Entering the atelier that hung over the cold arena, the inverted pyramid came to a halt. Off the elevator, the trio and the creature, along with the strange cat that had joined their small group gazed around. Surrounding them were three steep staircases, leading to three doors, each with a different color glowing on the porch of the door.
The door to the left breezed a green sensation. The door straight ahead burned a red spark. And lastly, the door to the right illuminated a yellow light.
"Three doors? That's it?" Mint wondered, cocking an eyebrow.
"I guess we should split up. This way, we can finish this faster," Aurora suggested.
"I hope we find something here," Rue hoped.
"Well, we're bound to find something," Cosmomi told them, fluttering his wings as he landed gently on the floor. A mechanical sound alerted them.
"Cosmomi, tell me that wasn't a trap you just triggered?" Aurora asked.
"Welcome, young travelers," a voice echoed. Everyone jumped with fright and scanned the room.
"What the heck...?" Mint muttered.
"Who's there?" Rue demanded. No other person was with them in the atelier. Was it a ghost? Or a person living in the atelier?
"I am Sha'bre, one of Grand Magician Elroy's apprentices. However, I have died many years ago and this is merely a persona of me speaking to you. This automated message made before my death is for you, travelers."
"For us?" Aurora asked.
"Yes. You are looking for the key to unlock the seal of the relic, are you not?"
"Yeah," Rue answered and turned to the girls. "All of us."
"An unusual group, you are," Sha'bre's persona spoke.
"Huh?" Mint echoed.
"You each has a different identify, a different past, a different role, a different power, a different fear and a different reason to achieve the relic. You are different to each other...and yet, something within you is the same."
"Uh, Sha'bre, that's your name, right? I like to ask what kind of mambo jumbo are you talking about?" Mint spat.
"You are not the only one who does not understand what I am saying. A fourth person is questioning me as well."
"Fourth?" Cosmomi uttered. "There are only three people here."
"And partially, a fourth is hiding. But I shall not give away her secrets..." the voice giggled.
"Her? Sha'bre, who is it you're talking about?" Aurora wondered.
"You will know soon enough," the voice again giggled. Aurora raised an eyebrow before deciding to ask a question.
"You seemed to know a lot about us," Aurora stated. "You're not mind-reading, are you?"
"In a matter of speaking, yes. This automated message can read the mind to a certain degree. That is why I know much about you," Sha'bre explained. "Now onto business. Since you are here to attain the key, you each must pass a trial in order to accept the key."
"Sounds easy," Mint mumbled.
"Don't be too confident," the persona spoke. Mint just shrugged. "You must each go to the door that matches your spirit gem and await your trial."
"Matches our spirit gem?" Rue wondered. "What is that?"
"I heard about those," Mint said. "Spirit gems have something to do with our souls, right?"
"Yes. Each being has a color that reflects his or her spirit. Those colors are spirit gems. They are the reflections of our souls, and the pillars of our lifetimes. That is...what Grand Magician Elroy had believed..."
The room grew quiet for a short moment. "...I am sorry. I did not mean to stop so sudden like that."
"That's okay," Aurora said, turning her head away.
"Aurora?" Cosmomi called calmly and worriedly.
'To lose a person that has been so close to you...is harder than life itself,' Aurora thought to herself.
Again, all was silent until Sha'bre asked them. "Shall we begin?" The trio nodded. "One of you must take a door and the trial shall begin. If you success, you shall enter the room which you have chosen and achieve the items and the knowledge that are contained in it."
"Including the key?" Mint asked.
"Yes."
"Alrighty then. I pick that one!" Mint yelled, walking to the yellow-lighted door because it seemed a nice color and golden represented one thing to the princess's eyes; treasure. Immediately, a barrier that appeared from nowhere pushed her away. She stumbled back, feeling her nose broken.
"Ouch!"
"Mint, are you alright?" Rue asked.
"Something just hit me!" she whimpered. "Like some kind of barrier!"
Aurora approached to the golden-lighted door and felt nothing beneath the hand she held out. "There's nothing here."
"Only the person with the right spirit gem can enter door with the matching color," the persona spoke. "It seems your spirit gem matches with this door, Aurora."
Aurora didn't feel shaken that this persona knew her name since she was reading her mind. "So I go this way, huh?"
"Well! While you go that way, I go this way!" Mint croaked, turning to the glowing-green door, only to be thrown aside by another barrier. "Ouch..."
"I guess that way is Rue's way," Aurora sniggered. Mint furiously got up and stomped to the red-flaming door, an irritated frown on her face. Aurora turned to Rue. "Let's get started."
Rue nodded before entering to the glowing-green door. Aurora took a breath and walked to the golden door.
"Hang on!" Cosmomi yelled, darting to her with no barrier blocking him. "I'm coming with you!" However, for the other creatures, they bumped into the invisible barrier.
"I guess you two have to stay," Aurora told Green and the ginger cat as they shook their heads to ease the pain. "Well, Cosmomi, it's just you and me. Ready?"
The flying cat nodded and the Dragon Guardian entered the door, with Cosmomi by her side.
Aurora walked into the room and gazed around. There was absolutely nothing. All was darkness. Light beamed in from the lights where the elevator was.
"Looks like here's nothing in here," Cosmomi noted. "Let's get out of here."
Immediately, the doors behind them closed and the room became pitch dark. "I wished you hadn't made that remark, Cosmomi," Aurora wished, taking a few steps forward.
Cosmomi flew ahead of her. She could tell because his wings gave off sparkles of light in the darkness. As she took another step, she could have sworn the floor rippled beneath the sole of her boot.
A light stained their eyes. Aurora held up to shield her eyes and Cosmomi covered his eyes with his wing and peered through the feathers.
She gazed up at the glittering light, visioning on what was shining in the darkness. She gapped.
In midair, gleaming like the sun was her weapon, the Dragonblade. But she had the real one in her possession.
Encircling around the two-handed sword were small orbs, each with a different color and a different symbol within the glass, all six orbs dazzling in a silver ring.
'Elements?' Aurora's eyes widened. The orbs, she called 'Elements', were hovering around the sword. All six Elements were here whereas she had two of the Elements. 'Is this just an illusion?'
The beginning of a Dragon Guardian is the start of regrets and loses. But it is also the start of answers and gains.
The ladder grows steeper, Dragon Guardian. When it becomes too steep to go on, the friendship of others will push you onwards.
She felt herself falling, her back leaning backwards and her hands in the air. Cosmomi turned to see her fall. He called her name but she couldn't hear him cry. She fell endlessly. She didn't hit the floor. The flying cat looked down at her with an anxious face, landing on the floor as it rippled under his paws.
Rue peered in the sheer darkness that engulfed in the room he had entered. There was nothing except the darkness.
"Sure is dark in here," Rue told himself. "Is this where I start my trial?"
A light that emerged from the darkness caught his attention. He looked up at the godly light. Before him were three prisms of dew lights, entangled with circling golden rings around it. He gazed at it, feeling familiar that he had seen this art of light.
'Have I...seen it before?' he wondered. He tried to recall it but failed to remember what this item was.
Born of dew light, yet to lose the memories of birth and the true meaning of living might break tradition.
Do not be afraid of regaining memories. Your past can rewrite your future if you learn from the mistakes. The past that you remember now is your own true memory.
He turned around in a sudden and gasped. A familiar woman was standing near a cottage. The season was spring and flowers bloomed in the small meadow outside the cottage. She looked over her shoulder and smiled at him.
He felt his heart stopped. He stumbled forward and reached out to grab her hand but felt the ground waved. He found himself sinking. The hard floor was turning into quicksand. He stared at the woman, one hand reaching out to her, before sinking away.
He started to fall. Breezes furiously swirled around him as he fell. The breezes calmed his soul as he plunged onwards.
Mint stepped into the darkness after punching her fist at the closed door. "Damn! It's locked. Is this how they treat guests?" She gazed around. "Wish there was a light around here."
A light appeared at her wish, below her feet. She glanced up at the light. "What the heck...?"
The darkness beneath her feet tore away like glass, as the light grew brighter. A stained glass picture was beneath her feet. She gasped, looking at the picture. It was East Heaven Kingdom, shining in its glory. The flag of the kingdom waved frozen in the air, with the kingdom's crest sewn to it.
'This is...my home?' She gazed at the kingdom, starting to feel homesick. She tried to shake the feeling off but felt no attempt to do so.
She fell to her knees and clutched them tightly as she tried to fight her emotion.
Run away from home for a purpose and yet the spirit is crying to return. Strength to find the goal is what keeps the spirit strong, despite the tears it shall weep.
Coming back home can always solve the problem, but what makes the spirit stronger is leaving. Your purpose is your goal. Run to the end of the race and you shall cry no more.
A crack beneath her feet alerted her. She looked down and saw the floor breaking like thin ice. Alarmed, she dashed away but the floor broke away like shattered glass and she descended down the darkness where she felt the warmth of fire.
She continued to fall, her soul drifting away. How long had she been falling, Aurora wondered. She was still falling. In the sky? The dawning sun rose in the horizon. She looked below at where a coast where coral reefs bloomed was near the ocean.
On the coast, she saw two little girls running. Both were alike and had cerulean hair and cerulean eyes. One fell on the sand and cried. The other stopped running and dashed to her. She kneed down and comforted her like a sister. Aurora gazed at this.
'Is that me?'
She recognized the beach and the little girls. That was her crying and the one who was comforting her was a girl Aurora had once knew but thought she had lost her forever.
The crying girl slowly looked at the sky. Her eyes met Aurora's eyes, astonishment in her cerulean pupils. She looked at Aurora falling from the orange sky; looking at her older self fall onwards.
Aurora saw a glimpse pass her eyes. She turned and tears were threatening to fall. Falling beside her was a young girl, the same age as hers. She had cerulean hair and cerulean eyes. She wore the familiar clothes that Aurora remembered well and wore her long hair loosely with two ribbons, into two plaits.
Aurora threw her arms to hold the girl once again. Tears fell down her cheeks. But as she reached out to hug her, the girl vanished in a burst of light. She was gone and Aurora couldn't bear that.
Aurora looked down at the ocean below her. She was still falling towards the water surface. She felt no will to take flight and plunged into the ocean, her breath of air again escaping as she sunk in the shallow waters.
She struggled to the surface, still holding on a small lungful of air and gasped the fresh sea air as she broke open the surface. She gazed around, expecting to see the girls looking at her but found the scenery different. The beach was now a lagoon. It wasn't like that before. She couldn't be in another place when she had fallen in the same ocean.
A flock of birds soared in the sky, which was now dusk. She recognized what they were. Thresher Falcons. They had feathers, which were about the same length as their sizes, at the tip of their wings.
She realized that there were numerous falcons. She knew that these birds were supposed to be endangered and were not in these regions.
She turned to the coast and the little girls were no longer there. Instead, a young girl who looked exactly like her but different. She carried a similar sword, the Dragonblade and wore clothes with a mixture of black, blue and white. She wore a ribbon around her forehead. The cerulean-haired girl looked at Aurora, a smile on her face.
Aurora pushed forward across the shallow salt water and walked onto the sandy beach. Squeezing the water out of her clothes, Aurora gazed at the mysterious alike girl.
"Who are you?" she asked. "And what am I doing here?"
"Why do you have another sword?" the girl asked Aurora instead.
"Huh?"
"That Dragonblade. How can you wield that sword? Why were you chosen?"
Aurora gazed at the blade that she now held in her hand. This girl asked the same question that Aurora had asked and never received an answer.
"How can fate choose you to wield that sword when you do not see the strength within you? You kept on saying you are weak to yourself."
"...I didn't say such things!" Aurora argued defensively.
"Haven't you? Wasn't there a time you couldn't do anything? A time you lose someone precious to you?"
Aurora took a step back. She admitted to herself that what the girl said was true. She felt her heart ached in pain. Her breathing became hard.
"If you cannot be strong, then you cannot be a Dragon Guardian. The sword is just a fake. It may show the proof of your role but your weakness reflects on that sword. You are not a Dragon Guardian. And you will always be that way." The girl turned away and walked a few paces from the doubtful Dragon Guardian.
"Heh," Aurora laughed. "Is that true? I don't think so." She looked at the girl, her face lifted with determination and strong will. "So what if I was chosen? I may be weak sometimes. But other times, I am not. I won't be weak anymore...because I am gonna show to everyone that I am strong. I'm gonna find the relic and bring Angela back!"
She held the Dragonblade in the air. "This is my proof of being a Dragon Guardian! This sword has taken me this far and there's no way I'm turning back because of some nonsense about my weakness and my past. I ain't going to turn back. Not now. Not ever."
The girl looked over her shoulder, watching Aurora glared at her. "If you say true words, then you must show me the proof, your use of that sword."
"Gladly." Aurora knew what she meant. The girl held the sword in a fighting stance. It was a battle and there was no way she was going to back away from this fight. Aurora knew she wasn't going to.
Onwards he fell, the dry wind blowing in his face. Rue slowly opened his eyes and looked down below. Bared lands were covered with endless dryness. Plateaus encircled and scattered everywhere. An old ruin temple stood not far, hidden away from the world.
He shot his stare at the hard ground below as he was drawing closer by the split second. Suddenly, gravity gave way and he landed on the ground light as a feather. Invisible wings helped him land on his feet with ease.
He looked at the ruins. A feeling of remembrance crept over him. The resemblance of the ruins was similar to the ruins in Dermai, where he once was. Wind blew the desert sand swirling over the ruins. He gazed at the sky at the sound of thunder roaring as gray clouds formed.
A single tear hit his cheek. Rain began to pour in the dry valley. The soil became damp and wet as the rain seeped over the desert land.
Rue glanced at the shower, his hat protecting his eyes from the sting of the raindrops. He gazed down at his boots. A flower that was not there before bloomed, its white, yellow and violet petals washed under the teardrops of the rain.
Again he looked up at the direction of the ruins. A young boy stood under the rain, gazing at something on the ground. Another flower had grown near his boots.
The stranger turned his attention to Rue, his silver eyes meeting his. Rue backed a step away. Looking at a mirror, it seemed impossible.
The stranger had short silver hair and wore two different scarves around his forehead and another around his neck. His clothes were western and wearing over his hands were two different gloves. Dangling from his belt over his back was a gun with a blade and a small pistol handed in his waist belt.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" the stranger asked, turning back to the flower. "To break the tradition of bareness in a desert, it lives for its purpose."
Rue kept silent.
"Purposes... That is what everyone lives for...and yet, some of us can't. Like puppets without hearts, purposes mean nothing to us..."
Rue furrowed his eyebrows as the rain drenched on.
"Until you understand it..." Slowly he turned to Rue. "What is your purpose of living? Or are you following a duty?"
"What?" Rue echoed.
"What is it you are living for? Duty or purpose?"
"...I'm not sure. They're both the same-"
"I wouldn't say the same, Rue."
Rue backed away again in fright. "H-How...?"
"Purpose means to follow on your own path. Duty is to follow someone's orders. No offends, but you're still think that bringing back someone you care most is your duty."
Rue looked away. He knew what this stranger was referring to. Questions raced through his mind.
"You're still the same ole kid, I knew. I wonder if you'll ever change a bit," the stranger sighed before walking away.
"Who are you!?" Rue demanded. "And how do you know so much about me!?" He swung his Arc Blade in a rage of fit. "Answer me!"
The stranger stopped and gazed at Rue over his shoulder. "I guess you don't remember... Fine," he sighed. "I'll answer you." Taking the bladed gun over his shoulder, he loaded it with bullets and pointed the fully loaded gun at Rue. "But you'll have to fight me first to spill out the beans."
Gazing down, she saw grasslands below her. The breeze brushed against her face. Mint's eyes widened as she regained her composure, realizing she was falling and heading to the grassland.
"Oh my gosh!" she yelled and braced herself.
Thud!
Stars spun around her head as she hit the ground hard. Groaning in pain, she shook her head and slowly got to her feet. Her Dual Haloes rested peacefully next to her.
"...Dang, that hurts." She gazed up and looked around at the endless grasslands. "Hmm... This place looks familiar..."
A swoosh of air passed her hair and her rings vanished from their place. Mint, gazing with bewilderment, yelled her voice out angrily. "What the-!? My rings!"
"You're really easily distracted, hmm?" a voice resounded not far.
A young girl stood with a smirk on her face. She wore eastern clothes and a small tiara. She had two similar rings, which had handles in the middle of the rings, dangling on a belt strap. Her orange hair, tied in a ponytail, streamed with the calm wind. She looked over her shoulder and held out the Dual Haloes.
"My rings!" Swiftly, she charged to grab her rings away from the girl, but sneakily, the girl struck out her foot and Mint tripped over, hitting her face on the grassy ground. Mint groaned with agony as the girl walked away with her rings in hand and grinned.
"And really, you're not always focus," the girl sniggered.
The princess crawled up on her knees and stomped her foot, turning to the girl with fiery eyes. "Why, you (expletive)! I'll beat you up to a bloody pulp."
"My... Quite a temper. You always try to act tough, hmm? How egotistical," the girl said.
"What!?"
"But sometimes, you don't seem as tough as you are now." The girl threw the Dual Haloes to Mint and walked a few paces away. "Of course, your determination might make you strong to reach your goal. Reminds me of someone bigheaded."
"Bigheaded!? Okay! That's it!" Seizing her Dual Haloes, Mint raised her rings in the air and started to cast a spell. "No one compares me with anyone!"
The girl laughed. "I see. A princess verses a princess."
"What are you talking about!?" Mint spat.
"If it's a fight you want," the girl began, taking the rings behind her back and connecting the handles to each other. A pole discharged from one end. She now held a weapon that was a mixture of a pike and a staff. "Then it's a fight you'll get!"
Mint descended her magic as she gazed at the weapon with surprise. "What the heck is that thing!?"
"Why don't you find out? Or are you too afraid to fight?"
"Why, you (expletive)!" Mint screamed, stomping her foot and aimed her magic at the girl.
The sound of two swords repeated. Aurora screeched on the beach, her sword in one hand. The mysterious girl was flung aside but landed on her toes. Grabbing her own sword, they charged towards each other and swung their sword.
CLANK!
A sword was thrown away from the possessor's hand and stabbed into the sand. The mysterious girl sat on her knees in defeat.
"It seems you have spoken your true meaning..." the mysterious girl admitted, before getting up and pulling the sword out of the sand. "However, you still have more to learn... We all do."
She turned to the ocean and walked a few steps away.
"Hey, wait a minute!" Aurora yelled. "First off, who are you?"
The Thresher Falcons flew overhead, screeching in the sky. The mysterious girl only walked on till she reached the shallow ends of the ocean. "My name...is Andrea."
"...It can't be!" Aurora gasped after backing away a few steps.
"Ciao," Andrea said, waving her hand as the current of the waters changed and a tsunami raged in her direction.
"Wait a minute!" Aurora shouted, dashing to the mysterious girl, hoping to ask a question before the danger drew close but the danger came quickly before she did.
Swept away from the beach, Aurora felt herself drowning in the salt water, yet she still breathed. Again, she felt herself falling, falling onwards through the cold ocean, through the darkness and finally a void of nothingness.
"Aurora! Wake up!" She opened her eyes and felt the cold stones beneath her face. Slowly pushing herself off the floor, she held her aching head before her vision cleared. "You okay?"
"What happened?" Aurora groaned, seeing the flying cat next to her in the light. 'Light?'
"I don't know but all of a sudden, you fainted and the lights went on," Cosmomi told her. "I think we're in some sort of recovery room."
"Recovery room?" Aurora gazed around. Within the center of the room they had entered, was a pyramid-shaped machinery with blue magic circulating.
"Cosmomi, is this a...?"
"Resurrect Device. Or for short, RD. It is able to heal deep wounds and calm the soul. But, this one is pretty damaged so I think it can only heal cuts... What's weird is that I thought of the RDs were lost since the Dragon War Era."
"You mean the Battle between the humans and the clans?" Aurora wondered. "And the Birth of the Dragon Guardian?"
"Yup. The first Dragon Guardian was called Andrea, who was chosen to wield the Dragonblade and formed a team called the Twilight Trinity. The Twilight Trinity was the ones who stopped the war and made peace to the four kingdoms, despite the loss of many Dragonoids' lives and the end of the fifth kingdom. Thus, the remaining Dragonoids chose to hide away from the world by secretly hiding their forms," Cosmomi explained.
"And for nine hundred years, humans still go against Dragonoids." Aurora looked down in a matter of mixed emotions.
"...Hey, cheer up. It's not like you are gonna reveal your secret to anyone, right?" Cosmomi inquired. "And aren't you suppose to know this history, Aurora? Geez, if your grandfather heard you're having another history lesson, he would think all those lessons he taught you were for nothing..."
The Dragon Guardian giggled. "Thanks..."
"It surprises me, though."
"What?"
"That Grand Magician Elroy had a RD in his atelier."
"I wonder how he got hold of this one..."
"Could be that he found one and repaired it."
"Hey, Cosmomi, can you find information about Dragon Shrines? Or any other documents of the era?"
"I doubt it. Any lost information would have been deleted or lost again because of the damage on this RD."
"That's too bad... It would be great if we found more information..." Aurora sighed.
"We already know much about your ancestral history since your Grandfather Lucius has all those tons of books in his library," Cosmomi noted. "We should go. There's nothing here. All I found were two coins."
"Yeah. By now, the others must be finished."
Turning to the door, Aurora caught sight of something that lied on the floor. She bent down and picked up what appeared to be a book.
"What'd you find?" Cosmomi asked.
Flipping through for a moment, she closed shut the book and tossed it into her bag. "I'm not sure but it could be useful. Otherwise, it could be a good book for Cairo. Let's get going."
'I wonder,' Aurora thought as they exited the room. 'Was it really Andrea? My Ancestor? Or just another illusion?'
Bullets flew in the drizzling sky. Rue skidded across the damp cracks and shielded himself from the piercing bullets with his Arc Edge. The silver-haired stranger, reloading his gun, dodged Rue's approaching attack.
With the pistol, the stranger shot both guns at Rue but Rue held his weapon, its indestructible blade taking the bullets.
Like a dart, Rue dashed towards the stranger, his axe ready in position. The stranger, dropping his pistol aside, took the bladed bun in hand and charged. The sound of weapons clanking resounded under the howling wind.
The stranger grasped his twisted hand. His bladed gun lay far from his grip. Rue looked back to see he had won this match, but would he win the answers?
"Heh," the stranger laughed. "You've better than I thought... Fine." He stood up, bearing with the pain in his sprained hand. "You want to be answered?"
The stranger then picked up his bladed gun and pistol before looking back at Rue. "My name is Ruen."
'Ruen?' A headache throbbed lightly. The name sounded familiar to Rue, yet he didn't recall seeing this boy before. Or had he? And his name seemed common to his. Could it be a coincidence?
Ruen, holding his bladed gun over his shoulder, turned and walked away.
"Hey, wait! How do you know me so well?" Rue demanded.
"Sorry, you said to answer you. Not how many questions should I answer for you," Ruen commented, smiling at Rue. "You'll just have to find those answers on your own."
With that, he turned and walked onwards. Rue ran after him, to get the answers he needed to know but felt the wind brushing over his face. Shielding his eyes, he watched Ruen disappeared into the upcoming storm. The cyclones of sand hurried around Rue, howling and wailing.
Rue shut his eyes tightly, listening to the sandy wind scream. He listened the winds slowly dying, and then...nothing. He opened one eye and light blurred him. As his vision cleared, he scanned around.
The desert was no longer in sight, only a room he had never seen before. However, the walls, he recognized them. They were exactly the same construction as Elroy's Atelier.
'...Was that the task?' he wondered. Again, he scanned the room once more time. Tools were neatly placed and books in their original shelves. He searched for anything that might link to the relic. A glow caught his eyes. Resting on the table was a cube, five inches at all sides, glowing golden.
"What's this?" he wondered, picking up the fragile cube. He examined the sides, finding unusual symbols on it. "Maybe Klaus can figure what this is."
Gently, he put the cube into his bag and searched the room once last time. He turned to the door but stopped. He gazed back at the room. He felt a presence but no one was there.
'Strange...' Seeing that nothing was here, he turned to the door and walked out.
In the shadows, leaning against a cold wall, the boy from the task stood, gazing as Rue left the room. Ruen walked slowly until he came to a halt.
"So, he was awakened five years ago?" he asked.
"Yes," Sha'bre the persona answered.
"And he lost his memory too?"
"Correct, Ruengrit."
"Can you not call me by that name? It's way too long for me."
"I understand... Would you not go after him and tell that he is a-"
"No," Ruen replied. "It's best he finds out for himself..." He looked down at the polished floor. "Already two of my brothers have awakened... Wonder how this is gonna turn out."
Ruen dug into his pocket, pulling out a broken locket with a picture sealed from time. "It's been nine hundred years since then. I can remember it all like it was yesterday... Nine hundred years..." he sighed and gazed at the ceiling. "I wonder...how Andrea and Minako are doing up there..."
"Flare!"
"Ripple!"
A ball of blazing fire fired at the rapidly wave shot. Both spells, however, neutralized each other. Quickly, Mint chanted another spell as the red-haired girl recited an incantation.
"Vulcan!" Mint commanded, shooting a white rapid fire.
"Bomb!" the red-haired girl cried, throwing a black sphere that immediately blew up once the Vulcan made contact with it.
Mint cursed under her breath. 'Dang! She keeps on neutralizing my magic!'
"What's the matter?" the girl sneered with a smile. "Having second thoughts about this battle?"
Mint grounded her teeth. How annoying this girl was, she thought. And if Aurora and Rue were here, they would compare her to this girl.
"Oh, shut up!" Mint yelled, bringing her rotating rings at aim.
The girl just grinned and instantly, holding her staff-pike in the air, the rings started to turn and rotate. A charging, electrifying volt initiated.
"Bolt!" she ordered.
A burst of yellow magic shot from her weapon and slithered towards Mint.
"Impulse!" Mint quickly yelled, and discharged a circular signal of green magic.
Once again, the two spells neutralized again. A long pause hanged in the air as Mint waited for the next attack.
"Hmph," the girl said with a smile. "I say this is a draw."
"What!?" Mint shrieked, not believing her ears.
"If this battle goes on and on, there won't be a winner," she said, as the staff merged back into the rings and separated themselves. She turned away.
"Hey! This fight hasn't finished yet!" Mint shouted.
"Look at the advantages," the girl told her before walking off. "You know yourself that unless you can counterattack me with a different spell that doesn't neutralize so easy, it will stay as a draw."
Mint glared at the girl as she wandered off the grassland. She couldn't believe that once in her entire life, she has ever had a draw like this.
"Oh, and one thing," the girl cried, looking back. "You're quite the learner to learn magic well. Maybe your power can help you reach your goal of world domination."
Jumped with surprise, Mint yelled back, "How do you know!? Who the heck are you!?"
"Me?" the girl asked. "My name is Minako."
Mint's eyes went wide. "No way! You're lying! Tell me who you really are!"
The girl just walked away.
"Hey!" Mint ran after her to force the answer out of the girl but came to a halt as a cracking sound stopped her. The grass was breaking away like glass. The princess quickly ran for her dear life but the floor broke away and she fell onwards.
THUD!
"Ouch!"
Mint sat up on the cold floor and rubbed her aching rear. "That hurt..."
For a silent moment, her eyes to the floor, she thought deeply. 'Minako... That's the name of my great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great grandmother. How can that girl be her?'
Looking around, she found herself not in the grassland but in the four walls of a room of Elory's Atelier. She got to her feet and once again looked around to ensure she was where she should be. Her judgment about the mysterious red-haired girl faded from her mind because of her short attention span.
"So it was just a trial... Well, if I passed, than there must be something around here valuable."
With eagle eyes, she scanned the room, through all the books and under the stools. A glitter caught the red glimmers in her eyes. Resting on a table was a tiara, shining with gold and ornaments.
"Well, well. What do we have here?" she asked herself, walking to the table. "I think I'll keep this."
She slipped the tiara into her bag and again, she combed through the room. Finding nothing else, she left the room, with the tiara tucked in her bag.
Meeting at the center where the blob and the ginger large cat awaited, the trio told their findings, except for Mint.
"Did you find anything?" Aurora asked.
"I only found a cube," Rue said, showing them the cube before putting it away in his bag. "You?"
"We found only a book and two coins in that room," Cosmomi said. "But we did find a RD, too."
"RD? You mean a Resurrect Device?"
"Yeah. But it's pretty damage from the looks of it."
"What about you, Mint?" Aurora asked.
"Oh, eh, nothing," the princess replied calmly.
"Are you sure?" the persona's voice asked. Mint jumped with fright, remembering that Sha'bre could read their minds.
"Sha'bre?" Rue called, surprised to speak to her again.
"You three have passed the test and received what you have came for. I see a bright future for all for you," the persona said kindly. "Mint, I will let you off easy."
"Let her off? What do you mean by that?" Aurora asked, eyeing suspiciously at Mint.
A giggle resounded in the air. "It is time for this message to end. Good luck to your search for the relic. I pray you will find it soon enough."
Rue smiled at the resounding voice. "Goodbye, Sha'bre."
With that, no voice answered back to him. The end of the message had come after longs years of waiting for the travelers.
"We should go back now," Rue suggested. The girls agreed and stepped onto the platform.
They waited for the elevator to operate but nothing seemed to happen. Impatiently, Mint surprisingly stomped the elevator and immediately started to go downwards.
"Was that the best idea?" Aurora asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Well, it worked, didn't it?" Mint snapped.
Vickie: Woo-hoo! I updated! Can anyone out there read and review!? Waves arms in the air And Phoenix, are you really sure it's A? Well, hope you bet on a small wager with Jen. Now then... CAN ANYONE REVIEW?
Aurora: ...You're impatient...
Vickie: That's because I didn't have any sugar lately.
Aurora: ; I think I'll exit this way.
Chibi Vickie: Hi, hi!
Aurora and Vickie: Oh no.
Chibi Vickie: I'm gonna explain the points you saw in the chapter.
Aurora: We know what your job is so hurry up and get it done!
Dragon War Era
Chibi Vickie: This was the time when all the kingdoms on Aédura fought each other. Clans fought each other because of their dislikes of each other's appearances. It happened 900 years ago. Before the war, there were advanced technology but today, most of the technology are scattered in ruins like the RD.
Clans
Chibi Vickie: There are many clans in Cytherea. The most common one is Human. There are Elves, Demons, Demi-Humans, Dragonoids, Birdmen and lots more.
Elves have human appearance but with long ears and is capable of casting very powerful magic.
Demons are the opposite of Elves. They have similar appearances to them but their skin is darker than Elves' and some are born with horns or wings.
Demi-Humans have both human and animal appearances. They believe in spirits and Guardians and are said to have come from another world. (Who knows if that's true)
Dragonoids have both human and dragon appearances with mechanical organisms. They are said to be powerful but least powerful than the Aeons. Their hearts are made of crystal and power, which is called Dragon Eyes.
Birdmen are people with wings and lives in the skies. They are somewhat related to Harpies. Aka as Angels.
Chibi Vickie: That's all for today! Hope you enjoy this chapter.
Vickie: Oy, oy! That's my line.
Aurora: Let it go. Nothing's gonna go through her head.