Delita stalked quietly in the dark tunnels of the Zone Eater, trying to find his comrades, but slowly getting more and more agitated. The idea that he felt someone or something following him did not help. But he played the shadowy figure's little game and marched along the tunnel way, looking for some type of slimy clearing.
That's about when he found it.
Or rather, he found himself.
A black-clad knight stood erect upon his entering the cavern and merely nodded upon his arrival.
"Greetings, traitor."
"Come again?" Delita drew his sword, Legend, bright and gleaming from his sheath.
"I figured I wouldn't even have to bother looking for you, since you would eventually find me."
"Then who was following me? Speak up!"
The black knight looked innocently at him, "It wasn't me..."
Delita looked at the armor he remembered so familiar, but remembered the guilt and shame that came along with wearing it. Even Ovelia's blood was still stained red upon the black sword this evil knight bore.
"You don't have to tell me about my past; I already know I'm guilty."
"I figured as much; you're not as blind as I was going to say you were. But there is something I've got to tell you; I'm torturing the others with the truth of their own lives; and....it's your fault."
"The truth really doesn't matter anymore to me....whether it's my fault or not, you will be destroyed. I have no use for a dark past like you."
"Ooh, spoken like a true hero; only one problem; what makes you so sure you'll win. I mean, you're not exactly a Zodiac Brave or anything, no stone, no powers, just that weird sword of yours. On top of that, what makes you so certain you won't want me back, after all, I made you king of all Ivalice...."
"That...I guess, is just something I'll have to deal with. With the throne, or without it."
Delita stood in a perfect stance, that of a defensive position as the Black Knight charged up his Dark Sword attack, and a massive wave of darkness washed over Delita, the pain was nearly unbearable, but he still stood.
"You really think you can withstand your own Death Sword?"
"I've dealt with death before, I think I can deal with you."
Another wave washed over Delita, this time he fell to one knee, only Legend holding his frame up.
"Ha! You're a fool, Delita! You're no Paladin, you're nothing compared to me!"
That's when Delita noticed, he was in the same kneeling position that he once held to take the Oath of Fealty.
"I do so swear--to God and to my compatriots..."
"You think a simple prayer to a dead god will save you? You're a dead man, Delita!"
".... that I shall uphold his word and his orders...."
Another massive wave of darkness fell over Delita, that pain making him gnash his teeth.
"...should the church betray me or hell destroy me--"
More waves, each pain intensifying even more than the previous.
".....I shall love my God with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength..."
Delita's nose was bleeding now, and the waves kept on coming.
"...and by this sword I drive into his earth I make my oath of fealty..."
He could feel a warm trickle come from his ears, it had to be blood.
"...I shall love and protect my neighbor as my own soul--I so swear this..."
"Are you insane....take me in your heart or you'll kill us both....!?"
A slender hand touched Delita's shoulder, he recognized the family horse breeding signet ring.
It was Teta's…
For some reason, he instinctively touched his chest and seemed to be able to reach inside it, as if he felt his heart. It was pure and warm, he wanted to take it out and show everyone how he felt. He grasped at it and a form appeared in his hand.
"A....stone...?"
"It's yours," a young vibrant woman's voice spoke, she sounded like Teta, but he wasn't so sure yet. Teta was gone, it was his fault, he knew it couldn't be her.
He looked at the green glowing stone.
Serpentaurius--Deceiver. A symbol of a snake etched on it.
"Is...this...my...Zodiac Stone?" He asked. The pain seemingly nothing more than dark flashes than pain.
The woman answered, he still didn't see her face yet, her voice sounded so much like Teta, he wanted to believe, but was still unsure, "Yes. They show us who we are inside, then who we are destined to become."
Another stone seemed to appear within his field of vision, it was in the woman's other hand. A bright healthy green color, deeper than his, glowed in the stone.
Capricorn--Generosity. A symbol of the horn of plenty etched within it.
"I'm the Thirteenth Brave, aren't I?" he asked the woman.
"You now know all the truth....now you can truly fight him." A slender finger pointed at the laughing, mocking knight who seemed to enjoy every bit of misery and suffering he gave to anyone and anything, even if it was himself.
As he stood, the pain was gone, no blood, no dark waves, they seemed to get deflected off him and he knew for certain who the woman was. He looked at his sword, Legend, which glowed a bright Silver, and noticed that now 13 glyphs were etched on the sword. Grasping the hilt he charged at the Black Knight.
"How can you be standing! You were dying a minute before? Who is that woman?" The Black Knight shrieked.
"You ought to know her, she's my sister!" Delita said and with a massive swing, cut the knight straight down the middle, the rays of light emanating from his sword disintegrating any remains left of what the Black Knight once was.
