The location was the throne room of the Capital of Cronoa. Rohan was sitting idly as he checks his glowing right hand. "You guys have done it again." He says with a smile as the glow disappears. A similar incident was going on in another location. This time it was Kaz who was inside a dark room of some sort. The only light that emerged from the room came from his hand. "Hehe. These bastards are not slowing down not one bit." He noticed a similar light coming from an open room. "Hey, Ernie! Are we ready to go yet? It's almost time for the showdown." ... "Hello, brother." Reed greeted his younger brother. "Seth, Seth, Seth. Your crew keeps growing." Keith bursts into a peal of maniacal laughter as he finished.He smacked his lips and licks them as he scans the people surrounding them. "5 against 2 will do you no good brother, I'm sure you of all people know that." Ace remained silent as he looked at the worried faces of his crew. They all nodded as he nods back. He then walk
The location was inside the Capricorn zodiac crypt. The Aegis clan found themselves in a large labyrinth. "Ack!" "Dead end!" "Shit!" The cries of devastation escaped the mouths of the Aegises as they seamlessly try to get out of the maze. But to no veil. "This place goes on forever!" Reginald slams the wall that stood before him as they stumbled another dead end. "We've been at this for days!" Ace cried out. It was unusual for him to lose his cool but this was a special case. "Good thing we packed some food with us," Maggie added as she continues to study the markings on the walls. "But for how long?" Vorus intervened. "We seem to be going in circles." "It's been a week since that goat-man came here, and we haven't made any real progress." A week ago the Aegis clan had arrived at Grum forest to locate the Capricorn crypt. Conroy ended up falling into a hole and he asked the others to follow him. That was how they found the crypt. The crypt keeper, Pan revealed himself to
"Are we gonna do this?" Ace asks. "Or are going to seat here all day waiting for you three to come to a decision." It wasn't like him to be impatient, but the Elders have kept Ace and everyone else around them waiting for a verdict on what to do with the current circumstances. They've been at it for over an hour, muttering between themselves. Sometimes Ace could hear some of the things they were saying... "Trust him? I refuse to trust an assassin." Elder Bari snarls. He was the grumpiest of the elders and likes to carry out all his business head-on and straightforward. Shuntal reveres him as "The Man Who Does Not Lie." "That too, the son of a Don and head of the House of Shadows." He added. "I believe the boy has made it clear about his decision to sever any connection with his family?." Elder Ram said.If Elder Bari was straightforward, Elder Ram is careful and precise. He makes decisions after thorough contemplations. He makes sure he considers all sides and everybody's point
The location was the ark of the Aegis clan, the Dragonheart. Ernie was currently humming as he worked on the engine of the ark. "There," He dusts his hands. "With the new narly tweaks I placed, You peeps don't have to worry about this beauty breaking anytime soon." He gave Conroy a thumbs up. "That's great Bro Ernie!" "And with that, I'm done fixing the ark, it's good to go and so are we!" "About that... Where do go from here?"It has been 2 days since Ace and Reginald accompanied Kaz to see the elders. Vorus had awakened a day ago and the ark's repairs were completed. Ernie had finished the repairs ahead of time and even went an extra step to add a couple of upgrades. For starters, the Dragonheart lacked any cannons for battles against other Arks. Although these battles rarely occur in the Western Continent, Ernie warned the crew that the Eastern Continent is a place more brutal than where they came from. "That's where you met Sirs Kaz and Ace." Says Conroy as they arrived at
"Huff. Huff." "Hey! You big chunk of meat. Look what you did to Coby!"A vein popped on Rex's head."What's wrong, little runt?"Reginald sneered. "Oh, don't tell me you actually thought your friend over there would win just because he could read minds." Rex widened his eyes as he gently lays Coby on the ground."Stay put." He said to the unconscious Mind reader as he looks at his other clanmate. "Deen! Look after him." Deen nodded as Rex turned his attention at Reginald. He points at him. "Sit tight and wait for me, you're next just as soon as I puy your oversized friend here in his place." "How are they so strong?"Rex had underestimated the Aegis clan. That had always been his issue in the first place.He lacks the intuition to scale a person's power. Even when he witnessed them take out a hundred relic beasts, he merely saw that as a team effort."Nonetheless, he beat up my clanmate and I intend to make him pay!"Rex walked into the ring to stand face to face against Vor
"Begun vile humans! Grand Torrent!"A massive wave created by Ciel crashed into the enemy forces like a waterfall."What is the keeper of the Aquarius zodiac crypt doing here.[FLASHBACK]After Ace's and Ciel's battle, the crew was ready to be beamed out of the crypt by the keeper.He handed Ace a flute."What's this?""Use this whenever you need my aid, I shall come to your assistance."They all gasped at the words of the man."Do keep in mind young braves, you can only call for me three times and once in 6 months, then the flute will disintegrate and I can only stay for a minute. So make sure you know what you seek from me before playing the flute. Also, you cannot summon me inside another crypt."[FLASHBACK ENDS]That was the case, Ciel had handed them a flute that could summon him from within his crypt, and although he can only stay for a minute, the havoc he was reigning on their enemies currently was worth it.Upon his arrival, he had taken out the fifty soldiers that had attemp
The twelve zodiac crypts shared several similarities. One of which was that they change their trials for any new party partaking in the challenge. It was a way to ensure equality between all challengers as one won't be able to give others hints on what the trials will be.That was the case. However, certain crypts do not change their trials. Regardless of whether one knows what the trial will be based on or not, the difficulty doesn't change. One such crypt was the Aries zodiac crypt. It gave the same trial to all challengers. Phrixus stood in front of the Aegises. "Now then, while the sun still shines, we should make haste and get this over with." The keeper snapped her fingers and the Aegises passed out. They were then teleported into different locations. Ace was the first to wake up. He found himself in a dark room with very faint lighting. The ex-assassin raised his guard as he summoned his shadow daggers. "Where are my crew? This better not be another one of you keeper's
Inside a shaggy tent in the middle of a forest, a bandaged Rohan was starting to regain consciousness."Argh, w-where am I?"He sits up and holds his head, wincing in pain as he recalls the incident that transpired which led to his current condition.Rohan clenched his trembling fists, releasing his aura in a fit of rage.He planned on having his brother return to Cronoa with him so he could face his crimes."That mad man is loose out there and it's all my fault."Rohan managed to eventually calm down a bit as his aura disappeared."Caww!!"He hears the cawing of a bird from outside the tent and decides to check it out.As he steps outside the tent he sees a rainbow-colored bird flying towards him and spots an old man trailing not too far behind."Huhuhu. It seems the youngin has finally awakened, Ada.""Woah!"Ace and co. have completed their first trial in the Aquarius crypt and await the final test.They were currently walking in a vast hall that depicts numerous hieroglyphics."I'