Children could be a lot smarter than they initially appeared. They were able to spot inconsistencies or dangers quicker than an adult might think.

Even if kids didn't have some hidden instinct about them, though, Sieg was confident he could spot the red flags that were starting to appear. He knew that if he didn't get his brother the help he needed, then sometime later, he might not have a younger brother.

That was why he snuck into the house, which he wasn't allowed in. If Titania had still been in her prime, such an act wouldn't have worked, but she was far from being the mighty warrior she used to be, and so it was easy for him to dismantle her weak shadow seal and break in.

Quietly, Sieg crept through the halls of the old shack, and he found his brother in a room near the back. Davi owned nothing, save for a bit of hay, which he used as a bed, some hand-me-down clothes, and a pristine fishing rod, which was resting next to a dust-covered sword. Typically, the fishing rod would be tucked away in his brother's vault, but Davi would often take it out at night and hang it up on his wall so he could pretend like he owned something of value.

Sieg walked over and quietly shook Davi. "Davi… Hey, Davi, wake up."

Davi's eyes slowly opened, and Sieg found himself staring down into a pair of purple orbs. "Sieg?"

"Yeah." Sieg nodded. "Get up."

"Why?"

"Because I said so." Sieg folded his arms and smirked. "I'm older and am in charge."

Davi yawned and slowly stood up. "Okay. I'm up." He responded in his usual flat tone.

"Grab your stuff."

Davi's eyes lit up slightly, the slightest hint of an emotion cracking onto the robot's face. He grabbed his fishing rod and didn't even bother to touch the sword. There was only one reason Sieg would come out to see him like this. "We're going night fishing?"

"Yeah." Sieg nodded and turned. "I have something else I want you to see, though."

"What?"

"You'll see."

Together, the two brothers left the small shack. Sieg led Davi out into the fields, and they left their little village behind. Eventually, they came to the beach, and there someone was waiting for them.

"There you two are." Noble grinned, and the young girl placed her hands on her hips. "It's about time. Ready to go?"

"Why is she here?" Davi frowned slightly.

Sieg chuckled sheepishly. "Davi, we're not just going fishing. Noble here is gonna help with something."

Davi looked suddenly annoyed at the fact that he didn't get to fish but nodded. "Okay. What are we doing?"

"Noble." Sieg nodded.

Noble walked to the edge of the ocean, and she placed her hands together. She let out a soft sigh and channeled her mana. "Row Aquatic Ship!" The water surged and lifted, twisting and taking shape, and soon enough, a large ship stood before them. One that was forged entirely out of liquid, yet it was solid, as Noble jumped onto it and turned, holding her hand out. "Come on, you two!"

Sieg's smile grew, and he walked forward, jumping onto the boat. Davi kept his blank look and stepped forward. He took Noble's offered hand. Noble helped pull Davi up, but she slipped and fell back, causing him to land on her. She giggled a little red in the face, while Davi was still expressionless.

"Sorry." The purple-eyed kid muttered.

"It's fine." Noble insisted, and the two of them stood up, while Sieg's happy look faded for just a moment, replaced with mild annoyance as he eyed his brother. Noble stretched for a moment, and her mana seeped out into the impressive ship she created. "Alright, let's go. Row Aquatic Wave!" The water lifted them forward, carrying the vessel with the perfect wave, and they launched away from the island.

"So where are we going?" Davi asked. He stared down at the water, feeling even more ticked off since the boat was going way too fast for him to fish off of it.

"You'll see." Noble giggled and winked at him, but Davi wasn't paying attention.

The boat kept going forward, and the three kids all remained on it in silence, with Sieg stealing glances at Noble, Noble stealing glances at Davi, and Davi staring into the ocean, trying to see if he could spot a shark, because he knew he could totally catch one, and it would be amazing to cook up, probably.

Eventually, it was Sieg who broke the silence. "So, Noble," he trailed off for a moment. "How has the Banner training been going? Has the Blue Dolphin leader taught you her signature technique yet?"

"She has." Noble laughed. "The most famed technique is, of course, the embodiment of the Behemoth, which the Red Elephants hold, but we Blue Dolphins possess a technique almost just as good." Noble brushed a bit of her hair back. "Conqueror of the endless sea, embodiment of the Leviathan." Noble turned to look at Davi again. "They say the creator of this technique also used shadow magic. A sea of absolute darkness. Wouldn't you be interested in learning it? I could teach you sometime."

"No, I'm good." Davi kept staring down into the water, using it now as a mirror to stare up at the endless starry sky. "Maybe if it were a technique that could let me fly. I'd rather go up into that infinite than down into another endless infinite."

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Noble pouted a little. "The only ones who have a technique based on flying are the Black Dragons. Don't tell me you want to train with those guys and learn the embodiment of Ziz?"

"Davi's always weird." Sieg laughed, doing his best to get Noble to look at him again. "Don't mind him. So, Noble, if you had the embodiment of the Leviathan, why didn't you bring it out during the race?"

Noble chuckled. "The same reason Arch didn't bring out the embodiment of Ziz. We have the ability to use those moves, technically speaking, but our bodies can't keep up. We'd need a Core Mask to withstand the backlash."

"I did it?" Sieg frowned.

"Because you're freakishly strong," Noble said in a deadpanned tone. Then her eyes once again sparkled as she gazed at Davi's back. "Yet, even without proper Banner training or the teachings of an embodiment, you can still do so much. I bet you'll even inherit your father's embodiment of the Oni."

"Wouldn't I have to wear that dumb mask Father has?" Davi wondered out loud and finally looked up from the ocean. "No thanks."

Noble just laughed, and Sieg's frown grew larger. They mainly remained in silence after that, Sieg trying to speak to Noble, who was mostly ignoring him, and Noble trying to speak to Davi, who was flat out ignoring her.

Soon enough, they arrived at their destination. The island they grew up on was less than a tiny speck behind them. In front of them was the view Sieg had wanted to see. It was enough to get even Davi to stand up and stare with wide eyes.

They were far away still, as getting too close would be far too dangerous, but they were close enough to where they could smell the iron that was in the air. Before them stood the rest of the Mordheim Empire.

Across the sea, the waters had turned an ugly shade of red, with black bubbles and intense steam clouds lifting off the surface of the water. The stars did not shine on this part of the world, but the ocean of literal blood would glow with an intense light, powered by pure mana, which generated enough light for them to see the massive island that was on the other side.

Two islands, actually, two that had once been whole. It was said that in his duel with Sigurd, Lord Oda, the first Shogun, used an advanced sword technique so refined that it split the world itself in two, and only through Haru's grace did the planet mend and fix, yet not even her infinite well of power could reconnect the two halves of the land the Shogun claimed as his own.

Both islands were hundreds of times bigger than the one their little fishing village was on. Even from where they were, they could see the thousands of buildings and lights that littered them, showing an advanced society that thrived and lived in peace, despite the fact that they were placed smack dab in the middle of the blood ocean, something that was created simply by the amount of blood that was said to pour out of the torn-in-half Sigurd.

The sword that would split the world.

"It's great, right?" Sieg asked.

"It looks neat." Davi's blunt response caused the blonde boy to roll his eyes.

"I'm glad we came out and saw it." Noble grinned. "A shame we can't get too close, though."

"Why not?" Davi asked.

"If we cross the blood ocean, we'll gain the attention of the boss monster that calls it home. The evil Hydra, Orochi." Noble explained. "They say he was created when loose scales fell off Sigurd's form."

"Neat."

Sieg reached out across the boat, and for a moment, he looked as if he was trying to reach for the vast Empire. "She lives there," Sieg stated quietly. "My mother."

"Your mom?" Noble looked shocked and stared at her friend. "I knew you and Davi had different moms, but I assumed your father had remarried."

"He did," Sieg said bitterly. "He abandoned my mother and stole me away from her so he could go be with his newest conquest. I'm glad Titania is a cruel bitch; it's what he gets."

"What's a bitch?" Davi questioned.

"Don't worry about it." Sieg shook his head. "My mom is there. Somewhere. She's waiting for me on that island; I know it. I don't know what Dad or Titania are planning, but I'm not going to let them get what they want." Sieg turned back to look at Noble. "Noble, I know you can't do it yet, but please." He reached out and took her hand. "In the future, when you're stronger, please use the embodiment of the Leviathan to get me and Davi to that island. Help us cross the blood sea. Help me save my little brother."

Noble glanced at Davi, and she gave a nod. "Okay. I'll help." She whispered. "It won't be simple, though; you know that, right? I'd need a lot of power to do that."

"How long do you think it'll be?" Sieg begged for a good answer.

"Maybe a year, two at most."

Sieg nodded. "A year then. One year from now." He kept holding Noble's hand and squeezed it tightly as he glanced toward his destined home. "In one year, my brother will be free."

Noble nodded, and with her other hand, she reached out and gently took Davi's hand in her own. It was cold like touching ice. It was also rough; his palm was bruised and battered from how long he was forced to hold a sword. "I'll do my best." She stared at Davi, who was still looking at the two islands in the distance. "I'll help you."

***

One. Year. Later.

Fire.

Ice.

Fire.

Ice.

Fire.

Ice.

Fire, ice, fire, ice, fire, ice, fire—

Sieg's eyes snapped open weakly. The world was a blurry mess. He couldn't see. His body was cold all over save for his stomach, which burned. He felt something leaking out of him as well.

Drip. Drip. Drip. Sound kept going in and out, in and out, in and out.

What was going on? What was happening? Why couldn't he move his body? Why couldn't he speak? He was scared. What was wrong with him? Where was his dad? Where was Titania? He wanted his mom. He couldn't even cry or scream, but he felt the pain. Across his flesh, his back, and in his insides.

Sieg realized he was being carried. He was on someone's back. Davi's back. His younger brother was carrying him. Carrying him through the ruins of their village. Their village was on fire. Their village, which had corpses littering the streets.

Sieg felt blood well up in his throat, and he nearly vomited. Everything hurt so bad. Was he dying? He felt fear, and he wanted to say or do something, but he couldn't. He was almost certainly dead already. A life that was gushing out of him. Davi's back was stained red, but his brother didn't stop walking; he simply carried him.

Sieg watched as Davi ignored the destruction around them, as well as the corpses. One foot after the other, he walked and walked and walked, and when someone was still alive, when someone needed help, he ignored them and walked, and Sieg knew why.

Blue…

His brother's eyes were blue.

Titania and Orion's weapon was carrying him out of the village. Not Davi.

"D-Davi." It was a quiet voice, barely able to be heard because of the collapse of the buildings. Sieg only heard it thanks to the fact that Davi was literally stepping over the person in question. "Help me? P-Please. I'm scared." It was a voice Sieg recognized, and he felt a pit open up in his stomach when he saw who it was.

Noble was on the ground. Half of her, at least. There was so much red coming out of her, and her hands weakly wrapped around Davi's ankle. He didn't stop, and she was dragged across the snow and ice.

"D-Davi. I don't want to die; I don't want to die." More red was streaming down her face along with the tears, but Davi didn't respond. He held Sieg, who couldn't say or speak, and he quietly shoved Noble's hand off of him and kept marching. "Davi!" Noble sobbed out.

Sieg felt tears of his own finally start to pour down his face, and they rapidly froze to his skin. Davi's dull blue eyes stared ahead blankly, ignoring the chaos around him, and he just kept walking.

The ice had extended past their island and across the entire ocean, freezing it into a solid landmass, and even further beyond that. It even reached the sea of blood and the two halves of the current shogun's island. To Sieg, this was the end of the world.

To Davi, this was the end.

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