Chapter 215, The Guardian Shield of the Sacred Flower

Before us was an unfamiliar scene, an empty starry sky and a tree of light.

"Where is this?" I asked and then I see Will and the others beside me.

"Ethan? Where are we?" Will asked.

"Welcome, to the Tree of Origin." A man stood before us, with brown hair and a vibe very much similar to Arata. He was dressed in a black shirt with black pants and boots.

"Who goes there?" Dino raised his blade.

"I am Aster, the Third Generation Le Fluer." Thean introduced himself. "Welcome Braves, to the place where all Braves converge. The Tree of Origin."

"The Tree of Origin?! Then that tree made of light is the Tree of Origin?!" Van exclaimed.

"Indeed it is." Erika suddenly appeared. "This is where all Braves intersect."

"Here the sands of time move endlessly." Evergreen soon appears and one by one the previous generation of Le Fleurs arrive.

"Here in the place where Braves converge, we Le Fleur are able to manifest ourselves." Julius states.

"Here, we have wandered since the day our lives came to an end." Ivy stated.

"Here we have waited and here we have been guided, by the future we saw." Hazel smiled.

"Here, we watch the fate of the worlds." Gregory adds.

"Here every Braves memories are saved." Emilia states.

"And here, a long figure has watched the world since the beginning." Elias says.

"A lone figure?" Van asks and the nine point to silhouette beneath the tree.

"Who is that?" Liam asked.

"The last Le Fleur, to one who stands at the point of convergence without wavering nor faltering, as he watches the past, present and future." Aster says. "The one who has been guiding Braves to the right path, the one who has stood since the beginning. The Le Fleur who has been called by Fluer's Blood. The Tenth Generation Le Fleur, Arata."

Our eyes all try to make out the figure beneath the tree and we can vaguely see the silhouette of a young man. We try to get closer but the figure only seem to grow farther and farther.

"It's no use." Aster says. "No matter how hard you try, this is the farthest most can reach."

"We can't get closer to him?" Angie tried to ran but she only stumbled.

"The sands of time are cruel, they continue to flow, preventing people from reaching the Tree of Origin." Elias states. "It takes all the running you can just to stay in the same place, it takes twice that running to move forward."

"You better head back to the real world." Ivy says. "If you stay here for too long your minds might break."

"Break?" As I asked this, I hear cries coming from somewhere.

"The voices of the Braves have begun to grow loud." Evergreen says. "We'll send you back. The reason you came here was because Arata tried to touch the Vi Stream that you created."

"The Vi stream?" Monica asked.

"Vi convey more than just power, they also have the ability to convey our emotions. Because of this, Vi is often the path for emotions to pass through." Julius says. "When you create Vi Streams you also link emotions of all the people who created. Arata touched that stream so he ended up linking here."

"No matter what you mustn't let him touch these Vi Streams. He could very much kill himself." Hazel says and with a wave of their hands a light glows.

The next time I open my eyes, I'm back, Arata was standing beside me.

"You okay?" He asked and I nodded. Looks like he wasn't aware of what just happened.

"I'm fine." I answered and just then the explosion up above us forced me back to reality.

"Ethan, everything's up to you." He says and I nodded.

"Oh Ley Lines, I now beseech thee, I seek the power to bring about a miracle, grant me your blessings to purify this tainted ground!" I chanted. "Become a wave that shall wash away the sorrows, pain and malice. Purge of Purification!"

My shield shines a golden hue, and I can feel the Vi Stream enter it. There's so much Vi in it, I send this Vi to the barrier and a wave of light spreads in all direction. The Black Humunculus is pushed back along with Hamal but all other Aries are destroyed.

"I'm ending this right now!" I take to the skies and with my shield I set my sights on Hamal.

"Warden; Mirror!" My shield turns into a mirror and I slam it hard on Hamal who tries to block it with his barrier.

"Foolish human my barrier won't break!" He shouted but I just smiled.

"Warden; Devour!" Warden shines and the barrier breaks. "This is the end, Hamal!"

"This... can't... be..." With a shocked empression on his face, I slam my shield unto him and Hamal loses consciousness.

"Warden; Chrysalis Corruption." Around Hamal a veil begins to form, the veil drains the Vi from the body of those inside it. He won't wake up any time soon.

"Arata! I did it!" I called to him and just then I sense I mass of Vi and instinctively block it.

I turn to see that the Black Humunculus is very much still alive. It survived the blast and it seems to be bent on retrieving Hamal.

"Sweet Arms; Circle!" A ring of guns shoot at the Black Humunculus and it is send flying back.

"Verdict; Dragon's Fate! Flaming Trail!" A flaming dragon wraps around me and Hal like a guard.

"Chevalier, Legion of Swords!" Alistar's swords push the Black Humunculus back.

"Purge, Silver Light, Blades of Winds, Inverted Northern Wind!" Reinhardt throws his spear at the Black Humunculus as it tried to cast a spell. "Like I'd let you."

"Ataraxia; First Arrow; Arrow Trail!" Alexis' arrow trail after the Humunculus which takes to the skies.

"Like I'd let you take to the skies. Hysteria, Trails of Twilight!" With a slash, Zhen sends the Black Humunculus back down to the ground.

"That's as far as you'll get! Reaper, Harvest of Light!" With his scythe, Andrew slashes the Black Humunculus.

"This is it, Black Humunculus." Arata says as he lands before us, a sword in hand. "For Growth, I'm ending you here and now."