Chapter Ten
"Is that…the Mercury Star?" asked Isaac.
Alex eyed his prized possession carefully. "Ah, 'tis so," said he. "This great object of power is mine, and with it lies my strength…"
"I don't get it…" said Isaac.
"Don't you understand?" asked Alex. "The four Elemental Stars…they were the four capsules of Alchemy. When cast into their corresponding lighthouses, the capsules were opened and so their power unleashed; once all four lighthouses were lit, Alchemy was unleashed upon Weyard and the Golden Sun, the sign of the returning of the Lost Age, rose into the sky. However, only half of the Golden Sun rose, for the remaining half was distributed among you and I. The reason you gained a quarter of the Golden Sun was that the Wise One imbued the Mars Star with power, and because you carried it for so long, even after you used it to light the Mars Lighthouse, you still gained a quarter of the Golden Sun's power. However, because of the Mercury Star here, I was able to gain a quarter as well. I took the Mercury Star so that when the Golden Sun rose, I could become the ultimate Mercury Adept – so I could control the waters of the world and drown Weyard beneath a sea of death!"
"But you, Saturos, and Menardi lit the Mercury Lighthouse first," said Isaac. "The Mercury Star was never imbued with any power. How come you claimed a quarter of the Golden Sun as well?"
"Because I kept it," said Alex. "Even Saturos and Menardi were not aware. I left them for a moment. After you defeated Saturos and we left, I left them for a moment and journeyed to the base of the beacon. It was a hell unlike no other, and I nearly died, but I managed to retain the Mercury Star, now only an empty capsule that once contained the elemental energy of water. Because I held it with me I was able to claim a quarter of the Golden Sun."
"So…how is this going to help you now?" asked Isaac.
"Simple," replied Alex. "You see, when the Golden Sun rose, you and I gained each a quarter of its power, but that quarter was a mix of all four elements. We possess a very small portion, of each element. With the Mercury Star in my possession, I can strip the Mercury Psynergy from your body as well as claim the Mercury Psynergy from the half-Golden Sun that now hangs in the sky. Thus I will possess much more of Alchemy's might than you!"
Isaac's eyes widened. It was complicated, and he had always stunk at math, but he understood. Alex would have complete control over the water of Weyard; he would be the water of Weyard. Plus, he would also possess small portions of the other three elements, while Isaac would be left with only small portions of Jupiter, Venus, and Mars Alchemy.
"No," said Isaac. "I WON'T LET YOU! NO!"
Isaac flew at Alex, but Alex drew his sword and struck Isaac across his head with the flat of his blade. "You have no weapon!" declared Alex. "There is nothing you can do!" He held out the Mercury Star. "YOUR TIME HAS COME TO AN END!"
The six Adepts on the ground were all watching carefully. "Wise One, is that true?" asked Piers. "Will Alex truly become much mightier than Isaac?"
"Yes," replied the Wise One weakly. His eye was barely open.
"But then what do we do?" asked Sheba. "We can't just watch Isaac die!"
"And we…shall not," said the Wise One. "You six…Isaac's fate lies in your hands now…there is still a way for him to gain…more power…than Alex."
"And how's that?" Garet demanded irritably. "Come on, we're running out of time!"
"Go to…the Venus, Mars, and Jupiter Lighthouses…" said the Wise One. "Take the Elemental Stars…and then Isaac can do with the three Elemental Stars what Alex will do with the Mercury Star."
"But that could take days!" cried Jenna. "We don't have time!"
Alex held the Mercury Star out and laughed. "GIVE ME YOUR POWER, ISAAC!" he yelled. "GIVE ME MORE POWER OVER THE SEAS!"
The Mercury Star began to light up with blue light. Isaac hung in the air, exhausted, battered, drenched with blood, sweat and tears, and he could not bring himself to move. His body was broken, and soon his spirit would be as well.
"There's not much time!" Ivan yelled. "WISE ONE, WHAT DO WE DO?"
The Wise One sighed, the weight of a thousand years upon his shoulders. "I do not have…much strength left," he said. "But perhaps…I could give it up…my last ounce of strength…so that I could teleport you all to the lighthouses…and…you could save Weyard…"
"But…would you die?" asked Mia softly.
"I…do not know," said the Wise One. "But if I do…I will know I died for the right cause, and that I…made a difference in Weyard. And now that is all that matters to me. All paths of life lead to the same final destination…that path has shortcuts, it has unkempt roads, it has its hills, and it has its valleys…but in the end, it finally leads to death. Whatever road we take is decided by our decisions, and we choose our path each day. I have walked the wrong path for so long…I took the back road, watching others pass by, watching the world fall into chaos…but yet I did nothing, and for that I great regret my life. But I have changed now…and I will make a difference now…and I will give my life to give you a future. Now hurry, for soon it will be too late!"
The six Adepts nodded solemnly, and they gathered together. Tears streamed down their face as they saw the weakened Wise One, cracked, battered, broken, and they knew that he had made the ultimate sacrifice for them. He would not live through this…this would be his final act…
Alex laughed cruelly as the Mercury Star drained Isaac of his Mercury Alchemy, and so he collapsed as Alex claimed it, the power now flowing through his veins. "YES!" declared Alex. "NOW, I SHALL DRAIN THE GOLDEN SUN OF ITS MERCURY ALCHEMY! WITH THAT I SHALL REIGN SUPREME!"
Alex turned to the Golden Sun before him. He held out the Mercury Star. "It is time," said he. "Time at last…TO POSSESS FULL MERCURY ALCHEMY!"
The Mercury Star lit up, firing a beam right at the Golden Sun. The Golden Sun slowly began to shrink away as it was drained of one of its elements, and so Alex possessed all of the world's Water Psynergy. He had complete control over the waters of Weyard.
Alex turned to Isaac, laughing cruelly. "It is done," he said. "Finally, it is done. There is nothing that can save you now. NOTHING!"
Effortlessly Alex called upon a storm, and torrents of water poured down upon Weyard, and it began to flood. Alex laughed maniacally. "I SHALL BURY WEYARD BENEATH THE WAVES AND RAISE MY OWN EMPIRE!" he yelled.
Isaac tried to keep focus, but his mind was clouded. He stared at Alex, and he clenched his fists, wishing he had a weapon. He was much to exhausted to cast Odyssey again; surely there was something he could do.
Crying out, Isaac charged at Alex, tearing through the air, drawing back his fist, and he swung right at Alex, striking Alex right in the face.
Alex turned and his eyes met with Isaac's. "Is that all you can muster?" asked he. "Your beloved Weyard is about to be lost forever and this is the best that you can do? A weakling like you has ruined my life for so long? NEVER AGAIN!"
Back on the surface the Wise One lay, water rising up around him, all of Weyard being covered by the rising sea. "I must do this now," he said. "I must hurry or all that will be left to save will be a sea of despair."
The Wise One summed up his last power, the last of his Psynergy, and so cast four simultaneous Teleport Psynergies, and so the six Adepts were scattered across Weyard. Mia and Piers appeared before the beacon of the Venus Lighthouse; Sheba and Ivan emerged before the beacon of the Jupiter Lighthouse; Garet and Jenna rose before the beacon of the Mars Lighthouse.
"My time is done…" the Wise One said, the waves rising above him. "I have done the last that I can…I only wish that I had helped earlier…and that I could have made a bigger difference…goodbye…and I pray that you have a future." And so the rising waters covered him, and he was lost, swept away by the sea, never to be seen by mortal eyes again.
The beacon was intense as it blew against Ivan and Sheba. "How do we get down there?" Sheba cried. "Isn't the Jupiter Star at the very bottom of the beacon?"
Ivan nodded grimly. "We'll just have to forge below!"
Mia and Piers began their slow descent, Piers forging ahead, jamming his axe head into the wall of the beacon to not slip and fall. "How deep is the beacon?" cried Mia.
"None know but Alex," replied Piers. "For no other being has traveled to the very bottom before."
Garet and Jenna drew closer to the bottom of the beacon, struggling to not be swallowed by the swirling red mass that was the Mars Lighthouse's beacon; they finally reached the bottom, clinging onto the wall, and there below them sat a small red stone, having lost its shine of old. "There it is!" cried Jenna. "How do we grab it?"
"With a useful Psynergy I learned early on our journey," said Garet. He put out his hand and cast Grab, picking up the Mars Star and bringing it to his hand, where he held tight. He and Jenna then began their long climb back to the top.
Alex stared into Isaac's eyes, unblinking, unwavering, and Isaac felt fear strike his heart. He knew the power that Alex possessed – Weyard was quickly disappearing beneath the waves, and now just the tallest towers and mountains jutted about the waves. Isaac felt weak, unable to save Weyard in this time of dire need…
"Never again," Alex repeated. "NEVER AGAIN WILL YOU STAND IN MY WAY!"
Alex punched Isaac right in the face, sending Isaac tumbling through the air. He grabbed Isaac's foot and swung him around wildly, hurling him into the air. Isaac tumbled through the air and Alex flew up, kicking him right in the spine. Isaac cried out as he felt his bones snap, and Alex then struck him in his midsection, sending Isaac flying down toward the swirling sea. His wings were broken and he could no longer fly, and he hit the surface of the water hard, his wings becoming drenched and heavy, pulling him beneath the surface. Alex laughed as he watched his adversary sink to his death.
Ivan and Sheba emerged at the top of the Jupiter Lighthouse, and together they held the Jupiter Star. Simultaneously Piers and Mia emerged at the top of the Venus Lighthouse, together holding the Venus Star, and Garet and Jenna emerged at the top of the Mars Lighthouse, together holding the Mars Star, the Elemental Star that had allowed Isaac to gain a quarter of the Golden Sun.
Alex, with his far-seeing eyes, could even see the Adepts at the tops of the Lighthouses, despite the fact that they were many miles away from each other. "I don't even need to find the other Elemental Stars!" he laughed. "These fools have already found them for me!"
The six Adepts used their Psynergy to attempt communication with Isaac from such a great distance. Isaac! cried Jenna. We have the other Elemental Stars! With them you can become more powerful than Alex!
I can't keep contact with him, guys! Piers exclaimed. What happened to him?
He is…beneath the waves! Mia said. He has been claimed by the sea…my love, claimed by the very oceans…
We need to hurry! said Ivan. Soon we'll be lost at sea as well! The seas have nearly risen above the Lighthouses! I can already feel the water at my feet!
Then we shall give our Elemental Stars to Isaac, said Sheba darkly. We will cast them into the sea…and hope that Isaac receives them.
But…the sea is covering all of Weyard! Garet cried. They're not going to reach Isaac no matter how hard we try!
They can and will, replied Sheba. We can only hope they act as magnets with the small amount of Alchemy that resides within Isaac's body.
Then let us be done with it! declared Piers. Let us cast these Elemental Stars into the sea and be done with all of this pain at last!
Piers grabbed the Venus Star from Mia and hurled it into the sea. "Piers—!" cried Mia.
"We don't have time to wait," replied Piers. "Look! The sea is already at our waists!"
Sheba and Ivan cast the Jupiter Star into the sea, and it sank beneath the waves. Garet and Jenna cast away the Mars Star into the rushing waters. The six Adepts waited patiently as the waters crept up higher and higher.
"What's this?" demanded Alex, sensing something was not right. "Have they…have they thrown the Elemental Stars into the sea? How can they? Nothing goes into my seas without detection! I SHALL CLAIM THEM FOR MYSELF!"
Alex dove down and plunged beneath the waves, cutting through the water like a shark. He was on the hunt for the Elemental Stars…he could taste them now…
The six Adepts waited for Isaac to claim them, or at least return from beneath the sea, but as the water crept up to their necks they lost hope. Soon the Lighthouses were beneath the sea as well, and the six Adepts were left stranded in the middle of an ocean that covered all of Weyard, left to die at sea.