you Head Priest..." I smiled and bowed.

Arcane watched from the back of the Cathedral and leaned against the wall. She looked at me then walked outside and turned into a horde of snaked and vanished.

"May you always walk the path of Justice. I want nothing more than to see you and the other Order of Justice succeed in completing Nymphira's Wish." Meldrian nodded.

Menom crossed his arms and looked at me. He smiled a bit and closed his eyes.

"Now all there's left is to find the other chosen and get on with the mission." Menom said.