Recall

"Long ago, humans, elves, orcs and multiple tribes around the globe lived in harmony," Estes began. "Unfortunately, trouble always comes around. The Dark Lord materialized from the deceptive negativity present in the world. Instead of directly destroying the peace and quiet, he whizzed around the globe, scouring for formidable candidates. He plucked one out from the Angelic Plains."

"Alice," Alucard continued. "The Queen of the Apocalypse."

"The two had been at work in the shadows for long. Alice seduced a former king of this land, and the Dark Lord deceived the queen, stating that he could give her the power to do what she could. Her wish was granted, but at the cost of the good inside her heart. She was Vexana, the Necromancer."

"One day, an angel from the heavens warned a scribe about their plans to overthrow this kingdom. She was Rafaela, known as the Wings of Holiness. The scribe warned the prince of the Land, and he took charge, after learning what happened to the royalty."

"The battle was easier than expected. Angels and fighters were sent by the Lords of Order to intervene. Alice and Vexana were locked in the deepest parts of the earth, while the Dark Lord's is trapped in a confidential chest."

"But it has been thousands of years. Those Holy bonds won't last forever. Demonic activity has decreased the past few weeks. We are glad we have prepared for this moment."

"So you're saying…," Layla interrupted. "…that Alice and Vexana will return?"

"I suppose that's true, Layla. Your father's beliefs made fruitful decisions," Estes answered. "A few years ago, Tigreal and his partner, Natalia, were sent to scout an illegal arms deal somewhere near Nost Gal. It seems Bane has been busy."

"The Pirate Lord?!" Chou exclaimed. "He's back?"

"Correct. Even if his ships remain silent, his trading schedule is stacking on top of one another. Anyway, we were able to stop the arms trade, but we uncovered an ancient site that day."

"We uncovered a labyrinth filled with expired traps. They reached the center and managed to find the Minotaur."

"This story keeps getting better and better," Bruno mumbled.

"He wasn't as furious as before. We were able to stabilize his emotions and bring him with us unrestrained. Unfortunately, the squad was ambushed by multiple Ravagers and a few Reapers."

"We were on the losing edge when the Minotaur chose to fight. He slammed the ground with such force which sent the foes flying, but something else unearthed beneath the rock."

He stopped for a moment. Since they were walking to the Citadel's Library, he opened the doors to continue their journey. The shelves were lined with books, old and new, and on one end, scrolls that seemed tattered or shredded, yet they were intact and preserved with utmost care. Estes grabbed a specific scroll and unfurled it on one of the tables.

"The carvings on this scroll are ancient," he added. "It took a while to decipher the code." He pointed to the gibberish symbols that made no sense. A picture of a crystal was on the center.

"It says, 'Since the Beginning of Time, the Lords of Order decided to house the energy of absolute purity and life into an object. They created the Genesys Gem, a 10-meter tall Crystal which radiated like the sun and gleamed like the moon. Fearing its potential, the Lord's decided to split the Crystal into ten, sending each piece to different parts of the world, buried in the ground. The Gem was believed to have the strength to purify the world of all evil. The Lords let the nations find the Shards, but the Dark Lord destroyed 4 of the shards of Moonlight.'"

"The last shard is on the Moonlight Codex, which I currently possess," Estes said, tapping the book's cover.

"But what happened to Tigreal and this Natalia woman?" Lolita asked.

"Through the Minotaur's merciless striking, a shard unearthed from the earth. We immediately sent it home for study, and so we began the search for the other shards, not knowing that the time has come to reassemble the Gem once again," Estes said.

"But the other 4 shards were destroyed!" Alucard retorted.

"The Moonlight Codex amplifies the shard's power. When we have all the Dawn Crystals, we will wait for the shards to coalesce with the Codex to form the Gem."

"But you only have found two," Chou added.

"The last three are spread in different parts of the world, like Alaghat, Korea and Makadan Island. What I stated were faraway places we have discovered decades ago. They aren't hostile, though we assume one of the shards are located on one of those places."

"Another reason why you gathered all the nations for a meeting in the first place," Layla concluded.

Estes smiled faintly. "Time was of the essence. Now, I think you might want to be introduced to your allies."

They walked out of the Citadel down to the Training Arena. Somewhere in the view, hundreds of citizens waited as they were designated to their substitute homes.

"The problem was never just the time," Tigreal said. "The space in this place could only house so much."

They reached the training grounds. Multiple soldiers of different nations sparred against dummies and holographic demons. Some sparred against themselves to test their endurance, strength and speed.

Alucard noticed one of the members. He was the same man who had a ponytail. He was sparring against 3 soldiers at once, deflecting all of their attacks with his Spear. After a few seconds, he countered them all and put them on the ground. He helped them back up.

"That's Yun Zhao, Son of the Dragon," Tigreal said. "He ages slower, so he looks like he's an adolescent, when he's actually 253 years old."

"That's new," Chou replied.

"That's the cost of multiple time travels. He traveled in many timeliness to aid kings of different kingdoms to victory. This is meant to be his last mission."

Suddenly, a black figure popped up and tried to strike Zhao. He deflected the attack, but the figure disappeared quickly. It reappeared behind him and struck again, and the spar continued.

"Hayabusa, Shadow of Iga," Alucard said.

"Yup," Tigreal replied. "He was Zhao's friend when he popped up here. Made a great duo. They were always at a stalemate when they sparred."

On one of the benches, a buff girl was resting. She wore a huge horned skull on his back, and leather tunics covered her body. Her boots were made of wool, and beside her, rested a huge Axe.

"Hilda of the Wastelands," Estes mentioned. "She seeked help from us in order to aid her tribe. We did so, and we gained a formidable ally. She came along with Balmond, leader of the Bloodaxe Orcs, who also lived on the wasteland. The two held an alliance ever since the occurrences."

"Why did she seek help in the first place?" Lolita asked.

"Their resources are being drained. The Wasteland is harsh, though they could survive. The fact that they sought help caught our attention. Balmond also reported the lack of demonic presences. He is currently back at the Wastelands, gathering his troops."

"How about the cowboy?" Bruno asked. "Is he from the Wasteland?"

"The one you mention is Clint. He is the Gunslinger around those parts, a paragon for those who suffer. Eliminated lots of criminals and sent many in prison. None really knew where he came from, only that he became an orphan when he was a kid. His skills with his revolvers, however, are outstanding. There he is, by the range."

They turned to their rights, seeing Clint. He only stood at the range, eyeing his targets. He slowly put his hands on his revolvers.

Suddenly, in one swift move, he pulled them out and began firing with swift precision. Bang, bang, bang, went the revolvers, as he hit the bulls-eye of 12 targets with 12 shots. He twirled his revolvers and swung near his belt. The cartridges were reloaded instantly.

"Those are some fast hands," Alucard said. "Wait, who are those on the corner?" He pointed to two distant figures. One was a female archer, definitely Elf. The other was more like a cat, for she had cat ears. She was small, and she held a boomerang.

"That's Miya and Nana," Tigreal explained. "Miya is the best archer we've had ever since Estes became king. She found Nana in the wilderness and helped her control her magic powers. Nana was considered an outcast in her kind. She originally tends to the garden, but her request to be in the field is already processed and verified."

Chou scrunched his eyebrows. "Looks could seem deceiving…"

"Well, one time," Tigreal told Chou, "she transformed a group of demons to fluffy cats."

Then, a faint, whizzing sound could be heard in the arena. From above, a hovercraft glided to the ground, carrying a passenger. When they reached a few feet above the ground, the passenger jumped off.

He wore a thick visor which covered the top part of his face: his nose and eyes. He wore a ponytail as well, but his hair seemed to be of dreadlocks. (Bruno thought it to be a mop.) Instead of having a regular body, a full-armor exoskeleton took its place, and a red shoal hang loosely from his shoulders. He wielded a spear, though its origin is most likely from the future, for Lolita could sense its energy. The craft hovered above him and began to shrink, until it was a few feet long. It hovered around him.

"Scout complete. Wasteland Conditions: Harsh, Desert, Dry, Desolate. Temperature change: Drastic," a voice said, though the person's mouth didn't open. The man began looking at the group.

"Request Identification of 5 unknown individuals."

Alucard stepped up. "I am Alucard. These are my friends, Chou, Bruno, Lolita, and my sister, Layla. We're here under Estes' command."

"Verification complete," the voice replied.

Suddenly, a new, synthesized voice resonated around them, and the man's mouth began moving. "Hello! How are you?"

"Um, what?" Layla said, baffled.

"This is Alpha," Estes said. "He comes from the future with his cyborg companions, Saber and Johnson. The two are still in patrol, while Alpha undergone Recon. The other voice you heard was from his aircraft, named Beta."

Alpha spoke again. "Everywhere I go, Beta follows!"

Bruno grinned. "This is too cool. We don't have this back in Eruditio."

"Must have gained self-awareness and emotion. Behaves like a kid, with fancy tech," Lolita whispered to him.

Beta spoke, "Gained emotion and self-awareness during 23rd day after manufacture. Learned how to feel happy and sad. Began request for freedom."

"I may not know much about cyborgs," Alucard spoke. "but this is one of the most advanced works of tech I've ever seen, even with the underdeveloped human soul residing in Alpha."

"I could check on his programming, if he allows it," Lolita suggests.

Alpha replied, "Self-programmed to be open. Guidelines for Openness learned. Freedom of Information approved. Alpha is free to choose!"

"We have been testing whether we could improve Alpha's linguistics and behavior to become more mature, but nature must take its natural course," Estes said. "There are more to come, so let's meet them."

"Alpha wants to follow group. Knowing group enhances team efficiency," Alpha requested, Beta circling around his head endlessly.

"Request accepted, dude!" Bruno encouraged.

The group walked to a corner of the Arena. There, they witnessed the Mages practice and enhance their magic powers.

"There are a couple of magicians from the globe who voluntarily joined the fight. They're not really good in the frontlines, but they'll help provide ranged support with their skills."

Layla saw a man with a bluish skin which seemed more like rock than flesh. His hair is crazed, and he rode on a board. A volatile yet suppressed energy radiated from him.

"His name is Gord," Alpha said. "Mr. Blue lived in this mystic stuff. Changed his looks. Seems intimidating. He is approachable. First rule: never anger or provoke."

Beta spoke as well. "Age: Unknown, Citizenship: Unknown. Powerful ally which can cast mystic bombs and energy fields. Powers amplified through hover board. Request more information for complete verification."

"Don't worry, he volunteered as an ally," Tigreal comforted. "We looked in his profile. He was from a long-lost civilization of magicians. He is the last of their kind, and even before the loss of his society, he was their strongest."

"What happened?" Alucard asked.

"Vexana happened," Bruno said. "Heard the story from a few of the Royal Guard. The attack was gruesome. Gord wants to avenge his family."

"He came in this place with Eudora," Estes added.

Chou's eyes widened. "Wait, you mean Eudora?! The one who electrocuted a thousand demons in a single blast?"

"Exaggeration," Tigreal said. "If Eudora were to do that, she'd be expending her whole energy and probably die. She roasted tens of thousands, but never a thousand at the same place and time. Either way, I never want to be in the receiving end of her magic."

Suddenly, a figure popped out from a puff of smoke. He wore a goofy magician's outfit and a big top hat. He looked very young, judging from his face and small figure.

"Oops, sorry guys. Wrong teleport," he said, then blinking to another spot. He drew cards from his jacket pockets, each lit aflame. The cards penetrated the targets in the range and ignited them. The cards then went back to him like a boomerang, floating around him.

"Spade, Heart, Diamond, Club… Wait, where's Ace and Joker?" He asked. Two cards then flew next to him, one with an "A" symbol and the other with a jester's face.

"There you are!" He then tucked them back in his pockets and teleported again.

"Harley, leading magician of the Magic Academy for Kids," Beta informed. "Age: 12, Power: High. Card Master and Trickster of Fire. Portal blowback led to reaching Dimension 15 then Dimension 73, our current one."

"The portal Harley was accessing in his timeline was damaged by Alice's minions," Estes clarified. "After the portal blowback, the time from all the other dimensions suddenly stopped, leaving only Dimension 73, the dimension we live in, the only one left standing."

Lolita was confused. "Wait, if Saber, Alpha and this Johnson traveled through time, why didn't it cause drawbacks?"

Alpha, still grinning, answered, "Cyborg Chronosphere maintains alignment. No alteration of timeline and events. Got Johnson, same timeline. No problem. Met Rooney, same timeline, no problem. Met-"

"Wait, you met Rooney?!" Bruno exclaimed.

"Accessing File#758, Rooney. Processing..." Beta said. "Unauthorized file share detected. Maintaining standard rejection procedures."

"Meaning: secret," Alpha added. Alucard read his mind. It's still fuzzy, but he felt a twinge in his heart. Something must've hurt Alpha.

Beta said, "Preparation Phase: 79% complete. Requirements: Few More Allies. Completion initiates Defensive Directive. Deadline: 3 Weeks, 4 Days, 8 Hours. Maintain standard issue protocol."

"Wait, what do you mean by 'deadline'?" Bruno wondered.

Estes replied, "Their Cyborg Chronosphere contains glimpses of the future. Blurry, but comprehensible. We have about 3 and a half weeks before the clash begins."

"And during that clash, the Crystals will begin to merge…" Alucard thought. "We have to hold them off for a week. How could we even do that?"

"For now, you're assigned to your temporary houses," Tigreal told them. "Bruno, Layla, Lolita, you're in A5. Alucard, your group is residing in Camps 1-25. Your tent is numbered 2. Chou will be in A6, along with other fellow allies. Alpha will resume border patrol until Saber and Johnson arrive with the geographic scans."

Layla sighed. "What a month we're going to have."

Alucard used the map in order to find the camp. Even with his frequent visits with Layla, he still had difficulty maneuvering around the whole place. He was able to find the location. Of course, with a couple of times being misled.

Yinsen and Ruby were on the entrance, chatting. Ruby saw Alucard and waved. He waved back.

"Hey, what's up?" Yinsen greeted. "This place looks sick, man! We should've sworn allegiances with other communities a long time ago!"

Ruby grinned. "So this is the Land of the Dawn."

"You're right," Alucard said. "Anyway, I have to talk to Victor about the plans. We might be able to help."

"I am going," Ruby requested.

"Sure thing, no problem. Yinsen, take a break, dude. You're sleepiness is showing. You can rotate watch with Horst."

Yinsen, half-asleep, slurred, "Huh?"

"Seriously. Get some sleep."

While walking through the camps, Ruby asked Alucard, "How were you in the clan?"

Alucard shrugged. "Tons of things to settle when you first coexist with them. They aren't brutal trainers. They believe that unlocking a person's potential requires time and discipline. That's why our code is strict."

"I never really asked this… But what's with your arm? I have been wishing to ask you that ever since I saw it. It leaves me baffled," Ruby added.

Alucard grimaced. "I don't know. They never told me. Most probable reason is that the demons probably tried to demonize me."

Ruby's eyes widened. "They tried to turn you into one of them?!"

"That's what I know. I read the manual and guidebooks, and it's the most likely case."

"Must be tough having an arm like that."

Alucard faintly smiled. "Not that all bad. Nothing bad has ever happened to me since. Well, I could read minds, but I am really not up for that kind of thing. I have my own rules in terms of privacy."

"But you could, right?" Ruby interrogated. "Read minds, I mean."

"I would if necessary. All information comes in the right time. How about you? How was your life like after… you know?"

Ruby slowly hung her head.

"Oh, wait. I shouldn't have said that. Sorry," Alucard apologized. "Yep, should've kept that in mind."

"No, no, it's fine," Ruby replied. "It's just, I can't seem to live with the facts. It's hard to lose someone you hold dear. It has changed us."

"We're very much alike," Alucard pointed out. "We'll get through this together." He put his hand on her shoulder. "We can change the future."

Suddenly, Victor walked up to them. "Oi, what is it that you wanted to talk to me about?"

"Estes has plans to join communities of different regions to finish the preparation phase. The Genesys Gem-"

"I know, I know," Victor assured. "I am just asking the next course of action."

Ruby said, "They will go to the Wastelands to obtain the 3rd shard. So far, nothing else."

"We will have our training tomorrow," Alucard added. "It's best we rest."

"Go on now, then," Victor ordered. "Time to end this long night."

The duo walked to their tent. Yes, tent without the 's'. They're sleeping on the same tent.

No malice intended. Victor believed Alucard is the one who mostly knows about Ruby. And in order to avoid any unnecessary event (huehuehuehue), they adjusted the tent size, making their cots slightly farther away than usual.

Alucard rested his Greatsword on his stuff. Ruby just sat on her cot, clutching her necklace.

"How do you get your weapons?" Ruby asked. "I've heard about this from the others. Wanted clarification."

"We choose what we use, and we live with it for the rest of our lives," Alucard explained. "Unusual rule, but it's worked fine with all of us."

"I got this scythe from our backyard," Ruby narrated, pointing at it, which was from the other side of the cot. "It was just a simple sickle. Didn't know it was enchanted."

"You need not explain. I could just read your mind anytime."

Ruby asked, "Are you doing it now?"

"I have my own regulations in terms of privacy. You know that, right?" They laughed.

"Well, goodnight then, Ruby," Alucard said, lying on the cot.

"Same to you, Alucard."