The luminesce dimmed down, leaving the group blinking to regain their vision. Once they did, they were met with a large foyer with shattered windows and debris scattered wildly around the room.
"What happened here?" Quentin asked, gaze moving to and fro. The ceiling of the room adjacent to theirs was caved in, blocking the hallway.
"Sieged." Seto answered absently, kneeling on the velvet carpet below and observing a piece of the rubble, "At least twenty years ago."Sky paused in the wake of the sorcerer's words. The prince was sent away so he wouldn't have been killed, ultimately protecting the royal bloodline. "Twenty years?" He inquired, masking his true reaction. "I would have been a baby then.
"...Just like the prince."
The group scoured through the debris, uncovering breathtaking arts and ancient books with an unreadable script. Jason used some-sort of device attached to his suit to uncover more of the treasures.
"This... It's a portrait of a family." He informed the other nine, stepping into their main gathering in the center of the room. Again, the commander felt something different about the picture than any of the others, like it possessed more than a familiar feel to it.
Everything in the ruins of the kingdom felt familiar.
Kermit's sudden voice snapped him back to reality. "Hey, buddy, are you okay? You're kinda spacing out, there."
Sky shook his head quickly, "Y-yeah, I'm alright."
Across the room, Seto was studying more of the ruins. "Hm," he hummed, placing himself adjacent to the pile of rubble. His eyes flashing a dark orchid, Seto moved the debris easily (with his magic).
This attracted the attention of the others, who quickly grouped around him. "Well?" He questioned, brown-turned-purple orbs swaying over them, "What are you waiting for?"
Slightly dumbfounded, the other nine scurried into the newly-accessible hallway after the sorcerer.
"Hey, Set," Ty called, striding over towards him, "I've just been wondering... How did you know this was still here- The castle?"
The magic-user simply shrugged. "I wasn't entirely sure, but we had to try." He paused, bringing his voice down to a whisper, "I'm quite curious, myself, about Sky's origins. I could tell that Herobrine wasn't lying, I just had to play along with it."
Continuing down the interminable hall, the team kept to their own thoughts. Especially the commander.
Was he the prince?
Thoughts like this plagued his mind, and he couldn't stand it. Yes, the facts pointed towards it, but he, himself, couldn't believe it. The silence that hung between the group also tortured him. It occurred to him that nobody would understand the situation, only attempt to console him.
Closing his eyes briefly and sighing, he trekked on solemnly.
A few minutes later, the team was halted by the sorcerer, who had stopped in his tracks.
"Past this hallway there's- It's different." He admitted his thoughts aloud, biting his lip worriedly.
"What do you mean 'different'?" Mitch asked, voicing the group's unspoken question. Seto hesitated at this.
"A-an aura," he continued, visibly shaking, "and it's strong, too."
His reluctance shocked the nine-some. Usually, he wasn't scared this easily.
"It must be really powerful, then." Ian whispered to Jerome, who was trying to act brave.
"Nah, it's all good." The bacca reassured falsely, somewhat trembling. Dawn gestured for him to stop the act, in which he did shortly after.
Following the sorcerer really showed their determination-or curiosity-to learn about their commander. Especially when they neared the immense wooden door that Seto claimed to have felt the aura emit from.
It was easily above fifteen feet and decorated along the edges with a fancy crimson. The handles were composed of none other than solid gold, of course. This wowed the ten.
"Whoa," came their expected astonishment, which was instantly followed by another remark.
"W-what's this?" Jason inquired, picking up a slip of paper that rested on a marble podium beside the entrance. Then a thought occurred to him, "How could this have survived a siege?"
"It's entrusted in magic." Seto answered abruptly as he strode towards the astronaut, plucking the paper from his grasp waywardly. He analyzed it before holding in front of Sky.
"I can't read this," he remarked bluntly, "the spell that's bound to it will only translate for you."
With much bewilderment and astonishment, the commander accepted the letter.
The intricate symbols on the slip formed words in his mind as soon as he saw them. This whole 'royalty' theory wasn't too farfetched, now that he thought about it.
'To our dearest son,
'It seems that destiny brought you back to your home. If you are reading this, we are well beyond our years and most likely deceased. We sent you away from the kingdom for your safety, and we hope that it was for the best.
'Beyond this door lies a room with the royal family's heirloom. You'll know what it really is when you see it, trust me.
'I wish that your father and I could have seen you grow up, but I guess we can't have everything we desire. Just know that we will always love you, and never forget where you came from.
'You are far too important to become forgotten.'
Sky felt himself tearing up and quickly rubbed at his eyes, hoping his friends wouldn't notice. He carefully folded the note and put it in his pocket. "We have to go inside," he said with finality, turning to stare at Seto who was fidgeting, staring hesitantly at the giant doors. The sorcerer bit his lip but nodded, seemingly steeling himself before stepping up til he was directly in front of the door.
"Whatever is behind this door is powerful Sky, more powerful than I, or even Herobrine I would guess," Seto said, not bothering to turn towards the group as he spoke. He didn't comment further, though his words had set the others on edge. Seto placed his hands on the door and soon they began glowing purple. In no time at all, he'd managed to open the gigantic doors with the aid of his magic.
Hesitantly, the group made their way in, the Sorcerer leading the way. The doors had opened up to a looming hallway. The walls were stone and crumbling at some parts but it was sturdy enough to wander in without feeling as if it would collapse at any moment. At the end of the hallway was a staircase leading down. Without a word, Seto lit his hand up in bright purple and Jason lit up his hands with his suit.
With Seto at the front and Jason covering the rear, the group made their way down. It seemed like forever before they made their way into a seemingly plain room. "Is this it?" Kermit asked, looking around at the stone walls eying the torches there. He motioned for Seto and the sorcerer indulged him, lighting up the torches in the room with a wave of his hand.
In the far end of the room was an old looking pedestal. It was covered and dust and seemed to be about ready to fall under the weight of the sword perched on top of it. The sword too looked like it hadn't been touched in far too long. Seto warily shifted away, rubbing his arms as if he were chilly. The group didn't seem to notice as Sky was drawn towards the old object. It was only when Sky's hand closed around the handle and the room was bathed in a bright light did the group jerk into action.
Time seemed to slow and the group froze mid position as the light only grew brighter and brighter. Sky stumbled back, eyes wide as he struggled to release the sword only to find his hand refused to unclench around the golden handle. His hand felt as if it were slowly burning and his eyes began tearing up without his consent.
One minute Sky felt as if he were slowly going blind and the next he didn't know where he was.
(Original A/N's)
HerHiddenSecret: (had her eyes dilated and was crying yellow tears so she couldn't write an A/N)
SSJ2BlazeSG: I wrote the first half of this, and good news, we have vacation this week! Hopefully that will let us write this and post chapters more frequently. I definitely need to catch up on some fics... Sorry for the delay, too.
