DISCLAIMER: No, I did NOT accumulate enough money to buy Golden Sun since the last time I posted a chapter. - -() What more do you want?!

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As soon as I got into Sol Sanctum, I took a quick look around. Just some long corridors and stepping stones. It seemed as though the strongest security around here was outside. It was easy to find my way around. Then I found myself in another corridor—with a dead end. I groaned. This was it?! I couldn't believe it! I got excited for nothing! This was so incredibly stupid.

But, just as I turned back to leave, I remembered that the Sacred Elder wasn't known for telling lies. I looked back. Just some statues…or maybe…well, it was worth a try. I tried pushing one statue, but it didn't budge. Then I tried two more; neither did they. So, maybe it was all for nothing. I growled and kicked one in anger.

It rocked ever so slightly.

Now very much alarmed, I tried to move that one. It moved away easily to reveal yet another labyrinth of corridors. Unlike before, however, it was a lot harder to find my way through this one. I ended up going in circles at least three times. When I finally made it to the door, I discovered even more statues. Argh. After finally figuring out how to move these, I got through to find a shorter corridor. What was up with all these corridors?! Well, then again, it was a temple, so… Anyway, as soon as I walked through the door, there was a room with a statue in each corner and a glowing image of Luna in the center. There was another door off to the right, and when I went through that one, it was the exact same thing, except that the image was of Sol this time. And—big surprise—there was yet another door. Doors, statues, and corridors seemed to be all this place was made of. …Well, not literally, but it did make for an interesting mental picture. I walked through this one and saw still another door around the corner. If I saw any more doors, I was probably going to go postal. When I went up through this one—it had stairs—I saw yet another corridor, and even more statues. I am NOT going to set this place on fire, I am NOT going to set this place on fire… I sighed slowly. I went through yet another door to the left and discovered two statues shining some sort of light on this platform, revealing a rather large hole I didn't notice downstairs. There was also another statue that was larger than the other two, holding up a large disc-thingie…that seemed large enough to fit perfectly into the hole. Of course, it might've seemed a little bigger…but it was worth a try. Though it was large, I found that I could push it easily. Of course, it still took a while to get it to the hole.

But then, as I neared the hole, I began to think, Why am I doing this, exactly? It doesn't make any sense. I bit my lip. What did this have to do with Sol's contest? I already saw it as a dead end. Maybe the reason nobody could compete was that it didn't really exist. Who knows? Frustrated, I walked away, trying to think up an excuse for going up to Sol Sanctum.

However, as soon as I left the statue, it must've been on an inclined plane of some sort, because then it started to slide toward the hole itself.

CRASH!

I flinched as the statue dropped like a stone through the hole, the only thing supporting it being the large disc, which seemed relatively weak at this point. I went slowly back down the stairs, back into the room that had Sol in it. When I went through the other door, however, I noticed a difference—there was yet one more door that was glowing. Yes, glowing. It didn't make any sense. Had I inadvertently opened this one up by making the statue fall through the hole? That didn't make any sense, either. Since I figured that the guards just might not be exactly happy to see me come out of Sol Sanctum, it wouldn't hurt to go through this one.

However, I discovered that when I approached it, I was teleported to…someplace else. It seemed as though it was night out…where was I?? I could also see the ocean, black as night also. But when I looked around…I saw the Elemental Stars! This was impossible! Had I reached the grounds for Sol's contest?! Must have. I drew my javelin cautiously, waiting for something to happen. Which it did. I could hear a soft growl behind me and saw what looked like a Mercury Djinn. "Damn!" I cursed out loud. Then it leaped at me. I easily deflected it with the javelin, then sprang forward to kill it quickly, which, of course, didn't happen as it fired at jet of water at me. "ACKPTH!! YOU STUPID THING!! DIE!!" It sprang up fairly easily, then fired another stream of water, which I dodged this time. I retaliated with Psynergy. "Eruption!" It was flung up in the air with the attack, then I speared it onto my javelin. Or tried to. As soon as the very tip of it touched the djinn, it disappeared. Then I waited cautiously for the next challenge. It wasn't any harder to beat than the Thunder Lizard.

There was a roar behind me. I whipped around to see a giant flaming beast that seemed to resemble a cat, almost. It growled softly, then leaped at me. I ducked quickly, raking it with the javelin. It landed easily on the other side of me, then turned around and attacked with a long chain of fire. The white fire that had protected during the fight with the Lizard again snaked out, protecting me from the red flame. It growled, slightly discouraged, then pounced on me once again. I rammed the javelin into its shoulder, but either it didn't notice or didn't care, because it didn't disappear. It slashed at me; it would've near taken my head off if I hadn't rolled over in time. This was one of the few times where I was truly afraid.

It tried slashing at me again and I had to roll over again in order to keep it from ripping my head off, keeping my eyes tightly shut. However, I felt an acid-hot, burning substance on my neck and cheek that wasn't fire…but there was little difference. When I opened my eyes, I found that by rolling over, I had slashed the creature right on the neck with my javelin. The fiery substance was its own blood. It seemed to flicker once, then disappeared altogether.

I scrambled back up, trembling. Was this what Sol's contest was all about? Risking your life for one lousy wish? I had to get out of here. I could take angry guards, but not what else they were going to throw at me. But, as I looked at the door that led me here, it seemed miles away. How am I going to get out of here…?

Then I could feel a breeze on my neck. What seemed a second later, I thought I felt knives being pressed into my shoulders. I screamed out, more in fear than pain, and something screamed back. I looked up and saw a giant white bird carrying me off. I whipped the javelin around and slashed it across the chest, which seemed to do next to nothing. Then it tossed me angrily against the floor. As soon as all the pretty colors went away, my shoulders were throbbing in pain and I realized that it hadn't actually punctured them, or else I'd be bleeding to death. Then it flapped its wings once, creating a giant whirlwind—which was heading straight for me!

I quickly scrambled out of the way, but it followed. I got up. "Heat Wave!" The fire, however, added to the whirlwind, turning it into a giant flaming whirlwind. As if my day could get any worse. But then it quickly flickered and died out. I sighed in relief, but then I saw the white bird hurtling at me. It slammed into me, nearly pushing me over the edge of the stone platform that I was on, into the sea. Then the white fire circled around it and the bird shot back, screeching. Not missing a beat, I attacked again with Eruption. It outflew the attack, however, and summoned another cyclone to finish me off. The white fire lashed out once again and the cyclone disappeared, leaving the bird wide open for an attack.

However, the white fire circled around me, then seemed to, well, attach itself to my arms. Then I could feel an even stronger attack waiting.

"DELTA FLARE!"

The attack completely engulfed the bird, destroying it. When I was casting the Psynergy attack, though…it didn't seem entirely mine. I shuddered slightly, but the white flames still licked around my arms in a thin spiral. I wondered what could possibly be doing this…a spirit? Maybe…

I considered my opponents. The first one was a Mercury Djinn…and then the second one was a big flaming beast. The last one was a giant bird. There must be a pattern of some sort…I tried remembering the Djinn summons. The Mercury Djinn must've represented the Mercury spirit, the weakest Mercury summon, requiring one Mercury Djinni. The beast must've been Kirin, which needed two Mars Djinn. Then the bird had to be Procne, which needed three Jupiter Djinn. So far, the only Djinn type that hadn't been mentioned was Venus…and since the number of Djinn kept going up with each summon…the only one left was Judgment. Hoo boy.

As if on cue, the summon appeared in front of me, gathering energy in the lion's head cannon. "Uh…oh…" I looked to the portal that brought me here in the first place and considered running for it.

Why run? Fire and earth have a strong relationship with each other…

I paused. The voice wasn't mine, and it sure as hell didn't belong to the spirit threatening to kill me. Then I considered what it was saying. Could the spirit thingy actually be giving me strength, without its knowing of it…? I glanced at the white fire, still circling my arm. It was worth a shot… I drew my javelin.

That's when it fired. I just barely managed to get out of the way, but I could feel the heat of the blast singe my left arm. I glanced back. The blast still kept going, illuminating the Jupiter Star. Then I turned back to the knight. All of my prior confidence immediately left me. It looked like it was waiting for me to attack, though. Right, then… "Delta Flare!!"

The attack engulfed Judgment, but didn't seem to affect him at all. Then it drew a rather large sword. Then it charged. I tried to strike it with my javelin, but it just bounced off its armor. I'm gonna die. I know it. I'm gonna die.

However, when it swung the sword at me, the white fire again lashed out and onto the blade. It didn't appear that Judgment would be using it again…it just tossed the sword aside and charged up the cannon again. That's when I realized one of its weaknesses. I jammed the javelin directly into the cannon, twisted it, and pulled it out again. It beat its wings and probably would've yelled out in pain, but it didn't. I noticed that the tip of the javelin was covered in black blood. It tried flying back, but I threw the javelin at it. It hit its mark—right in the center of the visor. It flailed about for a second, then pulled it out with its good hand, and tossed it at my feet. Now, more blood covered the visor as well as the javelin. Was it blind? Hopefully.

But it still wasn't dead. I was hoping that last attack would finish it off, but apparently, it only made it even more pissed off. I could sense another Psynergy attack coming; one even stronger than the Delta Flare. But, again, it didn't quite seem entirely mine…

"OMEGA FLAME!!"

This time, a pure white flame swallowed up the summon…but it still wasn't dead. Just weak enough so that one more attack could easily finish it off. I picked up the javelin and charged, ramming it into the cuirass. Surprisingly, it punctured the armor. Judgment froze up, then flickered once and disappeared. Because I'd been leaning on the javelin, I fell forward. "…ow." I rolled over and looked up at the sky…or was it a ceiling? I didn't know and I didn't care. I just wondered whether or not it was over.

I wasn't aware of how much strength I'd used up. I felt suddenly exhausted. That's when I fainted.

…

I don't know how long it was before I woke up. All I know was that I was still in the chamber, and there was a silver-haired woman in long, black robes. I bolted up, aware that she was a goddess of some sort. She smiled. "Lay down, child," she said. "No need."

"For what…? And who are you?"

"Ruun, goddess of the moon. I congratulate you. You are the first person who has ever entered Sol's contest and won, let alone lived to tell the tale. And since you knew about this in the first place, I guess you must know the prize, as well. Choose wisely."

I thought. There were a lot of things I could've wished for; but at the time, I couldn't really think of anything. Except for one thing.

"I wish to have my father resurrected."

"…You have chosen wisely. It is worthy. So be it." She paused. "And…I guess, under the circumstances of the wish, you should have this, as well."

A small blue crystal on a silver cord materialized in the air in front of me. Curious, I grabbed it. "What is it?"

"The Azure Flame. It is one of the strongest objects of Alchemy, alongside the Stone of Sages and the Rose Dagger. I warn you, though; it is not an ornamental object. It is a potentially very dangerous item, and can easily destroy you. You must be very careful with it. If it sees fit, it will kill you."

"If it…sees fit?"

"Yes. If it sees you as unworthy, or if you use it for the wrong purposes. So far, all the bearers of the Azure Flame have died because of it…except for the last one, who destroyed it before it could destroy him."

"Who was he?"

"Your father."

I didn't quite know what to say to that. "Does that mean…he was still alive in the first place…?"

"No. He was killed."

"Oh."

"Now, you must hurry. Your mother is getting worried."

"Right." I slipped the Azure Flame over my head and dashed to the portal.

"Good luck!" I heard her call after me. "Your father is outside of Kalay!!"

Oh, great. This is going to be a bit more complicated than I thought. I bolted down the corridors and was about to go straight out the door when I was aware the guards might not like it if they discovered I'd been up to Sol Sanctum. Oh well, I'd just defeated the strongest Venus summon; a few disgruntled guards should be easy. Still, I didn't want to risk angering the Sacred Healer. I slipped out and saw that the guards were asleep. Oy. I quietly snuck past them and back into my house.

"So, where've you been?"

I froze, startled. It was Matt. I turned to face him. "Uh…after I got healed, I decided to go train some more." I prayed that he would fall for it.

"What?! And you didn't bring me?!"

I sighed in relief, slightly, so he wouldn't notice. "I didn't want to risk you getting hurt again."

"But that was just one Thunder Lizard!! You should've at least told me!! I would've brought my own weapon!"

"What, a butter knife?"

"Oh, knock it off…"

"By the way…where's mom and…er, and dad?" Kalay, I answered silently. Of course, I was talking about Garet, so…

"Visiting Isaac."

"Oh. Okay." Now I had to think of a good excuse for going to Kalay. Hrm…maybe I could just say that Iodem missed me and wanted to meet me there? It was worth a shot. Of course, I had to wait until mom and Garet came back.

"What's that?"

"Huh?" Then I realized he was talking about the Azure Flame. "Oh, this? Just a weird crystal I found. I decided to pocket it."

"Cool…I wonder how much it'll go for in the shop!"

"I'm not selling it, Matt."

"Aw, why not?"

"Because…uh…I doubt it'll be worth anything. Anyway, there's no way in hell I'm selling it."

"Please?"

"No! …And don't you dare think of stealing it!!"

"All right, I give."

I sighed. "Good." I didn't want to think of what it might do to him if he stole it…or, rather, what it might do to me.

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Yes, I KNOW it's been ages since I last posted a chapter to Azure Flame…I was on the verge of abandoning it, but then I decided not to. Why? Because I still felt a need to torture Smurfy… ^_^