Two days after the funeral, Ezekiel found himself at the foot of Aqua's grave outside of town in the morning. Ezekiel woke up the same day, and Bear asked if Ezekiel remembered anything from the fight. All Ezekiel could remember was holding Aqua in his arms, feeling guilty and angry at himself. Bear felt uneasy, wondering if he should tell Ezekiel about how he went berserk. Not wanting to make it worse on Ezekiel, he ignored the part where he went berserk. It wasn't easy to remind Ezekiel of what happened right after he woke up from being unconscious. Ezekiel tried to deny the fact that Aqua was truly dead, thinking that someone could've saved her, but never before had he seen Bear so serious and sad-looking as he did when he delivered the news. Bear then led Ezekiel to her grave, not speaking a word, as he knew that Ezekiel needed time to process the sudden loss. Once at the grave, Ezekiel fell to his knees in disbelief, simply staring at the grave with a blank face. Bear sense that Ezekiel needed some time alone, so he left without a peep.
The air was still, but Ezekiel's gaze on the staff that once belonged to Aqua was even stiller. Ezekiel muttered, "I'm sorry." Then, he said it again. And again, and again, and again. Before he knew it, tears were falling down his face and onto Aqua's grave as he quietly muttered one last time, "I'm sorry." Ezekiel stayed at the grave for hours, not feeling the need to return back to The Crimson Tavern Inn. He silently cried to himself, muttering, "I was supposed to show you more science, more wonders of the world!" He then suddenly shouted, "FUCK!" As he shouted, he punched the ground next to the grave with his fist, frustrated at himself for not being able to keep his promise to her. Ezekiel silently wished to himself that he could bring her back one way or another, by using any means necessary. Ezekiel dismissed the thought from his mind, as he knew that there was no possible way to bring anyone back from the dead using science.
Ezekiel then quickly backed up his thoughts, realizing that, although he might not be able to bring anyone back using science, he might have a chance using magic. It felt like a desperate thought, but Ezekiel felt some hope rise in him, wondering if maybe some laws of the universe could be bent just a tiny bit by means of magic. Ezekiel smiled to himself, knowing that he had to get to work right away. Ezekiel rubbed away the tears from his eyes and looked at Aqua's grave one last time and said, "I'll bring you back, Aqua. Then, I'll be able to keep my promise."
Ezekiel then locked himself away in his room on the same day, researching every possible way to bring someone back from the dead in this world. He consulted the Book of Knowledge on his first day, hoping that the book held information of any kind of magic item that revives the dead, or if there was someone that could revive the dead. However, the information that he was given only led to dead ends in his research. He tried asking Mia for help on the second day, but Mia said, "My magic does raise the dead, but the dead don't have their souls anymore. In a way, it's similar to working with puppets on strings, as you're the one pulling the strings on something lifeless." Nonetheless, Ezekiel decided to try to uncover the roots of Mia's dark magic and see if there was any possible way to restore the soul to the body.
For a week straight, he went through trial and error, testing different things with dark magic, all with the help of Mia. However, the more in-depth he got with his research, the more depressed he became. As different possibilities were ruled out by testing them, Ezekiel knew deep down that his chances of finding something to revive Aqua were getting slimmer and slimmer the more he tested. Luna and Layla noticed this and went downstairs to see if the others in Ezekiel's party could see him and cheer him up.
Bear, Tokuda, Suko, Rina, and Kairi were sitting at a table inside of The Crimson Tankard Inn, having a meal as normal. However, there were three empty seats at the table, but no one wanted to acknowledge it. They were all afraid to say something about it to one another. There was one other topic that no one wanted to discuss, as it was something beyond their knowledge. However, Tokuda was the one to speak up as he said, "That power that Ezekiel has is too dangerous." Bear said, "He's got great power, but it seems he can't control it. I almost destroyed my body trying to stop him." Tokuda looked at Bear and said, "That's exactly why it's dangerous. If he went berserk on you, the one that's probably the closest to him, there's no telling what he could do to this town if he isn't kept in check." Bear stood up, asking, "So, what? Do you intend on keeping him chained to a pole like a dog who has no idea why he's being chained? He doesn't even remember going berserk!" Tokuda glared at Bear and said, "It's better if he doesn't remember. With that power, he's a threat not just to us but to innocent people around him. Even while I was unconscious, I could feel the evil aura emitting from him. If we're not careful, he might just end up becoming another Catastrophe." Rina then spoke up, saying, "I agree that Ezekiel's powers could be a problem, but being a slave myself, I don't believe we should tie him up or anything. He's a good guy, and I don't think he's capable of becoming a Catastrophe. Besides, he deserves to know he has that power so he can put it to good use!" Suko then grinned like an idiot, saying, "You let me run around, and I'm probably a bigger threat than Ezekiel!" Kairi punched Suko, then said, "That's because I'm the one keeping you in check, dumbass!" Tokuda then said, "But to answer your question, Bear, if it truly came down to it, I would tie down Ezekiel if it came to it. He's evil, and we need to keep him in check." Bear then angrily said, "You smug son of a bitch, he's our friend! And you know damn well he's not evil!" Tokuda then said, "Tell that to the power he harnesses right now. You even saw it yourself! I'm just thinking of the safety of others. Friend or not, if he becomes a danger to us or anyone around him, then we need to do what we need to do. You can't let emotion cloud your decision-making." Bear grabbed Tokuda by the collar of his robes and angrily shouted, "I don't give a damn! I'll stop him again if I have to, but I'm not doing something like that!" Everyone in the inn suddenly became quiet and looked over at the commotion being made. Bear was about to throw a punch but was stopped by Luna and Layla. Luna asked, "Um, Ezekiel seems to be pretty down right now. We were hoping you all could visit him and try to cheer him up?" Layla nodded as her sister said this. Bear set down Tokuda, then said, "Yeah, we can do that, because that's what friends are for, right, Tokuda?" Tokuda scoffed, then said, "Sure, the best of friends."
Kairi was the first to visit, but Ezekiel was rather distant when she tried to talk to him. Kairi, realizing that she was getting nowhere with Ezekiel, simply left some food for Ezekiel, saying, "Please, come back to us, Ezekiel."
Rina was next, and Ezekiel was rather distant again. Rina had no idea how to cheer up Ezekiel, so she quickly hugged him, but no reaction was given by Ezekiel. Rina was unsure of what else to do, so before she left the room, she said, "We're all sad about Aqua, Ezekiel. You're not the only one dealing with losing her."
Tokuda was next, and he was rather blunt about it. Tokuda said, "People die in war all the time, Ezekiel. Do you know how many people I've lost due to the Humanity War? It's never easy, but the dead want you to keep going. I know she would, too." Before Tokuda left, he said, "She knew what she signed up for and took the risks like all of us did. She'd want you to keep your head up." Ezekiel felt a slight bit of anger at Tokuda's remarks, acting as if he knew what she would want. Tokuda left the room before Ezekiel could say anything.
Suko came to visit next, and he tried his hardest to make Ezekiel laugh. He even invited Ezekiel to come peeping with him, just so he could get a reaction from Ezekiel. However, Ezekiel's expression didn't change once, and he seemed to be deep in thought. Suko, knowing the pain of losing someone close to him in battle, realized that Ezekiel might be better off being left alone for now, so he left the room without saying anything.
Mia, being there all this time with Ezekiel, attempted to cheer him up, but to no avail. Deep down, she wanted him to look happy again, but as the days went by, he only seemed to be getting worse and worse. She tried to make him take a break, get some fresh air and go see everyone, but Ezekiel simply refused. So, she continued working with Ezekiel, hoping to find an answer so she could see Ezekiel smile once more.
Bear was the last to visit, and he realized just how bad it was affecting Ezekiel. He hadn't touched his food, it seemed like Ezekiel hadn't slept for days, and there was a mountain of balled-up paper in the middle of the room. Ezekiel was furiously working away, not even realizing that Bear had entered the room. Bear saw that Mia looked exhausted, so he said, "Mia, take a break. I'll watch over Ezekiel." With that, Mia left the room without a word. Bear sat on Ezekiel's bed, watching Ezekiel work. Bear then said, "Listen, Ezekiel. It's hard for all of us, it really is. Everyone deals with loss in their own way, but denying the reality of it and trying to find something that defies death is madness! Please, Ezekiel, don't give yourself false hope like this." Ezekiel quietly muttered, "I've lost so much in my life, and I thought that maybe I could get one of those things back. I've lost so much, it's not fair. I don't even wanna count my losses."
This angered Bear, and Bear got off the bed and punched Ezekiel as hard as he could in his face. Ezekiel got knocked out of his chair, but Bear then picked up Ezekiel by his collar and punched him in the stomach, then dropped Ezekiel to the ground. Ezekiel doubled over, gasping for air. Bear then put his hands on Ezekiel's shoulders, screaming, "LOOK AT ME, EZEKIEL!" Ezekiel kept looking at the ground, and Bear screamed, "LOOK AT ME, DAMMIT!" Ezekiel slowly lifted his head, revealing tears in his eyes. Bear then shouted, "WE'RE ALL SAD OVER AQUA, EZEKIEL! YOU'RE NOT ALONE ON THIS! SO DON'T COUNT YOUR LOSSES, OR ELSE YOU MIGHT JUST END UP LOSING MORE, DAMMIT!" Ezekiel's tears started flowing out of his eyes in a steady stream. Bear continued shouting, "WHAT DO YOU STILL HAVE? HUH? TELL ME, AND COUNT THEM!" Ezekiel then said, "I have nothing." Bear slapped Ezekiel in the face, screaming, "WHAT ABOUT ME, HUH? THE BIG BROTHER THAT'S GONNA SET YOU ON THE RIGHT PATH AGAIN, EVEN IF I HAVE TO KICK YOUR ASS TO DO IT? AM I NOT SOMEONE YOU HAVE?" Ezekiel then held up his right hand in a fist and put up his index finger. Bear shouted, "GOOD, I'M ONE YOU CAN COUNT! WHO ELSE?!" Ezekiel, still having tears flow from his eyes, choked out, "Tokuda!" Ezekiel then put up his middle finger. Ezekiel choked out, "Suko," and put up his ring finger. Ezekiel trembled as he said, "Kairi," and put up his pinky finger. Ezekiel rubbed away the tears in his eyes and said, "Rina," and put up his thumb. Ezekiel then raised his left hand in a fist and put up his index finger as he said, "Mia!" Ezekiel then stopped, but Bear shouted, "THERE'S MORE! COUNT THEM!" Ezekiel sniffled a bit, then put up his middle finger and said, "Whiskey!" Ezekiel put up his ring finger as he said, "Zoey!" Ezekiel then put up his pinky and thumb, saying, "Luna and Layla!" Bear shouted, "GOOD! NOW, COME WITH ME!"
Bear dragged Ezekiel out of the room and downstairs to the main area of The Crimson Tankard Inn. A lot of customers were gathered all in the main area, doing their usual customer things. The customers looked over at Ezekiel when they saw him come downstairs. Realizing the situation, one of the customers shouted, "Ezekiel! Your Lad Steaks are probably one of the best things I've ever had!" Another customer shouted, "Yeah, Whiskey can't make them as good as you!" Whiskey came out of the kitchen and yelled, "Where's the funny fucker that said that?! I'll kick your ass, lad!" The front desk girl then shouted, "Thank you for renting out rooms here at The Crimson Tankard Inn!" Margaret was also there, and with a sad smile and tears falling from her eyes, she said, "Thank you for being Aqua's first friend!" Whiskey then came up to Ezekiel and put his hand on his shoulder and smiled at him, saying, "Lad, thank you for your hard work, as well as helping change the environment here. Without you, I'm not sure what the state of this place would be." Neldor, the old elf housing the runaway slaves, and even some of the former slaves themselves were here as well, and they shouted, "Thank you, Ezekiel!" Ezekiel's party then smiled at him, but Tokuda seemed somewhat indifferent to what was happening. Then, the entire main area of The Crimson Tankard Inn said in one voice altogether, "Thank you, Ezekiel!" Ezekiel didn't know how to respond, but Bear did, as he said, "Now, count all of them. And I mean all of them." So, Ezekiel counted them, and let's just say that Ezekiel didn't have enough hands to count them all. Once done counting, Bear said, "You may not realize it, but whatever number you came up with, that's how many things you have." Bear then looked at Ezekiel and said, "What's gone is gone, and it's okay to miss those things that are gone. Just remember, you have things here that will keep you going and keep pushing you forward through the hard times." Ezekiel rubbed his eyes, trying to get rid of the tears, but for some reason, they wouldn't stop flowing. Ezekiel then put down his hands and smiled, saying, "Thank you, Bear." Bear then said with a grin, "I'm your big bro. It's my job!" With that, Ezekiel managed to get a smile back on his face and accept that there was no real way to revive the dead. Aqua, I tried, but I don't think seeing me suffer so much over trying to bring you back is what you would've wanted, right? I'm sorry. If you can see me from wherever you are, I'll show you the wonders of science, thought Ezekiel.
A week passed by, and everything seemed to more or less return to normal for the time being. The town seemed to be doing better than it was during the aftermath of General Alexander's initial attack, although they were still recovering financially. The townspeople who survived the attack had heard about the tragic news of Aqua, and they expressed their condolences as they visited The Crimson Tankard Inn. It was a hard week for many that week. Out of respect for Aqua, the party remained in Wolfwater for the time being, unsure of what exactly they would do next. Their answer came to them in a rather unexpected way.
Ezekiel, Bear, Tokuda, Suko, Rina, Kairi, and Mia were all sitting together for breakfast one morning when suddenly, a ringing in all of their heads could be heard. It wasn't just the party that heard it, but the other customers could hear the ringing as well. Then, a voice spoke, saying, "Oh my, is this on?" Ezekiel felt that he had heard that voice before somewhere, but he didn't remember where. The voice continued, saying, "Ahem! Attention, all mortals! This is Tone, goddess of spring, with an important announcement!" Ezekiel smiled, now that he remembered that this voice belonged to Tone, the goddess that he met when he was first reincarnated. Tone continued, saying, "In three months' time, I shall be hosting a tournament for only chosen warriors! How are they chosen, you might ask? Well, please look at the back of your right hand!" Suddenly, Ezekiel and his party felt a warm glow on their right hands. The party looked at the back of their right hands and they all noticed a strange mark on their hands, which looked like vines with flowers on them. Tokuda, not having hands, or arms for that matter, noticed that the top side of his right foot had the mark on it. Tone said, "If you have the mark of Tone, which is me, then you have been chosen to enter this tournament! If you do not have a mark, you will not enter the tournament itself, but you are more than welcome to come to spectate!" Tone then cleared her throat and said, "If you have my mark, then entering the tournament is optional, but I advise against it, as the prize is worth it!" Tone then said, "Drum roll please!" Drums then could be heard inside of Ezekiel's head, then the drums stopped, and Tone said, "The prize is any wish of yours to be granted by a goddess! Eternal youth, infinite riches, a true hero among men, any wish of your can come true, should you be the winner of the tournament!" Tone then said, "The tournament will take place at Creek Valley's Gladiator Arena three months from now! Don't forget to come, and good luck to all those that were chosen!" The ringing inside of everyone's head then stopped, and Ezekiel then saw an opportunity. He grinned at the others and said, "I know how we're gonna get Aqua back."
Bear then said, "Hold up, for all we know, this could be fake." Ezekiel grinned even wider, saying, "Oh, but I can tell you right now that it's not. I've met that goddess before." Mia looked disgusted, saying, "I have as well, or I should say I knew her at one point. Damn spring goddess. I'll go just to sneer in her face when I win the tournament! How dare she disrespect the fallen goddess Mia!" Tokuda asked, "Any wish comes true if we win?" Bear then said, "Oh, not you too!" Rina then said, "It does sound kind of fun..." Suko then said, "It's the perfect chance to bust some heads and meet some cute girls!" Kairi then punched Suko and said, "If he's gonna go, I'll have to watch over him." Ezekiel then said, "So, we're all going then?" Everyone nodded, and Bear reluctantly nodded as well. Ezekiel then said, "Good, but there's nothing we can do with our current strength. We need training."
Ezekiel pulled out the journal that Liam had given him a while back and flipped to the back of the journal, revealing a map with a big red X on it. Ezekiel said, "I'm gonna go get trained by Liam, the former Hero." Bear said, "I'm coming with." Tokuda said, "I'll go as well. Lionel needs to be avenged, and that won't happen unless I get stronger than Barron." Suko scratched his head and said, "I guess I'll go back to Leader and have him train me a bit more." Rina then thought for a moment, then said, "I'll get some training from my sister since she was part of the Hero's party, and hopefully she's still at my village." Kairi pulled Mia close and said, "We'll see if we can't have someone like Margaret teach us a bit more about magic!" Mia nodded in agreement. Ezekiel then said to everyone, "For now, we go our separate ways, but meet back here in about three months' time?" Everyone nodded, and Ezekiel said, "Although we may be apart, you will always be part of the nation of science. We may not be big or strong, but we'll get there over time. If we're gonna win this tournament, then we need to do everything possible to become stronger than the people we are right now." Everyone nodded in agreement, and they finished their breakfast. Once breakfast was finished, they all looked at one another in silence. It felt like an eternity, as if time had stopped just to capture this one moment, as everyone looked at one another with smiles of determination on every one of their faces. A silent promise was made by everyone at that table that day, and after time seemed to resume its normal course, the party went their separate ways.
Ezekiel, Bear, and Tokuda decided to head out later that day. Suko and Rina left immediately after breakfast, and Mia and Kairi headed over to Margaret's shop to learn magic from her. Once that time had come, Ezekiel, Bear, and Tokuda loaded up everything they needed to take with them and headed out to the home of Liam. As Ezekiel left the town of Wolfwater, they passed by Aqua's grave once more, and Ezekiel looked at the grave and said, "I'll get stronger to win the tournament and bring you back. Just wait for me, okay?" Then, without another word, Ezekiel turned his back towards Wolfwater, facing forward to his new destination and towards a brighter future which held peace and scientific innovation, as the horse-drawn cart took them to Liam's place.138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa80QuMqJ95
