Chapter 38: Colliding Elements
Both Blaze and the cannon beam collided in the air, resulting in a thunderous crash. Blaze found herself under the severe cold pressure of the beam, trying to fight against it. Her flames were creating a shield that was dispelling the ice cold beam, protecting Laleh below. All she could hear was the high pitched scream of the cannon mixing in with the amplified sounds of her flames.
From Laleh, the soldiers had gained the upper hand against the floating castle denizens. The guards further back, protecting the entrances to the castle looked up as they saw the entire sky change from the black night into a blue and red aurora, spreading outwards like a dome. In the center of the dome was a brilliant white light, almost as bright as the sun and blinding to look at. The temperatures around them also pulsated between hot and cold, creating a very supernatural, out of the ordinary environment.
Meanwhile, all the way back at Castle Zanskar, Tinder was sat upon his throne, in a worry over the prolonged absence of his daughter, when he suddenly witnessed a piercing flash of light in the distance. He quickly stood up and walked to one of the windows. He could see a bright white light shimmering over the horizon, and a mix of red and blue colouring a small spot of the sky around the flashing light. It looked like a second sunrise. Tinder watched it carefully as it continued, wondering what it could be.
Back up in the air, Blaze could still feel the Sol Emeralds feeding more and more fire power into her. She continued to struggle, fighting back against the freezing beam. Stamatis was clenched tightly to her arm, closing his eyes, unable to believe that he was even in this kind of situation. He thought about his life back at Carachino, and how he would have never imagined one day attempting to save the world. He wondered how Milos was faring down below, whether he was protecting Lolita or not.
Suddenly, there was a shift in their movement. Stamatis noticed that both he and Blaze were slowly ascending towards the castle. The beam was becoming more and more quiet; its power was diminishing. As the beam thinned, Blaze kept as much control as she could, trying to not allow her powers to fling her and Stamatis right into the nozzle. She needed to board the castle in a better way; one that would ensure access inside.
Just as the beam fully dissipated, Blaze threw her head back and diverted her energy. The two suddenly flung right out from where they were suspended and shot into the air, moving up towards the main gate. As she passed above the stone spire, she directed her energy downwards and led the two to the very edge of the floating castle, right outside the ramparts leading inside. They landed with a thud; Stamatis falling right to the floor from the shock. He slowly got up and looked at where they were. He was lost for words to begin with, but soon found his voice.
"I...I can't believe it!" he said. "We're finally on board!"
But Blaze was facing a bigger problem. As she landed, she watched as the Sol Emeralds became pale, almost grey. The majority of their luster had vanished, with a slight blue glow emnating from the outsides of every gem. She couldn't feel the power she was receiving before from them.
"Stamatis..." she said quietly. "The Sol Emeralds...they've lost their power!"
Stamatis turned and looked at the gems. They were not floating anymore; they lay on the ground, unmoving.
"Maybe they're too cold?" he asked, noticing their blue aura. Blaze picked them up and put them into a small sack which she tied to her waist.
"I think it's because they've been exposed too much to that beam. If so, then I think they might recharge in a little bit" she explained. "In any case, I don't think we can go in through the front doors here. There are a lot of staircases leading to scaffolding surrounding the spire below, should we head down them?" Blaze suggested. Stamatis turned to see one of the metallic wire staircases leading down towards an elevator.
"It seems as if we haven't got any other options" he said, shrugging. "As long as we can get inside and sink this castle, any way will do" he said.
"And we need to rescue Silver" Blaze reminded. Then, she went for the stairs, with Stamatis following. As they headed for the elevator, Blaze started to envision Silver in her mind.
"Silver...we're coming for you..." she thought; ready to face the toughest challenge of her life.