During the summon of the four Legendary Heroes, deep within a forest, away from civilization, an ancient ruin of what seems to be the remains of a village, shrine, and temple. Flocks of Filolials are seen doing what they are training to do, preparing to defend their home from the waves. One special Filolial is looking at the sky, feeling the disturbance of the waves that already appear somewhere in the world.
It was like she already felt this disturbance time and time again. Over... And over again.
Fitoria: "...It seems the heroes have been summoned once again... Will these new heroes take their roles seriously? ...I doubt it..."
The young girl spoke in a quiet tone. She is wearing a red and white gothic Lolita-style dress and white sock-like silk boots. Red eyes, though the color is darkened. She is the Filolial Queen, her name is Fitoria, and she is much stronger than she looks. She sighed as she couldn't help but recall bits of memories of the past.
She had hoped that the new set of heroes would truly stop the waves. But years of disappointment have led her to believe that the waves will continue to go on forever, at least until the new heroes will have to make a choice. The world or the people.
It frustrates her that ever since she was entrusted with the mission given by her hero, the heroes weren't able to work together properly. Just fights and arguments, all so pointless and meaningless. It had impacted the world of how it viewed the heroes from properly doing their true roles as protectors.
Fitoria could still remember the bad memories of what the heroes of the past tried to do when they met her. When she first tried to get them to cooperate, only for them to try to kill her off for exp, to capture her to show off as they tame a powerful beast, and other bad intentions that proved they were unfit to be heroes.
The sword, bow, and spear heroes, all have problems of their own, some barely did their roles, and some decided to toy with the world without thinking of the consequences. Many, many times Fitoria has seen at least one of these heroes truly do their work, but the interferences of the world prevent the heroes from reaching their true potential.
For as long as Fitoria can remember, the Shield Hero is the only hero in the world who took their role seriously. Even in the past, she helped new Shield Heroes understand their role in fighting back the waves. She even grew attached to some of the Shield Heroes, but it was never the same as it was with the Shield Hero who raised her. Still, the Shield Hero would always be the most reliable even if she interfered or not. At least until a point in the past that forces her to cut herself off from the world.
Sadly, because of her force isolation, the past Shield Heroes to the modern day were left unsupervised by the Filolial Queen as previous wielders were caught up with conflict and politics. Even to the point where a country viewed the Shield Hero as a demon, even the evolution country she was from saw the three heroes as demons. It frustrates Fitoria how humans, demi-humans, and beastmen have fallen when it comes to their problems, the world is at stake, but they are still fighting among each other. She honestly couldn't care less about what people were doing out of petty, hate, all she cared about was the survival of the world and uniting the heroes.
Fitoria would always look back to her decisions, even when she doesn't remember what they were, wondering if she made the right ones. She could recall hearing someone long forgotten saying to her that choices will truly matter in the future. Just recalling the forgotten someone made Fitoria want to cry.
Fitoria couldn't help but place her hand where she could feel her soul. Her "special" soul. She even looks at the very weapon she was chosen to wield. No matter how hard she tries to recall their faces, to the ones who raised her, watch over her, and look after her, it will always be blurry. It saddens her that she forgot the people for whom she deeply cared.
Even the one who has looked after her ever since... That very day. Fitoria began to look back on a few memories of what she was able to remember. Even when it was so very long ago.
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In a past civilization that seems like it has been ruined by the waves but is currently being repaired by the demi-humans and beastmen. Two figures watched as they could see a battle between someone and an army.
Fitoria: "—, do you think that Miss —, would be okay with dealing with the army the enemy kept sending?"
Fitoria, who looked a bit younger, speaking with a man in a suit of armor with the Legendary Shield on his left arm with a helmet on his right hand. She sounds very concerned as she looks at the distance where someone is currently dealing with an army that is supposed to raid their homes.
"Fitoria, I trust —, she was the reason why I was able to accept my pain and suffering. It was thanks to her that she was able to bring — back to life. Meeting her was the best thing that could have happened to me. She really is something special, a special person that we can all trust."
The armored man spoke as he gave Fitoria a confident look, he truly trusted the person who was handling the enemy army from getting further in Siltran. By the looks of it, the person who is fighting with the army seems to be easily taking out the entire army as if they were ants.
Fitoria: "Even when Miss — told me that you didn't trust them when you first met them?"
The man's eyes widened for a quick second before having to hold back a laugh.
"Well, she did appear out of nowhere, even after killing the traitor, she was still suspicious, especially when she claims to be at level 1. Not even sure why she said LOVE, the system might be different from her world and ours. Still, it was strange for her to just appear, I was brought here by the summon but — said she just appeared outside of Siltran."
Fitoria could remember hearing the words of others saying that — had just suddenly showed up one day after the king of Siltran was just killed as the spy was about to get away until he encountered them. They easily kill the man, but they just suddenly collapse after fighting with bare hands.
Fitoria: "Maybe the waves might have something to do with it, from what you told me, master, there are enemies that are behind the waves. Perhaps their games went too far and brought them in from their world."
Both of them gave each other a thoughtful expression, trying to figure out something.
"That could be a possibility, but you remember what she said, she never heard of the Cardinal Weapons, Vassal Weapons, or anything related to this world. So there could be a chance that THEY may have gotten — into our world by accident. THEY did force us heroes to fight against other worlds with their own Legendary Weapons. So maybe THEY got a normal world to be mixed up with ours."
Fitoria: "But would that mean Miss —'s world is in danger since they are here? Or would have already been destroyed as Miss — didn't explain what her people can do."
"I doubt it, Fitoria, —'s expression would have been similar to mine, maybe more than I could have been if that was the case. Her world could still be alive and was able to survive the wave that THEY had brought to her world. Still, she has been doing her best for us, the demi-humans, and dealing with THEM it is a miracle that her SAVE file has been helping."
Before Fitoria could ask about the SAVE file, the two saw someone flying towards them. They immediately knew who it was as a young woman with a purple glow surrounding them soon landed in front of them. The purple glow turned back to red as it faded. They let out a heavy breath as they just finished dealing with an army.
They're wearing half armor with their clothes underneath, a green sweater with a yellow stripe, red-brown pants, and shoes, brown hair, rosy cheeks, and brown eyes (though sometimes red eyes). They give the two a reassuring smile that says that the battle was won on their side.
Fitoria immediately ran towards the young woman and hugged them as they laughed as they hugged back while giving her a head pat. They turn back to the man in armor as their expression shows seriousness.
"—, you could have helped me hold back those bastards from advancing towards Siltran."
The young woman pouted as if they were trying to act like they were doing all the hard work, but deep down they knew that the demi-humans and beastmen were still being trained to fight against the army of the enemy as their military power was greater than they have ever seen.
"Come on, —, you should know by now that I can only defend and do a bit of attack. You're the opposite of me as you attack while barely defending yourself."
The young woman laughed as she smacked the back of their companion.
"Heh, no wonder we would make a great team if we were both in battle. Still, Piensa still keeps sending them here. Sooner or later, one of the so-called gods would interfere with Piensa and invade us with more power. If this were to happen then it would expose me as my determination is the only way for me to hurt THEM."
Both of them are aware of who is causing the problem, as well as knowing the individuals of the waves.
"You're right —. Still, we need to ensure the safety of our people and have more resources to continue the attacks."
"Could your shield do something about food and resources? From what I've seen so far it could do anything. Unless there are limitations like your attack stat."
The man in armor sighs in frustration, which tells them that there is such a limitation.
"Unless I can unlock a shield that can make crops and plants grow faster and produce more food. Our best bet is having — created something that my shield could unlock which would help us with resources."
The young woman sighs in frustration.
"We're running low on healing items, and the waves are only making the situation worse. Piensa won't stop until they take every relic that Siltran and the Sanctuary have. They are so focused on claiming holy relics instead of what is happening around us and them. Even THEM are pulling the strings as THEY continue to stop us from gathering more strength to properly fight back."
"I know, and the fact that the Bow Hero is allowing this to happen. I was honestly glad that I was able to get his strengthening methods before this whole conflict started."
The young woman sneered at the mention of the Bow Hero.
"I swear his sense of 'justice' is deeply misplaced, especially since in that one load I was able to feel that the Legendary Bow did not like its choice. Yet it chooses to do nothing about it! One of my friends back home would have been the better Bow Hero than that pretender."
The armored man looked at the gem on his shield as he looked back at the young woman.
"You know it is still surprising that other than — you can feel the Weapon Spirits, at least can feel what they are trying to say."
"I know! All I did was to empower you with determination and I felt the Legendary Shield was trying to speak to me by glowing. I wonder what would happen if I become a spirit and be able to fully understand what they are trying to say."
"That is a big what if —. Still, even if the Bow Hero is not fully active, that doesn't mean we can try to let him see the error of Piensa's ways. Maybe then he'll see just how dangerous this war is."
"...If that doesn't work out then I'll find a way to snap him to reality painfully and justified."
The two spoke a bit longer while Fitoria just watched, she looked at her weapon, wondering if the Vassal Weapon itself chose the right wielder. She had just been able to get a soul to wield the Vassal Carriage. She was still getting used to her new responsibility to help her master and friend save the world.
Before Fitoria could think of anything else, a soft touch was felt on her head as she saw Miss —.
"Hey, I know this is a big responsibility for you. But we need to have more people to help us with this conflict. Once this is all over we can enjoy our lives in peace, to make sure you have a normal life with no war or waves happening. Just please bear with this until things get better."
Fitoria smiled at the reassurance of Miss —, she knew that with them they'd be able to push back the army and ensure the safety of the home she was created to protect alongside her kind master.
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The memory ended as Fitoria carefully wiped the tears that managed to leak from her eyes. She would always hope that one day she'll be able to remember their faces. But each day would just be losing more bits of memory of the past. Still, she ensured she wouldn't completely forget the two people she treasured most.
Fitoria: "...It's been years ever since you left, both of you. Even though Fitoria has forgotten about you and them, I can still remember the missions you both gave to Fitoria."
Uniting the heroes was her hero's last wish she heard from them. Even to go as far as to kill future heroes if they are very far from cooperating, even killing the Shield Heroes who got along with her. It was clear that what her hero said was true as the years went by. She lost count of how many heroes she killed when they weren't fully active in the waves. She was even tasked with protecting the home where her fellow Filolials are residing.
Even another task that nobody knows besides her unless someone with a similar soul as her was summoned to this world. She wasn't exactly sure why, but she could briefly remember that someone with a soul like hers would be the key to ending the waves for good. But sadly, even with the heroes she killed, none of them process unique souls like hers. It made her believe that nobody would ever appear with a soul like that, even when the previous one had suddenly shown up one day.
Fitoria doesn't understand why the unique soul was the key to ending the waves, only she has that kind of soul, but it sadly lost its color. All she could remember was that "Determination" gave her a unique ability to change anything just by a press of a button. A file to go back to, a file to SAVE. Fitoria could remember using the SAVE file to hopefully get the heroes to not fight with each other, but that sadly resulted in the same thing happening over, and over no matter how many times she went back.
She tried it on future heroes, but it was like the world wanted the heroes to fight each other. Every effort she tried to do would always end up failing. It caused her to not rely on the SAVE file if this was how it was going to be. The only thing that she would do on the SAVE file was to restore her HP, MP, SP, and EP, even to save progress when she felt like it would be good to save. It has helped her whenever she needed a quick recovery.
The soul did give her another ability, LOVE, she couldn't recall when, but it reached the max during her mission. She was surprised that it didn't affect her like how it affected them. Maybe her being the Filolial Queen might have something to do with it, but she knows it had to be something else. Still, it gave her strength and power to keep on fighting until the waves vanished, not to be seen until years later.
She gazed at the sky as her field of vision showed the timer of the next wave appearing. Dragon Hourglasses were not located only in populated areas, it was even located in wild areas. In fact, she is in charge of the wild areas while the heroes are in charge of the nations. Many, many battles she endured all for the sake of the promises she made.
Fitoria: "Just a day left until the next one. Just how many more years can I endure with the mission? How many more heroes will be summoned until the perfect ones can finally appear?"
She sighs as she begins to walk back to her duties as queen, walking back to where her subjects are currently training. Fitoria can say her fellow Filolials are stronger and faster than an average Filolial. She personally trained them so they could aid her in fighting the waves. She walks through the empty ruins, seeing nothing but rubble and pieces of what used to be homes. Nothing... Not even a...
Fitoria: "...Wait...!"
She stops as she looks back at the ruins, empty, nothing different. Not even a shining star.
Fitora quickly walked to where she had last seen the star, but it didn't appear or show itself to her. As if the star itself had finally decided to no longer show up. She even opened up a different menu that came from the soul she absorbed, the menu was still there, but Fitoria was wary. She had assumed the star would have vanished when the soul lost its color, but it stayed with her until today. She soon came to a realization.
Fitoria: "This could only mean... Someone with a special soul is here! And possibly have the same soul as I have, but more powerful."
Even if she doesn't remember the names of the different souls, she does know there are seven of them, and determination is the strongest. Fitoria could remember the mission she was given by them, to ensure that any human with special souls that appears here would aid the heroes to help them. Even to watch over them to ensure that they don't reach the max of LOVE as it was said by them would bring destruction and ruin if they ever reach the absolute.
Fitoria now knew what she had to do now that the SAVE file belonged to someone else. She would have to find the human herself to watch over. She closed her eyes as she began to concentrate on her soul. A method that was taught by them to sense anyone with special souls. She nearly forgot how to use the method, but thankfully she did the method from time to time to see if by chance the one would appear out of nowhere. She was able to use it as she began to feel her soul trying to connect with the soul that had arrived in this world.
Sadly, it did not connect, as if the special soul did not fully present itself. She couldn't even properly pinpoint which direction it was located. All she could sense was...
Fitoria: "It's very far... But hidden as well. Perhaps the user is trying to conceal their identity, or the soul itself is preventing me from detecting it. Or my soul isn't in proper shape. Hopefully, it is with one of the heroes. I'll have to send in a few of my subjects to hear anything about the heroes. Hopefully, they will be able to hear or see the heroes."
Fitoria would walk to where she was supposed to go as she spoke with a few Filolials, giving them tasks of finding the heroes and reporting their activities. She would find the soul user during her battle with the waves. If by chance she happened to run with one of the heroes, there could be a chance that the one with the determination could be with them. Once she had time during her duty to fight the waves, she would look for the human herself.
She promised them, she swore she would fulfill the missions that couldn't be done in the past. Her hero, her caretaker, Fitoria would fulfill the promises she made with them.
Suddenly, without Fitoria knowing, her soul slowly recovered a bit of red, but it died out quickly. Her red eyes became lighter but went back to dark. The soul felt like she was very slowly gaining back the trait she lost. Even Fitoria was feeling something deep within her, but she couldn't get the words out. All she knew it had to be determination.