We stepped slowly onto the aerie, the cold winds momentarily overpowering the searing heat of the lighthouse. I had thought Mia was going to die in there. She had lived in Imil all of her life, and not even the Lakaman desert could compare to this. I tried to shake my hair from my face but the strong gusts of wind held it firmly in place.
I stared at the trench in the middle of the aerie. It probably led down to the bottom of the lighthouse, but I wasn't going to confirm that. What was Felix doing? He should be lighting the lighthouse so we could leave; these winds could blow us all off the aerie if we weren't careful.
"Betrayers, you have arrived!" A voice boomed from out of nowhere. Everyone looked around for the source of the voice, obviously as confused as I was.
"The winds are to strong. I can't see anything." Mia said, giving up on locating where the voice came from. You can't see anything? I thought, forcing my hair away from my eyes again.
Felix walked towards the trench, only to be retuned to his original position. Was that the wind? But how could the wind…
"So you still intend to light the lighthouse," the voice boomed again, not quite as hostile this time.
"That voice. It is the Wise One." Oh, great...the Wise One. That's what Kraden had called the huge, floating eyeball that appeared just before we left Sol Sanctum. He was the Guardian of the Elemental Stars, and probably the lighthouses as well, considering he was there. Even we could not fight a guardian spirit and win. I shifted my feet nervously 'til the wind nearly blew me off balance.
"Isaac, since when are you on a first-name basis with the Wise One?" Kraden asked. Where did you get that, Kraden? He called us "betrayers," not by our names. I looked around at everyone, and realized I must have missed something. Everyone seemed to want to know the same thing, with the exception of Garet, who was biting his lip as if trying to remember something distant.
"It must have been. Isaac, what happened in Sol Sanctum after we were kidnapped?" I asked Isaac, the thought just occurring to me.
"When Saturos and Menardi stole the Elemental Stars, they also triggered a volcanic eruption. The Wise One prevented Mt. Aleph from erupting so that Garet and I could escape," Isaac answered slowly, as if he had just now recalled the event as well.
"But wait, Mt. Aleph did erupt. We saw it all the way in Vault." Ivan said cautiously.
"It would've erupted with us still inside," said Garet.
"The Wise One held off the eruption until we could escape. He even halted the lava flow." Isaac added, sounding as if he didn't quite believe it himself. I stared at Isaac, almost ready to declare him a liar right there; but Isaac wouldn't lie. If the Wise One could stop an erupting volcano to save two people in the wrong place at the wrong time, I don't want to see what he can do to destroy them.
"I did not just save you. I also tasked you with recovering the Elemental Stars," The Wise One reminded Isaac and Garet, his one eye glaring at them with anger. "Why have you disobeyed my command? Why have you come to light the beacon?"
"Because Prox will be destroyed if we don't! We can't let that happen." I yelled, half wondering why he didn't already know this. Guardian of Weyard, indeed.
"Prox? They have brought this disaster upon themselves."
I was halfway through summoning a Dragon Fume before I realized what I was doing. How could someone just ignore the destruction of a town, much less the world? I was too wrapped up in thought to hear what Sheba said next,
"The people of Prox have committed an unforgivable sin. They must pay the price."
"How can you just allow the world to crumble into nothingness?" I yelled at the same time Sheba said: "The seal needs to be broken. The world will be destroyed if it isn't broken."
The Wise One backed up, blinking his one eye in surprise. "You have learned far too much."
Kraden reminded the Wise One of his duty. I stopped listening, knowing this by heart through his long speeches.
"Why won't you answer us, Wise One?" I asked, adapting an almost mocking tone on his name.
"If alchemy is unleashed mankind may well destroy all of Weyard itself."
"But we can combine our strength. Ensure that alchemy is never used for evil." Kraden replied.
"It is inevitable," The Wise One answered. " In time, one man will seek to rule over all. It is human nature, inescapable. And it shall come sooner than any of you think." I didn't think it could happen; one man standing up against all of us, but as a burst of psyenergy suddenly surrounded the Wise One, my doubt of the situation left.
All I heard were two words: Alex and Mt. Aleph. "Alex!? What would he be doing on Mt. Aleph?" I asked. If Alex was on Mt Aleph, he would have had to go through Vale.
I tried to shake that thought from my head and listen to what the Wise One was saying, but the thought of that creep going through our village…
"We've been duped! He used us all! Oh, you'd better believe he's not getting away with this!" Garet shouted to no one in particular.
"Alex. How could he do this? He's…he's one of my own people! I feel sick…disgusted." Mia said quietly, looking away from all of us.
An agreement was come to, to just light the lighthouse, followed by Sheba suggesting that the Wise One deal with Alex by himself.
"I cannot interfere with the actions of mankind," the Wise One commented, a hint of regret in his voice.
"If you can't interfere, then how about getting out of our way so we can light the beacon, huh?" I said, before the idea had fully formed in my head.
The Wise One didn't answer, but the look in his one eye said he was willing to back off and watch what he was sure would be the world's destruction.
Finally Felix started to move towards the hole when, suddenly, the Wise One began glowing, his psyenergy enveloping him again.
"What if some…miracle was to prevent you from lighting the lighthouse?" I just stared, nearly positive I did not want to meet this "miracle."
A sound like thunder filled my ears when a dragon appeared before us. By the time it had landed, everyone's weapons were drawn and ready. The three heads roared in challenge, nearly drowning out Kraden's shout. "No! Don't it's…" He began, but I wasn't listening; the heat of battle was already surging through me, too late to dam up. I ran at the monster and struck the first blow…