Author's Note:
Me: So, I've been busy – like always – and procrastinating – like always – and realised I hadn't updated in a while. Since I needed to remember what I had wrote, I went back and re-read this. Upon reading I realised that there were some parts that should be changed to make the story work out better later on. Basically I did those minor changes and am reposting them. And adding this chapter :P.
Rempo: Just get on to you saying how you don't actually own the rights to the game and blah blah and all that junk.
Me: Just go flirt with Mieli! Again, sorry bout late post.
Alex nudged a locust with her foot. When it didn't react to her nudge, she turned away from it and wiped her brow. Even with the cooler clothes on, the heat was still unbearable. It didn't help that she couldn't get Anwar's kind act out of her mind. He had kidnapped her from her home, been rude to her, but was doing kind acts toward her. She couldn't help the butterflies that entered her stomach when she thought of his new attitude towards her. But she knew he could never feel anything towards her unless she found a way to rid him of the void he held chained inside of him.
Rempo floated in front of her thinking face. He cleared his throat making the girl shake her head clear. She tilted her head to the side, her face masking her emotions. "What is it Rempo?"
"You zoned out. Anyways that doesn't matter. Have ya checked for the temple over there?" Rempo pointed in one direction. Alex looked towards where the fire spirit was pointing and ended up squinting. She couldn't quite depict if she had gone that way before or not. Almost every part of the desert looked the same to her. How the nomads, Olly, and Anwar managed to get around in the desert amazed her.
Shrugging, Alex put her sword away into the book. She then put the book into the bag she had gotten made especially for the book. The bag was the only thing she hadn't left behind at the desert town – aside from the essentials that is. Her other clothes were useless with no place to put them.
Walking towards the direction Rempo had pointed, Alex began liking Rhoan's cooler temperature with each passing minute. Extreme heat was not one of the things she could deal with. After what had happened to her with heat in the past, the less she dealt with it the better. Though, she did find it ironic that out of all the spirits, her favourite companion was the fire spirit. She guessed that it was his personality more than the fact that his element was fire.
As she kept walking she noticed a large formation of rocks she knew she hadn't seen before. In fact, she wasn't even sure that they were rocks. It looked like one large stone carved into that of a monster head. The mouth opened wide into the sand; sharp rocks over the opening made it seem like shark teeth. Alex couldn't stop her mouth from turning upwards upon seeing it. She stopped right in front of the opening and bent down; brushing sand away from what would have been the bottom part of the mouth. With the sand wiped away, a flat surface showed itself.
She had reached the temple.
. . . . . . . . .
Anwar watched her bend down and brush some sand away. He knew that that formation was the temple but clearly the girl was more idiotic than he thought. She actually had to clarify that that ferocious looking formation was the temple. Nowhere else would one be able to find something like that and have it not be a temple of some sorts.
He watched her stand up and quickly enter the temple. She was probably eager to get out of the scolding sun and unbearable heat. After a few moments, Anwar followed her into the temple. Olly had ordered him to follow her till she actually started her task on taking out any dangers for the witch.
The temple was most certainly cooler than outside as it was far beneath the surface. Despite being so far beneath the surface, there was still plenty of light. The ones who had built the temple were quite smart to know ways of keeping such a dark place well lit. And in great condition. Nothing around the purple haired teen looked damaged or ready to crumble upon one's touch.
Having caught up with the girl, Anwar hid behind one of the stone pillars. He was still close enough to hear her talk with the spirits of the book and to see the way her body reacted to the new found cool but still a good distance away that he wouldn't be seen by any noisy spirit. Knowing about the spirits but never being able to see them was a problem for him.
"Rempo, I'd like at least five minutes to cool down before tearing off into the temple in search of Ur!" Alex growled, looking into the air on her right side. This wasn't the first time he had watched her talk to her spirits. Most people would presume she was talking to her-self but Olly had informed him of the spirits and how only the guardian of the book could see and hear them.
Anwar saw the girl's head fall forward and stretch out her right arm. Her thumb held her middle finger for a brief moment before flinging it forward in a flick. He could almost imagine one of the spirits flying through the air from being flicked.
Alex's head tilted up and cocked to the side. Her arm dropped to her side as she stood up, brushing off her pants as she stood. Looking in front of the girl, Anwar saw a pair of wings lying on the floor. He had put them there as a marker. If anyone passed by it, Olly would instantly know and come straight to the temple. The witch had ordered him to put them there.
"Wings...in a temple. Weird." Anwar heard her mutter to herself. But she still brought out her book. He watched her with an intense stare. He had to know why she would randomly bring out the book and then put it away without doing anything. It seemed so bizarre for the girl to do that. Though, after only a short time, he had begun to see how weird she actually was. Even if there was a part of her she was holding back. Being unable to feel anything did not mean he could not witness her reactions towards things.
Just like she always did, Alex put the Book of Prophecy back almost right after taking it out. She turned her head to the right and then to the left before rushing past the wings and further into the temple. The moment she was out of sight, Anwar stepped out from his hiding spot. His golden eyes lingered where the girl had last been. He wanted to chase after her for some reason he could not quite understand. It was not right for him to chase after the girl and he really didn't want to associate with her, but the pit in his stomach grew the more he stood looking into thin air where the Kalalian Hero had been.
. . . . . . . . .
Breathing heavily, Alex looked into the cavern where she had pushed the huge metal guardian. She waited for it to suddenly appear like it had done twice before. Thankfully, after waiting for a few minutes, nothing appeared before her.
"We're all together now!" Mieli cheered, twirling above Alex's head. She wanted to laugh at the spirit's joyous feelings but she just couldn't so she settled with a slight smile. Laughing was still difficult for her. Something she couldn't commit to as it always sounded forced when she tried. It had been a long time since she felt like she could truly laugh. The death of her parents gnawed her insides to that day still.
Alex shook her head free of unwanted memories and took some steps away from the edge. She didn't want to find out what happened if she fell down that was for sure. As she backed up her head tilted up to look at the weapon that Ur had been sealing and that the Torque had been protecting. Ur sensed her looking at the weapon and began spouting off information about the weapon. It had been a favoured weapon by the gods before the humans but when the humans came into the picture, they didn't want the remaining god to use it to wipe them out so they broke it; sealing one part in the giant god and the other in the desert temple.
"Blah, blah, blah! That's basically what he said Al," Rempo said, resting on Alex's shoulder. "Let's just get out of here before smartass over there bores us to death." Ur shook his head and disappeared into the book, Neaki following closely behind. But before leaving, she punched Rempo right in the cheek. Alex couldn't help her-self from smiling at the fire spirit's pain.
"Rempo, you should be kinder with your words. They can really hurt one or can bring them up. Choose to bring others up instead of down," Mieli told the fire spirit kindly. She patted him on the head before vanishing into the book as well. Looking at the scene that just happened in front of her, Alex stopped holding her-self back and grinned widely. Rempo was completely affected by the words Mieli had directed at him and gone as red as his hair. They made such a cute yet awkward couple in her eyes.
As Alex turned to walk away she heard footsteps coming towards her. Fearing it was Prince Valdo and his men, the brunette pulled out her swords and took up a defensive position. She stood there and waited for the people to show themselves. From the darkness, Olly, two nomads, and Anwar stepped out to meet her. Alex let her swords disappear as she watched the witch clap her hands in congratulation. Even with the witch clapping, the girl couldn't take her eyes off Anwar. His eyes didn't leave hers for one moment.
"Well done, well done indeed. Now the weapon is mine!" Olly cackled. Alex instantly stopped trying to figure out the reason Anwar was there and whirled around to where the witch had moved to. Her eyes narrowed and she felt the book respond to her feelings as two swords materialized in her hands.
"What do you mean witch?" Olly turned to face the short girl.
"Did I not tell you? I'm going to use this weapon and control the world. Werman will have truly lost then!" Olly laughed loudly as she twirled around on her chair.
"Not if I have anything to sa-" Alex was cut off mid threat. Her body went numb and she fell to the floor. She couldn't move her legs or arms or mouth. All she could do was lay face first on the ground and breathe.
"Good to see my curse working. The curse takes a total of seven days to finish. After seven days, your body shall be nothing more than sand!" More laughter could be heard from the witch. Even though she couldn't move, she was still awake to hear the old lady. "Seeing as you shall not be needing the Book of Prophecy anymore, I shall take it."
Alex wanted to scream at the old lady and hold the book to her chest for dear life. Dying didn't frighten her but living without the one thing that gave her meaning was too much to bear. She might only live for seven more days but having the spirits ripped from her would be worse than death. The spirits were her family now as much as she hated it.
Olly bent down to retrieve the book but was thrown back. Alex couldn't see the witch get thrown backward but she knew that she had been.
"We're not letting you get the Book of Prophecy hag!" Rempo shouted at Olly. For once, Alex felt so relieved hearing Rempo's harsh speech pattern.
"Damn those pesky spirits. Guess I'll just take the book from her when she's sand." Alex heard her mutter to herself. "For now, I'll just douse the thing." The brunette heard a pop and felt her stomach get wet from the water that hit the ground and ran towards where she was lying. Rempo swore and the girl knew he had retreated back to the book. Thankfully Olly didn't know that the spirits were gone now.
"Anwar, bring the girl to the jail. After putting her in there, stand guard. I'm almost positive she will try to escape." Breathing more rapidly, Alex heard a set of footsteps come towards her. She was lifted from the floor and forced to stare into Anwar's hard golden eyes. As she blinked she saw that his eyes weren't as hard as they had been before. If anything they seemed almost repulsed by being forced to do what Olly said.
Just like when they first met, Anwar swiftly connected his fist with her gut. Just before Alex blacked out completely, she was sure she heard Anwar say, "Find a way to live."