AN: So, for this chapter, we take a break from the usual action to see what the other characters are up to. For chapters like these, we'll be missing out the "Fun Cul-de-sac Facts". Also, considerable darkness in this chapter; but don't worry, for it'll lighten up in the following chapters.
Chapter Fourteen: Monster Diary Volume One
ooo
14th July 1324
So we're here at the entrance to the Manalia Forest, in a little village called Manarton trying to track down a rather elusive creature; the Great White Unicorn. This particular genus belongs to the Arusemnut Igsarrto class of Unicorns, which consists of the White, Black and Gray families.
The Great White (Umixasm Salnbuc) is one of the more rarer monsters that inhabits this planet (Note: Monster simply means any creature that is not counted as a civilised species). Apparently, the last fully recorded sighting of a Great White was around two hundred years ago; the written evidence on the sighting was found in a well-preserved document inside the library of Manalia Abbey. Before that, it was said that Great White sightings were fairly common, but dwindled in the late 12th Century, until they were considered one of the rarest monsters of Gaia by 1249: around the middle of the 13th Century, and not even a hundred years ago.
Monsterologists, like myself, have sought after this magnificent, glorious creature for many, many years. Until recently, searching for beings like this (especially in the Manalia Forest) was a dangerous task; as we Monsterologists are typically (I stress that word) Scholars, we are not…accustomed to fighting monsters; and why would we wish to harm the creatures that we wish to study? However, recently created techniques for studying monsters, along with Royal (!) funding has allowed progress to be made in our field of study.
So that's why I'm here today, along with several other companions, to search for this beast. Usually we study monsters in the safety of labs, but I've always been one for field research. I guess that's why I've not been offered position as Head of the Monsterology Department at the University of Areth; I'm too progressive…
I have to go now; we're leaving for the centre of the forest. If I can't find a Great White Unicorn, then my name isn't Taileia Tilafore!
-Taileia Tilafore
ooo
Taileia put down the ink-filled dip pen she was writing with, and gently brushed off any spare ink on the nib with a plain beige cloth. She packed away the pen and cloth into a little metallic case, made of a cold black material, that was also filled with other writing materials (pens, pencils, erasers, a ruler etc) all arranged in a neat order. She closed the case, and packed it away in her leather bag. She slung it onto her shoulder, made sure that the latched were tightly sealed, and walked out of the room where she had slept that night.
The first floor hallway of the Manarton Inn was a relatively pleasing sight, with the wooden walls decorated with paintings and such. Taileia descended the stairs at the other end of the hallway, emerging in the booking area of the inn. Here were the other members of her expedition; admittedly, four was not enough, but it was all she was granted by the University council.
Alezia, a White Mage student at A.U. , had marine-blue hair in a bun on her head (with the style, oddly, looking like a plant with leaves) and eyes the same colour. She wore a long blue tunic, with a brown buckled belt around the waist and a darker blue cloak that reached the back of her knees. She wore trousers of navy-blue denim, along with black rubber gloves and boots. Her staff was oak, and pole-like, with a gold-ringed bludgeon at the top and a cube at the bottom.
Jaron, a young Dragoon, wore armour made from mythril, with gauntlets, sabatons, kneecaps, a shield, spear, helmet and body armour made from the metal. His combed red hair was hidden beneath the helmet, but his foggy-grey eyes were visible to the human eye.
Maybel, a practitioner of Black Magic at the University, wore black shoes, with slight heels. A pleated coal-black skirt fell straight to her knees, and the blazer she wore was part of the official University uniform; a cherry-red in colour, with white cuffs on the sleeves, golden buttons and a yellow-gold line pattern at the bottom. The white shirt she wore underneath was accompanied by a rich-green tie, with a golden crown, two tomes on either side, emblem on it: the insignia of the University of Areth. Her curly brown hair framed her face, falling to her shoulders, and her green eyes tinkled as they were surrounded by pink eye-shadow. The gnarled oak staff in her right hand was what she used to initiate her magic.
Dracol, a young Thief of the Guild Association of Areth, wore a yellow bandana over his equally-yellow hair. His black eyes shone with cunning, and he had on a yellow-orange tunic, red pants and brown leather boots that made no sound as he walked. He wielded a simple mythril knife as his weapon, though it had served him well in his time as a Thief.
"Miss Taileia!" remarked Maybel courteously, curtseying as one of her teachers entered the room. Though she was the same age as most of the students at the University (around 18) Taileia, as a result of her great intellect, had attended already, and graduated two years before; now she had assumed role of a Monsterology professor. "Did you have a pleasant night?"
"Yes, I did," replied Taileia with a smile. "Thank you for asking, Maybel. Did you?"
"Indeed, Miss. It was a great difference to the dormitory accommodations at the University, but a pleasant stay nonetheless."
"That's good," nodded the Scholar. "What about you three?"
"It was fun!" replied Alezia, in a peppy voice. "I heard three owls last night!"
"It was alright," said Jaron nonchalantly, looking to his right.
"My bed was ruined!" replied Dracol angrily. "I couldn't get a wink of sleep last night!"
"If that is so, why did I hear you snoring deeply as I passed by to attend the lavatory?" asked Maybel sceptically.
"Ooops…" said Dracol slowly, realizing he had been exposed by Maybel, the snobbish Black Mage!
"Well, what do we do now, Miss?" asked Alezia, trying to contain her excitement at field research.
"We got all our supplies yesterday, so now all we need to do is go out into Manalia Forest and begin our expedition."
ooo
AN: In the next Monster Diary Volume, we will see what has happened to Taileia's team so far. Now, however, it is time for another much more…interesting… part of the chapter…
ooo
Darkness.
Darkness everywhere.
Was the darkness false, or did it just come about naturally?
If there was an answer, it had long been forgotten for more important matters in the hellish realm that was the Underworld. The Hell of the Universe. The physical manifestation of Darkness and, sadly, evil.
The place where Darkness and Death ruled hand-in-hand.
The sky was black, as though you were looking up into a huge endless pit of nothingness. The flat earth was charred and rocky, as though, a very long time ago, grass had bloomed upon the Desolate Plains; now the grass was cinders and soot whirling about in the freezing gales. High in the black sky was a sun of fire, an ominous orb hanging at the very top of the sky of this retched world. From its position, the sun was a sickening red in colour, and hot tongues of flame licked at the sky around it; indeed, the sun of this world was considered a sinister omen of death and destruction.
The walled city at the centre of this world was the city of the monsters and the damned: Punista. The cobble-stone streets were covered in scrapings of flesh and gore, while rivers of vile crimson blood ran down the gutters at the side of the street, flowing down into the disgusting catacombs below the dark place. The houses were dark; the stone, roof and anything else made of stone were as black as ebony; it seemed as if the sky and roof of each building were both one, merging into the same endless blackness. Red lights, like miniature versions of the sun, hung from tall black poles on each street, casting their evil bloody shadows over the cobbles.
The beings that stalked these streets were few and far between in their appearance; some were stout and ugly, with huge claws and fangs, while others were tall, gauntly and pale, with glowing eyes and hissing tongues. No one knew where these demons had came from; were they natural species, created along with the rest of their Hell? Or were they the souls of the damned, dragged into the fiery depths of the Underworld by Faith herself, transformed into monstrous beings that corresponded to their crimes and personality? Perhaps it was neither, or maybe it was both; it wasn't known...
At the very centre of the grotesque metropolis was the unholy centre of evil in all of creation, of the whole universe. The Palace of Darkness stood tall and imposing, the countless black towers nearly reaching up to touch the dead sun. Around the castle was a moat; a moat of blood, fire and shadows; the three substances mixed together in a terrible mix of red and black. After the moat were the castle gardens (a place of rotting, decaying plants) and the castle itself. Inside the castle was a rather different story than the city outside. The walls were immaculately clean, as were the floors. The walls were black in colour, and purple fire hung from torches on the wall. At the heart of the place, near the top of the central tower, was a small, circular room, with one end bathed in utter shadows and the other bathed in blue-tinged light. The end with the shadows seemed to have many bookcases lining the wall, and the other end was bare with a large metal door the only thing of interest.
"So..." spoke a voice from the shadows, "...you failed in your mission." A tall, red velvet chair came into view, and a tall, masculine figure could be seen sitting in it. "You haven't ever failed me before; are you losing your touch, Faith?"
"No, Your Darkness," replied Faith in a small voice that echoed shame (which was very unusual for her). She was standing at the other end of the room, in the blue light, looking down at the floor and clutching her trident closely to her while wringing her hands. "I'm sorry."
The man in the chair sighed disappointedly, slowly tapping the right armrest of his chair with his hand on the same side. "Perhaps you are. But aren't you officially the most untrustworthy person in all of the Underworld? How do I know if you are lying?"
A small smirk began to play on her face at her master's humour. "Perhaps I am, Your Unholiness. But you know me better than that, don't you?"
"Indeed. Why do you think the scumbag Chosen Ones succeeded in gaining the Crystal of Nature where you failed?"
Faith sounded looked slightly angry, and there was a bitter tone in her voice as she said, "I suppose there is a possibility that I underestimated them...But I believe firmly that it was just beginners luck."
"How do you know? The others, including me, had to decide who to chose to be the Chosen Ones. I know how strong they are, and you're, in fact, wrong in your assumptions."
"What do you mean?" asked Faith in a dead-pan manner, as if she already knew the answer.
"You did indeed underestimate them. Although they've not yet fully unlocked their full abilities, they are indeed` growing stronger every day; the Chosen One of Nature, although it is an insignificant Element, has already began the awakening process. It is only a matter of time before the others do."
"And I will stop them," said Faith in a proud smirk. "Didn't I already prove that when I attacked their home?"
"That was merely a copy of their dwelling," reasoned the man in shadows. "It wasn't their home you destroyed. Besides, they still managed to get to Gaia."
"Yes," said Faith, sounding ashamed again, "those X-Kankers failed where I would have succeeded." She looked at a new-looking sword hanging on the wall of the room. "They deserved to be...recycled. And their biological halves are being tortured as we speak."
"Good..." purred the man darkly. "Now, onto your next assignment."
"I already know," stated Faith. "I must travel to the Temple of Fire."
"Indeed," replied the man. "Now, you will go tomorrow. Though you ultimately failed in your duty, you did a good job. Now, you are dismissed. If I do not see you before you depart, then may the blessings of the Underworld and I be with you."
"Thank you, O Dark One," replied Faith, bowing as she did so. She slowly backed away, towards the door, and gently opening it, closing it again with a soft thud as she slipped out in the darkness. She gently walked down the stairs of the tower until she reached the bottom, emerging into a dark hall that connected to the Main Hall.
Mistress was scolded, spoke a dark voice as The Swarm materialised behind its mistress.
"Before I skin you alive," replied Faith bitterly, "I'd like you to shut up with that infernal racket of yours."
Swarm detects Mistress is irritated.
"Shut up!"
As the two advanced down the hallway, throwing taunts and curses at each other, Faith began to sense that the residents of the castle had been changed slightly in their manners. The Droinids, blue-skinned beasts with black spiky hairs and eyes as white as snow that worked as the Palace guards, looked at her with a sense of authority and stood up straight as she passed, casting reproachful glances at her. Faith looked at them oddly; before they had been fearful, and nervously bowed whenever she passed them. She walked into the Main Hall where the throne of her master was, and noted that the Pailos, timid, ghastly-looking ghosts that functioned as maids, looked at her and whispered to their comrades, whereas before they failed to meet her eyes and always stammered when she spoke to her.
Swarm detects that the slaves have changed during Swarm and Mistress's absence, spoke the sentient shadow inside Faith's mind.
I sense it too, thought Faith, glancing around at the gawking slaves. They seem to be unafraid of me. Her skin paled slightly. We'll have to change that.
"Are you Faith?" spoke a voice. Faith slowly turned around, and saw a group of Droinids flanking two well-armoured soldiers. One, a male, had short, clean-cut silver hair, with a forked tongue and coal-red eyes. The other, a female, had lighter armour on and a helmet that hid her eyes. She did have fangs and talons, though, and her long straight red hair was visible.
"Yes," spoke Faith slowly. "What's it to you?"
"I am Flagius, newly promoted General of the Underworld Military. This is my first Lieutenant, Gremga," he spoke, gesturing to his female companion, who only nodded at Faith. "As your superiors, we believe that you should hand over the responsibility of the Chosen Ones assignment to us." As Faith looked incredulously at him, the slaves around them murmured approvingly at the statement. Faith suddenly realised why they seemed so confident; with the arrival of this Flagius idiot, Faith was apparently going to be put in her place. As if that would ever happen.
"Give my mission to you?" laughed Faith hysterically. "To you?"
"Yes," replied Flagius, a bit miffed. "As your superior, I am taking control."
"Do as he says, thicb," said Gremga, speaking for the first time. Faith stopped laughing and looked at her. Time seemed to stop as the servants gathered in the Main Hall gasped in shock at what Gremga had said to Faith. The archdemon slowly stopped walking, and stood as still as if she were a statue. The silence that had gathered in the great hall was terrifyingly ominous; a pin, dropped in the castle basement, could have been heard.
Slowly, Faith turned around, so that she was looking straight at Flagius and, more importantly, Gremga. Her pitiless black eyes were as cold as an Arctic night, and her neutral facial expression looked as hard as a boulder. "Well," she said suddenly, shattering the sinister silence, "what have we here?" Faith began to advance towards Gremga, who paled slightly . Faith made sure that every step she took was agonisingly slow, so that it added further torment for her victim.
"What is the meaning of this?" barked Flagius, when Faith cast a glance at him. No one except the two of them saw what happened; Faith, smirking, bore holes into his eyes, while Flagius looked back in a dazed manner. After about five seconds, he gasped in shock, and backed off away from Faith.
It always works, spoke The Swarm inside Faith's head as she began, once again, to move toward Gremga, who was sweating slightly.
"You have power in you," said Faith quietly, but her voice echoed in the hall. "I can see that. The Darkness within your heart is great; no wonder you're a member of the army. You are a Dark Dragoon, and you wield your spear in battle against your foes." By now, Faith was standing right next to the helmeted demon-woman. She reached out a hand, and began to feel Gremga's hair, as she walked around the Dark Dragoon (who was standing absolutely still). "I can feel that you are strong and powerful, and the shadows around you only help the darkness to envelop your heart more. However…"
The changed in Faith's tone made Gremga even more fearful. "You wear a helmet with a visor not because you want to, but because you have to," spoke the fiend darkly. "Before you became what you are now, you were a human weren't you?" Gremga merely stood there, allowing Faith to run her cold hands through her hair. "Judging by how you were a helmet, you were a murderer. You died before your twentieth birthday, and you murdered your family when you were 17. A year later you were executed, and her soul came to the Underworld, where you received a sentence from no other but I." Gremga began to tremble slightly, and bead of sweat trickled out from under her helmet. "I believe your punishment was the removal of your eyes, correct?" Faith grabbed hold of the metal bronze helmet, and yanked it off of Gremga's head.
Faith's assumption was correct; where Gremga's eyes should have been were instead two empty sockets, the black holes slowly leaking blood. The crimson liquid ran down her face like tears, slowing staining the white tunic she wore under her armour.
"Poor unfortunate soul," said Faith sympathetically, though the sarcasm that laced her voice was incredibly obvious.
"Please…" gasped Gremga sorrowfully, reaching out her hands blindly towards Faith, trying to grab at the demon or her helmet back. "Give it back…"
"I don't think so," said Faith sickeningly , with an innocent smile. She held the helmet tantalizingly close to Gremga's outstretched fingers, but just out of reach. "Are you sorry?"
"For what?" asked the now-blind Dark Dragoon, as the blood coming out of her eyes.
"For calling me a thicb."
"I'm sor-"
"Lies!"
Faith viciously slapped the right side of Gremga's face, causing the female demon to scream and the servants gathered in the Main Hall to gasp. The attack done a lot more damaged than it should have done; instead of leaving a vivid red mark, the skin had burst open as though it was a porcelain vase that Faith had shattered. The skin and flesh underneath it had burst in a shower of blood and gore, and white bone was visible behinds Gremga's trembling hand which clutched the wound.
"Please!" gasped the demon, as dark-red blood from her cheek wound flowed into her open mouth. "Have mercy!"
"Then are you sorry?" asked Faith sweetly again, raising her hand as she did so.
"Yes! Yes! I am so sorry, O Great One, for my insolence, my insignificant worth…" Faith looked decidedly bored and uninterested as Gremga desperately babbled excuses for her insolence to Faith. Finally, Faith laid her cold, ivory hand on Gremga's open wound, causing her to hiss and stop talking.
"Now that you have apologised," said Faith, "I assume you will realise your place and keep to it." Faith began to walk a good 2 metres away before she continued talking. "The Darkness within your body is so strong and plentiful…we could create marvellous things with it; marvellous things indeed!"
Gremga sighed in relief as Flagius helped her to her feet.
"But that does not mean you are to be excluded from punishment!
That was when everything went wrong.
Gremga, now standing, gasped in horror at what Faith had said, while Flagius' eyes widened as he ran for cover. In the next three seconds, Faith spun around, a crackling ball of Dark Fire and Dark Electricity in her hand and a manic, crazed expression upon her face.
"No!" screamed Gremga, as Faith launched the ball of Dark energy.
When it hit her, Gremga's bloodcurdling scream rang throughout the entire castle. Her body busted into hot fire, as visible jolts of light-blue lightning surged throughout her being. In desperation, she tried to rip off her clothes; but it was too late, for her skin was already aflame.
"Gremga! You should have known better than to call Lady Faith a thicb," said Flagius disapprovingly, shaking his head. Gremga only looked at her companion with astonishment, as though her punishment was just. She tried to pull off her helmet and run away from the fire, but the purple flames constantly moved around her, roasting the flesh from her bone as she screamed in pain.
"Please let me go!" begged Gremga, getting down on all fours and crawling over to Faith. As the archdemon looked on with disgust, metal chains shout out of the wall on either side, snaking swiftly to where Gremga was. They wrapped and intertwined around her smouldering body, until all that was visible of her was her head. Though she was badly burnt, Gremga was saved from the fire. "Thank you, Mistress!" she gasped, gulping for air. It was at that point that she noticed something; the chains around her were lifting her up into the air, and they began to move over a pit (conveniently placed at the middle of the Main Hall) filled with Dark Fire, black lava and all kinds of flammable, burning matter. Gremga stared down in horror at the hole in the floor, and back at Faith, her charred eyes catching her sardonic grin.
"Drop her in."
As the chains holding onto Gremga sharply descended into the pit, the screams that erupted from her bloody mouth were even more louder and harrowing that the ones that had sounded when she first combusted. As the lava and such burned off her skin, the screams dwindled down until all that could be heard was sobbing and gasping for breath as Gremga was gently raised form the pit by the chains…and dropped right back in again.
"Look at this filth," spoke Faith to all who were present. "Look at what she has to suffer for her unspeakable crimes. It's a fair punishment, right?" A murmur of agreement ran throughout the slaves. "However, do any of you moronic slaves know what I hate even more than a traitor like this? A person who abandons their comrades in the field of danger, unless they're important like myself. A person…" (she pointed accusingly at Flagius), "like you!"
"Please, no!" cried the warrior.
"Swarm," commanded Faith loudly, "please dispose of this…animal."
Yes Mistress, resonated the shadow being, and shot toward Flagius in streaks of shadow. The warrior turned and tried to flee, but The Swarm-travelling at the speed of light-reached him quickly and moved through his body in a clean, slicing motion. As the silhouetted being left its prey's body, the Dark Warrior stopped moving and looked at the wall with an anguished expression. Suddenly blood began to seep from his arms, and his body fell apart like a broken mannequin.
"Now," spoke Faith, "come here." Gremga, out of the pit, was flung across the hall to Faith's feet. Her black body lay motionless, and she was barely breathing. "Oh dear…" said Faith in mock sympathy. "You poor dear, burnt like that."
"Please…" wheezed Gremga like a faulty bagpipe. "Just kill me…please…"
"Why would I do that?" asked Faith. "If we wait, say, a millennium or two, then you will have healed; and I think you will have learned your lesson. Now," and here Faith motioned to several guards, "escort her to the prison chambers." She grabbed what was left of Gremga's sooty hair, and roughly heaved her up with it. The punished demon opened her mouth in pain, but no scream came out; it was as if her ability to speak had now suddenly left her. The silent, armoured guards began to drag her along the ground towards one of the many doors in the Main Hall, and Gremga only trembled as she was dragged to her prison.
Mistress done well, spoke The Swarm, materialising beside Faith.
"Yes; yes I did," said Faith proudly. "As I said, a few millennia of endless suffering and agony from her burns, along with severe capital punishment, should do that uncivilised barbarian a world of good." Faith noticed that the Droinids and Pailos were still looking at her.
"And what are you still doing here?" roared Faith. "Get out now, before I have each and every one of you things crucified!" The beings began to revert back into their shells; the Droinids bowed fearfully as Faith swept past them, and the Pailos refused to meet her obsidian-black eyes.
They fear me, said Faith inside her mind, and I love it!
Swarm felt Mistress's happiness, echoed the monotonic voice inside her skull.
Of course you did, fool. Our minds are both connected.
As Faith walked through the hallways of the Palace of Darkness, she came across a most unusual sight. Two Droinids guards, both looking slightly inexperienced in their duties. They were heaving a bulging brown sack down the narrow room, their faces red and sweaty from the effort.
"Oh!" cried one of the guards, the other jumping as he did so. "L-Lady Faith!"
"What have you got there?" asked the archdemonic fiend curiously, staring at the sack as if she could bore holes in it with her eyes.
"W-we have a s-special request b-by Lord S-Shadeus himself," stammered the guard, and Faith pushed him onto the floor.
"Must you stammer when you speak?" she asked cynically. "Are you an imbecile?"
"No, Your Demoness," said the guard, doing his best not to stutter while he spoke to the imposing woman.
"I thought not," smirked Faith. "Now, let me see what is in the bag." The two guards quickly untied the bag, and pulled it back to allow Faith to see what was inside.
A young girl, about nine years old, lay peacefully in the bag, her eyes shut tight and her mouth slightly hanging open. The sleeping girl had short black hair, which reached her chin, with dark violet streaks throughout it. She wore a simple white t-shirt, with a black pleated skirt underneath it and white sheepskin shoes with violet soles. Faith stared at the girl as if she were an oddity. "Where did you find her?"
"We snatched her from a house in Areth," explained the second guard. "She was lying at a desk, as if she were writing something, only she was fast asleep."
"Why did you take her?"
"I'm not too sure…It was Lieutenant Flagius' orders, miss."
"Well, that Flagius fool is dead, so I think I'll be taking the girl into custody."
The two guards looked alarmed and shocked at news of Flagius' death. "Lieutenant Flagius…is dead?" asked the first guard incredulously, an astounded tone in his voice. "How did he die?"
"The Swarm killed him," said Faith. "He was rude to me, so I think he justly deserved his punishment." The two guards looked wide-eyed at Faith, before looking downcast.
"I agree, Lady F-Faith," said the first soldier with a slight stutter. "What s-shall we do with the p-prisoner?"
"Detain her in a suitable room."
"Not a cell?"
"No. If this human is valuable in some way, then she will function as a hostage. So I want her to be kept safe, got it?"
"Yes Ma'am!"
The two soldiers saluted Faith smartly, before both of them picked up the girl, carrying her between them. She stirred slightly, but didn't mover after that. Faith watched as she was carried away to her holding room.
Swarm thinks that human will be good bargaining tool.
As do I, replied Faith telepathically. If we can use her as a tool for negotiations, then we'll have all the Crystals from the Chosen Ones in no time at all! Faith began to cackle with manic glee as she stalked through the hallways towards her personal chambers…
ooo
AN: So, I am expecting that people will have some questions about this chapter, and I'll answer the main one right now; no, this wasn't pointless! This chapter's purpose was to introduce us to the "Monster Diary Volumes", which will generally come after a chapter in which an Elemental Crystal is gained. These chapters will be a focal point of the series, and it provides a break from the central plot into other views of an adventure on Gaia. In fact, the four characters who are accompanying Taileia on her expedition to find the Great White Unicorn are based on my party characters from Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies (albeit with slight name alterations).
Now, the second part of the chapter was probably the darkest I've wrote in this entire story, even considering the fake (but still disturbing) death of Zoe in the last chapter! I guess the burning of Gremga etc. was pointless, but it did serve as an introduction to Faith's character. Apart from several sightings scattered across the story, Faith has not had a unique chapter as of now, so I suppose you could count this as her chapter. Even though Shadeus (i.e. Your Demoness, Your Darkness, Your Unholiness) is the one who the Chosen Ones have to stop, Faith is, to be honest, the main antagonist of this story, and quite possibly the entire series; therefore, I want to develop her character more. And yes, the girl at the end of the chapter is a relative of Taileia's; what gave you the hint?
Anyways, I'm sorry for boring you all with this particularly long author's note, but I just wanted to clear some things up about the chapter. Thank you to all of those who have reviewed, including:
Anonymous
Sage of Dorks
BNVshark123
Valkyriex
Seto Ayami Master of Darkness
Jay Zero Snake
Nat-Nat18Natalie
PRIVATE Corp
Thank each and every one of you so much for your kind reviews! I'm really pleased that you have all taken time out of your lives and probably busy schedules to read my story. Thanks so much! I still need more reviews but, so I'm going to keep stressing this until I do; I allow anonymous reviews! Even if you don't have a account, you can still review my stories! I don't care how long the review is, where it's one line or a hundred; all I want is more reviews! So make sure you click on those three little blue words at the bottom of the page; go on, you know you want to…
Anyways, I don't have anything else to say, except that I hope you have enjoyed the story so far. Next chapter will be another similar to this, where the Chosen Ones return to Areth to find the location of the next Crystal. After that, though, if the Fire Arc, so make sure you keep watching for new updates. Thanks once again, and bye!
-LucasBravvus97