(GS3) Special Field: The Rift

[Kisaragi Zane]

Jellal held the card in his hand with awe. A card never seen before, exclusively to him. Seeing the unit he's held in contempt and feared, yet evolved and in the palm of his hands overwhelmed him. The power was surging through him, he felt as though that he too has evolved. He held it tighter. "Regardless of the past I have towards you, I need your power." Jellal said to himself, gazing at the card.

"Royal Paladin..." he thought to himself. He imagined 3 fighters: Cero the "King of Vanguard", Kaze Ryuenji his former friend. "And finally..." the white haired Hikari, known as 'The Chosen One'. He slipped the card in his back pocket and looked forward. "Guess it's time to settle our score... one for one."

[Hope]

Neu stepped into the rift.

It was an endless hole, an empty space. All around her was nothingness. Staying within this space always made her feel numb. The body would feel nothing, hear nothing, and see nothing. This was so until a voice would call out and the rift would turn its visitor's image into a reality.

Neu saw herself in the past, someone who was obsessed with winning. It was for the sake of supporting her family after all, failure was not an option. It was a disgusting image. She was quick to anger, always was so impatient and only cared about winning. This was Neu, at least, who she was before. Who she was before was nothing but an invader to the happiness of others, someone who had enough power to take command of those who were weaker. She had no fun, no enjoyment, and her opponents saw her as nothing but a malicious being. Fighting her was like getting your freedom taken away form you, you would be unable to move, and she would just mock you and laugh, making you dance as if you were a clown all the while.

My avatar is....

She imagined herself now in a different point in time, and once again the space morphed along with what her image was. Now what she was seeing was made from her dreams and goals of the future. This Neu laughed with everyone and made sure that she understood everyone's issues. She listened to everyone and took all their feelings into consideration. It's something that the Neu of the present can already do, but what this version of Neu can do was actually understand the feelings that flowed into her. This was Neu, the Neu from the future. The one who watches above all as they enjoyed themselves, as if they were he own children. Did this Neu have a boyfriend? Even the Rift couldn't figure that out. Overall, this was Neu's future, her Alter-Ego.

My avatar is....

Cards came down to her upon her realization. She closed her eyes and the images disappeared, but the cards stayed with her along the empty space that was the rift. A warmth came from them, and they broke through the feeling of numbness.

So this is them... with this I'll obtain the power to make everyone happy, the power to become the Messiah!
Stand up, my Avatar!

[Hope]

How long has been?...
Feels like it's been so awhile...

Neu had been in the rift, using its power to relive experiences, create new ones and obtain knowledge of the world that was once beyond her. The ability to understand what she had not before, the knowledge that she would need to become who she wants to become, she keeps moving forward to obtain it. Above all, she's been fighting, she's been practicing her Vanguard, and synchronizing herself as well as connecting herself with her new deck.

I've found a new power within this space.
It goes far beyond the power of this generation.

A rift that existed beyond space-time, that was the rift. While it only had been a day in the actual world, Neu has experienced years upon years, but her body has not aged one bit. She moved across the space, she now had far greater control of it that she did before. As the time "passed," her once beautiful and shining black hair had slowly changed in color and turned into a light purple. Her bright orange eyes stayed in her right , but her left eye color transformed into a bright green, her world was slowly closing down as well, but she did not lose hope.

This isn't fun...
I hate this...
Fight after fight it feels like I'm suffering.
But I have to, I want to lead a world where no one will suffer and everyone will just have fun
This is nothing...

Fight after fight, she learned something new. She kept getting stronger and kept on with the desire to keep on going. After every fight she remembered those whom she had met in the past month... Just them alone, she missed them... and wanted nothing but to just enjoy a game of Vanguard with them after this was all over. So she kept on keeping on.

This world is for their sake.

[Cherry]

After being emotionally saved by a multitude of people, Neu Edelweiss reappeared. With a smack, a foot stomp onto Yukino's, and push, the queen had be hurled into the time-space void of the rift. A soundless world in which she initially fell asleep after floating for so long. Was this some sort of punishment? ... It probably was, but Yukino didn't want to give in to misery anymore. The will to atone finally awoke her after so long, and the first thing she witnessed was the splendor of a queer being. A blue entity donning a scarf and wheeled feet attempted to reach out to her... to crush her in hand. The queen remembered the situation like this, it was similar to the nightmare of nearly getting sealed in the Rift.

However, as fate would have it, something harshly slammed an enormous tail into it. That "thing" was silhouetted, but it was most definitely qualified as an eldritch abomination. The lower body of this horror was almost centipede-like, and it completely towered over the both of them. The girl was speechless, gaining a migraine due to her mind trying to comprehend the beast, and failing at doing so. A claw smashed into the first alien, tearing open some sort of red and black wormhole that it was launched into. It vanished into a tear in the rift... and the culprit responsible turned its attention to the Chosen Sword.

"Your existence continues to prove problematic. It will now be erased."

Terror washed over and engulfed Yugure, the unearthly alien's claws glowing with a strange light to carry out its threat in full. Unable to move, nor was there any visible safety corner to dodge to, the flashbacks of the dream reoccurred. Even worse, Yukino's entire life flashed before her eyes. Letting out a fearful wail, the light was fired. The stream of terrifying light was blocked right in front of her, however, by a barrier of warm light emitted by the red lion's armor. Ezel had arrived within the hollow void to protect her.

"Ezel!"

Ezel roared, doing whatever he could to push back the malicious power. It barely took an inch, the horroterror's might without effort was far too powerful.

"Invasion of time-space to protect your Vanguard-"

"She isn't my Vanguard you vile demon!" Ezel shouted, his roar echoing as he spoke. "I have finally realized that Yugure being by Vanguard, my owner, my user... those are all useless titles! She is my friend!"

Yukino's fears were replaced with pleasant surprise. Muttering his name in joy, the dread born from the beast's design was overpowered by this happiness. The bond between her and the lion halted the murderous intent of the bizarre being's power. The duo both simultaneously roared in an effort to repel the monster. Ezel's body radiated, and Yukino found herself cloaked by the same light. This feeling... was as if they were on fire - their beings felt as if they were being sublimated. Overwhelming heat drove the pair to further screaming, gleaming in hot brilliance, summoning a golden Vanguard Circle before them. It scaled in size, exploding in radius every second, eventually blocking off the very sight of the monstrosity. When it tried to reach into it, the circle set its hand ablaze. Agonized hissing reverberated before the space was shrouded in fiery light...


"Yugure... Oi, Yugure! Hey! Wake up!"

Yukino's eyes burned from a sudden blast of light meeting them. Letting out a little cry, she blinked repeatedly, adjusting her sight. Wincing, she found herself in Ezel's arms under a bright, blue sky. Groaning, she got onto her feet, staying in his reach. The two stood in a sort of barren wasteland, the sea border off to the left. Crashing waves were heard from the distance.

"Huh...?" The perplexed girl's face asked the generic: "Where?"

"It looks like the United Sanctuary", Ezel answered. This was a startling revelation that caused her to jump up from him. Running forward a bit, scanning the area, this did very much look like the nation on Planet Cray. The same open wasteland envision in cardfights, where a challenge to Royal Paladin would be made in the morning, instead of Shadow Paladin in the night. The realism was beyond imagination, as Yukino wasn't an astral body visiting via an image. Yet... they both could tell this wasn't actually Cray. The air about it was different from when she visited to watch Ahmes and Yunos duel, and Ezel noted an interesting trait about this space. "It feels like the Sanctuary before the civil war."

The thought that this could've been real was a yearning one. The world before all its problems. It was before the terrorism of Phantom Blaster Overlord, and long before the War of Liberation's beginning with the vanishing heroes. Like a dream, but incredibly soothing to the mind listening to the nearby ocean.

"How is this possible?" The Vanguard inquired.

"If I knew that, I'd tell you."

Though in the Sanctuary, the castle was nowhere in sight. Nothing was anywhere in sight. Just an eternally extending, hollow ground with the ocean to the side. Yukino and Ezel walked for quite awhile to accept this fact, and simply sat down near the waters when the need for a break arose. Ezel's legs were folded, hands above his knees, while the queen's were brought together to the side. Spending a moment in silence of one another's company, the lion's legs stretched forward as he leaned back. Gazing toward the vast sky of a dream, they contemplated the era of this illusion, along with how the future turned out.

"You know, I was surprised you came to save me."

"Why surprised?"

"What you said back there... I'm your friend..."

Ezel let out a happy sigh, glad that his message got to her. "Honestly, at first you were just the Chosen Sword for me. The thing you didn't want people to identify you as before accepting you're human. You saved the Sanctuary from the civil war, and then duty called again when the heroes were sealed away. You... were Ahmes and Yunos' Vanguard."

"What changed your mind?"

"How you and people suffered. Chained by the shackles of duty, even the Gold Paladin found themselves lost. Nobody was ready to do this, except me and few others I could count on my fingers. ... It took me so long to realize that because I wanted to fulfill my role, I never thought about how everyone felt. Gold Paladin were just soldiers that were supposed to fix everything, the Chosen Sword and the Princess of Cray were supposed to lead us properly... The Sanctuary was supposed to enact its purpose of not collapsing on itself."

Yukino gazed upon Ezel, thinking deeply of his words. While she was focused on herself, she never actually understood how Ezel felt. The lion had been mostly stoic, pouring himself into his job. Perhaps this is why he and Garmore fought all the time, as he put said job before emotions.

"But now...?"

"Now, I don't care if it's my job to fix the Sanctuary. I want to make the people I've come to care for happy again, and that included you."

"... That was cheesy."

"We Paladins fight with the power of bonds. If it isn't cheesy, we're not doing it right."

The two laughed at the dork of a lion's generic choice of words. Not only was the girl happier than before, but even Ezel had put on a genuine smile he never understood. Afterward, Yukino let out a relieved, but exhausted sigh. Not having slept or ate in so long was getting to her. The warrior made his way over to the weary queen, and offered for his body to be used as a rest. Spreading his legs out, Yukino sat herself inbetween them, leaning back on his chest. Feelings of safety enveloped her, trusting her friend with her body and soul.

"We need to get back to Earth..."

"Before figuring out how, what do you intend to do once we return, Yugure? Er, if you don't mind me still calling you that."

"I don't mind... I should start with apologizing to everyone for how much trouble I caused."

"Making apologies sounds like it'd put you under more stress."

"It will... but I want to finally clean the air now that I don't want to die. Especially with Hana..."

"Do you think everyone's willing to forgive you?"

"If I'm being honest, I'd be surprised if they were... I still have hope, though. To smooth things over with my friends and family, and to get Ahmes and Yunos back."

"And after that?"

"... I don't know. I'd just see everything as a constant reminder of what I almost did, just like how I remember how I used to be a high and mighty queen. Ugh... My past selves all make me want to vomit..."

"Best to look toward the future then. It'll be better when we have everyone back."

"You know... I really enjoy this here with you, Ezel", Yukino closed her eyes. Nuzzling the lion's torso like a warm mattress. "I wouldn't mind coming here again..."

"... Has the thought of coming to Cray to stay crossed your mind?"

Yukino's eyes opened, a little taken back by that question. No, the thought of staying on another planet never crossed mind. Every day, there were only visits as images. Even so, real bonds with paladins were made through these visits. They were friends as much as possible on Earth were. Living with them... didn't sound so bad in her head.

"It... hasn't. Can I even do that?"

"No idea, since I wouldn't have the first clue of how to get you there. You'd probably fit right in, though. You might have to deal with being a soldier for the Sanctuary, but otherwise, we'd all be more than happy to have you. We'll even figure out how to let you jump between worlds, so you can see your other friends too. And your boyfriend, of course."

"Ah... Haruka... I'd miss him a lot if I couldn't see him every day already."

"He's a bit of a shy one, Yugure. I'm sure he'd miss you too."

"Haha, he's sort of meek, fumbling on his words all the time. Still, the feeling behind them and his actions..."

"Stop, you're going to say something cheesy about that being why you're attracted to him!"

"What, you got a pass. It's my turn to say something cringy!"

For what seemed like hours went on as the two conversed. They were like old friends - best friends even with how they kept going on and on. Talking about one another's colleagues, aspirations, or even minor things. Ezel's hair came up as a topic with the girl's makeup in question. Yet, the sun overhead never went down. This was still the rift, a place where time was not of logical comprehension. Having rested up some, Yugure stood up, and she helped the man up right after. They both decided to start on finding a way out, having gone through too many casual discussions to count. He kept his arm wrapped around her shoulders, though. Making the excuse of preventing her from falling. It was really that he just wanted to be close, and she didn't mind anyway.

"Do you know what those things were that attacked us?"

"I've never seen either of them before on Cray. They might be aliens of some sort, but it didn't look like they were on the same side."

"Aliens?"

"Yeah, the Star Gate nation is composed of residents from other planets or dimensions. Dimension Police, for example, isn't made up of Cray-born units."

"Huh... Do you think those things were Star Gate worthy too? Or... Or even that thing that sealed away everyone?"

"It's a definite possibility, but I haven't heard anything about new clans coming to Star Gate."

"That thing was strong..."

"Too strong. That's why I'm glad it's in the Rift and not on Cray."

"No matter where I live, I'm gonna have to help deal with it."

"Yeah... Sorry about that."

"Heh... Thanks, Ezel."


After a long journey, they finally saw something within the boundless space of the dream. A white-blue sword in the ground, one that was recognizable to any member of the Sanctuary or Royal Paladin player on Earth. Rushing over to it, it was indeed the sword of courage weld by Ahmes. Off to the distance was even the sword of resolution used by Yunos! Wondering why these swords were here, they discussed the possibility of this place being their holding cells. Deciding on betting for a fortunate event, Yugure gripped Blaster Blade's hilt. Ezel wondered over and did the same with Blaster Dark. The twin swords responded, shining in respective blue and purple colors. Pulsating with power, the Vanguard's eyes morphed into blades, just as they always did. In a flash, the two swordsmen rose from the ground as if arising from coffins. Yunos was fine, considering his spirit form had already awakened before. However, Ahmes was panting heavily and rapidly, trying to catch his breath. Ezel and Blaster Dark quickly rushed over, while Yugure knelled down.

“Ahmes! Are you alright?!” She asked.

“I... I... Argh...”

“Bastard was suffocating like I was”, Blaster Dark stated when they approached.

“You two... And Yunos awake... I should've expected this... but how did you even...” Ahmes' head as a mess. His thoughts were jumbled up, and was gifted a bit to calm himself. The blasters explained their slumbering states within the void, but the light one expressed confusion over how the dark one awoke early. Ezel quickly summarized the situation revolving around the War of Liberation, and Yukino welcomed him back. However, it seems like Blaster Dark, Blaster Blade was able to see things concerning his Vanguard in his dreams. All standing together, Yunos stated how they could not enter the waking world. Not with their full power, anyway. Reaching out beyond the Rift takes an enormous amount of energy and mental fortitude, so they convinced Ahmes to take a spiritual form if he was going to help them. “First, though... We need to reveal the truth to you, Yugure.”

“Huh?”

“Figured this was going to come up eventually”, Yunos spoke. “Do you remember when I had you use your powers as 'the Meister'?”

“No...”

“Most likely because you were in a trance each time”, Blaster Blade added. “You have the ability to create any weapons or armaments, and duplicate them as you see fit. This is the power of Blaster Meister.”

“Who?” Ezel inquiried.

“Back in the days of King Ezer, King Alfred's father, a mysterious man approached us named Blaster Meister. He offered us incredibly powerful Blaster Weapons to greatly boost our militia prowess. It was a trap, despite the weapons working, but I won't go into detail about that”, Ahmes gave the golden warrior and the queen a history lesson. “He was subsequently jailed.”

“However, he wound up breaking out the day enormous demons assaulted the Sanctuary. One of our guardian dragons was wrecked like it was a joke”, Blaster Dark took over, explaining from his point of view. “Before you ask, I was a Royal Paladin back then. Anyway, we suspect Blaster Meister dragged the corpse of that supposedly dead cosmos dragon away. The next time we saw it, it was black... You can take a guess at what it was.”

“Wait... You people stated that Phantom Blaster Dragon was a corrupted dragon... So you mean...?!” Yukino gasped.

“Yes, Phantom Blaster was that guardian dragon who got its lance from that blacksmith”, Yunos answered.

“As you can see, that's proof of the power of these weapons beyond the two of ours”, Ahmes followed up.

“Wait, so you think Yugure-”

“Yes, we believe she is some sort of descendant or incarnation. The power of the Meister is something that came with her eyes”, Yunos, again, answered. Yukino was rather baffled by the thought of this. Having no recollection of weapon or armor duplication, it was difficult to understand. Yet, she's done it with Blaster Dark, Majesty Lord's sword, and even Ezel's red lion armor. This explained a great deal concerning why she had extra copies of these cards when there was no way possible to get more than one for her.

“You weren't meant to be the Chosen Sword, you were meant to be the Chosen Swordswoman. With your Blacksmith heritage, you were to be wielding us”, Ahmes explained the inconsistency of the legend. A sword could not make more of other swords, but a wielder who is also a blacksmith logically could. Yukino honestly wished she knew that sooner, as she spent life thinking of herself as a polished object. She let out an annoyed sigh, grasping what he means, but still not understanding the origins. “Scion of Espoir. As it stands, neither of us can assist you with our full power.”

“So we have to leave it to you, Ezel”, Yunos passed the baton, surprising the lion.

“Wait... you two-”

“Yeah, we're giving you our Yugure to take care of. Don't slack off, dumbass.”

Ezel was rather dumbfounded. Two heroes of the Sanctuary – historical figures gave them their full trust and blessings when it came to their Vanguard. He looked back at his friend, who was smiling at him, putting confusion aside. Of course, she wanted him to stay with her in the first place. It was an odd feeling, as the lion didn't think himself to be someone important like the blasters or Alfred. Simply the one chosen by one of the Sacred Beast Armors to carry out his duty. To have actual heroes entrust the future to him... A sort of child-like beaming came over him. Directing it at his best friend, who nodded, he turned back to the swordsmen. “I won't let you down!”

“Tch, of course you won't.”

“Ezel's a real guardian of mine, you know. He stumbles a lot to, but does what he can. I haven't forgotten his promise to me”, Yukino beamed back, vouching for and praising the lion.


Back in several nights ago, Ezel's spirit appeared before the depressive queen to console her.

“I don't know what I can say to make you feel better. So I'll show my care through action. If you feel no one can understand your tears or hear your lamentation... I will convey your feelings through my roars. I'll take in your everything, endure with you, and turn it into the strength to go forward.

That is my promise to you.”


“Why is it the Sanctuary is full of cheesy idiots?” Yunos scowled. Ahmes chuckled, and Ezel laughed due to the fact that he and Yukino got on each other for being cringy awhile back.

“Thanks for everything, Ezel”, the queen expressed gratitude.

“Don't thank me yet, Yugure. Not until everyone's back home. You too.”

The blasters of fate watched in approval as Yukino hugged her strong friend. They were proud of the alliance born by their swords coming together for the Sanctuary's unification. Gold Paladin gave birth to heroes like the red lion, which gave them high hopes for the future of the nation. More than that, the world where Royal and Shadow come together as friends.

Ezel +40 Affinity (Maxed out! BFF Confirmed)

[Hope]

The space eventually returned to its original state, a vast, white empty space filled with nothing.

"So what, are you back now?"

[Cherry]

The four looked around in the empty space for the origin of the voice.

"Back... No, I'm not back. Not to my usual self. I want to be better than who I was yesterday", Yukino answered the call.

[Hope]

The purple-haired woman appeared from the nothingness and a descended onto the blank ground, falling like a feather.

"So what, found what your Vanguard is now?"

[Cherry]

"I... don't think I figured out what my Vanguard is yet, honestly", she started. "However, I know now that the end I want to reach with Vanguard isn't one born of blood nor duty."

Yukino was already facing the entity that descended. The others took a minute to realize her Vanguard was speaking to someone directly, and turned around. Though they were ready for a fight of some sort, the queen held out an hand, motioning to hold fire. The three men eased up.

"What happened to you?" Yugure asked.

[Hope]

She closed her eyes for a moment.

"Well, I see you have three of your avatars there with you. From our last encounter I've been wondering what the could be, what it could mean, to be connected with a card to that extent."  With her eyes still closed, she made a deck of cards appear in her hand.

"I found my true clan, my true avatar, and my true goal in the two worlds." She opened her right eye, the one that shone with an emerald green. A black smoke formed behind her, on her right side. A large dragon appeared, black rings and dark bolts of lighting came along as a combo with its intimidating presence. Upon opening her left, a flash of light appeared, and past it was a silhouette of a being that held two worlds on its shoulders. She now stood beside her avatars at odds with the queen's.

"I've been here for awhile you could say, just... side effects. Anyways, now that you got yourself back, there is freeing the sealed clans,but I want to see you do that yourself, with your own way of Vanguard."

[Cherry]

While the celestial being on the left was not known to any of them, the four recognized that dragon. Finally, the terror unveiled itself under its owner once again. Ezel showed anger toward the dragon, however, Ahmes showed curiosity toward the "avatar" of light with their enemy. Yukino would be terrified of seeing the nightmare beast before her again, but not this time. Sword-morphed eyes gazed at the other girl in wonder, unable to understand how finding her avatar and clan resulted in... this.

"Side effects..." She trailed off, trying to make out what that could mean. The Rift was still an unknown space, so its power could've done this... "I'll find what my Vanguard really is, and get everything back. You'll see."

[Hope]

"I will use this war as Cray's final chance to show a Vanguard that will not self-destruct on itself, that will not cause suffering and loneliness. If it doesn't then I'll have to carry these two worlds on my shoulders."

Neu snapped her fingers and an exit from the rift opened between them, Neu looked at her nonexistent watch that was on her wrist. "Hoo boy, look at the time haha, time sure flies by when you're in a time-space anomaly! Out you go!" She flew behind Yukino and did the "shoo shoo" gesture with her hands.

[Cherry]

The four of them sweat nervously at the "time flies" notion. "It does?" The three men asked, leaving Yukino to facepalm. Ezel scooped her up in his arms, promptly leaping out of the rift with her.