[center][h2][i][u]Emperor Mateus/Exdeath[/u][/i][/h2][/center][center][h3][url=http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/Edge_of_Madness_(Dissidia)][i]Edge of Madness[/i][/url]
[i](Past)[/i][/h3][/center]
	`... 'High Commander'...? Is this [i]mongrel[/i] serious? Does he [i]truly[/i] believe such a boast is worthy of the attention of beings who are practically gods?` Emperor Mateus thought to himself, not so much vexed by the manner which Jegran spoke to him, but rather entertained, `The fact that he has gazed upon my radiant visage, and yet [i]still[/i] fails to comprehend my power... Such an uncultured cur.` he thought, his eyes not even seeming to change as Jegran threatened him. Something about the way Mateus presented himself almost made it look as though death could do nothing to him.

	Mateus was about ready to look down his nose at this barbarian and tell him everything he had just been thinking, since doing so would hardly get in the way of his machinations, but then the entity known as Chaos did the work for him. Emperor Mateus could not help but smirk a little as Chaos proceeded to scold all of the loudmouthed dogs for their delinquent behaviour, and managed to maintain a calm composure about the fact that Chaos had not addressed him with any form of hostility. Things were already perfectly proceeding according to plan -- even Chaos was a piece for Mateus to move across the board to his ultimate agenda. Not a single piece on the board was outside of his control in the end, and it was only a matter of time before the stakes grew higher for all of them.

	During the conversation that followed, Mateus payed little attention to the antics between Kefka and Zidane; in fact, in his mind he could feel nothing but disdain for these imbeciles -- one of them too drunk on destruction to be anything more than a psychopathic man-child, and the other a wisecracking punk who seemed to have no real clue about anything. He could tolerate them though, because in the end he only had his grand design in mind. Actually, as he listened to the discussion between everyone, he was already contemplated the best way to use all of these fools. He was confident that the jester could be manipulated through his obsession with destruction, while the older of the two boys seemed too headstrong for direct manipulation but could be manipulated through his seemingly ignorant nature. The others could likely be manipulated through their egos, with the exception of the younger boy -- who almost seemed too timid to be amongst the current group.

	"[i]Nonsense[/i] -- there is none alive who can destroy me!" Exdeath boasted cockily - primarily in response to the claim that the light could threaten him - as the tip of his sword remained firmly in the ground as he held the end of its hilt, "My power is [i]unmatchable[/i]! All this revelation has presented is the knowledge that there are more than two worlds for me to turn into realms of desolation... The power of the Void is [i]infinite[/i]!" he continued, "I shall humour your claims... Present an opponent to me, and I will show you that they possess not a single hope of overcoming [i]my[/i] power!" he added, being on board with the idea of defeating this 'Cosmos' entity but considering the notion that it would be a challenge laughable.

	The Emperor of Palamecia was ignoring Exdeath's posturing and would continue to ignore any further bravado from the others, since he could destroy all these fools when the pieces were in check. For now, he would focus on winning the favour of Chaos to gain more advantage over the others; in fact, he would be gaining an advantage in more than one way, though no one would even realize any of it was happening. At this point, Mateus had been paying close attention to Marche's behaviour, noticing his hesitation and sensing an... innocence... in him. Innocence was an interesting thing -- so easily it could be corrupted into raw darkness. There were very few things in the world more malevolent than the raw cruelty of an ignorant child, as it was a form of evil that was unaware that it was evil.

	Walking passed the others, Emperor Mateus stepped close to Marche and addressed the boy. Now that the two were closer, Marche would likely be incapable of failing to notice that the Emperor of Palamecia was almost radiantly beautiful -- he had a visage which very much resembled that of an angel. Speaking to the boy almost like a grand king would when addressing a commoner, the Emperor of Palamecia's tone was surprisingly merciful sounding and subtle. He was not so much overbearing, but rather he almost came across like a lord who was showing benevolence to his subjects.

	"Tell me -- what is your name...?" Mateus spoke, "Fear not -- you and I are not enemies." he continued, his words showing no sign of the sinister soul beneath them. This boy was young, naïve -- there was no way he could possibly be able to see through the serpent's lies as the apple of Eden was fed to him.

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[center][h2][i][u]Firion[/u][/i][/h2][/center][center][h3][url=http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/Mist_Cave][i]Mist Cave[/i][/url][/h3][/center]
	`This place... I wonder if I've gone to Purgatory...` Firion thought as he continued to navigate his way through the mist-filled cave that seemed to go on endlessly, sometimes finding himself almost losing his bearings and struggling to keep himself from falling to one knee.

	While Firion was unable to pinpoint the reason, he found himself almost feeling as though he was on the verge of death. By the time he was up and moving about, he had already confirmed that the wounds he received at the hands of those imperial soldiers were completely gone, so there was no physical explanation for why he felt - for lack of a better way of putting it - as though his life force was hanging on by a single thread, almost as if it was only his willpower keeping him going. It was as though his very [i]soul[/i] had been wounded, and he found himself unable to figure out why -- unless he truly had passed on to the next world and this was how one naturally felt in Purgatory, that is. He was starting to wonder if he would wander like this forever, but the fact that he was alone made him wonder if his friends had survived -- he truly hoped they were well, with every fibre of his being.

	"Maria! Leon! Guy!" Firion called out suddenly, despite having problems breathing. It was one last - ultimately futile - attempt to find the friends who had been right by his side until moments before he lost consciousness and woke up here.

	He continued walking along the rocky pathway he had recently come across, until he eventually started getting the sensation that he was not alone -- not entirely sure why he was able to feel it. Somehow, he knew that people were just around the corner from him. Whether they were friend or foe, on the other hand, was something he had no way of knowing -- which created a noteworthy problem, because he had just called out the names of his friends and was most likely heard by those people. He had - for just a moment - considered the possibility that these people might actually [i]be[/i] his friends, but they would definitely have recognized his voice and called back to him -- he knew them well enough to be sure of that. Unless something was preventing them from responding, which also concerned him. Quickly, his mind ignored the hesitation caused by the possibility that he was about to approach an enemy, and he rushed around the corner to make sure his friends were unharmed, having already drawn out his red sword.

	`Who're they...? They could be the enemy... Be that as it may, I shouldn't provoke them needlessly...` Firion thought to himself as he found himself observing two complete strangers. Part of him wanted to keep his sword drawn, in case the people in front of him were an enemy, but he decided to sheath his sword -- from this distance, he would have time to draw if they attacked him anyway.

	"My mistake... I thought you might be someone else..." Firion said calmly, no apparent hostility or deception in his voice, "I'm glad to find someone else here... Would you be able to tell me where we are?" he asked.

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	`Never heard of Baron...? Could it be...?` Cecil thought to himself as he listed to the anthropomorphic woman's response to his question, `She's not lying... that much I can tell...` he confirmed internally as he tried to get a better grasp of the situation.

	It was almost as if he truly [i]had[/i] been teleported to another world, though there was not enough evidence yet to be certain -- still, it was a feeling inside of him that refused to persist. This world did not feel familiar to him at all. Not merely the landscape or the rain that never ceased, but something about the very 'aura' of this realm. It was a difficult feeling to express in words, but somehow Cecil was quickly coming to realize that this place was not his home, and that did not merely refer to the city he was currently standing in -- even if he left this place and went on to another territory, he got the distinct feeling that he would not feel like he was getting any closer to his home. He could not completely explain [i]why[/i] he felt that way though.

	`A 'Dragoon'...?` Cecil thought, and his mind resonated as the term triggered something very important to him, listening to her introduction and then considering her question carefully, realizing that it was perhaps the perfect opportunity to find out if the 'feeling' he had wrenching inside of him was on the mark. Surely someone had to know of Baron, especially when they appeared travelled like this Freya person did.

	"My homeland, the Kingdom of Baron, is an eight-hundred year old monarchy. It is known as one of the most powerful nations in the world, as well as for its innovations concerning the development of airships in recent years..." Cecil explained, taking only a very brief moment - hardly enough time for her to speak before he continued - to contemplate another question, even if it really was grasping at straws in his mind, "You called yourself a Dragoon... Would you know a man by the name of Kain Highwind...? He's a long-standing friend of mine, and is also a Dragoon... I'm currently unsure of his whereabouts..." he continued, a few memories clouding his mind as vague visions were coming back to him.

	That was right -- his friend... the man known as Kain Highwind, had actually [i]betrayed[/i] him recently.

	`Kain...` Cecil thought to himself, his heart becoming heavier for a moment as his eyes gained a more melancholy light to them.

	There was Rosa too -- he had no idea where she was. The gentle and strong-willed woman who had chosen to love him despite the sin that stained his hands, and the woman who believed in him even when he had faltered and allowed himself to give into weaknesses that were not part of his true nature. He had rejected her - feeling unworthy of her love - and called himself a coward, yet she turned around and told him the truth. The man she loved, Cecil Harvey, was [i]no[/i] coward. He would never submit, and he would never whimper. He was strong, and her belief in him was one of the reasons he had remembered that as he decided to go against the orders of his lord that he knew were evil, and as he finally took hold of the holy blade and grasped his true nature as a Paladin. He wanted her to see him now that he had cast aside his Dark Knight sword and armour, yet he could not recall if she ever actually [i]did[/i] see him as he was now. His memories were hazy beyond the point of his awakening, and now that he found himself in this place it felt as though the darkness of his past could consume him again at any moment.

	`I want to see you again, Rosa...` he reflected sincerely in his mind. That feeling was the only thing that kept him going sometimes -- the only light that he truly had to look forwards in the darkness that surrounded his life. He was too ashamed to hold her in his arms when she was in front of him, and now - as he found himself standing in this place that he believed to be another world - she was out of his reach completely. Still, he wanted to gaze at her again, and feel the warmth of her light.

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	"Mmmm...?" Terra stirred, a massive thud resonating through the forest and breaking her slumber like a prince from a fairy tale.

	Perhaps under normal circumstances she would have been woken up far more harshly, being completely startled by such a noise, but she was virtually in a state resembling coming back to life from a near death -- she was hardly in a normal state of mind or body right now, so the fact that she woke up slowly was not entirely unusual. Slowly, the tender girl opened her eyes, wondering where she was. Unfortunately, she seemed to have almost no memory at all for some reason. It was a strange feeling, because somehow this situation was giving her an unusual sense of déjà vu -- an odd feeling for someone with amnesia to have.

	"Terra..." she said to herself in a soft voice that was somewhere between beautiful and cute.

	Her name was Terra Branford -- she knew that much, and she also knew that she was not 'normal'. She was capable of a power called 'Magic', which humans were not supposed to possess. A lot of her powers seemed to be eluding her right now, but she nevertheless could feel that she could cast magic if she wanted to. Turning her head gentle to the side, Terra noticed a sword near her, and somehow she understood that it was her sword -- she did not know how to use a sword though; in fact, the idea of harming another being... frightened her... even disturbed her. These feelings almost made her feel ill as she reached over to take hold of the sword, but as she touched it, Terra could feel her magic power growing stronger. Was this why she kept the sword -- to enhance her magic? So it was [i]not[/i] because she was a killer. What a relief.

	Suddenly, Terra's peaceful moments of reflection were interrupted by what sounded like another person closing in on her location. She immediately recoiled back against the tree, almost like a cornered kitten that had been scared by something. She was unsure why she was even so scared, or what had happened to her that would make her feel so on edge like that, but once she saw that the approaching stranger was a young girl it calmed her nerves somewhat. Still, she was not entirely relaxed -- she had already managed to notice the rapier the girl was carrying. She stayed quiet, wondering if the girl would just pass her by without causing any trouble. Right now it was bothering her that she felt as though she somehow should have been able to sense things around her better than she was, but there was no way to understand why she felt so disorientated.