The King's Beloved

[Music Recommendation: "The Fire Within" by Hiroshi Mizuta (Final Fantasy XV OST) - available in Spotify or Youtube]

"That voice… is that Vindicta?" Rania asked.

A white light came from Elliot's sword, and from it, Amare materialized. She then gazed up above the clouds, frowning in distress. After a short pause, she said to them.

"It appears like… the holy crystal is slowly losing its power."

"We must hurry. We can't let her join the fight while we're still trying to fix the shrines."

"Should we go to the next shrine now?" Elliot asked.

"Are you all ok, though? I have an unlimited supply of energies, and you have a massive amount… but the Guardians haven't rested. And we need some rest, too—physically and mentally. We can't risk getting sick or fainting from exhaustion."

"… Right."

"Also, I think we need to talk."

Elliot was surprised. Rania's expression turned serious all of a sudden.

"What do you mean?"

The Guardians surrounding them—Lunaflora, Amare, Eres, and those that just reconvened with them—Bruma, Bronte, and Fauna, felt the need to leave them alone for a moment. So they all returned to Elliot's Zweihänder to give them some space.

Once they were gone, Rania let out a sigh and ran towards Elliot to hug him.

'Ahhh… such warm embrace,' Elliot thought as he basked himself in Rania's comforting presence. He closed his eyes and embraced her so tight that his body completely covered hers.

"Elliot," Rania whispered to his ears, "you've been stiff and out of yourself ever since we arrived. I noticed you're just trying to get the job done, but deep inside, you're… not okay. What's wrong?"

"I… I'm not exactly sure. Maybe I'm feeling a bit pressured and nervous? Doing all these and trying to save Gaia—it's not like those trials we did before. At least I know they were trials, and there's not much life at risk. There's always a Plan B or C or whatever. But here, we can't fail, or else our planet and its people will all die. I know that I need to trust in the Supreme and that He's with us and everything's gonna be fine, but… maybe…."

"Maybe what?"

"Maybe… I don't trust myself that much."

Hearing that, Rania faced Elliot and held his face, making him look straight into her eyes. Then, she smiled at him while gently caressing his cheeks with her thumb.

"You don't trust yourself because you don't see yourself the same way the Supreme sees you. And how we see you. You're belittling yourself, underestimating it when you've been gifted with so much potential and all the things you would need to fulfill your destiny."

Elliot sighed and lowered his gaze.

"I'm sorry. I know this is not the time to be feeling like this, but…."

"It's alright, especially with this much pressure. But you know what I see when I look at you?"

"Huh?"

Curious, he stared into her eyes again.

"I see a great and handsome king who is very patient, trustworthy, have lots of self-control, kindness, mercy, joy, peace, willing to sacrifice, righteous, faithful, hopeful, gracious, and is full of love for his people."

Chuckling, he replied, "Those are the lessons in the trials."

"Exactly! You passed them all, which only means you possess all of those amazing qualities. And the Supreme knew you would pass them. He believed in you, so why don't you believe in yourself, too? And I, too, believe in you. There's nothing you can't do when you believe. So just trust in yourself a little, okay?"

Elliot felt his heart squeeze. He gazed at her longingly with a mixture of thankfulness and relief.

"Rania…"

"And one more thing."

"?"

"There's no such thing as failure if you continue to get up whenever you fall. Real failure only happens when you quit."

At last, the heavy burden in his heart faded away, replaced with a genuine and sweet smile.

"Yes. I won't quit. For the Supreme, for the people, and for Gaia."

"Yes! We can do this! Together."

Unable to control his loudly beating heart and passionate love for her, Elliot pulled Rania's face close and gave her a long, warm, intense, and fiery kiss. Rania was surprised for a moment, but she smiled and kissed him back in the same passion. Unfortunately, though, along with that sweet and fervent kiss, was another sting to her heart, for she knew what awaited them in the not-so-distant future.

"Rania… I love you."

"I love you, too, Elliot."

Meanwhile, Clavis' team arrived safely at the Shrine of Ignis. But not the same could be said at the state of the shrine and its surrounding area. Hordes of monsters appeared like clusters of ants for them, seeing them from the sky due to their sheer number. They were much more than the monsters from Fauna's and Caligo's shrines—maybe even double of their combination!

"Haaah…" Clavis sighed. "This is going to be hard."

"Yikes! They're too many," Selena commented. "How should we do this?"

"It will most likely be the same as the previous shrines. We need someone to fight the monsters outside the shrine, inside the shrine, and the boss monster at the innermost place."

"Pft! Ha-ha-ha-ha! Boss monster," Selena laughed. 

She was reminded of how she taught Clavis how to play games. He's even calling them "boss monsters" now, like in those games they played together before.

"Hey, don't laugh. You're the one who taught me that," Clavis blushed in embarrassment. "I can't believe I'm calling them that."

"Ha-ha-ha! It's fine. It's easier to understand it that way."

"Boss monster?" Illuminaire, who had no idea about it, asked.

"Oh, it's those dark, Sacred Beast copycats," Selena explained.

"Ah, I see. And you call them boss because they are the strongest."

"Uh-huh!" she nodded. Turning to Clavis, she continued, "Soooo, how are we gonna split up? Who's fighting outside, inside, and the boss monster?"

Clavis pondered for a moment.

"Hmmm… For the outside, Guardian Ventus, Guardian Caligo, will the two of you be alright with dealing with them?"

"Of course! It's perfect as well since we have the most area damage," Caligo proudly replied. "And Ventus is the fastest. We can kill them all in no time."

"That's great. We appreciate your abundant help. And for the inside, Guardian Aqua and Guardian Saburra."

"We agree," Aqua replied.

"Hey, what about my opinion?" Saburra complained.

"Do you not?" Aqua glared at him.

"O-oh… he-he-he. Of course, I agree!"

"Do not underestimate the monsters inside the shrine. We have limited space as well, so the Magi's decision to put us inside is wise since we are adept in close combat."

"That's my husband!" Selena said proudly, to which the Guardians and Illuminaire chuckled. "And that leaves us with the rest going for the boss monster!"

"Yes. I thought Guardian Terra could help us deal with the boss instead of Guardian Aqua since it will be dangerous when fire and water elements meet. But earth should do just fine and withstand fire."

"You are correct, young man. It seems like the rumors about you are true. You truly are the Wisest Judge," Terra replied.

Clavis blushed again, feeling shy, especially that their well-respected Guardians complimented him, a simple Magi. It was such an honor for him.

"I… I am simply stating facts," he mumbled.

"Aww, come on. Don't be modest," Selena teased him.

"Ehem. Anyway, now that we have decided. Let us go forth."

"YEAH!"

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