Chapter 26 :: Cornelius' Crystal
"Mithos, is it?" Cornelius said."What is it to you?" replied Mithos.
"You don't know what the true purpose of that thing around your neck is, do you?" asked Cornelius.
"That's simple. It enhances your normal abilities and gives you wings," Mithos answered.
"The crystal made from Angelus Alpha had two hosts before you: Alice and Erebus. Erebus could communicate to you because the crystal absorbed part of his mana. He was able to convince you that acquiring the summon spirits would end this war, such a naïve suggestion," explained Cornelius.
"Then, what was the real purpose of the crystal?" asked Solstice.
"Ha! Because it was meant for creating a race of perfect lifeless beings, the crystal's falling into Mithos' hands was a fluke. Lord Dusk was to be the third host and his mission would be to go out and seek the summon spirits and hand Erebus their power. As the mana in your body grew with each pact, the crystal's hold over you also tightened. Had it not been for that Alice's interference at Thoda, you would have been a mindless slave controlled by Erebus."
"Mindless? What do you think you are doing toying around with people's lives? Because of you, Alice was left only half-alive," Mithos accused.
"In the end, none of this matters. I will take that crystal from your dead body and give it to Erebus," Cornelius said. Mithos unsheathed his sword.
"Let's go," Mithos said. Kratos stepped up beside him with Solstice.
"Unlike that brute Dusk, I have refined my dueling skills," boasted Cornelius. His rapier slashed off a perfect triangle from Mithos' sleeve. Sensing Kratos' approach from behind, Cornelius turned and thrust twice into his shoulders.
"Argh!" Kratos uttered. Thin but resilient, Cornelius' rapier withstood a series of hammer blows from Mithos' Starsword.
"Old man, your time has come." Cornelius ran at Solstice, hoping to strike him down with a single thrust through the heart.
"What you seek to accomplish," Solstice said. His left hand turned into a dragon's claw and took a hold of Cornelius' weapon. "Will never happen." SNAP! The mithril foil broke in half.
"How did you? That rapier was made by Erebus himself," Cornelius said in disbelief. Solstice's hand returned to normal, but he glared into the foe with a fire burning in his eyes. Instantly, the Angel Crystal on him melted into a puddle of red liquid on the steel floor. "Finish me. If I go down, it will be against a worty opponent."
"Leave him. He's not worth our time," Mithos said.
"Are you sure, Mithos?" Kratos asked.
"Yes, I am sure of it," answered Mithos. "We have that mana reactor to turn off."
The three continued onto the heart of the airship Tiamat. In a room the size of a small town, pipes and wires suspended three gargantuan glass spheres. Inside each sphere slept a spirit: Luna, the spirit of light, a woman with platinum blonde hair; Shadow, the spirit of darkness, an amorphous figure of dark matter; and finally Maxwell, the spirit of matter itself, a old man who floated on a circular platform.
"They are the most powerful spirits," Solstice said. "Amaterasu herself serves Luna."
"Amatera... who?" Mithos asked.
"The one who raised me," Solstice replied.
"How do we go about shutting them down?" asked Kratos. "There doesn't seem to be an off switch around here."
"Let's try forming pacts with them," Mithos suggested.
"Thou wilst free us from our prisons?" a soft voice said. They saw that Luna had awakened with the others.
"Oh, ho, ho, ho! Finally, Solstice you've come for us, you little whippersnapper," Maxwell said, grasping his long beard.
"Free..." Shadow said in a ghastly voice.
"Whippersnapper?" Kratos said.
"Maxwell is as old as the universe. I am a mere five thousand years old," Solstice replied.
"There should be a control panel somewhere under my reactor. Turn the three knobs first to 'purge' and then to 'open'," Maxwell instructed.
"Got it," Mithos said. On a glowing console, he turned three circular knobs first to the left. Kchoooo.... A burst of steam shot out from all three of the mana reactors. "Open!" The spheres split in half, retracting into the floor and ceiling. Almost immediately, the lights in the chamber turned off.
"So, thou seeketh a pact with us," Luna said.
"Fight..." Shadow whispered.
"You are in no condition to battle right now. I can feel that your mana is only a fraction of what it should be. You stand to fade from this realm," Solstice explained.
"Then the little one will take us together and show us his most powerful skill. If we deem it to be strong enough, then we will acknowledge you," Maxwell said.
"Mithos," Kratos said.
"I know. I've been saving this since Dusk, my crystal's overlimit," Mithos said. Mithos unfurled his wings, flying to the center of the three spirits.