Chapter 10 :: The Enemy's Domain
-------------------------------------------Mithos, your power has grown to the level in which you no longer can control it. Relinquish some of it to me for safekeeping.
This time, he could see Erebus in his true figure. Erebus was a tall half elf, wearing silver armor and a gold helmet.
"Mithos! Mithos!" Martel's voice cried.
"Don't touch his crystal!" Alice snapped.
Entrust your mana to me.
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Martel reached for the crystal, but as soon as she touched it, a blinding white flash struck her heart. Alice pulled her away and grasped the crystal herself.
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Now, Mithos, before the crystal takes your soul.
"Mithos, snap out of it," Alice said.
Enigma? Why are you interfering?
Erebus vanished before she arrived in Mithos' dream state.
"Who was he really?" Mithos asked.
"I don't know. But I have to get you out of here," Alice said. "Take my hand."
Mithos grabbed Alice's hand and a bright flash of light engulfed his dream realm.
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"Ack. I pushed too far," Alice muttered when she broke Mithos' trance.
"Martel, your hand!" Yuan said. Her right hand was turning blue, in addition to the part of her chest that the beam from Mithos' crystal struck.
"I have never seen anything before that could do such things to people," Solstice said, finding that part of Martel's skin had turned to crystal.
"You shouldn't have touched it," Alice said.
"You are in much worse shape than Martel," Kratos noted. Parts of Alice's neck and her hands had fully crystallized.
"It's because of her nature," Yuan said. "She was the original host for that cursed thing bound to Mithos."
"Eh... That crystal was planted twenty years ago during Admiral Cornelius' Angelus Alpha project. When they removed it for implantation into a new host, it left me half-dead and half-alive. Though I am physically present here, my consciousness exists free from my body, allowing me to peer into people's minds and catch brief glimpses of the future," Alice said.
"That's enough now, Alice," Martel said. She tried to cast a Healing Circle spell, but it had no effect on the crystallization.
"Curse you, Cornelius. You aren't satisfied with toying with one person's life, but you had to go on and harm two others," Mithos said, clenching his fists.
"These are the true casualties of wars, the innocent lives caught between the fighting," Kratos said.
"There's no point in staying here. We have to make for Macerdon," Yuan advised.
"Why Macerdon? Wouldn't going back to Delthis be a better choice?" Solstice asked.
"No. Delthis has been ruined by war. We have a better chance of finding the cure in Macerdon," Yuan answered. He helped Martel to the passenger compartment of the Zephyr while Kratos and Solstice lifted Alice. Already, Martel's skin was beginning to turn pale. "Our spy network knows of a researcher doing similar studies to Cornelius' work in Macerdon's southern jungles. He might be willing to help us."
Piloting the airship with Solstice in the second seat, Yuan brought the Zephyr high in the sky and darted off westward towards the homeland of their enemy. As Zephyr sped through the air at breakneck speed, they passed the invasion force whose ships floated adrift since Undine no longer powered their engines.
"Lady Enigma, where are you going?" asked Kepler over the projector.
"There's no time for me to explain this to you, my lord. Just trust us," Yuan replied.
"Understood. I'll delay the invasion as much as possible," he said. "Good luck, Enigma's Ghosts."
"Do you have any idea where this man we are looking for is?" said Solstice.
"I only have a vague one. We've been out of contact for a while."
"Martel, you didn't need to touch that crystal for me," Mithos said. Martel and Alice were both resting in the passenger cabin, tended by Mithos and Kratos.
"I'm sorry, Mithos," Martel said weakly.
"Both of us will regain our strength again. This is not the first time my body has crystallized," Alice reassured Mithos.
The Zephyr's wings carried it over the jungles of Macerdon's southern continent, where it landed amidst colorful and exotic trees. By the time they stepped out, the rain forest's humidity amplified the midafternoon heat. Zephyr's landing legs dropped into wet soil, stirring up a flock of birds.
"Lady Enigma, should you be up right now?" Yuan asked. Alice was the first to step out into the unknown terrain. She wore a pair of leather gloves over the places on her hand where the crystallization had reached.
"I will be fine, Yuan," she said. "I've been through a lot worse."
"So, which way to this guy we're looking for?" Mithos said.
"West, the village is about a few hours walk from here," Yuan answered.
"Martel, will you be able to make it that far?" Mithos asked. Martel nodded showing that she could still walk, though not as fast. Some of the color had returned to her skin.
"The jungles of Macerdon harbor virulent creatures. Be on your guard," Kratos warned. Before departing, Yuan set the Zephyr into stealth mode again so Macerdon's soldiers would not discover it. Using his sword as a machete, Mithos slashed a path through the dense brush with Kratos and Yuan close behind also attacking the leaves with their weapons.
The forest quickly began to get repetitive and Mithos started to daydream as he walked onward in the seemingly endless jungle. Where could anyone find a village in this place? As he pressed on, he suddenly felt a strand take hold of his arm. A second thread wrapped around his other arm, trapping Mithos between two trees.
"Spiders!" Solstice said. He put his hand to the cobwebs and sent a burst of fire into them, but with no effect. Alice stepped forward and attempted to cut the threads with her scythe.
"They are too thin. My weapon passes right through," she said.
"What kind of spideweb is this?" asked Martel.
Kratos tried to go through around the tree, but found that strands were laid down all around them. Tick! Tick! Tick! Tick! They heard the frightening sound of legs moving in the treetops.
"Kratos, aim your sword attack at the base of the tree!" Yuan shouted. He took his weapon, a blade with two swords connected at the hilt, and rammed it into the left tree's trunk. Kratos did the same with his sword, releasing a blast of energy on strike. Both trees fell down and pulled the spider webs apart, which freed Mithos. "Well, ready everyone?"
Not intent on letting its prey escape, a three-foot tall arachnid dropped from a nearby tree. Its fangs dripped with corrosive venom.
"Photon... blast!" Martel called, firing a shot of light into the spider's eyes, blinding it.
"Raven!" Yuan's darkness beams penetrated the spider's abdomen, drawing out its life force. Suddenly, the spider backed up and then lunged for Mithos, fangs bared. Alice sprang forward and held out her arm. As the spider bit into her crystallized hand, its fangs broke and Yuan's darkness spell finished it off.
"I hope we don't run into any of those things again," Mithos said.
"It seems crystallization has some advantages," Alice commented, pulling off her glove and sleeve back to see that the spider's venom was useless. Their trek took them to an area in the jungle where a modest city stood. Several trails ran into and out of the village, providing supplies to the people. A limestone wall ran around the city with gaps only at the trails.
"Halt!" a guard in full metal armor at the entrance said. "Show your passes."
"Passes?" asked Mithos.
"All half-elves are required to have passes to travel in and out of town," he said.
"They're not from Macerdon. They're Delthis Desians!" Another knight behind him said. "That girl is wearing clothing of a priestess from that region."
"We're not here to fight. We only need to seek help to cure an illness," Martel insisted.
"Then more the reason we shouldn't let you in. We can't allow you filthy half-elves to infect our people with your diseases," the knight said.
"What gives you the right to speak to people like that you barely even know?" Solstice said. His voice slowly got louder as he continued. "These children only seek to help another they care for." Solstice raised his hand as if he was about to call upon the wrath of a thousand dragons.
"Children?" everyone but Mithos said in unison.
"Let them pass," someone behind them ordered. A man with a goatee and wearing a laboratory coat walked through the two soldiers to meet Mithos' party.
"Lord Sirius! They're Desians, our enemies!" the guard insisted.
"You are defying an order from your lord?" Sirius said angrily. "I promise you, I will strip you of your positions and cast you in a dark prison for a very long time."
The two guards, frightened as a rat in the face of a hungry cat, responded, "Yes... sir..."
"Dr. Robert Sirius, governor of this village," the man eagerly said, shaking hands with Mithos.
"It doesn't matter that we're Desians to you? Well, except for Kratos and Solstice," Mithos asked.
"Not at all. We are so far from the frontlines that war is not something we keep on our minds often. Come this way to my villa and we shall discuss things of greater importance." Sirius led them to a two story building in the rear of town. The villagers looked up from their work as the peculiar group passed them.
"Welcome, master," a half-elf attendant to Sirius greeted.
"George, we'll be having five guests tonight. Please make preparations for them," requested the governor. They came through the steel gates of the villa into a quiet rose garden and then to the parlor of his home on the second floor. They sat down as Sirius opened the window and let in the setting sun over the jungle.
"How come you don't treat us like the others do?" asked Martel.
"I am a doctor. Though I am a noble in the Macerdonian Kingdom, I took on the practice of medicine as a young man. I treated many people, both humans and half-elves, because of my profession's duty," explained Sirius.
"Then you are the man we have been searching for," Yuan said. He watched the sunset form the balcony. "Dr. Robert Sirius, head scientist of Meltokio's Elemental Research Institute."
"Alice Enigma or shall I say Alice Karith, Enigma's Ghosts."
"Then I have met both of you before at the institute," Sirius said.
"We were to pose as scientists and determine how far Macerdon had progressed in Angel Crystal research. It was also Yuan's first mission with me," Alice said.
"Mr. Sirius, we are in need of your help. Alice and I wish to know if you can cure an illness," Martel said.
"What kind of illness?"
"Show them," Solstice instructed. Alice took off her glove and Martel rolled up her sleeve, both revealing how far their crystallization had progressed.
"By the gods!" Sirius exclaimed.
"Can you cure them? Can you save my sister and Alice?" Mithos pleaded.
"I don't think it will be as simple as giving them a potion," Kratos said.
"Our top researchers had succeeded in finding a cure before I resigned my position at the institute. They called the infection Chronic Angelus Crystallus Inofficium, where the spirit radiation from the crystal takes over body cells. These cells spread like a virus throughout the body with only one purpose- replication."
"You resigned?" Yuan said.
"I realized what was happening when our scientists carried out the first experiment. The crystals seem to multiply a normal person's abilities, but at the same time feed on their life. When we attempted to remove one of them, they became..."
"Like me," Alice finished.
"No, something worse happened after the stage you are in now. The hosts turned into horrible monsters, which had to be executed. Ironically, Chronic Angelus Crystallus Inofficium seemed to permanently halt the transformation process. The infected cells must be somehow neutralize the mutation of DNA within healthy cells."
"Cells... DNA?" Mithos said, confused by Sirius' jargon.
"In essence, since the crystallization wants to keep spreading, it will prevent the body from taking a new shape in order to be completed," Solstice explained in simpler terms.
"So, what is the cure?" Kratos asked. Sirius dug into his bag and fished out a blue crystal, exactly like they one they found in Balacruf Mausoleum, and a bag of green leaves. Mithos reached into his own pocket and placed the gem they found on the table.
"Mana Fragments are used with the Mana Leaf herb to create a core around which a Zircon shell is placed. Finally, the healing powers of a unicorn provide the magic necessary to complete the Rune Crest, a magic pendant that reverses the process."
"We have the fragments and the herb. Where can we find a unicorn and Zircon?" asked Mithos.
"Zircon was mined in the northern Flanoir continent and the unicorn has a home in a lake to the south of here," Solstice said.
"There is no way into Flanoir, since the war turned it into a wasteland," Kratos said.
"Enigma's Ghosts will take care of it. We have been working on radiation protectors for months in our Arctic Base," Yuan answered.
"There is one more thing. While Martel's condition will not be life threatening until a few months, Alice only has a few days before the crystallization reaches a lethal level," cautioned Sirius.
"Then we'll have to split up," Mithos suggested. "Kratos and I can go to the northern continent."
"And I shall accompany them. I know the terrain well and the location of our Arctic Base," Alice said.
"Then Martel, Yuan, and I will go south to the lake. Alice is needed in the north and Martel will be required to meet the unicorn which will only appear before pure maidens," Solstice said.
"My lord, we await you in the garden," George said over a projector.
"Excellent. Now, the time for feasting has come," Sirius said jovially. In the flower garden, a long table was set up with the finest food the adventurers had ever seen. Fish, fresh from the jungle's rivers and a whole boar had been prepared for them. Also, fruits so exotic that Sirius himself could not come to pronounce their names were served from glass bowls. Alice took a seat by Yuan as he sat down with Martel. Solstice, Kratos, and Sirius sat on the other side with a few government officials, leaving Mithos with his sister.
"Are you reading my mind again, Lady Enigma?" asked Yuan.
"I can sense you and Martel are growing closer. Make sure to always stay by her side," Alice said mysteriously.
"Wow! I've never had such amazing food in my life!" exclaimed Mithos, who took a bite from a juicy piece of boar meat. He nudged his sister next to him. "Play that one song, Martel."
"'Dance of the Wind'?"
"Yeah, that one."
Martel took an old panpipe from her bag and put her mouth to it.
"I have never heard her perform a song before," Solstice remarked to Kratos.
"Nor have I," Kratos replied. "But Mithos tells me of his sister's talent sometimes."
The melody began with a haunting prologue as if a calm wind were blowing through an empty city, ravaged by the Eternal War. Next, it picked up with a happier piece wherein the gentle breeze blew as two lovers danced through the abandoned streets. Then came a fast paced portion, portraying a hurricane as two armies clashed amidst the burg. Finally, Martel's song came to a conclusion with the same eerie prologue. The wind blew again silently, for the two lovers, both from opposite sides of the conflict, rested forever in the center of the city.
"That was splendid, Martel!" Yuan said. Everyone at the table gave a resounding round of applause, even the normally cool Kratos. For a brief moment, Martel's song made them all forget about the troubles of the world and their dire problems.
"A toast! To a bright future," Sirius said, raising his glass of cider. Since he was a doctor, he did not drink any wine; however, Kratos and Solstice had a cup of the finest in the jungles.
"To a bright future," the resounding cry came. Mithos could not remember how late it was before they retired to the comfortable rooms of the Sirius estate. He got into a bed large enough for four people and pulled up the soft fluffy sheets.