The Great War

Rain froze and turned into frosty snow. The dirt path was much more dangerous to march on with the ice from the rain. Nevertheless, the soldiers pushed onwards and didn't stop until they could see Crow Tower in the distance. The cannon fire sounds seized and the entire unit, Clover's and now Wallace's, marched in unison. They were a day's worth of marching away before entering the territory of Dominus Mortis. The freshly fallen snow made the territory look much more beautiful. The coldness, however, was un-welcomed by the soldiers lungs and it made breathing harder. Clover rode next to Wallace and the two of them led the entire unit. They left after burying Leonard's body and having a proper funeral for him.

In the entire journey, they weren't disterbed by anyone and had a safe, relatively quick march; perhaps it was the cold that motivated them to march faster. The only casualty was General Leonard Church. Most of the journey was done in silence. They did this in respect to his passing. Soon enough they were outside of Crow Tower. They quickly set up base and defensive walls. Tents and armor racks were set up and people also made fires. Once they had completed this, they all gathered around in front of the podium where Clover was.

"This is it! This is our final stand! We will fail or we will prevail! Either way, We will fight til the very end! I know that you are tired, but we mustn't rest now. We mustn't give up. That's not how MY soldiers are! We must push on! We must! We must! We must, for the sake of Dusk, WE MUST!" King Clover Shard yelled with pride to his soldiers

"For Dusk! For Dusk! For Dusk!" the soldiers yelled back

Clover turned around and unsheathed his sword. He pointed it at Crow Tower. All of the soldiers raised their swords and cheered. Clover jumped on his horse and Wallace followed and then the soldiers. It wasn't before long when they encountered Lavernius. Lavernius seemed to have almost no armor on. With him was Krimson Reagon. Krimson and Lavernius walked up to Clover and Wallace, Clover and Wallace did the same.

"We meet at last." Krimson said, looking at Clover

"You must be Krimson. I have heard so much about you." Clover said

"I wish I could stay and watch your defeat, but there is something I must do at Golden Gate. I will come back after the brawl and finish you off, if you are still standing." Krimson said

"You… You can't!" Wallace Kalentis yelled

Wallace charged at Krimson with his sword. Before Wallace even got close, Krimson vanished. Wallace looked around but he could not find him. Lavernius took a step back. He raised his hand and his army began to march closer to them. The army marched until they were behind Lavernius. Clover did the same. Clover, Wallace, and Lavernius retreated behind the army and Clover yelled, "Charge!".

The soldiers yelled as loud as they could. The armies clashed and the sound of steel clashing echoed throughout the battlefield. The soldiers fought ferociously, trying to get past the enemy lines. The Royal Knights were outnumbered, but they held their ground. The Moonlight Knights were stronger than the Royal Knights, but the Royal Knights had more experience and better swordsmen.

"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!" Clover cursed.

"Let me show you what I am capable of!" Clover yelled

"The King is holding his own!" a Royal Knight shouted from the front line, boosting the morale of the soldiers.

King Clover Shard and General Wallace Kalentis fought with the front line and began to push the Moonlight Knights back. Until Lavernius Bear got serious. Lavernius started to plow through the enemy's line and make it all the way to Clover and Wallace.

"You have to go, Sir!" Wallace shouted to Clover

"I cannot leave you! I will fight to the end!" Clover responded

"How honorable of you. Let me reassure you, both of you will die here." Lavernius stated.

Clover and Wallace stand tall and prepare to fight the Champion. Lavernius dashes forward, but does not attack and only knocks down Wallace. Clover swings at Lavernius. They lock swords and the king is kicked to the ground. Before the champion could finish him off, the general distracts him with a throwing knife. Lavernius tries to block the knife, but he is too slow. The blade pierces his side. A gush of blood spills from his wound and his eyes bulge in pain. Clover pushes himself up and fights on but Lavernius takes advantage of the opening and charges at him. Clover manages to dodge the charge and parry Lavernius' first swing. Then Clover, the king, and the general start to move forward again. Lavernius pulls out the dagger. Wallace's eyes grew in surprise when he saw that the wound had healed and not even a scar was left behind. Something changed. Lavernius became faster and stronger, as if he was holding back before. The weak king struggles to parry all of his attacks and is fatally wounded and falls to both knees. Lavernius turns to Wallace, but the general turns and runs into the battlefield to seek help from any Royal Knight. Lavernius stands proud over Clover and watches him die.

"We... will... win..." Clover says with all the strength left in him

"You are losing. You will lose it all." Lavernius said

Lavernius scans the battlefield and does not see Wallace. He then looks at the gate of Crow Tower and sees him run in with five Royal Knights. Lavernius tries to run after but is blocked by foes. He looks at Clover and waits for the moment of death. But it does not come soon enough. Clover yells and stands up. The knights and Clover all attack the mighty Champion at once. It was a fruitless effort. With just one swift swing, all the knights and Clover were cut in half and killed instantly.

The commander, Xion Zyphor, and the captain, Jerry Malikai, did something so unforeseen that the gods themselves would have never guessed this outcome. All three hundred Moonlight Knights and five hundred Royal Knights marched Towards Crow Tower from its sister tower, Raven Tower. Jerry stayed behind to rescue James and Victoria Akaza, who were taken prisoner. Xion led the troops and found that they were getting closer to the tower.

"Xion, we are almost there. We can see Crow Tower." a knight said to Xion.

"Keep an eye out for any ambush. The tower guards may try to stop us." Xion said

"I have noticed something strange. There are no guards. Might they all be fighting the war, sir?" the knight asked

"They could be. Don't stop marching until we get inside the Kingdom!" Xion shouted to his newly formed army.

"It seems like everyone has gone to war except for us. I wonder why?" the knight said

"No time for questions! Just keep marching!" Xion said.

"Sir, we are here." a knight said

"I knew it!" Xion exclaimed, "Archers! Prepare to shoot!"

In front of them stood fifty guards. Xion noticed something off about them. He held his hand up and the archers did not fire. The guards were not real. They were scare-crows. He pushed them all down and told his soldiers to wait. Xion continued alone and made his way to the throne room.

Meanwhile, Jerry has found James and Victoria. He unlocked the gate with the keys he found hanging on the wall of the dungeon. His heart stopped when he realized what state they were in. All of their bones were broken. They died an awful and painful death. Rage began to boil up in his mind. He knelt down next to James and Victoria. He grabbed the sheets of the prison beds and covered them. Before leaving he found explosives and wired the foundation of Tartarus, Raven Tower. When he was a safe distance away he lit the wire and waited for the spark to light the dynamite. After thirty seconds the dynamite exploded. The explosion sent shrapnel everywhere and shattered the entire lower level. All of the prisoners that were not killed outright were thrown into the air. James and Victoria were buried under the rubble.

When the smoke cleared, Jerry could barely see for the tears in his eyes would not stop. He couldn't believe what happened to the two of them, especially James. Jerry decided that he would free them from Tartarus and return their souls back home to Medivia and he prayed that they would be welcomed in Heaven. The sound of the explosion echoed through King Dominus Mortis' territory followed by the crash of the tower itself. The battle seemed to stop for but a moment before starting back up again.

Xion had reached the throne room. He heard fighting and barged the doors open wide. He saw five dead Royal Knights and King Mortis fighting a general. Dominus looked different. It had been a while since Xion had seen him, but he looked younger and was swiftly moving. Their battle was so fluent it was almost magical. Dom looked at the door and saw Xion holding his sword, not moving.

"Xion! My loyal commander! Help me!" Dom cried out

"What?!?" Wallace shouted in surprise

"Raven Tower has fallen. Blown to smithereens. I participated in the fall of its glory." Xion reported, "I came here to stop this war."

Dominus' face turned red with anger. Wallace and Xion stood next to each other and were ready to strike the mad king down. Dominus took a defensive stance and the two brave soldiers pounced at him. The king dodged their attacks and blocked their swords. The battle lasted for a few minutes before Dominus managed to land a fatal blow, cutting Xion's arm off. Dominus turned to Wallace and gave no attention to Xion. Before Dominus could attack Wallace, Xion screamed and lunged his sword at the nape of his neck. Completely severing his head from his shoulders, saving Wallace and ending the king's life.

Jerry comes running in after hearing the scream and sees Xion kneeling on the cold floor. Jerry rushes over and gently lays Xion down before he passes away. Wallace and Jerry remain in silence until they leave the tower and rejoin the force waiting at the gate for their victorious return.