Book 4

Golden Sun: Dazzling Dusk

Chapter One — Reunion and the Promise of More Adventure

Author's Note:

Before I begin with this, I would like to say that I'm going to try my hardest to make the continuation of Dark Dawn's story to the best of my ability. I want to make this feel just like any of the Golden Sun , as such, I am going to try to address all of the points that many have brought up and people said they wanted to see resolved such as Sheba's origin and what happened to the rest of the Warriors of Vale. Basically, since we may never see the ending to Matthew's story, I am going to try to make something that will feel as the end should.

Chapter One — Reunion and the Promise of More Adventure

Matthew pointed to the right, a worried look etched about his countenance. There, looming dark and dangerously over the plateau he and Tyrell called home was a massive, swirling Psynergy Vortex... His two friends glanced over and... the emotions passing through them in that moment were a surge of dread, fear, uncertainty, worry, and despair. Without another word, the blonde rushed along the bridge, his yellow scarf billowing out behind him as he did so. His brows furrowed as his feet pounded against the ground, stirring up clouds of dust where they struck. In one quick motion, he flung open the door of the Lookout Cabin, expecting it to be in disarray, but, to his shock, everything was alright inside. In fact... it seemed as if nothing had changed. He paused for a moment, allowing his heart to cease its massive thudding. After a second, his stormy blue eyes landed on his father's face. The blonde haired man was asleep, his arms curled under his head as he sat at the table, a quill still in his right hand. This resulted in a sigh of relief from the boy as he went over to him, a soft smile gracing his visage as he took the writing feather out of his father's hand and placed it back in the ink jar.

It was at this point in time that the two who had accompanied Matthew on the quest from the very start entered the building, the same expression of bewilderment crossing their faces. "Wait... Where's my dad..?" inquired the red head as he glanced at Isaac, glad he was alright at the very least.

"Maybe he went out?" suggested Karis.

"Hold on... Dad will know, I'm sure..." spoke the younger blonde as he carefully placed a hand on the elder Venus Adept's shoulder, shaking him lightly. "Dad. Hey, Dad... Dad!"

"...What?" responded Isaac as he sat up properly in the chair and spotted the three children. For a moment, he contemplated whether or not he was dreaming before deciding that they were indeed there in reality. "Matthew," he voiced, standing up and embracing his son who returned the gesture, a tear falling down his cheek.

Honestly, he was happy that he could once again see his father, thinking that there was a very high possibility that he and the others could have died on their journey, reflecting in his mind for a minute that he himself as well as Sveta very well almost did suffer the fate of death. "Dad... Where's Uncle Garet..?"

"He should be upstairs. He was attempting to observe Sol Sanctum once more, but we've yet to have any luck discerning what could be causing these Psynergy Vortexes..." Upon hearing this, Tyrell went up the stairs as quickly as he could, out of sight in an instant.

"We saw that huge one outside and thought that something bad had happened to you and Garet, Isaac. Matthew was very worried," spoke Ivan's daughter.

"It's been there for a few days and has only gotten larger... but so far, it's not much of a danger to us here, fortunately. However... I fear that this one may just be larger than the Mourning Moon..."

The blonde boy nuzzled his father before stepping back and saying, "...Well... Now we have the Mountain Roc Feather Ivan needed to build a new soarwing. You can finally check out Sol Sanctum and attempt to get to the bottom of this..."

Isaac stared at him for a moment before a proud smile broadened across his features. "You've grown to be quite the leader, haven't you? I'll want to hear all about your adventure after we get this feather to Ivan in Kalay."

"We're going to Kalay? Can we... stop in and see Mom?"

"...Why not? Might be a while before we can return there again."

"I'll go get Tyrell and Garet," offered the wind adept as she prepared to go up the stairs.

"We'll be leaving in the morning. You kids just got back and need to rest before we set out on another adventure," interceded Isaac as he placed a hand on Matthew's shoulder.

The blonde child looked up at the elder earth adept, stifling a yawn as he did so. True... it was dusk. The evening was slowly coming to an end. But... he did wonder why they weren't setting off immediately. True. They needed rest, and, his father did allow them to rest for the night following the trek through Tanglewood and the Psynergy Stone Mines, but the fate of their world could be threatened by that vortex outside... Why would he suggest resting? However, he wasn't given much more time to think on this as, for a split second, the boy's eyes flashed a bright golden shade, the same color slightly casting his body with a light hue. He placed a hand on his forehead, feeling dizzy as he attempted to steady himself, but failed, leaning heavily into his father who caught him with an alarmed look. "Nn..."

"Matthew? Are you alright?" he inquired, quickly getting the child off of his feet, holding him securely.

"...I... think so... Yeah... Just... give me a moment."

"...Wait... That gold thing happened once before... at the Apollo Sanctum," stated Karis, her eyes distant for a split second as she recalled what she thought had happened then.

"I see... then... As much as I would have liked to have waited until after we returned to hear the events that transpired, I'm starting to think that it can't wait... And... I'm beginning to wonder if you three were caught in that odd darkness that covered most of Angara, even reaching as far as here. Go get Garet and Tyrell, Karis," instructed the bearded man as he carefully placed his son on the nearby couch.

"Alright!" With that, the girl mounted the stairwell, proceeding upward.

"Dad!" called Tyrell as soon as he managed to get up the stairs, tackling his father in a hug.

"Tyrell? When did you get back?" questioned the mustachioed fire adept as he wrapped his arms around his child, tightly, a firm, welcoming embrace.

"Just now. We're home."

"I'm glad to see you all made it back safe and sound. Wait- Matthew and Karis did come back with you, right?"

"Yeah? Don't see why you think they wouldn't make it."

"I was just a bit concerned that maybe they wouldn't have been able to handle you."

"Dad, I'm not the same stubborn little brat I was when we left."

"I can see that, and... I'm actually quite proud of ya'," he spoke, fondly.

"Dad? You think Mom would be if she still was alive?"

"Yeah... I do..." he replied, a sorrowful sigh in his voice.

This caused Tyrell to smile, as a couple tears fell from his blue eyes. It was hard for him, seeing how Matthew's mom was still alive. At least he could actually know what she thought of him, but Tyrell? All he had left was his father. It hurt and... it was particularly rough when he was a naive child... Looking back on it, he acted harsh towards his dad from time to time lashing out at him for seemingly no apparent reason, and he was starting to feel a slight twinge of regret. He didn't know how hard Garet had it raising him all on his own. Yes... there was Isaac able to lend a helping hand, but, it must not have been the same...

At that moment, Karis bounded up the stairs, her face a serious mask as she said, "Tyrell, Garet, we need you two downstairs."

"Alright. We'll head down."

"Karis, everything okay?"asked the younger Mars Adept, catching a bit of anxiousness.

"Well, that's what we're going to try and figure out. Hurry up," she ordered, going back down the steps to the lower floor, Tyrell and Garet right behind her. Once in the living room, the young red head cast a glance at the small earth adept, noting that he seemed even more exhausted than when they reached the plateau.

"Now that we're all present... Matthew, Tyrell, Karis... Please, tell us everything that happened..."

The children glanced at each other, tired shadows under the blonde's eyes as they tried to figure out the best way to tell it. "Tyrell... Can you go first..? I'll take over after we get to where we met up with Kraden for the first time..."

"Got it, Matt. Here goes..."

So, for a while, the kids relayed their tale, as, every now and then, Isaac or Garet would pose a question, comment, or two. Every time this happened, the children switched up who was speaking so that they all equally shared their thoughts on what they had all been through as they spoke. By the time they were done, the moon was in the middle of the sky, the stars twinkling about in the night sky. The elder Venus adept sighed, stroking his beard softly as his son tried his hardest not to fall asleep until he knew for certain that they were allowed to.

"Matthew."

"...Dad..?"

"I can't help but get the feeling there was something you left out somewhere. Something that might be able to allow us some insight as to what happened to you a few hours ago."

"...I... I don't know..." he replied evasively, not entirely sure how to explain it himself, or even what it was at that point in time.

"Hmm... Then... Get some rest, everyone. We have a long road ahead of us..." With that having been said, everyone finally got ready for bed, the young blonde deciding that he was too tired to move anywhere else, so he stretched himself out on the couch, using his arms as a pillow beneath his head as he curled in a position that would more or less protect his chest and stomach, falling asleep almost instantly. With a smile, Isaac carefully placed a blanket over the child, brushing the kid's bangs aside and gazing at him for a moment before he finally went down the ladder leading to the bed he slept in most of the time. He took off his jacket, set it aside, kicked off his boots, and pulled back the covers, climbing into the bed, thinking for a while before he finally drifted off to sleep.

Later that night, when the first rays of dawn blanketed the world in a soft grey tone, Matthew tossed and turned about, caught in a turgid torrent of bad dreams. He saw flashes of light as lightning rent the area around him which was covered in the darkness of the Grave Eclipse, as lightning struck here and there. There were bodies strewn everywhere... Beastmen... humans... and even monsters alike lied contorted on the ground in various places. He shook his head, tears falling as he sank to his knees, staring at his own hands which were... covered in blood... He gasped, his frame quivering as he stared at them, quickly tearing his gloves off only to reveal his pale flesh stained in that same crimson. He did this... he started that dreaded Eclipse... he did... At that moment, it didn't quite register with him that he had no choice but to do so, that Arcanus had forced his hand... He screamed, wanting to run from that awful place, but shadowed, dark hands rising up from the earth held his knees in place. He struggled, trying to wrench himself free, but to no avail. He was choking, not only on his own strangled cries, but... about his neck, his scarf tightened dangerously. He whimpered, reaching his hands up to loosen it, but no matter how hard he tried, it seemed to constrict even further with his struggling. He called out for assistance, but he knew that this was it... He felt as if something was shaking him, and heard a distant voice calling out to him...

"...thew... Matth... Matthew!" Isaac shouted, shaking his son's shoulders, worry etched in his eyes. At that moment, the boy jerked awake, sitting up as his breaths came out at an alarming rate. "Matthew..."

The child took a few seconds before he realized where he was, letting out a shaky sigh. "...Dad..." he whispered, glancing up at his father. Around the elder earth adept, Garet, Karis, and Tyrell had gathered, all of them gazing at him with the same sort of look in their eyes.

"Matthew. Are you alright?" the older blonde inquired, his voice calm, his expression neutral, not letting off a single bit of emotion now, trying his hardest not to make the matter any worse.

"...Yeah... Just... ...a bad dream, I guess..." He looked away, his grey blue eyes wavering, but only briefly. He gripped the blanket in one hand, holding it close to his chest, and in his other hand, he held one of the ends of his scarf. He felt as if he was still trapped in the dream mentally, seeing flashes of it over and over again as if on repeat.

The others looked at one another before Isaac sighed. "I don't think any of us are going to get any more rest tonight. Let's get a head start... Everyone suit up. I think we can arrive in Kalay before nightfall in two days time."

"...Okay. Though, are you sure we should be setting off just now? I mean, the kids just got back not too long ago. I doubt they've slept much..."

"Garet... the sooner we get going, the better. I have no doubt in my mind that the secret to these Psynergy Vortexes lies within Sol Sanctum. Weyard can't last much longer without any action taken against these abnormalities. They weren't near as bad ten years ago. The Mourning Moon may be much larger this time when it arrives..." he stated as he placed a hand on his son's shoulder comfortingly before heading back down the ladder to get prepared for the quest ahead, everyone else following suit.

Next Time:

Matthew: As the trip to Kalay comes to a close, Ivan fixes the soarwing and joins us as we make our way to Sol Sanctum, and... wait... Blados and Chalis?! But... they died...! Darkness cannot exist in a world of light! They said that! To make matters worse, Alex has sent them, but they sure move strangely... Next time, I guess things will start heating up... Next time, on Golden Sun: Dazzling Dusk! See you!

Author's Note:

As this takes a while to write as brainstorming for each chapter is a chore, it will take me a while to write the next one. This one took me a total of two weeks to complete. Anyway. See ya next time.