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Chapter 19: Power in the Dark

Larsa forced himself to take a calm breath as he leaned heavily against the cave walls of Sochen Cave Palace. Around him, the rest of his companions were in equal amounts of tiredness, though unlike him, they were not so liberal in showing such weariness.

The young Emperor ran a hand through his sweat-slicked hair and was not surprised to see and Basch and Captain Sephyr already discussing in what direction they are supposed to go. He looked at each of them now, not sure if he could assure them of ever seeing Archades again when he himself did not know if he would ever glimpse the city as well.

Looking at the rest of the Order of the Tournesol, Larsa was suddenly filled with overwhelming emotion. How long ago was it when Basch was waking him when he hardly gotten any sleep at all and fled with him along with only a handful of men and Zargabath with him?

It seemed so long ago, but Larsa knew it had only been a few hours ago. That few hours into Sochen Cave Palace were enough to wake Larsa out of his remaining feelings of sleep. It seemed the Cave Palace would never be tamed and they had spent most of their time fighting beasts and monsters despite choosing the most deserted paths and the simplest ways. The group had just managed to get away from an assault of Strikers, a breed of Headless, as well as Wendice and some Buer. It took all the skills of the Order of the Tournesol along with Basch and Zargabath and the a few majicks from the Emperor himself in order for them to escape from them with only a few scrapes. Thanks to Larsa's Telekinesis, the remainder of the Buer did not attack them.

The Emperor now moved among the small group, handing over X-potions and Hi-potions from his supply, a large supply that sustained his journey with Vaan's group long ago, to those who needed them. He always restocked them, and was glad that he did. Using potions saved his and Basch's Mist power. The Order of the Tournesol and Zaragabath were not so trained in the intricacies of Majick.

Captain Sephyr turned towards them now, after discussing with Basch who had visited the area before and knew the twists and turns of the place well enough to secure a safe route. The captain of the Order was surprised to find the young Emperor helping his team to recover a little strength from the battles they had just crossed. He himself had been with the Order since its birth and had never met an Emperor like this one.

'Aquilis, Aurea,' The Captain spoke in his cold tone and the man with red-streaked locks as well the female of the group looked up. 'You are on scout duty. Cast a fifty-yard perimeter and rendezvous with us at Destiny's March. If there is trouble, you know what to do.' Sephyr pointed at the Tournesol in his hand and it seemed the two understood, because they straightened quickly and ran ahead of the group, separating at a fork in the path.

Captain Sephyr watched them go, and when they were out of sight, he looked at the remaining people.

'I commend your skills in battle, Excellency. I admit, an Emperor skilled in battle would be less tedious to protect,' Sephyr commented as he nodded to Olen and Anubys, the heavily-scarred man to pick up their weapons as well.

Larsa did not know if he would take it as a compliment or any comment from him was needed, so he compromised with only a nod. He picked up his Royal Edge as well and prepared to walk once more.

His movements surprised the others. He looked at them, curious. 'What is it?' he asked now.

'Your Excellency, would it not be too tiring for you to move on now?' Zargabath was brave enough to ask. 'Do you not wish to rest?'

Larsa raised his eyebrows, and could not believe his ears. 'I would rest; gentlemen were we not fleeing for our lives to get safety. You are welcome to rest if you want, but I thought you would be concerned in getting as much ground as possible for us to be able to exit this horrid place.' He said smoothly.

Zargabath merely nodded and Sephyr proceeded to lead once more with Basch behind him and Larsa standing between him and Zargabath with Olen and Anubys to take the rear.

XOXOXOXO

Larsa cricked his neck as they moved in a slow line forward. Aquilis and Aurea had not returned to them and the young Emperor was getting worried. One look at Captain Sephyr and Olen however, and they did not look worried about their companions, so Larsa figured there was no need to worry.

However, it did not assuage the uneasiness he felt. He often thought he could feel someone following them, and there was more than one instance when he thought he heard hurried footsteps in the dark. As a result, he often looked over his shoulder. It did not go unnoticed to Zargabath.

'Excellency, I understand the pressure you must be in right now.' The older Judge Majister leaned to whisper on the Emperor's ear. 'However, there is no need to feel paranoia.'

Larsa shook his head. 'No, I am not paranoid, Judge Majister. It's just that I think I hear…' he broke off because at that moment, he did hear footsteps, this time, louder than what he originally heard. He and the others looked up at the sound of the footsteps and a shout of 'Fira!', before Aurea came into view hurrying to catch her breath.

'Report?' Sephyr stated calmly when Aurea stood panting over him.

'B-big S-snake, a-ahead.' She gasped out. Olen looked up at these words. So did the rest of the group.

'What?' Zargabath asked.

His question was not answered, because Aquilis' voice was heard, and he did not sound like he was all right. Aurea had straightened up at Aquilis' voice preparing to run back to towards the snake.

'Captain, there is no other way out of here than where the beast lies.' Her voice lost all tiredness in them.

Sephyr nodded, understanding. He looked at the Emperor and the Judge Majsiters. 'Looks like another battle, gentlemen.' He turned to run ahead, Olen, Anubys and Aurea in his heels.

Emperor Larsa turned to look at his two Judge Majisters, a questioning look in his eyes. Basch merely nodded, gripping his Zodiac Spear in his hands while Zargabath did the same, only it was his sword that caught the light of the torch he held in his other hand. Larsa drew the Royal Edge once more, a hard glint coming over his blue eyes which made him look older beyond his years.

'To battle,' he stated and quickly turned to follow Sephyr and the others, Basch and Zargabath in his heels.

XOXOXOXO

Larsa hurried his footsteps towards the Hall of Shadow Light, for that was where they were headed according to Basch, for the sounds of Aquilis or any other member of the Order had disappeared. The young Emperor did not know if no sound meant good news or ill, he was not familiar with giant beasts and he personally had never been fond of animals in his life. He had no idea what was in store for them with the giant snake Aurea reported, but the emperor felt that it would be a good idea for them to hurry. And hurry he did.

When he entered the Hall of Shadow Light before Basch and after Zargabath who carried the torch, Larsa forced his eyes to adjust to the darkness. Somewhere, he could see another globe of torch light ahead which meant that Sephyr and the others might be there.

"Your Excellency, stay close," he heard Basch whisper on his hair rather than on his ear. He started to nod before he realized that Basch had limited visibility. Larsa quickly said yes. The young Emperor heard Basch whisper to Zargabath the same thing, but it sounded more like a reprimand. Larsa himself did not listen anymore to hear Zargabath's reply to whatever it was that Basch said but proceeded to grab the torch from the older judge's hand and started looking for the members of the Order of the Tournesol.

As Larsa raised the torch higher above his head, the puny globe of light the torch emanated caught a glint above them, a dull shine, like light casting a glint over rusted metal or something like that. Without another thought, Larsa formed the words of the spell in his mind and relinquished it, murmuring " Firaga" and shooting the flames that danced in his palm upwards.

A tongue of flame shot upwards making it look like a beacon in the darkness before it caught whatever it was that hung over the chamber and soon radiated an eerie blue light around them. It was eerie, but it provided them with light nevertheless.

Just as the light hit the chamber, a loud almost alien-like hiss echoed across the chamber, deafening the trio's ears. Larsa turned around, sword in hand and his two Judge Majisters had already raised their weapons, argument forgotten. All thought of catching up with the Order of the Tournesol was put at rest temporarily, for the sound of the hiss seemed like the creature was close, and the blue light, which Larsa thought would help actually did the opposite, lengthening the shadows and hiding the creature.

Almost without notice a rushing sound from somewhere above their heads announced where the snake was. Emperor Larsa almost dropped his sword as the sight met their eyes and even Zargabath could not help release a curse word in Bhujerban.

It was as Aurea described. A horrendous serpent which matched the word 'big'. In its vast size it could have occupied a space perhaps a fourth of the chamber, making it eighty or ninety feet long. Its poised head could have looked the rare game 'Tower' in the eye with its long slender body that was as thick as the chamber's pillars, and a head that was unlike any other snake; it was bulky and had an almost triangular shape.

Before the three could react, the snake had coiled itself up to its full-height, slit-like eyes shining with malice and forked tongue tasting the air before springing towards them, fangs baring, venomous spit flickering towards them, corroding the ground in which they stood, and meant to strike the three with the enormity of it's head.

Larsa, Zargabath and Basch had jumped just in time and the snake slammed against the floor with the full force it had gathered to hit them. Old brick and tile flew everywhere, showering the room with dust and constricting their lungs, but the snake, instead of getting dizzy, seemed to grow angrier and more powerful than ever, quickly recoiling itself and looking for its prey.

"Your Excellency!" a hoarse voice sounded in the air just as the serpent located Larsa, the Royal Edge had been wrenched from the Emperor's hand when he jumped, and left him weaponless unable to face the serpent. Larsa tried to scramble up as quickly as he can, his boots slipping against the cold floor; he could hear and smell the awful stench the snake bore and it seemed so close that he would not be able to escape…

"ARDOR!!" Basch's voice rang through the air and it was more than just a word, but a spell bearing awesome power and magick. A large sun began glowing where Basch stood before it faced the snake and more than just a beam of light burst forth from this sun-like disk and hit the serpent, stopping it in its tracks.

The spell, however did not hurt the snake, more like blinded it. It was soon coiling itself once again, angrier than before, eager to catch any of its prey and have it over with.

"Emperor!" this time it was Aurea's voice which Larsa heard and the young Emperor was suddenly filled with relief as the members of the Order of the Tournesol came bursting into view, their golden swords flashing and ready to attack the snake. Larsa gathered whatever remaining strength he had, picked up his sword and ran to wherever Aurea was. Behind him, Larsa heard Basch yell another spell into being and could hear the dull impact of swords upon scaled flesh before Aurea none so roughly pulled him towards her and ushered him behind large pieces of the wall and ceiling that had fallen years ago and was nothing but ruin.

"Hide here," she whispered urgently before turning around and preparing to help the others. Larsa had just a glimpse of gold before he heard her running back to where they first came from.

It sounded dreadful, Larsa told himself as he crouched behind the rubble, Royal Edge tight on one hand, the sounds of battle echoing and thudding in his ears that did not help him ease the imagery in his head of the snake battling his companions. More so that he was not out there helping them. Larsa also realized that the only person, aside from himself, capable of casting complex battle spells was Basch. Zargabath and the other members of the Order of the Tournesol were neither trained nor adept in any magick.

The battle sounded as if it were not going well. More than once Larsa heard moans and groans from his companions, when the snake would hit them unawares and throw them off their feet. Wincing where he was crouching hiding; Larsa braced himself and stood up, eyes searching for the place where The Order and his Judge Majsiters were fighting off the snake.

Even before he knew it, a spell was forming in his mind, gathering up the needed mist to be able to conjure it. Larsa could see the battle now, Aurea and Aquilis were fighting the snake from the front, doing a sort of dance to make the snake dizzy; Anubys was somewhere above the snake itself hacking with one Tourensol, his other had fallen on the floor; Zargabath and Olen were fighting the snake from behind, which looked more dangerous since the snake was violently thrashing about; Basch was thrown off balance into a wall, and so had Sephyr, it looked like they were on the snake's head minutes before getting thrown off.

Larsa saw this all dimly, through blue light and growing darkness, the spell he used earlier seemed insufficient, that's why it did not light up the whole room. Nevertheless, Larsa was not looking at the battle now, but focusing on the spell he was conjuring up inside his head and he felt that he was gathering more mist than he could ever gather in his entire life, and just as he knew he should conjure the spell, he knew exactly was to say and the magick inside him burst forth.

"Radiant Splendor!!"

Time seemed to stand still as these words burst forth from Larsa's mouth, the heat of the spell coursing through his throat like scalding soup and the room seemed to fall away, leaving nothing but him and the snake in a starry void.

Looking down, Larsa saw that his Royal Edge emanated a fierce golden glow, and seemed to grow bigger in size, but his hand was not scorched. Impulse made him to pick up the upper part of this glowing pillar and it seemed as if his sword was nothing but light and enabled him to wrench it two, leaving him with two glowing blades.

The snake hissed menacingly at him, as if daring him to use his new weapons, and like earlier, Larsa felt the mist grow inside him and he charged his swords poised for attack. He jumped with a cry, fueled with mist; the jump was higher than whatever he could have reached normally and with a series of swipes, hacked at the snake.

Larsa landed nimbly on his feet, the snake now roaring in pain as wounds glowing like liquid fire began forming where the young Emperor smote it. Straightening up, swords still in his hands he looked at the snake steadily, his blue eyes steely and cold, the fire on the snake shaped like that of the Solidor insignia, burning the snake from inside out, slowing eating away at its flesh…

Larsa blinked. Within that short span of time, the slices on the snake began glowing in earnest until it swallowed the snake whole and exploded forcefully in a burst of flames and light.

Gurgling screams filled Larsa's head and it made time come rushing back into place. The snake was still thrashing about, but the only remaining part of the snake that was whole was its head, the rest of the snake's body had exploded in a mess of blood, bones and flesh. Surprisingly, Larsa was not caught in any of these remnants, as he felt his strength wane at the intensity of the mist he had conjured and it brought him to his knees.

His companions were not so lucky however. Aurea and Aquilis were showered with black sticky blood, Aurea cringing in disgust and Aquilis grumbling. A gigantic piece of bone soared straight towards where Zargabath and Olen were standing; Olen managed to duck but Zargabath who was looking for Larsa did not see it and the large bone hit him squarely in the gut. Basch was muttering curses under his breath since Anubys who had jumped off the snake before Larsa had performed his spell, had landed on him. Last of all was Captain Sephyr , whose swords were dripping with the same blood that covered him, the same inscrutable expression on his face as if this happened to him everyday. Larsa looked at all of them, his lips twitching uncontrollably, and before he knew it, he was laughing out loud, all the ice gone from his eyes replaced by mirth and amusement. Then the world blackened and spun around him and he collapsed.

Here is the much awaited installment...sorry for the delay...