Chapter 9 :: Trial of Turbulent Waters
-------------------------------------------------You have grown stronger again, Mithos.
"Erebus, what were you before becoming a shadow?" asked Mithos. Erebus' form now consisted of a dark cloak over his hidden shape and red eyes.
A failed leader. I failed to stop this terrible war, and now I can only lend my power to you. Your journey will now take you across the sea, to the heart of those who would seek to persecute our kind.
"Erebus, thank you," Mithos said.
In time, we will bring peace to the world.
-------------------------------------------------
"What is this darkness...? Oh, Mithos, you have awakened. The others left for the airship hours ago."
The first thing Mithos saw the next morning was Alice sitting on a bunk next to him.
"What was that you just said before I got up?" Mithos asked.
"Nothing with which you need to concern yourself. I was just thinking about your crystal," Alice replied. Alice accompanied Mithos to the hangar where the hovercraft from last night was parked. This time however, they would be boarding Alice's stealth skyship. Shaped like a giant bird with swept forward wings, the Zephyr could fly through the skies at nearly eight times the speed of sound and never be caught doing it.
"Lady Enigma, I've told all of the others to head for the Arctic Base," Yuan reported.
"Good. This place isn't exactly a fortress worthy of my name anymore," replied Alice.
"Mithos, you really need to remember to wake up," Kratos told him when they entered the passenger compartment of the ship. The others had already finished their meal of bread and eggs, but they had left one plate for Mithos.
"Kratos, you can't be that hard on him. He went through some tough battles yesterday," Martel said.
"Everyone strap in. We're about to go places... fast," Yuan said over the intercom. Eagerly finishing his breakfast, Mithos rushed up to the cockpit of the aircraft.
"If you intend to watch, at least have a seat," Alice said, clicking a switch on her console, which made a chair emerge from the floor. Mithos took his seat and put on his restraint. Not for an instant did she look away from her station. "Run through main systems check, Yuan."
Yuan's scrolled through many glowing screen simultaneously, making sure that the Zephyr was ready to fly. His fingers moved rapidly from one panel to another. "All systems, go."
"Mithos! There you are," Kratos said, coming into the command center. "Martel and I got worried about you since you ran off like that."
"Mithos isn't a child anymore," Yuan said. "You needn't watch over him all the time."
"Commence primary engine start. Increase Volt electric energy to 100 percent," Alice instructed. Yuan and Alice put on headsets with a display that went over the eyes. The headsets, plugged into the Zephyr's main computer, provided them all the information they needed to fly the airship. Yuan called up another chair for Kratos, since he didn't seem to want to go back to the passenger compartment.
"Here we go!" Mithos enthusiastically exclaimed. The hangar doors slid open amidst an array of flashing lights. Like a hawk taking flight, Zephyr shot out and glided for a few seconds before ascending to the clouds.
"Heading west," Yuan reported. He pressed another lever, which surrounded their ship in a violet bubble.
"So that's your secret stealth feature," Kratos said.
"Impressive isn't it? It uses Shadow and Luna's respective energies to mask our presence," Alice said. Again, she didn't take any time to turn around.
"We should be joining Lord Cornelius' ships soon," Yuan said. The Zephyr headed west to the sea where a huge fleet of ships and aircraft had been assembled. In the ocean sailed giant battleships made of mithril, which carried powerful lightning cannons. As they arrived, Yuan dispelled the invisibility shield, signaling their arrival with red flares. The Zephyr flew closer to the main air squadron of twenty Deathcarriers, where they received a flag signal from the lead airship.
"What's it say?" asked Mithos.
"Form up with Kepler's fleet... Admiral William Cornelius," Yuan read. The Zephyr fell to the rear of the formation as the entire invasion force moved out across the ocean. Though they could have reached Macerdon in a few hours, the airships flew slowly so the battleships could catch up.
"We'll be taking a detour in a few hours to the island of Thoda where Undine sleeps," Alice informed them. "In the meantime, Yuan and I have much to attend to."
"I see. Come on, Mithos," Kratos said, returning to the passenger compartment with Mithos. They found Martel and Solstice playing a game of chess at a table in the back.
"Rook to C3, check," Solstice said.
"Mithos, you want to try?" asked Martel.
"That's all right, I'll just watch this one," Mithos answered.
"Knight to E4," Martel said, calculating her strategy carefully.
"Queen to E4, checkmate," Solstice replied. "You did quite well for a beginner."
"Thanks, Solstice," said Martel. Next came Kratos' turn against Mithos, a battle of master and disciple. While their pieces moved across the board, Kratos told Mithos things that applied to real battles like surrounding the opponent and reading the enemy's moves.
"Checkmate," Mithos said, moving his piece into a position from which Kratos could not escape. However, before Kratos could congratulate him, the airship lurched to the side and threw them against the wall. Through the window, they could see that Yuan had brought the invisibility barrier up again. Mithos ran back to the bridge with the others close behind them.
"Deathcarrier Athena, launching Rheairds," a radio message reported.
"Macerdon's sent a group of battleships to stop the invasion," Yuan told them. "We'll try not to get shot down."
The Zephyr did a barrel roll and fell to a lower altitude while Deathcarriers fired their main turrets into the sea-bound Macerdonian fleet. In a projector between Alice and Yuan, a translucent picture of a man's face appeared. The blonde haired half elf seemed to show no signs of worry.
"We are releasing the mana weapon, Midgard Serpent. There's only enough power for one shot, so we'll try to make this one count," he said before vanishing.
"Impossible. Lord Cornelius said he wouldn't have that thing finished for a few months," Alice said.
"What's this mana weapon you speak of?" inquired Solstice.
"Think of it as an artificial summon spirit with destruction as its only purpose," Yuan explained.
"The power is not reliant on any spirit. Midgard Serpent draws mana right out of Derris-Kharlan," added Alice. Below, a magic seal appeared on the sea's surface. Every nearby battleship directed a beam of light into the center, as did the Deathcarriers above.
"Thoda's just ahead," Yuan said. Out of the magic seal came a titanic winged serpent with a body made of white light. With no way to control it, the Midgard Serpent smashed into nearby battleships before heading for the Macerdonian fleet. It let out a piercing scream as it glared at the ants beneath him.
"Nuclear Nova!"
"Maximum speed, now!" Alice yelled, throwing the throttle forward. With her precise flying, she guided the Zephyr to supersonic speed to land on an isolated island in the midst of the battle. Midgard Serpent spread its wings; feathers came loose and turned into fireballs. Impacting the ocean, the feathers exploded into towering pillars of flame. Finally, after destroying most of the Macerdonian fleet, the snake dived into the ocean where it dissolved.
"Ugh!" Martel said, as she felt a terrible headache.
"It must be the mana drain from Midgard Serpent. Derris-Kharlan's life-force has been partially depleted from it use," Alice said.
Unlike the other two shrines they had visited, Undine, the maiden who personified the seas and rivers, waited at the entrance. Though the seas were chaotic around her, she remained calm. Her voice was one of a caring and kind spirit, as she said, "Mithos, so you have come."
"Yes, we really need your help in ending this war," Mithos said.
"Then we will see if you are strong enough," replied Undine. "I knew time for you was short, so I went ahead and appeared before you here."
"Yuan, fight with them. I must see how my pupil has progressed," Alice said.
"As you wish, Lady Enigma," said Yuan.
The first strike in this battle came not from the spirit, but from Kratos as he tried to take Undine by surprise. As he was about to swing his sword, Undine turned into a puddle of water and reemerged behind him.
"Reverse Blow!" Kratos called, turning around and thrusting into Undine. Undine shook off her injury, and countered with two swipes of her sword. As Kratos' defense broke down, Yuan and Mithos took his place.
"Spirit of Light... Photon!" Martel called. Two rings of light surrounded Undine then collapsed in on her, stunning the water spirit momentarily.
"You fight well on land," Undine conceded. By extending her sword out to the sea, she called in a powerful flood that brought ten feet of water into the battle arena. Alice, still observing, watched from the top of the Zephyr.
"I've never fought in the water before, master," Mithos said. Using his wings, Mithos tried fighting from the air. Meanwhile, Undine reached into the water and created vortexes that drew the wingless ones beneath.
"Martel!" Yuan called, swimming hard for her. "Eclipse!"
"Thanks, Yuan," Martel said. Yuan's Eclipse bubble provided enough air for them underwater, and Solstice did the same for Kratos. The two pairs looked to Mithos as their only hope to win this fight. Geysers of steaming hot water shot up left and right as Mithos flew at Undine. Kratos' training made him extremely agile, so he found dodging Undine's water spells easy.
"Spread!" called the water spirit. However, she used a giant tower of water this time and trapped Mithos inside. As he was knocked from side to side, he touched the ring that the Sylphs had given him.
"I call..." Mithos started, but found his mouth filled with salty seawater. He gasped for air as he came out of Undine's water spire. "The guardians of the heavens." Undine called two arcs of water to stream out of the sea and smash Mithos into the brine.
"Come... Sylph!" Mithos said in a gargled voice underwater. The three wind spirits appeared before him, lifting Mithos out of the sea with a tornado. All three concentrated their energies into forming a tidal wave that came down on Undine like a mallet. Mithos gave the Sylphs a thumbs up before they disappeared and then unfurled his wings again.
"Starsword magic, activate! Star Thunder!" Mithos said as his magic sword was charged with electricity. However, he accidentally allowed it to dip into the sea, giving everyone in their bubbles quite a shock. "Sorry, guys."
"I think we'd appreciate it if you went ahead and charged her really fast now. It would be a really electrifying experience," Yuan said. The four were released from their undersea traps as Undine's concentration broke.
"Lightning blade!" Mithos shouted, calling a bolt of lightning to strike as he swung his sword into Undine. Undine took the hit, then immediately sent the floodwaters back to the sea.
"Indeed you are strong, Mithos," she said.
"Strong and wet as a fish," Yuan joked.
"Well done, Yuan," Alice said from afar.
"Speak your vow," Undine said.
"All right. For the sake of creating a world in which nobody will ever suffer from war again, I ask for your power," Mithos pledged. Undine changed into a cool azure light and became an aquamarine stone, which embedded itself into Mithos' Starsword.
"Call me when you need to cool things off a bit," Undine said.
"Oh, gosh. I've heard enough puns for today," Mithos remarked. Suddenly, a light shot out from his crystal so bright that it pierced the clouds overhead. Mithos fell to the ground as he entered a kind of trance.