The events I am about to narrate occurred within a timeless realm however if I wanted to fit the events into the timeline of Josec's world, they occurred in the recent past.
ABOARD BENEDICT'S ARK…
Ryu of Kolmnid, Ayzan Nightbane and Reis Dragonhaärt were taking a walk through Kolmnid Forest. Kolmnid Forest was a secret forest growing underneath the Farms. The forest was filled with many gigantic trees. Surrounding the forest was a strange device made of minute crystal lenses. These crystal lenses surrounded many gigantic crystals above, beneath and all around. Looking above, the two noticed that there were what looked like minute pores connected to the Farms which were above ground.
These pores allowed light into the forest below and when the light hit the crystal lenses, it was amplified and directed to the giant crystals. When the amplified light from the crystal lenses hit the gigantic crystals, diffraction took place and the forest below was filled with sunlight just as if it were above ground. A glorious many coloured light filled the forest below.
"Just like the Heart. This forest is filled with many colours, it's just like the Heart" Reis Dragonhaärt exclaimed in awe.
Reis Dragonhaärt was the boy with silver hair whom Josec had encountered in an earlier vision. To be precise, Josec had seen a fragment of Reis' memories in an earlier vision.
"You're right Reis. This is an effect of Michael, my brother's secret protocol. It is currently being used as an agricultural tool but don't be deceived Reis, it was once a weapon of warfare that won us a great victory against the darkness of my homeworld" Ryu said.
"How could an agricultural tool help win a war?" Reis asked.
"The trick is in the light. For one thing, it makes a nifty flashbomb against those whose powers are predominantly of darkness. It's an effective tool for smoking out ninjas if I might say so myself and since the Dark ninja in my homeworld utilized powers primarily based on darkness, it had the capacity to temporarily strip them of their powers. You said the Light reminds you of the Heart. Yep, it's multifaceted that way" Ryu said.
"Does this tool have a name?" Ayzan Nightbane asked.
"It does, it's called… 'Protocol Limelight'" Ryu replied.
"So you came Ryu" a sinister voice suddenly said.
The three boys put up their guard.
"Show yourself!" Ryu who was in the lead demanded.
He had spread his arms defensively in front of the other two motioning to them not to tread any further. As the boys watched on, they noticed a figure beyond the light, cloaked in the shadows. Part of its body was exposed by the light of Protocol Limelight however its face was hidden.
"Or should I call you as you are truly named…my ancient archnemesis?" the voice said.
"Reis, Zan, leave the forest immediately. Wait for me in your classes" Ryu said.
"What are you saying? You're a student too" Zan said with an amused laugh.
"Yeah, but I need you two prefects of your various classes to watch over the others" Ryu said.
"Is he that dangerous?" Reis asked.
"You cannot sense it because a lot of his power has been suppressed by the Academy itself" Ryu said.
"You speak of the Academy as though…it is alive" Zan said.
"It is" Ryu said.
"Whoa…seriously…and how do you know all this Ryu?" the others questioned him.
"Like I was saying, a lot of his power has been suppressed by the Academy… and he seems to be concealing the rest of it" Ryu said.
"He flatly ignores us" the others said with weird expressions on their faces.
"He's the darkness of my homeworld" Ryu suddenly said.
The others were in shock. They suddenly realized in just how much danger they were. They hadn't even sensed a fraction of the power of the being hidden in the shadows.
"If he's here, the others that attacked the farms will most likely be pulling other moves elsewhere in the Academy" Ryu said.
Reis and Zan nodded. They finally understood why Ryu needed them to oversee the others.
"You still have a lot of explaining to do Ryu" Zan said.
"Sure thing, however, I'm certain you will understand everything in time…on your own. Just piece together everything you've learnt so far and be true to your own unique experiences" Ryu said.
The others nodded and left. When they were no longer in sight, Ryu sighed and raised his eyes to face his adversary. He had a look of indignation in his eyes.
"WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN UP TO TRISTRAN?!" Ryu roared and as he did, his features slowly changed.
His skin darkened slightly, his hair turned golden and sacred lines of identity appeared on his face.
"You should know by now Ryuujinn that I have been almost anywhere and everywhere. You seem rather curious of my intentions. Don't you think it would have been wiser to send your students away after they had learnt of my plans?" Tristran, the darkness of Ryu's homeworld said.
And there they stood, two titans of Creation and Destruction, staring each other down.
Ryu stared at Tristran for a while and then he spoke.
"I'm not so naïve I'd believe anything you said" he said.
"It doesn't matter now does it Ryuujinn. You will soon discover whether anything I'm about to say is true or not so I might as well begin with something you're quite familiar with" Tristran said and then he continued to speak.
Josec who was dreaming this scene realized that he could not hear the details of Tristran's plot. Perhaps because the details of what Tristran and Ryu were talking about were not relevant to his world's impending fate. However the details of their conversation are recorded in another book entitled Academy Of The Old Living Everlasting Entity; The Chapter Of Heart and Hate.
"Do you really not intend to act? Well then, I suppose I'll let you in on a secret. Unfortunately for you, you won't find those two students of yours in class. My students are working to separate yours. To prevent them from gathering around you and Reis Dragonhaärt, the two co-protectors of your legacy" Tristran challenged.
Ryu's eyes slowly assumed the likeness of the dragon. At the same time, it glowed with many colours, like the colours of the rainbow. What was happening was that Ryu was watching over the entire Academy to verify Tristran's words though he of course already knew that Tristran's threat was very much real. At the same time, it could be said that by watching over the events occurring in the Academy, Ryu was also watching over all twelve worlds currently connected to the Academy through their gates.
Josec's eyes in turn assumed the likeness of the phoenix. Josec could not see everything Ryu saw but he saw the things Ryu saw in relation to his homeworld. He had sensed that the being that had confronted Ryu had exactly the same sinister presence as Souryu had and wondered how that was possible when he and Ryu were from different worlds. He saw Souryu's fury as it flew over Josec's homeworld and noticed seven presences leave Souryu's body.
The first was a fiery presence which he recognized as the presence of Apollo. It fell into a mountain and transformed the mountain into a volcano. The second was the presence of Gargolem. It fell on the earth, tunnelled deep within it and plagued the continent it had fallen on with catastrophic earthquakes. The third was the presence of Anubis who fell in Avalon and sought to starve it of life by kidnapping its women. The fourth was the presence of Aesakal transforming the continent of Storms into the Land Of Perpetual Ice. The fifth was the presence of Aeros, plaguing another land with fierce wind storms. The sixth was the presence of Raichuu plaguing yet another land with Thunderstorms and the seventh was the presence of Syren transforming the sea into a monstrous force of destruction.
Josec watched his homeworld as an observer and saw that over time, the plagues the seven generals inflicted on his homeworld disrupted trade amongst the various continents and boxed them into isolation from one another. The generals had forced Josec's homeworld into a slow state of decline. They were attacking the people of Josec's homeworld on multiple fronts. Afflicting them with disasters and causing needless death was only one front. Filling them with fear and crushing their hopes for a better world was another front and the worst front of all perhaps was something Josec had only just realized. Isolating them from one another and hindering the overall growth of Josec's homeworld.
A memory filled Josec's mind. A memory of Ryu. Josec saw Ryu standing in what appeared to be a Temple. Before Ryu stood an elderly man.
"The others must know about this once I'm done with my training" Josec heard Ryu say.
"No! They must not know until Tristran is vanquished. Knowledge is power, but when it comes to Tristran, knowledge is danger. The mere fact of even knowing his name can open doors to an unimaginable world of manipulation and spiritual torment. Knowing more about Tristran will only endanger your comrades. Even the present state of this world, the ryus growing suspicions of one another had already been planned by Tristran even before Gaiden defeated Shekan" the elderly man warned.
"What do I do? Tristran is a really scary existence" Josec heard Ryu say.
"Don't be afraid. Believe in Ryuujinn's Dragon Zone. The Light will balance out the darkness. You are the only person in existence that can overcome Tristran. You have shared Ryuujinn's pain even without full knowledge of the feelings you have been experiencing…" Josec heard the elderly man say as the memory faded.
Then another memory filled his mind. He saw Reis standing with a girl with blonde hair and blue eyes. They appeared to be talking and the girl was in anguish.
"I can understand if you hate me now for the sorrow I caused you when you first arrived in this guild" the girl said sadly.
"How can I hate you Aurora? I feel angry yes, but not at you but…Erikkus Di Devilli. He actually turned all of Saggeese against you but…Aurora, don't you see it's all according to Armageddon's design?" Reis said sadly.
"What do you mean?" Aurora asked him.
Reis approached her till they stood face to face.
"Your hatred for Saggeese, Saggeese's hatred for Novatio and Novatio's distrust of Saggeese. Armageddon is turning humans against one another. The Dragons cannot protect us like they did before if humans themselves cannot unite behind one another…" Josec watched as the memory faded.
He found himself back in Benedict's Ark where Ryu and the darkness of his homeworld were confronting each other.
Ryu smiled.
"You really put a lot of effort into separating my students…I'm impressed" he said.
"You should be" Tristran said as his image overlapped with that of a gigantic sinister sabre-toothed black Dragon.
"However…a word of caution to you Tristran…" Ryu began to say.
A memory flashed within Josec's mind and this memory was his own. He found himself with his mother and the rest of the team as they battled Apollo.
"You have mastered adaptability, teamwork, heart, spirit, creativity and wisdom. It is now time to master the final lesson. The seventh 'stone' of the seven masters' seven canons. The seventh lesson is the ability to give the will of many form. You should be able to see it now Josec with your eye of heart. The technique your predecessors developed to confront the flames of the Sun-Song Devil" Josec recalled his mother's words as memories of Ryu's team's delta attack on the Sun-Song Devil filled his mind.
"To give the will of many form, you need to acknowledge that the seven stones are different, that everyone is unique but at the same time, the seven stones exist for the same purpose, in other words, we all have a common destiny. Now Josec…open yourself up and let this knowledge permeate your very being" Josec recalled his mother's words.
"But you're doing well. I feel the Earth-Suturing Seeds are being sown" another memory filled Josec's mind of his vision of Benedict's Ark around the time they were preparing to confront Gargolem. "I also feel my brother's Limelight Protocol in effect. Either way, the Earth-Shatterer is already losing dominion" he heard Ryu say with a smile.
Then he found himself before the two titans once more.
"However…a word of caution to you Tristran…though my students may appear separated from one another…they are also one…just like…we are" Ryu said as his image overlapped with that of a magnificent Rainbow Dragon.
Then the images disappeared.
Josec found himself alone on Benedict's Ark with Ryu. Josec was in awe from all that he had just seen.
"When you said the 'Earth-Shatterer' was losing dominion, you weren't referring to Gargolem were you?" Josec asked.
"I was indeed referring to Gargolem however I was also making a symbolic reference to Souryu using Gargolem's name as 'Earth-Shatterer' and his ability to split the earth into fragmented parts through his earthquakes. A symbolic reference to Souryu's ability and desire to divide mankind. The power of the Earth-Suturing Seeds lies in its roots so when I said the Earth-Suturing Seeds were being sown, I was through the Earth Suturing Seeds abilities to create a vast network of roots, making a symbolic reference to the power of a common history to bring people together. You may have only begun to realize it just now but the king of Gaeia was right. Your journey is not only leading to the defeat of Souryu's generals but recreating routes, re-establishing ties that have long been lost. The continents are beginning to break free of their isolation and are now working together. In time, this will contribute to the overall growth and prosperity of your homeworld" Ryu said.
Then Josec opened his eyes and awakened from his dream.