Previously:

The last two chapters told the story of the downfall of the Covenant and the death of Mikau Kinoarashi, captain of the Covenant and Mikau's (Chapter 1,2,5) ancestor. Ansem, was sealed inside the Gemstone along with all of his soldiers ( hence the name, the spirits within). Now the story continues with Mikau and the aftermath of the earthquake.

The Spirits Within

Chapter 5- Hour of supremacy…

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The brief earthquake lasted about half a minute, but the damage had been significant. The large cafeteria room had been torn apart, tables lay upturned across the floor, not a single one of the hanging lamps remained at their original position, and the food trays were scattered across the floor. But that was the least of it, for not a second after the earthquake passed I started hearing the moans and cries of hurt people all around the room. I myself had a rather large cut across my right cheek caused by a falling roof-tile. I guess I was lucky I didn't get hit directly. I turned to check on my friends and my heart sank when I saw Sora lying on the floor, not moving at all…

"Sora! Sora! Wake up man!" Mike yelled, trying in vain to wake Sora.

"Oh my God…. Is he dead?" Kairi whispered.

"I don't think so..." I said, "He's got a pulse…"

With all the confusion going on, I guess nobody noticed that the new creepy girl was gone. All over the room I could hear desperate voices crying for an ambulance or other things… Like their parents… Suddenly I heard a voice, a tiny voice nobody seemed to notice. It was a little kid. I knew him, he was the principal's kid, so every now and then he came to school and walked around the corridors trying to put people in detention. Nobody liked him very much, even if he was like 8 or so…

The point is he was in trouble, his leg was trapped under some rubble and he couldn't get free, so I caught Mike's eye and nodded towards the kid. He got the message and got up to help me remove the rubble. After the kid was free, he thanked us with tears in his eyes and ran off to find his dad.

I left Kairi with Sora and, with Mike's help, went around the room helping people in need, at least until the ambulances arrived. Every now and then I looked at Kairi, and saw that she had a proud smile on her face when she looked at me. That made me fell a bit better…

Some hours later, at home….

"Mom, when is dad getting home?" My little sister, Maria, whinned.

"I don't know sweetie, you know he has a difficult job…" My mom replied.

See, my dad is a Gemknight, which are knights employed by the king to protect the Great Temple of Arkane, which housed the Gemstone, yes, the one from the legend he teacher spoke about. My dad is also elven, which makes me a half-elf, I guess. I think I am the only half-elf left in Arkane, since its not exactly tradition for elves and humans to mix, but then again, Arkane is a big kingdom. And if you were wondering, yeah I do have slightly pointy ears (embarassing…) and am unusually adept to using magic, but only of a single element, to keep things simple. Some of my friends are also magic users, but I always get their elements mixed up. Me, I use Fire, mostly.

Anyway, there had been a big commotion at the Great Temple at the same time of the earthquake and my father, bound by duty, went to check it out. By now the news of what had happened where all over the television: apparently, the Great Temple had been destroyed by the earthquake and the ruins where now burning with a strange fire that could not be put out. The weird thing was that the eatherquake had been to weak to damage the Temple, well and the fire too, I guess.

Then I remembered the dream. And I remembered the blonde girl, the girl with the evil eyes. I had to admit, except for the eyes, she was kinda good-lookin'. Don't ever tell Kairi I said that…

She had said something about supremacy, but supremacy of what? She stared at me with those evil, lifeless eyes… And the sword that I held, that was definetly my father's sword: the Sword of the Gemknight. Only they carried it and supposedly only they can wield it. But I held it in my hand and it was light as a feather, and it felt powerful, I felt powerful…

"Mikau? Are you ok?"

Suddenly I snapped form my daydream. It was my father.

"Oh. Hey dad. What's happening at the Temple?" I asked immediately.

"I'm not sure," he answered, "but we couldn't put out the fire, so the king sent us all home."

"And what about the Gemstone?" My mom, this time.

"No idea,it's supposed to be stored underground so it shouldn't be compromised, and the King wouldn't let anyone in, for fear that the building would collapse over our heads."

"Thank God for the King, then" My mom said, and then walked to the kitchen to prepare lunch.

But something told me that the Gemstone was not safe at all…

Later that night, I lay on my bed, wide awake. I knew from the moment I laid myself down it would be a sleepless night. Believe it or not, it was the dream that kept me awake, and I sensed that it was trying to tell me something. I rose form my bed and went to the window to open it. I looked towards th empty road that lay in front of my house. Empty. I saw a shadow to the left, but I dissmised as a stray dog. Well, at least until I saw the hair. Blonde hair, at shoulder length. There could be no mistake, it was the girl from my dream, headed for the Temple, or rather, what was left of it.

At once I knew what I had to do. Follow her to the Temple. I silently walked out of my room and to the secret room where my father stored his armor and weapons, he always kept it locked but tonight, as if destiny had deliberately did it to aid me, he had forgotten to lock it. I opened the door and turned the lights on. The room was small and square but in it lay my dad's Gemknight armor and his sword. I quickly took the sword and left the house.

I stole throught the road to the Temple, careful to stay away from any stray light. The sword wieghed me down slightly, but I still tried to keep it hidden. It wasn't a very long way to the temple, but I soon lost sight of blondie. After about 10 minutes of walking, the flaming ruins of the temple finally came into view, and sure enough, blondie was standing there, making no effort to remain hidden, or moving at all.

I knew then that she had noticed me ever since I came out of my house, so abandoning my hidding place, I walked up to the building and stood some distance from her. I drew my sword, and held it at my side, ready. Then I looked at blondie, and she looked at me, and said: "You are too late."

I stared… For a long time. Then I responded with the obvious question: "What?"

"You can't stop us. We are free now, after all this time… Ankemeth has set us free…"

"Ankemeth? You mean… Ansem?" I blurted out, remembering the legend of the betrayal of High Elder Ansem and the fall of the Covenant.

"Yes… Now that the power of the stone is broken, we are free to conquer this world… And it's people…" she turned to the building again and then simply walked away.

"Wait!" I yelled after her, "Where are you going?"

"To my master."

"You mean Ansem? Answer me!" but she didn't. She walked on and soon disappeared from sight. I knew then that I should've followed her, but I had this burning curiosity. I had to know if what she said was true. I had to find the Gemstone. I walked to the ruined entrance, which was now clear of fire, and entered the superstructure. The inside of the temple was immense.All around me, standing and fallen columns of the whitest stone lay. I walked up to the main Altar, which was cracked in half. Behind it, a hole had been blasted into the wall, revealing a staircase. I walked down the stairs and found myself in a small chamber. Windowless, and brilliantly white. In the center there was a pedestal, and beside it, in the floor, lay the Gemstone.

It was difficult to believe, that the Stone, the same stone that participated in the last battle of the Covenant seven hundred years ago, was laying on the floor in front of him, like an old rock that someone may have found in their yard. I bent to pick it up, but my arm froze about three milimeters away from the stone. I was about to touch the very same stone that my ancestor held in his hand when he died… Then, at the same time that my finger touched the stone, the room disappeared…

I was standing in whiteness, literally. There was no visible floor or walls, and everywhere I looked there was only whiteness.

"Where… Where am I?" I whispered. Then she spoke.

"You are inside the Stone, child." I turned. At first I could see no one, but then, slowly, a woman emerged from the mist.

She was a beautiful woman, with white hair that flowed down to her knees. She wore a white gown that melded with the background and gave the impression that she was nothing but a floting head and floating arms and legs. She was also very pale. But I was not scared. Something about her told me not to be afraid. That she was a friend.

"I am Agnes." She stated, without waiting to be asked, "I am the spirit of the Stone. I guard and suppress those that are sealed here. But alas, the leader proved to be strong."

"Leader? Of what?" I asked. She seemed willing to explain, so I would take advantage of it.

"Of the Dark Spirits, of course. Those who were sealed here seven centuries ago have at last surpassed my power. I suppressed their will and kept them here all this time, but even my power has limits."

"You… You called me here didn't you?"

"Yes, child. We have great need of your power. Now that they have broken out, the world is in danger, for their leader, Ankemeth, will stop at nothing in order to ravage this land."

I wondered why everyone called Ansem "Ankemeth".

"Ok so… You want me to fight them… Right?" I said.

"Yes."

"But why me?"

"The nature of your being, combined with your ancestry." She said, "Child, you are half-elven, the first half-elf to be born in your family. You are also of the Shiekra, powerful beings who created this prison. Those combined make you the perfect warrior against these beasts." She calmly replied. I would have to ask dad later if the part about being the only half-elf in the family was true. And who the hell where the Shriekers or whatever she said.

"Fine. I'll think about it. But either way, I cannot do this alone. I will need companions."

"Indeed you will. If you decide to proceed with this, I will lend you a part of my power, the power of the Gemstone. To you, and the companions that you chose."

"Fine." I said, just as calm. I had decided that oanic and fear would accomplish nothing.

"Then I will send you to your home. I expect an answer in the next two days."

"You got it."

Suddenly I blinked, and when I opened my eyes I was lying on my bed. Like if nothing had happened at all. I wondered then if I hadn't just woken from the strangest dream in my life, but the fact that I was still fully clothed, and the sword tied to my waist proved their point.

Tomorrow would be a difficult day…

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