[Fortress of Death, Duchy of Grahm, Dalycon Union of Duchies]
(31th, Black Sea Moon (VII), 644 ASY)
Argus stops. Daniel looks at his opponent. Something feels off… Not about Argus, but his own constraint. He wipes his tears away. Whether they are tears of pain from his blood sacrifice or something else, he does not care. What he needs to do now is to defeat Argus. He smiles despite the howling pain in his body. He didn't actually need to kill or maim Argus. He simply needed to outlast him. All he needed is three more minutes. Although he needed three more minutes four minutes ago, perhaps Tyson got lost? No, he needed to find a way to lose Argus. That would ensure his security. But- no, don't think about that now. Clapping his hands, he sends a bolt of energy down towards his still enemy. Argus doesn't move. Instead, his corporal body simply dissipates under the spell. The sizzling of a soul escaping a body enlightens Daniel on the state of Argus' soul. Turning back on his Alchemist's sight, he can see the high-energy soul travel back towards the massive mountain of flesh that is Argus' true body. Seeing, although anti-climatically, his enemy defeated, all the energy seems to dissipate from Daniel's body. He falls to the ground, barely keeping his upper body upright. He crawls over to a large rock and rests his body on it. As he sighs, it almost seems as if he has deflated. He has not the energy to heal his wounds. He simply sighs and closes his eyes. What happens next he does not care. There will always be time to fix it…
"Hey Daniel, how long are you going to lay there?" A voice asks him. Daniel ignores him.
"Come on Daniel!" A lighter, higher-pitched voice chides him.
"Seriously, what are you doing there?" The first voice asks him again. Daniel finally gets the strength to force open his eyes. Instead of the dusty skies of Grahm, he is treated to a large chamber made from black stone. Red banners with the symbol of the Dalycon Union hang from the pillars holding up the marble ceiling. The size of the chamber is so that it feels overwhelming without feeling empty. Daniel finds himself lying on an elegant golden throne at the end of the chamber. To his right is Angelica, wearing what appears to be an 1877 German Reich Uniform. The golden buttons glint in the candlelight. Daniel tries to sigh but finds himself unable to move his body. He tries to move his head to look at the other voice, but his head refuses to move. Panic sweeps through his body. Then-
"I was contemplating something, Plutarch," his mouth moves without his consent. Wait, Plutarch? Wait, what is this? Is he in Xacont's body? How did he go from outside the Fortress of Death to inside the Castle of the Unifier? His head turns to the left. What greets him is the smiling face of the Fallen Angel of Authority.
"What were you thinking?" Angelica asks.
"What do we do with Argus," Daniel, no, Xacont answers. Daniel decides to sit back and watch whatever this is unfold. Wait, if I'm Xacont, then why is Angelica here?
"What do you mean?" Angelica asks. "Isn't he content where he is now? You aren't thinking of abandoning him now?"
"I'm not talking about that." Daniel's head suddenly jerks back and forth. "Argus has grown too big to keep in the castle…"
"Really? Are you sure?" Plutarch exclaims.
"Yes? Why?" Daniel's mouth moves once again.
"Well, it's just the growth his species, Mother of all Beasts, is incredibly slow. To grow to the point of not fitting inside of the castle would take centuries. Not to mention, to even get to that size, he'd have to learn how to use magic, which they don't until a couple of decades-old,' Plutarch explains.
"Then explain that," Daniel's arm suddenly points to the door into the chamber. There, a child, about six or seven, stands naked. His skin is ivory white, and his eyes glow with a red hew. More oddly is that his crotch area is completely smooth. There is no organ there.
"What do you mean by explain that…?" Angelica asks. Meanwhile, Plutarch is simply staring at the figure with an amazed expression on his face.
"You can already do that, Argus?" Plutarch asks stupidly.
"Why are you asking that, Plutarch? I am not suppose to know how to do this?" Argus asks innocently. At this point, Daniel has put two and two together. This is a memory that Argus is showing him. What purpose and how he's doing so is still a mystery. And then, the confirmation comes-
"So you really don't remember…" A deeper voiced Argus sighs as the memories suddenly disappear replaced by a white world. Daniel is in the same position as when he sat down, but his wounds have all healed.
"Remeber what..?" Daniel's body returns to his control.
"The time we spent together?" Argus cocks his head to the side.
"Yeah, the fight in the Blilic Desert? I remember. You put a hole through my chest. It took weeks to heal that," Daniel snorts.
"What fight?" Argus asks.
"Now I should ask what you asked me before," Daniel shakes his head.
"I don't seem to understand…" Argus starts to respond.
"You don't need to. Until one of us dies, we are enemies. That much you can understand, yes?" Daniel cuts him off.
"T-Truly-?"
"Yes. What do you not understand?" Daniel asks.
"Why we must fight," Argus mumbles. Man, he really is a child…
"I want to kill Xacont. That should be reason for you to oppose me. Unless you are disloyal…?"
"You want to-?"
"Yes I do. There is no other way,"
"I-I guess. I'll have to asks with Plutarch…"
"Do what you want. None of it matters to me. So long as he dies and I can return back to my original mission, I don't care,"
"Really. I don't understand what you're saying," Daniel shakes his head once more.
"Right. Before I let you outside, I want to show you one last memory…" Argus sighs as the room once again changes into vivid color. A mountain path appears as suddenly as the last scene disappeared. A wounded elf is laying on the group, gasping for breath. Standing above him is Plutarch holding a glinting Platinium sword to the elf's throat. Just to the side of Plutarch, another figure of Daniel stands.
"So this time, he has placed me into the memory itself…" Daniel thinks to himself. The memory then starts.
"Why are you doing this?" The elf huffs out. He coughs up a crimson liquid.
"Why do you think?" Plutarch snorts. "You cannot handle the power that has been given to you."
"But! The heroes where the ones that gifted us with that power. You would go back on their word!" The elf manages to scream out. He then returns to a coughing fit.
"There is one right next to me. You would go against his order?" Plutarch asks when the elf regains his breath.
"I-Impossible. He cannot be!" The elf coughs again. This time, blood drips down his chin in a maroon stream.
"Quit speaking in last century grammar. There is a time to improve your knowledge of the world," Plutarch shakes his head.
"Hey, Hero! Control your demon!" The elf suddenly shouts at Daniel. Rather, Daniel in Argus' memory.
"How dare you speak to him like-"
"It is fine, Plutarch," Daniel puts up a hand to stop Plutarch from continuing. "You may be surprised that I'm ordering this to happen. But, it needs to be done. Somethings just can't be exposed."
"You would resort to murder?"
"You ask this as if I didn't murder anyone or thing as a hero. I do remember that I had kill a very living person to get the sword in the first place,"
"Argentius was evil!"
"And in truth, so are you. You have killed beings, yes?"
"Only the horrifying monsters of the forest!"
"Indeed. So just because they look horrifying to your elvish eyes, they don't deserve to live? Just because that Goblins, Hobgoblins, Ogres, Orcs, Undead, and Ravagers don't look like you, they deserve to die? Just because you can't understand them, they deserve to have a arrow through their brain? Just because they live where you want to live, they deserve to die? Remember, this mountain was never yours to begin with," The elf goes quiet at this.
"So we then deserve to die…?" He finds his vocal cords after a couple of minutes.
"No, but you need to treat them the same way that you would treat your own. Didn't I tell you this?"
"But-"
"Did you bother to learn their language? Did you understand what they wanted?" Daniel raises his voice. The elf bits his lip. "Do you know how long it took for them to regain my trust? Did you know how many lives were lost in doing so?"
"I-I sorr-"
"You cannot just say that you're sorry and then be done. Punishment will be administered. Branbenburg may well return to being in the hands of the High Orges,"