Veiled Flames

Stabbing the last Alacryan through the chest, Fayden made himself comfortable on the mountain of corpses, dispelling the sphere that had been protecting Andrew.

Within moments they came running out, halting at the cave opening.

"Sup."

"Why didn't you wake me up?"

Fayden shrugged, "I don't need help fighting a few soldiers. Besides you were meditating, I didn't want to disturb you."

Andrew looked up at him strangely, "You know, you say you're an asshole, but you have been anything but that."

"Enjoy it while it lasts." Fayden rolled his eyes, jumping down from his high ground. "Let's move before they find us again."

"Where will we move to, they are everywhere. Nowhere in Dicathen is safe anymore, it's overrun by them."

"There must be safehouses, we lost the war but the people still live. We just need to find them."

"..." Andrew remained silent, pondering if he should take him to the shelter. Was he trustworthy enough?

'He hasn't done anything to alarm us, he's only helped since he arrived. I think you should give him a chance.'

'And what if he's tricking us? What if he goes on a rampage once we are there. You've seen how he fights, no one there could stop him. Even Arthur would be hard pressed to hold him off.'

'That is an irrational argument, why would he kill people he knew in his world? People he cared about?'

'...It is still unwise to bring a stranger to our last safe haven.'

'What other choice do we have? Arthurs nowhere to be found, most of the lances are missing and the Asuras are no longer in contact with us.'

Fayden watched the two silently, while he could not hear them, or rather did not try to hear them, he could make out some details from Andrews facial expressions. They were having an argument, one which Andrew was losing. He would glance in his direction once or twice during the ordeal, making him think they were arguing about him.

He shrugged and turned away, it was not his concern.

"Fayden," after a while, Andrew called out, "I know a place."

Fayden raised an eyebrow, "How far?"

"Not too far."

"By all means," he beckoned him forward.

Andrew took a deep breath in, and walked forward.

________________________

Fayden Leywin POV :

Meeting this world's version of mother was not what I expected when Andrew mentioned a shelter.

"Who is he? Where is Arthur?" Was Alice's first question.

Andrew glanced my way, asking for permission.

I narrowed my eyes, gaining a red tint to them.

Just don't mention me being a Leywin.

Andrew's eyes bulged out in surprise when he heard me speak in his head, but he recovered himself quickly.

"Arthur is…missing. He fell into an unstable portal." His gaze swept across the room. "This is Fayden…?"

"Marchosias."

He nodded, "Fayden Marchosias, an Asura from a different universe. He is here to help."

"A different universe? What nonsense is that!" Bairon demanded.

"Exactly what he said, my universe is vastly similar to yours, and yet at the same time very much different. You're still an asshole though."

Virion studied me scrutinizingly, "Are you sure he's here to help?"

He nodded, "I'm certain of it."

"What is your world like?" Alice asked.

"Similar to yours actually, the only difference being, he doesn't exist." I pointed at Andrew in the end there.

"And the rest of us do?" Virion asked.

"Yes."

"Why are you really here?" Bairon demanded. "I find it hard to believe you came to our world just to help.

"You're right. Coming here was not my intention, I stumbled into your world on the way back to mine."

"How did you even end up outside your world?" Virion asked with intrigue.

"Irrelevant. I am only here for a short while, I'll try to help as much as I can in that time."

"Hmm," Virion rubbed his chin in thought, "wait, if you're not from our world originally…"

"Then I am not bound by the treaty, yes."

"You could be exactly what we need to turn back the tides. We can reclaim Dicathen!"

"..." I stared blankly at him, "I hate to break it to you but, I'm not that strong. Stronger than any Scythe, yes, but not stronger than a veteran Asura."

"The treaty-"

"Doesn't mean jack shit, the Asuras of Epheotus broke it once, I see no reason why Agrona wouldn't. He already did in my world."

"I…see."

I sighed, "Anyways, I am mostly here to help him get stronger, and find Arthur Leywin. I cannot risk staying here for too long."

"Bu-"

"We understand." Virion cut Alice off, giving her a look.

I nodded, "I'll be outside if you need me."

He opened his mouth to speak, "Don't worry, my presence will not be noticed."

.

.

.

I let out a great sigh once I was out of range. It was always hard to see people I care about see me as a stranger.

I moulded nacht in my hands, using both variants of it. The obsidian creates constructs and the silver constantly destroys it. It was a form of training which I used to perfect my constructs, it was also a great stress reliever.

"That's an interesting form of magic you got there."

"Commander." I acknowledged his presence.

"I noticed something when we were talking."

"Hm?"

"You kept glancing at Alice and Eleanor Leywin."

"I wanted to see what changes Andrew had brought to them."

"Your eyes tell a different story," he pointed out. "You aren't an Asura are you?"

"I am an asura in every way."

"Why do you care about us then, why do you care about the Leywins?"

My lips pressed into a thin line, "Arthur Leywin is a dear friend of mine in my world, I have known ou-his family for years now. Is it really that unusual that I'd care about them?"

Virion sat down beside me, "In your world, you are Andrew's counterpart aren't you? You-"

"I believe I've made it clear that I'm an asura. Last I checked, the Leywins were humans.

"You are hiding that truth because you don't want to face them, and see them not recognize you."

Ha, no one would recognize me even if I was in my own world.

"For the last time I'm not a Leywin."

Virion looked away, "Yeah, you're a Marchosias, not a Leywin." He got up, patting my shoulder, "I understand."

Sure you do.

I looked down at my hand, the construct I had made was struggling to stay cohesive under the pressure of my fist. I sighed, relaxing my hold, thinking of possibilities to control my next destination.

.

.

.

"Fayden," I heard Andrews before I saw him, "We need to go."

He rounded about a corner, coming into my view, "What's happened, have we been discovered?"

"No." He shook his head. "Your presence has greatly boosted the speed at which my core advances. I need only a few more weeks to break through."

"Congrats, I told you you could do it."

"Thank you, but there's an issue."

Fayden raised an eyebrow questioningly.

"The moment I break through, there's going to be an explosion, similar to how awakening works, but much worse."

"The awakening destroyed our house…"

"Yes, this could potentially cause the cave system to fall in. I need to be far away when that happens."

"Do the others know? We don't need them looking for us."

"They do, and they agree although hesitantly in my mothers case."

"Well, let's go then. We'll think of a destination on the way."

.

.

.

It didn't take us long to decide on our destination, an uninhabited island near the coast of the beast glades. In fact this island was so insignificant most Dicathen maps didnt even depict it. Perfect.

Andrew began meditating soon after we landed, eager to enter the integration stage. I set out to catch some fish. Magic really made it easy to, I didn't need a fishing rod, all I'd need to do is electrocute the water and they would float up.

As an Asura, I didn't need to eat. All my nourishment would come from the ambient mana and aether.

Back at the camp, I started a fire to roast the fish on and walked over to Andrews side. I manipulated a small amount of mana to enter his core to aid in the process. The sooner he was done, the sooner I could leave.

Sitting across him, I opened up my senses. Yet I could find Grey nowhere in the vicinity. Is he not on Dicathen? My reach covers most of the continent. He could be in a separate dimension like I did or…

"Careful, the fish are burning." Jormungandr broke me out of my thoughts.

"Oh right," I sprang up, taking them out of the fire. "Here." I threw some towards him.

"?" He looked at me confused.

"That's for you."

"What about you?"

"I don't need to eat anymore." I ended the conversation, shaking Andrew awake with my free hand.

He slowly opened his eyes, looking content with his progress. He looked at me questioningly.

I held up the two fish on sticks, "Dinner."

He nodded in thanks, accepting them.

I sat down on the other side, staring at the night sky. Thinking about how long it has been since I left Losvillion. There was no guarantee at what time I would return, if ever. No, I have to return, I need to fix everything. I need to destroy Agrona.

[You can think of that later. Now, focus on getting your counterpart stronger.]

I sighed, he was right. Phanes, you've been quiet for a long while, what is it?

[I have been observing your core. It's the first of its kind, so I was intrigued.]

So you were responsible for the random tingling.

[Yeah, I was experimenting on it.]

I sighed, Just dont kill both of us please.

[Don't worry, I'm not you.]

My lips curled up slightly, Technically…

[Shut.]

________________________

3rd Person POV :

Nathan Ambers waited for his friend to return, if he had made it out he could make it back in. He would not abandon him, he knew that. But why, even after hours of waiting, was there no signs of his return?

He sighed, maybe he should make his way to the capital.

"Ahem."

His head snapped backwards instantly, almost breaking his neck. How had he not sensed them? Were they just that much stronger than him or were they good at hiding themselves?

He recognized one of them, an ethereal spirit responsible for his rebirth. He bowed as per custom. "Lord Asura."

"Relax kid, we're not here as Asuras."

He looked up, "Huh?"

"Phoebus, meet Mordain Asclepius, current leader of the phoenix clan."

He looked at him in confusion, "But what about that woman who helped in my resurrection?"

"She was the first leader, long dead now."

Phoebus nodded in understanding, turning his gaze to Mordain. "Your Highness."

"Please, no need for that. You can simply refer to me as Mordain."

"Phoebus, I'm afraid your friend won't be back for a while. In that time, I want you to become an apprentice under Mordain."

"What do you mean he won't be back for a while? Where is he?"

"He is…very far away. Facing his own trials."

"Very far away, is he on Alacrya?"

"No, and you needn't worry about him. You will need to increase your own strength to be of help against the Asuras."

Phoebus hesitantly nodded, "How long do we have?"

"If we are fortunate, a year." Mordain answered. "Come padawan, you have much to learn."

Erebus stayed behind as the two Asclepius Asuras left the area.

"Everything is moving smoothly," he muttered.

"It almost seems too good to be true." A woman with fiery hair materialised, she too was a spirit.

Erebus waved his arm and opened three panels. One of them showed a wheat haired boy bantering with a wispy purple canine. The other showed a man in his forties, touching the hilt of a sword embedded in stone as a gateway opened up in front of him.

And the last one showed two boys and an asura laying silently under the starlit sky.

"I have faith in them, I know they will succeed. And come back far stronger than ever."

"Erebus, you tampered with fate when you brought him here. The ripple from that has been astronomical. Beings which were not supposed to exist, now do. Arthur Leywins future has been altered massively. And that snake is closer to his goal than ever before."

"I know the consequences of my actions, but what other choice did we have? You and I both saw the future that awaited us had Fayden not been reincarnated. An uncertain future is better than no future at all."

"Just hope this doesn't doom us all."

"It shall not, that I promise you." If it doesn't…I don't know what I would do.