Upon arriving in the city of Shirogane, Azure blamed himself for not being able to stop the Garlean threat. "That look upon your face. You too have faced defeat against Zenos." a voice called out to him. A human, with a long ponytail and scars on his face spoke. "Quell thy condemnation, I will show you what determination looks like!" Quickly the man struck at him with a long, sharped curved blade known as a katana. Azure lifted up his sword, only to have it sliced clean in two. His eyes grew wide at the Doman steel, not once has he witness such craftmanship of this caliber. "I am Hien, let me teach you the ways of Doma." Moved by his boldness, Azure decided to accept his offer and began to study the art of the Samurai. They trained for many weeks in his own dojo, but Azure struggled to find drive after his devastating loss to the Garlean. Time not being on their side, they decide to go to the Azim Steppe, a land of fierce warriors that allied with Hien and his Doman cause located in the heart of Othard. Upon entering the beautiful green lands and rigorous mountains, Azure felt something. It wasn't the crystal, it wasn't the normal ethereal energy felt all through his life. It was... his home. His birth land. He looked around and saw nothing but fellow Au Ra. Many of his kind in various sizes, shapes and colors. Filled with joy like he's never known, he began talking with various Au Ra and most were shocked that he had never seen others like him before in such numbers. "Enough!" A loud voice echoed throughout the plains. Emerging from a massive ark that lied perched atop a small mountain, a towering Au Ra stepped forward. He was covered in tribal fur and a massive axe carved out of earth was chained to his back. "I am Magnai Oronir, leader of the Au Ra tribe!" The clan bowed their heads in respect and all eyes turned towards Azure. "You. Outsider. You claim to be one of us, yet you know not of our lands or beliefs. There is only one rule I follow, strength. Prove yourself before me!" Suddenly his earthen axe was drawn and he leaped high into the air. Plunging downwards right at Azure, The Warrior of Light barely slipped away as he slammed into the ground, creating tremors and hurling pieces of rock in every direction. Naadim! Naadim! Naadim! The crowd chanting, meaning a contest of strength amongst Au Ra. Not yet mastering the katana, Azure drew out his old spear and blocked the follow up attack from Magnai. Barely able to hold him back, the Au Ra leader swing his axe upwards and split his spear in two. Before bringing it down on Azure's chest, the Warrior of Light closed his eyes and relaxed. The crystal. His birthland. His fate. His destiny. All would be tested here, and not once would he allow himself to be defeated for lack of determination ever again. Hien looked from afar and smiled. "At last, he's ready." In a flash of light, a doman steel katana was drawn. Azure swung it forward with grace, deflecting the attack of Magnai. No longer being held down by faltering emotions, Azure confidently looked forward and deeply thought of the movement taught to him by Hien. He stepped forward in a blast of air and the blade ripped through all it touched. Magnai's weapon was immediately disarmed and crashed into the hut behind him. The Warrior of Light turned and drew blade right at the Au Ra leader's face. "Well... well done! Haha! You are but the fierce warrior everyone speaks of!" The normally stone-cold Magnai showed off a side of approval when faced against someone of greater strength. Joining the tribe as a lost one, Magnai and the tribe chronicler's discovered writings of Azure's origin, and truth. At last, he was to find out about the origins of his birth. Why he had ended up in Gridania and what fate befell his parents.
"Azim Kha" Magnai said upon entering the tent Azure was waiting in. "Your... true name." Azure's eyes opened. He never thought he would come to this day, but at last destiny had returned to his side. "Named after the forefather to all Au Ra, your parents... they were killed by Garlemond years ago during their previous invasion." Grief struck the Au Ra immediately, even though in his heart he always knew they were to be gone. "They sent you as a baby to Eorzea, a faraway land safe from the grip of the empire." Azure stood and thanked Magnai. It was the Garleans all along, they were the ones who took his birthright from him. With even further determination, he decided to stay and learn the ways of the Au Ra, while training more with Hien in the art of the Samurai. Upon competition, Azure said farewell and was ready to face Zenos once again. "Wait." Magnai called out. "We will come to your aid. You are no longer an outsider, you are brother." As he turned countless Au Ra cheered and mounted mighty birds known as Yol. He now had an army and would drive back Garlemond once and for all.
Entering the battlefields in Ala Mhigo, Azure lead the forces of Au Ra and Doma behind him. War ensued and at the heart of the conflict, Zenos stood. Calm and determined, Azure approached his opponent. "You must crave your own destruction. Very well, I shall give it to you once more." The Garlean mocked him. Yet it did not matter, he drew his blade and solemnly raised it. "For my homeland. For my parents. The day has come, Garlean! Your reign ends now!" He flashed forward in a blast of light and clashed blades. Shockwaves soared throughout the battlefield, leaving craters and debris in the aftermath. "You... You have grown stronger." The two exchanged blows, and before Zenos could draw again, Azure saw it. An opening. He closed his eyes and and sheathed his katana. There was but one moment, one path to take. "There!" he drew his blade with overwhelming force and sliced through Zenos. The mighty katana of the Garlean spun through the air and the attack launched sliced his chest straight through. The mighty Prince fell to his knees. "This power... What are you, a beast such as I?" Despite calling upon the purity of the light, darkness covered Azure's face. This was his chance for revenge, yet he could not take it. If he killed, slaughtered, and massacred, what made him different from the evil he faced? Azure faltered, then Zenos rose into the air and laughed menacingly. Clutching a shard of a dark crystal, he lifted it upwards and energy began spinning all around. A blast of light bolted towards the sky and clouds began forming overhead. "Shinryu, I summon thee! Lay waste to my enemies!" A primal was born. The ferocious dragon spiraled from the heavens and drowned the land in waves of water and electricity. Hien gasped "No.. not Shinryu, the eternal dragon of destruction..." Knowing it's true power he and the Scion's quickly grabbed Azure's arm and commanded retreat. "He cannot be defeated! Yet we know of a way. Come, quickly!" Hesitant, Azure went with them as Zenos' laughter echoed in the distance.
The group made it's way to the ruins of Baelsar's Wall. Hien spoke of Shinryu's legend, and an ancient being sealed within these ruins is the only thing capable of stopping it. No one knows how to break the lock placed upon the chambers, yet Azure felt the crystal radiate upon entering. Using the crystal shard, the lock instantly opened and Omega was released from it's tomb. The mighty mechanical being was much like a Primal but not of this world. It could not be controlled, and it promptly broke through the ruins upon activation. The autonomous being scanned the area high into the sky and immediately detected the power of Shinryu. Omega's formed changed and multiple large thrusters shot forth energy as it blasted to the Primal's location. The two immediately began to fight for supremacy. Earthquakes and thunderstorms forming around them as titans clashed in the heavens. "Now is our chance, we must strike down Shinryu once it's injured." Hien proclaimed, yet Alphinaud of the Scion's became worried. "Yet what of Omega, if the force is stronger than Shinryu how can we hope of defeating it?" The legend of Omega was once it becomes the most powerful force on the planet, it lays roots and begins reprogramming the world in it's image. That would be the opportunity to strike. As the battle continued, Omega fired a powerful charged force into Shinryu as it tumbled to the earth. Zenos approached the defeated Primal and extended his hand. "Mighty dragon... Become one with me, and we shall rule all of existence!" Zenos and Shinryu began forming together and the sheer amount of power surged outwards, and approaching Azure was pulled into the created realm. "Here... We cannot be disturbed. Let us end this, Warrior of Light!" Hien and Alphinaud tried approaching the spiraling barrier separating them from their comrade. No form of attack allowed entry, then a figure stepped forward. A hand reached outwards and with a faint cerulean glow, ripples formed.
Inside the dimension created by Zenos' newfound power, Azure was brought to his knees by the strength Shinryu had granted the Garlean prince. Black and red energy coarsed around him and his eyes became still with crimson. Even in the face of such power, the Warrior of Light stood firm. He drew his blade and called the power of the crystal. Hydaelyn, he called out. Yet the familiar power did not come to him. "I have blocked your link to the crystal, oh Warrior of Light. You will face me with your own strength!" The mighty Garlean moved forward and quickly overwhelmed Azure. The blows of his empowered katana knocked him off balanced and strike after strike, his powerful blade cut and sliced Azure's flesh. Brought to his feet, blood spilling all around him, Azure was faced with his own demise. This... was the end. Zenos laughed and fired a searing blade of energy from his weapon. Azure closed his eyes as the wave approached. How could he accept this? If only he could stand united... "Divine Benison!" a green barrier appeared before Azure and disintegrated the attack. Azure opened his eyes, and his heart swelled. A tall, long-eared Viera robed in white appeared through the barrier. She spun her long, holy staff around and slammed it's tip into the ground. "Benediction!!" light circled around the beaten Azure and filled his wounds with energy. He was immediately restored and brought to his feet. "You saved me... Storm." Her gaze did not waver. Her eyes locked on Zenos. "How dare you interrupt, foolish interloper!" He dashed forward, blade aimed right at Storm's heart. Something changed inside Azure. The power of the crystal returned, his shard resonating with Storm's own crystal shard and bright blue energy overflowed around them. He parried the oncoming attack, and sliced the air in front of him, knocking the Garlean back. Storm lifted her staff and channeled white energy at it's tip. "I will cast Holy, strike where my spell lands." Azure nods, and then sheathes his sword eyes closed, readying his next attack. The Viera rose high into the air and aimed her weapon right at Zenos, a massive burst of light and white magic spinning around him and then exploding outwards. Stunned by the bright and banishing magic, Zenos was blinded and then Azure opened his eyes. "Midare Setsugekka!!!" His weapon glowed with golden energy and slashed again and again, creating waves of bright energy each time, severing the target over and over. Upon sheathing, blood spilled from Zenos' mouth. "Defeated... by the light." he muttered as he fell to the ground. The realm dissipated and at last, the battle was over.
Upon reclaiming the lands and reuniting once again with his childhood companion, there was still one more threat Azure had to face. Omega had been awakened and taken root in a crater north of Ala Mhigo. It had begun to reshape reality in it's image, and desperately needed to be stopped. Azure and Storm entered the Datascape with help of the Ironwork's Cid, a former Garlean who had helped the Scion's forge powerful weapons and machinery in hopes of stopping the tyranny the Garleans had created. This realm of digital time and space created by Omega was nothing like they had seen before. Other dimensions and realms littered the sky and at the heart of it all was the true form of the machine. It took the form of a human to speak and confront the two Warriors of Light. "WHY. WHY DO YOU RESIST THE TIDES OF CHANGE?" it's mechanical and lifeless voice echoed throughout their minds. "Because... It is our destiny to do so." Azure said with determination. "We will not let you take out world!" Storm yelled fiercely, as the two took hands. The power of the crystal shined once again. Instead of granting them the normal echo, something was different. Vibrant green and blue swirled surrounded them and they saw a blurry vision of a woman. A goddess. Hydaelyn herself. "This is the true echo." her voice resonated within them. Omega rose up into the air and pulled a mighty weapon from thin air. It rushed at them and brought the blade down, suddenly a barrier repelled the attack and a woman stood before it. There she was, Hydaelyn, in the flesh. Her long blonde hair flowing around her. White robes of light glowing as they flowed in the sky. Her ethereal form spoke. "Omega. You were created to change this world in your imagine. This is my world, you do not belong here." The computer-like system responded "I DO NOT BELONG ANYWHERE. THIS IS NOW MY WORLD." It then began striking the barrier again and again. Though lifelike, it lashed out as if... it had a soul. "Calm yourself. I will give you a place. A world just for you. So that you may know peace." The goddess lowered the magic wall and cradled the struggling Omega and soon, it calmed. The two began shinning in a bright light and then disappeared. "Thank... you..." The realm faded and only two remained. Moved by witnessing such events, Azure and Storm turned to each other, a new bond formed. "Let's not leave each other's side again." The Au Ra spoke. Storm smiled and pulled back her hood and held out her hand. "Together, then. Always."
Years go by and the lands of Hydaelyn seemed to be at peace. Azure and Storm held a wedding in the Godswood of Gridania, becoming husband and wife. The two built a home deep in it's woods and lived a life of solitude and peace. Serenity had been given to Eorzea through their efforts and many spoke of the legends of the Crystal Bearers, the Warriors of Light. One night, Azure woke in the middle of sleep. Still dark out, he walked out his balcony and gazed upon a waterfall. Peaceful, he closed his eyes. A heavy shockwave soon filled his thoughts. A heavy, piercing ring sounded and he saw a vision. A prophecy of Hydaelyn. Her image dissolved into light and an angelic being crawled out of the earth. Pain and light flashed all around him and then he saw it. It looked like him, a copy of himself, standing before him in this dream. Yet something was different. Darkness flowed all around him, a sinister look in his eye. Black and purple energy flowed forward and a voice echoed. "Warrior... of Darkness."
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