[Some time Prior]

"Conrad!" I yelled. I gasped as I opened my eyes. Darkness shrouded me. Xeleria's sun had already set on Nine Petal Island. I lowered the hand I had held out as if trying to catch up to something.

Conrad... I had seen him in my dream. He was dressed in a black and purple bodysuit. His back was to me, so I wasn't entirely sure it was him, not until he had removed his helmet, revealing his snow-white hair. Then...then he turned to look at me. It was him... but older, the age he should've been.

Tears trickled down on my hands. Why did I have that dream? Were the higher powers trying to tell me something?

I pushed myself out of the bed I found myself in. Taku must've brought me here after I collapsed.

I inched forward in the darkness, making my way to a nearby door which I assumed was the bathroom. I needed a good shower. My clothes were stuck to my skin, but worse was the fogginess in my head.

Removing my sweat drenched shirt, I walked into the room. Luckily, it was a bathroom. The shower was a small glass-stall one rather than the kind which doubled as a bathtub like the one my mama had.

I threw my shirt and the rest of the articles of clothing into an empty black basket. Hanging near the basket was a clean towel. Had Taku placed one there in advance?

After entering the shower stall, I turned the knobs to give me mildly warm water.

My lips crested into a smile as the water hit my fair skin. It felt so good. Tetsu was right when he said that a good shower helped wash away one's worries, even if was only for a short while.

***

[ 'Present']

Draping the white towel around my waist, I glanced around the bathroom for a pair of clean clothes. As I continued to look, a bright blue glow appeared from one of the pockets in the jeans I had removed.

"The crystal!" I yelled, reaching out for it. "Hey, Tetsu!"

"Tetsu?" the person on the other side said as the image became clearer.

"Setsuko?"

Her face suddenly turned bright red.

"Wait a moment," I said, setting the crystal down and turning around. "Let me change first."

I walked back to the bedroom and turned on the lights. On the other side of where I had slept were a pair of jeans, a white button up shirt, and silver boxers. I quickly put them on before returning to the bathroom.

"Done?" Setsuko asked, keeping her head down.

"Yeah, sorry about that. Just walked out of the shower."

"I can tell," she said, her cheeks still as red as cherries.

I snickered. "You're surprisingly cute when flustered."

"Surprisingly?" she snapped. The princess grumbled to clear her throat. "Anyway, button up your shirt first..."

I sighed and did as she said. "There, happy?"

She smiled. "Yeah. So, how is training coming along?"

"Good... though I sort of passed out after pushing myself too far."

"You shouldn't push yourself too far."

I smiled. "Funny, hearing that from you, princess."

She chuckled. "I was actually made to hold back just now. Speaking of training, Tetsu has grown a lot. By the time the three days are up, he might be as strong as you, if not more."

"That's only if I stand still, which I don't plan on doing," I grinned. "My uncle is going to help me awaken Aventine's true capabilities."

"Is that possible with him still alive?"

"Huh, what do you mean?"

"Normally, an angel tool has only one wielder, but your uncle can still use Aventine. He'll need to relinquish his remaining ownership of it... but to do that willingly is impossible."

"Right, the covenant. Still, even if I can't use one-hundred percent of its power, mastering it to the highest point possible is enough for me."

Setsuko smiled. "I see. Hopefully, you'll have new tricks to show me once I return. I certainly got some of my own," she said, winking.

I laughed. "I'm not losing to you either. I plan to win our next match!"

"What was our ratio again?"

"You're leading by one."

"You sure? Thought the gap was bigger than that," she said, laughing.

"You wish! I'm pretty good at keeping count. Remember, I studied to be an accountant."

"Right. Why did you pick it? Not to be rude, but it doesn't exactly sound like the most fun job to do."

I lowered my eyes. My cheeks warmed up. "I did it to help you."

"Help me?"

"Yeah, to help with the finances of the kingdom." I ran a hand through my hair. "I know it's kind of silly, since I'm only one person and such a job takes an army of well-versed accountants... but, I thought it'll assist in avoiding getting funds stolen by the corrupt nobles."

Setsuko chuckled.

"I thought so..."

"Thought what? That it's silly? If so, I don't think that at all. In fact, I think it's adorable."

I turned away and grumbled. "No guy wants to hear that..."

"Well, it's the truth. You've always been cute, even now that you're a handsome young man."

I smiled. "So, you do think I'm handsome, huh?"

It was her turn to avert her gaze. "Well, there's no use denying what's obvious..."

I snickered.

"Uhh, changing the subject... have you've been alright? Tetsu spoke with Rosa."

"I see, but what does that have to do with me?"

"Well, he mentioned that Rosa sounded concerned when she said you missed him."

I murmured. "Well, I do... I wish he were here." I covered my face with one hand. "Same with you. I wish that Xime weren't mad at me either."

"She's mad at you?"

"Yeah, I sort of threatened someone..."

She sighed. "You sure can get aggressive at times... though, I'm surprised that the saint got mad at you."

I laughed. "Is that jealousy I detect?"

"No... and you got no right to ask that after becoming jealous of Tetsu a few days back."

I lowered the hand I had on my head. "Right. Sorry for making you mad, again."

The princess took a deep breath. "I'm not mad... now. So, what's bothering you?"

I recalled my dream. "It's... uncle Osamu told me that one of the abysmals accompanying Aster resembled..." I bit my lip.

"What's wrong? Why did you stop? Who did they resemble?"

"Conrad."

Her eyes widened. "What? But... t-that's impossible! We saw his body at the funeral..."

"I know. It might be an illusion, meant to provoke me."

"But why would they want to provoke you of all people?"

"If only I knew. If you return to Zionia before me, please take a look at his grave. It's possible that they dug up his body and reanimated him."

"I will, but if that were the case, it had to have happened while we were in Xeleria. As Anis likely would've noticed someone digging up one of the graves."

"That's true. Maybe if I can get in touch with my aunt or Tere, I could get one of them to look..."

"I'll give them a call or have Tetsu tell them when he contacts them. Whichever comes first. If you end up running into this guy who resembles him, don't let your emotions cloud your actions."

"I'll try not to."

She huffed through her nostrils. "That's not all that reassuring, but I'll take it. Just take care. I don't want to see you at the brink of death again."

I smiled. "Thanks for everything, Setty."

She smiled back. "Don't mention it. It's the least I can do. I'm entrusting Rosa to you."

"Don't worry, I'll keep the little princess safe! In turn, please do the same for my cousin. He tends to push himself even more than I do."

"Of course! Sweet dreams, Serra."

I waved good-bye. "Sweet dreams, my princess."

Her face turned bright red. "That's... so corny."

I chuckled. "I heard Tetsu refer to Rosa that way before, so I wanted to try it on you."

"Yeah, well... my sister doesn't mind corny stuff. Come to think about it, she tends to eat it up."

I laughed. "True, she does. Well, see you later, Setty!"

She smiled. "Bye, my prince."

The crystal went dark. I stood there, alone, my face as warm as a vehicle left out in the summer heat.

I shook my head and slipped the stone into the right pocket of my new jeans.

There was still time left before the day was over, I had to make the most of it!

I ran out of the bathroom and the bedroom. A long corridor stretched quite some distance. On the right side was an exit leading outside, and on the left was another exit, but it led to another part of the building. Surprisingly, one of the rooms housed a swimming pool.

"Seems you're finally awake," a voice called out. I turned and saw my uncle standing by the exit leading out. He pointed his thumb at the door. "If you're ready, we can begin your training."

I smiled. "Of course, I am!"

He grinned. "That's the spirit. Seems Tetsu's upbeat nature really rubbed off on you. I still remember when you were a shy kid who hid behind his mother's leg."

"I... I did that?"

He snickered. "You were a toddler at the time. But based on what Taku told me about your upbringing, you were shy as a kid too."

I scratched the side of my face. "That's true... It took Tetsu dragging me around places to break out of it." Only wished he did it more gently...

"Tetsu sure took after Pa in that aspect," he said, smiling solemnly.

"Grandfather Reginald? What kind of person is he really?"

"He's... he's someone you need to be around to understand who he is."

"Hmm, he sounds like you."

His eyes widened. "Me?"

"Yeah. You're an enigma. When we first me, I couldn't tell what you were after. It seemed as if you were only in it for the ride."

Uncle Tekeshi snickered. "I see. Well, I don't blame you for thinking that. That's part of my motive."

"Huh?"

"You heard me right. Life would be boring without a sense of trill."

"Uncle... do you find war to be fun?"

He lowered his gaze. "Yes... and no..."

I put a hand on my hips. "See, this is what I mean," I said, sighing. "Nothing is clear cut with you."

He turned his back to me. I thought I heard him snicker. "Oh, Serra. You still have a lot of growing up to do. Not everything is clear cut. In fact, even those things that appear to be aren't."

"Oh, I'm more aware of it than you think," I said, averting my gaze.

"Are you?"

I nodded. "Kuroriku is a prime example. Its citizens were raised to believe of it as a hero, but in reality, it has a past drenched with the blood of the innocent in addition to its enemies."

"Then... do you abhor Kuroriku?"

"Not at all. I abhor those blemishes of its history, but there's no erasing them. Kuroriku can move beyond its sins. All nations grow and develop. I guess you're just like our nation."

Tekeshi stared at his hands. "Indeed... Perhaps, it's fitting that it has a 'hero' like me."

"Don't think that's a mistaken view," I said, walking over to him.

He chuckled weakly. "How blunt of you..."

I tapped his shoulder lightly. "The truth is blunt, Uncle."

He smiled widely. "Thanks, Serrano." He wrapped an arm around my shoulders. "I'll shape you to become the strongest wielder of Aventine yet!"

"You do know that includes you, right?"

"Of course, I know," he said, turning his attention to the door. "The current generation should always strive to become better than the past generations. That's the progression of societies. We build on what's come before. Even those societies which have been destroyed are built over by the conquerors, taking with them some of the ancient knowledge."

"Auntie was right, you are a history nerd."

"Anis said that, huh?" He nodded to himself. "Well, she's right. History is amazing. Even warped history teaches you something."

"It does?"

He turned to look at me, his eyes sparkling. "Of course." His arm let go of me. "I'll love talk to you some more about history, but we have to prepare to make some history of our own!"

History of our own... Tetsu used to say that too. To make history was his dream. No... it was our dream! We were born to make history!

**Solar Note: Hope that you enjoyed the chapter ^_^! Thoughts? Predictions?**