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The Gem of Peace (Yep & Ryoka Sulfinare)

Jasmine gasped from the sudden pulse of energy--partly because it was cold, but mostly because she didn't expect it. Hurt showed in her eyes when Souta told her to shut up. "I'm sorry," she said quietly when he finished talking. "I am only trying to help."

Regardless, she followed him, at first wondering why she was going this way, but then she remembered about the Gem. Was he really going to go after it now, even though he didn't seem to care much about it in the first place? She wasn't going to say anything. She didn't want Souta possibly snapping at her any more. It was best to just let him calm down on his own.

The other two were also in tow, with the teen in the back of the pack. He walked on the trail Souta created, the ice instantly melting as his feet came to meet it. He was significantly increasing the temperature around his legs and feet to do so. He didn't plan on doing this for too long, but as long as the immediate trail was wiped away, they would have a better chance of not being followed by the bandits when they regained consciousness.
 
Souta continued to walk at a power-walking pace. His strides were long and quick. The other three behind him would have to practically half jog to keep up with him. It wasn't long however until Souta's breath could be heard caught in his throat. And a second later, he stopped, letting out a shout as icicles emerged on the knuckles of his gloves. He raised his fist, shooting an icicle at his feet which looked like it sunk into the ground, 'melting' into a puddle of ice. He then pointed his fist off in the tree lines, shooting another icicle from his fist. Contact could be heard, as Souta stepped into the puddle, and literally sunk inside of it.

Where he reappeared was several feet away, but a surprised shout was heard, and it was not Souta.

The teen had reappeared with another puddle of ice where his icicle had landed off in the distance and appeared behind the bandit, where the teen had elbowed the bandit in the back, then swung in front of him, smashing his face in with his elbow (for the icicles on his fist were still out and he didn't want to kill the man -- at least not yet). The bandit recoiled back, dropping the gem which thudded on the ground and rolled away as the teen grabbed the man's face with a powerful grip with his hands, pushing the man back against a tree. His grip from the man's face went for his neck -- choking the man but not enough to suffocate him.

"Do you like this pain? Do you enjoy what you're feeling now?" Souta said in a hot tone. The man tried to reach for his weapon at his side, however, Souta's free hand caught the progressing hand, gripped it, and soon a sickening crack was heard as the boy literally broke the man's wrist. A weak yell of pain released from him -- but was muffled by the fact he was being choked by the younger one.
 
The other three did have to pick up the pace to keep up, but it was the teen that had the most trouble. He was, after all, closer to Souta's height, whereas the other two had long enough legs to make up for the distance Souta was trying to cover. They had been taken by some surprise when Souta suddenly shouted--primarily Jasmine, who had been rather spaced out during their walk. The man could sense what was going on as Souta fired the icicle and used the puddles to teleport.

"He's just several feet ahead," the man said as he started running toward where they heard the surprised shout.

The other two followed him to the clearing to see Souta holding the bandit by the throat--Jasmine recognized him as the one who took the Gem, which was verified by the emerald sitting on the ground just a few feet away from the scene. The two males had noticed it as well, but it was the teen who seemed surprised about it. He knew it was from the prophecy, the one his mentor had told him about while they were in this kingdom. At first he thought the bandit was the Chosen, but then he remembered hearing what Souta said to Jasmine. Then he understood.

All three of them had stopped on the edge of the clearing, but it was the teen to take those few extra steps to the other two. "W-wait, you aren't going to kill him, are you?"
 
Souta's eye, despite looking ice cold, also looked fiery at the same time as he looked towards the other three. His angry glare wasn't hostile however, but he was staring at the other teen more than the other two.

"I haven't decided if I will or not, yet. With what he helped assist what happened to me and Jasmine, he should... But death is too fleeting from having to brace that pain for rest of one's life--"

The man's arm began to move, the one without the broken hand. Moving in defiance, trying to shove Souta off. Souta released the man's neck, and grappled the man's arm with both of his own, turning around, and bringing the arm under his armpit. The man's eyes bulged as Souta pulled it, a small delay, and then a sickening loud crack as the teen broke the man's arm and he screamed out in agony. Souta released the arm, shoving the man away to crash on the ground. The man, groaning in pain, scrambled up before beginning to sprint off. Souta pointed his fist at the man, and shot a single icicle which sailed in the air, stabbing one of the man's legs. The man screamed again falling down as blood poured out. Unable to use his arms to pull the icicle out, he was forced to half crawl away and such as Souta rested his hand back at his side. He took in a deep exhausted breath. By now his aura was dying down, but not because he was calm, but rather because he was overexerting -- and rapidly.

"Nnh..... I suddenly... feel... sick..." The teen groaned out weakly. His form was wobbling a bit where he stood, but not toppling over.
 
A chill went down the teen's spine as he heard what the other male said. He was speaking so coldly. He didn't know what this man did in particular to aid what happened back there, but was it enough to justify what Souta was thinking about doing?

The three watched Souta injure the man after he had tried to retaliate. It was after the icicle was fired that the teen dashed out from the sidelines to stand between the bandit and Souta, something that apparently turned out to be a wasted effort given the way the other teen was now looking. Still, he remained where he was, just in case, but he held his tongue, unlike what he had planned to do originally.

It was Jasmine to go to Souta's side. The teen was looking rather wobbly, and she wanted to be there to catch him and break his fall, should he pass out. "You should rest," she said.
 
Souta closed his eyes for a moment, taking a moment to focus them. He didn't feel... right. Anger aside. Souta glanced over towards the emerald on the floor. He slowly walked his way over and picked the gem up before shuffling his way over to the other three.

"Where do we run to now?" The teen asked, his aura only a cold feeling around him now; not even capable of emitting really any frost where he stood. Any hatred in his eyes was flushed out by exhaustion. And he was still emitting out energy. Not at dangerous levels as before, but it was still wasting away, only gradually making him more tired with every second. If they were going to rest, they still couldn't do it here. They weren't fall away enough and not only that but there was still more than likely more bandits or any other dangerous threat in the woods, assuming the Death Force wouldn't search every inch of the woods to try and find them.
 
"We should go somewhere to rest," Jasmine replied to Souta's question. She looked at the Chosen, offering him a smile. "I'm sure you need it." She turned her attention to all of them. "There's a cave not too far from here. We can stay there until we're ready to get going again--assuming nothing comes for us, anyway." And she hoped that wouldn't be the case. They needed a break, especially Souta.

With there being no disagreement from the others, Jasmine led them to the cave. Once again, the other teen sort of took to the back of the party, and as he followed along, he eyed the Chosen with contempt. His words from that scene continued to play in his head. He didn't like it. Maybe he didn't fully understand because he hadn't seen everything that went on, but why inflict so much pain on that guy? The Chosen was supposed to be on a journey to restore peace to this place. He didn't see that kind of attitude as being something that fostered that. But he dispelled the thoughts from his mind. He didn't want to dwell on it. It only gave him negative emotions, and he needed a clear mind.

It took about several minutes for them to reach it. It wasn't anything too fancy. It was deep enough for them to easily hide inside, and the foliage around it was relatively dense, keeping it concealed fairly well. "Not the homiest place, but it will have to do," Jasmine said as she walked toward it.
 
Souta listened to Jasmine, his eyes closing after a few seconds before reopening them again. Which he would have wordlessly followed behind; only just ahead of the other teen. Souta's walking speed from before was quite sluggish, although still able to keep up. The teen cupped the gem in his arms like as if it was a stuffed animal; except it brought him no comfort whatsoever.

By the time they had reached the cave, Souta's aura had thankfully calmed down to not being there finally. It was good in the fact he was no longer exerting himself but it was too late as far as his energy went as he felt so exhausted by now, he felt physically ill; and it was apparent just by looking at his face which looked pale and worn despite his young age.

Seeing the cave, Souta again wordlessly moved forwards, and dipped himself inside through the mouth of the cave. There he went against a wall, or corner, and curled himself on his side holding the gem close with his back to the party turned. With that, a dome of ice slowly began enveloping the teen in a protective cone. Souta gritted his teeth at the effort as he seemed to be struggling with it.

"Ghh... Come on....."

After a bit of soft grunts from effort of using the apparently last bit of energy he had, he would have at least successfully wrapped himself in this ice-protective cone. Only a small tiny bit on the side would be open as to allow passage of air in. It seems like he either was too depressed now to talk to anyone, wanted to simply be alone, or he was just so tired that he didn't want to be interrupted. Perhaps it was even a combination of both. Either way Souta was isolating himself and the gem from the group.
 
As the others shuffled into the cave, the bald man removed the backpack from his shoulders, setting it down off to the side. Silence settled over the three as they watched Souta form the ice barrier, but they all understood to leave him alone.

Jasmine turned to the other two males. "I wanna thank you again for helping us," she said, a warm smile curving her lips. "I guess you two understand what's going on now, right?"

"That Gem...it's from that prophecy, right?" the teen asked.

"Yup," she said, ignoring the memories from when Souta tried to refute the validity of the Gem.

"Would you mind if we came with you on your journey?" the man asked. "It's the main reason why we came here from Caspitus. We wanted to help."

"Caspitus, huh?" Jasmine said as she rolled her eyes in thought. "That doesn't ring a bell, but something told me you two were foreigners. Don't think there are too many people here in Kior that dress quite like you two do."

"Yeah, we're from a group called Korene Kridla," the teen added, almost a tad hastily. "And Caspitus is east of here."

"Oh," Jasmine said, a small smile still present on her face. "How did you two learn about the prophecy? I didn't think it would have spread off the continent."

"We have our ways," replied the man. Jasmine's gaze lingered on him. His words only made her all the more curious, but she didn't try to question it farther. Not that she was given much of a chance, anyway, as the man continued: "But if you two are looking for more help, we would be more than happy to volunteer." The content smile the man had been wearing since their arrival at the cave seemed to grow infinitesimally.

"Yeah, we can handle whatever gets thrown at us," the teen added.

After the run-in with the bandits, Jasmine was more than ready to say yes. She wasn't so confident in her abilities to protect the Chosen by herself, if they even did go on this journey. The bandits were probably nothing compared to what lay ahead of them, particularly the generals of the Death Force. She had never seen one of them personally, but she heard plenty of stories about them. They were a force to be reckoned with.

But she didn't give them that answer. "Well..." she began, and then trailed off as she looked over at the cocooned Souta. Really, it was his choice, but she didn't want to bother him right now. It was best to leave him alone, let him get his rest. She looked back at the two in front of her. "We can talk about that later." Then she realized something. "Oh! I don't think we ever got your names. I'm Jasmine. That's Souta." She motioned toward the teen when she introduced him.

"My name is Isaac."

"And I'm Sylas."

"It's nice to meet you both."

Before anything more could be said, they heard rustling in the bushes outside. All three of them turned toward the entrance. Jasmine already had her bow out, prepared to fend off whatever came at them, assuming it was hostile.

None of them were quite prepared to see what they did. A large man covered in blood was enough to startle Jasmine and Sylas--and to some extent, Isaac, too, but it didn't register on his face. The man, who seemed to have been running before he broke through the bushes, stopped dead in his tracks. He held his spear in a defensive position.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" Jasmine asked, practically demanded.

The man didn't answer right away. He looked from one person to the next until his gaze finally seemed to rest on the ice cone behind them. Jasmine grew more tense, and even remained that way as the man straightened his posture and relaxed his spear. "I apologize. I do not mean to cause fear. I was only trying to find refuge. I fought soldiers back in Meadowton, and I need a place to rest." His attention drifted from them to the ice cone. "I also need to speak to the Chosen. I want to aid him on his journey."

"So that was you..." Jasmine muttered to herself, remembering the sounds of fighting she had heard before she went running off with Souta. "I think he can be trusted," she told the other two.

The three relaxed, and Skoul walked into the cave.
 
There was a slight scrapping noise and shuffling noise coming from Souta's little protective dome. If one would look back, they would see that the side towards the mouth of the cave opened up slightly, as the teen was poking himself out slightly to see what was going on by the time Skoul had come. However, the boy was still absent looking. Souta realized who it was in seconds, but either he didn't feel like talking and still wanted to be left alone, or was simply too tired, that he closed himself off again with the ice. More shuffling from inside, and then silence coming from Souta's end once again.

One could only wonder what he was thinking in there, or if he was just innocently trying to get some sleep.




Either way, assuming Souta wasn't disturbed, he would have eventually been able to doze off. However, it was only a couple hours. By the time he woke up, he felt better but still under the weather. He would have contemplated just going back to sleep, but sleeping in a cave even for him was too difficult. His entire body ached for sleeping on stone too much, maybe that was why he woke again despite how tired he was.

Souta shifted inside the dome, realizing only now he had been cupping the gem in his arms while he had slept. It was really too small in the dome to not to without it digging into his back or something like the such. After more apparent shuffling inside, the barriers of the dome began to drop; much faster than they had come up before. The teen had replenished at least a small amount of his energy but not too much. Souta pushed himself up from the rocky floor, and sat up, his legs laid out ahead of him; stretching them from being bent inside the dome for hours. The gem was seated in his lap.
 
By the time Souta woke up, Jasmine was the only one inside the cave. When Skoul had arrived, the other three had asked him his name and Jasmine asked a few questions about him being from Wild Tree. She had to admit that she was rather terrified of the man. It was hard not to be, given his hulking size and cold, stoic expressions. And all the blood on him certainly didn't make him any less intimidating. She just hoped they really could trust him. She would hate to be his enemy. But if he really was going to come along with them, then she felt all the more confident they could handle whatever would come there way. The man looked like a capable warrior.

After they all had talked for a little while, which was mainly Jasmine and Sylas carrying the conversation, Skoul left to go clean the blood off of him (which Jasmine was thankful for, as the man reeked of death). That had been a good while ago, so he might've been back, for all she knew. The native seemed like a loner, so she wouldn't be surprised if he didn't show himself again until it was time for them to get moving. As for the other two, they had went outside of the cave fifteen minutes ago. Their earlier conversation when Skoul was present revealed that Isaac was Sylas' mentor. They were currently training, though she wasn't sure what. Every now and then, she could faintly hear a quiet grunt coming from the teen and some sounds of scuffling, so she guessed they must've been sparring.

But her attention drifted from what might have been going on outside to the teen when she saw the ice cone disappear from the corner of her eye. She smiled softly at him. "Hey," she said. "Did you have a nice nap?"
 
Souta would have looked at Jasmine when she asked if he had a nice nap. He only gave out a tired grunt before replying: "Pah... I wish... Sleeping on rocks without as much with a pillow or a blanket is just asking to be sore... Along with that, all I could dream about is the past, so I kept waking up... I give up on trying to get to sleep." The teen murmured as he closed his eyes, which still showed that he was tired. But it seemed like he refused to go to sleep until he either collapsed from exhaustion, or they found a place that was far more comfortable.

Souta's head soon dipped down to gaze at his lap; although he wasn't actually looking at the gem despite that's where his gaze had went down to. He shifted a little uncomfortably before speaking again. "I'm... sorry for lashing out at you... I get like that whenever anyone even attempts to touch me in such a way.... I'm... I'm sick of being used as a sex toy for people... I'm a person being myself, not a tool... But now that I have this gem I don't really know if I am a human being or really am just a tool now....."
 
Jasmine smiled sheepishly. "Yeah, I guess we'll need some bedrolls if we continue on with this," she said. "Isaac said something about how he would've let you use his, but we didn't want to bother you, in case you were asleep. But until we can find some for ourselves, we'll see if we can find a better place to stay when night falls--if we keep going." She didn't know what to say about his dreams. All she had been able to do was frown when she heard the teen mention them.

When Souta went quiet, Jasmine studied him, wondering what he was thinking, but she assumed he must have been thinking about the past, based on his expressions. Maybe that might have only been part of it. She wasn't sure, but she was a little surprised by the apology. She had kind of forgotten about him snapping on her. As for his reasons for acting the way he did, Jasmine frowned. She felt real bad for him. He didn't deserve what happened to him, and he was suffering for it.

When the teen went quiet again, Jasmine stood up and moved to sit next to him, her hands planted a little behind her to prop her up. She didn't speak right away, but instead looked up at the cave's ceiling as she thought it over. "It's okay, I understand," she said, and then paused for a couple moments. "I don't think you're a tool. It's the Gem that's the tool. You're just the one that wields it, but it's ultimately your choice whether you go through with this." She looked at him. "I'm sorry for trying to drag you into this. I was so happy to see the prophecy finally come true that I didn't really think about your feelings. If...you don't want to do this, we can forget the whole thing. We'll lie to the others...say it's just a regular emerald or something." She didn't like saying this, and she really hoped Souta wouldn't become deterred from going on this journey. She wanted to see Malphas' rule come to an end. But she wanted to make sure the teen understood he had a choice in all of this. It wasn't some inescapable destiny. "And if we don't, then come stay with me. I promise you that I'll keep you safe. No one else will be able to lay a hand on you in a such a way again." She offered a smile.
 
"Bedrolls are the least of our worries... We need a miracle to be able to pull this off..." Souta muttered under his breath, but shook his head quickly. "I don't need a bedroll. I've slept without one so many times by now it doesn't really matter. I don't need to keep myself warm; I could sleep in a blizzard nearly as easy as a comfortable bed; it's just that a cave has a poor floor since it's not soft at all."

Souta's head raised from his lap where the gem was seated when Jasmine shifted over towards him, but his gaze dropped back down again momentarily after. He thought a little bit when she finished speaking.

"That won't work. The Death Force have already eyed it. Everyone in town had most likely seen it and knows what it looks like. Watch, by the end of tomorrow it will be news all across Kior. Word has a way of spreading faster than even birds can travel."

Souta picked up the gem with his right hand, and let it lazily roll off to his right side as it clattered on the floor. He clearly didn't care for the thing.

"Since the day I've been born Jasmine, I've been nothing but either a sex slave, or a tool. That hasn't changed even when I ran away from my home; other people sought me out. In particular, the Death Force themselves. I'm an easy target and just being in the Death Force itself pretty much means you can do whatever you want and not be punished with it, if only a couple minor exceptions. It's only natural that sexual predators would come after defenseless people like me. Not that I am defenseless, but with no weapon or anything, I sure look like one. I sympathize for anyone who has to go through the same thing but cannot do anything about it, like I couldn't back there or when I was really young..."

Souta glanced at the gem again as he spoke. "I've honestly not cared about the situation anymore. The Death Force are scum. The general public are scum. The only reason I would even do all of this is so the innocents who are like me don't have to suffer anymore. But at the same time in doing so, I am helping the scum who do that in the first place and they don't deserve any glorified justice that would be done on my behalf."

Souta pried his vision away from the gem as his head now turned to the opposite side towards Jasmine as he spoke again. "I can tell, already, that apprentice disagrees with my thought process. When I was restraining every effort to kill that bastard bandit; he literally stepped in front of me to stop me from killing the man. I already controlled myself at that point thankfully. Perhaps it's simply his teachings and that he's learned to forgive..." Souta by now bit his bottom lip as he struggled to contain his emotions. He closed his eyes which managed to keep any potential sobs under control, but tears began streaming out from under his eyelids. "...Maybe... Maybe I should learn too.... because... I'm sick of feeling as if I'm just a sex tool and traumatized by the damage like this every single day... I'm sick of just looking at other people like they're just pigs... I don't want to keep living my life like this anymore... But what choice do I have when it's still happening to me...? And now some deity puts me in the position of the world's only hope...?!" Souta's right arm quivered as he restrained himself as his right hand curled into a tight fist; he struggled to just not slam his fist into the wall of the cave or the floor right next to him. "...What... What kind of fucking sick joke is this...?!"
 
Jasmine was prone to disagree with him about them needing a miracle. She was going to explain how the five of them seemed pretty promising. Yes, their first encounter with trouble had turned out badly, but that was just with the two of them. They were taken by surprise, and since Jasmine had very little experience with close quarters combat, they didn't stand much of a chance. But with the other three, they would have a better chance. She was going to say this, but then she realized that even the strongest warriors and mages in Kior were unable to defeat Malphas. How were they going to? Either the Gem would have to have some amazing ability or they really were going to need a miracle...

As for Souta's refutation to the lie she had proposed, she just shrugged. He had a point. Not that she was disappointed by it, but she did hate knowing Souta was forced into this.

Jasmine continued to listen to the teen, a frown etched on her face, which grew when she saw the tears start to spill from his eyes. After hearing what he last said, she slowly placed a hand on his back, and after a brief moment, she started rubbing it in a consoling kind of way. "Shh..." she said. After a few moments of silence, she continued speaking in a soft tone: "What if this whole Chosen thing turns out to be good for you? What if things start to change for the better? And maybe you'll learn to see people in a new light. Who knows?"

She thought it through a little more, and her smile slowly changed into a small frown. Then again, all of the trouble they were going to face was a very huge negative to this, and they were going to get hurt plenty of times along the way. But she didn't say any of that. The whole point of what she was saying was to try to get Souta to see this as a potential for something good. Pointing out the bad would only ruin that.
 
"How... how can is possibly be good..." Souta mumbled out in a broken voice. His eyes were still closed, and the contact she was giving him seemed to have little or no effect with how he was at all.

"The last thing I want to do is go marching up to Malphas, boasting that with the gem I can beat him when I know I can't...! I don't want to go through all of this shit only to just die in the end after all of this pain I've had to gone through... I don't want to just suffer for no reason...!"

Souta felt trapped; actually, he probably WAS trapped and so that feeling was most likely misplaced. He couldn't just leave the gem; because that would just spell total annihilation sooner or later as he had state earlier to Jasmine. He couldn't just keep it with him because the Death Force would be after him, and if he did try to fulfill the prophecy, he would most certainly die in the process; or maybe not even that; just be captured and tortured and become a sex toy for the entire Death Force. With that thought crossing his mind, Souta shivered hard; and he never shivered from the cold once in his life.

The only way out of this that he could see, would be by actually succeeding in this. And Souta dreaded that thought.

The teen soon let out a deep and long sigh as he then shifted, beginning to stand up, then barked out in pain when he bonked his head against the cave ceiling, forgetting that even with his short height, it was too short for him to actually be standing up in the cave. He gripped his head and clenched his teeth. This certainly wasn't his day.

"Ghhh.... oww... since... it seems like we're going to be sticking with each other... I may as well properly introduce myself as the damned chosen one... if I keep up this attitude it's going to negatively impact the entire group..."
 
Jasmine just listened to him, frowning. His concerns were understandable. It would definitely be a horrible thing to go through this entire journey only to be killed by Malphas in the end. And it even gave her a little more fear as she thought about it, but she tried to push that out of her head. She needed to keep a positive outlook. It would help.

When Souta said he might as well go introduce himself to the others, she stood up. "Just have faith in yourself. Who knows? You might find out that you're capable of more than what you thought you were." She turned toward the mouth of the cave. "Everyone should be just outside here."
 
Souta rubbed his head gently as he glanced at Jasmine as she spoke before reaching over to the gem and picking it up into his arms. As much as he detested the thing, he couldn't deny that... somehow, he was becoming attached to it in. Not even in a caring way; just that he couldn't let it leave his side. He was feeling this ever since they had recovered it from that bandit.

With the gem in his arms, Souta slowly crawled his way out of the mouth of the cave, where he could stand up freely without bumping his head.

Assuming the other three males were outside, Souta would look at them with his icy blue eyes before gently closing them. He took a deep breath before speaking.

"...First, and foremost... I must apologize for my behavior as of late. Do know that the reasons behind my behavior however are for very good reasons.... more than you all may think. Today will haunt me for the rest of my life as long as I live. And the reason for that is not because I have gotten this gem in my arms today..."

"Second, I must thank you all for helping save me on two different occasions in such a short time period. Prior to the gem falling and then shortly thereafter." He didn't mention he was probably going to be just fine in the alleyway, but if the gem fell then and there while he was still escaping, who knows what may have happened."

Souta by now slowly opened his eyes, eying the gem for a moment before looking back at the group.

"...As much as I hate to say it, I am the 'chosen one' by the gem, and my name is Souta."

Souta's eyes soon slowly drifted towards the other teen.

"Also, if you don't mind, I would like to talk to you in private for a few moments..."


What did Souta have in mind?
 
The other three were indeed out there. Like Jasmine had thought, Isaac and Sylas were sparring, which was really just the mentor throwing quick jabs at his apprentice, who tried to deflect them. For the most part, he could do only okay; Isaac moved too quickly for him, and since he was still in the beginning stages of his martial arts training, he found himself getting hit more than he could block. The two, however, stopped when they noticed Jasmine and Souta's presence, standing straight up from the squatting positions they had been in. As for Skoul, he was sitting under a nearby tree, looking less intimidating now that the blood was off of him. His clothes, which he was wearing, were still wet. His eyes were closed until Souta began to speak.

Sylas understood what Souta was getting at as for why today will haunt him--for the most part. Time made people forget things; although he would never forget what happened in his childhood, those memories, especially the emotions he experienced when they happened, had blurred a little as the years passed. Time helped fix what was broken, but, really, Isaac and Korene Kridla were the biggest factors in him moving past that time of his life.

"We were more than happy to help," Isaac said with a small smile, the first to respond to anything the Chosen said. Sylas nodded in agreement and Jasmine chimed in with a "yeah." Skoul didn't say anything. The three introduced themselves after Souta gave his name, unless Souta interrupted them and told him he already knew them.

When Souta asked to speak with him in private, Sylas said, "Okay." He was curious to see what the younger teen would want to talk to him about, but he didn't dwell on it since he would find out soon. "We can take it somewhere over here," he said, nodding his head to somewhere off to the side, meaning somewhere past the foliage. Sylas would follow Souta to wherever he would lead him.
 
Souta nodded slowly to Sylas's suggestion as he glanced to the side where he had motioned. He glanced back to everyone. "We won't be gone too long. I'll bring him back soon." He said in a light joking tone. Souta would walk his way over there, going well deep into the foliage probably a little more than needed; but Souta didn't want to just talk in a hushed tone to make sure they weren't heard. He wanted to be able to express himself completely freely.

The area they stopped in would have been pretty enclosed around them; there wasn't too much space and would have to stand pretty close to each other to fit in. Souta didn't really care for the amount of space for even though they were both probably invading each others personal space a little bit; if they were going to be part of the team each they would have to learn to trust each other. And that was what this was all about to Souta.


"I want to specifically apologize to you for the actions I have done, specifically when I found the guy who was holding this." Hinting at the gem. Souta would pause for a moment and unless Sylas had anything specific to say, he would have continued on while slowly closing his eyes. "...However, I think you understand why to at least some extent after what had just happened to me... with being molested today... but it goes a bit more deeper than that..."

Souta soon bent down as he placed the gem on the ground between his feet, as his gloved hands slowly reached under his shirt just slightly as he gripped the waist of his shorts on both sides with both hands, and slowly slid his shorts down to his knees. Sylas had already seen him naked so he really didn't care he privates were being showed; that wasn't what he wanted to show him in the first place. Rather, Souta tilted his body around so his right side was showing, exposing the deep scar that went from his lower waist on his right, and went straight down a small distance. It almost looked like a birth mark, in a way, but much deeper. Souta was lifting up the right side of his shirt a little bit as well just to make sure Sylas had a clear view for sure. Souta's eyes were very stern and tense.

"This scar marks the state of my existence. If you think me being molested today was simply my first time then you would be wrong. I have an early history of such acts being done to me. It's the reason I am not with my parents. It's the reason I am even out here by myself. My parents allowed people to preform sexual acts on me... but never men... No, it was always women that were allowed to do so." Softly, Souta closed his eyes as he continued to explain. "This scar here, is not only the evidence of just the very early years of my life, but the mark I had received the night I escaped from my parents when they tried to still me with a knife. By myself, there was no way I could treat the wound properly, and so the scar remains..."

Opening his eyes slowly again, Souta starred down at the scar himself for a few moments before looking back up. "Then, and now, is not the only time. It's not like the Death Force haven't had their fair share of fun as using me as a sex tool either... and after all of that, I'm put up with the fate to face the one who potentially helped caused all of my pain and suffering, and the one I would have wanted to stay away from the most aside from my parents..."
 
When they stopped in the small clearing, he didn't ask Souta what he wanted to talk about, but instead waited for him to begin speaking. He wasn't that bothered about the small amount of space in which they were both trying to fit, but he did try to move as far back as possible so they weren't touching too much. It was his way of trying to be respectful about personal space, even if it meant possibly being a little uncomfortable himself.

Sylas said nothing as Souta spoke. He was going to let him talk until he was finished. His only reaction was the slight quirk of his brow when he saw Souta begin to remove his shorts--he probably would have acted a lot more surprised if Souta did it in a sudden way--but then he understood his reason for this when he saw the scar. He stared at it as Souta explained how he got it before finally looking at the teen in the face.

Korene Kridla's way often caused its followers to adopt a calm and collected appearance. His was nowhere near the same level as Isaac's, who almost always seemed to be at peace, but Sylas had obtained that same demeanor, so, in most instances, his reactions often didn't register on his face. But if Souta was observant enough, he just might be able to catch the infinitesimal widening of his forest green eyes at the mention of his parents. While Sylas knew he wasn't the only one to have his or her parents allow people to commit such acts on their children, he hadn't met someone who shared such a similar story until now. But still, that was where their similarities ended. After Isaac helped him that one day, Sylas was never touched in an inappropriate way since. Souta's story did cause one question to pop in Sylas' mind, though: would his story have turned out similar to the other teen's if Isaac never found him? Maybe, but he wasn't sure. Either way, he didn't want to think about it. It was pointless to dwell on the what ifs. That, and he wasn't sure if he wanted to think about what kind of person he would've become, especially when remembering how he behaved before he began to accept Korene Kridla's teachings.

Despite having gotten lost in thought for those few moments, Sylas' brain still recorded everything else Souta said. Still, it was a few seconds after the other teen finished talking when Sylas' eyes cleared up, showing that he was returning to reality, and it was a couple of seconds after that until he processed everything that was said. He looked down and off to the side.

"I'm sorry about what happened to you, for what it's worth, and I know it isn't much." No amount of words could heal such a scar. Only time and a person's willingness to move past it could, as well as the help from those close to him or her. "And it'll be scary, but maybe it's good you became the Chosen. You know at least one of the things that happens under Malphas' reign." Sylas looked at Souta, a questioning look on his face, but it was clear he was studying Souta's reactions, assessing what kind of person he was based off of them. "Don't you want to help the others who have to go through that same suffering? I mean, it'll never go away..." His gaze lowered. "...unfortunately, but if someone who is just can take the throne, it could help reduce it greatly."

He obviously didn't have any firsthand experience, but he could understand how Souta must be feeling right now. Kior's fate was resting on his shoulders--and theirs, to some extent, since they were helping, but mostly on Souta's since he was the Chosen. That was a lot of pressure for someone their age. Still, Sylas couldn't help but to think that he would have been honored to be bestowed with such a role, personally. It would be his chance to do good, to make a change, but maybe it was easier for him to think this since he wasn't the one with the gem. He also might not have fully understood the situation at hand. He and Isaac had only been in Kior for a few months. During that time, they had never encountered a General and they, of course, never saw Malphas. When it came to them, all they could do was go by the words of the people they had spoken to.

"...And this could be your way to get some kind of...revenge." Sylas gave a small scowl. "Revenge" was a word he didn't like--he banished it from his vocabulary a few years ago--but he could see that as a way to motivate the teen, who was clearly not pleased by what fate had given him.

"Also, I'm sorry, but I can't forgive you. Not yet." He looked back up at Souta. "Maybe I can understand your actions, but I still can't excuse causing someone such suffering. It's not right." His eyes grew more stern as he spoke, but this expression wasn't exactly directed at Souta. In general, he felt kind of passionate about this. He also detested killing, but after coming to this kingdom, he began to question his beliefs about it when he saw Isaac kill his first Death Force soldier. The soldier was beating an elderly woman because she refused to give him money simply because he asked for it. While he was happy they helped someone, Sylas was disgusted by his mentor's actions, and after they escorted the shaken woman to her home, he confronted him about it. Isaac told him he didn't want to do it, but there wasn't much of a choice. There was no way to turn the soldier in because the Death Force was the one in charge, and the soldier would have just went back to what he had been doing after any injuries they had given him had healed. Sylas understood, but he was still disturbed by it, and he still refused to kill.

But after saying what he did, Sylas realized something: did he act any better in the situation where Souta harmed the bandit? He did nothing to help the man, just let him crawl off with the injuries Souta had given him. As much as he wanted to come up with some excuse to protect his self-image, he knew he hadn't been much better than Souta.
 
Souta quirked an eyebrow himself when Sylas suggested perhaps it was good that he became chosen. With all willingness to not be rude, he contained any expression of the sarcastic laugh that wanted to release from his mouth. "I'm pretty sure everybody knows what the Death Force does. If it hasn't happened to anybody who has one person in their family that such a devilish act has been preformed yet, then it would have to be a close friend. The Death Force kill people for fun. To anybody in it, raping and molestation is being "merciful." I know. I've heard the same line plenty of times. In fact, I heard it twice today. 'I could kill you now you know, but I'm going to go easy on you...' and then explaining the sexual act they are going to preform on me."

By this time, Souta slowly pulled up his shorts again and his white T-shirt draped down past the waste line as he closed his eyes slowly. "Helping the victims is of course a plus... but when it comes to helping the victims, it means I am also helping the people who had preformed such an act... Even if we were to succeed, I bet every person that was is in the Death Force would either hide; or plead for forgiveness. Their crimes cannot, and shall not be forgiven. How would they possibly be punished that is justified? Simply killing them is outright too easy; I bet half the people who have been molested have wanted to just die then and there. I know I sure have a few times..."

Still with his eyes closed as he leaned his form back against a tree trunk that was right behind him, Souta sighed and continued. "Revenge won't reap the sins that have been done to me... You can't repair sin with another sin... Not that I believe in any sort of greater deity; I gave up that hope before I had even ran away from home... What kind of deity lets an innocent child be molested and touched such a way over and over and over? Instead of helping I only grew more hopeless that may prayers were left absolutely unanswered. If it's anyone I want to take revenge on, it would be the gods themselves for making me go through that painful time, only to watch, and then doing this to me. That's assuming of course, they exist..."

Souta wasn't surprised he wasn't forgiven. The other teen would understand soon enough. Most likely the hard way about why he did what he did. Traveling with Souta; the younger teen himself he would probably have many more outbursts like that to come. By now, Souta pushed himself from the tree, crossed his arms over his torso and opened only his right eye to look at Sylas.

"I don't like causing any kind of suffering to others as much as the next half-decent human being... in fact, today is actually the first day I've killed somebody... I've beaten and severely wounded all kinds of people who attacked me; but I never killed. Even the ones who attempted to molest me like what happened today. But in the end; it probably doesn't matter." Souta uncrossed his arms and now stared at Sylas with both of his eyes now as his voice became quite serious and stern. "The Death Force doesn't care if they kill us. As much as both of us do not want to condone the act of killing, we are going to have to. We are going to have to kill a lot in order for us to pull this off. And I assure you; for every one we don't kill will not only provide the entire Death Force of our location; but will most likely have a far more painful death, courtesy of Malphas himself. That, or a Death General... You and I are going to have to grow up fast and learn to become merciless killers when attacked, or we are not even going to be able to survive this end of the week..."

Souta soon looked up towards the tree tops and gave a depressed sigh. "...Well... I suppose you don't have to know; it's your choice to decide to come and you can leave at any time... I on the other hand am going to have to learn to become a merciless killer in order just to keep myself alive... I'm the chosen one; I have no choice... If I don't fight, I'll just be killed; or captured and then I'll most likely will be molested everyday until I become too old and then be killed... That simple thought alone is enough to scare me so bad that I just want to cry thinking about it even right now... There's no way to escape from this... For everything troublesome in my life up to now I've just been able to run away from..."
 
Once again Sylas just listened to Souta, but he said nothing. While he didn't quite agree with some of what the younger teen said, he wasn't going to argue right now. When Souta said he didn't like to cause any suffering, though, Sylas' eyes lit up for a split second with rage, but when he felt the flame sprout in his right hand, he instantly tried to calm himself down by closing his eyes. For someone who didn't like to cause suffering, he sure acted rather cruel to that bandit. But no, he couldn't let himself dwell on those thoughts--not right now. If needed, he could return to it when he could think more calmly.

He reopened his eyes, but pretty much shut out the rest of Souta's words. He considered the truth to the point about killing, but after that, he didn't want to hear it. This guy was turning out to be a sad Chosen.

When Souta finished, Sylas turned in the direction in which the others were. "Well, we should head back." Unless Souta would somehow try to stop him, he would start walking.
 
"Only one more small thing." Souta would say to the other teen as he turned around. Souta wasn't stupid; he knew the other teen would not agree with him and was probably shutting him out. Souta didn't come here for some petty talk in the first place; to be honest, he didn't care. It was a sense of character Souta was trying to achieve from the other male; while giving that back to the older teen himself in return.

"Two, actually." Souta reconsidered as he bent down to pick up the gem and held it under his left arm.

"Whether you do or do not agree to the way how I live and see things, this is going to be no easy task. If you object to my methods, you should not come with me. Doing so is going to be a burden to the rest of the team; and in particular, me. If this gem is so important as the prophecy speaks of, then as the holder of the gem, I am not going to risk anything that it falls into the hands of the Death Force. I really don't care about saving the world. What I do care about, is if I doom it forever by letting the gem go into the hands of Malphas..."

Souta turned around now, looking up in the direction of the sky as he continued to speak.

"The second thing: If you don't think I am fit to be chosen, then we are both in agreement. Personally, I think there are a million people better than myself who would fit this roll better. I am already broken and mutilated as it is from my past. However, for one reason or another, I had the fate to hold this gem. I will never claim to be the perfect person in the world. I just do things my way, because that's all I have ever known to do."

Souta turned back around now to look at the teen. "Therefore, if you are going to come with, you have to accept my terms that we do things my way. If you are uncertain, you should probably consult your mentor. Nonetheless, I'm going to have to talk to everyone about this. I can't have people second doubting me if I have to count on them to protect my life. You can't protect somebody who you do not believe in or trust. I've been completely honest with you. All I ask is that you be completely honest with yourself when you make the final decision to come or stay behind."

Closing his eyes now, Souta's right hand gripped into a fist as a single icicle extended from his knuckle on the glove he wore, and then shot into the ground. Holding the gem in both of his arms, he slowly sunk into the ice at moderate speed as he still looked towards the teen. The teen would have time to stop him if he wanted to say any last words to him, but if it was anything that would enforce more debate, such as trying to reason his actions, Souta would continue on through. He would have appeared just outside the of where they had entered to make their discussion, and walked out of the bushes back in view with the rest of the group with the gem cupped in his arms otherwise.
 
Sylas stopped in his tracks and turned around just enough to look back at Souta. His facial expressions remained neutral during the younger teen's little speech, and he didn't say anything afterward, instead letting him teleport. He started back to where the others were.


The other three were still by the cave. Skoul didn't seem to have changed his position in the slightest since the teens had went off to have their conversation, but Isaac and Jasmine were now standing at the rim of the cave's mouth. They were talking, but they stopped when Isaac, the one facing Souta's general direction, looked at the teen. Noticing this, Jasmine turned around, a smile coming onto her features at the sight of the Chosen. "Back already?" she asked, and then after a moment, a questioning look swept onto her face. "Where's Sylas?"

"If conversation time is over, we should start walking." For the first time since his arrival, Skoul spoke, his voice still possessing that same stone cold quality as he looked at the three. "I do not mean to be rude, but there is still daylight left, and we should take advantage of it." He didn't stand up, though. He wasn't going to until they were actually going to leave.
 
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