Two Summon Spirits in a row, sorry you will have to wait a little longer to find out what has happen to Kratos. Thanks for the feedback, but more is always welcomed.


Chapter 28: Shadow


It took Mithos several minutes before he finally could speak again. "When did this happen!?" He exclaimed.

"About an hour ago." Tenebrae stated.

"Why didn't you try and stop them!?" Mithos all but yelled. "You could have used your monsters!"

Tenebrae sighed. "What happen to Lord Kratos was tragic, but my duty was to protect you. Besides, that is the least of our problems."

"What do you mean?" Martel asked softly.

"Those humans knew exactly where we were going to be." Tenebrae said. "That tunnel was only known to a hand full of people. There was no way they could just 'happen' on it."

"But, we already know that there is a mole." Martel said.

"True, but this can't be a common mole." Tenebrae stated. "It has to be someone very high on the chain-of-command."

"What does that matter?" Mithos suddenly spoke up. "What we should be focusing on is saving Kratos."

Tenebrae shook his head. "That would be ill advised. Our main focus must remain completely the pacts with the summon spirits. Especially, before more information is leaked."

"I don't care!" Mithos exclaimed. "I won't leave Kratos to die. I will rescue him."

"Think logically about this, Lord Mithos." Tenebrae scolded lightly. "I am certain that they will use your loyalty to Lord Kratos to trap you. If that happens, our world will die."

"I won't abandon my friend." Mithos said adamantly.

"So, you would sacrifice the entire world for your friend." Tenebrae stated coldly.

Mithos flinched, but refuse to back down. "Who said anything about sacrificing myself. If we do this right, we can save him without anyone being killed."

"That is a big 'what if'." Tenebrae pointed out. "Are you truly willing to risk it?"

"I have to at least try." Mithos said.

Tenebrae sighed. "Even if we did attempt to rescue Lord Kratos, we wouldn't reach them before they enter Meltokio. Once they enter the capital, his rescue will become next to impossible."

"But, not completely impossible." Mithos said hopefully.

"Lord Mithos, even if we do succeed in the rescue, we will waste precious time we don't have." Tenebrae said sternly. "Not to mention, it will make entering the next shrine nearly impossible."

"Then, why not head to the shrine first." Martel stated. Her position stunned everyone.

"Martel, you can't really be thinking about abandoning Kratos?" Mithos asked in horror.

"It will take us time to find Kratos, so it would be wasteful just to stay and wait." Martel said. "We can send Tenebrae to spy on Meltokio and to locate Kratos. If they do plan to use Kratos as a trump card against us, they wouldn't kill him."

Mithos smiled. "That's ingenious, Martel."

"Lady Martel, I am order by Lord Ratatosk himself to accompany you." Tenebrae stated sternly. "I simply can't disregard his orders."

"Then, can you have one of the other Centurions help us?" Mithos asked desperately.

Tenebrae thought it over for a moment. "I could asked one of my fellow Centurions for help in this matter."

Martel smiled. "Thank you, Tenebrae."

Tenebrae sighed in defeat. "It may take awhile, so I suggest you stay here and rest." With that, he disappeared again.

"Like we have a choice." Mithos said as he stared down at Yuan's unconscious body. He hasn't moved not once during the entire conversation.

Martel looked down and stroked Yuan's hair. "I was able to heal his wound, but he lost alot of blood. He won't be waking up for sometime and I don't want to overmedicated him with gels and mana."

"Fine by me." Mithos said as he sat down. He forgotten how wore out he was from his battle with Gnome.

"Mithos, I'm sorry." Martel said as she crawled over to him. "Let me heal those wounds." Mithos felt Martel worked her healing magic on him. He was so smooth by the warm flow of mana that he slowly closed his eyes and allowed sleep to take him.

It was the smell of food that slowly woke him up. Mithos felt much better as he slowly sat up and stretch his muscles.

"So, you finally woke up." Yuan said as was leaning against a nearby wall. Martel was right across from him with an open fire cooking some left over fish.

"I should be saying that." Mithos teased. "How are you feeling?"

"Like shit, but I am doing better." Yuan smiled.

Mithos rubbed the last sleep from his eyes. "How long have I been out?"

"About five hours." Martel answered.

"That long!?" Mithos said in surprise.

"That battle with Gnome must had really worn you out." Martel said. "But, you did take on a summon spirit without a healer."

Mithos blushed. "I guess I've gotten alot stronger."

"Well, don't let it get to your head." Yuan said. "We still have two more to go."

"Wait, have Tenebrae come back yet?" Mithos asked.

"I am afraid not." Martel frowned.

"I wonder if he chicken out on us?" Mithos asked darkly.

"It is rude to talk about someone behind their back." Tenebrae said as he reappeared before them.

"Do you time these things?" Mithos asked.

"I happen to have been around for quite awhile, but I was waiting for you to wake up." Tenebrae explained with slight annoyance.

"Any news about Kratos?" Mithos asked.

"As I have suspected, he was taken into the Meltokio, but I am not sure where he is exactly." Tenebrae stated. "Luckily, one of the Centurions has offered to find him."

Martel smiled. "Thank the spirits."

"You really are going to try to rescue him." Yuan said in awe.

"He's your friend too." Mithos said with heat. "I thought you of all people would want to save him."

Yuan sighed. "Believe me, I do. But, Kratos wouldn't want us to sacrifice our mission for his benefice."

"Well, he can complain about it once we save him." Mithos said smugly.

"In any case, if you are feeling well, we be should moving to my shrine." Tenebrae said. "I know a back way in that only I know. There is no possible way for our mole to find us."

"I was thinking about that." Yuan said. "It seems our mole is little too well inform."

"We've already establish that it is someone of very high rank." Martel said as she passed around the fish.

Yuan sighed. "I am afraid it is must worst than that. Only a hand full of people should have known about that tunnel. Someone, more specially, who is connected to the spirits."

Tenebrae went into deep thought. "Now that you mention it, that would have to be the case. Only Lord Zilveren and a couple of others knew of that passage way."

"Also, the who episode at the ice continent. How did the mole know where we were going to be there at that particular time? We told no one about our plans." Yuan continued. "Also, Efreet's behavior in Triet and the Fahrer knowing we were going to storm the farm."

"You think all of this is somehow connected?" Mithos asked.

"I am almost certain of it." Yuan said darkly.

"Now that I think about, Ichor did say that their leader told them about our arrival." Martel said. "Their leader also seemed to know something about us since he said it would be pointless to turn us."

"What does this all means?" Mithos whispered.

"At the very least, our spy seems to be a member of the Fahrer." Yuan observed. "Of all the organizations, they have the most to gain by stopping us and their actions at the farm would make a lot more sense."

"Do you think a Fahrer member could be so powerful to make a hole into Daemonium?" Martel asked.

This got Tenebrae's attention. "What's this about Daemonium?" Everyone turned towards him.

"I thought you knew." Yuan stated in surprise. "Efreet went crazy in Triet because someone actually manage to make a hole into Daemonium in the shrine chamber."

"Impossible!" Tenebrae exclaimed adamantly. "No mere mortal could possibly create a hole into Daemonium. It had to have been a natural occurrence."

"Efreet's pact ring was left right on the shrine to lure him there." Mithos said sternly. "None of that was an accident."

"Who ever we are dealing with is not a mere mortal." Yuan said. "If that is the case, what could they possibly want? It would be the end of the world if the tree dies."

"We are missing too many pieces of the puzzle to figure it out." Martel said. "The best we can do is carry on as we were."

"Yes, second guessing ourselves would hold no benefice now." Yuan said.

"I am sorry for my outburst." Tenebrae said in shame. "As soon as I can, I will report all of this to Lord Ratatosk. Surely, the other Centurions must have some information on this subject."

"Let finish eating so we can finally get out of here." Yuan said as he nibbled on his fish.

The meal went by fast and soon, the group was moving again. It seemed the earthquake didn't block any of the major tunnels and they were out into the fresh air again after only ten minutes of walking. The sun was up high, showing that it was a little pass noon.

"It would be too dangerous to take the Rheiards our during the day." Yuan muttered.

"No need to worry." Tenebrae said with confidences. "As the Centurion of Darkness, I can use my powers to shroud you and your vehicles for any human eyes."

"You can really do that?" Martel asked in awe. "You're really amazing."

Tenebrae chuckled. "You are just realizing."

Mithos rolled his eyes. "Oh brother."

It took them several minutes to find the Rheiards, but they had to keep at least one of the Rheiards hidden since they were only three of them now. Before Yuan could unload the Rheiards, Noishe flew right in front of him.

Noishe squeak as he started at Yuan.

"I am sorry, Noishe." Yuan said sadly. "Kratos had been captured by his father."

Noishe squawked in terror.

"Don't worry, we will save him." Mithos said. "You have my word."

Noishe stared at Mithos before he squeak again.

"I hate to interrupt, but we must be going." Tenebrae said. Mithos nodded and jumped on his Rheiards. Noishe also took a seat next to Mithos.

Within a few more minutes, the group was flying over the landscape. It appeared that Tenebrae's cloak was working since they flew over several solders that failed to notice them. They also flew passed the gates of a giant city.

"That is Meltokio." Yuan said.

"Wow, it almost as big as Terrako." Martel noted. From what she could see, the building were much more modern than any of the Sylvarant's cities they had been to.

"It will be tough to find Kratos in all of that." Yuan said. "Lets hope that Centurion can pull though."

It wasn't long after passing the Tethe'alla's capital that they saw the shrine in the distance. Unlike the others they had been to, this one was more like a tower made out of dark blue stones.

"This temple was also build by humans a long time ago." Yuan said.

"For people who don't worship, humans built a lot of monuments." Mithos noted.

"Humans used to be quite spiritual centuries before the war." Tenebrae said. "However, years of bloodshed had eroded the humans' faith in anything other than the sword."

"I wonder if humans will believe in the spirits again once this war is over?" Martel asked more to herself.

"Despite how humans my portray themselves, they do want to believe in something other than themselves." Tenebrae stated casually. "Afterall, it is easier to put your faith and hopes into someone else and let them carry the burden."

"You make faith sound like a bad thing." Martel said.

"Faith, like all things, can either be good or bad." Tenebrae said. "Faith can bring out hope and the goodness in people, but it can also lead them to do things that they would never normally would think of. This can easily be use to control the actions of people."

"True, which is why half-elves usually don't follow a religion in the purest sense." Yuan said. "It is believe that if you surrender control of your life to any one person or organization, you become nothing but a mindless tool."

"Perhaps, but you half-elves do follow a religion." Tenebrae muttered more to himself.

"What do you mean?" Mithos asked.

"I was just talking to myself, pay no attention to me." Tenebrae said in a dismissive voice. "In case, we have arrived."

True to his words, they were now hovering above the temple. Like all the other times, they landed some distance away and walked the rest by foot. Noise was asked to keep an eye out for any solders and stood behind.

"The secret entrance to my shrine is here." Tenebrae said as he used his power to seemingly make the ground disappear.

"An illusion." Yuan said in awe.

"I have shown no one this in over one-thousand years, so this must remain a secret among all of you." Tenebrae said sternly.

Mithos nodded. "You have our word." Yuan and Martel also nodded.

"Good." Tenebrae said as he flew into the hole. They followed shortly behind him. Like Solum's shrine, it was nearly pitch black. Thankfully, Martel was able to keep the path lit with her staff.

Tenebrae was smiling. "Ah, it feels good to home. Can't you feel that beautiful darkness?"

"Not this again." Yuan sighed. "Can't you just take us to the shrine."

Tenebrae looked annoyed before he chose to answer. "We are already here."

"What?" Mithos asked in surprise, as he looked further in the room. Before them was indeed the shrine to the temple. "We bypass everything?"

"Yes, this is a direct route to my shrine, which is why no one must know about it." Tenebrae stated. "Not even Lord Zilveren knows of this path."

"It definitely came in handy." Martel said.

Tenebrae floated higher in the air. "I will be leaving now so you may perform the pact. I wish you luck, Lord Mithos." With that, he disappeared again.

"Figures he wouldn't stay and help." Yuan muttered.

Mithos walked before shrine that glowed with an eerie blue light. "I guess we just wait for Shadow to come to us."

They didn't have to wait long before an oily blob of black mass appeared before them. The blob slowly formed in front of them and took on a humanoid shape. It stood several feet tall and had purplish black skin that moved like a cloak. Its eyes were an eerie glowing blue and he seemed to have an eye in the middle of his stomach area. It had no feet, but it had a tail like some kind of ghost.

"Want?" The creature asked in a deep voice that echoed through the chamber.

It took Mithos several moments before he could find his voice. "I....I wish to make a pact with you."

Shadow stared at Mithos for several seconds, causing the boy to shiver. "Ring."

It took several seconds for Mithos to figure out what he meant. "Oh, the pact ring." He quickly reached into his pack and put on the Amethyst Pact Ring. He then removed his sword and released his wings. "I am ready!"

"Begin." Shadow whispered, as he seemed to disappear into the darkness.

"Where he go?" Mithos asked in almost a panic.

"Keep you head on, kid, and concentrate." Yuan advised.

Mithos heeded his advice just in time because Shadow appeared from the ceiling and nearly impaled Mithos thought the chest with one of his figures that were as sharp as knives.

"Too slow." Mithos teased as he knocked Shadow away. He then quickly did a chant. "Grand Cross!!" Shadow was shot off into the air and slammed into the golden cross. Shadow screamed in pain that sounded like nothing that Mithos had ever heard before.

"Good move." Yuan praised. "Shadow's weakness is light."

"I doubt Shadow will go down that easily." Martel muttered.

Shadow once again disappeared into the walls. Mithos waited for Shadow to charge him again. This didn't happen, however, when a black ball of pure energy suddenly hit Mithos in the back, knocking him to the floor.

Before he could move, Shadow appeared from the floor and stab Mithos in the arm, causing him to scream in pain.

"Mithos!" Martel screamed in horror.

"Very clever on Shadows part." Yuan noted.

Shadow proceeded to lift Mithos off the ground by his stab wound and then slammed him into the ground again. Mithos was able to pull himself away, but now his shoulder was bleeding badly.

"I got you." Martel said as she lifted her staff. "First Aid!"

The wound partly close, but it wasn't completely healed, which left Mithos' shoulder feeling stiff.

"You jerk!" Mithos yelled as he charged in again and attempted to cut Shadow, but he parry with his nails and slashed him with his other hand. Mithos manage to jump back, but Shadow managed to put several rips in his clothes.

"Shadow is much faster than I thought." Yuan said. "It's quite impressive."

"You seem more concern with the summon spirit than Mithos." Martel said with a hint of annoyance.

Mithos once again started another chant. "I call upon the red giant, the ruler of hell fire. I summon thee. Come, Efreet!!" A blast of fire filled the area as Efreet appeared before them. "Get him!"

Efreet charge in and threw several ball of fires at Shadow. He dodged and parry Efreet's assault as the two summon spirits did battle.

"A good choice." Yuan said. "Fire compliments light."

The two summon spirits appeared to completely even as Efreet sent several walls of fire at Shadow. It would seem that Efreet's fire was keeping Shadow from melting into the walls.

"It isn't enough." Mithos muttered as he ate an orange gel. "I need that move that I used to defeat Gnome. But, I don't even know how I did it before."

With him time up, Efreet disappeared again and Shadow was still as strong as ever. Shadow once again faded into the walls, leaving Mithos on guard.

"Damn, not this move again." Mithos said in annoyance. A lance of dark energy nearly hit him, but Mithos was able to deflect it. However, another lance appeared behind him and graze his arm.

"I won't fall for this again." Mithos said as he flew up to meet Shadow who was once again reappearing from the walls. "I'll take you out in one move."

He closed his eyes in concentrate as he try to summon the power from this Cruxis Crystal. Although, he couldn't reach the depths in the same way he could against Gnome. But, words did come to his mind.

"Sacred powers, cast your purifying light upon these corrupt souls. Disappear! Judgment!!" Mithos yelled as several beams of light fall down upon the room. All the shadows were dissipated and Shadow screamed in pain as the light assaulted him.

"What is that?" Martel asked in awe.

"It is the power from his Cruxis Crystal." Yuan said. "He is able to draw upon more of its power." When the attack was over, Shadow was haven't problems recomposing himself.

"Well, that wasn't the move I had in mind, but whatever works?" Mithos shrugged. "Time to finish this." Mithos said as he once again began a chant.

"I call upon the heavenly messengers. I summon thee. Come, Sylph!!" With a gentle wave of wing, the three Sylphs flew unto the scene.

The leader wasted no time charging Shadow, while the archer took several shots at Shadow defenseless state. The leader cut Shadow up several times with his sword, breaking the mass of shadow with every hit. Soon, there was nothing left of Shadow except an oily substance that leaked to the ground. With their task completed, the Sylph disappeared.

"Is it over?" Martel asked as the black pool built on the ground.

"Hard to say." Yuan muttered.

Mithos floated down again as Shadow recompose himself. Mithos was ready to charge in again, but Shadow made no moves to attack.

"Vow." Shadow simply said.

Mithos was surprise for a moment. "You're conceding?"

Shadow said nothing.

"Very well, I vow to save my friend Kratos and return this world to its proper order." Mithos said.

Shadow stood perfectly still for a moment. "Done." He said as he disappeared.

"Well, he's short and to the point." Mithos said as he put up his sword.

"Well done, Mithos." Yuan praised. "Now, we have only one summon spirit left."

"But, we first have to save Kratos." Mithos said with determination.

"Then, I have good news for you." Tenebrae said as he appeared again. "We found him."