Her fingers glided over the cold surface of the door beneath her hands, dried with crimson. With each touch, each feel of the sealed door, the stone around her neck glowed faintly; a pale light that was peaceful in its own modest way. It was cold, so icy, and it sent chills throughout her body, a feeling she had never felt before and wished to never feel again.

A soft voice purred within the walls of Amyl. A female’s voice, one that was comforting and familiar. Who was she? The shape of the woman’s face could be seen within Decca’s mind, but it remained well hidden behind a cloak of stunning, white light, piercing to her keen eyes.

“Decca!”

No... That was someone else. A man’s voice. It was so full of worry, of pain. It broke the elf’s thoughts, forcing her to rip her gaze from the door and look onto a knight, off in the distant front of the shrine. He stood there, amongst the blood-carpeted ground, amongst the shattered pillars and upturned soil, amongst a reminder of other battles once fought and lost. His hair fell into his eyes again.

Kain... Decca forced herself to speak, but her lips would not move, allowing her to only scream within the abyss of her mind. Where have you been?

I’m here now... Kain began walking, which then broke into a run through the shrine’s vast body, pushing fallen vines from out his way. He came besides her as fast as he first came through the door. To her, it was a splendid dream, for her angel had come at last. But to him it was more a horrible memory of his past that had come back to haunt him and a life he may never escape. Blood was no longer seeping from her wounds, but the crimson still scarred her lovely, dark skin.

She fell to her knees at the very same instant Kain came to her, wrapping his arms around her injured body, holding her as if it would be the last time he ever could. Decca was drained of what little energy she had left to offer and knowing she nearly died to save a spiteful and unforgiving world tore at Kain within. Just to save whatever little she had left? She...almost died... Kain brushed strands of pink hair from out her eyes, watching her silently. Those eyes... Her eyes could fill him with endless amounts of joy, heartache and fear, emotions once lost to this warrior.

“Decca!” Valzer was running past the pillars. Apparently he just come in the room, followed by a familiar face. The Black Wizard was over by Rydia, making sure the girl was okay, and when Kain looked again they were by him and Decca. “Decca? Is she all right?” Valzer was now upon his hands and knees, looking up to his friend with an expression that Kain had never seen before. But he could not give the wizard the answer he desired. Valzer was no longer looking at him, for the Dragoon’s face mirrored nothing but his own worried thoughts.

Decca’s eyes opened slightly, shifting to Valzer, who was stroking her face. Her lips moved as if to say something, but her voice fell upon deaf ears. Grabbing for his collar, she pulled him closer and repeated her words with a small, faint smile, “What took you so long?”

He laughed, kissing her upon her forehead. “Kain and me went to go get help.” Valzer looked past Kain to the man behind him.

Cecil nodded slowly, hesitant of approaching the four, even though all of them--particularly two of them--were well acquainted. The Paladin glance around the room for a trace of whoever had caused the damage, but this creature was nowhere to be seen and Cecil could see well the growing fear within Rydia’s eyes, the only one who seemed to notice that in fact Olvin was no longer around. “What can I say, Kain?”

The Dragoon looked up at the man he had known throughout most of his existence, devoid of any answer. He held Decca in his arms, an expression upon his face that frightened Cecil. At first Kain said nothing, watching Cecil with his strange and intense eyes. Finally, he handed the elf into the awaiting arms of Valzer, who took her eagerly. With a heavy sigh, Kain rose to his feet and turned to the King of Baron.

“Kain... I’m sorry. If I knew this would have happened, I wouldn’t have left you when I did.” Cecil lifted his hand to his friend’s shoulder, but recoiled upon the deadpan expression of Kain. The look within his eyes unnerved Cecil, it always did. “Kain?”

“It’s not your fault, Cecil,” was all that escaped the Dragoon’s lips. He grinned faintly which relaxed his friend somewhat, but his smile faded once more.

“As much as I hate to interrupt your meaningful conversation,” Valzer peered up at the two men, “but where the hell did he go?”

Cecil turned slightly, looking about the room, then back to Valzer, searching his eyes. “Where did who go?”

“Olvin. The wizard who was here.” Valzer glared up at the man’s sudden ignorance as he fished through his black bag for healing herbs.

“He’s here. He has to be.” Rydia crouched down next to Valzer, who now was dumping out assorted bottles and cursing for each one he found empty. “He was here when you came in. If he had left, we would have seen him.” And I can still feel him... she added to herself.

“Someone like him just doesn’t leave when his job isn’t complete.” Kain gripped his lance in one hand and curled his fingers into a tight fist with the other. He squatted down upon the floor, waiting for Olvin to appear. “I know that much.”

Cecil watched him for some time, his face darkening. And when Rydia looked to him with questioning eyes, he shot her a glare that would have froze the devil himself. He began walking over to Kain, limping despite the fact no injuries had afflicted him during his time in Amyl.

“Yes, you would know that much wouldn’t you, Kain...?” His voice was different, deeper somehow. “Such a confused and foolish child. You were once searching the world for redemption and here I come, taking away what little solace you have found. Tell me, are you finally over all the angst your friends have portrayed you in, or are you going to live up to the new defender reputation you have established?”

Before Cecil had the chance to speak again, Kain had already turned around, the point of his lance against the skin of his ally’s throat. “Cecil, you are stronger than this. Don’t let him get into your head.”

The Paladin began to laugh, his eyes rolling back as he did so. “Child, you have no idea of the power I am capable of. I will get what I came here for.”

“You sorry son of a bitch.” Kain breathed, his eyes still fixed upon Cecil, though his words were meant for someone else. “Show yourself and allow us to finish the battle we started, or will you hide in his body forever?”

“Show myself?” Ribbed the possessed man. “Why bother to? I will get that door open, Kain. I don’t need to fight you in order to do so.”

Kain squinted his eyes, trying to locate the source of the wizard’s self within the shrine, but the voice no longer came from Cecil. It only echoed within the stone walls, profound and grave. “Door?” He glanced over his shoulder and back to the door upon the dais. “All this for a damnable door?”

Cecil dropped onto the ground as soon as those words were spoken, gasping for air upon the cracked and split stone. Kain bent down partway and placed a hand on his friend's chest to see if he was hurt, but his fingers withdrew upon seeing the cloaked man in the shadows of the pillars before him. Kain rose up again, his lance still in his hands, looking as if it were to fall.

“If I could very well open the door, I would have done that the moment I came here.” Olvin finally emerge from his refuge. The sun played along his face as the large sphere began to set into the mountains. “There is a seal upon the door. Decca must open it.”

Kain scoffed, the threat of Olvin no longer as potent for his appearance was that of a battered and drained old man, searching desperately for his pond of youth. “You, Master Sage”--those words spoken with such malice--“can’t even break a seal upon a door? Tell me Olvin, if she is willing to die in order to keep you from that door, what makes you think she will open it for you?”

“Because she knows her life as well as the lives of all her allies stay, woven tightly, around my fingers. And as I wish, I can drop any one of them.” Olvin unsheathed his sword, clearly now desiring to finish the battle. He pointed with his blade past Kain’s head to Decca, lying within Valzer’s arms, the wizard’s herbs obviously not enough to heal her. “Look at her, Dragoon.” One single command that was obeyed by Kain. “That is what happens when you try to fight me. Care to take a turn?”

Swallowing hard in every attempt not to lunge towards him, Kain suddenly smiled, but it was apparent no joy lied within the gesture. “You’re half dead! Do you think you can survive when there are still three warriors here able to battle?” His voice shook as he spoke, mirroring the anger within him.

Hearing his temper rise only amused Olvin, who was smiling broadly. “Do not worry about me, Kain. I am more than able to fight.”

“All Talk.” Kain’s weapon still lingered by his side, swaying slowly, back and forth. “If she dies, you can't open your door and you’ll have something far worse than your master to face.”

“If she dies, she dies. I then return to where I came from and find another way to open the door. It may take days, months...years, but I will get that door open. For you see, I have all the time in the world.” Olvin’s face was mere inches from Kain’s now, the sage’s features almost visible to him. “Can you live with yourself if she dies, Kain?” When the Dragoon Knight’s face dropped in the realization, Olvin laughed. “You love her?”

Kain looked weakly over his shoulder to where the other three were, and bowed his head. “Yes, I do.”

“Humans fall in love so easily, and yet when it comes to no longer feeling that emotion, you can’t seem to let it go. You are a very misguided race.”

Kain tilted his head to the side in wonderment. Was he curious? Surely a creature of evil wouldn’t have the faintest of interests in human emotion. “Why does this trouble you, sage?”

“It does not. I care nothing for humans or their feeble emotions.”

“You seem fascinated by them.”

“I am not the only one here cold of heart, warrior. You and I share something more...profound. As well would the elf, if she was not raised by humans. But alas, Decca’s heart has been stained with human kindness.” Upon speaking that last word, Olvin seemed to hiss. Kindness. What does one who follows the Dark have need for kindness? "You once followed the Dark. I can taste its lingering grasp upon you, Kain. It always has a bitter aftertaste."

“Enough talk. You wish to fight me? Fight me then!” Kain held out his lance, rushing for the creature, his anger no longer masked behind still smiles. And as he came closer to Olvin, his weapon pressed barely upon his chest, the sage grabbed hold of Kain’s lance with a surprising show of force.

“Games are all you tempt me with? I do not wish to play, boy.” Olvin’s hold upon the weapon tightened in his left hand while his right held onto his sword. The sage leaned forward, his lips by Kain’s ear, his voice a harsh whisper. “Tell me. Does her necklace burn your fingers as well?”

But Olvin’s smug smile began to weaken and when Kain looked down to see why, there was a large, white blade through the sage’s stomach. Olvin pushed the Dragoon to the floor with ease, turning around to regard the other opponent. Valzer was behind the sage and as Olvin turned, the sword came from out his body. “Stupid of you, Black Wizard.”

Valzer tightened, waiting for the sharp blow from Olvin that would surely kill him. But much to his surprise, it never came. When the wizard opened his eyes he saw Kain over the sage, his lance making another hole in the creature’s stomach. Olvin reeled upward, knocking both Kain and Valzer onto the floor. But the sage’s shoulder was then pierced by another man’s blade: Cecil’s.

The King of Baron pulled his sword back from him, a small smile of victory across his light colored face. But it did not last long, for Olvin rose up and began walking towards him. “You know, Paladin, I never thought you had the valor. A Holy Knight, are you? Well then, give greetings to your god for me.”

Olvin raised his sword; however, his hand was stayed by an invisible force. The Master Sage gritted his teeth and when the pain through his arm became unbearable, his sword dropped upon the ground. The only thing that could give him such agony resided in the one person that was too wounded to fight. But it became quite obvious that she was indeed able.

“Decca!” Kain rose to his feet, not bothering to even regard his lance, lying still upon floor.

Decca stood before them, pressing now her hand to Olvin’s forehead. Her lips quirked into a small smile as the mighty sage dropped onto his knees. “I wasn’t as dead as I made out to be.” In the palm of her hand was her necklace, the gem pressed to Olvin and the chain dangling slowly before his face.

“Clever girl...” Olvin managed to gasp out between clenched teeth. “But you overlooked one thing, elf.”

“And what is that?”

“My sword.” He thrust his blade upward, slicing only the dense air about them.

Decca jumped to the side, barely missing his blade, her trinket falling upon the stone ground. She reached out to sweep it up within her fingers, but Olvin kicked the necklace away, not having the strength to even pick up the shimmering object. Its light faded into the shadows of Amyl.

“It matters not, sage. You are hardly breathing now. You can’t fight all of us at once." Decca pulled out her smaller dagger from where it was, still lodged within the shattered pillar, thrown there by Rydia prior to this.

Olvin did not rise to his feet; in fact, he did not even answer the elf’s remark. He merely smirked, then nodded to her. “That door will open.”

“Yes, it will. And I will be the one to do it.”

The sage’s grin vanished along with the victory smiles of her friends. “Change of heart, elf?”

Valzer’s hood had fell down during the fight and now he brushed aside his fallen hair from soft, worried eyes. “Decca... That power will destroy you.”

“Actually, I believe it will do the opposite.” Her allies still remained with bewildered expressions. Decca attached her slender weapon to the back of her boot, walking away from the small group and to the dais, where Rydia was kneeling. “He cannot get to what lies behind the door. That’s why I’m here. I can.”

“So it comes back to your classic good versus evil.” Kain said regretfully, following her up the platform. The elf nodded and the Dragoon felt that all too familiar gut wrench again. “Then I must lose you for a second time?” His fingers brushed through her long hair, then both of his hands cupped her face.

She didn’t move, afraid of what he might be thinking. For the longest time, her eyes searched his. “You will never lose me, Kain. But I must do this, for both our worlds.”

Our worlds? Kain had never thought Decca to be from any place but Earth. It was hard to imagine. Elves did not come from other planets. Finally, after all this time, I learn to love someone again and fate takes her away. “I would have done better staying cold and heartless.”

“The hardest thing is to learn from our mistakes and to be punished for our wrongdoing. We can never see that until what we have learned is finally put to the test. Our faith, our hopes, our love, will all one day be challenged. And if we are lucky, it’ll still be there whether we win or lose.”

“Will you still be here whether we win or lose?”

“We’re not going to lose, Kain.” Decca's eyes were bright with unshed tears.

“How can you have hope, even now? The heavens don’t always forgive, Earth is our own personal hell and we are forever trapped in what we make, do and say.”

“I don’t know.” The elf looked up into Kain’s face, their gazes locking. “It’s not as much hope as it is determination. This is my world and I will not let it fall.” She smiled slightly, hoping Kain could do the same, and when he did his beautiful face lit up.

Lifting her chin with his finger, Kain sighed quietly. “Then we are cursed to forever fight and never truly win.”

“It is a never-ending war and I’m afraid very little good can come of it.” Placing fingers over Kain’s, she lowered his hands to his sides. “But it is still my battle to fight.” Decca backed away from him, though it hurt more than she ever thought it could, more than the feeling she had when she thought of what could have been. “There are prices to pay in every battle.”

“I’ll be damned if I will let you go so easily.”

“Then damned you must be.”

“And indeed you are damned, Dragoon.” Olvin laughed, still upon his knees, Cecil and Valzer’s weapons before him, threatening him with his every move. Noting this only caused more amusement from the sage, who began to rise, despite the blades pressed to his throat. “Come now, gentlemen, we are all civilized beings here...”

“The hell you are.” Valzer’s sword burrowed deeper into the flesh of Olvin, but no cry of pain dared to escape his lips. “Stay where you lie.”

“Be kind to your elders, boy.” Olvin smirked, then shifted his eyes to Cecil, who began to shudder under his intense stare. But it was not fear that caused him to shiver. “Dark does not mix well with the Light. If it did, then there would be neither.” He waved his hand, only slightly and Cecil was thrown into the air, his back slamming into another pillar.

Valzer swung his sword, meaning to lop off the creature’s head, but his blade only tore through the stale air within the shrine. Panting and turning at the same time, he held his sword outward. “Where the hell did he go?”

“Decca.” Rydia slipped her arm within hers. “If you must open the door, do it now.”

The elf nodded only slightly, leaving Kain and Rydia wordlessly and placing her hands upon the door once more. The Caller pulled Kain back off the dais, though he resisted, not wanting to leave Decca.

Olvin appeared a little ways down from the platform, looking like the grim reaper waiting to take the soul of his victim.

“Yes, child...” Olvin purred, sheathing his sword. “Open the door.”

The room lay in silence for the longest time, only the whisper of winds holding voice within the shrine. The setting sun tinted the world below and faded stars within the sky told of twilight. The door beneath Decca’s hands glowed, a pale and gentle glow. From the front of the shrine, where her necklace had been lost in shadows, a glow came as well. There was no show of brilliant light, no sparks. The entrance to the unknown shimmered only in a soft gold, fading as the minutes melted away.

“Is it done?” Olvin demanded, walking up besides the elf, who backed away to the edge of the dais. When he felt the door himself, his hands did not burn like when he grabbed hold of the stone. The seal had been broken. A smile crept upon his face.

Something’s...not right... Kain began to climb the steps, but Rydia held onto his arm, trying best to keep him back.

Valzer came besides Cecil, helping him to stand. Lifting one of his arms over his own shoulders, they joined Rydia and Kain by the bottom of the dais. Valzer reached out to pull Decca back from the door, but as he grabbed hold of her wrist, the door swelled, causing every person within the room to stop.

“Decca...” Rydia whispered, her eyes wide and fixed upon the door, now cracking.

Within the splits and holes of the wood, piercing white beams ventured. And soon the door vanished, leaving the room flooded in light, blinding to everyone who resided within the Shrine of Amyl. A shrill sound filled the air, the stain glass windows shattering and the shrine’s frame groaning in its attempts to stay together. Whatever power lied behind the door was unleashed upon the world, whether it was meant for good or evil.