Chapter 2: The Path to the Promised Land
Sapphire and I made our way to Heaven's Gate, only stopping to eat and to rest our wings. When night fell, we took turns sleeping, keeping watch for demons, for we had already encountered a few on our journey. Fortunately, the powers of Lihtan and Melodia allowed us to eliminate those demons quite easily.
Our path toward Riviera was filled with historical significance. I saw many statues; some broken from the battles of Ragnarok, others eroded over time. We came to a small building, resembling a small temple. It was the legendary Angels' Memorial. So many tales had been told of this very place. Many angels and demons died on the very ground we walked on. We were forced to walk due to the low ceiling. As Sapphire and I walked through the Angels' Memorial, I had images in my mind of the great battles between the angels and the demons during Ragnarok. I closed my eyes, overwhelmed by what had come to my mind. I felt a tug on my cloak, so I opened my eyes and looked at Sapphire. She seemed to be curious as to why I had closed my eyes in concentration. I explained to her the images that I had "seen" of the legions of demons against the few angels that guarded the path to Asgard. Sapphire stopped, looked around, and appeared to be reflecting on the stories that we had been told. I gave her a moment out of respect for the deceased, then said, "Come on, Sapphire, it's not much further to Riviera."
We left Angels' Memorial and came upon an open area with rocks being suspended by large chains. I looked up in order to see how long the chains were and what they were attached to, but was unable to see where the chains began. Sapphire tugged on my cloak once more. I looked at her as she pointed up and spread her wings. "I don't think so, we won't have long before we have to walk again," I said, after I had been looking at the path before us. "Liberare, you are doing well! I might not have to communicate like this for much longer." Sapphire's thoughts were once more relayed to me through telepathy. I thought about what she had "told" me for a moment and replied, "Thanks Sapphire. The gods must still exist somehow, because I know I can't do that of my own power." Sapphire smiled and started walking toward the chained rocks.
Hopping from rock to rock was easy enough, since our wings gave us that extra boost we needed. That is, until a demon appeared: a wyvern. I readied Lihtan as my anger started to grow from my vengeance against demons. Sapphire readied Melodia as the wyvern struck first. The wyvern swung its tail, knocking the both of us backward a short distance. Seeing the demon inflict damage on Sapphire, my anger quickly gave way to my rage. "That's it! Time to end this!" I flew directly at the wyvern and prepared my attack. After a series of slashes and stabs, I held Lihtan straight before me and launched my final attack. "Thunder Stream!" As I said those words, my silver pendant began to glow. I felt energy racing from my pendant, through my body, and into Lihtan. I pulled my arm back and thrust Lihtan into the demon, releasing a bolt of lightning upon contact. Upon receiving this last blow, the wyvern faded away.
I fell to my knees, having expelled a great amount of energy while fighting the wyvern. Sapphire came and knelt beside me, looking me over to make sure I wasn't hurt. "Don't worry Sapphire, I'll be fine. I just need to rest for a while." That was merely the second time I used Thunder Stream, my execution level skill, acquired through the continual use of Lihtan. The first time I used that attack, I nearly blacked out. I looked down at my pendant, wondering how electricity was generated from within it. I guess it was the will of the gods that I found this pendant. After that thought left my mind, I looked toward our destination. Noticing the great distance between us and the temple that housed the gate to Riviera, I got up and tried to walk. I stumbled a little, causing Sapphire to jump up and grab hold of my arm, to help me steady myself. I took a couple of steps, slowly at first, until I was able to walk adequately. I knew it would take a while to regain my strength, but I was unaware of how long it would be. The path ahead seemed more and more daunting with every step.
As we continued walking, Sapphire kept a tight hold on my arm, to ensure that I wouldn't loose my balance again. We came upon rocks that were chained together, suspended in the air. There was a sizable distance between each of the large rocks. "Sapphire, I'm fine now, I can make it over the rocks. " I looked down at Sapphire and saw a curious yet joyful look on her face. "I guessed right, didn't I?" She smiled and nodded, confirming my question. Looking ahead, I said, "Well, it's now or never. Let's go." In order to test myself, I flew straight up in the air. After a short rise, I fell back to the ground. I only have enough strength to fly for a short distance. Looks like all I can do is hop from rock to rock. I took a deep breath and jumped, flapping my wings once at the top of my jump. I got right to the edge of the rock when my wings gave out. Sapphire flew to me and looked at me questioningly. "I'm okay Sapphire; I'll just be like this a little while longer." She seemed skeptical at first, but eventually had a look of peace, having faith that I was right.
We had just made it past the chained rocks when two demons appeared, a dwarf and an ape. I had recovered quite well, but not enough to do well in battle. I prepared to defend myself with Lihtan, and Sapphire once again readied Melodia to attack. The dwarf moved quickly and attacked first. He rose up his mallet and brought it back down again, trying to hit me. I held Lihtan up to block the attack and was successful. However, the force of the impact, combined with my weakness, knocked me to the ground. Sapphire held Melodia in front of her and flew toward the demons and spun 360 degrees, slashing both the dwarf and the ape. The dwarf disappeared from the power of Sapphire's attack. The ape still remained, but badly damaged. Seeing my chance, I summoned my strength, and dashed at the ape, thrusting Lihtan into it. The ape dropped a small bottle before dissipating, just as the dwarf had. I picked up the bottle and started into it. "Liberare, what is it?" Sapphire's thoughts echoed within my mind, as I had been observing the bottle without saying anything. "I think it's a potion." I raised the bottle to my mouth and took a drink. Sapphire ran to my side, making sure I was okay. I looked at her, and exclaimed, "I feel great! I've got my strength back!" Sapphire first breathed a sigh of relief, then she smiled and clapped, glad that I had regained my strength.
This is perfect! Now we can practice without worry! Not too much, though, we've only got a few swigs left in this bottle. Sapphire looked at me curiously, knowing that I was up to something. I turned to her and said, "I know I haven't given you much of a chance to use Melodia. I blame that on my feeling obligated to protect you." Sapphire got a slight smile on her face, as if she was telling me to continue. "I think we should take time to train, to try and unlock your Execution Level attack with Melodia, as I have with Lihtan." Sapphire looked slightly fearful and shook her head. "Don't worry, Sapphire. Even if we hurt each other, we've got this potion. There's enough left to use it three or four more times. If we each use it after we practice, there'll be enough left to recover after another demon encounter."
Hesitantly, Sapphire raised Melodia, ready to train. Sapphire swung her diviner at me, and I blocked with Lihtan. "Come on, Sapphire. You can hit harder than that." She looked at me, unsure of what she was doing. "I know you don't want to hurt me, Sapphire. I'll be fine, I promise." She thought for a moment, and raised Melodia once more. She swung her scythe again, but this time I blocked, then countered by tapping her on the shoulder with the flat side of my blade. Sapphire jumped back; surprised by my counterattack. "That's a little better, but try to hit me, not my diviner, okay?" She readied her attack again, and attacked in the same manner she had the other two times. I countered again, hitting her a little harder, but on the other arm this time. Sapphire backed up and rubbed her arm in the place I had just hit her. "I know it hurts, Sapphire. We're training; it's going to hurt. If you don't hit me next time, I might cut you." I said this, trying to motivate her, but I think I scared her, because she got a look of horror on her face. "I won't hurt you badly, you'll see. Now, hit me!" Sapphire was fighting back tears as she got ready to attack again. This time, she lifted Melodia into the air and brought it straight down at me. I held up Lihtan to block, but the scythe sliced into my arm. Once Melodia left my arm, I lightly slashed Sapphire's thigh with Lihtan.
I didn't cut her very deeply, but the swiftness of the attack surprised her, causing her to wince. "Good Sapphire, but I know you can do better. Come on; attack me as if I was a demon!" Sapphire swung Melodia horizontally, and I jumped back to dodge the slash. I then slashed my rapier at a downward angle, and Sapphire blocked, causing her to slide back a couple of inches. Feeling the force of my attack, Sapphire started to cry because she was afraid that I meant to hurt her. While she cried, I noticed that she became stronger when she was upset or sad, harnessing the power of her emotions. I tried to use this against her, so to speak. "Sapphire, stop crying! Attack me now!" She gripped Melodia tightly and gritted her teeth in anger, tears falling down her face. I heard what sounded like faint singing coming from Melodia. I braced myself for the attack, not sure whether or not I could be prepared for what was about to happen. In any event, I knew that Sapphire had activated her Execution Level skill with Melodia.
Sapphire, very quickly and gracefully, began to swing her scythe at me. She slashed left to right to left again a total of four times. Fortunately, I was able to block them. After those four initial attacks, however, she leapt backwards, spread her wings, and flew directly at me. Not knowing what was about to happen, I held Lihtan in front of me, to block what I thought would be a direct hit. When Sapphire got close to me, she held Melodia out and spun around, slicing me once in each arm, but was prevented from hitting me in the chest by my guard. Sapphire then raised her diviner straight up in the air, and brought it down with enough force to split a large boulder. Luckily, it only caught my right leg as I jumped out of the way. I looked down and saw the blood flowing from my arms and my leg. I heard the singing from Melodia's blade grow louder, and I looked up and saw that Melodia was glowing. When Sapphire's diviner had stored enough power, it started to shine. At that moment, she swung Melodia horizontally, causing a wave of fire to be emitted from its blade. I felt the scorching heat of the flames as they hit me, but the pain didn't end there. When the wave of fire dissipated, I heard a high-pitched sound give way to a large, deafening boom. The force of the sound waves knocked me to the ground, and I just lay there, unable to move from the pain.
When the singing from Melodia's blade stopped, Sapphire fell to the ground from the force of her own attack. When she caught a glimpse of me lying on the ground, she got up and ran to my side. I looked up and said, "Good job…ungh…you unlocked your…Execution skill." I closed my eyes for a few seconds, opened them again, and reached for the potion. I felt the ground around me and couldn't find it. I looked up at Sapphire and saw that she was holding the potion. I breathed a sigh of relief as she handed the potion to me. I took a drink, slowly sat up, and waited for my strength to return. Almost instantly, I felt my wounds close and my strength came back to me. I held the potion up to Sapphire, but she held her hand up and shook her head. Apparently, she had already taken a drink. Sapphire then dropped to her knees, fell on me and cried, after seeing how badly she had hurt me. I put my arm around her and ran my fingers through her hair to calm her down. "Don't worry, Sapphire. I expected something big, just not that powerful. I'm okay, though, I promise."
Eventually, she stopped crying, but kept leaning against me. I looked at the sky and thought aloud. "It looks like, if we leave now, we could make it to Riviera by nightfall." Sapphire looked up at me with half-open eyes, completely exhausted from our training. "You want to call it a day and rest here for the night, don't you?" Sapphire nodded, and then looked around for a place to sleep. "You can sleep right here if you want to, I don't mind." She looked back at me, smiled, and lay down. Within minutes, she was asleep. I stared at the sky as the sun was setting, taken aback by the beauty of it all. The sun was now orange, half of it cut off at the horizon. Wonderful shades of yellow, orange, and red faded into shades of purple and blue, creating a very picturesque setting. I wanted to wake Sapphire so she could see this beautiful landscape, but I let her sleep because of how tired she had become from our training.
When the sun had set, and there was just enough light to see, I started to get tired as well. Looking around, I found a cluster of bushes that looked like it could keep us from the sight of any demons that might come about. I got up, walked over and examined the bushes. Just as I thought: it has just the right size and amount of coverage. I walked back to Sapphire and shook her gently to wake her up. She slowly opened her eyes and looked up at me. "There are some bushes over there that would make a good hiding place. Let's sleep over there, okay?" She nodded, and closed her eyes again. "You want me to carry you, huh?" No answer. "You owe me one for this, Sapphire." I knelt down, tucked one arm under her back, beneath her wings, then slid my other arm under her knees. I lifted Sapphire off the ground and began to stumble. I quickly gained my balance and carried her to the bushes. I stopped, and tried to think of a way to set Sapphire down without waking her up. I slowly got down on one knee, brought the other knee down, and gently bent over, lowering my arms to the ground. When Sapphire reached the ground, she rolled over, off of my arms. Awesome! I didn't wake her up! It was then that I realized how tired I was. I stretched my arms out, yawned, and laid down, facing opposite of Sapphire. I closed my eyes, and after a few moments, I was fast asleep.
When I woke up the next morning, I discovered that I was facing Sapphire, who must have turned in her sleep to face me. It must've been cold, because she was snuggled up against me, her wings pulled close to her body. I had put my arm around her, and covered her with my wings. I stayed that way for a little while longer, then thought, Oh no, what if she wakes up and sees we're like this? So I pulled back my wing, took my arm off her, and slowly sat up, not wanting to disturb her. I sat there for a while, just admiring her beauty as she slept. When Sapphire began to stir, I stood up and walked out of the bushes, in order to avoid any awkwardness that might have arisen. I took some time to think about what had just happened. What's going on with me? What am I feeling right now? What am I doing? I stopped, looked up at the sky, and said to myself, "But she's my best friend." As I was gazing at the clouds that dotted the light blue sky, I heard leaves rustle. Sapphire emerged from the bushes, rubbed her eyes, and smiled at me. "Well, are you ready to go?" she nodded and we resumed our hike to the Promised Land.
Large, stone stairs lay before us, the top of which was the entrance to the temple housing the gate to Riviera. We climbed the stairs and came upon a large cavern. Sunlight was shining through holes in the ceiling. We continued through the cavern and down another flight of stairs. Two large doorways stood to our left, but there was nothing on the other side. Sapphire tugged on my sleeve and gave me an inquisitive look. "I don't know, Sapphire, but the gate we want is up ahead." She nodded, and we started walking again. Coming upon a large set of stairs, we stopped once more. I looked at Sapphire and said, "I can feel it. The gate to Riviera is up ahead. Are you ready?" Sapphire looked at the long stairs before us, looked back at me, and after thinking about it for a moment, she nodded. Thus, we began climbing the stairs that led to the Promised Land. The stairs appeared to continue forever, but looking up, we saw a large doorway in the wall to our left, still a small distance away. Before we reached the gate, however, a monstrous looking demon came out of nowhere, blocking our way to Riviera. The demon spoke with a thunderous voice, "I have been sent to guard the entrance to Riviera. My master has told me to destroy all who try to pass through this gate. Prepare to be annihilated!" I stared at the demon, taking in his frightening appearance. This fierce, phoenix-like bird with pitch-black wings was about five times my size.
Sapphire, fueled by her new found confidence after our training, attacked the demon with a powerful slash. The demon took the hit, then attacked us. He lifted his wing into the air and made a sweeping motion at us. This caused a wave of fire to be thrown in our direction. I flew up above it, but Sapphire held Melodia in front of her, defending herself. I watched, amazed, at the sight of the fire being absorbed by Melodia. I thought, No time for gawking now, we must beat this demon! I dove in and hit the demon with two horizontal slashes, then I shoved my rapier into him. However, this attack merely weakened him. He raised his wing again, but this time he was close enough to hit us. The demon moved too quickly for us to dodge, and we were both sent backwards a bit by his blow. I looked at Sapphire and said, "I think we can kill him if we attack him at the same time." Sapphire nodded and held Melodia close to her body. We both rose into the air slightly. As I held Lihtan in front of me, aimed at the demon, Sapphire flew up and over the demon, facing his back. My pendant and Lihtan both started to glow as I channeled electricity from the pendant into Lihtan. "Now!" I thrust Lihtan into the demon, releasing a bolt of lightning into him. Sapphire hit him as I did, I could tell by the heat that I felt from Melodia. The power of our combined attacks was enough to finish the demon off. He started to fade and said, "You may have beaten me, but you will not protect Riviera from us. We will turn it back into Utgard." With that, the demon disappeared.
The gate to Riviera lay right before us, now unprotected. There was a bright light shining through, from a sun different than ours in Asgard. I looked at Sapphire and asked, "So, are you ready?" She looked at me with a sarcastic look on her face. "What!" Her thoughts echoed in my mind, "If I've gone this far, don't you think I'd continue?" I replied, "I know, just thought I'd ask. Let's go." Sapphire nodded and gripped Melodia tightly, preparing for whatever might lie ahead. We spread our wings and took flight, passing through the gate into the Promised Land, Riviera.