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Shane stood up and spun around to look at the others. "His name? Do you know who this is? Do you know what his name means?" He was clearly angry, though he was keeping his voice calm. Nurse Mortem looked up from where she knelt. The Reaver seemed mostly stabilized, but it was clear Nurse Mortem was exhausted. "I've heard of several famous Meisters by the name of Eric Hunter, going back about a hundred years or so," she said as she looked up at Shane. "Exactly," Shane replied. About that time Miles came up to join them. He was healed but still worn out from the battle. "I'm sorry for your friend, but what are you talking about?" He asked. Shane sighed. "The name, Eric Hunter, has been passed down for over a hundred years now." "Passed down?" "Yes. Once upon a time there was a meeting of some of the best Meisters to have ever existed. They each wanted to pass down their legacy through the generations; legacies of fighting evil and helping others. They decided that the best way to do this was to pass down their name to whoever was to succeed them. Someone who would continue their legacy and what they stood for. Eric Hunter was one of those Meisters."

Miles connected the dots relatively quickly. "So you mean the name Eric Hunter will die with him? Why not pass it down to someone else?" Shane shook his head. "It doesn't work that way. To receive one of the names from a previous Meister, you have to meet at least one of the three qualifications: You have to be a direct descendant of the Meister, you have to be a personal student of the Meister whom he took on to train, or you must have defeated the Meister in combat. Eric has no descendants and no pupils. That's why you've probably never heard of those names nowadays. Over the years many of the Meisters who took the names died in similar circumstances; fighting is what they do after all. There's only four such names left." He looked over at Eric's body. "Well, three now..." Miles followed Shane's gaze. "But Matt defeated him in combat, right?" Shane's attention snapped back to Miles. "So what? You think HE'S going to take on a legacy like that? He's a barbarian! It won't mean dirt to him! He'll probably just go back to calling himself "The Reaver". He won't even take his real name again." Miles shook his head. "No. You still have the seal with you, right? You can still seal the kishin egg away inside him?" "Yes..." "And you seal away some of his memories as well when you do that, correct?" Shane nodded. "Wait...seal away some of his memories? Why?" Nurse Mortem asked worriedly. Shane looked over at her. "We've found that if we just seal away the kishin egg, there's a very high chance that the person will just want to unseal it again since there's been no change to who they are or what they want. In order to prevent that, we usually erase some of their memories. Just to give them a chance to start over, and maybe make better decisions this time. Even then it often doesn't work. We try to seal away as little as possible. We don't want people to completely forget who they are or where they came from." "I suppose...that makes sense..." Nurse Mortem admitted.

Miles stared intently at Shane. "I want you to erase his memory of us." Shane gave a small laugh. "I can't do that; not completely. You're too deep in his memories, just like the arenas." "Then seal away our names. Blur our faces. Make it so he doesn't remember the names Matt, Magnus, Miles, Jason, Nurse Mortem, James, Scarlet. All of those people. And when he tries to picture our faces, it will be too blurry for him to remember." "Why?" "Exactly like you said. Give him a chance to start over. If he remembers us, or his own past before the Arenas, he'll come looking for us. I don't want that. He needs a chance to start over. Completely. He needs to find new people, new friends. And forget the relics of the past. At least until he has himself established as someone better than this. It's his best chance at starting over. Trust me, I know him." Shane thought for a moment and then sighed. "Okay, I think I can do that. But that means you all need to be gone by the time he wakes up." "We all need to leave here anyway, before the Arena Master can finish healing Magnus and come back to check on his precious arena." Miles looked around. The spectators were either dead or gone and much of the arena lay in ruins. "This should set him back for a while..." He looked back down at The Reaver. "Alright then..." he said. "Wait!" Said Nurse Mortem suddenly. Shane and Miles both looked at her. "Ask him." "Ask him what?" "Tell him about the name Eric Hunter and what it means. Then ask him if he'll take on the name." "There's no way he'll say yes." Nurse Mortem stood up, giving Shane a determined look. "You don't know that." "Oh come on. You really think-" "Ask. Him." Shane sighed. "Fine. I'll ask him one time. That's it." He knelt down by The Reaver. "Now go. I need to put the seal on him. Don't worry, I'll take him somewhere safe." Nurse Mortem and Miles both nodded. "Nurse, I don't recommend coming back here again. The Arena Master will be on the warpath once he gets back. He'll try and find anyone he can to blame, just to kill someone for it." "I know. I...I'll go somewhere else to find work." Miles looked down at Matt. "Goodbye Matt....I'll see you another time. I'm sure..." Shane held his hand over Matt as he began the sealing process. Miles Libertatis and Nurse Mortem turned and began walking towards the Arena exit. And then everything froze in place. Slowly, the world began to dissolve into ashes around them, fading away into nothing.

The final illusion was done. The group found themselves standing before a set of large, double-doors. They were in a small, stone room with no other doors or windows. They could be in the center of the Earth or another dimension entirely for all they could tell. But one thing was clear: Beyond this last set of double doors, Harold and the others waited for them.

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[ Soul ₩avelength/Resonance ° 15% ]

[ ₣eeling ° Fine ]

[ Partner ° Ina Zuma ]

[ ₩ith ° Ina, Shira, Aislin, Atticus, and Dara ]

[ Location ° Somewhere ]

((All three in one for now))