Tale of the Warring Nations

By: Asagi Tsuki

Pairing: Shinkai (not necessarily in this order. I just list it this way because Shinkai sounds better -_-;;;), mentions of other pairings. I'll be kind and mention right out that this will be KaitoShinICHI, not KaitoShinKU :D but there will be mentions of HeiShinKU, HakubaShiho (again), and one-sided AokoKaito

Warning: AU, OOCness (some characters WILL be OOC), fem!Shinichi who's named Shinku

Disclaimer: obviously, DC is not mine. If it were, it would be so lame, that this fandom would be non-existent. Also, Odin Sphere, the game that became the basis of this fic, is developed by Vanillaware

A/N: after the remake of LoM's Jumi Arc, now is the remake of Odin's Sphere's Valkyrie and Knight books, meaning, this story will only focus on Gwendolyn and Oswald's stories :D to those of you who don't play the game, no worries. I'm still halfway through the Valkyrie book as well, so most of the story here is taken right from Wikipedia :P I added a few things and changed a couple of things as well, so it's not exactly like the original game, so if you find any of the facts out of place, do excuse them and let me rewrite some of the facts. Also, the chapters of this fic is significantly shorter than Pandora's Box's chapters, probably about half of them or something. Also, following Pandora's Box, I will include a small introductory passage explaining the setting of this story so that there will be no confusion :D

If you manage to get convinced by this story, well, that's really an ego boost xDDD enjoy anyway~

By the way, following the pattern of Pandora's Box, but even more extreme, all chapters of this fic are titled with soundtrack titles :D not all of them are on my playlist, but I still think most of the game's soundtracks are really nice

Italics are flashback, if you don't know :D

NB: I'm bored and have been writing a lot. And I really mean a lot :D if you do enjoy this fic, please leave a review coz I'm a comment whore like that :P

Prologue – The Ruined Landscape of Nations at War

In a world named Erion, stood five kingdoms. The number used to be six, but since the fall of one, it went down to five. The ruined kingdom was the kingdom of Valentine, which stood between the kingdom of Ragnanival and the kingdom of Ringford. It was rumored that the king of Valentine went insane and that brought about the fall of the kingdom.

Ragnanival, the other kingdom, was ruled by Odin. His army mostly consisted of valkyries, giants, and dwarfs. Ragnanival was a strong country with barbaric men, but there weren't any healers on their side, so those who were injured during a war mostly ended up dead if their wounds were grave enough.

Ringford, meanwhile, the kingdom of fairies, weren't so. They were famous for healers and mages, as well as summoners. It was said that the fairy queen Elfaria had a dragon at her disposal, but this was yet to be proven true. To the west of this kingdom was the snowy mountain Winterhorn Ridge, where the fabled dragon Wagner lived.

Titania, a city-state to the side, near to the Forest of Elrit, remained neutral even when Ragnanival and Ringford went to war again and again. Volkenon, the fire country in the middle of a volcano, also remained neutral, although it had promised to help Ragnanival if situation called for it.

The last kingdom wasn't actually a kingdom. It was the underworld kingdom Endelphia, ruled by the underworld queen Odette.

This is a story of different characters who are involved in the fight to destroy a sacred object that has caused endless wars...

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

A young man stood in the middle of a battlefield, grasping onto a blue crystal-tipped spear tightly. He was dressed in a valkyrie uniform, a position of knighthood that was usually filled by a woman. He was an exception. He fought not only for his country, not only for his father, but also for his sister who died an untimely death defending her country with all her might.

"Prince Shinichi! Something bad has happened! Captain Shinku was surrounded and her army decimated!"

A young man standing by the side of the battlefield, watching the events unfolding in front of his eyes, widened his eyes in surprise. "Where is she?" he asked, a note or urgency in his voice as he rushed to the valkyrie soldier who approached him. "Where is Shinku?"

"Over there," the valkyrie said, motioning at the general direction. "She managed to defeat the enemy's unit, but she's gravely injured. No one in our kingdom could treat her, so we thought of telling you and King Odin."

Shinichi didn't listen to her explanation. His mind was racing with thoughts of losing his only sibling—his sister who had loved him even when their father treated them so indifferently. His sister who had always been together with him in his quest to gain acknowledgement from their father.

"Shinku!" Shinichi exclaimed when he saw the young woman lying weakly and helplessly on the battleground, her armor stained with her blood. "Shinku, hang in there. We'll get you to safety."

Shinku slowly opened her eyes, and smiled when she saw Shinichi. "No, Brother. It's too late," Shinku said, smiling at him. "You have to live, Shinichi. Live for me and for yourself. Your good luck has not come yet."

"Has yours?" Shinichi asked as he frowned.

"Of course," Shinku said as she chuckled, the voice strained. "You are the best brother I could ask for. Father even told me he's so proud of me for being his best general. What more could I ask for?"

"Your life isn't all about this," Shinichi said, shaking his head, tears welling his eyes. "Your life has much more meaning than this, Shinku. Don't die. Not yet."

"I will be with you," Shinku said softly, holding onto Shinichi's face with her right hand. "Always. Until you find your happiness, I will not abandon you. I will be with you in spirit."

"Shinku..."

"Take this," Shinku said as she held up her spear. "This is Gungnir, my prized spear. Father gave it to me, and I want you to have it. Use it to defend what you believe in."

"I..." Shinichi frowned as he accepted the blue-tipped spear. "I will fight for this country in your place. I will not let your sacrifice be in vain. We will win this war."

"No, Shinichi," Shinku said as she shook her head. "This war will have no end. You have to fight for peace. I believe you can do that."

"But—"

"Remember, whatever your heart tells you is true. Nothing can affect your soul," Shinku said as she smiled at Shinichi. "This is not goodbye. Not yet. I'll watch over you. Always..."

"Prince Shinichi, please retreat," a dwarf said as he rushed towards Shinichi. "Ringford's Shadow Knight is here. He is the fabled knight who gained boundless power from the queen of netherworld herself."

"Is he responsible for Shinku's death?" Shinichi asked as he stared at the dwarf.

"I wouldn't put it that way. I'm not sure myself," the dwarf said, then panicked when Shinichi rushed towards the Shadow Knight instead. "Prince Shinichi!"

"Halt!" Shinichi shouted as he swung his spear at the Shadow Knight and caused him to stop. The knight then assumed his human form, and Shinichi noted that he looked just like a normal young man who was unwilling to fight a pointless war. His eyes were tired, and his stance slightly slouched.

The knight stared at Shinichi. "What do you want?"

"I will avenge my sister," Shinichi said determinedly.

"I didn't kill her," the knight said easily.

"How would you know that?" Shinichi asked as he glared at the knight. He brought up his spear and pointed it at the knight. "Draw your weapon. We will settle the score here."

"Even if it means losing your life?" the knight asked wearily.

"I'd rather die with my sister," Shinichi said, his tone solemn. "Now draw your weapon!"

The knight moved fast. Faster than he thought possible. The next second, he was already on the ground, pinned down by the knight who had his red-tipped Psypher sword against his neck.

Shinichi stared into the deep amethyst eyes of the knight as the knight stared back. Finally, he asked, "how long are you going to keep me pinned down? Aren't you going to kill me?"

The knight stared some more at Shinichi, then pulled back. "I didn't kill your sister," he said. "And I never said anything about killing you. You have to live."

"Why?" Shinichi asked, frowning. "Why should I live? Give me a reason!"

"Because I told you to," the knight said simply. "Live."

With that said, the knight went off, just as more valkyrie knights came to be his back up. Shinichi stared at the retreating figure of the knight, and decided on one thing.

He would stay alive until he could avenge his sister.

End of Prologue

Well, that's it :D I hope you enjoyed that. If you do, please leave a review~