Meanwhile, Detherion and Ledria walk through the strange forest that they were sent to by Luna, the goddess of Darkness.
"Ledria, did you hear something?" Detherion said, his voice a tiny bit shaky.
"Now that you mention it, I hear whispers. Show yourself!" Ledria shouted, her voice echoing across the small wood. No answer came, but the whispers did stop.
"WHO DARES TO ENTER MY REALM?" a strange voice boomed through the forest.
"Whoa! Who said that? Show yourself!" Detherion said, drawing his greatsword.
"LEAVE THIS PLACE! YOUR KIND ARE NOT WELCOME HERE! LEAVE OR YOU SHALL NEVERT LEAVE THIS PLACE!" the voice replied, assaulting the couple with waves of tremendous power.
"No! We will not leave until you have revealed yourselves. Show your faces or I shall burn this place to the ground!" Detherion yelled, his temper flaring up.
"Calm down Detherion, we don't want a fight. It could be that Alex person, remember what he did to the mountain?" Ledria cautioned, her face laden with worry.
"No Ledria, there is a time to calm down and there is a time to be forceful, now, it is time for combat. I highly doubt that the person would let us out without a fight anyway. I will fight, you stand back." He replied, putting his arm out in front of her.
"So you intend to burn me down with your flames, do you Adept? I have my own abilities, ones that will extinguish your flames of passion and turn them into dirt for my family to grow in!" the voice said as the ground began to rumble.
"Remember Ledria, the release of Alchemy upon this world could have awoken terrible horrors, if I say run, you'd better run. Your little parlor tricks won't scare me spirit! My flames will easily burn this entire forest down, taking not only you, but all your family as well!" Detherion yelled as his sword erupted in flames matching those in his eyes. Ferocious and on the brink of turning on the wielder, the flames increased in intensity as Detherion's rage spiraled to new heights. Soon, the vicious inferno had engulfed his entire body, turning him into the very personification of Fire, Apollo.
Wielding a greatsword in each hand, he walked towards the source of the voice, burning the grass beneath his feet. After a few steps, he stopped, the flames dying down to embers. Smoldering grass lay in his footsteps, but nothing else was harmed. "Do you see what I can do spirit? That was barely a taste of what I can unleash! Show yourself before this whole forest bursts into uncontrollable flame!" Detherion boomed, his fury reaching a new zenith.
"Come forth, but leave your sword. We will fight using only our innate abilities. Do you accept?" the voice said, knowing that it was defeated.
"I accept spirit, but on one condition: you give me a name that I can call you by, whether it is your real name or not, I don't care. Do you accept my terms?" Ledria shouted back, running forwards, dropping her stave next to Detherion.
"Biliban is the name you will call me by. If you manage to survive, I will tell you and your friend my real name. Walk forth, alone, into the small trail before you. At the end is a clearing with a large tree in its center, there will be our battleground. Come alone, or the minions of this forest will tear you both to shreds, this I promise thee." The strange spirit boomed, opening up a trail just wide enough for the thorn bushes to miss Ledria's arms.
It only took a minute or two for Ledria to find the clearing, plants all the way there had parted to allow her passage. Halfway there, she looked back to see the plants were snapping back to their original positions, barring passage to anyone who wishes to follow. "I have come Spirit! Show yourself!" Ledria called out into the clearing, her voice full of strength and determination.
"I cannot. I am rooted too this spot. I know where you are however, so do not believe that running behind me will aid you in any way. Come to the other side of the tree in the center, and prepare yourself for the sight you will behold." The spirit said, his voice coming from the tree itself. Ledria looked at the far side of the tree, and saw the face of an old man protruding from the trunk.
"Whoa! You are a tree spirit then. Venus adept. No matter, I shall still win. Begin!" Ledria said as she readied her most powerful attacks, Fury of Gaia Falls, Glacial Spike, and the summon Poseidon's Wrath. "You go first spirit." She said, her voice trembling with power.
"Alright then, CYBELE!" the tree yelled, calling forth a giant frog with a tree sticking out of its head. It spit a seed out at Ledria, who was instantly caught up in vines with foot long thorns.
"That stung a bit, GLACIAL SPIKE!" she bellowed, a small ball of ice forming in her hand. The ball flew above her head, forming into a spike three times as long as the spirit was thick. Impaling the tree, the spike disappeared.
"Grrrrr. GRAND ODESSY!" Biliban yelled, thirty swords falling down from the sky, heading right for Ledria's heart.
"Not today! FURY OF GAIA FALLS!" she screamed as the swords were seconds from piercing her chest. From both her hands burst forth waterclimbs, forcing the swords to fall upon the tree.
"Arggh! That's it, no more mercy! VENUS FURY!" he bellowed, the very ground beginning to quake. "YOU DIE NOW LITTLE GIRL!"
"Ledria!" a familiar voice cried from the other side of the plants.
"No, not today. I have not yet tested this new ability, but I guess now's as good as ever!" Ledria said, closing her eyes. Her hands swayed in an arcane pattern, tiny lines forming in the air. "FREEZING STRIKE OF HEAVEN!" she screamed, the sky turning a dark gray. It began to rain heavily, more and more water coming down every second, the amount increasing exponentially. The raindrops became hailstones, and they became large balls of solid ice, freezing the tree little by little. Nereid, Neptune, and Boreas could all be seen in the sky, Nereid creating the water, Neptune freezing it, and Boreas charging his laser further then what it had ever done in its summon. Soon, the sky was glowing a darker blue.
"Oh my god Ledria! What is this Psynergy?" Detherion said, fearing for the life of his Love.
"What is this? My attack ceased! Why?" the tree yelled in frustration.
"Freezing Strike of Heaven uses the power of any and all Psynergies and Djinn that are in a twenty foot radius of the caster, canceling out their effects." Ledria said unconsciously, she was still trying to control the tremendous amounts of energy she continued to channel through her hands. "HAAAA!" she screamed, the energy in her hands bursting forth into the midnight blue sky. The clouds cleared, to reveal a large, bright blue dragon in golden armor, his wings those of an angel.
The dragon drew its sword, careening for the tree. "NOOOOOOO!" the tree screamed in its last moments of life, the sword slashing through it, leaving a bright blue line in the air, forever there to remind others to come of the awesome powers of Mercury.
The plants parted, and Detherion sprinted through them, even as they parted. "LEDRIA!" he screamed, seeing his Love on the ground with barely a heartbeat.
A waterclimb is the opposite of a waterfall, the water is flowing upwards, defying gravity.
Author: How about a cliffhanger?