Sky, Layla, Yumeko, and Fire General Kai entered the Capital city, surprised to see that the civil war between the Fire God Ignis and his son Kaen was over.
"This is surprising; I thought it would take a lot longer, considering it was a civil war," Sky said.
"Yeah, Fire God Ignis must be strong to take on the entire army of his son," Yumeko added.
"Ignis is strong, but alone he couldn't have beaten Kaen's army in such a short time. Kaen's army was full of people who hate your Kingdom, Aeritha, because of the Church of the Sun," Fire General Kai explained.
"I can't believe it. Why are they doing this? What's the point?" Sky asked.
"You see, after the Elemental War, the second Braveheart, full of hatred for losing his father in the war, needed someone to blame. He couldn't accept the truth that it was Aquora's Water God because they were a higher realm/Kingdom, so he deluded himself and blamed your king, Arthur Skyward. Ever since then, the Church Of The Sun has portrayed you as evil, and many people, not wanting to form an alliance, joined Kaen's Rising Flames terrorist group so he could usurp Fire God Ignis, who had taken away Kaen's status as heir to the throne and given it to his younger brother, Ryuu."
"What the hell is wrong with this kingdom?" Sky exclaimed.
"Yeah, it's insane," Layla agreed.
"Well, I'm not surprised. It's not the first time something like this has happened," Yumeko said, her voice filled with resignation.
"Hey, this is still my home you're talking about; that's not the topic here. It seems Fire God Ignis had outside help," Fire General Kai said.
"Maybe it was Noboru. He has a habit of showing up and helping when the situation gets critical," Layla suggested.
"Yeah, maybe," Sky said, hoping she was right.
"Let's find out," Yumeko suggested.
"Okay, let's go," Fire General Kai said as they made their way.
Eventually, they arrived at Fire God Ignis's throne room. Instantly, Fire General Kai kneeled to the fire god, while Sky, Layla, and Yumeko kneeled to the Wind God Kaze, or in Yumeko's case, her father.
"Fire General Kai, it is good to see you survived the invasion of the cult. Did you protect the shield?" Fire God Ignis asked.
"Yes, Your Majesty. We had outside help from the Blackstar knight, Noboru Chikara," Fire General Kai revealed, making Ignis's eyes widen.
"I see. He helped you too. I wonder how strong this boy is. I have seen him once, but I couldn't even get a read on him. If he has this much power and is young, what will happen when he is older?" Fire God Ignis pondered.
"Noboru Chikara helped us too. He first appeared in Sky's hometown when the cult unleashed the void, then helped and saved me from a Void invasion caused by the cult, and helped Sky defeat the Disciples in the Wind Temple," Kaze added.
"If I may, sir. He was able to replicate one of the ancient moves of our kingdom just by seeing the beginning of the move. He accurately deduced the move and how it works and even improved it with control and shape transformation. He even replicated my famous Meteor Barrage and made it better. With the level of control he showed, I think he has the ability to replicate any move. And his fighting skills are far beyond my level; he was able to learn to manipulate the Void by watching the cult and even improved to the point where he can do stuff that only the Void queen can do," Fire General Kai added.
"Impossible! Nobody can replicate any move just by seeing it once, not even the Blackstar Knight. And nobody can learn to manipulate the Void; only the Void queen can, and yet this boy not only did it but took it a step further and learned to manipulate Higher Void Energy, a feat not even the queen herself could do," Fire God Ignis exclaimed.
"Your Majesty, if I may. Noboru is not just a simple human. I believe he is a god. His strength is above ours, and his level of control and mastery is far greater than even our strongest warrior. I believe his presence in the world is a sign that we will enter a new age. And I also believe his goal is to protect us and guide us through this new age," Yumeko stated confidently.
"Interesting. This Noboru Chikara is certainly a fascinating individual," Ignis mused. "Well, anyway, Fire General Kai, since you have gotten along well with the Wind God's entourage here, I have decided you will be the Ign
arocks' representative and will join Wind God Kaze in creating an alliance with the other kingdoms to face the void. Tomorrow, you will depart with Kaze here to Aquora to help form the alliance. I will make the announcement later today. For now, get some rest. You deserve it," Fire God Ignis commanded.
"Thank you, Your Highness," Fire General Kai said.
"You should get some rest as well," Kaze told Yumeko, who blushed at her father's words.
"Yes, father," Yumeko replied.
"Sky, Layla, you two should get some rest," Kaze said. "Especially since Aquora is a violent place; they are war-hungry and selfish. They only care about power and are only holding the peace treaty made at the end of the war because of the Terravale."
"But sir, if that's the case, shouldn't we go to Terravale first?" Sky asked as Kaze sighed.
"You don't know this, Sky, but Terravale sees the rest of the kingdoms as its experiments. It's why it forced a peace treaty. It's the strongest of the four kingdoms and won't even hear us out if all the kingdoms aren't united."
"Oh, okay, sir," Sky said.
"Good. Now rest," Kaze ordered.
"Yes, Sir," Sky, Layla, and Yumeko said at the same time as they made their way to their rooms. They decided to go into Sky's room to talk.
"So, Aquora sounds fun," Layla said as Yumeko laughed.
"It does," she agreed.
"Yeah, I mean, how bad can it be? They can't be worse than the Disciples," Sky joked as Layla and Yumeko burst into laughter.
"You're right. It can't be worse than the Disciples. After all, there is nothing worse than an evil cult trying to bring about the end of the world just because they are attracted to the void queen," Yumeko said.
"That's true, but we have faced a lot, and I'm sure we can handle whatever is thrown at us. After all, we are the Chosen ones," Sky said.
"Yes, and we have Noboru, so I'm sure everything will be fine," Layla added.
"Wow, Layla. I thought you were just suspecting him a few hours ago," Sky teased, happy at the chance to finally get a chance to tease Layla after all the teasing she does to him about Yumeko.
"What. I'm just saying he's proven to be reliable," Layla says, turning her face to hide her blush.
"Oh, so now you are admitting you were wrong," Sky pressed.
"Yeah, I guess so," Layla admitted reluctantly.
"So you admit I was right," Sky said, smirking.
"Shut up, Sky," Layla yells.
"Whatever, it doesn't matter. What matters is that we have each other and Noboru on our side," Yumeko cut in.
"Yeah, I guess you're right," Sky conceded.
"Okay, enough talk. It's time for sleep," Yumeko said, yawning.
"Oh, is our sweet Yumeko going to join her beloved Sky in bed? Should I leave if it's not going to be a clean night?" Layla teased, smirking at the blush on Yumeko and especially Sky's face, feeling good at getting revenge on Sky for teasing her.
"Layla, stop it," Yumeko cried, embarrassed.
"Come on, Sky. Say something," Layla said, smirking.
"L..l..Layla. Please s..s..stop," Yumeko pleaded, embarrassed.
"Okay, I will stop teasing, but you two should sleep and get ready for tomorrow," Layla said, smiling.
"Thanks," Yumeko said.
"You're welcome," Layla said as she left the room.
"Yumeko... I'm sorry about her," Sky stuttered out, still embarrassed.
"Um... I should leave too. If my dad found us alone in a room together..." Yumeko stammered.
"Yeah, okay," Sky agreed, still flustered.
"Good night, Sky," Yumeko said, smiling.
"Good night, Yumeko," Sky said.