Chapter 2-----------------------------------------------------------
Dias was alone in the Shingo Forest; ambient light filtered from the treetops and splashed the ground were he stood. After placing a small bouquet of wild flowers picked from the entrance to Shingo Forest on the ground, Dias solemnly spoke to the graves of his parents and his sister, Cecil. It had been three months since the return from Energy Nede. Dias had returned to his native village of Arlia, very much alone. His family had been dead for nine years, and Rena had departed for Earth about a month before. He had continued his mercenary way of life; in fact, he was scheduled to depart to the continent of El in a week to help wipe out any remaining demons from the Sorcery Globe incident. Until then, Dias was content to relate his tales to the gravesites of his family.
He continued to reflect silently on his recent journey where he and his compatriots faced off with the Ten Wise Men, especially on the final battle with Indalacio. Dias still could not fathom why the Wise Men sought to annihilate the Universe. What purpose did it serve? Dias frowned at the thought. He would probably never know. He shook off his reverie and decided not to dwell on it.
Later, at his home, Dias began to pack for his upcoming excursion to El. He carefully chose pairs of sturdy mithril greaves and gauntlets, an orichalcum shield, and his sword, Ouma. Along with his flowing cape, black trousers, and greenish shirt, the armor was his only garments. In a small, well-used tin, he placed several blueberries and blackberries, along with various other healing herbs.
Thus packed, Dias left Arlia and soon came to Salva. His friend Ashton Anchors had taken up residence in the mining town, occasionally venturing into the Salva Drift for treasure or clues as to Ururun and Gyoro's origin.
"Are you ready to go?"
Ashton, in his typically flamboyant outfit and twin swords, stepped from the small house near the entrance to the Drift. "Of course, Dias. I packed all of my good luck charms!" The two dragons sighed dejectedly from behind Ashton.
"You would."
The pair left Salva and ventured across the continent of Cross. They stopped to rest at Cross Castle, where they visited Celine and her husband Chris, the Prince of Cross. The two had been happily married a month after the Sorcery Globes destruction. They made another stop at Mars, where they stayed with the Elder for a night. On their third day of travel, they finally reached Herlie.
After the destruction of Herlie by a gigantic tsunami, many of the residents fled to Mars or Cross. When monsters finally stopped being a problem, Herlie was rebuilt to again offer passage to El. Many of El's inhabitants were killed in the war, so an effort was being made to repair Eluria for people to live there again. The last vestiges of the monster army was protecting the Tower at the impact point of the Sorcery Globe, prompting Dias and Ashton's trip.
After touring the rebuilt city and seeing the young boy Cecil(?) again, the adventurers boarded a cargo ship headed for El. They soon docked at the port town of Hyda, which was a day-long walk from Eluria. Staying at a local hotel, they awoke early the next morning and walked to Eluria to find Expel's finest knights battling the last of the army of fiends. Dias and Ashton found the leader of the Expellian forces, General Crosell. Crosell was stationed in a ramshackle tent that had slowly advanced as the army was defeated.
"Where would you like to place us, General?" intoned Dias.
"Hmm...our right flank could use strengthening. Please go there, and when all of those monsters have been vanquished, report back here."
The two warriors left and started to trudge to the right part of the battlefield, examining the best place to enter the fight. As they were about to enter the fray, cries of "Stand down!" and "What the hell?" echoed across the battlefield. Most of the Expellian army stopped fighting and looked into the sky, and the monsters started to whimper and retreat. Dias unsheathed his sword; he knew trouble was coming.
From the sky, on the opposite side from the falling sun, a flickering light was hurtling towards the battleground. It was getting closer by the second, and the object started to flicker as it soared through the stratosphere, losing pieces of itself from friction. There was soon a sphere the size of a Cross Quarter, growing quickly.
Chaos erupted across the plain. "The Sorcery Globe is returning!" General Crosell stepped out of his command center, and upon seeing the racing ball yelled "Retreat!" The monsters also knew something was happing. They quickly ran or flew back to the Tower where Eluria once stood. Soon not a single fiend was left out in the open.
Ashton was hopping around in fear. "Dias! We gotta get outta here! That things coming down here!"
Dias nodded and dashed off behind the retreating army with Ashton in tow. Glancing up, he saw chunks of molten rock peeling away from the object, revealing a dazzling white, translucent capsule. The dark silhouette of something inside could be seen. It was obvious the object was not going to impact near the army anymore. Most of the soldiers stopped and looked around.
Tall and foreboding, the Tower stretched into infinity in the dying sunlight. Not a single enemy could be seen in or around the Tower. The capsule suddenly dipped lower, as if controlled. Streaking downwards with a fiery tail, the object crashed through a fifth-story window of the tower. Watching the windows, a red streak continued moving inside the tower. It soon reached the bottom with a dull thud and sudden quiet befell the land.
"Is that all?" Dias muttered
Blinding white light exploded from the base of the tower. Glaringly brighter than the sun, all of the knights shielded there eyes. Chunks of debris from the tower, and also gobbets of monster flesh, rained down upon the army. When the light finally receded, they looked up to see not a single remnant of the tower, only a shallow crater with the white capsule sitting serenely in the center, pulsating.
Everyone was too stunned to move. Finally Crosell broke free of his reverie. "Let's go check this out."
The troops marshaled and started moving towards the remains of the spire. Dias and Ashton fell into the front ranks along with Crosell. The capsule had not moved when they arrived, filing around the circumference of the crater. Soft whirring could be heard in the still evening air, reminding Ashton of the wonderful machinery he had witnessed in Energy Nede.
With a soft hissing of air, a thin crack formed on the capsule body, facing perpendicular to Dias and Ashton. The onlookers gasped and took a collective step back. The crack widened and slowly opened—a doorway. The doorway swung open, and then slowly melted back into the pod's side. Inside, a tall man with a mane of rakish blonde hair lied, swathed in a maroon robe with gold trimming. Computers and miscellaneous equipment hummed all around him, lights flashing around him. These lights flickered a few times and died. By now the sun had halfway set below the horizon, so the dieing of the lights plunged the area into semidarkness.
Dias felt uneasy. Extraterrestrial objects had already caused Expel great heartache, was this happening again? And plus the man had a vague resemblance to someone...but who?
With no prompting, the man's eyes suddenly flew open. The right eye was a blazing red, burning with intensity, while the other was an icy blue, bleak with hatred. The purplish robe started to ripple around the man's body, and was also imbued with an unholy light, flickering between ruby and sapphire. With no effort, the man leapt into the air and hovered several feet above the amassed army, taking in many of them with a revolting gaze. Great white wings emerged from behind the figure, giving him an angelic appearance.
During all of this, the army was slowly edging away from the impact point. But with his hateful glance many were frozen in their spot. Countless weapons were spontaneously unsheathed as they prepared for the worst.
The being's mouth opened, and his thunderous voice echoed across the wasteland. "Infidels! Here me, for I am the long-dead Dr. Lantis! You may have foiled my plot to Annihilate the Universe, but Indalacio was but a weakling compared to my ultimate creation, Gabriel. All shall suffer at my hand for this great injustice...and the Universe shall be Annihilated this time! Filia...I shall sacrifice these weaklings for you. Lend me your power!"
This decree was enough for the knights. They fled into the night. But Gabriel's radiance prevented them from finding shelter in the dark on the flat area. Spreading his hands with the palms out, Gabriel, or Dr. Lantis, began laughing maniacally. A crimson orb of light formed in his right hand, while an indigo light appeared in his left. Streaking from his hands, the lights followed luckless knights into the night. Upon touching them, the light instantly burned through whatever armor they wore, and ate into their flesh. Screams reverberated from the distant mountains as the warriors fell dead. "Ha ha ha! Puny humans, fear me!"
Dias grabbed Ashton's shoulder. "Come on! We have to get out of here now!" Ashton was not about to argue. The dragons agitatedly stirred on his back, encouraging him to get moving.
Weaving back and forth to evade the spheres of light, the two adventurers darted towards the frontier village the party reunited at on their earlier trip to El. Screams of anguish and the cackling of Gabriel followed them all the way there.