Tell Me A Story

The night fell quiet, hardly a breeze stirring the shrivelled willows of the Bog of Murk. It was calm and peaceful, but Rayman fidgeted restlessly in his bed as he longed to gaze at the Twin Moons and remember her face. He could not forget why he came here. He had come here in search of a way to bring his beloved friend back. He...he needed to escape.

Waiting long into the night for that mysterious 'Being' to come once more and free him loose was unfruitful...for it never came. A disappointed snort escaped his nose against his will, he should have known. Perhaps it never appeared to those who wanted it, or to those who waited. Had his long waiting hours purely been in vain?

Sighing, he began to tap the sole of his shoe against the wooden frame of the bottom of the bed, blue eyes sharp as they stared at the ceiling in unease. In putting his hands behind his head, he glared harder at the dark cellar stone above as if wishing to mentally peel it away to reveal the dark of the night instead. Strangely enough, he had not slept properly since arriving here, lying awake deep into every night despite his exhaustion. Tonight was no exception it seemed, and his heart sadly dropped into a pool of bitterness.

"Are you alright?"

Rayman jolted and bolted upright with a gasp. He blinked at Vincent laying on his stomach beneath the bed sheet of his own bed just a metre away; face its usual expressionless mask...yet those emerald eyes glistening in silent concern. The other was watching him with timidly intent eyes. However, even though lined with tiredness, those eyes held a subdued curiosity.

"Can't sleep either, huh?" Rayman whispered, groaning whilst taking his pillow and leaning it against the headrest before scooting back to rest against it. He pulled the sheet up to his lap and clasped his hands against his slowly breathing chest. "Something on your mind?"

Vincent muttered, "I-I am not too sure."

The Guardian cocked his head to the side slightly, golden hair twitching in his own curiosity. 'Not too sure?' Was Vincent having an internal struggle with a lost memory? The other did seem a little distressed beneath the expressionless barricade on his face. Rayman's eyes stared at the shy one's twiddling thumbs with pure patience in half lidded eyes.

"Vincent?"

"Y-Yes?"

"You wanna hear a story?"

Vincent became wide awake in an instant. The shy one raised an eyebrow at him for the proposal. Rayman remained impassive, staring off into space as if something was plaguing his mind too.

"You mean...like a bedtime story?" Vincent questioned, still a little unsure by the other's request.

Rayman chuckled happily at the other, golden hair bouncing over his eyes. Vincent just nervously swallowed.

When his laughter had died down, Rayman's eyes opened to reveal their now sparkling blue brilliance in the semi-darkness. In shuffling a little to get himself comfortable, Vincent lifted his head fully off the pillow to curiously listen when he detected that the other was, indeed, going to tell him something.

"Considering ya have no memories, I've gotta broad knowledge on the Deities of our realm if ya want to hear a tale on them? I have a story, or more like a legend, that's to do with the Goddesses and Gods of our world...if ya care to hear it that is?"

The other's aura seemed to flicker slightly and Rayman smiled at distinguishing a sense of interest in Vincent. As usual, Vincent stared at Rayman's clasped hands rather than meeting his eyes when he began to speak of the legend.

"This is a story from long ago, before time itself and the world had even established a place in this reality. It is a tale of the Goddesses anger, selfishness and self sacrifice, a tale of a sacrificial punishment that was heard generation after generation in the form of a legend...

At the beginning of time itself, before the world was created, there were five Goddesses. These were also known as the Elemental Nymphs: Betilla the Forest Nymph, Annetta the Ocean Nymph, Helena the Mountain Nymph, Holly the Sound Nymph and Edith the Fire Nymph. All of them were blood sisters and the daughters of the great mighty Polokus that is the sole determiner and creator of the world.

However, there were also two children Goddess sisters—twins—named Faith and Hope, that Polokus kept by his side. Both were completely white like beautiful pearl with lovely long hair that touched their waists, their eyes magically pupil-less and white. They had been created by Polokus from elements from another realm and were seen as his adopted twin daughters.

Joining in harmony, the five Goddess sisters created the planet. Helena formed the earth to walk upon and when the planet had been formed she died as the mountains of our world. With the base of the planet formed, Edith cut her own wrists and allowed her blood to seep into the earth. Her fire aligned blood formed the lava core of our world and gave it the volcanoes that represent a new beginning. When her blood was fully drained her physical body disintegrated to dust which formed the desserts. Her remaining soul burst into a powerful ball of flame, lifting to the sky as our sun that gives us light and heat everyday.

With the two main bases formed, the remaining sisters filled their creation with life. Annetta, as emotional as she was, cried tears for her two lost sisters. She cried and cried, slowly forming the oceans, rivers and streams of the new world. When she could shed no more tears, she vanished, but occasionally tears still fall in the form of rain when sadness consumes her once again. But when anger is merged with her misery, it creates the lightning and the storms that pass over the land—Annetta was the creator of both water and weather.

Everything needed for life had been established: warmth, sunlight, water and earth. It was then Polokus' eldest daughter, Betilla, weaved her magic to create the nature of the planet. Her magical threads wove in different patterns, each different pattern giving birth to a brand new species of plant. Trees sprouted from the ground at rapid speeds, leafy vines grew and weaved, lush grass covered the rocky earth previously created by her sister and finally beautiful flowers filled the world with a mixture of colour far beyond the imagination. However...Betilla did not die like her sisters.

Polokus was proud so far with the creation of his daughters and kept in spiritual contact with their souls even when they were grounded by their new forms. He held the new creation in his very hands, like a fragile crystal, pondering on the sensation that something was very much missing. At realising the emptiness of the world he realised there needed to be creatures, animals, things that moved. He fell into a deep sleep and dreamed, dreamed of creatures big and small, each dream giving life to a brand new living creature on the new creation. He even had nightmares too ghastly to see, and unintentionally created Jano, a monster he assigned the job of guarding the nightmares and demons of the world. He became Jano, the Guardian of the Cave of Bad Dreams.

There was now life and creatures of different levels of beauty and size, but there was still something important missing...everything was completely silent. It was then the final and youngest sister, Holly the Sound Nymph, gifted the planet with her part. She took a deep breath and breathed across the planet, her breath blowing down the throats of the newly born animals of the world. All at once, a mighty chorus of different sounds, quiet and loud, small and long, harsh and musical, were bestowed to the living. Her breath gave more to them than a voice however, as some gained intelligence and learned how to speak to each other in what Holly named 'languages.' Her gift to the world was diversity as eventually the attributes of talent and intelligence were revealed. With her final breath sighed, she became one with the winds that flow over the lands.

"Ya still with me?" Rayman chuckled.

Vincent was wide awake and listening with interested eyes. He had sat up, wrapping the bed sheet around his shoulders, purely mesmerised by the legend that Rayman was telling to him. He was lost in his own imagination as he pictured the story of these Goddesses. Rayman was a really good story teller.

"I am, please continue. I want to know more."

Rayman gave him a caring smile from his position in his bed, secretly contemplating how it must be around midnight by now. He had not moved since he had started the story and was beginning to get drowsy where he sat.

With yawn filled with content, no irritation, Rayman continued, "For thousands of years everything was perfect...

Until the blood daughters suddenly broke out in disdainful mutiny against one another. All were ordered furiously by Polokus to travel to the Hall of Doors to settle this disgraceful argument, which is a court between the realms that is run by his loyal servants—the Teensies. All five sisters sat at a round diamond table encrusted with jewels in the court as the arguments worsened. Four of them were transparent spirits as their physical forms had been lost, whilst the other remaining one was still solid as she was still alive.

"I created the terrain itself! I did the biggest part!" Helena screamed and pointed at her fire sister, Edith.

"You? Hark, don't make me laugh sister!" Was Edith's jazzy voice before she slammed a hand to the table. Her eyes were ablaze in disgust. "Hello girls, I did the biggest part. Without me the creatures would die without their sun!"

"T-That's not true," Spoke the tearful voice of Annetta. "I played the largest part by f-far; the plants and animals would die without my water. Some even live in it. I suffered more than all of you in creating my part too."

"Suffered more, SUFFERED MORE!" Edith roared. Annetta flinched. "Girl, I slit my wrists and bled to death for my part!"

"I suffered more than all of you, I had to breathe out all of my air to give the world its voices—I suffocated!" Holly interjected. She was the youngest yet loudest of the five Goddess sisters. "I played the biggest part as without me there would be no intelligence on this planet, they would all be brainless shells like the rest of you!"

The hot tempered Edith sharply stood up. "How dare you, Pipe-Mouth!"

Holly followed suit, voice making the glasses of water shatter. "Shut up, Fatso!"

Annetta fearfully raised from her seat too. "I...I—"

"Oh for Father's sake, shut up you cry baby," Edith pointed to her Ocean Nymph sister who was beginning to cry again. "Girl, you've got to be the most pathetic out of all of us!"

Polokus watched solemnly from the sidelines at his daughters, the two twin sisters named Faith and Hope by his sides. He shook his head at the scene and the loud ruckus his children were making—he had never seen such selfishness. His eyes turned to Betilla who had been sitting coolly throughout the argument.

Betilla sighed. She calmly stood up from her seat, strong and true, the only one not a spirit like her other brethren as she had not died for her part. Every single sister froze at the sound of her chair screeching quietly against the floor. The tension was tangible as they all stared at the eldest.

With her emerald eyes filled with wisdom, Betilla stated in dismay, "Sisters, my sisters...do you truly believe that one of us did more than the other in the creation of our world? Each one of us played an equal part—we need each others elements for balance."

Edith snarled and with a mere flick of her wrist her glass chair flew across the room—shattering into millions of shards. She stomped towards Betilla, who merely stared calmly into her younger sister's eyes. The anger in those amber eyes almost took her aback—almost.

"You," Edith hissed in pure hatred and distrust. "You've no right to talk here, girl...you're still alive..."

Betilla felt a tendril of fear...the other sisters were looking to each other in agreement. Polokus narrowed his eyes at feeling the atmosphere turn hostilely cold.

The Fire Nymph turned with a flourish of flame to her other sisters, turning her back on the startled Betilla.

"Sisters, my sisters, all of my dead sisters, can you even look at this girl in the eye?! Look at her! She remains alive whilst we suffered and died! Is that fair, my sisters? Should she roam free whilst we are grounded by our parts? I say she should join us!—I say kill her!"

Chairs were thrown back harshly with resounding screeches. Betilla's heart ran icy cold as all of her once beloved sisters were suddenly stalking towards her in agreement. Her eyes widened and she screamed in fear when she dodged a spike of sharp crystal from her sister, Helena. When forced to fly her fairy wings were thrown off course by a summoned wind from Holly. She was thrown into the fragile glass wall. The thunderous crash she made as she shattered the crystal and her pleas were ignored by her sisters as they all took flight to hunt her down.

Never had Polokus seen such anger.

Covered in cuts that furiously bled, Betilla began to cry tears of sorrow. How had it come to this? She scurried to her feet in pure fright and ran through the court.

"That is..." Vincent breathed, his voice gentle and quiet like a mouse. "That is horrible. How could they possibly treat their own family that way? It breaks my heart a little."

Rayman gave him a sympathetic smile. "But that wasn't even the worst part...

In escaping the Hall of Doors, Betilla flew as fast as she could to the world she and her sisters had previously created. She flew for all she was worth, the blood dripping from her wounds staining her created grass with the memory of betrayal. The forest where she had been living for thousands of years was her refuge...but it did not feel safe anymore. Deep down, she knew with all her fearful heart that her spiritual sisters would try to pry her out.

And they all did attempt—heartlessly.

For months there was no rain from Annetta and the forest began to die. The sun was burning brighter and hotter than ever in the clear sky, representing Edith's pure loathing for her hiding sister. On some days, the wind would blow so violently through the trees that poor Betilla was forced to hold onto her dying nature in order to prevent being blown out of her own element. Because of the hatred towards Betilla, the horrors of drought, natural forest fires, hurricanes and tornadoes consumed the world. All at a hefty price...for the creatures began to suffer.

Polokus was enraged. As a Being of creation, he heard the desperate pleas of the planet's creatures. He heard the creatures of the planet scream for mercy and plead for a better life—assuming they had done something wrong. He heard the children crying for lost family from the tornadoes that tore their villages, heard them cough from the droughts in despair, heard them yell to the skies for an end to this nightmare. But Polokus would not interfere with his daughters monstrous behaviour, for he believed that they had to settle this on their own—despite the sacrifice.

However, Polokus felt strongly for Betilla. He sent one of the twin sisters, Hope, down to the forest to bestow his eldest daughter with a secret gift.

Night only just descended when Hope appeared in a beautiful flash of pearly light deep within the forest. There Betilla sat, sobbing, looking worn, torn and exhausted.

"Dear Betilla, oh innocent Betilla, our father has blessed you with a wondrous gift," The child sang in her angelic voice, her powers to give hope coursing through Betilla like a flaming phoenix. "Our father has taken some of his own powers...and is blessing you with them. Take care of them and they will take care of you. Please be safe, and always have hope."

The pure white child shining like crystal placed her tiny hands together and within them a strange glowing ball of silver was formed. It floated to Betilla, making her gasp as the power it released within her was overwhelming. When it had been completely absorbed into her heart, she looked to her younger adopted sister.

"You have been blessed with the power of 'creation,' just like our Father. You can now create creatures yourself and have the power to determine the fate of the world. You can give creation as well as take it. The power given to you remains yours, but there is one catch: when you use your powers to kill another soul...you will become mortal. Good luck my big sister."

With that, the magical child Goddess of Hope faded away, vanishing back to Polokus. Betilla clenched her fists—she knew what she had to do.

For days she put her new power to use. She weaved and knitted, cut and sowed magical threads together in her mystical palms. At times a forest fire from Edith forced Betilla to halt the creation process. Time was short and the creatures of the planet were in desperate need.

At long last, she finally succeeded in creating a living breathing creature of her own. The ball of pure energy she had formed exploded into several silver Lums. Each one hovered for a moment, glowing with magic, until they began to take shape. A head was formed, then a body, then hands, then feet. Using abilities that only Holly should possess, Betilla gave him intelligence to develop his own personality and talents. As she touched above his heart she had only one final thing left to do—assign him his destiny.

"Young one, I, your mother creator, have given you life. Your destiny is to protect this world at all costs when you finally awaken and to always fight for the greater good and justice—For you are this planet's only hope."

She named him...the Guardian.

Rayman suddenly paused with a shaky exhale of breath. He was deadly still as the tension began to grow unbearable. A horrid cold chill had suddenly entered his heart. It spread through his veins, tingled against his skin with shivers. Closing his eyes for a moment, he did not see Vincent cock his head in oblivious concern.

"Is...something wrong? If you do not want to continue that is—

"No," Rayman interrupted sternly, hand in the air. "I must finish this."

I must finish this, for Ly's sake...

Finally, after months of hiding in the forest, Betilla stepped out of the trees and revealed herself. The night was young as all of a sudden the Fire Nymph floated down from the dark sky. Edith's soul was transparent, no longer needed to be the sun. She drifted down to the open clearing where Betilla stood in waiting. As soon as Edith touched the ground, she magically made her body solid for the oncoming fight. There they stood metres apart—face to face.

"So, girl, you've finally appeared from the forests you have cowered within. Now is the time to seal your fate—face me!"

Betilla and Edith slowly began to encircle each other like prowling beasts. Betilla's tone was deadly quiet as she spoke, "I am afraid you are mistaken, dear sister." Betilla drew out a crystal dagger from her green clothing. It glinted in the light—merciless. Her eyes glinted as sharp as her blade. "It is not my fate that shall be sealed."

Edith growled like the fiery lion she was. In rage, she drew her own double daggers, their blades as black as the night. A roar of fury left her lips, "I will watch you burn!"

Native Teensies suddenly appeared out of nowhere, surrounding the clearing. All looked worse for wear from the natural disasters the Goddess sisters had struck the land with. They all began to clap, a beat in the night—the sound calling the Sound Nymph Holly forth. They all stomped the ground, a vibration through the earth—calling the Mountain Nymph Helena forth. They all did the rain dance—summoning the Ocean Nymph Annetta forth. All three of the summoned spirits appeared, all behind the hundreds of Teensies creating the rhythm for the fight. One stood in the East, one in the West and one in the South, the North being now stood in by Edith. In the centre of it all, Betilla narrowed her eyes at her opponent. The beat echoed throughout the night, each clap a step of the duelling Goddesses.

The Teensies all chanted for Betilla as the two enemy sisters approached each other with eyes as sharp as steel, their faithful and hopeful chanting calling the twin Goddess children to the world. The two pearl-like children hovered above the fight scene, gaining strength from the chants. The board was set to fight.

With one dagger to her sisters two, Betilla subconsciously gripped her blade tighter. Edith smirked evilly at her sister's hesitance to attack.

Edith roared, "Attack me, fool!"

Betilla was left unprepared as suddenly Edith lunged towards her. Betilla yelped and leant backwards, eyes wide when the razor blade stabbed the air—centimetres from her face. Growling, she did a roundhouse kick that struck her sister dead-on in the face. Edith yelled out in pain, staggering back. Gracefully hand-standing, Betilla pushed off the ground, flipping over her sister. On landing she spun. Her dagger slicing—

Clang! Blades collided. Edith had whipped around as fast as lightning to block it. With superior power she pushed the dagger forward, throwing Betilla back. With a glare, Betilla back flipped and immediately side-stepped when the other dagger vertically sliced. Both opponents had missed.

Both Edith's blades sliced in a vicious 'X.' Betilla rolled to the side to avoid it. Her momentum allowed her a horizontal slice. Edith shrilly screamed, a neat cut bled across her waist. Betilla did a one handed cartwheel and flipped away. She raised her blood tipped blade, smirking. Edith was powerful, but she was more agile.

Gritting her teeth, Edith began to circle once again. Betilla followed suit. They crept around each other, bodies low in a prowl—waiting.

The three other Elemental Nymphs started to cheer for the Fire Nymph. In turn, the Teensies chanted louder for Betilla. This was not just a duel of the Goddesses—this was a war—a war for the world!

Powerfully leaping through the air, Edith held her daggers overhead. Betilla growled—she had no time to avoid it. Bracing her blade she defended it head on. The force behind Edith made it impossible to guard. Betilla cried out when she was thrown to the ground.

Slicing apart her blades, Edith gleefully watched the shock on her sister's face. The clang of metal resounded as Betilla's only weapon was struck from her grasp. The blade flew. A heart wrenching thud echoed as it landed in the dirt.

Beneath Edith, Betilla struggled to get away. The Teensies clapped faster, chanted louder, stomped the ground harder. The three other blood sisters called for victory. Smiling at her supporting sisters, Edith lifted both daggers above her head, ready to finish this. The twin Goddess children, Hope and Faith, began to secretly channel the power from the Teensies support to Betilla.

Without warning the ground around Betilla began to shake. It was unnoticed by the fire sister. Edith sneered—stabbing down her blades. In her rage she did not notice Betilla's unsettling grin. The next moves were so fast everyone could barely register it.

All of a sudden, vines tore from the ground, whipping at the opposing blades. The vines suddenly grasped Edith's wrists. The descending blades were forced to halt—millimetres from piercing flesh. Betilla suddenly grinned and vanished into the ground, the leafy vines dragging her down. The vines around the blades retreated. Two black daggers abruptly pierced the empty ground.

"Behind you, sister!" Holly called.

In utter fright Edith spun around. Amber eyes widened. Betilla shot out from the earth behind her, body encircled in pulsing undergrowth. Her body was glowing green—her eyes a luminous lime in the darkness. Elegantly lifting a hand, the Forest Nymph summoned a vine to swipe her missing crystal blade back. The plant swiftly flung the blade to her awaiting palm. It spun in slow motion through the air, reflecting Edith's shocked expression, before being caught effortlessly by the eldest sister's fingers.

Gripping the dagger, Betilla lunged forward. At that same moment, Edith yanked out her blades from the ground, pirouetted—

An unearthly scream of pain pierced the air as crimson blood splattered the ground. There were audible gasps...then purely shocked silence.

There Edith stood; faltering from a knife stabbed cleanly through her heart, point sticking sickeningly from her back. The tip of Betilla's crystal blade dripped murderous blood. The blade that had been purposely stabbed at Betilla had merely pierced slightly through her side—missing the killing blow. Hissing in discomfort, Betilla knew what she had to do...this had to be finished.

"Hope, Faith, come forth!" Betilla mightily ordered, voice echoing with power. "I summon thee by my side...for the end."

Obediently, because of Polokus' gift to Betilla, the two twins floated down to her without hesitation. Edith gaped in shock at the scene.

"Dear Betilla, we have been building power from your supporters. It is time to put an end to Edith," The twins stated in unison.

Immediately, the two Goddess children channelled the pure energy they had built up into their hands. The twins glow was blinding, tenderly touching Betilla's shoulders: one channelling in the power of hope and the other the power of faith. The surrounding Teensies were growing louder and louder—sensing an end.

"W-What are you doing? Where did you gain such powers?!" Edith screamed as, from the power growing in Betilla, a gale ferociously whipped up.

The vines grew leafier, greener, and richer around Betilla's slender form. They wrapped around her, glowing brighter and brighter as the children channelled more and more of their power into her own. Forcefully, she grabbed Edith's shoulder with her spare hand to prevent her moving. Once lime eyes became pure white. The surrounding Teensies shielded their eyes as the stormy gale grew stronger in the clearing.

"By the Power of Creation bestowed upon me," Betilla's voice was strong and true, echoing in the windy clearing. "I create you as the sun—nothing more. You are no longer a part of the Goddess realm, or a part of our Father's daughters. You are no longer my sister. You are merely the sun of this world and I create you as nothing more!"

As soon as those words had been spoken, Edith felt herself fading away. But she was not going to go without some final words.

"I-I swear a final oath, Betilla. I curse your des-descendents, curse your future children. Your bloodline will abruptly end...be it a thousand or a h-hundred years from now. The power will consume them, that-that descendent will destroy this world with my revengeful flames...your efforts h-have been...in vain...you have...failed..."

Betilla's heart pounded in her chest, a signal that after murdering Edith she was now mortal from her new powers one condition. Edith seemed to disintegrate in her hands into a glittering dust, an ironically beautiful dust despite everything as it drifted to the blackness of the night above. Tomorrow would be the first day that Edith would rise for the first time as merely an inanimate phenomenon.

Betilla stared at her feminine shaking hands, watching her fingers tremble in building fear. Her eyes appeared distraught as all sounds faded from existence in her ears. The cheers of the overjoyed Teensies were lost to her.

That descendent will destroy this world.

You have...failed...

"Silence!" Betilla cried, voice cracking when tears stung her eyes. How could she have still failed?

Everyone feel deadly silent, confused at her distress. The Teensies whispered to each other in concern as, grasping her still bleeding side, Betilla stood straighter with broken pride. The twins floated around her caringly, both young yet understanding why she was so upset.

"Well done, my eldest."

Every voice, young and old, wary and relieved, gasped in cheerful amazement. Everyone turned and bowed, all except Betilla, when Polokus appeared. His other blood daughters cowered in fear on the sidelines at their Father's presence as he shot them a glare. "You three leave, now."

Without hesitation, the other three Goddess daughters of Polokus vanished, souls fleeing for their grounding elements of the planet.

Betilla emotionlessly watched them go before turning miserably to Polokus, to her Father. "Father, how can you say that? Edith used the last of her powers to swear an oath—to curse me. You know that a Goddess' curse can not be prevented...it becomes a prophecy."

Polokus' eyes sparkled with comforting warmth. "There is still hope, my child."

"How?" Betilla whispered in despair, meeting eyes with her all-powerful Father. Her voice was tinged in a shame she should honestly not be experiencing after such a victory.

"A Goddess' curse can not be stopped, as you say.

However, it can be led astray,

And countered by another curse that way," Polokus informed, eyes glancing to the two twin children hovering over his daughter's shoulders.

Polokus beckoned the two to him with a gnarled finger, "Hope and Faith...come forth."

The pearly children instantly came with curious expressions.

"My two adopted daughters, you mean just as much to me as my blood daughters. I am afraid I must ask a favour that is irreversible. I hope you come to forgive me."

The twins glanced to each other in unison, before curiously titling their heads in silent question to their Father.

A powerful breeze swept up when Polokus slowly raised his arms to his two adopted daughters. Such power tingled through the air, yet it was calm and warm, as soothing as the early dawn now approaching.

Everyone's eyes watched in wonder as he bellowed, "I, Polokus, creator of all, summon the Goddess twins—Hope and Faith—to become beacons of their elements to this world. Let them shine in people's darkest hours, let them be wished upon by creatures who long for a dream, let them always be a symbol that others can gaze upon and retrieve hope and faith from.

"A prophecy was said today by the previous Goddess Edith, previous Fire Nymph of this planet...I counter this with one of my own. Let the threads of time unravel, let the unstoppable events occur. However, when the time comes for the now mortal Betilla's descendent to destroy the world in flame, let the twins Hope and Faith shine down on that descendent and take her from the mortal world. The world shall be spared, and the descendent taken to the twins."

As those loud and powerful words echoed throughout the clearing, the two twins began to laugh joyously. Their laughs reverberated on the gentle breeze blowing around the area and gently tugged at their surroundings, softly lacing through Betilla's beautiful hair...calming. They began to glow, brighter and brighter, their pearly forms shining like pure diamonds. Betilla shielded her eyes and stared in awe as the two suddenly shot to the night like stunning shooting stars. Everything suddenly flashed white, before the childish laughs finally ceased.

No one was prepared for what they saw when they gradually opened their eyes to view the skies.

Up in the sky, side by side, were two breathtaking crescent moons. They were as white and glowing as they had been when they were Goddesses, their moonlight as pearly as their skin had been. Never had Polokus seen such willing self sacrifice.

Polokus named them the Twin Moons.

"And so, that's the end," Rayman concluded, now so exhausted from his detailed story telling that he was practically passing out. He let out one final yawn and closed his eyes to recover for a moment.

"Wow, that was a great story," Vincent shyly approved. "I never knew that the Twin Moons were actually Goddesses."

Rayman cracked a tired eye open at suddenly noticing that Vincent sounded much, much closer than before. He blinked in surprise at finding that the other had miraculously moved at some point in his story to sit on his bed without him noticing, his own bed sheet still draped childishly around his shoulders. However, Rayman did not mind at all and only gave a small smile to his black and blue counterpart.

"You are an amazing story teller," Vincent nervously stated, fiddling timidly with his scarf. His emerald eyes suddenly seemed unfocused for a moment. "Rayman?"

"Hmm?"

"What happened to Betilla's creation, the Guardian?"

Rayman suddenly stiffened, which was unfortunately noticed by Vincent. There was a lengthy silence that was severely tense, but Vincent could not understand why. It seemed Rayman was deciding his words as he swallowed harshly, opened his eyes, and stared at his still clasped hands on his chest.

"I don't know, still hasn't awakened to protect the world I suppose," He lied.

Vincent cocked his head to the side at realising for the first time that the roles were reversed—Rayman would not meet his eyes. Was it something he had said? He truly hoped not since he was already feeling guilty.

Giving Rayman a hollow smile, Vincent yawned and gradually got up to go to his own bed to finally sleep. Rayman felt the bed tilt back up when Vincent's small weight vanished and he inwardly sighed in relief.

In absolute fatigue, he pulled the pillow to the mattress from the wooden headboard and threw his head back against the lush object. The fact that he was in a cellar bed did not seem to affect him at the moment.

Before Rayman fell asleep, since the story he had told was still fresh in his mind, a single thought smoothly sounded:

Ly was that descendent, Ly was Betilla's descendent.