Giliath demands your power stones!
*
"Next stop is, Riverside. I repeat, the next stop is, Riverside. Please make sure your baggage is secure before departure.", An intercom's voice suddenly spoke as an orbal subway train could be seen moving about at a high speed over its tracks above ground in what appeared to be a heavily populated city. If one wanted a close resemblance, it looked very similar to Tokyo, as it too had several districts.
But over here, they were called Burroughs. And Riverside was one of thirteen burroughs.
"Phew. Finally back home, at least. Even if I would call it a home. Oracion serves me no good anymore, but I didn't think Teacher would have a place to call home here in Edith.", A voice of a boy said, only to seen with a crowd of people within the same cabin as he was in. Upon a closer look this boy appeared to be around fifteen years of age, and had somewhat unkempt black hair. He was wearing a stylish cobalt jacket with black trousers.
Over the last few years, this boy seemed to have been wiped off the face of Zemuria, but that was for a good reason. He went off the radar, as did his Teacher, who happened to be one of the Septian Church's Dominions. Both wandered around the continent as the boy's teacher taught him the Kunlun style of eastern martial arts.
The city that this boy was now arriving at, or Riverside to be specific, was part of Edith. Edith was none other than the capital city of Calvard as Heimdallr was to Erebonia and Grancel City to Liberl. It's population was well over half a million here. Being the central hub of Calvard, martial arts was very widespread here.
And in Calvard, martial arts was much more prominent and learnt by many compared to the western countries, where most either join militaries or learned the way of the sword.
Here in Calvard, there were three popular styles that people could dive into should they hold interest. The first and lively most widespread form, Taito, which was far more known in the west than the other two were. The other two were called Kunlun and Gekka.
Those of people like Kilika, Zin, and Angelica, and subsequently Sherryl, who is still undergoing training under Zin, were practitioners of Taito. Even Walter the Direwolf, who was one of Ouroboros's Enforcers set to take part of the Gospel Plan, practiced Taito. He unfortunately diverged from Taito's path for killing his own master, eventually finding his own style of martial arts.
Yet the other two styles weren't as widely known in western Zemuria as it is in Calvard. The third style, Gekka, is what members of the Heiyue Family practice in, known for its graceful moves, launch of projectiles, and striking the enemy's pressure points, and therefore immobilizing them. Yin also is a practitioner of Gekka, but she is more predominant in Qinggong, which her Yin ancestors trained in, or more commonly known in the modern world, parkour. Swift and nimble, easily capable of jumping from building to building or running up vertical slopes. It is the least violent of the three as well.
Taito was prominent in its striking poses, easily crippling an enemy's defense while bolstering one's own. It is also known for its kicking, which is primarily unused for Kunlun. In short for Kunlun, it was essentially Kung-Fu, allowing one's fists as their weapon of choice to pummel enemies down.
And the black haired boy who could now be seen descending the platform from the subway train was a practitioner of the Kunlun style. However, what made this boy different from other practitioners was that he also learned swordsmanship under his teacher.
And seeing him arrive in the big city which was first for him, this boy couldn't help take in a deep breath of air. His childhood home was no more, and his teacher gave him a new area to settle down in, which was in this very city. Unlike the more dense districts or those that are restricted, Riverside was much more of a comfortable area to reside in. It was also here in Edith would this boy be due to enter high school soon, at one, if not the most prestigious schools in all of Calvard, Aramis High School.
Yet as this boy was in his own thoughts for a moment as he took in the air of the city life here, his thoughts were soon interrupted by a sound of another person's voice.
"So even fools like you can rise up from the graves, eh?", A person's voice said, reaching the black haired boy's ears. Hearing this ceased his thoughts and his vision became clear again. Yet the moment the black haired boy heard that, he couldn't help but click his tongue.
"Tch, I never died, you damn idiot.", The black haired boy cursed, revealing a rugged tone that is often used by street rats. Which made sense as this figure used to be a street rat himself, before getting adopted by the family he had now come to hate, bar a certain person he had gotten close to during that time.
"Haha, it just means Aidios still has something in store for you. Just don't let that get to your head though.", The voice said, only to reveal a figure of a brown haired boy who seemed to be of similar age to the black haired boy, perhaps a year older than he was. Yet this boy appeared to be much more proper, wearing a stylish violet suit, even sporting a tie underneath it.
After an initial wave of annoyance appearing in the black haired boy's eyes, he could only shrug his shoulders seeing the brown haired boy before him, who was also wearing glasses over his eyes. His lips then turned into a grin. Remaining silent, the black haired boy reached his hand out. The brown haired boy looked at it for a moment, before he reached his out, and grasped onto it. Unexpectedly, the two went in for a hug, welcoming each other.
After all, despite these two's appearances, they were best friends who they haven't seen in years.
"You haven't changed a bit, Van. Stronger, but you're still you.", The brown haired boy said, giving a hug to the black haired boy who he called Van, seeing how firm Van's grip was compared to his own.
"Heh, I could say the same to you, René. You ain't no shitty snot-nosed brat any more. Look at you all decked out in that suit.", Van said, letting his grin stay on his face as he retorted him. This boy before him was René Kincaid, a friend he had made during the time Van spent back in Oracion, together with a certain girl whose family had come to hate his guts. Which made sense since that particular family was owned the ever so popular Quincy business. Being a dominant business force in Calvard, the parents, despite welcoming Van into their home, knew he had no welcome there.
That didn't prevent their daughter from getting acquainted with Van though, despite getting berated by them time and time again.
Well, it reached a breaking point to where that girl's parents sold Van off to what was supposed to be a family of his own for him being an orphan, yet that strayed ever so farther from the truth he had come to learn of.
But by the time he had realized the actions done by that family, it was too late. He had gotten kidnapped and sold, only to be tossed away into a cave to rot away as an experiment for testing, along with other children that served no use.
But fate played another role when that happened, allowing Van to meet Naoto during the time the two had spent in the DG Cult.
Some years had passed since then and after travelling around with his teacher, he had decided to settle down in the new home he was granted. But still, knowing that Van now has a home he can come home to, he still had a desire to see that girl.
And knowing that, René could see it in Van's eyes, even after moments of meeting again.
"It's nice to see you again, regardless. I hear Elaine has become a Bracer.", Van said, parting ways from his hug.
"She has. Not once did Elaine doubt that you were gone for good. Still, you could have at least reached out to us at some point, you know. What did you end up doing ever since that incident?", René wondered about what Van has been up to lately.
"Practicin' martial arts, under a Teacher who found that I had talent I didn't even know I had. Surprisin' right?", Van asked back, which caused René to stare at him for a moment.
"No kidding? Now it makes sense as to why we couldn't reach out to you. You were probably moving all over the place.", René responded.
"Pretty much. You already enrolled in your first year here yeah? How's that goin'?", Van wondered as he asked that.
"It's going well. Both you and Elaine are due to enroll in a few months as well, I am so very looking forward to that. We should get going. Elaine already made a reservation for us at a restaurant nearby. We can get a good meal there--?", René tried to say, only for the two to suddenly hear a higher pitched voice yell out to them.
"...It really is you, Van!", A girl's voice suddenly said, reaching out to the two as they saw a figure blur, dashing their way as they left a restaurant from nearby. Yet she didn't seem to be alone either. Two other girls could be seen with this girl. Yet the first girl ignored the two she was with, and quickly reached Van, and gave him a hug of her own. Despite having a cold exterior most of the time, a happy smile reached her face, which surprised the other two further into the distance. Upon a closer look, she had long platinum blonde hair.
"Elaine...", Van began to say, only to return her hug after being reunited. He then nodded his head before he continued to speak. "Yeah, I'm back. For good.", Van happily responded, causing René to nod his head as well.
After a moment of bliss passed between the three, it wasn't until now did the other two girls approach the three.
*
[Insert picture of Van Arkride here]
[Insert picture of René Kincaid here]
[Insert picture of Elaine Auclair here]