It was only another thirty minutes, just as said, before the three of them finally arrived. Luckily, there was no sign of that creature following them. Bahamut looked behind frequently for him, but saw nothing. After a time, he put Palad back on Wyvern's back. While he felt better holding onto him, he didn't want to be punched in the stomach when he was holding Palad in front of it. There wasn't a doubt in his mind after seeing Wyvern in so much pain that the blow would have been fatal to the young man. However, all of them managed to adjust to the pain rather well, even to the cut that he had on his upper arm. And his spirits did rise when they approached.
Palad pointed it out to them. It was along a chain of rocky hills, part of a range of mountains. In front of a small clearing in the forest, there was the dark opening of a cave below. Bahamut swallowed a bit at seeing that. If it was dark, then where was the fire that the old man had made? Or worse…what if the old man was already dead? He had, after all, been an old man. And Palad had made it clear that humans were so weak they would actually die after a limited number of years, even if they weren't sick or hurt. Bahamut knew himself that he and the other espers would never die like that, but it worried him occasionally when he thought of Palad or the other humans. At any rate, this was the entrance.
Bahamut looked around a bit, making sure that there were no other creatures in the area, and that no one was watching them. Sure enough, he couldn't see a soul in the woods around them. That confirmed, he turned back to the cave, and then dove for it. Wyvern quickly followed suit, bearing Palad as he did so. Within a few instants, both of them had touched down on the ground right in the clearing, right before the cave. Palad was allowed to step off, and stand next to the two espers. All three of them now stood before the dark opening, and all three stood still and silent for a short moment.
"Well…we're here." Wyvern murmured.
"Yeah…" Bahamut slowly answered. After that, there was a pause of silence. Nothing happened, and none of the three moved.
"Uh…guess we…might as well go in."
"Yeah…" Bahamut murmured in reply.
More silence.
"Anytime now, Big B."
Bahamut snapped out of his thoughts and looked to Wyvern. "Huh?" He asked. "Oh…right…" After that, he turned back to the cave entrance, and swallowed. Be this human or not, he no doubt would have many amazing things inside this cave…and he knew more than Bahamut did. There had to be something special about him…and inside he hoped that he would be friendly and would tell them. At last, the esper swallowed, and then began to walk for the entrance.
After a few short moments, Bahamut found himself beginning to enter the dark cave. Wyvern followed after, and Palad trailed closely behind him, looking behind frequently for the monster and keeping his axe up. Bahamut swallowed again and walked in a bit more…until he suddenly halted. There was something in front of him. Something that felt like…hide? He paused, then reached out his claw and touched it. It was hide…and it was hanging in front of the cave opening. He hesitated a moment, and then pushed it. A crack of yellow light came out, causing the esper to recoil. But that was only a moment. Then, the esper pushed again, and let the light flow. Slowly, he moved forward, and stuck his head inside to see what was there.
Rightly so…Bahamut was instantly amazed.
The entire place was lit up as if it was an afternoon. All of the light stemmed from an opening in the rock wall toward the back, where there were branches from trees burning. A fire was kept in the cave! Not only that, but there was a great pile of branches near it, ready to be thrown into the fire as well. Even more, there was a big tool made of wood and stone that looked a lot like Palad's stone axe in the cave, and it seemed from the wood that the axe had been what chopped the trees into burnable pieces. Of course, there was much more than that. There were piles of trunks up on one side of the cave. However, all of the insides had been carved out, and inside them lay herbs and plants of all sorts of different types. Each different kind was arranged in a different trunk. Once again, there were small tools made out of wood and stone nearby that seemed to have been used for carving them out. There were tools all over the place on the other side of the cave. Some were for weapons, like the spear and axe. Some were smaller, like knives. Still others were for grinding and mashing or grounding. There were also fur hides of all sorts of different creatures on that side of the cave. Some of them were made into pouches, and were full of some sort of seed or grain. Various rocks were arranged in the cave for people to sit on. There were also several beds made. Unlike the bedroll that Palad had, these were made out of sticks tied together with hide, and several hides stretched over the top of them. But there was more than one of them. There was actually four of them. Only one of them looked recently used, however. All of it was wonderful and new to Bahamut. However, there was one person who caught Bahamut's attention most of all.
A old, thin man sat near the fire, poking it with a stick. He wore some garment made out of gray fur, tied around his waist by a strip of leather. His hair was as gray as the fur, long and stretching down all the way to his waist. His skin was gnarled and wrinkled, and for the first time Bahamut saw a truly old human. However, he only poked the fire for a while. He slowly came to a stop, and then slowly turned his head around toward the entrance. Bahamut saw that he had a broad nose but thin face, and a beard as long as the rest of his hair. It was parted out of his eyes…which burned with an inner power and life and wisdom the likes of which Bahamut had never seen. He gently rested hisgaze on Bahamut, and showed not the slightest fear of his monstrous appearance. Instead, he gently smiled, and nodded at him slowly.
"You have come." He spoke in a slow and powerful voice. "Do not stand in the door all night. Come in."
Bahamut was puzzled at this, and pulled his head a bit back. "You've…been expecting me?"
The man smiled gently on, and slowly nodded. "I have been expecting you since the moment I was born." He gently answered.
Bahamut blinked again, amazed. However, he did as he was told. After lingering a moment longer, he swallowed, and then began to enter the cave. While it was fairly big inside, it could still barely accommodate Bahamut's full height. He had to lower his head and tuck his wings inward. But he did enter in, struggling not to knock things over or smash up items as he did so. However, no sooner had he pulled in the last length of his tail than Wyvern's own head popped in.
The red esper looked around a moment, then whistled. "Groovy."
The old man smiled at him as well. "There is more than one of you. Very well. Come in, come in."
Wyvern did as he was told, and was a bit more reckless about it. His shoulders and his tail bumped into several things as he did so. Some of the tools were knocked to the ground, and one of the stones was shifted. Yet he did enter, and the old man didn't seem to mind. Bahamut himself swallowed and was glad that Wyvern hadn't entered on his side, or he'd have smashed down the entire wall of herbs. Bahamut himself plopped down on the ground, and Wyvern after him. Palad came in shortly after, looking small and nervous. However, he managed to bravely look at the man. The man, in his own manner, raised his eyes to him.
"Ah." He stated. "It's young Palad, back again. I do say, you look much healthier and stronger since you last came in. And you no longer seem to fear clothing and tools so much."
Palad swallowed, and bowed his head regardless, looking a bit embarrassed. "Hello, sir." He murmured.
The old man slowly rose from where he was. He bones creaked and strained as he did so, but he didn't seem to mind too much. Soon he was back to his feet, and then he looked over the people around him. "Well Palad…why not tell me your friends' names?"
Palad swallowed again in nervousness, but then gestured to the espers. "That's Bahamut…and that's Wyvern."
"And my name is Jadea." The old man answered. "But enough for right now. It's getting close to supper, and I trust you all are famished from having come such a long way. Let's see if I can make something…"
With that, Jadea began to walk over to the pouches of seeds and grain. The trio looked mildly puzzled, turning to each other. How did the old man know so much? Bahamut was the most curious and upfront about it, and so turned to the old man after a moment or so. "Uh…Jadea?" He asked him. "How…how did you know we were coming?"
Jadea smiled and chuckled a bit, but kept walking to the pouches. "I know many things, Bahamut. Some I gain by learning. Some I gain because the Planet tells me them. You see…Bahamut…I was once like you. I struggled for answers to the way the world was." He was at the pouches now, and began to reach into one of them. "But like you…I did not even know where to look. I knew about as much of the world as myself. Nothing. And right now…as much as you think you know, Bahamut…you have only begun the journey for knowledge…"
Jadea pulled out something a bit later. It looked like a white crystal packed around some sort of creature. However, Jadea looked to Bahamut, and his stare soon removed all attention that the esper might have toward the animal.
"And before the end…you may very well regret ever knowing what you have learned."
Jadea made some sort of food out of water, herbs, meat, and combining all three in a big stone pot. After that, he poured out some into wooden bowls for all four of them, larger ones for Bahamut and Wyvern. The two espers enjoyed their food rather well, Wyvern to the point of licking his bowl with his long serpent tongue. Bahamut had never tasted anything like it before, and it felt warm like flesh yet tasty like the nectar, yet didn't taste the same in every way. He enjoyed it, no matter what it was. It made his wounds feel better and eased his tension. However, it did little to sate his hunger for knowledge of what was going on, and how exactly Jadea knew everything he did.
While they ate, Jadea barely touched his own food, instead tending to the injuries of both Bahamut and Wyvern. He applied some mixture of moss and herbs to either of their wounds, and it felt good and soothing to the touch for both of them. Time rolled slowly by, and no one said much of anything to each other. Jadea, typically, took the longest to eat his own portion, and the night grew later outside as he went on. Palad gradually grew to be more at ease, and a bit later began to yawn. Bahamut forgot how much he had been through in one day, and that he normally went to bed much earlier than this. The esper himself was rather tired.
When Palad reached a state of half-sleep, Jadea came over to him, took off his cape and axe, and then led him to one of the beds. The moment he was laid down and covered up, he dropped right off and began to snore softly. Jadea seemed to have a melancholy look when he stared at him, and sighed after a moment. Then, he slowly turned and went back to where he had sat before, and did so again. Still, he turned and looked to Palad.
"Bless his heart." The old man spoke aloud. "He has darker days ahead of him…much darker. Him and his entire race."
Bahamut blinked at this. "Excuse me?"
However, Jadea merely bowed his head and sighed again. Silence reigned afterward once more, as the old man shut his eyes and began to contemplate. He slowly turned his head over to Bahamut and Wyvern, but would not look up to them yet. Time ticked slowly by, and both espers sat in wait for some news of what all of this was or how Jadea knew everything that he knew. Yet after a few minutes of silence, Jadea finally rose his head, and stared at Bahamut and Wyvern both.
"…Do you want to know how I knew you were coming?"
Bahamut and Wyvern sat still after that. The edge on Jadea's voice showed that he was getting serious, and both of them realized it. However, they didn't respond to him at once, not knowing what to say. After a moment or so of hesitation longer, however, Jadea nodded, and then spoke again to them.
"You may think many things about me, you two…espers…" He spoke, once again amazing the both of them that he knew their true title. "But I am not human, as you may think. I am a species that is…physically weaker… I am a Cetra. Years ago, we lived on the Southern Continent. But when the coming of the Sorceaceatre occurred, we fled and were scattered throughout the world. Oh, I am certain we will gather together again one day. But not for now.
"Now you may ask yourselves…what is a Cetra? Well…quite honestly, I am one of the caretakers of the Planet. I talk to it. Rather, I can communicate with the living things of the world as their channel themselves through it eternally. Their lives move through the world like a river…or a stream of blood. The blood of the Planet, that is…the Lifestream. Yes…we Cetra are the caretakers of the Planet…" Jadea trailed off here and hesitated, but then resumed again with one powerful phrase.
"…but the espers are the children of the Planet."
Both espers reacted to this with surprise.
"You may call yourselves brothers and sisters," Jadea continued. "But who was your mother? She was the Planet herself personified. The Planet is not merely a series of landforms, water, and mountains. It is a living thing itself, just like you and me. And just as each living thing supports other creatures, so it supports us."
Bahamut was amazed. "You…you know this?"
Jadea nodded. "Yes. And in time…you will as well. The Cetra, whether they wish to or not, can talk to the Planet from the time of their birth. But in time, you will be able to talk to your mother as well. When you do, you will know the full details of your lives…how to reproduce…how to utilize your true powers…"
"Weird…" Wyvern murmured.
Bahamut, however, was still intrigued. "You know all this. You also said you were waiting for us your whole life. Why?"
Jadea hesitated a moment, drawing himself up, but then answered. "Because, Bahamut…like I said before…you know little. In time…the truth will come to you. When it does, you can decide what you want to believe and what you wish to follow. However…I was waiting for you because I wanted to tell you the truth earlier. The choice, in the end, must be yours." Jadea paused a moment, and exhaled. "…Do you want to know…the truth about this world? About the humans? About…Griever?"
Wyvern snorted. "Of course. That's why we came here."
Bahamut likewise nodded eagerly.
"Do not be so earnest." Jadea sternly answered, surprising both espers. "Knowledge is a great gift, and a great power. And as with any great power, it must be wielded with greater responsibility. And to the one who has more…more will be demanded. The truth may cost you more than you care to lose…perhaps everything that you know and take for granted." Jadea hesitated for a moment here, but then softened. "Do you still want to know?"
Wyvern hesitated, but only a fraction of a second. "My answer stands, old man."
Bahamut himself held back a bit longer. Perhaps…had he known the price he would have to pay…had he known where he would be years from then…had he known all of what saying yes would have entailed…he would have turned and left right there. There were times in his life afterward he would have destroyed that old man and let the truth lay buried forever, so upset was he at his life. But then…he was young…naïve…and couldn't deny his thirst for the truth. He nodded again. "I have to know."
Jadea paused for a moment, and softly nodded. A slight smile formed, as if he was strangely relieved. "As you wish…" He slowly answered. His gaze burned. His demeanor became cold and serious. His eyes pierced both espers. Then, at last, he spoke.
"Palad…" He began, gesturing to the boy. "His family…his friends…his village…and all humans on this Planet… They have all been deceived. They think they are doing good and living right…when in reality they have all been made the suffering slaves of a monster named Griever."
Bahamut raised his eyebrows, as did Wyvern. "Griever? That statue?"
"That statue is nothing more than a device of the true monster's." Jadea calmly answered. "He made it and placed it in every human community in the world years before this generation was born. Each one has a crystal fragment inside it, a part of the larger Crystal…a substance that focuses the very power of the Planet itself. Through it, he sees, speaks, and strikes out at anyone he wishes through the statues. He destroyed all other humans other than the ones that were in the crystal's way, then destroyed all except the infants. He rose them up under his commands, reducing them to their miserable status where they live as the least of creatures.
"Griever is a hideousbeast of awesome power. His heart beats so great an evil that anyone can feel it throughout this world. Griever once held good in his heart, but it has been corrupted again and again throughout history, and he has turned to greed, malice, and above all a lust for power. He enjoys having the humans as worms. He is even beginning to feel amused when they are freezing, starving, or dying. When Griever took over the power of the Crystal, he had little trouble dominating this world." Jadea hesitated a moment after that, and sighed slowly. "He was also able to evoke…the Four Fiends."
Wyvern interjected. "Four Fiends?"
"The Four Fiends of the Elements…creatures that fully allowed their hearts to be corrupted to evil, and personify the dark side of the four elements: earth, fire, water, and wind. They carry out his disasters on the world, and derive joy from their power and the suffering they cause. You have met one already…Lich, the Earth Fiend. He is the one who gave you those injuries."
Bahamut blinked in amazement. "But why attack us?"
"Until you came, there were no espers in this world. You may not know it, but the last time you were here, two years ago, Griever felt your presence. He feared…well, perhaps feared is too strong a word…he felt concerned about your presence. He believed you would corrupt other humans. You came from a world that wasn't his. You knew that there was nothing wrong with wearing clothes, making tools, or making fires. Griever forbid those on purpose. By keeping the humans in an eternally painful existence, he will always leave them dependant on him. He also felt your power. You two would not succumb to the same basic forces of a wasteland like the humans would. He wanted you dead, for this reason."
Both espers reacted with shocked looks.
"He sent Lich out to kill you three, to keep you from ever causing an uprising. Griever's pride has grown so strong that, even though he could easily destroy the entire human race if they rose against him, he chooses rather to let them live and shower worship on him forever."
Bahamut was overwhelmed. "That's…that's horrible!"
Wyvern snarled. "The dirty sleazeball… I'd give him a piece of my mind…"
"No, you wouldn't." Jadea calmly answered. "Griever is infinitely stronger than the both of you combined. The sole reason he isn't dealing with you personally is because he considers you both a waste of his time."
Wyvern scowled. "Bring him over here and I'll show him who's a waste of time…"
Bahamut, however, was more concerned with the real problem. "Jadea, we've got to stop him! We have to tell the humans they're being lied too!"
"And if you did?" Jadea calmly answered. "Griever would say that you two were demons, and soon the rest of humanity would be after you as well as Lich. Either that…or Griever would simply annihilate any humans you spoke to. And humanity is too ill equipped to go off on their own. Even if they were all liberated today, they'd be dead at winter. None of them know how to do even basic survival skills. For example…do either of you even know how to make a fire?"
Both Bahamut and Wyvern froze at that, and then both of them bowed their heads miserably.
Jadea nodded. "I thought so." After saying that, he reached into his garment, and a moment later pulled out two stones. One was white and sharp, and the other seemed to be a mere stone. He held both before them. "Mark well these two stones. One is a mere stone, but this white sharp one is called flint. You can find it whenever you look in any dry creak bed in this world. Strike it against the right type of stone just right…" Here, he struck the two together. A few sparks came off, startling both espers. "…And out will come sparks. If you put any type of dry material underneath the sparks, that is light, like grass or leaves, it will catch aflame. Then just keep feeding it progressively bigger dry material and it will eventually grow into a large fire."
Wyvern sighed. "Thanks for the lesson…how does it help us against Lich or Griever?"
Jadea slowly sighed, and shook his head. "There is no hope for this world in humans. You, the espers, are the only hope for it now. And there is only one thing that will save the humans. You must recover the Crystal. Without it, Griever will no longer be able to reach out to the world as he does now."
Bahamut still looked confused. "But if we're so weak, Jadea, how are we going to be able to get it?"
Hearing this part, Jadea at last smiled. He leaned in closer and looked warmly to either of them. "True…you may be weak now. However…you are espers. You are the children of the Planet. As such, each one of you commands great power and knowledge. Power that far outclasses any other form on this planet, perhaps even the Four Fiends themselves."
"Then how come we aren't that strong now?" Wyvern asked.
"You have not yet realized your potential." Jadea replied. "You have not realized even the truth about yourselves or the Planet on your own yet. But that can change. It will take a lot of hard work and effort on your parts. Until now, you have lived a mostly carefree existence. To unleash your true powers, you will have to concentrate more effectively in enlarging you mental fortitude as well as physical. Bahamut…" The blue esper looked up at this. "You already have taken the first steps in that direction through your mental training. I can sense you're beginning to gain rudimentary mental skills."
Bahamut smiled a bit at this. Wyvern rolled his eyes and groaned. "Show off…"
"As your powers expand, you will begin to realize more of your latent abilities and potential." Jadea went on. "If you reach your full potential, enhancing yourself in all areas as far as possible, you will reach the point of Omniapex, and will reach your most powerful state possible. You'll command a level of strength never even heard of before or witnessed."
Wyvern grinned a bit at this. "Sounds better and better all the time."
However, Bahamut sighed a bit. "Jadea…I've been trying to build myself up mentally for years now. But I haven't gotten much stronger at all for it. It could take centuries to be strong enough to make any difference, even against that monster we ran into on the way here."
Jadea hesitated after hearing that, but then smiled. It was very enigmatic, as if he was hiding something. After a moment of hesitation, he suddenly arose from where he sat, getting both espers' attention. The old man then began to slowly walk over to the wall. Once there, he took up one of the wooden bowls, and began to take various herbs and roots from the shelf, and put them in the bowl. "I might be able to help you in that area…" He slowly mused.
Bahamut blinked in puzzlement. "Really? How?"
"While you will have to find most of the power within yourselves…" Jadea continued, still gathering things off the wall. "I can assist you in taking the next step. I am proposing to make a highly potent incense. If you breathe it, you will be lulled into a trance for three hours. During that time, I can speak to you hypnotically to enable you to delve deeper into your minds and bodies and bring out some of your hidden strength." He finished taking the last plant off the wall, and took up one of his grinding stones. He immediately started to mash up all of the plants that he had taken.
"Really?" Wyvern asked in amazement.
"Will it hurt?" Bahamut inquired.
"Not a bit." Jadea replied, heading over to the fire while crushing the plants together. "You'll be radically stronger after I'm done. You might even have released one of your weaker abilities."
Wyvern chuckled. "Well then, what are we waiting for!"
"I'll do it." Bahamut readily answered with a nod.
"Good." Jadea answered as he reached the fire. He ground up the plants a bit more, and then finally set the stone aside. "Both of you just lie down your heads and relax. This won't affect me, as I'm already at the peak of my limited strength and I'm used to it. But it will put both of you out pretty quickly. So you want to start off down. Both ready?"
Bahamut readily lowered his head. "Ready!"
"Ready!" Wyvern chimed in as he rested his head on the ground.
"Ok. Here it goes."
Jadea poured the plant contents onto the fire. There was a bit of a crackling and puffing, and almost immediately a thick green smoke began to arise from the flames. But rather go out where the rest of the smoke was, it began to fill the room rather quickly. Within instants, it had filled Jadea's part of the room, where he set down his bowl and then began to move over to a stone. He sat down on it, and right in front of both espers. The green mist continued to fill the room, and soon was washing over both Wyvern and Bahamut's heads. The esper stared on through it, looking right to Jadea.
"Now…" The Cetra began. "Both of you relax, and take deep breaths…"
Bahamut did as he was told and gulped in a huge whiff of the green smoke. It was heavy and fragrant, and he nearly sneezed at once. He forced himself to breathe in another large whiff. This one, which he was more accustomed too, felt better. He took in a third breath, as the green mist filled the entire room, giving all a hazy green color. After this, the world seemed to be a bit foggy…like it was dimming. But Bahamut did as told, and continued to breathe in. The next breath left the world more dim and foggy, swirling into the green mist. The Cetra said something, but it was distant now, and Bahamut couldn't make it out. He took in another deep breath, and the whole world swirled into a black oblivion. His mind vanished into the green mist, and Bahamut began to relax in that dreamlike blackness…
"Wake up! Wake up you two! It's been five hours!"
Bahamut snorted, sneezing a bit of the green powder out of his nose. All at once, the world began to reform in light again. Only now, all of the mist had vanished, and the place looked perfectly normal. Bahamut raised his head and looked left and right. What was that? He had just begun to go to sleep under the incense…and it was already over? Bahamut looked to the old man, who frowned at him with his arms crossed.
"About time."
Bahamut blinked. "Huh? That's it? I just started dozing off."
"You 'dozed off' five hours ago." Jadea answered. "I gave you both the command to wake up two hours ago. Yet you kept on sleeping."
"Man, you two must have been really tired."
Bahamut turned his head to the sound of the voice. Palad was up and alert now, looking like he had been so for a while at this point. Bahamut blinked, hardly able to believe his eyes. He had been snoring away a moment ago, but was now awake. Had that really been it? How else could Jadea have cleared everything out so quickly?
Wyvern yawned, and opened his own eyes. "Man, when's the old fossil going to get started…" He grumbled as he leaned up.
"He says he's already done." Bahamut answered.
"Done…" Wyvern muttered, still half asleep. But in an instant, he was awake again. "Done?" He exclaimed. Immediately, he shot his head up. "All of that trouble and he's done alrea-"
Before Wyvern could say another word, his head connected with the ceiling. But rather than bang off of it in pain, like Bahamut expected, his head smashed right into it. The whole cave shuttered as rocks rained down from the ceiling. Wyvern's head went in fully halfway into it, and he didn't look the slightest bit in pain for doing so. The esper immediately stopped talking, and froze in surprise as his head rested in the ceiling.
"Uh…"
"Wow!" Palad called in amazement.
Bahamut blinked himself, and looked to his own body. Slowly, he formed one of his claws into a fist. He hesitated a moment after doing so, but then smashed it down on the ground. Instantly, the rock floor shattered beneath his power, and his fist sank into it. Bahamut gaped.
"Incredible!"
"I feel amazing!" Wyvern joyfully exclaimed. "And…and there's something else!" He added, with some hesitation. "Something in my mind…something inside me…something called…Pyrin…" With that, Wyvern opened his mouth, closed his eyes, and began to concentrate deep inside him. The others all looked to him, and began to see a small light beginning to glow within his throat.
"Stop!" Jadea shrieked. "Do your practicing outside! You'll ruin my home!"
"Oops…" Wyvern muttered, shutting his mouth right away.
"I feel it too." Bahamut readily acquiesed. "I feel stronger than I ever have in my life. I feel like everything I was doing until now I was always too weak when I did it…like I was a baby, and now I've finally become a man."
"Let's go cream that Griever right now!" Wyvern announced proudly.
"Don't be so cocky." Jadea sternly replied. "True, your power has increased tremendously, and you apparantly did gain one of your latent abilities after all. But that is still not enough. If you went to fight Griever right now, he'd be over ten times as strong as both of you together."
Bahamut and Wyvern both turned to Jadea in shock at that. "Ten times!" Bahamut exclaimed.
"Whoa…that can't be possible!" Wyvern answered. "I've never felt this strong before in my life, I feel I could take on my entire family without breaking a sweat!"
"Believe it, Wyvern…because it is true." Jadea calmly answered. "Moreover, Griever has never even exercised his full power before in my experience. He's had no need to. Ten times is just a base level. He could easily ascend to twenty…fifty…perhaps even over a hundred times stronger than both of you. As you can see, it would be useless to try to fight him even as you are. This is only a starting point. Now that you've begun to tap into your true abilities, you can expand on them. But moreover, if there are any more of you, you can tell them to begin to develop their powers as well. Yet mark my words. Even if you reach the point where you achieve your Omniapex…that still might not be enough. You have to get the Crystal. And you must hurry. If Griever sees that you are on the human's side, he'll either destroy you or the human race rather than let his domination be broken."
Palad gasped at that, looking in fear and horror. Bahamut hesitated a moment, but then asked. "Is that true? Could he actually do that?"
Jadea sighed. "Griever's power is so strong that he could destroy this entire planet."
"Eh…" Wyvern gulped.
Bahamut himself held on for a while. Now, he was beginning to understand what Jadea had said. This was important information after all, and with it came a great responsibility. He had just basically rested the fate of the entire dark world on their shoulders, and the welfare of all the humans for generations to come. However…the blue esper thought of all the needless suffering and hardship that Palad had to endure. Him and his family. His brother…having been so mercilessly burned alive by Griever… His village…forced to live like dogs…always being cold and hungry… Someone had to stop it. And right now, Jadea had pretty much set down that they were the only ones that could. Bahamut didn't feel afraid. Rather, he felt as if he had received his true destiny now. For the first time in his life, he saw no need for questions. He felt as if he had received the truth at long last. He felt…that his purpose…his purpose in the dark world…had at last been stated.
"If there is any way to get that Crystal back," Bahamut finally spoke. "I will."
Wyvern hesitated a moment, but noticed the firmness and fortitude of Bahamut's voice. At last, he grinned. "Then you can count me in."
Palad, worried until now, looked up to the two espers. They were the strongest people he knew, and they had treated him as his friend tenderly. He had hope because of them, the ones who came from the world without Griever. And now…now that he finally knew the truth…he was confident that they could save not only him, but the rest of the world too. He beamed at them. "Thanks guys…"
Wyvern grinned in reply. "No sweat, Palad. Griever's gonna be begging me for mercy before I'm finished. I'll take his little rules, and shove them up his-"
Suddenly, Bahamut gasped. "Rules!" He exclaimed. "Crusader! Wyvern, Crusader's going to be back sometime after dawn! We have to get back!"
"In that case, you better get moving right away." Jadea replied. "You two wait outside. I have something to give your small friend before you depart."
Bahamut and Wyvern both readily nodded. After that, they began the slow and painstaking movement to exit the cave. Bahamut had a hard time not hitting anything, especially knowing his newfound strength would be a major deterrent. Wyvern was more reckless, and smashed up a few of the tools of Jadea, as well as crushed a pouch full of meat, on the way out. Jadea groaned a bit and grasped his temples, but the two espers managed to get out at last, even when both of them nearly got stuck trying to go out of the tunnel at the same time. Soon, they were back in the darkness, with dawn still a ways off.
Once out, Wyvern let out a powerful cry. "Ha-ha! I feel amazing! Next time that hulk shows his ugly face, I'll smashit in!"
"Quiet down!" Bahamut called out in a sharp whisper. "I don't want him, or any of the other fiend things, showing up!"
"What's to worry, Big B?" Wyvern answered with a shrug. "We're strong as mountains! And who cares about Griever? We can beat up on his cronies good enough."
"We don't know that." Bahamut answered flatly. "And I'm not eager to find out soon."
After a bit longer outside, the cave hides swept away to one side, and Palad walked back out again. He had a new belt on, with a few pouches tied to it. Also, it seemed that Jadea had given him a small bit of armor like Odin's, only made of bone rather than of stone or hide. He appeared to have a bit of difficulty in walking in it, but he managed to move ahead none the less toward the two espers. Once he neared them, all three looked back to Jadea, who waved to him from the entrance.
"Farewell, espers." He called out. "Until we meet again. Good luck in your endeavors. And remember, discretion is the better part of-"
Jadea was suddenly cut off. The entire cave he was in began to shake violently, as did the ground underneath it. The espers quickly put their feet out and looked around in confusion. Palad likewise formed a fearful look, and wielded his axe in front of him. Jadea, shook too much to stand up, grabbed for the side of the cave wall. As he did, Bahamut looked up to the rocky hills around them. They began to fragment and break apart, and large cracks and fissures started to appear in them…that were drawing closer and closer toward the cave where Jadea was.
At once, Bahamut realized the worst.
"Run, Jadea! He's coming! He's here!"
Jadea looked up to the esper…the last thing he ever did. Suddenly, a massive claw ripped through his chest, exploding out bone and blood from it. Jadea stared on for a moment longer, but then his eyes fell, and his body went limp. The shaking stopped, but the cave that the espers looked to began to collapse in on itself. As it did, they heard a hideous laughing from the inside, insidious and evil. Bahamut stared on in shock as he sensed the overwhelming evil emerge. Wyvern likewise gaped, for the first time able to sense the evil and power of the creature as well due to his mental training. As the cave collapsed, a massive fist bashed rocks out of the way, all while Jadea was held lifelessly on the single claw. Palad's eyes filled with tears of horror, and he turned away in terror. But that couldn't stop the hideous monster from emerging from the cave…and couldn't stop him from gazing with his horrible red eyes at all three of them, while still holding Jadea like a trophy.
"Well…look at the meal we have here…" Lich hissed. "And I'll be doing Griever a favor, getting rid of four birds with one stone instead of just three…"
To be continued...