Tales of Zestiria: The World Beyond

Chapter 27

Vanessa looked at the feathers she had, a white one, a blue one, a red one, a green one, an orange one, and a purple one. She didn't know what to do with them. She put her head on the table and looked at each one to see if they did anything when they were close to one another. Celica approached her and told that it was a good idea to take a break instead of going straight into another problem; the others were outside taking in the free time they had, so it would be best for her to do the same.

The rest of the group was outside eating. While some wanted to plan out what to do next, others took the time off to sleep in the sun. Vanessa stopped and giggled at the boys, most of who were asleep as Edna threw flowers on them. Arthur got up when a flower hit his head and threw it back at Edna. Velvet and Magilou were cutting a small pie that Crowe made for them, and Crowe was all over Velvet about not going out often and not exerting herself.

They were under the impression that she was the same Velvet who they knew. Laphi tried giving her medication, which she rejected, and Crowe tried to get her back in bed. They were clingier than normal to her, and they refused to let her leave their sight when she was at home.

"How are you doing Vanessa?" Arthur asked.

"I'm fine," she responded. "Just trying to figure out what to do with the feathers I have."

"Why don't ask the guy who gave you the white one?" Edna suggested. "He wanted you to get there didn't he?"

"How did you figure that out?" Arthur looked at her.

"He made the Phoenix goes crazy, so he should be the one to talk to."

Velvet sighed, her expression going from disgusted to stoic at the same minute. She didn't like the presence that man had. And from how calm he was when talking about the earth pulses, he didn't seem concerned at all that the world was in danger. That either meant he knew the party would handle the situation, or he was hoping they'd fail.

The next part was tricky, they had to find the man. The first time they met him, he found them, and they hadn't seen him before or heard mention of his name. That was Vanessa pulled out the white feather the man gave her. It was glowing brighter than before, like a blinding sun. It raised itself in the air as the quill pointed in the direction of the old temple where the party found Rokurou.

They all sighed then accepted if that was where the man was, that was where they needed to go. In the way, was a river that wasn't there before. It flowed heavily and didn't look like it was going to give up. Vanessa approached it then flinched when a fish jumped up and smacked her in the face. Edna was laughing silently then Celica hit the seraphim in the back. Anyone who fell in was sure to get caught and be taken to wherever it heading.

Both Mikleo and Arthur created a bridge of ice to get across, one that broke instantly due to the strength of the current. They had no ideas beyond that. Sorey tapped Vanessa on the shoulder and pointed at her bag, there was a blue glow inside of it. She pulled out the blue feather and it released energy around the party to calm down the water.

The party went across an ice bridge and headed for the temple. Inside were obstacles instead of monsters, three to exact, one for each feather that Vanessa had, except for the purple and the white one. A wall of flames blocked their path, and Vanessa used the red feather she had to absorb the flames. A tornado swept up any matter in its path, and she used the green feather to stop it. And a bottomless pit stood between the party and the last room, so Vanessa used the orange feather to build a bridge for them to go across.

"I have to commend you all, you're more determined than I initially took you for." The man said.

"Who are you?" Vanessa asked with her halberd in her hand.

"Please, call me Lucilius."

"The angel from the Requiem!" Celica yelled out. "It really is you!"

"So, you're the one who's been bringing us to this time?" Velvet assumed.

"Correct therion." Lucilius clapped.

"What are you gaining from this?" Arthur went for his sword and Lucilius stopped him with one arte. Arthur was thrown back in a flash of light and paralyzed.

"Everything will be answered in time. For now, I hope you enjoy your last moments in this world."

"What does that mean?" Vanessa asked.

"The mana here enough for my plans."

"If you drain the mana from this world, then all living things will die!" Velvet summoned her claw and went after Lucilius.

"I suppose that is true." He grabbed onto her arm and pushed her aside. He then kicked her to the ground. "You'll find fighting me is going to harder than you think. It doesn't matter where you're from, the past, the present, the future, an alternate world, or an entirely different one, I will crush you."

Lucilius knew how each of them fought, and he wasn't afraid to take them all at once. He had a horrible smile on his face, one that told the party that he was having fun. And while he didn't show his eyes, his smile was all they needed to know what type of person he was. He showed them his playful side in how he spoke down to them like they were insignificant pests. He made fun of Vanessa, told her she was a little bird who hadn't learned to fly and if she tried, he'd cut her wings.

He told Sorey that the flame of purification wasn't going to save anyone anymore, not even with Arthur and Celica's power to boost it. And he told Velvet that she was better off staying home and forgetting about everything. Then he spoke to Arthur, a boy raised to fight and lived in an era of despair, that wasn't so different from how he lived. Arthur was the only who he complimented, they weren't so different, even if Arthur was a weak human, he had the potential to become more. Something Lucilius mentioned none of the others had.