Insights

(General POV)

"No matter how strong or mature he is for his age, at the end of the day, he is still a child." Riveria said as she stroked the sleeping boy's face with the back of her fingers.

They were riding the carriage along the main road back home. The boy had cried himself to sleep in Riveria's embrace and was now laid across the seats with his head in the elf's lap as she continued to comfort him.

In her other hand was his blindfold that had soaked through with his tears, and he rested on her thigh with his face fully revealed. Loki gazed at him as she took in his full appearance. It was obvious that he had been walking around with blindfold for a very long time now.

The skin around his eyes were few shades lighter than the rest of his face, in perfect shape of the blindfold itself. Having it off revealed his complete features for the two women to drink in. It dawned on them exactly how much more of a child he seemed now, and it served to remind them of that very fact.

Lyze carried himself with sense of pride, authority and humility that didn't really match a kid but more of an adult that had been through traumatic things in life and had found a way to cope with the trauma. The senior adventurers recognized this behaviour as the themselves had gone through the same phase.

"He really does look adorable without the stupid thing on." Loki leaned forwards and rested her head in her hands. "I'm tempted to open his eyes and see what colour they are." She said as she stretched out a finger towards his face.

Riveria sharply slapped her hand away.

"OW! Mama, why?"

"Quiet! You'll wake him up." Riveria said dangerously as she rubbed his cheek. "He clearly hasn't showed us for good reason. If you did that, you'd be violating the trust he's put in us, not to mention its an invasion of personal space."

Loki huffed.

"Says you! You're making the most of touching that cute face of his as much as possible."

Riveria smiled as she did it a little more to aggravate the redhead even more.

"Indeed. And I'm enjoying every moment of it."

Loki flopped backwards and folded her arms in annoyance. She stayed silent for a moment before giving the both of them a glance and smiling a little,.

"You've grown quite attached to him Riveria." She said. "It's a little warming you know. And unusual in such a short time."

Riveria hummed as she ceased her hand movements.

"I suppose its partially because I feel responsible for what happened between him and Goliath."

"But...?" Loki questioned knowingly.

"I...I don't know. Something in me...just seems to draw me to him. It goes beyond his extraordinary potential and his foreign magic. It's like I can't help but want to look out for him."

"And you wonder why we call you Mama Elf." Riveria glared at her. "Still though, who knew he had such a good voice."

"I know. That was most certainly surprising." Riveria looked down at him. "I've never heard anyone sing a song with so much sadness in their voice, yet somehow that sadness was what made the song so beautiful. And the piano? Even my father's minstrels would have a hard time competing with such a melody."

"I wonder what the meaning was behind it though." Loki mused. "What brought him to singing such a thing? He barely said a peep all night."

"Well clearly it has to do with his life before he came to us. Now I've stressed this with Finn and I'll do the same with you. Don't pry. Let him come to us."

"Yeah, yeah. I know." Loki said as she looked at the sleeping boy sadly. "But whatever baggage he has, it's got to be a lot. As he is my child, I can't help but worry."

---

(Lyze POV)

I was lying down on something that I couldn't describe as soft or hard. But whatever it was, oddly comforting. I opened my eyes, and nearly hissed as a sudden burst of light filled my vision.

It took a little effort on my part to adjust but eventually I could open my eyelids completely. And I was confronted by an all time cliché. To put it simply, I was in a white void.

Yep, there was literally nothing around. It looked like one massive room with completely white floors, wall and ceiling. Except I couldn't find any corners or edges where the walls met the floor or anything. I wasn't even able to comprehend how I was standing at the moment.

But then it dawned on me that my eyes were actually open. As in I was seeing with my own eyes and I was not feeling the pressure of Chaos bursting out of my body. Reaching up to my face, I felt around for the blindfold but upon finding nothing.

I felt a weight on my hip and I looked down to see Libur sheathed at my hip. But it was not in the form of my cane like usual. No, this time it was in it's original form, the form it had taken when I first grasped it, when it was called Excalibur. Feeling as confused as ever, I lifted it to eye level and closely inspected to it, just to see if I could get some insight into what was going on.

As I was doing so, I caught sight of something over the blades edge. There was a silhouette, a shining bright figure of a person standing about twenty feet away. Immediately I raised Excalibur on guard, wondering why none of my detection fields picked them up.

Cautiously I approached them, trying to make out any features. As I came closer, I realised that despite me seeing only the shape of it and nothing beyond that, it's back was actually turned to me. This prompted me to draw a little closer.

When I was about a few feet away, I could finally see what I was looking at little more clearly. The figure was made out of a shining light and their presence...was off. It felt neither malevolent but not friendly either, yet it seemed like both at the same time.

It was hard to tell if it was a man or a woman, even when it turned around and stared at with a non-existent face. We both stood there eyeing each other up and down, or at least that was how it felt to me. Something nagged me at the back of my mind, like I knew this person, if it was a person, somehow.

After much contemplation, and sifting through every memory I ever had, the answer hit me.

"I know you." I said as I lowered my sword. The figure looked like it cocked its head in an inquisitive manner.

"You're Chaos. The power that dwells in me."

The entity appeared to nod at me.

"Why have you brought me here?" I asked it. But I got no answer. Chaos merely stood there, observing me. I stood there dumbly, waiting for it to answer in some way even though I could not see a mouth.

Then it did something very strange. It took a few steps towards me until it was right in front of me. It's adult form towered above my child-like form. It slowly raised its hands and cupped my face tenderly. During this, the instinct to lean away didn't come. Unconsciously, for reasons even I couldn't explain, I leant into the touch.

The hands on my face were not of flesh. In fact, despite feeling my cheeks being pressed by the entity's hands, I could not feel them. Somehow, I was filled with an overwhelming sense of familiarity and comfort. I closed my eyes, savouring the feeling before it suddenly disappeared.

I reopened my eyes quickly as possible to find myself standing on a balcony that overlooked a familiar great valley.

"Even though I have moved on from your tutelage, you still decide to bother me." I said grimly as I turned around to greet another familiar sight. Nekros sat at his favourite table in his favourite spot, drinking tea with that irritating look on his face.

"I simply wanted to check up on you. See how you were fitting into the adventurer's life and all."

I stood there for a few moments, glaring at him before conceding and sitting opposite him in a chair which I just knew would appear behind me. Nekros poured me a cup of tea and waited for me to drink.

I deliberately took my time sipping, basking in the nice flavour and one of the only things I really liked about Valaron.

"I see you've already made level two. Quite impressive I must say. Even I didn't quite expect it to happen so fast, but hey! Life is just full of surprises."

"No thanks to you." I replied. "And I'm pretty sure it's got something to do with the one power you didn't tell me about. You want to tell me what it is now?"

"Nope."

"Why?!"

"First, you didn't ask properly. And second, I want you to figure it out on your own. In all honesty, the answer is pretty clear. You're disappointingly just not using your head or your powers properly."

"Not using my head? Have you any idea how much it's been eating away at me? Everybody down there probably thinks I'm kind of freak now!"

"Definitely."

"...You really are not helpful."

Nekros shrugged his shoulders and drank his tea calmly. He looked up at me with a twinkle in his eye.

"I have to say that even I didn't know you could sing that well Lyze. It honestly came as a shock to me."

"It wasn't meant to happen." I muttered. "I don't even know what happened. I just pressed a damn piano key and then I was playing away like I was performing for the Queen of England all the while not even knowing I was doing it."

"Hmm. It happens to people who are so emotionally invested into music sometimes. I suppose it was a part of yourself that you forget, but then when you rediscovered it, you couldn't help but get back in touch with it."

"And whose fault would that be?" I said angrily. Nekros just gave me a sad look. I folded my arms and looked away, not able to bear looking at his face. We sat there for a few minutes before I sighed. "Why did you send me there master? Is it just for the sake of your entertainment, or is there something more?"

Nekros put down his cup and folded his palms on the table.

"Partly, yes. But on the most part, no. You do serve an actual purpose there."

"And what would that be?"

He smiled at me.

"To be the hero that the world actually needs."

I stared at him, angrily stunned before I addressed that in a dangerous voice.

"I told you before Nekros, I have not gone there to be a hero. I am only there so I can master the power you gave me and tear myself a door back home."

"And yet you appear to have been enjoying yourself while you're there."

"Huh?"

"Don't say that you don't enjoy the company of the cute little Ais Wallenstein."

I narrowed my eyes at him.

"What are you insinuating?" I said dangerously.

He shrugged. "No matter. What I'm trying to say really is that even if you don't want to be a hero, you are going to be."

"So you have left me choiceless again?!"

"No." He replied. "I am not the one who has chosen you as a hero."

"Then who did?"

"Not who, but 'what'. And to answer, it's that thing right there." He said pointing to Excalibur.

I lifted the mighty sword and looked at it in confusion.

"The sword? What's that got to do anything?"

"You know that not just anybody can wield the Holy Sword. One must be worthy enough to be chosen in order to fight it."

"Yes. But you were the one who gave it to me."

"True. But the sword did not obey you because I told it to. It chose you as it's master of its own volition. You know what that means."

I furrowed my brows in deep thought before it came over me.

"He who is chosen by Excalibur, is destined to become a hero..." I whispered.

"And you are the King of Chaos. You are destined to be the greatest of them all." Nekros said. "Isn't that exciting?"

I almost nodded in the wonder of it but I shook my head fiercely.

"NO. Being a hero is Bell's dream, not mine! I don't give a damn what happens to that world. The only thing I care about is returning to my mother, and that is all there is to it."

Nekros gave me a sad look.

"Don't lie to yourself." He said to me in a tone I'd never heard before, which stunned me into silence. He spoke further. "Perhaps you may not care for them now, but you will find that you shall in the future."

"Why? I didn't ask for this life. I didn't want this responsibility. How could I love something that was forced on to me?"

"You don't understand now Lyze. But you will in the future. When you are fighting side by side with someone, mutually protecting and willing to risk your lives for one another, you cannot help but come to care for them."

I had nothing to say. I was just too overwhelmed by the events of the day and the stress of this meeting that I didn't have the energy to continue arguing. Nekros gave me another sad smile.

"Listen Lyze...Alex...you are a good person at heart. That is something that has never changed in this life or your previous one. When the time comes, it will be you who chooses to save that world. No one will make it for you. I did not put you there to impose any will upon you, not mine nor anybody else's."

"Sure doesn't feel like it." I looked down at my cup and noticed it was empty. "The tea is gone. I guess that means I have to go now."

"I suppose." Nekros sighed. "Listen Lyze, I only want good for you. I truly do. I cannot explain the reason behind my actions now, but I swear to you. One day I will explain everything."

"I just wish my mother was with me. That would have been all I needed to be satisfied even in this new life." I said as my spirit disappeared from Valaron and returned to my body.

---

Nekros watched as his pupil faded away back to the mortal realm.

"But she is with you Lyze. I'm just surprised you haven't recognized her yet."

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What does he mean by that last line?

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