And so here is the next chapter...so sorry for this extremely slow update guys! I'll be having my finals soon so I can't really spend so much time writing this up. Somehow I think this chapter itself is weird in some ways, but ah heck, I'll ket you guys be the judge of it ) Thanks again for all your supports! Muahx! x

Chapter 18: Recollection

Twinkle, twinkle little star...

Hazily, Alyssa opened her eyes, only to wince at the harsh light that greeted her. She shut her eyes almost immediately and succumbed into the sweet bliss of darkness. Her entire body felt sore, as if she had just completed one of Uncle Dominic's vigorous training in her early years. Every single fibre of her muscles screamed with agony at each slight movement. Slowly, she opened eyes eyes once more; her pupils dilating slightly to accept the streaming light little by little. Dimly, she heard a deep timbre voice spoke out.

"Rest, mistress. Rest, and gain your energy that you have lost. I will take care of everything for now."

The next thing she knew, something coarse and dry touched her cheek before she felt her body being engulfed with a warm, furry body. Vagabond, she thought as she embraced the warmth from the wolf's body.

Elias...

With that last comforting thought, Alyssa soon fell into sweet oblivion once more...

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"Hurry up, sis!" Astrexil beckoned impatiently at his lagging sister. Anexia glared at him and picked up her sluggish pace.

"So I'm hurrying. But where to, may I ask?" she grumbled. Astrexil remained silent. True, where were they heading to? Run, Sheinzein had said. But where to? Find Alyssa, he said. But how? Astrexil contemplated these thoughts as he moved ahead absent-mindedly.

"Hey, watch out!"

Startled by the shout, Astrexil stopped just in time. He narrowly missed smashing his nose headlong right into a tree by a few inches. Turning around, he looked at his sister ruefully.

"Thanks, sis!"

Anexia grinned and motioned him to carry on. The priest nodded and resumed his pace, lost in thoughts once more. "Hey, let's go on for a while more. Then, we stop for a break," he suggested. And I can try to figure out what are we to do next at the same time, he said to himself. Her sister merely grunted and nodded her head, her champange blonde hair streaming behind her like a mist of gold as she scouted ahead for any dangers.

Then suddenly, she stopped abruptly, causing Astrexil who was still in deep thought to crash on her ungainly. "Oof!" he grunted as he landed on his sister's body. Picking himself up, he reached out a hand and helped to pull his sister up. "Now what was that for?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

Anexia stared accusingly at her brother, her amber eyes flashing furiously. "You idiot! Please don't tell me you had forgotten the fact that you have the ability to teleport us away from here!" she said.

Deep aquamarine eyes met those flashing ambers. It's amazing how they almost look alike by any possible means, and yet their eyes are two opposites just like their characters, he marveled to himself. He said aloud, "Oh come on, Annie! Please don't tell me you really want to leave our friends behind just like that! Have a heart!"

Anexia fell silent. That little fact had indeed left her mind momentarily. Then another thought occured to her. "How about we leave here to get some back up? After all, we need all the help we can get right?" she suggested with clarity.

"You have got to be kidding me, my dear sister!"

"What? It sounds like a good plan to me! We do need help right? What better way there is than to go get for help?"

Astexil sighed. "Annie, we can't leave our friends here no matter how bad the situation is. No, we can't go for help. At the moment, we can't even trust anyone! Don't forget, our goal here is to make sure Alyssa's fit and alive. If she falls into the hands of that Bloodied Knight..." He shuddered.

His sister started to open her mouth to object but closed again when he left the last sentence hanging. She sighed. He was right, again. "I hate it when you're right," she grumbled. He grinned. "That's what brothers are here for, my dear sister, to be right when you're wrong!" he joked playfully. Anexia stuck her tongue out at him at that.

Astrexil sobered up almost immediately and looked around thoughtfully for a few moments. "I think we can rest here for awhile. We need to conserve our energy as much as possible," he said as he sat cross-legged on the hard ground. Then he closed his eyes and struck up a pose of meditation. His sister gave him a long look before sitting down as well. She knew quite well what her brother was doing and was wise enough not to disturb him. She sat cross-legged and closed her eyes for a few seconds. Although she was no expert in the laws of magick, she did know how to regain her strength and stamina faster. Her father was a priest like her twin brother, and he had taught her the simple basics of regeneration as survival training.

She closed her mind to everything and imagined that there was a single pinprick of light right ahead of her. As she walked along the dark path of her mind, she visualised herself getting closer towards that light. Then she imagined that light became a large golden door right in front of her. A few steps more...she thought, concentrating hard. She imagined herself walking a dozen of steps ahead until she reached that door. In her mind, she stretched out her hand and opened that door. Then she opened her eyes and smiled in approval. She could feel her energy restoring itself back into its normal state in her body almost immediately. "Good ol' meditation, it never fails me," she grinned to herself. She glanced at her brother again and sighed. He was still meditating.

Ah well, she thought, better not disturb him for the time being. She got up and looked around thoughtfully. Now what was it her mother had used to tell them when they were kids? "Oh yeah," she muttered, "If you're stuck in a sticky situation where you don't know what to do next, take some time and welcome Mother Nature in your arms."

Anexia took a deep breath and took in her surroundings. The breezy air and the lush surroundings helped to calm her senses tremendously. She smiled to herself. Again, her folks's had taught them well.

Recollecting her thoughts, she tried to recall what her parents had told them a long time ago.

"The Kristos clan has always been the guardian of the Jewel of Radiance, my dear children. Long ago there was a time when we had actually held that jewel in our hands, where it was set in a temple filled with nothing but everlasting illumination. The temple was built on every daybreak there ever was to ensure that only the purest rays of light shall shine upon the marvellous lumosity of the jewel. The walls were made from a unique self-hardening clay that was invented by a famous alchemist; Archeria Syth Harlienne. The clay was not only sturdy and could withstand powerful heat, it was half as heavy as an ordinary brick but took only half the time to assemble them together. But that was all in the past. The Jewel of Radiance is now gone and we, the last remaining from the clan, have vowed to reclaim back what was originally ours."

"Who stole it, papa?"

"I don't know, my little Anne. Some say that the Harlienne clan was envious of our beloved heirloom that they had ordered Archeria to find a loophole within the temple; and thus steal the jewel. Others say that it was the work of the Dark Lord, who fear that the shining radiance from that jewel would throw him down one day. Either way, it is hard to tell."

"Dark Lord? Who is he, papa?"

"Dark Lord...he is a villian born from evil and hatred harboured deep in the prisons in Glast Heim. It is said that he was created by a thousand black souls and fed with hearts laden with hatred and greed. He harbours malice towards mankind, and would not hesitate to kill anyone that steps foot into his territory. Some say that he had created some of the deadliest creatures to ever set foot in Rune Midgard as well."

"Creatures?"

"Yes, creatures. Ever heard about Isis, Osiris, and the Bloodied Knight before, Trex?"

"Sure I have. Isis is a monster that has half the body of a human and half the body of a snake. Osiris is the ruler of the undead that sleeps within the chambers where Isis guards. And the Bloodied Knight is born when a person is consumed with vengeance. But I don't really understand what it means."

"It means, my boy, that you still have lots to learn. Now let me tell you a story about Isis and Osiris. Long time ago, when King Osiris was still alive-yes, Anne, Osiris was a ruler a few centuries ago; he was the ruler of the Morrocan Pyramids in fact. Anyway, King Osiris was a gentle and kind man that forbids violence in his kingdom. His wife, the beautiful Isis, was always by his side, giving her gentle support in every decision made. The Morrocan empire soon became a peaceful continent that was the apple of the eye of many competitors. Every now and then, rulers from other empires would declare war against Morroc over the silliest excuses immaginable. Well, King Osiris was not one to fight, so he merely combined his powers with his wife and created some sort of life shield that could not be penetrated by evil.

"Now Dark Lord had heard about this and was soon hatching evil plans to overthrow the peaceful city. Since he knew that he could not infiltrate in, he chose a different method to commit his evils. He became the people's evil conscience, whispering poisonous words into their ears and creating chaos wherever he go. You see, children, Dark Lord might have been powerful, but he was nowhere as powerful as King Osiris had been. He knew he could never break down the life shield Osiris had regenerated, so he gave a small portion of his dark soul to the many people in Morroc. He knew at least that way, the peaceful city would no longer be, well, peaceful."

"But papa, how did he do that? I thought the life shield can block all evil."

"Ah, leave it to you to find that out by yourself, Trex. Well, it is true that the life shield blocks all evil, but King Osiris had made a grave mistake when creating it. Because he had trusted his fellow people too much, he failed to see that evil could come in the form of his own people. In other words, he had created the shield to protect his people from outsiders with evil intentions, but he did not foresee his own people succumbing into evil. And that, Trex, overthrew him."

"You mean King Osiris was killed by his own people?"

"Well, in a way, that could be true."

"In a way? Aw papa, you mean you don't know?"

"Unfortunately, no one knew what really happened that day. Legend has it that Dark Lord used the people to rake his gains. Then again, perhaps it was Dark Lord himself that had King Osiris killed. Either way, the great ruler fell and Morroc City soon became ruins."

"That's it? But Morroc City is still kicking alive, papa!"

"Ho ho ho, yes, I know that, Anne. I haven't finished my story yet, my little bubble. Now where was I...oh right! Now when King Osiris had fallen, his queen, Isis, had wept over his death and mourned over the chaotic city. Because her love for her husband as well as her city was so great, she sacrificed herself to her people. But right before she did that, she got all her handmaidens to preserve her beloved husband's body inside a tomb, where she herself casted a few protection spells on it. Then she went to the balcony that faced her people and summoned up her remaining strength to purge the evil that was seeding inside the hearts of her people. Again, guessworks were done on what happened next. Some say that her good will opened the eyes of the Morrocan citizens, while others claimed that she relieved them from their black souls by purging them once and for all. Either way, the Morrocan empire mourned at the loss of their beloved king and queen. They soon built a new pyramid and placed King Osiris's tomb deep inside, with her beloved wife right beside her. But an odd thing happened as soon as Queen Isis's body touched the solid ground. Her body rose high into the air and a bright light engulfed her. Before anyone knew what was happening, their beloved queen had half the body of a snake and was snarling viciously at them. Her eyes had turned bloodred and a permanent snarl marred her angelic face. All in all, she had become a monster. The people were confused. What happened to their queen?"

"That was then when Dark Lord had finally appeared. He laughed evilly and told them that he had transformed their beloved queen into a creature so vile and evil that no one would cheris her anymore. To make things worse, he cast a spell on Isis that would multiply her at every minute, so that she never fails to roam the pyramids, seeking fresh blood to kill. Angered, the people tried to attack Dark Lord, only to end up being butchered halfway through. Then suddenly, the tomb that held their king burst open. A mummified hand appeared slowly, followed by a body that was fully covered in bandages. On his head held the proud crown of Morroc; it was King Osiris. The king rose from his tomb and gave a long chilly moan. Then he ambled towards Dark Lord and casted a spell of banishment on him. The Dark Lord, too surprised to react, was banished straight into the deepest dungeons of Glast Heim, where the undead were never at rest. Osiris then turned to his people and gave them all a bow before returning back into his tomb. Stunned, the people could only stare and gape at the miraculous incident. Then they realised that the Isis were no longer trying to attack them, but remained by the side of King Osiris's tomb. Then realization dawned them; Isis was protecting her husband's decease. And so it remains until today that it is forbidden to set foot into the ruins of Morrocan Pyramids, where the great King Osiris sleeps, unless you have a dying wish that is."

"Wow..."

"But papa, I still don't get it. How did Morroc survive?"

"Ah, Trex, right after they left the pyramids, the people decided this time that it was their turn to show their deepest gratitude to their former ruler by rebuilding the glorious city. That was how Morroc City became, well, Morroc City."

"Anne? What are you doing?"

Startled from her reverie, she whirled around. Glaring at her twin, she replied, "Doing what mum used to tell us to do when we're in a jam; listen to Mother Nature! And don't scare me like that!"

Astrexil grinned. His sister was always an easy target to spook. Then he sobered. "Good thinking, Anne. We definitely need to clear our senses and figure out a way out of this mess!" Anexia nodded her head. Then she spied something behind him and narrowed her eyes. Suprised, Astrexil craned his neck to look what had bother her twin sister. Unsurprisingly, he saw nothing but the rock wall that had split up their party. He sighed. Detection was definitely not his forté.

"What do you see, sis?"

Anexia walked wonderingly towards the wall and placed her palm on it gently. "It's not smooth anymore," she said softly. The priest blinked. Not smooth? Since when does rock walls feel smooth? He voiced out his last statement aloud. Frowning, Anexia turned around and said in an annoyed voice, "Open your eyes, o' brother of mine! This wall was initially smooth and slippery. Why else do you think no one could climb it? And why do you think I did not even bother to suggest climbing up this pile of earth in the first place? This wall has changed all right, but the question is, why?" She finished her last sentence thoughtfully.

Now given food for thought, her twin brother too pondered at this odd result. "Do you think," he said slowly, "do you think that whoever that had created this massive rock has already been killed?"

Startled, Anexia stared at her brother. "Ye-es," she too said slowly, "that could be it. Or..."

"Or what?"

"Or...perhaps that sorcerer who created this havoc had already gotten what he came for."

They both stared at each other, both pairs of ice blue eyes reflected horror and dismay.