Welcome to Gaia! ::

Why had it taken him so long to return here?

Erytheia stared at the tree. It had not grown back like the rest of his world. Perhaps the Chaos had been dormant there too long, the trauma of the Seed’s removal too much for the ancient wood.

But one thing was certain — the Code Piece could no longer reside there.

He held it in his hands, carried it across the world. It felt so fragile. So vulnerable. Was this all that it was? Just a mote of light dependent on this world for protection.

Dependent on him for protection.

That’s how he came now to the Star Mount. Yuki had told him of the Beacon that resided there. But as he approached it, his ancestor’s whispered words lingered in his head.

‘But can you light it as you are now, I wonder?’

Erytheia approached the large crystal that towered above him, clear as starlight and reflecting light as a prism upon his white uniform. From here you could see the whole island, his arrow from his bow felt like it could cross the whole of the island from here. He would need to place the Code Piece here.

The knight held it gingerly in his hands. He pressed it to the crystal obelisk. It resisted. He pressed again. He could feel an unknown force pushing back. He tried again and his aspect lit up like the sun!

Just a bit more…

And just as he had thought he had penetrated the layer of stone, it pushed back. Hard.

A wave of wind coming from the Beacon like a sonic boom pushed him back and out and over the cliff’s edge. He tried to hold on to the edge with the hand not cradling the Code, but the rock shattered under the blow from the Beacon. And, with the Beacon but a light in the distance, he fell.

The knight of Cosmos grasped his personal item. It would surely break his fall as it always had!

But, this time, it didn’t.

The hard ground and Yuki’s voice was all that met him now.

‘My, my! It will work for you as long as you believe in yourself as I believe in you, don’t you remember that? Foolish knight! How many times will I have to teach you this lesson…’

And then he fell unconscious.

✪

Ciel got the message as she was settling in for the evening with a glass of wine in her parlor. She of course called on her weapon and immediately transformed into Hyperborea, she was unsure what Erytheia meant by the Code Piece needing a new home but if his wonder was in needed of aid again then she would be happy to all she could to assist.

She summoned fractured crystal she had found in the inbetween world to her hand and drew it in a slash across the air. A tear in space opened for her, the young woman walked through heading towards Erytheia's location.

Once she had arrived the glowing knight looked at her fellow Cosmos knight, she listened to his brief explanation. "Erytheia, I am of course happy to provide any assistance I am able to, but what exactly is the Code doing, you say it is refusing to be placed there but what does that mean?" She inquired.

Paradise didn’t know many other Senshi or Knights outside of her own family, but when someone called for help, she couldn’t ignore it.

As always, it never bothered her that she was clearly the oldest in the room. Ah, by several decades. But as always, she never assumed she knew what she was doing when it came to magical things. Baking a cake or preparing a family meal with just an hour’s notice? That was nothing.

She smiled sincerely at the others gathered there, but frowned with concern when she noticed the injuries Erytheia sustained.

Not wanting to interrupt the greeting of the others, she turned to them each and offered a small smile.

“I’m Paradise. It’s nice to meet you all. If you’re okay with getting help from an old lady, I would be happy to do what I can.”

“I’m not sure what it means, Hyperborea. My ancestor says it should be the perfect place for it since the tree isn’t viable… given that it has yet to recover from the battle that you helped with. Yet, when I try and place the Code in this new place…” He gestured at his arm. “… it pushes back.”

If only his feather had worked then he wouldn’t have been in so rough of shape.

“Yuki, my ancestor, said to find other Cosmos knights like I had when I unlocked this.” He patted the golden bird cage with the feather in it on his waist.

“Paradise.” He nodded to her as well as to the page and squire. “I am sure you will be able to help though I know not how.”

He sighed. Other Cosmos knights had helped him with deciphering the riddle on the gilded cage, but he had not needed to take them to his world for that. At least, for that, he knew what to ask for.

“Gather round, if you would still like to come. It’ll take quite a bit of my power to get you all there.”





✪

Hyperborea frowned, she didn't like the sound of this all. "The only experience I have with moving the Code is when the Academy's core piece was replanted on the Moon. But if you ancestor says you need Cosmos knights then I'm happy to help." She said to her fellow knight.

The young woman looked around at the small gathered group of Cosmos knights. One she recognized, Irkalla, she waved back to her and offered a friendly smile to the others. "It's a pleasure to meet you all, my name is Hyperborea." She introduced herself following the older Page's example.

She turned back to Erytheia. "If you need some energy afterwards I'll give you some of mine." She offered the other Knight, it was one of the benefits of her Transcendence she had enough energy to spare. She got closer to the Knight who had called them all together and waited to be transported to his world.

Einhornhöhle nodded to each of them as introductions were made. “My name is Ein,” she offered knowing it would be easier to remember. “I apologize in advance. I’ve only recently become a Squire and am still new to my magic.” Hopefully, it would be useful for what Erytheia needed them for.

“Admittedly, I know of the Code and heard it speak on the Moon once. But beyond that, my knowledge is limited.” In five years she had yet to find the piece on her wonder, however, she suspected it was somewhere within the labyrinth she had yet to explore.

“If your ancestor believes that other Cosmos knights are the key then I’m willing to assist however I can.” This time a year ago she might not have been as willing, especially with how things turned out after Vanguard’s arrival and Negaverse ambush. Belief in her role and capability as a Cosmos knight had diminished to almost non-existence as did any faith may have had in the Princess that she was presumably a knight of.

Oia considered the answer she had been given, she didn't like it, she wondered if she would get a chance to talk to the code herself so she could figure out what it wanted. Clearly, it couldn't stay in its old home but did it want its old home repaired was that even possible? "Yea I'm ready for this." She said with a smirk. She wasn't really ready but she was going to try regardless of whether or not she felt ready. This felt big and important and it was a chance for her to learn about her order which meant a lot to her. "Let's do this thing." She said in as cheerful a tone as she could manage.

There was a short moment of silence as Einhornhöhle’s gaze wandered over the edge of the cliff and a familiar sensation of vertigo washed over her.

It wasn’t so much the height that bothered her as it was the potential to fall from such a great distance. A part of her wished she could trade places with Paradise or Oia, just to put a bit more distance between herself and the cliff’s edge, but it seemed that this was where Erytheia’s world wanted her to be.

So, with great effort, she tore her gaze and attention away from the side and focused on the Knight of Cosmos instead. “I’m ready,” she replied, voice somehow steady despite her uncertainty as she held onto the tea-light lantern tightly just to keep her hands from shaking.