Chapter Text
*BOOM* The sound of an explosion echoed throughout the area. Electricity crackled from the arm that caused the explosion. Pieces of wood fell to the ground in front of the person who destroyed the wood. That person was a young boy with violet hair and eyes. Purple electricity was crackling around his arm.
The environment he was in was not a normal environment. It was more artificial than natural. There was no wildlife, only walls and a glass ceiling. The entire area was massive, but the doors were blocked by multiple mages.
In one part of the area, there is a glass observation deck. One man is observing the boy’s progress. The man was tall, and his cloak covered most of his body. He was human, but his eyes were pitch black. The cloak itself was bright red. Strangely, the man’s arms were both transparent, yet solid. Also, his left arm was violet, while the other was black.
The man hummed in thought as he looked down at the young boy. “It seems he is already growing adjusted to his powers. It has only been a year, yet he has grown faster than I anticipated.”
“You seem keen on observing the beast Mirai” another voice said. The now named Mirai turned around to face someone else. The man was frail, using a cane to walk. Clearly, he was old, but he didn’t look human. His clothing was similar to the mages around the young boy, but red in some places. His black eyes and white pupils were definitely not normal. His hands were pitch black with purple veins, and his skin was extremely pale.
Mirai chuckled. “Come now, Solon. I simply wish to alter the future a bit. Allow me to have my fun” he said as Solon moved to observe the boy alongside Mirai.
Solon and Mirai watched as the boy continued to blast multiple targets using lightning bolts. He even threw a ball of lightning that exploded, destroying multiple at once. As more targets appeared, he showed off more abilities. When targets appeared in the air, they were destroyed by electric rockets created by the boy’s powers. When a few missed, he fired normal bolts at the targets, redirecting the missed attacks.
Some of the mages started to attack the boy with balls of dark magic. The boy dodged the attacks with surprising speed and agility for a child. He even performed a few flips and cartwheels to avoid the attacks.
“Are you certain this boy is the vessel for Epimenides? His power is commendable, but he lacks our magic” Solon said, a little suspicious of Mirai. He had only met the man 7 years ago, but he has proven to be incredibly useful.
“The boy originally awakened those powers because of a near-death experience. Replicating that scenario would work just as well” Mirai suggested. Solon found it incredibly suspicious how this man seemed to know events before they happened, but he did not mind it. In fact, he quite enjoyed watching Mirai’s predictions come true.
Solon sighed. “Very well, do what you must. Oh, and thank you for killing that traitor, Morticia.”
Mirai chuckled. “I needed her gone to awaken the boy’s powers early. His anger and fear were enough to do the job. However, I only knocked her out and beat her to the ground. I did not kill her, that was someone else” he responded, surprising Solon. If he didn’t kill Morticia, who did? Surely not the boy, he was too weak, nor would he want to kill the woman who was raising him.
Well, it did not matter. All that mattered was awakening Epimenides. All that was needed was a simple near-death experience. Solon moved over to a control console and pressed a few buttons. Part of the ground started to open in the area the boy was in. The boy looked on in fear as a demonic beast emerged and roared.
The boy screamed as he wildly attacked the beast with his powers. In his panicked state, the boy missed every shot. The beast charged forward, trying to consume the boy in one bite. On instinct, the boy leaped high into the air, avoiding the charge. The beast slammed into the facility walls, but it still wasn’t done.
This cat-and-mouse chase continued for quite some time until the young boy was cornered by the demonic beast. Solon sighed. He was about to press a button when he noticed an orange aura start to surround the boy. “Can it be…?” Solon gasped.
“St-stay away!” the boy screamed as the monster crawled closer and closer. The boy was up against the wall at this point, trembling in fear. Tears flowed from his eyes. “LEAVE ME ALONE!!!!” he yelled, the aura around him growing more and more intense. His eyes turned from violet to orange. The beast in front of him let out a loud roar and pounced. Before the boy could perish, he screamed as he fully transformed, his hair now partially orange. The boy thrust his hands forward, creating a massive shockwave in front of him. The shockwave blew the demonic beast away. A sword then appeared in the boy’s hands.
Solon recognized that sword immediately. “Inconceivable!” he shouted. Mirai grinned, knowing he was right all along. The boy was shocked by the sword appearing in his hands. Unfortunately, he had no clue how to use it. Still, the power was great. Without hesitation, the boy blasted the monster with a torrent of electricity. The beast roared in pain as the boy let out every last bit of power he had. The beast eventually combusted and perished.
The boy breathed heavily as his transformation wore off. He collapsed to the ground, unconscious. When he opened his eyes again, he was floating in a strange place. There were stars in the sky, and there were also some strange objects too. It was a strange void, and the poor boy was alone. “Hello?” His voice echoed throughout the void. His call was answered when someone appeared in front of him.
The boy couldn’t tell if the being before him was male or female. The being was completely white with equally white robes. Their eyes were reddish-orange and they had markings on their cheeks.
The being looked down at the small child before them. “Interesting. I never imagined I would find myself in a situation like this. I’m glad I was able to act in time. I don’t think I would want your blood on my hands” the being said, finally speaking.
“Who-who are you?” the boy asked, afraid this person was going to hurt him.
“Easy, I am not here to harm you. Now that I think about it, I have no clue why I am here anyway. My name is Arval. Who are you?”
Feeling like he could trust this being, the boy introduced himself. “Shez.”
Arval closed his eyes for a moment. “Shez huh? Well, Shez, would you mind explaining why you were fighting a demonic beast?”
Shez looked down and started to tear up. “They made me do it. A man came into our village and killed my mom. *Sobs* I don’t want to be here anymore!” he said, falling to his knees.
Arval didn’t know how to properly react to this, so he just peeked into Shez’s memories to gain more information. After a bit, Arval learned that Shez wasn’t lying, although something was off about that particular memory. Arval wasn’t sure how, but the memory of Mirai killing Shez’s mother felt…altered somehow.
Regardless, it was clear that this kid needed guidance. So, Arval kneeled down and tried to comfort the boy. “Easy there, things are gonna be fine. After all, you’ll have me from now on” Arval said in a comforting manner.
Shez rubbed the tears from his eyes and looked up at Arval. “R-Really?” he asked, hopeful that he wouldn’t be alone anymore.
Arval smiled. “Of course, I’m your partner in destiny after all!” The look on Shez’s face gave Arval the indication that the young boy didn’t understand. “What I mean is, someday you and I will do something important. I don’t know what that is, but until then, I will remain by your side” Arval clarified.
Shez had a better understanding of what Arval meant and nodded. Before he could speak, he was forced out of the dream by an unknown force.
“Woah there, I can’t have you communicating with your friend forever” Mirai said to an awakening Shez. Mirai’s left arm was glowing. “My apologies, but your new friend must stay silent for quite some time” he said with a terrifying grin.
Shez’s eyes widened. “A-Are you talking about Arval? What did you do to him?!” he questioned, worried that his new partner was hurt.
Mirai chuckled and got up from his kneeling position. “Do not fret, he is unharmed. However, you won’t be talking to him again anytime soon. One of my powers, mystokinesis, sealed him and your magic away. As long as you are here, you will be relying on your own power boy.”
Shez couldn’t believe it. Mirai had already taken his mother, and now he took Arval! Shez had only known Arval for a minute at most, yet for some strange reason, he felt he could trust the being. Shez’s emotions were a frenzy, as evidenced by the crackling of electricity around his body. Shez wasn’t sad this time, he was furious.
With a yell of fury, Shez tried to disintegrate Mirai with lightning from his hands, but Mirai dodged the bolt with ease. Solon appeared and used some dark magic to put the boy to sleep. Solon gave Mirai a glare. “Why would you seal Epimenides away?! We could have had a great ally!”
Mirai rolled his eyes at Solon’s frustration. The agarthan clearly didn’t understand anything. “Solon, do you really believe it would be that simple? That little awakening the boy had would not have been enough to fully awaken Epimenides. Right now, we should mold the boy, make him unable to fight against Epimenides.”
Solon sighed. Mirai had a point. It would be better to have a vessel that did not resist. “Very well. We shall continue with our current plan. However, Thales believe it is time that we infiltrate the surface world on a grander scale.”
Mirai grinned. Being from the future, he knew where this was going. Now all he had to do was wait. In the meantime, he could continue “training” Shez. Little did Shez know, this training would be some of the worst moments of his life, and it would affect him forever.
3 years later…
“I must say Mirai, your predictions are, more often than not, correct” Thales complimented.
Mirai chuckled. “I am from the future Thales. Besides, isn’t this beneficial? Your “niece” had her conduit powers awakened thanks to the stress of having her second crest implanted in her. A conduit with the powers of a crest is quite the rarity after all.”
It was true, most conduits could never use magic. Conduits with a crest were a different story. Of course, Mirai and Shez were also obvious exceptions, though Mirai refused to reveal why the latter could use magic. It had something to do with Epimenides, that much Thales was certain of.
The two watched as Edelgard trained to use her powers more effectively. Edelgard’s power was pyrokinesis. Edelgard summoned a wave of fire and destroyed the targets in her path, burning them all to the ground.
“Very good brat!” Mirai praised. Edelgard just glared. She had only been here for 5 days, but this place had a massive effect on her. “Oh, don’t give me that look. I’m about to give you a brand-new friend!” Mirai said playfully, responding to the girl’s angry look.
Edelgard sighed. She hoped this new “friend” wasn’t a monster. Another door opened in the facility. To Edelgard’s surprise, her “friend” was another boy around her age. This was the first time Edelgard had seen anyone aside from Mirai and the Agarthans in days.
Shez was also surprised to see someone his own age here, but he shrugged it off. ‘Let’s get this over with’ he thought. Once this was over, he could get that meal he was promised before he went back to his “studies.” By that, he meant more battle tactics and strategies.
As the door closed behind him, Shez created a tether made of lightning and threw it at a nearby platform. Using the tether, he swung from it to get to Edelgard’s location faster, landing like it was no big deal. “So, you must be new here” he said, surprisingly calm about the entire ordeal.
Edelgard was surprised. “Who are you?” she said, not aiming to attack. If anything, she was hoping this person was an ally.
“Shez. I’m a conduit, just like you. You know what those are, right?” he asked after introducing himself.
Edelgard slowly nodded. She knew the history of conduits, but she never imagined that she was one. She just assumed her new crest was the cause behind her new power. Apparently, that was wrong.
Mirai soon forced them into a sparring match. It was one-sided, as Shez had much more experience than Edelgard. Edelgard was surprised by how fast she was healing. ‘Do conduits heal faster?’ she thought. She was right.
To her surprise, the boy offered his hand to her once she lost. She took it, allowing the boy to pull her to her feet. Shez sighed. “Emmet is the only challenge here” he muttered.
Edelgard was confused by this statement. “Are there other people here?” she asked.
Shez crossed his arms. “Aside from the guys keeping us here, there are 3 other kids around our age. It’s time for lunch, which is the only time we have any sort of freedom in this hellhole” he said, somewhat angry at their current situation. Edelgard couldn’t blame him, this place was horrible. Still, Shez seemed somewhat apathetic. During their sparring, he seemed completely emotionless. Edelgard was worried that she may end up the same way if she stayed here too long.
Shez and Edelgard were escorted to a smaller room. There was only a big table and food. Three other people were there. One was a 14-year-old boy who seemed to be from Duscur. His green eyes shifted from Shez to Edelgard, looking at the latter with curiosity. The last two were twins, but one had blonde hair while the other had brown. Their eyes were both blue. They seemed to be 13.
Shez casually took a seat while Edelgard took hers more awkwardly. The boy from Duscur laughed at this. “Damn, looks like they got another one!”
The blonde twin gave the teen an angered look. “Emmet, this is nothing to laugh about! The less people in this horrible place, the better!” she said, but Emmet just shrugged.
“You aren’t wrong Eva, but neither am I. I was just stating a fact” Emmet responded with a bit of smugness.
Eva was about to throttle Emmet, but her sister pulled her back. “Eva, he isn’t worth it” the girl said.
Eva sighed. “I know Mabel, but he is so infuriating at times!” she said, pulling her hair in frustration.
Emmet raised his hands in surrender. “Hey, I’m just trying to have a bit of fun!” he said in defense of himself.
Shez rolled his eyes as he took a sip of his water. “And your idea of “fun” is reminding us of how horrible this place is? Unbelievable.”
Emmet pointed an accusing finger at Shez. “You of all people have NO authority when it comes to talking about fun. I’ve only been here for a year and 3 months, yet I have NEVER seen you smile!”
Mabel gave Shez a look of empathy while Eva just looked away, a sad look on her face. “Emmet, that’s not fair to Shez. He’s been here for 3 years after all” Mabel revealed, shocking Edelgard.
She gave Shez a look of amazement. “Three years?!” she exclaimed. How could one person survive that long in a place like this.
Shez just ignored the loud noise and continued to eat. Emmet sighed and turned to Edelgard. “Good luck getting him to speak. It’s a miracle I’m able to anyway” he said.
“What is your name by the way?” Mabel asked, giving Edelgard a kind smile. She was thankful for that, as she needed kindness right now.
“My name is Edelgard von Hresvelg.” The moment Edelgard introduced himself, Emmet spat out his drink, laughing hysterically.
“HAHAHAHA!!! NO WAY!!! THEY GOT THE IMPERIAL PRINCESS?!”
Mabel and Eva were shocked that they were in the presence of a princess, but Shez remained unfazed.
After Emmet calmed down, everyone focused on eating. Emmet spoke with his mouth full, trying to ask Edelgard something.
Eva glared. “Swallow your food you idiot.”
Emmet did so and spoke once more. “So, how did you end up here princess?” he asked.
“EMMET!” Mabel yelled. Edelgard didn’t want to answer that question, as the pain was still fresh in her mind.
“What? I’m just curious as to how the princess of Adrestia ended up here!” Emmet responded. He clearly had no clue what Edelgard went through.
Edelgard looked down, tears starting to flow from her eyes. She hated thinking about those days, what those people did to her and her family. Shez took notice of this and sighed. “Look, you don’t have to tell us anything, but all of us have already been through horrific things, so you aren’t alone” he said.
Emmet looked genuinely shocked, as did the twins. “Wow, I guess even a heartless guy like you can be considerate” he said. Seriously, he had NEVER heard Shez say something like that.
“Who says I don’t have a heart?” Shez asked.
Mabel gave him a look. “Shez, the only emotion you have shown ever since we all met you was anger, and that was only when Mirai is around” she said.
Shez scoffed. “Can you blame me? He’s the whole reason I’m here. He killed my foster mom and kidnapped me when I was 9.” Yeah, it was easy to see why Shez hated him.
“Did you…have any other family?” Edelgard asked hesitantly as she ate.
Shez shook his head. “I never knew my birth parents, and I don’t know if I have any other family out there. The only person I had was my foster mother, but she’s gone now” he said, showing a small look of sadness for once.
“Mirai also took your partner in destiny, right?” Emmet asked. Normally, he would have found a voice inside someone’s head crazy, but he knows that reality is full of weird stuff.
“You mean Arval? I’ve tried talking to him again, but Mirai wasn’t lying when he said he sealed Arval away. I can vaguely feel his presence sometimes, but it’s so faint” Shez revealed.
Edelgard asked who Arval was and Shez explained in the best way he could. Edelgard also found it odd that Shez had a layer of power hidden away, but she had already been through a lot of odd things, so it wasn’t too odd.
“It’s weird that we have a crestless conduit that can use magic” Emmet mused before he realized something. “Wait, you can’t right now. My bad” he apologized, correcting himself.
Eva noticed how confused Edelgard looked. She couldn’t help but giggle. “Edelgard, do you not know that much about conduits?” she asked. When Edelgard shook her head, she chuckled. “I don’t blame you. Not many know much about our kind.”
Shez took another sip of his water, almost finished with his food. “You only know their basic history, right? How they’ve been around since before the war of heroes, only for most of them to vanish?”
Edelgard nodded. “Yes. That is the extent of my knowledge” she confirmed. Honestly, she wanted to know more, especially with the revelation that she IS a conduit.
Shez looked at Emmet with an expectant look. Emmet sighed. “Why do I have to explain this?” he asked.
“Because you are the most knowledgeable” Mabel and Eva answered in sync. Edelgard almost smiled at their harmony. She wished she had a twin sometimes.
“Fine…” he groaned. “Conduits have been around forever, I think. Before and during the war, there were not a lot of them at all. Nobody really noticed the difference between normal humans and conduits until after the war. Many conduits emerged after the War of Heroes, but most of them vanished over the years” he explained.
“Vanished?” Edelgard asked. How could an entire group of people just vanish like that?
“He means they were either killed, went into hiding, never had their powers activated, or their powers were so subtle that no one noticed” Shez clarified in a blunt manner.
Edelgard flinched when Shez mentioned conduits were being killed. “W-What?!”
Emmet sighed. “Lots of people back then hated conduits because they were different. They couldn’t use magic, so everyone started to hunt conduits down. It didn’t help that some of the church’s texts validated the conduit hunts.”
Shez raised an eyebrow. “I still find that strange. From what little I’ve read; the texts don’t mention anything like that at all. Perhaps certain things were willingly rewritten in different versions of the texts” he theorized. It wasn’t impossible. Over time, different branches have been tasked with rewriting the texts for various reasons. Perhaps one of those churches had it out for conduits.
“Regardless, conduits were either mistreated or hunted down, causing a lot to disappear. I know this because my parents were part of the conduit hunts. They actively called all conduits abominations, saying they must be destroyed. Ironic how their own son was a conduit with the ability to manipulate any liquid” Emmet said bitterly.
“That’s when they left you for dead when you were 12, right?” Shez asked, not seeming sorry for bringing up something so terrible. Emmet nodded and took a bite out of his steak.
Edelgard was absolutely disgusted by this. “Why?! Why would they abandon their own child?!” she screamed in anger. It made no sense to her at all.
Emmet shrugged. “Don’t know. Fear, hatred, it could be anything. All I know is that I’m lucky to be alive. Mirai found me a little later, and that’s how I ended up here.”
Eva decided to speak up. “Mabel and I, our parents were conduits. We inherited our powers from our parents. I have the power to manipulate blood, while Mabel has the power to manipulate nature.”
Mabel nodded, showing off her power. Her power normally takes the form of green energy, but it can be used in other ways. “When we were discovered by conduit hunters, our parents were killed trying to protect us.” Mabel looked down sadly. “We barely escaped with our lives before Mirai found us.”
Edelgard couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “Why has no one done anything about the mistreatment? What about the Central Church?” she asked.
Again, Emmet shrugged. “Either the Central Church is aware of the issue and doesn’t stop it at the risk of causing a war, or the hunts are so secretive that they aren’t aware at all. As far as I know, the only conduits that aren’t treated like dirt are conduits with crests. They were “blessed by the goddess” apparently” he said using air quotes.
Shez snorts, surprising Emmet again. “Honestly, it’s pretty dumb that everyone believes crests are what make the world go around. Look at us, we had to LEARN how to use our powers. I don’t see how having a crest suddenly makes you fit to rule a kingdom or whatever.”
Eva gave a small glare. “Hey, not everyone with a crest has it easy. Sure, a lot of crestless people go ignored, especially by the nobility, but even those with crests have it bad from what we heard” she said.
Mabel nodded in agreement with her sister. “Yes. Thanks to the crest system, many noble children with crests are forced into roles they never asked for. While not every noble house practices this, most do. Sadly, some people’s destinies are written for them” she said with sadness in her voice.
Shez hummed. “Then I guess conduits, crest bearers, and the crestless aren’t so different after all. We just pretend otherwise” he said bluntly. Despite his bluntness, everyone couldn’t deny the truth of his words.
Edelgard listened to all of this, and she was furious. ‘All of this has been going on for years, yet no one has done anything about it?!’ This was unacceptable, and she wouldn’t let this stand. “I’ll stop it” she said boldy, catching everyone’s attention. Even Shez was interested in her bold claim. “I want to stop all of it. If I ever get out of this place, I will create a world where no one’s destiny is written for them, a world where everyone is equal!” she proclaimed.
Emmet laughed at this. “Nice speech princess. Unfortunately, a lot of people will try to stop you if you try that. One time, while I was on my own, I came across a noble that spoke out against the crest system and conduit hunts. 3 days after his speech, he mysteriously vanished.”
Shez nodded. “The idiot has a point. People will fight change with everything they have, leaving peaceful methods off the table.” Emmet glared when Shez called him an idiot.
“Still, it would be nice to live in a world like that. A world where we wouldn’t have to fear revealing ourselves” Mabel said with a bit of hope. “Perhaps my sister and I could become singers without having to fear be hunted.”
Emmet shrugged. “I guess I could go for the mercenary life. Might as well put these skills I was forced to learn to good use.” Emmet turned his gaze to Shez. “How about you?” he asked.
Shez just shrugged. “I guess I’d go for the merc life as well. It’s not like I have anywhere else to go. I don’t know if I have any other family out there. So, I guess mercenary life would be good. Of course, we’d have to escape this place first.”
Shez was unfortunately right. In order for any of their dreams to be achieved, they had to escape this facility, which was practically impossible. The facility was huge as far as they knew, with tons of twists and turns everywhere. They weren’t even allowed to freely roam. There were always eyes watching them.
So, for the next few days, this cycle would continue. They would train, eat, and chat. The chatting was probably one of the few enjoyable things about this entire ordeal. Edelgard liked everyone she was stuck with. Emmet was knowledgeable about conduits and how they worked, so any questions she had were easily answered. Mabel and Eva’s songs were great to listen to whenever they got the chance to sing. Plus, despite not knowing what happened to Edelgard, they did their best to make her happy, which Edelgard greatly appreciated.
Shez was…probably the least social of the group, but Edelgard appreciated how honest he could be. She also found it funny how neither of them could swim. Edelgard just didn’t know how to, and considering her power was pyrokinesis, large bodies of water likely wouldn’t be healthy for her. She would withstand certain water attacks just fine, like when Emmet used his powers to fire balls of water at her, but too much water would cause her powers to fizzle out, if not outright kill her. Rain would be a massive pain. Emmet would actually benefit from the rain as he could absorb it to make his water attacks stronger or heal himself faster than he already could.
For Shez, it was more of a double-edged sword. Large bodies of water were a huge weakness, but large puddles across a large area could take out multiple opponents at once. Thunderstorms were actually a massive benefit. One time, a thunderstorm emerged during training. Shez accidentally caused lightning to strike the facility. This wasn’t a concern at first, but that’s when Shez started to come up with a plan to escape.
The next few days were strange. While everyone else was training, Shez just kept raising his hands up and throwing them down. Emmet would bring up this issue during lunch.
“What are you trying to do Shez? For the past few days, all you did was that weird…whatever motion” Emmet said. Mabel, Eva, and Edelgard were all curious as well.
Shez used an ability of his to make sure there wasn’t anyone unsavory listening in. Apparently, humans have electricity in their bodies. This was good for Shez, as he could send out a pulse that would allow him to detect any creature with electricity. He could see the outline of anything with electricity in it, even through walls. (A/N: This is just Cole’s radar pulse from the games.)
Thankfully, it was just their group, no one else. Shez gave them all a serious look. Well, more serious than usual. “If you have to know, I’m trying to get us all out of here” he revealed, causing everyone’s eyes to widen.
Mabel looked extremely hopeful when Shez said that, jumping out of her seat in excitement. “Truly? You have a plan to get us out of here?” she asked.
Shez nodded. “Yeah. Remember when I called down a bolt of lightning from above during that thunderstorm?” he asked. Everyone nodded, remembering that event. “Well, I’m trying to call one down without a storm being present. Someone has to notice the oddity of lightning striking one specific place without a storm around. Eventually, someone will get suspicious and find this place. Mirai and his allies probably wouldn’t like that.”
Emmet’s eyes widened as he realized where Shez was going. He snapped his fingers. “I get it. At the risk of being found, they’d have to scramble to pack up and leave!”
Shez nodded at this statement. “Exactly. In a hurry, they’ll likely make the mistake of putting all of us into one place. All we need to do is be ready to break out.” It seems the strategy training was finally paying off.
“But won’t they try to stop us even if we do escape?” Edelgard asked. Surely it wouldn’t be that easy.
Shez rolled his eyes. “You forget, they’ve been training us. It’s only fair that we repay them for that” he said a bit ominously. Electricity surrounded his arms briefly.
Emmet chuckled and downed the rest of his water. “Payback is something I can get behind” he said with a small smirk.
More days would pass. Shez would continue to try and summon lightning while the others trained for the day they would hopefully escape. That day would soon come as Shez finally managed to create a lightning storm. Only one bolt would come down, but that was enough. He did this multiple times, exhausting himself in the process.
Eventually, the mages and Mirai realized they had to leave before someone reported this to the knights of seiros. As Shez predicted, all of them were placed into one fortified carriage. Luckily, Shez had absorbed some electricity from nearby devices to restore his stamina as well as power himself up a little.
As they were all riding in the dark carriage, Shez, Mabel, and Edelgard used their powers to create some light. Shez created blue by coating his arms in electricity, Edelgard made orange by conjuring a ball of fire in her right hand, and Mabel created green using a similar method do Edelgard.
“How long have we been in here?” Shez asked. His plan relied on them being a good distance away from the facility.
Emmet shrugged. “By my count, an hour and three minutes.” He had been counting in his head to pass the time.
“Good. Now’s our chance to get out of here” Shez said before turning to Edelgard. “Do you remember when your fire accidentally mixed with one of my electric explosives?”
Edelgard nodded. “Yes, the explosion was far more destructive than normal” she said. Some of the mages watching them couldn’t help but be impressed too.
Shez smirked, which was a rare sight to see. “Good, then you know what I’m planning” he said as he conjured an electric grenade in his hands.
“Wait, won’t it just bounce off of the wall?” Eva asked. The last time they did this, the ball bounced back.
“Don’t worry, I can make it stick to any solid surface if I want it to” Shez said, reassuring the blood-manipulating conduit.
Edelgard placed flames around the electric grenade in Shez’s hands. When he threw it at the carriage door, he quickly conjured a shield in front of the group, protecting them from the explosion. The explosion also rocked the carriage, causing it to fall onto its side. The driver fell from the carriage, which made it easier for all of them to escape.
It was raining, which was an issue for Edelgard, but not an issue for the rest. In fact, Shez’s electric attacks were more devastating thanks to the rain, and Emmet excelled in a rainy environment. Emmet created a massive wall of water using the rain to block any of the mages from getting to them. Shez added to this barrier by making all of the water electrified. If anyone tried to run through that water, they would be in for quite a shock.
The group continued to run, with Shez and Emmet taking care of any pursuers. Eva showed off some of her skills, creating two swords made from her own blood to cut through dark magic attacks.
A wave of mages tried to block their path again, but Mabel used her powers to create a massive earth wall. Any grass on this wall was also deadly, ready to attack anyone that tried to climb over it.
Shez turned to the others. “We should split into groups, make it harder for them to pursue us” he suggested.
Emmet nodded. “Got it. I guess this is goodbye for now then” he said, a little sad that they had to part ways like this.
Shez rolled his eyes once more. “Don’t get sentimental, we might meet again someday. Right now, we need to get out of here.” Shez was right, and everyone knew it. With a shared nod, they all parted ways. Emmet, Mabel, and Eva split off from Shez and Edelgard.
The duo of Shez and Edelgard ran as fast as they could. “Do you have any idea where we’re going?!” Edelgard yelled as they ran into a forest. The fact that they ran into a forest was an indication that they did not.
“Anywhere but here!” Shez yelled back as they jumped over bushes and ducked under branches. “A village can’t be too far!” They had been in that carriage for over an hour, meaning they were far from the facility. There had to be a village somewhere.
Unfortunately, neither of them would find a village. Solon warped in front of them with Mirai by his side. Mirai chuckled and clapped for the two as he walked forward with a smile. “I must say, that was quite the plan you kids came up with. Unfortunately, playtime is over.”
Shez growled and tried to attack them both with a rocket attack, but Mirai dodged while Solon used magic to reflect the attack back towards Shez. The boy’s eyes widened at this. He quickly pushed Edelgard away while he was blasted back by his own attack. The attack itself didn’t hurt since it was his own electricity, but the explosive force sent him out of the forest and right off of a cliff.
Mirai quickly ran to the edge of the cliff and looked down, searching for any sign of the boy. He sighed. “Damn, we lost him.” In reality, this was an act. He had anticipated Shez and the others escaping, but all he needed was Edelgard. The others were of no consequence. Speaking of Edelgard, she was worried that Shez had perished in the attack, leaving her all alone.
Sadly, the girl was soon recaptured and taken back to Enbarr, but she would not forget any of her friends, nor what happened to her. ‘I promise you all, I WILL change this world.’ Shez had likely died trying to save her, and she would NOT let his sacrifice be wasted.
As for Shez, the fall alone wouldn’t have killed him. He could survive just about any fall. The problem was the dangerous ravine. Shez cried out as the water caused his powers to short-circuit. With a bit of luck, Shez was able to crawl out of the ravine, although he needed to rest up. Leaning against a tree, he tried his best to fall asleep. ‘I hope Edelgard and the others made it out’ he thought. Despite seeming apathetic, he enjoyed spending time with them, despite it all being brief.
When Shez closed his eyes, he never expected he would meet an old friend when he opened them. Floating in that same void from 3 years ago, Shez’s eyes grew wide as he saw Arval floating before him. “Arval!” he said with genuine happiness.
“Well, it’s about time we met each other again” Arval said with a small smile. “I tried speaking with you for years, but I just couldn’t until now. I guess your near-death experience removed that little seal that was placed on me” Arval explained.
Shez nodded. “I guess so. Still, it’s nice to see you after all of these years. It hasn’t been easy” he said, not sounding that disturbed by all of the events he went through.
Arval took note of this and had a concerned look on his face. “You know, you don’t have to bottle all of that frustration and sadness up. It’s okay to cry if you need to” Arval said.
Shez shook his head. “I’m fine, especially now that I have my partner in destiny back by my side. Now, we need to get stronger and find Mirai.” Shez’s eyes narrowed in anger. “He’s gonna pay for what he did.”
Arval was worried that this mix of apathy and anger would become a problem, but he knew he needed to guide Shez to someplace safe. Now was not the time to talk about emotions. So, when Shez woke up, he started to search for any civilization. Lucky for him, he came across a mercenary named Berling who was willing to take him in once she saw what he could do. When Shez was old enough, he would officially join the crew. Little did he know that he would be having a reunion with an old friend very soon.
Sorry if the chapter seems a bit rushed in some parts, I just didn’t want this massive introduction to be too long.