Arc 8, Hope, Chapter 50, Fate

"So, where do we go again?" Angie asked as we all sat sipping tea.

"To the Sacred Plains. To HoneySuckle Castle." I answered her.

"When do we depart?" Mitan asked.

"The after tomorrow should be good." Lia said.

"Arata, there's something we've been meaning to ask you." Ethan said with a serious expression. "Arata, you won't suddenly leave us right?"

"What are you talkibg about?" I asked, is he sick or something. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. It's just, last night, I had a dream of you." He said, his face grimmer than time before I took his hand. "You... suddenly left us without saying a word. We searched for you across the worlds but... we couldn't find you."

"It's just a dream." I said brushing it away as just a figment of his imagination.

"Speaking of which... I had a similar dream a few nights ago." Will said.

"I did too." Liam said.

"I didn't want to bring it up but... I had a dream of Arata dying, well not really." Zhen said. "He just faded, right before my eyes."

"You guys say strange things." I told them and brushed them away. "I have things to take care of. You guys do what you want."

I left them and went to the room Undine had left for me to use. I sat down and began mapping the castle and trying to see which ones can be used for repelling the Chimeras.

-----

"I'm sure it's not just a coincidence." Reinhardt said. "Something about us having dreams of Arata dying or disappearing isn't just our imagination."

"Yeah. When I was in that dream it felt like it had happened. Long, long, long ago." Alistar said.

"Then perhaps they're the memories of the previous Sacred Petals?" Leviathan said as he joined us. "According to what I know the Sacred Flower connects Braves, even across time. Perhaps those are memories of the previous Blades."

"What do you mean? Are you saying what we were seeing isn't a dream but memories of people we don't know?" I asked.

"That's likely it." He answered. "You may not know this but none of the previous Le Fleurs died a peaceful, painless or simple death."

"What do you mean?" Theo asked.

"The first died in battle as he was devoured by the Chimeras, the second was burnt to death, the third was driven to insanity after losing the Braves that served them, the fourth died after being betrayed by a companion, the fifth died after using their powers to save the people." He enumerated. "The sixth died after being branded as a traitor by the worlds, the seventh died after being attacked by Chimeras while protecting the Braves that served them, the eight was executed and the ninth was used in experiments before dying."

"H-how... horrible!!" Ophelia gasped in horror.

"The fate of Fleurs aren't as simple as they seem." Undine said as she joined us. "He is sleeping right now."

"Arata is?" I said and sighed a breath of relief. "So what did you mean their fate aren't as simple as they seem?"

"The Le Fleur symbolizes hope, that even in the most trying of times, as long as you have hope in your heart, there can be hope. " Leviathan said. "Because of that no Le Fleur has ever given up. They have always fought on through the greatest trials and have never yielded to any foe or threat before them."

"Meaning, even in the face of death, for the sake of their mission, they nevered faltered nor surrendered." Undine added. "Le Fleur, the fate that awaits him, is it hope or despair?"

"It doesn't matter." I said. "We're by his side, we won't let anyone hurt him, right?"

"Will's right." Andrew said. "We'll protect Arata."

If Arata's fate is cruel and painful, so much taht he can't take it, he doesn't have to face it alone. We'll be by his side from here on out."

----

"Yo, welcome back." Gregory greeted. "So, why did you gather us here?"

"I gathered everyone here?" I asked.

"Oh, perhaps you're not aware of it?" Erika said.

"Well, is there something troubling you?' Elias asked.

"Well... there is something." I said. "My Blades said something about me dying."

"Is that so?" Julius said and sighed. "For now we can't say anything about your fate but what happens from now on is in your hands."

"Then... I could die in the future?" I asked.

"I suppose so." Emilia said. "We shared similar fates after all."

They tell me about how each of them died and what was the reason for their deaths and I realize for the first time that I have no idea why I'm doing this.

"We all have mission, that's why we became Braves of the Sacred Flower." Aster said. "Though we vary in reasons, we were called for a single mission."

"What is that mission?" I asked.

"We were tasked with paving the path for the chosen one." Evergeeen said.

"Chosen one?" I asked.

"For you, who is the one who is tasked with ending the War." Hazel said.

"Throughout the years, we have cultivated the power of the Sacred Flower, strengthening it and making it stronger." Ivy said. "With your generation, the Flower has reached its summit, it is ready to bloom. The only thing left is for it to arrive at the fertile ground."

"Fertile ground? Would that be Fatum?" I asked and they smiled.

"Arata or Argent, which ever name you go by, the mission you have is the same. To end this war." Elias said. "We leave the rest to you. We've cultivated the Flower's power. How you use it is up to you."

I wake up to a Zhen shaking me awake. Will hits his head hard with his fists and I ask them what's wrong.

"You... looked like you were having a bad dream." Lucas said.

"I'm fine." I told them. "But thanks, for worrying about me."

"You knucklehead of course we'd be worried." Adonis said ruffling my head and I smile.

No matter what fate awaist me at the end of this journey, I'll have faith in the people by my side. Whatever it is that awaits me, I'll be able to accept it as long as these people are by my side.