[The next day]

After eating we had split back up into groups and at night, we watched the old kaiju movie. I had never seen the second princess so excited. She looked as if she would jump out of her seat and take orbit around Zionia at any moment. I was glad to see her like that. Rosa's dizziness had spooked me. Thankfully, it did turn out to be due to lack of food in her belly.

Though what she said in my room stuck with me. Had something really happened between us? Even if not, I no longer could call her a pervert, not after having had that dream of her and me...

For today, Hideo and I were pulled aside to train with Kohri and Serrano. Serra though wanted to have a one on one training session with me. So Kohri got to train Hideo by himself.

Serra and I had gone to a flat clover filled field at the northeastern edge of my family's lands to do our training.

"Tetsu, you've been out of it lately. Well, more than usual. It feels as if you're not taking this seriously. Did you only wish to become a knight in order to gain fame?" Serrano asked, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"I..." I began but was quickly cut off.

"Because if so then that is a path filled with many traps. The pursuit of fame can lead one to destruction. And I am telling you this not only for your endeavors as a knight, but also for when you become a writer. Do not be blinded by its siren song."

"I didn't! I wanted to become a knight in order to walk in my father's path!"

"In that case, you sought the renown that your father had. When I said that I'll be the best knight ever, I meant it not in terms of fame, but rather one who holds a righteous heart." He averted his gaze. "Though, I haven't been doing a good job at that. You know, I thought that you had said heart."

"Even if I do, am I even worthy of being one? I haven't done anything of noteworthiness as a knight," I said, lowering my head.

I hadn't saved anyone. Dan was saved by his dad and mine. I wasn't even able to stop that bastard who tried to take advantage of Rosa from getting away! Nor had I helped anyone. Then I went ahead and died in Xeleria, causing Yuko to turn into a wrathful beast. I was a liability more than a help.

Serrano stared at his blade and raised it in front of him. "A knight isn't made in a day nor even in a few months," Serrano said, putting a hand on his hips. "A true knight isn't even born through painstaking training. He is born from the tribulations of the battlefield and his life. The previous generation learned that. We who have been raised in a period of relative peace until recently can only begin to fathom it. To grasp at its surface. Knighthood is as much philosophy as it is action. It is a way of life." He smiled. "'Philosophy', that's your name, Tetsu. At least, I think that's what my uncle and aunt had in mind when they named you, in addition to your ability to bend iron."

"Philosophy?" I asked, looking down at my hands. My philosophy early on had been to be the best knight possible, like those spoken of in the chivalrous romance novels of old. The kind who protected the princess and the other nobles. One who was unafraid to put his life on the line to save others. The same kind of knight that my father once was.

Though that philosophy came crashing down, when the nobles I was to protect had lost their trust in me. When the person I looked up to other than my father had turned his back on me when I most needed him. I couldn't continue to believe in such a naive philosophy. True, I still wanted to help Rosa, and Setsuko was nice enough to give me a chance to prove my innocence, but I could care less about their father. He didn't even give me the chance to clear my name.

I chuckled. Considering that I wasn't knighted, I was under no obligation to protect him. Those who I shielded were to be those I decided.

I felt a hand on my shoulder. "Yeah, a way of thinking about life."

I smiled. Serra did always enjoy slice of life novels. Perhaps, it was because they looked at life in various ways. Each person in life had a path. Where those paths would lead wasn't always clear cut. Some paths unfortunately came closing down at no fault of the person. My old path was now blocked. But I could dig the debris out and attempt to continue on it or create my own. My own path, I smiled thinking about it. I didn't need to walk in my father's shadow any longer.

"Whatever you pick, I hope that it'll be a good one," my cousin said, smiling back. "Only we can pave our destiny, you told me that once when we were kids."

I scratched my right cheek and chuckled. "Really? I don't seem to recall."

He closed his eyes and nodded. "Yeah, you did. It was the coolest thing my nine-year-old self had heard up to that point. You came off like a knight out of a novel. And not just any knight, but the hero of the story. A brave and unyielding guy, one that could be rightly compared to a force of nature."

"Hero of a story? While that was my dream, I've learned that such knights don't exist. I used to think that they did, even until recently I believed they did. Though once Kuroshi was unmasked, I discovered that was a lie."

He opened his silver eyes and peered down at the thick blanket of clover underfoot. "I know, but simply because it doesn't exist, does not mean that it cannot. Plus, I feel that uncle is an example of a man who lived long enough to see himself become the villain."

"Right, he should've stayed dead," I said, looking up. He was watching us from the clouds. Then he wouldn't have morphed into the man I now detest.

"If he had died then you wouldn't be standing here like this," he said.

"Enough! How about we get around to actual training?"

Serrano sighed. "Alright. But this time make sure that you pay attention to what I am saying, okay?"

I nodded.

My cousin reverted Aventine back to its earring form and walked over to a lone oak tree and picked up a pickaxe and a hoe. "Alright, then let's get to work!" he said, grinning as he walked back over and handed me the pickaxe.

I raised a brow. "Weren't we going to spar? I mean, I don't mind tilling the soil, but how will this help?"

"Try to till the soil with an even amount of force."

I chuckled.

"What's so funny?" he asked as he rolled up the sleeves of his blue and white flannel shirt.

"It's just that I remember using something like this for your training, but back then it was to help you build some arm muscle."

His face reddened. "Why do you recall that? You should've forgotten that during your battle with Satoru too," he said, grumbling as he looked away. "Say, Tetsu..."

"Hmm?" I asked as I raised the pickaxe over the clover covered field.

He snickered and shook his head. "It's nothing. Let's continue with work, I mean 'training."

I narrowed my eyes at him. Was this really training or was this a setup by Tekeshi in order to get me to till the soil? Not that he needed to. I would gladly do it. Though, there did appear to be some reason behind his madness.

*Calamity/Nightshade*

[Outside of the Imperial Palace]

After having gotten off at Yozora station the other day, we had met up with Mai and Mei and headed back to Kaguya.

Our plan was to take over the Imperial Palace. Roa, Etsuo, and Man-kin were likely held in its dungeons according to Mei. Though Mai had a feeling that the enemy wouldn't be so stupid as to pick someplace so obvious. Instead she considered that they could have been moved into Kasai no Ki's territory or retained in the Makkuroyama estate.

"I hope that they are here," Mai said as she glanced up at the enormous palace. Enormous wasn't even enough to describe it. It was bigger than any other building I had seen. Even when I was first here in Kaguya, it seemed big but now that I was up close...

"Nightshade, approach the guards. They should let you in," Aster said.

"Huh? Why would they?" I asked. "They wouldn't know me." Or would they? In my dreams, my former self wanted to come to this city. Did I complete that dream?

"Just trust me. If they attack then I'll step in to aid you," grandma said, smiling gently.

I smiled back and nodded. "Alright!"

"Too bad they have anti-teleportation devices spread throughout the palace. Otherwise, you could've warped us inside, grandma," Mei said.

Aster nodded. "Yeah, though according to your cousin's report, your uncle Tekeshi could teleport inside."

"What's the connection between him and this nation's king?" she asked as I stepped forward.

"Mei, that can wait. For now, we must focus on retrieving Roa and our brothers," Mai said as she peeked around the corner. "Go, Nightshade."

I emerged fully from the building across the palace and made my way toward it. There were a lot of guards surrounding it, as if they were waiting for something. Perhaps, Mai was wrong and Roa and her brothers truly were held inside.

"State your name!" a guard yelled as he pointed a gun me. The others followed suit.

"My name is... Calamity," I said.

"Calamity?" one of them asked, lowering their gun.

"Prince Azami's son? But you're dead!" one of them said.

I gasped. So that dream was real after all...

https://youtu.be/VjAi8R9qDhg

"Dead he is," an orange haired man in a black suit called out as he emerged from the palace. Following behind him was a cloaked figure. "This young man must be an impostor. A trick of the enemy."

I stepped back as the guns were raised anew. "Shoot!"

"Like I'll allow you to do that!" Aster yelled. Suddenly, the bullets warped away and appeared out of the portals around the orange haired man and the cloaked figure.

The cloaked figure raised a hand and snapped its fingers, causing the bullets to come to a halt and fall to the ground.

"Who is she?" Mei asked as she emerged from hiding. "I don't recall running into anyone like her last time."

"It's you, the young woman who broke into the palace the last time the monkey was held here," the man said as he took a step forward.

Mei smiled. "Take it that you got an image of me made?"

"Oh, we got a thing called 'tapes' here."

"Tapes? Hmph, not that it matters if you know of me or not. Your powers don't work while ours do, so it's best that you don't attempt anything funny," Mei snapped.

I turned around and scanned the plaza for signs of Mai. She was nowhere to be seen.

"Who said that we needed powers to defeat you?" the man asked with a chuckle as he took a step back.

"Who are you?" Aster called out. "I can tell that you aren't an angel."

"Angel? The beings of this world are not angels. They love to call themselves that, but in reality, they're not. They're mutts, hybrids of angels and humans. 'Nephilim' is what beings of a certain other realm call them. I believe that's more accurate. These beings do not deserve to be called angels," the man said.

The guards turned to look at him and narrowed their eyes at him.

"Mr. Itou, what are you?" one of them asked.

"Me?" he asked, chuckling. "I am a being greater than you all. One older than most of what currently exists in this world." He stretched his hands as black wings emerged from his back. They weren't feathered wings, but bat-like wings and had several red eyeballs on them. Their gaze were focused on me though, not on the guards.

The guards didn't say another word. They all opened fire at him but the bullets were stopped once more by the cloaked figure. It charged at the guards as it pulled back its sleeves to reveal claws hands.

Portals opened up and warped the guards away.

"Hmm, defending the enemy?" Mr. Itou said, snickering as he turned his gaze toward Aster. His orange hair was starting to turn black and his skin as pale as snow. "No matter. Mamm, find them and destroy them. I can't allow my secret to get out."

"Right away, dear," the figure said. It had a feminine voice, a familiar one at that. One that strangely reminded me of Piedad. The figure vanished into a gust of air.

"I thought so!" Aster said as she grabbed me. "Calamity, stand back! You too, Mei! These two are demons! That figure back there had to be Mammon, the Archdemon of Greed!"

"An archdemon?" I asked, gasping.

"No way! What are demons doing here in the palace?" Mei said, eyes bulging.

Aster stretched out her hand and formed black shuriken with tiny sparkling dots within them all around her. "It's as Reginald and your grandma Tulia expected. The demons were in plain sight but no one noted their movements. Anyway, get far from here you two! Your powers aren't enough to even scratch this guy. You can tell by how easily he's undoing your anti-powers, Mei."

Mei gulped and grabbed my hand. "Let's get out of here, Nightshade."

Mr. Itou smiled as his suit turned into an onyx robe.

"Wise you are, Aster," he said, chuckling. You know that even with the power your forces hold, that you can't hope to defeat us." He shifted his eyes toward me. "Come Calamity, come to me! I can grant you what you desire!"

I gasped. My head was aching. His voice, it was as if it were coming out of my mind.

"You desire to let loose on the world, don't you? For what it did to you? Destroy those who hurt you. Destroy your parents who didn't care for you or even outright hated you. That brother who betrayed you."

"I..." I said, gripping my head.

"Snap out of it, Nightshade!" Mei snapped as she pulled me away.

"You can't get away," he said as he appeared in front of us. "Hand over the boy."

"You said that I was a fraud earlier," I said, looking up at him.

"I lied. I know the truth, reincarnation of Hanketsu." He tilted his head. "Though, it appears that you are missing a part of your soul. However, I have an idea as to where it is."

I gulped. "How do you know who I am? Did I tell you, when I was alive?"

"It's because I am..."

"Stop talking to him!" Aster yelled as she jumped up and rained down a fury of shuriken at the man. He dodged but the shuriken would follow. He crossed his arms over his chest and gasped as the shuriken slashed his skin.

"Gahhh. You'll pay for that!" he yelled as thunder echoed in the distance. "I don't plan to lose to a slave of a deity such as yourself!"

"A slave you say?" Aster said as she moved around him in circles. "What makes you think I am one."

"You're invading Zionia to fulfill your destiny. The destiny set before you by another. I detest people who would surrender their futures to the whim of others!"

Aster chuckled. "You think you're free, is that it?" Aster said as she formed a sphere of red energy in her hand. "Your power is weak in this world, Accursed One."

Mr. Itou glanced back at me. "That's because I have yet to retrieve what was taken from me." He warped away.

"Where did he go?" Mei asked as she came to a stop.

"I'm not sure, but it's best to get out of here," Aster said as she warped behind us. "That man let us off the hook, not because he isn't strong enough to push me back, but rather that his strength would draw the attention of the angels. The true angels above. He can only move in secret, sowing seeds of division. Nightshade, if you meet that man again, do not heed to a single word he says."

I nodded. "Alright," I said. I rubbed my forehead. The pain was subsiding little by little, but it was still agonizing. His voice, it continued to echo in my head as if it were my own...

"What happened here?" Mai asked as she emerged from the palace.

"Did you find them?" Mei asked.

"They weren't there. Nor were there any other guards. I had expected to see that Naoru guy. It appears that the king left it to that man to take care of us while Naoru and the others stayed back in the actual place my brothers and Roa are being held in."

Aster crossed her arms and furrowed her brows. "Based on what that man said, I doubt that the king knows his true identity. Though, he might know that he is one with great power. In that sense, it wasn't a bad idea. Leaving one as strong as him and a few weak guards surrounding the outer palace grounds to throw us off."

"True identity?" Mai asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Should we tell them? The king and the others I mean," I said, looking up at grandma.

She patted my head and chuckled. "I doubt they would heed our word. They would simply take it as us trying to sow mistrust among themselves. Perhaps this is a positive development. As the involvement of the demons means that there's potential Zionia will be enveloped in another dimensional war in the near future. Though, it seems that man and his allies are counting on us Abyssians to distract the Zionians while they spread their web."

"We also have a demon in our ranks," Mai said. "Well, three but Satoru is supposedly no more while his uncle Collin doesn't act much like one. Margarett on the other hand..."

Aster closed her eyes. "Margarett, I've long suspected her intentions." She gritted her teeth. "It is possible that she's informing the Cianions of our movements."

"It could also be her mother, Leviathan. She is one of the Seven Arch-demons after all. Perhaps, she is playing the part of a 'pet'."

"Should we return home?" Mei suggested.

Aster shook her head. "We will, but we won't be staying for long. We still have a mission to fulfill."

"You still wish to save my older brother? What's with the preoccupation with them?" Mai asked. "This isn't the first time that Etsuo has gotten captured. Wouldn't it be best to leave him and the others?"

Aster glanced up at the sky. "Your brothers and Roa are vital for Abyssia's revival. Though for now, we'll abandon our plans to save them. The mission I speak of involves Xian. We have yet to retrieve the Ziz from them."

"So, we're going to Xeleria? Neat! I wanted to go there last time!" Mei said, grinning.

"This isn't going to be a field trip, Mei," Mai said, rolling her eyes.

Aster snickered as space started to warp around us.

I stared at the empty plaza one last time. It was eerie how silent such a large city was... I had expected it to be noisier and livelier. Though, maybe it was that man's doing...

I grimaced as his words returned. Rage... he wanted me to awaken it, but for what purpose? To manipulate me? Or as simple entertainment?

*Character Section*

True form of 'Mr. Itou'- Sex: Male Age: Unknown Race: Demon Titles/Nicknames: The Accursed One, The Evil One, He whose name must not be spoken

**Solar Note: Hope that you enjoyed the chapter :3. Thoughts, theories/predictions?**