Light of the Ancients
Chapter 14
The Hero of the Runes
"Alright." Lest said as he reached the top of the ziggurat, "Are you ready, Frey? Senti?" he asked them,
"Yes..." Frey said, then turned to Senti, "Senti, can you please protect our child?"
"Kree!" Senti nodded and carried the boy on a floating stone crib made via her magic,
"Together." Lest told Frey, and the two marched inside, Senti following behind with Noel.
000000000
"Well well well..." Frey said as she spotted figure on the portico on top of the pyramid, "There he is!" she yelled and charged,
"Let's go!" Lest followed her,
00
"HYAH!" a vision of Lest and Frey charging appeared to the figure,
"Argh!" the figure yelled as he was struck, hurt badly.
00
"HYAH!" Lest jumped up,
"Hah!" the figure moved, "I see it!" he yelled and blocked his attack,
"HRAH!" Frey also pounced,
"I saw it too!" the figure countered her move as well.
"What!?" Lest fell back,
"Hey!" Frey growled,
"Why do you come at me like that?" the figure turned, revealing it to be the Hero of the Runes himself.
"Are you Raguna?" Lest asked, "Hero of the Runes?!"
"I am he..." Raguna told him,
"You bastard!" Frey yelled, "You left all those people to die!" she charged,
"Huh..." Raguna sighed, then easily countered her assault, "I know..." he admitted,
"Why!?" Lest yelled and attacked fiercely, "My ancestors are gone because of you!"
"I'm sorry!" Raguna blocked his strikes, "It also grieves me that I could not be there..."
"Then why didn't you return!?" Frey yelled,
"Hah!" Raguna countered her moves, "Enough! Lightningwill!" he yelled and some lighting bolts shot from his sword, the Blade of Light.
ZZAPPP! The bolts struck the weapons of his foes,
"Hey!" Lest yelled as his spear flew out of his hand and was destroyed,
"No!" Frey said as her Key Rapier was knocked out and obliterated,
"Kree!" Senti stepped in and launched her Earth magic,
"Aquatisurge!" Raguna countered it with a pulse of water, "Enough!" he yelled.
"Why did you abandon the world!?" Lest yelled to his face, "That is not of a Hero!"
"You sicken me, Raguna!" Frey screamed, "I used to adore you! Your tales and exploits brought joy to my heart! Now I know you are nothing but a coward!"
"You speak in ignorance." Raguna mumbled, "Do you think I wanted to leave the world to die!? Once I heard that the Terror appeared, I was grieving that I could not help them!"
"Then why didn't you!?" Lest yelled, "You selfish bastard!"
And that drove the nail home...
"Why you..." Raguna growled, "You speak like fool!" exploded, "You do not know why I left! I am not a selfish bastard!"
"Wahhh!" Noel cried, sensing the tension.
Immediately, Raguna calmed, "Is... Is that a child...?" he asked,
"Our child." Frey responded,
"Our love brought back the race you left to destroy.." Lest said in such anger, his eyes seared, "I was the Last Polonian!" he told the Earthmate,
"Huh..." Raguna sighed...
000000000
"You want to know why I left?" Raguna asked the two,
"Yes!" the two responded savagely,
"Alright!" Raguna yelled, "Mist!" called out.
Surely enough, a figure came through the door, a beautiful blonde young woman, she was holding something.
"Who is that?" Lest asked,
"Mist is my wife..." Raguna answered, "and the mother of why I stayed here..." he mumbled,
"Raguna..." Mist came up, she was holding a child, a small boy, "Who are these people?"
"Friends." Raguna told her, then turned to them,
"You have a child too?" Frey asked as she looked at the boy,
"Aye... Leona..." Raguna said, "Such a fine child... That was... until one day..." he became serious, "One day, we found out Leona developed a disease... a disease that had no cure... We took him to the Polonian doctors, they could not fix him... We took him to the Dragons, they could not help." he muttered, "So we prayed to the god who helped us before..."
"And he helped us again." Mist added,
"He told us of this place..." Raguna continued, "I unlocked the Light Realm, and in here, the disease could not kill my sweet child, since the environment would keep him alive..."
"Our baby is alive because of this place." Mist smiled and cooed her child, "No one ages in here, so that's why we still look like we did when we defeated the Golem."
"I couldn't leave because a person who has been in the Light Realm and leaves can never return..." Raguna said, "And I couldn't take my family out because Leona would die the second we step out of here..."
"What about all those obstacles?" Lest asked,
"I set them there to repel evil intruders." Raguna said, "So... Leona is the reason I have stayed here..."
"Leona is our firstborn child." Mist mumbled, "We cannot imagine the world without him."
The three (Lest, Frey, and Senti) stood speechless.
"I'm... so sorry..." Lest mumbled, "I... could never have guessed..."
"Losing a child..." Frey muttered, "I wouldn't leave a place if I knew it would save Noel..."
"Noel?" Raguna asked, "Is that your child's name? It's really nice."
"Hello, Noel." Mist walked up to him, "This is Leona... hopefully you two can be friends..."
"The Terror has reawakened." Frey told Raguna, "Are you sure you will not help the world? Can we convince you otherwise?"
"I'm sorry." Raguna muttered, "Mist and Leona... I do not want to be far away from them... or have Leona die..."
"Is there something we can do?" Lest muttered, "Maybe we can... No..." he sighed, "I just don't want to watch people die!"
"Nobody does." Raguna told him, "If I could find a way to fight the Terror and return, I would... But I have not found a way..."
"Wait a minute!" Lest exclaimed, "Hold up!" he jumped up, "I think I may be able to test something! Raguna! Can you open a portal to the world!?"
"Why?" Raguna asked,
"Just do it!" Lest said,
"Alright..." Raguna said and walked over to the pedestal, then placed his Blade inside.
SHWEOOM! A portal appeared, linking the Light Realm to Paradise Gulch,
"Wait!" Frey called out, "Lest! What are you doing!?"
"Remember when I told you that I had that hand shake disease?" Lest asked, "Well... my ancestors could not fix that too! But when I stepped in here, the disease ceased, and what I know from this realm is that you regenerate any wounds... So maybe, just maybe... I will be cured from the disease outside! Then Leona might be safe from his disease!"
"Will you really risk it for us?" Mist asked,
"Whatever helps save the world!" Lest exclaimed, then ran to the portal,
SHWEOM! He jumped through.
"Hm..." Lest looked at his hand, "Oh... Oh... YESS!" he exclaimed, "I'm cured!"
"Really?" Raguna ran up, then looked at his hand from the other side, "Wow!"
"Do you really think it will work?" Mist asked him, "Leona might... die... if it doesn't..."
"It's a risk we have to take, love." Raguna told her, "Come on..." he led her to the portal,
"Ok..." Mist mumbled, and very reluctantly stepped out,
"Help them... gods..." Frey secretly prayed as Mist held Leona tight,
"Hm..." Raguna stood worried, expecting his child to cry himself to death at any minute.
However, minutes passed, and nothing happened,
"Raguna..." Mist gasped, "He's cured! Our baby is cured!"
"Yes!" Raguna cheered, "Oh yes!" he said in celebration,
"Alright!" Lest clapped, "Come on, Frey!" he called out to her,
"Alright..." Frey smiled, grabbed Noel and Senti, and then stepped out.
000000000
"And there we go..." Raguna sighed as the portal closed behind him, "It's time I go vanquish that Terror..." he chuckled, but turned,
"Hey..." he said, "Thanks..."
"No problem..." Lest nodded,
"I'll wait for you here, Raguna..." Mist told him, "I know you can do this..."
"Yes." Raguna nodded, then kissed Mist, "Leona... your dad has work to finish... 200 years in the making..." he unsheathed his Blade, "Lupux!" he held a bracelet high, and the monster shot out of that bracelet.
"RAF!" the Silver wolf barked,
"... I'll be back..." Raguna said and summoned a cloud...