One Step Closer

We met Titania at the throne room and wondered what she wanted to speak to us about. Rosenea was still resting in her seat, recovering energy from what happened to her. Titania looked at us and took a deep breath.

"What's this about Titania?" Serafina asked.

"The Legend is true..." Titania said.

"What legend?" I asked.

"The Banished are returning to the world. According to the Legends, the Previous Guardians of the Medallions used their powers to seal away four great beings. Achluo, Eclipse, Demise, and Tehom. These four used to be powerful Deities who ruled the universe with one another. Achluo was the Deity of All Darkness, Eclipse was the Deity of Planetary Systems, Demise was the Deity of End, and Tehom was the Deity of Chaos. These four were possibly the most powerful beings in our universe aside from the Eight Grand Deities." Titania said.

"Oh yeah, I remember them now. I'm not sure if you fought the Banished Legends, but their uprising will be happening soon. We can prevent it though...but how." Alethea said to me.

"Wait so because we were granted a Medallion, that means it's up to us to seal away the Banished?" I asked.

"Yes, because the Medallions have sprung up again...It would seem the seal on the Banished have weakened and I think I understand why King Icas wants Rosenea's Crest. He was going to use that Crest to obtain the Medallion. He wants to take control of the Banished! You have to stop him at all costs!" Titania said.

I looked at the Earth Medallion and noticed a slight glow.

"History has changed greatly. I expected things to stay relatively the same in terms of villains, but it appears that changing something as simple as a single spoken word has altered the course of the universe. Now we face an unknown threat. King Icas must be stopped if we want to prevent the Banished from rising again." Alethea said.

I nodded then looked at Titania. "Lady Titania, I wish to take the Trial of Yggril to receive my reward that Yewwood spoke about."

"The reward. Ah right." Titania said then tapped her heel on the floor twice then a rumble was heard. A hidden sliding door opened to the left of us. "The Trial isn't easy, but I know you can do it. Only those who hold the Medallion can enter."

I nodded then looked at Serafina and the others. "Looks like I'm going solo."

"Good luck." Freya smiled.

I nodded then turned around and walked to the hidden door, heading outside. I walked towards the Yggdrasil Tree and noticed how vibrant the color of the tree was. I walked inside of the tree then looked around. Candles began getting lit and brightened the area. I walked ahead, seeing a bow displayed on a golden rack. The bow had green aura emitting from it. It was a green and golden bow with a wooden handle.

I stopped in front of the bow then grabbed it. I took it off the rack then exit of the Yggdrasil Tree was blocked off.

"Challenger..." A voice said. "Welcome to the Trial of Yggril. To beat the trial, you must defeat complete three challenges. Upon completion of the challenge, your reward will be the Bow of Gaia, Yggril's signature weapon. Are you ready to begin?"

I looked at the bow and closed my eyes. I remembered all my experiences with a bow then opened my eyes. "I'm ready."

"Good...Challenge One, Defeat All 100 Combatants!" The voice said then 100 plant knights were summoned.

I turned around and looked at the plant knights. I dashed towards them and they ran towards me. I blitzed them with quick draw shots and began to take them down quickly one by one. I twirled my bow then swung it upwards, knocking one of the knights into the air then appeared above them and knocked them down with a downward kick. I shot a giant arrow in the air then the arrow dispersed into thousands of smaller arrows, striking down the remaining plant knights.

I landed on the ground and exhaled.

"Challenge One completed, Challenge Two: Defeat Phantom Titania and Phantom Rosenea." The voice said.

Phantom versions of Titania and Rosenea appeared in front of me. The difficulty scaling had raised quite a bit, but I knew I could complete it.

Phantom Titania dashed to me and sent quick razor winds at me. I grunted and dodged the razor winds and sensed Phantom Rosenea behind me with a chlorokinetic beam. I rolled to the side and avoided the attack then shot a fire arrow at Phantom Rosenea. She blocked the arrow with a wooden shield and caused vines to wrap around my leg then the vines flung me in the air. Phantom Titania used Flora Energy to summon a rose above me and the rose fired a floral beam at me. I looked back then an explosion happened as the beam connected.

Phantom Titania watched then let out a ghostly groan as she was struck by an invisible force. I appeared in front of Phantom Titania then grabbed her arm and threw her to Phantom Rosenea.

"I guess I should get serious.." I said then bellowed and awakened all eight of my Crests then fused them together and transformed into my Ascended Form.

I twirled my bow then vanished and appeared behind Phantom Rosenea then kicked her away. I shot an arrow in the air then the arrow dispersed into smaller arrows. Phantom Titania and Rosenea used their energy to block the arrows. I smirked and my eyes shined.

"It's time for my ultimate bow skill.." I said then raised my hand into the air then snapped my fingers and a large magic circle formed into the air. I flew into the air and took aim at the center of the magic circle. I summoned an arrow. "Meteor Storm!"

I bellowed and fired the arrow at the magic circle then the magic circle shot an stream of endless waves of magic arrows at both Phantom Rosenea and Titania. The arrows pierced through their defenses and caused a large smoke cloud to form then an explosion happened. Both phantoms let out a cry then slammed into the wall and disappeared. I reverted to my normal form and landed on the ground.

"Challenge Two successful. Final Challenge, Defeat me, Rosemary!" The voice said then a woman appeared in front of me. She had long red hair with vines in her hair. She was a Dryad and wielded a bow as well.

I looked at her then smirked. I dashed to her and shot five arrows at her. She dodged the arrows and dashed to me. I dodged her kicks then sensed arrows above me then flipped backwards multiple times, dodging the arrows. I summoned ten arrows and shot them all at Rosemary. She twirled her bow, deflecting them all before shooting an arrow at the ground. Roots began to erupt front the ground and she pointed at me. The roots shot at me and I avoided them, but one root managed to grab my arm. The root began to drain my energy and I groaned. The root slammed me on the ground multiple times before throwing me against the walls of the tree. A floral beam struck my body and erupted into an explosion.

The smoke cleared and I fell to one knee. Rosemary looked at me and noticed my smirk. She set another root at me to wrap around my neck.

I awakened my Crest of Radiance then stood up and Rosemary watched. I used the power of Absolute Light to burn the root and all other roots around me. Rosemary grunted as she was blinded by the light. "This next attack will end this battle!"

The Crest of Radiance shined and all the damage I accumulated over the course of the day turned into energy. The Crest of Radiance did the opposite of the Crest of Absence. Instead of negating damage, the damage I take makes me stronger and turns into energy.

Rosemary finally was able to see once again then noticed me charging up a massive fire arrow. She got into a defensive position and crested an earth barrier around herself.

"Ragnarok State! 20%!" I bellowed and my aura surged powerfully as I entered my Ragnarok State. I bellowed and released the arrow.

The arrow crashed into the earth barrier and began to break through the barrier. Rosemary grunted and let out a pained groan as she fire arrow struck her body. The arrow erupted into an explosion and I watched.

The smoke cleared and Rosemary fell to her knees. She laid on her side and disappeared into magic particles. The exit was unblocked.

"Rank A Trial Complete...Congratulations, you have completed the Trial of Yggril." Rosemary said.

I looked at the Bow of Gaia and smiled. I left the Yggdrasil Tree then headed back to the castle. I equipped the Medallion onto the bow and walked into the castle.

"That's was fast!" Serafina said.

"You completed the Trial already?!" Titania asked.

"What? I was in there for about an hour. Phantom Titania and Rosenea, and Rosemary posed a challenge but I still managed to complete the trial." I said. I walked to Esta then held out the Bow of Gaia to her. "I have no use for the bow as it isn't my preferred choice of weaponry. You have it."

Esta blushed slightly and took the bow from my hand. She looked at the bow in awe then felt her power increase greatly due to the bow and the Earth Medallion. "Thank you, Shiryo!~" Esta said then hugged me.

I smiled and nodded then rubbed her head gently. Esta let me go and I looked at Titania and Rosenea. "We will be off. Now that we know the dangers that will soon arise in the future, we need to get the Medallions before King Icas and his crew does."

"Be careful. King Icas...he's a scary foe to fight against." Titania said.

I nodded and left the castle with my team following behind. We soon left the village and I whistled then Blitz whinnied and galloped towards me. We all got on our horses then headed to our next destination.

"What's our next location?" Takame asked.

"We could travel to Adristan. That's where the Adristian Empire is. There lies the Flame Medallion. We can travel there by plane since it's another country all together. There's also Neptunia where the Kingdom of Atlantia is located and where the Water Medallion is. We get there by a ship then submarine because the kingdom is underwater." Serafina said.

"What about the Lightning Medallion, Light Medallion, and the Dark Medallion?" Freya asked.

"The Lightning Medallion is in another continent entirely. The Light Medallion is in a place where only the light shines and the Dark Medallion is in a place where there is only darkness. Those three are inaccessible at this time." Serafina said. "It's your call leader."

"Let's go to Adristan first. It's easier to get there because I'm assuming Atlania won't be as easy to find since it's underwater meaning it could be anywhere in the world." I said.

"That's true." Serafina nodded. "Adristan it is. We can go back to my castle so I can get my private plane ready."

"Right." I said. "We should also find a base of operation as well. I feel insanely dirty after getting down and dirty in a Temple, fighting against a Guardian, and fighting inside of a tree."

"I agree. Our health is still important." Freya said.

"Alright, luckily for you all

King Icas and Raicho sat in the Academy Staff Room with Blight and Erin waiting for their new recruit to come in. A woman with red and orange hair walked into the room. She wore a black and white dress with black thigh high stockings, knee high, high heeled boots, and a cape around her shoulders with a black dollar. Her hair was styled in a ponytail with a black bow.

"Phoenix Apocalypse, I am pleased you could join us. I began to doubt if you would actually show up." Director Blight said.

"You told me you knew something about my childhood friend. What do you know about Shiryo?" Phoenix asked and crossed her arms.

"We know a lot now." King Icas smirked. "This could be a chance to meet your friend again, Miss Phoenix...but we require something from you first."

"What?" Phoenix asked.

"Your Allegiance." Blight said then used his hypnotic abilities to hypnotize Phoenix. "You work for us now...and we need you to find Shiryo and bring him to us alive.."

"Find Shiryo...and bring him to you alive.." Phoenix said as she was in a hypnotic trance.

"HAHAHA! With an Apocalypse on our side, nothing can stop us now! Our plan will be absolute and my plan will be fulfilled no matter what I have to sacrifice!" Icas said.

I sat in my hotel room and looked at my phone to see I was getting text messages from Shira asking how I was doing. I texted back and sat on the bed. I knew once I left Gesia this time, it might be the last time I ever see Shira. I decided to give her a video call and she quickly answered.

"Hey!" Shira smiled happily.

"Hey." I smiled back and laid down on the bed.

"Y'know...I'm gonna miss you. Princess Serafina told me and Fujo the plans and honestly this is a big step for you as an adventurer y'know." Shira smiled as she laid on her stomach on her bed.

"I'm gonna miss you too. I mean we were together since birth and now...we are parting ways again." I said.

"Yeah...It sucks because I really want to come with you, but I'm not truly fit to be an adventurer. I don't wanna end up like Papa or run into one of his old enemies. That's why I'm scared for you. I love you, Ryo...and I don't want to lose you at all." Shira said then wiped her eyes.

I smiled at her then a memory of her final words popped up in my head.

「Memory....」

Shira gripped my shirt and tears rolled down her cheeks. "Ryo...did we do it..? Did we make it...to Grand Ollympa..? Can we see Papa again..?"

I looked at the dying Shira in my arms and my tears rolled down my cheeks. I hugged her and tried to hold back from sobbing. "Yes...We made it, Shira. We can see Papa again. He's waiting...for us.."

"Yay...Hey Ryo..?" Shira said.

"Yeah?" I asked and looked at her.

"I love you.." She said and smiled at me.

Her hand fell to her side and her eyes became lifeless as she used her final breath to tell me she loved me. I yelled and sobbed for Shira as I held her lifeless body in my arms. I let out all of my sorrows then my sorrows turned into rage and hatred for the universe. I entered my True Ragnarok State out of pure anger and sorrow.

「End of Memory...」

"You don't have to worry about me dying.." I smiled and wiped my eyes.

Shira looked at me and smiled. "The Future is full of uncertainties but I believe you.."

"Hey. Shira." I said.

"Yeah?" She looked at me.

"I love you." I smiled.

Shira smiled back. "I love you too, Ryo." Shira heard a knock on her door and Fujo walked in.

"Guess you gotta go?" I asked.

"Yeah, I'll call you soon!" Shira smiled then hung up.

I looked at the screen then set my phone down and looked at the ceiling. "No matter what, I will change your fate as well. I will keep you and everyone else alive unless Father Time says it's time to go. I won't let anyone hurt you all...not this time.."