Chapter 4
Part 1
From the Solar Tree not too far from the forest near the entrance of Istrakan, both Mani and Cressent continue their journey to the Azure Sky Tower as early as possible. Because its morning, they only encountered the few Undead who can survive the sunlight and they reach their destination faster than expected.
Cressent stared at the tower in the front of him without the harsh sunlight hurting his red eyes. The tower is way too high, surpassing the clouds. The height of the tower made him recall the book he read once in the library. He can't recall the title but its a about this unfinished tower that was built to see what's beyond the sky. Something like that...
Wait... If Azure Sky Tower is that high, then how come he don't notice it before?
"Cressent?" His mother's voice snapped him back to reality. Because of her voice, his attention shifted from the sky high tower to the woman beside him. "I know that the Solar Child Blood is preventing you to feel the pain of sunlight in your eyes but... Its still not good to stare at it too much."
Her mother's words took time for him to reach his mind but when he does, he nod once and smiled at her. Mani smiled back at her son before the two of them entered the tall tower right in the front of them.
Part 2
Strange.
It's the first word that Cressent have on his mind as he examine the first room he saw. With its history, the fact that the Azure Sky Tower look too old is not surprising. But the strange symbol on the ground that glows in random colors caught his attention first.
There are total of seven symbols drawn in the floor. Six of them form a circle while the seventh once were placed inside the circle like shape. Staring at it more, he made a guess that the other six supposed to be protecting the lone one in the middle. In all these symbols, there are only two that looks familiar to his eyes. The one on the top that looks like a sun and glows with a bright yellow color. If his memory serves him right, it symbolizes the Sol Property. And the most familiar symbol, the one placed on the middle of the circle and glowing in a faint purple color, the symbol that he always see when using that shield magic of his. The symbol of the Luna Property.
Taking a gulp, he slowly reached for his mother's hand and tightly squeeze it. To reach this place is what he wanted but why for some odd reason, he's feeling… strange. Mani once again smiled at him and with a nod, they both walk towards the direction of the Luna symbol. As his feet made contact with the glowing mark, the purple light grew stronger like its welcoming him.
"Silver." Mani called while looking at the ceiling. "Answer my call."
"That name… There's only one person that calls me by that name…" A voice out of nowhere replied. "Mani. So you have returned. What brings you here in Azure Sky Tower?"
"I returned to fulfill my promise. I have the next heir with me."
"…" it took a while for the voice to reply so Mani put both of her hand on Cressent's shoulder before taking a deep breath.
"His name is Cressent. My oldest child. Both the blood of Sun and Moon run through his veins but his abilities convinced me that his Lunar Child Blood are more dominant than the Solar Child Blood."
"I know."
"Eh? He already knew who am I?"
"He got this strange ability to identify a Moon Beauty."
"Mani, I did say to bring the heir as soon as he is ready but don't you think it's dangerous for him to take the trial at this age?"
"I might be young…" Cressent started while staring at the glowing flooring where he stand. "but I'm willing to learn everything about fighting Undead. I wanted to do that so I go the power to protect the people I cared about!"
His sentence alone is enough to silence the whole room. Mani stared at her son with a surprised expression on her face. For a five years old boy to say this kind of things… they both look up to the ceiling waiting for a reply but the reply they received is not a form of words. The ceiling suddenly dropped revealing a stairs that lead up to the second floor.
"Proceed." The voice said. "I will allow you to take the trial. And because of your age, I will also allow Mani to accompany you. However, Mani…"
"Yes?"
"You are only allowed to help when Cressent is in grave danger. Once you help him on any other circumstances, you two will return to this room. The trial is simple. Every floor, there is a door that bring you to the stairs that lead to the next floor. However, the key is on the hand of one of the many Undeads. Defeat them to get the key and advance to the next floor. Reach the top of the tower and complete my test and you'll pass. Also, Cressent, during the test, you have to take it without Mani's help. That's all." And the voice fades away.
"Umm… Mama, exactly how many floors do Azure Sky Tower have?"
"Ninety nine if I recall correctly…"
"This may take a while…"
Part 3
It may take a while is a word that Cressent last said before they climb the stairs. But those words seems to be not the right one to tell how long this trial is taking.
He don't know how many floors he and Mani cleared. The two already lost track on counting since they reached the thirty second floor. Same applies to time. But it looks like they don't really mind. As the trial keep on, Cressent mastered how to use his shield magic not just to protect but also to attack. Right now, they are climbing the stairs up to the unknown floor but when they reach the end, the scenery surprises them. Instead of a usual room filled with Undead, lava, slippery floor, or water for those octopuses, the place where they are is a really open area. With this height, they can now touch the clouds that pass by and looking at the edge, they can now see the sky high view of the whole Istrakan. With this scenery, it didn't take too long for Cressent and Mani to know where they are.
"We reached the top." Mani break the silence between them.
"Took you long enough." A new yet familiar voice said. Looking at the source of the voice, they saw a giant knight armor made of silver holding a sword and a shield on his hands. "I know that the trial take a really long time to complete but I never realize you two will take like two years to reach this place."
"T-two years?!" Cressent said in disbelief. Without realizing it, he already spent two years of his life inside the tower. So that makes him seven, right? Now he wonder if appearance did change… last time he look at his reflection, it was in the slippery floor in twentieth floor of this tower.
"Now, Shall we begin the test?"
"Test?"
"So Mani haven't told you yet? It's the same as before, Mani. This is the only thing I don't change in the trial." The Silvery White Knight said making Cressent stared at his mother.
"Mama?"
"The test.." She began. "…You have to defeat Silver."
"Wai- what? With only a dagger?" he said but his attention quickly shifted from Mani to his surrounding as a sudden jolt warned him of the incoming danger. Without wasting any time, he took a step back , completely dodging Silver's sword. "Hold on! I'm not ready yet!"
"A true fight doesn't need any signal to start. Better be prepared, Cressent."
As Silver keep on slashing his sword to Cressent's direction, the young boy doesn't have any choice than to keep on stepping back to dodge. On the look of that sword, it's no surprise that it's sharp enough to actually kill him or cut his flesh like a hot knife through butter. While dodging, he didn't notice that he already reach the edge and end up falling from the top of the tower.
"CRESSENT!" Mani's scream echoed in the whole tower. She fall on her knees with tears flowing from her eyes like a river. Silver stared at her without bringing his weapon down.
"I'll revive him." He said. "So he can still take another trial-"
"Who's taking another trial?!" a voice said making the two gasp.
Hearing her son's voice, Mani quickly ran towards the location where he fall. There, not too far from their location, Cressent stand above a transparent glass like platform with the Luna symbol in the middle. He probably summoned a shield below to catch his body instead of just falling down to the ground.
"Cressent…"
"You two really are the same." Silver said as they watched Cressent create more and more shield to use as a stairs to go back up to the top. As he reach the top, he pulled one of his daggers from his belt while keep on closing and opening his other hand, testing for something.
'Good. I still have a little mana left to summon some barriers.' He thought to himself before changing to his fighting stance.
With one dagger on his hand, Cressent charged at Silver's direction. For now, he doesn't have any plan but it will be dangerous if Silver did make the first move. So for now, he need to keep him busy with counter attacks while he think of a plan.
As expected, his weapon is too weak to pierce through the Silvery White Knight's armor. He already give everything he got in a slash but the result is nothing more than a scratch. And also, with the size differences of their weapon, there is no way for him to block using those blades. Maybe it is right to consult Smith before he left after all...
But its too late to think about that right now. He is in the middle of a fight. And not just an ordinary fight. Pass this trial and he's going to be a full pledged Moon Beauty... Is that even the thing?
Silver made a vertical slash without Cressent noticing. And because he cannot block that attack, he just took a step backwards to dodge it. But as he does, he finally notice something.
'Silver's armor... Float?' He thought as he stared at it more. Suddenly, an idea popped up from his head. 'I have to do this right. I dont have enough mana to do this again.'
Gripping the hilt of his dagger tightly, charged once again at Silver's direction. Instead of using his dagger to slash his armor once again, he throw it on his direction. Of course, he know that the attack wont do anything on his armor specially that shield. But he have to do this. Its his only hope.
As their distance from each other got closer and closer, Cressent stopped on his tracks and threw one of his dagger on Silver's direction. Instead of dodging, Silver used his shield to block the incoming blade. Seeing this, Cressent smiled.
Before the blade hit Silver's shield, he quickly moved behind him and put his right hand inside the gap of the armor.
"Bye." And with that simple word, Cressent summoned a shield on his right hand, which is inside Silver's armor.
He know that Silver's armor is tough. But he never realized that it has to be this tough. The mana he use to expand the barrier is not enough. So without having any second thought, he let out a scream and put every single bit of mana he have inside his body to strengthen the barrier.
His plan work. He didn't know how but his plan worked. The barrier expands and expands until it destroy Silver's armor. Cressent's jaw dropped as he saw the result of his work. For the first time, he did summon a barrier big enough to divide the rooftop of Azure Sky Tower into two. With just a small amount of mana used to summon that shield, he do wonder if he can summon an even larger shield if he used all of his mana in one go.
His thought was later cut when he felt something warm hug him from behind. Looking behind him to see the source of the sudden warmth, he saw his mother, Mani, hugging him as tight as she can. Cressent can't help it but to smile and lean closer to his mother's body.
"Thank goodness, you're safe..."
"Yeah..." He said and put a hand atop of his mothers' "I'll try my best to be safe so you don't have to worry."
"Excellent work, Cressent." The same voice from the first floor echoed through their ears. Hearing this, the two Moon Beauties let go of each other and stare at the whole area. "You pass the test. You are currently the very first Moon Beauty who did pass the whole trial in the young age of five... Or in today's case, seven. I wanted to see you grow even more stronger as you grow older. So for that, please, take this as a reward."
The voice faded and the whole area were covered by a strong light. Both Mani and Cressent protect their eyes from the blinding light using their arms. As the light faded away, they saw a strange looking sword stabbed in the middle of the room. Its length is not too big for Cressent to handle but with its looks, the weight can be a problem for him. It has a silver blade that reminds him of Silver's armor with the hilt made of gold. A strange purple metal separate the blade from the hilt while keeping a some sort of case in place.
Cressent took a small gulp and pull the sword from the ground. Surprisingly, even with its size, the sword is light. Too light. He swing it around, testing it and it looks like he and the sword will work together.
"This sword is called Guardian." Silver's voice echoed inside his head.
"Guardian?"
"Yes. Its nothing more than an ordinary sword for now but as you grow stronger, so thus the sword. Put the Luna lens on the gap between the hilt and the blade and it will be able to do a normal sword can't. But like I said, its power depend on how strong you are." And finally, Silver's voice faded.
Following what Silver have said earlier, Cressent put his hand on his pocket and pull out something. A piece of circle glass that gives a purple glow as the afternoon sun rays hit it. Before he could even put it on the Guardian sword on his hand, Mani stopped him.
"Wait!"
"Hmm?"
"Cressent, where did you get that?"
"Umm... In yours and Papa's room. Besides, you're going to give me the Luna Lens anyway so its-"
"That's not the Luna lens, dear." This sentence made Cressent froze from his spot.
"What?"
"You're holding the Gun Del Sol's lens, Cloud." She said and pull a piece of glass from her pocket. It had the same shape and design as the Cloud lens but it has a lighter purple glow than the other one. "This is the Luna lens."
"Oh..."
"Well, you better return it to Dad once we return home. It will be bad if you don't."
"Yeah... Sorry about that."
Part 4
It did take Cressent and Mani two years to reach the top of the Azure Sky Tower but going back to the very first floor is easy thanks to the warp magic Silver summoned right after Cressent took the sword.
The two are now walking in the forest, not too far from the Solar Tree. Even its pretty late in the night, they dont mind at all. Beside, the full moon is there to light their path and also, there is another part of the family that's waiting back in San Miguel. They are just happily talking about their adventures together in the tower until a sudden rustling sound stopped them.
"What's that?" Cressent asked gripping his mothers hand even tighter.
"I dont know but we have to be ca-" unfortunately, she didn't get a chance to finish her sentence. Without any warning, a sharp stone appeared bellow her, hitting her in the stomach.
"MAMA!"
As Cressent shouted, the rock that just stabbed her stomach disappear but it leave a large wound on her stomach. Blood painted the grass red as Mani finally collapse to the ground. Her chest keep on raising and falling, a sign that she is still alive. Cressent is now grateful that it is full moon. Trying his best not to panic, he raised his right hand in the air, making sure that the moonlight will hit his palm.
"Ts-TSUKI!" He shouted as loud as he can.
A Lunar Bug appeared beside him and began multiply. It all rest above Mani's wound and began to heal it as fast as possible. Hearing the same rustling sound from before, Cressent stood up from his feet and pull the Guardian Sword behind his back and pointed it where the sound come from.
"Wh-Who's there?!"
"No need to be scared, my boy." A voice answered his question.
The last thing he can remember is this black figure attack him until he lost his consciousness.
'Looks like... I'm not strong enough to protect anyone after all...'
Part 5
Its been a while since she last opened his sapphire blue eyes. She didn't know how long she sleep but she's sure that its pretty long. For some reason, she was sleeping in a room she is not familiar with. Is this even her house?
Getting up from the bed, she tried her best to stand on her two feet. Looks like her body is pretty weak to support her own weight but she managed to stand up and walk around the house. Looking at her own reflection in the mirror nearby, she noticed that her body did grow as well as her hair. Already passing down her back... Maybe she could ask her mother to cut it? Now, speaking of which...
"Mama? Papa?" She called while keep on exploring the house. "Brother?" However, no one answered her. "Where are you? Cress?"
"Oh! You're finally awake!" She heard a voice behind but before she could even look at the source of the voice, she felt something warm behind her. "I'm so worried about you, Solana! You're asleep for like two years!"
"...Smith...?" She asked without looking. "Where am I? And where's every one? Mama? Papa? And Brother?"
"You're in my house... And... About them... They're all gone..."
And with those simple words, tears formed from the young girl's eyes rolling down to her cheek before falling to the ground.
A/N: To be continued... someday...