The Ark Of A Changed Scythe

"So, there's no need to stress about what to feel after someone speaks to you. There is no 'right' reaction to anything. You can be angry at me for trespassing into your world at such abrupt timing, and I wouldn't bat an eyelid about it. Let your heart open up by itself."

"And soon, you'll experience emotions by your own volition and not bound by the reactions of others. That's what I've always taught my baby twins, to seek their own person and not follow the grain all the time. If so, we would be mindless puppets ruling a kingdom to the ground."

The Ankou glanced down, unable to comprehend what the Empress was saying at that moment. But Duncan knew what the lady meant as he had seen the fruits of her teaching in Mavislin's nature in the future. The Empress then stood up as she heard a loud burp coming from the baby girl.

"Have you had your fill? Yes, yes... You've been a good girl. I'll let you play in the ballroom when we return home, okay? Now then, let's get going. Your brother will wake up very soon, and I need to report back to the Council," cooed the Empress as she grasped the child's hand.

"My sincere apologies. I'd like to chat with you more, but I'm busy with all the commotion. But I won't leave without giving you a gift. After all, it is customary to give a gift when visiting a foreign land. Now then, Death, show me your scythe," said the Empress as Mavislin stepped back.

The Reaper did as he was told and took out his scythe to show to the Empress. The lady smiled and placed a hand on the scythe. Duncan noticed that the scythe in this memory wasn't the same as the one he had seen when he first unleashed the Final Frame.

For starters, the scythe that Duncan was seeing was white and looked like a simple scythe without any prominent designs. As the Empress closed her eyes and chanted something in a foreign language, the scythe instantly turned into the version that Duncan had seen previously.

And it seemed to have grown more massive as well, changing its color from white to silverish grey. A skull and ribcage appeared, and the handle looked like it was made of bones. The Ankou took the new weapon back and gazed with awe while smiling.

"It didn't make sense to me that a personification of 'Death' was wielding a white weapon, so I decided to change the color and appearance to befitting for your job. But then again, we Valkyries look like angels, but we are harbingers of war. Fare thee well, Reaper."

The Empress extended her vast, pure white wings with those parting words. The Reaper backed off as the toddler got onto her mother's back. Then, in a single motion, the Empress took to the skies and vanished into the skies, leaving the Reaper amused and alone.

And abruptly, Duncan was sent back into the physical realm, where he was still fighting against Midori with his bare fists. It had been only a few minutes that passed, but it felt like hours to the boy. Nevertheless, knowing that the battle won't last long, Duncan was determined to win.

The child was faster than before when they fought on the above grounds. Did being out in the open negate his powers that much? This was starting to get interesting, thought Bryan. And it would seem that Duncan was getting quicker at every turn.

As for the other side, Midori was thrown off balance as she tried to defend herself against another strike. But with her hearing increased in such a place, the child could easily dodge another of Duncan's attempts to wound her. Arondight was helping but not for long.

As Duncan clashed one last time with Midori, the boy angled himself, so he was slightly above Midori and quickly used his leg to kick the handle. This action made Midori fly across the field and into the solid rock wall. Without a second to lose, Duncan prepared to use the Final Frame.

But this time, the boy unlocked another ace up his sleeve, which was the Ankou wielded scythe. However, Duncan still felt it wasn't enough and decided to send his entire body to overdrive by using Blood Mastery: Onyx to create more Elemental Energy.

With all these powering the wheels, Duncan's Elemental Aura exploded into dangerous heights, scaring the Founder at the field's top. The eruption of such power alerted the occupants of the Old Chapel, and Mavislin was the first to reach the training field with Rina nearby.

"Z? Did you use your powers against the kids?" asked the Valkyrie, reaching to the pit's rim.