Bearing the Creation and Destruction of Power: Part V
I looked uncertainly around the center of the Mystery Island market, not sure where to go next. In the night, under the cover of darkness, we had had taken a ferry to Mystery Island. Now, in the light of the late morning, we were wondering where our next steps should take us.
Suddenly Enclella tugged on my sleeve. "What?" I asked absentmindedly.
"I have an idea," she told me, nearly whispering.
"Okay, what is it?"
"I think we should ask the Island Mystic for where the cave is."
"Hmmm, that is a good idea. Let's go!"
And so I led our little parade of eight pets and one petpet off through the jungles of Mystery Island. Though the hut of the Island Mystic wasn't that far off, it took us a while to get there, because we had to keep stopping. First we stopped to eat lunch, then we stopped to rest, then we stopped because Kyonga had seen a Splyke, and wanted to chase after it. Finally, we reached the home of the Island Mystic.
"A little stone age don't ya think?" Alysen said dryly. I grinned and went over to knock on the door, if it could be called that.
"Hello?" I called.
"Come in, come in," the Mystic called back. I pushed open the door, and stepped into the small room, which was barely big enough to fit all of us in. "What do you want?" The Island Mystic asked.
"We want to know where the Cave of Truth is," Kyonga announced shakily, petting Eotso for comfort.
"The Island Arena will open a door into the past," the small person (for it was nearly impossible to tell if they were male or female) in ragged clothes predicted, staring off into space. I raised an eyebrow, realizing that this wouldn't help much.
"Thanks," Dialin muttered, backing out the door. The rest of us followed her into to the little clearing outside.
"Now what?" Kyonga asked.
"I suppose we might as well visit the Island Arena. I know it's not much to go on, but it's really all we have," I decided.
The trek back to the center of Mystery Island didn't take as long as going to the Mystic's hut. Maybe because our hope of finding the Cave of Truth had been renewed, if only slightly. I think everyone had realized we needed to destroy the gem as soon as possible.
By the time we reached the Island Arena, dark clouds had obscured the Sun from view, and a chill wind had picked up. Alysen passed out the heavy coats she had brought, but we were still cold. We all huddled around in a closed off section of the Arena's seats.
Suddenly I noticed something. Getting up from my seat, I walked toward the giant stone techo that sat in the middle of the island. I thought I had seen a flicker of movement near a tree, and I wanted to investigate it.
A white light flickered, and it seemed to be hiding behind the tree. I walked forward cautiously; hoping whatever was hiding was not dangerous. I peered around the tree and saw...air. Exasperated, I looked around. Dialin, Alysen, and the rest of the pets were laughing at me. I glowered at them. "Look behind you," Dialin gasped, still giggling.
I snapped around, to see, well, I suppose you could call it a ghost. It had the shape of a lupe, but it had the sort of glow around it that a faerie had. Unlike a faerie however, it didn't seem solid. Sort of ghostlike. I gasped.
"Who are you?"
"I am many people, or at least I represent many people. If you want my name, it is Sakirina," she replied.
"So you're Sakirina!" I exclaimed. Suddenly a chia appeared next to Sakirina. She put her arm around him.
"And this is Linkidu." Linkidu nodded and looked around at the island.
"I've only been here once, but I remember it well," he said.
"So, what are you here for?" Dialin asked. Sakirina looked sharply at her.
"You are on a quest are you not?"
"Well, yeah, but..."
"And I am here to help you with your quest."
"Do you know where the Cave of Truth is?" I asked, fingering the gem, which was in my pocket.
"Yes, that's what we're here for. To show you where the cave is," Sakirina replied.
"If you know where the cave is, why didn't you try to destroy the gem?" I wondered.
"I didn't know, when I possessed the gem. It wasn't until later that I found the cave, and by then the gem was out of my control."
"Besides, it would have been impossible for Sakirina to destroy the gem," Linkidu added, "without destroying herself in the process. You are the only one who can destroy it and have any chance of surviving."
I gulped. "You mean it's not certain that I'll survive?"
"No," Sakirina told me. "And now, we do have a gem to destroy."
I nodded agreement, and took the gem out of my pocket. "Where is the Cave of Truth?"
Sakirina looked at me for a moment, apparently trying to decide if I really could destroy the gem. "Yes." She walked over to the back of the giant stone techo, and showed me a small indentation in the stone.
"Fit the gem in there," Linkidu told me. My friends had followed us, but stood back from the great hulking stone. I think they knew this was the point where they had to leave me, to destroy the Gem of Truth alone.
I fit the gem into the little hole, and something began to creak. The rock on my right started to shift, shrinking into the rest of the stone. It looked as if it was just disappearing into the rock. Now, in the shape of a doorway, the mouth of a great cave stood, pitch black, like a pool of ink.
"Take the gem," Sakirina instructed, and I did so.
"Wh-what do I do now?" I asked, shivering.
"You are alone now. I do not know what you must do, but when it is time, you will know." The voice came not from Sakirina, from Linkidu. It seemed to come from inside me. With no time to ponder this, I walked into the cave, leaving my friends behind, possibly forever.
***
I had been walking for what seemed like forever, likely because everything in the cave looked the same. In an instant, a wall loomed up in front of me, different from all the other walls surrounding me. It had a large six-pointed star, with an indented circle in the center. Each of the points of the star was a different color. Red, aqua, green, sky blue, yellow, and dark purple, almost black. I realized that these represented the elements that make up Neopia.
The center of the star was the only thing that wasn't colored. Suddenly the same fear I had felt not long ago--though it seemed like it had been ages--filled my heart. I was not sure any more that I wanted to destroy the gem. Now I thought I wanted to use its power for my own purpose. To turn it against my friends. I turned to walk away from that wall, but something held me back. I tried to move my foot forward, but couldn't. I did not want to turn around and look at the wall that held the six-pointed star. It was a great battle between good and evil, or maybe two sides each wanting the same power over my mind, going on inside me. The pressure was almost unbearable.
And then something snapped in my mind. Light flooded into it, breaking the spell of the gem. In that moment, many things flashed through my brain. I remembered Kyonga's cheerfulness, Dialin's sensibility, Alysen's sarcasm, and all the traits of the other pets, and people I knew. They were my friends, and I knew I would die for them. "Put the Gem of Truth in the center of the star," a voice, or maybe my own heart told me. I wheeled around and crammed the gem into the center of the star. The light of all the elements flamed, knocking me back. The lights revolved in circles above my head, then formed into the shape of a star, but this time it was all the colors blended together. Fire, water, earth, air, light, and dark.
The star burst, showering rainbows down on the cave. It burst, as if struck by a giant and powerful hammer, and I was knocked out.
To be continued...
4
1
I looked uncertainly around the center of the Mystery Island market, not sure where to go next. In the night, under the cover of darkness, we had had taken a ferry to Mystery Island. Now, in the light of the late morning, we were wondering where our next steps should take us.
Suddenly Enclella tugged on my sleeve. "What?" I asked absentmindedly.
"I have an idea," she told me, nearly whispering.
"Okay, what is it?"
"I think we should ask the Island Mystic for where the cave is."
"Hmmm, that is a good idea. Let's go!"
And so I led our little parade of eight pets and one petpet off through the jungles of Mystery Island. Though the hut of the Island Mystic wasn't that far off, it took us a while to get there, because we had to keep stopping. First we stopped to eat lunch, then we stopped to rest, then we stopped because Kyonga had seen a Splyke, and wanted to chase after it. Finally, we reached the home of the Island Mystic.
"A little stone age don't ya think?" Alysen said dryly. I grinned and went over to knock on the door, if it could be called that.
"Hello?" I called.
"Come in, come in," the Mystic called back. I pushed open the door, and stepped into the small room, which was barely big enough to fit all of us in. "What do you want?" The Island Mystic asked.
"We want to know where the Cave of Truth is," Kyonga announced shakily, petting Eotso for comfort.
"The Island Arena will open a door into the past," the small person (for it was nearly impossible to tell if they were male or female) in ragged clothes predicted, staring off into space. I raised an eyebrow, realizing that this wouldn't help much.
"Thanks," Dialin muttered, backing out the door. The rest of us followed her into to the little clearing outside.
"Now what?" Kyonga asked.
"I suppose we might as well visit the Island Arena. I know it's not much to go on, but it's really all we have," I decided.
The trek back to the center of Mystery Island didn't take as long as going to the Mystic's hut. Maybe because our hope of finding the Cave of Truth had been renewed, if only slightly. I think everyone had realized we needed to destroy the gem as soon as possible.
By the time we reached the Island Arena, dark clouds had obscured the Sun from view, and a chill wind had picked up. Alysen passed out the heavy coats she had brought, but we were still cold. We all huddled around in a closed off section of the Arena's seats.
Suddenly I noticed something. Getting up from my seat, I walked toward the giant stone techo that sat in the middle of the island. I thought I had seen a flicker of movement near a tree, and I wanted to investigate it.
A white light flickered, and it seemed to be hiding behind the tree. I walked forward cautiously; hoping whatever was hiding was not dangerous. I peered around the tree and saw...air. Exasperated, I looked around. Dialin, Alysen, and the rest of the pets were laughing at me. I glowered at them. "Look behind you," Dialin gasped, still giggling.
I snapped around, to see, well, I suppose you could call it a ghost. It had the shape of a lupe, but it had the sort of glow around it that a faerie had. Unlike a faerie however, it didn't seem solid. Sort of ghostlike. I gasped.
"Who are you?"
"I am many people, or at least I represent many people. If you want my name, it is Sakirina," she replied.
"So you're Sakirina!" I exclaimed. Suddenly a chia appeared next to Sakirina. She put her arm around him.
"And this is Linkidu." Linkidu nodded and looked around at the island.
"I've only been here once, but I remember it well," he said.
"So, what are you here for?" Dialin asked. Sakirina looked sharply at her.
"You are on a quest are you not?"
"Well, yeah, but..."
"And I am here to help you with your quest."
"Do you know where the Cave of Truth is?" I asked, fingering the gem, which was in my pocket.
"Yes, that's what we're here for. To show you where the cave is," Sakirina replied.
"If you know where the cave is, why didn't you try to destroy the gem?" I wondered.
"I didn't know, when I possessed the gem. It wasn't until later that I found the cave, and by then the gem was out of my control."
"Besides, it would have been impossible for Sakirina to destroy the gem," Linkidu added, "without destroying herself in the process. You are the only one who can destroy it and have any chance of surviving."
I gulped. "You mean it's not certain that I'll survive?"
"No," Sakirina told me. "And now, we do have a gem to destroy."
I nodded agreement, and took the gem out of my pocket. "Where is the Cave of Truth?"
Sakirina looked at me for a moment, apparently trying to decide if I really could destroy the gem. "Yes." She walked over to the back of the giant stone techo, and showed me a small indentation in the stone.
"Fit the gem in there," Linkidu told me. My friends had followed us, but stood back from the great hulking stone. I think they knew this was the point where they had to leave me, to destroy the Gem of Truth alone.
I fit the gem into the little hole, and something began to creak. The rock on my right started to shift, shrinking into the rest of the stone. It looked as if it was just disappearing into the rock. Now, in the shape of a doorway, the mouth of a great cave stood, pitch black, like a pool of ink.
"Take the gem," Sakirina instructed, and I did so.
"Wh-what do I do now?" I asked, shivering.
"You are alone now. I do not know what you must do, but when it is time, you will know." The voice came not from Sakirina, from Linkidu. It seemed to come from inside me. With no time to ponder this, I walked into the cave, leaving my friends behind, possibly forever.
***
I had been walking for what seemed like forever, likely because everything in the cave looked the same. In an instant, a wall loomed up in front of me, different from all the other walls surrounding me. It had a large six-pointed star, with an indented circle in the center. Each of the points of the star was a different color. Red, aqua, green, sky blue, yellow, and dark purple, almost black. I realized that these represented the elements that make up Neopia.
The center of the star was the only thing that wasn't colored. Suddenly the same fear I had felt not long ago--though it seemed like it had been ages--filled my heart. I was not sure any more that I wanted to destroy the gem. Now I thought I wanted to use its power for my own purpose. To turn it against my friends. I turned to walk away from that wall, but something held me back. I tried to move my foot forward, but couldn't. I did not want to turn around and look at the wall that held the six-pointed star. It was a great battle between good and evil, or maybe two sides each wanting the same power over my mind, going on inside me. The pressure was almost unbearable.
And then something snapped in my mind. Light flooded into it, breaking the spell of the gem. In that moment, many things flashed through my brain. I remembered Kyonga's cheerfulness, Dialin's sensibility, Alysen's sarcasm, and all the traits of the other pets, and people I knew. They were my friends, and I knew I would die for them. "Put the Gem of Truth in the center of the star," a voice, or maybe my own heart told me. I wheeled around and crammed the gem into the center of the star. The light of all the elements flamed, knocking me back. The lights revolved in circles above my head, then formed into the shape of a star, but this time it was all the colors blended together. Fire, water, earth, air, light, and dark.
The star burst, showering rainbows down on the cave. It burst, as if struck by a giant and powerful hammer, and I was knocked out.
To be continued...
4
1