I don't have, much less even own Golden Sun or anything that is linked to it.
"…" - Talking out loud
'…' - Thoughts
Yes, I have changed the title since the previous title seemed so crappy and uninteresting. So I hope old and new readers like it. If anyone has any suggestions to the title, please tell me either by mail or leaving a review opinion. Also, I'll write my author's notes and review responses here instead for a change. I'm really sorry for taking such a tremendous time to update, but I'm really trying my best to cope with lots of school stuff, three projects at one go, and more coming. Sigh…I hope this chapter is good enough for the long wait. I really apologise. I reuploaded this chapter since I made a very stupid mistake, unforgivable!
Now then, I'm pretty sure most readers will know what this chapter is mainly about, since there is some familiarity with one of the previous chapters. (hint, hint) There is also a part in this chapter that I just created on the spur of the moment, and this is the first time I've tried at such ways of writing and I find that I quite like it myself. I hope readers will find this chapter enjoyable and interesting.
IMPORTANT: As up to now, I have still not decided whether to have slight Windshipping or Lighthouseshipping. So I've decided that the result is up to the readers. Readers who want either shipping please submit a vote by way of mailing me or if you're lazy to do that, just leave a review. Voice up your opinion people!
Oh yeah, please review!
Thousands of thank-yous to the following people:
enigma4ever: Crap! That mistake was really unintentional...sob sob.
GoldenSunGeek: Heh, the part where Isaac suddenly sensed Mia's 'suffering' was kinda nice in my opinion too. Like those stuff you see in the dramas…oh and don't worry, you didn't spoil anything since after all, my story summary says 'Mud'.
Kodoku: Oh yeah, having so many school projects is really bad…Fizz in the previous chapter was like the explanatory person actually for readers to understand what's the whole dream about, and not particularly Mia only. Man…updating soon is really not suitable for me anymore. It's been like, past one month! Hope you're at least satisfied with this chapter.
Ayumi187: Glad my romance bits weren't cheesy and stuff. Not much Mudshipping in this chapter, but guaranteed to have much more in future chapters!
One Who Rides On The Wind: Well well, I guess I'll take that as a vote for Windshipping. Of course Menardi was always evil in the real game, that conveys to the readers how shock she was when she received that look from Mia until she got slightly dazed. That's about it.
Insanity Team: Hehe, sorry to say but you spelled 'formalitys' wrongly, it's 'formalities'. But never mind about that. I thought that even though Isaac is the son of the king and queen, he should still show some respect and bow to them and not just stride up to them and start speaking (lol). That was my way of thinking though. Wow…checking every five minutes for an update? Hope you'll continue reviewing then!
sweetmaiden: Having 'fun' eh? I hope so! (evil grin)
Eruruu: Thanks for the compliment! But actually there are quite many IsaacxMia stories; you can look in my profile at favourite stories. I always thought that other people were better at Mudshipping though…thanks a lot! Hope you'll keep reviewing!
Chapter 6: Destiny's Prophecies
'Violets…'
That was the first thing that entered and registered in his mind as he gazed around his surroundings. The small, dark purple flowers resting so peacefully on the ground beside him, looking ever so beautiful, blooming merrily in correspond to the calm and cool weather, stirring up a memory in him…
'Mother…'
His lips curled into a tiny smile as he bent down on his knees and gently plucked a small violet beside him, twirling the flower around slowly with his right hand.
'Mother likes violets a lot…perhaps I should take some home for her.'
Although his mother was perhaps a rather buxom figure, but her tastes in flowers was dedicated to those small, tiny flowers that gave life and beauty to the earth. The young man reached out a hand towards a beautiful blooming violet, but abruptly stopped halfway.
'But…to wrench and pluck the flowers away from their stem, their home, would it not pain them?'
Questioning himself in his inner mind, he thought concernedly for Mother Nature's creations. Ever since young he had always thought that every single living thing had a heart just like humans, had a soul and spirit like humans, and experienced one's emotions and feelings just like everyone else.
'But wait…indeed, of all places, where in the world am I?'
Realising that he was in a totally unfamiliar place, he looked around bewilderedly. His surrounding area gave him the impression of a paradise in the form of a heavenly yet somewhat mystical garden. Nothing other than that could be seen for miles; it really seemed like an open space.
'I have never encountered such places as this…surely I would have remembered if I ever did journeyed to this heavenly place. But somehow nothing seems to click into my mind…where on Angara is this? Am I just dreaming all this?'
Rubbing his chin feeling puzzled, he stood up and looked around, valiantly seeking for anyone that he could see. But alas, he found that he was the only person there, and that he was, indeed, entirely alone. Thinking that he was just perhaps dreaming, he raised a hand towards his face and pinched his left cheek hard, expecting to wake up suddenly. Yet, that never happened; instead, he felt burning pain, causing him to wince under his own great strength.
'Oww…this is indeed peculiar. By all means am I not dreaming…but this seems so unreal! Maybe I should scout this area and see if there is anything that I can find. There must be something that can tell me where and how did I get here.'
Sorting out his actions, the young adult determinedly walked forward with precise caution, his light steps as quiet as a cat when it readies to catch its prey, remembering his training master's wise words.
"Always step forward with caution and concentration when you are in an unknown place, for you may never know when you might just be attacked by your enemies out of nowhere. These two things you must master and adopt always, and if I might add, best it be something compulsory to you, my dear student. Heed my words; they will certainly serve you well."
Minutes later, unfortunately he was still just as confused and bewildered as when he first started out. He had found nothing helpful; all he saw was just beautiful flowers, lovely trees and green grass stretched all over the green plains.
'This is really a puzzle…I just don't know what and where is this place, and not to say why and how am I here! But no, I cannot give up yet; perhaps Felix and the rest are also searching for me! I must not sit still and expect to be saved!'
Yet again encouraging himself, the handsome young man stood still and straight, and continued searching, hoping to discover something that would help him. Many puzzling questions buzzed impatiently in his mind, but he quickly brushed it off, not wanting it to bother his concentration and fill his mind with endless and needless worries.
This time perhaps he was not that unfortunate, for he did not need to wait long for something to happen.
Proceeding forward, his eyes were busy scanning the area before him alertly. As he gazed at an old elm tree at his left some metres away, he was, you could say, indeed very startled to find a human resting under that very tree.
Perhaps you could say that the surprise was due to the knowing of another human existence other than himself, but that, was not it. No, what startled him the most was that he recognized that person immediately; the very second he saw that person, recognition and shock surged into his mind like crazy pounding waves beating against the calm beach. What really surprised him was that that person whom he saw…
Was what he was.
"W…what?"
There was no mistake about it; a tall, broad-shouldered young man, blonde spiky hair, with those unmistakably bright piercing blue eyes. That, and that alone, could only belong to one person, and no one else.
Isaac.
"W…why am I there? Am…am I not myself? Am I not…Isaac?"
Looking down upon himself bewilderedly, Isaac found that he was, indeed, Isaac himself.
'Then…who is that person that looks so like me? Is he some sort of replica of me? But if so, how can that be possible? No replica is ever this similar! I feel as if I'm seeing a mirror image of myself…that is never possible for just an ordinary replica! How indeed…'
The replica apparently seemed not to notice the real Isaac staring at him. Closing his eyes, 'Isaac' sat peacefully under the tree, feeling the calm winds blowing under the beautiful sky.
'He does not seem to feel my presence…perhaps I should talk to this replica of mine, but I must be careful, in case he is an imposter looking like me to drop my guard.'
Cautiously stepping closer, Isaac moved stealthily, his hand at the hilt of his sword. He had not gone further than five steps when he stopped in his steps, not believing his very eyes. The replica 'Isaac's eyes had snapped open, filled with sudden concern as he quickly stood on his feet, still not taking any notice of the real Isaac. A bright glow suddenly emitted from him, surrounding his body. Its pure light shining unlike any other light, it grew and expanded throughout the heavenly garden, covering it with its lovely welcoming warmth.
Isaac shielded his eyes from the brilliant light with his right hand as he struggled to see the form of his replica in the midst of the light. To his utter astonishment, a small pair of white feathery wings slowly grew from his replica's back, piercing the clothes as it did so. It grew larger and larger in size until it was as long as his body from head to toe. The wings looked so beautiful and pure; it's feathers were the purest white he had ever seen; and none other had he seen such pure white anywhere else. Gasping in surprise, Isaac could only stand fixed there as if he was stunned; he did not move an inch. Never had he seen such an astounding sight before.
The beautiful pair of wings grown to its full size, 'Isaac' smiled slightly. Turning around towards the stunned Isaac in the midst of the bright light, he smiled angelically to him, sending another bout of surprise at the real Isaac. He was immediately reminded of an angel the moment 'Isaac' smiled at him; the angelic, calm and reassuring smile, his relaxed and calm figure, those white feathery wings at his back…the exact picture of an angel descended from the very heavens above.
"Witness and believe what you see, but do not believe everything your eyes tell you. What you see is destiny fate has chosen; yet if you do not hold out your hand, what you see is naught for beliefs. Your hands…do not forget these words."
The angel's words were softly spoken, yet held a firm and melodious tone as it was carried on by the blowing winds to the wide-eyed Isaac. Then his wings flapped gently against the wind, and in the next instant he vanished out of sight.
Young Isaac was still stunned by the past few events, his mouth slightly opened as he gaped, his eyes couldn't believe what he actually saw just now. Minutes later, when he finally recovered from the great surprise, he sat down on the green grass and tried to sort out the unusual turn of events swirling in his confused mind.
'All right, now this is really unusual…the counter image of me was actually an angel? That…that doesn't seem to make any logic to me…why should an angel firstly appear to me in the form of myself? An angel…and his words…what did they mean? 'Witness and believe what you see, but do not believe everything your eyes tell you'? And what did he mean by holding out my hand? What about my hands? Argh, this is really too much to sink in at one time! I just can't seem to understand the significance and meaning in the angel's appearance and words…'
Shaking his head, Isaac got up slowly.
'Well whatever it is, I must still find the way home, then I'll think more about it. For the mean time, finding out the way is the priority.'
But before he could take two steps forward, suddenly all of the garden scenery vanished. All the trees, flowers and grass disappeared into thin air, and only to be replaced by total darkness.
'Now what is this? Total darkness?'
Looking around valiantly, Isaac's sharp eyes could not see anything other than himself. It was eerily silent, even his own soft breathings could be heard; his heart beats as though as loud as a drum beating. Everything was just simply black. Crossing his arms over his chest, he sighed. This was indeed too much things to sink in at one time, one over another…
'I'm really starting to feel fed up…just when I can't understand anything, here comes another puzzling one. This is bad…I don't even know where am I now and what is going to happen…moving about in this darkness would be meaningless. Think! Think what I should do!'
Sitting down with his legs crossed, the young man closed his eyes and searched through his mind for a suitable course of action. He was very much startled when his opened eyes saw a small circle of pure white fluttered in front of him, flying in the air away from him. And then, without warning, white quickly seeped in the midst of the darkness, and a blinding flash occurred.
"What…"
Isaac shielded his eyes from the light; it was now too bright for him, a deep contrast from what he experienced seconds ago. And then, before his very startled eyes, pictures of scenes began to fly past in front of his being. A scene of when Isaac himself was only three years old, with his parents beside him; another scene when Isaac had deep fever, where everyone was worried sick; another one of Isaac when he was only twelve years old training with a blunt stick; all of his past events flashed back before his eyes.
'This…my past…why?'
Suddenly he gaped. The scene that currently flashed before him was not of his past, yet something in it was, indeed, very familiar.
'The angel before! This can't be part of my past…I have never seen him before! And who is that person…?'
His crystal blue eyes told him all that could be seen. The angel in the form of Isaac with his wings and blinding pure light, bending over a young woman in her early twenties in a sitting position, his arms wrapped around her. Her features could not be seen however, as she was lying down, and that her face was blocked by the angel beside her. All that Isaac could see was that the young woman had strikingly long beautiful aqua hair. He struggled to recognize that woman in his jumbled mind, but nothing came to light about this unknown person.
'They seem to be quite intimate…what are they doing? Why should this scene flash by? I do not know them at all…at least, not by sight. Are they trying to tell me something I do not know? That angel's words before he left…'witness and believe what you see'…was he referring to this one?'
The angel suddenly wrapped his arms tightly around the girl, bringing her close to him in an embrace. The young woman seemed stunned for a moment, but yet responded as she hugged him back. Feeling her warmth, the angel gently placed a light kiss on her head that was buried in his chest.
Isaac gasped. But before he could watch the next series of events, the scene flashed by and disappeared, only to be replaced by another unusual scene before the confused Isaac, this time lasting for roughly a minute. He gasped.
"This…why, it looks like a party ball!"
Indeed, it was none other than a party ball. Many couples were dancing in rhythm to the soft romantic music at the dance floor. No one was speaking; everyone enjoyed the peacefulness and the beauty of the calm night, enhanced with the slow order of music in the midst of it. It was a merry sight with many presences. The confused Isaac was as if only a spectator of that event. The surroundings were oddly extremely familiar. Beautiful flashing lights and lamps, the walls, the mosaic tiles on the floor and its pattern…
'This…is this the castle?'
Moments later he gasped. At a fleeting glance from the scene that floated in front of him, there was no doubt that Isaac the prince himself was present at the ball. Every line and feature were the same, it was as if Isaac was looking at himself in the mirror. The young prince, at the dance floor, dancing with a smile on his clean-shaven face…locking arms with a young woman…curiosity overwhelmed poor Isaac.
'Me…? Is this trying to tell me not of my past, not of the present, but…the future? Then…this must be the ball that is being organized for me! But why…and who is that 'Isaac' dancing with?'
Isaac tried his utmost best to see the woman dancing with 'Isaac'. But unfortunately, no matter how hard he scrutinized, the woman's identity was not revealed to him. Her face and body were directly blocked by 'Isaac' as they moved together accordingly. Now and then, other couples would move towards them and block Isaac's vision further. The only thing that he could distinguish about the mysterious young woman was that she had very-distinguishable shining aqua hair.
'Blue hair…is this the same person as to in the scene just now? She must be the same person…but how is she connected to the angel?'
'Isaac' and the mysterious young woman seemed to be oddly close for a first meeting with each other, for a few times other gentlemen and women had asked her and Isaac respectively to dance with them, but both had politely but resolutely declined. A few minutes had the young woman placed her head on the young prince's chest, and he had not made a single protest, but merely smiled in return.
'Who…is she? My desire to know is so deep…why am I seeing all these things yet still kept fully in the dark?'
But yet again, before Isaac had more time to look further into the matter, the ball scene suddenly vanished in a blink of light, leaving not a single trace of it. And perhaps it was then that scenes ended, for none other came to confront him.
The last thing Isaac saw was a pair of deep crystal cerulean eyes haunting his mind and vision…but not his own…someone…those unforgettable eyes…
Everything went blank, whitewashed by the light.
What has happened?
What does one see?
What does one believe?
What is truth, and what is false?
What do you believe, and what do you mistrust?
Everything may be true, but nothing may be true. The truth is the truth, the false is the false.
But not everything is plain black and white.
The truth may be false, the false may be true.
What one sees in reality might be all but a dream, what one sees in a dream may be reality.
One's eyes are the receiver of sights, yet they sometimes betray the truth.
It all depends on one's deeds of action and the active mind. Everything one does is recorded in history no matter how small, never missing a line.
Never does history lie.
What one does and has gone by, what one is doing, what one is going to do…all that history records in its brilliancy.
The past, present, and future.
What has one seen with one's eyes from the order or time?
Seeing is different than watching.
Seeing the past with excitement, perhaps even with sorrow…the future the same.
The past cannot be changed. What is done, is done.
Yet, what future enlightens one of is not necessarily what one will undergo, for there is still time to change one's actions.
Time.
The primary factor that creates Past, Present, and Future.
What has thee seen from what shown by Time?
It is what thee see, witness, and hear with thy ears.
And what does thee know?
What is told.
But not every time it is so simple.
There are some things which cannot be told in all bluntness and simplicity, but in other methods of secrecy.
Past, the teller of last times has passed, Future, the teller of afterwards has flown away but yet to show in the times to come, and now…
It has come the time for Present to act.
Present is vital.
Present, the result of Past;
Present, the predetermination of the afterwards;
Present, the beginning of Future.
Present is unique.