Judge and Executioner

PROLOGUE: CHAOS AND ORDER
Over 1000 years ago... Fresh blood slid down the polished length of the greatsword hanging loosely in Ryou's hand. It dragged through the charred earth along with his feet as he staggered through the burning woods with fatigue. Only a few minutes ago had he ended the war, dealing the finishing strike through the twisted heart of the Lord of the Hellspawn, Sanguinix; but he did not care. Exhausted, he collapsed to the ground, muttering the names of his deceased friends before he sank into the dark depths of unconsciousness:

"Baqer... Seren... I'm sorry..."

When Ryou awoke, night had fallen, and the skies sobbed with a heavy downpour. Yet he did not care enough to stand.

As quick as it had begun to rain, as quick as the finishing strike that ended the war; time seemed to stop for Ryou. A grey wave of energy plastered the land, and, in it's wake, stopped all motion around him. Suddenly, in the blink of an eye Ryou found himself with an otherworldly, orange cloaked figure standing before him. He barely lifted his head to spare the figure a glance before lowering it back to the ground once more. "Do what you will," he said quietly.

"Hm... So the Chaos has ended, I presume," answered the orange-cloaked figure, "And you were the slayer of Sanguinix; it's quite fortunate that it ended, the fighting was growing on my nerves."

"That doesn't matter... nothing matters anymore," muttered Ryou, cringing slightly.

"Why not? You ended something that was worthless and pointless. Fighting is pointless." said Order, under bated breath, "and you did it; you should be proud, dear Terral."

Upon the mention of his race, Ryou cringed again. "Dead... they're all dead," he groaned. "My race, all those dear to me... there's nothing left for me here among the elves of Aegis... what good does heroic glory and pride do me?"

"Are they... all dead?" The being paused in silence. "But there is always a chance at life, especially a new one. Do you wish for something like that?"

"A... new life?" asked Ryou, thinking aloud. "If only it were that easy," he said, with a note of longing in his voice.

"But it can be," it replied, "It can be that easy. With me at least. And you shall see why, if you desire change..."

"Who are you?" asked Ryou, as the faintest glimmer of hope entered his golden eyes.

"No one of importance." Two energies surrounded the being- one yellow, one orange- spiraling around it like a vortex. "And this new life of yours... begins now." With that, the two energies shot themselves into Ryou like spears.

Ryou's back arced and he cried out in pain as new energy began to flood into him, flowing through his bones from his very core to the tips of his fingers. He could feel his ebbing strength return to him like a blow from a warhammer. He curled up on all fours, digging his curled fingers into the ground, instinctually trying to grip something as both strength and agony burned through him like fire.

And suddenly, it stopped. Ryou collapsed onto the ground once more, breathing heavily and sweating profusely. He suddenly became aware of a greater sphere of sense, far beyond what his own body could detect; it was as if he could feel the space around him and the motions in the cosmos itself.

"You will question yourself for a while. I hope that you find my gift, somewhat... Invigorating." Time began to abruptly start once more. As rain landed upon Ryou once more, the cloaked being suddenly took to the skies, flying without use of anything and vanishing in the distance.

Ryou stood, shakily to his feet, confused. Just as he was questioning what exactly had happened, he became aware of two invisible energies that flowed through the very air, into the ground, and all around him, branching out like a giant web of currents. One of which was calm, flowing peacefully. A word came to his mind:

Order.

The second energy was dark, shifting constantly like a mass of tendrils, and crackling like bolts of electricity. Something within the energy terrified him.

Chaos.

He wished for the Chaos to leave him. No more violence. No more war. No more pain. He could see the peaceful current of energy flowing into him, and his sadness left him like a fleeting dream. His mind was overcome with a new purpose, a purpose of Order. He would end war, and the chaos it wrought; He would judge mortals with his newfound power- strength the likes of gods would only dream of. He would be their judge, their executioner.

He was no longer Ryou. That was his old life, his life filled with pain, violence, and sadness.

"I am Arbiter," he said.

CHAPTER I: THE GATHERING
Present day...

Rune sat in the grass in a lush valley. She had just finished fighting off some of Omega's more mischievous monsters, and was now relaxing on the former battlefield. It was a pleasant day, with a clear blue sky, and a gentle breeze. She sighed with content.

A burst of green energy suddenly illuminated the sky as the image of a man descended towards the horizon like a falling star. Rune sat up straight, observing the anomaly. "What is that?" she thought. She stood up, summoned her fire sword, and began to walk towards the area.

The man touched down upon the earth gently, as a swan lands upon a clear pond. His long, emerald green hair framed his shoulders and swung in the breeze. A massive blade hung from his clenched fist, a sword longer than he was tall, and nearly as wide as the width of his shoulders. His intense, golden eyes stared off into the sky, distantly, taking no notice of the approaching Rune.

"Hello?" Rune asked, approaching him.

The man spun his head towards her, overlooking her with his piercing, golden eyes, as if trying to analyze her mind and read her like the pages of a book. Then without another word, he set off, turning his back to her.

"Hey, wait a minute!" Rune called after him. "Who are you?"

"Your end," he said, before taking off into the air and flying into the horizon like an arrow.

Before Rune could react, a flash of soothing, golden light burst before her, revealing the ethereal figure of a tall woman in a vivid, navy blue dress. Her eyes were pitch black orbs that rested in their sockets. Her expression was soft, and calming.

"Do not fear, Rune," said the woman. "I have seen that you are pure and noble of heart, and I have chosen you to bear a great responsibility."

"A... great responsibility?" Rune asked with trepidation.

The woman nodded. Time seemed to slow down around herself and Rune, and the surrounding world became drained of it's color. "I am Fortuna, the goddess of Balance," the woman continued. The man you have seen before you was a man who has traveled across the stars, leaving only destruction in his wake. Scores of innocent lives have met their end at his hands, and billions more will follow if he is not stopped."

Rune's eyes widened. "Billions of innocent lives? But....why?"

"He is a destroyer of worlds born from an age in the past," Fortuna explained. "His name is Arbiter. If you choose to accept this calling, you will learn more of this adversary."

Rune took a deep breath, contemplating the situation. Then, she nodded and said, "Alright. I accept."

Fortuna nodded. "You are very trusting. Be wary... the path ahead is filled with danger. I shall guide you on this mission as you gather your allies." With those last words, Fortuna disappeared in a burst of light. Color returned to the surrounding area as the flow of time returned to normal.

Rune looked around, confused. She knew she had to go after the man, but didn't know how to pursue him.

"Your first ally approaches," the voice of Fortuna spoke from thin air. A male youth with auburn hair and green eyes materialized as if out of nowhere. He looked around, stunned, and exclaimed "Wait, where the hell am I?" He looked at Rune, "Who are you?"

Rune looks at him shyly. "Uhm....my name's Rune. Who're you?" The boy answered, "I'm Todd. Where am I?"

Rune crossed her arms. "Are you....from Belladore?"

"No...I'm from Earth. Where the hell is Belladore?"

Rune half-smiled, not sure how to explain it. "Belladore....is sort of far from Earth....it's a planet inhabited mainly by quipps..."

Todd raised an eye brown and asked, "Quipps? What are Quipps?"

A small spark of light appeared before Rune and Todd, and Fortuna's voice echoed forth from it. "Todd. It is no accident that you are here. This is the whim of fate. Your powers will be of great importance in this quest."

The spark of light moved over towards Todd, circling him for a moment. "You've been prepared for this quest just as I have explained it to Rune..."

Todd then asked the voice, "Who are you?"

"The very same entity who brought you here," said Fortuna. "I am Fortuna, and I will guide you. Todd, if you will, take Rune with you, and Walk to our first destination."

Before Todd could ask about said destination, an image appeared in his mind, undoubtedly procured by Fortuna, showing him where in the Universe he needed to go.

"Where are we going?" Rune asked. Todd just extended his hand, "Just grab my hand and I'll bring us to the Universe we have to go."

Rune took hold of his hand, and braced herself for the dangerous journey that awaited.

CHAPTER II:
As they stepped forward, is was as if they had stepped from one room to the next- it did not feel as if they had jumped a cosmic distance, yet there they were, on an entirely different world. Where grasslands once stretched to the horizon, trees stood, clustered around them on all sides. It was night, and a large moon hung in the sky, illuminating the woods with a dim, ruddy light and casting shapeless shadows all about.

Todd sighed and said to Rune, "Well here we are."

Rune looked around. "Where are we exactly?"

Todd completely blew off the question and said, "We have to find allies here to fight Arbiter....or to find him directly."

"He wants to destroy entire planets. If he was here....we would know, wouldn't we?"

Todd shrugged, "I would assume. Primarily since there's still a planet, and that it isn't going, BOOOOOOM!, right now."

Rune laughed a little, despite her anxiety over the quest. Todd then asked, "So do you see any form of civilization?", before floating up in the air to get a better view of the world.

Rune did the same, levitating up into the sky, looking around. "No....nothing that seems very close, anyway...."

Todd then asked, "Er, Rune, have you ever been here before? Because from what I can see, I don't think there is civilization..."

"Yeah.....what kind of planet is this?" Rune responded. Todd looked up at the sky and said, "Well this planet is able to be home to life. But I haven't seen any animals. Have you?"

As if in response to Todd's question, a bestial screech split the air, echoing through the woods.

Todd then said, "Er, I'd like to retract my previous statement. Should we investigate Rune?"

"I guess so," Rune replied. She looked around, trying to locate the source of the screech.

The screech resounded once more, sounding farther away than before. Todd then quickly said, "Let's go!" before zipping towards the sound of the animal's screech.

Rune followed, flying as fast as she could. Yet after several minutes of running through trees and thicket, Rune and Todd entered an empty clearing.

Rune looked around. "What the....?" Todd took Rune's hand and landed, "Well," he began, "Let's get to looking around."

A short man with crimson hair, a blue coat, and a scythe hanging loosely in his hand suddenly appeared in the clearing; upon taking notice of Rune and Todd, he turned and silently went the other way without another word.

Rune reached towards him. "Hey, wait!" she called. Todd stamped his foot; a wall of earth rose before the man, stopping him in his tracks.

The man was still for a moment. He glanced at Rune and Todd over his shoulder. The scythe that was hanging loosely in his hand suddenly stiffened as he gripped it tighter.

"Uhm..." Rune began. "We're sorry to bother you, but could you tell us where we are?" Todd then joked, directing his attention to Rune, "Are we fighting the Grim Reaper?"

The youth turned around and stared at them- despite his notably young face, his emerald eyes were world-weary, and his scythe was larger than him. He did not say a word.

"Are....you alright?" Rune inquired.

Todd lowered the wall of rock and asked, "Who are you?"

The youth was silent for a moment longer, before suddenly taking off, disappearing before Rune and Todd could react.

"Hey!" Rune yelled, running after him. Todd followed and called out, "Wait!"

He was abnormally fast, like a bird in flight, sprinting and carrying his weapon with surprising strength for someone of his smaller stature. Rune and Todd could barely keep up, and would have lost sight of him had he not scrambled quickly up the trunk of a thick tree like a squirrel, perching on a branch and watching his pursuers, as if daring them to follow.

"We just wanna' know where we are!" Rune shouted. "Do you live around here?"

Todd looked up and teleported onto a branch above the man and said, "Will you just answer us?"

Before the trio could do anything, a loud tremor shook the ground, followed by the sound of crashing trees and startled flocks of birds. And then the earth trembled with a second tremor. And a third. Growing louder, and closer.

Todd fell from the tree and landed on his back, all the wind forced out of him. "Damn! What the hell was that?"

A giant, green-skinned creature rose above the treetops, dragging behind it a blunt, wooden club. While humanoid in shape, it's face was pig-like, and it was dressed in a brown loincloth. In it's clenched fist was an unconscious figure, a girl that shimmered like a pink mirage.

"More little people," shouted the ogre-like creature, taking notice of the three. It's voice was grating and unpleasant. "Today is lucky!"

The crimson-haired youth narrowed his eyes, as if in thought. Todd interlaced his fingers and cracked them saying, "I disagree...you stand a snowball's chance in Hell."

Rune glared at the giant monster, and pointed her fire sword at it.

The ogre, roaring, stomped forwards and swung it's club towards Todd, intent on crushing him.