The Hero and The Sorcerer

Sinta: "Kali, can we first go to church before going to the town square?"

Kali: "Sure, but what for?"

Sinta: "I'm expecting to meet someone there."

Kali: "Then I should go with you."

Sinta: "Thank you."

Gale: "Don't miss the meeting, Kali. You will be representing the emperor in front of the kings and queens."

Sinta: "It wouldn't be too long."

Biel asked Vint: "Is this meeting part of the reason why I was hired to be Kali's knight?"

Vint: "That and the fact that Kali is starting to handle some important affairs as the future emperor, so a personal police power is required to assert his authority. To simply put, you are his first soldier. In theory, about one generation in the future, the emperor had predicted that you will be the most powerful knight in the whole empire."

Ymae: "So Biel is like the prince of knights? Instead of becoming an emperor, he is destined to be the leader of all knights?"

Vint: "That's what the emperor had anticipated anyway, I'm a bit skeptical of it still."

"So how does General Biel sound to you, kid?"

Ymae: "It sounds wonderful."

Biel: "You all are severely overestimating my abilities."

He smiled.

"But that doesn't mean I wouldn't try turning it into reality."

Sinta being salty: "Don't let it get into your head."

Kali: "Woah! So Biel is that amazing? I'm jealous!"

Biel: "Why? Your future is more promising than mine, and yours is already set in stone."

Gale: "Dear, you see. Kali doesn't care about his title, what's important to him is his own hard work. So becoming an emperor knowing that he doesn't deserve to be one wouldn't make him proud of himself."

"He wants to be an emperor on his own just like his father."

Biel: "You have been spoiled too much, you should just be grateful of what you have."

Sinta: "Kali is in the right, becoming a true leader is different from becoming a leader just for a show. I think stuff that are gained through inheritance alone is dumb, they should first show that they deserve it more than anyone. That is how amazing leaders are made."

Biel: "Amazing leaders? Do those people even exist? Every people who gets to have an authority above normal people turn into assholes who abuses their power."

"Power can corrupt our minds."

Sinta: "That might be true to people who get a hold of power they don't deserve. A weak guy who got strong all of a sudden, instead of going through a tough training that requires dedication and discipline, will probably not recognize the value of responsibility behind their power, and the consequences of their actions. A person who did not earn the things they own through the right process might not see how they should use those things properly and carefully."

Kali: "That might be true, but it is important to note that this discussion will open many areas of problems. That includes issues that allows these types of behavior to fly."

"But if those problems do not exist, then corruption will no longer be possible, right? If that's the case, then these ideas could only exist in a perfect world free of problems."

They fell silent.

The idea of hopelessness for the future came to their minds as it was spoken by the prince himself, a child who is supposed to be the most powerful ruler in the future.

Kali: "You are right, Sinta. But everyone else is wrong."

"There can only be a perfect world if the people in it are all perfectly reasonable, but we all know no one is perfect."

Sinta can not refute Kali's words, but she still wanted to believe that there is hope for justice and a fair world.

Biel on the other hand believed Kali.

It is simple isn't it? A world of cruelty should be a world of unjust. That alone is a given, don't you think? And that this world of cruelty would lead people to pessimistic outlook, that could be true. But could they be wrong? After all, Kali is just a child who never experienced the outside world.

A world of fantasy where not only dreams come to life through magic, but also nightmares, a never ending cycle of nightmare fueled by the aggressive and unstable nature of it's laws. A fate worse than the world of reality.

A fate that will only get worse from here.

They finally arrived to the church of Capitolio. A Fionist church.

Sinta: "Just leave me here, Mister coach."

Kali: "We will see each other in the city square."

Biel: "Go ahead with Miss Gale, Ymae. I'll just watch over these two for a while."

Vint: "And I'll be watching these three. Take care, Gale!"

Gale: "Don't stray far from Vint, children!"

Ymae: "Bye-bye!"

Biel, Kali, and Sinta waved.

Ymae went with Gale to the square while Vint and Biel watched over Kali and Sinta to the church.

A young girl shouted: "Sis! Over here!"

Three other girls ran up to them followed by a 29 year old man just behind them.

Sinta: "You all came! I've missed you all so much!" Recognizing the voice, she became more energetic just as she heared it.

29 year old guy: "I have heard the news. I'm so proud of you, my dear."

Sinta cries of joy: "Thank you, father."

Sinta: "Kali, Biel, and Sir Vint, this is my family."

Kali: "My name is Makali Albedo, it's a pleasure meeting all of you today."

Biel and Vint bowed their heads to them.

The man bowed his head back.

29 year old man: "Pardon my ignorance, you must be Lord Makali. I am Senerano Reina of Battrea. It is an honor to meet you as well. I hope my daughter got along with you well."

Kali: "The honor is mine, King Reina. She is a wonderful lady."

The youngest of the sisters suddenly shouted: "Hello! My name is Ca-Camilla R-Reina." She stuttered while trying to pronounce her name slowly.

The second youngest then introduced herself: "My name's Cindrene Reina."

Then lastly: "I am Selecia Reina. It is a pleasure meeting you, your majesty." She said faintly and nervously.

Kali laughed a little: "It is a pleasure meeting all of you ladies."

King Reina: "Let's head inside, shall we?"

Vint told Biel: "You'll go with them, I will stay here outside for surveillance, but don't you feel relieved just yet, I will still be watching you from here. Understood? "

Biel: "Yeah."

They went in.

Vint, annoyed: "Could use some more discipline."

Kali to Sinta: "Do you go to the church often?"

Sinta: "Of course."

Kali: "Huh? But you look the opposite of a follower."

He said as he observed her appearance. Equipped with a few armor pieces made out of metal, emphasizing the word metal because these armors are real heavy especially for a young girl with no body strengthening magic unlike warrior magicians like Biel. Also to note that her dress reveals more skin than regular clothes. Both of these outfit details contradict the teachings of Fiona.

Sinta: "It's not that I am against the words of the goddess, it's simply what I had to do to achieve my dreams. You see, our mother died four years ago, and she did not have the chance to give birth to a baby boy to be the heir of our kingdom, and our father doesn't want to marry again either. So as the eldest daughter, I felt like I have the responsibility to take the position myself, and to do that, I have been living up to my father's expectation of how a prince of heir should be like."

Kali: "I see. So that is why you're so strong, and why you are serious about what a leader should be like. "

Embarrased, Sinta said: "Ahhh!.. Please forget what I said, I just got carried away earlier.."

"How about you? Do you often go to church?"

Kali: "Well not really, since I do always stay in the castle, but I do study the Scriptures at home."

They both looked at Biel, asking for an answer to the previously asked question.

Biel: "What?"

Sinta: "Are you a religious person, Biel?"

Biel: "I do believe in her but I am not that much of a devotee. I don't really have time in my hands back then to go to church often."

Sinta: "Hah! I'm not surprised."

Religion is very important to the culture of people in this time period. Lackluster devotion is considerably a sin in the eyes of people.

Biel: "What do you mean by that, huh?"

Kali: "Hold it, Biel. We're in the church."

Biel: "She started it."

Sinta: "Pftt!"

Kali: "Sinta, it's time to stop."

"You two would never get along, it seems."

They sat down next to each other along with her family. Not long after, the mass

Sinta: "C'mon, Biel. Behave just for this once." She laughed.

Annoyed Biel: "Silence.."

The "Mother", the Priestess of highest authority in this church and the woman who leads the mass, have stepped up to the stage to lead the worship.

They we're listening for a few hours to her sermons from the words of Fiona.

The Priestess: "And the Sorcerer asked, 'what had you found in this world of suffering, and from the god that forsaken us all to be worth of protection?' The Hero refuted, 'I see hope brought about by a miracle so far, yet it is right within my reach.' The Sorcerer responded, 'But for what reason to go in to such lengths to save our meaningless existence?' The Hero then spoke the words, 'Isn't that just perfect? If there is no value to our lives, shouldn't it be the more we strive for gaining worth? As our lives hold no value means that we have nothing to lose, and that the slightest of gain from our effort become the significant sign of our transcendence? Thus indicates that we can grow, and we are capable of changing something. That is why I cannot let you annihilate humanity, Sorcerer of Death.' The Sorcerer took the pain of the Hero, and the Hero took the pain of the Sorcerer. By taking each other's pain, the two understood each other, even though the Hero already understood the pain of the Sorcerer in the very beginning, yet chose to stand by his own reason. The Sorcerer on the other hand, saw the error of his ways and killed himself using the Dark Arts he used to kill people to atone for his sins."

In Kali's heart, a glimmer of hope sparked from the darkness as the Priestess continued the Sorcerer's words, "To death, I must succumb. I am no god nor human, I am now nothing, thus I shouldn't exist."