Disclaimer: Greetings, friends. It's been a long time. As I promised to back in 2013, I've once again taken my pen to the page and have begun revising all of my old stories here, attempting to shape them into the stories I feel they have the potential to be, rather than the disappointments they had become, and so it's with great pleasure that I present to you my revised version of Tales of Symphonia: Dark Destiny. The old story was really quite dear to my heart, but I felt as though there were too many inconsistencies, plot holes, and focused entirely too much on my own characters, rather than the story as a whole. Additionally, the cast has grown and changed very much since I first began work on the story back in 2009, when I was still only sixteen, and so to keep them the way they were feels like an injustice. I had initially planned on revising older stories first, but as this story gave birth to a character that has brought so much to my life and made me quite a few new friends, it has a lot of sentimentality in it for me, and it only felt right to fix this one up first. A hearty thank you to those who are choosing to read my work, and whose interest was kept this far. In each chapter, before each chapter name will be a song title that I've associated with this particular chapter, whether because that is what I listened to while writing, or because I felt it fit. Without further ado, let us begin.

I do not own Tales of Symphonia, any of its characters, themes, locations or content. They belong to Namco and Nintendo.

Song: World Map – Legend of Legaia OST

Prologue

As the stars crept across the night sky, marching ever onward in their celestial journey across the heavens, the land beneath them was silent, save for the light breath of wind that picked its way through the trees, rustling the leaves ever so slightly as it went. Despite the breeze, the night was warm, as it tended to be as summer drew nearer, carrying the scent of the blossoming flora with it, leaving the air fragrant and sweet. The only light across the mountainous terrain that sprawled between the towns of Asgard and Hima came from the moon, the stars, and the light of a single torch held aloft by a young man.

He stood alone, pale face illuminated by the firelight, his breathing as silent as the night around him. His armor clinked lightly as he shifted his feet, adjusting the broadsword that hung across his back, its sleek metal glinting as the torch flickered in the breeze. Not a trace of emotion crossed his features, save for a small crease that formed between his eyebrows as his eyes rested upon the colossal structure that rose to the heavens before him, scarcely visible against the dark sky.

It had been a long time since this structure had been seen across these lands, longer than anyone alive today could remember, and the fact that it had appeared had sent a shiver of excitement across the country, bringing a sense of wonder and hope to most, and of dread to some. The Desians would surely be uneasy with this development, and were likely to grow more hostile toward unwary travelers in the coming months. His eyes narrowed as he considered the implications of what the Tower of Salvation's appearance meant.

The oracle of Cruxis had descended upon Sylvarant.