1 Dragon's Destiny
1.1 Chapter 8
Waking up in her bed panting, Lumina recalled her strange nightmare. It couldn't happen, right? It just couldn't become a real prediction! She looked around her room and heard a soft, breathing sound. She looked at the small couch near her window and saw Koren sleeping. She got out of bed and walked over to him and touched his shoulder gently. At once his eyes flew open.
"You're awake!!!" he yelled and hugged her extremely tightly.
"Oxygen…deprived…Koren lemme go!" she squeaked, turning blue.
"Oops! Sorry…I'm just so happy to see you!" he released and kissed her gently. Returning the kiss, she had another vision of her dream. She quickly pulled away, leaving Koren confused and hurt.
"What? Is something wrong?" he asked, with deep concern in his eyes.
"No, it's nothing, you just gave me a static shock, that's all!" Lumina replied. He laughed and they went outside to tell Drakonis.
'I can't tell him! What if he freaks out?' Lumina thought. As they made their way down the main staircase towards the throne room, Koren suddenly spoke up.
"Darkshine went on a mission to Rolante to try and retrieve the Wind Stone, he has yet to return. I think he'll be okay, he was really worried about you too." He informed. Lumina remembered what a father-like nature Darkshine had and decided this was typical. Entering the throne room, Lumina almost collapsed as Drakonis rushed off the throne and embraced her.
"LUMINA LUMINA LUMINA LUMINA!!" he cried out, hugging her tightly and swinging her around, "YOU DON'T KNOW HOW WORRIED I'VE BEEN! THAT STUPID SWORD!! KING RICHARD IS GOING TO PAY!!"
"DAD!! Calm down!" Lumina yelled over his sobs, blushing with embarrassment glancing over at Koren. He looked like he was trying his best to bite his tongue.
"Okay…okay…I'm cool…" Drakonis revived his formal attitude and strode back to the throne. He sat down and looked down upon the couple.
"It is nice to see you again Lumina," he began, glaring at the guards who were giving him strange looks, "I'm afraid you can't rest for long though, you two have a new mission to go on, this time it's my order."
"You are to infiltrate the Dark Cave, which is located on a continent southeast of Altena's. There, you are to find the Dark Prince and…"
"The Dark Prince?!? Hey I've…" started Lumina, then reminding herself she didn't want her father to have a heart attack, "Uh…read about him in a book once!"
"You read a book on your own freewill?" asked Koren and Drakonis together, obvious surprise in their voices and on their faces.
"YES, I DID read a book on my own free will! What's the big deal?" she snapped. Koren recovered and looked back at Drakonis, who continued his orders.
"Well anyway, you are to go into the Dark Cave, locate the Dark Prince, and assassinate him. This won't be easy, he is the Lord of the Underworld…"
"The Underworld, the final resting place for all souls before reincarnation back into bodies, is located in another dimension. The Dark Cave is connected to this dimension, and you may encounter some monsters from the dimension itself, be careful there. The Dark Prince was once part of a glorious kingdom called the Kingdom of Light. However, his mind became twisted and he turned towards the dark side and his realm became the Kingdom of Darkness. He aligned himself with the darkness and became ruler of the Underworld. He constantly has to reincarnate his soul into mortal children's bodies in order to stay alive. Be wary of this as well, when the body dies he will still be able to transform into the shape, don't let him fool you!"
"One last thing, beware of his ultimate form. It is said in the legends that he takes the form of a powerful demon, able to destroy everything with his touch. If this mission is not successful, which I think it will be, no offense, I will take care of him myself. Any questions?" Drakonis concluded.
"Nope! Let's kick some royal Dark Prince butt!" Lumina exclaimed. Drakonis smiled at this enthusiasm.
"Good, depart on the mini-airship when you're ready, good luck."
Riding the airship to the Dark Cave, Lumina and Koren talked solemnly.
"What did you dream about Lumina?" Koren asked, looking below as they passed over the northern area of Forcena.
"I just had a major memory recall, nothing special." She replied, still avoiding the subject of her nightmare.
"Oh…" Koren looked down below again, eyes still on Forcena, "you can see the scorch marks on the houses! Looks like we did a good job!"
"Yeah…I don't think they'll try and retaliate either, the other kingdoms are having problems of their own. I overheard the guards saying that the Beast Kingdom invaded Jad awhile back. And Navarre is at war with Rolante right now, so they shouldn't be in the way. Oh yeah, and the Holy City of Wendel can't be invaded right now due to a shield the Priest of Light put up." Reported Lumina.
"Navarre and Rolante? Hmm…that Hawk guy is from Navarre and Darkshine is at Rolante right now…do you think they'll see each other?" inquired Koren, now looking down at the mountain ranges of the Wind Kingdom.
"I don't know…I don't think so…don't worry about it!" Lumina replied reassuringly. After that, they didn't talk until they landed near the Dark Cave.
One step out into the weird forest, and Lumina got goosebumps. The trees and plants secreted a red poison that looked exactly like blood. The sun was out today, but the trees covered everything so that very little light and a few shadows were visible. The Dark Cave stood before them, like a giant monster with it's mouth wide open, bidding his time and just waiting for someone to walk in to be swallowed in the darkness.
"Uh…kinda dark huh?" asked Koren jokingly to help raise the mood.
"Yeah, let's get this over with, okay?" Lumina replied, striding forward with Koren right at her side.
"I'm not scared, are you?"
"No, I'm not scared!"
"Yes you are, your hand is shaking…"
"I'm just nervous!"
"With good reason to be…" suddenly spoke an eerily familiar voice, once more sending the childhood shivers up Lumina's spine. Koren and Lumina slowly turned around and saw a pair of glowing red eyes glaring at them.
The room suddenly lit with an unearthly violet light. Jagan appeared dressed in the flowing black robes looking just like he did seven years ago…
"You! I remember you!" Lumina snarled, while Koren did a double take.
"What? You know him?" He asked Koren. Jagan simply laughed evilly.
"Of course! Seven years ago I tried to get her to be a consort for my lord, the Dark Prince. But she used a strange counter charm to my telekinesis. But I'm stronger now! Say goodbye to your little blue-eyed lover Princess! I'm going to make sure you never see him again!" Jagan lifted his hand up into the air, and a swirling mass of unworldly energy appeared below Lumina, sucking her down.
"LUMINA!" shouted Koren desperately trying to pull her back up. Lumina screamed as Koren's grasp was cut off by a shot of energy thrown by Jagan, and she slipped down the evil vortex. Koren tried to jump in after her, but the vortex closed, leaving him and Jagan alone in the cave.
"Poor, poor mage! Get over it!" Jagan screeched, and his eyes glowed a fiercer red. But the Crimson Wizard was prepared.
"YOU INFERIOR BLOOD-SUCKER! YOU'RE OVER WITH!" Koren yelled challengingly. The two warriors both charged at each other, dashing off in different directions when they almost met. Turning around, Koren threw three fireballs into Jagan's back. Crying out in pain, Jagan whirled around and faced Koren in fury.
"Oh yeah?!? Well, have a real taste of the power of the Underworld!" he shouted, and lifted his hand into the air and the room became deathly cold. Suddenly, a wave of ghouls swept over Koren, freezing him with both fear and magic. Kneeling down on the ground, Koren quickly thought of something that might help. He stood up, and began to chant.
"Holy words of which I speak, fill my enemy with pain to the peak! SAINT BEAM!!" Koren put his hands together, and they filled with a holy, shimmering white light. Shooting out like a missile, the beam hit Jagan in the chest, sending him back. Without a chance to get up, Koren chanted another spell and pinned him down with diamond shards that not only trapped him down by pinning his clothes, but also pierced his inhuman skin. Still shrieking in agony, Jagan's eyes glowed not red, but turned black. Poisonous rain fell from a dark void above Koren, drenching him in an acid- like wave. Barely able to see because of pain, Koren was left without a defense. Jagan burst out of the diamond spikes and concentrated on Koren. As if he became as light as air, Koren flew into the back wall with a terrible crunching noise from his left leg.
Relentless of the pain, Koren stood up and glared at Jagan.
"This ends right now!" he challenged, and summoned up the last bit of his energy. He created a force of fear and threw it at Jagan. The energy, which was supposed to rip out one's soul, merely passed through Jagan, but left him in a state of extreme pain and fatigue. Falling to the ground, Jagan looked up again at Koren.
"You'll never get her back! EVER!!!" And with that, he disappeared in a puff of smoke.
"He's not dead yet…" said Koren, wincing in pain as he clutched his left leg. A broken leg, a loss of energy and completely lost, Koren stood up with much difficulty and walked off to search for Lumina.
* * *
Waking up in a bed with satin sheets in what looked like an elaborate boudoir, Lumina's first thought was Koren's whereabouts. Suddenly realizing her own situation, she jumped out of the bed and headed to the door. Before she reached it, however, a dark shape appeared in front of it. Lumina screeched to a halt and watched as the black mist became the form of an incredibly handsome blonde man with yellow eyes. He wore not the red cape Lumina was used to on this kind of figure, but a blue one with black armor underneath. He wore a crown made of what looked like bone and horns.
"Greetings young Dragon Princess, do you know how long I've waited to have this kind of talk with you?" he asked in a smooth, flowing voice, "oh I apologize, you may call me Archdemon, I am the Dark Prince."
"I never would have guessed…" hissed Lumina angrily, "Let me out! Where's Koren?" Archdemon merely chuckled evilly.
"Him? Why do you want someone like him when you have someone like me?" he asked, taking a step closer to Lumina. She retreated quickly, "Oh, playing hard to get huh?"
"Don't you dare come near me! I'll kill you if you come closer! I'll…"
"You'll what? Transform and lose control over yourself and probably annihilate your little blonde pretty boy? I read your mind while you were asleep, you're too afraid to transform into your true form!" Archdemon sneered, smiling lustfully.
"…Why did you bring me here?" inquired Lumina worryingly.
"Because I wish to posses you! Listen, if our kingdoms combine we can rule the earth together, King and Queen! Isn't that what you want?" Archdemon replied.
"What I want?!? You have NO IDEA of what I want! I want to be with Koren forever and live my life WITHOUT YOU!" Lumina yelled in rage, and took a swipe at Archdemon with her claws. But he evaporated into dark mist and re-formed behind her, putting his arms around her waist, taking her by surprise.
"Babe, you have no idea who you're dealing with…maybe I should let you be by yourself for a while?" Archdemon whispered in her ear gently. He disappeared once more and Lumina dashed towards the door. Before she even touched the knob, black crystal surrounded the hinges and the knobs itself. Smooth as silk, Lumina couldn't get a grip on it. Lumina staggered back over to the bed, and collapsed on it.
"Koren…"
Waking up several hours later, not knowing the time, Lumina sat up and looked around the room again. Sighing as she saw the door was still locked, she laid down again, only to hear a rustling noise above her. Instantly alert, Lumina hoped out of bed and looked upon the crevice above her bed. Sitting there, curled up and glaring at her with purple eyes, was a massive cat. It hoped down, and to Lumina's surprise, stood up on two legs. It walked over to Lumina, and began to change into…a woman? The woman approached Lumina with long red hair and a dress suggesting she was from the desert.
"You! What are you playing at?" she hissed, glaring at Lumina with the same violet eyes.
"What? Archdemon locked me in here! I want out!" Lumina complained.
"You mean that my Prince just threw you in here?"
"No! He wants me to marry him! Do you know a way out?" Lumina inquired desperately. The woman looked at her, and then smiled.
"Anything to secure my position to be his bride. My name is Bigieu by the way, and I'll get you out." Bigieu walked over to the door and put her hand over the crystal knob. She chanted in an ancient tongue, and the crystal split apart. Lumina quickly ran out the door with Bigieu behind her.
"Thanks! By the way, have you seen a man with shoulder length blonde hair and blue eyes?" Lumina asked with enthusiasm.
"BLUE eyes?!? Is he a human?" replied Bigieu.
"Yes, he's my fiancé and I need to get to him!" Lumina cried out.
"Oh, yeah I have seen someone like him. Sorry, I don't meet many humans…" Bigieu mumbled.
"What are you? I mean, what race?"
"Aychathia, we can transform into cat-like creatures at will. Come, I'll take you to your human." Bigieu informed, and ran off down a corridor Lumina following like a little puppy looking for its master.
After going down some stairs back into the caves, Lumina heard a low moaning sound. Kneeling on the ground clutching his leg was Koren!
"KOREN!" Lumina shouted and ran over to him. Koren looked up and his eyes filled with tears. He didn't say anything, but an enormous hug and kiss from him was enough for Lumina.
"Glad to see you're happy little Princess, but what were you doing here in the first place?" asked Bigieu, waling towards the couple. Koren blanched, but was quickly cut off from his own question by Lumina's answer.
"Well, we're looking for something called Mana Stones and the Mana Sword…"
"The Mana Sword?!? Hey! We can't both be after it! Man, I thought you would be cool, but I guess this means we're rivals!" Bigieu sneered, facial expression changing from happiness to envy. She transformed back into a cat and climbed up a wall. Before disappearing she glanced back down and shouted: "We'll get the Mana Sword first!" And with that, she was gone.
"C-can we go home now?" stuttered Koren.
"Yeah, c'mon!" Lumina said soothingly and helped Koren walk out of the cave.
Back inside the Dragon's Hole, Koren and Lumina gave their full report to Drakonis. Lumina's tears healed Koren's leg, and the Darkshine was standing next to Drakonis' throne, eyes shimmering.
"So that's what happened? I thought you wouldn't succeed, not a problem…I'll get back at him for touching my daughter when she's engaged!" Drakonis roared.
"Okay, but I guess we're not alone in the struggle for the Mana Sword," commented Darkshine.
"I guess not…" whispered Koren, "I wonder who else is after it…?"
1.1 Chapter 8
Waking up in her bed panting, Lumina recalled her strange nightmare. It couldn't happen, right? It just couldn't become a real prediction! She looked around her room and heard a soft, breathing sound. She looked at the small couch near her window and saw Koren sleeping. She got out of bed and walked over to him and touched his shoulder gently. At once his eyes flew open.
"You're awake!!!" he yelled and hugged her extremely tightly.
"Oxygen…deprived…Koren lemme go!" she squeaked, turning blue.
"Oops! Sorry…I'm just so happy to see you!" he released and kissed her gently. Returning the kiss, she had another vision of her dream. She quickly pulled away, leaving Koren confused and hurt.
"What? Is something wrong?" he asked, with deep concern in his eyes.
"No, it's nothing, you just gave me a static shock, that's all!" Lumina replied. He laughed and they went outside to tell Drakonis.
'I can't tell him! What if he freaks out?' Lumina thought. As they made their way down the main staircase towards the throne room, Koren suddenly spoke up.
"Darkshine went on a mission to Rolante to try and retrieve the Wind Stone, he has yet to return. I think he'll be okay, he was really worried about you too." He informed. Lumina remembered what a father-like nature Darkshine had and decided this was typical. Entering the throne room, Lumina almost collapsed as Drakonis rushed off the throne and embraced her.
"LUMINA LUMINA LUMINA LUMINA!!" he cried out, hugging her tightly and swinging her around, "YOU DON'T KNOW HOW WORRIED I'VE BEEN! THAT STUPID SWORD!! KING RICHARD IS GOING TO PAY!!"
"DAD!! Calm down!" Lumina yelled over his sobs, blushing with embarrassment glancing over at Koren. He looked like he was trying his best to bite his tongue.
"Okay…okay…I'm cool…" Drakonis revived his formal attitude and strode back to the throne. He sat down and looked down upon the couple.
"It is nice to see you again Lumina," he began, glaring at the guards who were giving him strange looks, "I'm afraid you can't rest for long though, you two have a new mission to go on, this time it's my order."
"You are to infiltrate the Dark Cave, which is located on a continent southeast of Altena's. There, you are to find the Dark Prince and…"
"The Dark Prince?!? Hey I've…" started Lumina, then reminding herself she didn't want her father to have a heart attack, "Uh…read about him in a book once!"
"You read a book on your own freewill?" asked Koren and Drakonis together, obvious surprise in their voices and on their faces.
"YES, I DID read a book on my own free will! What's the big deal?" she snapped. Koren recovered and looked back at Drakonis, who continued his orders.
"Well anyway, you are to go into the Dark Cave, locate the Dark Prince, and assassinate him. This won't be easy, he is the Lord of the Underworld…"
"The Underworld, the final resting place for all souls before reincarnation back into bodies, is located in another dimension. The Dark Cave is connected to this dimension, and you may encounter some monsters from the dimension itself, be careful there. The Dark Prince was once part of a glorious kingdom called the Kingdom of Light. However, his mind became twisted and he turned towards the dark side and his realm became the Kingdom of Darkness. He aligned himself with the darkness and became ruler of the Underworld. He constantly has to reincarnate his soul into mortal children's bodies in order to stay alive. Be wary of this as well, when the body dies he will still be able to transform into the shape, don't let him fool you!"
"One last thing, beware of his ultimate form. It is said in the legends that he takes the form of a powerful demon, able to destroy everything with his touch. If this mission is not successful, which I think it will be, no offense, I will take care of him myself. Any questions?" Drakonis concluded.
"Nope! Let's kick some royal Dark Prince butt!" Lumina exclaimed. Drakonis smiled at this enthusiasm.
"Good, depart on the mini-airship when you're ready, good luck."
Riding the airship to the Dark Cave, Lumina and Koren talked solemnly.
"What did you dream about Lumina?" Koren asked, looking below as they passed over the northern area of Forcena.
"I just had a major memory recall, nothing special." She replied, still avoiding the subject of her nightmare.
"Oh…" Koren looked down below again, eyes still on Forcena, "you can see the scorch marks on the houses! Looks like we did a good job!"
"Yeah…I don't think they'll try and retaliate either, the other kingdoms are having problems of their own. I overheard the guards saying that the Beast Kingdom invaded Jad awhile back. And Navarre is at war with Rolante right now, so they shouldn't be in the way. Oh yeah, and the Holy City of Wendel can't be invaded right now due to a shield the Priest of Light put up." Reported Lumina.
"Navarre and Rolante? Hmm…that Hawk guy is from Navarre and Darkshine is at Rolante right now…do you think they'll see each other?" inquired Koren, now looking down at the mountain ranges of the Wind Kingdom.
"I don't know…I don't think so…don't worry about it!" Lumina replied reassuringly. After that, they didn't talk until they landed near the Dark Cave.
One step out into the weird forest, and Lumina got goosebumps. The trees and plants secreted a red poison that looked exactly like blood. The sun was out today, but the trees covered everything so that very little light and a few shadows were visible. The Dark Cave stood before them, like a giant monster with it's mouth wide open, bidding his time and just waiting for someone to walk in to be swallowed in the darkness.
"Uh…kinda dark huh?" asked Koren jokingly to help raise the mood.
"Yeah, let's get this over with, okay?" Lumina replied, striding forward with Koren right at her side.
"I'm not scared, are you?"
"No, I'm not scared!"
"Yes you are, your hand is shaking…"
"I'm just nervous!"
"With good reason to be…" suddenly spoke an eerily familiar voice, once more sending the childhood shivers up Lumina's spine. Koren and Lumina slowly turned around and saw a pair of glowing red eyes glaring at them.
The room suddenly lit with an unearthly violet light. Jagan appeared dressed in the flowing black robes looking just like he did seven years ago…
"You! I remember you!" Lumina snarled, while Koren did a double take.
"What? You know him?" He asked Koren. Jagan simply laughed evilly.
"Of course! Seven years ago I tried to get her to be a consort for my lord, the Dark Prince. But she used a strange counter charm to my telekinesis. But I'm stronger now! Say goodbye to your little blue-eyed lover Princess! I'm going to make sure you never see him again!" Jagan lifted his hand up into the air, and a swirling mass of unworldly energy appeared below Lumina, sucking her down.
"LUMINA!" shouted Koren desperately trying to pull her back up. Lumina screamed as Koren's grasp was cut off by a shot of energy thrown by Jagan, and she slipped down the evil vortex. Koren tried to jump in after her, but the vortex closed, leaving him and Jagan alone in the cave.
"Poor, poor mage! Get over it!" Jagan screeched, and his eyes glowed a fiercer red. But the Crimson Wizard was prepared.
"YOU INFERIOR BLOOD-SUCKER! YOU'RE OVER WITH!" Koren yelled challengingly. The two warriors both charged at each other, dashing off in different directions when they almost met. Turning around, Koren threw three fireballs into Jagan's back. Crying out in pain, Jagan whirled around and faced Koren in fury.
"Oh yeah?!? Well, have a real taste of the power of the Underworld!" he shouted, and lifted his hand into the air and the room became deathly cold. Suddenly, a wave of ghouls swept over Koren, freezing him with both fear and magic. Kneeling down on the ground, Koren quickly thought of something that might help. He stood up, and began to chant.
"Holy words of which I speak, fill my enemy with pain to the peak! SAINT BEAM!!" Koren put his hands together, and they filled with a holy, shimmering white light. Shooting out like a missile, the beam hit Jagan in the chest, sending him back. Without a chance to get up, Koren chanted another spell and pinned him down with diamond shards that not only trapped him down by pinning his clothes, but also pierced his inhuman skin. Still shrieking in agony, Jagan's eyes glowed not red, but turned black. Poisonous rain fell from a dark void above Koren, drenching him in an acid- like wave. Barely able to see because of pain, Koren was left without a defense. Jagan burst out of the diamond spikes and concentrated on Koren. As if he became as light as air, Koren flew into the back wall with a terrible crunching noise from his left leg.
Relentless of the pain, Koren stood up and glared at Jagan.
"This ends right now!" he challenged, and summoned up the last bit of his energy. He created a force of fear and threw it at Jagan. The energy, which was supposed to rip out one's soul, merely passed through Jagan, but left him in a state of extreme pain and fatigue. Falling to the ground, Jagan looked up again at Koren.
"You'll never get her back! EVER!!!" And with that, he disappeared in a puff of smoke.
"He's not dead yet…" said Koren, wincing in pain as he clutched his left leg. A broken leg, a loss of energy and completely lost, Koren stood up with much difficulty and walked off to search for Lumina.
* * *
Waking up in a bed with satin sheets in what looked like an elaborate boudoir, Lumina's first thought was Koren's whereabouts. Suddenly realizing her own situation, she jumped out of the bed and headed to the door. Before she reached it, however, a dark shape appeared in front of it. Lumina screeched to a halt and watched as the black mist became the form of an incredibly handsome blonde man with yellow eyes. He wore not the red cape Lumina was used to on this kind of figure, but a blue one with black armor underneath. He wore a crown made of what looked like bone and horns.
"Greetings young Dragon Princess, do you know how long I've waited to have this kind of talk with you?" he asked in a smooth, flowing voice, "oh I apologize, you may call me Archdemon, I am the Dark Prince."
"I never would have guessed…" hissed Lumina angrily, "Let me out! Where's Koren?" Archdemon merely chuckled evilly.
"Him? Why do you want someone like him when you have someone like me?" he asked, taking a step closer to Lumina. She retreated quickly, "Oh, playing hard to get huh?"
"Don't you dare come near me! I'll kill you if you come closer! I'll…"
"You'll what? Transform and lose control over yourself and probably annihilate your little blonde pretty boy? I read your mind while you were asleep, you're too afraid to transform into your true form!" Archdemon sneered, smiling lustfully.
"…Why did you bring me here?" inquired Lumina worryingly.
"Because I wish to posses you! Listen, if our kingdoms combine we can rule the earth together, King and Queen! Isn't that what you want?" Archdemon replied.
"What I want?!? You have NO IDEA of what I want! I want to be with Koren forever and live my life WITHOUT YOU!" Lumina yelled in rage, and took a swipe at Archdemon with her claws. But he evaporated into dark mist and re-formed behind her, putting his arms around her waist, taking her by surprise.
"Babe, you have no idea who you're dealing with…maybe I should let you be by yourself for a while?" Archdemon whispered in her ear gently. He disappeared once more and Lumina dashed towards the door. Before she even touched the knob, black crystal surrounded the hinges and the knobs itself. Smooth as silk, Lumina couldn't get a grip on it. Lumina staggered back over to the bed, and collapsed on it.
"Koren…"
Waking up several hours later, not knowing the time, Lumina sat up and looked around the room again. Sighing as she saw the door was still locked, she laid down again, only to hear a rustling noise above her. Instantly alert, Lumina hoped out of bed and looked upon the crevice above her bed. Sitting there, curled up and glaring at her with purple eyes, was a massive cat. It hoped down, and to Lumina's surprise, stood up on two legs. It walked over to Lumina, and began to change into…a woman? The woman approached Lumina with long red hair and a dress suggesting she was from the desert.
"You! What are you playing at?" she hissed, glaring at Lumina with the same violet eyes.
"What? Archdemon locked me in here! I want out!" Lumina complained.
"You mean that my Prince just threw you in here?"
"No! He wants me to marry him! Do you know a way out?" Lumina inquired desperately. The woman looked at her, and then smiled.
"Anything to secure my position to be his bride. My name is Bigieu by the way, and I'll get you out." Bigieu walked over to the door and put her hand over the crystal knob. She chanted in an ancient tongue, and the crystal split apart. Lumina quickly ran out the door with Bigieu behind her.
"Thanks! By the way, have you seen a man with shoulder length blonde hair and blue eyes?" Lumina asked with enthusiasm.
"BLUE eyes?!? Is he a human?" replied Bigieu.
"Yes, he's my fiancé and I need to get to him!" Lumina cried out.
"Oh, yeah I have seen someone like him. Sorry, I don't meet many humans…" Bigieu mumbled.
"What are you? I mean, what race?"
"Aychathia, we can transform into cat-like creatures at will. Come, I'll take you to your human." Bigieu informed, and ran off down a corridor Lumina following like a little puppy looking for its master.
After going down some stairs back into the caves, Lumina heard a low moaning sound. Kneeling on the ground clutching his leg was Koren!
"KOREN!" Lumina shouted and ran over to him. Koren looked up and his eyes filled with tears. He didn't say anything, but an enormous hug and kiss from him was enough for Lumina.
"Glad to see you're happy little Princess, but what were you doing here in the first place?" asked Bigieu, waling towards the couple. Koren blanched, but was quickly cut off from his own question by Lumina's answer.
"Well, we're looking for something called Mana Stones and the Mana Sword…"
"The Mana Sword?!? Hey! We can't both be after it! Man, I thought you would be cool, but I guess this means we're rivals!" Bigieu sneered, facial expression changing from happiness to envy. She transformed back into a cat and climbed up a wall. Before disappearing she glanced back down and shouted: "We'll get the Mana Sword first!" And with that, she was gone.
"C-can we go home now?" stuttered Koren.
"Yeah, c'mon!" Lumina said soothingly and helped Koren walk out of the cave.
Back inside the Dragon's Hole, Koren and Lumina gave their full report to Drakonis. Lumina's tears healed Koren's leg, and the Darkshine was standing next to Drakonis' throne, eyes shimmering.
"So that's what happened? I thought you wouldn't succeed, not a problem…I'll get back at him for touching my daughter when she's engaged!" Drakonis roared.
"Okay, but I guess we're not alone in the struggle for the Mana Sword," commented Darkshine.
"I guess not…" whispered Koren, "I wonder who else is after it…?"