OoO( 20 )OoO
Lyle stood gaping in shock as the girl he grew up with stood before him. He seemed to have lost his will to move and speak. She stepped forward until she stood right in front of him. She was slightly taller than he was, causing her to look down at him while leaning on her spear. Her spirit form seemed as if it was very powerful.
When nothing was said, the woman smiled. "I knew you missed me Lyle, but I never thought you were in love with me." she said as she smirked.
He seemed to snap out of his stupor when he heard her comment. Looking at her oddly, he asked, "In love with you? What are you talking about?" he asked.
"Well, you haven't seen me for years, and now that you do all you can do is get rendered speechless by my unyielding beauty. You must have been in love with me." she said.
The warrior snorted. "Right..." he said smiling back. "Only your brother could love you." he said. Whisper laughed loudly.
"Now that's the farmboy I remember." she said. "So, Lyle. If not for that reason, then there must be some reason you are here."
He nodded. "It's...a long story." he said.
"Who's your friend over there?" she asked noticing Ark standing with his arms crossed as if he was left out behind Lyle.
"Oh...this is Ark. He's my...uh...something." he said.
"Lovely introduction..." said Ark as he walked forward and nodded to Whisper. She smiled and nodded back.
"And this is Whisper. We grew up together and she...well...died in the Arena." said Lyle.
"Whisper? Thunder's sister Whisper?" asked Ark.
"That's correct. He is my older brother." she said.
"It's a pleasure to finally meet you. Although...I do wish it had been under better circumstances." he said with an odd smile.
Whisper laughed. "You and me both." she said. Then, she turned back to Lyle. "Now, as you were saying?"
"Oh...why we are here. Well, it's a bit hard to explain, but the short version is that Jack is back, he's turned into a very powerful demon, and we need your soul to open the gateway and destroy him." he said, knowing what he said had to be the most blown up story he'd told in a long time.
"Oh...is that all? Of course." she said smiling.
Lyle looked at her curiously. "Really? Just like that?"
"No...not even close." she said, making Lyle rub his head. "You are going to have to explain that a little more before I go unlocking some gateway to some ancient demon." she said seriously.
Lyle sighed. "Fine." he said. "As you probably know, a while after you died, I ended up killing Jack." he said. She nodded. "Well, it turns out that what I defeated was some puppet being controlled by Jack's true form. He was using this puppet to try and get the sword of Aeons, so that he could unlock the gate he has been sealed behind for eons. I stopped him, and now he is trying to find another way to unlock it."
Whisper stood, her mouth open, untalking for a full minute before speaking. "Wait...so if he is sealed behind this gate, and can't get out, why not just leave him there to rot?" she asked.
Ark spoke this time. "As you have seen, he can make shadows of himself on the outside, which are near unbeatable. If we leave him there, then it leaves him safe and protected to do as he pleases with his shadow creatures. Someday, when there aren't heroes like us around to fight him, he may get loose and have no opposition. We have to destroy him now, before he can gather any more power." he said.
She closed her eyes and nodded. "I see. So, you need my help to open this gate. Why?" she asked.
"We need three spirits to open the gate. And one of them is the Champion of the Arena." said Lyle.
She smirked. "Oh? But I'm not the champion. You are." she said to Lyle.
Ark sniggered again as Lyle sighed. The warrior turned back and glared. "I've already told you, you are not going to kill me and offer my soul to the gate." he said, then turned back to Whisper. "Irregardless of who won our match, we were both still Champions of the Arena. I'm asking for your help to put an end to your killer once and for all Whisper." said Lyle as he picked the orb up, then held it foward in his palm.
She looked at him, then gave him a soft smile he hadn't seen since they were young. "I always knew you cared farmboy." she said as she reached up and placed her hand over the orb. Her spiritual body began to glow brightly as she began to float off the ground. "I will be there when you fight him Lyle, I will protect you as you are protecting me." Then, she vanished. The orb in his hand glowed brightly with her power as he placed it at his side.
"Thank you Whisper. I promise, I'll get him for good this time." he said as the darkness faded and color was restored to the world. Turning to Ark, he smiled. "One down, two to go." he said, then they walked together towards the ante room of the arena.
OoOoO
After a while of decided where to look for the Ancient One, it was decided that the first one to look for was someone from the guild. No doubt many guild leaders were suitable candidates for the second soul. After arriving at the guild however, they ran into the guild master who greeted them warmly.
"Ah, Lyle! Always good to see you wandering about." he said slightly bowing his head to the hero. "And who is your friend? I don't think we've been aquainted."
"The name's Ark. I'm Lyle's...err..." he said as he tried to figure out exactly what he was on his fingers.
"He's my brother." said Lyle, causing the guildmaster to gasp loudly.
"Oh my...I didn't know you had a brother." said the man. "Very good to meet you, welcome to the Phoenix Guild. I'm the guildmaster here and it's...."
"Uhh...we don't really have a lot of time." said Lyle.
"Oh...right. Sorry about that." he said straightening up. Then a curious look crossed his face. "Wait...why exactly are you here?" he asked.
Lyle explained about the souls and the gateway, feeding the guildmasters curiosity, and also explaining why the guild was the first place they looked. "So, we need to find someone who fits the role as an Ancient One in order to get to Jack so we can defeat him once and for all." said Lyle.
The guildmaster nodded. "Yes, yes. A former guildmaster would do quite nicely. However, I can think of someone who would be more than willing to help." said the older man. Bother Ark and Lyle turned towards him eagerly. "I believe your old mentor would be more than happy to aide you in defeating Jack. After all, he died doing just that, did he not?" asked the guildmaster.
Lyle nodded, then hit himself in the head. "Maze...why didn't I think of it before? He'd be perfect." he said. After thanking the guildmaster, he turned to Ark and smirked. "We are heading to Hook Coast." he said.
OoOoO
A quick jump through the cullis gate sent the two heroes hurdling into the snow covered city. When they arrived, they headed straight for the lighthouse. Both of them went straight up the stairs and reached the top in a matter of minutes. When they arrived, Ark handed Lyle one of the orbs, and again, the world was drained of its color as darkness crawled from the orb.
Lyle saw him immediately. He was standing at the edge of the tower, in front of the shattered window he flew out of when he died. He seemed to be staring outwards, over the city that marked his grave. Lyle stepped closer until he was standing next to the spirit.
"It's been a long time Lyle." said Maze. The warrior nodded. "You've grown a lot since I last saw you."
"Nah, not really. Your memory might be fuzzy because the last time you saw me you were flying out a window." said the warrior.
The mage looked at him shocked, before smiling, then eventually laughing. "Yes, I know. You beat me fair and square. Finally Lyle beat the great wizard of the Phoenix Guild." said Maze, smiling brightly after Lyle's joke.
"Hey, I was pretty proud of it. Until I'd learned you died anyway...then I wasn't so." said the warrior. Maze laughed again, causing Lyle to smile.
"That's always been your strong point Lyle, your sense of humor." said the wizard.
Lyle smirked. "Are you sure? I always thought it was my looks." he said as he posed.
"Definately not." said Ark smirking.
Both Lyle and Maze turned to the dark warrior. "Ah...now there's a face I haven't seen in ages. It's good to see you alive Ark."
"You too old man. You'd been gone so long I thought you'd forgot about me." said the young man.
"Well, that happens with death I suppose." said the mage, making Ark laugh.
Lyle looked at them both, then added everything up. Maze was the one who brought Ark as a child to Snowspire. No doubt he had visited quite a bit to make sure the boy was alright. "Now that you two have been reaquainted, we need a favor..." said the warrior.
Maze nodded. "I knew this day was coming eventually. I just didn't think you would have chosen me. Although, at that time I didn't know I'd be dead either, so..." said the wizard as he shrugged.
"Yeah, again, sorry about the whole...killing you thing." said Lyle. Maze shook his head and placed his ethereal hand on the warriors shoulder.
"It was my decision. I chose to die in order to help you against Jack. It was a glorious way to go, and I wouldn't want to die any other way. But now, to know that I can help you even after death, makes me feel even more proud." said the old man. Lyle smiled, then held up the orb. "Be sure to destroy that monster once and for all. I'll be there when you do." he said, then lifted his hand and placed it on the orb. His body shined brightly as he was lifted off the ground. His white hair blew in the wind as he closed his eyes with a smile, then he vanished into the glowing orb.
Lyle clenched the orb before placing it at his side. "So, we've got two, now we only need one more." said Ark as he walked up to the warrior. "Now, lets head back so we can find a location to look." he said as he turned away.
"I'm not going back to the island yet." said the hero. Ark stopped and looked at him. The warrior no longer had the jolly expression he had when he was talking to his mentor. "Go ahead and go back to the island. I'll follow shortly."
Ark nodded. "Where are you going?" he asked.
"Back to the guild, to get the final soul." he said as he headed to the stairs. Ark stood still as he watched the warrior go.
Once Lyle was gone, he shook his head. "I wonder what that was about..." he said as he headed for the stairs. "Oh well, no sense worrying about it." he said as he headed for the cullis gate.
OoOoO
He stood still in the center of the destroyed room. It hadn't really changed since the last time he had been there. The walls were collapsed, and the ceiling had been torn off from the immense energy from years ago. The place where he now stood was where the Sword of Aeons had been placed after the fall of the Old Kingdom. However, the sword was now lost, never to be found again.
The warrior stared down at the orb in his hand. He was here now, he could talk to her again. Yet, something was stopping him. He wasn't sure how she would react to seeing him again. But, he had to find out. Clenching the orb in his fist, he put energy into it, causing it to glow. The world around him was swallowed by darkness as the color vanished. He looked up at the only thing unchanged by the orb, the night sky.
When the effects had settled, he looked around, but didn't see anyone. Suddenly, he froze. "Hello warrior." said a voice behind him. He knew she was leaning against his back, he could feel it.
"Maria..." he said.
"Yes?" she asked curiously.
"I...I'm..." he said stuttering. "I'm sorry..." he said.
She tilted her head to the side. "For what?"
"For everything. For letting you die...for not protecting you..." he said. After so long of suffering inside, he finally broke. Tears fell from his eyes as he clenched his fists in anger at himself.
"Lyle..." she said with a smile on her face. "Quit blaming yourself for my death."
"But it was my fault that you..." he said, but he was cut off sharply.
"Were you always this childish?" came the question. He stood straight, startled by the harshness. "The swordsman I remember would not be moping around, moaning and crying about how he is a failure." she said looking back at him. The warrior stayed silent as he listened to her. "The hero I knew...that I fell in love with, had an uncrushable spirit. He wouldn't be complaining about how he failed to do this or that. He would fail to accomplish something, then destroy it to stop anyone from finding out about it."
Lyle snorted and smirked at the comment. "Yeah...that sounds like him." he said.
"Lyle, you didn't fail to protect me. You protected more than me, you protected Thunder, Van, Alexandria, Oakvale, Bowerstone, and Greatwood Forest. You've protected men, woman, traders, hunters, farmers, and thieves. You've protected fathers, mothers, sons, daughters, lovers, husbands, and wives. Everybody in the world owes you a great debt of grattitude Lyle. Including me." she said as she turned around and wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly.
"You owe me nothing Maria. Although I may not be at fault for your death, I still owe you more than you can imagine." he said, finally smiling after his tears dried.
"Of course you do. And I plan on making you pay in full when you see me again." she said smirking, also making Lyle laugh. "But until then, you must forget about me and move on. There is someone else who loves you, and I know you love her. Don't worry about me, I'll be by your side, watching you, as I always have been." she said, then reached down and touched the orb in his hand. Her body began to glow brightly until her spiritual power was pulled into the sphere.
Placing the orb at his side, he clenched his fist and smiled. "I'm coming for you Jack. And this time, I'll make sure you go straight to hell where you belong." he said, then walked out of the chamber and headed straight for the cullis gate...