Disclaimer- I don't own Golden Sun.
I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. (I have been playing my new game, Tales of Symphonia, so please excuse my lateness.)
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A Hero's Sorrow
The light of the scarlet moon bathed the entire tomb as Isaac searched through the many crevices. Everything within was as silent as death, his footfalls echoing loudly as Isaac examined ancient writings carved into the walls, trying to decipher their meaning. Soon, though, he gave up on the futile effort and approached the stone coffin at the center of the room, raised on a large platform. Softly, he ran his left hand over the stone lid, feeling the deep markings carved on it.
"What happens now?" he wondered, staring at the sky. "What do I do next?"
As if to answer, the casket began glowing a urethral violet, the markings jumping forth from its cover. Isaac gasped in awe as the entire top of the coffin started disappearing, the rock disintegrating before his eyes.
"Dullahan," Isaac whispered softly as he looked into the blackness, his eyes wide.
---(AAHHH! Dullahan!!!!)
"Pyroclasm," Garet yelled out, the earth below the adepts shuddering as a torrent of magma broke through the surface, rising up below the fiend. However, the monster had already thought ahead, flying upward with its leathery wings and blasting Garet with a ball of darkness, sending him crashing into the front of Anemos Sanctum.
"You need to be faster than that," it taunted mockingly at the now unconscious adept.
"Unleash Shine," Jenna called on of her djinni, a burst of light encircling the fiend as she jumped at him, trying to catch the brute off guard. This tactic was to no avail however; as the fiend's clawed hands sent her flying right next to Garet.
"You'll pay for that!" Felix and Piers jumped up in a doubled assault, Piers' glaive coming from the fiend's left while Felix slashed at its right.
"Childs play," it smiled scornfully, jumping upward and letting the two adepts crash into each other. A dark beam of energy shot from his hand as they fell to the ground, effectively ending the fight for them.
"Ice Missile," Mia yelled, a volley of ice shards flying from her hands. Isaac's darker side ignored this, dodging through the barrage and going straight for the two Jupiter mages as they tried to help Felix and Piers stand.
"That's not fair," he howled, bringing his sword arm down towards the two, the blade glowing blue.
"No!" Ivan yelled, jumping in front of Sheba, taking the full force of the attack.
"Ivan!" Sheba cried as he collapsed into her, crimson seeping through his clothes.
"Do not worry," the fiend was not through, raising its claws and slashing downwards. "You can join him soon."
A sharp scream sounded through the night sky, signaling the defeat of another adept. In just minutes, Isaac's dark side had decimated six of his friends, only leaving Mia standing as it advanced slowly, a dark look in its red eyes.
---(Does anyone think that I have a grudge against the characters?)
A giant armored hand shot from the dark, its silver armor glinting as the gloved fingers clasped the edge of the coffin, slowly pulling forth the colossal knight. Isaac watched in awe as Dullahan reared to his full height, just a head shorter than the ceiling. Dullahan's blue armor shined as he towered over Isaac, his absent head glowering at the Venus adept.
"I am the shadow, the keeper of the light," Dullahan spoke impassively, though Isaac could not be sure where the words came from as he formed a long blade in his hand, an embodiment of darkness. "If you want the sun's power, show me your own."
Isaac stepped back defensively, expecting a different opponent. Quickly, he drew the Darksword, feeling it pulse through the cleric's ring that protected him from its curse. A single crack cut through the ring, showing the strength of the sword, though Isaac did not realize it, his mind too occupied with the knight before him.
"The Darksword," Dullahan muttered with a tinge of emotion, recognizing the blade that Isaac had drawn. He didn't waste any time pondering at why the sword was present, but rather launched into an attack, focusing his unrelenting might at Isaac.
"It is the Darksword, Acheron," Isaac tried to recover the emotion that Dullahan had just displayed, although he failed, a loud ding echoing through the dim room as their blades clashed. The cleric's ring cracked further after the assault, a tiny wisp of the malevolent energy slipping out.
"True Collide," Dullahan spoke with a hint of anger, once again showing emotion, but it was quickly sealed as he drew energy from Isaac, drawing it into his own body. The dormant power slowly gathered in Dullahan's sword, making it extend. Finally, he unleashed the energy letting it crash down on Isaac in one fierce attack, yelling out, "Formina Sage!"
Isaac grunted heavily as he blocked the blow, the Darksword's power reaching further into him until the cleric's ring could take no more, the force shattering it into pieces.
A sudden light enveloped the two fighters, pausing the battle instantly, Isaac kneeling eternally under Dullahan's Formina Sage. The Darksword was still active, though, a dark light emanating from deep within. Quickly, it surrounded Isaac, imbedding memories long past deep within his mind. A smile slowly crossed Isaac's lips as time restarted, two words echoing outward, "I understand."
---
The fiend transformed himself, once again taking on Isaac's shape, an abomination to the world. Mia froze on the spot, her emotions flowing unchecked at the sight of Isaac, even though she new he was only a fraud. Slowly, Isaac's double approached, holding out his arms towards Mia as he drew ever closer.
"No," Mia whispered, even as the copy wrapped his arms around her, drawing her into a comforting embrace. A wicked smile crossed his face soon after, however, its claws reforming again behind Mia's back.
"I love you, Mia," an imitation of Isaac's voice spoke softly in her ear as the demon carefully dug his claws into her back, a wicked smile skewing his features.
"Stop," Garet jumped from behind the fiend, encircling his arm around its neck and pulling down, forcing the demon away from Mia.
Mia watched in horror as the two wrestled on the ground, trading blows constantly in their melee. Finally, she realized that her friends were still buried in the rubble and rushed to their aide, quickly healing all five.
"Sorry," she quickly apologized, smiling sheepishly.
"Took you long enough," Jenna spoke harshly, grabbing her staff and stalking to the fight.
---
A small fire burned outside of Anemos Sanctum, seven of the eight adepts sitting around it, immersed in its golden glow as they waited for Isaac's return. No one would speak, afraid of what might have happened to their friend. Night slowly passed by, the red moon finally fading from the night sky, the day showing no sign of Isaac's return. Eventually, only Mia remained awake, her eyes glued to the stone door, waiting for her love's return.
Suddenly, the stone door opened, creaking heavily in the new day, a single figure stepping out into the morning sun. Mia had started running forward even before the person had completely exited the sanctum, her arms reaching out to catch the falling Venus adept as he collapsed to the ground, asleep.
"Isaac," Mia whispered softly as she lowered him to the ground, to joyful to notice that his right arm had been restored.
"Mia," Isaac opened his eyes to the day, smiling as tears hit his face. Slowly, he reached out with his right arm, puling Mia closer to him until they kissed softly.
"I'm glad you're alright," they both whispered at the same time, making the ominous lighthouse in the background not look as dim.
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Dullahan
The Dullahan rides during the dead of night. The man is a headless horseman riding wild upon a headless horse; wherever he stops a mortal dies. His face is the color and texture of molding cheese; his head has a large mouth and huge eyes that dart around like flies. He holds his head firmly tucked beneath his arm. The head of the black horse has flaming eyes and short-cropped ears. The horse's head is longer than the body by six yards or more. This is the Dullahan, a ghastly creature always ready to fling a bucket of blood at a healthy man's face. He will come to your door and if you open it a basin of blood is thrown at you, this is a death omen. In fear of the headless rider; men alone in the fields at night cower behind the bushes because of his reputation with a whip. With his whip he can accurately remove the eyes of all mortals foolish enough to spy on his ventures. Since he has no head, he is somewhat defective in seeing and the Dullahan resents those with skilled vision. The Dullahan has a number of cousins and headlessness appears to be a family trait. Nothing puts fear into these creatures except gold. You can be saved by as little as the drop of a gold pin.
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Reviewer's Responses-
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Daidairo- Thanks for the review.
Anime-Master7- Thanks for the review.
The 8BTFreek- Alex is behind everything in this story. (It's easy to play off on how much people hate him.) I personally think that your writing is better than mine. Thanks for the review.
WildfireDreams- Did you catch the Dullahan excerpt at the end. I found that a while ago when I was researching names from Golden Sun. Thanks for the review.
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Seeya later, though that may be a while because I just got Tales of Syphonia!