December 15, 2021:
Hello, everyone! Hope you are having a nice day!
So, it's the last chapter of the "Chronicles of the Sages" storyline. It was a big longer than I expected, as I though it would be like 2 or 3 chapters, not 5. Oh well, I am satifed with it :3
I hope you liked it, this small side story.
Anyway, at the end of this, I have some announcements, so will see you all later.
Chapter 70: Chronicles of the Sages, pt5: The Fall of Caelestis.
Kitrina couldn't believe what she was seeing. Even though she had an idea, she didn't want to believe in what she and her friends have discussed before. However, it was undeniable…The man who was in front of her… was changed.
The blood dripping from his sword, the same blood that have stained some of the feathers of his wings and his face. That blood… was the blood of her friend.
Who was bleeding out in her arms.
Immediately, Kunzita, the Magi Magi Magician Gal, dashed towards Kitrina, and kneeled in front of her and Brunhilda, as she placed both hands on the wounded Valkyrie's chest.
"CURA!" She exclaimed, as the mage began to heal the wounded Valkyrie.
Kitrina, the Magician's Valkyria, looked at her fallen companion, and then at the angel warrior on the door, who just cleaned his sword by swiping the blade to his side.
"So… it was true…" she said, as she looked up. "You are really not Lord Zerato!"
The angel-like Spirituel smiled, as he looked down on the non-Valkyrie.
"Oh? How did you know?" He asked with malice.
"We all find suspicious how you acted lately." Kitrina responded. "Even when you tried to act it, we sensed you didn't FEEL that much when you realized your wife didn't come back! She was your true love! And yet, you only acted like you were devastated!"
"…I thought my acting was… convincing."
"It was… but then, we saw how you just didn't care, even if you tried to act you did. Besides, we also realized the darkness in your Aura. We though both of them were because of some trauma during the attack, but as time passed, we had our doubts."
"You are smarter than I though. Very interesting. However, you are wrong in one thing."
"What?"
"I AM Zerato… or at least a part of him."
Kitrina grunted in anger.
"What ARE you?" asked the Magician's Valkyria. He just smiled.
"I am… an empty vessel… following the orders… of Lord Exus."
The other girls heard this and knew this would be trouble. Sapphire, who was reading the walls before he arrived, realized what he was.
"You… you are Lord Zerato's Nobody." The Maiden of the Aqua said, as the winged angel smiled.
"Indeed, Sage of Water." He responded. "I am Zerato's Nobody, an empty vessel of that Angel. A vessel that have seen the light… of LORD EXUS!"
"Damn it!" Exclaimed Castanea. "Exus is controlling Zerato and this 'Nobody' of his! We need to find a way to release him from his spell!"
At this, Zerato began to laugh causing confusion in the group.
"What is so funny?" asked Kuprita, as she took a step forward.
"So…you think I am mind controlled?" asked Zerato, causing shivers in the group.
"Well… yeah, that is how it usually goes." Castanea commented.
"No, you are so wrong, kids." Zerato said, looking maliciously at them. "I… CHOOSE to follow him."
The group looked at him wide open, as he walked forward towards them.
"IMPOSSIBLE!" Exclaimed Kitrina. "There is NO WAY you could have choose to side with Exus! He is darkness incarnated!"
"So?" Zerato asked, confusing everyone. "It doesn't matter if he is darkness and we are light. The important thing… is that I agree with his plan."
"What plan?!"
"The plan that will save us all from TRUE evil!" Zerato said, extending his wings to make himself look bigger.
"What are you talking about?!"
"Look at the night sky! Each star in a night sky is a world that could be our enemy! Plotting to invade us!"
"He is mad! He went crazy!" Exclaimed Castanea.
"You know nothing."
Zerato looked up to the dome of the chamber. Suddently, it changed, and the light of the room dimmed. The ceiling became black, and then several dots of light appeared on it. It was an illusion, made by Zerato. One of these dots… was Regno Tenebrae, the world they live in.
And that star grew more until it was the image of their world, with the same continents… but different.
It was their world… 10,000 years ago.
"Outside of this world, there exist several other enemies, more powerful than us." Zerato said, pointing at the ceiling. "Some of them are as powerful as the Gods themselves, or even more! The 12 Golden Warriors, the ones who helped the Ancient Gods to defeat the darkness are an example. They were all champions from different worlds, and each one is almost as strong as an Ancient God, or even more!" Zerato looked at the group, especially at Regina, as 3 large explosions happened in different parts of the world that was above their heads. "Queen of the Ancient City of Slaifaa. You suffered the anger of one of the Ancient Gods. Imagine a Champion with the same strength, coming to this world and try to conquer it. Do you think we even stand a chance?!"
Regina clenched her teeth, as this 'fallen angel' reminded her of what, for her, happened only a few months ago: the destruction of her beloved kingdom.
"The night sky is full of these warriors of incredible strength." Zerato continued, as the world in the sky changed, now resembling present day.
The group saw that several dots of green light appeared in the continents in the globe above their heads, and everyone knew what they were.
The Capitals, the main cities of the world.
"Not only that. Armies that could make ours look like ants exist in the stars! If they come here, they will destroy us all!" Zerato exclaimed, as several red dots approached their world.
"I don't know what you are talking about." Sapphire said, as she took a step forward. "But if they try to conquer us, we sill fight!"
"…you really think our puny strength is enough for that?!" Zerato asked, as the red dots invaded the world, hitting one of the Capitals and destroying them, before going to the next in a matter of seconds. "If they attack us, they will kill us one by one. Our nations are divided, so when one of these armies of champions come here and attack us, by the time we try to assist them, many of the Capitals will be destroyed. Even if we are all allies, our friendship is in name only, as we don't have gates to connect our cities, because of mistrusts. We are NOT truly united!"
Zerato exclaimed, as the red dots finally traveled around the planet, and destroyed all of the capitals. In this illusionary tale, their world was just conquered.
"Once I realized that, I couldn't just stand here and do anything." Zerato said, as the picture in the ceiling reformed, showing their world again, before the conquest, with all the Capitals intact. "If we stay here, there is no way we will stand a chance! The only way to survive is if we all live in a same place."
"What do you mean?" asked Vivian in confusion.
"A city, large as the horizon, were all of our people will live, and were we, the Leaders, will rule over everyone, as we already do."
"That… sounds dangerous." Castanea said. "If what you say is true, then one big city will make one bigger target!"
"Yes, but will also give us a bigger chance. The armies of all the planet, together in once mega city. We will be able to survive! But the other leaders are so stubborn! When I saw this truth, I told them… and they refused to join!"
Zerato sighed, as he looked up.
"So…as I see that they will never cooperate… I searched for another way… so I make contact again with Lord Exus."
"Wait…contact AGAIN?!" Asked Kitrina in confusion.
"Yes. After the destruction of the first Crystal, I make contact with Exus, and he told me the truth."
"How?! How did you contact him?!" asked Kuprita.
"…with this!"
Zerato summoned a dark solid orb on his left hand, and showed it to the group. Of them only Kunzita, the Magi Magi Magician Gal, who stayed in the Magical Library for years, and Regina, the Queen of Slaifaa, recognized it.
"Wait… that is… a Palantaar?" Asked the spellcaster.
"Yes, yes it is." Zerato exclaimed, looking at the dark orb on his hand. "These are orbs that were created inspired on an orb of similar design that came from another world: The Palantiri. The Ancient spellcasters from the Ancient Cities, the ones that founded the Magical Library and the Kingdom of Spellias, created these objects. Many of them were created, but all of them were destroyed when the Ancient Gods brought their wrath over the people of the Ancient cities. The knowledge of how to create these objects were lost. But this one…and another one remained."
"What are those orbs?" asked Vivian in confusion.
"They are the Palantaar." Regina responded. "Also known as the Seeing Stones, are objects that let us communicate with other people where another of those stones are."
"Like the Link Stones that we use to communicate with others?"
"Yeah, just like those." Responded Kunzita. "They were recently created, but they are different. How did you get one?"
"I found it." Zerato said. "A team found it, and gave it to me, not knowing what was it. It didn't' activated… until the first Crystal was destroyed."
"What? How?"
"Because… the only OTHER Palantaar in this world… is on Yang Island."
"What?! The Island where Exus was sealed?!" asked Sapphire.
"Exactly. Because of the seal that surrounds the island, the Palantaar was inactive, but the moment one of the Crystals was destroyed, it activated, as a connection with the one on Exus island was possible. That is when I made contact with Exus. He told me EVERYTHING about the worlds outside, and the danger that they could bring to ours. I knew then… I had to act. Unfortunately, my wife didn't agreed to it."
This send shivers to the group.
"Lord Zerato…" Kitrina started. "…what did you do?"
"I guess I shall explain it all to you." Zerato started. "Well… it happened a few weeks ago. When I talked to Lord Exus, we made a plan. I need to meet him in person but… my wife, Tethys, wouldn't agreed. So, when we went to see the leaders of the Capitals… me and Exus planned an ambush."
"W-What?!" Asked Brunhilde, who was almost healed by Kunzita. "W-What do you mean?"
"It can't be." Kitrina started. "The attack of you and the group where many other Valkyries died was…"
"My plan." Zerato finished, causing Kitrina and Brunhilde to gasp in surprise. "It was me who planned the ambush. Lord Exus send some loyal servants of his to my aid. You know them too well." he said, making both Valkyries to realize what he meant.
"The Agents."
"Exactly. Exus send the Agents, and they killed everyone…with my help. I defeated my wife, by attacking her from behind. And then, we went to Lord Exus castle. In there, I seek an alliance with him, to bring our plan into the world."
"Lord Zerato…" said Brunhilde, weakly. "You… fell to darkness."
"No. I BECAME Darkness!"
Suddently, Zerato's body began to change. No longer his wings were that of an angel, but instead they became more bat-like. His light purple skin suddently became dark purple and now his white clothes and armor became red. His aura, filled with light, turned to darkness.
He was no longer Archlord Zerato.
He was now… Darklord Zerato.
"Wha-… what happened to you?" asked Brunhilde, looking at the fallen angel.
"I became darkness." Said Zerato, no with his new dark appearance. "To become what I am now, I had to lose my Heart. I talked with Lord Exus and he removed my Heart from my body, to become a Heartless. However, my Soul was strong, and so my Body regained sentience, but my memories were gone, having gone to my Heartless. Lord Exus gave me a new purpose."
"What?" Kitrina asked in surprise.
"I no longer use the name of Zerato." Commented the fallen angel. "When I became a Nobody, I lost my name and memories, but my drive was still strong! Lord Exus gave me a new name, using an ancient tradition of naming from another world, to be reborn as a new person. My name now… is Xarzeto."
Kitrina just was about to explode. She clenching her teeth in anger, looking at the new dark lord. Everything that she was hearing from him was making her mad.
"You bastard!" Exclaimed Kitrina, as she stood up, and summoned her weapon. "You fell to darkness and killed even Valkyries to go with that man?! You betrayed your people just for that?!"
"It was necessary. I need to protect everyone, even if it is against their will!"
"Sounds like you are a dictator!"
"I don't care! I will save this beautiful world and its people! I will NOT see them conquered by people from the stars! I will unite ALL the world into one government, to fight against the dangers of the stars!"
"You want to destroy the sovereignty of all nations, and all of the people, to become one government?!" asked Sapphire.
"Yes! To survive on this universe, we HAVE TO!"
"And WHO will rule us all?!" asked Castanea.
"The only one who has the power to do so: Lord Exus!"
"I knew it! It is only a plot to take over the world! We won't let you do what you want!"
"Many think like you, but what I said is true! If we remain as we are, our world will be conquered!"
"So you will allow a conqueror to take over our world because you don't want other conquerors to arrive here?!" Kuprita asked.
"He will not conquer if you allow him to take over! He wants us to survive! But as we are right now, we are WEAK!"
"I don't buy it!" Kitrina exclaimed. "You all only want to conquer! You are a traitor!"
"If only you could see the truth… you will all make great allies. With you on our side, we will protect this world."
"Oh, we WILL protect this world… from conquerors like you!"
"…So be it."
Suddently, Zerato, now known as Xarzeto, dashed toward Kitrina, with his sword ready to strike. He made a fast swipe with his blade, one that she blocked just in time with her mace/staff. However, even if she was as strong if not stronger than her sisters, the attack was more than what she expected, and she was send flying, passing besides the rest of the girls and crashing on a wall behind.
Xarzeto got ready to face his next opponent, the Valkyrie Brunhilde, when Kunzita, the Magi Magi Magician Gal, appeared floating in front of him, with an orb of energy on her wand.
"MAGI MAGI BURNING!"
She released the orb of darkness almost in his face, but Xarzeto managed to raise his sword and protect himself from the attack. The orb exploded on impact, and created a large amount of dust. As Kunzita was about to land on her feet, a hand emerged from the dust cloud and grabbed her by the medallion in her dress that was just over her breasts, not caring if he managed to grab them. He yanked her towards him by her dress, that managed to stay intact. But he didn't know she was as strong as her sister, so Kunzita managed to get free from his grasp by kneeing his arm, and then float over his head.
When she was falling behind him, she gave him a powerful kick on his neck, to cause him to fall. But she realized in surprise how her kick had no effect, as he realized the mage was really strong, so he will not contain himself. Kunzita jumped back and created some distance between them, as she got on guard to keep of fighting. Xarzeto turned to look at her, ready to attack… when he had to block the attack of another sword.
Regina dashed toward Xarzeto when he tried to grab Kunzita, hoping to catch the fallen angel off-guard. However, he realized it, and turned to block her sword strike and tried to push her back. He was way stronger than her, and she was about to be overwhelmed… when he had to jump away, as a large halberd-like weapon almost cut his head. It was Kuprita's weapon, and he just managed to evade it, but she wasn't ready to stop, as she raised her right arm and pointed it towards him, ready to use a spell from another world.
"WHITE ELEMENT: PHOTONBEAM!"
A beam of powerful light energy emerged from her hand, and it hit the fallen angel in the chest, pushing him backwards. However, he didn't lose his balance, and he remained on his feet, with only a small burn mark on his chest, surprising the redhead mage.
"Your attacks are not strong enough to overcome the darkness!" exclaimed Xarzeto in anger.
"Then what about this?"
Suddently, Vivian appeared behind him in a gust of wind. Xarzeto tried to cut her head off with a fast horizontal cut, but Vivian actually ducked, placing both of her hands on the ground just below Xarzeto's feet. Also, she was surrounded by an emerald aura.
"AERORA!" She exclaimed, as a tornado of green energy formed bellow Xarzeto. The Fallen Angel tried to stay on his feet, but the wind managed to lift him up, and trap him inside the vortex. After seeing this, Vivian looked around. "Sapphire! Now!"
Answering her call, the Maiden of the Aqua, Sapphire, stood behind the tornado, surrounded in azure energy, as she stuck the base of her trident on the ground.
"WATERA!" She exclaimed, unleashing her spell.
Immediately, water emerged from the ground around the tornado, transforming it into a water tornado, that trapped Xarzeto even more. The razor wind and hard water hit his body constantly, causing some damage.
"Now, Rubina!" Sapphire exclaimed, and Xarzeto realized another presence was near.
On the other size of the tornado, now forming a triangle with both Vivian and Sapphire, Rubina landed, as her aura was reddish purple, and some purple lightning bolts ran across her body. She raised her hands in the air, and exclaimed.
"THUNDARA!"
From the ceiling, several orbs appeared and then lightning descended into the tornado, the water working as a perfect conductor, hitting the body of Xarzeto and causing great damage. The three Sages, their auras still flaring, pose again, as their auras connected with each other, forming a triangle.
"TRIPLE TECH: DELTA TEMPEST!"
As they exclaimed, the tornado exploded, filling the whole room with dust. The group looked at the place where Xarzeto was, now covered in dust, while the Sages were mostly happy.
"Wow! We managed to do it!" Exclaimed Vivian with excitement. "So it was true! Combining the 3 spells were way stronger than we expected!"
"Yeah, good thing we trained this on the Library." Sapphire said. "It was better than we thought!"
"Yeah!" Rubina exclaimed. "It waz zo powerful! He could not have rezizted that!"
"Oh, come on!" Exclaimed Castanea. "You have done it! Now he will appear completely un har-"
The dust cloud started to dissipate, revealing the results of their attack. There was Xarzeto… standing up.
… with some wounds on his body, and panting hard.
"Wow… it DID have some effect!" Castanea exclaimed in surprise. "Completely unexpected."
"It…isn't." Xarzeto said, as he tried to recover. "I am still not used to this body, and trying to face 3 Sages powered by the Elemental Orbs, along with their guardians, will be difficult for even me, one of the leaders of the Capitals. I knew this will be… a hard battle."
"Give up, Xarzeto!" Exclaimed Kuprita, raising her halberd and pointing it towards him. "You are hurt! There is no need to keep fighting!"
"Yes, that is true. It would be suicide to face you all alone." Xarzeto said, as he smiled and stood up firmly, despite his injuries. "However, I am NOT alone."
"What?" Kitrina asked, before everything changed.
A powerful gust of wind came from the door and send the girls flying, crashing on the pedestals where 3 of the remaining Orbs remain.
"Ow… what in Ra's name was that?" asked Castanea.
"It was wind." Said Vivian. "But… it was corrupted. Why?"
"Look!"
Rubina pointed towards the door, and the girls turned to look at it. Slowly, walking into the room, were 4 winged beings.
The Agents.
"You!" Exclaimed Brunhilde, as she stood up, looking at the 4 newcomers: Agents Venus, Mercury, Mars and Saturn.
"Hi, ladies!" Exclaimed Mars, looking maliciously at the girls. "Ready for some fun now?"
"What in Osiris name are you doing here?" asked Kitrina in anger.
"We came here to protect our Master." Mercury expressed.
"And to see that his plan is fulfilled." Venus said.
"You will not touch Lord Xarzeto again." Saturn expressed. "We will die for our Master!"
The 4 Agents stood around Xarzeto and their auras ignited. The dark lord began to heal himself using the energies of his servants, and the wounds were being closed. Kunzita looked at this, and immediately grabbed the Ice Orb from the pedestal.
"Kitrina, Kuprita! Take the other Orbs!" She exclaimed. "We can't let them have the Orbs!"
The two mages nodded, and both grabbed the orbs, Kitrina grabbing the Earth one and Kuprita grabbing the Fire one. Like the Sages, the 3 Mages placed the orbs on their chest and those immediately enter into their bodies. They immediately began feeling pain. However, after a few seconds, those pains stopped.
"Good. The Orbs accepted us as their vessels." Kunzita said. "Now we can protect them."
"It's useless." Xarzeto, now healed, commented. "Once we defeat you, we will take the Orbs for your dead bodies!"
"You will not touch them!" Regina exclaimed, standing in front of the 3 Sages and 3 Mages, as did Brunhilde and Castanea. "We will protect them!"
"We shall see." He responded, as his and the auras of the Agents flared up.
The girls nodded and prepared to fight. Kunzita, Kitrina, Kuprita, Vivian, Sapphire, Ruby, Castanea, Regina and Brunhilde, all of them ignited their auras and prepared for battle.
On the outside of the temple, no one on the city knew about what was happening… until it happened.
The large Temple of the Crystal suddently blew up, a large pillar of darkness and other elements shoot towards the sky. Everyone in the city saw this and the soldiers of the city immediately went to that place to investigate.
As the large mushroom-like cloud went up, from that cloud, two figures emerged, flying at high speeds. The two figures landed on the ground around the remains of the Temple, their feet skidding on the floor as they stopped. They were Regina and Brunhilde, with the last one landing with more difficulty, as she was still injured a little.
"Are you ok?" asked Regina.
"It's ok, I can still fight." Brunhilde responded.
"Good… because here he comes!"
From the dust cloud, the Agent Mars emerged, dashing towards them, with his hammer ready to strike Brunhilde. However, Regina stood in front of her and received the impact of the hammer with her shield. The strike was too strong, and it pushed the Queen's Knight back a few meters. Brunhilde took advantage of their opponent striking Regina, and tried to stab Mars, but the Agent managed to raise his hammer and block the attack. He smiled, looking at her with malice and desire.
"Soon, my lady, you will be mine!"
"In your dreams, traitor!" Brunhilde exclaimed, as she pushed Mars back.
He stumbled a little, and then had to block Regina's strike, who jumped back into action and tried to cut his head off. Then, he evaded Brunhilde's sword strike too, and then jumped back to evade the attack of both girls. Mars landed some meters away from them and smiled.
"Oh, this will be fun!" He exclaimed, as he dashed towards them again.
In another part, Kitrina evaded all the water spells from her rival, the Agent Mercury, who was floating in the air, summoning as many water daggers from the air as he could, send them towards the mage. She evaded them with ease, before she pointed her staff/mace towards her enemy.
"THUNDARA!"
A lighting volt emerged from her staff and flew towards Mercury at high speeds, however, he formed a shield of water around him, and the lighting hit it directly. To her surprise, the water only redirected the electricity, and it passed behind him, without causing any damage.
"You'll have to do better than that, Kitrina." Mercury commented.
"Oh, I will! HASTERA!" She exclaimed, as an ethereal clock surround her for a few seconds, before she dash and jump towards him.
Kitrina raised her mace/staff and gave the water shield a good hit. The strike was so strong it send the shield and the Agent towards the ground, crashing hard on it. Kitrina smiled as she landed, but then was surprised when Mercury stood firmly, although his shield was gone.
"As strong as I predicted." Mercury said. "I have analyzed all of your techniques, Mage. You have no chance to win this fight."
"Oh?! That is about to be seen!" Kitrina exclaimed, as she pressed on with her attack.
Meanwhile, Kuprita was attacking the Agent Venus, using several spells the Agent didn't knew.
"ZAP CANNON!" Kuprita expressed, as she summoned a ball of lighting and then send it flying towards her opponent.
The Agent Venus brought forward the 3 orbs that flew around her, and created a magic shield. It blocked the ball of lightning, although she had a hard time on doing so.
"Your spells are nothing like I have seen before." exclaimed Venus, as the 3 orbs floated around her. "When did you learned that?"
"Sorry, it's a secret to everybody." Kuprita expressed, as she summoned her halberd.
"Too bad. I guess I will have to take the secrets from your dead body." She expressed, as her aura flared and the 3 orbs began to glow. "PERISH!"
The three orbs began to fire several spells. Fire, Lightning and Ice, all at the same time, like they were a machine gun. Kuprita raised a shield of energy, and began to block all of those spells, although she quickly realized those were very powerful.
"Damn it! Now I need to escape from here!" She exclaimed, as she tried to find a way.
While she was trying to find a way to escape, in another place, the Agent Saturn used his powerful wind and lightning attacks against Kunzita and Castanea, as the mage raised a Reflect shield around them.
"Think you can keep up?" Asked Castanea.
"Not sure!" Kunzita responded. "He is really strong! I don't think I can last long!"
"Well, then I guess is my turn!"
With that said, Castanea decided to fly away from the magic shield. As she got out, lighting from Saturn got close to her, but she used her shield to block and absorb the magic. After all, that shield has a shard of the Thunder Crystal, so it absorbed the lighting spell with ease.
"Got it!" the Kuriboh exclaimed, as she quickly flew towards her enemy.
Saturn saw this and immediately began to evade the attacks of the spear of Castanea.
"Your shield absorbs my spells? Impressive." Saturn commented. "But not enough!"
Saturn pushed Castanea back, sending her flying into the air. He wanted to follow the Kuriboh, when he had to block a fire spell coming from Kunzita, who was looking at him.
"I am still here, Agent!" Exclaimed Kunzita, as she charged another spell on her staff.
"Not for long, mage." Saturn said, as he lifted his hand and began preparing a powerful spell.
Meanwhile, a large explosion sent Sapphire, Vivian and Rubina flying. The girls managed to land on their feet and looked forward as a figure emerged from the ruins of the temple. It was Xarzeto, back in his Archlord form, his white wings glowing with radiance.
"You fell into darkness!" Exclaimed Vivian. "How are you using the power of light?"
"You have a very black and white view of things." Xarzeto expressed. "Light doesn't mean good, as Darkness doesn't mean evil. Lord Exus wants to save this world, but he has to make a tough choice! So he opted to use the power of darkness because it's the one who will give him the necessary power to save us all!"
"U can't be zerious!" Exclaimed Rubina. "We'll ztop ya!"
"I want to see you try!" Xarzeto said, as he began to power up again. "Let's go!"
"HALT!"
Suddenly, everyone stopped, as they feel several energies around them. Looking around the buildings, the Crystal Team, along with the Agents and Xarzeto saw that many figures were looking down at them. They were the other residents of the city, including the Valkyries. They all brought their weapons forward… and pointed it at Xarzeto and the Agents.
"Zerato! We know about your treason." Expressed one of the Valkyries, the red one named Valkyrie Dittre. "By decree of Miss Tethys, I, Valkyrie Dittre, demand to arrest you!"
"What?!" Exclaimed the Agent Mars.
"Dittre!" Brunhilde expressed, as she looked at the Valkyrie.
"What are you doing?!" Xarzeto exclaimed, as he pointed his sword at the mages and the Sages. "The Sages are trying to usurp the throne! Arrest them now! I command it!"
"You are in no position to command anything, traitor!" Exclaimed Valkyrie Erda, the long blondie girl.
"What did you say?!"
"We know of your betrayal!"
"What? How?!"
"Because I told them!"
From behind the Valkyries, another figure walked forward. The Sages saw in surprise that it was another Sage. The Sage of ice, Xioné.
"Xioné!" Exclaimed Rubina.
"Is she the Ice Sage?" Asked the Agent Mercury.
"I am." Xioné exclaimed. "And I am here to defeat you for what you did with miss Tethys!"
"Why do you believe the words of a Sage?" Xarzeto asked in anger. "She is part of the ploy! They want to usurp the throne and weaken our forces!"
"I do not… my 'love'."
Suddenly, Xioné's blue hair began to turn white, same as her eyes. Her icy aura changed into a holy one, as all Valkyries kneeled behind her. It was an aura that every member of the sky city recognized.
"It can't be…" Brunhilde said in surprise. "M-Miss Tethys?"
"Yes, yes it is I, Tethys, the Goddess of Light." 'Xioné' answered, her voice being different than her normal one, and her eyes looked more 'dull' as she looked at Xarzeto. "You may have taken my Body and Soul, but my Heart still lives! The Sage of Ice allowed me to take over her body for a moment, so I can show them all your true colors!"
Xioné/Tethys jumped from the ceiling and landed on the ground below. The Sage Team immediately jumped and landed around her, as they went to protect her.
"Give up, my love." Said Tethys. "You are surrounded. Your plan to ally with Exus has failed! Surrender!"
The Agents walked towards their master, as they went to protect them. Instead of getting angry, Xarzeto just smiled.
"Well… seems like I couldn't convince any of you to follow Lord Exus' plan." Xarzeto said. "To convince everyone to follow Exus' ideas… I wanted it to be peacefully."
"We will NEVER follow Exus orders!" Exclaimed Valkyrie Dittre, as the rest of the people of Caelestis affirmed in unison.
"I see. It's unfortunate." Xarzeto said… before he looked at everyone with hate. "Then… I will force you all!"
Suddenly, his aura ignited, and then extended his right arm towards the large column over the Temple where he governs.
"EVERYONE! SUBMIT TO LORD EXUS!"
The orb that rest on top of the pillar began to glow and then emitted a pillar of light towards the sky. It then exploded and surrounded the whole city into a dome of rainbow light. Everyone on the city looked around in surprise, as they wondered what was going on.
And then, every resident on the city began to feel an intense headache, as they hold their heads and fell on their knees.
"What the-?!" Castanea asked, looking around in confusion. "What's going on?!"
Kunzita looked around in confusion. Everyone in the city, except the members of the Sage Team, the Agents and Xarzeto, were in pain. Even Brunhilde and Kitrina, her sister, were grabbing their heads in pain.
"Sister, what is wrong?!" Kuprita asked, as she kneeled beside the Magician's Valkyrie.
"My head! It hurts!" Kitrina responded. "I can feel… a dark voice… drilling my head!"
"It's so powerful…!" Brunhilde responded. "I can't… disobey him!"
Xioné, or more correct, Tethys, turned to look at Xarzeto in anger.
"What are you doing?!" She asked. "Answer me!"
"Well, it's always good to have a plan B, just in case." Xarzeto responded. "If I can't convince them to follow Lord Exus, then I will force them!"
"What?!"
"You think I will stay here and rely on only one plan? No. I made a back up one, where I placed all of my aura in a spell made by Lord Exus. This spell will be amplified by the Clear Orb in the tower, and so the whole city will be subject to the spell. They will OBEY Lord Exus!"
"You bastard!" Exclaimed Regina. "You have no faith in your cause, and so you have to resort to mind control?! Don't you have honor?!"
"I will do whatever I had to do to save this world! And if to do that I have to control the minds of everyone in this city, so be it!"
Xioné/Tethys clenched her teeth, as she raised her hands and created a shield around her and the Sage group. As they were covered in radiant light, Kitrina and Brunhilde stopped having their headaches, and they returned to normal.
"W-What happened?" Kitrina asked in confusion.
"Miss Tethys is using her light to protect us from the dark spell." Brunhilde responded, standing up to look around.
"I can't hold it anymore." Xioné/Tethys responded. "We need to go, NOW!"
"What?! We can't leave them!" Kitrina expressed.
"We can't do anything right now! The spell is too strong! If we don't leave now, we will be surrounded!"
"By who?!"
Then, the spell stopped, and everyone around the city stopped grabbing their heads…but everyone could tell that… something was different. And it showed when they raised their heads to look at them and… they all had golden eyes.
"Valkyrie Dittre, at your service, Lord Xarzeto!" The redhead Dittre said, as she kneeled, just like everyone in the city.
"D-Dittre! What are you doing?!" Brunhilde exclaimed.
"Oh no!" Kunzita expressed. "T-They are all under the spell!"
"What?! No way!" Kitrina expressed.
"There is no time!" Xioné/Tethys exclaimed. "We need to go! NOW!"
"You will not escape from here." Xarzeto said, as he looked at the group. "Valkyries! Kill the Sages and their champions! Don't leave anyone alive! Obey! ALL HAIL LORD EXUS!"
"ALL HAIL LORD EXUS!" Dittre, as well as the rest of the Valkyries and the people of the city, said in unison.
The group heard this and they immediately had one thing in mind.
"RUN!" Castanea exclaimed, as she and the rest of the group run dashed towards the exit of the city.
"CATCH THEM! DON'T LET THEM ESCAPE!" Xarzeto exclaimed. "KILL THEM IN THE NAME OF LORD EXUS!"
"YES, MY LORD!"
The group ran across the streets of the city, being chased by a huge number of Angels, Valkyries and other light beings. They fired at the group, who managed to evade them.
"THEY ARE SO MANY!" Castanea exclaimed, as she blocked a light spell with her shield, while she ran.
"Of course! It's a whole city!" Regina exclaimed. "We must run!"
"The door is close!" Vivian exclaimed. "We must go!"
The group approached the door, but they were surrounded by a group of the city's inhabitants. The ones that chased them managed to close the gap, and now they were everywhere.
"We're surrounded!" Exclaimed Sapphire. "What should we do?!"
"We must fight!" Kitrina exclaimed. "We have to defeat them!"
"But they are innocent!" Brunhilde exclaimed in horror.
"We have no choice! It's fight or die!"
Xioné/Tethys looked around and sighed.
"I will stop them!" She said. "You all get out of here!"
"What?!" Brunhilde exclaimed. "We just can't leave! We will fight!"
"There is no time!"
"But-!"
Xioné/Tethys raised her hand and pointed at the door. She released a powerful beam of energy that hit everyone on her way. The door was hit by the intense attack, but it wasn't destroyed. It was open by the strength of the blast. Now with the door open, Xioné/Tethys extended the other hand and surrounded the other girls in a bubble shield. Then she pushed the bubble with the girls throught the door, and out of the city.
They were now back on the deserted island, just outside of the door. The rest of the sky soldiers decided to attack, but Xioné/Tethys look back at them and raised a shield of light energy, trying to contain them. When the girls landed and the bubble burst, they turned to look at the door.
"M-Miss Tethys/Xioné!" Kitrina and Brunhilde, along with Rubina, exclaimed in horror.
"I will be ok!" Exclaimed Xioné/Tethys. "I will meet you again later!"
"But Miss!"
"Go! Go to the West! Reach the Earth Crystal and meet with your other group! The Keyblade Champion is the key of this conflict! Protect him and join forces!"
"Miss Tethys!" Brunhilde Exclaimed.
"Don't worry! I will see you again… Go!" Said the woman… as the door closed behind her…and then, it disappeared.
Now, the door to the city of the skies…was gone.
A few minutes later, back in the citadel, Xarzeto sat again on his throne, while the rest of the Agents, except Saturn, kneeled around them. Another figure walked towards him, before kneeling in front of him.
"I am sorry, Lord Xarzeto." The Valkyrie Dittre said. "Lady Tethys and the Sage's escaped. We couldn't kill any of them."
"I see, I see." Xarzeto expressed. "This is why I never trusted the Valkyries. They are good for nothing."
"I will accept any punishment you give me, Lord Xarzeto."
"It wont be necessary. Mars! You will give her a punishment."
"Yes, Lord Xarzeto." Mars said, as he looked at the Valkyrie with lust and malice.
"Do NOT go too extreme on her, Mars." Xarzeto warned. "If you do, she could wake up from the spell and kill you. Give her a punishment. Do NOT succumb to your desires."
"… yes, Lord Xarzeto." Mars said reluctantly, as he guided Dittre out of the Temple.
Saturn looked at this and then turned to look at his master.
"Lord Xarzeto, what are your orders?" the Agent asked.
"We shall move the city north." Xarzeto expressed. "We must get close to Lord Exus' Island. From there, we can wait for his orders. The rest of the world will believe we all changed sides, and with this, we will hopefully convince more clans to choose the truth of Lord Exus."
"Yes. I heard the Vampire Clan is having some… problems lately."
"Yes, but I am sure they will choose to become Lord Exus followers, like they did thousands of years ago. But now, with us on his side, Light and Darkness will side with him, and soon, the rest of the world! Saturn! Let's go!"
"As you wish, Lord Xarzeto. All in the name… of Lord Exus."
The large floating island began to move, leaving the place it has resided for millennia. Its destination was north-east, where it will reach Exus' Island in a few days.
The city of light… will get too close to the Island of darkness.
Back on the destroyed port city of Kaleum, the girls tried to relax. After escaping from the sky city, they were very tired, and now they were recovering their strength, eating the little food they had. An hour has passed…and they still didn't believe it.
"It can't be…" Brunhilde commented. "I can't believe Lord Zerato…was a traitor!"
"Yeah, it's so unbelievable." Vivian commented. "A being of light… allying with Exus?!"
"Well, he said something that was truth." Kuprita started. "Light doesn't always mean good, as Darkness doesn't always mean evil. One can be a light warrior and be evil."
"Still, it is unbelievable." Sapphire started. "Zerato was one of the Great Lords of the Capitals! If he fell, it means everyone could do so!"
"It means anyone could ally with Exus." Said Castanea. "Even if they are not evil or with darkness in their Hearts."
"It also mean anyone with darkness would ally with us." Kunzita said. "I don't think all dark clans will ally with Exus, but it depends on what his true motives are."
"Save this world… but from who?" Vivian asked. "Who are these warriors from the stars? What does he know?"
"I do not know." Kitrina started. "But I will NOT rest until I beat that bastard! He corrupted Lord Zerato and mind controlled everyone! I will NEVER forgive him!"
"What about the spell to seal this Exus guy?" Regina asked. "Did you girls obtained it?"
"We do." Sapphire responded. "The orbs inside our bodies gave us their knowledge. We now know the spell, but we decided to keep the orbs with us."
"That is good. We don't want those to be on Exus hands."
"sho… wat zould we do?" Rubina asked. "Zhall we go and meet with Friend Alan and the rezt?"
Kunzita closed her eyes, as she began to think. Some images appeared on her mind, as she remembered a vision she had.
"No… not yet." Kunzita said, calling everyone's attention. "We shall go Northwest first."
"Northwest? Why?" Regina asked. "The Earth Crystal is on the far West. You want to go north first?"
"Precisely. There is something we need to do."
"What?"
"Exus was planning to advance south, right? Well, he also plan to advance west to take over the whole north part of the continent. If he manages to do so, we will lost contact with the kingdoms of the north."
"Wait, what?! Are you serious?!" Sapphire exclaimed. "That is true! If he controls the northern part of the continent, we will not be able to leave to my home!"
"I think the plan of Exus is to attack the city of the Elemental Heroes." Kunzita expressed. "It lays northwest, at the end of the continent. It's the only fortress city that is also a capital. If he manages to take over it…"
"We lost the north of this continent." Regina said. "So you plan to stop them?"
"We will not be able to stop them. We will only be able to delay them."
"Delay them? Until when?"
"Until we meet again with the group and we all face them as one."
"Zho… that'z the plan?" Rubina asked.
"It seems so." Kuprita started. "Well, we shall leave. If what miss Xioné or Tethys said was correct, we will meet her again."
"We will." Kitrina said. "I know we will. I believe in our mistress."
"And Rubina believez on her friend." Rubina commented. "Friend Xioné iz ztrong! Zhe will be ok!"
"Then it's decided." Kunzita commented. "We shall go northwest and help the people on those cities, to delay the invasion. We must go."
"Ok!"
Kitrina nodded, but then looked at Brunhilde, who looked in direction of where the city was.
"Hey, miss Brunhilde…" Kitrina started. "We must go."
"I know." The Valkyrie said. "We need to move. I need to find a way to save my people."
"So do I. I am sure my friends will be close."
"Your friends were fighting on a city in the north." Brunhilde said. "That was the last we heard of them. They were supposed to be here by now but got delayed, as Exus forces attacked. They were lucky…or else, they would be part of Exus' soldiers by now."
"It seems they are." Kitrina said, as she extended her arm towards Brunhilde. "Then…we need to regroup and help them. My sisters and the Sages will need me. Will you come with us?"
"I will." Brunhilde said, as she grabbed Kitrina's hand. "Let's go!"
Kitrina nodded, and turned to look at the group.
The girls got out of the building they were, and looked north, as they prepared to leave. Now, with their new objective in mind, the girls began to walk north, to face the forces of Exus and try to delay the invasion of the northern part of the continent.
Their reunion…will have to wait.
End of Chapter 70
Chapter 71 Preview:
Alan: Hello, Alan here! After a very...weird dream, we continue our way foward. But...what's up with Dinara?
Dinara: We are close to a dragon statue. Master Alan...can you read that?
Don't miss the next chapter of The N-Warriors: Shadow Realm Saga: Dragonblood
Alan: Wait...why can I read this?
Kristal: I don't know.
Dinara: Master Alan...you are...
Author Notes:
AND DONE!
Well, so many things happened here. First of all, yes, the reason why Zerato is evil is because... well, he DECIDED to do so, went with Exus, and when Exus removed his Heart, he also became a Nobody. That Nobody become Zerato, who's name is now Xarzeto (using the whole "X" in their name, ala Xehanort). Because he was a wielder of light, his light managed to hide the shadows of his Nobody, but not completely. Still, it was enough to fool the rest.
The Agents were envoys of Exus, but the meeting with Zerato was planned. He orquested the whole "kidnapping" of his wife because he was tired to the other Leaders doing nothing, about the "enemies from the stars". He thinks Exus will bring salvation, and so he decided to join forces with him, and Exus send the Agents to him. They formed the spell that mind bends everyone in the city. Now, every single fairy and angel in the city became a loyal servant of Exus. How will our heroes face this evil?
And well, now, next chapter, we'll return with our normal fanfic.
...after I take a break.
Yeah, I decided to take a break. Not sure when I'll be back, but it will be between 1 or 2 months.
However...that doesn't mean I will stop writing.
The reason why I take this break is not because I have chapters very close or that because I'm tired. The reason is because... I'm making side storys.
Plurar.
Next week, I will upload a NEW story. It HAS to do with this fic, and the main character is Alan. About WHAT, you ask? Well, you'll see next week but I will tell you this:
You NEED to watch an older anime named "Magic Knight Rayearth", at least the first season. This is because my character Alan will go to THAT world in some form, and interact with the girls, in a retelling of THAT anime. Why? I have decided to give Alan mroe adventures, and since i don't want to wait until I finish the main storyline, I decided to add them here.
You'll see next week, but you NEED to watch the first season, since Alan already knows of this season and will make references of it and the future of the anime, including the ending of it. You have been warned!
That being said, I will NOT wait until I finish this side story to continue this fic. If I return in 6 weeks, and the other fic is only started, I will still continue this one while running the other one in parallel. Why? Because the parallel story will NOT affect this one. How? You'll know soon.
Well, I hope you like this, and we'll see you maybe in a few weeks on THIS fic.
-SaiyanX logged off!-