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A Hero Tale: Ren

Nexus' eyes darted back and forth from behind his face plate, but as memories of turmoil began to grip his mind, his blue aura glowed even brighter. He felt Ren's hand grip his helmet, but responded without heed to his attempted strike. "Your chaos is not that of the order," Nexus began as his sword began to shift to match Ren's own blade perfectly, "But know that I have not survived for eight thousand years within the grasp of Yzeira's void to fall prey to an infant!" Nexus dispelled his helmet and left it to fade in Ren's clutch, darting forward a few feet before spinning around and donning a new armor once more. This time, it grew darker in coloration, and began to mimic Ren's form exactly, save for the dominant blue hue. "I've little time to be wasted on you-" Nexus paused and glanced up at his four glowing orbs of energy above them. With another movement of his eyes, they crashed towards Ren, blessed with the same magical prowess that he himself harnessed, but fused with another magical energy that bore properties directly adverse to the void.

"You face a perfect creation of the void, creature."

A Hero Tale: Ren

Nexus' eyes widened as Ren disappeared into the smoke. "Void.." He said under his breath, taken aback by his ability. Nexus rose his blade up as soon as he was able, barely able to divert Ren's larger blade just over his shoulder. His armor released a pulse of energy to prevent penetration or rending of the exterior, as well as pushing Ren's attempt to grapple him away, allowing him to roll to his side and regain his balance a moment later. Nexus stood and backed away, sizing up Ren curiously. "Enough of your incessant ramblings, fool! Where did you learn to harness the void!?" Nexus interrogated, raising his flaming sword to defend once again if need be. His face was covered moments after speaking with a sharp helmet that allowed enough room for peripheral vision with its wide angles eye slot.

A Hero Tale {Complete}

"I'm Dacer, Dacer Gaiaco," Dacer said, with a grin that mirrored Jenso. "Seriously though, I don't think we're just going to be able to punch them. They're kind of uh... Made out of pure magical energy. I don't suppose you can manifest your Ki?" Dacer paused and looked down at Jenso hands for a split second before maintaining eye contact. "Or uh, use any real magic at all? Ehehe..."

A Hero Tale: Ren

Nexus Moved to the right a moment too late, taken further by the sudden flux in energy that the boy displayed. The dagger struck deep into his shoulder-plate and pierced his arm, spurting chunks of armor and blue blood into the air. Nexus' eyes flared chaotically, and his armor began to glow, taking shape to encompass his entire body in a shell of thicker, more appropriate armor. His head remained uncovered, but he tore his shoulder away from Ren's weapon, and the hole in his armor was sealed. Nexus pulled his broadsword back with both arms, circumventing his injury completely through sheer will, and slashing at Ren as his blade glowed, covered in shimmering blue flames that refused earthly convention. He slashed at Ren Vertically with his weapon, aiming now, to disable the man completely.

A Hero Tale {Complete}

Dacer cringed when Jenso spoke Lark's name. He shook his head. "I don't know where they came from. Hell, I didn't even know there were more of them. That single woman wiped out all of our strongest warriors in one night, back where I come from, and killed nearly everyone else all on her own. I'm surprised I was even able to hit her after all this time, especially after she took control of me," Dacer explained, rocking in place anxiously. "If you've got some strong Ki, then you should be right as right overnight. From what I know, the elementals can activate their meteors within 24 hours, so if we get some sleep now, we might have time to get up there and do the deed... But uh..." Dacer paused and scratched his chin. He then looked at Jenso smiled nervously. "I don't exactly know how to kill the elementals, ahaha..." He shrugged and smiled. "Oops!"

A Hero Tale {Complete}

"We climb, and we kill the elementals!" Dacer announced proudly. "But uh, you bring up a pretty damning piece of information, bud. But that wound looks awfully... Sealed. Did I do this to you earlier?" Dacer asked, looking down at Jenso's wound meticulously.

A Hero Tale: Ren

Just before Ren rushed forward, Nexus snapped the book shut and smiled under his mask. "Finished-" He said, taken completely by surprise as Ren rushed him. He dropped the book, but held his ground as Ren's fists collided against his armor helplessly. Nexus stepped back and conjured up a large blueish shield that bared a strange insignia at its center, blocking Ren's followup strikes as his free hand summoned yet another weapon. As Ren began to flare up, his punches became stronger, and stronger, until the breadth of Nexus' shield cracked, from top to bottom. "What?" Nexus hissed. He stepped back yet again, and brandished a blue short sword, but before he could counter, his shield cracked in half against the force of Ren's fist. Nexus calmly moved is sword closer to his chest and side-stepped the beserker-rage that Ren had awoken, and gripped the hilt of his blade with both hands, extending its length until it matched the weight and size of a broadsword. He swung towards one of Ren's legs with optimum stance, but still refused to inflict any lethal damage on the enraged boy.

A Hero Tale {Complete}

Dacer stared at Jenso in disbelief, but said nothing. Even when Jenso uttered Lark's name, he only tensed his facial muscles. When Jenso thanked him and his familiar, he nodded. "Don't worry about it, buddy. It Tiger wasn't linked to my soul-" He paused and shook his head "By Gaia, if all of that's true, then-" Dacer looked up at the purple clouds. They were slowly changed to a light grey and stopped swirling as quickly as before. "She must have lost control when I busted into her stupid little cave. But now that the elementals have two of their meteors back.. Jenso, there might still be some time before they unleash those fucking magical bombs on the people in the north and west," Dacer reassured, pointing up at the top of the mountain. "There might be quite some time before those assholes unleash their magic."

A Hero Tale {Complete}

~ Chapter 39 ~

_{Hope Never Dies}

Tiger pulled Jenso out of the cavern and into the opening, where Dacer stood, looking up at the clouds above them. As Jenso got close, Tiger threw up off his back, and Dacer sat nearby, crossing his legs neatly in the middle of the wrecked plateau.

"Cough it up," Dacer ordered, "What'd she do. Where did you come from?"

A Hero Tale {Complete}

Dacer backed away a few steps, and all the anger in his face melted away. "Whoa, simmer down there, kid," He urged Jenso, dismissing his giant bow, "You a Gaian?" He asked. But as soon as he saw Jenso's eyes, he knew it wasn't true. "No, you're not. How the hell can you... Where did you... Agh, what the hell is even happening anymore!?" He said, completely overwhelmed by the current situation. He took a few seconds to calm himself, and turned to Jenso, frowning profusely. "You. You aren't going anywhere. And I ain't gonna kill you either. You're going to calm your shit, and you're going to explain everything to me," Dacer ordered, turning away from Jenso and nodding at Tiger. Tiger grew once again and lowered his body next to Jenso, urging him to ride him with a flick of his head.

"And when you're done, I'm gunna tell you everything else."

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~ End Of Chapter 38 ~