Neolia stood before Alyssa and Shadow, hands on her hips. "Alright... I see what I'm working with here. Shadow, why don't you show me how well you fight?"

  Shadow nodded, creating a greatsword made of shadows. Its blade was about 6 feet long, and the guard was about a foot in total. The blade was extremely thin, and it seemed like Shadow had a good grip on the guard.

  He dashes forward, already being quite fast despite his size and age. What threw Neolia off was the fact he seemed to lift the blade effortlessly. It then clicked. He's wielding shadows, which carry no weight. Shadow slammed the blade downward, which Neolia easily dodged.

  "What if I hurt you? Or worse?!" Shadow said, letting his guard down for a moment.

  "As if. You have potential, but you're nowhere near my level." She dashes forward, striking Shadow right in the gut and causing his eyes to shrink.

  Neolia backed up and sighed, placing a hand on her hips as she shook her head. "Dude... Even Intel is physically stronger than me without his enhancements."

  Shadow lurched forward, clutching his stomach as the shadow greatsword disappeared. "That punch... Wasn't normal!"

  Neolia tilted her head. "What do you mean? That was a weak punch. You just need to get stronger. You won't do that by holding weapons of your own creation, and as it stands, you're unable to add mass to your shadows." She extended her hand.

  "Create Greatsword." With a simple command, blue sparks of lightning shot from her hand and materialized into a sleek greatsword.

  It is 6 feet in total, from pommel to tip. The blade itself is a gleaming silver with a slightly curved tip. The sword is double-edged, making it neat for certain circumstances. There is no guard to it, which seemed odd to Shadow, and the handle was wrapped in a fine leather that was made for an easy grip.

  "This will be part of your weight training from now on." She drops it onto the ground, the sword making a loud clang when it hits.

  He bent down and attempted to lift the sword, but he found himself struggling to even hold it upright. However, he relished challenges that came his way.

  ---

  Intel stood inside of a dark room with steel flooring. The only light was coming from a bright green holographic screen with various lines going in various angles; it was a mess. "Examine timeline D628-XK cut off."

  The lines on the screen disappeared except for one. However, this one was odd. It had a line that went on like the rest, but above it was a line half the length of the original. The screen examined the two lines, a circle forming on the cutoff of the line above.

  "There's only two options to this... Either something interfered with our timeline externally, or we got erased. The former seems much more... favorable." Intel began to sweat. He examined the two closely.

  "The device went crazy when those three entered our realm... This looks like the start to a 5D chess game. It went specifically haywire when it detected Flame... Indicating he might be the source, but he seems largely unaware of what's even going on. The kid is primitive." Intel then felt something: the heat rising.

  "What do you want?" Intel asked.

  Flame leaned against the steel wall. It was gray in color with lines bulging from them. Between those lines, patterns of extremely narrow arrows pointing upwards. "Words can hurt, you know." He commented as he tilted his head to get a better view of the screen. "What is all this?"

  Intel crossed his arms. "You don't seem like the type to care about words. This is the timeline monitoring device; I made it because I was bored."

  "Innovation is the greatest feat of all living beings." Flame said, walking up to Intel and looking at the device. "I can explain to you as to why I'm the most probable cause."

  Intel narrowed his eyes. Flame was only thirteen, yet he spoke in a way that hinted at far greater life experience. "Why do you speak that way? Any normal kid your age would be trying to touch stuff and bombard me with questions. You talk as if you've gone through everything before."

  Flame raised a brow. "Do I? Interesting..."

  "Your vocabulary gives it away. Such as the word innovation. When did you learn that word?" Intel asked.

  "After I ate my brother. That's besides the point, though. I was visited by my future self." Flame turned around, starting to walk back to the exit.

  "Woah, woah." Intel spoke, causing Flame to grin as he turned his head toward Intel.

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  "You were visited by your future self? How?" He snapped his fingers, illuminating the room and turning off the screen. The floor opened between them, and a circular table with two chairs ascended. "Have a seat. I've got to hear this."

  Flame took a seat along with Intel, explaining the series of events that happened prior to meeting Shadow.

  Intel sat there; the years in his head had already begun to turn from the first word. "Well... that's troubling. If your future self told you to end a time loop, you've already done it. The thing is, why would he burn certain memories? More importantly, how does one burn a memory?"

  Flame sighed, standing up from the chair and walking to the door. "You're concerned about the how more than the why? Get a grip... I'll search for answers from him... or me?"

  Intel stayed silent, watching Flame walk out.

  ---

  Shadow walked with Alyssa through the grand hall, watching the city below. They went from a sky island to the ground below. A lot has happened.

  "Alyssa," Shadow asked as he stopped in his tracks. "Do you think I'm strong?" He asked, sweat dripping from his brow. He had trained with his new weapon recently, and he could feel the improvement since his muscles were tightening themselves.

  "Of course I do! I never doubted your strength at all..." She said, turning to face him. Her eyes widened as she saw tears start to run down Shadow's face, prompting her to run toward him and pull him into an embrace, the best she could at least. "What's wrong?!"

  Shadow fell to his knees, clutching Alyssa's bright green dress. "I failed... If only I didn't wander off... Mom and Dad would still be alive!" Shadow had been trying to keep it down the entire time, wanting to look tough for his older sister.

  He couldn't bear such a weight anymore; the loss of the ones he had loved tore him inside out.

  Alyssa frowned at her brother's sobs, but she had to be a strong little sister when her brother couldn't stand on his own. "Listen to me... It's not your fault." She began, caressing his head and back.

  "Mother and Father often spoke of how proud they were of you. What a fine warrior you turned out to be. They even believed you would be chief." Alyssa began to smile, even chuckling at the memory despite the grim moment.

  "They were confident in you, Shadow. They knew you were strong enough to be on your own. When they yelled at me to get away, they just told me to look for you and run away with you. To never look back. They died smiling. They were happy they did their job. They said they loved you." Alyssa held Shadow gently, her smile never fading.

  Shadow, upon hearing this, moved his upper body away from her as he wiped his face. "They said that? Really?" He sniffled.

  Alyssa nodded, "Remember Shadow. Strength isn't everything. People like us aren't meant to carry the weight of the entire world on our shoulders alone." She helped Shadow up, looking out the window to see the beautiful city below, as the sun began to dip over the horizon.

  "Strength isn't everything..." Shadow mumbled as he stood up. The beauty of the world was before him, the beauty that his parents nourished him to see. "Yeah..."

  Intel was around a corner, leaning against a wall. "That girl has stunning vocabulary... And she seems to be about seven years old. Perhaps I might have an assistant."

  Queen Teresa giggled as she walked toward Shadow and Alyssa. "What a sentimental moment you two were having. I can't imagine a child so young having to bear such loss. You have my greatest sympathies."

  The two turned to her, being startled and bowing. "Greetings, Queen Teresa!"

  She laughed, "Please, just call me Teresa. You know, the girl is brave. To be out in the middle of a massacre, away from her parents and highly in danger? She's just as I was when I was a little girl."

  Alyssa blushed at the compliment, becoming slightly embarrassed. "T-thank you."

  "How do you feel about combat?" Teresa asked, and Shadow immediately put a hand in front of Alyssa as his eyes narrowed. "No. No way. As if I'm going to let you put her in danger!"

  "Shadow! I can handle myself..." She said, but Shadow wasn't having it.

  "I said no! I'm not losing another person close to me!" He snapped at her, causing her to jump a life, but she snapped back.

  "Shadow!" She yelled, "Remember what I just told you! People aren't meant to carry everything on their own!"

  Shadow paused, a look of contemplation falling on his face before sighing and putting his hand down. "Fine... If she gets hurt, though, I swear—"

  "Nothing will lay a finger on her with my protection. She will be fine." Teresa said, smiling down at them.

  Suddenly, the room began to shake. "What's going on?" Alyssa asked, looking around frantically.

  "It appears the catastrophe awaiting the world has arrived... Or at least the catastrophe of my kingdom. I can handle it myself, but I'm curious to see as to why fate brought you all here. You have my protection; don't worry. Go out and fight." She said, turning around and walking away with a strut of confidence.

  ---

  Flame held onto one of the towers of the castle, overseeing the horizon as he saw the sun set, but another light shone. A light that was unmistakable to his kind. The light of fire.

  "I feel your instincts... Your drive, you beast. You feel mine too, don't you? Curiosity drives me forward, but what really gets me moving is the thrill! The fight I'm trying to win! A fight that proves who I am..." Flame thought back to his entire life with his family, a family he no longer had, but an ideology that he kept from the day he learned it.

  "Strength is everything in this world. I can carry the weight of everything!" Flame began to grin as his hands ignited in his Azure Flames.

  "Without strength, I am nothing! As long as I prove how strong I am, I will remain as Flame Apollyon! I will never fade!" Flame laughed, "Now come at me, you devil!" He said as the Phoenix screeched, its cry carrying over the horizon.