*Eiko*

[A while ago]

I wiped the tears from my eyes. Miyuki had been quietly hugging me all this time.

"Why did that idiot have to die?" I mumbled, hugging the sphere of melted armor with my late husband's ashes.

"I've asked the same thing about Bastion before. I'm sure that Osamu and Anis asked the same thing when Sofia and Takeshi died."

"Except, Anis got back Takeshi. Even if he's stuck in the abyss right now, he's still alive."

"I know." Miyuki let go of me. "Anis is lucky, but she needs our help to make that a reality."

I placed my chin over the sphere. "I'm not sure if I'll be able to help much. You, Eiji, and Osamu dealt more damage against that monkey. If I could, I would retire as one of the Seven Hill Knights right now."

"You can't do that!"

I wiped away another tear. "I know, we are knights for life, but that didn't stop your son from declaring retirement."

Miyuki lowered her head. "I tried to talk him out of it, but that boy didn't listen. He felt like a failure after his best friend died. Thankfully, he got himself together in time for this war." She smiled. "Maybe that's what you need too, time."

"Maybe, but we don't have years, do we?"

She bit her lip. "Right, we don't."

I stared at the urn in my hands. What would Eiji tell me if he were here? Probably something like, "Why are you balling your eyes out, dummy? I thought that you didn't like me?"

I put down the urn, jumped up. "I'm not a dummy, you are!"

"W-what?" Miyuki asked, startled.

"Not you, him!" I said, pointing at the urn.

"Eiko, I think that you should sit back down. Rest a little more."

I slapped myself. "No, I'm going to go join the others! I can't stay here, crying all day. I still have a family to take care of, a Grand Dutchy to run, and a country to protect!"

Miyuki smiled. "Were you trying to psyche yourself up?"

My face reddened. "N-no!"

She laughed. "Alright, I won't force you to admit it. Let's go join the others. They shouldn't have gotten too far."

"Hope you're right. We don't even know how to get around this place."

"We could ask one of the Xelerians with knowledge of the region to escort us to wherever they went."

"True." I opened the door and rushed out.

"Wait, you forget something!" Miyuki yelled.

I turned around and drew the urn over to me using lightning.

"Hey! Way to treat your husband's ashes!" a voice echoed in my head.

Great, there I went again, imagining his voice.

"Who says you're imagining things?" the voice snapped.

I waved my hand at the mirage behind me, causing it to vanish. If it were a ghost, my hand should've gone through Eiji.

"What's wrong?" Miyuki asked as I continued.

I patted her urn and started walking toward the throne room. "I keep hearing his voice. You... didn't see him, did you?"

Miyuki gasped. She shook her head. "No. You know, I had a similar situation after Bastian died. He would appear to me in my crying sessions and try to comfort me. One time, Kohri ran into the room to comfort me, but he didn't seem to notice his father."

"So, it wasn't a ghost either."

Miyuki laughed. "Who knows. Maybe ghosts are different than the popular idea of them. Perhaps, they only appear to a person or two at a time. We are angels, but none of us are death angels."

I nodded. "True. Only Takeshi would know, having died once. Well, and maybe Anis since she can call upon spirits."

"Yeah. Once we save Shi, we should ask him."

I rather not ask Anis. She would probably laugh at me if I told her I was seeing and hearing things.

"That's assuming he remembers. My ancestor's realm is a difficult one to come back from. He and his brat are lucky to have returned."

"Oh, right. I forget that you're related to Nami too."

I stared at the urn. If only I had inherited a power like necromancy or the ability to summon ghosts.

I took a deep breath and continued on my way. I had to stop thinking like this. There was no changing what happened now. All we could do was learn from this. But was it even possible to defeat Daisaru and the other older Pillars? Against Takeshi's siblings, we likely stood a chance, but the ancient pillars were in a completely different league. Even Takeshi struggled to put up a fight against that monkey.

My eyes shifted forward. Coming our way were two individuals dressed in black military uniforms with green cuffs. A black mountain with a clover in the center plastered their hearts. The clover and mountain were two of the symbols of the Makkuroyama. On the last day of training in Anis's place, the heir of Makkuroyama had suggested his team get uniforms commissioned.

"Miss Kuroichi, are you feeling better?" the young man asked.

"Yes. Say, how did you get those uniforms on such short notice?" I asked.

The black-skinned, white-haired girl smiled. "We put them together while in Nine Petal during our free time."

The dark-skinned, blue-haired boy nodded. "Sabine helped us sew them. She's crazy fast with a needle."

I raised an eyebrow at him. "Sabine? I thought she was part of my son's team."

"Oh, she is," the girl said. "Was pretty surprised when she offered to help."

"Even if we're on different teams, we're still in this together," the boy said, smiling.

Miyuki smiled. "Based on the quality, she must be a pretty good seamstress."

The white-haired girl rubbed her chin. "Yeah. The odd thing is, she didn't remember having sewed before."

"I heard she lost her memory," I said, walking past them.

"Yeah, she said something about that," the girl said, turning to look at me.

"Are you off to join the others?" the boy asked, swinging his hands behind his head.

"They left?" Miyuki asked.

"Yeah, a while ago. You can probably still catch up with them if you leave now."

"Let's go!" I said, rushing off. I ran to the lobby and glanced around for the exit. I'd barely paid any attention to the layout of this place.

"The exit is this way," Miyuki said, appearing in front of me. She pointed at the hall toward my left.

My eyes widened. "H-how did you do that?" She had never beat me in a race before.

She snickered. "Zen mode."

So, that was what it was capable of. If only we had finished training quicker. Miyuki and Osamu might've been able to save Eiji.

I hit my head. Ugh, I was doing it again!

Taking several deep breaths, I ran forward. Miyuki kept pace with me, not even breaking a sweat like she usually would. Her demeanor was as calm and relaxed as when we were young.

Miyuki gasped as she opened the door.

"What's wrong?" I asked, pushing the door open.

"I sense... Alabaster," she mumbled.

I gasped. "What? Alabaster? He's been dead for years. How can he be around?"

"I don't know, but I don't like it," Miyuki said, trembling. "He appears to be fighting with the king."

"Osamu is awake?"

Miyuki nodded. "It seems so." I spread out my golden wings and took to the air. "I'm going to stop them." Alabaster fighting against Osamu didn't make any sense. The guy was relatively meek. Was he revived by someone like Conrad was?

Either way, I had to stop him for Eiji's sake.

Electricity covered my entire body.

"Hey, Eiko, don't strain yourself," Miyuki said.

I scoffed. "Please, this isn't enough to tire me out." I hadn't grown that rusty that a simple leap in speed drained me.

Within a few seconds, I appeared next in front of Osamu and the giant green specter gripping him. It was a djinn!

"Eiko!" Osamu said, turning his eyes from the creature. He and the others stood still as if unsure about what to do. Only Hyosetsu and Tetsuya looked ready to strike whenever an opening presented itself.

"Have you guys done a single thing to defend him?" I snapped. 

"No," Kohri said, averting his gaze.

I scoffed. "And you dare call yourselves knights?"

Kohri winced at the remark. I probably reopened his old wounds. Oops.

"Dad said he'll take him on alone," Rosa said with a worried look in her eyes.

"Is that true?" Miyuki asked as she caught up to us.

Osamu nodded. "I told Reno's father that he can fight me if he so wishes. Reno decided to take his place after his father realized he couldn't do it. Then that boy summoned this guy."

"I see." I narrowed my eyes at the djinn. Miyuki said that Alabaster was holding on to the king, but this guy didn't look like the Alabaster I knew. Only his emerald eyes were the same.

"Who are you?" I asked, bearing my teeth.

"He's Alabaster, my djinn," Reno said, smiling.

The boy gulped as I shot him a glare.

"Who?"

Zaki gasped. "Wait, Alabaster?" she asked, flying toward the djinn and Osamu.

"You know my djinn, Mom?" Reno asked.

She shook her head. "No, but your late uncle bore that name."

"Wait, we have another uncle? What other family do you have?" Suzuki asked.

"I only had two brothers and my parents. At least, until my brother fell in the war that King Orlin dragged him into."

I stared at the usually stoic Osamu. His gaze was locked on Alabaster's eyes. He appeared to be trying to process something.

"You're really him, aren't you?" Osamu asked, smiling slightly.

"I don't know what you mean," the djinn said, squeezing him. Osamu didn't even bat an eye nor struggle.

"Dad," Rosa said with concern. She transformed her bracelet into its drone form and pointed them at Reno.

"Don't intervene. Your dad said that he would handle it. You have to trust him," Tetsuya said, holding an arm in front of her.

What happened to the peasant knight? Thought that he hated Osamu. Maybe that was why he had stopped Rosa. No, his tone didn't have any of the poison he used to direct toward his father and the king. What caused this change?

Rosa gritted her teeth and reverted Caelio back to its bracelet form.

That girl had grown too.

I shifted my attention back to Osamu and Alabaster. "Let him go, Alabaster!"

The djinn glared at me. His eyes widened as soon as he noticed my late husband's golden armor.

"E-Eiji," it mumbled. It released Osamu and gripped its head. It unleashed a blast that sent Osamu, Zaki, and me flying toward the others.

I spread out my wings to stop myself from smacking into Tetsuya and the princess. "What rage and sadness."

"What's wrong, Alabaster?" Reno yelled as his djinn squirmed. His lips trembled with every word.

I scoffed. "He's starting to remember things long forgotten."

"No way, is he really my brother?" Zaki asked, raising her arms in front of her.

"Shouldn't we try to calm him down?" Ximena asked.

"Yeah," Akane said with downcast eyes.

"No. This is something only he has to experience," Osamu said, crossing his arms over his chest.

I watched as Alabaster swung his head back and screamed directly into the heavens. His gruff voice was gradually giving way to the softer voice I remembered.

Reno flew toward his djinn as green smoke began to surround him. "Alabaster! Calm down!" The gales pushed him back. "Alabaster!" The boy pressed forward even as thin razor wind cut his arms and face. "Calm down!"

"Hey!" Zaki yelled, holding a hand toward her son. She grabbed him with whips, pulling him back. "You've done enough, Reno!"

"Let go of me, Mom! Alabaster is suffering!"

"I hate to say it, but Osamu is right! This is something that my brother has to experience on his own."

Reno glanced back at his mom with wide eyes. "He's really our uncle?"

Zaki looked straight at the djinn. "I didn't believe it at first, but I'm starting to now. This wind, it's just like my brother's."

Miyuki nodded. "Indeed, these gales are reminiscent of the last Makkuroyama to wield a Seven-Hill weapon."

Reno gasped. "Uncle was a Seven-Hill knight?"

Tetsuya snickered. "Now I get it. That's why he appeared in Serrano's trial. He was the previous wielder of Aventine. Wasn't he?"

"Your brother wielded Aventine?" Lorenzo asked, staring at his wife in sheer awe.

Zaki sighed. "Yes. The weapon which ironically brought down our house belonged to its deceased heir. No, the true irony is that it brought us destruction. Aventine was instrumental in creating our branch."

"How tragic," Rosa whispered.

"Indeed," Yuko said with sad eyes.

"History sure can take wild turns, huh?" Onami asked, putting her hands on her sister's shoulders.

Yuko nodded. "Yeah." She stared at Tetsuya and smiled slightly. "Some are positive, though."

Hyosetsu stared at the djinn then back at Tetsuya. "So, he is your father's true predecessor?"

Tetsuya nodded. "Correct. His presence during Serrano's trial is proof positive of that."

"You got a lot of explaining to do," Suzuki said, giving her brother a stern look.

The young man blinked. "About what?"

A green-haired boy flew over to join them and snickered. "You really are dense sometimes, big brother."

Reno glared at him. "Shut up, Emon! Who asked you anyway?"

Emon sighed. "Suzu was asking how you met him. Where and how did you find the angel tool containing a piece of our uncle's soul?"

Reno eyed the djinn. "It wasn't an angel tool I found," he whispered with sad ruby eyes.

**Solar Note: Hope that you enjoyed this chapter ^^. Thoughts? Theories? Predictions?**