The King's Beloved

~ [Music Recommendation: "Scars of Time" by Yasunori Mitsuda (Chrono Cross OST) - available in Spotify or Youtube] ~ Please listen to it in loop while you read this part to experience the utmost beauty of this scene ~

With a furrowed face and heavy breathing, Rania turned to Ducis. Her beautiful face was stricken with worry. Her mind, filled with all sorts of different possibilities as to where Elliot was, or what happened to him. But all of those probabilities pointed to one thing - "We need to find him … wherever he is". Yes, he might be powerful and all that … but there would always be things that power alone wouldn't be able to solve. And somehow, Rania's instincts kept on telling her that she needed to be with him.

Sighing, Rania asked, "Ducis, can you tell us … why did he get separated from us? Is this a trial he must go through alone?"

Ducis smiled bitterly and answered her, "As expected of you, very perceptive".

"I thought so because this is somewhat the same as what happened with the third gate - with Caligo. The only difference is that Caligo invited him … not like this," Rania sighed yet again.

"The guardian of this realm is the complete opposite of Caligo, that must be why," Ducis shrugged, "But yes, this is something he needs to conquer alone. I'm afraid there's nothing we can do to help him except to wait for his return".

Seeing Rania's worried face, Luna hugged her arm and patted her back.

"Don't worry Rania! Elliot is great! He can definitely pull this off!" Luna grinned and encouraged her. "Besides, you've seen how much he's changed! From being a silent gorgeous doll who only knows how to nod and shake his head, he's speaking so much now! And he can comprehend feelings! Especially love since … well, you got together, right? Have a little faith!"

Rania smiled at her. "I do believe in Elliot," she said with full conviction, "And I know he definitely can survive this. I just - " she shook her head, "I know I can't and shouldn't help but … I, at least, want to be him while he goes through it, to show my support, and just … be with him".

"Rania …," Luna mumbled her name.

Ducis chuckled after hearing what Rania said, realizing something important. He thought, "She's right. That is ... what I've been doing so far … and should continue doing. We may not be able to help directly, but we can cheer on him and show our support". Turning to Rania and Luna, he said, "That magic circle is a teleportation circle. He should be somewhere here in this realm. We can split up and look for him".

"We just got separated from Elliot and now you want us to split up?" Luna grimaced. "That's a 'No'," she crossed her arm in disagreement, "Why don't you turn into a dragon and fly us over? Then, let's check each island for any sign of him".

Rania nodded, "I agree. Let's do that. It should be faster and safer that way. Care to help us again, Ducis?" She smiled at him.

"But of course. Anything for the Favoured One," Ducis replied in a chuckle, with his eyes closed. He then transformed into a dragon and signalled Rania and Luna to hop on his back. Once ready, the three set off high above the ground and began their search for Elliot.

While they were busy looking for Elliot, the man himself was preoccupied in battling his own clone. Unknown to him, the clone already got behind his back and hid himself in a mist that, for some reason, concealed his spiritual trace, therefore disabling Elliot from locating where he was. Due to this, he was able to attack him from behind. With a heavy swing, he landed his warhammer on Elliot's back, throwing him hard on the other side of the mirror house, breaking all the mirrors he passed by in the process. He landed on his chest on the wall and his body slid back down to the ground.

"Cough … cough," Elliot coughed out blood from his mouth. "Hah … hah … hah," he breathed heavily as he wiped the blood from his lips. His clean clothes were now sullied by dirt and his own blood. 

Some of the shards from the broken mirrors pierced Elliot's skin and made cuts on his black coat. Luckily, his bones didn't break, saving him from major injury that could have possibly damaged the spiritual flow in his body. Just half a split second from being hit by the warhammer, he was able to conjure a barrier on his back. Too bad it got broken easily and the impact threw him hard to where he stood now.

Seeing the state of his coat, and his hand covered in blood, Elliot furrowed. He glared at his clone who was covered by a thick mist.

"A mist that covers spiritual traces … how convenient," Elliot murmured to himself. "But I can't let myself simply be defeated by a clone. I am the original one after all". Smirking, he took off his tattered coat and threw it on the ground. Now, he only wore his white long sleeve shirt with black mandarin collar and hems. It was a fitted shirt, enough to highlight his slim, yet perfectly muscular body. He released a green aura from his body afterwards, healing it from all of his minor injuries until they were no more.

Elliot lifted his warhammer, ready to strike back at the opponent. However, before he lounged at his clone, his eyes widened when he saw six more clones appearing from the shadows! He could barely keep up with one and now there were six of them! He stepped back to think of his next move.

"I can't fight all of them alone," Elliot pondered in his mind. "I can try to create earth dolls or sand golems but will they be strong enough to put up a fight with my own clones? I need something stronger … something - ," and suddenly, an idea crossed his mind. "I have never tried this but, oh well, there's always a first time for everything".

Elliot lifted his warhammer and imbued it with his spiritual energy once more as he chanted, "Zweihänder - first form, Verus Mode". Then, his warhammer glowed bright and changed its form. This time, it turned into a beautiful golden lyre. The soundbox of the lyre had the face of a griffin with an orange crystal on its forehead. The two arms on each side were designed after it's wings, and the strings were golden. When Elliot plucked the strings to play a tune, an orange glow started radiating from it. The calming sound of the lyre echoed through the whole mirror house, distracting the now seven clones before Elliot.

"If my theory is correct, Fauna's main skill is to summon mythical creatures out of nowhere," Elliot thought. "And if that's so, that means they're not like the earth dolls or sand golems that are made by magic … therefore, making them stronger, has a will of their own, and a spiritual reserve of their own". 

As this went on in his mind, Elliot fixed his eyes on his clones who were now preparing to attack him at the same time.

"Fauna, I need to summon creatures that are stronger than Mythics, is that possible?" Elliot asked the guardian in the orange crystal.

Fauna's voice replied to him. "If it's stronger than Mythics, then you must be looking for the Sacred Guardian Beasts".

"Huh?" Elliot was puzzled. "But isn't that … you guys?"

Fauna's voice chuckled. "Indeed it is us, master".

"Wait, you can summon the other guardians?!" Elliot exclaimed. Afterwards, he leaped in the air and glided on a safe spot because his clones were attacking him again.

Once in a safer place, Fauna replied, "Yes, you may summon them using the lyre. Since the lyre is its true form, the full capacity of its power is unlocked. You may summon all the guardians from the gates you have conquered. We will aid you in battle".

"Woah! That's cool," Elliot was surprised. "In that case, I'll need all of your help."

Elliot played another calming tune from the lyre and it's beautiful sound reverberated through the whole room once again. In a matter of seconds, six black holes appeared from thin air, and from there came out the Sacred Guardian Beasts of the first six gates. First to come was Ducis in his dragon form, followed by Fauna, in her Griffin form. Then came Caligo, in his Basilisk form, and Terra in her Elf form. The last pair was Saburra, in his Sphinx form, and Ventus, in his Pegasus form.

All six Sacred Guardian Beasts stood before Elliot, defending him from the seven clones in front of him.

And so, the fight resumed, one guardian beast versus a clone. Being all powerful as they were, the whole mirror house got destroyed in an instant, but still kept them trapped in whatever place they were. Since there were six guardians, and seven clones, one of them was left for Elliot to fight.

Elliot changed his lyre into a scythe afterwards, the third true form of the Zweihänder. With a loud clunk, their weapon touched each other and held it in place. Elliot was now face to face with his own clone. 

Until … the clone began talking, asking him …

"Who are you?"

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Hi Beloved Readers!

As part of "Authors & Readers Win-Win Event", I've decided to do a mass release if we reach the below numbers of privilege readers for September! XD

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